All posts by n8rngtd.top

Prolific Sophie Devine ensures New Zealand open with victory

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Hayley Jensen equaled her career-best to help pull Sri Lanka from a brisk start

Report by Andrew McGlashan22-Feb-2020Sophie Devine wants to lead by example as New Zealand captain it was no surprise that she was unbeaten to marshal her team to a victory that stretched them for stages. In the end, though, the margin was comfortable with 14 balls to spare as Sri Lanka’s lack of power with the bat beyond Chamari Atapattu again hurt them.However, it was Sri Lanka who made the early running and they were 51 without loss after the powerplay with New Zealand a little untidy and getting a touch nervous that the target could be troublesome. Amelia Kerr made the first breakthrough, then it was Hayley Jensen who played the key role by equalling her career-best, the pair taking 5 for 37 in eight overs as Sri Lanka’s second 10 overs brought just 52 runs.Devine, who is in the form of her life, was dropped on 18 but while she anchored the innings – shelving the full-on aggression seen recently – it was Maddy Green who seized the moment to put New Zealand ahead of the rate with a perfectly paced middle-order innings.Atapattu applies pressureNew Zealand nearly broke through in the opening over but Green could not quite cling on to a chance at point to remove Hasini Perera that would have been an early contender for catch of the tournament. Overall, though, in the early exchanges Lea Tahuhu bowled a touch too short on a surface offering enticing carry. Atapattu, who enjoys batting in Australia after two hundreds on the tour late last year, collected a couple of early boundaries. Jess Kerr’s first over cost 13 with the aid of five wides and four byes – Rachel Priest was untidy behind the stumps – and Atapattu signed off the powerplay with a magnificent lofted cover drive for six. New Zealand knew they were in a contest.Power fades awayThe theme of Sri Lanka’s batting is what is there beyond Atapattu, especially when it comes to scoring at the rate required in T20Is. It wasn’t quite a lone hand here – Perera played nicely in the opening stand of 60, showing inventiveness to scoop over fine leg, although the strike-rate was 71 and Harshitha Madavi scored at a run-a-ball – but there remained a stark contrast. Once Atapattu fell, jabbing a full delivery off the toe of the bat back to Tahahu, New Zealand claimed full control on the innings. Outside of Atapattu’s five fours and two sixes there were only three further fours and a late six for Madavi. In fact, from when the opening stand was broken the remaining 12.2 overs brought 67 for 7. Jensen was key to this with a fine spell of wicket-to-wicket medium pace and clever use of cross-seamers, including two wickets in two balls in the 15th over.Contrasting powerplaysThere wasn’t a blazing start from New Zealand against some accurate Sri Lanka bowling. The first three overs brought just 10 before Devine slotted away a couple of boundaries against Achini Kulasuriya, but in the fifth over Priest was found short, beaten by Madavi’s direct hit, from a poor piece of running which continued her below par evening. After six overs, New Zealand were 25 for 1, half of what Sri Lanka had, and they had to make sure they did not leave themselves too much to do.Fielding hurts Sri LankaIf Sri Lanka wanted to secure a first-ever victory over New Zealand they had to hold their chances, but both Devine and Suzie Bates were dropped. Bates’ came before she had scored and got a thick edge to slip where Madavi spilled it. Devine’s key reprieve came two overs later when she tried to break the shackles down the ground, Ana Kanchana unable to steady herself under the catch at long-on. Still, at the halfway mark New Zealand had not quite broken the back of the chase and then Bates drove a catch to cover against young spinner Kavisha Dilhari. However, Dilhari’s second over is where the game took its major shift as 14 came off it including a free hit – after a front-foot no-ball called under the new system by the TV umpire – was flicked over midwicket by Green, who batted superbly to take the pressure off Devine. With the target close, Devine was dropped again at deep midwicket which highlight one of the major differences of the night.

MS Dhoni 'doesn't want to' play for India again, says Harbhajan Singh

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The offspinner speaks to Rohit Sharma on Dhoni’s future and India’s 2019 World Cup exit

