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Kent’s openers put on 188 to set up victory after Essex had stuttered to 270 for 9 in their 50 overs

ECB Reporters Network05-May-2019Daniel Bell-Drummond hit an unbeaten 120 to help steer Kent to Royal London One-Day Cup victory over Essex by six wickets in Beckenham. Man-of-the-match Bell-Drummond followed a canny bowling spell of 2 for 36 with his sixth List A hundred from 107 balls and with 12 fours as Kent romped to their second successive South Group success.Having seen Essex make a watchful start to their innings total of 271 for 9, Kent’s openers Bell-Drummond and Zak Crawley set off with intent to post 61 during the batting Powerplay. The main aggressor, Bell-Drummond, reached 50 from 39 balls and with 10 fours as the Spitfires pair reached their century stand in the 16th over.Essex turned to spin at both ends but the Kent openers ploughed on regardless as Crawley’s 50 came up off 57 balls with six fours as the pair overtook 180, Kent’s previous best List A opening stand against Essex, set by Mark Benson and Trevor Ward at Canterbury in 1988.After a stand of 188 Crawley fell six shy of his hundred, leg before when working across one from Ravi Bopara, then Matt Renshaw followed in similar fashion with the home score on 202.Heino Kuhn was bowled by Matt Coles, the former Kent allrounder, who then had Adam Rouse caught at extra cover, leaving Bell-Drummond and Alex Blake to polish the job off with 20 balls to spare.Batting first on a bitterly cold day, Essex were forced to adjust their initial aspirations by a slightly two-paced pitch that assisted both spin and seam bowling early on. Kent made their first breakthrough in the third over when Varun Chopra tossed away his own wicket. Walking outside off to aim a wristy flick through midwicket, he skied a catch off Harry Podmore to cover point.Former England skipper Alastair Cook and Tom Westley regrouped with a watchful second-wicket stand worth 97. Westley sprinted to a 51-ball 50 – his fourth of the tournament, with six fours and a six – while Cook played within himself to contribute only 18 during his first hour at the crease.Cook upped his tempo with a flurry of fours off Fred Klaassen and Renshaw leading to the introduction of Bell-Drummond at the City End, who struck with his third ball by trapping Westley leg before for 58 as the right-hander worked across a straight one.The Eagles reached 125 for 2 by the mid-point as Cook marched to a 60-ball half-century with five fours. But three runs on Cook’s checked drive to a Podmore slower ball sailed to mid-off where Renshaw took an athletic, overhead catch on the run to spark a collapse of four wickets in 41 balls.Dan Lawrence pulled a Matt Milnes bouncer low to Crawley at midwicket. Then, in the next over, Ravi Bopara’s top-edged sweep against Imran Qayyum was easily gathered at short fine-leg. Qayyum removed Rishi Patel to finish with 2 for 37 when Renshaw held another steepler low down at long-on and Robbie White’s miscued pull sailed to backward square-leg to give Bell-Drummond his second scalp.Simon Harmer was caught behind off a top-edged pull but Coles scored a useful 34 before holing out to cow corer to give Milnes somewhat flattering figures of 3 for 60 as Essex successfully batted out their overs.

Half-fought victory settles the nerves, but a woeful World Cup record against Pakistan doesn’t augur well

