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“England’s attacking cricket always gives you an opportunity to induce mistakes in them”

Danyal Rasool05-Oct-2024Pakistan vice-captain Saud Shakeel echoed his coach Jason Gillespie’s comments about Pakistan’s game plan, saying his side were looking to use England’s aggressive tactics against them in their three-Test series. England’s reputation for playing high-risk, high-reward cricket under current coach Brendon McCullum means Pakistan are sniffing an opportunity to draw them into making mistakes, according to Shakeel.”England always play attacking cricket, and that always gives you an opportunity to induce mistakes in them, and to use their mistakes to stay in the game,” Shakeel said at a press conference in Multan.Shakeel, who was Pakistan’s second-highest scorer during their series against England in 2022, said Pakistan would draw inspiration from that tour, despite England ultimately beating the hosts 3-0. “The last series we played against England, there were times we were quite close to winning, such as Rawalpindi and Multan, but we couldn’t finish it off.”Related

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It was in Multan, where the first Test starts Monday, that Pakistan ran England closest last time, with Shakeel almost steering his side home. Needing 355 for victory in the fourth innings, Pakistan were securely placed at 290 with half the side still to bat, and Shakeel on 94. But two wickets from Mark Wood on the stroke of lunch ended Pakistan’s resistance, with England ultimately edging to a 26-run victory.The idea of exploiting England’s mistakes is not exactly novel. Most recently, Sri Lanka managed it with relative success in their three-Test series in England, winning the third Test after inducing England collapses in each innings. Pakistan’s ability to execute such a plan, though, is far from guaranteed, given recent struggles with both bat and ball, badly exposed by Bangladesh.Saud Shakeel finished as Pakistan’s second-highest run-scorer when they last played England•AFP/Getty Images

“We’re struggling with the bat from time to time, and unable to convert starts into huge scores,” Shakeel said. “That’s a point of concern. The series that’s over is now in the past. Admittedly we didn’t play well there. Our focus is on what’s ahead.”But we don’t follow any particular style playing cricket, we play according to the requirement of any situation, which gives us flexibility.”Pakistan have been trying to carve out their own identity, something new head coach Gillespie has tried to nail down. In July, he told ESPNcricinfo he wanted his side to find a style of cricket “authentic to Pakistan”, admitting he didn’t yet know what that was.Earlier this week, he told the that Pakistan would look to “hang in there, keep being disciplined” and “strike at the right moments”, suggesting the quest for an identity is temporarily being shelved in the hunt for the results Pakistan have been starved of.”The strategy is often decided on the spot depending on how England play,” Shakeel said. “Reverse swing may also come into play depending on the weather and the pitch [that is] prepared. If a team is being aggressive, it can be easy to get sucked into their style of play and over-attack. If they’re attacking, and we just let them make their mistakes, that might work out better for us.”

The boards were informed of the change a day before Mumbai were scheduled to fly to Lahli for the game

Shashank Kishore05-Feb-2025The BCCI has shifted the Ranji Trophy quarter-final between Haryana and Mumbai from Lahli, Haryana’s home venue, to Kolkata, a neutral venue. The development has affected the travel plans of both the teams – the game is scheduled to start on Saturday – and taken the “hosts” by surprise, since the BCCI hasn’t provided Haryana with a reason for the switch officially.Mumbai were due to arrive in Lahli on Wednesday morning. The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) is now making arrangements for them to fly out to Kolkata by Wednesday evening. Haryana, like Mumbai, are expected to reach Kolkata late on Wednesday. “Yes, we have received a communication from BCCI that our quarter-final against Haryana will be played at the Eden Gardens,” MCA president Ajinkya Naik told PTI.ESPNcricinfo understands that the weather in Lahli has been clear over the past few days, and the Haryana Cricket Association was confident of hosting the match at the Bansi Lal Stadium, which had hosted all their three home games this season. ESPNcricinfo reached out to a senior HCA official, but they chose not to comment on the issue.Related

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Like Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, too, won’t enjoy home advantage after their quarter-final against Kerala was shifted from Jammu to the MCA Stadium in Pune.In this case, though, the shift came about because the Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), it is understood, was concerned about the ground conditions following a harsh winter and conveyed the same to the BCCI.JKCA had been keen on hosting the game in Mumbai or Ahmedabad but were informed that those venues would be unavailable, and a decision was made to host the game in Pune instead.The other two knockout games – Vidarbha vs Tamil Nadu and Saurashtra vs Gujarat – would be played in Nagpur (Civil Lines Stadium) and Rajkot (Niranjan Shah Stadium) respectively, as per the current norms where the group toppers are recognised as the host teams.Vidarbha’s 40 points owing to six outright wins in seven games are the most by any team in the group stage this season. Gujarat, meanwhile, have the third-highest points (32), behind J&K’s 35.

