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2010 T20 World Cup winner leaves academy director role at Sussex

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Oct-2022Michael Yardy, the allrounder who played 42 limited-overs internationals for England and won the T20 World Cup in 2010, has been appointed head coach of England Under-19s.Yardy spent the 2022 season working as academy director at Sussex, after previous spells at Kent and New South Wales. “It’s a privilege to work with young players as they seek to make the next step in their career and I look forward to the challenge of doing that at international level,” he said.”The Young Lions programme has helped to develop a number of very talented players across the last few years and it’s an exciting prospect to be a part of that work and help identify and improve future England Men’s cricketers,” Yardy added.He fills the role vacated by Richard Dawson’s move to become one of Matthew Mott’s assistant coaches in England’s white-ball set-up. Dawson sustained an injury during the T20I tour to Pakistan last month, and Paul Collingwood is deputising for him at the ongoing World Cup in Australia.England Under-19s are due to tour Australia in early 2023, with fixtures yet to be confirmed.Related

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David Court, the ECB’s player identification and pathway lead, said: “We’re delighted to have Mike join us as our Young Lions Head Coach and he brings with him a fantastic range of relevant experiences.”The Young Lions programme aims to inspire and develop players through unique and challenging experiences, and Mike’s time in domestic cricket, international cricket and – more recently – his time spent leading the development of talented young cricketers at Sussex will be a huge asset for us.”Sussex will begin the search for a replacement imminently. Keith Greenfield, their performance director, said: “Whilst we are disappointed to lose Mike from his role here at Sussex, it is a fantastic opportunity for him to take on developing the next generation of England’s elite international cricketers within the ECB pathway and we wish him all the best in his new role.”

A prospect of reserve day and even a shared trophy could be on the cards

Andrew McGlashan11-Nov-2022There will be some nervous looks skywards over the coming days in Melbourne with rain threatening the men’s T20 World Cup final between England and Pakistan at the MCG on Sunday, raising the prospect of the reserve day being needed and even a shared trophy.There is currently a 95% chance of rain forecast for Sunday with between 15 and 25mm falling. “Very high (near 100%) chance of showers. The chance of a thunderstorm, possibly severe, with heavy falls possible,” the Bureau of Meteorology was saying as of Friday morning.The reserve day is allocated on Monday, but that also has an uncertain forecast with again a 95% chance of rain and falls between 5 and 10mm.For the knockout matches in the tournament a minimum of 10 overs per side is needed to constitute a match, compared to five overs during the group stages.The first priority will be to complete a shortened match on Sunday if required, meaning the overs will be reduced before the reserve day is activated. If the game has started on Sunday but can’t be completed then it will resume on the reserve day from the position it was halted. Once the toss has taken place, the game is considered live.If the game begins on Sunday and there is a reduction of overs but play does not have a chance to restart due to weather then the game will resume as a 20-over contest on the reserve day.While only 30 minutes of extra time are allocated to the original day of the final, if the reserve day is used there are four extra hours available* with play starting on the Monday at 3pm local time.”The Event Technical Committee (ETC) has increased the provision of additional playing time on the reserve day to four hours from the original provision of two hours (clause 13.7.3 of the Playing Conditions), in case more time is required to complete the match and get a result,” an ICC release stated.”It may be noted that 10 overs per side are required to constitute a match in the knockout stage and every effort will be taken to complete the match on the scheduled match day. Every effort will be made for the match to be completed on Sunday, with any necessary reduction of overs taking place and only if the minimum number of overs necessary to constitute a match cannot be bowled on Sunday will the match go into the reserve day. Play on the reserve day will begin at 15h00 and would be a continuation of play from the scheduled match day.”If there is not enough time over the two days to achieve the minimum overs the trophy would be shared. The 2002-03 Champions Trophy between India and Sri Lanka ended in such a way although under the playing conditions at the time a new game was started on the reserve day. Both matches were abandoned at virtually the same point. In the 2019 ODI World Cup, the semi-final between India and New Zealand at Old Trafford was played across two days.Melbourne has been badly hit by rain during this tournament with three Super 12 matches abandoned without a ball bowled: New Zealand vs Afghanistan, Afghanistan vs Ireland and Australia vs England. The England-Ireland game in Melbourne was also curtailed by rain, but Ireland were able to take a famous win on DLS.Aside from the South Africa-Zimbabwe game in Hobart which was also a no result, the rest of the tournament has largely escaped the rain during what has been a wet start to summer across the east and south east of Australia.The forecast was also poor leading into the India-Pakistan game at the MCG but cleared to allow a full game with the contest developing into one of the best T20 matches of all time. Organisers, players and supporters will hope the final is graced with the same good luck.*GMT 1040 The story was updated after the ICC confirmed that there will be four extra hours, rather than two, available on the reserve day to complete the final.

