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England spinner expects to be invited by BCCI to join tournament given clashes with WBBL

Matt Roller03-Oct-2020Sophie Ecclestone, the England left-arm spinner, is hoping to be involved in the Women’s T20 Challenge in the UAE but is yet to receive an invitation from the BCCI for the tournament.Six England players flew to Australia on Saturday to begin a two-week quarantine period ahead of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) but Ecclestone, the No. 1 T20I bowler in the world according to the ICC’s rankings, was not among them.Instead, speaking in a Zoom session for the NatWest Cricket Awards, Ecclestone expressed her desire to be part of the tournament, which ESPNcricinfo revealed is due to be staged from November 4-9 in the UAE.”I’m really hoping to be involved in it,” she said. “I don’t think we know exactly what’s going on yet, or exactly when it’s going to be – I think it might follow the men’s – but a few of us would definitely be really interested in going if it did come up.”Ecclestone was one of three England players involved in the 2019 edition of the T20 Challenge, alongside Danni Wyatt and Nat Sciver, and impressed with the ball, taking 2 for 11 and 0 for 13 from her four-over allocations in her two appearances.She is expected to be invited to take part again – not least with several marquee overseas players participating in the WBBL instead – but admitted that she had not yet received an offer.”The BCCI are very last-minute with their plans so we’re still waiting for an email,” she said, “but hopefully a few of the girls get asked to go.”

Women’s T20 Challenger gets extra matches with the T20 World Cup slated for February-March in Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jul-2019The Ranji Trophy is set to spill over into March, following the BCCI’s decision to advance the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the domestic T20 competition, prior to the IPL auction, which is generally held in December-January. As per the fixtures released for the 2019-20 season, the Ranji Trophy will begin on December 9, with the final slated from March 9, 2020. The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, meanwhile, will run from November 8 to December 1.At the conclave for domestic captains and coaches held in May, several captains were unhappy that the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was being conducted after the IPL auction. They were of the opinion the existing schedule not only denied players opportunities to impress IPL talent scouts but also robbed the tournament of its relevance. The timing of some of these matches, too, raised a few eyebrows.The much-debated Duleep Trophy, which was also being re-looked at for the lack of context, will kick-start the domestic season in the same format, running from August 17 to September 8. However, it’s yet to be decided if the pink ball trial will continue at the tournament, as has been the case over the last three seasons.The limited-overs competitions – the Vijay Hazare Trophy (50 overs), Deodhar Trophy (50 overs) and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20s) – will follow the Duleep Trophy, before the first-class season begins.The women’s calendar, too, has no surprise additions, despite the call from senior state captains and coaches to include an additional inter-zonal 50-overs competition besides the existing 50-overs inter-state tournament. This, they felt at the time, would provide more match-time and help widen their talent pool.However, with the Women’s T20 World Cup in mind, the board has introduced the T20 Challenger Trophy in a new format, with each side playing the other two over two rounds followed by a final. In the previous avatar, each team played the other two over one round followed by the final.The tweaked format could help the national selectors scout players for the national side that will then head to Australia for a T20I tri-series, also including England, which begins on January 31. This tournament will also serve as the team’s build-up to the T20 World Cup, also to be held in Australia, from February 21 to March 8.

Jimmy Adams admitted it was “a hard slog” and added: “I would not teach my kids to bat like me”

