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Scotland came close to making history, but the power and depth in Australia’s batting ultimately proved to be too much

Andrew McGlashan16-Jun-20244:16

Finch on Australia’s six drops: They were uncharacteristically sloppy

Scotland could almost touch a history-making moment. Australia’s asking rate was approaching 13 going into the final seven overs of their chase in what, until then, had been an underwhelming performance. But Marcus Stoinis, with help from Travis Head and later Tim David, shattered their dreams and in turn left England breathing a sigh of relief in Antigua, the result securing their Super Eight berth in the T20 World Cup 2024.Stoinis, who mixed deftness and power in another impressive performance in what is becoming an outstanding tournament for him, put it back in Australia’s favour with a 25-ball half-century while Head turned on the afterburners after compiling a somewhat sedate 45-ball fifty with three sixes off consecutive legitimate deliveries.Although both departed, Australia entered the last over needing just five but there was one final twist. With three needed off four balls, David was dropped at deep midwicket by Chris Sole and with that went Scotland’s last hope. The next ball was sent into the stands.For three-quarters of the contest, Scotland had been outstanding. Their platform was laid by a blistering display from Brandon McMullen on one of the better batting surfaces of the tournament so far. Australia, who shelled six chances in a poor fielding display, clawed it back in the second 10 overs but in their powerplay were held to 36 for 2 by some excellent bowling. However, ultimately the depth and power of their batting order was too much leaving a host of emotions across two islands.

Deftness and power from Stoinis

Australia could not get up or ahead of the asking rate through the first half of the innings. When Glenn Maxwell, who had struck one six over long-on, was defeated by a wonderful delivery from Mark Watt, which pitched on off stump and straightened, Scotland were buoyant and there was a sense that Australia could pay for being off the pace.However, Stoinis got away from his first ball with the help of a misfield, square cutting one of Watt’s 24-yard deliveries. So often known for sheer brute force, he then deftly reverse-swept Michael Leask from the first delivery of the next over and looked on his game. Still, the requirement had become a demanding 87 off 39 balls when Stoinis took down Leask with a reverse-hit six over point then another down the ground.When Head slammed three sixes off Safyaan Sharif the tide had firmly turned; at one stage a series of 12 legitimate deliveries brought 46 runs. Sharif did strike back to have Head taken at long-off, but Australia had given themselves breathing room.Brandon McMullen struck six sixes in his knock•ICC/Getty Images

Scotland’s Bazball

Having been put in, it took Scotland a couple of overs to size up conditions and midway through the third they were still to reach double figures. That changed when McMullen lofted Nathan Ellis stylishly over long off. Even better was to follow as he used his feet against Mitchell Starc and flayed him into the stands over cover.When Adam Zampa was introduced he showed excellent footwork to send him for six, then drive through the off side against a shorter delivery, with another brace of sixes coming off Ashton Agar in the eighth over as he brought up a 26-ball fifty.At the other end, George Munsey had laboured somewhat to 4 off 10 balls but then followed the lead of McMullen by taking on Glenn Maxwell’s over inside the powerplay with 14 off the last three balls. He swept Maxwell for another six before dragging a wider delivery into the hands of deep midwicket next ball. From 92 for 1 after 8.5 overs, Scotland will look back with some regret that the remaining 11.1 overs only brought 88 runs. A large amount of the credit for that has to go to a pair of skillful death overs from Ellis who continued to impress.

Australia’s hat-trick of drops

Australia had an uncharacteristically poor day in the field. None of the chances were simple, but in all they missed six catches – the most in a Men’s T20 World Cup match according to ESPNcricinfo data. At one stage, they put down three in consecutive balls: Zampa palming Matthew Cross’ pull over the fine leg rope, Mitchell Marsh spilling a low one at cover and then Matthew Wade being unable to take a glove down the leg side when Cross swept at Maxwell. Earlier, there had been two put down in Starc’s second over when Marsh couldn’t hold a chance above his head at mid-on and Head grassed a tough one at cover from McMullen.Mitchell Marsh wrings his hand after dropping a tough catch•Getty Images

