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Kyle Coetzer has said Scotland, after putting in stellar performances against Full Member nations, deserve more chances than they’re currently getting

Peter Della Penna19-Jun-2017On May 21, Scotland’s home season began in momentous fashion with a seven-wicket demolition of Sri Lanka. On June 15, they secured another famous win, beating Zimbabwe by 26 runs. Now, after just 10 scheduled days of cricket, it’s all been wrapped up.”We play 10 days of cricket and that’s our season over. Where are we meant to go?” Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s just the frustration. We feel we’re playing good cricket. We just want to play more cricket. Ten days of cricket in our season just isn’t enough, clearly.”So we need to find ways around that. I guess we need some support too, to make sure we can get those extra fixtures. Fair play to Zimbabwe coming here and playing us in a couple of games. They like the idea of playing cricket and so do we, so we need to try and do that a bit more often.”One of the main legislative points of this week’s ICC annual conference is to determine whether Ireland and Afghanistan, the two preeminent Associates, should be granted Test status. Along with the right to play five-day matches, the increased funding and fixture opportunities are of great significance to up and coming teams.Scotland, however, are starting to get left behind. They are one of six Associates with ODI status, but lack a place on the 12-team World Cup qualification rankings table. While there is traditional lip service during World Cups about getting more games arranged for Associates against Full Members, Scotland’s series against Zimbabwe comprised their first ODIs against Full Members since the 2015 World Cup.Even with such limited opportunities, Coetzer said his side showed against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe that they are on the rise. “I think it’s pretty clear to see that the gap is getting closer and closer. Obviously on our behalf, having won the two games we have throughout this ten-day period is pretty massive for us. We need to be playing more cricket, it’s as simple as that.”There is a chance that Zimbabwe Cricket might invite Scotland over for a reciprocal tour in the coming months. The team’s captain Graeme Cremer said as much after a series-levelling six-wicket victory on Saturday. “We’ve enjoyed Scotland, the people are great here and they’ve looked after us. We’d love to come back here. We’re looking to have them later on in the year come to us. So that would be good if we can form that relationship with them because they play tough cricket. We know that and it’s good to have opposition that gives you a tough time.”‘It’s just the frustration. We just want to play more cricket. Ten days of cricket in our season just isn’t enough clearly’ – Kyle Coetzer•Peter Della Penna

This series, in addition to helping Zimbabwe build up to a tour of Sri Lanka starting June 30, was also a chance to get accustomed to conditions considering Scotland and Ireland have jointly bid for the rights to host the 2018 World Cup Qualifier in April. Likewise, Scotland would also benefit from an advance series in Zimbabwe should the qualifying tournament be held there.”We knew with us coming here, we need to assess conditions in case we do play [the 2018 Qualifier] here,” Cremer said. “We’re hoping we’ll get the bid and have it in our home country but that’s not up to us. It’s nice to come and see what you might be up against and we might meet Scotland in a crucial game in the Qualifiers so it’s good to play these teams and know what we’re up against.”Meanwhile, Netherlands – who host Zimbabwe for three ODIs this week – sit three points clear of Scotland on the WCL Championship table. The winner of that competition is expected to be the 13th team in the proposed ODI League to be used to determine the teams that play the 2023 World Cup.”After beating Namibia and then Namibia coming back and beating us, it’s clear to see that gap [at the lower end] is even closer too,” Coetzer said. “Namibia came over with a very strong team having lost in the final of the Cricket South Africa [provincial] competition. So they’re not a bad team at all. They’re a good cricket team and there are a lot of good cricket teams in that WCL.”For us, looking at the situation where we are at the moment, we’ve lost two games. That’s all we’ve lost in the WCL so far: played 10, lost two. Where we sit is where we sit. You can’t expect sides to go out and win every single one of their games. How is that meant to happen?”But what we do know is that we need to play more cricket. We need more fixtures like this [against Zimbabwe] and more of an even share of some of that money that’s going around because that will help us go a long way, help us keep our players in the game as long as possible.”

