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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.

Alex Griffiths fifty, three wickets each for Nicole Harvey, Piepa Cleary keep Storm in the hunt

ECB Reporters Network02-Jul-2023Marie Kelly led by example as top-of-the-table Blaze beat Western Storm by five runs at Bristol’s Seat Unique Stadium to extend their unbeaten run to six matches in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.She made up for losing the toss by top-scoring with 54, while Michaela Kirk contributed 40 and Sophie Munro and Teresa Graves posted 41 apiece in adding 74 for the seventh wicket as Blaze recovered from 149 for 6 in the 33rd over to raise 245.Nicole Harvey took 3 for 32 in the middle overs and new signing Piepa Cleary returned figures of 3 for 42 on her debut to keep Storm in the hunt. But the inspirational Kelly then ran out opener Emma Corney and claimed the key wicket of Sophie Luff to dent Storm’s run chase.Alex Griffiths posted a superb 67 and Fran Wilson weighed in with 43, but Blaze bowled and fielded with impressive discipline to restrict Storm to 240 for 7 and return to winning ways following defeat to Southern Vipers in last month’s Charlotte Edwards Cup final.Without England bowlers Lauren Filer and Dani Gibson, who were away on Ashes duty, Storm put their trust in a previously untested new ball pairing of Academy product Mollie Robbins and Cleary, the Western Australia right armer signed just 48 hours earlier to bolster a depleted seam attack.Although wayward and a touch expensive, the inexperienced Robbins engineered an early breakthrough, Sarah Bryce driving loosely to point with the score on 17, while Cleary, in her first competitive outing since February, shed any initial ring rust to have Georgie Boyce held at silly mid-off in a new-ball burst of 1 for 17 from five overs.Unperturbed by events at the other end, Blaze skipper Kelly set her stall out to bat through, going quietly about the business of accumulating runs, while the more aggressive Kathryn Bryce cashed in whenever she was afforded width, plundering three boundaries to give the innings impetus and help advance the score to 73 for 2 at the end of the powerplay.Having put on 41 for the third wicket with her captain, Bryce was caught at the wicket for 20 in the act of cutting Chloe Skelton’s off breaks as Storm struck a telling blow. But the visitors continued to hold sway, aided and abetted by a lucky break when Cleary put down a presentable chance at mid-off to gift Kirk a life on 19, much to the chagrin of Skelton.Kelly combined clever placement and hard running, especially against spin, to keep the scoreboard moving. Her reward was a chanceless 50. Yet just as she was threatening to take the game away from Storm, she came unstuck, top-edging a pull shot and holing out to short fine leg, Harvey terminating a progressive fourth-wicket alliance of 42 in the 26th over.Having been cruising at 130 for 3, Blaze slumped to 149 for 6 in the face of an incisive spell from Harvey, who claimed three wickets in 15 balls with her leg breaks to fundamentally alter the balance of power. Nadine de Klerk was bowled and fellow South African Kirk pinned lbw in the act of sweeping as the middle order miss-fired.Storm sensed an opportunity to shut the innings down and there followed eight overs in which Blaze failed to register a single boundary as Graves and Munro battled to repair the damage. Demonstrating sound temperament and determination, the seventh-wicket pair eventually prevailed as a see-saw innings swayed back in the visitors’ favour.These two both contributed 41 from 50 balls to put the innings back on track before falling to the returning Cleary, who proved particularly effective at the death alongside Alex Griffiths, who removed Ella Claridge and Lucy Higham to finish with 2 for 25 from 5.5 overs.Having learned from the first innings, Griffiths and Corney embraced a low-risk strategy to provide Storm’s reply with solid foundations, the openers proving adept at putting the bad ball away while scoring predominantly in singles to post 69 in 17.4 overs.Their partnership was broken in bizarre fashion, Griffiths striking the ball back down the track and bowler Kelly diverting it onto the stumps with the unfortunate Corney out of her ground. Run out for 29 from 40 balls, Corney had nevertheless helped set things up, heading back to the dressing room with Storm requiring a further 177 runs at 5.47 an over.But Blaze do not boast an unbeaten record in this format without good reason, and the ubiquitous Kelly further undermined the chase when bowling the influential Luff for eight with the score on 91 in the 24th over.Storm were heavily dependent upon Griffiths and new batter Fran Wilson, who were aware of the need to accelerate from 99 for 2 at the halfway stage. Sure enough, Wilson quickly caressed three off-side boundaries at the expense of Kathryn Bryce and Kelly to set the scoreboard moving again, and Griffiths went to her first 50 of the summer via 97 balls as the third-wicket pair injected crucial momentum into their batting.Griffiths had advanced to 67 from 118 balls with eight fours and the partnership was worth 59 when the Welsh all-rounder chanced her arm once too often and holed out to Kirk in the deep off the bowling of Graves with the score on 150 in the 33rd over. Hesitation then proved fatal for Niamh Holland, run out for eight, as Blaze brought further pressure to bear on the home side.Wilson moved to within seven runs of a half-century before attempting to hook Graves and top-edging a catch behind, at which point Storm were 176-5, still 70 short of victory with the cream of their batting back in the pavilion.Storm refused to give in, Nat Wraith striking 20 before falling to Graves and Sophia Smale making a spirited 24 as the home side took it to the very last over.

