All posts by n8rngtd.top

The former West Indies captain’s tenure, which began in January 2017, will end when his contract expires at the end of June

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jun-2023Cricket West Indies (CWI) is on the lookout for a new director of cricket, with Jimmy Adams’ tenure set to end when his contract expires at the end of June. Adams, a former West Indies captain who played 54 Tests and 127 ODIs, has held the role for nearly six-and-a-half years, having taken over from Richard Pybus in January 2017.CWI has set June 14 as the deadline for new applicants.Related

• Hope set to continue as 'more aggressive' enforcer at No.4

• Adams: 'I want to be an agent of West Indies change'

• Jimmy Adams takes over as WI director of cricket

• Sammy appointed white-ball coach; Coley to take charge of Test team

• Business-class flights and single rooms for West Indies women

“We are extremely grateful for the leadership and contribution that Jimmy has made over the past six and half years,” CWI CEO Jonny Grave said. “He has overhauled our High-Performance structure, especially with respect to Coach Education & Development, Sport Science & Medicine and most recently with the launch of our Academy based at the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG) in Antigua. I have no doubt that Jimmy will continue to contribute to the game, particularly West Indies Cricket.”Apart from these achievements, Adams’ tenure also coincided with CWI starting the women’s Caribbean Premier League, appointing separate selection panels for women’s and youth teams, and more recently approving a Women’s Cricket Transformation Committee to work towards achieving equality for women’s players.During Adams’ time as director of cricket, the West Indies men’s team endured a difficult time on the field. They haven’t reached the knockout stages of an ICC tournament since winning the T20 World Cup in 2016, and have finished second from bottom in both the 2019-21 and 2021-23 World Test Championships. Based on the recommendations of an independent review panel instituted after the team’s first-round exit from the 2022 T20 World Cup, CWI appointed format-specific coaches for the senior men’s team: Andre Coley for Test cricket and Daren Sammy for white-ball cricket.”It’s been an honor to have been involved in the ongoing evolution of CWI,” Adams said. “I have had the privilege of working with some amazing people across the organisation and am grateful for all the support they gave me over the past six plus years. I wish everyone all the best going forward, especially in light of the various challenges that exist both regionally and globally.”

Surrey left waiting to secure home quarter-final after defeat in high-scoring game

ECB Reporters Network30-Jun-2023Somerset 208 for 5 (Banton 84) beat Surrey 190 for 9 (Jacks 50, Henry 4-30) by 18 runsTom Banton lit up a gloomy night at a sold-out Kia Oval with a brilliant 84 as South Group leaders Somerset beat Surrey by 18 runs to leave their hosts needing to win their final game to join them in the quarter-finals.Banton’s brilliance underpinned Somerset’s 208 for 5 after they had been put in and they then bowled and fielded impressively to defend that total and chalk up their 11th win out of 13. Matt Henry picked up two wickets with the new ball and two more at the end to finish with an excellent 4 for 30 while New Zealand legspinner Ish Sodhi had 3 for 33 on an impressive debut including the key wickets of Will Jacks, who top-scored for Surrey with 50, and Jamie Smith off successive balls in the ninth over.That left Surrey 85 for 5 and although Sam Curran kept swinging with 47, Surrey finished on 190 for 9. Somerset had already secured a home tie in the last eight but Surrey will need to beat Essex at the Kia Oval on Sunday to give themselves the chance of finishing runners-up.Surrey paid heavily for an unusually sloppy performance in the field. Banton was badly dropped by Jacks at backward point on 39, Jacks having earlier put down a tougher chance when Tom Kohler-Cadmore had made 14. Those drops were to cost Surrey 70 runs.Somerset lost Will Smeed in the fourth over when he failed to clear mid-on off Sean Abbott, but Banton and Kohler-Cadmore ticked along at nearly 12 an over for the next five overs, Kohler-Cadmore producing the shot of the innings when he reverse-swept Sunil Narine over the short boundary on the gasholder side which bounced back off the scoreboard.Jacks held on to a catch to remove Kohler-Cadmore for 39 and Narine picked up Tom Abell and Tom Lammonby in successive overs to give Surrey some control. But when Ben Green, twice, and Banton lofted Tom Lawes over the leg-side boundary in the 15th over Somerset found momentum again. Banton looked to be on course for a hundred but aiming to clear the leg side again he got a leading edge and Sam Curran took a simple catch off his own bowling.Green struck the ball impressively in his 40 from 24 balls although Curran and skipper Chris Jordan did well to only concede 12 runs in the last two overs.Somerset’s most experienced seamers, Craig Overton and Henry, shared the first six overs and Henry removed Laurie Evans, who drove to mid-on, and Narine, caught at mid-off, to give them early control. Jacks and Sam Curran counterattacked, adding 58 in 29 balls before Sodhi made a decisive breakthrough in his first over for the county.Jacks had just reached a 26-ball fifty – his fifth in this season’s Blast – when Kohler-Cadmore plucked a brilliant catch out of the air at long-on and Sodhi pinned Smith lbw with his next ball. If that wasn’t bad enough, Craig Overton returned to the attack in the next over and had the dangerous Abbott caught behind. Surrey had lost three wickets in six balls for the addition of one run and their race looked run.Sam Curran and Jamie Overton took the fight back to Somerset, sharing 51 off 28 balls before Green, the competition’s leading wicket-taker, snared his 27th victim when he bowled Overton at the start of the 15th over. A target of 67 off the last five overs was beyond Surrey but at least a crowd of 25,000 had 19 sixes and nearly 400 runs to enjoy.

