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Play was delayed by 30 minutes after two members of England support staff and two family members returned positive Covid tests

Alex Malcolm27-Dec-2021Two members of England’s support staff and two family members of the support staff returned positive Covid-19 rapid antigen tests before play on day two of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. The match has continued as scheduled after all the players tested negative with rapid tests although there are now questions about how the series might play out from here.Play was delayed by 30 minutes when the England team was delayed arriving at the ground due to the entire squad needing to be tested following the positive cases. There will be a full round of PCR tests on the England touring squad later on Monday while extra precautions will be taken during play.”Cricket Australia has been informed that two members of the England cricket team’s support staff and two of their family members have returned a positive Covid-19 Rapid Antigen Test,” a CA statement said.”The affected individuals are currently isolating. The entire playing group and all other support staff have undertaken Rapid Antigen Tests this morning and all have tested negative. The England cricket team will also have PCR tests today, and both teams will take extra precautions throughout play. Both playing squads remain unchanged.”There is currently no further impact on fans or other parts of the venue. Cricket Australia and the MCC will continue to monitor the situation and follow the endorsed Victorian Government Covid-Safe Event Plan.”Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley spoke shortly after play began on day two and was confident the game and the series could continue.”They’ll go undergo PCR tests,” Hockley said. “We’ll work on the basis of all the available information that we have. But certainly the medical advisers, on the basis of this morning’s precaution, they felt it appropriate to continue with the match.”New South Wales recorded 6,324 new Covid cases on Monday from 97,241 tests on Boxing Day. Hockley was confident the fourth Test in Sydney, starting on January 5, was not in danger despite the higher case numbers there.”No, I don’t think so,” Hockley said. “I think we’ve shown that we’ve got great confidence in the protocols. They are increasing case numbers in New South Wales and in Sydney. We’ve got an exclusive property for the playing group. We are flying there by charter. This is something that we’re all having to live with. So again, [we’re] just extremely appreciative to the medical staff, both squads, both sets of playing groups for adhering to the protocols which are designed to keep everybody safe.”The players eventually arrived and began their warm-up in dribs and drabs but did stand in a semi-socially distanced huddle in the middle at one point. The Australians were unaffected having arrived at the ground at their normal time and begun their warm-ups in the nets.The Victoria government announced there were 1999 new positive Covid cases from 57,818 statewide tests done on Boxing Day. But the rules in Victoria are different to what was experienced in South Australia when Pat Cummins was ruled out of the second Test in Adelaide due to being a close contact of a Covid case on the eve of the Test match. Despite returning negative tests Cummins was forced to isolate for seven days due to the rules set out by the SA health department. In Melbourne, close contacts only have to isolate until returning a negative test.Meanwhile, Australian television broadcaster Channel Seven had to completely replace their commentary team on day two in Melbourne after it was confirmed that one of their team had returned a positive Covid test. Seven Network Head of Sport Lewis Martin confirmed that the main commentary team, which includes Ricky Ponting and Sir Ian Botham are isolating and would not be part of the broadcast until they return negative PCR tests. Seven’s BBL commentary team have stepped in to fill the breach.”The Seven Network confirms it is responding after a member of staff working on the Ashes broadcast at the MCG tested positive to Covid-19 on Sunday night,” Martin said. “The staff member was asymptomatic at the time of testing and has been in self-isolation since the moment the positive result was returned.”Seven is activating its Covid measures to ensure the health and safety of all staff, as well as the broader community, and is working in line with all relevant guidelines and regulations. We are working closely with the MCG operational team and Cricket Australia.”Just as the broader community is experiencing, we have Covid response scenarios in place to ensure the impact on Seven’s broadcast is limited.”

The board also introduced Mymensingh as the latest first-class team. It will replace Dhaka Metropolis

Mohammad Isam10-Aug-2025The BCB has brought in Alex Marshall, Julian Wood and Tony Hemming as the three new appointments after its meeting in Dhaka on Saturday. Wood will come in as a specialist batting coach for three months. He is a power-hitting specialist who recently worked with Sri Lanka Cricket.Marshall has been appointed as a consultant for the board’s anti-corruption department, for one year. Marshall was the ICC’s anti-corruption unit general manager until September last year. BCB’s media committee chair Iftekhar Rahman said they want Marshall to “enhance” the board’s anti-corruption unit.Rahman also said that the BCB has appointed the ICC’s integrity unit to oversee the BPL’s anti-corruption operations.The BCB’s anti-corruption unit is currently investigating corruption allegations from the BPL and Dhaka Premier League of the 2024-25 season.The BCB has also brought back Hemming, who recently resigned as the PCB’s head curator. Hemming had taken up the Pakistan role after being BCB’s curator from July 2023 to July 2024. Hemming’s appointment brought the question of whether Gamini Silva, the Shere Bangla National Stadium curator, will continue in his role. Rahman said that Gamini was given a one-year extension.”Tony Hemming has been appointed head of turf management for two years,” Rahman said. “All our international venues and curators will be under him. He will also undertake the process of training Bangladeshi curators. All the board directors had a lot of interest in bringing him back.”Hemming is one of the best curators in the world. Maybe he had a good experience with the BCB in the previous occasion, that’s why he agreed to come back. The turf management will run as Hemming will want. Time will tell if Gamini will stay or not. He has been given a 12-month extension.”Meanwhile, the BCB introduced Mymensingh as the latest first-class team. It will replace Dhaka Metropolis, which was introduced in 2011 to make it an even number of teams in the first-class competition.”Mymensingh is one of the country’s newest divisions,” Rahman said. “They will play in the NCL first-class tournament from the coming season. They will replace Dhaka Metropolis. Mymensingh will play all divisional tournaments though we can’t accommodate them in the upcoming NCL T20s as the schedule has been made. Mymensingh will play in the T20 tournament from the next edition.”

