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On a typically pacy Perth pitch, the SA bowlers set the game up before their batters completed the job

Firdose Moonda30-Oct-20222:18

Du Plessis: Been impressed with Markram over the last 12 months

South Africa moved to the top of the group 2 points table and boosted their chances of making the semi-finals after recovering from 24 for 3 to successfully chase 134 against India. Aiden Markram and David Miller were the architects of South Africa’s triumph, scoring half-centuries each and sharing a 76-run fourth-wicket stand.On a pacy pitch, South Africa’s quicks set the tone with hard lengths and plenty of speed. They reduced India to 49 for 5 in the ninth over before Suryakumar Yadav held the innings together with his 11th T20I half-century but he lacked support. He shared a 52-run partnership with Dinesh Karthik, who scored only six of those runs. Lungi Ngidi and Wayne Parnell were the main beneficiaries of South Africa’s approach and took seven wickets between them but all the quicks were impressive. Anrich Nortje brought the heat on a chilly evening and clocked over 150kph with regularity while Kagiso Rabada, for a change, played only a supporting role.India’s attack were also impressive as they made use of fuller lengths and found swing. Some of the differences between the two sides lay here. South Africa bowled 50 short or short-of-a-good-length deliveries and took six wickets for 34; India bowled 48 and took one for 53.Related

• Suryakumar interview: 'I wanted to do things my way'

• Fleming: 'Hard to find an area of weakness' in Suryakumar's game

• Rohit on giving Ashwin the 18th over – 'I have seen what happens in the last over with spinners'

In the end, both captains also had to gamble on how they used their spinner. Temba Bavuma can’t catch a break with the bat and failed again but made the right decision to only use Keshav Maharaj for three overs, while giving Markram one. Between them, they conceded 33 runs in four overs. Rohit Sharma bowled R Ashwin out and used him in the 18th over. By then, Markram was out but Miller was still at the crease and South Africa needed 25 runs from 18 balls. Ashwin’s over cost 13 runs and though he dismissed Tristan Stubbs, Miller finished it off for South Africa.This result has big implications for the rest of the group, particularly Pakistan, whose semi-final hopes are hanging by a thread. South Africa’s win means that not only do Pakistan have to beat South Africa on Thursday but also hope either India lose to Bangladesh and Zimbabwe or South Africa are beaten by the Netherlands.2:23

Faf du Plessis: ‘Suryakumar Yadav’s composure stands out, never seen him frantic’

Ngidi’s double-strike in the powerplay

India had a curious start against the swinging ball and took 10 deliveries to get off the mark – the longest in their T20I history – before both openers breached the big boundaries. Rohit Sharma hooked Rabada over fine leg and KL Rahul whipped Parnell over midwicket but neither scored too much more. Ngidi was introduced in the fifth over and made an immediate impact with hard lengths. Rohit mis-hit his first delivery over the covers but it fell safely. Then, he was cramped on the pull, the ball caught the splice of the bat and went straight up, giving Ngidi enough time to saunter across the square and take the catch. And Ngidi was just getting started. At the end of that over, Rahul was foxed by the extra bounce and edged a ball he looked to guide to third man. Markram was perfectly positioned, almost on the edge of the ring, at slip to take the catch. India were 26 for 2 and finished the powerplay on 33 for 2.KG’s catches
Virat Kohli mounted a brief riposte with back-to-back boundaries against Ngidi but when he tried to take on the bouncer, he got it wrong. Kohli sent a pull towards fine leg where Rabada ran around the corner from a deep-square position to take a good running catch, as casually as you like. Like Ngidi, Rabada also went one better. In Ngidi’s next over, Hardik Pandya took his chances against the short ball and pulled to fine leg. He connected well but not well enough and did not get the distance he was looking for. Rabada did and ran from the boundary rope and leapt forward and took a diving catch with both hands, even as both feet left the floor. India were 49 for 5.Reach for the SKY

Suryakumar scored more than half of India’s total runs and more boundaries than any of their other batters combined. Apart from his opening boundary – an edge that flew over first slip off Nortje – he timed and placed his shots well and took on the short ball with a level of discernment. He used his wrists particularly well, targeted Maharaj, which forced Bavuma to turn to Markram for an over, and then dented Ngidi’s figures when he took 11 runs off his final over. Overall, Suryakumar scored 25 runs off the 12 balls he faced from Maharaj. His 68 came at a strike rate of 170, while the rest of India’s line-up contributed 57 runs at a strike rate of 71.25. In the process, Suryakumar became the highest run-scorer in T20Is in 2022, going past Mohammad Rizwan.Aiden Markram and David Miller put up a 76-run stand to settle South Africa’s chase•ICC via Getty Images

