Category Uncategorized

Half-centuries for Denly, Pope and Buttler lift England away from trouble

George Dobell in Whangarei16-Nov-20191:11

Buttler, Pope, Denly fifties shore up England

Joe Denly proved his form and fitness for next week’s first Test against New Zealand with an increasingly assured half-century in Whangarei.Denly damaged his ankle ligaments ahead of the T20I series just over two weeks ago. Tripping on a boundary rope as he attempted to take a catch in training, the early prognosis was that he would be struggling to recover in time for the Test series.But he not only demonstrated his fitness here, he showed the tempo and technique that England require from their No. 3. And while there were moments when he looked hurried – he was a little fortunate to survive one delivery from the admirably hostile Kyle Jamieson that reared on him and produced a fence that flew between slips and gully – he was, for the most part, admirably compact. On the drive and pull, he is as elegant as anyone in this team.”When I first did it I was probably thinking my tour was over,” Denly said afterwards. “It was pretty nasty. I was lucky not to do some really serious damage and it was always touch and go to get ready for this game. There was a bit of doubt.”But it’s settled down nicely. Whether it’s the running between the wickets or playing all the shots, it feels fine. There’s no discomfort. It’s just a case of monitoring it and making sure it doesn’t swell up overnight.”Joe Denly made an encouraging comeback from injury

Denly’s intervention helped ensure it was, in the end, a pretty decent day for England. Having set themselves the challenge of batting for a full three sessions – if that sounds like a modest aspiration, it’s worth remembering that this is a side which has been bowled out for under 100 three times this year – they did so for the loss of eight wickets (and seven on the day) gaining time at the crease and acclimatising to the slower pace of life in this format of the game.It wasn’t entirely comfortable. The first hour or so saw New Zealand’s fast bowlers extract life from the pitch that was absent for all but Jofra Archer when England had the ball and, had Ollie Pope been dismissed on 7, nibbling outside off stump, they would have been 126 for 6 and in some trouble.As it was, however, Scott Kuggeleijn (playing, with England’s blessing, as a far from like-for-like concussion replacement for Hamish Rutherford who had been struck by an Archer bouncer the previous day), had over-stepped and Pope was reprieved. He and Denly subsequently added 90 in 20.4 overs for England’s sixth wicket.Pope’s contribution was, perhaps, just as important as Denly’s. Despite his excellent record – he goes into the Test series averaging 59.52 in first-class cricket – Pope still has the reputation as something of a dasher. So it was encouraging to see him leave the ball shrewdly here, while still picking up runs from deflections off his hip and steers into the covers as much as from putting away the loose ball.”Chris Silverwood has said he doesn’t care how long it takes, he just wants big runs from us,” Denly said. “That’s what we’ve spoken about as a group: scoring big runs in the first innings, especially.”Earlier England had struggled against an admirable new-ball attack. Dom Sibley, struck on the helmet by a well-directed short ball from the impressive Jamieson, was then lured into an uncharacteristic drive outside off stump before Joe Root and Ben Stokes departed within a couple of minutes of one another.Root could, perhaps, count himself unfortunate: replays suggested there may have been an inside edge on the delivery that was adjudged to have trapped him leg before. Stokes edged to the cordon as he attempted to leave one that bounced on him more than he anticipated.Ollie Pope leans into a drive

As the evening wore on, there were runs for Jos Buttler, too. The most dramatic phase of his innings came towards the close as England looked to set-up a declaration; at one stage, his successive scoring strokes were 4, 4, 4, 2, 4, 4, 4, 6, 6, 4. Impressive as it was – few hit the ball as cleanly as Buttler in full flow – it was the manner in which he built his innings before that point that was most assuring for England.Buttler is, in some ways, fortunate to make this tour. While Jonny Bairstow was dropped having averaged 23.77 in the Ashes, Buttler was retained having averaged 24.70. But the England management reasoned that Buttler went into that series suffering more than most from the emotionally draining World Cup experience and that, having benefitted from a rest, he would rediscover his best form.On this early evidence, that would appear to have been sound judgement. Buttler has sometimes looked solid and sometimes dazzled in his Test career to date, but has rarely put the two together in a way that suggested he had found a method that maximised his undoubted abilities. He has, at this point, scored only one first-class century since June 2014 and five in total.But while Denly, pulling straight to midwicket, and Pope, slogging to mid-off, squandered their chances of a century, Buttler got his head down and showed he had been listening to the orders of his new coach. He looked not just a fine strokemaker, but a fine batsman.

