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The South Group leaders overcame a nervy finish to make it seven wins from 10

ECB Reporters Network07-Jul-2024 Surrey 103 for 5 (Evans 25, Stewart 2-24) beat Kent 81 for 3 (Khushi 35, Topley 2-27) by 5 runs DLSSouth Group leaders Surrey held their nerve in a tense finish to beat Kent Spitfires by five runs in a rain-shortened Vitality Blast contest at the Kia Oval.Surrey, put in and with an unfamiliar batting line-up, did well to reach 103 for 5 from 10 overs after play finally got underway two hours and 25 minutes late.And then more rain, arriving just as Kent were about to start their reply, left them needing 87 from eight overs under the Duckworth/Lewis calculations.Despite late hitting from Feroze Khushi, who made 35, and Sam Billings, who swept Reece Topley for six in a seventh over costing 20 and in which Khushi also bludgeoned a six over long on, Kent could only finish on 81 for 3.It was Surrey’s seventh win from ten games, but Kent have now lost seven of their first ten group games and look to be dropping out of contention for a top-four finish and a quarter-final place.There were several decisive moments in a fast and furious affair, the first a brilliant fourth over from leg-spinner Cameron Steel in which he conceded only four runs and also bowled the dangerous Tawanda Muyeye for 22.Muyeye hit Dan Worrall for a slashed four and a superb lofted six to long on in the second over, but Jordan Clark allowed only six runs from the third over, and then Steel’s fine over left Kent on 29 for two with half their innings gone.Khushi smashed Chris Jordan over long on for six and Billings hit the Surrey captain, returning alongside Topley from England’s T20 World Cup campaign, for four over mid off to keep Kent in the hunt.But Khushi’s dismissal from the final ball of the penultimate over, well held by Steel diving forward at long on, felt like a big momentum swing back to Surrey as it left Kent needing 17 from the last over.Jordan began with a no ball, from which a leg bye was scampered, but new batsman Tom Rogers could only dig out a yorker from the free hit opportunity and, although he cut Jordan away for four from the next ball, he and Billings (14 not out) could not find the boundary again as Jordan’s accuracy under pressure closed out the game.The other decisive moment in the match came right at the end of the Surrey innings when they were 94 for five with just one ball remaining to be bowled.Up to then, and despite two offside wides, Grant Stewart looked to be succeeding in keeping Surrey’s total below 100, but he then sent down a waist-high no ball full toss which Ben Geddes swung away high for six behind square.That brought an extra ball, from which a bye was scampered and, in all, 19 runs came from the over, which had started with Clark crunching an extra cover four before being caught at long off for seven.There were five other sixes in Surrey’s effort, the first two pulled by Laurie Evans off paceman Nathan Gilchrist and off spinner Marcus O’Riordan. Evans, coming in after Ryan Patel had departed in the first over, skying Stewart to keeper Billings after one lovely off-driven four, made a punchy 25 before he hit O’Riordan to long off.Dom Sibley muscled Matt Parkinson’s leg spin for six over long on in his 20, which ended to a catch at deep mid wicket off Joey Evison, while Jordan pulled the medium pacer for six and Rory Burns produced a remarkable swept maximum off Gilchrist.Jordan mishit Gilchrist high to mid off to go for 14 and Burns finished 11 not out as he and Geddes, who was unbeaten on seven, saw Surrey to a total that proved – just – to be defendable.Kent saw Daniel Bell-Drummond fall for a duck to the second ball of their reply, hitting Topley high to deep square leg where 19-year-old debutant Ollie Sykes held the catch.

