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He says the freshly-installed selection panel, headed by Tharanga, had him in their T20 World Cup plans

Andrew Fidel Fernando15-Jan-2024Expect to see more of Angelo Mathews in Sri Lanka’s T20 side this year. Expect to see him bowl more frequently. And because this is late-career Mathews, coming back into the white-ball frame after years of being picked only for Tests, expect him also to be driven by grievance to some extent.Following his first T20I outing in almost three years, Mathews seemed to take aim at the previous set of selectors – headed by Pramodya Wickramasinghe – for working to their own “agendas”. He also said the freshly-installed selection panel, headed by Upul Tharanga, had him in their T20 World Cup plans.In any case, in his first international T20 outing since March 2021, Mathews played a critical role in a last-ball win, top-scoring with 46 off 38 balls. This is after he had taken the new ball and bowled two overs for 13 runs. He thinks he shouldn’t have spent so long in the white-ball wilderness.Related

• Upul Tharanga, Ajantha Mendis named on five-man Sri Lanka selection panel

• Angelo Mathews back in T20I squad after three-year absence

• Angelo Mathews stars in thriller as Sri Lanka go 1-0 up

“In the last two Lanka Premier League (LPL) seasons I batted and bowled well, but unfortunately I wasn’t selected for the T20 World Cups, and I wasn’t given reasons for that,” he said after the game, having picked up the Player-of-the-Match trophy. “If you take decisions that are driven by agendas, these kinds of things can happen – we haven’t even qualified for the Champions Trophy.”But one thing I believe is that if you train and play wholeheartedly, you can create an environment for yourself where you can perform. I kept my efforts up over the last couple of years. I think I can play for a little while longer.”Mathews’ bowling has been a sticking point over the years. He had been an important member of the attack in arguably Sri Lanka’s best white-ball sides (between 2007 and 2014), where he frequently bowled in the powerplay in T20s. But a growing catalogue of injuries over the years had either prevented him from bowling, or put him in a frame of mind to play only as a specialist batter, depending on who tells the story.More recently, though, he has become a regular contributor of quiet overs again – a role he said he relishes.”The communication with me and the new selectors is quite clear. They asked me what my plans were for the future and [told me] their plans as well. We had a very good discussion. They said that I’m in their plans for the T20 World Cup, and if I could bowl a few overs. I said: ‘Absolutely – if I can help the team in any way’.”I’ve been bowling in the LPL as well, and you saw me bowling in the [domestic] one-dayers as well recently. If I can bowl a few overs that helps the balance of the team and the captain can decide whether he wants to play an extra batter or a bowler.”In this particular match, which he helped Sri Lanka win from a dire position, Mathews said he relied on his experience. Sri Lanka needed 61 off the last six overs, with four wickets in hand, when Mathews and Dasun Shanaka came together at the crease. The pair added 55 runs off 34 balls together, when Mathews was dismissed trying to hit the winning runs (they would come off the bat of Dushmantha Chameera eventually).”When we batted together I talked to Dasun about how if one of us gets out it will be really difficult,” Mathews said. “We thought it would be better if we batted until the 16th or 17th over, and keep the required rate at an achievable level – around 10 runs an over. In the end we had to go after their best bowlers as well. We took some calculated risks.”Dasun played a good innings, and the person who played the most important innings was Dushmantha Chameera who got six off the last two balls, or else everything else we did would have been meaningless.”

