The opener stayed unbeaten through the chase, notching a career-best 79* to lift his side off the bottom of the table

The Report by Liam Brickhill28-Nov-2018Tshwane Spartans have the leading six-hitter and the most effective bowler of the Mzansi Super League in their ranks, but before today they had lost three of their four matches. AB de Villiers added to his sixes tally, while Jeevan Mendis took his 11th wicket, but it was Dean Elgar who made the most telling contribution against Jozi Stars, carrying his bat for a career-best 79 not out from 52 deliveries to deliver a vital win with three balls to spare. Elgar cracked five fours and four sixes as Spartans chased down Stars’ 186 for 5 to win the Gauteng derby by four wickets, completing a record T20 run chase at SuperSport Park.Opening the batting, Elgar set the pace in Spartans’ chase with three fours and two sixes inside the Powerplay. Elgar had to weather a bristling opening spell from Kagiso Rabada, while at the other end Simon Harmer struck repeatedly to dent Spartans’ line-up. Harmer removed the pinch-hitting Corbin Bosch and Theunis de Bruyn with consecutive deliveries, but Elgar found the boundary whenever it was needed and alongside de Villiers, added 68 for the fourth wicket in quick time to push the innings forward.As Elgar brought up a 30-ball fifty in the 11th over, de Villiers gave an all too brief exhibition of astonishing T20 strokeplay, flicking seamer Dwaine Pretorius over fine leg with a paddle sweep for six as he started to hit his straps. De Villiers then launched an assault in Eddie Leie’s second over, reverse sweeping to third man and then sending the ball sailing twice over midwicket with a pair of powerful slog sweeps.Pretorius soon wrought revenge, however, de Villiers slicing a full ball straight to Ryan Rickelton at long off to depart for 39. But vitally, Elgar remained, and he took Spartans closer with a 41-run stand with Tony de Zorzi, the 150 coming up in the 16th over. Spartans were left needing 41 from the last five overs, which was par for the course, but the quick dismissals of de Zorzi and Robbie Frylinck in consecutive overs set up a tight finish.Still, Elgar batted on and as long as he remained, the advantage was always with Spartans. Sean Williams, batting as low as no. 8, tipped the balance with a top-edged pull for four off Rabada in the penultimate over, and then hit the winning runs by slicing a full toss from Beuran Hendricks to the third man boundary.While Elgar had kept Spartans ticking over throughout their chase, Jozi’s innings had been bookended by contrasting knocks from Reeza Hendricks and Pite van Biljon. Rickelton, who narrowly missed out on a hundred against Paarl Rocks a week ago, was very much the secondary partner in an opening stand of 54 as Hendricks repeatedly pierced the cover boundary with an exhibition of classical shots.Hendricks’ first boundary was gifted to him via overthrows, but he hit five more fours off the next 10 balls he faced with rather more authority. With Hendricks particularly fluent through the off side, Eldred Hawken leaked 10 runs from his first over, Bosch 15 from his second, and Stars took 53 from the Powerplay.Once de Villiers turned to his spinners, however, the scoring rate immediately dipped. Mendis added to his wickets tally almost straight away when Rickelton gloved a sweep to be well caught by a diving Gihahn Cloete behind the stumps.Between the sixth and the 14th overs, Stars managed just one boundary off the bat, with Williams flighting the ball more than usual and collecting a miserly 0 for 14 from his four overs. Hendricks went to a 48-ball fifty, but he became Mendis’ second victim when he was caught in the deep for 55.The re-introduction of seam changed the momentum of the innings, van Biljon and Dane Vilas pillaging 19 runs off the 17th over of the innings, bowled by Frylinck, and 20 off the penultimate over of the innings, bowled by Lutho Sipamla, as 67 runs flowed from the last four overs. But that wasn’t quite enough to make up for the middle order dip, and Elgar’s efforts meant that Spartans moved up from the bottom of the points table to third, while Stars slipped to fourth.

Life’s been good with the extra family time, says Australian batsman ahead of his first game as captain of the Sylhet Sixers

