All posts by n8rngtd.top

Australia launched the inaugural T20 Tri-series with an emphatic victory over New Zealand at Sydney, hunting down a rain-reduced target of 95 in 11.3 overs

The Report by Andrew Miller03-Feb-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAustralia launched the inaugural T20 Tri-series with an emphatic curtain-raising victory over New Zealand at Sydney, hunting down a rain-reduced target of 95 in 11.3 overs, after their bowlers had proven too aggressive and constraining for their meek opposition.Despite a top-order wobble, in which David Warner and the debutant D’Arcy Short fell inside the first three overs, the belligerent power of Chris Lynn and Glenn Maxwell soon assumed utter control of Australia’s chase.With a series of scything blows, particularly through the covers, Lynn set the initial tempo, en route to 44 from 33 balls, while Maxwell soon found his own range with a ramped four over the keeper’s head followed by a planted front-foot six off the medium pace of Colin de Grandhomme.Lynn picked up his solitary six of the night when he belted Mitchell Santner on the up through midwicket, but he eventually fell in pursuit of his second when, with eight runs required for victory, he scuffed a pull to backward square leg off a Trent Boult bouncer.It barely delayed the inevitable, however. Maxwell flipped another four off his hip in Tim Southee’s subsequent over, then launched the winning boundary high over the bowler’s head two balls later, to finish unbeaten on 40 from 24 balls.Australia’s victory, however, was set up by the beanpole seamer, Billy Stanlake, whose cloud-snagging height, fierce pace and pinpoint accuracy justified Warner’s decision to bowl first, as he wrecked New Zealand’s top order with three wickets in the space of his first eight balls.Two of those came from his first two deliveries. Steaming in for the second over of the innings, he startled Colin Munro with his trampoline bounce from just back of a good length, for Alex Carey – making his T20 debut behind the stumps – to sprint out to point to complete a steepling catch.Then, having crossed while the ball was in the air, Martin Guptill was flummoxed by a beauty, a perfect-length seamer that burst past a tentative push to flick the top of off stump. Stanlake missed his hat-trick by a whisker, as Tom Bruce clipped an attempted yorker through the leg side for three, but Bruce didn’t elude his grasp for long. In his next over, Stanlake zeroed in on his lid with a superb bouncer, and a flapped pull spiralled into the hands of Kane Richardson at fine leg.At 3 for 16, New Zealand were shell-shocked, and their response to adversity was to go even further into that shell. Their second and final boundary of the Powerplay was a slashed cut from Ross Taylor that would have been gobbled by a second slip, and Australia soon had their fourth when tentative rearguard from Kane Williamson was sawn off by that habitual partnership-breaker Andrew Tye. The second ball of his spell was back of a length, and looped off a leading edge to David Warner in the covers.Australia scarcely broke sweat in consolidating their dominance thereafter. The spinners Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa joined Tye in choking the middle overs, and Tom Blundell was the next to snap, galloping down the wicket to a Zampa legbreak and holing out to long-off as he was deceived in flight.At least de Grandhomme refused to go quietly. He greeted Stanlake’s return with a tremendous pick-up for four over midwicket, then gave Zampa the full treatment, pounding him for two sixes in three balls, including a huge mow into the pavilion at midwicket. Taylor, however, was far less fluent or decisive in his outlook, and his departure for 24 from 35 balls was another indication of New Zealand’s muddled plans. A charge at Agar, a slash off a thin edge, and a nick to Carey who completed the stumping just to be sure.With New Zealand going nowhere at 6 for 92, Tye returned for the death and mopped up their resistance. With his knuckle-ball a permanent and illegible threat, Santner mowed to deep midwicket, before Tim Southee and Ish Sodhi holed in in the final over of the innings – Southee at least connected for one massive six over midwicket off Richardson to show some late resistance. De Grandhomme was left high and dry on 38 not out from 24, a lone battler in a flaccid team performance.A steady downfall during the interval caused an hour’s delay and a slight recalculation of Australia’s initial target of 118, but it made little difference to the destiny of the game.Warner and Short each spanked an early boundary off Southee before then falling in the space of three balls – Short to a full-blooded pull to short midwicket and Warner to a dinky juggled catch from Bruce on the midwicket rope. But Lynn and Maxwell scarcely blinked thereafter.

