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England captain ignores criticism of approach, while his return to bowling draws nearer

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2024Ben Stokes, England’s captain, has promised that his team will park the disappointment of their crushing 434-run loss in the third Test in Rajkot, and move onto Ranchi later this week fully focussed on bouncing back to claim a 3-2 series victory.After challenging India hard over the first two days of the contest, England’s resolve collapsed on days three and four, with their final 18 wickets tumbling for 217 runs, either side of a free-wheeling second innings from India that was lit up by Yashasvi Jaiswal’s unbeaten 214.The upshot was India’s largest victory by runs in Test history, and caused England’s ultra-positive approach to come under intense scrutiny – most particularly in the wake of Joe Root’s fateful reverse-scoop against Jasprit Bumrah on the third morning which triggered England’s slide from a threatening overnight scoreline of 207 for 2.Stokes, however, insisted his side would not be swayed by outside opinion, and that they would instead double down on the dressing-room mentality that has carried the team to 14 wins in 21 matches since the start of the 2022 home summer, including a remarkable 28-run victory in the first Test in Hyderabad.”Everyone’s got a perception and opinion about things,” Stokes said during the post-match presentations. “But again, the people in the dressing-room’s are the opinions that really matter to us.”We know that things don’t always work out exactly how you want it to, but at 2-1 down in the series, still got two games left, so we’ve got a great chance to come home with the trophy at 3-2.”We’ll make sure that we’re moving on and focusing on what we’ve got coming up ahead, because games can be won and lost in the head. We’ll be leaving all the emotion and disappointment from this week, and moving on to the next one.”Root’s first-innings dismissal was described in one English newspaper as “the worst shot in Test history”, but the criticism of England’s batting also encompassed Stokes’ departure for 41, caught in the deep while trying to hit Ravindra Jadeja for six.1:17

Duckett defends Root’s reverse scoop dismissal

His departure at 299 for 6 triggered a final collapse of 5 for 20, and an India first-innings lead of 126. However, Stokes remained adamant that the speed of England’s innings had been an important consideration, seeing as they were also due to bat last on an increasingly spin-friendly pitch, and that his proven approach to power-hitting was the best means to achieve their aims.”If you look at the situation we found ourselves in going into day three, to give ourselves a chance of winning we had to try and press the button after the lunch break,” he said. “They got some quick wickets, so we had to absorb the pressure that India threw at us there. But me personally, I sensed that as an opportunity after lunch to go out and have ‘one of my days out’, we’ll call it.”I’ve got an unbelievable belief in myself that I can do that,” he added. “Just like I have an unbelievable belief in every individual in there that, on their day, they can turn the game in our favour. We wanted to be bowling at the back end of day three, that came a lot earlier than we wanted to, but that’s how some things go. Nothing goes your way all the time.”Stokes also praised Ben Duckett’s “unbelievable” first-innings knock of 153 from 151 balls, adding that “that was the tone that we wanted to set for our whole innings”. By the end, however, he conceded that Jaiswal’s response, a second double-century of the series featuring a world-record-equalling 12 sixes, had been “phenomenal” to behold.”Every game has been filled with multiple, unbelievable things to be able to witness as a supporter,” Stokes said. “Jaiswal’s double-hundred was, honestly, it was just phenomenal to watch it, even though we’re on the wrong side of it. Obviously we’re very disappointed to be on the wrong side of the result, but one thing we’re very good at as a team, and also myself, has been able to leave everything that’s gone behind us.”With a short turnaround to the fourth Test, Stokes acknowledged that changes to England’s seam attack could be on the cards, with James Anderson and Mark Wood putting in big shifts in tough conditions in Rajkot. One potential boost for England, however, could come from the captain himself, who has been rehabilitating from recent knee surgery, and believes he’s not far away from a return to match bowling for the first time since the Lord’s Test in June last year.”I’m not going to lie,” Stokes told TNT. “I feel really good. I’ve managed to get my first ball out 100% on day one or day two here. Me as a person, I like to maybe jump the gun a little bit too much. But yeah, things are feeling really good. But I’ve got a whole body to get used to bowling again. So I’m not saying no, but not saying yes either.”

