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Wharton fifty drives hosts but low-key feel to contest after ECB points deduction

ECB Reporters Network03-Sep-2023Derbyshire all-rounder Anuj Dal impressed with five for 72 during a hard-fought opening day of their LV= Insurance County Championship clash with Yorkshire at Scarborough.Dal’s 20 overs of medium pace limited Yorkshire to 297 after they had been inserted in a low-key Division Two affair.While Yorkshire are bottom of Division Two and definitely out of the promotion race, Derbyshire are just about still alive. But it would take something remarkable to secure a top-two finish given they are 52 points adrift with four games remaining.Dal’s third career five-wicket haul – his second in the Championship this season – stood out during a day which saw a number of Yorkshire batters fail to make the most of encouraging starts on a pitch not as pacy as is usual at North Marine Road.James Wharton top-scored with a middle-order 58, but Fin Bean and Jonny Tattersall both fell in the forties. Derbyshire then reached close at 47 for one from 17 overs.For large parts, the cricket meandered in front of a subdued crowd in the Scarborough sunshine, interspersed by regular wickets for 27-year-old Dal.Yorkshire’s openers Bean and Adam Lyth confidently shared 59 inside 20 overs.But both left-handers were lbw stuck on the crease to Dal either side of lunch. Lyth fell for 32 and then Bean for 41.When the latter fell six balls into the afternoon, Yorkshire were 98 for three after 30 overs. Home captain, and last year’s prolific Derbyshire overseas player, Shan Masood had also been caught behind cutting at Sam Conners for eight just before lunch.After an opening half-century stand, Derbyshire did well to limit Yorkshire.Their fourth success came when the battle of the Georges was won by tall quick Scrimshaw, getting Hill feathering behind for 11 at 129 for four in the 41st over.For Yorkshire, this final month was always going to be about signs of progress ahead of next year’s promotion push after July’s 48-point deduction sunk them to the bottom of Division Two. So for someone such as 22-year-old Wharton to contribute will encourage significantly.He has reached fifty in all formats this year – his breakthrough campaign – including a blistering Vitality Blast 111 against Worcestershire in June.The pace of this innings was vastly different, but there were signs of dominance as he and Tattersall shared 71 for the fifth wicket through the afternoon.Wharton hammered a pull through midwicket off Conners and shimmied down the pitch to work off-spinner Alex Thomson wide of mid-on for four more.The latter took him to his second Championship fifty, off 102 balls. By that time, Yorkshire were closing in on 200. But when they reached that mark, Wharton fell as he edged a drive at Dal behind in the 61st.That was the first of two identical dismissals in successive Dal overs.When Matthew Revis was caught behind aiming an expansive drive like Wharton had, Yorkshire were 204 for six in the 63rd. Dal’s fifth wicket came in the first over of the evening having earlier removed Bean in the opening over of the afternoon. This time, Tattersall fell caught behind driving for 45, leaving Yorkshire 213 for seven in the 65th.Mitch Wagstaff took a stunner of a gully catch head high to help Scrimshaw remove Dom Bess shortly afterwards before Jordan Thompson and Matthew Fisher both hit sixes over long-on off Thomson’s spin to push Yorkshire up towards 300.The hosts narrowly missed out on that, but Fisher hit six leg-side fours in eight balls he faced from Scrimshaw, including four in an over, en-route to 37 not out off 22 balls.Thompson made 32 before miscuing a catch off Thomson. Scrimshaw then wrapped up the innings by getting Ben Coad caught behind.Coad then struck early in Derbyshire’s reply, but the departure of Harry Came was due to Tattersall’s brilliance behind the stumps as he completed a one-handed diving catch down leg – nought for one in the third over.Left-handed Wagstaff then confidently ensured there were no further dramas, closing with an unbeaten 32.

