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Young seamer secures personal landmark as Burns seals win in a hurry

Vithushan Ehantharajah20-May-2023 Surrey 362 (Abbott 78, Sibley 60, Bhuiyan 4-65) and 58 for 0 (Burns 36*, Sibley 16*) beat Kent 278 (Evison 77*, Lawes 3-41) and 141 (Muyeye 42, Lawes 5-22) by 10 wicketsIt speaks to Surrey’s qualities as defending champions that even losing a bowler of Kemar Roach’s calibre does not hold them back. And it says even more of the nurturing qualities down in south London that the West Indian’s replacement, 20-year-old Tom Lawes, would be the one to fire Surrey to a fourth win of the season.Lawes only turned 20 on Christmas Day – for the record, he only gets one set of presents – but almost singlehandedly blitzed Kent in the second innings. Figures of five for 22 snuffed out the visitors for 141 on day three, handing Rory Burns and Dom Sibley a simple double-figure chase, knocked off so quickly that the Kia Oval felt compelled to let the hundreds of spectators use the ground as a glorified picnic area for an hour or so after this 10-wicket win had been confirmed.This was Lawes’ maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket, beginning late on day two when he changed the direction of this match with a 2.4 over spell that accounted for Tawanda Muyeye and then Jack Leaning. The latter was the day’s final ball, meaning the seamer had two deliveries to finish from the Micky Stewart Pavilion End on Saturday morning. Burns decided to stick with him for longer.Within seven deliveries, Kent skipper Sam Billings had edged through to Ben Foakes and Zak Crawley – the set batter, arriving overnight on 31 – had been squared up by a wider release, edging to Ollie Pope at second slip. At that point, Kent were six down, Surrey still a run ahead and Lawes boasted absurd figures of 4 for 3. A misdirected bouncer, no-balled as it raced away for four byes, put Kent into the lead.Jordan Cox and Joey Evison did their bit to make Lawes’ figures a little less absurd. The latter, however, ended up as number five as Lawes tailed one in late enough to sneak through Evison and send his off stump for a walk. With the heart ripped out, Lawes stepped aside to allow Sean Abbott and Jordan Clark pick through a Kent line-up in real strife. Since winning their opening match of the season against Northamptonshire, Kent have lost three out of four. This, their second inside three days, sends them into the relegation zone.You could say Lawes’ five-bag was overdue, particularly given that on four previous occasions he had had to make do with four in an innings. But this was always coming. His 18 wickets across six appearances in 2022’s Championship win spoke of undoubted quality, and gave him the lowest average of the squad (23.72).Returning this winter, his action looks a little more like Chris Woakes’, and Burns is certain he has got quicker. Lawes is one of those nippy quicks who loses very little off the pitch, which explains why his short ball surprised Muyeye and Leaning (bowled off his elbow), and good lengths hit hard did for Billings and Crawley. He’s already made it to 15 dismissals from just three games and has also pocketed new career-best match figures of eight for 63 after three for 41 in the first innings.”It’s a very special moment,” said Lawes of this first five-wicket haul. “Especially walking off in front of the Pavilion. It’s a memory I’m not going to forget, really. To do it with all the teammates and all our mates. Wonderful memories.”I wasn’t sure if I was going to get a bowl (at the end of day two). But with two overs at the end, I was going to steam in and try and make something happen. To get those two at the end (Muyeye and Leaning) last night, that really set up today.”As far as young players at Surrey go, Burns wasn’t sure on where he’d rank, but likened his impact to Sam Curran, who arrived into the first-team at the age of 17 and never looked back. “It’s similar to when Sammy came onto the circuit,” said Burns. “His knack of producing things – when you need a moment, he finds it with a little bit of fairy dust.”Lawes is one of those allrounders in the early stages of their career where one suit is garnering more headlines than the other. Those who’ve been involved in his development through the ranks, both at Surrey and Cranleigh School, emphasise his middle-order activities with the bat.We got a sight of that last summer when he compiled 318 runs at 53.00 in the Royal London Cup, filling in throughout the sideshow competition as Surrey’s squad was ransacked by the men’s Hundred. A few weeks back, he opened the batting in the second innings with Dan Worrall with just 11 needed for victory against Warwickshire. Lawes somehow ended up with 14 not out after finishing the match with a six into the Hollies Stand.He was not required to strap the pads on this time around. A target of 58 was probably a little too dear to take the piss, though Burns marched out and set the tone for another quick kill with 10 off the first four deliveries of the fourth innings. The skipper then greeted Jack Leaning’s off-spin with a reverse sweep for six. When 50 was brought up after 9.4 overs, Burns had 33 of them.With scores level, the left-hander advanced down the track, scuffing a shot over the top off the bowling of Arafat Bhuiyan. It stopped a couple of feet short of the boundary but Burns and Dom Sibley had already crossed and were on their way back to greet each other for a job well done after just in 11.3 overs.But for the miscued winning run, this was about as perfect a win you could get, completed seven minutes before lunch on day three. The sun just getting to its glorious best, the weekend now open to all possibilities.The season itself, however, feels just like last. Surrey are top going into the white-ball break, winning four of six so far – one more than they managed in the same period at the start of last season. Even with England call-ups for red- and white-ball duty, they look primed to go back-to-back.

