All posts by n8rngtd.top

Jason Kerr says batter suffered “pretty serious” injury when rolling ankle playing football in warm-ups

ESPNcricinfo staff and ECB Reporters Network12-Sep-2024Somerset threw open the County Championship Division One title race by beating leaders Surrey in a thrilling day-four finish at Taunton – but victory came at a cost, with Tom Banton ruled out* of Saturday’s Blast semi-final rematch between the teams after rolling his ankle while playing football.Banton batted at No. 11 in Somerset’s second innings, scoring 46 in a vital last-wicket stand with Craig Overton worth 71. Surrey then collapsed from 95 for 3 to 109 all out in the final session of the game, Somerset securing victory with minutes left in the day to cut the champions’ lead at the top to eight points.Speaking before the extent of Banton’s injury was confirmed, Jason Kerr, Somerset’s head coach, conceded that it was “pretty serious”, adding that James Rew would be added to their squad as wicketkeeping cover.”Tom is an incredible talent, but so is James and we believe he has a bright future in all formats,” Kerr said. “Yesterday was a fantastic day and we need to use the confidence and momentum from that tomorrow. We know that anything can happen in the short format of the game, but the confidence in the group is extremely high and it’s a challenge that we’re all looking forward to.”Aside from Banton, who top-scored with 132 in the first innings, Somerset’s heroes were Archie Vaughan – the son of former England captain, Michael – and Jack Leach. Vaughan, playing only his second first-class match, claimed match figures of 11 for 140, while Leach took 9 for 142.Somerset’s dramatic victory kept them in touch with Surrey, the two-time defending champions, and maintained their hopes of winning a domestic treble, having also progressed to the One-Day Cup final later this month.”It was a crazy hour at the end,” Somerset captain, Lewis Gregory, said. “There were periods when not much happened, but the lads hung in there and Jack Leach and Archie Vaughan were fantastic the whole game.”To get a win with only a couple of minutes left in the match was very special. Four-day wins are some of the most pleasing you have as a cricketer because you work so hard for them.”Archie has taken to first-class cricket like a duck to water. The fact that he is more of a batter than a bowler is the really exciting bit and we believe he is going to be very good to watch with the bat over a number of years. If you throw in the off-spin he has bowled in this game, there is a mighty special cricketer developing.”Leachy is a great mate of mine. He has been through a good deal of adversity in his life and not just his cricket career. It’s great to see him back in the England squad and I’m sure he will show what he can do in Pakistan.”The coaches and myself said at the start of the season that we wanted to be in a position to challenge for trophies come September. The fact that we can still win three shows the calibre of players we have in our dressing room.”Although Surrey had their lead at the top cut, they remain in control of their own destiny with two rounds of the Championship to play – a home fixture against Durham and a trip to Chelmsford to play Essex.”We had a concentration lapse for the last hour of the game and it cost us the result,” Surrey head coach, Gareth Batty, said. “It was a very good game of cricket and we played our part in it, but Somerset deservedly take the points.”We are still top of the league and eight points clear. And, while we had a poor hour, there were still lots of positives to take from the game for us.”Archie Vaughan bowled nicely, but it is for Somerset to comment on his performance. It’s a really nice start for the lad and we wish him all the success for the future.”It will stay in the dressing room how we are feeling. We are a very tight unit and we will go into next week incredibly confident that we can do what is required at The Oval.”We meet Somerset again at Finals Day on Saturday. It will be a different format and different colour ball, but both teams have played good cricket in the group stages. There will be a few new faces in the match-ups and we will go again.”*September 13, 4.23pm BST – This story was updated following confirmation of Banton’s omission

Motie and Shepherd picked up three wickets each to set up the game for West Indies; Hope and Carty then did the job with the bat