Gary Ballance scored Yorkshire’s first Championship hundred since June to ease hopes of passing the follow-on target at Trent Bridge

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge05-Sep-20181:45

Drama at Taunton as Somerset and Lancashire tie

ScorecardSo much has gone wrong for Yorkshire this summer that to some of their followers, possibly even those in the committee room, could be excused for thinking that their luck is simply out, that relegation from Division One is somehow a preordained fate. The lifeline to which the players may cling is that it is in their hands.A well-worn cliché? Of course – but one that, in this instance, applies perfectly. Next to bottom on 94 points from 10 games going into this match, their last three fixtures are against Lancashire, Hampshire and Worcestershire, all of whom began this round feeling similarly fearful. Win any of those, they will have told themselves in the Yorkshire dressing room, and the points are almost worth double.The news from Taunton and Worcester will have done nothing to ease their anxieties. Points for a draw here could be precious, although they may take some securing. Nottinghamshire, themselves not properly out of the woods, made the most of their opportunity against a makeshift Yorkshire attack on an essentially flat pitch, setting a target of 299 just to avoid the follow-on, a total Yorkshire’s brittle batting line-up has achieved only five times all season.In their favour, Nottinghamshire are likewise without a full complement of bowlers. Jake Ball is out for the remainder of the season and Luke Fletcher, their most successful so far, has been on duty in the radio commentary booth rather than on the field – a sideline in which he shows a lot of promise, incidentally – although his absence is expected only to be temporary.Yorkshire made a dreadful start, nonetheless, when Adam Lyth edged the last ball of Mark Footitt’s opening over to gully, where Luke Wood held a fine catch. Footitt is playing his first match for Nottinghamshire on this ground for 11 years, so it will have felt almost like a debut wicket.At least better was to follow for the visiting team. Jeet Raval, the New Zealander who has taken over from his compatriot Kane Williamson as overseas player, had the misfortune to run into a particularly good ball from the left-arm of Harry Gurney, which took out his middle and off stumps, but Harry Brook played nicely for his 47 before Gary Ballance, whose patchy form this season has been in keeping with most of his team-mates, responded to the crisis with a timely century.Brook was out a little tamely, chipping straight to midwicket soon after Samit Patel had begun a 22-over unbroken stint at the pavilion end, but after their alliance had added 78 for the third wicket, Ballance found another solid and adaptable partner in Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who batted with valuable restraint to be unbeaten at the close.Ballance’s century is the first by any Yorkshire batsman since his own against Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl in June, which is a telling statistic. Kohler-Cadmore could not get in the side at the beginning of the season but has an opportunity now, his half-century here following on from 81 against Somerset last week.Although there were a few deliveries early in his innings that unsettled him, Ballance eventually began to look comfortable. He scored 76 of his runs in boundaries, often worked off his legs but with a few punchy drives through the off side too.He fell soon after completing his hundred, when Patel – the man of the day for Nottinghamshire – spun one across him to have him caught bat and pad at short leg. Earlier, Patel and Matt Milnes, who made a career-best 43, batted freely in an eighth-wicket stand of 90 that secured maximum batting points for Nottinghamshire for the first time this season.There is not too much in this pitch now but the first overs of the third day may be pivotal, as they often are. If Yorkshire can score another 41 runs to achieve their first objective, they will have a chance to make their second.

Sri Lanka’s cricket manager Asanka Gurusinha said the team was slightly let down by lack of bounce and slow pace of the the R Premadasa Stadium surface

