All posts by n8rngtd.top

“I think it’s a good system. You’ve got to play your best team at all times. I’m in favour of it”

Firdose Moonda18-Jul-2022South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj has come out in support of the ODI Super League, which will be scrapped after the current cycle and will not form a part of the new FTP cycle.Maharaj, who is standing in as South Africa’s captain in the absence of the injured Temba Bavuma in England, argued that the league not only contextualises bilateral ODI cricket, but forces countries to field their best XIs, which they otherwise may not do in a packed schedule.”It’s good to have the Super League. It makes you play your best cricket throughout the year and allows you to come up with various styles of play that you want to implement at the World Cup,” Maharaj said, ahead of South Africa’s ODI series against England. “I think it’s a good system. You’ve got to play your best team at all times. I’m in favour of it.”Ironically, the three-match series does not form part of the Super League (South Africa will host England for World Cup Super League matches in February next year), and South Africa are resting their highest-ranked ODI bowler Kagiso Rabada for the matches. Even more ironically, South Africa have opted out of Super League ODIs against Australia next January because the board wants the best players available for a new franchise T20 competition which it says will secure the game’s financial longevity, and has left South Africa’s chances of qualifying for the 2023 World Cup hanging by a thread.The players are understood to be disappointed but understanding of the decision and would have preferred to play in Australia if only to give themselves more of a chance to ensure they wouldn’t have to play in the qualifiers in Zimbabwe next year.If all that makes you wonder what the point of the upcoming England series is, Maharaj has an answer. “It’s important for us as an ODI unit to keep playing together. The more you play the better you get,” he said. “It’s still an international cricket game, so there’s enough motivation. And it’s build-up for a series that does carry points. I’m so glad we’re playing it leading up to an important summer and year for us. In the next two years there are a lot of ICC events coming up, and it’s a nice way of finding combinations you want to play going forward.”Maharaj’s comments came minutes before England’s Ben Stokes announced his decision to retire from ODI cricket because playing in all three formats is “just unsustainable for me,” and will further add to the debate around the viability of bilateral cricket, especially ODIs.For South Africa, this will come into sharper focus as the World Cup approaches. They sit 11th on the World Cup Super League table and dropped points in Ireland and Sri Lanka while still struggling to find an ideal XI. Maharaj hopes these matches can help them do that. “We could build some confidence in our ODI unit before the World Cup next year,” he said.

Three players from Afghanistan – Najibullah Zadran, Zahir Khan and Fazalhaq Farooqi – as well as Samit Patel have been snapped up too

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Aug-2022MI Emirates, the Mumbai Indians-owned team in the UAE’s ILT20, have announced their roster of non-UAE [overseas] players, headlined by old favourite Kieron Pollard, and Trent Boult, who opted out of a New Zealand central contract on Wednesday to spend more time with his family and focus on T20 franchise cricket.The league has allowed the six participating franchises to pick as “direct acquisitions” up to 14 overseas players for their line-ups – with up to nine allowed in the playing XIs. For MI Emirates, the 14 are Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Nicholas Pooran and Andre Fletcher (from the West Indies); Boult (from New Zealand); Imran Tahir (from South Africa); Najibullah Zadran, Zahir Khan and Fazalhaq Farooqi (from Afghanistan); Samit Patel, Will Smeed and Jordan Thompson (from England); Brad Wheal (from Scotland); and Bas de Leede (from the Netherlands).Related

