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 He was initially withdrawn as the head coach for the Balochistan first XI when PIA had delayed in issuing him an NOC.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.

The latest WBBL action as three out of the four matches produced results despite more Sydney rain

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Nov-2020On another weekend of rain-dodging, the Sydney Thunder were able to make it back-to-back victories as spinners Sam Bates and Heather Knight combined to take five wickets between them in their two overs in a Brisbane Heat chase reduced to five overs. The Heat were left needing 45 after the calculations, as the match was able to resume moments before the cut-off, and they took 11 off the first over. However, left-arm spinner Bates changed the game with a double-wicket maiden in the second over – her first scalp the big-hitting Grace Harris – which left the Heat too much to do. Knight, who starred with the bat the previous day, claimed three wickets in her six deliveries which gave Sammy-Jo Johnson the comfort of 24 to defend in the last. The Thunder had started well with the bat as Rachel Trenaman and Tammy Beaumont added 71 but they had lost 3 for 6 in two overs when the rain curtailed their innings.Alyssa Healy’s blistering innings seal the match for Sydney Sixers•Getty Images

A typically blistering innings from Alyssa Healy, as she crunched a 31-ball 60, powered the Sydney Sixers to victory which also have their net run-rate a handy boost in a chase they completed with nearly six overs to spare. The match was trimmed to 18 overs after more rain during the Renegades’ innings and they couldn’t recover from limping to 5 for 66 in the 14th over despite a crunching maiden WBBL fifty by Georgia Wareham who hammered 37 off the last two overs against Stella Campbell and Ellyse Perry. Campbell’s first three overs had been very impressive as she had 2 for 11 before Wareham’s late charge, her second wicket coming thanks to a rebound catch by Hayley Silver-Holmes at mid-off who had initially dropped the simpler opportunity. Healy set the tempo of the chase straightaway, taking 18 off Sophie Molineux’s over, and she continued to a 26-ball half-century. She fell to Wareham shortly afterwards but the hitting continued from Ash Gardner (20 off 8 balls) as the Sixers flexed their batting muscle.The Perth Scorchers were on course for victory before their game at Drummoyne Oval became the latest to fall to the weather. Despite losing Sophie Devine to the hugely promising Darcie Brown for a duck in the second over, they were halfway towards their seven-over target of 52 when the weather closed in again after 2.5 overs of the chase. The Strikers innings had struggled to get going as they were 3 for 28 after 7.1 overs with Taneale Peschel claiming 2 for 5 in two overs, but Stafanie Taylor gave a brief glimpse of her power with 30 off 16 balls.

“I just have to be adaptable about batting in every position, pretty much from one to seven”

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Nov-2020Virat Kohli is always up at “110%” when it comes to being motivated, so he will be “ready to go” in Australia before going on paternity leave following the white-ball games and the first Test, according to Marcus Stoinis.Asked at a press interaction if Kohli might be a bit more keyed up than usual to make an impact because he would be missing the last three Tests to be back at home with his wife for the birth of their first child, Stoinis said, “Don’t worry about Virat, he’s up for every single game that he’s playing. Yeah, maybe there will be extra motivation, but I don’t think there’s any extra motivation than 110%. So let’s see. I am sure he will be ready to go. He is getting home for the birth of his kid, which is the right decision in my opinion. So I am sure he will be extra motivated.”We’ve definitely got our strategies, we’ve had things that have worked in the past, and at other times the same plans haven’t worked and he’s made some runs. Obviously he is a great player, and to all these good players, you do what you want to do, you have your plans, and on the day, you get extra competitive and you hope it all falls in your side of the court.”Stoinis is coming into the white-ball games against India – starting with the three-ODI series on November 27, and then the three T20Is – on the back of good form in the IPL, where he was one of the major forces that drove the Delhi Capitals to their maiden final, before they lost to the Mumbai Indians. He averaged 25.14 in scoring 352 runs from 17 innings at a strike rate of 148.52, and also made an impact with the ball, picking up 13 wickets at an economy rate of 9.53 and an excellent strike rate of 13.6.”I will hopefully continue to bring that form into the summer, but there’s nothing really too different (that I have been doing). The break was great – as bad as it was with Covid – it was nice to come back quite fresh into all these competitions. I feel like I was going well in England before leading in as well, so hopefully the results keep coming my way,” he said. “But it also helped that we had a good team, we had a great team; I was very fortunate to be in the same team as Ricky Ponting, who was our coach.”‘Punter wants me to take more responsibility’
Calling himself a “massive fan” of Ponting and sharing credit with the former Australia captain for “whatever personal success I had in the IPL”, Stoinis elaborated on the equation between the two men while at the IPL.”He’s also not someone who will sit there and tell you what to do. He will either show you the way or only sort of speak to you when he thinks he has something that can help,” Stoinis said. “You have to ask him, but I don’t think he is in the business of changing careers; like all those good coaches, you never really know you’re being coached until the end, when you look back and think that was that, bloody important.”With concussion putting Steven Smith out of Australia’s last ODI series in England – shortly before the IPL – Stoinis was moved to No. 3 in the batting order, and he said Ponting had been one among “a big sort of pool of events” that led to the promotion.”I think there’s been a big pool of events that are leading towards me moving up the order a little bit. But I also really enjoy batting in the middle order for Delhi in the IPL,” he said. “Punter [Ponting] wants me to take more responsibility in teams that he has been in charge of. But, at the end of the day, I think I just have to be adaptable about batting in every position, pretty much from one to seven, (as I have) over the last three years. So I just have to keep that mindset, I guess.”I am just happy to be involved wherever they feel (I will have) the most impact on the game, whether that’s in the middle order, whether that’s where my biggest impact is for the team, whether they want to get me up earlier… I know I have had these conversations with Ricky, ‘just let me know when to put the pads on’, ‘let me know when I’m in and I’ll try to do the best job I can’.”

