Australia batter also defends Alex Carey following a string of innings that began with potential but ended poorly

Alex Malcolm09-Mar-2024Marnus Labuschagne says he never felt in any danger of losing his place and believes Australia’s revamped batting line-up is going to succeed despite another innings that was propped up by one individual performance among failures elsewhere. He also defended the shot option of wicketkeeper Alex Carey who popped up another catch in the ring to fall cheaply for the third Test innings in a row.Labuschagne proved the adage that form is temporary, and class is permanent with a brilliant 90 to help Australia post a 94-run first innings lead on a tricky Hagley Oval pitch, although it did get better to bat on throughout the day.It was Labuschagne’s first score of more than 10 since in his last four Test matches but insisted he had been under no pressure during the lean run. “Did I feel like I was going lose my spot? I’d say no,” he said. “That’s what the confidence of this team has done. The coaches, the selectors, the captain, they’re very clear with trusting in the players and trusting that we do have the best six, seven batters in the country here.”If you’re going through a rough patch, what we’ve been able to do over a period of time is, everyone’s picking up each other’s slack. When someone’s not doing well, someone else picks it up.Related

• Matt Henry, New Zealand's man of steel, drags his team back into the contest

• Latham and Henry lead New Zealand's fightback in tense battle

“I felt like I probably haven’t been at my best for a while. Since the SCG, the two 60s in each innings, I’ve been a bit short on runs and just short of that big score where I’m really making it count. But it’s nice to be once again back in the runs.”The spotlight that was on Labuschagne’s form has transferred to Carey after he endured a very difficult day with both bat and gloves. He had picked up the slack when Australia needed it against West Indies just two Tests ago. But the manner of his dismissals in that innings and since have been a huge cause for concern.Coach Andrew McDonald noted after the Wellington win last week that they “would not hang [Carey]” on his dismissal to Glenn Phillips after he holed out to cover for the second time in the match when the trap was clearly set but instead would judge him over a period of time.But he fell to Phillips again in this match, the only dismissal to spin of the 22 wickets to fall so far in Christchurch, after trying to paddle sweep a ball from way wide of off. He only succeeded in toeing a soft catch to midwicket.Alex Carey dropped an edge from Tom Latham late in the day•Getty Images

McDonald had spoken about holding his batters accountable to their plans. Labuschagne felt like the option Carey took was on and that he was unfortunate that some spin and bounce found the toe-end of the bat.”I’m happy with Alex’s option there to get that 45 guy [square leg] in and make it very tough for the bowlers to bowl,” Labuschagne said. “I think spin certainly looked like at that stage of the game where we needed to score runs. But that’s how the game goes.”Carey had tried an inventive lap sweep off a fast bowler in his last Sheffield Shield game before the tour to New Zealand when he was 90 not out and popped up a catch to the keeper. Even in his excellent 65 in Brisbane against West Indies he picked out deep square when there were two catchers back on the pull shot. It is a bizarre array of dismissals for a man who is experiencing diminishing returns at Test level despite batting well in some of those innings.To make matters worse he dropped a key catch late in the day. Tom Latham was 59 at the time, having helped New Zealand erase the deficit. Josh Hazlewood found his outside edge again and the thick deflection flew low to Carey’s left. It may have carried to first slip but Carey went on instinct and got both hands to it but spilled it. His keeping has been exemplary for Australia over the last 12 months and such a miss might have otherwise gone unnoticed if his batting had not been so erratic.Labuschagne also defended the revamped batting group, although he did acknowledge they had yet to fire as a collective since Steven Smith moved up to open and Cameron Green slotted in at No.4.”We’ve got the six best batters in the country out on the field and that’s what’s important,” Labuschagne said.”Yeah, it’s not gelling perfectly yet. The sample size is getting bigger and we’re getting more information. But from what we’re seeing, we’re liking where Greeny is at No. 4. He’s batting really well. Even last innings he played beautifully, again.”And Steve averages 58. So he’ll find a way. I am 100% sure that he’s going to find a way. It’s just part of the game. It is tricky up there. We haven’t been playing on wickets that are very easy to start your innings on for a fair few Tests now, so once he gets in, I’m sure he’s going to make it count.”

In two games at Chepauk in IPL 2024 so far, fast bowlers have picked up 18 wickets, while spinners have four (and none of those have gone to CSK)

Alagappan Muthu07-Apr-2024

Match details

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) vs Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
Chennai, 7.30pm IST (1400 GMT)

Big picture – A changing Chepauk

The focus at CSK seems to have shifted this year. A team that had relied on their spinners and the way their former captain used them to suffocate oppositions has, so far, played its home games in conditions where the ball isn’t even stopping on the pitch, let alone turn off it. In the two matches it has hosted in IPL 2024, Chepauk has offered 18 wickets at an average of 28 to the fast bowlers, but only four at an average of 47 to the slow bowlers. CSK’s share in those wickets: 13 for the quicks and zip, nada, nothing for the spinners.Related

• Angkrish Raghuvanshi has limitations, but he won't let them come in his way

• Ruturaj Gaikwad, the anchor at the top weighing CSK down

• Which IPL team has made the best use of the Impact Player rule?

