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Balderson's maiden first-class century illuminates grey day at Edgbaston

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Home side trails by 148 with five wickets down after Will Rhodes 82, Dan Mousley 45*

ECB Reporters Network20-Jul-2023Warwickshire 197 for 5 (Rhodes 82, Mousley 45*) trail Lancashire 327 (Balderson 116, Bailey 75) by 148 runsGeorge Balderson’s maiden first-class century illuminated a grey second day as Warwickshire and Lancashire grind towards a draw in their LV=Insurance County Championship match at Edgbaston.On a cloudy morning, Lancashire all-rounder Balderson extended his overnight 94 to 116 out of his side’s 327 all out before the home side replied with 179 for 5.On a slow pitch, diligence has been required throughout from batters and Balderson showed plenty of it, spending 44 balls in the nineties before reaching his richly-deserved ton. Warwickshire captain Will Rhodes then showed similar resolve to compile 82 from 168 balls.With time lost to the weather on day two and a forecast suggesting little or no play on the fourth day, this match appears doomed to a draw already with batters forced on to the defensive by capable seam bowling on a slow pitch.After resuming on 295 for 7 on the second morning, Lancashire lost Tom Bailey for 75 to the second ball, lbw to a big inswinger from Hamza Mir. That concluded a partnership of 145 in 45 overs between Bailey and Balderson and when Will Williams quickly fell the same way, Balderson still required five runs for his maiden ton with just last man Jack Morley for company.Unlike at Lord’s in 1895, when Sammy Woods generously served up a deliberate leg-side full toss so that WG Grace could reach his hundredth hundred, Balderson was made to earn every run towards his milestone before he edged Olly Hannon-Dalby to the boundary at third.Morley stuck around while 30 were added and doubled his previous first-class run tally of nine before nicking a slog at Danny Briggs.In reply, Warwickshire’s openers fell in the first seven overs, both deciding too late to leave the ball as Alex Davies played on to Williams and Rob Yates edged Bailey behind. Rhodes and Sam Hain then added 68 in 28 overs either side of a rain break, Hain arriving into double-figures after 69 balls before falling, strangled down the leg side off Balderson, for 15 off 79.At 82 for 3, further quick wickets would have moved Lancashire into a strong position, but Rhodes and Dan Mousley batted watchfully to add 77 in 22 overs. Bailey continued his impressive match by trapping Rhodes lbw and Ed Barnard tickled Balderson down the leg side to the keeper but Mousley, after a skittish start, settled to play with authority and reach the close unbeaten on 45.

Will delay retirement if T20 World Cup is postponed – Mohammad Hafeez

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Veteran says he wants to go out on a winning note

