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Welsh Fire hit rock-bottom after slipping to sixth consecutive defeat

Harshini Mehta24-Aug-2022Dan Lawrence starred with bat and ball as London Spirit recorded their fifth victory out of six in their Hundred campaign, beating winless Welsh Fire by 18 runs.The England international top-scored for his side with an impressive 43 off 26 and with Adam Rossington and Ben McDermott weighing in with 32 apiece, Spirit set a challenging target of 157 despite Ish Sodhi’s tight spell on debut.Lawrence made sure that total was never seriously challenged as he decimated Fire’s top order with 4 for 20, and despite some explosive hitting from the middle order, Fire came up short.Related

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After Fire won the toss and chose to field, Spirit opener Rossington produced the early pyrotechnics with a flurry of boundaries off Dwaine Pretorius and David Payne. His partner Daniel Bell-Drummond was undone by a beauty from Jake Ball, but Rossington’s brutal striking brought the hosts to 41 for one at the end of the powerplay.Sodhi, Fire’s replacement for Adam Zampa, applied the brakes, only giving away two runs in his first five and pressure told when Rossington slog-swept the New Zealand legspinner straight down Ben Duckett’s throat in the deep. Eoin Morgan went without scoring but McDermott picked up where Rossington had left off, smashing his second six over long-on.McDermott too though fell to Sodhi’s wizardry at which point he had 2 for 6 in 14 deliveries. But Lawrence caused a dent in his bowling figures, twice planting him into the Grandstand.A third six to the long side followed as he endangered the cameras beyond the longer square boundary and with Kieron Pollard also clearing the ropes in his last appearance before making his way back to the Caribbean Premier League, Spirit posted a competitive 156.Dan Lawrence gets down to slog-sweep•ECB/Getty Images

Fire struggled for momentum from the off, taking 17 balls to find the boundary and the out-of-form Joe Clarke holed out soon afterwards off the bowling of Thompson trying to go the aerial route.Thereafter Lawrence returned to centre stage – his delivery to captain Josh Cobb caused him to skew his effort and he was comfortably caught by Bell-Drummond; two balls later, he yorked Bethell with a beauty and David Miller’s effort was seized by Pollard on the boundary edge.Pretorius and Duckett briefly raised Fire’s hopes with a partnership of 52 off 28, the latter striking two big sixes, but Lawrence returned to castle Duckett with the last ball of his spell.Leus du Plooy took up the challenge clubbing consecutive sixes and Matt Critchley blazed 21 from six balls, but Chris Wood dismissed both in the final set of five to finish with 4 for 28 as Spirit clinched victory.

Australia were on track while David Warner and Marcus Stoinis were together, while there was nearly a controversial finish

Tristan Lavalette09-Oct-2022Alex Hales made a statement with a rapid 84, while quicks Mark Wood and Sam Curran thwarted Australia’s bold chase as England stepped up their T20 World Cup preparations with a tight eight-run victory in the series opener in Perth.

Finch gets demerit point for inappropriate language

Australia captain Aaron Finch was reprimanded and handed one demerit point after the first T20I for breaching Article 2.3 of the ICC Code of Conduct, which relates to “use of an audible obscenity”. An ICC statement said the incident occurred during the ninth over of England’s innings, with the stump mic picking up what Finch had said.
Finch accepted the sanction handed out by match referee David Boon, so there was no formal hearing.
Four demerit points within a 24-month period equates to a suspension. This is the only demerit point on Finch’s record at present, and it will stay on his record for the next 24 months.

