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Sri Lanka Cricket has confirmed that the ECB has made a request for the tour between the two teams, which starts next month, to use a points-based system to decide a winner across all formats

Andrew McGlashan and Andrew Fidel Fernando17-Apr-2016Sri Lanka Cricket has confirmed that the ECB has made a request for the upcoming series between the two teams to use a points-based system – following the lead of the women’s game – to decide a winner across all formats. England are scheduled to host Sri Lanka for three Tests, five ODIs, and a T20I.

How England’s last three series would have panned out

If a scoring system of four points for a Test win (and two for draw), and two points for an ODI or T20 win was used:
v South Africa: South Africa 16 (Tests 6, ODIs 6, T20s 4) – England 14 (Tests 10, ODIs 4) – Final T20 the decider
v Pakistan: England 14 (Tests 2, ODIs 6, T20s 6) – Pakistan 10 (Tests 8, ODIs 2) – Final T20 the decider
v Australia: England 18 (Tests 12, ODIs 4, T20 2) – Australia 14 (Tests 8, ODIs 6)

The proposal will be discussed by the SLC committee at its next board meeting either later this month or early in May although even if it is agreed each format will continue to be contested for separately as well.”The ECB has made a request, but we have not discussed or agreed up to this point of time,” SLC’s secretary Mohan de Silva said. “We will probably take it up at the next executive committee meeting. The CEO and the Cricket Operations Manager will have to make a recommendation to the committee.”The ECB led the way in introducing points-based scoring across all three formats for the women’s Ashes in 2013. Initially, there were six points available for winning a Test (two for a draw) and two points for the ODIs and T20s, although the Test allocation has since been cut to four points as there was concern the one-off Tests had too much of a weighting.Until now, the men’s game has kept each of its formats distinct during bilateral tours, but there is a desire to try and increase the context of tours and give meaning to matches that may otherwise have little significance. It could, potentially, make end-of-tour T20s the deciding fixture in determining the overall winner.It was a topic covered in this year’s Editor’s Notes in with Lawrence Booth writing: “Walkovers happen, but cricket would benefit if they didn’t happen in a vacuum… last summer’s women’s Ashes provided a glimpse of a solution, already suggested elsewhere for the good reason that it makes sense: hand out points for every win on a bilateral tour (say, six for a Test, three for a one-day international and two for a Twenty20), tot them up, then award three to the overall winner, or one each in case of a draw.”The exact details of how a points system would work if the idea was adopted for the English season are yet to be confirmed – and it remains to be seen whether there would be conflict with existing sponsorship deals, with each format in England being under a different name – but individual series winners would remain.Cricket Australia’s team performance manager Pat Howard said that events in the UK would be monitored with interest ahead of Australia’s next assignments, including a multi-format tour of Sri Lanka in July and August.”We’ve noted the trial and we will see how it plays out,” Howard said, “before considering any changes to our current system, whether it be at home or in away series.”The only two Test series ‘trophies’ that England do not currently hold are against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, who are the second visiting team for the season and whose tour could also adopt the points system. Sri Lanka won 1-0 on the 2014 visit to England, and Pakistan won 2-0 in the UAE late last year.

Only 17.1 overs were possible as Northamptonshire began their penultimate match of an impressive season

Vithushan Ehantharajah at Wantage Road17-Sep-2013
ScorecardNorthamptonshire fans will get a chance to see the team parade the FLt20 trophy next week•PA Photos

Only 17.1 overs were possible as Northamptonshire began their penultimate match of an impressive season. As incumbents in the promotion spots for most of the season, the hosts are on the verge of promotion from Division Two, needing to better Essex’s result against Glamorgan by four points to return to the top flight for the first time since 2004.During the tea interval throughout this match, spectators will be invited to have their photo taken with the FLt20 trophy, which will also be taken around the streets of Northampton next Friday on an open-top bus.The plan is for the team to set off from the County Ground at 6.15pm, parade through St Giles Street before attending a civic reception in their honour at the Guildhall at 6.30pm. By then, promotion could – and should – have been wrapped up. But it could all be very tight, regardless of whether Essex manage to push them close.Northants are at New Road next week for their season closer against Worcestershire starting on Tuesday. They might be playing until 5.30pm on Friday, meaning they would have 45 minutes to complete an hour-and-a-half journey.There was one wicket to fall in the small window of play – that of Sam Northeast, who fended at an outswinger from Andrew Hall that got big on the opener at the last moment. Standing up to the stumps, David Murphy took an exceptional catch.All things considered, Kent will be happy to have nine wickets in reserve, with the ball seaming and swinging on a damp, overcast morning. After some diligent work on the ball from the Northants fielders, it began to move so dramatically that even a skilled operator like Hall was unable to tame it.A handful of his deliveries curved so much from middle stump that they ended up at second slip, jarring the tops of Murphy’s fingers on the way through. Predictably, when Hall readjusted to wide of leg-stump, the ball continued on down the leg-side, leaving Murphy sprawling to his left in vain.At 12.09pm, the rain came and settled in for the rest of the day. Play was eventually called at 4:25pm.

