Yorkshire and England fast bowler on recovering from stress fracture with gym and technical work

Andrew Miller22-Jan-2023

It’s coming up to a year since Matt Fisher’s Test debut against West Indies in Barbados, and in so many ways that one-off appearance epitomises the promise and frustration that has accompanied his career ever since his Yorkshire debut, as a 17-year old, eight years ago.Fisher showcased his wicket-taking menace by dismissing John Campbell with his second ball in Tests, but on a flat Bridgetown deck it would be his only breakthrough in 27 overs of hard yakka. And before he’d had a chance to extend his opportunity into the English summer, he had succumbed – like so many of his fast-bowling peers – to a stress fracture.Add it to the list, you might say, Fisher’s career to date has been a litany of setbacks, from hamstring and side strains to broken thumbs and shoulder dislocations. And yet, as he gears up for this week’s England Lions tour to Sri Lanka, he’s determined not to get downcast at his misfortune, and instead is itching to showcase the work that has gone into the past year’s rehab.”There were a couple of days of being down and really upset, but I was very quick to being back to ‘what can we do?’, ‘how can we sort it out?’ How can I be better next time so that it doesn’t happen?” he says. “If you improve every single part of your game then hopefully you are giving yourself the best chance to not get injured. I have just tried to do that.”At the age of 25, time is still on Fisher’s side if he wants to establish his Test credentials, but it’s going to be a differently-shaped cricketer who re-emerges in an England shirt in the coming weeks. Specifically, he has bulked out, adding 5kg of muscle to a previously willowy frame, with a view to offering a more robust product for the selectors to contemplate in the 2023 season.”Literally, looking in a mirror I just thought, I don’t look as robust as some players I’ve seen this winter and maybe that’s something to look at,” Fisher says. “I basically said to our S&C [strength and conditioning coach], ‘I want you to make me look like an Australian fast bowler’, because they all seem to look solid. Cummins, Hazlewood, Starc, they all look pretty strong.””I ate loads that first three months,” he adds. “It wasn’t Maccies [McDonald’s] and stuff like that, but it was just to get so much in where you can’t eat any more, so you can build the muscle, and then once you start playing and bowling again then it drops off, which it did.”Sometimes in our sport we think too much about skin folds, a lot of lads get anxiety about being slim enough. But I wasn’t bothered about what my skinnies were at that point, my goal was to put muscle on, and that is the best way to put some weight and muscle on. I was doing loads of training at the time as well so I wasn’t getting really fat.”All throughout the summer, the coaches at Yorkshire and some of the players were like ‘bloody hell, you look massive’. Around my chest I am a bit bigger and then my legs are bigger.”The sturdier frame is just one element of Fisher’s bid for fulfilment. He’s also had a technical tinker during his downtime, in a bid to reduce the inevitable strains on his body that the act of fast bowling entails.”I’ve tried to be a bit straighter with my back-foot contact,” he says. “My back foot was getting into a side-on position, which is fine, but my feet were crossing over a little bit. Now they come down in a straight line and my back foot is pointing more towards fine leg rather than deep midwicket.Matt Fisher bowls in the nets•Getty Images

“So when that lands it is a lot straighter, so I flex from my hip and forwards, over both hips rather than a side bend over to one side of my hip, and you start falling over in your action and it takes a lot of strain on to the left side of your back, which is where I got my stress fracture. It is basically trying to be a lot straighter with my feet and then hopefully that makes you straighter and more over the top of the ball when you release it.”That is just me looking at my own action and thinking obviously my side flexion is not very good and how can I get it more straight. That was just me looking at my action and working on it with Kabir [Ali] and Gibbo [Otis Gibson] at Yorkshire.”In terms of role models, Fisher has a fair few – including Darren Gough, Kagiso Rabada and Dale Steyn – but the current quick who gives him the most to emulate, he says, is South Africa’s quickest bowler, Anrich Nortje.”In the first two weeks after my injury, I looked at so many different actions of some of the best bowlers to have ever bowled,” he says. “I don’t want mine to look like this person because he’s the quickest or he’s rapid, but I want mine to look more like Nortje. It’s technically very good, but it’s his back-foot contact that I’ve tried to model myself on, because I thought that’s what I want it to look like.”As for James Anderson – the man whose place Fisher took for that tour of the Caribbean, but who bounced back in the summer to return to the top of his game even after his 40th birthday – Fisher acknowledges that the methods that have proven so durable in Anderson’s matchless career are perhaps not the ones for him to emulate.”I love Jimmy and love watching him bowl, but I was so obsessed about getting side-on to be able to swing it out a bit more, that’s where my feet cross-over came from. It was actually me trying to model myself too much on Jimmy that got me in a worse position.”Looking back, I used to swing it without getting side-on, it was more from my wrist than anything else. That’s stuff that I’ve learnt so hopefully, if anything, it’s made me a lot more aware of my action technically, which I think is a positive. It’s better to learn that when you are still quite young.”Related