Alan Gardner in Bristol06-Jun-20193:24

Dilshan: Sri Lanka should bring in a batsman in Lakmal’s place

Sri Lanka fans, look away now. What’s that? You already were, even after the rousing dogfight of a win over Afghanistan… Okay, well, these are tough times, so that’s understandable. But up next is an opponent that Sri Lanka have never beaten in World Cup competition. Yes, that’s right. Against Pakistan on the biggest one-day stage, your team’s record reads: played seven, lost seven.It is not much better in Champions Trophy encounters either (one win in four). Only a couple of years ago, just a few miles along the M4 in Cardiff, Sri Lanka were sucker-punched by Sarfaraz Ahmed’s team in a match that was effectively a quarter-final. Pakistan went on to win the tournament; Sri Lanka started handing around the captaincy like a prize at a raffle.Dimuth Karunaratne is the sixth different man to lead the team in ODIs since Angelo Mathews in that tournament. But while he might be on what is politely known as a hiding to nothing over the next few weeks, there are tentative signs that Sri Lanka have more competitive spirit than was generally ascribed to them after a supine 10-wicket thrashing at the hands of New Zealand in their opening game. Lasith Malinga kicked some teacups around before the Afghanistan match and Sri Lanka’s bowlers got stuck in amid the damp conditions in Cardiff.The British weather has often been cause for a little shiver (or an extended one, accompanied by a call for another layer) among touring Sri Lanka teams. The hands are cold, the senses dulled. When Kumar Sangakkara decided to warm up – figuratively speaking – for Sri Lanka’s 2014 tour, he chose to go to Durham, the country’s most northerly outpost, for a spell in county cricket. Suitably braced, he got himself straight on the honours board at Lord’s.Durham’s head coach during Sangakkara’s spell there, Jon Lewis, is now the man in charge of Sri Lanka’s batting. Lewis has been in the job for just six months and in that time has worked with more than a dozen top-order batsmen, which is hardly ideal preparation for a World Cup campaign. After putting up scores of 136 and 201 in the tournament so far, there is clearly room for improvement but Lewis is phlegmatic about what can be done at this stage.”I’ve seen a lot of cricketers in six months, which has been good in some respects, because it has been nice to see some young – and some senior – Sri Lankan cricketers,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “That’s given me a really good feel for the country and the players they have. Maybe a little bit more continuity, seeing the same people for a bit longer, we’d have maybe had more of a chance to make some progress. But we are happy with the players we’ve got and we’ve got to try and do our best to get a little bit more out of this batting group.”Of immediate concern is the form of Mathews, former leader and the likeliest batting champion in this Sri Lanka side. Having been dropped in circumstances both unceremonious and acrimonious late last year, his return has so far seen him record one run and face 21 balls across three ODI innings – but faith in his enduring qualities remains, amid talk in the camp that he could move up to No. 4 against Pakistan.ALSO READ: Malinga grabs the limelight, but Pradeep turns the game“Angie’s probably our most experienced player, and so far we’ve got very little out of Angie and Angie knows that,” Lewis said. “It’s fine, but it would be unrealistic to think we’re going to have a really strong World Cup and Angie was not going to feature too much. He’s going to have to give us a couple of strong performances. I’ve no doubt he’s got them in him and he’s working very hard to make sure they come out at the right time, and hopefully it’s going to be here at Bristol.”A collapse of dizzying proportions against Afghanistan, from 144 for 1 to 159 for 6, undermined Sri Lanka’s hopes of posting a daunting total, with Kusal Mendis and Mathews among those foxed by Mohammad Nabi’s non-turning offbreaks. Lewis suggested that the team had mentally switched off after a good start, while Karunaratne, who has attempted to set the tone with a couple of nuggety innings at the top of the order, was confident both players would come good.”Our middle order comprises players who have experienced this type of situation before,” Karunaratne said. “Kusal Mendis scored well in the practice games and also in the South Africa series and failing in two matches I don’t think it has anything to do with his talent, he only needs a start to get going. Mathews is a player with a lot of experience and this sort of thing happens to players, however good you are. But with their experience, once they get going, you cannot stop them from scoring runs. I have plenty of faith in them and I think they will perform well against Pakistan.”Sri Lanka may not arrive “ship shape and Bristol fashion”, as they used to say of the trading vessels that regularly departed from this port city, but neither have they been holed below the waterline. There was laughter and pats on the back at training on Thursday, while the team also sat in a huddle on the boundary’s edge afterwards, listening intently to the coach and captain even as the rain began to fall.The British weather might end up doing them a favour on this occasion, too. If beating a Pakistan side buoyed by victory over England is beyond them, Sri Lanka could yet avoid adding to that aforementioned record of World Cup defeats thanks to the dodgiest of weather forecasts. Whatever the case, there is at least hope for better performances to come.”Nobody feels too bad after a win,” Lewis said. “We know we could have played better [against Afghanistan], and in a way there’s a comfort in knowing we haven’t played our best cricket. We’ve had four innings in this tournament in two games and we’ve probably got one of them right. With that in mind, we’ve got a win from those sorts of performances, and if we start to put two innings in a single game together there’s no reason we can’t win a few more.”

