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Saeed Ajmal ended with figures of 10-0-37-5 as the Pakistanis secured a seven-run win over Guyana in a closely fought tour match at Bourda

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jul-2013

ScorecardFile photo: Saeed Ajmal took five wickets as the Pakistanis beat Guyana by seven runs•BCCI

Saeed Ajmal ended with figures of 10-0-37-5 as the Pakistanis secured a seven-run win over Guyana in a closely fought tour match at Bourda.Ajmal took the crucial wickets of Narsingh Deonarine and Leon Johnson, and also later struck twice in the 40th over to help the Pakistanis successfully defend their total of 246.Guyana had earlier won the toss and elected to field. The Pakistanis, batting in slightly overcast conditions, reached 12 in three overs before rain briefly stopped play.The game resumed with openers Nasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shehzad dominating the Guyana bowlers, as the pair put on 62 runs for the opening wicket in 14 overs before Jamshed fell for 19 to Veerasammy Permaul. Mohammad Hafeez departed six overs later, hitting one back to Permaul, who accepted the offer low to his right, to leave the Pakistanis at 86 for 2.Shehzad then put up a 30-run partnership with the captain Misbah-ul-Haq, with Shehzad reaching his 50 from 58 balls with six fours. He eventually made a 79-ball 68 which included nine fours, before getting stumped by Anthony Bramble off Devendra Bishoo.Misbah was the next to go, lbw to Steven Jacobs for 22, and when Umar Akmal and Asad Shafiq were both sent back by Bishoo, the Pakistanis were struggling at 160 for 6, with Shahid Afridi and Wahab Riaz at the crease.But the pair delivered a counterpunch, with Afridi hitting both Jacobs and Keon Joseph for sixes. They put on 31 runs for the seventh wicket, before Afridi was caught by Paul Wintz at long-off, when he looked to clear the boundary off Permaul.A late surge from Umar Amin, who hit two fours during his unbeaten 17, took the Pakistanis to a final score of 246 for 9. Permaul was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts, finishing with figures of 10-3-27-3.Guyana began their run chase in poor fashion, as Mohammad Irfan dismissed the openers Trevon Griffith and Bramble within the first five overs. Ramnaresh Sarwan and Johnson revived the innings, putting on 54 runs for the third wicket before Sarwan edged a delivery from Abdur Rehman to Akmal. The hosts began to grow in confidence as Johnson struck Afridi for two fours in one over and then pulled Rehman over wide midwicket for six, taking the team to 138.But Ajmal turned the game around for the Pakistanis, dismissing Johnson for lbw and later removed Assad Fudadin for 11. Deonarine, who hit five fours and two sixes, put up a fight but was eventually bowled by Ajmal for 55.With Guyana needing 77 from their final 10 overs, Jacobs and Bishoo took the fight to the Pakistanis, as they added 41 for the ninth wicket. Ajmal trapped Jacobs lbw for 27 and Ali completed the victory for the Pakistanis, bowling Bishoo for 28.Pakistan will next play the first ODI against West Indies at Providence on Sunday.*July 12, 0932 GMT: Corrected Kamran Akmal reference to Umar Akmal

Jonathan Trott responded diplomatically to questions about Kevin Pietersen’s international retirement and the resting of James Anderson

