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The latest gossip from the county circuit as the 2019 season gathers pace

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Apr-2019Our correspondents bring you the latest gossip from the county circuit as the 2019 season gathers paceIt would have been perfectly understandable if Somerset members in the Long Room of Colin Atkinson pavilion had wanted to celebrate their county’s first victory of the season on Monday by buying a cider at the bar.But if current plans go ahead, those supporters who want to enjoy a home-made pasty with their pint may find their collars felt by a West Country gauleiter.Somerset’s chief executive Andrew Cornish announced at a forum on Saturday evening that an executive decision had been taken that members would no longer be allowed to consume their own food or wine in the Long Room.Not surprisingly, this diktat has not gone down well. It would seem that any profit made by the club’s catering outlets as a result of the move will not outweigh the ill-feeling caused among loyal members who have already paid top-whack subscriptions.The club say that the complaint originated from the members themselves, some of whom were unhappy at pack lunches being consumed in a “premium” area of the ground, and it will be put to a vote as to whether food from home can be consumed on the balcony. However, if the ban is enforced, it looks like another example of cricket loading both barrels and taking careful aim at its foot.The other, more ironic consequence, of course, is that the only pasties available in Somerset’s pavilion will have to receive Cornish approval.***Lancashire supporters arriving at Emirates Old Trafford for next Wednesday’s Royal London Cup tie against Worcestershire may notice a familiar voice on the public address.The long-serving Matt Proctor retired last September and has been succeeded by John Gwynne, who will be most familiar to younger sports fans as one of Sky’s football reporters or as a darts commentator.However, Gwynne has needed little persuasion to return to Old Trafford as often as possible in recent years. Since he stopped being a cricket correspondent for the BBC in the North West, he has become well-known as an MC or interviewer at benefit dinners and he now has the prospect of spending his summer at Manchester, Liverpool and Sedbergh.Only one question remains: will Gwynne be able to conceal his full-throated ecstasy if a batsman is dismissed for … one hundred and eighteeeeeee?***The County Championship might be under permanent threat but at least it has entered the 21st century in terms of WiFi availability.All 18 counties now offer WiFi on their grounds thanks to a tie-up with Sky. We tested it at Trent Bridge last week and it was surprisingly fast – perhaps because not everybody has cottoned on to its existence.Just what you need to ensure you can message your thoughts to our County Cricket Live blog without using up your data allowance too quickly.Tom Taylor was in the wickets early for Leicestershire•Getty Images

We couldn’t help a snigger or two at the incorrigible optimist Paul Nixon as he assessed Leicestershire’s chances on the eve of the season.Nine players out, four in suggested a tough season ahead for the Foxes but Nixon overflowed with praise for Leicestershire’s prospects and, in particular, their new signing from Derbyshire, the seam bowler Tom Taylor.”Could be in contention for an England Lions trip by the end of the season,” said Nixon, so impressed was he by Taylor’s winter improvement.It appears we laughed too soon. Taylor took career-best stats of 10 for 122, promotion hopefuls Sussex were beaten at Hove and Nixon’s optimism was vindicated.***Perhaps the most surprising sight at Lancashire’s Media Day was to see Matt Parkinson virtually fully recovered less than a fortnight after being struck an horrific blow on the jaw by Surrey’s Mark Stoneman during a T10 Festival at the ICC Academy in Dubai.Parkinson, a 22-year-old leg-spinner who has been tipped to get an England call-up, was taken straight to hospital in Dubai where scans revealed no broken bones and the deep lacerations in his jaw were repaired by a plastic surgeon.Merely to escape with nothing more than stitches from such a life-threatening incident seems faintly miraculous but Parkinson is clearly made of stern stuff. And the astonishment at his availability was not confined to the media. “That ball couldn’t have been hit any harder,” said head coach, Glen Chapple.***In addition to the new players and refreshed ambitions on parade at Trent Bridge, this most splendid of county grounds is showing off another elegant architectural addition in the shape of the two-tier upwards extension of the central section of the Radcliffe Road stand.The project, which began in 2017, is now finished, providing extra broadcasting suites and hospitality areas, plus a swish new restaurant, under a stylish curved roof.Nottinghamshire have hired a Michelin-starred chef, Nottingham-born Tom Sellars, to ensure that the new eatery, which has been named Six, meets the highest standards of contemporary fine dining. (Sadly, he won’t be supplying the press lunches, although that’s not to say the first-floor dining room doesn’t look after us very nicely).Diners who do plan to eat there will need patience and deep pockets. Already, more than 2,000 foodies interested in such offerings as gin-cured chalk stream trout with cucumber and oyster emulsion, Packington chicken with asparagus, morels and wild garlic, or native lobster with lobster bisque and lovage, have been added to a priority booking list for the 40-seat restaurant. Last Friday and Saturday’s sampling menus were fully booked at £150 per head.***The ECB network correspondents are grumbling because they were asked for a letter of assignation before being issued with their press accreditation for the new season … even though their employer is the ECB.

