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Trevor Bayliss, England’s head coach, has promised that his team will receive another “stern talking-to”, after confirming that Jonny Bairstow was involved in an altercation with Australia’s opening batsman, Cameron Bancroft

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-20171:01

Bancroft incident is blown out of proportion – Bairstow

Trevor Bayliss, England’s head coach, has promised that his team will receive another “stern talking-to”, following the incident where Jonny Bairstow headbutted Australia’s opening batsman, Cameron Bancroft, on the first night of England’s Ashes tour.Speaking in the wake of England’s ten-wicket defeat in the first Test at Brisbane, Bayliss admitted his disappointment that another England player had become involved in an off-field issue so soon after Ben Stokes’ arrest in Bristol, but reiterated the team’s stance that there had been ‘no malice’ involved in the incident and that it had been ‘blown out of all proportion’.Bayliss confirmed that the incident had occurred on the first night of England’s tour back in October, when the team touched in Perth. There were no curfews imposed that night, and though Bairstow was one of the England players who received a fine for their part in the events leading up to the Bristol incident, Bayliss insisted that no disciplinary action was anticipated on this occasion.”It doesn’t reflect well on the image of the team, that’s for sure,” Bayliss told BBC’s Test Match Special. “It’s something we are working towards, but to say there’s a drinking culture and a big problem, that’s far off the mark.”These guys don’t drink any more or less than any cricket team I’ve ever been involved with or seen. And they are adults as well; a lot of it has got to stem back to them, how they react and hold themselves. When they are on the drink, or after the game, that’s up to them.”Speaking after the first Test had finished, England captain Joe Root said too much had been made of the situation. “The story over Jonny – I think a mountain’s been made out of a molehill as far as that’s concerned, we’ve just got to move on and concentrate on our cricket as a squad.”Bairstow addressed the media with a brief statement after play, not taking any questions. “Personally I think it’s been blown completely out of proportion. That night we were allowed out, there weren’t any curfews, and I caught up with one of my friends and some of the Western Australian guys after they’d beaten Tasmania at the WACA.”We were just in the bar having a good laugh, it was very enjoyable, Cameron and I enjoyed the evening and continued to do so. There was no intent, no malice about anything during the evening. As you could see today there was no animosity between myself, Cameron or any of the other Australian players. Hopefully we can wipe this under the table and continue what will be an exciting series.”The incident is understood to have picked up via the stump microphones when Bairstow came out to bat during the Brisbane Test, with Bancroft now a member of Australia’s Test team having been playing for Western Australia at the time.”It’s been the way of the world for the last number of years and that’s not going to change,” Bayliss said of the tendency for on-field comments to be overheard by the stump mics. “We’ve just got to make better decisions.”It was a chance for the Australian team to get stuck in and make people feel uncomfortable and that’s their prerogative,” he added. “That’s Ashes cricket and it’s what we’ve got to deal with, which is why these types of small instances we can’t put up with.”It’s disappointing that something like this comes up a few weeks after Bristol. Will be another stern talking to tonight. We’ve got to be very careful not to get ourselves in those situations.”

Will Gidman was left stranded on 99 not out but he and Matt Coles ensured Kent picked up the fifth batting bonus point they desperately wanted

David Hopps at Hove01-Sep-2016
ScorecardWill Gidman was left stranded on 99 not out (file photo)•PA Photos

This was a bonus point that mattered. There really are such things. Will Gidman knew it. It had been his sole objective for five hours. On the dressing room balcony, Kent’s players could think of little else. While some spectators gazed upon a Hove ground clad in sunshine, and indulged in the bittersweet regret of the first day of September, the professionals were doing sums. Essex were too far ahead at the top of Division Two already. Not a point could be wasted.A lap of the Hove ground on a gorgeous afternoon. Kent’s prospects of achieving 400 had looked meagre when they closed the first day at 211 for 5, 15 wickets lost in all, seam bowlers in command. But Gidman and Darren Stevens had batted through the morning unscathed and, although Stevens’ poles had gone walkabout to the first delivery with the second new ball from Steve Magoffin, Sussex’s angular metronome, Kent were 38 short with 10 overs left and seven down.From the darkest recesses of a dark bar, a barman with no view of the game waved to attract attention. Just hoping he might sell a lager. He would not see Matt Coles, a muscular smiter, nodding anxiously at Gidman and promising that Conscientious was his middle name.Only four runs added from two overs. Fielders repeatedly hit. On the balcony, Daniel Bell-Drummond fiddled with his sunglasses and looked unperturbed. The hotchpotch of stands were well populated. Kent had drawn the biggest Championship crowd of the season. They watched patiently, mixing cricket talk with family worries. “Good stop… Nell’s out of hospital.” An elderly man dropped his scorecard and winced slightly as he picked it up. A snatch of an REM song – “Will you live to 83, will you ever welcome me?” – briefly came to mind.

