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It is likely he would be involved initially in the T20 franchise league USA Cricket is trying to establish

Umar Farooq19-Nov-2020Sami Aslam, one of Pakistan’s leading opening batsmen, is considering quitting Pakistan cricket and moving away to pursue his ambitions. Aslam’s decision is likely to create considerable ripples given that he is not yet 25 and, ordinarily, would still be in contention for a slot in the national side.Aslam played 13 Tests between 2015 and 2017 and came close to establishing himself as a first-choice opener. He has since been prominent on the domestic circuit, among the leading run-getters in last year’s revamped Quaid-e-Azam (QeA) Trophy. But problems with team management for his domestic side Southern Punjab last season have spiralled into such disaffection that he is considering seriously overtures from USA Cricket to move there.Only last season Aslam was captain of the Southern Punjab side and finished as the fourth-highest scorer, averaging over 78, with four hundreds contributing to 864 runs. But he was removed from the captaincy during the season, after a disagreement with the head coach Abdul Rehman over a fourth-innings chase. That came in a game against Northern, when Southern Punjab needed 89 from 11 overs but, 2.3 overs in, Aslam shook hands with the opposition captain and a draw was declared. The state of the pitch, the fading light and the defensive fielding positions set by Northern had apparently led to Aslam concluding they would not be able to make the required runs. But that did not go down well with the coach, who viewed it as a digression from team tactics and leading to the change in captain.Since then Aslam’s career has hit a downturn. He was selected for Balochistan this season, a traditionally weaker team, where he has only one fifty from three rounds of the QeA this year. He was demoted to the Balochistan second XI for the National T20 Cup also, a development that increased his disenchantment. In all this time, Abid Ali and Shan Masood have pushed into the national side and somewhat established themselves as an opening pair, with Imam-ul-Haq as a back-up option. The ultimate snub was not being selected for the 35-player group touring New Zealand, a group that includes Pakistan’s national red-ball and white-ball sides and also the Pakistan Shaheens, a team of emerging or in-contention prospects.It has been a swift falling out of favour. Aslam emerged as a talent during the PCB’s Hunt for Heroes tournament in 2009. He quickly became a standout star on the youth circuit, scoring 1695 Under-19 ODI runs at 45.81 (and the most hundreds, six) and is the second-highest run-scorer in Under-19 ODI history. He is also the third-fastest in the world to get to 2000 List A runs. He was captain of the Pakistan Under-19 side when they toured England in 2013, and made two centuries in the tri-series then, including 110 in the final against England, before catching the eye with another hundred in a victory over India in the 2014 Under-19 Asia Cup.He was elevated into the national side in both Test and ODI squads immediately after the 2015 World Cup and though he was dropped after one series, he returned a year later and with some impact, making 82 and 70 at Edgbaston against England in the 2016 series. He showed his potential several times thereafter, not least in an important 91 in Hamilton against New Zealand in particular, although a failure to convert any of his seven fifties into a hundred weighed against him. Not long after that 91 though, he was being pulled up as an example of the kind of attitude to fitness Mickey Arthur was trying to overhaul.Despite runs on the domestic circuit since then, he hasn’t managed to find a way back. Details aren’t yet clear, if he does go, of his opportunities in the USA, though it is likely he would be involved initially in the T20 franchise league USA Cricket is trying to establish.

South Africa captain says schedule is “quite a challenge” as historic Pakistan trip looms