Rhodes 82 not out follows three-fors from Hannon-Dalby, Rushworth and Booth

ECB Reporters Network29-Aug-2024Kent’s lurch towards Vitality Championship relegation continued as they were bowled out for 156 by Warwickshire on the opening day of their Division One battle at Edgbaston.Having collected just nine batting points from ten games, Kent were skittled in just 39.5 overs by the seamers before the home side eased past them to reach 207 for 3 at the close.Michael Booth, Olly Hannon-Dalby and Chris Rushworth each took three wickets to dismantle a Kent batting order in which only Ben Compton and Joey Evison reached double-figures. If Compton had not been badly dropped on 1, Kent’s implosion would have been complete.Warwickshire completed their excellent day by moving 51 ahead with seven wickets intact, Will Rhodes compiling a measured unbeaten 82 off 134 balls to build a perfect platform for a belated first Championship win of the season.Warwickshire chose to wield the Kookaburra ball first and took just four balls to strike with it. Tawanda Muyeye, fresh from 211 against Worcestershire at Canterbury last week, sliced the first ball from Hannon-Dalby to the third man boundary and edged the fourth, a perfectly pitched outswinger, to wicketkeeper Michael Burgess.Muyeye copped an unplayable delivery, but Daniel Bell-Drummond was culpable five overs later when he edged a footwork-free waft at Rushworth to third slip. When Jack Leaning edged Hannon-Dalby to first slip, Kent were in distress at 44 for 3. They would have been in total disarray if Compton had not been reprieved by Rhodes at fourth slip off Rushworth.Compton and Evison added 57 in 13 overs before the vestige of resistance was torpedoed by a collapse just before lunch. Evison edged Ed Barnard to Burgess and Booth took three wickets in 11 balls to gallop to career-best figures. Harry Finch and Charlie Stobo edged to Burgess and Grant Stewart miscued to point.Compton reached a defiant half-century from 74 balls but lost an eighth partner when Matt Parkinson edged Rushworth behind and a ninth when Alfie Ogborne sliced Hannon-Dalby low to second slip. Compton was within sight of carrying his bat when he pulled Hannon-Dalby to square leg to supply the bowler with his 500th wicket in all formats for Warwickshire.If Kent looked devoid of confidence with the bat, they did so equally with the ball as Warwickshire openers Rob Yates and Alex Davies added 62 in 11 overs. Somerset loanee Ogborne trapped Davies lbw and Yates edged former Bears team-mate George Garrett behind but Rhodes and Hain, with tons of time and the weather forecast excellent for the duration of this match, added a sedate 94 in 30 overs. Hain played on to the impressively persevering Ogborne but Rhodes is within 18 runs of his 11th first-class century.For Kent, this miserable season can’t end soon enough. Warwickshire are charging towards a win that will pretty much ensure they don’t join their rock-bottom opponents through the trapdoor to Division Two next month.

The missing trophy is back in Australia’s hands to continue a run of considerable success under Cummins

AAP06-Jan-20253:19

Cummins on making WTC final: ‘It’s huge, we talk about it a lot’

There’s no end in sight for Pat Cummins’ captaincy as he prepares to put family first and skip his first full tour since taking over from Tim Paine four years ago.Sunday’s six-wicket win over India at the SCG on Sunday sealed the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and ensured Australia own every bilateral trophy for which they compete, capping a superb run for the team under Cummins.With ODI and T20 World Cups also captured in that time, Cummins was asked after the SCG win if he felt he “had completed cricket”.Related

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• Konstas, Webster and Boland, the unusual suspects in Australia's moment of glory

• Australia book WTC final date with South Africa at Lord's

Cummins will likely miss Australia’s next tour, admitting on Sunday he “likely might struggle” to play in Sri Lanka as he awaits the birth of his second child.Steven Smith is expected to return to the captaincy in his place, having already filled in four times previously in the past four years. But in the long run, Cummins is still driven and in no way feels as if his job as captain has been finished.”First of all, I absolutely love what I do. That’s the biggest driver in wanting to play Test cricket and work with this team and support staff,” Cummins said. “I absolutely love everything about it; it’s that much fun. If I can keep doing it for a while, even better.”The transition of the Test team has been a key talking point for the past year, with Sam Konstas the only player in the fifth Test side under 30. But Cummins still has several years left in him with a mega 2027 on the horizon, which includes away Test tours of India and England, despite him initially hinting at a shorter tenure when he took over in 2021.Pat Cummins remained calm in the face of criticism early in the series•AFP