Dhruv Shorey’s run-a-ball hundred in vain for Vidarbha

Shashank Kishore18-Jan-2025
In a high-scoring contest that produced over 650 runs and two superb hundreds from R Smaran and Dhruv Shorey, it was a 42-ball 79 from Abhinav Manohar that made the difference as Karnataka edged Vidarbha in a thriller to clinch the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Vadodara.That it became a thriller was down to Harsh Dubey’s 63 off 30 balls after Karun Nair’s dream run in the tournament ended. Nair was dismissed for only the second time in eight innings in the tournament when Prasidh Krishna knocked him over for 27. Nair finished with a chart-topping 779 runs at an eye-popping average of 389.50.Dubey built on Shorey’s third successive century, by hitting a 25-ball half-century lower down the order, to bring the equation down to 37 off 12 balls. In the end, Dubey ran out of partners and was the last man dismissed when he heaved left-arm seamer Abhilash Shetty to deep midwicket as Karnataka sealed victory to break a five-year trophy drought.The game was fought on an even keel for most parts. Karnataka, who were put in to bat, lost the in-form Devdutt Padikkal in the sixth over, before KV Aneesh and Mayank Agarwal steadied the innings.Seamer Nachiket Bhute then struck twice in two overs to remove both batters; Agarwal fell for 32 to finish the tournament as the second-highest run-getter with 651 runs. At 67 for 3, Karnataka needed a rescue act, and two relatively inexperienced players stepped up.Smaran and KL Shrijith, both of whom are in their first full seasons, put together 160 for the fourth wicket. The pair slowly built a platform before picking up pace. They took 26 off the 27th and 28th overs as Karnataka went on the offensive. Shrijith was superb in his footwork against spin, quickly bringing up a half-cegntury off 54 balls, Smaran followed suit in the same over when he brought his off 47 balls with an exquisite pull in front of square off the nippy Yash Thakur.Shrijith’s dismissal in the 38th over brought Manohar out to the middle, and he enhanced his reputation of being a finisher with some pristine hitting, not once giving the impression that he was slogging. On 24 off 25 at the end of the 44th over, Manohar began the surge by hitting Bhute for a sequence of 4, 4, 6 to begin the 45th.When Bhute bowled length into the pitch, Manohar used the angle to pick a boundary behind point. When Bhute bowled a wide yorker, he scythed it to the deep-cover fence, and when he missed a yorker, Manohar stayed deep inside the crease and shovelled it to clear long-off.Thakur bore the brunt of Manohar’s fury in the following over when he was picked away for two fours in the 46th, and three back-to-back fours in the 48th, as the wheels started to come off Vidarbha’s attack. The last seven overs fetched Karnataka 83 as they got the perfect finish.Vidarbha started the chase briskly but lost the centurion of the previous game, Yash Rathod, for 22 when he got a leading edge to Padikkal at slip. Nair and Shorey were then involved in a half-century stand to lift Vidarbha’s hopes.Nair was particularly sparkling in his short stay, punching and pulling Prasidh Krishna through covers and midwicket, and then going after legspinner Shreyas Gopal at the first sign of spin being introduced. But he fell for 27 off 31 balls when he failed to cover the line of a Prasidh inducker that kept slightly low.Vidarbha then chugged along with Jitesh Sharma giving Shorey company in a half-century stand before holing out to long-on. That wicket not only galvanised Karnataka but also freed up Vidarbha to go for broke, like Dubey did. With some support, he may have yet been able to pull off a heist, but it wasn’t to be.

Essex lose fifth game in a row despite pyrotechnics from Luc Benkenstein

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay12-Jun-2025Will Smale’s career-best 65 handed Glamorgan their third Men’s Vitality Blast win of the summer, and kept Essex on zero points at the foot of the table.Batter Smale had watched sister Sophia score a season’s best 24 in a losing cause for Essex against Hampshire Hawks earlier in the day and, as the older of the two, decided to win the sibling rivalry. He put on 84 with Colin Ingram as Glamorgan piled on 220 against the low-in-confidence Eagles.Luc Benkenstein launched 62 off 32, but he couldn’t prevent Essex from five defeats from five, with Mason Crane grabbing 3 for 24.Glamorgan were stuck in, scored a boundary off the first ball, and stayed above 10 runs an over for the entire innings – to produce their sixth highest T20 score of all-time.Kiran Carlson, who had scored 93 in the reverse fixture, and Ben Kellaway fell in the powerplay but 60 runs gave them the platform to explode – something Smale and Ingram did in style.Smale had already fired two sixes into the Chelmsford neighbourhood in the first six overs, but kept spamming the airspace with two more maximums on his way to a 29-ball half-century.Not to be outdone, Ingram rocketed one off his legs and another straight down the ground, as the pair put on 84 runs in 43 balls. But just as scores of 250 started to be dreamt up, Essex fought back. In 13 balls, they turned 144 for 2 into 152 for 5.Matt Critchley bookended the stint by having Smale dragging to long-on and Asa Tribe skying down the ground, with Benkenstein forcing Ingram to mistime to long-off in between.Dan Douthwaite put the pep back into the visitor’s run-making with three huge sixes in a 12-ball 30 as Glamorgan locked in on an above-par total. Even though Chris Cooke pulled onto his own stumps, Douthwaite and Timm van der Gugten took 34 runs off the last two overs to take them to 220.Essex lost three wickets in the powerplay as Adam Rossington edged to first slip, Dean Elgar was caught and bowled and Michael Pepper feathered an edge behind.On his return from England Lions duty, Jordan Cox attempted to kick the chase into gear. Two big swings off Andy Gorvin and a trio of middled fours laid a base, but an excellent long-on catch saw him off.From there, the Eagles disappeared from the contest as Crane had Walter slicing to point, Critchley bowled, and Shane Snater holing out. Kellaway had dismissed Cox with his left arm, then used his right to see off Simon Harmer, via a flying Govin grab at cover.Benkenstein hammered an outrageous 24-ball fifty to give Essex some respect, but Glamorgan bowled Essex out for 180 to cruise to a 40-run demolition.