Hosts took first-innings lead of 208 when they were bowled out for 359 on stroke of tea

ECB Reporters Network27-Apr-2024Hampshire 151 and 31 for 2 (Gubbins 6*, Vince 4*) trail Surrey 359 (Burns 113, Clark 106*) by 177 runsHundreds in contrasting styles by skipper Rory Burns and Jordan Clark put champions Surrey in control against Hampshire at the Kia Oval.Burns’ seven-hour 113 – his 25th first-class century but first since July 2022 – laid strong foundations and Clark built on them with a run-a-ball unbeaten 106 as Surrey took a first-innings lead of 208 when they were bowled out for 359 on the stroke of tea.Hampshire lost openers Ali Orr and Fletcha Middleton in successive overs before bad light and rain took 20 overs off the day’s allocation. Hampshire will resume on 31 for 2, trailing by 177.Burns led Surrey to their second successive Championship last year despite, by his high standards, a relatively modest contribution with the bat of 631 runs at 27.43. He had seen four team-mates depart at the other end to leave Surrey 44 for 4 replying to Hampshire’s 151.But having helped tilt the balance Surrey’s way by adding 75 with Ryan Patel, he made sure they didn’t squander their advantage on day two.The pitch had lost a bit of zip but Hampshire’s seam attack – and in particular the outstanding Mohammad Abbas – still asked plenty of questions with their probling lengths and judicious use of the short ball.Burns found an unlikely ally in nightwatchman Kemar Roach with whom he patiently put on 66 in the morning session. They had to negotiate testing opening spells from Kyle Abbott and Abbas, and Burns would have been run out had Orr, running in from cover, hit the stumps with Burns, who was on 55, stranded well short of his ground.Sub fielder Ian Holland couldn’t quite hold on diving one-handed to his right at mid-off to reprieve Roach on 12 and Roach celebrated by clipping the 86th delivery he faced through mid-wicket for his only boundary.Brad Wheal broke the stand when Roach (19) drove expansively at his outswinger, but Cam Steel helped Burns take the lead past 150, upper-cutting Abbott for six over backward point to get off the mark before Abbott had him caught behind in the third over after lunch.The luckless Abbas – who finished with 1 for 43 from 28 overs – looked ruefully to the heavens when Tom Prest dropped Clark at slip on 16 and how the all-rounder made Hampshire pay, first by helping Burns put on 98 in 19 overs.Burns did a superb job blunting Abbas and Abbott in particular and was ruthless with anything loose. He tucked his 236th ball into the leg side for the single which took him to his first hundred at the Oval in two years and by then Clark had begun to plunder a wilting attack. He struck nine fours in a 53-ball fifty and then greeted Liam Dawson’s belated arrival by launching the left-arm spinner’s third ball over mid-wicket for six.Burns’ 424-minute marathon finally ended on 113 (256 balls) when he tried to up the tempo with a reverse-sweep off Dawson. He departed to a standing ovation and in the next over Abbott uprooted Gus Atkinson’s middle stump, but Worrall hung around long enough for Clark to complete his fourth first-class hundred and third for Surrey, off 101 balls with 12 fours and a six.Roach and Worrall then emphasised Surrey’s control by each taking a wicket with the new ball. Worrall’s yorker-length was too good for Orr and Middleton was caught at second slip nibbling at one from Roach that did just enough off the seam.