Swing for Singh
While South Africa used bounce to make their early incisions, India relied on swing. Arshdeep Singh struck with his first ball, which swung away from Quinton de Kock, who chased it and nicked off. Two balls later, he hit Rilee Rossouw on the back pad. Arshdeep thought the movement was taking the ball wide of leg stump but Rohit disagreed. He reviewed, with ball-tracking showing that it would go on to hit the top of middle and leg. Rossouw was dismissed for his third duck in five innings, all at the hands of Arshdeep. In between that, Rossouw has scored two centuries. In nine deliveries, South Africa were 3 for 2 and things didn’t get much better. Bavuma’s blues continued as he tried to ramp Mohammed Shami over the wicketkeeper but inside-edged to Karthik instead. South Africa ended the powerplay at 24 for 3. Markram makes his move
South Africa limped to the halfway mark in their innings on 40 for 3 and needed to change gears after the drinks break. Markram took on Pandya’s short balls and found the boundary twice in three balls before putting pressure on India fielders by responding to Miller’s call for a quick single. Miller tapped the ball to backward point, Suryakumar swooped in and shied at the striker’s end but missed. Then Markam took on Ashwin, advanced down the pitch and hit a carrom ball for four before heaving it to deep midwicket where Kohli juggled and then dropped the catch. Markam was on 35 at the time. With 25 runs scored off the 11th and 12th over combined, India were forced to bring back a frontline seamer early. Shami’s third over only cost three runs but India squandered a third opportunity for a wicket. Miller fended a delivery and Markram was already two-thirds of the way down, so Miller ran. Rohit had three stumps to aim at, but missed. Ashwin continued and so did Markram, but not before Miller cleared his front leg to hit Ashwin for six over long-off. Markram then sent him over long-on for six more. South Africa scored 45 runs in the four overs after drinks to set themselves up for the win.

Gladiators allrounder stretchered off to an ambulance as second innings got underway

Sreshth Shah11-Jun-2021Playing his first match of PSL 2021, Quetta Gladiators’ Andre Russell was struck on the helmet while batting and later replaced by fast bowler Naseem Shah under the concussion-sub rule at the innings break. The decision to replace the allrounder with Naseem did not seem to go down well with Islamabad United; their captain Shadab Khan could be seen talking to umpire Aleem Dar before the second innings began.During the first over of the second innings, Russell was stretchered out from the dressing room to an ambulance. He had received the blow to the head in the 14th over of Gladiators’ innings. He hit two sixes off Muhammad Musa in that over before he was slow on a pull shot to a bouncer from the pacer. After being struck, Russell was checked by a physio and allowed to continue batting, although he was out next ball, caught at third man.The rules on concussion substitutes state that any concussed player can be replaced by someone outside the XI, as long as the match referee agrees that the incoming player is a like-for-like replacement. Although Russell is a pace-bowling allrounder and Naseem is a specialist fast bowler, the decision to allow Naseem as a replacement might have been based on Russell’s inability to deliver four overs in Gladiators’ bowling innings.Naseem opened the bowling for Gladiators but, defending 133, conceded four fours in a 19-run first over. Gladiators went on to lose inside 10 overs, the first time in PSL history a side has won by the halfway mark. This was Gladiators’ first match after PSL 2021’s restart in Abu Dhabi.

Derbyshire, Durham will be first major English sides to tour Zimbabwe since 2004

Matt Roller14-Feb-2020Derbyshire and Durham will become the first major English teams to travel to Zimbabwe since 2004 next month, with both sides accepting invitations from Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) to go to the country for pre-season tours.England have not played an international fixture against Zimbabwe since 2007, and ZC’s director of cricket Hamilton Masakadza claimed that the importance of the counties’ pre-season visits “cannot be overemphasised”.ALSO READ: ‘Smaller teams want to play more but the cash isn’t there’ – Alistair CampbellDerbyshire, whose head coach Dave Houghton played 22 Tests and 63 ODIs for Zimbabwe between 1983 and 1997, will play two T20s, two one-day games and two three-day games against a Zimbabwe Select XI, while Durham will play two three-day fixtures against a ZC Chairman’s XI.”Hopefully this tour will open the door for further English county tours in future, which may help Zimbabwe cricket get back on its feet,” Houghton said. “We will be facing some strong opposition during the tour, which will provide ideal preparation for the 2020 season.”We also want to give the players some life experiences because as cricketers, we can become solely focused on the game sometimes and it’s important make the most of these opportunities.”No county team has visited Zimbabwe since Worcestershire in 1997, and Masakadza said that ZC were “thrilled to be hosting Derbyshire and Durham”.”The magnitude and importance of their visit cannot be overemphasised,” he said. “While our players will learn big lessons and gain invaluable experience from playing against such top opposition, we believe this marks the beginning of a new chapter that will hopefully see more English county teams touring Zimbabwe as that will go a long way in preparing our players for the rigours of high-level and international cricket.”Relations between the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe deteriorated significantly during Robert Mugabe’s presidency, primarily due to consistent human rights abuses, leading to several high-profile cricketing disputes.In 2003, England decided to pull out of their scheduled World Cup game in Harare following death threats, though decided to fulfil an ODI series in the country a year later despite opposition from the British government.Michael Vaughan led England’s last tour to Zimbabwe in 2004•AFP via Getty Images

