She struck back-to-back fifties in the last two ODIs against England but wants to convert those good starts into big scores

Valkerie Baynes19-Jul-2022Laura Wolvaardt is in search of big runs as South Africa look to turn around a disappointing tour of England ahead of the Commonwealth Games.Wolvaardt was one of three South African players to post half-centuries on an excellent batting pitch in Leicester on Monday, but they were trumped by Tammy Beaumont’s 107-ball 119 and fifties to Emma Lamb, Heather Knight and Sophia Dunkley as England won the final ODI by 109 runs.Related

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Wolvaardt’s 56 was her third ODI half-century in four games, including 89 against Ireland last month – it was also the ninth time she has passed the mark this year. But she is desperate to convert those innings into hundreds, as she did at home against West Indies in January.”I’ve got quite a few fifties in my career now and don’t have that many hundreds yet so it’s definitely something that I’ve been thinking about and obviously it didn’t go right today again,” Wolvaardt said.”I’m happy that I’m starting to start a bit faster. I’m getting to the fifties a bit quicker, but now, the next step is to try and take it further.”Encouraged by the fact that her back-to-back fifties in the last two ODIs against England have come at a strike rate above 100, Wolvaardt believes kicking on may be more of a psychological matter than a technical one.”It’s maybe just something that I’m going to have to look into, to try and restart or pretend that I’m on zero and have to get to fifty again,” she said.”I think it is a mental thing out in the middle. I feel I do all of the hard work to get to fifty and then I think maybe relax for a second too much. I think next time I get in there I just need to really focus harder to get to that hundred.”Also I don’t think it’s a lack-of-focus type of thing, but hopefully it’s just something that I can continue working on. I’m still quite young so I still have a bit of time hopefully. But yeah, it definitely will be a goal to try and get to three figures more often.”In T20Is, which is where the teams will now switch their focus for three matches which end their multi-format series and double as preparation for the Commonwealth Games starting next week, Wolvaardt only has three fifties from 36 appearances. The most recent of those came against India in Lucknow more than a year ago.South Africa must win all three T20s against England, starting with Thursday’s match in Chelmsford, to draw the multi-format series, with England leading 8-2 following their 3-0 sweep of the ODIs and the drawn Test.After providing a solid contest in the rain-hit Test – where Wolvaardt twice fell for 16 to debutant seamer Issy Wong – South Africa appear a more demoralised unit after struggling to compete in the ODIs. They have also had to contend with the shock retirement of Lizelle Lee, Wolvaardt’s former 50-over opening partner, and an ensuing social media furore.Wolvaardt acknowledged that the team needed to find a way to pick themselves up heading into the next phase of the tour.”It’s never nice to lose and especially… we’ve lost the last couple by 100 runs or something,” Wolvaardt said. “The T20 series is just around the corner so we’ll have to have some good, hard meetings to see where we’re going wrong and how we can come back refreshed and ready.”This was our last ODI for a long while so I think we’ll just be looking to be completely refreshed with a new focus to T20 cricket and have some good chats around that. That’s going to be our focus for a while going forward so hopefully we can start that off with a bit more momentum than what we have now.”

Visitors plundered their best T20I total – including 18 sixes – and crushed Scotland by 102 runs