Jofra Archer, and England, held their nerve in the World Cup’s first Super Over finish to claim the trophy for the first time

The Report by Alan Gardner14-Jul-2019
Super over
As it happenedIt was never going to be easy, was it? Two teams without a World Cup title between them in 44 years of the men’s competition. After 100 overs, the last couple of which contained almost as much drama as a few previous finals in their entirety, nothing could separate England and New Zealand. For the first time in World Cup history, a Super Over was required to determine the winner.Asked to score 16 from six balls, Jimmy Neesham coolly struck Jofra Archer’s second legitimate delivery way back into the Mound Stand, making the equation seven off four. A brace of twos followed, before Archer’s bumper took Neesham off strike. Martin Guptill, at the end of a tournament of personal trial, needing to hit two more otherwise England would take the trophy on boundaries scored. Archer found a yorker, Guptill found deep midwicket and Jason Roy’s throw found Guptill short; Jos Buttler completed the run-out at full stretch to end all those years of hurt and an afternoon of exquisite agony.

What the playing conditions say

– In the event of a Super Over tie, the team that hit more boundaries (combined from the main match and the Super Over) shall be the winner

– If the number of boundaries hit by both teams is equal, the team whose batsmen scored more boundaries during its innings in the main match (ignoring the Super Over) shall be the winner

– If still equal, a count-back from the final ball of the Super Over will be conducted. The team with the higher scoring delivery shall be the winner. If a team loses two wickets during its over, then any unbowled deliveries will be counted as dot balls

England had only got close in their chase thanks to Buttler and Ben Stokes, whose 110-run stand lifted the home nation from peril at 86 for 4. The pair walked out again to scramble 15 from an over of Trent Boult: pressure back on New Zealand. They responded by sending out Neesham, a man who not so long ago was contemplating quitting the game, to face Archer, in his 14th ODI. Only one could finish a hero.That said, there were heroes aplenty on both sides. For the second game in succession, New Zealand put up a score in the region of 240 and defended it with every fibre of their Blackcapped beings. Just when they appeared to have the game won, a man born in Christchurch ripped it from their hands, in a manner at once extraordinary and unbelievable. Stokes finished unbeaten on 84, though like Guptil he too could not manage a two from the final ball of England’s innings to win the game in regulation time.New Zealand had gone into the final over believing that the trophy was in their grasp. England needed 15, Stokes carrying a country’s hopes – not to mention the almost unbearable weight of history – on his shoulders. The first two balls bowled by Boult were dots, before Stokes mowed the third for six into the crowd at midwicket. Then came an intervention that was either cruel or miraculous, depending on your perspective. Stokes, diving for his ground as he attempted to complete a second run, diverted Guptill’s throw off his bat – inadvertantly – past wicketkeeper Tom Latham and away to the rope for four more.Jos Buttler runs out Martin Guptill to crown England champions•Getty Images

Stokes immediately held up his hands in apology, but with no sign that he had changed the course of his run to intercept the throw, it went down as a second consecutive six. That left England needing three from two, though Boult kept his cool to twice run out the non-striker coming back for a second and send the game into a Super Over.The previous over, something almost as extraordinary had occurred: having caught Stokes on the boundary at wide long-on, Boult stepped on the rope before he could relay the ball back in to Guptill. Instead of Stokes departing for 63, with England needing 22 off eight and Nos. 9 and 10 at the crease, he was granted another shot at redemption. Instead of Kolkata Part II, this was to become his finest hour, Stokes ultimately crowned man of the match after leading England to victory in a World Cup final at the fourth time of asking.There is a new name on the cup, then, but they didn’t half keep the engravers waiting. England had built towards this competition for four years, planned for it, yearned for it – and when the moment came, the outburst was rapturous. Staid and stuffy Lord’s had become a cauldron of emotion long before that last passage of play.New Zealand deserved better than to end up the fall guys again. Their captain, Kane Williamson, orchestrated his men in the field to squeeze England’s chase until it became unbearable. First Buttler fell with 46 required from the last 31 balls, Lockie Ferguson delivering what seemed to be the killer blow. Stokes staggered on, even as the tail became expendable. Ultimately, the fact England had scored 24 boundaries in their innings, compared to New Zealand’s 16, was the decisive factor.That one of England’s fours was effectively an overthrow may always rankle, as well as a couple of the umpiring decisions that went the other way. Williamson, who made only 30 but captained with nerves of steel and was named man of the tournament, called the runs via Stokes’ deflection “a shame” but suggested that for New Zealand, beaten finalists for the second World Cup running, it was just not meant to be.The very first delivery of England’s chase gave an indication of how nerve-shredding a contest this would become. Boult produced a curving inswinger to hit Jason Roy squarely on the front pad and 4.8m primarily rugby-loving people went up in unison. Marais Erasmus shook his head and although New Zealand chose to review, it was Roy who benefited from the marginal nature of umpire’s call.Eoin Morgan holds the World Cup aloft•Getty Images

