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Usman Khawaja stretches Australia's advantage before rain ends play early

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Even for a team hot on big run chases, it shapes as a daunting prospect to avoid going 2-0 down in series

Andrew McGlashan30-Jun-2023A day which began with the second Test evenly balanced ended with Australia holding a firm grip on this contest, and perhaps with it the Ashes. England folded during the morning session to a myriad of wild shots, conceding a lead of 91, before Usman Khawaja led a determined effort from the visitors’ top order under grey skies which made batting tricky.By the close, which came 27 overs early due to drizzle, Australia’s lead stood at 221 and even for a team that began this Bazball era with a series of big run chases, it shaped as a daunting prospect to avoid going 2-0 down.England had resumed on 278 for 4 after yesterday’s dramatic final session which saw three wickets surrendered to hook shots and Nathan Lyon limp out of the match and most probably the series with a calf strain termed “significant”. But they completely missed the chance to stretch Australia’s bowling resources, losing their last six wickets for 47, and from 188 for 1 their last nine for 137. Harry Brook’s carve into the off side summed up a batting approach that has surely lurched too far, even for this team.They needed early inroads in response, but for the second time in the match Khawaja and David Warner battled through favourable bowling conditions, this time for an opening stand of 63. It was the first time Australia had put together two half-century first-wicket partnerships since 2018, when Khawaja was also part of them alongside Aaron Finch in Dubai.The day had started poorly for England and never got better. The frenetic tempo of the previous evening had been slowed somewhat by Ben Stokes but the captain fell to the second ball of the day when he was squared up by Mitchell Starc and got an outside edge to Cameron Green at gully who held another sharp chance.Brook, who had been dropped on 25, brought up an unconvincing half-century from 63 balls before becoming the latest England batter to fall to the short ball, backing away to the leg side and slicing into the covers. It is the type of stroke that has brought him thrilling runs, but given the state of the game it was another wicket donated especially as it meant Australia were into England’s lengthy tail.Starc, who won the final selection call ahead of Scott Boland having missed out at Edgbaston, was impressive with a spell of 5-0-13-2. Having claimed Joe Root the day before, he showed his wicket-taking value.Jonny Bairstow played within himself before bunting Josh Hazlewood to mid-on and there wasn’t much on offer from the bowlers. Ollie Robinson edged a charge against Travis Head, who will need to shoulder the spin bowling in Lyon’s absence, and Stuart Broad was lbw sweeping.Warner and Khawaja were tested by the new ball with the bat beaten on numerous occasions, especially Warner’s. England did not bowl poorly and could easily have made early inroads, but such is the way a game often goes when a side has not taken previous opportunities that have been presented.They reviewed for an lbw against Warner when he had 5 but replays showed a thin inside edge against James Anderson. On 19, Khawaja was given a life when he pulled to Anderson at midwicket but the chance burst through the hands. Again, dropped chances hurt England.For the second time in the game it was Josh Tongue who made the breakthrough when he trapped Warner lbw from round the wicket to continue his encouraging return to the side. He thought he had claimed Marnus Labuschagne, too, on 3 but the DRS showed he had been struck outside the line to add to umpire Ahsan Raza’s list of overturned decisions.Either side of tea there was another flurry of shouts involving Labuschagne, all of which Broad thought were out as he completed full-length celebrappeals. Stokes made the correct call not to review either of them off the last two balls of the afternoon session – for caught behind and then lbw – but he erred after the break when Labuschagne would have been lbw on 16 to a Broad inswinger. England coach Brendon McCullum relayed the bad news from the balcony and Broad did not hide his frustrations.Labuschagne, who has been skittish throughout the first part of this series, never settled and carved a short, wide delivery from James Anderson to backward point although Anderson could not conjure much of a celebration.By then Khawaja had moved to fifty with a delightful off drive and had visions of ticking off another career highlight with a place on the honours board. As he moved beyond 700 deliveries faced for the series in just four innings it was difficult to escape the feeling that you were watching one of the decisive differences between the teams.