George Dobell05-Jun-2012Jonathan Trott did not earn his reputation as a cricketer through playing an array of dashing shots, so it should be of little surprise that he took a similarly cautious approach to a tricky off-pitch episode at Edgbaston on Tuesday.Placed in a potentially awkward position – charged with talking to the media a few days after the retirement from limited-overs cricket of Kevin Pietersen and the enforced resting of James Anderson – Trott adopted a characteristically dead bat to all questions in a safety-first display which a generation of bowlers would recognise in an instant. Indeed, had Trott paused the press conference to mark his guard, it would have hardly have seemed incongruous.”You can understand it in a way, but it’s a huge disappointment as well,” Trott said of Pietersen’s decision, thereby ensuring he neither offended Pietersen nor the England team management. “It wasn’t a huge surprise. Kev is his own guy and has to make his own decisions. The team fully support his decision. Whatever he decides to do with his cricketing career is fine.”Trott’s diplomatic response – as admirable as it was sensible – did inadvertently highlight the uneasy truce that pervades within the England camp at present. It will take careful management over the coming months to ensure that the constructive working environment that helped England to No. 1 in the Test and T20I rankings is maintained.A recurring theme of the next 18-months or so will be the schedule. Those members of the squad who play all three formats of the game can expect to spend less than two weeks in the UK between mid-October and April. Those involved in the World Twenty20 will be absent for several weeks before that. Irrespective of the actual amount of cricket the squad play or of the comparison with teams of the past, the fact of the matter is that men with young families – be they players or coaches – are uneasy with those demands.Trott’s situation is somewhat different from Pietersen’s. Trott is not currently in the England T20 side and he did not even enter the draw for the 2012 IPL season. His T20 record is better than might be presumed, too: only five men (Marcus Trescothick, Darren Stevens, Darren Maddy, Murray Goodwin and Owais Shah) have scored more runs in English domestic T20 cricket and none of their averages comes anywhere near Trott’s 39.20. Indeed, no England-qualified player with more than a dozen games behind them has a higher T20 average than Trott, while the 525 runs he scored in the 2009 T20 Cup was a then-record.”Not being involved in T20, you get that little break,” Trott said. “You have to speak to the guys who play all three about how they feel, but I’m really happy with the scheduling for me. It’s really busy but that’s part of being an England cricketer. We’re the only country who play constantly from April through until September and there are always places to go in the winter. It has got a little bit busier, but it’s part and parcel. You have to accept and get on with it.”I didn’t put my name forward for this IPL because I knew the workload. I’d been in international cricket for a year at the point when I did, but you now realise it is a lot of cricket. You make a decision and you’ve got to live with your own decision. Kevin’s made his mind up about what he wants to do and that’s fine. The guys support and understand the decision he’s made. There’s plenty of talent to come in and take his place. It’s a bit of a blow, but you have to pick yourself up and get on with it.”Kev was playing all three formats and he’s been doing it since 2004, a lot longer than myself. He’ll have his reasons. It is quite strenuous but you accept that when you get selected, you go there knowing what’s ahead of you. From my side, I’ve no complaints about how the schedule has been.”Trott did admit, however, that he could see the logic in rotating players. “It’s happened in the past, and probably will in the future with the schedule getting busier and busier,” he said. “It’s only right that these things happen.”Jimmy Anderson would have liked to have played and quite rightly. He’s the spearhead of our bowling attack, and you can understand that he will probably be a little bit disappointed. But with the bowlers and their heavy workload, it’s going to happen from time to time. But it’s not as if you’re giving away international caps. We have guys who are vying to play and whoever takes his place should do a great job.”

Kent batted out for a forgettable County Championship draw in their rain-affected second division clash with Derbyshire in Canterbury

27-May-2011
ScorecardKent batted out for a forgettable County Championship draw in their rain-affected second division clash with Derbyshire in Canterbury.Kent banked nine points to the visitors’ 11 after Derbyshire opted to extend their overall lead to 364 before declaring on 256 for 4 soon after lunch. Having been set an impossible last-afternoon winning target of 365 from a minimum 58 overs – an asking rate of 6.29 an over – Kent reached 94 for two amongst the rain breaks before shaking hands on a draw at 5pm.Home skipper Rob Key anchored the innings with an unbeaten 59 from 78 balls, his second-best score of the campaign to date, while Martin van Jaarsveld enjoyed a 38-minute net in the middle for an unbeaten 12.The home reply started badly when Joe Denly, back in the side following a three-week lay-off with a fractured thumb, followed his first innings of five with a fifth-ball duck in the second. The right-hander had his middle stump uprooted by a Tim Groenewald off-cutter that darted through the gate.After another break for rain that led to an early tea interval, Kent regrouped through Key and Sam Northeast to add 61 for their second wicket before Northeast, in aiming to leg-glance against Tony Palladino, edged through to the wicketkeeper to fall for 21.The last day started with Derbyshire’s first-innings centurions Wayne Madsen and Usman Khawaja back in tandem as the east midlands side resumed on their overnight score of 85 for one.Khawaja, who will fly home to Australia tonight for his country’s A-team tour of Zimbabwe, reached 36 before he became his side’s first casualty when edging a defensive push against Azhar Mahmood to the wicketkeeper.Madsen, fresh from scoring 140 here during the opening two days, reached 71 from 111 balls before failing to get on top of a cut shot at Neil Saker and picking out Northeast at point. Dan Redfern and Wes Durston then featured in a fourth-wicket stand of 93 in 21.1 overs, each ultimately scoring a 50 from 61 and 88 balls respectively.Redfern went soon after lunch after the left-hander skied a leg-side slog against James Tredwell to make it 236 for four. Luke Sutton’s declaration followed 30 runs on and just after Durston had reached his half-century.

