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The 19-year-old opener was the centre of attention in his first two Tests and is now about to embark on his first tour

AAP14-Jan-20251:52

Smith: Konstas can bat conventionally too, he’s got ‘all the tools’

Sam Konstas has conceded his emotions got the better of him during his first Test series but the batting prodigy will keep backing himself on the tour of Sri Lanka.Konstas has not yet heard from selectors about their top-order plans for the two-Test series that begins on January 29, with Travis Head a chance to open after a fruitful shift to the top during Australia’s last subcontinent tour in 2023.Related

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Usman Khawaja’s track record against spin and gutsy 41 runs in the series-deciding run chase against India are likely to factor into plans, as would the chance to give teenager Konstas his first taste of Test cricket abroad.”It’s obviously a huge honour representing my country and touring to Sri Lanka. They’ve welcomed me with open arms and I’m keen to learn and get better,” Konstas said. “Obviously we’ve got a strong squad. If I do get the opportunity [to open], hopefully I’ll take it with both hands.”Konstas won hearts and minds with his creative shot selection during his first two opportunities, opening alongside Khawaja in Test victories against India at the MCG and SCG. But his ongoing battle with seasoned Indian foes captured just as much attention.En route to a half-century in his first innings, Konstas found himself at the centre of drama after Virat Kohli barged into him between overs at the MCG.Sam Konstas made a crucial half-century in tricky conditions against Perth Scorchers•Getty Images

His decision to chirp at Jasprit Bumrah backfired late on day one in Sydney, with a posse of Indian players swarming him at the non-strikers end when Bumrah dismissed Khawaja despite Konstas’ attempts at time-wasting. Konstas expected it would be easier to remain level-headed in Sri Lanka.”It’s going to be completely different with the crowds, obviously,” he said. “It was the first time playing with big crowds and maybe the emotions got to me a bit, reflecting on it. But obviously Sri Lanka are going to be tough to beat in their home conditions. I’m looking forward to that.”There has been no shortage of punditry questioning Konstas’ high-risk approach to Test cricket, especially after the teenager slogged straight to a fielder in the all-important final chase at the SCG.But he will remain his confident self if given a chance in Sri Lanka, where he has previously travelled for a 10-day skills camp.”I feel like I’ll just keep backing myself. Obviously I’m going to adapt with my different methods. I can’t wait for that to happen,” he said.Konstas will have one last hit-out for Sydney Thunder against Sydney Sixers this Friday before flying out to Australia’s training camp in the UAEThe 19-year-old has made two half-centuries in his first four BBL knocks, including 53 runs in the defeat of Perth Scorchers that sealed Thunder’s spot in the finals on Monday night.He was not selected in Australia’s squad for the Champions Trophy, having played only one List A game, but is keen to become a fixture in international white-ball cricket as well as Tests.”That’s a dream come true hopefully but they [selectors] haven’t said anything,” he said. “I’m just focusing on tonight. We had a good win and we’re off to the Sixers. I’m just being in the present moment and trying to score some runs.”

Fourth-innings chase completed in an hour and a quarter on final morning

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay27-Sep-2025Essex 438 (Walter 158, Elgar 118, Overton 6-88) and 99 for 3 beat Somerset 433 (Goldsworthy 100, Thomas 86, Rew 74, Overton 60) and 99 (Thomas 39, Porter 4-18) by seven wicketsTwenty-year-old Charlie Allison kept his head during an otherwise nervy hour and a quarter as Essex claimed a seven-wicket victory to round off the Rothesay County Championship season.Allison, one of Essex’s stand-out performers during an otherwise disappointing season, finished the game with a second six off Jake Ball over long leg. He was 32 not out from 34 balls as Essex reached their target of 95 from just 18.4 overs.Lewis Gregory had given Somerset some hope of an unlikely upset by removing Dean Elgar and Tom Westley inside the first six overs before taking the catch in the deep to end Paul Walter’s tone-setting innings. Walter, a first-innings centurion, had amassed 30 from 31 balls when he departed with 39 runs still required.The Somerset captain was fired up in the face of desperate odds against and caused jitters in the Essex ranks as he repeatedly beat the outside edge of the bat. He bowled through unchanged and was rewarded with figures of 2 for 43 from his nine overs.For two-and-a-half days it looked like the game would peter out into a tame draw with handshakes accepted in mid-afternoon and the curtain brought down on a forgettable Championship season for both sides. However, that was before Jamie Porter initiated a collapse of monumental proportions amid the gloom of a day-three afternoon and early evening.Essex had subsided themselves earlier in the day from an overnight 295 for 2 to 438 all out and a nominal lead of five runs. But in 34 overs reminiscent of some of Essex’s glory years of the recent past, they rolled Somerset over for 99 with Porter taking 4 for 18 and falling just one wicket short of another 50-wicket haul for the season.Essex had already confirmed their Division One survival during this final match while Somerset had settled for the no-man’s land of mid-table. Three successive wins in May had even suggested a title challenge that did not materialise.However, with all day to knock off the runs, a modicum of tension was introduced in only the second over. Having put on 277 for the first wicket in the first innings, the opening partnership lasted just seven balls. Elgar departed for a golden duck, rapped conclusively on his front pad by Gregory without getting anywhere near the ball.Westley withstood the rest of a torrid over from Gregory but got off the mark with a characteristic drive through midwicket for four off Craig Overton. He followed that with an emphatic pull through midwicket off Gregory for a second boundary before he, too, fell to the same bowler. After putting on a run-a-ball 28 with Walter, Westley nibbled at one outside off stump and wicketkeeper James Rew dived in front of first slip to claim the catch.Walter had been busy turning twos into threes to the extent that Essex reached fifty from just nine overs when Allison walked down the pitch and smashed Overton through extra over for four.Overton had been relatively expensive, his five overs costing 25, but his replacement Ball struck with his first ball when Walter went for a big heave and paid the price.Allison made sure the target came down quickly and deposited Ball over long leg for six to take Essex within two runs of the target and then repeated the act to complete the victory.

