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Australia’s coach and selector Darren Lehmann has justified the recall of Shaun Marsh ahead of other worthy candidates on the basis that he had nearly been chosen ahead of Usman Khawaja in the first place

Daniel Brettig18-Nov-20151:23

‘Shaun’s contributed more recently in Tests’ – Lehmann

Australia’s coach and selector Darren Lehmann has justified the recall of Shaun Marsh ahead of other worthy candidates on the basis that he had nearly been chosen ahead of Usman Khawaja in the first place.While Marsh has enjoyed only a middling Sheffield Shield return this season, Lehmann said that his standing as a player near the head of the queue for places in the Australian batting order had not changed, and the panel still felt he was a better option than others such as Michael Klinger and Glenn Maxwell for the middle-order spot available in Adelaide.Marsh’s continued selection has drawn wide criticism from the public, and various explanations given by the selection panel in recent times such as Klinger’s inferior record to Khawaja and Joe Burns do not stand up in this case. However there remains a strong sense among the selectors that Marsh’s talent is worth persevering with for occasional gems like his century against South Africa at Centurion last year.”He was very close in the first Test selection,” Lehmann said. “It was touch and go with Uzzy and Shaun Marsh. And he played really well for us last summer, he got 99 in Melbourne and a got a couple of 50s in Sydney. We thought he played quite well in the West Indies when he got his chance as well. He gets another chance to have a crack at Test cricket. He got some runs in Melbourne, which was pleasing to see. He gets first crack.”Incumbency is a factor in Australian cricket, not only within teams but within squads. Marsh is familiar to all members of the national team, was chosen in the squads for Australia’s most recent Test tours – including the postponed trip to Bangladesh – and has those memories in his favour ahead of Klinger in particular, who has never been chosen in an Australian senior squad in any format.”I think he’s younger than [Adam] Voges isn’t he? So age doesn’t go against him. There’s been a lot of speculation, he’s made a lot of runs,” Lehmann said of Klinger. “At the end of the day Shaun Marsh is more recent in Test match cricket and has made a contribution, so that’s the way we decided to go.”Shaun’s proven as in he’s made some runs and contributions. He’ll still want to prove himself again. I still remember that great hundred he got against South Africa at Centurion. So as a selection panel it was tight for all those guys when you’ve got to pick a batter.”Maxwell’s claims were enhanced by an innings of 98 against Marsh’s Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield match at the MCG, but Lehmann spoke mainly of the allrounder’s offspin being too similar to Nathan Lyon, with Steve O’Keefe preferred as a second slow bowling option. Currently batting at No. 6 in the Shield team, Maxwell may need a promotion into the top four to be in better contention.”You’ve got to work out which way you want to go on a particular wicket,” Lehmann said. “I suppose if you were playing two spinners you’d think he’d come into calculations, but with Nathan bowling so well in offspin it’s probably not the way we’re going to go [to have another offspinner] over there. All you can do is put performances on the board. We’re always looking at those guys who have done really well.”Khawaja has already commenced his rehabilitation from a hamstring strain, and will be aiming to be fit in time for the Boxing Day Test against West Indies in Melbourne. Lehmann indicated that the selectors wanted Khawaja to demonstrate his fitness with match-play before he returned to the Test team, meaning once again that the summer schedule will be an obstacle – only the BBL will be available by the time Khawaja is expected to be ready.”You’d hope so with his two hundreds,” Lehmann said when asked whether Khawaja would come straight back in. “But having said that we still want him to play some cricket. He’s got to get fit and strong and faster first and make sure we don’t have another injury.”He’s had some injuries over the last 12-18 months, now he’s got to get back to full fitness and we want him to play some cricket before he comes under selection [consideration] again. We’ve got no Shield game so it probably does have to be Big Bash.”Australia’s inclusion of James Pattinson and O’Keefe, plus the presence of Peter Siddle, affords the selectors plenty of options in lieu of the heavy workloads placed on Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, who both bowled more overs in the Perth Test than they ever had previously.”They’re all a bit sore, so we’ll wait until we get to Adelaide [to make a decision],” Lehmann said. “We’ve got four days off now and we’ll sum that up in the next couple of days.”