The winners and losers as England’s squad is named for the Test tour of Sri Lanka

Andrew Miller11-Feb-2020As England name their squad for the two-Test tour of Sri Lanka in March, we take a look at the prominent selections and omissions, with Ben Foakes and Jonny Bairstow among the biggest winners and losers:Jonny Bairstow was clean bowled for 1•Getty Images

Jonny BairstowEngland simply don’t know what they want from Bairstow. He was far from the only player to suffer a clear and obvious loss of Test
form in the build-up to, and immediate aftermath of, the 2019 World Cup (in which his back-to-back hundreds against India and New Zealand
proved to be the second and third most important innings of England’s entire campaign). But he is one of the very few to be singled out for
his shortcomings – and his dropping for Sri Lanka is every bit as cack-handed as his recall for the South Africa Tests proved to be.All things being equal, there’s not actually a lot wrong with a career record of 4030 runs in 70 Tests at 34.74, especially given that
Bairstow considers himself a wicketkeeper first and foremost. The difficulty, of course, is that England think he can be so much more than that – the type of player who pillaged 1470 runs at 58.80 in 2016 alone, and who scored a superb hundred from No. 3 on England’s last trip to Sri Lanka. That seems a dim and distant memory all of sudden…Bairstow’s attitude in recent times had been questioned, in particular his jealous guarding of his keeper’s gauntlets, but by all accounts he was a model professional throughout the South Africa tour, where he played one Test as an emergency recall, was duly bowled for the umpteenth time to give his doubters more ammunition, and then spent the rest of his extended stay in the nets – having flown out to the pre-tour camp in Potchefstroom as well. To be dropped now, and for it to be dressed up as a “rest” despite him putting in overtime that included a full part in the T20 leg of the New Zealand tour before Christmas, smacks of ingratitude.No time frame has been set for Moeen Ali’s return to Test cricket•Getty Images

Moeen AliEngland’s management may well have got down on their knees to beg Moeen to make himself available for Sri Lanka – a country in which he hoovered up 18 wickets at 24.50 to lead a three-prong spin attack to a memorable series whitewash in 2018-19. There has certainly been plenty time for Joe Root to sound him out during the white-ball leg of the South Africa tour, but the fact that those talks came to naught is a serious concern for England’s long-term Test development.Had Moeen shown the slightest willingness, he’d have been back in the squad like a shot. But if the good memories of that Sri Lanka campaign couldn’t persuade him to give Test cricket another go, it’s nigh on impossible to see how a five-Test tour of India next winter, or a return to Australia in 2021-22 will shift his stance. At the age of 32, and after 181 wickets in 60 Tests (the second most by any England spinner since Derek Underwood), it’s entirely possible he won’t be seen again in England whites.As George Dobell noted on the Switch Hit podcast, the ECB’s decision last September to strip Moeen of his Test contract may now come back to bite them. It came after Moeen had admitted to feeling burnt out – he had been dropped at the sharp end of the World Cup after an untimely loss of form, then drummed out of the Ashes after a single fallow display in the first Test defeat at Edgbaston – and a sense of betrayal has clearly lingered. Moeen, it seems, feels under-valued, and yet the scramble, in his absence, to assemble a spin attack capable of emulating last year’s series win shows the folly of allowing him to think that.James Anderson was delighted with the wicket of Faf du Plessis•Getty Images

James AndersonIt’s a measure of Anderson’s extraordinary competitive drive that his name was even in the frame for Sri Lanka. It’s not the sort of tour that you’d ordinarily assign to a 37-year fast bowler with a dodgy rib, especially having played just three Tests out of a possible 12 in the past 12 months – and especially given that, on his last trip there in November 2018, he claimed a solitary wicket at 105.00 in two Tests.But that’s not to say his role was redundant on that tour, however. As England’s spin trio came to the fore, Anderson slotted into the de facto holding role, utilising his impeccable command of line and length to give away his runs at 2.56 and ensure that one end of the pitch was in permanent lock-down while the twirlymen went on the attack.Fitness permitting, you’d still back Anderson to perform that role again. Speaking on Sky Sports last week, Anderson reiterated his desire to push on past the age of 40 and carry on mastering a craft in which few bowlers in English history have proven craftier. With another month to go until the tour begins, there was a chance that his broken rib – which caused him the “most pain he’d ever experienced on a cricket field” – would have sufficiently healed. But England arguably asked too much too soon on each of his last two comebacks, and besides there’s a home summer looming against West Indies and Pakistan in which he can press on to that elusive 600th wicket.