As the glitter and cacophony of the IPL engulfs India, Cheteshwar Pujara is in Yorkshire hoping to return the former champions to title contention

Melinda Farrell11-Apr-2018As the glitter and cacophony of the IPL engulfs India, with maximums and power hitting among the most prized batting traits, Cheteshwar Pujara is happily discussing the value of the leave in Leeds.While it is common for the County Championship to see visiting Test players use the competition as a valuable acclimatisation period before a Test series, Pujara maintains he would have played in England even if India were not touring later this summer. It is, after all, his fourth stint in the Championship and his second for Yorkshire. At Headingley they hope his return is an omen: when he was here in 2015 the title followed.Yorkshire are seeking a refocus in their approach to batting this season, with an emphasis on consolidation before attack. They could hardly have found a better exponent of this than Pujara. Generally a cautious starter, he is notoriously difficult to pry from the crease, as evidenced by his 14 Test and 44 first-class centuries.”They have spoken to me about that,” Pujara told ESPNcricinfo. “The guys played too many shots in the last couple of seasons. They’ve learned from their mistakes and obviously they will try to change the way they play a little bit but at the same time one has to know their strengths and weaknesses so you still need to play according to your strength.”It is always important to spend a lot of time at the crease, have a lot of patience when the ball is doing a lot understand the situation where you need to be a little defensive and know your time to attack because you will always have a time when the ball doesn’t do much and that is where you can capitalise.”Not everyone appreciates Pujara’s discipline and control. His trademark slow starts and a Test strike rate of 47.45 frustrate those fans who have grown impatient on a white ball diet and its effect on the longer formats. When Pujara scored a majestic double-century against Australia in the third Test in Ranchi, which ended in a draw, some critics pointed to the time it took – 525 balls – for him to make 202 as a major impediment to India winning the match. He feels fans in England have a greater appreciation of his skills and temperament.Cheteshwar Pujara works the ball to the leg side•BCCI

“Sometimes I do feel that when I start leaving the ball people really don’t appreciate that because of shorter formats of the game, ” said Pujara. “But when I come here they understand what my role is.”In the India team they do understand but I’m talking about the fans’ perspective where they want to see fours and sixes. So when I come here fans they do understand the game, they do appreciate if you’re leaving the ball, if the bowler is bowling well, if the conditions are challenging, they understand that you need to survive that. Then obviously, once I’m set, I always start scoring runs.”

England completed their four days of preparation in Auckland with a far more convincing batting display than against the pink ball

Andrew McGlashan at Seddon Park17-Mar-20182:23

England look sharper with red ball ahead of Test series

England completed their four days of preparation in Hamilton with a far more convincing batting display than against the pink ball. Captain Joe Root led the way with a century as only James Vince missed out on the final day when he was trapped lbw. There remain question marks over the balance of the side for the first Test which are largely centred around the bowling fitness of Ben Stokes and will be clearer next week.Stokes ends six-month waitIt had been a long time since Stokes last faced the red ball – September 8, when he made 60 against West Indies at Lord’s. He strode out at an almost deserted Seddon Park, Root allowing others a chance ahead of him, at No. 5 which could yet be the position he takes up at Eden Park if he is unable to bowl or has a reduced workload capability. Stokes looked in good order, striking five boundaries in his 32-ball stay, until top-edging a pull and being superbly caught by Glenn Phillips who ran in from deep square-leg. He also had a gentle run through his action on the outfield before play and will bowl at higher intensity in the nets on Monday.Everyone gets somethingEngland got better over the four days and just about took what they could from the fixtures. The lowest combined return over the multiple innings for the top order was Vince’s 50 runs and at various time each of the top order showed encouraging signs. Mark Stoneman responded to his twin failures against the pink with a positive 48 before getting a sharp lifter from Scott Kuggeleijn, Alastair Cook was finding the middle of the bat and Dawid Malan was at ease before chipping a full toss to midwicket.Captain comfortableAfter a brief stay in his first knock against the pink ball, Root has looked especially at ease with the bat. He made a half-century after he came back in under the lights and followed that with 115 off 150 deliveries against the red ball. He looked set to bat to the close until another fantastic catch by Phillips, this time at point. Root ended his wait for an ODI century in Dunedin; it has been 12 Test innings since he has reached three figures (which was in the day-night Test at Edgbaston) and in that time he has failed to convert six half-centuries – not including when he was ill at Sydney. His last red-ball century was against South Africa, at Lord’s, last July. If England do go with the extra bowler in Auckland there will another debate over whether Root should move to No. 3.On to AucklandIt has been a low-key week in Hamilton and England will need to make sure they quickly find the higher intensity needed for a Test match. It makes the lead-up days in Auckland important – Monday is set to be an optional training day, although Stokes will bowl, before the session two days out from the Test which will be most full-on. The New Zealand squad have had a two-day camp in Mount Maunganui to step up their preparations. The main decision for them is which of Colin de Grandhomme, Todd Astle and Matt Henry misses out.

