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Javeria says she will be available to play in T20 leagues if offers come her way

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Mar-2024Former Pakistan captain Javeria Khan has retired from international cricket, bringing the curtain down on a career of just under 16 years at the highest level. She bows out after playing 228 white-ball matches for Pakistan and scoring 4903 runs across the two formats.”There was joy and sorrow, but above all a sense of great pride that kept me going for 15 years,” Javeria, 35, wrote in a social media post. “The privilege of wearing Pakistan’s jersey was way bigger than the odds that struck through my cricketing journey. I am blessed to have lived my life doing what I loved doing the most and will continue to do so.”Now when I look back, it gives me great satisfaction to see that the path that my friends and I chose to walk on was least trodden when I started playing professionally but is now open for so many girls in Pakistan.”Related

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Javeria made her ODI debut in 2008 and played the ODI World Cups in 2009, 2013 and 2017. She also played just the one game – against India in Mount Maunganui – in the 2022 edition after going through a low phase form-wise. She was also out of Pakistan’s T20I side for 15 months before making a comeback in November 2022, and then played the T20 World Cup in 2023, her last outing for Pakistan. She played all the previous editions of the competition, too.”Things change, scripts change and new paths beckon,” Javeria wrote. “There is a time for everything, and now I believe is the best time to call it a day and announce my retirement. However, I’ll be available to play league cricket. I will always be grateful to Pakistan for letting me hold Pakistan’s flag globally.”Javeria led Pakistan in 16 T20Is – including at the T20 World Cup in 2018 and two matches of the 2020 edition when Bismah Maroof was injured. She also captained 17 times in ODIs and finished second in the list of highest run-scorers for Pakistan in both the white-ball formats.”On behalf of the PCB and all cricket fans, I extend heartfelt gratitude to Javeria Khan for her invaluable contributions to women’s cricket in Pakistan,” Tania Mallick, PCB’s head of women’s cricket, said in a statement. “Her glittering records with the bat speak for themselves and I am confident that her illustrious career will inspire many girls in the country to not just take up this sport but also excel at it across many years.”

Tottenham are interested in signing Joao Palhinha from Bayern Munich this summer, per a new report.

Spurs interested in Bayern midfielderBelieve agreement can be reachedMay have to sell midfielder first Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Per the Telegraph, Spurs are interested in signing Palhinha this summer. The north London club are working on a deal to sign the Portugal international, who only moved to Bayern from Fulham last summer. The newspaper quotes sources who claim that there is a belief Spurs can reach an agreement to land the midfielder, who made just six starts last season.

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Spurs head on their tour of Asia on Sunday and any interest is not expected to be formalised before then. Spurs would rather sell a midfielder before recruiting Palhinha and Yves Bissouma is seen as the most likely to leave, given that his contract expires next summer.

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Palhinha is 30 and falls outside of Spurs' usual recruitment profile; the club have not signed a player aged 30 or older for a transfer fee since they acquired Fernando Llorente from Swansea City in 2017. They have signed Mohammed Kudus and Kota Takai this summer, as well as confirming the permanent signings of Kevin Danso, Luka Vuskovic, and Mathys Tel. They have also triggered Morgan Gibbs-White's £60 million ($81m) release clause but Nottingham Forest are attempting to block the deal.

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Spurs have two friendlies to take part in on Saturday; they play Wycombe Wanderers in a friendly at their Hotspur Way training ground, before playing Luton Town at Kenilworth Road later that day.

After Alyssa Healy and Tahlia McGrath lifted Australia to 155 for 6, Bangladesh folded for 78

