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ESPNcricinfo’s best content on the iconic England fast bowler, who died on Wednesday

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Dec-2019Bob Willis, legendary England fast bowler, dies aged 70
The former England captain and fast bowler, who will be forever synonymous with England’s 1981 Ashes victory, died on December 4.Icon, survivor, grandee: Farewell Bob Willis, the man with the longest run
Andrew Miller, ESPNcricinfo’s UK editor, writes a moving tribute in memory of England’s mightiest of fast bowlers.Bob Willis, funny and acerbic on camera, kind and warm behind it
Mark Nicholas on the England legend.Tributes: ‘An English legend who inspired a generation of fast bowlers’
Willis’ passing, at the age of 70, had the cricketing world in mourning.‘That was abject, Charles, absolutely pathetic’ – Bob Willis’ best quips
Willis had developed a reputation for his dry, acerbic and generally scathing verdicts during his punditry career working for Sky Sports.Podcast: The late, great Bob Willis – Warm, generous … terrifying
Mark Butcher, Andrew Miller and Alan Gardner reflect on cricket’s sad loss, and look back on England’s tour of New Zealand.WATCH – Mark Butcher delivers an emotional tribute to Bob Willis
He joins the Switch Hit team to pay tribute to Willis.The Cricket Monthly: ‘I don’t think odds of 500-1 have appeared since’
How Willis’ bowling England to an incredible Ashes win at Headingley was the culmination of a golden five-year period for him.Archive: The hero who almost didn’t play
What is less well known about Willis is that he was not even in the original squad picked for the Test.

Batsman’s involvement in sordid WhatsApp group was revealed during Alex Hepburn trial

Jon Culley05-Feb-2020Joe Clarke was used to being in the spotlight. Since his debut for Worcestershire at the age of 18 in 2015, his story had encompassed only success and the promise of more. This time it was different.This time the headlines were not about Joe Clarke the England batsman in waiting, as they had tended to be during his rapid rise as the golden boy of New Road. They were about Clarke as a central figure in a grubby tale of sexist, misogynistic behaviour that many had imagined to belong to distant, less enlightened times, and which had profound consequences for one of those involved.Sitting in an office overlooking his new home ground at Trent Bridge, Clarke confides that the dark shadow cast by the episode is still there. “If I could go back and change what happened, I would,” he said. “For all the parties involved. That thought runs through my mind every day.”He is referring to the shocking consequences of a night out in Worcester almost three years ago that were thrust brutally into the public domain in January of last year, when his former Worcestershire team-mate, Alex Hepburn, now serving a prison sentence, stood trial on a charge that he had raped a woman in an apartment in the city centre. Clarke, who had gone to the bathroom to be sick and subsequently passed out there while the alleged offence was taking place, having previously had consensual sex with the same woman, appeared in court as a key witness.The trial concluded with the jury failing to reach a verdict but a retrial was scheduled for April, when Hepburn would be found guilty and sentenced to five years in custody. In the meantime, the emergence in the first trial of sordid messages exchanged between Hepburn, Clarke and another former New Road colleague, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, via WhatsApp, had led to Clarke and Kohler-Cadmore being withdrawn from an England Lions squad preparing to go to India, pending likely disciplinary action.By the time of the retrial, Clarke was two weeks into his debut season for Nottinghamshire, to whom he had moved at the end of the 2018 season. He did not need to miss any cricket in order to appear but when Hepburn’s guilty verdict was announced on April 12, Nottinghamshire were playing Somerset at Trent Bridge.At the end of the match, in which Clarke scored just two runs in each innings after making 112 and 97 not out on his Championship debut for the county the week before, Nottinghamshire head coach Peter Moores was reluctant to be drawn into discussing Clarke’s state of mind but admitted he had found it difficult to concentrate.His new employers hoped it would be a short-term distraction but it proved not to be the case. Clarke had been signed as one of the hottest young prospects around, a batsman who by 22 years old had scored more first-class hundreds than any English batsman at the equivalent age in the modern era apart from Alastair Cook. Yet his form for the remainder of the season, apart from an unexpected flourish in the final round of the Championship, betrayed only fleeting glimpses of the player Nottinghamshire thought they had signed.Subsequently, Clarke and Kohler-Cadmore were charged with bringing cricket into disrepute over their part in the unsavoury WhatsApp group and the crude game of sexual conquests it revealed. They were ultimately fined £2,000 each and banned for four matches, the suspension deemed to have already been served by the matches they missed by being dropped from the Lions tour.The punishment imposed by the ECB struck some as rather light, although it has to be remembered that however deplorable their behaviour might have been, neither Clarke nor Kohler-Cadmore had committed a criminal offence. There were punishments of another kind, though. Self-inflicted, psychological ones for which neither player seeks sympathy, but real nonetheless.ALSO READ: Kohler-Cadmore’s ‘U-turn’ deserves credit, but wider questions remain“It was difficult last season to go out there and focus on my game,” Clarke said. “It was the first time in my career that I’d walked out to the middle with something in my mind other than my batting.”Lots of players have things going on in their personal lives but after the court case mine were in the public domain, for everyone to see. I couldn’t leave them behind. I might try to but, in the early weeks of the season at least, I’d hear things said, sometimes in the crowd, sometimes by opposition players. Then it was at the front of my mind again.”Looking back now, the way I am now, I don’t think it would affect me as much as it did. But at the time it was very raw. There were so many emotions going through my mind.”Clarke struggled for form after a bright start to the Championship season•Getty Images