The future of Tom Moody as Western Australia’s coach will be decided after Christmas as his team continues to struggle in his third year in the job

Cricinfo staff17-Nov-2009The future of Tom Moody as Western Australia’s coach will be decided after Christmas as his team continues to struggle in his third year in the job. However, the state’s chief executive Graeme Wood has guaranteed Moody, whose three-year contract expires at the end of the season, will coach out the summer.The recruitment of Moody for 2007-08 was seen as a major coup for Western Australia as he was fresh from a successful period in charge of the Sri Lanka team. Other international sides were keen to sound out Moody, but he preferred to head home to Perth to make life more stable for his young family.But with the exception of being Twenty20 runners-up in 2007-08, Western Australia’s results haven’t been impressive during the Moody era. They have finished third and fifth in their two Sheffield Shield campaigns, have come no higher than fifth in the FR Cup and so far this summer they have one set of first-innings points from two four-day games.”Tom’s in his last year so post Christmas we’ll have a look at where the side is and address the situation post Christmas,” Wood told AAP. “Tom is guaranteed [to coach out the season]. In the four-day game I think we’ve shown big improvements, so I think the group’s starting to learn there. But there’s room for improvement in the short form of the game.”I think our four-day cricket has been quite good but our one-day cricket has been ordinary, and not just this year. I think we’ve only won three of our last 13 or 14 games and that’s just not good enough, so we have to make amends for that and start playing a little bit differently, because the way we are doing it at the moment isn’t good enough.”

Mominul Haque’s men have lost three of their four Tests this year and might be without Tamim Iqbal for this one

Mohammad Isam06-Jul-2021

Big picture

With not much at stake in the one-off Test between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in Harare, there is hardly any pre-match buzz. Zimbabwe are not part of the World Test Championship. Bangladesh are. But the home side has shown that it can provide stiff competition to higher-ranked sides in the longest format at times.The match was expected to mark the comebacks for some key players. But Sean Williams and Craig Ervine have both been forced to self-isolate after coming in contact with Covid-19 positive family members. Brendan Taylor will be the stand-in captain for Zimbabwe.Bangladesh will welcome back allrounder Shakib Al Hasan, who missed most of the West Indies series at home because of a left thigh injury and opted out of the Sri Lanka Tests in April to play in the IPL. Shakib brings the perfect balance to the Bangladesh side with his aggressive batting, accurate left-arm spin, and tremendous experience.Related

• Chatara returns to Zimbabwe Test squad after three years

• Rahim suffers hairline fracture ahead of tour of Zimbabwe

• Domingo: Iqbal doubtful for Zimbabwe Test, Rahim on track

Zimbabwe have much to do in this Test after Pakistan crushed them in both Tests in their last series at home. Tendai Chatara returns to the Test squad, with Blessing Muzarabani very much the leader of the pace attack, while wicketkeeper Regis Chakabva has recent form on his side, having done well against Pakistan. Zimbabwe have also included four uncapped players – opener Takudzwanashe Kaitano, fast bowler Tanaka Chivanga, and batters Joylord Gumbie and Dion Myers – in their 20-member squad. Myers, in particular, has been impressive lately, with two half-centuries against South Africa A last month.The visitors will have nothing but a win on their mind after losing three of their four Tests this year. As for Mominul Haque, he has won just one of his eight Tests as captain. He has often not had the services of all the big guns, and might be without Tamim Iqbal for this one.Haque will also expect the likes of Saif Hassan, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Liton Das, who have all been plagued by inconsistency, to contribute. For Bangladesh, the pace attack will be led by Abu Jayed and Taskin Ahmed. However, given the nature of the Harare pitch, the spin duo of Shakib and Mehidy Hasan Miraz might have a big role to play.Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are locked at seven wins apiece over the years, with three of their 17 matches ending in draws.

Form guide

Zimbabwe LLLWL
Bangladesh LDLLW
Brendan Taylor has scored five of his six Test centuries against Bangladesh•AFP

In the spotlight

Against Bangladesh, Brendan Taylor often brings out something special. On two occasions in the last seven years, he has scored hundreds in each innings of a Test against Bangladesh. Taylor also has five of his six Test centuries against the opponents and will once again be a vital cog in the Zimbabwe line-up.Taskin Ahmed has worked hard on his fitness and skills in the rebuilding phase of his international career. He is not a newbie anymore in the Bangladesh attack and can bowl consistently for long periods. In conditions where patience will be key, Ahmed could play a crucial role for Bangladesh.