I should have had a whack – Gidman

Will Gidman: “It was a bit unfortunate not to get to a hundred. Mitch Claydon did his best and I should probably have had a whack earlier on to be honest, but I was pleased with the innings. It would have been nice to get over the line but it wasn’t to be.

Hove is a wonderful ground to watch square of the wicket even for those who prefer to sit behind the arm. There are beaches which shelve less fiercely than the rush of the ground towards the sea end. The tilt of the ground adds an extra dimension, especially when the pitch is near the edge of the square. A fast bowler dashing down the slope can be a terrifying prospect. Ajmal Shahzad is not terrifying but Gidman ignored his bouncer all the same with two men back. Coles stole a boundary off Ollie Robinson, a bowler with an air of breeding, but forced to do the hard yards uphill.A light plane passed overheard, glinting in cloudless skies, drowning the distant clamour of the gulls. Henry Hawk, a kite brought from Devon, to try to keep the seagulls at bay, swayed gently by the side of the south-west stand. The scorecard showed the balls gradually being whittled away. A man in the Players Club rose from his seat, in search of a coffee or a comfort break. Another suddenly grabbed his binoculars and looked on intently – the focus of his interest hard to know.Still 28 needed from six. Wickets now could scotch the plan. “Danny Briggs,” announced the Sussex scorer, Mike Charman, sitting in for the regular PA announcer with aplomb. Few spinners possess such gentle rhythms, but Briggs’ switch from Hampshire has been a challenging one. The pitches rarely turn, certainly not for Briggs, and the boundaries are short. His bowling in four-day cricket is the epitome of niceness, with all the negatives the word can convey. Coles missed a sweep and settled for a maiden. Briggs knew he was not going to settle for another one.From a marquee at the Sea End, Martin Corry, a former back row forward for Leicester and England, gathered pace in a speech for the Wooden Spoon charity. Kent sought to gather pace with him. Laughter burst from the marquee: the speech was going well. Gidman edged Shahzad at catchable height wide of first slip. Kent, 22 needed from four, were not quite as confident.In the Life Members stand above the media box, a man in a Joyce replica shirt fiddled with his shoelaces. Across the ground, spectators had set their deckchairs upright. It was here, about 25 years ago, where I had hoped to introduce myself to the ‘s football correspondent, David Lacey, only for him to doze, deckchair on the lowest setting, through the entire afternoon session with that morning’s paper on his lap.Briggs bowling to Coles might have been a mix-up of Olympic sports: the grace of a gymnast met by the primal threat of a wrestler. Coles finally opened his shoulders and heaved him to long-on, where he was caught to cheers – but only by a spectator 10 rows back. A four followed, slogged flatter this time.All this tension for a point. A point that might prove not to matter if Essex scoot the division by 40 points. Or which might prove to be priceless on the last afternoon of the season when the sides are locked at Canterbury and Kent are scenting a table-turning victory.Six from three overs; a woman in a flowery sunhat returned to her crossword, confident the job was as good as done. Gidman had the luxury of digging in and playing out a maiden. “Come on Briggsy,” Sussex exhorted, but Coles now looked twice the size. He reverse-swept the first ball for four and stole a single into the leg side off a glove. On 399, Briggs clamoured for lbw as another reverse from Gidman this time went awry, but the appeal was lost, the leg bye taken.”Come on Sussex, show some fight,” came a cry from the crowd. The game was lost; the pressure released, Kent’s lead would soon be rushing past 300. In the marquee, Corry’s speech done, the audience was laughing and applauding. Kent’s captain, Sam Northeast walked down the steps from the dressing room and hollered congratulations. Kent were now laughing and applauding, too.Gidman would be left stranded on 99 not out, missing his sixth first-class century in frustrating fashion, Magoffin claiming a five-for as Mitch Claydon drove a slower ball to mid-off. Sheepish apologies followed.For five-and-three-quarter hours, Gidman had steeled Kent’s ambitions. Few will gush over their evening meals about what they had witnessed, especially in Sussex. His wagon wheel suggested he struck only two off side boundaries, one of those the edge past slip, one authentic stroke against Robinson – but some insisted they had seen more, and anyway he had achieved his objective. September is upon us and Kent are not giving up without a fight.

