Zimbabwe captain praises the fight his team showed even though they lost the second Test to Afghanistan

Hemant Brar14-Mar-2021Zimbabwe captain Sean Williams lauded the way his side fought back in their second innings of the second Test against Afghanistan even though they lost the match on the fifth evening, thus missing out on a series win.After winning the first Test in under two days, Zimbabwe would have fancied their chances but a returning Rashid Khan thwarted their hopes with an 11-wicket match haul. Still, Zimbabwe almost pulled off a Houdini-esque escape.Following on, Zimbabwe were reduced to 142 for 7 – still 116 in arrears – before Williams (151*) and Donald Tiripano (95) added 187 for the eighth wicket. Their resistance meant Afghanistan needed to bat again and score 108 in a minimum of 45 overs; they reached there in 26.1.According to Williams, this Test would serve as a good learning experience for his side, especially when they host Pakistan for two Tests (and three T20Is) next month.”We got ourselves into trouble and then we managed to fight through that,” Williams said after the match. “We got close to the top of the mountain but didn’t quite get there. It was a good learning curve and it shows what mental and physical strength you need to get through Test matches like this.”The young guys showed a lot of fight. Being 60 minutes away from winning the series, having one hand on the trophy and going through that fighting period was extremely important for them as a learning curve. Also, the senior players pulling the team together and showing that we would do anything for each other was important.”I think it’s a huge thing going into the Test series at home. Not only what has happened here but being at home is going to be huge, our wickets, our conditions. So yeah, I am looking forward to that series.”When Afghanistan came out for the chase, the Zimbabwe seamers bowled plenty of short stuff. Williams said that was part of the plan and if there were more runs on the board, they might have salvaged a draw and won the series.”It was a tactical move because the wicket was up and down and there were a lot of cracks in it. It was very hard to score with seamers bowling cross-seam and slower balls. If we had more runs on the board, we would have won the series. We had three seamers, so going into day five in the last session, they would have pulled us through.”While Zimbabwe impressed overall, Wesley Madhevere, who made his debut in the first Test, had a torrid time with the bat. After a first-ball duck in his only innings in the first Test, the 20-year-old bagged another pair here. Williams, though, backed the youngster to come out stronger.”With Wesley, it was purely a technical fault,” Williams said. “But I think mentally he is in a good place and we just keep on supporting the guys to make it through the tough times. Everybody goes through a tough stage, be it cricket or life in general. We just keep on supporting, keep on growing, we don’t stop. We just told him not to give up.”

The fast bowler’s remarkable catch to remove Liton Das added to an impressive list in Wellington

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Mar-2021Denesh Ramdin, 2013
Boult has done it again, this time in the field! Anderson was certain that was going to be a boundary as Ramdin got up on his toes to play a rasping cut shot but Boult leaps up and was horizontal with the ground as he reaches his left hand out and grabs an absolute stunner! The entire team mobs Boult as Ramdin walks back and the West Indies tail is exposed.Ajinkya Rahane, 2014
Boult has done it again! What is with him and one-handed screamers! It was a fullish delivery with just a bit of room. Rahane makes his own by staying leg side of the ball and lofts it. But he hasn’t got hold of it. it’s a skier. It was always going to need some catching. Boult was hurtling in from the boundary, dives forward and to his right and sticks out his right hand and clings on! Terrific catch to end a terrific innings as the New Zealand players come and shake hands with RahaneKumar Sangakkara, 2015
Boult has just taken a stunner. And should you be surprised? Ends what has been a truly fantastic innings from Sangakkara, who is accepting all the congratulations from the on-field players. This is definitely an early candidate for best catch of 2015 as Boult leapt high to his left to pluck this in mid-air at backward point, before crashing to the ground.Trent Boult claims a stunning return catch to remove Mitchell Marsh•Getty Images

