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Malan reclaims the No.1 spot in T20I batters list as Babar slips to third after a disappointing series against West Indies

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Dec-2021Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head have attained their career-best positions in the latest rankings for Test batters, with seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi also achieving the feat in the bowlers’ list.Labuschagne’s 74 and Head’s 152 in the first Ashes Test at the Gabba against England have helped them reach No. 2 and No. 10 respectively in the list. Labuschagne jumped two places, also moving past team-mate Steven Smith who has now slipped to No. 3, while Head has moved up by 16 places.Another batter to have gained in the rankings from the first Ashes Test is David Warner, who jumped from ninth to sixth, while England’s fast bowlers Ollie Robinson (up four places to 31st) and Mark Wood (up two places to 50th) also climbed up the bowling charts which is led by Australia captain Pat Cummins.

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Meanwhile, Afridi, who picked up three wickets for 34 runs against Bangladesh in the second Test that Pakistan won by an innings and eight runs and eventually clinched the series, moved up by two places to attain his career-best third position.For Bangladesh, Shakib Al Hasan, who scored 33 and 63 against Pakistan in the second Test, has advanced to 35th, a jump of eight places, in the batters list while also occupying the fourth place – from being fifth – among allrounders.The latest ranking update also sees Dawid Malan reclaiming the No.1 position in the T20I batters list after Pakistan captain Babar Azam, who made scores of 0 and 7 in the series against West Indies, lost the top spot.In the T20I bowling list, Shadab Khan was back in the top 10, gaining five slots to be ninth.

Foxes miss quarter-finals after Abdullah Shafique, Matthew Revis share fifth-wicket stand of 122

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay18-Jul-2025Yorkshire ensured they would at least not finish bottom of the North Group table as they ended a disappointing season with a two-wicket away victory over Leicestershire Foxes in the Vitality Blast after a dramatic finish at the Uptonsteel County Ground.Needing 13 off the last over, they looked to have missed out when a brilliant piece of combination fielding saw Jordan Thompson out with three balls left and 11 still needed, only for Matt Milnes to hit Josh Hull for back-to-back sixes off the last two deliveries to clinch the points.Leicestershire, who began the night still with an outside chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals, contingent first on them winning, posted 185 but after Ben Cox (43 from 27 balls) and Rehan Ahmed (43 from 29) provided the platform for a 200-plus total they lost their last six wickets for 24 and were bowled out in 18.5 overs.Although Milnes was the star at the death, Pakistan international Abdullah Shafique (64 off 38 balls) and Matthew Revis (52 off 32) had made it possible with a county record fifth-wicket stand of 122 as Yorkshire recovered from 23 for four.Milnes had earlier taken 3 for 37 with his seamers, with Will Sutherland (3 for 20) also impressive with the ball. Logan Van Beek took 3 for 35 and Ian Holland 2 for 19 for Leicestershire.Defeats in three of their previous four matches had left Leicestershire needing to win their final match and hope results elsewhere went in their favour if they were to finish in the top four. But victories for Bears and Durham both recorded victories to make this result academic.Leicestershire started well after Yorkshire had opted to bowl first, although 62 on the board in the powerplay cost them three wickets, Sol Budinger, Rishi Patel and Shan Masood out after making starts, two of the wickets to Dan Moriarty’s left-arm spin.Rehan and Cox added 81 in 46 balls to give the Foxes a platform for a big score, Rehan hammering Moriarty and then Jordan Thompson over the long-on boundary before skewing to deep cover, Louis Kimber maintaining the momentum by going 4-6-4-6 against Jafer Chohan’s wrist spin.But after Cox was leg before to Sutherland at 161 for five in the 16th, the innings rather fell apart, Milnes taking three wickets in an over to dismiss Logan Van Beek, Ian Holland and Tom Scriven. Kimber (27 off 12) miscued Thompson, leaving the departing Yorkshire all-rounder on 99 Blast wickets for the county.Sutherland picked up his third, bowling Josh Hull, and though 185 looked a competitive score, having failed to use seven of the 120 balls, the Foxes had clearly left runs on the field.Those runs were effectively clawed back as a near-exemplary powerplay with the ball from the Foxes left Yorkshire reeling at 23 for 4, despite James Wharton lifting Hull over the legside boundary in the second over.Holland and Van Beek took two wickets each, Will Luxton and Harry Duke hitting straight to fielders in the circle, Wharton and Dawid Malan finding men in the deep, Rehan taking three of the catches.Yet Shafique and Revis piled on the runs through the middle phase of their innings to get Yorkshire back in the game, Shafique hitting four sixes and Revis three.The partnership looked to be over when Shafique was caught behind square off Van Beek, but the ball had deflected off his helmet. In the event, Rehan bowled him with the first ball of the next over.Revis completed his half-century with his third six but fell in the next over, somehow skewing a ball from Hull to short fine-leg, leaving 35 needed from 17 balls. Thompson and Sutherland cleared the ropes in an expensive 19th over for the Foxes as Van Beek conceded 17, including two wides.Nonetheless, it looked like the home side had enough until Milnes proved them wrong by hammering Hull over wide midwicket for one six, before an audacious scoop for six more off the last ball sealed the result.