South Africa bounce back on eventful day

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The second morning began with Australia firmly on top; the third will start with South Africa in a position of strength

The Report by Brydon Coverdale04-Nov-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsWhen Australia and South Africa play, you should expect the unexpected. Not literally, of course, because then it wouldn’t be unexpected anymore. But in recent Tests between these two nations there have typically been more swings than a children’s playground, more roundabouts than Canberra. It is always hard to predict the direction of the contest. Such has been the case over the first two days at the WACA.The second morning began with Australia firmly on top; the third will start with South Africa in a position of strength. By stumps on day two, the visitors had a lead of 102 runs with eight wickets in hand, a quite unbelievable state of affairs only eight hours earlier. Dean Elgar was on 46 and JP Duminy had 34, and South Africa had completely loosened the tight grip Australia had held on the match the previous evening.It all started with David Warner dabbling outside off and edging Dale Steyn to slip on 97. Strange things then started to happen. Firstly, Steyn failed to complete his next over; clutching his right shoulder he walked off the field, a sorry sight for South African fans, who have seen their team win a Test without him only once in the past eight years. Late in the day, Steyn’s injury was confirmed as a fracture that ruled him out of the entire tour.Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada and debutant Keshav Maharaj ran through Australia’s order with renewed vigour, completing a remarkable collapse of 10 for 86 that began with the single wicket taken by South Africa’s best bowler, perhaps of all time, who was otherwise absent. Philander became the leader, and they applied constant pressure on Australia’s batsmen.Philander and Rabada found some reverse swing, and Maharaj bowled impressively, keeping things tight enough at his end while also picking up a few wickets. He is the first specialist spinner in Test history to make his debut at the pace-friendly WACA, and he justified his inclusion by dismissing Australia’s captain Steven Smith, wicketkeeper Peter Nevill, and then Mitchell Starc.The wicket of Smith was particularly jaw-dropping, mostly for the brazen – though legitimate – lbw decision given by umpire Aleem Dar. Smith, yet to score, advanced down the pitch from his fourth delivery and could not get bat on ball, which prompted a zealous appeal from Maharaj but a half-hearted one from his team-mates. It was, as the police might say, just a routine enquiry – until Dar unholstered his finger.Steven Smith was lbw for a duck as Australia lost all 10 wickets for 86 runs after being 0 for 158•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Smith looked dumbstruck, and immediately asked for a review. The broadcaster’s technology suggested he was well down the pitch – 2.8 metres from the stumps when struck – but the ball was hitting in line, and was going on to clip the top of leg stump. The umpire’s decision stood: Maharaj had his first Test wicket, and Australia were starting to wobble at 3 for 168.Already Usman Khawaja had been and gone, bowled for 4 by a beauty from Rabada, who angled one in from around the wicket and sneaked through the batsman’s defences. Shaun Marsh, who had batted so solidly with Warner in a 158-run opening stand, fell to a similar delivery from Philander for 63 – he did get his pad in the way, but Nigel Llong’s lbw decision was also upheld on review.There was precious little resistance from the rest of Australia’s order, although Adam Voges and Peter Nevill at least reached the 20s. But Mitchell Marsh, under pressure to hold the No. 6 spot after selector Rod Marsh said last week “he needs to get a Test hundred I reckon”, fell a hundred runs short. He was lbw for an eight-ball duck to Philander, and perhaps the biggest worry was the distance by which he missed the ball.Voges spooned a return catch to Rabada for 27, Starc was caught at midwicket for a duck off Maharaj, Nevill was caught at slip off Maharaj for 23, though was unlucky Australia’s reviews were exhausted for he appeared not to have touched the ball. Josh Hazlewood was taken at gully off Philander for 4 and Nathan Lyon was caught at slip off Philander for 0. Peter Siddle remained unbeaten on 18, having helped Australia squeeze into the lead.It was a quite remarkable collapse; not on the scale of Australia’s 47 all out in Cape Town, of course, but remarkable mostly because South Africa achieved all but one of the wickets without their best bowler. Australia went rapidly from complete dominance to serious danger of conceding a first-innings lead. By the change of innings, the Test was effectively all square.Still, South Africa needed to avoid the kind of top-order wobbles that had left them at 4 for 32 on the first morning. Stephen Cook and Elgar provided a more solid opening stand on this occasion, although Cook still could not survive for too long, and was caught for 12 pulling Siddle to midwicket.The loss of Hashim Amla, who chopped on to Hazlewood for 1 – his first-innings duck meant a Test aggregate of one run in this match, equalling his career worst – had the potential to give Australia the momentum, but they could not find another breakthrough. By stumps, Elgar and Duminy had moved the total on to 2 for 104.On the first day, Australia’s bowlers had run through South Africa for 242, and their openers had then cruised to 105 without loss. The question was not whether Australia would take the lead, but by how much. That was even more the case when the score moved along to 0 for 158. Then the unexpected began to happen. Who knows, then, what might happen on day three?

