All posts by n8rngtd.top

Sutherland hundred sets up Australia but Ecclestone, Knight, Sciver-Brunt keep hosts in hunt

Valkerie Baynes23-Jun-2023Tammy Beaumont’s unbeaten century put England back in contention after Annabel Sutherland’s own hundred had put Australia on top in the Women’s Ashes Test at Trent Bridge.It had looked as though Sutherland would own the day with her unbeaten 137, the highest score by a batter at No. 8 or lower in a Women’s Test, having reached the fastest Test hundred by an Australian woman, off 148 balls. Australia’s 473 was the highest first innings in a women’s Test and came despite Sophie Ecclestone’s maiden Test five-wicket haul, a herculean effort which ended in her 47th over when she removed last wicket Darcie Brown.Sutherland also made an early breakthrough as Australia’s first-change bowler, after their new-ball pairing of Brown and Kim Garth had largely struggled for length and rhythm, an uncharacteristic rash of full tosses doing nothing to dent England’s efforts to overhaul their opponents.Beaumont, off the back of an unbeaten double-hundred in last week’s warm-up match, kept the hosts in the hunt with her 100 not out as she became just the second Englishwoman behind captain Heather Knight to score a century in all three formats. That she got there sprinting for a second run after clipping Sutherland towards square leg after spending a day and a half in the field only added to the magic of her innings. Knight contributed 57 to the cause as the pair put on 115 runs for the second wicket and Nat Sciver-Brunt cruised to a brisk 41 not out.While Brown and Garth were struggling to nail their lengths early, Beaumont edged Brown towards second slip where Phoebe Litchfield appeared to get a fingertip to a difficult chance, but otherwise accumulated nicely, punishing any bad balls to the boundary.Sutherland entered the attack in the 10th over and struck with her sixth ball, enticing a drive from Emma Lamb with a fuller ball on off stump which sailed to Jess Jonassen, who swallowed the catch low at second slip. She bowled 13 dot-balls before conceding any runs, Beaumont dispatching a full toss to the boundary through mid-on.Annabel Sutherland acknowledges the applause for her maiden Test hundred•Getty Images

Beaumont moved to her third Test fifty by pulling an Alana King delivery to the fence beyond deep midwicket and, two balls later, she swept her fine for another boundary, her 11th of the innings. Beaumont enjoyed a stroke of luck on 61 when umpire Anna Harris turned down Australia’s hearty appeal for a catch by Litchfield at short leg and the tourists declined to review, with replays showing Beaumont had struck King’s fuller ball onto her boot before it looped directly to Litchfield. Later, on 88, she just managed to evade Jonassen’s dive at slip.Knight unleashed a reverse-sweep for four against Ashleigh Gardner, brought on at the start of the last hour as Australia searched for a wicket, and she pierced the slips with a boundary off Garth to bring up her fourth Test fifty. Gardner finally lifted Australia when she removed Knight by enticing an edge with a fuller, slower delivery and wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy did the rest.Earlier, Sutherland and King added 34 runs to Australia’s overnight 328 for 7 and extended their union to 47 before a Lauren Bell inswinger crashed into the top of King’s off stump. Ecclestone had earlier thought she had King out lbw with her third ball of the day but she survived on umpire’s call when England reviewed, with Hawk-Eye showing that the ball was just clipping leg stump.Sutherland expertly marshalled a 95-run partnership with Garth, the former Ireland international making her Test debut for Australia. She brought up Australia’s 400 and moved into the 90s with a punch to the boundary through extra cover off Ecclestone and, next over, she raised her century with a four through deep midwicket off Lauren Filer.Sutherland had entered the game off the back of a century in Australia’s three-day warm-up against England A and here she played with great tempo and poise, the only half-chance she offered came shortly after reaching her ton when she edged a Filer short ball outside off stump, which flew just beyond the grasp of a leaping Knight in the slips.Related

• Tammy Beaumont rides luck to realise her 2005 dream with Ashes Test ton

• Knight calls on batters to replicate 'outstanding' second day

• Alyssa Healy nervous but excited for 'most hyped Women's Ashes'

• Ellyse Perry's 99 sets the tempo for Australia as Lauren Filer cranks up the pace on debut

• Ellyse Perry: Getting out for 99 is a 'bummer' but life goes on

Australia’s ability to build partnerships was key to their innings with Sutherland also putting on 77 runs for the seventh wicket with Gardner, while Ellyse Perry, who fell on 99, shared a 119-run stand with Tahlia McGrath after adding 48 with Beth Mooney.After Bell’s initial breakthrough, England were frustrated. Down a seam-bowling option with Sciver-Brunt bowling just five overs the previous day because of an apparent knee complaint, debutant Filer couldn’t add to her two wickets of the previous day. It fell to Ecclestone, back into the action after bowling a mammoth 28 overs on the trot on Thursday, to eventually take the remaining wickets.When she beat the inside edge and rapped Garth on the back pad in her 45th over, there was no free-wheeling round the outfield. Instead she slumped, hands on knees as her team-mates ran to pat her on the back. Sutherland dispatched Ecclestone over deep midwicket for six but Ecclestone was able to muster enough sprightliness to snaffle a return catch off Brown to close out the innings and end her heroic toil with an exclamation mark.