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-2024Tayla Vlaeminck capped her comeback tour in impressive fashion as Australia wrapped up a successful visit to Bangladesh with a 77-run victory in the third T20I.Fast bowler Vlaeminck took a career-best 3 for 12 from her four overs as Bangladesh were dismissed for 78 after Australia had posted 155 for 6. The win ensured Australia completed a clean sweep of the three ODIs and three T20Is on their tour.It was Vlaeminck’s only second match back after two years out of the team due to a recurrent foot stress fracture and then shoulder surgery. She removed Ritu Moni in the fourth over and returned to claim Fahima Khatun and Shorifa Khatun in the space of three balls in the 11th.Australia’s bowlers shared the other success around with all seven used claiming at least one wicket.Captain Alyssa Healy put Australia on track for victory early in the tour finale with 45 from 29 balls while Tahlia McGrath scored an unbeaten 43 from 29 balls batting at No. 5.The visitors returned to their more conventional batting line-up for the final outing having experimented in the second match. But Healy and Beth Mooney could not race away in the powerplay and Bangladesh chipped away to leave them 98 for 5 in the 16th over with Mooney, Ellyse Perry and Ash Gardner all kept below a strike rate of 80.However, McGrath and Grace Harris ensured a powerful finish as they added 57 off 27 balls, which gave Australia more than enough to defend.Australia now have a lengthy break from international action before facing New Zealand in September ahead of the T20 World Cup, which will be staged in Bangladesh.

Former Barcelona president Joan Gaspart has boldly claimed that Marcus Rashford is a better player than Nico Williams, in response to criticism of the club from the Athletic Club winger's brother Inaki. Williams snubbed a move to Barca in favour of signing a new long-term deal with Athletic Club, which paved the way for Rashford to join the Catalan side on loan from Manchester United.

Ex-Barca chief says Rashford better than Williams  Hits back at Inaki's jibe at Barca Barca face Daegu on Monday Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The ex-Barcelona chief hailed the club's decision to bring in Rashford on a season-long loan deal from United and claimed that the England international is a better player than Williams, who, after a massive drama in the transfer market, decided to pen a new 10-year contract with Athletic Club after being linked with Barca for several months.   

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Speaking to , the Gaspart said: "First of all, for me, Marcus Rashford is better than Nico. From here on, I don’t care what Inaki might say. The player has used us in a good way – he’s gotten a good contract, and I’m happy for him. I don’t understand Athletic’s anger. I’ve signed many players from Bilbao, and always got along with their president. This is in the past. We have to focus on the season and trust the squad and the exceptional coach we have."   

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Williams' brother Inaki, had earlier accused Barcelona of lying during the transfer saga, while revealing how the entire episode took a toll on the Spain international, as his car window was smashed and his mural was vandalised by frustrated Athletic Club fans.   

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Rashford, who has come off the bench in Barcelona's first two friendly matches during their Asia tour, will hope to make his first start under Hansi Flick as the Blaugrana take on Daegu on Monday.   

Mark Richardson – a very special batsman © AFP Mark Richardson’s delayed start to Test cricket hasn’t prevented him from jointly achieving the record of being the fastest player to score 2000 runs for the country

Lynn McConnell07-Jul-2005

Mark Richardson – a very special batsman
© AFP

Mark Richardson’s delayed start to Test cricket hasn’t prevented him from jointly achieving the record of being the fastest player to score 2000 runs for the country. When he passed 121 en route to 145 at Mohali – his highest score in Test cricket – he equalled Andrew Jones’ feat in scoring his 2000th run in his 44th Test innings.After Jones and Richardson comes the long-standing mark of Bert Sutcliffe, who took 46 innings for his 2000 runs. Both Jones and Richardson were latecomers to international cricket, but for different reasons. Jones, after a solid grounding in New Zealand country cricket, took time to transfer his ability at that level to score sufficiently consistently in the first-class game and warrant selection for internationals.Richardson’s story is now well-known – a player who converted to batting as a consolation for losing his bowling ability. He won selection after an amazing New Zealand A tour of England in 2000 and celebrated his international selection by scoring a triple-century in a first-class match at Kwekwe in Zimbabwe. Richardson was 29 when first selected; Jones was 27.Jones, who is a realistic contender for the No. 3 position in the all-time New Zealand side, retired with 2922 runs at 44.27. Richardson, after today’s innings, has an average of 49.36. Perhaps there is something to be said for never pensioning off older players and considering them belatedly for international duty. They bring to their performance a hunger that makes them very dangerous indeed.Of the pair, Jones had a better conversion rate, scoring seven centuries and 11 half-centuries, while Richardson has now scored three centuries and 16 half-centuries.The other significant achievement of the day – the first three batsmen scoring centuries in the same innings – is a new one, although Lou Vincent, Stephen Fleming, Nathan Astle and Adam Parore did make hundreds in the summer of 2001-02 at Perth. In this case, the three centuries scored against India rewrote the career highest-scores of each of the batsmen.One of the questions that has been increasingly discussed in New Zealand in recent years, as Stephen Fleming’s men have started to find consistency, is where they rank in comparison to the side regarded as New Zealand’s finest. From the summer of 1979-80, when Geoffrey Howarth took over as captain, New Zealand won 19 Tests in the next decade, with Jeremy Coney, Jeff Crowe and John Wright all having lengthy stints as captain. In that same time, batsmen scored 47 centuries in 66 Tests.Since the summer of 1995-96, when Stephen Fleming became captain of New Zealand, they have won 20 Tests in 67 matches before Mohali, and the batsmen have scored 41 centuries. While the number of centuries may be less, more players went on to higher scores. The highest score posted in the 1980s was 188, twice scored by Martin Crowe, against Australia and the West Indies. But under Fleming, there have been five double-centuries scored. Fleming’s 274 not out earlier in the year was the highest, and Nathan Astle’s 222 was clearly the fastest.But of all the players who have been selected in the modern era, none has shown the dedication to run-scoring that Richardson has exhibited. It is significant and salutary that the only New Zealand players, with a minimum of five Tests, to have better averages are Stewie Dempster (65.73) and Martin Donnelly (52.91). That is why Mark Richardson is such a special player.