Joe Denly works to the leg side•Getty Images

Joe DenlyOver the course of this winter, Denly’s career figures have attained near comical levels of consistency. He flew home from New Zealand in November with 570 Test runs at an average of exactly 30.00, and will land in Colombo in March with 780 Test runs at 30.00 … having
racked up 210 doggedly compiled runs at 30.00 in the course of his last four Tests in South Africa.He is the ultimate 30-something cricketer, you might say, but to England he is arguably more valuable than that. Denly has provided a woolly jumper’s worth of off-the-shelf experience, perfectly tailored to do a job and spare everyone else the embarrassment of watching the top order come apart at the seams yet again.The fact that a “dentury” has become a thing this winter (at least in the Twittersphere) is a testament to Denly’s impressive determination to face 100 balls on every visit to the crease – he’s managed it on nine of his last 15 visits since his underappreciated role in the Headingley miracle last August, including five in a row at the sharp end of the South Africa tour.It hasn’t been pretty, but it’s been quietly effective – and ironically, his impact was perhaps best demonstrated in his pair of battling fifties in the ODI series just gone. Both were completely out of kilter with the hard-and-fast mood of the times, but both were exactly what the team needed in times of duress, and if he hadn’t served them up, would you have bet on any of the rest of the team doing likewise?There were rumours in recent weeks that Denly faced the chop for Sri Lanka – a prospect that would have shocked precisely no one. But Ed Smith remains a significant ally in the selection camp, as indeed should his own team-mates. Remember the anarchy around the time of England’s last tour of Sri Lanka, when an allrounder-heavy line-up all wanted to bat at No. 6 and precisely no one fancied first drop? Denly’s willingness to take on a dirty job has stifled that debate for now, and spared the likes of Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope premature exposure to one of the sport’s toughest roles. He’ll need to find a few more ways to keep his feet moving against the spinners, but he’s let no-one down with his diligence so far.Matt Parkinson bowls in England’s tour game•Getty Images

Matt ParkinsonThis is a big opportunity for Parkinson, albeit one that has come about through Adil Rashid’s reluctance to put himself forward for more Test duties. Whether he’s ready to take it is a moot point – who knows, Denly’s legspin might find itself pressed into service more than ever before – but these are the sort of surfaces where Parkinson may thrive, and who knows what confidence he could carry forward from even intermittent success.It hasn’t taken long this winter for the concerns about Parkinson’s pace through the air to come to the fore – he was confined to the nets throughout the Tests in New Zealand and South Africa, although Rashid’s immediate success on his return to the ODI side in Johannesburg last week showed that Parkinson’s lack of a googly is every bit as significant. But he’s 23 and he has time to learn, so long as he isn’t chewed up by the system in the interim, like so many of his slow-bowling contemporaries.As for Rashid’s absence, it’s an understandable attitude, albeit one that is sadly typical of the Test versus white-ball gulf that is opening up in England’s ranks. Rashid’s spinning shoulder was hanging by a thread throughout the World Cup, and he had noticeably more pace and “snap” on his recall at the Wanderers after careful management through the winter. But at the age of 32, and after more than a decade as an England player, Rashid is well within his rights to assess his priorities, and recognise that, with back-to-back T20 World Cups followed by the 50-over defence in India in 2023, white-ball specialism is a no-brainer.Ben Foakes celebrates his maiden Test hundred•Getty Images

Ben FoakesWith England pivoting towards an old-school brand of crease-occupation Test cricket, it beggars belief how they’ve taken so long to reintegrate Foakes into their plans. Admittedly, they’ve been so overladen with wicketkeeping options in recent years that even Pope ended up being given a gig in New Zealand before Christmas, but few candidates have fit the new-old bill quite like Foakes, whose effortlessly composed century on debut in Sri Lanka 18 months ago dovetailed with some typically silken glovework to earn him the Player of the Series award in a 3-0 clean sweep.Since then, however, he’s paid the price for England’s muddied Test priorities. His calm accumulatory methods were out of kilter in the Caribbean last spring, where he ended up being dropped for the sake of team balance, and despite another man-of-the-match display in a one-off ODI debut against Ireland in May (remember that?) he was soon packed off back to county cricket where he admitted to struggling for focus – hardly surprising, given that his very best England efforts had consistently been deemed not good enough.He’s still not a shoo-in, however, as he prepares to return to the scene of his finest hour. It seems Foakes will travel to Sri Lanka as Buttler’s understudy, despite the sense in Johannesburg that Buttler himself had reached the end of his own Test tether with a top score of 29 for the series. And with Bairstow banished for now, but surely primed to fight his way back into contention as soon as he can actually get a string of first-class matches under his belt, there’s clearly no guarantee that Foakes will be given a clear run for the summer series. But at least his name is back in the frame. That’s all he can ask for, for now.Keaton Jennings has been recalled after a year out of the Test side•Getty Images