England and Australia complete easy wins over Pakistan and India in the Group A matches in Women’s World T20

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Sep-2012Left-arm spinner Holly Colvin picked four wickets as England beat Pakistan by 43 runs in the Women’s World Twenty20 Group A match in Galle. Colvin struck in her first over, followed it up with two wickets off consecutive balls in her second and a fourth one in the last over to return with figures of 3.4-0-9-4. Pakistan – chasing 134 – had crumbled to 50 for 4 by the eleventh over even before the introduction of Colvin. Offspinner Danielle Hazell prised out Pakistan captain Sana Mir and then broke a 26-run fourth-wicket stand with the scalp of Nain Abidi before the rest of the batting collapsed.Pakistan’s decision to bowl first backfired as England openers brought up a quick century partnership. Although Laura Marsh was run out after scoring 54 off 41 balls in the 14th over, England looked set for a strong total. But the fall of Charlotte Edwards (45) to another run out helped the Pakistan bowlers get a grip on the innings and they restricted England to 133 for 6.”We planned to attack the bowling in the Power Play overs,” Edwards said. “I think as the game progresses, we’ve seen spin play a major part, so before the pitch wore out, we wanted to get as much as possible.”Mir, who was the most successful bowler for Pakistan with 2 for 20, said: “We did really well to restrict them to 133. I thought we could have applied ourselves better with the bat. Once we lose too many wickets at the start, it just puts immense pressure on the middle-order. Hopefully we will rectify our mistakes and look to win the remaining two games, we can only go up from here.”Australia chased down the target set by India in the Group A match in Galle with eight wickets in hand to continue the trend of easy wins in the Women’s World T20.India chose to bat first and despite losing their openers in the fifth and the seventh overs, they were comfortably placed midway in their innings. But India’s captain Mithali Raj was run out on the first ball of the 11th over triggering a collapse. The score turned from 63 for 2 to 73 for 5 in a matter of four overs. Nagarajan Niranjana (15 off 14 balls) saved India some blushes with a quick 25-run partnership with Mona Meshram taking the team close to the century mark. In the end, India finished with 104, with Erin Osborne picking up three wickets for 13 runs. Jess Jonassen three-over spell in which she gave away only six runs and picked up a wicket was also key in slowing India down.In response, Australia made an aggressive start, putting up 43 runs in six overs by the time their first wicket – Alyssa Healy for 21 – fell. But Jess Cameron (36 off 32) joined Meg Lanning in a 49-run second-wicket stand in 8.3 overs to bring Australia to the brink of victory. When Lanning was out for 39 to Jhulan Goswami only 13 runs were required which Australia got without much trouble.A disappointed Raj later said: “Harman and I were batting really well, but we collapsed once again. One defeat doesn’t mean the end of the road, we have to keep believing in ourselves. We can’t sulk about this, surprises do happen.”Erin Osborne, who was declared Player of the Match, said: “I think I was just a beneficiary of some fantastic work done by the other bowlers.”

Andy Flower says that England will seek to defend their new status as the world’s No. 1 Test side by attacking a series of short-term goals, starting with the winter tours of Pakistan and Sri Lanka