“No easy points for anyone,” vows Batty after Essex make the champions work

Alan Gardner07-May-2023There are drawn matches, and there are drawn matches. Stalemate was always the likeliest outcome to this game after only 6.4 overs were possible on day three but Surrey, the LV= Insurance Championship defending champions, were forced to man the barricades deep into the final hour at Chelmsford as Essex pushed for the three wickets they required to secure a statement win.Talk around the circuit this season has been of playing more attacking cricket, in the mould of Ben Stokes’ England team, and Essex did their darnedest to conjure a result by donating all ten wickets in a session-and-a-bit of giddy thrashing. Set 273 in 54 overs, Surrey’s tilt was given impetus by Ollie Pope’s crisp 47 from 57 balls but, after Simon Harmer struck twice in his first three deliveries following a belated introduction, the visitors were forced to retrench.Harmer ended the day with eight men around the bat as Jamie Smith, who finished unbeaten on 39 from 126 balls, showed commendable fortitude to shut the game down. Gareth Batty, Surrey’s head coach, was able to proclaim satisfaction afterwards with a hard-fought draw. “We definitely play every game to win, right up until that last 25 overs we were still playing to win,” he said. “But whilst I can still breathe we are not going to give people easy points.”Matters of succession in the County Championship are usually more Roy family than royal family, and Surrey will know that the candidates are queuing up to mount a hostile takeover this season. Essex had the better of this game, and would surely have won by a convincing margin but for time lost to the weather, while Warwickshire’s dramatic rissoling of Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl means that Rory Burns’ side have company at the top of Division One.(As it happens, there was some Roy family involvement at Chelmsford – Shane Snater, Essex’s Zimbabwe-born Dutch allrounder, is a cousin of Surrey’s Jason Roy, although his dismissal of Pope provided evidence that he is a far more capable operator than ‘s hapless cousin Greg).Needing to score at almost exactly five an over, Surrey were keen to show intent despite losing Dom Sibley to a low catch at second slip from the eighth ball of the innings. Harmer made his first significant intervention with a flying, one-handed grab to dismiss Burns on the brink of tea, but the presence of Pope – whose incendiary 122 from 102 balls propelled a chase of similar magnitude against Hampshire three weeks ago – kept followers of an Essex stripe on guard.Few players were able to transcend a Chelmsford surface that offered something for bowlers throughout – there were only three half-centuries in the match, all in Essex’s first innings – but Pope has a knack for the sublime and more than enough “Bazball” pedigree to have Tom Westley nervously eyeing the required rate. A skip down the pitch to dispatch Doug Bracewell into the scaffolding holding up the temporary sightscreen for next week’s ODIs between Ireland and Bangladesh appeared to herald a cavalry charge, only for England’s No. 3 to miscue Snater to cover a few overs later.At 73 for 3, Surrey needed exactly 200 from 33.5 overs. Will Jacks maintained the front by swatting his third ball for six but then chipped tamely to midwicket. Surrey sent out Shaun Abbott as a last roll of the dice – or throw of the bat – but he greeted Harmer, held back until the 29th over with Essex wary of the short boundary towards the pavilion, by skying the spinner’s first ball to long-on, and when Harmer won a decision against Ben Foakes in the same over, Surrey were 103 for 6 with more than 25 overs left to be bowled.Only one more wicket went down, however, as Cameron Steel – who survived a loud lbw appeal against Harmer first ball and later saw Nick Browne put down a tough chance at short leg – set himself for an hour’s worth of blocking alongside Smith. Steel did eventually miss a full toss from Bracewell but Jordan Clark played sensibly to help ensure Surrey got over the line.The fourth day began with Alastair Cook being dismissed from the second ball of the morning, though the fact he was bowled attempting to drive a Kemar Roach inswinger perhaps told of an adventurous mindset in the home dressing room. Browne and Westley shepherded the innings along, adding 38 in 15 overs before the latter fell to a catch at the wicket – and the arrival of Dan Lawrence changed the tenor of the afternoon.Lawrence’s fifth ball was dispatched out of the ground over long-off, potentially causing trouble for anyone hosting a coronation garden party in Hayes Close, and his intentions were crystal as he thrashed his way to 28 from 24 balls before being bowled behind his legs from the next, exposing his stumps to attempt an extravagant flick. The third wicket had yielded 54 in 10 overs but Essex then seemed to get a little carried away with the bank holiday mood, conspiring to lose 8 for 82 either side of lunch in a flurry of ill-conceived shots.”We talked around having 60-ish overs [to bowl at Surrey],” Essex’s head coach, Anthony McGrath, said. “We wanted to try and dangle a carrot so that they’d go for it, so there were opportunities – because we knew that if you just batted out it was going to be tough to bowl them out. It kind of went where we wanted to but we just ran out of time in the end.”