Himanshu Agrawal29-Jul-20231:23

Jaffer: Suryakumar will probably get one last chance in the third ODI

West Indies beat India in an ODI for the first time since December 2019, the six-wicket win in the second of three games their first after nine defeats in a row. The win helped West Indies level the series 1-1 after losing the first ODI on Thursday.After Gudakesh Motie and Romario Shepherd got three wickets each and Alzarri Joseph picked up two to bowl India – they had rested Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli – out for 181, captain Shai Hope and the inexperienced Keacy Carty took care of the chase, which was completed with more than 13 overs to spare.It was comfortable in the end for West Indies, but didn’t come without its share of hiccups – they slipped from 53 without loss in the ninth over to 91 for 4 after 17, Shardul Thakur the main reason for it. That must have raised India’s hopes, but Hope and Carty ensured smooth sailing after that. Hope scored 63 not out, and put up an unbroken stand of 91 with Carty (48 not out) for the fifth wicket.The pitch in Bridgetown offered grip and turn throughout the game, with the spinners’ economy rate across two innings being 3.89 as against the pace bowlers’ 5.20. However, before Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja tested West Indies’ middle order – Jadeja was fast and flat; Kuldeep was slow while getting more turn – it was Thakur who removed the top three batters in the space of 25 balls to open the game up.Once they got together, Hope and Carty were content to do it in singles after Kuldeep had cleaned Shimron Hetmyer up with one that was quicker and skidded through to hit off stump.1:40

Should Axar Patel have bowled more for India to defend 181?

Carty got to a patient 48 off 65 balls, opening up only after the job was almost done and smashing consecutive boundaries off Hardik Pandya to finish the game off. But the fact that West Indies had only 182 to chase was down to a collective bowling effort, along with a combination of a helpful pitch and refreshing athleticism from the fielders.India, asked to bat at the toss, suffered two collapses of their own. First, from a solid 90 for 0 to a dicey 113 for 5, and then from 146 for 5 to 181 all out. These came either side of a lengthy rain break. West Indies sensed an opportunity in the absence of Rohit and Kohli, and they pounced. It all started in the 17th over, when a full, tossed-up delivery from Motie had Shubman Gill lofting to long-off for 34, his highest score in seven international innings across formats since June.For a change, West Indies also put up an impressive fielding and catching display•AFP/Getty Images

That got West Indies going, and in the 18th over, Alick Athanaze dived to his right at point to send Ishan Kishan back for 55. It was Kishan’s second successive half-century in the series. Two overs later, Shepherd got one to rise sharply at Axar Patel, promoted to No. 4, and he was cramped for room with the ball angling in from around the wicket. Axar tried to drop his gloves, but still ended up tickling to the wicketkeeper.Jayden Seales then got his only wicket of the day when a shoulder-height bouncer to Hardik had him pulling straight to midwicket, before Yannic Cariah foxed the comeback man Sanju Samson with turn and bounce. Landing one on a good length around off stump, Cariah got the legbreak to jump as well as move considerably away from the batter, who edged it to slip.India were sliding, and then came heavy rain. When Suryakumar Yadav and Jadeja added 33 to signal a brief recovery after the stoppage, it seemed like the break had come as a blessing for them. But West Indies seized control again, picking up the last five wickets for just 35 runs.Shepherd pitched short at Jadeja, having him top edge a pull to fine leg in the 32nd over. Motie, getting turn and bounce, had Suryakumar slashing to point after an entertaining 24. Soon after came another moment of spectacular fielding from West Indies, when Carty rushed in and dived forward from deep square leg to send back Umran Malik in the 38th over.Motie wrapped the innings up when he got last man Mukesh Kumar in the 41st, finishing with 3 for 36. As a result, West Indies now have a shot at a first ODI bilateral series win against India since May 2006.

The Australia wicketkeeper will hope to finish his red-ball career with another title next week

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff15-Mar-2024Former Test wicketkeeper Matthew Wade will retire from first-class cricket after playing the Sheffield Shield final for Tasmania.The 36-year-old has announced the title decider starting on Thursday against Western Australia in Perth will be his 166th and final first-class match. Wade opted to delay his arrival at the IPL in order to be available for the Sheffield Shield final.Related

• WA chase historic hat-trick while Tasmania look to break 11-year drought

• Bancroft hospitalised after accident as WA mull a replacement for the final

• 'It's a difficult job' – Gannon prepares for Shield final after a career on the fringe

• Wade to miss start of IPL in order to play Sheffield Shield final

• Sheffield Shield team of the season: Webster, Davies, McAndrew… and who else?

