All posts by n8rngtd.top

Former allrounder also believes India won’t miss Pujara given the impact of people like Jaiswal with the bat and Bumrah with the ball

Yash Jha08-Oct-2024What would India’s last two Test tours of Australia look like without Cheteshwar Pujara? The man who copped blow after blow, batted hours on end, and made Australia’s bowlers sick of the sight of him is no longer part of India’s set-up. But as far as former Australia allrounder Shane Watson is concerned, India’s newer-looking Test side, with its dynamic batting options, will continue to make life difficult for Australia when they make the trip for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy later this year.”I don’t see it [India’s batting dynamic] changing a lot,” Watson said on the sidelines of the launch of the International Masters League in Mumbai on Tuesday. “The thing when you talk about Pujara, for example, is he just doesn’t make a mistake. Whereas you’ve seen so many of these incredible batters for India – top-order batters, someone like [Yashasvi] Jaiswal, he’s scored runs very quickly, but he hasn’t made a mistake.”Pujara tallied 792 runs – and, more vitally, faced 2186 deliveries – in 15 innings across the two tours in 2018-19 and 2020-21, as India did in back-to-back visits what they had never done before: win a Test series in Australia. Although Jaiswal would appear to be from a very different school of batting – as evidenced by a strike rate of 71.67 after 11 Tests, and fifties at better than a run-a-ball in both innings of India’s most recent Test – Watson reckons the 22-year-old’s ability to bat long will challenge the Australian bowling attack.Related

• 'He can be successful as an opener' – Watson thinks Smith should stay put

• Hayden: Hard to say who has the edge in Border-Gavaskar Trophy

• Chappell: Pant, Bumrah hold the key to India's fortunes in Australia

• Brian Lara backs Yashasvi Jaiswal to 'do well' in Australia

“He hasn’t really given the opposition a chance to be able to get him out,” Watson said. “I think if those type of batters come out to Australia and play aggressively – just put the bad balls away and put pressure on the Aussie bowlers – then they can still have the same effect, and they keep the game moving as well.”Watson clubbed Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant as the Indian batters who could pose serious threats to Australia over the course of the five-match series, which begins in Perth from November 22.”For me, with the calibre of batters that India have got and the skill they’ve got, there’s no reason why they can’t combine that: putting pressure on bowlers, score quickly, but also not make mistakes, which we’ve seen those Indian batters, in particular Jaiswal [do],” Watson said. “And we’ve seen Rishabh Pant come in and do it as well – take the game on, but also don’t give the opposition many opportunities to get them out.”Pant has 624 runs to his name from 12 Test innings in Australia – while maintaining a strike rate of 72.13 – and Watson, unsurprisingly, picked Pant and Jasprit Bumrah as the two players Australia need to be most wary of.Eoin Morgan, Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Jonty Rhodes, Romesh Kaluwitharana and Shane Watson at the launch of the International Masters League•PTI

“He’s [Pant] obviously got great memories from his last tour that he had from a batting perspective in Australia,” Watson said. “That innings he played at the Gabba was something very special. So knowing that he’s come through his challenges in the last couple of years to be able to come back as an even better player than what he left off, I think he’s going to have a big series.”Also, Bumrah is someone who in Australian conditions – well, in all conditions really – he’s so good. [With] his ability to be able to just take wickets and get batters out, he’s going to be very effective in Australia as well. So those two guys, if they have big series, they can really provide Australia some big challenges.”Bumrah has 32 wickets at 21.25 from seven Tests in Australia. He missed the last Test of the 2020-21 series due to an injury, but will head into his third tour of Australia as the mainstay of India’s bowling attack even as they await the return of Mohammed Shami from a long injury layoff.

Raza scored 151 runs and took a wicket in two ODIs against Sri Lanka

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Sep-2025Zimbabwe allrounder Sikandar Raza is the new No. 1 allrounder in the ICC’s ODI rankings, achieving the feat for the first time. He had scored 92 and an unbeaten 59 in the two-match series against Sri Lanka in Harare, and also picked up a wicket. He went past Afghanistan’s Azmatullah Omarzai and Mohammad Nabi, who are now second and third, respectively.There’s a new No. 1 among ODI bowlers too. South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj has broken the deadlock at the top with Sri Lanka’s Maheesh Theekshana, claiming the No. 1 position outright. Maharaj moved up after taking 4 for 22 in a big win in the first ODI against England in Leeds.