Champions of 2017 and 2019 – and Bob Willis Trophy winners in 2020 – as ruthless as ever

Vithushan Ehantharajah09-Apr-2023Essex 266 (Lawrence 105, Roland-Jones 7-61) and 211 (Critchley 53, Murtagh 4-44) beat Middlesex 170 (Higgins 70, Simpson 63, Porter 6-35) and 210 (Hollman 63*, S Cook 3-31, Porter 3-34) by 97 runsAs far as statements of intent go, Essex’s 97-run victory over Middlesex in the first match of the 2023 season is loud and clear. The County Champions of 2017 and 2019 – and inaugural winners of the Bob Willis Trophy in 2020 – are as ruthless as ever.Despite losing the toss and “only” scoring 266 in their first innings, Essex’s control of game was never in doubt. Perhaps their only frustration came on this final day when they were made to wait until 2:45pm for the last of the five wickets required.The final dismissal was Jamie Porter’s ninth of the match, with 3 for 34 supplementing 6 for 35 in the first innings. Sam Cook, who took Sunday’s first wicket, settled for 3 for 31 (4 for 73 overall, from 33 overs). The opening pair used Dan Lawrence’s expertly crafted 105 to dismantle Middlesex’s top-order twice – 4 for 4 on day two; 15 for 3 on day three – meaning we arrived here on Easter Sunday under bright skies expecting little beyond an Essex victory.The last stanza was very much a team effort from the bowlers, with Shane Snater’s 2 for 34 and a wicket apiece for Simon Harmer and Matt Critchley last night. But Porter and Cook were the headliners overall and, in this form, rival other new-ball duos in Division One. Skipper Tom Westley was told as much on day four.”I bumped into Sam Robson at lunchtime, and he was like, ‘How easy is it for you with these seamers, and then you’ve got Simon Harmer?'” said Westley. “It does make it easier, in terms of the personnel you can turn to. The challenging bit is telling them they’re not bowling!”Related

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• Middlesex face chastening defeat as Essex rip through batting once more

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• Jamie Porter's duck-shoot leaves Middlesex with top-flight reality check

For Porter, this fixture was a welcome return to form. Along with a first five-wicket haul since 2020, the overall 9 for 69 were his best match figures since 11 for 98 against Worcestershire back in September 2018. While urging a degree of caution on an outright return to the 2017-to-2019 vintage, which saw Porter on the cusp of England honours with 199 first-class dismissals across three summers, Westley is pleased by the 29-year-old’s re-emergence after a tough couple of seasons.”I’m so happy for Ports. He’s an integral part of our team: when we’re doing well, it’s coincided with when he’s taken wickets. I think he’s worked really hard with Mick Lewis, the bowling coach. I think he’s made a couple of technical adjustments, but nothing too drastic.”He’s got a little bit wider on the crease, like how he used to be. He’s always very awkward to face because of his angles. I also think, for Ports, someone that led the attack for a number of years, with the likes of Sam Cook and Shane Snater coming through, it’s going to be a bit challenging going from the main man to one of the bowling unit.”There’s obviously a little bit of the England stuff from a few years ago,” said Westley, referencing Porter’s elusive Test cap and missing out on the enlarged 55-man training squad during 2020’s Covid-19 summer. “When you get so close and don’t quite get the chance that sometimes plays on your mind. You want it too much or you chase it too much.”I think what he’s done fantastically well is he’s gone back to basics – what made him so successful in those years leading up to 2017 and 2019 – and he’s looking to repeat that.”If Middlesex are chastened by such a heavy defeat in their first outing in the top-flight since 2017, they could at least wonder how different things could have been. Luke Hollman’s 63 not out, along with Ryan Higgins’ 41 and Stevie Eskinazi’s 114-ball 37 spoke of the application within the batting. Alas, when your top three only manage a combined 7 for 6 in the match, there is only so much you can do.The first of the final five wickets came within the 10 minutes of the morning, Cook needing just four deliveries to send the nightwatcher Tom Helm back via an edge to second slip.In walked allrounder Higgins and combined with best mate Eskinanzi to offer resistance. The ask when they came together was 231, the same as it was overnight, but there was no real intention to score those runs.The first boundary of the day – a six, no less – came 9.3 overs in when Higgins skipped down the track to lift Harmer over the mid on boundary. But even that was a retaliation to the loss of Eskinazi the over before. Porter, in the midst of a fine opening from the Pavilion End, eventually found a way past Eskinazi’s bat and into his pad.The breaching of the former Middlesex captain’s defence was all part of the inevitability of Essex in these situations. As Harmer set his stall out at the Nursery End, and Cook took over from the Pavilion End after Porter’s six-over burst of 1 for 9, it felt like the walls were closing in.Higgins and Hollman pushed back, going beyond frustrating Harmer and Cook to score freely, particularly Hollman, who relished the battle with the South African offspinner. A perfect reverse sweep for four followed by a cut for a couple took the 22-year-old to 27, bringing up a 50-stand from just 79 deliveries.By lunchtime, Snater and Ben Allison had taken over from Harmer and Cook respectively, and Middlesex’s second-highest stand of the match had grown to 67. Now 146 behind, thoughts returned of where the hosts might have been had their top order not capitulated twice in 24 hours across days two and three.The availability of a second new ball 11 overs into the afternoon session carried looming sense of dread from Middlesex’s perspective. It manifested earlier than anticipated when, in the 77th over, Snater finally got the better of Higgins for the sixth lbw of the innings.With the very next delivery, Middlesex skipper Toby Roland-Jones was squared up, edging sharply to first slip where Alastair Cook took a brilliant catch. Snater had two-in-two but had to wait until the next over to deliver the hat-trick ball.He almost did not get the chance when No.11 Tim Murtagh plopped forward at the end of the first over of a new Harmer spell. Dan Lawrence missed a straightforward catch at silly point meaning Snater got his shot at three-in-three at Lord’s. Hollman kept it out, then guided the next delivery over the slips for his sixth boundary of what was soon to become a fifth first-class century.When the new ball was given to Snater, Hollman carved the first delivery through extra cover for four, then squirted out the fourth over cover to take Middlesex to 200. By that point, the final pair had already opted for the cavalier version of defiance, very much of the mind if they were going to go down, they would do so swinging. Murtagh tried to clear the Pavilion and ended up losing his off stump to the returning Porter.It’s worth noting Essex’s impressive squad got stronger on Saturday with New Zealand seamer Doug Bracewell touching down in the UK. He comes in as a 10-game replacement for Australian Will Sutherland, who was ruled out with a lower back stress fracture.Westley was unequivocal in his belief this is the strongest squad he has had at his disposal. Considering they finished fourth in 2022 and could have finished second had they beaten Lancashire in a Chelmsford crapshoot in the penultimate round, it is a stark warning to the rest.”It was a massive disappointment,” said Westley of the previous campaign. “That was my team talk to the guys in Northampton last year (after the last match of the season) and this is where we are as a club.”And really, if we win that Lancs game, we finish second. And that’s still a disappointment. We had times last year – at The Oval last year against Surrey – positions to go on and win the game. For whatever reason, we couldn’t repeat what we did in the past.”Fingers crossed, and it is one game, but if can play this brand and standard of cricket, I don’t see why we can’t go on right the way through.”

