Naveen-ul-Haq, Ben Mike close out first win in any format this season as Yorkshire stumble

ECB Reporters Network29-May-2022Rishi Patel and Colin Ackermann’s century partnership led Leicestershire to a shock 31-run Vitality Blast win over Yorkshire at Headingley.The pair put on 109 as the Foxes fought back from a tricky start to set Yorkshire 189 to win. Dawid Malan’s half-century and another impressive innings from recent England Test call-up Harry Brook gave the Vikings hope, but Leicestershire secured their first win of the competition.Yorkshire’s pursuit of 189 got off to a flyer with 24 runs in the first two overs – all from the bat of Adam Lyth. But the Vikings lost two wickets in two overs as Lyth fell to Ben Mike for 24 and Tom Kohler-Cadmore to Naveen-ul-Haq for one.Naveen-ul-Haq closed out the win•PA Images/Getty

England duo Malan and Joe Root shared a half-century stand to guide Yorkshire to 77 for 2 at halfway with another 112 needed, but Root fell three balls later to Mike for 17 from 16 balls, caught trying to power the ball over the infield.Malan eased to a 37-ball fifty in the 13th over but departed one ball after his milestone to Callum Parkinson to leave Yorkshire 96 for 4.The in-form Brook struck two crisp boundaries to get himself going but with five overs remaining Yorkshire were up against it needing 69 to win. Brook, pushing for a Test debut at Lord’s on Thursday, passed 1,000 runs in all formats this season.But Shadab Khan was out for 16 as the Vikings’ hopes faded and they were all-but extinguished when Jordan Thompson came and went for one. Yorkshire needed 46 from the last 12 balls and Brook was unable to reach a third Blast fifty in succession, caught on the boundary for 29 off Naveen. Dom Bess and Matt Revis fell cheaply as Yorkshire could only reach 157 for 9.Leicestershire’s recovery to their total of 188 for 7 was an impressive one after losing three wickets inside the powerplay – with Scott Steel, Hamish Rutherford and Arron Lilley all caught in the deep.Related

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Lewis Hill attempted to get the Foxes back on track as he dumped Shadab into the stands, but he fell to Adil Rashid the following over for 22 – the England spinner’s 250th career T20 wicket.From 51 for 4, Ackermann did shift the momentum Leicestershire’s way with 15 off Shadab’s next over as his partnership with Patel got under way. The pair were patient, guiding the visitors to 76 for 4 at halfway before increasing their rate as the stand wore on.Their fifty partnership came up in the 13th over, before the 15th and 16th overs went for 15 and 18 respectively, with Patel clearing the ropes three times in 10 balls.Ackermann’s fifty came from 31 balls and Patel’s from 30 and their partnership of 109 set a club record fifth-wicket stand in T20s. Ackermann was removed by Thompson with 15 balls remaining, before Patel departed for a career-best 57 in the final over.The win was Leicestershire’s first across formats this season, after a winless start to the County Championship season and successive defeats to start the Blast – including being bowled out for 89 in Saturday’s televised game against Derbyshire only 24 hours previously.

Ameen and Muneeba’s record-breaking first-wicket stand was backed up by Sana’s 4 for 26

Danyal Rasool03-Jun-2022An imperious top-order batting performance from Sidra Ameen and Muneeba Ali, backed up by a four-wicket haul by Fatima Sana, helped Pakistan to another rout of Sri Lanka by 73 runs, and a wrap of the ODI series with a game to spare.The victory was spearheaded by a sensational 123 by Ameen – her second ODI century – as part of a record 158-run opening stand with Muneeba. Ameen’s 150-ball knock was complemented by a more sedate 100-ball 56 from her partner, before cameos from Bismah Maroof and Nida Dar ensured Pakistan finished with a strong 253 for 2. Sri Lanka, in response, never got into top gear and seemed content to put together a respectable total as they huffed and puffed their way to 180 for 9 in their 50 overs.A somewhat enterprising start to the chase immediately ran into problems once Sana removed Hasini Perera for 14. While most Sri Lankan batters put together steady contributions, Pakistan’s chances of victory were rarely threatened.The story though could have been different. Opting to bat first for the first time this series, Pakistan enjoyed a huge reprieve when Ameen was put down at the slips before scoring a run. It was an error she ensured Sri Lanka regretted for the next three hours. A chanceless century would follow thereon, with runs ticking over and a solid platform being built, and it felt, in slow motion, as if Sri Lanka were being batted out of the contest.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Muneeba, too, was reprieved once, when a sharp caught-and-bowled chance was dropped by Kavisha Dilhari. She spent most of the innings playing second fiddle to the more exuberant Ameen as Pakistan clocked their first-ever century opening stand in an ODI. They continued pressing on, and it wasn’t until the 36th over that Muneeba, looking to force the issue, holed out to point.Sidra soon got to her hundred with a sweep past fine leg, but by now, Maroof was helping ensure Pakistan moved through the gears more quickly. From that point on, the last 40 balls yielded 57 runs as Pakistan breached the 250-run mark, setting Sri Lanka the highest total of the series to chase.Sri Lanka’s innings was defined by caution, and yet interspersed with some puzzlingly rash decision-making. While they were far too timorous against the bowlers, especially when there was generous flight on offer, there were also the obligatory run-outs, both coming at key stages. There was also uncertainty in the approach. A bright start was stymied when the first wicket fell; it would come in a passage of play that saw four powerplay overs bowled without a run scored.From there on, in truth, this was less of a match and more of a practice drill and the Pakistan bowlers were never quite shaken out of their rhythms. Nida Dar made amends for a dropped catch by putting an end to Chamari Athapaththu’s plodding innings, while Hansima Karunaratne sent Sana’s flighted half-volley straight down long on’s throat. Each of the top seven batters got to double figures while the target seemed increasingly irrelevant to the contest actually playing out.Sana returned to get two more lower-order wickets, and when Diana Baig picked up the ninth wicket, Sri Lanka’s only aim appeared to be to prevent getting bowled out.

