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County Championship 'not classed as elite sport' – Billy Stanlake made to wait for Derbyshire debut

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Fast bowler has to quarantine and now expected to play in early May

George Dobell26-Apr-2021Billy Stanlake, the Australia fast bowler, has been prevented from making his Derbyshire debut this week as the County Championship is not considered “elite sport”.Stanlake arrived in England on Sunday and was hoping to play in the Championship match against Nottinghamshire starting on Thursday. But while that would have been fine if he had been hoping to play in the T20 Blast – or, indeed, the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy – which have government exemptions on the grounds of being deemed elite sport, the County Championship holds no such status. As a result, Stanlake is required to serve a period in quarantine.Related

  • Stanlake aiming to develop red-ball game at Derbyshire

  • McManus receives disciplinary points over Azad stumping

  • County cut-off for IPL replacements denied Topley CSK chance

“We originally thought he would be available for the Nottinghamshire game because he’s come from a secure bubble,” Dave Houghton, Derbyshire’s head of cricket, said. “However, first-class county cricket is not classed as elite sport.”If he was playing Twenty20 tomorrow he would be eligible, but because it’s four-day cricket he has to quarantine for five days, which will go beyond the start of Thursday’s game. We’ll have him ready to play in the away game against Essex [starting on May 13].”While such a classification may jar, there is some logic behind it. The concept of elite sport exemption was developed to enable relatively short-term sporting events – such as Champions League football matches or an international cricket tour – to take place without the need for quarantine protocols. For comparison, in football the Champions League has such an exemption but the Premier League does not.As a consequence, all overseas players arriving to play County Championship cricket in recent times have been required to serve a quarantine period. The championship is classed as elite sport for other purposes, but does not hold the specific exemption which allows participants to avoid quarantine.There may be eyebrows raised about the consistency of the criteria applied to deciding which events are “elite”, though. The Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, the domestic 50-over women’s competition, does hold such an exemption but starts in May and ends in September, albeit with no matches in July or August.

Who could possibly take over from Joe Root as England's Test captain?

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He’s out of runs and under pressure, but is there really an alternative as England’s leader?

Andrew Miller25-Nov-2019veteran now.And in captaincy terms, Burns actually a veteran. Because unlike Root, or Alastair Cook, or even Strauss, he would come to the role as a County Championship-winning captain following his success with Surrey in 2018 – a runaway success when you consider his own stellar contribution with the bat: 1359 runs at 64.71, almost 300 more than his nearest challenger.Rory Burns shoulders arms with a flourish•AFP

If he ever got the job, Burns would be the first man to captain England after winning the Championship since Graham Gooch, who won the pennant with Essex in 1986 before his first taste of the England captaincy two years later (although we’ll gloss over the fact that, in the wake of a drastic form slump, he handed the captaincy back to Keith Fletcher for that same 1988 season).It would probably be a terrible imposition. But let’s face it, England’s top order are already sacrificial lambs – players with enough stickability to take the shine off the new ball and prevent the flightier strokeplayers in the middle order from being blown away too soon, or so the theory goes. And at least in racking up a mightily respectable 390 runs in this summer’s Ashes – almost twice as many as Australia’s openers combined – the crosshairs that would be trained on Burns’ helmet, were he to lead England Down Under in two years’ time, would provide the perfect decoy for his team-mates to steal back the urn. Now that’s leadership.Chances: eminently feasible

On the plus side, he’s the heir apparent in white-ball cricket – Buttler has stood in for Eoin Morgan on six occasions in ODIs already and four times in T20s, most recently against Pakistan at Trent Bridge on the eve of this year’s World Cup (how did he fare that day? … oh …).Even so, with six wins and four losses all told, Buttler is marginally in credit as a leader (and despite two ducks in his last two outings, he actually averages 47.20 to 40.88 in ODIs). He is certainly rated by Morgan as a tactical sounding-board, and the sort of proper cricket brain who, if push came to shove any time between now and 2023, could be trusted not to make a pig’s ear of England’s precious trophy-winning outfit.But then there’s the challenge of translating all that to Test cricket. For all his world-class attributes, Buttler is currently a luxury batsman at No.7 in England’s Test batting order (any higher and he gets a nose-bleed, like most of the men around him). And he is also the third-best Test wicketkeeper on England’s radar, behind Ben Foakes and Jonny Bairstow, both currently banished for distinctly differing reasons.Jos Buttler crashes one through the off side•AFP