A sterling allround performance by Andre Russell helped West Indies A recover from a treacherous start batting first to deliver a comfortable win against Ireland in Belfast

Cricinfo staff23-Jun-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsA sterling allround performance by Andre Russell helped West Indies A recover from a treacherous start batting first to deliver a comfortable win against Ireland in Belfast.When Devon Smith opted to make first use of the Civil Service Cricket Club pitch, he would not have expected to be reduced to 28 for 4 by the 12th over. But a hard-working middle-order stand between Assad Fudadin and Kevin Stoute changed West Indies A’s fortunes before Russell’s scintillating half-century set up a match-winning total. Russell struck four sixes and six fours to finish on 64 from just 31 balls and take the tourists to 251. It was then left to the bowlers to complete the good work against a shell-shocked Ireland team.In a flash Russell and Gavin Tounge combined to remove openers Gary Wilson and Paul Stirling before adding Rory McCann soon after. David Bernard then saw the back of Kevin O’Brien thanks to a flying catch from Smith, diving to his right. It left Ireland wobbling at 46 for 4 and it was only Andrew White who kept fighting. He was joined by Alex Cusack and the pair added 72 in almost 15 overs to revive Ireland’s hopes. Cusack’s share of the stand was only 15 as White kept going on an ultimately futile mission.He passed his fifty in style, pulling Frudadin for four through square leg but Cusack’s dismissal eventually ushered in the final rites. It was, of course, Russell who made the breakthrough, trapping Cussack in front. John Mooney then fell in similar fashion to Anthony Martin before Russell castled White to end an excellent knock. Russell cleaned up the lower order to finish with 6 for 42 as the tourists finished Ireland off for 201.It could have all been so different for Ireland if not for the 94-run stand for the fifth wicket between Fudadin and Stoute. Beginning slowly they were content to build the partnership by working the ball around and picking off the occasional boundary when available. Stoute was the more positive of the two, and collected the first six of the day when he deposited Albert van der Merwe over the long on boundary. He followed it up two overs later with another handsome drive down the ground and a four three balls later to bring up a crucial fifty off 56-deliveries.Eagleton returned to the attack and struck immediately when Stoute spooned a catch to mid on off to end a match-reviving stand. There was then another minor wobble when Chadwick Walton and David Bernard fell in quick succession but Frudadin stayed strong, anchoring one end while Russell went ballistic at the other.After a careful first 12 balls Russell launched Jones for a six and a four down the ground before repeating the dose to van der Merwe. Somewhere in the carnage Frudadin reached a patient half-century before being run out. In total his innings lasted 101 deliveries – hardly the ‘power hitting’ of contemporary limited-overs cricket but a crucial innings for his side.In the last five overs West Indies A made 63 runs, with Russell banging four fours and two sixes and Gavin Tonge belting four boundaries of his own as the pair added 42 in 27 balls. It was an assault from which Ireland never could recover.

With just 82 to win the Test, Stokes walked out to open in place of the injured Crawley and slammed an unbeaten 57 in 28 balls

Valkerie Baynes28-Jul-2024Mark Wood’s breathtaking post-lunch spell netted him a five-wicket haul and put England on the brink of another comprehensive victory over West Indies, which they sealed inside three days at Edgbaston.Whereas his relentless rockets at Trent Bridge had jaws on the floor but yielded just two wickets for the match, his mastery of a reverse-swinging ball in the hour after lunch accounted for all five remaining West Indies wickets for 19 runs in the space of 39 balls. Wood ended with 5 for 40 from 14 overs, his fifth five-wicket haul in Tests, to add to his 2 for 52 from West Indies’ first innings.Related

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The burst obliterated the efforts of Mikyle Louis and Kavem Hodge, who both scored half-centuries, as West Indies were left with a paltry 81-run lead.The run-chase was perfectly poised for England to Bazball their way to victory, especially with Ben Stokes opening in place Zak Crawley, who had left the ground for scans after injuring his finger while fielding. Stokes struck a staggering 57 off 28 balls as he and Ben Duckett, with 25 off 16, mowed down the target in 7.2 overs without loss for a 3-0 series sweep.England reached fifty off just 26 balls, equalling their team record posted at Trent Bridge. On this occasion, Stokes scored 41 of those runs. Duckett, seemingly tired of playing the supporting role after he was key to the fastest-fifty record in Nottingham, struck four boundaries in one Jason Holder over.Stokes, meanwhile, notched the fastest Test fifty for an England batter and joint third-fastest overall, off just 24 balls, and hit the winning runs, swinging a waist-high full-toss from Kraigg Brathwaite for six through backward square-leg, emphasising the one-sided nature of the series despite some encouraging passages of fight from West Indies.It was Stokes who had initially got the ball reversing in the morning session and he deployed Wood and Gus Atkinson – who had already claimed two wickets for the day – to good effect in the afternoon.Fastest team fifties in Tests•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