Visitors take 10 points to virtually confirm safety going into final round of Championship season

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay18-Sep-2025Essex 325 for 5 (Allison 98, Pepper 54*) drew with WarwickshireEssex virtually secured their Rothesay County Championship Division One status as their match with Warwickshire ended in a rain-ruined draw at Edgbaston. No play was possible due to rain on the final day, meaning that three of the four days were completely blank.Essex collected ten points from the draw, putting them pretty much safe from relegation as two of the teams below them – Yorkshire and Durham – meet in next week’s final round of games. It would now take an extraordinary combination of results and bonus points to drag Essex through the trapdoor with Worcestershire.It was a sodden and sorry scene at Edgbaston as Warwickshire’s home season came to an anti-climatic close. After high winds prevented play on the first day and rain did so on the third, persistent drizzle overnight and on the fourth morning again left conditions unplayable. Essex were denied the chance to resume from the 325 for 5 that they build on the second day.Tom Westley’s side at least took a solid ten points from the draw – a more productive return than from the drawn encounter between these teams in their inaugural Championship meeting at Edgbaston in 1895. After three days of hard work and effort, the points gained from that game, in which, incidentally 21 players made their Championship debuts, were Warwickshire 0 Essex 0.

Should either of the two be ruled out, South Africa are likely to call up Andile Phehlukwayo

Firdose Moonda17-Sep-2023Anrich Nortje and Sisanda Magala will undergo fitness tests this week to determine their availability for the ODI World Cup. They were named in South Africa’s initial 15-member squad for the tournament, but played only one fixture each of the five-match ODI series against Australia, before sustaining lower-back and left-knee injuries respectively. A final call on their inclusion will be taken before South Africa leave for India on September 23 with early indication that they are both at risk of not making the trip.”We are continually taking stock as to where both of those players are,” Rob Walter, South Africa’s white-ball coach said following the team’s 3-2 series win over Australia. “The fact that they weren’t playing today with a week to go before we board the plane for the World Cup is obviously a cause for concern. We would have wanted them out there. There are complications around taking players that are injured into a World Cup because then you have to provide a medical reason to be swapped out.”Related

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If Nortje’s absence is confirmed, it will be a major blow for South Africa as he is their quickest bowler, with substantial experience in India, where he plays for Delhi Capitals in the IPL. Nortje played in the Major League Cricket tournament in USA over the South African winter and was rested for the T20Is against Australia. He was then ruled out of the first ODI but played the second. He managed to bowl only five overs before leaving the field. He missed the third game after he was sent for scans and was then ruled out of the series, but was due to begin bowling again with the coaching staff this weekend.Magala’s issue also appears serious. He had not played any cricket since splitting the webbing in his hand at the IPL in early April and was subsequently ruled out of the T20Is against Australia with infrapatellar tendinopathy – pain in the tendon that connects the kneecap to the shin bone. He played in the third ODI against Australia, where he bowled four overs, and has since experienced discomfort in the knee again.Should either Nortje or Magala be ruled out of the World Cup, South Africa are likely to call up Andile Phehlukwayo, who has made his way back despite losing his national contract earlier this year.Andile Phehlukwayo is likely to be called up for World Cup•Getty Images

Phehlukwayo played in the second and fifth ODIs against Australia. While he did not make much of an impression in the first game, he scored 38 off 19 balls to finish the innings strongly in the series finale and then took 1 for 44.”Andile is one of a couple of guys who are part of a broader squad and today he showed us, especially with the bat, what we have seen in terms of his capability,” Walter said. “That knock, you can look at it, and say it was match influencing. A total of 270 looks different to a total of 315 and he was a massive role-player in that. He took an important wicket with the ball as well. I am very happy that Andile was able to deliver that performance today.”South Africa’s conundrum will be what to do if Nortje and Magala are ruled out of the World Cup, especially as Kagiso Rabada experienced ankle discomfort and had to sit out the final ODI. There are other niggles among the back-ups. Wayne Parnell – not part of the World Cup squad – is nursing an elbow injury after also picking up a shoulder niggle and has not played for his domestic side, Western Province, but ESPNcricinfo understands he is recovering well from both. Another candidate is Lizaad Williams, who played in the T20I series but has just one ODI cap to his name and does not have Nortje’s pace or Magala’s death-bowling reputation. “Lizaad is part of the T20 group and that’s really it,” Walter said.Walter also mentioned left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin, though calling him up would change the make-up of South Africa’s squad, which is heavily reliant on fast bowlers.