Danyal Rasool15-Jun-2020Mohammad Hafeez, the second-longest serving Pakistan cricketer in the current setup, could yet extend his 17-year career. Hafeez’s original plan was to retire in November this year, after the T20 World Cup in Australia but he said – in a video conference – that he would continue to make himself available if the tournament was delayed due to Covid-19. Hafeez said he wanted to go out on a winning note.”I gave retiring from T20 cricket after the World Cup a lot of thought. Just like when I retired from Test cricket, I decided to retire on my own terms. It took into consideration my own goals, as well as the interests of Pakistan cricket. I want to retire from T20 cricket after playing a big tournament in which I perform well, and hopefully go out on a winning note. This is my plan, and if the World T20 is postponed to November or some later time, that doesn’t mean I won’t play it.”The length of Hafeez’s career has meant there have been several calls over the years for Pakistan to move on to younger prospects, but the allrounder continues to work himself back into the side. Hafeez has played all but one World T20 – the one Pakistan won in 2009. Should he play the upcoming one, he’d tie the Pakistan record for most World T20s played, equaling Shahid Afridi’s five.He retired from Test cricket in December 2018, but continued to make himself available in the shorter formats. He was called up for the three-match T20I home series against Bangladesh in January this year, the first time he featured in a T20I in over a year. Following that, he announced that the T20 World Cup would be his final tournament. Hafeez insisted whenever it was played, he would ensure he was physically up for the challenge.”I would like to play it, because I have never compromised on ensuring my skillset and my physical preparation. I will never be found lacking in the requirements necessary to play cricket for Pakistan. If the tournament is delayed, I’ll ensure my physical fitness is up to standard, so I can play in it when it does take place. If there are better options at international level, then of course they’ll play, and I’ll happily step aside. In that case I’ll turn my focus to international leagues, which I hope to play another couple of years,” he said.One of the higher-profile names calling for Hafeez to call it quits was Ramiz Raja, who said earlier this year Hafeez and fellow veteran Shoaib Malik should “retire gracefully”. This week, he doubled down on his comments, criticizing Misbah for including the pair in the squad for the England tour, calling Hafeez a “weak fielder” while saying his performance was “not the same anymore”. Hafeez, however, made it clear he wouldn’t be taking heed of those comments, and would make decisions about his career on his own terms.”Ramiz is a friend of mine,” he said. “Everyone has the right to express themselves. But I’m not going to quit cricket because someone asks me to, same as I never started playing at someone else’s behest. Playing for Pakistan is an honour for me. Even when I started in 2003, people thought Hafeez should not play cricket because I came from a very small town – Sargodha. I’ve spent the last 17 years justifying my selection, and I hope I’ll justify my selection again this time. All I’d like to say is – my career, my choice.”

Australia lean towards Joe Burns' continuity, Matthew Wade firms to open

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Tim Paine confident over Steven Smith and Cameron Green is on course to make his debut

Daniel Brettig15-Dec-2020Australia are leaning towards the retention of Joe Burns and the promotion of Matthew Wade to open alongside him in place of the injured David Warner, while Cameron Green is all but assured of a Test debut in the traditional allrounder’s spot at No. 6 in the batting order.This much could be gleaned from the words of Australia’s captain Tim Paine on the morning of match eve, even if the team’s diktat is to keep the identity of the final XI “in-house” until the toss of the coin at Adelaide Oval on Thursday afternoon. There were indicators late on Wednesday that Paine had also pondered the option of promoting himself to open, though this move would shunt Green, very much a batting allrounder at this point of his career, down as low as No. 7 in the wicketkeeper’s usual spot.Paine placed a heavy emphasis on continuity in the side, a tick for Burns in the absence of Warner, and was hopeful that the interrupted preparation of Steven Smith, missing Tuesday’s main session with an apparent back complaint, would actually serve to freshen the No. 4 batsman’s mind ahead of his first Test match meeting with India since 2017.Related

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  • Steven Smith absent for Australia net session after tweaking back

The team’s final training session featured plenty of batting time for Smith, Wade and Burns against a selection of throwdowns, net bowlers and the reserves Moises Henriques and Mitchell Swepson, as Australia’s frontline bowling attack took their usual match eve rest.”Dave won’t be there but we expect Steve to be there,” Paine said. “Steve’s had a stiff back a number of times before and you do when you bat at training as much as he does. But his preparation has been very good, he’s batted for the last week since we’ve been in Adelaide, so for him to have a day off might actually be a blessing in disguise yesterday.”But when we get our team out there tomorrow, we would love to have David there and he won’t be, but I don’t think our team will look too dissimilar to what it did at the end of last summer and we’ve had a really consistent team for a period of time and that certainly helps us perform well.”Wade, meanwhile, has never opened in first-class but he was endorsed by Ricky Ponting earlier in the week as the man who should partner Burns while Warner is unavailable. “He’s certainly an option to open the batting. No doubt about that. I think we’ve got a number of guys who are willing to open the batting. That says a lot about our group, not just Wadey,” Paine said. “But Wadey in particular, we saw against New Zealand last year with the short-ball stuff, he’s willing to put his body on the line for his team.”We know he’s as tough as nails and he’ll do a good job no matter where he bats. Obviously we have got a scenario where we could have a different opener and we’ve had a number of guys put their hand up to do it if that’s the best thing for the team. That’s a great thing for us as a side.”Smith this week and Warner when fit loom as the biggest differences to this series when lined up against India’s first ever victory in a Test bout in Australia in 2018-19. The hosts were, by Paine’s own admission, still trying to find themselves in the wake of the Newlands scandal back then, and have hardened into a much more settled, accomplished and confident unit in the intervening years.Cameron Green is closing in on a Test debut•Getty Images

