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he ECB’s proposal for a new city-based T20 competition, which had originally be slated for a launch season in 2018, may now be postponed until 2020

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Oct-2016The ECB’s proposal for a new city-based T20 competition, which had originally been slated for a launch season in 2018, may now be postponed until 2020 to coincide with a new broadcasting deal.The go-ahead to further explore the eight-team proposal was given by a 16-3 vote at the ECB board meeting at Lord’s in September, following discussions between the 18 first-class counties, the Professional Cricketers’ Association, and MCC.The ECB hierarchy, led by chairman Colin Graves and chief executive Tom Harrison, have been keen to push through a new T20 league to rival the success generated by the Indian Premier League and Australia’s Big Bash, despite fears from many counties that it would undermine their raison d’etre.

Championship by night

A round of Championship matches will be played under floodlights in 2017 – possibly in late June, the brightest time of the year.
The matches will be played using pink Dukes balls, so keeping faith with the make of ball used in the county game. Dukes have yet to be tested under lights with all previous experiments using a Kookaburra.

Surrey, Kent and Sussex were reportedly the three counties who opposed the proposal, although several have since expressed reservations about the lack of detail.The original plan had been for the competition to be shown on Sky Sports for at least the first two seasons, with few England players likely to be involved due to an overlap with international commitments. However, the delayed start may now encourage a terrestrial broadcaster to come forward, in line with the ECB’s desire to use the competition as a vehicle to attract new audiences to the game.In a separate development, the ECB board today ratified a recommendation from the Cricket Committee that the option of allowing the visiting team to bowl first in County Championship fixtures should be retained for the 2017 season.The proposal caused some controversy when it was brought in for the start of the 2016 season. However, the stated aim of encouraging home counties to produce better four-day pitches – and improving the conditions for spin bowlers – were broadly considered to have been a success.The Cricket Committee – which included Yorkshire’s director of cricket Martyn Moxon, Leicestershire’s chief executive Wasim Khan and David Leatherdale, the chief executive of the PCA – studied a range of data that showed, among other factors, that a total of 10,094 overs of spin had been bowled across the season, compared to 8,643 in 2015 – the highest since 2011.Peter Wright, the chairman of the Cricket Committee, told ECB.co.uk: “In many ways the statistics merely reinforced the feeling we had been picking up around the game throughout the summer, that the experiment was working in beginning to rebalance the game.”As we stressed when we introduced the new options for visiting captains, this was not all about spin. We wanted matches to last longer, and to become more thorough preparation for international cricket.”That meant better, four-day pitches, which would mean bowlers had to work harder to take wickets, and would encourage a greater variety of bowling, whether spin in its various forms, genuine pace or reverse swing from more abrasive pitches.

A round-up of all the Haier Mobile T-20 Cup matches played on September 13, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Sep-2015

Group B

Imran Khan and Israrullah both shared the Man-of-the-Match award•PCB

A hat-trick from the left-arm seamer Imran Khan, followed by a 52-ball 82 from Israrullah powered Peshawar Region into the semi-finals, after the team beat Karachi Region Blues by seven wickets at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Despite the defeat, Karachi Blues also made it to the next round, starting tomorrow.Batting first, Karachi Blues were never allowed to thrive in their innings, as the opener Khurram Manzoor was dismissed in the third over. Khalid Latif, the tournament’s second leading scorer, hit 40 off 34 balls to lay a platform, but none of the other batsmen could capitalise, as Imran clipped three important wickets – Fawad Alam (37 off 28), Sarfaraz Ahmed (23 off 18) and Anwar Ali (0) – to complete his hat-trick. Those late blows restricted Karachi Blues to 156 for 7.Rafatullah Mohmand departed early in the chase, but Israrullah and Mohammad Rizwan (40 off 35) made no mistakes. Israrullah launched 13 fours during his fifty, as Peshawar overhauled the target in 18 overs. Anwar Ali bagged one wicket while Rumman Raees, the leading wicket-taker of the tournament, could also only manage 1 for 35. With their fourth win of the tournament, Peshawar ended on top of Group B.A five-for from the fast bowler Mohammad Naeem set up a six-wicket win for Abbottabad Region against Islamabad Region at the Diamond Club Ground. The win, though, was in vain, as the Younis Khan-led side failed to qualify for the semi-finals after finishing third in the table, with three victories and two losses.Islamabad, having been inserted, began promisingly, as the opener Shan Masood scored 36 off 21 balls. However, Naeem ripped the batting order, picking up 5 for 31 from his four overs. Shahid Yousuf resisted with 34, but Islamabad were eventually bundled out for 149 in 19 overs.Abbottabad did not have much trouble in their chase, as Fakhar Zaman, who scored a century against Peshawar on Saturday, hammered 78 off 39 balls with 14 fours and a six. Abbottabad lost four wickets in the chase, but Younis made 31 off 18 balls, taking the side home with 29 balls to spare.A three-wicket haul from Mohammad Irfan set up a comprehensive six-wicket win for Lahore Region Whites against Faisalabad Region at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The result, however, did not help either team; Lahore Whites could only finish fourth in the table, while Faisalabad were relegated after ending rock bottom.Faisalabad, opting to bat, were steered by an unbeaten 55-ball 87 from their opener Raheel Ameer. However, Ameer received little by way of support from his team-mates, as no other batsman could muster more than 17. Irfan picked up 3 for 9 to run through Faisalabad’s lower middle order, while Sajid Watto collected 2 for 26, restricting the team to 140 for 7.Lahore Whites lost Ahmed Shehzad early in the chase, but crucial thirties from their captain Azhar Ali (35), Umar Siddiq (34) and Saad Nasim (37 not out) took the team home in 18.4 overs. Ehsan Adil was Faisalabad’s best bowler, taking 2 for 16 from three overs.