Travis Head has been rested by Cricket Australia ahead of the West Indies Test series

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jan-2024Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey have been made available for their club’s next BBL matches in the small window between the Pakistan and West Indies Test series but ODI World Cup final hero Travis Head has been rested.Khawaja and Labuschagne are both set to feature for the undefeated Brisbane Heat against Perth Scorchers at the Gabba on Wednesday while Carey will line up for Adelaide Strikers against Hobart Hurricanes the day before.Steven Smith is also expected to feature for Sydney Sixers against Sydney Thunder on Friday with David Warner planning to helicopter to the game after his brother’s wedding.Related

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The availability of Khawaja and Labuschagne, who featured in the first game of the season against Melbourne Stars, will lead to some tricky selection decisions for Heat who have been the standout team so far this season with six wins in eight matches and are already assured of at least a top-three finish in the regular season.Their remaining two games are against defending champions Scorchers with those fixtures likely to determine who will finish top and host the Qualifier final on January 19.”It will be good for the group to have Usman and Marnus back around the team, especially as we get into the business end of the competition,” Heat coach Wade Seccombe said.Carey’s return is a boost for the struggling Strikers who are currently sixth with just two wins and will likely need to win their remaining three games to stand a chance of progressing.A Strikers statement added: “In consultation with Cricket Australia medical staff, Travis Head will not be available for Big Bash selection during the break between international Test series”Steven Smith was in spectacular form for Sydney Sixers last season•Getty Images

It has yet to be confirmed whether Carey will be available for the return fixture against Hurricanes in Hobart on Thursday. Mitchell Marsh won’t be available for Scorchers against Heat in Brisbane on Wednesday.Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc signed as marquee supplementary players with Thunder and Sixers respectively this season so they can have a role promoting the competition but have never been in line to play. Cameron Green does not have a BBL deal having opted not to take one this season due to a combination of the schedule and to focus on red-ball cricket.Lance Morris (Scorchers) and Scott Boland (Stars) have previously been released from the Test squad to play in the BBL.Nathan Lyon won’t be able to debut for Melbourne Renegades this season with their next game on Saturday, the day the Test squad is due to gather in Adelaide ahead of the first Test against West Indies from January 17.There is set to be a far larger window for Australia’s Test players to feature in the BBL next season with the Sydney Test against India in the first week of January to be the last of the home summer. This season’s schedule was pushed to a later start due to the ODI World Cup.

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

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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

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.

Andile Phehlukwayo and Lizaad Williams have been included as replacements in South Africa’s 15-man squad