Full rankings tables

• Click here for the team rankings

• Click here for the player rankings

Sri Lanka opener Pathum Nissanka, named Player of the Series against Zimbabwe after topping the charts with 198 runs, has climbed seven places to 13th among ODI batters. Janith Liyanage is up 13 places to 29th, while Zimbabwe’s Sean Williams has risen three places to 47th.In the T20I rankings, Afghanistan batters Ibrahim Zadran (up 12 spots to 20th) and Sediqullah Atal (up a remarkable 346 places to 127th) have risen following back-to-back wins against UAE and Pakistan in the ongoing tri-series.Others to improve in the T20I rankings are Pakistan’s Hasan Nawaz (joint-31st) among batters, while Sufiyan Muqeem (22nd), Shaheen Shah Afridi (26th) and Mohammad Nawaz (43rd) made strides among bowlers.

Ecclestone, Sciver-Brunt and Wyatt-Hodge turn in the command performances to order

Valkerie Baynes07-Oct-2024When the going got tough, three of England’s most senior players stepped up to preserve their unbeaten start to the T20 World Cup.Sophie Ecclestone – the spearhead of England’s four-woman spin attack – contained a threatening South Africa with her 2 for 15 from four overs, despite their 124 for 6 making them the first side to pass 120 in Sharjah’s run-scoring desert. Then came Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Nat Sciver-Brunt, two vastly experienced batters who shared a 64-run stand for the third wicket to see England home by seven wickets with four balls to spare, and give them two wins from as many games.Ecclestone has been at the top of the world T20I rankings for four-and-a-half-years, yet went wicketless in England’s tournament opener against Bangladesh.On Monday, South Africa were looking strong at 37 for 1 at the end of the powerplay, then Ecclestone entered in the seventh over and straight away enticed a thick edge from Laura Wolvaardt, although wicketkeeper Amy Jones couldn’t hold a difficult chance.Ecclestone returned in the 11th over and conceded just two runs while threatening the top of a struggling Anneke Bosch’s middle stump. Then, crucially, Ecclestone removed South Africa’s two most dangerous batters, Wolvaardt swiping across the line as the ball crashed into middle and leg and Marizanne Kapp, who was ominously poised on 26 from 17 balls when she charged and missed to hear the death rattle behind her.Sciver-Brunt said that England’s opening match against Bangladesh had taught them the best way to deploy Ecclestone in Sharjah, where the pitch has been slow and the boundaries are vast.”She’s a bowler that can bowl wherever in the innings,” Sciver-Brunt said. “Saving her for a couple overs for when batters really want to get after her, having had a go on that wicket already, we learned pretty well that’s what would be really difficult, and she executed that really well.”Both sides were left to rue chances and half-chances, and England’s run-chase spluttered early on before the senior pair hit their stride.When Maia Bouchier strode down the pitch and lofted Kapp down the ground for a one-bounce four, it was England’s first shot in anger, as they reached 8 for 0 after three overs.After the powerplay, England were 28 for 1, Alice Capsey having arrived when Bouchier was out lbw to Kapp and trying to get things moving with two boundaries off one Chloe Tryon over.Related

• October 7 at the T20 World Cup: Spinners in focus in 2023 semi-final rematch

• Sharjah's lack of pace key to England, South Africa's fortunes

• Sciver-Brunt and Ecclestone lead England to classy victory

• England loss puts Kapp's batting position and spin efficacy in focus for South Africa

Capsey’s soft return catch to Nadine de Klerk prompted Wyatt-Hodge to get creative. She lapped Nonkululeko Mlaba, though the shot only went for two, and tried a couple of times to launch Sune Luus down the ground before latching onto one over the bowler’s head for four.Her 41 from 40 deliveries had been the standout performance of England’s victory over Bangladesh, and her run-a-ball 43 kept England in a close contest against South Africa while being more patient than usual.”It’s funny because she’s been very frustrated for both of the innings,” Sciver-Brunt said. “She’s probably used to being 70 off 40, but the innings that she’s playing for us are so important, and just being able to hit it in areas that only she can [find] probably makes her quite difficult to bowl at, even in these conditions. Hopefully she can continue doing that and not get too frustrated.”Sciver-Brunt, by contrast, is characteristically unflappable, and she moved up a gear in the 15th over with twin leg-side fours off Kapp’s fourth.By the time Wyatt-Hodge was stumped off Mlaba, England needed 11 off the last two overs and two more boundaries from Sciver-Brunt, including the winning runs clubbed over extra cover off Ayabonga Khaka saw them home.”When I came to the middle, obviously we were a little bit behind the rate,” Sciver-Brunt said. “But I knew that [would change] if me and Danni stayed together, put a partnership together, ran really well. I think that from the first game, that’s something we really wanted to do, run really well between the wickets, knowing that boundaries are quite hard to hit on that wicket. The importance of running twos and then maneuvering fielders out the way so that you can hit into a gap a bit easier. That was the plan.”England’s next match is against Scotland on Sunday, meaning an extended period of down-time before they return to Sharjah again with qualification very much in their own hands.”Two wins out of two, we’re pretty happy,” Sciver-Brunt said. “We’ve got about a five-day gap now until our next game so we’ll be taking that time to reset, have a couple of days off and then go again. We’re really happy to get over the line today and I’ll just be celebrating that.”

