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James Anderson included in 15-man group, but Jofra Archer ruled out for summer

ESPNcricinfo staff16-May-2023Jonny Bairstow has been recalled as England’s Test wicketkeeper at the expense of Ben Foakes for next month’s one-off Test against Ireland. James Anderson is also included in the 15-man squad, despite suffering a minor groin strain while playing for Lancashire last week.Jofra Archer, who recently returned from the IPL to assess discomfort in his elbow, was not considered after the recurrence of a stress fracture that has ruled him out for the summer.Bairstow last played international cricket in September, before suffering a fractured leg in a freak accident while playing golf. He missed all of England’s winter programme and only recently returned to action in the County Championship for Yorkshire but now looks set to take the gloves during the Ashes, which begins on June 16.Rob Key, England managing director of men’s cricket, said leaving out Foakes was “a seriously tough decision”, after the Surrey keeper had established himself as first-choice under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes, during the team’s run of 10 wins in 12 Tests. Bairstow last kept in a Test in 2021, standing in for Jos Buttler, and has not been the regular gloveman since the end of the 2019 Ashes.”We are looking forward to the summer ahead and getting into the swing of things, starting with a good Test against Ireland,” Key said. “It was a seriously tough decision to leave Ben Foakes out of the squad. He has been excellent for England in the last year, but Jonny Bairstow is one of the best players in the world whose performances last summer epitomised what we are about.””I would like to wish the players every success, especially those returning after some time away.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The rest of the squad was largely as expected, with Anderson named among six fast-bowling options alongside the spinner, Jack Leach. Chris Woakes, whose last Test came on the tour to the West Indies in 2022, returns, as does Mark Wood after he was rested for the New Zealand series earlier this year.Matt Potts is also in contention for a spot alongside the frontline pair of Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson if Anderson is not fit.Among those Test players involved at the IPL, Ben Stokes, England’s captain, had previously indicated he would return in time to face Ireland – he is expected back next week after the conclusion of the group stage – while Joe Root, whose Rajasthan Royals team could still reach the knockouts, and Harry Brook, recently dropped by Sunrisers Hyderabad, are both set to play at Lord’s.Zak Crawley’s place at opener remains secure, after he began the summer with 350 runs in nine innings for Kent, while Essex’s Dan Lawrence continues as the spare batter in the group.England men’s Test Squad: Ben Stokes (capt), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Faf du Plessis admits fast bowler’s early absence recovering from injury is a ‘big loss’

Osman Samiuddin29-May-2019As far as a Plan A goes, South Africa’s is a decent one: put Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi into an attack together, throw in Imran Tahir and sit back. As far as not being able to call upon your Plan A goes, two days out from your first match in a World Cup, against the hosts and favourites is not so decent.South Africa will be without Steyn tomorrow and against the format’s pre-eminent batting order, it is difficult to argue against Faf du Plessis’ assessment that it is “a big loss”. It is perfectly valid to counter that Steyn with the white ball is not quite as inarguably great as Steyn with the red ball. The counter to counter is that in this squad, it means South Africa choose between Chris Morris and Dwaine Pretorius as replacement. Capable as both are, neither quite fills the X-factor Steyn’s presence provides to the pace attack.”Yeah, it is a big loss to our team,” du Plessis said. “We did expect it when we picked the squad. He wasn’t quite – probably about 60 per cent when the squad was picked; so we anticipated for this to happen.”But yeah, Dale Steyn, a fit Dale Steyn, makes our bowling attack a very, very strong one. So tomorrow will be a little bit of chopping and changing to get a balance that we think can take on England.”Scrambling would not be quite the right way to describe South Africa’s response – they are making a deal out of how not a big deal this tournament is – but it will require a reshuffle of the XI and, more importantly, strategy.Coach Ottis Gibson and du Plessis are not alone around the world in thinking that England’s batting fire must be combated by bowling fire: attack, look to take wickets, they come hard, you go harder. To that purpose Steyn is still important – his strike rate (31.9) puts him at eighth in the all-time list of ODI bowlers with at least 100 wickets and 100 ODIs.”As I said, one of our X-factors, potentially we have is a really, really strong attack in terms of pace. Steyn, Rabada, Ngidi is a real, real threat in English conditions. So that changes. That’s Plan A for the World Cup in terms of our balance, what we’re looking to achieve. Now it’s just a real reshuffle and looking to Plan B and C.”For us as a leadership group, it’s trying to find how can we be most attacking and trying to get wickets. Obviously that was with Dale included but that changed now, so we’ll look at setting up our team to try to make sure we can get guys on the team that can get wickets.”Either Morris or Pretorius is an adequate fit, and they bring some depth to the batting as well. Morris hasn’t played an ODI for South Africa for a year though he is quicker than Pretorius. An outside punt would be Tabraiz Shamsi’s weird and wonderful left-arm wristspin, if for nothing else but the element of surprise and especially if you can recall Kuldeep Yadav’s 6 for 25 at Trent Bridge less than a year ago.But England worked him out pretty quickly and in a very limited sample size of eight innings over the last decade, they go over a run-a-ball against that genre of bowling. One of Morris or Pretorius it will be, neither of whom is Steyn.

