All posts by n8rngtd.top

Tash Farrant seals contest with half-century for South East Stars

ECB Reporters Network24-Apr-2024England seam-bowling prospect Ryana MacDonald-Gay took a career-best five for 31 before opener Tash Farrant continued her fine start to the season with an unbeaten 68 as South East Stars made it two wins from two by thumping The Blaze in their Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy clash in Leicester.England star Farrant, who hit a career-best 94 as Stars opened with a victory over holders Southern Vipers last weekend, led the way as Bryony Smith’s side eased to an eight-wicket win with a 159 balls to spare.It could have been more comfortable still but for a competition-record partnership saving The Blaze’s blushes after they had been reduced to 49 for nine after winning the toss and choosing to bat. Skipper Kirstie Gordon and number 11 Grace Ballinger’s stand of 77 was the highest for the 10th wicket by any side since the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy was launched in 2020.England’s Sarah Glenn returned for The Blaze for her first action since suffering a concussion injury a month ago but last season’s runners-up were still without four first-choice players because of international commitments with three others injured.Badly depleted at the top of the batting order, The Blaze were in trouble from ball one as opener Marie Kelly, one of the more experienced of their available batters, reached for MacDonald-Gay’s opening delivery and bottom-edged into her stumps.Wickets two and three came in each of her next two overs as MacDonald-Gay fixed her aim with Sophie Munro and Ella Claridge having no answer to balls arrowed in at the stumps.A rocky start for The Blaze rapidly became worse as MacDonald-Gay’s new-ball partner Phoebe Franklin found enough away movement to remove South Africa all-rounder Nadine de Klerk and Glenn in the space of four deliveries, with neither making a run, the former caught behind before Glenn edged to second slip, as 16 for three became 17 for five.Teresa Graves was dropped at extra cover off Franklin but the Stars were soon celebrating again as MacDonald-Gay trapped Daisy Mullan in front.A boundary apiece from Graves and Bethany Harmer gave The Blaze momentary encouragement but it was promptly nipped in the bud as another straight ball from MacDonald-Gay accounted for Graves and handed the England A bowler the reward of a first five-wicket haul in women’s List A cricket.The Blaze were 39 for seven and there was no respite as England seamer Alice Davidson-Richards took over at the Bennett End and picked up a wicket first ball as Harmer was caught at backward point, MacDonald-Gay adding to her impressive morning’s work by taking a fine one-handed catch.When Davidson-Richards then dismissed Cassidy McCarthy, The Blaze were 49 for nine with barely 75 minutes played and the end seemed to be coming quickly.But Gordon and Ballinger had other ideas, the last-wicket pair holding up the Stars for more than an hour and a half, taking a mature, measured approach that saw them resist any temptation to throw the bat and concentrating instead on working the gaps in what is English domestic cricket’s largest playing areas, with only a quarter of their runs coming in boundaries.Ballinger passed her previous List A best of 18 before she was leg before to the off-spin of a palpably relieved Smith, with Gordon’s unbeaten 41 her best List A score in English domestic cricket.Their efforts had at least given themselves and their fellow bowlers a bigger total to defend than had seemed likely but it was still nowhere near enough to deny the Stars, for whom Smith made 34 from 33 balls before Farrant took charge, hitting five fours and two sixes in her 81-ball innings.Both Farrant and Smith made good use of the shorter, straight boundaries before Smith holed out to mid-on following an 82-run opening stand, with Gordon bowling Scholfield for The Blaze’s only other success.

Bangladesh believe they are still in with a chance if they can bat out the third day

Mohammad Isam31-Mar-2024The Chattogram Test has progressed at a slow pace so far, with only 11 wickets falling over the first two days, and both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka believe the third day will be pivotal. The home side hope to bat out the entire day; the visitors want early wickets.Sri Lanka are 476 runs ahead after posting a total of 531. Bangladesh lost one wicket in the 15 overs they had to negotiate on the second evening, but there was enough evidence that it will continue to be a hard grind for the bowlers. Kamindu Mendis, one of six Sri Lanka batters to score half-centuries, said his team would push to take a couple of early wickets on the third morning to continue dominating the Chattogram Test.”The pitch, compared to the last game, is quite good for the batters,” Kamindu said. “But I think it’ll become more advantageous for the spinners going forward. I think I got to bat on a good day in that sense. Some balls did turn today, but I think tomorrow the spinners will play a bigger role. At the same time we have three very good fast bowlers – one wicket was already taken by them – so I think the combination is good. If we can pick up two-three wickets in the morning we’ll be on top.”Bangladesh’s batting coach David Hemp said the home team would have to bat out the third day to stay in contention in this game.”We are still thinking about winning the game,” Hemp said. “It might seem a bit bizarre considering we are [476] runs behind. The key bit will be to negotiate tomorrow. If we do that well, then we negotiate the day after. If we do that, from a batting point of view, you never know what can happen. First things first, we have to make sure we bat well for three sessions tomorrow.”Bangladesh can take a leaf out of Sri Lanka’s approach. The visitors strung together five 50-plus stands, two of them going past the century mark. Kamindu added 65 for the seventh wicket with Prabath Jayasuriya, and then batted out an additional 17.1 overs alongside Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara and Asitha Fernando, the last three batters.Kamindu has batted commendably with the tail through this Test series. After his 173-run seventh wicket stand with Dhananjaya de Silva in the second innings in Sylhet, Mendis batted for another 26.2 overs with the last three batters.Bangladesh’s difficult time in the field was compounded by seven dropped chances•AFP/Getty Images

