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Two T20Is in Karachi, in first visit for 16 years, will form part of T20 World Cup build-up

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2020England’s men’s team will make their first visit to Pakistan in 16 years when they play two T20Is in Karachi on October 14 and 15, 2021.As reported by ESPNcricinfo earlier this week, England’s plans for a short stop-over in January had to be shelved due to a lack of space in a crowded itinerary, with England also due to tour Sri Lanka and India in the first months of 2021, and with several players committed to T20I franchise deals during the same period.But following talks between the ECB and PCB, it has now been agreed that England will fit in the visit as part of their preparations for the T20 World Cup in India next year. The squad will arrive in Karachi on October 12, and both teams will depart for India on October 16 for the start of a tournament that is expected to culminate in mid-November.England last toured Pakistan in 2005 when they played three Tests and five ODIs. The subsequent series between the two sides in 2012 and 2015 were played in the United Arab Emirates.Tom Harrison, the ECB’s chief executive, said: “It’s a real pleasure to announce that the England men’s IT20 squad will be playing in Pakistan in October 2021. This will be the first time since 2005 that an England team has toured Pakistan and as such it represents a significant moment for both nations.”As was demonstrated this summer, we have a strong relationship with PCB and ECB is delighted to be able to play our part in ensuring the safe return of international cricket to this wonderful nation of passionate cricket fans.”As always, the safety and welfare of our players and staff will be paramount. We are working closely with the PCB to ensure all the necessary plans are in place, especially concerning the anticipated levels of security around the team, the proposed travel protocols and of course the situation regarding the fast-moving and ever-changing COVID-19 pandemic.”The two-match series will serve as ideal preparation for the England team leading into an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup taking place in India during October and November 2021.”England had already been scheduled to play a Test series in Pakistan in late 2022, but the PCB had expressed their desire for a visit sooner than that to show the ECB’s support for the return of international cricket to the country.With Pakistan’s players having endured less than perfect conditions in helping England fulfil their international fixtures in 2020, there was a sense that the ECB owed Pakistan a reciprocal favour. The ECB subsequently confirmed that a white-ball tour of Bangladesh in the same period is expected to go ahead as planned.Wasim Khan, PCB Chief Executive, added: “I am delighted to confirm that England will be touring Pakistan to play two T20s in October 2021. This will be their first visit to Pakistan for 16 years and will open the door for both Test and White Ball tours in the 2022-23 season.”The full-strength England squad will arrive at the back-end of our home white-ball series against New Zealand. We also expect Australia to visit Pakistan for their FTP commitment in early 2022, with England returning for both Test and White Ball tours in the 2022-23 season.”The October 2021 T20Is will allow the leading England cricketers to access and examine the world-class arrangements we will put together, which will give them further encouragement and confidence to not only return in 2022-23 but also express their interest in the Pakistan Super League, which has grown to become one of the top leagues in the world.”England’s visit to Pakistan for the 14 and 15 October 2021 T20Is will provide further lift to our passionate fans, both in Pakistan and across the globe. The nation has waited patiently for cricket to return sustainably to Pakistan and the 2021 tours by South Africa, New Zealand and England will only ensure international cricket is played uninterruptedly.”The enhanced progress made over the last two years has been down to nurturing relationships with various cricket boards and international players, as well as building trust and confidence.”The ECB’s confirmation further endorses Pakistan as safe and secure. Importantly, this announcement speaks volumes for the relationship that we have with the ECB and I would like to thank the ECB for their strong will and desire to make this short tour a reality.”England’s visit in 2021 is an outcome of the PCB’s efforts and hard work to ensure Pakistan cricket continues to move in the right direction.”

With Jason Behrendorff and AJ Tye fit again, the Scorchers could field one of the strongest pace attacks

Alex Malcolm08-Dec-2020Captain Mitchell MarshCoach Adam VogesSquad Ashton Agar, Fawad Ahmed, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Joe Clarke (Eng), Cameron Gannon, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kelly, Liam Livingstone (Eng), Mitchell Marsh, Colin Munro (NZ), Joel Paris, Kurtis Patterson, Jhye Richardson, Jason Roy (Eng), Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Sam WhitemanIn Joe Clarke, Colin Munro, Jason Roy
Out Chris Jordan, Morne Morkel (Heat)Overseas player availability Joe Clarke (replacement player until Dec 25), Liam Livingstone (quarantine until Dec 25), Colin Munro (all season) , Jason Roy (quarantine until Dec 25)Last season: 6thThe Scorchers really only had themselves to blame for the missing the playoffs with coach Adam Voges lamenting that they just lost a couple of key moments late in the season. After starting the season well with a revamped squad they lost four of their last five matches to let a finals berth slip away producing some dismal batting efforts in back-to-back losses to the Stars and their final game against the Thunder.Bubble impactThe Scorchers will be without two of their key overseas signings in Liam Livingstone and Jason Roy until Christmas as both need to quarantine for 14 days after arriving late from South Africa (although their involvement could now be in doubt given the Covid outbreak at the team hotel in Cape Town) but they have signed Colin Munro and Joe Clarke as cover for the first part of the tournament. The Scorchers local players will be barely impacted by international hubs with only Cameron Green set to be unavailable for large portions of the tournament due to his selection in Australia’s Test squad.Player to watchJosh Inglis isn’t a household name yet but the 25-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman had an excellent season last year and is certainly a player to keep an eye on. He made 405 runs last season with four half-centuries, but his strike-rate of 153.99 was clearly the best of the top 10 run-scorers in the BBL. He formed a formidable opening partnership with Livingstone and he is also the Scorchers best player of spin. His glovework is also highly regarded.Key statThe Scorchers were at one point the most successful team in the BBL. But in the last three years, they have been at the bottom. The Scorchers have won just 18 of the 39 matches played and have lost a lot of players due to injuries. Last season they had the best strike-rate at the death scoring at 10.32 runs per over. The return of Jason Behrendorff and the addition of Roy and Munro could help them improve their win-loss record this year.

