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Ashley Giles’s disclosure at a Lancashire members forum that Andrew Flintoff is unlikely to play any cricket for Lancashire this season should surprise no one

Paul Edwards28-Apr-2015Ashley Giles’s disclosure at a Lancashire members forum that Andrew Flintoff is unlikely to play any cricket for Lancashire this season should surprise no one.The demands made on current players, even T20 specialists, are not easy to balance with a host of media appearances and the player himself said at the end of the Big Bash that he was struggling to square his many other commitments with the regimen of a professional sportsman.Even at Lancashire, the county represented with such distinction by that mighty trencherman Jack Simmons, chip-van tours and cricket no longer mix.Old Trafford coach Giles was already finding it difficult to contact Flintoff and had opted to send him texts, facts which scarcely suggest a very close relationship between the pair.Moreover, the player himself had been forthright in his criticism of his county during a winter in which a number of loyal servants, including Academy Director John Stanworth, had been made redundant. That might also have made a return to the staff pretty difficult.This summer Flintoff has a stand-up tour arranged in addition to his TV commitments and whatever other bookings and his representatives accept.Lancashire supporters will therefore have to content themselves with their memories of his three appearances in the 2014 NatWest T20 Blast, the last of which took place in the final at Edgbaston when his eight-ball 20 not out just failed to secure the trophy for his team.From there, there was a Big Bash season where Flintoff was a popular figure at Brisbane Heat but he made more of an impact as a commentator than a player and he conceded when it was all over that the end of the road was nigh.It is surely pretty unlikely that any other county will offer Flintoff a T20 contract, although the temptation to ask Yorkshire coach Jason Gillespie whether he has considered the possibility may be too delicious to resist.

A sizzling counterattack by New Zealand captain Ross Taylor produced a high-speed century that was the spark that led to an improved display from the visitors on the opening day of the second Test against India

The Report by Sharda Ugra31-Aug-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRoss Taylor got to his hundred at over a run a ball•Associated Press

A sizzling counterattack by New Zealand captain Ross Taylor produced a high-speed century that sparked an improved display from the visitors on the opening day of the second Test against India. At stumps, New Zealand, who had elected to bat, were 328 for 6. Led by Taylor’s incandescent 113, New Zealand’s batsmen had, in the course of a single day, scored more runs than they had in both innings in Hyderabad.Play was stopped due to bad light and eventually called off for the day about half an hour before the scheduled close, the umpires offering light to the batsman after Umesh Yadav bowled half of his first over with the second new ball. Kruger van Wyk and Doug Bracewell strode off, van Vyk batting on a deftly engineered 63 and Bracwell on 30. The two had found themselves at the crease after Taylor’s departure, and within an hour had put on 82 for the seventh wicket.Taylor’s seventh Test century formed the bulk of the New Zealand batting effort. It was buffeted by two fifties, one by Martin Guptill at the top of the order which ended in dismay and the other by keeper van Wyk. It ensured that New Zealand could dismiss the innings and 115-run defeat in Hyderabad as a nightmare that need not be repeated.After the departure of New Zealand’s top three batsmen before lunch, Taylor let his aggression and intent take over. It was a fearless innings, the runs scored both robustly and in fine style. Taylor slog swept Ashwin for six before the lunch interval and when he returned, cranked the scoring up a gear. The India bowlers were hit all around the Chinnaswamy Stadium, with lusty slog sweeps, crisp straight drives and spanking shots through cover. New Zealand, or rather Taylor, was scoring at nearly seven runs an over in the hour after lunch. The hardworking Ojha was punished with four boundaries in his second over after lunch, Zaheer for two including a disdainful straight drive in his second spell, Ashwin was guided fine down to the boundary past leg slip. Taylor got to his century in 99 balls, cutting Ojha to the point boundary and two balls later, hit him down the ground for his second six over long-off.For a captain who had a miserable first Test – losing the toss, dropping catches in slip and scoring nine in two innings – Taylor’s innings on Friday was a more just exhibition of his batting abilities. On New Zealand’s miserable tour of the West Indies in July, it was Taylor who had scored the sole New Zealand century, in the fourth ODI in St Kitts. New Zealand’s previous Test century had come six months ago from Kane Williamson in a drawn Test against South Africa in Wellington.Taylor’s innings lit up the Bangalore crowd that grew through the day; his aggressive mode of batting had also been welcomed at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, when he had played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. The reception he received after his hundred against India, also, didn’t lack in either enthusiasm or warmth.

