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There may be concern that the rest of the batsmen – notably Martin Guptill who needed 24 balls to make only 22 – had left their work only half done

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Aug-2019The last time we saw Colin Munro, he was struggling to keep his place in the New Zealand side, eventually elbowed out as they went into the World Cup final on the back of several hair-raising finishes. The team wanted fast starts. He couldn’t provide them. Someone else took his place. Simple logic. And yet it never applies in T20 cricket because somehow the left-hander just raises his game when it’s shrunk like that.Munro produced another vintage show in Katunayake ahead of the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, hitting 48 off 27 balls and having to retire out so that the others could have a bit of fun. By then, he’d been responsible for nearly 70% of the New Zealanders’ total and had put them comfortably ahead of the game. That luxury eventually proved a necessity because, having opted to bat, the visitors slipped from 69 for 0 to 84 for 3 as legspinner Wanindu Hasaranga gave them a reminder of the kind of problems they will face when the T20I series begins in Kandy on Sunday.Ross Taylor was able to shore up the batting, scoring 43 brisk runs before he too retired, but there may be concern that the rest of the batsmen – notably Martin Guptill who needed 24 balls to make only 22 – had left their work only half done.The bowling, however, was top notch. Four of the six men that the captain Tim Southee used conceded less than six runs an over, including himself. Scott Kuggeleijn did the most damage, picking up three of the first four wickets to fall, by which time the Sri Lankan Board President’s XI had only made 37 runs in 8.1 overs, effectively ending the contest.Ish Sodhi had some fun with the tail, picking up 3 for 43. There was still good news for Sri Lanka despite the loss with Nuwan Pradeep playing his first competitive game since leaving the World Cup with chicken pox. The fast bowler took the new ball and sent down two overs for 18 runs. Other notable performers for the hosts included Kasun Rajitha, who picked up 1 for 23 and Dasun Shanaka who gave a glimpse of his big-hitting ability with an 11-ball 25 that included two fours and two sixes.

England captain Joe Root has urged the top order to focus on turning their form around ahead of the fourth Test at Southampton

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Aug-2018England’s misfiring top order will be tasked with turning things around in the week before the fourth Test starts in Southampton, with captain Joe Root highlighting the example shown by Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes at Trent Bridge. Buttler scored his maiden Test hundred during a 169-run partnership but it was not enough to prevent England falling to a heavy defeat on the fifth morning, leaving them 2-1 up against India with two Tests to play.Facing a notional target of 521, England had slipped to 62 for 4, before Buttler and Stokes showed the application to bat through 57 overs and give the scorecard a measure of respectability. However, England’s hopes of winning the Test and taking an unassailable lead in the series had practically disappeared when they were dismissed for 161 in their first innings.”I think it’s fair to say we very much underperformed in that innings,” Root said to Sky Sports in a post-match interview. “You look at the second innings, that partnership between Jos and Ben, I think that’s a real lesson to our side of how to play Test match cricket. Not the fact that they scored at a slow rate or looked slightly more defensively-minded but the way they adapted to the situation, the way they built that partnership and looked very clear about how they were going to score runs.”For us that’s a really nice thing to see and to learn from and we have to look at that, adapt our own games individually and make sure that when we turn up to Southampton we give ourselves the best chance of getting scores over 400, and do it in the first innings, and try and apply that scoreboard pressure that is so important in Test cricket.”After three Tests against India, only Root among the top four has made a half-century, with openers Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings averaging 16.60 and 18.00 respectively; in eight Tests in 2018, England have not had a centurion at higher than No. 6 in the order. Cook could yet miss the Southampton Test to attend the birth of his third child, but Root defended the openers and said it was up to the batting group as a whole to put bigger totals on the board.”If you look at this series and some of the conditions we’ve played in it’s been very challenging for the top order – and that’s on both sides. It’s very easy to look past that, we’ve got to be quite realistic about things, we’ve got two very good players at the top of the order. We have got time now to go away and look at individually how we’re going to play in these conditions, find our own methods – that’s not just those two guys, I think that’s the whole batting group, and I’m sure we’ll come back with a strong response.”Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes share a laugh•Getty Images