Some related to the damage done to how he was portrayed. “I had previously been associated only with positive things,” he said. “I’d been on four Lions tours in a career of only five or six years. If there was a story about Joe Clarke, it was about being one of the batters with a chance of playing for England. All positive.”I’d wanted to be seen here as Joe Clarke, the successful Nottinghamshire batsman. I felt all that was being taken away from me because now I had this other tag, and it stayed with me all season.”As soon as the extent of Clarke’s involvement in the WhatsApp group and the behaviour linked to it became apparent, Nottinghamshire made it clear to him that there was a level of conduct of which they expected none of their players to fall below.Yet, as with Alex Hales after the drug test failures that saw him cast out by England in a World Cup year, they wanted to help their player find a path forward and arranged for him to see a psychologist, which Clarke says helped him.Nonetheless, as match followed match with no sustainable improvement in his form, the county’s patience wore thin. Eventually he was dropped, from the Vitality Blast quarter-final against Middlesex and the subsequent Championship fixture. “It was the first time I had been dropped in my career and it was a hard thing to hear,” Clarke said.Inevitably, too, there were feelings of regret, even remorse about what he had allowed himself to become involved with.”It was a long time ago and it feels now like I was young and naive and probably immature in a way,” he said. “At the time, it felt like it was just three mates talking in a private chat but seeing it in the light that I see it now…”You look back and of course I regret it. Obviously I do. If I could take back everything that happened, in terms of the whole situation for all the parties involved, then I would. It runs through my mind every day.”But I am a lot older now. People might have judged me for what happened but I’ve learned a hell of a lot from my experiences and I think I’m going to be better for it. I’ve made some changes in my own way of life and in the way I train.”There is clearly regret, too, that he was not able to deliver the performances for Nottinghamshire that were expected of him in a season that ended in the most ignominious of relegations, without a single win to their name. “I was a new player with big expectations on me,” he said. “I wanted to be someone who was consistently performing and that did not happen.”If there was a benefit to be obtained from being dropped it was the chance for he and Moores to have one-to-one conversations purely about his cricket. As he grappled with his psychological problems, Clarke had neglected his technique but Moores was able to identify issues that were making him vulnerable.”We looked at some clips of Marnus Labuschagne,” Clarke said. “We thought that this was a batsman with similar movements and a similar game to mine. I came in on a day off and did some work, went back into the team for the last home game of the season and scored two hundreds.”It still was not enough to provide even a late-season glint of brightness in Nottinghamshire’s Championship season. Already relegated during the round that Clarke missed, they piled up a season-high 498 in the first innings but still managed to lose against opponents Warwickshire by eight wickets.A draw against Surrey in the final round completed a full summer without a Championship win in a campaign in which the travails of the team did little to improve Clarke’s state of mind. His own struggle for form was mirrored by several others, fellow new signings Ben Duckett and Ben Slater among them.”The dressing room was a tough place to be in terms with how we dealt with being relegated,” he said. “There were some very upset people, about individual form and the way our team had performed. The way we were relegated, in a year where only one team went down after we’d started among the favourites to win the title, was a really hard pill to swallow.”A winter of reflection, plus more new faces, has yielded renewed optimism. Clarke, confidence buoyed by those runs against Warwickshire and the bonus of a contract with Manchester Originals he knew nothing about until a congratulatory text arrived from a friend, is trying to see this year as his real debut season for Nottinghamshire and the last one as a false start. Kohler-Cadmore’s recall to the Lions squad is further encouragement.Tom Kohler-Cadmore is back in the England Lions squad in Australia•Getty Images