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Sep-2023Fast bowlers Anrich Nortje and Sisanda Magala have been ruled out of the 2023 ODI World Cup with injuries. They have been replaced by Andile Phehlukwayo and Lizaad Williams in South Africa’s 15-man squad for the tournament that begins in India on October 5.Nortje has a suspected stress fracture of the back after experiencing spasms during the second ODI against Australia earlier this month. Magala, who played only the third ODI against Australia and went for 1 for 46 in four overs, has a left-knee injury.”It’s hugely disappointing for Anrich and Sisanda to be missing out on the 50-over World Cup,” South Africa’s coach Rob Walter said. “We sympathize in their omission and will continue to provide all the necessary support as they work towards their return to competitive action.”This provides an opportunity for Andile and Lizaad on the global stage. Both players have been part of our winter programs as well as having represented South Africa in the recent white-ball tour against Australia. They offer great skill sets and we’re excited to have them complete the 15-player squad for this year’s World Cup.”Phehlukwayo played in the second and fifth ODIs against Australia. While he did not make much of an impression in the first game, he scored 38 off 19 balls to finish the innings strongly in the series finale and then took 1 for 44. Williams played three of the five matches, taking 3 for 44, 1 for 17 and 0 for 24.Nortje’s absence is a major blow for South Africa as he is their quickest bowler with substantial experience in India, where he plays for Delhi Capitals in the IPL. He played in the Major League Cricket tournament in the USA over the South African winter and was rested for the T20Is against Australia. He was then ruled out of the first ODI but played the second, bowling only five overs before leaving the field. He missed the third game after he was sent for scans and was then ruled out of the series.Magala had not played any cricket since splitting the webbing in his hand at the IPL in early April and was subsequently ruled out of the T20Is against Australia with infrapatellar tendinopathy – pain in the tendon that connects the kneecap to the shin bone. He experienced discomfort in the knee again after playing one ODI against Australia.South Africa leave for India on September 23, and play their warm-up games against Afghanistan on September 29 and New Zealand on October 2. Their first game of the tournament is against Sri Lanka on October 7.

South Africa’s ODI World Cup squad

Temba Bavuma (capt), Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Lizaad Williams

Ireland’s spin-bowing coach says tighter lines and fuller lengths can help their spinners fare better in the second Test

Andrew Fidel Fernando23-Apr-2023In the first Test, Ireland’s spinners managed three wickets in 85.3 overs. By comparison, Sri Lanka’s spinners claimed 15 wickets in 85.4 overs.This was the biggest difference between the sides, and it is this chasm that Ireland’s spin-bowling coach Nathan Hauritz is charged with closing, ahead of the second Test. Being more consistent with tighter lines and fuller lengths was one route to improvement, Hauritz said. But so was winning the toss and bowling in friendlier conditions, on a worn track.”About 75% of their deliveries were getting us play off the front foot,” Hauritz said. “Admittedly the wicket was turning a bit more day two and day three when they were bowling. But if you’re not going to make them play off the front foot – the wicket’s too slow – they could sweep, or use their feet. We’ve addressed that. What matters is how they overcome it when the pressure’s on.”It’s Andy Balbirnie’s first time captaining against two of the best Test-playing countries. It’s not just a simple matter of putting the ball in the right spot. You’ve got to know when to take advantage of the momentum, and know when to wind back. We’re trying to be as proactive as we can. That’s challenging when you’re bowling first on day one and the ball’s not moving off the straight. The bowling needs to be more consistent. That’s a challenge coming from North County at minus two/ minus four degrees.Related

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“What I will say is though if we get the opportunity to bat first and put a score on the board, I back our spinners to create a lot of problems. But bowling first in these conditions is the hardest thing you can ever do as a spinner. And the wicket was incredibly flat. It was about trying to hang in. We have been here (in South Asia) six or seven weeks, so we should be pretty well acclimatised. But in Sri Lanka it sucks it out of you – you need to hang in there and outlast them.”Part of Ireland’s challenge, which Sri Lanka’s players also acknowledged at the end of the first Test, was to move away from limited-overs style field settings with the spinners in operation. Hauritz reflected on how well Sri Lanka had done that in the first Test.”If you’re putting 10 out of 10 balls in one spot, and one spins and one doesn’t, it becomes very challenging to face,” he said. “Over here, you don’t need to do anything fancy. It’s very boring work. You’re able to create that pressure with the fields, and the heat, and everything gets on top of you.”As soon as a batting group you start to get on top, they, as a bowling group, change the fields. You see someone like Lorcan Tucker – as soon as he starts to sweep they put men out. They don’t change the way they bowl. They just keep doing the same thing and they make you change.”I have no doubt that being exposed to these conditions will help our spinners, but it’ll also help our batters play spin, moving forward.”

