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Moor and extras were the highest scorers for Ireland while Chivanga and Muzarabani starred with the ball

Sreshth Shah26-Jul-2024Peter Moor dominated against Zimbabwe, his former team and country of birth, to post the highest Test score by an Ireland opener. The hosts, like the visitors on day one, then collapsed in the afternoon to squander the advantage after they brought the deficit under 100 with eight wickets in hand. But an unlikely tenth-wicket partnership of 47 between Andy McBrine and debutant Matthew Humphreys gave them a useful 40-run lead after two completed innings in Belfast.Zimbabwe’s erratic bowling, along with their fielding behind the stumps, was a major factor in Ireland taking the lead. Zimbabwe leaked 59 runs in extras – of which 42 came in byes – the most in the 137-year history of Test cricket. However, Tanaka Chivanga’s (3 for 39) and Blessing Muzarabani’s (3 for 53) exploits ensured Ireland didn’t run away with the bat.The day had started quite like the first morning, with batters dominating the proceedings. Opener Andy Balbirnie scored only 19 but gave able support to Moor, who batted at top gear. Together they set the new Ireland record for the highest opening partnership of 71, and Moor also got his first fifty for Ireland, his sixth overall in Tests. The highlight of his innings was his scoring square on both sides of the pitch and none down the ground. His strokes helped Ireland rollick at 4.60 per over in a 25-over morning session that took them to 115 for 2.Chivanga, playing only his second Test, was the most consistent of the Zimbabwe bowlers early on, and his consistent groupings on a good length, or slightly fuller, earned him just rewards. He struck with his second ball of the day in the 16th over when Balbirnie chipped a flick to square leg. He added a second in the 22nd over when his delivery squared Curtis Campher up and found the outside edge for first slip. Those two dismissals ensured the morning session wasn’t a complete knock-out for Zimbabwe.However, the tide turned in Zimbabwe’s favour after lunch under grey skies. Chivanga trapped Harry Tector lbw for 4, and in the same over Paul Stirling – coming in at No. 5 – gloved a short ball to gully for a catch. But Stirling survived courtesy of a front-foot no-ball, and he, along with Moor, opted for attritional cricket to arrest any further collapse. The pair added 50, out of which only 30 runs came off the bat and 20 via byes and wides. Their stonewalling ended when Muzarabani tore open the Ireland middle order with two wickets in two balls that triggered more dismissals.Moor first tickled Muzarabani’s short ball to the keeper to depart for 79. Next ball, Lorcan Tucker was out lbw for a duck with a full ball angling to beat him on the flick. Left-arm spinner Sean Williams then accounted for Stirling for 22, when he edged a ball turning away to first slip, followed by his dismissal of Mark Adair in consecutive overs.Tanaka Chivanga got Curtis Campher before lunch•Sportsfile/Getty Images

Ireland slid from 165 for 3 to 189 for 7 in swift time, and it soon became 200 for 8 when Tendai Chatara dismissed Barry McCarthy off the last ball before tea. Muzarabani added a third at the start of the final session to leave Zimbabwe one wicket away from taking a first-innings lead, but the McBrine-Humphreys pair counterattacked after another rain break to smash 47 in 44 balls.It was a challenging day for Clive Madande, the Zimbabwe wicketkeeper on debut. He first dropped Balbirnie in the morning, and the ball followed him through the day. The inconsistency in line from the seamers, especially spraying the ball down the leg side or the late swing generated after leaving the batters, forced Madande to jump in both directions to stop potential sundries. Sometimes he was successful, but often, the ball went past him.The extras eventually were the second-highest scorer for Ireland. The byes conceded were also the highest percentage of any team’s run tally (min. 200 runs). Had that aspect of Zimbabwe’s game been better, they could have had a stranglehold on the game. Instead, by stumps, they were trailing by 28 after their openers added 12 late in the evening.

Pujara grinds for two hours to make 28, while Washington Sundar marks his first-class comeback with a wicket

Shashank Kishore05-Jul-2023
As many as 14 wickets fell at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on an intense day where South Zone appeared to have taken the honours until they collapsed late in the day to even things up.Vidwath Kaverappa, the Karnataka fast bowler, picked up his third five-for as North Zone were bowled out for 198. Barring Prabhsimran Singh, who top-scored with 49, none of the other North batters capitalised against a quality attack.Related

• Duleep Trophy: Four good men, four great opportunities missed

Then Baltej Singh removed B Sai Sudharsan and R Samarth in quick succession as North hit back. As stumps loomed, South captain Hanuma Vihari, not a night watcher, strode out to take strike but he lasted all of four deliveries and was out to Harshit Rana. The rut didn’t end there; Ricky Bhui was out next ball. South ended on 63 for 4.Earlier, South’s decision to bowl seemed to pay off when North slipped to 18 for 3 inside the first hour. Prabhsimran and Ankit Kumar steadied the innings with a 79-run stand, the only period where they appeared to have had some control over proceedings. Ankit’s dismissal once again exposed a brittle lower middle order.The match marked a comeback into first-class cricket for Washington Sundar, who finished with 1 for 44. Playing in his first red-ball game after six months, Sundar who has been on a steady diet of white-ball games, mainly in the TNPL post his hamstring injury that limited his IPL participation, had the wicket of Rana, who made a breezy 31 at No. 9 to shore up the innings. Those runs could yet be very handy as North attempt a comeback against a seemingly strong batting line-up.Washington Sundar celebrates after picking a wicket•PTI

