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A strong BBL helped earn a recall having learnt from a tough start to international cricket

Alex Malcolm16-Feb-2021Ben McDermott believes he returns to Australia’s T20 side a different player after a 16-month absence but he knows his move to the top of the order for the Hobart Hurricanes will hinder his chances to find a permanent place in Australia’s line-up.McDermott played 12 T20Is for Australia in 2018-19 but battled in a difficult middle-order role as Australia struggled to settle on a winning combination in the first two years of Justin Langer’s coaching tenure.He made just 98 runs from 10 innings at a strike-rate of 93.33 and suffered the ignominy of being run out in three of his first four innings.”That was probably through a role that I don’t do for the Hurricanes anymore, which is bat in the middle,” McDermott said. “Batting up the top of the order now, I’ve sort of forced my way back in there with an amount of runs. But that comes with the challenge of batting at the top order at this level, which is pretty stacked obviously with Finch, Wade, Philippe, and all these guys, Stoinis, so it’s a tough spot to crack.”Related

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• Australia seek middle-order answers during T20 mission in NZ

• Aaron Finch: New Zealand T20Is a fact-finding mission

He has forced his way back into the squad for the five-match T20 tour of New Zealand on the back of an excellent season for the Hurricanes where he made 402 runs in 12 innings at a strike-rate of 139.58, featuring scores of 96, 91, and 89 not out in chases.He spent the entire season batting in the top three and even opened in six games while Matthew Wade was absent. Australia captain Aaron Finch has already declared that he, Wade, and Josh Philippe will make up the top three at the start of the tour, with Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis set to start at No. 4 and No. 5. McDermott understands where he sits in the pecking order.”I doubt that my opportunity will be in the top order,” McDermott said. “I’m sure if I do get into a role it will be through an injury to those top three guys. Obviously, Philippe has been the Player of the Tournament for the Big Bash and Finchy has got an outstanding international record and Wadey has come off, the last time he played a T20I he got 80-odd against India. So I’m pretty sure they’ll be the top three. But if I do get an opportunity it will probably be through the middle. It’s a very strong batting line-up still. A lot of big names to jump.”Stand-in coach Andrew McDonald has flagged that Australia will use this tour to try and find some permanent answers in the middle order, which has been somewhat of a revolving door even when Australia has been at full strength. McDermott said he had learned some valuable lessons from his first 10 international innings in the difficult role and had been making improvements with Tasmania and Hurricanes batting coach Jeff Vaughan.”Being able to strike boundaries and being able to strike at a decent strike-rate from ball one. I think that was key for success and I wasn’t able to do that all. I’m sort of someone that needs a few balls to get going. It’s something that I’m working on is being able to hit a boundary early on and get myself going.”We just went through being able to start your innings at 100 percent and we talk a lot about looking for four first and your last option is hitting a one. I probably got into a little bit of a mindset early on in my innings that I was just looking for a one or a two and then missing out on boundary options early.”McDermott also has one eye on the available spots in Australia’s Test middle order. He made an excellent start to the Sheffield Shield season for Tasmania before scoring a century against India for Australia A. His form prompted Shane Warne to say that McDermott should be Australia’s next Test match No. 5 but he knows he needs to add to his two first-class centuries before that can become a reality.”That’s the pinnacle of cricket for me, playing Test cricket,” McDermott said. “It was nice to hear Warney say those nice words about me but that’s out of my control, what happens at the next level selection-wise. I’m sure that big hundreds are going to be key for that next step. So hopefully I can do that. I’ve only got two first-class hundreds at the moment. So hopefully I can finish off the back of the Shield season strongly and put my name up there again.”

Victoria had South Australia two-down early in reply before Henry Hunt’s debut half-century avoided any further loss before stumps

