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Luke Wood, Sam Cook chime in as Rockets bowl Spirit out for 122 in first defeat of season

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Aug-2022Trent Rockets spin kings Rashid Khan and Samit Patel launched their side to the top of the Men’s Hundred table as they won by six wickets against London Spirit at Trent Bridge.Returning for his final game of the Hundred, Khan produced his best, clean bowling three victims for 25 runs. Patel (2 for 29) took the prize wickets of Eoin Morgan (27 from 16 balls) and Ben McDermott (30 from 25 balls) as they both threatened big scores. Luke Wood also impressed with economical figures of 2 for 23, with the Rockets bowling Spirit out for 122.In reply, Colin Munro’s 67 not out from 37 balls and a confidence-boosting 41 off 28 balls from Tom Kohler-Cadmore were enough to take the Rockets home with 21 balls to spare. The result gives the Spirit their first loss of the season and puts the Rockets in prime position to finish the season in the top spot.Put in to bat, the Spirit got off to a flying start as Daniel Bell-Drummond (24 from 15 balls) caught the eye with consecutive sixes in the first set of 10. The Spirit did lose the in-form Adam Rossington, but at 41 for 1 from the powerplay, they’d have been the happier side.The next 25 balls would only produce 20 runs for the loss of two wickets, as the Rockets’ bowling attack fought back. Bell-Drummond was the first to go, miscuing off the bowling of Sam Cook. Dan Lawrence would join him soon after, bowled by a Khan googly, to leave the Spirit in a difficult position.The away side needed to rebuild and quickly if they were to post a defendable total. Morgan answered the call, striking two sixes in Khan’s next set. But when he attempted the same trick on the 64th ball against the ever-impressive Patel, he was caught at deep midwicket, leaving the Spirit 86 for 4.Sensing the moment to turn the screw, skipper Lewis Gregory threw Khan the ball and he delivered. The Afghan bowled Kieron Pollard and Jordan Thompson in a set of five which conceded just two. Three balls later, Patel would remove McDermott and the wickets kept falling. The Londoners lost their last five wickets for just 27 runs.Morgan’s team talk would have surely mentioned getting the Rockets’ in-form openers early and his side did just that. The first was by luck rather than design. Dawid Malan, run out from the first ball of the innings, his partner Hales looking sheepish as his teammate trudged off without facing. Hales was back to apologise sooner than the Rockets would have liked, caught at mid-on off the bowling of Ellis as they ended the powerplay 33 for 2.Hales’s wicket brought Kohler-Cadmore to the crease. Bought at the auction for a £125,000 fee, the Yorkshire player was in need of a big score to match his top-bracket price. He proved his value as the partnership with Munro brought 85 off 51 balls and all but secured victory. The Rockets crowd would have one last big roar as Gregory smashed a six to end the game and put his team top of the league.

World record opening stand makes light of steep chase as hosts level series at 1-1

Danyal Rasool22-Sep-2022A world record unbeaten 203-run partnership that was devastating in its brutality and yet delectable in its beauty saw Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam chase down 200 against England with three balls to spare, and without the loss of a single wicket. Babar scored his second T20I hundred, taking 62 balls to get there, while Rizwan’s unbeaten 51-ball 88 was a more than adequate supporting act.The wicket seemed to play especially slow in the first innings, so the 199 England put up looked well above par at the time. That came thanks to two contrasting innings from the England middle order, with Ben Duckett’s pragmatic shot-making setting a platform, before Moeen Ali’s furious elegance saw him caress an undefeated 55 off 23. Given Babar had said at the toss 160 would be the upper limit of what Pakistan wanted to chase, England looked invulnerable.But for all of Pakistan’s strike rate issues up the order, there has never been any evidence Babar and Rizwan aren’t at their best when chasing a total, no matter what that total might be. They did, after all, gun down 204 against South Africa in April 2021 with a 197-run partnership, and they were more than up for the relentlessly attacking cricket they would have to subject England’s bowling to. Fifty-nine came off the powerplay, and the openers simply continued in the same vein as the visitors ran out of ideas. Alex Hales grassing Rizwan in the powerplay was a sliding doors moment, as a virtually chanceless opening pairing timed the chase to perfection to seal a stunning 10-wicket win.The devastating duo
There’s really little point talking about much else. England have the better power hitters, the better middle order, and significantly more batting weapons in their arsenal, and don’t Babar and Rizwan know it. These two put together a solid opening stand in the first game, only to see their team-mates crumble under pressure, and so it appeared they recognised solid wasn’t going to cut it. They might have to do it all themselves.A couple of boundaries either side of square from Rizwan in the first over set the tone. Rizwan led the charge early on as the captain took his time bedding in, though a couple of clobbered boundaries off Sam Curran suggested Babar, too, was beginning to whirr back into form. With the pace bowlers seen to, Moeen turned to Liam Dawson’s spin, but 13 runs off the sixth over suggested Pakistan would allow the visitors no hiding place.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