When someone next decries the worth of county cricket, it should offer this day as a snapshot of its virtues. As if sun, deckchairs and a five-day beer festival weren’t enough, there was also the cricket at Hove to be enjoyed

Tim Wigmore at Hove01-May-2013
ScorecardVarun Chopra matched the class of Jonathan Trott•Getty Images

When someone next decries the worth of county cricket, it should offer this day as a snapshot of its virtues. As if sun, deckchairs and a five-day beer festival weren’t enough, there was also the cricket at Hove to be enjoyed, featuring an England spinner with 164 Test wickets against two of the most reassuring sights in England’s Test batting line-up – and another man who might, in time, join them there.Jonathan Trott is often depicted as a dour Mr Dependable, but his unbeaten 87 included several shots that, had they come from any other bat, would have elicited purrs. A respectable off-stump delivery from Andrew Miller was emphatically dispatched over long on for six; the next ball, a refined late cut went to the boundary too. It was not a sight that Sussex’s skipper Ed Joyce, who had shelled a hard, but eminently catchable, chance in the slips when Trott had 1, would have relished.Trott had a familiar ally in a 131-run stand with Ian Bell, who was captaining Warwickshire in place of Jim Troughton, missing with a shoulder injury. Grown men may still have nightmares about Bell’s shot first ball in Ahmedabad – caught at mid-off attempting to harrumph the ball out of the ground – but it would seem that Bell is not one of them: he shimmied down the wicket to his seventh ball, from Chris Nash’s offspin and lofted him over mid-on for four. There were a few further examples of graceful footwork later against Monty Panesar.While Bell and Trott are two Test batsmen of the highest order, it was to Varun Chopra’s great credit that he looked barely less assured at the crease. Playing attractively, especially on the offside, it was a matter of considerable surprise when Chopra fell for 87 attempting to cut Chris Nash’s useful offspin, and was so denied a century to go with his match-saving effort at Taunton last week. But he had still made his mark, becoming the first man to pass 500 runs for the season, and must have eyes on the batting Holy Grail of a thousand before the end of May.Nick Compton, the man who almost passed that landmark last season, is now an established Test player, and it looks eminently possible that Chopra, 25, will become one too: an extra cover drive off Panesar was timed with the crispness one would associate with an international player. There are legitimate questions over whether elements of Chopra’s game – principally his tendency to play with his bat away from his body and occasional dalliances with driving uppishly – would be a hindrance at Test level, but if he continues to score with such proficiency an opportunity will be forthcoming.While a knee injury cost Sussex their premier fast bowler, Australian Steve Magoffin, Chopra still had to encounter a highly disciplined attack: even on a flat track in near-perfect batting conditions, Sussex limited Warwickshire to under three runs an over.Panesar was typically probing but endured a disappointing day, seldom threatening his England team-mates and, attempting to find the rough outside legstump, even delivering two leg side wides in one over. He has now claimed only one wicket for 238 runs so far this season.That Sussex ended on near-parity, despite the serenity with which England’s Test batsmen played, owed to Chris Jordan. Jordan may have begun his Sussex career with 6 for 48 at Leeds but, if anything, he was even more admirable here, consistently hostile throughout the day. A fiery spell with the second new ball earned the rare distinction of claiming Bell fending off a short ball and he promptly claimed nightwatchman Chris Wright too. Bell later said “it’s certainly a different game if you hit the pitch that bit harder”, suggesting that Warwickshire intend to replicate the method that earned Jordan his success.Jordan should have had another wicket, too, but Mike Yardy shelled Tim Ambrose in the slips in the day’s final over. No one begrudged him a quick visit to the beer festival after play.

Durham MCCU have been bowled out for 18, the lowest innings total in first-class cricket anywhere in the world since 1983