Serene innings has shades of Headingley Test win, as high-scoring match heads for end-game

David Hopps08-Apr-2023 Yorkshire 517 and 220 for 4 (Hope 83*, Hill 57*, Wharton 52) lead Leicestershire 415 (Handscomb 112, Rehan 85, Milnes 3-72, Thompson 3-86) by 322 runsYorkshire’s coach, Ottis Gibson, expressed the wish on the eve of the season for a new groundstaff to bring more life to Headingley’s surfaces as they seek to return to Division One at the first attempt, but there have been no signs of an instant cure against Leicestershire as a docile surface has left batters in the ascendancy and bowlers having to labour for their rewards.For all that, this match enters the final day with a positive result still possible. Yorkshire lead by 322 with six wickets remaining and must time an awkward declaration on the final morning, earplugs in to ignore the cries from the outer of “declare”. They will surely need around 370 to feel entirely safe and their inability to bowl sides out last season – Gloucestershire at Bristol was their only victory – will be foremost in their minds. A forecast of a cloudy day might help to steel their minds.Yorkshire have bowled solidly, without much penetration, but for all that, quick bowlers on both sides must be looking askance on the speed-gun figures displayed on the county’s live stream. They appear to be a good 4 mph lower than those seen on TV, and whilst it is tempting to wonder mischievously whether TV companies like to ramp them up a little (surely not), the truth appears to be the opposite. Run-of-the-mill club cricketers who might routinely practice against bowling machines set at 68/70mph might like to imagine that the likes of Ben Coad bowl at the same speed, but he would happily offer a net session to prove that he does not.That the match is not dead owes much to the positive intent of both sides, but particularly Yorkshire, who scored at more than five runs an over in the first innings, and almost that second time around despite the potential inhibitions caused by the loss of three wickets to the new ball after establishing a first-innings lead of 102. Those prematurely shouting “declare” tonight would be just as likely to shout “rubbish, Yorkshire” tomorrow if things take a turn for the worst.Naturally, there has been much personal satisfaction to be had for batters on both sides. Peter Handscomb, who was overlooked this week, when Australia announced their annual contracts – Cameron Bancroft was another omission – will have found meaning in making 112 from 201 balls in his first time out.International selectors do not often turn first to Leicestershire’s scores – and Gloucestershire’s Marcus Harris, who did win a contract, also struck a century and does seem to be ahead of him as an Ashes possibility this summer. But Handscomb fared better than some of his colleagues on Australia’s recent tour of India and an innings of impressive certainty suggested he is not about to lose hope yet. He has six games with Leicestershire to push his claims and called the Headingley pitch “a lovely surprise” which is probably the nicest thing anybody had said about Yorkshire for a while.For Yorkshire, as well as Finlay Bean’s maiden Championship hundred and the continued dominance of Dawid Malan on this ground (although he failed in the second innings), there was also a maiden Championship fifty for James Wharton and arguably the most serene innings of all, Shai Hope’s blissful unbeaten 83 only a couple of days after arriving in England on a short-term deal.Hope’s equanimity brought back memories of his two hundreds in a match on this ground in 2017, the first time it had ever been achieved at Headingley, and which put him in an illustrious band to have achieved the feat. At Headingley, they will observe a Test average of 25 in 38 Tests – with those two hundreds looking increasingly lonesome – and wonder quite how it has remained half the size of his impressive returns in ODIs.Responsibility for tweaking the nature of Headingley’s pitches rests primarily with Richard Robinson, who has the former head grounds manager, Andy Fogarty, as a consultant. Fogarty stood down because he no longer wanted to work full-time – and it is not known if anyone dared to suggest that the easiest way to achieve that was a succession of three-day finishes. With diversity much on people’s minds at Yorkshire, it is also worth reflecting that Jasmine Nicholls, a former international race-walker, has become only the second woman to work on the groundstaff on an English international ground. Meg Ley, who hails from New Zealand farming stock, became the first at Bristol last season.Yorkshire’s serious commitment to changing the culture of the county has also been seen in a female hide of media/comms and the election of the first female president, Jane Powell, a former captain and head coach of England women. These are all positive balancing moments in Yorkshire’s history and, with Championship crowds undoubtedly thinned out this season, with some former members taking a view on the racist ructions that have beset the county, Yorkshire will be desperate for a new wave of supporters to show commitment to a new era once the T20 Blast comes around.With Leicestershire still more than 300 adrift at the start of the third day, half the side dismissed and Matt Salisbury only fit enough to bat with a runner, Yorkshire must have hoped for a quick kill. But Handscomb and Rehan Ahmed resisted in a sixth-wicket stand of 141 in 34 overs. What alarms there were came from run-out opportunities with Dom Bess and Wharton both missing shies at the stumps, Wharton’s opportunity coming as Handscomb dashed a single to mid-off to secure his hundred. Yorkshire’s slip catching remains as fallible as ever with both George Hill and Bean fumbling inviting opportunities.It was the first over after lunch when Rehan succumbed for 85, Jordan Thompson managing to get one off the straight for Hill to hold on at first slip. Handscomb was lbw to one from Coad that shaded back, but the last two wickets weighed in with 83 as Chris Wright hit about him for an unbeaten 66 from 82 balls. Bess has worked with Australia’s Nathan Lyon over the winter, but Wright hit him for three sixes over long-off and he finished with 0 for 69 in 11 overs. Never trust an Aussie in an Ashes year.

