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Allrounder’s half-century helps pull off the second highest chase in PSL history

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Mar-2023Sometimes crash, bang, wallop is fun. It is the principle on which T20 cricket was founded on (look away, haters) and it came to the fore in an entertaining bout that Islamabad United took by a mere two wickets. Faheem Ashraf produced a powerhouse performance, capped by his hitting three fours and a six in the final over to complete the second-highest chase in PSL history.Multan Sultans would’ve been confident after putting up a total of 205, but they’ll now be thinking back to their own last over which went for zero boundaries but cost two wickets. Until those incredible six balls, yorker specialist Mohammad Wasim had leaked 42 runs. He had to deal with a rampaging Tim David, who was on 60 off 27. Still, he backed himself, went for the blockhole and not only took out Sultans’ biggest hitter, but he also accounted for David Miller off the last ball of the innings.United do this a lot. They are pure T20, led by an allrounder who loves his data and fuelled by batters who give no room for second thought. They lost eight wickets through the course of this chase. They were 32 for 2, 99 for 4 and 159 for 7. But the longest they went without hitting a boundary after each of those dismissals was seven balls. And as penance for that, they hit the eighth and ninth for fours. United kept coming. They kept coming and coming and coming.Colin Munro fixed a top-order wobble with 40 off 21. Usama Mir took him out. Shadab Khan regained the momentum with 44 off 25. Ihsanullah demolished his stumps. Ashraf popped up and with 18 needed off six balls, he went 4, 6, 2, 4, 4. The six in that sequence was a wide yorker that went over deep third, after the left-hander had originally intended to paddle sweep the ball. It was bonkers.Until those final few moments, it felt like Sultans’ game. Shan Masood put on 75 at the top of the order, only he didn’t hit a single six. David came in at No. 4 and compensated for that with a vengeance, clattering four of them off back-to-back balls in a 16th over from Rumman Raees that cost 30 runs. But just as it started to look really bleak, United snuck in an eight-run 19th over from Fazalhaq Farooqi and a six-run 20th over from Wasim and that turned out to be the difference.

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.”

Earlier, Pant, batting with a fractured right foot, scored a half-century and helped India cross 350

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jul-20250:52

Manjrekar: India batted in different bowling conditions from England

Tea England backed up their captain Ben Stokes taking a five-for with an unbroken opening partnership of 77. Those runs came at over five an over, taking a big bite out of India’s 358 all out on the second day in Manchester.It was a disappointing bowling performance from the visitors, particularly in helpful conditions and to follow a display of great bravery from Rishabh Pant who came out to bat on a fractured foot and scored a half-century.England weren’t particularly keen to score so quickly. Zak Crawley needed 13 balls to get off the mark and those runs came with a reminder of the danger the pitch still posed as a Jasprit Bumrah delivery rose up sharply to rap him on the bottom hand. Crawley displayed excellent judgment outside his off stump and ironically only started to look vulnerable once he had runs against his name, the confidence of seeing off the new ball coaxing him to play away from his body and could have been bowled off the inside edge.Ben Duckett didn’t need to be so careful, at any point in his innings. India fed him on his pads and he tucked in with glee. All his seven boundaries came on the leg side and he stands on the cusp of completing a half-century at almost a run a ball. Duckett welcomed Anshul Kamboj with three fours in his first over of Test cricket, the debutant chosen to open the bowling ahead of Mohammed Siraj.India must pick themselves back up again because they showed great heart in getting to an above-par total. Pant put his body on the line – literally because Stokes targeted that broken front foot of his – and had enough in him to hit a 90th six in Test cricket, putting him level with Virender Sehwag for the national record. He also went past Alec Stewart for most runs by a wicketkeeper in a Test series in England. The mere fact that he was able to walk – let alone bat – moved the fans at Old Trafford who gave him a rousing ovation.Stokes found similar approval from the crowd when his tireless and relentless display was rewarded with a first five-for in eight years. He was a threat when he bowled full because he was getting both ways movement – Shardul Thakur found that out when he was caught at gully for 41 – and he was a threat when he went short – which did Washington Sundar in. Stokes has 16 wickets in the series now, a career-best for him going past the 15 he took in the 2013-14 Ashes when he made his debut.