Allrounder warns that tourists have yet to produce “complete performance” on tour

Valkerie Baynes17-Jul-2023Australia have rediscovered their mojo, but simply retaining the Ashes is not enough for a world-beating side who have been pushed to their limits by England.The hosts can make it victories in two white-ball series from two if they clinch the final ODI in Taunton on Tuesday, although the best they can do points-wise is to move to equal with Australia on eight, which will mean the overall contest is a draw and the tourists still heading home with the Ashes. Ellyse Perry, whose innings of 91 set Australia up to break a three-game losing streak in the second ODI in Southampton, said that wouldn’t do.”That last game in Taunton is really important to us because I think a few of us have been involved in campaigns where we’ve retained the Ashes, but it’s always nice to win the Ashes so it’s a good challenge for us,” Perry said on Sunday. “It’s the last game so everyone has that in their sights.Related

• Capsey powers England to T20 series win and keeps Ashes alive

• Jones: This is England, 'a different side'

• Australia overcome sensational Sciver-Brunt to retain Ashes

• King refuses to be dethroned as Australia reassert Ashes dominance

• The nerveless, box-office cricketer that is Nat Sciver-Brunt

“We’ve also probably been chasing a complete performance from the group and that hasn’t come yet. We’ve played patches of really good cricket and today, the way that we fought the whole way through and wrestled back momentum at different stages is one of our better outings on this trip, but I think there’s still a really great opportunity for us to play to our potential. That’s a great carrot and, as I said, to win the Ashes rather than retain them.”In a quick turnaround of just over 48 hours between matches, both sides must overcome the emotion of playing through another nerve-jangling finish after Australia won by three runs on the final ball at the Ageas Bowl, Nat Sciver-Brunt’s unbeaten century taking England to the brink of another victory that would have kept the series alive.The closeness of the contest was in keeping with the entire series, which has been hard-fought throughout, and Heather Knight, the England captain, said afterwards that victory in the final match would prove there was no longer “a gap” between the sides. Meanwhile, Alana King, the legspinner who turned the game Australia’s way with three key wickets, believes her side is still some distance ahead and keen to show it in Taunton. But Perry has a more nuanced view.”I actually have probably a slightly different look on the gap,” she said. “If you look across the last four or five years, we’ve had lots of really, really close games against different opponents, whether that’s been India or England, New Zealand at times, South Africa. But I think something that probably has been key to those last few years has been the consistency of our play and the ability to find ways to win lots of matches.”So I don’t know if there’s always been a huge gap. I think teams are certainly finding different ways of playing and improving and I think that’s no different for us, so we’ve got to keep evolving and keep improving. But, in terms of gap, I think it’s just that we’ve been really consistent and England have played some really consistent cricket this series so it’s pushed us often and I think we’ve pushed them as well. Hence why it’s been so tight.”Ellyse Perry proved the difference in a tight Southampton ODI•Getty Images