Sam Dalling29-Jul-2022New Zealand 254 for 5 (Chapman 83, Bracewell 61*, Main 2-44) beat Scotland 152 for 9 (Greaves 37, Neesham 2-9, Rippon 2-37) by 102 runsThe world-famous Johnnie Walker highball forms the focal point of the award-winning whisky tour on Edinburgh’s Princes Street. It is described by the Scotch blender’s own website as a “balanced mix of smoke, fruit and fizz”. A mile away at The Grange, it was New Zealand’s own highball concoction on parade; and the liquid equivalent’s tagline could easily have applied.For it was a perfect balance of 18 sixes that saw New Zealand notch their highest ever T20I score of 254, and claim victory by 102 runs. Half-centuries for Mark Chapman and Michael Bracewell were the dominant ingredients, as both made their respective T20I career-bests. Chapman’s 83 came in 44 balls, while Bracewell’s unbeaten 61 was even sharper on the palate at 25.Chapman smashed seven sixes – getting off the mark with a straight one – after having started watchfully with four dots. A straight-arm jab off birthday boy Mark Watt fizzed to the boundary, while Hamza Tahir dropped short and was smoked for first four and then six.He also pulled a Chris Greaves drag down to Watt on the boundary in what was his first professional knock since mid-April but there was no apparent rustiness.At the other end, Bracewell should not, in fact, have made any. Scotland captain Richie Berrington will lament a drop in the covers long into the night. A relative newcomer to international cricket, Bracewell’s ball striking is as clean as it gets, and that was particularly apparent in Ali Evans’ 19th over, which went for 26.There was both deftness – slower balls waited on and tucked away either side of the wicket – and force as he plundered 4, 4, 4, 6, 6 off the last five legal balls of the over. The first six, which brought up Bracewell’s maiden T20I half-century, was slog swept over deep square leg.Meanwhile, Chapman and Bracewell were supported by several other flavourfully fruity knocks: Dane Cleaver made a quickfire 28, Daryl Mitchell smashed 31, and Jimmy Neesham – whose maximum from the first ball of the 20th took New Zealand past 243, their previous highest T20I total, which they hit twice in early 2018 – fell to the final ball of the innings for 28 from 12 deliveries.Neesham had wandered to the middle early in the 16th over; his partnership with Bracewell was worth 79 from 29 balls. Such was the scoring rate that at times the in-ground DJ struggled to clip up The Proclaimers quickly enough to cope with the demand for musical fillers.In the run chase, a trio of George Munsey boundaries in the first over gave Scotland hope. But they had lost four wickets by the by the end of as many overs. Debutant Michael Jones, fresh from 206 for Durham in the County Championship, holed out to Bracewell, before Munsey, Matthew Cross and Ollie Hairs perished within the space of six balls.Munsey was served neat by Neesham, who did not even glance to see the finger measure. Three balls later, Neesham doubled up, with Cross giving Bracewell catching practice. Then Hairs was run-out by Cleaver trying to steal a sneaky dram.Ten overs into the Scotland innings came another New Zealand entry into the record books. Michael Rippon, a left-arm wristspinner, became the first man to bowl, well, left-arm wristspin for his country.Two deliveries in, with the DJ again in his element, a replacement ball was fetched after Greaves had slog swept on to neighbouring Arboretum Avenue. The over cost 17, as Greaves – who last Saturday on this ground made 79 against Stoneywood Dyce in the Easter Premier League – tucked in.Greaves then fell for 37, Ish Sodhi taking a sharp return grab, while Rippon later claimed Michael Leask and Evans.For Scotland, two trouncings in a row, have, in the words of head coach Shane Burger, been “a massive learning curve”.But in a World Cup year, he wants more rather than less: “The more times you get thrown into this environment when they are better than you, and you have to make sure you’re playing at your best, the more we will get better. We need more international fixtures against really good teams.”