“When you bat at No 7 or 8, you have to trust the tail-enders,” Kamindu said. “I think I did that. They did a good job supporting me. Our top-order batters did really well in this innings. We have a few half-centuries. They gave a good contribution to the team.”I think in cricket, someone can get a big hundred, someone won’t be able to. We have six half-centuries in our first innings. It is still a good contribution for the team. We put a 500-plus total on to the board. I think we fulfilled our plan.”Dinesh Chandimal and captain de Silva also struck fifties as Sri Lanka looked hardly in trouble through the second day. Bangladesh also dropped four catches, to take their total to seven across Sri Lanka’s innings.The catching reached its nadir when Jayasuriya edged Khaled Ahmed to Najmul Hossain Shanto at first slip. The ball burst out of his hand, only to reach Shahadat Hossain at second slip, who parried it to Zakir Hossain at third slip, who finally dropped the chance. Khaled was left fuming, kicking the turf twice.”I thought [Shahadat] Dipu had the best chance to get that [catch],” Hemp said. “Both those fielders field at short leg so their reactions are pretty good. I thought when it popped out, one of them would be able to get it. But unfortunately not. We don’t see that often.”It is a difficult job to be a slip fielder. A lot of it is anticipation and expectation. You have to expect the ball to come to you every ball. Unless you’ve got that mindset, it makes life a bit difficult. The more you will practice, you give yourself a better chance when it comes in a game situation.”Catching is one of many concerns for Bangladesh. The main one will be their batting line-up, which is coming off four failures on the trot. Zakir and Joy began positively before the latter fell to Lahiru Kumara’s dipping inswinger late in the day. The opening pair hasn’t put on a single half-century partnership yet, having batted together nine times so far.Hemp said Bangladesh believe in the pair, who have shown signs of improvement. “We didn’t negotiate [Sri Lanka’s bowlers] well enough [in Sylhet] last week. I think that’s the big move forward. It is what we practiced in the three days [before this Test]. Joy’s dismissal was disappointing. It would have been nice to be none down at the end of the day. They are a young partnership, so it takes a bit of time to get into it. I am just pleased with the way they applied themselves.”

MI will need their overseas fast bowlers to step up, and soon

Hemant Brar29-Apr-2024

Match details

Lucknow Super Giants (fifth) vs Mumbai Indians (ninth)
Lucknow, 1930 IST (1400 GMT)

Big picture – MI let down by overseas seamers

After two defeats in their last two games, MI’s playoff chances have nosedived, and if they lose on Tuesday, they will be in the same boat as Royal Challengers Bengaluru.Before the season started, MI looked one of the stronger sides despite being thin in the spin department. Somehow, that has not translated into performances, and a big reason behind that is their overseas fast bowlers’ struggles.Jason Behrendorff and Dilshan Madushanka were ruled out with injuries even before the tournament started. Their replacements – Luke Wood and Kwena Maphaka – failed to meet the expectations. Nuwan Thushara has gone for 12 an over in the two games he has played, without any wicket to show for it. Gerald Coetzee, who has 12 wickets in eight games, has also run hot and cold, and has an economy of 10.10. All that has left Jasprit Bumrah with too much to do.Related

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While LSG are also coming off a defeat, they are in a much better position on the points table. A win against MI could even propel them to second position. Apart from the advantage of playing at home, they will be boosted by the return of Mayank Yadav, who has passed all his fitness tests.

