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Jonny Bairstow says he has no desire to revisit the controversial events of last summer’s Lord’s Test, as England and Australia prepare to do battle once more in the biggest contest to date of the T20 World Cup.Bairstow’s stumping at the hands of Alex Carey, on the final day of last summer’s second Test, is a central topic of the latest series of Australia’s fly-on-the-wall documentary “The Test”, which was released on Amazon Prime last month.The moment, which occurred during England’s final-day run-chase as Bairstow wandered out of his crease after ducking a bouncer from Cameron Green, sparked fury in the Lord’s pavilion, with some MCC members accosting the Australia players on their way up to the dressing-room as the teams left the field for lunch.The repercussions continued throughout a thrilling Ashes series, with England recovering from a 2-0 deficit after the Lord’s Test to square the series 2-2 thanks to nailbiting victories at Headingley and The Oval. And speaking on the eve of a crucial Group B clash in Barbados, Bairstow insisted that the incident had galvanised England into an on-field response.”I’ve not seen any of it to be quite honest with you,” he said, when asked if he’d been streaming any episodes of the documentary. “I’ve got other things that I watch on TV, I don’t need to sit and watch that in my hotel room.”You see enough cricket when you’re involved in it day to day and playing it. But I think that post that event, the way in which we as a side reacted to that was a real positive.”You look at the results after that thing that happened at Lord’s and I actually think that we finished that series a lot stronger than Australia did.Related

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“Look, I think the impact it had on us as a side, the Test side, was actually a very positive effect and you can make your own assumptions as to what effect it had on Australia and their individuals.”Mitchell Marsh, Australia’s T20 captain, was also involved in the latter stages of the Ashes, including a brilliant counterattacking hundred in the subsequent Test in Leeds. And as he recalled the febrile atmosphere at England’s grounds that summer, Marsh acknowledged that Australia’s reception in Barbados on Saturday might not be dissimilar.”I dare say this will be full and it’ll be mostly English fans, so it’ll be like playing at Headingley all over, or anywhere in England where you get sprayed,” he said.”But just the atmosphere, the vibe of the game, there’s always a lot riding on it. As a team we always want to challenge ourselves against the best. England have been exceptional in this format for a long period of time now, so there’s certainly going to be a lot on the game and we’re pumped.”The stakes for England in particular have been ramped up this week, following their washout against Scotland, which could leave their Super 8 qualification in jeopardy if Australia get the better of them on Saturday. Bairstow, however, wasn’t letting the permutations in Group B get the better of him.”It doesn’t derail us either way. We know we’ve got to win more games than we lose in tournament cricket,” he said. “A win puts you in a position in the group which is obviously more favourable but the other two games after this are must-win games anyway. But it would be good for momentum and confidence.”England versus Australia is always a great occasion. Two very good teams going toe-to-toe. It’s going to be an exciting spectacle. Hopefully it will be a fantastic atmosphere like it always is in Barbados and the best side will come out on top.”

The Blaze booked their place in a third consecutive regional women’s final as they defeated Central Sparks by five wickets with two overs to spare in the first of the two semi-finals on Charlotte Edwards Cup Finals Day at Derby.Sparks England Under-19 legspinner Hannah Baker took 3 for 24 but the experience of England opener Tammy Beaumont (39 off 31 balls) and Scotland captain Kathryn Bryce (44 off 39) put The Blaze in control before a cameo 14 off four balls by Baker’s international captain Josie Groves saw last year’s runners-up across the line.Australian Courtney Webb rescued the Sparks innings from 93 for 6 with an unbeaten 45 from 31 balls after Davina Perrin (32 from 17) and Ami Campbell (21 from 14) had helped put on 54 in the powerplay after legspinner Groves, taking responsibility in the absence through injury of England’s Sarah Glenn, had taken 2 for 16 and left-arm pace bowler Grace Ballinger two for 34.Having been put in on a pitch that looked quite green, the aggressive approach adopted by Sparks openers Campbell and Perrin paid off with runs on the board, although neither survived the opening six overs.Blaze skipper Kirstie Gordon conceded 14 in her opening over but continued to toss the ball up to Campbell, who followed a six and two fours by being caught at long-on. And with the last ball of the sixth over, having been made to suffer as Perrin crashed her for three fours, Ballinger found the right line and length to bowl the 17-year-old.The Perrin dismissal signalled a switch of momentum, Sparks slipping from 75 for 2 in the 10th to 93 for 6 as skipper Eve Jones fell to a good low return catch by Lucy Higham, Kathryn Bryce ran out Abbey Freeborn off her own bowling and Groves bowled Katie George before having Charis Pavely stumped.Em Arlott hit Heather Graham straight to extra cover to make it 114 for 7 but Sparks finished well as Ballinger conceded 13 off her final over despite having Grace Potts caught at mid-off before a last over in which Webb was dropped on 41 and should have been run out on 43.The Blaze plundered 51 from their batting powerplay, putting them well on track despite the loss of Marie Kelly, who hit an unbeaten 89 against Sparks in their final points table match last Wednesday, fell for 8 to a catch at mid-off. By the halfway point, the Beaumont-Kathryn Bryce partnership had added 57 to take their side to 78 for 1.Sparks then made a second breakthrough as seamer George induced a low return catch to dismiss Beaumont for 39 off 31 before Jones’ team temporarily dried up the flow of boundaries, removing Sarah Bryce via a smart catch behind the wicket. But a huge six by Graham off Potts left The Blaze needing just 33 off the last five overs.Graham’s stay was short, perishing to a well-judged catch by Arlott at long-on off Webb, and Baker picked up her third wicket to keep Sparks in the hunt as Kathryn Bryce miscued to mid-on, but Groves crushed any hopes they might have had with three fours off the reel off George to seal victory with two overs to spare.

