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William Porterfield, the Ireland captain, has said his team need to put Wednesday’s victory over England behind them as they take on India in another high-profile match on Sunday

Sharda Ugra in Bangalore05-Mar-2011Like everyone in the world of work, William Porterfield is heading into a weekend and wants to forget about what the middle of the week was like. Unlike for everyone else, Sunday will not be a day of rest for him, and he thinks putting the past behind is mandatory. “First of all, we have to put Wednesday behind us,” the Ireland captain said, just over 24 hours from the time he will walk out with India captain MS Dhoni for the toss of the World Cup game at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.Porterfield’s Wednesday was made up of the match that has put Ireland’s cricketers on the front pages of their newspapers back home and top of the mind of the cricketing public, particularly in the heated heart of the tournament’s biggest hosts. A match that should have been a regulation two points for one team has suddenly turned into a contest between a high-profile, high-coverage outfit regarded as among the biggest favourites to lift the World Cup and a squad who, from the tournament’s warm-up games up to Wednesday, have never left the field without a scrap. Victory over their historic and cultural rivals England on Wednesday has suddenly made Ireland genuine contenders for a quarter-final spot but Porterfield wants to brush all that under his team’s suddenly-airborne carpet.”We put in a good performance on Wednesday and created a wee bit of history there. Now we’ve got to start all over again,” Porterfield said. His voice carries the vocabulary and echo of Ireland’s strong, north-western ‘Derry’ accent that makes listeners from other parts of the cricket world lean forward, mouths open, in an attempt to both concentrate and comprehend. There is possibly no other cricket captain in the world who speaks in Porterfield’s quick bursts of rapid speech or can use the word ‘wee’ on the way to sounding tough and purposeful.He said, “We have a bigger challenge ahead of us, we’re playing India, we must take good things from the [Wednesday] game and the biggest things for ourselves is to go out fresh on the pitch and concentrate on what’s at hand.”Ireland’s captain William Porterfield said he uses his bowlers depending on who is performing on the day•AFP

The team, he said, wouldn’t be daunted by going out before a 39,000-strong crowd in Bangalore because their opening World Cup game in Dhaka had given them useful practice. “When we started the competition we knew we were playing two of the home nations in the group stage and they were going to be massive games.” Indian support in Bangalore he thought would be similar to the “pretty fanatical supporters” Ireland had encountered in Dhaka. “I don’t think that India’s going to be too different from that; there’s going to be a few more in tomorrow [Sunday] night than what there were in Bangladesh.” He paused for the briefest of seconds saying. “India in India is a pretty special occasion but it’s a challenge we are looking forward to.”What Ireland have braced themselves for is the possibility of a large 300-plus chase and Porterfield said it was why his team had chosen a long batting line-up, something facilitated by their many bowling options. The return of Andre Botha, their best death-overs bowler who was out of the England game due to an nth hour groin injury, would help the balance of the team but his absence now is not seen as critical as it may have been before the England match.”It didn’t really affect us because we’ve got so many options with the ball. Whoever comes up with the goods on the day, we just go with that. It could be that someone doesn’t bowl, but as long as the team is doing well players just have to deal with that.” He mentioned Paul Stirling’s ten overs versus England as an example of making the team’s options work. “He too pace off the ball, and bowled very well for us and it has kind of gone without mentioning. He took 1 for 45 off his ten through the middle overs which was crucial in helping restrict England.”Stirling is Porterfield’s opening partner, and was used as a bowler in the England match ahead of the team’s regular batting allrounder Kevin O’Brien, who went on to have what Porterfield would no doubt call a “wee” hand to play in the victory. With a poker face, Porterfield went on, “I don’t think Kevin was too upset with that [not bowling]. He would take 100 off 50 balls and not having to bowl any day.”Questioned several times about the pressure of the crowd, Porterfield was quick, bald and revealing in his summary of what he expected. “If you can’t go out there and get up for a game in front of 40-50,000 people, then I think there’s something wrong with you. Whether they are for you or against you, it doesn’t matter.”Win or lose on Sunday, Porterfield would want his team to hijack the name that the US’ University of Notre Dame gives all its sports teams. They call them the Fighting Irish.

