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South Africa captain hints team might go with an extra allrounder in the XI for the first ODI

Firdose Moonda18-Jan-20221:54

Maharaj or Shamsi? Should India trust Venkatesh Iyer?

South Africa have welcomed Quinton de Kock back into the national squad with open arms and expect the wicketkeeper-batter to enter the India ODIs with a “point to prove,” according to captain Temba Bavuma. In December, de Kock had announced his retirement from Test cricket after the Boxing Day Test and has been on paternity leave over the last three weeks following the birth of his daughter, but remains available for the shorter formats. On Wednesday, he will take his spot at the top of the order against India.”It’s good to see Quinny again. We obviously miss him in the Test team, but he has made his decision and that’s a decision we respect. Having Quinny again with the team has been good; and knowing Quinny, he will have a point to prove,” Bavuma said. “I don’t want to put words in his mouth but he will have a point to prove, and I am sure he is as excited as we are to see him in the team.”Related

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• Rahul will open in ODIs against South Africa, Venkatesh Iyer to audition as fast-bowling allrounder

• Opportunity for India, South Africa to build ODI plans

• The meteoric rise of 'introvert' Marco Jansen

• van der Dussen: 'We stayed in the fight longer than India'

Bavuma all but confirmed that de Kock and Janneman Malan will open the batting, with him slotting in at No.3 and feeling in good form.”The Test series went quite well for the team but for me personally, my feet seemed to move well and I was hitting the ball quite well. I’d like to carry on with that feeling,” Bavuma said. “People have asked me if there’s anything I’ve changed or done differently and to be honest no, I’ve been doing things the same. Maybe it’s just a period of good form.”The strength of the top three leaves South Africa with a conundrum of how to manage Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen and David Miller, as Bavuma explained that there may only be room for two of them.”Quinton and Janneman have done fairly well so I don’t see that changing. I come back into the picture at No.3,” he said. “Then, it’s probably more the middle order, whether we want to go with an extra batter or an allrounder at 6. That’s the real conversation that needs to happen.”If it were up to Bavuma, the allrounder might be preferred to a specialist batter to ensure sufficient bowling stocks in the XI.”As a captain, you always like to have as many resources as you can from a bowling front. You accept that one bowler isn’t going to hit his straps on the day, so to be able to have an adequate replacement for him is a luxury,” he said. “It’s something we still need to settle on but I would like to have as many options as I can.”One of them could well be Marco Jansen, who could make his fifty-over debut this week after being picked in Anrich Nortje’s injury-enforced absence. “The world has seen what cricketing abilities he has and his x-factor ability. It was a no-brainer to get him into white ball squad,” Bavuma said.”He is a guy who will come strongly into contention when we speak about the team.”Temba Bavuma – “I am sure Quinton is as excited as we are to see him in the team”•AFP/Getty Images

Jansen’s ability to extract bounce from the slow Paarl wicket could see him edge ahead of some of the competition.”Considering Paarl and the conditions there – it’s a lot different to our Highveld wickets – it’s on the lower side; a bit skiddier. We’ll consider pace bowlers who can exploit that, like Lungi (Ngidi), (Sisanda) Magala and Marco Jansen,” Bavuma said. “And then Paarl is quite friendly to slower bowlers and spinners so (Tabraiz) Shamsi, (Keshav) Maharaj and (George) Linde all come into the picture.”Linde is a late inclusion to the ODI group and has been retained from the Test squad bubble in anticipation of the surfaces that will be used for this series.Though there are no World Cup Super League points at stake in this series, South Africa are still determined to use the matches to build on their progress over the last six months.”We’re not expecting this one-day series to be easy. We know it’s going to be tough, especially considering the Test series. We will prepare as well as we can to make sure we are ready for when the challenge comes our way.”

The 91-run defeat hurts Capitals’ net run-rate and puts their playoff chances in doubt

Sreshth Shah08-May-20224:10

Where are Delhi Capitals going wrong?