ECB Reporters Network29-Apr-2018
ScorecardJimmy Adams missed out on his first Specsavers County Championship century of the season as bad light frustrated both Hampshire and Essex at the Ageas Bowl.Opening batsman Adams began his innings at 11.30am on the first day and reached a slow-paced 87 runs before he was finally dismissed at 3.10pm on the third day.”It was a hard slog,” he said. “I wouldn’t teach my kids to bat like me.”But overcast conditions created light issues for the second day in a row to allowed only 28 overs to be bowled on Sunday – meaning 135 overs had been lost to bad light in the match, in addition to 81 overs to rain.Adams and Hashim Amla had batted wonderfully during the morning session, having returned on 57 and eight respectively overnight.Batting was again tricky, despite the older ball, with dark clouds hanging over the ground with the floodlights turned on throughout the day.South African star Amla provided the shot making, while Adams dropped anchor as he took 20 minutes to get odd the mark for the day.Amla scored his first Hampshire half century at the Kia Oval last week against Surrey and continued in his usual classy style to record another milestone – coming off 80 chanceless deliveries.Meanwhile, Adams was enjoying a battle with fast bowler Jamie Porter – with balls regularly speeding past the outside edge.Porter managed to find the 37-year-old’s edge, when on 62, but Alastair Cook spilled the regulation chance at first slip -before the morning action was curtailed to just 23.2 overs.Play eventually recommenced at 2.45pm, just two overs into the new ball.And the fresh ball worked wonders for Porter and Peter Siddle as Amla fell to the latter in the first full over following the return to the wicket.Australian Siddle set-up his fellow overseas, with shrewd swing bowling, as he found exaggerated movement in both directions, before catching the outside of the bat before wicketkeeper James Foster completed the catch off the last ball of the over.Amla departing for a well-made 52, with the wicket ending a 93-run partnership for the third wicket.Porter then managed to end Jimmy Adams’ 264-ball, and almost six hour, stay at the crease with an angled delivery coming around the wicket to pin the left-hander lbw, for a patient 87.The half an hour mini-session earned Essex an impressive analysis of 18 for two in 29 balls but that was all the action possible after 3.15pm.

A bomb blast in Lahore has, according to the Pakistan Super League chairman Najam Sethi, made it very difficult for foreign players to feature in the final of the second season which, was scheduled to be played at Gaddafi Stadium on March 5

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Feb-2017A bomb blast in Lahore has, according to the Pakistan Super League (PSL) chairman Najam Sethi, made it very difficult for foreign players to feature in the final of the second season which, until the bombing, was set to be played at Gaddafi Stadium on March 5.Speaking on his political talk show on Sethi also said the question now of where the final should be played, was one that fans would have to decide. The explosion, which has so far claimed 13 lives, went off in Lahore’s busy Mall Road during a rally on Monday attended by hundreds of pharmacists protesting against changes to a drug sale law outside the provincial assembly building.Ever since the PSL announced that the final will be played in Lahore, the question of whether – and which – foreign players might attend has loomed. Sethi briefed foreign players about the security situation in Lahore last week ahead of the start of the league in Dubai. He said on the show that though the players had a number of questions and didn’t commit, “they were mentally preparing to play in Lahore”. By February 24th or 25th, if the players had not decided or were not ready to travel, the league was going to hold another draft to see which foreign players from any of other franchises were willing to travel to Lahore play for the finalists.”What can I tell you?” Sethi said when asked what the reactions of foreign players were after news of the bombing. “Obviously people will be more wary and scared – they were already and now will be more. So right now to say whether we can convince them easily is very difficult… Now I will have to start all over again. I cannot say that we will be successful or not because they have families, they will have their associations which will guide them.”Though Sethi and the PCB have insisted all along that the final will go ahead in Lahore, with or without foreign players, the increasing probability that none may come now, would seem to have compelled a shift in that stance. On his show, Sethi asked the public to decide whether they want to see a final in Lahore most likely only with Pakistani players, or a final in Dubai with foreign players as well.Sethi did expand on his personal belief, that the final should go ahead and be played in Lahore.”[People] were calling me up as well [and saying] that whatever the situation this is Pakistan’s resolve that the PSL final has to happen [in Lahore]. That we have to show terrorists that we are not scared and we have to show we can do it because it is very important for us.”I agree with this and this is my thought. I also think that these terrorists cannot think they can threaten us like this, that they can stop our businesses, stop our lives. No. We will stand firm, we will fight, we will do this. In that matter this is my resolve and I can see it is the resolve of every Pakistani, and their desire of having the final in Lahore. This is our stance. I think the Punjab government will be the same.”But the situation is this that the question Pakistanis have to answer is if the foreign players do not agree to come to Lahore, or a lot of them don’t, should we still have a final with just Pakistan players in Lahore, or should we have it with foreign players and do it in Dubai? This is the question the Pakistani public has to answer and whatever their wish we will see to it.”My heart says we have to show the world. If foreign players come to Lahore then good and if they don’t, then with our Pakistani players we should have a PSL final in Lahore. But I want public opinion on this, I want cricket-lovers to tell me, cricket fans – what do they want? Whatever they want, we will do.”Last month, the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) issued a report warning that an “acceptable level of participant security and safety cannot be expected or guaranteed” in Pakistan. In response, the PCB accused FICA of doing “great disservice to the cause of Pakistan cricket in particular” and called their approach “careless and cavalier”, which then prompted FICA to issue a justification.