“If we can push them back into second and third spells and make them tire a little bit, then we have a chance”

Firdose Moonda07-Dec-20243:32

Takeaways: Paterson impresses at 35 with maiden five-wicket haul

Sri Lanka fancy their chances chasing “anything around or below 300,” on a wicket that is “playing really well,” at St George’s Park, according to former captain Angelo Mathews.Though he acknowledged South Africa, at 221 ahead with seven wickets in hand, have the advantage, Mathews brought fighting talk to the third day’s post-play press conference, with Sri Lanka looking for a win to keep themselves in contention for next year’s World Test Championship (WTC) final.”We are not giving up. Obviously they are in front of us, but if we can get a couple of early wickets tomorrow, we can still push them back,” Mathews said. “And if we can, you know, get through the new ball, if we can push them back into second and third spells and make them tire a little bit, then we have a chance.”Related

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• Paterson, Bavuma and Stubbs put SA in driver's seat

The highest score successfully chased at Gqeberha was 271 by Australia, 27 years ago and that sort of history may not be of much use to either side.Instead, the evidence of the last three days is that it remains good for run-scoring which has given Sri Lanka hope that they can tackle a big chase.”It’s playing pretty well. It’s just the odd one, keeping low and taking off, but it’s playing pretty well. There’s something always for the seamers and also a couple of balls also turned,” Mathews said. “It’s a good, even wicket and even contest with bat and ball on this wicket so it’s a great wicket to play on.”Likewise, Sri Lanka’s batters have acquitted themselves fairly well so far. The 42 all out aside, Sri Lanka have batted well on this tour, scoring 282 in their second innings in Durban and reaching their fourth highest total in the country, 328, in their first innings at St George’s Park.Marco Jansen has been nothing but trouble for Angelo Mathews and the other Sri Lanka batters this series•AFP/Getty Images

What they may regret is that that could have been much higher. At 242 for 3 overnight, they were eyeing a first-innings lead but Mathews conceded Sri Lanka were “unable to capitalise,” because of a “couple of good balls.”Mathews was on the receiving end of the first of those: a snorter from Marco Jansen that kicked up off a length and brushed the glove as he tried to fend it off. Jansen continued to generate good bounce thanks to his height and is the series’ leading wicket-taker, with an innings to come in which Sri Lanka will have to be especially cautious.”The ball is coming off six foot nine or something. Obviously, he gets bounce on any wicket,” Mathews said. “The Durban wickets also, he got a lot of bounce. We couldn’t really handle him in the first innings of the Durban Test. And also here he keeps troubling our batters. We played him pretty well this time around, but still he keeps troubling us. We need to come up with some more plans to try and combat his bounce. That’s what’s worrying: the odd one takes off on a good length as well because of his height.”Jansen aside, Sri Lanka will have to contend with Kagiso Rabada, who was South Africa’s best bowler on the second day but only got one wicket, and Dane Paterson, high on confidence after his first five-for and operating on a pitch suited to his style of play.”He [Paterson] reminds me of Vernon Philander. It’s really hard to score off him, and he’s just landing it on the spot consistently. So, yes, there’s a lot of hard work to put in, but yeah, we are willing to do that.”Sri Lanka also have fond memories of a successful chase at this venue. They hunted down 198 with eight wickets in hand five years ago. While that may sound like a doddle, Sri Lanka resumed the third day on 60 for 2 after 19 wickets fells on the second day.Kusal Mendis, who is in this team too, scored an unbeaten 84 off 110 balls to seal a series win. That can’t be done this time, but Sri Lanka could square the contest 1-all and keep themselves in the running for the WTC final.If they lose one of their three remaining Tests, including this one, in this cycle, they will be depending on several other results to go their way. Their last series of the cycle is against Australia at home early next year.