New Zealand suffer first defeat despite belligerent Glenn Phillips half-century

Matt Roller01-Nov-2022Ten days into the Super 12s, England finally turned up at the T20 World Cup and delivered a clinical performance in a must-win game against New Zealand at the Gabba. Victory in their final group game against Sri Lanka on Saturday should be enough to send them through, barring a significant net run-rate swing.Jos Buttler chose to bat first on a used pitch and produced his first significant innings of the tournament, making a superbly-paced 73 off 47 balls after two reprieves to set up England’s total of 179. He became England’s leading scorer in men’s T20Is in the process, on the night he won his 100th cap.New Zealand, who would have qualified for the knockout stages with a win, looked well-placed in the chase. After 14.4 overs, they were 119 for 2 as Glenn Phillips, picking up from where he left off against Sri Lanka, dominated a 91-run partnership with a slow-scoring Kane Williamson.Related

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But unlike in last year’s semi-final in Abu Dhabi, a game which loomed large over Tuesday night’s match in Brisbane, England managed to strike regularly towards the end: Ben Stokes removed Williamson, Mark Wood rushed James Neesham, and Sam Curran closed out the win with a superb spell at the death.New Zealand’s net run rate is healthy enough that they will almost certainly qualify for the semi-finals by beating Ireland by any margin in their final group game, while Australia’s title defence is hanging by a thread on home soil: they either need to beat Afghanistan and hope England fail to beat Sri Lanka in Sydney, or thrash Afghanistan to ensure they overtake England on NRR.Buttler sets England up
Under Eoin Morgan, England were a chasing team: he did not choose to bat first in a T20I once in his last five-and-a-half years as captain. Under Buttler, there has been a shift: they have now won seven out of eight completed games when batting first since the start of July, and have posted at least 175 every time.After a relatively quiet start, seeing off Trent Boult and Tim Southee’s new-ball bursts, Alex Hales took charge in the second half of the powerplay, racing to 37 off 25 as England took 48 from the first six overs. He hit the first ball of the fifth over straight back over Southee’s head for six, then hit back-to-back boundaries through the off side.Williamson thought he had taken a huge catch to dismiss Buttler for 8 in the final powerplay over, diving low to his left to snaffle a miscue off Mitchell Santner, but replays confirmed the ball had squirmed through his hands and hit the ground before he snaffled it at the second attempt. He apologised, and said afterwards: “I knew I’d bobbled it and thought I’d squeezed it into my chest… a little bit embarrassing in the end.”England struggled against spin through the middle on a used pitch which offered plenty for Santner and Ish Sodhi, who took 2 for 48 in eight overs between them. Hales was stumped while charging Santner after reaching a 39-ball half-century, and Buttler was dropped again on 40 when Daryl Mitchell put down a straightforward chance off Lockie Ferguson.England scrape past par
England shuffled their batting line-up, with Moeen Ali promoted to No. 3 with a licence to take down spin and Dawid Malan ending up as low as No. 8. Moeen holed out to long-on before Buttler reached a 35-ball fifty, while Liam Livingstone’s bright cameo was ended by a brilliant Ferguson yorker as he attempted back-to-back scoops.New Zealand dragged things back with regular wickets: Harry Brook was caught at long-on looking for back-to-back sixes, Buttler was run out and Stokes was pinned lbw by Ferguson, but England’s lower-middle order kept on swinging and scrambled up to 179, which looked just above par.Phillips on fire