The opening exchanges were a blur of black and blue, with bruises on both sides, when Matt Henry finally located Roy’s outside edge. England’s opening partnership has been totemic and Roy had swaggered into this final, so the importance of his dismissal was twofold in that it both dented English confidence and deprived the chase of a man who might quickly reduce the odds in their favour.With Henry bowling a beautiful spell and Joe Root unable to find his rhythm, New Zealand clawed their way into the ascendency. The tension was enervating, Lord’s subdued. Colin de Grandhomme dropped Bairstow off his own bowling, a reaction chance to his midriff, as New Zealand strung together three maidens in a row. Root then cracked: hit on the pads and then beaten when he gave de Grandhomme the charge, he next threw his bat at a wide outswinger to be caught behind.In stultifying conditions, New Zealand applied a choke hold. Bairstow dragged on against the pace of Ferguson, who then brilliantly caught Eoin Morgan running in from deep point. Meanwhile de Grandhomme, playing the role of a latter-day Madan Lal, bowled ten overs off the reel.Nothing about this contest was straightforward, including the decision at the toss, which had been delayed by 15 minutes due to early morning rain. Williamson chose to bat, in keeping with the dominant trend at this tournament – runs on the board matter. While England bowled well enough, a Powerplay score of 33 for 1 left the teams circling each other warily; New Zealand happy to have only lost Guptill, England eager to send back Williamson, too, as quickly as possible.With Henry Nicholls providing the first half-century by a New Zealand opener since the opening game, they were able to establish a foothold. As in the group match between these two, Nicholls was given out lbw on zero by a Chris Woakes delivery that was going over the stumps; this time, on the biggest stage, he had the wherewithal to use New Zealand’s review.England thought they might have removed Guptill inside the first couple of overs, too, only for Erasmus to correctly adjudge that the ball from Archer had flicked the batsman’s trousers rather than outside edge. Guptill’s response was to try and hit a way out of his rut, ramping Archer for six and smashing another boundary back down the ground. But Woakes brought one back inside an expansive drive to hit the back leg, and Guptill’s wasted review was to have consequences later on.Nicholls and Williamson played sensibly to put on 74 but, whether it was the pitch or the occasion, the innings nevertheless began to enter a gentle tailspin from the moment Williamson was removed by Liam Plunkett – DRS again required to overturn the on-field call. Nicholls chopped on against another Plunkett cross-seamer four overs later, and then New Zealand were left to curse their luck when Ross Taylor was given out lbw, despite ball-tracking showing the ball going over the top of leg stump. It would not end up being the only talking point of the day.

Warwickshire produce unbroken opening stand in response to Kent’s mammoth 585 for 7 declared

ECB Reporters Network01-Jul-2019Injury-hit Warwickshire mounted a spirited response on day two of their Specsavers County Championship match with Kent played out on featherbed pitch in Canterbury.After seeing the hosts post a mammoth 585 for 7 declared – courtesy of a Championship best 166 from Daniel Bell-Drummond and Sean Dickson’s season’s best 161 – the visitors countered with an unbroken opening stand worth 142 in the 47 overs through to stumps. Will Rhodes hit an attractive 70 and Dom Sibley provided able support with an unbeaten 60 allowing Warwickshire to cut the first-innings deficit to 443 runs at the mid-point of the match.Kent, resuming on their overnight score of 338 for 2, batted on until an hour after lunch in adding 247 in 48.1 overs for a season’s best total. Third-wicket partners Bell-Drummond and Dickson scored at a healthy lick in the opening exchanges to extend their stand to 197.Dickson’s nicely-timed cover drive against Toby Lester for his 17th boundary raised his individual 150, but Dickson’s 390-minute vigil ended with his score on 161 after a mistimed pull to midwicket off the bowling of James Wainman.The wicket gave Warwickshire their only bowling bonus point and very brief respite before Kent cantered past 400 for maximum batting bonus points and Bell-Drummond notched his maiden century of the Championship summer. Bell-Drummond’s cover drive, again off Wainman the left-armer, dissected the cover field for a 13th four and bring up his 181-ball century. It was Bell-Drummond’s first Championship hundred since April 2016 against Leicestershire.In attempting to plunder quick runs, Kent’s acting captain Heino Kuhn gifted Wainman another scalp when, with his score on 17, he clipped a wide short one straight to backward point.Just before lunch, Bell-Drummond reached his 150 from 236 balls with 21 fours and a six and soon went past 153, his previous best in Championship cricket scored against Hampshire in 2014. The right-hander, who turns 26 next month, eventually went for 166 after 300 minutes at the crease after edging an ambitious drive against Wainman to the keeper.”It’s been a while since my last Championship hundred so it’s been a great day for me personally,” Bell-Drummond said “I want to move forward from here, take all the positives and keep going in this format. I’ve been doing really well in white-ball cricket but it’s been a tough few years for me in this format, which annoyed me quite a bit, because I prefer red-ball cricket to the others. It’s never too late to learn things in this game and I’ll hope to keep looking forward and put these past three years behind me.”I’ve still got the hunger, even more so after today, so I’ll be looking to kick on to enjoy and improve in the four-day game.”After Bell-Drummond’s demise, Ollie Robinson kept the board ticking with a sprightly 78 before his top-edged pull gave Lester a wicket caught in the deep, then Jeetan Patel, having sent down 43 overs of offspin, had Darren Stevens caught off a skied slog sweep to spark Kent’s declaration and finish with 1 for 135.Wainman posted creditable figures of 3 for 112 for a makeshift Warwickshire attack that had toiled manfully for the opening nine hours of the game.