Former Pakistan players were hailing the birth of a new era after the side’s first Test win over Australia in 15 years

Cricinfo staff24-Jul-2010Former Pakistan players were hailing the birth of a new era after the side’s first Test win over Australia in 15 years. Salman Butt’s men claimed a nervous, three-wicket triumph at Headingley to level the two-match series and provide hope for the future.”I can see the dawn of a new era in Pakistan cricket with this victory,” the former Test captain Moin Khan told The Associated Press. “Young players showed they can perform in the tough conditions of Headingley where the ball swung and seamed. The way the team has gelled under the new captain, it shows that we are now on the right track.”The win earned the players a US$6000 bonus and there were people dancing in the streets in Lahore and Peshawar to celebrate the success. Abdul Qadir, the former legspinner and chief selector, said the team should learn from the victory. “The chapter of Yousuf and Younis should be closed and even the rest of the senior players should be warned to either perform or be left out,” he said.Rashid Latif, another former captain, compared the bowling performances of Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif in the match with Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. “It is only after Wasim and Waqar that I have seen such a lethal bowling attack of Pakistan,” Latif said. “Aamer has injected a new life in the attack with his pace, while Asif’s line and length could tie down any world-class batsman.”There were words of caution, however, from Javed Miandad, who warned that the team should not get “carried away” by this success. “I congratulate the Pakistan team for their memorable victory. I also congratulate Salman Butt as he led the side to equalise the series. However, I would advise them that they should not get carried away and instead concentrate on the upcoming series against hosts England,” Miandad told PPI. “They [the batsmen] need to learn how to respond to different situations and learn from this match.”

Fast bowler desperate for another crack at international cricket after wash-out in Malahide

Matt Roller20-Sep-2025Nobody at Malahide was more disappointed than Sonny Baker when rain ruined the second of England’s three matches in Ireland on Friday. Two-and-a-half weeks on from a chastening ODI debut against South Africa, Baker was in line to win his first T20I cap and was “desperate” for a second crack at international cricket. Instead, he is crossing his fingers for sunshine on Sunday.At 22, Baker has emerged as a serious prospect this year, fast-tracked onto an England development contract after impressing for the Lions in Australia. He starred in the Hundred, with sharp new-ball spells to David Warner and Jonny Bairstow, and was widely considered a potential Ashes bolter had he made a positive first impression in an England shirt.Instead, what should have been the highlight of his young career quickly turned into a day to forget. With just 131 on the board after a dramatic batting collapse – Baker was last man out, bowled first-ball – he was asked to bowl the first over, running up the hill at Headingley. Aiden Markram duly hit three of the first five balls of his England career to the boundary.His second over went no better, with Markram crunching him for six on either side of the ground. Harry Brook kept him on, hoping a wicket would change things, but had to relent after his first four overs cost 56 runs. Baker’s second spell, after an end change, went slightly better, but 0 for 76 in seven overs were still the worst figures for an England ODI debutant.Baker receives his England cap from Jos Buttler•ECB via Getty Images

“It was obviously not exactly how I’d planned my debut going,” Baker said on Saturday, with a healthy dose of perspective. “Not all good experiences are enjoyable experiences… At the time, I was thinking, ’15 an over for my first three or four overs is not what I had in mind!’ But in the long run, it’ll be a good thing… The next one will definitely be better than that – or hopefully!”Jof [Jofra Archer] came over from cover to mid-off and was like, ‘How’s your heart rate, bud?’ But from an emotional management point of view, I actually felt okay at the time, all things considered. There was so much going on that I didn’t really have time to register, ‘Oh no, this is really not going how I wanted it to.’ It was like, ‘Well, I’ve just got to get on with it and deal with it.'”Overall, I was obviously a little bit disappointed after the series, because it’s not how you want your first game to go. I had a bit of time to reflect, but bounced back fairly quickly after that because I knew I was obviously in for this [tour].”Baker has quickly developed a reputation as a meticulous note-taker, who takes analysis very seriously and plans for each game in great detail. He was not too disheartened reviewing his debut, recounting one delivery to Markram at 89mph – “a little bit over the top of leg stump” – which disappeared over square leg for six.”Brooky was chatting to me after, and said, ‘What did you write down in your notebook after that game?’ I just said, ‘Shit happens,'” he recounted. “It was not the best I’ve bowled, but there’s days where I’ve bowled a lot worse than that and got four [wickets] for not very many. It’s just one of those games: you can score quickly at that ground.”Related

