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West Indies captain Jason Holder said on the eve of the first Test match against India that he was confident in the abilities of the young group he was leading

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Antigua20-Jul-2016Only three members of West Indies’ 13-man squad for the first Test against India have played more than 20 Test matches. Six of them have either played four Tests or fewer, and two are yet to make their debuts. West Indies captain Jason Holder, who has himself played only 13 Tests, said on the eve of the match though that he was confident in the abilities of the young group he was leading.”Most of these guys have performed really well in the domestic competition,” Holder said. “You’ve got young Roston Chase, who’s in the squad for the first time. He averages around 40 in first-class cricket. You’ve got Shane Dowrich, who’s been doing well over the last few seasons. Leon Johnson had a really good season. Those are just a few names who did well back in the first-class competitions. So I think all of them are really eager for an opportunity and I’m very very eager to go into the competition with them.”The players, Holder said, were hungry to make a name for themselves.”I think what motivates this young group is that everyone is trying to make a mark on international scene. It’s a very young team. Many of us are looking at finding our way in international cricket. I think it’s important for the youngsters to just come in, to make their mark and solidify their place in the team, and to make a name for themselves. You know there is a rich legacy in West Indies cricket. Many of the young players are looking to make a legacy for themselves.”A lot of the inexperience in the West Indies team is concentrated in their bowling, following the loss of their long-time new-ball pair of Jerome Taylor and Kemar Roach to retirement and non-selection respectively. Holder said he, as one of the four seamers in the squad, did not feel any specific pressure to step up and lead the bowling attack, but reiterated the need for all the quick bowlers to know their roles and perform them well.”You know, if you look at our side, we’ve got Miguel Cummins who’s come into the side, he’s done really well for the last two seasons in domestic cricket. You’ve got [Shannon] Gabriel, who’s been bowling really well, but has been struggling from injuries. He’s fit and ready to go. Carlos Brathwaite and myself, you know, are the two seamers and we are just looking to do what we’re asked to do.”I think it’s important that each one knows their role. You know Shannon’s obviously a fast and aggressive bowler. Miguel similarly. Myself and Carlos, we’re mainly the workhorses in the unit. You just have to know your role. I don’t think there’s pressure really. Once you know understand your role, you perform your role.”West Indies won the World T20 earlier this year, and were impressive in their recent ODI triangular series that also featured Australia and South Africa, beating both teams in the league stage and reaching the final. They have struggled to match that level of performance in Test cricket, with a number of their star players not featuring in the longest format. Holder said it was important for the team to keep improving steadily, while not expecting too much of them too soon.”You know that’s the ultimate aim [to be equally competitive in all three formats]. We’ve got a young side, and it’s good to see we have some young faces. We’re looking to build something. In the last series we played in Australia, we didn’t start really well. Moving on into the Test series, we got significantly better. All I stress and address with the guys is to keep improving. You can’t expect leaps and bounds, too much from a very young side. Once we get the steady progression in terms of improvement, I think we’ll move forward.”The last time West Indies played in Antigua, in April 2015, they saved a Test match against England courtesy an unbeaten fourth-innings hundred from Holder. Batting remains the second string in Holder’s bow, but in the days leading up to the Test against India, he has batted far more than he has bowled in the nets. Asked about this, he said he preferred to conserve himself for the long spells he often bowls in Test matches.”I’ve played a lot of cricket this year already. As I said, it’s about managing your body to get through a four-match Test series. I am a workhorse, so I don’t particularly like to bowl that much leading into a Test match. I like to save my energy for the Test match because I know I’ll be required to bowl quite a few overs. That’s how my preparation goes in terms of my bowling.”I try to bat a lot because I feel as though I need to pay a lot more attention there. That’s more of my secondary part of my training. I try to work really hard to get my footwork going and my balance going which I feel is the key to my success.”Asked about his team’s preparations to bowl against a batting line-up of India’s quality on pitches that are expected to play on the slower side, Holder reiterated what players and coaches from both sides have already stressed: the need for patience.”The name of Test cricket is discipline, when it comes to bowling,” he said. “Where we fell down in the past is not being as disciplined as we would like. We’ve stressed discipline and being patient for longer periods. We come in and string together a good session but we tend to falter or fall off going deeper into the day. So far, what I’ve seen in the nets I’m really, really pleased. The bowlers look good and we need to transfer that into the game.”