“You always talk about [succession]. We have two vice-captains in the team. We have had three debutants in this series,” Cummins said. “You’re always balancing between the here and now, but have a bit of an eye towards the future.”They are conversations we always have, but I don’t think there is any point in doing things for the sake of it. Those can play out over the next few years.”Cummins’ leadership in the 3-1 Border-Gavaskar trophy triumph was immense. The Australian team under his watch has often become a target for criticism, of which there was plenty after they were thrashed by 295 runs in the series opener.Claims of fractures in the team were known to have frustrated players, after press-conference comments from Josh Hazlewood were picked apart by sections of the media. The team’s preparation also came under the microscope, after Cummins and other players skipped white-ball matches in the lead up to the Tests.But Cummins pulled the right rein at almost every opportunity after Perth, with his captaincy at its peak in the final-hour win at the MCG last week.”When you start a series behind, a lot of things get questioned, fairly and unfairly,” Cummins said. “But I think it shows a strength of the group to stay strong. Know we weren’t at our best but we can be better.”

No expectation of wholesale changes for England despite their malfunction at the Ageas Bowl

Andrew Miller08-Jul-20221:45

Was this a display of India’s new approach in T20Is?

Big picture

Pity the poor put-upon ground staff at Edgbaston. Barely four days have elapsed since they were watering down the wicket at the end of England’s thrilling chase in the long-delayed fifth Test – and here we are again, back to Brum as the England-India one-day roadshow gathers pace. What’s more, the change of livery around the stadium has happened not once this week, but twice, following Thursday’s shoehorned quarter-final in the Vitality Blast (although, for all the efforts that they went to ensure a home tie, Birmingham Bears are entitled to wish they hadn’t bothered).For some of India’s biggest guns, however, there may have been a sense of confusing continuity as they remained billeted in the city after the deflating end to that Test, watching the manic scenes unfold around them in the stadium, and waiting for their white-ball colleagues to swing back and link up with them in the Midlands.Related

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• In India's gauntlet match, Kohli must hit the right gears to stay in the fight

• Buttler's challenge is to find his own voice, and continue England's evolution

• Throwback Thursday provides thrilling peek into Hardik 2.0

Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah will have had plenty to ponder in the interim; wondering, on the one hand, how that fifth Test got away from them – and with it India’s first series win in England since 2007 – as England’s remarkable cruise to a record 378-run chase provided tangible evidence that their “Bazball” mentality could be here for a long time, as well as self-evidently a good time.And talking of rebooted approaches to batting, there was a clear sense too at the Ageas Bowl – as a line-up comprised mainly of understudies romped to an emphatic 50-run win in Thursday’s first T20I – that, given half a chance, a new philosophy could be set to take hold of India’s white-ball game. A determination to get on with it from the get-go, to treat wickets in hand as “resources”, and to value distance travelled over time spent – all of these are arguably new traits for a team that has rarely struggled to boss their bilateral series in recent times, as shown by their current run of 17 wins in 19 completed T20Is, but whose inherent reticence was dramatically shown up at the last T20 World Cup, and before that at the 2019 ODI World Cup too.By contrast, reticence is not an accusation that can often be pinned on England’s white-ball dashers. If anything, their default setting since 2015 has been to go “too far”, as Brendon McCullum recently said of his new-look Test team, with the thrill of some truly spectacular scoring feats offset by the knowledge that, on certain days, against certain bowlers, and in certain conditions, they are liable to come an equally spectacular cropper.That, however, wasn’t really what happened at the Ageas Bowl. It was an unusually slow puncture of a batting display, especially given England’s known love of a chase. They seemed unduly shocked by Jos Buttler’s first-baller – quite the comedown from his Netherlands trouncings, and on his first day as England’s official captain too. Bhuvneshwar Kumar in particular was magnificent, Jason Roy was quite unable to send it in his usual fashion, and at 33 for 4 from the first ball after the powerplay, there was no coming back.A response, however, does seem inevitable. For all that Buttler now has four ducks in his last seven innings as captain, his incredible form at the IPL guarantees lasting respect from his Indian opponents, as well as an expectation that, if he gets in, he’ll get going. And it won’t be often that he and Liam Livingstone contribute not a single run between them. That said, the smarts with which Hardik Pandya skinned England’s top order goes to show the enviable variety in India’s attack, and with Bumrah returning to lead the line, their quality is set to go up a notch at Edgbaston too.There is plenty at stake for Virat Kohli is the upcoming games•BCCI