A brief quiet spell following the powerplay saw the asking rate creep up, but when Moeen put himself on in the 13th over, the tide turned decisively. Twenty-one from the over, including three muscled sixes, put the openers in a zone few others in world cricket can reach. From thereon, they were unstoppable, England’s bowlers no impediment in the inexorable march to the target. A flurry of boundaries followed and by the time Babar brought up his century, the victory was almost a formality. It was, fittingly, a cover drive that sealed the win, a signature shot from a man who showed an ephemeral dip in form was little more than that.Duckett and Moeen’s contrasting styles
It would be hard to imagine what kind of surface you’d need to produce to ensure both Moeen and Duckett might excel, but this Karachi strip appears to be one of them. A slow surface made it difficult to play down the ground, and so Duckett resorted to playing the paddle and reverse sweep almost exclusively to great effect. A quickfire 50-run stand with Phil Salt allowed England to edge ahead, and by the time Duckett was cleaned up by Mohammad Nawaz, he had scored what looked an extremely handy 22-ball 43 in an innings where England otherwise struggled.But Moeen took over the reins thereafter, punishing every error in line and length – of which there were plenty on an off-colour day for Pakistan’s bowlers – making a mockery of the idea this pitch might not be suitable to conventional shot-making. He didn’t discriminate between spin and pace, Usman Qadir and Mohammad Hasnain both seeing the final two deliveries of their last overs sent sailing over the ropes. It was a breathtaking mix of timing, power and beauty, an all-round treat for the eyes that looked, at that time, as if it might be the point of difference.

The team has never won the IPL title, and finished sixth in each of the three seasons Anil Kumble was their coach

ESPNcricinfo staff and PTI03-Sep-2022 • Updated on 16-Sep-2022Punjab Kings have appointed Trevor Bayliss as head coach ahead of IPL 2023, after Anil Kumble’s contract was not renewed. Kings had failed to make the playoffs for three consecutive seasons under Kumble.Bayliss comes with a lot of pedigree, not just internationally but also in the IPL. He was the head coach of England when they won the 2019 ODI World Cup and was also the chief coach at Kolkata Knight Riders when they won the IPL in 2012 and 2014. More recently, Bayliss was the head coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Bayliss recently coached London Spirit at the men’s Hundred event in England.Kings have qualified for the playoffs only twice despite being a part of the IPL from the very beginning (as Kings XI Punjab). The first time was in the inaugural season, 2008, when they made the semi-finals, and then in 2014, when they finished runners-up to Knight Riders. They have finished sixth in each of the last four seasons.The decision to let Kumble go was taken by a board comprising co-owners Preity Zinta, Mohit Burman, Ness Wadia and Karan Paul, as well as Kings’ chief executive officer Satish Menon.Related

