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Daryl Mitchell has spoken out about “the devastating news” of his sacking as Worcestershire captain after more than six years in charge

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Sep-2016Daryl Mitchell has spoken out about “the devastating news” of his sacking as Worcestershire captain after more than six years in charge.Mitchell, 32, has led Worcestershire to two promotions in the Championship as they have constantly alternated between Division One and Two, but promotion eluded them this season and he had paid the price. Allrounder Joe Leach has been named as his successor.Mitchell was privately informed of his removal by Worcestershire’s director of cricket, Steve Rhodes, on Monday and rejected the opportunity to resign – preferring to speak openly about the shock that he believes was felt not only by himself but also many of his team-mates.”Being sacked from my role as captain on Monday morning came as devastating news to me” he wrote in a message posted on Twitter. “This is certainly the most difficult thing I’ve had to deal with in my professional career.”As you can probably imagine it came as quite a shock, I am bitterly disappointed and left deeply hurt by the decision. I informed the players and staff last night and their messages of support have been overwhelming. Knowing that my team-mates share the shock is of great comfort to me.”Mitchell, normally the mainstay of Worcestershire’s batting, averaged only 34 in the Championship and failed to reach 1000 first-class runs and admitted that off-field issues had undermined him in the first half of the season.”2016 has been a difficult year for me with a lot on my plate off the field, poor form with the bat in the early part of the season and if I’m honest I haven’t been at my best as captain in certain parts of the year,” he said.”However, I did feel things had turned the corner, I finished the season well, and after a freshen up over the winter I was looking forward to leading the team in competing for trophies in 2017. Unfortunately this was not to be.”I was given the opportunity to resign but I felt it important that everybody knew the truth and the one thing I most certainly am not is a quitter.”Although I disagree with the decision, I do fully respect it and know it been made with the very best intentions for Worcestershire CCC moving forward. I’ve been in professional sport long enough to know, sometimes you just have to take things on the chin and move on.”I would like to thanks Steve Rhodes for giving me the opportunity to fulfil a childhood dream of becoming captain of Worcestershire CCC. I guess like all dreams you have to wake up at some point.”Leach, the county’s vice captain, had a season to remember. He finished as leading wicket-taker in Division Two of the Championship with 65 victims and scoring neary 600 runs.

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

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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.

Stand-in captain says she will grow as leader and batsman ahead of must-win fixture for India

Annesha Ghosh in Guwahati06-Mar-20192:53

Our main focus is for the team to be ranked No. 1 – Mandhana

Smriti Mandhana, India’s stand-in T20I captain, says her initiation to leading the side with a thumping loss against England in the first match may help her perform better as a leader and batsman in the second, must-win fixture for India in the three-match series, on Thursday.”It was a really tough game to go out there, and first game as a captain you are really nervous and excited,” Mandhana said of India’s 41-run loss against England in the series opener in Guwahati. “But things did not go the way as I expected it to be. I have to accept that I was a bit nervous.”Definitely, before the second match, now that I have made my captaincy debut, I wouldn’t be nervous and I will be proactive in captaincy and in batting, [I] will be able to give a good start to India.”Mandhana’s 8-ball 2 on Monday was part of a lacklustre performance from India’s batting line-up, whose chronic infirmity in the 20-over format has worsened around relying on her and No. 3 batsman Jemimah Rodrigues for steady starts and, most of the time, squandering that.Most tellingly, the over-reliance came to the fore during India’s 3-0 whitewash in New Zealand, where designated T20I captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who is out of the current series with an ankle injury, also had a lean patch as a middle-order batsman.Mandhana said the focus during an open-wickets session at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium on Tuesday and a nets session on Wednesday had been on addressing the T20I side’s biggest concern: “get the batting order right and avoid collapse”.On Monday, Mandhana had squarely pinned the blame for India’s defeat on herself, Mithali Raj and Rodrigues, who make up India’s top four, with allrounder Harleen Deol having made her T20I debut in the series opener.”As a batter who is settled, our top four, we are playing for a long time now,” Mandhana had said after the loss. “I, Mithali, Jemi have to take more responsibility, and bat more and take the team through [the finish line]. We have to give a bit of cushion to the youngsters.”On the eve of the second game in the three-match series, Mandhana’s assessment differed little. She did, however, take hope from the lower-middle order’s rearguard, which involved Deepti Sharma, Arundhati Reddy and Shikha Pandey contributing a combined 63 runs in India’s total of 119.”The batting order,” Mandhana said, “even in New Zealand, we didn’t capitalise [on] the good start. The last match we didn’t get a good start. But one positive is how Shikha [Pandey], Aru and Deepti played at the end. That was the big positive for us.”Shikha Pandey celebrates a wicket•Associated Press

