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Tributes had been paid to the late allrounder during the Australia-Zimbabwe series

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Sep-2022The grandstand at Riverway Stadium in Townsville has been officially named after Andrew Symonds.The Andrew ‘Roy’ Symonds Grandstand was unveiled by his children, Chloe and Will, and his mother Barbara on Friday.”It just feels like he’s going to be loved from every direction, like he’s going to be loved from everyone,” Chloe, 10, told reporters. “I know he didn’t like anything big, and it’s not a big grandstand…so he would probably have loved that.”Symonds, who played 238 times for Australia and was a huge figure in Queensland cricket, died aged 46 in a car accident near Townsville on March 14.Related

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When Australia played Zimbabwe in Townsville last month there were tributes paid to Symonds but the process to name the stand hadn’t quite been completed.At the innings interval of the opening match in the series his family, along with best friend Jimmy Maher, walked to the pitch where they laid his baggy green, bat, his Akubra hat, a fishing rod and a crab pot at the wickets. Symonds two dogs, Buzz and Woody, were also part of the occasion.On Friday, Symonds’ mother Barbara said: “He was just my boy who loved playing cricket. But to know that he was loved so much by so many people, it makes you very proud.”Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said that Symonds had a huge impact on the local community.”Roy was a proud North Queenslander who gave back to the Townsville community through charity and his involvement in junior sports,” she told the . “He was also a great friend to many people and would light up any room he was in. Roy’s passing has been a tragic loss to our community, and I know his absence is felt far and wide across the country.”The temporary sign will be replaced by a permanent version after further community consultation.

Opener in the runs once more as Northants are made to work for first-day wickets

ECB Reporters Network05-Sep-2022Hampshire 229 for 5 (Organ 71) vs Northamptonshire
Felix Organ continued his fine form with 71 as LV= Insurance County Championship title-chasing Hampshire batted out a truncated even day with Northamptonshire.Opening batter Organ ended the Royal London Cup with 54 in the semi-final against Kent Spitfires, having scored 72, 118, 41 and 65 in his last four Championship matches.He also almost single-handedly helped his club side, Winchester-based St Cross Symondians, to the ECB Southern Premier League title on Saturday with a masterful 135, in addition to four wickets.Against Northamptonshire, he put on fifty stands with Joe Weatherley and Nick Gubbins to take Hampshire to 229 for five at close – with Jack White claiming two for 35.Organ started the season batting at No.7, in the team predominantly for his off-spin option in the fourth innings.But after Weatherley damaged his finger in the slips against Lancashire, he was promoted to open – his more familiar position – and immediately made an impact with a century.He slumped with a lean spell but arrived in this match averaging 46 in his previous seven innings.Having been put in by Will Young on a green-tinged wicket and seen his opening partner Ian Holland edge to second slip to the first ball he faced, Organ faced a great deal of pressure.But the 23-year-old was compact with the ball nipping around, with Ben Sanderson particularly finding good subtle movement to find the outside edge of Weatherley’s bat to again find Emilio Gay at second slip.Organ set up deep in his crease with an off-stump guard, and knew exactly where his stumps were, even if there were regular plays and misses from either end either side of the early lunch – with rain and bad light eventually lobbing 34 overs off the day.He particularly peppered the off side although his fifty came up with a sumptuous straight drive off 88 balls.With him, Gubbins and James Vince showed moments of their carefree nature but failed to capitalise on solid starts.Luke Procter entered the attack, got cut for four by Gubbins but found movement in off the seam to bowl the left-hander for 23, while Vince was caught behind for 19.Organ eventually departed when he failed to move his feet to White and feathered off the under-toe of the bat to Ricardo Vasconcelos.But Liam Dawson and Aneurin Donald briskly put on 62 unbeaten runs, with the latter often showing glamour with his driving ability before the light worsened to end play just after 6pm.Hampshire are hoping to get a jump of title rivals Surrey in this round of fixture, but the forecast is not looking too kind to their bid for a first Championship since 1973.