Glamorgan continued their remarkable form in the NatWest T20 Blast against Sussex with a win that extended their undefeated run in the competition to seven matches

ECB Reporters Network07-Jul-2016
ScorecardTim van der Gugten’s early wickets made the difference•Getty Images

Glamorgan continued their remarkable form in the NatWest T20 Blast against Sussex with a win that extended their undefeated run in the competition to seven matches.A 55-ball 81 from David Lloyd set up a total that was about par on a slow Cardiff pitch but it was made to look a lot more valuable than that when Glamorgan’s Dutch bowler Timm van der Gugten ripped apart the Sussex top order at the start of the Sussex chase and finished with 4 for 17.The story of Glamorgan’s season has been the coming of age of Lloyd. He made his third first-class hundred of the season against these same opponents on Wednesday and tonight he continued that fine run of form. He looked all set to pass his career best T20 score of 97 not out made against Kent this season but he fell in the 17th over when He mistimed a pull shot off Chris Jordan.Lloyd shared decent partnerships with Colin Ingram and Jacques Rudolph, but he was the most impressive Glamorgan batsman by a distance. The next highest score was Rudolph with 24 who had dropped himself down to No. 4 as he searches for a return to form.Rudolph had looked very well set in this innings, at one point hitting a massive six off Chris Nash that is now residing at the bottom of the River Taff. Just when it appeared that he might make his first truly significant T20 contribution of 2016 he drilled a ball from Nuwan Kulasekara to Luke Wright in the covers.A four-over spell from England bowler’s Chris Jordan and Tymal Mills in the final overs prevented Glamorgan from getting a truly daunting total. Mills was particularly impressive as he took two wickets for five runs in his two overs at the death. He bowled with pace and with accuracy showing why he made his England bow this week.Glamorgan stumbled to a total of 159 for 8, but it ended up being more than enough as the ever more impressive van der Gugten took three wickets in three overs at the start of the Sussex innings to leave them 22 for 3 in the seventh over.With the Sussex top order gone the run rate just kept going up, but a partnership between Ross Taylor and Matt Machan that was worth 37 gave Sussex some hope. When both of those men fell within seven balls of each other any feint hopes of an away win were gone.With that partnership broken it became a procession of Sussex wickets as they finished on 113 all out. Michael Hogan, Craig Meschede and Graham Wagg picked up two wickets.Shaun Tait bowled very fast on his return to Glamorgan after his brief spell with the club in 2010 but he was the only seamer to go wicketless.

Kent conceded 492 but had the ambition to pull off a pulsating win at Derby, routing them for 94 in their second innings and finishing a chase organised by Daniel Bell-Drummond with a fusillade of sixes

ECB Reporters Network25-May-2016
ScorecardJames Tredwell wrecked Derbyshire’s top order•Getty Images

Derbyshire folded dramatically to a combination of spin and seam as Kent cruised to a seven wicket victory in the Division Two match at Derby.James Tredwell and Calum Haggett took four wickets each, the latter a career-best 4 for 15, as Derbyshire lost seven for 45 in 93 balls to be skittled for 94 leaving Kent with a target of 175.Daniel Bell-Drummond made a composed unbeaten 80 from 99 balls before Alex Blake sealed Kent’s second win of the season in style with three consecutive sixes off leg-spinner Matt Critchley.There had been no sign that Kent would win so convincingly as Wayne Madsen and Neil Broom cruised along at five an over but the wheels came flying off once Tredwell had broken through.Broom edged a quicker ball to first slip where Adam Ball took a sharp one-handed catch and the decision to bring on Haggett was rewarded immediately as Wayne Madsen misread the length and was lbw for 37.Billy Godleman had recovered from the blow on his left forearm which forced him to retire hurt the previous evening but made only three before he was lbw pushing at Tredwell who ended Derbyshire’s hopes of setting a more demanding target when he bowled Shiv Thakor for 10.The end came five overs later as both Critchley and Ben Cotton played back instead of forward to Haggett and were lbw leaving Kent with 71 overs to win the game.On an overcast, drizzly day with the floodlights on, it was never going to be entirely straightforward, particularly as Joe Denly was back in Kent with his wife and new-born baby, but Derbyshire needed early wickets to have any chance.Bell-Drummond and Sean Dickson denied them until the 12th over when Dickson tried to run Tom Taylor to third man and edged into his stumps but Derbyshire could not build up any pressure.A wet ball did not help and Bell-Drummond cut and drove Taylor for three consecutive fours on his way to a 68 ball 50 and Ball helped him take Kent to 100 before he was caught on the crease by Tony Palladino.Bell-Drummond paced his innings expertly, setting the platform for the violent assault that carried Kent to victory on a tide of sixes, first from skipper Sam Northeast and then by Blake who dispatched the only three balls he faced from Critchley over the ropes to take his side home with a minimum of 38.3 overs to spare.It was an impressive performance and Haggett thought the seeds of victory were sown on the third evening. “To get three wickets last night was a big factor, it put us in a good place and we managed to keep things going.”We bowled pretty well as a group and we got the rewards and I thought we bowled a bit straighter than in the first inninngs.”It started to keep a bit low and the odd one popped and thankfully it was my day. Treddy was getting some spin as well and we hit our areas better.”It’s a good confidence-booster and we are in a good place at the moment but we know we need to keep putting in the work.”Madsen said: “James Tredwell mixed his pace up well and bowled well into the rough and when Haggett came on he bowled at the stumps and was getting it to jag back and made it difficult.”Possibly we were caught on the back foot and maybe have to get out of our crease a bit more but to be fair he bowled really well and unfortunately we weren’t up to it.”We thought 200 was going to be a good score and we would be able to bowl them out but they came out and played positively. We weren’t helped that we had to change the ball a few times with the wet outfield but it was disappointing not to get enough in the right areas to trouble them.”I think we have to be better than that, especially on a wicket which has deteriorated, but I do think for us a team there are positives to take from this. Shiv [Thakor] with his hundred and five-for, he’s really played well for us this year.”I look back at the way we bowled for the first 100 overs, our disciplines and plans were spot on , but the game got away from us at the crucial times on day three and going into day four.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the first World T20 semi-final between England and New Zealand