Klaassen, Linde and Stewart claim two wickets each to seal comfortable win

Sam Dalling10-Jun-2022Sick of the sight of him. That’s what Somerset will be when it comes to Jordan Cox. One suspects they won’t be the last county either.Cox broke Somerset hearts in the 2021 Blast Final with an unbeaten 58 from 28 and a candidate for catch of, well, cricket. This time he had a Taunton crowd scuttling for cover with 94 off just 47 balls, a statistician-pleasing strike-rate of 200, and, most importantly, Kent’s title defence belatedly up and running.Kent posted 202 for 7 all in and, in response, Somerset stumbled to 44 for 3 in the powerplay. Will Smeed, Tom Banton and Rilee Rossouw had all been and gone: thereafter they were simply limping and waiting to be put down.As the Group stages near halfway, meaningful glances can be had at the table. Kent fans will wince: this was just their second victory of the season. But this format is all about momentum: if the Spitfires can find it, reaching the quarter-finals is not impossible. Somerset had theirs checked but are still excellently placed.Cox was afforded one lifeline en-route to a career best, Lewis Gregory putting down a chance that ought to have been taken. Cox had 53 then and should have been the latest Ben Green victim.But this was a supreme knock. Kent were looking sub-par relatively late in the innings but Cox was unflustered. The first of his six sixes came in the 12th over. It was a remarkable shot off Craig Overton, released from the England Test squad. Cox danced inside a short ball, swivelled and disturbed the graves t’other side of Gimblett’s Hill.Back into his shell he went, until over 18 which – by the way – started with Kent 148 for 5. From deep in his crease, Josh Davey was struck effortlessly down the ground. A wide later came a charge and a loft over cover. The over cost 26, George Linde also helping himself to a four and a six.Related

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Then came Green’s punishment. Tom Abell deployed more protection for the leg-side perimeter than is seen at many top-flight football matches. It mattered not: three times the ball sailed towards the Fan Zone with 47 off overs 18 and 19.Cox first came to the attention of those outside Canterbury and its surrounds in 2020. A 423-run stand with Jack Leaning saw Cox make an unbeaten 238 from 570 balls (with 50 boundaries). Not out overnight, Cox had spent the morning warm-ups asking each team-mate for details of their respective first-class bests. He also informed them they would be surpassed, and in several cases that came true. Swagger then, but also the goods to back it up.The Cox drop was not the only catch Somerset shelled. It was a rare off night in the field for them. Overton, usually with hats like buckets, found a hole in them and gifted Alex Blake six. When the following delivery was rifled towards the Taunton flyover, Overton avoided Davey’s gaze. Then redemption: Blake smashed in Overton’s direction again. Only fools make the same mistake twice.Kent’s start was stodgy, just 13 taken in the opening trio by Joe Denly and Tawanda Muyeye as both struggled to circumnavigate fielders.Then came Overton and Denly hit him over the top. Next, Muyeye performed an audacious flick over his head for six. Overton’s nostrils flared. But Muyeye immediately drove straight at Abell. Out wandered Grant Stewart and, having miscued one straight up, he was caught by Roelof van der Merwe.Denly and Cox were steady but struggled for fluency. Even so, on a small ground they ticked over nicely enough. They had added 89 for the third wicket when Overton returned. Abell regularly turns to his leading man when a partnership needs breaking and break it he did with Denly on 41 off 36 balls.Overton now has 35 T20 wickets for Somerset since 2019 began and 25 of those have seen off top-three batters. Oddly neither he, nor Gregory completed their spells.Post-interval Smeed took just two off Fred Klaasen’s opener. Unused to being tied down, Smeed eyed up cow corner and was bowled off his back thigh pad by Linde. An over later, Klaassen had his 50th T20 victim for Kent, Banton edging behind having just hit back-to-back boundaries.Then the big one. And it was a gamble from Sam Billings who threw Leaning the ball in over four. Rossouw – who had scored six from his first ball from Linde – swept, missed and was done. A cursory glance back at the stumps only reconfirmed that they had shattered.From there it was a near impossible task. Abell made a typically brisk 43. When he fell, van der Merwe wandered out. Surely, he couldn’t do it twice in a row? An unbeaten 48 from just 15 balls to win Thursday’s west country derby remained fresh in the memory. No. It was not for lack of trying though.There was still time for another Overton moment. Leaning felt he had fairly caught Green on the boundary off Matt Milnes. Umpire Hassan Adnan shot across to his colleague Russell Warren to suggest Leaning had crossed the line. Overton almost did in remonstrating with Billings, before signalling six much to the crowd’s delight. Eventually, Green stayed put and six was indeed added.Billings later thought he had caught Green off Stewart but Green was given not-out and again Overton gesticulated with his bat. Later in the same over, an Overton top-edge went up and up and Billings covered much ground to claim the catch, before shushing the crowd.Green ended with 40 from 28 but the final ten overs were simply going through the motions as Kent claimed an emphatic victory, the wickets shared: Klaassen, Linde and Stewart each with two.