Atit Sheth’s 74, an innings of hard grind and flamboyance in equal measure, rescued West Zone on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy semi-final after their star-studded top order collapsed against a disciplined Central Zone attack in Alur.Sheth, the Baroda allrounder, came into bat at 65 for 5 shortly after lunch, and revived the innings, first briefly with Cheteshwar Pujara and then with Dharmendrasinh Jadeja. He added 45 with Pujara, who battled through for two hours in his trademark fashion before slashing a short ball to the slips on 28.Then West recovered as Sheth and Jadeja added 73 in under two hours to keep the scoreboard ticking. Sheth played some flowing drives in his knock of 129 deliveries in which he hit nine fours and a six.Easy on the eye, his footwork against spin was mighty impressive. His manner of countering Saurabh Kumar, fresh off a career-best 8 for 64 in the quarter-final last week, was a mark of his confidence. He seldom played against the turn, got to the pitch and picked lengths early to showcase his full range of shots.Jadeja was chancy, often sweeping against the turn but doing so effectively to throw the bowlers off gear for a brief while post tea. The partnership ended when offspinner Saransh Jain had him jabbing to silly mid-off.Earlier in the morning, West’s decision to bat first under overcast skies was a brave one. Central’s pace duo of Shivam Mavi and Avesh Khan kept Prithvi Shaw and Priyank Panchal honest. Shaw, known to be a quick starter, reined himself in and didn’t hit a boundary until after the first hour. He looked solid for much of his stay at the crease before a fresh catch sent him back for 26.Shaw punched Saurabh straight to silly point, where the ball got stuck in between Dhruv Jurel’s pads as he tried to take evasive action. He somehow managed to hold on to break a 43-run stand. Exactly an over later, Yash Thakur had Panchal out lbw to a delivery that nipped back in to hit him plumb in front.Suryakumar Yadav walked in and played a delightful flick to get up and running, but he ran out of luck early. After being reprieved in the slips, he was out chasing a wide delivery off the very next delivery as Mavi had a second wicket, with West slipping to 56 for 3. Sarfaraz Khan was next. After 11 tentative deliveries, he was out chopping on to a lifter from Mavi.Het Patel, picked as first- choice wicketkeeper over Harvik Desai, then came under scrutiny from Avesh Khan immediately after lunch. Two balls after being reprieved by a no-ball off which he drove loosely to the slips, he was bowled neck-and-crop playing down the wrong line. Avesh’s hard length and late inward movement had him play down the wrong line as he was bowled.From there on, it was Sheth’s rescue that ensured West crossed 200. Central’s bowlers briefly lost their plans against him, which resulted in Sheth profiting off a few reverse sweeps late in the day before he was Mavi’s fourth victim.Mavi and Thakur shouldered much of the fast bowling workload for Central mainly because Avesh spent much of the second and third session off the field as a precautionary measure following an on-field collision with Rinku Singh while attempting a catch.

England seamer insists landmarks are not the reason he still competes at the age of 41

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Mar-2024James Anderson says he has “nothing to celebrate” after becoming the first seam bowler to reach 700 Test wickets, because he was unable to prevent the innings defeat in Dharmasala that capped England’s 4-1 series loss.Anderson, 41, achieved the feat on the final morning of the series, when he had Kuldeep Yadav caught behind to become only the third bowler in all of Test cricket to reach the 700 mark.Each of the other two, however, were spinners – Sri Lanka’s Muthiah Muralidaran (800) and Australia’s Shane Warne, whose former world-record mark of 708 could yet be in Anderson’s sights next summer.”It was a nice moment and nice to do it at a picturesque ground,” Anderson told the BBC Tailenders podcast. “My dad was here so we had a drink, which was nice. He was more excited than I was.”Maybe I would’ve felt more excited if we’d have won the Test or the series. It’s been a long series, and I don’t know how I feel.”Given the changing nature of Test cricket, Anderson’s landmark may never be reached by another seam bowler, but the man himself said that the discussion about his place in the sport’s history was “irrelevant” to him.”I don’t get anything out of that,” he said. “I don’t get anything out of what other people say. That’s not why I play cricket. I don’t play cricket to get the milestones. I want to win games. I love playing for a team and that’s when I get the biggest buzz.”That’s why I’m probably a little bit flat now, because we’ve lost 4-1 in this series. But I really enjoyed this tour. I’ve been on tours to India before where little cracks start appearing in the team and that’s not happened this time.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“We’ve stuck together really well, we really enjoy being together as a group and there is more to come from this team. Obviously we’ll come in for some criticism because we did have moments where we didn’t play particularly well but India are really good.”England do not play another Test until the visit of West Indies in July, by which stage Anderson will be weeks away from his 42nd birthday. But, having claimed ten wickets at 33.50 in India, Anderson is adamant he has got the form and fitness to keep competing for his England place.”I’m really excited for the summer,” Anderson said. “I want to make sure I’m playing well and earn my place in the team.”I’m not getting any worse,” he added. “I’m definitely in the best shape I’ve ever been in. I like where my game is at, and I still have that enjoyment of turning up every day and trying to get better in the nets. My place in the team is not a given so I’ve got to work hard to prove I’m worth a place in the summer.”Reflecting on the moment of his 700th wicket, Anderson said that his victim had predicted that he would be the landmark victim.”Kuldeep edged one down to third man for a single,” Anderson recalled. “As he got to the non-striker’s end, and as I was walking back to my mark, he said, ‘I’m going to be your 700th wicket’. He wasn’t saying he was trying to get out, he was just saying he had a feeling. We both laughed at it.”Anderson’s 699th wicket had been Kuldeep’s team-mate, Shubman Gill, with whom he had exchanged words on the second day.”I said something to him like, ‘Do you get any runs outside India?’ and he said, ‘It’s time to retire’,” Anderson said. “Then two balls later, I got him out.”

