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Counties may have to be compensated for covering white-ball payments before new contracts begin in February

George Dobell09-Aug-2019The ECB is considering postponing the start date of some England player central contracts, though it has denied that is because it is facing cash-flow difficulties.In the past, central contracts have run from the start of October to the end of September to reflect the English season. While the next contracts will be announced, as usual, in late September, ESPNcricinfo understands that England players on white-ball deals will have to wait until February 1, 2020 for their new contracts to begin. As a consequence, the terms of the current white-ball central contracts will be carried over for an extra four months, with the players’ counties footing the bill for that time.The ECB has said this is to move the contracts in line with its own financial year, which begins in February, a shift that will also take place with its Test contracts. England’s only white-ball cricket between now and February 1 is five T20Is in New Zealand in November.The ECB also pointed out that the manner in which white-ball contracts are paid will change, with players no longer receiving incremental payments on top of their county deal, but having their entire salary paid by the ECB – until now white-ball contracts have been paid as increments by the ECB on top of the players’ county contracts. If counties are required to supplement their players’ wages during the four-month hiatus, they will be recompensed by the ECB in February.But some in the game have suggested the move is designed to buy the board time as it battles with cash-flow issues. They point out that expenditure and costs associated with setting up The Hundred have bitten deep into the ECB’s resources. It has previously been reported that those set-up costs have more than trebled from an initial expectation of £13m a year to somewhere around £40m.As recently as 2016 the ECB declared reserves of £73.1m in its annual report, but that figure was down to £11.24m in the latest set of accounts.The value of white-ball contracts is understood to have increased by £100,000 a player a year, to £275,000, while red-ball contracts have increased in value by £175,000 a year to £650,000. The next tranche of money from the latest broadcast deal hits the ECB accounts in February.A spokesperson for the Professional Cricketers’ Association told ESPNcricinfo that talks were continuing.

Colin Ingram marshalled a challenging total before Luke Wright preyed upon weak Glamorgan bowling to make Sussex the early leaders in South Group

ECB Reporters Network08-Jul-2018
ScorecardLuke Wright led by example at Sophia Gardens by striking 88 from 53 balls, as Sussex gained their second win from two games and lead the Southern Group after an impressive all-round performance.It was a battle of the captains at Sophia Gardens, with Colin Ingram top scoring with an undefeated 81 from 44 balls to take Glamorgan to a challenging 173 for 4.But Glamorgan were let down by some poor bowling, as Wright and Laurie Evans shared a match winning partnership of 123 in just 12.4 overs. “I thought we had enough, especially on a used pitch, but we came up against two batsmen in good form,” said Ingram.Needing to score at 8.6 runs an over, Wright began with a flurry of boundaries although he lost his opening partner Phil Salt in the fourth over when he attempted to pull a short ball from Michael Hogan, edged to the wicketkeeper.

Marsh worry for Glamorgan

Australia batsman Shaun Marsh is having a scan on his shoulder after an injury suffered while fielding.He fell awkwardly while trying to make a boundary save, called for medical attention and left the field immediately.
“Shaun’s a tough guy, so it’s certainly not a bruise the way he walked off holding his shoulder,” Glamorgan’s coach Robert Croft said.”So we’ll have to wait and see, but we hope the scan will be favourable to us.”

