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Naveen calls it “a surreal experience” as Afghanistan beat Bangladesh in a dramatic finish in Kingstown

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jun-20244:14

Rashid: It was hard to stay calm at some points

Rashid Khan has described Afghanistan’s qualification for the T20 World Cup semi-final as an “unbelievable feeling” and that it would be a “massive inspiration” for youngsters back home.”I think the semi-final is going to be a massive, massive inspiration for the youngsters back home in Afghanistan,” Rashid said after Afghanistan beat Bangladesh in St Vincent to secure their place in the final four and knock Australia out. “That Afghanistan team got into the semis for the first time. We have done it at Under-19 level, but this level we haven’t done that. Even Super Eight was first time for us and then in semis. It’s unbelievable feeling … We are capable – but as long we keep things very simple, and I think in the whole competition so far, we kept the thing simple. Yes, there were some tough times but we didn’t let ourselves down and we always try to come back stronger.”After Afghanistan posted 115 for 5, Rashid and Naveen-ul-Haq picked up four wickets each to help bundle out Bangladesh for 105, eight short of their DLS-adjusted target of 114 in 19 overs.”It’s something like a dream for us as a team to be in the semi-final,” Rashid said after the match. “It’s all about the way we had started the tournament. The belief came when we beat New Zealand. So it’s unbelievable. I don’t have any words to describe my feelings. Definitely back home everyone is so, so happy for this.Related

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“I think the only guy who had us in the semi-final was Brian Lara. At the welcome party, I told him, ‘We won’t let you down. We will prove that you are right.'”While Afghanistan needed only a win to qualify for the knockouts, the equation for Bangladesh was much tougher: they needed to chase down the target in 12.1 overs, something Afghanistan took advantage of. With rain in the air, the pendulum swung from one side to another multiple times before Afghanistan sealed the match.Rashid Khan and Jonathan Trott embrace after their semi-final spot was confirmed•ICC/Getty Images

“In our mind, we felt 130-135 was a good total on this wicket but we were 15-20 runs short,” Rashid said. “But a few games we had watched before, 115 was the best total on this wicket. So it was all about the mindset. We knew they would come hard at us to chase it in 12 overs to get into the semi-final and that’s what we could take advantage of.”If we bowled into the stumps, we had the chance of bowling them out. We didn’t need to do anything extra. We were very clear with our planning. Putting in that 100% effort is always in your hands. Rain, drizzle is not in your hand. And we had to push ourselves for people back home, for their happiness, to make the country proud. That was the discussion we had and everyone did a wonderful job.”Rashid also lauded his fast bowlers – Naveen, who was named Player of the Match, and Fazalhaq Farooqi, who is currently the leading wicket-taker in the tournament. On Monday, they combined to reduce Bangladesh to 23 for 3 inside three overs.”That made our job easy,” Rashid said. “In T20s, if you start well, that gives us spinners to attack the batters in the middle overs. That was something we were missing before. But now with the quality of the fast bowlers we have… they are not as fast but they are skilful. I feel if you have skills in T20s, you are more effective and they have given us great starts so far in the competition. They were very clear in their mind and that’s something very pleasing for me.”Naveen, meanwhile, called it “a surreal experience”. Apart from picking up two wickets at the start, he dismissed Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman off successive balls, punctuated by a rain break, to kick off the celebrations.”I think these are the games where you never know what can happen,” he said. “After conceding one boundary, it felt like the game was gone. Suddenly you picked up a wicket and you were back in the game. So the margin of error is very small. But yeah, we had confidence that these wickets are not high-scoring wickets. As long as we didn’t give away easy runs or bowled easy balls, and picked up wickets, we were in the game. Luckily, that happened.”