Firdose Moonda06-Jan-2021Quinton de Kock has described playing cricket in the time of Covid-19 as “unsettling” as South Africa prepare for at least three more bio-bubbles this summer. Next up is a historic visit to Pakistan, which will also include extra layers of security for South Africa’s first tour since 2007.With South Africa currently under Level 3 restrictions (with Level 5 being the strictest) and the lockdown likely to tighten in the face of a surging second wave of infections, de Kock said the situation is on the players’ minds, even though there is little they can do about it.”There is a lot of nerves that goes around when it comes to the bubble – lots of small things get into your mind; things that you’re not used to in life,” he said after victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka. “One day we could be living kind of normally and the next you’re in lockdown. Where do we go from there?”We’re stuck in a bubble, and we could be stuck in a lockdown in some place for a certain period of time, which is the worst case scenario. But, as a normal person, that’s the way you think about things. Bubbles just make tours longer because of the quarantine period. You stay in your room for a certain amount of time. You get out when we are declared safe. It’s very unsettling. I don’t know how long it can last for. But, for now, you try and deal with it in the best way possible.”South African cricket was largely unaffected when the coronavirus pandemic first struck last March, because their summer was at its end, but has since come face-to-face with the difficulties of playing at this time. Last month, England’s limited-overs tour was cut short before the ODIs after concerns about the integrity of the bubble as three South African players and two hotel staff tested positive, as well as two members of the England camp (who were lager confirmed negative). That necessitated stricter measures for the Sri Lanka series.Both teams have been housed at the Irene Country Club, a large estate with plenty of outdoor space (including a dam for fishing) near Pretoria, and South Africa’s coach Mark Boucher said they had created a “family feel”. Some players, like Faf du Plessis and de Kock, also had their immediate family staying with them but South Africa’s temporary Test captain still found the situation unusual and is looking forward to an escape.Related

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“We are probably only going to be home for two weeks in the next three months, which is quite a challenge,” de Kock said. “Even though we’re in South Africa, we’re still in a bubble. It’s not ideal but it is what it is.”South Africa will have a week off before travelling to Pakistan on January 15. Their two-Test, three-T20 series starts on January 26.While Boucher described the confines of a tour to the subcontinent as something he is used to, he was referring to the security measures of trips to Pakistan pre-2007, which none of the current crop have experienced, and which de Kock sounded wary of.”There’s two sides to it,” de Kock said. “I’m excited to get there and play cricket. It’s a new challenge. But the rest of it, the off-the-field stuff, is another sort of challenge. The lockdown is going to be the hardest challenge that we’re going to have on our plates out there.”Of course, there is also the cricket to consider, which will be challenging for a South Africa side that have just won their first Test series since 2019 and is in a rebuilding phase. The 2-0 victory over Sri Lanka needs to be assessed in the context of injuries to seven first-choice tour members, which is what de Kock is doing.”We won the series and we won it quite convincingly but I don’t think we played our best cricket,” de Kock said. “We put ourselves under unnecessary pressure a lot of times.”South Africa’s bowlers did not always manage to keep Sri Lanka under control, while their batting suffered one noteworthy collapse – 9 for 84 at the Wanderers – and South Africa have acknowledged there is work to do including finding a permanent Test captain. de Kock has accepted the job for this season and all indications are that he will be ready to give it up when the right person comes to the fore.”I still don’t see myself going further unless they haven’t found someone who can take over,” he said. “People will start putting up their hands and guys start asking the right questions. I am sure a leader will pop up somewhere. I am happy just doing the rest of the summer but if needs be that I go a little bit longer then so be it. If somebody really steps up and shows the leadership qualities then they can take over.”

Given a packed international calendar, that could be the only time to stage the tournament without having to void it

Danyal Rasool04-Mar-2021What remains of the 2021 Pakistan Super League might end up being played as soon as May this year, setting up a potential direct clash with the latter stages of the Indian Premier League. Given the packed nature of the international calendar, culminating with the T20 World Cup in October and November, ESPNcricinfo understands that if the PSL is to be completed this year, May is the only window for it. Otherwise the season may be in danger of being voided.The PCB CEO expressed confidence they would find time to complete the league, saying they were already looking at various options. “We will be looking at other windows and we hope to play the event at a later time,” Wasim Khan said. “What’s taking place right now is that we are carefully and slowly exiting, exiting players from our environment so that we can safely get them out and they can start to travel to wherever they need to travel in terms of moving forward. But we want to continue and finish the PSL.”Related

