“We gave them a chance and they took them with both hands,” said Tim Southee

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jan-2020Having not played a Super Over until Wednesday, and then clawing their way back in to chase 17 and 14 in back-to-back Super Overs in the third and fourth T20Is against New Zealand, was an “unbelievable” experience, according to India captain Virat Kohli.”There’s something new I’ve learnt in the last couple of games, which is: when the opposition is playing that well, you’ve just got to stay calm in the game, observe what’s happening and if an opportunity comes your way, you capitalise on it and try and make the most of it,” Kohli told after the match. “What happened in the last two games is unbelievable, being involved in the game and from the fans’ point of view as well.”You couldn’t have asked for more two exciting T20s back-two-back. We had never played Super Overs before these two games and now we’ve played two back to back. It feels good when you’re out of the game, and then you come back… it shows the character of the team.”ALSO READ: Report – NZ contrive to lose in Super Over again as India go 4-0 upKohli didn’t have a great time with the bat in the regular game, making only 11, but sealed the Super Over by hitting the winning runs with a pull for four off Tim Southee. However, Kohli revealed he wasn’t even planning to go out alongside KL Rahul.”Initially we decided Sanju [Samson] and KL [would open in the Super Over] because both of them can strike the ball really well,” Kohli said. “But then KL and I had a chat [and decided] that I should walk in with him because I have more experience and if there is a pressure situation, I will find more options to figure out what needs to be done.”His two strikes [a six and a four in the first two balls] were crucial, and then the bit of experience did come into play where you knock the ball into the gaps and make the team go past the line and do the job. It’s exciting for me, having not been part of Super Over for a long, long time, but yeah, two back-to-back exciting wins for us.”Tim Southee led in Kane Williamson’s absence•Getty Images

The two unlikely victories, according to Friday’s star performer Shardul Thakur, was a lesson in perseverance, the first win in particular sending out a never-say-die message in the dressing room.”That’s all we play for – such nail-biting finishes and two games in a row… I think you couldn’t ask for anything more,” Thakur said of the last over of the main game, when he picked up two wickets and two New Zealand batsmen were run-out, resulting in the tie. “After the last game’s win, we learnt that you should never lose hope, and I think the first-ball wicket was crucial. If I bowl a dot ball or take a wicket, then the pressure is on them. And, that’s what happened, and that changed the game a bit.”ALSO READ: New Zealand’s Super Over heartbreaksSouthee, who delivered both Super Overs and captained New Zealand in the absence of the injured Kane Williamson on the day, summed up the dejection among the home side. “It’s very tough, especially in the positions we put ourselves into,” he said. “We gave them a chance and they took them with both hands. I guess when you’ve got a young bowling attack, and you sort of trying to get a clear decision from a number of people, yeah it’s tough we keep getting ourselves in these positions.”It is [difficult] when you lose a couple of games like we have. When you’re winning games, you just find ways to win them with balls to spare, but when you haven’t won and you’re playing against quality opposition against India, you give them a sniff in, then you do you make it tough for yourselves.”Having taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, Kohli’s decision to bring in Samson, Washington Sundar and Navdeep Saini in the fourth T20I didn’t quite return intended results. An impetuous hoick brought Samson’s five-ball 8 to a close two balls after he whipped Scott Kuggeleijn for a wristy six, Washington gave away 24 in two overs, and Saini conceded 29 runs in four overs without putting himself on the wickets column. Kohli, though, took heart from the fact that the trio, especially Saini, were “in the right kind of headspaces” in the face of pressure.”Sanju was fearless at the top of the order,” Kohli said. “We didn’t quite read the pitch that well; having got one six I think he thought this is his chance to get the momentum going and really take things away. That’s the kind of player he is, so he should keeping backing himself.”Washy has played a lot anyway. Saini was particularly impressive with his pace he really rushed the batsman. I think all in all, all of them looked in a good headspace. If the opposition plays that well against them, against them, there’s no harm in saying, ‘You guys were playing well in that situation’. But we were very proud with the way we went about it and pulled it back, and those three guys looked to be in the right kind of headspaces.”

Two cases of the virus reported in the city, with a school in shutdown till March 13

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Mar-2020The Sindh provincial government has ruled out moving PSL games out of Karachi amid fears of the coronavirus outbreak. According to reports, there have been five cases of the virus in Pakistan so far, including three in Federal Areas and two in Karachi, where a school has been shut down till March 13.It is understood that the PCB was willing to abide by any decision taken by the government, but after a Sindh cabinet meeting on Tuesday, it was agreed that all the remaining games in Karachi will go ahead according to plan, with strict precautions taken.So far, no overseas player has raised any concerns over the virus, but teams have been exercising caution.Dr Zafar Mirza, special assistant to the Prime Minister of Health, said that standard operating procedures were in place and being further strengthened to contain the disease.”Our simple policy is working so far, it is working well and it needs to be further strengthened,” he said. “We need to prepare ourselves for a worst-case scenario but we should hope for the best.”