Smith’s fifty sets 186 target, Milne ends chase before it begins with devastating early burst

ECB Reporters Network24-Aug-2023Birmingham Phoenix blazed belatedly into form in the Men’s Hundred, signing off their campaign with a 77-run win over London Spirit at Edgbaston.Phoenix at last delivered the collective batting power display which has eluded them until the last game, piling up 185 for 5, led by Jamie Smith’s 52 off 31 balls and Ben Duckett with 47 from 33.Spirit were then sentenced to their fifth defeat of a disappointing campaign by a sensational opening burst from Adam Milne. The Black Caps quick took 3 for 2 with his first nine balls on his way to figures of 4 for 20 and Tanveer Sangha added 3 for 15 as Spirit folded for 108 all out in 89 balls.Phoenix’s victory prevented them ending up with the wooden spoon which now rests with Northern Superchargers.After choosing to field, Spirit took a wicket first ball when Will Smeed chopped Tim Southee to short third, but their next successes were long coming. Smith and Duckett added 94 in 54 balls and then Duckett and Moeen Ali crashed 51 in 21.Smith timed the ball beautifully in a 30-ball half-century while Moeen smote four sixes in a violent cameo before sending up a skier off the steady Southee. Moeen departed with just 88 runs in six innings in this year’s Hundred behind him.Four balls later, Duckett top-edged a simple catch to wicketkeeper Matthew Wade but less enjoyable for Southee, who ended with 3 for 23, was the sight of Benny Howell planting him miles over mid-wicket. Howell’s ten-ball 23 rounded off Phoenix’s best batting display of the tournament.Milne then delivered a brilliant opening burst in which he removed Zak Crawley, played on, Michael Pepper, caught behind, and Wade, bowled by a beauty. Nine balls into their reply, Spirit were broken.Milne added a fourth victim when Dan Lawrence chipped to mid on. Daniel Bell-Drummond made it into double figures, the only top-five batter to do so, but then charged at Sangha and missed.Daryl Mitchell averted total embarrassment for his side with a beefy 57 off 35 balls but the fact that nine Spirit batters scored 22 between them said everything about their feeble display.

Tammy Beaumont’s maiden Ashes hundred goes in vain as Australia take 4-0 lead in points-based Ashes