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The PCB had to break the previous edition of the tournament into two blocks as well. PSL 2020 was suspended in March, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the remaining matches, which were knockouts, were rescheduled to November last year with Karachi Kings crowned champions.”As we did with the fifth season, we found a window and we finished those matches,” Khan said. “It’s firmly our belief that we will continue to aim to do that and find a window at a later date. We had to deal with a minor breach at the beginning and we’ve done everything we possibly could. But with any assumptions for a bio-secure bubble, it takes partnerships, it takes discipline, it takes self policing. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do that effectively enough, and that is why we find ourselves in this situation.”Khan admitted it was “a difficult day” for Pakistan, and that the PSL’s postponement would make adverse international headlines. With the PCB hoping to host a number of international sides later this year, the likelihood of those tours proceeding hinged in no small part on the board’s ability to complete the Pakistan Super League without setbacks. There will inevitably be a sense of much of the hard work building those perceptions up over the last few months having gone entirely to waste.”Seven players contracted the [Covid-19] virus since the 27th of February,” Khan said. “Once the players become affected, it becomes an issue. There was a trickle effect of that happening over the last few days. That for us became a prime concern and it was a huge concern for the franchises.”The situation was such that it is now outside ours and others’ reasonable control. When players are affected, and players start to lose confidence, then it all comes apart. The bio-secure bubble is all about trust. There has to be trust for players and all the partners working together to make it all work and self-police it. This will make international news; a lot of work has gone into this last premier event of our calendar, and we’ve had to put it off. We remain resilient and confident that with the support of the franchises to make sure we complete the remaining games before the end of the year.”Khan acknowledged that the faith stakeholders had put into the PSL and the PCB had not been fully rewarded, and the process to begin rebuilding it required both time and effort. That appeared to be a warning that not all the foreign players who had registered to be a part of the PSL this time around might be willing to return if and when the league resumes, and that the PCB had a lot of work ahead of it to make sure the tournament remained an international event.”There will be an issue of trust. We need to accept that the fans in particular have supported Pakistan cricket through tough times. Building back that trust will take some time and effort, but we’ll be willing to learn from the mistakes that were made; I hope that everyone will be able to learn from what’s happened.”If you really want to carve out a window, you can. But we have got a lot of cricket happening. You’ll have to think of player welfare, too. There are windows we’ll explore with the franchises to make this work. Trust will need to be built, there needs to be better partnerships to ensure everyone plays their part in policing this environment.”

The left hander lost his place for the postponed South Africa tour but the trade-off is he gets a run of T20Is against New Zealand

Andrew McGlashan20-Feb-2021Matthew Wade did not need a long conversation with Australia’s selectors after being dropped for the Test squad, knowing he missed the chance to keep his spot in the side against India but insisted he has no regrets about taking on the opening role early in the series.Wade was elevated to the top of the order when Australia were hit by an opening crisis ahead of the Tests due to injuries to David Warner and Will Pucovski. He made scores 8, 33, 30 and 40 before returning to the middle order for the final two Tests with scores of 13, 4, 45 and 0. That wasn’t enough to make the cut for the now-postponed South Africa tour, although the flip side for Wade is that he has the chance to play T20Is in New Zealand in a World Cup year.”I’ve been around long enough [to know] that if you don’t perform at my age at a high level then your spot will be up, and if the team isn’t winning then there’s more chance of something like that happening,” Wade said. “I don’t need to dive into it too much, I know where I’m at and comfortable with what I did. There was always someone who was probably going to get left out when we lost the series and that was me.”Related

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Trevor Hohns, the national selector, referred to Wade’s seniority when he was dropped while saying they saw more “up side” in Travis Head who was retained despite losing his Test place during the summer.Wade believes converting one of his starts into a substantial score would have been enough to retain his place, right down to the penultimate innings of the series when he was well set before top-edging a pull to mid-on, which was followed in the last innings by a nick down the leg side.”The only regret I have is not turning one of my starts into a big score,” he said. “I batted really well at the top of the order…so the two games I opened I actually batted as good as I did all series. Even the last Test I batted really well, got 40-odd, then got booted down the leg side in the last innings. That’s the way the gods can treat you sometimes, it’s a bit cruel, but I had the opportunities to turn those starts into big scores. If you don’t do it, this is what happens.”Matthew Wade: ‘That’s the way the gods can treat you sometimes, it’s a bit cruel, but I had the opportunities to turn those starts into big scores’•AFP