Agar ends long wait

By the time the game ended, a lot had happened since Agar struck in the opening over of the contest to remove Michael Jones. He was playing his first T20I since the previous World Cup in October 2022 as Australia had one eye on potential match-ups in the Super Eight.”Deep in a tournament, when the same grounds are being used a lot, we’re starting to see some wickets that are starting to show a bit of fatigue in the West Indies,” national selector George Bailey told reporters. “A lot of the guys we’ve got in the group have got a bunch of cricket behind them, either through the IPL most recently or have played quite a bit in this team.”But Ash [Agar], just coming off his injuries and the way we’ve structured up when he has been available, he just hasn’t been able to get much game time, as much as he’d probably like…just getting that opportunity in the middle to be able to put that into place, for Mitch to be able to navigate what it’s like with a number of spinners in the team.”Australia ended up using 12 overs of spin with Agar, Maxwell and Zampa all bowling their full complement. They will be back in St Lucia to face India in their final Super Eight fixture. For a while it appeared Scotland would be joining them but that proved agonisingly out of reach.

Williamson, Southee partly rested in anticipation of heavy workloads during a hectic home summer involving limited-overs series against Pakistan and England

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Dec-2017Rookie fast bowler Lockie Ferguson makes a return to New Zealand’s ODI squad, but two senior players – Kane Williamson and Tim Southee – will be rested for the second and third ODIs of the three-match series against West Indies.There were no other major surprises. Legspinner Ish Sodhi – who joined New Zealand’s ODI squad in India – makes way for Todd Astle, who returns to the fray after recovering from a groin strain. Batsman Martin Guptill, however, has been ruled out with a hamstring injury. Central Districts batsman George Worker will open the batting in his stead. Tom Latham, meanwhile, will captain the side in Williamson’s absence, having already led the ODI team during a tour to Ireland.Though New Zealand had a long break from international cricket between June and October, prior to their limited-overs series in India, the decision to rest Williamson and Southee comes in anticipation of a busy home season. After the ongoing West Indies tour winds down, Pakistan are due to arrive in New Zealand for five ODIs and three T20s, before England play five ODIs and two Tests to end the summer.”It’s a long summer, so for those guys playing in all three formats it’s important we keep them fresh and build depth leading into a world cup year,” chief selector Gavin Larsen said. “Tim and Kane will both take breaks during this series, but there will be others who will also rest throughout the season.”Williamson will also be rested from the first T20 against West Indies. Batsman Neil Broom and left-arm spinning allrounder Mitchell Santner will replace the two outgoing members of the squad for the second and third ODIs.Astle’s re-selection, meanwhile, is merely a return to the policy that saw him selected before his groin injury. He had taken six wickets at an average of 27.83 during New Zealand A’s tour of India, and had consequently been chosen for the senior team’s tour of the same country. He was forced to withdraw from that tour, however, and has since been in good bowling in the Ford trophy, taking seven wickets in three matches for Canterbury.”Todd has been one of the top domestic bowlers in the country for a number of years now and performed very well during the recent New Zealand A tour to India,” Larsen said. “He was unlucky to get injured before the Blackcaps tour in India, but he’s continued to bowl well on return and thoroughly deserves this opportunity.”Ferguson has also made a decent start to the Ford Trophy, taking 2 for 39 for Auckland in his most-recent outing. He has eight wickets from seven ODIs so far, and is reputed to be the quickest bowler in the country.”Lockie has been in excellent form and we got to see a bit of him in Wellington while he was a part of the Test squad,” Larsen said. “To have him and Adam Milne in the squad is exciting from a pace perspective.”New Zealand ODI squad: Kane Williamson (capt.), Tim Southee [first ODI only for both], Todd Astle,Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Henry Nicholls, Ross Taylor, George WorkerNeil Broome and Mitchell Santner (second and third ODIs only)

The left-arm quick spent the last two months on the road, playing in the ILT20 and the PSL

Matt Roller20-Mar-2024David Willey will miss the start of IPL 2024, where he was due to play for Lucknow Super Giants, due to personal reasons. The English left-arm seamer spent the last two IPL seasons with Royal Challengers Bangalore and was due to play for LSG this year after he was signed at his base price of INR 2 crore (£190,000 approx) in December’s auction in Dubai.But Justin Langer, LSG’s new head coach, revealed on Wednesday that Willey would not be available for the start of the season, after spending the last two months on the road, representing Abu Dhabi Knight Riders and Multan Sultans in the ILT20 and the PSL respectively.Related