George Dobell08-Apr-2012Durham MCCU have been bowled out for 18, the lowest innings total in first-class cricket anywhere in the world since 1983. It equals the tenth lowest score in first-class cricket since 1900.In a scoreline that will renew the debate over whether such encounters should retain their first-class status, Durham UCCE, missing the injured allrounder Luke Blackaby, were bowled out by Durham in just 101 deliveries. Having been set an improbable 392 to win, it meant the students lost by 373 runs.The entire game was something of a mismatch. Durham MCCU had been 18 for 6 in their first innings before a late rally lifted them to 117, while Durham declared in both their innings. Ben Stokes, the allrounder who made his debut in England’s limited-overs teams last summer, claimed four wickets for three runs in Durham MCCU’s second innings as the students collapsed from 15 for 3 to 18 all out.”It’s the worst day we’ve ever had,” Graeme Fowler, the Durham MCCU coach and former England opening batsman told ESPNcricinfo afterwards. “It was dreadful. But, while we’ve had a nightmare, I hope people remember the good we do for the game. You know Michael Schumacher has the odd car crash: he’s still a pretty good driver.”Don’t get me wrong: we were not good enough today. The pitch couldn’t have been designed to help the Durham attack any more than it did – the ball was moving all over the place – but we played some soft cricket and the guys have left under no illusions that they have not performed well enough. They are mortified by their performance.”Durham MCCU has an outstanding record of producing cricketers. Their former graduates include Andrew Strauss, James Foster, Ben Hutton and Will Smith and, since their formation in 1997, 53 players have passed through their system and into the professional county game.Nor are they funded by the ECB. Instead the six MCCU sides – Oxford, Cambridge, Loughborough, Durham, Cardiff and Leeds/Bradford – are funded by the MCC, with each receiving around £75,000 per year. Around 20% of current England-qualified county cricketers have passed through one of the six centres of excellence, with Durham accounting for 8% of them.”At the time we started, I never thought we should have been given first-class status,” Fowler admitted. “It just seemed like we were producing a rod for our own back to judge us by first-class results. That is not really what we are about. I wanted us to play against the counties – that is important – but I didn’t see why those games had to be defined as first-class.”There was already debate about whether Oxford and Cambridge should have first-class status but then they added us to the list and last winter they added Leeds/Bradford and Cardiff, too. I’m not convinced that is the right approach.”The problem is that if we lose the first-class status we may well lose the funding, too. I just hope that, because of one nightmare performance, people don’t forget all the good things we have done for England cricket. Give us half a chance and we’ll keep producing players, really good players, and we’ll do it on a pretty small budget. Days like this don’t help but they shouldn’t obscure the bigger picture.”

Craig McDermott has pipped his old pace rival Allan Donald and the little-known Allister de Winter to become Australia’s pace bowling coach, replacing Troy Cooley

Daniel Brettig12-May-2011Craig McDermott pipped his old pace rival Allan Donald to be the man charged with shepherding Australia’s pace bowlers after they slipped to innocuous depths during the Ashes. The appointment of Troy Cooley’s replacement was announced in Brisbane on Thursday after Michael Brown, Cricket Australia’s head of cricket operations, had completed his final round of interviews.”It’s great to be back as part of the Australian team set-up again and I can’t wait to get started working with the bowlers and the rest of the team,” McDermott said. “We’ve got some challenging tours ahead in the coming months but I’m excited at the opportunity to be part of the group that helps get Australia back to number one in all forms of cricket.”McDermott wasted little time identifying the potentially explosive but more often wayward Mitchell Johnson as a key to the Australian team’s fortunes. Johnson maintained a very close relationship with Cooley, but the countless hours they spent together did not always result in fruitful spells on the field.”I thought Mitchell had his head in a really good space in Bangladesh,” McDermott said. “If he can get it together he’s like no other bowler we’ve got in the country. His arm speed is phenomenal and when he gets it right, he’s unplayable. He was working on a couple of things in Bangladesh and if he gets it right he will bowl well and he’ll be around for a long time.”In the 15 years since his retirement from international cricket in 1996, McDermott has tried various pursuits, not all of them successful. But in recent times he had worked as a pace bowling coach at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane, and was taken to Bangladesh as interim pace bowling coach for Australia’s short tour in April, where he gelled successfully with the players.”Not everything is a quick fix. It’s a long-term thing. Certainly I’d like to put an emphasis on that part of our bowling,” McDermott said of encouraging Australia’s bowlers to pursue a fuller length. “If you pitch it up you’re a much better chance of getting lbws, caught behinds and clean bowleds.”We’ve got more than enough (bowling) depth for Australia to be top in all three forms of the game. It’s a challenging time but I enjoy a challenge.”McDermott was chosen out of an initial field that included Jason Gillespie and Andy Bichel in addition to Donald and the little-known Allister de Winter, with his previous involvement in the Australian system a major selling point. A long and successful Test career, in which he took 291 wickets across 71 matches and excelled in a wide variety of conditions, also helped.”His impressive record as an international player, during which he successfully overcame a number of setbacks, combined with his recent record at the Cricket Australia Centre of Excellence and with the Australia team in Bangladesh, all impressed us that he was the outstanding candidate for this role,” said Brown. “He will provide valuable support to the new Test Captain, Michael Clarke, coach Tim Nielsen, and the playing group.”Justin Langer, retained as batting coach the same day McDermott was appointed, quantified the Queenslander’s value.”He had an unbelievable work ethic when he played,” Langer told . “He played in an era with some great players and also a tough era. He went through the AB times and the Bobby Simpson times. That experience will be invaluable.”I think he’ll also bring quite a worldliness to the group, because he obviously went away from the cricket scene for some time and had varying degrees of fortune in his business life. He’ll bring that worldliness to the group, which I think is pretty invaluable in this day and age.”Often young professionals now, they gain this change-room existence where they come in and they become professional cricketers and all they really get to know is the change-room and their team-mates. I think any outside sources or influences who can talk to them about life after cricket and about being a good person off the field, or the different challenges that come with being a professional cricketer and the rewards that come with that, will be valuable.”Donald is now likely to remain with New Zealand where he had begun a fruitful relationship with the national side during the World Cup, while de Winter will go back to preparing the Tasmanian pace attack for their tilt at defending the Sheffield Shield title.