Form guide

Lucknow Super Giants LWWLL (last five matches, most recent first)
Mumbai Indians LLWLW

Team news and impact player strategy

Lucknow Super Giants
Matt Henry may have to make way for Mayank. That will also allow LSG to bring in Ashton Turner for an out-of-form Devdutt Padikkal.Depending on whether LSG are batting first or bowling, one of Ayush Badoni and Yash Thakur could be the Impact Player.Mayank Yadav’s availability will offer LSG flexibility in their overseas combination•BCCI

Probable XII 1 Quinton de Kock, 2 KL Rahul (capt, wk), 3 Marcus Stoinis, 4 Deepak Hooda, 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Ashton Turner, 7 , 8 Krunal Pandya, 9 Mayank Yadav, 10 Ravi Bishnoi, 11 Mohsin Khan, 12 Mumbai Indians
MI can consider bringing in Kumar Kartikeya for Luke Wood, especially if the pitch is on the slower side. Suryakumar Yadav (if bowling first) and Nuwan Thushara (if batting first) could be their Impact Player options.Probable XII 1 Ishan Kishan (wk), 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 , 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Hardik Pandya (capt), 6 Nehal Wadhera, 7 Tim David, 8 Mohammad Nabi, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Kumar Kartikeya/Luke Wood, 11 Jasprit Bumrah, 12

In the spotlight – Quinton de Kock and Suryakumar Yadav

Quinton de Kock started IPL 2024 with a bang, scoring two fifties in the first three games. But since then he has struggled for consistency and has crossed 20 only once in six innings. Given LSG have not been able to score freely in the powerplay – their run rate of 8.38 is the second-worst in that phase this season – they need de Kock to be at his best soon.Suryakumar Yadav was expected to revive MI’s fortunes after his return from the injury. While his 166 in six innings so far, at a strike rate of 171.13, are not bad returns, both the runs per innings and strike rate are down by around 10 compared to last season. He has had two 50-plus scores but has made only 36 runs in the other four innings, including two ducks. As MI fight for survival, Suryakumar will have a key role to play.

Stats that matter

• Rohit Sharma has fallen to Amit Mishra eight times in T20s while scoring only 87 runs in 92 balls. Only Sunil Narine has dismissed Rohit more number of times (nine).
• Jasprit Bumrah has dismissed Marcus Stoinis four times in 44 balls while giving away just 42 runs.
• Mohammad Nabi has managed to keep Nicholas Pooran quiet: 45 runs in 43 balls, one dismissal. Nabi has been equally frugal against de Kock – 32 runs in 28 balls – even though he has never dismissed him.
• Ravi Bishhnoi has troubled Ishan Kishan (21 runs off as many balls, three dismissals) and Tim David (17 off 23, two dismissals). But Hardik Pandya has taken him for 55 runs in 25 balls and Tilak Varma 38 in 20. Neither has got out to him even once.
• Hardik has managed only 14 runs in 23 balls (one dismissal) against his brother Krunal.

Pitch and conditions

In five games so far in Lucknow, no team has been able to breach 200. Given LSG have a better spin attack than Mumbai, it will not be a surprise if the pitch for Tuesday’s game is on the slower side.

Quotes

“If you look at Quinny’s [de Kock’s] season, he has played nine innings and has scored three fifties, which is not a bad thing. But also, he got out sort of in the first or second overs at times. We will know his X factor. He is a guy who on his day can take their game away from you. Do you want to make too many changes? I think with the experience he brings at the top, you don’t want to change that. Just with his history, you need to back him in that position.”
“This is a slightly bigger ground as compared to others, so that will be a relief for the spinners. We want to keep things as simple as possible – restrict runs and try to take wickets.”

PNG’s bowlers gave some hope after they folded for their lowest T20I score ever, but Uganda held their nerve in the end

Mohammad Isam05-Jun-2024A hard-fought three-wicket win on a challenging pitch gave Uganda their maiden win at the T20 World Cup. They beat Papua New Guinea (PNG) in a low-scoring game in Guyana where both teams vied for their first win in the competition. PNG’s batting crumbled to 77 all out after being put to bat, before Uganda, themselves in trouble at 26 for 5, reached home in the 19th over.Riazat Ali Shah, one of Uganda’s rising stars, used a low backlift in his careful 33 off 56 to shepherd them through the tricky chase, falling just three runs shy of Uganda’s target. PNG were left to rue their poor batting, but they also conceded 15 wides, the second-biggest contribution on the scorecard.But the story of the evening was Uganda’s bowling in the first innings, set up by the pair of 43-year old Frank Nsubuga and 21-year old Juma Miyagi.Both vindicated their inclusion in this game with superb spells. Nsubuga bowled the most economical spell (minimum four overs) in T20 World Cup history, with figures of 4-2-4-2. He also became only the second bowler to bowl 20 dot balls in a T20 World Cup game, after Ajantha Mendis in 2012.