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ESPNcricinfo understands that Willey has not yet been replaced in the squad and could yet travel to India at some stage in the tournament. But he has been away from home for most of the English winter, having played at the World Cup in India, and he returned to the UK after playing in Monday’s PSL final.Willey is the second Englishman who is unavailable for the start of LSG’s season, after Mark Wood was pulled out by the ECB for the whole campaign to manage his workload ahead of the T20 World Cup. Wood has been replaced by Shamar Joseph, the West Indies fast bowler, while Willey has not yet been replaced.”With Mark Wood pulling out of the tournament and also David Willey won’t be coming now either, that means we lack some experience,” Langer said, when asked about LSG’s pace attack. “But what I’ve also seen in the last couple of days is that we have enormous talent. Some of our guys have had some injuries but they all look very fit at the moment.”They look fit and healthy and they’re very hungry, so we’ll just have to manage them well so that we can get them through and work through the whole tournament, not just the start of the tournament. We’ve got one overseas player up our sleeve if required, where we might be able to add some experience.”Langer also name-checked the 21-year-old Delhi seamer Mayank Yadav as a genuine fast bowler who could provide some pace in Wood’s absence. “Mark Wood is a world-class bowler, isn’t he? And he pulled out after the auction, which is disappointing but this is the world we live in,” Langer said.”We also have Shamar Joseph, we have Mayank who bowls with very good pace. Hopefully we can replace, not [Wood’s] experience, but his pace with Shamar Joseph and Mayank. He’ll be missed – of course he’ll be missed, he’s a world-class bowler – but this is the world we live in and we will adapt and we will be okay.”LSG will travel to Jaipur this week ahead of their opening match of IPL 2024, against Rajasthan Royals in an afternoon game on Sunday.

Derbyshire’s Alex Thomson continues impressive match to claim maiden ten-wicket haul

ECB Reporters Network13-Apr-2024Spin continued to dominate proceedings on the second day of the Vitality County Championship match between Glamorgan and Derbyshire in Cardiff.Mason Crane took four wickets on his Glamorgan debut as Derbyshire were bowled out for 198, 39 runs behind on first innings. Wayne Madsen top scored for Derbyshire with 63 but his departure brought about a collapse of five wickets for 33 runs.Alex Thomson was once again the star man with the ball for Derbyshire as he secured his first 10-wicket haul in first-class cricket. Glamorgan had reached 74 for 4 at the close, a lead of 113 with six second innings wickets in hand.With the pitch offering significant assistance to both seam and spin bowlers the destination of this game will depend on how well Glamorgan bat in the first session of day three.Having resumed on 46 for 1, Derbyshire while placed to get past Glamorgan’s total and they started the day with captain David Lloyd reaching fifty from 65 balls against his former county. He was the first wicket to fall on day two when he was trapped lbw by Crane for 60.Harry Came made a patient 25 from 113 balls but he never really found runs easy to come by on a pitch that is slow enough that batters had to take risks to score quickly. He was dismissed by James Harris for the second of his three wickets in Derbyshire’s innings. Harris conceded runs at less than 1.5 an over, conceding just three boundaries, one of which was an edge past the slips as he finished with figures of 3 for 28.As was the case in Glamorgan’s first innings, it was the spinner who was the most consistent threat with Crane starring with the ball on his Glamorgan debut. Figures 4 for 60 was his best return in first-class cricket since his five-wicket haul against Lancashire for Hampshire in 2021.While Crane was a consistent threat, it was the seamers who took the heart out of the Derbyshire batting line-up with Dan Douthwaite and Mir Hamza picking up wickets.While Madsen was at the crease it felt as is Derbyshire could claim a first-innings lead but when he was well caught in the covers by sub fielder Asa Tribe off Douthwaite it began the collapse that prevented Derbyshire eclipsing Glamorgan’s first innings total.Crane was brought back into the attack after a short break and claimed the last three Derbyshire wickets as scoring became increasingly difficult against the aging Kookaburra ball. When the last Derbyshire wicket fell on the stoke of the tea break Glamorgan had secured a 39-run lead.When their second innings got underway the Glamorgan openers once again found Thomson extremely difficult to face. Having claimed career-best figures of 7 for 65 in the first innings he opened the bowling and had two wickets in two balls. Both Zain-ul-Hassan and Sam Northeast were dismissed lbw, the latter for a golden duck.Thomson claimed his 10th wicket of the match when he bowled Kiran Carlson for 11 before Sam Conners bowled Billy Root for 32 to put this game into the balance heading into the third day.

