Northants post 155 for 6 before visiting Bears slide to defeat in rain-affected chase

ECB Reporters Network26-Jul-2019Rob Keogh’s career-best 59 helped Northamptonshire to a first win in this season’s Vitality Blast as they beat Birmingham Bears by 21 runs in front of over 4500 on a balmy night at Wantage Road.Without a T20 win at home since 2017, Northants responded to a bumper crowd to snap a losing streak of eight matches. Keogh rescued Northants from 36 for 3 to post 155 for 6 having been sent in before a revised target of 133 in 16 overs after steady rain was well defended as the Bears slipped to a first defeat in this season’s Blast.Keogh’s was a well-paced innings and just his first T20 half-century, neatly in his 50th match. He shared an important partnership of 84 for the fourth-wicket with Alex Wakely, who took their side from the final over of the Powerplay to 120 for 4 in the 17th over.Keogh steered Ashton Agar’s left-arm spin past short-third man before cutting another boundary past extra-cover. He stepped down the wicket to lift the same bowler down the ground onto the roof of the Spencer Pavilion for the evening’s first six – and just the fourth in his T20 career – and a nudged two through midwicket brought him fifty in 42 balls. He struck a sixth four in the final over, straight driving Jeetan Patel.Wakely, after two failures, twice reverse-swept Patel past short-third man, cut Agar through the covers and also pulled the Bears captain between two fielders in the deep on the leg side but miscued a pull in Fidel Edwards’ final over to be caught-and-bowled for 38.Initially, Northants’ batting followed a familiar pattern with early wickets going down. Ben Curran, playing his first T20 of the season, skied an attempted drive against Edwards to cover point before Henry Brookes took two wickets from the Wilson End. A nasty lifter took an edge from Josh Cobb through to Michael Burgess before Adam Rossington slapped to extra cover to fall for 13 in the sixth over.But Keogh and Wakely got Northants stuck into the innings and gave the hitters a chance in the final overs. Dwaine Pretorius sliced a cut over backward point but hoisted James Wainman, on his Bears T20 debut, to deep midwicket where Sam Hain judged a tremendous catch. Matt Coles arrived and swung his second ball over deep midwicket for six before brutally slamming Patel over his head for four in the final over.Rain arrived to extend the interval and the revised chase began in perfect fashion for the home side as Ed Pollock slapped the first ball of the reply, from Ben Sanderson, straight to cover. But Burgess gave the chase a bright start with 18 in 13 balls, pulling Coles for a flat six wide of deep square and driving Faheem Ashraf fiercely past point for four. But trying to utilise the last over of the Powerplay, skied a pull against Nathan Buck and was held at extra-cover.Hain, following his 85 in 61 balls against Derbyshire, again looked in good touch and pulled and cut Ashraf for boundaries before late-cutting Coles past short-third man.Adam Hose skipped down to lift Graeme White into the sight-screen but a tight over from Buck left 75 needed from 48 balls. Hain responded by lifting Sanderson over mid-off for four before pulling White into the hands of deep midwicket.Suddenly the required rate was into double figures and Agar lifted Buck over long-on and pulled Ashraf for four but swung past the next delivery and was bowled for 17. With 36 required from the final three overs, Ashraf sent down a superb over for just four runs and yorked Hose for 31, leaving 32 from 12. Sanderson cleaned up Will Rhodes in the penultimate over before Pretorius defended 26 from the final six deliveries with ease.

South-African born seamer took 6 for 26 including a match-winning post-lunch burst of 5 for 9

ECB Reporters Network12-Sep-2019
Brydon Carse produced a career-best six-wicket haul as Durham beat Middlesex by 44 runs at Lord’s.The South-African born seamer took 6 for 26 including a match-winning post-lunch burst of 5 for 9 as Durham bowled out the hosts for 151 on the third afternoon.Victory keeps alive Durham chances of promotion, while defeat for Middlesex means they will spend a third successive season in Division 2 in 2020.Middlesex began the day needing 175 more to win, but it didn’t take long for their chase to hit a bend in the road.Nick Gubbins hit two early fours, but his stay was an all-too brief one as he nicked the 16th ball of the day bowled by Carse into the hands of Alex Lees at slip.Stephen Eskinazi lasted just three balls before becoming Chris Rushworth’s 61st victim of the season, trapped LBW after only getting half forward.And when the home side’s skipper and batting talisman Dawid Malan followed shortly afterwards LBW to Ben Raine, they were 45 for 3.In contrast to his playing partners, Sam Robson (65) played with increasing authority, producing trademark square cuts and some beautiful on-drives in reaching 50 off 87 balls with 10 fours, the fifth time he had passed the landmark in Championship cricket this summer.Max Holden, despite struggling to find any touch, provided valuable support in a stand of 54 before Raine returned to pin him in front shortly before lunch.And when Rushworth ended Robson’s vigil with just the fourth ball after the resumption, the hosts were struggling again at 107-5.Under clear skies, a sharp contrast to much of the rest of the match, batting should have been an easier proposition. But Carse struck twice in the space of three balls, first finding the edge of George Scott’s bat to give Ned Eckersley another catch, before removing the normally obdurate James Harris second ball for nought.Debutante Miguel Cummins had shown some batting promise in the first innings but he too came under Carse’s spell, a Yorker ending his brief stay.The five-for came when Simpson, Middlesex’s last hope of unlikely salvation, also had his furniture disturbed.And the wicket which sealed the career-best brought victory when last man Tim Murtagh missed with a big slog, sending his stumps awry.