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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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.”

Former Australia opener Ed Cowan believes the country has still not accepted it has a problem with racism

Daniel Brettig13-Jan-20212:48

Ashwin wants racial abuse ‘dealt with an iron fist’

No stranger to personally abusive heckling from spectators, Nathan Lyon believes Mohammed Siraj has set a fresh standard by calling out poor crowd behaviour during the SCG Test, and that more players will ponder following his example in future series.Siraj has been interviewed by Cricket Australia over the multiple instances of abuse he faced during the Sydney Test, including at least one alleged cry of “brown dog” from the seats, leaving cricket authorities and police with the difficult task of identifying the spectator who delivered it.While he made a clear distinction between racial abuse and baiting of a more general variety, Lyon said that players would now have the option of stopping play to call out their abusers in the stands, depending on how much they had been personally affected by what they heard.”Yeah it may well do, it’s totally going to be up to that player and how they have been affected,” Lyon said ahead of his 100th Test in Brisbane this week. “I just really hope that in a whole world society that we get over it and people can come and watch us play cricket and players don’t go to work and worry about getting abused or racially abused. Cricket’s a sport for all, so it really comes down to the player and how they’ve been affected.Related

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“It’s a very interesting one, and for me there’s no room for anything racial or any abuse in any type. I know people think they’re being funny, but it can affect people in different ways. I think it’s quite disgusting to be honest with you. Yes, I’ve been on the other end of it, copping abuse, whether that’s in England or New Zealand or South Africa or wherever it may be, but there’s no room for it.”You’ve got to try as a player to do your best to try and block it out, but if the time’s right call in the match officials. We’ve got a lot of security around the grounds these days so hopefully they can do their job, and if there’s anyone doing that they can be removed, because there’s absolutely no place for it.”Lyon and the Australia touring team had numerous instances where they might have wished to do something similar to Siraj in recent seasons, largely when personal abuse about them, their partners or other family members was heard. There may be further such instances should next summer’s Ashes series be played with international borders re-opened and overseas spectators allowed into Australia.More broadly, Australia’s poor history of race relations has been placed under the microscope by the former Test opener Ed Cowan, who said that the only change at the SCG was that at 25% capacity individual taunts were far more likely to be picked up by players over the usual hubbub of a much larger crowd.Cowan argued that more Australians needed to admit there was an underlying national problem with racism, casual or otherwise, before the issue would ever be substantially addressed.Mohammed Siraj tells Paul Reiffel from where spectators directed abuse at him•Getty Images