Head coach says it would be ‘slightly mad’ if duo are left on sidelines during Championship season

Vithushan Ehantharajah27-Feb-2024England head coach Brendon McCullum says it would be “slightly mad” if Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir are unable to build on a breakthrough tour of India in county cricket, and has suggested clubs should produce pitches to assist in the development of spinners across the country.Hartley and Bashir have been two plus points in a series in which England competed well but still lost after India took an unassailable 3-1 lead on Monday, with victory in the fourth Test at Ranchi. Having arrived with minimal first-class experience, the left-arm spinner and off-spinner respectively have acquitted themselves brilliantly throughout, against opposition batters proficient at playing the turning ball.Hartley has played all four Tests and is currently the leading wicket-taker in the series (20), having taken just 19 in the entirety of Lancashire’s Division One campaign last summer. Bashir, who only made his first-class debut in 2023 and arrived with 10 dismissals at an average of 67 for Somerset, has more than doubled his red-ball tally with 12 Test wickets. Both picked up five-wicket hauls on this trip.Related

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Their selections were made to meet England’s specific requirements for success in India: tall spinners driving the ball into the pitch, aping the likes of R Ashwin and Axar Patel, who have had so much success in home conditions. After impressing with the Lions under men’s performance director Mo Bobat – who left the ECB last week to take up a post at Royal Challengers Bangalore – Hartley and Bashir were essentially fast-tracked into the England set-up, where they have since thrived.The concern, however, is the pair may be stunted by a lack of playing time when they return to their counties, which England want to avoid given they are building towards a tour of Pakistan in October.Lancashire, for instance, have signed Nathan Lyon for the season, the Australian veteran spinner who claimed his 500th Test wicket at Perth in December. Speaking after bowling England to victory in the first Test with 7 for 62, Hartley reflected it would be “fantastic” if they were able to play together but acknowledged Lyon would be the main man in the XI.Bashir, meanwhile, has England team-mate Jack Leach to contend with at Somerset. Leach, who is having surgery on Thursday to ease the swelling in the damaged left knee that ruled him out of the India series after just one Test, will need Championship games to work himself back to full fitness for the home series against West Indies and Sri Lanka. Though Taunton pitches occasionally favour a multi-spinner approach, Bashir was the only one in the XI for his three appearances at home last summer. Leach presented Bashir with his maiden cap for the second Test in Visakhapatnam.Bashir’s eight wickets in Ranchi gave England hope of squaring the series•AFP via Getty Images

“It will be a slight frustration of ours if they weren’t given opportunities at county level,” McCullum said. “There’s a very real possibility that might be the case, but without wanting to dictate to counties because they have their own agendas as well, when you see performances like we have out of those two bowlers throughout the series, I think you’d be slightly mad if you didn’t give them more opportunities in county cricket.”It would be nice to think they’d get plenty of opportunities so that they can improve at a quicker rate. Whether those opportunities are with counties or with England, I think we’ve just got to keep trying to get cricket into them. Whatever opportunity we can, we’ll try and give it to them because there’s two guys there more than good enough for international cricket. They’re also tough characters.”What you can’t tell from the outside of a man’s body is the size of their heart – and we’ve seen both of them have big hearts and they’re up for international cricket. It doesn’t get any harder than it is right now, and they’ve both stood up and performed, so we’ve just to keep giving both of them chances.”It was a sentiment echoed by the captain Ben Stokes in the immediate aftermath of England’s five-wicket defeat in the fourth Test, but acknowledged it was “very tough” to force counties to adhere to specific needs. McCullum suggested a workaround of sorts could be if teams produced surfaces that encourage turn more, a move that he believes would enhance the craft and provide more entertainment.Hartley’s seven-wicket haul in Hyderabad secured a famous England win•BCCI

“As much as England’s about playing on good wickets and having the ball move off the seam, it should also be about playing on spinning wickets too,” he said. “If we lived in a world where we could have both Bash and Leachy able to operate in spinning conditions at Somerset, and Hartley and Lyon could bowl together at Lancashire, I think that would be a great viewing point for spectators.”Hartley and Bashir are the latest examples of an England set-up not beholden to domestic form and numbers. Zak Crawley, for instance, was selected initially in 2019, despite scoring just three first-class centuries in 36 matches for Kent, before McCullum and Stokes backed him during a tough start under their tenure. Having top-scored in the Ashes, he is now leading England’s run charts in India with 328 at an average of 41.Despite looking beyond the numbers, McCullum insisted England’s selection policies are not dismissive of county form. Indeed the scale and variety within English cricket has allowed them to be more precise with their picks.”We certainly don’t pick in spite of county cricket, if that’s what you mean. We look at what we need skill-wise and we try and adjust it to what we think we’re going to require, and be brave enough to make decisions around it. We’re not going to get every decision right.”From our point of view there’s a big team out looking around county cricket, and the guys who we think play in the way we want to play as a cricket team, and who fit the environment as well. And there’s a lot of eyes on those guys throughout. So it’s not certainly in spite of it. County cricket is a good system, it’s got a lot of cricketers opportunities, it’s got a volume of cricket as well and different conditions.”Some guys who have got great county numbers might not find themselves necessarily in the England team. And some guys who don’t will find themselves in, but that’s not a reflection of that [county cricket]. It’s just about the skill set we want.”