Fifties for Beaumont, Lamb and Sciver make South Africa toil despite Kapp 73

Firdose Moonda15-Jul-2022Sophia Dunkley, promoted to No.3 in this series, scored her first ODI hundred to seal the series for England, with a game to spare. Dunkley’s three-figure knock, along with fifty-plus scores from the other three in the top four, gave England their second-highest total against South Africa, and asked their visitors to complete their highest-successful ODI chase to draw level in the three-match rubber. Despite Laura Wolvaardt’s fastest half-century in the format, the South African line-up lacked substantial partnerships and fell far short.England’s batters have dominated the contest so far and, on a good run-scoring surface in Bristol, inflicted more pain on a side they beat here in the World Cup semi-final five years ago, almost to the day. England had century-stands for first and third wickets, both the third-highest in their respective positions for England against South Africa which book-ended their innings and finished with 105 runs in the last 10 overs and 46 in the final five.They took advantage of another lacklustre performance from the South African attack who, even with pace spearhead Shabnim Ismail back, lacked intensity and control. Ismail (too full) and Kapp (too wide) struggled to find their lines and lengths and with the seniors struggling, the rest of the attack could only apply pressure in patches. They prevented England from breaching the boundary between the 21st and 34th over but allowed them to score freely on either side of that squeeze.England’s new opening pair, Tammy Beaumont and Emma Lamb laid the foundation with the team’s first century stand since December 2019. They were prolific on the offside, with the cut through point making several appearances, and raced to 58 without loss after the Powerplay and 93 at the first drinks’ break.Desperate for a breakthrough, South Africa reviewed an lbw shot against Beaumont off left-arm Nonkululeko Mlaba. It was a poor referral and ball-tracking confirmed it was missing leg stump by a distance. Beaumont was on 41 at the time, and the dominant partner in the stand with Lamb, who then shifted gears.Lamb cut Mlaba through backward point to bring up fifty off 54 balls, a strong follow-up from her century on Monday, and then made room for herself to hit de Klerk over midwicket, through point and drag Mlaba over the in-field to surge ahead of Beaumont. Her eyes lit up when South Africa introduced their sixth bowler, Chloe Tryon, whose second ball was a loopy full-toss. Lamb swept but top-edged to Mlaba at short-fine leg to give South Africa some reprieve.South Africa took the opportunity to quiet England after that dismissal and had an opportunity against Beaumont when she scooped Kapp straight to mid-on but Mlaba spilt a simple chance. By then, Beaumont was on 52 and the drop could have proved costly but Beaumont developed cramp in her hand and three overs later, chipped Tryon to Ismail at mid-off.Issy Wong bowled with pace and penetration on her ODI debut•Getty Images

Just as South Africa gained some ground, Dunkley redirected the innings by hitting Ayabonga Khaka for back-to-back fours. England entered the last 10 overs on 232 for 2. Dunkley brought up her fifty off the 61st ball she faced and there was no stopping her from there. She took 16 runs off Ismail’s eighth over, reached her century off 87 balls and ensured England had a match-winning score.If they doubted that, it was only for 14.2 overs that Wolvaardt threatened. With two debuts in the XI, Lauren Bell and Issy Wong, Heather Knight chose to use Nat Sciver to open the bowling and her first four overs cost 32. Wolvaardt 21 runs off 12 deliveries she faced from Sciver, most of them full but one so short she pulled through mid-wicket. South Africa had a better Powerplay than England and scored 67 and Wolvaardt brought up 50 off 41 balls and an epic contest was brewing. But Wolvaardt’s 87-run stand with Andrie Steyn ended when she tried to clear the in-field off Charlie Dean and picked out Wong at mid-on.South Africa lost their next five wickets for 51 runs, including three to Wong. She had Lara Goodall caught at mid-on, Tryon caught behind and Nadine de Klerk caught by a diving Sciver at short cover. Ironically, the short ball that failed South Africa worked well for Wong.Kapp scored 50 off 46 balls, her 10th in ODIs, but had scant support. She was dismissed for 73 as South Africa entered the last 10 overs on 223 for 8, only nine behind where England were at the same stage, but six wickets adrift and with little chance of even batting out their overs. They were bowled out in 41 overs. Dean finished with the third four-fer of her career.