Jason Gillespie uses his extensive contacts book to seal signing

Matt Roller25-Sep-2019Sussex have signed Australia’s Travis Head as their overseas player for the 2020 season, with Jason Gillespie again using his role as Adelaide Strikers coach to aid recruitment.Gillespie is both teams’ head coach, and Head will join Alex Carey, Rashid Khan, and Chris Jordan in playing for both clubs in recent years.Jofra Archer, another Sussex player, was linked with the Strikers in bizarre fashion by Matthew Wade during the final Ashes Test at The Oval, but has a year left on his deal with the Hobart Hurricanes.Head, who scored 191 in four Ashes Tests this summer before being left out at The Oval, will be available to play in all formats. He had been scheduled to sign for the county this season, but the deal fell through after he was named in the Ashes squad, and Sussex recruited Carey instead.”To have a high-quality international batsman like Travis on our staff in 2020 is very, very exciting,” said Gillespie.”We wanted a top four batsman to improve our team and Travis will do that. He’s shown his class in his international career so far, he brings some useful offspin and he will offer good leadership support to our captains from his time leading South Australia and the Strikers.”We also felt it was important to sign an overseas batsman that would be able to join us for most of the season and give us some continuity.”I’ve known Trav for a number of years. We have a really good relationship and after we decided here at Sussex that an overseas batsman would complement our squad next year I just knew that Travis would be ideal.””I was disappointed not to have been able to take up my contract this summer so was thrilled that Jason and Keith [Greenfield, the club’s director of cricket] were keen to lock me away for the 2020 season,” said Head. “I can’t wait.”Head is unlikely to be the last Australian to sign a county deal for next season. The Future Tours Programme has thrown up a large gap between Australia’s Test matches – from February to November – and their white-ball commitments are equally sparse.Peter Siddle (Essex) and Cameron Bancroft (Durham) already hold contracts for 2020, while it is understood that multiple counties, including Hampshire and Yorkshire, have enquired about the availability of Nathan Lyon.

In an inexperienced attack, Chahar had to take on a new role and with the series on the line he delivered a record-breaking performance

Karthik Krishnaswamy10-Nov-20196:56

Laxman: Chahar more versatile with his variations now

New-ball swing is what Deepak Chahar is known for. It’s the skill that has earned him a place in India’s T20I team.New-ball swing has defined Chahar to the extent that 493 of the 616 balls – that’s 80% – he has bowled for Chennai Super Kings have been in the powerplay overs. His IPL captain, MS Dhoni, often gets him to bowl three straight overs in the first six.Before Sunday’s game against Bangladesh in Nagpur, Chahar had bowled a similar proportion of his deliveries in the powerplay (96 out of 126, or 76%) for India as well. His most memorable performance in six T20Is had been a three-wicket haul against West Indies in Guyana, a trademark display of swerve and control with the new ball.On Sunday night, everything changed.India were defending 174 in dewy conditions, with an inexperienced attack and no sixth bowler. Their fifth bowler was Shivam Dube, a seam-bowling allrounder known more for his batting and playing only his third T20I. In the circumstances, Chahar was one of the two “senior” members of the bowling attack alongside legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal.ALSO READ: Chahar’s best is also world’s best in men’s T20IsGiven the composition of the attack, Chahar couldn’t slot into his usual role of powerplay specialist. His captain Rohit Sharma told him he would have a more flexible role.”The plan was that I would get the responsibility of bowling the main overs,” Chahar said during the post-match presentation. “Usually I bowl with the new ball, but Rohit said I’ll bowl the crucial overs today, whenever the team needed me to bowl. I’m happy that the management gave me this responsibility on this stage.”Given the amount of dew around – towels were being employed between deliveries even during India’s innings – swing was out of the picture. In any case, Chahar only got one over in the powerplay. It was a challenge for him to show he had other tricks up his sleeve.Deepak Chahar was the man of the moment•BCCI