They gave away 61 runs and took no wickets in the powerplay in conditions that were offering swing

ESPNcricinfo staff17-May-20231:05

Bishop: Arshdeep will find his way again

Shikhar Dhawan, the Punjab Kings captain now left hoping for other results to go their way to make the playoffs of IPL 2023, rued the lack of execution from his bowlers as they were bested by Delhi Capitals in Dharamsala on Wednesday.In conditions that offered help for the quick bowlers, the Kings were unable to close out the powerplay properly. Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh and Nathan Ellis were hit for seven fours and three sixes between the third and sixth overs. Capitals benefited from that period of profligacy, going from 11 for 0 to 61 for 0 in just 20 balls.”We didn’t bowl really well in the first six overs,” Dhawan said at the presentation. “We should’ve taken some wickets out there, the way the pitch was offering the swing.”Capitals posted 213 for 2 and won a tight game by 15 runs.Kings have had a particularly difficult time bowling in the first six overs this season. They have taken a mere 14 wickets in this phase of play – the second worst in the league behind Lucknow Super Giants – while also conceding 9.20 an over – again the second worst behind Kolkata Knight Riders.”Our bowlers didn’t pitch the ball up, whereas they should have been,” Dhawan said. “That was the plan. Unfortunately they couldn’t implement it. Whether we take wickets or not, that’s a different thing. But we should bowl in the right areas, which we have not been doing for quite a long time and that’s hurting us because in powerplay we are always giving 50-60 runs. And that’s fine but we should be taking wickets as well.”Dhawan’s concern over his quick bowlers’ performance forced him to take a big call at the death. He brought left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar into the attack in the 16th over and had him bowl the 18th and the 20th as well. This was a time when the Capitals had a well-set left-hander at the crease as well and with many of the balls spinning into him, Rilee Rossouw took full toll, especially in the final over, which yielded 23 runs and pushed Capitals’ total above 200.”Even my decision of bowling the spinner in the last over backfired,” Dhawan said. “I feel the momentum went there. Before that also, my fast bowler [Ellis] also got hit for 18 runs [in the 19th over]. Those two overs cost us the game.”Kings are only barely hanging on in the IPL. They have 12 points and a game in hand, which means they can get to a maximum of 14. But their rivals – Chennai Super Kings, Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians – are already on 14 points or more with a game in hand. And, Royal Challengers Bangalore have 12 points and two games in hand along with a healthy net run-rate. Dhawan’s men will need several results to go their way to make it to the final four.

The hosts chased down 154 against Delhi Capitals with ease to boost their NRR to 1.096, the best of any team in the competition

Karthik Krishnaswamy29-Apr-20243:14

Finch: ‘No consistency to Starc’s bowling’

Having just hosted a run-fest where 262 was chased down with eight balls to spare, Eden Gardens reverted to a former template familiar to fans of its home team, and Kolkata Knight Riders returned to winning ways and moved to second place on the IPL table with a confident, net-run-rate-boosting seven-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals.After a succession of flat pitches, Eden served up one with a little bit of grip, and KKR’s bowlers made full use of it after Capitals chose to bat first. Mitchell Starc and Vaibhav Arora took three wickets inside the powerplay, after which the spinners took over, with Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine combining for figures of 8-0-40-4. Reduced to 111 for 8 at one stage, Capitals set KKR a 150-plus target thanks to an unlikely, unbeaten 26-ball 35 from Kuldeep Yadav.Related

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With Kuldeep and Axar Patel in their attack, DC had the tools to create a bit of pressure on this pitch, but KKR were well on their way to victory before either spinner had bowled a ball. Phil Salt made his fourth fifty in five home games this season, dominating a powerplay in which KKR rushed to 79 for no loss.Axar Patel removed both KKR openers when he came on, but it was too little, too late for DC, as Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer put on an unbroken 57 off 43 balls to end the match with 21 balls remaining.KKR now have 12 points from nine games, and a NRR of 1.096, the best of any team in the competition.