KKR won’t mind that things are shaping up that way because if there is opportunity to hit through the line of the ball, they have the best line-up to exploit it, starting with Sunil Narine, who has responded with a big shot to 44 of the 65 balls he’s faced. That isn’t just aggression. That’s addiction. Having previously been forced to push him down the order to accommodate Venkatesh Iyer, KKR have gone back to their pinch-hitter to give them those high-impact starts and he hasn’t disappointed.CSK, after two losses on the road, will be wary of the threat they face. Their batters will once again bear the responsibility of getting a par-plus total, like they did against Gujarat Titans, which brings their wildcards into the picture. Shivam Dube is excelling in his role as spin-hitter again with a sky-high strike rate of 214 – only Abhishek Sharma (231) has gone better (minimum 18 balls faced). But the rest of them – Rachin Ravindra, who has the potential to do the Narine job for CSK, Ajinkya Rahane, whose transformation continues to surprise, and Daryl Mitchell, who is having a slowish start to the season – have work to do.

Form guide

CSK LLWW
KKR WWW

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Chennai Super Kings

Matheesha Pathirana was doing a little bit of bowling on Sunday, with CSK bowling consultant Eric Simons saying he was left out of the last game as a precaution. It is still unclear, though, if he is ready to play on Monday. Ditto for Mustafizur Rahman, who had to leave for home to work on getting a US visa, but is understood to be on his way to India and should link up with the team soon. Moeen Ali could keep his place given he hits Narine at a strike rate of 181 in the IPL (20 off 11 balls, two dismissals) and offers an offspin option against the left-hand batters of KKR.Likely XII: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 2 Rachin Ravindra, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Shivam Dube, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 MS Dhoni (wk), 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Tushar Deshpande, 11 Mukesh Chaudhary/Shardul Thakur, 12 Maheesh Theekshana/Mustafizur Rahman1:07

Raghuvanshi after cracking 54 off 27 balls: ‘I just backed my instincts’

Kolkata Knight RIders

Nitish Rana, who hasn’t played since KKR’s opening game, tweeted that he “can’t wait to get on the field”, so he might be in line for a return. Harshit Rana, though, who didn’t bowl in their last match despite being in the XI, arrived in Chennai with his arm in a sling. Angkrish Raghuvanshi might continue to be their Impact Player, swapping in or out for a bowler.Likely XII: 1 Phil Salt (wk), 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Venkatesh Iyer, 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 Angkrish Raghuvanshi/Nitish Rana, 6 Andre Russell, 7 Rinku Singh, 8 Ramandeep Singh, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Harshit Rana/Vaibhav Arora, 11 Varun Chakravarthy, 12 Anukul Roy/Suyash Sharma

In the spotlight – Andre Russell vs CSK

Andre Russell is the second-quickest-scoring batter so far in this IPL with a strike rate of 239. He loves playing against CSK. Four of his 11 IPL fifties have come against them. He is in form. He is feeling fit. And he is on a mission to make that West Indies team for the home World Cup. Taking him down is going to be hard work.CSK’s best option to deal with him is Pathirana, if he’s fit (1 run off 3 balls, one dismissal). But keep an eye on Ravindra Jadeja as well. His head-to-head with Russell in the IPL is 32 runs in 25 balls.

Pitch and conditions

The average first-innings score at Chepauk in IPL 2024 is 189, which is a serious increase from where it was (164) in 21 matches across the previous three years. So strap in and get ready for some runs.Expect MS Dhoni to be the centre of attention at Chepauk – not for the first time, not for the last time•BCCI

Stats that matter – Power-hitting masterclass on the cards

• KKR have been bossing it in the powerplay this year, going at 12 an over. Only Sunrisers Hyderabad (11.66) are getting anywhere close to the kind of explosive batting ability they have shown in the first six overs. Their opening partnership, which was trundling along at a strike rate of 109 and 131 in the last two years, is flying now. Narine and Phil Salt have a strike rate of 172 together.
• CSK, though, will hope that they can make home advantage count. They have won nine of the 13 games between these two sides at Chepauk.
• Some of the best death-overs (17-20) batters in the IPL will be on show tomorrow. Rinku Singh (26) is two away from beating Shimron Hetmyer (27) as the best six-hitter in this phase of play since IPL 2022. MS Dhoni (20) and Russell (18) are not too far behind either.
• In light of that, CSK would dearly love Pathirana to be back starting for them. He has an economy rate of 8.5 in the back-end – only Jasprit Bumrah (7.53) and Mohsin Khan (7.57) go better (minimum 24 balls bowled). Pathirana looks to be their best option to contain a KKR line-up that has power where it counts most.