Matt Fisher makes first mark as Saqib Mahmood bides his time to shine

Matthew Fisher set for extended lay-off after further scans on back injury

Matthew Fisher four-for a tonic for Yorkshire – but they're not safe yet

Jofra Archer to step up injury comeback at England Lions training camp

For all of the positives that Fisher has taken from his rehabilitation, the frustrations of 2022 remain – not least that he was powerless to prevent Yorkshire’s relegation from the top flight of the Championship, following Warwickshire’s thrilling final-day escape. He also had to look on from afar as England’s Test standards soared under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes, but that experience served as a reminder of how much he wants the chance to build on the promise of his England debut.”‘You just want to be a part of it because it looks like so much fun,” Fisher says, having interacted with the Test squad while part of the England Lions training camp in Abu Dhabi before Christmas.”The UAE tour was really good for us, they want us to play how the England team are playing, but they want us to work with our strengths, Above everything, it’s just giving players freedom and the confidence to go and just enjoy it, and try and put pressure back on to the team that you are playing.”There’s no telling just yet how prominent Fisher is in the selectors’ thoughts, although he admits there had been some talk about him standing in for Mark Wood in Pakistan last winter, until it was decided his rehab wasn’t quite far enough advanced. Since then, of course, Jamie Overton – another debutant in 2022 – has suffered his own stress fracture, but the returns of Olly Stone, Jofra Archer and Saqib Mahmood hint at a promising pool of quick options going into the Ashes summer.”I can’t really control where I am in the pecking order, so for me it’s just about bowling well and I know how fast it can happen,” Fisher says, “It happened last winter, so I am just hoping for that again at some point.”There’s been indoor sessions where I am visualising bowling at David Warner, so it’s definitely in my mind. But in terms of it being a goal of mine this summer, it’s not like on my wall or anything. If that happens, it happens. For me, it’s just bowling well for Yorkshire and then hopefully I’ll get another chance at some point.”

“This is just the beginning,” smiled Shafali Verma, the Under-19 India captain who had just led her country to a maiden World Cup title in women’s cricket. The beauty of that statement was that it is – and isn’t – just the beginning.For many of its participants from 16 nations, the inaugural ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa was a first foray into representing their country and playing overseas. And it will surely provide a spark for several promising careers, including that of Grace Scrivens, Player of the Tournament and Shafali’s defeated opposite number as India romped to victory by seven wickets with six overs to spare in Potchefstroom.Related

• The day women's cricket changed forever in India

• Players to watch from the Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup

• Reactions to India's U-19 T20 World Cup win: 'This is just the beginning'

• How senior pro Shafali is still learning at the U-19 level

• Dominant India win inaugural U-19 Women's T20 World Cup

Scrivens scored 293 runs – four fewer than tournament leader and Shafali’s opening partner Shweta Sehrawat – and took nine wickets. She heads home with hopes of lifting her Sunrisers team to victory after a winless 2022 across both 50-over and T20 domestic competitions, as well as building her fledgling Hundred career with the ultimate aim to “one day soon get in the main England squad”.Shafali, on the other hand, is in the thick of her senior international career already and, along with wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh, will join up with India’s senior side towards the end of this week for the T20 World Cup starting in Cape Town on Feburary 10.”I am someone who focuses on task at hand,” Shafali said. “When I entered the Under-19s, I only focused on winning the Under-19 Cup and we have won that today. I will look to take this winning confidence with me and win the senior World Cup. I will try and forget this and get involved with the senior set-up and gel with the team and win the World Cup.”Shafali, who turned 19 on the eve of the final, entered the tournament with 74 senior international caps to her name. After scores of 45 and 78 against South Africa and UAE respectively, she added only 34 more runs in four innings leading up to the title decider, where she also fell cheaply alongside Sehrawat as India slipped to 20 for 2.But, despite England having also defended a small total to scrape past Australia in the semi-finals, those early strikes by Scrivens and Hannah Baker, the legspinner who has been another revelation at this tournament, could not deny Shafali and her team, who cruised to their target.For her part, Scrivens said she learned plenty to take forward.”As a captain, it’s the first time I’ve done it for a while. I’ve done it when I was younger, but it’s on a different stage with much, much more on it,” she said. “So I think I’ve learned so much from that… learning more about players has been great.”It’s about getting to know your players and learning what makes them tick and what doesn’t and what you need to do to support them. I think throughout the tournament, I’ve been able to do that.”As a team we’ve learned so much, the way we fought in the semi-final was unbelievable. I think the fight shown by every single one of us was great and also being out in South Africa, learning about conditions, playing abroad. That’s just going to give us more experience and improve our career and future.”Archana Devi pulled off this one-handed stunner apart from taking two wickets•ICC/Getty Images

