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A fine performance by Sri Lanka’s spinners was capped by a stroke-filled 95 from opener Avishka Fernando as they brushed England aside by six wickets to move into the semi-final of the Under-19 World Cup

Mohammad Isam07-Feb-2016Sri Lanka had done most of their job before the umpires called for the lunch break. They hadn’t just bowled England out for 184 runs in 49.2 overs, with the bat they had reached 51 for no loss in eight overs.While some bowling sides struggle to fit in 50 overs in three-and-a-half hours, Sri Lanka got through theirs in an hour less as 42 overs were bowled by spinners. After a short ten-minute break, opening batsman Avishka Fernando then tore into the England attack.He had already reached 35 off 24 balls, with the help of seven fours, by the lunch break. Four of them came on the trot in one Sam Curran over. He hammered the ball over cover and point for the first two fours before hitting one with the bottom of his bat towards the off-side. The final boundary in the over was square-driven past point.The tone was set as he reached his fifty off 44 balls and added a six over midwicket. His final flurry of boundaries was in the 80s when he whipped one down the leg-side for four before late-cutting another to enter the 90s. He ramped another four to get to 95 but, next ball, was caught off an edge while attempting to flay at another Saqib Mahmood short ball.But by then, Sri Lanka were just 14 runs away from a place in the semi-final. Fernando, who went to St Sebastian College in Moratuwa, said there was no regret at not getting to his century. “I am not disappointed but it was a very good opportunity,” Fernando said. “I am very happy today. I played very well. I am doing the basics right.”Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka said that Fernando clicked after a run of middling form. “He is a good batsman but he couldn’t get to his rhythm in last matches,” Asalanka said. “Today he played his natural game.”He also admitted that they were given a dressing-down by the coach Roger Wijesuriya after losing to Pakistan in their final group match in Mirpur on February 3. Asalanka and Fernando broke into a giggle when asked about this stern talk.”There was a little problem with our batting,” Asalanka said. “The guys played really bad shots. He was angry at that time. He told us to play good cricket and play for the team. It helped us with what the coach told us. He told us to bat longer.”

James Taylor, Chris Tremlett and Monty Panesar have all been included in an expanded 14-man squad for the third Investec Ashes Test at Old Trafford

Andrew McGlashan28-Jul-2013James Taylor, Chris Tremlett and Monty Panesar have all been included in an expanded 14-man squad for the third Investec Ashes Test at Old Trafford. Steven Finn, who was left out at Lord’s in favour of Tim Bresnan, and Graham Onions have been dropped, while Kevin Pietersen is included with his calf injury, which is progressing well, due to be assessed closer to the match.The recalls for Tremlett, who last played for England against Pakistan in the UAE early last year, and Panesar reflect the conditions that are expected at Old Trafford where traditionally, pace, bounce and spin come to the fore. However, it remains unlikely that England will tinker with the bowling attack that was so impressive at Lord’s.Tremlett’s return is a significant blow for Finn, who was in the three-man pace attack just two Tests ago but does not even feature in a 14-man squad now. He has been working on technical aspects of his run-up and delivery for most of the year and in Test cricket has rarely looked completely comfortable.Tremlett trained with the England squad during the Lord’s Test as he continues to build up his workload during the season after missing the majority of 2012 with a series of injuries, the most serious of them being to his back. England are keen to have him available for the Ashes in Australia later this year after the impact he had during the 2010-11 series.Last month, he told ESPNcricinfo that he was confident his body would now allow him to get through Test matches again. “If I was picked for a Test tomorrow I’d be confident,” he said. “If you had asked me that three games into the season, my honest answer would have been that I’m not ready to play Test cricket. But now I have some games under my belt, I have my confidence back. I feel I’m ready now. I’ve no doubt.”

