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Lions’ left-arm spinner Jean Symes has been suspended from bowling in domestic cricket with immediate effect, after a test found his bowling action to be illegal

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Feb-2016Lions’ left-arm spinning allrounder Jean Symes has been suspended from bowling in domestic cricket with immediate effect due to an illegal action. He will not be allowed to bowl until remedial work is undergone and he passes a re-assessment of his bowling action.The suspension comes after an independent assessment of his action revealed it to be illegal. Symes, who has 68 first-class wickets at 37.66 and 60 List A wickets 31.00, is currently representing his provincial side, Gauteng.

In a further blow to the already delayed Dhaka Premier League, BCB president Nazmul Hassan has said he wouldn’t perturbed if it didn’t take place.

Mohammad Isam25-Jul-2013In a further blow to the already delayed Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League, BCB president Nazmul Hassan has said he wouldn’t be perturbed if it didn’t take place as the preparation of the grounds in Sylhet, Cox’s Bazar, Dhaka and Chittagong for the World Twenty20 in March 2014 was his priority.”We are trying our best to hold the Dhaka Premier League in the first week of September instead of August 29. If it happens, it happens; if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen,” Hassan said. “The World Twenty20 should get top-most priority, ahead of all domestic tournaments. The month of August is a very important one for me because the ground inspection team is coming, and all the grounds are undergoing work at the moment.”The comment comes a day after the tournament, which will primarily require the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka where the groundstaff have only just started to repair damaged parts of the outfield, was postponed for the fourth time in five months.Earlier in June, Hassan expressed anxiety over the mentions of more Bangladesh players in the ICC Anti-Corruption and Security Unit’s report on corruption in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). He said at the time he was not confident of holding the Dhaka Premier League, because he might have to pull up players from clubs after the transfer/recruiting programme is completed. The league was subsequently delayed from July to the end of August, and now it has been shifted to September.Hassan said that the league’s delay was because of the space the BCB needed to create in the calendar to hold the BPL this year. But the fact remains that the Dhaka Premier League clubs were reluctant to compete when the national cricketers were away in Sri Lanka in March, when it was first scheduled to be held. It was two weeks after the BPL ended on February 19.”We needed to correct the slot because of the BPL,” he said. “I personally feel that the Dhaka Premier League is a very important league, and it has the biggest contribution to our cricket. It should get top priority.”We have asked for the full calendar on July 29. I am not too worried if for some reason the games don’t take place. The old thing could be interrupted to make room for the new tournament,” he said.In this case, the schedule of the National Cricket League (NCL), the first-class tournament, has become vulnerable as the Dhaka Premier League could spill over to after the New Zealand tour in October, when the NCL was supposed to be held. BCB are also planning to host the Bangladesh Cricket League, a zonal first-class tournament, and the BPL, after the New Zealand’s tour to Bangladesh.If the BCB president’s comment is anything to go by, Bangladesh’s domestic season could be compromised to prepare and host the World T20. The last time the Dhaka Premier League was not held in a season was when the Under-19 World Cup was held in Bangladesh in 2004.

Simon Katich guided Hampshire to a comfortable four-wicket CB40 win over Durham with a perfectly judged half-century