Pandey, the leader of India’s pace attack, was also the most economical of the five bowlers used by Mandhana, who was satisfied with the quality of fast bowlers coming into the side, despite left-arm seamer Komal Zanzad not being handed an international debut in the first T20I after running through the England line-up with a blistering three-for as part of the Board President’s XI two weeks ago.”We have really good pace bowlers coming in,” Mandhana said. “Of course, you won’t get someone like Jhulan [Goswami] because she has so much experience. It is wrong to expect a pace bowler coming in to deliver the same as what Jhulu di does for us because she is one of a kind.”I played the Board President XI’s match as well. Even I used to feel that. But seeing the pace bowlers [in that game], I think they did a brilliant job. We got almost four or five wickets in the first 10 overs. And those were all pacers. So I don’t think there is lack of depth. Only that we have to give them enough chances to be a match-winner for India.”Mandhana’s view of the fast-bowling talent on the domestic circuit comes two days after 36-year-old Goswami, the senior-most bowler in the Indian contingent, reclaimed the No. 1 ODI spot on the back of her eight wickets in the preceding series in Mumbai, which India won 2-1.”That is the position where she deserves to be,” Mandhana, the top-ranked batsman in the 50-over format, said of Goswami, while also commending Mithali Raj (No. 4 on the batsmen’s rankings), Pandey and Poonam Yadav (ranked fifth and tenth on the bowlers’ rankings respectively) for figuring in the top 10 from the second-placed Indian side.”It’s an exciting thing,” Mandhana said. “But now our goal is to get the team to the No. 1 ranking. Individuals being up there on No. 1… but it’d be much better if the team is at No. 1 on the ICC rankings.”While Tammy Beaumont, England’s Player of the Match in the first T20I, said after the game losing the toss may have worked in the tourists’ favour, Mandhana defended her decision to chase.”Definitely not [a wrong decision to field first],” Mandhana said. “I think the wicket was really good to bat on. It didn’t change at all. If the wicket changed in the second innings, then we would think that the decision was wrong. But the wicket remained the same.”Only in bowling we thought we gave 10-15 runs extra. One-sixty was quite chaseable, but none of our top-order batters got any start. I think if anyone would’ve batted until the 15th over, it would have been a different game.”

Bairstow’s unbeaten 99 extends England’s lead before Wood’s pace is again the x-factor

Andrew McGlashan21-Jul-2023Another brilliant, high-octane spell from Mark Wood cracked open Australia’s second innings after Jonny Bairstow’s blitz continued England’s batting rampage at Old Trafford as they did all they could to buy themselves enough time to beat a poor weekend weather forecast and level the Ashes series.After Bairstow’s unbeaten 99, with 50 coming from his last 31 balls, had extended England’s lead to 275, Wood’s pace was again the x-factor in their attack. He had removed Usman Khawaja in his first over before returning deep in the final session to bounce out Steven Smith (claiming him for the second time in the game) for his 100th Test wicket and Travis Head to leave Australia tottering on 108 or 4.Marnus Labuschagne and Mitchell Marsh survived through to the close, but it had been a chastening two days for Australia who will need all the help they can get to retain the Ashes here and avoid a decider at The Oval next week, for which they surely wouldn’t be favourites.Bairstow had been stranded one short of a rollicking century when James Anderson was trapped lbw by Cameron Green to end a barnstorming last-wicket stand of 66 which left Australia ragged and rattled. The ‘big three’ quicks – Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins – returned a combined economy rate of 5.22 and for just the second time in Tests together all conceded over 100.In theory, England had two-and-a-half days to make it count after scoring at an eye-watering 5.49 through their 107.4 overs. In reality, though, they looked sure to have far less time than that to secure the win they need to take the series down to the wire and remain on course to be only the second team to come back from 2-0 down to win. The forecast for Saturday remained exceedingly bleak while Sunday was not good – they will hope that, not for the first time, it proves wrong.England batted longer than many thought likely – they were 189 ahead at lunch and 209 when the ninth wicket fell – but clearly valued as big a lead as possible and with Bairstow carting the ball around the overs were being used effectively. Bowling time, though, will likely be at a premium but the four wickets they have taken means they may not need a huge window in the weather.They got through Australia’s opening pair either side of tea. Khawaja and David Warner had progressed reasonably comfortably against the new ball before Wood, in his first over, grazed Khawaja’s outside edge. Khawaja went for the DRS after talking to Warner and the spike was confirmed.Related