Ashwell Prince and Steven Croft shared their third century partnership of the summer to help Lancashire open their Clydesdale Bank 40 account at the expense of Glamorgan at Old Trafford

02-May-2010

ScorecardAshwell Prince and Steven Croft shared their third century partnership of the summer to help Lancashire open their Clydesdale Bank 40 account at the expense of Glamorgan at Old Trafford. The Red Rose pair helped their side recover from 89 for 3 in pursuit of 272 with an unbroken 186 to win by seven wickets with 16 balls to spare.Glamorgan seemed well placed to claim only their third 40-over win since September 2008 after Tom Maynard’s 103 not out off 68 balls had boosted the visitors to 271 for 4. Tom Smith and Paul Horton got the Lightning off to a rapid response, bringing up their side’s fifty in the seventh over, but James Harris picked up two quick wickets to rattle the hosts in the 14th over.In fading light an asking rate north of seven an over through the last 20 overs was a tough ask but Prince and Croft continued their fine form together after two hundred stands in the County Championship. Prince brought up a majestic unbeaten 102 in 82 balls when he hit the winning runs off Harris and Croft finished 84 not out off 70 balls. They hit 16 fours and two sixes between them.After Harris had forced Horton to scoop to mid-off and had Stephen Moore caught at mid-on, David Brown bowled Smith for 33. But South African Prince brought up his fourth half-century of the summer in all forms off 55 balls with only one four.Croft has also been in imperious form this season and his fifth fifty came off 54 balls just before the pair took the four overs of batting powerplay at the start 33rd over with the score on 211 for 3. Croft crashed David Harrison for a six and four with the first two balls of the 35th over and this was the first time that the Lightning were on top at any stage in the match.And when the 25 year-old was dropped on 73 by Harris in the same over at square-leg Glamorgan were down and out. Lancashire’s batting powerplay yielded 41 runs. Maynard, who hit 108 in a 40-over game against Northants at Colwyn Bay last summer, earlier built on an opening stand of 86 between Mark Cosgrove and Jim Allenby. Allenby hit 40 and Cosgrove 50 off 53 balls.Left-arm spinner Stephen Parry claimed the wickets of both on the way to figures of 2 for 41 from eight overs and he was the pick of the home attack. But Maynard and Jamie Dalrymple (31) shared 60 for the third wicket before the former and Brown shared a fourth wicket stand of 101 in 10 overs.This was the partnership that really set the Dragons up for a competitive total. Maynard hit two sixes and two fours as he helped take 22 runs of Glen Chapple in the 37th over of the innings and Brown only scored 27 runs in the fourth wicket stand.