Zimbabwe fought back from 169 for 7 to fall narrowly short in a chase of 290

Vishal Dikshit22-Aug-20223:01

Takeaways: Gill and Axar’s steady progress in ODIs

A classy maiden ODI century and a stunning catch in the penultimate over of a tense chase from Shubman Gill gave India a thrilling 13-run win to complete a 3-0 whitewash after Sikandar Raza’s fighting hundred had brought the hosts back from the dead.From 169 for 7 in a chase of 290, Raza’s knock brought Zimbabwe to a point where they needed 15 to win from nine balls. But Raza, having already struck three sixes in reaching 115 off 94 balls, swung a slower ball from Shardul Thakur down the ground and was caught by Gill diving forward from long-on.It came down to 15 needed off the last over with just one wicket left, and Avesh Khan bowled Victor Nyauchi with a searing yorker that put the seal on India’s 3-0 scoreline.Raza led Zimbabwe’s charge almost singlehandedly from the 18th over on, scoring his third century in six innings and his sixth overall in ODIs even as wickets fell around him. Zimbabwe needed 95 from the last 10 with only three wickets left and Raza and the steadfast Brad Evans brought it down to 52 off 30.Raza then hit a six over the covers to begin a 12-run 46th over, and brought up his century in the next over as Zimbabwe inched closer. Thakur conceded just seven off the 47th over with his slower ones to make it 33 off 18. When Raza got strike in the next over, he scooped Avesh wide of short fine leg for four, and then clobbered him over the covers for another six next ball. An inside edge off Evans’ bat then ran away for four to lift Zimbabwe’s hopes further, bringing the equation down to 17 off 13. Avesh trapped Evans lbw next ball to leave Zimbabwe’s hopes resting entirely on Raza, but his wicket in the next over all but sealed the game for India.2:56

Axar: Chahar’s return, Avesh’s yorkers, Thakur’s death bowling were our biggest takeaways

Zimbabwe’s top-order show improved only slightly after the first two ODIs, with Sean Williams promoted to No. 3 after Deepak Chahar trapped Innocent Kaia with an inswinging yorker that followed a series of outswingers. Their problems were compounded when Takudzwanashe Kaitano walked off with what appeared to be a cramp in the sixth over and Tony Munyonga struggled to get going. Williams, however, struck three fours in his first nine balls, the best of them a decisive pull off Chahar. Singles and twos came more easily once the field spread, before Williams and Munyonga fell in successive overs. Axar Patel first trapped Williams plumb with a dart for 45, before Munyonga mistimed a lofted drive to wide mid-off off Avesh to leave Zimbabwe 84 for 3.Raza and Regis Chakabva moved them past 100 before Axar struck again, just past the halfway mark of the chase, taking a sharp return catch to his left to send back Chakabva. The returning Kaitano was then stumped off Kuldeep Yadav seven balls later to leave the chase on Raza’s shoulders with the asking rate having crept past 7.5. Raza decided to see off the two spinners and went after the quicks as conditions remained batting-friendly.He began Chahar’s second spell with a mighty six over midwicket and got a thick edge for four three balls later. After he crossed his half-century, he went after Thakur and Avesh. When Zimbabwe needed 115 from 12 overs, he hit three successive fours off Thakur in a 20-run over, before he and Evans collected a four each in the 41st, bowled by Avesh, to bring the equation down to 79 off 54. Raza and Evans put on 104 off 77, with Evans contributing just 28, but once India broke the partnership, there was not much batting to come.Earlier, Gill’s stroke-filled 130 off 97 balls gave them a competitive score even as Evans finished with a maiden five-for. KL Rahul opted to bat in “challenging” conditions early on, but himself looked scratchy before chopping on for 30 off Evans. Dhawan started the India innings with three fours in his first 10 balls, but Zimbabwe replied with tight bowling thereon. Dhawan got a life on 17 when he was dropped at point off Richard Ngarava, but he couldn’t capitalise, and handed a leading edge to cover for 40.Sikandar Raza almost derailed India with 115 off 95•Associated Press