Former Ireland captain Trent Johnston has been appointed interim head coach of New South Wales following the departure of Trevor Bayliss to England

Ger Siggins 19-Jun-2015Former Ireland captain Trent Johnston has been appointed interim head coach of New South Wales following the departure of Trevor Bayliss to England.Johnston, 41, has been an assistant coach at the Blues for the past nine months, and also worked with the youth “Pathways” squad. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for me to taste what it’s like to be head coach of this great organisation”, he said. “We are currently in pre-season, and it’s my job to prepare the squad for the upcoming season.”Johnston is also expected to be a candidate for the job when NSW appoint a full-time head coach. Hailing from Wollongong, Johnston played five first-class games for the state between 1998 and 2000, before moving to Ireland for whom he qualified to play through marriage.He played 97 international matches for Ireland, captaining them to their first World Cup appearance in 2007, where they claimed notable wins over Pakistan and Bangladesh.At the time of his appointment last summer, NSW cricket manager David Moore said, “Trent has an outstanding cricketing background and as a former Blue who has played cricket around the world with Ireland, he will bring a great deal of experience and knowledge to our coaching set-up.”He was a hard-working cricketer who made the most of his abilities and he will bring those qualities to Cricket NSW. We are confident that he will be an invaluable addition to our current group of coaches.”Johnston took up coaching towards the end of his playing career and led Leinster Lightning to four trophies in his two seasons in charge of the Irish province. He also coached the Ireland women’s team at the World T20 and to an excellent victory over Pakistan.

Sreesanth, the India fast bowler, has returned to competitive cricket after more than a year, following a toe injury, and is keen to make the step up from club cricket to the first-class level at the earliest

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Dec-2012Sreesanth, the India fast bowler, has returned to competitive cricket after more than a year out due to a toe injury, and is keen to make the step up from club cricket to the first-class level at the earliest. Sreesanth played two club matches in Kochi over the last week and tweeted that his “rhythm is great and [he is] getting good pace … Will join the Kerala Ranji side soon.”
Sreesanth had started the Ranji season last year but pulled out after just one match to continue his rehabilitation for the toe injury. At that time, he opted against surgery and went for Ayurvedic treatment instead. He had hoped to be fit in time for India’s CB series in Australia earlier this year, and had said at the end of February that he was looking forward to playing again in three weeks.He then travelled with his IPL franchise, Rajasthan Royals, but in May he confirmed that he would be out for at least five months after needing two surgeries on his toes.Sreesanth has 87 wickets from 27 Tests. He last played international cricket during India’s tour of England in 2011, in which he was part of the team for three out of four Tests.

A round-up of the action from the third day of the fifth round of matches from the Ranji Trophy Elite League 2011-12

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-2011

Group A

Former India left-arm spinner Murali Kartik picked up his second five-for of the season to help Railways to an incredible victory by an innings and 94 runs with a day to spare against Uttar Pradesh at the Mohan Meakins Cricket Stadium in Ghaziabad. Having been dismissed for 79, the eighth-lowest total in Ranji history, UP put up more of a fight the second time around, but lost wickets at regular intervals.Sanjay Bangar and Krishnakant Upadyay, Railways’ new-ball bowlers responsible for Uttar Pradesh’s downfall in the first innings, got rid of overnight pair of Bhuvenesh Kumar and Mohammad Kaif before lunch. Kartik, who had bowled just one over in the previous innings, overwhelmed the lower order, picking five of the last six wickets to fall and seal Railways’ first victory of the season. For Uttar Pradesh this was the second time in two years they were beaten at home. If last year it was Haryana, this time Railways enjoyed a hearty laugh at the expense of their hosts.Railways had suffered two huge defeats at the start of the season, but now with this win they have ten points in the bag and will be positive about their knockout chances with two home games against Orissa and Saurashtra. In contrast Uttar Pradesh play favourites Mumbai and Karnataka in the next two rounds. “We did not bat well at all. Now we have our backs to the wall,” Gynanedra Pandey, UP coach, said of his team’s predicament.Saurashtra achieved the enviable honour of inflicting the follow-on for the second time in three years against Mumbai, who finished 220 runs short of their opponent’s first-innings target on the penultimate day. Full report here.An unbroken 185-run partnership for the fifth wicket between Robin Bist and Rashmi Parida kept Rajasthan‘s hopes alive against Punjab. At stumps on the penultimate day the defending champions were 321 for 4 in pursuit of 597 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. They still need another 126 runs to avoid the follow-on and 276 to take the lead.The hosts started the day on a steady note as their most experienced batting pair of Aakash Chopra and Hrishikesh Kanitkar played patiently in the first hour. But immediately after the drinks break Chopra was cleaned up by Birender Sran. At 136 for 4, Rajasthan were in deep trouble but Bist and Parida combined well to quell Punjab’s determined bowling attack, which missed Manpreet Gony, who sat out after bowling 11 overs due to a side strain.The match between Karnataka and Orissa at the East Coast Railway Sports Association in Bhubaneshwar is set for an interesting final day after the visitors finished the third 192 runs ahead with four wickets remaining.Karnataka threatened to pull away at 80 for 1 in their second innings, after taking a 23-run first-innings lead, but diligent bowling on a helpful pitch by Orissa’s bowling attack had the visitors wobbling at 114 for 5. But Amit Verma, who already has a century this season in Mumbai, dug in deep and found support from Sunil Raju, to take Karnataka to 169 for 6. At the start of play Orissa needed 67 runs to take the lead and the eighth-wicket pair of Govind Podder and Basanth Mohanty gave Karnataka pair a scare with a stoic 30-run alliance. But Stuart Binny cleaned up Podder as Orissa eventually managed to add 44 runs to their overnight score of 211 for 7. Binny picked up two wickets on the day, enough to bag his maiden five-for (5-87).