Form guide

England LLWLW (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)

India WWWWW

In the spotlight

Everyone’s got a theory or ten about Virat Kohli. Michael Vaughan, for instance, reckons he needs to go and chill on a beach for three months, but to watch the manic way in which he was revving up his team in the field during the Edgbaston Test, there doesn’t seem to be a lot lacking from the competitive side of his game. In terms of output, however, he’s in an undeniably fallow period, and an unusually vulnerable one when it comes to his T20 game. His returns in the IPL were underwhelming by every relevant metric – 341 runs in 16 matches at an average of 22.73 and strike rate of 115.98, with just two fifties. His outstanding record across formats in Australia means he remains a shoo-in for the next T20 World Cup, but at a time when his Fab Four contemporaries are starting to feel squeezed out of their own team’s T20I plans, Kohli will appreciate there’s plenty at stake in these coming games.It was confirmed earlier this week that Moeen Ali is coming back to Edgbaston on a full-time basis from next season, after signing a three-year deal with Warwickshire (nominally white-ball-only, but thanks to the thrill of Bazball, he has hinted his Test retirement may yet be rescinded). This, then, is a chance for an early reacquaintance with his home crowd – although he may be mindful too of the last time he faced India at Edgbaston, in a T20I in 2014, when he was booed by a section of fans due to his Anglo-Pakistani heritage. Such matters are back in the spotlight this week, following the racially motivated incidents during the Test match that have led to a criminal investigation from West Midlands Police, with undercover “spotters” being deployed in the stands on Saturday. Personally speaking, however, Moeen should be in the form and the frame of mind to let his cricket flourish this weekend – following two timely wickets and a short but powerful cameo of 36 from 20 in England’s otherwise flaccid innings at the Ageas Bowl.

Team news

No expectation of wholesale changes for England despite their malfunction at the Ageas Bowl, although two bowling tweaks are anticipated. Both Tymal Mills and Reece Topley are expected to be rotated out of the line-up after their exertions on Thursday, with David Willey – whose absence from the first game was telegraphed by his release to play (and win) for Yorkshire in their Vitality Blast quarter-final at The Oval on Wednesday – likely to slot back in as the fourth left-arm seamer of the series. Alongside him, we could see an international debut for Lancashire’s 34-year-old Richard Gleeson, which would complete one of the more remarkable rags to riches tales on the county circuit.England (probable): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Moeen Ali, 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Harry Brook, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 David Willey, 10 Richard Gleeson, 11 Matt ParkinsonIt won’t be often that Jos Buttler (above) and Liam Livingstone contribute not a single run between them•Getty Images

India, by contrast, are expected to make all manner of changes to their winning line-up – in spite of how impressively their Ageas Bowl line-up met the full-throttle tempo expected of modern T20 line-ups. Neither Deepak Hooda nor Suryakumar Yadav deserves to be benched following their pitch-perfect cameos at Nos. 3 and 4, but one, or both, is bound to make way for the returning Kohli, and conceivably Iyer too. Dinesh Karthik unleashed some lusty late blows on his return to the fray, but Pant’s 203 runs in the Edgbaston Test conceivably trump his impact. That or India may sacrifice a top-order batter to keep both wicketkeepers in the XI. Meanwhile, Axar Patel cedes his spinning allrounder’s berth to the mighty Jadeja. Similarly, Arshdeep Singh let no one down on debut, but Bumrah is waiting in the wings. Rahul Dravid is set to take over as coach once more, after VVS Laxman oversaw the opening match.India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Ishan Kishan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suryakumar Yadav / Deepak Hooda / Shreyas Iyer, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Harshal Patel, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

Pitch and conditions

Edgbaston has hosted an absolute ton of cricket recently. There have been five bat-first wins out of eight in the Blast this season, where scores batting first have ranged from 101 all out to 228 for 8. Warm, clear weather is anticipated for the duration of the match.