“We have an issue with Australia full stop, we are a very racist nation,” Cowan told ABC Grandstand. “We can hold the mirror up and pretend we are not. But all you need to do is go to an AFL game, all you need to do is watch the Adam Goodes documentary, all you need to do is walk down the street. Casual or otherwise, racism is a massive issue in Australian society and we need to fix it.”That is my view, and this is not bound to cricket or sport, it is merely a reflection of the society we live in, and it’s not good enough. The big thing other people haven’t spoken about is this happens every game. This is not an outlier.”Every AFL game, every cricket game, the differencebeing there are 40,000 people there and the cricketers or AFL players rarely hear what’s being said. You reduce the crowd capacity to 25% and you hear every single word and so the buffoons that were yelling out, they would’ve been yelling out days one to four, with 40,000 people there and no-one would’ve said boo. It’s the fact that all of a sudden they’ve been heard.”Lauding Siraj for his willingness to step forward and say he would not accept being abused, Cowan said that further crowd monitoring measures may need to be considered by sport and venue governing bodies. “We need to make an effort at the grounds, irrespective of whether the players hear it or not, whether you have a crowd control person on every single aisle and they are monitoring,” he said.”But if we are serious about stamping out racism in this country, it is a zero tolerance and we need to get serious about that. The real hero on this is the young Indian Siraj, for calling it out, for having the courage to say ‘you know what, this is only my second Test match, I know what I heard’, he’s called it out and there should be every single inch of investigation, and that is the example that it’s set, that it’s not on, and we need to start calling it out.”

All other players of the squad set to undergo tests on Tuesday, with results expected by evening

Press Trust of India23-Feb-2021The Vijay Hazare Trophy, the domestic 50-over men’s competition in India, has seen its first case of Covid-19 with a Bihar player testing positive for the novel coronavirus, following which all the other members of the squad are being tested.”It is confirmed and the concerned player has been isolated from other players,” a senior Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) official was quoted as saying by . “He is currently in Bangalore as he cannot travel.”Another source reportedly said all the other 21 players in the squad will undergo Covid-19 tests on Tuesday with the results expected by evening.Bihar are placed in Group C and their league games are scheduled in Bengaluru. They faced Karnataka on Monday, and their next match is against Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, which is expected to go on as scheduled according to a BCA official. Earlier, a player each from Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh, too, had reportedly tested positive for Covid-19 last week, but both the teams have continued playing their league games after undergoing tests.All matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy are being played under bio-secure bubbles across multiple cities. This is the second tournament, after the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, conducted by the BCCI in the curtailed 2020-21 domestic season.

Nadine de Klerk took a three-for as Mithali Raj’s 9 and Rajeshwari Gayakwad’s 3 for 13 in vain