Quotes

“We aren’t overly concerned about Ruturaj. He’s a quality cricketer. It hasn’t worked out but that’s the nature of high-octane cricket. You have to go out there and play with a degree of confidence. You have to go out and play with a degree of risk-taking and it’ll come. He’s that kind of a person, he’s been really calm and focused on what he wants to do and there’s not much concern in that respect.”
“I feel a lot of teams and franchises today want power players who can hit boundaries and sixes which is why you see a lot of that. But I feel the game still revolves around players who can accumulate runs like a Virat Kohli. But eventually this game is about playing with a higher strike rate, whether that be singles, doubles or fours, that’s your formula to success and I feel it’s a very individual thing.”

Eve Jones seals 11-over chase with nerveless 26 not out to make it three from three

ECB Reporters Network27-May-2024Central Sparks made it three wins from three in the Charlotte Edwards Cup with a three-wicket victory from the final ball over winless Northern Diamonds in a rain-reduced match at Headingley.Despite losing wickets with regularity, Diamonds posted a competitive target of 81 from 11 overs thanks largely to Erin Burns’ impressive 30.And the hosts looked set to clinch their first win but Sparks captain Eve Jones’ nerveless unbeaten 26 saw her side home, with Georgia Davis striking two from the final delivery to clinch the victory.Heavy rain in the morning followed by frequent short showers delayed the start from the scheduled 2.30pm, with play eventually getting under way at 4.45pm and the match reduced to 11 overs-a-side.After winning the toss, Sparks were straight into their stride with the ball, taking wickets in each of the first four overs.Leah Dobson and Lauren Winfield-Hill were caught for a duck and five respectively looking for early momentum before Em Arlott claimed her second wicket by having Hollie Armitage caught behind for nought.Katie George bowled Bess Heath for three to leave Diamonds 23 for four in the fourth over.Erin Burns injected life into the innings with three early boundaries and Sterre Kalis started well to lift Diamonds to 44 for four after six overs.Davis had Kalis stumped for 17 and bowled Emma Marlow for seven but Burns continued to be aggressive in playing a lone hand for Diamonds.Her dismissal on 30, well held by Arlott running in from the deep off the bowling of Grace Potts, was key for Sparks.Grace Hall and Katie Levick came and went quickly but Katherine Fraser delivered late momentum with a four and a six from the final two balls to post 80 for nine. Davis claimed three for 23.Sparks started their chase strongly, easing to 16 without loss after two overs.Levick’s introduction brought the breakthrough as Chloe Brewer was trapped lbw for 14.Rachel Slater then piled the pressure on Sparks with two wickets in the fourth over, bowling Perrin for five and having Abbey Freeborn stumped for six to leave Sparks 26 for three.Courtney Webb’s dismissal by Burns for two in the next over had Diamonds on top and then Dobson claimed a brilliant boundary catch off Hall to remove George for nine, leaving Sparks 44 for five, needing another 37 from four overs.Sparks captain Eve Jones, who was dropped on four by Grace Hall, set about eating into that target as 13 runs came from the ninth over, leaving 15 required from the final two.Burns caught and bowled Charis Pavely for five and Sparks needed five from the final over, bowled by Levick.Arlott fell and new batter Davis needed two from the final ball, which she achieved with a chip down the ground to make it three wins from three for Sparks.

Royals have given up a 200-plus total just once, while Sunrisers have set and reset IPL records all season

Alagappan Muthu01-May-20243:21

Do Sunrisers need to change their chasing approach?

Match details

Sunrisers Hyderabad (fifth) vs Rajasthan Royals (first)
Hyderabad, 1930 IST (1400 GMT)

Big picture – Best bowling team vs best batting team

Rajasthan Royals have given up only one 200-plus total in a season where such totals are being scored every other day. Sunrisers Hyderabad have set and then reset the record for the highest total in IPL history. This contest between the best bowling side of the IPL and the best batting side has been a long time coming.With Trent Boult and his penchant for first over wickets, Royals are one of two teams to average under 30 in the powerplay (the other is Gujarat Titans). They’re also allowing runs at a mere 8 an over. Could they keep that up when they face up to Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen at a ground where six-hitting has been so common there’s been one every two overs? (11.1 per innings in IPL 2024)Related

• How the mighty Mumbai Indians fell apart

• Stoinis and bowling pack lift LSG to third spot

• What could India's starting XI look like at the T20 World Cup?