Stats and Trivia

• Despite his fallow run of form, Kohli’s recent T20I form against England has been impressive. In the 2021 home series, he made scores of 73* (49), 77* (46), and 80* (52) in three of the last four matches.
• Chris Jordan’s two wickets in the first T20I enabled him to overtake Adil Rashid and become England’s top wicket-taker in T20Is, with 82.
• Roy needs 50 more runs to reach 1500 in T20Is for England.
• Hardik needs three more wickets to reach 50 in T20Is for India.
• England has won each of the three previous T20Is it has contested at Edgbaston, against South Africa in 2012, India in 2014 and Australia in 2018
• The Edgbaston T20I will be shown live on the BBC in the UK, one of two free-to-air England men’s fixtures per season under the new ECB rights deal.

Quotes

“Not really, to be honest. I think there’s a lot of guys in that team who you know are going to be aggressive and that’s how T20 cricket is played. Everyone has been evolving that style and there’s certainly nobody that I can see over time who thinks it’s a better idea to play more cautiously, so I expect all teams to be positive.”
“That’s something Team India is looking at: the way we bat between [overs] 7 and 15. We’re making a conscious effort to put pressure on the bowlers – to try and think of risk as a positive option, not a positive one. It’s one thing trying to have the intent but being consistent with that requires a lot of skill, and the boys are showing it.”

“Still a long way to go to be performing how I’d like to,” says seamer after Ageas Bowl three-for

Vithushan Ehantharajah11-Sep-2023Reece Topley admits he will be overcoming “a bit of PTSD” when he boards the plane later this month for the 50-over World Cup in India after leaving last year’s T20 edition on the eve of the tournament due to an ankle injury.The left-arm seamer was dealt a sickening blow when he damaged ligaments in his left ankle after stepping on a boundary sponge at the Gabba during a fielding drill ahead of England’s final warm-up match against Pakistan. He was soon on a flight back from Australia and watched from afar as England became the first men’s white-ball team to hold both 50-over and 20-over World Cups simultaneously.”You could say I have a bit of PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] about getting on the plane again because it was pretty emotional coming back from the last one injured,” said Topley. “But injuries happen in sport. You can only do so much to prevent them. I don’t really think about it too much, but hopefully, they stay away.”Related

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• Switch Hit: By hook or by Brook

There was further heartbreak at the start of the year for Topley. Having returned fully fit, a maiden stint in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore was cut short after bowling just two overs against Mumbai Indians on debut when a heavy fall in the outfield resulted in a dislocated right shoulder.Topley’s return to action after surgery came at the start of August in the Hundred for Northern Superchargers, finishing as the tournament’s second-highest wicket-taker with 13, resulting in selection for England’s provisional World Cup squad. That faith from Jos Buttler and Matthew Mott was rewarded on Sunday with 3 for 37 in the second ODI against New Zealand to help square the series.”Obviously, for anyone to come back from seven months out of 12 injured is tricky. When I came back from my ankle injury, I was getting back into it and then it was like having the rug pulled from underneath me when I came home from India. It’s all part of that process again, and hopefully it’s another box ticked, but it’s still a long way to go to be performing how I’d like to.”As you get older, the injuries do get a bit harder to come back from – just the nature of just being years older. It’s not like you won’t ever come back from it, it’s just always a bit trickier.””Hopefully, the bad days just sort of become less and less. I definitely wouldn’t say I’m out of the jungle in terms of my ankle and my shoulder, but it’s a case of doing the right things, and hopefully, there’s more performances like Sunday.”The outing at the Ageas Bowl was encouraging after an indifferent none for 47 from seven overs in the first ODI, which New Zealand won by eight wickets. After England set a total 227 in a rain-reduced 34-over affair, Topley was tight for the first five overs with the new ball (conceding just 19) before returning from the 21st over to take three in eight deliveries. His gutting of the middle order with the dismissals of Tom Latham, Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra triggered a terminal collapse, with the last seven Kiwi batters falling for the addition of just 36 as the hosts triumphed by 78.While these were his first ODI dismissals in over a year after going wicketless at Cardiff and in two matches in South Africa before the IPL, Topley was as much encouraged by underlining his capabilities beyond the new ball as the return to form.”I like to think I take wickets in all stages, but with the new ball the other day [first ODI], I wasn’t great. It’s tricky. Obviously for seven months of this year I’ve been out injured, so it’s nice to be finding my feet again, hopefully just at the right time for India.”My record in the format is pretty good [36 wickets at 26.83 across 24 caps]. I like to think that I can contribute whenever needed. It was nice to get that performance. Last game, I was pretty nervous about getting back in the ODI squad and it was my first ODI since South Africa as well.”It’s tricky playing and getting yourself back into it mentally and physically after some injuries. The game moves on and people move on, and you obviously don’t get the chance to because you’re sidelined and can’t play cricket. It’s nice to sort of get yourself back up to speed and it’s all part of the process. It’s not the end of it now: it’s just another good day.”That being said, Topley is allowing himself to look further ahead. At 29, this will be his third global tournament for England, after featuring in the 2016 World T20 and again in 2021, when he was an injury replacement for Tymal Mills. Having overcome a spate of back issues which saw him suffer five stress fractures in six years, the last of which came in 2018, he has sights set on two more tournaments for his country, starting with 2024’s T20 assignment in the Caribbean and USA.”It would be the third World Cup I’ve been involved in,” he said of the upcoming trip to India. “I’d like to be involved in next summer’s as well. I’ve set myself a goal to be involved in five World Cups and that’d be something pretty special as a player.”