Mohammad Isam03-Jan-2019David Warner entered the press conference room several minutes before the scheduled start. He chatted with the journalists in the front row, sharing his knowledge about Aminul Islam, the former Bangladesh captain who resides in Australia, whom he knows by his nickname Bulbul.Warner is one of several big names in this season’s BPL, here because of his ban from Australian cricket till March this year. The BPL is his third T20 franchise tournament since he picked up the ban after Global T20 Canada and the CPL, while he has also spent time playing grade cricket back home.”Life has been good for me,” Warner said about his forced break from the international arena. “I have been spending time with the family. I wouldn’t be able to do that if I was sitting in the sidelines. It is about getting the best out of myself and growing as a human being. The most important thing was being a father and husband at home. Now it is down to playing cricket again and making sure I get Sylhet Sixers on top of the table.”Warner said that he has been in good form in Sydney grade cricket, which will help him build towards a comeback in a couple of months when he completes serving the ban.”I was having a conversation with Waqar [Younis, Sylhet coach] today about playing club cricket in Australia at the moment. The wickets are quite low and slow. It has been tough to adapt to those conditions but I have had a very good run of form at home and having played here in Dhaka and Chattogram before, I know what the wicket is going to be like. So for me it is about getting into a routine and rhythm and making sure I can lead from the front, from the top. So it makes it easy for the guys coming in,” he said.Leading Sylhet will also be an interesting opportunity for Warner. He is in charge of the likes of Liton Das, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Taskin Ahmed and Afif Hossain, all of whom are regarded as some of the most talented cricketers in Bangladesh, often distracted by off-field factors.”I am extremely grateful to be leading the side. For me it is about making sure that we as a whole, including the support staff and management, can get the best out of the players. We have to establish our best XI when we get into the park and make sure we do the right things in training. I have to make sure I am doing my job right, which is scoring runs and leading the guys on the park,” he said.He, however, played down the duel with Steven Smith, who will be on opposite side for Comilla Victorians on Sunday.”I will just treat it as another game. It is not just taking on one player but taking on a team of eleven players. It is about making sure that our bowlers know how to get Smith out, and then tackle the rest of the guys,” he said.Warner said that his own form in the BPL could play a part in his return for Australia. “It is up to the selectors whether or not they want to pick me. At the end of the day, all I can do is score runs in this tournament and the IPL, keep putting my hand up and making sure that I am the best person I can be,” he said.Younis said that he is depending on Warner, apart from overseas fast bowlers Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Irfan and Pat Brown, and legspinners Imran Tahir and Sandeep Lamichhane.”I think we picked a pretty balanced team. We have all bases covered. We have a good bowling line-up with couple of really good overseas fast bowlers and legspinners. Sandeep Lamichhane and Imran Tahir are both world-class. Warner will lead the team from the front. I have worked with him in the past and we get on really well. Hopefully we will challenge other teams in this tournament and play really well,” he said.

Trevor Bayliss has hinted he would recommend splitting the England coaching job in the future

George Dobell in Barbados19-Jan-2019Trevor Bayliss has hinted he would recommend splitting the England coaching job in the future. Bayliss’ contract as head coach expires at the end of September and he has made it clear he has no intention of seeking an extension. Instead, he is likely to pursue a future as a freelance coach on short-term deals offered by competitions such as the Big Bash League and The Hundred.After four years in the England job, however, he is well-placed to advise on the pitfalls of the role. In that time, he has missed just one tour; a short, limited-overs trip to the Caribbean that was instead overseen by Paul Farbrace. And, having held a meeting with Ashley Giles, the new managing director of England men’s cricket, shortly before departing, it seems Bayliss stressed the difficulties of a role that entails the best part of 300 days a year in hotel rooms.As a result, it seems he would recommend either splitting the role into two, with a limited-overs coach and a Test coach both answering to Giles, or appointing one head coach with several deputies who could take charge of some series.”It’s very difficult,” Bayliss said. “I said to Giles the other day that if they go with one coach then it might help to have two or three assistants underneath. It could be that they take charge in some more series. Then the head coach gets a break and it gives experience to two or three homegrown coaches.”Part of the issue with the role as it stands at present is that it may deter some of the better candidates from applying. While it is a prestigious, well-paid job, it has also become so all-encompassing that it could take the incumbent away from their family for longer than they feel is acceptable. In the winter of 2019-20, for example, England face tours to New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka, which could see those involved on the road for around five months.Whatever happens next, Bayliss knows he faces an action-packed final nine months in the job. With a World Cup starting in June and an Ashes series to follow, he also knows his legacy as England coach will be decided by it.”It probably couldn’t get any bigger,” he said. “Especially happening at home and within a few months. That brings pressure, but one thing we have been working towards is playing under some pressure. When we get to the big stage it is out of our hands, it’s down to the guys to perform on the day. I don’t think we could have done too much more.”Some of the results and the way they have begun to play suggests we are heading in the right direction. There’s no secret we’ve been looking to fill a few spots in the Test side permanently and hopefully some are close to being filled.”While much of England’s strategy over the last few years has been geared towards success in the World Cup – a tournament they have never won and which is seen as vital in engaging a new audience – Bayliss is reluctant to view it as any greater a priority than the Ashes.”I’m not sure winning the World Cup would be more special,” he said. “There’s nothing like beating Australia in the Ashes, like we did in 2015. And having lost in Australia 12 months ago… it’s hard to pick between the Ashes and the World Cup. Hopefully we walk away with both trophies.”