Form guide

Sunrisers Hyderabad LLWWW (last five matches, most recent first)
Rajasthan Royals WWWWL

Team news and impact player strategy

Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers might consider bringing back their legspinner Mayank Markande in place of fingerspinner Shahbaz Ahmed. They might use them both given the many right-hand batters in the Royals line-up, but this year, spinners (8.3 balls per six) have been easier to hit out of the park in Hyderabad than the quicks (11.9). Also, Sanju Samson is the best spin six-hitter (39) since IPL 2022. Jos Buttler (31) is fourth on the list. T Natarajan is likely to continue as Impact Player, subbing in and out for a batter, like Anmolpreet Singh.Probable XII: 1 Travis Head, 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Aiden Markram, 4 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 5 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 6 Abdul Samad, 7 Pat Cummins (capt), 8 Mayank Markande/Shahbaz Ahmed, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Jaydev Unadkat, 11 T Natarajan, 12 Anmolpreet SinghRajasthan Royals
The strength that they have in the bowling does come at the cost of batting depth. It only goes down till No. 7, with R Ashwin as the floater in the line-up, lengthening it when needed. Fortunately, their openers alone are capable of playing the whole 20 overs and with Samson and Riyan Parag also in form, they haven’t really needed lower-order support. Yuzvendra Chahal is their usual Impact Sub.Probable XII: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Jos Buttler, 3 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 4 Riyan Parag, 5 Dhruv Jurel, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Rovman Powell, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Trent Boult, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Sandeep Sharma, 12 Yuzvendra Chahal

In the spotlight – Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shimron Hetmyer

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was in the India squad for the last T20 World Cup. That was when Jasprit Bumrah was unavailable and the team was looking for specialists with the experience of having been there and done that. Now, he’s slipped way down the ladder, and even at his franchise team he’s not having a whole lot of luck. Bhuvneshwar has an economy rate of 10.18 and an average of 67.2. But he might still be crucial for Sunrisers on Thursday because he has a good head-to-head against Buttler: six dismissals in 91 balls for only 104 runs.Shimron Hetmyer has faced only 36 balls all season. That’s actually a sign of things going right for the Royals. Three of his team-mates above him have scored more than 300 runs which means he’s had less of an opportunity to get out there and make an impact. That doesn’t mean he’s been lacking. Hetmyer has 70 runs in those 36 balls with five fours and five sixes. He’s an ace finisher.2:20

SRH vs RR: ‘The most aggressive batting vs best bowling line-up’

Stats that matter

• A measure of the way Samson has matured is how he is pacing his innings. Earlier it seemed like he would get in a rut and then play a big shot to get out of it and it wouldn’t work. For example, in IPL 2022, he was dismissed nine times between overs 7 to 10. In IPL 2024, he is yet to be dismissed in this period while scoring at a strike rate of 139. A part of this might be the improvement in his play against spin. In IPL 2022, 36% of the balls he faced against them became dots. In IPL 2024, that figure is down at 19%.
• Chahal has a great record against SRH with 28 wickets in 19 innings and an average of 18.9, his second lowest for an IPL side behind funnily enough his current team. It is therefore crucial that SRH find a way to unleash Heinrich Klaasen upon him. Their T20 head-to-head reads 93 runs, 41 balls and three dismissals.
• Head and Abhishek have been an excellent combo for Sunrisers, one a pace-hitter, the other a spin-hitter. Their complementing each other might come in handy in this contest as well because Head has good T20 history with Boult (36 runs in 17 balls) and Abhishek doesn’t (11 runs in 18 balls with one dismissal)
• The investment both franchises have made in their youth is paying off. Royals have developed Yashasvi Jaiswal and Parag into IPL stars. Both batters are striking at over 154, with Parag already scoring more runs this year than he had in the previous two combined. SRH invested INR 6.5 crore to acquire Abhishek in the 2022 auction and he’s grown into a high-impact top-order player, hitting more sixes than fours this season.

Pitch and conditions

The average first innings total in Hyderabad in IPL 2024 is 216. Tells you all you need to know.

Quotes

“We’re very proud of the players who’ve made it. They’ve worked really hard. It’s been tough for all the players who were there and thereabouts and until the final announcement was made, I can understand how their minds would have been but I think a lot of credit should also be given to those players. They tried their best to shut out all of that and try and play the IPL and that’s worked for them and also the way they’ve played and the way they’ve adapted has worked for them so I think its a great lesson for all of us that when you settle down into something and you commit to tit, the results are more often than not positive.”

USA will want to take down another Full Member nation in what is likely to be their last game at the World Cup

Alan Gardner22-Jun-20241:23

Do England need Jacks for better balance?

Match details

USA vs England
Barbados, June 23, 10.30am local time

Big picture – Can USA upset calculations?