All three matches at the venue so far have produced 200-plus first-innings totals, so expect more fireworks

Alagappan Muthu28-Apr-20235:32

Muzumdar: Jason Roy has improved his spin game

Big picture: Will we witness Rinku magic again?

There isn’t a lot to talk about when talking about this game, is there? Just kidding. Where my Rinku fans at?Living up to that epic night three weeks ago is not going to be possible. 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 to win a game feels like a once-in-a-lifetime event.And in any case, both teams will want to focus on making the game as boring as possible. That sounds like a blasphemous way to build up to an IPL match, especially one that pits a side that kept defying the odds all the way to the title last year and one that has produced this year’s most outrageous result.But here’s the thing. Both Gujarat Titans (7 games) and Kolkata Knight Riders (8) have had enough of a go at this to figure out what their strengths and weaknesses are and how to play to them. In other words, their experience will help them manage difficult situations better, instead of letting them go so far that they end up needing a miracle.

Form guide

Gujarat Titans: WWLWL (Last five matches, most recent first)
Kolkata Knight Riders: WLLLL

Team news

KKR’s Litton Das left the IPL on Friday to attend to a medical emergency in his family in Bangladesh.Shubman Gill batting deep into the innings could enable Titans to mitigate the KKR mystery spin threat•BCCI