But perhaps the captaincy would be the making of Buttler at Test level, and of the men around him. Because, let’s face it, while both Cook and Root commanded loyalty as leaders (with maybe one notable exception for the former…), neither have ever offered much in the way of strategic nous.A few funky field placings, a bit of positive white-ball intent. Some sympathetic handling of his long-suffering quicks. A frisson of genius when the team most needs it. There’s the bare bones of a good idea somewhere in there. So long as he doesn’t pad up to too many straight ones when his turn comes to bat.Chances: Strong to smoking hot

A fast bowler as captain! Sacrilege! England haven’t gone down that route in Test cricket since 1984, when Bob Willis last embraced that chilling thousand-yard stare at the top of his mark. It was a state of focused fury that inevitably left David Gower pulling the strings in the field, a role he was finally handed on a permanent basis at Lord’s against West Indies in 1984. (Cheers skip…)Would Broad ever get quite so catatonic in the line of duty? Probably not. He was, after all, England’s T20 captain during that brief separation of powers after the 2011 World Cup – when, in the days before anyone at the ECB gave a fig about white-ball cricket, Strauss relinquished the 50-over duties to groom Cook for the top job, and Broad, then aged 25, was handed the honours in the shortest form with a view to … not sure what, exactly.So Broad did go on to lead England in consecutive World T20s in 2012 and 2014, but with Kevin Pietersen persona non grata at either event, his team were eliminated with a whimper at consecutive group stages, and that was the end of that. He never played the format again after the Netherlands’ victory at Chattogram.Stuart Broad roars in celebration•Getty Images

On the plus side, Broad talks a very good game (always useful for keeping the press on side). Plus, he gets under his opponents’ skin with the precision and subtlety of a hypodermic needle, and tends to save his absolute best for the Australians – not since Ian Botham and, arguably, Darren Gough, has there been a more reliably up-for-it English combatant in Ashes cricket.On the down side, Broad is 33 already, and until his that’ll-show-em performances in the Ashes this summer, he had been looking like the most vulnerable member of an England seam attack that needs to find a succession plan after a decade dominated by his new-ball partnership with James Anderson. If he was ever going to be a stop-gap, that moment surely passed three years ago.Chances: Highly probable … in a parallel universe

What is it you even want from your captain, anyway? Is it runs? Well, yes, that’d be nice – Root would be looking a whole lot more sturdy right now if he wasn’t averaging 27.40 in 10 Tests this calendar year. But failing that, you’re looking for a man who, whatever his personal contribution, will improve every player who crosses his path. Whether that’s through the right encouragement (or chastisement) at the right moment, a timely show of faith at a start of a key bowling spell. Or a moment of tactical clarity that helps to unpick a finely balanced game.If the summer of 2019 proved anything (beyond Stokes’ world-class credentials and the shortcomings of the ICC’s playing conditions), it was that Morgan was the single most important player in that triumphant World Cup campaign. He made the big selection calls (not least where Alex Hales was concerned), he owned the moments when his team appeared to falter. And even if you had wanted to pick holes in his tactics at the pivotal moments, you’d never have made it past his inscrutable poker-face.One thing that Root has going for him as captain – perhaps the only thing, if we are being harsh but fair – is the unquestionable loyalty of his friends and team-mates in the dressing room. They like and respect him, and want to keep playing for him, even when the results don’t go their way.Eoin Morgan poses with the World Cup trophy•Getty Images

