Tom Alsop, James Coles add fifties on shortened second day in Bristol

ECB Reporters Network28-Apr-2023A trademark defensive masterclass from captain Cheteshwar Pujara batted Sussex into a promising position on the second day of the rain-affected LV= County Championship match with Gloucestershire at Bristol.After a delayed start at 1.50pm due to a saturated outfield, the visitors took their first innings total from 47 for 1 to 302 for 4, India Test star Pujara leading the way with 99 not out, one short of his 58th first-class century, while Tom Alsop contributed 67 and James Coles a career-best 74.Zafar Gohar was the most successful Gloucestershire bowler with 2 for 67. But even his efforts on a docile surface could not unsettle the patient Pujara, who by the close had faced 190 balls and hit 13 fours and a six.Warm sunshine and a drying breeze dispelled fears of a second day washout after only 16 overs had been possible on day one before persistent heavy rain left standing water on an already wet outfield.Umpires Billy Taylor and Mark Newell decided play could resume after inspections at 11am, 12.30pm and 1.20pm. Gloucestershire skipper Graeme van Buuren opted to open the bowling with left-arm spinner Gohar and it paid quick dividends.Ali Orr, having added five to his overnight score of 31, went to reverse sweep the first ball of the third over and only succeeded in top-edging a gentle catch to wicketkeeper James Bracey, making the score 58 for 2.Having advanced from 11 to 34, Alsop survived a sharp chance to Miles Hammond at gully off Marchant de Lange, the ball stinging the tips of the fielder’s fingers on the way to the third-man boundary. It was all the good fortune the Sussex left-hander needed to progress to fifty, off 123 balls, with 6 fours, out of a total of 111 for 2.Ominously for Gloucestershire, Pujara looked to be setting his stall out for a long innings from the moment he took strike. The experienced India Test batter exercised great caution, particularly against the accurate de Lange, who had figures of 1 for 17 after 11 overs, four of them maidens.Pujara took 78 balls to reach 19, but then cut loose with a pulled four off de Lange and a square cut boundary off Gohar. By tea, which was taken at 4pm, Sussex had made 138 for 2 from 49 overs, with Alsop on 63 and Pujara on 28. The visitors were clearly intent on only batting once in a match already heavily curtailed by the weather.The final session began with Ajeet Dale going past the inside edge of Alsop’s bat, the ball swinging late and beating Bracey to add four byes to the total. Dale troubled both batsmen from the Ashley Down Road End, working up decent pace on the slow pitch, and got his reward when Alsop edged a defensive shot to first slip where Chris Dent held the catch into his midriff.At 158 for 3, Sussex needed to rebuild. But by then Pujara had moved on to 40 off 108 deliveries and looked well set. He was joined by a player more than 16 years his junior in England Under-19 international Coles.With the Seat Unique Stadium bathed in sunshine, Pujara moved to his half-century, having batted for almost exactly three hours and hit eight fours. He celebrated with a glorious driven boundary through extra cover off van Buuren, an indication of the fund of attacking shots in his locker when he chooses to unleash them, while Coles looked untroubled in sharing a century stand in 24 overs.The nearest Pujara came to getting out was an inside edge past his leg stump off Gofar. He responded by cutting two boundaries off the left-arm spinner’s next over.Gloucestershire took the second new ball after 80 overs, with the scoreboard reading 258 for 3. But it made no impact as Coles reached a fluent and chanceless fifty off 85 balls, with six fours. The 19-year-old fell in the final over of the day, stumped moving down the pitch to Gohar in an effort to give Pujara the strike.The Indian maestro is unlikely to lose any sleep over being on 99 and will look to add significantly more on day three.

Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat Titans fast bowler distances himself from the post, says his account had been hacked into

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jun-2023Yash Dayal, the Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat Titans fast bowler, has distanced himself* from a social-media post containing an Islamophobic cartoon, saying both that post and a subsequent apology “weren’t done by me”.The original Instagram post was removed, but not before screenshots were shared and debated widely on social-media. Not long after, the handle posted: “Guy’s [sic] apologies for the story it was just posted by mistake plz don’t spread hate … I have respect for each & every community n society”.He later said in a statement, “There were two stories posted on my Insta handle today – both of which weren’t done by me. I have reported the matter to authorities as I believe my account is being accessed by someone else and used for posting. I am trying to regain full control of my Instagram account. I respect all communities and the picture shared today does not reveal my true beliefs.”Dayal, 26, has been playing representative cricket since 2018, when he made his senior debut for Uttar Pradesh, but became a household name for not-very-happy reasons on April 9 this year when, in a game in Ahmedabad, Kolkata Knight Riders’ Rinku Singh hit him for five consecutive sixes off the last five balls of the match to chase down an improbable target.He didn’t turn out for Titans for over a month after that, but played two more games as Titans made the tournament final, which they lost to Chennai Super Kings. Dayal had a forgettable season overall, picking up two wickets from five matches at an economy rate of 11.78.Bought by Titans before IPL 2022, Dayal played nine games in the team’s run to the title in what was their debut season, picking up 11 wickets and maintaining an economy rate of 9.25.