Sunrisers Eastern Cape’s Roelof van der Merwe, the joint-leading wicket-taker of the last season, makes himself unavailable

Hemant Brar03-Aug-2023The SA20 mini-auction ahead of the 2024 season will take place in Johannesburg on September 27. On the day of the auction, a total of 21 slots are to be filled, six of those reserved for rookie players. A rookie player is someone who is a South African under the age of 22 and has not played in the SA20 previously.Overall, in a squad of 19, each team is required to have a minimum of ten South African players, a maximum of seven overseas players and a rookie player. The teams will have an additional R5.1 million (USD 274,000 approx) added to last time’s purse of R39.1 million (USD 2.1 million approx).Defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape will be without Roelof van der Merwe this time as he has made himself unavailable. Van der Merwe was the joint-highest wicket-taker last season with 20 scalps.Related

• SA20 2024 starts on January 10, will clash with Test series in NZ

• Moeen Ali moves to SA20 as teams announce retentions, fresh signings

• SA20 teams given R39.1 million salary purse to build squads

In another update, Paarl Royals have contracted Kwena Maphaka. At 17, the left-arm seamer from Johannesburg becomes the youngest player to be signed in the league.Most teams have retained their core from the inaugural season. Durban’s Super Giants have the fewest slots to fill, two, and they have R1.675 million for that.Runners-up Pretoria Capitals have to sign the most number of players – five, out of which four could be overseas – and also the biggest purse available (R9.737 million).In addition to 21 picks on the auction day, four teams – Super Giants, Capitals, Royals and Joburg Super Kings – need to pick their wild-card players as well, as they either incorporated their season 1 wild cards into the main squad or, in the case of Super Giants, released them. The last date to do so is December 30. The wild-card players’ salaries are over and above the team purse.Here is how the squads line up before the mini-auction.

Durban’s Super Giants

Squad: Prenelan Subrayen, Quinton de Kock, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj, Kyle Abbott, Heinrich Klaasen, JJ Smuts, Wiaan Mulder, Matthew Breetzke, Junior Dala, Keemo Paul, Naveen-ul-Haq, Kyle Mayers, Reece Topley, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dilshan MadushankaSquad size: 16 (10 South Africans, 6 overseas)
Slots to be filled: 2
Purse available: R1.675 million (USD 90,000 approx)

Joburg Super Kings

Squad: Gerald Coetzee, Faf du Plessis, Reeza Hendricks, Lizaad Williams, Nandre Burger, Moeen Ali, David Wiese, Zahir Khan, Sam Cook, Leus du Plooy, Donovan Ferreira, Aaron Phangiso, Sibonelo Makhanya, Kyle SimmondsSquad size: 14 (9 South Africans, 5 overseas)
Slots to be filled: 4
Purse available: R6.1 million (USD 327,000 approx)

MI Cape Town

Squad: Dewald Brevis, Kagiso Rabada, Rassie van der Dussen, Delano Potgieter, Ryan Rickelton, George Linde, Beuran Hendricks, Duan Jansen, Grant Roelofsen, Jofra Archer (wild card), Rashid Khan, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Tom Banton, Olly StoneSquad size: 15 (9 South Africans, 6 overseas)
Slots to be filled: 4
Purse available: R5.05 million (USD 271,000 approx)

Paarl Royals

Squad: Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dane Vilas, Bjorn Fortuin, Mitchell Van Buuren, Wihan Lubbe, Ferisco Adams, Codi Yusuf, Evan Jones, Jos Buttler, Obed McCoy, Jason RoySquad size: 15 (12 South Africans, 3 overseas)
Slots to be filled: 3
Purse available: R8.865 million (USD 475,000 approx)

