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A round-up of the second day of the first round of the Regional Four Day Competition

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2011Craig Kieswetter scored his fifth first-class century as England Lions piled on a huge total against Leeward Islands at the Warner Park in St Kitts. Leewards fought back in the second half of the second day, with Kieran Powell’s 83 helping them reach 148 for 2 at stumps. Kieswetter, who hasn’t been a part of the England team since the Twenty20 series against Pakistan in September last year, got his unbeaten 116 off 102 balls, as the Lions reached 553 for 6 before declaring. James Hildreth missed his 150 by one run while James Taylor fell four short of a century. James Harris became the fifth England batsman to go past 50 in the innings, getting an unbeaten 52 in a 146-run seventh-wicket stand with Kieswetter. Seamer Jade Dernbach gave the Lions an early breakthrough, dismissing Montcin Hodge for a duck in the third over. Leewards recovered, but will need plenty more from their batsmen to get a positive result from the game.The match between Combined Campuses and Colleges and Windward Islands at the Three Ws Oval in Bridgetown looks set for a tight finish on the third day, after CCC ended the second day 173 ahead with one wicket in hand. In what has been a low-scoring match, Windwards added 29 to their overnight score of 145 for 7, giving them a 43-run first innings lead. CCC started their second innings well, with Kyle Corbin’s 57 helping them reach 180 for 3. However, they then collapsed, losing six wickets for 36 runs and ended the day at 216 for 9. Left-arm spinner Gary Mathurin was Windwards most successful bowler, taking 3 for 27.Half-centuries from Kirk Edwards, Ryan Hinds and Sharmarh Brooks took Barbados to 395 in their first innings, against Trinidad & Tobago at the Guaracara Park in Trinidad. Edwards, who was on 75 at the start of the day, fell seven short of his century, while the captain, Hinds, scored 94. Brooks had to bat with the tail and scored 61 not out, putting together a crucial ninth-wicket stand of 63 runs with Tino Best. T&T had to face 15 overs at the end of the day, and finished 55 for 1, with Runako Morton getting 45 of those runs.Jamaica mad a strong comeback on the second day at the Alpart Sports Club in St Elizabeth, finishing 95 runs ahead of Guyana with eight wickets in hand. The hosts had been bowled out for 150 on the first day, but responded by dismissing Guyana for 183 on the second. They then reached 128 for 2 by stumps, thanks to an unbeaten half-century by Marlon Samuels. Guyana lost wickets in clusters during their innings. First they went from 75 for 2 to 81 for 5, then, after a mini-recovery, went from 129 for 5 to 148 for 8. Jamaica’s spinners did the bulk of the damage, with legspinner Odean Brown taking 3 for 57, and offspinner Tamar Lambert taking 3 for 7.

The 313 Brigade, Al-Qaeda’s operational arm in Pakistan, issued a warning to “the international community” to not send its representatives to major sports events being staged in India, including the IPL

Cricinfo staff16-Feb-2010Security fears regarding the IPL have intensified after a string of statements over the past 24 hours. The 313 Brigade, Al-Qaeda’s operational arm in Pakistan, issued a warning to “the international community” not to send its representatives to major sports events being staged in India, including the IPL. Following this, the firm in charge of the league’s security said organisers would have to reconsider hosting the IPL should the threat supercede safety strategies.There was good news for the IPL, though, in a retraction by the Shiv Sena of its stand barring Australian cricketers in Mumbai in response to the attacks on Indians in Australia, yet it appeared scant consolation in the face of the terror threat.In its message, delivered to , the 313 Brigade said: “We warn the international community not to send their people to the 2010 Hockey World Cup, IPL and Commonwealth Games. If they do, they will be responsible for the consequences.”The Hockey World Cup will be held in New Delhi from February 28 and the Commonwealth games are scheduled in the same city in October. Both are single-city events and will be relatively easier to secure than the multi-city IPL – it currently has 12 venues, with Cuttack being added on Tuesday.The 313 Brigade is believed to have links with other terrorist outfits and its commander is believed to have played a role in the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai.That statement drew a gloomy response from Bob Nicholls, the head of Nicholls Steyn and Associates, which is running the security operation for the IPL. He told the it may force the organisers into a re-think.”It gets to a point where you cannot go further than that which is being provided,” Nicholls said. ”We only have control over certain aspects of it. If we get to a certain stage beyond which you can’t go … our role and commitment is that we will put in the best measures there can be. What we cannot control is circumstances beyond that. There would need to be serious considerations at that point.”Paul Marsh, the chief executive of the Australian Cricketers Association, said security consultant Reg Dickason would factor the warning into his report to the Australian players involved in the IPL.”We were told over the years that cricketers and other sportspeople would not be targeted, that the risk was collateral damage, being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Marsh said. ”That changed with [the ambush of the Sri Lankan team in] Lahore last year, and news of a threat from a very well-known terrorist group is concerning. This is another issue to be concerned about. Not a lot has changed with regard to our process and it’s important to note that the situation is fluid after what happened in Pune (a bomb blast) at the weekend and this development.”Reg will give us a point-in-time report and then he will continue to keep us informed. Everyone is going to have to weigh up their own circumstances, but we have relied on Reg for a long time and the players have a high level of trust in his advice.”

