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ECB dismisses ‘speculation’ about 12-team Premier League but Division Two counties in dark

Matt Roller31-Mar-2022It seemed a long way off when Nottinghamshire’s squad photograph was interrupted by a snowstorm at Trent Bridge on Thursday morning, but the English season starts next week with a round of eight County Championship fixtures with the competition under more scrutiny than ever.After two years in which the structure of the domestic first-class game was altered by the pandemic, the Championship reverts to two uneven divisions in 2022, with ten teams in Division One and eight in Division Two. This format was originally planned to be introduced in 2020, and finishing positions for 2019 have been honoured, much to the relief of top-tier counties who have struggled in the last two years and the irritation of second-flight teams who have punched above their weight.Notts have more right to feel aggrieved than most. They were relegated in 2019 after a winless season, but made significant strides in 2021 as they finished third, four points behind champions Warwickshire in a six-team Division One after topping their early-season conference.

England must bring back selector role – Newell

England’s “red-ball reset” must include the appointment of an independent selector, according to Mick Newell, Notts’ director of cricket who spent four years in the role from 2014-18.
Ashley Giles, the ECB’s managing director of men’s cricket, handed selectorial responsibilities to head coach Chris Silverwood last year when Ed Smith was made redundant but both men have since left their roles.
“There has to be a selector, absolutely,” Newell told ESPNcricinfo. “I think it was the wrong decision. There has to be somebody making the phone calls, watching cricket, putting the time in explaining decisions to players, and doing things that the head coach shouldn’t have to do because they should be concentrating on the performance of the team.”
Newell, who was beaten to the role of managing director by Giles in 2018, said he had not applied for the vacancy this time, with Marcus North and Rob Key among the leading candidates.
Peter Moores, Notts’ head coach, said he would not categorically rule out the prospect of a third stint as England coach but that he was “pretty confident that they might not be looking my way.”

“We’ve accepted it,” Peter Moores, Notts’ head coach, told ESPNcricinfo. “We’d have liked the decision to have taken the two years after 2019 into account, but we also accept that we got relegated in 2019. Everyone’s got their head around it now and we’ve all decided that we have a job to do, which is to win that division.””We’re all disappointed that we’re in Division Two but those were the rules that they came up with, and that was the vote that was carried out,” Mick Newell, their director of cricket, added. “There’s no point blaming the ECB. It wasn’t their vote; the counties voted for this system. We feel that last year we were the third best team in the country, but we’ve got to prove it again. If we play as well as we did last year, I think we’ll be okay.”What comes next is anyone’s guess. Andrew Strauss, the ECB’s interim managing director of men’s cricket, announced earlier this month the launch of a “high-performance review” into the English game at all levels, due to be published in September so that recommendations can be implemented in time for the 2023 season, but it remains at a nascent stage.The ECB issued a statement on Thursday morning dismissing as “speculation” and “not true” newspaper reports that the Championship could be split into a 12-team ‘Premier League’ and a six-team second division. County chief executives were told the same thing in a meeting on Wednesday.Related

• Haseeb Hameed's Nottinghamshire form gives hope that dark days are behind him

• Peter Moores extends Nottinghamshire tenure after interest from PCB

• Andrew Strauss says ECB to launch high-performance review of English game

• Alec Stewart calls on England selectors to keep faith as he defends county 'breeding ground'

“The terms of reference for the Strauss report are not out yet,” Rob Andrew, Sussex’s chief executive, said on Thursday. “There’ll be a game-wide consultation – coaches, players, media, PCA, fans. This is going to be a massive piece of work. I understand why you want to ask questions on this but it’s all speculation.”Anybody that is writing anything in newspapers at the moment is making it up. Until this process starts and the consultation is worked through to whatever the end result is, you’re all speculating.”But for second-division counties, the lack of clarity is a frustration. Their finishing positions in 2022 will determine which division teams play in next year, but it may not become apparent until the final weeks of the season whether teams need to finish in the top one, two or three to get promoted. In the event of a radical restructure – three divisions of six, for example – it may be that no teams in this season’s Division Two are promoted at all.”Everyone will be thinking a little bit about 2023 without really knowing what they’re playing for,,” Newell said. “I’m not sure we’re going to get [clarity] very soon. But clearly, there will be that realisation that if you’re not in the top two, you will definitely not be in a Division One in 2023.”Division Two is going to be interesting. Durham are obviously coming back well; Sussex have strengthened their batting which had been a problem; Middlesex I think will be good with their new coach. Nobody is saying it’s a foregone conclusion that Notts will be in the top two, but it should be a good, competitive division.””If we won the division this year and then didn’t go into Division One, after getting more points than anyone else last year [across both phases of the season], then you’d think the system is wrong,” Moores added. “The whole idea of divisional cricket is to get the best teams in it but we’ve got to keep it really simple: we’ve got to try and win Division Two. What happens outside of that will be dictated by other people and then we’ll take it from there.”