Pretoria Capitals

Squad: Migael Pretorius, Anrich Nortje, Rilee Rossouw, Colin Ingram, Senuran Muthusamy, Wayne Parnell, Theunis de Bruyn, Eathan Bosch, Shane Dadswell, Corbin Bosch, Jimmy Neesham, Adil Rashid, William JacksSquad size: 13 (10 South Africans, 3 overseas)
Slots to be filled: 5
Purse available: R9.737 million (USD 522,000 approx)

Sunrisers Eastern Cape

Squad: Ottniel Baartman, Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen, Tristan Stubbs, Sisanda Magala, Simon Harmer, Temba Bavuma, Sarel Erwee, Jordan Hermann, Aya Gqamane, Liam Dawson, Brydon Carse, Dawid Malan, Adam Rossington, Tom Abell, Craig Overton (wild card)Squad size: 16 (10 South Africans, 6 overseas)
Slots to be filled: 3
Purse available: R1.865 million (USD 100,000 approx)

Australian allrounder returns to Edgbaston after missing 2023 tournament through injury

ESPNcricinfo staff21-May-2024Ellyse Perry will captain Birmingham Phoenix in the Women’s Hundred this season, taking up the role she was set to fulfil last summer before being ruled out through injury.The allrounder has played just one season of the Hundred, in 2022, scoring 134 runs in six matches. Phoenix’s plans to build a team around her in 2023 were scuppered when Cricket Australia ruled Perry out after she damaged her left knee in a preceding ODI series against Ireland.Eve Jones deputised as captain, but Phoenix failed to win a match, losing seven out of eight to finish bottom of the table. Perry and fellow overseas star Sophie Devine were among seven players retained by Phoenix in March’s draft.Related

• Jason Roy goes unselected as West Indian power-hitters dominate Men's Hundred draft

• ECB secures counties agreement on Hundred 'direction of travel'

• Mark Nicholas steps down from Southern Brave board ahead of MCC executive role

Perry’s return to Edgbaston is as much a boost for the Hundred as for her team. The 33-year-old is one of the most high-profile players in the sport with 314 caps for her country across an international career in its 18th year.She was the leading run-scorer in this season’s WPL, scoring 347 runs at 69.40 while also taking seven wickets for eventual winners Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Perry also has a wealth of leadership experience with Sydney Sixers in the Women’s Big Bash League, where she became the first player to captain 100 WBBL matches.”I’m incredibly honoured to be named Birmingham Phoenix captain,” Perry said. “It is a wonderful club which means a lot to me. It was really disappointing to miss out on joining the group last season so I’m really excited to be back this year.”I’m looking forward to joining the whole playing squad, both our existing and new players to work towards a really successful season for the Phoenix.”Elsewhere, defending women’s champions Southern Brave have announced Georgia Adams as their new captain following Anya Shrubsole’s retirement. Shrubsole signed off by helping Brave break their duck as losing finalists in the first two editions, thanks in part to Adams, who led the competition with 16 wickets.Adams is captain of Southern Vipers, the domestic women’s side who are also based at the Utilita Bowl. Last year, she achieved the double of winning the 50-over Rachel Heyhoe Flint Trophy and Twenty20 Charlotte Edwards Cup.”It’s a privilege to be taking over from Anya who was an amazing captain and someone the whole team looked up to,” Adams said. “I’m super excited to get going and really looking forward to leading a fantastic group of players and trying to defend the trophy.”Brave also confirmed James Vince will continue to lead their side in the Men’s Hundred, having guided the team to success in the inaugural 2021 season.

Debutant produces key innings as Jamie Porter’s four-for goes vain amid bad weather