Muyeye fifty before startling collapse, as Roderick leads reply for the hosts

ECB Reporters Network22-Aug-2024Worcestershire all-rounder Joe Leach made a successful return to action after injury with a six-wicket haul on day one of the Vitality County Championship encounter with Kent at Visit Worcestershire New Road.Leach finished with 6 for 52 from 11.5 overs – the second-best figures of his career – as Kent were dismissed for 171 in 49.5 overs after being put into bat.It was his first appearance since the Championship match against Nottinghamshire in late May because of a recurrence of a knee problem and he is hanging up his spikes at the end of the campaign.But Leach’s determination to return for the finale of the season paid off handsomely once he had settled into his rhythm in his second spell from the New Road End after conceding 26 runs in his first four overs.Three wickets in 13 balls undermined Kent’s promising start and they subsided from 73 for 0 and lost 10 wickets for 98 in 32.4 overs.There was also an encouraging debut for New Zealand paceman James Hartshorn who bowled a nagging line and length.But the bowlers were also backed up by some fine catching behind the wicket, most notably by Rob Jones who held onto four chances at second slip.Gareth Roderick continued his fine form with a half century to spearhead Worcestershire’s reply and they closed 34 in arrears with eight wickets in hand.Worcestershire handed an opportunity to Hartshorn after fellow Kiwi Nathan Smith was forced to cut short his spell at New Road through injury.Captain Brett D’Oliveira, Kashif Ali, Leach and Adam Finch all returned after lengthy spells on the side-lines. Kent included new signings in pace duo Alfie Ogborne, on loan from Somerset, and West Indian Akeem Jordan.D’Oliveira put Kent into bat and Tawanda Muyeye adopted an aggressive vein with a succession of boundaries. But he was fortunate to edge Hartshorn just short of second slip and twice flashed hard at Finch as the ball flew over the slip cordon.He completed a 62-ball half-century with his 10th boundary but the game turned on its head after Leach switched to the New Road End.
Muyeye (56) pushed forward to a delivery which left him and Jones held onto a fine catch away to his left at second slip.Kent skipper Daniel Bell-Drummond was undone by a similar ball with Ethan Brookes at third slip making no mistake. Leach had settled into a perfect rhythm and Jack Leaning edged through to keeper Gareth Roderick.Worcestershire continued to apply the pressure in the immediate post lunch session with three more quick wickets.Finch, whose first two overs had cost 27 runs, returned and accounted for Joey Evison who drove hard at a ball which nipped away and was caught behind.Hartshorn picked up his first wicket for the county as Harry Finch cut a delivery which swung away to Jake Libby at backward point.It became 103 for 6 when Finch found the inside-edge of Ben Compton’s bat and Roderick did the rest for his third catch.At that point Kent had lost six wickets for 30 runs in the space of 15.4 overs.There was a deserved first breakthrough for Taylor when Matt Parkinson flashed hard and Jones made no mistake at second slip.Leach collected a fourth scalp when Grant Stewart went for a big hit back down the ground and had his off stump knocked back.He polished off the innings in quickfire fashion with Jones holding onto two more sharp opportunities at second slip to dispose of Alfie Ogborne and George Garrett.Roderick and Libby then provided Worcestershire with an assured start to their innings and the 50 came up in only 11.1 overs.The partnership was worth 89 when Libby (30) pushed forward to Ogborne and was caught behind.New batter Kashif Ali quickly brought up the Worcestershire hundred with a cover drive for four off the same bowler but on 17 he fended a delivery of extra bounce from Jordan to first slip.Roderick completed a 107-ball half-century with seven fours.

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.

Rescheduled ODI series will take place immediately after conclusion of IPL

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2022West Indies’ postponed ODI series in the Netherlands will start “immediately after the IPL” on May 31, according to a joint press release by CWI and the KNCB.The tour will see West Indies play a full international match on Dutch soil for the first time – following two 55-over friendly matches in 1991 – and will be the sides’ first meeting in international cricket since the 2011 World Cup.The three ODI Super League fixtures will take place at the VRA Cricket Ground in Amstelveen on May 31, June 2 and June 4, with tickets due to go on sale this weekend.Johnny Grave, CWI’s chief executive, said: “We have been working closely with our colleagues at KNCB to put together this series immediately after the IPL and we are happy to now be able to announce the match schedule.”It’s going to be exciting to tour the Netherlands for the first time. It is a short tour, but we expect great entertainment during what promises to be a wonderful week of quality cricket for the fans in the Netherlands.”The BCCI is yet to announce exact dates for this year’s IPL but ESPNcricinfo understands that the tournament will start in late March and run until the last week of May.Seventeen West Indies players are due to play in this season’s IPL – the most from any country other than India – and CWI confirmed on Sunday that they would be “fully available” for the full season, as per a guarantee to players in their retainer contracts.Roland Lefebvre, the KNCB’s high performance manager, said: “The KNCB is very excited to welcome the West Indies cricket team back to the Netherlands. The last time the team visited our country was in 1991, for two 55-over friendly matches, with the likes of [Viv] Richards, [Desmond] Haynes, [Curtley] Ambrose and [Malcolm] Marshall present.”These matches will be the second Cricket World Cup Super League home series for the Dutch team and we look forward to a great Caribbean-style contest”.The series was initially due to take place in June 2020 but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Netherlands’ home schedule for 2022 also includes visits from England for three ODIs in June, and New Zealand for two T20Is at the end of July.Fixtures:
1st ODI – May 31
2nd ODI – June 2
3rd ODI – June 4 (all matches at VRA Cricket Ground, Amstelveen)

