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Wayne Parnell has been ruled out of the match with a hamstring injury, while Temba Bavuma is fit to play

Mohammad Isam22-Mar-2022

Big picture

Before reaching South Africa, Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal and coach Russell Domingo were confident of notching up a maiden ODI series win here. They started with a big win in the first ODI in Centurion, but the hosts hit back in the second game in Johannesburg. The teams now head to Centurion again for the decider – a first on a Bangladesh tour of South Africa.South Africa have been blowing hot and cold since the start of 2021, winning seven of the 15 ODIs and losing six, with two matches producing no result. It will not be an easy task for Bangladesh to thump South Africa at home; however, it wouldn’t impossible either.A strong bowling performance led by Kagiso Rabada, who picked up a five-for, helped South Africa level the series in the second ODI. Lungi Ngidi too bowled well and so did Wayne Parnell, before injuring his left hamstring. But they might have expected a bit more from the spin duo of Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj.Related

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• How Shakib and AB de Villiers boosted Yasir Ali

Quinton de Kock attacked Bangladesh from the word go, and Kyle Verreynne and Temba Bavuma, nursing a hand injury, kept them in the game in the short chase. South Africa will want more from their batters, and not just in runs, but also to take on the Bangladesh bowling attack like de Kock did in the second game.Bangladesh are unlikely to change their playing XI, with the same set of players having featured for the sixth match in a row in Johannesburg. Such consistency in selection is not common with the visitors, and it shows the approach of a captain and a coach who believe in giving enough chances to a player to prove his worth before dropping them after a poor performance.Runs from the likes of Litton Das, Yasir Ali and Afif Hossain have not only eased the pressure on the four senior batters, but has also made Bangladesh a well-rounded batting side. Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan will be manning the top-order fort, while Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah, surprisingly off colour lately, will be expected to provide the flourish in the end.Bangladesh’s bowling has also done the job. Taskin Ahmed will be leading the attack with his accuracy and searing pace. Mustafizur Rahman is the end-overs master, while Shoriful Islam has shown he is adept at both ends of the innings. Mehidy Hasan Miraz is evolving as an allrounder, with Shakib being the backbone of the bowling department.

Form guide

South Africa WLWWW (Last five completed matches; most recent first)

Bangladesh LWLWWKagiso Rabada will once again be key for South Africa•AFP/Getty Images

In the spotlight

Kagiso Rabada, the leader of South Africa’s pace attack, will be expected to do a bulk of the damage to guide the hosts to the series win. The fast bowler rattled the batting line-up in the second ODI, where his first spell extended to seven overs.There is a lot of talk about promoting Afif Hossain up the order, but Bangladesh believe he will be best suited for No 7. It also looks like Afif is getting accustomed to the role now, evident in the way he rescued the team with an unbeaten 93 after the early collapse in Chattogram against Afghanistan, and also after he scored a brisk 72 on Sunday. Though he is usually aggressive, Afif also knows when to curb that instinct for his team.

Team news

Wayne Parnell has been ruled out of the match with the hamstring injury, which means Marco Jansen might take his place in the side. Captain Temba Bavuma, who injured his hand, is fit to play. South Africa: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Janneman Malan, 3 Temba Bavuma (capt), 4 Kyle Verreynne, 5 Rassie van der Dussen, 6 David Miller, 7 Keshav Maharaj, 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Lungi Ngidi, 11 Tabraiz ShamsiDespite the seven-wicket loss in Johannesburg, Bangladesh are unlikely to change their line-up.Bangladesh: 1 Tamim Iqbal (capt), 2 Litton Das, 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Yasir Ali, 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Afif Hossain, 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Shoriful Islam, 11 Mustafizur Rahman

Pitch and conditions

Only two out of 12 times have teams lost scoring after 300-plus runs batting first at SuperSport Park in Centurion. The third ODI promises to be a run fest. The forecast says there will be no rain on Wednesday.

Stats and trivia

• Both of Kagiso Rabada’s five-wicket hauls in ODIs have come against Bangladesh.
• Bangladesh’s 314 against South Africa in the first ODI was the first time they scored 300-plus in an ODI when only five bowlers were used by the opposition.

Quotes

“If we can handle the first ten overs well, [and] if we don’t give them too many wickets, we can definitely score runs against them in the middle overs.”

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”.