Team news

With Williams and Ervine in self-isolation, Milton Shumba could continue in the middle order, while newcomers Joylord Gumbie and Dion Myers may also be considered. Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Kevin Kasuza, 2 Takudzwanashe Kaitano, 3 Regis Chakabva (wk), 4 Brendan Taylor (capt), 5 Milton Shumba, 6 Joylord Gumbie/Dion Myers, 7 Donald Tiripano, 8 Roy Kaia, 9 Richard Ngarava, 10 Tendai Chatara, 11 Blessing MuzarabaniShakib’s return will give Bangladesh the balance they missed in Sri Lanka in April. Iqbal remains an injury concern although Mushfiqur Rahim, who suffered a hairline fracture on his left index finger ahead of the tour of Zimbabwe, could be fit to play.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal, 2 Saif Hassan, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Mominul Haque (capt), 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mushfiqur Rahim, 7 Liton Das (wk), 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Abu Jayed, 11 Shoriful Islam

Pitch and conditions

Spinners might play a bigger role as the Test progresses at Harare Sports Club, where pitches tend to be on the slower side. Conditions are likely to be dry.

Stats that matter

• Shakib needs 70 more runs to complete the double of 4000 runs and 200 wickets in Test cricket. The other members of this elite group are Garry Sobers, Kapil Dev, Ian Botham, Daniel Vettori and Jacques Kallis.
• This is the third one-off Test between the two sides, with both having won one each in 2011 (Zimbabwe) and 2020 (Bangladesh).

Quotes

“They have improved massively in the last 18 months in their understanding of fast bowling, skillset and endurance. I don’t think that day is too far away when a fast bowler wins Bangladesh a Test match in tough conditions.”
“It is going to be a lot more competitive especially in our home conditions. We know our conditions quite well. It is always a big challenge playing in their backyard. Hopefully we have tailored the conditions to suit us. We have a young vibrant team, and we are excited to get going.”

Can Hope and co. look Gabriel and Roach in the eye after their efforts in this series?

Nagraj Gollapudi28-Jul-2020What exactly did West Indies’ batsmen learn between the second and third Tests? They had to bat time on the final day of both matches. Both days, they walked back defeated.On the final day of the second Test, they managed to survive 70.1 overs out of the 85 they needed to. Today they struggled to last just 37.1 overs, having been tasked to be vigilant for 98.It was shambolic and embarrassing. Every specialist batsman showed the resolve of a child spotting an ice-cream truck. None gave the impression that he understood what the batting group’s main goal was: to bat out the balls they needed to.Jermaine Blackwood was the only visiting batsman today who lasted an hour. The rest of the batting line-up were easily distracted, and lured into the playing shots at balls they could easily have left alone. They were easy pickings for Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes, who barely broke a sweat between them on a breezy, rainy final day of this first-ever biosecure Test series played behind closed doors.Kraigg Brathwaite hangs his head after his dismissal•Getty Images

To understand how listless West Indies and how confident England’s bowlers were, you should have heard Broad recounting an anecdote from fourth day after the victory. Broad said that James Anderson had pointed to Windies opener Kraigg Brathwaite and said it was a matter of time before he would become Broad’s 500 Test victim.Both great bowlers had a chuckle. As it happens, Brathwaite was Anderson’s 500th Test wicket during the 2017 tour of England. Brathwaite might as well make 500 the number he wears on his Test shirt, if the ICC allows.But it is not about being a laughing stock, Brathwaite must understand. His fraught technique, where he bats back and across, not knowing where his off-stump is despite taking an off-stump guard, has contributed to his string of failures, especially in the second innings.Today, he was defeated by a Broad ball that had pitched on the seam, on a good length, on the fourth stump before darting in low and fast to hit his raised back leg. Brathwaite could have played on the front foot, but his defensive mindset exposed him, resulting in him getting squared up.ALSO READ: Why Hope’s Headingley opus might not sustain him much longerOn the flight back tomorrow Shai Hope will definitely think about several what-ifs. One simple question he should be asking himself is: was it really necessary to pull a short ball, trying to shovel it from wide outside off stump, only to balloon an easy catch to mid-on? And that too 45 minutes from lunch, not long after Brathwaite had departed?The stroke that Hope attempted today is a stroke batsmen play predominantly in limited-overs cricket when they spot the mid-on fielder well inside the circle. Were West Indies actually playing for a win today? Hope’s highest score in his six innings in this series was 31, which came today. Questions about his future are certain now.Hope’s was not the only self-inflicted blunder. Similar examples of loose decision-making included: Shamarh Brooks playing at a straight ball that needed to be left alone; Roston Chase – who had proved to be the most reliable player – stuttering to respond to call from Blackwood late and turning an easy run into a run-out; Jason Holder failing to take a stride forward against a length ball that trapped him plumb; and ditto Shane Dowrich. Such benevolence helped Woakes to quietly steal a five-for without being particularly scheming.At about half past two in the afternoon, minutes after he had got out, Holder was caught by the TV cameras holding his head in his hands. That was she same head that was held proudly aloft on the final afternoon in Southampton, after Holder and Blackwood had led West Indies to a historic victory to take the series lead. Prime ministers would call Holder to tell him how proud they were he had kept a cool head to take West Indies past the finishing line.From those giddy heights, about a week later, Holder could not believe his batsmen had failed to show the spine to withstand the mounting pressure from Broad and co. as they were bowled out twice in two days, despite sitting pretty before the final session on the penultimate day of the second Test.Another week later, Holder said he could not explain what exactly had happened that West Indies had lost the series 2-1. England has never been an easy place for visiting teams to win especially in the past eight years, when they have been beaten only once – in 2014 by Sri Lanka.Yet Holder and his troops had been gung-ho having won the home series against England in 2019. That victory was possible because some of their batsmen had excelled at home – including Holder, who had blasted a maiden double-century.This time around, West Indies breached the 300-run mark just once – in the first innings of the first Test. That total had allowed their fast bowlers – led by Holder and Shannon Gabriel – to attack England.Jason Holder reflects on West Indies’ series loss•Getty Images