Mitchell Marsh, 2016
How about that for a disgruntled fast bowler? If DRS denies me, I’ll pluck a one-handed, rip-roaring catch all by myself. Falls face-first into the pitch and then comes up with an expression of utter disbelief. Mouth agape in a big ‘O’ and eyes wide as saucers. This was fuller, but might have just held in the pitch considering Marsh was sucked into the drive and was trying to check it. Boult was in his follow through, stuck out his right hand and it was just too magnetic. He has a knack for picking up screamers. Took one that made it to Sportscenter’s Plays of the Year, if I’m not wrongLiton Das, 2021
Trent Boult has pulled off a blinder. A length ball outside off, Liton went for the pull only to top edge it towards third man. Boult ran to his left, dived full length and plucked it out with his outstretched left hand. Fingertips. Henry cannot believe it as he picks up his third wicketVirat Kohli, IPL 2018
Get out of here Trent Boult! Someone check if that isn’t a robot there! This is sensational. A one-handed leap to his right at deep square after being wrong-footed to his left, then a landing backwards and a cobra pose to keep his chest from touching the rope! Soft signal out. Replays say – OUT. Wow. Unbelievable. It’s a full toss on the pads and it’s flying, flat over Boult’s head because Kohli has got good power on that flick. It’s a stunning recovery from Boult. A leap backwards, holding on with the right hand, landing on his stomach and then stopping all that momentum to complete it. Gets back on his feet and even he’s in shock.

The three-time IPL champions will start training in Mumbai on March 26

Nagraj Gollapudi26-Mar-2021They had their worst IPL season – finishing seventh – in 2020, and as the Chennai Super Kings look to bounce back and add to their three titles, they have received a shot in the arm in the form of Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja joining their bio-secure bubble in Mumbai this week. While Jadeja linked up on Friday, Raina had joined on Wednesday. Both of them will undergo a week-long quarantine before joining the team’s training, which takes off on Saturday.For Jadeja, the IPL will mark a return to cricket since he dislocated his left thumb while batting in the Sydney Test against Australia in early January. Jadeja underwent surgery in Sydney before heading to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru to complete his rehabilitation. The injury had ruled Jadeja out of the all-format home series against England.Earlier this week, Jadeja posted a video from the NCA, showing him holding the bat and bowling for the first time since the Australia tour. The franchise had originally expected Jadeja to join in the first week of April, but his early release from the NCA has ensured that he gets at least a week of training before the Super Kings play their first match of the season, against the Delhi Capitals in Mumbai on April 10.Related

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‘Tell them, I have come back’- Raina
While Jadeja would be expected to settle in quickly, the focus is bound to remain on Raina, who entered the Super Kings hotel quietly on Wednesday. This, in a way, is Raina’s re-entry to the Super Kings ranks following a controversial exit on the eve of the 2020 IPL.The Super Kings tweeted a picture of Raina in his hotel room with a title saying: “Vandhutennu Sollu! From namma Chinna Thala!” That translates to: “Tell them, I have come back”, a line from , the popular Tamil film.While there were questions about Raina’s future with the franchise following stern comments from franchise owner N Srinivasan after the developments last season, Raina was retained ahead of the 2021 auction. Raina, who retired from international cricket along with MS Dhoni on August 15 last year, has kept himself fit by turning out for Uttar Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.Raina’s return restores the balance in the batting department for the Super Kings, who struggled to find momentum until the latter stages of the league phase in 2020 IPL. Dhoni & Co to begin training at Brabourne
It was also a particularly bad season for Dhoni the batsman, as he struggled to get into any sort of rhythm, scoring just 200 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 116. As he signed the yellow No. 7 jersey for players for rival teams, speculation grew whether he would be retiring after the season.”Definitely not,” he said after the Super Kings’ final match last season, to put an end to the speculation.Dhoni reached Chennai to be part of the preliminary training camp, which comprised a small group of mainly uncapped Indian domestic players. That camp was also conducted in a bio-secure environment with everyone involved adhering by the mandatory quarantine protocols set by the BCCI.Kasi Viswanathan, the Super Kings’ chief executive officer, told ESPNcricinfo that the players and coaching staff who were part of that bubble wouldn’t need to undergo the seven-day quarantine in Mumbai. “Our first day of practice will be tomorrow (Saturday),” Viswanathan confirmed, revealing that the first two training sessions would be at Brabourne Stadium.Ngidi to arrive on April 5
Head coach Stephen Fleming and assistant coach Michael Hussey are among the overseas members of the set-up to have reached Mumbai already.Viswanathan confirmed that Faf du Plessis would arrive on March 26, and it is understood that Lungi Ngidi would be released from the ODI squad – along with other IPL-bound players – for the series against Pakistan on April 4, the day of the second of three games.The Super Kings are one of the four teams – along with the Capitals, the Punjab Kings and the Rajasthan Royals – who will play the initial part of the league phase in Mumbai.