Morgan, however, hasn’t really needed friends in the field. He just needs team-mates, a vital distinction that has enabled him to keep a subtle, and authoritative, air of detachment during his reign.As for the realities of a Test comeback, well… he hasn’t played the format for seven long years, and he hadn’t even played a first-class game for Middlesex for three seasons until a less-than-fruitful return to the format late in 2018, in which time he has mustered one Championship fifty in nine matches. And given that his only public misstep during the World Cup came when Kevin Pietersen called out his technique against the short ball, you’d have to assume he’d get a lively greeting if he were ever to don those whites again.And yet, during Morgan’s brief Test career, he was part of a batting line-up that drove the agenda in England’s rise to No.1 in the world, and in the process he racked up two hundreds in 16 Tests – a tally that, of all the players who’ve been tried and discarded since he was in the mix, only Gary Ballance (4) has exceeded. It’s hardly riches, but it’s a very strict definition of failure.He wouldn’t want the job. He’d be mad to take the job. But has anyone watched Morgan in action in the T20 Blast or the T10 League since the World Cup win? He’s been smoking the ball like a man who’s found his happy place in life. He’s fulfilled his life’s ambition, and at the age of 33, he’s got a handful of years to savour his status in the game. But might he fancy one last challenge before he calls it quits? You’re a long time retired in this sport …Chances: Go on, you know you want to …

Zimbabwe seek ODI turnaround against depleted Bangladesh

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With Bangladesh walking wounded in the absence of two of their seniormost players in Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan, Zimbabwe may sense an opportunity

The Preview by Liam Brickhill20-Oct-2018

Big Picture

Zimbabwe and Bangladesh know each other intimately. The teams have played each other far more than they have anyone else, and have a rich shared history.Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mashrafe Mortaza all debuted in ODIs against Zimbabwe, Mashrafe a whopping 17 years ago. On the Zimbabwe side, this is Hamilton Masakadza’s ninth tour to Bangladesh. Elton Chigumbura will also be making his ninth trip, while Brendan Taylor has made seven. Many of Zimbabwe’s squad members also have experience in domestic 20- and 50-over competitions here.In other words, they have come to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses extraordinarily well. In recent years, it is Bangladesh who have displayed more of those strengths, and Zimbabwe’s last away ODI victory against them came as long ago as 2010. Zimbabwe also arrive in the midst of a seven-month losing streak, having been whitewashed by both Pakistan and South Africa in their last two series. A change of fortunes wasn’t suggested by their performance in their warm-up game against a BCB XI on Friday. Masakadza scored a century and Chigumbura a battling 47, but no other batsman reached double figures and the visitors sank to an eight-wicket defeat.Yet, Zimbabwe may sense an opportunity in a Bangladesh squad who are walking wounded and missing two of their most senior players. Shakib’s recurring finger injury has ruled him out for another three months, while Tamim is yet to recover from the knuckle fracture he sustained after being struck by Suranga Lakmal in the opening Asia Cup match. Mashrafe and Mushfiqur have only recently recovered from injuries sustained in the same tournament, and neither is 100% fit. Even Mahmudullah was struggling with a little rib pain earlier this month.The visitors will look to target Bangladesh’s stand-ins. The opening partnership was an issue for Bangladesh in the Asia Cup – Liton Das and Mehidy Hasan’s 120-run stand in the final being the exception after Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Soumya Sarkar failed earlier in the tournament.That being said, Bangladesh still start Sunday’s game as firm favourites, and positive results in the next three games will obviously help their preparations for next year’s World Cup.