15-Jul-2012
ScorecardSimon Katich guided Hampshire to a comfortable four-wicket CB40 win over Durham with a perfectly judged half-century. Australian veteran Katich struck three sixes and a four in his 59 not out as Hampshire got home with 10 balls to spare.Durham, put in on a slow wicket, mustered 200 for 7 from their 40 overs. Gordon Muchall underpinned Durham’s total with a brave and defiant 96 not out, coming in at 41 for 3 with his side finding it hard to get the better of a wet outfield.Muchall struck five fours and two sixes off 99 balls, sharing in an important stand of 83 for the fifth wicket with Dale Benkenstein, who made 31. Paul Collingwood contributed 28 and it might have been more had he not been beaten by a throw from Jimmy Adams at extra cover when the Durham total was 59.Kabir Ali was the most successful of the Hampshire bowlers, taking 3 for 39, removing opener Phil Mustard in his first spell and then returning to get rid of former Hampshire batsman Johann Myburgh and Gareth Breese.When Hampshire responded they were given a solid base by Adams and fellow opener James Vince who put on 73 for the first wicket.Legspinner Scott Borthwick ended the stand when he removed Adams for 33 and later caused concern in the Hampshire camp by coming back to dismiss Sean Ervine and Liam Dawson. But all the while former Durham batsman Katich was in command, so were Hampshire.Katich twice hit Borthwick for six and did the same to Ben Stokes before finding the perfect ally in Dimitri Mascarenhas. With 30 required off 29 balls at the fall of Dawson’s wicket at the start of the 36th over, Katich and Mascarenhas went on the offensive.Mascarenhas lifted Borthwick for another six to take Hampshire in sight of victory before Borthwick got some measure of revenge by him lbw for 22.The sixth wicket pair had put on 28 in 15 balls and with Hampshire now needing two runs, the rest was a formality. Katich faced 62 balls and, for all his late punishment, Borthwick was the pick of the Durham bowlers in terms of wickets, finishing with 4 for 51 from his eight-over stint.

It took Middlesex only 21 minutes on the third morning to complete a nine-wicket victory against Kent in an County Championship Division Two encounter which attracted an ECB pitch panel to Lord’s

21-Jun-2011
Scorecard
It took Middlesex only 21 minutes on the third morning to complete a nine-wicket victory against Kent in an County Championship Division Two encounter which attracted an ECB pitch panel to Lord’s.Twenty-three wickets fell on the first day of the match, prompting ECB pitch liaison officer Tony Pigott to convene a three-man panel at the end of the second day’s play. Pigott, fellow pitch officer Jack Birkenshaw and ECB pitches consultant Chris Wood interviewed both captains and coaches, both umpires and the Lord’s groundstaff before deciding that the surface did not warrant a points penalty. But the panel did mark the well-grassed pitch “below average” for producing excessive seam movement.Kent employed occasional bowlers Joe Denly and James Goodman when Middlesex resumed on 120 for 1 as they chased 167 for a fourth championship victory of the season. Opener Sam Robson, unbeaten on 59 overnight, pulled Denly for six into the Tavern Stand and also hit him through extra cover off the back foot as he finished on 94 not out.Dan Housego late cut Denly for four and Kent continued to go through the motions as Robson extra-cover drove Goodman to the boundary and then deposited a long hop from Denly for another four.The end came even more quickly when Rob Key, the Kent captain, brought himself on to attempt some leg spin from the Nursery End. Robson first straight drove Key for four and then punched a full toss wide of mid on for the winning boundary.Robson faced 121 balls overall, hitting 12 fours and a six, while Housego finished on 13 not out.
Middlesex took 19 points for the win, which maintained their bid for promotion from the second division, while Kent picked up just three points.

Jeevan Mendis and Thissara Perera combined to hand Sri Lanka A their first win on the tour of Australia

Cricinfo staff04-Jul-2010
Scorecard
Thissara Perera captured his first five-wicket haul in List A matches•Getty Images

Jeevan Mendis and Thissara Perera combined to hand Sri Lanka A their first win on the tour of Australia. Perera bagged five wickets to help limit Australia to 197, and Mendis’ unbeaten 81 overcame an early Sri Lankan wobble to steer them home with 14 balls to spare.Australia opted to bat, and began soundly before they were pegged back. Perera and offspinner Sachithra Senanayake did the early damage to leave Australia tottering at 66 for 5. But Travis Birt, who fought hard with 54, batted well with the lower order to take his team past three figures. Moises Henriques and Xavier Doherty chipped in with cameos to leave themselves with a score that was competitive.And competitive it proved, as the Sri Lankan top three were inside the dressing-room within the first ten overs. But Mendis then stepped in, forging a recovery with captain Chamara Kapugedera in a stand of 63, and added an unbeaten 96 with Kosala Kulasekara who supported him in a match-winning partnership. Mendis’ 81, which comprised five fours, gave Sri Lanka a 1-0 lead in the three-match 50-over series after a spate of losses on the tour.”We expected that Sri Lanka would be stronger in the one-day format, it suits their game a little better but I know we were close, just a little bit short with the bat today,” Australia A captain Bailey said. “The wicket didn’t play as we expected it would, but Travis Birt and Xavier Doherty batted pretty well towards the end and we had some nice little partnerships. We were probably 30 or 40 short because I think 230 or 240 would have been pretty defendable.”Bailey was happy with the way his bowlers went about defending a smallish target. “The way our bowlers bowled was good, they stuck at it all day and kept trying different things and that was really pleasing the way we fought it out,” Bailey said. “For it to take them 48 overs to get the runs was a good effort by us.”