Keaton JenningsAs mooted in these pages some months ago, there’s something to be said for having a subcontinental specialist in your ranks. With Rory Burns out of action after ankle surgery, Jennings is set for a comeback in a continent where he averages 44.44 in five matches, including both of his Test hundreds.It’s a recall that is sure to divide opinion – Jennings averages 17.31 in his other 12 Tests, without a single half-century in 22 innings – and with England building towards the 2021-22 Ashes, this is hardly an investment for success at the Gabba or Adelaide. It is, however, an investment for England’s return to India for five Tests in 12 months’ time, with World Test Championship points up for grabs – and let’s not forget, when England last won out there in 2012-13, it was the prowess of a left-handed opener against spin wot won it.Jennings’ specialisation is also relevant in his work under the helmet at short leg. He scooped up eight catches in the last Sri Lanka series, some of them utter blinders, and if Pope gave him a run for his money with his own efforts in South Africa, then the more safe catchers round the bat, the better England’s hopes of turning the screw.And furthermore, Jennings’ involvement helps to broaden the base of England’s Test squad, and gives a chance for all that lip-service about managing player workload to come to actual fruition. On the face of it, it might not matter for the more specialised roles such as Test opener – it’s the likes of Stokes and the fast bowlers who need the most careful management. But, given that the prospect of England playing less international cricket is nigh on non-existent, the principle of squad rotation is one that needs to be embraced for the greater good.

Jadeja fined 25% of his Nagpur Test match fee and handed a demerit point

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Feb-2023Ravindra Jadeja has been docked 25% of his match fee and handed a demerit point for breaching Article 2.20 of ICC’s code of conduct for players during the Nagpur Test against Australia. The clause relates to displaying conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game.The incident in question took place in the 46th over of day one of the Test, which India won by an innings and 132 runs on the third day, when Australia’s first innings was on. He was seen applying a cream – a pain-relief ointment – on the index finger of his bowling hand. Images from the broadcast showed Jadeja taking a substance off Mohammed Siraj’s hand and using it – but not putting it on the ball.The Indian team management later said that the cream was for swelling on Jadeja’s finger, but the same hadn’t been communicated to the on-field umpires.The match referee, Andy Pycroft, was satisfied with Jadeja’s explanation that the cream had been used only for medical purposes and not used to alter the condition of the ball. He, however, charged Jadeja for breaching the spirit of the game under the code.As for the demerit point, this was Jadeja’s first offence in a 24-month period.Jadeja was one of the heroes of India’s win. He picked up five wickets in the first innings as Australia finished on 177. He followed it up with an innings of 70 as India got to 400 in their only innings, and then picked up two more wickets as Australia collapsed for 91 in their second innings. He was named the Player of the Match for the Test.

Former South Africa captain says CSA’s new T20 league will bring an investment that their game desperately needs

Firdose Moonda19-Aug-2022Test cricket could be played by only five or six countries with competitive teams in the future, according to former South Africa captain Graeme Smith. Speaking on on day three of the first Test between South Africa and England at Lord’s, Smith, who is now Cricket South Africa’s T20 league commissioner, said he didn’t think South Africa “have any intent to not play Test cricket,” but that the format appears destined to shrink overall.”With Test cricket, it’s just iconic nations or the big cricketing nations that are contributing to Test cricket at the moment,” Smith said. “I think it’s fantastic especially under Virat Kohli that India really took Test cricket seriously. They lead the way with that. But as long as we’ve got competitive teams, you’re not going to have 10, 11, 12, 13 or 14 competitive teams. You might only be down to five or six nations that play Test cricket at this level.”Smith’s comments came on the back of the ICC’s new FTP, according to which South Africa play fewer Tests in the next cycle (2023-2027) than the current one (2019-2023) and no three-Test series in the 2023-2025 World Test Championship (WTC).CSA CEO Pholetsi Moseki explained that their calendar was constrained by their new T20 league and the financial implications of hosting Test cricket but understood there would be disappointment with their sparse fixture list. The South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) were among the first to voice their frustration.”We are disappointed with the lack of Test cricket. For youngsters, it’s the optimum test of your cricket ability,” Andrew Breetze, SACA CEO told ESPNcricinfo. “With fewer Tests being played and more two-Test series, Test cricket is being diluted. If you look at what FICA and SACA have been saying for the last five years, we said that the ICC should take ownership of this by looking at how we balance bilateral cricket with T20 events and if they don’t do that we are going to see Test cricket being diminished by the non-big three. We are there. And that’s disappointing.”Related

• CSA downsizes international commitments to make room for new T20 league

• CSA forfeits Australia ODIs to secure 'long-term sustainability of the game' in South Africa

Despite that, SACA and its members (South African domestic and international players) will throw their weight behind the new T20 league as they recognise the pivotal role it will play in keeping South African cricket sustainable. “We support the league. The league is critical for the survival of cricket in South Africa,” Breetzke said. “We’ve got three sources of revenue for cricket in South Africa – broadcast revenue, sponsorship and ICC revenue. Two of those are reducing, and because of that, we’ve got to find a source of revenue and that is the T20 league.”Broadcast revenue and sponsorships are the two streams that are shrinking, partly because of the state of the global game and economy and partly because of CSA’s recent administrative meltdown. “If you are not playing India enough, your broadcast revenue is down,” Breetzke said. “Sponsorship revenue is two-fold because we’re not playing as much and because of the last five years at CSA. No-one wants to get involved in our cricket and that’s the sad reality. There is a lot of work for CSA – and to give them credit they are doing it – to enhance the work of CSA and to get sponsors. That’s more critical than ever. The market has changed post Covid. You are not getting those 18-million-rand-a-year Standard Bank sponsorships. The market is more about short-term sponsorship deals, smaller sponsorship and more specific sponsorship. That’s where CSA have to up their game.”Graeme Smith: ‘I don’t think world cricket can afford South Africa or any one of the top nations to start fading away’•BCCI