SA first folded for 55, before India faced a collapse of their own, losing their last six wickets without adding a run

Deivarayan Muthu03-Jan-2024
As many as 23 wickets tumbled on a chaotic opening day in Cape Town, including a never-before-seen collapse of 6 for 0. It was the first time in 2522 Tests that a team had lost six wickets for . India claimed that unwanted record when they went from 153 for 4 to 153 all out in 11 balls, in response to South Africa’s 55 all out, in the afternoon session.Despite that collapse, India were still in front on a Newlands pitch that provided excessive seam movement and variable bounce throughout the day. With even the old(ish) ball misbehaving off the surface, the batters found it fiendishly difficult to bat, especially when the bowlers forced them to play a shot. Only once has more wickets fallen in a day in Test cricket in this century.Related

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It was that kind of a day in Cape Town.Dean Elgar became the just second player after Australia’s Jack Barrett to be dismissed twice on the same day of his last Test. Barrett’s last Test was in 1890.After opting to bat, Elgar was bowled by Mohammed Siraj off an inside edge for 4 in the first innings, where South Africa folded in 23.2 overs. Siraj’s new-ball spell of 9-3-15-6 skittled South Africa for 55 – the lowest total against India in Test cricket – in a session. India then needed less than ten overs to take the lead, with Rohit Sharma motoring along at better than a run-a-ball during those early exchanges. However, the late collapse, triggered by Lungi Ngidi’s triple-strike, brought South Africa back into the game.Aiden Markram, who was the first batter to be dismissed on the day, then somehow survived 51 balls in South Africa’s second innings to bring his team even closer to parity. India, though, still have a substantial lead of 36, which appears even bigger on this surface.South Africa were not in control of only 55 of the shots they played in their first innings. They got bowled out for 55. That means one in five mistakes cost the ultimate price.India were the same. They were not in control of 50 of the shots they played. A ratio of one in five again. In all, there were only seven double-digit scores across three innings. If this match ends in less than 34.1 overs on Thursday, it will be the shortest Test ever.Mukesh Kumar bids Dean Elgar goodbye after being the last man to dismiss him•Associated Press

It was Siraj who had started the mayhem on Wednesday when he hit the perfect length and the outside edges. Siraj’s new-ball spell in Centurion was just as incisive, but luck – and the wickets – didn’t go his way in the first Test. However, it would be a discredit to Siraj’s skills to say it was only good fortune in Cape Town.While Siraj probed away around off stump – or outside off – against the right-handers, he snaffled Elgar and Tony de Zorzi with a middle-and-leg line, with a deepish short leg and leg slip in place. After bringing the stumps – and the close-in catchers in play – he hung one up outside off. Elgar took the bait and threw his hands at the ball only to chop it back onto his own stumps. After having de Zorzi flaccidly fend to short leg, Siraj had him caught down the leg side by KL Rahul.But it was the dismissal of David Bedingham that created a stir in Cape Town. When Siraj put one on a length and outside off, it reared up viciously into Bedingham’s glove and ballooned to third slip. Mukesh Kumar, who was picked in place of Shardul Thakur, came into the attack in the 20th over and took care of the tail.Rohit then came out attacking against Ngidi and Nandre Burger who weren’t as accurate as Kagiso Rabada with the new ball. In his first spell, Ngidi bowled like… someone who was playing his first first-class match in over a year and kept offering up floaty half-volleys. Burger also erred too full before he pulled his length back and hit the shoulder of Rohit’s bat. Burger also got rid of Shubman Gill (36) and Shreyas Iyer (0) for a duck to leave India at 110 for 4.Virat Kohli, though, looked comfortable in the middle and continued to play his shots, especially the drives. Ngidi then returned to the attack and bowled at full tilt, running in hard and hitting the deck even harder. In the 34th over, he bounced out all of Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah, who slotted in at No.8, in the absence of Thakur. The big seam movement and variable bounce was just too much to handle. Kohli himself was part of that 6 for 0 collapse.But India’s batters had done enough to pull their team ahead on a manic day.