Selection dilemmas, fitness concerns, and an unsettled XI – both teams begin their T20 World Cup buildup with more questions than answers

Alan Gardner09-Sep-2025

Big picture: World Cup planning gets serious (sort of)

And so we reach the final staging post of the England Men’s home international summer. Notwithstanding a beano to Ireland next week, which might be even more weather-challenged than three T20Is against South Africa in the UK in September.Harry Brook is the last man standing, the white-ball captain having played all of England’s 15 games across formats for the season. Ben Duckett and Jamie Smith were due to join him for the last hurrah, before England’s management had a change of heart during the ODIs and opted to give both players a rest. But Brook will have to wait for an opportunity to put his feet up, as he sits out the Ireland trip.Staying on the treadmill is tough enough, never mind keeping track of priorities. This series ought to figure more prominently than the ODIs that preceded it, since there is a T20 World Cup on the horizon – it’s over there, in India and Sri Lanka early next year, just peeking out from behind the Ashes. But England will make do and mend without a first-choice XI in any of their six games over the next 11 days, intent only on getting to the finish line. After which, there’ll be a few weeks off, then back to the grind for a white-ball tour of New Zealand followed by – hello again! – the Ashes in Australia.Related

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• McCullum: England must 'find ways to deal with' packed schedule

Brendon McCullum admitted after the third and final ODI, which England won in record-breaking fashion despite already conceding the series, that they were still getting to grips with easing their multi-format players through a punishing schedule. Throw in the ever-increasing demands of the franchise T20 circuit – and for some of the players involved here, the SA20 auction is the biggest event happening this week – and the balancing act only gets harder.(South Africa’s solution to fixture pile-up has been to programme an entire home season without a Test – although they still have upcoming red-ball commitments in Pakistan and India. Wherever you look, the stresses and strains are apparent.)This will be South Africa’s third T20I engagement in recent months, having toured Australia and Zimbabwe, where they played a tri-series with New Zealand – though some hotchpotch selection means they only won three games (two of them against Zimbabwe) out of eight. They were expecting to welcome back David Miller against England, after allowing him to play the Hundred as a precursor; but a hamstring strain sustained in Northern Superchargers purple means he will instead miss the entire series.There are also question marks over the fitness of Kagiso Rabada, after he sat out the ODI legs in Australia and England with ankle inflammation. Shukri Conrad has said previously that South Africa would be taking a “conservative approach” with Rabada, with T20Is currently higher up the pecking order.All of which means there is an air of uncertainty over proceedings, which are due to commence in Cardiff on Wednesday evening (weather permitting). England will expect a sterner test than that provided by West Indies earlier in the summer, as Brook began his tenure with a 6-0 sweep across formats. South Africa, finalists at the last World Cup, look to be further ahead with their planning – even if it is only three months since Heinrich Klaasen’s sudden retirement left a big hole to fill in their middle order.Both sides will be looking for answers. Don’t be surprised if the series only throws up more questions.

Form guide

England WWWLL (last five T20Is, most recent first)
South Africa LWLLL

In the spotlight: Sam Curran and Dewald Brevis

Is the Bazball revolution big enough to include Sam Curran? We may be about to find out. Having seemingly been cast as someone who did not “fit the mould” of what McCullum was after with the Test side, he slipped down the pecking order in white-ball cricket, too, last playing in the Caribbean at the back end of 2024. That was under the guidance of an interim coach in Marcus Trescothick, so this will be Curran’s first chance to impress McCullum, who took charge across formats at the start of the year. If he can continue his good form from the Hundred and T20 Blast, and Make Things Happen in the manner of his first coming in international cricket, he could soon offer a solution to some of England’s ODI problems, too.Sam Curran was back in the England set-up•Getty Images

It is now more than three years since Dewald Brevis, South Africa’s “Baby AB”, burst into public consciousness by earning an IPL deal before having even played a first-class game. But until June of this year, his only mark on international cricket were innings of 5 and 0 in two T20Is against Australia back in 2023. A fifty on Test debut in Zimbabwe augured well, but the full range of his abilities shone through in remote Darwin last month as he smoked South Africa’s highest T20 international score – 125 not out off 56 balls – and second-fastest hundred, in only his ninth innings. That innings, no doubt, contributed to Brevis being the No. 1 draw at Tuesday’s SA20 auction, where he went past his captain, Aiden Markram, as the tournament’s most-expensive ever signing at R16.5 million (US$940,000). The spotlight won’t be going elsewhere for a while.