Andrew Fidel Fernando14-Jul-2017For Asanka Gurusinha, Sri Lanka’s inability to dismiss Zimbabwe by the end of the first day, after having them 96 for 4 at lunch, was partly owed to a significant slowing of the R Premadasa Stadium pitch. Gurusinha, the team’s cricket manager, suggested the slow bowlers’ menace dived substantially after the first break.”The feedback I got from the players was that there was moisture in the morning, so the track did turn a bit, and the ball did a little bit,” Gurusinha said. “After lunch it settled down so much, and even now, when I spoke to them, they said the ball comes slow off the wicket, and doesn’t do anything. It’s more like an old Premadasa wicket.”Zimbabwe scored 117 for the loss of two batsmen in the afternoon session, and 132 for the loss of a further two wickets in the evening. The run rate across both those sessions was four, and the unbeaten ninth-wicket partnership was especially brisk, with 62 runs coming off 97 deliveries.”We did bowl some loose stuff,” Gurusinha said. “We were lucky to have Rangana Herath there, but even to him they had time to get on the back foot and pull him, because it wasn’t coming on at the pace we were expecting. Our discussion at lunch was that we had done well in that first session to take four.”In the second session, we actually discussed that this was a tough session, because the wicket was settling down, and we’ve got to contain as well. To me Zimbabwe got off easy a little in that session. They got some runs, as well as us getting wickets.”Gurusinha put the seamers’ inability to take more than one wicket between them in the day down to conditions, with little seam or bounce on offer. Among the other disappointments for Sri Lanka was the bowling of Dilruwan Perera, the offspinner. He took the wicket of Sean Williams in the morning, but rarely threatened in the second and third sessions, and finished with 1 for 86.”Dilruwan I don’t think he was his normal self, and that might be because he hasn’t played matches recently,” Gurusinha said. “I’m hoping by the second innings he will get that loop we’re used to seeing, and build that partnership.”We also expected a little more bounce than this. That bounce is not that good. It’s a bit low bounce. As soon as that happens, the spinners will also struggle. People like Rangana and Dilruwan will do well if there was a little bit of bounce on the wicket as a spinner, but we’ve got to work hard on these tracks and do well.”Gurusinha said Sri Lanka would also have batted if they had won the toss. Zimbabwe bat deep in this match. Their recognised batsmen go down to No. 8, but even their No. 10 batsman – Donald Tiripano – has a first-class hundred. When it comes time for Sri Lanka to bat, the hosts will also hope their long lineup pays off.”The way the track is playing, I’m expecting our batsmen also to put their heads down and bat long,” Gurusinha said. “Especially in the last session today you saw there were no demons on the wicket. It was easy to play shots and even their no. 10 was batting well. That showed there was enough time to play the shots. The batsmen will have to play their shots and play normal cricket. But the first thing is to get those last two wickets in the first hour or half hour tomorrow.”Meanwhile, Craig Ervine agreed with Gurusinha that the pitch became easier to bat on, but was unsatisfied by the absence of a big score from his teammates. After Ervine’s 151, the highest score for Zimbabwe was 36, by Sikander Raza and Malcolm Waller. Zimbabwe’s No. 10 Donald Tiripano is still unbeaten on 24, however.”It was disappointing to have only one fifty-plus score,” Ervine said. “Guys did get in, but gave couple of wickets away. That’s the way it goes and we put that behind us and come back tomorrow. Donald can bat and he can stick around. I have lot of faith in him.”Ervine described his five-and-a-half hour stay at the crease as exhausting, thanks to Colombo’s heat and humidity. However, his work was made easier by a flattening surface. “At the start, the wicket was little bit damp. But once it dried out, it’s nice wicket to bat on. We wanted a good rate throughout the day.”

In a round of barn-burning finishes, neither side at the Ageas Bowl wanted to be left out

Vithushan Ehantharajah at the Ageas Bowl24-May-2016
ScorecardHarry Gurney chipped away at Hampshire’s top order, but they retained the edge•Getty Images