Andrew Miller14-Aug-2011Andy Flower says that England will seek to defend their new status as the world’s No. 1 Test side by attacking a series of short-term goals, starting with the winter tours of Pakistan and Sri Lanka, as they set about reassessing their priorities in the wake of a crushing innings-and-242-run triumph against India at Edgbaston on Saturday.That performance, which was built on the back of Alastair Cook’s career-best 294, took England to an unassailable 3-0 series lead with just the Oval Test to come later this week, and ensured that, in little more than two years since the squad was torn apart by the falling-out between the then-captain and coach, Kevin Pietersen and Peter Moores, England have surged to the top of the world Test rankings.Flower, however, is already looking to the future as he plots a means to turn England’s spell at the top into something longer lasting. Writing in his Daily Telegraph column, Shane Warne conceded that the current England team has the look and feel of long-term champions, with big-match temperaments in every position from 1 to 11.Such heightened new expectations will be tough for Flower’s men to live up to, but he believes that two challenges in particular – the forthcoming challenge in the subcontinent, and the inaugural World Test Championship in 2013 – will provide all the focus his players need to ensure their ranking looks after itself.”I always think it is very dangerous to try to hold on to what you have got,” Flower told reporters after the Edgbaston Test. “We used that goal – to be No1 – as a motivational tool that drove us in training and in matches. Now that we have achieved that, what [Andrew] Strauss and I don’t want to do is hang on to No. 1 status. That’s not a very exciting way to go about our business. We are going to have to reset our goals.”This winter we go to play against two countries that the last time England toured those countries, we lost. We want to go away and play Pakistan and Sri Lanka away from home and win those series. Ignoring the ranking, those series will have their own importance.”We’ve also got the World Test Championship for the first time in 2013 and that’s in our own country. That is certainly something we are striving for – we have to be in the top four to get into the semi- finals of it and we are going to be working hard between now and then to ensure we are a strong unit ready for that semi-final.”It was a tour of Pakistan that ended England’s last comparable run of sustained form six years ago, when the 2005 Ashes winners were stunned by an unlikely defeat in Multan then crushed by an innings in Lahore. The squad never recovered its momentum after their run of six consecutive series wins had been ended, and Flower is wary that a similar fate can still await this team if they allow their guard to drop.”Now we are ranked No.1, people will be very hungry to knock us off that perch. There is no doubt about that,” said Flower. “It is one thing being good for a short period of time – but having a side that delivers some special results and has some special times together that they will remember for the rest of their lives, that will be a much better thing to look back on than a few victories here and there.”To that end, Flower heaped praise on his Test captain, Strauss, whom he lauded as a “an outstanding leader and a special man”. The pair bonded in the Caribbean during England’s tour in the spring of 2009, where a disastrous collapse to 51 all out in the first Test in Sabina Park gave both men the licence they needed to mould the team in their own driven images. “The players, after being asked to embrace responsibility, have delivered,” he said. “Strauss asked that of them when he took over the captaincy a couple of years ago, and they are repaying him.”At the age of 34, Strauss may not have many more series left at the helm, and so the prospect of taking part in the Ashes double-header in 2013-14 could prove to be a very personal motivation for the final stage of his career. However, his deputy, Cook, has enhanced his credentials as a leader, both through the sheer weight of his batting performances, and latterly through his impressive series win over Sri Lanka in the ODIs. The succession, it would appear, is in safe hands, which lends weight to the perception that England could yet establish a dynasty to rival those of West Indies and Australia in the past 30 years.Flower, however, does not want to address such grandiose ambitions, and prefers to keep his goals closer to home. “That isn’t a very clear target as yet,” he said. “I like goals to be fairly specific. I don’t think we can compare ourselves to those sides, to be quite honest. They dominated world cricket for lengthy periods. We have been playing well for a little while now but only for a short time in cricketing history terms.”Who knows what the future holds though? That is going to be up to us.”

The three Pakistan players who are at the centre of the spot-fixing controversy have been dropped for the limited-overs leg of the England tour