Group A

Sialkot Region overpowered Bahawalpur Region by 10 wickets at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad to go straight into the semi-final.In what turned out to be a one-sided contest, Bahawalpur, batting first, could only muster 96 for 7 from their 20 overs. Only Bahawalpur’s captain Kamran Hussain produced a substantial score, making 43 off 33 balls, while six of the batsmen failed to break into double digits. Hasan Ali was the main destroyer, picking up four wickets at the cost of 11 runs, while Usama Mir bowled a tight four overs to bag two wickets, giving away just seven runs.Sialkot responded to the small chase in style, as both the openers Mukhtar Ahmed (55 off 25) and Nauman Anwar (45 off 23) guided the team home inside eight overs. Sialkot will now take on Peshawar Region in Monday’s second semi-final.Hyderabad Region held their nerve to beat Rawalpindi Region by two wickets off the penultimate ball in an inconsequential match. Hyderabad needed five off the last two deliveries from Hammad Azam when Nauman Ali hit the third ball he faced for six to seal the win.Hyderabad began their chase of 159 strongly with a 37-run opening stand between Azeem Ghumman (41 off 36) and Sharjeel Khan. However, they lost momentum thereafter and slipped to 85 for 4 during the 13th over. Faisal Athar (31 off 24) and Shoaib Laghari (34 off 19) revived the chase with a fifty partnership.Yasir Arafat struck twice in the 18th over on way to 3 for 20 and Sohail Tanvir removed Laghari in the 19th but Hyderabad had enough left in the tank to reach their destination.Rawalpindi had posted 158 for 8 after choosing to bat. Umar Amin led with 52 off 40 and rebuilt the innings from 98 for 5 along with Zahid Mansoor, who contributed 31 off 20. Nauman Ali starred with the ball too, taking 3 for 31.

Andy Flower, the England team director, has cautioned against over-hyping Joe Root’s early success at international level

Andrew McGlashan in Queenstown03-Mar-2013Andy Flower, the England team director, has cautioned against over-hyping Joe Root’s early success at international level after his form prompted discussion as to whether he should immediately be promoted to open in Tests, and which of the established top order he could force out for the 2013 Champions Trophy.With the new split coaching role that has Ashley Giles in charge of the limited-overs squads, Flower has not been around the team during Root’s impressive run in India and New Zealand since the start of this year. However, Flower did see at first hand Root’s Test debut in Nagpur, where he made 73 off 229 balls in the first innings to help England towards their series-clinching draw.Root gave another composed display during England’s warm-up match against the New Zealand XI in Queenstown – scoring 49 in the first innings and contributing useful overs during the three-wicket defeat – ahead of a series where he is penciled in to retain the No. 6 position he had in Nagpur.Root has already been given tags ranging from the opener-in-waiting to a future England captain, so while acknowledging what he had achieved in the embryonic stage of his career, Flower hoped expectations would not become too inflated.”You’ve got to remember Joe Root has played one Test match,” he said. “I think everyone should keep a little calm about his prospects. No one knows exactly how he’s going to do, not Joe and none of us.”But he has handled himself very well in the international competition and the opportunities he’s been given so far. We look forward to him having a very successful career, but he’s got to take it one step at a time – as do all of us.”Another impact of Root’s emergence has been to increase the pressure on Nick Compton. Debate continues about one of the few questionable places in the England Test line-up despite Compton’s solid performances in India. He made only 21 and 1 against the New Zealand XI to be, along with Kevin Pietersen, the most short of time in the middle.”I thought Nick played really well in India,” Flower said. “He had some tricky situations to deal with there – some extreme subcontinent conditions, obviously the pressure of playing in India for the first time. I thought he did extremely well out there, without getting the huge score. He put on some really valuable partnerships with Cook.”He missed out in this game, having spent a bit of time there in the first innings when the ball was darting around. He’s a good player.”The England squad made the three-hour journey to Dunedin, the venue for the first Test, on Sunday but before leaving picture-perfect Queenstown, Flower also reflected on a performance against the New Zealand XI that was less pleasing on the eye than the backdrop.In both innings the top order failed to impose itself – the first innings was guided by a pleasing performance from Ian Bell and Matt Prior boosted the second – and the pace bowling was less-than-convincing as the New Zealand XI lost just seven wickets in each innings, chasing down 334 on the final day with eight balls to spare.”Winning is a great habit to keep, but they played pretty well and I thought we were a little sloppy in a few areas,” Flower said. “But there were some good things to come out of that game. I thought Bell and Prior were excellent with the bat.Stuart Broad is almost certain to play the first Test•Getty Images