Smart stats

• Ross Taylor’s century is his seventh in Tests and his third against India. He is one among five New Zealand batsmen to score three Test centuries against India.

• Taylor’s strike rate of 88.97 during his knock of 113 is his second-highest for a fifty-plus score. It is also the fifth-highest strike rate for a visiting batsman in India (centuries only).

• The 107-run stand between Taylor and Daniel Flynn is the fourth-highest fourth-wicket stand for New Zealand against India. It is, however, their highest fourth-wicket stand in India.

• The 82-run stand between Kruger van Wyk and Doug Bracewell is the fifth-highest seventh-wicket stand for New Zealand in India.

• Pragyan Ojha, who picked up 4 for 90, became the first specialist Indian spinner to open the bowling in a Test. The last Indian spinner (non-regular spinner) to do so was ML Jaisimha in 1969.

• New Zealand’s run-rate at the end of 80 overs (3.95) is the fourth-highest for a visiting team in Tests in India. The highest (80-over run-rate) is Australia’s 4.28 in Nagpur in 2004 followed by Sri Lanka’s 4.11 in Mumbai (Brabourne) in 2009.

It was vital for New Zealand that their batting continued forcefully, after Martin Guptill had shaken off the early dismissal of Brendon McCullum in the morning. Guptill played the aggressor in his 63-run second-wicket stand with Kane Williamson. After being troubled by Ojha and dropped off Zaheer on 17, Guptill found his groove, his innings resolute in judgement and positive in strokeplay. He struck three boundaries off Yadav in a single over and two off Zaheer, including a cracking backfoot drive through extra cover. Less than half an hour before lunch though, Ojha pulled in the fielders, tossed one up and lured Guptill. It was the perfect bait: the ball didn’t turn, Guptill’s intended shot on the on-side ended up in Gautam Gambhir’s hands at midwicket. Despite India’s slow bowling tradition, Ojha was the first specialist India spinner to open the bowling in a Test match, and took four of the six New Zealand wickets to fall today.Taylor, who owned the second session, was out in the fifth over after tea, forced to sweep against Ojha with the off side plugged. The ball was tossed up and Ojha hit Taylor in front of off and middle. His innings of 113 off 127 balls had slowed down only at the fall of Daniel Flynn’s wicket, bringing to an end New Zealand’s biggest partnership on this tour: 107 runs for the fourth wicket. Flynn had hung on gamely over an hour for 33, but for the third time in three innings, was leg before trying to sweep Ashwin. The loss of James Franklin – he hit a full toss from Ojha to a diving Suresh Raina at midwicket – had New Zealand stuttering at 215 for 5.But inspired by Taylor’s bold batsmanship, the undefeated 82-run seventh-wicket partnership between van Wyk and Bracewell added 32 runs in five overs following the captain’s departure. Van Wyk’s was an innings almost patented by chirpy, pocket-sized keepers; he was only 12 when Taylor was out and took charge, happy to have the quicker bowlers bowling at one end. Zaheer Khan was guided past slips, van Wyk taking 13 off the 16 balls he faced off him, and the quick-but-struggling Yadav went for 14 runs in six balls, including two fours an over. The partnership took New Zealand past 300, but they will be sobered by the knowledge that in the previous Test held in Bangalore in 2010, Australia had scored over 400 in their first innings and still lost.