The Bangladesh allrounder, currently the World Cup’s leading run-scorer, is justifying his move up the order

Mohammad Isam in Cardiff08-Jun-2019The story goes back to the time when Chandika Hathurusingha was Bangladesh’s coach. Shakib Al Hasan told him that he wanted to bat at No. 3 in ODIs after establishing himself as this spot in T20Is for Bangladesh. But Hathurusingha didn’t agree. Shakib tried to convince him, but Hathurusingha would not have any of it. The conversation was tense, apparently.But from the first ODI following Hathurusingha’s departure, Shakib started batting in his desired spot. There were people to convince too, but the likes of captain Mashrafe Mortaza and BCB president Nazmul Hassan and his coterie of directors were easier to get on side.ALSO READ: Bangladesh’s outdated thinking on spin strikes againShakib has certainly justified himself at No. 3. Since the start of 2018, he averages 52.76 in 19 innings so far, culminating in his last six innings producing four fifties and a century. His last four innings read 50 not out, 75, 64 and 121. He is also, for now, the leading run-scorer at the World Cup.He has looked right at home, which was evident in this latest innings too. Shakib took on Chris Woakes, Mark Wood and Liam Plunkett, as well as hitting Adil Rashid for 31 off 25 balls. He already had the chops for tackling spin, and is now showing his ability against pace. In fact, Shakib can now be regarded as the one who has fixed this position for Bangladesh, after Sabbir Rahman and Mominul Haque, among others, couldn’t nail down the place.Shakib Al Hasan celebrates after scoring a century•Getty Images

Shakib said that he had to convince the decision-makers to let him bat at No. 3, although he still faces questions about filling in the position. he added that he wanted to take the opportunity to be more involved in batting.”It was my decision [to bat at No. 3],” Shakib said. “I had to convince everyone. If I don’t score runs in a single match, they think that I should be bat at No. 5. I had to convince a lot of people to bat at No. 3, but it is working at this moment.WATCH on Hotstar (India only) – Shakib’s century “It is different. You need to face different challenges. I am enjoying it at the moment. Having said that, it is just the start. I need to contribute with both bat and ball. I thought [batting at No. 3] is a better opportunity for me to contribute more with the bat. But there are plenty of matches in this tournament left.”Shakib said that at one stage in his 106-run third-wicket stand with Mushfiqur Rahim, they actually believed they could gun down England’s 387-run target. “I thought anything between 320 and 330 was something we could have felt comfortable chasing,” he said. “We were two wickets down in 30 overs, with 180 on the board. From there you can think of chasing 320-330 if we had wickets in hand. But 387 was always against our favour.”We wanted to see where we are at the 30-over mark. After the 30th over, we needed around 200. In a T20 game, you can reach that total if you bat really well. We always knew that we were against the run of play but we held that belief for a little time.”Shakib said the particular challenge of taking on the rapid Jofra Archer and Wood invigorated him. “They were quick, but I enjoyed the difficult challenge,” he said. “They are the two quickest bowler in the World Cup. It was tough but I felt very happy the way I played them.”His century was one of the bright spots in a day when Bangladesh lost much of what they gained against South Africa and New Zealand. Shakib now holds the key as many of his team-mates haven’t quite hit their strides. A fine start such as this is sure to set him up to flourish in the rest of the tournament.