What the numbers say about Edgbaston the Test venue

S Rajesh03-Aug-2005

Shane Warne: five away from a century of Test wickets in England © Getty Images
If Lord’s was the perfect venue for Australia to start off their Ashes campaign, then Edgbaston might not be a bad one for England to mount a fightback. In 40 Tests here, England have won 20 and suffered just seven losses, while Australia have lost four and won three. The last time the two teams met at this ground, though, the result was a predictable one – Adam Gilchrist scored a century, Shane Warne took eight wickets in the match, and Australia romped home by an innings. Whichever way the match goes, it’s unlikely to end in a stalemate, unless the weather intervenes – in the last 11 Tests, only two finished in draws, and both involved South Africa. During this period, Australia have played here three times, winning twice and losing once. Australia have mostly believed in choosing to bat when they win the toss, but it’ll be interesting to observe what Ricky Ponting does if the coin spins his way on Thursday – in 13 Tests since 1991, only once has the team batting first gone on to win. England’s win against West Indies last year broke a sequence of nine decisive matches which were all won by the team fielding first. The Australians experienced the perils of batting first at this venue too, when Mark Taylor’s team were bundled out for 118 in 1997. They fought back gamely in their second innings, posting 477, but by then the match had been lost. The first three days are clearly the best for batsmen at this ground: since 2000, the average runs per wicket for the first two innings are 47.53 and 46.63, but this slips to 25.56 and 30.18 over the last two innings of the match. Edgbaston might also be the best opportunity for Marcus Trescothick to prove that he is capable of taking runs off the Australians in a Test. Trescothick, whose career average against Australia is a miserable 28.63, has scored three centuries in four Tests here and averages 88.66, while his aggregate of 532 runs puts him in seventh place among the all-time top run-getters at this ground. (Click here for the highest run-scorers in Tests at Edgbaston, and here for other stats, like highest and lowest totals, centuries, etc, related to this venue.) If Lord’s was Glenn McGrath’s lair, then Edgbaston has been a happy hunting ground for Shane Warne – in three Tests he has nabbed 15 wickets at 25.46, including two five-fors. If he continues that rate of five wickets per match here, then by Monday he will have reached another milestone, that of 100 Test wickets in England. For McGrath, though, Birmingham hasn’t been so kind – only six scalps from two games at 41.67. That’s one record he’ll want to set straight over the next five days.

