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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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• Stats: Mumbai's margin breaks 92-year-old record

• 'These guys are good enough' – Muzumdar revels in impact of next gen

“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”.

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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• WBBL warned not to be complacent as T20 leagues grow

• Smriti Mandhana: 'I'll be thinking about pulling out of WBBL'

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.”

“That call I’ll take once the IPL is over or in-between [the tournament].” says India’s No. 3 in Test cricket

Shashank Kishore20-Feb-2021Cheteshwar Pujara isn’t ruling out the possibility of a short county stint this summer, as preparation for India’s tour of England in August, while also insisting he’s keen to prove himself in the shortest format after finding an IPL team in Chennai Super Kings after a gap of seven years. Pujara was picked up at his base price (INR 50 lakhs) at the IPL auction on Thursday, which means he’ll once again play under his first India captain, MS Dhoni.”First of all, I’m really glad to be part of the IPL. It’s good to be back again and I’d like to thank CSK for picking me,” he said after India’s training session in Ahmedabad on Saturday. “At the same time, with regards to county cricket we still have enough time before we play the England Test series. Once the IPL will be over, there is a window where I can play a few county games. That call I’ll take once the IPL is over or in-between [the tournament].”There will be enough time to play some county games. We also have a couple of practice games [against India A] before the Test series. But yes, it’s good to be back in the IPL. I haven’t spoken to them [CSK management] yet but I always want to play the shorter formats. But for now, my focus once this series is over will be on the IPL and after that, I’ll think about county cricket and the big series against England in August. Hopefully, we will play the World Test Championship final as well. I want to focus now on the next two Tests, both of them are important for us to qualify.”In a way, a return to Ahmedabad is a little like life coming full circle for Pujara. The last time he played here was way back in November 2012, when he was just setting out to make a mark at No. 3 in the post-Dravid era. On a turner, India utilised the toss to their advantage by setting up an imposing first-innings total, with Pujara making 206 not out against an England attack of James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann and Samit Patel.The surroundings and the surface, though, are starkly different this time around. The stadium has now been redeveloped to accommodate 110,000 spectators – although only half of those can be in attendance for the third Test – and the surface they’ll encounter here could be much different to the one from 2012, because they’ll be playing a day-night Test with the pink ball. The pandemic has meant Ahmedabad has only hosted a handful of T20 games – the Syed Mushtaq Ali knockouts – before this big match. Pujara was posed a question on the uncertainty of the challenges of playing on an untested surface, but it’s not something he’s too worried about.”We have three-four days [for the Test] and a lot could change,” Pujara said. “It looks a decent pitch but it’s difficult to predict anything, considering we’re playing with a pink ball. With the red ball, it’d be a different ball game, but with the pink ball, it’s difficult to assess. You expect something, but it could turn out to be something else. I want to just try and keep things simple and not worry too much about the pitch.”‘As a batsman, what is in my control – my practice, preparation, process – it’s been wonderful. I’m confident of getting a big score very soon’ – Cheteshwar Pujara•BCCI