A round-up of the matches on the first day of the Faysal Bank T20 Cup in Karachi

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Sep-2011Abbottabad Falcons opened their Faysal Bank T20 Cup campaign with a dominant 72-run win over perpetual also-rans Quetta Bears. The victory was set up by opener Yasir Hameed’s maiden Twenty20 century, which propelled Abbottabad to the tall total of 190. Quetta bowled reasonably well in the first half of the innings, keeping Abbottabad to 74 for 2, but a 116-run unbroken stand for the third wicket between Hameed and Adnan Raees turned the game. Raees slammed 51 off 30 balls while Hameed’s 101 took him 65 deliveries. The Quetta chase lost steam early with the loss of opener Fareed-u-din in the second over. The other opener Bismillah Khan and the No. 3 Abid Ali both scored at below a run-a-ball when the asking rate was in excess of 10. When they were separated, Quetta were 72 in the 12th over, with the required rate above 14, which proved too tough a task for the remaining batsmen.The second game of the day followed a similar pattern to the first, with Lahore Lions piling on a big score that Hyderabad Hawks didn’t even look close to chasing. The Lahore openers laid the platform for the thumping 82-run win: Kamran Akmal was the initial aggressor, before Ahmed Shehzad joined in the rampage. The pair pummelled 116 in 12 overs, before an Umar Akmal cameo lifted the total to 194. Hyderabad’s openers began briskly but couldn’t maintain the tempo. By the 10th over, they were hopelessly behind, needing more than 12 an over, a rate which proved too much for the rest. Their lower order crumbled under the pressure to get quick runs and Hyderabad were bowled out for 112.Lahore Eagles kept their nerve in a frenetic final two overs to pip Karachi Zebras by two runs at the National Stadium in Karachi. The home side had the edge with seven balls to go, needing 11 runs with five wickets in hand. But Akbar-ur-Rehman was stumped off the bowling of Saad Nasim off the last ball of the 19th over to set up a tense final over. Anwar Ali managed seven runs from the first three balls and seemed to have taken the game away from Lahore, but he was run-out of the fourth ball of the over. With four needed from two balls, No.8 Farhan Iqbal took a single to leave Pakistan legspinner Danish Kaneria the task of getting the three runs needed for the win. Unfortunately for Karachi, Kaneria holed out to Hamza Paracha off the bowling of Emmad Ali to end the game and hand Lahore the victory.Lahore had made a quick start, with their openers adding 43 in 4.3 overs, but regular wickets stalled the innings before a flurry at the end – Junaid Zia made 22 from 12 balls and Ali Azmat an unbeaten 36 from 37 – took them to 143. That Karachi got so close was down to Hasan Raza and Faisal Iqbal, who added 95 for the third wicket before Rasa was run-out for 49. Faisal followed four runs later, caught of the bowling off Nasim for 47, to set up the thrilling finish.

Paul Stirling, the 20-year-old Ireland opener, played the innings of his life, smashing 177 from 134 deliveries to set up an easy win over Canada and tie the two-match ODI series

Cricinfo staff08-Sep-2010
Scorecard
Paul Stirling smashed a career-best 177 off 134 deliveries•Getty Images

Paul Stirling, the 20-year-old Ireland opener, played the innings of his life, smashing 177 from 134 deliveries to set up an easy win over Canada and tie the two-match ODI series in Toronto.Put in to bat, Ireland were given a strong start by Stirling and Andre Botha who added 91 in 12.4 overs. Stirling began hitting out in the third over, lofting and driving Harvir Baidwan for fours. He took medium-pacer Khurram Chohan’s fourth over for 14 runs, smashing him over long-on for six and then pulling and steering him for consecutive fours. He reached his fifty off 38 balls in the 12th over, guiding Balaji Rao behind point for four. Botha was dismissed in the next over for 28 and Canada managed to briefly rein in the scoring.Andrew Poynter and Stirling added 73 in 18.2 overs and by the time Poynter was dismissed, Stirling had moved to 96 off 90. A single off Chohan in the 34th over brought up his maiden List A hundred off 97 balls.Stirling warmed up for the Batting Powerplay by taking 14 runs in an over off left-arm spinner Parth Desai. Fifty-three runs came in the Powerplay, 38 of those from Stirling. Desai, who had bowled well in taking 1 for 31 in seven overs, went for 46 runs in his next three. With Stirling on 174 at the end of the 44th over, Sachin Tendulkar’s record ODI score was in some danger. However, Stirling hit a Baidwan full toss straight to point in the 45th over, after having struck 21 fours and five sixes. John Mooney’s late hitting took Ireland to an imposing 325.Canada rarely looked like keeping up with the asking rate, especially after being reduced to 34 for 2 in the eighth over. Despite a 79-run third-wicket stand between Ruvindu Gunasekera and captain Ashish Bagai, the run-rate hovered around five throughout the innings. Gunasekera top-scored again with 59 off 60 but he fell in the 24th over. Bagai followed in the 30th to make it 142 for 5, after which Canada needed a miracle.It wasn’t happening though, as offspinner Albert van der Merwe came up with a career-best performance of 5 for 49 and Canada were bowled out in the 47th over. Stirling was the deserving Player of the Match.