Starc vs Fraser-McGurk, a glimpse of the future

Jake Fraser-McGurk faced just seven balls on Monday night, and five of the seven were attempted yorkers, two of which ended up as full-tosses. The other two were banged into a hard length. The bulk of these balls were from Mitchell Starc, but Vaibhav Arora also stuck to the same plan with his two balls. This wasn’t two fast bowlers searching for swing from a fullish good length with the new ball. This was death bowling inside the powerplay, and as T20 batting leans more and more towards all-out attack, it’s likely we’ll see a lot more of it in the future.On the day, Fraser-McGurk hit a four and a six and picked out deep square leg while looking to flick Starc for another six.By then, DC had already lost Prithvi Shaw, who had begun ominously with three fours off Starc off the first three balls of the match. He had fallen in innocuous manner, strangling Arora down the leg side.Arora took one more wicket, delivering a peach that straightened off the deck to hit the top of Shai Hope’s off stump. That ball suggested there would be grip for the spinners too, and so it proved.Phil Salt’s successful IPL continued with another fifty•AFP/Getty Images

Chakra-party

Before this match, Varun had endured a difficult season, going at 9.72 while picking up eight wickets in eight games. While Narine had defied flat conditions, particularly in Kolkata, and prevented batters from accessing the boundaries, his spin partner had gone for plenty like every other bowler in KKR’s games.Now, though, Varun had a bit of help from the pitch, and he could have struck first ball had Harshit Rana – who had just dismissed a dangerous-looking Abishek Porel in the previous over – not dropped a sitter off a Rishabh Pant miscue at short third. Pant, though, would go after Varun again in his next over – the 11th of the Capitals innings – and miscue again, with Shreyas pouching him safely in the covers on this occasion.Varun was getting the ball to bite on the surface, and he quickly picked up two more wickets, of Tristan Stubbs and Kumar Kushagra – who came on as Impact Sub in a failed attempt to lengthen DC’s batting and stem the collapse. With Narine dismissing Axar Patel at the other end, Capitals were eight down inside the 15th over.They managed to see out their 20, though, with Kuldeep getting them that far with a mixture of skill and luck. He hit two edged fours in his first four balls, and then hit a six off Starc that was very nearly a catch at deep backward square leg, and eventually finished with a control percentage of 41. They were important runs for DC, though, ensuring that they got to 150.Venkatesh Iyer and Shreyas Iyer took Kolkata Knight Riders home with 21 balls to spare•BCCI

Salt continues his Eden project

It was evident through the initial stages of KKR’s chase that the slower ball was gripping the surface and stopping on the batters, but it was also evident that DC’s quicks were offering frequent width to free the arms. With Salt and Narine in the form they were in, this was asking for trouble. And the trouble was compounded when Lizaad Williams, who went for 23 in the first over, dropped a straightforward chance off Khaleel Ahmed at the start of the second to reprieve Salt on 15.The openers raced to 79 for 0 in the powerplay, with Salt, who had the bulk of the strike, reaching a 26-ball half-century in the sixth over.Narine went after Axar’s first ball and perished, picking out deep midwicket in the seventh over while trying to hit with the turn, and Axar bowled Salt with a trademark, inward-angling skidder in the ninth. But KKR’s required rate was well below a run a ball, and it remained so even when Williams dismissed Rinku Singh with a good, hard-length ball in the 10th over.KKR had a long, in-form line of batters still to come, and in the end didn’t require Andre Russell, Angkrish Raghuvanshi or Ramandeep Singh to bat, as the two Iyers ticked off the remaining runs with little fuss beyond a mix-up in the 16th over when the match was already all but won.

Leg spinner runs through host’s middle and lower order to boost Glamorgan’s title hopes

