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South Australia were already assured of a spot in the final and clinched hosting rights as the game was ongoing

AAP23-Feb-2025
Mitch Owen produced another heroic batting display, crushing 149 off 69 balls in Tasmania’s thrilling two-wicket One-Day Cup win over South Australia.Ladder leaders South Australia posted a formidable 329 for 9 at Adelaide Oval courtesy of a century from Mackenzie Harvey and Daniel Drew’s 63.Related

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Owen went into overdrive in Tasmania’s run chase, cracking 14 fours and 10 sixes in a blistering knock that helped lift the visitors to 197 for 3 by the 20th over.He reached his century in just 48 balls. It was a near mirror image to his heroics in the BBL final, when his 108 off 42 balls lifted the Hobart Hurricanes to victory over the Sydney Thunder.Owen’s innings on Sunday finally came to an end when he was bowled between his legs by Wes Agar, with Tasmania slipping to 291 for 8 in the 39th over.With Tasmania still requiring 39 runs to win, Will Prestwidge (26 not out) and Tom Rogers (16 not out) dug in to see their team over the line with six balls to spare.

Dean Jones Cup Final

South Australia vs Victoria, Adelaide Oval, March 1

South Australia entered Sunday’s match knowing they had already secured a spot in the March 1 final, and they were then guaranteed hosting rights when Victoria beat New South Wales.That result catapulted Victoria from fourth to second, securing them a spot in next Saturday’s final against at Adelaide Oval. Tasmania finished the season in fifth spot with three wins, three losses and a no-result from their seven games.South Australia made a hot start on Sunday, reaching 207 for 1 by the 33rd over as Harvey and Drew took control.Allrounder Beau Webster helped limit the damage, ensuring South Australia’s total didn’t become insurmountable.Although Tasmania lost wickets at regular intervals, Owen’s explosiveness ensured they had plenty of runs on the scoreboard.The 23-year-old cracked South Australia’s attack to all parts of the ground, with Jordan Buckingham (1-79 off eight overs) and Wes Agar (2-91 off 10 overs) suffering the bulk of the punishment. Spinner Lloyd Pope was South Australia’s best bowler and found himself on a hat-trick as he nearly turned the game around for the home side.

Jack Haynes’ unbeaten fifty seals chase as Durham lose ground in congested qualification race

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay11-Jul-2025Notts Outlaws kept their qualification hopes alive with a seven-wicket victory over Durham, who began the evening as marginal North Group leaders but ended it locked in a battle for the top four places that is still impossible to call.Chasing 157 to win on a slow pitch, Jack Haynes steered the Outlaws home with an unbeaten 55 off 40 balls with two sixes, backed up by Moises Henriques (43 off 33) and Joe Clarke (43 off 26), both of whom also cleared the ropes twice as Durham were beaten with eight balls to spare.Australian seamer Daniel Sams and offspinner Matt Montgomery, with a career-best 4 for 30, led for the Outlaws with the ball as Durham were all out for 156 in precisely 20 overs. Graham Clark passed 300 for the season with three sixes in his 27-ball 44, with finisher Jimmy Neesham making 29 off 17.Although they move on to 24 points, four behind Durham, the Outlaws’ chances are slightly more tenuous with just two matches left, while Durham have three to play.Clark cleared the ropes three times in the first four overs but Durham lost three wickets in the powerplay, left-handers Alex Lees and Ben McKinney falling to top-edges as they attempted to club Montgomery’s offspin over the short leg-side boundary before Haynes took a stunning, one-handed catch at mid-off as Colin Ackermann went without scoring, just a week after plundering 83 from 33 balls against Notts at Chester-le-Street.From 52 for 3 after six, Durham were 70 for 4 after 10 as the Outlaws spinners applied the brakes on a slow surface, the opening half of the innings concluding with Clark caught on the wide long-on boundary as Montgomery picked up a third wicket. A somewhat tortured 18 off 30 by Will Rhodes ended with a second brilliant catch by Haynes on the midwicket boundary as Durham reached 104 for 5 from 15.Ollie Robinson hit Montgomery straight to cover before Neesham and Kasey Aldridge blitzed 32 off 13 balls, some 21 coming off Calvin Harrison’s final over before Sams picked up his third with Aldridge missing a full, straight one and Ollie Stone ran all the way to the 30-yard circle to claim a superb caught-and-bowled as Potts departed.Neesham fell to another excellent boundary catch as Sams claimed his first four-wicket haul for Notts and Nathan Sowter was run out off the final ball of the innings but 52 from the last five overs gave Durham something to defend.They made a good start in that respect as Matty Potts had Freddie McCann caught behind and left-arm spinner Callum Parkinson conceded just seven in his two powerplay overs but Ackermann went for 21 as Clarke twice cleared the ropes on the offside but the Notts skipper fell for 43 attempting to scoop Aldridge in the eighth, he and Haynes adding 63 off 37 balls.The Outlaws were bang on the required rate at 79 for 2 from 10 and sensible batting by Haynes and Henriques brought the target down to 38 from the last 30 balls as Durham struggled to create a chance, the Australian allrounder clearing long-off for six off Aldridge and hauling another maximum off Neesham before slicing the same bowler to fall for 43.By then, though the Outlaws were well on track, Haynes completing his fifty from 38 balls before Tom Moores pulled Neesham for the winning boundary.