Buttler threw Moeen the new ball and was nearly rewarded with the wicket of Devon Conway, who dragged his back foot behind the crease just before Buttler whipped the bails off after Moeen beat him on the outside edge. Buttler himself was key to the wicket when Conway did fall, flinging himself low to his right as Conway attempted a paddle-scoop off Chris Woakes.When Finn Allen fell to Curran’s short ball, picking out Stokes on the rope, New Zealand were 28 for 2 after five overs and struggling, but Phillips was quickly up and running. He started streakily, inside-edging a 96mph/155kph Wood thunderbolt – the quickest ball of the World Cup to date – past his leg stump, and then survived thanks to an inexplicable drop from Moeen.Facing Adil Rashid, Phillips skewed a leading edge straight to Moeen at cover, who seemed to take his eye off the ball or lose it in the lights. He failed even to get a hand to a straightforward chance, and when Phillips crunched three sixes over the short midwicket boundary in quick succession – one off Wood, and two in a row off Rashid – it looked as though it would prove a costly drop.Clutch Curran
Stokes, who had hurt his left index finger while taking the catch to dismiss Allen, removed Williamson in his only over, the ball steered to Rashid at short third, and Buttler sensed an opportunity. He brought Wood back for the 16th over, a move vindicated by Neesham’s miscued pull, which Curran settled underneath at deep midwicket and celebrated with a roar as he turned to the crowd.Woakes, whose 19th over in the 2021 semi-final had cost 20 runs, then struck at the death as England closed in, having Daryl Mitchell caught at long-on off a slower ball by Chris Jordan, on as a substitute fielder for Livingstone. Curran then removed Phillips to end the game as a contest, again caught by Jordan, and closed it out with a combination of yorkers, bouncers and slower balls at the death.

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.

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

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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.

New Zealand fight back with bat and ball for eight-run win in series opener

Madushka Balasuriya28-Dec-2024It was a heist for the ages in Mount Maunganui as New Zealand secured an eight-run win in the first T20I, and with it took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. But more importantly it was a lesson in fight from the hosts, one the visitors would do well to take note of.For much of the game it had looked Sri Lanka’s to lose. The first instance was when New Zealand were reeling on 65 for 5 midway through their innings, and the second when Sri Lanka were cruising after a 121-run opening stand needing just 52 off 40 deliveries.On both occasions New Zealand fought back, and hard – initially through a 105-run stand between Daryl Mitchell and Michael Bracewell to post a competitive 172 for 8, and then finally through a late strangle that saw Sri Lanka lose eight wickets for 38 runs after being in total control of proceedings.Jacob Duffy was at the heart of the collapse with a three-wicket 14th over, as he set the wheels in motion for a sterling New Zealand comeback – which also earned him the player of the match award. Sri Lanka though will be at a loss for words in attempting to explain how they let this game slip.A collapse for the agesSri Lanka thought they had done enough – and by all accounts they had. A 121-run opening stand in chase of 173 would in most cases have been more than enough. After all, when Kusal Mendis fell for a brisk 46, Sri Lanka needed only another 52 runs off 40 deliveries with nine wickets in hand.Sure, three balls later that equation changed to 52 needed with seven wickets in hand, after Duffy had made sure Kusal Perera and Kamindu Mendis followed Kusal to the dressing room. But, surely not?Nerves were eased a bit as Charith Asalanka joined Pathum Nissanka in the middle to chip away. But when he fell with 28 still required off 16, more doubts crept in. And then when Matt Henry removed Nissanka and Bhanuka Rajapaksa in the span of a few deliveries, all doubt was removed. Sri Lanka needed 19 off 8, but only Wanindu Hasaranga could be counted on to strike the boundaries needed.Hasaranga being run out without facing a ball in the final over summed up Sri Lanka’s disastrous end to the game.Binura leads Sri Lanka’s early chargeMitchell Santner had been concerned about about a “green tinge” on the surface having been put in to bat, and after the first ten overs his concerns seemed warranted as New Zealand had stumbled to 65 for 5.Pathum Nissanka’s 90 from 60 balls seemed to have put Sri Lanka firmly in control•Getty Images