South Africa’s head coach knows the fast bowler could be undercooked following his long injury layoff and doesn’t want him breaking down mid-Test

Firdose Moonda in Cape Town02-Jan-20184:43

Know your opponent: Dale Steyn

At least one of South Africa’s selection conundrums appears to have already been solved with Dale Steyn’s comeback likely to be delayed by another week. Conditions at Newlands usually call for a three-seamer, one spinner attack (to which South Africa might add an allrounder). Given Steyn’s lengthy absence from international cricket, coach Ottis Gibson appears reluctant to include him in that combination.”Dale Steyn is fit again. But I don’t know just yet whether we will see him this week,” Gibson said. “He has had a year’s layoff. I don’t think if we were to pick a three-man seam attack plus a spinner that you would want to put him in that three-man attack, in case something happens and that leaves the team vulnerable if he can’t finish the game. That’s not to say that he won’t finish the game, but you don’t want to take that risk in the first game of the summer. He will come into the discussion but it depends on the formation of the team that we put on the field.”Those who have been waiting to see Steyn steaming in may not have to wait much beyond the first 10 days of January. Gibson has described his use of South Africa’s full strength squad as being a “horses for courses” approach and suggested that the pace spearhead will be unleashed on the Highveld, where the second and third Test will be played.”You’re looking at three different sets of conditions,” Gibson said. “Down here on the coast, the wicket tends to dry out quickly so you might play an extra bowler [allrounder] here. Further up into the Highveld, it might be different. We have to take each set of conditions as we find them now and then pick the best team for them.”The extra week could also be used to get Steyn properly match-fit. Though the franchises are involved in the one-day cup, Steyn could play in a three-day provincial round of matches which would allow him to bowl several spells in competitive conditions to prepare himself to compete on equal terms with the other five quicks – Kagiso Rabada, Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris and Andile Phehlukwayo – in a team that should have an attack for every occasion.”This is a world-class bowling attack and we’ve got to come up with the best combination to win this match and then think about the next one,” Gibson said. “But certainly this attack, if all those guys are able to take the field then this will be up there with the best ones.”It is this attack that he hopes South Africa will be able to call on as they aim to challenge for the top spot in Test cricket again. Currently, they lie at No. 2 and will need a clean sweep over India and to beat Australia by a margin of at least two Tests in order to reclaim the mace. While this may be a long shot, it is also probably the only shot Gibson will get at making a serious challenge in Tests.South Africa’s schedule peters out after this summer, with only a tour to Sri Lanka and home series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan before the 2019 World Cup, which Gibson has been tasked with winning. While the ICC tournament remains Gibson’s major focus, he understands this Test summer could also define his tenure as coach.”In one-day cricket, I don’t worry too much about rankings because it’s built around a four-year cycle of World Cup cricket,” he said. “You can be No. 1 in the world and you don’t win the World Cup. It doesn’t matter where you are once you go to the World Cup. In Test cricket it’s different. You play a series against the best teams in the world and then the prize at the end of it is to reach the pinnacle and be called the best team in the world – even if it is just for a series or a week. The objective for this team is to try and get to No. 1. We feel strongly that if we win the next two series that will put us somewhere very close to being No. 1 again. The next two series will tell us [where we stand] or take us somewhere towards where we want to go. Everybody understands what we are trying to achieve.”Gibson has a full strength squad at his disposal with all the previously injured and ill players now available for selection. Apart from Steyn, South Africa also have AB de Villiers back from a self-imposed sabbatical, Chris Morris has been included in the squad after a lengthy back problem, Quinton de Kock has recovered from a hamstring strain and Faf du Plessis is healthy after a viral infection. There is a slight concern over Hashim Amla, who has picked up “sniffles”, but Gibson expects all 15 members of his squad to be in contention to play the opening Test at Newlands which starts on Friday.

The hosts ended the third day on 212 for 3, with a lead of 205 runs

Mohammad Isam30-Nov-2023
Najmul Hossain Shanto’s fifth Test century tilted the Sylhet Test heavily towards Bangladesh at the end of the third day. The home side lead New Zealand by 205 runs with seven wickets in hand, after mostly dominating the day’s play.Shanto added 96 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket stand with Mushfiqur Rahim. This was Shanto’s third Test hundred in the last four innings, after he scored twin tons against Afghanistan back in June. Shanto celebrated in style after he reached the three-figure mark, as Bangladesh breathed a sigh of relief having lost two early wickets in their second innings.Related

