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The ICC is believed to have informally told PCB it was an early technical error, the explanation, however, has left PCB dissatisfied

Danyal Rasool21-Feb-2025The PCB has asked for an explanation from ICC over the omission of Pakistan’s name in the Champions Trophy branding during the live broadcast of Thursday’s match between India and Bangladesh in Dubai. The logo in the top left corner of the broadcast carried the event name – Champions Trophy 2025 – but not the name of Pakistan, the hosts, for the entirety of the match, which India won by six wickets.This was a departure from the broadcast graphics for the other matches of the tournament so far including the tournament opener between Pakistan played New Zealand in Karachi where the event name, as well as Pakistan’s name was visible on the broadcast. It was also visible for today’s game between Afghanistan and South Africa in Karachi. PCB is understood to be aggrieved at the situation and asked for assurances it will not happen again.While the ICC is believed to have informally told PCB it was an early technical error, the explanation has left PCB dissatisfied. Graphics are prepared by the ICC and provided to the live feed, produced by UK-based Sunset & Vine under ICC’s supervision, well in advance; that Pakistan’s name was on the logo for the opening game of the tournament has left PCB unconvinced over why the issue arose for the game between Bangladesh and India.The ICC maintains the incident occurred due to a technical glitch and has clarified this is not an issue that will affect any future games, regardless of whether they are played in Pakistan or the UAE. The next game in the UAE will also be the tournament’s most followed, with India taking on the official hosts Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday.The issue over where the tournament takes place became contentious in the months leading up to the tournament, with Pakistan demanding they host every game, since the ICC had awarded them rights to the whole tournament. The BCCI informed the PCB the Indian government did not permit them to play in Pakistan, and insisted on a neutral venue for India’s matches. Ultimately a deal was struck that guarantees India will not need to play in Pakistan, including if they reach the final. As a reciprocal arrangement, Pakistan will not travel to India for any ICC events for the next three years, with their games agreed to be played at neutral venues.

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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• What did victory over India tell us about Australia's present and future?

• Australia regain Border-Gavaskar Trophy, set up WTC final date with SA

• 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.”

Visitors bounce back from 58 for 6 on back of 82-run seventh-wicket stand with Adam Hose

ECB Reporters Network06-Jun-2024Notts Outlaws suffered their third defeat in three North Group matches as Worcestershire Rapids repeated their 2023 Vitality Blast victory at Trent Bridge to make it two wins from three.The Rapids recovered from 58 for 6 to finish on 154 for 8 after New Zealand seamer Nathan Smith hit a career-best 51 not out from 35 balls, sharing an 82-run seventh-wicket stand with stand-in skipper Adam Hose, who hit 36 from 37 after being dropped on nought.Kiwi left-armer Ben Lister (2 for 20) and leg spinner Calvin Harrison (1 for 14) were the pick of the Outlaws bowlers.With their biggest batting hopes back in the hut inside the powerplay, Notts were never really in contention in the face of some disciplined bowling and sharp fielding from the Rapids, Will Young top scoring with a modest 25. Seamer Tom Taylor took 2 for 23.After Joe Clarke remained still to win a toss as the Outlaws captain in this format, Hose opted to bat but after a flying start to a powerplay made up of six overs of pace, the visitors stuttered to 42 for 3 in the absence of the injured Brett D’Oliveira.The first two overs yielded 25 but then Olly Stone removed both openers in the space of four balls, Matthew Waite top-edging to short fine leg, Ed Pollock losing his middle stump to a peach. Dillon Pennington missed out when Hose was dropped behind the stumps but had Josh Cobb caught on the leg-side rope.Three wickets lost in as many overs then plunged the Rapids into serious trouble. Ethan Brookes risked a second run on a misfield and paid the price, Rob Jones, on his Rapids Blast debut, hoicked Lister to fine leg for 1 and Harrison bowled Taylor to leave Rapids six down in the ninth.Yet Hose and Smith batted smartly, the latter passing his previous best of 38 when he hammered Lister over long-on for his second six, and were not parted until Lister bowled the former with a slower ball in the 18th. Lyndon James picked up the wicket of Hayden Walsh in the last over but the Rapids had something to defend.And that defence started superbly as danger men Clarke and Hales were out in single figures, the former chipping tamely back to the bowler before Hales found Brookes on the square-leg boundary, When Haynes, one of three former Pears in the Outlaws side, was leg before to Adam Finch, Notts were 29 for 3 from 5.3 overs.By the halfway point, seven wickets remained intact with 94 still needed but Matt Montgomery and Young, who had added 44 in six overs, were out to consecutive balls, the former hitting straight to extra cover off Taylor, who then fortuitously diverted a James drive to run out Young at the non-striker’s end.When James holed out to deep midwicket in the 15th, the required rate was up to 13 runs per over. Harrison was a little unlucky to be run out, stumbling as he tried to recover his ground as Tom Moores send him back, after which Moores and Stone flung the bat gamely but were always destined to fall well short.