Binura Fernando, playing his first T20I in nine months, proved the most effective of Sri Lanka’s three seamers despite never clocking more than 130kph. He showed admirable control and found consistent movement in the air despite bowling mostly on a good length or slightly further back; the wickets of Tim Robinson and Rachin Ravindra were just rewards, and he might have had another had Charith Asalanka not spilled Mark Chapman at mid-off.Binura’s opening burst of three overs went for just 12 runs, before a Hasaranga double-strike in the 10th over really rammed home Sri Lanka’s early dominance.Mitchell and Bracewell counter brutallyIf the first half of the innings belonged to Sri Lanka, the second was well and truly New Zealand’s. After a couple of overs treading water, Bracewell signalled his intent to shift gears with a pair of boundaries off Maheesh Theekshana in the 14th, before unloading on an off-colour Matheesha Pathirana an over later – a flicked six into the grass banks and a monster loft over wide long-off the highlights in a 22-run over.Bracewell’s power was on total display from then on as Hasaranga and Binura were also both taken for maximums over the next few overs. And there would be no respite for Sri Lanka at the other end either, as Mitchell struck in lockstep with his partner, the pair even bringing up their respective fifties off consecutive deliveries.In total, 107 runs were struck between overs 10-20, with 85 of those coming off the six-over period from 13-19. Only an excellent final over from Theekshana, where three wickets fell for just three runs ensured New Zealand were kept below 180.Pathirana’s off dayFour overs for 60 runs and a solitary wicket marked a bad day at the office for Pathirana, but it’s the three no-balls (and subsequent free hits) that will no doubt have Sri Lanka’s coaching staff pulling their hair out. That one of those accounted for the wicket of Mitchell, when he was on eight, will be particularly grating.Pathirana also struggled with identifying an effective length, constantly bowling fuller than ideal – surprising considering the success Binura had had by hitting the deck harder, not to mention the success Pathirana himself has had with similar lengths in the past.

Bowler has nine for the match, but Essex can’t seal early win despite taking extra half hour