South Africa shook off a week of introspection by taking two centuries off a flaccid England attack on a satisfying opening to the final Test in Centurion

The Report by David Hopps22-Jan-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSouth Africa shook off a week of introspection by taking two centuries off a flaccid England attack in a satisfying opening to the final Test in Centurion. Hashim Amla found his innings so untaxing that he might have made it in his sleep; Stephen Cook must have imagined every step of his so vividly that there would have been times when sleep was hard to find.The series has been lost, South Africa are about to relinquish their No. 1 Test ranking to India, and five changes from the side that lost in Johannesburg told of the uncertainty afflicting their cricket, but by closing at 329 for 5 they hold the upper hand here.For Amla, a 25th Test hundred was an unburdening after a sequence of low scores which contributed to him conceding the captaincy. For Cook, the unburdening came with opportunity, a Test debut at 33, one he grasped so desirously that he became the 100th batsman to make a century on Test debut. Two – Lawrence Rowe and Yasir Hameed – even had the audacity to do it twice in the match.Why is it that 100 Test batsmen, previously unchosen, have now trodden this path? There is often an advantage that bowlers have had no time to explore their deficiencies, but most influential of all must be the hunger that runs through their veins.England will rue the life offered to both batsmen – Amla on 5 and Cook on 47, and both of them fixing further attention on the wicketkeeping of Jonny Bairstow – but that should not deflect from the untroubled assembly of a second-wicket stand worth 202 in 53 overs.Both will be frustrated that they failed to cement South Africa’s authority, dismissed in identical manner, playing on, in a final session where England belatedly became attuned to their task. Amla, even at his must luxuriant, does not always concern himself with the gap between bat and pad and it was a sizeable one as he hung his bat limply against Ben Stokes. Chris Woakes silenced Cook – an indeterminate drive at a rising delivery.Amla’s sixth Test hundred against England was replete with poised off-side drives as England’s bowlers repeatedly erred in length. Cook, too, a sober-minded sort, played with a fluency that he has not always attained during his career as he has built an image of a steady accumulator. He looked what he is: a proper opener. That said, South Africa zipped along for much of the day above four an over.Four wickets in all in the final session, all with the old ball, gave England hope. AB de Villiers’ defensive jab at Stuart Broad flew to Joe Root at second slip, his second successive duck and the 10th time Broad has dismissed him in 14 Tests. JP Duminy, ambitiously high at No. 5 despite his recent double hundred in domestic cricket, then pulled at Moeen Ali’s offspin and was lbw to a straight one.It was left to Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock to re-establish South Africa’s authority against the second new ball, their unbroken stand of 56 coming with a relaxed air that belied South Africa’s anxiety to bring their losing run to an end.A Test debut at the ripe old age of 33 is something to take seriously. Cook was never going to regard it any other way. From the moment that he took guard at SuperSport Park, and despatched his first ball in Test cricket – a half volley from James Anderson – to the boundary, an air of gravitas descended upon proceedings.England’s only success on the first two sessions after they had lost the toss came from an astounding short leg catch – another one to follow two superb efforts in Johannesburg – by James Taylor.Taylor’s catch to dismiss Dean Elgar left the batsman with hands on hips in disbelief. Moeen’s offspin was given an outing in the first hour and Elgar, as is his wont when spin makes an appearance, came down the pitch to his fourth delivery with attacking intent. The ball flew forcefully to the leg side and, as Taylor moved sharp-wittedly with the batsman, the ball lodged in his midriff.Where was it? When the ball released and headed towards ground, Taylor had the instinct to clamp his legs together and somehow trapped it between right ankle and thigh. After much wrapping of hands round legs, he finally found it. England’s Danger Mouse, standing where many fear to tread, had come up with the goods again.Amla’s let-off came late in the morning session when Stokes found the edge but Alastair Cook put down a tough catch at first slip as Bairstow, initially moving towards the leg-side for no good reason before switching direction, and diving across his sightline.Bairstow’s blemish in the third over of the afternoon was in similar vein. This time Broad was the unfortunate bowler as he found Cook’s edge, the ball died low once more and Bairstow made strong contact but failed to hold on. If the errors persist, England will soon join others in wondering if his preferable role is as a specialist batsman. Jos Buttler, though, is bound for the IPL.Cook’s diligence, that escape apart, remained uninterrupted. He batted conscientiously, moving across to off stump and picking off the leg-side gaps. Occasionally, he was invited to risk a pleasing off-side drive. It is a method that has brought him much success in South African domestic cricket and it soothed the wounds of South Africa’s recent failures.A nervous hour was passed in the 90s, his mood not settled by an extended tea interval because part of the outfield had been soddened by a leaking drain – a suitable metaphor for England’s attack. On 98, he then survived an England review by virtue of an umpire’s call as Stokes swung a ball of full-length back into his pads. He clipped the next ball wide of mid-on; hundred achieved. Considering South Africa’s needs, he seems the sort likely to stick around for a while.Cook and Amla were assisted by a stodgy surface – hard to bear after the pace of the Wanderers a few miles down the road in the previous Test – and an England attack unable to summon much vigour. De Villiers’ pre-Test assertion that England had top-order weaknesses and that at least one component of their pace attack – Anderson – was highly-skilled, but down on pace, looked what it was: less a declaration of war as a reasonable statement of the facts.Anderson needed three wickets to go past Richard Hadlee into seventh place in the Test wickets list, but he was no closer by the close, swing again eluding him. Woakes, the replacement for the injured Steven Finn, who had been the best England bowler in the series, one hot flush from Broad apart, had not bowled since the first Test in Durban and was in dire form, length and line awry, disappearing at five an over until he redressed matters slightly after tea.As far as Cook’s father, watching intently from the stands, was concerned, Cook’s Test debut at 33 made him a mere stripling compared to Jimmy himself who was 39 when he made his Test debut against India, got a first-baller and played only twice more. Few batsmen of such quality have been so lightly rewarded. His son is already more blessed.South Africa’s record in Tests at Centurion is outstanding – except in Tests against England. They have won 15 out of 20 matches at the venue, with just two defeats, most recently against a Mitchell Johnson-inspired Australia in 2014. England’s batsmen will have to outstrip the standards of the bowlers to threaten them from here.

