Commanding innings sets up comfortable victory in challenging conditions at Canterbury

David Hopps05-Jun-2022Before Joe Denly set his T20 season to rights in startling fashion at Canterbury, the nationwide batting averages in the Blast did not make attractive reading. Of the players who have made 100 runs or more in this season’s tournament, nobody had scored more slowly.If Kent’s defence of their T20 crown was going badly, with defeats in their first five matches, Denly was feeling the pain more than most. For a player with 44 England appearances across three formats, a strike rate of 93.60 per 100 balls was not the sort of outcome he was used to.He will be feeling a lot better now. His uninhibited 110 from 58 balls on a gripping, used surface, was totally divorced from the difficulties experienced by virtually every other batter in the match, a focused attempt to hit his way into form, and to carry the fight, which paid off handsomely. It swept Kent to the unlikely riches of 192 for 8 and an eventual 55-run win as Middlesex never remotely came to terms with an extremely exacting chase. It was their first win this season in any format.One win in six is no sort of start in a search for a top-four place, but Kent have too many attributes to be written off with the season not yet at its mid-point. They will want to follow this up against Essex Eagles in Chelmsford on Tuesday as they begin a run of fixtures away from Canterbury.When form is lost, and the years are creeping by, the wisdom of crowds is best avoided – certainly the sort of crowd that types questions into Google. Enter Denly’s name into the search engine and it offered: “People also ask: Is Joe Denly retired?” Ouch, not what you want to hear at 36 when your season has been disrupted with hamstring trouble, you still don’t have a run to your name in the Championship, and you are wondering whether you will ever get things on the road.He put that right by blazing the ball to leg with utter conviction as he registered his fifth Blast hundred. Eighty-nine of his runs flew over the leg-side, including all his six sixes and the majority of his nine fours. He was particularly harsh on the Sri Lanka-born spinner, Thilan Walallawita, and the debutant seamer, Toby Greatwood, who had won an opportunity after five wickets against Surrey 2nds earlier in the week. Luke Hollman was also seen off in a single over of mayhem.”It’s been long overdue – both some runs for myself and obviously that win,” Denly said. “It did feel really good. It was nice to go out there and try and play quite freely, try and stay as relaxed as I could. I got a couple out of the middle early on and just kept going. The other night we never really threw a punch against Surrey. Today was just about putting it on their bowlers.”Jordan Cox is another Kent batter who has been struggling for impetus, but he provided able support in a record Kent second-wicket stand of 157 in 14.3 overs, Daniel Bell-Drummond having fallen lbw to the third ball of the match. Any assumption that conditions were easy was scotched the minute that Denly departed, slog sweeping Chris Green to deep midwicket with 18 balls remaining, and Kent lost three more wickets to catches in the deep against Martin Andersson in the space of five balls. Even so, when Jack Leaning was run out for 6, chasing a second off the final ball of the innings, it would have been quite a pessimist who feared that Kent had thrown it away.As it happened, Kent’s spin bowlers proved vastly superior. The South African George Linde and Qais Ahmed, a young Afghan, bowled well enough to suggest they can be at the centre of a Kent challenge that can now gather force.Stephen Eskinazi briefly threatened before Qais caused him to play on for 30; Linde, who found marked turn at times, had Joe Cracknell caught at deep midwicket and then held a return catch in a deceptively relaxed manner when Andersson drove fiercely back to his right. There were three wickets, too, for Leaning, as Kent made good use of Sam Billings’ decision to take first use of a worn surface. Only one batter came to terms with it. As Richard Johnson, Middlesex’s coach remarked, it was Joe Denly’s day out.

