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Tahlia McGrath closes out game after being hit for three successive sixes in dramatic finish

ESPNcricinfo staff ECB Reporters Network02-Sep-2022A stunning flurry of sixes from Nat Sciver couldn’t quite power Trent Rockets over the line in an eliminator thriller at the Ageas Bowl, as Southern Brave booked their place in Saturday’s Lord’s final, thanks to an all-round masterclass from Georgia Adams.Middle-order batter and offspinner Adams carried Brave to a competitive score with an exhilarating 38 off 24 to lift her side to a total of 134 for 6, having looked unlikely to reach three figures at one point.Adams then picked up 2 for 15, including both Bryony Smith and Mignon du Preez as Rockets slipped from 40 for 0 to 45 for 3 in the space of six balls, and the game seemed done and dusted when Tahlia McGrath backed up a haul of 2 for 11 in her first ten balls with a pinpoint penultimate set that went for just four more runs.With 24 runs still needed, Brave captain Anya Shrubsole backed her allrounder to close out the contest, but Sciver – who had stood firm while wickets fell away around her – was now in the zone, and with a two from the first ball and then three consecutive launches for six, she brought the requirement down to four from one. McGrath, however, held her nerve, and Sciver could only drive her final delivery to mid-off for a single.Brave duly won by two runs, and will be out for revenge against Oval Invincibles – Adams’ former team – in the final after being bowled out for 73 last year.Rockets had lost by 10 wickets in the group stage game between the two sides, but enjoyed a much better start as they picked up Danni Wyatt and Sophia Dunkley in the first end, the former for her second duck in succession.Nat Sciver drives down the ground during Trent Rockets’ run-chase•Getty Images

Smriti Mandhana picked up a trio of boundaries but she then edged Sciver to short third. Brave’s big three batters, who had scored about two-thirds of their runs in the competition, all out inside 30 balls having been stuck in.It needed the middle order to fire, and slowly they did. Australian McGrath – who had only scored 19 runs in her four innings thus far – steadied things with 31 off 29 balls, having square driven her first ball to the boundary. She put on 34 with Maia Bouchier before failing to clear mid-off, before Adams joined Bouchier to accelerate with a 43-run stand.Bouchier crashed Katherine Brunt twice through the off side before heaving Georgia Davis through wide long-on to move to 29 and her best score of the tournament.Adams was even more vicious in her ball striking, after Bouchier had departed, bonking a straight six off Alana King and another dropped into the boundary sponge by Brunt to smash 38 off 30 balls – although she was caught off the final ball by Brunt.In reply, Elyse Villani and Bryony Smith ticked off runs at a run-a-ball. Smith survived a drop at midwicket but things seemed much less frenetic than the Brave innings.That all changed with the 38th delivery as Rockets collapsed. First, Adams knocked back Smith’s middle stump with her offspin. Then McGrath picked up Villani paddling to short fine and Mignon du Preez with a reactionary caught and bowled, to her own disbelief, in the same set. The team in yellow slumped from 40 without loss to 45 for 3.Marie Kelly picked out long-on to hand Adams her second wicket, King was castled by fellow Aussie leggie Amanda-Jade Wellington and Molly Strano brilliantly ran out Brunt. But Sciver was the major piece still left in the puzzle.She was dropped at mid-off on 8 and had a stumping missed on 11, but tucked into any poor balls. She clubbed Lauren Bell, Wellington and McGrath for sixes over the long-on boundary. Her fifty came in 29 balls but her best was still to come. Agonisingly for the Rockets, it was too little, too late.

The allrounder’s form with the bat in WBBL will be key to whether she can return to Australia’s T20 side

Andrew McGlashan01-Oct-2022Ellyse Perry believes there could be long-term benefits of her recent downtime from bowling as she looks to regain her role as a fully-fledged allrounder in the Australia side.Perry bowled for the first time since March, when she was diagnosed with a stress fracture of the back, in last weekend’s WNCL clash against South Australia in Adelaide where she claimed 1 for 7 in three overs of a graduated comeback.”In a lot of ways I think having that back injury was a bit of a silver lining,” she said at an event to announce NRMA insurance as a new major sponsor of Cricket Australia. “I’ve had a chance to slightly tweak a few things technically and think that’s given me an action that’s a little more sound now and takes a bit of stress off my body, too.”Perry has not played for Australia since the ODI World Cup final against England in Christchurch having lost her place in the T20I side. But there were signs in the Hundred, where she played for Birmingham Phoenix, of her batting finding an extra gear – with a strike-rate of 136.73 – and the upcoming WBBL with Sydney Sixers looms as vital if Perry wants to ward off the challenge of younger players in the T20 format.Related