Afterwards, Shafali revealed there was also an element of looking to the past amid all the talk of what lies ahead. The pain of defeat as India tried in vain to chase down 185 against Australia in the T20 Women’s World Cup final three years ago at the MCG provided plenty of motivation and, as she fronted up to the post-match presentation – this time victorious – the emotions spilled over.”Melbourne was a very emotional day for me in that final game, we didn’t win the game. When I joined the Under-19 team, I’m just thinking, ‘you know, we have to win this Cup.’ I’m just telling all the girls, ‘We have to win this Cup, we are here for the Cup.'”We had lost the World Cup and it was tears of sadness. Today, they were tears of happiness because we achieved what we came here for. I tried controlling it but it couldn’t happen. I will look at this as a big achievement and look to use this to learn something more. I will try to score more runs for India and am not going to be satisfied with this Cup. This is just the beginning.”There is a sense of more to come from Player-of-the-Match Titas Sadhu, India’s sole seamer, and offspinner Archana Devi, who took two wickets apiece (not to mention the latter’s blinder of a catch at extra cover) to leave England reeling, as well as 16-year-old legspinner Parshavi Chopra, who also claimed two. Then there were Soumya Tiwari and Gongadi Trisha, who marshalled the bulk of the run-chase, albeit a small one, after Shafali and Sehrawat departed.”I can’t say the words but thanks to all the team, the way they were performing and the way they were backing each other,” Shafali said. “I’m going to miss this batch.”Perhaps she won’t have to wait too long before she is reunited with some of them.

Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner and England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt were the most expensive overseas players at a price of INR 3.2 crore

Shashank Kishore13-Feb-2023India batter Smriti Mandhana was the most expensive buy at the inaugural Women’s Premier League auction in Mumbai, going to Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 3.4 crore (USD 415,000 approx). She was also the first player to come up for bidding at the auction on Monday.RCB spent nearly 50% of their INR 12 crore purse on three players in the first marquee set, also buying allrounders Sophie Devine at her base price of INR 50 lakh (USD 61,000 approx) and Ellyse Perry for INR 1.7 crore (USD 207,000 approx).They then added big-hitting 19-year-old wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh, who featured in India’s victorious Under-19 World Cup campaign last month, for INR 1.9 crore (USD 232,000 approx).Related

Smriti Mandhana set to return to action against West Indies

Parth Jindal: 'People spent a lot on marquee players, didn't have much money for others'

Urooj Mumtaz: 'Extremely unfortunate to see Pakistan players missing out on WPL'

Reactions to the WPL auction – Smriti Mandhana watches herself make history

Harmanpreet Kaur: 'WPL is a gamechanger for all of us'

“Everyone knows Mandhana and Perry, we were pretty committed to the couple of people we wanted to get,” RCB director of cricket Mike Hesson said. “We’re very happy to get such quality players. It’s a dream result for us to get Mandhana, Perry and Devine. Smriti has got plenty of captaincy experience and is familiar with the Indian conditions, so highly likely [she’ll be captain].”Mumbai Indians, who failed to buy Mandhana, beat off competition from RCB and Delhi Capitals for Harmanpreet Kaur and bought the India captain for INR 1.8 crore (USD 220,000 approx). Among Mumbai’s other big-ticket Indian signings were allrounder Pooja Vastrakar for INR 1.9 crore (USD 232,000 approx) and Yastika Bhatia for INR 1.5 crore (USD 183,000 approx).Allrounder Deepti Sharma was the second-most expensive Indian at INR 2.6 crore (USD 317,000 approx). She will line-up for UP Warriorz, who will be based in her home state of Uttar Pradesh. Warriorz also spent big on Tahlia McGrath and India allrounder Devika Vaidya at INR 1.4 crore (USD 171,000 approx) each, and Shabnim Ismail at INR 1 crore (USD 122,000 approx).Gardner, Nat Sciver-Brunt most expensive overseas buysAshleigh Gardner, the No.1. allrounder in women’s T20Is, attracted the joint second-highest bid of INR 3.2 crore (USD 390,000 approx) from Gujarat Giants, alongside England’s Nat Sciver-Brunt, who was bought by Mumbai for the same price.Top ten most expensive buys