Yorkshire's woes deepened as Tom Taylor's five-for seals another rout

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Willey plays allround role on return to Headingley to seal emphatic victory

ECB Reporters Network20-Jun-2023Former Yorkshire T20 captain David Willey made a winning return to Headingley as his Northamptonshire side dented the Vikings’ Vitality Blast quarter-final hopes by comfortably defending a 181 target thanks to fellow pacer Tom Taylor’s stunning career best five for 28 from four overs.Willey hit a breezy 28 and claimed two wickets with left-arm swing as the Steelbacks posted 180 for six and bowled Yorkshire out for just 102 inside 16 overs. But 28-year-old Taylor was the main man in a 78-run win.This came after the Vikings had slumped to a record low 68 all out in defeat to Derbyshire at Chesterfield on Sunday.Willey’s former team dropped out of the top four quarter-final qualifying places following their fifth defeat in 11 North Group games, while his current charges won for the fifth time to keep their hopes alive with three games remaining.After Willey elected to bat, Germany international Justin Broad’s inventive unbeaten 47 off 32 balls with six fours was the best of a quartet of useful contributions in a Northamptonshire innings which stopped and started.Fledgling leg-spinner Jafer Chohan shone with a career best one for 13 from four overs for the Vikings, who then slumped to 22 for four in reply and couldn’t recover.Ricardo Vasconcelos underpinned an excellent visiting powerplay at 55 for one with 37, though he was the only man to fall when Dawid Malan took a well judged catch at cover off Jordan Thompson.And his wicket with the penultimate ball of the sixth over started a Steelbacks’ stumble.Chohan, 20-years-old and in his 11th T20 game, was at the heart of things having not bowled at Chesterfield when Yorkshire conceded 212 for four against Derbyshire in that aforementioned Sunday loss.He removed Chris Lynn for three off a top-edged sweep, with Adam Lyth taking a well judged catch like Malan’s running around from short fine-leg – 70 for two in the ninth.And more damage followed as Emilio Gay miscued a high catch off Thompson to mid-off for 40 and Saif Zaib was run out by a striker’s end direct hit from Shan Masood at short third – 94 for four in the 13th.That was the first of three run outs in an innings revived by South African-born Broad, aged 22 and in only his third county appearance, and Willey.They shared 60 inside five overs before Willey was run out at the striker’s end coming for a third for 28 off 18 balls following good work at deep midwicket by Bess and thrower Mike.AJ Tye hit two sixes in 12 before falling short thanks to a direct hit from Thompson in his follow through.Northamptonshire’s good end to their innings, including Broad hitting two of the last three balls to the boundary, was then carried forwards with the ball as they reduced the Vikings to seven for two inside 15 balls.Ben Sanderson had Lyth skying to short third, where Zaib took a good catch on the run over his shoulder, and then Willey had James Wharton caught behind.This was not the pitch for a 200 plus total as is the norm at Headingley, and Yorkshire already looked in trouble.Any doubt surrounding that theory was soon removed.Willey bowled Masood as he gave himself room to play through the off-side before Matthew Revis was bowled by Sanderson, another ex-Tyke, in the next over as the score fell to 22 for four in the sixth.Not even in-form Malan’s presence at the crease could revive Yorkshire.Seamer Taylor struck twice in two balls in the ninth over, with Jonny Tattersall caught at third and David Wiese bowled for a golden duck as the score fell to 49 for six.Taylor later returned to bowl Mike and Malan, for 34, and get Thompson caught at wide mid-off. Australian Tye finished things off by bowling Chohan.

'To come back so strongly is amazing' – Wood

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Mark Wood is not a Geordie sure of his place in the England fast-bowling pecking order – but he is glad to be back

