All posts by n8rngtd.top

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.”

India captain fined and receives four demerit points for her outbursts during the final ODI vs Bangladesh

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jul-20232:13

Mandhana: Hopefully we’ll have neutral umpires next time

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur is set to miss the first two matches of the Asian Games, having been suspended by the ICC for breaching the code of conduct during the final ODI of the Bangladesh series.Harmanpreet, who had reacted angrily to her dismissal by smashing the stumps after being caught, pleaded guilty to two different charges pressed by the match referee Akhtar Ahmed.In a media release on Tuesday, the ICC confirmed that Harmanpreet received three demerit points relating to “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision”. Harmanpreet becomes the first women’s player to be handed a Level 2 sanction since the ICC started listing code of conduct breaches publicly in 2016. The India captain was also fined 50% of her match fee for the same offence.Harmanpreet also received a separate Level 1 penalty along with a fine of 25% of her match fee and one demerit point for “public criticism” of match officials, having described the umpiring in the Bangladesh series as “pathetic”.As per the ICC’s rules, when a player reaches four or more demerit points within a 24-month period, they are converted into suspension points. Anything in the range of four to seven demerit points equates to two suspension points i.e. a ban from one Test, two ODIs or two T20Is, depending on which comes first in the player’s schedule.The last time Harmanpreet earned a demerit point was during the semi-final of the 2017 ODI World Cup against Australia. After working legspinner Kristen Beams through midwicket, she was involved in a mix-up with Deepti Sharma before they completed the double that brought up Harmanpreet’s century. Instead of celebrating the milestone, Harmanpreet flung her helmet to the ground and fired verbal volleys at Deepti. Harmanpreet was found guilty of a Level 1 offence, which she had accepted.After the game in Dhaka, India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana supported Harmanpreet’s actions by saying her captain disagreed with the umpire’s call and that led to an angry reaction. Mandhana also said she expected “neutral umpires” to be present when India tour Bangladesh next time.Players breaking the stumps – either with the bat or by kicking them – while reacting to umpiring decisions is a rare occurrence in top-flight cricket. Coincidentally, the most recent case also happened in Bangladesh: in 2021, Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan was suspended for three matches and fined US$ 5800 (approx.) during a Dhaka Premier League T20 match between Abahani Limited and Mohammedan Sporting Club.India women’s next campaign will be at the Asian Games in Hanghzou in China between September 23 and October 8. India will be fielding both men’s and women’s teams at the Games, which features the T20 format.

Mehidy and Ebadot picked up two apiece as Ireland crumbled after Tector’s fifty

Mohammad Isam04-Apr-2023Bangladesh dominated Ireland’s first day back in Test cricket, bowling them out for 214 in the first innings of the one-off Test in Dhaka. Taijul Islam took his eleventh five-wicket haul as the six-man bowling attack kept themselves ahead in most situations. The home side ended the day on 34 for 2, with Tamim Iqbal falling to Andy McBrine off the last ball of the day after looking quite confident for the last half an hour along with Mominul Haque. But McBrine got one to kick at Tamim’s forward press, to take the edge and fly to second slip where Mark Adair took the catch. He had earlier bowled Najmul Hossain Shanto with an in-ducker, the ball taking the inside edge on to the stumps, in the first over. The Ireland players were cock-a-hoop with the late wicket in an otherwise difficult day.Ireland made 214, their highest first innings score in Tests, batting out all but 30 minutes of the first day’s play. In a batting line-up that had six debutants and playing a Test after four years, it wasn’t a bad effort at the Shere Bangla National Stadium’s challenging conditions.Harry Tector’s fifty had some delectable shots, particularly his drives down the ground. He also slammed a straight six, but fell prematurely after adding 74 runs for the fourth wicket with Curtis Campher. It was the highlight of the Ireland innings as the pair played some splendid shots in the first hour of the second session. Ireland were at their most comfortable during this time, but it was roughly an hour before things started to change for the visitors.They got together after Ireland lost three wickets in the first session. Shoriful Islam removed Murray Commins with a delivery that cut back into his bat, given out lbw for five. Shanto caught James McCollum at second slip, at the second attempt, after the batter edged Ebadot Hossain.The Tector-Campher partnership ended when Mehidy Hasan Miraz bowled Tector with a classic offbreak turning through his forward press. Tector struck six fours and a six in his 50 off 92 balls. This was a bad time for Ireland as they also lost PJ Moor, playing his first Test for Ireland after playing eight matches for Zimbabwe, and Campher, in the space of eighteen balls.Ireland could have folded early from 124 for 6, but they added another 90 runs for the last four wickets. Tucker added 35 for the seventh wicket with McBrine, before adding another 40 with Mark Adair, who made 32 off 52 balls. Taijul removed Tucker and Adair to complete his five-for. Mehidy closed out the innings with Ben White’s wicket in the 78th over.