Smriti Mandhana (RCB) – USD 415,000

Ashleigh Gardner (Gujarat) – USD 390,000

Natalie Sciver-Brunt (MI) – USD 390,000

Deepti Sharma (UP) – USD 317,000

Jemimah Rodrigues (Delhi) – USD 268,000

Beth Mooney (Gujarat) – USD 244,000

Shafali Verma (Delhi) – USD 244,000

Pooja Vastrakar (MI) – USD 232,000

Richa Ghosh (RCB) – USD 232,000

Sophie Ecclestone (UP) – USD 220,000

Gardner’s strike rate of 133.62 is the highest among all batters with over 1000 T20I runs. On Friday, she picked up a five-for in Australia’s resounding win over New Zealand in their opening game of the Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa.Sciver-Brunt, a hard-hitting middle-order batter and seamer, was the third highest run-getter in the 2022 Women’s Hundred. Her 228 runs in six innings for Trent Rockets came at a strike rate of 122.58.Her England team-mate and left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone went to Warriorz for INR 1.8 crore (USD 220,000 approx), while Beth Mooney, who was the highest run-scorer during Australia’s tour of India in December, was bought by Giants for INR 2 crore (USD 244,000 approx).Players bought and money spent

Delhi Capitals – 18 players for INR 11.65 crore

RCB – 18 players for INR 11.90 crore

Mumbai Indians – 17 players for INR 12 crore

UP Warriorz – 16 players for INR 12 crore

Gujarat Giants – 18 players for INR 11.95 crore

Australia wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy, who wasn’t part of the two marquee sets and came up only in set five, was snapped up by Warriorz for a steal at INR 70 lakh (USD 85,000 approx), while Meg Lanning, Australia’s previous ODI and T20 World Cup-winning captain, was signed by Capitals for INR 1.1 crore (USD 134,000 approx). Capitals continued their overseas buying spree when they bought South Africa allrounder Marizanne Kapp, who attracted the highest bid among allrounders outside the marquee set at INR 1.5 crore (USD 183,000 approx).West Indies batter Hayley Matthews was the only player unsold from the first marquee set, but she was eventually bought by Mumbai during the accelerated phase at the end of the auction for INR 40 lakh (USD 49,000 approx). Among other surprise overseas omissions before the start of the accelerated phase of the auction were former New Zealand captain Suzie Bates, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu, South Africa captain Sune Luus, and the Australian pair of Megan Schutt and Jess Jonassen. Jonassen was also bought during the accelerated phase by Capitals for INR 50 lakh (USD 61,000 approx), while RCB eventually picked up Schutt for INR 40 lakh (USD 49,000 approx).Alyssa Healy was bought by UP Warriorz for INR 70 lakh•Hanna Lassen/Getty ImagesCapitals sign India’s Gen ZCapitals bought India batters Jemimah Rodrigues (INR 2.2 crore – USD 268,000 approx) and Shafali Verma (INR 2 crore – USD 244,000 approx), alongside Australia captain Lanning, giving them plenty of leadership options.”No, it’s too early for that, but of course there are captaincy options in those names,” Parth Jindal, the co-owner of Capitals, said. “One is an India Under-19 captain [Shafali], another is a legend of the game in Meg Lanning. Jemimah too is a wonderful reader of the game. But it all depends on the coach at the end of it, also depends on who else we pick up.”Rodrigues got India off to a winning start over Pakistan at the T20 World Cup with a half-century on Sunday, while Shafali, who was part of that XI, captained India to their inaugural women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup last month.Under-19 World Cup winners who got pickedShafali and Ghosh, by virtue of being internationals, were grouped in the capped sets of players and predictably went for big money. With all five teams having established a core group of players by the time the uncapped players came up for bidding, it was only a select few from the victorious India Under-19 squad that got picked. Among those to get bought were Bengal’s Titas Sadhu (Capitals), Delhi’s Shweta Sehrawat (Warriorz), UP’s Sonam Yadav (Mumbai Indians) and Parshavi Chopra (Warriorz), Andhra’s Shabnam MD (Giants) and Mumbai’s Hurley Gala (Giants). S Yashasri, who was a standby at the World Cup, was picked by Warriorz.Low demand for Associate PlayersAssociate players were in low demand, with only four of them – USA’s Tara Norris, UAE’s Mahika Gaur, and Scotland’s Bryce sisters, Sarah and Kathryn – being shortlisted for the accelerated rounds.Norris, the 24-year-old left-arm seamer from Philadelphia, was snapped up by Capitals for INR 10 lakh (USD 12,200 approx). She plays much of her cricket in England and was the second-highest wicket-taker for Southern Vipers in their charge to the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy in 2020. She was also part of the Loughborough Lightning in the Kia Super League.At 16, Gaur could have been the youngest overseas signing and even attracted a bid from the Giants, only for them to be told they had exhausted their quota of six overseas players. The Bryce sisters didn’t find a bid.The inaugural season of the WPL will be contested by the five franchises from March 4 to 26, with all 22 matches being held at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai and the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has slammed his players for their 'unacceptable' first-half showing against Liverpool as the Gunners came back to draw 2-2.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Arsenal draw 2-2 against Liverpool
• Conceded twice in the first-half
• Arteta unhappy with first-half showing