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“Think every season you want to try and improve and evolve,” she said. “Particularly from a personal point of view, that’s been a great challenge in the last little bit to work on my batting and try to elevate a few different things.”There will be at least one opening in Australia’s T20 side when they next come together for the tour of India in December – which forms part of their lead-in to the defence of the T20 World Cup in February – following the retirement of Rachael Haynes and there could be another if Meg Lanning does not return, which would also leave Australia needing a new captain.There is a sense that the side is entering the early stages of a new era under the now permanent head coach Shelly Nitschke, and the early rounds of the WNCL have shown some of the batting depth on offer with centuries for Annabel Sutherland and Georgia Voll among the five scored already this season.”Don’t know if it’s a new era, but a bit of a chance to continue to evolve,” Perry said. “With Shelley coming on board as full-time head coach now there’s some changes, but I think it’s something that in a lot of ways we’ve been planning for a while.”We are incredibly fortunate to have some wonderful depth within the squad and more broadly in domestic cricket so I think there’s going to be some new opportunities for players. We’ve got a lot of younger players coming through as well and pushing for spots so that’s always exciting.”We’d love to hold on to the nucleus of what we’ve been doing over the last couple of years because it’s been successful but certainly within the group in any sport you have to continue to evolve.”

Despite a 24-ball 40 from Sikandar Raza, Zimbabwe were bowled out for 117 and Netherlands aced the chase in 18 overs

S Sudarshanan02-Nov-2022Firsts are often memorable occasions and Netherlands ensured that they would only have fond memories of their maiden T20I at the Adelaide Oval. Their batting mainstay Max O’Dowd exuded calmness to help them through a small run-chase against Zimbabwe with a steady 52-run knock to all but end their hopes of making the semi-finals. This was after a fine seam-bowling performance from Netherlands – led by Paul van Meekeren’s three-for – helped skittle Zimbabwe for 117.Only Sikandar Raza stood tall yet again for Zimbabwe as their batters failed to counter accurate fast bowling and fell prey to clever changes of pace that they bowled. In response, O’Dowd and Tom Cooper stitched together a 73-run partnership which ensured Netherlands did not lose early wickets in clusters.While Zimbabwe mathematically still cling on, any result in the India-Bangladesh contest will knock them out.Seam, swing and all that
The two colours that generally make for good viewing were on display at the Adelaide Oval – blue, sunny skies after a rainy build-up and an even covering of green grass on the surface. But Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine had little hesitation in batting first even as his opposite number seemed content with what they had to do. You could see why.A left-arm bowler swung it into the right-hander (away from the left-hander). Then a right-arm seamer did the opposite. After Fred Klaassen came perilously close to nicking Ervine off in the opening over, van Meekeren drew first blood in the next. He began with a misdirected inswinger to the left-handed Ervine before castling Madhevere with a peach. Madhevere was rooted to the crease expecting an outswinger but instead received a full and straight ball on middle, which he missed a belated flick off to be bowled.It was then time for Brandon Glover to come to party. He began with five straight dots, which led to Ervine top-edge an attempted flick with Scott Edwards completing a well-judged catch. In his next over, Glover saw Regis Chakabva survive two chances – one when Bas de Leede failed to cling on to a cut at backward point and then on the very next ball when Edwards grassed a regulation diving catch.But, much like Madhevere, Chakabva lost the mind game against Glover as he was stuck to his crease expecting another one outside off, only to be trapped in front by a full and straight one in line of the stumps. Zimbabwe were reduced to 20 for 3 inside the powerplay, as a result.Sikandar Raza top-scored with a 24-ball 40 for Zimbabwe•ICC via Getty Images