Axar Patel will lead DC with Rishabh Pant suspended for this crucial game

Karthik Krishnaswamy11-May-20243:34

Aaron: Not going to be easy for RCB to dominate Axar and Kuldeep

Match details

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (7th, P12, W5, L7) vs Delhi Capitals (5th, P12, W6, L6)
Bengaluru, 7.30pm IST (2pm GMT)

Big picture: Has the surge come too late for RCB and DC?

RCB have won their last four games on the bounce, and Delhi Capitals have won three of their last five. Their key players have clicked in unison more often than not over recent weeks. Unfortunately for both teams, though, all this may have come a little too late in the season. Both teams are still in contention for the playoffs, but neither has its destiny entirely in its own hands – read this for a more in-depth understanding of where they stand.Both teams can still control their ends of the bargain, though, and this is what RCB and DC will look to do going into their first meeting of the season, at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday night. DC are better-placed than RCB at this stage, with two extra points from the same number of games, but they might just be underdogs going into this contest. RCB are in a serious run of form, and they will be backed by one of the most fervent home crowds in the tournament. And DC, most significantly, will be without their captain and talisman Rishabh Pant.

Form guide

Royal Challengers Bengaluru WWWWL (last five completed games, most recent first)
Delhi Capitals WLWWL

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Royal Challengers Bengaluru
RCB have used either Glenn Maxwell or Lockie Ferguson as their fourth overseas player in recent games, depending on conditions and opposition. Maxwell’s record against Kuldeep Yadav (79 off 45 balls, four dismissals, strike rate of 175.55) could prompt RCB to play him in this match, given how much better DC’s attack looks when the left-arm wristspinner is able to control proceedings. If RCB play Ferguson instead, expect Mahipal Lomror to play rather than Vijaykumar Vyshak.Possible XII 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Faf du Plessis (capt), 3 Will Jacks, 4 , 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Cameron Green, 7 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 8 Swapnil Singh, 9 Karn Sharma, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Vijaykumar Vyshak, 12 .Delhi Capitals
DC coach Ricky Ponting has confirmed Axar Patel will captain the team in Pant’s absence. He also suggested that David Warner – who has missed four successive games with a hand injury – could be fit to return, having trained on both Friday and Saturday. Ponting, meanwhile, hinted at an opposition-specific bowling selection, with the Australian quick Jhye Richardson in line to play as a new-ball specialist to try and break through a strong RCB top order.Which Indian batter comes in for Pant remains to be seen. Prithvi Shaw is an option, but with Ponting indicating that Abishek Porel was likely to continue opening, DC may prefer a middle-order batter, in which case Yash Dhull or Kumar Kushagra could get a game.Possible XII 1 Jake Fraser-McGurk, 2 Abishek Porel (wk), 3 David Warner/Shai Hope, 4 , 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Axar Patel, 7 Lalit Yadav/Sumit Kumar, 8 , 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mukesh Kumar, 11 Jhye Richardson, 12 .Axar Patel will lead DC in Rishabh Pant’s absence•BCCI

In the spotlight

At the 12-game mark in the season, DC have the spin attack with the best collective average of all teams this season (24.88) and the fourth-best economy rate (8.18). Up against them through the middle overs, though, will be Rajat Patidar, who has the second-best strike rate against spin (229.85) of any batter who has scored at least 100 runs against that style of bowling this season. With Virat Kohli also having upped his intent and shot range against spin in recent games, with telling effect, we could be in for a mouthwatering middle-overs battle.RCB have opened the bowling with a spinner in each of their last four games, with either left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh or offspinner Will Jacks bowling the first over depending on their opposition’s opening combination. It will be interesting to see if they try this tactic against DC, who will have a left-right combination if either Warner or Porel opens alongside Jake Fraser-McGurk. And no matter who bowls at him, Fraser-McGurk will look to hit the ball out of the park. He’s struck at 255.20 in the powerplay this season, going at 244.57 against pace in this phase, and a ludicrous 323.07 against spin.