Group B

Ambati Rayudu’s second hundred of the season helped Baroda set Gujarat a daunting target of 365 to win on the last day at the Moti Bagh Stadium in Vadodara.Baroda had ended the second day 43 runs ahead with the match still in the balance. But they took control on the third, thanks to Rayudu’s 105 that helped them 330 in their second innings. Rayudu had to deal with losing partners at fairly regular intervals – the highest partnership of the innings was 77 for the sixth wicket – but kept playing his strokes, maintaining a strike-rate of 77.20 in an innings that contained 18 fours and a six. Gujarat had an opening at 174 for 5, but Shatrunjay Gaekwad and Abhimanyu Chauhan chipped in with 30s to take the match to a position where Baroda look the only likely winners.Six wickets in the day from seamer Yo Mahesh left Tamil Nadu needing six wickets to beat Bengal, who were still 52 runs behind at Eden Gardens. Mahesh took four in Bengal’s first innings, in which they were bowled out for 176 and made to follow-on. He then struck twice early in Bengal’s second innings, sending back both openers. A counterattacking unbeaten half-century from Laxmi Ratan Shukla, his second of the match, gave Bengal some hope but they will have a tough fight on their hands on the final day.Bengal had a horrific start to the day: they slipped from 84 for 2 to 87 for 5 within the first six overs, all three wickets falling to Mahesh. Shukla tried to get Bengal back in the game and hit eight fours and two sixes in his 62 off 59 balls. But wickets kept tumbling at the other end, and Bengal conceded a 215-run first-innings lead.Their second innings was rocked early: they slipped to 8 for 2 before a 64-run stand for the third wicket between Shreevats Goswami and Writam Porel steadied them briefly. The pair was dismissed in quick succession and Bengal were in danger of losing by an innings. Shukla, though, produced his second half-century of the match, reaching 50 not out off 55 balls by stumps. For company, he had Sourav Ganguly, who had taken a more measured approach on the way to 28 not out off 68 balls.A century from Naman Ojha has made Madhya Pradesh favourites to beat Delhi at the Emerald High School Ground in Indore, though three wickets late in the day set up a tense finish. MP needed 59 runs more to snatch a victory with five wickets in hand.It had looked like MP would cruise to the total when Ojha and Devendra Bundela took them to 187 for 2 with a 186-run partnership. However, seamer Rajat Bhatia kept Delhi in the game with three strikes that left MP 240 for 5 at stumps. Ojha and Bundela’s stand came after two wickets had fallen off consecutive balls in the second over of MP’s chase, bowled by Parvinder Awana. Ojha was the aggressor, striking at 72.29 and hitting four sixes in his 107, while Bundela was more patient while scoring 68. Ojha was lucky to get away when on 13, 82 and 96, as Delhi fielded sloppily all through.