Lofty options

Steven Finn
Tests 23 Wickets 90 Ave 29.40 SR 48.3
Chris Tremlett
Tests 11 Wickets 49 Ave 26.75 SR 54.8

Panesar, the other bowler brought into the squad, remains England’s second spinner in Test cricket despite a difficult tour of New Zealand where he had to take on the main role in Graeme Swann’s absence. He enjoyed some success against the Australians at Hove with 3 for 70, which followed a five-wicket haul against Middlesex, although his overall Championship returns this season are a modest 21 wickets at 40.09.Geoff Miller, the national selector, said: “Chris Tremlett has worked hard to regain fitness and form following a couple of injuries and his performances for Surrey this season have been very encouraging. Including an additional spinner in Monty Panesar who has plenty of international experience provides Alastair Cook and Andy Flower with a number of options.”Kevin Pietersen is continuing his recovery from a calf strain and he will be assessed by the medical team closer to the start of the Test and we have therefore included an extra batsman in James Taylor who has been in good form for Nottinghamshire this season.” Miller said. Taylor is currently playing for Sussex against the Australians in the tour match at Hove.It would be a quirk of fate if it were to be Taylor who replaced Pietersen, given the stories that emerged following his Test debut against South Africa, at Headingley last year, where he had an extended partnership with Pietersen, although may not have overly impressed his senior team-mate.After being abruptly dropped after his two appearances against South Africa, and not even named in the England performance squad at the start of the season, Taylor was told to churn out the runs at domestic level and work on some technical flaws which concerned the selectors, specifically his ability to handle deliveries outside off stump.His performances for Nottinghamshire, where he has made 824 runs at 58.85 in the Championship, mean he has done all he can at county level to make the selectors consider him again.Squad Alastair Cook (capt), Joe Root, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Jonny Bairstow, James Taylor, Matt Prior, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, James Anderson, Chris Tremlett, Monty Panesar

Durham’s Phil Mustard blasted 143 from just 91 balls as Durham crushed Surrey by 142 runs in the Clydesdale Bank 40 at Chester-le-Street

12-Aug-2012
ScorecardDurham’s Phil Mustard blasted 143 from just 91 balls as Durham crushed Surrey by 142 runs in the Clydesdale Bank 40 at Chester-le-Street.After being overtaken by Hampshire at the top of Group B the previous evening, Surrey’s hopes of a quick return to the summit were snuffed out. Durham were on course to beat their record 40-over total of 325, set against the same opponents at the Oval last year, until Mustard was out with the total on 271.The remaining six overs brought only 27 runs for the loss of five more wickets and Durham finished on 298 for 9. If Surrey thought they had clawed their way back into the game they quickly shot themselves in the foot as both openers departed carelessly with the score on 10.Jason Roy revived them with 43 off 24 balls, but the visitors were all out for 156 in 29.1 overs, completing an unhappy week in the north-east following their innings defeat in the LV= County Championship.Mustard led a charmed life early in his innings. On 1 he went down the pitch to Matthew Spriegel and edged the ball just out of Steve Davies’ reach and on two he survived a very confident lbw appeal from Jade Dernbach.The same bowler put down a simple return catch with Mustard on 16 and the left-hander went on to hit seven sixes. When Durham chose to bat Mark Stoneman initially dominated the strike, cutting, driving and pulling Dernbach for three fours in the fourth over on his way to 50 off 50 balls with seven fours.The stand was worth 87 when he skied a return catch to Zander de Bruyn, who cleaned up at the end of the innings to finish with five for 46. Mustard’s first six, over long-on off Gareth Batty, took him to 49 and he reached 50 off 45 balls before accelerating to 100 off 74.He put on 118 in 14 overs for the second wicket with Ben Stokes, who made 45 before he was stumped off a leg-side wide by Murali Kartik. Mustard, whose previous one-day best was 139 not out at Northampton last year, hit three sixes on his way from 121 to 142 before he was out in the 34th over, skying a catch to point.At the start of Surrey’s reply Rory Hamilton-Brown slashed at a short ball from Mitch Claydon and edged to slip then Davies shaped to pull Chris Rushworth and lobbed a catch to mid-on.Roy and Gary Wilson put on 68 but after Roy hit three successive fours in Mark Wood’s first over the young seamer picked up three wickets. When Roy went for a big hit and skied a catch to Mustard it effectively signalled the end of Surrey’s challenge.