The six teams in CSA’s new league have all been bought by IPL owners, a development that will inject unprecedented amounts of money into the country’s game. “It’s certainly going to be an investment into our game that South African cricket desperately needed,” Smith said. “The pressures on nations like New Zealand, West Indies, South Africa to stay financially sustainable to keep up with England, India, and the world game to stay competitive is hugely important. I don’t think world cricket can afford South Africa or any one of the top nations to start fading away.”Asked whether he thought there were any dangers to private ownership, Smith said he did not see any drawbacks. “Cricket South Africa is still the major shareholder in this league. The investment into the South African game is still going to happen. It’s not people coming in and taking cricket away from the federation. A big part of this private ownership is that these owners had to look at the grassroots programmes, development programmes and how they would impact that. Hopefully we’ll see a talent pool would really get stronger and stronger and benefit cricket across the board. We needed partners that were sustainable. They’re not looking to make a dollar early on, they were prepared to invest in South Africa and grow this opportunity with us. And I think the key difference for us is that the money will still flow back into the game.”Given all the promises of the new league, CSA has been willing to move other commitments aside, including future Test engagements and forfeiting World Cup Super League matches in Australia next January. Smith said it was a necessary sacrifice, which was actually a lot smaller than it may seem. “For four weeks of an entire year, the priority will be the league. I feel that if we hadn’t done this South African cricket could have probably lost eight to ten players to this UAE league,” he said. “People also look at those three ODIs wrong. Yes, South Africa hasn’t handled ODI cricket as well and it should never be in this position. But for South Africa to be in Australia out of their key part of the summer financially is a huge stress for them. It’s like asking England not to play during your summer. The commitment that South African cricket made to go for the three Test matches is good for the game. It’s something that won’t happen often.”South Africa will not travel to Australia for Tests at all in the next FTP, and overall they also play fewer ODIs than any of the other Full Members, and the third-lowest number of bilateral matches in total after Ireland and Zimbabwe. That number may increase after ongoing discussions with other members.Moseki said CSA were looking at ways to organise more ODIs before the 2027 World Cup but SACA hoped additional fixtures can also be secured before then. “It’s placed CSA in a position where they have to go out and negotiate additional white-ball matches,” Breetzke said. “If you look at that FTP and you look at areas there, there’s a negotiation for additional matches. Relationships are going to be critically important as to can we enhance that FTP with white-ball cricket.”

Warwickshire seamer claims career-best 5 for 17 after Essex make strong start, led by Alastair Cook

ECB Reporters Network13-Jul-2019Will Rhodes sliced through the Essex batting with four wickets in 26 balls either side of tea to claim career-best bowling figures of 5 for 17.Sir Alastair Cook and Dan Lawrence had put on 116 for the third wicket before Rhodes came on for his first prolonged spell and had both batsmen back in the pavilion in quick succession to precipitate a major collapse from 157 for 2 to 171 for 6. Essex revived belatedly but were dismissed for 245 just before the close.Cook was first to go, for a dashing 84, dabbing at a delivery outside off-stump, the ball lobbing tamely into Jeetan Patel’s hands at gully. Lawrence followed soon after, edging behind another wide-ish delivery.Rishi Patel was next, fencing outside off-stump to second slip, and four balls later Adam Wheater drove to Olly Stone at mid-off.Rhodes, who had a loan spell at Chelmsford three years ago, had taken just one wicket previously this season for 150 runs. The part-time seamer’s previous best figures were 3 for 42. Yet at the fall of Wheater’s wicket he had claimed four wickets at a personal cost of two runs for Wimbledon-style figures of 6-4-6-4.The carnage did not stop there. The parsimonious Oliver Hannon-Dalby, who had bowled six maidens in his first seven overs, took his first wicket of the innings when he trapped Simon Harmer lbw.Ryan ten Doeschate had watched from the other end while the wickets tumbled, but after reaching 26 from 43 balls he gloved Stone to the wicketkeeper. And Rhodes returned at the end to have Aaron Beard flashing at a delivery and being caught behind.Warwickshire’s decision to settle for an uncontested toss and bowl first had looked ill-advised when Cook and Lawrence were still together six overs before tea. But with the ball in Rhodes’s hands it suddenly looked a completely different proposition.Lawrence was the dominant scorer in the 39-over partnership with the former England captain. His half-century came from 68 balls compared to Cook’s comparatively pedestrian 122.Lawrence had used his feet to good effect against Patel, lofting him over long leg for six that set the tempo for his exhilarating 105-ball 61. He hit nine fours, the seventh an effortless drive through the offside to bring up his fourth Championship fifty of the season.Cook finished 16 short of celebrating his 300th first-class appearance with his 66th century. He mixed diligence with some elegant strokes, hooking, cutting and driving his 11 boundaries, during his 195-ball stay at the crease.Henry Brookes had made early inroads with the first two wickets to reduce Essex to 41 for 2 from 20 overs. Nick Browne hung around for 48 balls for six before he chased one from Brookes outside off-stump and chipped straight to Rob Yates at backward point.Brookes struck again three overs later when Tom Westley attempted to smash him over midwicket, only for Michael Burgess to mark his Warwickshire debut by pulling off a spectacular one-handed catch above his head.Burgess, signed on an initial loan from Sussex, was drafted into the team along with promising teenage 2nd XI batsman Dan Mousley to replace Warwickshire’s chief run-getters Dom Sibley and Sam Hain, both on duty with England Lions along with Essex seamer Jamie Porter.Stone picked up his second wicket when he bowled Peter Siddle with a leg-stump yorker before the players were taken off briefly when it appeared the air ambulance would need to land on the outfield to attend to a sick spectator. That proved unnecessary and Aaron Beard and Matt Quinn continued a last-wicket stand worth 34, of which Beard contributed an impressive 29.