The Preview by Andrew Fidel Fernando in Delhi29-Mar-2016

Match facts

March 30, 2016
Start time 1900 local (1330 GMT)3:15

‘Both teams will be going in with confidence’

Big Picture

Where other teams have looked upon surfaces and made vague guesses at how they might play, New Zealand have read pitches like a soothsayer would tea leaves. Empowered by this clairvoyance they have picked boldly: three spinners to embarrass the hosts in turning Nagpur, Mitchell McClenaghan to rattle Australia in Dharamsala, Adam Milne proving handy in relatively quicker Mohali, before the trio of spinners were reunited for slow-and-low Kolkata.New Zealand had not played in Asia since late 2014, but they are here at the semi-finals now; the only undefeated side. They have not just been clever with the ball. Batting first in each group match, competitive scores have been worked out and achieved. Kane Williamson has been described by team-mates as a “great captain”. Behind the scenes, Mike Hesson’s wit has sharpened New Zealand.England, meanwhile, have been tempered in three scrapes, since losing their first match to West Indies. The chase of 230 against South Africa was a triumph of the batsmen’s making. Then the bowlers held their nerve as Afghanistan made a late charge at England’s low total at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Finally, just as Sri Lanka appeared to be stealing away the must-win match, Joe Root completed an outstanding take at mid-off to turn the match his team’s way. England haven’t been pretty or dominant, but they have found ways to win. There is a spine to this campaign that hasn’t always been the case with England’s limited-overs teams.They have also played two matches at the Kotla already, and have a batting order that goes deeper than a Barry White “oh yeah”. England only lost four wickets in the victory against Sri Lanka, but the men at the top of the order appear to be more likely to take risks while so many hitters sit in the dugout. Their bowling appears to be the weaker discipline. But then, New Zealand don’t have daunting batting form coming into this game either – Martin Guptill has struck their only fifty in the tournament – and they have not yet been tested chasing.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)


England WWWLL
New Zealand WWWWW

In the spotlight

With New Zealand sure to shake up their XI, and their strategy to suit the tournament, Eoin Morgan has the job of driving his side to adapt to the opposition’s adaptations. What if New Zealand have decided 140 is a good total and are pushing the singles to get themselves there? Does Morgan bring in the field, and hope to force a mistake? And does he shake up his own top order to spoil New Zealand’s bowling plans? Also, as the most experienced man in that middle order, Morgan must also assess the pitch himself if England are batting first. His form has been moderate through the tournament, having produced two duds, as well as two decent finishes.Mitchell Santner has a front arm like a T-Rex when he bowls, but in this tournament he has also been taking tyrannosaurus-sized bites out of the opposition top order with his left-arm spin. Of players who have only bowled in the Super 10s, he has the equal highest-wickets (nine), as well as an economy rate of 5.73. He might have floated into the tournament a little incognito, but he can be assured now that England will have spent time analysing videos of his bowling and working out a plan to him. Will he be able to adapt to England adapting to his own excellent adaptations to Indian surfaces?