He will continue playing white-ball cricket and is likely to be part of Australia’s squad for the T20 World Cup in June.Hobart-born Wade has won four Shield titles with Victoria, including two as captain, but hasn’t tasted success with his home state.”Firstly, I would like to thank my family, my wife Julia, and kids Winter, Goldie, and Duke, for the sacrifices they have made throughout my career, as I travelled Australia and the world as a red ball cricketer.” Wade said in a statement. “I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenges that the long-form game provides, and although I will continue to play white ball cricket, wearing the baggy green while playing for my country remains a highlight of my career.”I am grateful to all of my team-mates throughout my career, along with Cricket Victoria for providing me with the foundations to grow as a first-class cricketer, and Cricket Tasmania for supporting me in finishing my career as a cricketer in my home state.”Wade played 36 Tests for Australia, averaging 29.87, in a career spanning from 2012 to 2021.He lost his Test wicketkeeping spot to fellow Tasmanian Tim Paine for the 2017-18 Ashes series, but returned to play against England in 2019 where he scored two centuries in the series. He briefly opened the batting for Australia in the 2020-21 series against India.Ahead of the Shield final, he has scored 9183 runs at an average of 40.81 and picked up 463 dismissals in a first-class career that began in 2007.”Red-ball cricket has always been my number one and favourite format,” Wade said at a press conference in Hobart. “What I’m going to miss is sitting down after four days of really grinding it out in a first-class game and having a beer with your teammates. I’ve played franchise leagues around the world and you don’t get that feeling.”Jeff Vaughan, the Tasmania coach, said: “I would like to personally thank and congratulate Matthew for all he has done for Tasmania and Australia in red ball cricket, he was always professional, and never shied away from the contest”While his career with our Shield squad may be coming to an end, we look forward to still having him around our group in white ball cricket for the coming years playing for the Tigers, and in purple for the Hurricanes.Matthew Wade will continue to play for Hobart Hurricanes for at least another two years•Getty Images

“We hope that we can help send him off with a win in the Sheffield Shield Final next week, and we know that he has given his all for our badge every time he played for Tasmania.”Wade told team-mates of his decision before Tasmania’s loss to South Australia in their final Shield game of the regular season, partly citing the effects of back problems which have sidelined him this season. Tasmania had been on track to host the final, but the heavy defeat in that match – and WA’s victory over Victoria – means they will have to travel west.”The last Shield I managed to win was the first time an away team had won in a long time so hopefully I can wind back the clock and get it done again,” he said.Wade has developed into a finisher in the shorter formats in recent years, and posted a match-winning knock in the 2021 T20 World Cup semi-final on Australia’s path to the trophy. He is contracted for another two years with Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL.”I want to be at my best for white-ball cricket, especially BBL,” he said “I feel like the squad we’ve got with the Hurricanes should be, it is spoken about every year…pushing for finals if not contending for titles.”Not playing the longer format of the game will give me an opportunity to get stronger, get in the gym a bit more and have some longevity in that format. I’ve got two years [with Hurricanes] but I’d love to play longer if I could. I feel fresh.”There certainly isn’t [an element of] ‘I’m not playing well enough or I don’t feel I can contribute enough’. It’s more the younger players have managed to shove me out the door.”

His unbeaten 42-ball 87 made light work of Pakistan’s 178 as New Zealand won by seven wickets

Danyal Rasool21-Apr-2024It doesn’t seem to matter who turns up for New Zealand, the series they play in Pakistan invariably turn out to be competitive. After a below-par performance in the second T20I, a Mark Chapman-inspired New Zealand side brushed past Pakistan in the third to level the series 1-1. Chapman finished with an unbeaten 87 off just 42 balls as he made light work of the 178 Pakistan had put up, with New Zealand getting there with ten balls and seven wickets to spare.

