All posts by n8rngtd.top

Paul Collingwood has played down England’s growing injury list ahead of the first Twenty20 international on Friday

Cricinfo staff11-Nov-2009Paul Collingwood has played down England’s growing injury list ahead of the first Twenty20 international on Friday following the side’s four-wicket defeat against South Africa A in Bloemfontein.England went into the match without their three frontline quicks with James Anderson (knee), Stuart Broad (shoulder) and Graham Onions (back) all on the sidelines. With Andrew Strauss not considered for the Twenty20 team it left Collingwood only 11 fit players and towards the end of the game Graeme Swann also left the field with a tight thigh.However, Swann’s problem was said to be minor and the medical staff were not overly concerned, while Anderson and Onions are expected to be in contention to face South Africa at the Wanderers. Broad, though, is struggling to recover in time for the Twenty20 matches and is unlikely to be risked before the one-day series begins at the end of next week.”I think he [Broad] is going to be doubtful. I mean it’s pretty much going to take a miracle if he’s going to be fit for the Twenty20s,” Collingwood told reporters. “He has been very sore on the shoulder there, but he’s progressing well, so hopefully he’ll be available for the first one-dayer.”Jimmy’s just a little bit stiff in the right knee, but again he should be fit for Friday and Graham Onions will come back into the reckoning as well. [Swann] came off with a stiff side, but he’s spoken to the medical staff and they don’t seem to be too concerned.”After a promising opening to the tour, with two convincing warm-up victories against the Eagles and Warriors, this is a more familiar feel to England’s overseas expeditions with defeat against a second-string side and a list of injury worries. At the same time South Africa were hitting their stride against Zimbabwe, but Collingwood has his fingers crossed that the team have got their bad performance out of the way.”I’m hoping tonight is just a blip. We’ve done a lot of good stuff so far on this tour,” he said. “Obviously Twenty20 cricket’s a different format of the game – you’re a bit more rushed out in the middle. We’ll obviously come out of this, we’ll learn from it, we’ll discuss it before Friday and hopefully put on a better performance.”I never like losing, but I think sometimes it is going to be a little bit of a reality check as well. Tonight we got one of the disciplines wrong. That’s the area we’ve got to bounce back from and do better on Friday.”

Warwickshire win with three balls to spare after Jake Lintott’s quickfire 50 and contributions from Kai Smith, Rob Yates, Zen Malik and Hamza Shaikh