A quality four-pronged spin attack propelled Melbourne Renegades to a thumping eight-wicket win over Sydney Thunder at Drummoyne Oval.Chasing a miserly 65 for victory, the defending WBBL champions hit the winning runs on the first ball of the 12th over, but the win was set up earlier when their quartet of tweakers demolished a meek Thunder batting line-up.Charis Bekker, Georgia Wareham, skipper Sophie Molineux and England’s Alice Capsey bowled stump to stump and took wickets at regular intervals, assisted by some poor shot choices by Thunder’s batters.Molineux opened in the chase and finished unbeaten on 29, finishing alongside player of the match Capsey.The win sees Renegades jump into outright second on the WBBL ladder with four wins from their opening six matches, now just two points behind competition leaders, Hobart Hurricanes. With four regular season games to play, Renegades are in a great position to go deep into the finals again.In the first innings Renegades were on top right from the opening ball, restricting Thunder to 19 for 2 in the powerplay, and when in-form opener Tahlia Wilson became crafty left-arm orthodox spinner Bekker’s second wicket, the home side were struggling at 21 for 3.By the end of the 10th over they were in even more trouble at 48 for 5. Former England captain Heather Knight appeared their only hope of getting anywhere near triple figures, but when she fell lbw to Wareham topping 100 was never on the cards.Their 64-run total was the third-lowest in the competition’s 11-season history.Thunder star Georgia Voll, who struck consecutive boundaries before being dismissed by Milly Illingworth, wasn’t making excuses.”That’s obviously not what we rocked up here thinking that was going to happen,” Voll said on the player mic during the broadcast. “Obviously it’s pretty disappointing, to be honest.”[The wicket] was a little bit tacky early on, but I don’t think it was enough to be rolled for 65 probably, just some poor shots all around and not adapting to the conditions quick enough.”Thunder went into the game off the back of two wins that had followed losses in their first three matches. They now sit in sixth with the job ahead of them to turn their season around and qualify for the finals.

Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya “are looking healthy and fit” ahead of the first T20I against South Africa, India captain Suryakumar Yadav said ahead of the series opener in Cuttack on Tuesday.”Both [Gill and Pandya] are looking healthy and fit,” Suryakumar said. Gill had suffered neck spasms during the first Test against South Africa in Kolkata, while Hardik was out with a quadriceps injury he suffered during the Asia Cup in September.Gill is yet to play since his injury, but Hardik made a comeback in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Playing for Baroda, he picked up a wicket in each game, but more importantly, bowled four overs both times. With the bat, his 77 not out off 42 against Punjab helped his team chase down 223.”What you saw in the Asia Cup also, when he [Hardik] was bowling with the new ball, he opened up a lot of options, combinations for us with respect to the playing XI,” Suryakumar said. “That’s what he brings to the table. His experience, the way he has done well in all big games, all ICC events, ACC events. I think that experience will count a lot and his presence will definitely give a good balance to the side.”With Gill back in the side, Suryaumar made it clear that Sanju Samson would have to compete with Jitesh Sharma for a spot in the middle order. He also emphasised that all batters apart from the openers need to be flexible with respect to their position in the order.”Sanju, when he came into the circuit, he batted higher up the order,” he said. “Now the thing is, other than the openers, everyone has to be flexible. He did really well when he opened the innings but Shubman had played before him in the Sri Lanka series, so he deserves to take that spot.”But we gave Sanju opportunities. He was ready to bat at any number, which is actually good to see a player being flexible to bat anywhere from No. 3 to 6. That’s one thing I have told all the batters that other than openers, everyone has to be very flexible. Both [Samson and Jitesh] are in the scheme of things. It’s always good to have lovely players like both of them. One can open, one can bat lower down the order. In fact, both can do all the roles. It’s an asset to the team and a good headache to have.”