Teams news

England may think about switching one of their spinners for a seamer, but will likely abandon the thought. The XI that defeated Sri Lanka is likely to take the field again.England (probable) 1 Jason Roy, 2 Alex Hales, 3 Joe Root, 4 Jos Buttler (wk), 5 Eoin Morgan (capt), 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 Chris Jordan, 10 David Willey, 11 Liam Plunkett.Almost no one would have expected New Zealand to leave both Trent Boult and Tim Southee out for the entire group stage, yet it has seemed, at times, that the only way they would get a game is if the Delhi matches were moved to Wellington or Christchurch. Hesson and Williamson were seen taking a close look at the Kotla surface on the eve of the match, and as the pitch has not been particularly conducive to seam bowling, they may be out of the XI again.New Zealand (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Kane Williamson (capt), 3 Colin Munro, 4 Corey Anderson, 5 Ross Taylor, 6 Grant Elliott, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Adam Milne, 10 Ish Sodhi, 11 Mitchell McClenaghan

Pitch and conditions

The pitch prepared for this match appears to have a little grass, but given the venue’s history that does not mean it will be quick, nor does it suggest the ball will seam around. The two previous games on this square have been played on slowish surfaces, but these have not offered much turn. The weather is not expected to impede play. Temperatures are forecast to hover around the 30 degrees Celsius mark.

Stats and trivia

• New Zealand have won 10 of their 13 T20 matches in the past year.
• England had beaten New Zealand in six consecutive T20Is between February 2008 and February 2013.
• Root is the second-highest run-scorer of batsmen who have only played the Super 10s stage of the tournament, with 168 runs at a strike rate of 150.
• New Zealand and England have each been to the World T20 semi-finals on one previous occasion – New Zealand in 2007, and England in 2010. England went on to win the 2010 tournament, while New Zealand were defeated by Pakistan in their semi-final.

Quotes

“I can’t quite believe how far we’ve come overall in our white-ball cricket. The guys that we’ve selected have done outstandingly well and shown a great amount of attitude in learning. It’s not always easy to come up against very strong sides who knock you back on a day-to-day basis, but every question that’s been asked of us we’ve come back with either a counter-answer or a more aggressive option.”
“In terms of Mike Hesson’s and my perspective, we will pick horses for courses against the opposition. That philosophy won’t change.”

Only once has a side won both the eliminator and the second qualifier games in the IPL – Chennai Super Kings in 2012. Royal Challengers Bangalore will want to become the second side to do so, but find Super Kings in their way

The Preview by Abhishek Purohit21-May-2015

Match facts

Friday, May 22, 2015
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)

Big picture

Only once has a side won both the eliminator and the second qualifier games in the IPL. Chennai Super Kings did that in 2012, but went down to Kolkata Knight Riders in the final. Royal Challengers Bangalore will want to become the second side to do so, but find Super Kings in their way.Royal Challengers put in a complete performance in the eliminator to beat Rajasthan Royals by 71 runs. Led by AB de Villiers and Mandeep Singh, they took 86 off the last six overs. Super Kings will likely not be so accommodating at the death. MS Dhoni’s men have comfortably beaten Royal Challengers in both league games this season, in Bangalore and in Chennai.In both those games, Super Kings batted first. It will be an interesting decision for Virat Kohli to make if he wins the toss. Four out of six IPL games in Ranchi have been won by the chasing side, and the victory margin in the fifth was only seven runs. Royal Challengers prefer to chase, especially in batting-friendly conditions at home, but this is a larger outfield and not as high-scoring a venue as Chinnaswamy Stadium.Super Kings have played a lot more in Ranchi than Royal Challengers have – seven games against two – and will be more familiar with the conditions. What will have bothered them is how their chase unraveled against Mumbai Indians in the first qualifier.They were 86 for 2 at the halfway stage when Harbhajan Singh dismissed Suresh Raina and Dhoni off successive deliveries, blows from which Super Kings never recovered. Mumbai Indians were 86 for 0 at the halfway stage, and Kieron Pollard catapulted them to 187 for 6. Super Kings have struck consistently with the new ball this season, something they could not do in the first qualifier, and will want to in the second.

Form guide

Chennai Super Kings LWLWL (last five matches, most recent first)
Royal Challengers Bangalore WWLWW

Head-to-Head

Super Kings lead Royal Challengers 11-7 in the head-to-head. Raina made 62 off 32 to lead Super Kings to 181 for 8 in Bangalore. Ashish Nehra’s 4 for 10 kept Royal Challengers to 154 for 8. Raina’s 52 off 46 took Super Kings to 148 for 9 in Chennai. Nehra claimed 3 for 19 as Royal Challengers were dismissed for 124.