With West Indies five wickets down and just 57 runs ahead, Joshua Da Silva hadn’t moved off his lunch-time score of 2 when he was rapped on the pad by a reverse-swinging yorker delivered at 90mph, umpire Adrian Holstock unmoved by Wood’s emphatic appeal and the batter surviving England’s review on umpire’s call. But Da Silva added just three more runs when Wood had him irrefutably out with a full ball moving in past the bat to strike low on the back leg in line with middle stump.A short while later, Wood’s reversing yorker ripped out Alzarri Joseph’s middle stump and West Indies were 162 for 7 with England scenting victory.It was sound justification for Stokes keeping Wood on for a rare sixth over on the trot and the move paid huge dividends with three wickets falling in the over.Wood struck first ball to remove West Indies’ remaining recognised batter, Hodge getting a thick edge on a late-reversing rocket to be caught behind by Jamie Smith.Then Wood sent Jayden Seales’ off stump tumbling for a three-ball duck to continue the procession, which he ended with another late reverse-swinging delivery which Shamar Joseph edged to Harry Brook at second slip.Louis and Hodge had steadied West Indies from 53 for 3 with a 72-run stand off 78 balls for the fourth wicket.Ben Stokes launched the chase after opening in place of the injured Zak Crawley and slammed 57* in 28 balls•AFP/Getty Images

They came together after Shoaib Bashir had accounted for Alick Athanaze, who managed to add ten runs for the day, including a four off Wood through third slip, where Brook got his hands to it but couldn’t hold what would have been a spectacular catch. Five balls after the reprieve, Bashir clipped Athanaze’s front pad with a ball that slid under his attempted sweep.Hodge gave West Indies cause for optimism based on his century at Trent Bride and he delivered with his second Test fifty. He struck back-to-back fours off Wood, one swung through midwicket and the other with a beautiful drive.Louis brought up his half-century with a slog-swept six off Bashir and he helped himself to another maximum off Bashir’s next over, clearing the boundary at long-off.While Stokes was getting the ball to reverse swing, he got Louis fending at one that pitched on a length outside off stump and edging to Crawley at second slip.Crawley was in the same position when he dropped Holder, on 12 at the time, off Stokes, injuring his finger in the process, but Atkinson removed Holder at the end of the next over with an inswinger that struck the front knee roll, the batter’s review failing when ball-tracking ruled it was umpire’s call on hitting leg stump.