A round-up of the Under-19 World Cup matches played on January 31, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jan-2016

Saha suspended for illegal action

Bangladesh Under-19s offspinner Sanjit Saha has been suspended from bowling in international cricket, including the ongoing World Cup, after his action was found to be illegal.
Sanjit was reported after Bangladesh’s opening game against South Africa Under-19s on January 27. An analysis done by an event bowling action review panel found Sanjit’s action illegal.
Sanjit has been suspended from bowling in international cricket until his remedied action is assessed independently by an appointed specialist at an ICC Accredited Testing Centre.
Bangladesh have named the offspinner Mosabbek Hossain as a replacement for Saha in their squad.

Group CJack Burnham’s second century in five days stamped a dominant England Under-19s performance in Chittagong. They chose to bat, their top three all scored fifty-plus and a total of 288 for 4 proved 129 runs too many for Zimbabwe Under-19s.Dan Lawrence provided the early impetus by hitting fast bowler William Mashinge for a hat-trick of fours in the fifth over. Then came a special hit for six over square leg, which showcased Lawrence’s strong wrists. He got to 50 off 54 balls and his pace was vital to England because the other opener Max Holden struggled to keep his strike-rate up – he was 6 off 17 by the end of the 10th over. Zimbabwe’s spinners did well though: Wesley Madhevere, the 15-year old, and Rugare Magarira gave away only 18 runs off six overs which led to Lawrence’s wicket in the 20th. England were 91 for 1 and out walked Burnham, with the responsibility to push the run-rate up. Holden, at the other end was, on 24 off 48 balls.Holden’s nickname of “little chef” was a clear giveaway of his batting style considering the big “chef” is England Test captain Alastair Cook. It is easy to imagine that he has been placed at the top of the order for the big-hitters to bat around, and this England side do have some. Burnham made up for a slow start – 9 off 22 balls – with a six and a four off Zimbabwe captain Brendan Mavuta’s legspin in the 27th over. Holden reached his fifty off his 87th delivery but was dismissed off his 90th looking to make a little too much of a back of a length ball from Mashinge.That though did not end up in Zimbabwe’s favour. The next man in, Aneurin Donald, a former England Under-19 captain, contributed to a fourth-wicket partnership of 52 runs off 33 balls and when he fell Burnham took over. He hammered a couple of sixes to move to 92 but his spotlight was stolen when 17-year old Sam Curran smashed five fours in the 48th over bowled by Mashinge. He had been disappointed not to get a single off the second ball, and the next four disappeared.Burnham finished unbeaten on 106 off 104 balls with five fours and six sixes and there was even enough time before the lunch break for England’s bowlers to knock over the Zimbabwe openers. The only resistance came from Jeremy Ives, who made 91 off 132 with 12 fours, a lot of them through the arc between cover and point. He was strong against pace bowling, especially with the cut shot, but might need to work on getting singles against spin. The contest was done long before the match was and the question of if Ives might reach his century was answered in the negative with an emphatic inswinger from Sohaib Maqsood, who finished with 4 for 39.An all-round display from Gidron Pope and a blazing century from Shamar Springer lifted West Indies Under-19 to a 262-run win over Fiji Under-19s, who ended the group stage without once having crossed the 100 mark. Pope’s 76 at the top of the order got West Indies off to a solid start, before they lost four wickets in the space of scoring 20 runs to slip to 140 for 4. From there, Springer and Jyd Goolie added 157 for the fifth wicket, before Goolie fell in the 46th over for 66 off 75 balls. Springer was out in the final over for 106 off 78, having struck 10 fours and four sixes, and West Indies finished on 340 for 7. Six of the seven wickets went to the medium-pacer Cakacaka Tikoisuva.Fiji had been bowled out for 72 against England and 81 against Zimbabwe. Now they were bowled out for 71, their innings folding inside 28 overs with fast bowler Alzarri Joseph (3 for 15) and offspinner Pope (4 for 24) in the thick of the action. As against England, Peni Vuniwaqa waged lonely resistance, scoring 29 off 49 balls, with five fours.Group ANamibia Under-19s reached the quarter-finals with a sensational upset, pulling off a two-wicket win over South Africa Under-19s in Cox’s Bazar. Defending champions South Africa, who also lost their opening game against Bangladesh, are now out of contention for the quarter-finals.The match-winner in a low-scoring game was Lohan Louwrens, who came in at 10 for 2 and scored an unbeaten 58 to steer Namibia to a target of 137. Louwrens did not receive too much support apart from Charl Brits, who scored 27 and added 52 with him for the sixth wicket, as Namibia steadily lost wickets. But he stayed there even as Brits, Chrischen Olivier and Francois Rautenbach fell in the space of 13 balls, steering Namibia home in the 40th over.Having chosen to bat, South Africa were on the back foot right from the start. Left-arm seamer Fritz Coetzee dismissed both their openers within the first three overs, and reduced them to 2 for 2. Namibia kept chipping away at the wickets, and South Africa were 60 for 8 and in danger of falling short of 100 before Willem Ludick (42) and Lutho Sipamla (17) averted that danger with a 55-run ninth-wicket stand. Sipamla and last man Ziyaad Abrahams ensured South Africa batted out the 50 overs, but could only stretch the score to 136 for 9. Coetzee finished with three wickets, and Michael van Lingen with four.The win was Namibia’s first over a Test-playing opposition in a Youth ODI since they beat Sri Lanka Under-19s in the 2002 edition of the tournament.Nazmul Hossain Shanto is jubilant after reaching his hundred•ICC