ECB Reporters Network07-Sep-2022Kent 164 (Leaning 34, Cox 34, Allison 4-40) and 137 for 8 (Cook 6-33) trail Essex 573 (Khushi 164, Critchley 90, Cook 78, Westley 54, Allison 53) by 272 runsSam Cook’s 6 for 33 reduced Kent to 137 for 8 in their second innings, a deficit of 272 which left them praying for rain after day three of their LV=Insurance match with Essex at Canterbury.Sam has match figures of 9 for 60, while Adam Rossington has seven catches so far, but Essex remain two wickets shy of victory, despite taking an extra half hour after the scheduled close of 6.33pm.Kent’s top scorer, Jordan Cox, was not out on 53 at stumps, partnered by Matt Milnes unbeaten on 12, but Kent’s only realistic hope of avoiding defeat is if the weather intervenes on day four.Earlier Ben Allison took 4 for 40 as Kent were dismissed for 164 in their first innings, 409 behind the 573 Essex made after they were put in on day one.Kent were 74 for 4 when play began after a 10-minute rain delay and after some early resistance they rapidly faded.Jack Leaning batted for 41 minutes with Cox, before Cook had him caught by a tumbling Feroze Khushi at square leg, and from then on no partnership lasted for more than five overs.Sam Billings batted despite a groin injury, with Ben Compton acting as his runner, but he was visibly struggling and lasted just nine balls before he nicked Allison to Rossington.Allison then removed Grant Stewart, who edged the seventh ball he faced behind for two and Harry Podmore, who made 13 before he became Rossington’s fifth victim of the innings.Allison then clipped the top of Cox’s off stump, bowling him for 34, before the rain returned, with Kent 145 for 9, ushering in an early lunch.When play resumed Matt Quinn tried to hit Shane Snater out of the ground and was bowled for 7, leaving Essex with a mammoth first-innings lead.To the surprise of precisely no one in the Spitfire Ground they enforced the follow on, claiming an early victim when Ollie Robinson edged Cook behind for 15, before a second rain delay wiped out 19 overs.Kent’s best hope of salvaging a draw lay in batting out the day and hoping a grim weather forecast for day four would prove accurate, but when play resumed Cook hadn’t even completed his over before he’d removed Daniel Bell-Drummond for a second-ball duck, again caught behind.In Cook’s next over he took wickets with successive deliveries, first getting Ben Compton caught at second slip by Matt Critchley for 7, then getting Leaning caught for a golden duck by the same fielder.Cook claimed his fifth wicket of the innings when Joe Denly tried to pull him and instead got a top edge that floated to Nick Browne at third slip. Stewart tried to drive Cook and was caught by Browne at mid off for six.Harry Podmore lingered for 46 balls for 10 before he was bowled by Jamie Porter and Essex looked like wrapping up the win inside three days when Billings chipped the same bowler to Tom Westley, for his first ever pair, but Cox pulled Snater for four to pass 50 shortly before the scheduled close and although the extra half hour was taken, the players went off for bad light at 6.59 pm.

Daniel Gidney says ECB must invest more in promoting women’s domestic competitions

Matt Roller18-Apr-2024Daniel Gidney, Lancashire’s chief executive, has called on the ECB to find a title sponsor and a standalone broadcast deal for the Charlotte Edwards Cup after his club’s investment in women’s cricket was rewarded with the award of Tier 1 status from 2025 in the revamped domestic structure.Lancashire have been major investors in Thunder in England’s regional competitions since 2020, with help from two sponsors in Hilton and Sportsbreaks.com. They will have a full-time squad of 15 professionals this year and travelled to Dubai and Bangalore last month, their third successive pre-season tour.They were among the counties pushing for a change in the domestic structure which would empower them to invest more in their women’s team and Gidney said that he was “absolutely thrilled” that Lancashire will host a Tier 1 side from next season. “I’ve always believed that if you are going to do this, you have to do it properly,” he told ESPNcricinfo.Related

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To that end, Gidney believes the ECB must find a title sponsor for the Charlotte Edwards Cup – the regional T20 competition – and invest more in marketing games outside of the Hundred. The ECB have committed to investing around £19 million in women’s domestic cricket by 2027.”There is a lot of history of men’s sports sponsors wanting women’s competitions as an add-on,” Gidney said. “We’re now at a stage where the Charlotte Edwards Cup needs to be backed, it needs to have England players available, and it needs to be taken seriously. There were more people at our quarter-final at Blackpool last year than at Finals Day at New Road.”The Charlotte Edwards Cup falls under Sky Sports’ TV rights deal with English cricket, which runs from 2024-28, but the channel has rarely broadcast matches from the competition, which are instead largely available via free online live streams. Richard Gould, the ECB’s chief executive, said any changes will only be considered before the next rights cycle, which will start in 2029.”If we deliver on what we aim to deliver, that is a natural consequence of what we aim to do,” he said on Thursday at the launch of the ECB’s national tape-ball competition. “At the moment, we fall back on streaming platforms for much of our professional domestic cricket at county level and we’ll be doing the same for the women, but ultimately, that’s what we want to do.”While the three men’s county competitions all have headline sponsors, the women’s regional equivalents do not. Gould would not be drawn on sponsorship, saying: “I would not want to go into that at this point.” Gidney said: “This competition needs a title sponsor that is paying proper money, and we need to get it broadcast.”We shouldn’t just be giving assets away to people: it’s insulting to all of the women’s professional cricketers we have in the UK now. This is a proper sport that has real value. The top [level] of women’s elite sport in English cricket is the Hundred, but that’s not the only domestic professional cricket in town.”Gidney believes the move away from a regional structure funded predominantly by the ECB and towards a county model reflects the speed of commercialisation in women’s sport. “At the time the regional structure was introduced, it was all about accelerating performance, development of skills and professionalism,” he said.”But people underestimated the speed at which elite women’s professional sport has become commercialised: look at the amazing successes of the Lionesses, the Red Roses, sell-out games for Arsenal’s women at the Emirates Stadium, the Women’s Premier League. The money that has come in and the level of engagement from a new fanbase has been mad.”Deloitte put out a report to say that they believe in 2024, women’s elite sport will become a billion-dollar industry… you have to encourage innovation and generate commercial income to help grow women’s elite sport. We’re thrilled to be a successful Tier 1 club, but that comes with massive responsibility. I can’t now use it as an excuse that the ECB are holding me back.”Lancashire are building a new training base at Farington•Lancashire Cricket