Wicketkeeper hopes new-look England get distracted as they build towards 2025-26 campaign

Vithushan Ehantharajah16-Jul-2024Joshua Da Silva says he is not irked by England already setting their sights on the 2025-26 Ashes – but is more than happy to accept their generosity if such future planning allows West Indies back into the series.A dominant innings and 114-run win at Lord’s gives England a 1-0 lead in this three-match series heading into the second Test at Trent Bridge which begins on Thursday. The first Test was also James Anderson’s retirement party, coinciding with the start of a new era as Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith excelled on debut, with the former marking the changing of the guard with match figures of 12 for 106.Anderson’s removal from the team, and into a bowling coach role he fulfilled for the first time on Tuesday in Nottingham, was done with a view to regaining the urn in Australia in two winter’s time. The move has been criticised in some quarters, not least for drawing focus away from West Indies.Da Silva, however, does not see the move as a slight and understands England’s motivation to prepare for Australia in advance. Especially if it means underestimating their current opponents.”That’s their biggest fixture of their calendar,” Da Silva said. “So if they’re looking forward, they’re looking to groom some players to make sure they have their team ready for them. I don’t think it’s wrong of them at all.”Nah, it doesn’t hurt us. I don’t study it especially. We still have to play the cricket. If they take us for granted we might get a win, or might win the series. For me, I take that as a favour.”Last week’s dispiriting defeat was followed by an honest discussion among the touring party. The batting efforts of 121 and 136 were the main point of conversation. Although leeway was given for the lack of experience in English conditions, the onus was put on individuals failing to hit their marks.Gudakesh Motie was West Indies’ top-scorer in the match with 31 down at No.9 in the second innings, among a handful of other starts and single-digit scores. On day one they collapsed from a solid 88 for 3 to 121 all out, before they were reduced to 55 for 5 in their second innings the following afternoon.James Anderson dismissed Joshua da Silva for his 704th and final Test wicket•Gareth Copley/Getty Images

Da Silva, who pocketed a two-ball duck and nine in his two innings, is optimistic that amends can be made at Trent Bridge.”Obviously in the batting a few of us didn’t stick our hands up,” Da Silva said. “We had a few soft dismissals.”We are pretty disappointed after the first Test. We have put that behind us, we’ve had our discussions, and we are looking forward to the second Test. We are doing everything we can, rebuilding, and going hard forward into the next Test.”It might not look like it, but we’ve taken a few positives. A lot of guys got starts and just didn’t carry on. We talked about soaking up more pressure and how we are going to deal with those situations if we are put in them again. Not losing wickets in clusters.”It’s about reminding ourselves of the process and trusting that process because all of us have a different way of going about it. It’s just about trusting our own game and making sure we get the job done.”West Indies trained on Tuesday morning, pushing through the rain that arrived at the end of their session in the outdoor nets. Shamar Joseph, who suffered from stiffness in his left hamstring during the first Test, was able to bowl despite doubts as to whether he would be able to continue in the XI for the second Test. He could yet be replaced the uncapped Jeremiah Louis, whose brother Mikyle made his debut at Lord’s.”He should be good, yeah,” Da Silva said, on Shamar. “I am not part of the medical team so I can’t really comment. But he bowled a couple in training so I’m sure he will be alright.”Da Silva also insists Anderson’s farewell was not a distraction for the visitors, barring the odd bit of ceremony: “It was the first time I had to walk out, every morning of a Test match, in a line.”The wicketkeeper batter became Anderson’s 704th and final Test victim on Sunday, the veteran signing off with a trademark pearler to take the right-hander’s edge through to Jamie Smith.”I tried my hardest not to be one of those wickets but unfortunately I got a good Jimmy seed,” Da Silva said. “I told him after the game I was trying really hard, and he had a good laugh. What a legend he is, and I’m happy I don’t to have to see him again.”For da Silva, the next few days are as much about improving his own output as helping those around him. With 27 caps, he is the fourth most experienced member of the squad, and he is the only one of three players – along with Kraigg Brathwaite and Jason Holder – to score a century against England.Related