The visitors were 81 for 5 at one stage, with Roman Walker bagging five wickets and Prasidh Krishna bowling with menace

Sidharth Monga23-Jun-2022Jasprit Bumrah bowled to Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna got the wicket of Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant caught Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara chased after Rohit Sharma’s drives, but it was a player yet to play first-class cricket for Leicestershire who stole the show on day one of the Indians’ warm-up match. Roman Walker, the 21-year-old right-arm seam bowler who moved from Glamorgan to Leicestershire first on loan last year and then signed with them this year, took the wickets of Rohit, Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja while achieving figures of 5 for 24.India found a way to give almost all of their players game-time in the only practice match available to them by having four of them play for Leicestershire. It robbed the match of first-class status, but gave their batters a thorough working-over, reducing them to 81 for 5 on a day when Bumrah didn’t even get into his work properly. Prasidh was menacing in partnership with Walker during the second hour of the match, during which the ball nipped around more than in the first.However, a few previously-seen scripts might worry India a little. Rohit once again got out on the hook, Gill and Iyer edged while playing away from their bodies, Kohli’s outside edge looked suspect before he was beaten on the inside edge, and Hanuma Vihari got stuck and didn’t look like he had scoring options, before reserve wicketkeeper KS Bharat top-scored for them in a lower-order revival to take them to 246 for 8 at stumps.It will please them that Bumrah got overs under his belt, Prasidh presented himself as an option for the Test XI, extracting both seam and bounce, and the batters, including Pant in the middle session, spent time in the nets.File photo – KS Bharat was batting on 70 when rain brought play to an early close•Andhra Cricket Association

Rohit began the day with the watchfulness that was the bedrock of his success in the four Tests last year, but the short ball – which he scores heavily off – continued to get him out. This time he hooked Walker straight up to be caught at midwicket. Before that, Gill got off to a flashy start before playing a defensive shot to a wide, bouncing delivery.This was around the time when, after a 35-run opening stand, the ball began to do things. Vihari, in an audition for the No. 3 role, had defended for 22 balls for three runs when he got a half-volley but his stuck feet meant he couldn’t cover the swing and he edged to slip. Iyer bagged an 11-ball duck, playing a loose drive well away from the body against a red-hot Prasidh, who troubled both him and Kohli.Jadeja was caught on the crease to an inswinger, trapped right in front. Shardul Thakur, known for his attacking play, will be annoyed that he was bowled shouldering arms.Kohli got through an uneasy initial period, playing a square drive, a trademark extra-cover drive and hooking Prasidh for six, but he was far from his best during his innings of 33. At one point it looked like he had edged straight to third slip, but the umpires ruled it a bump ball. Equally confounding was his eventual dismissal. He was given out lbw to a full ball, but it seemed the ball might have missed off stump and in fact might even have taken his edge to the keeper. Kohli looked in disbelief for a second when given out, but had to walk off. It was only later confirmed that he was given out lbw.As the pitch began to ease out, Bharat made the most of it with impressive stroke-play. He found support from Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami in stands of 66 and 32, and ended the day unbeaten on 70 when rain forced an early end. Bharat and the lower order ruined the figures of Prasidh and Walker, which had at one time read 5.1-2-9-1 and 8.1-4-13-5 respectively.

Meanwhile, Ashwin believes Kohli has been “batting beautifully” despite what the numbers say

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jul-2022BCCI president Sourav Ganguly believes Virat Kohli “has got to find his way” to score runs again, while former India quick Ashish Nehra, who worked with Kohli at Royal Challengers Bangalore, says there is no harm in him taking a break to come back fresh later.Kohli has already been rested for the ODIs and T20Is in West Indies, which means he will be out of action for nearly a month.”Yes, he has had a tough time and he knows that,” Ganguly told ANI. “He himself knows by his own standards it has not been good and I see him coming back and doing well. But he has got to find his way and become successful, which he has been for the last 12-13 years or more and only Virat Kohli can do that.Related