England may need to juggle their batting anyway for the fourth Test, with Jonny Bairstow’s fractured finger putting him in doubt – though Root did not rule out the possibility of him relinquishing the wicketkeeping gloves and playing as a specialist batsman.”It’s very early days, we’ll have to see how that swelling goes down, see how he pulls up,” Root said. “We have got time on our side, over the next couple of days we’ll have a clearer idea of where he’s at, I’m sure he’ll be desperate to play, he’s in fine form and you want guys like him in your side, so it would be great if he pulls up well.”Buttler’s hundred, in his 23rd Test, came after taking over behind the stumps following Bairstow’s injury, and Root was full of praise for his performance, which helped push the game into a fifth day.”People’s perception of Jos is someone who can crash the ball to all areas, and play a very expansive game, but one thing he has got is a great cricket brain, he works out situations very well,” he said. “To be able to go out and do everything you’re talking about in the dressing room and have that performance in the bank will give him a huge amount of confidence. It’s great to see what we all know he’s capable of doing and hopefully it’s just a start for him to go on and score many more hundreds in this format.”Root was also asked about his decision to insert India at the toss. Despite having been bowled out for 107 and 130 in testing conditions at Lord’s, India put on a much-improved display, led by Virat Kohli’s 97, to score 329 and set the game up.”At the toss there was some live grass on the wicket, we’ve been performing extremely well with the ball and saw it as an opportunity to try and get ahead of the game, unfortunately it didn’t quite unfold like that,” Root said. “Potentially we could have bowled slightly fuller and a little bit straighter – but that’s nit-picking, I though India played extremely well, made it very difficult for our seamers to make those early inroads and you have to give them credit for doing that.”

Mohammad Nawaz has been issued a notice of demand to appear before the PCB’s security and vigilance department for possible breaches of the board’s anti-corruption code

ESPNcricinfo staff08-May-2017The scope and span of the PCB’s investigation into corruption allegations continues, with yet another international cricketer called up for questioning, on Monday.The PCB’s security and vigilance department issued a notice of demand to allrounder Mohammad Nawaz as part of its continuing investigations into corruption. Nawaz has been asked to appear before the security and vigilance department in relation to the possible breaches of the PCB’s anti-corruption code.A PCB release said Nawaz was issued a notice “in continuation of its fight against the menace of corruption in cricket”. The notice of demand was issued under Article 4.3 of the PCB Anti Corruption Code. The release also said the PCB would not make further comments due to the “sensitivity of the matters under question”.Article 4.3 says the security and vigilance department can make a written demand to any participant to provide in writing and/or by answering questions in person at an interview with any information that the department believes may be relevant to the investigation.Though the release did not specify as such, the demand to question Nawaz is part of the ongoing fallout from the second season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). It is believed that the PCB is concerned, specifically, about a failure to report a potentially corrupt approach made to the player.The notice now brings to seven the number of players who are either facing charges of corruption, have been banned, or were questioned by the PCB for developments in the PSL. Proceedings against Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif, Nasir Jamshed and Shahzaib Hassan are already underway; Mohammad Irfan has been punished and suspended for a year; Zulfiqar Babar has been questioned as part of investigations and now Nawaz has been summoned.Of particular concern to the PCB will be the fact that other than Jamshed and Shahzaib, all the players have been in and around Pakistan’s international squads. Nawaz rose to prominence after the first PSL last year and was inducted into the limited-overs and Test sides as Pakistan searched desperately for an allrounder.Though he didn’t set the Test scene alight, there were occasional signs that he could equip himself in the shorter formats. He was prominent, rather than spectacular, for Quetta Gladiators this season, though the performances did include a memorable and nerveless final over against Peshawar Zalmi which took his side to the final.He was in Pakistan’s T20 squad for the tour to the Caribbean, though he didn’t play and was somewhat overtaken by Shadab Khan in the race for the allrounder’s slot. He is currently at the NCA in Lahore as part of an ongoing allrounders’ camp the PCB is conducting.

The standard of the County Championship may be higher than ever, but Yorkshire’s captain Andrew Gale says the county will continue to back their own as they bid for a third successive title

George Dobell30-Mar-2016The standard of the County Championship may be higher than ever, but Yorkshire will continue to back their own as they bid for a third successive title.While Surrey and Somerset have recently signed experienced international players – Ravi Rampaul and Yasir Arafat respectively – on Kolpak registrations, Andrew Gale insists Yorkshire have no need for such “panic” despite facing “the hardest year we’ve had”.And Gale, the Yorkshire captain, believes the policy of backing homegrown players breeds confidence in the squad and helps build a team spirit that can prove crucial over the course of a draining season.Yorkshire were without six first-choice players at the start of the 2015 season – all were part of the England squad in the Caribbean – but, over recent seasons, they have made a habit of providing opportunities to young players. Matt Fisher, who made his first-class debut as a 17-year-old, is tipped by Gale to be the breakthrough player of the season, while Alex Lees, aged only 22, is now established as the club’s captain in white ball cricket.”It just says panic stations, really, at this time of the year to go out and sign players,” Gale told ESPNcricinfo.