In a record 132-run opening partnership for England against Australia, Hales and the returning Jos Buttler flattened a weakened attack to power the tourists to a huge total.An aggressive Australia, who had dropped Steven Smith, were on pace with David Warner making his second consecutive half-century but England held their nerve through quality death bowling from Wood and Curran.It was a return of international cricket in Perth since the women’s T20 World Cup in February 2020 after an easing of strict Covid-19 measures. The final two games of the series will be played in Canberra starting on Wednesday.Buttler returns with bang, Hales puts hand upAgainst a second-string Australia attack on a fast Optus Stadium pitch, a golden opportunity loomed for Buttler and Hales, who had been given the nod ahead of Phil Salt.Buttler demonstrated his fitness from a nagging calf injury with a blistering assault in the opening over, smashing four boundaries off Cameron Green whose first international match on his home ground started disastrously.In all-out attack mode, Buttler was at his brilliant best with a slew of destructive shots all around the wicket, including consecutive outrageous scoops in the fifth over against exasperated quick Kane Richardson.Hales started slowly, by comparison, before finding his range as the pair smashed 58 runs in the powerplay. There was no lull immediately after with Buttler launching legspinner Mitchell Swepson for consecutive sixes. They notched a century stand within nine overs before Buttler finally fell in the 12th over to Nathan Ellis.Hales then took over in similar fashion to his dominance in the BBL to almost surely cement a spot in England’s T20 World Cup line-up.Ellis fuels late Australia fightbackResting their frontline attack for the sole match of the series in Perth, Australia were perhaps on a hiding to nothing.Captain Aaron Finch had hoped to take advantage of the overcast conditions and smattering of grass, but his inexperienced attack mostly copped a flogging. Green particularly struggled with a slew of half volleys and his confidence spiralled when he bowled a beamer in the 13th over.Australia were staring down the barrel before a late fightback helped limit the damage just a little. An accurate Ellis emerged relatively unscathed earlier in the innings before bowling a superb 19th over to claim Curran and Moeen Ali.Hitting the pitch hard, bowling a clever mix of slower deliveries, the 28-year-old was the clear standout with 3 for 20 from four overs while his fellow bowlers each conceded more than 9.75 runs per over.It further emphasised Ellis’ unlucky omission from Australia’s T20 World Cup squad having performed reliably when called upon.Aaron Finch was run out by a superb throw from Sam Curran•Getty Images

Warner, Stoinis keep Australia on trackFinch was listed to return as opener, but contentiously Green, who is not in Australia’s World Cup squad, remained at the top. The gamble backfired with Green’s horror match continuing when he fell for 1 to Reece Topley in the second over.Finch entered at No. 4 but he had a short stay at the crease after being run out on 12 through brilliant fielding from Curran.Warner continued where he left off against West Indies to keep Australia on track and he was joined by Marcus Stoinis, who returned after a side strain. Pressure had built on Stoinis after a lean period and the emergence of Green but he was in powerful form with a trio of sixes as Australia suddenly were in the box seat.Wood, Curran thwart Australia at the deathBowling with rapid pace, peaking at 154kph/96mph, Wood swung the match in the 15th over with the wickets of Stoinis and Tim David, who failed to score in his first international in his home town.There was drama in the 17th over when Matthew Wade appeared to have impeded Wood in his attempt for a return catch after top-edging into his helmet. England didn’t appeal and Wade then threatened to once again be the hero at the finish.Needing 16 runs off the final over, Wade started with a boundary to inch Australia closer but holed out two balls later as Curran bowled calmly in the clutch to seal victory for England.

India coach has “absolutely no doubt about who’s going to open”, and says Rahul is well-aware of the support he has from the team management

Sidharth Monga01-Nov-20228:32

Dravid: Rahul knows he has our support – both in words and action

KL Rahul has unequivocal support from captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid after three single-digit scores in the 2022 Men’s T20 World Cup. In 13 matches since the start of the Asia Cup in August year, Rahul has averaged 27.33 at a strike rate of 121.03. In the same period, his two top-order colleagues, Virat Kohli and Rohit have scored at strike rates of 142.49 and 138.79, which has raised questions over Rahul’s place in the side. India themselves have no such doubts.”No, not at all,” Dravid said when asked if Rahul’s form has become a headache for the leadership. “I think he’s a fantastic player, and he’s got a proven track record. He’s done really well. I thought he’s been batting superbly. These things can happen in a T20 game sometimes. It’s not been that easy for top-order batsmen, this tournament has been pretty challenging.Related