He came out of the challenge with the best figures in T20I history. Big wicket hauls in T20 cricket can be misleading, particularly when they involve clusters of tail-end dismissals; the hat-trick that ended Bangladesh’s innings will go into all the headlines, but Chahar’s best work came before that.The most impressive feature of his display was the control he showed over his variations. We’ve seen his knuckle ball and slower bouncer in the past, but we haven’t necessarily seen him execute them so well with a wet ball.”The ball was wet, which made it difficult,” Chahar said in an interview with Chahal on . “But I have played so much in Chennai that I am used to it. In Chennai, there is a lot of dew and the humidity means you sweat a lot too. So I know how to keep my hands clean, use a bit of dirt to dry my hands, so playing in Chennai helped me a lot today.”Chahar understood that he could make life difficult for the batsmen by bowling into the surface on a slightly two-paced pitch, and as a consequence, 11 of his 20 balls were pitched either short or short of a good length, according to ESPNcricinfo’s data. Some of these balls skidded through, some of them gripped and slowed down, and Bangladesh’s batsmen never looked in control against this mode of attack.Chahar stayed away from the fuller lengths, by and large, and as a result didn’t bowl a single full-toss on a day when the other fast bowlers, from both sides, sent down ten between them.When he did bowl full, however, Chahar made a big impact. There was the wide-ish tempter, slanting across the left-handed Soumya Sarkar and landing just short of a driving length, that resulted in a catch to mid-off in his first over, the third of Bangladesh’s innings. There was the yorker to end Bangladesh’s innings and complete Chahar’s hat-trick. And in between, there was the ball that dismissed Mohammad Mithun in a match-turning 13th over.The over began with Bangladesh favourites to win, needing 69 from 48 balls with two set batsmen at the crease and eight wickets in hand. Mohammad Naim had taken Dube’s first two overs apart, and had shown brilliant footwork to rattle the experienced Chahal, whose figures at that stage read 3-0-38-0. India needed someone to give them some control, and Rohit threw the ball to Chahar.He responded brilliantly. Chahar beat Mithun twice in four balls with short-of-a-length cutters that skidded through low. Then, off the last ball of the over, he made clever use of the crease, going close to the stumps in order to create an angle away from the right-hander. Out came a knuckle ball floating away from off stump. Mithun had to reach out towards the ball and generate all the power himself, and there was no way he was going to clear the off-side boundary on one of the largest outfields in the country.That delivery ended a 98-run stand for the third wicket. That over ended with Chahar’s figures reading 2-0-3-3. Then Mushfiqur Rahim, trying to dab Dube to third man to get off the mark, fell off the first ball of the next over. The match had turned in the space of two balls.

Legspinner awaits further England chances in South Africa, after encouraging blooding in NZ

Paul Edwards10-Dec-2019To borrow a phrase from a vastly more dignified political era Matt Parkinson is a coming man. Where he is going, on the other hand, is anybody’s guess, including his own.In the short term Parkinson’s diary is settled. Having just returned from the tour of New Zealand, in which he made his T20 international debut, he will very shortly fly out to South Africa as a member of England’s Test party. Ideally, of course, the Lancashire legspinner would then like to be named in the squad for the white-ball games against the Proteas and for the two-Test tour to Sri Lanka.Thereafter, however, things get more complicated. Fearful he might not be selected in Lancashire’s team for any of the half-dozen County Championship matches they are due to play in April or May, Parkinson has made himself available to interested franchises at next week’s IPL auction. That tournament is due to begin four days before England’s second Test against Sri Lanka and it is reasonable to think the selectors will want as many of those players in contention for next winter’s T20 World Cup squad to take a part in the biggest short-form show on earth.Parkinson understands all this, of course, but his rationale is rather simpler: he would just like to be playing cricket for someone and he particularly wants to avoid the situation he faced last year when he didn’t play a championship match until July and only played four Division Two games in all.”I am keen on playing red-ball cricket, but it gets to the point where if you’re not getting picked, it’s easy to get pigeon-holed as a white-ball cricketer, even if you don’t want to be,” he said. “I’m 23 and I’ve still got time on my side, but people are getting pigeon-holed quite early now because there’s so much white-ball cricket out there.”It is surely unfair to blame the hierarchy at Emirates Old Trafford for the various dilemmas faced by one of England’s most talented young spinners. Picking a leggie who bats at No.11 for matches played on green pitches in April and early May would be a supreme indulgence, especially in a Lancashire team whose pace attack is of Test match quality. ECB officials, on the other hand, might come in for rather more criticism. What remains remarkable is that Parkinson was selected for the South Africa tour on the strength of his 20 first-class wickets. The England selectors clearly know a good thing when they see it, however brief their glimpse might be.”I wouldn’t say it’s embarrassing to have only played four games and got picked for England but it says a lot, really,” said Parkinson. “There’s a lot of talk about a lack of Test-quality spinners, but if we’re not playing matches, no one’s going to improve. It says a lot that I’ve been picked on the back of 20 first-class games. It shows I’ve done something they like but I’d like to play all 14 [championship] games and get picked off the back of 50 first-class wickets in the season, then there isn’t muttering that he’s only been picked because the cupboard’s bare. I do think something needs to be done.”Matt Parkinson was an unused member of the Test squad in New Zealand•Getty Images

