Capitals, RCB alive despite slip-up, Kings XI need to win, KKR need to also improve NRR

S Rajesh29-Oct-2020Kolkata Knight Riders: Played 12, Points 12, NRR -0.479
The Kolkata Knight Riders have two games left against the bottom two teams, starting with one against the Chennai Super Kings on Thursday. Two wins will take them to 16, which will give them a shot at the last four. But their problem is their net run rate (NRR) of -0.479, which is the worst among the five teams that could reach 16 points.The Delhi Capitals’ comprehensive defeat to the Sunrisers Hyderabad has helped the Knight Riders close the gap between their NRRs, but there is still some distance between them and the four teams above them. The Kings XI Punjab are the closest, but their NRR will improve too if they win their remaining two games and reach 16.So here’s what the Knight Riders should hope for: win both games – by reasonable margins if possible – and then pray that one of those four teams don’t reach 16. Even if they lose to the Super Kings on Thursday, the Knight Riders can still make it with 14 points without NRR coming into play, if several other results go their way. Should it, however, come down to NRR, the Knight Riders will almost certainly lose out.Mumbai Indians: Played 12, Points 16, NRR 1.186
Thanks to their excellent NRR, the Mumbai Indians are all but through to the playoffs. It’s almost certain that they will also finish in the top two. That is because only one of the Capitals or the Royal Challengers can finish on 18, and in a battle among teams tied on 16, Mumbai are too far ahead on NRR.Royal Challengers Bangalore: Played 12, Points 14, NRR 0.048
Despite Wednesday’s defeat to Mumbai, the Royal Challengers are still reasonably placed to finish in the top four if they win one of their two remaining matches. However, if they lose both and stay on 14, then they will need several other results going their way to qualify.Delhi Capitals: Played 12, Points 14, NRR 0.030
Their huge defeat to the Sunrisers has made their qualification task far tougher and, to add to that, their last two games are against the top two teams. A win in one of their two remaining games should still see them reasonably placed for qualification, but they can’t afford another meltdown like the one against the Sunrisers.If, for instance, they win a game by five runs and lose the other by 60, and if the Knight Riders win their last two by an aggregate margin (the sum of the margins of their two wins) of 70 runs, then the Capitals will fall behind the Knight Riders on NRR.The Capitals can qualify even with 14 points without NRR coming into play, but for that to happen, several other results will need to go their way.Kings XI Punjab: Played 12, Points 12, NRR -0.049
The Kings XI Punjab are on a five-match winning streak, but they will want to extend that to seven and secure their place in the playoffs. Thanks to a reasonable NRR of -0.049 – and the Knight Riders’ poor NRR – they will be in an excellent position to qualify if they finish on 16.Even if they win their last two games by the extremely narrow margin of one run each, the Knight Riders will have to win their two remaining matches by an aggregate run margin of around 105 runs to go ahead of the Kings XI on NRR.If the Kings XI lose one of their matches and finish on 14, they can still make the playoffs without NRRs coming into play, but for that to happen several other results will have to go their way.Sunrisers Hyderabad: Played 12, Points 10, NRR 0.396
For the Sunrisers Hyderabad, the equation is simple: win their two remaining games, and hope that at least two of the five teams who can get to 16 don’t reach there. Their NRR of 0.396 will stand them in good stead against all the teams that might finish on 14.Mumbai beating the Royal Challengers was a good result for the Sunrisers (and for the other teams in the fray), because Mumbai are the only team ahead of the Sunrisers on NRR. That result means three places are still up for grabs.Rajasthan Royals: Played 12, Points 10, NRR -0.505
Given the Rajasthan Royals’ poor NRR of -0.505, they might struggle if that becomes the deciding factor (though their rate will improve with two wins). However, it is possible for them to qualify on 14 points without NRR coming into play, if other results go their way – that includes the Kings XI losing both their remaining matches, the Sunrisers winning no more than one, and the Super Kings beating the Knight Riders. For all that to become relevant, though, the Royals will have to win their two games.