Queensland wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson talks about Swepson’s development as he’s set for a Test debut in Karachi

Andrew McGlashan11-Mar-2022Few people have had a better view of Mitchell Swepson’s development over the last few seasons than Queensland wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson.Peirson, who also captains Queensland when Usman Khawaja is away on Australia duty, is certain that Swepson is ready for the Test debut that will now come his way in Karachi on Saturday. After a week where the game has mourned the death of the greatest legspinner of them all, Shane Warne, it will be poignant when Swepson becomes cap No. 464.He will be just the second specialist legspinner to debut for Australia’s men’s Test team since Warne’s retirement, after Bryce McGain’s one-off appearance in 2009, having first toured with Australia on the 2017 trip to India.”I’ve kept to him a long time and when he was younger he’d probably give you two or three bad balls an over, but as he’s gone on, and particularly the last two seasons, you just don’t get bad balls from him very often,” Peirson told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s unbelievable consistency and he’s bowling all his variations and landing them exactly where he wants to. You pair that up with his cricket knowledge, how he’s understanding his game and how to play certain scenarios, and I think he’s starting to become the full package.”Swepson enjoyed a breakout season in 2020-21 when he claimed 32 wickets at 23.40 in five Sheffield Shield matches to help Queensland to the title. This summer was tougher with just a single wicket from the two Shield matches he was able to play while being part of the T20 World Cup and Ashes squads – he only bowled two overs against New South Wales – alongside claiming four wickets for Australia A against England Lions in December.But it was the three matches in the Adelaide-based hub at the start of last season, where Swepson claimed 23 wickets and twice bowled Queensland to final-day victories and almost another against New South Wales, that gave an indication of the bowler he had developed into.”At the Gabba he probably doesn’t get the spin he would usually get, he gets the bounce which is also his friend, but playing a lot more games down south, and on day three, day four wickets which have started to deteriorate he’s come into his own,” Peirson said. “It’s fantastic to see that, knowing that if he does get the conditions then he’ll be really dangerous for Australia.”Swepson’s economy rate of under three an over is also eye-catching but Peirson always sees him as a wicket-taking option although Pat Cummins did note how he believed Swepson would be able to do a holding role.”First and foremost, Swepo is your attacking option, that’s why you are playing a legspinner,” Peirson said. “He’s not like a fingerspinner, he’s not holding as the quicks attack from one end, he’s coming on to take wickets. That’s how we’ve used him in Queensland and I think how he will be used moving forward in most teams he plays for. When he’s attacking, setting good fields and the ball is spinning, the scoreboard will naturally stop because he’s bowling so consistently.Having a frontline legspinner as part of a twin-spin attack will be another new chapter in Cummins’ young captaincy career as well, but Peirson has seen enough of Swepson to know he can also look after himself in the middle. He and Cummins will also have the benefit of Khawaja at close quarters.”That’s why he’s such a lovely spinner to have in the team because he knows what he wants to do,” he said. “He’s right at the top of his game in that sense with his skills and how he mentally approaches the game with his tactics. He’s someone who is a pleasure to captain and keep to because he knows what he needs to do.”Sure we can come up with ideas with him, but he has a very clear idea of how he wants to start his spell and that’s really refreshing as a captain. Then you can work together as the day goes on. He’s a forward-thinking spinner. He’s been around Nathan Lyon for a long time and has learnt so much.””It will be a new one for Pat to work out how to best use those guys. We’ve played two spinners before for Queensland and Uzzie was captain so he certainly has the knowledge of how he used Swepo and he’s someone Pat can lean on. I’m intrigued as a viewer to see how they use him.”