Pacers could have a bigger role to play in St Kitts as Australia and South Africa square off in their third fixture of the tri-series

The Preview by Firdose Moonda10-Jun-2016

Match facts

Saturday, June 11 2016
Start time 1300 local (1700GMT)

Big Picture

Round Two. All even. Just about.The Guyana leg of this triangular series resulted in a win for each of the three teams, with South Africa and Australia claiming bonus points. The caravan moves to St Kitts, where South Africa and Australia kick off proceedings on Saturday.Relations between both countries have improved since the sides last met, after South Africa agreed to play a Day-Night Test in Adelaide in November after initially rejecting the idea. It’s only fitting that on the field, they are battling under lights at the moment, with South Africa having the upper hand.After being run down by Sunil Narine and Kieron Pollard in the tournament opener, South Africa surged back to humble Australia, who just two days earlier had brought West Indies down to earth.Bowling has been South Africa’s stronger suit thus far, with Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir, in particular, excelling in dual roles of attacking and containing. That has meant time on the bench for Morne Morkel, although he is likely to force his way in at some stage.Australia’s attack has been equally impressive. After restricting West Indies to under 120, they dismissed South Africa for 189. Mitchell Marsh and Josh Hazlewood have been misers and their two spinners – Nathan Lyon and Adam Zampa – have worked well together. That leaves both teams with concerns over their batting.South Africa’s tail was exposed too early in both matches and while Australia were untested in their first outing, they fell apart against quality seam and spin in their second. Some of that may come down to conditions, however. Providence’s slow, spinner-friendly surface made for slow scoring rates and a scant boundary count, but that should change with change in venue.Both line-ups will want to work on partnership-building in what could be an important match in deciding who holds the advantage before they take on the hosts.

Form guide

(last five completed games most recent first)Australia LWLWL
South Africa WLWWW

In the spotlight

Faf du Plessis’ recovery from a finger injury and Dean Elgar’s calls up means there’s that much more pressure on JP Duminy to perform. Duminy has not scored an ODI half-century in eight innings, since July 2015 against Bangladesh. He has had starts in both innings in the tournament, but uncertainty outside offstump has cost him.Unlike Duminy, Australia’s captain Steven Smith hasn’t managed to get into double figures in either of his innings so far. Smith has been out lbw on both occasions while shuffling across his stumps to play through the onside. He will want to get back to the kind of form he was in against India earlier in the year, when he hit a century and a fifty, along with two scores in the forties.

Team news

After resting Mitchell Starc from their first meeting with South Africa on Tuesday, Australia will be keen to unleash him here. The changing conditions could mean space for only one of Zampa or Lyon, with Nathan Coulter-Nile and Josh Hazlewood forming part of the pace attack.Australia: (probable) 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Steve Smith (capt), 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Nathan Coulter-Nile, 10 Adam Zampa/Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh HazlewoodRilee Rossouw’s injury should pave way for du Plessis’ return at No. 3 even though Dean Elgar has been called-up as a replacement. South Africa are unlikely to field three specialist spinners again. That would leave them with a choice between Aaron Phangiso, the left-arm spinner, and Tabraiz Shamsi, the left-arm wrist spinner. They may opt for a holding spinner in Phangiso if Morkel gets a game. Shamsi could yet find a place if Kyle Abbott plays.South Africa: (probable) 1 Hashim Amla, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 AB de Villiers (capt), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Farhaan Behardien, 7 Wayne Parnell 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Morne Morkel/Kyle Abbott, 10 Aaron Phangiso/Tabraiz Shamsi, 11 Imran Tahir

Pitch and conditions

The biggest difference between Warner Park and Providence is the size. Smaller boundaries are likely to mean more big hits, although a livelier surface could bring the pacers into play a lot more than they did in Guyana. The rain threat from Guyana has been reduced to next to nil, although humidity levels could test the players’ fitness.