Andrew Miller and Nagraj Gollapudi02-Sep-2010Pakistan’s high commissioner to the UK, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, has provided a new twist to the spot-fixing saga after suggesting in an interview with the BBC that Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, the three players at the centre of the controversy, may have been the victims of a “set-up”.Hasan was speaking after the confirmation that the three players would be playing no part in the limited-overs leg of the England tour, after extensive talks between officials from the ICC and PCB led to the announcement that they had pulled out of the squad due to “mental torture”.”The three players have said they are extremely disturbed with what has happened in the past one week, especially with regard to their alleged involvement in the crime,” Hasan said. “They have mentioned that they are entirely innocent of the whole episode and shall defend their innocence as such. They further maintain that on account of the mental torture that has deeply affected them, they are not in the right frame of mind to play the remaining matches, therefore they have requested the PCB not to consider them until their names are cleared.”They are innocent until proven guilty. They are under interrogation so they have to defend themselves. They are bright young men, one of them has just broken a world record, and we will go to a court of law to defend them.”However, speaking in a separate interview later in the day, the commissioner appeared to support the notion that the players had been set up. Asked specifically if he believed this was the case, he responded: “Yes, I would say that. Yes.” A spokesman for the News of the World later said the paper would “refuse to respond to such ludicrous allegations”.Cricinfo understands that the decision to omit the players only came about after extensive meetings between Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, and Haroon Lorgat, the chief executive of the ICC, which went on past midnight on Wednesday evening. The PCB’s position had been one of reluctance to act before the investigations had run their course, but with the integrity of the sport at stake, Ijaz was finally persuaded to back down.On a day of hectic developments, officials from the ACSU met officials from Scotland Yard in relation to the ongoing investigation, and the three players will be be questioned by Scotland Yard early Friday morning. In the meantime, a local legal firm has been appointed, with the PCB’s legal advisor, Taffazul Rizvi, also in London assisting the case.A source close to the investigation denied that any pressure had been applied from the Pakistan government, but added that the deputy attorney general of Pakistan was in London and had attended the meeting with the high commissioner. Later in the day, Lorgat and Ijaz Butt attended a separate meeting at the Pakistan High Commission.The players, who arrived at the high commission in a car with blacked-out windows, were escorted by 10 police officers past a media scrum, involving up to 20 photographers and reporters, as they entered the building.Earlier in the day team manager Yawar Saeed announced the players’ exclusion from the squad in Taunton, where the Pakistan team is playing a warm-up game. “The T20 squad will remain what it is here this morning, i.e. 13 people,” Saeed said. “When we play the one-day internationals we will be asking for replacements to make the squad up to 16.”The ECB, whose stance on the omission of the players has been clear from the start, estimates that an income of approximately £10 million hinges on the successful staging of this series and the chairman Giles Clarke said “he welcomed the decision”. He said he looked forward to the series being playing “in the spirit” that matches between England and Pakistan are always played in.”I look forward to working with Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, and Ijaz Butt, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, and everyone involved in Pakistani cricket in taking forward cricket in Pakistan so that a proper plan exists for the whole of Pakistani cricket,” Clarke added.Alan Hamer, the chief executive of Glamorgan, also welcomed the news of the trio’s omission ahead of the county’s hosting of the two Twenty20 matches on Sunday and Tuesday.”This is definitely the right decision going forward into the series,” Hamer told Cricinfo. “The week leading up to the matches has felt like a department store in the lead-up to Christmas, with no-one coming through the doors. It has been clear from our initial market research that many people have been waiting for clarity on the allegations before committing to buying tickets, so hopefully with this decision, the emphasis will now shift back to the cricket, and a contest between the past and present World Twenty20 champions.”Additional reporting by Osman Samiuddin.

Respected coach Greg Shipperd lauded the credentials of the WA wicketkeeper while also backing 19-year-old Sam Konstas

Alex Malcolm23-Oct-2024Australia white-ball wicketkeeper Josh Inglis should be in the conversation alongside 19-year-old prodigy Sam Konstas to be the Test opener against India, according to one of the country’s most respected mentors and judges in New South Wales coach Greg Shipperd.Shipperd suggested Inglis should be a legitimate candidate to open the batting against India in the first Test at Optus Stadium in Perth, even if it cost his young NSW opening batter Konstas the chance to make a Test debut.Inglis, 29, is Australia’s incumbent ODI and T20I keeper having played 49 internationals for Australia but has not yet featured in a Test match where he has long been the understudy to Alex Carey. Inglis is in a rich vein of form at Sheffield Shield level with scores of 122, 48, 101 and 26 not out in his first four Shield innings this season. But he is no chance to displace Carey as the keeper given Carey has made 90, 111 not out, 42 and 123 not out in his first four Shield innings after making 98 not out in his last Test innings back in March.Related

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But after NSW lost to Victoria in a closely-watched Shield clash at the MCG, where Konstas made scores of 2 and 43 and fellow Test contender Marcus Harris made 26 and 16, Shipperd offered Inglis’ name as a genuine candidate without being prompted.”Let’s not forget Josh Inglis as well, who I think is probably a smokey in terms of the opening batting spot,” Shipperd said. “I’d have Inglis and Konstas in the conversation as one-two, two-one, and let the Australian selectors mull over those two.”His performances for Australia have been first-class, and I think they’re looking for a style of player at the top of the order, and Inglis may fit that brief.”He’s a right-handed version of David Warner, in terms of someone who wants to get on with the play and he’s got strokes all around the wicket. He’s played at the level internationally, and I think he’s a well-respected player.”Shipperd’s opinion is highly valued within Australian cricket and he has been a coaching mentor to current coach and selector Andrew McDonald.However, Inglis has never opened in first-class cricket. He has batted at No. 3 six times and averaged 12.66, at No.4 once and No. 5 six times but has only passed 50 in one of those seven innings. All of his seven first-class centuries, including his two this season, have come at No. 6 or below. He has opened for Australia in six limited-overs internationals for one half-century. His two T20I centuries, including one against India in India, have come at No.3.Sam Konstas worked hard in the second innings at the MCG for his 43•Getty Images