“The word from anyone overseas that I chat to is they don’t want to come here for that long and be stuck”

AAP24-Jan-2022Peter Siddle has urged BBL administrators to trim the length of the season but believes they were right to block Steven Smith’s request to play.Siddle’s Adelaide Strikers will face Sydney Sixers at the SCG on Wednesday night, when the winner advances to Friday night’s final against Perth Scorchers at Marvel Stadium. This season will end within school holidays. But concerns about its length, routinely raised since a broadcast deal in 2018 resulted in the competition expanding to a full home-and-away season, remain.Related

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Strikers spinner Rashid Khan and Sixers opener James Vince are among the international recruits to have already departed Australia.Siddle believes this summer, in which fixtures have been repeatedly rejigged because of Covid-19 cases, shows it is possible to squeeze the tournament into a tighter window.”It’s not a hidden fact that it is a bit long,” Siddle said after being named captain of the BBL’s team of the tournament. “Making it shorter is the key focus. The word from anyone overseas that I chat to is their biggest worry is they don’t want to come here for that long and be stuck.”If you’re a shorter tournament, you’re probably not losing guys like Rashid Khan, James Vince, Sandeep [Lamichhane]. This year we’ve had to rearrange games…now we realise that maybe to make this season shorter, we might have to play back-to-back games and do different things.”The decision from CA to deny the Sixers’ attempt to sign Smith for the finals has been widely criticised. Siddle disagreed, arguing it was a simple case of “rules are rules”.”They need to be followed sometimes and obviously they just fell a little bit late for the Sixers,” he said. “It’s probably no different to us having Heady [Travis Head] and Kez [Alex Carey] on contract for the whole season. That’s the risk you take.”Sixers opted against signing Smith because they believed he would be part of Australia’s ODI series against New Zealand, which was ultimately postponed.Meanwhile, Siddle also defended Fawad Ahmed after he claimed a contentious catch in Sunday night’s win over Sydney Thunder.Thunder captain Usman Khawaja said he accepted the umpire’s decision but “it looked like a blade of grass 100 percent touched the ball”.”I was at cover, so I had a good view,” Siddle said. “It looked clean live. Back in the day it would have been – you just take the fielder’s word for it and it’s out.”I enjoyed the good old days where you take a word for it, get over it and move on. Line ball, that’s the game.”

The hosts have their senior group back, while BPL experience should stand the visitors in good stead

Mohammad Isam22-Feb-2022

Big picture

ODI cricket is always welcomed with open arms in Bangladesh, and the three-match series against Afghanistan couldn’t have come at a better time. Super League points are at stake for both teams, but for the home side, there’s more: Bangladesh are trying to turn a corner after a difficult couple of years; the Miracle in Mount Maunganui was a huge respite, but it’s now in the past, and this ODI series could be the start of some course correction.Bangladesh’s series-winning run at home stretch back four years; they have lost just one bilateral series at home in eight years now. The Bangladesh selectors, already armed with all the senior players returning to the side, have also brought in a raft of recent (T20 and Test) performers, and the four uncapped players – Yasir Ali, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Ebadot Hossain and Nasum Ahmed – are likely to feature at different times in the series.Afghanistan, who have played only a single bilateral ODI series this year – against Netherlands, with the previous one coming in January 2021 against Ireland – have their task cut out. But they have a reputation in Bangladesh – especially after their breakthrough win against the home side in the 2014 Asia Cup, they are regarded as dangerous opponents in these shores. They played a three-match ODI series in Bangladesh in late 2016 too, but lost 2-1.Cricketers from Afghanistan are regulars in the BPL. During this season’s tournament, the Minister Group Dhaka team selected only Afghan players as their overseas picks.The visitors have Mohammad Nabi back in the ODI fold, and that will give them 30 overs of spin (with Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman). Mujeeb will feel good about himself too, having last week helped Fortune Barishal to the BPL final. Hashmatullah Shahidi, Rahmat Shah and Najibullah Zadran are there to marshal the middle-order, while Rahmanullah Gurbaz is expected to give them fast starts.Bangladesh have Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim back, which will give them middle-order firepower. Shakib and Mehidy Hasan Miraz should be a handful with the ball, while Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman will lead the pace attack.

Form guide

Bangladesh WWWLW
Afghanistan WWWWWAfghanistan will hope Rahmanullah Gurbaz gives them good starts•Abu Dhabi Cricket

In the spotlight

Afghanistan will hope that Rahmanullah Gurbaz, their hottest new T20 property, comes good at the top of the order. Gurbaz made a century against Netherlands in their last ODI series, and has been scoring heavily in the PSL. He has some experience of playing in Bangladesh, having played in the 2019-20 BPL.There is a lot of hope around Mahmudul Hasan Joy, and even Tamim Iqbal has backed the young man to be the next big thing, in both in the top and the middle-order. Mahmudul, who broke through with his 78 against New Zealand in the Mount Maunganui Test in January, is likely to bat at five or six in the ODIs. He has shown a bit of white-ball promise in the BPL too, so managing expectations could be one of his first tasks.