Having missed out in the IPL action, Wade is set to have two Sheffield Shield matches for Tasmania when he returns from the tour of New Zealand but his focus will be on team success rather than worrying about making a statement to the selectors. “I’ve never been a player that goes back and just individually wants to score runs for himself, it’s about trying to win games,” he said.The immediate trade-off for Wade is a chance to build on his successful returns in the T20Is against India earlier in the season when he made 58 and 80 opening in place of the injured Warner and in the second match of the series he captained Australia when Aaron Finch was injured.Wade has been confirmed in the top three for the series against New Zealand, alongside Finch and the uncapped Josh Philippe, although the order may be flexible but he expects to take the keeping gloves throughout the five matches.Due to pre-tour biosecurity protocols it wasn’t possible to amend the T20I squad after the South Africa trip was canned, meaning a number of players who would normally have been selected are instead playing Sheffield Shield cricket.”Not going to South Africa wasn’t a great result for all the players in that squad,” Wade said. “It’s an unfortunate situation for them that they haven’t had the opportunity to come to New Zealand because that tour fell through. For me personally it’s nice to be away, playing five T20s is a big positive given I wasn’t going to be going to South Africa. It’s the way the cards were dealt. Grateful got the opportunity to be here with a younger squad.”

A trio of half-centuries helped West Indies reach 280 for 4 before declaring late on day four

Andrew Fidel Fernando01-Apr-2021Stumps West Indies surged into command on day four as half centuries from Kraigg Brathwaite, Kyle Mayers and Jason Holder helped set up a 377-run target for Sri Lanka in the second Test in Antigua. West Indies batted quickly in the absence of a frontline spinner – Lasith Embuldeniya did not bowl in the innings after being stretchered off early on day four with a leg injury sustained in the field – to rack up 280 for 4 before declaring in their second innings.Although at the start of the day it had taken West Indies less than five overs to take the two remaining Sri Lanka first-innings wickets, the visitors’ openers held firm in the nine overs they had to face before stumps in their second dig. As the surface is yet to seriously misbehave, Sri Lanka may have some hope that they can replicate West Indies’ batting effort from the last day of the first Test and play out an entire day.Nevertheless, this is a daunting prospect, partly because this surface is drier than the pitch from the first match had been at a similar stage; Rahkeem Cornwall’s offspin in particular could become definitive on day five.

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Of West Indies’ three half-centuries, Brathwaite’s was the one that gave the innings its backbone. Having already made 126 in the first innings, one might have excused a brasher approach in the second dig with his team sitting on a 96-run cushion. Yet, he put his head down and ground out 85 off 196 balls while more aggressively-minded batsmen sent West Indies’ lead skipping forward around him.Brathwaite left the ball a lot, blocked even more and focused on picking runs into the outfield to almost a total exclusion of hitting boundaries for large parts of his innings. His first four was off a shortish Dhananjaya de Silva delivery, which he slapped through the covers. Then he spent a whopping 134 deliveries without a boundary at all. Only when West Indies were batting quickly to set up a declaration did Brathwaite move into a more positive frame of mind, hitting three boundaries in the space of 15 balls.Both Mayers and Holder produced much more lively innings. Mayers’ 55 off 76 was quiet to begin with, but typically fun once he got his bearings. He hit eight fours in his innings, including six through the legside as he rocked back to drag balls across the line – particularly through midwicket – on a sluggish surface. Mayers survived a close lbw appeal against the bowling of de Silva – DRS showed the ball to be clipping the bails in an umpire’s call verdict – but was otherwise largely untroubled until his eventual dismissal when he was given lbw to Suranga Lakmal. Again, the ball was clipping the bails; but this time, the umpire’s call went in favour of the bowling team.Pathum Nissanka reached his half-century before being dismissed by Kemar Roach•RANDY BROOKS/AFP/Getty Images