Captain in the runs again as home side reach 241 for 5 either side of rain

ECB Reporters Network27-Apr-2023Leicestershire just about had the upper hand on a rain-affected opening day of their LV= Insurance County Championship against Glamorgan after skipper Lewis Hill and former captain Colin Ackermann had shared a 100-run partnership.Their third-wicket stand provided the main substance in a total of 241 for 5 as a continuation of the wet spring weather limited play to 66.2 overs.Hill followed his career-best unbeaten 162 against Derbyshire two weeks ago with a second 50-plus score of the season. The in-form Ackermann, after scores of 67, 72 and 114 in his three previous innings this season, added 45 to raise his tally for the season to 298.His fellow Netherlands international Timm van der Gugten, with 4 for 45, was the pick of the Glamorgan bowlers, taking two wickets before lunch and another two in the afternoon to keep the home side in check.Winless and bottom of the table last season, Leicestershire are keen to prove their extraordinary victory over Yorkshire in the opening round of the Division Two programme was no fluke. They were frustrated by the weather when they took on Derbyshire at the Uptonsteel County Ground two weeks ago, with two complete days washed out.Conditions were at least dry if cold at the start of this match, and Leicestershire could be pretty pleased with their morning’s work after Glamorgan skipper David Lloyd had won the toss and decided he would field first.As a unit, Loyd’s seam-bowling attack struggled to hit the right lengths on a mottled-looking pitch, with the notable exception of van der Gugten, who took wickets in his first and third overs after coming on at first change at the Bennett End, removing both openers.He struck with his third delivery to see off Sol Budinger, the left-hander, who had gathered 26 runs with typical urgency before van der Gugten came round the wicket to knock out his off stump. Rishi Patel, with whom Budinger put on 43 for the first wicket, soon followed, caught behind off a ball that climbed on him as he tried to force it through the off side.Yet Hill and Ackermann looked increasingly comfortable in guiding Leicestershire to 123 for 2 at lunch, after which Hill hit fours off Michael Neser and Lloyd to raise his boundary tally to eight in an 82-ball half-century.However, no sooner had the third-wicket pair taken their partnership to 100 than both were dismissed in consecutive overs by van der Gugten, whose appeal was upheld to the apparent surprise of the Leicestershire batter as Ackermann was pronounced leg before to a ball that was certainly angling towards the leg side.Finding some movement off the pitch, the Australia-born van der Gugten followed up by having Hill caught behind, the Leicestershire captain feeling he had to defend his stumps against a ball that nipped away to take the edge. From 152 for 2, the home side were 153 for 4 in the blink of an eye and van der Gugten had all four wickets.Peter Handscomb and Wiaan Mulder were not the worst pair to be charged with a rebuilding job but the South African, in need of a score to settle him in to the new campaign, found his luck out again, bowled by a delivery from Michael Neser that he felt he could safely leave only for it to swing in and then dart back sharply off the pitch to hit his off stump.At 168 for 5, Leicestershire could have lost their way but Australian Test wicketkeeper-batter Peter Handscomb was well supported by the ever-improving fledgling England player Rehan Ahmed, the teenage leg-pinning all-rounder, in making sure that did not happen.Either side of a two-hour stoppage for rain, the pair added an unbroken 73 for the sixth wicket, of which Ahmed has made 38, chancing a few youthfully extravagant shots but generally playing in a way that reflects his growing maturity.

Justin Langer hopes it will provide a genuine contest between bat and ball, but there is no guarantee it will prove much livelier than the one that was rated poor last year

Melinda Farrell at the MCG24-Dec-20182:06

‘Won’t be like Perth, but will have pace’ – MCG curator

Australia coach Justin Langer is hopeful the MCG pitch will provide a genuine contest between bat and ball, something he believes could secure the future of Test cricket.The nature of the MCG pitch is under intense scrutiny ahead of the Boxing Day Test, with a distinctly green tinge two days out, giving some hope but no guarantee it will prove much livelier than the dull surface that was rated “poor” after last year’s draw against England.”It’s great to see some grass,” Langer said. “I’ve played Shield cricket here over last six or seven years, seen the Test here, and I’ve said forever the most important thing in Test cricket – international cricket – are the pitches.”If you have great pitches you’ll have contest between bat and ball, then Test cricket will be alive and well. If we play on flat wickets then it becomes a really boring game and that’s from someone who loves Test cricket.”Hopefully it’s a contest between bat and ball because it’s really important, not just for this series but also for world cricket.”ALSO READ: Don’t judge MCG pitch by its grass cover – Marcus HarrisAfter the Ashes Test last summer the MCG curator, Matt Page, oversaw some changes to the block, including the addition of a layer of sand to allow better drainage of moisture and encourage the pitch to become more spin friendly on the later days of the Test.But Marcus Harris, who made 250 for Victoria at the MCG in a Sheffield Shield match, had earlier told ESPNcricinfo he expected any early liveliness provided by the grass would give way to a slow scoring surface that largely held together.Meanwhile, Langer, a native of Western Australia who played much of his domestic cricket at the WACA ground, claimed the pitch used for the second Test was the quickest he had ever witnessed in Perth.The ICC rated the Perth Stadium pitch as “average”, a decision that puzzled the Australia coach.”I was really surprised actually,” Langer said. “I guess a couple stayed low. But I thought it was such entertaining Test cricket – that was the fastest pitch I’ve ever seen in Perth and I’ve been there a long time.”I thought it was really exciting Test cricket, got a result on the fifth day. From a personal point of view I love seeing cricket played like that.