Thirty-seven year old is part of an extended squad picked to train for a series in Oman in March

Peter Della Penna23-Jan-2021Narsingh Deonarine, the 37-year-old former West Indies international remembered as the man who claimed Sachin Tendulkar’s wicket in his final Test innings, is on the cusp of making his USA debut after being named in a 44-man squad invited to Texas for a selection camp next month. All of them will be preparing for of USA’s next ODI tri-series scheduled for March in Oman, their first ODIs in over a year. Fast bowler Ali Khan, who has not played for USA since the country’s maiden ODI at WCL Division Two in April 2019, has also been included as administrators hope to convince him to come back into the national team fold following 18 months on the franchise cricket circuit.Deonarine made his Test debut in 2005 but only played sporadically for West Indies across the next decade. The last of his 18 Tests came a month after dismissing Tendulkar in Mumbai, making 15 runs in two innings against New Zealand in December 2013. His final ODI for West Indies came against South Africa in January 2015 while his first-class career dwindled out in November 2016. He subsequently migrated to the San Francisco Bay Area, where he has spent the last several years playing club cricket. He was hired to coach at Willow Academy as one of the earliest targets in the American Cricket Enterprises (ACE) recruitment initiative and is now qualified to play for USA via the three-year residency guideline laid out by the ICC.Along with Deonarine are several other notable names with international links. Left-arm spinning allrounder Shaker Ahmed has been picked after impressing through performances in Detroit, Michigan as well as T20 club tournaments around the country. The 28-year-old played for Bangladesh at the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand and played 17 first-class matches, the last of which came in 2014 before he relocated to the USA. Cameron Gannon, who made his USA debut at the 2019 T20 World Cup Regional Qualifier in Bermuda but has not played for them since, has also been included. The 32-year-old dual-passport holder has played 34-first-class matches for Queensland and Western Australia.A first-time inclusion in a USA extended squad is batsman Karan Viradiya. The 26-year-old had represented Gujarat at multiple age-group levels and was initially picked to represent India Under-19 in 2013 but was subsequently removed from the squad before he had played a game after it was discovered there was a discrepancy between the birthdate submitted in initial documents and that on his passport. He last played for Gujarat Under-23s in 2017 before relocating to California. He was the second-leading scorer in the prestigious Southern California Cricket Association Division One competition in 2019, though there was no SCCA tournament in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.Former Pakistan Under-19 batsman Shayan Jahangir has also been named in the USA training squad. The 26-year-old played his last first-class game for PIA in December 2016 before relocating to Texas. He was playing club cricket locally in Houston and Dallas where he was discovered by the Texas-based owner of the Barbados Tridents franchise, leading to his selection in the CPL draft in 2020. He played one game for the Tridents this past season, but did not bat. Another former CPL representative, Gajanand Singh, has been included as well. The 33-year-old batsman was a regular for Guyana Amazon Warriors in 2017, playing 11 matches, but has not appeared in the CPL since and proceeded to migrate to New York.The youngest player in the squad is 17-year-old Sanjay Krishnamurthi. The batsman was born in Arizona but moved to Bangalore before the age of 10 and has played most of his junior cricket in the Karnataka system. Following the appointment of former Karnataka captain J Arunkumar as USA head coach last year, Krishnamurthi was invited to fly from Bangalore to take part in a USA training camp in Texas last March. He subsequently played for the East Bay Blazers in the Minor League Cricket T20 exhibitions during the summer of 2020, and was named by USA Cricket as the tournament MVP after scoring 264 runs in seven innings at an average of 88. He has since returned to Bangalore to play club cricket due to activities being prohibited in California during Covid-19 lockdown.Though the squad is dominated by players who have developed their cricket overseas, the New Jersey batting pair of Vivek Narayan and Raymond Ramrattan have been included. They are the only players in the squad who represented USA at the 2017 Under-19 World Cup Qualifier in Toronto. Neither has been picked for the senior team.USA training camp squad: Shaker Ahmed, Sachin Asokan, Fahad Babar, Rishi Bhardwaj, Adil Bhatti, Trinson Carmichael, Sahil Charania, Josh Dascombe, Narsingh Deonarine, Gayan Fernando, Cameron Gannon, Karima Gore, Shaheer Hassan, Ian Holland, Akshay Homraj, Elmore Hutchinson, Najam Iqbal, Shayan Jahangir, Karthikeya Jagadish, Aaron Jones, Nosthush Kenjige, Ali Khan, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Jaskaran Malhotra, Xavier Marshall, Sushant Modani, Vivek Narayan, Saurabh Netravalkar, Monank Patel, Nisarg Patel, Sagar Patel, Timil Patel, Kyle Philip, Usman Rafiq, Raymond Ramrattan, Dominique Rikhi, Luke Schofield, Gajanand Singh, Jessy Singh, Sunny Sohal, Cameron Stevenson, Steven Taylor, Rusty Theron, Karan Viradiya.