Second hundred of season drives Worcestershire but Luke Fletcher keeps Notts competitive

Paul Edwards22-Apr-2021
There are times when one thinks no cricket ground could carry the weight of emotion that is borne each April by New Road. Flooded in many Februarys, it emerges on mornings like this, sparkling in Springtime, a testament to hours of labour on bleak days. In drier years, broadsheet editors hoped the season would begin here, for then they could dispatch their photographers to Worcester, comfortable in the knowledge that their back pages would feature sweatered cricketers against the backcloth of the cathedral. And a scene already laden with connotation and symbol was further enhanced today when some marvellous sport was fittingly enriched by Jake Libby and Luke Fletcher, two of the county game’s very many good guys.Libby dominated the first half of our cricket and made his second century in four innings, thereby bringing his aggregate for this immature campaign to 318 runs. Until Ed Barnard and Alzarri Joseph put on an unbroken 89 for Worcestershire’s eighth wicket in the final 100 minutes or so of the evening, the former Nottinghamshire opener’s batting had done most to determine the early shape of this contest.Libby’s cuts and drives had been firm and well-chosen and his leaving the ball was particularly judicious. Nothing expressed his superiority more clearly than the manner with which he reached his hundred after nearly four hours’ batting. That came when Dane Paterson, Nottinghamshire’s South African seamer, attempted an ill-advised bouncer. Instead of being hard and potent, though, the delivery was limp and useless: a clear case of projectile dysfunction. Libby heaved the ball over square leg for six and clenched his fist, a shade ostentatiously, perhaps.At Chelmsford nearly a fortnight ago Libby made 180 and was at the crease for longer than it takes the traffic-jams to clear in that city. The first-class season has now occupied nine days and he has batted for nearly three of them. But while Libby will have taken pleasure from the fact that this hundred was scored against his former colleagues at Trent Bridge, one rather doubts he gloated over the matter. And in any case his innings of 117 was countered by Fletcher, another of the English game’s noble servants, who bowled tightly, took two good wickets, including Libby’s, and pulled off a run-out that will surely feature when Steven Mullaney’s players hold their Christmas party.Fletcher’s value to his team’s attack had been plain well before he enjoyed obvious success. While the other Nottinghamshire bowlers were conceding more than 3.5 runs an over, Fletcher was leaking barely a single. It was, therefore, simple justice that he took the first wicket when Daryl Mitchell drove at a wideish ball ten minutes after lunch but merely feathered a catch to Tom Moores, who was standing up to the stumps, thereby chaining Mitchell to the crease.Related

