Rain limits play on second day as Kent close first-innings gap on Sussex

ECB Reporters' Network12-Jul-2021Kent 122 for 7 trail Sussex 181 (Singh 4-51) by 59 runsKent moved to 122 for 7 on day two of their LV= Insurance County Championship match with Sussex at Canterbury, cutting the visitors lead to 59 on a day when just an hour and 20 minutes of play was possible.Jamie Atkins has 4 for 31 after taking one of the two wickets to fall, while Sean Hunt has 1 for 23 after removing Kent’s top scorer, Harry Podmore, for 37.Kent’s already depleted squad endured another withdrawal when first-team bowler Nathan Gilchrist, who took 2 for 24 during Sussex’s first innings, was told to self-isolate, earning a call-up for Bailey Wightman, who became the sixth Kent debutant of the match.The start was delayed until 2.15 pm thanks to a damp outfield, by which point dark clouds were already rolling in.After a chaotic start to Canterbury Week on Sunday, when 14 members of the first-team squad were forced to isolate after an unnamed player tested positive for COVID, the hosts resumed on 69 for 5, trailing by 112. They lost Finch to the third ball of the day, lbw for 24 to Atkins, but rallied, thanks to a stand of 50 for the seventh wicket between Podmore and Hamid Qadri.Podmore was dropped on 7 and 14, but responded with a controlled but punchy innings of 37 that included a six over cow corner before he was caught by Oliver Carter off Hunt.Qadri had moved to 12 not out from 46 balls when bad light stopped play at 3.35pm, with Wightman unbeaten on nought, having faced four balls. With rain falling and no prospect of improvement, the umpires abandoned play for the day at 4.50pm.

Limited capacity during pandemic means marquee fixture has been reallocated by hosts

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jun-2021Yorkshire’s County Championship clash with Lancashire has been moved from the iconic outground of Scarborough to Emerald Headingley, in the wake of the UK Government’s delay in the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions.It had been hoped that the Roses fixture, scheduled to begin on July 11, would have attracted daily crowds in excess of 6,000 fans, given the popularity of Scarborough, or “Scarbados”, as it is colloquially known, due to its seaside location and holiday atmosphere.However, the date for the lifting of lockdown measures was recently postponed from June 21 to July 19, due to a surge in new variant cases, and following a review of the current government guidance, Yorkshire have determined that Scarborough’s lay-out, including choke points at entries, exits and toilet facilities, renders it unsuitable even for the hosting of 25 percent capacity crowds.”Firstly we are hugely disappointed to have to make this decision as we truly believed that this fixture would be unaffected,” Mark Arthur, Yorkshire’s chief executive, said.”We were anticipating over 6,000 spectators each day for what would be a fantastic advert for county cricket. Following the extension of the government’s roadmap, we had hoped that social distancing guidelines would have been eased as the data continued to show encouraging signs.”Related

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Although both Yorkshire and Lancashire were both keen for the contest to go ahead as planned, it transpired – following extensive guidance and a professional ECB externally funded investigation – that the capacity would have had to be reduced to significantly below 2,000.Such an attendance would have caused a hit to Yorkshire’s coffers, as well as disappointment for the fans who had hoped to attend the marquee fixture of both team’s Championship campaigns.”After exploring every possible avenue, we had to ensure that as many members as possible could attend the match,” Arthur added. “Staging the match at Scarborough under the current restrictions would leave many of our members disappointed.”Therefore, we believe that the fairest and most pragmatic decision was to host the match at a venue that has satisfied safety requirements and can comfortably cater for Yorkshire members.”We are extremely sorry to those who now have the added complications around accommodation, but we wanted to ensure that as many members could attend as possible.”