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Arsenal looked to be headed for their fifth Premier League defeat of the season after Liverpool took a two-goal lead with strikes from Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz seconds apart. However, right after the second half began, the Gunners pulled one back with Gabriel Martinelli's strike. Mikel Merino then scored the equaliser in the 70th minute before he was sent off minutes later.

Advertisement

• AFP
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Arsenal were able to manage the game after going down to ten men as they secured a 2-2 draw against the Premier League champions. However, Arteta was not happy with the way the Gunners performed through the first half, as he claimed that his side were 'nowhere near' the level shown by Liverpool in the first 45 minutes.

• AFP
  

  WHAT ARTETA SAID

  Speaking to the media, Arteta said: “What we did in the first half, in the first 20 minutes, is nowhere near the level so to do it after is too late. We reacted, great, but the standards in the first 20 minutes was unacceptable.

  “What disappointed me? A lot of parts, especially the defending standards that we had and the areas that after we gave the ball away, which is totally prohibited against this team, so very far off it, really upset.

  “Yeah, we had a reaction, I hate reaction, I like action and especially we want to be there winning trophies. You want to be a moment that you win it or you don’t, and when you don’t have to, you have to play another one that you have been working for nine months, and that’s here today.”

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• WHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?

  The Gunners' draw has left them susceptible to being caught by Newcastle United and Manchester City with two games left until the end of the season, as Arsenal sit just two and three points away, respectively.

Gianluigi Buffon has revealed what really happened during his infamous sending-off by referee Michael Oliver in the 2018 Champions League last eight.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Italian goalkeeper says he feels "ashamed"Juventus legend insisted he "would do it all again"Michael Oliver showed a red cardFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Speaking to Tuttomercatoweb, the former Italy captain felt regret and is remorseful for the words he used to lament Michael Oliver. The English referee was officiating the match between Real Madrid and Juventus in the 2018 Champions League quarter-final, where Juve had made a dramatic comeback only to concede a penalty in the 93rd minute. This triggered Buffon, and the situation took a dramatic turn.

Advertisement(C)GettyImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Juventus were trailing by two goals after losing to Real Madrid in Turin. The Serie A club made a dramatic comeback, only to concede a penalty in the final moments of the game. Buffon, who found it to be an extremely harsh decision by Oliver, unleashed a verbal tirade at the Premier League ref. This led to the goalkeeper being sent off, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring the penalty that sealed the fate of Juventus.

WHAT BUFFON SAID

Reflecting on the incident, the former Italy international said: “Now that a few years have gone by, I am ashamed of what I said. I was old enough to know better, I represented someone, I was the captain. However, I must also admit that if I had to go back and do it all again, I’d say the exact same thing.

“At that moment, it wasn’t just a defeat, it was something special, an epic comeback, in an epic stadium, with a squad that showed special character and unity, we were crazy and dreamers. To this day I don’t know why I was sent off, so the anger in the interviews was also down to that.”

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Getty Images SportDID YOU KNOW?

Juventus are hanging onto a top-four spot in Serie A for now, but with the competition heating up for Champions League qualification, they will need to be at their best in the next two games against Udinese and Venezia respectively. Indeed, as many as five clubs are all in with a chance of climbing above Igor Tudor's side before the season ends.

Perth Scorchers quick Jhye Richardson is set to miss the BBL decider next Saturday as he continues to battle a hamstring injury.Richardson is likely to be the hard luck story for defending champions Scorchers, who locked in a home grand final after beating arch-rival Sydney Sixers by seven wickets at a febrile Optus Stadium.After sustaining what was deemed a minor hamstring injury against Sydney Thunder on January 4, Richardson had been earmarked to return in time for the finals series but his recovery has taken longer than expected.”I think Jhye’s chances are pretty slim. I’d be surprised if we see him next weekend,” conceded Scorchers captain Ashton Turner.On the fringes of Australia’s Test team, Richardson has played three Test matches with his most recent being in the Adelaide Ashes Test in December 2021, where he memorably bowled Australia to victory on the final day with a five-wicket haul.Related

• Australia's T20I future: who has stood out from the BBL?