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Nottinghamshire’s need for a breakthrough was becoming desperate; Libby and Mitchell had put on 140 for their side’s first wicket. Home supporters watching on the live stream will have enjoyed the opening overs when the pair’s cover-drives and cuts ran to the off side boundaries and Mullaney had been forced to post only a single slip after 16 overs. Until Fletcher intervened, distant spectators had been offered the prospect of grand consumption, one that recalled the salad eras of Cyril Walters and Don Kenyon on this ground.Instead, Fletcher’s removal of Mitchell for a well-made 59 began Nottinghamshire’s best period of the day. Almost immediately Tom Fell was leg before when he overbalanced while trying to clip a ball from Zak Chappell to leg. Then Gareth Roderick groped rather stiffly at a wideish delivery from Paterson. But that most conventional of dismissals, an edge to the keeper, was followed by a quite extraordinary one as the formidably proportioned Fletcher ran out Brett D’Oliveira for 3 when the batsman hesitated over an achievable single and was beaten by a direct hit from backward point. Fletcher’s reaction when he saw Russell Warren’s finger raised was to hold his arms aloft in triumph and gallop madly towards the cathedral. Perhaps he thought God would like to exchange a few high-fives with an equal; certainly there was something miraculous about the event.Worcestershire lost their fifth wicket as the Earl Grey was brewing when their slow left-armer, Liam Patterson-White, produced a beauty that turned and hit the top of Riki Wessels’ off stump. Ten minutes into the evening Libby nibbled at a ball he didn’t have to play and Moores completed the catch. But any thought that Nottinghamshire might have to bat tonight on a wicket that is already taking spin was dispelled by Barnard and Joseph, whose partnership offered something of a gentle epilogue to this rich day. Both batsmen resisted any temptation towards wanton aggression, instead settling for careful accumulation in the sunlight. Once again one’s eye was taken by the towered tracery of the cathedral, the improbable beauty of the setting, the familiar things at Worcester of which one never tires. The Ladies’ Pavilion remains closed, of course, but we still had cake for tea.

NZ make enterprising declaration after stalemate looked set following third-day washout

Alan Gardner06-Jun-2021There are often many different ways to end up at the same destination. The first Lord’s Test in two years had seemed destined for a draw after losing the entire third day to rain, and drawn it surely was as the teams shook hands at just gone 7pm on the final evening.But there was peril and intrigue along the route, as New Zealand sprung a declaration on England after a brief shower brought about an early lunch. The carrot of chasing 273 in 75 overs had been dangled, though England were clearly wary of the offer. The home side looked outmatched for much of this first Test and the nerves were palpable when they fell to 56 for 2 shortly before tea, a wicket away from their youthful middle order being exposed.In the end, there was not enough life in the pitch nor sand in the hourglass for New Zealand to make a concerted victory push. Dom Sibley batted more than five hours for a barnacle-encrusted half-century, as he and England’s captain, Joe Root, ensured against jitters with an 80-run stand that stretched into the evening session.Even if there was no great final-day drama, the crowd were nevertheless keen to get in on the act, cheering the sweaty indefatigability of Neil Wagner – who went against type to crowbar out Rory Burns, England’s first-innings centurion, and Root across two canny spells of searching swing bowling – as well as Sibley’s almost heroically shot-shy approach to accumulation. Sibley ended a run of six consecutive innings without reaching double-figures to record his highest score since making 87 in Chennai earlier this year.New Zealand have only won once before at Lord’s, during their previous series victory in England back in 1999, but they resolved to give themselves a chance of another after resuming their second innings with a lead of 165. They took that on by more than 100 for the loss of four wickets during a lively morning session, which was curtailed by the arrival of rain, and then chose to set England what would have been the third-highest chase on the ground.With Sibley searching for form and Burns playing in typically lugubrious fashion, the opening pair signalled England’s intent. If not exactly shutting up shop, they were certainly prioritising a stock take out the back. Signs of variable bounce did little to coax greater intent, and Burns was struck a painful blow on the hand when Tim Southee got the ball to kick up from a length.England had taken more than 23 overs in adding 49 for the first wicket when Wagner broke through. Following the blow from Southee, Burns almost fell to the same bowler when he gloved the ball just short of slip, and the introduction of Wagner’s left-arm angle of attack only played on his uncertainty. After nine dot balls, which included an unsuccessful swipe, Burns fenced uncertainly to send an outswinger low to second slip.With the atmosphere getting tense, Sibley edged Wagner through the cordon for four, and then with tea approaching Zak Crawley threw the bat to be caught in the gully. As in the first innings, he had fallen for 2 driving ambitiously at a full, wide delivery from Southee.That left New Zealand needing eight wickets going into the final session, with England notionally looking to score 217 from 43 overs. Root eked his way to 4 off 38 balls, confirming that there would be no attempt to ruffle Kiwi feathers, and although he fell to Wagner, pinned on leg stump despite a review with the shadows beginning to lengthen, New Zealand could muster no further inroads.The morning began with Wagner in the thick of the action, too, as New Zealand’s nightwatchman carved and clipped a pair of boundaries in Stuart Broad’s opening over. Wagner fell in the next, top-edging a pull to give Ollie Robinson his seventh wicket on debut, but frustration began to mount for Broad, who had gone five consecutive innings without success, as he saw Tom Latham dropped by the diving Crawley at midwicket. He soon had a moment of succour, though, when trapping the New Zealand opener lbw for his first dismissal in 488 deliveries.With the watchful Latham gone, Ross Taylor upped the tempo during an innings of 33 off 35 that saw Robinson swung into the Tavern Stand and Mark Wood sliced over the rope at third man. Another swipe at Wood resulted in an edge behind, and with the players staying out during a rain shower, Henry Nicholls also fell trying to lift the scoring, as he gloved a reverse-sweep off Root’s offspin. New Zealand’s declaration was another enterprising move but the series will now be decided by the next week’s encounter at Edgbaston.

