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The left-hander is looking forward to returning to the Indian squad and partnering with his old friend and captain

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jan-20171:14

Yuvraj’s many limited-overs comebacks

Yuvraj Singh feels MS Dhoni has a lot to contribute to Indian cricket as a player and is looking forward to batting “fearlessly” with his old team-mate on his return.In an interview with , Yuvraj said Dhoni was “extremely good” as captain, but had stepped down at the right time; Dhoni gave up the ODI and T20I captaincy last week.”I think he’s been an extremely good captain for India. We’ve won World Cup and the Champions Trophy under him. We were the No. 1 Test team under him. These are amazing achievements and I’m not sure how many [other] captains have that,” Yuvraj said.”I think he took a very good decision stepping down because I’m sure he felt that it’s [time for] the next guy to take over before the World Cup and I’m sure he saw that in Virat.”He has a lot to contribute as a player in the team. I think he’s gonna play the way he used to. We were both very fearless when we used to play together, so hopefully we can do the same in the upcoming series.”Yuvraj, who was recalled for the upcoming series against England, has spent more than three years out of the Indian ODI team, and hasn’t played an international match since rolling his ankle in a World T20 game against Australia in March 2016. He was picked on the basis of his form in the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy – 672 runs in five matches for Punjab, at an average of 84.00 – and said he had been working on his fitness, especially considering he is now in the mid-30s.”I’ve been working pretty hard on my fitness because as you grow older, you’ve got to work harder on your body. In your mid-30s your body asks for a lot of training and recovery time. I’ve changed my diet completely and I’ve been putting in some extra hours because I need to be careful after what my body went through.”He is also aware that the new captain demands a 100% from his team.”Virat commands [] performance. He’s been very consistent throughout his career, and that consistency and fire has converted him into a very good captain,” he said. “He demands 100% effort from the team and that is the hallmark of a good captain.”He gets better every year – early in his career he got a lot of runs, then he got a lot of hundreds and now in Tests he’s getting double hundreds. I don’t know who else averages more than 50 in all formats. Hopefully he continues that and takes India to the next level.”

Vernon Philander has been ruled out of the ongoing Test series against India after he twisted his left ankle during a warm-up football game in Bangalore

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Nov-2015In a huge blow for South Africa, fast bowler Vernon Philander has been ruled out of the ongoing Test series against India after twisting his left ankle during a warm-up football game in Bangalore. Philander picked up the knock after stepping on Dean Elgar’s foot, and an MRI scan later confirmed that he would be out of action for up to eight weeks.Philander was seen hobbling in visible distress after what AB de Villiers described as a “very freakish accident”. He had to hold on to the shoulders of two members of the support staff, who then carried him back all the way to the dressing room. Following the injury, CSA called up Kyle Abbott, who last played a Test in December 2014, to replace Philander in the squad.”Vernon rolled his left ankle during practice at the stadium in Bengaluru this morning. He was taken to the hospital for an MRI scan which confirmed an ankle ligament tear which will rule him out of the current series against India,” Dr. Mohammed Moosajee, South Africa’s team manager, said.”He will return back to Cape Town this weekend to be assessed by one of Cricket South Africa’s specialists. At this moment it is still too early to tell but he will be out for a period of at least six to eight weeks.”Moosajee said that the main target was to ensure Philander recovered in time for the home Tests against England, starting December 26.”The first Test match against England is six weeks away so it will be a tight schedule to get him ready and rehabilitated to make that Test match. Once he has been assessed back home in Cape Town and a proper programme for physio and rehabilitation has been put into place, we will have a clearer understanding.”Philander has had to contend with the notion that his threat is dulled without help from the conditions, but he was South Africa’s most successful seamer on a dry and dusty Mohali track. His nagging line outside the offstump, troubled the Indians more than Dale Steyn or Kagiso Rabada’s pace. He would have been hoping to demonstrate more of the same under cloudy skies in Bangalore, where he may have been able to extract some movement.Philander also provided South Africa with batting stability down the order. He has four Test fifties to his name and was even deployed as an opener in Mohali as South Africa looked for an innovative solution for batting last on a slow surface. Although both Rabada and Abbott have ability with the bat, neither is as proven at this level as Philander is.Still, South Africa’s main concern will be how Rabada or Abbott fit into their attack. Of the three quicks, Philander was the container. Neither Rabada nor Abbott fit that mould. Furthermore they are two very different kinds of bowlers – Rabada offers pace and Abbott swing. There is some good news for the visitors, though. Morne Morkel is fit again after a quad strain ruled him out of the Mohali Test.So South Africa may have to turn to Simon Harmer to do a holding job and field two specialist spinners for the remainder of the series. That will limit them to six specialist batsmen if they also plan on playing three quicks. If South Africa go the same way as India and play just two seamers. they could add a seventh batsman into their line-up and rely on JP Duminy, who has recovered from injury, Dean Elgar and Stiaan van Zyl to provide part-time bowling options.South Africa will be sweating as well on the fitness of Steyn, whose participation in the Bangalore Test has been in doubt since he sustained a groin strain last week. He underwent a fitness test at the end of Thursday’s training session and had also bowled briefly in the nets in Mohali on Monday, but a CSA release said that a decision on his availability will be taken only after a final test on Friday.