Stats and trivia

• The average first innings score at this ground is 282, well ahead of the Providence’ average of 211.
• Both Australia and South Africa have made totals over 300 here, Australia four times including a match-winning 377 for 6 against South Africa at the 2007 World Cup and South Africa once.
• Warner Park is the venue of Herschelle Gibbs’ six consecutive sixes against Netherlands at the 2007 World Cup.

Quotes

“I just thought we didn’t pick the ball out of the spinners hand. It’s just the basics of batting. We needed to be a bit more patient, maybe. We talked about adapting, we’ve talked about partnerships. Probably we didn’t do any of those things the other night.”

Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul has said he is eyeing a return to competitive cricket after a knee injury he suffered in South Africa kept him out of action for more than six months

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Sep-2013Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul has said he is eyeing a return to competitive cricket after a knee injury he suffered in South Africa kept him out of action for more than six months. Gul suffered the injury in the second ODI of the series against South Africa and six weeks after undergoing a knee surgery in Australia in May, he started his rehabilitation programme at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore.”I’m pretty optimistic of getting back the rhythm as I feel fine at the moment,” Gul told , a Pakistan daily. “It is just that there is no competition at present to find out the actual status of [my] fitness. Everything appears to be settling down. The knee is fine with no signs of ill-effects from the surgery I had a few months ago. Over the past 15 days, I have started bowling in the nets as well.”Pakistan’s next international series is next month, against South Africa again, and Gul said he has started bowling in the nets but the absence of any form of cricket currently has made it difficult for him to assess his fitness and form properly. His fitness will most likely be assessed by the PCB during the pre-tour camp, which begins in Lahore next week.”I am yearning to play some matches to test myself,” he said. “Although I have trained [during rehabilitation] and then bowling [in the nets], one can’t aspire to judge both the level of fitness and form if there is no competitive sort of matches.”The injury kept Gul out of the Champions Trophy, Pakistan’s tour of West Indies in July and the series against Zimbabwe in August and September. Pakistan’s performances varied in these months as they first lost their three matches in the Champions Trophy, won the ODI and Twenty20 series against West Indies and Zimbabwe but suffered a shock defeat in the second Test against Zimbabwe to share the series 1-1. Whatever the results, Gul said he was not worried about missing out on cricket because of the surgery.”I’m obviously not worried about the number of matches I missed because of the surgery,” he said. “But it was quite difficult to sit out and watch team-mates playing without me. Fortunately, the injury this time was not as serious as the one I suffered in 2004 when three stress fractures of the back sidelined me from the game for more than a year. At that stage I feared my career was over.”Starting October 14, Pakistan will host South Africa in the UAE for two Tests, five ODIs and two T20s, a tour Gul would be targeting. However, his recovery in the next few weeks will decide if he will be able to regain full fitness or not.”It will be a great Test series because Pakistan have the potential to compete against them,” Gul said. “We may have lost against them earlier this year but our side can win because the conditions will suit us more than we encountered in South Africa. I would love to play against them, but it all depends how it all goes for me in the coming weeks.”

Steven Finn was confident of a smooth transition between the England captaincy regimes of Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook

George Dobell30-Aug-2012If there were any doubts about the smooth transition between the captaincy regimes of Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook, they should have been largely dispelled by the comments of Steven Finn ahead of the third ODI of the series between England and South Africa at the Oval.Finn, in many ways, represents the new England. Aged just 23, he has the talent to represent the international team in all formats for much of the next decade. While still perceived as a relatively junior member of the attack, he is quickly emerging as the most dangerous bowler and, having come through the England system from Under-16 level, he is well-placed to speak about life as part of the England development programme.Finn’s experience as an England player also reflects that of many of the next generation. Like Jonny Bairstow and James Taylor, Finn has played under the captaincy of Strauss and Cook and understands that, while the personality of the captain may have changed, the policies and principles that have governed this side for some time have not.Finn actually made his Test debut under Cook, called into the England squad for the tour of Bangladesh in early 2010. But, as a county colleague of Strauss at Middlesex, he has known him for even longer.”The first time I met him was when I was 14,” Finn said. “I was bowling in the indoor nets just before he was going off to the West Indies for a one-day tour, I think.”I jagged one down to him, he ducked under it and fell over. I remember the coach shouting from the back of the net, ‘You just got put on your arse by a 14-year-old!’ That was the first time I ever met him. It was quite a surreal scenario: a 14-year-old bowling to an England player and eventually being in the same team as him.”But Cook was the one who told me I was making my Test debut, so that always holds a great place in my heart. He made it very easy for a young player to come into an England team and just settle in, go about my business. That was the first experience I had of being in an England dressing-room and Alastair was excellent at welcoming me in and making me feel like one of the boys.”I think the transition between the two will be smooth. Alastair has been used to working with Andy Flower as one-day captain. Alastair may have his own plans to introduce to the Test team but I would imagine the fundamentals will be very similar. We won’t see a drastic change and I think that’s good for us as a team.”Finn, like most of the England players, was only informed of Strauss’ decision to retire after the ODI on Tuesday night. He was also among those to be given a letter from Strauss.”It was a surprise,” Finn said. “There were some shocked faces in the dressing room when we were told. Obviously it’s a disappointing time when somebody who has been so great and inspirational for us as a team and a sport steps down from their position. Yes, there were some sad and disappointed people.'”He’s been a massive part of my career. It’s been great to have him there at first slip when he’s come back to Middlesex and to have him there to bounce ideas off and talk about different scenarios has been fantastic.”He didn’t want to be influenced by other people. That’s part of the reason he didn’t talk to the players before his decision. The letter just said he’d had a great time leading us and has been very proud leading us. We’ve been very proud to have him as our captain.”But Cooky is a similar sort of leader to Straussy. He leads from the front as an opening batsman. He goes out and sets the tone, which is very good for a captain. He’s grown into his role as a one-day captain and we’ve played quite aggressive cricket, especially with the way we’ve attacked people with ball and bat. I have a slip quite a lot when I’m bowling, which you don’t always see in ODI cricket. That can only bode well for the future.”While the end result of Tuesday’s ODI was a thumping win for South Africa, Finn made the perfectly reasonable point that the margins between the sides were perhaps not quite as big as might be presumed from the scorecard. England’s opening bowlers, Finn and James Anderson, beat the bat frequently in the early overs and might, with a little bit of luck, have claimed several early wickets.”Amla had a couple of lives,” Finn said. “We could have had either him or Graeme Smith quite early. I thought we bowled well up front and we could have taken a couple of wickets, but it wasn’t to be. Amla is obviously in very good form at the moment and people are allowed to play well against us and we have to find a way to counteract that.”As an opening bowler who has played a fair amount of county cricket in recent times, Finn might be expected to have well-informed views about the potential top-order replacement for Strauss in the Test team. While he was reluctant to be drawn on the issue, it was interesting to note the two names he mentioned: Nick Compton, who is enjoying a prolific season for Somerset, and Michael Carberry, who enjoyed a brief taste of Test cricket alongside Finn in 2010.”There are some excellent guys out there,” Finn said. “Nick Compton has had an excellent season, Michael Carberry has played international cricket as an opening batsman in Bangladesh. We made our debut together. So there are definitely guys out there are more than capable of coming in and playing Test cricket.”

Ishant Sharma has said he will undergo surgery on his injured ankle after the conclusion of India’s tour of Australia tour early next year