England name 13-man squad including Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, with nine players staying on in reserve

Alan Gardner04-Jul-2020England have opted for continuity ahead of the first Test against West Indies, with every member of their 13-man squad having featured on the tour of South Africa earlier this year. That means Joe Denly is set to retain his place in the batting line-up, while the main decisions will revolve around the make-up of the pace attack.Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, both of whom impressed during England’s warm-up game this week, may be vying for one place, while Chris Woakes is the allrounder option in support of James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Sam Curran, who tested negative for Covid-19 after feeling unwell during the match, is among the nine reserves who will remain with the squad at the Ageas Bowl.Most noteworthy among those missing out were Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali, senior members of England’s white-ball squads but overlooked for the Tests. Bairstow had been a contender to come into the side in the absence of Joe Root, England’s Test captain who is missing the game in order to attend the birth of his child, but only managed scores of 11 and 39 in the three-day warm-up; James Bracey and Dan Lawrence, who both caught the eye with half-centuries, have been retained as the back-up batsmen.Dom Bess remains at the head of the pack among England’s spinners, keeping out Jack Leach, who is among the reserves, and Moeen. Bess claimed 3 for 72 in his outings for Team Buttler, while Leach and Moeen went wicketless for Team Stokes in the first innings and then conceded runs at six an over in the second.With Root having already left the camp, and Ben Stokes in line to become England’s 81st Test captain, the selectors have stuck with familiar names for the first of three matches in three weeks against West Indies. Rory Burns returns, having suffered ankle-ligament damage while playing football in South Africa, and seems set to open alongside Dom Sibley, with Denly and Zak Crawley the options to cover for Root’s absence at No. 4.Ollie Pope and Stokes will complete the batting line-up, while Jos Buttler retains the gloves, as head coach Chris Silverwood hinted during the week, with Ben Foakes retained as back-up keeper.In the fast-bowling department, England have Archer and Wood available to provide extra pace – but while there may be a temptation to deploy them together in Test cricket for the first time, Silverwood has previously hinted that they will likely be rotated in order to protect both from wear and tear. Archer has only recently recovered from an elbow stress fracture, having missed three Tests in South Africa and been omitted from the touring party for Sri Lanka in March.Although Broad went wicketless in the Ageas Bowl warm-up, he has been the automatic pick to partner Anderson with the new ball – currently on a run of 51 consecutive Test appearances at home – but Woakes will also have the chance to press his case.With the likelihood that England will have to rotate their seamers in order to keep them fresh – there are only three-day gaps between the Tests – the reserves include two uncapped quicks in Saqib Mahmood and Ollie Robinson, alongside Craig Overton and Olly Stone, who stays on despite not being fit enough to bowl in the warm-up game because of hamstring trouble.England squad for first Test: Ben Stokes (capt), James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Dominic Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Joe Denly, Ollie Pope, Dom Sibley, Chris Woakes, Mark WoodReserves: James Bracey, Sam Curran, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Ollie Robinson, Olly Stone

The two-Test series which is part of the World Test Championship is Bangladesh’s fourth postponement since March

Mohammad Isam23-Jun-2020New Zealand’s two-Test tour of Bangladesh, which was scheduled in August-September as part of the ICC World Test Championship, has been postponed for a later date amid the Covid-19 pandemic.Cricket has been suspended since mid-March in Bangladesh, with the Shere Bangla National Stadium, cricket’s headquarters in the country, well within a virus “red zone”. Bangladesh has crossed the 100,000 mark for total number of coronavirus cases, with over 1,500 deaths attributed to the pandemic so far.BCB’s chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury said that the board considered the health and safety of the players when deciding on the postponement.”In the present Covid-19 pandemic scenario, hosting a full cricket series in August 2020 will be a challenge in terms of preparations and we cannot take chances with the safety and health of players, support staff and related stakeholders,” Chowdhury said.”Under these circumstances, the BCB and NZC have felt that the best way forward would be to defer the series. We realise that this will be hugely disappointing for the players and officials of both teams, not to mention the fans of the two nations but I must thank NZC for its understanding and for recognising the rationale behind such a decision.”This is Bangladesh’s fourth postponement since March, following the second Test against Pakistan in Karachi (April), Ireland and UK tour (May) and Australia’s tour of Bangladesh (June). Their tour to Sri Lanka, scheduled for July-August, is still in doubt.New Zealand have also had several deferrals including the cancellation of the Chappell-Hadlee series in March after one ODI. They have postponed their Europe tour (Netherlands, Ireland and Scotland) and a tour to the West Indies.