• Tall, left-arm and fast: Spencer Johnson grasps his second chance

• Brilliant Turner leads Perth Scorchers into home BBL final

But the 26-year-old Richardson fell down the pecking order this summer with a nagging heel injury consigning him to the sidelines for an extended period ahead of the BBL season.A fit and firing Richardson, however, issued a reminder of his talents with explosive bowling nudging 150kph to take 15 wickets in just seven matches to be the BBL’s standout quick until his latest setback.With fresh doubts over Richardson’s ability to stay on the field, Scorchers are set to be cautious with an eye on his long-term future.”Jhye’s such an exciting cricketer, but he’s still a young guy,” Turner said. “He puts his body through a lot. But we also have a bit of perspective. Jhye’s got a lot of cricket ahead of him, in orange, playing for WA, playing for Australia, playing for franchises around the world.”He’s too important to put unnecessary risk on his body. I don’t think it’s worth putting someone’s young body under too much stress.”

Perth Scorchers weigh up specialist spinner

Richardson’s absence will be a blow for Scorchers given his liking for the big stage having taken seven wickets in three previous grand finals, including a player of the match performance against Sixers in the BBL06 decider.Scorchers will also be without speedster Lance Morris, who played his last BBL match of the season before joining Australia’s squad for the Test tour of India.Morris’ replacement is set to be a battle between reliable legspinner Peter Hatzoglou and quick Matt Kelly, who missed the Sixers match due to concussion protocol after suffering a freak injury to his face while fielding against Melbourne Renegades.Peter Hatzoglou could give Perth Scorchers a specialist spin option•Getty Images

Scorchers went into the clash against Sixers without a specialist spinner with part-timers Turner and Cooper Connolly not used.”We’ll have to assess the conditions,” Turner said. “Peter Hatzoglou has bowled really nicely for us over a couple of years now. He’s someone who should be playing at this level. He’s got a proven track record, he’s won us games.”Left-arm quick David Payne is likely to hold his spot after a starring role against Sixers with the pivotal dismissals of Steven Smith and Moises Henriques amid a three-wicket haul.His performance was even more impressive with Payne having been a doubtful starter after feeling unwell and forced into isolation from his teammates.”We have a lot of confidence in every player in our squad. We trust what they have to say. He’s been such a valuable inclusion into our squad,” Turner said of Englishman Payne, who replaced compatriot Tymal Mills after he was unavailable for the tournament due to a family emergency.”It’s been a seamless transition for him. He’s been great for our dressing room. Thankfully now he’s got a couple of days to rest up.”

Hope for 50,000 fans at BBL final

After such a commanding victory over Sixers, lapped up by more than 41,000 vocal fans, Scorchers have strengthened their status as the competition’s powerhouse franchise on-and-off the field.As Scorchers attempt a back-to-back triumph and fifth title overall, a 50,000 crowd is expected at Optus Stadium, which will host a BBL grand final for the first time.Only an Australia-England ODI and a BBL semi-final between Scorchers and Hurricanes have attracted crowds over 50,000 for cricket at the venue and both those matches were held immediately after the Burswood stadium opened in early 2018.No matter who they play, Scorchers will start firm favourites having won 12 of their last 13 matches at home.”It is a distinct home ground advantage,” Sixers quick Sean Abbott said. “Those guys play their home conditions extremely well.”