Sparkling innings from replacement keeper turns close game for home side

ECB Media16-Aug-2025Trent Rockets 145 for 6 (Moores 55, Banton 49) beat Southern Brave 140 for 4 (du Plooy 55, Stoinis 2-18) by four wicketsA brilliant innings on his home county ground by Tom Moores saw Trent Rockets to a four-wicket win over Southern Brave in the Hundred men’s competition.Moores, making his first appearance in this year’s competition having only just arrived as an emergency wicketkeeper replacement, hit 55 in a partnership of 76 with Tom Banton as Rockets got home with four balls to spare.Rockets chose to bowl first on a slow surface and struck early when James Vince was bowled by one that ran across him from David Willey.Jason Roy and Leus du Plooy began to get to terms with the surface, Roy scooping Marcus Stoinis’s first ball for four. Left-hander du Plooy then slog swept Callum Parkinson for six and smashed Lockie Ferguson for a maximum over long-off.Stoinis returned to bowl Roy for 23, but du Plooy kept his own momentum going, switch-hitting Calvin Harrison into the stands and bringing up his half-century with another six off Parkinson.The game then was forced to pause for a while, the players leaving the field as Adam Hose received medical treatment after a nasty slip on the leg-side boundary. Trent Rockets later confirmed Hose had dislocated his ankle and been taken to hospital for further assessment.When play resumed, Brave looked to accelerate through Michael Bracewell and James Coles. Coles struck Ferguson for two boundaries in the final set to see the Brave reach 140 for 4, a competitive total on this Trent Bridge surface.Trent Rockets came flying out of the blocks – Banton hit the first two balls of the chase for four and then reverse-swept Coles for six from the fourth.Jordan Thompson picked up Joe Root for 6, before Jofra Archer was pulled for fours by both Banton and Rehan Ahmed as Rockets closed the powerplay on 41 for 1.Rehan then went well caught by Roy off Tymal Mills and Max Holden followed, caught by Archer off Danny Briggs. Bracewell removed Willey with his first ball but was later deposited over midwicket for the first of Moores’ five sixes, the left-hander’s arrival shifting the momentum of the match.Mills picked up his 50th wicket in the Hundred, but it came too late as Rockets reached their target.Moores, the Meerkat Match Hero, said: “It was a little bit slow at times but ultimately I felt it was a pretty good wicket. It was a nice win.”It’s great to bat with Tom [Banton], he was keeping me nice and calm and we just tried to bat together really and bounce off each other. We score in different areas so we complemented each other well.”The way I play, I’m always trying to take it to the bowler if I can. It’s always nice to do it in front of a home crowd and I thought the boys stuck at it really well after a tough thing in the field that happened to Adam [Hose] and we hope he’s all right.”