In five overs of high-quality fast bowling, Mitchell Johnson and Lasith Malinga pushed Chris Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan into a corner with accurate, fast and hostile short-pitched bowling

The Report by Sidharth Monga27-Apr-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Can’t quite smack these for sixes•BCCI

In five overs of high-quality fast bowling, easily the best cricket seen in this IPL, Mitchell Johnson and Lasith Malinga pushed Chris Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan into a corner with accurate, fast and hostile short-pitched bowling. The batsmen had been severely restricted; Dhawan Kulkarni and Harbhajan Singh then came on to pin them and consign Royal Challengers Bangalore, the table leaders, to a 58-run defeat.In Royal Challengers’ previous match, Gayle had scored 175 and added 167 runs with Dilshan to encourage superlatives that would have you believe it was impossible to bowl to Gayle. Nobody informed Johnson and Malinga, though. This was a similar pitch to the one in Bangalore where Gayle caused the mayhem. The outfield was similarly small, top edges flew for sixes here too, but unlike the opposition then, Johnson and Malinga had the pace, and they were prepared to bounce Gayle.Gayle likes to bide his time, is unhurried, and plays percentage cricket, seemingly at will. He wasn’t allowed to do any of that. He did play a flat pull early in the chase when Johnson bowled one into the ribs, managing to smack it to deep midwicket for six. Johnson didn’t back off. He placed a deep midwicket, and went back to bouncing Gayle some more. Now he began to get the ball higher.And Malinga, he has never been hit for a six by Gayle in the IPL. He wasn’t about to today. However, Malinga’s first over was dedicated to making life difficult for countryman Tillakaratne Dilshan. One swing-and-miss followed another as Malinga kept swinging the away from Dilshan. At 10 for 0 after two overs, the openers were shaken. Stirring was to begin soon.First came the shot you will rarely ever see Gayle play: the ramp. Johnson got one to bounce disconcertingly towards the throat, and Gayle tried to clear slips with an open face. This one bounced extra, caught the glove, and the lob just about evaded the slips. Dilshan immediately took a single to send Gayle back to face the chin music. Johnson continued with two more bouncers, Gayle pulled at both, but in a different postal code. Beaten by the bounce on both occasions.In the next over, Malinga hit him on the left shoulder, the rear shoulder. This was no slower bouncer, Malinga bowled it like he meant to. He followed it up with a superb yorker. Thankfully Mumbai didn’t back off, as T20 generally encourages teams to do. Johnson got a third over. He beat Gayle with a left-armer’s outswinger. Gayle was caught on the crease, expecting a bouncer. This was more Suresh Raina than Gayle. He was well and truly out of his comfort zone.Gayle did get two fours off mis-hits in that fifth over, but still he was only 17 off 16, and Dilshan 13 off 14. This was a rude shock for Royal Challengers. On came Kulkarni, a lesser bowler of lesser pace playing his first game of the season, but the task for Royal Challengers wasn’t much lesser. Bowling on a pitch he knows as well as the back of his hand, Kulkarni got bounce and away movement, Dilshan went after it, and Johnson completed a special catch at third man. You couldn’t keep Johnson out of action.In the next over, Rohit Sharma introduced Harbhajan Singh, who teased Gayle with flight and slow pace. Gayle slog-swept, got a thick edge, and it took the best of Ambati Rayudu – who had been run out earlier when a bowler inadvertently knocked his bat out of the crease – to take the catch at cow corner. It kicked off wild celebrations, and Harbhajan pulled out an improvised version of Gangnam-style.Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers were too stunned, and followed shortish and wide deliveries and guided them to the keeper. Kulkarni had helped kill the game in the eighth over of the chase. To be fair to Gayle, though, he has been tested before, and he endures those spells even if it means he has to wait for 10 overs. Tonight, though, Mumbai had got the strategy and execution right. They didn’t want to give Gayle that freedom, which usually comes with batting first. And they also put on 194 on the board, which meant the pressure of asking rate accumulated with every bouncer that beat him.The 194 came thanks to a calculated assault by Sachin Tendulkar at the top of the game, followed by Dwayne Smith’s second consecutive half-century, and the hitting by Dinesh Karthik and Kieron Pollard towards the end. Tendulkar cleared the infield well during the Powerplay overs; he tried just that as opposed to going for big sixes in his 13-ball 23. Smith then hit the big sixes. Karthik was industrious in his 43 off 33, and Pollard hit even bigger sixes when he hit 34 off 16.Put together, they set the perfect platform for the fast bowlers, who in turn had evidently grown a leg.