Home seam attack bundles out Somerset for only 129 in 38.2 overs at Trent Bridge

David Hopps16-Apr-2023Nottinghamshire 256 (Duckett 75, Hameed 65, Gregory 7-84) and 211 (Hameed 34, Gregory 4-64, Siddle 3-34) beat Somerset 173 (Davey 60, Hutton 6-45) and 129 (Rew 25, Paterson 5-46, Hutton 3-44) by 165 runsSomerset’s brittle batting was again in evidence at Trent Bridge for all their winter shuffle of personnel as they subsided rapidly to a 165-run defeat against Nottinghamshire.Responsibility for the defeat needs to be shared, however, because it was their failure to make good use of helpful bowling conditions on the first morning that also contributed to Notts gaining a grip on the match that they never relinquished.Nottinghamshire’s seam attack bundled out Somerset for only 129 in 38.2 overs on an April surface that nibbled throughout with Stuart Broad, Brett Hutton and Dane Paterson, who finished with 5 for 46, all making telling contributions.Somerset’s reshaped top order has yet to fire this season They could find consolation in Lewis Gregory’s 11 for 148 in the match and his renewed confidence in his fitness, but also the stout-hearted batting approach of their young wicketkeeper, James Rew, whose scores of 18 and 25 are hardly going to get him headlines, but who showed an aptitude for a backs-to-the-wall fight that will hold him in good stead.Broad had been reported to be anxious to wrap up victory before Nottingham Forest’s 4.30pm kick-off against Manchester United on the other side of Radcliffe Road. As Notts batted on for six overs to extend their lead to 294, it appeared to be touch-and-go, but Somerset were all trussed up with 80 minutes to spare, ample time for a shower, change and a pre-match pint.Broad went wicketless in the first innings as he began his carefully programmed build-up to the Ashes, and when he failed to take a wicket in a solid five-over spell with the new ball, his blank seemed set to continue. But his fifth over had been his most dangerous, with Sean Dickson doing well to fend off a leaping delivery, and sniffing opportunity in the air, he won the right to continue.His dander was up; his sense of opportunity was well founded. Cameron Bancroft, who is seeking to win a place in Australia’s Ashes party, was a satisfying first wicket of the season in his sixth over, his off stump clipped as the ball left him a shade. Broad was not quite finished yet and he added Dickson in his next over, a predatory diving catch at second slip by Ben Duckett, whose low centre of gravity and wicketkeeping background makes him one of the best slippers in the country.For Broad, 2 for 21 in eight was a satisfying outing. Not only had his bowling spell been followed by a Premier League encounter, his day had begun in even more exciting fashion – at least in the dream of the BBC commentator Dave Bracegirdle, who revealed on the live stream that he had spent much of the night in a sunflower-growing competition with the England fast bowler. Sadly, history will never know who won because Bracegirdle woke up, but England followers can only hope that the sunflower’s folkloric tradition as a symbol of good luck will bring warmth and sunshine to his Ashes preparations.Brett Hutton has also been a handful on this surface, scuttling in to bowl a tight line and nibble the ball off the seam. The result of that on the final day was three lbw decisions to add to his first-innings career-best. Tom Lammonby, who fell early, and Tom Abell were left and right-hander beaten by balls that seamed back. Lewis Gregory fell in the same fashion against a ball that did not do quite as much.Statisticians could also delight in a 500th first-class wicket for Paterson who like Hutton is built for such Trent Bridge surfaces. Tom Kohler-Cadmore was victim no 499, caught by the stand-in wicketkeeper, Joe Clarke, who was there because of a finger injury to Tom Moores. Moores’ x-rays will be assessed on Monday, but Notts may have a choice between Clarke and the 2nd XI wicketkeeper, Dane Schadendorf against Middlesex at Lord’s, beginning on Thursday.Paterson’s 500th was Craig Overton, who duly collected a pair in the match, his first-ball duck being followed up by a fourth-ball duck this time around. Overton was skilfully scooped up, left-handed, by the substitute, Calvin Harrison, at third slip. It looked clean enough on the replays, but Overton’s oration did not immediately appear to be a speech of congratulations. He then offered a further homily to spectators in front of the pavilion about how to play the game and was jeered off the field. Strangely, Overton had come out to bat at No.9, behind Josh Davey which for all Davey’s 60 in the first innings was also cause for an enquiring eyebrow.Jack Leach’s attempt at a back-away uppercut just contrived to sky a simple chance to point and Somerset’s chastening day came to an end when Peter Siddle drove Paterson into the off side. With the second day lost to rain, a responsive surface had kept interest in the match and the spectators could be grateful for that.

BCB is yet to announce the captain for the third T20I, but it is likely that Litton Das would lead the side

Mohammad Isam01-Aug-2022Nurul Hasan, Bangladesh’s new T20I captain, was ruled out of the remainder of the Zimbabwe tour following a finger injury during his side’s seven-wicket win in the second T20I in Harare on Sunday. Nurul fractured his left index finger while keeping against fast bowler Hasan Mahmud, according to team physio team Muzadded Alpha Sany.The BCB hasn’t announced the captain for the third T20I but it is likely that Litton Das, who led Bangladesh in a solitary T20I last year, will be the stand-in captain.Related

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• Nurul, Bangladesh's new T20I captain, might only be a stop-gap arrangement

“We did an X-ray which revealed a fracture to the index finger. Such injuries take about three weeks to recover from. He is therefore out of Tuesday’s last T20 match and the upcoming ODI series,” Sany said in a video message.The incident took place towards the end of the Zimbabwe innings. Nurul continued as a wicketkeeper but looked to be struggling in pain.Nurul was made captain for the T20I series against Zimbabwe following a change in leadership that saw Mahmudullah, the former captain, being rested from this series. Bangladesh bounced back from a 17-run defeat in the first T20I to win the second game convincingly, and level the series 1-1.Bangladesh will play the third and the final T20I on Tuesday, which will be followed by three ODIs from August, in Harare.