The two teams will meet again in Qualifier 1 on Monday, the winner of which will move to the final

Danyal Rasool19-Jun-2021There was little riding on this game, but that didn’t mean conventional PSL rules ceased to apply. Give Islamabad United a below-par chase, and they’ll eventually run it down.In yet another exhibit of that maxim, Shadab Khan’s side coasted – despite the slightly frantic final-over finish – to an impressive four-wicket win against Multan Sultans thanks to a commanding bowling performance towards the back-end of the innings. Sultans’ collapse saw them lose all ten wickets for 56 runs after losing none in the first 9.3 overs and the 150 United needed was knocked off fairly routinely.Both sides were aware this was little more than a dry run of the high-intensity qualifier they will contest on Monday and, as such, there was an experimental element to the contest. United rested their key openers as well as Hasan Ali, but Sultans made the early running with a sizzling 93-run partnership between Mohammad Rizwan and Shan Masood. But when Iftikhar Ahmed and Fawad Ahmed prised out the top three, the bottom hollowed out, allowing Mohammad Wasim – who’s also had a breakout tournament, a clear crack at the tail.United’s start was authoritative without being explosive, but with an asking rate of 7.50, it didn’t need to be. Mohammad Akhlaq and Umar Amin followed the team philosophy of trying to exploit the Powerplay overs, and the 54 they managed in the first six was more than adequate to keep them on course. A stuttering innings from Shadab, who looked severely affected by stifling heat at one point, still saw him compile 35 off 27, before Asif Ali was sent in to inflict the knockout punch. In his kind of form, under virtually no pressure, his 16-ball 25 took his side ever closer.United may be annoyed at how deep they allowed Sultans to take it, with the contest appearing over long before the final leg-bye was actually taken. United perhaps lost focus slightly as Sultans continued to burrow their way back into the contest after Asif fell. Usman Qadir removed Brandon King and Shahnawaz Dahani’s stunning catch in the final over got rid of Talat, which suddenly meant United needed three off four. They got there in the end, making what should have been a thumping win look like an attritional one.Mohammad Wasim strikes backThe heroics of Dahani and the fast-moving nature of the PSL meant Wasim flew under the radar for much of the past week. That wasn’t helped by a horror start to his day when he came in to bowl while Masood and Rizwan were in full flow. He was tonked for 18 in his first over. He was hauled off, but when he returned ten overs later, he seemed a transformed bowler.Choosing his variations with guile and executing them with high class, he accounted for four Sultans batters, conceding just 13 further runs in his remaining three overs. Given the task of polishing up the tail in the final over, he did that, and then some. On Friday, Haris Rauf had ceded the momentum to the Sultans by leaking 24 in a similar situation, but Wasim’s final over permitted just two. He ended up taking three wickets in those final six balls, bowling out a Sultans side that hadn’t lost a single wicket till the tenth over.Masood shines, no one else does Sultans might have been trying to offer up a live-action animation of the phrase “innings of two halves” when they were put in to bat. Rizwan and Masood got them off to a start that was both blistering in its urgency and elegant in its implementation. There were few risks taken as Masood placed and timed his way to a sumptuous half-century; even the sixes he hit were risk-free drives through the line of the ball. They were rollicking along at nearly ten an over by the tenth over, the stage set for what might possibly be an immense finish.In the tenth over, though, Iftikhar, off all people, struck in the only over he bowled, and once Masood departed, bedlam ensued. Multan went on to lose their ten wickets for a mere 56 runs, compiled painstakingly over a further 63 balls as an innings that promised so much petered out with no more than a whimper. United have a formidable record chasing totals; they have lost just 5 of 31 such games, and 150 was never going to challenge them.Where they stand The game guarantees Sultans will finish second, and play Islamabad United in the first qualifier, which takes place on Monday. Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings finish third and fourth respectively. Lahore Qalandars – fifth – were eliminated over poor net run rate, tied on points with the teams at second, third and fourth.