In the spotlight

Suresh Raina is having his poorest IPL season, in terms of runs as well as strike-rate. His lowest season run-tally prior to this one was 421 in 2008, and his lowest season strike-rate was 135 in 2011. This time he has made 346 runs at 122. However, both his fifties have come against Royal Challengers.These are the two most productive attacks this season. Super Kings have taken 93 wickets at an economy-rate of 7.56 and a strike-rate of 18.9. Royal Challengers have 86 at 8.38 and 16.6. With so many power-hitters in both line-ups, it will come down to which set of bowlers holds up better under pressure.

Team news

Barring last-minute surprises, both sides should go in with the same XIs.Chennai Super Kings (probable) 1 Dwayne Smith, 2 Michael Hussey, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Faf du Plessis, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Pawan Negi, 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Ashish Nehra, 11 Mohit SharmaRoyal Challengers Bangalore (probable) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Virat Kohli (capt), 3 AB de Villiers, 4 Mandeep Singh, 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Sarfaraz Khan, 7 David Wiese, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Harshal Patel, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 S Aravind

Pitch and conditions

The pitch appeared pretty dry on the eve of the game. The average first-innings score in IPL games in Ranchi is 150, suggesting a surface more to Super Kings’ liking than Royal Challengers’. The city is expected to sizzle at a maximum of 41 degrees but conditions will not be so extreme in the night. No rain is forecast.

Stats and trivia

• Royal Challengers beat Super Kings by five wickets in the only game between the two sides in Ranchi, in 2014
• Virat Kohli has scored the most runs in IPL games between the two teams – 694 with six half-centuries at an average of 46.26 and a strike-rate of 126.87
• Dinesh Karthik has 17 dismissals in IPL 2015. The season record is 19 by Kumar Sangakkara in 2011

Quotes

“The guys are getting pretty tired at this stage of the tournament. To get rid of a game and a bit of travel would have been good. But we are not afforded that luxury. We have to dig pretty deep. Happy that we have another opportunity… in Ranchi which has been good to us.”

Australia have spun a major selection surprise by including the 19-year-old Ashton Agar, a Western Australian left-arm spinner, in their XI for the first Ashes Test

Daniel Brettig at Trent Bridge10-Jul-2013Australia have spun a major selection surprise by including the 19-year-old Ashton Agar, a Western Australian left-arm spinner, in their XI for the first Test against England at Trent Bridge.Glenn McGrath’s presence in the Australian team huddle a little less than an hour before the toss suggested a change to the team, and Agar emerged wearing his baggy green cap, presented on the strength of only ten first-class matches. His selection appears geared towards exploiting England’s phalanx of right-handers, while also opening up a familiar wound for Kevin Pietersen.However, it is a major blow to the career of the offspinner Nathan Lyon, who took nine wickets in his last Test match against India in Delhi. The selection also recalled events of the last Ashes series in Australia, when the previous selection panel dropped Nathan Hauritz on the eve of the series for Xavier Doherty, a move made with Pietersen in mind.Unlike Doherty, Agar is a capable batsman and also a fine fielder. His inclusion leaves the tourists with a team that can be said to bat all the way down to No. 11.”The main reason for the selection is taking the ball away from all their right-handers and we think this is a really important weapon in particular for this Test match on that particular wicket,” the coach Darren Lehmann said. “In the tour match Michael [Clarke] felt he had good drift and straightened the ball nicely so that’s just the way we have gone with the selectors in this Test match and we’re looking forward to him playing really well.”Agar was not included in the initial Ashes squad, but after Lehmann’s naming as coach he was upgraded to a place on tour, much like Steve Smith, the other notable inclusion in the team.Smith’s selection reflects a desire to have another right-hander and capable player of spin in the middle order, while also forcing David Warner to earn his spot back after poor form and a suspension for punching Joe Root during the Champions Trophy.In one of the more convoluted paths to keeping a place in the team, Smith was initially left out of the Ashes squad but named vice-captain of the Australia A tour that served as a prelude. He was also on standby should an extra Ashes batsmen be required, an event that came to pass due to Warner’s suspension and Michael Clarke’s back trouble early in the tour.Having battled gamely during his two India Tests, Smith went on to impress Rod Marsh and Lehmann – before he was appointed coach – on the Australia A tour, notably making a century against Ireland on a difficult first-day wicket in Belfast. He was then included for the final tour match against Worcestershire and played a pair of sprightly innings.Smith is being groomed for leadership roles in the future by Cricket Australia, and was set to lead the A team to South Africa later this month before his Ashes tickets were upgraded. He will now have the opportunity to demonstrate how much he has developed since being a figure of some ridicule during the 2010-11 series, when his technique did not appear that of a top six batsman.The rest of Australia’s batting order was more or less as expected, Clarke moving to No. 4 having batted there in every innings so far on tour, Ed Cowan moving down to No. 3 and the pace attack comprising James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc and Peter Siddle.Australia: 1 Shane Watson, 2 Chris Rogers, 3 Ed Cowan, 4 Michael Clarke (capt), 5 Phillip Hughes, 6 Steve Smith, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 James Pattinson, 11 Ashton Agar.