If not the remaining two Border-Gavaskar Trophy Tests, then Australia’s visit to Sri Lanka will decide who meets South Africa at Lord’s in June 2025

S Rajesh29-Dec-2024

India

For India to be sure of qualifying, they need to win both their remaining Tests in Melbourne and Sydney. Then they would finish on 60.53, which would be more than Australia’s 57.02 even if they were to win their upcoming two-Test series 2-0 in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s points ceiling for this cycle is 53.85 – a tally they would end up with if they were to sweep Australia at home.If India win one Test and draw the other, they’ll finish on 57.02; in such a case, they could lose out on the second spot to Australia, who would finish on 58.77 if they were to also win both Tests in Sri Lanka. For India to qualify with 57.02, Australia would need to get no more than 16 points in Sri Lanka (a win and a draw).A win and a defeat in Australia would put India on 55.26, which would leave them pinning their hopes on Sri Lanka beating Australia by at least a 1-0 margin.Two draws would leave India on 53.51. Sri Lanka can go past that with a 2-0 win, while Australia would need at least one win in Sri Lanka to beat it.If India draw a Test and lose the other they would finish on 51.75 and be out of the race; in such a case Australia would finish ahead of India even if they were to lose 2-0 in Sri Lanka.India still have plenty of work to do in Australia•AFP/Getty Images

Australia

If Australia were to win the Melbourne and Sydney Tests against India, they would be certain of qualifying for the WTC final – in such a case, they would finish on 57.02 even if they were to go on to lose 2-0 in Sri Lanka.A win and a draw against India would leave them ahead of India even if they were to lose both Tests in Sri Lanka, but then Sri Lanka could go past Australia with a clean sweep.If Australia were to win one and lose one against India, they would need at least one win in Sri Lanka to stay ahead in the race. The same applies if both Tests against India are drawn.If they were to draw one and lose the other against India, they would need two wins in Sri Lanka.Defeat in both Tests against India would push Australia out of contention.Sri Lanka cannot afford any more slips, and still need Border-Gavaskar Trophy results to go their way•Associated Press

Sri Lanka

The maximum Sri Lanka can finish on is 53.85, if they beat Australia 2-0. For that to be enough for a second-place finish, one of two scenarios have to play out in the remaining Border-Gavaskar Trophy Tests:

• Both Melbourne and Sydney produce draws
• Australia win one of the two home Tests, while the other is drawn

In any other scenario, either Australia or India will finish higher than 53.85 and knock Sri Lanka out.

Sahan Arachchige has been called up as replacement as Theekshana will go for rehabilitation work

S Sudarshanan16-Sep-20232:29

Can Sri Lanka cope without Theekshana in final?

