Bad weather ruins prospect of fighting finish as Compton guides Kent to safety

ECB Reporters Network15-May-2022Division One leaders Surrey drew their LV= Insurance County Championship match with Kent after rain ruined the final day at Beckenham.Just 9.2 overs were possible, with Kent moving from their overnight score of 82 for 1 to 114 for one during two mini-sessions, still 327 runs behind Surrey’s first innings score of 671 for nine.Surrey had been favourites after forcing Kent to follow on on day three, but conditions deteriorated throughout the day and play was abandoned at 3.48 pm, Kent taking 10 points and Surrey 16.Ben Compton was unbeaten on 63, while night-watchman Matt Milnes was not out on 16 at stumps.Day four began with a minute’s silence in memory of Andrew Symonds, who played for Kent between 1999 and 2004.A break in the weather meant play started on time and the hosts resumed on 82 for one, still 359 behind. Conditions were overcast and the ball swung almost immediately but Compton reached 50 in the first over when he pulled Daniel Worrall for a single.Light rain began to fall and the players went off after 29 minutes, Kent having moved to 108 without further loss. Lunch was taken early and although play resumed at 1.35pm, by then it was already raining again.After nine increasingly moist minutes, during which Kent advanced to 114, the players came off again, Compton having added six to his score. After two further hours of waiting and with no prospect of improvement, the game was abandoned as a draw.The draw lifts Kent off the bottom of the table ahead of Gloucestershire.

In all they have lost 10 points to over-rate offences in the current WTC cycle

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jun-2022England have been docked two World Test Championship (WTC) points and their players have been fined 40% of their match fee for maintaining a slow over rate in their epic win in the second Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge. This adds up to a total of 10 docked points for the side in this WTC cycle; they had lost eight points during the second Ashes Test in Brisbane last year.Related

• Stats – Bairstow's quick century and England's record chase

• Bairstow: 'It was do or die, so you've got to do'

• Ben Stokes 'blown away' by rousing win at packed Trent Bridge

• Go, Jonny go. And just keep going

The hosts were ruled to be two overs short, after allowances were taken into consideration, by the on-field umpires Michael Gough and Paul Reiffel, third umpire Rod Tucker and fourth umpire Martin Saggers. Captain Ben Stokes pleaded guilty to the offence, with match referee Richie Richardson imposing the sanction without the need for a formal hearing.England’s WTC points tally had risen to 42 after their win, before coming back down to 40. Importantly, their points percentage – the key criteria in determining where teams sit on the WTC table – fell from 25 to 23.80, putting them at eighth spot on the WTC table – behind New Zealand.England had scripted a stunning victory at Trent Bridge, with Jonny Bairstow and Stokes putting on a dominating 179-run stand to help chase down 299 on the last day, having been reduced to 93 for 4 at one point. Bairstow blazed his way to 136 off 92 balls, his 77-ball hundred falling just one ball shy of England’s 120-year-old record for their fastest Test century. Following Bairstow’s dismissal, Stokes and Ben Foakes guided England home, the highest successful Test chase at Trent Bridge. Stokes remained unbeaten at the close with 75 off 70 balls.In accordance with the ICC’s rules relating to over-rate offences, players are fined 20% of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time. As per the WTC playing conditions, a side is penalised one point for each over short.

He has his sights on another pre-Ashes spell with Glamorgan if the schedule allows him

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jun-2022Marnus Labuschagne will be aiming to copy Joe Root’s playbook in Sri Lanka as he prepares for what he expects will be his toughest challenge yet against spin.Labuschagne completed his latest county stint with Glamorgan on Sunday in an abandoned T20 clash against Surrey, but not before he had taken 2 for 27 from his four overs ahead of a tour were his legspin could be used more regularly by Aaron Finch and Pat Cummins.However, it will be with the bat where he will have his best chance to define games, especially the two Tests in Galle which conclude the tour.Related

• Warning signs for Australia ahead of litmus test against spin in Galle

• 'Told him not to walk out into the ball' – the Warner advice that might have helped Finch

• Tim David looms large in Australia's plans despite Sri Lanka absence

• Mitchell Marsh's belief soars after career-shaping 12 months

• Hazlewood comfortable in new avatar as full-time T20I bowler, part-time Test quick