If this is the end of the road for USA’s memorable T20 World Cup 2024 journey – they could still squeak into the semi-finals, but the odds are very much against them – then what a stage on which to bow out, facing up to the defending champions with one last chance to cause an upset.England and USA have met at both football and rugby World Cups but this will be their first cricketing encounter of the modern age. Jos Buttler’s side have endured a choppy campaign so far, winning three and losing two to go with a no result in their opening match at Kensington Oval. But they return to Barbados knowing that a convincing performance will go a long way to ensuring their title defence continues into the knockouts.Related

• Buttler: De Kock innings 'the difference' in narrow SA win

• Chase, Hope help West Indies thump USA for NRR boost

• What do South Africa, England and West Indies need to do?

Victory will put them on four points, and a margin of more than ten runs (batting first) will ensure their net run-rate goes above that of South Africa, who then take on West Indies in the final Group 2 game later on Sunday.England’s cushion comes from their convincing win over the other co-hosts West Indies at the start of the Super Eight, and Buttler remained upbeat after his side lost a close game to South Africa in St Lucia. England have rarely been at their best over the last three weeks in the Caribbean but there have been signs that their game is coming together at the right time for a tilt at becoming the first team to successfully defend the T20 World Cup trophy.Before they get that far, they must avoid a mishap against a USA side that burned brightly at the start of the tournament but has looked to be running low on gas after three defeats in a row against Full Member oppositions. Their success has already put the names of Aaron Jones, Monank Patel and Saurabh Netravalkar in lights. If they can summon one final effort and become the latest former colony to put one over on the mother country, it will add another sprinkle of Hollywood stardust to cricket’s American adventure.

Form guide

USA LLLWW
England LWWWLLiam Livingstone nearly took England home against South Africa•ICC/Getty Images

In the spotlight – Aaron Jones and Liam Livingstone

Aaron Jones‘ six over midwicket to seal a rousing opening-night win over Canada was the shot that was heard around the World Cup. He followed up a career-defining 94 not out by helping secure the tie that eventually led to USA’s Super Over victory over Pakistan, but has found the going tougher since then, with scores of 11, 0 and 11. Taking on the captaincy, in the absence of the injured Monank, has added to his burden. But he has another chance to impress at a ground where he played in four first-class matches for Barbados during his time in West Indies’ domestic system.An innings of 33 off 17 balls in a losing cause might not sound much, but could it turn out to be the spark Liam Livingstone needed? Livingstone’s attempt to get England over the line against South Africa, helping to revive their chase while adding 78 for the fifth wicket alongside Harry Brook, was only the second time he has scored more than 30 in 22 T20 innings this year. His power when taking down Ottneil Baartman at the death was a reminder of what he can do, and suggested that he may be ready to repay England’s faith that he remains the answer in the finisher role.2:19

Stuart Law: ‘If we’re not winning, we’re learning’

Team news – England unlikely to make any changes

USA have been without Monank since their group-stage win over Pakistan, but head coach Stuart Law suggested he was close to returning from a shoulder injury. “He’s getting better, we’re constantly assessing him,” Law said after the defeat to West Indies on Friday. “Unfortunately, he nearly made it for this one. So, we’re constantly assessing it.”USA (probable): 1 Steven Taylor, 2 Andries Gous (wk), 3 Nitish Kumar, 4 Aaron Jones (capt), 5 Corey Anderson, 6 Shayan Jahangir, 7 Harmeet Singh, 8 Nosthush Kenjinge, 9 Shadley van Schalkwyk, 10 Ali Khan, 11 Saurabh NetravalkarEngland may be unchanged for the third match running, having apparently settled on Jonny Bairstow at No. 3 and Sam Curran as the extra bowling/left-hand batter option. Chris Jordan could replace Mark Wood to add further depth to the batting.England (probable): 1 Phil Salt, 2 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 3 Jonny Bairstow, 4 Moeen Ali, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Liam Livingstone, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Chris Jordan/Mark Wood, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid 11 Reece Topley

Pitch and conditions

Kensington Oval is one of only two venues at this World Cup to have seen a 200-plus score, but generally, the pitches have been on the tacky side. The forecast for Sunday has improved although there is still a chance of rainfall interrupting proceedings.

Stats and trivia

• This will be the first meeting between England and USA with full international status in any format
• England have played 13 completed T20Is in Bridgetown, winning six (including the 2010 T20 World Cup final) and losing seven
• Sam Curran needs one more wicket to reach 50 in T20Is

Quotes

“We’ve just got to win the game. We haven’t played them before so it’ll be a good challenge and we’re looking forward to it. The games come thick and fast now so we’ve got to dust ourselves down and go again. We’ve had a great win against the West Indies, a great game today which was a shame not to win but we’re still in it and looking ahead to the next one.”