Alan Gardner25-Aug-2016Mark Wood is not a Geordie sure of his place in the England fast-bowling pecking order – but he is glad to be back. Figures of 1 for 57 on his first ODI appearance in almost a year were not as arresting as the fact that his fastest delivery was clocked at 92.7mph, during a hostile opening spell in which he helped put Pakistan on the back foot in the first match of the series in Southampton.Following two operations on his left ankle, and ten months out of the England side, Wood has hurtled back into contention following a series of vibrant displays. A couple of his one-day squad-mates can attest to that, after a searing contribution to Durham’s NatWest Blast semi-final win over Yorkshire on Saturday, in which he gave Joe Root a torrid working-over – five balls, several hurried prods, one run – and yorked Jonny Bairstow on the way to career-best T20 figures of 4 for 25.Root, whose 61 helped England to a comfortable DLS victory on Wednesday, could barely lay a bat on Wood in their Finals Day encounter – a problem he has solved by giving it away to his tormentor. For Wood, it has been an immensely satisfying comeback after missing most of the winter and half of the English season recovering from his injured ankle.”I had more than a little bit of frustration over the last few months,” Wood said. “To come back with Durham so strongly is amazing. The coach there, Jon Lewis, and the way that the whole England medical team have looked after me, they deserve huge credit. Jon Lewis basically said to not worry about going for runs and to concentrate on taking wickets and that confidence and getting a few wickets and playing the role that I did at Durham gave me the confidence to come back to the England set-up fresh.”That was my best Twenty20 bowling performance for sure. I haven’t seen the paces but a couple of the Yorkshire lads said I bowled well and getting that recognition from international players is always nice. One of them in particular is a pretty good batsman so I was very happy that he was saying it was tough and I even just swapped a bat with him now so that must be some sort of recognition. I think it’s because I bowled so well at him, Joe obviously wasn’t so fond of that one so he’s given it to me.”The surgery has allowed Wood to play without discomfort in his ankle when bowling and he believes that will enable him to maintain his pace from spell to spell, in particular over back-to-back matches, an area where there were previously concerns about his durability.”I would say I’m consistently quicker,” he said. “I wouldn’t say quicker at my top speed, but I have not got the pain in the back of my ankle, which was causing me huge problems. People were saying I could not play back-to-back games, but it wasn’t that I couldn’t play back-to-back, [it was that] I couldn’t bowl at 90mph every day and I’m a totally different bowler bowling 90mph to when I am bowling 80mph. I need that pace and with no pain in the back of my ankle, I find that a lot easier on my body and that allows me to do that. Consistently it is a lot better for me.”While Wood at top speed ranks among the quickest bowlers currently playing the game, he is less concerned than some about raw pace – “the analyst gets quite worked up when I come in and he says ‘you’re bowling at 92′” – and recognises he is more likely to be judged for England on wickets and economy. As Wood’s first over, in which Sharjeel Khan picked up two boundaries, demonstrated, extra velocity can sometimes cut both ways. “I think the third ball, off Sharjeel’s bat, went about 98mph, so he was winning that one.”Mark Wood consistently topped 90mph on his ODI comeback for England•Getty Images

Not that Wood will be looking to dial it down in pursuit of something more metronomically reliable. Having returned midway through the season, he has dived headlong into competitive action and believes he could still bowl quicker yet.”I reckon I could, yeah. When you get that rhythm and match fitness back,” he said. “I’ve been rushed back through to get some game-time having missed the first half of the summer, and I’ve been desperate to play so I’ve not really had that time where I’ve been getting used to bowling and bowling again. I’ve only played two Championship games, and in one of those I only bowled 14 overs. So if I get that match fitness back up, hopefully I can bowl even quicker.”Wood formed part of a three-man pace attack at the Ageas Bowl, alongside Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett. With David Willey hopeful of returning to action after the hand injury he sustained on Finals Day, Chris Jordan and Jake Ball also in the squad, Steven Finn recuperating from a hamstring tear and James Anderson and Stuart Broad filling out the options for the Test side, England look like having a considerable seam battery to call upon.For now, Wood is focused on proving himself worthy of a place – England have still to see the best of him in ODIs, with six wickets from eight appearances at an average of 66.83 – but there is another layer of uncertainty due to his contractual situation at Durham. Should his central contract not be renewed by the ECB, there are doubts about whether Durham could afford to retain him, but reigniting his international career remains the quickest (in every sense) route to a resolution.”It’s complicated off the field at Durham, everyone knows there are issues there,” Wood said. “My situation is to focus solely on getting back in the England team first. I love the north-east, I’m a north-east lad.”Am I confident of a central contract? I wouldn’t say so, but I know that part of the reason that we give out central contracts is to look after fast bowlers and things like that. If I was to fall into that category that would be brilliant. Getting looked after by such a superb medical team that I talked about before, they’ve been superb with us. They’ve looked after me tremendously well, to be honest.”So I wouldn’t say I’m confident because I’ve not played for England for a long time, and throughout this year I probably haven’t deserved to get another one, so we’ll just have to wait and see. But in terms of Durham, I’m focusing on England at the moment and I’ll see what happens there come September.”