Root had a phenomenal Test series in Sri Lanka in early 2021 where he made first-innings scores of 228 and 186 in Galle which followed a century in Pallekele on the previous tour.Labuschagne’s Test career started against Pakistan in the UAE in 2018 but his only other experience in Asia was the recent series in Pakistan. The home side’s spinners underwhelmed in those three matches where Labuschagne started with 90 in Rawalpindi before collecting first-innings ducks in the next two games.”For me, it’s my first real subcontinent challenge against spin, it’s about conquering that challenge,” Labuschagne told . “Joe Root played phenomenally over there, I’ve learned a lot from how he went about his game there.”As a team we want to be the best in the world, it doesn’t matter where you take us, we want to be winning games and I certainly think we can do that in Sri Lanka. I’ll have to get used to conditions, the heat and sweating it out, which is something we haven’t had the last few games [in the UK].”Although Labuschagne is now returning to Australia duty at the start of what will be a hectic period of national action he is keen for another pre-Ashes stint with Glamorgan next year.Labuschagne’s schedule is not as crammed as some of Australia’s three-format players as he is not yet a regular in the T20I side, but there are 11 Tests scheduled up to next March plus a lot of ODI cricket so he is aware he may need to manage his workload while his wife Rebekah is also expecting their first child later in the year.He has often credited his 2019 spell with Glamorgan as a key part of why he was able to have immediate success when parachuted into the side as Steven Smith’s concussion substitute at Lord’s.”There’s a lot of things in the mix, but I can’t see anything wrong with trying to copy the last time I played in the Ashes here, and play some county cricket with Glamorgan [going] into the Ashes next summer,” he said.”That’s our blueprint but we’ve got so much cricket this year, around 16 Tests and 18 one-day games, so we’re going to have to make sure I’m fit and healthy, and also get to spend time at home with my wife and child at some stage.”

Eleven wickets fell on day two in Galle, with Pakistan trailing by 187 runs

Andrew Fidel Fernando25-Jul-2022Sri Lanka made huge strides towards taking control of the Test on the second day, despite having lost their last four wickets for 63 runs in the morning.Asitha Fernando made the crucial breakthrough, removing form batter Abullah Shafique with the second ball of the innings, before the spinners went to work. Prabath Jayasuriya had Babar Azam playing on. Dhananjaya de Silva slipped a full delivery through Imam-ul-Haq’s defences. Mohammad Rizwan, Fawad Alam, and Mohammad Nawaz were out to Ramesh Mendis’ offspin.The end result is that although Pakistan kept Sri Lanka to a manageable 378 in the first innings, they’ve stumbled so badly, they are now fighting to stay alive in the Test. Agha Salman, playing his second Test, was the batter who fought hardest, hitting 62 off 126 balls, as wickets fell around him. His dismissal off what turned out to be the last ball of the day entrenched Sri Lanka’s dominant position, however.Things had begun so well for Pakistan. Naseem Shah blew Sri Lanka’s overnight pair away in the first half-hour of play. He first fired a vicious one at debutant Dunith Wellalage’s throat in the fourth over of the day, which the batter could only fend to second slip, as he tried to get out of the way. In Naseem’s next over, another bouncer accounted for Niroshan Dickwella, who tried to help the ball around the corner, and only managed to give an edge. Dickwella had got to his half-century shortly before, having begun the day on 42.Yasir Shah then took the last two wickets as Ramesh Mendis prevented an all-out lower-order folding, with his 35, during which he struck up a 20-run partnership with No. 10 Prabath Jayasuriya, and a 25-run last-wicket stand with Asitha. Still, 378 did not seem like a total that locked Pakistan out of the game.The Pakistan top order though, did not take advantage of the situation. Second ball of the innings, their form batter Shafique played a leaden-footed push at Asitha, whose length delivery took the inside edge and cannoned into middle and leg stump.Babar Azam was out next, also chopping on, pushing at a full Prabath Jayasuriya delivery that did not turn as much as expected, to be out for 16. Imam was also bowled, but this time the bat did not interfere. De Silva beat him in the air, and slipped the ball into middle.From there, it wasn’t quite a procession, but the wickets fell regularly. Mohammad Rizwan was lbw playing back to a quicker one from Ramesh. It looked plumb from the outset, but Rizwan burned one of his team’s reviews. Fawad Alam battled to 24 before he too played back to a sliding Ramesh delivery, that hit him in front. Fawad didn’t review.Mohammad Nawaz was out a little more than 10 overs later, when he edged Ramesh behind. But Pakistan’s best batter of the day was also out before the day’s end. Salman ground his way through the innings, not hitting a boundary in his first 67 balls. When he did hit out, he advanced to pound Jayasuriya over long on, before sweeping him for four behind deep square leg.Salman was more adventurous after that, particularly when he used his feet. He got to his maiden fifty off 93 balls, and was out off the last delivery of the day for 62, edging Jayasuriya to slip.Of Sri Lanka’s bowlers, Ramesh returned the best figures, taking 3 for 42. Pakistan had two bowlers on three wickets in their innings too – Yasir taking 3 for 80, and Naseem 3 for 58.It didn’t seem like a bowlers’ pitch on day two at Galle. And yet, 11 wickets fell.