Team news: Miller ruled out of series

England named their team a day in advance, with Jos Buttler moving back up to open in the absences of Smith and Duckett. He is reunited with Phil Salt, who missed the West Indies series on paternity leave. Tom Banton and Will Jacks, both T20 openers by trade, are carded down at Nos. 6 and 7, with Curran a place above. He will be one of three pace-bowling options, alongside Jamie Overton and Jofra Archer, with four spinners – Jacks, Jacob Bethell, Liam Dawson and Adil Rashid – also at Brook’s disposal.England: 1 Phil Salt, 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Jacob Bethell, 4 Harry Brook (capt), 5 Sam Curran, 6 Tom Banton, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Liam Dawson, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Adil RashidSouth Africa have opted not to call up a replacement for Miller, whose absence is likely to open up a spot for Donovan Ferreira – Oval Invincibles’ “heater” – to play just his seventh T20I and first since December. Keshav Maharaj returns as the frontline spin option after missing the two previous series, while Marco Jansen is set for his first appearance since the World Test Championship final in June after suffering thumb surgery. If Rabada is being kept in cotton wool, then 19-year-old quick Kwena Maphaka is primed to take his place.South Africa: (Possible) 1 Aiden Markram (capt), 2 Ryan Rickleton (wk), 3 Lhuan-dre Pretorius, 4 Dewald Brevis, 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Donovan Ferreira, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Corbin Bosch, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Lungi Ngidi

Pitch and conditions: Seamers bang it in

Cardiff can be a tough place to bowl spin, because of the short straight boundaries – and will prove a challenge if England stick to their World Cup-orientated strategy of packing in the slow-bowling options. The surface was green a day out, but is expected to get a trim. However, a forecast for steady rain through the next 24 hours, and potentially on into the evening, might render such concerns moot.

Stats and trivia

• South Africa have won four of their last five T20Is against England, which includes victories at the 2021 and 2024 World Cups and a 2-1 bilateral series success in 2022.
• The trip three years ago saw South Africa win comfortably in Cardiff, by 58 runs – although only four members of that side (Stubbs, Maharaj, Rabada and Ngidi) are involved this time around.
• Brook led England to a 3-0 whitewash of West Indies in his first outing as T20I captain. In all T20, he has captained 23 times – with England, Yorkshire and Northern Superchargers – and been victorious in 15 for a win/loss ratio of 2.50.
• Barring washouts, Brook will win his 50th T20I cap in the third game of the series at Trent Bridge.

Quotes

“We’ve got to make sure we do what we do as a team. We’re not too concerned about putting a statement out for others to see. It’s for our own selves, making sure we are true to our own selves cricket wise – batting, bowling, fielding – and letting our cricket do the rest. Hopefully we can put a show on.”
“They are always a good team. Expecting it to be a really good challenge for us. They’ve won heaps of white-ball tournaments and were the trendsetters at one stage. Looking forward to facing them and the strengths that they bring to the table, and seeing where we are as a team against really good opposition.”

Mumbai’s young batter also credits Ajinkya Rahana and Shreyas Iyer for their roles in putting up big partnerships

PTI12-Mar-2024Mumbai batter Musheer Khan has said that the presence of Sachin Tendulkar at the Wankhede Stadium during the third day of the Ranji Trophy final inspired him to “bat with motivation”.Musheer, 19, scored a patient 136 that all but batted Vidarbha out of the game. He had earlier made 203 not out in the quarter-final against Baroda, as well as a crucial 55 in the semis against Tamil Nadu.”I did not even know that Sachin sir was here,” Musheer said. “But when I was batting on 60, I saw on him on the big screen and (thereon) I batted with the motivation that he is watching today and I have to impress sir.”Besides Tendulkar, India’s Test captain Rohit Sharma was also present at the ground. However, it was two other experienced players – Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer – who provided valuable advice in the middle, as Musheer put up century stands with both.Related