Marco Jansen is the big gainer this week, rising in both the Test bowlers’ and allrounders’ tables after his Durban starrer

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2024Harry Brook’s 171 in the first innings of England’s win over New Zealand in Christchurch has taken him up two spots to No. 2 on the ICC Test batters’ table, and with No. 1 Joe Root scoring 0 and 23 not out in the same game, the gap between the two has come down to just 41 rating points.With Brook emerging as Root’s closest challenger, and the Australia vs India Border-Gavaskar Trophy series taking a long break between Tests one and two, Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had risen to No. 2 after his 161 in India’s Perth Test win, has dropped to No. 4, Brook’s earlier position. Kane Williamson stays in third spot after scoring 93 and 61 in Christchurch.Over in Durban, South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 233 runs in the first Test – after bowling them out for 42 in the first innings – and the heroes of that win have made gains within the top ten.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Temba Bavuma scored 70 and 113 in that Test, and that gave him a 14-spot boost and a place in the top ten at No. 10. Marco Jansen was the Player of the Match in Durban for his returns of 7 for 13 and 4 for 73, and that made him move up 19 positions on the bowlers’ table to ninth, and also took him up to second place – behind Ravindra Jadeja – on the allrounders’ table.

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For South Africa, Tristan Stubbs, who scored 122 in the second innings against Sri Lanka, also rose 29 spots to No. 42 among batters.It wasn’t all bad for Sri Lanka, with Kamindu Mendis moving up two spots among batters despite a poor show in Durban. He scored 13 in the first innings (the only Sri Lanka batter to get into double-digits) and 10 in the second, but it was still enough for him to jump past Steven Smith and Saud Shakeel to seventh place. Dinesh Chandimal, meanwhile, rose two places to 17th as a result of his second-innings 83.

“These guys are still hungry, and still have the passion to play for the country and deliver for the country”

PTI01-Feb-2025India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir believes Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will both have “massive roles” to play for the team in the upcoming Champions Trophy. Gambhir said that both players still have “so much value” to offer, despite their recent poor run of form.”I think both Rohit and Virat, they add so much value to the dressing room. They add so much value to Indian cricket as well. They’ve got to play a massive role (in the Champions Trophy),” Gambhir said in Mumbai on Saturday, at the BCCI annual awards.”And I’ve said it before as well, those guys are so hungry, they want to play for the country. They have the passion to play for the country and deliver for the country.”Gambhir said India cannot afford to relax even for a moment in the Champions Trophy because they have just three league matches, unlike the 2023 50-over World Cup where there were nine each.Related

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“Champions Trophy is a completely different challenge as compared to the 50-over World Cup because literally every game is a make-or-break, so you can’t stop anywhere in this tournament.”So hopefully we’re going to start off really well, because ultimately, if you want to go on and win the competition, you have to win five games.”Gambhir played down the hype surrounding the India vs Pakistan match, which is scheduled to be played in Dubai on February 23.”Look, we don’t go to the Champions Trophy thinking that the 23rd is the most important game for us. I think five games, all the games are important. The mission to go to Dubai is to win the Champions Trophy, not only win one particular game. But yes, if that is one game in the middle of winning the Champions Trophy, we’re going to try and take it as seriously as possible.”And more importantly, I think when two countries, India and Pakistan, play against each other, obviously the emotions are really high, but ultimately the contest remains the same.”Gambhir also hailed Suryakumar Yadav, India’s T20I captain, for infusing fresh ideas into the squad following the retirements of Kohli and Rohit from the shortest format after the T20 World Cup last year.”Me and Surya have been on the same page when we talk about selflessness and fearlessness. But yes, we want to be more smart going forward, because that is how we’re going to grow as a T20 team, and hopefully in all the other formats as well.”But I think the guys have been absolutely phenomenal. They’ve got the skills, they’ve got the temperament, they’ve got all the ability. And what they’ve done in the last six months, I think that’s been incredible.”I think the foundation of this T20 team was based on two principles. That is selflessness and fearlessness. I think that is something which we want to create in that dressing room, and these young boys have responded really, really well.”