Josh Davey half-century barely limits damage of Brett Hutton’s six-wicket haul

David Hopps15-Apr-2023Nottinghamshire 256 and 187 for 6 (Mullaney 29*, Hutton 20*, Siddle 2-26)) lead Somerset 173 (Davey 60, Hutton 6-45) by 270 runsThere is a marvellous Finnish word, ‘kalsarikännit’, which literally means the sort of morbid stay-at-home feeling when you just want to get drunk in your underwear. They may look askance at the suggestion, but aficionados of county cricket are particularly prone to such a mood as they wait for the mental torture of a cricketless winter to end.When the Championship does return, it does so slowly, not as much bursting into life as leaking, the first milky shafts of sunlight taking several weeks to take the chill out of the bones. Outside Trent Bridge, the river was high, the ground squelchy underfoot. Inside, the groundstaff and drainage systems had created miracles (“they’re abandoned at Leicester already,” said a Notts loyalist at 11 o’clock with grim satisfaction).As for the spectators, most could at least now claim to be sober and clad in several protective layers, the period of kalsarikännit once more behind them. “Bring my coat, love, the cricket’s starting again.”Stuart Broad vs Cameron Bancroft was presented as an early skirmish in the Ashes phoney war, but it didn’t really work out like that: Broad bowled 14 balls at Bancroft, conceded five runs, including a filthy long hop that was gratefully cut for four, and then the Australian fell lbw to one from Dane Paterson that swung back. Bancroft second top-scored, but dutiful 27s from 69 balls are not about to ensure his place in Australia’s Ashes party.For all his theatrical oohs and aahs, and for all his white headband flickering behind him with the suggestion that considering such a winning look, artistry was inevitable, Broad finished wicketless after 15 overs. That was despite a bowler’s morning during which Somerset, 28 for 2 overnight, escaped to 173, via the perils of 87 for eight and 117 for nine. They had to thank Josh Davey’s down-to-earth 60 from 66 balls, only his second first-class fifty for Somerset, for keeping the first-innings arrears to 83, but Nottinghamshire tightened their grip in their second innings and their lead of 270 runs with three wickets remaining feels ample.Broad maps out his preparations for an England summer with great deliberation and this is thought to be the first of four matches to get himself in optimum shape. His first excursion since the Wellington Test in late February is best described as exploratory. These days, his careful build-up is a case of needs must. The Ashes series begins a week or so before his 37th birthday, and with James Anderson now 40, England’s opening attack now sounds so venerable that give it a few years and they will have something in common with the crowd. A chat about Grand Theft Auto III is only a few seasons away.Broad will settle for a better outcome than another pre-Ashes match-up involving Bancroft at Sedburgh before the 2019 series when Anderson went in the calf, and only bowled four overs in the series. As for Bancroft, he was dropped after two unproductive Tests.While Broad went unrewarded, the best figures fell to the medium-quick, Brett Hutton, who made the ball talk on an overcast morning and who returned a Nottinghamshire-best six for 45. The mood was set, though, by Dane Paterson, who revels in such responsive Trent Bridge mornings in the way that Andre Adams did before him, and who followed up his successful inswinger to Bancroft by dismissing Tom Abell in the following over with one that seamed away and had him caught, driving, at second slip.Three Somerset batting tyros are missing here, not just Tom Banton, who is recovering from a broken finger, but George Bartlett and Lewis Goldsworthy, who is a bit of a scrapper and, as such, gives their recently brittle line-up a different feel. Steve Davies has also relinquished the gloves to James Rew. Tom Kohler-Cadmore, acquired from Yorkshire, but not steeped in Yorkshire obduracy, is not about to change that nature. He is very much in the adventurous “that’s how I play,” mode, eyes on the shorter formats, and he failed with several forays down the pitch before Hutton had him lbw to straight one.At times, Hutton found prodigious movement, and his dismissal of Lewis Gregory was pure chicanery. There were better balls for Gregory to envisage a lofted blow over long on. What had all the makings of an outswinger suddenly made a hairpin turn and dipped through the gate. It became three wickets in seven balls as another lavish inswinger did for Craig Overton (a touch leg-sideish perhaps) and squeezed one past Rew’s defence to hit off stump.With eight down for 87, the follow-on was still possible, but Somerset righted the ship somewhat, Davey’s resistance ensuring that an extra half-hour was taken before lunch to no avail. Tom Moores also relinquished the gloves – Joe Clarke deputising – after suffering a hand injury collecting a rising delivery from Lyndon James.With a lead of 83, and cloud forecast for Sunday, Nottinghamshire had a sizeable advantage. Peter Siddle took just one ball to silence Ben Duckett at midwicket. Haseeb Hameed’s responsible 34 ended unfortunately at second slip when Gregory forced a deflection of inside edge and pad and the umpires conferred before rightly awarding Kohler-Cadmore a catch. Bancroft’s excellent slip catch removed Ben Slater.When Liam Patterson-White walked out ahead of the injured Moores at No.7, the lead was 209. Somerset had done well to just about stay in the game, although their cause was not helped when Davey limped off with a hamstring injury. There was turn, too, for Jack Leach which will make their fourth innings even harder. Gregory took his ninth wicket of the match when Liam Patterson-White’s thick edge was taken at gully but Hutton and skipper Steven Mullaney batted sensibly through to the close.In an age of instant gratification, Championship over rates get more ponderous. To avoid penalties, official figures are massaged for all sorts of spurious reasons. Somerset are spritelier than many, but by the time, the Grand National began at 5.30pm – 15 minutes late because of a course invasion – there were still 30 overs left. It all drifted to a halt at 7.25pm. If protesters ever glue themselves to the pitch at a county match, nobody will get away before midnight.