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.”

Coming off a big defeat and potentially missing key players, Giants are already facing an uphill task against Alyssa Healy’s side

Abhimanyu Bose05-Mar-2023

UP Warriorz vs Gujarat Giants

Gujarat Giants will return to the DY Patil Stadium a day after the big defeat they suffered at the hands of Mumbai Indians, hoping for a turn of fortunes when they take on UP Warriorz, who will be playing their first game of the Women’s Premier League. But unfortunately for Giants, the problems extend beyond the pitch.Giants replaced West Indies’ Deandra Dottin with Australia’s Kim Garth in the days leading up to the WPL. The team said Dottin was “recovering from a medical situation” but she took to social media to suggest that she is fine. Then, in the first over of their chase of 208 against Mumbai Indians, Giants’ captain Beth Mooney suffered a knee injury while running between the wickets and was helped off the field.Related

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Warriorz, led by Alyssa Healy, will look to get off to a strong start. They have plenty of firepower in their line-up, such as the big-hitting Grace Harris and Kiran Navgire, while their bowling attack features Shabnim Ismail and Deepti Sharma.

Players to watch

For the Warriorz, Healy, Navgire and Harris are the ones who are expected to provide the fireworks with the bat, with able support from Tahlia McGrath, Deepti and Devika Vaidya. They also have Shweta Sehrawat, who was part of India’s U-19 World cup winning team.In the bowling department, Ismail, Lauren Bell and Anjali Sarvani are the pace options, while Sophie Ecclestone and Rajeshwari Gayakwad shore up the spin department on top of the allrounders.For Giants, 25-year-old left-arm spinner Tanuja Kanwar was among the few bright spots against Mumbai Indians, conceding just 12 runs from her two overs.Dayalan Hemalatha was another, with an unbeaten 29 off 23 deliveries that included two sixes and a four. With Mooney’s availability being uncertain, there will be more of an onus on her to shore up their batting.Ashleigh Gardner, the player of the tournament in the recent Women’s T20 World Cup, picked a wicket but went for 38 and was dismissed for a golden duck against Mumbai, but will be in the spotlight.

Playing XIs

UP Warriorz (possible): 1 Alyssa Healy, 2 Shweta Sehrawat, 3 Kiran Navgire, 4 Tahlia McGrath, 5 Grace Harris, 6 Devika Vaidya, 7 Deepti Sharma, 8 Simran Shaikh, 9 Shabnim Ismail, 10 Rajeshwari Gayakwad, 11 Anjali SarvaniGujarat Giants (possible): 1 Sophia Dunkley/Beth Mooney, 2 S Meghana, 3 Harleen Deol, 4 Ashleigh Gardner, 5 Sushma Verma, 6 Annabel Sutherland, 7 Dayalan Hemalatha, 8 Georgia Wareham, 9 Sneh Rana, 10 Tanuja Kanwar, 11 Mansi Joshi

Stats and trivia

• Shweta Sehrawat was the top scorer at the inaugural Women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup
• Only two players – Hemalatha and Monica Patel – reached double figures against Mumbai Indians for Gujarat Giants

Quotes

“It is an opportunity sure but what I’ll want is that the team does not repeat their mistakes. I will tell the girls to keep their heads high and to learn from today. Definitely we will perform good.””We have a good mix of experience and youth along with ability and look forward to putting on a show for our fans. We are here to win and be ruthless in our brand of cricket.”