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“I got to learn a lot during the partnerships,” Musheer said. “It is a matter of pride for me that I got to bat with two Test players, it becomes easier for me too. Everyone in their team was trying to get Ajju (Ajinkya Rahane) out and it becomes easier for me.”It was a dream for me to score a century in the Ranji Trophy final. Me and Iyer had a good partnership, we communicated well and (Iyer) was insisting that we have to bat for long period and take the game as far as we can.”Musheer said there was no risk involved in his tendency to move down the line of deliveries since he has practised a lot for it.”When I was dropped from the Ranji Trophy (squad) last year, I got to learn a lot about the (need to) work on the technique. I have done a lot of preparations with , there still is a lot to do.”There are some wickets where the ball keeps coming straight at you but one odd-delivery cuts (from the pitch), hence I try to not let the bowler settle down and find the right spot to bowl at.”Risk is there in everything. There is risk in defending too – what if there is a bat-pad situation to get out? But I have a lot of confidence with it; I have done a lot of preparation and practise by moving in the front.”I am also ready for the bouncer. If someone bowls that, I can duck too. I move in the front but not with the intent to hit unless I get a half-volley.”Musheer, who is now the youngest to have scored a century for Mumbai in a Ranji Trophy final, revealed that his brother and India player Sarfaraz Khan asked him to forget the first-innings failure and back himself in the second.”I had spoken with earlier and he told me that this is a good opportunity for me in the final, with everyone watching. If I would make runs here, it would be better for me in the future.”When I got out (for cheap) in the first innings, (he told me) it’s okay, back yourself in the second innings and play your game. He told me to bat the way I found was comfortable.”

“I try to just embrace it, but it isn’t something that sits that comfortably with me to be honest”

Andrew McGlashan20-Nov-2022A hugely significant career in Australian cricket came to end at North Sydney Oval on Sunday.When Rachael Haynes lofted a catch to mid-off, she walked off to a standing ovation. At the end of the game both teams, and players from Sydney Sixers who had remained from their earlier match, formed a guard of honour as she carried her son, Hugo.Related

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Watched by her family, her team-mates had allowed her to run on first when their fielding stint began and Adelaide Strikers applauded her as she came into bat with Foo Fighters’ playing around the ground.”I try to just embrace it, but it isn’t something that sits that comfortably with me to be honest,” Haynes said of her farewell. “I’ve probably spent most of my career trying to avoid the limelight. But really appreciate all the effort and really grateful for the players sending me off, it’s very kind of them.”Haynes had announced her retirement in September, ending an international career that had tallied six Tests, 77 ODIs and 84 T20Is and a domestic career that started 17 years ago. She was a key member of the great Australian team that has dominated the sport in recent years. However, one of the common themes since her retirement was announced has been the impact she has had on others.”I’ve always just tried to do the right thing by people, the right thing by the programmes I’ve been part of and tried to prepare the best I could and set a good example for others around me,” she said. “When you are doing all those things you are probably a bit oblivious to the impact it’s having, but there’s been quite a few people who have reached out this week and said, ‘good luck, well done’, and it’s definitely meant a lot to me.”Everyone wants to succeed and do well, but what binds groups together and brings them back together is the success you share on field. I feel very fortunate that I’ve been able to experience that both domestically and internationally.”Rachael Haynes walks back with her son, Hugo, as she receives a guard of honour•Getty Images

Haynes wanted to complete this campaign for Sydney Thunder having not been able to play last season, but the WBBL did not turn into the farewell tour she had hoped for. Thunder ended with just one win in 14 matches and Haynes could not hit her stride with the bat.”It’s an interesting one,” she said. “I clearly didn’t have the season I’ve had in the past. I suppose [upon] reflecting [that] you just lose a bit of that competitive edge and it’s something I’ve never had to be consciously aware of in the past, I’ve always just been up and 100% on it, and I reckon this year there were probably times when I wasn’t at that same edge that you need to have at this level.”Haynes leaves an outstanding legacy to the game, with her career covering multiple eras as the sport became fully professional in Australia. Her own time in international cricket was split into two parts. It looked as though she could be done when she spent four years out of the side before returning in 2017 and shortly after captained the Ashes series in place of the injured Meg Lanning.From the point of her recall she averaged 45.07 in ODIs and 33 in T20Is with a strike rate of 126.15. Her final international match was Australia’s gold-medal victory against India at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham having added 160 for the first wicket with Alyssa Healy in the ODI World Cup final earlier in the year. She has previously picked out her innings against Sri Lanka, at Perth, during the 2020 T20 World Cup as her best.”I had mixed emotions coming into the ground today,” she said. “It’s strange, I announced it six weeks ago now and towards the end of this week when it was starting to become a bit more real, I definitely noticed myself going through different waves of emotion and being a bit teary. By the same the token I know I’m ready to walk away. But walking away from something that’s been such a big part of my life for a long time is also challenging.”She has yet to decide what comes next. There will be some WBBL commentary during finals week and then she will take the rest of the year off. But if she so chooses, Haynes has plenty more to offer cricket.