After a pink-ball bruising last week, the hosts will hope their Basin Reserve familiarity will help them level the series

Andrew Miller22-Feb-2023

Big picture: Back to the Basin

If ever there was a venue for this rebooted England team to come full circle, it would have to be the Basin Reserve in Wellington. It was here, back on their 2007-08 tour, that James Anderson – the newly reinstated No.1 Test bowler in the world – began his now-1009-wicket partnership with Stuart Broad, claiming a first-innings five-for no less, to establish England’s foothold in a memorable 2-1 series turnaround.It was at the Basin Reserve too, six years after that feat, that Brendon McCullum – England’s Test coach and former New Zealand great – laid down the most imposing monument of his Test career: his national-record 302 against India in 2014 that, over and above everything else he achieved on the field, was probably the innings that confirmed he was truly qualified to oversee this startling rebirth of England’s Test fortunes.And Wellington, the city, has been an important staging post in England’s wider journey too. Ben Stokes, the captain, called it home for two years from 2001 to 2003, before his father Ged’s rugby league career brought the family to Cumbria, and the rest to history. And though it’s hardly likely to be worthy of any pilgrimages during the team’s stay, it could be argued that the city’s other cricket venue, the infamous Cake Tin in the Docklands, deserves its own footnote. Had it not been for the gruesomely total crushing that McCullum (and New Zealand’s current skipper Tim Southee) inflicted on Eoin Morgan’s men at the 2015 World Cup, it’s debatable whether any of England’s recent story – white or red – could possibly have come to pass.So it’s hello again to those white picket-fences, and the William Wakefield Monument, and the buffeting winds that get funnelled directly up through the Cook Strait to wreak havoc with the bowlers’ run-ups. Thanks to Covid, it’s been a long old while since New Zealand last played a Test here – two-and-a-bit years in fact, the longest hiatus at the venue since 1981 – and as Southee intimated after his team’s rather bruising defeat under Mount Maunganui’s floodlights last week, their familiarity with both the venue and the traditional red ball may yet help the regrouping process.Related

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New Zealand do, after all, boast an impressive recent record at the Basin Reserve – in five visits since December 2017, they’ve emerged with three innings wins, a further ten-wicket trouncing of India, and one draw that got away – thanks to a combination of rain and a rather epic Sri Lanka rearguard, all of which formed part of that inexorable rise to the World Test Championship title, sealed at the Ageas Bowl in June 2021.Two years on, however, New Zealand are a team on the other side of the slope. Southee, at the age of 34, soldiers on with much the same magnificence as his new-ball counterparts Broad and Anderson, but he’s lost his fellow spearhead Trent Boult to the contractual complications of the T20 franchise era, not to mention other stalwarts of a generational team, such as Ross Taylor, Colin de Grandhomme and – in the short term at least – Kyle Jamieson. And, with England in a mood to wreck the record-books in Mount Maunganui, the flaying of New Zealand’s most indomitable competitor, Neil Wagner, told a story of its own. With a brazen disregard for precedent, England eviscerated Wagner’s short-ball methods to the tune of 13-2-110-2 in the second innings. On the eve of his 37th birthday, it’s hard to see how even he can come back from such disparaging treatment.Nevertheless, England’s win last week was only their first in the country for seven Tests, spanning three tours and 15 years since the Broad-Anderson origin story of 2008 – and though New Zealand have failed to win any of their six series since the new WTC cycle began, they still haven’t lost a home rubber since South Africa’s visit in 2017, 12 campaigns ago. Even if England’s current form implies that that is about to change, it’s not been in the Black Caps’ recent nature to go down without a fight.