“Having them back has clearly been a great thing for our team, certainly for me to have two very experienced players out there with me has helped, there’s no doubt about that,” Paine said. “Those guys are two of the best players in the world, they’ve played in lots of Test matches for Australia, lots of big matches, lots of big series, so their experience not only for me to lean on but for our whole group has been awesome, and the way they’ve been around our group for the last 12 months has been unbelievably good, so we’re very lucky to have them back.”In terms of my captaincy or performance in this team, it’s been okay. I’ve got a role to play in this group like everyone else does, as long as I keep doing that, then we’re all happy. My job is to wicketkeep, captain and try and score some handy runs and bat with the tail and that’s my role and I think I’ve been performing it pretty well.”As for Green, Paine has made no secret of his admiration for the 21-year-old, particularly after seeing him up close in Sheffield Shield matches and more recently for Australia A in their tour game against the Indians at Drummoyne Oval. Concussion protocols dictate that Green must pass his final series of tests on match morning to be right to play, but all indications are that he is, in parallel to a burgeoning cricket career, well ahead of the curve. Paine also hinted Green’s bowling restrictions could be lifted.”[He’s] super impressive, I’ve played against him and seen him score hundreds against Tasmania before,” Paine said. “To be out there with him and talking with him he’s really impressive for a guy his age, understands his game really well, really smart cricket brain for such a young guy and really calm and cool under pressure. From what I’ve seen of him playing against him and the last couple of weeks being around him he’s made for Test cricket and we can’t wait to see him get out there tomorrow and unleash him.”Once you’re selected in a Test match you’re good to go. Having said that we don’t expect him to bowl a huge amount of overs anyway with the attack we’ve got we see him as just a nice change up. He takes 12-14 overs an innings out of our key fast bowlers, which is great. In terms of being able to keep them fresh in a pink-ball Test for the night session and in terms of being able to keep them fresh for the whole series.”If Greeny can continue going the path he is I think having him in the side allows us to have Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood around the Australian Test team for even longer in terms of their careers. He’s going to be a huge asset for us in that sense, we’ll wait and see how many overs he’ll bowl. We’ll know when he does bowl he’ll make an impact. That’s what we’ve seen from him, that’s what we expect him to do again.”

Hamstring injury rules Washington Sundar out of IPL 2023

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

This is Washington’s third straight injury-interrupted season in the IPL

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Apr-2023Washington Sundar, the Sunrisers Hyderabad allrounder, will play no further part in the ongoing IPL season due to a hamstring injury, the franchise confirmed on Thursday.Washington played seven matches for Sunrisers this season, scoring 60 runs from five innings and taking three wickets overall, with his team currently in ninth place on the table.This is Washington’s third straight injury-interrupted season in the IPL. In 2021, Washington was ruled out of the UAE leg of the tournament due to a finger injury, after he had picked up three wickets for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first half of the season.Washington’s luck wouldn’t get any better, as he was then forced to miss the ODI leg of India’s tour of South Africa in January 2022 after testing positive for Covid-19, while a hamstring injury kept him out of the three-match T20I series at home against West Indies.During IPL 2022, Washington, having been signed by Sunrisers, missed four games due to a split webbing in his bowling hand. Last August, Washington injured his left shoulder while fielding for Lancashire during a county stint, and subsequently was ruled out of the three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe.