• Shane Bond appointed MI Emirates head coach

• Trent Boult hoping he's not done with Test cricket just yet

• Lynn, Hetmyer, Jordan join Gulf Giants in ILT20

• Russell, Narine, Bairstow join Abu Dhabi Knight Riders for ILT20

• Boult's choice a landmark moment in fast-evolving landscape

While Pollard has been a one-team man in the IPL, turning out for Mumbai Indians every season since starting out with them in 2010, Boult was traded to Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2020 season by Delhi Capitals and went on to play a starring role in their title run. He picked up 25 wickets that season, second only to Jasprit Bumrah’s 27, and was the Player of the Final as Mumbai Indians won their fifth title. Bravo and Pooran have also represented Mumbai Indians in the past.”I am delighted with our dynamic group of 14 players that will be part of our #Onefamily and represent ‘MI Emirates’,” Akash M Ambani, chairman of Reliance Jio, the owners of the franchise, said in a statement. “We are glad to have one of our key pillars, Kieron Pollard continue with MI Emirates. Joining us back are Dwayne Bravo, Trent Boult and Nicholas Pooran.”On Thursday, the franchise owned by the same group in the yet-to-be-named South African T20 league – MI Cape Town – had announced their pre-signings for the inaugural edition, to run more or less concurrently with the ILT20. That list reads: Rashid Khan, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada and Dewald Brevis.The MI Emirates team will be based in Abu Dhabi. The local UAE players will be added to the squad in the near future.

Confusion took over at the end of the match when bad light stopped play, leaving New Zealand unaware of who had won

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Sep-20223:35

Amelia Kerr: ‘Winning helps with the confidence but we’ve always prepared well’

Confusion about who had won the match took over at the end of the first ODI between West Indies and New Zealand in Antigua as bad light ended play in a rain-hit match. Chasing 169 in a 35-overs-a-side contest following a rain delay, New Zealand needed 10 off 12 balls to win with five wickets down, and the umpires declared the match over following bad light as the cut-off time had been reached. The umpires shook hands with the West Indies players a fair distance from the pitch, leaving the New Zealand batters unaware of the result. Amelia Kerr, who was unbeaten then with Brooke Halliday, later said West Indies thought they had won while Halliday believed New Zealand had won, before the two captains and the umpires cleared things out and it was revealed that the visitors had actually won.”There was a little bit of confusion,” Amelia said after the match. “The umpires said ‘time’ (called us in) because of the light. I wasn’t sure what was going on. I was ready to finish things but Brooke thought we’d won. West Indies thought they had won. Soph [captain Sophie Devine] came in with the umpire and cleared things out. It was a weird finish, was weird waiting when things were sunny [in the morning] but we must not be fazed by it.”West Indies captain Hayley Matthews expressed her disappointment in the way the match ended but took the positives and the defeat in stride.File photo – Amelia Kerr’s calculated 47* took New Zealand home•Getty Images

“The girls put up a really good fight in the first innings to get us to the total that we got, so kudos to Kyshona [Knight] and Chinelle [Henry],” Matthews said. “We took some crucial wickets in the middle after the start New Zealand got. Of course it’s disappointing the way the game ended but all in all, I think it was a good first game.”It was the first match for both teams in the new Women’s Championship cycle and New Zealand’s five-run win by DLS method was set up by Suzie Bates’ 51, Kerr’s 47*, and Fran Jonas’ two-for.The start was delayed by a wet pitch which prompted Devine to bowl upon winning the toss. West Indies started well in the seven-over powerplay, scoring 36 for the loss of Rashada Williams, but they lost wickets consistently in the next few overs. Hannah Rowe had Natasha McLean caught behind, before Jonas accounted for Stafanie Taylor and Matthews in consecutive overs.The following five-and-a-half overs went for just nine runs before Shabika Gajnabi was run out. But then, Kyshona Knight and Chinelle Henry fought back with an 83-run partnership for the sixth wicket that held the innings together. Henry was the aggressor with her 44 off 34 with five fours and Kyshona scored 36 off 61 before both were dismissed by Jess Kerr towards the end.New Zealand’s chase began with ease and regular boundaries. Bates went after Shamilia Connell in the fifth over to pick up three fours and she continued to score freely with Devine, bringing up their fifty partnership in just 45 balls. It was Matthews who provided the breakthrough with Devine’s wicket, having her caught for 25 off 24.The quick start gave Bates and Amelia time to coast along with singles and the odd boundary. Bates got to her 29th ODI fifty, but with the stand at 47, she also handed a catch to Kyshona, off Afy Fletcher.Amelia and Maddy Green took New Zealand closer with a 31-run stand but Green, Lauren Down and Hayley Jansen fell in quick succession for just 18 runs. Amelia marched along to keep New Zealand ahead, especially with a boundary right after Jensen’s dismissal to bring the equation to 15 off 18. Amelia and Halliday milked five singles off the next over to make it 10 off 12 before bad light stopped play.Thirteen runs had been scored off the two overs before the stop, which had taken the visitors four runs above the DLS target of 155.