“We know what we’re doing with him, and where we’re going. He’s comfortable,” says interim coach Trescothick

Matt Roller15-Sep-2024England will continue to take a cautious approach to Jofra Archer’s workloads during their five upcoming ODIs against Australia, after he bowled just 3.3 overs across the drawn, rain-affected T20I series.Archer has been steadily eased back into international cricket this year, playing two T20Is against Pakistan in May before featuring in all eight of England’s matches at June’s T20 World Cup. He did not play at all for Sussex in the second half of the Blast group stages and was managed carefully through the Hundred, twice being rested to the frustration of Southern Brave captain James Vince.Since the end of the Hundred, he has played two matches: one for Sussex in the quarter-final of the T20 Blast, and the other for England in their defeat at the Utilita Bowl on Wednesday night. He was rested for Friday night’s game in Cardiff and would have played in Sunday’s series decider had it not been washed out by the Manchester rain.He has proved why England have invested so heavily in him, since his comeback from the back and elbow issues that have kept him on the sidelines for so long. He was their joint-highest wicket-taker at June’s World Cup, and on Wednesday night provided a reminder of his skills at the death, clean-bowling Sean Abbott and Xavier Bartlett in successive balls.Related

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Archer is in England’s 15-man squad for the five-match ODI series which starts in Nottingham on Thursday, though may be rested for one or two of them. He has not played a 50-over game in the last 18 months and while he retains long-term ambitions to play red-ball cricket, he has not played a first-class match since May 2021.”Jofra will have to be managed throughout the series,” Jos Buttler told Sky Sports on Sunday. “He’s played a really good stint now of T20 cricket, but obviously you can only bowl four overs in there. There’s a jump in intensity getting loads up to taking full part in an ODI – and of course, as an England fan, to push those loads up hopefully to get back into the Test arena as well.”Marcus Trescothick, England’s interim coach, said that Archer was “comfortable” with the ECB’s long-term plan to manage his workload. “He knows the plan,” Trescothick said. “It’s discussed long in advance of picking the team on each day. We know what we’re doing with him, and where we’re going. He’s comfortable: he knows what he’s doing.”That’s a bigger structure, in terms of what we’re trying to do with Jofra. You come into the series knowing what we’ve got and what we can do with him. That’s an agreed plan between the coaches, directors, physios and all the different people. We’ll still be managing him [in the ODIs] – exactly the same thing.”Trescothick will be part of all three of England’s tours pre-Christmas, as an assistant coach for the Test series in Pakistan and New Zealand, and continuing to deputise for Brendon McCullum during the white-ball tour of the Caribbean in November. “It’s going to be slightly abbreviated, but I’ll be popping into all of them,” he said.He said that his manner as a coach has been informed by his experience working with McCullum, which he hopes will allow for a smooth transition when McCullum takes charge across formats from January. “I’m directing it in a way that I know will be very similar to when he comes in,” Trescothick said. “He’ll talk the same way, manage in the same fashion, and debrief in the same way.”We’ve spent two-and-a-half years together coaching… It’s not copying it, because I’m putting my own stamp on it, but it’s done in a very similar sort of fashion involving the very similar people in terms of the coaches we have around it. It’s the start of what’s going to go on, and it’ll carry on pretty seamlessly when he takes over in January.”