Blessing Muzarabani and Victor Nyauchi had earlier combined to bowl Afghanistan out for 131

Firdose Moonda02-Mar-2021Stumps Fifteen wickets fell on an eventful first day in Abu Dhabi, where Zimbabwe edged their noses in front in the first Test against Afghanistan. Their seamers shared eight wickets between them to dismiss Afghanistan for their fourth-lowest Test total, before a 71-run fifth-wicket stand between Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza steadied Zimbabwe from 38 for 4. But by the time the day ended, Williams’ fourth Test half-century had put them in the lead.On a green-tinged pitch that assisted the quicks early on but started to turn later in the day, batting is expected to only become more difficult so any lead Zimbabwe can get is likely to be valuable. And they may be able to build one against a depleted Afghanistan attack. Their only seamer Yamin Ahmadzai left the field with what looked like an ankle injury during his tenth over, which was the 31st over in the Zimbabwe innings.Ahmadzai did not get the benefit of morning conditions, where there was movement through the air and off the seam and extra bounce for the tall Blessing Muzarabani, whose strikes bookended a disappointing effort from the Afghanistan line-up. Six of their batsmen were caught behind the wicket and their innings was littered with loose strokes pointing to deficiencies in defence and temperament, or at least a lack of match practice in the longest format.Though they avoided sinking to their lowest Test score of 103, their final total will hardly be any consolation, especially knowing that their two wins in this format – against Bangladesh and against Ireland – have come when they totalled over 300 in the first innings. Theirs is also the lowest total by an opposition against Zimbabwe since West Indies’ 128 in Bulawayo in 2003.Muzarabani, playing in his first Test since the day-night game against South Africa in 2017, became the first Zimbabwe bowler to take a wicket with the first ball of a Test when he bowled debutant Abdul Malik with a ball that moved into him and took the inside edge on to the stumps. Malik’s was the 33rd instance of a batsman being dismissed off the first ball of a Test.His wicket brought Afghanistan’s only Test centurion to date, Rahmat Shah, to the crease, who reached 300 runs in the format with a straight drive down the ground, but lasted just five more balls before Muzarabani got one to move away slightly, with a fine outside edge carrying to Regis Chakabva.Muzarabani’s early burst was well-supported by his new-ball partner Victor Nyauchi, who ensured the third-wicket stand did not grow beyond 29, which turned out to be the highest of the Afghanistan innings. He had Munir Ahmad caught at slip reaching for a wide delivery. Ibrahim Zadran, who was Afghanistan’s best batsman in the opening session and was strong on the square drive, went the same way three overs later when he attempted a drive off a Nyauchi ball that moved away to be caught in the gully. Nyauchi had further success before lunch when he bowled Hashmatullah Shahidi with an inswinging yorker that snuck through the bat-pad gap, sending Afghanistan into the lunch break on 85 for 5.Blessing Muzarabani became the first Zimbabwe bowler to strike with the first ball of a Test•Afghanistan Cricket Board

Muzarabani followed up his eight-over morning spell by returning immediately after the interval and struck in his second over. Asghar Afghan fished at a full ball outside off and got an outside edge to give Chakabva a simple catch. Top-scorer Afsar Zazai played some eye-catching shots – including the leg glance and the cut – to take Afghanistan over a hundred, but eventually edged Donald Tiripano to Chakabva while defending inside the line.Zimbabwe only found use for spin in tandem in the 41st over when Raza joined Williams in the attack. Raza also found extra bounce and had Abdul Wasi caught at short leg as it took the shoulder of the bat when he tried to defend. In the next over, Ahmadzai holed out off Williams to mid-on, and the captain then took himself out of the attack so Muzarabani could finish off. Zahir Khan was caught at third slip to give Muzarabani his first four-wicket haul.The total of 131 might leave Afghanistan ruing their inability to leave the ball as much as they should have or to spend time at the crease as their innings lasted just 47 overs.In response, Zimbabwe found themselves in early trouble when Kevin Kasuza was bowled off the fourth ball, which was an inswinging yorker from Ahmadzai. Then Tarisai Musakanda and Prince Masvaure both played for turn, but were out lbw to deliveries that went on with the arm from Amir Hamza. Masvaure faced 49 balls for his 15 runs and showed the kind of application many of the batsmen before him lacked.But he was followed to the crease – and the change room – by debutant Wesley Madhevere who was dismissed off the next ball, closing the face of his bat to a Hamza delivery that skidded on to the front pad. Without DRS, it was not possible to tell if the impact was outside the line, and Madhevere’s maiden Test innings ended up being a first-ball duck.With the ball turning and Hamza posing problems, Afghanistan may have seen the opportunity to run through Zimbabwe, but the experience of Williams and Raza kept them at bay. Williams’ back-foot play and Raza’s ease on the sweep were on display and though there were some nervous moments in their knock, both could have gone on to half-centuries. Raza began to chance his luck when he pulled Wasi to a vacant midwicket area and in the next over, sliced Hamza to deep point. Williams was more cautious, and with Ryan Burl, saw Zimbabwe through the final 20 minutes of play,