Warwickshire hit back with bat led by efforts of Worcestershire old boy

ECB Reporters Network06-Apr-2024Ed Barnard shone against his former county as Warwickshire built a strong position in reply to Worcestershire on the second day of their Vitality County Championship tussle at Edgbaston.Barnard struck a fluent 89 from 124 balls as Warwickshire responded to the visitors’ 360 all out by closing the second day on 292 for 5. In his first red-ball innings against the county from which he joined the Bears, the 28-year-old batted with patience and panache, hitting 11 fours and a six.Supported by Will Rhodes (64 from 92 balls) and Dan Mousley (56 not out from 106), Barnard set down a platform from which Warwickshire will aim to put their local rivals under serious pressure in the second half of the game. Taking 20 wickets on a slow pitch that is good for batting will be a tough ask but the home side will be aiming to apply plenty of scoreboard pressure.Worcestershire resumed on the second morning on 316 for 7 but their hopes of building an imposing total were scuppered by the excellent Chris Rushworth (3 for 97). The former Durham player dismissed Nathan Smith, caught at midwicket, and then unleashed a superb away-cutter which Joe Leach edged to Rob Yates at second slip.Jason Holder offered some late-order impetus before skying Michael Booth to deep point where Danny Briggs judged a difficult catch superbly in the strong wind. From 235 for 2 on the first afternoon, Worcestershire would have hoped for more than 360 in good batting conditions.Warwickshire’s reply was given a perky start by Yates before he inside-edged a drive at Leach on to his stumps. Alex Davies and Rhodes, present and former captains, then added 65 as the bowlers struggled for rhythm in the ferocious wind. Having set down roots in his first innings as captain, Davies was frustrated to perish for 36 when he mispulled a short ball from Adam Finch to midwicket. The next ball from Finch was identical but yielded a very different result as Barnard helped it sweetly over long leg to get off the mark with six first ball.Rhodes, in his 100th first-class match, passed 50 for the 33rd time but, having left countless balls judiciously, tried to guide Smith over the cordon and found only the hands of Holder at slip. At 179 for 3, the game was finely-balanced and further quick wickets would have given Worcestershire the ascendancy, but Barnard and Mousley settled in to add 69 in 22 overs either side of tea.Barnard was 11 runs from a century against his former team-mates when Finch won an lbw decision. The batter departed in disbelief at a decision which appeared to have scope for debate on grounds of both height and direction. He had, however, capably filled the No. 4 spot vacated by Sam Hain who is missing this match for personal reasons.A late bonus wicket followed for Worcestershire when Jake Bethell dawdled on a second run and was beaten by Smith’s throw, but Mousley motored to a 95-ball half-century and will return with his sights set on a maiden first-class ton.

Adam Lyth’s career-best bowling display in vain as Yorkshire fall two wickets short of first win of the season

ECB Reporters Network27-May-2024Ricardo Vasconcelos hit a valiant 129 not out as he attempted to power Northamptonshire to an unlikely victory over Yorkshire in this Vitality County Championship match which ended in high drama on a see-saw final evening at Wantage Road.Yorkshire had set up a tantalising run chase of challenging 326 to win in a little over two sessions, and when Vasconcelos warmed up for the T20 Blast game with 17 boundaries all around the ground, a home win looked a possibility.But a dramatic clatter of wickets as Yorkshire’s attack staged a late fightback set nerves jangling in the home dressing room, Vasconcelos had to switch gears to ensure his side held out for the draw, eight wickets down, in an innings full of character and maturity.At 165 for 2 in the 33rd over, with Vasconcelos sharing a quickfire stand of 63 in 55 balls with Karun Nair (36), Northamptonshire were set for an enthralling white ball style finish. But a persistent Yorkshire bowling attack fought back hard taking three wickets for 13, and the last six for 54, as first innings centurion Adam Lyth concluded a memorable 200th Championship match with career-best bowling figures of 4 for 56.In an innings full of character and maturity Vasconcelos held his nerve as Northamptonshire saw out the draw.Earlier Yorkshire captain Shan Masood (131 not out) declared his side’s innings on 264 for 6 just before lunch, dangling the carrot of a chase which would have been the tenth highest to beat Yorkshire by any team in its history.Ultimately, though, the loss of 17 overs during two stoppages for rain took too much time out of the game, and the captains shook hands shortly after 6.20pm. The draw leaves both sides winless after seven games, Yorkshire taking 14 points and Northamptonshire 13.