Director of cricket declares Brook to be ‘better leader’ than Pope after promotion to vice-captaincy

Vithushan Ehantharajah24-Sep-2025England men’s managing director Rob Key has called time on Chris Woakes’ Test career after the seamer was overlooked for the Ashes, while also stating Harry Brook’s credentials as “a better leader” led to him replacing Ollie Pope as vice-captain.Key was speaking 24 hours after England announced their 16-man squad for this winter’s tour of Australia. While the presence of Will Jacks was the only surprising name in the touring party, the absence of Woakes and a new deputy to Ben Stokes – which had been teased by head coach Brendon McCullum – were the main talking points in an otherwise predictable touring party.Woakes is a veteran of two previous Ashes tours. Though he possesses an average of 51.68 in Australia, he had enjoyed a new lease of life as England’s attack leader following James Anderson’s retirement at the start of the 2024 summer. Of his 62 caps, 17 have come during Stokes’ reign, with 62 wickets at an average of 27.25. That includes a player-of-the-series performance in 2023’s home Ashes, in which he was parachuted in for the final three Tests, and claimed 19 dismissals to help England square the series from 2-0 down.This summer, Woakes and Mohammed Siraj were the only quicks to start all five matches of the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy. However, he badly dislocated his shoulder on day one of the fifth Test at The Kia Oval. Having come out to bat in a sling on the thrilling final morning of the match, he subsequently opted against surgery to give himself the best chance of making the Ashes.England’s management, however, felt Woakes was too much of a risk. And with the seamer turning 37 in March, and out of a central contract next month, Key revealed he will not feature in their plans beyond the Ashes.Brook is deemed the better option to lead England in Stokes’ absence•Getty Images

“It’s been as tough a time for someone, I think, in cricket terms, the timing of it (the shoulder dislocation) as much as anything else, and the chance of reoccurence for the immediate future for Chris Woakes,” Key said.”He was running out of time to be ready for the start for the Ashes. And then once you get out of an Ashes series, you’re often looking at the next cycle, really. So Chris Woakes isn’t in our plans at the minute… at all.”Brook’s elevation to vice-captain was the other big decision for the selectors. Key revealed that he, McCullum and Stokes had spoken to Pope ahead of the announcement, but said the move had no bearing on whether he would make way for Jacob Bethell at No.3, when the Ashes get underway at Perth on November 21.Pope had previously stood in as Test captain on five occasions, most recently in the Oval Test against India. However, England have been impressed with how Brook has taken to the limited-overs captaincy since replacing Jos Buttler in March. This extra responsibility confirms him as the likeliest candidate to take over from Stokes in the long term, as well as being the best short-term replacement in Australia should the captain miss any Ashes action through injury.”It’s pretty simple, really – we think (Brook) is the best person for the job,” Key said. “He has had more experience now in leadership and I think that Harry Brook deserves it. There are no other ulterior motives, other than the fact that we think Harry Brook is the best person to be the best vice-captain.”I think he (Pope) felt that it was coming. Vice-captaincy is not always the most important decision you have to make. We could have gone down the road of not having a vice-captain. When Popey has done it, he’s done it well. He’s fitted into so many different roles that we’ve asked him to do over the past few years and done them all well. Harry Brook is just the better leader and will be the better leader going forward, so that’s why he gets that job.”Pope has been a stable presence as Stokes’ deputy, averaging just under 40, and 41.60 at first-drop, while also standing in as wicketkeeper on five occasions. But he has come under increasing pressure from the emergence of 21-year-old Jacob Bethell, who sowed the seeds of change with an impressive showing at No.3 in New Zealand last year.Related

• The Wizard that Was: Chris Woakes bows out as ultimate team man

• Chris Woakes knew Oval rearguard 'could be last act in England shirt'