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That came in March 2022, a match-winning effort to secure a 1-0 series win that, ultimately, set England on their way to a new Test captain and coach in Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. It remains da Silva’s only century in the format, though he still sees his experience as something for less seasoned teammates to lean on.”Oddly enough, yes and no,” Da Silva said when asked if he feels like a senior man in the dressing-room. “I’m in the front row of the team picture now so that says a lot!”I like to think that I’ve played enough, have a bit of experience. I don’t know everything and am far from knowing everything about Test cricket so I’m still learning off Kraigg, Jason and Alzarri especially. I hope to see that some of the boys can ask me some questions and just look up to the games that I’ve played.”Da Silva also echoed head coach Andre Coley in calling for a repeat of the resilience the team displayed against Australia at the start of the year when they squared a two-match series at the Gabba after a similarly dismal loss in Adelaide.”It’s something we can look at. It happened the same that time in Australia. We came back and we won the Test. If we can replicate that, all of us will be really happy. It’s not going to be easy again.”

Former England captain does what he’s been doing for two decades to counter Matthew Montgomery’s 177

Paul Edwards20-May-2023
Nottingham on the third Saturday morning in May. Green buses – 4, 6 and 9 – proud and prompt to the minute, rumble over the Trent Bridge, where the inn has been trading for hours. There is a quiet busyness about the streets, an air of incipience.So it seemed on this leisured day when the East Midlands began to take leave of spring. Canyoned clouds drifted against a silver-blue sky and the shorts worn on the middle terrace at the Radcliffe Road End suggested more than a mulish determination to spite the climate.Red shirts flecked the white-painted stands inside the cricket ground. We were near the very last hurrah of the football season – and therefore five minutes away from the very first hurrah of the next. Some folk were taking in a few hours’ cricket before going to the City Ground, where mighty Arsenal were the visitors. In the streets around Colwick Road the fast food joints were setting up for a lively afternoon and evening. Fat and fat profits.Related

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And amid this activity, this skelter to capture the moment, a tall, slim figure would also soon be going about his business, which was that of scoring runs and saving a game either for Essex or England. It is what Alastair Cook has been doing for two decades now and it still brings him satisfaction.His batting today was certainly not without fault; he was put down twice in the slips before he’d reached 30, though neither chance was easy, and he sometimes seemed in a tangle when Liam Patterson-White bowled into the footholes. But he is 87 not out and if the job of saving the game has not yet been done with ease, the loss of Nick Browne, leg before to Lyndon James, is the only damage suffered.And in a way, Cook’s achievement in the second innings was the more admirable because he was less fluent today than when he made 72 on Thursday. Only 12 of his first 37 runs came in boundaries and two of those cover-driven fours off Dane Paterson sandwiched a fiery chance to second slip where Calvin Harrison, both hands above his head, could not cling on. Otherwise, there were the jabs down that gave Cook singles to backward point and the little deflections to the on side that gave him a few more. His fifth four, a drive through cover-point, brought him to his 122nd first-class fifty, although only his third at Trent Bridge. The achievement drew applause but the stroke was played against the growing tumult on the Radcliffe Road, where another crowd grew and steamed and prepared for manic partisanship.Even though he knows to celebrate, Alastair Cook does not do manic. Excitable is a rarely allowed indulgence. He takes the tiny defeats that come along in most long innings and is thankful one of them has not sent him back to the pavilion. In company with his captain, Tom Westley, with whom he had put on an unbroken 137 by close of play, he wore Nottinghamshire’s bowlers down on the third evening of this game and thereby exposed the inadequacy of his own side’s 298 in the first innings.Steven Mullaney’s fields became funky and merely hopeful: two short-midwickets, one short-cover and no slip to Westley, who ended the day with a pleasant unbeaten 70 of his own. Stuart Broad and Ben Hutton, whom one might have thought two of their side’s biggest threats, bowled eight overs apiece. It will take a lot for either side to win this game tomorrow and there is no need for a contrived finish. There is though, the probability that Cook will make a century on this ground for the first time in his career. It will be another tick on a career record that is littered with them.Matthew Montgomery made his first hundred of the season•Getty Images