The India Women head coach also wants the team to improve its middle-overs batting

Shashank Kishore15-Jul-2021Ramesh Powar, the India Women head coach, has underlined two key areas as the team builds into a busy seven-month stretch leading into the 50-overs World Cup in February 2022: widening India’s fast-bowling pool and improving their middle-overs batting.India fielded only four fast bowlers across formats in England. In her comeback series, Shikha Pandey picked up five wickets in the limited-overs leg after going wicketless in the drawn Test, while Jhulan Goswami finished with the second-highest wickets tally among the touring seamers (four wickets) despite not featuring in the T20Is.The two younger seamers, Pooja Vastrakar and Arundhati Reddy, proved ineffective. While Vastrakar didn’t feature in the 2-1 T20I series loss, Reddy bowled just seven overs across three games, picking up just the one wicket and conceding 9.57 runs per over.Related

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“Honestly, we have learnt a lot many things [from this tour],” Powar said after England clinched the multi-format series 10-6. “We have to have match time; we need to play some games before the World Cup. In the fast-bowling department, only Jhulan [Goswami] performed. There has to be some support for her, so we are looking to enhance the fast-bowlers department.”India next play Australia across formats in September, and Powar, who has had little time to acclimatise in his second stint as head coach, hoped to have a proper camp and a few warm-up games to identify a fast-bowling pool going forward.”We are looking to add some [fast] bowlers, if we are going to get a camp after this tour, we will start working on them,” he said. “In the seven months [leading into the World Cup], we want to create a pool of fast bowlers. We already have five in the team, we are looking at five more, so 10 bowlers to work on for the next few months and we will get the results.”Yes, time is short, but the way forward is including more fast bowlers from domestic teams and domestic performers. We are especially looking at tall fast bowlers. Those who have performed can be included in the next camp, so yes, we are looking at 10-15 fast bowlers going ahead.”Powar then touched upon the middle-overs batting. While Mithali Raj made half-centuries in each of the three ODIs, the others around her struggled. Punam Raut was left out after the first ODI, while her replacement Jemimah Rodrigues only managed two single-digit scores. Deepti Sharma, like Raut, struggled to score quickly.”Then middle-overs batting, after Powerplay in ODIs [is another important area],” Powar said. “That is where strike rotation and conversion rate of dot balls to runs after you get set is key. We played a Test after seven years, and we have lots to learn.”We still managed to draw due to some brilliant performances, but in T20s, we need 160-plus to put pressure on other teams. If we must play in New Zealand, we need good fast bowlers and try to up our conversion rate in the middle overs. Mithali is batting very well, but we need support where we can put pressure on opponents to get to 250-plus.”Ramesh Powar was content with Harmanpreet Kaur’s return to form after a lacklustre Test and ODI series•Getty Images

‘We are going towards dominance; it will take time’One way of trying to change things around, Powar said, was to stress on the need to play aggressively and fearlessly, but he also explained why the current group needed a bit more time before being judged. He felt the methods they have adopted over the past two or three years can’t be undone at the click of a button.”We will play fearless cricket, that is what we will do. This time I wanted them to realise this,” Powar said. “You can’t force them as a coach in your first series. They have been playing with some ideology for the last two or three years, I have to assess what suits them. You can’t make drastic approach changes.”They’ve been playing differently. To get them out of it, I need to convince them. It took time this time around. In this game [third T20I], we were 28 for 2 after five overs but ended up with 153. We discussed that we would play fearless cricket no matter what. If you don’t, every team will dominate you.”It will take time. Because of Covid and lack of match practice, we couldn’t train as a larger group. But we are going towards dominance, it will take time, but the idea is right.”Powar was particularly happy with T20I captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s return to form after lacklustre Test and ODI series. She finished the tour with back-to-back 30s, showing signs of returning to her big-hitting ways. Powar felt an extended summer in England, where she will represent Manchester Originals in The Hundred, would do her a world of good.”It is pleasing for everyone because her scoring runs matter to everyone in the team,” Powar said. “She is a player who can dominate the bowling and win us every game, in fact, in T20s. The way she batted, we can see the flair. Going forward, we will see a different Harman henceforth.”The discussion was to spend time in the crease. If you do that, obviously she has the natural talent to express herself, she is fearless. She is experienced and she knows how to go about it. There is nothing wrong with her technique. If you spend time [at the crease], at some point things will happen. She knew it. In the last two innings, she looked like the old Harman.”She will be playing in The Hundred. It will give her game time. That is what we like. That is where England is a little ahead of us, in terms of game time, because they have been playing domestic cricket. That is where we were lacking, we didn’t have practice games, just had nets. If she scores runs, she leads the side differently. She backs her decisions because of her batting confidence.”‘Never know what would’ve happened if there was a fifth day’Looking back at India’s first Test outing in seven years, Powar expressed satisfaction at the team’s fighting draw but felt situational awareness will only kick in with more game time.”I wasn’t surprised [at the adaptability], we had a week in Southampton where we practiced with the red ball,” he said. “They are good players, they know how to perform, but experience matters in red-ball cricket. We could only prepare them mentally. If you get into a Test straightaway without red-ball cricket, there will be a lack of situational awareness.”If you play red-ball cricket regularly, you know what is happening in all four days, like slowing things down, taking chances, bowling one side of the wicket etc. It comes with experience. As support staff, we tried to share that with them, that this might happen, this might not happen.”After the follow-on also, they didn’t know what would happen. We told them we can still win this game. If there was a fifth day, you never know what would have happened. I wasn’t surprised by the result. The way Sneh Rana and Deepti [Sharma] batted, Deepti is a classical Test player. We try to share everything that we have knowledge of, we couldn’t have done more. Side games make a lot of difference. Next time around, we will request some side games.”