In a round of barn-burning finishes, neither side at the Ageas Bowl wanted to be left out.With that in mind, the visitors, taking their lead from Hampshire and their clown car of a physio room, brought some injury news with them this morning. Chris Read was ruled out of taking the field for the remainder of this match, having damaged his hand while batting yesterday evening. While he would eventually recommence his innings when the ninth wicket fell, he spent the remainder of the day with his feet up on the away balcony, watching on as Steven Mullaney took on captaincy duties and Riki Wessels kept wicket.Not wanting to be outdone, Hampshire dropped their own bombshell in the afternoon. Reece Topley, who had been expected to return this week from a hand injury picked up on the first day of the season, is now set for another three months out with a partial stress fracture of the lumbar spine. He has still yet to bowl a ball for his new county.It would be easy to caveat this match with a list of those not present, from the enforced to the elated (Jake Ball arrived in Durham this morning). But to do so is to ignore the quality that was on show. Those present have ensured the game has moved on in a manner that suggests neither are as bad as recent results suggest.At the forefront was Harry Gurney. After four wickets in Hampshire’s first innings, which stopped the lower order in its tracks, he did a number on the top order in the second. With an 81-run lead to play with, those at the front were undone by some fine swing bowling. Michael Carberry was exposed outside off stump before a beauty left Liam Dawson’s forward defence hanging and took his off stump for a wander.You would be forgiven for forgetting that Gurney is an international player. Or was. His name rarely comes up in selection debates for either white ball format. Even his worth as a long-form player is often filed over as simply “a left-arm option”. But Gurney’s used to being underrated.Even Nottinghamshire were not totally convinced that he would be a multi-format player for them when he joined from Leicestershire in 2012. Director of cricket Mick Newell admits that the motivation behind signing Gurney was that the left-armer always seemed to do well against Nottinghamshire in limited-overs cricket.His development into a skilled and highly valued part of their bowling cartel has pleasantly surprised many at the club. Deep down, he was confident in his own ability. When another player followed the familiar route from Grace Road to Trent Bridge, Gurney wrote a message in his locker: “If you improve half as much as I have since joining here, you’ll be a helluva player!”Luke Fletcher’s persistence throughout his 13 overs was rewarded with the wickets of Jimmy Adams caught at second slip and then Adam Wheater at mid-on, after the wicketkeeper played what might be one of the worst shots of the season. But both Fletcher and Gurney had to cede to Will Smith and Sean Ervine for the best part of 26 overs, as 78 was put on for the fourth wicket.Smith, captaining in the absence of Test newbie James Vince, displayed the sort of street smarts that saw him regularly bag around 900 runs a season while playing his cricket up at the seamers paradise that is Chester-le-Street. The first time he broke the 1,000 first-class runs mark was his first summer at the Ageas Bowl.His first half-century of the season, which came from 141 balls, was patient yet he kept the score ticking along. He ensured he presented a straight bat, while also getting down on one knee to lap Samit Patel over his shoulder. Everything in moderation – including moderation.Patel would get his share, though: a double-wicket maiden accounting for Smith, caught at midwicket, and Tino Best lbw for a pair. Ryan McLaren’s reverse sweeps, while a strong quiz team name, also helped Hampshire bring up a lead of 270 as the day drew to a close.Hampshire may already have enough. Mason Crane, the 19-year-old leg spinner, impressed with three wickets earlier in the day when he pitched the ball on a length that forced batsmen to play. He kept tabs on Dan Christian who tried to hit him out of the park but could only play onto his stumps. Brett Hutton, replacing Jake Ball in the match, swiped across the line only to find Adams at square leg, before Fletcher went for a heave and missed completely.It was only Wessels who had something to cheer for Nottinghamshire with the bat: a measured 72 from 159 balls adding some worth to an innings that always looked like coming up short. The final throes of the reply saw Gurney cart Dawson for two sixes down the ground before he lost his middle stump to Best.The pitch, for all its wear and turn, is still rewarding composure at the crease. Hampshire have just two wickets left and Nottinghamshire will be going to bed tonight thinking a chase of around 300 would be better than they expected.If the final day’s play is half as intriguing as this, we are in for a helluva finish.

Zimbabwe’s cricketers were given a guarantee of $12,500 each by the Pakistan Cricket Board before they agreed to tour that country for a historic series last month, ESPNcricinfo has learned