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His main takeaway was how little room for error there is at international level: “It’s just the execution. I knew what I was trying to bowl [to Markram], just cramping him for room at the top of leg stump. If you miss fractionally short or you miss fractionally full, it’s tough. Basically, your margins are just smaller… Batters are allowed to play good shots.”He hopes to be involved in next month’s white-ball tour to New Zealand and will then head to Australia in some capacity, most likely with the Lions. After only seven first-class appearances – all of them this year, including an unusual debut for the Lions – Baker is still an unknown commodity as a red-ball bowler: “That’s one of the exciting things about being young, isn’t it?”Brendon McCullum singled him out for his “infectious enthusiasm” after the series, and his debut does not appear to have affected him too negatively. He was back bowling for Hampshire on Blast Finals Day last weekend, where his personal highlight was an inswinging yorker to clean up Tom Kohler-Cadmore, and is now hoping to make his T20I debut in front of his parents and his girlfriend in Ireland.Baker was “very nervous” on the morning of his debut at Headingley, but hopes that he will be able to channel his emotions in Malahide – a more low-key setting, even with tickets sold out for Sunday’s match – and prove himself in an England shirt: “I’m desperate to get out there again… Hopefully, [Sunday] will be a good opportunity to get one under my belt.”

In the stands for England’s 2010 triumph, the opener is now integral to their World Cup defence 14 years on

Andrew Miller03-Jun-2024Fourteen years ago, in May 2010, Phil Salt was a kid in the stands at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, watching England’s cricketers parading their first piece of global silverware, after victory over Australia in the final of that year’s World T20. Now he’s back as an England star in his own right, seeking to launch his team’s defence of the same trophy at the same venue, when they take on Scotland in Bridgetown on Tuesday morning.By his own admission, Salt’s is not a homecoming to rival that of Jofra Archer or Chris Jordan, the two born-and-bred Bajans in England’s anticipated starting XI. Even so, having spent six formative years in Barbados – honing his love of cricket from the age of nine to 15, while his father Chris was working as a property developer – he acknowledges it’s an extraordinary turn of events.”To be back here and have the opportunity to play for England in a World Cup isn’t something I ever thought I’d be doing, but it’s certainly very special,” Salt said. “Everything about the place suits me. Pretty laid-back, a lot of cricket, a lot of sport, still got a lot of friends on the island. I don’t think there’s too many people that disagree that living in Barbados is a touch. But yeah, I loved it.”Salt played a small part in England’s T20 World Cup victory in Australia two years ago. After coming into the starting XI as a replacement for the injured Dawid Malan, he did not bat in the semi-final against India as Jos Buttler and Alex Hales romped to a ten-wicket victory, then made 10 from 9 balls at No.3 in a low-scoring final against Pakistan.Now, however, is very much his moment. Six months ago, he nailed his audition to be Buttler’s regular opening partner with back-to-back centuries against West Indies in Grenada and Trinidad, then ran hot at a crucial juncture of Kolkata Knight Riders’ recent IPL triumph, with a run of 290 runs from 144 balls in five innings, including 89 not out from 47 balls against Lucknow Super Giants.Salt had always had the ability to start an innings strongly – two years ago, he marked his T20I debut (coincidentally, also at Bridgetown) with 57 from 24 balls. And yet, he recognises his game has gone to a new level in recent months, to the extent that he enters this tournament as one of the most dangerous batters on display.”It’s been a combination of things,” he said. “The opportunity to gain more experience in international cricket has definitely been the biggest part of it in my own head. I’ve also had a look at where I’m strong, where I’m not, used the analysis, learnt from the coaches, to make those movements in my game.”I can’t put my finger on any one thing, but it’s maybe a mindset shift, that I want to be the person winning more games for England. You like to think [that people fear you] as an opening batter, but the moment you recognise that and you start thinking, ‘I’m the big guy I am’, the game’s always going to bite you. I try not to think about anything like that and keep it one ball at a time.”Salt’s form was integral to KKR’s third IPL title•BCCI