Lancashire chase fizzles out despite half-century from Jos Buttler

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay11-Jul-2025Jonny Bairstow hit 10 sixes in a stunning career-best 116 off 54 balls as struggling Yorkshire shocked high-flying Lancashire Lightning by claiming an entertaining 19-run Roses Vitality Blast win at Emirates Old Trafford.Yorkshire won in Manchester for the first time since 2014, claiming only their fourth win in 11 North Group games this season on the back of 236 for 6.Opener Bairstow shared 167 with up-and-coming Will Luxton, who finished 90 not out off 46 balls with seven sixes. Their second-wicket partnership was Yorkshire’s highest ever in Blast history and helped maintain their slim quarter-final hopes.Lancashire dropped out of the top two places in the group courtesy of a fourth defeat in 11, despite former England white-ball captain Jos Buttler’s season’s best 55 off 33 balls. Lightning finished on 217 for 7, with Jordan Thompson striking twice.Yorkshire, who lost Dawid Malan early to Luke Wood, started brightly by reaching 33 for 1 after three. Bairstow pulled James Anderson for an early six and later launched him over long-on as he reached 50 off 24 balls inside the powerplay, which ended with Yorkshire 72 for 1.The charge continued as Bairstow and Luxton, who also posted a career-best score, increased the pressure on the home attack, particularly England white-ball spinner Tom Hartley, whose only two overs went for 39. The pair took him on successfully down the ground, hitting three sixes as 24 came from the 10th and Yorkshire reached halfway at 115 for 1.Bairstow was at his belligerent best, savage on anything full or short. He was struck a nasty blow to the neck by a Jack Blatherwick bouncer, but it was only a minor inconvenience en-route to a 49-ball century – the fifth of his career.Meanwhile, Luxton was dropped three times as Lancashire’s fielders struggled to deal with the sun. Luxton was equally as dynamic as Bairstow, though obviously had more fortune. He was noticeably dominant down the ground.After Bairstow was caught at deep midwicket off Chris Green’s offspin, Luxton was starved off the strike late on and was unable to follow his partner to three figures.Australian Green claimed three of four wickets to fall in a final over which went for only three runs, finishing with 4 for 34.There was no doubt, however, that Yorkshire were in pole position in front of a crowd just shy of 15,000. Lancashire also started brightly with the bat, but Keaton Jennings was the subject of a smart back-peddling catch from Dom Bess at mid-on off Will Sutherland – 31 for 1 in the third over.Buttler and Salt then shared 72 in seven overs to raise home hopes, but the latter was caught at long-on by Bess off Thompson’s seam as the score reached 106 for 2 after 10 overs.Thompson and Bess, with his offspin, then struck twice in as many overs as Yorkshire took control. Buttler was caught behind off a top-edged pull and Luke Wells brilliantly held by James Wharton diving forwards at long on – 133 for 4 in the 13th.From there, Yorkshire comfortably wrapped up a third straight Roses win following two in the last two seasons at Headingley. One key factor was the visitors hitting 18 sixes to Lancashire’s nine.Bess claimed one wicket, two catches and half a hand in a run out.

Australia find themselves in a familiar position: 1-0 up for the fourth home Ashes series in a row

Andrew Miller03-Dec-20252:29

Miller: England must back their approach to win second Test

Big picture: A big day three beckons for the Ashes

From two days of Ashes insanity, to two weeks of Ashes inanity. Rarely has the dead time between Tests felt so rich in promise, yet filled with pointlessness, as in this past fortnight. From that hyperactive 19-wicket opening gambit in Perth and the shock and awe of Travis Head’s romp to victory, we’ve since been pitched headlong into a waffle-filled void, fuelled by an Ashes hype-machine that had been in overdrive from the start of November, but has since been in desperate need of red-hot takes to slake its thirst for narrative.In the absence of actual action, we’ve had talk of beer matches and food mountains from the peeved executives at the Optus; we’ve had pontification about the value of pink-ball practice matches from a cast of ex-Ashes combatants (whom Ben Stokes is now adamant are not “has-beens” after all). And in Brisbane this week, we’ve even had talk of potential fines for England’s scooter-based traffic violations. Thursday’s resumption of hostilities under the Gabba floodlights will surely be sweet release for two sets of players who have heard enough yakking, and will now be ready to get back to some hard yakka.What have we learned in this impatient lull? Not a whole lot, if truth be told. In spite of the speed of their meltdown, England still competed more gamely in Perth than in any Test in Australia since their victorious tour in 2010-11. If they get the better of the conditions in what Stuart Broad has described as a pink-ball “lottery”, they could yet restore the optimism with which they launched this campaign. If they do not, or if they bat as frivolously as they did in that crucial post-lunch passage of play on day two, a third 5-0 whitewash in six tours could already be loading. Choose your path, there’ll be plenty opportunities to retro-fit your narrative come the end of the Sydney Test.Related