Garton leads recovery from 59 for 5 after taking four wickets to restrict Essex

ECB Reporters Network20-Sep-2020Sussex secured a home Vitality Blast quarter-final against Lancashire when they beat last season’s winners Essex by six wickets with 10 balls to spare.Replying to a modest Essex total of 136 for 9 they recovered from 59 for five to claim a victory inspired by a partnership of 73 in 10 overs between George Garton and Calum MacLeod.Garton hit an unbeaten 34, and earlier claimed figures of 4 for 21 as Essex, apart from Paul Walter, struggled to make progress in the way they wanted. Walter struck 76 with the help of nine fours and three sixes after arriving with his side 18 for 3.Essex got off to a disastrous start; losing two wickets in the opening over from Garton without a run on the board. Cameron Delport was caught behind by Phil Salt while Feroze Kushi was bowled trying to turn the ball to leg.Varun Chopra lightened the Essex gloom by driving Ollie Robinson for six but in the same over was bowled to leave Essex 18 for 3 in the fourth over. Worse was to follow when Mitchell Claydon joined the attack to breach the defences of Michael Pepper four runs later.That left Simon Harmer and Walter attempting to repair the damage but they found it difficult to make progress against bowlers who gave nothing away, so much so that the halfway point of their innings arrived with only 47 on the board.A reverse sweep to the boundary off left-arm spinner Danny Briggs brought up the 50 and in the same over Walter unleashed a superb drive for six.A couple of boundaries by Walter off former Essex paceman Tymal Mills improved fortunes for the home side before the introduction of David Wiese ended the partnership after it had yielded 43. Harmer was the man to depart as he skied a top edge which Salt accepted with ease.Much then depended on Walter if Essex were to post any sort of challenge and he responded by punishing Briggs for six and a four as he moved towards his half-century.He reached it with a leg glance to the fence but immediately afterwards he lost debutant Robin Das who was caught at square leg to provide Garton with success in the 16th over.While Walter continued to impress with two more boundaries he was to lose Jack Plom with the total on 109 as he was bowled by Garton to provide the seamer with his fourth success.Following the departure of Aron Nijjar, a victim of Claydon, Walter’s fine innings came to an end in the final over when he was bowled by Robinson for 76. This effort spanned 44 balls and included nine fours and three sixes.Sussex did not embark upon their target in a blaze of glory. Luke Wright’s stumps were left in disarray by Plom with the total on nine and Delray Rawlins provided Ben Allison with his first wicket at senior level when he was caught by Shane Snater.Snater then joined the attack to have former Essex man Ravi Bopara caught on the square leg boundary by Allison to spark a collapse and leave Sussex nerves jangling.Salt, having struck seven fours and a six in his 22-ball 42 was caught in the deep by Harmer, who then made an impact with his offspin by trapping David Wiese leg before to leave the visitors 59 for 5.The total moved into the 70s in the tenth over to leave MacLeod and Garton to put the innings back on even keel.Both were to collect boundaries at the expense of Harmer before the pair carried the total into three figures in the 15th over.The next landmark was the 50 stand, it arriving in the same number of deliveries and the sixth wicket pair continued to keep pace with the required run rate until MacLeod departed for 40, made from 40 balls, with the score on 132 in the 18th over. He was caught in the deep off Plom.Garton then square cut Delport to the boundary in the next over to carry his score to 34 from 30 deliveries and take Sussex to victory.

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.

Sydney Thunder, the defending champions, picked up their first points in the 2016-17 Big Bash League with a six-wicket win over Melbourne Stars that was achieved on the back of Eoin Morgan’s unbeaten 71

Will Macpherson in Sydney04-Jan-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsEoin Morgan made amends for a slow start to deliver Sydney Thunder their first win of the tournament•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