ECB Reporters Network15-Apr-2024Essex 530 for 7 dec (Critchley 151*, Elgar 120, Cox 67) and 257 for 4 dec (Cox 116*) drew with Kent 413 (Compton 165, Bell-Drummond 135, Critchley 5-105) and 164 for 7 (Jaydn Denly 41*, Porter 4-20)A combination of Kent’s 18-year-old debutant Jaydn Denly and bad weather scuppered Essex’s hopes of recording back-to-back County Championship wins.The all-rounder joined forces with uncle Joe in a sixth-wicket stand that took 16 overs and contributed 51 runs after Kent had been on the ropes at 65 for 5.Jaydn Denly stood firm for 128 balls on a rain-interrupted final day at Chelmsford, finishing on 41 not out in Kent’s 164 for 7, Jamie Porter taking 4 for 20.Essex had declared for the second time in the match on their overnight 257 for 4, with Jordan Cox unbeaten on 116 after his fireworks of the previous evening.That set Kent 375 to win, initially from 76 overs, then 64 after the morning session was abandoned following another downpour.Kent’s batters donned black armbands to mark the death of their former England spinner Derek Underwood at the age of 78.Essex’s quest got off to a flying start in Porter’s second over when Tawanda Muyeye edged an inswinger to the wicketkeeper and the seamer then had Ben Compton lbw for six.Simon Harmer dropped Jack Leaning first ball but made amends when Daniel Bell-Drummond went to sweep and was lbw for 18.Leaning soon lost his off-stump to Shane Snater before Harry Finch was lbw to Matt Critchley, his sixth wicket in the match.That saw Joe Denly, who twice advanced down the wicket and hit Harmer over long leg for six, joined in the middle by his nephew.The younger Denly rode his luck early on against Harmer and Critchley before rocking on to the back foot to ease the latter through the covers for his first four.When their partnership reached 50, from 88 balls, there was an equal split in contributions, but almost immediately Porter had Joe Denly whipping the ball off his legs and into the hands of Feroze Khushi at bat-pad.Wes Agar drove Porter to Snater to become the seventh wicket to fall.

Stars were in the game at various points, but Murphy first and then Vince and Hughes took the game away from them

AAP06-Jan-2024Opener James Vince and No. 3 Daniel Hughes were dominant, leading Sydney Sixers to an easy BBL win over Melbourne Stars. Chasing Stars’ 156 for 4 on Saturday night at the MCG, Sixers got past the target with 11 balls and seven wickets left.The result lifted Sixers to second place, and broke a run of rain-affected games and Stars’ four-game winning streak. It’s an important result, with Sixers third and Stars fourth on eight points apiece going into the game.Vince and Hughes put on 99 for the second wicket off 67 balls to take the game away from Stars. Vince top-scored with 79 from 57 balls, with 12 fours, while Hughes made 41 from 32 balls four fours and a six.The game was evenly poised midway through the Sixers’ innings, at 68 for 1 in comparison to Stars’ 81 for 3 at the same stage. But Sixers were 128 when Hughes was dismissed at the end of the 15th over and the match was as good as over.Scott Boland returned for Stars and took 2 for 38 from his four overs.Earlier, Sixers won the toss and after Glenn Maxwell threatened one of his special innings that would have torn the match apart, Todd Murphy responded with an outstanding spell in which he claimed the crucial wicket of the big-hitting Stars captain.Todd Murphy was outstanding, keeping things tight and picking up the wickets of Glenn Maxwell and Beau Webster•Cricket Australia via Getty Images

Maxwell came to the crease with his side in early trouble at 41 for 2 in the sixth over.He quickly went on the warpath and belted four fours and two sixes in his 31 from 14 balls before Murphy struck – Murphy enticed Maxwell with a wide ball and Sean Abbott caught him at deep cover.Murphy was outstanding, also bowling the in-form Beau Webster for a duck in his 2 for 15 from four overs.After opener Dan Lawrence was dismissed for 36 in the 14th over, Marcus Stoinis and Hilton Cartwright struggled to find the boundary with any regularity in their 56-run partnership. Cartwright hit a six into the second tier of the Shane Warne Stand off Abbott at the end of the 19th over, before he and Stoinis added some much-needed meat to the innings with three fours in the last over.Stoinis scored 34 from 30 balls and Cartwright made 29 from 22.Stars were without wicketkeeper Sam Harper, who was hit on the head while batting at Friday training, but is now out of the hospital. Peter Handscomb took his place behind the wickets as Stars also welcomed back Boland, while Sixers brought back Hughes to great effect.

Gujarat Titans are in sixth place with eight points, while Delhi Capitals are in eighth place with six points

Shashank Kishore23-Apr-20241:29

Should Titans go with Williamson or Omarzai?