It was all Gill after that. He walked in when India were going at just over four an over looked a class apart with his control and ability to score briskly. He timed the ball crisply, drove with confidence, and kept the score ticking even as Ishan Kishan took his time to ease himself in, getting a life when he was on 6 off 17 balls when Williams dropped a return catch in the 27th over. Kishan broke the shackles by slog-sweeping and lofting Raza for two fours in the 32nd over, before Gill collected two more against Williams.The duo accelerated after Gill reached a 51-ball half-century in the 34th over, taking 33 off the next three overs and bringing up their century stand soon after. But just as Gill raced towards his century and Kishan brought up his second ODI fifty, off 61 balls, Zimbabwe began to hit back. Gill survived a close lbw appeal on 97 off Evans in the 43rd over, and a review showed he had got a thick edge, but Zimbabwe still got a wicket off that ball, with Kishan run out when Munyonga swooped in from point and threw the stumps down at the non-striker’s end. Evans’ offcutter then bowled Deepak Hooda for 1 five balls later, but Gill was unfazed.He bowed down towards the dressing room to celebrate his century, off just 82 balls, off the next ball and continued to unleash his booming drives and pulls. He got a life in an eventful 46th over, when he was dropped at short fine leg on 110, after which Sanju Samson hit two successive sixes before holing out to deep square leg.Zimbabwe fought back in the last two overs, mainly thanks to Evans. In the last over he had Gill caught at long-off for 130 and Thakur miscuing a slower ball to mid-off while giving away only seven more, and finished with his maiden ODI five-for, which his father and former Zimbabwe allrounder Craig Evans applauded from the stands.

After Covid delays the rivalry resumes, but the two teams do not have an ODI series in the FTP from 2023-2027

Andrew McGlashan05-Sep-2022

Big Picture

This series has been a long time coming. Australia and New Zealand started a Chappell-Hadlee contest just days before the world was shut down by the pandemic, the opening game played behind closed doors at the SCG, before New Zealand had to make a hasty journey home with borders shutting.Matches were then on the schedule in both the 2021 and 2022 seasons only for both to fall by the wayside as international travel, even between two close neighbours, remained problematic due to quarantine requirements. So now, in late 2022 as winter turns to spring in Australia, they will finally face each other again.It has the makings of an excellent series. New Zealand have named a full-strength side while Australia, with home advantage, have almost everyone available but need to rebound from the shock loss against Zimbabwe in the final match in Townsville.Related

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When the Chappell-Hadlee Series was first added to the international game it had a reasonably frequent space on the calendar – played six times over six years – but since then it has become far more sporadic with four series in 10 years (alongside two one-off games in ODI World Cups) one of which was the aborted 2020 edition.And it is uncertain when it will be played again after this series. Under the 2023-27 Future Tours Progamme, the two teams are not scheduled to face each other in bilateral ODIs. It seems a massive shame that the neighbours can’t find a week in the calendar more often.On the field over the next few days, the major storyline for Australia will be the form of captain Aaron Finch. It feels his ODI cricket is reaching a vital juncture and a lean week in Cairns will increase the questions ahead of next year’s World Cup. For New Zealand, they will be looking to build on the series victory in the West Indies which continued strong ODI form: they have lost just one of their 12 Super League matches but haven’t won an ODI in Australia since 2009.

Recent form

(last five matches, most recent first)Australia LWWWL
New Zealand WWLWW

In the spotlight

It’s hard to look beyond the Australia captain. Aaron Finch made 21 runs in three innings against Zimbabwe to continue a tough year in ODIs. A strong return in Cairns will quieten the topic, but New Zealand’s pace attack will provide a tough examination. Finch’s record against New Zealand is also his worst in the format with an average of 17.20 from 10 ten matches, although he did make 60 at the SCG back in 2020.Finn Allen has made a very promising start to his ODI career, reaching at least 25 in five of his seven innings and making two half-centuries, including a match-winning 96 on a tricky surface against West Indies in Barbados. That innings, which came off 117 balls, was the surest sign yet that Allen is much more than the top-order dasher that has been seen in T20. However, he certainly has the game to quickly take attacks apart and it will be fascinating to see him against Australia’s strong line-up.Will there be another chance for Sean Abbott?•Getty Images

Team news

The main decision for Australia would appear to be whether to retain the same XI from the last two games in Townsville or replace Ashton Agar with a pace-bowling allrounder option in Sean Abbott. Marnus Labuschagne and Josh Inglis are also part of the squad.Australia (probable) 1 Aaron Finch (capt), 2 David Warner, 3 Steven Smith, 4 Alex Carey (wk), 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Cameron Green, 7 Glenn Maxwell, 8 Ashton Agar/Sean Abbott, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh HazlewoodFor New Zealand it could be a call whether there is room for either Michael Bracewell as another spin-bowling allrounder or Glenn Phillips as a batter in the middle order. A fit-again Matt Henry will push for inclusion in the pace attack.New Zealand (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Finn Allen, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Devon Conway, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Tom Latham (wk), 7 Jimmy Neesham, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Trent Boult

Pitch and conditions

As in Townsville, it is again a little bit of the unknown given the lack of international cricket at the venue. The day-night element will remove the impact of the early-morning starts in the Zimbabwe series, instead it might be whether conditions change under lights. After some recent rain, the forecast is warm and sunny, but the pitch has been under cover a bit which could mean some early life with Finch expecting a challenge against the new ball.