The defending champions are still alive – mathematically at least. Eoin Morgan crunched a last-ball six straight down the ground to give the Sydney Thunder a famous six-wicket win – their first of the season – in his last game for them before he flies to India with the England team.The Thunder required five to win from the final ball, and as the smite – off a half-volley from Ben Hilfenhaus – flew into the sightscreen, Morgan dropped his bat and leapt. Pat Cummins, the bowler who reinvented himself as an allrounder at No. 6, and who had already hit a huge six earlier in the over (from which the Thunder had required 16), gave him a bearhug.Earlier, Morgan’s former England team-mate Kevin Pietersen had guided the Stars, who were invited to bat, to 8 for 166. But his dismissal sparked a dismal collapse in the final five overs, and it came back to haunt him.KP’s backWithout the middle-order ballast of Peter Handscomb – who should return for the latter half of the pool stage – the Stars’ batting line-up looks rather top-heavy. Over 70% of Stars’ runs this season have been scored by their top three – if they are to make the finals again, this needs addressing.And so it proved here. Glenn Maxwell and Luke Wright had given Pietersen a punchy platform in the Powerplay, but he got off to a slow start. There was the standard Red Bull run to get things going, but he could barely manage more than a single, moving to 28 from 27. From there, he flew, taking 32 from his next 10, with Chris Green reverse-swept, then tonked over midwicket, for four and six, and Gurinder Sandhu ripped to shreds.Watson stalls the StarsAfter Sandhu leaked 21 from the 15th over, Stars looked set for a huge total. Pietersen was on 60 and had shared 55 with Faulkner for the fourth wicket. Shane Watson appeared to be running out of bowling options; Russell had pulled up lame, Sandhu and Cummins had been too costly, and he had just one over of spin – from Green – up his sleeve.So Watson turned to his own bowling, which had looked in fine fettle earlier on. Pietersen drilled one back to the left of Watson, who took a magnificent caught-and-bowled in an over that cost just five. With the partnership broken, it was the perfect time to reintroduce the hitherto expensive Cummins. He sent down the 17th, which cost just seven, before Green bowled Faulkner and Sam Harper in consecutive balls with his skiddy offbreaks in the 18th over that went for just one. He nearly had Adam Zampa, too. Never mind, Watson brought himself back, dismissed Zampa and conceded two.With Cummins’ last yielding just five, the final five overs had been worth 20 runs for the loss of five wickets. With rain tumbling, the Thunder had hauled themselves back into the game.Morgan’s innings of two halvesThunder found themselves in a spot of bother early. Aiden Blizzard had played out eight dots in the 11 balls he had faced when he fell. Kurtis Patterson’s fast start fell to nothing. Watson was brilliantly caught by Harper. Morgan and Ben Rohrer, realistically, were the last hope. Russell was carded to come in at No. 6, but his left hamstring injury ruled that out, so Cummins was promoted. Against the likes of Zampa, who bowled beautifully, Morgan looked horribly scratchy at first. He managed just 15 runs from his first 28 balls.But then, Michael Beer – very tight until then – returned for the 15th over. Thunder needed 72 off 36. Beer’s first ball was whacked down the ground for four, before he was slog-swept for six. Morgan was away, and he didn’t look back. On a pitch favouring spin, Morgan realised that seamers were to bowl each of the last five overs. When they dropped short, he pulled, and he flat-batted over long-on too. By the time his winning six had sailed into the night, he had taken 56 off his last 22 balls to finish with 71. Finally, Thunder had a win.Legspin it to win itAs Morgan recognised, pace off was the order of the day, and two legspinners were to the fore. In the chase, Beer’s first two overs cost just seven, while Zampa’s four excellent overs cost just 19, with a wicket, 10 dot balls and one boundary. The blueprint had been set earlier, however: Thunder’s three best bowlers were the variations in pace of Watson, the darts of Green and particularly the dangerous leg-breaks of Ahmed, who wasn’t afraid to give the ball some flight and rip, notably when bowling David Hussey. The trio’s 12 overs cost 79 and resulted in seven of the eight wickets.