He retires as Netherlands’ highest run-getter in T20I cricket, with 1239 runs

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jan-2022Netherlands batter Ben Cooper, 29, has announced his retirement from international cricket.”Today, I announce my retirement from international cricket,” Cooper posted on Twitter. “It has been an absolute honour and privilege to don the oranges and represent the Netherlands for the last eight years.”It’s been a time filled with amazing highs, special moments and tough lows. There’s nothing I would change about it and will look back at my time with very fond memories.”@kncbcricket thank you for the opportunity to live out a childhood dream. To my Netherlands team-mates and coaches (past and present) I thank you all for the amazing memories and couldn’t ask for better people to share the field and change rooms with. I have no doubt the current squad and talent coming through will continue to achieve great things for Dutch cricket.”Cooper, who was born in New South Wales, made his international debut for Netherlands in an ODI in August 2013, against Canada. In all, he played 71 white-ball internationals for Netherlands, scoring 1426 runs. He retires as Netherlands’ highest run-getter in T20I cricket, with 1239 runs at an average of 28.15 and strike rate of just under 125.His last game was at the T20 World Cup in the UAE, where Netherlands failed to qualify for the Super 12s last year. Cooper’s retirement follows that of Ryan Tendoeschate who ended his playing career after the T20 World Cup and switched to coaching.

Westley said squad were “disappointed” they let the incident happen

George Dobell29-Sep-2020Essex captain Tom Westley has issued an apology on behalf of his team following an incident at Lord’s which saw alcohol poured over a young Muslim player.Essex lifted the Bob Willis Trophy on Sunday, triggering scenes of jubilation on the balcony of their dressing room at Lord’s. Amid the photographs of those moments, Feroze Khushi, a 21-year-old batsman who played four games in the group stage of the tournament, is seen grimacing as beer is poured over his head by another young player on the staff. ESPNcricinfo has chosen not to name that player or show photographs which might be deemed incriminating.ALSO READ: Essex admit ‘work needs to be done’ after player pictured pouring alcohol over Muslim team-mateWhile Essex released a statement on Monday admitting the celebrations “did not meet the inclusive values” of the club, they stopped short of offering an apology. Westley, at the end of his first season as captain, has now corrected that and admitted the squad are “disappointed” they let the incident happen and determined to “be more responsible” in future.”On behalf of myself and the team, we would like to apologise for any offence that was caused during our celebrations at Lord’s on Sunday,” Westley said. “At Essex, we believe we have built a strong dressing-room culture that supports one another both on and off the field.”As a group, we have come together today and discussed the event and on reflection, we are disappointed that we let this happen.”Moving forward, the squad will be more responsible and aware of our actions and will continue to learn and develop with the help of the ECB and the PCA.”The incident occurred at a time of great sensitivity towards such issues in the game across the country. Revelations from the likes of Michael Carberry, Azeem Rafiq, Michael Holding and Ebony Rainford-Brent have increased awareness over the struggles of players from BAME communities in the English game and led to an acceptance that the sport has a long way to go in its journey towards full and equal inclusivity.While most observers, including those from the National Asian Cricket and the National Cricket League, agreed the incident at Lord’s was grounded more in ignorance than malice, it will have done nothing to convince those from Muslim communities that the sport is welcoming towards them.Essex’s record in such areas is better than most. No county squad contains more players from a BAME background and the speed with which they produced a statement on Monday compared favourably with Yorkshire’s reluctance to comment following Rafiq’s allegations. Westley’s additional comments underline the impression the club are determined to use the incident as a learning experience in their bid to increase their commitment towards inclusivity.

England v Australia looks set to be a quality encounter with plenty of context – exactly what the World Cup should be about

George Dobell23-Jun-2019Heading into the World Cup, it was England’s batting that was perceived as their strength. It was a reasonable assumption, too, based on a succession of vast scores that had taken them to the No. 1 world ranking.The reputation of their bowling attack was more modest. It looked sound, certainly, but appeared to lack the potential match-winners that studded that batting line-up. It sometimes seemed England were resigned to conceding vast scores, but confident their batsmen could score one more.Now? Well, they have two bowlers in the top five wicket-takers in the World Cup. Their two opening bowlers have delivered the two fastest deliveries of the tournament. And they have two men in the top five of the bowling averages (with a minimum of eight wickets) and four men in the top 14 economy rates (with a minimum of 28 overs). Irrespective of the results – we’ll come on to that – you could make a case arguing they are a stronger, better-balanced side.Key to that improvement has been the emergence of Jofra Archer. Coming from a nation (Barbados) that has an incredible record of developing fast bowlers to a nation (England) with an incredible record of breaking them, his qualification has been received like a starving man coming upon an all you can eat restaurant. His arrival has not only given England’s attack a cutting edge they have lacked for a long time but his partnership with Mark Wood, every bit as quick but shorter and therefore presenting different challenges, has given England a partnership to savour. They have, between them, 27 wickets in this tournament. Wood with 12 (at an average of 16.91 and an economy-rate of 4.75) and Archer with 15 (at an average of 17.93 and an economy-rate of 4.90). Nobody has more than him.Mark Wood celebrates after dismissing Lasith Malinga•Getty Images

