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Lauren Down unavailable due to family reasons; Hayley Jensen recovering from knee surgery

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jun-2023Isabella Gaze and Rosemary Mair return to the New Zealand women’s team as they embark on their first bilateral series in Sri Lanka. The tour begins on June 27 with the first of three ODIs in Galle, and then moves to Colombo for three T20Is.Gaze, the 19-year-old wicketkeeper, and Mair, the 24-year-old fast bowler, were not part of New Zealand’s most recent assignment, the Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa four months ago. They won two out of four matches in that tournament but missed out on a place in the semi-final due to net run rate.The selectors have kept faith with the same squad and have high hopes for a young spin group comprising Amelia Kerr, who is coming off 15 wickets in the inaugural WPL where she helped Mumbai Indians win the title, and also Fran Jonas and Eden Carson, even though all of them will be playing in Sri Lanka for the very first time. In fact, only the captain Sophie Devine and senior batter Suzie Bates have ever played any cricket there.”This is the first time almost all of the squad will have experienced playing in Sri Lanka, so it’s a good opportunity for our players to develop their game in testing sub-continent conditions,” head coach Ben Sawyer said in an NZC press release. “Sri Lanka will pose challenges with the unfamiliar conditions out in the middle, but also with the heat and humidity, so we will need to be able to adapt quickly both on and off the field.”The group has been really fortunate to have experienced some unique conditions with the recent trips to Antigua [where they beat West Indies 2-1 in ODIs and 4-1 in T20Is] and South Africa. We adapted to similar heat and conditions in the West Indies, so that experience should bode well in Sri Lanka. We also have a handful of players who have played in similar subcontinent conditions in India, so that experience will be valuable for us to adapt.”Lauren Down and Hayley Jensen, who were with New Zealand at the T20 World Cup, are unavailable. Down is absent due to family reasons, while Jensen is recovering from knee surgery. Kate Anderson, who has been involved in winter training plans, is sidelined with a finger injury.New Zealand haven’t played an ODI since December last year when they beat Bangladesh at home 1-0 after two of the three matches were washed out.

NZ ODI and T20I squad to SL

Sophie Devine (capt), Suzie Bates, Bernadine Bezuidenhout, Eden Carson, Izzy Gaze (wk), Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Fran Jonas, Melie Kerr, Jess Kerr, Rosemary Mair, Molly Penfold, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu

Tour schedule

June 27 – 1st ODI, Galle International Stadium
June 30 – 2nd ODI, Galle International Stadium
July 3 – 3rd ODI, Galle International Stadium
July 6 – Warm-up T20 v Sri Lanka President’s XI, Colombo
July 8 – 1st T20I, Colombo
July 10- 2nd T20I, Colombo
July 12 – 3rd T20I, Colombo

Chesney Hughes continued his impressive start to the season with another half-century before Derbyshire’s match against Sussex at Derby ended in an inevitable draw

ECB Reporters Network11-May-2016
ScorecardChesney Hughes continued his impressive start to the season with another half-century before Derbyshire’s match against Sussex at Derby ended in an inevitable draw.After all of the third day was washed out, the chances of a Sussex victory were dealt another blow when rain prevented any play until 2.30pm on the fourth afternoon.That left the visitors with only 51 overs in which to bowl Derbyshire out for a second time after they declared 277 runs ahead but the home side’s batting was more resilient than on day one and although they lost two quick wickets after tea, the rain had the final word with Derbyshire 92 for 2Hughes had already scored 96 and an unbeaten century in two of the previous three matches and made up for his first innings failure by moving to 50 from 73 balls in the final over before tea.Although Billy Godleman was close to edging a big drive at Steve Magoffin in the opening over of Derbyshire’s second innings, there were no signs that Sussex could get the early wickets they needed to spark panic in the home dressing room.At the interval, Derbyshire were 71 without loss from 22 overs and by the time Sussex did breakthrough, it was too late.Godleman swept Luke Wells for four but then skied a drive as he came down the pitch to the next ball and Hamish Rutherford went in the next over when he edged Stu Whittingham to first slip.But two overs later, the rain returned leaving Hughes unbeaten on 58 which takes his aggregate this season to 466 at an average of 116.