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• Switch Hit podcast: Pink ball, Bazball, Gabba gamble

For the time being, it’s a chastened (if not reformed) England that has regrouped at the Gabba. This Ashes tour has been front and centre of their planning for three-and-a-half years, right from the inception of the so-called Bazball project, and they’ll know – notwithstanding their fightback from 2-0 down in 2023 – that they cannot afford another false start. There was nervous energy in spades in Perth, and while that translated wonderfully well into a kinetic frenzy with the ball in the first innings, even the most pigheaded advocate of England’s no-consequences mindset would acknowledge that the loss of 20 wickets in less than 70 overs was a dereliction of batting duty.As for Australia, they were scarcely any less shocked by what they witnessed in Perth – although the sight of Head launching Jofra Archer for a back-foot six over long-on might have been a key contributor to that. Amid the chaos caused by Usman Khawaja’s back spasm, and the unsatisfactory compromise that forced Marnus Labuschagne to open in the first innings, Head’s subsequent promotion proved a masterstroke. It met England’s go-getting attack head-on, and challenged them in the same manner that Yashasvi Jaiswal had done in his own six-laden onslaughts in India two years ago. If Bazball is all in the mind, then Head was in England’s heads by the end of that innings, rather than vice versa.England’s chosen route back to parity has already taken an interesting turn. Mark Wood reported soreness in his knee after a wicketless display in Perth and is out of the reckoning – who knows for how long, although his fitness for flatter decks to come (particularly in Adelaide) could yet be as much of a priority as the here-and-now. But into his place comes not another seamer, nor the primary spinner Shoaib Bashir (who had been England’s designated 12th man in the first Test), but the each-way-bet option of Will Jacks, a selection that smacks, ever so slightly, of a team second-guessing themselves.Travis Head hit 123 off 83 in the second innings of the first Test•Getty Images

It’s an interesting predicament that leans into the vacuousness of the discourse since Perth. So much of England’s mindset-led approach has been about blocking out the noise and doubling down on positive reaffirmation from within the dressing-room walls – the logic being that, if you believe that the team has your back no matter what, then you already own your half of the mental battle.But never before has this England team encountered noise quite like this – a 24/7 media bombardment that will surely have seeped into their subconscious decision-making, even if they are overtly still as bold as brass. Batting more sensibly at key moments, for instance, may be a pre-requisite for this Ashes fightback, but if that comes at the expense of bravery, then what will that do for their over-arching ethos? Scott Boland’s decisive burst in the second innings at Perth was arguably a case in point, after he’d been taken at more than six an over in the first, while Stokes has already admitted his captaincy was found wanting when Head started teeing off in the run-chase. It’s hard to imagine, for instance, that he’ll dare to declare after 60 overs to get bowling in the twilight, as was the case when England won their most recent pink-ball Test in Mount Maunganui two years ago.Australia, meanwhile, are in a happy and familiar position in this series: 1-0 up, for the fourth home Ashes in a row, and heading into a format in which their record is unparalleled, both in terms of volume of matches and victories secured. But, thanks in no small part to England tripping over their own feet when well set, they know they were spared a deeply uncomfortable denouement in that first Test. The onus is on the visitors to finish the inquisition they started, before it’s too late for beg for third chances.

Form guide

Australia: WWWWL
England: LLDWL

In the spotlight: Mitchell Starc and Joe Root

The story hasn’t changed for Mitchell Starc, but the expectations have been ramped up an extra notch. At Perth, he was the last man standing of the greatest pace trio of the modern era, and he responded supremely, with a career-best 7 for 58 and ten wickets in the match. Now, he’s been asked to do so again, in a form of the game in which he is simply without equal. His 81 wickets in day-night Tests include a startling haul of 6 for 9 in his most recent outing, as West Indies were routed for 27 in Kingston in July. If he makes the pink ball talk as loudly as it can do under the Gabba floodlights, there’ll be plenty more where that came from. Starc has a chance to put the Ashes beyond realistic reach, before Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood have even bowled a ball in anger.Mitchell Starc dismissed Joe Root in both innings in Perth•Getty Images

There’s no ducking the issue for Joe Root any more. If his team are to turn their fortunes around in this series, then England’s greatest run-scorer desperately needs to come to the party. Notwithstanding Zak Crawley’s pair, Root’s performance in Perth was arguably the most culpable among many failures in that first Test, in particular his skittish second-innings drive that capped England’s post-lunch collapse. His scores of 0 and 8 did little to dial down the pre-series chat about his modest record in Australia, and were perhaps an indication of the very real nerves he felt coming into a legacy-defining campaign. Now, however, he needs his vast experience to steer his team’s agenda. Of all the ways that England might have envisaged losing in Australia, Root going missing was not among them.