Holder’s 71 not out off 88 balls then powered West Indies through the latter half of the afternoon session until his team’s declaration 48 minutes before stumps. Holder was busy rather than brutal, venturing frequent singles and twos, striking just eight boundaries. His 87-run stand with Brathwaite was the most productive West Indies partnership while Brathwaite also shared an 82-run stand with Mayers.That West Indies were able to score so freely after lunch and tea, however, was because Sri Lanka lost a key bowler early in the day. Embuldeniya is the only specialist spinner in the XI, but he appeared to sustain a serious groin injury in the first few overs of West Indies’ second innings when he made a sliding save in the outfield. Having writhed on the ground for several minutes clutching the inside of his left thigh, he was finally taken away in an ambulance to a local hospital for an MRI scan.Although hamstrung, Sri Lanka’s bowlers were nevertheless largely disciplined. Lakmal and Dushmantha Chameera shared the four wickets to fall, taking two apiece, despite both going at a touch more than four runs an over. De Silva had to step up with his part-time offspin to compensate for Embuldeniya’s absence. He bowled 28 overs in this innings – the majority of those in one unbroken spell and gave away only 81 runs.Early in the day, at the tail end of Sri Lanka’s first innings, Pathum Nissanka completed his half-century, taking the single he required to reach the milestone three balls into the morning. But Sri Lanka could only add eight to their overnight score, as Nissanka and No. 11 Vishwa Fernando fell in the same Kemar Roach over. Nissanka was out mis-timing a hook, which settled in the hands of substitute Hayden Walsh Jr at deep square leg, while Vishwa edged a ball behind two deliveries later.Sri Lanka giving up a 96-run lead was their biggest mistake in this Test, but there were also dropped catches on day four that were dispiriting. Jermaine Blackwood – who had moved up to No. 3 in the place of the injured Nkrumah Bonner – was dropped in the slips off the bowling of Vishwa, though it ended up not costing too many runs. Oshada Fernando made a far costlier mistake, when he couldn’t grasp a ball that was whizzing above his head at short leg. Brathwaite had been on 34 at the time.All told, it means Sri Lanka still need 348 runs on the final day, an unlikely but not insurmountable task to achieve their first ever Test series win in the West Indies.

Bangladesh’s centurion is looking forward to making an even bigger score against Sri Lanka in Pallekele

Mohammad Isam21-Apr-2021Many would’ve been surprised at seeing Najmul Hossain Shanto’s name in the Bangladesh team sheet in Pallekele. He had averaged 11.14 in seven innings against West Indies after the coach and captain publicly backed him to be their No. 3. In fact, the insistence on Shanto over Shakib Al Hasan at No. 3 in the ODIs raised many eyebrows. Then he didn’t perform against West Indies, and his only innings in New Zealand saw him bowled off a half-tracker. A team that has lost their last eight matches finds it hard to answer questions about an under-performing batter.If not the whole answer, Shanto has given a sample of his ability with an unbeaten 126 on the first day against Sri Lanka. This maiden Test century couldn’t have come at a better time for someone under pressure to perform regularly.By batting seven-and-a-half hours, Shanto did what most No. 3s around the world do on a true pitch against an inconsistent bowling attack. He helped the team recover from an early wicket, supported an aggressive batter and then controlled the innings with the No. 4. He added 144 with Tamim Iqbal and 150 with Mominul Haque, neither dominating nor falling behind. Shanto called it an “organised” innings where he didn’t want to rush into anything. But it was clear from his words that it took a lot of effort to reach this mindset after being so clumsy and wayward against West Indies couple of months ago.”I don’t think it was about proving myself,” Shanto said. “I have worked hard in the last five or six months and although I didn’t get the result, I believed in myself to score big runs. It was important for me not to rush anything. I think I played a much organised innings. Of course Tamim batted very well. He was scoring quickly, which allowed me to take a bit of time. His innings was helpful for me. I tried to bat according to the merit of the ball.””I think I was mentally relaxed today. I wasn’t too worried about scoring runs. It was more about enjoying the innings. I just reacted to every ball. I didn’t look at the scoreboard to check how much I made or how many balls I faced.”The fact that he understands the value of patience was readily apparent in how he didn’t mind taking 38 balls to move from 90 to 100. When he finally reached the three-figure mark, he smiled and gave a bow towards his dressing room.Shanto said that he didn’t show a lot of emotion because he believes he isn’t done in the innings. He also said that he tried to block out the outside noise during his run of poor form. “I believed I could make a big one so there wasn’t much to be excited about. I want to bat long tomorrow and play more matches in the future.”Honestly, I don’t focus on what’s being said about me. I heard some stuff from my family members. Maybe people believe I have the ability to do well which is why there is a lot of expectations from me,” he said.Shanto said that the pitch, with a tinge of green, was good for batting after they rode out the first hour. He is looking ahead to the second day, and particularly the first session, for a bigger score for himself and the team.”When I reached the middle, Tamim told me I should bat knowing that this is a good wicket. He told me that I shouldn’t worry too much about the wicket. Here the new ball does a bit, as you saw even at the end of the day.”It is a good wicket. I will try to bat as long as possible tomorrow by staying positive. We must bat well in the first session on the second day. Only after that, we will know what would be a good first innings total,” he said.