The two captains were surprised by the new ball offering more turn and how much it spun in the second innings

Deivarayan Muthu28-Jan-20231:29

Is Devon Conway New Zealand’s best all-format batter?

India captain Hardik Pandya was surprised by the way the Ranchi pitch behaved in the T20I series opener against New Zealand on Friday. The pitch offered sharp grip and turn to slower bowlers throughout the game, with the dew factor not making much of an impact in the second innings. Chasing 177, India could manage only 155 for 9, as New Zealand won their first game of the tour.”I don’t think no one even thought that this wicket would play like that,” Hardik told Star Sports at the post-match presentation. “Both teams kind of got surprised, but think they played better cricket on this [pitch], and that’s the reason the result ended like that.”Actually, the ball was turning more with the new ball than the old one. And the way it spun and the way it was getting [that] bounce, I think it kind of caught us by surprise, but I still think we kind of pulled it back. We were still in the game till Surya [Suryakumar Yadav] and myself were batting and obviously the way Washy [Washington Sundar] finished. As I said, it was a surprise wicket, but they just played little better cricket than us.”Related

• The Hardik Pandya evolution: 'I don't mind coming in and playing the MS Dhoni role'

• Lucknow curator sacked for 'shocker of a pitch' for second India-NZ T20I

• 'Big plus' Washington Sundar hasn't lost his white-ball smarts

• Daryl Mitchell and Mitchell Santner give New Zealand 1-0 lead in T20Is

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner echoed Hardik’s thoughts on the track, with the sharply cut grass at the JSCA Stadium perhaps offering their spinners more assistance in the second innings.”I think it was a shock for everyone involved – how much it kind of spun in the second innings,” Santner said. “But yeah, it was a great game, and it was pretty tight in the end. You saw a lot runs in the ODI series, so it’s nice to see the ball spin a bit more [in the T20Is].”

Watch India vs NZ on ESPN

You can watch the replay of the first T20I on ESPN Player in the UK and on ESPN+ in English and in Hindi in the USA.

Washington wasn’t too critical of the pitch and suggested that the way it played was just an aberration. “I think it was just a one-off game,” he said at the post-match press conference. “I don’t think that just because it was spinning so much, we have to address anything. Just that one-off game. Had we got off to a flier or even a better start, things would’ve been much different. Obviously, it did spin, and you will see such wickets here and there. Obviously, people over here and players in our team have played on such wickets in the IPL and even in the Indian team. So, just that one-off game where certain things didn’t go our way and eventually, we couldn’t cross the line. They bowled well and they played with three spinners and even their seamers bowled very well.”Washington reckoned that allrounder Daryl Mitchell’s unbeaten 59 off 30 balls, including a sequence of 7(nb), 6, 6, 4 in the last over turned the game. Left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh kept missing his yorkers and ended up leaking 27 off the over of New Zealand’s innings.”Obviously, Daryl’s innings was very crucial for them and as I said 150 would’ve been par and we would’ve been very happy with that going inside, but yes he made the difference by actually getting a half-century for himself,” Washington said. “He played till the end and made the difference in the last over. I think these big overs will happen in T20 cricket and it just happened in a couple of occasions in this game and at times it could happen where you will see 15 runs and above in three-four overs. That’s how this format is.”Santner also acknowledged that Mitchell’s contribution – and making early inroads with the ball – was crucial on that pitch. Santner himself was so un-hittable in the early exchanges that Suryakumar played out a maiden in the last over of the powerplay. The left-arm fingerspinner came away with the most economical figures on the day: 4-1-11-2.”I don’t think we were ever safe [with that total],” Santner said. “On-seventy-odd was obviously nice, Daryl hit a couple over the rope and he batted extremely well and so did Dev [Devon Conway]. We thought we were in with a sniff at 180 [176 for 6]. We knew we had to bowl well with the power that India have; so it was nice to chip some wickets away at the powerplay, which we struggled for in the one-day series.”

Powar’s term will include the Sri Lanka tour in September, followed by a T20I series and the World T20 in the West Indies