With two needed off the final ball, Muzarabani managed to get an inside edge that beat the wicketkeeper for a one-wicket win

Abhimanyu Bose07-Dec-2023Brilliant catches, dramatic shifts in momentum and a lucky inside edge – Zimbabwe’s last-ball win against Ireland had it all in a game that had you on the edge of the seat for the last few overs.Sikandar Raza put on a clinic with both bat and ball to lead Zimbabwe to victory in the first ever international match under lights at the Harare Sports Club and a 1-0 series lead against Ireland.The pace trio of Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani and debutant Trevor Gwandu would be hailed as equally important heroes in their dressing room, but not for what they did with the ball.Raza picked up three wickets to restrict Ireland to 147 before navigating the chase with a composed 42-ball 65 with wickets falling at the other end and some heated exchanges from Ireland fielders. He himself fell in the 19th over – thanks to a diving catch from Paul Stirling at cover – with Zimbabwe needing 11 off 9 and all the established batters back in the dugout.The equation went down to nine off the final over, and when Ngarava and Gwandu managed only three runs off the first three balls, Ireland seemed to have edged ahead. But Ngarava found a boundary with a leg-side swipe to make it two needed off two.Sounds simple? Well, not simple enough.The momentum shifted again when Mark Adair ran back from short third to hold on to a blinder, landing on his neck after a full sumersault in the process and walked off. That left Muzarabani on strike, with two runs needed off the last ball. But to Ireland’s dismay, the No. 11 got an inside edge that beat Lorcan Tucker to give Zimbabwe the two runs they needed to seal a dramatic win.

Raza steers the chase

Ireland dominated the powerplay with both bat and ball, but Raza was key in bringing Zimbabwe back in the game in both innings.
Defending 147, Ireland started tightly with the ball and Tadiwanashe Marumani was out early, chipping Barry McCarthy to mid-on. Josh Little then had Sean Williams chopping on in next over to put Zimbabwe further under the pump.Raza helped inject some momentum into Zimbabwe’s innings with back-to-back boundaries to end the powerplay. When spin came on, Wessly Madhevere reverse-swept George Dockrell for four but was out after one ball, exposing his stumps and missing his scoop.Raza and Ryan Burl kept Zimbabwe ticking, and the momentum seemed to shift in the 12th over when Raza deposited Gareth Delany over midwicket and Burl powered a drive past long-on in a 13-run over.Josh Little kept Ireland in the game with an economical spell•Sportsfile via Getty Images

But Craig Young threw a spanner in the works with two wickets in two overs. He bounced Burl out, with the batter top-edging a pull shot for Tucker to grab. Young struck again when debutant Brian Bennett ended up hitting aerially towards mid-off and Harry Tector completed a stunning take running to his left and leaping to pluck the ball out one-handed.Raza seized control back, getting to his 12th T20I fifty before stepping it up. After top-edging Adair for four, he hit a six over fine leg off McCarthy to start off a productive 17th over. Clive Madande pulled McCarthy for a six and four to make it a 20-run over to put bring the asking rate down to run-a-ball.At that point, Zimbabwe looked set to see Ireland off without much trouble, but Little castled Madande before Adair dismissed Luke Jongwe and Raza in an excellent penultimate over.

Balbirnie gets Ireland off to a flyer

Andy Balbirnie got Ireland off to a rollicking start, hitting Ngarava for three fours – including two gorgeous cover drives – in the first over.
He then took Muzarabani on, slapping him over point for a four and a six. Stirling then welcomed Gwandu to international cricket by hitting him for three back-to-back fours as Ireland raced to 38 for no loss in three overs.Muzarabani then slowed Ireland’s innings down with some off-pace deliveries. Ngarava reaped the benefit of the pressure created by the quiet over as he returned to trap Stirling in front with a low full toss.

Spin squeeze from Raza and co.

Raza brought himself on immediately after the powerplay and made instant impact by knocking Balbirnie over with a ball that spun in to beat his sweep shot and take his leg stump.Ireland struggled to keep the tempo up against spin as Williams got in the act. He beat the batters with two beauties in his first over – the tenth of the innings – and got in the wickets column in his next as he had Tucker caught at backward point. Raza then picked up his second wicket of the night by bowling Curtis Campher.Only 53 runs came off the eight consecutive overs of spin after the powerplay, and the pressure told as Muzarabani castled Dockrell with a clever offcutter to leave Ireland on 108 for 5 with five overs to go.Raza had his third when he trapped Tector in front with a sidearm delivery that pitched on leg stump, and looked to be sliding down, before straightening to pin him on the front pad. Adair was the next to go, trying to go for a big shot downtown off Ngarava only to pick out long-on.Muzarabani’s slower variations brought him another wicket off the next over with McCarthy offering a simple catch to point. Delany helped Ireland go past 140 with a 20-run final-over, which saw him hit two sixes down the ground – including one that hit the roof.