Raza, again
It was yet again up to Raza to rescue Zimbabwe, for the umpteenth time in recent games. He was starved of strike for two overs upon his entry before he got going of a 14-run over off Glover. He targeted the short, square region on the leg side to pepper his pull strokes and used his might to smoke generally un-hittable length balls over the bowler’s head. He found an ally in Sean Williams, who played a steady hand in their 48-run partnership.Even after Williams fell, Raza did not slow down. He smoked two more sixes – the second off Glover (again) made a sound you’d want to use for one of your phone alerts. In all, Raza scored 26 off the 11 balls he faced from Glover, after the bowler had two wickets – including a wicket-maiden – and had conceded just two runs from his first two overs.But once Raza fell trying to take on the longer long-on boundary off Bas de Leede – back after he was replaced in the match against Pakistan due to concussion – Zimbabwe lost their last five wickets for 25 to fold for 117.O’Dowd denies Zimbabwe
O’Dowd enhanced his batting credentials in this men’s T20 World Cup with his second half-century in the competition. It was not all smooth-flowing for him though. Even though he managed to hit a four in each of Tendai Chatara’s three overs in the powerplay, he could only score 14 off the 18 balls he faced in the phase. He was regularly beaten on the outside edge, courtesy Chatara’s outswingers, and it was almost like the phase was being played on repeat.It was only when he picked up a Richard Ngarava slower delivery early after the powerplay and then followed it with a gorgeous inside-out six over extra cover off Sean Williams that he had truly announced himself. By that time, Cooper, who perhaps knows the Adelaide Oval conditions like the back of his hand thanks to his stints in Australian domestic circuit, had got into a roll and his alliance with O’Dowd had all but sealed the deal for Netherlands.Even though Zimbabwe managed to pick up four wickets for 26 with Cooper’s fall, a total of just 117 was never really going to be enough.

Mosaddek keeps his cool at the close even as error from wicketkeeper Nurul gave Zimbabwe a free hit off the final ball

Mohammad Isam30-Oct-20222:37

Flower: ‘Lack of clear thinking cost Zimbabwe dearly’

Mosaddek Hossain held his nerve, twice in the space of one legal delivery in a chaotic finish, for Bangladesh to earn a three-run win against Zimbabwe, whose semi-final hopes have now been dented.Zimbabwe needed 16 from the final over, and after Mosaddek got rid of Brad Evans, Richard Ngarava got a leg-bye four and slammed a huge six over fine-leg to give them a chance. With five required in two balls, Mosaddek had a charging Ngarava stumped, bringing Blessing Muzarabani to middle, and he had to hit the ball to the boundary. But Mosaddek beat his big swing and he was stumped off the last ball.Or so everyone thought. But wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan had collected the ball in front of the stumps, which became a no-ball, and a free hit.The players had left the ground, the broadcasters had started setting up for the presentation ceremony, but they had to go out and the players had to come back for one more tilt. But Muzarabani missed the last-last ball too, and the show was over.Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan’s gamble of using his fast bowlers – Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman and Hasan Mahmud – in the 16th, 17th and 18th overs paid off, only just. They combined to concede 30 runs, Shakib himself bowled well in the penultimate over, giving away ten runs and pulling off a sensational run-out, of top-scorer Sean Williams, and Mosaddek had just about enough to defend. He did well, keeping Ryan Burl off strike completely. Though Burl might rue not being a bit more aggressive earlier, his unbeaten 27 off 25 balls a somewhat dour effort in the circumstances.In the first half, too, Zimbabwe fell short. Muzarabani bowled just two overs and picked up two wickets, and the catching was poor.Najmul Hossain Shanto took advantage with his maiden T20I fifty, and his first T20 half-century in 25 innings. His 71 got Bangladesh to a fighting 150 for 7 before Taskin and Mustafizur blew away Zimbabwe’s top order in the powerplay.Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman picked up two wickets each in the powerplay•Getty Images

Taskin, Mustafizur have a ball
Taskin gave Bangladesh early breakthroughs for the third game in a row. Wessly Madhevere played a poor shot to a wide short ball, and was caught at deep third by Mustafizur, who nearly spilled the chance with a reverse cup around his chest. In his next over, Taskin tested Craig Ervine with a slightly wide one again, with the Zimbabwe captain nicked to Nurul.Mustafizur, under fire before the tournament, then gave Bangladesh further cause for joy. In his first over – the last one in the powerplay – he had Milton Shumba caught at mid-off, where Shakib took a sharp catch. The bigger blow came three balls later when Sikandar Raza, the big man for Zimbabwe, top-edged a pull. Afif Hossain took the catch, and the celebrations proved how big the moment was for Bangladesh. Zimbabwe were 35 for 4 in the powerplay and very much on the back foot.Sean Williams led the Zimbabwe charge, and had a decent partner in Ryan Burl•ICC via Getty