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Aug-2011Ishant Sharma has said he will undergo surgery on his injured ankle after the conclusion of India’s tour of Australia tour early next year. Ishant was ruled out of the limited-overs series against England after he sustained a ligament injury to his left ankle during the third Test at Edgbaston.”It [the tour of Australia] is a very important tour and nobody wants to miss it,” Ishant told the . “So I’ll get the surgery done only after the Australian tour. I am going to the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, where I’ll stay for a week or 10 days to undergo rehab and seek a proper schedule. At the moment, I’ve been told to do strengthening exercises.”At the time of the announcement of the team for the limited-overs series, a board release said Ishant had responded well to treatment on his ligament “but will need to undergo a course of intensive rehabilitation and training to prevent recurrence of the pain in his left ankle”. Ishant, however, said surgery was unavoidable. “I have a ligament tear in my left foot, and there is also a bone impingement in my left ankle. Surgery is the only way out. But if I undergo that now, my foot will be in plaster for about three months and the rehabilitation in all could take about 6-8 months.”India travel to Australia in December and will play four Tests, two Twenty20s and a tri-series also involving Sri Lanka, with the final game of that tournament slated for February 28. A rehab period of six to eight months means Ishant could miss the IPL, which is expected to be played in April-May 2012, as well as a yet unconfirmed Test and ODI series against Pakistan prior to that. India tour Sri Lanka for three Tests in July, and then host New Zealand for three Tests in August-September. This will be followed by the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka and the Champions League. If Ishant goes through with his plan, he is only likely to be back when India host England for four Tests in November-December.Ishant had a busy Test series in England from the time Zaheer Khan injured himself on the first day at Lord’s. He was the second-highest wicket-taker for India in their 0-4 defeat and said Zaheer’s absence had a bearing on the team’s performance.”You can’t say our morale went down,” Ishant said. “We were always in the game. But if a bowler with 10 years of experience isn’t there, it affects the performance. We had England on the ropes in the second innings at Lord’s, and if Zaheer was there and had taken a couple of wickets, the result could have been different.”Ishant dismissed Kevin Pietersen with a short ball in the second innings of the Lord’s Test, a wicket he will “cherish a lot”. He said bowling in English conditions had been a tremendous learning experience. “Bowling in different venues in different conditions teaches you a lot. In India, you know that after the initial burst, you have to wait for the third or fourth day to get something i.e. reverse swing. In England, if the sun is out and there is no moisture on the track, it gets really very flat and that makes it tough to bowl on.”

South Australia pushed the much-fancied Mumbai Indians to the brink of elimination after a pulsating match in Durban

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran14-Sep-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Cameron Borgas and Tom Cooper were part of an amazing heist•Getty Images