And maybe we had an inkling how things might go during a morning of brief appearances and carefree strokeplay, a curious counterpoint to all that Cook represents. None of the last six in Nottinghamshire’s order batted longer than Patterson-White, who stodged around for 51 minutes before a crabbed poke, neither Catholic nor Protestant, edged a catch to Simon Harmer at slip off Jamie Porter. By contrast, Jamie Harrison hit seven varied boundaries in his 36-ball 31 and everyone else showed willing, especially Stuart Broad, who wiped Harmer towards West Bridgford for a six and a four before Matt Critchley picked up the last of his three cheap wickets.At the other end, Matthew Montgomery batted with all the confidence of a chap who looks up at the scoreboard before play starts and sees three figures against his name. Montgomery stroked six more boundaries today before falling leg before when attempting to reverse-sweep a full-length ball from Critchley. He was one short of his career-best 178 but one doubts he’ll need counselling.

Fonseka adds half-century as Rossouw takes five to keep South Africa in contention

ECB Reporters Network04-Feb-2025England U19s 251 for 8 (Sawant 83*, Fonseka 52, Roussouw 5-62) lead South Africa U19s 224 (James 84, Hansen 63, Jack 3-42) by 27 runsAaryan Sawant guided England Men U19s into a first-innings lead with a patient unbeaten 83 on day two of the second Youth Test against South Africa Men U19s in Cape Town.The Middlesex right-hander batted for over five hours, with the support of a Kesh Fonseka half-century, as the Young Lions reached 251 for eight at stumps.Left-arm finger spinner Nathan Rossouw impressed with five for 62 on a spin-friendly surface, but Sawant remained to usher his side into a 27-run lead.Sawant joined Foneska at 52 for two after Rossouw, who sent down 36 overs today after opening the bowling last night, removed openers Archie Vaughan (24) and Ben Dawkins (22). The pair added 70 for the third wicket with Fonseka crunching leg-spinner Chad Mason for six over cover before bringing up his fifty with a straight four from the spin of Jason Rowles.Fonseka was run out by a Bandile Mbatha direct hit as he went back for a second – the only wicket of the day not to fall to spin. The Young Lions then lost four for 16 as Rossouw reached his five-wicket haul which threatened to give the hosts a first-innings lead.Sawant steadied matters and reached the close having hit five fours and a six in his 228-ball stay, while Yorkshire debutant Alexander Wade was also unbeaten on seven from 58 balls.

Pakistan A rode on Tayyab’s century to post 352 before Muqeem’s three-wicket burst broke India A’s back in Colombo

Shashank Kishore23-Jul-2023Tayyab Tahir, a seasoned 29-year-old batter, and Sufiyan Muqeem, a rookie left-arm wristspinner, combined to help Pakistan A beat India A and defend their ACC Men’s Emerging Cup crown in Colombo.Tayyab, for whom it has already been a dream year, added another chapter to his 2023 fairytale. He started with a dazzling half-century on PSL debut for Karachi Kings in February and made his T20I debut against Afghanistan in March. Four months on, he struck an aggressive 71-ball 108 to power Pakistan A to 352 for 8 after they were sent in to bat by Yash Dhull, on what he felt was a dry surface.Then, with India A’s chase in the balance, Muqeem, who made his List A debut earlier in the tournament, made a telling contribution with his ripping wrong’uns from the over-the-wicket angle. That he mixed it up with sharp legbreaks added to India A’s challenge and they folded for 224 in 40 overs.That the game fizzled out towards the end was because Muqeem prised out the massive scalps of Abhishek Sharma, India’s top scorer with 61, and Dhull, for 39, to crack open the game in Pakistan’s favour. Muqeem finished with figures of 3 for 66 in his ten overs, thriving on support from fellow spinners Mubasir Khan and Mehran Mumtaz.The Pakistan team management did not play Muqeem in the league game against India, possibly to shield him from the batters’ view. In the grand finale, they were caught unawares by a supremely talented spinner who made heads turn with his control and guile, seldom taking the defensive route, not even when he was under attack early on by Abhishek.Pakistan A players celebrate after winning the Emerging Cup•SLC

