Hafeez is out of self-isolation after breach of biosecurity protocols on golf course

Danyal Rasool13-Aug-2020Pakistan’s worries that there may have been a breach of the bubble they are supposed to maintain on tour appear to be over, with Mohammad Hafeez back with the squad, having returned a negative test for Covid-19.Hafeez was placed in self-isolation on Wednesday and underwent testing, but once the results came back negative on Thursday morning, he rejoined the rest of the squad.The Pakistan allrounder breached the regulations around social distancing during a round of golf on Wednesday. It came to light after he posted a picture on social media with a member of the public, a 90-year old woman who was not part of the biosecure bubble. Though the picture showed them maintaining some distance between them, it was evident they were within two metres of each other.The PCB released a statement acknowledging the breach, and announced that Hafeez was being tested and placed in self-isolation until the test results came back. It was termed an “inadvertent mistake”, with no further action to be taken. ESPNcricinfo understands the decision was taken in consultation with the ECB, whom the statement said were “updated of the decision”.The breach has seen the PCB take a significantly less austere approach than in other instances of breaches over the summer.England fast bowler Jofra Archer was stood down for the second Test and entered self-isolation for five days. He was only allowed to rejoin the side upon returning two negative tests.The same was required of West Indies head coach Phil Simmons, who left the team bubble to attend his father-in-law’s funeral.Earlier this week, 19-year old Kent batsman Jordan Cox was dropped for a Bob Willis Trophy fixture after posing for a photograph with young fans.The golf course where Hafeez committed the breach is open to members of the public, though the players have been instructed to maintain social distancing. Hafeez is not part of the Test squad, but will be in consideration for the T20I leg of the tour, beginning on August 28.Malik to join squad on FridayMeanwhile, Shoaib Malik will join the Pakistan squad on Friday, having earlier obtained permission to skip the first four weeks of training on the tour in order to spend time with his family. Fast bowler Mohammad Musa, who was picked as a back-up to the original 29-member Pakistan contingent on the tour, has been released.August 14, GMT 1140 The story was updated with the news of Malik joining the squad.

After two disappointing seasons at the club, Farbrace is considering a shake-up

George Dobell30-Sep-2020A review of the coaching set-up at Warwickshire is underway with the expectation there could be changes in personnel.Warwickshire finished without a win in their five Bob Willis Trophy matches in 2020 and failed to qualify for the quarter-final stages of the T20 Blast. In 2019, Warwickshire just survived in Division One of the County Championship – they finished seventh – and failed to qualify for the knock-out stages in either white-ball competition, finishing eighth in the North Group of the Blast and seventh in the North Group of the One-Day Cup. For a Test-hosting ground with a large playing budget and illustrious history, that is not deemed adequate.While Paul Farbrace, the club’s sport director, declined to clarify his plans when approached by ESPNcricinfo, it is understood he has reservations about the policy of employing a coaching set-up dominated by recently-retired Warwickshire players.All four of Warwickshire main coaches – Jim Troughton (head coach), Ian Westwood (second team coach), Tony Frost (batting coach), and Graeme Welch (bowling coach) – played for the club. While several of the individual coaches are well regarded – Welch, in particular, has an outstanding reputation and has several spells as a consultant with the England team – there are suggestions that the combination has created an overly cosy environment. Farbrace joined the club at the start of the 2019 season and, after 18 months in which to observe how it operates, appears to be ready to implement some changes.Among those understood to be under consideration to join the coaching staff is David Saker. The former England bowling coach is currently with Sri Lanka but has previously been linked to the role of director of cricket with the club. Indeed, he described the position as “ideal” back in 2012.David Saker watches on•Getty Images

It is understood there was some contact between Farbrace and Sussex about the vacant head coach role at the club following Jason Gillespie’s departure, but it is thought Farbrace will not be pursuing that opportunity.Meanwhile, history has repeated itself after Ismail Mohammed, a young batsman of whom much is expected, has left the club to join Worcestershire. Ismail, a nephew of Moeen Ali, is a 16-year-old who has made a good impression in the Birmingham League. But, feeling his opportunities were limited – he was only recently added to the club’s academy – he has followed the path taken by Moeen at the end of 2006 and moved to New Road. His brother, Isaac, remains part of Warwickshire’s youth set-up.Despite their position in the middle of a large, ethnically diverse city, Warwickshire currently have no players or coaches of BAME background on their senior staff. The club are confident they have things in place to improve this, however, with around 50 percent of their pathway players and almost all of their academy squad coming from such backgrounds.