The South Africa A team returned from the triangular series in Zimbabwe having given high performance coach Vincent Barnes “a good idea of what needs to be done at the level below the national team”

Firdose Moonda10-Jul-2011The South Africa A team’s performance in the Zimbabwe tri-series has given high performance coach Vincent Barnes “a good idea of what needs to be done at the level below the national team”. They won two of their five matches, beating Zimbabwe XI twice but losing to Australia A in three matches, including the final.The tour took place in the middle of the South African winter and the group had to shake off their chills and get back into playing after only a week’s training. “It took them a couple of games to get going,” Barnes told ESPNcricinfo. “We will have tours like this on a more ongoing basis and we should have training camps for two weeks in future.” The rustiness showed in parts as South Africa were involved in three close matches, but Barnes said they got “better and better all the time”.Ten of the squad of 14 had played international cricket before and Barnes, who worked as assistant coach of the South African team for eight years, is hoping to ease the passage for some of them to reach that level again. “I know what’s expected at the international level, so I worked with them to give them an idea of what is required to get back there.”Jacques Rudolph was the stand-out batsman of the tournament and topped the overall run-chart. He scored over 100 runs more than his nearest competitor, Aaron Finch, and clocked three scores in the 90s. After a successful domestic season for the Titans franchise, Rudolph has been talked up as ripe for national recall and further cemented that theory with his showing in Zimbabwe.”He played exceptionally well, did a great job leading and it’s obvious that he wants to play for South Africa badly,” Barnes said. Rudolph last played in international cricket five years ago, during a three-year stint on the big stage that ended because of a combination of poor form and mental fragility. Barnes believes he has overcome both drawbacks. “He’s a lot more focussed from where he was before and is very aware of his game. There is also a massive calm about him.”The South Africa A bowling attack was able to defend totals twice, but bowled out their opposition only once. Vernon Philander was the highest wicket-taker for South Africa, with nine scalps at an average of 26.22. The Cape-Town-bred bowler has been impressive in first-class cricket over the last two seasons, and used the opportunity to show his promise in the limited-overs forms of the game as well. “He is an amazingly skillful bowler and knows how to work with what he has,” Barnes said.Craig Alexander, who can bowl speeds up to 150 kph, took eight wickets and was used as the “impact bowler”. Death-bowling specialist Rusty Theron lived up to his reputation of squeezing runs at the end of an innings and was the only South African to take a four-wicket haul.Theron played a key role both times the team defended totals, picking up late wickets. He set out to prove that he is a complete bowler, who can also do a job at the top of the innings, and he was given the new ball on one occasion. “Rusty has made it clear that he wants to be seen as a ten-over bowler. He worked on it and he will keep doing so,” Barnes said.Destructive opener, Loots Bosman, who scored just 12 runs in two matches, was one of the failures in the side. Roelof van der Merwe also did not live up to expectations and returned with only four wickets at a bloated average of 49.75, although he was economical. He had mitigating circumstances for his below-par performance though. “He was hit in the ribs and there was a danger of him coming home,” Barnes said.Allan Donald, the new national bowling coach who travelled with his predecessor, Barnes, to Zimbabwe to get a first-hand experience of working with South African bowlers, also made important contributions to the tour. “The guys really responded to him, he’s a legend as far as they are concerned and they were very interested in his stories,” Barnes said. “He got stuck in everywhere and helped with everything, even fielding.”

Mohammad Aamer, Pakistan’s Man of the Match in their series-levelling win at Headingley, is confident that his team can rise to the challenge of taking on England ahead of the first Test which starts on Thursday