Nair, who smashed 112, set a new record of 542 runs without being dismissed, going past former New Zealand allrounder James Franklin

PTI03-Jan-2025Karun Nair on Friday broke the world record for most List A runs without being dismissed, while guiding Vidarbha to an eight-wicket victory over Uttar Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.Nair, who smashed 112, set a new record of 542 runs without being dismissed, going past former New Zealand allrounder James Franklin, who in 2010 had managed a streak of 527 runs without getting out. Other prominent names in the list are: Joshua van Heerden (512), Fakhar Zaman (455) and Taufeeq Umar (422).The knock was his fourth hundred of the season – and third on the trot – as he helped Vidarbha overhaul UP’s 307 for 8 in just 47.2 overs. Nair’s unbeaten streak began on December 23, when he first blasted 112 off 108 balls against Jammu & Kashmir. He followed it up with an unbeaten 44 in a small chase against Chhattisgarh. He then made a season-high 168 not out against Chandigarh, helping Vidarbha chase down 316 in 48 overs, before finishing 2024 with another unbeaten ton – 111* against Tamil Nadu.On Friday, Vidarbha ended at 313 for 2 as Yash Rathod also made an unbeaten 138 off 140 balls. He and Karun shared a massive 228-run stand for the second wicket.The victory also enabled Vidarbha to position themselves comfortably as the top team in Group D with 20 points from five games ahead of second placed Tamil Nadu (14) and UP (14), who are on third.

Sidra Nawaz is not part of the 17-player squad that is understood to have been chosen for both formats

Danyal Rasool01-May-2024Pakistan have selected a near-identical squad to the one playing the ongoing white-ball series against West Indies for the upcoming tour of England, with Nida Dar the captain of the side.The only omissions are Bismah Maroof, who retired from the game last week after an international career that spanned 18 years, and Sidra Nawaz, who was part of the ODI squad but did not play a game.The official squad announcement does not appear to distinguish between players selected for the T20I and ODI legs of the series against England, and it is understood that all 17 players have been chosen for both formats.Related

• Bismah Maroof retires from international cricket

• Shafiq, Razzaq join Pakistan women's selection committee

The tour comes following a disappointing home series against West Indies, in which Pakistan have run the visitors close on several occasions but are yet to get over the line. West Indies, spearheaded by the sensational all-round form of Hayley Matthews, won the ODI series 3-0, and have taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match T20I series in Karachi.Pakistan will play three T20Is and as many ODIs against England in May, with the T20I games on May 11, 17 and 19. The ODIs follow on May 23, 26 and 29. They will also play a warm-up T20 on May 9 and a one-day game on May 21 against an ECB Development XI side.The ODIs are part of the ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25, with this being Pakistan’s eighth and final series in the current cycle. Pakistan are currently fifth with 16 points on the ten-team table, with the top five qualifying for the 2025 ODI World Cup directly.

Pakistan women’s squad for tour of England

Nida Dar (capt), Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Zafar, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Gull Feroza, Muneeba Ali (wk), Najiha Alvi (wk), Nashra Sandhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Rameen Shamim, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Tuba Hassan, Umm-e-Hani, Waheeda Akhtar

Just 21 wickets in four days at Trent Bridge as spinners struggle to exploit hybrid pitch