Alex Malcolm at Junction Oval11-Oct-2019Victoria’s top three batsmen posted centuries as they piled up a huge first innings score to take complete command on day two against South Australia at the Junction Oval.Nic Maddinson reached his maiden first-class double-century and Will Pucovski posted his fourth Sheffield Shield century as Victoria made the highest score by any Shield team since 2015 before declaring in the middle session. It was also just the 12th time in Shield history that the top three batsmen made centuries in the same innings after Marcus Harris posted 116 on day one.South Australia debutant Henry Hunt and skipper Travis Head had to weather an unrelenting Victorian attack in the afternoon after Jake Weatherald and Jake Lehmann both fell cheaply. Hunt reached his maiden Shield half-century and remained unbeaten on 62 to avoid further damage before stumps.Maddinson, who began day two on 195, had to wait until the sixth over of the day to find the fifth run needed for his maiden first-class double-century. He cruised to 224 and Victoria reached 1 for 413 before Maddinson finally fell edging an attempted cut off Kane Richardson.Peter Handscomb came in and made a brisk 30 before skying one straight up trying to hit Tom Andrews against the spin over long-on.Pucovski went about his business calmly and despite getting bogged in the nineties, and nearly running out Aaron Finch for a duck, he eventually sneaked to his fourth century in just 20 Shield innings.”It was a good test early,” Pucovski said after the day’s play. “Obviously, I was quite slow at the start so to sort of mentally get through that and not get frustrated and stick to my process and obviously come out with a positive outcome, in the end, was a big positive.”Starting [on that pitch] is quite tough. It’s quite slow and it’s hard to score freely if you bowl in the right spots and get it reversing a bit. It’s just a patience thing.”Finch then cut loose after lunch as Victoria pressed for a declaration. He smashed six fours and four sixes to reach 57 in just 44 balls before falling caught and bowled to Andrews. But he suffered back spasms during his innings and was unable to field for the remainder of the day as a precaution.Pucovski ran himself out for 123 taking on Weatherald at mid-off. But Glenn Maxwell picked up from where Finch left off clubbing four fours and two sixes in a 30-ball 43 to allow Victoria to declare 30 minutes before tea on 6 for 616. It was the first time any Shield side had passed 600 since February 2017 and the highest score since Western Australia made 633 against South Australia in 2015.The Redbacks’ response started disastrously. After spending 150 overs in the field, Weatherald nicked the first ball of the innings from James Pattinson to Maxwell in the gully. The visitors should have been 2 for 0, but Handscomb dropped Jake Lehmann at second slip off Pattinson in the third over. The Victorian quick bowled two hostile spells down breeze either side of tea.Lehmann battled to 8 off 40 balls before he was caught behind off the inside edge attempting to drive Chris Tremain. Hunt batted beautifully and looked unflustered against the high-quality attack. His defence was sound and his hands soft as he batted comfortably through the last two-and-a-half hours of the day.Head was fortunate that a leading-edge ballooned safely over Scott Boland’s head before he had scored. He had to curb his free-flowing instincts as Victoria stacked his preferred scoring region square on the off-side. But he reached stumps unbeaten on 27 from 80 balls.

After Essex had been limited to a modest 135 for 9, openers Myburgh and Tom Banton powered the hosts to their third victory of the week