“You have to give a guy a chance to play a couple of games and then if he hasn’t proved his worth, you can make changes”

Mohammad Isam in Hamilton04-Mar-2019Another new-look pace attack, another big total conceded. This has been the case for Bangladesh in Test cricket, especially when they have travelled outside the subcontinent over the past three years.Since March 2016, they have been to South Africa, the West Indies and New Zealand, and in each of those countries, they have given up a 400-plus total, with their rookie fast bowlers getting battered to all parts of the ground.Taskin Ahmed, Kamrul Islam Rabbi and Subashis Roy had a terrible time in New Zealand in 2017. Bangladesh then went to South Africa and, even with Mustafizur Rahman and Rubel Hossain available, there was very little improvement. Abu Jayed did decently in the West Indies in 2018 but he got very little support. Meanwhile, Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach and Jason Holder just kept blowing the Bangladesh batsmen away.0:50

By The Numbers: New Zealand scale the 700-run mountain

In much the same way this Sunday, the Trent Boult-Tim Southee-Neil Wagner combination bowled New Zealand to victory, while Jayed, Ebadot Hossain and Khaled Ahmed conceded 369 runs in 87 overs for one solitary wicket. Bangladesh’s inability to keep the runs down or take wickets meant New Zealand had little to worry about as they piled on 715 for 6, their highest-ever Test score.Despite that, fast-bowing coach Courtney Walsh has backed his young bowlers, saying the only way they will get better is by playing more matches together.”If you’re going to invest in them, and train them in the right conditions – they would have to improve as well – I’d like to see them play a couple of Test matches together,” Walsh said. “Five or ten. Not as individuals, but as a group. But we can rotate them as well, play a couple together, where they get a good feel, a good understanding of what’s happening. Especially in conditions away from home. In Bangladesh, sometimes, none might play or one might play, but when you’re away from home, they need to play.Courtney Walsh oversees Bangladesh’s training session•Getty Images

“So it’ll be nice for them to get a good run so they get a good feel of what’s happening, and you can then judge to see how much they have learnt. We invested in Ebadot. If you remember, two years ago, he came as a developmental player. And that investment has sort of worked in terms of how he made his Test debut here. That’s a good sign. If we can get that to continue, for him to play a couple of Test matches, and to keep improving.”Walsh repeated that those picking squads and XIs have to be careful with bowlers like Jayed, Khaled and Ebadot, and not throw them under the bus after a failure. “I think the decision-makers have to be patient. It’s something I have always advocated for. You have to give a guy a chance to play a couple of games and then if he hasn’t proved his worth, you can make changes.”If you’re going to play one Test match here and one Test match there, you’re never going to get a chance to learn the trade or improve your game. One Test match or two Test matches are not good enough. Obviously, when we’re in Bangladesh, we know it’s more spin-friendly, so when you’re overseas you want to get a good run. Last tour, we had new fast bowlers. This one, the same thing. South Africa, the same thing. There’s no continuity and consistency. We have to look at three-four guys that we think can make it, especially for overseas, and invest in them.”As a sign of how Jayed, Ebadot and Khaled were already showing progress, Walsh pointed to events from Bangladesh’s post-match team talk. “During the review meeting, they accepted where things went wrong and where it went well. Once the players admit and accept the discussions, to me it is a big plus. We look at where they did well, and where they need to improve, and that’s my responsibility.”Bangladesh and their fast bowlers have a few more days of self-reflection before the second Test begins on March 8.

Priya Punia and D Hemalatha were left out in favour of Harleen Deol and Bharati Fulmali

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Feb-2019Smriti Mandhana is in line to make her international captaincy debut when India host England for three T20Is that follow the ongoing series of ICC Women’s Championship ODIs. The elevation came after Harmanpreet Kaur, the designated T20I captain, was ruled out of the series because of the ankle injury that has kept her out of the ODIs as well.

India women’s T20I squad

Smriti Mandhana (captain), Mithali Raj, Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Taniya Bhatia (wicketkeeper), Bharti Fulmali, Anuja Patil, Shikha Pandey, Komal Zanzad, Arundhati Reddy, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht, Radha Yadav, Veda Krishnamurty, Harleen Deol