Match Details

Delhi Capitals (eighth) vs Gujarat Titans (sixth)

New Delhi, 1930 IST (1400 GMT)

Big picture – Axar, Kuldeep vs Rashid, Noor

There’s only so much wriggle room in the mid-table, with Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans desperately needing winning momentum in the second half of the league phase.The Capitals have swung from sublime to ridiculous. They have four of the best powerplay performances by a bowling team this season, but they also have the second highest economy rate in the first six overs, after conceding 125 and 88 against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders.The Capitals had nearly taken their net run rate positive after dismissing Gujarat Titans for the season’s lowest total last week in Ahmedabad, but that high was short lived as Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma fired Sunrisers to 266 for 7 at the Kotla.While they lost that chase against SRH, the Capitals provided a peek into what their future could look like, with Jake Fraser-McGurk, Tristan Stubbs and Abishek Porel batting like daredevils. But the youngsters are likely to be tested by the Titans, who have a spin attack comprising Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad and R Sai Kishore.Capitals also have the spinners to match the Titans. Axar Patel had dream figures of 4-0-29-1 in a game where over 450 runs were scored, while Kuldeep Yadav bounced back after a first-over shellacking from Abhishek to take four wickets. They could capitalise against one of the slowest top orders this season and a middle order that has lacked the role-clarity that was so crucial to their success in the previous two years. The spinners on both sides, however, will have to contend with a venue that has traditionally been a nightmare to bowl on with its short square boundaries.Related

• Axar, Mukesh speak out against Impact Player rule: 'It only works for a batter's convenience'

• Head starts, a Dhoni finish, and Narine's maiden ton

• An extra over for one bowler – would it help counter the battering in T20s?

Form Guide

Capitals LWWLL (last five matches, most recent first)

Titans WLWLL

Previous meeting

Titans were bowled out for 89, a total that the Capitals chased down in 8.5 overs. The fast bowlers Mukesh Kumar, Ishant Kumar and Khaleel Ahmed made the difference for DC that evening in Ahmedabad.

Team news and impact player strategy – A game for Kushagra?

Delhi Capitals

Mitchell Marsh is unavailable for the remainder of their campaign due to a hamstring strain. Ishant is also a doubtful starter as he continues to manage back spasms.Prithvi Shaw is likely to be subbed in or out for one of Khaleel Ahmed or Mukesh Kumar depending on whether Capitals bat or bowl first. If they are in trouble batting first and need an extra batter as an impact player, they could consider bringing in Jharkhand’s Kumar Kushagra.Probable XII: 1 David Warner, 2 , 3 Jake Fraser-McGurk, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Abishek Porel, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Sumit Kumar, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Mukesh Kumar, 12 Gujarat Titans
Titans are likely to swap Sai Sudharsan and Mohit Sharma as the Impact Player, depending on whether they bat or bowl first. While Sudharsan’s performances have been middling, Mohit has the fifth-best economy rate in the death overs among those who have bowled at least 10 overs since IPL 2023.Probable XII: 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 Wriddhiman Saha, 3 , 4 Azmatullah Omarzai, 5 David Miller, 6 Shahrukh Khan, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 R Sai Kishore, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Noor Ahmad, 12 David Warner has scored 37 runs in his last four innings•BCCI

In the Spotlight – Warner and Gill

David Warner has scores of 1, 8, 10 and 18 in his last four innings. He has played the last two games with a finger injury he picked up while attempting a lap sweep on April 12. Jake Fraser-McGurk is making heads turn with his powerplay hitting – a strike rate of 236 off his first 10 deliveries – and presenting a case to be considered for the opening slot. While there’s no imminent threat to Warner’s place, another low score could give Capitals something to think about.Shubman Gill was outstanding in IPL 2023, where he had a strike rate of more than 160 in six of his seven fifty-plus scores. This season, he has managed only one half-century in eight games, with his total tally at 289 runs. His form has somewhat mirrored his team’s batting fortunes and a big second half for Gill could be the boost Titans need to make a pitch for the playoffs for the third successive season.

Stats that matter

• The head-to-head between Anrich Nortje and Shubman Gill reads: three dismissals in six innings at an average of 11.30.
• The Capitals’ powerplay economy of 10.37 is the second highest among all teams this season.
• Umesh Yadav has a favourable match-up against Warner, with five dismissals in 11 innings.
• Rishabh Pant has fallen three times to legspin this season.

Pitch and conditions – Rain on the radar?