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Apr-2020As far as Harbhajan Singh is concerned, MS Dhoni will never play for India again. Harbhajan, who trained with Dhoni in March at the Chennai Super Kings’ preparatory camp for the IPL, said the former India captain had “played enough” for India.Recently, as soon as the BCCI postponed the IPL indefinitely, the first question that popped up in Indian cricket was: what does this mean for Dhoni, who will turn 39 in July?India head coach Ravi Shastri had said that Dhoni, who has not played any cricket since last July, when India lost in the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup, would need to prove his form in the IPL to be in contention for selection in the T20 World Cup, scheduled in Australia this October-November.Talking to Rohit Sharma, India’s vice-captain in limited-overs cricket, during an Instagram chat on Thursday, Harbhajan said the 2019 World Cup was where Dhoni might have ended his India career even though he would continue playing the IPL.”I was at the Chennai (Super Kings) camp, and a lot of people asked me, “Is Dhoni going to play? Will he be selected at the [T20] World Cup?” I said, “I don’t know, it’s up to him”. Whether he wants to play or not, it’s his decision,” Harbhajan told Sharma.ALSO READ: MS Dhoni hits the CSK nets“He [Dhoni] will 100% play the IPL, but does he want to play for India anymore, that’s the first thing we need to find out,” Harbhajan said. “Does he feel like it or not? As far as I know, he doesn’t want to. (he’s done playing for India), and as far as I know him, I don’t think he would want to wear the blue jersey again. When it comes to playing for India, I think he had decided that whichever was India’s last [2019] World Cup match was – final, semi-final – would be his last match too. That’s what I feel. A couple of people had told me, too, that this is how it will be.”Sharma said he and his India team-mates were not aware of Dhoni’s thought process after last year’s World Cup. “We have not got any news,” he said. “World Cup’s last match was in July, since then until now we have not heard any news. [So we] have no idea [about Dhoni].”Recalling the World Cup exit, Sharma regretted India’s bating in the first ten overs. India were 24 for 4 at the end of the first powerplay. Asked by Sharma to compare the limited-overs teams he was part of to the current one led by Virat Kohli, Harbhajan said India’s current white-ball teams were over-reliant on the top order, lacking consistent support from the middle order.”The current team, what I see from the outside, is too dependent on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. And the team doesn’t have a lot of self-belief. There are very good players for sure, but there’s no belief that if Virat and Rohit get out… 70% of the matches get out of our hands when that happens, it’s very rare for someone to come in lower down the order and win the game for us.Harbhajan Singh and Rohit Sharma celebrate David Warner’s dismissal•BCCI

“But our team had that belief, that Yuvi (Yuvraj Singh) will score the runs, if he doesn’t, Rahul Dravid will do it, someone or other will do it, there was that trust on each other. I don’t know… in this team, in matches where you (Sharma) or Virat have not scored runs, or there hasn’t been a partnership upfront, say you and Shikhar, so if three wickets fall at the start, the match is out of our hands. That’s one thing I think this team can improve on.”Harbhajan agreed with Sharma that India have the talent to win at least two of the next three World Cups (two T20 World Cups in 2020, 2021 and the 50-over World Cup in 2023) but wanted the players to carry their IPL success into international cricket and respond to pressure better.”The way the boys play – I see them in the IPL, somehow they don’t play the same way in international cricket,” Harbhajan said. “I don’t know whether that’s because of the pressure to keep their spots, but if they want to be big players, they have to play their natural games, what I see them playing in the IPL. In the IPL, they look like totally different players. They are hitting the same bowlers. Trent Boult plays here, Tim Southee plays here, Dale Steyn plays here, the best in the game play here. But maybe that’s the pressure of international cricket, maybe they are scared that they will lose their spots. That’s why they can’t play their games. So if they get ten games to settle down, at least they have a better chance.”

Janneman Malan added to South Africa's squad for India ODIs

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Opening batsman will be the 16th member of the squad that will play three ODIs in India

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Mar-2020Opening batsman Janneman Malan has been included in South Africa’s squad to tour India for a three-ODI series, with the first match starting on March 12. Malan was not part of the original 15-man group but, after a century in his second ODI to win the series against Australia in Bloemfontein, has been added to the touring party. South Africa’s squad leaves for India on Sunday.ALSO READ: My brother, the dragon slayer – Andre on Janneman MalanMalan will compete for the opener’s spot with Temba Bavuma, who was forced out of the ongoing series against Australia with a hamstring niggle. Bavuma was picked to partner Quinton de Kock at the top of the order when South Africa’s white-ball season began against England last month, and the pair performed well together but injuries have since seen Bavuma sidelined. Jon-Jon Smuts, who was named as the reserve opening batsman, remains with the squad and will look to secure a place in the middle-order instead.South Africa are travelling to India after taking expert advice on concerns around the spread of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus), and have put added precautions in place for the short tour, which will last 11 days overall. They will leave on Sunday, reaching India via Dubai. They will then spend a day in Delhi, before heading to Dharamsala, the venue of the first ODI. Two more fixtures in Lucknow and Kolkata follow on March 15 and March 18. None of the venues have reported any cases of COVID-19.