Pakistan’s surrender to short bowling in opening game means they can expect more of the same from hosts

The Preview by Danyal Rasool02-Jun-2019

Big Picture

Given what’s transpired in this World Cup over the first four days, it might not be a stretch to call this one of the tournament’s great mismatches, insomuch as the ICC would admit to ten-team World Cups also producing mismatches. England, surely, have bigger challenges ahead, with this game a routine stepping stone to their inexorable march to Lord’s six weeks from now. The way Pakistan folded in that first game of their World Cup campaign at the same venue in Nottingham, Lahore seems a lot closer than London for them, if only in terms of likely destination rather than actual proximity.England’s progress continues to be so eerily serene the natural pessimists who followed their cricket in the 1990s feel sure something will come unstuck along the line. And yet if fate has that cruel twist in store for them, it’s hiding it exceptionally well. The first game was as emblematic of England’s evolution in ODI cricket as any contest has been in the four years since this Eoin Morgan-led team became a world force, the pressure of the big occasion barely registering as they brushed aside South Africa. When Jonny Bairstow was removed for a golden duck, there was no alarm; four batsmen scored half-centuries to cover for the failure. Of course, the bowlers and fielders backed them up, almost erasing that little blip from memory.For Pakistan, the time for chaos, panic, recriminations and reckoning that follows most World Cup campaign feels it’s drawing ever-nearer. The first game of the tournament for them was Pakistan at their worst: weak, seemingly ill-prepared, timid and gormless. It was one of the bleakest days in the history of Pakistan at the World Cup – and make no mistake, Pakistan have had plenty of those. Their surrender in the face of a short bowling barrage from West Indies means they can expect much the same against England, whose bowlers will keep them on the back foot so long they might bruise their Achilles heels.These two sides played each other in a five-match series just last month, and while England won 4-0, there was no sign of the Pakistan that showed up against West Indies. Indeed, it was the sort of series defeat that allowed Pakistan plenty of positives. They scored above 340 three times out of four against that England attack, and most top-order batsmen got runs. So if the West Indies game was Pakistan at their worst, they can only improve. Pakistan believe they are much closer to the team that almost beat England in two of the four completed games. That was only a fortnight ago, but given what’s happened since, it doesn’t feel as recent.For both England and Pakistan, the ghost of the 1992 World Cup hovers above this fixture. For England, that was their last successful – some might say last respectable – World Cup campaign, but it was ended then by a Pakistan side in the final that began the tournament just as poorly as this one. Now, in a light blue strip seen as a respectful nod to the achievements of that Australian summer, England look to go one step further at home 27 years on. Pakistan, meanwhile, cannot stop thinking or talking about that World Cup, both for inspiration and hope, though if they are to put up the same showing tomorrow as they did on Friday, those comparisons will begin to ring more and more hollow.

Form guide

England WWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan LLLLL

In the spotlight

If only for Pakistan’s travails against the short ball, Jofra Archer will take centre stage in an even bigger way than he has done for all sorts of reasons over the past month. With none other than Waqar Younis saying Archer would be “licking his lips” at the thought of bowling to Pakistan’s batsmen, the England seamer has the opportunity to play to his natural strengths, using his raw pace to push Pakistan’s batsmen back. He began the tournament in ominous fashion with 3 for 27 against South Africa to rip out their middle order, and against Pakistan in the washed-out first ODI at The Oval, his four-over burst was so fiercely effective it was arguably the day Archer’s ticket to the World Cup was punched. Pakistan are there for the taking again, and England have just the man for the job.Jofra Archer bowled with venom, picking up three key wickets•Getty Images

In times like these, the onus falls on players of established, undisputed quality. Among their batting ranks, Pakistan can only name one player to fit that bill. Babar Azam has effortlessly become the leader of the batting line-up, and with numbers like his in a team that has long cried out for a successor to Inzamam, Mohammad Yousaf and Younis Khan, it’s hardly a surprise. Two fifties and a hundred in the recent series against England means he has form – Babar always has form. And when an entire side, as Pakistan do now, look to have been technically exposed by one simple plan, it is Babar who must step up and establish that the West Indies game was an aberration. He must also do it at a strike rate that has a chance of challenging England; his 112-ball 115 at this venue a fortnight ago copped criticism for being too slow against a team like England. No pressure, then.