Matt Roller at Taunton03-Aug-2018

ScorecardJohann Myburgh’s 42-ball hundred led Somerset to a thumping ten-wicket win against an abject Essex to take them one step closer to a quarter-final spot.Well set at 82 for 2, Essex limped to 135 for 9 after winning the toss, a score which looked a long way short of par even on a used Taunton wicket.And so it proved, as Myburgh blitzed 16 fours and three sixes in his maiden ton to seal a comprehensive victory with 52 balls to spare.”When you go out there chasing a lowish score, it gives you a bit of freedom at the top,” Myburgh said. “I like to put pressure on the other team…in T20 cricket, that’s the way you’ve got to play. Confidence has been pretty high for a while now. We’ve been pretty consistent [in T20], and we know we can win ways in different games – we aren’t relying on one formula.”At the halfway point of their innings, Essex had looked set for a competitive total. Varun Chopra – still the only member of their batting line-up to have made it to 50 in this tournament – and captain Ryan ten Doeschate were well-set. The pitch was used and sticky, but possessed few demons.The pair patiently knocked the ball around for singles, looking to put any loose balls away. But Somerset were disciplined. As usual, Lewis Gregory rang the changes – each of the final ten overs was a one-over spell – and once the wickets started to fall, Essex were unable to recover. In one 47-ball period, they hit just one boundary, as Ravi Bopara and Michael Pepper scratched around, desperate to take the innings deep in the hope of a late assault.The assault never came. Essex made only 58 for 7 in the final ten overs, and never put any pressure on the Somerset attack; Chopra’s six off the ninth ball of the innings was the only one of the innings. It was the performance of a team shorn of any confidence after a disastrous T20 campaign so far. With four points in eight games, they will need at least five wins from their final six games to have a chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals. On the basis of this showing, they’ll be lucky to get any.Somerset, meanwhile, were disciplined and ruthless with the ball. Jamie Overton bowled with the pace and hostility that has caused his name to be discussed by England’s selectors in the past two weeks, bowling fuller than his standard short-form length, and for the first time in his T20 career, he went at less than a run-a-ball while bowling his full allocation.Jerome Taylor added three final-over wickets to his 5 for 15 on Wednesday night, while Roelof van der Merwe bowled with guile and nous through the middle overs. It was a display, befitting of a side who – with Gloucestershire and Kent still to play tonight – went top of the group, albeit temporarily.The question mark looming over Somerset’s season to date was their top-order batting. In their past four T20 games (excluding their rain-reduced game against Surrey), they had won four times despite losing three wickets in the Powerplay; while their middle-order’s hitting had often been spectacular, there was a feeling that the streak was unsustainable.They decided to change things. Steven Davies, a veteran of 136 games in the format, was left out for England Under-19 captain Tom Banton. Some might have nervous filling such shoes – not Banton. Facing Jamie Porter, charging in from the River End with a point to prove after his omission from the Test side this week, Banton ramped the fourth ball he faced for an audacious six.But it was Myburgh who stole the show. With 129 runs in eight innings going into this game, there were questions over his spot in the team, but a low total and a license to free his arms left him with the perfect opportunity to swing his way into form. Essex’s only hope was Adam Zampa, their tenacious Australian legspinner who, with 11 wickets and an economy rate below seven, has been the lone star of a poor T20 campaign. He was brought on to bowl the fourth over, needing an early wicket; Myburgh whacked him for 19.Myburgh’s pyrotechnics did not stop there. Matt Coles’ first three balls were thrashed to the fence for four but he was still getting started. Peter Siddle was Myburgh’s next target, whose second over was crunched for four fours and a six. The second of those fours summed up Essex’s despair. For once, Myburgh failed to time the ball. It looped up over cover, just beyond the reach of the diving Paul Walter, who – perhaps with one eye on the start of the English football season tomorrow – headed the ball and sent in on its way to the boundary. In the blink of any eye, Myburgh had reached a 22-ball 50.At 77 without loss after the Powerplay, Somerset’s victory was a formality, and it was just a question of how many Myburgh would make. Two brutal strokes for four off Coles took him into the 70s, before a six and a four off Bopara brought him to within touching distance of a maiden hundred.With 11 needed, Myburgh stroked Walter for four past the diving cover fielder. He roared in celebration, and seven balls later, the most decisive of victories was sealed.

A rush of wickets followed by a last-wicket stand brought excitement but the match remained well balanced at Chester-le-Street

ECB Reporters Network21-Jun-2017
ScorecardChris Rushworth was part of a spirited last-wicket stand•Getty Images

Signs of a positive result when Durham lost five wickets for six runs proved misleading as only four more wickets fell in the two sessions of play against Glamorgan at Chester-le-Street.After thundery storms play began an 1.10 on the third day of the Specsavers County Championship match and when Glamorgan were faced with a deficit of 107 and 42 overs to bat after tea they reached 92 for 2.After the collapse Durham’s last-wicket pair, Chris Rushworth and Barry McCarthy, put on 68 to achieve maximum batting points with two balls to spare.McCarthy was then unlucky to take no wickets in a spell of 8-3-5-0 as Jacques Rudolph survived a searching examination from Durham’s four seamers until two overs from the close, when he was strangled down the leg side for 43.It was a deserved reward for academy boy Matty Potts, who also took the other wicket when he had Nick Selman lbw for 16.Rudolph twice edged Potts for four through the vacant third slip area and the youngster conceded only eight more runs in his eight overs.When Durham resumed on 281 for four, Paul Collingwood and Ryan Pringle added 47 in the first 12 overs. Pringle hit Michael Hogan for three fours in four balls, but he fell lbw to the next to start the slide.Graham Wagg had Paul Coughlin caught behind first ball, then Collingwood departed for 92 when a steeply-bouncing ball which Marchant de Lange lobbed off a glove to Aneurin Donald at gully.An inswinger from Wagg had Stuart Poynter lbw before de Lange banged another one in to have Potts caught at short leg.Durham still needed 16 for the fourth batting point when Rushworth joined McCarthy. But they were relatively untroubled once de Lange rested after a 12-over spell, in which his two for 30 took his overall figures to five for 95.McCarthy was on 30 when Rushworth fell for 38, chipping Hogan to mid-on with the total on 402.