The one thing India do expect is dew, which could potentially mean they’ll play three seamers, even though Pujara steered away from any talks over team combination. “Yes, there maybe dew,” he said. “Looking at the weather, there’s a possibility of dew in the final session. The guys have played a lot of cricket with the white ball here, and the bowlers are used to it. As batters, we’ve played with the pink ball. It could [affect] in the third session, although how much we don’t know yet. We will have a better idea [over the coming days] but we are expecting dew.”Pujara was also reminded about India’s previous pink-ball Test – the infamous 36 all out in Adelaide two months ago. He swatted it away with a chuckle, insisting there’s going to be no baggage from that game, and instead chose to draw positives from how well India batted in the first innings of that Test, where they even claimed a slender lead over Australia.”I’ve played so many Tests but with the pink ball, even I don’t have enough experience,” he said. “I don’t think it matters a lot when you play one-off pink-ball Tests, we will get used to it as we keep playing more. We’ll have to just play normal cricket, have similar game plans like we had in the previous Test match, depending on the pitch. We’ll just stick to that. In Adelaide, the ball was swinging around and we had one bad session of poor batting that led to that disaster, but overall if you look at the first innings, we were in a dominating position.”‘Chennai pitch not dangerous at all’Pujara was asked for his verdict on the Chepauk surface for the second Test, in which England folded cheaply in both innings. India’s spinners ran amok, picking up 17 of the 20 wickets to fall, with none of the visiting batsmen going beyond the 43 Moeen Ali made in the dying moments of the match which India won by 317 runs on the fourth day.”Sometimes, if you’re playing on a turner, you find it difficult, but it wasn’t a dangerous pitch at all,” he said. “When the ball spins, people find it difficult to score runs. When we go overseas, we also play on seaming tracks where games finish in three or four days. We still have to play on pitches with grass and seam movement. When it comes to turning tracks, you can’t define how much it should turn. There’s a thin line, but I don’t think it was a bad pitch. Yes, it always becomes difficult in the second innings, but even when we play in Australia on fourth or fifth-day tracks, balls can hit the cracks and take off. As a team, I don’t think we had an issue, am sure England once they’re used to it and play more matches, they’ll also figure out a way.”It’s not often Pujara goes through an entire press conference without questions about his batting. And while he’s made key contributions right through the summer, the one thing he’s looking to tick off is getting to three-figures, something he last did in Tests in Sydney in January 2019.”I started well, got off to starts but got out unfortunately [in the second Test],” he said. Pujara was out to a pull shot that deflected off short leg to the midwicket fielder in the first innings. In the second, he was run out after his bat got stuck in the turf while trying to get back into the crease.”The way I am batting, although the three-figures haven’t come, I am hoping it wont’ be too far away. As a batsman, what is in my control – my practice, preparation, process – it’s been wonderful. I’m confident of getting a big score very soon.”

Eliz-mari Marx gets a maiden call-up for the ODI squad

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Dec-2023Fast bowler Ayabonga Khaka and allrounder Nadine de Klerk, who had missed the T20I series against Bangladesh with injuries, have recovered to participate in the upcoming ODI series against them.Marizanne Kapp, who had been rested for the T20I series, is also back for the ODIs. Kapp was recently in action for Sydney Thunder in the WBBL, where her team Sydney Thunder made it to the Eliminator. Chloe Tryon, though, remains unavailable for selection as she continues to work her way back from a groin injury.Eliz-mari Marx, 20, earned her maiden ODI call-up, having recently made her T20I debut against Bangladesh earlier this month. Meike De Ridder is the other uncapped player in the ODI side.Related

• Kapp to miss T20Is against Bangladesh

“Special mention goes to the promising Eliz-mari Marx, earning her maiden call-up – a testament to her talent and potential,” Clinton du Preez, South Africa women’s convenor of selectors, said in a statement. “We believe this squad is well-equipped to deliver an outstanding performance on the field.””I am very happy that we can continue to bring youngsters in to add to the experience we have,” Hilton Moreeng, South Africa women’s head coach said. “We know what is at stake, with both teams having successful ODI series recently, so for us, it’s to make sure, particularly on home soil and after the way we started the T20Is, we can improve on that.The three-match ODI series, which will run from December 16 to December 23, will be part of the ICC Women’s Championship 2022-25 qualification campaign for the Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 in India.”It’s a different ball game now; it’s the ODIs and there’s a lot at stake regarding qualification for the World Cup, so with the experience that we brought in now, we as a team feel very confident going into the series,” Moreeng said.”We know what the six points will mean for us because post this tour, we will be finishing the year on a high, especially after the way the year started. We just want to ensure we stay focused, stick to our disciplines and execute on the day.”

South Africa squad for ODIs against Bangladesh

Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Mieke De Ridder, Lara Goodall, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Sune Luus, Eliz-mari Marx, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune, Delmi Tucker

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.”