Jake Doran scored his second Shield hundred on a day of remorseless accumulation by Tasmania

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-2020Tim Paine’s third first-class century pushed Tasmania into a position from where they will hunt a final-day victory against South Australia who are in danger of beginning the Sheffield Shield season with a brace of heavy losses.They negotiated the final session with what was probably the maximum damage if they were to have genuine hope of escaping with a draw. Jake Weatherald was well caught, low at third slip, and Brad Davis paid the price of shouldering arms against Peter Siddle before Henry Hunt and Travis Head, who had earlier dislocated a finger in the field, saw out the day.South Australia were already comfortably ahead at the start of the third day and left hander Jake Doran was the first to register three figures with his second Shield hundred.Paine had waited 13 years to double his century tally when he made a hundred against Western Australia at the WACA last season. He was discomforted for a while here, following a blow on the arm from Wes Agar and was treated to some sustained short-pitched bowling, but his third hundred came from 191 deliveries with a pull off Kane Richardson on a day of remorseless accumulation by South Australia. It set him up nicely for a season that, everyone hopes, will include four Tests against India.By the time Doran was taken at slip, Lloyd Pope finding a touch of extra bounce from round the wicket to take the top edge, the sixth-wicket stand was worth 153 and it had long-since become a match-saving mission for South Australia.For the rest of the afternoon Paine was accompanied by Beau Webster and Tom Andrews to further deflate the Redbacks’ attack. Webster looked aghast to be given caught down the leg side and Pope was able to collect a second wicket, but they came at the considerable cost of 203 – the first bowler to concede a double ton in the Shield since 2015.

Australia spinners join six locally-based players in signing deals for 2021 launch

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Dec-2020Birmingham Phoenix have retained four men’s and four women’s players ahead of the Hundred’s launch in 2021, including two overseas players in Adam Zampa and Ashleigh Gardner.The eight men’s teams in the ECB’s new 100-ball competition have until January to negotiate with players they wish to retain from the squad they selected in October 2019, while in the women’s tournament, players can opt to roll their contracts over to 2021 or negotiate with other teams if they wish to do so.In the men’s competition, the Phoenix have retained Zampa alongside three locally-based players: Warwickshire’s Henry Brookes and Adam Hose, and Worcestershire seamer Pat Brown. In the women’s tournament, Gardner is joined by three players contracted to Central Sparks in the regional domestic structure in Ria Fackrell, Evelyn Jones and Marie Kelly.Zampa is the second overseas player to commit to the men’s Hundred for 2021, following Trent Rockets, while Gardner follows international team-mate Elyse Villani, West Indies’ Stafanie Taylor and Deandra Dottin, and New Zealand’s Sophie Devine, who will be her captain at the Phoenix.ALSO READ: The Hundred – 2021 squad lists“I’m over the moon to know that I’m staying with Birmingham Phoenix and to help this new team mount a serious challenge in this first year of the Hundred,” Zampa said.”Birmingham is a fantastic city and I’m really looking forward to calling Edgbaston home. Hopefully we can welcome crowds and our new fans to the ground because, having played against England at Edgbaston, I know that the atmosphere there is awesome.””We’ve got the makings of an excellent Birmingham Phoenix squad and I can’t wait to get going in next year’s competition and to continue working with head coach Ben Sawyer, who I know so well from Sydney Sixers and the Australia women’s team,” Gardner said.”Speaking to players around the world, there’s so much excitement around the Hundred and it’s fantastic to see so many of the best players coming for this first competition. I believe that we’ve got a great chance of going all of the way and bringing the trophy back to Birmingham.”Meanwhile, the Hundred has added a new sponsor, with online car retailer Cazoo becoming its ‘principal partner’.Birmingham Phoenix squads so far:Men’s: Moeen Ali (captain), Henry Brookes, Pat Brown, Adam Hose, Dom Sibley, Chris Woakes, Adam Zampa
Women’s: Sophie Devine (captain), Ria Fackrell, Ashleigh Gardner, Amy Jones, Evelyn Jones, Marie Kelly

Overlooked for England’s Test tour of Sri Lanka, Denly will link up with Heat in early January