Former India player parts ways with Cricket Australia after six years as the men’s spin coach

Alex Malcolm29-Jul-2022Sridharan Sriram will end his six-year tenure as an assistant coach with Australia’s men’s national team in order to focus on his coaching role with Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.”After being on the road for six years it’s with a heavy heart I have decided to move on from my current role as an assistant coach of the Australian men’s team,” Sriram said in a statement. “I feel this is an opportune moment keeping in mind the team, giving them enough time to prepare for two World Cups and the World Test Championship. It has been a great experience for me working across formats, World Cups and Ashes and I have come out incredibly richer in knowledge.”Sriram, the former India allrounder, has been an important figure in Australia’s coaching set-up since being appointed as a spin coach under Darren Lehmann in 2016. He has had a big influence on the careers of Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar, in particular, and has worked closely with Nathan Lyon. He has also been a key figure in Glenn Maxwell’s development as a T20 spinner with both Australia and Royal Challengers.He had been fulfilling his duties with Australia while still being based in Chennai. But a change in coaching personnel with the Australia team has seen former New Zealand spinner Daniel Vettori join new coach Andrew McDonald as the full-time bowling coach. Vettori filled in as Australia’s bowling coach on the limited-overs portion of the tour to Pakistan when Sriram was unable to tour.”I am extremely grateful to Cricket Australia for all their support in the years that I have been involved with them,” he said. “I would like to thank my head coaches Darren Lehmann, Justin Langer and Andrew McDonald and my captains Steve Smith, Tim Paine, Aaron Finch and Pat Cummins who all believed in me.”Thanks also to Ben Oliver, Brian McFadyen, all the players and staff for welcoming me with open arms and making me feel a part of the group. Greg Chappell, Troy Cooley, Pat Howard and Marcus Stoinis were also instrumental in getting me involved. I wish the team and the coaches the very best for the future.”Zampa, who thrived under Sriram on his way to becoming arguably the best bowler in the T20 World Cup last year, was grateful for his influence. “I love working with Sri, he’s someone I have a lot of respect for and his work ethic and knowledge of the game have been invaluable to my career in recent years,” Zampa said.

Visitors limp to 6 for 3 before bad light brings early close at Riverside

ECB Reporters Network21-Sep-2022Durham scored runs with ease at Seat Unique Riverside before taking three quick wickets to leave Sussex staring at an innings defeat by stumps on day two in their County Championship match.In blue-sky conditions, Scott Borthwick wasted no time in pushing Durham forward, as he and Michael Jones reached their half-centuries before lunch as the hosts wiped out the remaining deficit.James Coles struck shortly after lunch, removing Borthwick lbw for a fast-paced 82, before Jones was caught down the legside by debutant keeper Charlie Tear four short of a century.Nic Maddinson added fifty partnerships with David Bedingham and Chris Benjamin before he chopped on for 90 off Faheem Ashraf as Durham pushed towards a declaration.Bad light played its part again as the teams left the field just before 5pm with Durham just short of maximum batting points, but they returned shortly after to gain the final batting point and declare with a lead of 297.Durham then turned the screws as Ali Orr was run out due to a mix-up with Tom Haines, before Ben Raine removed Tom Alsop and Tom Clark for ducks. Bad light ended play early again to leave Sussex 6 for 3, still 291 behind.