Ben Stokes’ decision to put Australia batters in for four overs a “shot at nothing” for them

Matt Roller16-Jun-2023Ben Stokes’ decision to declare England’s first innings at 393 for 8 after 78 overs, with Joe Root unbeaten on 118, “came as no surprise” to their players. That is according to Jonny Bairstow, who said that forcing Australia’s openers to survive four overs on the first evening represented “a shot to nothing” for them.Root and Ollie Robinson had looted 20 runs from a Nathan Lyon over when Stokes – wearing training kit and a bucket hat at the time – called his batters in, leaving just over a quarter of an hour for David Warner and Usman Khawaja to face the new ball on the first day of this summer’s Ashes series at Edgbaston.Khawaja was beaten by Robinson on the outside edge and neither opener looked comfortable, with a series of near mix-ups as they ran between the wickets. But Australia made it through to the close unscathed, reaching 14 for 0 in four overs to trail by 379 runs heading into the second day.Related

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“I’m sure there are many decisions that Ben has made that have probably taken commentators and some people by surprise,” Bairstow said. “It was no surprise to us. You’ll all be aware that a 20-minute slot for any opening pair is something that’s not very nice and can be a bit niggly.”It was a decision that Ben and Brendon [McCullum] made in conjunction with the bowlers. It’s a shot to nothing, isn’t it? You can walk off and there might be an unbelievable ball in there – there might be a loose shot or whatever.”But we’ll come back tomorrow with a ball that’s four overs old, a fresh bowling attack and a team that are really looking forward to the challenge.”Speaking to Sky Sports, he added: “It’s a bold call. It’s a good call. There will be conversations around it, but no-one likes going out there with 20 minutes and four overs, when you’ve got Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson running in at the end of the day that’s been a bit of a toil.”This was the fourth time that England have declared their first innings within 90 overs since Stokes took over as captain on a full-time basis last year, and the second earliest of those after he pulled the plug 58.2 overs into the Mount Maunganui Test in February.”We didn’t know anything about it [in advance],” said Bairstow, who first knew it was coming at “three minutes past six”. He added: “It was a scramble to get the old tape on, pads on, and the rest. When you’re not expecting [something], it’s sometimes the best form of attack.”Josh Hazlewood, the pick of Australia’s attack on the first day, said they were “not really” surprised at the timing of the declaration. “Once Joe got his hundred they played a few shots,” he said. “We sensed it was coming. That’s the way they are playing their cricket at the moment.”

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.

Bell-Drummond, Leaning and Finch all contribute as Hosts reach 398 for 4

ECB Reporters Network10-Sep-2023Zak Crawley’s century led Kent to 398 for 4 on day one of their LV= Insurance County Championship fixture with Nottinghamshire at Canterbury.Crawley cashed in after being dropped when he was on two, making 158 from 153 balls and hitting three sixes before he was caught and bowled by Calvin Harrison, who was Notts’ most potent bowler, claiming 2 for 104.Daniel Bell-Drummond was Kent’s next highest corer with 60 while Jack Leaning and Harry Finch were unbeaten on 54 and 42 respectively at stumps.Kent were barely recognisable from the side that lost by 321 runs at Trent Bridge in July. Of the seven changes, Crawley was back from England duty and there were debuts for spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Aron Nijjar, signed on-loan from Essex.The major talking point, however, was the ongoing absence of club captain Sam Billings.Billings had taken a break from red-ball cricket earlier in the season and although he was included in the squad, Leaning remained captain and Finch retained the gloves.Nottinghamshire handed a debut to Sri Lanka’s Asitha Fernando, just 24 hours after he’d arrived in the UK and on a day when the temperature in Canterbury was 30 degrees, the same as in his native Katuneriya.It looked like a vital toss to win and after choosing to bat Kent’s openers put on 95 in a partnership of almost diametrically opposed styles.Crawley played like he was still in Ashes mode, riding his luck at times on a surface that wasn’t as dead as it initially appeared. He was put down by Dane Paterson at point in just the second over and responded by cracking Brett Hutton for four consecutive fours in the third.He punched his way past 50 when he straight-drove Paterson for four while Ben Compton, after one expansive early effort, Geoffrey Boycotted his way to 18 before he was bowled trying to reverse sweep Calvin Harrison, four minutes before lunch.Crawley brought up his century off 100 balls when he nudged Lyndon James to point for a single and reached 150 when he pulled Fernando for one through fine leg before Harrison somehow clung onto a violent drive to remove him.Bell-Drummond was out to the very next delivery when he tried to hook Fernando and went to an acrobatic grab by keeper Tom Moores, but Tawanda Muyeye pulled the final ball of the afternoon session for six to leave the hosts on 260 for 3 at tea.Muyeye and Leaning put on 59 for the next wicket, before the former went for 35. Having edged Steven Mullaney for four he ran out of luck when he nicked the next ball to Harrison at slip, but Finch joined Leaning to earn Kent a third batting point and the skipper brought up his half-century when he flicked Mullaney to third man for four in the penultimate over.