Andrew Gale on…

David Willey: “His expectations were spelled out to him when he joined the club. He’s not going to be like he was at Northants, the guy we throw the ball to in red-ball cricket whenever we need a wicket. He’s going to have to work hard to get into the side to start with. You need seven, eight or nine front-line seamers to win the Championship. We struggled on flatter wickets last year but I think Willey will give us a different dimension on flatter wickets: he gets reverse swing and bowls the odd bouncer.”
Gary Ballance: “He looks a million dollars. He’s back to the old Gary. He’s got that selfish hunger for runs and that stubbornness about his batting. He was a little bit bruised after he was dropped by England. Any player that comes back to county cricket after being dropped is bruised for a certain amount of time. His movement looks good. He’s getting his weight back into the ball and hitting it back down the pitch and driving it through extra cover. You know when Gary’s doing that, he’s in a good place. He probably admits himself that he probably got pushed back a bit too far. He’s cleared that technical flaw up. You forget that he’s still pretty young in the scheme of being a Test cricket erand yet he averages close to 50. People wrote him off pretty quickly after that Ashes, but he’ll be back.”

“It’s not something we want to do at Yorkshire. We back our own players. We put a lot of time and effort into our academy and we have a history of bringing players right though from grassroots to Test cricket and that’s the route we will continue to go down.”We missed six players at the start of last season but we don’t see that as a negative. We embrace that. It creates an opportunity for someone else to come in to the side. Lads see that opportunity and want to grasp it.”We think the togetherness of the team and going out with as many Yorkshire men as we can gives us an edge. There is a massive togetherness in that dressing room when players see the likes of Matthew Fisher and Will Rhodes grasp that opportunity. It creates a confidence in the young players that they could be the next cab off the rank. We want to continue to do that.”Winning a third successive title – now named the Specsavers County Championship after a change of sponsor – will not prove easy. Not only is it inevitable that Yorkshire will continue to be hit by more England call-ups, but it appears the standard of the opposition may have improved.For the first time, there are eight Test-hosting grounds in the top division, meaning, as Gale reasons, that each of them has the financial resources to mount a sustained challenge on the title.”I believe it’s the strongest division that I’ve seen for a long time,” Gale said. “You usually get a team who has scraped up. No disrespect to Derbyshire or Worcester, but their aim coming into the season is probably to stay in the first division.”With Surrey and Lancashire coming up, they are probably aiming to win the County Championship. And there is no reason why not: they have the resources compared to a club that’s running on a shoestring.”We believe it’s going to be the hardest year that we’ve had. The division looks as strong as it’s ever been.”Warwickshire will be strong. They’ve as strong a squad as I’ve seen. They have always been strong with their bowling, but have struggled for runs at times. Now they have got Bell and Trott, possibly for most of the season, they will be a good side.”Andrew Gale reasserted Yorkshire’s commitment to player development as they chase a third straight title•Getty Images

But Gale remains positive. With most of their England players back for the opening weeks of the campaign – although Joe Root is likely to be rested for at least the first two rounds of games and Tim Bresnan has an Achilles injury that could keep him out for a month – and David Willey joining to add depth to the bowling, he knows his team have the chance to write themselves into Yorkshire folklore if they pull off a third successive triumph.”We’re confident and positive,” Gale said. “But we can take nothing for granted. We’ve won two championships, but that counts for nothing at the start of the season. But if we win three championships in a row, we’ll go down with the legends of Yorkshire cricket.”