Wright then greeted Graham Wagg by driving him straight for six, followed by a rasping cover drive for four, and when Wagg was taken off after one over, he had conceded 16 runs. The Sussex captain raced to his fifty from only 33 balls, and his team were well placed at the halfway stage on 89 for 1.Wright was well supported by Evans, who also punished some indifferent bowling from Glamorgan, who bowled far too short on a good pitch, and at 109 for 1 at the end of the twelfth over, were coasting to victory.Glamorgan then suffered a setback, when Shaun Marsh, their Australian overseas batsman, dived in an attempt to stop a fierce drive from Wright, but landed on his shoulder, and had to leave the field in some pain.Sussex required 41 from the final 5 overs, but there was no respite for the bowlers as Wright drove Ingram and hooked Wagg for sixes, before holing out on the mid-wicket boundary. Evans settled the issue by striking Hogan for two sixes in the 18th over, and there were eight balls remaining when Tom Bruce struck the winning runs.Glamorgan’s innings was built around a typically aggressive innings from Colin Ingram who struck from balls, and the captain was well supported by David Lloyd, who made 33, including a straight six off Rashid Khan, who again bowled his leg spin economically and picked up two wickets.Glamorgan were 59 for 3 after nine overs, after Shaun Marsh had pulled a long hop from Jofra Archer to deep mid- wicket, Usman Khawaja mishit to deep cover, and Aneurin Donald holed out to Khan at long off.Ingram was then soon into his stride, and played Khan, who was in the same Adelaide Strikers side that won the Big Bash Australia last winter, with respect, as the Afghan spinner ended with the creditable figures of 2 for 27 from his four overs.Ingram accelerated in the final overs. Ollie Robinson and David Wiese were struck for two huge sixes over long on as 53 runs were added in the final five overs.

Peter Siddle has withdrawn from his Nottinghamshire contract for 2017 due to a persistent back injury

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Mar-2017Peter Siddle has withdrawn from his Nottinghamshire contract for 2017 due to a persistent back injury. Siddle, 32, has not played since the Hobart Test against South Africa in November, during which he suffered a recurrence of the back problem that had kept him out for much of the previous year.Notts have been linked with potentially signing Siddle’s Victoria team-mate and fellow Australia international James Pattinson, with Mick Newell, the club’s director of cricket, hopeful of “quickly securing a replacement”.Siddle, who played for Notts in 2014 and Lancashire the following season, had signed a two-year deal to return to Trent Bridge but was unable to appear in 2016 due to stress fractures in his back. He made a comeback at the start of the 2016-17 season with Victoria and won a Test recall against South Africa before being sidelined once again.”I guess the years of playing cricket, you always have little setbacks with injury and missing cricket at different stages,” Siddle said. “It makes it a little bit easier to take in when you get older. So, I’ve been able to stay pretty level.”I don’t think I’ve played this little cricket in an 18-month window since I was an 11-year-old kid and was just starting out. That’s the most frustrating thing, not playing the game that you love and your profession. But mentally I’m pretty good. I’m in a good place and I’ve got some good people around me who give me good support.”Notts have already signed another Australian, Dan Christian, for the NatWest Blast but the arrival of James Pattinson – whose older brother, Darren, played for the county between 2008 and 2012 – would be a significant coup. Pattinson has taken 70 wickets in 17 Tests but missed out on a call-up to Australia’s tour of India after Mitchell Starc was ruled out by injury, despite taking a five-wicket haul last week to help put Victoria in the Sheffield Shield final.Newell said: “I feel for Peter in particular because he’s had absolutely no luck in recent years when it comes to injuries. We certainly didn’t imagine, when we signed him on a two-year contract for 2016 and 2017, that he wouldn’t play a single game for us during that time. It’s disappointing because his competitive character and proven ability would have been a real asset for us.”We never stop monitoring the situation overseas. We’re always looking at who is available and who has the kind of quality we need, so we’re confident of quickly securing a replacement.”

Middle-order batsman Henry Nicholls has received his maiden call-up to New Zealand’s Test squad for the Trans-Tasman Trophy against Australia in February

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Feb-2016

NZ Test squad for Aus series

Brendon McCullum (capt), Corey Anderson, Doug Bracewell, Trent Boult, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling (wk)*, Kane Williamson
*Luke Ronchi on standby for Watling
In: Corey Anderson, Matt Henry, Henry Nicholls
Out: Mark Craig, Ross Taylor