Gidney believes that the tender process for Tier 1 teams has demonstrated which counties are “serious” about investing in women’s cricket. “I sat in one meeting and one CEO said, ‘if you get it and we don’t, you’re getting more revenue off the ECB.’ I said, ‘I’m astonished you’ve used the word ‘revenue’ in this context.’ The money that comes from the ECB is just a percentage of what has to be invested into the women’s programme to make it successful.”A few years ago, there was one non-Test match ground county that took a lot of money from the ECB for its academy. They spent £20,000 on the academy, and the rest on a Kolpak fast bowler. Authenticity is important. If you’re serious, you have to put your money and your actions where your mouth is, and I’d challenge anybody to say that Lancashire hasn’t done that in the last few years.”Thunder – who have appointed Chris Read, the former England wicketkeeper, as their coach ahead of the upcoming regional season – will play seven fixtures at Old Trafford this year, the most that any regional team will play at a men’s Test venue. The old away dressing room at the ground has already been converted into a home dressing room for the women’s team.Lancashire are also building a new facility at Farington, near Preston, which will become a training base for their men’s and women’s teams and will stage some first-team matches as well as second-team and pathway fixtures. But Gidney stressed: “Emirates Old Trafford is the home of Lancashire Cricket – for both our men and our women.”Old Trafford will also stage women’s international cricket again from 2025, more than a decade since its most recent fixture. Gidney wants to host Women’s T20 World Cup matches there in 2026: “We haven’t got a men’s Test match in 2026, so we are very hopeful about that.”

Says he relies on his hands for placement and gives himself “a few options for different lengths”

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-20234:00

Harmison on Maxwell’s 201*: ‘It has to be the greatest innings in ODI cricket’

One of the reasons why Glenn Maxwell’s hardly-believable double-century against Afghanistan in Mumbai is being billed as the greatest ODI knock of all time is because of how he was suffering from back spasms and severe cramps in the lower half of his body, and he still managed to hit a total of 21 fours and 10 sixes to lead Australia to victory, mainly by using his arms and upper-body strength.Maxwell attributed that ability to a pre-match batting drill he used to practice around eight-nine years ago in the BBL, to hit some big boundaries.”One of the things I used to work on before every BBL game – going back about eight or nine years – was foot drills where the first 12 balls I’d face I’d stay dead still but try and hit them as far as I could,” he told the . “Whatever the length, I basically had to hold my top body for as long as I could to get the right trajectory to feel like I hit a six. Working on that upper-body movement without using your legs is actually a good way of finding out where your ideal heave point is. Going back to that [innings against Afghanistan], I obviously had to tinker a little bit with actual bowlers not just bowling half-volleys outside off stump but bowling different areas. Jut relying on stuff I had worked on in early years and try to adapt as quickly as I could.”Related

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• Cummins hails Maxwell's 201* as 'the greatest ODI innings that's ever happened'