Team news

Mahmudul seems in front of Yasir to win a middle-order place in the first ODI. Bangladesh are also likely to field a three-man pace attack, in which case Shoriful Islam may get the nod over Ebadot because of his left-arm angle.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Litton Das, 2 Tamim Iqbal (capt), 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Mahmudul Hasan Joy/Yasir Ali, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Afif Hossain, 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Shoriful Islam, 10 Taskin Ahmed, 11 Mustafizur RahmanFor Afghanistan, Riaz Hassan is likely to hold on to his spot after the half-century in the third ODI against Netherlands. Nabi will be a shoo-in at No. 6, while Yamin Ahmadzai is likely to replace Qais Ahmad, pace for spin.Afghanistan (probable): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Riaz Hassan, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), 5 Najibullah Zadran, 6 Mohammad Nabi, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 9 Yamin Ahmadzai, 10 Fareed Ahmad, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi

Pitch and conditions

The 11am start time suggests that the Bangladesh team management didn’t want to take a chance with the famed dew at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram. The average first-innings score in the last five ODIs at this venue is 254. The weather should mostly be dry.

Stats and trivia

• Afghanistan have won each of their last six ODIs, making it their longest winning streak in the format.
• In the last ten years, Bangladesh have a win-loss record of 6-1 in ODIs in Chattogram. Their only defeat came against England in 2016.

Quotes

“We have always done well against them (Afghanistan) in ODIs. There’s no doubt that they are a good side. They have a good bowling attack, but we have done well against them. Those who will play tomorrow, everyone is in good form.”
“To be honest, we think about the whole team. We plan for everyone (in the Bangladesh team). We know their strength and weak points. We are working on it. (But I mainly) care about our strengths, our boys, my team. We have a good team here. I have confidence in all our departments.”

In a small chase, they stumbled to 65 for 6 before Agar’s calm helped seal the deal

Andrew McGlashan07-Aug-2021It may not rank particularly high in Australia’s sporting achievements today as the Olympics draws to a finish, but the cricketers avoided a series whitewash against Bangladesh with a three-wicket win in a low-scoring scrap on a devilishly tricky surface.The home side made them sweat for it, too, and when the chase subsided to 65 for 6 – with 30 of those runs having come when Dan Christian took Shakib Al Hasan for five sixes in an over – it looked like they could pull off an extraordinary victory. However, Ashton Agar produced a calm and clever innings to take Australia to the brink of the target alongside Ashton Turner.This entire series has been hard work for batters, and this match took it to another level. Bangladesh were set back by the excellent Josh Hazlewood, stumbled against the recalled Mitchell Swepson and only crossed three figures in the final over when Mahedi Hasan struck an enterprising 23 off 16 balls.Christian’s promotionWhen Matthew Wade fell in the first over the chase, missing an arm-ball from Mahedi that went between bat and pad, Australia signalled a change of intent. Christian walked in at No. 3 and it was clear from ball one that he was going to play his strokes. He thumped his second ball for four and then the fourth over against Shakib, he unleashed with five sixes in the arc from long-on to deep midwicket. Only the fourth ball of the over did not go over the rope when Shakib manage to toss one wider that spun to beat the bat. At 45 for 1 after four overs the chase was almost half done, but things had changed before the Powerplay was over with Ben McDermott lbw to Nasum Ahmed and then Christian carving Mustafizur Rahman to point as the left-arm started with a wicket maiden.Surely not, AustraliaThe tension started to grow, Bangladesh sensed Australia were vulnerable and it felt like Australia knew it themselves. Except for a thumping inside-out drive by Mitchell Marsh, he and Moises Henriques were cautious. There was no rush, of course, given the required rate but it did not feel convincing. Then a moment of fortune for Bangladesh when Marsh’s firm drive clipped Shakib’s fingers and went onto the stumps with Henriques short of his crease. Alex Carey was kept quiet by Mahedi and then pinned lbw by another superb cutter from Mustafizur. Five balls later, Marsh played inside one from Mahedi and Bangladesh were favourites before Turner and Agar combined. The tension was broken somewhat when Agar slog-swept Nasum with just enough power to clear deep midwicket in what became a little gem of an innings under pressure.Shakib’s tough nightAside from the finger-tip run out, it was not a night that Shakib will remember too fondly but it can happen to the best of them. Like most batters he could not get going, labouring to 15 off 26 balls after Bangladesh had made a relatively and deceptively brisk start. He was kept quiet by Agar, Turner and Andrew Tye before eventually falling when he tried to cut Hazlewood. With the ball, he responded well from going for 30 in one over but figures of 4-0-50-0 in a low-scoring match certainly stood out.Swepson grabs his chanceThis was just Swepson’s second outing of the twin tours to West Indies and Bangladesh but he took his chance to make a mark with his best figures of a short T20I career. He trapped Mahmudullah lbw sweeping then pinned Nurul Hasan first ball with a googly although couldn’t join Nathan Ellis with a hat-trick. But he did claim a third when Mohammad Naim, who top scored with 28 off 36 balls, top-edged a slog sweep. If a third frontline spinner is needed for the World Cup he should be locked in.