Another key facet of his growth, he says, has been the opportunity to bat alongside his England captain in the Hundred – an alliance that has been instrumental in Manchester Originals reaching the final for two years running. In 2022, Salt’s tally of 353 runs in ten innings was second only to Malan (377), while his 232 the following year may have been dwarfed by Buttler’s haul of 391, but they came at a blistering strike-rate of 194.95.The pair reprised their antics in an opening stand of 82 in 6.2 overs against Pakistan at The Oval on Thursday – England’s final warm-up ahead of the Scotland encounter. Though Salt admitted their partnership had taken a while to click, he felt the dynamic was now similar to the one he had enjoyed in the Vitality Blast with his former Sussex captain, and now England selector, Luke Wright.”[Luke] liked to take a few balls. So, my role at the time was just to get us off to a flyer,” Salt said. “That probably stood me in good stead for batting with someone like Jos.”We do have different styles. In my career I’ve always been the aggressor and I suppose I am the aggressor early on in this partnership. I feel like we both showcased it pretty well at The Oval the other night. I didn’t get a flyer, but we sort of hung in and then Jos went and then we dovetailed nicely.”It’s good because we both communicate a lot out there and we realise that when one goes, we feed the strike to the other person, so there’s no ego about it. It’s whoever goes first. We just communicate and it sounds really simple, but I’ve batted with a lot of people and it’s not always the case. So, it’s nice when you have that connection with your partner.”It remains to be seen whether it’s a partnership that can carry England all the way to their third T20 World Cup title. But, auspiciously for Salt, when they won the first of those back in 2010, it was once again the opening partnership that laid the foundations for everything that followed. As the impressionable youngster in the stands remembers well.Related

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“Craig Kieswetter was definitely one [role-model],” Salt said, recalling the Somerset opener who burst to prominence alongside Michael Lumb, after the pair were hastily thrown together on the eve of the tournament, and contributed a match-winning half-century in the final.”He was a bit of an unknown at the time and then he came out, and I was in awe of him. I thought he was brilliant, he took some incredible catches and the way he played, he was certainly someone I tried to model myself on at the time. I watched a lot of good cricket here. People like Chris Gayle … when I was a kid, anybody who hit the ball hard or kept, I’d watch them on YouTube and just try and try and emulate them.”And though he played down any similarities between the class of 2010 and the team he’s fronting up for now, Salt did recall the highlight of his day out at that original final. If he gets to emulate it this time around, he really will have fulfilled his childhood dream.”Colly [Paul Collingwood] came past up this stand here – the Hall and Griffith where I was sat upstairs watching the final – with the trophy and said, ‘here, touch it while you can’. So, I got a touch of the trophy that day. That’s the thing that always sticks with me when I think about that day.”

Will become the first female standing umpire in men’s first-class cricket in England and Wales

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Sep-2023Sue Redfern will become the first female umpire to stand in a men’s first-class match in England and Wales after being appointed to officiate the LV= Insurance County Championship match between Glamorgan and Derbyshire in Cardiff.Redfern, who became the first full-time professional female umpire on the ECB list last year, has previously made history by serving as the fourth umpire in a men’s T20 international, also at Cardiff in 2021, and becoming the first woman to stand in a Vitality Blast match in June.Related

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“I have worked hard to earn this opportunity and I look forward to taking the next step in my career by umpiring a men’s first-class match,” Redfern said. “That has been an ambition of mine for a long time and, while it is a new challenge that will test me, I know that I am ready for it.”Umpiring has become such a fulfilling part of my life and while my focus is on being the best umpire I can be, I hope my journey can also be an inspiration to others.”When I started umpiring I had to balance other work commitments with my umpiring, but it is now a career I can solely focus on. I am proud of the steps I have taken and that I am proving that opportunities now exist in umpiring for anyone if they’re willing to work hard and dedicate themselves.”