Toss and Impact Player strategy

Kolkata has not been kind to fast bowlers, so Titans, who have barely had to use Rahul Tewatia’s legspin, might decide to give him a proper run here. They’re also likely to swap Shubman Gill for Josh Little or Alzarri Joseph when they have to bring in their Impact Player.Gujarat Titans possible XII: 1 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 2 , 3 Hardik Pandya (capt), 4 Vijay Shankar, 5 David Miller, 6 Abhinav Manohar, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 Noor Ahmad, 11 Mohit Sharma, 12 KKR will be pleased to see Jason Roy finding form. With Venkatesh Iyer and Suyash Sharma settling into life as Impact Subs, they aren’t short on options. They’ll want their quicks to buck up, though. With just 13 wickets at an average of 55.5 and an economy rate of 11.5, they are the worst-performing seam unit in the competition.Kolkata Knight Riders possible XII: 1 N Jagadeesan (wk), 2 Jason Roy, 3 , 4 Nitish Rana (capt), 5 Rinku Singh, 6 Andre Russell, 7 David Wiese, 8 Vaibhav Arora, 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Umesh Yadav, 11 Varun Chakravarthy, 12

Stats that matter

• Andre Russell is averaging 18 – his second-lowest in an IPL season – with five single-digit scores in eight innings. Not the best time to come up against Rashid Khan, who has dismissed him five times in 39 balls for 54 runs in T20 cricket.
• 3.6 vs 13.8. Those are Rinku Singh’s balls-per-boundary numbers against pace and spin this season. So if you’re the Titans captain, do the right thing. Don’t give him pace.
• Shubman Gill has an average of 59.2 and a strike rate of 143 against spin since IPL 2022. His batting deep into the innings might enable Titans to mitigate KKR’s mystery spin threat.
• Though right now one of them is not feeling so great. Sunil Narine has an economy rate of 8.9 in IPL 2023. Never in the history of this tournament has he been so expensive. Also, he hasn’t picked up a wicket for five matches straight. That’s another first for him in the IPL.
• Hardik Pandya has a strike rate of 102 against pace this season. This is the second-lowest among all batters who have faced at least 50 balls.

Pitch and conditions

Eden Gardens, after hosting three matches in this year’s IPL, has produced an average first-innings score of 222. It is the highest out of all the grounds on show in the tournament. So expect a few runs. Spin has offered a bit of respite, though – 21 wickets at an economy rate of 8.7 (versus 10.9 for pace) and a strike rate of 15.6, which is another season-topping metric among the grounds this IPL.

With the return to fitness of Vernon Philander, South Africa have to work out how best to balance their attack for the second Test

Liam Brickhill in Cape Town02-Jan-2019They are 1-0 up but, ahead of the second Test at Newlands, South Africa have quite a conundrum to figure out: how to fit three world-class seamers into their attack along with the in-form Duanne Olivier. Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander are all undroppable, but there are only so many spaces going.Philander’s record makes his the first name on the teamsheet at Newlands, while Olivier’s wrecking-ball act at Centurion was so convincing that Faf du Plessis confirmed the day before the Test that he would definitely play. Unless South Africa opt for a four-pronged pace attack, someone will have to sit out and, on current form, it could be Steyn.Steyn ascended to the top of South Africa’s Test wicket-taking list on the first morning at Centurion, but he was taken apart by Babar Azam in a later spell and picked up only three wickets during the game. In patches, he didn’t quite hit his usual straps, and South Africa will want him as fresh as possible for the World Cup – admittedly still five months away.”We’re still talking about what we need to do,” du Plessis said on the eve of the second Test. “Historically, Newlands is a ground where it spins a bit. So it’s just about finding that balance. For us, it’s always tricky trying to find out what that is. There’s a few combinations: whether it’s the extra seamer, whether it’s a spinner or whether it’s playing a batsman less, it is something we speak about quite regularly.ALSO READ: Du Plessis says IPL a concern for bowlers’ workloads“I just like the fact that there’s a bit of variety in our attack. [Olivier] is a fit guy, he can bowl long spells, and you like to have that in your armoury. Then you’ve got the skill of Vernon, Dale, KG – not that they don’t have pace, but he’s just different. He runs at you, he’s around your head most of the time, and that’s not comfortable for anyone.”South Africa seem a little uncertain at how the pitch will play, which doesn’t help them solve their conundrum. Newlands curator Evan Flint said the excessive bounce that was a factor at Centurion will not be seen here, but there will be pace on offer. On days four and five there will be turn, which could benefit spinners on both sides.”We’ve been talking about the pitch already,” Rabada said. “It looks a little dull in a way, in that it might just be five days here. We were joking with Evan about it. But you never know with cricket pitches. Who knows what will happen. It still looks a good wicket. Newlands is always a good wicket, and whenever I’ve come here there’s always been a fair contest between bat and ball.”Du Plessis added: “It looks pretty similar to what we’ve seen here before. A little bit of grass, but also some patches there. If there’s wind, it does possibly play into the role of a spinner. We may possibly wait and see tomorrow what it looks like when we get to the ground.”Had Lungi Ngidi been fit, the conundrum would be even more complex. So plentiful are South Africa’s pace options that Dane Paterson, who has taken 30 wickets in five first-class matches this season, hasn’t really been part of the conversation despite coming in to the squad as injury cover before the first Test.Behind him, Anrich Nortje also started the domestic season with a bang, topping Warriors’ bowling table with 24 wickets at 21.04, and impressed so quickly in three Mzansi Super League outings that he picked up an IPL deal with Kolkata Knight Riders despite being sidelined with an ankle injury. The MSL also unearthed some other gems, and seamer Lutho Sipamla – who needs four more wickets to reach 50 first-class scalps well before his 21st birthday – could also find himself in the reckoning in the near future.”I don’t like to get involved in team selection and all that, it’s not my place, but yeah, it’s a bit of a headache now, with people talking about whether Vern’s going to come back and Duanne’s going to sit out,” Rabada said. “But it’s a good headache to have." He also said “there have been talks” of possibly going in to the match with four seamers and looking to end the game before spin becomes too much of a factor.The quality of South Africa’s options is not in question, but getting the combination right is key. “For us, it’s more about balance than anything else,” du Plessis said. “It’s not about playing a spinner or anything else, it’s what we feel is our most balanced team.”