Annesha Ghosh14-Aug-2018Ramesh Powar’s tenure as India women’s interim head coach has been extended till the World T20 in November in light of a time-crunch ahead of India’s next assignment – in September – and a dearth of clarity regarding the Cricket Advisory Committee’s (CAC) role in the selection process.Powar, the former India offspinner, will remain coach till November 30, 2018. During this period, the team will tour Sri Lanka for three ODIs and five T20Is, followed by a T20I series and the World T20 in the West Indies.With the side scheduled to depart for Sri Lanka on September 5, ESPNcricinfo understands that the extension of Powar’s interim role comes as the most feasible stop-gap arrangement on the part of the BCCI. This, especially in light of the Supreme Court mandating the CAC’s involvement in the appointment of the head coach of both the men’s and women’s national teamsPowar was handed the job on July 16, a week after former head coach Tushar Arothe resigned from the post in the aftermath of a fallout with some of the high-profile regulars. Soon after his appointment, Powar took charge of the national camp at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, where all India regulars – save for T20I captain Harmanpreet Kaur and vice-captain Smriti Mandhana – participated between July 25 and August 5, while several uncapped players also featured in the mix.Powar’s appointment in the interim post had coincided with the BCCI inviting applications for the full-time role. On August 10, a panel comprising Diana Edulji, the former India captain and member of the Committee of Administrators, BCCI CEO Rahul Johri, and general manager (cricket operations) Saba Karim interviewed 20 applicants for about ten minutes each in Mumbai. While some flew down to the BCCI headquarters, a majority of them joined in via Skype.Following the initial screening process, six applicants had been shortlisted. Powar had made the cut alongside former India women’s captain Mamatha Maben, former India left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi, batsman Atul Bedade, India men’s U-19 team bowling coach Sanath Kumar, and Rajkumar Sharma, who formerly coached Delhi’s junior teams and India captain Virat Kohli in his formative years.Maben, ESPNcricinfo understands, was among at least the five female candidates to have applied for the job. Others included former India wicketkeeper-batsman Kalpana Venkatachar, former New Zealand batsman Maria Fahey, former India women’s assistant coach Suman Sharma, and Gujarat women’s coach Rituparna Roy. Suman was also in charge of the Kerala women’s team last season.”I haven’t received any official word from the BCCI,” Maben told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s only been the newspapers where I have been getting the updates from. But I feel if the selection panel chooses Ramesh to travel with the team to Sri Lanka, it only makes sense that he accompanies them to the WT20. There’s not much time at the team’s disposal, so Ramesh continuing from the Sri Lanka assignment to World T20 makes sense because eventually, it’s the results that count.”Most of the India players are part of the three-team Challenger Trophy which is currently underway in Alur and are scheduled to assemble for a preparatory camp in Chennai in the last week of this month. They will be joined by Harmanpreet and Mandhana who are set to return from the UK next week following their Kia Super League stints.

Lancashire allrounder gets nod above Will Jacks, Ben Duckett confirmed as opener for first Test

Vithushan Ehantharajah29-Nov-20221:56

Why Livingstone could play ahead of Jacks vs Pakistan

Liam Livingstone will make his England Test debut against Pakistan in Rawalpindi on Thursday.Livingstone, 29, will be one of two new faces named by skipper Ben Stokes for the first Test from the team that ended the English summer. Ben Duckett will partner Zak Crawley at the top of the order, replacing Alex Lees who was dropped for this tour, adding to his four Test appearances from 2016-17, against Bangladesh and India. Yorkshire batter Harry Brook keeps his spot at No. 5, having replaced the injured Jonny Bairstow at the Kia Oval in the final match of the South Africa series.Livingstone, picked on this tour for his capabilities as a spinner along with his ball-striking which has made him a go-to signing on the Twenty20 circuit, last played a competitive red-ball match at the end of the 2021 summer for Lancashire. Both of his first-class averages are in the high 30s: 38.36 with the bat and 36.13 with the ball.Related

• England in Pakistan: A history of controversy

• Ben Duckett: 'There's no better time to play Test cricket than under Stokes and McCullum'

• Pope to captain England in warm-up as Ben Stokes sits out

• Archer makes encouraging return to England colours after long injury lay-off

His selection in the XI is ultimately for his potential, bombastic upside. As head coach Brendon McCullum put it on Monday: “He bowls offspin, legspin, fields well and smacks the ball out of the park – it’s hard not to get around a player who plays like that.” Ultimately, the call was between him and Surrey’s batting allrounder Will Jacks, who bowls offspin. Livingstone got the nod on account of offering both wrist and finger spin.”The only real discussion we thought was worth having was whether we go with Jacksy or Livi,” Stokes said. “I think given the place where Livi’s going to play and as that third spinner role, it’s quite nice to have someone who turns it both ways. And quite nice the way he applies himself with the bat – very similar to Jacksy, but having that legspin and offspin possibility with Livi was a big plus for us.”Stokes referring to Livingstone as a “third spinner” is down to wanting to utilise Joe Root’s offspin alongside the left-arm orthodox of Jack Leach, who is regarded as the frontline spinner. Livingstone will supplement both.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“With Livi he’s one of those cricketers who can come on from anywhere and take a wicket when the ball’s flowing a bit the opposition’s way. I’ve already spoken to Rooty as well. I’m going to try to use him quite a lot. I think he underuses himself. He’s actually got some very good assets as an offspin bowler. He’s been working very hard on his bowling.”The presentation of a maiden Test cap this week will round off a special month or so for Livingstone, who was part of England’s successful T20 World Cup campaign in Australia. As a verified specialist in the shortest format, notably from an English perspective when he carried the first edition of the Hundred in 2021, it perhaps bodes well that someone like him would relish the chance to play the longest format.Stokes revealed he spoke to Livingstone about the prospect of playing a part in these Test matches a couple of months ago. The response he got back was encouraging. His lack of first-class action has featured less as a worry and more as a punchline over the last fortnight. Stokes joked that Livingstone “will probably try to hit a few over this media centre, no doubt”.”It was a pretty simple conversation I had with him, actually before we went out to Australia for the World Cup. I obviously told him where we stood in terms of him playing some red-ball cricket out in the subcontinent.”With the skill he has with the ball and the way he plays with the bat, [he] is very aligned with how me and Baz want to see the team play. He jumped at the opportunity. I don’t necessarily think that not playing a red-ball game is going to be too much of a thing for him. He’s a very natural cricketer, he’s going to go out there and really express himself. So yeah looking forward to seeing him in the whites. He did say when he got his white pads out of the bag ‘what are these?'”Duckett, while also selected on style of play, has earned a recall on an impressive showing last season with Nottinghamshire. He struck 1012 runs at an average of 72.28, at a rate of 76.09 – that last figure as much a pro for this management group as the three centuries. He underlined his expansive play in the T20 series in Pakistan a few months ago with 233 runs at 46.60 (strike rate 159.58), which gave Stokes in particular a nudge he was the man for the job ahead of the other opener in the squad, Keaton Jennings.Liam Livingstone has been picked in England’s Test XI for Rawalpindi•Getty Images