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“These things will happen in sport. It has happened to everybody. It has happened to Sachin [Tendulkar], it has happened to Rahul [Dravid], it has happened to me, it has happened to Kohli. It is going to happen to future players. That’s part and parcel of sport and I think as a sportsman you just need to listen, be aware of what it is, and just go and play your game.”Kohli has been in a lean patch across formats in the last few years, with his last international century coming in November 2019. After a below-par run in IPL 2022, he scored 11 and 20 in the Edgbaston Test earlier this month, followed by 1 and 11 in the second and third T20Is against England. A minor groin strain ruled him out of the first ODI and it’s unclear whether he will play the second match on Thursday.Recently, former India captain Kapil Dev added to the growing chorus questioning Kohli’s place in India’s T20I XI, especially with a number of in-form players fighting for a place in the squad. Nehra said Kohli should keep such discussions out of his head and only focus on his game.”When you are not performing, there will be discussions even if you’re not a player of Kohli’s calibre,” Nehra said in a virtual interaction for Sony Sports Network. “When you are doing broadcasting, newspaper, it is being printed every day and when you are playing, you try to focus on your game and not listen to so-called outside voices from people outside the dressing room. It is important how you are in the dressing room and how your team-mates, management and selectors are backing you. We are talking about a guy like Virat. Yes, it is not written anywhere that Virat Kohli will keep playing for India even if he doesn’t score runs. That will not happen, but when you have done so much in the past, you will always get extra chances.”While many former players, including former India coach Ravi Shastri, suggested Kohli needed a break from cricket, Kohli said he could take some time off to rejuvenate himself. He was rested for the first T20I against England following the Edgbaston Test and will not be part of the limited-overs series in West Indies from July 22.Nehra agreed a break was much needed and hoped to see a “different Virat Kohli” turning up for the Asia Cup.”Everybody knows what you have done and the talent you have. At the age of 33-34, fitness isn’t a problem for him. Everybody is hopeful that Virat Kohli will come good, the quicker the better. Let’s hope we see a different Virat after the West Indies series. If he rests for a month or five weeks, it will be helpful for him and any player will be under pressure if you do not score runs, especially the kind of player Virat has been. It has not been just 1-2 series, it has been, you can say 12 months.”Rest is not a bad thing, you just played the IPL and then you played the Test, white-ball cricket, so it is good to see that Virat is getting a break. A break does not mean one week break or a three-day break. When you come back to Asia Cup, you come back fresh.”From closer quarters, India offspinner R Ashwin said Kohli has been “batting beautifully” in the last few years despite what the numbers say, calling his energy on the field “infectious”.”The more he is in the game and the more and more charged up he is, he bats so much more better,” Ashwin said on podcast. “And I believe even for the last two and a half or whatever considerable period of time, even though he might not have got the hundreds, I still believe he’s batting beautifully. The way he’s batting it looks like he’s probably got a double-hundred in the last one. It sometimes can happen, as a batter or as a cricketer you might be bowling well but the wickets are taken by somebody else.”His energy is very infectious. Sometimes bowling in India – like recently we had a couple of Test matches I can’t remember exactly – he wasn’t playing those games and I actually missed him on the field. The kind of energy that he brings to the table. The man standing at short midwicket, stopping those singles, looking for those catches … that’s exactly what makes him. He loves that, and when he does that he definitely bats better as well, and that’s my view of him.”

Lorcan Tucker and George Dockrell gave Ireland hope with 86-run stand but couldn’t prevent seventh consecutive T20I defeat