Devon Conway continued his purple patch with a third fifty-plus score, and Moeen Ali took three wickets in a miserly spell to help Chennai Super Kings complete a 91-run demolition job over Delhi Capitals. With Capitals trying to stay in contention of a top-four finish, RIshabh Pant’s side conceded 208 runs in the first innings, after which they lost their last eight wickets for only 45 runs in the chase.For Capitals, it was the seven single-digit scores that hurt their chase. A target of 209 was always going to be steep, but it proved even more difficult in the absence of Prithvi Shaw and a premature end to David Warner’s innings. Every Super Kings bowler enjoyed success on the night, with two-fors for uncapped seamers Mukesh Choudhary, Simarjeet Singh and allrounder Dwayne Bravo, and a 1 for 29 for mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana.Super Kings’ win took them out of the bottom two for the first time in over a month, and keeps them alive for playoff contention, even though their road to the final-four remains dependent on a huge slice of luck. Capitals are now in danger of slipping from fifth to seventh over the next few days with Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad both on 10 points after 11 games.Moeen Ali all but ended the contest after striking three times in his first two overs•BCCI

The collapseThe Capitals chase offered promise early on, despite the dismissal of KS Bharat – playing instead of Shaw as opener – as he fell to the slip cordon trying to pull Simarjeet. Warner was then out lbw to Theekshana even though he was convinced he got some bat en route to the pad, but then Mitchell Marsh and Pant looked to rebuild. Between the two, the seven fours and the lone six kept Capitals in contention of the net run-rate as they moved into the seventies by the eight over.But then came the fall. Moeen tempted Marsh to slog to a wide-ish ball, only to get caught on 25. The offspinner then returned next over to pick off Pant with a chopped-on bowled dismissal and soon picked up Ripal Patel. A recovery from 81 for 5 was still possible, but a double-wicket over from the other end in the next over made the result a formality. Choudhary picked off Axar Patel and Rovman Powell in the space of five balls in the 11th over, and at 85 for 7, the target for Capitals was to finish respectably, helped in part by Shardul Thakur’s 24. However, all they could reach was 117 before Bravo picked up wickets nine and ten off back-to-back deliveries in the 18th over.Moeen’s day outAfter the game, Moeen said that his primary job as offspinner is to spin the ball, and on Sunday’s used wicket, he found that. It helped Moeen that he picked up Marsh’s wicket three balls into his spell, and used that momentum to remain on top of the batters. Moeen enjoyed a bit of luck with Pant’s dismissal onto his stumps, but earned Ripal’s wicket by ensuring he did not go full after being hit for a six. Instead, his flatter, length ball left the batter trying for a big leg-side swipe even though the ball was not in his arc.Moeen also enjoyed the advantage of the pressure being applied by the bowler from the other end, as his third over came following the two Choudhary wickets. That allowed him to eke out five dots against Kuldeep Yadav – who was still trying to find his feet in the crease – and finished his spell of 3 for 13 with 16 dot balls.Conway shines (again)The left-hander from New Zealand is scoring fifties for fun now, his hat-trick of fifties corresponding to big Super Kings totals, too. Quite early on, Conway made it clear in fellow opener Ruturaj Gaikwad’s company that he preferred spin inside the powerplay, and when it was offered to the batters by Pant, Gaikwad rotated the strike often enough to let Conway face the slow bowlers.That proved to be brutal as Axar was welcomed inside the powerplay with two sixes over his head by the charging Conway, and when Kuldeep came on for the first time in the eighth over, the batter lofted him for six, swept him for another six and drove him for four. The two big overs helped Conway race away to a 28-ball fifty, following up from scores of 56 and 85 not out in his last two outings.Pant continued to trust Kuldeep after an 18-run opening over, and when Conway faced him again, the batter hit him for a hat-trick of fours through the covers. By the time the partnership broke – with Gaikwad falling for 41 to an Anrich Nortje short ball – Super Kings were 110 for 1 after 11 overs.Dube, returning to the side following Ravindra Jadeja’s absence from the XI due to injury, entered at No. 3 and chose to be the one taking the risky batting options as Conway entered his 80s. And he did by hammering Shardul for 6, 6 and 4 in the space of four balls to end the 16th over.But Conway’s prolonged period at the non-striker’s, starved of strike, did have some impact. When he got back on strike on 87 in the 17th over, he failed to get the desired connection off a ramp and fell 13 short of what could’ve been high first IPL century. Nonetheless, he finished on his highest tournament score.At the point of his dismissal, Super Kings were going at over 10 runs per over, and the remaining batters ensured they didn’t let the momentum die after the set batters’ dismissal. MS Dhoni walked in and got off the mark with a six and four, Ambati Rayudu and Moeen swung the bat around for useful boundaries, and despite a tidy nine-run 20th over from Nortje that also included two wickets, Super Kings could not be stopped from posting their fourth 200-plus total.