Smith has been battling the problem for much of the year and is currently part of New South Wales’ pre-season

Andrew McGlashan21-Jul-2021Steven Smith is making encouraging progress in his recovery from the elbow injury which ruled him out of the current Australia tours with the beginning of the domestic season a potential comeback target.Smith was sidelined in the latter part of last season when the elbow problem flared up following the India series before returning briefly for New South Wales ahead of the IPL. While playing for Delhi Capitals he felt further pain and he was unavailable for the West Indies and Bangladesh trips.He told earlier this month that the Ashes series was his priority and he would be willing to forego the T20 World Cup if it ensured he would be fit for that.A cautious approach has been taken with his rehab but he is currently increasing the amount of batting he can do as part of New South Wales’ pre-season.”He’s been building it up nicely,” Phil Jaques, the New South Wales head coach, told ESPNcricinfo. “He’s been very conscientious about his rehab and in terms of how long he bats it for, he’s building up his time which is great and his elbow is responding really well to it.Related

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“We’ve taken a really slow approach with him to make sure we don’t have too many setbacks by pushing too hard but we are stepping things up gradually. He’s definitely moving in the right direction, he’s not going backwards. Hopefully he’ll be ready to go once the season kicks off.”I don’t think he really got rid of it last time so it came back…hopefully if he gets the tolerance through the tendon that he needs to then he should be able to manage it.”How much cricket Smith plays for New South Wales this season depends on a lot of factors. There is potentially a small window for those selected for the T20 World Cup to play a few Marsh Cup matches in mid-September, but if Smith is part of that trip he won’t have any first-class cricket ahead of the Test season starting due to the quarantine period on return. There is also the resumption of the IPL to consider.However, if he doesn’t make the World Cup there are up to five Sheffield Shield games available before the Afghanistan Test at the end of November.The Sheffield Shield is set to start on September 28 with a schedule mapped out which is hoped will give players time to rest and prepare between matches which should be particularly advantageous for the quick bowlers.Steven Smith plays through the off side•Getty Images and Cricket Australia

“Last season, and there was no other way around it, there was certainly a big load for the quicks to turnaround really quickly,” Jaques said. “It allows us as coaching staff to prepare the players the best they can for each fixture which is what the Australian domestic summer has always built itself on, to be able to train and prepare for each game individually.”Quite how the season eventually plays out remains uncertain amid Covid-19 and while there is confidence that hubs can be avoided Jaques believes players will again do what is needed despite the toll it can take. “As professionals we adapt where we need to and if that’s called upon again I think we’ll do it but if there’s ways around it we’ll look to explore that as well,” he said.Towards the end of last season’s Sheffield Shield the decision was taken to revamp the New South Wales batting line-up after they had been bundled out for 32 by Tasmania. Lachlan Hearne, Matthew Gilkes and Baxter Holt were given a chance while faith was shown in Jason Sangha, who responded with a century against Queensland, and Jack Edwards who made a match-winning hundred in the Marsh Cup final.”The ceiling is massive with those guys, they are super talented,” Jaques said. “They just need some experience and game time which they got some of last year. We are expecting them to go to another level this year and I’m sure that will come with experience. I was really happy with how they went, to be able to play a final will only put them in good stead. They are definitely the future and think we have a really good mix in the group.”New South Wales will make a decision on their captaincy positions in the upcoming weeks. Last season Pat Cummins was given the role in the Marsh Cup while Peter Nevill led the Sheffield Shield side until he was absent at the end of the season for the birth of his child. Kurtis Patterson stood in for both formats.”Whatever role Peter plays within our team he’s a leader, he’s a top guy, he’s someone the players look up to,” Jaques said. “Whoever is actually captaining they’ll be helped out by a lot of leaders.”

The quick bowler is due to make his first appearance on December 27

Tristan Lavalette07-Dec-2021Pakistan quick Haris Rauf will return to injury-hit Melbourne Stars in a signing coup hoped to bolster their inexperienced attack, which copped a hammering against two-time defending champion Sydney Sixers in the BBL season opener.Having originally caught the eye bowling at speeds over 90mph/145kph for Lahore Qalanders, Rauf enjoyed worldwide attention during the 2019-20 BBL season, where he quickly became a fan favourite after claiming 20 wickets from 10 matches.Admirably filling the shoes of an injured Dale Steyn, he consistently bowled with great pace to become a talisman for Stars and a headliner in the competition highlighted by a famous hat-trick against Sydney Thunder in his MCG debut.Related