Inglis’ state captain, Sam Whiteman, endorsed him being in the selection mix. “I think if you’re looking to pick guys off form…absolutely [should be considered],” he said. “He’s seeing the ball as [well] anyone in the country. He’s so versatile with his game, the way he transfers from white ball to red ball. He just looks in great nick. I’m all for him playing for Australia in some capacity, absolutely.”Shipperd still believes Konstas deserves to be in the frame after an indifferent match at the MCG where he copped a rough lbw in the first innings and made a patchy 43 in the second that included a life and a loose dismissal trying to launch offspinner Todd Murphy into the Shane Warne stand.”I thought he was a bit stiff in the first innings and in the second innings, I think he started to show everybody again what he’s got,” Shipperd said. “He was really poised and balanced. Anytime you get through the first 25 overs of a Victorian attack with a new ball that shows you’ve got something and, but for a sad error in terms of judgment in that particular ball, I think he showed that he should be in a conversation at least.”Shipperd added Konstas is not letting the intense sudden media and public interest get to him.”He’s really relaxed and just focused on learning and focused on what his game is all about, in terms of what is working, and where the challenges may be,” Shipperd said.”And he had a couple of them in this innings where he did a couple of strange things in terms of his choices, but he’s reflecting on those as he is and we’re really confident that he’s got the game, if picked.”The next couple of matches for the Australian A team I reckon will tell the story in terms of what the Australian selectors will do.”Shipperd is in a unique position to comment on Konstas. He has compared him to a young Ricky Ponting already and Shipperd was Ponting’s coach at Tasmania back in 1993 when he made twin centuries in a Shield game as an 18-year-old. Konstas became the third youngest behind Ponting to achieve the feat against South Australia two weeks ago.Marcus Harris twice made starts against New South Wales•Getty Images

Ponting was made to wait two-and-a-half years between achieving the feat and making his Test debut. Shipperd was asked whether Ponting had benefitted from spending extra time in Shield cricket before being elevated, and whether Konstas should be handled in a similar manner.”I’m not sure. That’s a very good question, though,” Shipperd said. “Yes, he was made to wait. So whether that made him or he was already made anyway, because he was scoring multiple hundreds across the course of that journey between him not being selected and then finally selected, I think at around 21.”But Sam, I do see a lot of that skill level and that poise at the crease, shots on both sides of the wicket, in front of the wicket, behind the wicket. I think he’s got what it takes. And again, Ricky was trying to break into a super Australian side at that moment with probably no gaps. But there is a gap in the Australian team in the position Sam bats in at the moment. So he’s worth being heavily in the conversation.”Meanwhile, Victoria coach Chris Rogers said Harris would be frustrated with his returns against NSW. But the former Test opener believes Harris is still batting well enough to be in the frame.”I think he’d be disappointed he didn’t get the results,” Rogers said. “I think facing Mitch Starc, there’s always a chance you can get out. He’s a world-class bowler obviously. He got caught down the leg side twice. It can happen. He’ll be disappointed. But he still fought hard, he still moved well, he just didn’t have a lot of luck.”