A sloppy CSK dropped Dhawan four times on his way to his maiden T20 century

Deivarayan Muthu17-Oct-20201:19

Agarkar: Axar has returned the favour to CSK

Shikhar Dhawan – reprieved on 25, 27, 50, 79 – punished a sloppy Chennai Super Kings and powered a challenging chase of 180 on a sluggish Sharjah track, finishing unbeaten on 101 off 58 balls, his first T20 hundred. The victory, secured with one ball to spare, moved the Delhi Capitals back to the top of the points table.It was still anybody’s game at the start of the last over. The Capitals needed 17 off it. Sam Curran had just dismissed Alex Carey and executed his wide yorkers to give up a mere four runs off the penultimate over. With Dwayne Bravo, the Super Kings’ designated death bowler, off the field because he “wasn’t fit”, MS Dhoni turned to Ravindra Jadeja.Jadeja could’ve had Dhawan earlier in the evening, with his third ball, had Deepak Chahar not misjudged a catch in the outfield. Dhawan then whacked him for back-to-back fours and out of the attack. Jadeja vs Dhawan round 2 began with an off-side wide and a bottom edge for a single.A nerveless Axar Patel, facing his second ball of the night, then clattered 6, 6, 2, 6 to cap a thrilling finish and hand the Super Kings their sixth defeat in nine matches.CSK start slow, then explode
Tushar Deshpande struck with his third ball, a skiddy bouncer, getting rid of pinch-hitting opener Sam Curran for a duck. Eleven of the first 12 deliveries the Capitals had bowled were all dots – and it included the first maiden in Sharjah, bowled by Kagiso Rabada.But then Faf du Plessis darted around his crease, manufacturing his own lengths and angles to inject some urgency into the innings. He jumped across off and scooped his South Africa team-mate Anrich Nortje for six before backing away outside leg and creaming his slower variation, clocked at 128kph, through the covers.Du Plessis chanced his arm against Kagiso Rabada, too, pulling him with great power to the midwicket fence. At the other end, Watson took on R Ashwin’s carrom balls and got a move on for himself with a pair of fours. While du Plessis kicked on to a half-century, Nortje blasted out Watson for 36 off 28 balls.Soon after du Plessis lost steam and Rabada had him holing out for 58, becoming the fastest to 50 IPL wickets. When MS Dhoni stepped out and nicked Nortje behind for 3, the Super Kings were 129 for 4 in the 17th over. However, a scorching 50-run partnership off 21 balls from Ambati Rayudu and Ravindra Jadeja set the Capitals 180.While Rayudu kept advancing down the track and swiping at balls, Jadeja stood deep in the crease, latching onto any errors in length. Both Rabada and Nortje missed their yorkers as Jadeja clouted three sixes over long-on.Dhawan shows the way
Deepak Chahar found swing in the early exchanges like he often does. He nipped out Prithvi Shaw for the fifth time in six innings. He also got Ajinkya Rahane for the fourth time in four innings. Dhawan was largely cautious against him, but he tore into both Curran and Shardul Thakur.Dhoni bowled Chahar out by the eighth over and the Capitals were 60 for 2. If Dhoni was planning to control the defence with his spinners and Bravo, then Dhawan foiled all his plans. He shimmied out to his first ball against legspinner Karn Sharma and spanked it over his head for four. He picked the next ball, a googly, and cut it firmly for four more.With Dhawan taking all the risks, Shreyas Iyer sat back and simply tried to turn the strike over. However, when he looked to manufacture a boundary, he was done in by Bravo’s lack of pace and picked out long-on.Marcus Stoinis then produced a cameo of 24 off 14 balls before Thakur bounced him out in the 16th over. Once Carey holed out in the 19th over, the pressure mounted on Dhawan. However, he didn’t panic, and took the chase deep. And, after having not conceded a six in his four-over spell earlier, it was Patel who closed out the game by smoking Jadeja for three sixes.