Chennai Super Kings were disappointing with the bat for the second time in three games and their confused running allowed Delhi Daredevils to restrict them to their second-lowest total in the IPL for a comprehensive win

The Report by Abhishek Purohit10-Apr-2012Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSuresh Raina was among four batsmen to be run out•AFP

Chennai Super Kings were disappointing with the bat for the second time in three games and their confused running allowed Delhi Daredevils to restrict them to their second-lowest total in the IPL for a comprehensive win. Three of the first four Super Kings batsmen ran themselves out as neither Daredevils’ bowlers nor their fielders let up on the pressure.Off the first ball of the game, M Vijay responded too eagerly to a call for a single from Faf du Plessis only for the latter to stop after taking a few steps. Vijay was almost at the other end and had no chance of making it back. Such chaos was to be a feature of the innings.
Suresh Raina went too far down the pitch in search of a tight single but could not make it back in time; S Badrinath was to meet a similar fate a couple of overs later.It did not help Super Kings that after hitting three boundaries and looking in fine touch, du Plessis found extra cover off Morne Morkel with another drive. It allowed Daredevils to come back from Irfan Pathan’s second over, the third of the innings, which went for 14. Raina slogged a couple of sixes over the on side before contriving to dismiss himself. The last thing Super Kings wanted was for Daredevils wicketkeeper Naman Ojha to pull off a stunning diving catch off Ravindra Jadeja’s outside edge.With Super Kings struggling on 66 for 5, Daredevils were able to exert even more pressure through their left-arm spinners Roelof van der Merwe and Shahbaz Nadeem. The duo conceded just 24 runs off seven overs between them. Super Kings’ final hope was the pair of Dwayne Bravo and MS Dhoni but they failed to push on after adding 23 in 41 balls. Super Kings’ crawl was summed up by Bravo playing out seven consecutive dot balls against the spinners.After plodding along to 11 off 18, Dhoni could not clear long-on off Morne Morkel as he tried to break free in the 18th over. Bravo followed in the 19th, and Super Kings signed off their innings with one more run-out in the last over.Daredevils’ first wicket, Naman Ojha, was also to fall courtesy a run-out but he had already launched the chase in style with three fours in three balls off Albie Morkel. Virender Sehwag sealed the issue with 33 off 21, including a back-foot punch off Albie Morkel that went for six over deep extra cover.Kevin Pietersen and Mahela Jayawardene had too much class to allow Super Kings a whiff of a comeback as the visitors slumped to their biggest defeat in terms of balls remaining.

Hosts UAE got a second victory, while Bermuda and Namibia secured their first wins, in the second round of matches of the ICC World Cricket League Division Two

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Apr-2011An 118-ball 123 from Shaiman Anwar helped UAE to a 114-run win against Papua New Guinea in the World Cricket League Division Two in Dubai.Coming in after Swapnil Patil fell early, Shaiman helped steer UEA after a middle-order collapse saw them lose three wickets for two runs. It was down to Amjad Ali to provide some resistance at one end while Shaiman blazed at the other. In all he hit 13 fours and five sixes, sharing a 117-run stand with Amjad. After he fell, the lower order dragged the score up to 284 which always looked likely to be enough.In reply, PNG’s Chris Amini started the side off well after the departure of Tony Ura for 7, but tight bowling by the UAE attack saw the side slip to 68 for 5 by the 20th over and the game, despite some spirited lower-order batting, was as good as up. UAE coach Kabir Khan said: “PNG are newcomers. They did succeed in putting pressure on our team, however I think in this case it’s clear that experience prevailed.”