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay17-Aug-2025Warwickshire 310 for 7 (Lintott 50, Yates 47) beat Somerset 309 for 8 (Lammonby 100, Rew 81) by three wicketsTom Lammonby’s maiden List A century was not enough to save Somerset from a three-wicket Metro Bank One-Day Cup defeat by Warwickshire at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton.The hosts posted 309 for 8 after losing the toss, opener Lammonby scoring 100 from 111 balls, with nine fours and two sixes. James Rew contributed 81, while younger brother Thomas made a rapid 41.In reply, Warwickshire reached 310 for 7 with three balls to spare, Taunton-born Jake Lintott ensuring victory with a quickfire 50 after important contributions from Kai Smith (45 not out), Rob Yates, Zen Malik and Hamza Shaikh.Somerset, who created a party atmosphere by arranging several events to mark their 150th anniversary season, made a solid start to their innings, Lammonby and Archie Vaughan taking the score to 42 in the 11th over before the latter was bowled for 20 attempting to drive a ball from Michael Booth.It was 69 for 2 when Lewis Goldsworthy was also bowled trying to slog-sweep Taz Ali in the young leg-spinner’s first over. But Lammonby was already looking in dangerous form as he moved confidently to a half-century off 65 balls.At the halfway stage of their innings, Somerset were 102 for 2. It was then that Lammonby and James Rew began to cut loose, the two left-handers delighting home supporters with some glorious stroke-play on both sides of the wicket in a partnership of 143 in 21.2 overs. Both cleared the ropes in the same over from off-spinner Yates.Skipper Rew cruised to a 46-ball fifty, with five fours and two sixes before Lammonby reached three figures with a single to the leg side off Oliver Hannon-Dalby. It was an innings of numerous sweetly-timed cover drives and very few errors.The scoreboard read 212 for 3 in the 38th over. Without a run added Lammonby top-edged a pull shot off a slower-ball bouncer from Ed Barnard to be caught at short fine leg. Rew quickly followed, bowled aiming across the line to a ball from Booth having faced 69 deliveries, and Somerset’s hopes of reaching 300 looked in jeopardy.They got there thanks to some quality hitting from Thomas Rew, including two reverse-swept sixes in the same Ali over, and a career-best 30 not out from Alfie Ogborne off just 16 balls. Josh Thomas, Ben Green and Jack Leach fell cheaply, but JT Langridge cracked 11 off four balls to end the innings with a flourish.Warwickshire’s reply had reached 36 when Ogborne struck with the last ball of the sixth over, Barnard pinned lbw on the back foot for 14.Batting was looking straightforward in the bright sunshine as Yates and Malik brought the hundred up in the 17th over. Yates had moved comfortably to 47 off 52 balls when caught behind looking to drive Green, who struck again soon afterwards when Malik offered a low return catch, having hit six fours and a six in moving smoothly to 44.It continued to be Lammonby’s day when his left-arm seam accounted for Alex Davies, who edged a pull shot through to wicketkeeper James Rew having made 17. At halfway in their innings, Warwickshire were 144 for four.Shaikh and Smith looked to be tilting things the way of the visitors with a solid half-century stand, but Shaikh became their third player to fall in the forties when caught behind off Langridge to make it 205 for 5 with the required run-rate around eight an over.Vaansh Jani pulled a flat six off Ogborne, who responded by having him caught by the diving James Rew in the same over. That brought in Lintott, who wasted no time clearing the ropes off Green.Smith was content to play a supporting role in a match-clinching stand of 65 in 8.1 overs, which saw Lintot race to a maiden List A fifty off 34 balls, with seven fours and a six, before falling with just two runs needed.

India A declared at 380 for 3 in the final session, setting up a massive target of 488

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Sep-2024Tilak Varma and Pratham Singh scored centuries each to stretch India A’s lead and further put them in a strong position against India D on Saturday. From the overnight score of 115 for 1, when they had a lead of 222 runs, India A posted 380 for 3 on the third day before declaring in the final session to set up a target of 488. India D were 62 for 1 at stumps and were 426 runs behind India A.Resuming from 59, Pratham brought up his second first-class hundred off 149 deliveries and stitched a 104-run stand with Tilak for the second wicket. Left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar dismissed Pratham for 122 in the 60th over. But Tilak played the long innings and put India A in control. Only one wicket fell in the morning session as India A piled on 145 runs to take lunch at 260 for 2.However, India D struck immediately after lunch as Riyan Parag fell to Saurabh for 20. India D’s bowlers were then made to toil as Shashwat Rawat joined Tilak. The left-handed duo shared an unbroken stand of 116 runs for the fourth wicket. In the second session, Tilak converted his half-century. He hit a total of nine fours in his 193-ball stay, out of which six were scored between the cover and the long-off region.Rawat ticked along briskly, notching up seven fours to remain unbeaten on 64 off 88 balls before India D declared in the final session. In contrast to Tilak, Rawat targeted the leg side, hitting three fours towards long-on and one through midwicket.In the fourth innings, Khaleel Ahmed struck in his second over to opener Atharva Taide for a duck. However, that did not slow India D down as Ricky Bhui, at No.3, scored an unbeaten 44 off 52 at stumps. Bhui slammed eight fours and a six while his partner Yash Dubey was unbeaten on 15 off 60. The pair added 61 runs for the unbroken second-wicket partnership.