Mumbai look to stretch home streak and keep CSK winless away

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CSK are yet to win an away game this IPL and their next two matches are on the road

Srinidhi Ramanujam13-Apr-20242:57

Moody’s advice to CSK:’ Deny Bumrah wickets’

Match details

Mumbai Indians (P5 W2 L3 7th) vs Chennai Super Kings (P5 W3 L2 3rd)
Mumbai, 7.30pm IST (2pm GMT)

Big picture

It’s the IPL’s biggest rivalry. At the Wankhede Stadium. On a double-header Sunday. But has the rivalry mellowed down this time? Possibly because it’s the first time in over a decade the CSK-Mumbai game will not witness Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni as captains, as Hardik Pandya and Ruturaj Gaikwad have taken over at the helm. So, what’s in store in this new era?Two away games and two losses. It’s a small sample size, but CSK are yet to post a win away from home in this IPL. After winning three out of five games, they now go on the road – the first stop is Mumbai and then Lucknow – before going back to Chepauk after 15 days. Can they be at home, away from home, when they meet a strong host?Mumbai, though, registered two wins in a row after succumbing to three straight defeats. The turnaround was possible due to their strong batting performances. Their top six batters strike at more than 147 each and this firepower reflected in their scores of 234 for 5 and 199 for 3 in their last two games, which were played at the Wankhede Stadium. With Suryakumar Yadav finding his feet sooner than later with a 19-ball 52 in his second game after returning from injury, Mumbai’s line-up is looking solid again.However, the same cannot be said of the bowling group. Barring Jasprit Bumrah, Mumbai’s bowlers have been guilty of going for plenty of runs. They have been expensive at the death, especially, going at 12.31 runs an over – the third-most runs leaked by any team thus far in this IPL (before the Punjab Kings vs Rajasthan Royals game on Saturday).CSK would also want to tighten their bowling. In their two away losses in Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad, their bowlers struggled for early wickets. There’s still uncertainty surrounding their pace mainstay Matheesha Pathirana’s participation. Against a dangerous Mumbai side on a seam-friendly surface, CSK will be expecting the likes of Mustafizur Rahman and Deepak Chahar to do the bulk of damage.Related

  • CSK-Mumbai rivalry enters new era

  • 'I am six foot three, 100 kgs' – Mitchell is easing himself into Rayudu's role at CSK

Form guide

Mumbai WWLLL (most recent match first)
CSK WLLWW

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Mumbai Indians
Mumbai opted to bring in Shreyas Gopal as the like-for-like replacement for Piyush Chawla in their last game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. A fit and firing Suryakumar could be used as an Impact Player, swapping for fast bowler Akash Madhwal.Likely XII: 1 Ishan Kishan (wk), 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 , 4 Hardik Pandya (capt), 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Tim David, 7 Mohammad Nabi, 8 Romario Shepherd, 9 Shreyas Gopal, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Gerald Coetzee, 12 Chennai Super Kings
Matheesha Pathirana did some bowling before CSK’s previous game against Kolkata Knight Riders at home but didn’t feature as a precautionary measure. Coach Stephen Fleming is hopeful of having his death-bowling specialist back for Sunday’s game or next Friday’s clash against Luckow Super Giants. While Mustafizur, who had to leave for home to work on getting a US visa, returned to the XI at Chepauk, Chahar had missed that match with a niggle. He might return to the team against Mumbai, if he’s fit.Likely XII: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 2 Rachin Ravindra, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 , 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Sameer Rizvi, 8 MS Dhoni (wk), 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Tushar Deshpande, 11 Matheesha Pathirana/Maheesh Theekshana, 12 1:48

Who will be CSK’s key batter in Mumbai?

In the spotlight – Bumrah and Chahar

Jasprit Bumrah is fresh off a five-wicket haul against RCB and has been phenomenal in containing the batters. He is the only Mumbai player to have an economy rate under six this IPL and he has claimed seven of his ten wickets in three innings at the Wankhede, at a stunning economy rate of 5.75. In an otherwise misfiring bowling unit, Mumbai will once again rely on Bumrah, the most experienced fast bowler in the attack, to keep CSK quiet, especially at the death.For CSK, how Deepak Chahar performs in the powerplay will be key to their success. At the Wankhede, he has fared well in the first six overs, picking up ten wickets in ten games at an economy rate of 7.59. Chahar is also the only player who hasn’t played for Mumbai Indians to have taken wickets in double digits in this phase at Wankhede. With four wickets in four matches this season, can Chahar step up against the likes of Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav?1:25