“Ducky showed out here in the T20s just how good he is against spin bowling,” Stokes said. “To have someone at the top like him who can mess around with the fields and make it a captain’s nightmare because he sweeps both ways, and we know how much of a part spin plays out in this area. Excited to have him at the top.”Brook’s selection, meanwhile, is a continuation from the summer in which he carried drinks before making his bow in the format in the final South Africa Test. He scored 12 in his only innings of that match but comes off the back of a stellar season with Yorkshire: a monster average of 107.44, with three hundreds – including a career best 194 against Kent – and a final tally of 967 from just eight matches.”The way in which Harry’s gone about his first-class cricket over the last year, we won’t see much difference out here in the subcontinent,” Stokes said. “Another one who’s a perfect like for like in the way they play for Jonny. He [Bairstow] is a big miss in this Test team out here, but very blessed to have someone like Brooky to replace him.”Stokes also discussed the importance of approaching this tour of Pakistan with an understanding life is more important than cricket. On Monday, the England captained revealed he would be dominating his match fees, understood to be approximately £50,000 (US$60,000) for this tour to the Pakistan flood appeal.”Coming here is a monumental time for English cricket and for Pakistan as a nation. There are bigger things to life than cricket. The floods were devastating to the country, and me coming out here and representing my country, bringing the sport back to the nation. There are things that go on in life that are bigger than sport and I felt compelled just to give something that is bigger than cricket.”Donations to the appeal can be made via the Disasters Emergency Committee.

Major contributions from almost every player in the team helped Jamaica Tallawahs complete a comprehensive win before their three-game Florida leg

The Report by Peter Della Penna16-Aug-2018Ross Taylor swats the ball away•Getty Images

Arguably the most well-rounded team performance of the season for Jamaica Tallawahs helped them maintain their perfect start to CPL 2018 as they ended their two-game home stretch at Sabina Park with a 47-run win over St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, spoiling a return for native son Chris Gayle.Three batsmen – Glenn Phillips, Kennar Lewis and Ross Taylor – contributed 40-plus scores to set a stiff target of 179 after the Tallawahs lost the toss. In response, the Patriots crawled out of the gate at 2 for 1 in three overs and were three down by the end of the Powerplay. They never recovered as six different Tallawahs bowlers took wickets to keep them to 131 for 9.Patriots pay for fielding errorsTwo of the three high scorers on the night for the Tallawahs received reprieves early in their innings. The first came to Phillips on 11 in the sixth over. Substitute fielder Hayden Walsh Jr., who was on after Gayle exited in the fourth over with a thumb injury, charged in from deep square leg after Phillips miscued a pull off Carlos Brathwaite. But Walsh was distracted by Jeremiah Louis running toward him from midwicket and, despite getting two hands to the ball, couldn’t hold on. Phillips went on to make 41 off 38 balls.The second came to Taylor, who skied a chance which was snapped up easily at extra cover when he was on 6, off the bowling of Anton Devcich in the 10th over. However, the third umpire called Taylor back to the crease after replays showed Devcich had overstepped the line. The free hit was swatted for six by Phillips, who up to that stage had scored a sluggish 15 off 21 balls before finishing with 26 off his last 17.The two sides of LamichhaneIn an innings where Tallawahs scored at a run rate of 8.9 per over, the lone bowler who kept Patriots in the match during the first half was the 18-year-old legspinner from Nepal, whose end economy was 5.25. It didn’t start that way though.Lamichhane’s first seven balls were hit for 16 runs, including two sixes by Man of the Match Kennar. But after the first ball of the 7th over was hit straight for six, Lamichhane dragged his next ball to a sixth stump line outside off and Kennar struggled to reach out with the result a skied catch to Tom Cooper on the boundary at long-off.Two balls later, Lamichhane trapped Andre McCarthy with a googly. Off his final 17 deliveries, he conceded just five runs. Taylor struggled most of all, beaten repeatedly outside off stump to go scoreless in four deliveries against Lamichhane. At the end of his four-over spell, Tallawahs were 113 for 3 and Taylor on 11 off 20 balls.Cottrell gets shelledThe momentum shifted drastically once Lamichhane left the attack as Tallawahs plundered 65 off the last five overs. Taylor in particular played with a newfound freedom once Sheldon Cottrell entered in the 16th over. In the first four balls after Lamichhane’s spell ended, Taylor went 6, 6, leg bye and 6. Taylor scored 40 off his final 15 balls, including 28 off 8 against Cottrell during the 16th and 19th overs that featured two fours and three sixes by the New Zealand batsman. Cottrell ended with 0 for 44 on the night as Taylor provided a big lift heading into the innings break.In Lew of runsEvin Lewis’ dramatic form drought continued at Sabina Park on Wednesday night. After Gayle played all 12 balls over the first two overs and managed to come away with just one run, Lewis buckled under the mounting pressure when he finally got on strike, fending at back of a length ball angled across by Oshane Thomas for a second-ball duck. It’s his second straight duck and he has scored just 1 run off 10 balls this season.Cooper’s struggles continued as well after coming in at No. 3. Krishmar Santokie, who bowled a maiden to Gayle in the second over, snared Cooper thanks to a caped crusading effort by captain Andre Russell flying through the air at mid-off for a spectacular catch in the fourth over to make it 9 for 2.Gayle, who had been dropped on 1 at backward point by Kennar off Thomas, started to stir in the fifth with a pair of sixes off Thomas but offspinner Steven Jacobs struck in his first over of the season, getting Gayle to slash to short third man to end the sixth over. Ending the Powerplay at 39 for 3, spinners continued to tie down the Patriots. Adam Zampa and Imad Wasim each collected a pair of wickets. When Imad had Brathwaite skying to long-on to make it 93 for 8, Patriots were in the process of being blown out, before Cottrell made cosmetic adjustments to the final scoreline with some late hitting. But the result was never in doubt for the Tallawahs.