India quick Renuka moved up by five slots to 13th, batters Dunkley and Capsey also gained in the latest ranking update

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Sep-2022England’s spin-bowling allrounder Sarah Glenn has reached a career-best-equalling second position and moved closer to compatriot and No. 1 Sophie Ecclestone in the ICC women’s T20I bowling rankings after her four wicket-haul against India in the first of three T20Is, in Chester-le-Street on Saturday.Her 4 for 23, which helped England to a nine-wicket thrashing after restricting India to 132 for 7, meant she is now 13 points adrift of Ecclestone. Glenn has been ranked second in the past too, most recently last month before she was overtaken by team-mate Katherine Brunt, who has been rested for the ongoing India series.For India, seamer Renuka Singh gained five places to reach 13th.

Full rankings tables

• Click here for the full team rankings

• Click here for the full player rankings

Among batters, England’s Sophia Dunkley and Alice Capsey, who were also in action in the first T20I, gained places. Dunkley rose 13 places to 44th position on the back of her unbeaten 61 off 44 while Capsey’s quickfire 32 helped her advance 12 places to 52nd. India allrounder Deepti Sharma moved to 33rd after gaining three places.

Lauren Winfield-Hill blazed early in the chase while Jess Jonassen used her experience at the end

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2022Nineteen-year-old Brisbane Heat opener Ellie Johnston plundered four sixes during a powerhouse performance to help her side to a thrilling nine-run win over Melbourne Stars.The clash was still in the balance until the final over when Heat captain Jess Jonassen picked up three crucial wickets after Annabel Sutherland had plundered 45 off 22 balls to leave Stars needing 15 off 10 balls.Player of the match Johnston only got a call-up due to a knee injury to Heat top-liner Grace Harris and she made the most of her chance.”It was pretty surreal. It was my first hit of the season and I was seeing them like watermelons,” Johnston told Fox Cricket after her knock.Heat opener Georgia Redmayne and Georgia Voll made handy contributions to lift their side to an imposing 3 for 179.Stars responded in style, with English opener Lauren Winfield-Hill blazing a superb 74. Heat’s Kerr sisters – Amelia and Jess – took the key top order wickets but overall the home side were poor in the field, albeit hampered by a damp ball.Stars allrounder Sutherland, who has been in outstanding form with the bat this series, got her side to within striking distance of victory as she took advantage of the power surge before Jonassen’s heroics in the final over prevailed.

Former Netherlands head coach on lookout for next role after suffering cardiac arrest in April

Matt Roller04-Nov-2022Ryan Campbell, the former Netherlands coach, is among the contenders for the vacant head coach role at Durham, ESPNcricinfo understands.Campbell was put in an induced coma in April after going into cardiac arrest and Netherlands appointed Ryan Cook, the South African, as head coach while Campbell recovered. He has recently returned to the national set-up and has been acting as a consultant during their T20 World Cup campaign.Related

• Netherlands coach Campbell in hospital following heart attack

• Campbell reflects on 'humbling' recovery: 'It does put your life in perspective'

• 'Great to be back, almost a bit surreal' – Campbell on his Perth homecoming after near-death experience

Durham recently advertised for a new head coach after James Franklin left the club at the end of the 2022 season, with applications due to close on November 11. Campbell, 50, is understood to be interested in the job and spent several years alongside Durham’s director of cricket Marcus North during his playing days for Western Australia.Campbell recently told ESPNcricinfo that with his family settled in the Netherlands he could look for opportunities in the UK. “My family is very settled in Europe. The kids are in school. We’ll only move if there is something set in stone,” he said. “The romantic in me would be keen to coach in Australia but it’s tough to get a job there. If it means in the UK or somewhere else, so be it.”Neil Killeen, Durham’s assistant coach and bowling coach, is another potential candidate, and is due to travel to the UAE with England Lions this weekend. Along with Jon Lewis, the ECB’s pace-bowling coach, Killeen will oversee the seamers on the tour – including Matthew Potts, with whom he has worked closely at Durham.Steve Harmison, the former England fast bowler, spent the final weeks of last season with Durham as a “coaching mentor” but is not believed to be a contender for the head coach role. Instead, he is a candidate for the vacancy as England’s national selector, which remains unfilled after being advertised two months ago.