The teams played one another at the World T20 in 2007 but a year later Andy Burnham, the minister for culture, media and sport wrote to the ECB to instruct them to cancel a tour by Zimbabwe to England scheduled for 2009, and Zimbabwe pulled out of the World T20 weeks later after being informed that their players may not be granted visas.Since Mugabe was removed from power following a successful coup in November 2017, relations between the UK and Zimbabwe have improved significantly. The UK’s Africa minister Rory Stewart visited the country soon after Mugabe’s fall from power, with a foreign ministry spokesperson describing relations as “cordial” last month.Whether the tours have any wider significance in paving the way for England to travel to Zimbabwe remains to be seen. The ECB declined to comment on the developments, and there are no fixtures scheduled between the two sides in the current cycle of the Future Tours Programme, which runs until the end of 2023.Zimbabwe will not compete in the T20 World Cup in October, having had their ICC membership suspended due to political inference soon before the qualifying tournament, and the teams were not drawn to play one another in the 2020-22 ODI Super League.Zimbabwe’s players were recently forced to take a pay cut, while several games in the Logan Cup, the domestic first-class competition, were postponed without notice.

Matt Renshaw’s dismissal for 71 meant that his parents did not need to make a trip across Brisbane to get to the ground

Brydon Coverdale in Brisbane15-Dec-2016Midway through the second session, Matt Renshaw danced down the pitch and shovelled Yasir Shah over midwicket for three. Already Renshaw had raised the bat to his home crowd upon reaching his maiden Test half-century. Now he was moving into the 70s. A hometown Test hundred was beginning to seem within his reach. And a cross-town dash was starting to look necessary for his parents, Ian and Alison.The Renshaws had been in Adelaide for their son’s Test debut last month, and might have been expected to be in the crowd for his first Test at his home ground. But instead they were several kilometres away, watching Renshaw’s sister Hannah graduate from her Masters of Architecture degree at the University of Queensland.”Matthew’s had his debut in Adelaide, so we’ll be there, very, very proud of what she [Hannah] has done,” Alison Renshaw told earlier this week. Ian Renshaw added that Matt was perhaps relieved not to have to sit through his sister’s three-hour ceremony: “But as we said, ‘we’ve waited three hours for you to bat and then you’ve been out first ball’.”At stumps, having fallen for 71 when he edged behind off Wahab Riaz, Renshaw explained that he understood his parents’ prioritising.”They came to Adelaide and Hannah’s graduation is a really big thing for her, so I think it’s good that they went and saw her,” Renshaw said at stumps. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t still be in when they finished there and they couldn’t head over.”What would it have taken for them to rush across Brisbane and find their way into the Gabba?”They told me I needed to be 80 not out at the dinner break, but I couldn’t do that. I let them down,” he joked.There was, however, one “Renshaw” in the crowd. Some time ago, Renshaw had purchased a ticket for the Gabba Test, not expecting to be part of Australia’s side. He was meant to be sitting with a group of friends from the Toombul Cricket Club, where Renshaw plays in Brisbane, and some of those mates chose to honour his call-up by filling his seat with a mannequin adorned with a print-out of Renshaw’s face.”It was a bit strange seeing my face on a mannequin when I was out there batting,” Renshaw said. “It probably took my mind off the game for a little bit, but it was good fun from the boys.”

Jack Leach claimed six second-innings wickets to propel Somerset into the midst of the County Championship title race

David Hopps at Headingley14-Sep-2016
ScorecardJack Leach claimed six second-innings wickets to end Yorkshire’s hopes•Getty Images

There was to be no heroic resistance from Yorkshire to protect their claims to a third successive Championship title: Jack Leach saw to that. Instead, Somerset completed a victory by 10 wickets that left all eyes turned to events at Old Trafford. If Middlesex defeat Lancashire by Thursday evening, the title is as good as theirs. If Lancashire do not succumb, however, then Middlesex, Somerset and Yorkshire will contest what could still be a wonderful climax to the Championship season next week.Somerset, by virtue of a win achieved with a day and 8.3 overs to spare, have cut the margin to second-placed Yorkshire to a single point. Middlesex could lead by 20 points if they beat Lancashire. The advantage, variously, would reduce to nine points if they drew, and four if they lost.