Former board chairmen Bob Merrimen and Malcolm Speed explain how James Sutherland grew in his role as chief executive officer

Daniel Brettig08-Jun-20184:24

Brettig: Sutherland will be remembered for the way he handled controversies

James Sutherland’s successor at Cricket Australia will face a “hell of a job” to maintain the governing body’s international relationships, according to the former chairman Bob Merriman, who also said the current heir apparent Kevin Roberts should spend as much time as possible with the outgoing boss to learn more of his pragmatic ways.In assessing Sutherland’s 17-year tenure, both his predecessor Malcolm Speed and Merriman touched on common themes of an era beginning in 2001, which led to an exponential growth of the business. CA took the game to new audiences through its promotion of the Big Bash League and women’s cricket and formed a strong relationship with BCCI, feeding off its financial might.Merriman, who was on the panel to select Sutherland as CEO and became his first long-term leadership partner from 2001 to 2005, said that the outgoing chief executive’s high standard over a long period was underlined by the way he had juggled domestic and international responsibilities, alongside the tension between the game’s traditions and its search for growth. He described Sutherland’s exit as a “great loss for cricket”.

‘I didn’t think it would ever happen’

Governance reform at Cricket Australia – changing the Board from a group of 14 state-appointed delegates to nine independent directors – was something tried and failed on many occasions before James Sutherland’s long game alongside successive chairmen finally resulted in the adoption of the new model in 2012.
“The change to the Board constitution to its current structure was again something he worked very hard on over a 10-year period,” Merriman said. “It took a long while to get there but he was consistently at it until he got what one would now say is an operational Board with some independence on it and not run by state interests.
“In my term as chair I tried twice and got beaten twice, but it was one of James’ key objective, set out with it in probably the year 2002, and finally got there in 2012. It was a long, drawn out exercise he finally achieved, after I’d tried it twice and failed and didn’t think it would ever happen.”
Internationally, Malcolm Speed pointed to Australia’s enhanced standing among other ICC member nations as a part of Sutherland’s legacy. “Our Australian focus on local leagues sometimes diminishes the relevance of global sporting bodies. It is quite difficult to accommodate the needs of other countries in a global sport, particularly one such as cricket where the major countries have different religions, economies, business cultures and sporting structures,” he said. “A major part of the role of the CA CEO is to maximise Australia’s position and influence on the world game.
“In his early years, I was critical of James’s role at meetings of the CEOs of the other major countries. I thought his body language was sometimes dismissive of them and he did not show sufficient respect to them. The same criticism might also have been made of me in my early days at ICC. Australians are direct and forthright and do not have time to spend days at meetings beating around the bush. James accepted the criticism and changed his outlook. By the time I finished, James had established himself as a thought leader for the group and mentor for several of the new CEOs.”