Shane Watson will lead the Australian XI in their two-day tour match against the England Lions in Northampton, with the captain Michael Clarke and vice-captain Brad Haddin both resting from the fixture

Brydon Coverdale15-Aug-2013Shane Watson will lead the Australian XI in their two-day tour match against the England Lions in Northampton, with the captain Michael Clarke and vice-captain Brad Haddin both resting from the fixture.Watson has been passed fit to bat in the match, which starts on Friday, but he will not bowl as he continues to work towards full fitness after suffering pain in his right hip/groin during the fourth Test. However, the Australians are confident Watson will be able to bowl in the final Test at The Oval, which begins next Wednesday.Haddin, Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle have already headed to London to prepare, and Clarke, Chris Rogers and Jackson Bird are the other squad members who will sit out of the Northampton game. That leaves Mitchell Starc and James Faulkner as the only pace bowlers in the team, although the coach Darren Lehmann floated the possibility of wicketkeeper Matthew Wade sending down some seamers if required.Wade bowled his only first-class over during the Hobart Test against Sri Lanka in December and it was impressive, skiddy and quicker than expected. Lehmann said the match would be a good opportunity to get a large amount of overs from spinners Nathan Lyon and Ashton Agar, and also to give the batsmen some time in the middle.”We’ll give them [Agar and Lyon] a decent bowl,” Lehmann said. “You’d be mad not to. It’s a great opportunity to bowl a lot of overs. Steve Smith will bowl a few, you might see Wade or Warner bowl a few. We’ll see how we go.”The thing for us is to just get the batters some time in the middle. We can only bat for a day and bowl for a day. I suppose it’s like a longer training session, if you like, and it’s not first-class. For us it’s still a chance to impress the selectors and perform really well and get to where we want to get to. It’s still important, it’s two long days.”The match will be played to a maximum of 100 overs per side for the first innings.Australian XI Shane Watson (capt), Ashton Agar, Ed Cowan, James Faulkner, Phillip Hughes, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade (wk), David Warner.England Lions Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Gary Ballance, Keith Barker, Jos Buttler, James Harris, Simon Kerrigan, Alex Lees, Liam Plunkett, Ben Stokes.

A round-up of matches on August 14 during the Under-19 World Cup 2012

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Aug-2012New Zealand‘s bowlers overcame a spirited resistance from Afghanistan‘s lower order to seal a thrilling nine-run win at the Kev Hackney Oval in Buderim. This win puts New Zealand at No. 2 in Group B, behind Pakistan, on run-rate, while Afghanistan are at the bottom.New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat, but struggled against the opening bowling duo of Aftab Alam and Sayed Shirzad as they slumped to 20 for 3 in the eighth over. Robert O’Donnell and Henry Walsh then set about rebuilding the innings as both stroked half-centuries. Their 108-run stand for the fourth wicket lifted New Zealand to 128 before Yamin Ahmadzai dismissed Walsh to pick up the first of his four wickets. New Zealand then lost wickets in a heap as Ahmadzai (4 for 35) and Shirzad (4 for 34) combined to restrict them to 198.Afghanistan’s chase started disastrously as New Zealand’s opening bowlers Jacob Duffy and Matthew Quinn reduced them to 26 for 5. However, Afghanistan’s lower order put up a fight – Najibullah Zadran (69) was involved in two half-century stands for the sixth and seventh wicket to lift Afghanistan to 139 for 6 before he was dismissed. No. 8 Afsar Khan (42) held firm as Afghanistan inched closer to the target. They needed 22 runs off the last two overs with three wickets in hand but Quinn and Duffy picked up a wicket each including that of Afsar in the final over as Afghanistan fell nine runs short to give New Zealand a close win.Australia ensured they would finish on top of the table in Group A thanks to a dominant performance against Ireland in Townsville. Ireland captain George Dockrell won the toss and chose to bat, but things didn’t go to plan with the 33-run opening stand between Robin Kelly and Ryan Hunter being the highest partnership of the innings. Fast bowler Alex Gregory got rid of both the openers and the No. 3, Jason van der Merwe. Shane Cassell (3 for 24) and the rest of the attack then ran through the middle order to bowl Ireland out for 129 in the 43rd over. Hunter was the top-scorer for Ireland with 31.It turned out to be a relatively straightforward chase for the hosts, although they were reduced to 45 for 3 at one stage. Captain Will Bosisto (36 not out) combined with Travis Head, who scored a quick 25, and then Sam Hain (26 not out) as the Australians cruised to the target in the 41st over.South Africa completed their second victory in as many games, comprehensively beating Namibia in Brisbane. The 209-run victory was set up by a double-century opening stand between Quinton de Kock and Chad Bowes, both scoring centuries in the process.South Africa chose to bat and the match was taken away from Namibia’s reach in the first 31.5 overs. De Kock and Bowes put on 212 in 191 balls, smacking 24 fours and three sixes between them. Once the stand was broken, none of the other batsmen could get an extended partnership going – Zhivago Groenewald struck with regularity to finish with three wickets, despite going for 85 in nine overs – but quick cameos made sure South Africa powered past 350.Chasing 360, Namibia were never in the match. No one in the line-up managed to get past Pelham Myburgh’s 37, and they could not score at a quick rate either. Namibia were bowled out for 150 in 46 overs – the lower order being cleaned up by offspinner Theunis de Bruyn, who finished with figures of 5-0-20-4.”Chad and I got off to a good start but it was difficult in the morning with a sticky and bouncy wicket,” de Kock said. “We had to work hard for our runs and I’m proud of our achievements today, they were well fought for.”Bowes said his side had gained good momentum ahead of their next game against Sri Lanka tomorrow. The confidence is up and the spirit within the side is high,” Bowes said. “We have a good net run-rate so it will take a little bit of the pressure off going into the game, but we’re ready to give it our best shot.”