Fifties for Alsop, Ibrahim and Haines go begging in narrow loss for Sussex

ECB Reporters Network22-Aug-2023Ed Barnard continued his outstanding form in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup with his second successive century as Warwickshire scrambled to a one-wicket win over Sussex Sharks at Hove to seal top spot in Group B and a home semi-final on 29 August.The 27-year-old all-rounder, who had earlier taken his 11th wicket in this season’s competition, took his aggregate to 590 runs with 100, two days after he’d made 161 – his maiden List A century – against Durham. He has also scored three fifties.Sussex had fancied their chances of ending a dismal campaign with only their second win when they had Warwickshire 126 for 4 halfway through their pursuit of 276 and again when they removed Barnard and Ethan Brookes, who’d put on 78 for the fifth wicket, in successive overs with 64 still needed.

Knockout fixtures

Quarter-finals: Gloucestershire vs Lancashire (August 25), Hampshire vs Worcestershire (August 27)
Semi-finals: Warwickshire vs Hampshire/Worcestershire (August 29), Leicestershire vs Gloucestershire/Lancashire (August 29)
The final (September 16)

Jake Lintott hit a breezy 28 but Henry Crocombe picked up two wickets to keep Sussex in contention and when last man Oliver Hannon-Dalby walked out Warwickshire still needed 13 off 16 balls.Sussex had one last opportunity but sub fielder Zach Lion-Cachet dropped Danny Briggs on the boundary and Briggs swung the next ball over mid-on for four to seal his team’s seventh win out of eight.Barnard and Rob Yates had begun with 83 in 13 overs for the first wicket, but their progress was checked by three wickets in six overs, two of them for allrounder Dan Ibrahim, who found some extra seam movement to defeat Yates while Alex Davies played on. Skipper Will Rhodes drove to mid-off and Jake Bethell under-edged to the keeper before Barnard and Brookes rebuilt.Barnard was stumped giving off-spinner James Coles the charge, having hit nine fours and twice cleared the short boundary on the eastern side while Brookes (43) was leg before sweeping Bertie Foreman in the next over.For Sussex it was a seventh defeat in their eight games, a bitter disappointment after they reached the last four a year ago, although this was a much better performance.Put in by Rhodes, their 275 for 8 featured three half-centuries, but no one was able to push on and make the big score that would have given them a more competitive total on a slow pitch.Tom Alsop top scored with 68 – his first fifty of the tournament – and Tom Haines hit 55 – his fourth half-century – before Ibrahim made it back-to-back fifties as he added 65 for the seventh wicket with Foreman – another 19-year-old – as 93 were plundered off the last ten overs.At least Sussex made a decent total without a major contribution from Cheteshwar Pujara, who was leg before to Henry Brookes for 23 from 40 balls and looked unusually out of sorts.Warwickshire bowled tightly. The competition’s leading wicket-taker Hannon-Dalby claimed his 24th victim when Ibrahim feathered an edge to wicketkeeper Kai Smith and there were two wickets for leg-spinner Lintott, who pinned Haines leg before to end a second-wicket stand of 83 with Alsop.Alsop has been in poor form in the tournament with single-figure scores in five of his previous seven innings but looked more assured until holing out in the deep to give Lintott a second wicket.Ibrahim and Foreman swelled the total in the closing overs, their partnership spanning just 35 balls with Ibrahim’s 56 coming from 46 deliveries.