A stuttering top order and a lame effort with the ball saw Delhi Daredevils succumb for the ninth time in 12 matches, while Rajasthan Royals sounded out a warning with a nine-wicket thumping

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando07-May-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
–>A stuttering top order and a lame effort with the ball consigned Delhi Daredevils to their ninth loss in 12 matches, while Rajasthan Royals sounded a warning with a nine-wicket thumping that embellished their unbeaten home record, and propelled them to second place on the table.Royals’ seventh straight victory in Jaipur was founded first on robust bowling, as Siddharth Trivedi, Shane Watson, Stuart Binny and 41-year-old debutant Pravin Tambe struck upon a collective consistency that erased the damage done in Shaun Tait’s early, wayward overs. Their openers then flew to an unbeaten century stand in staggeringly orthodox fashion, and ensured Daredevils’ modest total would not challenge them.Ajinkya Rahane, who opened alongside Rahul Dravid, was dropped on 4, but did hardly a misdeed thereafter, as he finished not out on 63 from 45 balls, after he hit the winning run in the 18th over. Dravid had more of the strike in the early overs, and though he was the slower scorer, reached his fifty first, before departing for 53, with the match almost secure, at 108 for 1.It was Royals’ bowling, however, that had the bigger impact on the match, as they muzzled a seasoned Delhi Daredevils top order, despite their strike bowler’s indiscretions. Tait began the match with an 11-run over, three wides among those runs, and his second cost 17, later in the Powerplay. But James Faulkner and Watson had struck once each in between those Tait overs, and that was enough to scare Mahela Jayawardene and David Warner into relative reticence.On a pitch so full of runs, Daredevils did not hesitate to bat first, but the visitors were barely scoring at six an over inside the Powerplay, and when Warner departed in the eighth over to leave his side at 47 for 3, the run rate dipped further still. Jayawardene attempted a measured rescue, but fell too, before he could make any meaningful impact, and were it not for a well-paced 64 not out from Ben Rohrer, whose recent nuptials had evidently done him good, Daredevils may not have reached 154 for 4 on a pitch on which they should have made 180.Royals’ openers exploited Daredevils bowling, and the pair went about playing orthodox cricket, with just the level of aggression required for such a chase. Daredevils’ seam bowlers strayed towards the pads too often, and Dravid laced the first four of the innings through the leg side, and continued to prosper there, throughout his innings. Rahane began with more nerves – an inside edge past the stumps in the eighth over in addition to the early life – but he found the going simple enough in the end, thanks largely to the largesse of the bowlers. Watson arrived after Dravid’s fall in the 14th over and struck two powerful fours off Umesh Yadav almost immediately, as Rahane coasted beyond 50 at the other end. The pair blasted one six apiece in the 17th over to take their side to the brink.

Pakistan need to regroup even as rain forecast swirls around second ODI

Matt Roller09-Jul-2021

Big Picture

It’s a week short of two years since England played an ODI at Lord’s, and barring a 500-plays-500 tie, it’s hard to see how Saturday will match their last outing there. The euphoria on London’s streets in the past two weeks as England’s footballers edge closer and closer to European Championship glory has rarely been matched in terms of scale, but the scene in Trafalgar Square on July 14, 2019 was as close as another sport has come to replicating it in recent memory – limbs flying and beer thrown when Jos Buttler ran Martin Guptill out three miles away as England won their first 50-over World Cup.Needless to say, Saturday’s cast will be much-changed from the group that lifted the trophy, with only two of the 15 World Cup winners involved in both squads. In the aftermath of that final, the idea of Ben Stokes captaining England in an ODI in 2021 would have involved Eoin Morgan retiring prematurely and an injury to Buttler as a bare minimum, but these are unprecedented circumstances. Stokes’ involvement in Thursday’s thrashing at Cardiff was minimal, bowling a single over and being unused as a batter, but he can expect a greater role on Saturday.The other survivor is James Vince, whose international career looked as good as over until sporadic namechecks from Morgan while he was scoring freely in the BBL over the winter and this week’s last-minute recall. Vince was on the field as a sub fielder for Mark Wood during the Super Over two years ago, but one intervention he made in the final is little-known. With two required off the last ball, Vince came out as 12th man with a towel and a drink. “‘I think we win if we get a single,’ Vincey told me,” Stokes recalled in his book – mercifully, he checked the details with Marais Erasmus, rather than clipping a single into the leg side and celebrating with open arms on reaching the non-striker’s end only to find out there was still work to do.Much as Lord’s holds fond memories for Stokes and Vince, England have not been hugely successful there over the last six years. Since the start of the 2015-19 World Cup cycle, Lord’s is the only home ground where they have lost as many games as they have won, including a heavy defeat to Australia in the tournament itself. In his book , England’s white-ball analyst Nathan Leamon puts this down to two things: there has been more lateral movement for seamers at Lord’s than any other ground in ODIs, and overall scoring rates have been the slowest of any venues. Neither of those suits their batting-heavy strategy.Pakistan, by contrast, have won four of their last five ODIs at Lord’s, including victories against South Africa and Bangladesh in the 2019 World Cup. They will have a returning home crowd to content with – an English cricket ground will be at 100% capacity for the first time since 2019 – but a significant proportion will be made up of the Pakistani diaspora from around the UK.There is plenty to be said for Shahid Afridi’s advice to Pakistan this week – “We should forget this match as soon as possible!” he tweeted – given their recent record in 50-over cricket. They had lost one (two including a Super Over against Zimbabwe) of their last dozen ODIs heading into this series, and while a heavy defeat against a second-string side was humbling, it seems unlikely that Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam will fail to score a run between them for the second game in a row. England have won four consecutive tosses in their home ODIs this summer – if their luck finally runs out, Pakistan will be keen to bowl first under dark skies.