Stats that matter

• RCB have won four of the last five meetings between these two teams.
• In 11 T20s, Kohli has only been out once to Axar, but he’s only scored 78 off 71 balls against the left-arm spinner. DC will be happy for the match-up to continue in this manner, but the events of recent matches suggest that Kohli may play Axar differently if he gets the chance, bringing out his rediscovered sweep and slog-sweep at every opportunity.
• Dinesh Karthik enjoys batting against Khaleel Ahmed, scoring 28 off 14 balls against the left-arm quick while only being dismissed once.
• Tristan Stubbs (187 runs at a strike rate of 296.82) and Karthik (180 at 233.76) are the most prolific run-scorers in the death overs (17-20) in IPL 2024.

Pitch and conditions

It’s no surprise that the match that produced the record IPL total and the record run aggregate for any T20 game came at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. It’s a bit of a surprise, though, that there have been no 200-plus totals in any of the other four matches at the venue so far this season. There was early help for the new ball in the most recent match here, where RCB bowled Gujarat Titans out for 147, and it will be interesting to see if conditions on Sunday night bring fast bowlers into the game in a similar way. It has rained on and off in the evenings in the week leading up to the match, and weather interruptions could be likely.

Quotes

“The position I was going [in] to bat was very challenging for me, because this year I’ve got a new role, getting to play in the middle order, so I’ve done some changes […] I spoke with Virat , DK , who have a lot of experience, so I think that helped a lot […] If you’re going at the top of the order, you get some extra cushion to think and plan your innings, but if you’re going around the 10th-11th over, you don’t get that cushion. You have to be really quick in making your decision. It helped me a lot to talk with the great players in our team.”
“Obviously Rishabh Pant is not there, so we’ve got to think about an Indian middle-order player potentially to come in for him. David Warner missed the last game. He got that nasty knock on his hand about a month ago now, hasn’t played a game since. He trained really strongly yesterday. He’s here now. He’ll be up hitting balls in the middle now, so he’ll be doing some more batting today, so hopefully he’s available for selection tomorrow. There’s a chance against RCB as well, with their dominance at the top of the order, that we might think about changing our bowling line-up as well, someone like a Jhye Richardson to bring into the side as a specialist new-ball bowler to potentially take early wickets against RCB.”

Justin Broad takes seven but match called off after suspected broken finger for Vasconcelos

