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“Our batting has to be up if we’re aiming for the World Cup,” says the India Women head coach

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jul-2021Ramesh Powar, the India Women head coach, has echoed team captain Mithali Raj’s thoughts, calling Sneh Rana the “find of the England series”. Rana has sparkled with bat and ball so far, and has “played her role to the core”, Powar said.”Sneh Rana is the find of this series,” Powar told the BCCI website. “The way she was bowling in the practice sessions in Southampton [India’s base prior to the start of the tour], we thought we should give her a chance. It was a difficult decision to play two offspinners [Deepti Sharma is the other], but she has played her role to the core.Related

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“I am really happy for her. Being an offspinner myself, I can see the talent. She is someone who can play in crunch situations, and that is what we need right now. When the big tournaments and the big series come up, we need players of calibre, who can take pressure.”Rana, 27, was given a go for the all-format tour of England after a superb domestic one-day competition, where she was the leading wicket-taker for title-winners Railways. In the XI in the one-off Test, Rana, in the XI primarily as a bowler, scored 80* from No. 8 in over three hours and partnered Taniya Bhatia (44*) in an unbroken stand of 104 for the ninth wicket to help India salvage a draw. She was also India’s most successful bowler in England’s only innings, returning 4 for 131.Then, in the ODIs, she picked up two wickets in two games, conceding runs at an economy rate of 4.35, and played a key role in India’s only win, following up her 7-0-31-1 with a 22-ball 24 in a tight run chase. Her half-century stand for the sixth wicket with Raj took India home in a last-ball finish.Powar was equally effusive in his praise for Raj, who finished her England tour [she is retired from T20Is] with three back-to-back half-centuries. Raj finished the ODI series as the highest run-scorer, her tally of 206 runs a whopping 64 more than second-placed Nat Sciver. During the series, Raj surpassed former England captain Charlotte Edwards to become the leading run-scorer in women’s international cricket, and her 58 fifties are the most by a woman in ODIs.”She deserves every praising word out there,” Powar said. “She has been a fantastic servant of the game for 22 years. She is a role model for a lot of girls; she single-handedly won us the game [third ODI].”The next few months are going to be crucial for India’s preparations for the 50-over World Cup next year in New Zealand. The England tour would be followed by a multi-format tour of Australia. Then, India play Australia and New Zealand in a tri-series before the marquee tournament, where India finished runners-up in 2017.For India to go one step better, the batters must come to the party. Raj aside, no Indian batter managed a half-century in the ODI series, and there have been concerns about the form of some of the batters, T20I captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues among them. “We have to learn a lot many things from this series,” Powar said. “The fielding improved immensely; the bowling improved immensely. Our batting has to be up if we’re aiming for the World Cup.”

Victorian premier Andrews said there will be no crowd cap at the venue, which can hold up to 100,000 spectators

AAP09-Mar-2022Shane Warne will be publicly farewelled at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, home to many of his greatest sports moments, later this month.Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed the MCG as the venue for a state memorial service on March 30 to honour the Australian legend, who died suddenly due to heart attack in Thailand last week.Related

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“There’s nowhere in the world more appropriate to farewell Warnie than the ‘G,” Andrews tweeted on Wednesday.The MCG was the stage of the legspinner’s famous Ashes hat-trick in 1994 and the 700th Test wicket on Boxing Day in 2006, his final series before he retired from international cricket.Ticket information for the evening event is yet to be released, but the premier said there will be no crowd cap at the venue, which can hold up to 100,000 spectators.”It’ll be a very big event. It will be a celebration of his life as it should be,” Andrews said.Autopsy results showed that Warne died from a suspected heart attack, confirming the death was due to natural causes with no signs of foul play.Deputy director of Samui Hospital Songyot Chayaninporamet said the autopsy showed Warne, 52, died of a “congenital disease”.Following his death on the Thai resort island of Koh Samui, Warne’s body was taken by ferry to the mainland city of Surat Thani on Sunday. It was transported to Bangkok on Monday night and was being prepared to fly home to Melbourne, according to media reports.Warne’s family issued a statement on Monday describing the night of his death on March 4 as the beginning of “a never-ending nightmare”.