Last year, the re-laid pitches at the Kotla offered lateral movement and bounce for the seamers. This season, the Capitals played their first few home games in Vishakapatnam to give the pitches in Delhi time to recover after hosting the WPL. On their return to Delhi last week, records tumbled when Sunrisers smashed 266, and the curator expects another run-fest. There was a thunderstorm that forced both teams to abort their training sessions on match-eve.

Quotes

“There are still a lot of things to learn for Jake Fraser-McGurk. He isn’t a finished product and there is no better place to learn than the IPL. He needs to make it big like [Yashasvi] Jaiswal last night. He is a terrific kid; I like the way he is learning. We aren’t stopping him from doing the things he wants to do but we are also trying to make him learn a few things on the run.”

The former England captain says that the team have to strike the right balance in their preparation for the first Test at Brisbane

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-20172:53

‘Hope Stokes, Hales incident doesn’t make England reclusive’

This time next week, England will be on their way to Australia to begin their three-week build-up to the first Ashes Test. Former captain Michael Vaughan says the squad has to find the right balance between tuning up for Brisbane, and risking being so intense that they exhaust themselves early in the series.England play three warm-up matches in Perth, Adelaide and Townsville before the opening Test at the Gabba on November 23. Adding a challenging dynamic to the build-up this time will be the continued fallout to the Ben Stokes incident in Bristol, which means the allrounder won’t be flying out with the squad and his participation in any part of the tour remains uncertain.Not only do England have to work out how they reshuffle the side in Stokes’ likely absence – at the moment it appears playing an extra bowler will be the preferred option – but there remain questions over the top-order batting following another season where positions two, three and five were far from nailed down. A key part of England’s success in the 2010-11 Ashes was their ruthlessness in the warm-up matches, but Vaughan believes it’s also important for players to know when to switch off.”That period of the three warm-up games, in a players’ mind, feel like Test matches because of the exposure. Every little moment gets built up, one spell of bowling or one score and you are pushed into contention for the team. Yes, the first Test is massive but it’s the preparation that can drain a player,” Vaughan told ESPNcricinfo as he was officially unveiled as part of BT Sport’s commentary team for the series.”I’ve always said that to be a successful player across an Ashes series, you have to have an egg-timer, this ability to keep turning it over. If you allow the sand to drop all the way through with your emotions, not taking your mind away from the series, by the first or second Test you’ll be drained.”You have to be able to switch on and off because it’s thrown in your face everywhere you go, but those players who can take a little step back – get into something different – will probably stand the test of time over a five-match series.”In the aftermath of the brawl in Bristol in late September which led to Stokes – and Alex Hales – being made unavailable for England selection until further notice, coach Trevor Bayliss and director of England cricket Andrew Strauss said the issue of curfews and how much freedom players are given would be looked at. However, Vaughan hopes that the players in Australia are not confined to their hotels.”If you arrive in Australia and it’s all about that first ball in Brisbane, then it becomes a long three-and-a-half weeks,” he said. “They have to play cricket, focus hard, but also enjoy being in Australia. I hope the incident with Ben Stokes and Alex Hales doesn’t put the team into a reclusive nature. Professionalism is key. There’s a time and a place to go out and have some fun, but also to know when to put your cricket hat on. But I think they should be out playing golf, going to restaurants, mixing with the public.”England’s Ashes squad could be divided into eight nailed-on names (although Stokes was one of those) plus another eight selections who split opinion. Mark Stoneman did enough against West Indies to earn a run alongside Alastair Cook, James Vince is set to be recalled to bat at No. 3, with Gary Ballance and Dawid Malan vying for the No. 5 position.There will be a huge amount of focus on Joe Root in his first Ashes as captain, but Vaughan said that ultimately he needs performances from individuals to be successful.”I’ve always been a big believer that leadership of teams is over-egged, I don’t really know anyone who can lead 20 people. The process of winning as a team begins with the individual.”I’m looking at the team – if Stokes does go – I look at eight players of high experience, high quality and another eight who have been selected, and it’s not being disrespectful to them, but there could have been another eight instead of them, then another eight. It was just a debate.”You look at the eight experienced players – Cook, Root, Ali, Bairstow, Stokes if he’s there, Woakes, Broad and Anderson – I wouldn’t say I’d put all my focus into those eight as a captain, because you have to make sure the others are in fine fettle, but for England to win those eight have to be on their game.”