ECB Reporters Network29-Aug-2024The Vitality County Championship Second Division match between Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire was abandoned owing to concerns from the umpires over player safety on a hybrid pitch.Umpires Chris Watts and Sue Redfern called a halt early on in the final session after Northants batters Ricardo Vasconcelos and Rob Keogh had been struck blows on the hand by Gloucestershire paceman Ajeet Singh Dale and retired hurt.Northants were 116 for 2 in reply to Gloucestershire’s 125 when the contest was abandoned at 5pm, the umpires consulting with both captains before leading the players from the pitch and then holding a consultation with groundstaff to explain their decision.Watts and Redfern then talked with match referee Jason Swift before contacting ECB pitch inspectors at Lord’s to seek advice. The decision was then taken to abandon the match.Gloucestershire scored in excess of 500 runs on a neighbouring pitch against Leicestershire earlier in the week, but were unceremoniously shot out in just 36.1 overs on this occasion. The county deployed a hybrid pitch for their home Championship match against Middlesex in May without any issues arising. But this was an altogether different set of circumstances, with Vasconcelos being taken to hospital with a suspected broken finger.When Keogh was struck during the final session, the umpires, concerned for the safety of the batters, made their intervention. Northants will collect 11 points for a draw, including three bowling bonus points, but Gloucestershire will receive none. It remains to be seen whether or not the county will face any further sanction but the matter has been passed to the Cricket Regulator for investigation.The umpires issued a brief statement, which read: “The match has been abandoned because there was a foreseeable risk to the batters. In the opinion of the umpires, it would be unreasonable to continue.”Gloucestershire declined to speak to the media at the close of play, and later issued a statement in anticipation of further action.”Whilst we acknowledge that this is not something anyone would have wanted to happen, we need to see, understand and discuss the match referee’s report before making further comment on the decision,” the club wrote. “We expect there will be an ECB investigation and we will of course assist them at all stages of that investigation.”Justin Broad had reason to feel aggrieved, having produced a career-best bowling performance to put the skids under Gloucestershire. In the absence of pace spearheads Ben Sanderson and Jack White, both rested ahead of next week’s Vitality Blast quarter-final against Somerset, batting all-rounder Broad was handed the new ball and returned startling figures of 7 for 33 in 15.1 overs with seven maidens.Of the Gloucestershire batters, only Ollie Price managed to cope with exaggerated nip and seam off the pitch, top-scoring with 52 and staging a stand of 60 for the fifth wicket with Graeme van Buuren, whose dismissal for 40 sparked a collapse which saw the home side lose their last six wickets for 22 runs in 11.1 overs.Despite having to field a weakened attack, Procter did not hesitate to bowl first on a green-tinged surface and it proved an exceedingly good toss to win, Gloucestershire losing openers Cameron Bancroft and Ben Charlesworth inside six overs as Broad and his captain made the new ball talk.Although Broad boasted just 11 wickets at 43 apiece in 13 previous first-class matches, he looked the part when persuading a length ball to straighten up and clip the top of Bancroft’s off stump. Having scored a maiden double hundred in his last innings, Charlesworth was brought down to earth with a bump when pushing tentatively at an angled delivery from Procter and offering a straightforward catch to second slip.Procter struck again in his next over, Miles Hammond swishing at a ball outside off stump and nicking to second slip as Gloucestershire slipped to 16 for 3. Unlike Hammond, the in-form James Bracey could not be held accountable for his dismissal, the Championship’s leading run scorer being unfortunately run out when Dom Leach diverted an Ollie Price drive onto the stumps with the batter at the non-striker’s end backing up.Price and van Buuren enjoyed better fortune against the change bowlers, the latter taking on Gus Miller with a top-edged hook that went for six and then twice pulling Leach to the mid-wicket boundary to afford the innings momentum.But van Buuren flirted with danger and was twice dropped on 25 and 30 before pursuing a wide delivery and feathering a catch to second slip to gift Broad his second wicket. The South African’s dismissal for a run-a-ball 40 with the score on 93 sparked a calamitous collapse, Tom Price falling lbw to Broad in the final over before lunch, which was taken with the hosts on 113 for 6. Gloucestershire’s slide continued unchecked after the interval, Zafar Gohar shouldering arms to a straight one from Broad, who then pinned Ollie Price lbw for an 85-ball 52 to register his maiden five-wicket haul.Broad then accounted for tailenders Dom Goodman and Zaman Akhter in quick succession on his way to achieving the best figures of any Northants bowler in matches at Bristol since George Thompson took 8 for 14 in 1910.Batting continued to be a hazardous affair when Northants replied. Prithvi Shaw and Vasconcelos staged an opening partnership of 50 in 11.1 overs, only for the latter to then edge a catch behind off Singh Dale. Vasconcelos advanced his score to 21 before retiring hurt, after which Procter and Keogh added an unbeaten 49 for the third wicket.

Sutherland started his captaincy reign for Renegades with a loss but produced an outstanding all-round performance with 36 not out and 2 for 20

Tristan Lavalette16-Dec-2024Captain Moises Henriques once again kept his cool in a tense chase as Sydney Sixers overcame a new-look Melbourne Renegades to start their BBL season with a five-wicket victory at the SCG.Chasing a tricky 170, Sixers wobbled in the middle overs before Henriques took over with an unbeaten 53 from 27 balls as the home team hauled in the target with nine balls to spare.The result could have been much different had Henriques been run out on 25 but Tom Rogers’ throw from midwicket was wide.Will Sutherland started his captaincy reign for Renegades with a loss but he produced an outstanding all-round performance with 36 not out and 2 for 20.Sixers, a BBL powerhouse who lost a home final last season, continued their long-time dominance over Renegades. It was their ninth win from ten games between the teams since 2018 with the other game being a no result.

Edwards’ promotion, Henriques finishes

It appeared a challenging chase on a ground where 150-160 has often proven enough in BBL games over the years.After the early loss of opener Josh Philippe, James Vince and Jack Edwards made it look easy in the powerplay with the ball zipping off the pitch in an apparent easing of batting conditions.Edwards made the most of his promotion to No.3 after Dan Hughes injured his arm while attempting a diving catch during Renegades’ innings. His placement was superb as he combined well with Vince in a 62-run partnership.But he holed out to quick Kane Richardson to fall short of a maiden BBL half-century as Sixers soon fell to 136 for 5 when Hayden Kerr had to retire after an apparent hamstring injury.Sixers still needed 34 runs off the final four overs, but Henriques wisely took the power surge and he smashed legspinner Adam Zampa for two sixes in the 18th over to effectively ice the game.Henriques and Ben Dwarshuis were in a rush as they finished the job far easier than had looked possible just moments earlier.