To put those failings into context, this was first time since 1928 that no West Indies batsman recorded a single Test century against England. It was also only the fifth instance of zero centuries in Test series comprising at least three matches for West Indies.This series West Indies managed just 23.73 runs per wicket which was marginally better than their 2017 trip to England. However, last year when West Indies won the series at home against England that figure was a healthy 31.15. Their top three averaged 20.29 which is the second-lowest against England.At the outset of the series Windies batting great Brian Lara had pointed out that the key to succeed in England is to protect your stumps. However this West Indies batting unit’s defence has been too porous: there were 19 lbw dismissals, which is the second-highest count in a three-Test series for them.West Indies batsmen need to think hard. They are not just letting themselves down, but also their fast bowlers, who strived and fought through the pain of bowling not just in back-to-back Test matches, but also long tireless spells.Can they look in the eye of Gabriel, who was playing in his first Test series since surgery last September and was stiff after his match-winning spell in Southampton? Can they do the same with Kemar Roach, who toiled endlessly throughout the series and finally got to the milestone of 200 Test wickets, but could not celebrate the feat? The fast bowlers need an apology.It is not just about the technique and mental strength that makes Test cricket the pinnacle. To win the minor battles, you need presence of mind, too. West Indies were aware on Tuesday that play would be hampered by frequent showers. West Indies were bowled out six minutes before three o’clock. Less than half an hour later, it was raining heavily at Old Trafford.Michael Holding had the first word in this series, calling “timber” after Gabriel bent back Dom Sibley’s off stump to take the first wicket in this series. Holding had the last word, too. He got a message from a friend in the Caribbean who wanted to check if the rain could save West Indies this afternoon. Holding’s response was: “The Lord only helps those who help themselves.”

Another defeat would put Afghanistan on brink of elimination, while victory for Australia would set them up beautifully for a semi-final spot

Deivarayan Muthu22-Jun-20241:09

Maxwell: Hopefully a few mental scars from the double century

Match details

Afghanistan vs Australia
Kingstown, 8.30pm local time

Big Picture: All eyes on Glenn Maxwell

The last time Australia faced Afghanistan, history was made. A cramping Glenn Maxwell was writhing in pain – he could barely walk, let alone run – but pulled off a miracle in Mumbai. They were struggling at 91 for 7 in pursuit of 293, but Maxwell’s epic double-hundred put Australia back on track for another world title and left Afghanistan on the brink of elimination.Maxwell then endured a difficult IPL with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, where he even took a break. He started the T20 World Cup with a duck against Oman and then laboured to 28 off 25 balls against England. He was bowled cheaply by a ripper from Mark Watt in the chase against Scotland, but in the chase against Bangladesh, he showed signs of his best, though he faced only six balls in a rain-hit fixture. He swatted legspinner Rishad Hossain over long-on and crunched Mustafizur Rahman through the covers. Maxwell finished with 14 off six balls at a strike rate of 233.33. Australia will hope that Maxwell, the spin-hitter, can produce an even bigger impact against Rashid Khan and co. on a Kingstown pitch that has been conducive to spin.Related

• Human rights question hangs over success story of Afghanistan's men

• Australia's World Cup mojo on full display in bid for triple crown

• ESPNcricinfo Awards 2023 Men's ODI batting winner: Glenn Maxwell vs the world

Though Maxwell is yet to hit full tilt, Australia’s middle order (between Nos. 4-7) has struck at 168.09, the best among all 20 teams in this T20 World Cup. In contrast, Afghanistan’s middle order has struck at less than 100 – the lowest among all Full-Member teams in this tournament. Adam Zampa and potentially Ashton Agar could make life even more difficult for the Afghanistan middle-order batters in Kingstown.This game will be played in the backdrop of some tension between the two boards. Cricket Australia has refused to play Afghanistan in bilateral series in the recent past because of political reasons. Australia’s decision to pull out of multiple bilateral series against Afghanistan has met fierce condemnation, including a threat from Rashid Khan to pull out of the BBL. Afghanistan’s players will be out to prove a point about their standing in the global game when they take Australia on in a third World Cup game in three years.