Sehwag’s sole nets session at Eden Gardens today may be insufficient grounds to form an opinion but it was obvious he had done some work on his game in the break from international cricket

Anand Vasu in Kolkata07-Feb-2007

Will all the work in the nets pay off for Virender Sehwag? © Getty Images
While explaining Virender Sehwag’s omission from the squad for the West Indies series, Dilip Vengsarkar, the chairman of the selection committee, had offered a simple prescription: “He has to go back to the nets and sort out his cricket, his batting basically.” Sehwag’s sole nets session at Eden Gardens today may be insufficient grounds to form an opinion – the proof of that can only come when he makes runs in international cricket – but it was obvious he had done some work on his game in the break from international cricket.Sehwag began at the net where the spinners were bowling before moving to the second net where Zaheer Khan, currently the spearhead of the Indian attack, came on especially to bowl to him, and it appeared that there were two changes in Sehwag’s approach.The first was that he seemed to take guard on middle stump, rather than leg stump. It was apparently Ravi Shastri who had first made the suggestion to Sehwag, during the Cape Town Test, as a means of countering his tendency to reach for deliveries outside the off stump. The second change was that Sehwag – who normally stands stock still before playing a stroke – made a slight back-and-across movement in the lead-up to playing a shot.For batsmen, it is sometimes easy to make slight technical changes like this when batting in the nets but harder to stick to them in the heat of battle, when natural instincts take over. For what it’s worth, though, Sehwag appeared comfortable batting in the nets, getting behind the line of the ball nicely and playing some trademark shots square of the wicket on the off side. For about 20 minutes – about the same time all the top-order batsmen spent in the nets – Sehwag batted confidently.There are bound to be some nerves for Sehwag, who is making a comeback of sorts, but at the same time he will know that the team for the World Cup is not going to be picked purely on the basis of the forthcoming two matches. In that sense these two matches are not so much a trial for him as an opportunity to do what he does best.Dravid, who has backed Sehwag in tight spots in the past, and clearly believes in his matchwinning abilities, was all praise for Sehwag in advance. “Sehwag is working hard in different areas, the smile is back on his face. He is keen to perform well tomorrow,” said Dravid. “This is our last opportunity to fine-tune our game before the World Cup and we will be happy to put up a good performance.”India will be hoping Sehwag, who could be a key player in the West Indies, can roar back with a few good performances in this series.

The chief executive of the Irish Cricket Union warns that a failure to qualify for the next World Cup will have a seriously detrimental affect on leading Associates

Martin Williamson29-Feb-2008
Warren Deutrom: “It certainly sends out an interesting message if there is a desire to appear as if the game is expanding” © Martin Williamson
Warren Deutrom, the chief executive of the Irish Cricket Union, has warned that a failure to qualify for the next World Cup will have a seriously detrimental affect on leading Associates.His comments come in the light of a proposal from the ICC’s chief executives’ committee to reduce the number of Associates at the 2011 World Cup from six to four. A final decision will be made by the ICC board when it meets next month, although it is expected to confirm the move.”The opportunities afforded for Associates to use World Cup qualification (or success) to push themselves forward with their governments in terms of public funding, and private sector in terms of sponsorship are now available to two fewer countries,” Deutrom told Cricinfo. “Non-qualification for two out of the existing six ODI countries will have a materially detrimental effect on the profile of the sport in that country, therefore ability to attract finance, therefore ability to attract (and pay for) top teams to visit, therefore ability to tour abroad to play competitive cricket, therefore ability to move forward on and off the pitch.”It certainly sends out an interesting message if there is a desire to appear as if the game is expanding. As well as the Associates, I feel for ICC Management here. I declare an interest as a former member of the ranks, but it makes their life difficult when the Full Members decide to move to 16 teams a few years back, and ICC appropriately aligns policy and spending for a High Performance Program of six (and eventually 10) countries, with six given ODI status. This was a positive decision for the development program, but then the Full Members decide not to back their original judgement and move backwards, causing headaches for the ICC and its High Performance Programme.”Deutrom offered the example of rugby as a sport that made a decision and then stuck to it. “It has invested in its tier-two nations, and stood by them in spite of some one-sided matches in the 2003 World Cup, only for the program to conspicuously bear fruit in 2007. It’s a shame the Full Members haven’t given cricket the same opportunity, or ICC Management the chance to see its six-team High Performance Program come to fruition.”For the two that lose out, I’m sure ICC won’t abandon them, but the opportunity to push forward will be significantly affected, perhaps for years to comeThose who have defended the reduction have pointed out that the four Associates who do qualify are guaranteed eight matches. “From an Associate perspective, the more games the better,” Deutrom said. “For those that have made it, of course! What intrigues me is that there was significant criticism after the 2003 World Cup that a 42-match opening round (out of 54 matches in total), was just too long and, as I recall, generated too many matches of little, or no importance because the tournament takes too long to get going. Now, with the same number of matches in the opening round and fewer matches in total, it could be argued that this original criticism has not necessarily been addressed.While Deutrom did not think that a failure to qualify would be the end of the world, the increased funding the four who do make it would give them a marked advantage and would “create clear blue water between those Associates that qualify and those that don’t. For the two that lose out, I’m sure ICC won’t abandon them, but the opportunity to push forward will be significantly affected, perhaps for years to come.”But the move served to remind the Associates that they were, in effect, at the mercy of the Full Members. “If one considers that Zimbabwe has temporarily lost its Test status and comes below Ireland in the LG ODI rankings, then the fact that it still retains its annual multi-million dividend from ICC, its position in the Future Tours Programme and its automatic inclusion in valuable ICC events, including participation fees, shows the massive chasm between the Full Member and Associate world.”