“The bowlers, after a poor first-innings display, all got better in the second innings. It’s not ideal, losing. But the crux of the matter is the first Test is four days away, and that’s when it will count.”I think there was ring-rustiness there, without a doubt. That was obvious for all to see. The point of playing these games is to get ready for the first Test. It was an excellent game of cricket … all in all, a very good outing for everyone.”No one was rustier than seamer Graham Onions who had a forgettable match, ending with figures of 1 for 213 from 38 overs, which means Stuart Broad is assured of a return to the Test team although, as ever, Flower would not confirm any selection decisions. Broad was the pick of England’s quicks as he put his troublesome heel through a solid work out, maintaining good pace in multiple spells, and did not appear hindered at any point.”I’m very pleased,” Flower said. “His heel is obviously a worry to him and to us. But it reacted well to the number of overs he bowled, and he came through it well. He is fit and available for selection for the first Test.”Still, half of England’s bowling attack in the first Test will be pushing bodies that are not in prime order. Along with Broad’s heel there is Graeme Swann’s elbow to monitor. He spent six overs off the field on the final day in Queenstown, when he sent down 20 overs in total, for what was termed ‘routine’ work on the elbow, which underwent surgery in 2009 and will remain a concern for the rest of Swann’s career.Swann will have an immense workload in the next 12 months – unlike the quicks he is unlikely to consistently have someone to share the burden – and 15 Tests between now and the end of the back-to-back Ashes, not to mention the Champions Trophy, could stretch his joint to breaking point.”Inevitably, there are niggles – the stresses and strains that are put on their bodies mean there always are,” Flower said. “But at the moment everyone is fine.”Flower was also confident that, despite the bowling attack struggling in the absence of James Anderson and Steven Finn, there were enough resources to cover whatever situations occur.”We’ve got some very fine international bowlers. That’s why we’ve had a lot of success recently. We’re always conscious of the contingency plans in case some of our star bowlers get injured – and because of the nature of the job they do, they are going to get injured. I am confident that, if we do have injuries, we will have bowlers who can create pressure and chances.”

Ricky Ponting needed to have his concerns assuaged by the national selector John Inverarity before he accepted the stand-in captaincy for Friday’s triangular series match against Sri Lanka in Sydney

Daniel Brettig in Sydney16-Feb-2012Ricky Ponting needed to have his concerns assuaged by the national selector John Inverarity before he accepted the stand-in captaincy for Friday’s triangular series match against Sri Lanka in Sydney.Aware that Michael Clarke had strained a hamstring at the conclusion of Sunday’s loss to India, Ponting took the vice-captain David Warner aside in the Adelaide Oval dressing room to say “make sure you’ve got yourself ready to captain Australia in a couple of days’ time”. However Ponting then took the call of Inverarity, who explained that Warner was not yet ready for the position, compelling the selectors to go back to the former captain at the SCG.”I did have a think about it and I had a good chat to John Inverarity about that and what some of my concerns were around that,” Ponting said on match eve. “But I decided to do what they wanted me to do and what I felt was probably right for the team right at the moment.”We’ve got a few of our experienced guys out on the sidelines at the moment, and I know Dave Warner had been named vice-captain at the start of the one-day series and the selectors made it very clear why they haven’t given him the captaincy for this game. I’m excited about leading the team again but hopefully it’s only for a very short period of time.”[My concerns] were all the things that have already been spoken about in the media in the past couple of days. The fact there was a vice-captain named and it looked like I was coming over the top of him and maybe not giving a younger guy an opportunity to captain Australia. They were the things I spoke to John about, but the fact they’d actually asked me, they’d put a lot of time and thought and energy into making me come back into this role, so I agreed to do it and felt and still feel right now that it’s probably the best decision for the team.”Ponting said he would now be spending plenty of time with Warner over the next two days or more – depending on whether or not Clarke returns from his hamstring strain in time for Sunday’s match against India at the Gabba – to impart as much wisdom as he could about captaincy and leadership. Their dialogue had begun when Warner called Ponting upon hearing he had been appointed captain, offering a cheeky rejoinder to the earlier dressing room conversation.Ricky Ponting will stand in for the injured Michael Clarke•Getty Images