Team news: Jacks in, Khawaja out

Usman Khawaja’s failure to recover from a back spasm has arguably spared Australia an awkward decision, seeing as his inability to open at Perth was what enabled Travis Head to stride up to the top of the order and turn the first Test on its head. Head now seems likely to retain his role alongside Jake Weatherald, with Josh Inglis looking set to slot into the gap in the middle order: his prowess against short-pitched bowling might be the clincher, with Beau Webster again unlucky to miss out. There’s still no absolute clarity on Pat Cummins, who remains with Australia’s squad and even batted in the nets on Tuesday, but he is not officially part of their squad for this Test as he continues his return from a back injury.Australia (probable): 1 Jake Weatherald, 2 Travis Head, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Josh Inglis, 6 Cameron Green, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Nathan Lyon, 10 Scott Boland, 11 Brendan Doggett.Will Jacks is back in England’s Test team after three years away•AFP/Getty Images

With Wood ruled out due to a knee issue, Jacks is the surprise inclusion in England’s XI. He comes into the side as England’s frontline spin option, ahead of Bashir, whose consistent selection over the past two years had seemingly been with a view to him playing a central role in this Ashes campaign. Instead, England have opted for the insurance that Jacks’ significantly better batting provides at No. 8, while hoping that his offspin can front up for England as it did on debut at Rawalpindi, three years ago to the week, when his six first-innings wickets proved crucial to a famous win over Pakistan. In part, it is a reflection of the “lottery” of the pink-ball Test – and given Jacks’ ongoing rebirth as a No. 7 in the ODI team, he could yet play some hybrid “finisher” role in a typically fast-paced innings – but it is a rare case of England hedging their bets in the Bazball era, rather than going all-in on a preferred strategy.England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Will Jacks, 9 Brydon Carse, 10 Gus Atkinson, 11 Jofra Archer.

Pitch and conditions

Curator Dave Sandurski said on Tuesday that he would leave 3mm of grass on the pitch, and the familiar green tinge may fade away under the Queensland sun. Despite some spicy practice pitches in the Gabba nets, there is a suggestion this track could be on the slow side, and with the current batch of Kookaburra balls reportedly going soft quickly, that could spell hard times for fielding sides if either team can keep wickets in hand heading into 50-60 overs. That said, England couldn’t bat beyond 35 on either occasion at Perth. New-ball swing, under the floodlights, is sure to be a feature at some stage of the contest.

Stats and trivia

• Australia have won 13 and lost one of their 14 pink-ball Tests to date.
• All but one of these (their most recent, against West Indies in July) came on home soil, including each of their three wins against England in the Ashes, at Adelaide (in 2017-18 and 2021-22) and Hobart (2021-22).
• However, their solitary defeat in a day/night Test came at the Gabba, against West Indies in January 2024.
• England, by contrast, have lost five of their seven pink-ball Tests to date, although they did win their most recent, against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui in February 2023.
• Starc, with 81 wickets at 17.08 in 14 Tests, has almost twice as many pink-ball wickets as the next most prolific bowlers, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon (both 43 at 17.34 and 25.62 respectively), and nine times as many as the most experienced bowlers in England’s squad, Mark Wood and Joe Root (nine each).
• Starc needs three more wickets to overtake Wasim Akram as the most prolific left-arm fast bowler in Test history.

Quotes

“They’ve said for a while they’re not going to really change the way they go about their business. I don’t expect too much different.”
“Many teams have gone to the Gabba and lost to Australia, but this is a brand new outfit. Lots of guys are on their first Ashes tours, so this is going to be a new experience for them… It doesn’t hold too much fear.”

Mushfiqur and Mominul had made only 59 and 13 runs respectively in the two Tests in South Africa

Mohammad Isam10-May-2022Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh batting coach, has backed Mushfiqur Rahim and Mominul Haque to return to form in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Chattogram next week. Mushfiqur and Mominul had made only 59 and 13 runs respectively in the two Tests in South Africa.In fact, Mominul had the personal-worst two-Test series of his career in South Africa, which extended his lean patch that began during the home Test series against Pakistan last year. Mominul has had only three-double figure scores in 12 innings since last November. As for Mushfiqur, he has made only 76 runs in his last three Tests, leaving Siddons with his hands full during Bangladesh’s short training camp in Chattogram in the lead-up to the Test that begins on May 15.”Every batsman goes through patches where they don’t make runs,” Siddons said. “I am really confident that he will make runs out here this week. I have seen some really good signs, the way he is hitting it in the last two days. We worked on a couple of little things with him. I think he is going to have a successful series.Related