Form guide

Afghanistan LLWWW
Australia WWWWW1:44

Rashid Khan: Middle-order batting needs to improve

In the spotlight: Naveen-ul-Haq and Tim David

Naveen-ul-Haq has taken some pasting in the Caribbean leg of the T20 World Cup, but he is Afghanistan’s best bet to counter Australia’s power-packed line-up at the death. He can bowl yorkers from a slingy action and has several slower variations, including the knuckle ball, tailor-made for the low bounce in St Vincent. Naveen has a chance to add to those variations by working with Dwayne Bravo at Afghanistan and Texas Super Kings in the upcoming MLC.Naveen, though, will have to be wary of Tim David, who has taken him for 50 off 38 balls in T20 cricket being dismissed. David also has a good head-to-head record against Rashid – 62 off 45 balls with just two dismissals – and has been working on his own spin bowling though Australia haven’t needed his secondary skill in the T20 World Cup proper. If David doesn’t get you, Marcus Stoinis will. If Stoinis doesn’t get you, Maxwell will.

Team news: Will Australia bring back Agar?

Hazratullah Zazai fell cheaply against India, but Afghanistan will likely give him another go.Afghanistan (probable): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Hazratullah Zazai, 3 Ibrahim Zadran, 4 Gulbadin Naib, 5 Azmatullah Omarzai, 6 Najibullah Zadran, 7 Mohammad Nabi, 8 Rashid Khan (capt), 9 Naveen-ul-Haq, 10 Noor Ahmad, 11 Fazalhaq FarooqiConsidering the slow, turning tracks in Kingstown and Afghanistan’s right-hand heavy line-up, Australia might bring back left-arm fingerspinner Agar, instead of one of the three frontline quicks, and pair him up with Zampa and Maxwell.Australia (probable): 1 David Warner, 2 Travis Head, 3 Mitchell Marsh (capt), 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Tim David, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Josh Hazlewood/Ashton Agar, 11 Adam Zampa

Pitch and conditions: Spin to win

Spinners have thrived in Kingstown, picking up 22 wickets at an economy rate of 5.64 in six innings this tournament. Expect more of the same when two of the world’s best T20 wristspinners Rashid and Zampa will be in action on Saturday night. Chances of rain are low on Saturday evening.

Stats and trivia: Farooqi dominates powerplay

• Agar has dismissed Nabi twice in ten balls while conceding just four runs in T20 cricket. He is one wicket away from becoming the second Australia spinner, after Zampa, to 50 T20I wickets.
• Farooqi has bagged 15 wickets in this T20 World Cup at an economy rate of 5.45. Eight of those 15 wickets have come in the powerplay, the most by a bowler during this phase in the tournament.
• Travis Head, David and Stoinis have hit 129 sixes among them in T20 cricket this year.

Quotes

“I think there are a few players who are very early in their international careers and they will learn from it. And World Cup is always the biggest stage when you’re playing against the biggest team as well.”

“Yeah, it was nice to get out there and hit a couple, but I’ve said it pretty consistently. I felt pretty good throughout the whole tournament.”

Dawid Malan says team have “hell of a lot to play for” in remaining group games

Matt Roller31-Oct-2023England have arrived in Ahmedabad knowing that they must win at least one of their next three games – not only to restore pride but to ensure that they are spared the ignominy of missing the cut for the next global men’s 50-over event in 2025. Failing to mount a challenge for the World Cup is one thing; failing to qualify for the Champions Trophy would be quite another.The England set-up were blindsided when the ICC confirmed on Sunday that a change in the qualification process had been ratified – but not announced publicly – in November 2021. Pakistan, the hosts, will be joined by the other seven highest finishers at the World Cup, with England dead last after five defeats in six matches.There has been significant institutional change at the ECB in the two years since, with a new chief executive, chair and managing director in place. But realistically, after a seven-year era of unprecedented white-ball success since 2015, the prospect of finishing outside the top eight would not have registered with England’s management.Related

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• Australia talking points: Starc, middle-order tempo and allrounders

England play Australia on Saturday before fixtures against Netherlands and Pakistan on November 8 and 11 respectively, and the Netherlands game in Pune already looks like a potential qualification decider. The Dutch have a proud history against England, beating them in the 2009 and 2014 World T20s, and will be desperate to turn them over once more.It is not lost on England’s players that they need to finish this World Cup strongly – even if, with 11 out of 15 squad members aged 30-plus, many of them will not be involved in two years’ time. “People’s jobs are being scrutinised and players’ careers are being scrutinised,” Dawid Malan said on Tuesday. “We have a hell of a lot to play for in the last three.”The last thing you want – if the decision gets made to move on from players – is that we haven’t done well enough to give other players the opportunity in future to play in big tournaments. That’s what you play the game for: you want to be in the Champions Trophy and the World Cup, things like that.”Dawid Malan is England’s leading run-scorer at the World Cup•Getty Images