Let there be no doubt that Parkinson wants to play Test cricket. He saw how talismanic England cricketers like Ben Stokes prepared for the New Zealand series and he was properly impressed. And he is greatly looking forward to working with Jeetan Patel in South Africa. But as the final stages of last summer’s World Cup were being played he was wondering whether his future lay in 50-over cricket and the various T20 circuses. And young cricketers remember such things.”If you aren’t picked for the first couple of games, it’s almost like your season is starting again,” he said. “I feel that every summer I’m starting again and having to prove myself in red-ball cricket. When it got to July and I hadn’t played a game, I was worried, but the way it went at the end of the season and my selection for England has moved things back a bit,” he said.”In twelve months it could be completely different but I am keen on playing red-ball cricket. The back-loading’s good. I’ve played most of my games in the last month of the season. But playing seven games in the first seven weeks of the summer isn’t ideal although if you can bowl spin on a greentop in April, you can perform on a dust-bowl in September.”Parkinson’s ability to adapt to different conditions ensured he ended the New Zealand leg of England’s winter tour with his reputation bolstered. His four wickets at Napier in the second T20 game was a lovely way to end a year which had been scarred far beyond cricket’s compass by the death of his mother, Maria. That tragedy was mentioned by Nasser Hussain when he presented Parkinson with his first England cap at Nelson.”The words he said will stay with me for a long time, said Parkinson. “You sometimes forget how lucky you are, being paid to play cricket in New Zealand in November when most lads are in the indoor school or working. You get lost in the here and now. It gets tough at times but something like that definitely gives you perspective.”I was pleased to make my debut and pleased it went so well. I was nervous and it’s one of those situations when if you get a wicket in your first over, you’re okay then. It was a challenge to bowl on the small grounds in New Zealand but fingers crossed I’ve learned some lessons I can use.”There are things I’ll try and stick to whether it’s with England or Lancashire. The nerves are still there when you make your England debut but it helped that it was in New Zealand. You weren’t at the SCG or MCG with nearly 100,000 people there. We knew before the series that we were going to get a go, so that helped as well.”Parkinson must now wait to find out when he will next get a go. His many supporters hope he might get the nod for a Test in South Africa or Sri Lanka. They also hope that the stress freshly placed on five-day cricket by England’s hierarchy might have an impact on the shape of the domestic season. Parkinson, meanwhile, will carry on working very hard in the hope that excellence will receive its proper reward. He knows there is more for him to do.”Every cricketer has their work-ons and if I could bat like my brother [Callum at Leicestershire], that would be happy days.” he said. “All three facets of my game need to improve for me to be an international cricketer who plays most of the time. I class myself as a luxury. I don’t want to be a luxury. I want to get picked regardless of the surface. Nathan Lyon plays all over the world and he’s a No.11.”

Maxwell is set to return from a break from the game to lead the Melbourne Stars in the BBL