Ugandan pace rocks PNG

Alpesh Ramjani gave Uganda a wicket on the second ball when left-hand batter Assad Vala played back to the left-arm spinner, who angled the ball from around the wicket and on to the stumps. Miyagi and Cosmas Kyewuta then kept PNG on the back foot with their pace.Left-hand batter Sese Bau couldn’t clear Miyagi over mid-off where Roger Mukasa took a tumbling catch going backwards. Kyewuta then got the big one when Tony Ura, PNG’s highest run-scorer in T20Is, also holed out to Mukasa. Lega Siaka was run out for 12 in the seventh over, trying to take a second run as he felt under pressure playing out dots against the two fast bowlers.

Nsubuga on target

When Nsubuga slid one through Charles Amini’s leg stump in the 11th over, he became the second-oldest bowler to take a wicket in the T20 World Cup. Nsubuga then had Hiri Hiri lbw although on first view it looked like the batter had come too far down the wicket. The review, though, went in Uganda’s favour.Ramjani’s second wicket came when he also trapped Kiplin Doriga lbw for 12. Captain Brian Masaba then got into the act with a topspinner that went through Chad Soper’s defences. Miyagi and Kyewuta took the last two wickets, as PNG were bowled out with five balls to spare.Frank Nsubuga, 43, bowled back-to-back wicket maidens•ICC via Getty Images

Nao hits back

Alei Nao gave PNG an identical start to PNG when he removed Mukasa in the first over for a second straight duck. Norman Vanua then removed Robinson Obuya who holed out to mid-on where Vala didn’t have to move to complete the catch.Nao then had Simon Ssesazi lbw in the third over as PNG slipped to a perilous 6 for 3. Ramjani then struck a nice boundary through the off side as he and Riazat tried to get Uganda out of trouble. Soper, though, got the seam-up delivery to scissor through Ramjani in the sixth over. When PNG captain Vala had Dinesh Nakrani caught and bowled, PNG were on the ascendancy.

Riazat’s calmness prevails

When Uganda were 35 for 5, Amini dropped Riazat when he was on 8. It was a simple chance at point after Riazat had played a false shot, but it turned out to be the turning point in Uganda’s chase. Riazat registered his only boundary in the 11th over when he struck a nice cover drive against Vala.He added 35 runs for the sixth wicket with Miyagi, but the latter was run out after a mix-up in the 14th over. Riazat kept calm despite the dismissal, though PNG also kept helping Uganda. Bau dropped Kenneth Waiswa on 4, although Riazat finally fell in the 18th over. John Kariko took a good catch at deep third, though it was a little too late for PNG.

“We are getting used to home conditions… even though they are home conditions, we don’t have much experience here,” says Harmanpreet of playing at Chepauk

Sruthi Ravindranath27-Jun-2024India captain Harmanpreet Kaur believes playing in Chennai is a “great opportunity” for the side to get used to the conditions, given it could be one of the venues for the Women’s ODI World Cup next year.India’s women’s team last played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk in a Quadrangular series in 2007. They last played a women’s Test here in 1976, and the ground hasn’t hosted any women’s T20Is yet. Since the end of 2022, all women’s internationals in India have either been in Navi Mumbai or Mumbai, till the ODI-leg of the South Africa series was hosted in Bengaluru last week. Following the one-off Test against South Africa starting on Friday in Chennai, India will also be playing three T20Is against them at the same venue.”As a team, it’s a great opportunity for us,” Harmanpreet said on the eve of the Test. “We are getting used to home conditions… even though they are home conditions, we don’t have much experience here. But I think this series will definitely give us a lot of confidence to see how the wicket is going to behave and what combinations we can look for [for the World Cup]. Before the World Cup, with [about] one year left, I think as a team we are taking this opportunity with both hands whenever we are playing home series. It’s a great opportunity to see how the wickets are and how we can improve our skills.”Related

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This will be India’s third Test in seven months. They played back-to-back Tests against England and Australia in December 2023, posting massive wins in both matches. Harmanpreet says playing those two matches has helped the side get rid of “overthinking” while playing in a format.Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur take part in close-catching drills•PTI