The former Pakistan batter played two Tests, in 1969 and 1975

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jan-2022Aftab Baloch, a domestic giant from the 1970s, maker of Pakistan’s second domestic quadruple ton, and a batter who could have played more than his two Tests for Pakistan, has died. He was 68 years old.Baloch is probably best remembered for the 428 he made as captain of Sindh against Balochistan in Karachi during the 1973-74 Quaid-e-Azam trophy. He added 174 for the fifth wicket in that game with a young Javed Miandad, playing only his eighth first-class game. It remains the only 400-plus score made by a Pakistani in first-class cricket other than Hanif Mohammad’s legendary 499, made 15 years before that.But there was much greater pedigree to Baloch beyond that one innings. His father Shamsher Baloch had played for Gujarat and Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy in pre-partition India. And Aftab’s first-class debut as a 16-year-old was testament to his talent: he scored an unbeaten 77 batting at number nine, and took 12 wickets in an easy win for PwD (Public Works Department) over Hyderabad Blues in August 1969 in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy.Miandad’s presence in the 428 match, however, was significant in that it was testament to the depth in Pakistan’s batting during that decade, a depth that kept Baloch out of the side. Between the 1972-73 season and the 1977-78 season, Baloch was at his peak: he scored 5025 runs in Pakistani first-class cricket, averaging nearly 55 with 14 tons.At the same time, Pakistan had a batting order built around Sadiq Mohammad, Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Asif Iqbal and Mushtaq Mohammad – and then, eventually, Miandad himself. It was among the strongest batting line-ups Pakistan has ever had in Tests.In those peak years Baloch enjoyed considerable success as captain of a strong National Bank side. He led them to the Patron’s Trophy title in the 1974-75 season and then a double of the Quaid-e-Azam trophy and the Patron’s Trophy again the very next season. The next season he again led them to the finals of both tournaments, though this time they lost both (on first-innings scores rather than outright defeat). Baloch scored three hundreds across all those finals.In the midst of that run, he did at least get a Test, against the visiting West Indies at Gaddafi Stadium in February 1975. It was his second, after a debut in 1969, and he did well: he hit an unbeaten 60 in the second innings against a pre-great West Indies attack that still included Andy Roberts and Lance Gibbs. It was to be his last Test, in a side that would two years later become a serious force on tours of Australia and West Indies.”I am deeply saddened to hear the passing of Aftab Baloch, who was one the most popular cricketers when I was growing up,” PCB chairman Ramiz Raja said in a statement. “I not only had the privilege of watching him in action, but also played against him in the twilight of his career.”As he was a close friend of my late brother Wasim Hasan Raja, I knew him well outside the field of play and always admired him for his passion, love and understanding of the game. He was gentle, friendly and caring, and had qualities that made him a widely respected and loved person.”

England coach calls on youngsters to seize their moment at Commonwealth Games

Valkerie Baynes18-Jul-2022As England pressed on with a revamp of their white-ball game, choosing a number of inexperienced players for the Commonwealth Games and leaving out Tammy Beaumont due to her low T20I strike rate, Lisa Keightley said: “it’s their time now”.England picked two uncapped teenagers, allrounder Alice Capsey and left-arm seamer Freya Kemp in a 15-player squad for the tournament starting on July 29 alongside 20-year-old quick Issy Wong, who made her international debut in last month’s Test against South Africa.They join the likes of Maia Bouchier, the middle-order batter who has played just three T20Is, allrounder Bryony Smith, who played the last of her four games for England in an ODI against West Indies two years ago, and seamer Freya Davies, who has been unable to break into the England side for the Test or ODI sections of their ongoing series with South Africa despite having 24 white-ball caps.Davies could get her chance against South Africa in the upcoming T20Is, with the Commonwealth Games squad also forming the T20 outfit for the final leg of the multi-format series, and legspinner Sarah Glenn returns for the first time since the rain-hit T20 leg of the Ashes series in January.Related