Jacob Oram, meanwhile, has joined MI Cape Town as the team’s bowling coach

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Dec-2022J Arunkumar, the former Karnataka captain and coach, has been roped by Mumbai Indians as their assistant batting coach ahead of IPL 2023. Arunkumar joins his former team-mate R Vinay Kumar, a talent scout, on the franchise’s support staff roster, that will be headed by Mark Boucher; Arunkumar and Boucher were colleagues at Royal Challengers Bangalore during the inaugural IPL season in 2008.Arunkumar will work in tandem with Kieron Pollard, who was announced as batting coach in November after he was released by the franchise ahead of the auction. Pollard had represented the franchise in 189 matches since first coming on board in 2009.A veteran of 109 first-class matches, Arunkumar was until recently head coach of the USA men’s national team for over two years. Prior to that, he was involved in the Indian domestic circuit with Puducherry and Karnataka. In the IPL, he’s previously worked with Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) as batting coach in 2017.Arunkumar achieved great success with Karnataka
During his tenure [Arunkumar and Mansur Ali Khan coached the team together], Karnataka won back-to-back Ranji Trophy titles in 2013-14 and 2014-15. They also won two Irani Cups and Vijay Hazare Trophy titles in the same seasons. His time coincided with the team establishing themselves as a dominant force in domestic cricket, with KL Rahul, Manish Pandey and Karun Nair all graduating to play for India.Arunkumar also had an impressive career as a player with Karnataka, being part of two title wins as a player, in 1995-96 and 1997-98. He made 7208 first-class runs in 176 innings, with 20 centuries and 36 half-centuries.The new support staff appointments followed the group’s overhaul of its existing coaching set-up after the acquisition of teams at the UAE’s ILT20 (MI Emirates) and the South African SA20 league (MI Cape Town). Mahela Jayawardene, who was the head coach at Mumbai Indians since 2017, has been elevated to the global head of performance, and Zaheer Khan, the director of cricket operations till last season, is now the global head of cricket development. They will both be involved with all three teams.Jacob Oram roped in as MI Cape Town bowling coach
In another update, Jacob Oram, the former New Zealand allrounder, has been appointed MI Cape Town’s bowling coach ahead of the inaugural SA20 season.Oram, who played 33 Tests, 160 ODIs and 36 T20Is between 2001 and 2012, also played four seasons of the IPL, in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2013, finishing up with Mumbai Indians. A coach after retirement, Oram’s most recent position was as the assistant coach of the New Zealand women’s team.He now joins the MI Cape Town support staff team of Simon Katich (head coach), Hashim Amla (batting coach), James Pamment (fielding coach), and Robin Peterson (team manager).