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“I thought he was superb in the practice game against Australia with Mitchell Starc and Patrick Cummins. It was a pretty good attack, and I thought he batted superbly that day [for his 57 off 33]. So he’s actually playing really well. Just hoping it all clicks together over the next three or four games.”We know his quality, we know his ability, and he’s really well suited for these kind of conditions, these kind of pitches. He’s got a good all-around game. He’s got a very good strong back-foot game, which is obviously very much required in these conditions.”It is the conditions that have earned Rahul elbow room. In the 35 balls he has faced this tournament, Rahul has attempted to hit three boundaries, getting out on one of those. His other two dismissals came to defensive shots. That brings into sharp focus Rahul’s intent, which can sometimes be at odds with his exceptional ability with the bat. Dravid was asked if India can afford to give Rahul the time to play himself back into form in such a short format.”In these conditions, maybe we are able to afford him that time,” Dravid said. “We completely back him. We have no concerns about him. We know that when he gets going, and I’ve seen it against Australia, against a top-class attack just a couple of weeks ago, I know the impact this guy can make. In Rohit’s and my mind, there’s absolutely no doubt about who’s going to open for us.”I think [there] is a unique nature to playing this tournament in this country, that almost game-to-game you’re having to adapt your tactics, your strategies to different conditions. I think that’s the uniqueness of that. If the conditions so dictate that the ball is nipping around doing a bit, then we can afford our batsmen to maybe be a little bit more conservative, keep wickets in hand and then target.KL Rahul has had fitness and form issues to contend with over the past six months•PTI

“It’s about adapting and being smart. I don’t think there’s just one way to play T20 cricket on all conditions. Yes, there is a general template in which we understand you have to be positive; you have to take the game on. That would be 80% of most T20 games, but there is another 20%, and that can come in big tournaments like this, wherein you’ve got to have the players – and we discussed that in our dressing room – who have to be able to adapt and understand and read a situation.”If it’s not a 200-run wicket or it’s not a 180-run wicket and 160 is going to get the job done for you, then let’s figure out a way to get to 160. Last night [in Perth against South Africa], 150 might have done the job for us. I mean, 133 nearly did; 150 might have. We might be able to afford people a little bit more time [in such conditions].”We may not [here, in Adelaide]. Might be really flat when we come out here tomorrow, and it might become a 180 wicket and we might need to go harder. But I think the key word for me is adaptability and reading these conditions, these boundaries really well, and the teams that do that best will probably be the ones that will end up in the top four and certainly in the top two.”Rahul has not been left on his own to figure his way out. There have been conversations and support has been communicated to him. “Rest assured, both in words and in action, over the last year, he knows he has our support. He has known that. There has been a lot of clarity about what our side is going to be, what our squad is going to be coming into this tournament, and we haven’t wavered from that for a very long time.”Yes, because we play a lot of cricket, you might see a lot of different people playing in different situations, in different games. There have been a lot of injuries, including him. He’s had phases where he’s unfortunately been injured. But in word and in action, with all of our players – that’s the great thing about Rohit, that he’s really shown them that confidence and that belief.”There has been a school of thought that Rishabh Pant can bring in the much-needed left-hand option if he opens in place of Rahul, but the only way Pant might get in is if Dinesh Karthik is not fully fit after he had a back spasm while keeping against South Africa in Perth. Dravid said Karthik had shaped up well on the morning before the Bangladesh match, and that he would be assessed after training. A final decision will be made on the day of the match.

Aiden Markram returns to the squad for the two-match Test series against West Indies; Rassie van der Dussen left out