A maiden T20I win over Afghanistan could boost morale for struggling side, while Afghanistan could look to test bench strength in dead rubber

The Preview by Mohammad Isam19-Sep-2019

Big picture

This game is the first of two dead rubbers in this tri-series, but try telling that to Hamilton Masakadza. This will be his last international match and, having contributed for so long to Zimbabwe cricket, a win over a side that has totally dominated them in T20Is will make for a sweet exit.Afghanistan, on the other hand, will once again rely on their heavy hitters and their spin attack to stop Zimbabwe, a formula that has worked on each of the eight occasions the teams have met in this format. In this series, Asghar Afghan, Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi have scored most of the runs but Afghanistan will also hope to see Hazratullah Zazai recover from a batting slump. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who impressed on his debut earlier in the tri-series, would look to bounce back from the first-ball duck in the second game.Among their bowlers, Mujeeb Ur Rahman stopped Bangladesh in their tracks with his maiden four-wicket haul in the previous game, also his T20I best. Fareed Ahmad, the left-arm quick, also looked impressive, although medium-pacer Karim Janat hasn’t been among the wickets.Zimbabwe haven’t had as many impressive individual performances. Richmond Mutumbami did justice to his call-up against Bangladesh on Wednesday with a half-century but his efforts did not have an impact on the result. Ryan Burl, who made a quickfire fifty in the first game against Bangladesh, has struggled for consistency, as has Regis Chakabva. And the side’s senior batsmen, including Masakadza, haven’t scored enough to put pressure on the opposition.They have some variety in their bowling attack but apart from Kyle Jarvis, the others haven’t quite stepped up. Neville Madziva, Ainsley Ndlovu and Sean Williams will look to do a better job with the ball.

Form guide

Afghanistan WWWWW (Last five completed matches, most recent first)
Zimbabwe LLLWL

In the spotlight

Like his team, Hamilton Masakadza, too, has had a rough time in the tournament, scoring only 62 in three innings so far. In his final match, a big knock from the Zimbabwe captain could well have a big impact on the morale of the side.Getty Images

With two matches to go before the final, this would be the right time for Hazratullah Zazai to get back among the runs. The opener hasn’t scored a fifty in his last 14 international innings, after his 67 against Ireland in March this year

Team news

Having played their first two matches in the series with an unchanged XI, Afghanistan now have the luxury of two matches to test out their bench strength. Fast bowlers Dawlat Zadran and Naveen-ul-Haq, seaming allrounder Fazal Niazai and wicketkeeper Shafiqullah and left-arm spinner Shahidullah and Sharafuddin Ashraf are their options should they rest a few key players.Afghanistan (probable): 1 Hazratullah Zazai, 2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 3 Najeeb Tarakai, 4 Asghar Afghan, 5 Najibullah Zadran, 6 Mohammad Nabi, 7 Gulbadin Naib, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Karim Janat, 10 Fareed Ahmad, 11 Mujeeb Ur RahmanRichmond Mutumbami’s fifty should keep him in the side but Zimbabwe might consider recalling quick bowler Tendai Chatara and allrounder Tony Munyonga to bolster the bowling.Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Brendan Taylor (wk), 2 Hamilton Masakadza (capt), 3 Sean Williams, 4 Regis Chakabva, 5 Tinotenda Mutombodzi, 6 Ryan Burl, 7 Richmond Mutumbami, 8 Neville Madziva, 9 Kyle Jarvis, 10 Ainsley Ndlovu, 11 Chris Mpofu

Pitch and conditions

In the match between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury pitch offered runs to batsmen, who were ready to take time to assess the situation. There’s chance of a late shower on Friday evening.