Chapman picks up from where he left last April

Chapman was New Zealand’s most impressive performer when a similarly under-strength side visited in April 2023, and had little trouble picking up from where he had left off.Related

• Pakistan slowdown: Babar on the defensive, but Shadab wants more 'impactful innings'

New Zealand had begun brightly with the big-hitting Tim Seifert and Tim Robinson, but lost both in the space of seven balls to Abbas Afridi and Naseem Shah, respectively. At that point, with inexperience to follow and a battery of impressive bowling options for Babar Azam, the chase felt in severe danger of being going off course.But Chapman demonstrated that his ability extended beyond power hitting, as he set about taking apart the dangerous duo of Shadab Khan and Abrar Ahmed. He understood the target wasn’t huge enough to require reckless slogging and manipulated the field to pick boundaries in three successive overs the two bowled. There was a slice of fortune when Naseem fluffed a fairly simple chance off a miscued sweep, and it resulted in the batter going back into his shell for a stray Iftikhar Ahmed over.The reprieve ended up costing Pakistan dearly. Iftikhar was shown no such respect when he came back on, smashed for a huge six back over his head and, as Chapman steered New Zealand towards Pakistan’s total with chanceless inevitability, the flair in his game began to shine through, too. For he wouldn’t just get New Zealand to their target, but land a psychological blow by decimating their two prized fast bowlers.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Shaheen Shah Afridi was the first to bear the brunt, as two boundaries and a six in the 15th over brought the asking rate below nine. Babar brought his ace Naseem back in immediately, but a worse fate awaited him. A carved six, a carved four, a straight six, and a pulled four. That’s how his first four balls went in a 23-run over, plunging the required rate to under a run a ball.It’s perhaps obligatory to say at this point that Dean Foxcroft was an able understudy, but in truth, this was a one-man chase. Just two boundaries came off Foxcroft’s bat in a 117-run partnership, and while Foxcroft struggled to keep his strike rate over 100, Chapman finished at more than double that. Pakistan will rightly reflect on the quality of their death bowling, but the fact that all it took was a solo effort to hunt down what they managed raises the question about the adequacy of that first-innings total.

New Zealand bowlers stymie Pakistan’s progress

Pakistan were put in to bat on a pitch Babar said was the typical batting-friendly strip Rawalpindi is known for, in stark contrast to Saturday’s surface. But the approach Pakistan took to setting a target was muddled at best. Saim Ayub got the side off to his trademark flyer, but in Zak Foulkes, Ish Sodhi and Will O’Rourke, New Zealand kept finding bowlers to sneak in tight overs and stymie Pakistan’s momentum.That was especially true once Ayub fell, and Babar and Mohammad Rizwan came together two balls after the powerplay ended. Overs six to 11 saw New Zealand allow just 36 runs as the momentum Pakistan had built faded, with Rizwan, in particular, unable to find the gaps he so cannily does in the powerplay. He would go off shortly after with a hamstring injury, while captain Michael Bracewell coaxed a false shot from Babar to send him on his way.Shadab Khan scored a quick 20-ball 41 to lift Pakistan•Associated Press

Shadab provides impetus to the innings

Pakistan meandered for another couple of overs, and it was Shadab Khan’s introduction that injected purpose into the innings. By now, the run rate had slipped to 8.07, but a couple of boundaries off his first four balls set the wheels in motion for an innings where he flew to 41 off 20. Alongside Irfan Khan, Pakistan began to blast their way back towards a competitive total. Perhaps cruelly for New Zealand, it was Bracewell, whose overs had reined Pakistan in so, who took the greatest hit during that whirlwind partnership as the pair smashed his final over for 19 runs.Once more, though, New Zealand found a way to have the final say, with Jacob Duffy and Foulkes managing a pair of tight final overs that kept Pakistan below 180. Pakistan might have felt it was enough against an enfeebled New Zealand side, but as is often the case in T20 cricket, there are few hiding places for below-par totals.