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The day also didn’t begin that well for the home side. New Zealand’s ninth-wicket pair of Kyle Jamieson and Tim Southee added 52 runs, but more importantly, they batted out the first hour and a little bit more. Southee and Jamieson struck four boundaries in the partnership, but it was mostly great defensive batting. Bangladesh, too, were guilty of setting deep fields against the two tail-enders.Finally, after they had played out 17 overs, part-timer Mominul Haque trapped Jamieson lbw for 23. Later in the over, Mominul bowled Southee with a full ball. Southee made a polished 35 off 62 balls.The Bangladesh openers Zakir Hasan and Mahmudul Hasan Joy saw off the tricky ten overs before lunch but New Zealand struck shortly after the break. Ajaz Patel got Zakir Hasan lbw to a delivery that turned sharply back into his font pad. Zakir didn’t take the review as he walked back for 17, but it was a similar delivery that Patel got him bowled in the first innings.More bad luck followed for the home side when a Shanto straight drive brushed Southee’s finger and struck the stumps at the non-striker’s end. Joy was slightly outside the crease, and although he tried to get back, he fell inches short. Joy had painstakingly stuck along for 46 balls to make just eight runs.Najmul Hossain Shanto used the sweep and reverse sweep to good effect•AFP/Getty Images

Mominul and Shanto then added 90 runs for the third wicket to get Bangladesh into the right track after the first two wickets. Mominul nurdled the ball around, with four boundaries interspersed in his 68-ball stay.During this partnership and just before the tea break, offspinner Glenn Philips put saliva on the ball during the 34th over but the incident wasn’t immediately picked up by on-field umpires Ahsan Raza and Paul Reiffel. As per ICC guidelines, once they see the incident on TV, Bangladesh will be rewarded five penalty runs.Mominul, meanwhile, played a superb cut and a classical cover drive, as well as an off-drive and a pull. Compare these assured shots to his run-out, it was quite deflating. As he drove the ball towards mid-on, Mominul watched the ball and ran hard, only to notice Shanto had turned his back at the non-striker’s end. Tom Blundell whipped off the bails with Mominul miles away.Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim took a bit of time to regroup but settled into a slow rhythm, hardly leaving first gear. Shanto had slowed down after he reached 40, while Mushfiqur supported him with an almost similar pace in batting. He refrained from driving for runs, hitting most of his runs square of the wicket on both sides, getting five boundaries in his 71-ball stay.

The left-arm spinner helped keep South Africa to a 34-run lead on day one, after Bangladesh were bowled out for just 106

Srinidhi Ramanujam21-Oct-2024Sixteen wickets fell on an eventful opening day of the first Test between Bangladesh and South Africa in Dhaka. At stumps, the visitors managed to take a lead of 34 runs despite Taijul Islam returning a five-wicket-haul on a surface that has helped spinners to grip and turn the ball. Kyle Verreynne and Wiaan Mulder’s unbeaten knocks took South Africa to 140 for 6 before bad light stopped play six overs short.South Africa dominated the first two sessions but Bangladesh came back into the contest in the final session when conditions became difficult for scoring. Tony de Zorzi looked comfortable against spin and consumed the most of number of balls among the South Africa batters but Taijul sent him back for a 72-ball 30 in the last session to dent South Africa. This was after Taijul induced a top edge of David Bedingham for his second wicket. From a comfortable position of 65 for 2 post tea, South Africa slipped to 108 for 6.Debutant Matthew Breetzke exposed his stumps expecting the ball to turn away but the ball skidded on to clean him up, and that wicket made Taijul only the second Bangladeshi bowler to reach 200 Test wickets after Shakib Al Hasan, who was forced to miss his farewell Test game due to security reasons.Earlier, South Africa got into the act quickly with Mulder, Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj ripping through Bangladesh with three wickets each to skittle them out for just 106 inside two sessions.Kagiso Rabada dismissed Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das on the way to 300 Test wickets•AFP/Getty Images