Cardiff has beaten the Rose Bowl to secure an Ashes Test in 2015, while Edgbaston has missed out on a slot for the marquee series in 2013 after the ECB announced the lucrative allocation of international fixtures for 2012-2016 on Wednesday

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Sep-2011Trent Bridge was the most successful English ground, securing two Ashes Tests, while Lancashire’s investments to revamp their facilities at Old Trafford have paid off after their venues were allocated an Australia Test in 2013, as the ECB announced the lucrative allocation of international fixtures for 2012-2016 on Wednesday. Somewhat surprisingly, Cardiff beat the Rose Bowl to secure an Ashes Test in 2015, while Edgbaston has missed out on a slot for the marquee series in 2013 .Glamorgan, who will also host the New Zealand Test in 2013, will be considered lucky to have made the grade. Cardiff suffered due to the poor crowds and weather during the visit of Sri Lanka – just 922 were present to witness England’s dramatic final-day victory – and Glamorgan have already had to hand back their Test against West Indies next season which has been allocated to Lord’s.The county are still paying the ECB for the Sri Lanka Test but Lord Morris of Handsworth, who chaired the major match group, defended the decision to had Cardiff another Ashes match. “The submission they put forward met the broad and basic criteria and on the overall assessment they merited the award of the 2015 Test,” he said.”We are very keen to see England cricket at Test level – or major match level – in all regions. Cricket is not a London-centric or Midlands-centric sport. That’s why we were very supportive to develop cricket in Wales, Durham and elsewhere.”There was never any doubt about Trent Bridge’s suitability for international cricket but the ground’s standing has been emphasised by the allocations. “To secure Ashes Tests matches in both the 2013 and 2015 series is a tremendous endorsement of our track record of delivery and the pledges that we made in our bid,” Derek Brewer, the Nottinghamshire chief executive, said. “International cricket has always been extremely well supported in the East Midlands and I am delighted that our members and supporters will be able to attend such high-profile matches at Trent Bridge.”This package of matches will enable us to continue to invest in our venue, our professional team and our community projects and there is a lot of work to be done to harness all of the opportunities that Ashes Tests provide,” added Brewer. “I am really grateful to all those who have played their part in this process and pleased that they have been rewarded with cricket matches that can do so much for our venue, our community and the regional economy. It has been a real team effort.”Lancashire will also be very relieved to have secured the Ashes Test, as well as Tests against India and Pakistan in 2014 and 2016, and a number of limited-overs matches. “This has been our goal since 2006,” said Lancashire chief executive Jim Cumbes. “Naturally we are delighted to see the Ashes return to Old Trafford in advance of the 2013 match.”It has certainly been a fantastic couple of weeks for the club: winning the County Championship after such a long wait and getting the final seal of approval to proceed with our redevelopment. This is just the icing on the cake. We now look forward to transforming Old Trafford into a world class venue fit to host international cricket.”There is a feel-good factor around Old Trafford after Lancashire ended their 77-year wait for the County Championship last week, but despite the £550,000 prize for first place (most of which goes to the players) the club needed to gain an Ashes Test to help pay for the extensive redevelopment of the ground.Time had almost run out for them as the long-running legal battles over the ground’s plans dragged well into this season. They were eventually won but the latest phase of building work only began in the last month. Lancashire are confident they remain on course to complete the work by 2013 – and the new player and media facilities may be open by next August – and the ECB have allocated matches on the promise of a final product.Warwickshire, however, already have a finished product and it had been thought that Edgbaston’s infrastructure, particularly the imposing new stand which made an impressive debut during the Test against India, would count in its favour, while the ground also hosted Twenty20 finals day this year. But they will miss out on Australia’s visit in 2013 although will host finals day in four consecutive summers plus a semi-final in the World Test Championship.Rod Bransgrove, the Hampshire chairman, was also left to ponder what the future holds for Hampshire after the Rose Bowl was left with one Test in five years after staging its first with the visit of Sri Lanka this season.The system for allocating the fixtures altered from the closed bidding process that attracted controversy for forcing counties to spend more money than they could really afford in order to host England games. This time counties had aimed for fixed-price groups of matches and were been judged on factors such as infrastructure, operations, legacy and community commitment.Gloucestershire will host just three ODIs between 2012-2016 after missing out on any further matches to raise doubts about Bristol’s viability as an international venue.”We recognise Bristol has some challenging circumstances, the location of the ground for example,” Lord Morris said. “Our chairman has indicated his willingness to sit down with them and examine the overall position of the club to see what, if anything, the ECB can do to assist.”2013 Ashes venues: Lord’s, Trent Bridge, Old Trafford, Durham, The Oval.2015 Ashes venues: Lord’s, Trent Bridge, Cardiff, Edgbaston, The Oval.