Williams takes it deep
After Raza’s dismissal, it was down to the three frontline batters left – Williams, Regis Chakabva and Burl – with Williams the main man.Williams kept things ticking over in his own way, nurdling, pushing and prodding the ball around for ones and twos. He added 34 runs for the fifth wicket with Chakabva, who made 15 off 19 balls. After the returning Taskin removed Chakabva, Bangladesh had an immediate chance when Burl top-edged to deep fine-leg, but Mahmud dropped the sitter. Burl was on four, and the ball went over for his first six.Zimbabwe, however, couldn’t quite get the acceleration going, and that hurt them in the end. As did their mistakes in the first half.Blessing Muzarabani picked up both the Bangladesh wickets to fall in the powerplay•Getty Images

Muzarabani hurts Bangladesh
Zimbabwe’s tall fast bowlers were always going to be a handful for Bangladesh, especially with the new ball in operation. Muzarabani got cracking in the second over, when he had Soumya Sarkar caught behind for a duck. The delivery wasn’t high pace, but the full length and wide line beat Soumya.Litton Das fell next when he played an uncharacteristic scoop shot against Muzarabani, who continued to bowl within himself, without trying to crank up the pace. Tendai Chatara took the simple chance at short fine-leg, as Bangladesh finished the powerplay on 32 for 2, their lowest ever against Zimbabwe.Najmul Hossain Shanto played his part in keeping the innings going•ICC via Getty

Shanto hits back
Shanto, however, fought back with Shakib, adding 56 runs for the third wicket together. Shanto struck five of his seven fours behind the wickets, usually using the pace of the ball sensibly. He hit a good reverse sweep, too, apart from a nicely timed cut shot. And the best of them, down on one knee, and drive to the right of mid-off for four.Shakib fell to a poor shot again, caught at midwicket off Williams for 23 off 20 balls, and hit just one boundary in his innings. Nevertheless, Shanto got to his fifty and then took 17 off Evans in the 16th over, including only the second six of his T20I career, and the first of the Bangladesh innings.Zimbabwe fall apart on the field
Zimbabwe’s fielding went steadily downhill after the powerplay overs, particularly towards the back end of the Bangladesh innings. There were a few misfields and missed catches, which was frustrating for the bowlers, and the coaching staff. But Bangladesh didn’t quite take toll of these opportunities, or step on the pedal.After the 17-run 16th over, they only had one more over where runs came in double-figures, when Afif dominated the 19th over, bowled by Raza.Afif was dropped twice in his innings of 29, first by Evans at midwicket, when his reverse-cup attempt was ill-advised, and Williams dropped him in the last over, although the ensuing throw resulted in Nurul’s run-out. Bangladesh made 47 runs in the last five overs, with Mosaddek hardly timing anything while Yasir Ali looked surplus to requirement coming in at No. 8.

Gardner went up on all three ranking lists, Dunkley rose 19 places among batters, Tahuhu broke into the top ten for bowlers

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Dec-2022West Indies captain Hayley Matthews has jumped to second place among T20I allrounders and is ranked fourth among bowlers after the latest ICC update.Matthews went up by three places among the bowlers, to slot in behind Sophie Ecclestone, Sarah Glenn and Deepti Sharma, and rose one spot among allrounders to be just four rating points away from No. 1 Sophie Devine.

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In four T20Is at home against England, who are leading 4-0 in the five-match series, Matthews picked up five wickets and also scored 66 with knocks of 23 and 25 in the last two games.England’s Sophia Dunkley has also closed in on a spot in the top ten among batters, after jumping 19 places to joint-12th with 147 runs from the four games.New Zealand quick Lea Tahuhu broke into the bowlers’ top ten after Australia’s Jess Jonassen [injured] and Megan Schutt dropped points in the T20Is against India.Ashleigh Gardner, however, went up on all three lists. She rose nine places to 17th among bowlers, went past Amelia Kerr among allrounders to fourth place, and jumped a spot to ninth among batters. Gardner was the Player of the Match in the fourth T20I against India with her 42 off 27 and 2 for 20, which followed her figures of 2 for 21 in the third T20I.Her team-mate Ellyse Perry returned to the top ten among allrounders (in tenth place) with her knocks of 72* and 75, and also went up 17 places to 34th in the batters’ rankings.The movements for India players were lower down the table. Wicketkeeper-batter Richa Ghosh went up four places to reach 40th among batters and Deepti gained a spot to be joint 32nd.