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“Mominul has nine [seven] centuries in Chittagong. This week is another chance to make another couple. He loves this ground. We are just trying to get him ready to go. He is very confident.”Siddons produced a robust defence of Mushfiqur after questions were raised about the senior players’ future in a recent Nazmul Hassan press conference. The BCB chief didn’t mention Mushfiqur, but it resulted in some speculation around Mushfiqur’s career.”I think Mushy is only focused in the next two Tests,” Siddons said. “I don’t think he is worried about his career in any format. I think he is worried about making runs for us in these two Tests. He is quite successful in white-ball cricket.”Good players can have moments when they don’t make runs, and then bounce back. That’s why they are great players. Mushy is a very successful Test player. He keeps making runs. He might have a period like South Africa, and then he will bounce back again.”Overall too, Bangladesh’s batting is a cause for worry. Siddons said that appearances in the Dhaka Premier League and the short camp in Chattogram will be enough for the players to prepare for the Test series. He added that they have had a lot of discussion about Bangladesh’s batting, particularly around building on good starts in the first innings.”South Africa was a long tour. It was a successful tour in my opinion because of the one-day team. Probably [we] didn’t play great Test cricket. We will have good and bad days in cricket. We had a couple of bad days that made us look quite bad. I thought we played some really good cricket in those Tests. Taijul [Islam] gets a nine-for, [Mahmudul Hasan] Joy gets a great hundred, very early in his career. We had some really great starts in the first innings, we didn’t play great in the second innings. The real focus is to make bigger first-innings scores.”

Seamer approaching his ninth Ashes with a relaxed mindset about how many Tests he plays

Andrew Miller06-Jun-2023Like a fine wine, has Stuart Broad mellowed with age? That would appear to be the impression on the eve of his ninth Ashes campaign, with his admission that he doesn’t mind when or how he is deployed in the coming five Tests against Australia, just so long as he plays his part in an Ashes-winning squad performance.At the age of 36, Broad demonstrated his enduring qualities as a strike bowler with five first-innings wickets in England’s ten-wicket win over Ireland at Lord’s last week. However, with James Anderson, Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood all in the running for recalls at Edgbaston, he knows there is no guarantee that he’s done enough to be in the starting line-up for the series opener next week.Such a prospect would have left Broad furious in recent years. Against West Indies in 2020, he declared himself “frustrated, angry and gutted” after being omitted for the series opener at the Ageas Bowl, despite having been England’s leading wicket-taker over the previous two years, an achievement that had led him to believe he was in possession of “the shirt”.Related

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• Moeen considering Test comeback after England Ashes call

And similarly, for the first Test of the last Ashes in Brisbane, neither Broad nor his veteran partner Anderson was selected for a series-defining nine-wicket loss, with England instead going in with a seam attack comprising Robinson, Wood and Chris Woakes, who had never previously played in the same XI.This time, however, with England boasting a record of 11 wins from 13 Tests under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, Broad says he has absolute faith in their methods and management, and will have no complaints if they decide to hold him back for a later date in the campaign.”I’m just flowing around at the moment,” Broad said, aptly enough, during a sponsor’s event for Laithwaites wine at Lord’s. “I feel really happy with how my cricket is, how life is. I feel fit, I feel fresh. Whether I play at Edgbaston, whether I play at Lord’s, Headingley … I don’t mind, I play really well at all of them.”I love playing against Australia, and whether that’s the first Test, the fifth Test, the third … I’m happy to try and strike whenever I get the chance. I think ultimately as a team we’re going to need every bowler, and we’re going to need to take 100 wickets to win the Ashes. But my ultimate aim is to be fit and fresh and playing at The Oval, because that’s the fifth, and that means I’ve done my job for the group.”It’s a far cry from his non-conformist attitude under the previous Test regime, typified by his anger at the Ageas Bowl and Brisbane, but best expressed in a memorable press conference midway through the fourth Test of that last Ashes. Facing up to another dire match situation at Sydney, he urged England to stop hedging their selection with future events in mind, adding that “if you don’t win the battle in front of you, it’s all irrelevant”.”At Brisbane I was raging. So yeah, I’ve definitely changed. And in a good way. I see my role as striking when I get the chance but also, we won’t be having interviews like the Ageas Bowl. I quite enjoy doing that but …”Broad was talking at a Laithwaites event•PR