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Warner fell for another middling score when Chris Woakes claimed him for the second time in the game. After fizzing a delivery past the outside edge, he then had Warner in two minds and he deflected down into his stumps.Smith came close to falling second ball when he edged Woakes low to Joe Root at first slip. Root did not celebrate the catch at all, but indicated to the umpires he thought it was out and it was sent to the TV official, Kumar Dharmasena. After much rocking and rolling Dharmasena determined that Root had not got his fingers under the ball in what was another borderline decision in a summer where there have been numerous examples.Smith and Labuschagne worked hard to navigate their way through the final session on a surface showing signs of some variable bounce, which had been on display for Root’s wicket the previous day.But, once again, Wood made the difference as he got Smith into difficulties with a short ball that he attempted to pull and could only get a glove through to Bairstow. Unsurprisingly, England went at Head with the bouncer straight away and it only took seven deliveries to pay dividends when he fended a glove into the gully, unable to get out of the line.England had resumed on 384 for 4 after their Zak Crawley-inspired rampage the day before. They did not quite find top gear during the morning session, although these things are all relative and 122 runs still came from 24 overs. Australia delayed taking the second new ball and the softer, older version made strokeplay tougher work.Stokes had signalled his intent early by charging down and hoicking Starc over midwicket, but he and Harry Brook didn’t completely throw caution to wind. Stokes went to his half-century from 72 balls before playing around a delivery from Cummins to give the forlorn Australia captain his first wicket of the innings.Brook’s fifty came from 80 deliveries before he fell shortly after Australia opted for the new ball after 90 overs, the first time they had taken it in the series, when he top-edged Josh Hazlewood to long leg. Starc judged the catch expertly near the rope and as he ran in to his team-mates, mimicked scraping it along the ground in reference to his denied catch at Lord’s.Hazlewood added Woakes (England’s first duck of the series) and Wood before lunch, then claimed what will likely sit among his least-decorated five-wicket hauls when Stuart Broad skied a return catch.Jonny Bairstow launches another six over deep square leg•Getty Images

Stokes could have considered calling an end to the innings, but to roars from his home crowd Anderson came to the middle for what might have been his final Test innings on the ground. He played his part by fending off numerous short deliveries, but also managed one crunching pull against Cummins. There were chaotic scenes, too, during the partnership as he and Bairstow three times stole byes to Alex Carey, whose underarming at the stumps was less accurate than it at been at Lord’s.Bairstow went to his fifty with a trademark whip-pull for six off the hip against Starc – and that was just the start. He had now flicked to one-day mode (if that’s even a thing with England’s Test batting) and one of his sixes over the leg side endangered the windows of the new hotel complex. Even Stokes was seen mouthing ‘wow, that’s huge’ from the dressing room.Having got to 98 with a ferocious swat through the covers, a stolen bye at the start of the next over got him back on strike. Two balls later he drove firmly towards long-off and Anderson was ready to sprint back for the second, but Bairstow told him to stay put. Next delivery, Anderson went too far across against Green.It heralded the start of the third innings that will decide this match. England could not have done any more to set up their position; now all they can do is hope they get enough time to make it count. Australia, meanwhile, will be praying for two days of rain. It’s been a remarkable turnaround.

Rested seamer reflects on Test success in Pakistan, Ben Stokes’ captaincy and ball to Mohammad Rizwan

Vithushan Ehantharajah16-Dec-2022At 40 years of age and with 177 caps, missing Test matches is not something James Anderson has time for. Yet as he sits in Karachi’s Movenpick hotel on Friday, a day out from the third and final Test against Pakistan, he is at peace with the fact he is sitting this one out.The series is won, with only the scoreline left to sort. Anderson’s eight wickets at 18.50 have ticked off a ninth frontier in the format, 17 years after he accompanied England on their last tour to the region without getting on the park (for the Tests). The career dismissals were 35 then, 675 now as Anderson’s 20th year as an international comes to an end. Nevertheless, his rest has been well-earned.”It’s been brilliant from start to finish really,” Anderson says. “I think we’ve just really gone about things the right way, we’ve worked really hard concentrating on the right things. We wanted to keep that same mentality we had in the summer, the same style of cricket.”We knew it was going to be slightly different out here. Just from one to 11 it’s been outstanding. Everyone’s chipped in, whether it’s with runs or wickets in the field, and we deserve to be two-nil up.”Related