Cricinfo staff25-Jul-2010Mohammad Aamer, Pakistan’s Man of the Match in their series-levelling win at Headingley, is confident that his team can rise to the challenge of taking on England ahead of the first Test which starts on Thursday.”Playing against England will present new challenges for me and the other bowlers, but I am sure we can do well,” he told PakPassion.net. “They are a strong team with a varied batting lineup, but if me and the other bowlers bowl well and consistently then I’m sure we can put up a good challenge”.Aamer picked up match figures of 7 for 106 – his best haul in the 10 Tests he has played so far – to inspire a thrilling three-wicket win over Australia in the second Test, and obviously enjoyed the experience. “I really enjoyed bowling at Headingley, I wish I could bowl here on this pitch every day,” he said.In helpful conditions on the first day Australia were improbably rolled over for just 88, but as the pitch eased out Aamer showed considerable patience and a maturity beyond his 18 years to nip out four second-innings wickets – including the vital one of Ricky Ponting, caught behind for 66 early on the third morning.”When the sun came out, it was tougher for the bowlers and we really had to be patient and consistent with our line and length,” he explained. “I knew I had to pitch it up and look for swing and not bowl short. The coach told me that if I bowled the nagging length where the batsman doesn’t know whether to come forward or go back, then that would really challenge them.”That’s what I concentrated on, the length. I felt that I could have bowled a bit quicker, but that may have affected the length, so I concentrated more on bowling the length that Waqar bhai had talked about.”Conditions are likely to suit the bowlers at Trent Bridge, where there is usually appreciable movement through the air, and a full length will once again be vital. Pakistan’s inexperienced middle order has not quite clicked yet, and it is likely that any further success will be built around the efforts of the three-pronged attack of Aamer, Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul.

Despite fifties from Masood, Ayub and Agha, and four dropped catches, Pakistan were bowled out for 274

Hemant Brar31-Aug-2024Despite half-centuries from Shan Masood, Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha, and four dropped catches of varying difficulty, Pakistan were bowled out for 274 on the second day of the second Test in Rawalpindi. For Bangladesh, Mehidy Hasan Miraz caused the most damage, finishing with figures of 5 for 61.The Bangladesh openers, Shadman Islam and Zakir Hasan, had two overs to face before stumps. Mir Hamza got Shadman to edge the first ball of the innings to fifth slip but Saud Shakeel grassed the chance, letting Bangladesh go back unscathed.That Pakistan are without Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah makes their position even more precarious. With Naseem “rested”, Pakistan’s four frontline bowlers for this match have played a combined experience of 16 Tests.Earlier, a warm and sunny morning greeted the teams after rain had washed out the opening day. Given the moisture in the pitch, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto had no hesitation in bowling first in what is now a four-day Test.Taskin, who returned from a shoulder injury, proved his captain right by striking in the first over. After bowling five outswingers to Abdullah Shafique, he got the last ball to nip back off the seam. Shafique was not prepared for it. He came forward to defend but left a huge gap between the bat and the pad. The ball sneaked through and hit the top of off stump.For a while, Taskin and Hasan Mahmud kept Ayub quiet by bowling predominantly from around the wicket. Ayub was on 4 off 25 balls at one point but hit three fours in the next 11 balls he faced. Masood was positive right from the start. As a result, the fifty stand between the two came in just 68 balls.Saim Ayub and Shan Masood had a century partnership for the second wicket•PCB

It was not that the Bangladesh seamers did not induce mistakes but none of them brought a wicket. As the day progressed, the pitch eased out. Ten minutes before lunch, Masood brought up his fifty, off just 54 balls. He hit only two fours in his fifty, which made it the fastest fifty in Test cricket since 2002 with two, or fewer, boundaries.At lunch, Pakistan were comfortably placed on 100 for 1 from 25 overs. But things changed after the break with Mehidy removing Masood and Ayub in quick succession. Bowling around the wicket, he first trapped Masood lbw with the one that straightened after pitching. Ayub brought up his fifty with a pulled four off Nahid Rana but when he came out of his crease to smash Mehidy, the offspinner beat him in the flight and had him stumped.Mehidy had an opportunity to further increase Pakistan’s woes but he dropped a regulation catch of Shakeel at second slip off Rana’s bowling. Had the catch been taken, Pakistan would have been 125 for 4.Shakeel failed to take advantage of the reprieve, though. He did hit Taskin for back-to-back fours but chopped on the last ball of the over onto his stumps to be dismissed for 16.At 151 for 4, Pakistan were relying on Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan for the umpteenth time to pull them out of trouble. But it was not to be. Shakib had Babar playing back to an arm ball when the batter should have been forward and had him lbw. Shakib could have had Agha too in the same over but Zakir failed to hold on to a difficult bat-pad chance at short leg.Rizwan fell shortly after tea, fending a short ball from Rana to first slip. Agha and Khurram Shahzad added 25 for the seventh wicket to keep Bangladesh at bay for a while. Mehidy threatened to end their resistance when he got Shahzad to edge one low to the left of first slip but Shadman could get only fingertips to the ball.Mehidy, though, did not have to wait for long. In his next over, Shahzad miscued a lofted shot towards mid-off where Shakib moved swiftly to his right to take a tumbling catch.But Bangladesh were not done with their gifts. Soon after, Mominul Haque dropped a straightforward chance from Mohammad Ali at leg slip off Shakib. However, that also did not hurt Bangladesh as Mehidy had Ali caught at slip in the next over.Agha got another life on 46. He inside-edged Taskin onto his pad and Mehidy caught the rebound at gully. But the umpire failed to spot the edge. Having burnt all their reviews, Bangladesh had no other option than to accept the on-field decision. Agha rubbed it in by pulling Taskin over fine leg for a six to bring up his fifty.With only two wickets left, Agha was taking more and more chances. Along with Abrar Ahmed, he added 28 for the ninth wicket before pulling Tasking into the hands of fine leg. From the other end, Abrar gave charge to Mehidy and was stumped, bringing curtains to the innings.