Hassan impresses in BBL debut

Pakistan-born, USA cricketer Hassan Khan proved he was a worthy recruit for Renegades with a solid debut in a tough situation. He entered the attack after the powerplay with Renegades under pressure and had to contend with Vince and Edwards trying to take him on.He recovered from early punishment and settled to showcase his variety as he mixed up his speed nicely. Hassan dismissed Jordan Silk, so reliable in the middle overs for Sixers, with a 72 kmh delivery as he helped put Renegades in a winning position.He finished with 1 for 27 from three overs in a performance to build on for Hassan, who plays for San Francisco Unicorns in MLC.Tim Seifert’s knock of 55 went in vain for Melbourne Renegades•Getty Images

Sixers’ attack rely on experience to fight back

After being thrashed in the powerplay, Sixers’ veteran attack relied on their experience to pull Renegades back.They’ve long mastered conditions at the SCG, where the spongy surface can make batting difficult, as Dwarshuis, Kerr and Sean Abbott mixed up their pace to help get Sixers back into the contest.They bowled into the wicket and made use of a ball softening after the powerplay. It wasn’t a perfect performance with the quicks unusually expensive, but Sixers left-arm spinner Joel Davies stepped up and bowled well from around the wicket to finish with 1 for 24 from 4 overs.

Seifert overshadows fellow recruits

After a disappointing seventh-placed finish last season, Renegades transitioned their roster following the departures of stalwarts Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh and Nic Maddinson.They’ve overhauled the batting and focused on power-hitting with the recruitments of Brisbane Heat title-winning opener Josh Brown, New Zealand’s Tim Seifert and Laurie Evans, who excelled last season in the middle order for Perth Scorchers.All eyes were on the dynamic opening combination of Brown and Jake Fraser-McGurk, who did not disappoint with a first ball boundary off Dwarshuis that was laced through point.Fraser-McGurk was keen to shake off his struggles in the recent white-ball series against Pakistan and connected on a length delivery from Edwards in the second over for a huge six down the ground.He raced to 21 until on his 12th delivery he was deceived by Abbott, who on his first ball cunningly unfurled a subtle change of pace.Brown had little of the strike to that point until taking over with the type of belligerent batting that lit up last season’s finals series. But he contributed a similarly teasing knock to Fraser-McGurk – hitting 22 off ten – as Renegades, who had smashed 44 in the powerplay, stumbled in the middle overs with Evans and Hassan falling cheaply.In contrast to Renegades other new recruits, Seifert paced his innings well to top-score with 55 off 42 balls and shared a 50-run partnership with Sutherland, who had a successful return after a side strain had kept him out of action since early November.

New competition continues cricket’s attempts to rid itself of elitist tags, as revealed in ICEC report

Andrew Miller30-Jun-2025Lord’s is well on its way to proving it is not the “Augusta of cricket”, according to MCC’s chair Mark Nicholas, following the launch of a new nationwide T20 competition, the Knight-Stokes Cup, aimed specifically at state-school pupils.The tournament, named in honour of England’s former women’s captain Heather Knight and current men’s Test captain, Ben Stokes, is for Year 10 pupils (ages 13-14) with separate events for boys and girls. It will begin in April 2026 with a season-long qualifying process, followed by regional knockouts and a finals day at Lord’s in September.The initiative, spearheaded by another former England captain Michael Vaughan, is a continuation of the sport’s bid to rid itself of the “sexist, classist and elitist” tags that it received following a damning 2023 report by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC).The creation of a “national Under-15 state school finals’ day for boys and girls” was one of the report’s specific recommendations, alongside a call for MCC to discontinue its hosting of the annual Eton-Harrow and Oxford-Cambridge fixtures – two of the longest-running annual sporting contests in the world.A decision on the future of those historic fixtures has since been deferred until 2028, but Nicholas insists that MCC has made, and will continue to make, significant strides in broadening the reach of cricket’s most famous venue.”We’re an open-hearted body,” Nicholas told ESPNcricinfo. In particular, he contrasted the club’s bid for greater inclusivity with the explicitly exclusive offering of Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, the home of the annual Masters tournament, and a venue that is renowned for its strict rules and entry criteria for members and patrons alike.”People who say, ‘oh, we’re the Augusta of cricket’, we’re not at all,” Nicholas added. “Augusta is a fabulous exclusive place. Its mystery comes from its exclusivity. We want Lord’s and MCC to be inclusive. The fact that children can come here is very important for the future of cricket, and very important for the future of MCC and Lord’s.”Children who attend private school are significantly more likely to play professional cricket than those in the state sector, with the ICEC report citing 2021 statistics that showed 58% of England players were privately educated, out of a nationwide figure of 7% of pupils.Various factors contribute to this, including the cost of equipment and the standard of playing facilities. However, as Nicholas pointed out, the private sector also acts as a conduit for the best young talent in the country, citing the example of Harry Brook, England’s white-ball captain, who attended Sedburgh School in Cumbria on a sports scholarship.”It’s not absolutely right to say that there’s no state-school players involved in the England team,” Nicholas said. “But state schools have other priorities, and it’s not easy to fit cricket into the curriculum, especially when there’s pressure on GCSEs in the summer term.”While the incentive for state-school pupils to play at Lord’s is a strong one, Vaughan also recognises the importance of role models in driving interest in cricket. Twenty years on from his role in captaining England to glory in the 2005 Ashes, he backs the current men’s and women’s teams to provide similar star billing to the sport.”We talk about 2005 all the time, and all the stories been told,” Vaughan said. “But the proudest bit is when people of that age come and say, ‘I got into cricket because of ’05’.”They might be 28, they might be 30-35, but they would have been at school, and not necessarily at independent schools either. It’s then that you know you’ve done something great.”[The current men’s and women’s teams] have also played a part in changing people’s lives, and that’s why this tournament’s so important. Because, yes, it’d be great to create a new Heather [Knight] and a new Ben [Stokes], but it’s not about that. It’s about creating fans and cricket lovers.”That’s why this has been created, to make sure that, for the first time, a state school is going to be represented at Lord’s next year, and that’ll be every year going forward.”Speaking ahead of the announcement, Knight said: “As someone who played cricket from a young age at my local state school and then here at Lord’s including in a World Cup final, I’m proud to have my name associated with this new competition which will inspire thousands of state-school children across the country and continue the vital work that cricket is doing to create more opportunities for children from state schools to play and access the talent pathway.”Stokes added: “Coming from a state school myself, when I was informed that they wanted to name this competition after me, it was a pretty easy ‘yes’. Playing at Lord’s is the pinnacle of any cricketer’s career and something I dreamed of when I played cricket at my school so to open up the opportunity for boys and girls to play here is fantastic. I can’t wait to see the competition get underway next year and start to see some of the incredible talent that’s out there in our state schools come through the system.”