It will be the first women’s T20 tournament to be held in Bangladesh; could kick off at the end of the ongoing BPL

Mohammad Isam17-Jan-2025The BCB will be launching a maiden Women’s Bangladesh Premier League (WBPL); it is likely to be held soon after the ongoing men’s competition ends on February 7. According to Nazmul Abedeen Fahim, the BCB director, it will be a three-team competition, with each team playing the others twice for a total of six league games followed by the final.”The board has been thinking about the various ways that we can take women’s cricket forward,” Fahim said. “Whether we can do a T20 competition for women was in our thoughts. We have decided today that we will do the Women’s BPL.”Fahim said the BCB is in talks with some of the men’s BPL franchises regarding ownership of the women’s teams, and that a couple of owners have shown interest.”We have already spoken to a few BPL franchises, who have shown interest [in owning women’s teams],” he said. “We want to see how a women’s tournament has an effect on our T20 cricket. We are hopeful that it will help our women’s game progress.”Fahim said that only allow one overseas player will be allowed in the playing XI, with the squads having a maximum of 15 players each.”We won’t take many overseas players due to the financial constraints,” he said. “Four overseas players puts financial pressure on the teams; perhaps they don’t want to take that pressure. We want to give more opportunities to our domestic cricketers. We want to add competitiveness.”It will be the first women’s T20 tournament to be held in Bangladesh. Women cricketers in the country play the one-day league in Dhaka, and the BCB recently launched a women’s three-day competition.

Mumbai Indians suffered their tenth defeat of the season despite three-wicket hauls from Thushara and Chawla and Rohit Sharma’s 38-ball 68

Sreshth Shah17-May-2024On a bittersweet evening for Mumbai Indians (MI) fans at the Wankhede Stadium, a high-octane Rohit Sharma fifty gave them something to be happy about, but they also saw their side slump to their tenth defeat of the season to finish bottom of the points table.The victors, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), too, were left with a what-could-have-been feeling as their seventh win of the season took them to the important landmark of 14 points, but a straggling net run-rate of -0.667 left them just outside the top four. In any case, despite scoring 214 batting first, LSG needed an impossible margin of victory to get their NRR where it would have been useful.On the night, it was Nicholas Pooran who rescued LSG from a familiar situation. With their top order struggling again, his 29-ball 75 brought life to a sluggish innings against an inexperienced MI attack that played without Jasprit Bumrah, Arjun Tendulkar his replacement.MI began the chase in dazzling fashion on the back of Rohit’s barrage of boundaries on either side of a short rain delay, but they slid from 88 for no loss to 120 for 5 in the middle overs, effectively ending their chances of putting up a realistic fight.The result meant MI, under new captain Hardik Pandya, finished last for the second time in three seasons. LSG will end up missing the playoffs for the first time in their three-season history.3:21

McClenaghan: Rahul could have gone harder

Pooran goes 360!

LSG gave Devdutt Padikkal another go this season at the top. But he finished the way he had started, with a duck.Nuwan Thushara got the new ball to sling into Padikkal, and Tendulkar too troubled No. 3 Marcus Stoinis early with the swinging delivery. Piyush Chawla also kept LSG quiet enough to prise out Stoinis and Deepak Hooda in quick succession, and at 69 for 3 in the tenth over, LSG’s innings was moving without direction.But Pooran changed that, even masking KL Rahul’s inability to get quick runs. As Rahul moved to only 40 in his first 33 balls, Pooran bashed 22 runs off Anshul Kamboj’s 12th over, and then hit consecutive sixes off Hardik in the 13th.He saved his best for the 14th when Tendulkar’s first two balls went for 12, and after an injury forced the bowler to leave the field, replacement bowler Naman Dhir got pummelled for two sixes. That over went for 29.Not all of Pooran’s shots were pretty, but he rode his luck. Even though he and Rahul fell as part of three wickets in three balls, their partnership and the late assault from Ayush Badoni (22 in ten balls) gave LSG 214 for 6.1:59

A season to forget for Hardik Pandya and Mumbai Indians

Rohit finishes on a high

Rohit came into the match with scores of 6, 8, 4, 11, 4 and 19. Among India’s batters for the T20 World Cup, he was the most out of form. But, on his way out of the season, Rohit batted the way he was expected to when captaincy was taken away from him at the start of IPL 2024.He hit boundaries on either side of the wicket alongside new opening partner Dewald Brevis to get MI off the blocks early in the 215 chase. He also made up for a streaky early boundary to hit Matt Henry for sixes over midwicket and long-off in the second over.Then, through the fifth, sixth, and seventh overs, Rohit enjoyed the pace-on deliveries and hammered Mohsin Khan and Naveen-ul-Haq for six fours and a six in the space of 18 balls. It got him to his fifty in 28 balls and put MI ahead in the chase.