Firdose Moonda03-Jun-2015Zimbabwe’s cricketers were given a guarantee of US$12,500 each by the Pakistan Cricket Board before they agreed to tour that country for a historic series last month, ESPNcricinfo has learned. The tour, the first by a Full Member team since March 2009, went ahead despite advice to the contrary from the Zimbabwe government’s Sports and Recreation Committee (SRC).The individual payments were part of the US$500,000 the PCB is understood to have paid Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) before the tour. The PCB has not commented on the issue of any financial payments to ZC or the players.The amount paid to the individual players is substantially more than nationally contracted Zimbabwean cricketers’ monthly salaries, which are US$6,500 a month at their maximum and comes with the players still waiting to be paid their World Cup fees.The PCB initially offered Zimbabwe’s players US$10,000 each, which a significant number of players felt was too little given the safety concerns. That was the reason behind ZC issuing a press release on May 14, eight days before the first match, confirming the suspension of the tour on the instructions of the SRC. Less than half an hour later, ZC recanted and said discussions were ongoing between the PCB and ZC. Insiders have revealed this was when the PCB upped their offer to Zimbabwe’s cricketers, offering to pay those that were still wary even more money to make the trip.An agreement was reached on US$12,500 although one source believes some players may have still negotiated more money. The money is understood to have been paid in two amounts, the first on arrival and the second at the conclusion of the series, which could explain why Zimbabwe stayed on despite a suicide attack during their second ODI.ZC is also believed to have benefitted financially from agreeing to be the first Test-playing team to tour Pakistan since 2009. One source revealed that Ozias Bvute, the former managing director of ZC, played a role in securing the deals even though he resigned from his post in July 2012. His resignation followed his implication in the mismanagement of an ICC loan to ZC but he remained an advisor to the board.Bvute traveled with the Zimbabwe team as the head of their delegation, and ZC chairman Wilson Manase said his role was because of his experience in the country. “Because of the terrain, I had to look back at the people we have in the administration who have the experience and I realised that Ozias Bvute has been to Pakistan before,” Manase told . “Bvute was the most suitable candidate…We need someone like him who can understand what to do, what to say to the players among other things.”The Zimbabwean team’s experience in Pakistan was described by several players in favourable terms. Sikandar Raza tweeted that Zimbabwe were”welcomed with open arms, smiles and love,” while Craig Ervine said he was “loving the passion for cricket in Pakistan,” and thanked the PCB for the “hospitality and security over this tour.”Over 3,500 security officials were deployed to look after the Zimbabwe team, whose only movement in Lahore was between the hotel and the Gaddafi stadium. They were due to go shopping the day before their final ODI but the trip was cancelled after the suicide attack.

Marlon Samuels walked into the post-final press conference with the serious air of a man who had suffered and had come back to script an achievement so rare and so stunning that a jaunty expression might belittle his accomplishment

Abhishek Purohit in Colombo08-Oct-2012Marlon Samuels walked into the post-final press conference with the serious air of a man who had suffered and had come back to script an achievement so rare and so stunning that a jaunty expression might belittle his accomplishment. About the only time he broke into bit of a smile was when he spoke about taking on Lasith Malinga.Samuels has had a mercurial career, having also been banned for two years in 2008 for actions that could bring him or the game into disrepute. He spoke of how difficult a time it had been. “The career has been up and down,” Samuels said. “There have been a lot of tough times. I dealt with them in simple ways and tried to let them pass. Being under pressure on a cricket field is nothing compared to what I’ve been through off the field.”As my mentor always said to me, everything that happened to me in life is because I’m important. I’m not someone that will ever give up. I never say die. The person that I am deep down inside is the reason why I am still here playing cricket. I have a family that believes in me. If outsiders don’t, it doesn’t really matter to me.”Samuels said the World Twenty20 triumph had shown to the world that West Indies cricket was back, and hoped that would bring back a lot of fans to watch the team. “We haven’t been winning any major title for years now,” Samuels said. “This is a great achievement, for past cricketers and for these cricketers who have bonded together to form a strong unit.””In the past, we had some near misses but nevertheless, God willing, we came out on top. This is T20, but it can bring a lot of fans to watch us. Around the world, people still love to watch West Indies cricket. It is wonderful to bring back new people and people who have been watching cricket for a long time.”We will celebrate as long as possible and enjoy the moment. This is a moment to cherish, and cherish forever. The entire Caribbean embraces it [the trophy]. The sky is the limit and words can’t really explain it. It means the world to us.”Samuels was almost single-handedly responsible for West Indies getting to 137 for 6 after they had been 32 for 2 at the halfway mark. Half of his 78 runs came in just 11 deliveries against Lasith Malinga, who he hit for five sixes and a four. “I was waiting there for someone to come and build a partnership,” Samuels said. “Since that did not happen, I decided to take on Malinga. From last night, I was playing Malinga in my mind and I decided to take him on.”I only faced him one time [in the IPL] in the first game against Mumbai [Indians], and he got me out bowled,” Samuels said. “I was very upset. This was my time today to get back at him.”Once West Indies had got close to 140, Samuels was confident of their chances. “Having batted most of the overs on the pitch, my advice was that it was still a challenging total,” he said. “The pitch was a tough one. As long as we could get some quick wickets and put the pressure on Sri Lanka, it would work in our favour.”