Delays in visa process for Nepal legspinner led to Blast contract being cancelled

Matt Roller07-Jun-2021Sandeep Lamichhane, the globetrotting Nepal legspinner, is expected to fulfil his contract to play for Oval Invincibles in the inaugural season of the Hundred despite visa delays causing Worcestershire to cancel his deal to represent them in the Vitality T20 Blast.ESPNcricinfo understands that Lamichhane’s visa for the UK has now been approved, but administrative issues caused in part by a Covid-related backlog and by delays in his application meant that if he had flown to the UK immediately after receiving it, he would still have missed the first half of the Blast’s group stages.Worcestershire announced on Saturday evening that they had signed Ish Sodhi, the New Zealand legspinner, as a replacement, who was due to travel to the UK on Sunday. He will be their second overseas player for the Blast alongside Ben Dwarshuis, the Australian left-arm seamer who was part of the Sydney Sixers side that won back-to-back Big Bash titles.Related

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Lamichhane was among the beneficiaries of changes made to the ECB’s minimum requirements for a governing body endorsement (GBE) for a visa to play domestic cricket in the UK as an overseas players ahead of the 2020 season.Previously, a player needed to have represented an ICC Full-Member nation in at least one Test or at least 15 limited-overs internationals in the past 24 months to qualify for a GBE, but in order to ensure freelance T20 players like Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn could appear in the Hundred, the ECB lobbied the Home Office to change the timeframe to 36 months and add a stipulation that players of any nationality who had appeared in at least 20 ‘List A’ T20 matches in Full-Member countries in the past 36 months would be eligible. As a regular in the IPL, BBL and CPL, Lamichhane met that criterion.Lamichhane and his agent have been in contact with the ECB regarding possible travel routes from Nepal – which is on the UK’s red list for travel – to the UK ahead of the Hundred, and he is hoping to fulfil his £60,000 deal with the Invincibles in that competition. The Hundred begins on July 21 with a standalone women’s fixture between the Invincibles and Manchester Originals, with the men’s teams playing against each other the following night.A number of overseas players are expected to follow Rachael Haynes and Jess Jonassen in withdrawing from the Hundred due to clashes with international tours, quarantine requirements and restrictions on overseas travel, though it is understood that no further players have done so as things stand.

Kimber strikes 53 off 28 balls as Foxes recover from 80 for 5

ECB Reporters Network22-Jun-2021Louis Kimber’s maiden Vitality Blast fifty helped Leicestershire Foxes to a 42-run win over Derbyshire Falcons in the North Group match at Derby.Kimber struck 53 off 28 balls as the Foxes recovered from 80 for 5 to post 174 for 8 with Scott Steel scoring 46 and skipper Colin Ackermann 37.Matt Critchley’s 2 for 23, combined with 2 for 30 from George Scrimshaw put Derbyshire in a good position until Kimber’s late charge set a challenging chase.Derbyshire were well placed at 60 for 0 but they collapsed against the Foxes’ spinners to 132 all out with eight balls to spare.Callum Parkinson, Ackermann and Steel shared six wickets to seal a second successive win while Derbyshire have now lost six matches.Leicestershire began slowly against disciplined bowling and then faltered just when Steel was pressing on the accelerator. He ramped Logan van Beek for six and pulled Fynn Hudson-Prentice over the ropes after Josh Inglis had carved to mid-off.Scrimshaw and Critchley gave Derbyshire momentum and halted Leicestershire’s by taking four wickets in four overs with Steel skying a pull to mid-on.Critchley’s second over was a big one as Rishi Patel missed a sweep and Lewis Hill drove to long-off.It left Ackermann and Kimber to rebuild carefully before launching an onslaught that brought 47 from the last three overs.Kimber drove Conor McKerr for six and although Ackermann failed to clear long-on, Kimber twice launched Hudson-Prentice into the stand as 19 came from the final over.It left Derbyshire a stiffer chase than had looked likely but they began well with Harry Came taking three fours from a Gavin Griffiths over. Luis Reece drove and pulled Griffiths for six to take Derbyshire to 55 without loss at the end of the powerplay.Parkinson made the breakthrough in a maiden over in which Came was bowled and Reece was run out for 19.Derbyshire needed 104 from 10 overs but the pressure exerted by the spinners told as Billy Godleman was lbw to Steel and Leus du Plooy drove Ackermann to long-off.When Critchley fell in the same Ackermann over, Derbyshire had lost five wickets in six overs to slide to 85 for 5, a position from which they never recovered.