Krunal, Bishnoi trigger collapse

But MI and Rohit found themselves in a squeeze as the LSG spinners came on. Krunal Pandya and Ravi Bishnoi, occasional boundaries aside, made an impact with tidy spells to slow MI down. The two of them also took sharp outfield catches to help LSG’s cause.After holding on to a spectacular sliding catch at long-off to dismiss Brevis in the ninth over off Naveen, Krunal got Suryakumar Yadav sweeping to deep third for a three-ball duck in the tenth over. Bishnoi, who took the tough juggling catch for that Suryakumar dismissal, then had Rohit slicing to Mohsin at short third in the 11th.Hardik couldn’t do much, and Nehal Wadhera then became Bishnoi’s second victim. All told, the six overs Bishnoi and Krunal bowled between eight and 17 gave away 44 runs and netted three wickets.2:36

McClenaghan: ‘Piyush has probably bowled himself to a contract in IPL 2025’

Dhir shows his worth

With Ishan Kishan looking off-colour from No. 4, MI’s game looked done after Wadhera’s dismissal in the 15th over. But Dhir gave the home fans some positives for next season with a dazzling unbeaten 28-ball 62 that took MI to 196.His second boundary of the evening, a scoop off a short ball behind the keeper, showed off his intent, and he followed it up with more big shots.The three sixes in the space of five balls across the 19th and 20th overs gave MI a bit of hope, but another spectacular fielding effort from Krunal on the boundary line stopped a second six to start the final over, and that took the wind out of the chase.

The Australia captain makes his international comeback against Pakistan on Monday but most of the talk remains about what comes later

Alex Malcolm03-Nov-2024Captain Pat Cummins has downplayed the so-called “bat off” for the final spot in Australia’s Test team but has noted that it does provide a “final piece of information” and help the player chosen prepare for the first Test given the public scrutiny around the contests against India A.Cummins spoke at the MCG on Sunday ahead of the first ODI of the summer against Pakistan, which will be his first international appearance since the T20 World Cup in June after he missed the tour of the UK in September.But while the three-match series does carry some importance given it is Australia’s last ODI series before the Champions Trophy in February, bar a one-off game in Sri Lanka, the fight for the final batting spot in the Test side remains the major talking point.Related

• Smith: 'Marnus and Uzzie hated me up top'

• Australia's ODI questions: Opening 'fireworks', filling Green's spot and the back-up quicks