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That Anderson “completely understands” the reasons for being rested is as much personal contentment as it is the environment he is in. He felt he could have played, and said as much to Ben Stokes. The captain, however, was thinking further ahead. “It’s only four or five weeks before we go to New Zealand,” says Anderson of the two-Test series in February. “It’s not a huge amount of time.”What the break does do is give Anderson scope to assess how the last couple of weeks have been on a personal level. It speaks volumes that he regards the job done here as the most satisfying of his career.”I feel proud of the work I’ve put in over here: forty overs [46] in the first Test, 22 I think on the last day of the game. That’s as good as I’ve bowled and as important a role as I’ve played in any team, I think, especially in these conditions.”And I think to be honest, we all feel like that as bowlers. The seamers have put in a lot of work to try and get something out of the wickets.”We’ve managed to find some reverse swing which helps. But I think generally we have just thought outside the box with fields as well. Just trying everything we can to get 20 wickets and thankfully we’ve managed to do it in both games.”More specifically, there is pride at the delivery in Multan that did for Mohammed Rizwan: moving in with that reverse, then nipping away and clipping the top of off stump. The video of that dismissal is still doing laps on social media. Many used it as an excuse to trawl through Anderson’s archives to compare it to other pearlers. The man himself is certain it is one of the best deliveries to have left his hand.”I think it probably is up there, just because of where I’ve done it. I’ve bowled similar deliveries in England where you get that seam movement. And it happens more regularly than it does in Pakistan.”So to get that little bit of reverse swing in and it definitely hit a crack, but it looks great on telly. For me it’s right up there with one of the best balls I’ve bowled.””I guess that’s part of the skill out here when you know certainly towards the back end of the game the wicket might break up. The wicket out here looks exactly the same – there are going to be cracks there as the game goes on and it deteriorates. And the skill for the bowlers then is to hit it as often as you possibly can. [It’s] not always that easy just to land it on it. That’s the thing: you’ve got to bowl it with some decent heat on, you can’t just put it there or bowl within yourself. You’ve got to mean every ball. It can take its toll, but it’s really satisfying when you get those rewards.”In many ways, it is remarkable Anderson finishes 2022 with 36 wickets at an average of 19.80, the first time the latter has been under 20 in a calendar year since 2017. The spillover of the Ashes and the end of Chris Silverwood’s tenure as head coach was such that Anderson and Stuart Broad were omitted from the tour of the Caribbean, which was Joe Root’s last engagement as Test captain.But it is clear Anderson is enjoying a new lease of life under his eighth full-time Test captain. He is currently the leading wicket-taker under Stokes, a statistic which has a very clear correlation to the manner in which the captain and new head coach, Brendon McCullum, are approaching things on the field.The batting may grab the headlines, but the bowling has been a model of consistency through relentless pressure, administered through attacking fields with accompanying lines and lengths. England have taken 10 wickets in all 17 innings so far under Stokes and McCullum through this approach, something which aligns with Anderson’s own theories while also opening his eyes to doing this a different way.”I love thinking about the game, thinking about plans, and Ben is that sort of captain. All he thinks about is taking wickets. He’s not bothered about trying to dry the run rate up or control the game. He wants to take wickets. You see that with the fields he sets. That then rubs off on you as a bowler.Ben Stokes and Anderson plot their tactics•AFP/Getty Images