“I think the person who succeeds him is going to have a hell of a job, because the standard that James has set is so high and the achievements have been so great,” Merriman told ESPNcricinfo. “Sure, everything appears to be in place for somebody to come in and manage it, given that all the media arrangements are in place for six years, there’s future programming in place, there’s good staff in place and guaranteed revenue. But it’s going to be a real challenge for the next person to maintain that level of excellence that James has been able to achieve in ticking all the boxes that he has.”Particularly with the growing of his staff – there’s been some turnover in his staff – the people he’s got there now growing will be very important in the support of a new person coming in as chief executive. In my view it’s going to be a very difficult job to find somebody, if you use the expression David Peever used that he’s the best CEO in the cricket world, so it’s going to be a bit hard to top him.”One would think [Roberts] has got to be under consideration, and I think he’s got a good period to learn as much as he can in the 10-12 months, however long James stays on. He’s got a very good opportunity to learn a hell of a lot from a guy who is very good. Kevin’s got a lot of experience himself, but here’s an opportunity to work with a very successful person.”Speed, describing Sutherland as “very commercial, methodical, rational, thoughtful and consistent”, noted that one of his strengths had been an ability to work alongside a diverse array of chairmen – Denis Rogers, Merriman, Creagh O’Connor, Jack Clarke, Wally Edwards and David Peever – captains – Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Steven Smith and Tim Paine – and coaches – John Buchanan, Tim Nielsen, Mickey Arthur, Darren Lehmann and Justin Langer.”Put these 16 men into a room and you will see an extremely powerful, talented and influential group. They would be a hard group to manage and they would rarely agree on anything. James has been the constant,” Speed said. “He has been the glue that has held them together and perhaps that has been his most important role.”He has been able to work with each of them and has provided the continuity and consistency that has enabled CA to stay on track and become a genuine sporting powerhouse. Over time, he has quietly imposed himself on the organisation and worked with other key people to bring about change. To look at it another way, he has enabled them to make their contributions and work in a collegiate and respectful way.”Two areas in which Speed said he had been critical of Sutherland at times were crisis management and the way he had initially dealt with other ICC member countries. But he felt that in both cases there had been improvement with a preference for dealing genuinely with issues rather than worrying chiefly about how he was perceived in public.”As a new CEO, I thought James struggled with crisis management,” Speed said. “Cricket in Australia will have its fair share of crises and James had plenty early in his tenure. Not the least of these was the bizarre circumstances facing Shane Warne at the 2003 World Cup in South Africa where he was sent home facing doping charges before he had bowled a ball.1:37

Had been thinking about it for a long time – Sutherland

“James did not seek the limelight in dealing with the many issues he faced. Likewise, he did not shirk the issue when he was called upon to face the media. He was always authentic and straightforward and did not seek to prevaricate or obfuscate and he should be given credit for this. Authenticity is the sports administrator’s most important characteristic and James was always the real deal.”The recent ball-tampering scandal is a case in point. With hindsight, I am sure James would have preferred to have spoken to Steve Smith before he made media comment. Time zones were against him and he was keen to be seen to be on top of the issue. Ultimately, the correct outcomes were achieved. Do we judge a sports administrator on how well he appears in the media or on the decisions that are made in resolving difficult issues?”As for last year’s fraught MOU dispute, in which Sutherland initially declined to intervene but ultimately brought about an agreement with the Australian Cricketers Association after Roberts was sidelined as chief negotiator for CA, Speed said that it was incumbent on any chief executive to empower his staff to tackle issues and only jump in when necessary.”James has been criticised for delaying his entry to the recent Collective Bargaining process with the players. I see it differently,” Speed said. “James empowered others to negotiate the deal and that did not work. As soon as he was involved in the deal, consensus was achieved. The CEO is not required to manage each and every aspect of the business but he or she needs to know when they are needed to support those who they empower to perform important roles.”One of Sutherland’s early battles was the seeking out of a new major sponsor for CA at short notice when Ansett collapsed in September 2001. Merriman recalled that the fact he, David Fouvy and Anthony Everard were able to not only secure a new sponsor within a month but also gain more favourable terms than the previous deal, had greatly increased the Board’s trust in their then 35-year-old chief executive.”I remember when we lost Ansett as a chief sponsor, within a month he got a better deal [with Hutchinson Telecom, worth A$1.5 million more than the previous A$25 million deal with Ansett]. In any sport that is a very significant loss. That part of his operation was not generally acknowledged, but the fact he was able to recover when we lose a major sponsor on the eve of the season like we did in September 2001, and then within a month we’ve got not only a major sponsor but an improved deal. He was able to do that all through my time.”

The tour will consist of three ODIs and two Tests

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Oct-2022India will arrive in Bangladesh on December 1 to begin their tour comprising three ODIs and two Tests. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced the tour schedule on Thursday, with Dhaka set to host all three ODIs and one Test, and Chattogram the other Test.The tour begins with the ODI series, which will be played on December 4, 7 and 10 in Dhaka. The touring party will then move to Chattogram to play the first Test at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium from December 14 to 18, after which they return to Dhaka to play the second Test from December 22 to 26. India are set to depart Bangladesh on December 27.

India tour of Bangladesh

December 4: 1st ODI in Dhaka
December 7: 2nd ODI in Dhaka
December 10: 3rd ODI in Dhaka
December 14-18: 1st Test in Chattogram
December 22-26: 2nd Test in Dhaka

Both Tests are part of the ICC World Test Championship, where India are currently in fourth place with 52.08 percentage points while Bangladesh are last in the nine-team championship with 13.33 percentage points.For India, the Test series is crucial to their hopes of qualifying for the WTC final, which will be played at The Oval in June 2023. After the two Tests in Bangladesh, their final assignment in the 2021-23 cycle is a four-Test home series against Australia in February-March 2023.The last time India went on a multi-format tour of Bangladesh was in 2015. That time around, the only Test was drawn while Bangladesh won the ODI series 2-1.