Sania Iqbal will be replaced by Diana Baig in Pakistan women’s World T20 squad, after she suffered a fracture in her right thumb during a training camp in Karachi

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Mar-2016Sania Iqbal will be replaced by Diana Baig in Pakistan women’s World T20 squad, after she suffered a fracture in her right thumb during a training camp in Karachi.The decision, made by the Women’s National Selection Committee, was approved by PCB Chairman Shaharyar Mohammad Khan.Baig is a 20-year-old right arm pacer, who has played just one ODI and one T20I to date.Pakistan women open their World T20 campaign with a match against West Indies women on March 16.Pakistan women squad Sana Mir (captain), Javeria Wadood, Bibi Nahida, Sidra Amin, Bisman Maroof, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui, Nida Rashid, Iram Javed, Asmavia Iqbal Khokhar, Anam Amin, Sadia Yousaf, Aliya Riaz, Sidra Nawaz (wk), Syeda Nain Fatima Abidi, Diana Baig

The Cricket Association of Bihar has filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court against the Bombay High Court verdict of July 30

Nagraj Gollapudi28-Aug-2013In a move that could further delay the return of N Srinivasan as the active BCCI president, the Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB) has filed a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court against the Bombay High Court verdict of July 30. The High Court had ruled that the BCCI had violated its own rules in the formation of the inquiry commission investigating the corruption allegations against Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals and their owners, and the CAB contended in its petition that the High Court could have recommended an alternative method of investigation.On August 7, the BCCI had filed its own SLP in the Supreme Court against the High Court judgment. In its 13-page SLP, the BCCI contested the High Court order, asking how the CAB’s public interest petition could have been entertained when the Indian board was a private body.The two-judge bench of Justices AK Patnaik and Jagdish Singh Khehar had asked CAB to file their reply by August 29. However in the wake of CAB’s SLP, the hearing has been pushed back by a day and will be heard now on Friday. The CAB’s SLP, filed on August 17, sought no interim relief.The CAB’s main contention in its SLP is that the High Court, having established that the BCCI had broken its own rules in setting up an investigation, could have suggested a fresh mechanism to look into the corruption allegations. The BCCI’s inquiry had cleared Gurunath Meiyappan, who is Srinivasan’s son-in-law, and Raj Kundra and the two franchises they were part of, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals.In their 61-page order, High Court Justices SJ Vazifdar and MS Sonak had said that although it could not be firmly established, there was a “degree of involvement” of Srinivasan in setting up the original three-man probe commission.In the SLP, the CAB asked, “whether the High Court, having found that the constitution of the Commission was not in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of Respondent No. 1 (BCCI), and having acknowledged that a key focus of the probe panel was a close relative of Respondent No.2 (Srinivasan), was right in refraining from suggesting a fail-proof mechanism to enquire into the facts leading to the publicly known allegations?”During the High Court hearing, the BCCI legal counsel had argued strongly that the inquiry was set up under the IPL’s Operational Rules. However, the judges had concluded that the BCCI had broken rule 2.2, which made it mandatory that at least one member of the IPL Code of Behaviour committee sat on the probe panel.The CAB’s lawyers also argued that they filed the SLP because the “reputation” of BCCI was at stake, and that the IPL scandal wasn’t merely a question of disciplinary problems.”…the High Court failed to appreciate that the IPL Operational Rules are only concerned with breaches of discipline that affect the IPL. The present matter deals with alleged violations that, if enquired properly, would likely bring into question various broader issues, such as the integrity of players (who may, after the IPL season, play under the India banner), nexus between administrators of the Board, administrators of IPL teams and players, and various other factors that have led to the sharp reputational crisis that faces Respondent No.1 today,” the SLP said.The important ground listed in the CAB SLP dealt with the powers given to the BCCI president whenever a probe committee is set up. “The relevant power is available under Rule 32, which on a reading makes it clear that the President of Respondent No.1 (BCCI) must lead such enquiry as the appointing authority, overseeing authority and the authority to whom such enquiry commission’s report is to be submitted. In the present matter, given that the enquiry relates in large measure to the role of a close relative of Respondent No.2 (Srinivasan) who is also the de-facto President, and the team belonging to Respondent No.3 (India Cements) in which he is a key shareholder and Director, it is not possible to hold an enquiry that both appears and also is fair and transparent,” the SLP said.Although the BCCI was tight-lipped about the latest events, the Supreme Court order will carry a lot of significance. A decision favouring Srinivasan would facilitate his taking over as president immediately, ending the brief reign of the interim BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya.However, any delay in the court proceedings is likely to have an impact on Srinivasan’s tenure as the president. Under normal circumstances, Srinivasan would have officially sought the constitutionally allowed one-year extension (till September 2014) to his time as president at the board’s AGM on September 30, but that will be under a cloud if his legal problems aren’t cleared by then.