After a disappointing loss to PNG on Friday, Bermuda secured a 69-run win over Hong Kong at the Global Cricket Academy ground. Their match-winning total of 242 for 7 was set up by wicketkeeper Jason Anderson’s unbeaten 106 and a late blitz from Lionel Cann, who struck two sixes in a 35-ball 50. Hong Kong’s reply never got going, with opener Roy Lamsam the only batsman in the top six to pass 20. Captain Najeeb Amar helped to rally the lower order after Hong Kong had slipped to 89 for 6, but once his partnership with Irfan Ahmed had been broken the tail fell in a heap, Rodney Trott and Dion Stovell helping themselves to three wickets apiece with their offspin.”Today we played incredibly well; you always hope that one of your top four batsmen will bat through, creating a platform for a high score,” Bermuda captain David Hemp said. “We played well and we stuck with it. Anderson laid a great foundation for us to keep pushing through while defending a target.”Today we were far more consistent in our bowling: in terms of lines and lengths. We had a superb start, which gave us momentum for our bowling Powerplay. This also ensured that some pressure was relieved off our bowlers; so they could focus on doing their job right. The great beginning meant we gave ourselves a chance to bowl well.”

Kola Burger picked up five wickets as Namibia sealed a comprehensive 205-run victory over Uganda at the Dubai International Cricket stadium.Namibia’s victory was set up by a solid performance from their middle order, after they were sent in to bat. Openers Ewald Steenkamp and Jan-Berrie Burger started steadily adding 40 runs in 12 overs before Deusdedit Muhumuza dismissed Steenkamp. Muhumuza struck again in his very next over, taking a smart return catch to send Jan-Berrie Burger back. Sarel Burger fell on the same score, in the next over, and Namibia looked to be struggling at 42 for 3.However, Craig Williams and Gerrie Snyman combined to wrest the initiative from Uganda with a mammoth 183-run fourth-wicket partnership. Williams, who reached his century off 97 balls, was finally dismissed by Muhumuza in the 46th over. Snyman, who made a half-century in the last match, against UAE, fell 15 runs short of a well-deserved century in the 49th over; his 85 included five fours and four sixes. Louis van der Westhuizen hit some big shots in his 26 as Namibia reached an imposing 272 for 5.Uganda needed a solid start and some big contributions from their batsmen if they were going to make a fist of the chase, but they failed miserably. They lost four wickets within the first six overs with just 16 runs on the board, with Kola Burger picking up three of them. Benjamin Musoke (28) and Lawrence Sematimba (15) – the only two batsmen to reach double figures – tried to offer some resistance, but it was to no avail. Kola Burger picked up two more wickets to end with figures of 5 for 25, his best List A figures, as Uganda slumped to 67 all out in just the 27th over.

The uncapped Hampshire batsman, Michael Lumb, has been named in England’s 15-man squad for the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean next month, while Craig Kieswetter has been named as the sole wicketkeeper in the party

Cricinfo staff31-Mar-2010The uncapped Hampshire batsman, Michael Lumb, has been named in England’s 15-man squad for the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean next month, while Craig Kieswetter has been named as the sole wicketkeeper in the party, ahead of the current Test and ODI incumbent, Matt Prior.There is also a recall for Ravi Bopara, who has not featured for England since last summer’s Ashes but has been starring for Kings XI Punjab in the IPL, as well as the Sussex and former England Lions captain, Michael Yardy, whose slow-left arm spin and innovative middle-order batting could well find a role on the sluggish Caribbean surfaces.”We believe we’ve picked a balanced squad that can meet the needs of the Twenty20 format,” said England’s national selector, Geoff Miller. “Aggressive batting with variation, and strength in depth and various bowling options that accommodate the conditions and surfaces in the West Indies. Our fielding, which is such a vital aspect of limited-overs cricket, has improved markedly and there’s no reason we can’t perform well in what will be a challenging global tournament.”Kieswetter’s inclusion in the squad was telegraphed by his hasty inclusion for England’s recent tour of Bangladesh, on the strength of a matchwinning half-century for England Lions against the senior side in Abu Dhabi back in February. He went on score a maiden ODI hundred in his third appearance for England at Chittagong.”On the recent tour of Bangladesh, Craig Kieswetter showed what he is capable of in international limited-overs cricket and as a wicketkeeper at the top of the order he gives us options down the order,” said Miller. “Craig has improved over time and his selection indicates real competition for places which is only healthy for the England team. Despite missing selection for this format of the game Matt Prior very much remains in the England set-up and a part of our plans.Lumb, meanwhile, has been gaining valuable experience of Twenty20 cricket with Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, and he could well challenge Bopara as Kieswetter’s likely opening partner. “Lumb has consistently performed well in limited-overs cricket for Hampshire and has also impressed during his time in the IPL and with the England Lions,” said Miller. “As a powerful left-hander, Michael adds aggression to our batting and has the ability to complement the rest of the line-up.”On Yardy’s return to the England set-up, Miller commented: “Yardy has also performed at a consistently high level for his county, Sussex, in limited-overs cricket and knows his game inside and out. Both Michael and Ravi Bopara have earned recalls to the England squad after going away and working hard on their cricket with excellent results.”England’s seam attack will be led by the fit-again James Anderson and Stuart Broad, with Tim Bresnan a probable inclusion in the starting XI following an impressive winter. Ajmal Shahzad and Ryan Sidebottom complete the pace department, with Sidebottom’s inclusion something of a surprise following an injury-ravaged winter.Jonathan Trott and Joe Denly, who opened the batting for England in their last Twenty20 international, against Pakistan in Dubai last month, have both been omitted. England are drawn in Group D alongside West Indies and Ireland, and their first match against the hosts will be in Guyana on May 3.Squad Paul Collingwood (capt), James Anderson, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Craig Kieswetter, Michael Lumb, Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen, Ajmal Shahzad, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Luke Wright, Michael Yardy.