• Tammy Beaumont back in the top ten in ODI batting rankings

• Wong rides the emotions as England sense their chance

• One goal achieved, Dunkley moves swiftly onto the next

• Van Niekerk out of CWG, Luus SA captain

• Dunkley century powers England

England have already seen some benefits of changing up the ODI side which finished runners-up at the World Cup earlier this year. Wong took 3 for 36 in six overs on debut against South Africa last Friday and Sophia Dunkley, in just her second game since being promoted to No. 3, scored a century.”We’ve really looked at how we played the last two years and after the World Cup and had a look at the areas that we needed to improve in,” Keightley, England’s head coach, said. “We’ve had really good conversations and hopefully we’re picking the players that we think can go out and do that. It’s their time, I think… and the structure underneath, the regional structure, has given them confidence to come in and play at the next level.”Keightley said 17-year-old Capsey had progressed even further after enjoying a breakout season for Oval Invincibles in the inaugural season of the Hundred. She has since represented England A in Australia and most recently at home during South Africa’s warm-up matches. Her first senior call-up comes six months after Heather Knight, the England captain, warned against “over-egging” young players like Capsey.”We’ve had a lot of cricket between here and there,” Keightley said. “It’s always great to get on a bandwagon really early but I think she’s matured. Going over to Australia and seeing her travel and play probably a little bit under the radar, she’s been really clear on what we want her to do and how we want her to play and I just think her time is now.”She gives us a lot of options with the ball and she can float in a batting order and tends to be able to move quite freely with a good strike rate, so we’ve always had an eye on her. Sometimes the skipper doesn’t want to put too much pressure on a young kid too early and I think she’s done that really well.”Issy Wong took three wickets on her ODI debut•PA Photos/Getty Images

The younger brigade joins experienced hands like veteran seamer Katherine Brunt and Danni Wyatt, who will open the batting – possibly alongside Smith – in the absence of Beaumont, who was a surprise omission from the T20I squad.Beaumont is one of England’s leading ODI batters and was briefly top of the ICC’s player rankings in the format last year but has not been as prolific in T20Is. She made 97 off 65 balls against New Zealand last September but was used out-of-position in the middle order in the T20 World Cup in 2020, Keightley’s first tournament in charge, and has a career strike rate of 108.37 in the format.”Obviously Tammy’s an amazing player,” Keightley said. “She’s performed really well over a long period of time and I suppose the challenge is out to Tam to go away and work on things that we’ve been working on and show us why she should be in the squad. I’m sure she’ll bounce back and that’s what we want, really. We want pressure on and players getting better in every format.”In 50-over cricket you can’t match Tammy’s record. I think it speaks for itself. In T20, I think there’s still some room for growth and improvement there and now it’s up to her to go away and do it. The Hundred’s a fantastic opportunity to do that, and we’ll see what she can do.”Beaumont was a surprise omission from the Commonwealth Games squad•Getty Images

Dunkley’s move to No. 3 has proven successful early in the ODIs and Keightley suggested the middle order, which also includes Knight, could remain fluid depending on match situations and how players settle into their roles.”It’s been interesting how it’s evolved,” Keightley said of Dunkley’s promotion. “Performing not as well as we wanted up front and losing early wickets and being quite slow has made us think about, well, how can we improve that?”It’s quite clear how we want the openers to go out and bat in 50-over cricket and then we felt Sophia’s improving. She’s a clean striker. Usually if we lost a wicket or we’re going well her strike rate’s roughly going to be around the same.”She just gives us that punch-ability, I suppose, if we did lose a wicket, for her to go out and play her natural game and put hopefully the bowlers back under pressure.”Wicketkeeper Amy Jones, who in ODIs has played in every position from No. 1-7 since her debut in 2013 has batted predominantly at No. 5 since the end of 2019, reaching fifty only twice in that time. In T20Is she moved from opener to the middle order at the end of the World Cup in 2020 with limited success.”Amy would admit that she probably hasn’t finished games off for us and gone the way that we want probably consistently and we know Heather is cool and calm under pressure,” Keightley added. “If we’re in trouble, she can work with players around her to read the situation a little bit better than probably we have in the past, so I still think three, four and five could be flexible moving forward.”

Andy Flower to coach the team owned by Adani Sportsline in the new UAE T20 league

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Aug-2022Gulf Giants, the team owned by Adani Sportsline in UAE’s International League T20 (ILT20), confirmed on Wednesday that they have signed up Australian batter Chris Lynn in their list of 14 overseas players for the inaugural season in January 2023.Related

• Russell, Narine, Bairstow join Abu Dhabi Knight Riders

• Pollard, Boult, Bravo join MI Emirates

• Cricket Australia could block Lynn's ILT20 deal

It was reported earlier that Lynn was the only Australian named for the ILT20 but CA had said it had not received a NOC request from him to play in UAE’s league. Lynn, who has scored 6656 runs in 241 T20s at a strike rate of 143.38, does not have a BBL deal after he was let go by Brisbane Heat.Former Zimbabwe captain and World Cup-winning coach Andy Flower has been appointed head coach of the Giants. The team has also signed up Shimron Hetmyer, Chris Jordan, David Wiese, Ollie Pope, Liam Dawson and Qais Ahmed.