New captain takes heart from the fight his team showed over 10 hard-fought days against Pakistan in Karachi

Alagappan Muthu06-Jan-20233:03

Southee: ‘Great finish to a tough series’

There was but one member of this New Zealand squad on tour in Pakistan to have ever played cricket in the country, and that was their batting coach. Even so, they were “one ball away from series victory” and the captain Tim Southee took a lot of heart from that.Karachi provided conditions that made batting and bowling a hard graft, so much so that both Test matches only really came alive on the final day. Last week, an odd declaration from Babar Azam gave New Zealand the chance to nick a win after it seemed like they had been batted out of the game. And on Friday, they had Pakistan at 80 for 5 in a chase of 319. They weathered Sarfaraz Ahmed’s brilliant counterattack. And in the dying light, became the only team with any chance of victory.”You play to win Test matches and we got ourselves in, probably, positions to win both of them,” Southee said at the post-match press conference. “It was pretty tough going but the guys toiled away and we were one ball away from a series victory. So yeah, disappointing to walk away [0-0] and I’m sure Pakistan are the same. You walk away, you toil away for 10 days and a drawn series. So yeah. A lot of good cricket was played in and amongst those 10 days.”Related

• Jamieson-like Henry Shipley ready for the big stage

• For Sarfaraz, the job's not done yet, redemption is still just out of reach

• 'The home Test season hasn't gone according to expectations' – Babar Azam

• Fantastic Sarfaraz ton not enough as bad light has final say in Karachi thriller

• Sarfaraz Ahmed rates sensational Karachi century as his best

Southee: ‘Surfaces were tough to score runs on’

When the umpires had to take the players off the field for bad light, New Zealand were one wicket away from victory, and Pakistan needed just 15 runs. Southee, captaining for the first time in Test cricket in this series, was asked whether he had any regrets about the timing of his declaration. He gave his team 93 overs to take 10 wickets. They got in 90, and took nine, before the game was called off.”We felt the surfaces was still a pretty good surface if you wanted to just bat,” Southee said. “Tough if you wanted to score runs. So it was a bit of a balancing act to try and get the right amount of overs left and the right amount of runs. And I guess to get a little dip at them [2.5 overs] last night and get them two down, that was a great start.”I guess you always look back and there’s ways you could improve and you could get better with hindsight. But that was a decision we made at the time. The guys that were batting felt that it wasn’t easy to just go out and hit the ball. So it was one of those ones that you had to weigh up. Last night we declared and made the most of the three overs we had. But it was one of those decisions you make with discussions around how the batters are feeling, what the surface is doing and what you think is right at the time.”

Sarfaraz made us delay the second new ball, says Southee

The biggest stumbling block in New Zealand’s road to victory was Sarfaraz. Making a comeback to the Pakistan team for the first time in nearly four years, he found a way to score fluently in conditions that weren’t really conducive for that. Sarfaraz finished with 118 runs at a strike rate of 67 and slowing him down was of such importance that New Zealand denied themselves the second new ball, worried that it might come onto his bat better. Pakistan were 267 for 6 after 80 overs, 52 shy of their target.”With the two batters still in, Sarfaraz and [Agha] Salman, we felt that runs could have come quickly,” Southee said, “And I think that’s a build-up of the way Sarfaraz played through the day, which delayed us taking the new ball. If he hadn’t played as positively as he did through the day, then we would’ve been able to take the new ball when it became available and had a lot more runs to play with. So again it was a bit of a balancing act. If you take the new ball, it may come on a bit easier and we were just trying to manage how to get through that partnership, which we did. We were able to take that new ball and get another couple of wickets. So yeah, its a fine line and you go on a bit of a gut feel what you feel is right at the time along with the other leaders in the group.”

Southee happy for the Karachi fans

This was New Zealand’s first tour of Pakistan in 19 years and although the result didn’t go their way, Southee was happy he was part of the entertainment.”Dunno if I rate draws,” he said. “But yeah it was an exciting finish. I hope that the people watching enjoyed the end there. It was nice to see a few people through the gates at the end there, a bit of an atmosphere around. It would’ve been better to win but I guess for the people that were watching, I hope it was exciting.””We’ve really enjoyed our time here so far. It’s a place a lot of the guys haven’t been. We’ve been welcomed very nicely and the guys have enjoyed it and we’re now looking forward to the one-day series.”

