All posts by n8rngtd.top

Smale comes in after Bess Heath injury; MacDonald-Gay added to England Test squad

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Nov-2024England have called up Seren Smale for their ongoing tour of South Africa, after reserve wicketkeeper Bess Heath was ruled out with a fractured thumb suffered in training.Heath was only part of the T20I squad, but sustained the injury before Sunday’s first match in East London and will return to the UK for her rehabilitation.Smale, 19, made her ODI and T20I debuts in Ireland in September. She joined up with the touring party on Tuesday, ahead of the second T20I in Benoni, and has been added to the Test squad as cover.Also heading out to South Africa for the one-off Test is seamer Ryana MacDonald-Gay. The 20-year-old, who debuted like Smale in both white-ball formats in Ireland, will link up with England on Wednesday, bringing the number of players in the Test squad up to 15.England took a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series at the weekend. They will also play three ODIs before the start of the Test in Bloemfontein on December 15.

“It was a bit of a headache for us to decide who it was going to be,” India captain on Axar-vs-Kuldeep debate

Alagappan Muthu24-Jan-20244:30

‘When there’s a headache to make your playing XI, that’s a good sign’ – Rohit Sharma

Kuldeep Yadav or Axar Patel? India know who they want in their XI to play the first of five Tests against England starting on Thursday, but they would prefer to keep the opposition guessing.Both players offer compelling reasons to pick them. Kuldeep has “X-factor”, India captain Rohit Sharma said on the eve of the game in Hyderabad. While Kuldeep has played only eight Tests since making his debut in March 2017, he has worked on his bowling in the recent past and showcased the very ability that India value in all their bowlers – keeping the stumps in play – even if it has been in limited-overs cricket.”Kuldeep gives you a certain X-factor with his bowling,” Rohit said. “You’ve seen how well he’s been bowling of late. Especially the wicket if it has bounce, or if it doesn’t have bounce, Kuldeep becomes a factor in those types of conditions as well because he has got superb variations.”He is also a much more mature bowler now. He has not played a lot of Test cricket in India because of [R] Ashwin and [Ravindra] Jadeja clearly. But that is what happens. Like with our middle order, all of us got an opportunity really late. But that’s the reality of it. You can’t hide from it. But Kuldeep being the bowler he is now, from what he was a couple of years back, he is much more improved and he is a very tempting option without a doubt.”Kuldeep played a Ranji Trophy match in the lead-up to this series; it was his first in over seven years and his first since becoming a Test cricketer. In that game, against Kerala, he bowled 26 overs across two innings and picked up four wickets, including the opposition’s highest scorer. The reason he is back in the picture is because Axar didn’t really go all that well in India’s last home series, against Australia in February-March 2023. Axar bowled only 13 overs each in the first three Tests, but he did end up as one of the team’s highest run-getters.Axar Patel was more impressive with the bat than the ball against Australia in February-March 2023•BCCI

“Axar with his all-round ability, giving us that batting depth, the consistency that he has shown playing in these conditions in Test cricket also is an important factor for us,” Rohit said. “It was a bit of a headache for us to decide who it was going to be. I’m not going to say who it is but it was a challenge for us to make that decision. We know we’ve got quality around our spin-bowling department, which is a good sign. When you’ve got quality around your team, when there’s a headache to make your playing XI, that’s a good sign.”Axar’s prized weapon is the ball that doesn’t turn. Exactly half of his 50 Test wickets are either bowled or lbw, and most of them involve the left-arm spinner beating the right-hander on the inside edge. The reason he kept doing that is because he was also getting the odd ball to turn. Against Australia, he seemed to have lost that a little bit. But now, after recovering from a quadriceps injury that forced him out of the ODI World Cup, Axar looks like he’s getting back to his old self. The left-arm spinner comes into these Tests having picked up ten wickets in seven T20Is against Australia and Afghanistan played over the last two months.Related