Australian batter will arrive ahead of Friday night’s fixture at Northants

ESPNcricinfo staff22-May-2023Ashton Turner will return to Durham for the T20 Blast after Tristan Stubbs’ call-up for South Africa A’s tour to Sri Lanka ruled him out of a planned stint in the north east.Turner captained Durham in 2022 but his time with the club was affected by a shoulder injury sustained on debut, and he made 124 runs in his eight appearances.He returns to the UK after a stellar home season in Australia, lifting both the Big Bash and the Marsh Cup as captain and also featuring in Western Australia’s successful Sheffield Shield season.”It is great news to have Ashton returning to Durham this season,” Marcus North, Durham’s director of cricket, said. “He joins us on the back of an outstanding season for Perth Scorchers and Western Australia, where his experience and leadership skills have once again been evident for all to see.”Related

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“I’m excited to be joining up with Durham again for this year’s Blast campaign,” Turner added. “We have an exciting squad, and we have high expectations for the group this year. Hopefully we can achieve some success and have some fun along the way.”Stubbs was initially expected to join up with Durham straight after the IPL, but last month was included in South Africa A’s touring squad to play four 50-over games and two red-ball fixtures in Sri Lanka in June.Durham are one of five counties without a Blast title, and have not reached the knockout stages in any of the last four seasons. They start their 2023 campaign away at Northamptonshire on Friday night.

Pakistan’s Haseebullah Khan’s 135 downs Zimbabwe; hosts West Indies open account

Sreshth Shah18-Jan-2022A devastating opening spell from West Indies fast bowler Shiva Sankar rattled Scotland so bad that they could never recover. Scotland were bowled out for 95 and West Indies chased the target down in less than 20 overs to earn their first points in their home U-19 World Cup.Sankar got the new ball to swing away from right-handers, and his first scalp was Scotland opener Charlie Tear after he smacked one straight to mid off. Sankar then went full on middle stump to No. 3 Samuel Elstone, and he missed the flick and was out lbw. The third wicket for Sankar, though, was his best ball – an outswinger enticing No. 4 Tomas Mackintosh to drive, only for him to edge it to the slip cordon.The score of 29 for 3 was soon 57 for 5 when left-arm spinner Anderson Mahase picked off the next two batters. No. 5 Jack Jarvis pulled a short ball to Sankar at midwicket and the No. 6 Muhaymen Majeed missed a flick after charging down the track, leaving the wicketkeeper to complete a straightforward stumping.With the lower order exposed at one end, the rest of West Indies’ bowling unit went for the kill. McKenny Clarke’s extra pace induced an edge off Rafay Khan, after which the tall right-arm offspinner Onaje Amory used his height to get turn and bounce and find the outside edges of Lyle Robertson and Scotland captain Charlie Peet.The tenth wicket, however, was of Scotland’s best batter Oliver Davidson. Having opened the batting and seen all the wickets tumble around him, he had to show restraint through his innings. He trundled along to 43 in 92 balls before being the last man out in anticlimactic fashion, run out while looking for a two. It was a terrific performance on the field led by stand-in captain Giovonte Depeiza, who was leading the side in Ackeem Auguste’s absence.West Indies opener Matthew Nandu was tentative in their chase of 96, more so after his first-ball duck against Australia in the tournament opener. The other opener Shaqkere Parris, though, was more enterprising with his shot making. Together they put on 37 for the first wicket.Parris entertained with three fours and a six, but he seemed to get bogged down by Peet’s unorthodox round-arm left-arm spinning deliveries that seemed to dart into the stumps. Parris missed a Leet delivery that went straight with the arm, and he was walking back for 26 in 29 balls after his leg stump was rattled.The other left-arm spinner Oliver Davidson soon removed Rivaldo Clarke after his cut took the edge to the keeper, but that was about all the success Scotland had. West Indies did not lose a wicket from 66 for 3 onwards, and the unbeaten batters Teddy Bishop (23*) and Johnson (14*) saw the game off without any fuss.Dunith Wellalage turned in key performances with bat and ball•Getty Images