Sri Lanka spinner Maheesh Theekshana has been ruled out of the final of the men’s Asia Cup against India because of a hamstring injury, but he will “definitely be ready” for the World Cup starting next month. Theekshana injured himself in Sri Lanka’s last-ball win against Pakistan.While captain Dasun Shanaka said Theekshana had a grade three injury, the chair of SLC’s medical committee said the bowler did not have a big tear and could have even been risked for the final on Sunday had a World Cup not been around the corner. The Sri Lanka selectors have, meanwhile, added Sahan Arachchige into the squad in place of Theekshana, who will return to the high performance centre to commence rehabilitation work.”The MRI scan is showing a tear – not a big tear,” Professor Arjuna de Silva, chair of SLC medical committee said. “Clinically Theekshana is okay though. He’s moving around and not feeling too much pain. He’ll definitely be ready for the World Cup. Actually if we didn’t have a World Cup coming up, we would have somehow tried to get him ready for tomorrow’s match. But we don’t want to take that risk. “Theekshana had hurt his right hamstring while sliding near the boundary against Pakistan on Thursday and was tended to by the physio. He still continued to bowl three more overs, hobbling to his bowling mark and seemingly dragged his right leg to the bowling crease as he ran in.He dished out a few half-trackers but was unlucky when an lbw appeal against Iftikhar Ahmed was not given. While he was getting his right hamstring attended to beyond the rope thereafter, he slammed the turf as the big screen returned three reds in the replays with ball-tracker after Sri Lanka decided against the review. He returned to bowl two more overs before being helped off the field.Sri Lanka could look to bring legspinner Dushan Hemantha into the XI in place of Theekshana for the final. Hemantha has so far played only two ODIs but is also a decent option with the bat with three first-class centuries and one List A hundred.With 31 wickets in ODIs, Theekshana is Sri Lanka’s most successful bowler in 2023. He is level with India’s Kuldeep Yadav and Nepal’s Karan KC and only Sandeep Lamichhane has more. With Wanindu Hasaranga already out of the Asia Cup with injury, Theekshana was key for Sri Lanka, especially since he also bowls with the new ball.Theekshana is now the latest in a long line of injured players for Sri Lanka, with fast bowlers Dushmantha Chameera, Lahiru Kumara and Dilshan Madushanka all missing the Asia Cup in addition to Hasaranga.

Down has taken time off to prioritise her well-being while Kerr’s foot injury needs more rehab before she can return

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jul-2022Middle-order batter Lauren Down and fast bowler Jess Kerr have been ruled out of New Zealand’s squad for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games which is scheduled to start later this month. Lea Tahuhu, who missed out on a central contract this season, and uncapped Claudia Green have been called-up as replacements.According to an NZC media release, Down has withdrawn from the squad to “prioritise her well-being”, while Kerr’s foot injury, picked during the Women’s World Cup 2022 match against Pakistan, needs more rehabilitation before she can return to play. Kerr is likely to return before New Zealand’s tour of West Indies in September.Down had come into her own during the bilateral series against India at home in February before a broken thumb ruled her out of the World Cup. She’s the third New Zealand player to take a mental-health break following Sophie Devine and Amelia Kerr last season.”Our first and main priority is ensuring both Lauren and Jess are looked after – it’s never easy missing cricket tours.” Ben Sawyer, the new New Zealand head coach said. “We’ve ensured Lauren has the support she needs and hope she’ll be able to join us again soon.”We thought Jess would recover in time to take the field in Birmingham, and while this has not transpired, the signs are good for an international return for the West Indies tour in September.”Tahuhu picked up ten wickets in the World Cup earlier this year – joint-most for New Zealand – even though she was battling a stiff hamstring. Her omission from the 17-member contracts list was significant given the difference she can bring to the attack with her pace, but NZC had then said that a player can still be selected from outside the contracted group.”Lea is a familiar face so will be able to hit the ground running at training camp next week,” Sawyer said. “We’ve previously said it’s important not to confuse contracting with selection and this is a good example of why.”Lea offers genuine pace and bounce with the ball and her ability with the bat gives us options.”Green, on the other hand, is a swing bowler and is seen as a like-for-like for Kerr. She was part of the side that toured England last year and has been part of the various New Zealand camps.”Claudia has a similar skill-set to Jess so fits nicely into the squad make-up,” he said. “Her ability to swing the ball is an exciting aspect of her game and we look forward to having her on tour in England.”New Zealand will have a camp in Lincoln next week ahead of their departure to England on July 12.Updated squad: Sophie Devine (capt), Suzie Bates, Maddy Green, Amelia Kerr, Brooke Halliday, Rosemary Mair, Eden Carson, Hayley Jensen, Jess McFadyen, Fran Jonas, Georgia Plimmer, Hannah Rowe, Izzy Gaze, Lea Tahuhu, Claudia Green

South African players likely to miss start of season for white-ball series vs Pakistan