Firdose Moonda17-Feb-2023Temba Bavuma will captain South Africa’s Test team amid sweeping changes to the set-up in the post Mark Boucher era. Bavuma’s first assignment will be to lead the side in the two-match Test series against West Indies, starting on February 28, which will be part of the WTC.Bavuma takes over from Dean Elgar, who was named Test captain in mid-2021 and won his first four series, including a home series win over India, but lost in England and Australia. Bavuma will also continue as ODI captain but has relinquished the T20I job, following South Africa’s group-stage exits at the last two T20 World Cups.In Tests, Bavuma will team up with coach Shukri Conrad, whom he credited with helping him revive his ODI game. He scored a match-winning century against England in a series victory in January, which kept South Africa’s hopes of direct qualification for this year’s ODI World Cup alive.”We trust he [Bavuma] will deliver on all our expectations and help carry the team forward after some excellent work by his predecessor Dean during the same period,” Enoch Nkwe, CSA’s director of cricket, said. “At the same time, I would like to sincerely thank Dean for all his commitment to the role over the past two years. He helped the team navigate through some stormy waters and put them in good position on the ICC World Test Championship table.”Both men have made us proud with the work they have done within the wider Proteas group and look forward to the next step in what is a new era for the Proteas under the leadership of dual coaches Shukri Conrad and Rob Walter.”Speaking at the SA20 debrief, former South Africa captain Graeme Smith, who is the league’s commissioner, said any new captain would have a daunting task ahead. “The important part is for them to understand the strategy of how they’re going to get our team playing well again and dominating the world again,” he said. “That is going to be the most important part. All people in these types of leadership positions are going to have a strong buy-in with the key administrators who can help them grow the game and get better: from the selectors to the director of cricket to the CEO to some of the board members. That support, and that structure and the alignment of the strategy, is so important. They need to invest in that and take things on.”

Van der Dussen dropped, Markram recalled

South Africa’s Test squad saw several changes from the one that lost their last two series. Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne and Lungi Ngidi were left out of the squad, while opener Sarel Erwee was informed that he was no longer part of the red-ball plans after scoring one century but averaging 26.61 in his ten Tests. That opened the door for Aiden Markram’s return after he was dropped in England. Theunis de Bruyn was also told he was no longer required, which prompted his international retirement on Thursday.Rassie van der Dussen last played a Test in December in Australia•AFP/Getty Images

Markram will face competition from Western Province opener Tony de Zorzi, who earned his maiden call-up. De Zorzi is currently the leading run-scorer in CSA’s four-day division 1 series tallying 489 runs with a best of 304 not out.Keegan Petersen returned after recovering from a hamstring injury, and Ryan Rickelton was also included despite carrying a severe ankle injury that required surgery. He too has had a good run in the four-day tournament, scoring 240 runs in four innings with the help of two centuries.The squad will assemble in Centurion on February 24 and the first Test will start on February 28 in Centurion.South Africa squad for West Indies Tests: Temba Bavuma (capt), Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Dean Elgar, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Anrich Nortje, Keegan Petersen, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton

JP Duminy is set to be appointed batting coach

There are also changes to South Africa’s coaching set-up. JP Duminy is in discussions to take over as batting coach and will replace Justin Sammons, who was in the role under former coach Boucher. Duminy is currently the head coach of Boland, who are sixth in Division One of the four-day competition and finished in the same position in the One-Day Cup, and he also coached Paarl Royals, who lost in the semi-finals of the SA20.The selection panel, too, has been restructured. Victor Mpitsang and Patrick Moroney, who were in the jobs of selection convener and selector respectively, have been released. Among their more controversial decisions was the inclusion of Simon Harmer in the Manchester Test, which changed a winning attack from Lord’s and forced South Africa to bat first on a seamer-friendly pitch.CSA is reviewing the selection committee procedures. In the interim, the head coaches of the respective teams will play a leading role in squad selections.