India’s lower order hung around to try and defy the bowlers in a late effort to take the game deep, but at 194 for 8, they were merely delaying the inevitable. Mohammad Wasim fittingly finished the game off with a searing yorker to send Yuvrajsinh Dodiya’s stumps.The win would be all the more satisfying for Pakistan, not least because they were handed a pounding by India A in the league fixture. Tayyab, who like Muqeem did not play in that game, walked in at 146 for 2 in the 22nd over after openers Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub put together an aggressive century stand to lay down the marker.But he soon saw Omair Yousuf and Qasim Akram fall off successive deliveries to Riyan Parag’s right-arm everything in the 28th over. Then in the 29th, when Mohammad Haris, the captain, was trapped lbw by Nishant Sindhu’s left-arm spin, Pakistan A had lost 3 for 4 in ten deliveries.At 187 for 5, India A had just found their footing and were beginning to tighten the screws courtesy their spinners. This is when Tayyab decided he wasn’t going to let the game drift. At the first sign of the Indians switching off, he cashed in. What began as a burst of aggression turned into a full-blown counterattack.Tayyab had a slice of luck when he was dropped on 51 in the 37th over when Rajvardhan Hangargekar circled around a ball he misjudged at the long-on boundary. That was the only blemish in a knock where he showcased oodles of maturity in manipulating the fields, milking runs, throwing bowlers off their lengths and also playing some cheeky reverse paddles, all without making it look like he was taking risks.He was superbly supported by Mubasir, who occupied the crease to help the lower order rally. Without their 126-run seventh-wicket stand, Pakistan A may have been bundled out for a much smaller score.Abhishek Sharma’s 51-ball 61 was not enough to get India A close•Asian Cricket Council

India A’s chase began on a sprightly note as Abhishek and Sai Sudharsan played authentic shots and matched each other stroke for stroke in an enterprising first ten overs. Sudharsan’s wristwork was particularly impressive as he whipped and worked the ball to different parts of the leg side with ease, but his undoing was an Arshad Iqbal short ball that he couldn’t quite get out of the way of, top-edging a pull to the wicketkeeper to break a 64-run opening stand.Nikin Jose was a tad unfortunate to be given out caught behind when replays confirmed the ball had brushed his right hip on the way through to the wicketkeeper. Dhull steadied the innings but found no support once Abhishek was out playing an uppish cut to Muqeem.Pakistan A profited from having the crafty Mubasir operate from the other end and he struck with the big wicket of Sindhu, who was promoted up the order. Mubasir got the ball to dip on Sindhu, who popped a return catch. When Dhruv Jurel and Parag followed suit, the end was nigh.

Ash Gardner cracked a rapid half-century as Ireland were overwhelmed despite a strong start to the chase