Quinton de Kock will wait for 'serious cricket' before hitting the nets

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SA captain hasn’t hit a single ball in three months, although he has kept his fitness up

Firdose Moonda05-Jul-2020Quinton de Kock, South Africa’s white-ball captain, has not hit a single ball in more than three months and only plans to return to the nets when “serious cricket,” is ready to resume, which he can’t see that happening “for a while.”The game has not been on de Kock’s agenda since mid-March when he returned home from India with the ODI squad. Their trip was due to include three matches but after one game (which was rained out), the series was postponed as the Covid-19 pandemic took hold.On March 16, CSA suspended all activities and two days later, when de Kock and the traveling party returned home, they were required to self-isolate for 14 days as South Africa went into lockdown. Although restrictions have eased since it came into effect on March 27, the stay-at-home order is into its 101st day and limitations on domestic travel still apply. Cricketers were given the green light to return to training on Monday last week but de Kock has yet to get going.”I haven’t done anything,” he said after being named cricketer of the year at the CSA awards which were held virtually on Saturday. “Obviously I’ve kept up with fitness. I’ve done my training in the gym but I haven’t hit a ball yet. There’s still so much time until the next serious cricket game is going to happen. So to go back to serious training, I don’t know when it needs to happen. I mean, you can go back to hitting balls, for now. But we could actually be hitting balls for no reason. That’s where I feel I’m at.”Though de Kock has taken what he described as a much-needed break, he will be required to turn out in less than two weeks’ time when a CSA exhibition game is scheduled. The event marks the launch of a new format called 3TC in which three teams will play in the same match and was originally scheduled to take place on June 27 but failure to obtain government permission led to its being pushed back to July 18.De Kock is due to captain one of the teams with proceeds due to go into CSA’s hardship fund, which aims to assist those who livelihoods have been affected by lockdown. Only 24 players are involved in that event (eight per team) and CSA have also named a 45-man high performance squad, who were asked to return to training at their franchise grounds last Monday, but de Kock confirmed he has not done so yet.”Because of the regulations, it’s hard to have such a big squad in a certain environment,” he said. “I’m based in a very remote place. There’s not much cricket around where I live. I’ve made sure my fitness is up to date. Practice almost becomes muscle memory. For me, at this point in my career, a break is more important than training.”De Kock lives in Knysna, a town on South Africa’s Garden Route in the Western Cape. His franchise team, the Titans, is based in Centurion, which is almost 1200 km away and the nearest training facility to him would be St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth, which is 261 km away. But to get there, he would need to cross a into a new province, which is not easy right now.So, de Kock decided to take some time off and address the wounds from South Africa’s toughest summer since readmission. “I’m sure other guys have trained, but I kind of needed a little bit of lockdown. I needed a break to spend time with myself, my family, friends. You know, do my own thing,” he said. “But as soon as we get the full go-ahead, when serious cricket is going to happen, then I’ll get back into it. I’m not too sure when it’s going to happen, but as soon as we get the go ahead then I’ll get back into it.”Uncertainty over South Africa’s future tours program abounds as they await the ICC’s decision over the T20 World Cup and the rescheduling of their tour of the Caribbean. The two-Test, five-T20I series was due to start this month. But with West Indies in England until the end of July, CSA are in talks about alternative dates with nothing confirmed just yet, except for the fact that when the Tests do happen, de Kock will not be captaining the side.”Me and Bouch had a very informal chat and I told him, look, I don’t know how I feel about being Test captain also. The reality is that’s just too much for me to handle. I know that and I realise that. I don’t need all that stress on myself,” de Kock said. “I could see from a mile away that I didn’t need that on top of my shoulders. I’m wanting to come up the order in Test cricket and so I don’t need all that extra pressure.”South Africa have long used de Kock at No.6 or lower despite several calls from former players, including Ashwell Prince, for him to bat higher and it seems that may be on the cards. But for that to happen, South Africa needs to get over the peak of the pandemic, which experts suggest is still several weeks away. “It’s going to be tough to play professional games,” de Kock said. “We’re going to have so many regulations. Realistically, I don’t foresee cricket being played for a while.”