A round-up of the latest action from the Metbank Pro40 domestic limited-overs competition in Zimbabwe

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Dec-2010There have been some close finishes between Mashonaland Eagles and Mountaineers in recent times, and Mountaineers’ five-wicket win at Harare Sports Club on Thursday was another keenly-contested match. The momentum swung both ways until the penultimate over, when a burst of strokes from Prosper Utseya saw Mountaineers home with six balls to spare. Nick Compton’s superb century had given Eagles the opportunity for a big score, but the lower middle order gave him precious little support and when Eagles bowled they could not halt the determined Mountaineers from recording another win.Both teams were strengthened by the return of a few of the players that had been on national duty in Bangladesh and Eagles decided to bat on winning the toss in warm, dry, partly cloudy conditions. Tendai Chatara bowled a good opening spell that prevented the big-hitting Cephas Zhuwao from taking charge, and soon had him slashing a catch to the keeper for 6.Eagles’ total of 222, though, was composed almost entirely of the two partnerships that came next, with Compton playing the major part in both. First he added 98 in 19 overs with Simba Gupo, and then 73 in 11 overs with Forster Mutizwa, and while he was at the crease his team looked likely to build a very challenging total.He found the pull shot particularly profitable early in his innings, and settled into orthodox accumulation as the bowlers realised a short-pitched attack would not work. The score passed 100 in the 18th over as Gupo contributed a composed 35 before he was out to a brilliant leaping one-handed catch by Timycen Maruma at long-on.Mutizwa then came in and gave Compton good support in his 29, and the total had reached 183 for 2 in the 33rd over when Compton, who had just reached his hundred, departed to a top-edged sweep. The innings unravelled from that point and in the last seven overs seven wickets fell for 39 runs, with Shingi Masakadza being the main beneficiary, taking four of them for 32 runs in his five overs.Tino Mawoyo and Jonathan Beukes began the Mountaineers innings with great determination against steadily bowling that gave nothing away, Chad Keegan being the tightest of all. The batsmen had to rely on keeping the scores moving with ones and twos, but they did at least keep their wickets intact.They were not parted until the 21st over when Mawoyo, on 43, hit a low return catch to Tino Mutombodzi with the score at 101. The scoring rate slowly began to climb, and with ten overs to go 75 runs were needed – but with eight wickets still in hand, Greg Smith having gone for 13.A critical moment occurred when Beukes, on 61, was dropped off a hard low chance to the fielder on the square-leg boundary. Maruma was threatening to take control when he sliced a hard catch into the covers for 25, quickly followed by Mark Vermeulen for 2.But the balance shifted again as Beukes kept accumulating while Masakadza lashed out with much success. With three overs remaining 17 were needed, and for the first time the required rate was below six an over. At this point Beukes, with a fine 86 off 102 balls, hit a return catch to Innocent Chinyoka and the match was wide open again.Utseya scooped a vital boundary over the keeper, off Douglas Hondo, and then swung another four wide of mid-on, and the 12 required runs were completed from the penultimate over. Mountaineers had won with a final burst and an over to spare, Utseya scoring 11 off five balls and Masakadza 27 off 18. The home side had bowled well and Chinyoka had three wickets to his credit, but the Mountaineers had just enough in the tank to get home.The other match of the day, between Mid West Rhinos and Southern Rocks at Kwekwe, was abandoned without a ball bowled due to rainy weather.

Graeme Swann has crowned a remarkable year, in which he has taken 54 wickets in 11 games, by rocketing to No. 3 in the world rankings, ahead of Muttiah Muralitharan

Cricinfo staff31-Dec-2009Graeme Swann has crowned a remarkable year, in which he has taken 54 wickets in 12 games, by rocketing to No.3 in the world rankings, ahead of Muttiah Muralitharan.His man-of-the-match performance at Kingsmead, where he completed match-figures of 9 for 164, earned him an eight-place jump to the number-three spot, the highest of any England bowler since Steve Harmison was crowned No.1 in August 2004.Stuart Broad, who partnered Swann to condemn South Africa to defeat in Durban with 4 for 43 in the second innings, also gains, up six places to No.7 in the bowling rankings.Not surprisingly, the picture isn’t as rosy for most of South Africa’s bowlers. Under-pressure Makhaya Ntini has slipped four places to eight, after failing to take a wicket in the match while Paul Harris has dropped five places, out of the top ten, to No.12.On a more positive note, Morne Morkel, who has been the biggest threat for South Africa in the series, has gained six places and now sits in 24th position. Dale Steyn has managed to cling on to No.1 spot although he is under pressure from Mitchell Johnson, after Steyn’s mediocre return from injury in Durban.As far as the batting rankings are concerned, Andrew Strauss’s 49-ball 50 has helped him gain four places to joint-13th position, level with Rahul Dravid and AB de Villiers, who drops one place.For a full list of the rankings click here.