Reassuring medical opinion about the long-term effects of his concussions helped the opener prepare for his debut

Andrew McGlashan07-Jan-20211:28

Mike Hussey: Will Pucovski looked very composed at the crease

Reassuring medical opinion that he did not need to be concerned about long-term damage helped prepare Will Pucovski for his Test debut after what he admitted had been a “rollercoaster” period following a ninth concussion last month.Pucovski was felled by a bouncer from Kartik Tyagi the Australia A match against India at Drummoyne Oval in early December and was ruled out of contention for the first two Tests of the series. It was no given that he would be brought into the side at the first opportunity, and in the days leading up to the SCG match he visited an independent neurologist alongside the specialists used by Cricket Australia.The advice he received allowed him to look Australia coach Justin Langer in the eyes and tell him he was ready and available. A couple of days of nets followed, before he was told on Wednesday that he was in the side, forming a new opening partnership with David Warner.”It’s been quite surreal… it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster, getting hit about a month ago and been to millions of different doctors it feels like trying to get a bit of clarity and a bit of an answer as to what the go was and everything along those lines.”But I managed to get through all the protocols and put myself up for selection and lucky enough to get selected. Has been a bit of a whirlwind but awesome to be here.”The maturity with which Pucovski speaks about all topics from batting, dealing with concussions and his mental health has always stood out and he is aware that he needs to be sure life after cricket is not impacted by what takes place on the field.”When you get the information from doctors that things are actually going okay and there’s nothing too much to worry about long-term at this stage it makes it a lot easier for you,” he said. “It’s one of those things with your head, you don’t want to risk it because you’ve got a long life after cricket and a long life after sport [that] you want to be fit and healthy for.”I sought some different opinions on what was going on and I was pretty satisfied I’m in a pretty good place to continue even if I get hit again it shouldn’t be too much of an issue. But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”A moment to cherish for Will Pucovski, handed his baggy green on Test debut•Getty Images

Pucovski admitted he had a slightly restless night knowing he was going to debut, but that the occasion itself did not feel as overwhelming as he thought it might. He was given the option over whether to face the first ball and after some back-and-forth decided to dive straight in.”In my head I think I’d built up I was going to be ridiculously nervous and it wasn’t that bad in the end. I was just excited that the opportunity had finally got there. In that sense it was actually quite calming in a way. It was pretty cool going out to bat”It was one of those days where I was just absolutely loving it. Probably my favourite day of cricket to date and it’s just a really exciting experience playing your first game for Australia but on top of that obviously with a bit of background to get to the position I’m in, it was just pretty awesome to be out there.”