“Some balls hit the gloves, others scooted low at shoe-height from the same spot,” a player who was involved in the game told ESPNcricinfo

Shashank Kishore21-Dec-2022The second day of the Ranji Trophy fixture between Railways and Punjab at Karnail Singh Stadium in New Delhi had to be suspended after the surface was deemed “dangerous and unfit for play” by the match officials.As many as 24 wickets had fallen in a little under four sessions of play in just 103 overs; 20 of those went to the seamers. Punjab, who had taken a 12-run first-innings lead after posting 162, were tottering on 18 for 4 in their second innings when play was halted.As the first drinks interval neared on Wednesday, on-field umpires K Madanagopal and Rajeev Godara apprised match referee Youraj Singh of the situation, before both captains – Mandeep Singh (Punjab) and Karn Sharma (Railways) – were spoken to. It was eventually decided that the match would start afresh on Thursday on a new surface, adjacent to the one the game had started on. This means the Elite Group D contest has now effectively been reduced to a two-day fixture. A fresh toss will take place with teams permitted to change their XIs.”They could have repaired the surface and resumed on the third day from where the match was stopped, but the match officials decided to play on a fresh surface,” a Railways team official said. “We were in a fantastic position but will possibly lose out on a chance to win because of this decision.”ESPNcricinfo understands that the ground authorities had wanted to prepare a grassy surface, but early-winter chill and heavy dew had hampered preparations in the lead-up to the game.”The pitch was uneven. Some balls hit the gloves, others scooted low at shoe-height from the same spot,” a player told ESPNcricinfo. “It was a green wicket but the match officials decided it was too uneven and inconsistent for play to continue.”The truncated nature of the contest left both Railways and Punjab with the prospect of going two rounds without an outright result, something that didn’t look like a possibility when play started on Wednesday. Punjab were denied by bad light and had to settle for first-innings honours against Chandigarh in the opening round, while Railways were handed a 194-run loss by Vidarbha despite Karn’s career-best 8 for 38.Surfaces at the Karnail Singh Stadium have come under the scanner in the past too. In 2011, BCCI’s technical committee had put the venue on a watchlist for producing poor pitches.In 2012, it was barred from hosting matches for two years, after the committee had found the local curators to have deliberately left the surface underprepared to help Railways try and force outright results in a bid to progress further in the Ranji Trophy. At the time, Railways had temporarily shifted their home base to Bhubaneswar, before their original home venue was reinstated in 2014.

Bans backdated to October 16, 2019, when the two UAE players were provisionally suspended

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Mar-2021Mohammad Naveed and Shaiman Anwar, the UAE players who the ICC had found guilty of offences relating to attempted match-fixing during the 2019 T20 World Cup qualifying tournament, have been banned from all cricket for eight years each by the game’s governing body. The bans have been backdated to October 16, 2019, when they were provisionally suspended.Following a hearing and presentation of written and oral arguments, the ICC’s anti-corruption tribunal found the two senior UAE players guilty of:Related

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• Article 2.1.1 – for being party to an agreement or effort to fix or contrive or otherwise influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or other aspect(s) of a match or matches at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019.
• Article 2.4.4 – for failing to disclose to the ACU full details of any approaches or invitations received to engage in corrupt conduct under the Code at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019.

Additionally, Naveed, the former UAE captain, was also found guilty of breaching two counts of the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) Anti-Corruption Code for Participants of the T10 League 2019:

• Article 2.1.1 – for being party to an agreement or effort to fix or contrive or otherwise influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or other aspect(s) of a match or matches at the T10 League 2019.
• Article 2.4.4 – for failing to disclose to the ACU full details of any approaches or invitations received to engage in corrupt conduct under the Code at the T10 League 2019.