Team news

Given how comfortable England were in their mauling of South Africa, an unchanged side wouldn’t be a surprise. But England’s strength in depth means changes wouldn’t necessarily expose weakness, so the substitutes are ready to go, should they be called upon.England: (possible) 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Tom Curran, 9 Mark Wood, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Jofra Archer.Pakistan’s lack of power hitting, in sharp contrast to England, means Asif Ali should come back into the side, not least because of his performance in the ODI series against the home side. With the wicket expected to be flat and slow, Imad Wasim could find himself surplus to requirements, with Shoaib Malik – a batting allrounder – more likely to be favoured following Pakistan’s showing against West Indies.Pakistan: (possible) 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Mohammad Hafeez , 6 Sarfaraz Ahmed, (capt,wk), 7 Asif Ali, 8 Shadab Khan, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Hasan Ali / Mohammad Hasnain, 11 Wahab Riaz

Pitch and conditions

It rained heavily the day before the game, but the clouds are expected to clear for match day. The pitch – the same one on which England have twice broken the record for highest ODI score, most recently reaching 481 for 6 against Australia last year – is expected to be especially flat, but Morgan insisted it was quite different to that wicket in how it was expected to behave.

Strategic punts

• Forget variation, forget unpredictability, let Jofra Archer bowl short to Pakistan. And consider playing Mark Wood instead of Liam Plunkett, allow his extra pace to trouble Pakistan that much more. For the bowlers, it should be a short strategy meeting.
• Give Shadab Khan the first over. Okay, this pitch might be different to the one where South Africa employed that strategy with Imran Tahir. But this isn’t about what the ground between the batsman and the bowler looks like, it’s about what’s going on between the ears of the man with bat in hand. Jason Roy was the man South Africa wanted to trouble with leg-spin; it ended up dismissing Jonny Bairstow instead.
• Let Babar Azam open the batting instead of Fakhar Zaman. England’s high-class bowlers need to be countered with Pakistan’s two technically tightest batsmen. Fakhar will struggle against the short ball, and England won’t give him the room he needs to play his shots. Leave him for when the opening bowlers are done, and ensure early wickets aren’t lost.

Stats and trivia

• Jason Roy is eight runs away from completing 3000 career ODI runs. It will make him the fourth player in the current England setup to reach the mark, behind Morgan, Joe Root and Jos Buttler.
• Pakistan and England have played each other nine times in ODI World Cups, with four wins apiece and one no-result in the group stages of the 1992 World Cup.

Quotes

“It’s well known we enjoy chasing. We don’t mind setting either but we do enjoy chasing. There is a small advantage to it, knowing what you’re trying to get.”

“They have to play 300 balls to get to that record, but we have to bowl 10 good balls to get 10 wickets.”

Just 17 balls were possible on the third day at Eden Park as steady rain and a damp outfield forced the umpires to call play off at 6.45 pm, five hours after the first shower

The Report by Nikhil Kalro24-Mar-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsOnly 17 balls were possible on the third day at Eden Park, as steady rain and a damp outfield forced the umpires to call play off at 6.45 pm, five hours after the first shower. New Zealand scored four runs in those 2.5 overs, stretching a substantial first-innings lead to 175. Henry Nicholls raised his sixth Test fifty. BJ Watling was unbeaten on 18.Bleak weather in Auckland over the last two days – only 26 overs were possible in total on days two and three – could force New Zealand to declare on a total of less than 300 for only the sixth time in their history. They still maintain firm control of the day-night Test, having bowled England out for 58 on the first morning. The forecast for the final two days remains promising, albeit with a chance of showers in the afternoon on Sunday.”The position we’re in now is a good one,” New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee said after the third day was washed out. “The rain has been frustrating, but the work we put in on day one has made that frustration a little bit easier to swallow.”We had the first use of the wicket and we probably got our lengths right, but we’ve seen throughout when England have bowled, there have always been challenging times, and our batters have done a pretty good job so far. Being caged up for a couple of days, it’s important when we do go out and bowl, that we hit our areas from the start.”