The Report by Alan Gardner04-Jul-2019Australia took an early grip on this Women’s Ashes contest, completing a difficult chase with ominous efficiency to move 2-0 up in the ODI leg and claim another two points. Tammy Beaumont shone for England with a maiden Ashes hundred but England’s innings listed badly as Delissa Kimmince claimed 5 for 26 and Australia then marched to victory on the back of Ellyse Perry’s half-century and some composed finishing from Beth Mooney and Jess Jonassen.It could have been worse for England, who saw Katherine Brunt helped from the field after twisting her ankle celebrating the wicket of Meg Lanning – though she was later able to return and bowl. However, they also might have had cause to question a tight stumping call that went Perry’s way on 4, despite not seeming to have any boot clearly grounded behind the line. Had the decision gone in favour of wicketkeeper Amy Jones, deputising after Sarah Taylor was sidelined by a “niggle”, Australia would have been 22 for 3.Despite losing both openers inside three overs, Australia showed greater collective purpose on a used pitch that was never easy to score on but did not deteriorate significantly. Perry and Rachael Haynes put on 53 for the fourth wicket to ease concerns after Brunt had bowled captain Lanning with a perfectly executed slower ball, before the seventh-wicket pair of Mooney and Jonassen banished any thought of a nervous finish to match the first ODI with a brisk 60-run stand.With Brunt limping off, England’s confidence in their ability to defend a middling target seemed to ebb. Haynes took on the slow bowlers, lofting the only six of the match off Sophie Ecclestone and using her feet well to hit down the ground; Perry was more orthodox, waiting for anything short or overpitched to pounce on as she brought up her 27th ODI half-century.Although Haynes fell to a smart caught-and-bowled by Laura Marsh, and Perry nicked a wide long-hop from Shrusbole, England could not quite force the door down. Ashleigh Gardner played around a cutter from Shrubsole to raise hopes again but Jonassen struck her third and sixth balls for four to signal her intent.England now find themselves 4-0 down in the points-based Ashes, needing to win the series outright. “We’ve done it before, going to have to turn it around very quickly,” Heather Knight, England’s captain, said. “It’s a massive game down in Canterbury [venue for the third ODI].”Tammy Beaumont raises her bat on reaching a century•Getty Images

That they were in this contest at all was largely down to Beaumont, who became the first Englishwoman to score a century in an ODI against Australia since Sarah Taylor in 2009 (and the first by anyone not called Taylor since 1993). Although she said afterwards she “never felt in”, Beaumont managed to go at almost a run a ball while scoring more than half of England’s runs; the only one of her team-mates to come close to matching her fluency was Danni Wyatt, who made 25 off 25 balls.Although England again lost Jones in the second over to Perry, there was no repeat of the top-order collapse that undermined them in the first game. Knight struggled to find scoring opportunities in her 17 off 47, but she shored up one end as Beaumont found her groove during a partnership worth 65.After Knight’s dismissal, trying to hit Gardner over the top, Beaumont raised a half-century from 44 balls. Having used Perry’s pace to get away several early boundaries, she lofted Jonassen down the ground and then took to relying on the paddle sweep against the spinners, scoring a significant proportion of her runs behind square on the leg side as Australia declined to plug the gap.Nat Sciver became the first of Kimmince’s victims, trapped lbw by one that skidded on, and Fran Wilson did not last long but Wyatt showed good purpose in helping put on another useful alliance with Beaumont. They had put England on course for what seemed like a score in the region of 250, but Wyatt was well caught by Alyssa Healy standing up to Megan Schutt and Beaumont fell in the following over, dragging on attempting a reverse-swat through the off side.Two wickets in eight balls allowed Australia to squeeze in the field, with England unable to find the boundary after the 38th over. Kimmince returned to bowl a miserly line at the death, picking up Brunt and Shrusbole in the same over and then two in two balls to finish the innings with her maiden international five-for, as England lost their last four wickets for six runs and with 2.2 overs left unbowled.

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

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“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.”

The coaching staff has been given a break after the T20 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Nov-2022Rahul Dravid has been given a break now that India’s T20 World Cup campaign is over with VVS Laxman taking over as acting head coach for the team’s white-ball tour of New Zealand starting on November 18.A PTI report also suggests that Hrishikesh Kanitkar and Sairaj Bahutule will join the New Zealand-bound squad, taking up the roles of batting and bowling coach respectively.Related

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Laxman, who runs the National Cricket Academy, has had other short-term stints as India’s coach, namely the tours of Ireland and Zimbabwe earlier this year, as well as the last month’s home ODI series against South Africa. He was also in charge of the India Under-19 side that won the ODI World Cup in February.India’s tour of New Zealand will kick off with a three-match T20I series next Friday in Wellington.Dravid will return to his coaching duties when India travel to Bangladesh immediately after the New Zealand tour. India play the third ODI against New Zealand on November 30 and will then play the first of three ODIs against Bangladesh on December 4.Apart from the coaching team being given a break, India have also rested regular captain Rohit Sharma and senior batters Virat Kohli and KL Rahul.Allrounder Hardik Pandya will captain India in the T20I series, while Shikhar Dhawan will lead the team in the ODIs.On Thursday, India were knocked out of the T20 World Cup as England thrashed them by 10 wickets in the semi-final. The members of the Indian team who are not part of the New Zealand tour have already started dispersing from Australia, according to reports. While Kohli left from Adelaide, Rahul and Rohit are also expected to fly out soon.