As it happens, Broad bounced back after that Ageas Bowl snub with 16 wickets in the remaining two Tests against West Indies, including a ten-for in the series decider at Old Trafford. “Maybe that’ll be the tactic,” he joked. “Leave me out at Edgbaston so I fire up at Lord’s! But I’m very comfortable. I’m just really enjoying the environment.”The communication’s really clear, that we’re going to need everyone. It doesn’t feel like a closed shop. It’s a really addictive environment to be around, and we’re just happy for everyone’s success. So ultimately, if I only play one game and we lift the urn at The Oval, that’s a massive tick in England cricket’s box. It’s not about me, it’s about the collective. But I think I’ll play more than one …”Broad has already played ten more Tests than he might have envisaged 13 months ago, when he and Anderson were axed in the wake of England’s 4-0 Ashes loss. But the fact that England have turned their fortunes around with more or less the same set of core players is proof not only of the wizardry of the so-called Bazball mindset, but that Broad himself was right in his insistence about living in the now.”We had to change that habit of, every four years, going to the Ashes and if we lose it, tear it up and new people come in and start the process again,” he said. “It was just a cycle repeating too often.”You can’t take the emphasis off the Ashes because it’s our biggest series. You only have to be driving through service stations in the last year and it’s ‘come on guys, beat Australia’ – our country has a love affair with Ashes cricket, but as an organisation we had to get our mindset away from personnel losing their jobs if results didn’t go the way you want them to.”I think we have lived in a really healthy way in the last 12 months,” he added. “The Ashes was only mentioned for the first time in the post-match debrief against Ireland, and it was ‘it doesn’t matter what the results as long as we stick to how we play’. As long as we have kids watching and saying ‘wow that’s incredible’, then we have done our jobs.”Stuart Broad was speaking at the launch of wine merchant Laithwaites’ partnership with England cricket. For exclusive offers on great wines this summer, visit laithwaites.co.uk

Grace Scrivens anchors chase with unbeaten 63 as Sunrisers start campaign with victory

ECB Reporters Network20-Apr-2024Jodi Grewcock and Nicola Hancock claimed three wickets apiece as Sunrisers launched their Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy campaign with a comprehensive eight-wicket victory over Western Storm at Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens.Seamer Hancock took 3 for 15 in 5.4 overs and teenager Grewcock bowled unchanged for 10 overs to return impressive figures of 3 for 28 with her legbreaks as Storm were dismissed for a wholly inadequate 114 in 30.4 overs.Offspinner Mady Villiers weighed in with 2 for 36, while Esmae MacGregor took a wicket and contributed a run out as Sunrisers produced a disciplined performance in the field after winning the toss. Only Nat Wraith offered meaningful resistance with the bat, top-scoring with 42 as Storm opened this campaign as they finished the last, by suffering heavy defeat.Sunrisers skipper Grace Scrivens then led by example, compiling a composed innings of 63 and sharing in a reassuring partnership of 59 with Cordelia Griffith for the second wicket as the visitors comfortably overhauled their target with 16.2 overs to spare.Victorious in their final four matches of last season, Sunrisers have picked up where they left off and will go into their next match against Thunder at Sale in confident mood. For their part, Storm have now been beaten in their last five outings in the 50-over competition and will need to find improvement ahead of their trip to play Northern Diamonds at Headingley on Wednesday.Put into bat, Storm were unable to recover from the loss of early wickets and were shot out inside 31 overs, only three batters managing double-figures in an innings which the home side will no doubt want to forget in a hurry.Hancock produced a probing new-ball spell to remove Alex Griffiths for 2, but fellow opener Sophia Smale responded in positive fashion, helping herself to three leg-side boundaries to advance her score to 16. Calamity then struck, Smale clipping Villiers behind point and setting off for a quick single, only to collide with partner Sophie Luff halfway down the track and be run out by MacGregor while getting back to her feet.That unfortunate mishap sparked a dramatic collapse which saw five wickets fall in just 8.1 overs as Storm subsided to 64 for 6, their top and middle-order batting undermined by spin. Luff played and missed at a delivery from Grewcock that nipped back and was adjudged lbw for 7, while Dani Gibson was also undone by the England Under-19 legspinner, playing back to a ball that struck her on the pad and departing for 3.Plying her offbreaks at the other end, Villiers trapped Katie Jones in the crease and then struck a telling blow, inducing former England international Fran Wilson to drive straight to Jo Gardner at mid-on. Wilson had made 18 and with her went Storm’s best chance of posting a competitive total.Fearing she might run out of partners before she was able to do anything to remedy a parlous situation, Wraith adopted a forthright approach and dominated stands of 24 and 26 with Niamh Holland and Amanda-Jade Wellington for the seventh and eighth wickets respectively. But Holland eventually offered a return catch to MacGregor and Wellington miscued a drive to extra cover as Grewcock continued to deploy clever variation in flight to strike again in her final over.Attempting to take matters into her own hands, Wraith plundered half a dozen boundaries in carrying the fight to the Sunrisers bowlers, her luck finally running out when she hoisted a ball from the returning Hancock to deep midwicket. Her combative innings of 42 spanned 52 balls and at least enabled embattled Storm to realise three figures.Hancock required just four deliveries to wrap-up the innings, having Chloe Skelton caught at the wicket, the seventh Storm player to perish either in single figures or without scoring.Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Storm’s bowlers did their utmost to build pressure and new overseas recruit Wellington provided a silver lining when gaining an lbw decision to remove Ariana Dowse with the score on 21 in the eighth over. Making a good first impression on her debut, the Australian international spinner finished with 1 for 24 from nine overs and discomfited the top-order batters sufficiently to suggest she is going to make a positive impact in Storm colours this season.But the implacable Scrivens overcame all attempts to unseat her, playing a captain’s innings to ensure her team reached their target without enduring any undue dramas. She found the perfect partner in Griffith, who adopted the role of chief support in an innings of 28 that spanned 48 balls and included a quartet of fours before she holed out to Holland in the deep off the bowling of Skelton.Unperturbed by that setback, Scrivens went to 50 via 65 balls with her ninth four, a fluent cover drive plundered at the expense of Griffiths. Perhaps fittingly given her performance with the ball earlier, Grewcock hit the winning runs as she finished unbeaten on 15.