Club do not expect to have a suitable successor to Mike O’Farrell in place before April’s AGM

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-2023Middlesex have appointed Angus Fraser, their director of cricket development, as the club’s interim chair.Mike O’Farrell, the outgoing chair, will step down at the club’s upcoming AGM and Middlesex’s search for a successor has been futile. The recruitment process was reopened earlier this month after the club tried and failed to find a suitable candidate.Middlesex said in a statement on Tuesday that they do not expect to find a successor before the AGM on April 4, adding: “Given that there are a number of hugely important issues on the agenda for the game which will require significant involvement from each of the first-class county chairs in the coming weeks and months, including the ongoing ECB High Performance Review and the forthcoming release of the Independent Commission into Equity in Cricket, the club has taken the decision to appoint an interim chair immediately.”Fraser, who played 46 Tests for England and later acted as a selector, spent 12 years working as Middlesex’s managing director before taking on his existing role in 2021. He said he was “extremely proud” and thanked Middlesex “for affording me the honour of holding the position of interim chair”.Related

• Essex fall 'significantly short' of ECB's board diversity targets

• Middlesex reopen search for new chair after drawing blank in recruitment process

Andrew Cornish, Middlesex’s CEO, said: “As a board we have spoken at length about how best to manage Mike’s departure from the role as chair ensuring that there is no adverse effect on the club over this time.”Mike’s departure comes at a critical time for the game at large, and we need to do all we can to ensure that we as a club are able to continue to operate without any interruptions.”Upon completion of the recruitment process, when the club has found a permanent successor to Mike, Angus will then be very well placed to pass on the baton of chair.”He is exactly what we need at this time, and on behalf of the club’s board, I would like to thank him for agreeing to step into this interim role.”

A late surge from Burl and Ballance proves futile as Zimbabwe go down by 46 runs

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jan-2023A late surge from Ryan Burl and Gary Ballance proved to be futile for Zimbabwe, as Ireland clinched the second ODI in Harare to level the series 1-1. Starring for Ireland with the bat was opener Stephen Doheny (84) and No. 4 Harry Tector (75), while Josh Little’s four wickets through the second innings ensured Zimbabwe remained behind in the contest.After a final-ball victory in the first ODI, Zimbabwe made a solid push to chase 295, with useful contributions from Innocent Kaia (51), Chamu Chibhabha (40), Ballance (52) and Burl (41), but regular wickets for Ireland kept them at bay. Ireland eventually won by 46 runs.Ireland were asked to bat first, and they kickstarted their innings with a century stand between openers Paul Stirling and Doheny. That set the tone for a rigid batting performance. Tector walked in in the 27th over, and even though Doheny fell soon after, he rallied on to crunch seven fours and a six in his 61-ball innings at a strike rate of 122.95. Tendai Chatara’s three wickets in the slog overs ensured Ireland did not have the momentum to cross 300, finishing on 294 for 7 in 50 overs.Left-arm swing bowler Little then struck early in the chase, removing Tadiwanashe Marumani for a duck, but the 89-run second-wicket partnership between Kaia and Chibhabha resurrected the hosts’ innings. However, both fell in the space of 19 balls to allow Ireland to begin their comeback. Mark Adair then removed Sikandar Raza for 25 to dent the hosts further.But Burl and Ballance looked to take Zimbabwe over the line with a half-century partnership for the fifth wicket.The stand, however, ended on 67 just when it looked like the game’s balance would tilt in the hosts’ favour. Burl was run-out in the 41st over, after which Little struck two more times to finish with 4 for 38.Even though Ballance notched up his maiden ODI fifty for Zimbabwe – which included only two fours – the loss of wickets at the other end meant it was too much for him to do. Ballance fell for 52 in the 47th over, the second scalp for Graham Hume on the day, and with only Nos. 10 and 11 left, the equation of 53 in 21 balls was nigh impossible. Eventually, the visitors closed out the game to take the series to the final day on Monday in a winner-takes-all contest.