Daniel Brettig13-Dec-2019Glenn Maxwell has admitted he was suffering the effects of “four or five years” of near constant travel until his partner Vini helped convince him to step off the international treadmill for a mental health break in October, and has resolved to be more careful about how he plans his schedule in the future.The start of the Big Bash League and his role as captain of the Melbourne Stars always loomed as a likely moment for Maxwell to return to cricket, though he has been around the Victorian set-up for several weeks now and made himself available for the state’s final Sheffield Shield game before going on Twenty20 hiatus. But he is a much fresher and wiser man for the time away from the game, having re-acquainted himself with home, family and life not lived out of a suitcase.That had been Maxwell’s lot for most of the past five years, culminating in close to eight months of continuous travel this year as a key component of Australia’s white ball teams, plus stints with Lancashire in English county competition and the beginning of the domestic season for Victoria.When he finally did elect to step back, following the start of Australia’s T20 series against Sri Lanka, Maxwell was described as “not enjoying his cricket” by the national coach Justin Langer, and he spoke to the likes of Moises Henriques, Australia’s team psychologist Michael Lloyd and the noted sports psychiatrist Ranjit Menon on his way back to a better balance.”I was pretty cooked when I decided to take the time off,” Maxwell said. “Big reason why I did take that time away is I was pretty mentally and physically ruined. I think it was eight months on the road, living out of a suitcase and that probably had been going on for four or five years, just constantly on the road and it all just caught up with me at that time. I really want to thank Cricket Australia, Cricket Victoria and the Stars for giving me that space and allowing me to have that time away from the game and get myself right.”It was actually my partner who suggested I speak to someone, she was the first one who noticed it, so I should probably thank her as well. Once I had that initial conversation it was a big weight off my shoulders. My girlfriend was probably No. 1, it wasn’t an easy job for her to deal with me going through my mood swings for the first few weeks, but Michael Lloyd was the guy I had the initial conversation with, he’s been someone who I’ve confided in since back in the academy days, so I’ve known him for well over a decade now.””Guys like Moises Henriques, I think he was my first phone call after everything sort of calmed down. He was brilliant for me, giving me something. He has gone through it as well, giving me an idea of what I would expect to see over the next few weeks and he was unbelievable. You go through a lot of waves of emotions over the first few weeks [of the break] and especially that first week, that was probably the hardest, and as I took the time away to get myself right and speak to the right people and have that amazing support network behind me was pretty key.”ALSO READ: BBL previews: Adelaide Strikers and Brisbane HeatIt’s clear that Maxwell had looked upon 2019 as a year of much opportunity, but after the World Cup ended in a semi-final appearance and he found himself playing for Lancashire and watching the Ashes rather than playing in them, he is mindful of managing his playing commitments and his self-expectations a little more carefully over the remainder of a career that, at the age of 31, may still have his very best days ahead of him.”I did put a bit of pressure on myself to try and play as much as I could this year and, rightly or wrongly, I didn’t come out of it the way I thought I was going to. I’ll have a look at that next year,” Maxwell said. “A holiday was actually spending time at home. I spent as much time at home as I could with friends and family. I tried to stay fit, and I still watched a fair bit of cricket over that time, but pretty exciting to get going now.”I look at it a little bit differently, a little bit more respect for taking care of myself in all aspects of the game and not losing sight of taking care of myself in those times where you’re in a hotel room pretty constantly and being able to have that time to myself and refresh.”Contrary to many assumptions, Maxwell said that social media criticism had not been a part of his problems. “I have been a pretty bad victim of social media and a fair bit of abuse but I have become pretty accustomed to it,” he said. “It slides off my back.”I think I have been pretty hard on myself, I have been my own hardest critic for a long period of time. That can wear you down and it is more the stuff you put on yourself, not so much from the outside. I suppose being able to relax a bit more and enjoy playing the game. I probably look at things a little bit differently but a little bit more respect for taking care of myself in all aspects of the game and not sort of losing sight of taking care of myself in those times where you’re in a hotel room pretty constantly and being able to have that time to myself and refresh.”As for his return to the game, Maxwell has clearly enjoyed being back with the Stars, now coached by his former state teammate David Hussey, an environment in which the allrounder described as “home” for him. “It probably took a bit longer than I thought it was going to take, it was an interesting six weeks, away from the game and there was probably times I thought I was going to come back earlier,” Maxwell said. “Once I got back into club cricket, the cycle started to feel a bit more normal again and I feel like I’m back at home.”I’ve been getting back in the swing of things for a while, I’ve been around the Vics change rooms for the last two or three weeks now, so I’ve sort of been floating around and watching a few of the one dayers and just trying to get back into the change room atmosphere again. Coming back here with the Stars feels like home again, a new coach, a bit of familiarity as an ex-player, but it’s a great change room to be a part of, it’s very welcoming.”As for a return to Australian colours, Maxwell was notably cautious to ensure he did not think about it before concentrating on the fortunes of the Stars, who under his leadership came within a few overs of scooping last summer’s BBL title. “I’ll always put my hand up to play for higher honours for sure,” he said, “but first and foremost I’ve got to perform well for the Stars and lead by example.”

Only Sydney Thunder have had worse luck, losing 19 in a row in the Big Bash’s early years