The majority of the damage was done by the two fast bowlers in the morning session when they left Bangladesh six down and hurt them in hazy Mirpur after Najmul Hossain Shanto decided to bat first. Mulder and Rabada utilised the grass cover on the surface for extra movement off the surface while also finding early swing to leave Bangladesh reeling at 60 for 6. Mulder was exceptional in his six-over opening spell, taking three wickets and bowling three maidens. Rabada picked up two in the morning to cross 300 wickets in Tests.Maharaj spun a web around the lower middle order and had Mehidy Hasan Miraz lbw at the stroke of lunch. Mahmudul Hasan Joy was patient in his 97-ball 30 before offspinner Dane Piedt bowled him to end Bangladesh’s chances of redemption.Mulder’s third wicket was set up nicely when he removed the left-hand Shanto going around the wicket after four balls only for the batter to get a tame leading edge to Maharaj at extra cover when he tried to work through midwicket against the angle.Rabada, after bowling four overs in his first spell, came back and dismissed Mushfiqur Rahim straightaway when he got one to zip through the gap between his bat and pad to rattle the stumps. A few overs later, he hit the hard length and forced Litton Das to edge one to a flying Stubbs at gully.Taijul and Nayeem Hasan put on 26 runs for the ninth wicket – also the highest stand of the innings – but Rabada came back in the second session to remove Nayeem. Bangladesh added 46 runs and lost four wickets post lunch.Poor shot selection and good bowling saw Bangladesh being bowled out for a small total. South Africa have also lost half the side on the wicket that’s turning and bouncing but by gaining a small lead, they are slightly ahead at the end of day’s play.

Jones’ century trumped Emma Lamb’s 107 as the captain sealed victory with two balls to spare

ESPNcricinfo staff08-May-2024A brilliant century from Central Sparks skipper Eve Jones proved a match-winning one as she carried her bat in a remarkable last-gasp victory against Lancashire Thunder at Emirates Old Trafford in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.Jones’ unbeaten 136 – the highest score by a woman at the ground – steered her side to a thrilling three wicket win that had still looked beyond Sparks as late as the last over, off which they required 11 runs to triumph.Earlier Emma Lamb and fellow opener, Seren Smale, shared an opening partnership of 140 – Thunder’s first ever century stand for the first wicket in the competition – as Lamb scored 107 and the hosts compiled a formidable score of 284 for seven.But the Sparks skipper was the hero of the hour, aided by a crucial knock of 40 from Australian batter Courtney Webb, as she hit the winning runs in the final over to seal a stunning win.With Lamb and Smale looking to build on their opening partnership of 89 in the previous win against The Blaze, the pair set about Sparks’ seamers with both skill and confidence. The 100-run partnership came off just 125 balls, with Lamb bringing up her own half-century off 51 balls, while Smale’s second consecutive 50 was made off 78.It took until the 30th over for Sparks to make the breakthrough when Smale was bowled by Hannah Baker for 67, bringing Australian batter Katie Mack to the middle.Mack has made a good impression at Emirates Old Trafford so far and she and Lamb set about upping the run rate with some frantic running between the wickets as Sparks’ bowlers began to toil in the sun.77 frenetic runs were put on for the second wicket before Lamb eventually fell for 107 off 104 balls after she was well caught at deep midwicket by a tumbling Bethan Ellis off Emily Arlott.Quick runs became the order of the day and after Mack was well caught at mid on by Ria Fackrell to give Baker her second wicket, Fi Morris (29 off 19 balls) and Naomi Dattani (17 off 13) both helped push the score along before the close.Undaunted by the sizeable target, Jones shrugged off the early loss of opening partner, Charis Pavely, bowled by a beauty from Kate Cross for 10, scoring at will on both sides of the ground and down the wicket.Jones lost another partner when Abigail Freeborn hit a full toss to a diving Dattani at mid on for 13 to leave the score 63 for 2, but the skipper finally found a foil in Chloe Brewer as the third wicket pair put on 81 to bring Sparks right into the game before Brewer was caught in the deep by Smale off Tara Norris for 26.If that made the hosts favourites once again, Webb had other ideas, as the Australian joined Jones at the crease and produced a sparkling knock off 44, containing three fours and one six.The next wicket felt crucial and when the impressive Hannah Jones produced a great ball to bowl the advancing Webb, Jones was left with the tough task of finding boundaries and dealing with an increasingly rising run rate.Somehow, she did it, assisted by a crucial cameo from Emily Arlott (15). Sparks went into the last over bowled by Cross, with Jones and Bethan Ellis still requiring double figures to snatch an unlikely victory.Two boundaries off the first two balls from Ellis eased the nerves and fittingly it was left to Jones to strike the winning runs through point to secure a memorable win.