“I am not quite sure whether it entirely fits the purpose and has achieved what it intended to”

Press Trust of India30-Nov-2020Greg Barclay, the new ICC chairman, has conceded that the ambitious World Test Championship (WTC) hasn’t quite achieved what it intended to, and the disruption caused by Covid-19 has only highlighted its “shortcomings”. Barclay suggested going “back to the drawing board” after getting the latest – maiden – edition of the competition out of the way.”In short, I don’t think so. Covid has probably highlighted its shortcomings of the championship,” Barclay said during a virtual media conference for wire services on Monday, when asked if the WTC has served its purpose.ALSO READ: WTC finalists to be decided by percentage of points earnedThe WTC schedule was affected in a big way by the pandemic, forcing the ICC to come up with a percentage allocation of points since it wasn’t going to be possible to finish all the scheduled series before the 2021 final at the Lord’s.”… the issues that we have already got, I wonder whether some of it was because of an attempt to develop a Test Championship, clearly designed to drive interest back into Test cricket, provide a bit of context and relevance around the Test matches,” Barclay said.”From an idealist’s point of view, probably it had a lot of merit but practically, I do disagree, I am not sure whether it has achieved what it intended to do.ALSO READ: Kohli – ‘Confusing, very difficult to understand’“My personal view is let’s get through with the little bit that we can in this Covid-19, with reallocation of points and all that […] but once we have done that, let’s go back to the drawing board as I am not quite sure whether it entirely fits the purpose and has achieved what it intended to after being conceptualised four to five years back.”I think we need to look at it in context of calendar and not put cricketers in a situation where it’s a lot worse and not going to help us.”Barclay said that he had the support of some full-member nations on the matter too. “Yeah, I think there would be some countries (who agree with the rethink). It is difficult for some of the full members as they simply can’t afford to play Test cricket,” he said. “Test cricket has got its legacy and I am a purist but I do accept that as much as I want to keep it as it is, less and less countries are able to afford that arrangement and are able to play it.”Very few countries can make it work from a financial point of view.”While Barclay said he believed that T20 leagues would stay, and continue to assist the financial health of the member boards, he wanted bilateral series with context as players’ safety as well as physical and mental health would be paramount in coming days.”My view is that, I think all forms of cricket need to be taken into account,” he said. “You are right, the calendar is increasingly becoming congested and something has to give somewhere.”… but I do respect that each country has the right to develop its own domestic league given it meets the ICC requirements and is properly sanctioned.Greg Barclay at an ICC meeting•Getty Images

“Clearly there is a demand from the playing point of view and commercial partnering perspective. So let’s accept that domestic leagues are here to stay and they have been tremendously contributing to the growth of the really exciting product like the IPL, BBL and CPL.”Context, he reiterated, would be key in keeping bilateral cricket in good health.”It’s an incredibly difficult juggling act to get in there and also, we need to have enough conversations regarding players’ health safety. I don’t think we have had enough conversations,” he said. “Some of the focus needs to be on the integrity aspect of the game and we need to have competitions which are relevant and have context.”When asked about having more global events, which the world body had informally proposed before being rejected by members, Barclay said, “Bilateral cricket is fundamentally important to member countries. ICC runs very, very good events; all countries must have an opportunity to take part in these events.”I am a fan of maintaining ICC events which are world-class, but at the same time, giving an opportunity to members to have bilateral cricket.”On (the lack of) cricket between India and Pakistan, Barclay chose not to get involved, saying it was “not his mandate” and that he understood there were “geo-political” considerations in play, but he did acknowledge the importance of the BCCI to the global game, despite the many ICC vs BCCI incidents over the years: “India is a massively important part of world cricket. Like all families, we have general squabbles but India recognises that ICC needs Indian cricket. We have been able to navigate through differences, if any.”