New Zealand fast bowler set for international return after suffering back injury in June

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Feb-2023Kyle Jamieson has tried to treat his extended spell on the sidelines as “more of a blessing than a hindrance” and hopes to return to New Zealand’s Test side both mentally and physically fresher after missing the last seven months with a back injury.Jamieson hurt his back during the Trent Bridge Test in June, on New Zealand’s tour of England, and has only played a handful of games for Auckland since, as part of a “cautious” return to playing. He was named in the Test squad on Thursday for the home series against England starting later this month and is keen to pull on a black cap again, albeit he is only likely to feature in one of the two Tests.”It’s certainly nice to be back in the squad, first time in a wee while, so excited about that,” he said. “It’s been nice, the journey through club cricket and the process of coming back. Nice to tick off a couple of milestones, and to have another one today [after being selected for the Test squad].”Jamieson had enjoyed a rapid rise since debuting for New Zealand in 2020, helping his country to win the ICC World Test Championship and being ranked the ICC’s No. 5 bowler in Tests at the start of the England tour. But the injury gave him a chance to step off the treadmill and recharge at home before beginning rehab.Related

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“[I’ve gone through] probably a whole range of emotions,” he said. “You go through the initial frustration of the injury, you have a little bit of time at home and it’s not too bad, then you see the boys playing on TV and you want to be out there. So a whole range of emotions, but right from early on I wanted to treat the process as more of a blessing than a hindrance and try to focus on what I was gaining from this time, six, seven months or whatever it’s been. Try to focus my energy in that sort of way, and obviously nice to be back.”The nature of the schedule these days, we play so much cricket, and it had been two, two-and-a-half years straight for me. So to have an extended period at home as been nice, certainly feeling fresh, energised, both mentally and physically. So looking forward to taking this next step.”

Jamieson to play in England warm-up match

Jamieson played two T20s and two List A games in domestic cricket for Auckland last month, and will take the next step towards a comeback when playing for a New Zealand XI against the tourists in Hamilton ahead of the first Test, a day-night game in Mount Mauganui starting on February 16.New Zealand will be without Trent Boult for the series, but while Jamieson said he had been building up his workloads bowling in the nets, Gary Stead, New Zealand’s head coach, indicated that he was only likely to play one Test against England, with a view to managing his availability through the year.”Feeling good, bowled a huge amount of overs,” Jamieson said. “Not so much in games but I’ve been bowling since the start of November time, so there’s a decent workload under my belt. It’s just another step on the journey, how we manage these next couple of weeks will be an ongoing discussion.”Stead said that New Zealand could look to make greater use of Daryl Mitchell’s bowling, potentially as a fourth seamer in home conditions, while Ish Sodhi was preferred to Ajaz Patel as an attacking spin option who was more likely to thrive against the aggressive approach pioneered by England under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, which saw New Zealand beaten 3-0 during last year’s tour of the country.Jamieson was involved in two of those three Tests, and was keen to tussle with Stokes’ side again. “Certainly going pretty good, aren’t they? It’s been entertaining to watch them change the way they play their cricket. As a fan of the game, it’s just exciting to watch. It’ll be nice to see it again, up close and personal, in a couple of weeks’ time, but it’s been great for the game.”

Giants have just two points from three games but a win on Saturday will put them back in contention for playoffs