Islamabad United scored the lowest first-innings total of PSL 2024 and went down for their second loss in three games

Associated Press23-Feb-2024Quetta Gladiators overcame a late batting collapse to beat Islamabad United by three wickets on Thursday for their third straight win in the Pakistan Super League.Quetta dismantled United’s batting through spinners and restricted them to this season’s lowest total of 138 of 9.United pushed for an unlikely win when they grabbed three late wickets off eight balls. Naseem Shah (2-34) knocked back the off stump of Sherfane Rutherford (29), Akeal Hosein was run-out when he went for a needless third run, and Mohammad Wasim (1) was clean bowled by Shadab Khan (2-24) while attempting a reckless swipe at the Islamabad skipper.Mohammad Amir showed plenty of courage to smash two boundaries with captain Rilee Rossouw scoring an unbeaten 34 as Quetta reached 139-7 with 10 balls to spare.Quetta joined Multan Sultans at the top of the leaderboard with six points from three games. Islamabad has lost back-to-back games and has two points.Jason Roy had provided Gladiators a brisk start of 51 in the powerplay when the Englishman smashed 37 off 18 balls before he played fast bowler Hunain Shah’s PSL debut ball back onto his stumps. Hunain is one of the three brothers picked by Islamabad this season along with Naseem and Ubaid.Sarfaraz Ahmed, who was relieved from the Gladiators captaincy after leading the franchise for eight seasons in a row, could make only one before he was trapped leg before wicket by Shadab before Rutherford and Rossouw combined in a 62-run stand.Earlier, after being sent in to bat, United faltered after cruising along at 69-1 in the first seven overs. Salman Ali Agha (33), who was dropped by Amir early in his knock, Alex Hales (21) and Colin Munro (20) all couldn’t convert good starts and threw away their wickets.Abrar Ahmed (3-18) and Hosein (2-32) dismantled Islamabad’s batting power-house on a slow and dry wicket while Wasim ran through the lower order with 3-20 that included wickets of Faheem Ashraf and Rumman Raees off the last two balls of the innings.Hales smashed Hosein for back-to-back sixes before he went for a needless third big hit against the left-arm spinner and was caught at covers. Munro and Agha both miscued big shots and were caught in the deep as Islamabad lost eight wickets for 69 runs in the last 13 overs.

Kyle Jamieson called up as back up and will train with the national side but isn’t part of the 15-member squad officially

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Sep-2023Tim Southee has been cleared to join the New Zealand squad for the ODI World Cup as he continues to recover following surgery on his fractured right thumb.The 34-year-old dislocated the finger while attempting a catch during New Zealand’s fourth and final ODI against England at Lord’s earlier this month. He subsequently went under the knife, and will now fly to India on Saturday with an aim to be fit for New Zealand’s opening World Cup game against England on October 5. If he does manage to recover in time, it will mark Southee’s fourth ODI World Cup appearance having been part of it in the 2011, 2015 and 2019, and seventh international visit to India.Related

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Fast bowler Kyle Jamieson will also link up with the New Zealand squad as well. He is not a part of the 15-member World Cup unit, officially, and therefore will not be available to take part in any of the warm-up matches. He is just there as cover. Jamieson was with the side that beat Bangladesh 2-0 in a three-match series ahead of the World Cup.New Zealand already have injury concerns with their captain Kane Williamson recovering from a ruptured ACL that he suffered in last season’s IPL. While he has been included in the New Zealand World Cup squad, it remains to be seen whether he is fit enough to line up with the team when the tournament gets under way next week.The second group of New Zealand players and support staff are set to depart to India from Christchurch on Wednesday, while a few players will join the squad from Bangladesh.New Zealand play two warm-up matches – against Pakistan on September 29 in Hyderabad and South Africa on October 2 in Thiruvananthapuram before playing the opening game of the World Cup in Ahmedabad.