After an ordinary start, the New Zealand bowlers too got into the swing of things

Sidharth Monga19-Jun-2021
We have only had a little over two sessions’ worth of cricket on the first two days of the World Test Championship final, but what we’ve had has been high-quality cricket worthy of the occasion. When bad light curtailed the second day to just 64.4 overs after the first day was washed out, India, asked to bat in challenging conditions against a deep attack, were 146 for 3 and, you’d suspect, the happier side.New Zealand will be disappointed but not despondent: it could have been worse after a 62-run opening stand between Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill as Tim Southee and Trent Boult got off to an uncharacteristically indifferent start. Towards the end of the day, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane looked sublime in fading light, playing the ball delightfully late and biding their time as New Zealand didn’t offer easy scoring opportunities. No batting duo now has more fifty-run stands for the fourth wicket or lower.It was one of those “good toss to lose” days, but it turned out both sides would have liked to have had a bowl after the pitch had been under covers for two days and with the sun unlikely to make an appearance. The coin fell Kane Williamson’s way, but his opening bowlers didn’t get his side off to a desired start.Part of it was possibly down to proactive Indian openers. By repeatedly walking down the pitch to meet the ball before it had swung, they made a statement to Southee and Boult. When they tried to bang it in short – which was not often – Gill pulled with disdain.New Zealand are the most economical attack in this WTC cycle. They keep the runs down and then let the subtle skills of their bowlers take. Here, though, both Southee and Boult went searching too often with the new ball. Did the batsmen upset their rhythm? Did they feel the pressure of expectation when your captain hands you the ball in such conditions? It is anybody’s guess, but Rohit and Gill punished them every time they pitched too short or too full, which was often. By the time Williamson brought on his first-change bowler, Kyle Jamieson, India had 37 on the board in 10 overs.The first maiden of the innings was the 12th, bowled by Boult; then Jamieson and Colin de Grandhomme added one each on top of it. Not long after, Jamieson drew the first fatal error from India. Rohit pushed away from the body for the first time in his innings, edging the outswinger, but not before giving India their first 60-plus opening stand in England in over a decade.There might have been the mildest of question marks against Neil Wagner’s inclusion in the final XI because in early summer conditions in England you hardly need his trademark method of hustling batters with short-pitched bowling. However, within three balls of his introduction into the attack, Wagner vindicated his selection. He swung the first ball back into Gill and then, from the exact same length, the third ball held its line. Gill had to play at it because of the earlier swing, and BJ Watling – playing the final match of a stellar career – pouched a catch behind the wicket. India had now lost two wickets for one run.A fascinating spell of play followed either side of lunch. Cheteshwar Pujara went about his usual business, taking 36 balls to get off the mark and then showing intent to upper-cut Wagner. At the other end, Kohli, who has mastered the quickest and the scariest of bowlers, had to swallow his ego and play maiden after maiden from de Grandhomme’s dibbly-dobblies.de Grandhomme bowled with just the right (lack of) pace and amount of movement to nag Kohli, who had previously faced 10 balls from him in Test cricket for one run and one lbw dismissal. Here, too, de Grandhomme seemingly tried to set up the same, bowling outswingers from middle and off. Once he nearly took the edge, but that ball that shapes up to swing one way and then seams the other didn’t arrive. Kohli faced 21 balls from de Grandhomme for just four runs, but didn’t once try to hit out.Pujara saw out Jamieson, then made Wagner switch to bouncers, one of which got him in the head as he looked to hook, which he rarely does, but just ask Australia what usually happens when Pujara battles through a tough phase. With a five-man attack, though, New Zealand kept coming back at him. The next test was Boult, who had got Pujara out four times for 48 runs outside India. Today, the first he bowled to Pujara was right on the money: swinging in for the lbw, Pujara seemed to have covered the swing, but it seamed some more after pitching, beating his inside edge and trapping him in front.Rahane can be a flashy starter, but he got a gift down the leg side first ball, which he clipped away. A general indicator of where Rahane’s form is how late he plays the ball early in his innings. He was in no hurry here. Except for a near run-out early in the piece, there was nothing flashy from him.The player of the day, though, was at the other end. On that calendar it might have been over 18 months since Kohli has scored an international hundred, but he has batted as well as anyone in this period. It was on display here again. Except for a mini phase in the stop-start final session when he began to push at Southee outswingers, Kohli looked in control against everyone.New Zealand’s response was to block his scoring areas. The cover drive and the flick through midwicket were well guarded. So Kohli had to wait for the errors in length. He did. But even when they erred, they fed possibly the only shot that Kohli doesn’t relish: the cut. However, Kohli kept scoring through point with pushes and punches. The conditions demanded for nothing short of Kohli’s best: even the 60-over-old ball swung under the clouds.Close to eight hours have already been lost in the Test, but they can be made up with an extra half hour added to the remaining days and a whole reserve day in the bank. Any further interruptions will start eating into the Test, which, going by the quality of the contest in the limited time we have had, will be a massive shame.