South Australia pushed the much-fancied Mumbai Indians to the brink of elimination after a pulsating match in Durban, pulling off a massive chase to make it two wins in two and get a toehold on a place in the final four. In a game filled with frenetic scoring, Mumbai’s abysmal fielding gifted the opposition plenty of lives and free runs, which proved to be the major difference between the two sides.Mumbai seemed overwhelming favourites when Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo were dancing to the music after Pollard mowed Shaun Tait for the biggest six of the tournament in the penultimate over. However, there were cameos to outshine the Trinidad duo, as a nerveless South Australia plundered 69 off the final 5.3 overs to snatch victory. The late fireworks would have been to no avail had it not been for the solid 112-run opening stand between Daniel Harris and captain Michael Klinger.With 41 needed off 18 deliveries, and with two new batsman at the crease, South Australia seemed headed for defeat. The choice for Mumbai was to go with either Bravo or the spinner Ali Murtaza. Sachin Tendulkar opted for Bravo, who was carted for three fours in his over by Dan Christian and Cameron Borgas. Still, Zaheer Khan removed Christian in the next over. Borgas was on 9 off 3 at that stage, and after a sliced four over point handed strike to the new man, Tom Cooper, formerly of the Netherlands.Cooper faced the next five deliveries, which was all he needed to wrap up the game. The first was a full toss on the pads nonchalantly flicked over fine leg for six, before a yorker was kept out for a single to retain strike. Eleven off the final over from Harbhajan Singh. The third delivery was whipped to deep midwicket where JP Duminy dived to keep it to two. The next was swiped way over the stands to make the equation three off four. A full toss was offered, duly thumped past mid-on for four leaving Cooper in dreamland. He finished with 19 off 5, making Borgas’ 14 off 5 seem a little bit pedestrian.Before the manic finish, Harris and Klinger got over a rough beginning full of swings and misses. They also capitalised on the many chances Mumbai offered – Tendulkar and Tiwary dropping catches, and Duminy missing a run-out – and started to hit out once the main bowlers, Zaheer and Lasith Malinga, were taken off. Murtaza was welcomed with a couple of sixes, Bravo taken for 18 in the 11th and Pollard slapped around for 16 two overs later.Mumbai hit back, taking a wicket in each of the next four overs to reduce South Australia to 140 for 4, but the tenacity and brilliance of Borgas and Cooper proved too much in the end.Mumbai had earlier showed their batting wasn’t overly reliant on their captain, Tendulkar, by fighting back from 59 for 3 at the halfway stage to finish at a strong 180. After South Australia’s unheralded spinners stifled the scoring in the middle overs, Saurabh Tiwary and Pollard clobbered 58 from four overs to transform the match.Mumbai were at an unsatisfactory 79 for 3 after 12.1 overs when Pollard walked in. Tiwary and Pollard smashed sixes over long-off in the rest of the over to kick start the innings. Pollard blasted another over long-on in the next before showing off his touch, paddling a full ball wide of fine leg for four to move to 18 off 8.It was then time for Tiwary to take over. He mauled left-arm spinner Aaron O’Brien for 25 in the 16th, belting two sixes over midwicket and another over wide long-on off consecutive deliveries. In four overs, the Mumbai run-rate sprang from 6.5 to 8.5Pollard and Tiwary provided most of the pyrotechnics, but contrasting efforts from Ambati Rayudu early on and Dwayne Bravo at the end were also important contributions.Rayudu had scratched around early on when Mumbai was in trouble. He was just opening out by cracking the left-arm spinner O’Brien for a four and an effortless six over extra cover when he mishit Cullen Bailey to hand him his first Twenty20 wicket. Bravo came in with Mumbai on top and pushed them into a position of command with a four-filled cameo, looting 22 off 12 deliveries.The tall total that Mumbai finished with hardly looked possible given their insipid start. Shikhar Dhawan didn’t bother with footwork and was caught out by the away swing of Gary Putland in the second over. Tendulkar was also not at his fluent best, swinging and missing several wide deliveries. He handed Dan Christian a pasting in the fifth over, but struggled otherwise, nearly stumped in the sixth before being cleaned up by O’Brien, charging down the track and attempting a swing towards long-on but beaten by the lack of turn.South Australia celebrated the dismissal wildly, but the celebrations weren’t as big as when Borgas and Cooper turned it on at the death.

He was suspended on Tuesday for assaulting a Bangladesh cricketer and taking more leaves than mentioned in his contract

Mohammad Isam17-Oct-2024Two days after suspending Chandika Hathurusinghe, the BCB has terminated him as Bangladesh’s head coach. The sacking came on the grounds of misconduct and breach of employment terms.BCB president Faruque Ahmed said on Tuesday that Hathurusinghe assaulted a Bangladesh cricketer and took more leaves than mentioned in his contract. The board had served him a show-cause notice, seeking an explanation on the two counts of misconduct. Hathurusinghe responded on the following day, which prompted an emergency board meeting to review the situation on Thursday.”After considering all factors, the board deemed Hathurusinghe’s explanation unsatisfactory and unacceptable and found his action consistent with misconduct and dereliction of duty,” a BCB release said. “His termination comes into immediate effect.”This ends Hathurusinghe’s second stint as Bangladesh coach, even though his contract was till January 2023. This stint included the milestone Test series win in Pakistan recently. However, the two World Cup campaigns, the ODI one in 2023 and the T20 one in 2024 were underwhelming.Phil Simmons has already been appointed the next head coach till the Champions Trophy in February 2025.