“In the long format you have to be there [in the middle] for four days. But if you think like that as a player you can overthink. The last time [we played a Test] we only thought about winning the sessions and that really helped us. This time also we will focus on each session. The best thing about Test cricket is you have time to come back. If you lose one session, you always have time to [make up for] things.”That’s the key point which our support staff told us: ‘just focus on each and every session and if you can [break it] down to two to two-and-a-half hours, think about how you’re going to perform as a player’. I think that really helps, [rather] than thinking that it’s a 100 overs [roughly per day] game which makes you overthink. Those little points really helped us win the last two Tests and we just want to continue [to apply] those.”India will be relying on head coach Amol Muzumdar’s red-ball experience heading into the Test, Harmanpreet said. Muzumdar, who played 171 first-class matches in a 20-year-long career, has also played two red-ball matches at Chepauk.”I didn’t have much experience in Test cricket when I got to captain those two Tests,” Harmanpreet said. “Amol sir help me. He has played lot of Test [red-ball] cricket and he has a lot of experience. With his experience, he has helped me with things like how to take decisions on the field. I do have a bit of an idea now.”We don’t have much idea about how Chennai wicket is going to play. We have only seen when the men were playing but women’s cricket is totally different… the pace, the way we bowl and bat, I think we’ll know that only once we take the field tomorrow, see how the pitch behaves and take decisions. The experienced support staff are definitely going to help us.”

The legspinner is recovering from an “ongoing injury” and has been advised to skip red-ball cricket

Daya Sagar29-Aug-2024 • Updated on 30-Aug-2024Afghanistan legspinner Rashid Khan has taken a break from Test cricket on medical advice because of an “ongoing injury issue”. He was hence not part of the 20-member preliminary Test squad to face New Zealand in the one-off Test in Greater Noida in India, early next month.”He has taken a break from Tests for now, there’s an ongoing injury issue with him,” an ACB official told ESPNcricinfo. “So the doctors have advised him to not play Tests for now.”We don’t know if he’s out for a year or not. What’s confirmed is that he’s out for some time, until he recovers properly. So he’s not going to play Test cricket until he gets the doctor’s approval. Right now, we can’t say for how long exactly he’s out.”Rashid had undergone back surgery after the ODI World Cup 2023 which kept him out of action for four months during which he missed the BBL, the SA20, and Afghanistan’s international assignments against UAE, India, Sri Lanka and Ireland. Since his surgery, he has only played T20s; he returned to action with three T20Is against Ireland before playing the IPL, the T20 World Cup 2024, Major League Cricket (MLC) in the USA, the Hundred, and Afghanistan’s domestic T20 competition Shpageeza Cricket League.Related

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Participation in these tournaments was also not injury-free. A hamstring injury ruled him out of the last week of the Hundred after he had hurt himself while diving to save a boundary for Trent Rockets. When he went home for the domestic T20s, he picked up a back issue after playing only three of the eight games for Speen Ghar Tigers in the second half of August. Those three games were played on successive days and Rashid picked up six wickets at an economy rate of 5.09. In his third game, Rashid also smashed 53 off just 26 balls out of his side’s total of 112 in a truncated match against Amo Sharks.Rashid last played a Test match in March 2021 and has not featured in 50-over games since the ODI World Cup in India last year.Rashid’s workload management could also be a result of the busy calendar coming up. Afghanistan are slotted to play three ODIs against South Africa in late September in Sharjah, although it isn’t known yet if Rashid will be available for those. As per the FTP, Afghanistan are then scheduled to tour Zimbabwe for an all-format tour in December-January for two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is. Even though he has opted out of the BBL for the second year in a row, Rashid will represent MI Cape Town in the SA20 which is set to run from January 9 to February 8 before the action moves to the PSL and the IPL.The Afghanistan Test squad has, meanwhile, begun training in Greater Noida, their adopted home ground, for the Test against New Zealand, which will be the first time that the two teams will be facing each other in the format. This will also be the first Test to be played at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground.