Gary Stead has rejoined New Zealand Cricket (NZC) as the high-performance coach, just over three months after he had stepped down as the national men’s head coach after a seven-year stint – he ended as the team’s most successful coach. His new role will be “supporting player and coach development, as well as high performance programmes”, an NZC statement said.”New Zealand cricket’s very much been at my heart for the past 30 odd years and to be able to keep contributing to the game I love is really special,” Stead said. “I’m still passionate about coaching and trying to help people learn and improve. If I can pass on some of my skills and experiences to the wider cricket network and in turn help the BLACKCAPS and WHITE FERNS win on the world stage – than that would be really satisfying.”I’m also appreciative of the opportunity to work outside of NZC to broaden my skills and experiences and hopefully I can bring what I learn back into our cricket environment.”Related

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One such opportunity is to work with the Andhra Cricket Association in India as the head coach of the men’s team, which will continue. Stead also provided interim coaching support to Otago Cricket over the winter pre-season and has been involved in a New Zealand Under-19 camp this month.”Gary’s knowledge and experiences in cricket is immense and the fact he’s still passionate and motivated to give back to the game in this country speaks volumes about his character,” NZC chief high-performance officer Daryl Gibson said. “His role, which is a commitment of three days a week on average over the year, will see him work across much of the high-performance network, allowing our national and domestic coaches, players and staff to tap into his expertise and IP.”Gary is also able to work outside of NZC, such as his recent part-time appointment to the Indian domestic side Andhra for their upcoming four-day competition, an experience which will allow him to further grow his knowledge and experience.”Stead’s highlights as the head coach of the men’s national team included winning the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) title in 2021 and sweeping India 3-0 in India in a Test series last year.Stead first joined NZC as a coach development manager (2004-2009), before becoming an assisted coach at the NZC Academy (2005-06), New Zealand Women’s head coach (2009-12), and Canterbury head coach and director of cricket (2012-18), before he joined the men’s senior team in 2018.

Birmingham Phoenix 113 for 3 (Duckett 49*, Clarke 40) beat Manchester Originals 109 for 7 (Klaasen 34, Livingstone 2-11) by seven wicketsBirmingham Phoenix produced a polished display to thrash Manchester Originals by seven wickets at Emirates Old Trafford and move up to fourth in the table.The Phoenix have struggled for consistency in the tournament, and their defeat to Welsh Fire on Friday evening ended any hope of qualifying for the knockout phase, but a disciplined performance in the field and a clinical partnership of 72 from 45 balls between Ben Duckett (49 not out from 38) and Joe Clarke (40 from 21) delivered a consolation victory.Set just 110 to win, Will Smeed nicked off to Sonny Baker for 13 but it was plain sailing thereafter, Clarke announcing his arrival with three consecutive boundaries off his Nottinghamshire teammate Josh Tongue before dispatching Ish Sodhi for a slog-swept six.Duckett had been more circumspect but came to the party by taking 14 off Sodhi’s second set and the Phoenix wasted no time in racing to their target, Tongue’s dismissals of Clarke and Liam Livingstone only delaying the inevitable as victory was secured with 17 balls to spare.Earlier, the Originals had made a positive start after winning the toss and electing to bat. Phil Salt (31 from 20) hit Adam Milne for a six and a four in the second set, and belted two maximums off Trent Boult in the third, but Liam Patterson-White got the breakthrough when he clean bowled Ben McKinney for 2 with an arm ball and the hosts badly lost their way when Salt followed, caught at long-on by Duckett off Jacob Bethell.Jos Buttler came and went for 5, trapped lbw by the excellent Livingstone (2 for 11), and wickets continued to fall at regular intervals, with Heinrich Klaasen (34 from 35) unable to fully unleash his range of shots on a slow surface that played into the hands of the Phoenix spinners.The South African was eventually caught in the deep off Chris Wood (2-11) in the penultimate set and the Originals could only muster 109-7, ultimately slipping to a fifth defeat in seven, bottom of the table on net run rate, as their formidable batting line-up again failed to fire.Clarke, named the Meerkat Match Hero, said: “I feel in good rhythm and have good confidence, so it was nice to contribute to a win.”The pitch had been used a few times so it was slightly on the slower side. I felt like once the seamers were on I could inject pace into it and it helped having Ben at the other end who could knock it around and run hard.On the partnership with Duckett, he added: “We wanted to stick to our strengths. He’s a very good player of spin, he hits gas really well, and it was about limiting dot balls. We’ve played cricket together for a long, long time, so it’s nice to be out there in the middle with him.”