When asked what helped him prepare for such unorthodox shots, Maxwell said: “I think it has a lot to do with the positions I get myself in on a golf course where I’m stuck behind a tree and I’ve to throw my wrists around or flick it around. It’s little things like that. I feel like it allows you to be inventive and tests the boundaries.”Maxwell also revealed on the podcast that the worst cramps in his body were in his calf muscle, and that at one point the middle toe on his right foot “starting to bend back” and combined with the back spasms, his “body was starting to shut down”.When he fell to the ground at one point and lay flat because of cramps just after completing a single, he was attended to by the team physio who said that going off the field would be worse because Maxwell’s body would cool down and coming back down the long staircase from the dressing room at the Wankhede Stadium would become very tough. The physio then advised Maxwell to slow things down since the batter also “couldn’t control my breathing,” and told him to hydrate himself more and bat on.Not only against Afghanistan, but during his record-breaking 40-ball century against Netherlands, and further back in the past in white-ball cricket, one of Maxwell’s trademark ability is to find the gaps in all corners of the ground, irrespective of the line and length of the ball, and the bowlers.”Once I get in, I feel like I can set myself early enough in my mind and have a good idea of where I’m trying to hit it,” Maxwell explained. “I feel like my hands can get me out of trouble if the ball is not quite in that areas and do I give myself a few options for different lengths.”

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.

England spinner stifles chase as visitors fall short of victory required to stay in hunt

ECB Reporters Network01-Jul-2022James Fuller’s quickfire 45 and impeccable bowling from Liam Dawson and Nathan Ellis fired Hampshire into the Vitality Blast quarter-finals at the expense of Gloucestershire.Allrounder Fuller needed only 24 balls to smack his haul at the death to drag Hampshire to an above-par 140. Gloucestershire, who needed to win to keep their knockout hopes alive, lost wickets with regularity with Dawson returning 2 for 16 and Australian Ellis 1 for 14 in his four overs – as Hampshire won by 15 runs.Hampshire chose to bat first on a sluggish used pitch and battled their way to above par thanks to some late-innings hitting. Before then it had been a struggle as Gloucestershire bowled incredibly tightly on a pitch similar to a typical Seat Unique Stadium wicket.Only 24 runs came in the powerplay with Ben McDermott and James Vince both falling, the former to Mohammad Amir who only bowled three balls before walking off clutching his side.Benny Howell had Tom Prest top-edging a slog sweep with the pressure building before his slower ball found Ross Whiteley chopping on via his pad, on the way to 2 for 29.Joe Weatherley kept things ticking, but his dismissal sent Hampshire sliding. Weatherley and Dawson handed Tom Smith figures of 2 for 18, before Fuller teed off. Forty-six runs came from the final three overs, and 36 from the final two, as Fuller swung Ryan Higgins for back-to-back sixes over the long square boundary before plopping David Payne over the straight boundary twice.The visitors moved Iain Cockbain up to open for the first time this season but he only lasted until the second over when Prest brilliantly ran him out with only a single stump to aim at. It was an atonement for Prest, who had dropped a tough chance off Chris Dent. And he would complete his penance when his offspin forced Dent to sky to deep extra cover – 40 for 2 at the end of the fourth over.Miles Hammond skied to McDermott but Dawson’s introduction swung the momentum. The left-armer’s first over only went for three runs, his second just two runs, the wicket of Glenn Phillips and four play and misses from Higgins, before he bowled Higgins with a jaffa in his third over – at which point he had 2 for 9. Mason Crane joined in to get Jack Taylor caught behind.Gloucestershire had the rate well in hand throughout but the regularity with which they lost wickets came back to bite them, with Howell swiping to deep square leg to become the seventh man to depart to leave 38 needed from the last five overs.Only 15 runs came in the following three overs and the burden was too much for James Bracey – who had scored 38 off 30 – when he was caught splicing to third. Tom Smith was run out off the first ball of the last over, with 17 required, before Ellis bowled Payne to a rapturous response from a packed Ageas Bowl.