Groundsman Harry Brind on how curators can bring spinners back into the game

Stephen Chalke04-Jun-2008
Devon Malcolm gets Hansie Cronje in 1994 at The Oval: the best pitch Brind ever prepared, by his own reckoning © Getty Images
Fifty years ago the spinners took half the wickets in the County Championship. Now they take little more than a quarter. Bats are more powerful, boundaries shorter, outfield grass lusher; balls keep their hardness and shine for longer and pitches are covered when it rains. For the traditional finger spinner the changes have all made life harder.For Harry Brind, former groundsman at Chelmsford and The Oval, the way forward lies in the preparation of pitches. “The ideal cricket pitch gives both batsmen and bowlers a chance,” he says. “It will have pace and bounce on the first day. Then by the third and fourth days it will be deteriorating a bit and the spinners will get some turn.”Nobody speaks with greater authority than Brind. In 1965 a near-bankrupt Essex appointed him when they purchased the Chelmsford ground. With no assistant and only rudimentary equipment, he created a square that was amongthe best in the country. “We had no proper covers,” he recalls. “We had trestles with no gutters and we had to put sheets over them. It was a major effort.”Then in 1975 he moved to The Oval, where he found the square tired and slow. “If you drop a ball from a 16-foot pole, it should bounce two or three feet. When I arrived at The Oval, it was bouncing three inches.” He persuaded thecommittee that the whole square had to be relaid and after some teething problems it became the best in the land. For his last Test in 1994, when Devon Malcolm bowled England to a dramatic victory over South Africa, “the surface shone; it was the best pitch I ever prepared”.Many aspects of preparation have changed since Brind started with Essex. The first-class game in England underwent repeated changes in the regulations for covering. Back in the early 1950s only the creases could be covered once a game had started. Then covers could be applied to the whole pitch once play had been called off for the day. Then the bowlers’ run-ups were protected during rain. Finally, after the debacle of the 1980 Centenary Test at Lord’s, when MCC members jostled the umpires in their angry frustration, full covering was applied at every rain break.”I like to see a pitch that’s open and natural,” Brind says. “That’s the best pitch for cricket. Now the pitches are not natural because they’re covered when it rains. Rain water is much better. It falls evenly, the grass grows better than when you use tap water, and if the covers are down too long, you can get fusarium disease.”Secondly there was the work of the Sports Turf Research Institute. Up and down the country they took samples of soil, and “the results were unbelievable. Loams had been added and they weren’t binding properly with the original soils. So you had layers like liquorice allsorts, all separate from each other.” Worse, the loams in fashion tended not to disintegrate, so spinners first missed out on wet wickets, which then did not become as dry and dusty as before.Other factors have complicated the producing of pitches that deteriorate by the final day. “In the old days cricketers’ boots had proper studs and the batsmen’s feet would disturb the surface a little. But now they wear these pimpled things and it doesn’t happen.”Brind was renowned for being his own man. “You do your job, I’ll do mine,” he would say if a chairman tried to influence his pitch preparation. Not all were as strong-minded. “A lot would be living on the ground, and if they didn’t do what the club wanted, they could have been sacked.”A groundsman needs to enjoy his own company, and Brind did. “I used to love to sit on the roller at six in the morning, going up and down. Once eight o’clock comes, everyone wants to talk to you. At six you’re on your own. Nobody interferes with what you’re doing.” Now 78, he enjoys a quiet retirement in Chelmsford with his wife, Pat. “Never in 35 years,” she says, “did I hear him complain when he got up in the morning.”Brind believes the pitches now are better than they have ever been – and that if the groundsman does his job well, spin bowling can be encouraged. “It takes seven to ten days to produce a good pitch. You’ve got to roll, cut, scarify, all at the right times and in the right amounts. The pitch has to be truly dry at the start of the match, you mustn’t leave any thickness of grass and you mustn’t over-roll, otherwise it can become flat and bland. It’s bloody hard work but I loved it. It’s the best job in the world.”