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.

Home side bowled out in 24.3 overs, then blitzed in chase that only last 20.5

Firdose Moonda02-Sep-2025South Africa 137 for 3 (Markram 86) beat England 131 (Smith 54, Maharaj 4-22, Mulder 3-33) by seven wicketsEngland’s batters lasted more than 100 balls, but not much more. They were dismissed in 147 balls for their fourth-lowest total against South Africa in a display of batting that could best be described as fatigued, perhaps from a month of playing in the Hundred.By the time South Africa’s batters had faced 100 balls, the job was as good as done. Aiden Markram scored the fastest fifty by a South African opener, off 23 balls, and dominated an opening stand of 121 with Ryan Rickelton to take South Africa home and open the series with an emphatic win. They batted for 125 balls.The whole match lasted just 272 balls, perhaps as a nod to the difference in preparation for these two sides for this series to where there are on the road to 2027. While South Africa played a series Australia, England only had an optional training session as they rolled in straight from the Hundred. That may also mean England are just beginning their planning for the next World Cup, while South Africa see themselves as on the path as they seek to adopt a more fearless style of play. England often use that kind of language but their loose drives and soft chips were more reckless than brave against a well-drilled South African attack.Keshav Maharaj, recently elevated to No. 1 on the ICC’s ODI bowling rankings, was the most successful bowler and picked up the third four-for of his career. Wiaan Mulder scooped 3 for 33 to mark only the second time he has taken three wickets in an ODI. South Africa also took all their catching chances, seven in total, after a ragged showing in Australia, and made good on Temba Bavuma’s decision to bowl first.England started off in signature style as Jamie Smith closed out the first over with back-to-back drives off full Nandre Burger deliveries and Ben Duckett pushed one past Lungi Ngidi that went for four. But Burger also found swing and in his second over, Duckett was tempted to play at a good-length ball without moving his feet and nicked off to continue a tough run. Duckett only had one score over 20 in eight innings in the Hundred but concerns about his form seemed immaterial when Joe Root drove Burger for four with a high elbow off the second ball he faced and held the pose for good measure.Runs kept coming in boundaries as Root took two off Ngidi and Smith took advantage of width from Burger. However, Bavuma stuck with his frontline seamers and it paid off. Root prodded at an Ngidi ball and edged behind, Ryan Rickelton diving to his right to hold the ball in his glove but it popped out as he hit the ground. He was able to get both gloves to the rebound and claimed the catch, which was confirmed on replay.Harry Brook responded by tonking Ngidi’s first ball for four and Smith just kept swinging. Corbin Bosch was brought on in the ninth over but was guided past third and then through midwicket as Smith entered the 30s. England finished the Powerplay on 57 for 2, with 44 of those runs in boundaries.The Smith-Brook partnership grew to 38 and the pair were on top of South Africa’s seamers when a moment of misjudgement separated them. Brook hit Mulder into the covers and called for two but the second run wasn’t on, Tristan Stubbs swooped in and threw to Rickelton, who broke the stumps and England were 82 for 3. Still, with Smith batting well, they would not have had many concerns. Smith brought up his second ODI fifty, and second successive one, when he sent Maharaj through the covers for four off the 46th ball he faced.At the end of that over, Jos Buttler hit the ball to the boundary, where Tony de Zorzi dived to stop four and hurt his hamstring in the process. He left the field for treatment, did not field again and was not required to bat.An incident like that could easily have shifted momentum England’s way but the opposite happened. In the next over, Smith flicked Mulder to fine leg, Bosch made good ground to his left and took an excellent one-handed catch and the collapse had begun. England lost seven wickets for 29 runs in 43 balls and almost all of them were avoidable.Jacob Bethell was lured into a drive by a floated up Maharaj delivery, got a thin edge and the ball was parried off Rickelton’s gloves to Markram at slip. He took the catch while almost blindsided by his own keeper. Will Jacks popped a simple return chance back to Maharaj; Buttler was leaden-footed when he drove and inside-edged Mulder to Rickelton and Jofra Archer nicked the next ball low to first slip, where Markram picked up another. Mulder was on a hat-trick but Maharaj cleaned up. He had Adil Rashid trapped in front of leg stump and removed debutant Sonny Baker’s middle stump to dismiss England inside 25 overs.Baker would be the first to attempt to defend their score. Given the opening over on debut, his second ball slid down leg and Markram helped it on its way for four. Baker then overcompensated and offered width as Markram cashed in on the off side. The first over went for 14 runs.Rickelton, who has struggled for rhythm from the Australia tour, could not find any early on in England either. He could not get Archer’s first four balls away and then edged the fifth one in the direction of first slip. Root claimed the catch as he seemed to think he got his fingers under the ball and while some replays agreed, others seemed to show the ball bouncing just in front. Rickelton was given not out. Archer finished the over by hitting him on the pads but England didn’t review. If they had, Hawk-Eye showed the ball would have been hitting leg stump and Rickelton would have been out for a duck.Instead, he watched as Markram continued to show Baker no mercy and took 20 off his second over, including two sixes. Rickelton’s opportunity finally came against Baker in his third over and he just about found his touch. He drove Baker for four, edged him short of slip and then flicked off the pads. Despite his first three overs costing 44 runs, Baker got a fourth over and still could not get it right. He overpitched, Markram drove for four, then down the ground and then over the covers to bring up his half-century off 23 balls, with 44 runs scored in boundaries.Baker’s four overs cost 56 runs and he was taken out of the attack before bring brought back in the 12th over and delivering a boundary-free six balls. His relief was short-lived. Baker’s next two overs cost 18 runs and his final analysis of 7-0-76-0 was the most expensive by an England player on debut.Markram had three figures in his sights but with 11 runs left to win was strongly caught by Smith at cover, who intercepted a ball that was destined for the boundary. Bavuma tried to finish it quickly but was caught at mid-off and Tristan Stubbs’ nightmare run continued as he was bowled for a duck to leave Rashid on a hat-trick. Across all formats, Stubbs has only scored one half-century in 35 innings this year. Dewald Brevis finished it off with a six as England lost for the third successive time to South Africa.