McClenaghan: The Wankhede conditions will suit Ravindra

Stats that matter

  • Shivam Dube’s IPL strike rate is as low as 111.97 at the Wankhede, his home ground in domestic cricket.
  • CSK have the third-best death-overs economy rate (9.85) in IPL 2024 so far, with Mumbai at 12.31, the third-worst in the same phase.
  • Mumbai have bowled a total of 173 dot balls, the second-fewest for a team this season.
  • Kishan’s strike rate this IPL is 182.95 so far, his best in any IPL season.

    Pitch and conditions

    In the last match, Hardik Pandya termed the venue as a “chasing ground” – two of the three matches in this IPL were won by the teams batting second. After a low-scoring opening game in which Rajasthan Royals chased down 126, Wankhede has been a batting paradise, with a total of 834 runs hit in the next two games. One can expect another high-scoring match on Sunday. The surface has also assisted pacers traditionally.

    Quotes

    “Everyone thinks about hitting offspinners, when they come into the attack. Even I have the same mentality as a batter – to try and hit at least two sixes against offspin. I use that mentality while bowling and try prevent myself from getting hit. If there is no turn, I try to attack batters and pick up wickets.”
    “Ruturaj is as cool as it gets; I know the last captain was pretty cool and this guy is cut from the same cloth. He is such an impressive young man around his game and what he needs to do. He is unfairly put into a bracket where he is called slow but you need to have context to some of these stats. The last game was a great example of how a leader plays.”

    • Do newbies Uganda have the spunk to challenge star-studded Afghanistan?

    by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

    On paper, Afghanistan look far stronger, but Uganda have reached here the hard way and will want to make a big impression

    Mohammad Isam03-Jun-20243:08

    Spinners in focus in Afghanistan vs Uganda encounter

    Match details

    Afghanistan vs Uganda
    Providence, 7.30pm local

    Big picture – Can Uganda make it a debut to remember?

    It has been a long road for Uganda to the T20 World Cup 2024 but they are here by right, and now have a chance to make a big mark.Their first opponents, however, are not the sort you want to face when trying to ease into the top flight. Afghanistan are a team bristling with talent and ambition after finishing sixth in the 2023 ODI World Cup. They beat England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Netherlands in an impressive run, and might just have finished stronger had it not been for a once-in-a-lifetime innings from Glenn Maxwell.At this World Cup, Afghanistan would want to finish things off quickly against Uganda in the first game and later Papua New Guinea, the Associates in their group, because co-hosts West Indies and New Zealand are also in the same group, so Super Eight qualification could get tricky. And that’s not counting for upsets, as PNG threatened to pull off against West Indies.Related

    • 'We carry a whole country's hopes on our backs,' says Uganda captain Brian Masaba

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    • Meet Uganda, the newest African kid on the block

    • 'If we play our own style of the game, we can beat any side'

    Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran will be expected to give them a quick start. Their spin trio of captain Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman make up one of the most formidable T20I spin attack. Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq are reputed T20 quicks, while allrounder Azmatullah Omarzai is a rising star. It’s a team with a lot of T20 class.But Afghanistan’s batters will have to be watchful against Uganda, who have as many as three left-arm fingerspinners in their ranks. Apart from Najibullah Zadran, none of the likely starters among the batters are left-hand batters. Uganda, on the other hand, have some variety in their bowling, which opponents have to watch out for.They got to the World Cup through the Africa qualifiers, where they beat Zimbabwe by five wickets. It was their first win against a Full Member side, and one that has raised their hopes. They will bank on batter Roger Mukasa, allrounders Riazat Ali Shah and Alpesh Ramjani, and left-arm spinner Henry Ssenyondo, all regular performers.It could become an interesting battle, despite the gulf between the two sides. And if Uganda want some inspiration from history, they could look back at this game from 2009.