Surrey end run of five straight defeats to dent Leicestershire’s knock-out hopes

ECB Reporters Network06-Aug-2024In-form Dom Sibley’s second hundred in three matches spurred Surrey to end a run of five straight defeats with their first Metro Bank One-Day Cup victory of the season, dealing a blow to Leicestershire’s hopes of qualifying for the knock-out stages.Sibley followed his 149 against Warwickshire and 72 versus Nottinghamshire with 105, sharing stands of 138 for the first wicket with Ryan Patel (72) and 111 for the second with Ben Geddes (61) as Surrey totalled 296 for 6. It proved enough despite losing five wickets in the last eight overs.The Foxes were given a chance as opener Sol Budinger maintained his place as the competition’s leading run scorer by hitting 70 from 68 balls and Tom Scriven’s career-best 55 raised hopes of a gripping finish for a crowd of almost 1,400 but ultimately proved in vain, leg-spinner Cameron Steel taking 3 for 48 for the victors.All-rounders Ian Holland, with 2 for 50, and Scriven, with 2 for 51, were the pick of the Foxes bowlers, with 19-year-old seamer Sam Wood taking 1 for 34 on his List A debut.If the Foxes finished well with the ball, the start provided by Sibley and Patel with the bat was comfortably Surrey’s best of the season.Asked to bat first on an overcast morning, Surrey were 51 without loss from 10 overs and were 125 for nothing by halfway, Sibley having gone to fifty from 59 balls with Patel reaching his from 72.Patel suffered an unlucky dismissal. Shaping to hook the tall Wood, he seemed to be hit on the shoulder before the ball deflected off his helmet on to the stumps.Geddes maintained Surrey’s positive start. Dropped by Chris Wright at fine leg on 35 off Liam Trevaskis, he cashed in to the tune of 26 more runs before falling to a catch at deep midwicket off Roman Walker.Sibley had gone to his hundred from 115 balls in the 42nd over with his 11th four but soon miscued to long-off, giving Scriven wickets in consecutive overs after Rory Burns was bowled sweeping.Holland then had Josh Blake caught at backward point and 19-year-old Surrey debutant Ollie Sykes at long-on, a fifth wicket to fall in seven overs with Surrey slipping from 249 for 1 to 286 to 6.The Foxes’ chase suffered a double stumble to leave them 49 for 2 from 10 after Holland picked out deep backward square off James Taylor and Lewis Hill was caught behind off Conor McKerr.Ajinkya Rahane had an escape when he was spilled at cover on four off McKerr, which was beginning to look like an expensive drop by Steel as he and Budinger began to accelerate, the latter passing fifty for the fourth time in five innings, the run including 120 against Essex at Chelmsford. But Rahane could make only 27 before he was caught at midwicket off Patel, the ball perhaps sticking in the pitch a little.Budinger and Peter Handscomb shared a match-winning 113-run partnership against Essex on this ground last year but could add only 48 this time before Budinger holed out to deep midwicket.It felt like a significant moment at 142 for 4 in the 26th, one that was amplified two overs later as Handscomb hit straight to cover, both batters falling to Steel.Trevaskis was bowled by left-arm spinner Yousef Majid and Cox fell leg-before to McKerr. Scriven’s 45-run eighth-wicket stand with Wood, stumped off Steel for 22, kept the contest alive, Scriven hitting two sixes, but 20 off Taylor in the last over was always unlikely and the match ended with Scriven falling to a stunning catch by Patel at backward point as Leicestershire were all out for 279.With three wins from five, qualification for the knock-out stages is still possible, although Group B leaders Warwickshire and Glamorgan both have five wins from five.Both sides wore black armbands and a minute’s silence was observed at the start of the match as the cricket world mourns the loss of great England and Surrey servant Graham Thorpe.

Legspinner vows to carry on as wise head, especially now that Moeen Ali has retired

Vithushan Ehantharajah23-Sep-2024Fresh from bringing up 200 ODI wickets at Headingley on Saturday, Adil Rashid says he has the hunger to continue playing international cricket, dismissing talk that retirement may be on the horizon.Rashid broke new ground as the first English spinner to reach the milestone, albeit one brought up in a second consecutive defeat to Australia. It was England’s 10th loss in their last 14 ODIs. Another at Chester-le-Street would consign the hosts to a series defeat with two matches still to play. Poor weather, which forced training indoors on Monday, may end up saving their blushes, even if it does remove a series win from the equation.That this is a transitional squad, shorn of a handful of senior players, including captain Jos Buttler, has already been offered as mitigation for the missteps so far. Nevertheless, a new era – initially under interim coach Marcus Trescothick before Brendon McCullum assumes the limited-overs job in the new year alongside his Test commitments – has had an ignominious start.Yet, even with the onus on refreshing tactics and personnel, Rashid remains an integral part of the future of England’s limited-overs teams. February’s Champions Trophy, the 2026 T20 World Cup and 2027’s 50-over World Cup signpost the next three years, and the 36-year-old, currently in possession of an ECB central contract that takes him through to the end of the 2025 summer, has designs on being around for all of them.”I have not thought about it [retirement] yet,” said Rashid, speaking before Tuesday’s third ODI at Chester-le-Street. “Keep playing, enjoy it, stay fit, bowl well, contribute to wins, hopefully World Cups and Champions Trophies – that is my ultimate aim.”I’m playing each game and each series as it comes and if I’m still enjoying it and performing well, I’ll keep carrying on.”To play for this long and take the wickets I have, I’d never, ever dreamt of that, so hopefully I can carry it on. It’s been an enjoyable ride with ups and downs, and hopefully I can stay on the up for the remainder of my career.”I’ve got no eye yet on retiring or anything like that – that’s not even crossed my mind. It’s about enjoying the game and still giving it everything I’ve got.”Related