Firdose Moonda03-Aug-2022Ireland have run India, New Zealand and now South Africa close, but not close enough, as they slumped to their seventh successive defeat in T20Is. This time, they were asked to complete their highest successful chase and fell 21 runs short, though they were closer than that margin would suggest for much of their innings.On a ground with short straight and square boundaries, bowlers across both sides had expensive outings. South Africa posted their highest score against Ireland, though they may have wanted it to be higher still. After slipping to 45 for 2, a 112-run third-wicket stand between Reeza Hendricks and Aiden Markram put them in a position to push for a score of 220-plus.Gareth Delany removed the pair in successive deliveries, and Ireland had the chance to pull South Africa back. But Tristan Stubbs’ 24 off 11 balls and Dwaine Pretorius’ 21 off seven deliveries helped South Africa post 53 runs off the last four overs.South Africa were helped by an indisciplined effort from Ireland with the ball. They bowled 13 wides – and more than two extra overs as a result – and only three of their seven-bowler attack conceded at under ten runs an over.South Africa’s spinners were the only ones who did not travel, and in the absence of the injured Kagiso Rabada and the rested Anrich Nortje, will be reasonably pleased with their effort. Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi took 4 for 66 in their combined eight overs and were complemented by clever use of slower balls from Lungi Ngidi, and yorkers by Dwaine Pretorius and Wayne Parnell.Ireland were in the chase until the 17th over when Lorcan Tucker was dismissed. He put on 86 runs with George Dockrell for the sixth wicket and built on a strong powerplay while brushing aside the loss of 3 for 12 between the eighth and the tenth over.De Kock’s curious run
Apart from a blazing undefeated 92 in the washed-out third ODI against England in Leeds, it has been a quiet tour for Quinton de Kock, especially in T20Is. He has scored just 24 runs in four innings, and hasn’t looked like his usual destructive self. He had a busy but unremarkable start against Ireland too, with ones or twos scored mostly on the leg side.That is when he tried to force things, and set off for a quick single after bunting Mark Adair down the ground. Harry Tector sensed an opportunity for an intervention, ran in from mid-off, and his direct hit found the stumps at the non-striker’s end, with de Kock short of his crease. The decision was confirmed on review, and South Africa were in early trouble on 23 for 1.Hendricks in the runs again
Here is one for your next sports quiz: what do Hendricks, Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Gustav Mckeon and Rayyankhan Pathan have in common? They are the only five batters in the game to have scored four T20I fifties in succession, with Hendricks joining the list on the day.He topped up on his three against England with an easy-as-you-like-it 74 on Wednesday. Hendricks looked in control from the moment he lofted Josh Little over the covers for six, with what seemed minimal effort. He showed his power game with the pull and the cut, as also the smooth strokeplay he has built his reputation on with silken cover drives.Hendricks’ fifty came up off 32 balls, and he went on to equal his career-best of 74 from 53 deliveries.Going big on Little
Markam had come back into the XI for the third T20I against England after missing the first two games. He immediately scored a fifty in that match as well as this one. He took 13 balls to find his feet and then charged Gareth Delany and Barry McCarthy before taking on left-arm quick Josh Little.In four deliveries, Markram took 20 runs off Little, including two sixes over deep square leg, four over mid-on and four through midwicket. Markram went on to score his third successive T20I fifty, with a chance to join Hendricks in elite company if he manages as many in the next match.Lorcan Tucker swings for the leg side during an attacking 78•AFP/Getty Images

Punching in the powerplay
Ireland made as strong a statement as they could with a powerplay led by Tucker that put them much further ahead than where South Africa were at the same stage of their innings. Captain Andy Balbirnie set the tone with a four in each of the first three overs before he top-edged Wayne Parnell to Pretorius at mid-on.But despite the early loss, Tucker and Paul Stirling sent Lungi Ngidi’s second over for 17. Tucker went on to hit Parnell over mid-off for four, and over long-off for six, before taking on Pretorius’ slower ball. Tucker had scored 26 runs off the eight balls he faced in the powerplay as Ireland racked up 67, 20 more than South Africa’s total at that stage.Soon after, Tucker went on to his third T20I half-century off 25 balls and put Ireland in a position to provide South Africa with a serious challenge.Shamsi seals it
Tabraiz Shamsi went wicketless at this venue a week ago but had a much better outing today, and dismissed Ireland’s most dangerous player at a crucial moment. Tucker was Ireland’s best hope of scoring the 64 runs they needed in the last five overs and identified Shamsi as the bowler to target.He slogged a full delivery over long-on for six, and then pulled a shorter one between long-on and midwicket for four. But when he tried to slog-sweep a fuller ball, he top-edged towards short fine leg. De Kock had to make some ground but took a comfortable catch to leave Ireland’s lower order with too much to do.