O’Keefe’s three-wicket burst in his first two overs helped Sixers defend 165, which had been built on a record fourth-wicket stand of 124 between Jordan Silk and Daniel Hughes

The Report by Andrew McGlashan22-Dec-2018Sydney Sixers launched their BBL campaign with a 17-run victory over Perth Scorchers in front of their home crowd at the SCG. Steve O’Keefe’s three-wicket burst in his first two overs gave them the ideal start to their defence of 165, which had been built on a record fourth-wicket stand of 124 between Jordan Silk and Daniel Hughes.Both sides struggled in their Powerplay: the Sixers were 3 for 39 after six overs and the Scorchers 3 for 30 after the top had been knocked over by O’Keefe. In the final outcome, it was the stand between Silk and Hughes which came out on the winning side despite the efforts of Ashton Turner and Hilton Cartwright, who added 99 in 12 overs.For the Scorchers, it means their campaign has started with two defeats in three days, following their loss to Melbourne Renegades. It is a long tournament, so it is certainly not panic stations, but they will be twitchy and keen to get a win on the board on Boxing Day against the defending champions Adelaide Strikers.Getty Images

Record recoveryThe Sixers would have been in deep trouble on 4 for 57 in the ninth over if Silk had been removed on 17, as he should have been when Ashton Agar spilled a simple return catch. From there, Silk and Hughes continued to consolidate the innings, aware that they could not throw the bat, given the early damage in the Powerplay.They managed the innings to the effect of 98 runs in the final 10 overs and 56 off the final five without there ever being a full onslaught. Silk’s fifty came off 39 balls and Hughes’ off 37. The Sixers did not manage a six until the 18th over, but then Hughes twice deposited Andrew Tye over midwicket. Silk then closed out the innings by taking Tye for his third six of the innings.The eventual stand of 124 was a BBL record for the Sixers, beating the 115 put on between Moises Henriques and Hughes against Sydney Thunder in 2016.SOK-ing it to themThe Sixers couldn’t have wished for a better start with the ball. With his first delivery, O’Keefe had Sam Whiteman stumped as the left-hander was drawn down the pitch. Then, in his second over, he had David Willey caught at long-on, and three balls later, Michael Klinger was lbw. At that stage, O’Keefe had the figures of 3 for 4 and he would finish with his best BBL figures.In the eighth over of the innings, it was then time for Lloyd Pope’s first bowl in the BBL. He has been signed with some fanfare following his eye-catching performances at U-19 and first-class level early in his career. His first two overs went for a respectable 17, before he was brought back for a third that cost 15 to give the Scorchers some momentum.Worries for ScorchersAs Turner and Cartwright forged their stand of 99, the Scorchers chase was taking a similar shape to the Sixers’ innings. The partnership had got the requirement down to 64 off 36 balls, and when Turner took Sean Abbott over the leg side at the start of the 15th over, it felt like the force was with the Scorchers. Then, Turner carved to point and there was too much left to do despite Cartwright’s 53 off 39 balls.The closing stages of the match included a stunning, juggled catch at midwicket by Hughes to remove Will Bosisto, as he parried the ball up one-handed before holding on, and Cartwright being run out off a no-ball, beaten by Josh Philippe’s pinpoint throw from deep cover, after Tom Curran had overstepped.For a team with such an illustrious T20 history, it has been a poor start from Perth Scorchers. Against Melbourne Renegades, their batting flopped for 103, and it was the quick loss of their top three here that hurt them. They are without the Marsh brothers due to international duty, and the top order feels a batsman light despite the all-round skills of the likes of David Willey and Agar. It seems increasingly likely that Cameron Bancroft will return as soon as available on December 30.

Unbeaten knocks from Bismah Maroof and Ayesha Sameen went in vain after they had pushed Pakistan to a challenging total

Shashank Kishore12-Feb-2023Forty-one needed off 24.Jemimah Rodrigues had lost her timing briefly. Harmanpreet Kaur was nervously chewing her fingernails. Coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar was furiously writing notes in his diary. The Pakistani players could scent a famous win. This seemed like a contest like no other at Newlands in Cape Town.And then everything Pakistan did right until that point came crashing down. Confidence gave way to nerves, fielders fumbled, bowlers lost their lengths, and they leaked eight boundaries in the next three overs. And that was game, set and match to India.Richa Ghosh, the gum-chewing, big-hitting teenager who won the Under-19 World Cup last month, led the turnaround, coolly hitting medium pacer Aiman Anwer for three successive fours in the 18th over to bring it down to 14 off 12.At the other end, Rodrigues, who has held the batting line-up together, found her range. She pulled, swept and then fittingly hit the winning runs by backing away and carving a boundary through extra cover, which also brought up her half-century.Their unbroken 58-run stand, a perfect combination of aggression and touch play for the best part, leading India to their highest successful chase at the Women’s T20 World Cup.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Bismah Maroof leads the way