Marco Jansen has been called up to the ODI side and an update on the T20 World Cup squad is expected soon

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Oct-2022South Africa allrounder Dwaine Pretorius has been ruled out of the ongoing ODI series in India as well as the upcoming men’s T20 World Cup – that begins later this month in Australia – after fracturing his left thumb. He picked up the injury during the third T20I against India on Tuesday in Indore, the only game South Africa won in the three-match contest.”The nature of the injury requires surgical intervention and Dwaine will consult the Cricket South Africa designated hand surgeon on arrival in South Africa,” CSA chief medical officer Dr Shuaib Manjra said. “Normal rehabilitation procedures will follow to ensure he speedily returns to playing cricket.”Marco Jansen has been added to South Africa’s ODI squad. Jansen is also part of the three-man reserves’ list for the T20 World Cup, along with Andile Phehlukwayo and Bjorn Fortuin, and could be the frontrunner to replace Pretorius in that squad as well.This is South Africa’s second injury blow ahead of the T20 World Cup after Rassie van der Dussen was ruled out with a broken finger. Van der Dussen sustained the injury during the second Test against England in Manchester and is expected to return to fitness for the Tests against Australia in December.Temba Bavuma will lead South Africa at the World Cup. At the time of announcing the squad – which has one more fast-bowling allrounder in Wayne Parnell – on September 6, CSA had confirmed that Bavuma would play as an opener, though his horror run at the T20I series in India could force a change of plans.

They have a strong hand of pace bowlers but pitches in Hobart can be a challenge

Alex Malcolm04-Oct-2022Captain Jordan Silk

Coach Jeff VaughanSquad

R=Rookie, CA=Australia contract
Tom Andrews, Gabe Bell, Jackson Bird, Iain Carlisle, Jake Doran, Nathan Ellis, Brad Hope, Caleb Jewell, Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Lawrence Neil-Smith, Sam Rainbird, Peter Siddle, Jordan Silk, Billy Stanlake, Matthew Wade, Charlie Wakim, Tim Ward, Beau Webster, Mac Wright, Nick Davis (R), Jarrod Freeman (R), Mitch Owen (R), Nivethan Radhakrishnan (R) In Nick Davis, Billy Stanlake | Out Tim PaineWinter moves

Tim Paine not being offered a contract was one of the main talking points of the winter but after training with the Tasmania squad over the last two months as an uncontracted player has been included in the first Sheffield Shield squad. Billy Stanlake has made the move south from Queensland to try and revive his career after a string of back injuries. He is still recovering from his latest stress fracture and is not going to be available until after the BBL and will only play white ball cricket this summer.Related

• Chris Tremain's long wait: 'I contemplated retirement quite frequently'

• Western Australia's formidable depth make them strong contenders again

• Meredith shines with career-best haul for pacesetters Tasmania

Last season

Tasmania played some excellent cricket last summer beating eventual Shield winners Western Australia twice both home and away. But two tight losses late in the season to New South Wales in Sydney and Victoria in Melbourne cost them a spot in the final. On both occasions, their batting let them down in low-scoring affairs. Tasmania unearthed a new opening duo with Tim Ward and Caleb Jewell forming a good combination. The flow-on effect was that Jordan Silk’s move to the middle order proved a masterstroke as he had an outstanding season averaging 57.11 with a century and three fifties, having been freed from the tough task of facing the new ball at Bellerive week in and week out. Tasmania’s bowling wasn’t quite as strong as in previous years with none of the quicks managing to take 20 wickets while the ever-reliable Jackson Bird only played three games and Riley Meredith only played two, with Peter Siddle (19 wickets) doing the heavy lifting while Sam Rainbird produced a record 13-wicket haul against Queensland.