Travis Head made a positive 89 but the home side’s hopes were forlorn from the start and it was over shortly after tea

Tristan Lavalette25-Nov-2024Completing a remarkable turnaround, India wrapped up a famous Test victory at Optus Stadium with a 295-run victory over Australia in a one-sided result set to cause aftershocks in the latest tussle for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.The result was essentially a formality throughout the fourth day despite counterattacking knocks from Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh. India’s deserved victory was official just after tea when Harshit Rana knocked over Alex Carey as they drew first blood in the five-match series.Related

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It was a memorable performance from India, who drew on a heroic effort from stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah. He claimed eight wickets for the match, while Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli produced outstanding centuries in India’s second innings to decimate a flagging Australia.India had largely been written off after an unprecedented 3-0 home whitewash against New Zealand. They entered the series-opener without having played an official match on tour and were shorthanded without captain Rohit Sharma and injured batter Shubman Gill.Under intense pressure, coach Gautam Gambhir made the right moves and the brave selection calls, which included veteran spinners R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja being left out, were vindicated.Bumrah, particularly, deserves a lot of credit for galvanising a new-look team and he led from the front with a mesmerising spell late on day one to haul India back into the match after they had been bundled out for 150 having won the toss.Usman Khawaja fell to a miscued hook•Getty Images

There is set to be recriminations for Australia, who underwhelmed in their first Test since March’s New Zealand tour. There will be questions raised over the limited preparations of a number of players.Australia’s misfiring top-order will be particularly under the spotlight, especially No. 3 Marnus Labuschagne who scored 5 runs in the match to continue a lengthy form slump.Having started so well on the opening day, Australia’s bowling wilted in India’s second innings with captain Pat Cummins enduring a rare off match. Cummins had not played a red-ball match since March, preferring his series build-up through three 50-over games in the lead-up, and he finished with the modest match figures of 3 for 153 from 40.4 overs.Australia appeared flummoxed with the changing conditions of the pitch, which was spicy on day one before flattening out for most of day two and three. Cracks did widen as the match wore on and created up-and-down bounce to make batting difficult on the fourth day.Resuming at 12 for 3, after a disastrous start amid the shadows late on day three, Australia confronted an India attack eyeing to finish things off quickly.Australia’s hopes of chasing down a record 534 runs were forlorn but they aimed to at least muster some spirit which had seemingly been broken over the last couple of days.After a golden duck in the first innings, having returned to his favoured No. 4 position, Steven Smith fronted up to his nemesis Bumrah, who on the first ball of the day’s play had a loud lbw appeal turned down although in an anti-climax it was a no-ball.Travis Head edged behind for an excellent 89•Getty Images

Smith was relieved when he got off the mark on his fourth delivery with a trademark drive through the covers. But Australia’s woes reared in the next over after opener Usman Khawaja fell off the first short ball of the day’s play when he top-edged quick Mohammed Siraj and was caught by wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant running back.Having had lbw issues recently, Smith made a technical adjustment and his trigger movement was not as pronounced as in the first innings when Bumrah pinned him in front of the stumps. Smith still faced a battle and copped a painful blow in the ribs from debutant quick Rana that left him on his back and in agony.He bravely continued batting and combined well with Head, who backed his aggressive instincts and counterattacked as they produced Australia’s first half-century partnership of the match.India dried up the scoring for Smith with Bumrah packing the legside with fielders as pressure built. Smith’s 60-ball resistance ended when he nicked off a superb back of a length delivery from a pumped-up Siraj that straightened off the seam and caught the edge.After a tough return to bowling, where his modestly-paced seamers were treated with disdain on day three by India’s batters, Marsh hoped to finish his home Test match strongly.He was all at sea before the lunch break and hit on the gloves several times but managed to hang in. Marsh and Head, who both entered the match with a limited build-up having been on paternity leave, made batting look relatively easy after the interval in a time of day that had been the best for batting through the match.Head motored towards a century and as per usual attacked any width and continually flayed through the offside, while Marsh struck several lusty aerial blows in a speedy half-century partnership.But Bumrah returned and he produced a superb back of a length delivery that caught Head’s edge on 89 and prompted impassioned celebrations from Kohli.Marsh also missed a milestone when on 47 he chopped on to allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who capped an impressive debut with his first Test wicket.Mitchell Starc was sharply held at short leg, giving Washington Sundar his first wicket of the match, and it wasn’t long before India claimed a victory they will savour for some time as the pressure starts to intensify on Australia.