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Those heroics powered him into Pakistan’s national team and he made his international debut during a T20 match against Bangladesh in January 2020. He has played eight ODIs and 32 T20Is overall and was a key cog in Pakistan’s strong T20 World Cup campaign with eight wickets from six matches.Rauf did struggle during his brief appearance for Stars last season with just one wicket from three matches. However, he’s hoped to shore up an attack that leaked 213 runs from 20 overs against a ruthless Sixers at the SCG in the biggest defeat in the competition’s history.Missing towering quick Billy Stanlake, fellow quick Liam Hatcher and Marcus Stoinis, the Stars deployed an inexperienced attack featuring debutants Sam Elliott, Brody Couch and young spinner Syed Faridoun, who like Rauf hails from Lahore Qalanders.”We can’t wait to see Haris Rauf back at the Stars. His addition brings experience, energy and quality to our fast-bowling stocks,” Stars coach David Hussey said.Rauf is set to make his season debut against Brisbane Heat on December 27 and will be available for the rest of the tournament.In the meantime, Stars will be out to rebound against Sydney Thunder in their home opener at the MCG on Friday.

Wicketkeeper-batter will form part of a strong Championship middle order

Matt Roller14-Jan-2022Ben Brown has signed a two-year contract at Hampshire after leaving Sussex at the end of last year following his removal from the club captaincy.Brown, 33, had two years left to run on his Sussex contract but was released from his deal in December following talks with the club. Brown had an excellent 2021 season with the bat, making 976 County Championship runs with four hundreds, but was axed as captain in mid-summer and requested a move.He has signed an all-formats contract with Hampshire but will be expected to perform in the Championship in particular, as part of a strong middle order already containing James Vince, Nick Gubbins and Liam Dawson. He will be competing with Lewis McManus and Tom Alsop for the wicketkeeping gloves.Related

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“Ben’s arrival is exciting news for the club and we are looking forward to welcoming him to the group next week,” Giles White, Hampshire’s director of cricket, said. “He brings many qualities and has a particularly impressive red-ball record; we are confident he’ll be a great addition to the squad.”Brown said: “I am extremely proud and humbled to sign for Hampshire. To be joining such a talented playing squad and to have the opportunity to work with the club’s impressive coaching staff is a privilege.”I’m looking forward to being able to call the Ageas Bowl my home ground and am hugely grateful to everyone at Hampshire for the opportunity to do so. I’m excited to be joining the group next week and to play my part in pushing for trophies and silverware over the coming years.”Brown’s departure made him the latest in a string of senior players to leave Sussex in recent years, and came two weeks after Ian Salisbury, their Championship and 50-over head coach, had insisted he would see out the rest of his contract at a fans’ forum.Sussex announced on Friday that Chris Adams and Tony Cottey have been added to their cricket committee, with Adams declaring that “it has been too long” since Sussex were regularly competing for trophies and that “many challenges lie ahead for the team and all the coaching staff”.

Says disruptions during England’s preparation before the series was a big reason for the poor performance, insists Test cricket remains the priority for the team

Matt Roller18-Jan-2022Eoin Morgan, England’s limited-overs captain, has said that it is “laughable to point the finger at the Hundred” for England’s 4-0 Ashes drubbing in Australia, and insisted that Test match cricket has always been the priority for the team.”People that use that as an excuse don’t want cricket,” Morgan told talkSPORT’s Following On podcast. “Test match cricket has always been the priority: it’s the format for our elite players. Obviously times at the moment have been tough down in Australia during the Ashes [but] they always are: we’ve lost the last two series 5-0 [sic] and it’s no surprise that Australia are very, very good at home.”Given the prep the guys have had where since they’ve arrived in Australia, until the first Test match, it has hammered it down with rain… it’s laughable to point the finger at the Hundred. The Hundred is an unbelievable success. Our formats in county cricket and the Hundred, in the way they’re structured, it’s exactly the same as Australia’s.Related