Visitors recover from sticky start to post 282 after Blackpool weather relents

Paul Edwards11-Jul-2023
English fiction is replete with characters who repair to the seaside to help them recover from illness or other misfortunes. In Jane Austen’s Anne Elliot has “the bloom and freshness of youth” restored by the fine wind on the coast and even modern novelists such as John Banville and Ian McEwan use littoral settings for literary effect. At first glance, though, the comparisons between the gentle Elliot and Lancashire’s head coach, Glen Chapple, are not obvious. (At second glance, they disappear completely.) But Chapple’s players also appear to be using trips to their coastal outgrounds to restore their summer.In June, having drawn their first five Championship matches and sitting a miserable seventh in Division One, Lancashire went to Southport and defeated Hampshire by six wickets. This week, still bruised by their failure to qualify for T20 Finals Day, Keaton Jennings and his players are in Blackpool, attempting to assuage their disappointment by beating Essex, who will be travelling to Edgbaston for English cricket’s annual hogfeast on Saturday.On Monday, both sides were defeated by the omega block, a meteorological feature that brought fearsome downpours whistling in from the west and restricted the teams to just 28 balls, the final three of which were bowled over six hours after the preceding 25. Indeed, had not Stanley Park’s outfield been relaid at a cost of £180,000 over three years ago, the 100th first-class match to take place on this famous ground might have been abandoned soon after it started.Around three o’clock Chapple might have been wishing it had been given up as a bad job. For rather than build on their removal of three top-order batters on the sweating wicket in the first hour or so of the day, Lancashire’s bowlers had been punished by Tom Westley, who had reached his third century of the season with a cut off Colin de Grandhomme, and Paul Walter, who had clouted Tom Hartley for two leg-side sixes in the over before lunch and meted out the same indignity to Jack Blatherwick when the players returned. The pair had also set a new fifth-wicket record for Essex against Lancashire, beating the 147 stand shared by Sonny Avery and Tom Pearce, also at Blackpool, in 1948. What made things worse was that Hartley had dropped Westley on 78 when he grassed a low chance at midwicket off de Grandhomme. Rather than rebalance Chapple’s delicate humours, it was enough to cause a relapse.Medicine, though, was at hand, specifically the right hand of Blatherwick who clutched a firmly hit clip by Walter off de Grandhomme when the tall Essex left-hander had made 76 off 119 balls and extended his partnership with Westley to 155. That dismissal left Essex on 210 for 5, neither prosperous nor poor one might think on what looks a fine outground pitch. Simon Harmer, whose wicket is rarely donated to his opponents, then joined Westley and the pair added a watchful 65 in 24 overs before Lancashire took the second new ball and the game was changed by Tom Bailey, one of the circuit’s least lauded yet most skilful bowlers.The first breakthrough was made by Will Williams, who had Westley caught at slip by Rob Jones for 135 when the Essex skipper seemed disconcerted by a little extra bounce. The last four Essex batters, however, were removed by Bailey, who bowled Harmer with one that nipped away off a good length and then induced Doug Bracewell to sky a pull to midwicket, where Dane Vilas waited under the catch. Both Sam Cook and Will Buttleman fell leg before to the Lancashire seamer, who had by then taken four wickets in 20 balls to complete an innings return of 6 for 59.So much, so very satisfactory for most of the home supporters, some of whom had watched the rain thunder down 24 hours earlier and might have wondered whether the county match they had worked so hard to stage would be worth remembering. And any misgivings they still harboured can hardly have been eased by the sight of Jamie Porter and Sam Cook warming up on the outfield. Essex’s new-ball pair are skilled in making totals of 282 look mountainous, especially so when left with an evening hour in which they can expend their full efforts.And the prospect of an early tumble of wickets assumed a grim reality when Luke Wells attempted to leave Porter’s fourth ball of the innings but only inside edged it onto his stumps. That success merely spurred the bowlers to greater efforts; perhaps they even expected them. Certainly there was no shortage of appeals or near things as Jennings and Josh Bohannon played out the final 13 overs and home spectators postponed their plans for an early departure in favour of watching some of the day’s most gripping cricket. Three hours earlier, they had enjoyed Westley’s leg-side repertoire and his occasional cover-drive; now success was to be measured in forward defensive strokes and balls survived. The final over was bowled by Bracewell, whose penultimate delivery was leg glanced for four by Bohannon. A minute or so later he was punching gloves with Jennings and the players were leaving the long-shadowed field; the sight was far removed from the floods of the previous 48 hours and it offers a rich prospect for the remaining two days of this game.