• Chris Woakes announces England retirement after Ashes omission

• Stokes blames media 'agenda' for pre-match pressure on Pope

• 'Unbelievable' Archer primed for Ashes impact, says McCullum

Bethell managed just 6 and 5 in his only subsequent Test appearance – under Pope’s captaincy at The Oval. However, he emerged from the summer with credit despite limited playing time, scoring a maiden professional century in the ODI series against South Africa, before becoming England’s youngest-ever captain on the recent T20I tour of Ireland. Further opportunities to state his case will come in October’s white-ball tour of New Zealand that will be used to build towards Australia.Such has been the consistency of the Pope-Bethell debate that Stokes accused the media of an “agenda” against the former earlier this summer. Key, however, said such conversations were inevitable at the sharp end of the international game, as is the possibility of Pope losing his spot to a player who may be deemed a better option against Australia.”I just think it’s international cricket,” he said. “If it’s not Ollie Pope, it’s someone else. There’s always a talking point and things like that drive interest towards the game. Someone like Ollie Pope has played really well in a tough position, he has had to deal with this all along, as have any players when they have lost a bit of form. That’s part and parcel of being an international cricketer. That is why it’s tough.”There is not, like, an elaborate scheme where, if we take the vice-captaincy off Ollie Pope, it makes him easier to drop. It doesn’t matter if you are vice-captain or not. If we don’t feel you are the right person wherever you are batting – whether that’s an opener or No.5 – we’ll end up bringing in someone we think can do the job better.Looking ahead to the Perth Test in just under two months’ time, Key added: “Ollie Pope is the man in possession. We’ll find out what that XI will be, probably two days before.”

Davies’ 124 not out glued together the visitors’ reply to 442 as they closed day two at 211 for 4

ECB Reporters Network08-Jul-2019Alex Davies made his first century of the season to provide some much-needed resistance for Lancashire on the second afternoon at Wantage Road. Davies’ 124 not out glued together the visitors’ reply to Northamptonshire’s 442 as they closed day two 211 for 4.Davies’ season has been badly interrupted by a finger injury picked up while keeping wicket in the opening match of the season at Middlesex. This is his fifth match of the summer but he immediately looked in good touch and went on to make a fifth first-class hundred.It was a vital innings with Lancashire forced to battle back after conceding by far their highest total of the summer. That pressure only increased when the Red Rose slipped to 2 for 2 in the fifth over of the reply but Davies found his touch with a smart cover drive against Brett Hutton and then tucked into some loose bowling from Nathan Buck, cutting merrily for several of his 10 fours as he passed fifty in only 59 deliveries.Luke Procter regained control and created a sharp chance from Davies, on 70, who miscued a straight drive back to the bowler but the ball burst through his hands above his head.After tea, Davies was quick to capitalise on anything slightly wide from Rob Keogh’s off-spin and it was a cut stroke against Keogh, his 17th boundary, that brought him a century in 151 balls.For much of the afternoon, Davies had Rob Jones for company. Jones never settled as well and played and missed regularly and was also dropped, on 27, gloving a hook against Procter that Adam Rossington couldn’t gather behind the wicket leaping above his head.Jones did not want Keogh to settle at the start of his spell but in the off-spinner’s second over, advanced down the wicket and dragged a lofted drive to mid-on where Procter dived to his right to take a fine catch. It ended a stand of 127 for the third wicket.Josh Bohannon edged Keogh to first slip soon after as Lancashire slipped to 131 for 4 but Steven Croft arrived to calmly steer his side to the close, unbeaten on 38 in a stand of 80 for the fifth wicket with Davies.Lancashire were plunged into deep trouble at the start of their reply, losing two wickets in the opening five overs. Keaton Jennings edged Ben Sanderson to second slip for a nine-ball duck before Haseeb Hameed fell for an eight-ball naught, dragging Sanderson into his leg stump.It continued an excellent opening period of the day for the home side who took their overnight 334 for 5 to 442 – despite slipping to 352 for 8 – with Procter making 48 not out against his old county as Lancashire missed out on maximum bowling points for the first time in 2019.