“I loved my time at Worcestershire but coming here seemed like the right next step and it was such a shame when there was so much expectation on me last year that I couldn’t perform the way I wanted,” he said.”I’ve not heard from anyone in the England set-up but I was led to believe that after the [disciplinary] hearing the selection criteria would be the same for me as anyone else. If I can score some runs and help Notts go straight back up we’ll see where it leads.”I can’t change what has been done, much as I’d like to. The only thing I can control is the future so I want to look forward now, rather than back.”All I can do is work as hard as I can and put in consistent performances for Nottinghamshire. If I’m doing that then I’m sure I’m knocking on the right door.”

The outgoing captain says ‘there’s one less thing to worry about’ now

Mohammad Isam07-Mar-2020In his last ODI as captain of Bangladesh, Mashrafe Mortaza wanted to make sure he did not slip up even once, being aware that players are “vulnerable” to mistakes when they are ending a stint. Mortaza signed off as captain in style, leading Bangladesh to their 50th win under him in ODIs with a 3-0 whitewash over Zimbabwe in Sylhet. After Liton Das and Tamim Iqbal amassed big hundreds, Mortaza provided the first breakthrough in Bangladesh’s defence of 322 and remained in control of his emotions throughout the game.At one point he even allowed Mustafizur Rahman to keep a slip in the dying stages of the game, resulting in a catch the next ball. His open faith in his players, young and old, was one of the hallmarks of his captaincy.After the game ended, Iqbal picked him up on his shoulders for a lap of honour. The Bangladesh players wore special jerseys with his name and number at the back, and “thank you captain” written in the front. They presented him with a special edition jersey as well as a commemorative plaque. There are also strong rumours that Mortaza’s jersey may be retired by the BCB soon.After all the formalities, Mortaza cut a relaxed figure in the press conference, particularly candid when speaking about his experience as one of the most important figures in Bangladesh, for more than five years.”Now I am feeling relaxed,” he said. “There’s one less thing to worry about. It was a big responsibility. Usually at this time, some feel good some feel bad. I have mixed feelings too. To be honest, I am happy that I could finish well as a captain. I also ended on a win.”Our main focus was winning the game. We planned and thought about the match. We knew that everything would have been spoiled had we lost. We had a big score but I didn’t want to make a mistake today. When a person announces that something has ended, he is vulnerable to making mistakes. He knows there’s no one to answer to afterwards. I was really focused on not making any mistakes. Everyone assumed that this was a straightforward win, but I wanted to finish well.”Mortaza took four wickets in the three ODIs against Zimbabwe, a stark improvement from his last campaign – the 2019 World Cup – when he took just one wicket in 56 overs across eight matches. He said that wickets have obviously given him some confidence, and he wants to keep performing.Raton Gomes/BCB