The Women’s World Cup is set to begin on June 24 between hosts England and India, and the final scheduled to be played at Lord’s on July 23

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2017Hosts England will open the Women’s World Cup against India in Derby on June 24, while defending champions Australia will begin two days later against World T20 champions West Indies in Taunton, with the ICC expecting “unprecedented” support for the tournament.New Zealand and Sri Lanka will also be in action on the opening day of the month-long tournament. A round-robin group stage will be followed by semi-finals in Bristol and Derby before the final at Lord’s on July 23. It will be the first time the final will be staged at Lord’s since 1993 when England beat New Zealand by 67 runs.There will be two weekend days when all eight teams will be in action. On Sunday, July 2, the four matches include the Trans-Tasman clash between Australia and New Zealand and India facing Pakistan. Saturday, July 15, will see all eight playing again as the round-robin stage comes to an end.Tickets for the group matches will go on sale at 12pm GMT on March 8 – International Women’s Day – with adult prices start at £10 and £5 for students (aged 17-23) and £2 for Under-16s. Tickets for the semi-finals start £15 for adults while the final begins at £30, with a silver band of tickets at £20 then students at £10 and Under-16s £5.”We are anticipating an exciting tournament and I know the players are looking forward to competing here in front of unprecedented levels of support,” David Richardson, the ICC chief executive, said. “We’ve already sold 9000 tickets for the final at Lord’s which bodes well for the rest of the event going on sale today. I know we can always count on the British sport loving public to support big events.”India, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka secured their places at the World Cup through the recent qualifying event in Sri Lanka.

Glamorgan have signed Craig Meschede from Somerset on a permanent deal after he was released from his contract at Taunton

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jan-2016Glamorgan have signed Craig Meschede from Somerset on a permanent deal after he was released from his contract at Taunton.He has signed a three-year deal and will report for pre-season training this week.An allrounder and product of the Somerset academy, Meschede spent the 2015 season on loan at Glamorgan and quickly becoming an integral member of the side in all formats.He joined Glamorgan in a swop deal with Jim Allenby, who immediately joined Somerset on a three-year deal, with no suggestion at the time that Meschede’s move to South Wales would become permanent.He hit his maiden century against Surrey at Cardiff, followed up with another against Northamptonshire at the SWALEC Stadium and his displays of clean-hitting prompted his elevation to open the batting during NatWest T20 Blast games.Glamorgan chief executive Hugh Morris was keen to recruit Meschede on a permanent basis and concluded negotiation with the Somerset management team on Monday.”Craig played an important role in our team last season and although we were keen to keep him, any deal relied on Somerset’s sanction as he had a year to run on his contract,” said Morris.”We’re delighted to have got the deal over the line and believe that we’ve signed a player who adds a lot to the side and also has the potential to develop further.”Meschede, 24, has taken 92 wickets in 45 first class matches while maintaining a batting average of 24.29.Meschede said: “This has been a tough decision as Somerset has been a massive part of my life. I’d like to thank Somerset for the last eight years. It has been an absolute honour and pleasure to represent the club.”Glamorgan is the best opportunity for my cricket at this stage in my career. I really enjoyed my time at the club last year so I look forward to returning on a full-time basis.”

Patil and Reddy shared five wickets among them to restrict Pakistan to just 105

S Sudarshanan06-Oct-2024India’s net run rate (NRR) ahead of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 game against Pakistan was -2.90. They had to win and win big against Pakistan for that to become positive and move up in the points table. On a hot afternoon in Dubai, though, India achieved only one of those tasks – beating Pakistan by six wickets to earn two points and open the account with a sluggish chase.The win was set up by Arundhati Reddy and Shreyanka Patil, who combined for five of the eight wickets Pakistan lost. Pakistan huffed and puffed to 105 on the back of Nida Dar’s 28. But on a slow, spin-friendly surface, Pakistan also used their spinners well and denied India the launchpad: they eventually got home in the 19th over with only five fours hit – three by Shafali Verma and one each by Harmanpreet Kaur and S Sajana, playing for the injured Pooja Vastrakar. Back at her familiar No. 4 spot after being promoted to one-down in the opening game, Harmanpreet was the only India batter with a strike rate over 100, in the top six.

Pakistan show early intent

On the eve of the contest, Pakistan captain Fatima Sana spoke about using the power game to hit hard at their rivals. The openers tried to use their feet in a bid to walk the talk after Pakistan opted to bat. Gull Feroza tried to use her feet to counter Renuka Singh’s swing but was undone in the opening over. Muneeba Ali also used the crease so much that the runs hardly justify those. She used even the slightest of width to go over the in-field, like she did twice against Renuka inside the powerplay.Richa Ghosh took a stunner to dismiss Fatima Sana•ICC/Getty Images