Colin Ackermann hits 83 not out, Alex Lees 77 as home side run up 231 for 5

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay04-Jul-2025Colin Ackermann made 83 off 33 balls and Durham made their record T20 score as they returned to Vitality Blast action with a 49-run defeat of Nottinghamshire Outlaws at the Banks Homes Riverside.On a run-stuffed evening in the North East, the home side made 231 for 5 and the visitors replied with 182 all out, Kasey Aldridge, who had only taken two T20 wickets previously, finishing with a career-best 5 for 29 from 2.4 overs. The win is Durham’s fifth in this year’s Blast and clearly strengthens their bid to qualify for the knockout stages.The home openers, Alex Lees and Graham Clark, began in uncompromising fashion, by putting on 70 runs in six overs. They were particularly hard on Olly Stone, who was playing in his first match of the season after recovering from injury and conceded 27 runs in his first two overs.Joe Clarke’s decision to use the spinners, Farhan Ahmed and Calvin Harrison, in tandem slowed the run rate but it was Matthew Montgomery who took the first wicket on 83 when he had Clark caught on the cover boundary by Daniel Sams for a 27-ball 40Nevertheless, Durham’s hundred came up in the 11th over and Lees reached a 34-ball fifty a few deliveries later. By now faced with a battery of slow bowlers that also included Liam Patterson-White, Lees and his partner Ackermann sought to attack at every opportunity.Stone was reintroduced and was whacked for three successive boundaries before gaining his revenge with the next ball when he had the Durham skipper caught by Harrison on the deep backward square leg boundary for a 46-ball 77 that included 11 fours and one six.The dangerous Jimmy Neesham was bowled by Harrison for 3 and Ben McKinney was caught on the long-on boundary by Harrison off Montgomery for 3. Nevertheless, Durham had been well placed on 154 for 3 after 16 overs and despite the loss of three wickets for ten runs, they were able to pillage an astonishing 77 runs in the final four overs.Those efforts were assisted by two no-ball beamers from Sams, which necessitated the Australian being withdrawn from the attack. And the wheels really came off the Nottinghamshire attack in the 19th over when Ackermann smashed 32 runs of Montgomery, reaching a 25-ball fifty in the process.The Durham batsman was eventually caught at deep midwicket by Sams off Harrison but by then he had done the damage, hitting 83 off 33 balls with seven fours and six sixes, all those maximums being scored off the last 11 balls he received. Harrison escaped with the least punishment, taking 2 for 33, but every other visiting bowler conceded at least ten runs an over.Nottinghamshire’s pursuit of their distant target began poorly when Freddie McCann was dismissed off the fourth ball of their innings, caught by Will Rhodes off Callum Parkinson for 5, but the visitors were going well on 37 for 1 after 3.2 overs until Jack Haynes was brilliantly caught by Lees off Aldridge for 14, the Durham skipper running back 20 yards from mid-off to take the steepling chance.But the fall of wickets could make no difference to Outlaws’ approach. Lyndon James hit his first two balls for four and Neesham’s first over cost 19 runs. Nottinghamshire scored 76 runs in their powerplay, six more than their hosts, but their onslaught was halted by Nathan Sowter, who conceded five runs in his first six balls and had James caught at deep midwicket by McKinney for 30.Clarke was the next to go, caught at short third man by Sowter for a 25-ball 41 when attempting to ramp Neesham and the visitors reached the midpoint of their innings on 112 for 4, still needing 120 to win. That task seemed tougher still when Aldridge struck twice in four balls, bowling Moores for 5 and having Patterson-White caught at long off by Rhodes for 8.Parkinson conceded 19 runs off his next over as Outlaws dispensed with any scrap of caution but Sams was bowled by Sowter for 9. With seven overs remaining, 76 runs were still required and that was reduced to 61 off six thanks to Montgomery taking 14 off three deliveries from Parkinson.Aldridge took his fourth wicket when he had Harrison caught at backward point by Clark for 7 and Stone was run out for nought next ball after a complete mix-up. Aldridge completed his career-best figures when he had Montgomery caught behind by Ollie Robinson for 41.