Miller was snapped up by the franchise in August, along with Jos Buttler, Obed McCoy and Corbin Bosch

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Sep-2022David Miller has been named Paarl Royals captain for the inaugural season of SA20, South Africa’s T20 league, which is scheduled for January 2023.Miller was snapped up by the franchise in August, along with Jos Buttler, Obed McCoy and Corbin Bosch. All four players have worked with the owners before, having represented Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. Miller is also part of the Barbados Royals – which was taken over by the franchise in 2021 – in the CPL and was named captain ahead of the 2022 season.”It makes me immensely proud to have been appointed as the captain of the Paarl Royals,” Miller said. “To be able to call it my home, gives me great joy. The people of Paarl and the Western Cape as a whole are great supporters of quality and entertaining cricket, and my ambition will be to lead the team in the right manner and give our fans countless memories to cheer their team on.”We already have some top cricketers on board with the likes of Jos, Obed and Corbin, and I am looking forward to working with an exciting set of players to start this SA20 journey.”In the ongoing CPL, Miller’s Royals are presently leading the points table with six wins in seven matches. Miller has scored 166 runs in six innings at a strike-rate of 155.14. He was also part of the IPL title-winning Gujarat Titans side this season, amassing 449 runs at a strike rate of 141.19. He was eighth on the list of leading run-getters this season – and second behind captain Hardik Pandya for the Titans. He also captained South Africa to a 2-0 win against England in July.Head coach JP Duminy, who is also Miller’s former South Africa team-mate, said: “David is one of the most passionate players you will meet, and his reading of the situations is something that will be very valuable to us. Over the last year or so, he has developed a killer instinct wherein he is finishing matches for his team – we’ve seen that in the IPL and for South Africa as well. Hence, we are delighted to have such an experienced player as our leader, and more importantly, someone who has a calm head on his shoulders. We will be closely working with him as well as other players of the leadership group including Jos (Buttler), who himself has a wealth of experience.”The SA20 auction is set to take place on September 19 in Cape Town. The franchises have an overall purse of USD 2 million and can buy as many players as they like, up to the maximum limit of 17. The money available to them at the auction will be based on what is left of the purse after the pre-auction signings.

PCB has requested for an emergency meeting of the ACC board to discuss “this important and sensitive matter”

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Oct-2022The PCB has taken strong exception to Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president, and BCCI secretary, Jay Shah’s statement that the 2023 Asia Cup would be moved to a neutral venue since India were not going to travel to Pakistan. The PCB said the statement was made “unilaterally” and raised the prospect of an “impact” on Pakistan’s participation in the 2023 ODI World Cup as well as ICC events in India in the 2024-2031 cycle.Saying that it had noted Shah’s comments with “surprise and disappointment”, the PCB said, “The comments were made without any discussion or consultation with the Board of the Asian Cricket Council or the Pakistan Cricket Board (event host) and without any thoughts towards their long-term consequences and implications.”After having presided over the ACC meeting during which Pakistan was awarded the ACC Asia Cup with an overwhelming support and response from the ACC Board Members, Mr Shah’s statement of shifting of the ACC Asia Cup has clearly been made unilaterally. This is contrary to the philosophy and spirit for which the Asian Cricket Council was formed in September 1983 – a united Asian cricket body to safeguard the interests of the its members and organise, develop and promote the game of cricket in Asia.”The overall impact of such statements have the potential to split the Asian and international cricketing communities, and can impact Pakistan’s visit to India for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 and future ICC events in India in the 2024-2031 cycle.”The PCB has to date not received any official communication or clarification from the ACC on the statement of the ACC president. As such, the PCB has now requested the Asian Cricket Council to convene an emergency meeting of its Board as soon as practically possible to discuss this important and sensitive matter.”The ACC has not yet met to discuss the matter, let alone for a decision to be officially taken. The ICC is unlikely to comment on the issue at the moment.On Tuesday, Shah said at the completion of the latest BCCI annual general meeting, “The Asia Cup 2023 will be held at a neutral venue. I am saying this as ACC President. We [India] can’t go there [to Pakistan], they can’t come here. In the past also, Asia Cup has been played at a neutral venue.”The new set of BCCI office bearers – president Roger Binny, treasurer Ashish Shelar, and Rajiv Shukla, who was re-elected as board vice-president – were present when Shah spoke to the media.”We [India] can’t go there [to Pakistan], they can’t come here,” Jay Shah said•Getty Images