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Dec-2020Joe Denly will join Brisbane Heat for the remainder of the BBL as a replacement for compatriot Tom Banton.Overlooked for England’s Test squad to tour Sri Lanka in January, Denly played 11 games for the Sydney Sixers in 2017-18 and 2018-19 with a highest score of 76 not out. He will arrive in Australia early next week and link up with the Heat squad in the first week of January after serving a mandatory two weeks in hotel quarantine.Denly’s signing comes after Banton was released from his contract, citing bubble fatigue after spending lengthy periods in relatively isolated bio-secure training and playing environments this year.ALSO READ: Renegades routed as Philippe sets up record Sixers winDenly played the last of his 15 Tests in July, making way for captain Joe Root who returned from paternity leave for the second Test against West Indies. Denly played one T20 against Australia in September but lost his white-ball deal just a few weeks later when England announced their centrally contracted players for the coming year.His career T20 record features 213 matches across England, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the BBL and the IPL, including four centuries and 30 half-centuries.Brisbane Heat coach Darren Lehmann said Denly, who also bowls legspin, would offer his squad a valuable experienced batting option.”Joe has a reputation of having a cool head in pressure situations and I can see him helping to control our innings, whether chasing or setting a target,” Lehmann said. “We have said all along that this year’s BBL is going to be a squad game and we need to be adaptable and confident in our plans.”As well as his obvious batting skills, Joe can be a good sounding board for our younger players and of course, give his insights around the group. We’re pretty excited to welcome such a classy and well-credentialled player to the club.”Denly will join England allrounder Lewis Gregory at Brisbane, while Dan Lawrence will leave the Heat set-up to join the England squad bound for Sri Lanka.

Batting coach praises captain ahead of 100th Test, and challenges team to take his lead

Andrew Miller29-Jan-2021Graham Thorpe has called on England’s batsmen to follow the example of their captain, Joe Root, and rise to the challenge of taking on India in their own back yard, as they seek to overcome their lack of standard preparation time ahead of Friday’s first Test in Chennai.Speaking from his hotel room during the squad’s third day of quarantine since arriving from Sri Lanka, Thorpe warned that a steep learning curve would lie ahead for several of his players – not least those on their maiden tours of Asia, such as Zak Crawley, Dom Sibley and Ollie Pope, who may yet come into contention as he continues his recovery from a shoulder injury.However Thorpe, whose outstanding displays on England’s 2000-01 tours of Pakistan and Sri Lanka were integral to England’s twin Asian victories that winter, added that testing oneself against the best should be the goal of all international cricketers, and singled out Root as “a great student of the game” as he prepares to play in his 100th Test.”There’s a hell of a lot of hard cricket ahead of us and we’re not under any illusions about that,” Thorpe said. “But as a cricketer at the highest level, it’s where you want to test yourself in many ways. It’s a challenge we’re looking forward to.”For the first Test, England are set to welcome back their other most senior batsman, Ben Stokes, following his absence in Sri Lanka. However, Root is sure to go into the series as India’s most sought-after wicket, following his immense display in the Sri Lanka Tests, in which he racked up 426 runs including a big first-innings hundred in each of England’s victories.Joe Root works the ball into the off side•SLC

And Thorpe, who has been closely involved with Root’s development, both as England’s batting coach and in his previous work with the Lions squad, said that the 100-Test landmark – which Thorpe himself brought up in his final England appearance in 2005 – would serve as a mark of Root’s character as much as his obvious talent as a cricketer.”It is a real achievement because of the longevity of it,” Thorpe said. “You need a good sense of humour to play that amount of cricket because you will experience highs but there will some moments in there where you have your lows.”You have to show a bit of character and resilience, and you have to keep adapting and sometimes you will have to tinker with your technique and you have to manage all of that.”What I saw early on – and I was fortunate enough to see some of his early games – was character. He just had a great work ethic and he certainly tried to work things out for himself.”So to play 100 Tests no mean feat. He will be very proud, and his family will be very proud. The players in the team with him have a very good example to watch about how he goes about his business. His work ethic is fantastic and he’s also kept his love for the game which is so important.”He’s always remained very humble, he is a great student of the game and loves watching other people play. He loves learning and doesn’t want to stand still. He has a great hunger to score runs.”That hunger was plain to see in Sri Lanka, where Root’s exemplary shot selection against the spinners proved to be the hallmark of his series-sealing performances. With his judicious use of the sweep, allied to a confident reading of length, he set a template for success that Thorpe has urged all of his team-mates to seek to emulate.Related