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay 25-Jun-2025Pocketing 12 points for a draw was enough to keep Nottinghamshire top of the Rothesay County Championship table with eight of 14 matches played, although they now find defending champions Surrey breathing down their necks after the match against Yorkshire at Trent Bridge ended in stalemate.Nottinghamshire led Division One by 10 points going into this round but Surrey’s victory over Worcestershire at New Road has closed the gap to two ahead of next week’s second batch of fixtures with the Kookaburra ball, when Surrey meet Durham at the Kia Oval and Nottinghamshire travel to Somerset.Matthew Revis supplemented Finlay Bean’s superb double-hundred for with an unbeaten 93 but with Yorkshire’s first innings stretching to lunch on day four before Nottinghamshire could bowl them out for 510 on a generally benign pitch, the chances of a positive outcome were almost non-existent.Part-time off-spinner Freddie McCann finished with a career-best three for 53 before Nottinghamshire, who had made 487 in their first innings, reached 148 for one in their second innings, opener Ben Slater passing fifty for the sixth consecutive innings – four of them against Yorkshire – in making an unbeaten 74. The players shook hands on a draw at ten to five.All-rounder Liam Patterson-White, who was three for 129 from 52 overs of left-arm spin overnight, could not add to his wickets tally in Yorkshire’s first innings, but the additional 10 overs in his final analysis of three for 146 puts him 10th in Nottinghamshire’s table of bowling marathons.Not since 1929, when off-spinner Sam Staples sent down 408 deliveries – also against Yorkshire – to claim fourth spot in that list, has any bowler exceeded Patterson-White’s 372 bowled in a single first-class innings for the county.Farhan Ahmed, the 17-year-old off-spinner, bowled 50 overs for his one for 126, although it is not the first time he has hit that milestone despite this being only his 13th match. In the draw against Surrey here last year – also played with the Kookaburra ball – when he broke all manner of records in taking his career-best seven for 140 on his Championship debut, he was in his 51st over when he took his final wicket.With little help for the seam bowlers in using the Kookaburra ball, Nottinghamshire had hoped that a used, hybrid pitch in the prevailing dry conditions might provide significant assistance to the spinners. Yet though two thirds of the Yorkshire innings was against spin, there was never enough turn to unsettle the more capable batters hugely.McCann found some turn, bowling George Hill (30) and Jack White – the former via an inside edge – and having Dom Bess (26) stumped, but by then the Yorkshire innings was beginning to peter out. Will O’Rourke departed in a somewhat farcical run-out.Yorkshire’s left-armer, Dan Moriarty, bowled Haseeb Hameed, but Nottinghamshire were otherwise untroubled through the 48 overs that remained in the match – even when Yorkshire skipper Jonny Bairstow, having handed the wicketkeeping gloves to Bean for the final session, brought himself on to bowl in what turned out to be the last over of the match.His over of what appeared to be off-spin was only his second in professional cricket, the other – also wicketless – having been against Durham in 2014.

Defending champions RCB bring in Heather Graham and Kim Garth for Sophie Devine and Kate Cross

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Feb-2025UP Warriorz (UPW) have acquired Chinelle Henry as an injury replacement for Alyssa Healy for WPL 2025 after the Australia and UPW captain was ruled out of the tournament because of a stress injury in her right foot. Meanwhile, defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) have brought in Heather Graham and Kim Garth in place of Sophie Devine and Kate Cross; Devine is taking a break from the game, while Cross hasn’t played since December owing to a back injury. All three players have been picked at INR 30 lakh.Healy missed the T20I leg of the women’s Ashes, which Australia won 16-0 over England, and passed a late fitness test to play the series-ending Test match as a middle-order batter. She got through the match without any obvious discomfort, scoring 34 in Australia’s only innings, but said later that she would not play in the WPL and would also miss the three-match T20I series against New Zealand that starts just two days after the WPL final on March 15.Henry, the 29-year-old West Indies middle-order batter and handy quick bowler, hasn’t played in the WPL before, but comes into the tournament with form behind her. She hit a 16-ball 43 in the last T20I on West Indies’ tour of India late last year, and followed it up with a 72-ball 61 in the third ODI of the same series. Overall, she has played 62 T20Is, scoring 473 runs in 53 innings at a strike rate of 91.13. She also has 22 wickets from 44 bowling innings.Related

• Deepti Sharma named UP Warriorz captain for WPL 2025

• RCB's title defence hit by player unavailability and injury concerns

• Deepti Sharma-led UP Warriorz set for home debut

• Healy to miss WPL 2025, remains coy about future

• Devine takes break from cricket, set to miss WPL

Garth, who has turned out for Gujarat Giants (GG) in the past, was a big part of Australia’s Ashes campaign, playing all three ODIs, two T20Is and the one-off Test, picking up nine wickets overall. A 28-year-old bowling allrounder who started out with her native Ireland before moving to Australia, Garth has 49 wickets from 59 T20Is to go with 764 runs.Graham, also 28, has been a part of the WPL in the past, with Mumbai Indians (MI), but hasn’t played a game in the tournament. And though highly rated in Australia, where she has been a part of Hobart Hurricanes and Perth Scorchers in the WBBL, she has only played one ODI and five T20Is in an international career that started in 2019. She has eight wickets in T20Is.Charlie Dean, the England spinner, had earlier been named as replacement for the injured Sophie Molineux at RCB.The third edition of the WPL will kick off on February 14 with a match between RCB and GG in Vadodara.