Saha has will turn out for Rashmi Medinipur Wizards in the Bengal T20 league which starts on June 11

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jun-2024Wriddhiman Saha is all set to return to Bengal for the upcoming Indian domestic season, and will also feature in the inaugural Bengal Pro T20 league that gets underway on Tuesday at the Eden Gardens.Saha, who represented Bengal for close to 15 years since making his first-class debut in 2007, moved to Tripura ahead of the 2022-23 domestic season as a player-cum-mentor. He had asked for his NOC after being hurt by comments by a senior administrator before the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy quarter-finals. After two years at Tripura, Saha is now back at Bengal.He wasn’t on the initial draft list of the Bengal Pro T20 league but has been picked by the Rashmi Medinipur Wizards team as a replacement for the injured Abhimanyu Easwaran. Wizards will be led by Sudip Chatterjee in the league and also have former India U-19 fast bowler Ishan Porel in their ranks.There are a total of eight teams taking part in the Pro T20 league. Each team will play seven league-stage matches, followed by the semi-finals and the final on June 28 at the Eden Gardens.”We are very happy to have Wriddhiman back in Bengal. Also, his interest in playing at the Bengal Pro T20 League will add more glamour to the League,” Snehasish Ganguly, the president of the Cricket Association of Bengal, said.Saha, 39, has played 136 first-class matches, scoring 7013 runs at an average of 41.99. So far, he has hit 14 centuries and 43 half-centuries. This includes 1353 Test runs in 40 matches at an average of 29.41.Saha was picked up by Gujarat Titans at the IPL 2022 auction and was part of the side that won the title in its inaugural season. He had an underwhelming IPL 2024, though, where he could only manage 136 runs in nine innings while averaging 15.11. His loss of form coincided with Titans’ slide as they finished eighth in the season.

216-run stand with Luis Reece sets up cruise to nine-wicket victory

ECB Reporters Network27-Jul-2024Harry Came scored a maiden List A hundred as Derbyshire moved to the top of Group A in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup with a thumping nine-wicket victory over Middlesex at Derby.Derbyshire’s second win in the competition was set up by Came and Luis Reece, 88, who shared an opening stand of 216 off 202 balls. Came was unbeaten on 110 from 130 balls as Derbyshire reached their target of 267 with seven overs to spare to condemn Middlesex to a second defeat.Joe Cracknell top-scored for Middlesex with 56 but the loss of three wickets in 19 balls undermined them before Martin Anderrson, 46, and the lower order lifted the total to 267, with Daryn Dupavillon taking 3 for 47.After being put in, Middlesex had looked on course for a more substantial total until a middle-order collapse forced them to regroup in the second half of the innings. Sam Robson appeared set before Sam Conners found some late movement to have him caught behind for 32 off 28 balls in the 10th over.Cracknell struggled initially but a pulled six off Conners got him going although he was dropped at slip off Dupavillon on 33. England Under-19 fast bowler Harry Moore again impressed with his control and he got one to lift to have Nathan Fernandes caught behind in the 17th over.Cracknell reached his 50 from 74 balls by lifting Reece over midwicket for his fifth four and with Mark Stoneman starting confidently, Middlesex were well placed at 117 for 2. But Stoneman then flashed at a wide ball from Dupvaillon and Jack Davies skied a pull to deep midwicket before Cracknell missed a sweep at Samit Patel to reduce the visitors to 131 for 5.Andersson and Luke Hollman had to temper aggression with the need to get their side up to a competitive score and they worked the ball around to add 61 from 77 balls. The return of Moore broke the stand when Hollman cut him to point but Josh De Caires helped Anderrson push Middlesex towards 250.He put a dent in Patel’s figures by launching him over long off for six but the Derbyshire skipper responded by bowling Andersson as he made room to cut. De Caires made 23 from 19 balls before he pulled Zak Chappell to deep midwicket but Middlesex were back in the game.To have a chance of building on the recovery, they had to bowl well from the start but both Noah Cornwell and Blake Cullen conceded five wides in their opening overs. Reece climbed into Cullen’s second over, pulling him into the car park and whipping him over the ropes at long leg before driving the last ball past mid off for four.Ethan Bamber also gave away five wides in his first over and Reece and Came sailed along serenely at six an over with Middlesex struggling to contain them. Reece reached his 50 from 48 balls and Came brought up his half-century off 72 by pulling Cornwell for his sixth four.Stoneman rotated his bowlers to no avail as the openers did much as they pleased with Came straight driving Hollman for six in the 30th over. The stand was finally broken when Reece was lbw sweeping Hollman but Came reached his century off 116 balls as Derbyshire cruised home in the early evening sunshine.