South Africa, who will be playing their first Test in more than seven years, should “apply themselves over long periods of time,” she says

Firdose Moonda23-Jun-2022South Africa will need to develop a patience game with both bat and ball as they embark on their first Test in eight years when they take on England in Taunton next week. That’s the assessment of vice-captain Chloe Tryon, one of only five members of the current squad to have played a Test before.While recognising that they are coming up against a vastly more experienced side – England have played 97 Tests compared to South Africa’s 12, and three in the last three years – Tryon is hopeful South Africa will be able to apply themselves over long periods of time to compete in this encounter.”Our concentration has to be a bit higher [than usual] because it’s a really big mental game,” Tryon told ESPNcricinfo. “We’ve got to be able to bat for longer, with the ball, you’ve got to be okay with bowling the same length all the time and as a fielding side, we also have to be really awake. When an opportunity comes and when you are playing a team like England, you can’t drop world-class players and then they go on to make hundreds. It’s important to be really switched on, and for us to use this opportunity for girls to make big scores and take plenty of wickets”.Related

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The dearth of Tests in women’s cricket – no team other than England, India or Australia have competed in Tests since 2015 – means that South Africa don’t have a lot of historical knowledge to go on. Tryon, Lizelle Lee and Marizanne Kapp played in the 2014 Test against India in Mysore, which South Africa lost by an innings and 34 runs.”India batted for about two days and we just tried to survive,” Tryon said of that match. “It was a really good memory because I always wanted to play a Test match.”Still, she called it a “different and weird” experience but one she is “excited” to try again. Other than the trio, Shabnim Ismail was part of South Africa’s previous Test, seven years earlier, against Netherlands in 2007, while Trisha Chetty is the only member of the current squad to have played in both those matches.South Africa’s domestic set-up does not include a red-ball programme for women, or any multi-innings or time cricket matches, which means that none of these five players have played any competitive long-format cricket since their respective last Tests while the rest have never played anything other than limited-overs cricket. That means South Africa will have to field at least six debutants against England next week, and all of their squad have almost no red-ball experience other than the occasional match at school.Still, Tryon believes they have had as much preparation as possible with intra-squad matches at a training camp in Pretoria last month, though those who were part of the FairBreak Tournament, like Ayabonga Khaka and Laura Wolvaardt, had to miss it. A three-day warm-up match against England A at Arundel is ongoing. From the latter, South Africa have an example of how to approach Test cricket in Wolvaardt, who scored a century in the first innings against England A, and Tryon expects big things from the top-order batter. “Laura has adapted really well to the situation,” she said. “It looks like she is enjoying it and the rest of the batters are taking up the roles.”Given the lack of familiarity in the format, does Tryon think South Africa’s participation could be farcical? It seems not. “As players, the game has evolved and we want to grow it as much as we can. While ODI and T20I cricket is growing, we should also be able to grow the Test matches. It can be an exciting way for us to develop.”However, not even the most important decision-makers in the game think so. In an interview with BBC’s earlier this month, ICC chair Greg Barclay said he didn’t see women’s Tests “being any part of the landscape moving forward to any real extent at all,” and cited lack of resources and structures in most countries and the push for white-ball cricket to be the future as justification for his views.England’s coach Lisa Keightley was disappointed with that analysis and England’s captain Heather Knight also came out in support of long-format cricket, and now Tryon has added her voice to the discussion as well. “I’ve always been a person that’s loved Test cricket. I grew up watching Test cricket and I love Test cricket now,” she said. “It would be great for us to be able to play a few more Tests.”

Senior pros Sean Williams and Craig Ervine have both been omitted from the T20I squad