“I think every match we play, obviously, representing the country is important. So, we’ll definitely go hard against England and try to finish well. Obviously, we can’t advance to the next round. But as I say, I think every match you play for your country is important. So, we’re definitely going to try to win the game for sure.”

Hosts suffer second group stage defeat despite efforts of Daniel Hughes, Tymal Mills

ECB Reporters Network05-Jul-2024Glamorgan eased to only their third victory in this season’s Vitality Blast as they beat Sussex Sharks by 24 runs under the DLS method at Hove.The visitors laid the foundations for a huge total of 235 for 6 – the third-highest in their Blast history – when they plundered 81 in the powerplay as Sussex badly missed the control with the new ball normally offered by Ollie Robinson, who was absent with a back niggle.It’s debatable if even Robinson would have been able to tame Glamorgan captain Kiran Carlson, who hit a career-best 87 off 47 balls before he was caught at extra cover in the 19th over, one of four wickets for Sussex skipper Tymal Mills who is now the competition’s leading wicket-taker with 19.Daniel Hughes led Sussex’s response with 74 off 38 balls, his fourth half-century in this season’s competition, but having been set an unlikely 79 from 28 deliveries following a 50-minute rain delay they finished on 190 for 8 and slipped to their third defeat of the season, although they remain second in the South Group.Carlson and co. set the tone by thrashing 75 in the first five overs after Glamorgan were put in, including 60 in boundaries. It needed a great slower ball by Mills to stymie their progress which Will Smale pulled to midwicket after hitting eight fours and a six in a stand of 79 from just 33 balls. Carlson then put on 72 off 37 with Tom Bevan and 47 off 24 with Colin Ingram to maintain their momentum.Mills was the only Sussex bowler in the first half of the innings to concede less than ten runs in an over and his mood didn’t improve when Tom Clark dropped the ball over the rope while failing to take a catch on the midwicket boundary offered by Bevan.Glamorgan might have fancied posting a score of 250-plus when they had 194 on the board after 15 overs but, spearheaded by Mills, Sussex dragged it back slightly by taking four wickets and only conceding 39 in the final five.Mills led the way with 4 for 29 as Ingram missed a straight one and Marnus Labuschagne drove to mid-on before he snared Carlson, who struck three sixes and nine fours, only to be foxed by Mills’ speciality slower ball with a century in his sights.Sussex were left needing to score at nearly 12 an over but after losing Harrison Ward in the second over Australian Hughes and another left-hander, Clark, added 55 in 27 balls to keep their challenge alive.But legspinner Mason Crane made an immediate impact when he came on in the seventh over with two wickets in his first three balls. Clark was stumped when he missed a googly and James Coles lost his middle stump heaving across the line.Hughes and John Simpson shared 49 off 31 balls but the required rate had climbed to 14.75 when Simpson failed to clear long-on in the 12th over. Hughes hit two sixes off Chris Sole when play resumed at 10.10pm but then he holed out to deep backward-square to effectively end Sussex’s hopes.

2023 champions finished bottom in women’s Hundred after losing six out of eight

Valkerie Baynes15-Aug-2024Southern Brave never took control of their Women’s Hundred title defence and must come back stronger next year, head coach Charlotte Edwards says.Brave lost two close games to London Spirit and Manchester Originals either side of a tie with Northern Superchargers to start the season but, apart from their solitary win of the season in a rain-affected clash with Oval Invincibles, they fell away badly.A record of six defeats from eight games was telling, perhaps none more so than a nine-wicket loss to Welsh Fire in their last match, at home on Wednesday.Brave were bowled out for 103, thanks largely to Hayley Matthews’ 4 for 14 and Jess Jonassen’s 3 for 21. Fire then overhauled the target with 26 balls to spare, Matthews sharing an unbroken stand of 72 with Tammy Beaumont, who struck 59 off 40 balls.Related

• How Edwards steered Brave to a third straight final

• Goswami: 'Franchise leagues are the future of women's cricket'