Form guide

Bangladesh LWWLL ((last five completed matches, most recent first))
Zimbabwe LLLLL

In the spotlight

After stringing together a series of 20s against South Africa, Hamilton Masakadza finally converted a start into a century in Zimbabwe’s warm-up. With his extensive experience of conditions in Bangladesh, Zimbabwe will look to their captain to set a platform for them at the top of the order. Masakadza has yet to win a game in his current stint in charge, and he has also registered just one fifty since he took over from Graeme Cremer after the World Cup Qualifiers meltdown.Liton Das seems to be in good nick. He scored a century in his last international innings, though his maiden ODI century was not enough to overcome India in the Asia Cup final. But he followed that up by racing to the fastest double-hundred in Bangladesh’s first-class history, smashing a record he in fact already held after his 190-ball double in April, by 50 deliveries. With Bangladesh eyeing potential opening partnerships for next year’s World Cup, quick runs at the top of the order on Sunday would definitely help to cement his place.AFP

Team news

Rubel Hossain is suffering from fever, but he could yet be fit for the first game. As they tinker with the opening slot, Bangladesh may pick both Imrul Kayes and Nazmul Hossain Shanto in the top order alongside Liton Das. At No. 7, it is a three-way battle between Mohammad Saifuddin and the uncapped Ariful Haque and Fazle Mahmud.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Liton Das, 2 Nazmul Hossain Shanto, 3 Imrul Kayes, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Mohammad Mithun, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Fazle Mahmud, 8 Mehidy Hasan, 9 Mashrafe Mortaza, 10 Rubel Hossain, 11 Mustafizur RahmanSikandar Raza will slot straight back into a middle order that looks much more solid with him in it, but Zimbabwe have an opening conundrum to answer. Solomon Mire struggled through single-figure scores in South Africa, while Craig Ervine’s trial as a makeshift opener in the warm-up lasted just three balls before he was caught behind off Ebadot Hossain. Zimbabwe have also drafted Cephas Zhuwao into their squad, but the left-hander remains a hit-and-miss option.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Hamilton Masakadza, 2 Solomon Mire, 3 Craig Ervine, 4 Brendan Taylor (wk), 5 Sean Williams, 6 Sikandar Raza, 7 Elton Chigumbura, 8 Wellington Masakadza, 9 Brandon Mavuta, 10 Kyle Jarvis, 11 Tendai Chatara

Pitch and conditions

The usual slow turning pitch at the Shere Bangla National Stadium is expected. A 2:30pm start means that the side fielding first will have to endure only about 90 minutes of hot weather. It promises to be a pleasant evening.

Stats and trivia

  • Bangladesh and Zimbabwe have played each other 69 times in ODIs, with Bangladesh winning 27 games at home and 13 away.
  • These two teams played each other in the very first ODI ever hosted at this ground back in 2006, Bangladesh winning that game by eight wickets.
  • No player has scored more ODI runs against Bangladesh than Brendan Taylor, who has racked up 1222 runs in 46 innings. Both Masakadza and Chigumbura also have over 1000 runs against them
  • Three Bangladesh players have scored over 1000 runs in ODIs against Zimbabwe but only one of them – Mushfiqur – is playing in this game

Quotes

“We are not expecting the wicket to be slow or with turn right from the start. We are hoping for a good wicket. But since this is Mirpur, it is tough to predict how it will play.”
“Having everyone around is a big plus for the team. Apart from Graeme [Cremer] who is still injured, we have everyone around which is a positive for the team.”

Out-of-contract Australian cricketers to get external funding boost

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Major financial institutions and private individuals have shown interest in supporting the players, according to the ACA

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jul-20173:46

What is the pay dispute all about?

Most of Australia’s cricketers are out of contract but they are unlikely to be out of pocket, as various sources of funding emerge to help tide them over during the impasse between Cricket Australia (CA) and the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA).”The ACA is in the process of securing a multimillion-dollar line of credit to support the unemployed players to counter attempts by CA to starve them out,” an ACA spokesman said.”Major international financial institutions have shown strong interests in supporting the players at this difficult time. The ACA is fielding support from private individuals who are also willing to back this move.”With little headway being made in the deadlock – the players want to retain the existing revenue-sharing model, while CA does not – 230 of Australia’s cricketers, including all the top players on central contracts, have been without a contract since July 1. Ordinarily they would have been paid on July 15 but with that agreement now invalid, the also reported the “injection of millions of dollars in ‘loans’ from several wealthy backers” into a hardship fund set up by the ACA that could, according to the report, last “until Christmas.”Currently, only the Australia women’s team is in action, in the ongoing World Cup in England. They came to an agreement to do so with CA, but will be out of contract if the dispute isn’t resolved by the time the tournament ends. The first casualty of the pay dispute was Australia A’s tour of South Africa, which was scheduled to begin on July 12 but has been called off after the Australian players refused to tour.The Australia senior men’s team are scheduled to tour Bangladesh in August, but that series is dependent on the ACA and CA arriving at an agreement. And though the Ashes, to be hosted by Australia later this year, is still some time away, the spectre of it not going ahead looms uneasily.