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“People need something to blame so they’ll point at probably the furthest point to reality, because nobody wants to say: ‘you know what, we haven’t had the prep we would have liked, we probably haven’t played as we’d have liked, and we’ve lost’. That happens in all formats, but I stress: Test match cricket has always been the priority.”England’s convincing series defeat in Australia has prompted both Joe Root, the Test captain, and Tom Harrison, the ECB’s chief executive, to call for a “red-ball reset” and a shift in priorities within English cricket, with the implication that the balance has tilted too far in favour of the white-ball game since 2015. Some pundits have suggested that the Hundred – and its four-week window at the height of summer – has contributed to the malaise, pushing the County Championship to the start and end of the English season.Morgan arrived in Barbados on Saturday along with England’s T20I squad, which features only one player – Sam Billings, who is yet to arrive after a gruelling journey from Hobart – who was involved in the Ashes. They are scheduled to play five matches against West Indies, starting Saturday.In the aftermath of the Ashes defeat, it has been claimed that Morgan has been given full-strength squads throughout the last two years in preparation for T20 World Cups, but Morgan reiterated that players missing white-ball series has been “a constant theme for a number of years”.England have only played two bilateral T20I series since the start of the pandemic in which all of their available first-choice players were selected – against South Africa and India during the 2020-21 winter – while first-choice players were rested during the Test series against Sri Lanka, India and New Zealand in the first six months of 2021.”As a white-ball group, we’ve gone on tours and played in series at home where we haven’t had our full-strength side available – that’s been a constant theme for a number of years now,” Morgan said. “Obviously Test matches take priority and always do. Going through the exercise of giving younger guys opportunities is a really exciting time for us.”[Players] coming through county cricket, into the Hundred, playing in franchise tournaments around the world, are now going into our team ready to play international cricket. I’m excited about seeing some of the new players coming into the squad potentially get opportunities over the course of the five games, and hopefully winning a series.England’s Ashes defeat has prompted Joe Root to call for a shift in priorities within English cricket•CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images

“For the majority of my career, white-ball cricket was an afterthought – 95% of the time was spent around planning and prep for Test match cricket and then when we got to a World Cup, it was like, ‘well, if we do well, great, but if we don’t, it’s fine’.”With the skill level that guys are producing now on a consistent basis, proven over a long period of time, we’re considered one of the best in the world. Trust me, I’d much rather be considered that than an afterthought.”Morgan himself struggled with the bat in 2021, averaging 17.71 with a strike rate of 118.61 across 39 innings in all T20 cricket, but has insisted he still had the desire to captain England’s limited-overs sides moving forward, and reiterated that stance.”I’ve had three weeks off now,” he said. “After this trip, there’ll be a couple of months which I’ll be taking off as well to recharge even more to get the run-in to what’s going to be an unbelievably busy six months ahead, with the World Cup right at the back-end. We have a hectic summer and at the back-end of that we go to Pakistan for T20s as well, and then on to Australia, so there’s a lot of cricket.”[I have] a drive to want to leave the team in a far better place with the ambition of them continuing to get better down the line. I’ve really enjoyed playing with this group. I’ve loved captaining and, at this particular time in my career, I couldn’t be having a better time.”Turning up to a World Cup as either favourites or joint-favourites or real strong contenders is something that excites me. It’s something that I always think about because it makes me think about what we can change to get better, or how we can become more consistent as a side. Until that stops, I think things are good.”

He returned figures of 4 for 12 in nine overs as India’s hit-the-deck bustle trumped West Indies

Deivarayan Muthu09-Feb-20221:15

Aakash Chopra: ‘Last 12 months have shown Prasidh Krishna in a different light’

India’s hit-the-deck bustle trumped West Indies as the hosts defended 237 to wrap up the ODI series, with one game left. Prasidh Krishna led the way for India, returning extraordinary figures of 4 for 12 in nine overs and reminding everyone why he was picked ahead of Deepak Chahar once again.On an Ahmedabad track that offered extra bounce and zip throughout the game, Prasidh relentlessly dug the ball into it and discomfited a Kieron Pollard-less West Indies line-up. Thirty-six of the 54 balls he bowled were short or short of a good length, according to ESPNcricinfo’s logs.Shardul Thakur, too, regularly pounded the deck and was rewarded with the wicket of Jason Holder. Holder spliced a shoulder-high short ball from Thakur, which left West Indies at 76 for 5 in the 22nd over.