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It is a vital statement from Rashid given the lay of the land. Though the likes of Joe Root (rested) and Ben Stokes (undecided) are expected to return to the limited-overs set-up in some capacity – the Champions Trophy works for both given England’s first Test in 2025 comes at the end of May against Zimbabwe at Lord’s – the set-up has lost a lot of experience and knowledge in the last six months.Of those moved on, Moeen Ali is the one Rashid will feel the most. The former vice-captain announced his retirement earlier this month after missing out on both T20 and 50-over assignments against Australia. And as a long-time friend, inseparable at home and aboard, the fear was that Rashid may soon follow suit. Those fears, for now, have been allayed. On Tuesday, the Yorkshireman will earn his 138th ODI cap – the figure Moeen finished on.Of course, the team environment is a little different for Rashid. Not only will he not have his usual confidant for company, but he also now has more responsibility to assume as the go-to wise head in the dressing room, particularly for young spinners as England prepare for life after Rashid. The former will take getting used to, but the latter role is something he is keen to embrace.”He’s a big miss for the team and a big miss for me because we’re really good friends on and off the pitch,” Rashid said. “He’s made that decision and got another chapter of his life with the remainder of his career and I’m sure he’ll do wonders.”With Mo not being there my input will obviously be a little bit more, speaking to the youngsters and them coming to me,” he added.”That’s the ultimate aim. Whatever I’ve got in terms of experience, form, ups and downs, the knowledge I have, I can pass that on. It could be in terms of mindset or technical things. I’m trying to do that now as well, with the youngsters I’m working with.”I’ve worked with Rehan Ahmed, I’ve worked with Jafer (Chohan) at Yorkshire. There’s a few around the circuit, they’re in competition, which is healthy, and they can compete to become that No. 1 spinner.”Easier said than done, of course. Rashid’s evolution into a world-class operator was aligned with a consistency of selection and schedule. Between the 2015 and 2019 50-over World Cups, he played 76 out of a possible 81 ODIs under Eoin Morgan. In turn, England emerged during that period as a ground-breaking white-ball outfit. The demands and opportunities of the modern game mean the next generation does not have the benefit of that level of continuity.As such, England’s route back to the top of the pile after botched defences of the ODI and T20I titles in 2023 and 2024 will require a different path on less certain terrain. But in Rashid, they can still call upon someone who knows, and – crucially – still has, what it takes to push them on.

Adelaide will host the third Test from December 17 as the traditional Ashes rota is shaken up

Alex Malcolm16-Oct-2024Cricket Australia has unveiled the dates for the 2025-26 Ashes series in Australia with the Gabba set to host the day-night second Test while Adelaide will host the third Test as a day game under a new agreement to have the pre-Christmas Test for the next seven years.CA confirmed that Perth will host the first Ashes Test next summer from November 21-25 before the second Test is played with a pink-ball under lights in Brisbane from December 4-8. The third Test will a day game in Adelaide from December 17-21 before the traditional Boxing Day Test begins on December 26 at the MCG. Sydney will host the fifth Test from January 4-8.A shake-up to the traditional Ashes rota had long been forecast after CA announced its fixturing contracts with the various state governments in August.Related

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Adelaide has been the main home of the day-night Test since the first one in 2015 and has hosted the two previous Ashes day-night Tests in 2017-18 and 2021-22 as the second Test in the rotation in those Ashes series following the traditional Gabba opener.But South Australia’s government, along with CA, were keen to give Adelaide a marquee holiday slot given the Test’s popularity from a tourism standpoint and it is now third in the rotation.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The Gabba has hosted three day-night Tests previously including West Indies’ famous win earlier this year in January. But it will be the first time Brisbane has not hosted the Ashes opener since 1982-83 when Perth hosted the first Test and Brisbane had the second.The future of the Gabba has been left clouded amid uncertainty over the redevelopment plans for the stadium ahead of the 2032 Olympics. There is a chance the Ashes Test next year could be the last Gabba Test ever as there is no Test scheduled there for 2026-27 – and beyond – and the stadium in its current state will not be usable by 2030.There has been criticism of CA for not maintaining the Gabba as the opening Test of the summer for at least the next two seasons, with former Australia allrounder Shane Watson among a host of voices who would prefer the Gabba to be the opening Test. But it understood the Australian team is quite happy to play the opening Test of the summer at Optus Stadium in Perth, as has been the case in the last two summers, given Australia’s perfect record there.There may be less enthusiasm about using the pink ball at the Gabba as Australia’s bowlers have previously been vocal about the pink ball being better suited to the Adelaide Oval pitch than the Gabba. There have been periods in the Gabba pink-ball Tests where the ball has become very soft and the game has stagnated as a result.