He will succeed Faf du Plessis who was released over the winter due to his CPL commitments

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jul-2023Wayne Parnell, the South African allrounder, has been appointed men’s captain of Northern Superchargers ahead of the third season of the Hundred, succeeding Faf du Plessis.Parnell played twice for Superchargers as a replacement last year and was retained for the 2023 season. He is one of their three men’s overseas players, along with Matthew Short – who is a replacement for the injured Michael Bracewell – and David Wiese. They finished sixth last season, with four wins and four defeats.Du Plessis, who captained Superchargers last year, was released over the winter due to his Caribbean Premier League commitments with St Lucia Kings. The CPL starts on August 17, while the Hundred runs from August 1-17.Parnell captained Pretoria Capitals to the final of the inaugural SA20 last winter, and is leading Seattle Orcas in Major League Cricket. He recently played alongside several Superchargers players for Durham in the Vitality Blast.James Foster, the men’s coach, said: “We are delighted to have Wayne back in the squad. He knows the team and, having played in this year’s T20 Blast for Durham, he knows the conditions well. He brings with him a wealth of experience from his international and domestic career and that will be invaluable to the team.”Hollie Armitage will continue as Superchargers’ women’s captain. “Hollie did a great job last season and she has a lot of experience,” Dani Hazell, their coach, said. “She led the Northern Diamonds to their first title, winning the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, last year so she knows how to win.”Meanwhile, Trent Rockets have confirmed that Nat Sciver-Brunt and Lewis Gregory will continue to lead their women’s and men’s sides respectively. Rockets were men’s champions last season, and lost the eliminator in the women’s competition.

2023 Hundred captains:

Birmingham Phoenix: Ellyse Perry, Moeen Ali

London Spirit: Heather Knight, Dan Lawrence

Manchester Originals: Sophie Ecclestone, Jos Buttler

Northern Superchargers: Hollie Armitage, Wayne Parnell

Oval Invincibles: Dane van Niekerk, Sam Billings

Southern Brave: Anya Shrubsole, James Vince

Trent Rockets: Nat Sciver-Brunt, Lewis Gregory

Welsh Fire: Tammy Beaumont, Tom Abell

Former fast bowler accuses board of ‘craven, disingenuous and despicable attempt to rewrite history’

Osman Samiuddin18-Jun-2024Cricket Scotland’s attempts to conclude independent investigations into allegations of racist behaviour have been overshadowed by an escalating row with John Blain, the former Yorkshire and Scotland fast bowler.Blain, who last week declared that he had been “exonerated”of racism allegations dating back to 2007, pre-empted Cricket Scotland’s formal conclusion of the process on Tuesday afternoon by issuing a further statement threatening legal action against the board. He accused Cricket Scotland of “a craven, disingenuous and despicable attempt… to rewrite history a week after I was forced to go public to clear my name.”Blain was sent a letter in January this year by the board in which they said allegations of racism against him had been “unfounded”. The letter, sent by then interim CEO Peter Fitzboydon, was the basis for Blain to go public saying he had been cleared of the allegations and that the investigations “fully exonerate me”.Related

• Cricket Scotland under renewed fire after alleged racism cover-up

• Cricket Scotland chief exec: 'I'm determined to find a way through this for everyone'

• Cricket Scotland's CEO calls Blain's public comments 'very disappointing'

• John Blain calls for Cricket Scotland inquiry after being cleared of racist behaviour