“I had a really bad World Cup, and the team struggled too,” he said. “I have turned around a bit. It is about time that I regained the confidence. Bowlers get confidence through wickets, notwithstanding how we bowl.”I have to perform. It will be up to the selectors. A player has to play well, and then he becomes the captain, which itself is a huge pressure. But now as a player, I have a lot of time to think about myself which will help me a lot.”Mortaza downplayed his performance as a captain and said that a Bangladesh captain has to deal with a lot more off-the-field issues with players. “I never evaluated myself, I think I am an average captain,” he said. “I have never given it any thought. For a captain in Bangladesh, though, there’s a lot more work off the field with players. Once you are in the field, there isn’t as much to do.”But players are disturbed in many ways: personal problems, being out of form, not going on well with the coach, fitness problems. Everyone has a different struggle. The captain has to be with the player during those times. The captain has to take responsibility of the whole team, regardless of the team’s result.”Mortaza also reiterated that a senior player should be given the ODI captaincy now, as he would have the prerequisite experience to handle high-pressure situations on and off the field.”Captaincy was a big responsibility but whoever comes in next, he has to be three times more sensible and thoughtful. It will be easy when he wins, but when you lose there is a lot of pressure from the media, board and spectators.”I have done it for six years, so I feel relaxed now. Which is why I said that one of the senior cricketers should take over the captaincy. They can face the media, and have played for a long time. They can better handle pressure.”Mortaza was hopeful that Bangladesh will keep improving beyond his stint as the ODI captain. He repeated what he had said at his last press conference in the 2019 World Cup, that with many of the current young players reaching a peak in four years time, Bangladesh could make it to the last four of the next World Cup.”It is hard to say but I believe Bangladesh will do well in the 2023 World Cup. I think I said it in the last press conference in England, after the Pakistan game, that we will play in the semi-final of the next World Cup. Most of the young players will have the peak of their career during that time, so there’s no reason that we cannot reach that far in Asia.”

Arun Dhumal, the BCCI treasurer, indicated that everything possible will be done to resume cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff08-May-20200:54

Virat Kohli: The magic of playing in front of a live audience will be missed

A senior BCCI official has said that India would be willing to undertake a two-week quarantine period in Australia later this year if it meant the tour could proceed.India are due to play four Tests and three ODIs in December and January, a visit that could cost Cricket Australia A$300 million (USD196 million approx.) if it doesn’t go ahead due to the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.However, talks are already underway between CA and the federal government about the protocols that would need to be in place to allow India to visit, and travel exemptions should borders remain restricted. Earlier this week sports minister Richard Colbeck sounded a positive note on the chances of international sport later in the year.One possible scenario is that the Indian players would be required to lock themselves down for two weeks before matches could start.”There is no choice – everyone will have to do that. You would want to resume the cricket,” Arun Singh Dhumal, the BCCI treasurer, told the Sydney Morning Herald. “Two weeks is not that long a lockdown. That would be ideal for any sportsman because when you are in quarantine for such a long period, then going to another country and having a two-week lockdown it would be a good thing to do. We’ll have to see what the norms are post this lockdown.”There has also been a suggestion that the series could be extended to five Tests, something which was already being discussed for the next cycle of the Future Tours Programme but may yet be brought forward if India are able to get to Australia. However, Dhumal indicated that extra limited-overs matches could be staged instead because of the revenue they generate.”That discussion [on five Tests] took place before the lockdown,” he said. “If there is a window available it would be up to the boards to decide whether they wanted to go for a Test match or maybe two ODIs or maybe two T20s. Given the revenue loss they will have on account of lockdown, post-lockdown they will want to have revenue and revenue most likely will come from ODIs or T20s much more than a Test match.”For any board for that matter, there has been a lot of revenue loss on account of this lockdown and Covid-19, so they would need to think about that.”Professional sport in Australia is set to resume at the end of May with the NRL and includes the Warriors team from New Zealand which has been allowed to travel across the Tasman.The first indication of how international cricket will function under Covid-19 protocols could come with the English season which the ECB hopes can start in July with plans to host six Tests against West Indies and Pakistan at a small number of bio-secure grounds.