The Report by Daniel Brettig12-Jan-2020Jonathan Wells and Matthew Short set up Adelaide Strikers for a commanding victory over the winless and aimless Melbourne Renegades at Adelaide Oval to allow the hosts to keep pace with the top teams in the Big Bash League, while pushing the visitors closer to a summary elimination from the tournament.With the finals series expanded to five teams this summer, the Renegades are still a mathematical chance of qualifying, but their current streak of nine consecutive losses after winning last year’s title is now the second-worst after Sydney Thunder’s 19 in a row in the competition’s early years.After a rapid start, the Strikers were in danger of losing their way before Wells and Short piled on 80 in 52 balls to ensure they set a target well beyond the reach of the Renegades. Peter Siddle, Rashid Khan and Travis Head all claimed multiple victims as the Strikers held all their catches.Strikers’ early powerOn a pristine Sunday afternoon, Head took little time choosing to bat on the same surface that had allowed Rashid to claim a hat-trick against the Sydney Sixers. With it expected to slow down and spin, the Renegades named three spinners and used two in tandem with the new ball, but Phil Salt and Jake Weatherald were still able to get away to a flying start, finding the boundary with enough frequency to rush the Strikers to 50 inside five overs.Even with the departures of Salt and Weatherald, both trying to force the pace perhaps a fraction too much, the hosts were still able to post 59 from the Powerplay, enough of a start to allow a rest through the middle overs, even as the Renegades bounded back into the contest with a couple of wickets. Head and Harry Nielsen, into the team in place of the absent Alex Carey, fell to Cameron Boyce and Samit Patel respectively, leaving the need for a middle order recovery.All’s well that ends with WellsFortunately for the Strikers, they have long possessed a strong middle order insurance policy in the form of the slightly built Wells, who has made it a signature to ensure that his team will be able to at least reach 150 on most occasions, even if the earlier overs have not been kind to him. Summoning the help of Short, Wells calmly allowed the run rate to drop from its early innings heights of beyond 10 an over to less than seven with six overs remaining, before launching a final assault.As demonstrated by Glenn Maxwell elsewhere, this taking of a little extra “set-up” time to weigh up the pace, bounce and spin of a surface can result in spectacular results, and so it was to prove at Adelaide Oval. Returns of 10, 10, 10 and 11 from overs 15, 16, 17 and 18 were followed by a gluttonish 18 and 17 from the 19th and 20th, as the Renegades saw their target balloon from a likely 150 to 174. Short’s 41 from 28 balls featured a trio of sixes, while Wells lasted until the penultimate ball of the innings for a priceless 58 from 38.They miss, you hitA chase of 174 against Rashid and company would have been difficult for a confident side, let alone the winless Renegades. And the early exchanges of the pursuit were to follow as expected. Marcus Harris, for a long time a curiously ineffective Twenty20 batsman, lifted Head for one boundary over cover, but was bowled when he tried to do it again. Siddle amiably greeted his Victoria squad mate Sam Harper with a friendly pat, but next over nailed a yorker to pluck out the opener’s middle stump.As Webster and a scratchy Shaun Marsh sought to build some sort of chasing platform, the Strikers did not lose patience, and the calling of the strategic time out for the end of the ninth over brought a re-affirmation that, even though Michael Neser’s first over went for an unsightly 19, the hosts needed to keep targeting the stumps of an anxious and unsuccessful opponent. As if on cue, Head’s second ball of the 10th over was well flighted and dipped enough of Marsh to have him yorking himself as he tried to raise the rate. Three bowled out of three, and the Strikers were on their way.No Webster, no RenegadesA strong, intelligent innings by Beau Webster was to go completely to waste as the combination of Strikers pressure, Renegades anxiety and a slowing pitch all conspired to see a dramatically swift end to a game that had, for some of its distance, had some pretensions towards an actual contest. That was largely due to Webster, and even when he was partnered by Mohammad Nabi the visitors still had a chance, albeit mathematical.However the poise of Rashid, Siddle and Head, plus a staunch fielding display from the Strikers that saw every catch taken, meant that the remainder of the Renegades innings melted away as if they were late for the plane home to Melbourne. In all, the final seven wickets went down for 24 in five overs as the Strikers’ adoring Adelaide Oval crowd – this time comprising 28,188 spectators – continued having fun.The Strikers, then, got the win they needed to keep in touch with the top of the table, and the Renegades stretched their streak to nine.

Spinner will discuss prospect of touring Sri Lanka with England camp while in South Africa