Rest of India amassed 663 in the first innings after which they reduced Rajasthan to 53 for 3 by stumps in Jaipur

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Oct-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsRahul Sharma scored 52 off 38 balls•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

After ensuring they could not lose the Irani Cup outright to Rajasthan on the first day, Rest of India took a giant stride towards winning it outright on the second, continuing their commanding batting performance and making inroads with the new ball. Rest of India amassed 663 in the first innings after which they reduced Rajasthan to 53 for 3 by stumps in Jaipur.The platform for Rest of India’s mammoth first-innings score had been laid on the first day, when Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane scored centuries to lead their side to 400 for 3. Rahane continued Deepak Chahar’s torment this morning, cutting his first ball to the point boundary. Three balls later Rahane dismissed another short delivery to the cover boundary. Chahar had been expensive and wicketless on the first day. He suffered a similar fate today, and ended with 0 for 168 in 35 overs.Aniket Choudhary, on the other hand, gave Rajasthan a positive start, dismissing Parthiv Patel caught behind with the second new ball in the day’s third over. Patel was gone for 55, his overnight score. There was no respite for Rajasthan, though, as a succession of batsmen – specialist and tailender – came in and contributed usefully to Rest of India’s cause.Rahane, on 152, was the next to fall, driving Sumit Mathur in the air to cover, leaving Rest of India on 489 for 5. Mandeep Singh then contributed 60 off 80 balls, fast bowlers Vinay Kumar and Varun Aaron made 40s, and legspinner Rahul Sharma blitzed 52 off 38 balls. Sharma’s innings contained five sixes and served to pound an already weary Rajasthan team. Rest of India’s innings ended on 663 just before the tea break, giving Rajasthan a session to bat after spending five in the field.Rajasthan’s start was in stark contrast to Rest of India’s. While Dhawan and Mukund had raced yesterday morning, Aakash Chopra and Vineet Saxena were slow and cautious. They had scored only 7 off 6.5 overs when Saxena hit the first boundary. A couple of overs later, Saxena was gone, edging one that seamed away from Umesh Yadav to the wicketkeeper. Rajasthan were 25 for 1. Yadav found another edge, from the experienced Hrishikesh Kanitkar, to reduce Rajasthan to 44 for 2.Chopra had battled patiently for his 20, hitting only three boundaries in 70 balls, but his vigil ended in the last over of the day. Pragyan Ojha had come on to bowl his left-arm spin and Chopra used his feet, mis-cueing the loft towards long-on where Yadav held the catch. The wicket capped a near-perfect day for Rest of India, and left Rajasthan needing a monumental effort to avoid the follow-on.

Ian Bell has been added to England’s squad for the remaining two one-day internationals in the NatWest Series against Pakistan

Cricinfo staff19-Sep-2010Batsman Ian Bell, who scored a century in Saturday’s CB40 final, has been added to England’s squad for the remaining two one-day internationals in the NatWest Series against Pakistan.Bell has not been part of the England set-up since breaking a bone in his foot while fielding during the second one-day international against Bangladesh at Bristol earlier this summer. He has since recovered from the metatarsal injury, scoring 107 off 95 balls in Warwickshire’s victory over Somerset at Lord’s.”It’s fantastic to have him back in the squad,” Andrew Strauss, the England captain, said. “He wasn’t in originally because we weren’t sure about where he was in his recovery and he needed some cricket for Warwickshire. He’s played very well and strengthens are squad to give us more options batting wise.”Bell made a successful return to the one-day squad in the first match against Bangladesh, where he struck an unbeaten 84 to seal victory at Trent Bridge but was soon back on the sidelines after his injury at Bristol. With England’s impressive one-day form it’s a battle to find a place in the line-up, especially with Kevin Pietersen to return, but Bell feels he is now coming into his prime.”I’ll just keep working as hard as I can to get in the side in one-day cricket as well as Test cricket,” he said. “I feel I’m improving all the time. I’m desperate to keep improving because at 28 the best years are still to come.”It’s been great to be back on field. When I did the injury the England guys and the specialists erred on the side of safety,” Bell added. “The surgeon suggested eight weeks off, I probably could have played after seven but was it worth risking it ahead of aus? Probably not.”So hats off to the ECB – Kirk Russell [the physio] and Nick Pierce the doctor got it right in terms of giving myself enough time but also getting some cricket under my belt.”Paul Collingwood, who missed the third one-dayer at The Oval with a virus, trained with the squad on Sunday at Lord’s and is likely to be available. Strauss confirmed that Bell wasn’t in as cover and will stand an equal chance of being selected.