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2024Zimbabwe have picked three uncapped players – Trevor Gwandu, Tashinga Musekiwa and Tinotenda Maposa – in their ODI squad for the upcoming three-match series at home against Pakistan.While Gwandu and Musekiwa have both played T20I cricket for Zimbabwe, quick bowler Maposa, 21, is uncapped in international cricket. He has played just three List A matches so far, picking up four wickets at an economy rate of 6.29. Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava will continue to lead the seam attacks in both ODIs and T20Is.”The series against Pakistan is an important platform for Zimbabwe, and we believe the ODI squad we have selected is well-rounded,” David Mutendera, Zimbabwe’s convener of selectors, said in a statement. “The presence of seasoned players like Craig [Ervine], Sikandar [Raza] and Sean [Williams] provides stability, while young players like Clive Madande, Brian Bennett, Dion Myers and the uncapped trio bring energy and the potential for game-changing moments.”Sean Williams, who had missed the white-ball series in Sri Lanka earlier this year because of an injury, returned to the ODI side, but was omitted from the T20I squad. ODI captain Craig Ervine was also left out of the T20I side. Williams last played an ODI in July 2023.Zimbabwe retained the same T20I squad that had won the men’s T20 World Cup 2026 sub-regional qualifier in Kenya last month. During that tournament, Zimbabwe had broken the record for the highest T20I total.”We felt it was essential to maintain the same T20I squad that excelled in Kenya,” Mutendera said. “This continuity allows the team to build on the cohesion and confidence that drove their outstanding performance.”The white-ball series against Pakistan will begin with the first ODI on November 24 and will run until December 5, with Bulawayo set to host all the games – three ODIs and three T20Is.

Zimbabwe ODI squad for series against Pakistan

Craig Ervine (capt), Faraz Akram, Brian Bennett, Joylord Gumbie, Trevor Gwandu, Clive Madande, Tinotenda Maposa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Brandon Mavuta, Tashinga Musekiwa, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams

Zimbabwe T20I squad for series against Pakistan

Sikandar Raza (capt), Faraz Akram, Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Trevor Gwandu, Clive Madande, Wessly Madhevere, Tinotenda Maposa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Brandon Mavuta, Tashinga Musekiwa, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava

Head coach pays price for poor season, as assistants take over for remainder of campaign

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Sep-2024Northamptonshire have sacked head coach John Sadler, the day after their quarter-final defeat to Somerset in the T20 Blast effectively ended their season.Northants are winless in Division Two of the County Championship and finished eighth out of nine teams in their Metro Bank One-Day Cup group, winning two games out of eight. The Blast had been the one bright spark in an otherwise miserable season, but Thursday night’s defeat knocked them out of the competition.Sadler took over from David Ripley in September 2021 and oversaw a sixth-placed finish in Division One of the Championship in his first full season in charge. But results have tailed off, with only two Championship wins last year – culminating in relegation – and a winless 2024 campaign in the second tier.Adam Rossington and Josh Cobb both left the club during Sadler’s tenure after strained relationships with him, while Emilio Gay did not feature in the squad for Thursday’s quarter-final after agreeing a move to Durham at the end of the season. Tom Taylor also rejected a new contract with the club to join Worcestershire during Sadler’s time in charge.Northants confirmed on Friday that they have “parted company” with Sadler. “Throughout his tenure at Wantage Road, [he] has led the club with professionalism, dedication and a strong work ethic… and has been a much valued member of the Northamptonshire team,” a club statement said. “Everyone at the club wishes him well in his future career.”The club’s assistant coaches – Rory Kleinveldt, Greg Smith and Graeme White – will take charge for Northants’ three remaining Championship fixtures. “The process for recruitment of a replacement for the position is underway,” Northants added.

Former South Africa allrounder leaves with less than two weeks to go for the T20 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Oct-2022Former South Africa allrounder Lance Klusener has quit as Zimbabwe’s batting coach with immediate effect after reaching a mutual agreement with the board.”According to his agent, the decision follows Klusener’s desire to pursue professional engagements around the globe which will impact his full-time availability for the national team’s programmes,” Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) said in a statement.Klusener had re-joined the Zimbabwe coaching staff in March this year, after previously serving as their batting coach between 2016 and 2018.Klusener leaves his role with less than two weeks to go for the start of Zimbabwe’s T20 World Cup campaign. Zimbabwe, along with West Indies, Ireland, and Scotland, are part of Group B in the first round, from which the top two teams will progress to the Super 12 stage. Their first game is against Ireland on October 17.”We are grateful to Lance for everything he has contributed during his time with us, including helping us to qualify for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 which gets underway in Australia in a few days,” ZC managing director Givemore Makoni said. “Unfortunately, due to his pressing commitments elsewhere, he could not continue with us on a full-time basis and we agreed it was in the best interests of both parties to terminate his contract. We wish him the best as he pursues new endeavours.”One of Klusener’s other coaching jobs is to take charge as head coach of the Durban Super Giants franchise in Cricket South Africa’s SA20, with the inaugural season beginning January 10 next year.