Green-Carey alliance shines again to show match-changing qualities

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The allrounder and wicketkeeper-batter have had a fruitful time batting together

Andrew McGlashan07-Sep-2022It feels like there is something significant stirring in Australia’s middle order.Not for the first time this year, Cameron Green and Alex Carey joined forces to define a match. They had done it twice before at crucial junctures: in the third Test against Pakistan, they added 135 to build what became a match-winning first-innings total, and during the opening Test against Sri Lanka, they added a quick 84 on a spiteful surface to ensure a decisive lead.On Tuesday in Cairns, they combined to turn what appeared a likely defeat into a gripping victory, putting on 158 for the sixth wicket after Australia had been in a mess at 44 for 5.Related

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They have now batted together twice in ODIs and have already added 239 runs for the sixth wicket, albeit the 81 they accrued against Pakistan in Lahore came in a heavy defeat.Their runs against New Zealand came after Carey had been pushed down from No. 4 to No. 6 and Green moved a slot higher than originally listed to No. 7 after Australia’s early collapse. There is the natural complementary element of a right-hander and a left-hander, but there is clearly something that is clicking between the two when they join forces.”Batting with Kez [Carey] is awesome,” Green said. “He just puts so much pressure back on the bowler. He’s always looking to score and I think that complements both of us. We are both guys who like to rotate the strike and obviously a left and right combination. Hopefully there’s a few more [partnerships] with him in the future.”Green had to battle severe cramps in the closing stages of the chase – he said on Wednesday that it was a problem he has had to deal with throughout his career and when he played Aussie Rules football as a youngster – but for the most part had appeared unflustered by the challenge in front of him.”We enjoy batting together, we work really well,” Carey said. “He scores pretty freely at the other end and we just bounce off each other nicely. You saw that he can come in any time so that’s a great feather in his cap. He’s a really calm character with bat, ball and in the field. Just goes about his business. We know how good he is but [he’s] taking this format [up] another step.”Green has become part of Australia’s ODI side as they experiment with a deep batting order. Having played Ashton Agar in the last two matches against Zimbabwe following Mitchell Marsh’s injury, they reverted to that model by recalling Marnus Labuschagne in Cairns. It means that on some occasions, Green’s immense batting talents won’t be fully utilised, but having a Test-class batter to rescue Australia last night was key against the moving ball.Despite it being just his 11th ODI, in the post-match presentation Green said his first half-century was a “monkey off his back” and he explained that it was more about having a template to use again. “Everyone wants to get that first one so you have an innings to look back on, so I can see how I went about it and replicate it in the future,” he said.It feels inevitable that as the years go on, Green will move higher – No. 4 would not be over promotion when the vacancy arises – but for now he is focusing on expanding his white-ball batting, particularly power-hitting early in an innings, and will get a chance with the T20I side on the upcoming tour of India.”[Hitting from ball one] is definitely something you have to work [on],” he said. “Doesn’t really come naturally to anybody, maybe a few of the best in the world, but it’s something everyone has to work on. Building your innings slowly comes a bit more naturally to most people.”Everyone aspires to be [a three-format player] but will just have to wait and see how heavy the schedule is, how much time you get to actually improve your T20 game.”

Yasir Shah bags 14 as Pakistan wrap up innings win

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The legspinner took his second five-for of the game as Pakistan completed a series-leveling win with more than three sessions to spare