• Dravid expects Hyderabad pitch for England Test to offer turn

• Rajat Patidar added to India Test squad as Kohli's replacement

• Hartley to debut as Eng name three spinners; one quick bowler in Wood

The Hyderabad pitch will turn. Rohit, when asked about it in the pre-match press conference where he was happy to talk at length about various other topics – like the health of Test cricket, the value of blooding new players in, and the strength of his side in home conditions – gave a curt answer: “Looks good”.Rahul Dravid, on Tuesday, expected that it would take turn. England are certain to the extent that they’re going in with three frontline spinners and only one fast bowler. Kuldeep remains a prospect, especially against an opposition that will not hesitate to attack. Success in ODIs and T20Is has taught him how to cope with batters coming at him. It was just that his Test game was lacking a bit of control and he has since worked on that, getting quicker through the air without really losing any of his other assets – turn and bounce.But Axar brings that and batting ability, and with India missing Virat Kohli, they will probably want to shore up the XI with as many all-round options as possible.

Bangladesh have to put their off-field issues behind whereas Afghanistan would want to shed their tag of big tournament underperformers

Mohammad Isam06-Oct-20231:42

Shahidi: ‘Want to make this a historic tournament for our people’

Big picture: Bangladesh, Afghanistan look to move on from pitfalls, drama

Afghanistan have been hot on Bangladesh’s heels for the better part of the last decade. This year alone, they are locked at 2-2 after Afghanistan won the bilateral ODI series in Chattogram 2-1, but later Bangladesh beat them by a handsome margin in the Asia Cup. The two sets of players respect each other. There’s bonhomie. But the gloves will be off in the World Cup opener for the two sides in Dharamsala on Saturday.Bangladesh are coming off a 2-0 series defeat against New Zealand at home, having also won just two games in the Asia Cup, where they couldn’t make the final. Off the field, there has been high drama after Shakib Al Hasan blasted Tamim Iqbal on the day Bangladesh left for India for the World Cup.But there is hope. They have a group of youngsters who have an Under-19 World Cup title from three years ago. Towhid Hridoy, Shoriful Islam, Tanzid Hasan and Tanzim Hasan are looking primed for their first senior 50-over World Cup. Hridoy has been the standout performer this year while Shoriful has snuck past Mustafizur Rahman in the left-arm quicks pecking order in the team.There is much running on Tanzid, the left-hand opener, because Bangladesh have opted for just two regular openers in him and Litton Das. Although Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Bangladesh’s all-weather batter this year, could open against Afghanistan, like he did briefly in the Asia Cup. Mehidy has shown great form with both bat and ball this year, and so has the pace attack, led by Taskin Ahmed. They have shown that Bangladesh no longer need to rely on their spinners in the subcontinent no matter what format.Bangladesh would also want to stop relying too heavily on the likes of Shakib and Mushfiqur Rahim, who are playing their fifth World Cup, and Mahmudullah, who is playing his fourth tournament. Their future depends on it.Afghanistan, meanwhile, have their own demons to deal with. Their biggest worry could be the lack of ODIs over the last four years. They are way below the average among the nations participating in the World Cup. As they often do in big tournaments, Afghanistan have brought back experienced players among their squad and traveling reserves.A lot will depend on how their spin trio Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman performs. Their batting also needs to step up in the big tournament. The fact that Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran have been in good form this year and Rahmat Shah, captain Hashmatullah Shahidi and Nabi have also shown decent touch bodes well for them.Afghanistan, however, have to shed their tag of big tournament underperformers. They didn’t win any games in the 2019 World Cup, while in the recent Asia Cup, they choked against Sri Lanka in the most miserable way. They would want to avoid these pitfalls on the biggest stage.

Form guide

Afghanistan LLLLL (last five ODIs, most recent first)
Bangladesh LLWLL

In the spotlight: Afghan openers and floater Mehidy

Everybody talks about Afghanistan’s spinners, but they want you to know that their opening batters are impressive, too. Zadran and Gurbaz are their top two run-scorers this year, and they are the most likely pair to add a fifty or a hundred partnership in a line-up where batting has not always given them the best numbers. Like fire and ice: Gurbaz provides the big hits and Zadran keeps the innings moving with regular strike rotation. Zadran too is capable of big hits, having emerged as one of their brightest stars since the 2019 World Cup.Afghanistan often depend on their top order for quick runs•AFP via Getty Images

Mehidy Hasan Miraz has batted at four different spots this year. In the two warm-ups, he scored confident fifties against Sri Lanka and England at Nos. 3 and 4, respectively. He struck an unbeaten 112 against Afghanistan as an opener in the Asia Cup so he could be opening again on Saturday. The team management believes he is especially good at nullifying mystery spinners like Mujeeb.