Only 57.4 overs could be played and Northamptonshire have set themselves up nicely to pass Yorkshire’s first-innings total

Jon Culley at Northampton02-Aug-2012
ScorecardAdil Rashid, here during his only other appearance of the season, believes he is finding form again•Getty Images

On the face of it, this was not a helpful day in Yorkshire’s pursuit of promotion. Only 57.4 overs could be played and Northamptonshire have set themselves up nicely to pass Yorkshire’s first-innings total, thanks to an unbroken partnership of 69 between Stephen Peters and Rob Newton. But in a season during which they have spent almost as much time in the changing rooms as on the field, they are used to finding a positive nuance in an unpromising script.On this occasion, they did not have to look very far. Adil Rashid, whose prowess as a legspin bowler had waned so severely he was dropped from the Yorkshire team before these sides met at Headingley in May, has been recalled for only his second Championship match since. In what was, in effect, his first proper bowl in that time – he had just one over in a rain-wrecked contest at Colwyn Bay in June – he looked in surprisingly good order.In two spells totalling nine overs, he gave the ball a loop, found some turn, conceded only one boundary and claimed only his 10th wicket of the season with a delivery that spun and bounced and had Alex Wakely caught at second slip. If lack of confidence had been a problem to him during a difficult 12 months, it did not seem to be a handicap this time.Indeed, he confirmed afterwards that something of the old Rashid, the one that was picked to tour India with England in 2008, was beginning to resurface.”I felt good, my areas felt good, I felt I was threatening, I didn’t bowl many bad balls,” he said. “There is still a long way to go and I need to get a lot more overs under my belt to get some real rhythm but once I get a few wickets I will come back into my own again.”Rashid’s form had been on the slide since early last season, when an 11-wicket haul in the opening match against Worcestershire proved something of a false promise. By the end of the summer he had taken only 28 more in first-class games. This season, he has found no momentum at all.”It has been difficult to get that confidence back and the lack of bowling has not helped,” he said. “And when I have come back into the side I have put myself under a lot of pressure.”But they have told me to relax, to see my role as a wicket-taker, and that if it goes round the park, so be it. And that mindset helps take the pressure off me.”I can only take one match at a time but I felt as good today as I have in a while. I have been out of the side for a couple of months so I have had a long time to work on my action and on the mental side of things and now I just want to have the match practice and basically to bowl and bowl.”It is getting there slowly and hopefully I can get more overs under my belt in the next month or so. With where we are in the season it would be a good time to get back into form.”Every player, even the best players in the world, go through bad patches. I’ve been up and down and hopefully I can come back on a high.”An effective Rashid would clearly be a boon to Yorkshire in their efforts not to blow their chance of going back up at the first attempt following last summer’s relegation from Division One.If there are question marks over whether they have what it takes, they concern their bowling. Steve Patterson, their leading wicket-taker in the Championship with 29, has been asked to carry a heavy burden of responsibility and has done so pretty well but the support for him has been a little lightweight.Richard Pyrah is a solid, well-organised seamer but has no history of bowling sides out. Strike bowler Moin Ashraf and offspinner Azeem Rafiq, meanwhile, are young men with their best years ahead of them. Ryan Sidebottom will be back soon, assuming his recovery from a calf muscle injury is not set back when he plays for the second XI next week, but it would be useful and timely if Rashid could re-emerge now as a force.His first priority, along with Patterson and company, is to ensure Northamptonshire do not build a substantial advantage from the platform built by Peters and Newton. Rafiq, into the attack in the first hour, had Kyle Coetzer well caught at backward point cutting, and Pyrah found the edge to have David Sales taken at second slip by a tumbling Adam Lyth just before lunch, but the fourth-wicket pair looked well set when rain swept in at tea.