England are not mathematically out of the World Cup, but their players are realistic about their semi-final prospects. “It’s definitely not going to be a situation where we just go through the motions because we’re potentially out of this World Cup,” Malan said. “We have a lot at stake and a lot of pride for England to be in that Champions Trophy in two years’ time.”Malan told the BBC that, at 36, he is “pretty sure I’ll be done” as an England player before the 2025 Champions Trophy. “It feels a long way away,” he said. “Two years feels a long way away. I am playing as well as I’ve played, but whether that decision is mine or someone else’s, we’ll find out.”Criticism of England has grown with every defeat and Malan found himself playing down various perceived issues: he denied that central contracts had been a major distraction, said that it was “fair” for Eoin Morgan to lay into their underperformance, and suggested it was up to the players to take the heat off head coach Matthew Mott.Malan is England’s leading run-scorer at this tournament with 236 at 39.33, 140 of which came in their only win, against Bangladesh in Dharamshala. “I feel like I am playing well, but just finding ways of getting out,” he said. “We just can’t get anything going with the bat and get a score on the board. I can’t put my finger on it.”He also confirmed recent reports that he will not play in the County Championship for Yorkshire next year. “I’ll probably try and play as much white-ball cricket as I can for the rest of my career,” Malan said. “It’s prioritising spending a bit more time at home because my winters are so busy with internationals or franchise tournaments.”

In his first game this IPL, the express quick dented Sunrisers both in normal time and then the one-over shoot out

Vishal Dikshit18-Oct-20206:22

Tom Moody: Can’t see Lockie Ferguson missing another game

Super Over Two mid-table sides separated by just two points. Two misfiring middle orders. Two squads unable to use their reserve overseas players in the best possible way. Two teams that were neck and neck with three wins each against each other since 2018. What happened when they met on Sunday evening? A Super Over, of course.Lockie Ferguson made that one-over face-off a one-sided affair though. Playing his first match in over seven months, Ferguson, in the space of three balls, first removed David Warner’s off stump to hand him a golden duck and then hit the base of Abdul Samad’s middle stump with a full and slower delivery, with only two runs allowed in between. A single from Eoin Morgan and two leg-byes off Dinesh Karthik’s pads with a fumble at short-fine leg gave the Kolkata Knight Riders two points from the third Super Over of the season to keep them on fourth place on the points table.Ferguson had earlier dented the Sunrisers Hyderabad chase of 164 with a spectacular spell of fast bowling that read 4-0-3-15 without conceding a single boundary. Ferguson did the damage against a tweaked Sunrisers line-up that saw Kane Williamson open with Jonny Bairstow, and Warner push himself down to No. 4. He allowed just seven in the 18th over when the Sunrisers needed 37 from 18. With 30 to win from 12, Samad and Warner targeted Shivam Mavi on the off side for two fours before the former fell off the last ball of the over – another dismissal that featured Ferguson. Samad had clubbed a full toss to deep midwicket where Ferguson pouched the ball right inside the rope before carefully lobbing it to Shubman Gill when he lost balance.Warner had struck only two fours in his 28-ball 33 when the last over started with Andre Russell bowling a big wide outside off to Rashid Khan from around the wicket which was later called a no-ball. Once Warner got strike, he first found the cow-corner boundary, then hammered a length delivery past the bowler and then whipped an innocuous-looking leg-stump delivery for the third four in a row. With four to get off two, Warner took a double but couldn’t get bat on the last ball and settled for one leg-bye when Russell nipped the ball into his pads. It was time for a Super Over.Sunrisers’ Williamson experiment
Slow starts, an inexperienced middle order, and Warner not looking at his best made the Sunrisers change their line-up. Williamson, who was carrying a hamstring niggle, took charge at the top with fluent strokeplay, hitting consecutive fours off Mavi, while Bairstow muscled Varun Chakravarthy off the back foot. The duo also attacked Russell and Pat Cummins together to finish the sixth over on 58, of which 46 came in boundaries, and was the Knight Riders’ fourth consecutive powerplay without a wicket.But then came Ferguson in the seventh over. Williamson upper cut his first ball to third man to end an enterprising 19-ball 29 that saw Priyam Garg come in at No. 3. Garg couldn’t last more than seven balls as Ferguson’s slower delivery rammed into his stumps and, four balls later, Bairstow found long-off against Chakravarthy.The Warner you haven’t seen
Warner has been struggling by his standards this IPL and on Sunday he got a life on the first ball he faced from Kuldeep Yadav when Karthik missed a stumping after a loopy delivery deflected off the batman’s pad. With his team three down and half the innings left, an uncharacteristically watchful Warner relied on ones and two. At the other end, Manish Pandey was removed by a 148kmh Ferguson yorker. On one hand was Ferguson’s express pace, and on the other was Yadav taking pace off the ball – the duo combined for 18 dots from their seven overs together, which featured no boundaries. Warner saw them off and saved his boundaries for the end, which eventually tied the scores.Knight Riders slow off the blocks
In what was a start-stop-start innings, the Knight Riders struggled to get going properly because Shubman Gill couldn’t find the gaps and ate up 17 dots in his 37-ball 36. Apart from his three consecutive fours off Basil Thampi in the fifth over that helped the Knight Riders register their best opening stand this IPL, it was mainly Rahul Tripathi’s attacking strokes that relatively drove up the run rate. However, Tripathi’s dismissal on the last ball of the powerplay, for 23 off 16, slowed them down again as Rashid Khan came on in the eighth over.Vijay Shankar bowls four for the first time in IPL
Before Khan, though, the seventh over was given to Vijay Shankar, who dried up the runs further with his clever use of length and pace variations. The fifth bowler has been an issue for the Sunrisers and this time they used him smartly – bowling from the seventh over onwards, they got three out of him by the 11th over, for just 15 runs. But it was neither Khan nor Shankar who pushed the Knight Riders back as much as Garg. Two excellent running catches – one at the long-off boundary to remove Gill in the 12th over and the other running in from deep midwicket inside the circle when Nitish Rana top-edged Shankar three balls later, left them on 88 for 3 with just under eight overs left.DK and Morgan show
Russell’s poor run with the bat continued. With plenty of overs left on a slow pitch, his short stay ended when he holed out to deep midwicket for 8 against T Natarajan. Khan’s quota was done by then but the slow and dipping yorkers and full tosses of Sandeep Sharma and Natarajan were still not letting the batsmen score freely. Karthik – like he did against the Kings XI Punjab with a half-century – gave his team a late push with deft footwork. He used the crease better than anyone: he first walked down to sweep a low Sharma full toss for six, then stayed back for a Natarajan yorker to drill it down the ground for four, and then went back again to dispatch another Natarajan delivery for a six over long-on.After 19 overs, the Knight Riders were 147 for 4 with Morgan on 18 off 17 and Karthik 29 off 14. Morgan faced the entire last over from Thampi who kept missing his yorkers. Morgan hit him down the ground, smashed him over square leg for a six and ran three doubles before handing a catch to long-off to collect 16 off the over. Knight Riders had taken 52 from the last four to post a challenging total. It proved to be enough.