Team news: Naveen and Omarzai expected to come in

Afghanistan last played the Asia Cup and they have left out Gulbadin Naib and Karim Janat since then, who should be replaced by Azmatullah Omarzai and Naveen-ul-Haq.Afghanistan (probable): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), 5 Mohammad Nabi, 6 Najibullah Zadran, 7 Azmatullah Omarzai, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Naveen-ul-Haq, 10 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 11 Fazalhaq FarooqiTen Bangladesh players pick themselves but they have to make a call between left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed and offspinner Mahedi Hasan for the No. 8 spot.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Litton Das, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 5 Towhid Hridoy, 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 8 Nasum Ahmed/Mahedi Hasan, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Shoriful Islam, 11 Hasan Mahmud

Pitch and conditions

India collapsed to 29 for 7 in the last ODI held at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Ground six years ago. It suggests swing and seam movement for an early start. There have, however, been big scores in the two IPL matches held here this year. The hilly town is expected to have crisp weather.

Stats and trivia: Bangladesh on the cusp of a three-peat

• Bangladesh have a chance to win their third successive opening match of a World Cup campaign after beating Afghanistan (2015) and South Africa (2019). Afghanistan have lost both first matches in their previous World Cup appearances.
• Shakib Al Hasan needs 41 more runs to top the list of allrounders with 1000 runs and 10 wickets in World Cups. He has 34 wickets already, free and clear of the next best on that same list.
• Afghanistan’s 29 ODIs in the last four years are the least among all participating teams in this year’s World Cup.

Quotes

“I think four or five players from that [Under-19] World Cup winning side in 2020. They will bring so much positivity to the group. They have done it in the past. They have a lot of energy. I am excited about the whole team, including my staff. We have high hopes and want to enjoy.”
about the first-timers playing the senior World Cup

Skipper says domestic players can stake claims ahead of T20 World Cup and the Ashes

Matt Roller19-Apr-2024Heather Knight, England’s captain, has challenged her squad to “go out and dominate” in regional cricket this summer and hopes domestic players will stake strong claims for selection ahead of the T20 World Cup and the Ashes later this year.The 50-over Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy begins on Saturday with a full round of games and while many of England’s centrally-contracted players will miss the opening weekend to attend Tammy Beaumont’s wedding, they will have some opportunities to feature for their regions ahead of England’s T20I series against Pakistan, which starts on May 11.”It’s never a closed door, if people are performing well,” Knight said at the ECB’s launch of a national tape-ball competition. “The standard of those regional games has gone through the roof in the last couple of years, so those performances are worth more. It’s a really exciting time and obviously we’ve got huge competition in the squad as well.”You want to see England players go and dominate, and really put their name forward to keep being in that England side. It’ll be an individual basis as to who plays what… most of us will miss the first round at least. But I always keep a close eye on what’s going on, what young talent is coming through, and it’s going to be no different this year watching those games.”Related