Nazmul Hossain Shanto’s unbeaten century followed by tight bowling performances from Saleh Ahmed Shawon (3 for 27) and Mohammad Saifuddin (3 for 17) sealed Bangladesh Under-19s’ quarter-final berth with a mammoth 114-run victory over Scotland Under-19s.Bangladesh were reduced to 17 for 2 in the eighth over, after they were asked to bat. Shanto then walked in took control of their innings with an unbeaten 113 off 117 that included ten fours. He was a part of two century partnerships, adding 101 with Saif Hassan for the third wicket, after which he put a 100-run stand with captain Mehedi Hasan Miraz (51) for the fourth wicket. By the time Miraz fell in the 48th over, Bangladesh were at a commanding 218 for 4. Shanto then propelled the hosts to 256 for 5 by the end of their innings with Bangladesh taking 30 off the last two overs. During his innings, Shanto overtook Pakistan’s Sami Aslam to become the leading run-scorer in Youth ODIs with 1747 runs in 54 matches. Mohammad Ghaffar was the pick of Scotland’s bowlers with 4 for 60.Neil Flack and Rory Johnston gave Scotland a steady start in their chase, adding 48 for the first wicket. Bangladesh’s bowlers, however, struck to reduce Scotland to 113 for 5 by the 38th over. Except Azeem Dar (50 off 89), the rest of Scotland’s batsmen could not manage a score of above 30 and they were eventually bundled out 142 in the 48th over.

Craig Meschede took his wicket tally in this season’s YB40 to 20 as Somerset retained the Group C leadership with a five-wicket against Leicestershire