Both teams are in the top three at this stage, and the winners of this game will feel very secure about their future

Shashank Kishore31-Oct-20235:40

Manjrekar: South Africa still don’t look convincing

Big picture – Not a must-win, but a win-for-momentum

It started with a World Cup quarter-final that turned into a proper scrap in Mirpur in 2011. It marked the arrival of a cricket rivalry that isn’t talked about a lot, but often gives us games that ain’t good for the heart – just like the rugby World Cup final from a few nights ago.Auckland 2015 and Birmingham 2019, the two most recent men’s ODI World Cup fixtures since the rivalry sprung to life, were both thrillers of different kinds. One a semi-final with everything on the line, and the other a league fixture, like Wednesday’s will be. This one will dictate how the top half of the points table shapes up heading into the last bit of the league stage.All told, for three straight men’s World Cups in a row, the New Zealand games have been must-wins for South Africa; in fact, South Africa have lost five World Cup games in a row to New Zealand. In Pune on Wednesday, the stakes aren’t as high, given both teams are still pretty comfortably placed for the semi-finals, but it’s one both sides will want to win for momentum’s sake at the very least.Related

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New Zealand endured back-to-back losses to India and Australia as their smooth sail of a campaign – they had started with four wins on the trot – hit a rough patch amid a growing list of niggles. South Africa have been gung-ho, proving their only loss – to Netherlands – was an aberration, their batting depth looking increasingly menacing and bowling effective enough, as they were expected to be.Their one-wicket win over Pakistan in Chennai the other night saved them from that dreaded word that had begun doing the rounds even as their lower order collapsed, before Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi saw them home. A favourable result in Pune will further underpin their status as one of the dominant teams at this World Cup. That they aren’t great chasers, though, is a suggestion they haven’t been able to dispel.Results and all that aside, the match promises an explosive cocktail of firepower with the bat, and thrill with the ball. There’s aesthetics in the form of Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra and Rassie van der Dussen, big-hitting from Henrich Klaasen, David Miller and Glenn Phillips, and the genius of Quinton de Kock to boot.With the ball, there’s pace royalty in the form of Kagiso Rabada, the swing of Trent Boult, the hustle of Gerald Coetzee, and the bounce of Marco Jansen – each of them brings a unique flavour that makes fast bowling thrilling. If all of them play, it’ll truly mark a spectacle.Now for a good pitch and great weather to make it all come together.

Form guide

New Zealand LLWWW
South Africa WWWLW3:51

Van der Dussen: ‘We’re blessed that we’re in a great space now’

In the spotlight – Temba Bavuma and Rachin Ravindra

In a top order that has mostly been in top gear, Temba Bavuma seems some sort of a weak link at the moment for South Africa. He has had starts in three of his four innings, but hasn’t been able to top 35. As such, Bavuma is an accumulator, but has seemed anxious at different times to break out of that mould. It hasn’t worked yet. While there is no threat to his captaincy, he’ll want a big score to feel a bit more at ease.Will he? Won’t he? Kane Williamson has walked around with more questions on his fitness and participation during this campaign than he has at any other point in his career. Williamson is not fit yet, but in his absence, Rachin Ravindra has made the No. 3 spot his own. Williamson’s presence as part of the leadership group has lent a lot of calm and tactical nous, but he would be itching to return and make an impact. As for Ravindra, he is already making plenty of it.

Team news

Kagiso Rabada missed the previous game because of a niggle, but is understood to be fit and is expected to return to the XI. That’ll mean South Africa will be left with a tricky call on whom to leave out. Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi both had important roles to play in their win over Pakistan in Chennai, but one of them will probably have to make way, depending on the pitch.South Africa (probable): 1 Temba Bavuma (capt), 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Heinrich Klaasen, 6 David Miller, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Gerald Coetzee/Tabraiz Shamsi, 11 Lungi NgidiNew Zealand have an injury list that’s slowly growing. Lockie Ferguson bowled all of three overs before walking off with a heel injury against Australia. Mark Chapman is recovering from a minor calf strain. Tim Southee was on the mend for a broken finger, but might be ready to return. Williamson has resumed training, but he has been ruled out of the game against South Africa, while Ferguson will take a fitness test before the toss.New Zealand (probable): 1 Will Young, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Rachin Ravindra, 4 Tom Latham (capt, wk), 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Jimmy Neesham, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Tim Southee/Lockie Ferguson2:29

Latham: ‘Focusing on the things that we do well’

Pitch and conditions

Pune is unusually hot and dry for this time of the year, but the surfaces have been good for batting, with even bounce and excellent carry. In the two games so far, dew hasn’t had too big an effect, but it should be humid. The toss might not be too big a factor if the dew stays away.