Ambati Rayudu and Dwayne Bravo have recovered from their injuries and are available for selection

Sruthi Ravindranath01-Oct-20208:13

Could both Sam Curran and Dwayne Bravo fit into CSK’s XI?

Big picture

That’s MS Dhoni summing up the Chennai Super Kings’ situation after their second straight loss of the season, against Delhi Capitals last week. On the eve of their match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, their head coach Stephen Fleming said the Super Kings have used the six-day break “pretty well” and “have got some clarity” around what they need to do. Alarm bells aren’t ringing just yet, but this early struggle is unusual for a team that is traditionally one of the best starters in the tournament – they’ve won nearly 65% of their first seven games of the season over the last four seasons.It’s not just that they’ve lost two of their three games so far; their last two matches became no-contests less than halfway into their chases. While the imminent return of Ambati Rayudu should help them, their batting seems to be in need of a complete overhaul. And their spinners, who have been key performers for them over many years, are yet to find their groove.Sunrisers began their season with back-to-back losses, but they picked up an important win in their last match against the Delhi Capitals, pulling off the sort of controlled performance with bat and ball that propelled them to the 2016 title. With Kane Williamson key to that win, and with Rashid Khan back at his his best, it’s unlikely they’ll change their combination from that game.Super Kings may have historically performed well against Sunrisers, with nine wins in 12 meetings, but Sunrisers have momentum on their side as they go into the match on Friday.

In the news

Rayudu and Dwayne Bravo, who have been sidelined with injuries, are available for the match against Sunrisers. Rayudu returning would mean either M Vijay or Ruturaj Gaikwad is left out. Vijay has been struggling to get going, making just 32 runs in three games at a strike rate of 74.4. Gaikwad could play in his preferred opening position if Vijay is dropped, with Rayudu slotting in at No. 3 or 4. Rayudu could also open with Shane Watson. Sam Curran has filled in for Bravo and has been one of the better performers in the side, so there’s a chance Bravo might continue to sit out.T Natarajan has been impressive with his yorkers in IPL 2020•BCCI

Likely XIs

Chennai Super Kings: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 3 Faf du Plessis, 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 Sam Curran, 6 Kedar Jadhav, 7 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Piyush Chawla, 11 Imran Tahir/ Josh Hazlewood.Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1 David Warner (capt), 2 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 3 Manish Pandey, 4 Kane Williamson, 5 Abdul Samad, 6 Abhishek Sharma, 7 Priyam Garg, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 T Natarajan, 11 Khaleel Ahmed.

Strategy punt

• Teams have chosen to chase 36 out of 55 times after winning the toss in Dubai since 2018, though teams batting first have had a slight edge, winning 29 of the 55 games. Teams have opted to field in all four matches at this venue in this IPL season, usually keeping the dew factor in mind, but have ended up on the losing side all four times. Will we see a change in this game?
• Watson has great numbers against the Sunrisers, with two fifties and a century in his last five games against them. However, he has an average record against Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the IPL, getting out to him three times and striking at just 94. If he survives the opening burst, though, he would look to attack Rashid Khan, who hasn’t gotten him out in the 10 innings they’ve come face-to-face in. He also strikes at over 140 against the legspinner, so Sunrisers would want Bhuvneshwar to do the job up front.