Sune Luus, Hayley Matthews and Chamari Athapaththu also named as the first nominees for the inaugural WBBL overseas draft

Alex Malcolm02-Aug-2023Five international captains in Harmanpreet Kaur, Sophie Devine, Sune Luus, Hayley Matthews and Chamari Athapaththu are the first players unveiled as nominees for the inaugural WBBL overseas draft to be held on September 3 ahead of the upcoming season.Four of the five players have been regulars in the WBBL with Devine and Harmanpreet both winning Player of the Tournament awards. Devine is the only player in WBBL history to have been named Player of the Tournament twice doing it in back-to-back seasons in 2019-20 and 2020-21 for two different clubs in Adelaide Strikers and Perth Scorchers, where she is currently the captain.Previously, WBBL clubs have been free to recruit overseas players privately but for the first time this season the WBBL will have an overseas player draft after it was introduced in the men’s BBL last season. Both drafts will be held on the same day on September 3 and will have the same format. Sydney Thunder have the first pick in the draft following the draft lottery on July 13.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

International players will nominate for various salary bands with WBBL Platinum players to earn AUD$110,000 to be paid by the clubs from the AUD$732,000 salary cap. Gold players will earn AUD$90,000, Silver AUD$65,000 and Bronze will earn AUD$40,000.Harmanpreet and Devine will almost certainly be Platinum players available to be selected in the first round. Four of the five will be eligible to be retention picks. Harmanpreet will be available to be retained by Melbourne Renegades as will Matthews and Athapaththu. Matthews only spent one edition there last year, having played five seasons previously with Hobart Hurricanes, but captained Renegades in two matches last season. Athapaththu played two seasons at Renegades in 2017-18 and 2018-19 but played in 2021-22 for Scorchers before returning to Renegades last year.Sophie Devine latches on to a cut•Getty Images

Devine can be retained by Scorchers but not Adelaide Strikers having been captain of the Scorchers for the past three seasons. Luus did play nine games with Brisbane Heat in 2018-19 but WBBL rules state that a player who was not on a team in the previous season can only be retained by a club if they have played at the club for a minimum of two seasons and haven’t been contracted to another team. Luus has only played for one season at Heat.Each club is only allowed one retention pick, meaning Renegades will need to choose between Harmanpreet, Matthews and Athapaththu as to which player they would like to retain. They can opt not to retain any of them. They could also re-draft all three if no other club chooses to take them when they are available.The WBBL will announce further draft nominations in the coming weeks.