“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.”

Chris Woakes and Shoaib Bashir also included in XI for first Test at Lord’s

Vithushan Ehantharajah08-Jul-20241:59

Ehantharajah excited to see what Atkinson can offer England

England will hand debuts to the Surrey duo of Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith for the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s, which begins on Wednesday.Chris Woakes also returns to the XI, his first Test appearance since being named player of the series in last summer’s Ashes, while offspinner Shoaib Bashir makes his home debut after three Tests in India at the start of the year.Atkinson, who has made 12 appearances for England in white-ball cricket, was unused on the tour of India but has been earmarked as a long-term pace option, registering in the late 80s and early 90s mph at his most fluent. A breakthrough 2023 summer saw him earn selection for the ODI World Cup, though he was omitted for this summer’s T20 World Cup. This season, he has taken 14 County Championship wickets at 29.78 for Surrey, who lead Division One.England XI to play West Indies•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Smith, meanwhile, will assume the gloves as England move beyond Ben Foakes and Jonny Bairstow. The 23-year-old has been in fine form across all formats and marked his maiden call-up with his second first-class century of the season. He is currently Surrey’s top-scorer with 677 Championship runs at 56.41 with a strike rate of 76.67. He earned two ODI caps against Ireland at the end of last summer and will slot in at No. 7 with Harry Brook returning to the No. 5 position having missed the India series following the death of his grandmother.Ben Stokes slots between the pair at six, and is back to fulfilling his allrounder duties, which has allowed for the selection of Bashir. After impressing with 17 wickets in India, England underlined their faith in the spinner by selecting him in the squad ahead of Jack Leach, despite the fact Bashir had to move on loan to Worcestershire for first-team opportunities with Leach the No. 1 spinner at Somerset.Related

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Woakes adds to that balance as an option with the bat, and will likely be an ever-present this summer in what is set to be a transitional period for England with the impending retirement of James Anderson.England XI: 1⁠ ⁠Zak Crawley, 2⁠ ⁠Ben Duckett, 3 ⁠Ollie Pope, 4⁠ ⁠Joe Root, 5 ⁠Harry Brook, 6⁠ ⁠Ben Stokes (capt) 7⁠ ⁠Jamie Smith (wk), 8⁠ ⁠Chris Woakes, 9⁠ ⁠Gus Atkinson, 10⁠ ⁠Shoaib Bashir, 11 ⁠James Anderson

The Australia-England T20 marks a welcome return for the game after more than two years

Tristan Lavalette08-Oct-2022On a balmy Monday night three summers ago, Shafali Verma, the then 16-year-old prodigy, lit up the old warhorse of the WACA with an outrageous 39 off 17 balls during India’s victory over Bangladesh at the 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup.The 5000-strong crowd, mostly Indian fans cheering wildly for Shafali’s heroics, hopefully savoured the experience on that electric February 24, 2020 evening because it proved the last international in Perth until Sunday’s drought-breaking men’s T20 clash between Australia and England at Optus Stadium.Of course, just weeks later, right after Australia lifted the Women’s T20 World Cup trophy, the Covid-19 pandemic paralysed the world and closed borders as refuge was sought at home.Related