India see clean through the optics to dominate England on opening day/night

Andrew Miller24-Feb-20214:44

Why England have struggled against India’s spinners

What do you see when you look at a pink ball? As Joe Root had indicated on the eve of the Ahmedabad Test, there’s not a lot of data to back up any preconceptions about day-night Test cricket. Therefore, both sets of players came into this contest at perfect liberty to see in the conditions whatever they so chose.Ben Stokes, for England’s part, had been “licking his lips” in anticipation of a seam-dominated joust in what he clearly envisaged being the Trent Bridge of the East. And sure enough, England’s optimistic surge continued on the morning of the match, as James Anderson and Stuart Broad were thrown together for one last heist, like the cast of Ocean’s 14, before Root won a crucial toss and handed his batsmen the same opportunity that they had seized upon in the first Test – a chance to post a gargantuan first innings and dominate the match narrative through sheer weight of runs.Related

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Well, so much for the best-laid plans and all that. Unfortunately for England’s dreamers, India saw clean through the optics, and the lacquer, and all the paraphernalia that comes with this most fundamental switch of the sport’s basics. Instead they looked directly at another dry, dusty red-earthed deck, and opened their ears to the sweet music of 50,000 passionate fans at the newly minted Narendra Modi stadium – which, even when half full, was still more populated than almost any ground bar the MCG.The upshot was an ardour-dousing day of one-sided dominance – one that has emphatically killed off any hopes of Root’s men emulating those of Sir Alastair Cook nine years ago, and inflicting on India a rare home series defeat. The late dismissal of Virat Kohli was a boost to their hopes of limiting their deficit but by that stage Rohit Sharma was rumbling on towards another century – very different, but no less emphatic, to the game-breaker he produced on the first day of the previous Test.And though Anderson and Broad proved predictably parsimonious in their combined analysis of 15-7-27-0, they had been fighting the rising tide from their opening spells after England’s catastrophic batting malfunction had surrendered any right to set the match agenda. Instead, England’s attentions began to stray to factors beyond their control – most notably, the state of the footmarks that were forming big cavities for their heavy-limbed seamers, and the state of the TV umpiring, which reprieved each of India’s openers on evidence that may have been correct but was less-than-conclusive, much to Root’s mounting fury.Instead, the mastery of R Ashwin – in his 77th Test and now odds-on to reach 400 wickets before the match is done – was matched for the second Test in a row by the eager apprenticeship of Axar Patel, who proved his debut in Chennai had been no fluke by improving on his Test-best figures with a remarkable haul of 6 for 38 in 21.4 overs.Between them, they harvested the doubts that still lingered from that last Test, and instigated a collapse that was remarkable even by the standards of England’s last visit to India in 2016-17.Axar Patel followed up his five-for in the second Test with 6 for 38•BCCI

From a pre-lunch scoreline of 74 for 2, with Zak Crawley batting with uncommon poise and panache, England squandered their last eight wickets for 38 in 17 overs – almost universally spooked by the fear of what might have been, rather than by any unplayability on the part of the balls that did them in.Between them the spinners accounted for nine of England’s ten all told – the exception being Dom Sibley, who flinched to slip in the third over for a duck to give Ishant Sharma a souvenir from his 100th Test appearance. On the evidence of the rest of the innings, Ishant is unlikely to be over-worked in the next few days.Despite some unconventional seam movement for Jasprit Bumrah in particular, India turned to spin as early as the seventh over – and were not made to wait for vindication. Jonny Bairstow, hailed as England’s missing link in Chennai despite a top score of 47 in his two appearances at No. 3 in Sri Lanka, showed that visualisation hadn’t been a big part of his rest-and-rotation break. He poked uncertainly at his first ball from Axar and was slammed on the knee-roll by the ball that didn’t turn – his wasteful use of the review merely compounding his confusion.That brought Root to the middle several hours earlier than he would have liked – although in his earliest overs, he was at least shielded by an extraordinary flurry from Crawley at the other end. It would prove all too brief in the end, but while it lasted, Crawley’s timing was stunning – right from his very first scoring shot, a non-committal block that pinged through long-on off Bumrah.He continued in the same vein en route to a 68-ball fifty, replete with drives and clips whenever seamer and spinner alike over-pitched. And just as Rohit had transcended the conditions in Chennai through his uncompromising weight of stroke, so Crawley appeared to be providing the forward momentum that England needed to post a competitive total. So long as he endured, and enabled Root to grow into his day’s work, the chance was there to make a good toss count.But then, on 17, Root made a fatal misjudgement – Ashwin’s brilliance is through the air every bit as much off the pitch, and having given the impression in his first three Tests of the winter that he was infallible to the trickery of all spinners, Root chose to slide onto the back foot to a ball that just kept hanging in the air longer than he had anticipated, and was pinned in front of middle and leg as the ball pitched and gripped. Tellingly, he had barely unfurled a single sweep in the course of his 37-ball stay.Moments earlier, England had seemed set to claim the morning spoils. Instead, their mood was wrecked three overs later, as Crawley succumbed to the best double-whammy of the day. Two deliveries from Axar, pitching in almost identical spots – the first ripped venomously past the outside edge; the second kissed straight on through, off the deck, into the knee-roll, to leave England on 80 for 4 and with two new batsmen at the crease.The Zak Crawley-Joe Root stand was the best phase for England in their innings•BCCI