ESPNcricinfo previews the third Test between England and South Africa at Lord’s

The Preview by Alex Winter15-Aug-2012

Match facts

Thursday, August 16
Start time 1100 (1000 GMT)Graeme Swann needs a return to form if England are to retain their No. 1 status•Getty Images

Big picture

For the second series this year, England are faced with a must-win final Test in order to preserve their No. 1 status. They managed to produce a No. 1 performance in Colombo to defeat Sri Lanka and stay top of the pile. That performance followed four consecutive defeats and, once again, England have to pull something out of the bag after less-than-ideal preparation.Their cricket might have improved at Headingley in the second Test but any sign of improvement has been totally overshadowed by a social media ruckus. Twitter, YouTube, text messages and emails have ensured Kevin Pietersen’s long-term England future has dominated the news rather than the facts of the immediate future – England have to win this Test. And without Pietersen they are without the man that took the series back to South Africa and at last put them under pressure with his 149.South Africa might be a little miffed by the Pietersen saga too. They have come dangerously close to being dragged into the mire and few are discussing their opportunity to ascend the summit of world cricket, for which they need only a draw. They are by far the more settled of the two camps and have players in form and in confident mood. Several had injury worries after the second Test but they are now fully recovered and preparing to take South Africa to the top.Much will depend in this match on England’s ability to score enough runs. Sounds simple enough – and the totals they have achieved so far in this series would have been good enough to pressurise many teams – but England have found themselves with too few runs to play with against the depth, talent and mental strength of South Africa’s line-up. Twice England have squandered positions to rack up very high scores and they cannot afford to miss their chance at Lord’s, otherwise South Africa’s order could swamp them once again.

Form guide

England DLDWW (Most recent first)
South Africa DWDWD

Watch out for

There is suddenly some pressure on Graeme Swann. The stock of England’s premier spinner has fallen in the last year – he didn’t have the devastating effect the Pakistan slow men enjoyed in the UAE and laboured for 50 fruitless overs at The Oval under suspicion of an elbow injury. He took his first first-class wicket since June last week for Nottinghamshire at Taunton. Last summer, Swann used the final Test against India at The Oval, to re-establish his claim as one of the world’s best spinners by bowling his side to victory on the final day. He will be hoping for a repeat performance.Dale Steyn endured a miserable Lord’s debut on South Africa’s last tour in 2008, taking 1 for 117 as England built a huge first-innings total. He will be looking for happier memories this week and will hope to add to his 10 wickets – making him the leading wicket-taker – in the series so far.

Pitch and conditions

The Olympic archery tournament was completed less than two weeks ago so it will be interesting to see how the outfield has coped with temporary stands and artificial paths. “It’s not as pristine as you normally see Lord’s but you’ve got to give credit to them for the effort they have put in,” Graeme Smith said. The square was largely unaffected by the archery and with the drier weather in recent weeks than at the start of the season, a truer surface than during the West Indies Test should be found.

Team news

Pietersen’s absence could be the excuse England need to play five bowlers in their search for 20 wickets – something they have been loathe to do in recent times. They used Samit Patel as a fifth bowler in Sri Lanka but you have go back to Dhaka in February 2010 for a match where five specialist bowlers were picked. Swann could replace Pietersen with Ian Bell batting at No. 4 and Matt Prior at No. 6. The tried-and-tested method, however, would be to slot Jonny Bairstow back into the side.England (probable) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Ian Bell, 5 James Taylor, 6 Jonny Bairstow, 7 Matt Prior (wk), 8 Stuart Broad, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 James Anderson, 11 Steven FinnSouth Africa will remain unchanged, as all their injury worries, Alviro Petersen, Jacques Kallis and Smith, have recovered.South Africa (probable) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Alviro Petersen, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 AB de Villiers (wk), 6 Jacques Rudolph, 7 JP Duminy, 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran Tahir

Stats and trivia

• In total, the teams have met 14 times at Lord’s with England winning six and South Africa four.
• England haven’t beaten South Africa at Lord’s since 1960 – six Tests ago – when they triumphed by an innings and 73 runs.
• South Africa’s record Test total came at Lord’s in 2003 – 682 for 6 declared.
• Andrew Strauss’ 100th Test will be his 50th as captain, while Stuart Broad’s 50th Test will be his 100th first-class match

Quotes

“We expect England to be England over the next five days and we just have to be better than them at it.”