The pair have both promised items of memorabilia to be auctioned on behalf of the Centre for Disaster Philanthropy

George Dobell03-Apr-2020Wasim Akram and Darren Gough are among the latest cricketing personalities attempting to combat the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.The pair have both promised items of memorabilia to be auctioned on behalf of the Centre for Disaster Philanthropy who have set up a
COVID-19 Response Fund.Akram, Pakistan’s highest wicket-taker in both Test and ODI cricket, has pledged a signed bat and ball while Gough, England’s second-highest wicket-taker in ODI cricket, has pledged a signed ball.Stars from other sports involved in the fundraising include Jack Nicklaus, Mike Tyson, Nick Faldo, Rory McIlroy, Martina Hingis,
Stephen Curry, Michael Phelps and Rose Lavelle. To enter the competition, visit athletesrelief.orgAkram and Gough join a long list of cricketers who have made charitable efforts to help out during the crisis, including Jos
Buttler, who is auctioning the shirt he was wearing when England won the World Cup.Ravi Bopara has offered free chicken from his restaurant in London to NHS staff, the umpire Aleem Dar has offered free food from his restaurant in Lahore to those who have lost their jobs, and Kent’s Sam Billings has offered to shop for vulnerable people in his area.England women’s captain Heather Knight and the Surrey allrounder Rikki Clarke and are among those to have signed up as NHS
volunteers, while Sam Curran has launched a fundraising campaign.

Desmond Haynes reflects on the great cricketers in Barbados history, and wonders how they would have fared in T20

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jan-20192:59

How would Sobers have fared in T20?

To coincide with England’s arrival in Barbados for the first Test, ESPNcricinfo spoke to West Indies legend and Visit Barbados ambassador Desmond Haynes to reminisce about the great players who hailed from his home island. Last week we featured his greatest Barbados Test XI. Now we focus on the players of his era who could have excelled in the shortest format.“I have no doubt that a lot of players from my age and even before then would have loved T20 cricket. A lot of us used to play county cricket in England, and the B&H Cup was very popular with our guys because the shorter format allowed us to express the aggressiveness in our games. Gordon Greenidge, Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner … they would all have been outstanding in the format.And even now, West Indians do really well in T20. We’ve won the World T20 twice in three tournaments, including that unforgettable win over England in Kolkata in 2016, when another Barbados player, Carlos Brathwaite, hit four sixes in the final over.I’ll never forget that day, I was in a bar with some English guys and I was saying right to the final over, ‘we’ll beat you’. Okay, I was mostly saying it because they were so confident, but when he hit the first six, I said, ‘oh my goodness, the bowler [Ben Stokes] doesn’t look confident of stopping these runs …”The rest was history. And so too are the illustrious names below…Garry Sobers (93 Tests, 1 ODI)The greatest allround cricketer of all time, and a player who could have performed in any role, at any moment of the game. He hit Malcolm Nash for six sixes in an over in a county game at Swansea; he could bowl rapid left-arm swing or spin, he could field brilliantly too. The ultimate package.Franklyn Stephenson (0 Tests, 0 ODIs)He was so unlucky never to play for West Indies. With his tall action, and his high hands, he was an outstanding fast bowler, and his slower ball was ahead of its time. It used to loop out of his hand and was so hard to pick up. But he was a very fine allrounder as well. I remember rooming with him during his Barbados debut in St Kitts in 1982, and he went out and got a big hundred against the Leewards Islands.Desmond Haynes (116 Tests, 238 ODIs)I left myself out of the all-time Test XI, but I really do think I’d have enjoyed myself in the T20 team. I made a century against Australia on my ODI debut in 1978, and I remember the occasional one-day game for Middlesex used to boil down to a 20-over slog. I loved charging at the bowlers and trying to hit them over midwicket and back over their heads. It was fun!Garry Sobers and David Holford leave the field after the fourth day•PA Photos