The latest news from around the Women’s T20 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Feb-2020March 2Thailand allrounder Nattaya Boochatham believes that the group-stage exit in the ongoing T20 World Cup has been a “wake-up call” for the team to improve their playing standards as they look to “set the benchmark” for the future cricketers in the country.”We want to play our best cricket and show how well we’ve prepared,” Boochatham said. “In the past few games, we haven’t been firing and haven’t demonstrated how well we’ve been working.”Some of the games have been a wake-up call for us that motivates us to go home, improve our skills and various areas of cricket, so the world can see that we can play. It’s a good motivation for us to set the benchmark for the new generation of Thai cricketers coming into the team, that this is the level you have to be performing at. Hopefully we can set a good role model.”Thailand women made history by making it to their first-ever global event as they qualified for the tournament in Australia. They faced a tough challenge being placed alongside England, South Africa, Pakistan and West Indies in their group, but put up a fight against most of the teams, even causing an early scare against England. With one more match to go against Pakistan – who have already been knocked out – Boochatham hopes the side can make a “big statement” as they bow out of the tournament.”We have got off to good starts in games and we’ve learnt about the need to capitalise on that, because if you don’t, teams like England and South Africa run away from you,” she said. “It would be a big statement if we were to win the last game.”We’ve been exposed, but that’s not a bad thing. We have room to improve and come back stronger.”Laura Wolvaardt had yet to be bat in the World Cup and is still new to the middle-order role but produced one of the innings of the tournament to take South Africa into the semi-finals with an unbeaten half-century against Pakistan.It was Wolvaardt’s second T20I fifty, brought up off the last ball of the innings, and only her second innings at No. 5 having played all her other matches as either an opener or No. 3 although she had taken up the middle-order position for her domestic team.”It’s been quite a journey for me to kind of get my spot here on this T20 side, and it’s been something that I’ve been working on pretty hard,” she said. “I guess I always focus on my basics, and I guess if the base is really good, you can kind of go on from there. It is something I’ve been working on really hard on figuring out my approach and my plan. I’m happy it’s finally showing in the games now.”It really meant a lot to me. I think it’s probably the biggest contribution I’ve made to this team, if I think about the importance of today and the World Cup. So I’m really happy things that worked out the way they did.”Nahida replaces injured Bismah for remainder of World CupPakistan have suffered a blow with captain Bismah Maroof ruled out of the remainder of the women’s T20 World Cup because of a thumb injury sustained during the 42-run loss to England.Opener Nahida Khan has been approved as her replacement, while Javeria Khan has been named captain.Maroof was caught behind while attempting a ramp shot as she wore the ball on her thumb, in the sixth over of their 158-run chase. She had top-scored for Pakistan in their eight-wicket win against West Indies in their first game of the tournament. Nahida, who has 603 runs from 53 T20Is, last played for Pakistan in the limited-overs series against England in Kuala Lumpur.Pakistan are currently second from bottom on the Group B table and are scheduled to play South Africa and Thailand in their last two group-stage games.Australia will monitor a hip niggle that Ellyse Perry picked up towards the end of the match against Bangladesh but are confident she will be available for what is likely to be a crunch group decider against New Zealand on Monday.Perry, whose shoulder has also been managed during the tournament, dived in the outfield in the latter stages of Bangladesh’s innings in Canberra and left the field a short while after”She’s incredibly resilient, she’s had a lot of niggles over the last few years and still managed to get through,” coach Matthew Mott said. “We’re very confident, especially with a day off tomorrow, that she’ll have plenty of time to get ready for a huge game against New Zealand.”Any time you get a niggle there’s doubt, I suppose, but I’ve seen her push through what seems to be worse than that. We’ll just have to assess her over the next 24-48 hours and make sure she’s alright.”Even in the worst case scenario of Perry not being fit, Mott was confident that Australia would have the resources to cover for her.”The beauty of this squad is we have a number of options we can bring in. We don’t feel like we lose a lot when we lose different players. Obviously we’d have to change, we’d look at our squad and match up the best we can against New Zealand, but we’ve done that all tournament from the day we lost Tayla Vlaeminck we had to change our strategy slightly.”Thailand must improve ‘to be taken seriously at this level’ – BoochathamWhile bringing plenty of smiles to the tournament and savouring every moment of the World Cup, Thailand’s vice-captain Nattaya Boochatham said it has been a harsh reality check as to how much they need to improve.Thailand have suffered heavy defeats against West Indies and England, making just 78 on both occasions, while against England they were plundered by Heather Knight’s century.”We are obviously very excited to be involved in the World Cup but things aren’t going our way, we have to take a hard look at ourselves and really improve to be taken seriously at this level,” Boochatham said. “We’ve been exposed and if we don’t get things right we are punished for it. It’s a matter of figuring out the situation on the field as quickly as we can and changing our plans.”After a promising start against England, where they had them 7 for 2 in the second over, the bowling became ragged under pressure. Boochatham believes Thailand can advance their game over the next two of three years, but need regular cricket against the stronger nations.”We need to be better at reading the batsmen because at this level they are shifting [around], so you can’t really have one stock ball, you have to be creative. That’s the part that comes with experience playing a lot of high quality cricket. If we get to play consistent at this level in two or three years [we can be competitive], but it has to be day in and day out at this level to be able to compete.”Winfield admits she would like to bat higherLauren Winfield has admitted she would like to be higher up England’s batting order but is happy to buy into the team ethos of having deep resources to allow the top order to play with freedom.Winfield has been at No. 8 since the series against Pakistan in Kuala Lumpur late last year, a tactic that has continued into the World Cup, which has raised questions as to whether England are wasting the position which would be better served by an allrounder or a bowler.”It’s obviously a different role,” Winfield said ahead of the match against Pakistan. “I’ve batted a lot at six and seven over the last couple of years in T20 cricket. You can’t hide from the fact that I’d like