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With tough-talking premier Mark McGowan ruling with an iron fist, Western Australia tightly controlled its border longer than most. The strict measures mostly kept the virus at bay through to the end of 2021 but WA’s fortress meant a logistical nightmare for those entering the state, which involved 14 days of hotel quarantine.There were some exemptions for sports, but organising international cricket proved too difficult while only six BBL matches and last year’s WBBL final were played in Perth over the past two seasons.In perhaps the biggest blow to local coffers, the fifth Ashes Test last summer was supposed to be played in Perth before being shifted to Hobart after months of hostile debate between administrators, pundits and fans.It all totalled a loss of AU$18 million in revenue for the WACA, said chief executive Christina Matthews.”We had to adjust our operations to minimise the loss,” she told ESPNcricinfo. “It was disappointing that we couldn’t participate in elite cricket at home.”Effectively we were at the whim of the premier and the government that made decisions that meant cricket couldn’t be played here.”The timing proved particularly inopportune with Perth’s ODI against India in 2020-21 scrapped – after originally being overlooked to host an India Test – followed by losing the Ashes Test in January after McGowan refused to open WA’s borders in conjunction with the rest of the country in late 2021.”Losing India and England two years in a row… that’s the high point in our membership,” Matthews said. “When we moved matches to Optus Stadium we were building towards those Tests to maximise our returns, so we have to wait another four years to take advantage of the stadium.”It had a devastating impact on our forward planning and business model. Our financial model is built around BBL and international cricket. But we had relatively small losses compared to what we could have been facing.”With the heart of its home schedule ripped out, some WACA members were left disenchanted. “I know there were some members who renewed because of the Ashes Test, which we kept hearing was going to be played at Optus,” said long-time WACA member Chamara Seneviratne. “But then it was scrapped, so that left some resentment. It was all very frustrating.”The last international match in Perth was India’s T20 World Cup game against Bangladesh•Paul Kane/Getty Images

Matthews, who has had to deal with ongoing tumult amid a spate of WACA board resignations, acknowledged the frustration but said it had a “loyal” membership base. “The members were disappointed but 90 percent of our members kept rolling their fees over and there is now a sense of security with cricket coming back,” she said.Since WA finally reopened in March, Covid-19 pandemic restrictions gradually eased to the point where Perth’s airports are once again teeming, mask sightings are rare and the virus is barely part of the daily conversation.At domestic matches at the WACA to start the Australian season, fans have been allowed to interact with players, with selfies once again a familiar sight, to reinforce that the pandemic is very much in the rearview.Anticipation is now building over the return of international cricket in Perth with many locals particularly excited about the prospect of finally watching hometown hero Cameron Green in national colours. There is the expectation for a crowd of 30,000.”There is a much better feeling among members and fans so far this season,” Seneviratne said. “It’s particularly great for kids who finally can watch Green and their other heroes in person, which is important for the development of the game.”While this exasperating period caused major headaches and sleepless nights for those at the WACA, Matthews said there were silver linings.”One of the benefits was that we allowed community cricket to be played on the WACA, which was a dream come true for many,” Matthews said. “We became closer as an organisation. It was interesting to see how quickly our staff wanted to come back and work from the venue .”It gave us an opportunity to shine in difficult circumstances. But you wouldn’t want to go through it again.”

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.

“I never knew if I would actually be able to get one Test hundred, let alone be where we are now”

Andrew Fidel Fernando11-Mar-2023New Zealand fight, and find ways to win. This was part of Daryl Mitchell’s appraisal of New Zealand on day three at Hagley Oval, when they came roaring into the Test. Mitchell was the top-scorer, hitting 102 off 193 balls, as New Zealand recovered from 188 for 6 to post 373.This was Mitchell’s fifth Test hundred, in 25 innings, and his second in his hometown of Christchurch. Since making his international debut in 2019, Mitchell – now 31 – has become an integral part of the national side, across formats.”To do it at home here in front of my family is pretty cool, and to do it in the circumstances where those runs were needed,” he said after the day’s play. “I never knew if I would actually be able to get one Test hundred, let alone be where we are now. Every one is special.”I guess I’m a late bloomer in international cricket. To represent my country across all the formats is something I’ve dreamed of since I was a kid.”

Sri Lanka assistant coach Naveed Nawaz:

On the key passage of day three:
“The New Zealanders played very well in the second session today and swung the game their way. It was that 25 overs when Daryl Mitchell and Matt Henry’s partnership took the game away from us. And after that, Neil Wagner as well. It looked like a 50-run lead for us at one stage.”

On Sri Lanka’s prospects:
“We have to back ourselves that a couple of batsmen will go in there and get some big runs, to swing back to our side. The wicket is still good to bat on. It gives a little to the fast bowlers still. Anything above 275-300 would be a good score.”