Perhaps it was the loss of 23 overs to poor weather on the third
night. Perhaps it was the lack of a really good quality spinner. Or
perhaps they were just unlucky

George Dobell at Wantage Road23-Jul-2011
ScorecardPerhaps it was the loss of 23 overs to poor weather on the third
night. Perhaps it was the lack of a really good quality spinner. Or
perhaps they were just unlucky; certainly several edges flew
tantalisingly close to fielders. But, in the end, Derbyshire had to content themselves with a draw at Northants.The visitors were the better side for a large portion of
the game, but were unable to finish off a home side that bat deep and
fight hard. It was, in many ways, an excellent advert for the benefits
of two division, four-day cricket. The days when sides simply rolled
over and died when the pressure mounts are, largely, gone.These are exciting times for Derbyshire. Perhaps, in terms of a
promotion challenge, this will prove a year too soon. But they have a
developing squad of young players – Dan Redfern and Tom Knight are
among the talented youngsters who missed this game – and will surely
only improve in years to come. The prospect of Mark Turner and Mark
Footitt bowling in tandem is mouth-watering. Derbyshire have not been
blessed with such pace bowlers for many years.John Morris is a man with many positive qualities. He has an excellent
eye for talent and assembled a gifted squad at Derbyshire. Perhaps,
however, he was not the most sympathetic man-manager. His replacement,
Kark Krikken, a fellow who shows a bit more carrot and a little less
stick, may well prove better at nurturing the developing team.
They have some challenges. Greg Smith and Tim Groenewald are both the
subject of multiple 28-day approaches from other counties and
Derbyshire may face an uphill struggle to persuade the high-quality
role-model cricketer to join them for next season. Paul Collingwood
remains the target; Rob Key, whatever the rumour-mill may suggest, is
not.Earlier in the day, Derbyshire thrashed 97 in 14 overs to set-up their
declaration. Whiteley, who looks a fine prospect, scored his final 35
runs from just 10 balls, with both he and Smith registering selfless
half-centuries. It left Northants requiring a most unlikely 358 to win
in a minimum of 80 overs.Any chance they had of achieving that was ended by another excellent
spell from Turner. His extra pace accounted for both openers before he
had conceded a run which meant that, including his spell that ended
the first innings, he had taken five wickets for no runs in 24 balls.For those who last saw him ball in the CB40 final, it was a remarkable
improvement. Rob White briefly lifted hopes of a run-chase as he plundered 18 off
one over but, when he was run out after attempting an insane single,
the draw was Northants best hope. Jon Clare accounted for Rob Newton,
with a full ball, and Mal Loye, with one that bounced more than
expected, but O’Brien and Hall ensured there was to be no collapse.Hall, who passed 50 with two successive sixes, occasionally lived
dangerously, but the edges either flew through vacant fourth slip, or
bounced just in front of the cordon.”It was a bridge too far,” Krikken said afterwards. “But I’m proud of
the way we’ve played. Turner and Whiteley stuck their hand up in this
game and we can take great confidence from the way we’ve played. But of course I’m disappointed. If we’d have won we’d have put ourselves right in the mix. But I don’t want us to get ahead of ourselves. We just need to take it ball-by-ball and match-by-match and
we’ll do fine.
“We’ve given them a chance to play with freedom. We have a great team
spirit and all the guys are enjoying their team-mates’ success.”In the end, it wasn’t such a bad match for Northants, either. They
stopped the rot after the Championship defeat to Essex and the horrid
run of T20 form and showed some character as Niall O’Biren and Andrew
Hall added an unbroken 106 for the sixth wicket to make the match
safe.They still remain well-placed in the promotion race. They lead the
table by 18 points, though Middlesex have a game in hand. More
importantly, the lead over third-placed Glamorgan is 20 points.In the longer-term, their efforts must be to retain the services of
promising players such as Jack Brooks. Brooks, who has been one of the
best seamers on the circuit this season, is the subject of interest
from five other counties, with Yorkshire, Warwickshire and Kent among
them.Many a young man can have their head turned by the offer of big money
and the chance to play at a big club. But Brooks is a level-headed fellow. He’s enjoying his cricket at Northants, he’s enjoying the responsibility he has been given and he’s
enjoying the company of his team-mates. It would be a bit of a
surprise if he left.