Kuldeep Yadav talks about how he revamped his bowling after taking 2 for 42 against Australia in India’s opening game of the World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Oct-20231:47

Kumble: Kuldeep’s wicket of Warner was crucial

Left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav attributes his recent success in white-ball cricket to an increase in the pace of his deliveries and putting a lesser load on his right leg while delivering the ball.His transformation, especially in ODIs over the last couple of years, has been exemplary and he’s taken it up a notch in 2023. Kuldeep has picked up 35 wickets in 17 innings this year at an average of 16.31 and an economy of 4.68. No other Indian bowler has more wickets in 2023, while overall only Nepal’s Sandeep Lamicchane is ahead with 43 scalps.”Everyone told me my deliveries required pace but no one told me how to do it,” Kuldeep, who dismissed David Warner and Glenn Maxwell in India’s ODI World Cup opener against Australia, said after the game. “Important aspect on a turner is the speed at which the ball turns. At times there are slow turners, important is to vary pace.Related

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“It wasn’t a slow turner [in Chennai], but I had to increase the pace of my deliveries. For example, Glenn Maxwell didn’t get time and if you saw how Smith got bowled (to Jadeja). So, along with turn, pace on deliveries also become important.”The turning point in Kuldeep’s career came after he underwent knee surgery in 2021. During the rehab phase, former India team physio Ashish Kaushik advised him to put less pressure on his right leg and the move seems to have done the trick for Kuldeep. He took 2 for 42 in his ten overs against Australia with both wickets coming at a crucial junctures.”Once I was coming back from injury, it was physio Ashish Kaushik who advised that the load on my right leg should be less,” Kuldeep said. “Post rehab, I implemented that in my training and then in match situations and I felt the difference. It didn’t happen overnight though. It took around six months to get the rhythm back.”Kuldeep Yadav has been raking in the wickets in 2023•ICC/Getty Images

India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey was also pleased with Kuldeep’s rise in the ODl format this year. “The credit should be given to Kuldeep for the fact that he’s worked on it. Sometimes when you have a conversation like that with the bowler, you do get a self-realisation of what are the areas I need to work on,” Mhambrey said. “He’s worked on certain things, made those technical changes and you could see that in his bowling. The speeds have gone up, the lengths and areas have become better and in that sense, there are a lot of big ticks for us.”The way he’s played, the way he has bowled in the last few years. It’s not just the numbers, it’s also the way you adapt. He offers a different variety to the team.”While India went with the spin trio of Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin and Kuldeep for their opening fixture of the World Cup, Kuldeep was of the opinion that the combination might well change at other venues.”Not sure about the entire tournament, but over the years, we have seen you can play with three spinners in Chennai,” Kuldeep said. “If the other team had three quality spinners, it would have been difficult for us as a batting unit as well. I think Maxwell bowled well but he didn’t have support from the other end.”

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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• 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.”

Veteran legspinner won’t play for the Renegades after electing to stay on in South Africa

Alex Malcolm28-Dec-2020The Melbourne Renegades have suffered another blow with their premier legspinner Imran Tahir withdrawing from the tournament for personal reasons.Tahir had been in doubt to play in the BBL after his arrival was delayed in December with the Australian government requiring overseas players to do a 14-day quarantine in a hotel room prior to being available to play.Related

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The Renegades had signed a bevy of international spinners including Tahir, Mohammad Nabi, Noor Ahmad, and Imad Wasim.The Renegades coach Michael Klinger said that while it was disappointing to lose Tahir, it would give an opportunity to Noor Ahmad. “Unfortunately, Imran is not coming for personal reasons,” Klinger said. “He’s a great player so it is a loss. But at the same time we’ve seen Noor Ahmad a couple of games ago, a bowler who people haven’t seen that much, it might actually work in our favour.”He’ll now be able to play a fair chunk of that back end of the season, with Imad Wasim. Nabi has to go home for international duty. It is a loss but at the same time what a huge opportunity for young Noor to come in and have a huge impact on the BBL.”Ahmad, 15, made his BBL debut against the Hobart Hurricanes and took 1 for 27 from four overs and was unfortunate not to claim a second wicket with a very close lbw shout against Colin Ingram turned down.He was left out of the Renegades last match against the Sydney Thunder, where they were beaten by 129 runs to suffer the second-largest defeat in BBL history, just two weeks after suffering the worst one against the Sydney Sixers.Klinger said the mood in the group was still upbeat despite the heavy defeats. “The mood is still pretty good because we know what we’re capable of doing,” he said. “We saw in game one how well we played. We know we’ve got the ability in the group to really come out and perform well.”

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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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.”