Form guide: England on a roll

New Zealand LDDLL
England WWWWW

In the spotlight: James Anderson and Kane Williamson

Every new day seems to provide another reason to marvel at James Anderson’s freakish defiance of the laws of nature, but this week of all weeks, it seems only right to place him on the pedestal. Not only is he back where his career truly began, 15 long years ago, but he does so as the ICC’s newly-restored No.1 Test bowler, a ranking he last attained back in 2018. His seven wickets at Mount Maunganui perfectly encapsulated the performer he has long since become – phenomenally skilled, unswervingly accurate, and possessing the wisdom to adapt his method to suit the subtleties of each new scenario – but it was a very different brand of bowler who seized that 2008 comeback Test to the tune of 5 for 73 in the first innings. He’d started life as a tearaway outswinger, capable of 90mph speeds but liable to lose his radar in the process; now he’d found the means to channel those attributes into a more rounded, permanent threat, even if other key tools of his trade – not least the wobble-seam delivery – would be a few more years in the making. Nevertheless, it’s instructive to recall his comments at the end of that performance … an early sign, it seems, of a player whose ambition was more burning than his diffident demeanour had previously let on. “I want to be the bowler that the captain can throw the ball to when we need a wicket,” he said. “I want to stake a claim and be here for a long time.” And so it has proven.Kane Williamson’s first Test back in the ranks on home soil was a chastening affair. Anderson pinned him with a nipbacker under the lights on the first evening; Broad repeated the dose in the same circumstances on the third, this time bowling him through a half-closed gate precisely because of his reluctance to commit to the front foot in such conditions. Even in light of his ongoing elbow issues, it’s hardly enough reason to panic about Williamson’s returns – he only went and made the fifth double-century of his Test career in Karachi two months ago – but such are the frailties elsewhere in New Zealand’s line-up, the onus is on one of their most decorated campaigners to find some traction against the Bazball juggernaut. In his last home Test campaign, in 2020-21, Williamson stepped forward with consecutive scores of 251, 129 and 238. What his team would give for something similar this week.Matt Henry could be back with his new-ball partner Tim Southee•Getty Images

Team news: Henry returns, England name unchanged XI

In Boult’s absence at Mount Maunganui, England missed the new-ball knowhow of Matt Henry more than they might have imagined. He’s back in the set-up after missing that Test for the birth of his child, and will shore up a callow bowling unit in which Southee was too easily exposed by the frailties around him. Nevertheless, the debutants Blair Tickner and Scott Kuggeleijn showed spirit in adversity, not least with the bat, and might conceivably have done enough to retain their places – albeit it would be a huge call not to give an aggrieved Wagner one last chance to prove his methods can still match up to England’s aggression. Southee confirmed that decision would be made after assessing the pitch.New Zealand: 1 Tom Latham, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Henry Nicholls, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Michael Bracewell, 8 Scott Kuggeleijn, 9 Tim Southee (capt), 10 Matt Henry, 11 Blair Tickner / Neil WagnerEngland have named an unchanged XI, despite a few doubts about England’s senior seamers. Ollie Robinson reported a slight knee niggle two days out from the Test, while Anderson and Broad both reported soreness after their Mount Maunganui exertions. None of them turned up for training on match eve, but as Stokes put it: “I just texted all three of them, asking if they were good for the game, and they said yeah”. The decision means more time on the sidelines for Matthew Potts, the bustling seamer whom Robinson replaced during last summer’s South Africa series, and Olly Stone, whose fiery displays in the ODIs in South Africa were a decent indication of his new-found robustness after recent back issues.England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Ben Foakes (wk), 8 Ollie Robinson, 9 Jack Leach, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James Anderson

Pitch and conditions

The Wellington pitch had a thick covering of grass two days out from the Test, but is sure to undergo a haircut before the contest gets underway. “It’s usually a pretty good surface,” Southee said on the eve of the match. “I know it looks green… but there have been a number of hundreds scored here. So it’s a good cricket wicket.” The one factor that may prove less surmountable is the weather. Showers are forecast throughout the week, with delays a probability.

Stats and trivia

• England have an impressive overall record at the Basin Reserve, with four wins and one defeat in 11 previous Tests at the venue, dating back to 1930. That one setback, courtesy of Richard Hadlee in 1978, was also New Zealand’s first victory over England, at the 48th attempt.
• Harry Brook comes into the Test off the back of three consecutive Player-of-the-Match awards. The last time he didn’t win the accolade, at Rawalpindi in December, he still contributed scores of 153 and 87.
• Stokes has now overseen ten Test wins in the space of 12 matches in charge (including a one-off role as stand-in in 2020), the equal joint-fastest to double figures, alongside Australia’s Lindsay Hassett. One more win will draw him level with Len Hutton’s haul of 11 wins in 23 Tests.
• Another England win would make it seven in a row for Stokes’ men, one shy of the record run of success that Michael Vaughan oversaw in 2004, spanning three wins against New Zealand, four against West Indies and one in South Africa.
• After scores of 6 and 0 in the first Test, Williamson – in his 92st Test – still needs another 33 runs to overhaul Ross Taylor’s mark of 7683 runs to become New Zealand’s leading run-scorer in Test cricket.
• Stokes is six wickets away from reaching 200 in Test cricket. At Mount Maunganui he overhauled his coach McCullum to become the leading six-hitter in the format.

Quotes

“I think they’ve shown they want to play result cricket. I think it’s a great way to look at things. It’s our job to get things right and hopefully we’re in for a good Test match.”
“It’s good for everyone seeing that effect we could be having. We’ll take that as another win and I’ll say we get sold-out crowds because of the way we play.”