Centuries for Luke Wells, Josh Bohannon keep Northants under pump on shortened day

Paul Edwards27-Jul-2023
If anything is to help this game reverse up Stalemate Close, it is probably the black saucers of earth that lie at each end of the pitch. Batters regard them with suspicion while spin bowlers, of which Lancashire have two specialists, view them with delight. If only our top order can build a lead, they thought this morning, we could frolic in the footmarks on Friday. So as expected, when play began at Emirates Old Trafford on this third day, three hours late and with 29 overs snipped from our ration, Lancashire put the hammer down on an attack lacking Ben Sanderson, Tom Taylor and Rob Keogh.Carnage followed. Big style. And Phil Salt played one of the innings of the season, scoring a century which outshone even those of Luke Wells and Josh Bohannon and reminding everyone, perhaps including Salt himself, that his talents need not be confined to white-ball cricketThat said, Northamptonshire’s injured bowlers have taken 39 of their side’s 108 Championship wickets in 2023 and this day’s two sessions showed how sorely they are missed. To a degree, it also revived memories of the evening’s cricket at Blackpool just over a fortnight ago, when Lancashire’s attack was shredded by Dan Lawrence and Doug Bracewell. This time, however, it was Keaton Jennings’ batters who did the shredding, scoring 377 runs in 67 overs and ending the day with a lead of 156 runs and power to add on the morrow.Even in the present era, such fast-forward cricket lent the evening unreality. The achievement of bonus points every 50 runs, significant partnerships and the batter’s individual landmarks blurred into each other and passed with notebook-defeating speed. Rounds of applause blended into each other, for there always seemed something for home supporters to clap. Wells reached his first century of the season off 171 balls, Bohannon his second off 143 balls and Salt also made his second three-figure score of the campaign, reaching that landmark off 74 balls with his third straight six to add to his 11 fours. So yes, there were plenty of big shots but what was most noticeable, particularly during Bohannon’s 126-run stand for the third wicket in 19 overs with Salt, was the whippet-speed of the running between the wickets as ones became twos if the fielder had to make any ground towards the ball.And as so often on such occasions, catches went down, some more culpably than others. White had little choice but to throw his catch at deep square leg back inside the boundary as he toppled over the rope, thus giving Wells a life on 78, but shortly afterwards Lewis McManus had no such excuse when he spilled a very straightforward chance off Dominic Leech. McManus was standing back, Leech was standing aghast and Wells was still standing on 85 not out.The one Northamptonshire fielder to emerge from the massacre with any credit was Ricardo Vasconcelos, who took an unremarkable catch to dismiss Wells off White for 119 and then a very remarkable, one-handed, diving effort off the same bowler to remove Bohannon for 128. But the loss of those wickets was acceptable collateral damage for Lancashire, although the same could hardly be said when Croft received a box-splintering blow in the knackers from White and fell to earth like a lightweight on the end of a haymaker.Salt’s dismissal, caught at deep square leg off White for a 77-ball 105 brought the curtain down on chaos. Nine overs from the close, Bell was caught on the deep square leg boundary by Vasconcelos for 15 and Croft and Tom Bailey later fell to Luke Procter, who, along with White, was the only Northamptonshire bowler who will wish to consult his bowling figures this evening. But those late successes seemed taken from another game, one far detached from the mayhem of a post-tea session in which 222 runs were scored in 35 overs, and one even further removed from the sight of Salt hitting fours and sixes that astounded even his batting partner.

Bumrah took three wickets as India successfully defended 229 against England

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Oct-2023Having to set a total for the first time in this World Cup, India found themselves in trouble with wickets falling regularly, and scraped to 229 for 9, largely thanks to Rohit Sharma’s 87 on a challenging pitch. But eventually, India pulled off a comfortable win over England, and Jasprit Bumrah feels it was a good challenge for the table-toppers.”It was really good for us because we’ve been fielding first and we’ve been doing that for a while now. Because [India chased] in the previous series as well, which I played,” Bumrah told after picking up 3 for 32 to help enginner India’s 100-run demolition of England.”It was good challenge for us that we were put under pressure,” Bumrah said. “We lost a little bit of early wickets. We had to squeeze in and in the field as well, we had to put in a lot of effort. So yeah, very happy with the result.”Related