Reddy-powered India ‘turn’ the tide

In the absence of Vastrakar, who was out with a niggle, Reddy had to shoulder additional seam-bowling responsibility and was brought on in the fourth over of the game. Immediately she induced a false stroke, with Sidra Amin chipping one towards mid-off. In her next over, Reddy delivered the perfect blow, getting Muneeba to scoop one straight to short fine leg only for S Asha to grass a sitter. A couple of balls later, though, Reddy struck by having Omaima Sohail miscue one to mid-off.A few quiet overs saw Muneeba being stifled, and Patil pounced on the chance to get among the wickets. Anticipating a charge from the Pakistan opener, she threw one wider outside off, past which Muneeba walked and Richa Ghosh did the rest. Dar found it slightly tough to keep the scorecard ticking on her own and losing partners regularly did not help.Reddy first trapped Aliya Riaz in front – the DRS not coming to the Pakistan allrounder’s aid after Hawk-Eye showed it to be clipping leg – before Patil dismissed Tuba Hassan for a three-ball duck. Sana showed a bit of intent and struck successive fours off Asha but fell to a terrific catch by Ghosh. She looked to slog the legspinner out of the ground but Ghosh dived to her right to pluck a one-handed stunner. Reddy then bowled Dar to pick up her third.

India’s strange chase

For India to get their NRR in the positive, they had to overhaul the 106-run target in 11.2 overs. However, India endured a boundary-less powerplay, with Shafali and Smriti Mandhana struggling to put away spin. Mandhana hit some crisp strokes but found the fielders in nine of the ten balls leading to her dismissal. In a bid to break free, she chipped one tamely to backward point.On cue, Sana kept spin on for 13 of the first 15 overs. They frustrated Shafali with lack of speed, as a result of which, she missed putting some of the juicy full tosses away. India ended their boundary drought in the eighth over when Shafali welcomed Tuba with a pull through midwicket. She hit a couple of more fours before holing out to long-on.At the other end, Jemimah Rodrigues – batting at No. 3 ahead of Harmanpreet – kept manoeuvring the field and helping India inch closer. However, boundaries were hard to come by and, when India lost her and Ghosh off successive balls, it seemed Pakistan could do the unthinkable. Harmanpreet then almost saw India home in the company of Deepti Sharma. However, she sprained her neck while turning awkwardly to avoid being stumped and walked back retired hurt. Sajana then came out to hit the winning four that helped India maintain their upper hand over Pakistan in women’s T20Is.

Reddy reprimanded

India fast bowler Reddy has been reprimanded for breaching level one of the ICC Code of Conduct in the game on Sunday. She was found guilty and as a result, handed a demerit point.Article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his/her dismissal during an International Match.”The incident occurred in the 20th over of Pakistan’s innings, when Reddy, after dismissing allrounder Nida Dar, gestured in the direction of the pavilion.

The left hander was dropped for the final game of last season and has had a lean time since his brief Test career

Andrew McGlashan08-May-2023Kurtis Patterson will not be New South Wales Sheffield Shield captain next season with incoming coach Greg Shipperd hoping a return to the ranks will help revive his batting.Patterson, who played two Tests for Australia in 2019, took on the NSW role ahead of the 2021-22 season when he replaced Peter Nevill. They finished fourth in the Shield that season before ending bottom last summer with Patterson dropped for the final match against South Australia.Overall he averaged 29.78 last season with one century and scored just two hundreds during his time as captain.Related