Ballance is the first Yorkshire batsman to have scored hundreds in five successive Yorkshire matches

David Hopps at Headingley06-Jun-2019Gary Ballance’s chances of a century in six successive Yorkshire matches came to grief just before tea on the final day at Emerald Headingley with an unexpected cloudburst that prematurely ended a stalemate that had long since lost all other significance.That at least consigned one of Yorkshire’s more confusing statistics to history. Ballance is the first Yorkshire batsman to have scored hundreds in five successive Yorkshire matches, although Len Hutton did it on seven successive occasions in Yorkshire matches in 1947 and 1948.Such distinctions will not remotely concern Ballance, who was 51 not out when the deluge brought an early tea. His only ambition will be to extend a prolific Championship season, which has brought 668 runs at 83.5, to force his way into consideration for the Ashes series. If happenstance means James Vince gets an opportunity with England in the World Cup, and he makes runs, Ballance’s chances of adding to his 23 Tests, the last of them against South Africa in Nottingham, will further recede.One senses in any case that Ballance is out of vogue, to be ranked alongside avocado bathroom suites, lava lamps and hipster beards. He will have to play doubly well to get noticed.(Incidentally, the suggestion that hipster beards are out of fashion was a cruel misrepresentation and if any hipsters happened to have been drawn to a piece about an ultimately pointless county cricket match, one can assume they have already left in search of reassurance).From the moment on the third evening that Peter Siddle rose, half asleep, from a bench in the Essex dressing room, where he had been vaguely watching India’s World Cup match against South Africa, and roused himself to save the follow-on, this contest needed enterprise from both captains to salvage a worthwhile finish.But Siddle and Sam Cook blithely extended their last-wicket stand for a further 70 minutes, and those who had hoped for better began to stare staunchly into mid-distance. Championship spectators no longer religiously turn to the newspaper crossword to help them through the game’s longeurs (a shame because it was always an interesting clue to their political affiliations) and many remain allergic to mobile phones, especially during hours of play.In all, Siddle and Cook put on 86 in 25 overs, every run making the slim chance of a positive declaration increasingly starved of possibility. Siddle finished with 60 off 119 balls, his best score in his second season as Essex’s overseas player, at which point he fell leg-before to Steve Patterson, while Cook’s career-best unbeaten 37 off 74 included a pulled six off Ben Coad.When Yorkshire started their second innings, they led by 81 with 76 overs remaining in the day. Many sides have contrived finishes from such positions, but not often on such a sound surface, and not often Yorkshire.Andrew Gale, the coach, said with justification that the pitch had flattened out. Yorkshire remain unbeaten, and stable, but have yet to pull off the sort of thrilling result that identifies them as definite title contenders. Now 25 points behind leaders Somerset, they face Surrey at Guildford on Monday; the defending champions are yet to win in five matches.Yorkshire lost their debutant opener, Will Fraine, for a duck, but were on 107 for 1 from 42.5 overs when the rain tumbled from the sky. Essex’s main concern will surround the fitness of their seam bowler Jamie Porter, who is the catalyst for so many of their better moments, and who limped off during his 10th over.

Lead selector Desmond Haynes says Chase was chosen over Cornwall for Australia tour due to fitness reasons

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Nov-2022The West Indies selection panel chose Roston Chase over left-arm fingerspinner Gudakesh Motie in the Test squad for the upcoming tour of Australia because they wanted an “offspinner in Australia”, Desmond Haynes, the lead selector, said. Though Rakheem Cornwall, who is also an offspinning allrounder like Chase, was in contention, fitness was one of the reasons for his omission.Jimmy Adams, the director of cricket at CWI, also revealed that they are considering an interim coach until the tour of South Africa, which will run till the end of March, with the current head coach Phil Simmons set to part ways with the team in December.”The situation regarding Roston Chase and Motie is that we as a panel decided that we would go for an offspinner,” Haynes said during a virtual press conference. “That’s the reason why we didn’t include Moti and we decided that Chase was the best person to do the job and that’s what the panel decided.Related

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• Simmons quits as West Indies coach after 'unfathomable' World Cup exit