Nagraj Gollapudi and Gaurav Sundararaman16-Feb-2021England’s leading multi-format cricketers, including Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Jos Buttler, could be forced to miss the two-Test series against New Zealand in June, due to a clash with the knock-out phases of this year’s IPL.The trio, all of whom play for Rajasthan Royals, are the most prominent IPL players in England’s Test set-up, although Chris Woakes (Delhi Capitals), Sam Curran (Chennai Super Kings) and Jonny Bairstow (Sunrisers Hyderabad) could also be affected if their respective franchises reach the final four of the competition.Mark Wood is another potential absentee, if he gets picked up in Thursday’s IPL player auction, as is Moeen Ali, who was released by Royal Challengers Bangalore at the end of last season, and whose absence from the final two Tests of the ongoing India tour is due, in part, to the prospect of two further months away from home if he is signed by another franchise.Currently, the IPL has yet to announce either the dates for this year’s tournament, or the venue, but it is likely to be held in India, starting around April 10 through to the first week of June.That would have implications for England’s build-up to their two-Test series against New Zealand, which is scheduled between June 2-14 and is not a part of the World Test Championship, having been added to the ECB’s summer schedule in mitigation for their likely absence from the WTC final, which is scheduled for June 18-22.Related

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• IPL 2021 auction: Who will the Super Kings, Capitals, Punjab Kings and Knight Riders target?

• Maxwell hopes to join forces with 'idol' de Villiers

On Tuesday, the IPL sent out an email to the franchises, seen by ESPNcricinfo, listing out the availability of players from top countries. Along with those from Australia, New Zealand, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Ireland, England players were also listed to be fully available for the IPL, but with a caveat.”In the event of ECB Selectors wishing to select a player for the 1st Test v New Zealand whose franchise has made it through to the knockout stages of the Tournament, but who is not featuring in the starting XI, the relevant franchise is requested to release such player early so that they can participate in the Test Match,” the IPL email read.The ECB has adopted a more flexible attitude to the IPL in recent years, with the tournament’s high intensity and quality being credited as significant factors in England’s recent rise in white-ball standards, culminating in their World Cup victory in 2019.To date, no ECB centrally-contracted player has missed a Test match to take part in the IPL, despite frequent clashes with the English summer schedule in the early years of the tournament.However, the ECB’s rest-and-rotation policy for the ongoing tours of Sri Lanka and India has been designed to factor in the prospect of IPL involvement for their key players, particularly with the T20 World Cup due to be staged in India at the end of the year.Stokes and Archer both missed England’s two Tests in Sri Lanka in January, while Bairstow, Curran and Wood have been on leave in the UK during the Chennai leg of the India tour.South African players’ availability unclearSome of South Africa’s IPL players could also be impacted by the white-ball series against Pakistan at home in April. With the series scheduled between April 2-16, Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, Delhi Capitals’ prominent pace partnership, are among those who are set to miss the opening few weeks of the tournament, along with Quinton de Kock (Mumbai Indians) and Faf du Plessis (Chennai Super Kings).Cricket South Africa is yet to confirm the window that South African players will be available for in the IPL. But that would not have an impact on the likes of allrounder Chris Morris, who is likely to be one of the players to ignite a bidding war once again. Morris was one of the most expensive buys at the 2020 auction, after being bought by the Royal Challengers for INR 10 crore ($1.4 million USD approximately), but does not hold a central contract with the national team.Lesser availability could impact Shakib, MustafizurThere are no such issues concerning Australia and New Zealand players. Cricket Australia has confirmed that it will issue No-Objection Certificates to all its players from April 1 for the entire IPL, including for those that would otherwise be playing in the Sheffield Shield, while New Zealand Cricket has also made its players available for the entire tournament.Players from South Africa, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, however, will not be fully available. While Sri Lanka Cricket are yet to confirm dates, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has said that “any players selected will be unavailable from May 19 or will leave before if any other series is scheduled during IPL window.”That could impact the prospects of the Bangladesh duo, Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman, who are understood to have attracted interest from a few franchises in the lead-up to the auction.