The Report by Danyal Rasool27-Nov-2018
After the disaster at Abu Dhabi, nothing short of exemplary would lift Pakistan’s spirits this series. The man to fit that adjective was Yasir Shah, who finished with the second best figures by a Pakistan bowler in Test history, his 14th wicket in the match securing parity in a series against New Zealand. It took under seven overs and 30 minutes after tea to see the New Zealand tail off, ensuring Pakistan wouldn’t have to bat again as they triumphed by an innings and 16 runs.Yasir had four when New Zealand came out to bat after tea seven down. After Hasan Ali cleaned up Henry Nicholls – a beauty that ripped through the bat-pad gap and smashed into off stump, Yasir took centre stage again. He toyed with Neil Wagner in an over where he did everything but dismiss him, and came to finish the job next over. Wagner and Boult fell within three balls of each other, and Pakistan had their win.New Zealand had come into the fourth day with the foundation of a good partnership behind them. But they would have known that decent, good, or even big partnerships weren’t going to be enough to get them out of this predicament; they needed gargantuan contributions built over several hours of sweat and toil. To that end, they failed almost instantly; with just 15 added to Monday’s score, Latham was adjudged to have nicked behind to Sarfraz Ahmed the very ball after he brought up his half-century. There was, arguably, some misfortune to his dismissal, with several feeling his bat had hit pad rather than ball before it fizzed through to the keeper. It was telling how close the call was: Paul Reiffel, the on-field umpire, went upstairs to double-check. Even that second opinion, however, didn’t quite guarantee the correct decision.It wasn’t the most exciting session. Both sides were playing solid, if somewhat pragmatic, cricket. Taylor and Henry Nicholls batted with the knowledge of a pair who knew the wicket was easier than it had been yesterday, while Pakistan rotated the bowlers around to break up any rhythm, trusting a wicket was around the corner. There weren’t too many chances created, but every so often, Bilal or Yasir would produce vicious side spinners, to which the batsman could only stick out their bats and hope it didn’t clip the edge of the stump.It wasn’t to be, though. A deep square leg positioned by Sarfraz to guard against Taylor’s impetuous sweeping found himself in the game. Bilal Asif had tossed one in that looked too short to sweep, and when Taylor went for it anyway, it carried straight to the man, another hammer blow to his side’s chances of survival.Yasir made his first impact in the afternoon session when he broke yet another resilient New Zealand partnership, trapping BJ Watling in front to take his first wicket of the day. Until then, the pair had frustrated Pakistan in much the same way as Latham and Taylor had earlier. But just like the partnerships that came before, this one, too, was broken well before it could make the sort of impact that would threaten Pakistan’s dominance here, and New Zealand were suddenly down to allrounders and tailenders.Colin de Grandhomme’s absence of a solid defensive technique against Hasan was exposed pretty quickly, as he swung across the line to a straight ball that clattered into off stump. Ish Sodhi’s resistance didn’t last, either, and with half an hour still to go before tea, it appeared Pakistan could wrap this up in time to make this the final session of play.But Nicholls, who was instrumental to New Zealand’s win in Abu Dhabi for the partnership he struck with BJ Watling, was up for the fight again. Before this series, he had only two half-centuries against sub-continental teams – both against Bangladesh – but there is enough evidence of a strong character to suggest a stomach for this format. He was cleaned up for 77, and there, the last safety catch against a Pakistan win had been unloosened.It was only right for Yasir to have the last laugh. Few men have dominated consecutive days in Test cricket as Yasir did here in Dubai, ripping through New Zealand as records tumbled in his wake. No Pakistan bowler has ever better the 14 wickets he took in this match, with only one person to keep him company on that figure. That man? Imran Khan. It’s hardly shabby company.

Morkel sees the rise of foreign players Wood and Mayers as 'a bonus'

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Wood has already picked eight wickets and Mayers has displayed two stunning shows of power-hitting

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-2023Lucknow Super Giants may have lost to Chennai Super Kings on Monday night after leaking 217 runs, but their bowling coach Morne Morkel sees the rise of their two international players as “a bonus” in the IPL. Mark Wood has already picked up eight wickets after hauls of 5 for 14 and 3 for 49, and Kyle Mayers is only behind Ruturaj Gaikwad on the run-scorers’ list following scores of 73 off 38 and 53 off 22 balls.”There’s a lot to like about Mark Wood. He’s running in, he’s bowling at 150, that aggressive length,” Morkel said after the match. “He’s a strike bowler for us. It’s only his third game in the IPL. He’s still finding his feet in the subcontinent, especially in the IPL, where the margins are quite tough and it’s a lot of quality players. So, for me, it’s just talking through different periods where he’s possibly going to bowl and ensure he’s clear with his plans.”But one thing about Woody is that he’s won a World Cup, he’s got a lot of experience, he’s played for years in the England team that knows the recipe for success. So, yeah, my advice for him is not to over-think it now that he’s playing in the IPL. He’s been picked for a reason – he’s bowling pace; make use of that as best as possible and, yeah, target certain batters to really go and express himself.”Related