The board wants a 40,000-capacity venue in the capital in order to strengthen its bids for ICC events

Andrew Fidel Fernando19-May-2020Sri Lanka Cricket is intent on constructing a new 40,000-capacity stadium in Colombo in addition to the existing R Premadasa Stadium in Khettarama.Primarily, the board appears to be interested the highest-capacity sports venue in the country in order to strengthen bids on major ICC events in the next rights cycle. This, despite calls by players for Khettarama’s existing training facilities to be enhanced.SLC has ordered a feasibility study on the new ground, and according to the board CEO has been “allocated” 26 acres of land by the Sri Lankan government, east of the city, in Homagama. On Sunday, SLC president Shammi Silva appeared in a photo-opportunity with government minister Bandula Gunawardana at the proposed site. While a public commitment to building the stadium has been made, many of the details are yet to take shape.For now, board CEO Ashley de Silva has said that while the government – and by extension the taxpayer – will provide land, the cost of the stadium’s construction “will have to be borne by SLC”. This would be the second stadium SLC has committed to building in the last few years. The board had also announced in 2017 that it would build a stadium in the northern city of Jaffna, but has failed to begin work on that ground. De Silva confirmed that a feasibility study on the Jaffna venue has not been completed yet.”Discussions are going on about the stadium at a high level about the ground in Colombo, which the board’s executive has been made aware of,” de Silva told ESPNcricinfo. “We are looking at it very positively for now and we have got the process started. The details will have to be worked out.”The ground at Khettarama, which currently hosts the majority of limited-overs matches played in Colombo, is now believed by the board to be insufficient in light of the board’s desire to bid on two major tournaments in particular.”We’re making bids for World Cups, and you would need five stadiums in order to host a big event of that nature,” de Silva said. “Tournaments like this bring money into the country.”The Khettarama ground only has maximum capacity of around 25,000 and we would need another floodlit ground in Colombo for day-night matches. Khettarama is also being used as a training venue for all our squads.”The ICC, however, does not appear to have stipulated a certain number of venues in a potential host country, nor required those venues to have a certain capacity, in order to make successful World Cup bids. These factors do come into play when the ICC assesses a potential host nation’s suitability, but general practice is that upgrades to existing facilities or construction of new stadiums occurs only after tournament hosting rights have been secured.In a normal year, the Khettarama ground is frequently filled to capacity for T20 matches, but almost always has seating to spare during ODI games. Tests in Colombo are usually played at either the P Sara Oval or the Sinhalese Sports Club ground, neither of which have floodlights. Capacity is not a concern for the longest format, in any case.Although SLC is expressing significant interest in building a stadium, it has not addressed long-standing calls to upgrade the existing training facilities at Khettarama. High-profile players have called for a swimming pool to be built at Khettarama to assist with low-impact rehabilitation work, but five years after a pool’s construction was put in motion, council approval has not yet been obtained for the structure.There is also no indoor nets facility at Khettarama, which has proved a challenge not only to Sri Lanka’s own players, but to visiting teams, who must train indoors at the Nondescripts Cricket Club across town.It is unclear whether the ICC has ever indicated that Sri Lanka must have a certain number of stadiums of a certain capacity in order to make a successful bid for hosting rights. The 2012 World T20 was held successfully across three venues – Khettarama, Hambantota and Pallekele – while the Dambulla ground has also come back into use for day-night cricket. The SSC, P Sara and Galle grounds also remain viable options for day games, though it does not appear as if any of those grounds will get floodlights installed anytime soon.In the early parts of this year, Khettarama underwent renovations. According to de Silva, SLC has not yet worked out how much the new stadium in Homagama would cost.