• McSweeney gets Ponting's backing as specialist openers falter again vs India A

Four players, Marcus Harris, Nathan McSweeney, Sam Konstas and Cameron Bancroft have emerged as the main contenders for the vacant spot at the top of the order and have been on show in the Australia A game against India A in Mackay.McSweeney has been the standout performer of the four, finishing unbeaten on 88 in Australia A’s victory, and is almost certainly set to be part of the Test squad given two batters will need to be selected in an extended 13 to ensure there is a batting concussion substitute with the team in Perth. Harris got starts in both innings without kicking on while Konstas and Bancroft missed out twice each.Cummins said he had kept an eye on the scores from Mackay and emphasised the quartet would likely get another chance to impress in the second four-day game at the MCG starting on Thursday. But he added the Australia A games are not the be-all and end-all as far as selection for the first Test is concerned.”I think it’s like a final bit of information,” Cummins said. “It’s never as clean cut as a bat off. Some of these guys have only played a few games of Shield cricket, and then you’ve got other guys who have played over a decade.”That last couple of weeks, is it really important? It’s got some importance, but it’s not going to guide the 100% of the decision. So it’s that final bit of decision.”In some regards, it’s a lot of pressure on those last two games, which, whether you like it or not, it’s probably what you’re going to get in Test cricket anyway. So I suppose, again, whoever does get picked, they’ve experienced as much pressure as they might get in a Test debut anyway. So it means they are pretty well placed.”Cummins was not concerned about having to leave the decision quite late given Australia’s current selection panel and leadership group has preferred to give players more certainty in the recent past.”I don’t think it’s a new problem,” Cummins said. “The good thing is, if it’s say that one batting role that we’re looking at, whoever’s picked, they’re going to come off the back of plenty of runs at the start of the year, you’d think, and they’ll be well positioned. The reality is you try and make a debut as comfortable for someone as you can. But it’s a Test debut. Whoever it is, they’re going to be feeling nerves. So, yeah, it’s not like they’re going to wake up one morning and kind of be told they’re playing. They’ll certainly know at least a week or so out I’d imagine.”Cummins was asked whether it was possible that Marnus Labuschagne could open the batting to allow McSweeney to possibly debut at No. 3 given that is where he bats in first-class cricket for South Australia.”You could do,” Cummins said. “Again, maybe once we kind of start discussing who’s in the side, then you start looking at the batting order.”Ronnie [Andrew McDonald] and I have said it quite a bit, we think the place where you bat isn’t that important. You try and work out how the batting order as a whole is going to function best. And I don’t think anyone should be super protective around a certain spot.”Pat Cummins hasn’t played for Australia since the T20 World Cup•Getty Images

Cummins did note there had been plenty of jokes flying around at training in the last two days about positions in the batting order given how vocal Labuschagne and Steven Smith had been about the latter’s move away from opening in Test cricket.Meanwhile, Cummins said he was feeling physically as fresh as he had in a long-time after skipping the T20I and ODI tour of the UK in order to undergo a significant training block in Sydney to get ready for the summer. He also explained his decision to not play a Shield game prior to the first Test.”The one that I would have had to play back here in Melbourne, I probably would have had to start bowling about an extra two or three weeks earlier,” he said. “So we kind of made the decision to have an extra two weeks of building up in the gym and prioritizing that. I feel like I’ve done it for a fair while now, and so I feel like the ODIs will give me a good lead in and obviously the two weeks before the first Test, we’ll make sure we do loads of red-ball and centre wickets to try and replicate it.”Cummins said he was unsure if he will play all three ODIs against Pakistan. He confirmed he would play the first two but it appears likely he will miss the final game in Perth in order to avoid a cross-country return flight, a week before having to make the same trip for the Perth Test.If he does miss the Perth match it will mean Australia will have to find a captain, with ODI vice-captain Mitchell Marsh missing the series while on paternity leave.Smith and Josh Hazlewood have both led the ODI side previously but there is a possibility both could also be rested from the Perth trip for the same reasons as Cummins.Australia’s new T20I captain is set be announced this week with Josh Inglis and Matt Short the two most likely candidates for the job. It is possible the man who gets the nod could also captain the ODI side in Perth.

Gus Atkinson joins Jofra Archer, Sam Cook and Jamie Overton as alternative seam-bowling options in England’s 16-man squad

Matt Roller06-Jul-20254:11

Stokes: We weren’t able to deliver our skills when needed

England will consider making changes to their bowling attack after a gruelling workload in their 336-run defeat to India, and have added Gus Atkinson to the squad for Thursday’s third Test at Lord’s after time out following a hamstring injury.England’s three frontline seamers – Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue and Chris Woakes – have all bowled between 77 and 82 overs in the first two Tests of the series. Atkinson joins Jofra Archer, Sam Cook and Jamie Overton as the alternative seam-bowling options in the 16-man squad for Lord’s, and the tight turnaround between Tests could prompt changes.”It’s no secret that we have spent some time in the field and bowled some overs in the first two games, and we’ll have to see how everyone pulls up over the next two days,” Ben Stokes said. “With it being a quick turnaround, there probably will be a decision we have to make given how everyone does pull up after this game.”Related