January 20 last date to submit list of retained players

Nagraj Gollapudi06-Jan-2021The 2021 IPL auction is likely to be held on February 11. The IPL has also set January 20 as the deadline for the eight franchises to submit the lists of retained and released players.Those were two of the key decisions taken by the IPL Governing Council which met virtually on Monday. The dates and venue(s) haven’t been finalised yet for the 2021 edition which the BCCI recently decided would remain an eight-team event.The venue for the auction, which will be a day-long event, has not been finalised yet either. However, it will take place in the short break between the first and the second Test of the India-England Test series which begins in February. The first two Tests of the England series are scheduled in Chennai with the first match to be played between February 5-9. The second Test will run from 13th to 17th.Related

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IPL in India? Not yet certain
It is understood the three-person panel, which is headed by former India batsman Brijesh Patel and also has former India left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha as a member, deliberated on the various options for the venue. With the pandemic continuing to surge in India, the Governing Council is understood to have retained the UAE as one of the options.With the pandemic throwing up several challenges regularly, the IPL remains uncertain about whether to conduct matches on a home-and-away basis which would mean having a minimum of eight venues. The other alternative, which was also discussed last year before moving the tournament to the UAE, is to organise the tournament at few venues which would entail minimal travel for teams.The balance purse
Although the franchises would want the IPL to firm up the tournament venue, they are currently busy finalising the list of players they would want to retain and release. That is the first step to prepare ahead of the auction which for several teams this time would be more about plugging holes than making wholesale changes.Like every year the IPL is likely to enhance the auction purse by INR 3 crore. Incidentally, the Chennai Super Kings, who had glaring holes and finished joint-last on points in IPL 2020, had the smallest purse after the last auction.They had just 0.15 crore left in their purse while the Kings XI Punjab had the largest balance of INR 16.5 crore. Here’s the balance purse for the rest of the teams: Rajasthan Royals (14.75 crore), Sunrisers Hyderabad (10.1 crore), Delhi Capitals (9 crore), Kolkata Knight Riders (8.5 crore), Royal Challengers Bangalore (6.4 crore), and Mumbai Indians (1.95 crore).

Alex Carey and Mark Steketee have been included for the South Africa tour which is still awaiting final approval from the two boards

Andrew McGlashan27-Jan-2021Matthew Wade has been dropped from Australia’s Test squad for the series against South Africa, and will instead tour New Zealand with the T20I side when the concurrent trips are due to take place in February and March, while Travis Head has been given a “a vote of confidence” by the selectors to earn back his spot.The South Africa tour, which is set to include three Tests, is still awaiting final sign-off between the two boards with the series currently expected to begin in early March. The squad to New Zealand is due to depart on February 7.Alex Carey has been included in the Test squad while Queensland quick Mark Steketee has also been called up with Jhye Richardson, who had been tipped for the South Africa trip, heading to New Zealand instead.The T20I squad includes a host of names who have impressed during the BBL including 19-year-old legspinner Tanveer Sangha who has starred for Sydney Thunder. Josh Philippe and Riley Meredith are the other uncapped players.Related

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Wade had a disappointing series against India where he made 173 runs at 21.26 and his shot selection came under particularly scrutiny in the final two Tests when he moved back down to the middle order having helped fill the opening void in the absence of David Warner and Will Pucovski. Head, who was dropped midway through the India series, is now likely to return to the No. 5 position.”Matthew in our view hasn’t done enough…over probably quite a few Test matches now,” national selector Trevor Hohns said. “I’m not being unfair to him, he would recognise that fact as well. He’s holding down a batting position at No. 5, sure he put his hand up to have a crack up the top, but holding down a specialist batting position he hasn’t quite done enough. As a senior player we expect a little bit more.”In Travis’ case he, to us, has a little bit more up side and we have given him a bit of a vote of confidence to try and win his spot back. We know Travis works very hard on his game and we consider he can probably improve so much to the extent that he can fight his way back.”Pucovski ended the series on the sidelines again due to a shoulder injury following an impressive debut at the SCG, but he and Warner are likely to form the opening partnership going forward although Hohns did not rule out Pucovski being considered for the middle order.It has been determined that Pucovski does not need surgery on his shoulder and is on track to be fit for the tour. James Pattinson, who suffered a rib injury while at home over Christmas and was withdrawn from the Test squad, has returned to grade cricket. If the Sheffield Shield resumes as planned next month it is expected he will have one match for Victoria before the tour departs.The majority of the 19-man test squad were involved in the India series but Carey now has the chance to firmly establish himself as the eventual successor to Paine.”When presented with the challenging task of selecting two concurrent Australian men’s squads for overseas tours, we picked our first-choice Test squad given the importance of the proposed series against South Africa,” Hohns said. “It is testament to the depth of Australian cricket that the NSP has been able to select two Australian men’s international squads of such quality.”Ben Oliver, the head of national teams, said: “We do not envisage replicating concurrent Australian men’s tours in the future, but we appreciate the need to do so now to assist our friends around the world during this challenging period for international sport and given the additional time requirements of mandatory quarantine periods.”T20I squad Aaron Finch (capt), Matthew Wade (vc), Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Josh Philippe, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, Tanveer Sangha, D’Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Adam ZampaTest squad Tim Paine (capt), Pat Cummins (vc), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner

Mike Hesson has backed his IPL team’s million-dollar recruit after the quick proved expensive in the T20Is against Australia

Sreshth Shah05-Mar-2021Mike Hesson, the director of cricket operations at the Royal Challengers Bangalore, has backed the team’s INR 15 crore recruit Kyle Jamieson despite the fast-bowling allrounder having a forgettable T20I series against Australia.In the first four T20Is of the series, Jamieson has conceded 175 runs in 15 overs – economy rate of 11.66 – for just one wicket. But Hesson, talking to after the third match – said that Jamieson shouldn’t be judged on his recent outings.”He’s struggled, probably for the first time in international cricket really, which I don’t think is a bad thing,” Hesson said in a conversation with Ian Smith. “He’s battled to find his lengths, which when you’re put under pressure, that can happen. And pressure not only from the opposition but also the weight of expectations. For Kyle, I don’t think it’s a bad thing.Related

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“He’s a smart enough cricketer, surrounded by good people, and he’ll come out of the other side. When you look at a player, you don’t look at a player just over a very short period of time. You look at the characteristics that he’s got. He’s got some good fighting qualities. He struggled, he didn’t find his lengths, he looked like he lost his run-up. We know he’s a very good player and although we would like him to be performing better, we’re not too worried just yet.”The tall right-arm quick had received the second-highest bid at last month’s IPL auction, going at over US$ 2.5 million following a three-way bidding war between the Royal Challengers, the Punjab Kings and the Delhi Capitals.Hesson, the former New Zealand coach, placed the first bid on Jamieson for INR 75 lakh, but alternating bids between the Royal Challengers and the Capitals pushed his price to INR 9 crore. After that, the Kings – who had the biggest purse at the latest auctions – showed interest in Jamieson, which lifted his price to INR 15 crore. He was snapped up by the Royal Challengers in the end. Later, in a video shared by the Royal Challengers on their social media feed, where the think tank was seen discussing their choices before auction day, Hesson was clear in his interest in Jamieson.Hesson has spent large portions of 2021 in India. Having arrived in the country before the IPL auction in Chennai, he has stayed back, shifting base to Bengaluru thereafter, where the franchise is beginning a camp soon. He has also been following the Vijay Hazare Trophy matches, India’s premier domestic 50-over competition, some matches of which have been staged in the city.”I’ve been watching domestic cricket for the last week, one-day cricket in Bangalore,” Hesson said. “A lot of our players have been playing there, and we start a camp in two days’ time with six or seven guys who aren’t involved with India or international cricket. We’d like to get the squad together in the early twenties of March when the final IPL dates get settled. There’ll likely be a five-seven-day quarantine period that people will have to go through, and then the tournament is set to start early to mid-April.”