Collis King (9 Tests, 18 ODIs)Collis was one of those guys who was really aggressive at the crease, but he had a really good technique. He wasn’t just about slogging it all about, he had a really good defence and was a complete batsman. But he just loved to hit it over the top, and never more brilliantly than in the World Cup final in 1979, when he even outscored Sir Viv! Amazingly he’s still playing at the age of 67. His knees may have gone but his eye has never gone!Cammie Smith (5 Tests, 0 ODIs)Cammie once made 300 in a club game in Barbados, and I think he got off the mark with a six in Test cricket. When he was playing in the 1960s, he was an opening batsman with a difference, a guy who wanted to score from the start, and though he only played five Tests, four of those were on the legendary 1960-61 tour of Australia, including his debut in the tied Test at Brisbane. He was a player that people just wanted to come and see.Philo Wallace (7 Tests, 33 ODIs)Woah, he would have been a super player! T20 cricket would just be right up his street. Philo is a non-nonsense guy, a big strong fella from the St James area, so I know him well. He believed in hitting the ball, and he was a very good hitter of the ball! I remember him demolishing England in a Test match in Antigua in 1998. Hitting over the top with the field up, he’d have loved that!David Holford (24 Tests, 0 ODIs)David was my captain when I first played for Barbados in 1977, and apart from being a fine legbreak and googly bowler, he was a very good leader. He read the game really well and was very knowledgeable. But he could also bat too even though it wasn’t the main part of his game. He put on a huge partnership with Garry Sobers at Lord’s in 1966, and is even on the honours board for his century.For the perfect holiday in Barbados, including how to get here, where to stay and what to do, go to VisitBarbados.org

The fast bowler will be rested from the Titans’ next Ram Slam competition so that he can hit the nets and get overs under his belt

Firdose Moonda23-Nov-2017Dale Steyn will not play in the Titans’ next Ram Slam game after turning out for three in a row last week, both as part of the franchise’s rotation policy and in order for the paceman to up his bowling workload in the nets. Steyn bowled a total of 10 overs and took four wickets for 61 runs in what has been deemed a satisfactory comeback following a year out of the game due to shoulder injury. The next step in his recovery is focused on bowling longer spells so that he can be ready for Test cricket.All of South Africa’s bowlers need to work on something other than T20 skills because an eight-Test summer follows the ongoing Ram Slam tournament. “It’s not only Dale that needs to bowl more, all the bowlers need to up their volumes ahead of the Test matches,” Mohammed Moosajee, South Africa’s team manager, who is also a medical doctor, told ESPNcricinfo. “We have set plans for all the bowlers in terms of the numbers of balls and overs they need to bowl,”Moosajee said if Steyn’s return continues according to schedule he sees “no reason” why the fast bowler won’t appear in whites again. Steyn will be back for the Titans later in the competition and could also play some provincial cricket. “If he plays enough in the T20 competition and bowls in the nets and maybe even plays a three-day provincial game, then I don’t see why not,” Moosajee said when asked if he thought fans could look forward to seeing Steyn in action for South Africa this summer.Steyn is hopeful of making an international return over Boxing Day in the inaugural four-day, day-night Test against Zimbabwe in Port Elizabeth and also has his sights set on playing against India and Australia later in the summer. The 34-year-old needs just five wickets to beat Shaun Pollock’s tally of 421 and become South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in Test cricket.Morne Morkel, who is on the mend from a side strain, also looks set to play a part in South Africa’s busiest home season since readmission. He is currently bowling at 80% and should be at full capacity in early December.However, Morne’s brother and Titans’ T20 captain, Albie, told reporters in Pretoria that he only expects Morne to be fit for the playoffs of the Ram Slam in mid-December and at that stage, it is unlikely he will get a game. CSA have a policy that any player returning from injury must play some form of domestic cricket before they can be considered for the national team. That means Morne may also look to the provincial structures or even club cricket to prove his fitness.Chris Morris, who has been sidelined with a lower-back injury since the England tour in August, is expected to be considered for Titans’ selection in the next week.