Captaincy would be 'massive honour' – Knight

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Heather Knight has said she would be honoured to take on the challenge of leading England into a ‘new chapter’ following the retirement of Charlotte Edwards

Andrew McGlashan17-May-2016Heather Knight has said she would be honoured to take on the challenge of leading England into a “new chapter” following the retirement of Charlotte Edwards.Knight, 25, was Edwards’ vice-captain and has been the main name linked to the position which Mark Robinson, the head coach who instigated the shift away from Edwards, will fill in the next few weeks ahead of England’s summer assignment against Pakistan.She made her England debut in 2010 and has now played 55 ODIs and 33 T20s alongside five Tests – she made 157 in the 2013 Ashes Test at Wormsley – although was one of the players to have an especially disappointing World T20 in India scoring 19 runs in four matches.”It’s really nice to be mentioned and have your name thrown about, it would be a massive honour and a really exciting challenge but the new captain will be decided in the next few weeks,” Knight told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s a new chapter for England women’s cricket and it’s an exciting time. I’m really looking forward to what the summer and the future holds.”It seems likely that England will also have to replace Sarah Taylor in the batting order after she decided to take a break from cricket although the exact timescale, and whether she could return for the Pakistan series which starts on June 20, is still to be confirmed.”They’ve been two massive performers for us over the years and they’ll be a big loss to the batting line-up,” Knight said at the Chance to Shine MCC Spirit of Cricket open day at Lord’s. “But we have some talented players coming through who haven’t come to fruition on the international stage and it’s all about having to step up without those key players we have relied upon in the past. It’s an exciting opportunity for those younger players and I’m massively confident we can fill the void.”While looking forward, Knight said there was “sadness” about the end of the Edwards era and that it was difficult to put into words the impact she had during her 20-year career.”First there was sadness for Charlotte but then looking back on her career and thinking how brilliant it has been to play with her for the last six years. Having a 20-year career at the top of the game and the things she has achieved is remarkable really. I’ll look back with fondness on my time playing with her”I don’t think I can sum up what she has given to women’s cricket in this country – my words aren’t eloquent enough to describe her contribution. But how women’s cricket has grown across her career, giving girls something to aspire to, is brilliant and Charlotte talks about having role models which is something she didn’t have. We are all very proud of it.”

Cosgrove makes hundred as Leicestershire begin well

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Leicestershire skipper Mark Cosgrove hit his first century of the summer to help the visitors recover from a sticky start during a rain-affected opening day against Kent in Canterbury.

Press Association03-May-2015
ScorecardMark Cosgrove, seen here in Sheffield Shield action, scored a century on day one•Getty Images