Stats and trivia

• Cairns lasted staged international cricket in 2004 when Australia faced Sri Lanka
• Tim Southee needs three wickets to become the fifth New Zealand bowler to take 200 in ODIs
• Australia have won the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy six times to New Zealand’s four with two series drawn

Quotes

“They are a world-class side…they are a fantastic unit and have been for a long time to be one of the benchmarks in all three formats. The fact they are world No. 1 in the ODI cricket is testament to that.”
Aaron Finch on New Zealand“We know how strong this Australian side is, the quality they have throughout, so for us it’s a great opportunity to play against one of the best teams in the world and for us to execute the things that are important to us so looking forward to the challenge.”

Tom Haines, Ali Orr fall short of double-centuries in run-fest at Hove

ECB Reporters Network29-Sep-2022Ali Orr just missed out on a double-hundred while Tom Haines made 177 and Dan Ibrahim an unbeaten century as Sussex batted through the final day to draw with Glamorgan in the LV= County Championship.Orr was dismissed for 198 as Sussex piled up 554 for 8 in their second innings at the 1st Central County Ground. The players shook hands shortly after the 18-year-old Ibrahim reached his maiden century.Orr had added 13 runs to his overnight 185, including his tenth six off Andrew Salter, when Haines drove a ball back down the pitch and Ajaz Patel deflected it onto his stumps, with Orr out of his ground. He departed to a standing ovation having also hit 18 boundaries and faced 174 balls.Sussex lost four wickets in 17 overs for 30 runs while Haines watched on from the other end and gave Glamorgan hope that they might be able to finish the season with a victory.There was a bit more turn for Glamorgan spinners Patel and Salter to exploit, but Tom Alsop was held at backward point cutting off the back foot, Tom Clark tried to loft Salter over mid-off and was caught running back by Patel and Fynn Hudson-Prentice pushed forward to Salter and was caught behind as the ball turned a fraction off the straight.Haines pressed on, reaching his 150 with a clip to the midwicket boundary off Salter, but having added eight more runs after lunch he aimed a tired shot through midwicket at Patel and was caught by sub fielder Andy Gorvin. Most of the Glamorgan players congratulated him as he walked off to another standing ovation after scoring 285 runs in the match. The Sussex captain finished the season on 941 runs, 528 of which were scored in this match and during his 243 against Derbyshire in April.Gorvin took a fine diving catch at mid-off to remove Charlie Tear and give Salter his third wicket and the off-spinner struck again when Faheem Ashraf drove down the pitch looking to get off the mark and Salter dived to his left to take an excellent one-handed catch.It was hard work for Ibrahim at first. He needed 21 balls to get off the mark but gradually got the measure of an accurate Glamorgan attack. A stand of 41 for the eighth wicket with Jack Carson took enough time out of the game to end Glamorgan’s chances of winning and after tea it was a case of whether he could complete his century.Salter bowled unchanged from the sea end until the first over after tea, when he had Carson caught at midwicket. But Glamorgan brought on their part-time bowlers and after playing out five dot balls from Sam Northeast, Ibrahim took a single into the off side to reach his century, off 194 balls with 11 fours and a six.There was a guard of honour for Michael Hogan and a standing ovation when he led his team off at the end in his last appearance for Glamorgan. They finished third while Sussex ended up seventh after winning just one game.

England players express disappointment with final act of Lord’s ODI

Valkerie Baynes24-Sep-2022Harmanpreet Kaur contended that no “crime” had been committed. England were “not fans”. The two opposing views summed up the divide that inevitably follows the dismissal of a batter who is run out while backing up.So when Deepti Sharma held the ball as she started her action with Charlie Dean out of her ground and broke the bails to seal victory for India by 16 runs and a 3-0 ODI series sweep at Lord’s on Saturday, it was met with booing as well as cheers among the crowd of 15,187.Dean had scored a fighting 47 batting at No. 9 and shared a 35-run stand with No. 11 Freya Davies to put England within reach of what had looked like being an unlikely win when the hosts had slumped to 65 for 7 chasing 170.Related