Former allrounder set to take charge at Chelmsford after leaving MCC role

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jul-2021John Stephenson has been appointed as Essex’s new chief executive officer. Stephenson, the former Essex allrounder who has spent the last 17 years working for the MCC, will take charge at Chelmsford in October.Stephenson, who played one Test for England, came through at Essex and had two spells at the club, between 1984-1994 and 2002-2004. His post-playing career began as MCC Head of Cricket, eventually becoming the club’s Assistant Secretary (Cricket). He steps down from the role, to be replaced by Jamie Cox.His appointment follows a lengthy process to find a successor for Derek Bowden at Essex. Bowden announced his intention to retire in October 2020, shortly after the club had lifted the Bob Willis Trophy, and Essex are believed to have been hit hard financially by the effects of the pandemic.Related

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“I’m delighted to have been given the opportunity to come back to Essex as the club had a big influence on my professional career,” Stephenson said. “Having spent over a decade with the club as a player, I couldn’t pass up the prospect of taking on this fantastic role.”The club means so much to so many people and has a key role to play in the wider Essex community. One of my main objectives is to continue and build on the recent success that the club have experienced both on and off the field. With the support of the members, fans and the team, I believe we can continue to compete and bring silverware back to Chelmsford.”Having spent more than a decade largely confined to Division Two of the County Championship, Essex claimed their first title in 25 years in 2017, a season after being promoted. They were Division One champions again in 2019, as well as winning the T20 Blast, but failed to qualify for the top tier from this year’s Championship conference stage, meaning they won’t be in the running to defend either red-ball title in September.Essex’s executive chairman John Faragher said: “After an extensive interview process involving some very high-calibre personnel, John was clearly the outstanding candidate for the position at Essex. His exceptional skillset together with his appreciation of the modern game and the challenges facing cricket in the future were key credentials in making our decision.”He will lead the executive team on our journey to the next level in performance both on and off the field. Although we continue to face numerous problems brought about by the pandemic, we continue to be very focused on the future.”These are exciting times for the club and the board looks forward to supporting and working with John.”

All of Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, and Shafali Verma, currently participating in the Hundred, would be joining next week

Annesha Ghosh10-Aug-2021A group of 30 India players would be assembling in Bengaluru on Tuesday evening for a camp ahead of the multi-format tour of Australia that kicks off next month. The five India players – Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, and Shafali Verma – currently participating in the Hundred in the UK would be joining the camp starting next week.ESPNcricinfo understands India are due to depart for Australia from Bengaluru either on August 29 or 30 before entering a mandatory two-week quarantine. A trimmed, final squad for the tour would be selected from the pool of 35 players – including the Hundred returnees – called up to the camp.Related