The players were docked 40% of their match fee after the fourth T20I against New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Feb-2020For the first time in nearly six years, India have been found guilty of slow over-rate. The players were docked 40% of their match fee for a violation in the fourth T20I against New Zealand in Wellington, bringing to an end a streak that had lasted 264 matches since the Oval Test in August 2014. This was also the first such violation under Virat Kohli.As per Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to minimum over-rate offences, players are fined 20 percent of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl in the stipulated time. Notwithstanding time allowances, India were found to be two overs short of the requirement at Westpac stadium and thus the fine was doubled.ALSO READ: Breaches and bans – All you need to know about over-rate offencesOn-field umpires Chris Brown and Shaun Haig, and third umpire Ashley Mehrotra, reported the matter to match referee Chris Broad, who imposed the sanction, which went uncontested as Kohli accepted the charge. There was no formal hearing needed.India clinched that cliffhanger on Friday after it resulted in a second Super Over in as many matches to extend their series lead to 4-0. The final T20I will be played at Mount Maunganui on Sunday.

Board no longer under the charge of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators

Vishal Dikshit in Mumbai23-Oct-2019Sourav Ganguly has promised a new start for the BCCI and to do what’s best for Indian cricket. He was speaking in Mumbai soon after assuming charge as BCCI president, marking the formal end to the tenure of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators.Wearing his captain’s blazer – he is the first India captain to head the board in 65 years – he pointed to the similarities in the circumstances under which he became captain, in the wake of the match-fixing scandal, to pledge a clean administration. “I’ll do it the way I know, with no compromise on credibility and corruption. That’s the way I led India.”Though his term is only for 10 months, he spoke of the issues piled up in his inbox. “Things need to be brought back in place, reforms need to be done, huge amounts of money need to be paid to state associations.””We don’t know what’s happened in the past three years, we weren’t part of it [BCCI], there were no AGMs or working committee meetings. We’ll take note of everything and do what’s best for Indian cricket.”Ganguly pledged his support to India captain Virat Kohli, calling him “the most important man in Indian cricket”. “He wants to make this team the best in the world… We have to sit with him and see what he wants. We’ll support him in every way.”Ganguly accepted his election result from the board’s electoral officer N Gopalaswami in the presence of the three outgoing CoA members and the state associations’ representatives. Ganguly and the other four office-bearers will now take over the board’s running from the CoA – currently comprising Vinod Rai, Diana Edulji and Lt Gen (retd) Ravi Thodge – which was supervising the board for the past 33 months.ALSO READ – Meet the BCCI’s new office bearers “I’m totally satisfied because we are leaving the BCCI to the governing council and the administration,” Rai said after Ganguly’s formal assumption. “Five former players in the administration could never have been better. The president is one of our most successful captains, he has had five years at the CAB and is now taking over at the BCCI. There is no one better than him to take this position.”We are agnostic about the family [relations of the office bearers] and other things. Our job was to hold the elections as per the constitution and we have done that.””I’m very happy that a former cricketer is taking over as president,” Edulji said at the headquarters before the meeting began. “I’m sure he will take the BCCI to greater heights.”

Former Gloucestershire allrounder takes over from Matthew Maynard, who retains red-ball role