Rogers plays down Leach England chances

Chris Rogers, Somerset’s captain: “Jack is full of confidence and has been one of the chief beneficiaries of playing on more turning surfaces. At the beginning the season he would never have imagined he would have had this sort of season, but now give him the ball and it happens.
“I am still a big believer that you need more than one good season to play for England. With Jack, I think his game’s in order, I think emotionally he still has a bit of a way to go and I don’t think he’s be upset with me saying that.
“He is still a young guy, he has only ever been in Somerset and the challenges in international cricket are a lot more difficult. If they pick him then good luck to him but they’d better look after him.”
Jason Gillespie, Yorkshire coach: “I thought Jake Lehmann was outstanding and played a fine hand but we need to improve our batting next season. When you are regularly 40 for 3 it puts you under the cosh and some solutions need to be found. Whatever happens at Lord’s next week we will prepare well and try to play our best cricket and be aggressive and positive.”

Somerset, still without a Championship title in their history, feared relegation in early season. Now Taunton’s pubs and cafes, the streets and the shops are full of chatter about whether this can be their year. This is not an exaggeration: in no county – not even in Yorkshire – is cricket more widely discussed as part of the daily currency of life. And the man they will be chattering about more than anyone will be “Jack”. Taunton-born, he is fast achieving first-name status in the West Country.Leach led Somerset from the field at Headingley, slightly stiff-legged, with figures of 6 for 64 in a season that has been beyond his wildest dreams. He now has 58 Championship wickets at 22.60 and has harvested five wickets in an innings in four successive Championship matches.He took six of the seven Yorkshire wickets to fall on the third day, including Jake Lehmann, whose 116 was chiefly responsible for making Somerset bat again, but even here there was disappointment as Lehmann confirmed he has been summoned back to South Australia and misses the final game.Lehmann’s first Yorkshire century came on the ground where his father, Darren, remains revered. He possesses a gun-toting drive through extra cover and a moustache that would make him a natural as Charles Bronson’s sidekick in an old-time Western. Leach might have claimed Lehmann earlier, on 60, but he was merely winged as Tom Abell could not hold on at short leg.Leach continues to dominate the season in a way not even he can have imagined in April. In civvies, walking through the gates of Taunton, he would not easily be spotted as a professional sportsman. People might wonder if he had come from the council to check on Health & Safety requirements, or had popped over the road from Coopers Associates to discuss the small print of the ground-naming rights with the chief executive.There have been many times at Somerset when both the player himself and his county wondered if he would make the grade. In his schooldays, he was a contemporary of Jos Buttler who rather dominated attention and, on his first-class debut for Cardiff UCCE, Somerset hit him to all parts. He does not fit the mould of the physically-imposing modern cricketer and he is all the more watchable for that: Somerset have a talent for producing character cricketers.Thin of hair, tidy of beard, with few claims to athleticism and one of the few professionals to play in spectacles, he runs in with a little hop of his left foot and a slightly apologetic air. But when a wicket comes – and he took the last six – he celebrates a wicket with the individuality of an offbeat comedian at the Edinburgh fringe.He has found himself under serious discussion for a place on England’s Test tours of Bangladesh and India – and England should certainly find room for one out-and-out specialist in the squad. The advent of turning pitches has shown that England can produce spinners as long as they are not subjugated by the wrong sort of surfaces.At 57 for 3, still 188 behind, and with two days remaining, Yorkshire’s chance of recovery was slim. A misty morning brought hope for Somerset’s bowlers, but early swing or seam did not materialise and, after Adam Lyth left in exasperation to a leg-side strangle against Craig Overton, it was the spin of Leach that became more prominent as the day developed.Leach had been allowed one exploratory over before Lyth’s dismissal, turning one sharply enough down the leg-side for Ryan Davies to concede four byes, and although Somerset returned to an all-pace attack after Lyth’s dismissal, it soon became evident that his self-deprecating spin was the way forward.Leach’s dismissal of Adil Rashid encapsulated his fine season, as he drew Rashid into a hunched advance, and found the turn to beat his outside edge for Davies to complete the stumping. Abell atoned for his earlier error by catching Andy Hodd off bat and pad and Tim Bresnan’s strokeless resistance, which communicated Yorkshire’s determination to put the batting excesses of the first day behind them, ended when he was bowled, playing back.That was to be Somerset’s last success for two hours as Liam Plunkett joined Lehmann in an eighth-wicket stand of 101. The second new ball brought no benefit and Plunkett’s handsome straight drive against Overton put Yorkshire into the lead. Somerset’s frailty chasing small targets gained a passing mention. But Leach responded once more, removing Lehmann lbw, snaffling a return catch from Jack Brooks and, finally, ending what with the last pair at the crease had become Plunkett’s all-or-nothing hitting with the aid of Marcus Trescothick’s slip catch.Abell and Trescothick knocked off the 41 required and, as Yorkshire’s fielders trooped vanquished from the field with disgruntled members rose from their seats, the scoreboard flashed up “Thank you Dizzy”, complete with a smiling picture of their coach, Jason Gillespie. The office staff lay in wait for a few celebratory drinks. It had the makings of an awkward evening, but Gillespie will be forever remembered in Yorkshire, not just for his skills as a coach but for his basic human decency.If Lancashire thwart Middlesex on the final day, the final week is full of delicious tension. Middlesex, afraid of a Somerset victory at home to relegated Nottinghamshire, would be ill-served by a draw pitch against Yorkshire at Lord’s and both counties would have to risk defeat in order to obtain a victory. But Somerset, who have rushed towards the summit in the second half of the season on low-scoring pitches, would need something flatter than usual because they could not easily afford to concede maximum batting points. Much to enjoy. Unless Lancashire blow it.