Underlining his potency and consistency, Archer has claimed three-wicket hauls in five of the six matches England have played in the tournament. He is dangerous with the new ball, dangerous when he comes back in mid-innings and as good as they have at the death. It is a fine effort for a man new to international cricket.Tuesday offers another ‘first’ for Archer. He has yet to play against Australia in international cricket and he didn’t bowl in the warm-up game against them in Southampton. This will be, then, a first serious introduction to the oldest rivalry in the international game.Not that he is a stranger to many of the opposition. He has played with or against many of them in various T20 leagues and hopes that, despite his inexperience at international level, he can provide some tactical insight to his team. Notably, he and Ben Stokes played alongside Steve Smith at Rajasthan Royals. And while Archer describes Smith as a friend, it is clear that relationship will be shelved until the game is over.”He’s a really good guy,” Archer says of Smith. “Cricket is cricket and I guess there is time to be friends after the game. But until the game is over, there will be nothing friendly about it.”I didn’t bowl at him much in the nets during the IPL. A lot of the guys probably don’t want to face me in the nets. They like the side-arm and the throws.”But when you play with people, you pick up on things you won’t normally notice when you’re just playing against them. So hopefully me and Stokes can get together – I think we might bowl together at some point – as we probably know what to do when he’s in.”We’re pretty up for the game. The guys weren’t too down about the last game. The guys were a bit more surprised than anything. We know that anything can happen on the day and Sri Lanka bowled really well. We just have to try to make wrong things right.”ALSO READ: Langer backs Australia’s under-fire batting gameplansSo, with the bowling attack now offering similar match-winning potential to the batting line-up, why is it that England’s progress is in jeopardy? Well, if this was South Africa we were talking about, you can guarantee the ‘choke’ word would have cropped up by now. And there was something about the nervous fielding at The Oval – a key ingredient in the defeat against Pakistan – and the nervous run-chase at Headingley – a key ingredient in the defeat against Sri Lanka – that supported such a theory. It might be remembered that England suffered an attack of stage fright in the Champions Trophy semi-final of 2017 and, perhaps, in the final of 2013, too.Maybe that’s not surprising. A huge amount has been invested in this England side: they have been charged, among other things, with inspiring a new generation of supporters to the game and reviving the sport in this country. To do that, they are expected not just to win, but to win with style and a smile. All of a sudden, the burden of expectation and hope from a nation that has never won this trophy – and which may well never have another realistic chance – is starting to weigh heavily. In that context, it’s hardly surprising Jason Roy has been sent for a second scan on his hamstring. England are very keen to have him back for Sunday’s match against India.While Archer admits semi-final qualification has become “tighter than we would have liked” he has chosen to interpret England’s current situation as a positive. As he sees it – as the entire camp see it – they no longer have a chance to dwell or dither: they simply have to seize the moment and fling themselves into every match with the positivity and confidence that took them to No. 1 in the rankings. It’s less than a year since they defeated Australia 5-0 in an ODI series, after all, though this Australia looks substantially stronger.”I think this is a chance to really see where our game is,” Archer said. “They’re at the top of the table and more than likely to go through. So if we get through, we should be OK to pretty much win anything. If we could beat them now and then have to play them again we’ll be OK.”We just need to keep playing the cricket we’ve been playing for the last couple of years and we’ll be fine. There is no need to try and change anything after one loss.”He’s probably right. And while this Australia team looks much improved from the one whitewashed last year, England didn’t have Archer in the side then. This looks set to be a high-quality encounter with plenty of context. It is, in short, exactly what the World Cup should be about.