Leicestershire skipper Mark Cosgrove hit his first century of the summer to help the visitors recover from a sticky start during a rain-affected opening day against Kent in Canterbury.Early showers delayed the start of Kent’s first home game of the campaign until 2pm, with the loss of 29 overs. Rob Key’s decision to field first paid immediate dividends when Matt Coles struck with his second ball of the match to remove Angus Robson. Fishing in defence outside off stump, Robson nicked to third slip where Sam Northeast pouched a comfortable catch. Coles struck again six overs later to make it 31 for 2 by trapping Matt Boyce, for 17, leg before as he pushed defensively from the crease.Leicestershire ably regrouped with their captain leading from the front. The Australian left-hander – who is England qualified through residency – featured in a third-wicket stand worth 118 in 29.1 overs in tandem with Ned Eckersley. The pair both reached half-centuries and took full toll of some wayward and wasteful Kent bowling, Eckersley sailing effortlessly from 12 through to a 74-ball 50.Cosgrove, who might have gone for 48 had Coles held on to a regulation slip chance off the bowling of Darren Stevens, went to his 50 from only 66 balls and with seven balls to ease his side comfortably in at tea on 141 for 2. The partnership ended soon after the restart when Coles swapped to the Pavilion End to trap Eckersley leg before for 67 with a full-length offcutter.Cosgrove ploughed on thereafter, reaching three figures from 121 balls, with 11 fours and a straight six back over the head of Stevens the bowler. Former Worcestershire batsman Neil Pinner piled on the agony for Kent, the basement side in Division Two, by scoring Leicestershire’s third 50 of the afternoon from 61 deliveries.Pinner also helped post a century stand with Cosgrove but their stand partnership ended at 115 when Cosgrove danced down the pitch and wastefully lofted a catch to substitute fielder Matt Hunn, stationed on the ropes at long-off.Cosgrove sidled off with 113 to his name, scored in a shade over three hours, leaving Pinner and first-class debutant Lewis Hill, standing in for Ireland’s wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien, to try and bat out the final 13 overs of the day.Coles returned for a fourth spell to claim a fourth scalp when Pinner sparred outside off stump at a lifting delivery to edge through to his Kent counterpart Sam Billings for 68. Coles, who rejoined Kent in March after his release by Hampshire, finished the day with 4 for 68.Coles, who dipped his weary frame into an ice bath before facing the media afterwards, said: “It wasn’t the best day at the office for our boys today. We needed to attack the top of off stump far more and just didn’t hit the right areas during the course of the day. We need to collect our thoughts overnight and come back tomorrow and finish the job with as little damage as possible in terms of runs conceded.”Pinner, one of three Leicestershire batsmen to pass 50, admitted the visitors would also have bowled given the opportunity: “We would have bowled first too because we felt if this pitch was going to do anything it would be early on with the new ball. As it turned out we’ve come out of the day pretty well.”Coles ran in hard at us and got a couple to bounce, so we’re hoping our seamers can do the same on day two.””Mark batted with great intent throughout the day, as he normally does when he gets in. He put his boundaries away, really put the pressure on their bowlers and took the pressure off me. I could stand, watch and enjoy it because there was no pressure on me to score quickly once I did get the strike.”

Masakadzas star in Mountaineers win

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A round-up of matches from the first day of the Zimbabwe domestic Twenty20 competition

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Oct-2012Mountaineers pulled off a tight win over Matabeleland Tuskers at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, beating them by five runs and seal victory off the penultimate ball of the game. After being put in to bat, Hamilton Masakadza led the way, smashing 84 in 66 balls, hitting five fours and three sixes. Mountaineers lost an early wicket but Masakadza and Tino Mawoyo (54) added 107 for the second wicket. Masakadza remained unbeaten and stretched the score to 167.The Tuskers put up a good fight and were well placed at 103 for 2 in the 15th over. Craig Ervine top-scored with 71 at No.3, adding 50 with Charles Coventry for the second wicket and 53 Brian Chari for the third. Together with Keegan Meth, Ervine helped take the score to 149 for 3 in 18 overs. But, 19 needed to win off the last two, a collapse ensued. Shingirai Masakadza picked up three wickets in the 19th over, dismissing both Meth and Ervine, and the rest of the batting crumbled soon. Seven wickets were lost for 13 runs in 11 balls, and Tuskers folded for 162.Mashonaland Eagles beat Southern Rocks comfortably at the Harare Sports Club. After choosing to field, the Eagles bowlers bowled economically and restricted Rocks to 120 for 8. Ben Slater made 39 in 34 balls and Alester Maregwede chipped in with 30 off 25. But barring the pair, there was no significant contribution from the rest. The Eagles response began well, with the openers Cephas Zhuwao (49) and Chamu Chibhabha (46*) adding 89 for the first wicket. They scored quickly, too, in 12.1 overs, and those who followed just had to consolidate. Chibhabha stayed through to the finish, helping his team win with four overs to spare.