Bismah Maroof’s career strike rate over 122 T20I innings prior to Sunday stood at 90. When she walked out to bat in the second over, she was faced with the challenge of forcing the pace on a slow surface with a lot of grip. Manufacturing shots wasn’t easy as Javeria Khan had found out in her short stay before top-edging a sweep. And so, Maroof got her eye in by playing street-smart cricket, ensuring Pakistan kept scoring at least at a run a ball, until they got to a stage from where they could launch.That launch point seemed really far off at 43 for 3 in the eighth over, when Nida Dar, Pakistan’s best batter for the conditions, was bounced out by Pooja Vastrakar in what was a perfectly set-up dismissal. Every time Maroof tried to shift gears, Pakistan found a stumbling block. When Sidra Amin was out reverse sweeping in the 13th, Pakistan were in trouble at 68 for 4, and fast reaching a point of no return.

Ayesha Naseem gives India the jitters

Maroof now needed a partner to play the perfect foil, and she found one in Ayesha Naseem. All of 18, Naseem showed why she’s rated highlty. A game without half-measures and a penchant to hit the long ball have had several former players in awe. On Sunday, she played a knock that matched the grandeur of the occasion, and in doing so, briefly gave India the jitters. In throwing Renuka Singh off guard with 18 runs off the 16th over, she changed the complexion of the innings.And suddenly, here they were with Maroof nudging and caressing the ball into the gaps for her half-century, while Naseem backed away and muscled big hits for fun. Pakistan found their hitting range and scored 58 off the last five to post their highest total at a T20 World Cup, setting India 150 to win.

The top-order wobble without Smriti Mandhana

Opening in place of the injured Smriti Mandhana, Yastika Bhatia struggled for rhythm and timing despite going for shots. The outcome, though, was anything but effective as she was out for a 20-ball 17. Shafali Verma too wasn’t at her fluent best, streakily picking boundaries off thick edges and misfields. Shafali was kept quiet from overs seven to nine, and this increasingly led to her eventually trying for a release shot.When she stepped out to loft left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu off the first ball of the 10th, it seemed destined to cross the ropes for most parts. Until Amin intercepted the ball with a superb leap sideways to pull off a stunning boundary catch at long-off. In the same over, Sandhu nearly had Rodrigues stumped. India were stuttering at 67 for 2 at the halfway mark, needing another 83 off the last 10.

The Ghosh-Rodrigues show

Harmanpreet allayed some nerves by hitting two boundaries in quick succession, but when she top-edged a swipe across the line to short third, India were in trouble. Sandhu’s second wicket capped off a terrific spell that read 4-0-15-2 had Pakistan on top with India needing 55 off 36. Then, Ghosh and Rodrigues combined like a dream, seemingly intent on taking the game deep, and in doing so, allowed Pakistan to make mistakes. At the first sign of it, they pounced on them and quickly turned the game on its head to seal a memorable win.