to be able to contribute more and be higher up the order but the way we’ve set out our batting is to have an extensive line-up to give people that freedom to let themselves go and really play with that positive intent throughout the 20 overs.”If we get into the back overs and we’ve lost wickets we still have batters to come. We need to keep pushing those big totals, making sure we get 150+ as often as we can.”India ‘more balanced’ because of Verma – MandhanaShafali Verma, the big-hitting 16-year-old India opening batter, has grabbed the attention of most people following women’s cricket, and Smriti Mandhana, her partner at the top, can’t stop raving about Verma’s impact.”Shafali has been a huge positive coming into the T20 side,” Mandhana said of the youngster’s 17-ball 39 against Bangladesh. “I used to have a major role in Powerplays, but Shafali is getting quick runs in those first overs now too. She’s made a huge impact and the team has become more balanced thanks to her.”Next up for India are New Zealand, and Lea Tahuhu, the opening bowler, is aware of the Verma threat, and relishing it too.”Personally, I love the thought of facing Verma,” Tahuhu said. “It makes me fire up a little bit more and I’m really looking forward to playing her. I actually played her in the T20 Challenge in India last year and I know she’s not going to take a step back.”Molineux injury frustrating – LanningMeg Lanning has admitted frustration at Sophie Molineux’s extended period on the sidelines at the start of the World Cup as the allrounder takes longer than expected to recover from a corked thigh.Molineux hasn’t played since the final group game of tri-series with England and India and wasn’t available for selection in the first two matches of this tournament. She faces another fitness test ahead of the game against Bangladesh in Canberra on Thursday.”She’s coming along well, she’ll train today and assess how she pulls up from that and see if she’s available for selection,” Lanning said. “It’s a bit of a wait and see, it’s been very frustrating for her and us to not have her available but she’s doing everything she can to get back.”Lanning also said that Ellyse Perry was managing the shoulder that she damaged during the WBBL late last year but that it would not impact her participation in forthcoming matches. “I’m sure there are a few players in this competition who are managing injuries and she’s a professional, she’s dealing with it very well so we’re not expecting anything major out of that.”Winfield at No. 8 gives us security – KnightHeather Knight has defended the make-up of England’s batting line-up, which has seen Tammy Beaumont moved into the middle-order and Lauren Winfield picked as a specialist No. 8 batter.Only Nat Sciver impressed against South Africa with a half-century as England suffered defeat in their opening match, meaning they face must-win matches from here on, but it would appear they will hold fast with their batting game plan.”We have set [order] in our mind that we want to go with, but there will be certain match-ups that we feel will have more impetus – for example someone is better against spin – we have a clear guideline on the starting order and we’ll be flexible from there,” Knight said ahead of the match against Thailand in Canberra. “The one big positive is the depth of our batting line-up, playing eight batters, and they have different skillsets and talent. We obviously didn’t show it the other night but we are determined to turn it around.”On using Winfield, who doesn’t offer any bowling, so low down, Knight said her fielding also comes into the equation.”We feel like another bowler would be wasted, that batter at eight gives us added security. I know she didn’t have a great night the other night, but Lauren is one of the standout fielders for us and at some point we are going to need a batter down at the back end to win us a game and we feel Lauren can do that.”England would never run out a batter backing up – SciverNat Sciver has said that England would never run out an opposing batter backing up after Katherine Brunt declined the chance to do so in their opening defeat against South Africa.With the match on a knife edge in the final over, South Africa needing 7 off 4 balls, Brunt gave Sune Luus a warning when she backed up well out of her crease before Brunt had barely entered her delivery leap. Whether it would have changed the game is up for debate as the ball itself wouldn’t have been counted if the run out had taken place, and next delivery Mignon du Preez launched the six that levelled the scores, but England have made their stance on the matter clear.”She was never going to run her out,” Sciver said. “A bit of drama, isn’t it? I mean one of their bowlers did it to me. I don’t know if she stopped because I moved around and she wanted a bit of a reprieve or she was keeping the other batter in there. I know that none of our team would ever do that. It’s just part of the game, isn’t it?”South Africa allrounder Marizanne Kapp tweeted “fair play from both teams” after the contest with both sides declining the hotly-debated form of dismissal. ‘We know how dangerous she can be’ – Haynes on AtapattuChamari Atapattu is not just Sri Lanka’s greatest woman cricketer, but she has a particular affinity for the Australia bowlers. That 178 not out in the 2017 50-over World Cup remains one of the great innings in the game, while, more recently, she hit her maiden T20I century against the same opponents.Australia are in front of Atapattu again, and this time a big innings from her could well rock the hosts’ T20 World Cup campaign, stuttering as it already is after the opening-day loss to India.”We know how dangerous she can be,” Rachael Haynes said a day off from their game in Perth. “We’ve got ideas on how we want to counter her attack. We’ll plan for her, because she clearly enjoys the ball coming on to the bat at the WACA.”Atapattu is also the only Sri Lankan player to have taken part in the WBBL, and that should help her.”I’ve tended to play my best cricket against Australia, but I try to do that against every team,” she said. “I love playing in these conditions and I love playing under pressure, which I think is why I always score against Australia.”I always say to myself ‘play freely, with courage and be positive’. That’s all it is.”‘We trust our fielding a lot to get us far’ – Thailand’s BoochathamThe seven-wicket margin did show up the gulf between West Indies and newbies Thailand, but for a while, with the favourites at 27 for 3 in their chase of 79, Thailand might have dreamt of a bit of the improbable.”We think our performance will make people take us more seriously,” opener Nattaya Boochatham told the ICC. “We have an aggressive mentality and we know it only takes ten balls to create wickets. That’s the plan we stick to.”We trust our fielding a lot to get us far in the competition. It has given us motivation to do better and show we can compete on the global stage.”That was on show early on in the West Indies innings when Naruemol Chaiwai knocked down the stumps to run Lee-Ann Kirby out, and though a debut win eluded them in Perth, the show against the 2016 T20 world champions would have ensured that none of their remaining opponents take Thailand lightly.‘We love a bit of pressure, that’s fine’ – HealyJust one day into a tournament where they are, or were at least, considered favourites and much is pinned on them reaching the final at the MCG, Australia know they are in a position where they probably can’t afford another mistake.The 17-run defeat against India at the Sydney Showground means they flew to Perth on Saturday chastened and needing to find a balance between reflecting and moving on. The next two matches against Sri Lanka (at the WACA) and Bangladesh (in Canberra) be more comfortable affairs, which leaves the Trans-Tasman clash against New Zealand in Melbourne as a potentially mouth-watering occasion.”We love a bit of pressure, that’s fine,” Alyssa Healy said. “We always talk that you can’t go through this tournament undefeated. Obviously you don’t want to lose the first game, but you often take more out of a loss than a win so we’ll take all the positives and leave the negatives aside, one of the blessings of our crazy schedule is that we don’t have a lot of time to dwell on it.”Australia have never been beaten by Sri Lanka but they have the threat of Chamari Atapattu at the top of the order who takes her game to a new level when playing them. On last year’s tour she scored a T20I and ODI hundred which followed her magnificent unbeaten 178 at the 2017 World Cup.”We aren’t taking any team lightly, it’s a really tough pool, and we love that,” Healy said. “Charmari loves facing our attack, has hit us to all parts of the ground the last couple of years. We’ll prepare as best we can, get our plans in place, and if we do that we’ll be okay.”Australia favourites but India no pushover – Mithali RajFormer India captain Mithali Raj has backed the current team to give Australia a run for their money in the opening match of the T20 World Cup in Sydney on Friday.”Australia go in as favourites, but India will be no pushover,” she said in her ICC column. “They have some very talented players and I think it will be a very close, high-scoring game. Both teams have exciting players, particular in the batting units, and it will be a case of whoever can score the runs that their country need on the day.”I do think Australia have the advantage because of their T20 record and have a slightly better chance of winning the first game against India but no matter what, it’s going to be a very exciting way to open the tournament.”Raj, who played 10 Tests, 209 ODIs and 80 T20Is, said that more and more teams were now becoming competitive in the women’s game.”The gap between the top and bottom teams is closing. You can’t go by the practice matches alone, but it does give you a rough indication of how the tournament could play out. Take Sri Lanka beating England for example — there is a possibility that could happen again. When you see these scores, and tight games, there is so much more quality now in the game, even just since the last edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. Teams like Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh can compete too.”Strano replaces Vlaeminck as Australia suffer big blowAustralia have called offspinner Molly Strano into their World Cup squad after it was confirmed that fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck would miss the tournament with a stress injury to her right foot.Vlaeminck reported pain in her foot, with scans revealing a stress response of the third metatarsal and signs of an early stress fracture of the navicular – a bone in the top inner side of the foot.”Tayla has been in brilliant form of late and established herself as one of the premier fast bowlers in international cricket,” Australia coach Matthew Mott said, “No one ever wants to see a player miss a major tournament in these kinds of circumstances, but I have no doubt she will bounce back from this setback and play a leading role in Australian squads for many years to come.””We are fortunate to have great depth across Australian cricket and Molly enters the squad in great form having recently been named the domestic player of the year.”Strano has played five T20Is for Australia having debuted in 2017 and comes into the side off the back of a good season that saw her finish as the leading wicket-taker in the WBBL.Vlaeminck set to miss World CupAustralia fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck looks set to be ruled out of the T20 World Cup after picking up a foot injury just 48 hours before their opening match against India.Vlaeminck, one of the fastest bowlers in the game, was wearing a moon boot during a team function in Sydney on Wednesday afternoon. More information is expected when Australia train at Sydney Showgrounds on Thursday, but team-mates are preparing for the news to not be too good for Vlaeminck, who has previously suffered a torrid injury list and has had two knee reconstructions.”The medical staff are working through [it] but anything that requires a moon boot isn’t overly great,” Ellyse Perry said. “The whole squad has their fingers and toes crossed for Tay, but I don’t think it’s overly positive.”Vlaeminck, who made her T20I debut during the previous World Cup in the West Indies, took seven wickets in three matches during the recent triangular series with England and India, rattling batters from both sides with her pace which was set to prove a telling point of difference to Australia’s attack.England humbled during warm-up defeatChamari Atapattu inspired her Sri Lanka side to a surprise ten-wicket thrashing of England in both team’s final warm-up game before the tournament. England’s reshuffled batting line-up never got started, with Shashikala Siriwardene and Atapattu taking 4 for 22 and 3 for 21 respectively, before Atapattu crunched a 50-ball 78 to seal a ten-wicket win with 45 balls to spare.Left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone in particular came in for some rough treatment, being hit for three sixes by Atapattu, while Freya Davies and Anya Shrubsole both proved expensive. While the game was not an official T20 international, Sri Lanka have never beaten England in the format, and have won only once in 15 completed ODIs against them, marking this out as a major upset.”It was a disappointing performance, but I’d rather we got it out of the way ahead of the World Cup,” said England’s captain Heather Knight. “Chamari batted really well for Sri Lanka and she just took the game away from us. It might give us a little kick up the backside, which might not be a bad thing.”We’re still in a good place. We’ve played a lot of good cricket over here and we need to take that into our first game against South Africa.”Kulasuriya cleared of serious injuryThere was a scary moment during Sri Lanka’s warm-up match against South Africa in Adelaide on Sunday when Achini Kulasuriya was struck on the head as she misjudged a catch as the two teams practiced a Super Over following the completion of their full game.Kulasuriya lay on the ground for a period of time as she was treated by medical staff before being taken off a stretcher and sent to hospital. However, she was released back to the team hotel later in the day without a serious injury.Speaking at the captain’s day in Sydney on Monday, Chamari Atapattu said Kulasuriya would miss Sri Lanka’s next warm-up match against England tomorrow but is expected to be fit for the start of the tournament itself when Sri Lanka face New Zealand in Perth.