• England want pace and bounce at Lord's, Jofra Archer 'ready to go'

• Stokes' batting in focus as England count cost of Edgbaston errors

• McCullum admits England got the toss wrong

• Akash Deep ten-for seals statement win for India

• Shubman Gill: Akash bowled with so much heart

Archer has not played a Test match since February 2021, but bowled regularly during intervals at Edgbaston this week, and Brendon McCullum hinted he will make his comeback next week. “We’ll let this one settle, and when we get to [Lord’s] we’ll have a good think about it,” McCullum told the BBC’s .Asked about Archer’s availability, McCullum said, “He’s fit and ready to go. Obviously the other boys have had two Test matches on the spin now, so you’d anticipate you would make a change at some stage with the line-up, and Jofra is one we’ll look at.”Stokes added, “Everyone’s in consideration for the game at Lord’s.”England’s margin of defeat – 336 runs – was their third-heaviest since Stokes took over as captain on a full-time basis, but he insisted that it will not affect them moving forwards. “We’ve obviously had some unbelievable wins and some bad defeats,” he said. “I feel I’m quite good – and the team is – at staying level throughout those ups and downs.”That is so important in a series where we knew coming in that it wasn’t going to be easy… We have to wipe this one under the carpet as quickly as we can, because Lord’s day one will be coming around pretty quickly. We will have one or two days to get the bodies right and recover, and all of a sudden, we will be out there flipping the coin.”He also played down the significance of England’s inability to take 20 wickets at Edgbaston. “You do have to appreciate how well India played with the bat,” Stokes said. “[They were] obviously pretty favourable conditions if someone got in; two of our lads showed that this week… You are allowed to let your opposition play well, and they definitely did that.”

England squad for Lord’s Test against India

Ben Stokes (capt), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes.

Conway will see a hand specialist in Wellington as New Zealand try to lock in selections amid high churn

Andrew McGlashan23-Feb-20241:36

Phillips on Ben Sears: ‘Fantastic to have such young talent coming through’

Devon Conway remains a doubt for the opening Test against Australia in Wellington next week and will see a hand specialist to ascertain the extent of the damage he suffered to his left thumb during the second T20I at Eden Park.Conway suffered the blow in the second over of the match when he took a sharp delivery from Adam Milne down the leg side. He was briefly treated on the field before deciding not to continue and Finn Allen took the gloves for the rest of the innings.Related

• Zampa, fast bowlers flatten New Zealand to seal T20I series

• Ravindra sets T20 wheels in motion to pass test of adaptability between formats

Conway went to hospital for x-rays and did not bat during New Zealand’s chase. He was cleared of “an obvious fracture to his left thumb” but was ruled out of the final T20I and returned home to Wellington on Saturday for further assessment.”There is a little bit of concern because we are not 100% sure yet exactly how it’s going to respond over the next three or four days,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said. “[We’ve] still got a little bit of time and at the end of the day think it will come down to pain management and what he can do in that space around making sure he feels comfortable at the crease.”It’s still a little bit unknown. Last night he had some strange things going with his thumb, it was clicking a little bit…but at this stage he has been cleared of a break which is great. He’ll see a hand specialist tomorrow in Wellington and we’ll find out more then.”There was a more encouraging prognosis for Rachin Ravindra after he sat out the second T20I with knee soreness. He remains with the squad but is unlikely to be risked in Sunday’s match with an eye on the Test series.Devon Conway went off after he was struck on the left thumb•Getty Images