Zimbabwe will embark on their first Test assignment in over a year without key coaching personnel

Firdose Moonda04-Feb-2013Zimbabwe will embark on their first Test assignment in over a year without key coaching personnel. Batting coach Grant Flower, bowling coach Heath Streak and fitness trainer Lorraine Chivandire will not travel to the Caribbean later this month because of a technical structure change made by Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC).”After consulting with the players and the head coach on the effectiveness of the current coaching structure which has a head coach, an assistant coach and two specialists a decision was made to streamline the structure to allow for better strategy formulation and communication in camp,” Shingai Rhuhwaya, general manager of media and public affairs told ESPNcricinfo.”While specialist can be engaged for preparations and specialist training throughout the season, the head coach is to have full and sole charge of the national team during tours. The same will apply for the fitness trainer whose primary objective is to ensure that players are fit before they go to tour. The physiotherapist and assistant coach will then play the role of maintenance while on tour.”ESPNcricinfo understands that financial concerns and accommodating more touring players are behind reasons for the decision.The tour, which includes three ODIs, two Twenty20s and two Tests, starts on February 20 and is head coach Alan Butcher’s last in charge before his contract expires. The build-up to the tour has been punctuated with controversy after ZC were unhappy with a selection directive issued by the country’s Sports and Recreation Commission which required the entire panel to be former international players. The order has since expanded to include non-ex players as well.Butcher is hopeful the sideshows will not hamper the team’s progress on the tour, although he admits they travel as underdogs. “We haven’t played an ODI in more than a year either and that doesn’t help. We know it will be tough but we have to stay positive and give a better account of ourselves from a last trip.”Zimbabwe’s last full tour was to New Zealand in early 2012. They lost all the matches across every format, including their heaviest Test defeat. It was a major comedown for them after they made a successful return to Test cricket in August 2011 by beating Bangladesh. They also enjoyed a promising run of form at home in series against Bangladesh, Pakistan and New Zealand.Since then, Zimbabwe’s only success came in an unofficial T20 tri-series in June last year which they won after beating a South African XI in the final. It did not do them any good at the World T20, though. Zimbabwe lost both group matches by big margins and handed Ajantha Mendis his best figures of 6 for 8.Lack of funds and tour cancellations have robbed them of any more cricket. Bangladesh postponed their August trip because of the BPL and Zimbabwe could not host them any earlier then Pakistan also did not tour as scheduled in November. The Bangladesh tour is due to happen this August but there has been no confirmation of that series yet.By then, Zimbabwe will have a new head coach. Butcher has chosen not to renew his contract because “I have been away from my family for three years,” and denied that the administrative issues had anything to do with him not continuing. Interviews were held to choose his successor last week. Flower, current assistant coach Stephen Mangongo and former international batsman Andy Waller, who previously coached Namibia, have applied for the position. Streak has not put his name in the hat for the head job but has indicated he wants to continue as bowling coach.Although Butcher did not see as much success as he hoped he would, he regards his time with Zimbabwe as fulfilling despite the obstacles. “I’ve enjoyed it and the players have been great to work with. I cannot fault what they’ve put in,” he said. “I am happy that in my time in charge, we won our comeback Test and the ODI series against Bangladesh and the unofficial T20 tournament. The coaching staff have all worked very hard and I’d say 90% of my time was superb.” He has one tour left to raise that percentage.

Ashley Giles, Warwickshire’s director of cricket, has been appointed the head coach of England’s ODI and T20 teams