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.

ECB Reporters Network18-Aug-2020Half-centuries for Matt Critchley and Anuj Dal kept Derbyshire top of the Bob Willis Trophy North Group as their clash with fellow pacesetters Yorkshire finished in a draw at Emerald Headingley.Both sides have now won two and drawn their other fixture. With only two games remaining, the race to finish top of the group for potential Lord’s final qualification intensifies.Only the two best-placed group winners from the North, South and Central advance, and Derby have a two-point lead over Yorkshire.While Yorkshire have had the better of a heavily weather-affected fixture which saw 138 overs lost across four days, Derbyshire dominated the second half of the final day when play began at 2.30pm.Replying to Yorkshire’s first-innings 400 for 6 declared, they advanced from 198 for 6 from 70 overs to close on 300 for 7 declared from 107.1.Critchley and Dal frustrated the hosts in impressively calm and assured fashion, sharing 104 for the seventh wicket inside 36 overs. It was Derbyshire’s first ever seventh-wicket century stand achieved in matches at Headingley.The pair came together late on day three, Derbyshire on 174 for 6, with the 201 follow-on target still in doubt. That was passed three balls into the fourth day when Critchley uppishly drove Duanne Olivier for four, securing a first batting bonus point in the process.Batting points two and three were to follow, with the added bonus being that they prevented their hosts from sealing a third bowling point which would have come with taking nine wickets.Critchley and Dal did not encounter too much trouble from the home bowlers in reaching their first fifties of the summer.Critchley was first to that milestone in the final 20 minutes of the afternoon, off 127 balls with five fours. Dal was more positive in reaching his fifty shortly after tea off 86 balls with nine fours.The evening started with 16 overs left to accrue bonus points, and Critchley and Dal began to expand.Yorkshire’s breakthrough came via 19-year-old new-ball seamer Dom Leech when he uprooted Critchley’s off stump, leaving the visitors at 278 for 7 in the 101st over. But when Dal drove Harry Brook through the covers for four to reach 300, the declaration came immediately to end the match.