Batsman Ross Taylor has been ruled out of New Zealand’s team for the first Test against Australia in Wellington due to a slow recovery from the side strain that scratched him from the Chappell-Hadlee ODI series and the preceding ODIs against Pakistan, with the left-hander Henry Nicholls set to come in for his debut.A back problem also meant that the wicketkeeper BJ Watling is under something of a cloud for the match at Basin Reserve, forcing New Zealand to retain Luke Ronchi as cover in the event of the first-choice gloveman being ruled unfit to play.Tim Southee is fit and ready for Test duty – he has not played a game in the new year due to a foot injury picked up during the home series against Sri Lanka in December.Apart from Taylor, the one man missing out from New Zealand’s previous Test assignment – the home Tests against Sri Lanka, which New Zealand won 2-0 – is offspinner Mark Craig.Nicholls has been a consistent performer for the New Zealand ODI team this summer, most recently compiling 61 against Australia in the opening match of the limited-overs series at Eden Park. New Zealand’s coach Mike Hesson said Nicholl’s selection was part of a squad put together in the expectation of seaming pitches in Wellington and Christchurch.”Henry has been very impressive the way he has made the step up to international cricket and we’re confident of the job he can do for us in the top order,” Hesson said. “We’ve gone for just the one spinner in Mitch [Santner] and that’s based around what we expect the pitches to play like at Hagley and the Basin.”Tim’s a leader within our group and our most experienced bowler, so we’re excited to have him fit and a part of our pace bowling attack. Matt [Henry] also comes back into the squad after some really strong performances throughout the summer and with Corey’s [Anderson] return we now have a number of seam-bowling options to consider.”It’s well documented how good a Test side Australia are and we know it will take some exceptional cricket for us to have a chance of taking out the series. It doesn’t get much bigger for all New Zealand fans than a Test Series against Australia.”

The ECB has demanded an “explanation and apology” from Australian TV station Channel Nine following claims that players have been using silicone tape on the edges of their bats to fool Hot Spot during the current Ashes series

Brydon Coverdale07-Aug-20130:00

Kevin Pietersen angered by links to Hot Spot crisis

The ECB will demand an “explanation and apology” from Australian TV station Channel Nine following claims that players have been using silicone tape on the edges of their bats to fool Hot Spot during the current Ashes series.The ICC has dismissed the reports that the ICC’s general manager of cricket operations, Geoff Allardice, would discuss the issue ahead of the fourth Test at Chester-le-Street as “totally incorrect.” During the series, several edges have failed to show up on Hot Spot, and the Channel Nine report made particular reference to Kevin Pietersen’s second innings dismissal at Old Trafford, which appears to have been the main driving force behind the ECB’s complaint.”These media reports are totally incorrect,” David Richardson, the ICC chief executive, said. “Geoff Allardice is meeting with both teams and umpires to see how we can best use the DRS and the available technology going forward in the next two Test matches. It has nothing to do with any players.”Pietersen himself reacted angrily on Twitter after his name was linked to using tape. “My name brought up in Hot Spot crisis suggesting I use silicon to prevent nicks showing! Such hurtful lies. I am never afraid of getting out! If I nick it, I’ll walk. To suggest I cheat by covering my bat with silicon infuriates me. How stupid would I be to try and hide a nick when it could save me on an lbw appeal, like in the first innings where Hot Spot showed I nicked it.”Both teams have been frustrated by decision reviews during the series, especially regarding edges behind. Batsmen sometimes use fibreglass tape to help with the longevity of their bats, but the Australia captain Michael Clarke said he did not know of any Australian batsman using silicone-tape or any other method of attempting to reduce the effect of Hot Spot.”It’s hard for me to talk for other players, but I’ve never heard any type of conversation like that in the Australian change room,” Clarke said. “I didn’t know there was such a thing you could do to hide nicking the ball on Hot Spot. I wouldn’t have thought that a bit of tape would have made any difference anyway.”I think I would know. I’m a bat nuffy, I pick up everyone’s bats. I go through everyone’s cricket bats. I find the accusation quite funny, to be honest. I can’t talk for everyone but if that’s the case and we’re talking about cheating, I can guarantee you there’s not one person in the Australian change room who will cheat. It’s not the way we play cricket.”During this series, several edges have failed to appear on Hot Spot, but have shown up on the Snickometer, which is not part of the technology used by the third umpire.Graham Onions, the England seamer, was equalling damning about the claims. “It’s a huge accusation, and it’s outrageous really,” he said. “It seems completely blown out of proportion really; it doesn’t seem right.”I know the England players would never put anything on their bats. Tape has been used to mend cracks or to get our favourite bats to last as long as possible, but it sounds completely silly to even think that people are putting things on their bat to try and help them to cover up decisions.”I can say that we don’t put anything on our bats. We play the game as fair as you can, as I’m sure the Australians do as well.”