Amy Jones, the England wicketkeeper-batter, first mooted the idea that England were closing on Australia during this series after her explosive innings of 40 not out from 21 balls lifted her side to a respectable total in the first T20I at Edgbaston before the visitors managed to scrape past them by four wickets with just one ball remaining. That was a turning point for the hosts, who went on to win the next three games to claim honours in the T20 leg 2-1 and take a 1-0 lead in the ODIs, as it was the catalyst for England to play with the confidence of a side that knew their opponents were beatable.Australia, in the unfamiliar position of losing a string of close encounters, were forced to change things up and they opted for a four-pronged spin attack for the Ageas Bowl.King, who hadn’t played since Australia’s victory in the Test which opened the series, claimed 3 for 44 while offspinner Ashleigh Gardner – who bagged 12 wickets in the Test – took 3 for 54 and bowled a tight penultimate over before left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen reprised her role of ice-cool death bowler with great success for the third time in four ODIs against England. Jonassen had bowled the last over during the group stage and in the final of last year’s 50-over World Cup, with Sciver-Brunt also scoring a century in each of those games. At Bristol last Wednesday, Knight and Kate Cross managed to get one up on Jonassen as they guided England to victory with 11 balls to spare.Georgia Wareham was their other spinner in Southampton, taking 1 for 47 from her 10 overs, but it was her unbeaten 37 off 14 balls, including 26 runs off Lauren Bell in the final over of Australia’s innings that lifted the total to 282 for 7, asking England to produce their second record ODI run chase in as many matches to win.”It was really deliberate selection decision for us to have the four spinners in the team and they did an amazing job,” Perry said. “For Alana to come in and play a first white-ball game of the series and perform the way she did, Georgia’s been consistent the whole way, Ash is so dependable and then JJ closing out – I’ve just named four of the best spinners in the world there, which is amazing to have at our disposal.”I think what our spinners have done really well is just built constant pressure. I think from a pace group, and it’s something that we’ll keep working on and it presents a really awesome opportunity for us to take our game to a new level, is just to be able to build that consistent pressure. We’ve bowled well in patches at times but often let players off the hook and with England’s aggressive approach to that, especially at the start of their innings, that’s kind of got away from us at different points in time.”That’s why the spin has been so effective, the ability to maintain pressure throughout an over and a spell, and then that’s picked up wickets. As I said ,I think the pace group’s probably been off at different times, but that’s a really exciting thing because if we can get that right then I think there’s a complete game of cricket in us.”

Franchise says “the team is still under the process of review” after failing to make the playoffs in IPL 2023

Nagraj Gollapudi16-Jul-2023Royal Challengers Bangalore have not yet renewed their contracts with director of cricket operations Mike Hesson and head coach Sanjay Bangar following a sixth-place finish in IPL 2023, a development that could signal a major revamp at the franchise.The contracts are usually up for renewal around September, ESPNcricinfo has learned, but the franchise management is deliberating changes to its coaching staff. It could not be confirmed whether RCB have informed Hesson and Bangar, both of whom did not respond to a query from ESPNcricinfo.”Their contract with RCB is still intact,” RCB said in a statement. “The team is still under the process of review. We will come back if any announcement on the changes in the team.”Related

• Middle-order woe leaves RCB empty-handed again

• Langer takes over from Flower at LSG

• Chahal on parting ways with RCB: 'I did not receive any phone call, no one even spoke to me'

Hesson came on board in August 2019 following a revamp of the coaching staff after their last-placed finish that year, while Bangar began his tenure ahead of the 2022 season, after Simon Katich parted ways with the franchise.Under Hesson, RCB finished fourth in the league in 2020 and lost the Eliminator to Sunrisers Hyderabad; third in 2021 and lost the Eliminator to Kolkata Knight Riders; fourth in IPL 2022 before winning the Eliminator and then losing Qualifier 2 to Rajasthan Royals; and failed to qualify for the playoffs in IPL 2023.RCB have made it to three IPL finals – in 2009 , 2011 and 2016 – but are yet to win an IPL title.RCB could become the second franchise to make changes to its team management since IPL 2023, after Lucknow Super Giants replaced Andy Flower with Justin Langer as their head coach.If RCB part ways with Hesson, it could also mean a revamp of the support staff of the RCB women’s team. Hesson was also director of cricket for the team during the inaugural Women’s Premier League, where they finished fourth among five teams, with two wins and six losses.

SA captain admits that his bowlers took time to find their lengths but doesn’t expect them “to keep making the same mistakes”

Firdose Moonda08-Sep-2023Temba Bavuma expects South Africa to be more “relentless” as they ramp up preparations for the ODI World Cup.South Africa were well on track to defend a below-par 222 in the first ODI against Australia and had them at 113 for 7, but an unbeaten 112-run partnership between concussion sub Marnus Labuschagne and No. 8 Ashton Agar saw Australia cruise to a comfortable win. Bavuma, who was not on the field for most of Australia’s chase as he recovered from a cramp he picked up while batting, was disappointed with his team’s inability to dismiss the Australian tail.”If you get a team in that position, you expect yourself to be able to clean out the game,” he said afterwards. “We speak about being relentless. When you get given a sniff against a team like Australia, you’ve got to take it. If the situations were reversed, they would have prided themselves on cleaning up the game.”Related