Shashank Kishore11-Mar-2023

Big picture: Giants eye back-to-back wins

Gujarat Giants were in the news for all the wrong reasons at the start of the WPL.First the mystery around Deandra Dottin’s “medical condition”, which was followed by her rebuff on social media. Then Beth Mooney’s injury in their tournament opener, followed by long suspense over her availability.Then, Sneh Rana was named stand-in captain before a social-media gaffe that suggested Harleen Deol might be the new captain sent tongues wagging. Some teams go through that much drama over an entire season. But, that’s all in the past.Rana has been firmly handed the reins, Laura Wolvaardt has come in as Mooney’s replacement, and there seems to be a settled look about the team that an emphatic victory can bring about.Sophia Dunkley, who may have not played had Mooney been fit, set the stage alight with an 18-ball half-century in their previous game, while Harleen and D Hemalatha have shown spark in each of the three games they’ve played. If S Meghana can fire at the top of the order, the collective batting might they have could challenge Delhi Capitals as they aim for back-to-back wins.Royal Challengers Bangalore losing a fourth straight game has meant the gulf between them and the other four teams has become bigger. If Giants win on Saturday, they will firmly be back in contention for the playoffs.Capitals have one of the most well-rounded units in the competition, but they were given a massive reality check by Mumbai Indians. Meg Lanning battled hard, but the rest of the batting unit collapsed around her. That said, they would rather have that one off game out of the way now than during the knockouts.Shafali Verma’s approach has largely been refreshing, far different to the diffidence we saw at the T20 World Cup. Jemimah Rodrigues, who helped deliver their opening win, has been putting together key contributions. But there is a soft underbelly to their lower middle order. In Minnu Mani, Taniya Bhatia and Radha Yadav, there’s not much batting depth beyond the superstars. There in lies a chance for Giants.

Players to watch: Pandey and Meghana

Remember that devious inswinger to clean bowl Alyssa Healy from a couple of years ago? That’s the version of Shikha Pandey the Capitals would love to see with the new ball. So far, there has been little swing and movement on offer for her. And without those two elements, Pandey has struggled a bit. She takes great pride in reinventing herself every time she is challenged, so how she bounces back against Giants could be worth watching.S Meghana has the reputation of being an explosive batter in Indian domestic cricket. So far, opportunities to exhibit that with the Indian team have been rare, because of the presence of an established top order in Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues. That has meant she has mostly been in the reserves. Now is her opportunity to bring that explosive game to the fore and show the selectors what she can potentially offer going forward.

Likely XIs

Delhi Capitals: 1 Meg Lanning (capt), 2 Shafali Verma, 3 Jemimah Rodrigues, 4 Marizanne Kapp, 5 Alice Capsey, 6 Jess Jonassen, 7 Taniya Bhatia (wk), 8 Shikha Pandey, 9 Radha Yadav, 10 Tara Norris, 11 Titas Sadhu/Minnu ManiGujarat Giants: 1 Sophia Dunkley, 2 S Meghana, 3 Harleen Deol, 4 Ash Gardner, 5 D Hemalatha, 6 Annabel Sutherland, 7 Sneh Rana (capt), 8 Kim Garth, 9 Sushma Verma (wk), 10 Tanuja Kanwar, 11 Mansi Joshi

Quotes

“You can’t go out there and look at 180 right from the start. You get yourself into a bit of trouble if you do that.”
“Sneh Rana has had very good support from her vice-captain, her deputy Ash Gardner – both of them worked together. Sneh has done well because she also has the experience of leading Indian Railways in the domestic season.”

Chasing 275, the visitors were bowled out for 76 in 19.5 overs in Auckland

Andrew Fidel Fernando25-Mar-2023Sri Lanka crashed to 76 all out in pursuit of a target of 275, after Henry Shipley blasted out the their top order, eventually claiming 5 for 31. Where New Zealand had scrapped to 274 all out, their scorecard featuring a highest score of 51 – by Finn Allen – Sri Lanka succumbed meekly against the bounce that Shipley, Blair Tickner, and even Daryl Mitchell generated, on an Eden Park surface with plenty of carry.Some Sri Lanka batters fell to the short ball, which New Zealand’s batters had also struggled to contend with in their innings. Others were dismissed by full deliveries that seamed. And the run-out of opener Nuwanidu Fernando, who had charged most of the way down the pitch for a third even though his partner was not interested, set off the whole, sorry collapse.Only three Sri Lanka batters got to double figures; their best individual score was Angelo Mathews’ 18.Shipley, a tall bowler whose braced front leg in his delivery stride ensures a very high release point, did not merely generate awkward bounce on a helpful pitch, but was also good when he pitched the ball up. His best delivery was perhaps to Pathum Nissanka, whom he bowled through the gate, having jagged the ball into the batter off the seam. Later, he had Dasun Shanaka edging a fullish delivery to the slips as well.

SL penalised for slow over-rate

Sri Lanka have been docked a point for maintaining a slow over-rate in their first ODI against New Zealand. They were found an over short of the target in their 198-run loss. The players were each docked 20% of their match fees.