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2020Moeen Ali says he wants to play Test cricket again and he is prepared to fight for a place in the England side.Moeen, who decided to take a break from Test cricket after being dropped following the first Ashes Test in August, also revealed he had hoped he would be dropped during that series and that he had considered quitting the long format cricket entirely.Having subsequently lost the Test portion of his ECB central contract, Moeen missed England’s 1-0 series defeat in New Zealand and their 3-1 victory over South Africa, which culminated in last week’s 191-run victory at the Wanderers.He has since joined England’s limited-overs squads in South Africa ahead of their ODI series starting in Cape Town on Tuesday, which will be followed by three T20Is.Moeen confirmed that he would speak with Chris Silverwood, England’s head coach, and Test captain Joe Root while in South Africa about whether to make himself available for next month’s two-Test tour of Sri Lanka.”I don’t want anyone to think I don’t love playing for England because playing for your country is the greatest thing a cricketer can do,” Moeen told Sky Sports. “Even in the warm-up games here, I was thinking ‘I have missed this’, which is exactly the feeling I want.”I didn’t feel as valued as much as I felt I should have been, and there were times when I thought I was going to quit playing Test matches, but I spoke to Rooty and he felt I was still a big part of this team.”Ultimately it is about if I feel I am ready to play again. I don’t want people to feel I am picking and choosing. I know I have to make sure I am fresh and mentally ready to go out and perform.”I know even if I decide to go to Sri Lanka I might not get in straight away but I am going to fight for my place. I thought [off-spinner Dom] Bess bowled really well in South Africa but it was almost like, ‘yeah, I could to that, I can still do that’. The ECB has been really supportive of me. I want to come back a better player and be a part of the whole journey.”Moeen’s axing from the England Test side came after he posted scores of 0 and 4 and took three wickets for 172 runs over Australia’s two innings at Edgbaston.”I had to get myself up for the Ashes and I remember bowling thinking, ‘I do not want to be here’. It is the worst possible place a cricketer can be,” he said. “It definitely affected me. I can see when I look back that my body language was horrendous throughout the game.”There was almost nothing happening for me. It was almost like there was no interest. It was such a big game and the harder I tried the worse I got. It was so bad.”I was expecting not to play [the next Test at Lord’s] and I was actually hoping I was going to get dropped so I could take that opportunity to step away for a bit. Being on the road for four or five years, I thought ‘I can’t do this anymore’. For me to perform for England, I needed to take this break now.”Moeen reiterated that his decision to take a break from Test cricket was based on being “burnt out” after England’s successful World Cup campaign and years of touring and he said he felt the pressure of increased scrutiny over his form.”It becomes daunting, you are almost afraid to play any shot and you get caught in between,” Moeen said. “I have to be stronger personally, I know that. I can’t blame everyone. But it does show the noise can really affect you.”Social media is one of the hardest things about playing for England. I’ve never really cared what people say about me but in the last year or so I started to read quite a bit and that really affected me. I got sucked in, I think a lot of players do.”During his break from the Test arena, Moeen has been playing franchise cricket and he joined the England Lions camp as a mentor ahead of their current tour of Australia.Moeen has a contract with Multan Sultans to play in the Pakistan Super League, the latter stages of which clash with the first Test against Sri Lanka.Bess played the second and third Tests in South Africa, claiming a maiden five-wicket haul in the format at Port Elizabeth. He will join England Lions in Australia this week and is expected to be called up for the Sri Lanka tour. The question of who joins him is likely to depend heavily on Jack Leach’s ability to recover from a long bout of illness – and the decision over whether Moeen is ready to return.

Smith was appointed in an interim capacity in mid-December

Firdose Moonda17-Apr-2020Graeme Smith has been appointed South Africa’s director of cricket for a two-year period ending on March 31, 2022.Smith was appointed in an interim capacity in December last year, during a time of crisis at Cricket South Africa, and was due to take a break to commentate on the IPL. With that tournament now postponed indefinitely, he has been confirmed in the role.ALSO READ: Smith confirms de Kock won’t be South Africa’s Test captainSmith had initially applied for the post in November last year, but withdrew his interest citing a lack of confidence in the administration. He was re-engaged when CSA underwent an overhaul, which saw CEO Thabang Moroe suspended and Dr Jacques Faul appointed in an acting capacity (a status quo that remains as Moroe’s disciplinary hearing has yet to conclude. Smith has also maintained a distant relationship with the board that has come under severe criticism from the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) and sponsors for their role in CSA’s collapse. While a boardroom clean-out has yet to happen and some of Smith’s reservations remain, his experience of working with CSA staff and his growing interest in developing the game convinced him to commit to a long-term contract.”If I told you I had 100% certainty (over things) I would be lying to you. There have been so many doubts over the last period, it’s impossible to be certain,” Smith said during a video conference on Friday. “But, operationally I have got to know the staff, I have seen a lot of hard-working people that care deeply about the game. Over the three months, I have become invested in the position and started to care about the responsibility to the game, sorting it out, getting us back to the top of performance and the business of the game. It created that feeling for myself that I want to get stuck in and try and make a difference.”Smith has overseen South Africa’s worst home summer since readmission, in which the national team won only one of the five series they played under a new coaching staff, replaced captain Faf du Plessis and cast the selection net wide. The dip in performances – South Africa have not won a Test series in a year – raised serious questions about the talent pool and Smith acknowledged he was taken aback by how much work needs to be done on the field.”Initially it surprised me how much coaching had to take place at a national level,” he said. “I feel our players need access to really smart coaches and smart people to develop their games and their thinking around playing at the highest level. For us on a national level, really trying to understand who the players we have to work with are, how do we get them better and what do we need to do to get back on top.”To that end, South Africa developed a winter training program, which has been put on hold amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has enforced a five-week lockdown in the country. However, 47 players have been identified to form part of a high-performance programme and they have been sent fitness regimes to maintain even during the lockdown. Smith is in communication with all those players and has opened up a communication channel that had been blocked off under the previous administration.”It’s been about building relationships we needed to strengthen, with SACA and player pools,” Smith said. We’ve had open two-way discussions and players are feeling a lot more settled and comfortable to express themselves.”While players have received one level of reassurance with communications, they also have another financially. Faul confirmed that both players and staff do not face an immediate pay cut threat, like some of their international counterparts. With the international home season over before the pandemic hit, “we haven’t lost income that would trigger pay cuts,” Faul said.However, the long-term forecast may not be as positive, with Faul admitting there is likely to be less money available in the future, as the full impact of the coronavirus becomes known. Further, CSA’s sponsorship deal with Standard Bank ends at the end of this month and they have yet to announce a replacement and their broadcast rights deal with pay-television provider comes to an end next year. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, insiders were predicting that a new deal could be worth around 33% less, given South Africa’s flailing form. Given the contracting economy, Faul expected a tough road ahead and said CSA would continue to monitor the changing situation.