“I can’t remember the amount of times I would have bowled in previous years with a leg slip. I had one quite a lot throughout the summer, had one quite a lot in this series. Funnily enough, that Rizwan wicket, I did have a leg slip in at the time and Rooty thinks maybe that position made him stay slightly leg side of the ball. Those little things can actually make a big difference.”When we were successful in 2010, it was a run-rate thing, control the rate, and it worked for that group of players. We did that again in ’17, ’18, ’19, it didn’t quite work for us. This seems to be working for this group of bowlers, and we’ve got a nice mix of bowlers, especially with Woody [Mark Wood] coming back in. So I’ve found it refreshing thinking differently, even though I’ve played a lot of games.”As long as you’re getting hit in the right areas, they don’t care if you go for the odd four, trying to go a bit fuller, so that gives you confidence to bowl, knowing that you don’t have to fret about how many runs you’re going for, or whether you’ve been hit twice down the ground. If that’s the way you’re trying to get people out, with catchers in front of the wicket as they have been out here, then they’re completely fine with it.”As for where things go from here, the spectre of Australia and a home Ashes looms large. Given the constant calls from within the group to play more engaging, more entertaining cricket and push past the previous achievements, predicting where this side will be by next summer is anyone’s guess. “I’m sure over the coming months the messages will be the same,” Anderson says. “With the talent we have got, we should just keep getting better so that by the time the Ashes does come around, we’ll be in a good place.”Given how accustomed he is with Australia ahead of what will be his 10th series against them, there is maybe no better person to ask. Does he think Australia will be intimidated of this free-wheeling juggernaut fuelled by vibes and a relentless approach to positive results?”It’s an interesting one,” he muses. “I texted Tim Southee the other day to congratulate him on the NZ captaincy and he was like ‘I’m not sure I can keep up with you guys’.”Maybe the Aussies might be more brash than him but there might be something deep down, where they’re not sure how they’re going to approach it against us. Having played against them a lot, I’m sure they’ll try to come back just as hard as they can. It seems a long way away at the minute, but hopefully we can keep enjoying ourselves and keep playing the way we are because it’s a lot of fun to be a part of.”

Winless Yorkshire left frustrated once again as youthful hosts build on promising start

Alan Gardner20-Apr-2023Sussex 275 for 5 (Alsop 95, Carter 60*, Haines 48) vs YorkshireThere is a mood of sporting optimism down on this part of the south coast. Granted, that might be in large part due to Brighton’s impressive season under Roberto de Zerbi – they currently sit seventh in the Premier League and play an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United at Wembley on Sunday – but there are already encouraging signs for those hoping that Paul Farbrace can oversee a long-awaited renaissance at Sussex.A hard-fought win in the opening round against Durham was followed by a gritty display with the bat on day one of this encounter with Yorkshire. Tom Alsop’s 95 was the centrepiece, with Oli Carter following up his match-sealing turn in the fourth innings two weeks ago by recording an unbeaten first half-century of the season. Had Alsop not holed out to deep midwicket off the second ball after tea, with a fifth first-class hundred since joining Sussex last year ready to be ticked off, their position might have been even stronger.Alsop is one of the players that Farbrace has identified as key to turning a promising but inexperienced squad into one that can challenge for promotion. At 27, he has been around the game for the best part of a decade but left Hampshire unfulfilled, his average just 25.88. For Sussex, that number swells to 42.56 and this year he will act as vice-captain in the LV= Insurance Championship, ready to step in when Cheteshwar Pujara is away on India duty.Always a stylish-looking left-hander, Alsop appears to be developing the substance to go with it. He had a dose of luck early in his innings, inside-edging consecutive deliveries from Mickey Edwards past his stumps for four, but grew steadily more authoritative during the afternoon as his 94-run stand with Carter edged Sussex away from a potentially tricky position at 124 for 4.His dismissal, hoicking at a half-tracker from George Hill – Yorkshire’s fifth seamer bowling his first over of the day – straight to Dom Bess in front of the pavilion, brought an understandable groan from the crowd. But with the always approachable Farbrace regularly doing his rounds, the mood at the 1st Central County Ground is currently one of positivity – and that was reflected back during another punchy half-century stand between Carter and Fynn Hudson-Prentice before rain and bad light brought about an early close.Yorkshire’s disposition was less sunny as they skulked from the field, hands thrust deep into pockets. They arrived in Hove having suffered a complete washout on their trip to Bristol last week, and in the wake of a first defeat at Headingley by Leicestershire in more than 100 years. The club is attempting another rebuild after relegation in 2022 – not to mention the racism scandal that rumbled on right through pre-season – and here they included two debutants, in Pakistan batter Saud Shakeel and beanpole Aussie quick Edwards, who is eligible as a local due to a British passport.There was also a first outing this term for Matt Fisher, capped by England in Tests 13 months ago but subsequently sidelined by a back stress injury. Fisher spoke while on England Lions duty over the winter of looking to bulk up, in order for his body to better withstand the rigours of a first-class career that has been limited to 27 appearances across eight years; he certainly hit the pitch hard running downhill from the Cromwell Road End but went unrewarded despite troubling both Alsop and Tom Haines.Sussex’s decision to bat looked a sound one, on an oatmeal-coloured deck beneath pale blue skies, and the openers went off at a canter against some wayward early bowling. Fisher and Ben Coad pitched the ball up in search of swing but were left kicking the turf in frustration as Haines and Ali Orr rattled up 41 runs from the first seven overs of the morning.Haines had an unsuccessful whoosh at Fisher first ball and looked a little uncertain to begin with, before settling into a series of crisp, front-foot punches. Orr, meanwhile, addressed the ball as if he meant business, bat raised high in his stance before launching Coad dismissively through long-off. But, having been unluckily run-out at the non-striker’s end in his first innings of the season against Durham, he somehow managed to be caught at slip off his thigh pad pulling at Jordan Thompson, as Yorkshire broke through after an opening stand worth 48.The spin of Bess was introduced as early as the 17th over, and Yorkshire gradually found a measure of control. Bess was lofted for a brusque straight six by Haines in his second over but had his revenge in the next, winning an lbw decision from umpire Neil Pratt to make the score 83 for 2. Haines’ reaction, holding his bat in front of his face while turning away in frustration, suggested the opener was convinced of an inside edge.The soothing presence of Pujara at the crease is another reason for optimism at Sussex, but he fell after adding a round 50 for the third wicket with Alsop – Thompson smuggling one past his inside edge for a dismissal that sent his first-class average for Sussex plummeting to a mere 97.07. Coad then sent Tom Clark’s off stump for a jaunt towards the Sea End, but in the end it was Yorkshire who were the more grateful when the bad weather swept in.