Stats and trivia

• Masakadza will retire having played the most T20Is for Zimbabwe. He has missed only four of Zimbabwe’s 69 T20Is, all in 2015. He is also their highest run-getter in the format, with the most 50-plus scores and the most boundaries.
• Mohammad Nabi’s unbeaten 84 in Afghanistan’s previous game against Bangladesh is the third-highest score by a No. 6 batsman in all T20Is.

The former Australia captain retires from his role as CA’s national talent manager on Monday, having been involved in the game for more than 50 years

Andrew McGlashan30-Sep-2019Greg Chappell walks from the field at Lord’s during the 1972 Ashes Test where he made 131•PA Photos

Batsman
One of Australia’s greats. Chappell started and ended his Test career with centuries, against England and Pakistan respectively, in all amassing 7110 runs at 53.86 – which remains the sixth-highest average for a batsman with at least 80 Tests – with 24 hundreds in a career that spanned 1970-1984. It won’t show in official records, but some of his most dominant batting came during World Series Cricket when he scored 621 runs in five “SuperTests” against a West Indies side that had an attack of Holding, Garner, Croft and Roberts.By the 1977 Ashes, Greg Chappell was Australia’s captain, a role he continued after World Series Cricket•PA Photos

Captain
His captaincy stint came either side of World Series Cricket, in which he was a key figure, and in total it encompassed 48 matches with Ashes series in 1977 (a defeat) and 1982-83 (a victory). He scored centuries in each innings in his first match as captain against West Indies in Brisbane. However, his captaincy career is most famously remembered for when he instructed his brother, Trevor, to bowl underarm against New Zealand at the MCG in 1981.Greg Chappell’s time as India coach was not always a happy one•Getty Images

Coach
Chappell had a five-year spell as South Australia coach from 1998-99 to 2002-03, and in 2008 headed up CA’s centre of excellence, which included being involved with Australia’s Under-19 team. He has also worked with the Australia A side and U-19s in his latter role as national talent manager. But his headline stint as a coach came when he was in charge of India between 2005-2007. It became a controversial spell, which included crashing out in the first round of the 2007 World Cup and falling out with captain Sourav Ganguly.Greg Chappell talks to coach Justin Langer and captain Tim Paine•Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Selector
His first spell as an Australian selector came straight after he finished playing and lasted from 1984-1988. It was a time when the team struggled in Tests – although it included the 1987 World Cup victory – but during that spell names who would lead an era of great success, including David Boon and Steve Waugh, made their debuts. He was again appointed a selector in 2010, although it was a brief stay; he was part of the Argus Review clear out and in 2011 moved into his role as national talent manager. In 2016, following the upheaval created by the crushing defeat by South Africa in Hobart, Chappell returned to a selection role alongside Trevor Hohns.As national talent manager, Greg Chappell kept watch over the next generation•Getty Images

Administrator
After finishing his playing career, Chappell became a member of the Australia Cricket Board alongside his first selection role. During his most recent stint as national talent manager, Cricket Australia’s methods have not always been met with approval, particularly around the fast-tracking of young talent and the formation of a CA XI to play in the one-day competition, but Chappell remained a voice of experience at a time of considerable change. In an interview with last year to mark his 70th birthday, he was asked what he would like his legacy to be. “Someone who cared for the game,” he said.