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However, he also warned that India’s attack – spearheaded by the fit-again Jasprit Bumrah and Ishant Sharma, and with R Ashwin also back from injury to partner either Axar Patel or Kuldeep Yadav in the spin department – is likely to offer a more all-round challenge than Sri Lanka’s.”The Indian bowling attack is not just about spin,” Thorpe said. “Their seam attack also is strong so we mustn’t get sidetracked completely into the spin side of things.”Coming from Sri Lanka to here, we’re going to have to stay in the games,” he added. “The first innings is going to be very important, whether we bat first or second. The blueprint we have been trying to stick to [is] scoring big runs and being in a position where our bowlers can challenge the opposition batsmen.”That goal of big runs will require all the batsmen to know their scoring areas, and Thorpe was particularly impressed with the strides taken by Sibley during the second Test against Sri Lanka, as he overcame a grim haul of six runs in three innings to anchor a tricky run-chase with an unbeaten 56.”Coming out of the English season, he was looking at how he can be more proactive,” Thorpe said. “He has been brave in the nets, he is getting his foot movement in a much better place to allow him to score runs in three areas – defensively, rotation or attacking. He has made progress in that time but the hardest thing is getting it out into the middle, so it’s great for him to get those runs in the last innings.”Despite a clear gulf between Root’s confidence in his technique and a work in progress for many of his junior team-mates, Thorpe insisted that the fundamentals for success in Asian conditions were similar for all the England batsmen.”Players will generally try to have similar movements,” he said. “They are generally looking to come forwards but that movement allows them to push back once you’ve picked the length. If the ball is full you try and stay forward and drive it off the front foot.”It’s about understanding that method and the options it gives you. We know the challenges are going to get harder but I think if you keep your game-plan relatively straightforward, then I think the players understand what they are trying to follow.”

United could field only two overseas players due to Covid-related absences but they still came out on top

Danyal Rasool02-Mar-2021
Islamabad United won the toss, and, yes, Islamabad United won the game. While that continues to be the story of this year’s Pakistan Super League, reducing the contest to that dynamic would take away from a spellbinding performance from a side racked by off-field complications, with Covid-related absences meaning the two-time champions could field only two overseas players.One of them was Paul Stirling, whose knock in the powerplay blew the Quetta Gladiators away before they had a chance to try and defend a below-par 156. Stirling brought up his half-century in just the fifth over of the chase – off just 21 balls – with his side plundering 76 off the powerplay. That left the chasing side with less than a run-a-ball for the remainder of the innings, and despite slowing down, Shadab Khan’s side got there with three overs to spare.The longer sides batting first remain winless, the greater the psychological burden becomes. For the Gladiators, who have yet to win a toss, the mental hurdles are particularly heavy, but losing four wickets in the powerplay is unlikely to put a side in a strong position in any league. Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf both struck in the powerplay, before returning at the death to stifle the scoring and rip through the lower order. The only resistance came in the form of Sarfaraz Ahmed whose 41-ball 54 helped ensure that the Gladiators could get to a total they’d have a flickering hope of defending.Two overs through the middle saw Ahmed at his best power-hitting ability for years. Against Khan, who looked especially dangerous as he flighted a ball that gripped on the surface, he would manipulate the field to pick up three boundaries that kept the scoreboard ticking, before taking Iftikhar Ahmed to the cleaners the following over. The allrounder was smashed for four successive sixes, all through the offside, with the United missing a trick and playing into Ahmed’s strength: right-arm off spin. When pace was introduced, the scoring dried up again, and the Gladiators ended up with a total that looked significantly below par.Related

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Ashraf’s bowling form
Ashraf has been in scrutiny of late over his indifferent performances with the ball, even as he has sizzled with the bat, both for the national side and his franchise. But the man who recently said he would consider himself a bowling allrounder “till the day I retire” demonstrated today why he retains such self-belief in that discipline. Relentlessly accurate when he went for the yorkers and judicious in the way he mixed up his length and pace, he prised out Cameron Delport with his first ball, before a short delivery brought the priceless scalp of Azam Khan.With Ahmed threatening to help the Gladiators post closer to 180, Khan turned once more to Ashraf, who promptly brought the scoring rate down, and even trapped the Gladiators captain with his penultimate delivery. Figures of 4-0-11-3 are tribute enough, but the impact of each wicket demonstrated his enduring value as a bowler for his side.Sarfaraz Ahmed hit three fours and four sixes•PSL