Earlier, Babar’s ton helped Zalmi post their highest score of 240

Danyal Rasool08-Mar-2023

It all descended into a fog of boundaries, and nothing seemed to make sense. The upshot of 483 runs, 54 fours and 21 sixes was that Quetta Gladiators move one step closer to mounting an astonishing comeback and booking a place in the last four for the first time since 2019. Babar Azam’s eighth T20 century saw Peshawar Zalmi post their highest score, setting Gladiators 241 to win. But Jason Roy set to the task like a man possessed, blitzing an unbeaten 145 off 63 balls to ultimately canter to victory with ten balls to spare. It broke Colin Ingram’s record for the highest individual score in PSL history, and the third-highest T20 chase of all time. More importantly, it keeps Gladiators alive in the PSL this season, one win away from likely qualification.Gladiators looked punch-drunk when the first innings ended after a haphazard bowling and fielding performance, combined with a masterclass from Babar and Saim Ayub looked to have broken their spirits. But they came out having a go on a surface not even the most accomplished power-hitters could have dreamt of preparing, and immediately got off to a flyer. Martin Guptill’s brief cameo – 21 off eight – set the tone, but Roy was only just getting warmed up.Fresh off a stint with his national side in Bangladesh, he picked up in Rawalpindi where he’d left off in Mirpur. A blow-by-blow account of the frenzy wouldn’t quite do justice to the fluid, liquid nature of the innings, one six morphing into the next, one over blending into the other. For Zalmi’s bowlers, it began to look like a fever dream as one big over followed another, and the bowlers took turns to front up and cop a hiding. Each of the first eight overs saw at least two boundaries scored, and by this time, Gladiators had got themselves to 118 for one, having knocked off half the target with 12 overs still to spare.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

There were supporting acts from the other end, but Roy demanded attention, and gobbled up all of it. Will Smeed and Mohammad Hafeez were adept in their own right, denying Zalmi breathing room at the other end as the asking rate steadily came down. After a pair of relatively quiet overs around the halfway mark, any hopes Zalmi harboured of making inroads were blown away around the 16th over, when six successive balls straddling two overs went for boundaries, effectively sealing Zalmi’s fate. Mohammed Hafeez, who has battled personal trauma over the last 24 hours, was magnificently composed, his 18-ball 41 one of the finest T20 cameos of this season.But ultimately, it had to be Roy who would have the last laugh. It was a caressed drive over mid-off that went all the way for the final six of a manic game that overwhelmed a dazed Zalmi, meaning their route through to the playoffs suddenly leaves them with no margin for error.All of that will ultimately swallow up what was a phenomenal batting performance from Zalmi themselves, particularly their openers. After Ayub was dropped by Naseem Shah early off Hasnain, the two blasted their way through the powerplay, amassing 67 in six overs. But they carried on as if the fielding restrictions hadn’t been eased, and Gladiators had no response to the onslaught coming their way.By the 10th over, the 100-partnership had been reached, and both players had scored half-centuries. But on the day, Babar wasn’t simply accumulating, he was matching Ayub’s strike rate toe-to-toe. They brought up only the second 150-run stand in PSL history – Babar was involved in the first one, too, with Sharjeel Khan at Karachi Kings – and when Ayub fell for a 34-ball 74, Zalmi had pushed past 160.There was a slight deceleration as Babar approached three figures, but once he got there, he let out a yelp of delight. The shackles were off the innings once more, against a Gladiators side who were dropping catches and committing misfields like they were going out of style. Thirty-three runs came off the last two overs as Zalmi piled on the misery, and by the halfway stage, they looked to have sealed their spot in the last four, as well as Gladiators’ fate.Roy, and a majestic Gladiators, had other ideas.

New Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti has hailed Chelsea-bound Estevao Willian as a potentially "important player" for the Selecao's future.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Estevao Willian heading to Chelsea
• Blues signed youngster for £56m
• Will join the club this summer

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Ancelotti, the new Brazil boss, has hailed Estevao as a potentially huge player for Brazil's future. The Palmeiras winger has agreed to join Chelsea in a blockbuster £56 million ($76m) deal, and only turned 18 in April. He has already won four caps for his country, and has played 78 times for the Brazilian club, scoring 26 goals and laying on 15 assists.

Advertisement

• Getty
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Ancelotti was asked about the teenager ahead of his move to England, and the ex-Real Madrid boss has made a big claim about just how good he can be. Brazil are next in action on Friday against Ecuador.

• WHAT CARLO ANCELOTTI SAID

  Ancelotti said: "Estevao, I already knew about. I hadn’t seen him in person, only through videos and on TV, but I see what everyone sees: that he is a player with extraordinary, special talent, very young, and who still has things to learn.

  "Estevao is a talented player, humble, has drive and personality. He has immense creativity, a ton of qualities." He added: "Obviously, he has all the characteristics to be a very important player for the future of the national team."

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• AFP
  

  WHAT NEXT?

  Estevao is set to join Chelsea this summer and will hope to make a significant impression once he makes the move to the Premier League. He is expected to start against Ecuador.