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Kumble joined Kings in 2020. At the time, he became the fifth coach Kings had appointed in five seasons after Sanjay Bangar (2014-16), Virender Sehwag (2017), Brad Hodge (2018) and Mike Hesson (2019).In 2020, Kumble was the only Indian head coach in IPL. Kings were the third IPL team he had worked with after his playing days, having earlier served as mentor for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians. This was before he took the job of India head coach for a year in 2016.Under Kumble, Kings won 19 and lost 23 matches over three seasons. That is the second worst win-loss ratio for any team in IPL since 2020, only behind Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Second phase in ICC’s global media-rights process, after lucrative deal secured for Indian market in August

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Sep-2022The ICC has invited bids for media rights to global cricketing events over the next four (or eight) years for the Australian, US, Caribbean and Canadian markets.This is the second phase in the ICC’s media rights process, after sealing a deal for the Indian market last month for an undisclosed sum. That winning bid, thought to be in the region of just over US$ 3 billion, came from Disney Star* and covers both television and digital rights to men’s and women’s global tournaments between 2024 and 2027. Days after the winning bid was announced, Disney Star announced it would in turn be licensing part of the rights to Zee Entertainment Enterprises in another landmark deal.Related

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Like the Indian deal, this new ITT (Invitation to Tender) allows players to bid separately for the rights to men’s and women’s tournaments. But unlike the Indian deal, though, television and digital rights will not be up for grabs separately.The bids must be made for four or eight years for men’s events, starting from 2024, and four years for women’s events. There are 16 men’s events lined up over the eight years starting from 2024, and six women’s events between 2024 and 2027.ICC chief executive Geoff Allardice said the US market, in particular, has a lot of potential for growth: “The USA is one of the ICC’s targeted growth markets, and with 30 million cricket fans already enjoying the sport there, a World Cup scheduled to be co-hosted in that country in 2024 and our exciting ambition for inclusion in the 2028 Olympic Games, there couldn’t be a better time for cricket to find a broadcast partner to help grow the game across the region.”ESPNcricinfo understands the bids need to be submitted by November 18 for Australia and November 7 for the other markets, but deadlines may be tweaked if needed.The ICC will invite bids for other markets across the globe in due course. It is expected to finalise deals for all markets by December this year.

Young West Indies quick available for Championship and T20s for three months from April

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Nov-2022Jayden Seales, the young West Indies fast bowler, will join Sussex for the first three months of their 2023 season.The 21-year-old Seales will be available for both Championship and T20 matches from April.On his Test debut at the age of 19, against South Africa in June 2021, Seales made an immediate impact with three wickets at an economy rate of 3.57 from his 21 overs.He has now played nine Tests, taking 36 wickets at an average of 21.77 with best figures of 5 for 55 against Pakistan in August last year, which made him the youngest West Indies bowler to take a five-wicket haul in Tests.Related

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In his home three-Test series against England last March – which West Indies won 1-0 – Seales took 11 wickets, joint highest with Kemar Roach and Jack Leach and including 4 for 79 in the first innings of the drawn first Test.Seales is uncapped in T20Is but has proved to be effective in the Powerplay and death overs during his time with Trinbago Knight Riders in the CPL and at the LPL with Jaffna Kings. Seales was the most prolific seamer of LPL 2021, with 15 wickets in seven matches at an economy rate of 7.81.In June, he earned his maiden Cricket West Indies (CWI) international retainer contract, which runs to mid-2023.”As a young fast-bowler, I want to expose myself to as many different conditions and challenges as possible,” Seales said. “I can’t wait to test myself in England and hopefully contribute to a winning start for Sussex in both Championship and T20 cricket.”Keith Greenfield, the Sussex performance director, described securing a quality overseas seamer of Seales’ calibre as “hugely important” to the club, particularly for the Championship, where Sussex finished second-from-bottom in eight-team Division Two last season. Sussex finished seventh of nine teams in the Vitality Blast’s South Group for 2022.”Those who have played against him and seen him at close quarters have been impressed by his skills and appetite for bowling,” Greenfield said. “He has certainly started impressively in Test cricket, and it is also great that he wants to play County cricket and knows how important it can be for him going forward.”