Form Guide

England WWWLW
Pakistan LWLWT

In the spotlight

Cardiff’s short straight boundaries are unforgiving for spinners, not least when bowling from the River Taff End when the risk of being chipped into the drink is all too real. As a result, Matt Parkinson‘s returns – 2 for 28 from seven overs – in the first ODI were pleasing for England. That said, while conditions were not conducive to legspin, the game situation meant he was not put under pressure by any recognised batters, and Saturday will probably be a bigger test. Discussion around Parkinson revolves around his pace (or lack thereof) and his struggles to left-handers, given his googly is still a work in progress; a strong series against a good batting line-up would help him answer both questions.Babar Azam‘s superlative record in England – 1006 ODI runs at 47.90 in 24 innings – was dented by his second-ball duck on Thursday, playing away from his body as he searched for bat on ball against the fiery Saqib Mahmood, but it is rare for him to fail twice in a row. His three ODI innings at Lord’s to date have brought scores of 30, 69 and 96, and he will be keen to consolidate his position as the ICC’s No. 1-ranked batter in the format, too.

Pitch and conditions

Saturday’s forecast for NW8 is not ideal, with dark clouds and persistent rain due throughout the morning, but the suggestion is that it should clear up in time for long enough to avoid a no-result. Lord’s has been relatively high-scoring in this year’s T20 Blast, with the three teams batting first posting 223, 183 and 166, but with the current batch of white balls swinging for prolonged periods at the start of an innings, conditions are likely to suit seamers early on.

Team news

It would be harsh for England to discard any of the side that routed Pakistan so comprehensively in Cardiff, though with three matches scheduled in six days, they may opt to give one of the seamers a rest, with Tom Helm, Jake Ball and David Payne the candidates to come in. With the bat, they will surely want to give Ben Duckett an opportunity at some stage in the series, but John Simpson can expect to keep the gloves on his home ground.England: (possible) 1 Phil Salt, 2 Dawid Malan, 3 Zak Crawley, 4 James Vince, 5 Ben Stokes (capt), 6 John Simpson (wk), 7 Lewis Gregory, 8 Craig Overton/Jake Ball, 9 Brydon Carse/Tom Helm, 10 Saqib Mahmood, 11 Matt ParkinsonPakistan were blown away so quickly that it was difficult to evaluate any individual performers on Thursday, and they are likely to stick with the same core and balance. Debutant Saud Shakeel was one of Mahmood’s four victims and it would be harsh to dispense with him after a single game, while the recalled Sohaib Maqsood showed a glimpse of his power-hitting when flogging Carse over cover for six. Haris Rauf bowled with good pace but was relatively expensive, and Mohammad Hasnain is waiting in the wings for an opportunity.Pakistan: (possible) 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Babar Azam (capt), 4 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 5 Saud Shakeel, 6 Sohaib Maqsood, 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Hasan Ali, 10 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 11 Haris Rauf/Mohammad Hasnain.

Stats and trivia

• Ben Stokes will become the 25th England player to reach 100 caps in men’s ODIs, drawing level with Nick Knight. Eoin Morgan, the man he is standing in for, has the most, with 223 (and a further 23 for Ireland).
• Fakhar Zaman is the third-highest run-scorer in men’s ODIs this calendar year, with 349 runs in four innings. Mushfiqur Rahim (407 in nine) and Paul Stirling (546 in eight) are the two men ahead of him.
• Dawid Malan has made two fifties in his first four ODIs. If he can continue his run-scoring form, he is in with a chance of becoming the second England player to score an international hundred in all three formats, after Heather Knight.
• A comfortable win would see Pakistan leapfrog Australia and Bangladesh (on net run-rate) to go second in the World Cup Super League table.
• Zak Crawley has scored 378 runs in three innings against Pakistan in all formats, compared to 384 runs in 22 innings against all other international opponents.
  

  Quotes

  “Within sport we’re slightly in a different place to the public and having to be pretty careful with regards to Covid and not picking it up. It is slightly strange being stuffed in your hotel rooms when a lot of people are roaming around free but equally, it allows us to play in front of full houses and have this opportunity.”
  
  “It wasn’t a shocker but one bad day. Every day isn’t the same so I have a full confidence and belief on my boys and I will still tell them not to worry. There are ups and downs but you have to learn quickly from your mistakes. We will try our best to bounce back and not repeat our mistakes.”