A chase of 186 was made to look very easy by South Africa’s Test batsmen

The Report by Firdose Moonda17-Nov-2019Tshwane Spartans got their first win of this Mzansi Super League (MSL) with only the second successful chase of the tournament so far. After the Nelson Mandela Bay Stars eased to victory chasing 109 against the Jozi Stars on Saturday, the Spartans made a heavier task look easy and hunted down a target of 186 with five balls to spare. Their win has taken them up to third place on the points table and pushed Paarl Rocks into fourth.It’s blowing in the wind While the east coast of the country has been hit by heavy rain, the west has seen strong winds with gusts of up to 50kph over this weekend and it had an effect on the fielders. Six catches were dropped in total, four by the visiting team and two which gave top-scorer James Vince lifelines.Henry Davids was on 14 when he was put down at deep square-leg, and he went on to score 30. Vince did much more damage. He was first put down on 5 when he miscued a shot off Lungi Ngidi to AB de Villiers at long-off. De Villiers had the ball in his hands but was back-pedalling and heading over the rope so he tossed the ball up, but not high enough that he could get back on the field and complete the catch.Three overs later, Vince offered a much simpler chance to by Donovan Ferreira at deep midwicket off Roelof van der Merwe but the ball slipped through the hands. Morne Morkel then dropped a return catch off Dwaine Pretorius when the batsman was on 7. He, however, only added two more to his total.The hosts did not escape the wind either. Isuru Udana had two chances put down – Theunis de Bruyn, who was dropped by Bjorn Fortuin at long-on when on 31, and de Villiers, on 8, put down by Pretorius at backward square-leg. While de Bruyn went on to make 42, de Villiers only scored 19.Faf v Morne Watching former team-mates take each other on is part of the fun of T20 franchise cricket and though today was billed as being about Faf du Plessis v de Villiers, it was actually du Plessis v Morne Morkel. The former Titans and South African team-mates were on opposite sides in Paarl and Morkel claimed major bragging rights. He had du Plessis caught at midwicket for a third-ball duck to put the Rocks in early trouble at 45 for 2.Highest opening partnership of the competition Who said Dean Elgar and Theunis de Bruyn are red-ball cricketers only? Not us! The Test duo put on the highest opening partnership of the competition so far – 104 runs in 12.2 overs, which featured a dynamic array of strokes. De Bruyn cut and pulled well while Elgar was enterprising and aggressive, hitting down the ground and timing and placing the ball well, especially in the air. Elgar was the match’s top-scorer with 88 off 60 balls, including seven fours and two sixes.Captain Klaasen The most-scrutinised leadership skills in this competition are Temba Bavuma’s and Quinton de Kock’s as the succession race for the South African national team hots up, but Heinrich Klaasen showed why he also has something to offer as he led from the front to take his side to victory. Klaasen’s cameo of 31 runs off 13 balls featured a reverse-sweep, a straight drive over Tabraiz Shamsi and back-to-back sixes at the end of the 19th over to ensure the Spartans only needed two runs to win off the last six balls.

Worcestershire leg-spinner among young faces heading to Malaysia for ODI and T20I series

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Nov-2019Sarah Glenn, the Worcestershire leg-spinner, has earned a maiden call-up to the England Women’s team for next month’s ODI and T20 series against Pakistan in Malaysia.The 20-year-old Glenn caught selectors’ attention while playing for Loughborough Lightning during the 2019 Kia Super League, which included figures of 3 for 25 when she bowled three top-order batsmen in an eight-wicket victory over Lancashire Thunder in August. Among those wickets was Indian star Harmanpreet Kaur, bowled for a golden duck.Fellow youngster Mady Villiers, the 21-year-old who claimed 2 for 20 on debut as England beat Australia in the third T20I of the Women’s Ashes series in July, held her place in the squad announced on Wednesday.Sussex seamer Freya Davies, who played the last of her three T20Is against Sri Lanka in Colombo in March, returns to the England squad.England and Pakistan will play three ODIs starting on December 9, followed by three T20Is. All of the matches will be played at Kuala Lumpur’s Kinrara Oval.The ODIs are part of the ICC Women’s Championship, offering six points towards qualification for the 2021 ICC Women’s World Cup, with England having already secured their place at the tournament. The three T20Is are a chance to prepare for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Australia in February.England captain Heather Knight said her side were looking forward to returning to the international arena.”It’s been a few months since our last game and there’s been a fair bit of change in that time so this tour is an opportunity to start a new era and move forward,” Knight said. “There’s a few younger faces in the group but also a lot of proven talent. I’m really happy with the group and we can’t wait for the next few months.”With star wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor having retired from international cricket in the wake of her long battle with anxiety, Amy Jones will take the gloves for England.The side will travel to Malaysia with interim coach Ali Maiden after Mark Robinson left his post as head coach at the end of a disappointing home summer. Lisa Keightley, the Western Australia and Perth Scorchers coach who was last month appointed as England Women’s head coach, will take over in January.England: Heather Knight (capt), Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Kate Cross, Freya Davies, Sophie Ecclestone,Sarah Glenn, Kirstie Gordon, Amy Jones, Nat Sciver, Anya Shrubsole, Mady Villiers, Fran Wilson, Lauren Winfield, Danni Wyatt.