Warwickshire win secures top spot for final week

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Warwickshire moved to the top of the County Championship and into pole position to win the competition for the first time since 2004

10-Sep-2011
ScorecardWarwickshire moved to the top of the County Championship and into pole position to win the competition for the first time since 2004 with a crushing innings and 114-run win over Nottinghamshire at Edgbaston.Warwickshire needed only 80 minutes to take Nottinghamshire’s last four wickets and romp to their ninth win of the season this morning, with seamer Chris Wright taking his second five-wicket haul in three matches since he joined on loan from Essex. Wright, who is in negotiations with Warwickshire about a contract for next season, has now taken 19 wickets since he arrived at Edgbaston.Only Alex Hales, who carried his bat for 106 out of Nottinghamshire’s 222, offered prolonged resistance but Warwickshire still climbed above previous leaders Durham, who sat out the penultimate round of matches. It represents a remarkable turnaround for Warwickshire who were battling relegation 12 months ago while Nottinghamshire were on their way to the title.But the roles were reversed here with Warwickshire completing only the fifth double over Nottinghamshire in their history following a nine-wicket success at Trent Bridge in May.The biggest threat to Warwickshire’s victory hopes was posed by the weather. There was light rain around when the players arrived at the ground and further showers were forcecast for midday.But the rain cleared in time to allow play to start on time and Warwickshire made an early breakthrough when Paul Franks thick edged Rikki Clarke’s sixth ball of the day to Chris Metters at third slip. Andre Adams came out with the intention of attacking and he managed to pull Wright for one four.But the former New Zealand all-rounder was bowled next bowl when he tried to repeat the stroke against Wright and succeeded only in bottom-edging into his stumps. Hales, the only Nottinghamshire batsman to play with any composure in the second innings, survived a confident lbw appeal from Clarke and then drove the same bowler through the covers for his first boundary of the morning.Darren Pattinson never looked comfortable, even though he twice flayed Clarke through mid off for boundaries, and he was eventually undone by a yorker from Wright which he failed to dig out. Hales turned down easy singles in his last-wicket partnership with Luke Fletcher to ensure that he farmed the strike and completed his third century of the season.He got there by off driving Wright for his 12th four from 169 balls after which Fletcher went for his shots, including a huge pulled six off Boyd Rankin. Warwickshire turned to Chris Metters to wrap up their first innings win over Nottinghamshire since 1966, and the slow left-armer struck with his fourth ball of the match when Fletcher drove a long hop to cover.

Fast bowlers thrive after North century

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The Australians continued their dominance of the warm-up match against the Board President’s XI in Chandigarh by producing another powerful performance on the second day

Sidharth Monga in Chandigarh26-Sep-2010
ScorecardBen Hilfenhaus removed Gautam Gambhir early•AFP