16-Jun-2013
ScorecardCraig Meschede took his wicket tally in this season’s Yorkshire Bank 40 to 20 as Somerset retained the Group C leadership with a five-wicket victory over Leicestershire at Taunton.The 21-year-old all-rounder confirmed his position as the leading wicket-taker in the competition by claiming 4 for 5 from his five overs as the visitors were restricted to 124 all out after losing the toss in a match reduced to 25 overs per side by rain.Alfonso Thomas returned 3 for 30 on his return after a hamstring injury, while Michael Thornely played a lone hand with 49 not out.Somerset made hard work of their target, stuttering to 127 for 5 off 21.3 overs, Craig Kieswetter leading the way with 50 and Marcus Trescothick making 28. Nathan Buck was the pick of the visiting attack with 3 for 25. Leicestershire were never able to gain sufficient momentum after crashing to 49 for 7 by the 13th over.Steve Kirby and Thomas created pressure with tight opening overs, Thomas removing openers Niall O’Brien and Josh Cobb, the latter having gone into the game with an average of 104 in the competition this season.Meschede had Greg Smith caught at midwicket with his sharp medium-pace and then switched to the Old Pavilion End to rip the heart out of the middle order by sending back Joe Burns, followed by Shiv Thakor and Rob Taylor with successive balls.The only resistance came from Thornely, with a little support from Anthony Ireland, who contributed 27 to a ninth-wicket stand of 44.Somerset lost Peter Trego, the competition’s leading run-maker, to Ireland early in their reply, but had moved to 60 in the ninth over when Marcus Trescothick was bowled by a length ball from left-arm seamer Taylor for 28.Kieswetter, in his first innings since recovering from a thumb injury, looked in good form at No. 3. But he had started walking off when dropped on 32 by Matthew Boyce at deep midwicket off Thakor. He went on to his half-century off 41 balls, with six fours and a six and had put Somerset within 29 of victory when caught behind, edging a cross-batted shot off Buck.Dean Elgar and James Hildreth also perished to Buck to give Leicestershire a glimmer of hope. But Nick Compton and Alex Barrow batted cautiously to complete the job with plenty in hand, Compton securing victory with a six off Taylor.

The payments issue of the BPL has been stirred once again with Ian Pont, the Dhaka Gladiators coach, claiming he has not received half the money due to him

Mohammad Isam23-Jul-2012The payments issue of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) has been stirred once again with Ian Pont, the Dhaka Gladiators coach during the inaugural season, claiming he has not received half the money due to him. Pont’s allegation came two days after the six franchises missed the latest deadline – July 21 – to complete all payments.”I am personally missing 50% of my contracted amount and others are still awaiting re-imbursement of flights, expenses and original fees,” Pont wrote in an email. “Pieces of paper kept being produced showing bank transfers by the franchise, but they never took place. Players and staff have been given a whole host of excuses. Deadlines and promises remain broken.”The franchise, run by the Chowdhury family, has just stopped communicating. It’s not only very sad but totally unprofessional to run a business this way in my view.”However, Gazi Ashraf Hossain, the BPL governing council chairman, said that Pont had received his payment in full, though he wasn’t aware of any other clauses in his contract.”As far as I know, he [Pont] was the highest paid coach in the tournament and already got the full payment of $20,000,” Ashraf said. “I don’t know if there was a promise of any additional amount in the contract. If such a thing exists, I will still say that our priorities are player payments and tax issues. We will look into his claim afterwards.”In response, Pont wrote another e-mail: “I don’t really wish to talk about specific sums as they are and should be private. I can confirm that I have received half the amount stated in my contract. I don’t get the obsession with the amounts. If someone is owed a dollar, they are owed money.”Pont also claimed some Dhaka Gladiators’ players were willing to boycott their semi-final against Khulna Royal Bengals because they were not being paid. “The overseas players came to me and we had an emergency meeting where it was felt that boycotting the semi-final was a genuine option,” he said. “So much money was missing that the guys didn’t know what else they could try. But the players did not want to let the BPL down or the fans, which was the right thing to do.”I am amazed we remained focused enough to win the whole competition and it’s a testament to the players – overseas and local – when the only talk was about payments. It was hard to concentrate on the cricket with such an enormous distraction. After all, this is not simply a game for the players and staff, but it is their living.”Pont said he’d like to work in the BPL again but would quit the Dhaka franchise. “I anticipate returning to hopefully win the BPL again. It just won’t be with the Shihab Trading Company’s franchise. The fact is you cannot have players worrying if they are going to get their money. It just sends the wrong message.”Ashraf was disappointed with the irregular payments after the franchises missed yet another deadline. “We are a little frustrated with the payment issue. It would be nice for us if we could finish the inaugural tournament without any controversies, but still we have five months in hand before the next event to solve all the issues.”We have got verbal assurance from some franchises. Actually most of the franchises are now focusing on the revenue issue. You know a huge financial deal was involved in the event, so it’s not unlikely that they face some setback. I think we are in a learning process which will help us to arrange the next edition smoothly.”When asked whether the BPL would take tough action against a franchise that failed to settle the issue, Ashraf said: “The governing council will review all the things before taking any action. We hope the franchises can understand everything, so we are not in hurry.”