Australia’s No. 3 was happy to acknowledge Broad won the early round

Andrew McGlashan26-Jun-2023Marnus Labuschagne believes the slowness of the Edgbaston pitch played a part in him being drawn into twice edging Stuart Broad during the first Ashes Test but while he is looking at some technical adjustments it isn’t something he will dwell on for long.Labuschagne nicked deliveries outside off stump in both innings – the first against the outswinger Broad said he developed especially for him and Steven Smith – with Australia’s batting coach Michael Di Venuto saying he had never seen that happen before.Labuschagne netted extensively at Lord’s over the weekend in preparation for the second Test which starts on Wednesday, at the venue where his Test career took off in 2019, with the Sunday session watched by Ricky Ponting, the pair sharing the occasional word.Related

• Cummins and Australia will stay true to their approach

• Root snatches World No. 1 status from Labuschagne in Test batting rankings

• 'An appetising thought' – Australia's warning after Labuschagne and Smith's lean Test

• 'Hopefully he is back on track' – Labuschagne works to overcome technical glitch

• The permanence of Nathan Lyon: a special century beckons at Lord's

While he did not want to divulge everything he had learnt from his twin dismissals, Labuschagne put some of it down to the conditions although did suggest Broad may have out-thought him in the first innings.”When you get out first ball you just throw it in the bag. Potentially I thought that they were going to come straight and then he got a nice ball that swung in the right area,” he said. “With a lack of bounce at Edgbaston, it sucks you in to thinking you can hit the ball a bit more and I just made a few poor decisions [against balls] that were really wide. They’d be eighth or ninth stump, some of those deliveries.”They were very uncharacteristic dismissals to how I’ve usually played, that’s why I was pretty frustrated with myself to get out that way and asked myself the question, ‘why did I play at those deliveries?’.”I’ve come up with my own summation of what that is. Now it’s if there’s anything I can do tactically or technically to make sure it doesn’t happen again. It’s a rarity that I’d play at those balls so it’s not something I’m going to overthink, but I hold myself to a much higher standard than those dismissals.”Labuschagne was happy to acknowledge the skill of Broad for having the better of him in the first Test. The only previous occasion he had been dismissed by him was the bizarre occasion when he walked across his stumps in Hobart and ended up flat in the crease.”He’s 2 and 0 now so he’s done his homework,” Labuschagne said. “That first [and only] ball I got in the first innings was a very nice ball. I haven’t faced Stuart Broad where he’s really been able to swing it away. He usually angles in, and that one definitely swung.”First ball, most of the time you just play and miss at that then you go ‘okay’, you can make the adjustments out there. I said this about [R] Ashwin, guys who take the time to do the homework, understand the game, and work out how they’re going to get certain guys out, I’ve got so much respect for them so if they’re putting the time and effort in and it pays off, that’s a credit to them.”On the flip side, Labuschagne was confident that he has the body of work to show he can respond to the challenge, which his batting coach Neil D’Costa had earlier told ESPNcricinfo was part of the “arm wrestle” that everyone enjoyed watching in Test cricket.”I’ve tried to make my game as adaptable as possible, so I don’t have one way of batting,” he said. “Some people play their whole career and bat one certain way and have one method that works… I’m always working on my game and working on my technique to think of ways I can score runs.”

The former Mumbai captain represented the state in first-class cricket for over a decade in the 1960s and 70s but is best remembered as a Mumbai selector and administrator

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Feb-2025Milind Rege, the former Mumbai captain, died of a heart attack on Wednesday just days after turning 76.Rege took 126 wickets with his offbreaks in 52 first-class matches between 1966-67 and 1977-78. He also scored 1532 runs at an average of 23.56 in those games. After his playing career, Rege was associated with Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) in various capacities, including selector and chief of selector in separate stints.He was one of the Mumbai selectors when a young Sachin Tendulkar was added to the Ranji Trophy squad in 1988. In 2006, he backed Mumbai’s use of a video analyst in domestic cricket, one of the earliest to use the then-fledgling tool in the sport.