“Every half an hour or so you kind of remember that you just won a World Cup and get excited all over again”

Tristan Lavalette22-Nov-2023Captain Pat Cummins hailed Australia’s World Cup title as a legacy-defining triumph after a gruelling period overseas.Australia have been mostly away from home since February this year, and have had fiercely fought Test series in India and England. They beat India at The Oval to win their first World Test Championship before retaining the Ashes in a tempestuous series.With a core of their Test players at the 2023 ODI World Cup, Australia were in danger of running out of gas and they struggled initially with defeats to India and South Africa. But they steadily improved and got on a roll leading to an unforgettable six-wicket victory over favourites India in the final.Related

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Some of Australia’s title-winning players returned home on Wednesday with their elation masking the weariness of an arduous campaign.”Every half an hour or so you kind of remember that you just won a World Cup and get excited all over again. We’re still buzzing,” a bespectacled Cummins said at the Sydney Airport. “It’s been a big year. To top it off with this, it’s been amazing. I think they have created their own legacy. A World Cup, you only get one chance every four years and especially playing somewhere like India, it’s hard.”Adding to that an away Ashes series, a World Test Championship. We couldn’t have planned for much better. So a pretty satisfied group.”Some players, like Cummins, will have a breather before Australia’s Test summer begins in Perth against Pakistan on December 14. But for five players part of Sunday’s final, they have the tough task of fronting up for Australia’s five-match T20I series against India starting on Thursday.Travis Head, player of the final after his belligerent century, is among Australia’s squad, but there are doubts over his availability for the opener after putting in long shifts leading into this five-match series.”Heady was definitely in the votes,” grinned allrounder Mitchell Marsh, who spoke in Melbourne. “I’m not sure he’ll be playing that game. I’m no selector or coach but if he plays that game it will be a miracle.”Mitchell Marsh is all smiles as he fronts up to the media on his return back to Australia•Getty Images

Marsh, who captained Australia’s T20 team in South Africa ahead of the World Cup, is not faced with the difficulty of trying to get up for the series. Instead, he plans to have a rest ahead of the Test summer even though he appears to be in a battle with Western Australia team-mate Cameron Green for the allrounder position.”Tools down for a little while. Get home, see the family, relax, and get ready for the summer,” Marsh said. “Playing Pakistan who have played some great cricket this year…it’s always an exciting summer.”After a spectacular century in the third Ashes Test, Marsh supplanted Green who missed the match due to a hamstring niggle. Green was supposed to figure prominently in Australia’s World Cup campaign, but played just three matches with the last being against England on November 4.After making 47 in that match, Green said he wanted to play in WA’s Sheffield Shield match against Queensland in Brisbane starting on November 28 and also the subsequent Prime Minister’s XI four-day match against Pakistan in Canberra.Test wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey, who was dropped at the World Cup for Josh Inglis after the opening loss to India, said he would play for South Australia in their Shield match against Victoria next week.”Looking forward to getting back out there,” he said. “I don’t feel like Test and ODI cricket overlap, but we’ll wait and see when the Test selection comes out.”

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.

It isn’t clear at this stage if he will be able to keep wickets, but if fit, Pant is likely to be the team’s captain again

Nagraj Gollapudi11-Dec-2023Rishabh Pant is set to return to action for Delhi Capitals, that too as captain, in IPL 2024. ESPNcricinfo understands that the franchise expects Pant, who missed the 2023 season after suffering serious injuries in a car crash in December 2022, to be fully fit by the end of February.Related

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It could not be confirmed, however, if Pant will return as a wicketkeeper-batter, his usual role, or as a specialist batter. But the franchise is understood to be happy to have Pant as captain and batter.The first hint of Pant possibly making an IPL return came in November, when he attended a Capitals camp in Kolkata, which was also attended by senior franchise support staff including Sourav Ganguly (director of cricket), Ricky Ponting (head coach), and Pravin Amre (assistant coach). Subsequently, Pant took part in the discussions around the retention and release of players ahead of the next auction, scheduled for December 19 in Dubai, as well as the drafting of an initial auction plan.