“As soon as the game finished in Adelaide I actually dragged [Warner] over and made him sit with me for a few minutes and I said to him then ‘make sure you’ve got yourself ready to captain Australia in a couple of days’ time’,” Ponting said. “Then as soon as the decision was made he was on the phone to me straight away saying ‘don’t worry about me, you better make sure you’re ready to captain the team’, so we’ve had a bit of a chat about it. Davey’s very clear on the direction the selectors have taken, and I’m just going to do the best I can to make sure he gets the most out of the game that he possibly can.”As I’ve always done when I was captain is ask the opinions of the players out on the field at different times in the game and for Friday’s game it’ll be Davey that I’ll be going to a lot to one let him know what my ideas are and what we’re trying to achieve and also try to get some ideas out of him as to where he sees the game at any particular time. I think he came out yesterday and said he enjoys working under Michael and George Bailey in the T20s and for him tomorrow he’s got a chance to work with me and I’m looking forward to that.”Chief among Ponting’s priorities for the match against Sri Lanka is to help refocus a team that struggled for energy and precision in the field in Adelaide – perhaps a hangover from the Perth commute, having played a match on the west coast on Friday night.”That’s the hardest one you have during the summer, there’s no doubt about that,” Ponting said. “When you’re travelling from Sydney to Brisbane like we are this week then it’s not as big a deal. Coming from Perth, we left at one o’clock and arrived in Adelaide about half past six. Then you’re having dinner and up and playing the next day. Probably for the fast bowlers in particular that was the hardest thing that they’ll have to do for the summer.”We’re not using that as an excuse. We knew about that at the start of the summer and we have to gear our training and our preparation around a trip like that. That game’s behind us now. We’ve got to look forward to this week and make sure we’re lifting our standards again.”It should not be forgotten either that Ponting’s own start to the series has been particularly quiet, returning scores of 2, 1 and 6. So amid all the assorted concerns of captaincy, Ponting said he was making sure he paid adequate attention to his own batting, having scaled considerable heights during the Test series against India.”I’ve been doing pretty much the same stuff this series as I was doing towards the end of the Test series,” Ponting said. “To miss out in the first couple of games, you have a reasonable break between games. We’re playing Friday-Sunday right through this tournament so it’s a little bit hard to get some momentum going when you’ve got that big break between games.”Today becomes an important day for me as far as my preparation is concerns to get everything out of it I can. It’s important for the team as well. We started this series really well and our last two performances probably haven’t been at the level that we’d expect of ourselves so we have to make sure that by the end of training today we’ve got ourselves back to a level that’s going to be good enough to dominate the remaining games.”

The Indian players in the IPL auction could be set for a bumper payday as there is far more overseas talent for fewer slots and vice versa