In the other Group D match, Sri Lanka captain Dunith Wellalage produced a dominating all-round show against Australia to throw the group wide open with one round of matches left.Wellalage – the batting allrounder who also bowls left-arm spin – first ran through the Australia batting with a five-for to bowl them out for 175. And when Sri Lanka were 49 for 4 in their chase, he smacked 52 to set up their win.Although Wellalage top-scored in the chase, he was ably assisted from the No. 6 and No. 7 batters who came after him. Wicketkeeper Anjala Bandara made 33 in a 70-run fifth-wicket stand with Wellalage. And after that, Wellalage added a further 52 with Ranuda Somarathne. After Wellalage fell, Somarathne saw the chase off to finish unbeaten on 32.Australia’s only bright spot was their opener Campbell Kellaway, who made 54. Wellalage, who introduced himself as the sixth bowler, made the most damage through the middle overs. After removing Kellaway in the 29th over, he rattled the stumps twice in the 31st to dismiss Nivethan Radhakrishnan (21) and Tobias Snell.Those three wickets in quick time saw Australia fall from 107 for 3 to 112 for 6, and if it wasn’t for William Salzmann’s 22, they would’ve folded for much lesser.Sri Lanka’s win sets Group D up for a grandstand finish. The winner of the Sri Lanka-West Indies clash in the last round definitely progresses to the Super League stage. But the loser of that game can also go through if Australia don’t win by a big enough margin against Scotland in their last match.Haseebullah’s century is the tournament’s highest individual score so far•ICC via Getty Images

Over in Group C, Pakistan’s wicketkeeper-batter Haseebullah Khan hammered 135 to lift Pakistan to 315 for 9, a total 115 runs too much for Zimbabwe in their game at Diego Martin.Haseebullah put on a 189-run third-wicket stand with the No. 4 Irfan Khan, who made 75 in 73 balls. After that, the rest of Pakistan’s batters smacked quick-fire cameos to give Zimbabwe an uphill chase. The 16-year-old Awais Ali then picked up three late wickets in the second innings to finish with 6 for 56, the tournament’s best figures so far.Haseebullah, the opener, hammered ten fours and four sixes in his 155-ball innings while Irfan crunched six fours and one six. Their third-wicket stand was broken by right-arm seamer Alex Falao when Irfan fell in the 45th over, but that did not plug the flow of runs.Qasim Akram, the Pakistan captain, scored an 11-ball 20, Abbas Ali made 13 in six balls and the No. 9 Zeeshan Zamar hit three sixes in his six-ball 21 to take Pakistan to 315. Falao picked up another four wickets after Irfan’s dismissal to finish with 5 for 58.Pakistan’s opening bowlers, Zeeshan Zameer and Ahmed Khan, together with first-change bowler Awais pegged Zimbabwe back early with their breakthroughs. On the back of their effort, Pakistan had reduced Zimbabwe to 82 for 6 which soon was 111 for 7.But Brian Bennett went on to hit a 92-ball 82 to get Zimbabwe as close to the target as he could. He did the bulk of the scoring in a 73-run eighth-wicket stand with Tendekai Mataranyika to take Zimbabwe to 200. But Awais returned to clean both of them up, and also the final wicket, to finish with a six-for. Despite Zimbabwe’s late rally to protect their net run rate, they still fell short by 115.

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.