Tourists declare on 413 after 67-over innings on opening day of tour in Colombo

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jan-2023SL President’s XI 93 for 2 trail England Lions 413 for 8 dec (Lees 103, Haynes 64*, Bohannon 58, Abell 57, Smith 50) by 320 runsAlex Lees lived up to the fast-paced standards that he had instilled in him during his summer in England’s Test ranks, by striking a 94-ball century on the opening day of England Lions’ tour of Sri Lanka.Lees, who debuted in the Caribbean in March last year, played all seven of England’s Tests in a remarkable summer under the new leadership of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes, but was dropped for the recent tour of Pakistan after making 327 runs at 25.15, including two half-centuries.His omission from the ECB’s list of centrally contracted players was a further sign that he had slipped down the pecking order, with Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett preferred in Pakistan, but his performance against a Sri Lanka President’s XI was clear evidence that the Test team’s new mindset is firmly entrenched in his psyche.He struck 12 fours and two sixes in his innings of 103, the second-fastest century in England Lions’ history, behind Luke Wright – the new national selector – who reached the mark in 91 balls in New Zealand in 2009.Speaking ahead of the tour, Lees acknowledged that an England recall might not be on the immediate horizon, given the importance of backing the Test incumbents in the current regime. But despite his intermittent success, particularly in two key run-chases against New Zealand and India, he admitted that a top score of 67 in ten Tests had been his downfall.”I think I enjoyed being in that environment, especially in the summer playing in a successful side,” he said. “It was brilliant. I think my reflections on playing those games, I sort of played pretty competently but just lacked that big score which is obviously the difference. As a top-order batter, you’re averaging mid-twenties to mid-forties for the summer which, in essence, is what your Test summer is built around.”Nevertheless, Lees’ influence rubbed off throughout a Lions batting card with a very “Bazball” look to it, as England declared on 413 for 8 after 67 overs, a performance that came at better than a run a ball, and included four further half-centuries for Tom Abell (57), Josh Bohannon (58), Jack Haynes (64 not out) and Jamie Smith, whose 35-ball at No.8 was the quickest by an England player at Lions level.Haseeb Hameed was another man who featured at the top of the Test batting order in 2022, with his most recent appearance coming in the Ashes at Sydney in January, but he fared rather less well in his first outing as Lions captain. He fell to his first ball of the match, caught off Kavindu Pathiratne in the first over of the match.In reply, the President’s XI reached 93 for 2 in 19.5 overs before the close, with spinners Liam Patterson-White and Jack Carson both picking up a wicket.The Lions are playing all 16 of their players in this match in Colombo, which is not being classified as first-class. The President’s XI used ten bowlers in the course of England’s innings.

Axar avoided it while making 74 crucial runs for India; Jadeja benefited from Australia’s overuse of it to finish with a match haul of ten wickets

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Feb-20233:43

Chappell on the sweep shots: Australia panicked and did something not natural

Australia’s collapse – precipitated by an overuse of the sweep shot – and India’s subsequent romp to victory in the Delhi Test has raised a lot of questions about shot selection on spin-friendly pitches.Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, India’s two left-arm spin-bowling allrounders, said the sweep was the wrong option on pitches with low bounce and that the better strategy was to play with a straight bat in front of the pad as often as possible.Both men used that philosophy to help India get to within one run of Australia’s first-innings of 263 on the second day’s play. Jadeja scored 26, Axar top-scored with 74, and then when it looked like India were on the back foot at the start of the third day, Jadeja ran through the Australian batting order to finish with career-best bowling figures of 7 for 42.”Sweep and reverse sweep are difficult here, so I didn’t try them (laughs),” Axar – who hit nine fours and three sixes in his innings – told Jadeja in a chat for the BCCI website. “Instead I bring the bat in front of the pad and play the ball on its merit.””The last time I batted with you [Jadeja], you had told me that they were trying to aim at my pads, so I was protecting it. My thought was to hit what’s in the slot and respect the good deliveries. That is what I do. This time there was a left-arm spinner [Matthew Kuhnemann] too. ” Jadeja interjected at that point with a good-natured, “and you robbed him for runs.” Axar just laughed and continued. “No I didn’t rob him, but with a left-arm spinner operating instead of an offspinner, you get to play at a delivery turning into you.”Jadeja’s innings of 26 might not look like much but in partnership with Virat Kohli, who scored 44, they produced some of the best batting of the Test match and it was all based on being prepared for the grubber.Only Anil Kumble is in front of Ravindra Jadeja for most POTM awards in India•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“On this pitch, the mindset [with the bat] was that a good ball can come anytime,” Jadeja said. “However the idea was to believe in the defense and play with the bat in front of the pad. Me and Virat were talking about playing straight as much as possible with less bounce on offer.”Then when he had the ball in hand, and saw Australia trying to sweep everything away, he knew all he had to do was bowl straight at the stumps.”In India, if the wickets are like this, then it feels good that a spinner’s role and responsibility increases. The way they were batting, they preferred the sweep and reverse sweep, so I wanted to bowl stump to stump. That would mean if they missed and the ball stayed low then it would hit the stumps.”Related