Double-header men’s and women’s T20Is will be the main attraction as New Zealand men are set to play five Tests, 11 ODIs and four T20Is from December to March

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jul-2018New Zealand are set to play hosts to Asian teams Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh during their 2018-19 home season from December to March. The India tour will be particularly significant given both the men’s and women’s teams will feature in three T20I double-headers in early February after they complete their respective ODI series.

New Zealand home summer

Versus Sri Lanka:
1st Test: December 15-19, Wellington
2nd Test: December 26-30, Christchurch
1st ODI: January 3, Mount Maunganui
2nd ODI: January 5, Mount Maunganui
3rd ODI: January 8, Nelson
Only T20: January 11, Auckland
Versus India:
1st ODI: January 23, Napier
2nd ODI: January 26, Mount Maunganui
3rd ODI: January 28, Mount Maunganui
4th ODI: January 31, Hamilton
5th ODI: February 3, Wellington
1st T20: February 6, Wellington
2nd T20: February 8, Auckland
3rd T20: February 10, Hamilton
Versus Bangladesh:
1st ODI: February 13, Napier
2nd ODI: February 16, Christchurch
3rd ODI: February 20, Dunedin
1st Test: February 28-March 4, Hamilton
2nd Test: March 8-12, Wellington
3rd Test: March 16-20, Christchurch

While the men’s teams of India and New Zealand will feature in a five-match ODI series – starting January 23 – that will serve as preparation for the 2019 World Cup, the women’s teams will square off in three ICC Women’s Championship fixtures that helps to identify seven direct qualifiers (excluding the hosts) for the 2021 Women’s World Cup to be held in New Zealand. All six women’s matches will be televised live for the first time in New Zealand history.In a move to align with viewer-friendly timings in India, NZC pushed back the start of all games, barring the second T20I in Auckland on February 8, by one hour as per their agreement with India’s host broadcaster Star Sports. There are restrictions on the number of events that can be held at night at Eden Park because of its proximity to residential areas.While the first and third T20Is will begin at 8pm local time, the Auckland game will start an hour earlier. “NZC would’ve liked to have scheduled more India matches at Eden Park in Auckland but was unable to do so because of restrictions at the venue,” NZC’s chief operating officer Anthony Crummy said. All five ODIs between the men’s teams will start at 3pm local time.New Zealand’s international summer will start with two Tests against Sri Lanka, starting December 15 in Wellington, followed by the Boxing Day Test in Christchurch, before they play three ODIs and a lone T20 in January. Once India’s tour of New Zealand ends with the last T20 on February 10, the hosts will take on Bangladesh for three ODIs, followed by a three-Test series – the first ever between the two sides. This will also be Bangladesh’s first three-Test series since hosting Zimbabwe in 2014. The three Tests will be played in Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch.”NZC had hoped to schedule the opening Bangladesh Test at Seddon Park as a Day-Night fixture but could not obtain agreement from the Bangladesh Cricket Board and was forced to revert to the traditional hours-of-play,” an NZC release said.Meanwhile, India will also field an A team that will feature in three four-day fixtures across Mount Maunganui, Hamilton and Whangarei, and three 50-over fixtures, all at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui during the same period.This series is in line with NZC’s increased investment in the ‘A Programme’ as announced in the new NZC-NZCPA (New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association) master agreement earlier in July. The BCCI has in recent times increased the exposure for their A teams through tours to run alongside the senior team’s tour, like in England this summer.