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Since his brief Test appearances, where he made a century in his second outing against Sri Lanka in Canberra, Patterson has struggled to make runs consistently with just three first-class hundreds in the next four seasons.”That was a disappointing finish for the season for Kurtis,” Shipperd said. “I’ve had contact with him today and we’ve identified some areas of his game and thinking. Losing the captaincy will allow him to concentrate fully on performing at his best.”You can get consumed by captaincy and he gave it a terrific shot I’ve got to say while I was there, it was team first and him second. We can flip that balance around next season and make sure we get him back playing as well as he’s ever played.”Moises Henriques stepped in as captain the final Shield game of last season but Shipperd said he and Greg Mail, NSW’s head of performance, still needed to work through who would take the role permanently.”That’s a really important discussion to have,” he said. “We do have some candidates that I think could comfortably do the job so it’s about when I get up to Sydney next, sitting down with Greg and the team and those candidates and make sure we get the best decision out of it.”More broadly, Shipperd acknowledged it was the batting that really needed to lift for NSW although he had been encouraged by some late-season performances from younger players Ryan Hackney, Jack Edwards and Blake MacDonald – the latter earning his first contract. However, of those to play more than three matches, allrounder Chris Green topped the averages at 41.42.”It’s a complicated judgement when you are just looking at figures,” Shipperd said. “I, like others, was a little bit alarmed that our younger batting group were tracking along in the mid-20s as averages.”In my discussions with the players I was quite frank in terms of suggesting that success in first-class level is averaging above 40 with the capacity to have an out season and averaging over 60. So setting the bar quite high for those players and it was pleasing that four of them in response in the back end of the season averaged over 40, but that’s just the start.”Shipperd also hoped that NSW would be able to play a greater proportion of their home Shield matches at the SCG so there was more of a home-ground feel to being in Sydney. The T20 World Cup last season restricted how much it could be used in the first half of the summer but for a number of years the team has regularly gone to suburban and intra-state grounds.The players now have a permanent training base at the new Cricket Central facility which opened last season and there are plans for it to host top-level state matches. Following his retirement, Trent Copeland noted he had never had his own locker throughout his career.”Essentially we have had no home ground, no training facility that is always our own,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “That’s now changed. Then we’re playing one to three games at the SCG and then grade grounds and country grounds where we stand there at the toss and we have no idea essentially on how to build a game plan, what to do at the toss or even a best guess on what the pitch is going to play like, versus our opposition that are walking into the same venue every game. So these are a few of the little challenges that I think are going to start to be naturally fixed.”

Imad-Qasim heroics in vain as Karachi Kings slide to seventh straight loss

Danyal Rasool14-Feb-2022
Islamabad United were the side beset by injuries, but the insult was all Karachi Kings’. It went much, much deeper than anyone might have believed six overs before the death, and took a third umpire’s decision on a marginal run-out to settle the outcome. But for the Kings, the result in the end was no different to their previous six games: a defeat. They become the first PSL side to lose their first seven PSL games, and the first to be eliminated from this year’s competition. But in the end, the story of United’s one-run win was much too dramatic to be reduced to mere numbers.Chasing 192, Kings were given a boost when two key United bowlers – Shadab Khan and Zeeshan Zameer – were forced off the field with injuries, leading to Asif Ali needing to bowl three overs, and taking two wickets in his first over. It was some generous fielding from United at the death and a spirited stand between Imad Wasim and Qasim Akram that even made this game a contest, but several cameos from United with the bat meant they had just about enough runs to ensure their profligacy wasn’t punished.It came down to a nail-biting final over from Waqas Maqsood, in which Kings needed eight. A boundary off the second ball brought it down to a run-a-ball, but two wickets took the game right down to the final delivery, off which the Kings needed two. Chris Jordan spooned it back to Maqsood, who somehow dropped it, but managed to gather and effect a direct hit at the non-striker’s end. Jordan was inches short of the popping crease that would have guaranteed the Kings a Super Over, and United had just about clung on to victory in a game they should have sealed long ago.United had major problems throughout their defence of 191 with Shadab and Zameer missing, and for much of the first ten overs, the Kings needed to bide their time, stay in the game, and target whoever bowled the other three overs. But when Asif Ali, who had a grand total of two career T20 wickets, stepped up, he removed Sharjeel off a rank long-hop with his first ball, and cleaned up Mohammad Nabi four deliveries later. The Kings were 80 for 5, and the game seemed done and dusted.But Pakistan U-19 captain Qasim and Imad struck up a glorious counterattacking partnership that put their side on the brink of victory. Qasim rode his luck to score an unbeaten 51 off 26, while Imad Wasim smashed 55 off 28, both capitalising on United losing their discipline on the field. No fewer than half-a-dozen catches were shelled, and ones were allowed to turn into two and four as the nerves tightened while the runs flowed freely. Hasan Ali was at the receiving end of another death-overs pasting; he was smashed for 16 runs in the penultimate over that left Qasim with so little to work with.If you’ve seen United bat once, you’ve probably seen them bat every time. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Muhammad Akhlaq fell early, but that didn’t deter them from continuing to go after the bowling. Once more, there wasn’t one outstanding contributor to their total, but five batters scored between 22 and 34, all at strike rates in excess of 130. Faheem Ashraf (29* off 10) and Asif Ali (28 off 11) blitzed a 57 off a combined 21 balls at the death as United walloped 78 off the final six overs. A couple of hours later, they would need every single one of those as they just about held off a resurgent Kings side, and shored up their own hopes of playoff qualification in the process.

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.