Chris Read called Alex Hales’ innings the best he had seen for Nottinghamshire after their Royal London Cup triumph

Alan Gardner02-Jul-2017After watching Alex Hales clobber Surrey’s bowlers all around Lord’s to record the highest List A score on the ground, Chris Read was in no doubt about where the innings ranked: “Number one, pure and simple.”Hales’ imperious, unbeaten 187 – having been dropped on 9 – allowed Nottinghamshire to get home with 13 balls to spare in their chase of 298 and claim the Royal London Cup. His innings spanned a 137-run sixth-wicket stand with Read, Nottinghamshire’s captain, who was able to lift a one-day trophy at Lord’s for the second time in four years, in his final season before retirement.”Apart from the one he belted straight at cover early on,” Read added, with a laugh. “That aside, it was chanceless, but also the tempo of the innings. The one thing that made it easy for me, is all I needed to do was build a partnership, run rate was never an issue, throughout the time we were out there. All it meant was I had to be there, that was my role, because he did what he did. To be there at the end was special.”With Hales batting aggressively from outset, Nottinghamshire just needed someone to stick with him. When Steven Mullaney fell at the start of the 26th over, Notts were 150 for 5 with Hales having scored 114 and Brendan Taylor the only other batsman to reach double-figures. Having been told early on by Michael Lumb that Hales was on for a big one, Read knew he “just had to stay there and knock it around”.”I was acutely aware that the partnership needed to be built, which we’d failed to do,” Read said. “One bloke was on a hundred and we’d only managed to get one other bloke into double-figures, so what it needed was a partnership. The way he was playing, Lumby came to me shortly after he got out – Alex and Lumby know each other very, very well, they’ve opened for a long time – and he said: ‘He’s on today’. Well, if he says that… and you saw it. When he’s on, he’s as good as there is.”The day had not started well for Notts, after Gareth Batty won the toss and chose to bat first in Surrey’s third consecutive Royal London Cup final. Jason Roy was dropped off the first ball of the morning and Surrey had reached 83 for 0 after 11 overs, before Read turned to Samit Patel – Man of the Match for his 3 for 21 in Notts’ YB40 win in 2013.”The first ten overs was pretty awful,” Read said. “The wicket for Samit, who’s done so well with the ball here, he seems to make things happen… To get a wicket with his first ball, soon after the Powerplay. I had a little chat with the guys and said ‘look, we probably need to start now, let’s just scrap those last ten overs’. We got back on track and I thought, particularly through Mullaney and Samit, pace off worked well for us for a while and we managed to keep the run-scoring in check.”After that ten overs I never felt out of control, the run rate never felt like it was getting away from us, which is important. Also having played in a semi and quarter-final where runs seemed to flow at will, we accept that good balls, bad balls can go for boundaries, we get over that, do our utmost in the field and back ourselves to chase whatever they got. We were disappointed at halftime about the way we fielded but ultimately we believed that 297 was very chaseable.”Read is due to play at Lord’s again next week, in an MCC fixture against Afghanistan. He laughingly referred to “ducking Cairns’ slower ball”, in his second Test back in 1999, as one of his less enjoyable times on the ground but described the Royal London final as a “fairytale” finish to his one-day career.”It’s brilliant, what a day. I came here in 2013, we had the Yorkshire Bank 40 final and that was my first Lord’s final. I was blown away by what a day it is. It’s an emotional day because of everything that’s going on. It’s a big moment in your career.”The fans make it to a degree, when you hear them chanting. We get well supported at Trent Bridge and in T20 we get good crowds but when they make the effort to come to London to have a day out and cheer all day, that’s what brings it home. Today was a very special moment. We were party to one of the finest one-day innings that I’ve ever witnessed and it was just a pleasure to be at the other end for a decent chunk of that.”I’ve some great times here, brilliant times. Some less so, obviously right at the start of my career, ducking Cairns’ slower ball, that wasn’t so good. Mostly past that has been great. Winning in 2013, the MCC bicentenary game, playing with the legends of my era, and then today. So yeah, it’s a fairytale.”Read, whose next assignment alongside Hales could be in a 2nd XI match at Grantham to prepare for the start of the NatWest T20 Blast, was also positive about the decision to move the 50-over competition into the first half of the season, with the final played in July rather than September.”The overhead conditions were for the most part great but the pitch was a beauty, which potentially we haven’t seen in 50-over finals of late because they come so late in the season on a potentially tired square. Also having that final in the middle of summer, it’s nice to get that out of the way, played that in a clump, now we can focus on T20, then the Championship reaches its finale towards the end, so I think there’s a good balance. Good pitches, nice weather, high-scoring games… I think 50-over cricket has definitely got a place in the future.”