Surrey, Warwickshire’s Willis Trophy fixtures opened up to members

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jul-2020Fans will be permitted to attend first-class cricket for the first time since March this weekend, with the first two days of Surrey and Warwickshire’s opening Bob Willis Trophy matches opened up to spectators.The fixtures are both part of the second phase of UK government pilot events, and each ground will be allowed to host up to 2,500 fans following trials at pre-season matches. 1,000 fans were permitted at The Oval for Surrey’s friendly against Middlesex on Sunday and Monday, with the same number allowed at Edgbaston for Warwickshire’s match against Worcestershire on Tuesday.ALSO READ: Cricket comes home as spectators make cautious return to The OvalFor the time being, tickets will be limited to members, with both counties releasing further details on their websites for those keen to attend. Social-distancing measures will remain in place, but the move will continue to raise hopes that fans will be able to attend T20 Blast games when the competition starts on August 27. Surrey’s opening match is also against Middlesex, while Warwickshire will host Northamptonshire.Neil Snowball, the ECB’s managing director of county cricket, said: “We’re all excited about the start of the county cricket season, and of course we all miss not being able to go and watch as we normally would. These two pilots are an important step in testing the Government guidance and ensuring we can safely open our grounds again.”The government is officially aiming for fans to be able to return to stadiums from October 1, but Surrey’s chief executive Richard Gould has suggested that date represents a target to be beaten.Speaking on Sunday during the Oval trial match, Gould also warned that the current social-distancing requirements that limit clubs to 30% capacity within any given area of seating is not sustainable in the long term.”We need to be back to normal next summer,” Gould said. “If we’re not back to normal next summer, the structure, not just of our sports but all sports will have to significantly change.”If we don’t get crowds back in at some stage then many more clubs will become part-time organisations and I just don’t think we can afford that as a sport or as a country in terms of cultural output.”

India’s tour set to begin in Adelaide and Brisbane as WA government remains firm on a strict hotel quarantine for any international visitors

Daniel Brettig07-Sep-2020A cold shoulder from the Western Australia (WA) state government has clarified the options for Australia’s international season, with India’s tour set to begin in Adelaide and Brisbane.Adelaide Oval stands prepared to host back-to-back Tests – a day-night game and then a day match over the holiday period – should the MCG remain unsuitable for the Boxing Day showpiece amid Victoria’s coronavirus lockdown.The need for flexibility has also seen Cricket Australia (CA) lean heavily upon state associations in their planning, with matches to be primarily staged by staff already located in each state – a major departure from recent seasons in which CA has flown a massive travelling roadshow of events-team members around the country for international games. This model was introduced under the financial model that had CA taking on direct responsibility for managing international fixtures and passing on fixed annual distributions to the states.Initial plans devised by CA and the WACA had Australian and Indian players entering the country via Perth and preparing for the season via a relaxed quarantine that would have allowed them to train.However, the final decision by the WA state government, and its Premier Mark McGowan, to insist on a strict hotel quarantine for any international visitors, has forced the governing body to look towards Brisbane and Adelaide for the start of India’s tour, likely to commence with a suite of limited-overs matches before the four-Test series begins.”We acknowledge the WA government has a firm position on quarantine and border arrangements,” a CA spokesperson said. “The Australian men’s team will not be quarantining in Perth upon their return from the UK.”ALSO READ: Tournament hubs, Afghanistan Test and Boxing Day: where does the Australia summer stand?Where this leaves the scheduled Test between Australia and Afghanistan in Perth is unclear, although WA’s frustration with not being allotted one of the India Tests in the original schedule was plain. CA is still working assiduously to try to get the Afghanistan match played, and it would be of most value as a red-ball match for the home Test side led by Tim Paine immediately before the series against India.”We didn’t think it was acceptable to have the team return from a high-risk overseas location and then take part in normal training activities outside of quarantine, before flying out to another state to play games,” McGowan said. “There were just too many risks in the model put forward by Cricket Australia. We need to remain vigilant and do the right thing by all Western Australians and not take unnecessary chances.”It is plausible that Brisbane’s Test against India under the original schedule would instead become a cluster of white-ball matches, with three ODIs and three T20Is – all slated to be played by Virat Kohli’s team. That may then give way to the Afghanistan Test match, before the Australian squad travels to Adelaide for the start of the India Test series in mid-December.While Melbourne is likely to be kept in theoretical calculations as host of the traditional Boxing Day Test for as long as possible, the realities of crowds and Covid-19 restrictions make it more likely with every passing day that Adelaide will step in.From there, the Test season may well reach a crescendo with back-to-back matches in Sydney. The other option would be to venture back to Brisbane and the Gabba for the final Test of the series.A revised Test series schedule is expected to be announced by CA this week, pending government approvals.