The two had been pronounced guilty of of corruption by the ICC in January this year.”Mohammad Naveed and Shaiman Anwar represented their adopted country, the UAE at the highest level in cricket. Naveed was the captain and leading wicket taker. Anwar was the opening bat. Both had long international careers and were well versed in the threat from match fixers,” Alex Marshall, the general manager of the ICC’s integrity unit, said in a statement. “That they both chose to engage with this corrupt activity was a cynical betrayal of their positions, their teammates, and all supporters of UAE cricket.”I am pleased that the independent Tribunal has imposed significant bans from all forms of cricket and this should serve as a warning to any cricketer who considers taking the wrong path.”In a statement released shortly after the ICC verdict became public, the ECB acknowledged the work done by the authorities, and reiterated that it remained “firm in its stance denouncing any activities of corruption and those undertaken by the players in this anti-corruption case”.As pointed out by Marshall, the two were among UAE’s most experienced international cricketers. Anwar, just past his 42nd birthday, has been their highest run-getter across the ODI and T20I formats, and 33-year-old Naveed their most prolific wicket-taker in ODIs and second from top in T20Is..Naveed and Anwar were charged under the ICC anti-corruption code in October 2019, and suspended days before the start of the qualifiers in the UAE. Naveed, who was UAE’s captain at the time, was stood down from the post. At the time, Naveed had accepted that he had failed to report a suspicious approach during the tournament, but claimed he had ended the conversation when he realised the person he was meeting was a “fixer”.

The Renegades folded for 60 after the defending champions had taken 130 off their last 10 overs

Andrew McGlashan13-Dec-2020Sydney Sixers 4 for 205 (Philippe 95, Silk 45*) beat Melbourne Renegades 60 (Dwarshuis 4-13) by 145 runsJosh Philippe is still waiting for his first Australia cap, but it can’t be far away. He fell five runs short of a maiden T20 hundred as his superbly-paced 95 set up defending champions Sydney Sixers for their first win of the season, before the Melbourne Renegades put in an embarrassing batting display to slump to the heaviest defeat in the BBL.Philippe, who struggled to get into top gear and was dropped on 24, formed stands of 78 with stand-in captain Daniel Hughes and a destructive 70 in five overs with Jordan Silk who finished with 45 off 19 deliveries. Despite losing a wicket to the first ball of the Power Surge, the Sixers took 32 off the two overs – the best so far in the tournament.The Renegades only avoided beating their own record for the lowest total in BBL history (57) when Kane Richardson connected with a late six but two balls later he was cleaned up by Ben Dwarshuis who finished with 4 for 13.A hug from the coachThe maturing nature of Philippe’s batting stood out last season when he was a central figure in the Sixers’ title – including the match-winning innings in the rain-reduced final – and it was on display again here. He wasn’t slow at any point but things weren’t quite flowing as he sat on 27 off 24 balls after eight overs. By then the Sixers had lost two wickets, including the in-form James Vince who edged a sharp delivery from Richardson, and Philippe had been given his life when Beau Webster spilled a caught-and-bowled chance in the seventh over.But as the innings approached the halfway mark, Philippe found his touch, ending the 10th over with a six and a four against Jon Holland. During drinks, and the tactical chat, he got a hug from coach Greg Shipperd which suggested things had gone to plan. Two overs later he had a half-century off 36 balls.A proper surgeThe Power Surge has been a mixed bag so far with wickets often falling in the quest to make the most of those two valuable overs. The Sixers were building nicely when they called it at the start of the 15th over but, first ball, Hughes cut a short delivery from Peter Hatzoglou to backward point and you wondered if it would pay off for them. Well, it most certainly did. Hatzoglou’s over went for a useful 12, but it was the next one, from the experienced Richardson, that really did the damage as Silk, who had struggled to 13 off 12 in the opening match against the Hurricanes, struck five fours in six deliveries. The Sixers were charging into the death overs.Philippe short, but others go longSilk continued to locate the middle of the bat including a leg-side six that registered 95 metres just as he was talking to the TV commentators. Philippe had the strike for the final over, needing five for his century, and though he middled his drive off Josh Lalor, he picked out Aaron Finch at short cover. Dan Christian sent his first delivery into the stands as Lalor struggled to land his yorker and another Silk boundary brought up the 200 from the penultimate ball of the innings. In all, the last 10 overs had cost 130 runs.Renegades nowhereIt was a tough chase, but a forgettable attempt. From the moment Finch picked out mid-off in the second over things came off the rails. A standout feature was the Sixers’ fielding: Steve O’Keefe (third man), Carlos Brathwaite (third man) and Silk (deep square) all made brilliant outfield takes which typified a team on song. After his first two overs, Dwarshuis had figures of 3 for 6 and Brathwaite helped himself to a brace in his opening over. At one stage five wickets fell in 13 deliveries with the Renegades appearing set for a new low before they at least avoided that.