Two of the ICC’s events are scheduled to be held in the region in the next three years: India are the hosts of the 2023 ODI World Cup, and Pakistan are the hosts of the 2025 Champions Trophy. If India cannot play in Pakistan and Pakistan cannot play in India, these tournaments could well be impacted. At the 2016 T20 World Cup, in India, Pakistan required their government’s approval to travel and got it only at the last minute.India’s last trip to Pakistan was for the 2008 Asia Cup, while Pakistan’s last visit to India was for that 2016 ICC event. Due to strained political relations between the two countries, they have not played any bilateral cricket since Pakistan toured India for a white-ball-only series in 2012-13.Both India and Pakistan have in the past pulled out of previous editions of the Asia Cup and the tournament itself has been cancelled on occasion because of poor political and diplomatic relations between the two countries. The last two editions were played in the UAE, which has hosted the tournament four times overall.

Former Netherlands head coach takes over from James Franklin at Chester-le-Street

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Dec-2022Ryan Campbell, the former Australia wicketkeeper whose six-year stint with the Netherlands culminated in their impressive displays at last month’s T20 World Cup, has been named as the new head coach at Durham.As revealed by ESPNcricinfo, Campbell, 50, will take over from James Franklin, whose contract was not renewed after Durham’s disappointing performances in the 2022 county season, in which they finished in the bottom three of the standings in the County Championship, Royal London Cup and T20 Blast.Durham’s squad does, however, contain a number of highly rated players, including Matt Potts, Brydon Carse and Alex Lees, all of whom have made England debuts in the past two years, and Campbell said he was looking forward to working with the squad.”I am extremely honoured to be appointed Durham’s Head Coach and I can’t wait to get started,” Campbell said. “I will be working with some of England’s best cricketers as well as a young squad full of talent and I hope to bring an attacking, no fear style of cricket to the club.”I also look forward to working with Marcus North to lead Durham to future success.”Campbell spent seven days in a coma in April after suffering a cardiac arrest, but returned to the Netherlands set-up as a consultant during the World Cup, where he bowed out on a high with a famous victory over South Africa in Adelaide that had huge ramifications for the tournament.After qualifying for the main draw with wins over UAE and Namibia, Netherlands went on beat Zimbabwe as well, to finish fourth in the Group 2 standings, their best performance at an ICC global event.”Beating South Africa in our last Super 12 game and qualifying automatically for the next T20 World Cup was an amazing finish to what has been a wonderful six years for me with Netherlands,” Campbell told the Emerging Cricket podcast. “I leave with a lot of smiles, good memories and a lot of great friendships.”He has signed a three-year deal at Durham, which will keep him at the club until at least the end of the 2025 season.North, Durham’s director of cricket, said: “Following an extensive recruitment process, it became clear that Ryan was the best fit for Durham and the county.”Ryan comes to Durham with an excellent reputation following a successful period as the Netherlands head coach. I look forward to working with him and continue to build on the foundations laid during the past 4 years with this exciting group of players.”Durham Cricket, Chief Executive, Tim Bostock said: “We’re delighted that Ryan has agreed to become our new Head Coach and we are hugely excited to welcome him to Durham in the new year. He joins us with a wealth of experience and knowledge, and I believe he is the perfect fit for Durham.”Meanwhile, Mickey Arthur has signed a three-year contract extension with Derbyshire, after an impressive maiden season in 2022 which included a club-record nine wins in their Blast campaign.”I’ve always said that Derbyshire is a county close to my heart since working with the likes of Eddie Barlow and Fred Swarbrook, and my first season with the club has only made that feeling grow,” Arthur said.”Supporters have made me feel instantly welcome, we have a squad full of potential and I’m looking forward to developing it and challenging for silverware at the very top of county cricket.”