Holland claims 4-12 and scores 30* as Kent are eliminated from knock-outs in rain-hit match

ECB Reporters Network08-Aug-2021Hampshire’s hopes of qualifying for the knock-out stages of the Royal London Cup are still alive after they coasted to a six-wicket win over Kent Spitfires at Beckenham.Ian Holland ripped out Kent’s top order with 4 for 12 as the hosts failed to bat out their overs, despite a rain reduction to 24 per side. Scott Currie took 2 for 4 as the Spitfires were all out for 105.The Duckworth Lewis Stern Method pushed the target up to just 107 and Hampshire chased it down with relative ease, finishing on 107 for 4, Tom Alsop the top scorer with 37 and Holland hitting an unbeaten 30.Kent have now been eliminated, regardless of the outcome of Thursday’s final scheduled match with Gloucestershire at Beckenham, a fixture in doubt due to the Covid outbreak that saw today’s match between Gloucestershire and Middlesex cancelled.The prospects of play looked remote as steady rain fell throughout the morning, but conditions improved and play started at 2.30pm, with the match initially reduced to 27 overs per side.Kent’s openers made a bright start after being asked to bat but, after moving to 42 without loss, Tawanda Muyeye was bowled by John Turner for 24.Holland then instigated a collapse when he claimed two wickets in the twelfth over. Ollie Robinson was caught by James Fuller at deep square leg for 27 and Jack Leaning was subsequently caught and bowled for 11. In Holland’s next over, Harry Finch chipped him to Nick Gubbins and was out for nought.Kent had reached 70 for 4 before a shower sent the players sprinting to the pavilion, trimming the match by a further three overs per side and, if anything, their batting got worse when play resumed. Darren Stevens made just eight when Holland had him caught by Felix Organ and Grant Stewart was run out for four, by a direct hit from Tom Scriven, chasing a single that could best be described as optimistic.Joe Gordon made nine on his List A debut before he holed out to Scriven and was caught by Organ and Currie then bowled Harry Podmore for eight before getting Hamid Qadri lbw for five.Kyle Abbott wrapped up the innings when Matt Quinn was caught by Tom Prest and Hampshire made short work of the chase.The Spitfires’ hopes flickered when Quinn took two quick wickets, strangling Prest down the leg side where he was caught behind for two and then bowling Gubbins, also for two, to reduce the visitors to 23 for 2, but Hampshire put on 40 for the next wicket before Alsop chopped Podmore to Finch, who took a sharp catch at point.By the time Joe Weatherley was caught by Muyeye off Podmore for 25 Gloucestershire needed just another 15 for victory with six wickets in hand and Fuller smacked Podmore for six to clinch the win with 34 balls to spare.