Mohammad Yousuf believes that rain saved his young team from defeat on the final day of a closely-fought Test series against New Zealand

Cricinfo staff15-Dec-2009A combination of resilience for two days and rain on the last enabled Pakistan to escape with a draw in the third Test in Napier. Chasing 208 in a minimum of 43 overs, New Zealand’s openers, BJ Watling and Tim McIntosh, added 90 in 19 overs before it began to rain and play was abandoned. Mohammad Yousuf, the Pakistan captain, was a relieved man and admitted the rain had helped Pakistan avoid defeat and secure a 1-1 draw in the series.”We were lucky. Allah helped us because of rain, otherwise it would be difficult to defend 208 on this track,” he said. “In the first innings we made 223 on this track which was very less. After that we saved the game, I think it is a good performance.”On a beautiful batting surface, Pakistan imploded in the first innings and were reduced to playing catch-up once New Zealand secured a lead of 248. The visitors put up a resolute batting effort in the second innings where six of the top seven batsmen went past fifty, a performance that pleased Yousuf.Looking back at the closely fought series, Yousuf said that the teams were similarly matched but that New Zealand had home advantage. According to him, Pakistan cricket would suffer unless they had a better balance between home and away games. “If we play some games in Pakistan, it will help our youngsters and seniors as well. It is very difficult to play away series all the time with the conditions against us”, he said.Yousuf was concerned about the inexperience in his batting line-up, but believed that the performances of Umar Akmal and Danish Kaneria were good signs for the upcoming tour of Australia. “I am worried about our batting because of lack of experience,” he said. “This game, we threw away our wickets in the second innings. The bowlers did not get our wickets. They worked hard, but we threw away the wickets.”Umar Akmal batted so well through the series. Danish Kaneria bowled well in the last two Tests. On this track, he took seven wickets, I think it’s the best bowling I’ve seen in a long time because there was no help for spinners.”Yousuf did not want to play up his side’s chances in Australia, but expected his side to play competitive cricket, irrespective of the result.

Experienced coach rewarded after leading Renegades to first WBBL title last season

Alex Malcolm18-Jun-2025Melbourne Renegades title-winning coach Simon Helmot has re-signed for a further three years after helping the club claim their first-ever WBBL trophy last season.Helmot has vast experience in the men’s game across international, domestic and franchise cricket, and took the job as Renegades’ WBBL coach four years ago. Despite an indifferent first three seasons, he helped the club claim a title last season, forging a strong bond with the group and skipper Sophie Molineux.”Last season was an incredibly special one for our playing group and staff, and I’m thrilled to be continuing as head coach,” Helmot said.Related

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“Winning a title is never easy, which makes being part of this group all the more special. Led brilliantly by our general manager, James Rosengarten, and our captain, Sophie Molineux, achieving what we did was incredibly rewarding.”We’ve got a great core group of players and people who are passionate about the club, and who are fully invested into achieving more. I’m excited by what we can do next.”Renegades have re-signed West Indies star allrounder Hayley Matthews for next season ahead of Thursday’s WBBL overseas draft but are still to lock away Molineux and fellow Australia star Georgia Wareham who are both currently uncontracted. Renegades have poached up-and-coming Victoria allrounder Tess Flintoff from Melbourne Stars but have lost Victoria duo Ella Hayward and Georgia Prestwidge to their cross-town rivals.Renegades have also signed former Victoria and South Australia fast bowler Rob Cassell as an assistant coach for the BBL team under head coach Cameron White. Cassell has also been appointed as Victoria’s men’s bowling coach under head coach Chris Rogers, taking over the role vacated by Adam Griffith, who was appointed as Australia’s national fast bowling coach earlier this year.Cassell has moved to Victoria from Tasmania where he was the bowling coach for the men’s program and is highly regarded, having done some brief secondments with Australia’s men’s team under Andrew McDonald in recent years when senior bowling coach Daniel Vettori has been absent.