David Hopps28-Nov-2012Ashley Giles, Warwickshire’s director of cricket, has been appointed the head coach of England’s ODI and T20 teams, paving the way for Andy Flower to take significant breaks from touring.Flower, who took over as England team director in April 2009, will continue to be have overall accountability for England cricket and tour with the England Test side but he will no longer be responsible for the day to day leadership of the ODI and T20 teams, with Giles assuming that role and being accountable to Flower. Giles will also remain as an England selector.Hugh Morris, managing director of England cricket, said that Flower’s abandonment of his one-day role was necessary to achieve “a realistic and sustainable work-life balance”.It remains to be seen whether the Professional Cricketers’ Association will now argue in impending negotiations on the small print of England’s new central contracts that this work-life balance should apply to players as well as coaches, a certain Kevin Pietersen being an easy point of reference.Giles travelled to India as England’s selector on tour and is regarded within the ECB as a natural successor to Flower. His appointment sees him leave his post at Warwickshire, whom he guided to the County Championship last season.His first task will be to halt England’s dreadful run of ODI results in India. They have lost 12 and tied one of the last 13 matches, with the previous victory coming back in 2006.Giles, back at his beloved Edgbaston, where he has served both as player and coach for the past 20 years, said that he had first been approached about a potential coaching role in India three weeks ago.”There was a possibility of me taking the one-day squad to India after Christmas. Then it developed to if there was a restructuring would I be interested and the answer was ‘yes’. I have never hidden the ambition to coach internationally.”There was obviously a concern about the workload for the head coach and, if they split the roles and there was restructuring, what the roles and responsibilities would look like. There were things that could come up – selection, the rest and rotation policy and results. It was about getting your head around what it would look like as a split role.”Giles captured a prevailing mood among coaches when he predicted that the high level of international cricket makes shared coaching roles inevitable.”It’s started with captains, we are now seeing it with players – the rest and rotation of players is going to be important for keeping them fit and fresh for the really big tournaments – and now it’s coaches.”Andy has been a brilliant coach and rather than burning out your best people and then get rid of them you need to keep them as long as you can and this structure allows you to do that.”This could be the new edge that we need. It’s important that we and Andy work closely together. Andy ultimately is the boss and I will report to him, but we will work closely on strategy and selection.”It definitely allows you much more time to plan properly for series, to spend time with the analysts and some of the one-day players and watch one-day cricket domestically and see young guys coming through as well as the importance of the work-life balance for the head coach.””There will be times when we have disagreements but we have disagreements in a room and we get over then very quickly.”Giles has long been identified within the ECB as a candidate for a leading coaching role. As a player he was highly valued by one captain, Michael Vaughan, in particular, and his reputation for even-handedness ensured that his dual role of selector and Warwickshire coach never brought the qualms which it might have done in different hands.”I hope I’m a better coach and a lot of that is through experience: consistently talking about cricket, working with people, managing different individuals, managing your management team, working with your boss, budgets and committees,” he said. “I hope I have been a decent sponge. I like to suck all that stuff up.”I’m pretty well-structured, I think I’m fair, I’m straight with people if I think they are out of line I tell them.”He is not unduly perturbed by the fact that he has been a team mate of several players in the England side. “There are still people I have played with, but I have been retired six years now. I hope people don’t think I am going to take it easy on them because I have played with them.”I suppose when I first came to Warwickshire as coach because I was an old player some people tried to take the mick a bit or steal a yard but if you are consistently clear with what the message is there is only one way to go.”A Championship title for Warwickshire will do no harm to his authority. Giles’ four-day sides have played consistent, pragmatic, disciplined cricket. They lost the title to Lancashire only in the last hour of the season in 2011 and won handsomely a year later. “I guess it’s good for the CV and good the confidence,” he said. But it is in the shorter game where he must now make an impact.”

Cooke makes 84 in key stand as Northants are made to work for wickets at Wantage Road