The Nagenahira Nagas advance to the SLPL final on round-robin results, after intermittent heavy rain forced abandonment of the second semi-final

The Report by Andrew Fernando29-Aug-2012The Nagenahira Nagas advance to the SLPL final on round-robin results, after intermittent heavy rain forced abandonment of the second semi-final without a ball being bowled. The Kandurata Warriors, who sit one point behind the Nagas, will bemoan their luck, as the only other washout was their clash with Uva Next on Saturday, which if they had won, would have seen them through to the final on net run-rate.The pitch was being made ready for play after showers earlier in the day, but the covers were forced back on by a heavy downpour, and regular showers after that ensured they stayed on for the duration of the evening.The Nagas will play Uva Next in the final at the R Premadasa Stadium on Friday. Scattered thunderstorms are forecast for Colombo that evening.

A round-up of the fourth match-day in the ICC Americas Region Division One Twenty20

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jul-2011Canada are yet to be beaten in the ICC Americas Region Division One Twenty20 tournament after they won a tense match against USA by 10 runs. Canada chose to bat and started positively with openers Jason Sandher and Khusroo Wadia putting on 76. Wadia went on to score 56 (off 35 balls) but the rest of the batting crumbled. Bhim George (3 for 28) and Orlando Baker (3 for 13) crippled the middle and lower order and Canada were bowled out for 131. USA lost opener Gowkaran Roopnarine with the score on 3 before Sushil Nadkarni’s 40 (off 35 balls) steadied the reply. While always a little behind the required run-rate, USA pushed Canada to the end despite Satsimranjit Dhindsa’s 3 for 27 and Zahid Hussain’s 2 for 17. USA needed 20 runs off the last over, but fell 10 runs short.Argentina’s miserable run in the tournament continued. They lost to Suriname by five wickets to remain winless in the competition. Argentina were bowled out for 83 with offspinner Mohindra Boodram taking 5 for 14 in just two overs. Suriname faltered in the chase, stuttering on 30 for 3 but Arun Gokoel’s steady 36 (off 39 balls) ensured victory for Suriname after 19 overs.Bermuda stormed to a 10 wicket win over Cayman Islands. Bermuda put Cayman Islands in to bat and were rewarded for their decision as they restricted their opposition to 87 for 8. Sixteen-year-old Kamau Leverock took 3 for 13 for Bermuda and only Steve Gordon (23 off 23 balls) and Pearson Best (22 off 38 balls) reached a score of higher than 10 for Cayman Islands. Bermuda eased to victory in less than 16 overs, with Lional Cann (54 off 43 balls) scoring the bulk of their runs. Captain David Hemp was unbeaten on 24 (off 49 balls).