• Powerplay: Goswami on the club vs country debate

• Fire through to Hundred final as Matthews stars with bat and ball

• Invincibles through to eliminator as nervy win knocks Rockets out

Fire’s direct route to Sunday’s final at Lord’s was confirmed a few hours later, with Oval Invincibles unable to better their net run-rate in beating Trent Rockets by five wickets. That left Invincibles to face London Spirit in Saturday’s eliminator, and Southern Brave to pick over an underwhelming campaign.”The start was particularly hard because we played well and we didn’t win,” Edwards told ESPNcricinfo. “And then the back four games we probably haven’t played well. When you don’t start the competition as well and then you don’t end it well, you’re probably going to be sat in the position we’re in.”In different games we’ve bowled well or we’ve batted well, but we haven’t put a complete game together and what I’ve learned this season in the Hundred is the teams are getting stronger, the depth in each team is getting more and more and if you’re not quite on it, you’re going to get hurt and lose games of cricket, which we’ve done on a regular basis at the moment.”While the reality of Brave’s failed title defence was still raw, Edwards said a full analysis of what went wrong and how the side could turn that around wouldn’t happen until the end of this year.By that time, she hopes more would be known about the 2025 edition of the tournament, with the ECB seeking private investment ahead of the new season’s start.”We’ll go away and review what we’ve done so far, areas we need to improve, areas that we’ve done really well. I think that’s important, because it’s easy to gloss over those,” she said. “I won’t try to be too emotional and get involved in that right now but the bottom line is we need to be better than we were this year.”Edwards, who will coach Hampshire’s Tier 1 team in the top level of the restructured women’s domestic competition next year, has had her contract with Sydney Sixers extended for another two WBBL seasons.And she is certain she wants to continue as coach at Southern Brave and Mumbai Indians, who failed to defend their WPL title this year when they were eliminated by eventual champions Royal Challengers Bangalore.Edwards addresses her team in the huddle•ECB via Getty Images

“I think I’m out of contract today [Wednesday] with the Brave, so hopefully they’ll re-sign me and it hasn’t gone too badly this year,” she said. “And at Mumbai, I’ll be hopefully looking to re-sign there.”It’s a great time to be involved as a player and as a coach. I’ve loved my time in India, hopefully looking to renegotiate that contract but we’ll have to wait and see.”Edwards also backed calls by Jhulan Goswami, her Mumbai Indians bowling coach, on ESPNcricinfo’s Powerplay podcast for franchise leagues to be protected by exclusive windows to avoid clashing with bilateral series, as happened with the WPL and England’s tour of New Zealand earlier this year. Another scheduling conflict looms later this year with the closing stages of the WBBL overlapping with England’s tour of South Africa.”It has to be three windows for me and that’s WPL, Hundred and WBBL,” Edwards said. “They’re the three biggest comps. That’s no disrespect to all the other comps, but I think they’re the three biggest comps in women’s cricket. They’re so important for the growth of the game.”I’m absolutely certain that with three comps that only last a month each, there’s nine months of the year to play international cricket. That certainly would be my recommendation, because we want the best players playing international cricket and we want the best players playing franchise cricket. It’s a no-brainer for me.”

Relegation-threatened Notts make early running with ball before Westley-Walter stand

ECB Reporters Network09-Sep-2024A 142-run fifth-wicket stand between the century-making Tom Westley and Paul Walter rescued Essex from impending doom and into a commanding position in their weather-interrupted Vitality County Championship match against Nottinghamshire.Westley’s unbeaten 108 from 214 balls, his highest score of the season so far, held together an Essex innings that was in danger of imminent collapse at 86 for 4 when the pair came together. Westley had himself arrived in the sixth over and was still there 68 overs later with Essex 262 for 5 at the close of a day when the players trudged on and off the field at irregular intervals.Walter’s big hitting under the Chelmsford floodlights bought him 10 fours and a six in his 72 from 106 balls, his third half-century in his last six innings and only eclipsed by a century against Durham in June.It became a day of toil for Nottinghamshire, but pace bowler Rob Lord, 23, in only his second Championship game, looked lively and claimed two of the first four Essex wickets to fall. He finished the day with figures of 2 for 53 from 15 overs.On a predominantly overcast and damp day, foreshortened by 22 overs, Nottinghamshire elected to put Essex in as they sought only their second victory of a relegation-threatened season, though they were considerably buoyed by a battling draw against Surrey last week.When play started 70 minutes late because of light drizzle that fell immediately after the 10.30am toss, Essex lost Dean Elgar cheaply when he dragged Lord to mid-on where Haseeb Hameed ran round to take the catch sliding on his knees. Fellow opener Robin Das had just been reprieved by a drop in the slips straight after lunch when he got a thicker edge to one from Lyndon James and was snaffled at second slip for 20.The giant figure of Luke Fletcher bowled unchanged for 13 overs either side of lunch, having Westley in some discomfort – notably with one that smacked into the Essex captain’s box – on a green-tinged wicket initially helping the seamers. He was finally rewarded when Matt Critchley left alone a delivery that jagged back.Debutant Luc Benkenstein’s maiden scoring shot in first-class cricket was a delightful pull for four, but next ball he nicked Lord thinly through to the wicketkeeper.The scoring improved as the conditions eased and the Kookaburra ball softened in the afternoon and Westley and Walter put on the first fifty of their partnership in just six overs. Westley’s own half-century took 79 balls and included five fours, one a particularly satisfying, flowing off-drive against his erstwhile nemesis Fletcher.Walter also played his way in carefully before whipping James off his legs for a first boundary and then twice elegantly lofting Farhan Ahmed to the rope behind the bowler.When Westley pulled Lord to fine leg it marked the pair’s century partnership in 26 overs. Next ball, Walter pulled the bowler through square leg for his eighth boundary to bring up a 65-ball fifty. He then welcomed the introduction of Liam Patterson-White’s spin with a four and a six to long-off.The pair were finally parted after 42 overs when Walter went to sweep Ahmed but got a leading edge as the ball looped up to gully. However, soon afterwards some careless fielding by the visitors handed Westley five runs courtesy of overthrows which took him to three figures from 193 balls.