The rest of the squad that secured New Zealand’s first series win over Pakistan away from home in 49 years was retained

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Dec-2018The offspinner William Somerville, who played a starring role on debut as New Zealand beat Pakistan last week, has not been included to play the upcoming home Test series against Sri Lanka. The 13-man squad that was announced on Monday had only one slow bowler in it – Ajaz Patel, who claimed a five-wicket haul in a dramatic four-run victory in Abu Dhabi last month.Meanwhile, 26-year old opening batsman Will Young earned his maiden-call up to international cricket. He was told of the development soon after scoring a century in a one-day game for New Zealand A against India A in Mount Maunganui.”Came off the field after a loss, which was a big disappointment,” Young said. “But [selector] Gavin Larsen just asked me, pulled me aside and said I made the Test squad, the 13-man Test squad. Look, I’m over the moon. It’s a dream come true to be part of the Test squad. But yeah, nothing changes. Keep enjoying my cricket. Keep batting and hopefully the chance comes in the near future.”Heading out to the UAE, I just wanted to do as well as I possibly could. I’ve had a couple of A chances before before and didn’t go to plan so I knew it was do or die. Managed to put some performances together and thankfully the selectors have taken note of that. It’s really nice to get the reward at the end of it.”Young has played 66 first-class matches for Central Districts and scored 4221 runs at an average of 41, including six centuries and 27 fifties. He was part of the A squad that went on tour to the UAE in October and has been in a rich vein of form over recent weeks. He was the only New Zealand A batsman to score a century on the UAE tour, one of the three hundreds in his last ten innings across one- and four-day cricket.Back-up wicketkeeper Tom Blundell was also left out of the touring party that secured New Zealand’s first series win over Pakistan away from home in 49 years.The selectors, however, kept their faith in Tom Latham, who managed 99 runs in his last six Test innings, and Matt Henry, who played one match against Pakistan, despite being picked in the ODI and Test squads. While Latham will likely retain his place at the top of the order, Henry will face stiff competition again to break into a bowling attack that already includes Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner.New Zealand will play Sri Lanka in two Tests, three ODIs and a T20I, starting from December 15.”There’s a real swell of support for the Test team following their efforts in the UAE, so we’re hoping to transition that momentum into a big home summer,” Larsen said.”Ajaz certainly grabbed his opportunity on the UAE tour and he’s a proven performer in New Zealand conditions.”Will Somerville was an obvious stand-out on debut in the Abu Dhabi decider and it’s great to know we’ve got quality spin bowlers who can create competition for places.”The first international of the home summer is always an exciting time and the revamped Basin Reserve should be a fitting setting to launch the Sri Lankan tour.”New Zealand: Kane Williamson (capt), Tom Latham, Jeet Raval, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Colin de Grandhomme, BJ Watling (wk), Will Young, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Ajaz Patel, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner