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Mar-2023Mark Alleyne, the former Gloucestershire and England allrounder, has been named as Glamorgan’s new white-ball coach.Alleyne, 54, takes over T20 duties from Matthew Maynard, who has retained the red-ball role following Glamorgan’s strong showing in last year’s County Championship, while he will also oversee their 50-over fortunes, with David Harrison departing after guiding the club to the Royal London Cup in 2021.The appointment marks a return to county coaching for Alleyne, who became the first Black British coach in English domestic history in 2004 when he took over the reins at Gloucestershire for three years, initially in a player-coach capacity.Alleyne played a total of ten ODIs for England between 1999 and 2000, but he made his name during a 20-season career at Gloucestershire between 1986 and 2005, including an innovative spell as captain of one of the best white-ball sides of the era.In March 2009 he succeeded Clive Radley as head coach of the MCC, and latterly Marlborough College in Wiltshire. He has also served as assistant coach of the England Lions, including support roles with the senior white-ball squad, and assistant at Welsh Fire Men’s team.”I have always looked forward to travelling over the Bridge to the cricketing cauldron at Sophia Gardens or to a more relaxing holiday in North Wales – both done on numerous occasions,” Alleyne said.”My next trip though, as Glamorgan’s white-ball head coach, will be my most anticipated. This unique splitting of the domestic roles – often reserved for International teams- tells me the club are serious about competing on all fronts.”This is exactly the environment I love to be part of, and I can’t wait to join Matt Maynard who will be leading the Championship challenge.”Working in the white-ball coaching team with England in 2022 has given me the stimulus to make a big mark domestically. I am here unequivocally, to do just that.”Mark Wallace, Glamorgan’s director of cricket, added: “We are absolutely thrilled to bring Mark on board as our white-ball head coach.””Mark brings a wealth of experience to our white-ball sides and a fresh perspective on how we can move forward in both formats. It is an exciting time for the Club, and we are looking forward to Mark putting his stamp on our style of play.”We want to compete across all formats, and with this new coaching setup, I am extremely optimistic about what the future holds for Glamorgan in both red-ball and white-ball cricket.”

Head coach Jayawardene, meanwhile, hoped the Tim David-Kieron Pollard combination would be just as potent with the bat

S Sudarshanan13-Feb-20223:08

Akash Ambani: I hope our players don’t feel the pressure of the price tag

Mumbai Indians had their eyes on England fast bowler Jofra Archer from well before the auction day but, according to the franchise owner Akash Ambani, their resolve to go all-out for him was firmed up only on Saturday night.Mumbai were successful in snapping up Archer for INR 8 crore on the second day of the IPL 2022 auction. That they did so despite Archer not being available for IPL 2022 – he is recovering from elbow surgery – was perhaps the more interesting part.Related

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“We bid for all fast bowlers before Jofra but were priced out,” Ambani said after the auction. “The plans firmed up last night and it was not that we were setting aside the budget. We discussed him pre-auction but the plan was firmed up last night.”We took all those considerations in after what the fast bowlers went for yesterday. One option became very clear that Jofra was the only fast bowler left in the list. He is not available this year but when he is fit and available we believe he will make a formidable partnership with [Jasprit] Bumrah.”Zaheer Khan, Mumbai’s director of cricket operations, echoed that belief.Mumbai Indians snapped up Jofra Archer for INR 8 crore•Getty Images

“You are eagerly waiting for the partnership to go on the field and so am I,” he said. “To see two legendary fast bowlers bowling in tandem and I’m glad that it seems possible and will be worth the wait.”Archer was listed at a base price of INR 2 crore and was eventually the joint-most expensive overseas pick by Mumbai in the IPL. However, minutes later, they secured the Singapore-born Australian batter Tim David for INR 8.25 crore, making him the most expensive overseas buy in the franchise’s history. David was listed at a base price of INR 40 lakh.”Tim is a player we have been tracking for the last two-three years,” Ambani said. “We believed in his skills and he is one of the best finishers in the world. As soon as we knew that Hardik [Pandya] was not on our team sheet, we knew that slot had to go to a foreigner because there is no one in India like Hardik.”David was part of the inaugural men’s Hundred competition last year where he played for Southern Brave, the side coached by Mahela Jayawardene who also happens to be Mumbai’s coach.”He is a hot property at the moment and is known to be a hard hitter,” Jayawardene said. “We knew we had funds available and a lot of the Hundred players were the target for us. Just like Bumrah-Archer combo [with the ball], Pollard-David can be a combo with the bat.”Mumbai Indians were also successful in securing the services of David’s Southern Brave team-mate Tymal Mills for INR 1.5 crore. Mills was part of England’s T20 World Cup squad before being ruled out because of a thigh strain.