Kent strengthened their chances of a earning a Friends Life t20 quarter-final place with a seven-wicket victory over Gloucestershire under the Duckworth-Lewis system in Bristol

06-Jul-2011
Scorecard
Kent strengthened their chances of a earning a Friends Life t20 quarter-final place with a seven-wicket victory over Gloucestershire under the Duckworth-Lewis system in Bristol.Gloucestershire posted 115 for 4 after losing the toss in a match reduced to 16 overs per side by rain, Kevin O’Brien hitting three sixes and three fours in an unbeaten 43 off 24 balls. Kent’s reply was twice interrupted by rain and they ended up needing 76 from 10 overs, a simple enough task achieved with five balls to spare.O’Brien shared an unbroken stand of 64 in 6.4 overs with Kane Williamson (20 not out). But the Gloucestershire total did not look enough and so it proved. Kent’s run chase was reduced to 104 from 14 overs when their innings was interrupted for the first time at 40 for one in the fifth. They progressed to 59 for two in the seventh before another heavy shower sent the players off.When play resumed the revised target was 76 off 10 and many spectators had already headed for the exits. Despite losing Joe Denly for 23 after the restart, Kent were never under any pressure.Sam Northeast hit the winning boundary after Azhar Mahmood had scored a useful 20, coming in at three, but it was a totally unsatisfactory contest for the small crowd. A key moment in Gloucestershire’s innings appeared to come when O’Brien, on one, was dropped by Denly at deep square off Wahab Riaz.Had the difficult running chance been taken, Gloucestershire would have been 55 for 5 in the 12th over. O’Brien profited from the error and went on to blast James Tredwell over cover and then mid-wicket for sixes off successive balls in the 13th over, and from then on he and Williamson produced the best batting of the game.Hamish Marshall, Jack Taylor and Chris Taylor had all fallen cheaply as Gloucestershire slipped to 46 for three, although Ian Cockbain played well for his 32 off 31 balls, with four fours.The result left Gloucestershire with only three wins from 12 South Group games and out of contention for a top-four finish, while Kent look well placed on 16 points from 13 fixtures.

Cricinfo previews the ODI between Scotland and England at Edinburgh

Preview by Sahil Dutta18-Jun-2010

Match facts

June 19, 2010
Start time 10.45am (9.45GMT)

Big Picture

Andrew Strauss returns to partner big-hitting Craig Kieswetter at the top of the order for England•PA Photos

Over recent years ODI series were routinely treated as the unwanted step-sister in an English summer. Whether tagged on to the end of a Test series – like the drab 6-1 thrashing after the Ashes last year – or stuck in the middle of the summer, too frequently England’s one-day cricket was something to endure rather than enjoy. Then came the World Twenty20.England’s gung-ho approach, honed through the winter, came to perfect fruition as they bashed their way to their first success in an ICC tournament. While Scotland may be a low-profile opening to England’s 14 ODI games over the next three and half months, the prospect of five pre-Ashes matches against Australia to follow has made each contest suddenly enthralling. From here on every move will be dissected and imbued unfairly with Ashes, and more significantly, World Cup significance.It brings a welcome context to what Scotland will hope is a competitive tussle. For the Edinburgh crowd though, any sort of game would be a relief. Two years ago when the teams met for the first time rain was the ultimate victor, leaving England 10 for 0 chasing 156 in a reduced-overs fixture.Since then Scotland have had a tough run. They failed to qualify for the 2011 World Cup after losing to Ireland, Canada, and Afghanistan in the qualifying tournament in 2009 and disappointed again by missing out on a place at the World Twenty20, losing all their matches to finish bottom of Group A in the qualifiers.Things, however, have improved elsewhere. They sit on top of the table, ahead of even Afghanistan, in the Intercontinental Cup, having just beaten Netherlands (though they narrowly lost the following ODI) and they will be keen to get one over their neighbours on home turf.