Fans asking him to hit sixes still spurs him on, says the West Indies opening batsman

ESPNcricinfo staff22-May-2019Chris Gayle believes opponents are still scared of him, but the 39-year-old West Indian opening batsman admits that it’s no longer as easy playing against youngsters as it used to be.Gayle, who is set to play his fifth – and last – World Cup, has been a part of the tournament each time it has been held since his ODI debut in September 1999.”Youngsters coming at my head – it’s not as easy as it was like one time before,” Gayle told on the eve of West Indies’ unofficial warm-up match against Australia. “I was quicker then. But they’ll be wary. They know what the Universe Boss is capable of. I’m sure they will have it in the back of their mind, ‘Hey, this is the most dangerous batsman they’ve ever seen in cricket’.”Go ask them on camera. They’re going to say, no, they’re not scared. But you ask them off the camera, they going to say, ‘Yeah, he’s the man. He’s the man’. They’re going to say, ‘he’s the man’.”But I’m enjoying it. I’m always enjoying the battle against fast bowlers, it’s good. Sometimes those things actually give you extra drive as a batter. When you have a battle, I like those challenges.”Gayle hinted at ‘unretirement’ just ten days after he had announced his retirement following his strong form in the home series against England earlier this year. He had blasted 424 runs at an average of 106, including 39 sixes, in four matches and also brought up his second-highest ODI score, on the way to leading West Indies to their highest total in the format.Prior to that, he had not played an ODI for 30 months after West Indies’ quarter-final exit from the 2015 World Cup, and while it seemed like his ODI career was heading towards an end, he returned to the West Indies squad in September 2017 ahead of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. With qualification sealed, he featured regularly in the format and has been in great form since then, making 930 runs in 19 innings. He is also by far the most experienced player in West Indies’ World Cup squad, and has 10,151 runs from 289 ODIs.He believes that it’s his passion and that of his fans that has been driving him to deliver.”It’s the love for the game,” he said at a press interaction. “But sometimes sportsmen don’t know when to walk away. You might think you’re still at your peak but eventually, you have to leave the game at some point. But enjoying is important. I’m enjoying it and having fun. Especially with a great group of guys.”All this is going to play a key part for me as an individual. These guys spur you on and the fans are always asking you for sixes and those sort of things give you the extra drive. There’s nothing to go and prove.”Coming off a decent form in the IPL, where he made 490 runs in 13 matches for Kings XI Punjab, Gayle stressed on the importance of game-time and a positive mindset ahead of the big tournament.”I am still in good nick,” he said. “I had a not-so-bad IPL, coming after the home series against England. The good thing about it is I’ve been playing cricket. It’s important for me to keep playing and get some games under my belt and come here to the UK and start with a few warm-up games to see where you are at.”It’s a long tournament. For me, personally, I just have to monitor it as much as possible and just get the mindset right.”

Simon Harmer claimed a six-wicket haul as Essex made Warwickshire follow on at Chelmsford

David Hopps at Chelmsford21-Jun-2017
Scorecard”We’re all mercenaries now,” said Brendon McCullum at the launch of South Africa’s T20 competition. At least you had to admire his honesty. T20 imports, like politicians, probably need aides alongside them to remind them what town they are in, and which dressing room to go into. If they ever feel insecure or rootless, presumably they just call up their bank balance.Similar accusations are levelled against the rush of South Africans now plying their trade in county cricket. Signed in a rush while Britain remains in the EU, and while the reciprocal labour deal survives, it does not take much for their emotional commitment to be questioned.They stalk the counties, making big runs, taking wickets and, by and large, lifting standards. In Premier League football, such signings are viewed as glamorous, part and parcel of the claim to be the best league in the world; in county cricket, the resentment over their short-termism and the loss of a place for an England-qualified player is never far away. The story is a more complex one.In this fraught climate, occasionally a player can become a much-loved member of county cricket’s community. Simon Harmer gives the impression that he can become one of those players. There is something about Harmer that suggests he will not be the sort of Kolpak signing who mentally never unpacks his suitcase. Essex, having initially offered him a one-year deal, have quickly upped it to three. He is seen as a good bowler and a good sort.Wickets will help, of course, and as Essex, the leaders, pressed for victory against Warwickshire, Harmer delivered them, his Championship tally lifted to 25. On a straw-coloured Chelmsford pitch now turning big but slowly, his offspin is central to Essex’s chances of victory. His 6 for 92 in 45.5 overs – the prime reason that Warwickshire followed on 258 behind – made that abundantly clear.In all, including a brief foray in Warwickshire’s second innings – the deficit cut to 231 for the loss of Ian Westwood and Jonathan Trott – Harmer bowled 39 overs in the day. By the end, he must have been so weary that even his floppy fringe failed to spring to attention in his bowling action with its usual vigour. He left the field to a guard of honour.Harmer bowled at the Hayes Close End from 11.30am until 4.35pm, with only breaks for lunch and tea. His afternoon stint returned 17-10-20-1. Throughout, his predatory semi-circle of close catchers lived in anticipation of reward. Warwickshire’s batsmen became increasingly becalmed. It is not often that Rikki Clarke takes 30 balls to get off the mark but he did so here, reaching 7 in 45 balls in all before Harmer’s big break-back had him lbw. With a quicker pitch, his rewards might have come quickly. Instead, he needed resolve as well as skill.Simon Harmer chiselled through Warwickshire’s batting•Getty Images