The pace bowler continued his remarkable Test career with a hat-trick but when his next appearance will be remains unclear

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jul-2025Scott Boland could lay claim to being Australia’s unluckiest ever cricketer, after adding a Test hat-trick to a magical late-career surge since his famous 2021 Boxing Day debut.Statistically the best Test bowler in more than 100 years, Boland became just the 10th Australian man to take a hat-trick on Monday in Jamaica.His haul came on a record-breaking day for the tourists, who bowled West Indies out for just 27 to wrap up a 176-run win and 3-0 sweep of the Frank Worrell Trophy.Related

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Mitchell Starc was the chief destroyer with 6 for 9 up front, but Boland again vindicated the selectors’ call to go with four quicks and leave out a fit Nathan Lyon for the first time in 12 years.Boland later joked about who might get the match ball. “There was talk of cutting it in half,” he told reporters. “100 Tests and 400 wickets. He can have it.”Boland’s inclusion also allowed him to join Glenn McGrath as the only paceman to play for Australia after his 36th birthday in the last 60 years.In Australia’s 39 Tests since his 2021 debut, Boland has played just 14 of them for a hat-trick, 6 for 7 on debut in 2021 and 10-wicket match haul in Sydney last summer. All of it prompting Starc to label the seamer one of the unluckiest men to ever wear the Baggy Green”He would have played so many more Test matches in another team,” Starc said. “But every time he comes in he is on the money, like we saw this week. He is never far from the perfect length.”He is preparing all the time to play, and this week he got his opportunity and showed what a wonderful Test bowler he is.”When Boland’s next Test will come remains unclear. Selectors have repeatedly shown that Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins maintain top billing in Australia’s squad, with Boland only picked ahead of any of them once.The final three Tests of this summer’s Ashes will be played over a 23-day window, potentially opening door for Boland to come in if one of the big three are rested.Otherwise he could be forced to wait again, despite having the sixth-best bowling average in Test history (minimum 50 wickets) with 16.53, and the best of any bowler in the past 100 years.Boland has been close to hat-tricks before, but nailed his execution in Kingston when he took the top of Jomel Warrican’s off stump.Peter Siddle was the last Australian to do it in Tests and quickly sent Boland a message. “Welcome to the club.”He had previously discarded Justin Greaves and Shamar Joseph, edging the former off before having Joseph trapped lbw on review.”Today was three classic Scotty Boland wickets,” Cummins said. “Three right at the stumps or not far away. Really happy for him. He has spent a lot of time running the drinks in the past year or two when the other guys are fit, but he is always quality when he comes in.”

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

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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.

“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

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“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.”

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.