Worcestershire failed once more to secure a home quarter-final – this time falling to a six-hitting blitz from Riki Wessels

ECB Reporters Network12-Aug-2018
ScorecardWorcestershire Rapids were on the receiving end of a six-hitting blitz from Notts Outlaws opener Riki Wessels as a five wicket defeat dealt a blow to their hopes of sealing a home quarter-final in the Vitality Blast.Wessels smashed nine sixes in his 55 off just 18 balls to set the Outlaws on their way to overhauling a 192 target with 11 balls to spare.Three more came in an over from former Nottinghamshire paceman Andy Carter and the first three deliveries of Pat Brown’s opening over also received the same treatment.When he finally perished, caught on the deep square leg boundary off Brown – the competition’s leading wicket-taker – the Outlaws total stood on 72 in just the fifth over.His boundary clearing spree took the pressure off the other Outlaws batsmen as victory strengthened their chances of a top four spot.But the Rapids, already guaranteed a quarter-final place, are now involved in a three horse race with Durham Jets and Lancashire Lightning to secure a home tie in the knockout stages.The Rapids innings of 191 for 6 was based around a career best T20 performance with the bat by Brett D’Oliveira who hit 64.Rapids captain Moeen Ali, released by England from Test duty to play in this fixture, got into his stride with two sixes over mid wicket off Outlaws skipper Dan Christian. The Rapids’ half century came up in the fifth over but then three wickets fell in quick succession.Clarke (29) lofted Fletcher straight to Alex Hales at mid-on and in the same over Callum Ferguson, a century-maker in the Blast fixture at Trent Bridge last weekend, cut the ball into the hands of Samit Patel at point.It became 62 for 3 when Moeen carved a delivery from Steven Mullaney to Jake Libby on the cover boundary. D’Oliveira and Ben Cox added 52 in five overs before the Rapids wicket-keeper on 16 was caught on the square leg boundary off Mullaney.Christian returned to the attack to bowl Ross Whiteley and D’Oliveira, having struck three sixes and six fours in his 37 ball knock, departed in the same fashion to Harry Gurney.But some late aggression from Wayne Parnell, including successive sixes off the final two deliveries of the innings from Gurney, lifted the Rapids to a competitive looking total.When Nottinghamshire launched their reply, Wessels adapted an all out aggressive approach despite Hales quickly departing to Carter. After his eventual dismissal, Libby and Steven Mullaney were able to play without taking any risks in adding 49 in six overs.Brown claimed a second scalp when Mullaney skied the ball on the on side and then Jake Libby was run out after smart work by D’Oliveira after Tom Moores called him through for a single. But Moores (30) ensured there were no late scares for the Outlaws as he lofted Mooen for three sixes in the 15th over despite him becoming a third victim of Brown.

The batsman is likely to team up with AB de Villiers, who could make himself available for the franchise next summer, despite his recent international retirement

Firdose Moonda28-May-2018Theunis de Bruyn, who has played five Tests for South Africa, will no longer captain Knights’ franchise after he opted to move to Titans for the 2018-19 summer. He joins 11 other current internationals at SuperSport Park, where discussions are still underway with AB de Villiers, who had recently retired from international cricket. The batsman, however, could make himself available for the franchise next summer.De Villiers was not listed among the franchise’s contracted players, which, apart from the eight nationally contracted players on Titans’ books, also included Farhaan Behardien, Junior Dala and Heinrich Klaasen. Rookie contracts were awarded to former national under-19 allrounder Corbin Bosch, son of Tertius, and recent under-19 World Cup success story Wandile Makwetu.Malusi Siboto, a medium-pacer who has been instrumental to the Titans’ limited-overs success over the last few seasons, left the franchise after his contract expired, while bowling all-rounder Rowan Richards was released. Instead, Tshepo Moreki, a right-arm quick from Cobras was signed up.”The squad is a good balance of youth and experience and definitely one that has the potential to defend our two trophies and possibly put us in a position to win all three competitions,” Mark Boucher, Titans’ coach said. “Theunis is a very good player and a very dominant batsman. We saw an opening in our batting line-up and believe Theunis can definitely strengthen our batting unit. Not only is it a massive benefit to have him in our batting line-up, but his pace bowling will add another dimension. Tshepo is a promising talent. I love his attitude on the field, he’s fit and is hungry to play, so I am looking forward to see what he can bring with the ball.”Titans have announced their contract list even though talks between CSA and the South African Cricketers’ Association regarding their MOU, which outlines the terms and conditions for players contracts, have yet to conclude. The MOU, which expires at the end of April, was extended with a new deadline set for June 30.Titans squad: Andrea Agathangelou, Farhaan Behardien, Corbin Bosch, Junior Dala, Henry Davids, Theunis de Bruyn, Tony de Zorzi, Eldred Hawken, Heinrich Klaasen, Heino Kuhn, Wandile Makwetu, Tshepo Moreki , Rivaldo Moonsamy, Albie Morkel, Alfred Mothoa, Grant Thomson, Jonathan Vandiar. Shaun von BergCSA contracted players at Titans: Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Chris Morris, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dale Steyn