His three other wickets were from the short ball, though – Kusal Mendis was rushed into a pull and sent the ball to the fine-leg fielder, Charith Asalanka nicked a wideish short delivery to the keeper, and Chamika Karunaratne holed out trying to bludgeon a pull, late in the game. This was Shipley’s first five-for in internationals, in just his fourth ODI. In fact, he’d only had three five-fors before this across List A and first-class cricket.Tickner and Mitchell took two wickets apiece, and Matt Henry was unfortunate not to produce a dismissal, such was the quality of his bowling, and the haste with which Sri Lanka’s batters seemed to throw their wickets away. Sri Lanka were all out in the 20th over. This was their lowest total against New Zealand, and their fifth-lowest ever.Mitchell had also contributed with the bat, as his 47 helped New Zealand progress through the middle overs. Allen’s 51 at the top of the innings had given the hosts their impetus, though, as he prospered against the seamers’ fuller deliveries initially, before later walloping Wanindu Hasaranga’s legspin for consecutive sixes.Pathum Nissanka loses his leg stump to a Shipley inducker•AFP/Getty Images

Debutant Rachin Ravindra’s 49 off 52 was not particularly flashy, but was perhaps the most important innings of the match, as he kept New Zealand ticking in the late overs despite the fall of wickets at the other end. He and Glenn Phillips had come together with the score 152 for 5 in the 30th over, and proceeded to put on the only half-century stand in the game, producing 66 off 59 balls.When Phillips was dismissed, holing out trying to thump Dilshan Madushanka over the square-leg boundary, Ravindra continued to accumulate meticulously in the company of the tail. He hit four fours and a six, before he himself holed out – a common dismissal for the New Zealand batters, who kept trying to clear the short straight boundary but were forced to do so against shorter lengths, which Sri Lanka’s bowlers utilised heavily. New Zealand left the last three deliveries of their innings unused.Though Sri Lanka showed little spine with the bat, they displayed spunk in the field and with the ball. Chamika Karunaratne relied on short-of-a-length deliveries to fetch him career-best figures of 4 for 43 from his nine overs. Lahiru Kumara was rapid, and intense, as he took 2 for 46, with Kasun Rajitha also claiming two wickets. And Sri Lanka took the catches that came their way.This defeat means automatic qualification for this year’s World Cup appears unlikely for Sri Lanka. If South Africa win their two matches against Netherlands, or Ireland win their three remaining games, those teams put themselves on 98 Super League points each (provided no over-rate penalties), which Sri Lanka now cannot reach even with two wins against New Zealand.

“He might be a little bit inconsistent but he’s the sort of guy who in big moments can win you something”

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Apr-2023Despite Suryakumar Yadav’s recent lean form, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes India should back him going into the home 50-over World Cup later this year.In India’s last ODI assignment, Suryakumar was dismissed for three consecutive golden ducks as Australia won the series 2-1 in India. But Ponting said that he is the kind of player who can “win you a World Cup”.”Everyone around the world knows what Surya [Suryakumar] can do in white-ball cricket. They should stick with him, I feel,” Ponting told the . “Because he is I think the kind of player that can win you a World Cup.Related

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“He might be a little bit inconsistent but he’s the sort of guy who in big moments can win you something,” Ponting said. “A bit like the late great Andrew Symonds did for Australia.”When you invest in these guys, you give them an opportunity, you give them a pretty clear direction and get some clarity around the role you want them to play, they’ve got so much talent that they can single-handedly win you games.”That’s definitely the way that I’d look at it for India. I wouldn’t be playing it safe, I’d be going with match-winning players and I think he’s a match-winner,” he said.Suryakumar, in 21 ODI innings, has scored 433 runs at an average of 24.05 with two half-centuries.Ponting picked out the No. 5 slot as the best option for Suryakumar.”I think he was only batting at 5 anyway, and I wouldn’t want him much lower than that, especially with Hardik [Pandya], [Ravindra] Jadeja and Axar [Patel] and all those guys there,” Ponting said. “I’m a big believer in giving your best batsman as much time as you can in all formats of the game.”Because if you keep them down the order quite often, sometimes you don’t get to use your best players and that’s the last thing you want. So I think the No. 5 slot is perfect for him and he just needs to grow into that role.”