Chris Woakes, the Warwickshire allrounder, has been given a chance to press for a World Cup place, after being named as the only uncapped player in England’s 17-man limited-overs squad for Australia

Andrew Miller10-Dec-2010Chris Woakes, the Warwickshire allrounder, has been given a chance to press for a World Cup place, after being named as the only uncapped player in England’s 17-man squad for next month’s one-day and Twenty20 matches against Australia. Chris Tremlett also returns into the limited-overs set-up for the first time in two years, but there’s no place for Ravi Bopara, who has been dropped from the squad that played against Pakistan in September, in favour of Ian Bell.Geoff Miller, the national selector, announced the squad during the tea interval of England’s three-day warm-up fixture against Victoria, and admitted that, while the team’s current focus remains solely on retaining the Ashes, the proximity of the World Cup – which gets underway on February 19 – has forced them to name their strongest possible line-up, with the only first-choice omission being the injured Stuart Broad, who is expected to have recovered from a torn stomach muscle in time for the business end of the tournament.”With Broad ruled out of the series we’ve needed to bolster our pace bowling stocks and Chris Woakes comes into the squad after knocking on the door for some time,” said Miller. “Chris will be hungry for his international debut and vying for a place with a number of other quality pace bowlers. He’s put in some good performances for Warwickshire, he’s gone through the channels of the Lions and the Performance Programme, and has performed well this winter. He merits his selection, and the options are there to go in whichever direction we want to go.”When asked if there had been any temptation to rest key personnel ahead of the World Cup, Miller admitted that it was not an option, given that England have now won five consecutive series since the tour of South Africa last winter, and will want to go to the subcontinent in February with that winning streak extended. “You couldn’t do that,” he said. “You’ve still got to keep the momentum, the lads playing together and finding out their roles within the side.”It’s really difficult when you’ve got series after series, following each other so quickly,” he added. “But that’s always been the case, and it will maybe continue to be so. There are one or two players in the squad who are not involved in the Ashes, so they can actually focus on the World Cup now, but those who are involved here and then have to adapt later, it’s really tough. That’s been taken into consideration by the management, but at the moment, the priority is the Test series, then we’ll move on to the one-dayers.”In keeping with the recent precedent, Andrew Strauss has been named as captain of the 50-overs squad, but will hand over the Twenty20 reins to Paul Collingwood, England’s victorious captain at the World Twenty20 in May this year. Craig Kieswetter, who was England’s Man of the Match in the final against Australia, has been retained for that format alone, with Steve Davies once again named ahead of the Test specialist Matt Prior as England’s only wicketkeeper for the ODI series.”Matt is not being overlooked,” said Miller. “He’s made it clear he still wants to play one-day cricket, and we will continue to monitor him, but he has been given the opportunity before, both up the order and in the middle order. He was left out and we brought someone else in, and we will continue in that vein of consistency. We’ll find out how these two go over a period of time.”Bopara is also running out of chances to force his way into the World Cup reckoning, having made a favourable impression during an otherwise disastrous England campaign in the 2007 tournament. But with Kevin Pietersen back in form after being dropped from the Pakistan series, and Ian Bell fully recovered after the foot injury that interrupted his home summer, there was no room for him on this occasion, despite his undoubted potential as a match-winner.”We had a long discussion about Ravi,” said Miller. “He’s still very much in our thoughts and we know what he’s capable of doing, but at this moment in time he’s out playing in South Africa and will continue to do that. We’re quite confident that this squad can do a job for us here, and it may be able to do it in the World Cup as well, but it doesn’t close the door to anyone else.”England ODI and T20 squads Andrew Strauss* (ODI capt), Paul Collingwood (T20 capt), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Tim Bresnan, Steve Davies (wk), Eoin Morgan, Craig Kieswetter** (wk), Kevin Pietersen, Ajmal Shahzad, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Chris Tremlett, Jonathan Trott, Chris Woakes, Luke Wright, Michael Yardy* ODIs only, ** Twenty20s only