Tim Nielsen, the Australia coach, has said he is firmly in support of whatever measures are taken to improve cricket in the country despite the uncertainty over his future

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Aug-2011Tim Nielsen, the Australia coach, has said he is firmly in support of whatever measures are taken to improve cricket in the country despite the uncertainty over his future because of the recommendations made in the Don Argus report.”The review’s been done with the sole purpose of improving and getting Australian cricket back to where we want to be, at No.1, and that’s what we’re all about as a team and especially in my role as coach, that’s what I’m all about,” Nielsen said in Colombo on the eve of the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka. “I’m supportive of this process; I just need some time to ensure that we go through this process and get all the information before we start making too much comment.”The Argus report recommended that the coach’s role be expanded to make him the leader of the overall coaching strategy for Australian cricket. The coach, along with the captain, will also be part of the five-member selection panel. However, it is not certain that Nielsen will be the man to fill the expanded role. Jack Clarke, CA’s chairman, said “in a restructure, you don’t just give someone the job in a new role” but added that Nielsen was welcome to re-apply for the role.”I think the most important thing is it’s been an exhaustive look at how we’re going to get Australian cricket back to where it wants to be, No.1 in all forms of the game,” Nielsen said. “You don’t do that by skirting around the edges and having nice, feel-good looks at things and hoping you’re going to fix things up by doing them the same way. We are 100,000% behind Australia being the best cricket team in the world and we’re going to start that process by winning again tomorrow and pushing on from there.”Michael Clarke, Australia’s Test and ODI captain, said that one of the major aspects of the Argus report was its emphasis on the necessity for an improvement in communication. “The positive from that is it allows the communication between selectors and players to be very clear now,” he said. “It allows me to give the player the consistent feedback the player is probably searching for and to let him know the reasons for his selection or non-selection. It certainly makes me more accountable now and I look forward to the challenge.”Another fallout of the Argus report was the removal of Greg Chappell, the national talent manager, from the selection committee. According to the , Chappell was banned from the Australian dressing room while the team was batting, because he was a disconcerting influence. Clarke, however, said he had no problems with Chappell.”My communications with Greg have been fantastic. He’s been open and honest with me and I’ve been able to do the same back in return,” he said. “My relationship with all the selectors has been fantastic and I’m certain that will continue.”

Heavy monsoon rains in Ahmedabad have submerged the playing surface of Motera, the venue for the first Test between India and New Zealand in November

Cricinfo staff10-Aug-2010Heavy monsoon rains in Ahmedabad have submerged the playing surface of Motera, the venue for the first Test between India and New Zealand in November, raising fears of severe damage to the stadium.Motera had more than 25cm of rainfall over two days, which left the ground water logged.”The entire ground is filled with over six feet of water,” Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA), Rajesh Patel, told . “There are seven heavy-duty pumps removing water from the stadium. We don’t know when the water would be cleared. It is estimated that it would take one more day.”Patel said the loss incurred could amount to between Rs 50,00,000 and Rs 60,00,000. “However, the exact figure could be made only after the water is cleared,” he said. The stadium was refurbished in 2010 after Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi became the GCA president.