• Time to panic? No, South Africa just need to 'raise our intensity' a bit, says Klaasen

• Supersub Labuschagne marshals come-from-behind chase

• Labuschagne: 'Mum had a feeling I would play'

This is not the first time that South Africa’s attack has been found wanting in this new season. They conceded a massive 226 against Australia in the first T20I last Wednesday and were unable to defend 190 in the third on Sunday.Though Bavuma maintained that the two white-ball formats should be assessed differently because they have “different personnel”, there are some common concerns. Lungi Ngidi and Gerald Coetzee played across both series and South Africa’s insistence on only one seam-bowling allrounder – Marco Jansen in the case of ODIs – means if things go wrong, their resources look thin.Bavuma was careful not to be too critical and believes there’s still some rust being shaken off after almost five months of inactivity for the national side. “We will get better,” he said. “These are world-class players we have in the team. We don’t expect them to keep making the same mistakes.”Asked what he thought went wrong specifically in the first ODI – when he was not on the field to counsel his attack and T20I captain Aiden Markram did the job instead – Bavuma tried to keep it vague but made one fair observation. “It was just our inability to create chances in that innings. I would have encouraged the bowlers to use their bouncer a bit more,” he said.On an unusually slow Bloemfontein surface with variable bounce, three of South Africa’s ten wickets fell to short balls and three of Australia’s seven went the same way. Towards the end of Australia’s innings, South Africa were barely bowling any and let the game drift to an inevitable conclusion.But it would be unfair to say that’s where the game was lost. It was the contrasting powerplays – South Africa scored 25 for 1 in theirs and Australia 69 for 4 – which set the tone for the innings that came. Bavuma acknowledged his bowlers took too long to find their lengths. “The first ten overs weren’t great. We managed to get wickets, but at what cost? That’s just a mis-execution thing. If you look at our first ten overs versus theirs first ten overs, it was chalk and cheese,” he said.South Africa have now lost four matches in a row to Australia, but Bavuma is not too worried about what that means. “We’ve lost one ODI game,” he said. “There’s no use referencing the T20s as that’s different personnel. We weren’t good enough and we need to find ways to improve our game holistically. We will challenge ourselves to get better.”He also played down fears over his own fitness after he received treatment while batting and spent most of the Australia innings on the sidelines. “My hammie (hamstring) felt a bit tight but I think I will be fine.”The second match of the series will also be played in Bloemfontein, on Saturday.

Pakistan gunned down 345 to win back-to-back games while Sri Lanka suffered their second successive defeat

Madushka Balasuriya10-Oct-20231:28

Urooj Mumtaz: Entertainment part and parcel of Mohammad Rizwan’s game

Sri Lanka were served a harsh lesson in the realities of modern ODI cricket, as Pakistan hunted down a target of 345 – the highest-ever chase in a World Cup – with six wickets to spare. Leading their charge were tons from Abdullah Shafique and Mohammad Rizwan, which trumped a pair of centuries by Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama, to make it two wins from two for Pakistan.Rizwan, who suffered from at times seemingly debilitating cramps – the physio came and looked at him twice – for the last 15 overs or so of the chase, remained unbeaten in the end on a 121-ball 131. Together with Shafique – who himself recorded the highest score by a Pakistan debutant at a World Cup with his 113 off 103 – he had put together a third-wicket stand worth 176 off just 156 deliveries.It was a stand that would break the spine of the chase, though even then it might not have been enough had Rizwan himself not valiantly stuck around till the end. He would put on a further 95 off 68 with Saud Shakeel, and then 37 off 23 with Iftikhar Ahmed, as Pakistan eventually cantered home to a win that will provide them an immense confidence boost ahead of Saturday’s massive clash against India.As for Sri Lanka, it’s two defeats in as many games, and after conceding over 750 runs across two matches there will be growing concerns over their bowlers’ abilities in handling such batter-friendly tracks.Despite having Maheesh Theekshana back in the side, Sri Lanka looked bereft of ideas on how to pick up wickets through the middle overs, or even indeed how to stifle the scoring. Theekshana, Dunith Wellalage and Dilshan Madushanka, who were the most economical of the lot, went for 59, 62 and 60 each, while Matheesha Pathirana once more proved expensive being taken for 90 in nine overs.Pakistan were also clever in ensuring they capitalised on Sri Lanka’s need to fulfil their fifth bowler quota. While Dasun Shanaka went for just 28 in his five overs, Dhananjaya de Silva was taken for 36 in four and Charith Asalanka 10 in his solitary over.Pakistan though will be pleased at the manner in which the chase was accomplished. They were circumspect in the first 10 overs, with Sri Lanka having picked up two wickets, and kept the score to just 48. However, with the knowledge they had power hitters such as Shadab Khan, Iftikhar and Mohammed Nawaz lower down the order, both Shafique and Rizwan were content to play themselves in.Abdullah Shafique and Mohammad Rizwan put on a big stand for the third wicket•AP