Jesse Ryder’s disrupted year has continued after a nagging elbow injury ruled him out of New Zealand’s tour of Sri Lanka

Cricinfo staff21-Jul-2010Jesse Ryder’s disrupted year has continued after a nagging elbow injury ruled him out of New Zealand’s tour of Sri Lanka next month. Ryder, 25, spent most of last summer fighting a serious groin problem and only returned for the World Twenty20 in the West Indies.He entered that tournament with hurt ligaments in his elbow and batted five times for 93 runs. Ryder eventually succumbed to the pain, which is particularly bad when he throws, missed the Twenty20s against Sri Lanka in May and has failed to recover during his time off.”Due to the compressed nature of the tour and his speed of recovery so far we feel we have insufficient time to get Jesse fully fit and able to take part in any of the one-day matches,” the coach and selector Mark Greatbatch said. “Therefore we have made the decision to keep Jesse in New Zealand where he will continue his rehabilitation from the elbow injury and return to playing as soon as possible.”A replacement will be named for the tri-series tournament that also involves India. New Zealand will be captained by Ross Taylor at the event, with Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum both on paternity leave.Greatbatch said it would be a huge achievement if New Zealand won the tri-series. “The team is a relatively young side without Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum but it gives other players an opportunity to express their natural talent on the international stage,” he said. “We’re building towards the first one-day international and are confident we will be ready when it really matters.”The squad departs for Sri Lanka on August 1 and the first match is against India on August 10. This week the players travel to Australia for three 50-over practice games against Maharashtra in Darwin to acclimatise.

It’s not clear if the team management wanted to rest him or Bumrah himself wanted to be rested

Alagappan Muthu31-Oct-2024Jasprit Bumrah is likely to miss the third and final Test of the series against New Zealand in Mumbai. Bumrah was with the team when they began training at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday, but all he did were some light fitness work and some fielding drills. He did not bowl during either of the training sessions that India had at the stadium.It is understood that Bumrah doesn’t have an injury, and it’s not known yet if the team management wanted to rest him or Bumrah himself wanted to be rested.The news that Bumrah could miss the game came to light shortly after head coach Gautam Gambhir mentioned that all the players were available for selection, and brushed aside concerns about Bumrah not bowling at training.Related

• Gambhir: I don't think our skill against spin has gone down

• New Zealand look to go where no team has gone before in India

“I think he [Bumrah] is just done his preparations,” Gambhir said on Thursday, “I think we know how the weather is in Mumbai, so obviously he needs to conserve his energy as well. So he’s done his bowling, he’s prepared really well, and he’s fine. That’s why he’s a senior player, he knows how much he needs to prepare for the Test match.”Bumrah has played all four Tests of the home season so far, and has bowled the third-most overs (90) and picked up the third-most wickets (14) . He was handed the vice-captaincy of the team recently and is in line to lead them at the start of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in November, when Rohit Sharma is expected to miss the first Test for personal reasons. Given his other role as the team’s bowling leader, India will want Bumrah to be fit and firing for each of the five Tests of that tour, which begins on November 18 and goes through to January 7.There were no indications from the team management, in the two days they attended training at the Wankhede, that Bumrah would miss the game. Assistant coach Abhishek Nayar even highlighted how India’s recent Tests haven’t really gone the distance and that Bumrah’s workload hadn’t hit the levels where they would be concerned about him.”In the two Test matches that he’s bowled [against New Zealand] around 20-25 overs. So he hasn’t bowled a lot,” Nayar said on Wednesday. “Yes, there will always be a thought process about his workload. Also we played two games that we’ve not had five-day cricket, it’s more three, three-and-a-half. So he’s got ample rest. But Booms is very important to us and his workload will always be something on our mind.”Fast bowlers are unlikely to get a lot of assistance from the Mumbai pitch that has been prepared. The red soil should ensure there is good bounce and the early-morning moisture combined with the new ball might provide a small window for them to do a little damage, but largely it is the spinners to whom both teams will be turning to. India have already gone down 2-0, their first series defeat at home in 12 years, making the Test something of a dead rubber, although there are WTC points at stake. India are on top of the WTC table and fighting for a spot in the final at Lord’s in June 2025.