India’s premier spinner on how a ‘blank’ state of mind has brought success

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Feb-2021In this chat conducted by immediately after India’s series-levelling victory in the second Test against England in Chennai, Virat Kohli tells R Ashwin that he has seen a kind of metamorphosis in his lead spinner.According to Kohli Ashwin, who is closing in fast on 400 Test wickets, has naturally been strike bowler, not just at home but also during India’s triumph in Australia recently. Ashwin explains to Kohli what has helped him reach a “balance” state of mind where he is not desperate.Virat Kohli: I know you’ve done very well in Test cricket and you take a lot of pride in doing well for the team. This collective performance, which you’ve been working very hard for, coming in front of your home fans and your family as well, how does it feel?R Ashwin: For the first time in my career, I feel blank. When I went out to bat [on Tuesday] as well [in the second innings of the second Test], I was blank when I came and asked you “can I start sweeping?”, “can I reverse sweep?”. So that’s exactly how I feel: zero feelings or emotions inside. Very rarely I find myself in such situations.You know me very well, my mind is always ticking, but for a change it’s really, really blank. And out there, especially being 1-0 down, what I did was something incredible. Yes, I had things go my way, but that partnership (96 runs for the seventh wicket) between us set the tone and I’m really pleased for that.Kohli: Before you came to Australia, I saw a different body language, different mindset. What did you change about your approach towards the game which changed the way you approached situations on the field, and which is making a massive difference, not just in India but in Australia as well. Guys [Australians] were really very nervous to take you on. To be very honest, that body language I’ve seen away from home from you after a very long time. So I wanted to know at this stage of your career, what did you do and how did you manage to do it?Ashwin: The whole pandemic, where we shut off and locked ourselves down, it made me think “what is going to happen?”. For me, if you take the game away, I’m literally lost. Even if I’m not playing some formats of the game for the country, I’m putting the TV on, watching some preview, what’s happening, what’s not happening….I’m that sort of a person. Suddenly, the game’s not happening and we’re all sitting at home, so I was reflecting upon myself and trying to understand how I can learn from people, what people were perceiving of me.That perception really made sure that I was playing a game that is completely different to who I was. In the past when I toured [overseas], there was more of a desperation trying to prove others wrong. But this time when I went out there, it was more about proving to myself what I’m capable of. One thing I’ve noticed from a distance, and when I see people who do well through the year is how balanced they are in terms of not wanting to be desperate. Jinks, yourself when you came back to England the second time and wanted to do well, but really within yourself, within your crease, within your space, which is something I wanted to embrace.Kohli: We had a special partnership. The game was tentatively poised. Ash came out and changed the whole momentum of the game. That partnerships was special I want you to touch upon our partnership?Ashwin: This didn’t happen today. It happened at Blacktown (Sydney, during the first practice match). We were practising, and I was looking on how to take the short ball. I was a trying to set a base, trying to pull, trying to give myself options when you came up to me and said, “Ash, your big strength is to watch the ball and hit it, and play your natural game.”After that, when I went into the Adelaide day-night game, I sort of hit a few balls off the middle and something started to click. I said [to myself], ‘I’ve been too worried about technically getting things right. I’m just going to watch the ball and give myself space and also time, that extra bit of time to react to what’s in front of me.For me that had been missing in the whole puzzle of wanting to be excellent. Even this game, I’m sure you’ve been noticing, about how we wanted to sweep, try and be a little proactive. So (when) I walked out there (second innings) the first question I asked you was: “I want to try and sweep, what do you think?” And you just said “just go ahead”. For instance, if you had told me ” (take some time),” then things might have been different, because for me the right trigger has always helped. That’s what I have noticed in the last year or so.

“If we could have done the training camp for 15 more days, it would have been better”

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-2021Nasum Ahmed, the left-arm spinner who made his international debut in the recently-concluded T20Is against New Zealand, believes a longer preparation camp would have helped Bangladesh fare better in the series. Ahmed, 26, was part of the squad that lost 3-0 in the T20I series, and arrived in Dhaka from Auckland on Sunday.Related