Even so, between overs 10-20 the pair took 62 runs, before really upping the ante through the middle period. From the overs 20-30 they would score a further 72 runs and then would plunder 99 from the 30th to the 40th, leaving a very gettable 74 off the last 60 deliveries.Shafique’s control percentage of 91% told a story, as he rarely gave the Sri Lankan bowlers a sniff, pouncing on anything short and unafraid to use his feet when necessary. It would take an absolute scorcher at backward point by substitute Dushan Hemantha, in for Kusal Mendis who was off the field with severe cramps, to get rid of him.Fortunately for Pakistan though, they had a warrior in Rizwan at the other end to ensure the chase would be completed without hiccups.Sri Lanka though will rue a missed opportunity to put the game to bed with the bat, with Shanaka admitting after the game that they were probably 30 runs short. Indeed, having won the toss and elected to bat first, for much of the Sri Lankan innings this seemed like the batting performance that Sri Lanka had long threatened to put together.Against both Afghanistan and Bangladesh in the warm-ups they had thrown away promising starts, while against South Africa they had provided glimpses of what their batting line-up was capable of. The next step though was putting it altogether, and for large parts of their innings, it looked Sri Lanka would finally do just that.While Sri Lanka’s struggles at the death and even through the middle are well documented – they’ve only struck 12 scores above 300 since the end of the 2019 World Cup – but in Hyderabad they batted like a side that had done this a hundred times before.Across their 50 overs, scarcely did the scoring rate drop below seven an over – for periods even touching 7.5. Much of that was down to Mendis, who carried on from where he had left off against South Africa – well not exactly, he struck at only 158.44 this time out – as he almost single-handedly swamped an unusually blunt Pakistan attack.Kusal Mendis scored a hundred off 65 balls•ICC via Getty Images

With both Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hasan Ali bowling consistently in the low 130s or lower, any early swing – something Mendis has been found wanting against in the past – was negotiated with relative ease.Across his time at the crease, scarcely an over went by without a boundary. In fact, from the point he arrived midway through the second over, and until his dismissal in the 29th, only six overs went without at least a boundary being scored.Of the bowlers, only Iftikhar Ahmed managed any kind of success against Mendis, going for six runs in eight deliveries, but Mendis struck at above 140 against all five of the other bowlers utilised.Alongside him, Samarawickrama was carrying along like he has for much of the year since breaking into the Sri Lankan side. He nudged around ones and twos, used his feet to the spinners – an inside-out drive off Nawaz for six, particularly standing out in the memory – and worked the gaps expertly to find boundaries when needed.Samarawickrama and Mendis together put up 111 off just 69 deliveries, the second consecutive century stand of the innings following Mendis’ 102 with Pathum Nissanka. When Mendis fell, with the score on 218 with just 29 overs bowled, Sri Lanka would have been eyeing 350 at the very least, but once more those plans would go awry.Charith Asalanka, who had kept Sri Lanka in the game against South Africa, nicked one through just eight balls later. This was then followed by a five-over period in which just 18 runs were scored which stifled their momentum; overs 30-40 would bring 54 runs in total.But where Pakistan would do the real damage was in the final 10, where Sri Lanka managed just 61 runs, including the last three overs which went for just 13.It’s a credit to the efficiency at which Samarawickrama and Mendis had batted throughout those middle overs that they still got to 344 – their highest against a Full Member nation since 2020 – but those are the margins at play here, something Sri Lanka will have to address swiftly if they are to keep their already slim semi-final hopes alive.

He was charged by the ICC in 2021 and was found guilty in August 2023 following a hearing by an independent tribunal

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Nov-2023Former West Indies batter Marlon Samuels has been banned from all cricket for six years by the ICC after he was found guilty of corrupt behaviour during the Abu Dhabi T10 in 2019, where he was part of the Karnataka Tuskers but did not play.An independent tribunal found Samuels guilty on four counts, including accepting favours that brought himself and the game into disrepute and concealing information from the investigating authorities. He had been punished for a similar offence 15 years ago.”Samuels played international cricket for close to two decades, during which he participated in numerous anti-corruption sessions and knew exactly what his obligations were under the Anti-Corruption Codes,” Alex Marshall, the head of ICC’s HR and Integrity Unit, said. “Though he is retired now, Mr Samuels was a participant when the offences were committed. The ban of six years will act as a strong deterrent to any participant who intends to break the rules.”Related

• Marlon Samuels found guilty of breaching anti-corruption code

• Marlon Samuels charged under ICC's anti-corruption code

• Marlon Samuels, 'the confident fellow', retires

The Abu Dhabi T10 is an Emirates Cricket Board run tournament as such it is their anti-corruption code that is in operation. By their rules, the ICC conducts all investigations into breaches made and they found Samuels had made four of them.