The first of those, Ollie Pope, didn’t even see out the over after the interval, as he too was done in by Ashwin’s flight, and beaten around the outside edge by another ball that skipped on through to hit off stump. And one over later, Stokes surrendered on the back foot to Axar, pinned in front of off as he rocked back and simply missed with a defensive poke. At Chennai, he’d been launching such deliveries over midwicket in a “get them before they get you” mindset, but here he felt obliged to drop anchor for the cause, to no avail.The rest were rounded up with minimal fuss – Ben Foakes the last to go for a becalmed 12 from 58 balls as he too missed a straight one, bowled by Axar as he rocked back to cut and missed. In mitigation, the timing of their final collapse – an hour into the afternoon session – did mean that England would be bowling as the witching hour set in, but it was going to take a bout of necromancy from Anderson and Broad to revive England from this point.Suffice to say, it did not transpire. Both men were promoted to the new ball ahead of Archer – which was food for thought in itself after the manner in which Archer had roughed up Rohit in the first innings at Chennai – but in their familiar, self-preservatory fashion, both men dragged their lengths back, almost subconsciously, to avoid being driven, rather than attack from the outset in the do-or-die manner that the moment required.Shubman Gill, for his part, did his utmost to ride out the threat – he took 27 balls to score his first run, by which stage he had been reprieved by the third umpire after Stokes at second slip failed to close his fingers around a low edge off Broad. Archer eventually scalped him with the short ball, and Cheteshwar Pujara then fell for a duck – his third dismissal by Jack Leach this series after four years of dominating left-arm spinners. But it was too little too late for England’s hopes, which were perhaps best summed up by Pope’s eventful few minutes in the field in the closing overs.One moment, he came close to pulling off a world-class one-handed take at short leg as he pre-meditated Rohit’s sweep and launched himself to his right. The next, no doubt still brooding on the one that got away, he dropped Kohli at slip off the luckless Anderson, who according to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data has now induced 73 false strokes and three dropped catches off the main man since he last claimed his wicket seven years ago. On this evidence, he might not get another opportunity before this contest is done and dusted.

England captain expects to offer more opportunities to fringe selections to expand player pool

Andrew Miller22-Mar-2021Eoin Morgan says his eyes are set firmly on the bigger picture after England’s 3-2 series defeat in the T20Is against India, with the opportunity to develop consistency and grow his team’s pool of available players being his primary motivation going into the three-match ODI leg of the tour in Pune on Tuesday.Despite their crowning glory at Lord’s in 2019, Morgan acknowledged that England’s record in ODIs since the World Cup final has been “average”, but insists that this week’s series is not merely a “consolation prize” for the tourists after their losses in both the T20Is and the Tests that preceded it.In September, Australia condemned Morgan’s 50-over team to their first bilateral series loss since their last tour of India in 2016-17, and in August, Ireland chased a record 329 to seal a memorable seven-wicket win at the Ageas Bowl. In all, England have won four and lost four of their completed ODIs since 2019, and had their most recent series, in South Africa before Christmas, cancelled without a ball being bowled.In mitigation, England have not been able to call upon their first-choice XI in ODIs since the World Cup, with the constraints of Covid on the one hand and the prioritisation of the forthcoming T20 World Cup on the other leaving the 50-over team as more of a developmental squad. Ben Stokes, for example, has not featured in an ODI since his Player-of-the-Match performance in the World Cup final.This week’s squad will be weakened by the absence of Jofra Archer, whose troublesome right elbow is undergoing further treatment, while neither Joe Root nor Chris Woakes – two other integral members of the World Cup-winning XI – are currently involved in the 50-over squad due to the ECB’s rest-and-rotation policy.And as consequence, Morgan called on the fringe members of his squad, in particular, to embrace the learning opportunities in “alien conditions”, both to push their names forward for the T20 World Cup in October, but also for England’s long-term goal of defending the 50-over crown in India in 2023.”We’ll see guys given opportunities, more so than the T20 series,” Morgan said. “It’s going to be exciting, three games at the same ground against a very strong Indian side is a huge opportunity for everyone to get back out there, in the frame of mind and the pace of 50-over cricket, and for guys who want to make their case in both formats.”With a World Cup around the corner, playing any cricket is a huge opportunity for guys who have been here on the fringes and not made selection so far. When you score runs or take wickets away from home, there is always a huge incentive to try and push your case forward.”The one player in England’s set-up with the most to prove in the coming days is arguably Moeen Ali. He sat out the entire T20I series, despite having missed the final two Tests last month to prepare for the white-ball campaign, and has taken a solitary wicket in ODI appearances since losing his place in the starting XI during the 2019 World Cup.Eoin Morgan wants England to learn from their defeats, every bit as much as he is targetting outright victory in India•Getty Images