He seemed to have been given a well-deserved breather at one stage but it was only for a change of ends. That gambit brought rewards with three wickets in 17 balls to round up the lower order, lbw decisions against Keith Barker and Boyd Rankin and Jeetan Patel succumbing to a return catch.Patel had laid about him with gusto. Of his 71 from as many balls, – a season’s best – 36 came off Harmer in only 28 balls, all but one of them on the leg-side as he struck out with the spin to good effect.Apart from Patel, the only other Warwickshire innings of note was from Sam Hain, whose 58 was his first half-century in a season studded by a series of single-figure innings. He fell to a cracking wicketkeeper’s catch by James Foster, who had received a sighter the previous delivery when Hain’s edge bisected him and Alastair Cook at first slip. Ian Bell reached 32 before he jabbed a turning ball to slip.It might be that Harmer delivered the coup de grace with the last ball of the day. If you want a batsman to block out a final day, there are still few better choices than Trott, a batsman blessed with the method and mindset to slow life down. But he fell to a leave-alone, lbw, to give Harmer his seventh and final wicket of a productive day. No drip-fed resistance from Trott then in the closing hours.Trott has already summoned defiant hundreds against Surrey and Hampshire this season, both to no avail, but he fell twice in a manner that will not resonate easily with him. It was the combative left-arm pace of Neil Wagner that had defeated him at the start of the third day: a top-edged boundary against the fourth ball of the day when he ducked a bouncer but left his bat in the air; his dismissal against the next when he pulled to square leg.If Trott is feeling the effects of a challenging Warwickshire season, their chances of survival will be so much lower. They can begin with a defiant draw on the final day, but the odds are firmly with Essex – and an offspinner rapidly planting himself in the county’s affections. County cricket still hankers after loyalty and will open its arms to all who give it.

Australian great avoids usual whitewash prediction, but remains confident the strength of their seamers gives them an edge