England’s threadbare squad set to be tested again on another Mirpur turner

Andrew Miller13-Mar-2023

Big picture – History beckons for Bangladesh

Bangladesh might be forgiven for going into this third and final T20I with a sense of Mission Accomplished. A series win against England has been a long, long time coming – 20 years, in fact, spanning three different formats and a range of deep and lasting indignities, from their unready Test efforts in 2003, to their near-miss at Mirpur on England’s 2010 tour.Since then, they’ve been closing the gap, with at least one victory in each of their last five bilateral series – either side of their greatest triumph to date, the thrilling win in Adelaide in 2015, with which they vaulted into the World Cup knockouts at England’s expense. But at last, in holding their nerve in Sunday’s low-scoring thriller, they’ve secured a slice of silverware that will count among their proudest achievements.Now, however, the challenge is to go again – to dig that little bit deeper in a situation that England themselves might recognise from their home series against Australia in 2018. Back then at Old Trafford, England’s series was long in the bag at 4-0 with one to play, but the jeopardy of the whitewash raised the stakes for both sides. Cue the feistiest contest of the lot, a gripping two-wicket win, delivered by a Jos Buttler century. The professional pride of England’s double-World Champions demands a redoubling of their focus as they seek to avoid such an indignity; and therefore, the same will be required of their hosts.There’s been mitigation aplenty for England’s off-colour displays in the first two matches – as Buttler pointed out after the second match, the 50-over World Cup is looming in October, and therefore the chance to promote the likes of Moeen Ali and Sam Curran, and offer them more time in the middle than they might ordinarily get at the end of a 20-over game, makes sense in the long term. But equally, England’s ill-balanced line-up has been all too easily exposed in two contests, and as Nasser Hussain pointed out on Sky Sports, there’s a point at which such big-picture selection comes across as a lack of respect.Still, there’s been plenty reason to believe that Bangladesh would have got the better of England, even if Sam Hain or Jordan Cox had been flown in to bulk out that middle order, at the expense of, say, Chris Jordan, whose 2.5-over workload epitomises the overload of bowling options at Buttler’s disposal in this series.It took, after all, a pair of outstanding centuries from Dawid Malan and Jason Roy to topple Bangladesh in the ODI series, and so hand Bangladesh a first bilateral home defeat in the format for seven years. Having now transferred that same focus into the 20-over format, the hosts have shown a range of skills that augur well for a similar era of home dominance.In Najmul Hossain Shanto, they’ve hit upon a batter with a supreme faith in his methods, either to romp to a 27-ball fifty when the going is good, as it proved to be in Chattogram, or to knuckle down and endure in Dhaka, to a degree that none of England’s own top-order could replicate. Shanto’s 46 not out from 47 balls projected a perfect air of permanence that freed up his colleagues to take the game on, and both Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taskin Ahmed arrived in the middle flushed with confidence from their own bowling exploits. It all proved to be an irresistibly moreish formula.None of this changes the fact that England are the team of the era in white-ball cricket. Buttler is the outstanding T20 batter of his generation, and Jofra Archer’s sublime display at Dhaka reaffirmed a matchless range of skills – raw pace, game smarts and canny variation – that, thrillingly, all still seem to be in working order after his 18-month injury lay-off.Buttler’s men are capable of much better than they have produced in the past two matches, but in an era of fixture overload – with one World Cup just secured and another soon to be defended – and with the small matters of the IPL and the Ashes dominating the immediate thoughts of their senior players, can they find enough desperation to avoid a notable loss? Either way, Bangladesh in this mood might not give them much leeway.

Form guide

Bangladesh WWLLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
England LLWWW

In the spotlight – Rony Talukdar and Ben Duckett

Rony Talukdar’s return to international cricket, eight years after his one-off appearance in 2015, was one of the more intriguing selections in recent times. Aside from it clearly being on merit, the call-up was tangible evidence of Bangladesh’s determination to promote its BPL stars, and that new policy has paid off handsomely in the past two games. Talukdar’s contribution to those wins arguably transcends his actual returns, however – particularly at Chattogram, where he drilled his first ball back in the big-time clean through the covers for four, en route to an agenda-setting 21 from 14. He has helped to set the tone, but something more substantial would help to ensure this recall is more than just a temporary reward.Of all the specialist batters in England’s ill-balanced line-up, Ben Duckett arguably has the most to gain from his heightened exposure. With credit in the bank across formats – most particularly from his sparky displays in Pakistan in last year’s T20Is, and his enthusiastic Bazballing at the top of the Test batting order – he’s setting himself up as a World Cup bolter, particularly given his sweep-dominant technique in spinning conditions. To that end, his displays in this series so far have been a qualified success – 20 from 13 balls in Chattogram where “it went all right and then I missed one”, then a run-a-ball 28 in Mirpur, which was a more competitive contribution than it perhaps appeared at the time. If he can finish this campaign on a personal high, he might yet force his way into the conversation come October.

Team news – Few changes in offing

Mehidy’s thrilling introduction in Dhaka gave a winning line-up an extra cutting edge with the ball and, as it turned out, the bat too. Assuming the pitch offers similar assistance to the spinners, there’s no reason to change this winning XI.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Rony Talukdar, 2 Litton Das (wk), 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 5 Towhid Hridoy, 6 Afif Hossain, 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 8 Nasum Ahmed, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Hasan Mahmud, 11 Mustafizur RahmanNot a lot of wriggle-room in England’s threadbare squad. Archer might well be stood down, having shown once again that he’s firmly on track for full fitness. Mark Wood is the obvious man to return on a pitch that offered more for the quicks than Chattogram had. Reece Topley is the other option, assuming he’s recovered from the niggle that has kept him on the sidelines. Buttler slipped down the order in game two. It remains to be seen if that experiment is repeated.England (possible): 1 Phil Salt, 2 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Ben Duckett, 5 Moeen Ali, 6 Sam Curran, 7 Chris Woakes, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Rehan Ahmed, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Mark Wood.