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay08-Sep-2025Asa Tribe hit a career-best unbeaten 181 to keep Glamorgan’s promotion hopes firmly alive and put his side in a dominant position on day one of this Rothesay County Championship match against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.Glamorgan were indebted to the 21-year-old Jersey international after losing four wickets before lunch after winning the toss, Luke Procter claiming two scalps. Opening the innings, Tribe never looked in real trouble, helping himself to 25 fours and two sixes in a fluent, confident innings and accounting for the bulk of the top-order runs.Sam Northeast (17) and Ben Kellaway (23) kept him company in half-century stands, but it was not until Chris Cooke’s arrival that Glamorgan mounted a substantial partnership, the keeper scoring 84 (12 fours, one six) while adding 162 for the sixth wicket with Tribe. Although Cooke fell before the close, Glamorgan were in a healthy position at 367 for six.Earlier Northamptonshire handed first-class debuts to left-arm pacer Ben Whitehouse and off-spinner Nirvan Ramesh, 17, who became the county’s third youngest debutant since the war.Zain ul Hassan was the first Glamorgan wicket to fall in the eighth over, driving outside off-stump to Procter and edging an easy catch behind.Tribe dealt almost exclusively in boundaries. He drove handsomely through midwicket against the seamers before a punch through cover point off Whitehouse brought up Glamorgan’s 50 at the end of the 15th over.Whitehouse meanwhile unsettled Northeast. After the Glamorgan skipper punched one to the boundary, Whitehouse struck him on the arm causing a short delay. Northeast recovered to slap a wide delivery from Justin Broad through extra cover to bring up the 50 partnership with Tribe off 58 balls, but the all-rounder found some late movement to draw the edge through to second slip.Tribe though looked imperious, reaching 50 off 63 deliveries. He pulled dismissively against Whitehouse who was guilty of bowling too short throughout both spells.Procter struck for the second time when he jagged one back sharply to Kiran Carlson who offered minimum foot movement and inside edged to the keeper. The impressive Ramesh then claimed his maiden first-class wicket when Colin Ingram (18) attempted to turn the ball to leg and was well caught off the leading edge by Procter in the covers, and while Tribe took consecutive boundaries off Calvin Harrison, Glamorgan went into lunch four down for 115.Tribe started positively after the interval, sweeping Ramesh over deep midwicket for six, while Kellaway eased into his work with a sumptuous cover drive off Liam Guthrie and a reverse sweep off Ramesh as Glamorgan moved past 150, Tribe bringing up the half-century partnership off 59 balls with a backfoot punch off Guthrie.With Ramesh bowling consecutive maidens at one end, Northamptonshire turned to Broad to try to force the breakthrough and he instantly troubled Tribe outside off-stump. But it was Harrison who bowled Kellaway round his legs as he went to sweep.New batter Cooke took the aggressive option against Broad but was almost undone by one that jagged back and kept low.Tribe reached three figures off 150 balls with his first false shot, under-edging an attempted sweep against Harrison, the ball running past the keeper for four. He endured a few nervous moments against Procter who beat him several times outside off-stump, but he duly moved past his previous highest score of 107 made against Leicestershire in June, despite suffering from flu at the time.After tea Cooke swung Harrison over the leg side for six to bring up the 100 partnership off 183 balls before reaching his own half-century. He continued to attack, clubbing spinners Harrison and Saif Zaib over midwicket, while Tribe hit Zaib straight for six, Glamorgan going on to pass 300 shortly before the new ball became due.Tribe steered Procter through midwicket to bring up the 150 stand off 246 balls while Cooke cut Guthrie powerfully for four. The bowler soon made the breakthrough when Cooke pulled and was well caught low down by Broad at deep backward square-leg.With Tribe still content to capitalise on anything loose and joined by Timm van der Gugten, Glamorgan secured a third batting bonus point shortly before the close.

Important stands with Matt Critchley and Simon Harmer prevent Hampshire taking control with ball

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay 22-Jun-2025Charlie Allison made it back-to-back centuries as he steered Essex into a commanding position on the first day of the Rothesay County Championship match against Hampshire at Chelmsford.Before his 140 against Surrey last month, Allison’s highest first-class score was 28. But the 20-year-old right-hander followed up his Oval heroics with 101 when the Championship resumed after its break for the Vitality Blast.He was the senior partner in a 107-run seventh-wicket stand with Simon Harmer, 16 years older, that carried Essex towards 292 for 8 at the close after they chose to bat. He also put on 66 for the fifth wicket with Matt Critchley, whose 71 came from 104 balls and included nine fours and a six.Kyle Abbott took his season’s tally to 35 wickets with three Essex scalps, but Hampshire let slip their morning advantage as a blustery, overcast day gave way to bright evening sunshine.Initially, it looked as if Essex’s travails of late – one win across both formats this summer – were being lain bare on a green wicket that gave encouragement to Hampshire’s seam attack. By midday Essex had lost three of their top four. Paul Walter mistimed a flick off his legs low to a diving square leg, Dean Elgar was beaten for pace by James Fuller and Jordan Cox ducked into a short ball from Eddie Jack and spliced the ball high to third slip.The premature departures did not preclude Essex handing county caps to the latter pair during the lunch interval. Former captain Graham Gooch handed one to Elgar while Cox received his from Jason Gallian, previously his cricket master at Felsted School, now chairman of the cricket committee.Back in the middle, Critchley was putting behind him his struggles with the bat in the Vitality Blast. He contributed 38 of the 53-run fourth-wicket stand with Tom Westley that included a six over long leg off Liam Dawson and a well-timed sweep for four, also off the England white-ball spinner.Westley was more circumspect, though the four fours in his 77-ball 28 were venomous in their execution and included one from his first ball through midwicket off Abbott and an imperious pull against Fuller. However, he departed lbw to one from Abbott that might otherwise have just clipped the top of the stumps.Under gathering grey clouds, Critchley reached his half-century from 84 balls amid a flurry of boundaries, the milestone four pulled through midwicket off Felix Organ. Another time he went in tiptoes to late-cut Jack to the third-man rope.Allison kept pace with Critchley and he launched Dawson effortlessly over extra cover for a six that brought up the fifty partnership in 13 overs. Later he hit another straight over the same bowler’s head. However, the stand was worth 66 when the wily Dawson had Critchley playing over a shorter-pitched delivery that looked as if it might have missed leg stump.Abbott had figures of 3 for 12 from 13 overs when he had Michael Pepper edging to the wicketkeeper. But that just brought together Allison and Harmer for a patient partnership that steadied Essex and ultimately gave them a measure of control.Harmer brought up the hundred partnership in 33 overs when he swatted Jack to the midwicket boundary. But with Allison on 99, he turned the ball to square leg, the pair hesitated and Harmer sacrificed his wicket as Jack’s throw went to the bowler’s end.Allison duly reached his century from 188 balls with 11 fours and two sixes, but one run later he dragged on to Organ and was bowled off the last ball of the day.