Stats that matter

• Warner has the best frequency of 50-plus scores for a batsman in the IPL – he gets past the half-century mark once every 2.69 innings. He’s gone three innings without a fifty this season, though, and if he fails to score one against the Super Kings it will be his longest streak of not making a 50-plus score since moving to the Sunrisers. However, he has an outstanding record against the opposition, with half-centuries in each of his last five innings against them.
• According to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data, the Sunrisers fast bowlers have bowled 16 yorkers in their three games so far – T Natarajan executed them particularly well in their win over the Capitals. None of the other teams’ quicks, however, had bowled more than six each as of September 30.
• Dhoni needs to clear the ropes twice to become the third Indian to tally 300 sixes in T20s.
• Manish Pandey needs 69 runs to become the 12th Indian batsman to reach 3000 runs in the IPL.

The four-day leg of the Australia A tour of England will be a final play-off for places in the Ashes squad

Alex Malcolm15-Apr-20190:46

We have got high hopes from Pattinson – Hohns

James Pattinson’s Ashes chances have been given a huge boost after he was named in the two Australia A squads to tour England in June and July, while Josh Hazlewood will have the chance to prove his fitness after missing out on the World Cup.Matthew Wade has also been rewarded for his remarkable Australian domestic summer, where he piled up 1800 runs across the three formats, with a berth in both the 50-over and four-day squads that will play five one-day matches and three four-day games in England during the World Cup and in the lead-up to the Ashes. Talented 21-year-old Victorian batsman Will Pucovski has also been included in both squads.Matthew Wade punches the ball back•Getty Images

But two of the top three wicket-takers in this season’s Sheffield Shield, Trent Copeland and Scott Boland, have not been included in either squad. Boland was named Sheffield Shield Player of the Year after claiming 48 wickets in ten matches, while Copeland took 52 scalps in nine games including eight wickets in the final.The 14-man one-day squad will be led by Test vice-captain Travis Head and has been specifically selected to give the World Cup squad appropriate cover in case of injury. Peter Handscomb, Ashton Turner and Kane Richardson have all been included after being left out of the World Cup 15 despite being part of Australia’s last two ODI tours of India and the UAE.ALSO READ: Smith and Warner make World Cup return; Handscomb and Hazlewood out
Pattinson’s inclusion in both squads proves he is close to returning for Australia in all formats. Pattinson last played a Test match in February 2016 and hasn’t played an ODI since 2015. But his stunning return to fitness and form following spine surgery has given Australia’s selectors the opportunity to recall him into the Australia A squads and he has also been included in Australia’s central contract list for the next 12 months. His inclusion in both squads means he will be pulled out of his Nottinghamshire deal earlier than expected.Pattinson has been named alongside Hazlewood after he was left out of the World Cup squad having been sidelined since January with a stress fracture of his back. Mitchell Marsh has been included in both squads after being dropped from all three formats during the Australian summer.Four players from Australia’s last Test match against Sri Lanka – Tim Paine, Marcus Harris, Kurtis Patterson and Head – have been named in the Australia A four-day squad. Australia’s Test skipper Paine will captain the team in preparation for the Ashes.ALSO READ: ‘Sometimes thought I might never get back’ – James Pattinson puts injuries behind him, targets AshesJoe Burns and Marnus Labuschagne, both currently in the Test side, have been left out, but Australia’s chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns stressed that players playing county cricket, including the duo, have been left to play for their counties and would still be considered for Ashes selection. A name check for Cameron Bancroft suggests his hopes of a return to the Test fold are very much alive if he finds form for Durham.”We have Joe Burns, Cameron Bancroft, Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Renshaw, Peter Siddle and Daniel Worrall in our sights but they have not been included in the squad and will continue to play through this period with their county teams,” Hohns said. “However, we have made it clear that strong form with their county teams will be taken into account for selection in the Ashes squad or the Australia v Australia A tour match.”At least 24 players will be required for the Australia versus Australia A four-day match in Hampshire on July 23 and the final Ashes squad will be named at the conclusion of that match, less than a week out from the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston.Australia A one-day squad Travis Head, Matthew Wade, Will Pucovski, Peter Handscomb, Ashton Turner, Mitch Marsh, D’Arcy Short, Kurtis Patterson, Ashton Agar, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Josh Hazlewood, Kane Richardson, Sean AbbottAustralia A four-day squad Tim Paine, Marcus Harris, Kurtis Patterson, Will Pucovski, Travis Head, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade, Mitch Marsh, Michael Neser, Jon Holland, James Pattinson, Jackson Bird, Josh Hazlewood, Chris Tremain.