Though Morgan was unable to confirm whether he would be a guaranteed starter in Tuesday’s first match, he insisted that Moeen remains an integral member of England’s white-ball set-up, and that the set-backs that he has endured this winter – including a positive Covid diagnosis in January that undermined his comeback to the Test team in Sri Lanka – had not reduced his importance to the team.”He takes them in his stride,” Morgan said. “The little period Mo spent at home before this series has done him the world of good. He has come back refreshed and with plenty of energy. He is a very relaxed guy who always has a reasonable perspective on life and sport and the role that it plays within society. So he is travelling really well.”Anybody who is an all-rounder and makes the squad is extremely valuable to our side,” he added. “I know he has not played but that’s been circumstantial. The pitches we played on just haven’t turned and that obviously limits the contribution a finger-spinner might make in the game.”Reece Topley, who made his ODI comeback against Ireland last summer, is another player who may be able to advance his case for October, having also been a non-playing member of the T20 squad this week, while Liam Livingstone – with his versatility as a spin-bowling allrounder – could come into contention for a middle-order berth, four years after his last England appearances.”We see the 50-over format between the two T20 World Cups as a building block for our squad,” Morgan said. “And that’s not compromising performance at all. We feel we have an extremely strong squad outside of our final XI regardless of format, so it will present opportunities for guys like that.”Trying to envisage where 50-over cricket will be in three years ‘time is quite difficult,” he added, of the challenge of planning ahead to 2023. “So the challenge for us is always trying to explore and push the limits as much as we can, given the conditions.Related

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“In conditions that are a little bit alien to us, like India, it’s nice to get out of your comfort zone and learn more about your team and your players, to make mistakes and learn from them.”Reflecting on the disappointing end to England’s T20I campaign – in which India overturned a 2-1 deficit with back-to-back victories in the final two games – Morgan said that the experience had still been invaluable for his side’s development, and that the urge to avenge that loss was not really a motivation for his team in the coming days.”Even though we didn’t pick up the trophy, we learned a huge amount,” Morgan said. “It has been an extremely productive tour so far in white-ball cricket, the biggest picture always being the World Cup in both white-ball formats. You don’t always have to win every series in order to win a World Cup. You continuously need to get better, need to be tested as a side, need to fail in order to learn. That involves losing, which isn’t fun but it is part of the journey.”

Another abject batting display condemns hosts to thumping loss despite rain delays

Valkerie Baynes15-May-2021A belligerent half-century from Keith Barker and 11 wickets for the match to Kyle Abbott sealed victory for Hampshire against Middlesex on a dramatic third day at Lord’s.Abbott followed his 6 for 44 in Middlesex’s first innings with 5 for 41 to restrict the hosts to 101 in their second, setting Hampshire a target of 66.In keeping with the theme of the match where batting was tough going, the run-chase was far from straight-forward amid wickets, rain and fading light, with the forecast for heavy showers throughout much of Sunday’s final day meaning time was of the essence.Earlier, Barker defied the narrative, playing with freedom and smashing four sixes and nine fours on his way to 84, which gave Hampshire a narrow first-innings lead after they had resumed on 131 for 7, still trailing Middlesex’s paltry 172.A first-innings lead of any sort looked unlikely for Hampshire when they slumped to 9 for 3 and Barker’s 54-run partnership with James Vince on Friday was crucial in giving them a fighting chance.Related

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In the end, he only managed to get the advantage up to 29 runs as his remaining batting partners all fell cheaply but managed to hang around long enough for him to raise his score significantly from 23 not out overnight.Shortly after Abbott was bowled by teenager Blake Cullen for 6, Barker pulled Ethan Bamber sweetly for four through midwicket. Barker helped himself to 11 in the next over, including a straight drive for four to bring up Hampshire’s 150 and a six over deep midwicket off a Cullen short ball.Barker struck back-to-back fours off Tim Murtagh, both powerful strikes over the head of deep mid-on, the first bringing up his 50 and taking Hampshire into the lead.Murtagh responded with the wicket of Brad Wheal, edging behind to John Simpson, but he came in for more Barker punishment in his next over, 18 runs worth, as he was pummelled for sixes over deep square leg and deep midwicket and crashed straight down the ground for four.Barker hit his fourth six off James Harris way over Peter Handscomb’s head at long on. It was the same bowling and fielding combination, however, that brought about his downfall, Barker swinging his bat one too many times, on this occasion at a short ball from Harris and picking out Handscomb at mid-on to end the innings.Vince’s tenacious 62 the previous day was Hampshire’s only other score of note as they found the going almost as difficult as their opponents had.With pace duo Abbott and Mohammad Abbas back in action – they took nine wickets between them in Middlesex’s first innings – it was far too soon from the hosts’ perspective that they were three wickets down and still 10 runs in arrears.The pair accounted for the first five Middlesex batters in their second innings, including a magnificent return catch to Abbas diving forward in his follow-through to dismiss Robbie White, before Abbott’s lbw dismissal of Handscomb, whose 24 was his highest score in seven innings so far for this Championship campaign.By that stage, Middlesex were in awful trouble at 49 for 5 and that was before Barker chimed in with the wicket of Martin Andersson, lbw for 9. Wheal’s pin-point delivery then bowled Simpson, also for 9, and at 67 for 7 with the sky as bright as it had been all match, they were once again braced for the inevitable.At 93 for 7 the rain did arrive, bizarrely a heavy sun-shower after the players had shivered through two days of bitter cold and gloom. Tea was taken a few minutes early as a result and when play resumed, it looked as though spring had finally – finally – arrived, the sky above Lord’s actually, positively, yes, most definitely, sunny.So too was Hampshire’s outlook when, on the eighth ball after the break, Abbott had Harris out lbw to claim his 10th wicket for the match. Abbas then trapped Cullen lbw and Abbott wrapped up the innings with the scalp of Bamber, also lbw.Ian Holland and Joe Weatherley set about the run-chase with care, Holland’s cracking drive for four through extra cover off Cullen bringing a roar from the Hampshire balcony as a bank of dark cloud hung over the Pavilion.The visitors were 23 for 0 when another downpour arrived but, with a result in sight and the sun reappearing once more, play resumed at 6.45pm with eight overs remaining.Bamber struck with the third ball back when he had Weatherley out lbw and there was nearly a run-out chance when Holland and Liam Dawson got involved a mix-up moments later while Bamber was appealing unsuccessfully for lbw against Holland.Dawson, promoted to No. 3, then fell lbw to Murtagh, who claimed another when he had Holland out plumb with 26 runs still needed.The Middlesex fielders were keen to remind the batters of the next day’s forecast in the fading light, but Hampshire had the final say, Sam Northeast’s consecutive fours off Murtagh leaving them in need of 16 off the final two overs of the day and Tom Alsop made it eight required off the last with two fours off Bamber.There was more drama when Northeast got a leading edge on a Murtagh delivery, which sailed straight to mid-on where Cullen spilled the chance and Northeast made the most of his reprieve with fours off the next two balls to finally seal victory.