Lancashire skittled before hitting back with ball, but visitors have final word with Jennings dismissal

ECB Reporters Network17-Sep-2024Twenty-one wickets fell on the first day of the Vitality County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford where title-chasing Somerset earned just a six-run first-innings lead over Lancashire, who probably need to win this game to avoid relegation.Replying to Lancashire’s 140 on a seam-bowler’s pitch, Somerset made only 146 but then took the vital wicket of Keaton Jennings for 4 as the home side ended a bizarre day on 16 for 1, giving them a lead of ten runs.In the first three hours of of play, Lancashire were dismissed for 140 in 40 overs with Craig Overton and Lewis Gregory picking up four wickets apiece and the only substantial resistance being offered by the home side’s skipper, Jennings, who made 56.However, Lancashire’s seamers operated just as effectively, George Balderson taking 4 for 50 and Tom Bailey 4 for 37 as Somerset took a seemingly paltry lead.Having opted to field, Somerset’s quicker bowlers made good use of an olive-coloured pitch on the edge of the square to take four wickets in the first session. The first batter dismissed was Harry Singh, whose maiden Championship innings ended on 7 when he edged Overton to Tom Lammonby at third slip.Four overs later, Josh Bohannon followed for just 4 when he was beaten by a fine ball from Overton and nicked a catch to wicketkeeper James Rew. Rocky Flintoff was bowled for 7 when he inside-edged an attempted off drive to a ball from Kacey Aldridge into his middle stump and the same bowler took his second wicket in similar fashion when Jennings’s front-foot slash only diverted the ball into his stumps.Three balls previously, Jennings had reached his fifty and three runs off the next delivery from Brett Randell saw him reach 1000 Championship runs for the season. However, his dismissal for 56 left Lancashire on 85 for 4 and Somerset might have been reflecting that things would have been even better for them had not Aldridge dropped Jennings at slip off Overton’s first ball of the game.Things declined rapidly for the home side early in the afternoon session as they lost their next four wickets for one run in 24 balls and their last six for 33 runs in less than an hour’s cricket. Gregory dismissed four of the batters to finish with 4 for 50 and Overton picked up two more to return figures of 4 for 32 from 15 overs.Despite losing Andy Umeed, caught by Jennings off Tom Bailey, to the first ball of their innings, Somerset added 58 runs in relatively untroubled fashion until they lost three wickets in 13 balls just before tea.Archie Vaughan, who made 21, and Tom Kohler-Cadmore were both caught behind off Balderson and those dismissals sandwiched the departure of Lammonby, who pushed forward to Will Williams when he had made 36 and nicked a catch to George Bell at slip.Things got no better for Somerset immediately after tea when Rew became the third batsman to be caught behind by Matty Hurst off Balderson and Rew’s dismissal for 4 was quickly followed by that of Aldridge, who lost his off stump to Balderson when he had made a single, to leave Somerset on 83 for 6.Gregory and Tom Abell inched their side towards Lancashire’s total with a 34-run partnership for the seventh wicket but Bailey had Abell caught behind for 22 and then dismissed Overton and Randell, both leg before wicket, in the space of three deliveries, Overton falling to an outrageous slower ball.Jack Leach then helped Gregory put on a priceless 25 for the last wicket before he was caught behind off Anderson Philip for 13, Hurst taking his fifth catch of the innings.Five overs before the close, Jennings edged Gregory to Andy Umeed at slip and the day ended with Singh and nightwatchman Williams defending stoutly against the Somerset attack.

Greg Barclay has acknowledged that exposure gained from playing top teams regularly has made Associate teams more competitive

Firdose Moonda08-Jul-2023Following Netherlands’ stunning run to the 2023 Men’s World Cup, there are calls from both the Dutch and the ICC for a continuance of the World Cup Super League (WCSL) in some form. The world’s top 13 ODI sides featured in the first edition of the WCSL, which gave Associate teams such as Netherlands the chance to pit themselves against top opposition regularly. Netherlands’ performance in the World Cup Qualifier, as also those of other Associate teams, notably Scotland, has been seen as proof of the WCSL having made these sides more battle-hardened.”I don’t think there is any doubt that the Super League was hugely helpful in terms of a pathway to Associate countries,” Greg Barclay, the ICC chairman, said at a press conference in Harare on Friday. “The fact that you are seeing some of the performances from the Associate members over here, in large part, was due to the fact that they have had the experience of playing teams ranked above where they are.Related