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England, hunting their second win in the tournament, started well in their chase, with openers Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow taking them to 30 inside the first five overs. But Bumrah opened England up in the fifth over, getting Malan to chop on and trapping Joe Root lbw off consecutive deliveries.Mohammed Shami followed up with quick strikes of his own before Kuldeep Yadav’s corker to Jos Buttler put England in too deep a hole to climb out of.Bumrah said his plan was to try and find some swing with the new ball, but with nothing on offer moved to harder lengths to look for movement off the pitch.”Usually when you bowl with the new ball, you first search for swing if there is some swing. Otherwise you just try and hit a hard length and make it as difficult as possible,” Bumrah said. “So there was a little bit of swing, but not too much from my end.”Then I tried to seam the ball a lot more and which was helping a little bit. So then I changed to seam bowling.”While Bumrah took three wickets, Shami stole the show with a four-wicket haul that included the wickets of Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali.Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami took seven wickets between them•Associated Press

“He [Shami] is outstanding. He’s, you know, one of the legends of the game,” Bumrah said. “I feel he has always been quite calm. He doesn’t come out to be flamboyant, but he way he was bowling as if he was playing a Test match and [it] was really, really wonderful to see.”Usually we’ve had a lot of partnerships in Test-match cricket and I really enjoy bowling with him. So yeah, I’m really happy with the way he’s going on.”Bumrah made his return from injury in August after spending more than a year out with a stress reaction in his back. He admitted that he had heard questions asked whether fitness worries would cut his career short, but said he was unbothered by all the speculation.”My wife [the TV sports presenter Sanjana Ganesan] also works in the sports-media department. So yeah, I heard a lot of question marks on my career that I will never come back and all of that, but it doesn’t really matter,” Bumrah said. “I’m very happy. I came back and I realised how much I love playing the game. I was not chasing anything.”Great headspace was there when I came back from the injury. So yeah, eventually I’m looking at the positives and trying to enjoy as much as you can.”

The incident occurred in the 47th over when Inglis whipped off the bails when the batter ventured out of the crease before the ball was dead

Andrew Fidel Fernando28-Feb-2025Australia captain Steven Smith withdrew an appeal against Noor Ahmad in the 47th over of Afghanistan’s innings, after wicketkeeper Josh Inglis whipped off the bails at the striker’s end to catch Noor out of his ground before the over was called.Noor had not been attempting a run – he had drifted out of his crease to meet batting partner Azmatullah Omarzai mid-pitch, mistakenly believing that the ball was dead. The ball is live until the umpire calls “over”, however, and umpire Alex Wharf had not yet called.Replays showed Noor to be well out of his ground, but Smith was quick to signal to the umpires that the appeal should not be considered, despite some enthusiasm from Inglis. Noor had just completed a single after Omarzai struck Nathan Ellis through midwicket and called Noor – the No. 10 batter – through, in order to keep strike for the next over.Although Afghanistan were not attempting to gain an advantage, the rules of cricket are clear. Run-outs are a viable dismissal until the ball is dead. If Smith had not withdrawn the appeal, Noor would have been ruled out, likely by third umpire Chris Gaffaney.

Noor had been on three off three balls at the time, and went to make six off eight. But of more consequence was the fact that Afghanistan would have been 248 for 9 after 47 overs had Smith not withdrawn the appeal. They were less likely to have hit the further 25 runs they managed if they had only had one wicket in hand. Noor was eventually dismissed off the last ball of the innings.Australia have in the past upheld appeals against batters ambling out of their crease, even if they were not looking to take a run. Most famously, this occurred in a Test at Lord’s against England in 2023, when Alex Carey underarmed the ball into the stumps after Jonny Bairstow had wandered down the pitch before the ball was deemed dead.Muthiah Muralidaran had also been dismissed in similar circumstances in a Test in Christchurch in 2006, when he had wandered out of the crease to congratulate Kumar Sangakkara on completing a century before the ball was dead (though that had not been at the end of an over). Brendon McCullum broke the stumps on that occasion, and captain Stephen Fleming upheld the appeal.In the 2011 Trent Bridge Test, India recalled Ian Bell to the crease after he had been run-out in similar circumstances at the stroke of tea on day three, when he ran a three and proceeded to walk down the pitch and towards the dressing rooms, before the fielder Praveen Kumar had had a chance to throw the ball in from the boundary. India captain MS Dhoni agreed to recall Bell after England captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower approached him during the tea interval with this request.