South Australia's 'culture of mediocrity' targeted in Mike Hussey review

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The former Australia batsman has said that players should earn selection through Premier cricket

Daniel Brettig16-Jul-2020South Australia and the Adelaide Strikers would have their cricket programs combined and grade cricket clubs be reduced from 13 to as few as eight under recommendations made by Mike Hussey in a blunt independent review of the underperforming state association.In an executive summary of the review, Hussey stated that a “culture of mediocrity” was deeply entrenched in South Australian cricket, particularly in terms of the steady diminishing in importance for grade cricket over recent years, meaning that clubs feel disempowered while players do not see the need to perform at the local level in order to progress into state and BBL squads. He noted that the current state selection panel was perceived to be conflicted due to parallel roles within the state’s high performance department.Hussey also advocated the employment of a specialist batting coach to support the head coach, to address technical and tactical issues that have helped push the Redbacks to the bottom of the Sheffield Shield standings in each of the past three seasons. At the same time, Hussey has called for a balance “between people who know the SA way and people from outside the state who have worked in successful programmes” in terms of coaching and support staff.ALSO READ: All the Australian state squads for the 2020-21 season“As one of the smaller populated states, depth is always tested and as a result SA will regularly need to ‘punch above its weight’,” Hussey wrote. “For this to happen, the SACA will need to think and act differently in some areas of its cricket high performance.”If the SACA wants to move forward then there must be change. Building relationships and trust from the bottom up and from the top down will require strong, consistent leadership. There will have to be an element of letting go of the past and focusing on the future. Unfortunately, a strong view from the people interviewed is that South Australian cricket has had a culture of mediocrity for many years and acceptance of it has been a barrier to success.

“There are governance issues that allow this to happen. The cricket foundations i.e. Premier Cricket, club and junior cricket are generally not strong, making it difficult for SA to consistently compete with other states. The SACA Board should have an increased focus on the business of cricket, the HP [High Performance] Committee should have more recent HP experience and the Premier Cricket Committee is proving to be ineffective in providing a high-quality Premier Cricket competition.”Tellingly, Hussey targeted state and national pathways as sources of rancour, which have led to emerging players not regarding grade cricket as critical to development and performance. “Premier Cricket is a crucial part of the pathway, which firstly needs to be acknowledged, then respected,” Hussey wrote. “Changes will need to be made to ensure a higher quality competition that provides tough, competitive cricket and in doing so, breeds players capable of performing at the next level and beyond.ALSO READ: Jamie Siddons leaves South Australia as another wooden spoon looms“Changes in the number of teams in the competition and a better relationship with SACA HP should be adopted. I appreciate that this is not a simple process but this is required if the Board wants sustainable success. Relationships built on respect, honesty and being valued underpinned by a selection policy based predominantly on performance in Premier Cricket will provide genuine aspiration for players.”Hussey also highlighted shortfalls in the quality of junior coaching, and the perceptions of conflict of interest among state selectors, which include the high performance chief, Tim Nielsen. “An element of selector independence is required given current selectors are full-time executives in the HP programme and are seen as conflicted,” Hussey wrote.”The effect of participation in the current High Performance system has created a sense of entitlement for many young players, not just in SA but around the country. They feel the Pathways Programme will assist them to by-pass Premier Cricket to achieve long and successful first-class careers. This has proven to be unsuccessful and created a myriad of problems such as, devaluing the importance of Premier Cricket and creating behavioural traits that won’t set players up for long-term success.”Jason Gillespie is back home in South Australia•Getty Images

Hussey’s advocacy of combined state and BBL programs is a strong indication that the current Strikers coach, Jason Gillespie, will be asked to take charge of the state team also, having enjoyed a great deal of success with Yorkshire and Sussex in county cricket. However, to do so, Gillespie would likely have to find a way out of his current deal with Sussex, which lasts until the end of the 2022 northern summer. The shortlist for the new coach is down to between five and 10 candidates.”The appointment of the new Redbacks Head Coach is a crucial decision and should not be rushed,” Hussey wrote. “The effects of Covid-19 will be felt by all cricket associations. It has provided an opportunity to focus on what is most important in cricket programmes. It is clear securing the right people, having strong junior cricket foundations and more reliance on Premier cricket (and less reliance on Pathway Programmes) will be outcomes of the pandemic.”Player recruitment was addressed by Hussey with recommendations including calls to “identify and try to recruit the best young talent around the country (former Aust U/19 players not contracted) and engage them through Premier Cricket making them earn opportunities at the next level” and to “target the best 10th – 15th players from other states”.