It has emerged that the third umpire might have looked at the wrong replay after being referred to for a no-ball, with pictures showing the batsman Umesh Yadav at the non-striker’s end during RCB’s clash against Mumbai

Sidharth Monga18-Apr-2018It might not have had much of a bearing on the result of the match, but the third umpire might have looked at the wrong replay when the on-field officials turned to him to check on a no-ball during the match between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore.Jasprit Bumrah is no stranger to bowling no-balls – his costliest one coming in last year’s Champions Trophy final – but he got away without scrutiny when he dismissed Umesh Yadav, the eighth Royal Challengers batsman to fall, on Tuesday. The on-field umpire immediately asked to see if he had overstepped. The replay shown, though, has Umesh at the non-striker’s end, and the heel of Bumrah’s front foot lands well inside the crease. The commentators were surprised that it was even checked. “No need to go [to the third umpire] for that,” commentator Sunil Gavaskar said on air.It went unnoticed that Umesh was in the picture at the non-striker’s end until Twitter user @ronak_169 brought it to ESPNcricinfo’s notice. While this was not significant to the result – Royal Challengers were 137 for 7, chasing 214, with only 13 balls left – it once again raises the possibility of this human error in more critical stages of the match. Nor is this the first time that the third umpire has ruled on a no-ball when watching the wrong replay.In the 2011 IPL, Sachin Tendulkar was ruled out similarly. The first two replays showed that the bowler Amit Mishra was close to overstepping, but a third angle, from cover, had him just okay. It was later noticed that in the third replay, Tendulkar was at the non-striker’s end. Later that year, in a Test match in Barbados, MS Dhoni was ruled out off a no-ball even though on-field umpire Ian Gould suspected Fidel Edwards had overstepped and went upstairs to check. The wrong replay was shown to the third umpire on that occasion, which the broadcasters, , then admitted as “a human error, compounded by a senior replay operative having to return home at a very short notice”. There must be others that go unnoticed.This kind of error often occurs when the replay operator clicks twice, thus going to the previous ball and missing the ball in question. In this case, Umesh was indeed at the non-striker’s end one ball before he got out. There is no plausible reason for this to be anything other than an innocent human mistake, but such an error has the potential to attain major significance in a tight situation.In this particular instance, perhaps the third umpire could have been more vigilant. Perhaps checking who is at the non-striker’s end when checking for no-balls can be added to the third umpire’s protocols, but by no means is it an exhaustive check: in this case, for example, if the previous ball had been a dot played out by Umesh, a wrong replay would have shown Virat Kohli at the non-striker’s end.The trickiest part of the situation is the delegation of the decision-making arm to the broadcaster, which is not neutral in international cricket. The ICC doesn’t pay for the technology used for decision making, which means it cannot hold the broadcasters accountable for any errors. If ICC does assume control of the decision making, the money will have to ultimately come from the member boards’ share of profits, which reduces the likelihood of this happening in the near future.

Kaitano, Masvaure, Madhevere and Matigimu have been left out while Brendan Taylor is expected to return

Firdose Moonda21-Jul-2025Ben Curran has recovered from a fractured hand sustained in a warm-up match against South Africa in Arundel and has been named in Zimbabwe’s 16-player squad to take on New Zealand next month.At the moment, the squad does not include Brendan Taylor, whose three-and-a-half-year ban for breaching the ICC anti-corruption code ends on July 25. ESPNcricinfo understands he will be added to the squad once his ban expires on Saturday and is expected to be available for the first Test that starts July 30. The squad does feature four other changes from the one that lost 2-0 to South Africa.Sikandar Raza, who was playing in the MLC during the South Africa Tests, returns to the squad alongside Roy Kaia and Tanunurwa Makoni. Opening batters Takudzwanashe Kaitano and Prince Masvaure, middle-order batter Wessly Madhevere and seamer Kundai Matigimu, who debuted against South Africa, have been left out.Related

• Matt Fisher earns first NZ call-up, Williamson remains unavailable for Zimbabwe Tests