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“Today whatever we have done I don’t think it was any crime,” Harmanpreet said during her post-match press conference. “It is part of the game and it is an ICC rule and I think we just need to back our player.”I’m actually very happy she was aware of that, and the batter she is taking too long a stride I think. I don’t think she has done something wrong and we just need to back her.”Harmanpreet also suggested her team had been hard done by when Sophie Ecclestone took a catch to dismiss opener Smriti Mandhana in the third match of their T20I series, which England won 2-1, that touched the ground but was deemed to have been controlled beforehand and therefore legal.She also rejected suggestions that the incident detracted from Jhulan Goswami’s final match of an international career spanning two decades.”I don’t think so because, like I said, I don’t think we have done any crime,” Harmanpreet said. “It’s part of the ICC rules, it’s called a run-out and we’ve done that.”I don’t think we need to talk about that because the first nine wickets were also very important and everybody was working so hard. It was a chaseable total but the way our bowlers bowled and the whole team putting in the effort, there were a lot of things to celebrate other than just talking about the last wicket.”Kate Cross, England’s senior seamer who took 4 for 26 to help bowl India out for 169 inside 46 overs, said it was a mode of dismissal she would not use.”Losing any game of cricket is disappointing,” she said. “Ultimately it’s Deepti’s choice how she goes about that, and we’ve lost that game of cricket. What we did say in the dressing room was that we didn’t lose that game of cricket because of that last wicket.”I think it’s a dismissal that’s always going to divide opinion. That’s all that’s ever going to get said about it: some people are going to like it, some people aren’t. Deepti chose to dismiss Charlie Dean that way. I’m more disappointed for Charlie Dean that she couldn’t get a fifty at Lord’s today because she looked set to do that.”If we’re looking at the real positives, then maybe that’s the only way they could have got Deano out today.”After an initial show of anger, throwing her bat to the ground and shaking her head with tears streaming down her face, Dean composed herself and walked over to the Indian team huddle to shake their hands.”That’s professional sport,” Cross said of Dean’s reaction. “Everyone is human before they’re a cricketer, whatever sport they play. The emotion is always what you get first, and it’s how you react to that.”I thought Deano was absolutely brilliant – the way she went over and shook hands immediately. If you’re talking about the spirit of cricket, I thought that was just fantastic from Deano.”Kate Cross knocked over India’s top four•Getty Images

Amy Jones, England’s stand-in captain throughout India’s tour with regular skipper Heather Knight recovering from hip surgery and vice-captain Nat Sciver taking a mental health break, echoed Cross’s disapproval of the dismissal.”Obviously not happy with the result,” Jones told Sky Sports. “We bowled really well and we just needed a bigger partnership in the middle. The last wicket divides opinion, not a fan, but depends on how India feel about it. It is within the rules… Disappointing but hopefully doesn’t take shine off a what was a good summer and a good series in the end.”In March, the MCC changed the wording that covers a player being run out by the bowler while backing up – often referred to as Mankading – moving it from Law 41 (Unfair play) to Law 38 (Run out). The change, due to come into force next month, attempts to remove some of the stigma around such dismissals.Cross added: “It’s going to divide opinion and it’s going to get talked about. There are a lot of things that are going to get talked about as well – Jhulan’s last game is a massive thing in Indian cricket, and for her to retire at Lord’s is a very special occasion for her and the Indian team. Them winning the series 3-0… there’s a lot to talk about and a lot to dissect.”From our point of view, we were 2-0 down going into this, we’d lost the series already. We were out there to win [ICC women’s] championship points and we didn’t lose that game by losing that 10th wicket there… The game was lost because we weren’t able to keep them to 150 and then we weren’t able to build those partnerships earlier on and back for a little bit longer.”Cross could have had her own piece of history at Lord’s, hosting its first women’s international since England defeated India in the 2017 World Cup final. She bowled brilliantly to remove India’s top four and then returned to the attack towards the end of their innings, only to fall one wicket shy of her third international five-for.”I don’t think I’m ever going to get a better chance to get my name on the honours board than having a four-for bowling at No. 11,” Cross said. “But what frustrated me most about not being able to get the five-for was that it felt like an opportunity that we don’t get often.”It feels like probably a wider picture, but it feels like in women’s cricket, when you get these opportunities you have to take them because you don’t know when the next game is going to be at the home of cricket.”Hopefully that’s what’s going to start changing. We’ve seen that with the way that the Ashes fixtures have come out and we’re playing at some really high-profile grounds. But it definitely felt like when I was on the four-for I was probably thinking about it a little bit too much.”But you know what? The girls were unbelievable. All of them came up to me and said I’ve never wanted someone to get a five-for more which was really sweet. But yeah, not to be.”