Wolvaart made an unbeaten 70 out of 121 before Strikers’ bowlers provided an amazing defence as Thunder fell three runs short

AAP and ESPNCricinfo staff21-Nov-2023

Laura Wolvaardt made 70 not out•Getty Images

Adelaide Strikers have taken the outright lead on the WBBL ladder after a rescue mission by opener Laura Wolvaardt set up a thrilling three-run win over Sydney Thunder.Both sides were 4 for 2 early in their innings as ball dominated bat at Cricket Central. Wolvaardt’s class and composure in an unbeaten 70 proved the difference after Strikers were sent in.She grafted as wickets tumbled at the other end before unleashing at the death. The South African star combined with Megan Schutt to take 38 runs off the final three overs and lift the defending champions to 121 for 7, with Schutt making 16 not out off 10.The Strikers’ bowlers were brilliant early with Jemma Barsby dismissing dangerous Chamari Athapaththu in the first over and Schutt snaring Phoebe Litchfield in a deep cover trap in the second.The hosts were meandering along at 53 for 5 after 14 overs until Tahlia Wilson (33 off 23) and Sammy-Jo Johnson (26 not out off 14) threatened to get their side home.A crafty last over by spinner Anesu Mushangwe, where she conceded just five runs, clinched the win and kept the Thunder to 118 for 7. Mushangwe finished with 2 for 24 from her four overs.Australian pace bowler Darcie Brown returned from a hamstring injury for her first WBBL game of the season and found instant form claiming 1 for 15 from four overs. She bowled 14 dot balls and gave up just one boundary.Thunder looked good early. Marizanne Kapp’s opening over of the innings was made to order. She trapped Katie Mack plumb lbw first ball of the innings. The South Africa international snuck the fifth delivery under the bat of Australia star Tahlia McGrath to have the visitors 4 for 2.The low bounce was utilised perfectly by the Thunder attack as they put in an accomplished display of stump-to-stump bowling at its best. The Strikers were 47 for 4 after 10 overs but Wolvaardt then stepped up to play the only substantial innings of the match.The Strikers went to 18 points with the win, two clear of Perth Scorchers and three ahead of Thunder.

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

• Lawrence stays true to himself and Essex to show he fits the England mould

• 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.”