    Form guide

    Afghanistan WWLWL
    Uganda WLWWWGetting past Zimbabwe to make the T20 World Cup was a stirring story for Uganda•International Cricket Council

    In the spotlight – Azmatullah Omarzai and Alpesh Ramjani

    Azmatullah Omarzai was among the top-performing allrounders at the ODI World Cup last year. His 353 runs and seven wickets were comparable to the numbers of Rachin Ravindra and Maxwell among those who scored at least 300 runs and took five wickets. Omarzai doesn’t have great numbers in T20s yet, but Afghanistan see the 24-year-old as one for the future, as did Gujarat Titans in IPL 2024. He will bat in the middle order, and his swing bowling might come in handy in the powerplay too.Allrounders are Uganda’s strength, and Alpesh Ramjani is the leader of that pack with his 469 runs and 65 wickets since 2023. Ramjani bats in the middle order and bowls left-arm spin. A product of Mumbai’s famed cricket structure, he played with the likes of Shivam Dube, and considers Suryakumar Yadav as a mentor. Ramjani moved to Uganda in 2021 at the advice of current team-mate Dinesh Nakrani, and made his international debut in 2022.

    Team news

    Afghanistan are likely to play Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib and Karim Janat, all seam-bowling allrounders, alongside Naveen and Farooqi. It will give them batting cushion down to No. 8.Afghanistan (probable): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Gulbadin Naib, 4 Azmatullah Omarzai, 5 Mohammad Nabi, 6 Najibullah Zadran, 7 Rashid Khan (capt), 8 Karim Janat, 9 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 10 Naveen-ul-Haq, 11 Fazalhaq FarooqiMukasa and Simon Ssesazi are a solid opening pair for Uganda, while Riazat, Nakrani and Ramjani form the all-round core of the side. They can field three left-arm spinners, including captain Brian Masaba, depending on the conditions.Uganda (probable): 1 Roger Mukasa, 2 Simon Ssesazi, 3 Robinson Obuya, 4 Riazat Ali Shah, 5 Dinesh Nakrani, 6 Alpesh Ramjani, 7 Kenneth Waiswa, 8 Fred Achelam (wk), 9 Bilal Hassun, 10 Brian Masaba (capt), 11 Henry Ssenyondo0:50

    Which team is the likeliest to be upset?

    Pitch and conditions

    In the last 12 months, teams have had to score 190-plus on average to win games at the Guyana National Stadium. The surface is slow traditionally. There’s a bit of rain forecast for the evening.

    Stats that matter

    • Among Full Members, Ibrahim and Gurbaz are T20Is’ second-most prolific pair since the end of the 2022 T20 World Cup for any pair to have batted at least ten times. They have scored 503 runs at an average of 41.91 in this period, with a hundred and three fifty stands.
    • Ramjani (55) and Ssenyondo (49) were the top-two wicket-takers in T20Is in 2023.
    • Mukasa was the second-highest T20I run-scorer in 2023 with 738 runs, five ahead of Suryakumar, who had 733 runs.
    • Nabi is Afghanistan’s only surviving member from the 2010 edition of the T20 World Cup.
    • Frank Nsubuga, at 43, is the oldest player in the tournament.

    Quotes

    “I think it’s a good sign for us as a team. We have those players who played recently here in the CPL, and they got that experience. And we share that experience with the boys. But I think in ICC [events], you always expect something different.”