The India fast bowler has not played for India since November last year

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-20245:06

Rohit: Have to be very careful with Shami

Rohit Sharma has said the “door is very much open” for Mohammed Shami to join India’s Test squad in Australia, but reiterated caution over his fitness.Speaking after India’s ten-wicket loss in the second Test in Adelaide, Rohit said: “We are just monitoring him because while playing Syed Mushtaq Ali, he got some swelling in his knee, which hampers his preparation to come and play a Test match. We want to be very careful, we don’t want to bring him here, he pulls up sore or something happens.”We want to be more than 100% sure with him because it has been a long time. We don’t want to put pressure on him to come here and do the job for the team. There are some professionals monitoring, we will take a call based on what those guys feel. They are the ones watching him every game, how he pulls up after the game, after bowling four overs, standing for 20 overs. But the door is open for him to come and play anytime.”Shami has not played for India since the 2023 ODI World Cup final in November last year, after which he had surgery in February for an ankle injury. After suffering a few setbacks during his recovery process, Shami finally returned to action in November this year, taking seven wickets for Bengal in a Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh.Since then Shami has played seven games in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, taking eight wickets in 27.3 overs. While there has been no official confirmation that he has been given the go-ahead to fly to Australia, it is expected that he will join the squad at some stage if there are no further setbacks.

“Our T20 games have been getting longer and longer each year, and we want to do what we can to arrest this trend”

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Aug-2023The 2023 Caribbean Premier League – men’s and women’s – has announced severe penalties for teams going through their overs slowly, even putting in place a red card-like system of removing a player if the fielding side is behind schedule at the start of the 20th over of an innings, a first in the game.”We have been disappointed that our T20 games have been getting longer and longer each year, and we want to do what we can to arrest this trend,” Michael Hall, the CPL’s tournament operations director, said in a statement on the subject. “It is the duty of those involved in cricket to ensure that the game keeps moving and we have sensitised both the franchises and our match officials to this duty ahead of the tournament. Our hope is that these in-game penalties are not needed, but we believe they are proportionate and necessary.”The slow over-rate penalties

• If behind the required over rate at the start of the 18th over, one additional player must enter the fielding circle – for a total of five players inside the circle
• If behind the rate at the start of the 19th over, two additional fielders must enter the fielding circle – for a total of six inside the circle
• If behind the rate at the start of the final over, teams will lose a player from the field – selected by the captain – and have six inside the fielding circle
• There will also be an onus on batting teams to keep the game moving. After a first and final warning from the umpires, the batting team will be slapped with a five-run penalty for each instance of time wasting

Using the 85-minutes-per-innings rule for T20 cricket, a CPL statement said that the issue “will be monitored more closely” in the 2023 edition of the tournament. The 17th over of the innings must be completed by 72 minutes and 15 seconds, the 18th by 76 minutes and 30 seconds, and the 19th by 80 minutes and 45 seconds, before the last over ends within 85 minutes.”Over rates will be monitored by the third umpire and communicated to the captains via on-field umpires at the end of every over, as well as to the crowd and TV audience, with graphics showing how far they are behind (or ahead of) the over rate,” the statement said. “Dispensations will be given for injuries, DRS and time-wasting by batting side where appropriate.”The men’s CPL 2023 starts on August 17 with Jamaica Tallawahs taking on St Lucia Kings in Gros Islet, and the women’s event will start on August 31 with a game between Barbados Royals and Guyana Amazon Warriors in Barbados.