Although New Zealand at times looked in danger of conceding a lead of perhaps 100, Mitchell lauded the fight, which he said is just part of the way his team plays. Through the course of his innings, Mitchell put on significant stands with Tom Latham, Michael Bracewell, Tim Southee, and Matt Henry. But before all that, he had had to battle through some incredibly probing bowling in the third session of day two.”It’s a typical Hagley wicket in that it has got pace and bounce there,” Mitchell said. “I thought the Sri Lankans bowled extremely well last night. They built a lot of pressure and were relentless. You needed a little bit of luck to get through that patch as well. That was nice. And then to put on partnerships with the boys and get us to a total that put us ahead of the game was awesome.”Henry was the other standout batter on day three. Coming in at No. 9, he struck a bruising 72 off 75, which featured ten fours and three sixes. His 69-run partnership with No. 10 Neil Wagner was in fact the best of New Zealand’s innings, and saw the hosts move past Sri Lanka’s first-innings total. They eventually established an 18-run lead.”I thought Matt Henry’s knock was special. He has obviously got great hand-eye coordination, and some of the sixes he hit were massive. Every run is really important in a Test like this. For him to go out and get 70-odd at his home ground is pretty cool.”We know as Kiwis we’ll keep fighting and keep trying to find ways to win. We back each other to do a job, and it was awesome to see Henry go out and play his natural game, and more importantly build partnerships and get us to a total that we thought was perfect for that first innings.”

Mandhana’s 55 underpinned Southern Brave’s 157, the highest total in the women’s Hundred at Trent Bridge

Matt Roller01-Aug-2023The men’s Hundred is short on overseas superstars after Rashid Khan’s 11th-hour withdrawal but Smriti Mandhana’s stylish 55 ensured the women’s competition launched with a sprinkle of stardust at Trent Bridge.Mandhana’s innings underpinned Southern Brave’s 157, the highest total in the women’s Hundred at this ground and one that proved a long way out of reach. Trent Rockets were late off the launchpad, despite the best efforts of Nat Sciver-Brunt, and Brave saw out a 27-run victory.Sciver-Brunt gave Brave a brief scare, crashing 18 runs off five balls from Maitlan Brown to reach 44 off 27 balls. She hit another boundary off Anya Shrubsole to leave 57 required off 24, but chipped a return catch to fall for 49 and end the game as a contest.Salaries in the women’s Hundred were frozen after the 2022 season but the launch of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) in India has transformed the landscape of short-form leagues. Mandhana was retained on a top-bracket £ 31,250 contract by Brave – a wage that is not even one-tenth of the INR 3.4 crore she was paid by Royal Challengers Bangalore.Related

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• Rashid Khan pulls out of Hundred on eve of tournament

The women’s game has not yet reached the point of saturation that has left the men’s Hundred struggling for relevance. There are only three top-tier leagues around the world – the WPL, the Hundred and the WBBL – with a handful more operating at a level below.Some of Australia’s top players have skipped the Hundred this year due to heavy workloads, injuries or both. But as a whole, the standard of overseas players in the women’s competition is high – a sense that is only underlined by Mandhana’s presence. “Along with the WPL, this is probably still up there with one of the best competitions in the world,” said Kirstie Gordon, who bowled tightly for Rockets.Fresh from India’s tour to Bangladesh, with only one nets session since arriving, Mandhana dovetailed with both Danni Wyatt and Maia Bouchier in making 55 off 36 balls. Brave raced to 45 for 0 in their 25-ball powerplay as Rockets’ seamers started waywardly, struggling to adapt to the left-right opening combination.”Initially, I didn’t know two or three bowlers,” Mandhana said. “I had just watched their videos, so it was important for me to see them and how the wicket was playing, because I’ve just come off a tour from Bangladesh and the conditions were pretty different.”Brave opted not to retain Sophia Dunkley over the off-season, instead backing their complementary opening pair. “Those two at the top, Smriti and Danni, have been exceptional for us,” Shrubsole told Sky Sports. “They were the two we really wanted to retain because they get us off to such good starts: right and left-handers, they can play completely differently and hit the ball in different areas.”Danni Wyatt and Smriti Mandhana resumed their opening partnership•ECB/Getty Images