Overseas players who rely on league cricket in the UK could suffer a significant financial hit

Umar Farooq05-Apr-2020With the English domestic season in great danger of being completely lost, the impact will be felt well beyond the UK’s borders. Several Pakistani cricketers rely on the English season for their livelihood, playing league cricket there and coaching for various clubs in England. A cancellation will hurt them financially.More than two dozen Pakistani cricketers who aren’t part of the national and domestic set-up have been travelling to the UK for full seasons, earning between £4,500 and £15,000. Some of the more prominent names include Mansoor Amjad, Nayyar Abbas, Qaiser Abbas, Shahid Yousaf and Waqas Maqsood, and these are by no means the only Pakistan players with an interest in the domestic scene in England.”It will have a trickle-down effect,” Amjad told ESPNcricinfo. “For years, players like me who probably haven’t got a future with the national team play league cricket in England. It has been our livelihood and with this coronavirus pandemic we won’t able to travel to England to fulfil our contracts. The number of players playing league cricket might have come down over the years because of inconsistent Pakistan domestic scheduling, but there are still over 30-40 cricketers making money from playing in the UK.”I know this is a worldwide crisis and it’s inevitable we suffer from it, too. This is indeed a testing time and also a learning curve for the national board to understand the importance of cricket for players’ livelihoods. There were so many players who lost their job after the new structure [in Pakistan’s domestic cricket] and now this pandemic took away our alternatives, too. I don’t know what will happen next, but there are so many other young players who had been relying heavily on playing in these leagues. Now they have nothing either at home or abroad.”Several players have played club cricket, with first-class cricketers engaged in coaching jobs to allow clubs to generate revenues. Each player is eligible for a contract of up to of 24 months on the basis of playing five first-class games in one session in any country. With the recent changes in the Pakistan domestic circuit, a number of players looked to leagues in England for an alternate livelihood.The coronavirus pandemic has already caused the PCB to postpone the PSL’s knockout games and suspend the Pakistan one-day cup. The board is presently uncertain about the domestic season that is set to start from September. Moreover, the PCB decided against issuing NOCs for any cricket during Ramadan, when a prestigious private tournament is held in Karachi annually.”We have been approached by some organisers, seeking clarification on the PCB’s NOC policy for Ramadan cricket,” the PCB said in a statement. “At this time, it is appropriate we follow our overarching policy which states that organised cricket in Pakistan will remain suspended until normalcy returns to society. In this background, the PCB will not issue any NOCs for Ramadan cricket.”The PCB takes the welfare and well-being of its staff and cricketers very seriously. It has around 220 professional cricketers on its payroll apart from its staffers. The PCB will ensure that full player salaries continue to be honoured until at least the end of the 2019-2020 financial year. Furthermore, we have put in place systems to ensure that monthly salaries are paid on time and without delay. The PCB is monitoring the situation in the country closely as it evolves and will amend its policy when appropriate.”