England’s bowling stocks struck by injury as allrounder spends second morning in dressing room

Matt Roller27-Jul-2023 • Updated on 28-Jul-2023England are sweating on the fitness of Moeen Ali, who injured his right groin while batting for England on the first day of the fifth Ashes Test at the Kia Oval, and was not expected to field at all during Australia’s first innings.Moeen, who is playing what is likely to be his last Test, pulled up sore after taking a single while batting with Harry Brook shortly after lunch on the first day. He received treatment from England physio Steve Griffin, and took painkillers before resuming his innings on 11 off 37 balls.Clearly struggling to move freely, Moeen opted to tee off and flogged 23 runs off his next nine balls, including two sixes over midwicket off Pat Cummins, a ramped upper-cut for four off the same bowler and a pull off Todd Murphy. But he fell for a 47-ball 34 when he was bowled by Murphy, and his dismissal prompted an England collapse from 184 for 3 to 283 all out.He did not take the field when England came out to bowl in the evening session, and a team spokesperson said on the second morning: “Moeen Ali will not field today following his right groin injury sustained batting on day one of this Test. He will continue to be assessed by the England medical team.” It was later confirmed that he will only be able to bat after 120 minutes have elapsed in England’s second innings or after the fall of the fifth wicket, whichever comes sooner.Related

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“I don’t think he’s too good at the minute,” Harry Brook told BBC at the close on the first day. “He’s been a vital player for us and maybe hasn’t done as well as he would have wanted to. He’s been a very vital player for us in this series, a top player. Hopefully he’s alright and gets well soon.”Brook – whose fourth-wicket stand with Moeen was eventually worth 111 – said that his team-mate’s response to the setback had been “perfect”, saying that he had taken his own decision to raise the tempo: “As soon as the physio left the pitch he said, ‘shall I just tee off now?” I actually said to him: ‘You should have been doing that from the start.'”He is one of the best power-hitters in the world and we’ve seen that in white-ball cricket, in franchise cricket, so there’s probably not any better men out there if you want him to go smack it really. It’s a shame he didn’t last a bit longer but the way he went about it after getting injured was perfect I thought.”Understandably, the pair dealt largely in boundaries in the latter stage of their stand. “I think we still could have easily got ones, because they decide to put the field back as soon as we played a few big shots,” Brook added. “I didn’t think that was a problem, but obviously he was in a bit of pain so there weren’t going to be many twos out there.”Moeen reversed his retirement to play in this Ashes series after Jack Leach was diagnosed with a lower-back stress fracture, and his 68th Test cap is expected to be his last.Asked about the prospect of touring India in January-March 2024 this week, he told the : “No chance I’ll do India. I can’t see it happening.” And while he conceded that “things can change whenever”, he is unlikely to feature again after this match.England do have another spin option in their ranks in the form of Joe Root’s offspin. Captain Ben Stokes practised his own offbreaks in the nets on Wednesday but is highly unlikely to bowl a ball this week.

Batter believes she “still had more to offer” as NZC shift focus to younger players and T20