Queensland and Tasmania share the points after only 16 overs were possible due to rain and bad light, with Renshaw posting 51 off 36

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Sep-2024Matt Renshaw’s first half-century of a new summer was the only shining light on an otherwise gloomy day in Melbourne as Queensland and Tasmania shared the One-Day Cup points on offer after rain and bad light meant only 16 overs were possible.Renshaw made 51 off 36 balls with four fours and three sixes as Queensland posted 128 for 5 from the only play possible on a day where rain delayed the start by four-and-a-half hours and bad light ended it early.Persistent rain fell at the Junction Oval on Wednesday ensuring no play was possible until 2.30pm. The rain meant the match was shortened to a 20-over affair, albeit with 50-over powerplay rules in place. Tasmania unsurprisingly sent Queensland in having been skittled by Victoria on the same surface two days earlier.They made early breakthroughs with Gabe Bell removing Ben McDermott while Beau Webster picked up Max Bryant. Renshaw and new Queensland recruit Lachlan Hearne then shared a 79-run stand in just 8.4 overs. They struck seven fours and four sixes between them before Webster broke the stand.Matt Kuhnemann got his first wicket for his new state against his old side, bowling former team-mate Jack Wildermuth for 8. Hearne holed out to deep midwicket off Bell in the 15th over before the umpires checked the light after 16 overs and called a halt to proceedings. Play never resumed and the points were shared.Queensland will remain in Melbourne and face Victoria on Friday with Australia Test opener Usman Khawaja set to play after missing the clash with Tasmania.

The spinner’s opening spell saw West Indies bowl Uganda out for 39

Andrew Fidel Fernando09-Jun-20242:20

Bishop: WI batters showed intent and positivity

Akeal Hosein scythed through Uganda in a sublime opening spell, using his swinging seam-up delivery to devastating effect, plundering five wickets for 11 runs.That spell sent West Indies hurtling to a 134-run victory on a slow Providence deck. The seamers backed Hosein’s spell up, delivering some excellent wicket balls of their own. Together they sent Uganda crashing to 39 all out – the joint-lowest total in the T20 World Cup.Earlier, in difficult batting conditions, Johnson Charles struck 44 off 42, and Andre Russell cracked 30 not out off 17, as West Indies willed their way to 173 for 5.Uganda were doughty with the ball and, despite at least two missed chances, generally good in the field. Though several West Indies batters made starts, Uganda’s slow bowlers, in particular, found ways to peg them back.

Hosein wrecks Uganda’s top order

It was a spell of dreams. From the outset, it was clear that when Hosein chose to put revs into the ball, he would get good turn the first ball – a left-arm spinner’s stock ball – ragging past Roger Mukasa’s outside edge.But it was Hosein’s mastery of drift/swing and his impeccable control that gave him the most venom in this game. The next ball to Mukasa was a seam-up ball that curved in and struck the sweeping batter in front of middle and off. Next over, the ball that struck Alpesh Ramjani in front of middle had also moved in the air, late.Riazat Ali Shah, perhaps Uganda’s best batter, was beaten even more emphatically by the swinging seam-up ball, watching it crash into middle stump.Then in his last over – the seventh of the innings – Hosein dismissed Dinesh Nakrani and Kenneth Waiswa, the first bowled and the second another lbw, again using movement in the air before pitching. He left Uganda flailing at 23 for 7, all their batting resources spent, and with little hope of even surpassing the 58 they had made against Afghanistan last week – their previous lowest score.Rovman Powell was off the blocks quickly•Associated Press

Charles steadies West Indies in the early going

It’s not often you would describe a Charles innings as an anchor, but this is effectively what it was in this game. Though he struck some early fours through cover before working himself up to some six-hitting, he still only had 24 off 21 balls at the end of the powerplay.But his presence at the crease allowed other batters to play more aggressively, most in the West Indies top order just waiting for balls in their area to hit sixes off. Rovman Powell struck the biggest one of the day – his 107-metre monster down the ground off Frank Nsubuga’s bowling going over the top of one of the stands.