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• De Leede's all-round dazzle puts Netherlands in the ODI World Cup

“It’s a work on. It’s no secret that T20 is in a pretty good place, Test cricket has had a shot in the arm [with the World Test Championship] but maybe we’ve lost our way a little bit in the 50-over format. We need to address both context and relevance and the experience around that. Is that a re-creation of the Super League or something equivalent? I don’t know but I suspect that the answer to that will be yes. We need to do something.”As things stand, the WCSL will not be played during the 2023-2027 ODI cycle, with the participants for the 2027 World Cup to be decided based on rankings. This means there is no imperative for teams to play a set number of ODIs in the next four years (the World Cup Super League made provision for 24 ODIs, in eight series of three matches each), Associate teams are not guaranteed 50-overs cricket against Full Members, which has increased the volume of questions surrounding the relevance of bilateral ODI cricket, which the ICC acknowledges.”We need to make sure one-day cricket continues to have a following,” Barclay said. “It’s running the risk at the moment of having a lot of irrelevancy in terms of the bilateral arrangements that are made.”But how this will be fixed remains unclear. From the information ESPNcricinfo has to date, the Super League is not on the agenda at the ICC’s AGM, which will take place next week, even though the Associate boards will be present and eager to discuss the way forward. Barclay, too, believes that they have a case, especially after the Netherlands’ Qualifier success. “If we accept that we are keeping all three forms of the game then we have got to give the next tier of countries, mainly those high-performing Associates, the opportunity to make sure that they then perform at the top table when they are performing at world events,” he said. “We’ve got 14 teams [qualifying for the World Cup] in the next cycle, so we’ve got to make sure they are competitive and prepared when they get to those events.”A case in point are the Dutch themselves, who, had they not qualified for the World Cup, would have had no fixtures scheduled from the end of the Qualifier until the start of the new World Cup Cricket League 2 next February. Their success at last year’s T20 World Cup, where they advanced to the Super 12s and finished fourth in their six-team group, means they do not have to play in the European Qualifiers for the 2024 T20 World Cup. That means that in peak European summer, Netherlands have an empty calendar and no indication of when they play competitively before or after the ODI World Cup.’If we didn’t play that Super League, we wouldn’t be anywhere near where we are’ – Max O’Dowd•ICC via Getty Images

Opening batter Max O’Dowd described Netherlands as “gutted” at the discontinuance of the WCSL. “It’s just the tough reality that we live in as Associate teams,” he said. “I don’t like the word Associate but us, in that boat, we just don’t get the same cricket. We’re all extremely gutted that the Super League is gone because you can see where we’ve come from to where we are now.”Netherlands won only three of their 24 Super League matches (two against Ireland, who finished 11th, and one over Zimbabwe, who were 12th) and ended the WCSL in last place. But the value they took from playing against Full Members informed how they went about this Qualifier – particularly their approach against spin – and taught them how to build winning habits.”The playing experience was massive. If we didn’t play that Super League, we wouldn’t be anywhere near where we are,” O’Dowd said. “We were in situations so many times where we actually should have won games and then, we created a culture where we gave ourselves permission to win these games. In the past, we were quite happy just getting close against big sides. And now, we know that if we are in a winning position, we should be winning. It doesn’t matter who you’re playing against. That’s been massive for us. The Super League has boosted so many guys’ confidence.”The game against West Indies in June 2022 is one example. Netherlands were 164 for 1 in the 30th over, chasing 309, and lost 9 for 124 to fall short by 20 runs. They were particularly conservative against Akeal Hosein and Hayden Walsh in that game; they rethought their strategy against spin shortly afterwards. Since then, they have developed confidence in their sweep shots, and memorably beat West Indies in this Qualifier.Now, Netherlands will have the opportunity to play against nine other Full Members at the World Cup albeit without knowing when their next chance to play against them will be. Asked what they hope their journey to India will offer other Associates, O’Dowd hoped it could serve as an example that the game should continue growing.”It shows the strength of Associate cricket. The gap between Associate cricket and Full Member nations is dwindling. Three Full Members have missed out on the World Cup,” he said. “I don’t want to sit here and say to other Associates to work harder and all that kind of stuff because I feel that’s a bit degrading. These guys are quality and they know what they need to do to win games. I just hope they can take a bit of inspiration from what we’ve been able to achieve and hopefully going forward, they can do the same.”