Miles Hammond anchors innings with brisk 59 from 42 balls at Northwood

ECB Reporters Network29-May-2023Gloucestershire 181 for 9 (Hammond 59, Cullen 3-38) beat Middlesex 179 for 6 (Eskinazi 54, Price 3-21) by two runsMatt Taylor successfully defended seven from the final over as Gloucestershire claimed their first win of this season’s Vitality Blast with a narrow success against Middlesex at Merchant Taylor’s School.The left-armer conceded just four, with former Gloucestershire all-rounder Ryan Higgins needing three off the final ball and attempting a paddle shot that led to him being run out for 24.Middlesex, who remain winless in the tournament, had looked set to break their duck after skipper Stephen Eskinazi struck a half-century and Higgins and Luke Hollman shared a sixth-wicket partnership of 55 from 30 balls.But they fell just short of the Gloucestershire total of 181 for nine, centred around Miles Hammond’s knock of 59 from 42.Eskinazi, Middlesex’s captain, did not disguise his annoyance. “I think we probably played almost the perfect T20 game, especially an outground T20 game, up until 12 balls to go. When you’re four down, with two of your most senior players at the crease, 12 off 12 – you probably win that game 999 times out of a thousand.”It stings for sure. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before, not with people as senior as that at the crease and I don’t think the guys need me to tell them how much it hurts the team. It’s going to be a tough one to bounce back from. I’m very disappointed.”Asked to bat after losing the toss, Gloucestershire began briskly with Grant Roelofsen taking 18 from Tom Helm’s second over, but the opener’s knock of 34 from 19 came to a tame end when he patted Higgins’ half-volley to mid-off.Higgins, playing against his former county for the first time since his return to Middlesex, was expensive overall – as was his dropped catch at long-on when Hammond, with just nine to his name, took on Hollman.The left-hander capitalised on that let-off, launching successive Blake Cullen deliveries over the fence and driving Hollman over the top for six more as he passed his half-century before chopping Cullen to point.Joe Cracknell pouched the catch, his third of the innings – and a routine one by comparison with the second, when he raced from deep midwicket to long on and dived for a spectacular one-handed grab that removed visiting skipper Jack Taylor.Cullen also claimed the wicket of the big-hitting Marchant de Lange to finish with three for 38, while Martin Andersson took two for 30 as Graeme van Buuren’s unbeaten 28 from 19 nudged Gloucestershire above 180.Middlesex kept up with the required run-rate of nine at the start of their pursuit, with Cracknell sweeping Tom Smith’s first delivery to the boundary and bisecting the leg-side fielders perfectly to collect four more off David Payne.He and Eskinazi scored freely as they accumulated a partnership of 78 from 48 but Cracknell, having reverse-swept Smith for four, was lbw for 42 from 28 attempting to repeat the shot later in the over.Eskinazi began to impose himself on the Gloucestershire spinners, pumping van Buuren over long-on for two sixes, but Ollie Price boosted the visitors’ prospects with a single over of off-breaks that accounted for both Max Holden and Pieter Malan.De Lange backed up Price’s double strike in the next over, firing one through Eskinazi’s defences to take out his middle stump, but Hollman and Higgins stopped the rot with their spirited counter-attack.Hollman took two fours off Matt Taylor in quick succession and thumped Payne back down the ground for another to reach 39 from 19 before he was bowled by Price, who recorded his best T20 figures of three for 21.

Pooran, Powell half-centuries in vain as WI still search for their first win of the tour

Sidharth Monga18-Feb-20221:09

Jaffer: Pant should continue to bat at No. 5

Harshal Patel and Bhuvneshwar Kumar defended 36 off the last three overs on a dewy ground and small boundaries to seal India’s series win with one match to go. Thanks to a slow start chasing 187, West Indies were to maintain a run rate of two a ball for the last nine overs. Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell pulled it off for six overs, but Harshal and Bhunveshwar denied them in the last three overs.Harshal began the turnaround with just eight off the 18th over, Bhuvneshwar followed it up with a four-run 19th over that also got Pooran out, and Harshal closed it out calmly. That India had those extra 10 or so runs to play with was down to the finish provided by Rishabh Pant and Venkatesh Iyer, who took 88 off the last seven overs after a middle-overs slowdown in which Roston Chase took three wickets for 25.If India’s problem was the middle overs, West Indies’ openers played just over a fourth of the innings between them for only 34 runs. West Indies managed only 96 runs in boundaries to India’s 108.Intent (but also struggle) at the top
India have long been criticised for conservative batting at the top of the order but of late they have all been more assertive. All three of Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma and Kohli looked for boundaries every half chance they got. Kishan struggled against the moving ball from Sheldon Cottrell, scoring just two off 10; Rohit didn’t find his usual timing, getting 19 off 18; but Kohli raced away, taking 29 off the first 18 balls he played. India were 49 for 1 after the powerplay.Chase pulls India back
Roston Chase played the last match only because Jason Holder was not available, but his figures of 4-0-14-2 kept him in even when Holder came back. He got into his work immediately. The pitch gripped a little, and he used his changes of pace and trajectory well.It was going to be interesting if Kohli would continue with the same intent – he hardly attempts boundaries off spin in the middle overs – but that is probably a question for another day as wickets fell around him and he probably had to delay the second assault. Rohit looked to slog a slot ball but this scrambled-seam ball didn’t turn and took a thick outside edge. Suryakumar Yadav provided a return catch as the ball stopped and turned.Kohli scored 23 off the last 23 balls he faced, getting to his fifty courtesy a drop the first time he attempted a boundary off spin post powerplay. In the same over, though, Chase spun one through the gate to make it 106 for 4 in the 14th over.Pant, Iyer provide big finish
Both these left-hand batters began with a boundary first ball. The dew was setting in, the spin overs were done. They had to propel India now. Kieron Pollard tried to slip in one over of the fifth bowler, but Pant didn’t let him, taking 14 off that 15th over. Holder and Cottrell returned to concede 15 and 13. All of a sudden, not just the fifth bowler, the two main bowlers looked under threat.1:03

Rishabh Pant: ‘We’re focused on giving chances to players where we see them fit for the team’

Shepherd does damage control
Enter Romario Shepherd, whose first over went for 15 inside the powerplay. He used the wide yorkers and changes of pace well to frustrate the two left-hand batters. The 18th over went for 12 but also just one boundary, which encouraged Pollard to give him the 20th, ahead of Cottrell. No boundary came off the last over.The slow start
 