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Ahmed admitted that Bangladesh struggled to adapt to New Zealand’s conditions. Their catching, in particular, was exposed throughout the tour as they dropped several straightforward chances in the circle and outfield. In the final T20I, Bangladesh dropped Finn Allen four times, allowing him to make a match-winning 71.”Our fielding would have improved if we stayed there for one-and-a-half to two months,” Ahmed said. “Their sky is very clear and their weather is nothing like ours. We needed more time. If we could have done the training camp for 15 more days, it would have been better.”After Bangladesh spent a week in room quarantine in Christchurch, they were allowed to train in small groups the following week. They then spent another week in training in Queenstown with the full team.In the lead up to the tour, Bangladesh’s white-ball captains Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah had both repeatedly said that this was the team’s best preparation to any New Zealand tour, but Ahmed felt they did not have enough time to adjust to the pitches, despite following the instructions of their spin-bowling coach Daniel Vettori.”I tried hard and tried to adjust to conditions like a professional cricketer. More than myself, I followed the coach’s tips more. He told me from the beginning how to bowl there. I applied what he said. We just couldn’t (win) do it. Not that we played badly, but we just couldn’t do it. Nothing more than that.”Condition was a problem. I think we are behind them in terms of wickets. Our wickets are very different than theirs. Those are pace-friendly wickets but our spinners still did well.”It will be the same for them (New Zealand) when they come to Bangladesh. They will face a similar situation.”

James Bazley, the allrounder who had impressed in last year’s BBL, earned a contract with Queensland

Daniel Brettig13-May-2021South Australia have poached the dual Sheffield Shield-winning fast bowler Brendan Doggett from Queensland among a raft of interstate additions to their squad. According to head coach Jason Gillespie, the new-look side will have a “focus on results” after four consecutive seasons at the bottom of the first-class standings and no victories at all in any competitions last season.The recruitment of Doggett, alongside the additions of Nathan McSweeney (also from Queensland), Jake Carder (Western Australia), the Sydney Thunder’s Nathan McAndrew (New South Wales) and contract upgrades for Ryan Gibson (NSW), Samuel Kerber (Victoria) and rookie Jordan Buckingham (Victoria), marks a major departure from recent seasons in which the Redbacks tried unsuccessfully to build a home-grown team.The failing fortunes of South Australia have been a talking point across the national system and were last year the subject of an independent review by Michael Hussey that panned a culture of mediocrity and conflicts of interest within the state’s high-performance wing.Hussey’s review had included the following recommendations: “Identify and try to recruit the best young talent around the country (former Australia U-19 players not contracted) and engage them through Premier Cricket making them earn opportunities at the next level. Identify quality players from interstate with first-class experience to fill holes in the current list or holes that will develop in the near future. Target the best 10th to 15th players from other states.”South Australia had already parted ways with Will Bosisto, Tom Cooper, Brad Davis, Conor McInerney, Luke Robins and Cameron Valente – all delisted – while Callum Ferguson and Chadd Sayers retired during the season after long careers with the Redbacks.”We are extremely delighted with the additions we’ve been able to make to freshen up our squad, and we’re optimistic for an improved 2021-22 season,” Gillespie said.”We have added considerable depth and increased our pace stocks, namely with Brendan who is a two-time Sheffield Shield champion, and we welcome each new player and look forward to the beginning of pre-season. We’ve shaped this new-look team with a focus on results, and we are confident that this rejuvenated list can take this proud state forward.”Doggett and McSweeney moved to South Australia as Queensland faced a contract squeeze on account of having only one Cricket Australia-contracted player in Marnus Labuschagne. James Bazley, the allrounder who delivered some eye-catching displays for the Brisbane Heat in last year’s BBL, is the only addition to the full contract list for the Bulls.South Australia contract list: Wes Agar, Alex Carey, Jake Carder, Brendan Doggett, Daniel Drew, Ryan Gibson, David Grant, Travis Head, Henry Hunt, Samuel Kerber, Jake Lehmann, Nathan McAndrew, Nathan McSweeney, Joe Mennie, Harry Nielsen, Tim Oakley, Lloyd Pope, Kane Richardson, Liam Scott, Jake Weatherald, Nick Winter, Daniel Worrall
Rookie contracts: Jordan Buckingham, Bailey Capel, Kyle Brazell, Corey Kelly, Thomas KellyQueensland contract list: Xavier Bartlett, James Bazley, Joe Burns, Max Bryant, Blake Edwards, Sam Heazlett, Usman Khawaja, Matthew Kuhnemann, Michael Neser, Lachlan Pfeffer, Jimmy Peirson, Matt Renshaw, Billy Stanlake, Mark Steketee, Bryce Street, Mitch Swepson, Jack Wildermuth, Jack Wood
Rookie contracts:: Jack Clayton, Matthew Willans, Connor Sully, Will Prestwidge