Wicketkeeper says future looks bright after ODI debuts for Mahika Gaur, Lauren Filer and Maia Bouchier

Valkerie Baynes11-Sep-2023Amy Jones has credited an injection of energy brought by England’s three debutants in their opening ODI against Sri Lanka with turning the hosts’ results around after their disappointing T20I series defeat.Mahika Gaur, the 17-year-old left-armer who played 19 T20Is for UAE before making her England debut during the T20 leg of Sri Lanka’s visit, claimed three wickets upon being handed her maiden ODI cap in Durham on Saturday.Fellow seamer Lauren Filer, meanwhile, had the visitors just as flummoxed by her searing pace as the Australians were during the Ashes Test earlier in the summer. Playing her first ODI at the weekend, 22-year-old Filer also took three wickets, including two in two balls, as England romped home by seven wickets to go 1-0 up in the series.”It feels like youth often brings energy and we’ve seen that with the girls that have come in,” Jones said. “They’ve really brought a buzz around them and just a real excitement to play for England, which we all have, but it just looks a bit different when you’re a bit younger.”They really pick people up around them as well. I think English cricket’s in a great place and to see all this competition for places is only a good thing.”As a player, when you are given opportunities like this, it can put a bit of extra pressure on you, especially as a young player, thinking, ‘when other people come back, am I still going to have a place?’ and it can be very easy to put a lot of pressure on yourself. So it’s been so pleasing how they don’t seem to be feeling the pressure. Whether they are or not, they seem really cool. They’re just enjoying it and it’s reflected in their performances.”Related