“Not as much concern around Rachin,” Stead said. “He does have a bit of a niggly left knee. Think it’s unlikely he will play tomorrow with the Test matches in mind, but we are very confident that he will still progress well to be right for that first Test match. He’s slightly better today than what he was yesterday which is the encouraging signs we want.”Conway is penciled in to open the batting in the Test series while Ravindra is also a lock for the XI after he converted his maiden Test hundred into 240 against South Africa recently.If Conway is ruled out, Will Young would be his likely replacement at the top of the order. Young is the reserve batter in the Test squad and can cover a variety of positions. He came into side against South Africa in Hamilton as a middle-order replacement for Daryl Mitchell but can also opening the batting. Conway does not keep in the Test side with that role belonging to Tom Blundell.Tim Seifert, who himself was initially ruled out of the T20I series with an abductor injury, has been called back into the squad as Conway’s replacement for the last match of the series while Jacob Duffy has been added as fast-bowling cover. One more batter will be added after the conclusion of today’s Ford Trophy final in Christchurch.Ahead of the first Test, both Mitchell (foot) and Matt Henry (hip) are progressing well in their recoveries. “Very confident they’ll be good to go,” Stead said.Kane Williamson’s partner, Sarah, gave birth to their third child, a girl, earlier this week which ensures he will be available for the Test series having missed the T20Is.In terms of the T20I series, Stead was not overly concerned by New Zealand falling 2-0 down given the opening game went down to the last delivery then Conway’s injury meant they had to reshuffling the batting order in Auckland.”T20 cricket is pretty fickle, and that first game could have easily gone the other way,” he said. “You move on very, very quickly. We want to take the learnings and make sure we put them into practice, but there’s still a lot of good things that have come out of the last two games.”Ben Sears, for example, I thought was fantastic, a young guy early in his career. Thought Lockie Ferguson in the two games has bowled superbly well and looked somewhere back to near his best which is really exciting to see.”We are pretty realistic. Yes, we didn’t get the result we wanted last night but there are a number of guys who will come back into our side as well around the World Cup which will make a big difference in terms of experience.”

All six Bangladesh batters made solid contributions in the fourth innings to ensure Pakistan had no chance of a comeback

Ashish Pant03-Sep-2024On what will go down as a red-letter day in Bangladesh’s cricket history, their batters stood tall with important contributions right through as they inflicted a 2-0 clean sweep over Pakistan with a six-wicket win on the fifth afternoon in Rawalpindi.Chasing 185, Zakir Hasan scored 40, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque made steady 30s, and the experienced pair of Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan wrapped things up, sparking celebrations in the Bangladesh change room. There was a sense of calmness with which Bangladesh went about achieving their third-highest successful chase in Test cricket.An overseas Test victory, let alone a series win, is a rare event in Bangladesh cricket. This was only their fourth win in 20 overseas Tests in the last seven years and just their third Test series victory overseas.Related

• Bangladesh's small wonders conjure a Rawalpindi miracle

• Stats: Litton Das' ever growing list of Test match rescue acts

• Nahid Rana: A new express finds his fame in Rawalpindi

For Pakistan, it added to their misery, with this loss extending their winless run at home to ten Tests. Since a win against South Africa in early February 2021, they have had four draws and six defeats, which include series defeats to Australia, England and now Bangladesh.Heading into the second session, Bangladesh required 63 runs with eight wickets in hand. Shanto tried a few reverse sweeps and even got a four through backward point but failed to carry on for long. It was the softest of dismissals, with him bunting a straight delivery from Salman Agha to Abdullah Shafique at short leg.Mominul, who was mostly sedate in the first session, got busy after Shanto fell. He cut Agha through point before getting another four off Mir Hamza, albeit off an edge. By then, Pakistan were desperate for wickets and burnt two reviews in two balls for lbw appeals against Mushfiqur; there was an inside edge onto the pad both times.Mominul’s aggression got the better of him when he mistimed Abrar Ahmed straight to mid-off. But Mushfiqur and Shakib made sure there were no more errors. They took their time, rarely played a shot in anger, and inched towards the target. Shakib hit Abrar for a straight six to bring the target under 20 before hitting the winning four off the same bowler through covers. With the win, Bangladesh jumped past England to be fourth on the World Test Championship table.Mominul Haque and Najmul Hossain Shanto added 57 for the third wicket•Associated Press