Left-arm wristspinner takes 3 for 11 as Glamorgan fall short in run chase

ECB Reporters Network11-Sep-2020Birmingham Bears made it back-to-back Vitality Blast wins with a 13-run victory over Glamorgan in a low-scoring contest at Edgbaston.On a cool, grey evening, the Bears were restricted to 142 for nine by an accurate visiting attack led by paceman Timm van der Gugten and spinner Prem Sisodiya.Only captain Will Rhodes, with a T20-best 46, batted with any fluency until a late flurry from Olly Stone, with 22 not out from 18 balls, gave his side something to bowl at.Glamorgan then mustered only 129 for eight in reply as Tim Bresnan caused early damage before wristspinner Jake Lintott delivered a superb spell of 4-0-11-3, the fourth-most economical full spell for the Bears in T20 cricket. Birmingham chose to bat but found life difficult against a disciplined display from Glamorgan’s bowlers. Dom Sibley’s return to county duty brought a first-ball duck when he chipped a return catch to Sisodiya. After a tidy start from the spinners, paceman van der Gugten and Ruaidhri Smith each struck in their first overs, having Ed Pollock caught behind and Sam Hain trapped lbw respectively.Adam Hose struck four fours in a 20-ball 23 but then, tied down in a Salter over that had brought only four singles, lifted a full toss to long-off.After Salter and Sisodiya each struck again to dismiss Michael Burgess and Bresnan, Rhodes and Henry Brookes injected some momentum with a stand of 36 in 25 balls. Rhodes batted with intelligence and skill but perished when the Bears took a self-inflicted wound. Brookes called for an impossible second run and the captain was beaten by van der Gugten’s throw.Van der Gugten, who had pooped a big Bears party three days earlier by bowling Ian Bell ten runs short of a century on his last first-class appearance, then added the wicket of Brookes, who skied to mid-off.The Bears were in deep trouble at 118 for eight but Stone supervised some crucial tail-wagging that hep the game alive.Glamorgan’s reply was hit early by a triple blow from Bresnan who bowled his spell straight through from the Birmingham End. Nick Selman, David Lloyd and Chris Cooke paid the price for attacking good balls when they sent up catches into the infield.Andy Balbirnie looked dangerous on his way to 30 but swept Lintott to deep square-leg. The spinner took a stinging return catch to end Marchant de Lange’s counter-attack before it had begun and then spun one on to Callum Taylor’s stumps.From a promising 79 for 4, suddenly Glamorgan were 83 for 8 and the run-rate required soon escalated beyond the tail’s reach.

NACC vice-chair Mesba Ahmed joins investigation into Azeem Rafiq claims

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2020Gulfraz Riaz, the chairman of the National Asian Cricket Council, has voluntarily stepped down from the independent panel convened to investigate allegations of institutional racism at Yorkshire. Mesba Ahmed, the NACC’s vice-chair, has taken over in the role, with Riaz set to assist the investigation as a witness.The panel was convened in September following claims by the former Yorkshire player, Azeem Rafiq, that he had been left on the “brink of suicide” by his treatment at the club. His allegations were subsequently backed up by the former Pakistan seamer Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, who played alongside Rafiq for two seasons in 2008 and 2009.In addition to his role at the NACC, Ahmed is CEO and founder of the London Tigers, an award-winning charity focussed on community development through sport, which delivers projects across London and the UK, and has worked closely with Sport England, professional football clubs, local councils and the FA’s “Kick it Out” campaign. He is also a former member of the Football Association’s Race Equality Advisory Board.Ahmed joins a five-person panel, which is chaired by Dr Samir Pathak – a surgeon and MCC committee member – and includes barrister and employment law specialist Rehana Azib, former Waitrose Personnel Director Helen Hyde, and Stephen Willis, the CFO of Durham University and a Yorkshire committee member.”Sport has a crucial role to play in addressing issues of race, diversity and equality in our society,” Ahmed said. “Investigations of this nature are never easy, but they are important if we are to successfully address inequality and provide sporting opportunities across BAME communities.”Along with my fellow panel members, I am determined that we deliver a thorough and impartial finding and clear set of recommendations.”Dr Samir Pathak, Chairman of the investigation panel said: “I would like to thank Gulfraz for his assistance.”The investigation team have been in regular contact with Mr Rafiq’s legal counsel and understand that he will be in a position to provide a statement to the investigation by the 6 November.”The process of contacting potential witnesses and agreeing a timetable of interviews is in progress. Both the investigation team and the panel are aware that this is a difficult time for all parties and are determined that the investigation will be concluded before the end of the year.”Rafiq himself is due to give evidence in the coming days, with the panel expecting that the investigation will be concluded before the end of the year. He recently called for witnesses in the case to be granted anonymity, for fear of jeopardising their careers, to which Yorkshire responded that there were be “no repercussions”.