“The focus has moved to doing well in Australia, England [so] that we’ve kind of let playing spin, which was always a strength, fall back a little bit,” says new assistant coach

Shashank Kishore21-Aug-2024Ryan ten Doeschate, the former Netherlands allrounder, didn’t think batting against spin was an area he would need to focus on when he signed up as one of India’s assistant coaches, but it’s a challenge he’s keen to take on as the team builds towards a home season comprising five Tests – two against Bangladesh and three against New Zealand.”One of the challenges I wasn’t expecting and I kind of overlooked is the playing of spin by Indian batters,” ten Doeschate told . “We got undone in Sri Lanka.”India lost 27 wickets to spin in the recently concluded three ODIs in Sri Lanka, the most any team has lost to this variety of bowling in a three-match series. After the series, captain Rohit Sharma said it was an area that needed some addressing.Related

• Rohit: India 'need to seriously look at' their batting against spin

“The mindset of India has been such that they’ve been so desperate to do well overseas,” ten Doeschate said. “The focus has moved to doing well in Australia, England [so] that we’ve kind of let playing spin, which was always a strength of the Indian team, fall back a little bit. That’s one thing I’m looking forward to helping with, getting to that position where Indians are the best players of spin in the world again.”Ten Doeschate, 44, is one of two assistants alongside Abhishek Nayar in the Gautam Gambhir-led coaching staff. He has been active in the coaching circuit since his retirement in 2021, having worked with Kent, Kolkata Knight Riders and, more recently, LA Knight Riders in Major League Cricket.In his new role with India, he said the focus would be largely on preparation rather than being too technical. “I don’t think much of what we’re going to bring is technical knowledge to these guys,” he said. “It’s more about mindsets, situational awareness, how we think they can control certain phases of the game.”[It’s about] throwing ideas out there, de-briefing and keeping the mental space really good. That’s going to be really important.”Ten Doeschate said he was wary of the challenges of taking over a successful team, which is coming off a World Cup triumph, but also exuded excitement at the prospect of what lay ahead.”It’s exciting and kind of daunting at the same time,” he said. “In terms of what we’re looking forward to, qualifying for the WTC final [next June is a goal]. There’s a great opportunity with 10 Tests left, five in India [over the next couple of months] and then going to Australia [for five more at the end of 2024] is going to be great.”Then in the medium term there’s the Champions Trophy [in February 2025]. With only three ODIs left in the prep phase, it’s going to be really challenging to switch between the formats and get the team ready for that, which again is something they’re desperate to win.”Then in the next [WTC] cycle, the tour to England [summer of 2025] is going to be fantastic and then prepping the team for the [2026] T20 World Cup. In terms of timing, it’s quite difficult to walk into a team that’s just come back with the [2024 T20] World Cup, but in terms of what’s ahead for the next 18 months, it’s mouth-watering as a coach. It’s all the series you want to be involved in and all the challenges you want to come up against.”

Australian’s first half-century of the season lifts Spirit into last Eliminator spot

ECB Media09-Aug-2024A fifty from Georgia Redmayne saw London Spirit to victory with eight balls to spare against Manchester Originals in the sunshine at Lord’s.Despite weathering a difficult start to the innings, Redmayne hit 66 from 59 balls to see Spirit chase down the total for the loss of just two wickets.She was ably supported in the chase by England skipper Heather Knight who scored a composed 29 from 27 balls, following the earlier departures of Meg Lanning and Cordelia Griffith.Originals were left to rue dropped catches off both Redmayne and Knight, in a defence which needed a strong fielding performance to give them any chance of coming out on top, following a sub-par first innings score.Earlier in the day, Charlie Dean and Sarah Glenn did the damage with the ball and restricted the Originals to 112.The Spirit fielding performance was exceptional throughout, including a brilliant caught and bowled by Sarah Glenn and a superb catch in the deep by Cordelia Griffith to remove Emma Lamb.Wickets fell at regular intervals to keep Originals in check, with Kathryn Bryce ultimately top-scoring with 32 from 27 balls.Meerkat Match Hero Georgia Redmayne said: “It was a little bit of a tricky wicket. We bowled really well to keep them to that total.”I did not start great but it was nice to get some time in the middle in the end. I tried to stay calm and play to my strengths – you try to get one or two away, and then be on your way.”As a team we started the competition well with two wins, we had a bit of a wobble but we have been playing pretty good cricket. This is our last game here, so we wanted to put on a show and get a win.”