In the morning, Bangladesh resumed from 42 for no loss. Shadman Islam began with a crisp square cut to get things going but the Pakistan bowlers dictated the terms for the first 45 minutes. Mohammad Ali should have had Zakir’s wicket when the batter went after a good-length ball outside off and seemingly missed it. Replays showed there was a bottom edge but none of the fielders appealed.Zakir didn’t last long, though. Hamza, who had found the right spot on good length outside off, got a ball to angle in from the over-the-wicket line. It beat Zakir’s outside edge and took the top of off stump.Hamza and Ali bowled a string of dot balls, ensuring no easy runs. When Shanto finally got off the mark off his tenth ball, it was the first runs in 25 deliveries. Hamza then induced a thick outside edge off Shadman’s bat but it flew to the left of Agha at second slip. He made a valiant effort, diving one-handed, but failed to latch on. It would have been a regulation catch for third slip, but that position was left vacant.Shadman failed to make much of the reprieve, falling eight balls later to a loose drive. Khurram Shahzad bowled one full outside off, with the opener driving on the up and straight to a pumped-up Shan Masood.But Shanto and Mominul quashed Pakistan’s hopes of a comeback. The hosts did have their chances, drawing the odd edge but the ball evaded the fielders. Shanto and Mominul knew time wasn’t the issue, and they got the target down slowly.Shanto still took the aggressive route a few times, like uppishly flicking Ali through midwicket and then smashing Shahzad down the ground, but Mominul was content with singles. The only time Mominul showed some aggression was when he slog-swept Abrar through midwicket for four.Masood rung in the changes and brought back Hamza, but Shanto and Mominul managed to survive till lunch. Pakistan did dislodge the duo eventually, but there weren’t enough runs to defend, and they went down in front of a sparse home crowd.

Former offspinner agrees to return to home county, in coup for new northern women’s set-up

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jun-2024Durham have secured a key signing ahead of their first season as a Tier 1 women’s team in 2025, with the return of Dani Hazell, Northern Diamonds’ highly rated head coach, to Chester-le-Street on a three-year deal.Hazell, who made 141 appearances for England between 2009 and 2018, including two World Cups and three Ashes wins, is also head coach of the Headingley-based Northern Superchargers, a role she will retain alongside her Durham commitments.Having begun her playing career at Durham’s academy, Hazell was an obvious target for the club hierarchy as they set about establishing themselves as the new home of women’s cricket in the north of England, and her transfer may help to persuade other Leeds-based Diamonds’ players to commit to a relocation, rather than wait for Yorkshire to attain their own Tier 1 status in 2026.”It was clear from the off that Dani was the right person to lead Durham into our new chapter and begin to create history as a women’s professional team,” Marcus North, the club’s director of cricket, said. “She knows the club inside-out having played for us and worked within our women and girl’s pathway in recent years.”Dani has an excellent reputation following a successful period as Northern Diamonds and Northern Superchargers head coach, she had a winning mentality as a player and as a coach which is exciting for Durham. I look forward to working with her, as this exciting chapter for Durham Cricket begins.”Hazell, 36, took over as Northern Diamonds’ head coach in 2019, with the club winning the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy in 2022, while Northern Superchargers reached the women’s Hundred final in 2023. She has also played a key role in the development of the Diamonds academy over the course of her tenure.”I’m delighted to take up the opportunity as head coach.” said Hazell. “This is an exciting new chapter for Durham Cricket and the whole of the region, and I wanted to be part of this historic new era for the club.”I feel aligned with the club’s ambitions and standards to continually grow and move forward in such a pivotal moment for women and girls’ cricket.”I knew after initial conversations; it was the right opportunity for me to return to my home club and I am really looking forward to the challenge ahead.”Tim Bostock, Durham’s chief executive, added: “We’re delighted that Dani has agreed to become the head coach of our women’s team and we are extremely excited to welcome her back to Durham. Her knowledge of the game globally is key, but also her knowledge of the game in Durham is vitally important for us, I believe she is the perfect fit for Durham Cricket.”