AAP25-Jul-2023Ellyse Perry suffered a minor knee injury as she helped lead Australia to a convincing 153-run one-day international win over Ireland in Dublin.Perry top-scored for Australia with the bat, hitting 91 from 99 balls in their 321 for 7, before being kept off the field with a left knee issue as the tourists had Ireland all out for 168.Perry was able to move freely after the match, but medical staff will monitor the 32-year-old ahead of Australia’s final match of the tour against Ireland on Friday.It was one of the few sour notes for the tourists, who put in a complete performance in their first game since the drawn Ashes.Perry hit nine fours and three sixes in her innings, combining with Beth Mooney (49 off 62) for a 106-run fourth-wicket stand after Australia fell to 58 for 3 in the 11th over when Georgina Dempsey claimed two wickets in two balls.Ashleigh Gardner also hit 65 off 39 balls for the visitors, in an innings that included seven fours and three sixes. The allrounder took a particular liking to Cara Murray, taking 20 off one over from the legspinner for three sixes over the legside.Australia were slightly better with the ball, after an untidy Ashes series. Spinner Georgia Wareham claimed 3 for 33, while Tahlia McGrath and Jess Jonassen each took two wickets to have Ireland all out in 38.2 overs.After Ireland were 127 for 2 in the chase with some early hitting from Gaby Lewis (37) and Amy Hunter (50), the wickets fell quickly as Australia took 7-41.”It was nice to get out there and just put a good performance out there,” captain Alyssa Healy said. “That’s what we’ve been asking for for the last six weeks. And we haven’t done it consistently.  It was nice to see everyone have a proper crack today and do really well.”Irish-born star Kim Garth was also a stand out, taking 1 for 9 from six overs with the new ball.”She did fantastic,” Healy said of Garth. “She could have bowled 10 on the trot there. It’s great to see her back here, she is smiling so much. To see her enjoy her cricket, it’s some really special to see.”

With the tour clashing with the SA20, many of the first-choice players, including all of the bowling attack, is missing

Firdose Moonda30-Dec-2023Uncapped opening batter Neil Brand has been named South Africa’s captain for their two-Test tour to New Zealand, which starts on February 4 and clashes with the SA20. South Africa will travel with a makeshift squad, which features only three players that are part of the ongoing series against India: Keegan Petersen, David Bedingham and Zubayr Hamza, who was added as a replacement following Temba Bavuma’s hamstring injury. None of the first-choice bowling attack are available for the series, which is part of the World Test Championship (WTC).The bulk of the squad currently playing the India series will be unavailable because they will be engaged in the SA20 which begins on January 10. That ruled out Aiden Markram, Temba Bavuma, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Marco Jansen, Nandre Burger, Wiaan Mulder, Gerald Coetzee, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Keshav Maharaj. Dean Elgar will not be involved in the T20 tournament but he is retiring from Test cricket in the New Year.Red-ball coach Shukri Conrad’s plans were dealt a last-minute blow as well when Durban’s Super Giants signed Tony de Zorzi, who was slated to open the batting for South Africa in New Zealand, on Thursday morning. In all South Africa have seven uncapped players to go with seven capped players. Seamer Duanne Olivier, who played 15 Tests between 2017 and 2022 is the most experienced, followed by Petersen (12).Related

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• SA in player availability conundrum for NZ Tests as T20 leagues encroach on bilateral commitments

South Africa’s 2023-25 WTC campaign began on Boxing Day, where they beat India by an innings and 32 runs to get their first points on the board. They will only play two-Test series for the entirety of this campaign including away trips to New Zealand, the West Indies and Bangladesh, and home series against India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. CSA attempted to get the New Zealand series moved in order to choose a stronger squad but was unable to and has left Conrad with the task of trying to get away points without his best players. But, South Africa have never lost a Test series to New Zealand and Conrad had earlier said he “backs himself to come back with something” from a trip where he could hand on as many as seven debuts.”The players picked for this tour have every chance of challenging New Zealand and we have full confidence they will do exactly that when we arrive for the first Test match at Mount Maunganui,” he said in a statement put out by CSA. “Most of these guys participated in the recent A series against West Indies where they showed that they have what it takes against players of international calibre. That experience will no doubt leave them in a better position for what we expect to be a testing series in New Zealand.”South Africa will travel with their usual support staff, none of whom are involved in the SA20, apart from batting consultant Ashwell Prince, who joined them for the India Tests. Prince is commentating on the SA20 and Imraan Khan, former Test batter and current Dolphins coach, will go to New Zealand in that role for this series.South Africa Test squad: Neil Brand (capt), David Bedingham, Ruan de Swardt, Clyde Fortuin (wk), Zubayr Hamza, Tshepo Moreki, Mihlali Mpongwana, Duanne Olivier, Dane Paterson, Keegan Petersen, Dane Piedt, Raynard van Tonder, Shaun von Berg, Khaya Zondo

Thunder’s captain was given a life and made Hobart Hurricanes pay to set up a meeting with Brisbane Heat