Lyon says the batter’s got “100% support of the changing room” and expects him to do “amazing things”

Andrew McGlashan17-Dec-2022Ricky Ponting has urged David Warner to think carefully about whether he should bring an end to his Test career but team-mate Nathan Lyon believes that all of Australia should be backing him.Warner was dismissed for a first-ball duck by Kagiso Rabada on the opening day at the Gabba when he fended a hostile short delivery to short leg where Khaya Zondo took a magnificent one-handed catch above his head.Related

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It was just the second first-ball dismissal of Warner’s Test career – which will reach the 100-mark next week in Melbourne – and added to a lean two years where he is now averaging 27.00 without a century.Australia’s next two tours are to India and England were he has underwhelming records with averages of 24.25 and 26.04 respectively, and Ponting, who himself decided to call time on his Test career amid waning powers in a series against South Africa in 2012, said that Warner deserved the chance to end on his terms rather than be dropped. The final Test of this series is on his home ground at the SCG.”I think what he should be doing is being as realistic and looking to the future as he can,” Ponting said on . “Like I said before, he deserves the chance to finish the way he wants to finish. I would hate to see him get to an Indian tour or at the start of the Ashes tour and then get the tap on the shoulder. That would be a disappointing way for his career to end…it might be after the Sydney Test. Let’s wait and see. Also, I hope that he gets some runs between now and then.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

In the West Indies series, Warner made three starts in four innings without being able to convert while the Adelaide Test was dominated by the fallout to him angrily withdrawing his bid to have his lifetime leadership ban overturned.”We all know the X-Factor of cricketer that David Warner is and the type of batter he is,” Lyon said. “He’s got 100% support of the changing room and [that] should be the whole Australian public, to be honest with you. Yes, he got a good steep bouncer today but that was a hell of a catch to hang onto. I’m expecting David to come out and do amazing things.”Ahead of the series against South Africa, head coach Andrew McDonald said that Warner remained in the team’s plan for India and added that he had not given any indication of considering an end to his career.”He’s eager to continue on at this stage,” McDonald said. “He has not hinted [at] anything else,” McDonald said. “His appetite for the work – in and around training – is still there. He’s busy at the crease, and you’ve seen signs that he is going well. He’s just found different ways to get out, and sometimes that can happen.”For South Africa’s part, Warner’s dismissal was the ideal start for them after being bundled out for 152 and they rode the wave to reduce Australia to 27 for 3 but could not sustain the pressure until a couple of late wickets, including Steven Smith, provided a much-needed lift.”When we got bowled out for 150-odd, as much as you want to try and get the energy up it can be quite difficult,” Kyle Verreynne said. “So to get the wicket the first ball of the innings, and when it’s a big player like David Warner, that just lifts everyone up and for the next 10 overs, we carried that energy and adrenalin from that ball. Unfortunately, we fell away a bit but it was definitely a massive moment.”

They will have to overcome Sydney Sixers at the SCG if they are to reach the BBL final

AAP02-Feb-2023Brisbane Heat allrounder Michael Neser says he is ready to step up and be the calming influence for the rest of the bowling attack in the absence of “spiritual leader” Usman Khawaja in the Big Bash ‘Challenger’ final against Sydney Sixers.At the SCG on Thursday night, Heat will be without their gun quartet of Test tourists to India that includes skipper Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Matt Renshaw and Mitchell Swepson.Khawaja had been in great form with the bat in Heat’s run of six wins from their last seven games, but his words of wisdom at mid-off to the bowlers in tight situations were also priceless.Related