It was a low-scoring roller-coaster of a game to close out the T20I series, which Pakistan had already sealed

Danyal Rasool05-Dec-2024
On Tuesday, the Zimbabwean cricket team let Bulawayo’s exhilarating crowd down, but today, they picked them right back up. In a nerve-shredding encounter, Zimbabwe controlled, won, threw away and eventually stole a roller-coaster of a game off the penultimate delivery. A slap from Richard Ngarava that thudded into the stumps at the non-striker’s end, a hesitant jitter, and a scampered single was what it took to seal a two-wicket win that will feel much more significant than the mere consolation it will be recorded as in a 2-1 series defeat against Pakistan.In pursuit of 133 after a insipid batting performance from Pakistan, Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani appeared to have made this game routine when Zimbabwe blazed to 50 in five overs. But with a middle order as fragile as Zimbabwe’s no game is truly done, and even when the hosts sat pretty at 73 for 1 with more than half the overs the spare, Pakistan knew they were in with a shot, not least because of a Sufiyan Muqeem-shaped trump card who ran rampant through the middle overs once more. Within a five-over spell, 73 for 1 became 94 for 5, with Muqeem piling on the pressure as Abbas Afridi cleaned up from the other end. With four overs to go, the run rate was pushing 12.Pakistan believed Sikandar Raza stood between them and victory, and when Zimbabwe’s talisman miscued tamely to long-on off Jahandad Khan, the game looked as good as gone for Zimbabwe. Needing 12 off the final over with 21-year-old Tinotenda Maposa – on T20 debut – on strike, things appeared bleak. But a squirted boundary was followed up by a monstrous hoick over square leg for six that brought Zimbabwe to within two runs of victory. There was time for more drama when Tashinga Musekiwa went for a glory shot and miscued, but a Bulawayo crowd full of soulful singing was not to be denied this time.

Tidy Zimbabwe leave Pakistan in a mess

Stung by heavy criticism after an embarrassing collapse in the second T20I, Zimbabwe came out with a much greater intensity. Blessing Muzarabani had Omair Yousuf hole out for a duck, before Wellington Masakadza, who was accurate throughout, outwitted Sahibzada Farhan. A tentative little dab from Usman Khan off Muzarabani brought the third wicket, and Zimbabwe had the better of the powerplay by a distance.Qasim Akram made 20 off 15 to give Pakistan something to bowl at•Associated Press

Raza realized Pakistan were struggling against spin, and brought himself, Ryan Burl and Brian Bennett on at various stages through the middle overs. Pakistan were batting with a rather long tail, which necessitated a rebuild through the middle overs. Salman Agha struck up handy partnerships with Tayyab Tahir and Qasim Akram to keep the visitors ticking over, before useful cameos from Arafat Minhas and Abbas Afridi got Pakistan beyond three figures. It was only an untidy 13-run final over from Muzarabani that got Pakistan past 130 against a bowling attack that offered them very little throughout the innings. It was so very nearly enough.

Bennett and Marumani scorch Pakistan

Pakistan were defending a low total, and Zimbabwe’s openers essentially broke the back of it. The intent was clear when Bennett whipped Mohammad Hasnain to the square leg boundary off the first ball of the innings. Marumani, who has had the better of Jahandad for much of this series, whipped him through the offside for a pair of boundaries in the second over, and from thereon Zimbabwe were flying.But when Hasnain lined up for his second over, he was in for a flaying at Bennett’s hands. His line and length was all over the place and the batter was only too happy to take advantage with a pair of boundaries on each side of the wicket, plundering 19 off the errant over. Salman hastily brought himself into the attack, and Marumani insolently reverse swept him on the first-ball. It had taken them just 19 balls to get to 40, and the required rate was now under five.

Muqeem’s magic nearly derails Zimbabwe

There’s no better indicator of the start Muqeem has made in T20I cricket that Pakistan turned to him for a miracle when they needed wickets and a reining in of the run rate. No batter could truly pick out his wrong-un, and his figures of 4-1-19-1 did not do justice to the full breadth of his wizardry. There were multiple pokes that barely missed the outside edge, and a couple of top edges that might so easily have gone straight to slip. It culminated in a beguiling final over to Musekiwa, who desperately tried to see him off, willing to play out a maiden as the asking rate spiked after every ball.On any other day, Muqeem would have wrapped the game up before his spell ended, and on the evidence of this series, there will be many more such days.