Pitch and conditions – Another turner in prospect

There’s going to be a lot of spin and uneven bounce, if the Dhaka pitch for the second T20I is anything to go by. And if that favours the hosts, then Buttler says England are happy to take the learnings from such conditions, particularly with the 50-over World Cup in mind. The weather in Dhaka will go from warm to mild in the course of the afternoon.

Stats and trivia

Sydney Thunder beat their crosstown rivals Sydney Sixers by three wickets to win the inaugural WBBL title, in a tense and scrappy game which came down to the last over

The Report by Will Macpherson at the MCG24-Jan-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details5:13

Collins: WBBL helping new faces rise to prominence

Sydney Thunder beat their crosstown rivals Sydney Sixers by three wickets to win the inaugural WBBL title, in a tense and scrappy game which came down to the last over.Sixers’ innings was messy. Thunder fielded poorly, missing a plethora of run outs and catches, with each of the top four let off. The bowlers continued to create chances, and no mistake was horribly costly, but while seven wickets were taken and the total was underpar, Thunder could have been more clinical.Fortunately for them, Sixers were in merciful mood. Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy have scored 346 runs in each other’s company this season, and are not players to be missing chances off. So when Claire Koski failed to gather Alex Blackwell’s throw to complete a simple run out of a desperately diving Perry, Thunder would have been kicking themselves. But, after adding just one more run, Perry was gone, slicing the superb Rene Farrell – who finished as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 26 – to point. Likewise, Thunder had reasons to rue when Maisy Gibson dropped a tough caught and bowled chance off Healy on 15. Five runs later, 19-year-old Gibson, one of the finds of the tournament, had Healy leg before.The most costly drop was of Ashleigh Gardner, who made a breezy 20. The ball after Perry departed, Gardner sent the ball to point too, where the same fielder, Rachael Haynes, dropped a dipping chance. Gardner was away with a beautiful straight drive and found the boundary on three other occasions, before Koski sharply stumped her off Erin Osborne. Osborne used all her experience to dismiss Marizanne Kapp, who had threaded a beautiful cover drive between two fielders only to hit it straight back to the bowler next ball, and Sarah Aley cheaply. Between the two, Lisa Sthalekar had slapped Gibson straight to point.With Sara McGlashan at the crease, Sixers still harboured hopes of an imposing score. She leaned into a beautiful straight drive off Nicola Carey, but before long was involved in the second horrid – yet unpunished – mix-up between the wickets. McGlashan pushed past backward point, and ran one with Angela Reakes. McGlashan turned, making it all the way back for a second, only to slip. Stafanie Taylor had thrown to the keeper’s end, and with both batsmen on the ground, Koski just had to gather and throw to the bowler. She could not, as McGlashan got up, turned, and made her ground. She had run three lengths but had just one to show for her efforts. Most importantly, she was still in.Farrell returned at the death, and trapped McGlashan leg before, before conceding just six runs from the final over. Reakes picked up McGlashan’s mantle, twice driving boundaries – in front then behind point – off Carey, and scampering singles hard in the company of Kara Sutherland.Defending 115 was a tough ask. Kapp found a maiden first up, and every fielder ran in to praise her. Runs were scored off the bat just twice in the first 20 deliveries. But the Thunder grew into the innings and the introduction of spin saw them push the score. At the halfway stage, no wickets had been lost, and just 62 was required from 60.The game returned to life in the 11th, however. Taylor found long-on off Aley, who then dropped a return catch from Haynes, only to bowl Naomi Stalenberg two balls later. Blackwell and Haynes remained calm, sharing a busy 44, only for Aley’s next over – the 18th – to throw the game open again. Haynes pulled to Perry to midwicket, who dropped a diving catch, only to get up and run out Haynes on the second. After Blackwell drove a boundary down the ground, her ramp saw Carey run out on the third.Nine was required from 12 balls when Blackwell charged down, swung and missed Kapp’s full delivery. Osborne was run out with some brilliant work from Healy again. Koski then scampered three after more farcical fielding. Kapp’s spell had cost just 11, and Thunder needed four from the last. Perry had Farrell caught at mid-off, before the batsmen sprinted through for a bye off a wide to seal a remarkable win with three balls to spare.Given this was the highest-profile women’s domestic match ever, broadcast not only in Australia, but also in England, India, South Africa, and Bangladesh – it did not necessarily flatter the sport’s standard. Nevertheless, a thrilling contest emerged and a fine competition – that has exceeded all expectations – had an exhilarating conclusion. All that was missing, for most of the match, was the Benny Hill soundtrack.