James Pattinson has conceded he did not take his axeing from the Test side well on Monday but has come around to the realisation the severe punishment was necessary for letting his team-mates down

Brydon Coverdale12-Mar-2013James Pattinson has conceded he did not take his axeing from the Test side well on Monday but has come around to the realisation the severe punishment was necessary for letting his team-mates down. Pattinson, Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson and Usman Khawaja were all told they would not be considered for the Mohali Test starting on Thursday due to their failure to complete a task on how they and the team could improve following the innings loss in Hyderabad.After the decision was made by the coach Mickey Arthur, captain Michael Clarke and team manager Gavin Dovey, Watson flew home to be with his pregnant wife but also said he would consider his future as a cricketer. Pattinson, Johnson and Khawaja remained with the squad and trained as usual on Tuesday, and they will be available for selection for the fourth Test in Delhi after serving their one-match penalty in Mohali.”We had a training session yesterday and we apologised to the team about it,” Pattinson said on Tuesday. “It does hurt, missing a Test match. It’s not only that, you let your team down as well. At the time I was told I was quite upset. At the start I didn’t take it as well as I probably could have. The easy thing for me was to make excuses and say it’s a harsh punishment.”But the reality is it’s not – it’s part of playing cricket for Australia. You’ve got to do everything right. It wasn’t hard for the other 12 blokes to get it in on time and they took the time out to really reflect and do what’s best for the team whereas we four didn’t. Right now I’m still hurting about it but in the long run I think it’s going to make us a better team.”Following the loss by an innings and 135 runs, the tenth biggest margin for an Australian defeat in Test history, Arthur asked every player in the squad to think about where they and the team had gone wrong and could improve. They were given four days to complete the task and while 12 did so by the Saturday night deadline, four had still not by Monday morning.”It was one of those things where I didn’t put in 100% for the team,” Pattinson said. “At this level you can’t forget. It’s pretty cut throat and personally not good enough. It wasn’t a hard task at all and it was something that was very valuable for the team going forward. It comes down to preparation for a Test, you can prepare in the nets and the batting, bowling and fielding but preparing off the field as well is just as important.”It shows a lack of respect to the coach, the captain as well, and the rest of the team. I know if I was in their position, as a team member, I’d be quite disappointed in them for being a bit selfish. People talk about it as a harsh punishment but looking deeply into it you realise probably it’s not. If you want to be part of the Australian cricket team you have to do everything right. It’s not acceptable. I believe it’s the right punishment. Everyone in the group needs to understand that this is the lengths we need to go to to be successful as a team.”On Monday, Clarke and Arthur were at pains to stress that their extreme decision was the result not only of the players failing to complete this task, but also because the squad in general had been lax over the course of the tour and an example needed to be made. The initial reaction from a number of former players was one of disbelief that four men would be left out due to what might have seemed a trivial oversight, but Pattinson said in a young playing group he understood the need to build a positive culture.”They’re entitled to their opinion and a lot of the players that are saying that were great players and they probably didn’t have to deal with this stuff because they were in a period of time when they were on top of the world,” Pattinson said. “We’re in a different position. We’re trying to build a culture. We’ve got a lot of young guys. I think other people are starting to come around a bit more and understand the reasons behind it.”It’s not massive things. A lot of people are saying it’s just for not handing something in but it’s more than that. It’s little things like sometimes being late for something. You can give fines for that but that’s only so much. You talk about being late to things, the worst thing is actually being excluded from something. Being excluded from the team, being excluded from playing a Test match. That’s what hurts the most.”Australia will miss Watson in Mohali, the venue where he made his last Test century, but Pattinson will be arguably an even bigger loss on a pitch expected to offer more bounce for the fast men. Pattinson has taken eight wickets at 23.62 on this tour so far, twice as many wickets as any other Australian bowler, but he said the bigger picture for Australia was not just about this Mohali Test but about creating a strong team structure in the longer term.”Hopefully we’ve got the talent to one day be a great team,” Pattinson said. “We’ve got a huge period with the back-to-back Ashes that are going to be important. I think we must get these little niggling things out of the way now and send a message that come Ashes time we will be ready to go – and united as a group – to perform there, because the Ashes are massive for us and we are striving to get back against the Poms.”

Somerset well placed to consolidate second place in group after only 9.3 overs are possible on third day

ECB Reporters Network08-May-2021Rain and bad light frustrated Somerset’s push for victory with just nine-and-a-half overs bowled before play was abandoned after just 45 minutes late on Saturday at the Ageas Bowl.Hampshire closed the day on 110 for 4 in their second innings – still trailing Somerset by 147 runs – with opener Joe Weatherley unbeaten on 34 and skipper James Vince 5 not out.A heavy overnight downpour in Southampton left the outfield saturated as ground staff worked from 10am to dry off the standing water before play finally got underway at 5.30pm with a minimum of 16 overs to be bowled.Weatherley and Sam Northeast came out to bat in perfect seam bowling conditions, their side on 92 for 3 as heavy clouds enveloped the ground and with the floodlights on.The pair did well to survive some testing bowling from Craig Overton and Lewis Gregory as Somerset pushed hard for early wickets.Related

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But it was the excellent Overton who finally made the breakthrough with his fourth wicket of the innings, as Northeast mistimed a push towards mid-wicket and George Bartlett took a stunning one-handed catch at short-leg.However, the visitors’ joy was short-lived as play was abandoned by umpires Graham Lloyd and Alex Wharf due to bad light.The forecast is better for Sunday with Somerset looking well placed to consolidate their second-place spot in Group Two after leaders Gloucestershire beat Middlesex at Lord’s.