Former England captain scores 75 before Brook and Dawid Malan add unbroken 210-run stand

ECB Reporters Network07-May-2022Harry Brook upstaged former England skipper Joe Root as Yorkshire feasted on the Essex bowling on day three of their LV= Insurance County Championship clash at Chelmsford.Root, in what was remarkably only his 50th County Championship appearance for the White Rose despite making his debut back in April 2011, stroked his way to a half-century in 88 balls – the exact same number as his successor as England’s Test captain, Ben Stokes, had taken to smash 161 against Worcestershire at New Road 24 hours earlier.However, youngster Brook stole the spotlight, giving another stunning audition ahead of the first Test of the summer against New Zealand next month, by smiting a thrilling century, so keeping up his record of scoring 50 or more in every innings so far this season. The 23-year-old, who closed on 110 not out, currently averages over 200 for the campaign.He shared a record unbroken stand of 210 with Dawid Malan, who passed 50 for the fifth innings in a row, as Yorkshire piled up 425 for 5 by the close – a lead of 22.Root was immediately in the action and got underway with a streaky four wide of second slip. Sam Cook beat him all ends up with a peach of a delivery next up, but that was a rare moment of concern.In many ways this was trademark Root, a delicate cut to third man here, a sweep to fine leg there, the back-foot punch and the off-drive all featured. He was merciless on anything short, too – all this either side of a lengthy stoppage for rain just 45 minutes into the day which drove the players off for an early lunch.At the other end, Matthew Revis looked too good for the nightwatchman role he’d played since the previous evening. The 20-year-old blunted the opening salvos and had just three singles to his name from his first 59 balls. A drive creamed through cover off Mark Steketee signalled a gear change and he later struck Shane Snater for successive boundaries.The century stand came up in two hours, but, with a half-century in sight, Revis pushed a ball from Simon Harmer to midwicket and set off without waiting for it to beat the fielder. Root sent him back, and when Critchley returned to the striker’s end Revis was left short.Root’s demise came equally out of the blue when he underedged a Critchley googly on to his leg stump on 75, but this brought Malan and Brook together and the latter got off the mark by slog-sweeping Simon Harmer over the square-leg fence. It was a sign of things to come as bristling with aggression he plundered already tiring bowlers, becoming the leading run-scorer in Division One this season when he reached 49. The single which followed meant his latest half-century had come in 48 balls.At the other end, Malan was all finesse and timing, his driving, whether straight or square a thing of beauty, reaching his landmark in 92 deliveries.The pair forged on in a lengthy last session. With great symmetry, having got off the mark with a six, Brook reached 101-ball century by hoisting Critchley over the ropes at midwicket.In the dying embers of the day, Yorkshire’s record books were rewritten when Brook and Malan’s sixth-wicket stand reached 201, surpassing the 200 set by David Denton and George Hirst against Essex way back in 1902.

Starc’s bowling will provide ample rough stuff outside the right-handers’ off stump, a key consideration given India lack the left-handers Lyon has feasted on of late

Daniel Brettig14-Dec-2020Nathan Lyon will welcome Mitchell Starc’s return into the Australian camp on Monday following compassionate leave ahead of the Test series against India. More specifically, he will welcome the return of Starc’s heavy boots to the bowling crease.The pair have been close over many years, underlined by how Starc stood up for Lyon back in 2012 when there was talk of a Shane Warne comeback. But there is also a very solid cricket reason: with the benefit of bowling into Starc’s footmarks at the other end, Lyon’s record in Tests they play together at Adelaide Oval is supreme.Over five Adelaide Tests since 2015, four of them day-night affairs, Lyon has plucked 26 wickets at 24.11 with a wicket arriving every 52.4 balls, as against his career average of 31.58 and strike rate of 62.9. Each time, Starc’s bowling has provided Lyon with ample rough stuff outside the right-handers’ off stump, a key consideration given India’s touring side lacks the left-handers he has feasted on in recent years in reaching the cusp of 400 Test wickets.”I’ve been working quite hard on bowling to right-handers, there’s so many of them in world cricket so it isn’t a new challenge for me, but we’re really just looking to compete against both edges, and try to bring both edges into play with catchers around the bat,” Lyon said. “So it’s going to be a challenge but very lucky to have Mitch Starc joining the squad tomorrow and I love his footmarks, so it should be good fun.”He’s one of my best mates and we talk every day. Forever talking to him, probably annoying him to be honest, but he’s pretty pumped, pretty excited. We’re really looking forward to having him back around the squad, we all know firstly the quality of bloke he is but also the quality of cricketer he brings to the table as well. Absolutely exciting to have Mitch join us.”If there were any doubts about Starc’s readiness to return to the heavy lifting of Test cricket after he missed one T20I with a minor side issue and then left the squad on compassionate leave, Lyon allayed them by revealing Starc had kept up bowling in Sydney, pink ball and all, in the SCG nets.”Mitch has played a lot of cricket already, he played two Shield games and bowled well down here in Adelaide, then played during the white ball series that he was available for, so I’m not worried about Mitch at all,” Lyon said. “He said he bowled with the pink ball the other day in at the Sydney nets before anyone got there and he said it was where he left off with the pink ball, so that’s exciting to know how good he is with the pink ball. He’s more than comfortable and more than confident and he’s got all our support as well, so looking forward to it.”We’ve got a few things lined up which are exciting, there’s a great vibe within the Australian cricket team at the moment, so I think we’re in such a better place than we were two years ago, it’s exciting and this is the tightest Australian team I’ve ever been a part of, so to have that opportunity come Thursday to get back out there and play some Test cricket, it’s going to be pretty exciting. But we’ve done a bit of homework and we’re ready to go.”Lyon’s own bowling has evolved considerably in recent years, making a major breakthrough against India in India in 2017 and seldom looking back since. Like the rest of the bowling attack, he is keenly aware of the opportunity to beat India now that the hosts will be bolstered by the extra runs of Steven Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and, when fit again, David Warner.”It’s obviously disappointing when you lose guys to injuries and we all know what quality of player David Warner is, but I think both sides have superstars in each lineup, both got very good bowling attacks, so it’s going to be a massive challenge for both teams coming out to Australia.”We know what happened last series against India out here, we know how well they played, so I know as bowlers we’ve already spoken about that and we’re coming up with a few different plans to hopefully challenge the batters’ defence for longer periods of time this time around. We’re in a such a better place as a team right now, this team is probably the closest I’ve ever been a part of, it’s exciting, it’s a great feeling amongst the team, so it’s pretty exciting about the challenges that lie ahead.”Especially over the last five years my bowling’s gone to a new level and I’m very confident with where my bowling’s at. But they’re a very attacking side so they always want to try to attack a spinner, which is fantastic, I love that challenge.”