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Jadeja’s seven wickets included five bowleds. Australia collapsed from 65 for 1 to 113 all out. And India cruised to a six-wicket victory before tea on day three.Jadeja, who has returned to the international fold for the first series since his knee injury last August that had needed surgical intervention, said that all three spinners in the XI have been contributing, be it big or small.”I missed a lot of cricket…the World Cup, and many other series, but once I’m back, I want to continue this way in the future, and make team India win with you [Axar] and Ashwin. This is a team game and everyone has contributed in different ways. If this happens, India’s victory march will only continue.”India play the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which they have now retained having gone 2-0 ahead, on March 1. They are also in pole position for a spot in the World Test Championship final later in June.

Naik, who played three Tests in 1974-75, was 78 at the time of his death

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Apr-2023Sudhir Naik, the former Mumbai captain, died on Wednesday after a brief illness. He was 78.Naik, who played three Tests and two ODIs for India between 1974 and 1975, had been in the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Mumbai after suffering a fall at his residence on March 24.”A day after he was hospitalised, I went and saw him. He was responding to the treatment,” Zaheer Khan, the former India fast bowler who Naik took under his wings in 1996, told . “He recognised me and tried talking to me. I had a bit of a conversation with him. Knowing the personality that I have seen over the years, I was hoping he would fight through this. But it wasn’t to be.”On Sunday night, he became critical, and we were told that the next 72 hours will be critical. While we were hoping for his recovery, all through this time, I have been recalling my innumerable conversations with him as soon as I moved to Mumbai.”Naik rose to national prominence when he led a depleted Mumbai side to Ranji Trophy glory in 1970-71. It was a title they won without Sunil Gavaskar, Ajit Wadekar and Dilip Sardesai, who were all part of India’s squad that was touring the Caribbean.While Naik was dropped the following season once the stars returned, he wasn’t to be denied for long. In 1974, he was picked for the tour of England and made his debut in the Birmingham Test, where he made his only Test half-century – 77 – in a losing cause. His reputation was, however, affected when he was accused of shoplifting at a London departmental store during that tour.Overall, he played 85 first-class games and scored 4376 runs at an average of 35.29, hitting and seven centuries including a double.After his retirement in 1977-78, Naik moved to cricket administration, coaching and, later, became the chief curator at the Wankhede Stadium. He was chief curator of the Mumbai Cricket Association when the Wankhede Stadium hosted the 2011 World Cup final as well as Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell Test in November 2013.

Sinclair also marked his return with a four-for as West Indies overcame a mini collapse to seal a nervy win

Deivarayan Muthu09-Jun-2023
Alick Athanaze announced himself with the joint-fastest half-century on ODI debut and Kevin Sinclair marked his return with a four-wicket haul as West Indies swept UAE 3-0 in Sharjah. Athanaze, who idolises Brian Lara, unleashed some audacious pulls that would’ve done Lara proud, while Sinclair found sharp grip and turn to trigger an UAE collapse of 8 for 42. Though West Indies themselves suffered a mini-collapse later in the evening, they overhauled their target of 185 with four wickets and nearly 15 overs to spare.Both Athanaze and Sinclair are not part of West Indies’ squad for the upcoming ODI World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, but they provided a peek into West Indies’ future. When Athanze zoomed to a 26-ball half-century, Carlos Brathwaite, who was on TV commentary at the time, even called 24-year-old Athanaze the “future of West Indies cricket”. Athanaze had been earmarked for the big time ever since he topped the run charts in the 2018 Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand.On Friday, Athanaze got cracking immediately, smoking left-arm fingerspinner Aayan Afzal Khan for a brace of sixes. He then took seamer Junaid Siddique for a triptych of fours, racing to 30 off 11 balls. He then equalled Krunal Pandya’s record for the joint-fastest fifty on ODI debut with a drilled four off Rohan Mustafa. Athanaze looked good for a century on debut, but Aayan cut his innings short on 65 off 45 balls.Aayan and wristspinner Karthik Meiyappan, whose stock ball is the wrong’un, then made West Indies’ middle order toil for the win. In the absence of regular captain Shai Hope and vice-captain Brandon King, who were rested among a number of changes, West Indies went 81 balls without a boundary. Stand-in captain Roston Chase, however, closed out the chase along with Keemo Paul without any further drama.Alick Athanaze celebrates his half-century•AFP/Getty Images

As for UAE, they will be buoyed by the performances of their spinners. Aayan fronted up to bowl with the new ball and varied his angles and pace well with the old one. Karthik, who had leaked 55 runs in 4.2 overs in the series opener, bounced back so strongly that he was on the verge of a hat-trick at one point. Reifer averted the hat-trick, but Karthik continued to pose a threat with his wrong’un.But it was Sinclair who was the best spinner on the day. He had started his career as a popgun firing darts but has gained more control over his offbreak in recent years. UAE’s top-scorer and vice-captain Vriitya Aravind (70) was done in by that offbreak, as were Aayan and Rameez Shahzad. Sinclair dovetailed beautifully with legspinner Yannic Cariah who returned 2 for 34. Chase didn’t get a wicket, but was the most economical bowler for West Indies, conceding only 3.87 an over.The start had been more promising for UAE after they opted to take the first strike. Aravind and captain Muhammad Waseem forged a 96-run partnership for the second wicket off just 55 balls. Both batters regularly hit over the top, messing with the lengths and lines of West Indies’ seamers.It was Reifer who snapped the stand when he went around the wicket and hit the top of Waseem’s off stump in the 12th over. Aravind went on to bring up a 42-ball fifty, but Sinclair kept striking as UAE’s innings spiralled out of control. Sinclair’s celebratory somersaults were as eye-catching as his offbreaks and sliders.From 142 for 2, UAE eventually folded for 184, leaving almost 14 overs unused in their innings. There would be no way back for them, despite good spells from Aayan and Karthik.

Joe Leach claims six wickets, making him the highest wicket-taker in Division Two

ECB Reporters Network11-Jun-2023Sussex gave spectators free admission to the opening day of their LV= County Championship match against Worcestershire – and what a day they had. They saw Sussex recover from 142 for 6 to reach 338 for 9 thanks to some late-order hitting from first Nathan McAndrew and then Jack Carson and Henry Shipley, the last two putting on 85 for the ninth wicket, the biggest stand of the innings.At tea, when Sussex were 205 for 7, honours looked appropriately even at the 1st Central County Ground for the second and third placed counties in division two. And it was fitting that Sussex (second) were on top of Worcestershire when bad light drove the players from the field with eight overs remaining.The first, intense session brought some old-fashioned county cricket, with Sussex reaching lunch on 81 for 3 from 30 overs, at a run-rate of 2.70.Worcestershire had chosen to bowl on a humid, sticky morning and the green tinge to the pitch might also have influenced their choice; whether they would have made the same decision had Cheteshwar Pujara and Steve Smith been batting for Sussex, as they were at Worcester last month, is another matter.It was a very testing two hours and the Worcestershire fast bowlers made the batters play at almost every delivery. The best of them, not for the first time, was the bald and bustling figure of Joe Leach, who bowled with thoughtful aggression, round the wicket and over, wide on the crease and close to the stumps.He broke through with the last ball of the opening over, which Tom Clark edged to Jake Libby at fourth slip. His fellow opener, Tom Haines, battled for just under an hour for his nine runs before he edged Leach to wicketkeeper Gareth Roderick and Sussex were 28 for 2 in the 14th over.Tom Alsop (left-handed Toms make up the first three in the Sussex line-up) battled as obdurately as Haines. But his innings of 71 minutes and 56 deliveries ended on 19, when he got one from Leach which straightened off the pitch for Jack Haynes to take the edge at second slip.The Sussex batters looked a little more confident in the last few overs before the interval, after Leach had left the attack, and they carried that impetus into the afternoon session. James Coles and Oli Carter struck a flurry of boundaries but then the impressive and fluent Coles fell to a soft dismissal, with an uppercut off Adam Finch to Leach at third man. Finch had just been warned for running on the pitch. Then, one run later, Danial Ibrahim, edged to second slip for a seven-ball duck and Sussex were 120 for 5.That became 142 for six when Fynn Hudson-Prentice edged to Roderick who dropped the catch but then caught it at the second attempt just before it hit the ground. There was a hesitation and a meeting of umpires before the batter departed and Leach had his 17th five-wicket haul.Carter and McAndrew decided to counter-attack their way out of trouble and this approach brought 59 runs in 14 overs before Carter slapped a short one from Matthew Waite to backward-point. But he had hit 11 fours in his 132-ball 76.McAndrew went on to hit 65 from 68 balls, with a dozen fours. But it was the partnership that followed that won the day for Sussex, forcing Worcestershire to take the new ball without Adam Finch, who was taken out of the attack after running on the pitch.Carson made an unbeaten 60 but the real bonus for Sussex was the effort from New Zealander Henry Shipley, making his first-class debut for the county. Shipley was brought in to bolster the county’s fast bowling options but struck a fluent 41, with six fours and a six. He finally gave the heroic Leach his sixth wicket, making him the highest wicket-taker in the division.