But a letter sent by Cricket Scotland to one of the complainants against Blain reveals that he has not been exonerated. The letter was made public by Running Out Racism, the anti-racism advocacy group that has been advising complainants through the process. In it the board explain why disciplinary proceedings were not being initiated against Blain but make clear: “This procedural inability to progress these matters to a Conduct in Sport Panel is not a statement of exoneration.”The identity of the complainant has not been made public, but ESPNcricinfo has confirmed and verified with the former player their account of the allegations as well as the letter they received.In its own statement, issued on Tuesday afternoon after Blain’s, Cricket Scotland said that Blain’s cases “were not progressed further due to a combination of insufficient evidence, a lack of an applicable rule at the time of the complaint, and/or a lack of jurisdictional remit or authority to take formal action” – a subtle but clear distinction from its communication of “unfounded” in January.Blain’s case was the only one specifically referred to within Cricket Scotland’s statement. Though the board said it could not comment publicly on the reasons for Fitzboydon to present Blain with the outcome of his cases in the manner that he did, it is believed significant welfare concerns around Blain had been raised at the time Blain confirmed as much, alleging that the board’s “preposterous position now appears to be that they in fact lied to me out of consideration for my welfare!” Blain has previously spoken about the toll the case had taken on his mental health.”This latest Cricket Scotland letter is a desperate attempt to reinvent history and to row back from an unequivocal exoneration,” Blain said, adding that Fitzboydon was not the only CEO to tell him the allegations were “unfounded”.”Not only did Pete Fitzboydon, the CEO of Cricket Scotland, write to me in January to say that all of the claims against me were unfounded, that I had no case to answer, and my case was closed, but that position was clearly confirmed by his successor Trudy Lindblade in a phone call with me in February.”She reiterated on the call that the claims against me were unfounded and the case against me was closed. I am sure that, if asked, she will publicly confirm that to be the case.”Blain said he was now exploring legal options. “I will now confer with my lawyers and take all steps necessary to protect my reputation in light of this extraordinary and unsustainable about-turn.”On Tuesday the board officially closed investigations into the series of referrals stemming from the ‘Changing the Boundaries’ report in 2022 that found Cricket Scotland to be institutionally racist. But since Blain went public, pressure had been building on the board to clarify that he had not been exonerated but that the board were unable to progress with disciplinary proceedings against him.Blain’s statement prompted the investigating team to issue the only public utterance they have in two years, in which they made it clear nobody had been exonerated. And in a further illustration of their unhappiness with Blain’s statements, ESPNcricinfo is aware of a letter the investigating team sent to Cricket Scotland strongly urging the board to correct Blain in writing as to the outcomes of complaints against him.That correction appears to have been made, at least in the redacted letter they sent to the complainant, a copy of which is available with ESPNcricinfo.”None of these outcomes take away from the feelings that you have as a result of the incidents you reported, but they do impact on Cricket Scotland’s ability to take formal action,” the letter to the complainant reads.”We are keen to stress that none of the above seeks to undermine the belief that you had regarding the way that you were treated, but sets out the reasons why we will not be bringing disciplinary proceedings against John Blain.”Running Out Racism said the letter confirms “a contradictory account provided by Cricket Scotland to one of the complainants… and demonstrates that the allegations made were not ‘unfounded’, but not investigated due to them not having rules or jurisdiction at the time.”Cricket Scotland has sent communication to complainants and respondents in all the referrals that have now been concluded, including to Blain. He is expected to receive in his letter clarification around the correspondence he was initially sent by Fitzboydon, in which it has been made clear the reasons for disciplinary proceedings not going ahead.The board also apologised once again to all victims of racism and discriminatory behaviour as it concluded what has been a long and complex two-year investigations process. Fifty-three referrals ultimately emerged from the ‘Changing the Boundaries’ report, of which 51 have now been investigated and stand concluded. Two referrals have not begun being investigated for external legal reasons.Only five of the 51 completed referrals have, however, proceeded to disciplinary action. Cricket Scotland said the others had not met the criteria to be taken further, which included not demonstrating “sufficient evidence”, a “clear breach of a rule that had been in place at the time of the offence”, and the “requisite jurisdictional remit to proceed with the case”.The rest of the referrals have concluded with a series of learnings – over 250 – for Cricket Scotland to take on board as it attempts to move on from the central finding of the report that it was institutionally racist.”It is clear that there are no ‘winners’ from this damaging and divisive period for cricket in Scotland,” Lindblade, the current CEO, said in the statement. “Since joining in February this year, I know for a fact that Cricket Scotland has been driven to learn from mistakes of the past to ensure they do not happen again.”The legacy of the referrals process will be the wholesale restructuring of Cricket Scotland for the benefit of all within our sport.”The board has asked complainants to consider seeking mediation as a next step. “It is the Board’s wish that reconciliation and where necessary, independent mediation is accepted by those involved, for the good of individual personal relationships and for the good of the sport in Scotland,” said the Cricket Scotland chair Wilf Walsh.

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