The 24-year old held his own even as South Australia’s Chadd Sayers picked up six wickets

Daniel Brettig01-Nov-2019Daniel Solway was forced to work harder than most for a Sheffield Shield debut. The habit he has developed for run-making served him well for New South Wales against South Australia as the 24-year old crafted an outstanding century in conditions friendly to seam bowling at Adelaide Oval to be the backbone of the Blues’ innings.There is no better exponent of moving the ball in Adelaide than Chadd Sayers, and figures of 6 for 55 demonstrated that this was a day ideally suited to his art, but Solway stood firm throughout, demonstrating a tight defence balanced with a strong range of shots, pouncing on anything wide of the off stump and also pulling and hooking the short ball with venom.It was further proof of the ability Solway had shown in piling up runs for the NSW second XI and also Bankstown in club cricket. In his past nine second XI innings, Solway has compiled 751 runs at 83.4, capped with 195 not out against Western Australia’s second XI at the start of this season. Within the prolific scoring lies another tale, of early promotion, failure and then learning, growth and finally success. Having played first grade for Bankstown as far back as 2013-14, Solway hammered 930 runs at 77.5 the following summer to gain a NSW rookie contract for 2015-16. But as bowlers figured him out and he was exposed to the NSW system, Solway struggled for anything like the same returns for the next two years and fell back in the queue.Not until 2017-18 did Solway find his way back to productivity, churning out 880 runs for Bankstown at 73.33 and duly returning to the Blues’ outer fringes. Nonetheless he was compelled to make far more runs for the second chance, and looks to have grown into a top order batsman of substance.Considerable skill was necessary to survive Sayers and company as Adelaide’s drop-in pitch offered generous movement off the seam. Daniel Hughes and Nick Larkin both had a stump sent cartwheeling when Sayers seamed the new ball between bat and pad.Moises Henriques formed a promising stand with Solway before lunch but was pinned lbw by a Sayers nip-backer in the first over after resumption. Neither Matthew Gilkes nor Nick Bertus could last for long, leaving the NSW captain Peter Nevill to provide Solway with vital assistance.They were able to add a studied 108 together, making the Redbacks pine for the second new ball, and allowing Solway to get to his century by bunting a quick single wide of midwicket from the bowling of Tom Andrews. Solway celebrated with great relief, but after Nevill was lbw and Trent Copeland bowled by the second new ball in Sayers’ hands, he knuckled down for another key stand with Nathan Lyon to take the Blues beyond 250.Selection had been a talking point for South Australia too prior to the match. Callum Ferguson was recalled at the expense of Jake Lehmann, who despite his own prolific scores in Adelaide grade cricket, has averaged 10.26 in 10 first-class matches since the start of 2019. Lehmann had made made just eight runs in three Shield innings for the Redbacks this season, albeit batting as high as No. 3 when he has customarily been at Nos. 4 or 5.

County Championship likely to have a top division of 10 teams and a second of eight from 2020

George Dobell26-Sep-2018There could be more conflict in county cricket after it emerged that the ECB executive is resisting calls from the first-class counties to increase the number of T20 Blast games played each season.ESPNcricinfo reported in August that several county chairmen were arguing for an increase in the number of matches from 14 to 16 from the start of the 2020 season.But with the ECB bringing in their new competition, The Hundred, that year and the schedule already groaning under the weight of fixtures, there is understood to be strong resistance to the move from the executive.The issue is one of those sure to be discussed at a meeting of all the county chairmen on Thursday. Other matters up for discussion will include an alteration to the County Championship programme which is likely to see a top division of 10 teams and a second of eight introduced in 2020.That would mean only one team would be relegated (and three promoted) at the end of 2019. With no plans to increase the number of Championship fixtures from 14 games, it would also mean that teams in the top division would no longer play all other teams home and away. Some counties are concerned this compromises the integrity of the competition.Some county chairmen are also understood to be looking for assurances from ECB chairman Colin Graves that he will not attempt to stand for re-election at this end of his term of office.While Graves vowed when he was appointed he would only serve one term, rumours persist that he is contemplating a longer stay in office.The meeting will also see county chairmen given a first opportunity to see an external report compiled by Good Governance Institute (GGI) following payments made to Glamorgan in return for their forfeiture of hosting Test cricket for the foreseeable future.The payments caused some unrest in the county game, with two ECB board members – Andy Nash and Richard Thompson – resigning in protest and some members of the ECB’s Audit, Risk and Governance committee expressing reservations.