England opener ready to return, but technique still needs some grooving after six months off

Andrew Miller04-Jun-2020Rory Burns returned to the nets for the first time in six months on Monday, confident that the ankle that he injured during football practice in South Africa has fully recovered, but admitting that his time out of the Test team had come at a frustrating moment in his career.Burns, who turns 30 in August, seemed to have established himself as Alastair Cook’s heir at the top of England’s batting order in 2019, with a maiden Test century in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, and a further 101 in New Zealand in November.However, his run in the side came to an abrupt halt when he sustained ligament damage during a seemingly innocuous tackle from Joe Root, as England practised at Newlands ahead of the second Test. Having made 84 in the second innings of England’s series-opening defeat at Centurion, Burns returned home for surgery as Dom Sibley and Zak Crawley played key roles in England’s three subsequent wins.ALSO READ: Bio-secure venues can withstand Covid second wave – Elworthy“It was obviously frustrating,” Burns told Sky Sports’ Cricket Show. “It was my first injury of any note in my career, and to pick it up at a time where you feel like you’re developing and moving along in the right direction quite nicely was frustrating.”The turn wasn’t bad before it though, so we’ll always remember that,” he joked, referencing an impressive piece of footwork that was caught on camera moments before the injury. “But yeah, it was obviously frustrating, but it’s nice to be back now, with a bat in my hand, and almost getting back to it.”The ankle’s strong,” he added. “I’d have been able to start the county season if that had gone ahead on time, so that was a big positive, but instead it’s been another couple of months that I’ve been able to ease it back, and that’s probably helped a little bit.”With his unusual batting stance, which involves glancing over his right shoulder to ensure his alignment at the crease prior to delivery, Burns admits that his technique has more “moving parts” than some, which made his initial return to the nets a bit of a struggle.But, he added, his decision in the wake of his injury, to jot down his thoughts about where he was at as a batsman, had helped him to pick up where he had left off with the England team.”There are a lot of moving parts, but it’s more of a rhythm thing,” he said. “It’s about feeling how those movements go in. The idiosyncrasies probably didn’t quite click into gear to start with, but I tried to leave myself fresh going into that first net on Monday.”I didn’t try and think about it too much. When I got injured in South Africa, I wrote down all the things I though I’ve been doing well, what I’d enjoyed about my batting, in terms of feelings. So I had little read of them on Tuesday, and luckily it’s got a little bit better on Wednesday and Thursday.”ALSO READ: Bravo, Hetmyer, Paul turn down call-ups for England tourSo far, Burns’ work at the Kia Oval has been limited to one-on-one sessions – principally with Graham Thorpe, the England batting coach – which he said had not felt too different to his usual training regime. The players are due to resume “cluster” training in the coming days, when the bowlers have built up their workloads, and Burns is hopeful he’ll be ready for action by then.”A couple of hits down the line, I’ve remembered how to pick the bat up which is quite nice, and it’s good to be back,” he said. “I had a set of ten throwdowns, the day before we got locked down, but the last time [I batted properly] would have been January 1, six months ago.”England know they will be in for a stiff test when the West Indies series begins, not least from the battery of fast bowlers who played a central role in their side’s 2-1 series win in the Caribbean last year.Shannon Gabriel is missing on this occasion, as he recovers from injury, but Kemar Roach, Oshane Thomas and Alzarri Joseph have been joined by the former Under-19 World Cup winner, Chemar Holder, who claimed 36 wickets in West Indies’ domestic competition this year.”The last time we played each other they won, so they’re no slouches,” Burns said. “Their bowling attack caused us a lot of problems, they are very skilful and they’ve got some pace, certainly. I remember walking around the pitch in the first Test and seeing [Gabriel and Thomas] bowling, and I thought, oof, this will be quite tasty. It’s going to be a stiff test, no matter what comes.”The biggest difference between county cricket and international cricket is the intensity of the game,” he added. “Everything just ramps up, especially the consistent pace of bowlers, and you have to make yourself sharp by overtraining on speed and short balls, areas where you are going to get targeted by the opposition.”England are due to assemble at the Ageas Bowl in late June ahead of the first Test on July 8. However, Burns said that, after some initial concerns about playing cricket during the Covid-19 outbreak, he was confident that the ECB’s provisions would ensure the players’ safety throughout the series.”There were some hypothetical scenarios about what it might that look like, what risk factors there were,” he said. “But the messaging that we’ve had has put our minds at ease about the situations that we might find ourselves in.”The explanations we’ve had are really positive, and I think a lot of the guys just looking forward to playing some cricket.”