Alyssa Healy: 'There's no need for domestic competitions to clash in the women's game'

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She reiterated her stance that success of women’s competitions is contingent upon the participation of the “best players from around the world”

Annesha Ghosh22-Aug-20201:53

Alyssa Healy: South Africa’s T20 World Cup semi-final run part of WBBL’s success

Alyssa Healy has reiterated her stance that the success of women’s domestic competitions such as the WBBL and the Women’s T20 Challenge is contingent upon the participation of the “best players from around the world.” Stressing on South Africa women’s run to the T20 World Cup semi-finals earlier this year as a testament to the WBBL as a springboard to international success, Healy said she hoped that decision-making around scheduling of domestic tournaments is determined only by what’s “actually best” for women’s cricket.”The women’s game is naturally different to the men’s game. Sometimes, decisions that are made at the top level for the men’s game doesn’t necessarily reflect what we need within women’s cricket,” Healy, the premier Australia and Sydney Sixers wicketkeeper-batter, told ESPNcricinfo during a chat on Beyond the Boundary, the ICC’s recently released documentary on the 2020 T20 World Cup. “Hopefully, the boards are deciding what’s best for the women’s game because it is best for the women’s game.”Healy, who had earlier expressed her discontent on Twitter about the clash in scheduling of the T20 Challenge, the Indian T20 tournament considered a prelude to an IPL-style women’s league, weeks after the schedule for the upcoming edition of the WBBL had been announced, explained the reasoning behind her displeasure.”Personally, why I was so vocal about that clash was that there’s no need for domestic competitions around the world to clash in the women’s game at the moment,” Healy said. “There’s plenty of time throughout the year to schedule these events.”For me, personally, it’s something I will absolutely love to be involved in, but I have got a WBBL to be part of and, for me, that’s the premier domestic competition in the world right now for T20 cricket. And, for me, I can’t turn down a contract like that to be able to go elsewhere to play in another domestic competition.”ALSO READ: ‘Opportunity to play four big events in 2022 daunting but exciting’To underscore the role of the WBBL in the growth of international cricket, Healy called to mind the T20 World Cup campaign of South Africa, whose appearance in this year’s semi-finals was just the second such instance in seven editions of the 20-over world tournament. Although they were knocked out by hosts and eventual champions Australia, South Africa’s three straight wins, including against last edition’s runners-up England, en route to topping Group B, remained a highlight.For the sixth edition of the WBBL, to be held from October 17 to November 29, six South Africa players, including captain Dane van Niekerk, have already signed contracts across five franchises. Their availability for the three-team T20 Challenge, scheduled to run from November 1-10 on the sidelines of the IPL in the UAE, therefore, remains unlikely, and most top Australia and New Zealand players are also set to miss out.”In my mind, there’s no need that they need to clash,” Healy said. “And, ultimately, for these competitions to thrive, we want the best players from around the world to take part in it and we’ve seen the success of the WBBL over the last five years and the success that it’s led to in international cricket.”Think those seven or eight South African players in the Big Bash last year – it’s no coincidence that they were in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup earlier this year. So I just think it’s great for the women’s game as a whole.”Alyssa Healy was a part of the Women’s T20 Challenge match in 2018•BCCI

The overlap also thrust the participation of the Indian contingent in the WBBL that ESPNcricinfo understands was to feature at least four players, including two debutants, into uncertainty. The Australian players had missed the T20 Challenge last year too.While Healy hoped that the T20 Challenge this year is a success and pledged her support for it as well as a potential “fully fledged” variant of it, she suggested that slotting in the WBBL and the T20 Challenge “at opposite ends of the year potentially” might go some way towards helping Australians and other internationals play in both tournaments.”It’s fantastic there’s talk of a women’s IPL [T20 Challenge]; I’d love to see a fully fledged one [an IPL-style women’s league],” Healy said. “I’d be standing right behind it and supporting it wherever I can. It’s great that the BCCI are talking about making that happen for the domestic players in India. I think it’s the next step for them to have a fully-fledged competition of their own, just like the WBBL as we have seen – what’s it’s done for women’s cricket in this country.”I just hope it didn’t clash and I would like to see them play at opposite ends of the year potentially – whatever it might look like, so that us international cricketers can stick our hand up, and come over and support and play a role, if we are wanted. That was probably why I was so vocal about it. But, in saying that, it is such a fantastic thing for Indian cricket to have their own competition and I hope it’s really successful for them.”

Kane Williamson injury exposes gaping hole in Sunrisers Hyderabad middle order

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David Warner has backed his young batsmen to come good, despite a collapse against RCB in their IPL 2020 opener