Priest 89, Heather Knight half-century lead Storm to 77-run thrashing of Stars

ECB Reporters Network25-Aug-2019Rachel Priest gave a masterclass in power hitting as Western Storm maintained their 100% record in the 2019 Kia Super League with a 77-run thrashing of Surrey Stars at Guildford.The New Zealand international blazed 89 in just 55 balls with six sixes and ten fours as Storm put up 171 for 4. Stars never threatened to chase it down with Sonia Odedra returning figures of 4 for 25 to hustle them out for 94.It means victory over Yorkshire Diamonds on Wednesday will see Storm head for Finals Day with a perfect 10/10 record in the group stages.For the Stars, this was a sixth defeat in a row in what has become a wretched campaign.Priest had her radar set from over one, hitting Dane van Niekerk into the crowd. Eva Gray got similar treatment, though the New Zealand would have had her heart in her mouth after one lbw shout from Marizanne Kapp which was turned down by umpire Sue Redfearn.Smriti Mandhana was superbly stumped by Sarah Taylor off van Niekerk, but Priest continued on with her relentless assault. Three more maximums and six fours carried her to 50 in just 33 balls with Storm skipper Heather Knight content to play second fiddle.Stars didn’t help their cause, Amy Gordon dropping Priest at deep mid-on on 76 before shelling another chance, this time to dismiss Knight when she had 22, Laura Marsh the unlucky bowler on both occasions.A century looked certain for Priest, but she fell 11 short, pulling a short one from van Niekerk to Natalie Sciver on the midwicket fence. The stand with Knight had realised 97 in 65 balls.Knight took charge, moving to her own half-century with a six and five fours. And though she fell to Marsh in the last over, 171 for 4 was another imposing score.The Stars made the worst possible start in pursuit of the target, Lizelle Lee falling to Freya Davies for one to continue her poor run in the campaign. Van Niekerk soon followed, hitting one huge six before nicking Deepti Sharma into the gloves of Priest.The rate required was soon beyond ten, but with Davies and Sharma bowling with superb accuracy, the Stars went six overs without finding the fence. Successive fours from Taylor ended the famine, but still the scoreboard pressure mounted. Taylor’s shot back over the head of Anya Shrubsole was a joy to watch, but England’s 2017 World Cup star extracted swift revenge when the Stars’ wicketkeeper fell later in the over to a catch by Knight at extra cover.Knight accounted for Bryony Smith and Sciver and Kapp fell in successive balls to Odedra, the latter having her stumps spread-eagled.There would be no hat-trick, but there was a third wicket for Odedra when Marsh was stumped for just a single. And she struck again later in the over as Gray found the hands of Sophie Luff. Naomi Dattani joined in the fun by mopping up the tail on a sorry afternoon for the Stars.