Nawaz’s nightmare
Mohammad Nawaz hasn’t missed a game for Quetta Gladiators in the best part of half-a-decade, and several priceless contributions explain why he’s such a nailed-on player for the side. As recently as last week, it was his cameo with the bat that took Quetta to 178 against Lahore Qalandars. But when his side needed a huge contribution with both bat and ball after a poor start on Tuesday, Nawaz struggled to effectively complement his captain through a 63-run sixth wicket partnership, contributing just 18 to it himself. The whole innings was a stop-start, constrained affair; in the final four overs, while he was the senior batsman, only a single boundary was hit. Nawaz himself would finish with 31 off 29.And it was about to get worse. Unwilling to give Alex Hales and Stirling pace on the ball, he was tasked with opening the bowling. He would catch Stirling in sizzling form, though, being smashed for three boundaries in the first over in which he leaked 17, and the tone for a thumping United victory was set. Two further overs produced 24 more runs against him, and if this was a forgettable day for the Gladiators in general, Nawaz in particular would want to put it out of his mind.How things stand

United joined Peshawar Zalmi and Qalandars at the top of the points table with just the net run-rate separating the three teams. The Gladiators, meanwhile, remained pointless and winless, having lost all their four matches.

Coach responds to prospect of Test stars missing NZ series to play in IPL

George Dobell17-Feb-2021Chris Silverwood has insisted Test cricket remains a priority for England, and that their ongoing rotation policy is more a reflection of the length of Test tours than a desire to maximise the players’ white-ball opportunities.While England are unlikely to field a first-choice XI in any of the six Tests they play this winter, they have named a full-strength side for the T20I series that starts in India in March. And while all of England’s all-format players will have missed some international cricket over the English winter, it seems none of them will be required to miss any cricket in the IPL.It has also now emerged that England’s Test team for the first Test against New Zealand – scheduled for the start of June – will not contain players involved in the play-off stages of the IPL.Although the T20 World Cup – scheduled to be played in India towards the end of the year – provides one explanation for the policy, England’s on-going interest in the World Test Championship (they could still qualify for the final if they win the final two Tests of the series against India) would appear to contradict that justification.Nevertheless, England’s recent Test record – notwithstanding their heavy defeat in last week’s second Test in Chennai – remains impressive, with four series wins in a row dating back to last winter’s tour of South Africa.Silverwood, the England head coach, insists “Test cricket is the priority to us most definitely” and feels absences incurred during Test series are more a reflection of the length of time required for such campaigns than any reflection of their diminishing importance.”Test cricket is really important to me,” Silverwood said. “I’ve always said that. It’s something Joe Root and I are very passionate about. We prioritise Tests and T20 equally, to be honest.Related

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“We know we have a great opportunity to have a bit of a dry run with the T20 World Cup being in India but equally we have to respect that to get people to the T20 World Cup and the Ashes fresh and on top form, we have to look after them. It is the world we are living in. But I can guarantee that we are not prioritising anything above Test cricket”The length of time we are here for the Test series compared say to the length of the T20 series is chalk and cheese. To play four Tests over here in this bubble, we have to rotate people. Obviously, families can’t come to us, so we have to do our best to get people to their families.”Equally, from a World Cup point of view, this series is a fantastic opportunity for us to learn as a group, for players to experience those conditions and take a lot away from that.”All I can do though is reiterate that Test cricket is very, very important to us.”Silverwood also expressed a relaxed attitude towards the IPL. While he accepts there will be times he loses players because of it, he also believes the experience of playing in it will improve those players when they return. Most of all, he seems to understand the financial benefits it provides render it a non-negotiable part of the calendar.”I understand that that is how the world works,” he said. “I understand it, I embrace it and I’ll do the best to make it work.”I think it is very difficult to say ‘no, you can’t play in the IPL’. You certainly can’t say no to one and yes to another. We will reap the rewards they come back and play T20 for us, having improved their skills and with knowledge of other players.”These guys are playing a high-level of T20 cricket which can only benefit us. We reap the benefits when they play T20 for England. Players make their own minds up with the competitions they go in, but we reap the benefits.”I can understand [the frustration of supporters] but I’m at peace with where we are, to be honest.”One player who will not now be involved in this year’s IPL is Mark Wood, who has decided to withdraw from Thursday’s auction in order to spend more time with his family.Silverwood also provided an encouraging update on the fitness of Jofra Archer and Zak Crawley. Both have been back in the nets in recent days boosting hopes they will be available for the third Test. He also expressed some excitement about the prospect of using a pink SG ball in that game – a day-night encounter – suggesting it appeared to swing more and for longer than the red version. If so, it might benefit an England attack expected to contain Archer and James Anderson. “Jofra bowled today,” Silverwood said. “And Zak has been hitting balls throughout the last Test. So we are hoping that the two of them will be able to throw their hat in the ring.”I am excited by the pink ball. During practice it has swung more and scuffed up less. It seems a little bit more durable than the red version. I’m looking forward to seeing one or two more people with it in their hands in Ahmedabad.”