“When you look at someone like Roston Chase, his record in Test cricket has been pretty good. Although he did lose some form, he played a few games against Zimbabwe this year. The panel wanted to go with an offspinner and that’s what really ticked in Roston’s favour. Not just that he would help us in the batting department but also he would be a very good allrounder who can bowl offspin.”Chase is returning from an injury and is the only spin option in the squad which will play two Tests in November-December. He has not played international cricket since turning out for WICB XI against the touring Bangladesh side in a three-day fixture in June. However, he took part in CPL 2022, picking up six wickets in 11 matches for St Lucia Kings and scoring 100 runs in ten innings. Having debuted in 2016, Chase’ last Test came in December 2021 against Sri Lanka in Galle.Meanwhile, Adams, the director of cricket, mentioned that there were “quite a few things” that came into the picture for Cornwall’s selection, including “medical and physical” reasons which is why the CWI waited till Friday to announce the contingent. Cornwall finished as the highest wicket-taker in the four-day championship, with 23 strikes in five matches at an average of 21.47. He revealed that Dominic Drakes was also considered.”It [his selection criteria] included quite a few things – medical and physical, ” Adam said of Cornwall. “But this isn’t the forum to discuss issues of that nature, I can’t give you much information. But all of the information surrounding Rakheem needed to come in for selection.”There was a group of players under consideration for selection. From what I was told from the lead of the panel, [for] Rakheem and Dominic Drakes, we needed information on not just these two but on the group and we decided we wouldn’t make a decision on either players or any of the players until all information that was required came in. And it was not until we had all the information to make a decision, the team didn’t officially go out until Friday because the final selection happened on Friday morning. So we needed information on these players, Rakheem was one of them, and once the information came in, the panel was able to convene and select the squad.”One of the other main talking points from the squad selection is Tagenarine Chanderpaul, the son of former batter Shivnarine, earning his maiden call-up to West Indies’ senior side for the two-match Test series in Australia. Haynes heaped praise on Tagenarine, who he feels has the ability to rise to the challenge and backed him to open with Kraigg Brathwaite.”I believe [Kraigg and Tage can work well together]. I think what you have to take into consideration too is with Tage, a young man, he’s got a very good technique to the new ball which is good,” Haynes said.”He leaves alone very well. When you go to places like Australia, you don’t want to see the number three batsman coming in too early or the number four. So I think he and Kraigg would definitely complement each other because at least they would be looking at what openers should do for a team as well, which is build a foundation for the side so the guys coming in down the order would not get the new ball. I think it’s a good choice of picking the young man. [There is a] no better place to start your cricket career than Australia where a lot of people believe if you do well against Australia then you’re rated.”It’s always been considered a tough place to play cricket and I think he has the ability to do it.”Phil Simmons is set to leave West Indies in December after the tour of Australia•Associated Press

CWI considering an interim coachAdams is hoping that the CWI will have some clarity by the end of this week on whether they will be appointing an interim coach for West Indies’ men’s senior team or multiple coaches for different formats, adding that “those discussions are actually ongoing.”The Australia tour will be Simmons’ last assignment as head coach of West Indies. After West Indies suffered an “unfathomable” first-round exit in the T20 World Cup in the country earlier this month, he had put in his resignation. West Indies’ important assignment next year commences with an all-format tour of South Africa, beginning on February 28 and concluding on March 28.”There are two issues to look at,” Adams said. “Obviously, given the schedule that we have, which is Test cricket in Zimbabwe and South Africa from the end of January right through until (March)…I think the white-ball games against South Africa will go into March. Do we first of all split the roles and how long are we going to give ourselves the time in which to recruit? By that I mean, is it that we are going to do an interim situation maybe until the end of the South Africa (tour) or do we actually start recruiting right away (for a full-time coach).”These are decisions that are before us now and I am hoping that by the end of this week coming that we will have some firm decisions to sort of guide the way forward…these are all the questions being considered right now as we speak.”

Can Lauderhill’s strong expatriate numbers inspire a turnaround for the visiting team?

The Preview by Mohammad Isam04-Aug-2018

Big Picture

West Indies will go into the second T20I in Fort Lauderdale armed with the confidence that their big hitters and aggressive bowlers are firing in tandem, presenting a challenge even greater for a Bangladesh side that hasn’t been able to sustain its success for any measurable period through this tour.As always, much of Bangladesh’s hopes would fall on their four senior batsmen, but there’s a lot more that the likes of Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar and Ariful Haque can bring to the table. Soumya, despite being thrown multiple lifelines, has failed to find a way out his wretched form, while Liton needs to capitalise on impressive starts and push on to producing something more substantial. Ariful is still young at the international level, but expectations from newcomers have never been higher in the Bangladesh set-up.The bowling load will be shared between Rubel Hossain and Mustafizur Rahman, who both are usually required to bowl at critical phases in T20s, with Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al Hasan providing support. Nazmul Islam, who debuted earlier this year, needs to adapt quickly if he is to survive in this spin attack.West Indies, the world champions, have very little to worry about. Ashley Nurse, Keemo Paul and Kesrick Williams complemented each other, taking eight wickets together, before Andre Russell, returning from injury, Marlon Samuels and Rovman Powell upended the chase in a six-heavy onslaught in the last game. If those signs weren’t worrying enough for Bangladesh, they are compounded by West Indies’ superlative record at this venue: they are yet to lose a match in Lauderhill, have three of the four highest totals at this ground, and have bowled out the opposition twice in three completed games. Ominous?Perhaps the one factor that could come to Bangladesh’s aid is the crowd in Lauderhill; the local population has a strong subcontinental presence. The expatriates have already turned up in droves in South Florida for the double-header, meaning that Bangladesh’s first international match in the USA will likely have the feeling of a home game.

Form guide

West Indies: WWLLL (last five completed games, most recent first)
Bangladesh: LLLLL

In the spotlight

Ashley Nurse took two wickets in the first over of the previous match, and yet never returned to bowl. That was partly down to his lack of wickets in the ODI series that preceded this, and Nurse would be keen to get the numbers back on his side, once again demonstrating the control he can bring while also breaking through.Liton Das has scored at a rate over 128 in nine T20Is this year, but that strike rate is hardly enough to cover up an average of 18. He doesn’t have a single half-century despite batting in the top three. It’s time for the promise to translate into performance.