One player has been called into hearing by the BPL on Monday after a man was arrested the previous night for his suspected involvement in spot-fixing in the BPL

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Feb-2012One player has been called into a hearing by the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) on Monday after a man was arrested the previous night for his suspected involvement in fixing in the BPL*.Sajid Khan, a Pakistani citizen, was approached by Chittagong Kings officials during their game against Barisal Burners at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Sunday evening. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) security staff stopped him near the players’ zone, which he was trying to access.The BCB security chief, Col (rtd) Mesbahuddin Serniabat, told that the BCB had kept an eye on Sajid since the matches held in Chittagong, and finally captured him on Sunday. “His movement was very suspicious and we followed him from Chittagong,” he said, adding that they had handed him over to the Mirpur police, who were supposed to raid the man’s hotel room.It is understood that the security officers found the bank account number of one player of the Chittagong Kings and the e-mail address of another who is playing for the Dhaka Gladiators in Sajid’s mobile inbox.”He [Sajid] has been handed over to the police so the investigation is now in their hands,” BCB media committee chairman Jalal Yunus said. “The BCB has zero tolerance in this matter and i hope we get to the bottom of this.”**An official of the Chittagong franchise, requesting anonymity, has told ESPNcricinfo that Sajid had been found talking to some of their foreign players during the tournament, eliciting suspicion after sitting directly on top of the players’ dugout and dressing room during the matches held in Mirpur.The incident occurs just over two weeks after Dhaka Gladiators captain Mashrafe Mortaza reported to his franchise that he had been approached by a fellow cricketer regarding potential spot-fixing during the BPL. The BCB has formed a four-member committee to inquire into the allegation.Edited by Dustin Silgardo*February 27, 2012 8:20GMT: This lead has been edited from a previous version
**February 27, 2012 8:30GMT: This quote has been edited from a previous version

A round-up of the action from the fifth match-day of the ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Bangladesh

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Nov-2011South Africa Women have qualified for the Women’s World Cup after thrashing Zimbabwe Women in Fatullah and reaching the semi-finals of the qualifiers. It was a mismatch with South Africa having won all their games before the encounter and Zimbabwe having lost their three games. Zimbabwe managed to bat their 50 overs after being put in but only reached 103, which South Africa chased in just 12 overs without losing a wicket. Only four of Zimbabwe’s batsmen reached double figures in their crawl of an innings and offspinner Sunette Loubser took 5 for 9. Shandre Fritz raced to 69 off 45 balls to take South Africa to a thumping win.

Joining them in the 2013 World Cup in India will be West Indies Women who cemented their place in the semi-finals with an 80-run win against Bangladesh Women in Mirpur. Stafanie Taylor’s tremendous run continued as she hit her third consecutive score of over fifty. Shanel Daley also got a half-century as West Indies reached 217 for 8 after being put in. Daley and Taylor had built the innings carefully and Stacy-Ann King gave it momentum, hitting three sixes in her 24 off 18 balls. Bangladesh’s innings never got going and though they had lost only two wickets by the 26th over they had crawled to 67. The run-rate was slow throughout and Bangladesh were bowled out for 137 in 47.4 overs. Bangladesh though still have a chance to qualify for the semi-finals since they finished third in Group B and will meet the second-placed team from Group A in a play-off.Bangladesh lost to Sri Lanka in two games before the qualifiers began and their coach Mamatha Maben recognised it would be a tough game but said she hoped her side had improved enough to win. “We’ve not performed to our full potential in previous matches against Sri Lanka but we are getting closer each time we play them and hopefully Tuesday’s game will be the game we finally beat them,” she said.”I have always said as a side we’re a good bowling and fielding team who is learning, but we are lacking in the batting department. That lacking was seen today against West Indies who proved to be a tough opposition and showed our batters what they need to be doing.

That team is Sri Lanka Women, who romped to an eight-wicket victory against United States of America Women in Savar. USA chose to bat but only one of their batsmen reached double figures as they slumped to 53 all out. Remarkably, USA played 49.4 overs to reach that low total. Shashikala Siriwardene took 3 for 9 in her 10 overs. Sri Lanka have made a habit of losing wickets in easy chases and did so again, stumbling to 15 for 2. The outcome was never in doubt though and Prasadani Weerakkody scored 22 not out as Sri Lanka got home in the 19th over.

Nida Dar scored 124 off 139 balls as Pakistan Women thrashed Japan Women in Savar. Pakistan got 272 after electing to bat and Japan were then skittled for 26 in 28 overs. Japan have not scored more than 71 all tournament but this was their lowest total. Six batsmen got ducks, only one reached double figures and left-arm spinner Sadia Yousuf took 6 for 2 in Japan’s capitulation. Pakistan’s total was always going to be out of reach but Japan may have hoped to put up a better fight.