Australia seamer says it isn’t “the be all and end all but it certainly plays a part”

Danyal Rasool24-Dec-2023Pakistan seamers’ lack of express pace in the first Test got plenty of attention at home, and it appears it didn’t go unnoticed by the opposition, either. Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc said “everyone” in their set-up was surprised at Pakistan’s inability to hit higher speeds with the ball, particularly given the side’s reputation for it.”I think everyone was slightly surprised at the lower pace of the Pakistan bowlers, when you’re generally used to some guys getting in the 150s [kph],” Starc said, speaking to media at the MCG two days before the start of the second Test. “I don’t think that pace is the be all and end all but it certainly plays a part and can help.”An injury to Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf opting to make himself unavailable for the Test series against Australia meant Pakistan were limited in the number of high-pace options they had to choose from. Much of that burden fell on Shaheen Shah Afridi, but even his pace has been significantly down from his quickest days since his recovery from a knee injury.During the first Test in Perth, he averaged in the low 130 kph, dropping down to the high 120s in the second innings. The other three seam options Pakistan went with are not express either. Khurram Shahzad bowled at medium-fast speeds throughout the game, and though Aamer Jamal picked up as the match went on, he rarely hit 140 kph. It was in stark contrast to Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Starc, each of whom routinely hit the mid-140s. On a spicy wicket that became even livelier as the game went on, that difference was palpable.Related

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Starc acknowledged that the extra pace wouldn’t be quite as crucial at the MCG. “Case in point, you look at Scotty Boland who can bowl good wheels, but he’s not at your top end of pace bowlers,” he said. “But he generates a lot of sideways movement here in Melbourne, obviously being his home ground. He’s done it for a long time and we saw that obviously against England, where every ball he bowled could have been a wicket. So I don’t think that pace is the be all and end all. Certainly, for our attack we all complement each other really well by doing things very differently.”Pakistan’s lack of pace options has also concerned their former captain Waqar Younis. Speaking on ESPN’s show , he said fast bowling had been one aspect about Pakistan that had always been exciting in the past. “But this time around, I’m not seeing that. I’m seeing medium and slow-medium pacers, I’m seeing allrounders. There’s no real pace. People used to come to watch Pakistani pace bowlers running in hard and bowling 150 clicks. That’s what I’m not seeing and that’s what my worry is.”That’s my worry at domestic level as well. I can understand there are a few injuries, but in the past, you saw a battery of fast bowlers in reserve that Pakistan could bring on. But unfortunately, that as not there and it’s something I’m really worried about.”Pakistan’s bowling attack was further hampered by Shahzad being ruled out of the series with a stress fracture. Hasan Ali, Mir Hamza and Mohammad Wasim Jnr all lie in reserve, but none of them, with the possible exception of Wasim Jnr, can truly be classified as express pacers.

The proposed plan involves a total of 22 matches, with a maximum of five overseas players in each XI