Sidharth Monga21-Sep-20202:04

Our team made some basic errors – Warner

You are 89 for 1 and 121 for 2 chasing 164 when the opposition feels there is so much dew the ball feels like a cake of soap. You find a way to lose from there. Sunrisers Hyderabad will not only be gutted about the two points lost against Royal Challengers Bangalore, but the implications of it for the rest of the IPL 2020 season.They came into the season with a suspect middle order to address, which they would have been tempted to sacrifice a bowling allrounder for Kane Williamson. However, a quad injury to Williamson during training took that out of their hand. His replacement, Mitchell Marsh, injured his ankle into his first over of bowling, an injury that looked bad enough to cast a shadow over the rest of his IPL. There is no word on when Williamson will be available for selection, but what happened in their chase might leave Sunrisers desperate for his calm and his experience, especially given Dubai and Abu Dhabi won’t be offering up too many 200 pitches.ALSO SEE: RCB v SRH live score 20th September 2020The Sunrisers captain was left looking for answers, but he was more disappointed with the senior batsmen who were in rather than the rookie middle order. Jonny Bairstow and Manish Pandey both fell trying to hit Yuzvendra Chahal for a six. Bairstow did so in Chahal’s last over, giving the Royal Challengers a window of opportunity, which became a big gaping hole in no time at all.Vijay Shankar loses his stumps to Yuzvendra Chahal•BCCI

“I think everyone knows that,” David Warner told Star, the host broadcaster, when asked if the seniors should have played Chahal more smartly. “If they could go back and play that back again, I think they’ll just do that. At the end of the day, there are talking points but I think the guys know exactly what they have to do in the next game.”At the post-match press conference, Warner sought to give his inexperienced middle order of Priyam Garg, Vijay Shankar and Abhishek Sharma a vote of confidence. “We wouldn’t have put them in the middle order if we didn’t feel they weren’t good enough,” Warner said. “If there is anyone who wants to criticise the middle-order batting, [they have got to remember] it is something I haven’t seen before. Three bizarre dismissals [a ramp into the helmet onto the stumps and a run-out after two batsmen collided mid-pitch].”Warner also made it clear he was not going to put undue pressure on the youngsters. “I have encouraged them to keep playing their way, and not think too much about the scenario or the situation,” Warner said. “We got to really rely on our senior players to guide them out in the middle. If it so happens to be two youngsters out there, my message is just to play their natural game. At the end of the day, that is the only way you can learn. It can be difficult at times. You know it is pressure environment, 100 million people watching this. Just got to keep it calm, keep it simple for them.”It will be a matter of interest how Sunrisers deal with this middle-order issue in the rest of the tournament. Possible reinforcements are spinners Mohammad Nabi and Fabian Allen. While Allen has hit a six every 10 balls in T20 cricket, Nabi carries the steady head they might need. If and when Williamson is available, he will be an option too, with Garg possibly making way for an Indian allrounder, like Abdul Samad. Another route is for one of the top three to drop down in the middle order, but that will have to be weighed against what they lose in the early overs by doing so.Whatever might be the case, on the evidence of Sunrisers’ opening match, no team will ever consider themselves out of the game against them.

Ian Bell bows out with 90 to push Warwickshire towards farewell victory

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England legend falls short of century in final first-class appearance against Glamorgan

ECB Reporters Network08-Sep-2020The third day of Warwickshire’s Bob Willis Trophy match against Glamorgan at Cardiff will be remembered as the day when Ian Bell left the batting crease for the final time at the end of an illustrious 20-year career, signing off with an ever-impressive 90 to put his side in a match-winning position going into the final day.Bell finished with a career aggregate of 20,440 runs, and an average of 43.58, having scored just 66 in six innings this season prior to his tally of 140 in this match.It was also a memorable day for Dan Mousley. The 19-year-old wasn’t born when Bell made his debut in 1999 and having shared a partnership of 70 with the retiring stalwart in the first innings, the youngster struck his maiden Championship half-century in the second before being caught for 71 late in the day.In the morning session, Bell had strode to the wicket to a standing ovation from the gathered coaching staff and media, and was deserving of the guard of honour by Glamorgan on his final walk to the middle.Glamorgan had had an early breakthrough when Timm van der Gugten had Rob Yates caught impressively in the slips by Nick Selman and after switching ends, Michael Hogan struck to remove Will Rhodes, also caught by Selman, to end the batsman’s campaign with an average of 53.Bell and Hain then looked to move the game beyond Glamorgan’s reach, the scoring rate increasing rapidly as they put on 76 by lunch, adding a further 67 in the afternoon session.He and Hain had frustrated Glamorgan with a partnership of 143 as Warwickshire extended their second innings lead to 210 runs at tea. Unbeaten on 46 at lunch, Bell reached his half-century from 63 balls shortly after the resumption, with the eighth boundary of his innings when he struck Hogan through the off-side.He followed up his 50 in the first innings with an another impressive knock in the second as he shared in a third-wicket stand with Hain, who brought up his second half-century in successive matches, in 106 deliveries with seven fours. It was their first century stand since facing Glamorgan at Colwyn Bay in 2018 at a time when Bell struck a double century there, along with two unbeaten centuries at Edgbaston amassing 425 in those three innings against Glamorgan.Dan Douthwaite finally removed Hain for 65, the batsman edging behind to Cullen as Bell, ultimately unsuccessfully, continued to search for one last century before playing on.Michael Burgess and Mousley resumed after tea with their side 227 for 4, but having turned to spin after Lukas Carey’s side injury, Glamorgan had a further breakthrough when slow left-arm bowler Owen Morgan removed Burgess, playing across the line, to claim his first wicket of the season and give Cullen the simplest of catches behind the stumps.Mousley continued to pile the pressure on Glamorgan, and reached his half-century in Championship cricket in 62 deliveries. His partner Alex Thomson was then caught at long-on with a heave off spinner Callum Taylor.A brief shower brought proceedings to a halt at 335 for 6, with one over lost, and Mousley was caught on the cover boundary off Douthwaite soon after the resumption. The declaration came at 347 for 7, setting Glamorgan a target of 331 with five overs remaining in the day, which openers Nick Selman and Joe Cooke safely negotiated, despite a last ball shout for LBW against Cooke by Liam Norwell.