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Wood has certainly done that in the two matches this season. Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh, Sarfaraz Khan and Axar Patel were among his five against Delhi Capitals, and against Super Kings, he had Devon Conway, Ravindra Jadeja and MS Dhoni.It’s not been a bad start for Mayers either. He is currently top on ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats for Total Impact, with 235.52 impact points, with Gaikwad (212.51) at No. 2 and Wood (156.75) at No. 3. (Click here to read about ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats)”Very happy to see Kyle [perform]. I have played with him a little bit at St Lucia Zouks back in the day [in the CPL]. It’s amazing to see him sort of move on, he’s progressed into a quality white-ball player,” Morkel said. “Saw him in Durban [in the SA20 league] and he played these sorts of innings where upfront he really puts the bowlers under a lot of pressure. And to see him now in top form is also great.”It’s no secret that Mayers’ form has caused a happy headache in the Super Giants camp. After all, he was only the back-up for Quinton de Kock, who should be arriving soon for them after finishing the Netherlands ODIs at home. What happens then?2:50

Did Super Giants get their batting order wrong?

“How we’re going to work that out, luckily that’s not for me to think about,” Morkel said. ” But yeah, it’s fantastic to see him (Mayers) upfront, firing, and playing well and in form.”However, Super Giants fell short in their massive chase despite powering to 79 for 0 in 5.2 overs before Mayers got out. Even though they got close in the end, their Nos. 3 and 4 – Deepak Hooda and Krunal Pandya – fell for just 2 and 9 in the next two overs. On ESPNcricinfo’s T20 Time:Out show, Tom Moody, said the fall of the first wicket was the ideal time to send out Nicholas Pooran. Super Giants instead batted Pooran at No. 6, when they were 105 for 4 and needed 113 off the last 10.”They had a good start with Mayers and KL Rahul… got them off to a flier, really more courtesy of Mayers’ beautiful striking. At that point, when the left-hander got dismissed [in the sixth over], Nicholas Pooran had to come in at that point,” Moody said. “Because that was the last over of the powerplay and at that point, MS Dhoni had no choice really but to play a left-arm spinner at some point, whether a Santner or Jadeja. And Pooran has got a phenomenal record against left-arm spin.”I know that he’s selected to be that middle-order finisher but this is a different situation, this is where you’re chasing a huge total, you need your trump card.”

Jason Holder set to be named West Indies T20 captain for England series

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Carlos Brathwaite would make way in move to keep ODI squad together ahead of World Cup

George Dobell and Colin Benjamin28-Feb-2019Jason Holder looks set to be named as West Indies’ captain for the forthcoming T20I series against England.While Carlos Brathwaite is the regular West Indies T20 captain, selectors want to ensure the ODI squad spends more time together ahead of the World Cup. This, they feel, will help them fine tune various strategies, including who bowls in Powerplays and at the death.The decision, which would see the entire ODI squad retained for the three-match T20I series against England, is understood to have been agreed by the selectors, Holder, and interim head coach Richard Pybus, but is still subject to board approval. The team management and selectors are adamant it does not threaten Brathwaite’s long-term future as leader of the T20I side.While West Indies head to Ireland in May for a tri-series that also involves Bangladesh, there is some doubt as to how beneficial it will prove for their World Cup preparations, as up to eight members of the ODI squad could be unavailable due to a scheduling clash with the IPL, so the tournament may well see opportunities given to young players or those on the fringes of the first-choice squad.If confirmed, the plan would represent something of a change of policy from the selectors. In November, Courtney Browne, the chief selector, had suggested every T20I series from then would be used as preparation for the T20 World Cup in Australia in late 2020. “With the T20 World Cup two years away, the process of rebuilding a squad to be a competitive unit for the tournament is critical at this stage,” he had said at the time.Khary Pierre, Kieron Pollard, Obed McCoy and, perhaps, Sunil Narine (who said he wasn’t ready to be considered for selection for the ODI squad as he continues to work on his remodelled bowling action) could be among those who miss out as a result of the decision.With the likes of Andre Russell, Darren Bravo and Chris Gayle now back in contention in both limited-overs formats, however, there is a fair amount of crossover between the squads. There is also a growing belief from most involved that West Indies could surprise a few at the World Cup.