Other matters up for discussion are venues, training facilities and quarantine measures against Covid-19

Nagraj Gollapudi27-Jul-2020The IPL Governing Council will meet on August 1 to finalise the schedule and other key arrangements necessary for the tournament to be conducted in the UAE. Recently the IPL Governing Council chairman Brijesh Patel announced the tournament would be played in the UAE between September 19 and November 10.It is understood that the Governing Council is likely to discuss the dates, venues, training facilities, the quarantine measures along with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that would be necessary for the event which comprises eight teams to play 60 matches over 50 days.Other than Patel, the meeting would also be attended by the BCCI’s office bearers including president Sourav Ganguly, secretary Jay Shah and treasurer Arun Dhumal. Incidentally, both Ganguly and Shah have finished their six-year tenures as office bearers and are supposed to undergo a three-year cooling-off period as per the BCCI constitution. However, the BCCI has sought amendments to the constitution including tweaking the cooling-off period in a plea with the Supreme Court, which has scheduled the hearing for August 17.Earlier on Monday, the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) said that it had received a letter of intent from the BCCI to conduct the IPL in the UAE. That letter is understood to be signed by IPL’s chief operating officer Hemang Amin, who also is doubling up as the BCCI’s interim chief executive officer.The ECB said it was looking forward to hosting the IPL, but a “final deal” would be inked after the Indian government had given BCCI the permission to shift the tournament to the UAE.

They become the fourth South African, sixth Pakistani and fifth Australian woman respectively to join the elite list

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Aug-2020Jacques Kallis, Zaheer Abbas and Lisa Sthalekar have been inducted into the ICC’s Hall of Fame.Kallis, who retired from international cricket in 2014, has been inducted into the Hall of Fame almost as soon as he became eligible; the ICC rule mandates a five-year gap after a player’s last international match. He is widely regarded as one of cricket’s great allrounders. In addition to being the third-most-prolific Test batsman of all time, with 13,289 runs at an average of 55.37, he also took 292 wickets at 32.65 with his fast-medium swing bowling. He is the fourth South African inducted into Hall of Fame, after Graeme Pollock, Barry Richards and Allan Donald.Lisa Sthalekar with the World Cup trophy•ICC/Getty

Abbas is the sixth Pakistani in the Hall of Fame, after Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. Abbas played Test cricket from 1969 to 1985, and was renowned worldwide for being an elegant strokeplayer with a massive appetite for runs. He scored 5062 Test-match runs at 44.79, and remains the only subcontinental batsman to have scored more than 100 first-class centuries, a feat that earned him the nickname ‘The Asian Bradman’.Sthalekar is the 27th Australian cricketer in the Hall of Fame, and the fifth Australian women’s player after Belinda Clark, Betty Wilson, Karen Rolton and Cathryn Fitzpatrick. Sthalekar, who batted in the middle order and bowled offspin, ended her career in 2013 as one of the premier allrounders in women’s cricket. With 2728 runs at 30.65 and 146 wickets at 24.97, she remains one of only five players to have completed the women’s ODI double of 2000 runs and 100 wickets, with Ellyse Perry the only other Australian in that group. Sthalekar has been part of four World-Cup-winning Australia teams, winning the ODI title in 2005 and 2013 and the T20 title in 2010 and 2012.”Never in my wildest dreams did I believe that I would ever get to join such an illustrious group of players,” Sthalekar said after the announcement. “I was fortunate enough to learn from the best when I entered the Australia team – Belinda Clark, Karen Rolton and Cathryn Fitzpatrick, all of whom have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, and rightly so. The guidance from them and other team-mates along the way kept me focused but also ensured that it was a fun environment.”Abbas joined Sthalekar in expressing his gratitude to those who helped shape his career, while Kallis said it felt good to be appreciated in this way.”I would like to say a special thanks to my family, my country Pakistan, my county Gloucestershire and many fans worldwide who helped me achieve and fulfil my dreams by playing this great game at the highest level,” Abbas said. “It is a final recognition for any cricketer. This great game has made me the person I am. Thank you cricket.””It is something that I never expected when I started playing,” Kallis said. “I certainly did not play the game for any accolades or anything like that, I only wanted to win the games for whoever I was playing for. But it is nice to be recognised when one has succeeded in the sport, it is nice to be recognised by people for something that you have achieved in the game.”Full list of ICC Hall of Fame members.

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.