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Akeal Hosein and Fabian Allen rallied briefly with a 42-run stand and then Odean Smith gave India a mini-scare at the death before Prasidh, fittingly, sealed the deal for India with a wicket-maiden.The final exchange was a game of cat and mouse. Smith, who is amongst the biggest hitters in the CPL, muscled Thakur for back-to-back sixes and shovelled a full toss from Siraj for four. He took the chase deep, with at least two overs from either Washington Sundar or Deepak Hooda yet to come.When Washington returned to the attack for the 45th over, West Indies needed 48 from 36 balls with two wickets in hand. Washington bowled a nerveless three-run over while also having Smith caught at deep midwicket. He bowled into the pitch and hid the ball away from the swinging arc of Smith.Prasidh Krishna reacts after dismissing Brandon King•BCCI

The start, too, had been fairly positive for West Indies. Brandon King and Shai Hope hit four boundaries in six balls off Thakur and Siraj to take them to 31 for 0 in seven overs. Prasidh came into the attack in the next over and struck with his third ball when he gleaned extra bounce to have King nicking off for 18 off 20 balls. In his next over, he got a length ball to kick up and seam away to also have Darren Bravo edging behind. He then returned to the attack to hit an in-between length and have stand-in captain Nicholas Pooran caught by Rohit at wide slip for 9.Prasidh also bothered Shamarh Brooks with a sequence of prancing deliveries. Brooks, however, weathered that hostile spell and was more fluent against spin, taking Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington for 34 runs off 37 balls. Brooks looked to line up Hooda too but ended up holing out to long-on to give him his first international wicket.Earlier in the afternoon, India’s batters were given similar treatment by the West Indies seamers. Kemar Roach, who sprayed the ball around in the first ODI, tightened up in the second, using the crease and seam movement on offer to his advantage. He also found substantial extra bounce, having Rohit nicking off for 5 in his second over. Smith, who got a game in the niggle-enforced absence of captain Pollard, seized his opportunity by dismissing both Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli in the same over.The returning KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav, who made his second ODI half-century, then struck up a 91-run fourth-wicket partnership to drag India to a total they could defend.With Rahul returning to the team after missing the series opener because of a family commitment, India rejigged their batting line-up. While Rahul slotted in at No. 4, Pant was bumped up to open with Rohit. After surviving potent opening spells from Roach and Alzarri Joseph, Pant tried to swing his way out of trouble against Smith. After carving a short ball for four, he took on another short ball, only to sky a pull to Holder who snagged it near square leg.Related

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Smith – and Joseph – had similarly tested Kohli with lifting deliveries, but the allrounder ultimately bested him with a length ball. Kohli went for a drive, lost his shape and nicked off for 18 off 30 balls. India were 43 for 3 in 12 overs at that stage.It could’ve been 64 for 4 had wicketkeeper Hope not dropped a regulation catch to reprieve Rahul, when he was on 4, in the 18th over. Rahul broke free when Hosein bowled a half-tracker first ball, which was clattered over midwicket for six. Rahul then charged at Hosein, pumping him over his head for six. From being on 7 off 23 balls, he moved to 49 off 47 balls before running himself out in the 30th over.As for Suryakumar, he kept milking the spinners and passed fifty. However, when he looked to hit a higher gear, he misjudged the length of an Allen dart and top-edged a sweep to short fine leg for 64 off 83 balls. Allen combined with Hosein to tighten the screws on India, despite a late cameo from Hooda (29 off 25 balls).Hosein and Allen bowled five overs between them in the last ten while giving away only 22 runs for the wicket of Washington.Washington, however, had the final say as India secured an unassailable 2-0 lead.

Left-arm spinner more comfortable in set-up after ‘horrible’ experience in Brisbane Test