A round-up of the fourth day’s action of the 2010 WCL Division One

Cricinfo staff05-Jul-2010It went down to the wire at Amstelveen as Afghanistan beat Kenya by one wicket off the final ball. Six were needed off the last over and there was further drama as Afghanistan lost their ninth wicket off the penultimate ball, but Shapoor Zadran hit the winning run to seal the game.Collins Obuya and Thomas Odoyo came good for Kenya, hitting half-centuries to take the score to 233. The captain Maurice Ouma made a patient 40 off 70 balls to help Kenya recover from a shaky 14 for 2. Obuya and Rakep Patel then added 72 for the fourth wicket before Patel was caught by Noor Ali, running forward from the boundary. Obuya made 60 before he was dismissed in the 43rd over, caught by the keeper Mohammad Shahzad off a top edge. Odoyo made a cameo unbeaten 52 off 33 balls, hitting five fours and two sixes to give the innings a late surge. Hassan was the main wicket-taker with 3 for 32.Afghanistan didn’t get off to the best of starts, losing three for 51 by the 11th over as the Odhiambos – Nelson and Nehemiah – took early wickets. Samiullah Shenwari then steadied the chase with a patient half-century, adding 72 with Azghar Stanikzai. Shem Ngoche got the breakthrough when Stanikzai edged to the keeper for 24. Afghanistan however lost the plot when they lost two more wickets in quick succession. Shenwari continued the repair work till the 41st over, before he was dismissed for 82, caught by Ouma down the leg side. Mohammad Nabi and Khaliq Dad took Afghanistan closer but Kenya hit back when Nabi’s big hit towards cow corner was taken by Patel inches off the rope.Hassan joined Dad in the 48th over and the pair almost took Afghanistan home, but Hassan succumbed to the pressure of the fielders crowding the infield, when the scores were level. The No.11 Zadran swept Jimmy Kamande past the fielders and that sparked big celebrations.Ouma, whose performance with bat and in the field won him the Man-of-the-Match award, was disappointed with the final result, but took heart from the way his team performed. “It’s very disappointing to lose a game like that especially as we gave it our all but there were plenty of positives to take from it from our side,” he said. “Collins Obuya and Thomas Odoyo batted really well and it was great to see them play so well, two senior players really leading from the front. Nehemiah Odhiambo bowled well and that is what we want from him as, together with Thomas, he is the spearhead of our attack.”In the end it was the little errors here and there that cost us and another defeat is not nice to take but there are three games left for us in this tournament and if we can continue to improve like we did today then we will be able to take plenty away from this tournament after all,” Ouma said.Ireland continued to show why they are rated the best of the Associates by picking up their third straight victory, a five-wicket win over Scotland in a low-scoring encounter in Voorburg. Kevin O’Brien was the hero for Ireland, dragging them over the finish line after the chase of 118 was floundering at 65 for 5, in the process going past 1000 ODI runs.O’Brien top scored with a patient, unbeaten 41 and was helped by opener Paul Stirling’s brisk 37 but the other four batsmen in the top six managed only three runs between them. Scotland’s hopes of remaining undefeated were dashed by an unbroken 55-run stand between O’Brien and John Mooney which took Ireland home in the 35th over.The victory was set up by the bowlers. Scotland’s top order turned in a limp performance to be at 40 for 5 in the 20th over before Neil McCallum and wicketkeeper Dougie Lockhart put on 59 runs for the sixth wicket to at least ensure a three-figure target. McCallum battled for more than two hours but once he became the seventh Scotland wicket, his side folded in a hurry. There was no one stand-out bowler for Ireland, with Trent Johnston and Nigel Jones bagging two wickets each while three others captured one apiece.O’Brien, who won the Man-of-the-Match award, was delighted with his landmark. “It is obviously an achievement. They’re all hard-fought runs against some very good teams around the world. It is a good one to know and hopefully I can just build on it for the future for the next couple of years, including the ICC Cricket World Cup next year in the subcontinent.”Gordon Drummond, the losing captain admitted the defeat was a reality check for his side and hoped to lift in the upcoming match. He said: “We knew it was a difficult wicket to bat on. I think 150 or 160 would have been an interesting chase as there would have been more pressure on the batsmen to score quicker,” Drummond said.”We got five wickets but once the ball got softer, batting became much easier. Also, the bowlers didn’t bowl consistently and missed the right areas otherwise we might have taken 10 wickets. It’s a reality check for us and I don’t think we have played as well as we can. I think the best is yet to come from us and hopefully we’ll be able to put together for the next game against Kenya,” he said.In Rotterdam, Netherlands cruised to a seven-wicket win over Canada thanks to opener Eric Szwarczynski’s unbeaten 84. Canada are still searching for their first victory after their batsmen again failed to put up a substantial total.After choosing to bat, only three of their batsmen made it to double-digits, but captain Ashish Bagai again shone with his second half-century of the tournament. Bagai was assisted by an aggressive 34 from Geoff Barnett and a 27 from No.9 Calvert Hooper as he shepherded Canada to 168 before becoming the last man to be dismissed. Mark Jonkman and Bradley Kruger were the most successful bowlers for the home side, taking three wickets each.The Netherlands chase had an early hiccup when Tom de Grooth was lbw to Hooper, but Szwarczynski compiled 91 for the second wicket with Tom Cooper to virtually end Canada’s chances. They were a couple of quick wickets in the 90s, but Bas Zuiderent’s unbeaten 35 helped Szwarczynski confirm the victory.

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.