Dutch allrounder backs up unbeaten 85 with three top-order Glamorgan wickets

ECB Reporters Network13-Jun-2023Bas de Leede produced career-best batting and bowling figures to boost Durham’s hopes of defeating Glamorgan on day three of their LV= Insurance County Championship match at Seat Unique Riverside.De Leede scored an unbeaten 85 to allow Durham to post a mammoth total of 630, their fifth-highest score in first-class cricket, following 151 from David Bedingham. The hosts added 170 for the final three wickets to force Glamorgan to toil in the heat, taking a 240-run lead into the second innings.The Netherlands international then took centre stage with the ball, striking with his first two deliveries before adding a third to end the day with figures of 3 for 25 to leave Glamorgan four down at the close, still requiring 81 runs to make Durham bat again.Durham began the day with a lead of 21, and Bedingham added another milestone to his collection by working his way past 150. But, he would fall from the following delivery knicking off to James Harris to end a partnership worth 149 with Graham Clark.Related

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Clark added only 12 to his overnight score as he lacked the fluency to kick on for his second first-class hundred in a row, although the tail would ensure that Durham’s dominance of the scoreboard continued.De Leede helped his team turn the screw with a patient knock for his third first-class fifty, securing a career-best score of 85, including six fours and a six that Timm van der Gugten could not keep in play on the rope.Ben Raine, Ajaz Patel and Craig Miles all made double figures to frustrate the visitors, who were forced to scatter the field against the latter amid an onslaught of runs in the afternoon sun. Miles blasted two sixes in the final stand with de Leede worth 62, lifting Durham to their fifth-highest first-class score of 630 and a lead of 240. After dropping Miles twice, Gorvin got the final wicket to end four-and-a-half sessions of toil for the visitors.Glamorgan required a solid start from their makeshift openers Zain ul-Hassan and Andrew Salter. The two batters were solid and added a second partnership over fifty for the first wicket.Stanley McAlindon endured a tough time in the field in the first innings, and his luck was out again from his first ball after finding Zain’s outside edge, only for the ball to travel through the vacant second slip position. But McAlindon was rewarded for his efforts with the first wicket as he found Zain’s top edge and Ollie Robinson took a fine diving catch.De Leede then turned up the pressure with two wickets from his first two deliveries. Ingram picked out Bedingham at gully with a loose shot before de Leede pinned Sam Northeast lbw. Kiran Carlson survived the hat-trick ball, but de Leede’s impressive spell continued when he sent Salter’s stumps flying for 48.Carlson’s resistance continued until the close alongside Billy Root, although the Glamorgan skipper and his team have a huge task ahead of them to avoid their first defeat of the season.