The visitors put in a woeful batting effort at Adelaide Oval as Australia secured the T20I series 3-0 to leave a whitewash on the cards

Valkerie Baynes25-Jan-2025Beth Mooney stood a class above with the bat before Australia’s bowlers ground a hapless England line-up further into the dust with a thumping 72-run win in the third and final T20I for a 12-0 lead in the Women’s Ashes.Mooney’s unbeaten 94 carried Australia to 162 for 5 on a slow Adelaide Oval pitch where Australia’s second-best score was fellow opener Georgia Voll’s 23. Then the home side’s bowlers, led by legspinner Georgia Wareham’s career-best 3 for 11, demolished the tourists for 90 inside 18 overs, their second-lowest total in T20Is with only two England batters reaching double figures.Related

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Yet again, England were complicit in their undoing with a host of poor shots punished by a merciless Australian fielding outfit before a crowd of 10,291. The result brought the possibility of a 16-0 series sweep tantalisingly close for the home side heading into next week’s day-night Test at the MCG.England made four changes looking to get some points on the board, albeit belatedly and with the Ashes already lost. Maia Bouchier made way for Alice Capsey and an unwell Lauren Bell was replaced by fellow quick Lauren Filer while legspinner Sarah Glenn was replaced by left-arm spinner Linsey Smith. And while the spinners did well to contain Australia – Mooney’s performance aside – defending a modest total proved far too easy for a side which has completely dominated their opposition all series.

England spinners keep Australia honest

After a bright enough start from openers Voll and Mooney, who had struck three boundaries off Freya Kemp in the second over of the match, England’s spinners kept a lid on the Australians, who became mired in a rare 33-ball stretch without a boundary. Capsey entered the attack in the eighth over and struck with her fifth ball as Voll holed out to Danni Wyatt-Hodge at deep midwicket.Then Mooney unleashed two boundaries in four deliveries from Filer to break the shackles. Phoebe Litchfield followed up with four down the ground off the first ball of the next over, from Capsey, and when Litchfield top-edged a reverse sweep over wicketkeeper Amy Jones’ head, it dropped dead between her and two other fielders. Then Litchfield was bowled attempting to sweep one that stayed straight and low from Sophie Ecclestone and Australia were 83 for 2.Georgia Voll took a superb catch to remove Sophie Ecclestone•Getty Images

Mooney magic

Ecclestone hoped she had Mooney lbw two balls later, only for the DRS to show the ball had pitched just outside leg stump. Mooney raised her fifty in 41 balls and from there loosened up, turning a Capsey full toss through fine leg then clearing point for two fours in three deliveries.When Ellyse Perry chipped Charlie Dean straight to cover, Grace Harris entered and thumped Ecclestone down the ground for the first six of the match. Two balls later, Mooney drilled a four through square leg. Wickets fell around her late, but Mooney kept adding to her tally. She ran brilliantly between the wickets in the final over with Tahlia McGrath, Mooney twice having to stretch to make her ground coming back for a second run and, despite an England review for lbw on the final ball, she kept her innings intact.It was the third time Mooney had reached fifty in her last four innings this Ashes and left her with 303 runs across both white-ball legs of the series, well clear of the next best, Heather Knight, on 172.

Everywhere England look

Australia’s stand-in wicketkeeper for most of the summer due to Alyssa Healy’s injury woes, Mooney took an excellent catch off Capsey’s faint edge, so faint it took a review to secure the wicket, the second to fall in as many overs after Darcie Brown – who came into the side for Kim Garth – had struck with her first ball to remove Dunkley, skying the ball to cover. Now England were 12 for 2, and Annabel Sutherland made it 23 for 3 inside three overs with a beauty that pinged the top of Sciver-Brunt’s off stump.Everywhere England looked, there was an Australian there to make life difficult, as has been the case all tour, and it was Wareham next with two wickets in three balls in the seventh over to send them lurching to 39 for 5 with Wyatt-Hodge holing out to long-off and Amy Jones pinned on the pad attempting a scoop.Freya Kemp gifted her wicket to mid-off for Brown’s second and Wareham claimed her third when Charlie Dean’s top-edge sailed to Alana King at square leg. The only blemish for Australia in the field came when Wareham put down a sitter at deep midwicket off Ecclestone, on 1 at the time.But then Voll took an excellent diving catch to remove Ecclestone and more clinical fielding from Perry to Mooney ran out Smith. Mooney stayed in the action to the last, whipping off the bails as Knight advanced to Tahlia McGrath, her score of 40 England’s best on a sorry looking scorecard.