Russell, Narine, 84 for 8 – Kolkata Knight Riders are in a hole, and Delhi Capitals will look to keep them there

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The Capitals won their earlier exchange, and are the table-toppers at this stage

Karthik Krishnaswamy23-Oct-20206:51

Should Eoin Morgan bat ahead of Dinesh Karthik?

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Remember this game? And this? And this one?The Kolkata Knight Riders probably had no business winning any of those games, but win is what they did. They have only won two other games so far this season, and if those jailbreaks were taken away from them, they wouldn’t be where they are on the table.Where they are is fourth, and within the playoffs’ range, but that can change quickly. There are teams currently outside the top four who have built a bit of momentum, and they know they can displace the Knight Riders, who have a distinct air of vulnerability about them after suffering a walloping at the hands of the Royal Challengers Bangalore. That defeat left the Knight Riders nursing the worst net run rate (-0.828) of all teams in the competition.How do you bounce back from the lows of 84 for 8? How do you do that without Andre Russell or Sunil Narine, or possibly both? How do you begin the process of bouncing back when you’re up against the in-form Delhi Capitals, who are gunning for a top-two finish and are themselves looking to bounce back from – a less severe but still wounding – defeat?There aren’t easy answers to these, but the Knight Riders will have to answer them soon. If they do, you might come to talk in hushed tones about those wins snatched from the jaws of defeat. “It’s the sign of a great team,” you might say, “when they win even when they aren’t playing well.”If the Knight Riders slide away from the playoffs spots, however, you will look at those wins differently. You will look at them and say they were warning signs of a team in decline.

In the news

Russell injured his hamstring in the tied game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad and didn’t feature against the Royal Challengers. Narine was free to play that game, having had his action cleared, but he missed out because of what his captain Eoin Morgan described as a “niggle”. The fitness status of the two West Indians ahead of the game against the Capitals is not yet clear.

Previous meeting

Half-centuries from Prithvi Shaw and Rishabh Pant powered the Capitals to 228, but that total didn’t appear entirely safe in early-season Sharjah. Despite slipping to 122 for 6, the Knight Riders still came close in their chase, thanks to Morgan’s 18-ball 44 and Rahul Tripathi’s 16-ball 36. It came down to 26 from the last over, and Marcus Stoinis sealed victory for the Capitals with a pinpoint yorker to bowl Tripathi.Shikhar Dhawan brings out his trademark celebration•BCCI

Likely XIs

Delhi Capitals: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Axar Patel, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Anrich Nortje/Daniel Sams, 11 Tushar DeshpandeKolkata Knight Riders: 1 Shubman Gill, 2 Rahul Tripathi, 3 Nitish Rana, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Andre Russell/Tom Banton, 7 Pat Cummins/Sunil Narine, 8 Lockie Ferguson, 9 Prasidh Krishna, 10 Varun Chakravarthy, 11 Kuldeep Yadav