Andrew Miller29-Jul-2019It is a measure of what a close Ashes series we have in prospect that even Glenn McGrath has chosen to “sit on the fence” instead of offering up his traditional “5-0 to Australia” prediction.However, McGrath believes that the key to the series is held by James Anderson, the man who recently overhauled his all-time record for Test wickets by a fast bowler, as Australia bid to win the Ashes in England for the first time since 2001.Anderson, like McGrath, continues to operate at the peak of his powers long after his contemporaries have begun to succumb to the ravages of time. Though he turns 37 on Tuesday, he is still the ICC’s No.2-ranked fast bowler in Test cricket with 575 wickets to his name, and he is much the same age as McGrath himself was when he spearheaded Australia’s 5-0 Ashes win in his farewell series in 2006-07.”To be 37-plus, and to have played 148 Test matches, it’s absolutely incredible,” McGrath told ESPNcricinfo. “To think that he’s put his body through that much pain and stress, and everything that goes into being a fast bowler, and he’s still going out there and going the business.”When that ball’s swinging, in English conditions with the Dukes ball, there’s no-one better. So yeah, if Australia can get on top of Jimmy, that’s going to be a big decider in this Test series. But if Jimmy comes out, bowls well and knocks the Australians over, it’s going to be another tough series for them.”Adapting to the Dukes ball will be a major factor in Australia’s campaign, not only for the batsman facing Anderson and Co, but their own coterie of fast bowlers who look, on paper, as strong an outfit as has toured England in many a series. England know full well about Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, but James Pattinson’s form is particularly noteworthy in the lead-up to Edgbaston, as shown by his success on a lively practice wicket at the Ageas Bowl last week.”It’s going to be an amazing series,” said McGrath. “I think this Australian bowling attack is looking as good as it’s been for a long time. To have James Pattinson back and what he offers … he’s been bowling incredibly well, but it’s just that attitude and ‘white-line fever’, I guess you’d call it. As soon as he crosses the line, he’s very dangerous.”To have that wealth of fast bowlers, that’s tough for the selectors, and it’s going to be interesting to see which way they go for that first Test match. But it’s a good thing to have.”It’s an especially tantalising proposition given the insecurities in England’s batting order at present. In an extraordinary Test against Ireland at Lord’s last week, England were bowled out for 85 in the first innings and lost 7 for 77 in the second, and McGrath admitted that the Australians would be itching to reopen a few wounds.James Anderson and Joe Root inspect the ball•Getty Images

“They’ll be keen to get a look at that top order as soon as possible,” he said, “but they’ll still have to bowl in the right areas. I think that’s very important. If they bowl badly, and let those guys get settled and get a little bit of confidence, the series is over. But if they can bowl well at those guys, get on top of them, and get Joe Root in at 3 for 30 rather than 3 for 300, it makes a massive difference, and it’s a massive match-up for the series.”When it comes to bowling the right length in England, no-one exemplifies it better than McGrath, who hoovered up 87 wickets at 19.34 in his three tours from 1997 to 2005, including a remarkable 33 at 11.50 at Lord’s, the venue for the second Test. But even he had to learn the hard way, after a chastening first outing in England at Edgbaston in 1997.”I remember that ’97 series very well,” he said. “It was my first tour of England, and in that first Test match, we probably bowled more of an Australian length. England dominated – they won that Test by nine wickets – and the day after, Geoff Marsh, the coach of the time, got us out for like two hours straight, off a long run in the middle of Edgbaston.”It was all about bowling the right length, getting it up there a little bit fuller. And that had a massive impact. And when we came to Lord’s, we adapted and adjusted our length, and the rest is history. So yeah, you need that time to adjust. The great players adjust and adapt a lot quicker, and that’s the difference between a good and a great player.”With that in mind, Australia ought to be as well acquainted with the conditions as possible. Not only have the majority of the squad been over in England competing at the World Cup, several others have been involved in the Australia A tour that has been running concurrently. Plus, several players with points to prove, including Pattinson and the returning Cameron Bancroft, have been honing their skills in county cricket.However, McGrath isn’t quite as bullish about his fellow countrymen’s prospects as he might once have been.”I’m always confident that the Aussies are going to do well, but I’ve probably made a rod for my own back with my predictions in the past,” he said. “I’m going to sit on the fence for this one, and just see what happens in this first Test. If Australia can come in and dominate – or not so much dominate, but if they can win that first Test – then you’ll be hearing 5-0 again. But I’m going to reserve my prediction until after the first game.”In the meantime, McGrath has got a trip back to a familiar ground to look forward to, where a familiar incident is bound to be replayed ad nauseum in the build-up to the Ashes opener – that moment, on the morning of the 2005 Edgbaston Test, when he trod on a stray cricket ball to turn the tide of the series.”It’s not my fondest memory,” he said. “But every time I go back to Edgbaston, the groundsman and the locals remind me exactly which patch of grass it happened on, and they’ve always told me they going to put a little plaque there just to commemorate it.”But that 2005 series was an incredible series, even that match at Edgbaston went right down to the wire. Hopefully we’ll see another series that matches that one.”Glenn McGrath is working with online trading broker ThinkMarkets to encourage more young people to get into sport through the Think2020initiative. For more information please visit www.thinkmarkets.com.