The three wickets Rashid Khan took in the chase took him to No. 1 on the wicket-taker’s list in men’s T20Is

Danyal Rasool01-Sep-2025Afghanistan survived a brief scare from Muhammad Waseem to ultimately secure a comfortable 38-run victory, their first of the competition, on Monday. As so often, it was Rashid Khan who led the way for them, his 3 for 21 derailing the UAE at a critical juncture midway through their innings just when they looked to have made a fist of chasing 189. He also became the highest wicket-taker in men’s T20Is in the process.That target was set thanks to half-centuries from Ibrahim Zadran and Sediqullah Atal, whose 84-run partnership put their side on course after the early loss of Rahmanullah Gurbaz. UAE turned in a better bowling performance than they did against Pakistan, with their seam bowlers keeping Afghanistan quiet for the most part through the powerplay and then in phases during the middle overs, but paid the price for losing their discipline at the death. A priceless cameo from Karim Janat in the penultimate over meant 22 runs were added, and helped Afghanistan finish above par.UAE rely so often on Waseem for a realistic shot, and that’s exactly what he provided as he flew out of the blocks. They suffered none of the early difficulties Afghanistan had at the start as they stayed ahead of the asking rate thanks largely to their captain. But it always had the feel of a solo effort, and when he was dismissed, no one could replicate that scoring rate, and Afghanistan had enough on the scoreboard, and with the ball, to make the win look cushier than it once looked.

Early jitters

The pressure was squarely on Afghanistan at the start, having lost the toss and beginning the day at the bottom of the table. That pressure was compounded after Junaid Siddique and Muhammad Rohid got through three tight overs that allowed just 16, before Rohid drew an edge from a struggling Gurbaz to send him on his way. Atal and Ibrahim saw through a further couple of overs with the first five overs of the powerplay decisively going the home side’s way.

Afghanistan turn it around

But UAE introduced seam bowler Saghir Khan for the final over of the powerplay, and the pair saw an opportunity. A slot ball first up was whipped over midwicket, and Saghir’s lengths didn’t improve as the over went on. Afghanistan plundered 18 from it, and it set the partnership on its way.Atal picked his moments through the remainder of the partnership, finding a four or a six just about every over, with Ibrahim cashing in when Dhruv Parashar sent down an errant over. It wasn’t until the Afghanistan 100 was brought up that UAE finally broke the partnership, but with eight overs to go, Afghanistan had the platform they needed to launch.Ibrahim Zadran made 63 in 40 balls•Emirates Cricket Board

Dash at the death

And launch they did. Throughout much of the innings, UAE had held on to Afghanistan’s coattails, making sure they never pulled too far ahead. That faded in the final four overs, though, as the wheels came off for the hosts and Afghanistan’s lower-middle order plundered 49 off the following three overs.Azmatullah Omarzai – whose cameo was pivotal to his side’s acceleration – triggered the gear change with a six over the on side, with Ibrahim matching him later in the over. Omarzai would go after Saghir too, but it was Janat’s takedown of Rohid – who had given away just 12 in his first three and taken two wickets – that took the game out of the UAE’s hands. Two sixes and two fours saw Rohid bleed 22, and though Siddique would follow with a sensational final over, the damage by now had been done.