Pakistani quicks star on compelling day of action at the Ageas Bowl

ECB Reporters Network06-May-2022
Mohammad Abbas celebrated his first LV= Insurance County Championship five-wicket haul of the season but Gloucestershire’s ripsnorting evening session snatched the momentum from Hampshire.Hampshire looked set for a first-innings lead in excess of 200 after Abbas ripped through the visitors with a textbook showcase of line and length bowling with 6 for 45. But Ajeet Singh Dale and Jared Warner added 55 for the last wicket to reduce the deficit to 163.And then Mohammad Amir continued the Pakistani bowling dominance with 3 for 22, with Ryan Higgins also pilfering a scalp, to leave Hampshire 28 for 4, with their lead 191.To start the day, Liam Dawson and Kyle Abbott had failed to reach the bonus point for 350 runs despite a spirited morning effort, with Graeme van Buuren pinning Abbott lbw and Dawson flailing to deep extra cover – Hampshire all out for 342.Abbas came into his own with an incredible seven-over spell of 4 for 16. Abbas’ second over was an Ageas Bowl classic. Marcus Harris left the first ball and pumped the second for three before the overseas signing found George Scott’s tentative outside-edge behind. James Bracey was shelled at third slip first ball, played and missed the second before he finally tickled behind – Abbas coming over, around and then over the wicket again, a plan hatched by Keith Barker during their meeting last year.Hampshire were now in the box seat and relentlessly hunted down further wickets. Miles Hammond was the next to feather Abbas to keeper Ben Brown before van Buuren was leg before on the cusp of lunch.Abbas’ spell initiated murmurs in the Hampshire dressing room that it had produced more heat than other efforts in recent weeks due to compatriots Amir and Naseem Shah watching on.Marcus Harris ended the procession to Abbas by loosely driving Abbott to second slip and Tom Lace had his off stump left lopsided by James Fuller.Ryan Higgins countered with an entertaining 46 in conjunction with Dom Goodman before taking on Felix Organ one too many times to top-edge to deep midwicket. Abbas then completed his five-wicket haul with a short ball into Goodman’s ribs, which was gloved through to Brown. Amir followed two balls later with a sharp edge to second slip – Abbas celebrating by running down to his friend and laying his hands on his shoulder in a consolidatory manner.The hosts debated whether to enforce the follow-on or not at the fall of that ninth wicket, only for Dale and Warner to put on 55 – the highest partnership of the innings. Dale, against his former county, laughed at his No.11 billing with a brisk 36. Organ eventually got Warner to push to short leg to bowl Gloucestershire out for 179.Gloucestershire’s glee was increased as, in 11 evening overs, Amir had Organ jabbing to the cordon second ball, before Ian Holland fell in the following over – caught behind attempting to leave Higgins.Abbott and Abbas were lbw in successive balls to Amir coming around the wicket, as Hampshire saw their openers and tail disappear in a little over 45 minutes of havoc.

James Anderson, Ollie Robinson, Jack Leach impress with the ball

George Dobell08-Jan-2021A conclusion on whether England enjoyed a good or bad first day of action on their trip to Sri Lanka depends, perhaps, on whether you are a glass half full or a glass half empty person.Certainly several of England’s bowlers enjoyed an encouraging day. At one stage his opening spell, James Anderson was on a hat-trick, while Ollie Robinson and Jack Leach also impressed.But as Team Buttler slipped to 48 for 6, albeit on a surprisingly green surface, it became clear England had work to do on their batting before the first Test starts next week. To be fair to those batsmen, Jonny Bairstow, who made five, received a terrific ball from Anderson that demanded a stroke and left him, Jos Buttler was dismissed first ball by an even better one which darted back to bowl him through the gate and Dom Sibley was out for one, drawn into playing at one which bounced to take his edge from Robinson.Later Ben Foakes, who had looked assured in making 21, was beaten by a beauty from Leach which lured him forward, pitched on middle and turned to hit the top of off. It was fine quality bowling, by any standard.But with less than a week to go until the first Test, it underlined the far from perfect preparation with which both sides must contend in these unusual circumstances.Related