AAP27-Nov-2024Phoebe Litchfield steered Sydney Thunder to within one win of the WBBL grand final, helping her side end Hobart Hurricanes’ season with a tense six-wicket victory at Drummoyne Oval.With Thunder chasing 127 for victory in the knockout final, they appeared to be in trouble with 26 runs required from the final three overs.Enter Litchfield and Anika Learoyd, who got the job done for the Thunder with six balls to spare. The pair took 16 runs off the 18th over from Heather Graham, before Litchfield struck Nicola Carey for six off the first ball of the next over.The 21-year-old was eventually bowled trying to scoop Carey and finish the game off, but by the time she walked from the field on 46 the game was effectively over.Litchfield controlled the chase calmly, twice breaking the tension by driving Hurricanes’ bowlers to the rope when the pressure appeared to be building. She hit five fours in her 36-ball knock with Hurricanes left to rue a crucial missed stumping chance when Litchfield was on 23 and Thunder still needed 42 to win.Her runs came as Learoyd played a supporting hand with an unbeaten 23 from 24, while Chamari Athapaththu hit 31 up top after also taking two wickets with the ball.The victory means Thunder will play Brisbane Heat in Friday night’s Challenger, with the winner of that to face the Melbourne Renegades in Sunday’s final at the MCG.Elyse Villani had given Hurricanes a small hope of victory with an unbeaten 49 after the Hurricanes had fallen to 47 for 4 from their opening 10 overs.Athapaththu’s 2 for 24 did the bulk of the damage with the ball, bowling Carey for 1 and then having Heather Graham caught cutting to cover cutting on 10.Litchfield also took two neat catches, while Taneale Peschel got the key wicket of Lizelle Lee for 23.And while Molly Strano’s 1 for 8 from four overs and Amy Smith’s 1 for 17 from three threatened to strangle Thunder, Litchfield was in the end too good after being offered a second life.

There was confusion in the Renegades’ innings when a no-ball was called against Hurricanes’ Jordan for an incorrect field

AAP23-Dec-2023
Matthew Wade blasted 82 as the Hobart Hurricanes overcame the Melbourne Renegades and some fielding-restriction drama to notch a breakthrough Big Bash win.After missing a game with back spasms, Wade’s 50-ball knock on Saturday night at Blundstone Arena got his side past Renegades’ 183 for 5 with an over to spare and six wickets in the sheds. Wade shared a 140-run partnership with Mac Wright, a late inclusion for Ben McDermott who copped a blow at training.Wright played a support role early but finished with five sixes and five fours in his 36-ball 63.He faced all 12 balls of the power surge, which went for 39 runs, before being caught trying to clear the fence in the 13th over. Wade, who muscled nine fours and three sixes, was caught in the deep in the 17th over but by then the damage had been done. The Hurricanes are 1-2 from three games, while the Renegades are without a win from four matches.There was confusion late in the Renegades’ innings when a no-ball was called against Hurricanes’ quick Chris Jordan in the final over for an incorrect field.Under competition rules, teams are limited to four fielders outside the circle if they don’t bowl their overs in the allotted time.Hurricanes’ Tim David told he was under the impression the team had not gone over time.”I dare say if we were told we needed an extra fielder in, we wouldn’t have bowled (with that field),” he said via the on-field mic. “We were told the previous over the time on the scoreboard was wrong and we had until 8.45 (pm).”The scoreboard said 8.43 and we bowled it, and it was a no-ball. Got to respect the umpire’s decision.”Renegades allrounder Will Sutherland hit the ensuing free-hit for a boundary.Earlier, imports Quinton de Kock (38 from 22) and Joe Clarke (38 from 25) got the Renegades off to a quick start after they were sent in to bat.De Kock was in the groove inside the powerplay, hitting 21 runs including two sixes off speedster Riley Meredith’s second over.
Melbourne were flying at 78 for 0 in the eighth over, before losing three wickets in four deliveries.Hurricanes spinner Paddy Dooley (2-32) got rid of de Kock and danger man Jake Fraser-McGurk for a first-ball duck in consecutive balls.Nathan Ellis then clean bowled Clarke off the first ball of the next over.Jono Wells (40 not out from 24) and Aaron Finch (31 from 28) steadied before swinging freely late. Finch didn’t field for the Renegades because of back soreness.