• Maia Bouchier targets World Cup opener's berth after breakthrough winter

• Smale sets out to cause a storm in allrounder ranks

• Durham, Essex big winners as top-flight women's teams are named

• Essex focussed on 'future-proofing' after being awarded Tier 1 women's status

• Charlotte Edwards Cup needs title sponsor urges Lancashire chief executive

There is substantial competition for places in England’s T20 set-up ahead of the World Cup in Bangladesh later this year, and Knight took confidence from the recent 4-1 series win in New Zealand. “We’ve got Mahika Gaur [who missed the tour due to school commitments] and Freya Kemp coming back from injury as well,” she said. “We’ve got a real depth of players we can pick from.”It’s super exciting. It makes selection a lot of tougher and sometimes you have more unhappy players – which is completely fine. It’s a really good place to be. With that World Cup in October, it’s really important that we keep moving forwards… Bangladesh is a tough place to go and play, so that’s the focus of the summer: trying to get in a really good place, ready for that tournament.”England were without four first-choice players for the first three T20Is in New Zealand due to their Women’s Premier League commitments, which gave them the opportunity to test their depth. With the chance to bat in the top three, Maia Bouchier was the tour’s breakout star and finished the T20I series as the leading run-scorer with 223 in five innings.Knight bats at the ECB’s launch of a national tape-ball competition in Birmingham•ECB/Getty Images

“She had a really good tour, particularly in the T20s off the back of a really good summer last year,” Knight said. “She’s always had the talent, but she’s just starting to work out how to manage herself in the middle and how to convert her talent into performances. That has been pretty cool to watch. She’s someone that you watch and think, ‘how does she play that shot?'”It’s remarkable, some of the shots she’s played. Obviously she had a brilliant tour, and now for her it’s about building on that and having that consistency. She’ll get a bit of a run in the team, particularly in that T20 opening spot which we haven’t quite nailed on so for her to grasp that [means that] she’ll get a little bit of a run. Hopefully, she continues the form that she’s had.”Edgbaston have already sold more than 10,000 tickets for England’s opening match of their T20I series against Pakistan, and Knight believes that the ECB’s joint marketing campaign with the men’s series against the same opposition can help build on the commercial success of last summer’s Ashes series.”It was a really awesome summer to be involved with: you felt the support and momentum for cricket around the country,” she said. “It’s obviously slightly different to an Ashes summer, but the amount of people that came along and – anecdotally – have said, ‘we want to come back, we want to come watch you guys’ has been pretty cool. Hopefully we can put on a show.”

Allrounder claims career-best five-for after speaking out over Pakistan T20I scheduling

Valkerie Baynes11-Feb-2023Ashleigh Gardner has revealed the backlash directed at her stance on Cricket Australia’s decision to schedule a match on January 26 had taken a toll, but she was determined to turn that into positives on and off the field.Gardner, the Indigenous Australian allrounder, took a career-best 5 for 12 from three overs – her maiden international five-for – to help bowl New Zealand out for just 76 as her side won their opening T20 World Cup match by a massive 97 runs in Paarl on Saturday.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

A Muruwari woman, Gardner had last month criticised Cricket Australia for scheduling a T20I against Pakistan on January 26, saying it was not appropriate for the national side to be playing on what is known as Australia Day – the day the First Fleet arrived in 1788 – and that it is a day of “hurt and a day of mourning” for Indigenous people. She made herself available for selection and played in the match, during which her team wore an Indigenous jersey, socks and wristbands, but she was subjected to abuse on social media.Reflecting on that period after her team’s latest victory, Gardner said: “Social media has a lot of good things and I knew when posting that statement that there was going to be backlash. I think I underestimated how much I copped and I guess I tried my best not to look at all that stuff, but I feel like it’s only human nature to read comments and things like that.Related

• Gardner criticises scheduling of Australia game on January 26

• Alyssa Healy is a sore loser and she won't apologise for it

• 'There are girls all over Pakistan who want to play cricket but they need opportunity' – Fatima Sana

• Australia's stars align as Alyssa Healy fifty sets up thumping win

• England's Bazbelles sparkle as fearless approach launches World Cup in style

“It was a moment where I stuck to my guns and I put that statement out there because that’s what I believed in, and I just have to stick true to what I said. I guess I’ve just tried to flip that and turn into a positive and it’s sparked conversations. Not everyone’s going to agree with everything that people say, and that’s totally fine, as long as I change some people’s minds about certain things, whether it’s social issues or not.”In response to Gardner’s tweet at the time, Cricket Australia released a statement saying scheduling the match on that day was an opportunity to continue an “ongoing education journey” with the Indigenous community.Following her Player-of-the-Match performance in South Africa, Gardner said she had tried to take confidence from the fact that she had been unwavering in her stance.”The support that I had from my team-mates and support staff was huge, because it was a couple of dark days there where I was like, ‘Why did I do that?'” Gardner said. “But knowing that it was for a good cause and then just trying to take that confidence with that going into my cricket as well, sticking to my guns with how I play cricket, and then I guess how I act off the field as well, trying to keep them pretty close together.”