Rashid triggers implosion

Talismanic captain Waseem had put UAE on course with another excellent display that combined power with timing and judiciousness, keeping up with the asking rate without appearing to take too many risks. There were imperious signs that belligerence would continue unabated when he piledrove Rashid for a straight six over the sight screen in his second over; by the end of the ninth over, they required just over nine with eight wickets still in hand.All of that changed in four deliveries. Waseem miscued one off Sharafudin Ashraf and was gone for a 37-ball 67, leaving Asif Khan to try and repeat the heroics that came in vain against Pakistan.The first ball he faced off Rashid, though, Asif misread the turn, and found his off stump rattled. UAE’s two main attacking threats gone and the asking rate climbing, Rashid sliced through the batting, polishing off Ethan D’Souza and Parashar to finish his spell. By now, the asking rate had climbed to nearly 16, and only an unbeaten half-century from Rahul Chopra, achieved with a six off the game’s final ball, reduced Afghanistan’s margin of victory.

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.”

The entire series, of two Tests and three ODIs, will be played in Karachi now

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Dec-2022The second and final Test between Pakistan and New Zealand, scheduled for a January 3 start in Multan, has been moved to Karachi – and to January 2 – because of poor weather conditions in Multan.As reported by ESPNcricinfo on Friday, talks were on between the two boards to rejig the schedule as severe fog and even smog is expected in Punjab – Multan and Lahore are both in the area – in early January. The PCB noted in a statement on Saturday that the weather in Multan had “already disrupted flight operations and may also potentially result in the loss of playing hours”.The change means that the entire series – two World Test Championship matches and three World Cup Super League ODIs – will now be played in Karachi. The first Test will be played from December 26 to 30, and, with the Test starting a day earlier than expected, the ODIs will now be played on January 9, 11 and 13.Multan hosted the second Test between Pakistan and England in early December, and while there were no visibility-related interruptions then, air quality was notably worse than it was in Rawalpindi, where the first Test was played. At the time, the flight to Multan was, in fact, delayed by almost four hours because of fog, and visibility early in the morning was significantly lower than normal.However, the sun did burn away most of the fog by the time play started, at 10am local time, and there were no delays on that front.Since then, though, Multan has been overcast and that is expected to continue. On several occasions over the past week, the motorway from Lahore to Multan has been closed to traffic for several hours due to foggy conditions.Revised itinerary
December 26 to 30: 1st Test
January 2 to 6: 2nd Test
January 9: 1st ODI
January 11: 2nd ODI
January 13: 3rd ODI

London Spirit coach and another unnamed member of management team go into self-isolation

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Aug-2021 • Updated on 02-Aug-2021Shane Warne, London Spirit’s head coach, and another unnamed member of the management team have gone into isolation after returning positive Covid-19 tests.Warne reported feeling unwell on Sunday morning, ahead of Spirit’s game against Southern Brave at Lord’s. A lateral flow test was positive and he is now awaiting the result of a PCR test. As yet, none of the Spirit playing squad has been affected.Related

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Warne is the second head coach in the men’s competition to test positive for Covid in the first 10 days of the Hundred. Andy Flower, the Trent Rockets head coach, returned a positive test last weekend and has missed his side’s last three fixtures, with Paul Franks stepping into the role. Steven Mullaney, who was deemed a close contact of Flower’s, is the only player in the competition to have been forced to self-isolate as things stand.Warne’s Spirit team were winless in their first three Hundred games, with two defeats and a no-result, and lost their third game of the tournament against Southern Brave on Sunday night by four runs after making a bright start to their run chase. David Ripley, the Northamptonshire head coach and one of the Spirit’s assistants, was acting as head coach in Warne’s absence.”I wouldn’t say it was that disruptive,” Eoin Morgan’s the Spirit’s captain, said of Warne’s absence. “As a coach actually on gameday, there are not a lot of things that you can do. You’ve prepped the team, the side is announced, so everyone is clear in exactly what they need to do and how they need to do it. He was around all day yesterday [Saturday] but obviously we were all social-distancing, so I’d say not a big one at all.”Warne confirmed on Monday that he was suffering mild symptoms and that he had been double-vaccinated against the virus.”Thank u for all the get well messages-they really mean a lot,” he tweeted. “I’ve been double vaccinated so the Covid symptoms are mild, hopefully I will be up & about soon. Still shattered about our second embarrassing loss at Lords last night as we’ve just gifted 2 wins away [sic].”