Russell and Rutherford finish strong

It says something about the nature of this surface, and also the tenacity of Uganda’s bowling, that West Indies did not manage a six after the 14th over. But Russell and Sherfane Rutherford still found ways to provide West Indies with that final burst. Russell did this most effectively in the final over, when he blasted Cosmas Kyewuta for two fours through point, then later found another couple of boundaries off the outside edge.All up, West Indies made 45 off the last four overs.

Worcestershire, Derbyshire the only first-class counties not to tender for top tier of revamped structure

Valkerie Baynes14-Mar-2024Sixteen of the 18 first-class counties have bid for one of eight professional women’s teams in a revamped England and Wales domestic competition starting next season.Worcestershire and Derbyshire are the only two clubs among those invited to tender who have confirmed that they did not bid for a Tier 1 team under the new structure.Surrey, Lancashire, Sussex, Hampshire, Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire, Glamorgan, Essex and Gloucestershire all confirmed this week that they had lodged tenders with the ECB.Middlesex confirmed a bid on Monday, which had received “the full support of Marylebone Cricket Club”. MCC, which owns Middlesex’s home ground, Lord’s, and was also invited to bid for a team, have not submitted a proposal of their own.Kent and Northamptonshire announced their bids last week along with Durham, Yorkshire, Leicestershire and Somerset.Related

• Durham, Essex big winners as top-flight women's teams are named

• Kent, Northants to bid for professional women's teams in 2025

• Counties told to 'show their vision' as ECB revamps women's competitions

It is understood counties will be notified imminently of interview slots for the next stage of the process, with those interviews to take place by the end of March.In February, the ECB invited all 18 first-class counties plus MCC to tender for one of the Tier 1 clubs in a move away from the current regional structure which began in 2020. Currently, teams contesting the 20-over Charlotte Edwards Cup and 50-over Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy fall under central ECB control and largely encompass more than one county.By aligning teams more closely with existing counties – and their men’s teams – the ECB is seeking to address an identity crisis that has afflicted some of the regional teams with ownership, responsibility and governance shifting to the clubs.First-class counties not awarded Tier 1 status, plus all National Counties, will be invited to take part in a process to determine the make-up of Tier 2 and 3 competitions, comprising 10-14 teams and 16-20 teams respectively.Despite there being no plans for promotion or relegation from 2025-28, Derbyshire have taken a longer-term view, electing to “pursue the establishment of a sustainable Tier 2 women’s structure, one which will hopefully grow into Tier 1 status” in future. Derbyshire have hosted training for existing regional women’s team the Blaze over the winter and staged at least one England Women’s international fixture every year for the past seven seasons. In 2020, Derby hosted all five T20Is against West Indies which comprised the England Women’s international season amid the initial wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.Explaining the club’s position, Derbyshire chief executive Ryan Duckett said: “Derbyshire makes up 9% of the population of the Midlands, yet 26% of women’s cricket that was played across the region in the last year involved a team from the county. There are also three players in the current senior England squad who have come through the Derbyshire pathway, which has been led by the Derbyshire Cricket Foundation, and we will continue to support further success in this area.”Our ambitions for ground development include enhanced training facilities underpinning a robust pathway structure, as well as increasing seating capacity to meet demand and ensure the club retains its status as a host venue for international women’s cricket… After honest assessment, we felt that in the short term, as a standalone county, it may have been essential to compromise what is currently being delivered as a collective across the region and therefore believe this decision is in the best interest of the game.”Worcestershire CEO Ashley Giles told the club’s podcast: “At this point it would just be more a funding and a resource issue for us. Even in ground facilities, changing facilities, practice wickets, it would be really challenging for us.”But the next process from here will be Tier 2 and even Tier 3 and certainly we’ll be into that. And, for us, we host the Central Sparks right now, which is the regional team, but we also have the Women’s Rapids and I’m very keen that we start to develop that team so that when we come to those next levels, Tier 2 for example, that we’re ready to go.”The ECB will invest a minimum of £1.3 million per year into each of the eight Tier 1 teams, a proportion of which will be ring-fenced for player salaries, sports science and medicine and talent pathways. There will be no mandated minimum financial commitment sought from the counties, who are expected to outline their projected investment as part of the tender process.The existing regions – South East Stars, Thunder, Sunrisers, Central Sparks, Western Storm, the Blaze, Northern Diamonds and Southern Vipers – will remain for the 2024 season.