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Underlining those unusual circumstances was the sight of England rotating members of their backroom staff to umpire throughout the day. Even Ashley Giles, the managing director of England men’s cricket, took a turn. It was also decided that the teams – Team Root v Team Buttler – would bat for 50 overs each on the first day of this two-day match, with the prospect of rain on day two.The challenge now is for the players to shake off the appearances of a low-key, inter-squad game and ensure they are ready for the intensity of Test cricket next week. Without crowds, or genuine opposition, it’s not easy. And, on this evidence, the batsmen have some work to do and only one more day of warm-up match cricket to come.The final day of this game is likely to be played in ‘middle practice’ conditions. That means that none of the seamers are expected to bowl and the spinners will be given a prolonged workout. Equally, the batsmen will be given plenty of opportunity to face spin. Sunday is currently scheduled to be a rest day – thought that may change if Saturday is ruined by rain – while Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday will see training in Galle. The Test starts on Thursday.There was, at least, unmitigated good news off the pitch. The latest round of Covid-19 tests returned no new positive results, meaning this match was able to progress and boosting hopes that the virus has been contained. Moeen Ali, the one man to test positive in the tour party to date, remains in isolation and is said to be improving having experienced mild symptoms. If all goes well, he will rejoin the rest of the squad on the 13th. Chris Woakes, who travelled in the same car as Moeen from Birmingham to Heathrow and is therefore considered a close contact is in quarantine, too. Woakes, at least, can expect to be released from captivity over the weekend. He will train at the ground on Saturday and is expected to travel to Galle, probably in a separate car, tomorrow night. The squad is tested again on January 12.ALSO READ: ‘I think my game’s in the best place its been’ – BairstowThe day also provided a first sight of England’s new batting consultant. Jacques Kallis arrived in Sri Lanka a few days ago but, having come on a commercial flight, was obliged to spend some time in quarantine. He has now been released and joined up with the rest of the tour party on Friday.It wasn’t all bad news for England’s batsmen on the pitch, either. At the start of the day, Joe Root made a typically busy 74 not out (from 117 balls) and put on 95 for the third-wicket with a fluent Dan Lawrence (46 not out from 66 balls).Zak Crawley (46 from 79) also impressed for a while. He picked up five boundaries – the pick of them perhaps an authoritative pull off Saqib Mahmood – but fell just short of a half-century when he attempted to run one from leg-spinner Mason Crane behind point but could only feather an edge through to Buttler.Earlier James Bracey (16 from 38), who opened with Crawley, fell as he attempted to hit Dom Bess over the top but could only scoop a catch to mid-on. After 50 overs, when Team Root decided to allow Team Buttler a bat, the score was 184-2.Later there was an encouraging return from Ollie Pope, too. Pope isn’t an official member of the squad on this tour but, with an eye towards assuring his preparedness for the India series, has been brought along to continue his rehabilitation from shoulder surgery. So far, he has appeared only as a batsman and has not been asked to field.He soon provided a reminder of his class. By the close he was unbeaten on 58 (from 91) and, in partnership with Sibley (who had been allowed a second innings and was unbeaten on 18), had added 72 and helped Team Buttler rebuild to 120-6 from 38 overs. Anderson (8-3-21-2), Robinson (4-1-15-2) and Leach (8-0-27-2) shared the wickets, with Mark Wood (8-2-25-0) also enjoying a decent spell.

Squad includes fit-again big-hitting keeper-batsman Tim Seifert and three spin options in Mitchell Santner, Todd Astle and Ish Sodhi

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Aug-2019New Zealand captain Kane Williamson and senior pacer Trent Boult have been rested for the T20 leg of the ongoing Sri Lanka tour. In Williamson’s absence, Tim Southee will lead a squad that includes a fit-again big-hitting keeper-batsman Tim Seifert and three spin options in Mitchell Santner, Todd Astle and Ish Sodhi.”Kane and Trent played an enormous role in our recent World Cup campaign and with a big summer ahead, we see it as a good opportunity to give them a rest,” selector Gavin Larsen said.Wicketkeeper-batsman Seifert, who had suffered a finger injury during the four-day Plunket Shield and later missed the World Cup, returned to the side, as did Tom Bruce. The aggressive Central Districts batsman wasn’t part of New Zealand’s squad for their last T20I series against India, but he was particularly impressive in the Super Smash T20 competition, hitting 353 runs in 11 innings at an average of nearly 40 and strike rate of 157.58.Seam-bowling allrounder Doug Bracewell, who had been included in the squad for those T20Is against India earlier this year – though he did not get into the XI – was left out now. Seth Rance was picked as a like-for-like replacement.Fast bowler Scott Kuggeleijn and allrounder Daryl Mitchell, the son of former All Black John Mitchell, have both retained their places in the squad as New Zealand seek to identify their combination for the T20 World Cup next year.”Following that amazing ride in the ODI World Cup, it’s exciting to begin setting our sights on another world event,” Larsen said. “The series in Sri Lanka will be a challenging one against a team who are tough to beat in their own conditions.”Our T20 team has been pretty consistent over the past couple of years and we’re really happy with the power and versatility we have in this squad.”All three T20Is will be played in Pallekele, with the first game on September 1.Squad: Tim Southee (capt), Todd Astle, Tom Bruce, Colin de Grandhome, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Colin Munro, Seth Rance, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor