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Joe Root, with a career-high 923 rating points, is now at No. 19 on the list of the highest-rated batters in Test history

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jul-2022Jonny Bairstow and Rishabh Pant, the standout batting stars of the Edgbaston Test, have burst into the top ten of the ICC men’s Test player rankings – Bairstow at tenth place and Pant at a career-best No. 5. The unbeaten century in the second innings didn’t hurt Joe Root’s cause either, as he consolidated his position at the top of the table, that too with 923 rating points, his best.Bairstow was the Player of the Match following innings of 106 and 114 not out in England’s seven-wicket win, which helped them square the five-match Test series 2-2. That made it four centuries in his last three Tests for him, and he moved up 11 places to No. 10. He has 1218 runs at an average of 55.36 with six centuries in the current World Test Championship cycle.With Bairstow moving up, Virat Kohli, who only managed scores of 11 and 20 at Edgbaston, fell four spots to No. 13. This is the first time since 2016 that Kohli has not featured in the top ten in Test cricket. As for Bairstow, it was a continuation of his stunning rise in recent weeks. Prior to the New Zealand Test series in June, he was ranked 47th. Now, he is back in the top ten for the first time since 2018.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Root, who collaborated with Bairstow in an unbroken 269-run stand that took England over the line against India and scored an unbeaten 142 himself – to go with 31 in the first innings – stretched his lead at the top of the table to 44 ratings points over second-placed Marnus Labuschagne. Root is now also among the top 20 highest-rated batters in Test history, at No. 19.Steven Smith and Babar Azam were at three and four respectively, with Pant at five. Pant was the main performer with the bat for India in the Test, hitting 146 in the first innings and 57 in the second. That took him up six places from No. 11.Two bowlers who gained in the latest rankings update were James Anderson and Nathan Lyon. Anderson picked up six wickets at Edgbaston, including 5 for 60 in the first innings, to move up one spot to sixth among Test bowlers. And Lyon, who picked up nine wickets in the first Test in Sri Lanka, has risen five spots to 13th.

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There was also a new top-tenner in the men’s T20I bowling rankings: Akeal Hosein. Hosein has returned 1 for 22 and 1 for 27 in the two T20Is at home against Bangladesh so far – the first ended in a no-result because of the weather and West Indies won the second by 35 runs. That has given him a jump of ten spots, and a joint-eighth position with Maheesh Theekshana.Papua New Guinea’s Norman Vanua’s impressive all-round showing in the T20I series in Singapore, meanwhile, has put him in the top ten among allrounders in the format. He hit 20 and picked up 2 for 30 in the first game, and scored 71 and returned 1 for 33 in the second, moving ten places to No. 9 as a result.

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.

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.

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.

Coach Langer said “it’ll be probably difficult” for Mayank to play in the playoffs

Neeraj Pandey04-May-2024Mayank Yadav, the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) quick, is set to miss the remainder of IPL 2024, although there may be a small chance that he could still feature in the playoffs if LSG make it.When asked if Mayank was completely out of the tournament, head coach Justin Langer said: “No, we’ll be praying that he can play, hopefully, in the playoffs, but I’m a realist as well. It’ll be probably difficult for him to get up for the back-end of the tournament.”He’s had a scan. He’s got a small tear in a similar area to where his last one was. So it’s very unfortunate. We saw the impact he had when he came back into the game. But we can all sleep.”There will always be a lot of discussion about fast bowlers, and I know he spoke to [Jasprit] Bumrah after the game and he reassured him that if he’s going to be a fast bowler, part of his journey as a young fast bowler, he’s going to get injuries.”So in my experience, every young fast bowler, probably until they get to 25 or 26, is going to experience different injuries. And it’s the most unfortunate. He’s got huge potential. But his rehabilitation was excellent. He went into the game [against MI], had a couple of bowls before the game. He was completely pain free. So it’s very sad for him and it’s disappointing for LSG as well that he might [not] play the rest of the tournament.”Related

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• How Mayank went bang, bang, bang

Mayank, 21, set the tournament alight when he made his debut for LSG on March 30. He was blowing teams away with pace. Generating speeds of 155kph – and consistently at that – he became the first man in IPL history to win the Player-of-the-Match award in his first two matches. But then, after combined figures of 6 for 41 against Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, he hit a setback. Mayank bowled only one over in his third game of the season, and sat out the next five that followed as a result of pain in his abdomen.Mayank made his comeback earlier this week, in the win against Mumbai Indians, but had to leave prematurely again. “Looks like he is sore in the same spot,” Langer said at the time.Later, at the post-match presentation, KL Rahul, the LSG captain, said, “He was out in the last game because of a slight pain in his side, not a side strain, but slight pain is there. After the first ball [of his fourth over vs MI], he said the same thing: ‘ [it’s hurting a bit]’. So I said [he] might as well go out and not risk the next five balls. He is still young and precious to us, so we need to look after him.”Rahul had been keen to get Mayank back in the playing XI as quickly as possible. At the toss for the MI game, he said, “[Mayank] has bowled really well in the couple of games that he has played and has a huge impact for us. As a captain, I am always tempted to bring him in the team as quickly as possible,” Rahul said. “So I have been pushing the physios and the medical team to get him ready as quickly as possible. Even if he is about 95[% fit], I keep pushing them to give him the confidence to play the game. But obviously, they know better than I do. I will make emotional decisions, and so will Mayank.”That raised questions about whether Mayank was fielded before he was ready, but that day Langer said, “His rehab has been perfect, he bowled pain-free in the last week and looked in great condition.”Against MI, Mayank had bowled his first three overs – cranking up his pace as he went – for 31 runs before he was given the 19th over. His first ball crashed into Mohammad Nabi’s stumps but Mayank then went off the field, and his over was completed by Naveen-ul-Haq. Mayank did not look in visible discomfort when he went off and was later subbed out as the Impact Player for Arshin Kulkarni.Mayank had started his day in dramatic fashion when he came on after the powerplay and his first delivery, at 144.1kph, struck Nehal Wadhera in the helmet. He also went past the 150kph mark later in the over but largely bowled in the 140-147kph range and pitched most of his deliveries in the short or short-of-good-length area.LSG are currently placed third on the table with six wins from 10 games and will play their next one at home against KKR on Sunday before hitting the road for three away games – against SRH, DC and MI – which will end their league stage on May 17.

The fast bowler re-signed with the franchise earlier this year and replaces Matthew Wade in the skipper’s role

Tristan Lavalette16-Nov-2023Fast bowler Nathan Ellis has been appointed the new Hobart Hurricanes captain, replacing Matthew Wade in the role.Hurricanes, along with Melbourne Stars are the only two franchises that have failed to win a BBL title since the T20 competition began in 2011 despite being consistent performers. They’ve been runners-up twice and never finished last – Adelaide Strikers are the only other team to have avoided the wooden spoon.But new captain Ellis is hoping to lead Hurricanes to a drought-breaking title. Ellis, 29, re-signed with the Hurricanes earlier this year and for the past five seasons has been their trusted spearhead alongside speedster Riley Meredith.Related

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“The Hurricanes are a franchise that I hold very dear to my heart and have done a lot for me,” Ellis said. “So to have the opportunity to lead and hopefully bring some silverware home to Tasmania is really exciting.”He takes the reins from Wade, who in the off-season had been linked to a move to Melbourne Renegades before signing a contract extension until at least 2026.Wade will captain Australia during the five-match T20I series against India in the aftermath of the 2023 ODI World Cup. Ellis is also part of the squad, which features several players on the fringes of Australia’s white-ball teams.Since his spectacular international debut in August 2021, where he took a hat-trick against Bangladesh, Ellis has impressed in T20Is with 18 wickets at an average of 11.88 from eight games.His death bowling prowess, where Ellis deceives through canny slower deliveries, makes him an intriguing option as he eyes next year’s T20 World Cup. Ellis, who is not part of Australia’s ODI World Cup squad, has been unable to find the same success in 50-over cricket with ten wickets at 38.20 from eight matches.”He embodies everything the Hurricanes stand for; a great work ethic, resilience and a fantastic attitude towards the game and his team-mates,” Hurricanes head coach Jeff Vaughan said.Hurricanes start their season on December 11 against Sydney Sixers in Launceston.

The wicketkeeper-batter has had more opportunity in South Africa but will likely be sidelined when the World Cup starts

Andrew McGlashan15-Sep-2023Josh Inglis knows that his chance to feature in the ODI World Cup might come with a last-minute tap on the shoulder. It’s a situation he’s getting used to as a regular back-up player in Australian squads.The ongoing tour of South Africa has seen him offered more opportunity than has often been the case: the three T20Is and the first two ODIs before being rotated out for the third. There should be more chances to come over the next couple of weeks with two games left in South Africa and then three in India – and it’s likely he will get at least one outing with the wicketkeeping gloves – but come the World Cup, if everyone is fit for Australia, he probably doesn’t start.On the previous tour of India in March, he was called into the side in Mumbai when Alex Carey fell ill, while his versatility with the bat will also see him provide back-up for almost any position in the order.Related

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“I feel like it’s been the story of my international career,” he said. “A lot of the games I’ve been involved in have sort of been at the last minute. Think that comes with being a spare batter or replacement player in the squad that when those situations arise you are the next one in.”Preparation-wise, you’ve just got to stay mentally ready the whole time and prepare as if you are going to play because these things just seem to happen more and more now with concussions, Covid etc, so just got to stay ready then hope for the best when you get a crack.”Since making his international debut in early 2022, Inglis has appeared in 12 T20Is and five ODIs – the two games in Bloemfontein were his first consecutive outings in that format.He was part of the 2021 T20 World Cup squad in the UAE and also initially selected for the 2022 edition in Australia before being ruled out with a hand injury caused when playing golf.Inglis has racked up plenty of hours on tour, including for part of this year’s Ashes either side of flying home for the birth of his child, and particularly during Covid when larger squads and bubbles were required, it meant lengthy periods not playing much cricket.Josh Inglis is a versatile batter who will cover various positions•Gallo Images/Getty Images

“I mean, I’d rather be playing,” he said. “I’m very lucky to be doing what I’m doing, being involved in a lot of tours and a lot of cricket is really exciting…but obviously at times I’ve gone long spells without playing much and it can be quite tough when you are just coming in for the odd game with no real rhythm and match practice. Obviously, it’s not ideal but I’m doing everything I can, I’m working my socks off and will try and cement a spot in all three forms.”At 28, he has time on his side to become a more regular part of Australia’s line-ups and there are just a few questions starting to be raised about Carey’s form with the bat ahead of the World Cup although it’s unlikely initial plans will change at this stage.But if Inglis is required, he has given a glimpse of his batting prowess in South Africa, firstly with 42 off 22 balls in the third T20I in Durban and then a maiden international fifty in Bloemfontein where he overcame a sluggish start of 13 off 19 balls to explode through the gears.”I was pretty satisfied at the end,” he said. “I haven’t played a hell of a lot of cricket lately and seeing the boys get off to an absolute flyer and seeing the names coming be, I thought I probably had to get on with it. But at that stage the wicket had slowed up and the ball was a bit older. I just had to be a little bit patient, probably didn’t get off to the start I wanted but got away a bit towards the end of my innings.”

After a Player-of-the-Match performance in her comeback game, she revealed that she’s picked up advice from Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant among others

S Sudarshanan23-Jun-20223:48

Rodrigues: ‘I’ve understood my game better in last few months’

Jemimah Rodrigues has seen more ups and downs in the last couple of years of her cricket career than a rollercoaster. She was benched during the first ODI in England last year and the T20I series that followed, before missing the ODIs against Australia and returning for the T20Is Down Under. Despite impressive outings in The Women’s Hundred as well as the Women’s Big Bash, the 21-year-old missed the flight to the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year.She continued to work hard away from the spotlight and it showed as she amassed 243 runs in six matches of the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy at an average of 60.75 and a strike rate of 167.58 while captaining Mumbai to the quarter-finals. She then followed it up with attention-grabbing performances in the Women’s T20 Challenge.Related

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Playing her first international match since October 2021, Rodrigues contributed a crucial knock of 36 not out off just 27 balls against Sri Lanka in the first T20I in Dambulla to help India start their tour with a win.”My height is the same but mental thing has changed a lot. In the last few years, from the last Sri Lanka tour, the journey hasn’t been very smooth and there have been a lot of ups and downs,” Rodrigues said after her Player-of-the-Match performance.”I also had the opportunity in the last few months to talk with cricketers like Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant and others. They actually told that these moments define you and prepare you for something greater that’s coming. If you look at it [in a] negative way it is not going to help. But these are the moments that define you as a cricketer. I was blessed to speak to them and some of our team-mates.”I have become calmer in this time and have understood the value of having good relationships… my family who have been there. The last few months have helped me understand even my game better. This is the cricketer’s life – nobody’s life is smooth and what I am learning is to get better every time.”Her entry on Thursday was sandwiched between the dismissals of set batters Shafali Verma and Harmanpreet Kaur on a slow pitch that was not conducive to strokeplay. The ball was not coming on to the bat and the spinners, led by the experienced Inoka Ranaweera, were making merry in stifling the batters.But Rodrigues wasted little time and got going off the fifth ball she faced, dabbing it past the wicketkeeper against Ranaweera. The confidence was back.Jemimah Rodrigues got going with a late-cut boundary off Inoka Ranaweera•Sri Lanka Cricket

“I am back in the Indian team after 4-5 months. I was very pumped up today and wanted to give my best,” she said. “Anytime you wear the India jersey you are naturally pumped up and this is something that always works for me. I love to be aggressive.”After getting the late-cut first boundary, I felt much more confident because I was a bit nervous coming back in after a long time. That boundary got me going.”The steer past the keeper aside, Rodrigues used the sweep shot – both conventional and slog – to good effect against the spin to score freely, playing just eight dot balls during her stay. She played the sweep on seven occasions and scored 14 runs with the shot.Rodrigues, who averages over 75 and has a strike rate in excess of 150 in T20Is in Sri Lanka, credited the conditions in Mumbai – where she comes from – for her success in the island nation.”These are very similar tracks to [the ones] back in Mumbai,” she said. “In Mumbai, you get the turning tracks, slow tracks, and I am a good sweeper of the ball because of that. So being in Mumbai has helped me tackle these conditions and adjust my game to these conditions.”India scored 53 off the last five overs of their innings and that was all thanks to the unconquered 32-run stand between Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma, which included a 20-run final over. Apart from four boundaries, the partnership involved a lot of chuckles and cheering as the momentum shifted from Sri Lanka towards India.”Deepti coming in and hitting those three consecutive boundaries removed all the pressure,” she said about the allrounder’s eight-ball 17, “because firstly it wasn’t an easy wicket to bat especially for a new batter coming in and getting those boundaries was where the momentum changed and our bowlers got a target to bowl freely.”The chuckles were about ‘Shot Deepti! Let’s go!’ whenever she hit. And [when I ended] it off with a six, Deepti started cheering for me and the roles changed, but it was fun.”

ECB doctor travels to Galle to ensure Moeen Ali’s wellbeing in isolation after positive test

George Dobell05-Jan-2021England’s touring party in Sri Lanka faces an anxious wait in their hotel rooms just as their preparations for the Test series should have begun in earnest.England were due to have their first training session of the tour in Hambantota on Tuesday. Instead, the squad was consigned to their rooms as they await the results of a further round of medical tests following the positive Covid-19 result revealed by Moeen Ali on Monday.Although they underwent both lateral flow and PCR tests on Tuesday, the results are not expected to be announced until Wednesday. Lateral flow tests typically return a result in little over 30-minutes, but are not as accurate. The PCR tests take longer to analyse but provide more certainty. While the ECB may gain an indication of the extent of the problem from the lateral flow tests on Tuesday, they will await the PCR results before making public comment. The squad are due to be tested again on Thursday.Related

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• Root: England prepared for positive tests

• Anderson: SL have 'slight advantage' ahead of series

While the entire party returned negative tests before flying, there will be understandable anxiety both from the England management and the Sri Lankan authorities over the prospect of further spread of the virus. Sri Lanka has managed to contain Covid-19 to a greater extent than the UK, which has just entered another lockdown and where positive cases have numbered over 50,000 in each of the last six days. A new strain of the virus, which is understood to be far more transmissible, is also spreading rapidly in England. The ECB say they do not know, at this stage, which strain of the virus Ali has contracted.There may be particular anxiety over the outcome of Chris Woakes’ test results. While the players observed social distancing protocols on their flights, the has revealed that Woakes travelled from Birmingham to Heathrow in the same car as Ali and has, as a result, been placed in quarantine for a week. After the vast amount of money spent on charter flights, testing and secure environments, it seems oddly penny pinching not to have provided a separate car for each player.Ali, meanwhile, is being driven to Galle today where he will be put up in private accommodation arranged for just such an eventuality. Nick Peirce, the ECB’s chief medical officer, will also travel to Galle in a separate car to ensure Ali is as comfortable as can be expected. As a frontline doctor, Peirce has already had at least one part of the vaccine (two jabs, provided at least two weeks apart, are required to maximise the efficacy of both vaccines currently in use in the UK), though it is unclear to what extent this will grant him immunity from the virus. Ali remains asymptomatic at this stage and is currently due out of isolation on January 13, the day before the first Test is scheduled to start. As a result, there would appear to be no chance of him playing.Indeed, his involvement in the series must be in doubt. The medical staff at Sri Lanka cricket advised players who tested positive during the LPL to avoid high-level sport for several weeks if they experienced even mild symptoms.With the ECB having benefited from the efforts of West Indies, Pakistan, Ireland and Australia in touring England in trying circumstances during 2020, there remains an understanding that the tour should proceed if at all possible. But, as all involved await the test results, it is hard to escape the conclusion the future of this tour is on a knife edge.

All the six SA20 2025-26 squads, and the players who went unsold

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Sep-2025

MI Cape Town

Retained: Trent Boult, Rashid Khan, Ryan Rickelton, George Linde, Corbin Bosch
Wild Card: Kagiso Rabada
Pre-signing: Nicholas PooranAt the auction: Rassie van der Dussen (R5.2 million), Reeza Hendricks (R500,000), Dwaine Pretorius (R650,000), Tristan Luus (R650,000), Jason Smith (R500,000), Tom Moores (R200,000), Dane Piedt (R200,000), Tian van Vuuren (R1 million), Dan Lategan (R400,000), Tabraiz Shamsi (R500,000), Karim Janat (R1 million), Jacques Snyman (R200,000)Related

• Keshav Maharaj to lead Pretoria Capitals at SA20

• Brevis, Markram earn record sums at SA20 2025-26 auction

• Cape Town to host SA20 final

• Capitals name Ganguly head coach, Pollock assistant coach

Sunrisers Eastern Cape

Retained: Tristan Stubbs
Wild Card: Marco Jansen
Pre-signing: Jonny Bairstow, AM Ghazanfar, Adam MilneAt the auction: Quinton de Kock (R2.4 million), Matthew Breetzke (R6.1 million), Anrich Nortje (R5 million), Senuran Muthusamy (R1.5 million), Patrick Kruger (R450,000), Lutho Sipamla (R600,000), Mitchell van Buuren (R200,000), Jordan Hermann (R1.5 million), Beyers Swanepoel (R200,000), James Coles (R1 million), Chris Wood (R500,000), Lewis Gregory (R1 million), CJ King (R200,000), JP King (R200,000)