Sharda Ugra and Nagraj Gollapudi07-Jan-2011Here’s the good news: there is a total of $72.3m dollars floating around for cricketers from all over the globe at the IPL’s bumper auction in Bangalore’s Royal Gardenia hotel this weekend. Most of it, though, will be spent on Indian players, with the big-ticket overseas players discovering that after three seasons of big spending, their big tickets have expired.The reason: there are many more overseas players up for auction than their Indian counterparts. Or, to put it another way, far more overseas talent for fewer slots and vice versa.The 2011 auction has 305 overseas cricketers for the 95 foreign slots available among the ten teams, as opposed to 48 Indians in the auction for what in reality are a minimum of 200 places. As in conventional economics, the IPL’s law of demand and supply dictates that demand will fix its own price.”If you are looking for an allrounder from among the foreign players,” one franchise official said, “you know if you have ten options and you don’t get the first nine, you will get the tenth, who will still be a player of quality. That is not what is happening with the Indians.The sheer scarcity of Indian talent will drive values and prices very high.”The auction is likely to indicate how franchises will conduct their business in the second phase of the IPL, where team numbers are up from eight to 10 and the schedule changes to a 74-match calendar with playoffs.Steve Rixon, the former Australia wicketkeeper now on the Chennai Super Kings support staff, told ESPNcricinfo that the franchises at this auction would be a “little smarter” than the previous one, and make their choices very carefully over “who they are selecting, why they are selecting and whether they fit into the bigger picture.”Given the IPL’s lopsided numbers, there is now a slim chance of overseas players picking up the highest IPL contract, like the $1.55m deal handed out to both Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff in 2009. It is in fact Yusuf Pathan and Yuvraj Singh who could well be in a close contest for the weekend’s biggest wage slip, because they are both Indian and impact players.Nor will it be a surprise if some of the best-known international names land far smaller pay cheques than a range of players spanning Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Robin Uthappa and Saurabh Tiwary.The grapevine suggests that most franchises will not fill their quota of ten overseas signings. The biggest lesson from the past three seasons of the IPL, a franchise executive said, was that, “ten foreign players are too many… you waste them. Sometimes you have to leave a quality player on a bench. It’s not good for him, not good for you. The optimum number is about eight. It gives you enough options: to play an extra bowler, someone may be injured or unavailable.”
The auction’s global graph, said another official, would move east and south. “Franchises will spend more money on Indian players followed by the Sri Lankans and South Africans. Then the Australians, because of availability. That is where the England players will be hurt – usually their window is too small for teams to consider.”
Some overseas players will, of course, command high prices. These will be men of express pace, like Dale Steyn or Shaun Tait, who can blow open games, or batsmen who can do the same, like Chris Gayle or David Warner. Or a big name whose purse will come with the promise that he can win at least four or five games on his own and command star value. Step forward Muttiah Muralitharan and Jacques Kallis.The most unpredictable buys in the auction could well come from the new franchises, like the faction-ridden Kochi or Sahara-owned Pune, who find the entire exercise a mental and financial challenge – more so because 12 star players have already been retained. A Chennai franchise insider said the two new teams would be looking for that one star buy. Their plans, he believed, would be similar to Chennai’s in 2008. “Unlike most teams, Chennai didn’t have an icon player. Chennai went all out to get MS Dhoni. This time again there is expected to be a mad rush for such a player who could add the star value and the brand image to the franchise… at least one such player who could be their captain.”However one of the officials of a new franchise said his side were left with “not so many” options. “The top 10 players in the world are gone. If you take Mumbai and Chennai, they have been allowed to retain players who are easily worth around $6 million.”
They would do well to heed Delhi’s advice: that the players with the biggest price tags aren’t the only ones to pursue. Due to the Twenty20 format, a Delhi insider said, it doesn’t make sense to spend money beyond a certain level on a player. “We have seen that several high-value players have not delivered in games”. The brevity and speed of the game, he said, gives a less-skilled player a “better chance of delivering in a big T20 game… just like there is far less chance of a lesser player coming through in a tough Test match situation. That is the nature of the beast.”The best squad, then, is a mix of “allrounders and impact players”. Or, as Rixon put it, players who fit the teams’ macro-mould. “If bowling is your strength, you need strong upper-order batting. You need players who can bowl and bat…” Teams would also be on the lookout for the decision-makers who can deliver. “That is where the older heads have a role to play and that can only come from experience. That is why there are still older players on the circuit.” That is why Anil Kumble will be missed.The presence of a Tait or a Steyn, and therefore the demand for them, will be even more vital and valuable than that of a star batsman. Even over four overs, their pace and ability can ask questions of the bits and pieces players (who will proliferate in the IPL) that will likely be left unanswered.Team like Kings XI Punjab, who have had three rough and controversial years followed by three months of legal wrangling with the BCCI, will be looking for stability. A Punjab spokesman said the franchise wants players, “who perform and not only those who command large amounts of money. It will be performance that counts and not only money.”It’s the IPL so money will count. It will walk and strut and it will talk. But at the auction, it is going to speak a language not of glamour or glitz, but that of business and bottom lines. The $74.3m are, for the better part, going to have to be judiciously spent.

Virender Sehwag, the Indian opener, has said he aims to play 100 Tests before his retirement and wishes to bat at No.4, even though he may have to wait until Sachin Tendulkar, who occupies that slot, ends his career

Cricinfo staff19-Feb-2010Virender Sehwag, the Indian opener, has said he “would love” to bat at No.4, even though he may have to wait until Sachin Tendulkar, who occupies that slot, ends his career. Sehwag was speaking at the ESPNcricinfo Awards ceremony in Jaipur, where he won the prize for best Test innings for the second year running. His audacious 293 against Sri Lanka in Mumbai was chosen over four other nominations shortlisted for the award.”I would love to bat at number four. I know I would not get that till Sachin retires. But I can wait,” Sehwag said, despite his enormous success at the top of the order. “I still would like to bat in the middle order. It’s difficult to field one-and-half days and then come out to bat in 10 minutes. When you bat at No. 6 like (MS) Dhoni, it allows you some rest. I have been successful as an opener but who knows, maybe I would have been more successful in the middle order.”Sehwag’s brutal innings against Sri Lanka included 40 fours and seven sixes, and set up an innings win for India, propelling them to the No.1 ranking in Tests. He had tremendous success in 2009 – an average of 108.98 in six Tests – and in the four Tests he’s played this year, he’s already managed two centuries. Sehwag said his form would only get better in the years to come. “I’m 31 and I think I’m playing well. And I would get only better in the next three-four years.”Sehwag defended his naturally aggressive approach to batting, saying there were risks involved even if he opted to play more cautiously. “People say I take too many risks. But the fact is, there is risk involved in every shot. You can get out trying to defend a ball as well. At times, people tell me to leave ball outside the off-stump. But some of them can jag back and get you out if you don’t play shots. I think if you think so much, you simply cannot bat,” he said.”In my case, it would become risky if I try to become defensive, since my technique is not that good. I think in a different way. When I grew up, I tried to score off every ball, be it a 10-over-match, a 20-over or even a Test match. If I stay in the wicket for say about 30 minutes, I want to make the most of it and score maximum runs possible. You never know when you get out, try to score as much possible before that.”Sehwag added he wished to play 100 Tests for India before retiring from the format. “I want to play 100 Test matches and once I have done that, I may retire from Test cricket,” he said.