Harmanpreet-led Mumbai take on Lanning-led Capitals in table-top clash

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Both teams come into the clash with two wins in two games

S Sudarshanan08-Mar-20235:27

Matthews punches well above her base price

A Lanning vs Harmanpreet clash in March

After the epic final of the Women’s T20 World Cup in March 2020, Meg Lanning and Harmanpreet Kaur yet again lead opposite teams in a top-of-the-table clash in the WPL.Lanning-led Delhi Capitals are quite on a roll, with the Australian captain herself hitting back-to-back half-centuries at the top of the order. Capitals’ batting line-up is one of envy – power-hitters aplenty – and they have bowlers in Jess Jonassen, Marizanne Kapp and Shikha Pandey who have delivered in one spell or the other.Mumbai Indians have strung together a side filled with allrounders and they are firing in unison. If Harmanpreet’s heroics following Hayley Matthews’ explosive start at the top helped them in the chase in the opener, their bowlers stymied Royal Challengers Bangalore and cruised in the second game, with Matthews starring in an all-round effort.The Mumbai versus Capitals game could well be one of the contenders of the ‘final before the final’ though the WPL has a fair distance to go.

Players to watch

Shortish boundaries combined with flat surfaces could mean that it could be a perfect time for Marizanne Kapp to show her experience mainly with the ball. In the opening contest, she was a tad expensive after her cameo with the bat and if she does play her third successive game, she could be one of the key players to Capitals’ success.Amelia Kerr contributed with bat and ball in the opening contest and was taken for runs against Royal Challengers, though she picked up a couple of wickets to hasten the end. Having had the better of Lanning for some time now in international cricket, that is a player battle to relish.Marizanne Kapp will have to bring all her experience to the fore•BCCI

Playing XIs

Delhi Capitals (possible): 1 Meg Lanning (capt), 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Marizanne Kapp, 4 Jemimah Rodrigues, 5 Alice Capsey/Laura Harris, 6 Jess Jonassen, 7 Taniya Bhatia (wk), 8 Arundhati Reddy/Titas Sadhu, 9 Shikha Pandey, 10 Radha Yadav, 11 Tara NorrisMumbai Indians (possible): 1 Hayley Matthews, 2 Yastika Bhatia (wk), 3 Nat Sciver-Brunt, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Amelia Kerr/Chloe Tryon, 6 Pooja Vastrakar, 7 Issy Wong, 8 Humaira Kazi, 9, Amanjot Kaur, 10 Jintimani Kalita, 11 Saika Ishaque

Stats and trivia

  • Both Capitals and Mumbai have two players each among the top five scorers in the WPL so far
  • Mumbai have played three uncapped players while Capitals are yet to play one

Quotes

“Seeing the enjoyment and smile on her face out [from] her playing cricket again, that’s something I am pleased with, as her team-mate in a number of teams. It’s hard to believe Meg Lanning could get better. She was already incredible before her break, but has come [back] with a new lease of life.”
“Being a bit more responsible at the crease is something I had to pull on with the West Indies and that has helped me in my T20 game as a whole. Probably, [I] wasn’t getting the number of runs I would have wanted in the past due to giving away my hand quite a bit. Now that I am being forced with responsibility at the international level, it’s helped me realise how to plan my T20 innings.”

Nabi reprimanded for breaching ICC Code of Conduct

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Afghanistan allrounder Mohammad Nabi has been reprimanded for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during the fourth ODI against Ireland on Sunday

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jul-2016Afghanistan allrounder Mohammad Nabi has been reprimanded for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during the fourth ODI against Ireland on Sunday.Nabi violated Level 1 Article 2.1.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel which relates to “conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game.”The incident occurred in the sixth over of Ireland’s chase of 230. Opener Ed Joyce had hit the ball to the extra-cover boundary and Nabi had claimed that he kept the ball in play. Joyce did not complete the third run, assuming it was a boundary, and was adjudged run-out once the ball was thrown back in. However, an ICC release said: “photographic evidence later confirmed that Nabi was in contact with the ball whilst outside the boundary when he had flicked the ball for Rashid Khan to help run-out Joyce.”Joyce, who led Ireland to a six-wicket win with an unbeaten 105 in the third ODI, was dismissed for 12 and Ireland lost by 79 runs.Nabi admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee David Jukes, and there was no need for a formal hearing. The charge had been laid by Alan Neill and C Shamshuddin, the on-field umpires, as well as reserve umpire Royl Black.”After speaking to my colleague, I spoke to the fielder and asked him had he prevented the four,” Neill later told the . “He said ‘yes’. I then asked ‘were you in control of the ball when you were outside the rope?’ He said ‘no sir’. I went over to my colleague and said ‘we have a problem here’.”He said ‘ask him again’, so I repeated the same two questions and got the same two answers. He was adamant he had not touched the ball while he was outside the rope. So we had to take his word and had to give Ed Joyce out.”