Victoria quick took the second-best figures in Australian domestic 50-over history of 7 for 12 and then made 19 not out in a nervy chase to guide his side home

Alex Malcolm23-Sep-2024Victoria quick Sam Elliott claimed the second-best figures in the history of Australian One-Day domestic cricket and hit the winning runs in a critical half-century stand with skipper Will Sutherland to almost singlehandedly guide Victoria to a four-wicket win against Tasmania in Melbourne.On a very green pitch at the Junction Oval, under overcast skies, Elliott ran through Tasmania’s line-up to take 7 for 12 in just his 11th List A game. Former South Australia speedster Shaun Tait is the only man with better figures in the competition’s history with 8 for 43.”I don’t know how to describe it,” Elliott said. “It was just one of those days when everything sort of clicked, it felt very good.”[They are my] best figures ever [at any level]. It was a pretty nice day to do it – first One-Day Cup game of the year.”Elliott then starred with the bat alongside Sutherland to save Victoria from disaster after they had slumped to 72 for 6 in response. The pair added an unbeaten 56 for the seventh wicket to guide their side home with 23.1 overs spare. The right-handed Elliott unfurled a couple of cracking pull shots in his 19 not out that looked like the mirror image of those his left-handed father Matthew Elliott played during his 21 Tests for Australia.”I think [Dad] might have me covered on those ones,” Elliott said. “I went to Darwin [in the winter] to work on my batting.”It was really nice to get a little partnership in the end with Chief [Sutherland]. It was nice to come out with a bit of pressure and do that.”Sutherland produced a classy and composed knock to finish 36 not out. Sam Harper had earlier made a vital 43 opening the batting, the highest score of the match, after claiming five catches behind the stumps.Sam Elliott celebrates a wicket•Getty Images

Tasmania were under pressure right from the start of the day even before Elliott entered the attack. Having been sent into bat in perfect bowling conditions, they lost Mitch Owen and Caleb Jewell inside the first eight overs to leave the visitors 31 for 2. Elliott was then brought on and bowled eight overs unchanged as he made a mess of Tasmania’s middle order with his extra bounce and late seam movement. He claimed Jordan Silk with his first ball and then had Jake Weatherald caught behind in the same over after the left-hander had raced to 31 from 31 with six boundaries. Four of Elliott’s seven victims were caught behind while three others holed out in the ring trying to hit him off his consistent lengths.At one stage he had figures of 7 for 8 with two maidens as Tasmania slumped to 92 for 9 when Brad Hope fell. He conceded five singles in his final two overs before Sutherland gave him a breather.Elliott revealed he had made an adjustment to his release in the warm-up.”I actually changed something at the start of the game with my wrist,” Elliott said. “It was a bit inconsistent but it felt like the good balls were really good. I think the most exciting thing is I can probably go back to training and work on a few things consistency wise. It’s good it paid off in the moment.”He also revealed he had worked on increasing his run-up speed during the pre-season with Victoria bowling coach Adam Griffith, and had got a lot stronger in the gym in order to sustain it in games.”In Darwin for our pre-season thing I wasn’t quite bowling the way I wanted to,” Elliott said. “And then we came back, had a look at some numbers, and we just decided that that was going to be a real focus point leading into our pre-season games in Sydney. And then coming into now.”Tasmania’s final pair, Matthew Kuhnemann and Gabe Bell, put on 34 for the tenth wicket to at least ensure Victoria were chasing more than 120.There was a stage where it looked like 126 might be defendable as Beau Webster and Tasmania’s Tom Rogers followed Elliott’s blueprint and tore through Victoria’s top-order.Victoria opened with new recruit Josh Brown instead of Thomas Rogers who had scored 196 when opening in his last One-Day Cup match for Victoria against New South Wales last summer. Rogers instead batted at No. 5 but failed to get going.Harper’s ability to pounce on anything loose ensured the scoreboard kept moving, but when he fell the home side were deep in the mire before Sutherland and Elliott pulled them out.