Team news

Barring last-minute injuries, West Indies are unlikely to make changes to their XI.West Indies (probable): 1 Evin Lewis, 2 Andre Fletcher, 3 Andre Russell, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Carlos Brathwaite (capt), 8 Keemo Paul, 9 Ashley Nurse, 10 Samuel Badree, 11 Kesrick WilliamsSoumya Sarkar has been in miserable form in domestic cricket, and his inclusion in the squad was only as a result of the management’s plea. He would undoubtedly be under the scanner, with Mosaddek Hossain being the prime candidate to replace him.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Liton Das, 2 Tamim Iqbal, 3 Soumya Sarkar, 4 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 5 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Ariful Haque, 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Mustafizur Rahman, 10 Nazmul Islam, 11 Rubel Hossain

Pitch and conditions

The last completed game in Lauderhill produced a run-glut, with West Indies and India totaling 489 runs and both innings producing a century.The weather has been quite warm, but it is likely to remain clear for both matches.

Stats and trivia

• Bangladesh have now lost five or more T20Is in a row for the sixth time
• Tamim Iqbal is 65 runs away from aggregating 1,000 runs across international formats this year

Gambhir will mentor the Lucknow (IPL) and Durban (SA20) franchises, both of which are part of the RPSG group

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Oct-2022After mentoring Lucknow Super Giants to a top-four finish in the IPL in their maiden outing, former India batter Gautam Gambhir has been elevated to the role of “global mentor” by the Sanjiv Goenka-led RPSG Group. That means Gambhir will also mentor the Durban Super Giants franchise in the new SA20 competition – a team that the RPSG Group acquired in July 2022 – in addition to his role with the Lucknow franchise.”He is one of the sharpest cricketing minds going around,” a statement from the RPSG Group read. “The group feels he can not only add value in Indian conditions but across the cricketing map as well.”Gambhir, a two-time IPL winning captain, was present in the dug out for all of Super Giants’ games in the IPL, and was a key member of the Lucknow franchise’s think-tank at the auction too. He was visible in the field during strategic time outs and regularly addressed the team in post-match dressing room debriefs as well.”In my ideology of a team sport, designations don’t play much role,” Gambhir was quoted as saying in the statement. “At best, they are there to facilitate a process to make a team win. As a global mentor of Super Giants I look forward to some added responsibility.”My intensity and passion to win have just got international wings. It will be a proud moment to see the Super Giants family leave a global imprint. I thank Super Giants family for showing that faith in me. Guess it’s time for some more sleepless nights.”Gambhir will now also be working closely with the Durban franchise’s head coach Lance Klusener. On Friday, Klusener stepped down as batting coach of the Zimbabwe men’s team to “pursue professional engagements around the globe.”The Durban franchise has a few other crossovers from the Lucknow team, with Quinton de Kock, Jason Holder and Kyle Mayers part of both teams. Those three were among five players signed up by the franchise ahead the SA20 auction, while the likes of Reece Topley, Dwaine Pretorius, Heinrich Klaasen, Keemo Paul, Keshav Maharaj, Kyle Abbott, Dilshan Madushanka and Wiaan Mulder were added during the auction.The inaugural edition of the SA20 competition starts on January 10 next year and will be a 33-match competition featuring sides representing Durban, Johannesburg, Paarl, Cape Town, Pretoria and Gqeberha. All six teams have been bought by owners of IPL teams.

Coach Simon Helmot confident she will be available for their third game in Adelaide despite busy schedule

Alex Malcolm15-Oct-2022India captain Harmanpreet Kaur will miss Melbourne Renegades opening two WBBL matches in Mackay but coach Simon Helmot is confident last year’s player of the tournament will be available for their third match in Adelaide despite a heavy workload at the Asia Cup.Harmanpreet will captain India in the women’s Asia Cup final on Saturday in Sylhet just 24 hours before Renegades open their WBBL campaign against Adelaide Strikers in north Queensland.Workloads have become a major issue for the elite female players this year with Smriti Mandhana withdrawing from the WBBL while Australia captain Meg Lanning is on an indefinite break from the game.Harmanpreet has played 16 T20Is and six ODIs for India since late June including tours to Sri Lanka, England, which included the Commonwealth Games, and the Asia Cup in Bangladesh. She also played in the ODI World Cup earlier this year in New Zealand during February and March.Helmot was confident she will be fine to join the Renegades after the Asia Cup final for the full WBBL but he said they would carefully monitor her workloads when she arrives in Australia.”Obviously, she’s heavy into the Asia Cup at the moment so hopefully as soon as that finishes she can jump on a plane and come and join us up in Mackay or in fact, in Adelaide,” Helmot told ESPNcricinfo. “So that’s when we expect her. I’m expecting her to miss the first two matches, and then we’ll have to check how she’s feeling and how she’s going.”She’s played a heck of a lot of cricket recently. But having had a few messages over WhatsApp with her in recent times she’s really excited about coming back. She had an awesome time [last season]. She was player of the series and she was such an important player, not just runs but 15 wickets as well, and her support and leadership for Soph [Molineux].”Related

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Workloads have become a major topic of conversation among the senior players in the women’s game with the rise of T20 domestic leagues on top of a burgeoning international schedule that is set to get busier over the coming years under the new women’s Future Tours Programme. A women’s IPL is also set to be launched next year.The WBBL runs over six weeks and is a full 14-game tournament plus finals. There is more travel involved for all the teams this season than the last two with Covid bubbles and hubs a thing of the past.Helmot is acutely aware of workload management having spent more than a decade travelling on the men’s international T20 circuit. He has coached in both the IPL and CPL this year alone. He is keen to have the Renegades’ female players take control of their own preparation to ensure they stay physically and mentally fresh.”I don’t know all the answers,” Helmot said. “But what I do know is that for the Melbourne Renegades, every single training from today onwards is optional. Most of these girls are still going to want to train. In fact, there’s times where I’ll need to suggest or recommend or enforce that they’re not training. And that’s hard.”Some have had a heavy workload coming into this competition. And so we will be careful in how much we train and what training looks like and the intensity because the most important thing is the 14 matches. I think now the players can make more decisions for themselves.”