• Glenn Phillips ruled out of Zimbabwe tour with groin injury

Blessing Muzarabani leads the seam attack, but there was no room for Richard Ngarava. The left-arm quick had injured his back in the Test against England but returned in the ongoing T20 tri-series featuring Zimbabwe, South Africa and New Zealand.Brian Bennett, who was concussed in the first Test against South Africa and had returned in the T20Is, is also in the Test squad. Dion Myers, who was covering for Bennett, has been released.Both Tests will be held in Bulawayo, where conditions are difficult for quicks and run-scoring can typically be slow, though South Africa scored at 5.49 runs to the over in the most recent Test there.This is the first time Zimbabwe will play Tests against New Zealand since 2016, when New Zealand visited Bulawayo and won the series 2-0. It also marks the end of a busy period of Tests for Zimbabwe for the time being.Since December last year, they have played eight Tests, including five at home, all at Queens Sports Club. Zimbabwe have lost all their home games and only won one of their last 15 Tests. They will next play Tests towards the end of the year when they host Afghanistan.The matches are not part of the current World Test Championship cycle.Zimbabwe squad: Craig Ervine (Captain), Brian Bennett, Tanaka Chivanga, Ben Curran, Trevor Gwandu, Roy Kaia, Tanunurwa Makoni, Clive Madande, Vincent Masekesa, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani, Newman Nyamhuri, Sikandar Raza, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Nicholas Welch, Sean Williams

Fast bowler to miss tours to Pakistan, New Zealand after problem picked up on routine scan

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Sep-2024Mark Wood, England’s fastest bowler, will miss the forthcoming Test tours of Pakistan and New Zealand, after being ruled out for the rest of the year due to a bone-stress injury to his right elbow.Wood was withdrawn from the ongoing Sri Lanka series as a precaution, after suffering a right thigh strain while bowling during the first Test at Old Trafford. However, he subsequently underwent what he had hoped was a routine elbow scan, after feeling discomfort in the joint, and admitted in an Instagram post that he had received some “pretty rubbish news”.”During what I thought was routine check on a previously troublesome elbow, I was shocked to learn I’ve got some bone stress in my right elbow,” Wood wrote.As a result, he will miss England’s final six Tests of the year, three each against Pakistan in October and New Zealand in December.He will continue to work closely with the ECB medical team in the meantime, with the aim of returning to full fitness by early 2025, in time for England’s white-ball tour of India and the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan, which is scheduled to begin in February 2025.Wood’s surprise at his diagnosis comes in the wake of some of the fastest bowling of his international career. During the Trent Bridge Test against West Indies in July, he hit a top speed of 97.1mph in an electrifying performance that culminated in a broken forearm for Kevin Sinclair, and had his captain, Ben Stokes, predicting he would break the 100mph before his career is done.Though he went relatively under-rewarded in that performance, he closed out the series with 5 for 40 at Edgbaston, his first five-wicket haul in a home Test. However, he bowled just 18.2 overs across two innings against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford, before he was withdrawn from the action.”After the minor groin injury at Emirates Old Trafford, me and the medical team felt it was a good time to get my elbow looked at as it was a bit irritated,” Wood added in his Instagram post. “I’d put that down to the normal niggles every fast bowler gets and which I was playing through.”I’m especially surprised because I’ve been playing Test cricket and kept my speeds up.”I work incredibly hard on my fitness, putting in extra work with coaches and physios making this even more disappointing. However, I guess this is, ‘part of being a fast bowler’, like Stokesy says.”I will miss the rest of the year needing time to rest and build up, fully expecting to be back and firing in early 2025. I have been down this path before and will put in all the hard yards behind the scenes. I am very proud to represent my country and there is no better feeling. See you for some rockets in 2025!”In Wood’s absence, Olly Stone was recalled for last week’s Lord’s Test, his first Test since undergoing back surgery three years ago, with Josh Hull, the 20-year-old left-arm seamer, making his debut in the ongoing third Test at The Oval.