Suryakumar Yadav, Kaustubh Pawar, Siddhesh Lad, Arman Jaffer and Aditya Tare continued the tradition of Indian domestic batsmen softening up touring spinners, as New Zealanders’ trio of slow bowlers went for 263 in 51 overs

The Report by Sidharth Monga in Delhi17-Sep-2016
Scorecard1:40

Bracewell shrugs off tough day for NZ

Amit Pagnis did it to Shane Warne in 1998; Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma traumatised Jason Krejza in 2008; Nathan Hauritz received a rude welcome from Ajinkya Rahane in 2010. On Saturday Suryakumar Yadav, Kaustubh Pawar, Siddhesh Lad, Armaan Jaffer and Aditya Tare continued the tradition of Indian domestic batsmen softening up the opposition spinners in their tour game. Rohit, himself a part of the Test squad now, failed to press claim for a slot in the XI, falling for 18 in an ungainly manner, but his Mumbai team-mates did a job for the India Test side by making New Zealanders’ three frontline spinners toil for 51 overs for 263 runs and just three wickets. A whopping 402 runs came in the day. Mumbai’s coach Chandrakant Pandit didn’t brag too much, but cheekily said he hoped the India team would be happy that a state side had tested the visiting spinners.Doug Bracewell, though, said the New Zealanders weren’t too concerned about their performance, although there were lessons to be learnt. A lot of it was down to the flatness of the Feroz Shah Kotla pitch. New Zealanders’ spinners, though, seemed to be playing for the conditions expected in the Tests rather than trying to beat batsmen in the air on an unresponsive track. Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner and offspinner Mark Craig, in particular, kept bowling quick and flat, which works on the kind of raging turners that South Africa were given in India’s last home season. Legspinner Ish Sodhi was the only one who created regular problems.Be that as it may, the Mumbai batsmen matched the intent shown by the New Zealanders on day one, shot for shot. Jaffer, yet to make his first-class debut, had come in to bat on the first evening, at the fall of the opener Jay Bista for a duck, and hit Santner for a straight six in the first over he played. Now he hit Santner back over his head twice in his first over on the second morning.The only time it seemed Mumbai were under pressure was when Sodhi, the last spinner used, began to turn a few. One legbreak got rid of Jaffer for 69, after which Rohit played an edgy innings. It just seemed anything could happen every time Rohit faced up. One of those things was a clean six over mid-off after eight straight dots, but he never looked in. On 18 he looked to charge Sodhi, who dragged his length back, drawing an uncertain defensive shot. In the same over Rohit repeated the charge without bothering about defending when beaten in the flight. An easy stumping for BJ Watling ensued.It could have become 133 for 4 when Yadav skied a pull towards the stumps at the non-striker’s end, but Sodhi, the bowler, dropped a dolly after going back a few steps, to herald an afternoon of pain. Having ridden his luck in the initial stages, Yadav got stuck into the spinners, hitting eight sixes in his 103 off 86 balls. He began with a swept four, and peppered the straight and midwicket region with his sixes. He brought up his hundred with a swept six off a full-toss.Pawar, known for his stodgy efforts, opened up in Yadav’s company, repeatedly driving the spinners over cover and back over their heads. The late-cut was beneficial too, as the spinners dragged their length back. He retired with an even hundred to his name, off 228 balls. Towards the end of the day, Lad and Tare filled their boots too, putting on an unbroken 137 in 22 overs. Lad ended the day batting on 86, having hit seven sixes.Two worries for the New Zealanders will be the absence of reverse-swing, and the sameness of their spinners’ offerings, not as a group but individually. Perhaps preoccupied with getting their pace right for the expected rank turners, they kept bowling similar trajectories and similar angles through the day. Their release points and pace didn’t vary much. When Santner did slow up the odd delivery, he caused some indecision, once even drawing a chance, but dropped a return catch from Pawar, who was 45 at that point.Release points changed for the quicks with both Trent Boult and Doug Bracewell trying the round-the-wicket angle, but they couldn’t get much reverse swing. When Neil Wagner went to his trusted bouncers, the lack of pace off the pitch and friendly bounce rendered him ineffective.”The surface didn’t really break up and turn that much,” Bracewell said. “We are not really concerned at this stage. It is early on in the tour. They played really well. I definitely know our guys will take some learnings out of today.”We know it is going to be a different surface for the first Test. Wasn’t really any surprises [to be given a different surface for the warm-up game]. Whether it is a part of India trying to get us to not expect something that might be our way… we definitely expected something like this. You just get on with it.”