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Jones took five catches in the match, becoming the first England wicketkeeper to do so in a women’s ODI, including three off Filer, as Sri Lanka were bundled out for 106 in 30.2 overs.In reply, Tammy Beaumont and Emma Lamb broke the back of the paltry run chase with an opening stand worth 61 runs and 24-year-old batter Maia Bouchier, England’s third ODI debutant for the match having previously played 22 T20Is, struck the winning runs with a boundary off Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu in a run-a-ball 17 not out.”She’s great fun to keep to with that extra pace,” Jones said of Filer. “It was quite a slow wicket, I thought, a bit of bounce but not particularly fast up in Durham, so I was really excited when she came on to bowl and still found the carry and pushed me back a bit further.”With a bowler like Lauren, you just feel like you’re getting a catch every ball. I really enjoy keeping to her and was impressed. She’s got something that not many people have in the pace that she has, so she’s definitely an impact player.Gaur claimed the prize wicket of in-form Athapaththu in her third over and then bowled opener Anushka Sanjeewani with an excellent inswinger to reduce Sri Lanka to 26 for 2 before claiming the final wicket of the innings.”I thought they were great,” Jones said. “Mahika, until this series, I’ve never faced her or kept to her or anything, so it feels like she’s just shot up out of nowhere. But I’ve been so impressed, as has everybody. Something different being a left-hander and her height, but she swings the ball so well and she’s really consistent for a young player too. I’m really excited to see where she can get to in her career.”Jones was also backing her side to maintain their momentum heading into Tuesday’s second ODI in Northampton, followed by the last match in Leicester on Thursday.”There was a big ask for energy going into the 50-over games, having not played the longer format in a while and at the end of the season,” she said. “There was a real focus from Lewy [head coach Jon Lewis] making sure that when we’re in the field, we’re fizzing the ball back to me and we are just showing so much energy and I think that really helped as a focus.”As a group we were really disappointed with how the T20s went. Going into any series, when you go in as favourites especially, you want to get the job done and convincingly as well. So to lose those two games definitely it was disappointing. It was really key for us to put in a good performance in Durham and stamp our authority onto the ODI series.”

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.

Phoenix, Invincibles make new signings after Matthew Fisher, Saqib Mahmood ruled out

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jun-2022Tom Helm and Gus Atkinson have signed contracts in the Hundred for Birmingham Phoenix and Oval Invincibles respectively.Matthew Fisher and Saqib Mahmood, the fast bowlers who made their Test debuts for England in the Caribbean, have both been ruled out of the competition with stress fractures of the lower back, leaving both teams seeking replacements.Phoenix have brought Helm back as Fisher’s replacement. He was expensive for them last year, conceding more than two runs per ball and taking five wickets in seven appearances, but was considered unfortunate to miss out on selection at April’s draft.Related

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• Hasnain, McDermott among picks in Hundred overseas wildcard draft

“Whilst we’re naturally disappointed to lose Matt Fisher, we’re very pleased to have re-signed a talented pace bowler who we know well in Tom Helm,” Craig Flindall, Phoenix’s general manager, said.Helm impressed in the early rounds of the County Championship season for Middlesex this year, bowling with good pace, but took 1 for 56 in four overs in his comeback from a minor injury in the T20 Blast on Thursday night.Atkinson, meanwhile, was an unused member of Southern Brave’s squad last year, signing halfway through the tournament as a replacement. He has not featured for Surrey in the Blast this year due to their seam depth but is highly rated by their management and is likely to play when they lose Reece Topley and Sam Curran to England’s ODI tour to the Netherlands.Each team in the Hundred – both men’s and women’s – signed an extra overseas player in Thursday’s wildcard draft, and men’s teams will add a final domestic wildcard player in early July.