Defending champions Heat lost 6 for 12 in a chase of 144

Andrew McGlashan26-Nov-2020Sydney Thunder came back from the brink to book their first WBBL final since the opening season as defending champions Brisbane Heat suffered a dramatic collapse. Hannah Darlington, who claimed last year’s young player award, struck in consecutive balls in the 18th over after Laura Kimmince was removed having been close to taking the Heat across the line again.The winning moment came when former Heat star Sammy-Jo Johnson grabbed a low caught and bowled to spark wild celebrations. The Heat’s overall collapse was 6 for 12 as a campaign which had started slowly before coming to life with seven consecutive wins came crashing down.Captain Rachael Haynes had hauled the Thunder up to a competitive total amid a stuttering innings in which Amelia Kerr and Nadine de Klerk stood out with the ball: their combined figures were 7-0-30-3. They took wickets regularly enough to stay in the contest, but Kimmince’s latest onslaught appeared to have decided the game before the astonishing turnaround.Even powerplayTammy Beaumont played one of her better innings of what has been a tournament where she has largely struggled, getting off the mark with a deft scoop and adding five more crisp boundaries inside the powerplay. She fell attempting another scoop, moving so early into the shot that Nicola Hancock had barely started her delivery stride, sending a simple catch looping to short fine leg. That wicket evened up the powerplay ahead of the Heat’s spinners getting to work.Kerr’s deceptionLike the Heat as a whole, Kerr took time to get into her stride but played a central role in the team’s success. It is so rare to see her taken to by an opposition and today was no different. Her first two overs went for eight and when she returned for her third, in the 14th over, there was a brief but enjoyable contest with Phoebe Litchfield. The left hander started with perfect straight drive, but off the last ball of the over was defeated by the googly and comfortably stumped. It was the second time Kerr had claimed her this way following the group-stage dismissal at Blacktown. Either side of that dismissals were moments that stunted the Thunder just as they were building. Heather Knight drove a firm catch to cover, having not quite found top gear, and then a superbly-judged catch on the deep midwicket rope by Georgia Prestwidge removed Johnson who had threatened to open her shoulders against former team-mates.The first wobbleThe Thunder’s eventual total looked short but gave them something to bowl at. In her opening over, Sam Bates, who has been one of the best bowlers of the tournament, removed Grace Harris and then Johnson struck with her first delivery when Georgia Redmayne, after a brisk 25, picked out mid-off to keep the Heat in the contest. It has been a hallmark of the Heat’s campaign that there have been contributions throughout the order and the trend continued as de Klerk and captain Jess Jonassen added 46. However, just when things were under control they fell in consecutive overs: Jonassen skied a top edge to Darlington and de Klerk was run out by Beaumont’s pinpoint throw. The scene was set.The collapseLaura Kimmince has hit the form of her life in the last couple of weeks. Before today she had rattled up 123 runs off 49 deliveries in her last four innings, taking her strike-rate to the highest in WBBL history, and struck the ball with huge power again. She had a massive stroke of fortune first delivery when the ball rolled back into leg stump but did not dislodge the bail then the next ball was launched for six. An over from Lauren Smith cost 20, swinging the game almost fully towards the Thunder who needed 26 off 30 balls. However, Georgia Voll was run out after a mix up over a second and Kerr went the same way two balls later as panic set in. Another six from Kimmince brought it back under a run-a-ball, but then she was bowled by Bates attempting a reverse sweep that wasn’t really required. It became too much for the lower order as Darlington delivered her yorkers on demand and finally Delissa Kimmince hammered the ball back at her former team-mate. The Melbourne Stars await on Saturday.