Managing director of England men’s cricket believes added responsibility will help all-rounder’s rise

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jul-2019Ashley Giles believes Ben Stokes’ reinstatement as England vice-captain ahead of the Ashes is the logical next step in his development as a Test allrounder.In announcing their 14-man squad for the first Test against Australia starting at Edgbaston August 1, the ECB also revealed chairman Colin Graves had approved Stokes’ re-appointment on the recommendation of Ashley Giles and chief executive Tom Harrison.Stokes had been stripped of the role during investigations into the fight outside a Bristol night club in 2017, over which he was ultimately found not guilty of affray. Stokes subsequently faced an ECB disciplinary hearing, which resulted in him being fined and banned for eight international matches in December 2018, a punishment that he had already served in missing five months of cricket, including the 2017-18 Ashes.Giles, the managing director of England men’s cricket, said Stokes was highly respected within the team environment.”He is a natural leader and has a great understanding of the game,” Giles said. “He will offer tremendous support to Joe Root as part of the senior playing group.”Over the past 18 months, he has come a long way and has shown a great degree of maturity on and off the field.”I have no doubts that the added responsibility will also help him to continue his rise as a world class all-rounder in the Test arena.”Stokes will take over the vice-captaincy from Jos Buttler.Stokes scored in the 70s and 80s four times in his last five innings at the World Cup and was Player of the Match in the final at Lord’s after guiding England’s run-chase with an unbeaten 84 from 98 balls, as well as adding a crucial 8 from 3 in the decisive Super Over.Jofra Archer, who is in line to make his Test debut after also being named in England’s Ashes squad, credited Stokes with offering some calming words when he was chosen to bowl to New Zealand in their Super Over, with Stokes having been through a similar experience – although with a different outcome – when charged with bowling the final over of the 2016 T20 World Cup final against West Indies in Kolkata.”If we had lost today, I don’t know what I would have done tomorrow,” Archer said at the time. “But Ben Stokes told me even before the over: ‘Win or lose, today does not define you. Everyone believes in you.’ He came to talk to me because of Kolkata. He probably went through the same emotions but was on the losing side.”

Khulna Titans ran down a 161-run target with 10 balls to spare to rise to second position in the 2017-18 BPL, beating Chittagong Vikings by five wickets

The Report by Mohammad Isam17-Nov-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBCB

Khulna Titans ran down a 161-run target with 10 balls to spare to rise to second position in the 2017-18 Bangladesh Premier League, beating Chittagong Vikings by five wickets. It was the fourth defeat in six matches for Chittagong, who are quickly slipping out of the reckoning for a spot in the knockouts.Rilee Rossouw razed Chittagong in the early parts of the chase, hammering 49 off 26 balls. Rossouw was part of a middle-overs slide that saw Khulna lose three wickets for 25 runs, before Mahmudullah and Ariful Haque added 70 runs for the fifth wicket. Ariful, who made 34 off 24 balls, fell with 12 runs required, but Carlos Brathwaite tonked a four and a six to level the scores. Mahmudullah then scorched a four through cow corner to hit the winning runs and stay unbeaten on 48 off 35 balls.Earlier, Anamul Haque top-scored for Chittagong with 62 after they were put in to bat. Like Khulna, Chittagong lost ground, moving from 101 for 1 to 107 for 4. Stiaan van Zyl and Najibullah Zadran then shared a 50-run stand for the fifth wicket to lift Chittagong to 160 for 5 in 20 overs.Zadran made 24 off 16 balls, while van Zyl was unbeaten on a 15-ball 23. Abu Jayed was Khulna’s most impressive bowler, finishing with 3 for 26, although he very well could have had five. In a shoddy fielding performance, Khulna dropped six catches, Mahmudullah, the captain, culpable of four of those lapses.Anamul makes his chance countAnamul Haque’s lack of batting opportunities in the tournament ended when he walked out at No. 3 with 19 overs left in the innings. He started out by offsetting the early loss of his captain Luke Ronchi with a 95-run second-wicket stand with Soumya Sarkar. In the process, Anamul raised his first fifty in T20 cricket since November last year. His brace of pulled sixes against Shafiul Islam and a straight one off Carlos Brathwaite especially stood out.Three overs after reaching his fifty, Anamul nicked off to the wicketkeeper, finishing with 62 off 47 balls. His innings was a study in contrast to that of his partner Sarkar, who clawed to 32 off 34 balls, and survived a number of chances before being caught at long-on.Hard handsKhulna’s horrid day on the field began in the first ball of the match, when Rossouw spilt a tough offering from Ronchi. Fortunately for Khulna, the Chittagong captain got out later that same over when he skied a catch to Mahmudullah at mid-on.Then, in the 11th over, Mahmudullah let Sarkar’s reverse-sweep burst right through his fingers at square-leg. Sarkar survived two more chances in the 13th over. Ariful Haque put down an extremely tough chance after being slightly late to get around the ball. Sarkar persisted with the reverse sweep and sent one straight to Mahmudullah three deliveries later only for the captain to shell it again.More lapses followed in the slog overs. Jayed had two chances go down off his bowling in the 18th over. First, Michael Klinger dropped Najibullah Zadran at extra cover, before Mahmudullah couldn’t close his fingers on Stiaan van Zyl’s uppish shot at mid-on despite timing his jump well.The six-heavy initiationPlaying their first match, van Zyl and Zadran created an immediate impact with their big hits. They struck two sixes each in the last four overs, Zadran clearing the cover and long-off boundaries while van Zyl went comfortably over midwicket and long-off. It meant Chittagong managed a decent recovery, collecting 44 runs in their last four overs.Rossouw’s early burstThe first six of the chase took just two balls coming, Rossouw blasting Sikandar Raza over long-on. Khulna started the chase requiring a little more than eight an over, but Rossouw slashed it down to under 7.5 in just four overs. Rossouw was relentless in his assault, regardless of reprieves and wickets at the other end. Michael Klinger fell in the second over, playing against the turn of Sunzamul Islam’s left-arm spin, but Rossouw responded with a brace of fours against Taskin Ahmed in the next over. Ronchi missed a stumping chance when Rossouw, on 30, charged down to Islam; Rossouw’s response was a swept four through square leg and a straight six over the bowler’s head. It took an arm ball from Al-Amin to end his charge, as it skidded on to beat the inside edge and clatter the stumps.Mahmudullah, Ariful settle chaseWhen Nazmul Hossain Shanto fell halfway through the 10th over, beautifully caught by Tanbir Hayder off his own bowling, Khulna were wobbling at 79 for 4. Mahmudullah, however, had just settled in nicely, having crunched a straight six in the previous over, sent down by Al-Amin.With Ariful supporting him ably, Mahmudullah rebuilt Khulna’s innings quickly. Apart from finding timely boundaries, the duo ran the singles hard and kept the score ticking, a rare sight for a Bangladesh pair. With 44 needed off the last five overs, Ariful hit Hayder for back-to-back sixes to bring the equation down to just over a run a ball. That ended up being the turning point as the balance never tilted thereafter. Ariful followed it up by slogging Jordan over midwicket to bring the equation down to 18 off the final three, before Brathwaite hastened their march towards the finish line.