Youngster struggled for form after watching from the sidelines during India Tests

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Sep-2025Jacob Bethell has admitted he “should have played slightly more” domestic cricket while he was England’s spare batter during their Test series against India.Bethell, 21, played only four matches – three in the T20 Blast, one in the County Championship – between the start of the Test series in June and his call-up for the fifth Test at The Oval, which began on July 31. He faced only 85 balls across those matches, and looked noticeably short of rhythm when scoring 6 and 5 during England’s narrow defeat after Ben Stokes was ruled out through injury.Specifically, he could have played some role in Warwickshire’s Championship fixtures against Sussex (which overlapped with the second Test against India) or Worcestershire (which clashed with the fourth), but decided in conjunction with England’s management that he should stay with the Test squad instead.Related

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Ahead of Sunday’s ODI in Southampton, Bethell had only faced 387 balls across the English summer, compared to 1,480 in the 2024 season. His lack of cricket has been discussed incessantly in the media in recent months, with suggestions he should have returned from the IPL early, or played for Warwickshire in the Metro Bank Cup instead of the Hundred.”There’s been a little bit of noise but I don’t listen to it much,” Bethell told Sky Sports. “If I’m honest, I probably should have played slightly more when I wasn’t playing in the Test matches, but that’s something that I’ll take and I’ll learn from that.”Even though I didn’t play much in that Test series, I was around the group for a lot of it, and just to watch a high-octane Test series like that was unbelievable. I got a chance in the last Test and unfortunately couldn’t go on there and put in a performance, but I’ve loved [the summer]. Playing for England is a dream come true and hopefully I can do it for a long time to come.”Bethell will play in England’s T20Is against South Africa next week before becoming their youngest-ever captain in Ireland a week later. He is then likely to be part of their white-ball tour to New Zealand, before travelling to Australia as the spare batter for the Ashes, and heading to Sri Lanka then India for a white-ball series leading into the T20 World Cup.”Now I’m looking at what I have ahead and there’s a lot of cricket, so that little gap where I didn’t play actually might be quite nice for me,” Bethell said.Marcus Trescothick, who will deputise as England coach in Ireland, said on Saturday that Bethell had a “great opportunity” to gain captaincy experience at a young age.”We’re very clear that he can step into that role and be very comfortable with that,” Trescothick said. “The attention has been outside of our circle. There’s been some media scrutiny around him playing and doing this job [captaincy], but within our circle that’s never been the case. We manage it accordingly and we’re not going to put anyone in a position that is not suitable to their character or their calibre.”

India allrounder opens up on what happened during those 48 hours when he had to leave the team in the middle of a Test to visit his mother in hospital

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Mar-2024An emotional R Ashwin has expressed his immense gratitude towards India’s “outstanding” captain Rohit Sharma for his leadership and “heart of gold” during last month’s Rajkot Test against England.Ashwin, who took his 500th wicket and played his 100th Test during the series against England, had to temporarily withdraw from the third Test in Rajkot because of a health emergency concerning his mother. He left his team-mates after play on the second day and rejoined them late on the fourth day.”It all kicked off on the second day, though it’s a bit blurry now,” Ashwin said on his Youtube channel. “I was on 499 wickets I think, and was hoping to reach the milestone in the second Test in Vizag, but it wasn’t to be. But on day two in Rajkot, I finally got Zak Crawley. It wasn’t a particularly great ball, but I finally got to the landmark.””After the end of play, I had agreed to do some interviews and went to the press area. I’d just got my 500th wicket, so was expecting a call from my wife or father. I was a bit surprised not to hear from them, since it was almost 7 PM. But I figured they must be busy with interviews and responding to congratulatory messages, so didn’t think much of it.”After being unable to reach my parents, I finally got hold of my wife on the phone. Her voice was breaking. I told her I was just about to get into the shower, and she asked me to go somewhere alone, away from my team-mates. She said that my mother had collapsed after a severe headache.”Related