Former South Africa cricketers weigh in after Australia coach labels Newlands crowd behaviour “disgraceful”

Firdose Moonda in Cape Town24-Mar-20181:59

Noise, grumbling and chatter: Everything that’s taking the sheen off a great series

Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith and veteran wicketkeeper Mark Boucher, have hit out at Australia coach Darren Lehmann and his team for calling the Newlands crowd “disgraceful” following the second day’s play of the third Test in Cape Town.At the end of the second day, during which Australia opener David Warner was confronted by a fan as he returned to the changeroom, and 12 other spectators were ejected from the ground for singing distasteful songs about Warner’s wife Candice, Lehmann said the fans had “gone too far,” and had made personal remarks about the Australian players’ partners and wives. Cricket Australia lodged an official complaint with Cricket South Africa, who beefed up security in response.

Zero tolerance to anti-social behaviour by fans – Sutherland

James Sutherland, the CA chief executive, said the chairman David Peever had confronted his opposite number Chris Nenzani over crowd behaviour at Newlands.
“We are extremely disappointed that a small number of fans have directed such offensive and inappropriate behaviour towards our players and members of their families,” Sutherland said. “Our Chairman David Peever, who is in Cape Town, has taken the matter up directly with relevant CSA officials, including President Chris Nenzani.
“We acknowledge that CSA is taking steps to ensure incidents like those yesterday are not repeated and we have encouraged the strongest possible action in response to such behaviour. People who behave in such a manner should not be welcome at cricket grounds anywhere in the world, and together with the ICC and all member countries, we strongly endorse a zero-tolerance approach to anti-social behaviour by fans.”

The only reaction from the South African camp so far was fast bowler Morne Morkel urging fans not to “get out line,” but Smith and Boucher have taken on Lehmann, effectively saying Australian crowds were the same, if not worse.”Correct Darren! Fully agree! But… start cleaning up in your own country first! The personal, racial abuse I’ve witnessed in Aus was ridiculous. U guys don’t live in a glass house! Why the fuss all of a sudden? Seems fine when the shoe is on the other foot,” Boucher tweeted in response to a clip of Lehmann posted by cricket.com.au, an account run by Cricket Australia.Smith responded to Boucher, pointing to the Australia team as a whole. He tweeted: “Absolutely right, and I don’t condone any of it… But blimey I have never seen an Aussie team whinge and whine like this!”Former South Africa spinner Paul Harris also added his voice, tweeting, “I cannot repeat what I was called numerous times in Aus. The personal and racial abuse was really out there. Shouldn’t throw stones in a glass house I say.”
South African players have been subjected to abuse from Australian crowds on several occasions in the past with Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Ashwell Prince, Garnett Kruger and Shaun Pollock all complaining of racial abuse in 2005-06. On South Africa’s most recent tour to Australia in November 2016, a spectator called Hashim Amla a terrorist in graffiti written on a fence at Bellerive Oval. The fan was banned from all Australian grounds for three years. In contrast, none of the fans involved in any incidents during the ongoing Cape Town Test, including the man who confronted Warner, have been banned, and though they were removed from the ground at the time of their indiscretion, they will be allowed back in.Some of the criticism of Lehmann stems from his own history in egging on crowds to act as a 12th man. In 2013, Lehmann said
said his players had called Stuart Broad “everything under the sun,” and hoped “the Australian public give it to him right from the word go for the whole summer and he cries and goes home,” after Broad did not walk when nicking off during the first Ashes Test that summer. Lehmann also called Broad a cheat and was fined 20% of his match fee.Earlier in this series, Quinton de Kock was disciplined – 25% of his match fee and one demerit point – for saying something inappropriate, when he made a comment to Warner about his wife during the Durban Test. De Kock was responding to hours of being sledged by Warner on-field and his jibe prompted an aggressive response from Warner, who had to be physically restrained by his team-mates on the stairwell leading to the players’ changeroom. Warner was charged with and found guilty of a Level 2 offence; he earned three demerit points and was fined 75% fee for his actions.At the time, both captains said the sledging had got personal, though they disagreed about what constituted a personal sledge. For South Africa, comments about physical appearance and weight – which Warner made to de Kock – fall into the category, while Australia regard anything to do with family as personal.Some sections of the South African fan-base have latched onto the idea of shaming the opposition’s other halves and wore masks bearing the face of Sonny-Bill Williams, the rugby player with whom Candice Warner had a liaison several years before marrying Warner, during the St George’s Park Test. Two CSA officials posed with the fans and have since been suspended. The masks have not made an appearance at Newlands, but a Sonny-Bill banner was confiscated on day one and people singing songs about Williams were removed from the stadium on day two.