With the ball still dry, India were spot on with the ball. Bhuvneshwar and Deepak Chahar moved the ball, Yuzvendra Chahal bowled two overs in the powerplay, and Ravi Bishnoi took on the challenge of bowling with the wetter ball. West Indies’ problem was the amount of time their openers spent in the middle. Brandon King faced 30 balls for 22, Kyle Mayers nine off 10. The legspinners perhaps did West Indies a favour, getting them out.The Pooran-Powell show
Like Pant and Iyer, Powell and Pooran put up a hitting exhibition. Memories of the 2016 World Cup semi-final must have haunted India as even good overs began to go for around 12 if they made even half a mistake. Pooran was more versatile, using the area behind square too, and Powell was pure power. In the 17th over, they hit Chahar for a six each to undo any gains made by Bishnoi and Bhuvneshwar in their previous overs.The finish
Harshal had the big challenge of bowling two overs in the last three, but he began with a plan: no pace and wide of the batters’ reach. Despite a last-ball four, he had bowled the best over of the second half of the innings. Bhuvneshwar was about to go one better, following the same formula, but also mixing in two yorkers, one wide and one straight. No boundary in that over meant Harshal had 24 to defend.Memories of another match – at the same venue – from the 2016 World Cup came back when, needing four sixes off the last four balls, Powell hit the first two out of the ground. On both occasions, Harshal went against the plan that had worked: bowled pace and on the stumps. The fifth ball was wide and off-pace, sealing a satisfactory win.

Captain hopes that fans can inspire team after criticism for negativity at Lord’s

Andrew Miller09-Jun-2021Joe Root, England’s captain, hopes that the return of a near-capacity crowd for the second Test at Edgbaston can inspire his players to find their inner “showman”, and scotch suggestions that they are a negative team, in the wake of their final-day go-slow in the opening match at Lord’s.Root’s team has been embroiled in controversy since the emergence of historic offensive tweets from a number of squad members, most notably Ollie Robinson, who has been suspended by the ECB pending an investigation. And in the eyes of some of their critics, they missed an opportunity to get their fans back onside in the Lord’s Test, as they declined to take on a 273-run fourth-innings chase, and chose instead to block out for the draw.But Root, who confirmed that the team would once again stand for a “moment of unity” before the start of the second Test, hopes that the return of 17,000 fans a day at Edgbaston may provide an opportunity for a change of narrative – even in the absence of their most proven crowd-pleaser Ben Stokes, who has been at the heart of most of England’s most thrilling victories in recent times.”We’re all very aware we’re in the entertainment business,” Root said. “We all want to be part of those games, those special games that provide that entertainment. They’re the ones that you remember.”The ones that stick in my mind are the World Cup final, Headingley, Cape Town … the ones that go to the wire, they’re the ones you remember as a player, and want to have big contributions in. Of course if there are chances to go and win Test matches, we want to go and take them, if we feel like that’s a realistic possibility.”However, with an unproven batting line-up in this series – one that had made four ducks in the first innings at Lord’s – Root still believes that discretion was the better part of valour in the first Test, after Kane Williamson’s lunchtime declaration had left England needing 273 in a minimum of 75 overs. Dom Sibley led the rearguard with an unbeaten 60, spanning more than five hours, as England closed on 170 for 3.Dom Sibley dug in for the draw on a dour final day at Lord’s•AFP/Getty Images

“I’ve had some time to think about that,” Root said. “I look at the situation we found ourselves in and I still feel we made the right decision. We’ve turned up here with an opportunity to win the series, albeit it is not part of the Test championship, but it is a Test match and that means a hell of a lot to the players and the group.”We’re very keen to put in five days of strong cricket this week and win the series. If the opportunities arise, we’ll definitely look to be aggressive. I don’t want us to be considered a negative team who play a boring brand of cricket. We have some very exciting players who are capable of some wonderful passages of cricket and hopefully that will come to light this week.”Edgbaston has traditionally been a favoured venue for England players, with the crowd’s close proximity to the playing surface, and the habitually rowdy support from the Hollies Stand in particular. Australia’s victory in the Ashes opener in 2019 was only the second by a visiting side in the last 20 years, and Root said he was thrilled at the prospect of feeling that support again.”It will be great to have [that many] people in, enjoying the sport again in pretty much a full house,” he said. “We know Edgbaston in particular provides a wonderful atmosphere, you feel like there’s 12 players on the pitch and you’ve got that extra man.”We’re very aware how lucky we are and how well we’re supported. It’s something we’ve missed as a side and are very much looking forward to. We can’t wait to experience five good days of cricket along with everyone else in the crowd.”Every individual takes it in slightly differently,” he added. “For me, it’s the excitement of it… there’s a showman in everyone, if you like, you want to go out there and put on a show for everyone and it’s an opportunity to do that in your own way.Related

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“We’ve all missed that interaction with the fans and the crowd. There’s certain bowlers – you look at Ben Stokes, Stuart Broad – they respond to that atmosphere in the ground in a really positive way. It could be a real boost for us and play into our hands.”Root also urged his young batter to park the anxieties that they showed in the Lord’s Test, and put their focus into the occasion of representing England in a Test match, rather than worry that, with Stokes and Jos Buttler likely to return for the India series, they are already playing for their places.”I see it as an opportunity to go out and score Test runs for their country and I hope they view it like that,” Root said. “They have an opportunity, but also a responsibility to play the situation in front of them to the best of their ability, and to try and eradicate any other thoughts, other than getting absorbed in that moment and get ready for that next ball.”That’s the mindset we want to create,” he added. “Guys come into this team and can seamlessly fit in and do their roles. Hopefully guys will feel like that tomorrow and take their chance. The lads are fully aware of that and are talented enough to make big contributions.”