New deal to include increase in Blast coverage, and more women’s fixtures than ever before

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jul-2022The ECB and Sky Sports have extended their broadcast partnership by a further four years, until the end of 2028.The new deal, which is set to begin in 2025, includes a commitment to 90 extra hours of cricket each year, and guarantees that the Hundred – the new competition that was a major factor in the last rights cycle for 2020-24 – will continue for at least another five seasons.That hike in live coverage includes a commitment to a 50 percent increase in the number of Vitality Blast fixtures being broadcast, including one game per round being shown free-to-air on Sky Sports’ YouTube channel.The exact details of the new deal’s free-to-air provisions will be confirmed at a later date – the BBC’s current agreement extends until the end of 2024 – although at least two women’s T20 internationals each year will be broadcast on terrestrial TV, as well as eight women’s Hundred matches – an increase of two from the current deal.Sky have also pledged to continue supporting grassroots cricket through the ECB’s Dynamos Cricket programme.Clare Connor, the ECB’s interim chief executive, said: “Sky have been fantastic partners for cricket for over 30 years. Their broadcast coverage is rightly lauded as the best in the world, but more significantly than that we have a shared commitment to growing the sport and investing in more opportunities, not only for people to watch and follow cricket in all its forms, but also to pick up a bat and ball.”Thanks to Sky and the support of other partners, we saw a record 14 million people playing, attending or following cricket in 2021. This year alone, 10,000 children will get the chance to have a free taste of cricket through Sky Dynamos Intros, while many, many more will benefit from facilities and opportunities to play which are only possible because of Sky’s investment. It shows this media rights model is working, and we are very grateful for Sky’s ongoing support.”We have worked closely with the wider game and our First-Class Counties to agree this new deal with Sky, which will see not only more live women’s and men’s cricket on Sky, but also more on free to air TV as well. I would like to place on record our thanks to the First Class County Chairs, to all of the Sky teams involved and to ECB colleagues including Tony Singh and Tom Harrison, who have played the central role in delivering this outstanding result for cricket.”Our shared values and vision with Sky will make cricket accessible to even more people over the coming years and will use the power of sport to inspire the next generation, while safeguarding the wonderful traditions which are such a key part of our game.”Stephen van Rooyen, Sky Sports’ EVP and CEO UK and Europe, added: “This is an exciting time for English cricket and we’re thrilled to be furthering our long and successful partnership with the ECB. Together we will continue to help grow the game while boosting participation in the sport by children from all backgrounds through initiatives like our Dynamos Cricket Intros.”On screen, we will continue to push boundaries in our BAFTA-winning coverage, bringing Sky Sports viewers even more live action from 2025 – including more women’s cricket than ever before – with men’s and women’s England internationals and domestic cricket. Sky’s investment over the last 30 years has contributed to a great deal of success on the pitch, and we hope to be at the forefront of much more to come.”