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The 30 players initially gathering in Bengaluru comprise the core of the 21-member squad that toured the UK in June-July as well as the one that was picked for the preceding limited-overs home series against South Africa in March. While the BCCI is yet to make any official announcements regarding the camp, it is learnt that Railways fast bowler Meghna Singh is among those who have been asked to join. Haryana quick Mansi Joshi, who featured in three ODIs against South Africa, couldn’t make the cut. But Chandigarh captain Amanjot Kaur, who formerly represented Punjab and plays as a top-order batter and medium pacer, is among the uncapped probables headed to the camp.Match simulation, skills-based training and fitness would be the focus of the camp with intra-squad pink-ball matches also likely to be held in order to help with preparations for the Australia tour that consists of three ODIs, a day-night Test – India’s first – and three T20Is.The last league-stage match of The Hundred is scheduled for August 18 and will be followed by the eliminator on August 20 and the final on August 21. All five teams represented by the Indians – Southern Brave (Mandhana), Northern Superchargers (Rodrigues), London Spirit (Sharma), Birmingham Phoenix (Verma), and the currently bottom-placed Manchester Originals (Kaur) – remain in contention for a playoffs berth.A Cricket Australia release in May stated that the ODIs would be played starting with one at the North Sydney Oval on September 19, followed by those at the Junction Oval on September 22 and 24, before the caravan moves to Perth for the standalone Test, scheduled from September 30. The tour will conclude with the T20Is at the North Sydney Oval on October 7, 9 and 11, with Australia then set to break for the WBBL, which will also have Indian representation.Australia are the reigning T20I champions, having beaten India in the final of the 2020 edition. Also, they are on a 24-match winning streak in ODIs.India, meanwhile, lost the multi-format points-based series against England 6-10 with a solitary win apiece in the three-match T20I and ODI series. They drew the tour-opening Test, their first appearance in the longest format since 2014. Earlier in the year, in Lucknow, they had lost 1-4 to South Africa in the ODIs and 1-2 in the T20Is that followed.

Former head coach admits build-up has been less than ideal for England and Australia

Matt Roller30-Nov-2021Trevor Bayliss’ only away Ashes series during his five-year tenure as England’s head coach ended in a 4-0 defeat and was overshadowed by off-field distractions amid questions about his squad’s drinking culture and the absence of Ben Stokes due to his involvement in a fight outside a Bristol nightclub.Four years later, both teams have endured rough build-ups to the series on and off the field, with English cricket engulfed in a racism crisis, Australia reeling from Tim Paine’s sexting scandal, and La Niña reaping havoc with scheduled warm-up games in Queensland.Bayliss, speaking to reporters in his capacity as Sydney Thunder’s new head coach ahead of the BBL season, said that while the build-up had not been ideal, both teams would be fully focused on the series rather than the sideshow around it once they step onto the field at the Gabba next Wednesday.

Bayliss reunites with Hales

Alex Hales’ positive test for recreational drugs on the eve of the 2019 World Cup nearly derailed England’s tournament but he finds himself working with Bayliss again for the first time since at the Thunder this season.
The pair have linked up ahead of the start of the BBL this weekend, and Bayliss said that he was excited to see Hales have another prolific season.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen him for a couple of years and he doesn’t seem any different,” Bayliss said.
“He’s in a good space – he didn’t hit the golf ball very well yesterday but I’m looking forward to him scoring some more runs for the Thunder this year.”

“It probably makes a little bit of a change,” Bayliss said, asked about the spotlight on Australia following Paine’s resignation and subsequent decision to step away from the game for an unspecified period of time. “Normally when the England team comes here, all the focus is on them and the one or two small pick-ups they might have along the way get blown out of all proportion.”With what’s going on in England at the moment, there’s obviously a bit in the background there as well. I think both teams will be more than happy for the cricket to start and all of that can get pushed into the background and they can concentrate on their cricket.”I fully expect with both sets of players, that’s exactly what will happen. Once the cricket starts, there might be talk behind the scenes with commentators and journalists and that type of thing but I’m quite sure that once things get underway out on the field it’ll be all about the cricket.”The first day of England’s second intra-squad warm-up game was washed out on Tuesday after only 29 overs were possible in the first, while Australia are set to cancel their practice fixture due to inclement weather. Bayliss said that the lack of a proper preparation period might lead teams to rotate their fast bowlers throughout the series, but stressed that for England, combating the pace trio of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc would be a major challenge.”Playing games would be the No. 1 criteria but both teams would be trying to do what they can through practice and making sure they’ve got the workloads up to scratch with the number of balls or overs bowled in the build-up,” Bayliss said. “It might force the hand a little bit of bringing in replacement guys every Test or two, making sure that the workload on the bowlers is not over the top.Related