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“Uzzy was in our ears and thinks he is the spiritual leader of our bowling attack but not having Uzzy there is a big loss,” Neser said at Brisbane Airport before flying to Sydney. “I will probably have to step up and help our bowling attack because Uzzy gave us that calming influence on the field. As a bowling unit we have all got to step up and do our job.”Neser, who has 97 BBL dismissals to his credit in a stellar career, said it was “a great honour” to be named in the BBL team of the tournament and crowned domestic player of the year at the Australian Cricket Awards on Monday night.Despite being without their big names, Neser said the Heat’s revival had been a team display.”One of the good things we’ve done this tournament is that it hasn’t been one person performing,” he said. “We start off real slow in this tournament and we’ve come home hot, as the Heat normally do.”Also named in the team of the tournament, Sixers paceman Sean Abbott is disappointed he won’t have the chance to bowl to Heat’s Test contingent as Sydney look to bounce back from their qualifying final loss to the Perth Scorchers.”They’re the sort of players that you want to come up against in finals, their best line-up in the biggest matches” he said. “We’re a confident bowling line-up anyway and we’re doing really well. We’ve got some things to improve on in the field from last game but we match up really well against these guys.”Heat are the only side the Sixers have not defeated this summer, with the second of the their two games washed out during the first innings. But the sides are yet to face off at the SCG, where Sixers have won all five of their games so far this summer.”We’ve got a distinct home ground advantage,” Abbott said. “Those boys are up against it tomorrow night.”

“I will definitely not play all five [Ashes Tests]… if people are playing well, I might not play any”

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Mar-2023Mark Wood has played down his expectations of involvement in England’s bid to regain the Ashes this summer, suggesting that he is unlikely to play more than two or three of the five Tests against Australia.Wood was England’s leading wicket-taker and best bowler during their 4-0 defeat on the 2021/22 tour, but has only played three Tests since due to injuries and the ECB’s attempts to manage his workload this winter.Ben Stokes has stated his desire to have eight fit seamers available for selection come the first Test at Edgbaston on June 16, but Wood suggested that, fitness-permitting, there could be “10 to 12 lining up”, adding that he expects the series to be “a group effort”.England took five frontline seamers to New Zealand last month – James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson, Matthew Potts and Olly Stone- while there are five more with Test caps in Bangladesh for the ongoing white-ball tour: Jofra Archer, Sam Curran, Saqib Mahmood, Chris Woakes and Wood himself.”I will definitely not play all five [Ashes Tests],” Wood said, speaking to touring media in Chattogram. “I was delighted to play four out of five in Australia. I was knackered, wrecked, exhausted [but] that was a big tick in my box to say that in a big series, I can do it, if Stokesy or Baz [McCullum] want me to play.”More than likely, with the bowling stock we have, especially at home, I probably won’t even play four. They might even want me for one or two, if they need a pace element. He [Stokes] might want to mix it up to keep people fresh, but if people are playing well, I might not play any.”I very much doubt, from the way they have managed me, [that I will play] four. If they want three or four, I will put my hand up.”0:58

Ben Stokes wants eight fit seamers for 2023 Ashes

Along with Harry Brook, Wood was one of two England players involved in all three of the T20I tour to Pakistan, the T20 World Cup and the Test tour to Pakistan, and took a two-month break before the Bangladesh tour in order to give him a chance to recharge mentally and physically.”It was lovely, to be honest,” Wood said of his time off. “To be able to spend time at home and not think about cricket for a little bit was really nice. It’s made us hungrier when I’ve come back in.”It sits really well with me. In the past there have been times I shouldn’t have played and I have. Having it taken out of your hands, saying’ gear up for this one’, you can fully focus your mind and body.”The breaks have helped prolong me a bit more than previous years, when I’ve tried to play everything. I am never going to turn down the chance to play for England: if they want me I will be there and trying my best, but if they decide to rest us, I get it and [will be] gearing up for the next one.”Related

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After this tour, he will play for Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL before the Ashes starts in June. The Hundred follows in August, building into England’s white-ball fixtures in September and the 50-over World Cup in India in October-November. His wife Sarah is also expecting a daughter at the end of May.”With my record, I might get [through] two of them,” Wood joked, “so it’ll be nice to have had that time off at the start of the year. I think it’s hard for some multi-format players to juggle but Rob Key’s really good with speaking, ‘look, I think we’ll give you a little bit off there and then come flying back in for here.'”I’ve done interviews in the past where I’ve said, ‘of course I’m thinking about the Ashes in the background’ [but] I’m actually not. There’s so much going on before: we’ve got this, the T20s, the IPL and then the Ashes after that. I’ve got the birth of my daughter in between that, so it’s going to be a massive time, I’m not really thinking that far ahead.”