Visitors lost 5 for 6 in a lower-order collapse, before Bangladesh ended the day with a lead of 218

Debayan Sen05-Feb-2021Stumps On the face of it, 231 runs for the loss of 11 wickets on a third day of a Test would indicate relatively attrition-filled cricket on a rapidly deteriorating pitch. The cricket during the first Test between Bangladesh and West Indies in Chattogram itself was anything but that, and the pitch has played better than the numbers suggest. Mehidy Hasan Miraz precipitated a sensational collapse for West Indies, who lost their last five wickets for six runs inside 23 balls to concede a lead of 171 runs, when once they looked likely to last the whole day and eat substantially into Bangladesh’s 430 posted in the first innings.In response, Kraigg Brathwaite asked Rahkeem Cornwall to share the new ball with Kemar Roach, and the burly offspinner responded by trapping Tamim Iqbal in front for no score with a quicker one, and then lured Najmul Hossain Shanto to nick one to Jermaine Blackwood to slip for a second-ball duck. Shadman Islam and Mominul Haque, though, steadied the ship and took the Bangladesh lead past 200, though the former fell to Shannon Gabriel’s short ball, nicking it to Joshua Da Silva down the leg side to leave the hosts at 33 for 3. Cornwall could have had a third for the day when Mushfiqur Rahim gloved one on to his body and was taken at forward short leg, but West Indies lacked conviction in their appeal and also missed a chance to review, with Rahim on five then.In balance, the first two-thirds of the day belonged to West Indies though Taijul Islam dismissed Nkrumah Bonner off the very first ball of the day, nicking to Shanto at first slip. Debutant Kyle Mayers, who got to 40, could have been dismissed in an identical fashion off the third ball he faced, but his edge appeared to take a little deflection off Liton Das’ pads, as Shanto failed to grab on after getting his fingertips to the ball.Mayers settled down and crunched a couple of pleasing boundaries off Mustafizur Rahman’s first over of the morning – an on drive and a cover drive – to settle West Indies’ nerves. Their captain Brathwaite then brought up his 20th Test fifty with a neat flick off his hips against Islam. Brathwaite and Mayers added 55 in just over 11 overs while dominating the first hour of play, especially with their strokeplay square of the wicket. Brathwaite used his feet cleverly against both Islam and Hasan – who replaced Rahman quite early – and his sashays down the pitch forced the spinners to drop short more often.Rahkeem Cornwall got two wickets for West Indies after Bangladesh took a 171-run lead•BCB

Runs were coming at a fair tick for West Indies, though Mayers was lucky when Bangladesh chose not to review a leg before appeal when Hasan bowled one fuller, and the left-hander had the ball hit pad ahead of bat with a forward press. The replays indicated that the ball would have gone on to hit the top of off stump. Hasan wouldn’t have to wait long for his reward, though, with Brathwaite leaving a length ball that pitched outside off and surprised him with the amount of turn back into him, thus clipping the top of off stump.In his first over of the day, drew Mayers forward, and struck him on the pad after straightening from around the wicket, as the debutant walked away after considering a review. The replays, though, indicated that there may have been bat on the ball before it struck the pad, and a review could have kept Mayers on course for his first fifty.Taking the cue from their colleagues, Blackwood and Da Silva – who scored 68 and 42, respectively – then settled down to frustrate the Bangladesh bowlers for virtually the entire afternoon session. If Da Silva was nimble in his footwork – both pressing forward and playing deep inside his crease to negotiate the spinners – Blackwood was clever at how he defended anything close to the stumps, and pounced on even the slightest lapses in length from the spinners. One such full delivery was driven through covers to bring up his 14th Test fifty.The new ball was taken by Bangladesh after Mustafizur Rahman bowled a couple of overs with the older ball with Das standing up to the stumps, but nothing appeared to be working for Haque, especially with the injury-enforced absence of Shakib Al Hasan. Rahman even earned himself two official warnings for running into the danger area in his follow through, but Bangladesh’s luck turned dramatically as Hasan bounded in to bowl the 93rd over of the innings.The third ball kept a bit low and spun enough to take Da Silva’s edge through to Das, aborting the sixth-wicket partnership at 99. Off the next over, Miraz benefitted from a thin edge down leg side from Blackwood to ring in tea. On resumption, Roach slogged his third ball down deep midwicket’s throat, and when Cornwall missed a drive off his bowling, Miraz looked on course to join Shakib and Sohag Gazi as the only Bangladesh players with a century and a five-for in the same Test.But an injudicious slog across the line from Jomel Warrican off Islam put paid to those hopes, as their collapse denied them an opportunity at reversing the pressure on to the home side. As things stand, with six sessions to play, Bangladesh have the opportunity to bat long enough to set West Indies anything in the vicinity of 350 in the fourth innings; and the time remaining means the hosts can also have a shot at victory.