Durham pile on the runs as Leicestershire’s attack struggles to get a tune out of the Kookaburra ball

ECB Reporters Network25-Jun-2023Centuries from Ollie Robinson and Alex Lees put Division Two leaders Durham in a commanding position at 422 for four after the opening day of their LV= Insurance County Championship clash with third-placed Leicestershire.Robinson, who finished unbeaten on 113, posted the third century of what is turning into an outstanding season following his move from Kent last winter, sharing an unbroken 221-run fifth-wicket stand with Graham Clark, who is 15 away from a hundred of his own.Earlier, openers Lees and Michael Jones had laid the foundations with a first-wicket stand of 145 before Leicestershire, currently without a head coach after the shock announcement that Paul Nixon had been placed on “gardening leave”, were able to make any inroads with the Kookaburra ball.Wicketkeeper Robinson, who was completing back-to-back centuries after his second-inning 102 against Glamorgan earlier this month, moved from fifty to 100 in just 40 balls as a tiring home bowling attack was made to suffer on a flat pitch.Despite last week’s revelation that they would be playing for different counties next season, former captains Callum Parkinson and Colin Ackermann and veteran fast bowler Chris Wright were all selected by Leicestershire, even though the first-named pair will be wearing Durham colours next year.Indeed, Parkinson and Ackermann wrote what will be a curious footnote to the day’s play by combining to dismiss Lees, simultaneously offering their new side evidence of their ability while striking an important blow for their current one.Having won the toss and invited Leicestershire’s bowlers to explore the Kookaburra experiment, Durham could only have been more satisfied with the opening session had Lees and Jones been still together at lunch.As it was, they shared Durham’s best opening partnership of this season, before Jones, already with 14 fours and a six to his name and looking on course for a second century of the campaign, mistimed a ball from Ed Barnes that he flicked tamely to short mid-wicket, where Ackermann took a good catch.The pitch had a reasonable covering of grass, particularly on a full length, yet with a short boundary to one side Lees and Jones flew out of the traps with such purpose that, at 66 without loss after eight overs, spectators might have had pause to wonder if they were watching T20 rather than a four-day game.To their credit, by lunch a home attack lacking the injured Josh Hull and teenage leg spinner Rehan Ahmed – on England duty – had managed to drag the rate back to a more respectable three runs per over, with Jones the only casualty as Durham lunched on 150 for one. Parkinson’s left-arm spin was summoned as early as the eighth over, although the pitch would never offer him much help.Having snared the wicket of Jones just before lunch, Leicestershire made a second breakthrough soon afterwards, seamer Tom Scriven finding the edge as Durham skipper Scott Borthwick prodded at one outside off stump.Indeed, the middle session was a better one for the home side, who began the round just a point behind second-placed Sussex.At tea, they had Durham 263 for four, still well placed but 113 for three in the session. Sussex-bound Wright, playing in his 50th first-class match for Leicestershire, took his 160th wicket in that time, reacting quickly to grab a return catch in his follow-through as David Bedingham’s defensive push popped up.And Parkinson, who had bowled eight overs without success in the morning, dismissed Lees towards the end of his second spell. The Durham left-hander ultimately reached for a ball that turned just enough to find the edge, Ackermann taking the catch low down at slip.In energy-sapping conditions, the final session was hard work for the bowlers; Clark hitting Ackermann’s off-spin for three consecutive fours before a fourth took him to a 70-ball half-century, 24-year-old Robinson completing his from 103 deliveries just before the second new ball became available.Leicestershire took it, but the change served only to increase the speed at which the ball flew off the bat, seven of the 11 boundaries in Robinson’s hundred coming in the space of eight overs with the new Kookaburra, the right-hander driving and cutting Barnes for back-to-back boundaries to reach the milestone.