Ignoring Super Overs, Australia haven’t lost a white-ball match in 39 outings, but England need five in a row to turn series

Andrew Miller04-Jul-2023Ignoring Super Overs, Australia’s women haven’t lost a T20I since March 2021, and are unbeaten in their last 39 completed white-ball fixtures across formats, a run that predates their two most recent World Cup titles. So to say that England’s hopes of regaining the women’s Ashes are slender is something of an understatement.Following their defeat in the one-off Test at Trent Bridge and a tense final-over loss in the opening T20I at Edgbaston on Saturday, Heather Knight’s team now need to win each of their remaining five white-ball matches to overturn a 6-0 points deficit, and win back the Ashes for the first time since 2015.Sophie Ecclestone, however, is not ready to concede defeat, and after her standout displays in each of the opening defeats, she is still confident that England are “really not far away” from their opponents.”We’ve seen weirder things happen than that in cricket,” Ecclestone said. “We’re up for the challenge, we know exactly what we need to do. We’re really not far away from them. They’re a great team and we compete with them a lot, but we have to go one better tomorrow.”It’s obviously going to be a really hard task to beat the Aussies, five out of five, but we know what we need to do and the girls are up for it tomorrow. So we’re hoping to put on a big show in front of the big crowd.”The Ashes to date has been notable for a significant crowd turnout, with the series predominantly being staged at Test-match venues. The Test attracted in excess of 23,000 across the five days, while a further 19,527 attended the Edgbaston cliffhanger.And, with more of the same to come in 2024, following Tuesday’s confirmation that Edgbaston, Headingley, the Ageas Bowl, The Oval and Lord’s will be among the venues for next summer’s T20Is against Pakistan and New Zealand – plus the prospect of a Test match at Lord’s in 2026 – Ecclestone was delighted at the degree to which the women’s game was breaking new ground.”It’s absolutely amazing,” she said. “To see so many kids in the crowd, so many people watching our games has been amazing. I think [Edgbaston] is the largest crowd I’ve ever had in the UK, so hopefully it continues.”I know we’ve got sell-out crowds at the Oval and Lord’s, and I’m just so excited to get out and play cricket there in front of them. It makes all the hard work on and off the field worth it. I think we’re just really excited to get there and entertain them, and hopefully inspire the next generation to play cricket.”Ecclestone has provided plenty of the inspiration herself. Her hard-earned ten-wicket haul in the Test spanned a remarkable 77.4 overs, while she was also the pick of England’s bowlers at Edgbaston with 2 for 24 in 3.5 overs, including three consecutive dot-balls to ramp up the pressure with the scores level in the final over.And as England’s star bowler, she has noticed an increased determination on Australia’s part to take her on in this series, a trait that she hopes will play to her advantage as the series wears on.”A few Ashes ago they just didn’t go against me and looked to block me out, but they’ve definitely taken more of an attacking approach, so I think it’s exciting for me,” she said. “I feel more in the game when they come at me and not look to block me out.”We’ve had conversations and a few meetings about how we want to go about our cricket tomorrow. We’re really confident going into it and hopefully we can pull it off.”

Liverpool star Harvey Elliott has opened the door to leaving the Merseyside club this summer amid his lack of minutes under Arne Slot.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Elliott struggling for minutes under Slot at LiverpoolMidfielder opens the door to a potential departureClaims that he doesn't 'want to be wasting years'Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Elliott joined Liverpool's youth system in 2019 from Fulham after having come through the Cottagers' ranks. The Reds have seen the London-born midfielder slowly grow into the senior team; however, the 22-year-old has not been a major part of the first team. This season, Elliott only managed 822 minutes under Slot, with players like Wataru Endo and Curtis Jones getting priority. The midfielder has now opened up that he may be considering leaving the Reds, so as not to 'waste years'.

AdvertisementAFPWHAT ELLIOTT SAID

Speaking to the media while on duty with England U-21, Elliott said: "It's just a situation that me and the team have to have a conversation about because I'm coming into an age now where I'm 22, I'm going to be 23 next season. I don't really want to be wasting years on my career because it's a short career. You don't know what's going to happen.

"I need to reflect. I need to see if I'm content in doing what I'm doing and how can I improve as a player, because that's the most important thing. I just want to improve and be the best possible version of myself. If that's to go somewhere else, then it's a decision that I'm going to have to make, and I just need to see what happens.

"Nothing makes me want to leave. I love the club, I love the fans, the team. I support them as well. But most importantly, it's just about what's best for my career."

(C)Getty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Liverpool are set to sign another midfielder in the form of Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz if they can reach an agreement with Die Werkself. However, the signing will also push Elliott further down the pecking order. As such, it may be likely that the England U-21 star may be headed for the exit doors at Anfield.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

WHAT NEXT FOR ELLIOTT?

The midfielder has yet to make his way into the England senior squad, and he will also likely be hoping that a fresh start with another side could help him rise into Thomas Tuchel's shortlist of midfielders for the Three Lions, with the World Cup approaching fast.