England allrounder discusses hopes of starting a family in future with wife Katherine

ESPNcricinfo staff17-May-2024England allrounder Nat Sciver-Brunt has revealed that she missed the first T20I against Pakistan after having her eggs frozen with a view to having a family.Sciver-Brunt was not involved at Edgbaston last weekend, due to what was described as a “minor medical procedure”. She has now spoken publicly about the process in a conversation with her wife, former England seamer Katherine Sciver-Brunt, on the PCA’s Under The Lid podcast.”In the period between getting back from New Zealand [where England toured in April] and this [series], I thought it was a great time to go through the egg-freezing process, creating embryos and putting them in the freezer for future use,” she said.”Katherine and myself would love to start a family but I’d also like to continue playing cricket. We are lucky in that there are more options than one. We’re just working out the best way for us to go about it. I’d like to carry a baby when I finish playing cricket and I think Katherine wants to carry a baby as well.”England have been really good. The sports science and medical department are really supportive and have helped me along the way, making sure coming back to cricket has been smooth. After the procedure you’re wiped out for quite a few days.”On missing the first T20I, she said: “I’d only just started back to exercise, so wasn’t quite ready [to play].”She is expected to be involved in the second match against Pakistan, to be played in Northampton on Friday evening.Katherine, who retired last year, said they had begun to explore the process because “there is a timeframe on how fertile you can be”, with Nat, 31, hoping to being involved in the 2028 Olympics before making any further decisions on when to have children.”If Nat was 24 she might want to have a child, then come back and play. At 31, it’s on the verge,” Katherine said. “Freezing the eggs now and having healthy eggs to come back to – it’s great to be able to have that choice because it’s not cheap and very invasive.”

Coach enthused by the growth of a “fantastic” bunch as team eyes 42nd Ranji Trophy title

Srinidhi Ramanujam18-Jun-2022Three-hundred-and-eighty-two days into his job, Amol Muzumdar can now heave a sigh of relief after coaching Mumbai to within touching distance of a record 42nd Ranji Trophy triumph. They will meet Madhya Pradesh in the final, which begins on June 22 in Bengaluru.Getting the team “back on track in red-ball cricket” was his priority since he took over the reins as the head coach from Ramesh Powar in June 2021, and the months of hard work have come to fruition.Muzumdar’s mantra for success was simple: follow the process that is working in the dressing room and show complete commitment till the end.Related

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“This is a different generation you are dealing with here,” Muzumdar says of Mumbai’s legacy and handling the current bunch of players. “I personally feel it is another game [the final]…””We haven’t looked at the quarter-finals or the semi-finals or the finals. There are systems that are working in the dressing room, and we would like to follow that till the last ball is bowled in the Ranji Trophy season. That was our commitment at the start of the season.”The process that he is talking about also emphasises on an individual’s progress – that is giving him “immense pleasure” – rather than the team’s result. Despite just managing to sneak into the knockouts, players have stepped up for Mumbai.Suved Parkar scored a double-century on debut; Sarfaraz Khan hit 153; Shams Mulani picked up a five-for, hit a fifty against Uttarakhand and then scored back-to-back half-centuries against Uttar Pradesh; Yashasvi Jaiswal has cracked three consecutive hundreds; Hardik Tamore rose to the occasion in the absence of the experienced Aditya Tare; Armaan Jaffer played the long innings; and the bowlers collectively chipped in at important stages to turn the tide.Shams Mulani leads the bowling charts with 37 wickets this season•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