The Australians continued to dominate their tour game against the Board President’s XI. After the openers, Simon Katich and Shane Watson, scored centuries on day one, Marcus North, who would have been under some pressure after he scored just 36 runs in four Test innings against Pakistan, scored 124 unbeaten runs in less than three hours to take the Australians past 500. Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter George then ran through the Board President’s XI top order to reduce them to 53 for 5 at one stage.The only matter of concern for the Australians would be Nathan Hauritz, their lead spinner, who was played with ease by the BP XI lower order. Piyush Chawla scored an unbeaten and entertaining 64 off 73, and made sure his side wasn’t embarrassingly bowled out in one session of play on a slow pitch.There was a scare for the Australians early on as Pragyan Ojha removed both Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke in his second over of the day. Ponting played back to one that pitched on an in-between length, and seemed to suggest the ball stayed a bit low too. Clarke jumped out of the crease, found he wasn’t quite to the pitch of the ball, and was given bat-pad. Suddenly the quiet BP XI fielders became chirpy. The small crowd started cheering the spinners. Out came an extra set of shin pads, helmet, and abdomen guard. But North and Tim Paine thwarted it all in a 167-run partnership that ended when North was called back to give the rest a chance to bat.North is a notoriously nervous starter, and he seemed to make a conscious effort not do anything silly in the first 30-40 balls he played. It showed in how he let Paine do the early scoring, and only opened up when Chawla presented him with a long hop. In the next few overs, he pulled and drove Umesh Yadav for fours, and lofted Ojha over midwicket for another.Another period of acceleration was to come. There was a point when North was on 26 and Paine on 17. By the time Paine reached 19, North had moved to 49. He played almost all the shots except the straight drive. He wasn’t made to. The bowlers allowed him to stay on the back foot and cut and pull. When he drove, he drove through extra cover. The sweep was used sparingly: in fact he swept only thrice in scoring his first 59 runs.When he grew in confidence, he started sweeping and lofting more, and raced to his century. Paine provided the ideal solid base at the other end. He seemed to be enjoying tiring the bowlers down. After North ended his innings, though, the BP XI got quick consolation wickets, the last five falling for 11. Michael Hussey’s comeback will make sure the tail is not that long in the Test matches.The collapse at the top of BP XI innings was more spectacular. In his second over, Hilfenhaus surprised Gautam Gambhir and Ajinkya Rahane with extra bounce. Gambhir went back looking at the fingers of his right hand, and Rahane looking at some spot on the pitch. Peter George, known to be in the Glenn McGrath mould, started accurately, and removed a left-hand batsman, Shikhar Dhawan, with the first ball he bowled to him. It was a McGrathesque dismissal: the ball pitched around off, and took the edge of the hanging bat. He got Saurabh Tiwary caught-behind too, but that was a loose shot away from the body. Between those two dismissals, Mitchell Johnson squared Cheteshwar Pujara up with what seemed to be late movement away.At 55 for 5, though, spin was introduced. Chawla found it easier to negotiate and added 37 with Wriddhiman Saha. He used his feet a lot, and got to the pitch of the ball with ease, lofting both the spinners for a six each, including Steven Smith in his first over. That Smith’s over was bowled three overs before stumps didn’t stop Chawla from going after him. Between them, the Australian spinners bowled 11 overs for 66 runs, and couldn’t manage a maiden. Hauritz got one inside edge from Chawla that went fine of the wicketkeeper, and that was that.A No. 7 attacking their spinners with ease was the only worrying sign for the Australians over the last two days.

Penfold ruled out of Sri Lanka, Australia series

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

The seamer underwent surgery last week and will be sidelined for up to three months

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Feb-2025New Zealand seamer Molly Penfold has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury meaning she will miss the series against Sri Lanka and Australia.Penfold, 23, sustaining a torn meniscus to her left knee while playing in the Hallyburton Johnstone Shield earlier this month and has undergone surgery with a recovery time of up to 12 weeks.Related

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“We’re all gutted for Molly,” Ben Sawyer, the New Zealand head coach, said. “It’s a really unfortunate way for her summer to end, especially after strong contributions during the Rose Bowl series. The positive is that her recovery timelines should see her fit for our winter training schedule.”Penfold has taken nine wickets in 14 ODIs and seven in 10 T20Is. In the ODI series against Australia last December she took a career-best 4 for 42 in the second match at the Basin Reserve.New Zealand will also be without Sophie Devine for the Sri Lanka matches as she continues her break from the game with her participation against Australia yet to be confirmed.New Zealand play three ODIs and three T20Is against Sri Lanka next month followed by three T20Is against Australia.Chamari Athapaththu will leave the WPL early to take part in the tour but Amelia Kerr will remain in India.