• Article 2.4.2 (by a majority decision) – Failing to disclose to the Designated Anti-Corruption Official, the receipt of any gift, payment, hospitality or other benefit that was made or given in circumstances that could bring the Participant or the sport of cricket into disrepute.
• Article 2.4.3 (unanimous decision)- Failing to disclose to the Designated Anti-Corruption Official receipt of hospitality with a value of US $750 or more.
• Article 2.4.6 (unanimous decision) – Failing to cooperate with the Designated Anti-Corruption Official’s investigation.
• Article 2.4.7 (unanimous decision) – Obstructing or delaying the Designated Anti-Corruption Official’s investigation by concealing information that may have been relevant to the investigation.

Samuels’ ban takes effect from November 11, 2023. He was initially charged by the ICC in September 2021 before he was found guilty of the offences in August this year.Samuels, who top-scored for West Indies in the final of both the 2012 and 2016 T20 World Cup, last played international cricket in 2018 and announced his retirement in November 2020 with over 11,000 international runs across formats. He was no stranger to controversy during his career, the lowest point of which was his two-year ban after being found guilty, in May 2008, of “receiving money, or benefit or other reward that could bring him or the game of cricket into disrepute”.

There was some spice between the sides last season when Megan Schutt termed Heat a ‘bit arrogant’

Tristan Lavalette30-Nov-2023

Georgia Voll played a big role with the ball in the Challenger final•Getty Images

Allrounder Georgia Voll believed an aggressive Brisbane Heat were the “perfect team” to upend defending champions Adelaide Strikers despite a gruelling run to the WBBL final.Heat stormed into Saturday’s final at the Adelaide Oval after thrashing Sydney Thunder and Perth Scorchers on consecutive days at the WACA. After a late season three-game losing streak cost them a top two finish and a home final, Heat on Sunday night embarked on a five-and-a-half hour flight from Brisbane to Perth.After recovery and a light training session on Monday, Heat then played inspired cricket and relished a bouncy WACA surface to keep alive their bid for a third WBBL title.Related

• Athapaththu's frustrating wait for big-franchise deals looks set to end

• Harris and Voll power dominant Brisbane Heat into WBBL final

They showed no signs of fatigue in their commanding performances, but on Thursday will board a three-hour flight to Adelaide before a quick turnaround for the final.”It won’t bother us. It’s great we’ve actually carried some momentum,” said offspinner Voll, who took WBBL career best figures of 4 for 19 against Scorchers. “I love playing a lot of cricket. We’ve had a bit of ups and downs through the year, but we’re picking up momentum at the right time.”So I think it’s done us really good having to play the two games.”In Perth, Heat played an irresistible brand of cricket with Grace Harris’ fireworks in the powerplay building the foundations for big totals after they batted first. Seamers Nicola Hancock and Courtney Sippel ripped through Thunder before Voll and fellow spinner Jess Jonassen took over against Scorchers.It was an ominous warning to Strikers, who won nine of their last 10 matches of the regular season to lock up the top spot. But their only blemish in that stretch was a four-wicket defeat in Mackay to Heat, who chased down 138 with a ball to spare. Strikers earlier in the season routed Heat for 89 in a 59-run victory at Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide.”It’s going be a challenge, but I think we’ve got the perfect team to roll them,” Voll said. “Our balance in the batting…we pretty much bat all the way down to 11.”We back our skill to go hard pretty much all the way through. With the bowling we back our two quicks and the spinners to defend or set the tone.”It will be a great final. I think they’ll have a crowded Adelaide Oval, it will be an awesome atmosphere and hopefully we can knock them over one more time.”Heat will be without batter Bess Heath, who will depart for England’s imminent tour of India. “Bess has been a massive part of our team. She’s a big loss but whoever will fill that spot will do a great job,” Voll said.There will be extra spice in the final between teams who have won three of the last five titles after Strikers seamer Megan Schutt last year labelled Heat’s style of play as a “bit arrogant”.”It’s kind of like the pot calling the kettle black, isn’t it?” Harris said. “I don’t really read too much into it and it doesn’t bother me too much because you can do all the talking you want…it comes down to how you go out on the field.”Harris looms as a key in the final after emerging from a form slump and igniting Heat in Perth with 99 runs off 55 balls across the two games.”I’m a strike-rate batter…[aim to] strike at 180-200. You will be inconsistent, but happy to own that role. We want to play an aggressive brand of cricket. It’s about scoring shots and not getting worried about getting out. If we’re out for 80 then bugger it, but if we score 197 then that’s our game plan and we have got to stick to that.”If we put in a complete performance [in the final] then we will definitely be competitive.”

Wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne has been recalled to the Test team

Firdose Moonda04-Dec-2023South Africa’s ODI captain Temba Bavuma and fast bowler Kagiso Rabada have been rested from their white-ball series against India later this month in order to prepare for the two Tests which follow. Bavuma captained South Africa to the semi-final at the recently completed ODI World Cup and remains the appointed 50-over captain but T20 skipper Aiden Markram will lead in his absence against India.Gerald Coetzee, Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi will only play the first two T20Is for the same reason. All of Bavuma, Rabada, Coetzee, Jansen and Ngidi will then play a round of domestic first-class matches from December 14 to 17 to prepare for the Tests. “We agreed that the Test side is the priority,” Shukri Conrad, South Africa’s Test coach, said at a press conference. “We are prioritising readiness for the Test matches given its the start of the World Test Championship (WTC).” His white-ball counterpart Rob Walter agreed.South Africa open their WTC campaign with the series against India and will then take a second-string side to New Zealand to play two Tests in February next year, when the majority of first-choice players will be involved in the SA20.Related

• South Africa grapple with the changing world of T20 cricket

• Kohli and Rohit rested for white-ball games in SA; Suryakumar to lead in T20Is, Rahul in ODIs

• Bumrah, Rahul and Shreyas back in India's Test squad

• Takeaways from India's squads for SA: Axar's future, Prasidh's height factor, and a new role for Rahul?

With that in mind, batter David Bedingham, who has played as a local on an ancestral visa for Durham but has shelved plans to play for England and does not have an SA20 deal, has been included in the playing group. Also in line for a Test debut is batter Tristan Stubbs, who was South Africa A’s leading run-scorer on their winter tour to Sri Lanka, and left-arm seamer Nandre Burger. Wicket-keeper Kyle Verreynne and seamer Lungi Ngidi both make a return after being dropped last summer, with Heinrich Klaasen left out of the Test squad, though Conrad insisted it is “not the end of the road” for him.Anrich Nortje, who was ruled out of the World Cup with a lower back stress fracture, is unavailable across all formats. Nortje has not had surgery and is being monitored on a monthly basis. Cricket South Africa is hopeful he will be ready to play around February or March next year. He has been retained by his IPL franchise, the Delhi Capitals.There is also no space for Ryan Rickelton in any of the squads despite being given a central contract earlier this year and playing in their last Test series. Conrad explained he has fallen down the pecking order. “The guys that have come in – Stubbs and Bedingham – are ahead of him,” Conrad said. “I don’t think he challenges Kyle Verreynne as the wicket-keeper. At the time (that Rickelton played) there was no news on David’s availability and desire to play for South Africa and since then Stubbo has also showed so much.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Overall, Conrad is confident he has selected a squad that “can beat India,” while also looking ahead to the rest of the WTC, including away tours to New Zealand, West Indies and Bangladesh next year. “We might see a few changes for those tours as well. We will see the return of guys who, in those conditions, can help us win those series. It’s where the global game is at. You’ve got to be quite flexible in your selections and ensure guys are nice and fresh when they are called up.”A similar philosophy has been applied to the white-ball squads, where South Africa are looking ahead to the T20 World Cup and rebuilding post the ODI tournament. Reeza Hendricks is expected to get an extended run at the top of the order in both T20Is and ODIs, with Quinton de Kock out of the former to play in the BBL and retired from the latter. Matthew Breetzke will open the batting with Hendricks in the T20Is. Fast bowlers Burger and Ottniel Baartman are the only other uncapped players in the T20I group.South Africa only have this three match series against India before they leave for the World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA next year – where they will play West Indies immediately before the tournament – but have cautioned against viewing this squad as a replica of the T20 World Cup playing group because of the amount of franchise T20 cricket still to be played.”Given that some of our frontline bowlers are missing out and there are guys – let me throw it out there just to create some media hype – like Faf (du Plessis) and Rilee (Rossouw) as well as Quinny that could well be considered for a T20 World Cup and then also the SA20 that happens next year – 80% of the side picks itself but there is definitely a space for other guys to get themselves into the conversation,” Walter said. “The SA20 will be a very important competition as far as the World Cup goes. The household guys will most likely be there but it’s an exciting time for the guys that sit on the fringes.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The ODI squad is the most experimental, as is to be expected at the end of a World Cup cycle. South Africa have named one new cap, bowling allrounder Mihlali Mpongwana, who will form part of a young pace pack. Mpongwana was part of the recent South Africa A series against West Indies A and the joint second highest wicket-taker in the domestic one-day cup. Wiaan Mulder, Andile Phehlukwayo and Lizaad Williams (albeit conditional on the progress of a groin injury) will all get the chance to play as Rabada, Ngidi and Jansen are rested. Keshav Maharaj – who has been named in all three squads – and Tabraiz Shamsi form the spin attack, with no space for Bjorn Fortuin.South Africa have stuck with a fairly experienced batting line-up including Markram, Klaasen, Rassie van der Dussen (who did not get a Test recall) and David Miller but will also look to give an opportunity to Tony de Zorzi. Dewald Brevis, who was the third highest run-scorer in the domestic one-day cup, has not been included. “The better the player that’s getting left out, the better our system is,” Walter said. “There isn’t space for all of the young batters all the time. He will definitely play again.”South Africa’s ODI outfit have no fixtures other than the matches against India this season, with the focus to move back to 50-over cricket before the next World Cup. Having reached the final four, Walter assessed the tournament as a success for the team as they move towards a home World Cup in 2027. “The general sense after the tournament was really positive. It was disappointing to miss out (on the final) and it knocks you hard. But the guys were proud and I was proud of the way we played.”South Africa T20I squad: Aiden Markram (captain), Ottniel Baartman, Matthew Breetzke, Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee (1st and 2nd T20Is), Donovan Ferreira, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen (1st and 2nd T20Is), Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi (1st and 2nd T20Is), Andile Phehlukwayo , Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Lizaad WilliamsSouth Africa ODI squad: Aiden Markram (captain), Ottniel Baartman, Nandre Burger, Tony de Zorzi, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Mihlali Mpongwana, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Andile Phehlukwayo, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, Lizaad WilliamsSouth Africa Test squad: Temba Bavuma (captain), David Bedingham, Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Dean Elgar, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Keegan Petersen, Kagiso Rabada, Tristan Stubbs and Kyle Verreynne