Stats and trivia

• Conway has been dismissed twice in six games by left-arm spin at this World Cup. South Africa have Maharaj in the mix. In all, Conway has hit 17 runs off the 21 balls from bowlers of this variety. It’s only a small sample size but worth looking out for nonetheless, especially given that he loves the sweep shot, and Pune has relatively bigger squares.
• Ravindra’s tally of 406 runs is already the most by a New Zealander in his maiden World Cup. The standout aspect has been his game against spin – he has scored 210 against them at a strike rate of 109. His eight sixes are the most against spinners in the tournament so far.
• South Africa’s seven 300-plus totals in a row batting first in ODIs – including four this World Cup – is the longest streak in the game. They have hit the most sixes and fours, and have the most hundreds (six) in the tournament.
• South Africa’s pace pack has taken 44 wickets at an average and a strike rate of 23.3 and 23.5, respectively. Their wickets tally and their bowling strike rate are the best for a team in this World Cup.

Quotes

“We’ve got a few guys to get through a few fitness tests, and I guess once we train, we’ll have a clearer idea of what the XI looks like. So fingers crossed all those guys can get through a bit of work today at training and be ready to go tomorrow.”

“It feels like that question could have been asked a few days ago as well – with regards to Pakistan. So no, no chat really about that. I mean, that’s all in the past. We don’t really carry any of that with us.”

Bids were due to be submitted by December 22, but after the meeting between the PM and PCB head, bidders were informed that the process would be delayed

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Dec-2023The bidding for the broadcast and media rights for the PSL has been delayed by two weeks to the beginning of January, meaning the ninth season of the league will only land a broadcast deal a month before it is due to start. Though bids will be submitted to the PCB, the winner will have to be approved by IPC, the government’s ministry for inter-provincial coordination.The delay once again highlights the limitations of the current interim PCB administration, which is under a government mandate to only make decisions on day-to-day affairs and organise elections to set up the Board of Governors. Zaka Ashraf, the current PCB head, met with the interim Prime Minister and patron of the PCB in Islamabad earlier in the week and was told once again that organising the elections and managing daily affairs were his priority.”The Prime Minister/Patron PCB directed PCB that all decisions having financial and contractual implications shall only be taken with the approval of Prime Minister/Patron PCB,” reads a note sent by the IPC to Ashraf after the meeting, and seen by ESPNcricinfo. “Any appointment or awards of rights or contracts of any sort will be violation of the directions of Patron PCB.”The note ends with another reminder that no progress report has been given by the PCB on the organisation of its elections.Related

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Technical bids for PSL broadcast were due to be submitted by December 22, but after the meeting between the Prime Minister and Ashraf, potential bidders were informed by the PCB that the process would be delayed. The PSL’s broadcast rights have been an important source of revenue for the PCB, fetching USD 24 million for two seasons under the deal just ended. That, in itself, represented a 50% boost on the preceding deal.It is believed the new deal will be for two seasons, in 2024 and 2025. A number of local sports channels are expected to submit bids and there has been speculation about multiple broadcasters forming a consortium to submit bids. Traditionally, the PSL is broadcast live on multiple channels available for viewing in Pakistan, including PTV (Pakistan Television, the state-run broadcaster).Though the draft for the ninth season was held last week, a schedule has not yet been finalised for the ninth season. The start of the season is complicated by general nationwide elections in the country from February 8. The tenure for the current administration also ends on February 4. It is likely the season will begin in mid-February and though there had been talk of moving the start to the UAE, it will go ahead in Pakistan.It is unusual for the state to be directly involved in approving broadcast deals, but it illustrates the administrative limbo the game is in Pakistan at the moment. Because the authority of the administration is so limited, they have been unable to fire the previous team management set-up, but have new personnel in place. Mickey Arthur, the former team director, and Grant Bradburn, the head coach, have been replaced by Mohammad Hafeez in both capacities, but neither of them have been officially ousted by the board. When Ashraf’s tenure ends, and depending on the new government post-elections, it is very likely a new PCB administration will be in place, which may involve yet more upheaval.