Rawal, Mandhana and Harleen also chipped with fifties as India posted a record total and eventually won by 116 runs

Shashank Kishore12-Jan-2025India notched up a series win that never appeared to be in any doubt, but in batting out 50 overs for a second straight game in Rajkot, Ireland ticked off a few boxes as part of their preparations for the World Cup qualifiers.India stormed to their highest-ever ODI score, fuelled by Jemimah Rodrigues’ maiden ODI century, and then saw Ireland’s top order deny a young Indian pace attack. Christina Coulter Reilly brought up a maiden half-century in her fourth innings, while Laura Delany made a 36-ball 37 to frustrate India’s spinners. Ireland eventually surpassed the 238 for 7 they made two days ago, to take away plenty of batting positives.The crux of India’s win lay in how their own set of youngsters, outside of Smriti Mandhana, batted and put up runs on the board. Pratika Rawal hit a third half-century in five innings, but would’ve been disappointed at missing out on a century for a second-game running.Related

• Rodrigues: 'Like the way I showed patience and switched gears'

• Stats – India break partnership records, post their highest-ever ODI total

• Ireland Women spinner Aimee Maguire reported for suspect bowling action

After making 89 two days ago, Rawal exhibited outstanding offside stroke play against the seam bowlers in particular, during the course of a 156-run opening stand with Mandhana. Rawal was out lbw for 67 off the very next ball after Mandhana mistimed a pull off Orla Prendergast at midwicket for 73.India’s urgency in the powerplay wasn’t accompanied by blind slogging but pristine stroke play, even as Mandhana initially fiddle in what seemed like a role reversal from the series opener two days ago. That day, Mandhana charged off the blocks, playing her signature pulls, while Rawal buckled down.This fusion helped the pair put together their third opening stand of 100 or more in five innings, with Mandhana quickly overtaking Rawal. There seemed a sense of inevitability to two impending centuries, but lapses in concentration led to a double-strike.This brought Harleen and Rodrigues together as the pair took a while to play their strokes on the face of some really slow bowling. Harleen struggled for momentum early on, pottering to 5 off 21 deliveries; Rodrigues was a tad more industrious at the other end, attempting to move around the crease and thwart the seamers by playing the pulls and paddles.The pair took 75 deliveries to raise their half-century stand which Harleen raised with a superb, lofted hit over mid-off. Rodrigues didn’t want to be left too far behind as she hit Arlene Kelly for back-to-back fours, with overs 32-34 fetching India five boundaries. Harleen possibly played the shot of the day when she exhibited incredible control in whipping a full ball from fourth-stump to bisect the gap between deep midwicket and long-on.The Harleen Deol-Jemimah Rodrigues partnership took time to speed up•BCCI

Ireland let themselves down when they missed running out Rodrigues for 34 in the 35th over when Prendergast missed a direct hit at the non-striker’s end from mid-on. Rodrigues was let off a second time when keeper Coulter Reilly put down a tough chance off an attempted late cut off Canning.Harleen got to her fifty off 58, and accelerated towards her second hundred in four ODIs, before falling for 89. Rodrigues got her half-century a tad slower, off 62 deliveries, before she shifted gears sensationally in the last ten overs. The purity of her strokeplay stood out, with her signature lofted hit by moving legside of the ball making repeated appearances.Rodrigues took just 28 balls to move from a half-century to her maiden ODI ton, much to the applause of the entire team on the balcony, before she celebrated by mimicking playing a song on her guitar with her bat. India ended with 370 for 5, 102 off those coming in the last ten as Ireland walked back relieved that their morning toil was over.Christina Coulter Reilly scored her maiden ODI fifty•BCCI

Ireland were slow off the blocks and never equally went for the target. But Coulter Reilly overcame two blows on her helmet, both times missing a bumper from Sayali Satghare. She overcame the early jitters to exhibit a sense of fearlessness against spin, particularly enterprising off Priya Mishra, the legspinner, whom she swept into different arcs on the leg side.Delany, who came in at No. 4, showed urgency from get-go, hitting her second ball through the covers for a boundary, and was equally formidable when Deepti Sharma tried to lull her in flight after an early reprieve when the offspinner put down a tough return catch on 7.As it turned out, this passage – an 83-run fourth-wicket stand – was the only period where in India felt challenged by Ireland’s batters, even as the rest tried to get their eye in. Leah Paul, who struck a half-century in the previous game, made an unbeaten 22-ball 27, to add the finishing touches as Ireland surpassed the 238 for 7 they made two days ago.