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Ashwin said he couldn’t immediately process the news, particularly with the Test, and series, in the balance. England had ended the second day on 207 for 2 in response to India’s 445, with the series tied 1-1.”I just blanked out. I don’t remember what I did, but I was crying,” Ashwin said. “I didn’t know what to ask her. I didn’t want anyone to see me cry – it was an instinctive reaction. I just sat alone in my room, not knowing what to do.”On one hand, I knew I had to go back home, but there was also the thinking of how can I let my team-mates down. I couldn’t strike that balance. I didn’t know what to tell the coach or captain. I was in the XI, and if I go home now, we’d be left with only 10 players, giving England the advantage.”But I was also just thinking about my mother. And when was the last time I spoke to her. In my mind, I knew I had to go back home and see her, but the doctors were informing us that nobody was allowed in to meet her.”R Ashwin with his family on the morning of his 100th Test•BCCI

It was at this point of time, Ashwin said, that Rohit and head coach Rahul Dravid came into the dressing room, and made his decision a straightforward one.”I think since I wasn’t answering my phone, my wife must have called Rohit and Dravid to tell them the news. Rohit came in, saw me thinking, and just said, ‘what are you doing? You need to leave right away. Please just pack your bags and go'”.The next challenge was finding a quick way back home, but with no flights to Chennai scheduled till the next morning, Ashwin got help from an unexpected source.”I must say a big thank you to Cheteshwar Pujara as well, who spoke to a lot of people and arranged for a chartered flight for me.”Our team physio Kamlesh Jain is a good friend. Rohit told Kamlesh to accompany me on the flight to Chennai, despite Kamlesh being one of only two physios in the team.”I told Kamlesh, ‘it’s ok, please stay back’. But when I went to the board the flight, Kamlesh and a security person was already there. Not just that, but Rohit regularly kept calling Kamlesh to check in on me and see how I’m doing. That deeply moved me. In a selfish society like ours, that man who decides to take a moment to think of someone else’s wellbeing, he’s truly great.”Rohit is a special person, an outstanding leader, with a golden heart. I saw it first-hand. I’d give my life for him on the field, that’s the kind of captain he is. It’s because of these qualities that he’s won so many titles, including five IPLs. I pray to God that Rohit achieves even more in his career and life.”Ashwin’s stay in Chennai was brief, and after being informed his mother would make a recovery, he knew he had to re-join his team-mates in Rajkot. “My mother was initially surprised to see me. And that’s the difference in parents of previous generations and today’s. She only wanted what’s best for me. And wanted me to be with the team. Even in those circumstances, she kept thinking of me.”With the help of BCCI secretary Jay Shah, Ashwin was able to take another chartered flight from Chennai to Rajkot, and eventually linked up with his team-mates on day four. India won the Rajkot Test by 434 runs to take a 2-1 lead and eventually won the series 4-1 in Dharamsala with Ashwin taking nine wickets in his 100th Test.

Her 221-stand with fellow centurion Muneeba Ali also broke the Pakistan record for the highest partnership in the format

S Sudarshanan04-Nov-2022Pakistan continued their dominating show at home in the ICC Women’s Championship by notching up their third win in four games of the latest cycle. Centuries from Sidra Ameen and Muneeba Ali and a record opening stand from them saw Pakistan beat Ireland in the first women’s ODI in Lahore. The win follows their 2-1 win over Sri Lanka in June earlier this year.Ameen hit an unbeaten 176 – the highest individual score by a Pakistan batter in ODIs – after Muneeba was dismissed on 107 and the pair added 221 for the opening wicket, the highest for Pakistan. On a day records tumbled, Pakistan also notched up their first total in excess of 300 in a women’s ODI by finishing on 335 for 3. In reply, only captain Laura Delany managed a half-century for Ireland as the tourists fell short by 128 in what is their first-ever match in Pakistan.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Opting to bat in sunny conditions at the Gaddafi Stadium, where the pitch was flat, Ameen and Muneeba got off to a breezy start with the latter hogging more of the strike. Seamer Arlene Kelly’s third over, where she hit a couple of fours, got Ameen truly going. She then hit three fours in legspinner Cara Murray’s second over – beating mid-off on either side off successive deliveries before using the sweep to exploit the vacant deep backward square leg region.A 15-run over by offspinner Rachel Delaney saw both openers cross the half-century mark. Soon, left-arm spinner Leah Paul couldn’t find her footing and was carted for 33 off her two overs, with Muneeba hitting a couple of humongous sixes.There were no signs of slowing down and soon, Muneeba would wrist Murray to the on side to bring up her maiden ODI century off 108 balls. A couple of overs later, it was Ameen’s time to celebrate as she brought up her third ton in the format – all in this calendar year. But in the interim, Muneeba had mistimed her heave to mid-on to end what was only Pakistan’s second hundred-plus opening stand – following the 158 the pair had made against Sri Lanka.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Aliya Riaz, promoted to No. 3, could not have the desired result as she crawled to a 27-ball 29, not getting the measure of the surface. But Ameen made up for it and carried her bat through to what is the highest individual score by a Pakistan batter in the format.Returning from an ankle injury that saw her miss out of the Women’s Asia Cup, fast bowler Fatima Sana then kept Ireland in a leash and had wickets of Paul and Eimear Richardson to show. Left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu and offspinner Nida Dar then continued to apply the squeeze.The 69-run fourth-wicket partnership between Delany and Orla Prendergast was the only resistance Ireland could put up. Delany played some crisp strokes and also used the delicate dabs during her stay in the middle. However, the 336-run target was always a mountain too far.