Shashank Kishore17-Mar-2021It wasn’t straightforward, it wasn’t pretty, but it is one of those wins that would give South Africa immense satisfaction. On a turning track, where a modest 188, made largely thanks to Mithali Raj’s battling 79 and Rajeshwari Gayakwad’s magnificent 3 for 13, the visitors dug deep to carve out a five-wicket win to take the series 4-1.The victory was set up by Mignon du Preez and Anneke Bosch, who hit half-centuries in a 96-run fourth-wicket stand. It was crucial coming at the time it did, because the visitors had been reduced to 27 for 3 in the 11th over, with the ball jumping off the rough created at one end by left-arm seamer Monica Patel. South Africa have now won 10 of their last 11 ODIs, winning back-to-back series against New Zealand, Pakistan and now India.But they would’ve been nervy at the start. Opening the bowling, Gayakwad defeated Laura Woolvaardt with sharp turn as substitute fielder Jemimah Rodrigues took a sharp catch at slip in the second over. In the fourth, Gayakwad beat Lara Goodall with sharp turn to trap her lbw. But after a three-over spell, Gayakwad was taken off the attack to give inexperienced Patel, playing in just her second game, a spell.Although India struck soon enough, in the 12th over, when D Hemalatha beat Sune Luus in the air and off the deck, they couldn’t sustain the pressure. In looking to attack, the inexperienced spinners conceded more runs than they would have ideally liked.In the absence of Poonam Yadav, the frontline spinner, Deepti Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur, who earlier in the day injured her hip flexor to be ruled out of the game, the responsibility was on debutant C Prathyusha and Hemalatha to offer maximum support to strike bowler Gayakwad. It proved a task too steep as their inexperience showed.Wristspinner Pratyusha, who has a quick-arm action, struggled to land the ball at drivable lengths, which made it easy for du Preez and Bosch to pick her away both off the front and back foot. Bosch was particularly aggressive, looking to clear the infield by getting to the pitch time and again. du Preez, meanwhile, showed all her experience by using the pace to play cheeky paddles.Their industrious partnership meant the score kept ticking along, forcing Raj to keep going back to her two trump cards Goswami and Gayakwad from time-to-time Gayakwad had bowled out going into the last 10, with South Africa still needing 36. This helped Marizanne Kapp guide Nadine de Klerk through the tricky phase with the target within touching distance.Things may have yet been interesting had Goswami taken a catch to remove Kapp at long-off with South Africa still needing 32. South Africa would’ve been six down. It would’ve also come quickly on the back of the wickets of Bosch and du Preez, who fell in the space of 15 deliveries, to Gayakwad and Prathyusha respectively.The missed opportunity had a deflating effect; Pratyusha who should’ve had her second wicket finished with 1 for 60 off nine overs instead. With Patel unable to have any kind of stranglehold over the batters, Kapp calmly wiped off the remainder of the runs with 12 balls to spare, with India forced to rue their batting lapses.That they took the fight till the end was thanks to Mithali Raj’s rescue act after the rest of the batting stuttered yet again. The lone ranger who has carried the India middle order for much of her career, Raj hit her 55th ODI half-century after being put into bat by South Africa.The loss apart, India may also be staring at another major worry ahead of the T20Is, with Kaur, the designated captain for the shortest format, having to retire hurt after a hip-flexor injury. Pushed ahead of Raj to No. 4 on the day, Kaur had settled in to put together a half-century stand with her captain, before retiring out in the 31st over just as India looked to launch.It proved to be a huge setback, after they appeared to have overcome the early losses of Smriti Mandhana, Priya Punia and Punam Raut, India’s highest run-getter, with the scoreboard reading 53 for 3 in the 13th over.Hemalatha, in her first game after replacing Deepti struggled to wriggle out of a hole she dug herself into. Taking 12 balls to get off the mark, she survived an ugly hoick before nicking one to the wicketkeeper two balls later. Then the returning Sushma Verma, picked ahead of Taniya Bhatia, did little to prove her batting credentials, given out lbw to de Klerk.India’s slow middle order consolidation also allowed Sune Luus to get her fifth bowling options – de Klerk and Bosch – to dictate terms; their 16 overs went for just 61 runs for three wickets, all reward for de Klerk’s accurate medium pace.In the face of this meltdown, Raj, who took her time, like she does, focused on holding one end up even if strike-rotation proved difficult initially. And while debates continue over whether she should be accelerating a lot more upfront, India’s middle and lower order did her no favours by collapsing the way they did to give the team management plenty to think of in terms of their approach In the face of a changing game leading into next year’s 50-over World Cup.

Queensland will face South Australia at the recently redeveloped ground as they bid to host the Shield final

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Mar-2021Australia will get a new first-class venue on Tuesday when Ian Healy Oval in Brisbane hosts the Sheffield Shield match between Queensland and South Australia.There had been various changes made to the schedule in recent days with the match initially relocated to Allan Border Field, but it has been returned to Ian Healy Oval due to the impact of recent rain with the new venue having better drainage than AB Field – that drainage is likely to be tested with considerable rain forecast for the opening day.Queensland’s previous Shield match against Victoria managed just 76 overs on the first two days before the second half of the game was abandoned.Queensland are currently top of the table in a tight race with New South Wales in what appears the likely pairing for the final next month. The side that finishes top of the regular season earns hosting rights. The two teams face each other at North Dalton Park in Wollongong in the final round of matches over Easter weekend.Last season’s final did not get played due to Covid-19 ending the competition early and New South Wales were awarded the title.Ian Healy Oval in Brisbane•Queensland Cricket

Queensland have brought fast bowler Billy Stanlake into their squad in place of Mark Steketee who has a side injury. Jack Wildermuth, who was ruled out of the abandoned Marsh Cup game against Victoria with a quad strain, has recovered to be included.South Australia, who are bottom of the table and have not won a game in any format this season, have included the uncapped Sam Kerber who has been prolific in Premier Cricket. Wes Agar could also be in line for a recall after a 10-wicket haul for his club last week.Ian Healy Oval is part of the A$18.6 million National Cricket Campus project with the next and final stage to redevelop Allan Border Field which will include increasing the boundary size to reach international standards and improved drainage. Work is due to start in June and last into early next year.Queensland squad Usman Khawaja (capt), Xavier Bartlett, Joe Burns, Brendan Doggett, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Billy Stanlake, Bryce Street, Jack WildermuthSouth Australia squad Travis Head (capt), Alex Carey, Wes Agar, David Grant, Henry Hunt, Sam Kerber, Jake Lehmann, Joe Medew-Ewen, Harry Nielsen, Liam Scott, Jake Weatherald, Nick Winter, Daniel Worrall