Wyatt chipped Bryony Smith into the off side where Sciver-Brunt took a sharp catch running back from extra cover, but Bouchier – unused by England in their Ashes campaign – came out swinging, hitting 31 off 18 balls with four fours and a slog-swept six.Mandhana pounced on Rockets’ spinners through the middle phase, skipping down the pitch and lofting Smith’s offbreak back over her head for a straight six, and when she brought up a 32-ball half-century, Brave looked on course to break their own record total in the women’s Hundred of 166.Brave stumbled towards the back end, losing five wickets for 29 runs off the last 22 balls, but Chloe Tryon’s 10-ball 23 from No. 5 ensured they posted a competitive score.Rockets’ reply started with a run-out, Smith stitched up by Lizelle Lee as Shrubsole’s leg-side wide diverted down to Kalea Moore at short fine leg, and despite the presence of Sciver-Brunt and Harmnpreet Kaur in the middle order, 158 always looked a tall order.This was Brave’s 13th win in 15 group games across the competition’s nascent history. The ECB hope that the tournament will prove to have more competitive balance this season, having introduced a draft earlier this year in an attempt to close the gap between the best and worst teams.Brave’s team looks lighter on paper than in previous years: the England seamer Lauren Bell is missing for the first two games, resting after an exhausting Ashes, and the Australian legspinner Amanda-Jade Wellington was drafted by Manchester Originals after two prolific seasons at the Ageas Bowl.But the south coast remains a hotbed of young, homegrown talent – as 18-year-old Mary Taylor proved in removing both Lee and Naomi Dattani early in the run chase. She returned to have Jo Gardner caught at the death, finishing with 3 for 18 on Hundred debut and putting the finishing touches on Brave’s victory.Taylor, a standby for England’s Under-19 World Cup squad earlier this year, said that Brave coach Charlotte Edwards had kept her advice as simple as possible. “She said, ‘Just bowl straight.’ I just wanted to hit the stumps. It felt so surreal. I’m so excited to be here – absolutely buzzing.”

Fast bowler appreciates captain’s commitment to cricket, and confirms his availability for Netherlands fixture

Mohammad Isam27-Oct-20231:33

Taskin: We should appreciate Shakib for working on his game in Dhaka

Shakib Al Hasan’s mid-event Dhaka trip has polarised opinions but the captain’s extra training has won hearts in the Bangladesh team. Taskin Ahmed said that they valued Shakib’s effort to use his day off to travel back to Dhaka for batting drills.Shakib went to Dhaka on October 25, the day after Bangladesh’s World Cup match against South Africa in Mumbai. He went straight to the Shere Bangla National Stadium where he trained under his childhood mentor Nazmul Abedeen. He worked on some of his shots although it was more about the comfort of batting with Abedeen, someone Shakib has known since his teens. He returned to Kolkata on October 26, reportedly on the advice of the team management after it became big news.”He informed the team management that he needs to work on his batting,” Taskin said. “It was a rest day, plus Dhaka is close to Kolkata. He didn’t go to Dhaka for any other purpose. It was cricket-related. He went after the coach and management told him its fine. He didn’t break any rules. He took permission. He batted for four hours on the first day. He practiced on the second day before returning to Kolkata. As players and teammates, we appreciate that he batted on a rest day. His batting is so important to the team, that he too is desperate about improving it.”Taskin said that the team gathered in the team hotel for a dinner on Thursday evening, spending a good time with Shakib, who returned shortly before. “We all went to dinner after he returned yesterday. We had a good time,” he said.Shakib has skipped back to Dhaka from Kolkata on another occasion but that was during the 2019 IPL when Sunrisers Hyderabad weren’t picking him regularly. He had gone to work with his other mentor Mohammad Salahuddin.Related

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Taskin said that the team doctors cleared him to play against the Netherlands on Saturday. He missed two games due to a shoulder niggle, which he said he has been carrying for more than two years. “I had this shoulder injury for the first time in South Africa two years ago. I have a tear in my tendon for a long time. I am playing by managing it. Even in the Asia Cup and World Cup I am playing with it and suddenly it became swollen.”Doctor and physio did the MRI and it was found out so I took rest for couple of days and now I am feeling better. I am personally in a good shape and after playing can I understand where I stand,” he said.Taskin said that the pitches in the World Cup has not really offered much to the fast bowlers so many of the them has had to adjust to the conditions, at times by dropping their pace. “So far, I have not seen much for the bowlers in this World Cup. All the grounds are batting friendly but also, there are some challenge and it’s not all about speed.”Express fast bowlers are also struggling, leaking runs. So in this kind of conditions, it’s not all about speed. You need some variation skills and a game awareness. It’s not all about speed. You need a lot of skills to do well in this kind of surfaces,” he said.

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.