ESPNcricinfo staff25-May-2022New Zealand batter Amy Satterthwaite has announced her retirement from international cricket after being told she would not receive a new central contract.Satterthwaite, New Zealand’s most capped ODI player, captained the team in 2018 and 2019 having made her debut in 2007. Overall she amassed 145 ODI matches and 111 T20Is.Her ODI record was particularly outstanding with 4639 runs – making her New Zealand’s second-highest scorer behind Suzie Bates – including seven centuries, four of which came in consecutive innings during 2016-17 which equalled the world record alongside Kumar Sangakkara. Her offspin also claimed 50 ODI wickets while in T20Is she had a best of 6 for 17 against England in 2007 which remains New Zealand’s best return in the format.”It is with a degree of sadness that I announce my retirement from international cricket,” Satterthwaite said. “It has been a tough few days after learning of NZC’s decision to head in a new direction and contract some younger cricketers.”I am disappointed not to be receiving a contract and believe I still had more to offer. However, I respect NZC’s decision and I wish the White Ferns all the best as they embark on an exciting winter of cricket, including the Commonwealth Games. I’ll be supporting them all the way.”Speaking to reporters in Christchurch later on Thursday, she added: “It’s come out of the blue and a bit of a shock. I haven’t been given any insight that this was the direction they wanted to go. It was pretty devastating to hear…and it’s been an emotional few days to digest it all and comes to term with it.”Bryan Stronach, NZC’s general manager of high performance, lauded Sattherhwaite’s achievements but explained that the aim of the contracts list – which will be confirmed on Friday – was to blood some new players and have a focus on T20I cricket with the Commonwealth Games later this year then the T20 World Cup in early 2023. New Zealand are yet to confirm their new head coach following Bob Carter’s planned departure after the ODI World Cup.”Amy will be remembered as one of our best cricketers; her record is outstanding, and she can feel really proud about what she has achieved – not just for herself and the team, but also for all the players she has inspired and enabled,” he said.”Essentially, we’re looking to the future and want to give some younger cricketers a chance to develop their skills surrounded by our high performance systems. We also considered the immediate playing programme and next pinnacle events – both heavily weighted towards T20I cricket.”Satterthwaite will continue to play domestic cricket for Canterbury Magicians and has a contract in the Hundred with Manchester Originals. Having returned to international cricket after the birth of her first daughter, Grace, she added she hoped to have shown what was possible.”I’m immensely proud of my journey with the White Ferns and especially taking the time away to give birth to our daughter, Grace, before returning to play international cricket,” she said. “I didn’t know if I would ever make it back to the top level and I hope my story can inspire other mums and mums-to-be that it is possible to follow your career dreams and start a family.”

A decision to allow a further 10% will be taken after the group stage of the tournament

Umar Farooq04-Feb-2021Following the government’s official go-ahead, the Pakistan Super League 2021, which starts on February 20, will not be a closed-door event. Spectators will be allowed up to 20% of the ground’s seating capacity, meaning Karachi can accommodate 7,500 people per match and Lahore 5,500.”Fans are the PCB’s biggest asset and we are delighted that no matter a small number, but some will be able to have access to the matches,” board chairman Ehsan Mani said. “Their presence will add flavour and excitement to one of the biggest and most challenging leagues in the cricket calendar. We understand not everyone will get an opportunity to watch the matches due to the limited number of seats, but these are baby-steps and considering that most of the sport events are being played in empty stadium, this is a positive achievement and a step in the right direction.”In September, Pakistan’s National Health Centre gave a green light for sporting activity to resume at grassroot and recreation level provided adequate safety measures were in place. In that same update there was a provision which read: “Spectators should be allowed for sports/games with outdoor pavilions while ensuring six feet of distancing between them.”Related

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It was then that the PCB approached the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) to discuss how many people could safely be allowed to watch the upcoming season of the PSL from the ground. Although the board had asked for 30% capacity initially, it eventually settled for 20%.The PCB and NCOC will continue to monitor the situation and a decision to allow a further 10% will be taken after the group stage of the tournament is complete.”I am optimistic that if we can maintain strict protocols during the PSL 2021 matches we will have a strong case for more fans in the 2021-22 season in which we have to host high-profile internationals teams such as New Zealand, England and the West Indies as well as quality domestic events, including the National T20 Cup, Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and the Pakistan Cup,” Mani said.Pakistan did experience a surge of Covid-19 cases over the winter, though they began to track downwards after the closure of schools last month. The government has urged people to take necessary precautions, but enforcement remains low and most public places – shopping malls, marriage halls and public transportation – are fully open.The cricket season in Pakistan resumed in September, after a 24-week hiatus due to the pandemic. It began with the National T20 Cup – played over two legs in Multan and then Rawalpindi – followed by the first-class tournament Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, held fully in Karachi. Four games of the fifth edition of the PSL were also held in Karachi followed by a home series against Zimbabwe. The National T20 Cup and the home series against Zimbabwe were not open to crowds. Nor is the ongoing Test and the T20I series against South Africa. The PSL is scheduled to start on February 20 with 34 matches in total, divided between Karachi and Lahore.