Durham seamer draws level with Graham Onions after five-wicket haul

ECB Reporters Network14-May-2021Durham 246 (Lees 99, Tongue 5-39) and 79 for 1 lead Worcestershire 213 (Fell 44, Leach 42*, Rushworth 5-56) by 112 runs Chris Rushworth joined Graham Onions as Durham’s highest first-class wicket-taker after notching a five-wicket haul to dismiss Worcestershire for 213 in their LV= Insurance County Championship clash at Emirates Riverside.Rushworth was at his imperious best to claim figures of 5 for 56 to put the hosts in a strong position and move level with his former team-mate with 527 first-class strikes for Durham. Brydon Carse and Ben Raine were also on point, although late resistance from Joe Leach kept Worcestershire in the game.Although the home side lost Alex Lees early in their second innings, Scott Borthwick and Will Young held firm to leave the north-east outfit in control of the contest with a lead of 112 runs.Durham made a strong start to day two through Rushworth, who began the day by dismissing Daryl Mitchell for the ninth time in his first-class career, pinning the opener lbw with an inswinger. Jake Libby performed well in tough conditions, mustering 24 before he was undone by a brilliant delivery from Raine.The seamers were on the mark and did not allow Jack Haynes to settle. In his second spell, Rushworth removed Haynes lbw for 8 to reduce the visitors at 60 for 3. Brett D’Oliveira battled with Tom Fell to take Worcestershire into the lunch break, but the pressure resumed immediately after the restart.Related

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Fell survived a close lbw shout against Raine, but the right-armer plugged away and removed D’Oliveira for 10 in his next over. Fell offered solid resistance, grinding his way into the forties amid excellent bowling from the hosts. He was given a life by Borthwick, who put down a routine chance at second slip off Raine. The Durham captain’s blushes were spared by Carse as he skittled Fell, taking his off and middle stump out of the ground.Rushworth whittled through the lower order from the Lumley End, breaking through Riki Wessels’ defences tbefore pinning Ed Barnard on the crease. Mark Wood and Carse reduced the visitors to nine down by using their pace to prise out Ben Cox and Josh Tongue.However, Leach frustrated the hosts with a vital knock of 42. The Worcestershire captain produced a fifty partnership with Morris to bring his team within 33 of Durham’s first-innings total. Rushworth wrapped up the innings with his record-equalling scalp to bowl Morris, earning his 28th five-wicket haul in the process.Worcestershire claimed the vital wicket of Lees before the end of the day, but Young and Borthwick put together an unbeaten stand of 51 to leave Durham in a formidable position at 79 for one in their second innings.

Charged with two counts of possessing child abuse material and one count of grooming a child

George Dobell17-May-2021Aaron Summers, the Australian fast bowler, has appeared in Darwin Local Court after being charged with child sexual offences.ESPNcricinfo has learnt that Summers, who has most recently represented the Deccan Gladiators in the Abu Dhabi T10 league, was arrested in Fannie Bay on Friday afternoon. Police executed a search warrant and seized a mobile phone. The phone allegedly contained what the Northern Territories Police Service described as “a number of videos containing child abuse material” and evidence of contact with up to ten children in an “attempt to procure further illicit photographs”.Related

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Summers was subsequently charged with two counts of possessing child abuse material and one count of grooming a child. He has been remanded in custody.”The behaviour is despicable,” detective acting senior sergeant Paul Lawson said. “Young people should be able to enjoy their childhood without the fear of predators approaching them for their own appalling intentions. The Northern Territory Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team will continue to work with national and international partners to keep the most vulnerable in our community safe.”While Summers has enjoyed a brief career in the Big Bash League (for the Hobart Hurricanes) and the One-day Cup (for Tasmania), he is perhaps best known for becoming the first Australian cricketer to play in a domestic cricket competition in Pakistan when he signed for Southern Punjab.