India have named a 16-member squad for the five-match T20I series that will kick off their tour from January 24

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jan-2020India have named a 16-member squad for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which will kick off their tour from January 24. Rohit Sharma, who was rested for the recently concluded three-match series against Sri Lanka, is back in the squad as vice-captain. His direct replacement for the series, Sanju Samson, has been drafted out of the squad.An addition has also been made to the squad that played Sri Lanka, with fast bowler Mohammed Shami back in the T20I squad after playing one match against West Indies in December, which was his first since July 2017.Shami’s inclusion makes it three express fast-bowling options for India, with Jasprit Bumrah and Navdeep Saini retaining their places. Shardul Thakur, who was Man of the Match in the last T20I against Sri Lanka, and took five wickets in two matches in the series, rounds up the frontline seam options. Backing them up is the medium-pace of allrounder Shivam Dube.Sharma’s return and Shikhar Dhawan’s retention gives India three in-form opening options, while KL Rahul will also double up as the back-up wicketkeeper. The length of this series, however, may also prompt India to try all three of them together as they have before, with Virat Kohli acknowledging during the Sri Lanka series that he was open to batting lower than the top three if needed. In essence, that would mean Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant could see themselves in and out through the course of these five matches, depending on which top-three combination India chooses.Among the spinners, India have continued to go with one of every kind – Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Kuldeep Yadav have all kept their places in the squad.India T20I squad for New Zealand tour: Virat Kohli (capt.), Rohit Sharma (vice-capt.), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur

The New South Wales left hander will play his first first-class match since October

Andrew McGlashan13-Feb-2020A year ago Kurtis Patterson had completed the high point of his career – a maiden Test century – and looked a more-than-even chance of being part of the Ashes. However, things did not turn out that way and this week in Sydney he will play just his second first-class match of an injury-disrupted season which has seen him slip back into the pack of batsmen-in-waiting.His Ashes hopes dwindled during a lean Australia A tour of England before the squad was picked and hopes of forcing his way back into the set-up at the beginning of this season were dashed by a quad injury, initially suffered in training before its recurrence during the Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania. The 26-year old has since admitted he was too keen to push his comeback.Patterson only returned to first-team action in mid-January – for his new BBL side Perth Scorchers – and will now finally have the chance to pull on the whites against Victoria at the SCG.”I accepted the reality of the situation,” he said. “I just had to concentrate on putting all my energy into getting my quad right. It’s never nice to miss big chunks of cricket, especially when it feels like you are batting well, so just really stoked to be back playing.”It will take a lot for Patterson to get back in the Test fold any time soon. Australia swept all five home Tests against Pakistan and New Zealand with just two matches in Bangladesh between now and the start of the 2020-21 home summer. There is, perhaps, one middle-order position to play for with Matthew Wade having not nailed down his spot but Patterson is unlikely to figure in the thinking for Bangladesh even if he knows he remains in the selectors’ thoughts having been included in a strong Australia A side to face England Lions in Melbourne next week.”It’s a white-ball winter with the T20 World Cup on [next October] with the amount of white-ball cricket the boys are playing in South Africa and England,” he said. “To be honest, I’m just happy to be back playing. I’ve worked on that skill of putting the Australian stuff out of my mind, there’s only two Tests and they are in Bangladesh ,so who knows how much this back half of the season with a seaming, swinging Duke ball will count for that? It will just be nice to win some games for New South Wales and hopefully another Shield.”A return to Australia A colours excites Patterson as the selectors continue the recent trend of picking strong sides in what have become Test trials of late. Patterson benefitted from one last season when his twin hundreds against the Sri Lankans in Hobart hastened his Test debut when he had not been in the original squad.”Lot of credit is due to CA, the feeling among the playing group is certainly that it’s a genuine second XI Australian team which wasn’t really the case for a few years,” he said. “The guys understand they are close, there’s a bit of added pressure on those games, it’s not just a hit around for the young players of potential. It’s always nice to play an English team and potentially leave some scars.”Beyond the latter part of this domestic season, Patterson’s plans remain undecided. He has previously spoken about being keen for a county contract but he may put his focus into fitness and the fact he is due to get married.”Still trying to work that out, I’m getting married on May 16 so, in terms of cricket, that throws a bit of a spanner in the works and obviously with the quad I need to dedicate some time to that in the off season to make sure I get that right going into next summer.”