That also means India have only five specialist batters in the line-up, followed by wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant

Nagraj Gollapudi17-Jun-20213:13

‘WTC a step in the right direction for Test cricket’ – Virat Kohli

India will field two spinners at the WTC final, naming both Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin in their XI on the eve of the match that gets underway in Southampton on June 18. In all, Virat Kohli will have five bowlers to work with, with Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah also in the XI. That also means India have only five specialist batters in the line-up, followed by wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.

India’s XI for the WTC final

Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah

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The development marks the return of Jadeja and Shami to the playing XI – they had missed the home series against England after picking injuries on the Australia tour – and it will be the first time Ishant, Shami, Bumrah, Ashwin and Jadeja play a Test match together.From the 15 India named on June 15, pacers Mohammed Siraj and Umesh Yadav, wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha and batter Hanuma Vihari missed out.India announcing their XI on the eve of the game – as opposed to waiting till toss time – might come as a mild surprise to some, considering the very poor weather forecast for Friday and the consequent changes that might occur to conditions.Related

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India captain Virat Kohli said that the weather, however fickle it might be, had no bearing on the combinations the team had finalised. “No, it [the weather] does not change [things] from our point of view as a team,” he told the media on match eve. “For us, it is about covering all the bases and making sure that we take the strongest side we can be on the park, which gives us batting depth and gives us enough bowling options as well. We are quite clear in terms of what we want to do. The forecast is something we are not focused on.”We are not going to think too much about what might change. We are not bothered with what the weather holds. Do we need to change the outlook of the team altogether? No. Obviously how you approach the game and the decisions that you make day-to-day, they alter when the conditions are different. But not your whole team altogether.”

Singaporean batter uses Dutch second division as springboard into two-match county stint

Matt Roller08-Jul-2021Tim David, the Singaporean middle-order batter, has signed a short-term deal to play the final two games of the Vitality Blast group stage for Surrey thanks to a brief stint in Dutch second-division cricket which meant he was on hand during the club’s availability crisis.David, who is a regular for Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL and starred in the final stages of the PSL for Lahore Qalandars after signing as a replacement, played his first game for Quick Den Haag in the Dutch Hoofdklasse last weekend but has arrived in the UK in time to take part in Friday night’s game against Kent at The Oval. The Netherlands is on the UK’s ‘amber’ list, but David has not had to quarantine due to an exemption for elite sport and has taken multiple negative Covid tests.Surrey’s first-team squad has been decimated by injuries and illness in recent weeks, with Sam and Tom Curran and Jason Roy among the England white-ball players self-isolating following an outbreak in the camp, and Will Jacks drafted in as a late replacement. Kyle Jamieson injured his glute during the County Championship match against Hampshire, ruling him out of the final two games of his time at the club, while Ollie Pope is unavailable with a thigh injury and Hashim Amla took several blows on his gloves during his final-day rearguard at the Ageas Bowl.Related

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“After finishing the PSL in the UAE recently, I decided to play some league cricket in Holland instead of flying back to Australia to quarantine and I am really excited that an opportunity has come up,” David said. “Hopefully I can have an impact for Surrey in their final few T20 Blast games.”I’m stoked with the chance to play for a county as big as Surrey and to get my first experience of playing in the Vitality Blast. It has been a busy few days since I got a call with the potential opportunity and I can’t wait to play at the Kia Oval tomorrow night, hopefully in front of a big crowd.”Alec Stewart, Surrey’s director of cricket, said: “With the loss of Kyle Jamieson to injury and Will Jacks to international duty, as well as the unavailability of Ollie Pope and Hashim Amla we wanted to try and cover off a middle-order ball-striker and fortunately we were able to secure the services of Tim David at very, very late notice.”Elsewhere, Essex have extended Jimmy Neesham’s deal with the club, which will see him play in next week’s County Championship game against Derbyshire and in the second half of the Royal London Cup group stages following his three games with Welsh Fire in the Hundred.Essex were missing a middle-order batter following Dan Lawrence’s last-minute ODI call-up and had a vacant overseas spot following Peter Siddle’s return to Australia.