“It’s just about being present and playing what’s in front of you now; all the other things will take care of themselves”

Tristan Lavalette01-Mar-2023Having not been parachuted into Australia’s tough tour of India, in-form opener Cameron Bancroft is instead focusing on continuing his run glut in the domestic season ahead of the Ashes.Australian selectors resisted replacing the injured David Warner with Bancroft, who is the leading run-scorer in the Sheffield Shield with 767 runs at 63.91 with four centuries.Bancroft played 10 Tests sandwiched between his lengthy ban for his part in the infamous ball-tampering saga, with the last being during the 2019 Ashes in the UK.Related

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With middle-order batter Travis Head being backed as the opener for the third Test in Indore, the 30-year-old Bancroft will have to bide his time as he makes his case to be part of Australia’s mid-year Ashes tour.He admitted to having little dialogue with Australia’s hierarchy recently.”Not a whole lot,” Bancroft told reporters in Perth just hours before the Indore Test match started. “[Australia’s chief selector] George Bailey has been at a couple of our games and he’s obviously floating around watching a lot of the domestic cricket.”But Bancroft understands what he needs to do to earn a long-awaited Test recall.”Just going out there and playing well and doing the best you can,” he said. “Obviously, the Test team are away in India at the moment … what happens in the future with what I do there and that space, I guess it’s just about being present and playing what’s in front of you now.”That’s something I’m really focused on doing and I’m sure all the other things will take care of themselves.”Having been overlooked for a spot in India, Bancroft has been watching from afar Australia’s batting travails on spinning surfaces.”It’s looked really challenging and obviously they’ve got some really good quality spinners. I’m sure the guys are really learning a lot over there,” he said.A couple of seasons ago Bancroft’s career was in limbo having been dropped from Western Australia’s Shield team. It was a fall for the hardnosed batter once touted as a future Test captain.As a 22-year-old, he memorably batted for 13 hours and made a double century against New South Wales to evoke comparisons to his childhood hero Justin Langer.Aided by some mentoring from Langer, who he has worked with privately, Bancroft has rediscovered his penchant for grinding down bowlers. He has faced 1694 deliveries in this season’s Shield – 543 more than next most Dan Hughes.Bancroft has also unveiled attacking flair which he showcased during Perth Scorchers’ BBL title defence, where he became a key cog at the top of the opener having started the season on the outer.He’s becoming an alluring prospect for Australia across formats with Bancroft taking heed from his previous international experience.”I like to think that as time goes by you improve and learn the lessons from your previous opportunities,” he said.”I just try to keep that in mind, from previous times I’ve played for Australia to how you come out and play in Shield cricket and all forms for WA.”If an opportunity comes hopefully I’m in a better place to play well, but right now the focus is really on WA and we’ll see what happens down the track.”Bancroft is eyeing been part of a sweep of domestic titles with WA to host South Australia in the 50-over Marsh Cup final on March 8. They can also secure a home Shield final for the second straight season with a victory over Tasmania in the four-day match starting on Thursday at the WACA.Star allrounder Mitchell Marsh has been named in the 13-man Shield squad as he continues his return from a three-month injury layoff ahead of next month’s ODI tour of India, while Scorchers captain Ashton Turner is also in the selection frame to end a near three-year exile from first class cricket.

Anil Kumble, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rahul Dravid have taken part in a high-level meeting, the first of its kind, to discuss the road map for the next one year (2016-17) of Indian cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jul-2016Anil Kumble, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rahul Dravid have taken part in a high-level meeting, the first of its kind, to discuss the road map for the next one year (2016-17) in Indian cricket. The meeting, which took place in Bangalore on Sunday, was organised by the BCCI, which said the primary idea was to bring “all stakeholders on the same page”.Apart from the two captains and the coaches of India’s senior and junior sides, the meeting was attended by Sandeep Patil, the chairman of selectors, Venkatesh Prasad, the head of the junior selection committee, WV Raman and Narendra Hirwani (batting and spin bowling coaches at the National Cricket Academy), Patrick Farhat (India physio), Andrew Leipus (NCA physio), Shankar Basu (India trainer), and MV Sridhar, the BCCI’s general manager.The brainstorming session lasted a few hours with the main motive of setting in place plans to lift India to the top of the world rankings, and how the various support systems could play a role in fulfilling that goal. “Issues ranging from domestic cricket set-up, India A tours, injury management and workload of the players, and strengthening the bench strength of Indian cricket were discussed in detail to synchronise the efforts of everyone working for the betterment of Indian cricket,” a BCCI release said.According to Kumble, who was recently appointed India’s head coach, the meeting was a “very fruitful” exercise. “Sitting here, we all have one intention and agenda: To align our actions to maximise the potential of Indian cricket. For that we all need to work as one unit.”Other members attending the meeting said it was a significant development and they welcomed the idea of the free exchange of information and everyone being kept in the loop. It is understood both Dhoni and Kohli were keen to ensure players’ fitness reports were monitored properly so they were in peak fitness and ready to play before they were picked for a series.