Joburg Super Kings

Retained: Faf du Plessis
Wild Card: Donovan Ferreira
Pre-signing: James Vince, Akeal Hosein, Richard GleesonAt the auction: Wiaan Mulder (R9 million), Nandre Burger (R6.3 million), Prenalen Subrayen (R1 million), Dian Forrester (R200,000), Steve Stolk (R200,000), Janco Smit (R200,000), Neil Timmers (R200,000), Shubham Ranjane (R200,000), Brandon King (R200,000), Rilee Rossouw (R500,000), Rivaldo Moonsamy (R400,000), Imran Tahir (R600,000), Reece Topley (R600,000)

Pretoria Capitals

Wild Card: Andre Russell
Pre-signing: Will Jacks, Sherfane RutherfordAt the auction: Keshav Maharaj (R1.7 million), Lungi Ngidi (R2.3 million), Dewald Brevis (R16.5 million), Lizaad Williams (R2.4 million), Craig Overton (R1 million), Saqib Mahmood (R1.5 million), Codi Yusuf (R225,000), Connor Esterhuizen (R3.2 million), Bryce Parsons (R1.9 million), Gideon Peters (R400,000), Junaid Dawood (R200,000), Will Smeed (R200,000), Meeka-eel Prince (R200,000), Bayanda Majola (R200,000), Wihan Lubbe (R200,000), Sibonelo Makhanya (R200,000)

Paarl Royals

Retained: Lhuan-dre Pretorius, David Miller, Bjorn Fortuin
Wild Card: Rubin Hermann
Pre-signing: Sikandar Raza, Mujeeb Ur RahmanAt the auction: Ottneil Baartman (R5.1 million), Gudakesh Motie (R375,000), Delano Potgieter (R2.6 million), Kyle Verreynne (R2.3 million), Keagan Lion-Cachet (R950,000), Asa Tribe (R200,000), Hardus Viljoen (R200,000), Jacon Johannes Basson (R200,000), Dan Lawrence (R500,000), Eshan Malinga (R1 million), Nqobani Mokoena (R200,000), Vishen Halambage (R200,000), Nqaba Peter (R500,000)

Durban’s Super Giants

Retained Noor Ahmad
Wild Card Heinrich Klaasen
Pre-signing Sunil Narine, Jos ButtlerAt the auction: Kwena Maphaka (R2.3 million), Aiden Markram (R14 million), Devon Conway (R325,000), Gerald Coetzee (R7.4 million), David Bedingham (R325,000), Marques Ackermann (R200,000), Eathan Bosch (R1.75 million), Andile Simelane (R200,000), Tony de Zorzi (R200,000), Dayyaan Galiem (R200,00), Taijul Islam (R500,000), Evan Jones (R200,000), Gysbert Wege (R200,000), David Wiese (R1.3 million), Daryn Dupavillon (R200,000)

Unsold players

Jordan Cox, Mustafizur Rahman, Tom Abell, Kusal Perera, Andile Phehlukwayo, Leus du Plooy, George Garton, Jayden Seales, Junior Dala, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Simon Harmer, Kyle Simmonds, Waqar Salamkheil, Brandon McMullen, Keacy Carty, Temba Bavuma, Tawanda Muyeye, Keith Dudgeon, Okhule Cele, Matthew Boast, Migael Pretorius, Nqobani Mokoena, James Anderson, Sonny Baker, Daniel Smith, Andries Gous, Grant Roelofson, Jewel Andrew, Schalk Engelbrecht, Thomas Kaber, Nathan Sowter, Caleb Saleka, Moeen Ali, Jordan Clark, Jason Roy, Jordan Thompson, Jacques Snyman, Beuran Hendricks, Ruan Haasbroek, Wayne Parnell, James Robb-Quinlan, Aphiwe Mnyandi, Jorich van Schalkwyk, George van Heerden, Jon-Jon Smuts, Nangialai Kharoti, Jean du Plessis, Duane Jansen, Binura Fernando.