But the team’s focus, director of cricket Enoch Nkwe says, will be on “hitting the reset button and not dwelling on the past”

Firdose Moonda09-Nov-2022Cricket South Africa will conduct a review into the national men’s team’s performance at the T20 World Cup, which they exited at the group stage following a shock defeat to Netherlands, but will also urge the players to move on quickly from another major disappointment.”It is important that we review what has happened. We are in the process of putting a panel together to ensure the review is very clinical,” Enoch Nkwe, South Africa’s director of cricket (DOC), said after the team’s arrival from Australia. “But the focus is hitting the reset button and not dwelling on the past. It’s important that we close a chapter and look at what lies ahead.”Related

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Nkwe, who started as DOC in July after previously serving as assistant coach to Mark Boucher, has already installed Malibongwe Maketa as an interim coach to take South Africa to a three-Test series in Australia, and will begin the process of recruiting Boucher’s full-time replacement soon. Boucher resigned his post to take up a role with Mumbai Indians in the IPL, with a year left on his contract. All indications are that there will be no knee-jerk changes to South Africa’s set-up, with white-ball captain Temba Bavuma still not ready to make a decision over his future.In the immediate aftermath of South Africa’s defeat on Sunday, Bavuma said he would not be swayed by the emotions of the moment. Three days later he said he was still trying to process things.”The emotions are not as raw, but in terms of the disappointment and the disbelief, that’s still there,” Bavuma said. “It’s going to take me a couple of days.”The entire squad will be given some space over the next few days, even as the opening round of domestic first-class matches begins on Thursday (each team only plays seven games and there are only three rounds before the Tests in Australia), before a decision is taken on when the players will return to action. The bulk of them will be in the Test team, which lies second on the World Test Championship (WTC) points table. Their performance in the Test series in Australia will be crucial in determining whether they will have a shot at the WTC final in June, a time when South Africa could also end up playing in the 50-over World Cup Qualifier, because they are 11th on that table.’The emotions are not as raw, but in terms of the disappointment and the disbelief, that’s still there’ – Temba Bavuma•Associated Press

The ups and downs of South Africa’s last three years – since former CEO Thabang Moroe made the decision to overhaul the coaching system and install a team director who was then swiftly replaced with a coach, Boucher – have been witnessed first-hand by Nkwe. He was the interim team director on a disastrous tour to India in 2019, and then served for almost two years under Boucher before resigning, citing concerns with the team culture. His return in an overseeing role saw him replace Graeme Smith as DOC, which was followed by Boucher’s resignation. If that sounds chaotic, imagine what it must have been like being involved in it, as Nkwe confirmed. “As a system, we have gone through a lot,” he said. “We went through a bit of a turmoil.”Asked whether he thought the sum total of the off-field events (the example above is only a small sample) affected the team, Nkwe said he wouldn’t use it as an excuse. “One thing I have been proud of this team over the last couple of years is that they’ve been able to go on the park and compete and try and win games,” he said. “They’ve been able to close off all the noise and whatever is happening off the field. Somehow we found a way to get to a point where we remain competitive. I believe the team has come through that very well.”Still, he admitted the World Cup exit was “disappointing”, and that the culpability had to fall somewhere, perhaps with CSA. “We will always take full accountability,” Nkwe said. “When the results are poor, there will be fingers pointed at the organisation in terms of what has happened in the past and whether there was enough support. Whether the team loses or wins, we are always going to be supporting the team and asking ourselves questions about what more we can do.”And the last of those is where Nkwe’s focus now lies. He did not want to get into whether he agreed with the decision to leave out in-form players like Reeza Hendricks or persist with out-of-form players like Kagiso Rabada because “I don’t get involved in selection”, but said there will be a “clear strategy going forward.” With an ICC event every year for the next eight years, South Africa’s emphasis is on “How do we prepare better for World Cups coming?”Given that they’ve never won a World Cup, it’s fair to assume no one really has the answers, but Nkwe has made clear that he’s going to try finding them. “There is a culture we are driving internally to make sure we put cricket in a good healthy space,” he said. “There’s a lot of work behind the scenes and what we are all working towards is getting our national teams to reach No.1 and win World Cups. We are now at the point where we can make a difference and that will be our focus. There’s so many opportunities as an organisation to change it all. Hopefully next year we can be in a different position celebrating our team winning a World Cup.”

Former India allrounder leaves the job after only four months

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Dec-2022Former India allrounder Manoj Prabhakar has stepped down as the head coach of the Nepal men’s national team, the country’s cricket board said in a statement. He had been appointed to the role in August this year.Prabhakar only worked five T20Is and seven ODIs with Nepal, including four matches in the World Cup Super League 2.Related

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Nepal had a successful tour of Kenya under Prabkhakar, winning a five-match T20I series 3-2 and then sweeping the one-dayers 3-0. A 2-1 home ODI series win against UAE followed in November.In the World Cup Super League, they suffered two defeats to Scotland and one to Namibia, with their other game against Namibia ending in a no result.Nepal currently sit second from bottom in the World Cup Super League 2 table, with just eight wins from 24 matches.A bowling allrounder, Prabhakar played 39 Test matches and 130 ODIs for India. He has coached the Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh teams, and was the bowling coach of Delhi when they won the Ranji Trophy in 2008. Prabhakar has also worked with Afghanistan when he joined them as their bowling coach in 2015, continuing on to the 2016 T20 World Cup.