Jess Jonassen claimed three wickets as Melbourne Stars’ poor season continued

AAP22-Nov-2024Brisbane Heat secured a WBBL finals spot with a nine-wicket win over the Melbourne Stars in a rain-affected fixture.Heat’s bowlers ripped through Stars’ top-order batters in a match reduced to seven overs a side at Brisbane’s Allan Border Field. Stars made just 46 for 6 after losing their initial four wickets in a three-run span – Heat duo Lucy Hamilton and captain Jess Jonassen took two wickets each in 10 balls.Related

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Heat cruised to 47 for 1 from 5.2 overs – they can’t miss the finals and remain a strong chance of pinching top spot from ladder-leaders Sydney Thunder. They joined Melbourne Renegades on 12 points, one behind Thunder.Renegades play Thunder on Saturday in their last game before the finals while Heat’s last match is against Sydney Sixers on Sunday.After heavy rain delayed the start on Friday night, the last-placed Stars scored 21 for 0 from their initial two overs. But Heat’s 18-year-old quick Hamilton – who destroyed Stars five days ago when taking 5 for 8 – again turned tormentor.She claimed two wickets in three balls and, next over, skipper Jonassen collected two more.Heat were untroubled in their run chase: Grace Harris set the tone by smacking the first three balls of the innings for four. She and sister and Laura Harris put on 34 for the first wicket as Heat cruised to victory.

Veteran allrounder vacates role after six seasons in charge

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Oct-2023Steven Mullaney has announced his decision to step down as club captain of Nottinghamshire after six years in the role.Mullaney, 36, was in charge when Notts won promotion to Division One last year, and oversaw a sixth place finish on their return to the top tier – although his returns with the bat this season were limited to 485 runs from 12 matches, with one half-century.”I’m honoured, proud and privileged to have had this opportunity,” he said. “My main aim in the job was to make a difference – and while the big goal was to win Division One, and we weren’t quite able to do that, I’m proud of the foundations we’ve been able to put down for us to challenge in the next few years.”As captain, I wanted to have an influence on the culture at the club, and the way we went about things. It took us a couple of years, and we had to have some tough conversations along the way, but I really think we got somewhere.”I’ve put my heart and soul into this job, but I think it’s time for someone else to enjoy the ride. Whoever that is, they’ll have my complete support.”Mullaney took over as captain of Nottinghamshire’s Championship and One-Day Cup teams after the retirement of Chris Read in 2017, before picking up responsibility for the T20 side following Dan Christian’s departure. His involvement with Trent Rockets in the Hundred curtailed Mullaney’s time as 50-over captain, with the job going to Haseeb Hameed – a likely candidate for the red-ball leadership – in 2022.The veteran allrounder, who joined Nottinghamshire in 2010, still has a year left on his most-recent contract with the club and can expect to be a sounding board for whoever succeeds him.”Firstly I’d like to say a huge well done to Steve on his six years as captain,” Peter Moores, Nottinghamshire’s head coach, said. “He took over at a time when we needed to rebuild, having lost several senior players the year before, and when we needed to find a new direction as a group.”He led us superbly through that period, and made sure the players never lost sight of their goals by staying consistent with the messages he got across to them.”Our results in red-ball cricket in recent years, and our retaining of first-division status this summer, are testament to the improvements he helped to bring about. The squad is definitely in a better place now than when he took over, which is ultimately the goal of any captain.”It feels like an exciting time for someone to take over, and I know Steve will be the first to offer his support, with that same goal of bringing further success to the club.”