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay30-Jul-2025Glamorgan 261 and 95 for 2 (Carlson 43*, Anderson 2-20) vs Lancashire A career-best 6 for 19 by Mason Crane led a superb bowling effort from Glamorgan that has put the visitors firmly in the ascendancy after two days at Emirates Old Trafford.Having been bowled out for 261 in their first innings of this Rothesay County Championship division two promotion battle, second-placed Glamorgan hit back strongly to dismiss fourth-placed Lancashire for 137 before reaching the close on 95 for 2 in their second innings to lead by 219 runs.The day turned Glamorgan’s way during a dramatic afternoon session following the introduction of Crane into the attack. The leg spinner ran through the Lancashire middle and lower order after producing an outstanding 10.3 over spell from the James Anderson End that was chiefly responsible for the hosts losing their last seven wickets for 30 runs.Anderson, on his 43rd birthday, took two early wickets in one over when Glamorgan began their second innings but a steadying partnership of 71 between Sam Northeast and Kiran Carlson has the visitors well-placed to push home their strong advantage tomorrow.Following a delay of one hour due to rain, Lancashire took just eight deliveries to wrap up the Glamorgan first innings for the addition of one run to their overnight score of 260 for 8, Tom Bailey trapping Crane lbw for 9 and Anderson having Ned Leonard caught behind for 4.In testing, seaming conditions Asitha Fernando had early reward trapping Luke Wells lbw for 2 and it took some determined and, at times, dogged batting from Keaton Jennings and Josh Bohannon in a partnership of 45 to prevent further damage to the Lancashire reply.It took a superb one-handed catch by Asa Tribe at bat-pad to dismiss Jennings for 28 off spinner Ben Kellaway shortly before lunch and Glamorgan made further inroads soon after the break, Fernando rewarded for a fine spell when having Bohannon lbw for 32.The introduction of Crane into the attack transformed the afternoon as the leg spinner produced a devastating burst of 5 for 12 in 41 balls on a wicket that has taken spin from the start to put the visitors firmly in charge.If the first of the five was a touch fortunate, Marcus Harris hitting a full toss to Kellaway at mid-on for 30, the rest were a result of some excellent leg spin that the Lancashire batters failed to master.Phil Salt edged behind for 8, Matty Hurst (21) top-edged a sweep that deflected off wicketkeeper Chris Cooke to Colin Ingram at slip, Chris Green drove a catch back to the bowler for 2 while Tom Hartley was lbw three balls later.That left Lancashire reeling on 132 for 8 by the tea interval and Glamorgan wrapped up the innings five overs after the break when Fernando gained a third lbw verdict against Bailey and Crane took his sixth after George Balderson chipped to Kiran Carlson at midwicket.Leading by 119 runs, Glamorgan lost Zain ul Hassan bowled for 12 shouldering arms to Anderson who then took a smart, tumbling catch off his own bowling five balls later to dismiss Tribe for 11.Northeast (26 not out) and Carlson (43 not out) steadied matters with their unbroken partnership during the final hour of the day to leave Glamorgan in a strong position going into day three.

Barely used by New Zealand, Patel replaces Michael Neser for the final month of the season

David Hopps21-Jul-2022Ajaz Patel has been given the opportunity to bring consolation to a largely inactive UK summer by agreeing terms with Glamorgan as an overseas player for the final four matches of the LV= County Championship season.New Zealand only turned to Patel’s left-arm spin for the opening Test of their series against England at Lord’s, where he bowled just two overs in the match, before rebalancing their side with the inclusion of the offspinning allrounder, Michael Bracewell.He replaces the seam bowler, Michael Neser, who will return to Australia to join Queensland before the start of the Sheffield Shield.Glamorgan are making a concerted bid for promotion from Division Two of the Championship (assuming the current set-up survives) and were only one point behind second-placed Middlesex going into this week’s round of matches.Related

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Patel has played 12 Test matches and taken 43 wickets at an average of 27.65. Last year, he became only the third player in Test match history to take all ten wickets in an innings when he claimed 10 for 119 against India in Mumbai, following the England offspinner Jim Laker (vs Australia in 1956) and the India legspinner Anil Kumble, who achieved the feat in 1999 against Pakistan.He has had limited experience of cricket in England and Wales but already has success on UK shores under his belt. Prior to his short stint with Yorkshire in 2019 – his two Championship games yielded a single wicket – he had dominated Surrey club cricket while already an active Test cricketer, turning in a series of match-winning performances for Cranleigh.He will be available for all Glamorgan’s first-class matches in September, starting with the fixture against Worcestershire on September 5 at Sophia Gardens, and will doubtless be hoping that the weather holds in a strikingly dry summer.Glamorgan’s director of cricket, Mark Wallace, said: “Michael Neser has been absolutely brilliant for us this season, but we are delighted to replace him with someone of the quality of Ajaz.”He is a high-class operator and proven match-winner who will give us variety and options in our attack and hopefully help our promotion push as we reach the back end of the season.”Wallace may also look to recruit a replacement for Colin Ingram in September, who will be playing in the Caribbean Premier League. Marnus Labuschagne, who has also been used as an overseas player this season, will be unavailable on Australia duty.