Ricky Bhui will take over, having done the job in the past

S Sudarshanan12-Jan-2024Hanuma Vihari has stepped down as the Andhra captain for the rest of the Ranji Trophy season. Ricky Bhui will lead the team now after Vihari led them to a draw against Bengal at home in the opening round of the season. Vihari continues to be part of the XI as Andhra take on Mumbai in their Group B clash at the Sharad Pawar Academy in BKC, Mumbai.Bhui had scored 175, his 15th first-class hundred, in the clash against Bengal while Vihari managed 51 in the only innings for Andhra.Vihari last played for India against England in Birmingham in 2022. Last season, he captained Andhra to the knockouts, where they lost to Madhya Pradesh in the quarter-final. In that match, Vihari batted left-handed for a major part of the first innings and throughout the second innings after fracturing his left forearm, courtesy an Avesh Khan bouncer. He scored 490 runs in the last season in 14 innings, at an average of 35 with two half-centuries.Related

• Vihari: 'Political interference forced me to leave Andhra captaincy'

• Run-hungry Ricky Bhui leads the way for Andhra

• Nitish Kumar Reddy wants to walk the Hardik Pandya path

• Iyer shows good intent on Ranji return ahead of England Tests

• Vihari set to move to Madhya Pradesh from Andhra

Later he also played the Duleep Trophy for South Zone and the Irani Cup for Rest of India against Ranji champions Saurashtra. In the Duleep Trophy he scored 0 and 43 in the semi-final before top-scoring with 63 and 42 in both innings of the final which they lost to West Zone. In the Irani Cup, he managed just 33 and 22. He was the captain in all those first-class matches.Before the start of this season, Vihari was mulling a move to MP to play under renowned domestic coach Chandrakant Pandit in order to rekindle his Test career. But Andhra managed to retain him at the last minute and he scored 229 runs at a strike rate of 149.67 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and only 109 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He also did not find takers at the auction for IPL 2024 last month.Bhui, 27, has led Andhra in the past – 22 times across formats and on five occasions in the Ranji Trophy. His last game as captain was against Uttarakhand in March 2022.