Afghanistan lost their last six wickets for only 21 runs, crumbling swiftly on a slow and used Sharjah surface

Himanshu Agrawal09-Nov-2024First, Afghanistan’s spin quartet ended with combined figures of 38-0-144-7. Bangladesh’s trio replied with 21.3-2-72-5. But where Afghanistan’s quicks bowled 12 overs for 108 runs without a single wicket, Bangladesh’s fast bowlers were more incisive with four wickets in 22 overs, which went for only 111. That was the difference in the end as Afghanistan fell 68 short in their pursuit of 253 and Bangladesh levelled the three-match series with one game to play.Bangladesh’s win was set up by captain Najmul Hossain Shanto’s 76. When Shanto fell on his 119th ball in the 41st over of the first innings, his innings appeared to be too slow. But the value of his runs was visible when the Afghanistan batters struggled to get going, justifying that batting wasn’t easy on a slow and used Sharjah surface. Six of Afghanistan’s top eight scored at least 14, but only one could go on to score a half-century. Rahmat Shah’s 76-ball 52 remained the highest.Afghanistan’s chase of 253 began in sedate fashion. The Bangladesh quicks started with tight lines and lengths with the new ball swinging, but their first two breakthroughs were down to some fantastic catches. Soumya Sarkar anticipated a ball rushing onto him at wide slip to have Rahmanullah Gurbaz caught off Taskin Ahmed, while Mehidy Hasan Miraz – at square leg – leapt and plucked one to send Sediqullah Atal back off Nasum Ahmed’s first ball.Atal departed for 39, ending a 52-run second-wicket partnership with Rahmat, but his dismissal started a sequence where Nasum and Mahmudullah kept a check on Afghanistan, conceding only 19 runs across the next seven overs.Mehidy took over captaincy duties after Shanto had to leave the field with a hand injury, and brought himself back to bowl in the 24th over. One over past the halfway mark, Afghanistan’s required rate had crossed six runs an over, and the slide began in the 29th.Mustafizur Rahman had Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi caught at fine leg for a 40-ball 17 and then Nasum bowled Azmatullah Omarzai for his second duck of the series with a beautiful ball which turned away to hit off stump.Three balls later, Rahmat paid the price for a mix-up with Gulbadin Naib, who pushed one to cover and called. With Naib watching the fielder, Rahmat was halfway down the pitch, and ultimately both ended up running towards Jaker Ali, the debutant wicketkeeper. Jaker, playing in place of the injured Mushfiqur Rahim, threw the ball to Nasum at the other end and Rahmat was well short.Thus, Afghanistan lost three wickets in the space of six deliveries, and although Naib swung his bat around for an entertaining 26, and added 44 for the sixth wicket with Mohammad Nabi, his dismissal left the rest with too much to do. They lost their last five wickets for only 21 runs and folded for 184 in 43.4 overs.That batting performance made Shanto’s half-century and Jaker’s death-overs batting cameo look even better. Bangladesh had lost Tanzid Hasan early in the afternoon, but Shanto and Soumya accelerated. Despite a Shanto slowdown after the powerplay, Bangladesh made 82 in 14 overs.However, it took a further 23 overs to get another 82 for Bangladesh, despite losing only two more wickets in that period. All four of Afghanistan’s spinners – Rashid, Nabi, Nangeyalia Kharote and AM Ghazanfar – operated during that phase, and conceded just two fours and a six.Rashid broke the 71-run second-wicket partnership between Shanto and Soumya when he trapped the latter lbw. Soumya, on 35, didn’t review despite a consultation, and later saw the replays show the ball had pitched outside the line.In all, Shanto took 75 balls to get to his half-century, which he completed halfway into the 28th over. Both Mehidy and Shanto struggled to put the Afghanistan spinners away, and had to rely on their running between the wickets amid a plethora of dots. In the 32nd over, Shanto was given out lbw on 55 off Ghazanfar, but he reviewed and overturned the decision.But Rashid broke the 53-run stand when he cleaned Mehidy up with a googly next over. With 12 overs to go and Bangladesh on 174, Bangladesh were on course for a strong finish but with Shanto slow but Kharote struck three times in the next three overs to dent their cause. Towhid Hridoy, Shanto and Mahmudullah all departed in quick succession.But Jaker and Nasum ensured Bangladesh would post a competitive score. The last six overs were taken for 60 runs, as Nasum started the fun with a slog sweep for six off Kharote. When Afghanistan switched to pace in the 47th over, Jaker bashed Fazalhaq Farooqi for back-to-back sixes, with one landing over the roof beyond deep midwicket. Nasum hit 25 at just better than a run a ball, while Jaker put the finishing touch. The debutant ensured Bangladesh crossed 250.