God Save The King played at a sporting event for first time since 1952

Vithushan Ehantharajah10-Sep-2022Day three of the third Test between England and South Africa began with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on Thursday at the age of 96.In a moving 10 minutes before play got underway on Saturday, the Test match became the first sporting occasion in which God Save The King has been played since 1952, after rain had prevented the anthems being played on Thursday, prior to the accession of King Charles III.Both teams entered the field to silence as the capacity crowd stood in anticipation of the tributes. The players and officials passed through a military guard of honour before lining up facing the Pavilion, while the respective management teams stood at the edge of the boundary.A minute’s silence took place at 10:54am, followed by a one-bell chime by Senior NCO Robert Brockelsby Miller of the Irish Guards. The South African national anthem, Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika then rang out across the silent ground, with no musical accompaniment from the singer, Laura Wright, before the crowd joined in with the first rendition of the updated English national anthem. Both were given ground-wide applause.Despite the solemnity of the occasion, flags were at full mast at the start of play, due to this being the day of the Accession Council’s meeting at St James’ Palace – the occasion at which the new King was formally proclaimed. According to protocol, the Union Flag and all other official flags should be raised to full mast between the hours of 9am and 10:30am and remain at full mast until 1pm the following day, at which time the Union and official flags should return to being flown at half-mast.Speaking ahead of the start of play of what has now become a three-day Test, Ben Stokes, England’s captain, paid tribute to the Queen, and spoke of the importance of continuing with the match.”It’s been very sad news for not only the nation but the world with the Queen’s passing,” he said. “She was someone who dedicated her life to the nation, someone that we take incredible inspiration from and we are honoured to be able to walk out on the field in memory of the Queen.”We know how much the Queen loved this sport, and the show must go on. I’m sure she’ll be looking down on all the sport that’s still going ahead over this weekend and that we’re going out there in her honour. I’m very pleased and proud we can do that.”After day two was cancelled as a mark of respect following the Queen’s passing, the decision was made on Friday afternoon to play on, following consultation with officials from the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Cricket South Africa. but without an extension into Tuesday, meaning there will only be three days of play.The first-day (Thursday) washout means there will be 98 overs scheduled each day, with play able to run until 7pm with the extra half-hour. The series is tied 1-1. England struck hard with the new ball, having chosen to bowl first on Thursday, claiming three wickets inside the first seven overs of play.

Kellapotha, 31, played 20 first-class matches in Sri Lanka but has lived in Melbourne since 2013 and has signed as an overseas replacement player after dominating club cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-2022Melbourne Renegades have made a shock signing by adding uncapped Melbourne-based Sri Lanka legspinner Ruwantha Kellapotha to their BBL squad as an overseas replacement player for the upcoming season.Kellapotha, 31, played 20 first-class matches and 12 List A matches in Sri Lanka between 2010 and 2013 before moving to Australia to live. He played eight seasons in the lower-tier Dandenong District Cricket Association in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs representing four different clubs before playing premier cricket for Casey-South Melbourne last season where he took 46 wickets across 50-over and T20 cricket to finish the competition’s leading wicket-taker and help Casey South-Melbourne reach the final.Related

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He also was selected to play in two second XI games for Victoria late in the season playing alongside Will Pucovski in one of them. Kellapotha recently travelled with the Renegades Academy squad to play in the Top End T20 Series in Darwin and bowled superbly. That has moved Renegades General Manager James Rosengarten and coach David Saker to sign him as a replacement overseas after the Renegades drafted Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman and West Indies left-arm orthodox Akeal Hosein in August’s BBL overseas draft despite both men signing with the UAE ILT20.”We were impressed by what we saw from Ruwantha up in Darwin as part of the Renegades Academy and his performances in Premier Cricket last year showed he can match it with Victoria’s best,” Rosengarten, said.”He’s had a unique cricketing journey to get to this level. We’re confident he can come in and have an impact for us this season.”Kellapotha said he was really excited to get an opportunity with the Renegades.”My journey to here has been a bit different,” Kellapotha said. “I played first-class cricket back in Sri Lanka, came to Melbourne in 2013 to play local cricket and then last year went to Premier Cricket.”I’d achieved what I wanted to achieve in local cricket, so I wanted to see what I could do in Premier Cricket. Now I want to see what I can do at the highest level.”I really appreciate this opportunity the Renegades have given me to be involved this year. It is a huge privilege and something I do not take lightly.”This is going to be a great experience for me, playing with and against some of the best players in the world. I want to be a team player and whatever my team needs, I’ll give it 100 per cent.”Melbourne Renegades BBL squad: Nic Maddinson (c), Zak Evans, Aaron Finch, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Sam Harper, Mackenzie Harvey, Akeal Hosein (West Indies), Ruwantha Kellapotha (Sri Lanka), Liam Livingstone (England), Shaun Marsh, Jack Prestwidge, Kane Richardson, Tom Rogers, Will Sutherland, Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan), Jon Wells