Dhruv Jurel, meanwhile, is likely to take the keeping gloves from Ishan Kishan

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-2024KL Rahul is likely to open alongside Abhimanyu Easwaran in India A’s second unofficial Test against Australia A, which begins on Thursday in Melbourne. With India likely to be without Rohit Sharma at the start of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Rahul and Easwaran seem set for a direct face-off to be selected as Yashasvi Jaiswal’s opening partner for the first Test in Perth, which starts on November 22.ESPNcricinfo understands that Rahul and Dhruv Jurel, who departed for Australia before the rest of the Test squad to gain game-time playing for India A, will both feature in the Melbourne four-day game. With Rahul partnering Abhimanyu at the top, captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, who opened in the first unofficial Test in Mackay, is set to drop down into the middle order, with Jurel taking the wicketkeeping gloves from Ishan Kishan.Related

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India captain Rohit’s participation in the early part of the Australia tour is in doubt for personal reasons. There is still some uncertainty around this, and on Sunday, at the end of the 3-0 home-series defeat to New Zealand, he said he “wasn’t too sure if I’ll be going to [Perth]”.If Rohit is unavailable, India’s team management will have an interesting choice to make at the top of the order. Abhimanyu was called up to the Test squad for the Australia tour as the designated third opener, and at the time of selection had scored centuries in each of his four most recent first-class games. In all first-class cricket, Abhimanyu has 27 centuries in 100 matches, and averages 49.40.Rahul, meanwhile, was originally a candidate for the middle order. Since the 2023-24 South Africa tour, Rahul has batted exclusively in the middle order in Test cricket, scoring 339 runs in 10 innings at an average of 37.66 – higher than his career figure of 33.87 over 53 Tests – including a century at Centurion and two fifties.Rahul, however, has plenty of experience of facing the new ball overseas, and is one of only two Asian openers to have scored Test centuries in England, South Africa and Australia. Those high points, however, have come against the backdrop of a less-than-spectacular overall record as opener: 2551 runs in 75 innings at 34.94.Dhruv Jurel could put pressure on Sarfaraz Khan if he scores runs in the second unofficial Test•AFP/Getty Images

If Rahul does return to the top of the order, it will be something of a reprise of the 2021 England tour, which he began having stated his intention to bat in the middle order. Injuries to Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal, however, created a vacancy at the top, which Rahul filled on the course of a successful tour that included a century in a memorable win at Lord’s.By the start of the 2024-25 home season, Rahul’s career had gone through several further twists, and he was now established as India’s first-choice No. 6. He was left out of the first XI after the first Test against New Zealand, however, with Sarfaraz Khan – who had replaced the injured Gill in India’s XI – moving above him in the pecking order with a second-innings 150. Five visits to the crease during India’s home season brought Rahul scores of 16, 22*, 68, 0 and 12.Sarfaraz, for his part, does not start the Australia tour as a certainty in the XI. After that 150, he failed to get past 19 in four innings against New Zealand, and has never previously played Test cricket outside India. Given the pacy, bouncy conditions expected in Perth, India may yet be undecided on whether to pick Sarfaraz at No. 6, or play Rahul there – in which case Abhimanyu opens if Rohit is absent – or, in a left-field move, pick both Jurel and Rishabh Pant and play one of them as a specialist batter.With Pant unavailable while recovering from knee injuries sustained in his December 2022 car crash, Jurel made his Test debut in the home series against England earlier this year, and impressed both behind and in front of the stumps. He scored 190 runs in four innings at an average of 63.33, and his innings of 90 and 39* in a tense victory in the fourth Test in Ranchi won him the Player-of-the-Match award.Jurel has not played any Tests since Pant’s return, but has cemented his spot as India’s reserve keeper and an exciting future prospect.Given all the possible permutations in Perth, the selectors and team management will likely pay as much attention to Jurel’s displays in Melbourne with both bat and gloves as they do to those of Rahul and Abhimanyu against the new ball.