Northants prove up for the fight as top-two contest in Group Three intensifies

David Hopps04-Jul-2021George Hill has already had one brush with stardom, not that many will have cottoned on. He was an England sub fielder who carried out a replacement bat for Ben Stokes before he won the Ashes Test at Headingley in 2019 in one of the most inspirational innings in history. Many decades from now, if he has any sense of a good story, he will regale his grandchildren with talk of how he gently pushed the cricketing Excalibur towards Stokes and muttered: “Use this, chosen one.”Two years on, as Yorkshire are undermined by injuries and England calls, the opportunity has come for Hill, a former England Under-19, to build his own career. His latest chance has come not just a little sooner than he might have anticipated, but in a way he might not have imagined.For the first time in senior cricket, Hill was charged with opening the batting. Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Will Fraine were injured; Dawid Malan absent for personal reasons. What’s more, there was no sense that his own bat had magical powers.Related

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But in only his fourth first-class game, and in a match where victory could be crucial for both these sides in gaining a top-two place, he responded with a career-best 71, averting disaster with pretty much 50% of the runs off the bat, as Northants rolled Yorkshire for 158.And, more to the point, he did it on July 4. In the USA that might mean an Independence Day BBQ, but in county cricket this summer it was the day when batting was confidently expected to descend into madness – the day on which county batters briefly revisit Championship cricket after a month of solid T20.On Friday night, Hill had made a minor T20 breakthrough that probably resonated more with him than anybody else. During a match-winning stand in the Roses match at Headingley, in which he played a secondary role to Harry Brook, he struck Lancashire’s high-class quick, Saqib Mahmood, over long-on for six and banged the bat on the ground as if to say: “I can do this.”On Sunday morning, the mental switch from T20 to four-day had to be clicked, even more so on a day in which no other Yorkshire batter made more than 22. On a slow, used pitch, offering a little seam and turn, 158 was not a totally disastrous score, but Northants moved to 61 for 2 by the close in a manner that suggested it was considerably under par. Thanks to Hill, Yorkshire remain in touch.Hill did have a moment of fortune when he was dropped at second slip by Gareth Berg, off Wayne Parnell, when 31. But he generally displayed an unflustered air and adapted to the opener’s role as if it was made for him. He stands fairly still at the crease – no huge trigger movement back onto off stump that is so on trend.”It’s a bit of a relief to be honest,” he said. “I’ve played a couple of games in the past and didn’t really feel like I did a huge amount, so it’s nice to contribute to the team. I thought, ‘I haven’t got a huge amount to lose’. I haven’t really opened before, so I thought I would go out there, give it my all and dig in.”Tom Taylor celebrates with his team-mates•Getty Images

It will be interesting to discover whether it becomes a more long-term switch. It looked like a proper approach from a proper opener. A proper knock. What was proper once, of course, is not necessarily proper now. When Kohler-Cadmore, arguably more suited to the middle order, returns, Yorkshire will need to have a proper think.Hill’s first boundary – a calm pull of Tom Taylor – set the mood for his innings. The were deft moments, such as when he guided Berg’s medium pace to the third man boundary, and brief nod to the expressive side of his game that T20 has encouraged when he skipped down the pitch to strike the left-arm spinner, Simon Kerrigan, for a straight six. Rob Keogh’s offspin snared him, lbw, pushing forward, immediately after tea.Yorkshire, second in Group Three, led Northants, a place behind, by 12 points at start of play, and with two sides qualifying for the top division in the final stages, and only two games remaining, this match could hardly be more vital. Yorkshire held off Northants by one run in early May and once again they are proving themselves redoubtable opponents.Such is the importance of the fixture that Yorkshire have signed Sam Northeast, who has left Hampshire, on a short-term loan. It would be a shame if Northeast’s county career dwindled away, at 31, amid the recognition that England will never come calling. His chance to appeal to new suitors, though, did not begin well when he made 3 from 19 balls before Tom Taylor had him caught at the wicket, belatedly trying to leave.Not that others had much to boast about. Adam Lyth had fallen early, Ben Sanderson having him caught behind. Rain forced an early lunch before Yorkshire suffered self-inflicted wounds against the let-arm spin of Kerrigan, Gary Ballance failing with a slog sweep and Brook, the leading T20 run-maker in the country, falling off that pedestal when he flogged the same bowler to mid-on.Dom Bess did get a decent ball from Berg which bounced a bit, and it may be Bess’ offspin that is most likely to salvage a difficult position. At the close though, it was the Northants stand-in skipper, Ricardo Vasconcelos, 32 not out and possessor of a deserved county cap, who was much the happier.