They finished top of Group B, and will join their neighbours South Africa in Group 2 of the Super 12s

Firdose Moonda21-Oct-2022Zimbabwe 133 for 5 (Ervine 57, Raza 40, Davey 2-16) beat Scotland 132 for 6 (Munsey 54, Chatara 2-14, Ngarava 2-28) by five wicketsZimbabwe had not played in a major ICC tournament in six years coming into this T20 World Cup, but they announced themselves as a team on the comeback trail as they marched into the Super 12s. Craig Ervine led with bat and in the field, as he anchored the Zimbabwean chase after managing his bowlers with pinpoint precision to keep Scotland to a gettable score, while Tendai Chatara and Sikandar Raza also made their experience count with telling contributions. This was only the 11th time in 55 attempts that Zimbabwe had won a T20I while chasing.Asked to field first, Zimbabwe never allowed Scotland to get away from them. Chatara set the tone with a wicket in his first over and finished with figures of 2 for 14 in his four overs. He was well supported by Zimbabwe’s spin trio, who conceded only 46 runs in the eight overs they bowled. George Munsey’s half-century held Scotland together but their highest partnership was just 40 runs – for the third-wicket. Scotland also lacked the sort of turbocharged innings that Raza played to break the back of the chase.Zimbabwe were nervy in reply and were 7 for 2 and 42 for 3 before Ervine and Raza put on 64 for the fourth wicket. Ervine dropped anchor and scored his sixth T20I fifty, and his first at a World Cup, and by the time he was dismissed in the 17th over, Zimbabwe were within touching distance of a win.If Scotland sensed an opening when Ervine fell with 14 needed off the last three overs, Milton Shumba and Ryan Burl shut the door, rotating the strike calmly and finishing the job in just nine balls. Burl hit the winning runs in the 19th over when he lofted Safyaan Sharif over mid-on for fourVictory with more than an over remaining ensured Zimbabwe topped their group. They will join Group 2 in the Super12s, which includes their neighbours South Africa, India and Pakistan.Holding on with both hands
Zimbabwe’s fielding has not always held up in pressure moments but they were committed to cause in this match. When Michael Jones sliced the last ball of Chatara’s opening over over cover, Raza ran back from the ring and took the catch over his shoulder as he tumbled onto the turf, to give Zimbabwe their first incision. Three overs later, Matthew Cross pulled a Richard Ngarava short ball in the direction of Wessly Madhevere at midwicket. Madhevere had to launch himself to his left and took the catch in full flight to leave Scotland 24 for 2 in the fifth over.Later in the innings, Milton Shumba was down on his haunches to take a thigh-high catch off a slog-sweep to dismiss Richie Berrington and got low down on the boundary to take the catch that ended Munsey’s painstaking innings. And Luke Jongwe plucked a chance out of the sky in the final over to send back Calum MacLeod.Sikandar Raza played a key role with ball and bat once again•ICC/Getty Images