Young Yorkshire pair tear into Worcestershire to transform malfunctioning innings

David Hopps23-Jun-2021Yorkshire 191 for 5 (Brook 83*, Thompson 66*, Pennington 4-24) beat Worcestershire 179 for 5 (Wessels 77, Cox 61*) by 12 runsSometimes it is not just about talent, it is about desire. Rarely has that been more apparent than in the way that the up-and-coming Yorkshire pair of Jordan Thompson and Harry Brook transformed a calamitous position to claim victory on an improbable record-breaking night in the Vitality Blast.Their stand of 141 in 56 balls was the highest sixth-wicket partnership in the history of the Blast and the second highest-ever in the world for that wicket, dwarfed only by the 161 shared by Andre Russell and Kennar Lewis for Jamaica Tallawahs against Trinbago Knight Riders in Port of Spain three years ago.But it was not just about an extraordinary statistic, it was about the message it conveyed. That Thompson and Brook are players brimming with promise is known throughout Yorkshire, to some extent beyond. But this was the night they came of age and, as they did, they questioned some enfeebled batting that had gone before.”Everything seemed in slow motion,” said Thompson, thereby taking the opposite view to those of us who just got to watch it and thought everything felt speeded up.T20 matches are, by their nature, unstable, but the pair’s refusal to yield was quite something. When Thompson joined Brook, they were 50 for 5 after 10.5 overs and that fifty had been met with derisive cheers. Dillon Pennington, strong and purposeful, had taken four wickets in his first eight balls for Worcestershire, including a triple-wicket maiden.Worcestershire have figured in some insipid Powerplays on successive nights. On Tuesday, they scraped 20 for 4 against Notts, only posted 86 for 8 and lost in 6.2 overs. This time it was they who restricted Yorkshire to 18 for 4, but they still took another beating.Yorkshire were not just without their England trio of Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan and David Wiley, they lacked Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who had fractured a finger keeping wicket, and Will Fraine, who had strained his side while range-hitting in practice 24 hours before the game. In the way Yorkshire started their innings, it felt as if there was an underlying sense of pessimism.From there, Brook smashed 83 not out off 54 balls and Thompson 66 from 28, career-best scores for players who only had one T20 half-century each at start of play. They rallied Yorkshire to 191 for 5, and when Worcestershire fell 12 runs short, a fifth victory in seven took them to the top of North Group. Unless other top-order batters capture their mood, they may need their slender points cushion ahead of fifth place, although a long tail will help.Related

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Pennington removed Adam Lyth, Jonny Tattersall and Gary Ballance in his first over – a triple-wicket maiden in the third of the match – and then trapped Joe Root lbw for 1 in his next. Root fell to a decent inswinger, but the rest lacked conviction: Lyth (his rampant start to the season a distant memory) slicing to third man; Tattersall, playing his first game since being loaned out to Gloucestershire, dragging a pull to short midwicket when a cut shot would have been a better option; and Ballance, strangely ineffectual in T20 and often overlooked as a result, pulling his third ball to deep square leg.Brook,initially looking slight and wan, might easily have joined them. He was dropped on 2 by Riki Wessels at midwicket and had only 6 from 19 balls when he came to life and gratefully struck an innings-saving half volley from Barnard over long off for six.It was when he was joined by Thompson, however, that belief flooded into Yorkshire’s batting. Brook’s ability can need enticing out at times, but Thompson’s capability flares on the surface for all to see. His head might have lifted now and then, and maybe the ball did not always fly exactly where he planned, but he relished the fight and his backswing brooked no argument.They peppered the ball to all parts, a sense of desperation insisting they just played by instinct. Thompson took 17 from five balls from Pennington, 21 coming from his last over. Every Worcestershire bowler was emphatically broken in turn and 28 came from the last from Charlie Morris, the innings ending when Ish Sodhi, who was surprisingly limited to two overs, dived over one at extra cover.Worcestershire’s innings possessed far more sanity, but it was not a night when sanity prevailed. Wessels tried his best to atone for the earlier catching error with a season’s-best 77 in all competitions. From 50 for 3 in the eighth over, he shared 68 in seven overs with captain Ben Cox, but when he was yorked by Matthew Fisher at 118 for 4 in the 15th, the game titled towards Yorkshire.Lockie Ferguson leaked 20 from the penultimate over, leaving Fisher to defend 23 from the last, and, although Cox finished 61 not out, he did so comfortably enough. “I think we had a pretty good game,” said Pennington, loyally, understandably not wanting his own wonderful night to be ruined.