Strategy punts

  • Shikhar Dhawan (69*, 57, 101*, 106*) has scored exactly half of the Capitals’ runs over their last four matches, so his wicket – particularly with the rest of the top order suffering a dip in form – becomes crucial for the Knight Riders. How do they get him early? Well, since the start of the 2019 season, fast bowlers have only dismissed Dhawan four times within the powerplay overs. He averages 84.75 against pace while striking at a healthy 135.05. His strike rate against spin in this phase (159.82) is even better, but he’s been dismissed six times in 112 balls by the slower bowlers, so the Knight Riders could look to attack him with Varun Chakravarthy or – if he plays – Narine taking the new ball from one end.
  • Kuldeep Yadav has only bowled nine powerplay overs in his entire IPL career, but he’s not a bad candidate to try against Dhawan. In all T20 meetings, Dhawan has scored just 34 off 37 balls against Yadav, while being dismissed twice. The Knight Riders, however, might look to hold Yadav back for Rishabh Pant, who’s scored 23 off 21 balls against the left-arm wristspinner while being dismissed twice.
  • Dinesh Karthik has a shocking record against legspinners this season: 14 runs off 18 balls, five dismissals. Against all other types of bowling, he has scored 131 runs at a more-than-decent average of 32.75 and a more-than-decent strike rate of 135.05. Morgan has also struggled against legspin: one dismissal in 55 balls, but . The Capitals don’t have a legspinner in their first-choice XI, but if they wanted to give Sandeep Lamichhane an opportunity ahead of the playoffs, this wouldn’t be a bad time to do it.

Stats that matter

  • The Capitals are yet to win a match in Abu Dhabi this season. This will be their third game at the venue.
  • The Knight Riders (6.73) have the worst powerplay run rate of all teams this season. That low scoring rate isn’t necessarily because their openers have traded explosiveness for stability – the Knight Riders haven’t finished a single powerplay wicketless this season.
  • They are up against a Capitals attack that has consistently taken wickets in the powerplay, picking up 17 at a best-in-the-competition strike rate of 21.18. The early overs of the Knight Riders innings, therefore, could be a key phase in the game.
  • The Knight Riders have been poor in the powerplay with the ball as well. They have the worst economy rate of all teams in this phase (8.260 and have only taken six wickets in 60 overs, at an average of 82.66.
  • Given that they were only defending 84, the Knight Riders’ refusal to bowl Lockie Ferguson in the powerplay against the Royal Challengers was perplexing, but they were probably going by the data, if a little too rigidly. In the IPL, Ferguson has a middle-overs (7-15) economy rate of 5.05 and has taken six wickets in that phase at an average of 14.33. In all other phases, he has an economy rate of 10.57 while taking only three wickets at 74.00.
  • If they play, it will be Yadav’s 100th T20 game and Ajinkya Rahane’s 200th.
  • Harshal Patel is two wickets short of 100 in T20s.

Cricket West Indies officials happy with 'concise and tight' Covid-19 protocols in Bangladesh

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

The tour, expected to start in January, could be curtailed because of quarantine regulations

Mohammad Isam02-Dec-2020Cricket West Indies (CWI) officials, currently in Bangladesh to inspect the bio-security plans and health protocols in the country ahead of a proposed tour next month, are “very impressed” with the “concise and tight” arrangements. The three-format tour could yet be shortened, but question marks hanging over it might have been dispelled for the time being.Dr Akshai Mansingh, the CWI director, and security manager Paul Slowe arrived in Dhaka on November 28, and conducted a survey of facilities in Dhaka and Chattogram, including at airports, hotels, stadia, practice facilities and hospitals over the past few days. They will now report their observations to the CWI board of directors, who will then make a decision on the tour.”The protocols that were described to us by the BCB were very, very well thought out,” Mansingh said at a press interaction. “The fact that there has been three competitions prior to our coming and one [Bangabandhu T20 Cup] going on now obviously, they are well practiced [with bio-secure bubbles]. We are very happy with what we saw in Dhaka and Chattogram. The facilities are excellent. The Covid protocols are concise and tight.”The national approach, both in the hotels and hospitals that we visited, comply with all international standards recommended for Covid-19. From a medical point of view, we are very happy and we now have to present our findings to the board of directors of CWI. I am very confident what we saw is probably as good an arrangement as you can have anywhere in the world.”Mansingh said that the tour dates hadn’t yet been firmed up, mainly because of the quarantine protocols that the West Indies team would have to adhere to before and after arriving in Bangladesh.”According to Covid protocols, there will be at least seven days where we have to make sure we are not contaminating Bangladesh,” he said. “So we have to make sure we are in quarantine. It is not just days, but negative tests as well. There have to be at least one negative tests before coming and three negative tests while in Bangladesh. That period is usually seven days, and that’s why the exact dates have to be worked out now.”Certainly for the first three days, we suggest in-room quarantine. After the third day, we do a second test. After that is negative, we would like to do some practicing within our squad, but not exposing ourselves to anybody else until seven days are passed. We will have inter-squad practice and activities. After Day 7, the recommendation is that we should have net sessions with Bangladeshi players,” he said.The BCB hasn’t hosted any international cricket during the pandemic, with Australia and New Zealand having postponed their tours scheduled for June and August respectively. Bangladesh also haven’t toured any country, having come close to going to Sri Lanka before that tour was called off in September.

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