India batsman initially set to be available for three games but it could be extended

George Dobell08-Apr-2021Warwickshire have completed the signing of the India batsman Hanuma Vihari as their overseas player, after Pieter Malan, their original choice, ran into difficulties obtaining a visa.Vihari, who has played 12 Tests, including three on India’s victorious tour of Australia earlier this year, does not have an IPL deal and is expected to be available for at least three LV= Insurance County Championship games.He made his Test debut against England on their 2018 tour, while his highest score of 111 – his solitary Test century to date – came against West Indies in 2019. In his first-class career, Vihari has made 7,094 runs at 56.75 in 90 games, while he is also a part-time offspinner with 27 wickets to his name.The BCCI is understood to have agreed the deal in the hope that his experience in the county game will prove beneficial ahead of the World Test Championship final, which is scheduled to be played in Southampton in June, and India’s five-Test tour of England that follows.”Hanuma will arrive in the UK this afternoon,” Warwickshire’s Director of Cricket, Paul Farbrace, said. “We hope that this gives time for him to do his six days quarantine and to feature in next week’s game versus Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge, subject to receiving negative COVID tests.”He’s a high-quality batsman, and an effective off spinner, who has been part of two India Test series victories in Australia. But he also comes to Warwickshire with an outstanding record in the first-class game and our young batsman are going to learn a huge amount from playing and training with someone of Hanuma’s calibre.Related

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“We’re also very grateful to Hanuma for stepping in at such short notice to cover Pieter Malan whilst we await confirmation of visa and his safe entry to the UK from South Africa.”Warwickshire had originally signed Malan, the South Africa top-order player, for the entire season. But with South Africa currently categorised as a “red list” country by the UK government, he has been unable to obtain a visa at this stage. Even if he does, he will be obliged to spend time in quarantine before becoming available, meaning it is unlikely he will play before May. With that in mind, there seems every chance Vihari’s stay could be extended.”I’m looking forward to this opportunity and to play for a big club like Warwickshire is really exciting,” Vihari said.Other India players such as Cheteshwar Pujara, R Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, M Vijay and Axar Patel have all had spells in the county game in recent times, while Virat Kohli signed for Surrey in 2018 but was obliged to pull out due to injury. Shreyas Iyer has also signed to play for Lancashire in the 50-over competition, although his fitness is uncertain after requiring shoulder surgery.

Wicketkeeper hit with Level 2 penalty after removing bails without having ball in his glove

Matt Roller26-Apr-2021Lewis McManus, the Hampshire wicketkeeper, has been handed a three-point penalty for “misconduct… equivalent to a Level 2 offence” under the ECB’s disciplinary code but will face no further action after his controversial stumping of Hassan Azad against Leicestershire in the opening round of the County Championship season.Leicestershire issued a club statement to “express their disappointment with the behaviour of the Hampshire wicketkeeper” after McManus completed the stumping with his left hand despite the fact the ball was in his right, while Paul Nixon, their head coach, said the incident was “something I’ve never seen before in all my years of cricket”.Stuart Cummings, the match referee, determined that McManus’ offence – which is not directly accounted for in the ECB’s directives – fell into the Level 2 category, under the “any other misconduct” clause. Specific Level 2 offences include showing “serious dissent” at an umpiring decision, making “inappropriate and deliberate physical contact” with another player, or throwing the ball at a player or umpire “in an inappropriate and dangerous manner”.