Fast bowler says more than one Ashes Test would be ‘bonus’ as he builds across formats

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Mar-2023Jofra Archer says that he has already surpassed his ambitions in battling back from persistent injury to resume his England career, but admits that he would consider it a “bonus” if he is able to feature in more than one Ashes Test this summer.Archer, 27, is in the midst of an encouraging but cautious return to action across formats, having claimed an impressive 13 wickets at 16.92 in four ODIs and one T20I since making his international comeback for England against South Africa in January.That haul includes a career-best of 6 for 40 in Kimberley last month, and he is likely to feature in one of England’s two remaining T20Is against Bangladesh in Dhaka this week, before linking up with Mumbai Indians for the forthcoming IPL.And while the demands on his time and availability are likely to be onerous in the coming months – with the IPL season bleeding straight into England’s Test summer against Ireland and Australia in June and July – it is vastly preferable to Archer’s status this time last year, when his gruelling recovery from two elbow operations was scuppered by a stress fracture of the back.”Sometimes you’ve still got that little feeling in the back of your mind that you’re still not ready yet,” Archer said. “But I just put that behind me and, whatever happens, happens. If you’re supposed to get injured again, then there’s nothing you can do about it. But till that time comes I’m just going to give everything I’ve got.”Coming back and playing cricket for England again means I have already done what I wanted to do. I said 18 months ago I was going to be back, and now I am back hopefully I have a long career, so it makes no sense doing too much too soon.”To that end, Archer has committed to taking it easy in his final outing of the Bangladesh series, for all that England are 0-1 down after their six-wicket loss in Chittagong on Thursday.”In Bangladesh I’m not going to be charging in trying to bowl 95mph,” he said. “It sounds a little bit bad but wickets where you put everything in and you don’t get anything out, you’re just putting yourself at risk.”There is still a bit more rust I need to take off, but for now I am happy with how it’s gone, with how the body has held up. There is always more in the tank but I’m progressing and peaking at the right time.Related

• Najmul Hossain Shanto's 27-ball fifty lights path for Bangladesh to down world champions

• Bangladesh determined to develop big-hitting skills with an eye on 2024 T20 World Cup

• BPL blueprint serves Shanto proud as Bangladesh achieve statement win

• Phil Salt 'frustrated' after failing to seize his chance for leading role

“There’s a lot of cricket coming up and I’m just doing everything I can to stay on the park. I don’t think I can play all of it, it probably wouldn’t be sensible to, but whatever the medical team tells me I can do, I’m all for it.”Although he may not be back on the field in a full-time capacity just yet, Archer says that he has recognised a familiar sense of dislocation this winter, with an itinerary that has taken him from the Lions tour in the UAE before Christmas, to South Africa for the SA20, and onto his England comeback. And now, after Bangladesh, he’ll be swiftly heading for the IPL, where he hopes the shorter demands of the 20-over format will help to step up his comeback.”I think you know when you’re in the cricket mode when you actually don’t know what day of the week it is,” he said. “To be honest, I don’t even know what’s going on. But I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen at the IPL. Hopefully I can play back-to-back, or fly and play. I don’t think it’ll be as heavily restricted as when I first started. I hope not. It’s only four overs and it’s definitely not as taxing as a 50-over game, but the medical team knows best.”My time’s gone by a little bit slowly but it’s all right, you just have to find ways to keep yourself occupied,” he added. “There’s no reason to be upset about it or anything. I’ve had a lot of downtime before, it doesn’t bother me that much.”Further afield, however, Archer recognises the opportunity that is presenting itself in 2023, with a home Ashes summer followed by England’s defence of the 50-over World Cup – the same twin peaks with which he announced his arrival on the international stage in his maiden England summer four years ago.”It’s pretty similar actually,” Archer said. “If you caught form at the right time in 2019, you probably would have been able to carry it throughout the whole summer, whereas now you’ve got a couple of months before the World Cup.””Hopefully this summer will have the opportunity to surpass it, but I don’t think there’ll be many other summers of cricket that are better than that. If I can play one game this summer, I’ll be happy. If I play more than one, that’s a bonus.”