He has stayed back in Perth to continue his recovery, leaving Australia with fewer chances to nail down their XI for the T20 World Cup

Alex Malcolm03-Oct-2022Allrounder Marcus Stoinis has been ruled out of the upcoming T20I series against West Indies as he continues his recovery from a side strain he suffered in early September, leaving Australia’s selectors fewer chances to bed down their best side ahead of the World Cup.Stoinis has not travelled with Australia’s squad to the Gold Coast ahead of the first game of a two-match series against West Indies on Wednesday. He has instead remained in Perth where he will link up with the squad at the weekend.Following the second T20I against West Indies in Brisbane on Friday, Australia head to Perth for the first of three T20Is against England on Sunday as they continue their preparations for their opening T20 World Cup clash on October 22. They will play one more warm-up game against India before their tournament opener against New Zealand.Stoinis suffered the injury on September 8 during an ODI series against New Zealand in Cairns. He was ruled out of the third ODI of that series and also missed Australia’s whirlwind three-match T20I tour of India. He has continually suffered side strains on both sides of his body over the last three years after being significantly hampered with it during the 2019 ODI World Cup.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

He flew home early from the ODI tour of Sri Lanka in June after suffering another minor strain but was able to recover in under three weeks to play in the Hundred in England before returning to Australia for the ODIs and Zimbabwe and New Zealand.His latest injury has come at a time when Australia have a significant selection squeeze in their top seven thanks to the performances of Cameron Green and Tim David during the tour of India.Related

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David seamlessly slotted in to the No. 6 role, vacated by Stoinis, on his Australia debut in India forming a composed partnership with Matthew Wade in a stunning run chase in Mohali before scoring a sensational 54 off 27 balls in Hyderabad to lift Australia to a highly competitive total after the top order collapsed.Stoinis has been a mainstay of Australia’s T20I middle order over the last three years and played two pivotal innings in last year’s World Cup triumph. But David’s form and experience playing the exact same role in franchise cricket means that Australia’s selectors already had a decision to make in terms of their first-choice middle order in the World Cup. Stoinis’ injury may alleviate some of the pressure on Steven Smith who was moved up to No. 3 for the India series. Mitchell Marsh is set to return to that position although his troublesome ankle, which he has had surgery on in the past, has severely hindered his bowling preparation for the World Cup after missing the India series.2:48

Hodge: Green might go on to become one of the best Australia has produced

Australia’s selectors have also been looking for any excuse to get Green into their 15-man World Cup squad following his staggering performances in India. Green was added as cover for the series against West Indies after previously being set to play Sheffield Shield cricket this week, given he is currently not in the World Cup squad. Australia can add Green to the squad if Stoinis, or another player, is ruled out of the tournament with injury.How Green fits into a starting XI against West Indies remains to be seen given his success in India came while opening the batting. David Warner has returned to the squad after being rested for the India series and it is highly unlikely Australia would move either Warner or captain Aaron Finch down the order given their success and experience as an opening duo.Green did show his middle order and finishing skills in the ODIs against New Zealand but has limited T20 experience in those roles, although that is unlikely to faze the selectors as he had no opening experience in professional cricket prior to the India tour. His bowling would also give Australia another option, given their preference for seven batters and only four specialist bowlers in their XI with the fifth bowler to be made up by allrounders with Marsh, Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell providing those options at last year’s World Cup.Australia still has some overall fitness concerns ahead of the World Cup with depth players Ashton Agar and Kane Richardson unavailable for the West Indies series due to minor side strains both men suffered in India.