Nagraj Gollapudi13-Oct-2022The long-awaited women’s IPL is set to become a reality next year with the BCCI planning a five-team tournament for March 2023, immediately after the Women’s T20 World Cup ends in South Africa on February 26.The BCCI’s proposed plan involves a total of 22 matches, with each squad comprising 18 players with a maximum of six from overseas. No more than five overseas players can feature in a playing XI, with four from Full Member countries and one from an Associate nation.As per the plan, which the BCCI sent on Thursday to state associations and which has been seen by ESPNcricinfo, each team will play the others twice during the league phase (20 matches), with the league topper heading straight to the final. The second finalist will be decided via an Eliminator between the second and third-ranked teams from the league phase. The BCCI is yet to finalise the schedule of the WIPL, but it will be wrapped up before the men’s IPL begins, which is likely to be at the end of March.Whether the March window has been pencilled in for the long term remains to be seen, but the BCCI said in a paper on the WIPL that it has identified a “clear 25 days Women’s IPL window in the FTP cycle”. The inaugural WIPL is likely to clash with the inaugural season of the Women’s Pakistan Super League.”It will be a challenge to play the WIPL in the home and away format, because with five to six teams it is not possible to have a match every day,” the BCCI said in its paper on the WIPL, which was sent to the states as part of the wider agenda for the board’s annual general meeting scheduled in Mumbai on October 18. “It is suggested that the tournament can be played in caravan style, where after finishing ten matches at one venue, the next ten matches to be played at the next venue. Therefore, ten matches each to be played across two venues in the 2023 WIPL season, ten each in the next two venues in the 2024 season, and for the 2025 season ten matches in the remaining one venue and the remaining ten in one of the venues from 2023 season.”Where will the teams be from?
Unlike the Women’s T20 challenge, the precursor to the WIPL, where the teams were assembled randomly, the BCCI will sell the five franchises. However, unlike the men’s IPL, where franchises bid for teams in a particular city, the BCCI has chalked out two plans for the WIPL. The first one comprises selling teams across six zones spanning the country. A set of cities in each zone has been shortlisted and comprises: Dharamsala/Jammu (North zone), Pune/Rajkot (West), Indore/Nagpur/Raipur (Central), Ranchi/Cuttack (East), Kochi/Visakhapatnam (South) and Guwahati (North-East).The second plan involves teams being sold but without a solid home base, with matches to be played at six shortlisted IPL venues: Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai.The BCCI will present the WIPL plan at the AGM next week but a final decision will be taken by the IPL Governing Council chairman – who that is will be decided at the upcoming AGM – along with the BCCI office bearers.Exponential growth in participation – the reason behind WIPL
Women’s cricket in India became a big talking point ever since they reached the final of the ODI World Cup in 2017 at Lord’s, where they lost to England in front of a full house. In 2018, the BCCI launched the Women’s T20 Challenge, but it was restricted to just one match. Over the next three years, it expanded to a three-team competition. Voices across women’s cricket, both in India and globally, were critical of BCCI’s reluctance to launch a women’s IPL at the time.The board and several state associations were originally concerned by the shallow player pool in women’s cricket, but those reservations have gradually receded now.”With the rise in popularity of women’s cricket in the country mainly due to prominent performances by the Indian Senior Cricket team on world stage by qualifying for semi-finals in 2018 T20 World Cup, finals in 2020 T20 World Cup, securing silver medal in recently held 2022 Commonwealth games in Birmingham, we intend to conduct the Women’s IPL on similar lines with the Indian Premier League,” the BCCI said in its paper on WIPL.The growth on the domestic front was massive with the paper listing “an overall increase of 111% in participation of players along various categories” in the eight-year period between 2014-22. A further breakdown listed the number increasing by 129% in the senior women’s category and a 92% increase in the Under-19 category.The WIPL – and the proposed WPSL – will join the FairBreak Invitational, the Women’s Hundred, WCPL and WBBL as T20 leagues that bolster the popularity and growth of women’s cricket globally. The WIPL paper also noted that the BCCI had studied both the WBBL and the Women’s Hundred models before finalising its plan.

Fast bowler also “mindful” of not wanting “to go searching too much” with the Dukes ball

ESPNcricinfo staff26-May-2021New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Jamieson will have “conversations” with his fellow quicks about the Duke ball and be “mindful” of how it behaves during the upcoming tour of England.One big reason for New Zealand’s consistency in Test cricket over the last few years has been the battery of pacers they have built, including their latest recruit Jamieson. On his first England tour, Jamieson has for company the experience of Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Doug Bracewell and Matt Henry, who have combined to play 14 Tests in the country.”Their experience [will be really helpful] – from the guys like Tim, Wags, Doug and even Henry as well, who’s played a lot over here,” Jamieson said. “There’s so much experience around English conditions and what the Dukes ball can do. So I’ll try and look [and] lean on for the next few weeks.”Related

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Like most sides that tour England, the talk among the visiting bowlers is expected to be around the Dukes ball, which tends to aid a lot more swing than both the Kookaburra – used in New Zealand – as well as the SG ball. But Jamieson first wants to get used to the Dukes ball and its challenges, already wary of expecting it to do a lot.”It’s is certainly a bit different – it’s a bit darker and harder as well, [and] the seam is a little bit more narrow. So it’s just [about] trying to get used to that and the hands,” he said. “There have been conversations around what the Dukes ball can do, but whilst being mindful of the fact that you don’t want to go searching too much and try to move the ball too much, and then getting caught on the bounce a little bit. So I’m sure over the next few days we’ll have a few more conversations on what it looks like and then go from there.”New Zealand’s scheduled warm-up fixture was replaced with a two-day intra-squad practice game instead to begin on Thursday. This will now facilitate an extra day of training outdoors, with the first Test against England set to start next Wednesday at Lord’s before the second Test at Edgbaston from June 10. The World Test Championship final against India will be starting on June 18 in Southampton.