So when everyone knew what they were doing, the outcome was visible.That apart, one of the things that Muzumdar and the team were also particular about was managing the workload of the bowlers and ensuring they didn’t feel burnt out.Decided even before the start of the season was a five-bowler strategy without looking back at it. The result? Left-arm Mulani now leads the bowling charts with 37 wickets, the pace duo of Dhawal Kulkarni and Mohit Avasthi has accounted for 26 strikes, and offspinner Tanush Kotian has 18 wickets to him.And more importantly for Mumbai, all of them have played all five matches.”The bowling unit has been fantastic, they’ve been putting in the effort throughout – 365 days,” Muzumdar said. “Trainers and physios have done a fantastic job. Dhawal has led the pack nicely. He has been the sort of a guy who mentors and takes them under the wings and gives them the freedom to do that.”Shams Mulani’s… terrific performance this season. He didn’t pick up a wicket this match [semi-final], but he has been wonderful this season so far. There are some tweaks that have happened during the season and that’s paying off.”Muzumdar feels that the “bold” gen next has the “sense of the Bombay legacy” growing up in the of Mumbai, and that every player values the coveted Mumbai cap.For instance, this is what Muzumdar said to Jaiswal before the knockouts: “If you like batting, you show me. There is no point talking in the dressing room. If you are between those 22 yards, you can display that you like batting”.And Jaiswal proved it by adding three centuries on the trot. Interestingly, in the semi-final, he swallowed 54 deliveries to get off the mark to eventually to get out on 181. Mind you, Jaiswal was playing first-class cricket immediately after being with Rajasthan Royals, tuning up for T20 cricket, until just days before the Ranji quarter-finals.”The only difference [in this generation’s approach] is how you take it and how you bring it to the dressing room; how you keep that dressing room light,” Muzumdar added. “It should not be heavy. That’s been the goal.”This generation has been fantastic. I keep telling them if you keep working on your game, the world is your oyster. There’s no looking back. Look at the opportunity. It’s been wonderful working with them, [and] just shaping them. Seeing them grow gives me immense pleasure.”Keeping the group motivated was a “different challenge this season” as Ranji was played in two phases, but Muzumdar said that the team bonding sessions with the National Security Guards (NSG) in October last year and an in-season fitness program during the month of April and May for the Ranji players who were not part of the IPL also helped.All said and done, the final is only four days away, but Muzumdar is not fretting over their opponents Madhya Pradesh or their coach Chandrakant Pandit, who had led Mumbai to two Ranji titles, as well as Vidarbha twice recently. Pandit was also the team’s coach back in 2016-17 when Mumbai had last reached the Ranji final.”There are a lot of things that happen in a season – a lot of ups and downs, out-of-form players and so many things to deal with,” Muzumdar said. “We would like to follow our process and focus on what we’ve done in our dressing room”.

Garth and Gardner help Australia finish their northern summer on a high

AAP28-Jul-2023Phoebe Litchfield became the second youngest Australian woman to hit an ODI century en route to taking her country to a comfortable 10-wicket win over Ireland in Dublin.Chasing 218 for victory, Litchfield hit an unbeaten 106 and Annabel Sutherland hit 109 not out to help Australia reach the target in 35.5 overs.The win wrapped the series up 2-0 for Australia and ended their northern summer tour after drawing the multi-format Ashes series with England to retain the Ashes.Playing without Alyssa Healy, Ellyse Perry, Meg Lanning, Rachael Haynes or Megan Schutt in an international for the first time in 14 years, Australia showed a glimpse of the future in the win.Irish-born seamer Kim Garth took 3 for 34 against her old side, while Ashleigh Gardner also claimed 3 for 38.In reply, Sutherland and Litchfield took hold as both struck their maiden white-ball international centuries. Sutherland’s 109 from 101 balls included 11 boundaries, while Litchfield’s 106 from 114 featured 14 fours.At 20 years and 101 days, the NSW prodigy also became the youngest Australian woman other than Meg Lanning to score a century in a 50-over match.”It means a lot,” Litchfield said. “We spoke about trying to have a better start up top, and I have been pretty dry in the runs column. So for Bellsy [Sutherland] and I to go out and win the game, was pretty cool.”The win came after Healy and Perry were both ruled out of the match and withdrawn from The Hundred in England through injury.Perry hurt her knee while batting in Australia’s ODI win over Ireland on Tuesday, and has now been ruled out for up to six weeks with the injury.And after battling through the Ashes with a fracture in her left index finger and right ring finger, Healy suffered a fresh break in her index finger on Tuesday after another blow.Australia expect both to be fit to return for their next international against West Indies in early October, while Litchfield will replace Healy at the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred.Healy and Perry’s absences do come as a sizeable blow to The Hundred, given they are two of the biggest names in women’s cricket.Fellow Australian Heather Graham pulled out of the tournament earlier this week due to a calf injury, while Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell will both skip the men’s Hundred to manage their workloads.