    Low floodlights made catching tricky – KL Rahul

    by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

    At a ground with a low catch-conversion rate in the IPL, India’s fielders dropped at least five chances in the first T20I

    Deivarayan Muthu in Hyderabad07-Dec-20191:45

    Trying to make best use of chance at the top of the order – KL Rahul

    Fielding at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium can be tricky in the evening because of the floodlights, which are lower than at most other grounds. In the IPL, this venue, home of Sunrisers Hyderabad, has seen a catch conversion rate of only 70%.India’s fielders also found it difficult in the T20I series opener against West Indies on Friday, dropping at least five chances. After misjudging one at short fine leg and not even getting a hand to the ball, Washington Sundar dropped Shimron Hetmyer on 54, having sprinted to his right from long-on. Then, Rohit Sharma dropped Kieron Pollard off successive balls at the long-on boundary before he redeemed himself in the next over by catching Hetmyer off Yuzvendra Chahal for 56 at deep backward square leg.In the final over of West Indies’ innings, Virat Kohli spilled Jason Holder at long-off and ended up deflecting the ball to the boundary. Holder made an unbeaten 24 off nine balls to push West Indies past 200.West Indies had their issues on the field too. Hetmyer, at deep midwicket, briefly fumbled when Rohit hit left-arm fingerspinner Khary Pierre towards him, but just about got his body behind the ball in time and clung onto the catch.Rohit Sharma puts in an acrobatic effort in the deep•BCCI

    When asked if the lapses in the field were down to one side of this ground being much longer than the other, or because of the awkward floodlights, KL Rahul, who has been part of the Sunrisers team previously, pointed to the latter.”I don’t think it’s the dimensions – the bigger side or the smaller side – it’s just that the lights are pretty low and sometimes you lose the ball under the lights,” Rahul said. “And that’s what happened a couple of times and I mean we’ve played here before; we’ve played here for years. We know what to expect and yeah as a team we don’t complain about things like this.”Although India didn’t train under lights ahead of the first T20I, Rahul said his side was prepared for the challenge posed by the floodlights.”We tried to practise that even when we came here a couple of days ago,” he said. “We know we didn’t practice under lights but we know the lights are low and we tried to get our fielding practice done and try to give our best and sometimes you still lose the ball. That’s how it is.”

    Zimbabwe coach Lalchand Rajput tests positive for Covid-19 ahead of Sri Lanka series

    by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

    The rest of the Zimbabwe squad returned negative results

    ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jan-2022Zimbabwe coach Lalchand Rajput will miss at least the first two games of Zimbabwe’s series against Sri Lanka after testing positive for Covid-19. Rajput, 60, is understood to be asymptomatic, though he was placed under observation at a hospital briefly, before being taken to a hotel for isolation.Rajput, who has been Zimbabwe head coach since 2018, did not travel with the squad, instead linking up with the team in Sri Lanka. The rest of the squad, which arrived from Zimbabwe, all tested negative.Zimbabwe’s squad left for Sri Lanka on Saturday to play three ODIs and were tested upon arrival. Rajput’s positive test will see him isolated for a minimum of ten days.”We are doing some routine tests and he will be able to go back to a hotel,” Arjuna de Silva, a Sri Lankan sports doctor, told . “There will be a 10-day quarantine period which means he will miss the first two matches.” The ODIs are scheduled for January 16, 18 and 21.Rajput’s isn’t the only Covid-related absence on this tour. Sri Lankan batter Avishka Fernando did not join the home side’s team bubble after testing positive for Covid-19 earlier this week. However, with three previously banned Sri Lankan players – Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwellaand Danushka Gunathilaka – seeing their bans overturned, Sri Lanka have the personnel to make up for that absence. They are yet to announce their squad for the series.All three games are day-night contests and will be played at the Pallekelle Stadium in Kandy.

    Liam Trevaskis, Chris Wright slice through Northamptonshire top order

    by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

    Leicestershire close in on victory that would sign off their Division Two title triumph in style

    ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay26-Sep-2025Northamptonshire 189 and 120 for 5 (Keogh 42, Trevaskis 3-31) need a further 381 runs to beat Leicestershire 429 and 260 for 5 dec (Patel 76, Cox 51*, Budinger 50)Liam Trevaskis and Chris Wright sliced through Northamptonshire’s top order as Leicestershire closed in on a victory that would sign off their Rothesay County Championship Division Two title triumph in style.The Foxes, already confirmed as champions last week, declared and set Northamptonshire an improbable 501 to win at Wantage Road following Rishi Patel’s 76 and an unbeaten 30-ball half-century by Ben Cox.Left-arm spinner Trevaskis took three wickets, with seamer Wright – playing his final game prior to retirement – capturing the other two to reduce the home side to 120 for 5 before bad light halted play.Northamptonshire’s Rob Keogh top-scored with 42, passing 10,000 runs across all formats in the process, but his side’s slim hopes of staving off defeat largely rest on Saif Zaib, unbeaten on 20 at stumps.Leicestershire resumed with an overall lead of 326 and eight wickets in hand, but they were initially stifled by a tight spell from George Scrimshaw, who found some movement in both directions.However, it was a straight delivery from the seamer that removed Lewis Hill, leg-before for 38 and Patel then took command, punching a series of boundaries and bringing up his half-century with a straight drive off Stuart van der Merwe.Van der Merwe was also slog-swept for six by the Foxes opener, but there was success for his fellow rookie Nirvan Ramesh when Stephen Eskinazi reverse-swept the off-spinner and deflected onto his stumps.Although Patel’s hopes of another century to back up his 114 against Kent last week were dashed shortly before lunch when he nicked Zaib behind, the champions chose to bat on into the afternoon session.Yet Cox’s lightning half-century ensured that the innings continued for only five more overs – enough time for Leicestershire to pile up another 53 runs and extend their advantage to exactly 500.Cox bludgeoned the vast majority of those, scooping Scrimshaw for six and then flicking Ben Whitehouse over square leg and out of the ground before a booming four over the bowler’s head signalled both his 50 and the declaration.Logan van Beek and Wright gave away very little at the start of Northamptonshire’s second innings, with the ball rolling across the boundary rope just once during the first 11 attritional overs.Wright, bringing down the curtain on a 22-year professional career, dismissed both openers as Arush Buchake was caught behind pushing at a ball that left him before Lewis McManus drove straight to gully.Having edged Wright to the third boundary to reach his career landmark, Keogh gained a life soon afterwards when he nudged Josh Hull through the slips for four more, but settled down as he and James Sales steered their side to tea.The partnership progressed to 67, but Keogh’s good fortune ran out soon after the restart as he aimed an ambitious drive at Trevaskis and this time Patel safely pouched the chance at slip.Sales departed in the left-armer’s next over, caught behind off a bottom edge and Trevaskis then trapped Justin Broad lbw in a prolonged spell – partly enforced by the darkening clouds which restricted Leicestershire to slower bowling.Patel came on to deliver a single over of leg-breaks before the deteriorating light brought an end to proceedings, with Leicestershire needing five more wickets to wrap up victory on the final day of the season.

    Faisal Iqbal gets NOC to rejoin Balochistan

    by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

    PCB says it’s pleased the coach has “promptly and swiftly” resolved the issues that led to the NOC being denied earlier

    ESPNcricinfo staff27-Sep-2020Faisal Iqbal is set to rejoin the Balochistan team for the National T20 Cup tournament that starts on Saturday, after he was granted a No Objection Certificate (NOC) by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), his parent organisation, on Friday.Faisal is already in isolation in Muridke and ready to join the squad in Multan. He was initially withdrawn as the head coach for the Balochistan first XI when PIA had delayed in issuing him an NOC. ESPNcricinfo understands the reason for the delay was an inquiry about discrepancies in his date of birth in two official documents he had submitted to PIA. Iqbal also had to extend his stay in a bio-secure environment by five days after he violated protocol alongwith assistant coach Wasim Haider.However, the PCB said – via a statement issued by Junaid Zia, the general manager for domestic cricket – on Friday that Iqbal had “promptly and swiftly” resolved the matter and will rejoin the Balochistan side now.”The PCB is pleased Faisal Iqbal has promptly and swiftly resolved an ongoing matter that could have resulted in distraction during an important period for his side and the tournament,” Zia said. “Hopefully, Faisal will now fully focus on the job at hand and make meaningful contribution as head coach of the Balochistan cricket team.”Balochistan will play their tournament opener against Sindh on October 1.

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