Worcestershire reduced to 56 for 76, but Waite and van Beek rally before rain

ECB Reporters Network26-Sep-2024Lancashire made up for lost time and maintained their Vitality County Championship Division One survival hopes after Tom Bailey and Anderson Phillip impressed with the new ball against Worcestershire at Visit Worcestershire New Road.Bailey and Phillip fully justified Lancashire skipper Keaton Jennings decision to put the home side into bat in reducing them to 22 for 5 and then 56 for 7 in seamer-friendly conditions when play got underway after lunch. The duo both picked up three wickets to give Lancashire an ideal start to a game they have to win to keep alive their chances of remaining in the top flight for another season.Lancashire began the game 15 points adrift of third from bottom Nottinghamshire but last week’s win over Somerset at Emirates Old Trafford had kept them in contention.Bailey bowled eight overs on the trot and returned excellent figures of 3 for 9 while Phillip had 3 for 44 from seven overs.Worcestershire had already guaranteed their safety during a recent run of three wins in four matches and their eighth-wicket pair of Matthew Waite and Logan van Beek led a partial recovery. They plundered 63 in seven overs but the rain which had washed out the morning’s play returned after tea.Worcestershire made two changes from the side in action against Hampshire at the Utilita Bowl with the fit again Waite and Jack Home replacing the injured Tom Taylor and spinner Amar Virdi. Lancashire kept faith with the side which had defeated Somerset.Bailey’s second delivery of the opening over accounted for Gareth Roderick who drove at a ball of full length which was swinging away and he edged to Will Williams at fourth slip.Jake Libby square cut Phillip for four but then was stuck in the crease and nicked another ball which moved away to Harry Singh at third slip. Rob Jones was undone by an excellent full length swinging delivery from Phillip and was caught behind. Kashif Ali steered Bailey to first slip and then Brett D’Oliveira pushed at the same bowler and perished at second slip.Adam Hose off drove Bailey to the ropes to move into double figures but it became 39 for 6 when Ethan Brookes played forward and was bowled with a fullish-length delivery which did just enough to nip away.Phillip came back into the attack to replace Bailey after a superb opening spell of 8-4-9-3 and he soon claimed his third scalp when Hose tried to on drive a delivery slanted towards leg stump and ended up deflecting to Jennings at second slip.Waite decided attack was the best policy and pulled and on drove Williams for sixes in his first over which cost 15 runs. Van Beek also went on the attack and he struck Balderson and Williams for further maximums.By tea the eighth wicket pair had added 63 in just seven overs but the players were unable to return for the final session after a heavy downpour.

It is not yet clear if he will be available for the West Indies tour that starts later this month

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Nov-2024Mushfiqur Rahim will miss the remainder of the ODI series against Afghanistan in the UAE after picking up a finger injury in the series opener that Bangladesh lost by 92 runs.”Towards the end of Afghanistan’s batting innings, Mushfiqur injured the tip of his left Index finger while keeping wickets,” team physio Delowar Hossain said in a BCB statement. “An X-ray after the match has confirmed a fracture on his left Index near the DIP joint. He is under conservative management and is not available for the second and third ODIs. Further updates on his condition and expected recovery period will be provided in due course.”Related

• Bangladesh lose 8 for 23 as Ghazanfar spins Afghanistan to victory

After picking up the injury, Mushfiqur batted as low as No. 7 as Bangladesh lost their last eight wickets for only 23 runs. He was stumped for 1 off three balls.Bangladesh, trailing 0-1 in the three-match series, have not named a replacement. With no Litton Das (recovering from fever) in the squad either, Jaker Ali is expected to take over wicketkeeping duties.With Bangladesh set to tour the West Indies for a mult-format tour of two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is later this month, Mushfiqur’s finger injury also leaves question marks over his availability for the Tests and ODIs. He retired from T20Is in 2022.After the Afghanistan ODIs end on November 11, Bangladesh are set to fly to the Caribbean for a tour game in Coolidge starting November 15 before the first Test begins in North Sound on November 22. They have not yet named a squad for the West Indies tour.