Steady century steers hosts as dropped catches cost Essex dear

Paul Edwards19-May-2023
One way of assessing whether cricket matters to a place is to consider how many businesses surrounding a county ground maintain close connections with the game. One is thinking of serious immersion here rather than namecheck association. After all, many towns with a thriving cricket club have a pub named The Cricketers, but Trent Bridge now has two inns, The William Gunn and The Larwood and Voce, whose connection is plain only to the initiated.At lunch and teatime on the second day of this match, it was more likely to be Essex supporters who were seeking balm from the electric soups sold at these hostelries. For having watched Sam Cook remove Haseeb Hameed in the fourth over of the morning, they had then seen their wicketkeeper and slips put down three chances, errors that had left Nottinghamshire pleasantly placed on 102 for 1 at the first interval.The precise cost of these errors was unclear at lunch. By tea, however, although Ben Slater had been dismissed for 57, Matthew Montgomery was still there on 73. And at close of play, it was Nottinghamshire supporters who were drinking the health of Montgomery after the 23-year-old had recorded his maiden Division One hundred and guided his side to the prosperity of 326 for 5, a lead of 28 with promise of more on Saturday. Not even the dismissal of Steven Mullaney, leg before to Doug Bracewell in the final over of the evening, could knock the head off their pint of Timothy Taylor’s Landlord.But this was Montgomery’s day and it was all too easy in the glow of his unbeaten 130 to reflect on that crucial first hour of the day when Essex’s errors had helped determine the shape of what followed. The biggest offender, in more ways than one, was Adam Rossington, who dropped Montgomery on nought and 4 off Shane Snater when he failed to cling on to diving catches to his right.The second of these drops was more noticeable – Alastair Cook might well have taken it had not the keeper intervened – but the first, when the keeper scarcely touched the ball, illustrated Rossington’s current limitations more clearly. Soon afterwards, Slater should have gone for 50, but Alastair Cook dropped the chance off Bracewell. “Regulation” some called it although it’s never quite clear in such cases what regulation is being observed or breached.Simon Harmer’s off-spin was introduced in the 24th over of the morning but rather than being asked to turn the screw, Harmer came on with Essex still looking for the screwdriver. Unusually, the best slow bowler in the English game could not help them find it. Instead, he was swept and reverse-swept by Montgomery in the morning session before being powered down the ground by Joe Clarke in the afternoon.By that point, Slater had been removed when he fenced at a ball from Sam Cook and nicked a catch to Rossington, whose acceptance of the chance was probably aided by the fact that the ball went straight to him. This, though, was the sort of day coaches appreciate, when a succession of partnerships builds a substantial lead, and whereas the opener had become a little becalmed on another windless day, Clarke approached matters more briskly, cover-driving Bracewell and easing Jamie Porter through point when barely seeming to hit the ball at all. Then, having reminded us why he might have played for England a couple of summers ago, the ex-Worcestershire batsman showed us why he never did so by attempting to hit Matt Critchley’s leg spin over wide mid-on but only skewing a skied catch to Jamie Porter at mid-off.Instead of sparking a fall of wickets in one of the cricketers’ beloved clumps, that wicket was merely the prelude to tea and, less than an hour later, the moment of Montgomery’s century when an involuntary inside-edge brought him both the jammiest of his 20 fours and the prize he most coveted after 194 balls of patient accumulation. Essex still had the new ball to call on but Tom Westley’s bowlers seemed to lack their collective edge this overcast Friday and by the time they took the wicket of Lyndon James for 28 he and Montgomery has shared their side’s third fifty-plus stand. Nottinghamshire have power to add one or two more on Saturday, when this game’s shape will become clear and the Trent Bridge Inn will be packed tight with football supporters at tea-time.Tomorrow morning, though, the pub most associated with the county’s cricket will open at eight o’clock, just as it does every day, and it won’t be long thereafter before the place is dotted with green and gold shirts, most of them sported by supporters in need of breakfast rather than the bleak, double-edged comfort of sharpeners.The pub is part of a rather unpopular chain but to my eyes it hasn’t changed that much since a group of us arrived there for the first time some decades ago offering an impressive impression of thirst-maddened cattle. The walls of the place are covered with pictures of cricketers, some of them stretching back deep into the 19th century, and there could be no better way to begin a day at the cricket than by tucking into eggs benedict and coffee – free refills – surrounded by Old Clarke, George Parr and Arthur Carr.For other supporters, Andy Warhol’s thoughts on stardom and celebrity are just about right. “Michael Holding? It’s not a name to me,” said a fellow in Notts livery this morning. Nine hours later, he was probably applauding Matthew Montgomery, a truly famous cricketer.