The visitors hit the most sixes in a BBL innings while the total was the third-highest ever

AAP23-Dec-2022Faf du Plessis and Josh Inglis provided the fireworks with blistering half-centuries that powered the Perth Scorchers to a 61-run thrashing of the Melbourne Stars.Inglis posted the fastest fifty of the season – from just 25 balls – as the reigning champions flexed their muscle at Junction Oval on Friday.He bettered the mark set by opener du Plessis (68 off 33) earlier in the innings, with the pair helping the Scorchers reach 229 for 7.Related

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It was the third-highest score in competition history – setting a new franchise record in the process – and the first total of 200-plus by any team this season.Du Plessis’ dazzling innings included six fours and five sixes before he was eventually out caught off Luke Wood, who claimed career-best figures of 5 for 50 amid the carnage.Inglis picked up where the former South Africa skipper left off, smashing five fours and six sixes, while Nick Hobson (46 off 26) also made a strong contribution. He and Aaron Hardie (30 off 17) hit three sixes apiece.Scorchers’ batters combined to send 17 deliveries clear over the short Junction Oval boundaries, a tournament record.It left Stars needing to pull off the highest-ever BBL run chase, but they only managed 168 for 8.Stars started positively, skipping to 32 for 0 from three overs, before Scorchers quick Jason Behrendorff removed openers Joe Clarke and Tom Rogers in the fourth.Powerful allrounder Marcus Stoinis’ struggles continued as he managed just 4 from seven balls, following consecutive ducks in the opening two games.Beau Webster and Nick Larkin tried to lift the Stars but the damage had already been done.

Australia pick Handscomb in place of Head; Shami and Siraj form India’s pace attack

Sidharth Monga09-Feb-2023Australia won a crucial toss as they started their quest to achieve what looks impossible in today’s cricket: beat India in a Test series in India. there was no hesitation in batting first on a surface that is expected to help spin generously. Australia’s captain Pat Cummins said, “It looks like a pretty even wicket… through the middle.” It was perhaps a reference to the rough patches on a spinner’s good length outside left-hand batters’ off stump.Perhaps keeping that in mind, Australia offloaded one of their left-hand batters, Travis Head, in favour of Peter Handscomb. They also handed out a cap to offspinner Todd Murphy. In the absence of the injured Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland shared the seam-bowling duties with Cummins.India were missing their best batter of the last two years, Rishabh Pant, but they still looked formidable, especially their bowling. In R Ashwin, the returning Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, they had three different but deadly accurate fingerspinners, which suggests India expect help from the surface. These three also added heft to the batting, forming a strong lower middle order along with two debutants: wicketkeeper KS Bharat and maverick Suryakumar Yadav. The latter was chosen ahead of Shubman Gill perhaps because India anticipate high-impact innings in short time to be of more value in the middle order.Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj formed India’s pace attack.India 1 Rohit Sharma (capt.), 2 KL Rahul, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli, 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Suryakumar Yadav, 7 KS Bharat (wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Axar Patel, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Mohammed SirajAustralia 1 David Warner, 2 Usman Khawaja, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Matt Renshaw, 6 Peter Handscomb, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Pat Cummins (capt.), 9 Todd Murphy, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Scott Boland

She had also led Trailblazers at the Women’s T20 Challenge, the WPL’s precursor

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2023Royal Challengers Bangalore have named Smriti Mandhana captain for the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL). The announcement was made through a video shared on RCB’s social media handles, which had messages from Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis – the former and current captains of the men’s team.”Now it’s time for another No. 18 to lead a very special RCB team in WPL. Yes, we are talking about Smriti Mandhana. Go on Smriti. You have the support best team and best fans in the world,” Kohli said.”It is an incredible privilege to captain RCB, what an incredible franchise and so much history and great players just walking through that dressing room. I am very confident that our women’s captain has all the attributes to lead RCB. All the very best, Smriti Mandhana. See you at the games,” du Plessis said.