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“The three big, tall pace bowlers Australia have got have done a lot of damage over the last few years and have bowled extremely well on these flat Australian pitches. They’re able to bang the ball in, they’ve got good pace, they’re tall, and they’re able to get a bit more out of it because of that pace and extra bounce.”So that’ll be something that the England batters will have to negate. But as we saw on the last tour, they might have lost 4-0 but on different occasions they showed they could score runs against that attack. It’s about that consistency and doing it Test after Test, which I’m sure they’ll be looking for.”As for Stokes, whose absence proved costly in 2017-18 as England struggled to balance their side, Bayliss said that it was a “massive bonus” for them to have him available for this summer’s series, not only due to his ability as an allrounder but also as a talisman who galvanises others in the side.”It’s not just his batting, his bowling or his fielding,” Bayliss said. “He’s one of those guys who is a leader within the group. He’s a very positive influence. There were times where he didn’t play because of injury in England and I think the team felt his loss when he wasn’t there. Certainly when he plays, he’s able to drag a lot more of the players along with him. He’s got a great attitude, a never-say-die attitude.”

The inquiry will take place early in 2022 and will be conducted by independent legal professionals

Firdose Moonda20-Dec-2021Cricket South Africa (CSA) will launch a formal inquiry into the conduct of director of cricket Graeme Smith and the national men’s head coach Mark Boucher after reviewing the contents of the Social Justice and Nation-Building (SJN) report. The inquiry will take place early in 2022 and will be conducted by independent legal professionals. Both Smith and Boucher remain in their positions and will continue to carry out their duties for the series against India, which starts on Boxing Day.The SJN report, which was made public last Wednesday, made tentative findings that Smith, Boucher and former international AB de Villiers, amongst others, had engaged in conduct that was prejudicial and discriminatory on the basis of race. However, the ombudsman, Dumisa Ntsebeza, was unable to make definite findings and recommended a further process be undertaken, which CSA will now embark on. Smith and Boucher are not the only figures who will be investigated, but are the most high-profile, as CSA looks into all areas of its operation.Related

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“The Board has decided to institute formal enquiries into CSA employees, suppliers or contractors who are implicated by the SJN report,” a CSA statement, issued on Monday morning, read. “The Board has done so mindful of its duty to treat allegations of racism or discrimination with the utmost seriousness and in a manner that ensures fairness and due process in terms of South Africa’s labour legislation and the Constitution.”ESPNcricinfo understands that the new review process has been undertaken, in part, because CSA faced a legal threat from parties who had been implicated in the report because the findings were “tentative.” Therefore, if CSA has acted on those findings, they were at risk of their conduct being reviewed in the courts.The inquiry will also give anyone alleged to have acted in ways that are biased a further opportunity to respond, in addition to their testimony at the SJN. Both Smith and Boucher submitted written affidavits to the ombudsman but did not appear to give oral evidence. It is not yet clear which route will be offered to them in the new process. “We hope this will give implicated parties a fair opportunity to be heard so that finality can be achieved, and any final findings can then be acted on,” Lawson Naidoo, CSA board chair, said.CSA will also announce further steps and actions it intends to take to transform cricket, in line with the SJN report in the new year. Among the SJN’s other recommendations was a suggestion to review payment structures to ensure reserve players on tour are adequately compensated and specifically to look at payments in the women’s game, with a view to closing the gender-pay gap, a focus on grassroots development, the establishment of an anonymous complaints service for any further cases of discrimination and the appointing of a permanent ombudsman.