Several leagues ran simultaneously at the start of 2024, and the ICC Champions Trophy is expected to further complicate the picture in February 2025

Matt Roller08-May-2024The Caribbean Premier League (CPL)’s chief executive has described overlaps between franchise leagues as “a nonsense”, and has called for regular meetings among their owners and administrators in an attempt to solve cricket’s global scheduling crisis. The CPL has overlapped with the Hundred in recent years but will avoid a clash this season after holding talks with the ECB earlier this year.And Pete Russell, one of CPL’s co-founders and the league’s CEO since 2021, believes that such collaboration should be commonplace to minimise the frequent clashes between the T20 leagues.”[The ECB] have a defined window that they have to play in, and it happened that we could move everything out to ensure that we didn’t clash [with the Hundred],” Russell told ESPNcricinfo. “It makes absolutely zero sense if you’ve got [Sunil] Narine and [Andre] Russell having to fly back the day before the final of the Hundred. That’s in no one’s interests, and certainly not the Hundred’s.Related

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“I hope that [collaboration] continues. It’s not rocket science; it’s what should happen with all leagues. It’s just a nonsense that we’ve got all this overlap when it just needs to be worked through. Scheduling is a challenge, I know, but it can’t be that you have two leagues going at each other at the same time. To my mind, it doesn’t make any sense.”There is a precedent for leagues negotiating to manage potential clashes as shown by the PSL and ILT20.Several different leagues ran simultaneously at the start of 2024. Australia’s BBL and New Zealand’s Super Smash finished in mid-January; South Africa’s SA20 and the UAE’s ILT20 started in January and ran into February; the Bangladesh Premier League started in January and finished in March; and the Pakistan Super League ran from mid-February to mid-March.The ICC Champions Trophy is expected to further complicate the picture when it returns in February 2025. The ILT20 is expected to confirm its dates for 2025 in the coming days following recent discussions with franchises, while the PCB has stated its intention to stage the PSL alongside the IPL in April-May 2025.There is broad support among players worldwide for global scheduling windows for franchise leagues and international cricket, thus minimising overlap between the two. The Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) player survey will be published soon, and as confirmed to ESPNcricinfo by Tom Moffat, FICA’s CEO, will show that 84% of the 330 respondents support introducing windows.The MLC this year is set for a six-day clash with the Hundred•Sportzpics

“Unless the game can come together to find a system in which the domestic leagues and international cricket can co-exist, we will end up with two separate calendars running in parallel,” Moffat told ESPNcricinfo.”That will split the player employment-market, given most of the leagues rely on the inclusion of international players to be successful commercially. We currently don’t think that’s the right thing for the whole sport given it – and most professional players’ employment – is still largely funded by international cricket.”While representatives of national governing bodies meet regularly at ICC level – most of whom control their own leagues – there is no specific forum for the owners and administrators of franchise leagues to discuss scheduling.”It’s the logical way to go – because we’re all maturing, and we’re all getting to a point where we are sustainable,” Russell said. “They are generally regarded now as being part of the domestic calendar, wherever they are played. I think it is a case of, ‘OK, let’s have that group of people and say how do you figure out the schedule to the benefit of everyone?'”I think it’s workable. Others might think it’s not, but I just think the conversations at least need to take place, just to make sure [there’s no clash].”Moffat said: “With the exception of CPL and a couple of others, the controlling stake in most of the major leagues is generally owned by the same national governing bodies who schedule international cricket. That means co-ordinating scheduling between the leagues and international cricket to avoid scheduling overlap is possible – if there is a will to come together and do that.”Russell used the recent release of Major League Cricket (MLC)’s 2024 fixture list – two months before the tournament starts – as evidence of a shortage of “joined-up thinking” among administrators. MLC begins on July 5, and is thus set for a six-day clash with the Hundred.”They’ve only just come out with their schedule,” he said. “Why does it take leagues so long to put a schedule together? We have all year to figure it out.”Russell also encouraged administrators to find a solution to the perverse incentives that emerged for players earlier this year.”It can’t be right: I saw the other day that where leagues were overlapping, a player who got knocked out before the semi-finals or finals could actually make more money by going to another league. That shouldn’t be a thing.”