Tasmania Shield fixtures

October 6-9: vs Queensland, Allan Border Field
October 16-19: vs South Australia, Adelaide Oval
October 29-November 1: vs Victoria, Hobart
November 12-15: vs New South Wales, Hobart
November 24-27: vs Victoria, MCG
December 1-4: vs South Australia, Hobart
February 11-14: vs New South Wales, SCG
February 21-24: vs Western Australia, Hobart
March 2-5: vs Western Australia, WACA
March 14-17: vs Queensland, Hobart

Player to watch

Ben McDermott has started to establish himself as one of Australia’s next-generation white-ball players having scored a breakthrough ODI century in Pakistan earlier this year. The next phase of his development is producing big scores in long-form cricket. He was left out of the Australia A tour to Sri Lanka purely because he was viewed by the selectors as further down the red-ball pecking order. He has been incredibly consistent at reaching 50 in first-class cricket, having passed 50 ten times in his last 28 innings, but he has only converted one of those scores into three figures. His coach Jeff Vaughan believes the big scores will come.”He has been really consistent,” Vaughan told ESPNcricinfo. “It is an area that he’s working on, is to make big scores and that’s in all forms of the game. He’s been making hundreds in T20s domestically last year and has had some success across both 50-over and red-ball cricket. We’re really excited by what the future holds for him. And we certainly see him being one that could represent Australia in all three formats.”Australia radar
Matthew Wade will be away for the early part of the season with Australia’s T20 side but will be available once the World Cup is complete in mid-November. Nathan Ellis could be in an out depending on whether he is needed as an injury replacement for the World Cup. McDermott remains on Australia’s ODI radar and could potentially get a run in a three-match ODI series against England in November if some of the Test stars are rested. Riley Meredith may also bolt into the frame for that series as well given it is likely that Australia’s key fast bowlers will be given a spell.

Jofra Archer primed to bowl for Lions in three-day tour match in Abu Dhabi

Vithushan Ehantharajah22-Nov-2022Ben Stokes will sit out day one of England’s Test three-day warm-up match against England Lions ahead of their tour to Pakistan, with Ollie Pope set to lead in his absence.Stokes is understood to be managing his body, particularly a troublesome left knee, after getting through nine T20Is in the space of a month, culminating with England winning the T20 World Cup in Australia. Following a match-winning 52 not out in the final at the MCG against Pakistan on November 13, he travelled to Dubai for a break before meeting up with the Test squad on Friday.While he has taken part in the training sessions so far (Sunday and Tuesday) he is yet to bowl in since the final, and the decision was made not to rush him back to full throttle, especially with the first Test eight days away. It is uncertain if he will play any part at all in the match, though the unofficial nature of it means he could still make an appearance if, for instance, he fancies some time in the middle against the red ball.Related

• Root puts name forward for IPL auction after lengthy T20 absence

• England hire team chef amid concerns about Test tour catering

• Abrar, Ali get maiden call-ups for England Tests

• Shaheen 'feeling better' after appendectomy

• Rawalpindi to host first Test as scheduled

For Pope, the opportunity to captain represents as much a challenge as a show of faith from Stokes, Brendon McCullum and the wider management group. The Surrey batter impressed last summer by demanding and then impressing in the No. 3 position, with 475 runs at an average of 38, with four scores of fifty or more including a first century on home soil.Pope has only captained once in his professional career back in September 2021 in a County Championship match for Surrey against Glamorgan when deputising for Rory Burns – then a centrally-contracted England player – who was being rested by the ECB at the time ahead of that winter’s Ashes. Beyond that, there were matches in charge for the county’s Under-17s and Cranleigh School.England hope that Pope will thrive under the responsibility. At 24, he fits the profile of an up-and-comer who has established his place in the XI but should also grow as a leader in the dressing room. Much of Stokes and McCullum’s mantra centers around players not being afraid to take more ownership of their games and surroundings.This, by proxy, also makes Pope the clearest vice-captain so far under Stokes. The talismanic allrounder has been reticent to name a deputy, but it is understood Stuart Broad was chosen to take the reins last summer if Stokes spent a period of time off the field or was unfit for selection. Broad opted out of the tour to Pakistan ahead of the birth of his first child, and with another viable candidate Jonny Bairstow also missing following his golfing accident, Pope has the chance to state his case for the role.