Young batter is poised to open for Australia in Women’s Ashes Test

Andrew McGlashan18-Jun-2023″I still feel like I’m going to watch the Ashes, I need to remind myself that I’m potentially playing it,” says Phoebe Litchfield.In a way, it’s unfair to a player to say an international career feels inevitable because, however talented, there is a huge amount of work that goes into reaching the highest level.But sometimes, a player who is clearly going to make that step pops up.In mid-2019 a social media clip of Litchfield, the left-handed batter, playing cover drives in the New South Wales nets as a 16-year-old went viral. Later that year she made her WNCL debut for NSW and WBBL debut for Sydney Thunder, in the latter scoring a half-century in her second game.In late 2022, on the T20I tour of India, she made her Australia debut and her first ODI series followed a few months later against Pakistan, in which she made 154 runs for once out.Her caveat of “potentially” playing in the Ashes is understandable for a young player who doesn’t want to jump ahead of selection calls, but it would be a huge surprise if she doesn’t add a Test cap come next week in Nottingham.Related

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The retirement of Rachael Haynes opened one vacancy and the late withdrawal of Meg Lanning created another at the top of the order. Alongside Alyssa Healy’s desire to move down the order to manage her workload, everything points to Litchfield opening the batting as she did in the warm-up match against England A.”I’m so excited, can’t put it into words,” she tells ESPNcricinfo. “The T20 tour to India and the Pakistan series here were amazing highlights but think there’s an added layer to the Ashes. If the opportunity to open arises, I’ll definitely grab it. It’s probably the best position.”Ask others about Litchfield and there is one word that crops up frequently. “Just fearless, we speak about that in our white-ball cricket, and she embodies that,” Australia’s stand-in captain Healy says.Her technique was honed by working with her father Andrew at home in Orange when she couldn’t travel to Sydney 250km away. “It started when I just picked up a bat and it was probably very backyard cricket, then as I progressed, he told me where my front elbow should go and sort of progressed from there. Wouldn’t say it’s a perfect technique, but people have said it looks alright.”There is no multi-day cricket in the Australian domestic women’s game – there isn’t in England, either – but Litchfield has experienced two-day men’s cricket when she played the local competition in Orange. Although, she adds: “To be fair, our team wasn’t that good, so we didn’t last the full day most times.”Litchfield is something of an outlier in Australian cricket as a specialist batter coming through the game. The dominance of white-ball cricket in the women’s game lends itself to multi-discipline cricketers. If you look at a possible Australian XI on the England tour, it’s potentially only Litchfield from the batting group who does not have a second string, albeit Beth Mooney plays as a specialist batter. Litchfield still keeps wicket as a back-up but has never been pushed into being something she isn’t.”I began as a bowler but bowled off the wrong foot and as soon as I went down to training sessions, they were like you can’t bowl like that because you’ll get an injury,” she says. “So, I stopped bowling early on. I was a keeper, still have that as a secondary skill, but for the time, just want to focus on being the best fielder I can be and obviously, the batting.”While Litchfield’s talent was clear from early on, there has been an evolution in her game over the last 12 months. She is adding power to her T20 cricket, while last season, she averaged 49.87 in the WNCL which included a maiden century. Litchfield may not feature in the T20s of the multi-format Ashes – although Lanning’s absence leaves a hole to fill there, too – but she wants to be as versatile as possible.”Being a full-time cricketer, I can work on my game all the time,” she says, speaking just a few days after completing university exams. “I’ve been in the nets working hard on different shots and just being able to work hard on the craft of batting. There’s a lot to work on both the power game and just mentally. Your cover drive can be good, but out in the middle, a lot can happen and it’s about weathering that.”You can’t look perfect all the time; not that I want to look perfect but leading into one-day cricket and the [Ashes] practice matches, I’ve been working hard on the technique because that’s what gets found out, especially over in England with the swinging ball.”For someone who clearly loves batting, the chance to do it for a whole day in a Test match is an exciting prospect. “I’m so keen,” she says. “Now that I’ve got an added appreciation of batting and really enjoying it, I’m excited at the prospect of batting all day. Whether my mind can do it, we’ll see, but keen to give it a crack.”