Form guide (last five completed matches)

Scotland LLLWL
England WWWWL

Watch out for…

Kyle Coetzer has sat on the sidelines for Durham in the Clydesdale Bank 40 this season and will want to prove that he can carry his first-class form into the limited-overs arena. He could be the anchor Scotland needs to build a score around.Andrew Strauss returns to England’s one-day side as captain and opener. In his absence England profited and he needs to prove that his brand of calm strokeplay has a place in the team’s new testosterone-fuelled approach.

Team news

Scotland captain Gavin Hamilton will return alongside Coetzer after they were forced out with injury leaving Scotland to field four debutants in the defeat to Netherlands on June 15.Scotland (possible) 1 Gavin Hamilton (capt), 2 Josh Davey, 3 Kyle Coetzer, 4 Richie Berrington, 5 Gregor Maiden, 6 Neil McCallum, 7 Douglas Lockhart (wk), 8 Matthew Parker, 9 Gordon Drummond, 10 Majid Haq, 11 Ross Lyons.England have been experimenting against weaker opposition in the Test series against Bangladesh earlier this summer and their team could be dictated by how much they want to experiment again here. The top-order batting is settled but Ian Bell is back in the squad and could play if England feel Luke Wright is a place too high at six. The only other question is whether they opt for the extra spinner in Michael Yardy, and if not Ajmal Shahzad could be in the frame for a home ODI debut to add to his first cap he earned in Bangladesh.England (possible) 1 Andrew Strauss (capt), 2 Craig Kieswetter (wk), 3 Kevin Pietersen, 4 Paul Collingwood, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Luke Wright, 7 Tim Bresnan, 8 Graeme Swann, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Ajmal Shahzad, 11 James Anderson.

Pitch and conditions

The weather is rarely better than chilly in Edinburgh but the pitch could offer some runs if the new-ball threat is nullified.

Stats and Trivia

• Hamilton, Coetzer, Neil McCallum and Ross Lyons are the only four survivors from the Scotland team that played the inaugural match against England two years ago.
• Craig Kieswetter will take the gloves for the first time in an ODI after playing as a specialist batsman in his first three ODIs against Bangladesh.

Quotes

“It’s always a challenge every time you play against sides like Scotland, as we found out in the World Twenty20 against Ireland”

Hampshire’s quarter-final hopes look thin after two wins and five defeats

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jul-2024Visa issues have prevented Ottneil Baartman, the South African fast bowler, from joining Hampshire for the rest of the T20 Blast.Baartman, who made six appearances at the T20 World Cup during South Africa’s run to the final, was due to play for Hampshire in their final six group games. But his arrival was delayed due to unspecified “visa issues” and the club announced on Friday that, with their quarter-final hopes thin, his deal has been cancelled.”We would like to wish Ottneil all the best and hope to see him in a Hawks shirt in the future,” Hampshire said in a club statement. Baartman initially signed as a replacement for Naveen-ul-Haq, who pulled out of his contract with Hampshire citing “personal reasons” and is instead playing for Texas Super Kings in Major League Cricket.After two wins, three no-results and five defeats, Hampshire sit seventh in the nine-team South Group of the Blast heading into Friday night’s fixture against Gloucestershire at the Ageas Bowl. With the top four teams qualifying for the quarter-finals, they may need to win all four of their remaining fixtures to progress.”We’ll have to do some maths to see if we can still qualify,” Adi Birrell, their coach, said after their most recent defeat to Sussex. “I can’t really think that two wins out of ten gives us a chance of getting through to the quarter-finals but we’ll have to have a look at it.”We had three rained-off games, which has given us a few points, but we’re not really playing well enough to go through… we were a bit off in all departments [against Sussex], as we have been throughout the campaign. We haven’t really put in a good performance in all departments.”