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Mar-2022Jack Leach, England’s left-arm spinner, says he has been studying YouTube videos of Graeme Swann in a bid to hone his attacking instincts, after coming through an extraordinary workload in Barbados with a better understanding of his role within the team.Leach churned through 94.5 overs for his six wickets in last week’s second Test in Bridgetown, the heaviest workload for an England bowler since Tony Lock sent down 115 overs against Pakistan in Dhaka in 1962. However, Leach was ultimately thwarted by the broad blade of Kraigg Brathwaite, who broke a record of his own in facing 673 balls in the match, the most by a West Indian in Test history.Nevertheless, after his demoralising experiences in 2021 – a year which was bookended by a pair of maulings at the hands of Rishabh Pant in Chennai and Australia’s top-order at Brisbane, and encompassed a home Test summer in which he once again didn’t play a single match – Leach is just happy to be in the thick of the action once again.”I’m trying to become the frontline spinner for England and I see the last couple of weeks as really valuable for my development on that road,” Leach said. “It won’t be too long before I turn those three-fors into five-fors, especially in the second innings.”As in the first Test in Antigua, England pressed hard for victory after a final-day declaration but were thwarted by West Indies’ stoic resistance in the final session. But despite the disappointment of another drawn game, Leach admits he is in a far better place than he was back in December, when he was thrashed for 102 runs in 13 overs in the first Test at the Gabba, en route to a bruising nine-wicket defeat.At a venue that has traditionally been tough for fingerspinners, Leach was crashed for five sixes and eight fours by the likes of David Warner and Travis Head – a performance that caused him to miss the second Test at Adelaide on a surface that ought to have suited his methods.Jack Leach struck early on the third morning in Barbados•Getty Images

“Brisbane was…I felt horrible,” he said. “Not a good moment but I think I trained the next day actually after the game, thanks to Jeetan Patel who said ‘let’s do something about it rather than stew’. Australia was a really tough trip for everyone but I did feel like I learned a lot and I came back really motivated and buzzing.”It’s been nice to play back to back games,” he added. “This is what I want to be doing – playing and contributing. I’m trying to offer as much as I can and maybe I wasn’t doing that so much before. I felt I was playing for my spot.”Though the series remains locked at 0-0, there have been signs of a renewed spirit within the England team, with the likes of Dan Lawrence and Saqib Mahmood embracing the new “team first” mantra with wholehearted displays at Bridgetown, to back up a brace of hundreds from Joe Root, and a welcome return to form from Ben Stokes, who made his 11th Test century and his first for 18 months in the first innings.And, Leach said, an effort had also been made to build his self-belief within the squad – a team for which he earned cult status with his crucial part in Stokes’ Headingley miracle in 2019, but for which he admitted to feeling a peripheral figure more recently, having not played a home Test since that same Ashes series three years ago.”That’s been the message to everyone really,” Leach said. “It’s all about the team and we all have a voice. Before I felt a lot of pressure on my own game and you forget you are contributing to something bigger.”It almost takes the pressure off your own game. I said openly to the group here that at Somerset I feel I belong, so I feel more comfortable giving my points of view. Maybe because I felt I belonged in terms of what I offer on the cricket field.Jack Leach grimaces after a chastening day in Brisbane during the Ashes•Getty Images

“We wouldn’t be here if we are not good enough cricketers, but we can offer in different ways. I want to offer with wickets, but if I’m not, I want to be awesome in the field and try to score runs. I think maybe I got it a bit wrong beforehand. Not on purpose but I felt I was playing for my spot.”The next step in Leach’s development will be to trust himself to be more attacking with the ball. He conceded just 154 runs in his 94.5 overs in Bridgetown – a testament to his impressive control. But by his own admission he was guilty at times of firing the ball through too quickly, particularly when it got older. And to that end, he’s looking to Swann’s influence – the most attacking spin bowler in England’s recent history, and a man who claimed 255 wickets in 60 Tests between 2008 and 2013.”A big focus for me now is having that attacking mindset, always looking to take wickets,” he said. “I’ve been guilty of easing into spells, earning the right to bowl and going at two an over. But that’s a negative mindset.Related

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“I’ve watched YouTube videos of Swann and how attacking that looks. I don’t know what he was thinking – in fact I do know, it’s “how am I trying to get this guy out?” and sometimes the first 20 balls against a batter is your chance.””But even if it doesn’t happen and I’m bowling 60 overs, it’s important to keep that mindset. There are times when the pitches here have felt very unresponsive, especially when the ball is older; the newer ball grips and [on some days] the pitches have felt tacky early on and spin.”On the third morning I thought I could drive it into the wicket to get it to spin but as the ball gets older, you have to give it more air. That’s something I’ll take forward, it’s not something you get used to in England. But that’s part of the journey of learning to be a spinner in Test cricket.”