There was more discipline in Australia’s bowling than last week, but the prospect for the team remains bleak

Ali Cook29-Oct-2008
Brett Lee raised Australia’s hopes by dismissing Virender Sehwag in the third over but he didn’t take another wicket © Getty Images
There was more discipline in Australia’s bowling than last week, but the prospect for the team remains bleak. A suitable recovery seems impossible despite their efforts in the lead-up to the game and throughout the first day in Delhi. India’s batsmen are just too good on their home pitches if the bowlers at both ends are unable to work together to stifle runs.Australia’s morning started as brightly as the fireworks of the previous evening, with Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson dropping the home team to 27 for 2, but once Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir came together the series slipped further away. These are scary times for the visitors, who must avoid defeat to stay in contention.Despite a lot of talk and tinkering between the second and third Tests, there is a gulf between the sides that is unlikely to narrow over the next two weeks. With the pitch expected to become more uneven and spin friendly as the match continues, Australia are in need of more than fireworks when their batsmen get a chance. It will not be as easy as India made it look, especially with the amount of turn the part-timer Simon Katich was able to generate in six overs before stumps.”It will be really difficult on the third, fourth and fifth days,” Gambhir said. “The Kotla pitch is always inconsistent when it starts breaking up. With two quality spinners and two quality fast bowlers, it’s going to be really hard for Australia.”Stuart Clark came back from an elbow injury with a shorter run-up and excellent control, but even his tight, fighting spells could not produce wickets or cause enough disruption to force the Indians to fold. He finished with 0 for 29 from 21 overs and deserved at least one of the two wickets that went to Johnson. Shane Watson also contained, particularly in the first two sessions, but Lee and Johnson strayed often enough to let the batsmen operate without stress.Things were better than in Mohali, but Australia’s fast bowlers are not used to the treatment delivered by Gambhir, Tendulkar and VVS Laxman. On a couple of occasions they tried to stare down the batsmen and talk them into error. That didn’t work either.Watson and Gambhir had some exchanges during the afternoon, including one when the batsman pushed his elbow into the bowler’s chest while trying to run a second. Watson, a huge man, was never in danger of breaking, but he wasn’t happy. Like most of the bowlers, he could find no way to upset the batsmen apart from one searing bouncer that struck Gambhir on the shoulder. It still went for four, summing up Australia’s day.Gambhir secured the victory in his duel with Watson by going down the pitch and lofting over mid-on for six to bring up his century. It was a brave, stylish move that showed Gambhir’s confidence – and India’s – against an attack waving no flags of fear.”Our bowlers tried really hard on a very flat wicket,” the Australia vice-captain Michael Clarke said. “Sachin played really well, Gambhir played well and then VVS at the end.”Lee was driven through cover a few times, which doesn’t happen too often in Tests, and Cameron White could do nothing in four overs except watch 27 runs come from his offerings. The over-rate was a concern again, meaning Clarke and Katich were needed in the final hour. Nothing the Australians tried could slow India down for long.Despite the downturn of the tourists’ performances, Clarke remained hopeful that the pitch would not change face before the end of Australia’s first innings. “Being a batsman,” he said, “I can’t wait to get out there and get my opportunity tomorrow on that wicket.”Our preparation has been spot on and it’s only day one gone, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow. We need to hold our chances.” They also need to hope.