Munsey muscles it…
Scotland were held together by Munsey, who struck seven fours in the first 22 balls he faced with an array of strokes around the wicket. Munsey brought out the flick and the pull, the cut, and three exquisite drives off the Zimbabwean seamers. He hit overpitched deliveries from Blessing Muzarabani through mid-off with power and then smoked Richard Ngarava past extra-cover.… but Zimbabwe keep him quiet
After scoring 33 runs off his first 22 balls, Munsey scored only 21 runs off his next 29 as Zimbabwe’s bowlers squeezed through the middle overs and made it difficult for Scotland to get them away. Zimbabwe bowled nine boundary-less overs as Raza used the variations he has developed in tandem with Sean Williams’ left-arm spin and then Madhevere’s offspin. Chatara and Muzarabani, who were also used in that period, stuck to back-of-a-length balls that did not present any opportunities for big hitting. Between the eighth and 16th overs, Scotland scored only 48 runs.Scotland make the perfect start
With a small total to defend, Scotland could not have asked for a better start, though Zimbabwe’s technique was to blame for their early losses. Regis Chakabva shuffled across and played down the wrong line to Brad Wheal’s third delivery and was given out lbw. He reviewed but ball-tracking showed the impact was in line and the ball would have gone on to clip the bails. In the next over, Madhevere was presented with a juicy half-volley but swung hard with no footwork and played onto his own stumps. Zimbabwe were 7 for 2 in the second over.Sikandar’s sixes
Scotland did not hit a single six in their innings, and there were none in the first 31.5 overs of the match before Raza, the man who seems to be able to do almost anything at the moment, sent MacLeod over the midwicket boundary and barely broke a sweat. Two overs later, he did it again when he sent Michael Leask over the covers. Before Raza’s first six, Zimbabwe required 63 runs off 49 deliveries; after his second one 43 runs off 41 balls, which is how much his innings allowed pressure to evaporate from Zimbabwe’s effort.

Teens join Issy Wong, Lauren Bell, Charlie Dean and Emma Lamb on deals for 2022-23

Valkerie Baynes02-Nov-2022A clutch of England newcomers who made the most of their opportunities at international level in 2022 have been rewarded with central contracts for the coming year.Alice Capsey, Freya Kemp, Lauren Bell and Issy Wong all made international debuts during the recently ended English summer and join Charlie Dean and Emma Lamb, who first played for their country late last year, as the six new faces on the ECB’s centrally-contracted player list for 2022-23.Left off the 18-strong list, up from 17 in 2021-22, were opening batter Lauren Winfield-Hill, off-spinner Mady Villiers, allrounders Georgia Elwiss and Katie George and the retired Anya Shrubsole and Fran Wilson.Allrounder Capsey, who turned 18 in August, established herself at the top level, having been on England’s radar following a successful season in the inaugural Hundred competition in 2021. She earned her opportunity during South Africa’s tour of England immediately before this year’s Commonwealth Games, where she was the host nation’s leading run-scorer and seventh overall, behind a star-studded top-six.The 17-year-old Kemp, named both the Cricket Writers’ Club’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year and the PCA Women’s Young Player of the Year, became the second-youngest woman to score a half-century for England with an unbeaten 51 off 37 balls against India in September after originally being picked as a left-arm seamer.Right-arm quicks Wong and Bell earned their maiden England caps in the Test against South Africa in Taunton in June. Opening batter Lamb, who made her international debut in the only T20I appearance of her career, against New Zealand in September 2021, also played in the June Test before scoring 102, 67 and 65 as England swept the ODI leg of South Africa’s tour.Dean, who impressed during the home series against New Zealand just over a year ago, enjoyed a strong showing at the 50-over World Cup at the start of 2022 and has now played 22 matches across all formats for England. She took eight wickets, including a best of 4 for 53, in the summer ODI series with South Africa as well as three wickets and 108 runs, the second-highest among England’s players, in three ODIs against India in September.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Jonathan Finch, Director of England Women’s Cricket, said the introduction of six new players “provides a new look and feel to the group”.”We have a really exciting 12 months of cricket ahead and we feel this group of players will form the foundations of our side that will take us through various bilateral series, the Women’s Ashes and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup,” Finch said.Katherine Brunt, England’s seam bowling stalwart, has been awarded another central contract, suggesting that she intends to play on at the age of 37. Left-arm seamer Tash Farrant, who has been out of action since May with a back stress fracture, also retains the central contract she earned back for the 2022 season, having lost her deal in 2019.For the first time, England Women’s central contracts will run from November 1, to align with professional contracts in the women’s regional game, which were boosted by a £3.5 million funding increase last month.England are recruiting for a new Women’s Head Coach ahead of the T20 World Cup in South Africa early next year, after Australian Lisa Keightley opted against extending her contract.