Visitors need to re-write history after fifties to Clarke, James and Hameed set lofty target

ECB Reporters Network06-Sep-2022Leicestershire 93 and 20 for 0 (Evans 10*, Azad 4*) need 479 runs to beat Nottinghamshire 201 and 390 for 7 dec (Clarke 67, James 61, Hameed 60)Division Two leaders Nottinghamshire put their foot firmly on Leicestershire’s throat on day two of their rapidly evolving LV= Insurance County Championship match at Trent Bridge, setting their winless opponents a fourth-innings target way beyond anything achieved in the county’s history.After Monday saw 20 wickets fall on a first-day pitch conducive to swing and seam movement, with the home side bowled out for 201 but Leicestershire succumbing for a paltry 93 in reply, Nottinghamshire made good use of much more docile conditions before declaring their second innings on 390 for 7.It left Callum Parkinson’s team needing 499 runs to win – 105 runs more than the 394 the post-war Leicestershire team scored to beat Derbyshire at Grace Road in 1947, which remains the county’s highest fourth-innings total to win a Championship match.After the declaration, openers Sam Evans and Hassan Azad negotiated 13 overs at the close without mishap – although Azad was dropped at third slip off Dane Paterson on one – but two more days is too long for Leicestershire to survive, realistically, against a Nottinghamshire side intent on completing a seventh win of the season and stretching their lead over Middlesex, currently in second place, to 50 points.Earlier, there were half-centuries for Nottinghamshire’s Joe Clarke, Haseeb Hameed and Lyndon James. Michael Finan, the left-arm seamer, dismissed Hameed and Matt Montgomery to claim two more debut wickets, but such good balls as he did deliver had to be set against his 10 no-balls, giving him a match total of 17.In the morning, under cloud cover so heavy and threatening that bad light caused an interruption after only 39 minutes, Leicestershire had hoped wickets might tumble as they had on day one as Nottinghamshire resumed on 15 without loss. Yet they were disappointed.Instead, the home side progressed to 112 for 1 at lunch, with Ben Slater the solitary casualty. The pitch was offering less help to the bowler after the heavy roller was deployed, but Leicestershire served up too many loose deliveries.Slater – dropped on nine off Finan as third slip Rishi Patel spilled his fourth catch of the match – fell on 39, giving a rather tame return catch to Ed Barnes. Hameed completed an 80-ball half-century just before the interval.The Leicestershire vice-captain, enjoying his most productive summer since his breakthrough season with Lancashire in 2016, looked in complete control, so it came as a surprise when he was dismissed half an hour or so after lunch for 60, seeming to change his mind about whatever shot he intended to play to a short ball from Finan, yet still getting a touch, which Harry Swindells eagerly grabbed behind the stumps.If a second breakthrough was some kind of encouragement for Leicestershire, the next 75 minutes or so were not, thanks largely to Clarke, who looked as comfortable at the crease as he has all season, punishing every error as he rushed to a 45-ball half-century with nine fours.Combined with Montgomery’s 32 and another batch of no-balls from Finan, Clarke’s runs were enough to put the contest effectively out of reach of Leicestershire, the third wicket partnership adding 101 in 112 balls before Montgomery miscued a short ball from the errant Finan, the one bright spot in an awful over that cost 17 runs.Clarke, still without a first-class hundred this season, fell soon afterwards as Parkinson found his outside edge, but by then the Nottinghamshire lead was 353.James and Steven Mullaney extended it to 403 in less than 10 overs before the latter, making room for himself, was caught at slip off Louis Kimber. James went past fifty for the seventh time this season before he was caught behind off a rank legside delivery by Roman Walker and after Tom Moores was caught at deep backward point, terminating a six-over thrash with Liam Patterson-White, Mullaney signalled the declaration.