Though the appointment is currently being made on a series-by-series basis it seems likely that Anderson will keep the job at least until the conclusion of Stokes’ court case

Andrew McGlashan in Hamilton13-Mar-2018Ben Stokes has been stripped of the England vice-captaincy for the Test series against New Zealand with James Anderson retaining the role he took on during the Ashes. Though the appointment is currently being made on a series-by-series basis it seems likely that Anderson will keep the job at least until the conclusion of Stokes’ court case.Stokes’ trial date, after his charge of affray to which he has pleaded not guilty following the incident in Bristol last September, has been set for August 6 and is expected to last between five and seven days, meaning the allrounder will miss the Lord’s Test against India. Having removed the vice-captaincy from him in the current situation it is very unlikely he will be considered again until the outcome of the legal case is known and also the Cricket Disciplinary Commission process that will follow.Anderson took over the role for the Ashes after Stokes was removed from the squad as he awaited charging following his arrest outside Mbargo nightclub in Bristol on September 25. Stokes returned to action in the one-day series against New Zealand, but having him one step away from captaining England with an ongoing legal case was a situation the ECB needed to avoid. With Stokes not being in Australia, and Jos Buttler the vice-captain to Eoin Morgan in the one-day side, this was the first time a decision needed to be made by Joe Root and coach Trevor Bayliss with Stokes present.Last week, Bayliss praised Anderson’s impact in the position during the Ashes where he was the stand-out England bowler and he is also understood to have made a good impression behind the scenes on what was a difficult tour. Given his seniority it was a logical choice for him to continue and he can now also expect to have the job against Pakistan and India in the summer.”I’m delighted Joe has asked me to do it again for this series,” Anderson told the . “It doesn’t change my role in the team a huge amount. I see myself as a senior player and I’m there for people if they need advice. Certainly if Joe needs help on the field, I’m there for him.”Anderson got a taste of being one step away from the captaincy on the final day of the Ashes when Root was taken ill and could not conduct the post-match interviews (England were only batting so Anderson was not needed to lead in the field) but he sees a collection of senior players as being important to offering advice.”It’s a big group effort when we go on the field, so it’s important that we get that right,” he said. “Again in the dressing-room, it’s trying to get people relaxed and ready to play Test cricket.”It’s not just my job; it’s Joe’s, Alastair Cook and Stuart Broad have plenty of experience, and the coaches as well who have been around the block. It’s our job to help out where we can and try to help this team progress.”This series against New Zealand will see England trying to correct a horrendous run away from home which has seen them lose nine of their last 12 Tests overseas. They avoided another Ashes whitewash due to a draw on a docile Melbourne pitch, but Anderson believes that England weren’t as poor as the 4-0 scoreline suggests.”I don’t think we were far away,” he said. “I know the scoreline says 4-0, and it looks like we got thrashed. But in each Test match I don’t think we were that far away.”We got ourselves into games at certain times, and it was a bad half-hour or an hour here and there that really cost us the games we lost. I think that’s the learning curve for us.”

Former allrounder to replace Matt LeBlanc when filming of new series gets underway in the coming months

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Oct-2018Andrew Flintoff has been handed arguably the most prestigious role of his post-cricket career, after being unveiled as one of the new hosts of the BBC’s long-running car show, Top Gear.Flintoff, who retired from cricket in 2009, was named on Monday morning alongside Paddy McGuinness, the host of the ITV dating show Take Me Out. He will replace the outgoing Matt LeBlanc when filming for the 27th series of the show gets underway in the coming months.”It’s not often you have the chance to do both of your dream jobs, but I’m now lucky enough to say I will have,” said Flintoff. “I’ve always been passionate about cars and I’m so excited to be joining the Top Gear team.”Flintoff, who retired from Test cricket in 2009, has forged a successful media career in recent years, including a regular team captain role on the Sky panel show A League of Their Own, and a BBC Five Live podcast, Flintoff, Savage and the Ping Pong Guy.His specialist knowledge of vehicles hasn’t had quite the same airing. He hit the headlines earlier this year after discovering his 6ft4in frame was too large to fit into a new Lamborghini for which he had just forked out GBP100,000.And in 2014, he successfully pleaded “exceptional hardship” in overturning a driving ban for speeding, arguing that it would affect those who rely on his “extensive charity work”, as well as the privacy of his three children.The vehicle with which he is most synonymous, however, is arguably the pedalo that he capsized in St Lucia during the 2007 World Cup, a fact that will no doubt be a recurring theme of a show that has long revolved around the interplay between its hosts.Top Gear’s original trio of hosts, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, departed the show en masse in 2015, with Chris Evans signed to front the show alongside LeBlanc before departing after one series.Flintoff and McGunness reportedly impressed BBC bosses with their “infectious” chemistry during secret auditions at a test track near London.Patrick Holland, the controller of BBC Two, said: “This is a thrilling manoeuvre from the Top Gear team and I’m relishing what this trio will deliver. Both Paddy and Freddie love their cars but, more than that, they’ll bring a new energy and competitive spirit to Top Gear.”