The 22-year-old Mandhana has made 106 appearances for India, including 55 in the shortest format. Her captaincy stints in the domestic circuit include leading her state side Maharashtra, West Zone, and India Blue to the Challenger Trophy title in January 2018. Most recently, she led the Board President’s XI against a full-strength England squad in a warm-up game at Wankhede Stadium.ALSO READ: Pandey and Goswami serve up perfect fast-bowling cocktailVeda Krishnamurthy, the middle-order batsman who missed the tour of New Zealand after poor returns at the World T20, returned to the side in the absence of Harmanpreet. Left-arm fast bowler Komal Zanzad was named in place of Mansi Joshi, while the batting pair of Priya Punia and D Hemalatha were left out in favour of Harleen Deol and Bharati Fulmali.Punia’s ouster came on the back of a poor debut series in New Zealand, where she managed just nine runs in three innings. Hemalatha too had a forgettable tour, making a 32-ball 13 in her only outing with the bat.This is a maiden national call-up for Zanzad, who took 3 for 14 for Board President’s XI against England last week. Zanzad, from Vidarbha, had previously impressed at the Challenger Trophy.Mithali Raj’s presence, meanwhile, adds the much-needed depth to the middle order in Harmanpreet’s absence. Raj’s T20I future has been the subject of much debate in recent times. While she was left out of the first two T20Is in New Zealand, Raj’s cameo in the middle order kept India in line for a last-over win in the final game in Hamilton.Shikha Pandey will lead the pace attack, with Zanzad and Arundhati Reddy for company. As expected, India have gone in with as many as five frontline spinners – Ekta Bisht, Radha Yadav, Poonam Yadav, Anuja Patil and Deepti Sharma.With the T20 World Cup set to be played in Australia in the first half of 2020, the series is yet another opportunity for the new head coach WV Raman to finalise his core group of players. Since losing the last World T20 semi-final to England, India have been blanked 3-0 in the shortest format in New Zealand despite being in winning positions on all three occasions.

Against Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi might field Chris Morris, while Sandeep Lamichhane could well join Amit Mishra to make it a two-pronged legspin attack

The Preview by Sidharth Monga in Delhi29-Mar-20193:22

Dasgupta: Chawla, Narine, Kuldeep key to KKR’s chances

Big Picture

This is a match between a side that is looking to establish roles for its players – and thus achieve success and establish itself in a city that has been cold to the home team for 11 years – and a team that doesn’t want established roles. Kolkata Knight Riders come to Delhi with the most fluid and flexible batting line-up among IPL sides, and an unbeaten record this year. The hosts, Delhi Capitals, soared magnificently in the first match against Mumbai Indians, but were laid low partly by their own home conditions and partly by their failure to adjust to the dry pitch that offered natural variations to bowlers.Knight Riders will provide Delhi as big a challenge as Chennai Super Kings did. They have three spinners of varying quality and mode of operation, and they are not short of quicks who can hit the deck. As Ricky Ponting said after the defeat to Super Kings, Delhi will have to find a way to bat smarter.Chris Morris is back for Delhi, and will give them a hit-the-deck bowler and a big-hitting allrounder possibly at the expense of Keemo Paul. Morris pointed out that the square doesn’t look like it did last year where they averaged around 190 batting first. In fact they scored 219 when they last faced Knight Riders at home. If they continue with their strategy of batting first – there hasn’t been much dew to speak of – they might set their sights on around 170 and then try to get to Andre Russell early and then past him.Amit Mishra celebrates a wicket with Rishabh Pant•BCCI

Likely XIs

Delhi Capitals 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Prithvi Shaw, 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Colin Ingram, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Chris Morris, 7 Axar Patel/Sandeep Lamichhane, 8 Rahul Tewatia, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Amit Mishra, 11 Ishant SharmaKolkata Knight Riders 1 Chris Lynn, 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Robin Uthappa, 4 Nitish Rana, 5 Shubman Gill, 6 Dinesh Karthik (capt & wk), 7 Andre Russell, 8 Piyush Chawla, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Prasidh Krishna

Strategy punt

If they open with spin, Knight Riders prefer to do it with Piyush Chawla, but his record against Shikhar Dhawan is not great. Will either Sunil Narine or Kuldeep Yadav be used with the new ball then? In all likelihood, they will not use a spinner to open the bowling, and will wait for the ball to get slightly older.There has been a clamour for Sandeep Lamichhane to play, but Amit Mishra holds a good record against Russell. In fact, that probably makes a case for more legspin at Russell. They will play at least two anyway.

Stats that matter

• Knight Riders lead the head-to-head record 13-8.
• Last season, spinners averaged 31.5 and conceded 7.8 per over in Delhi, while the quicks managed corresponding figures of 34.6 and 9.4.
• Among players who have faced at least 100 balls at the death in the IPL, Rishabh Pant has the best strike rate at 233.33 and Russell the fourth-best at 198.83.

Ishant and Mishra took three wickets each and Pant cracked an unbeaten 53 as Royals paid for a meek batting performance

The Report by Peter Della Penna04-May-20198:38

Agarkar: Royals have a good squad but never found balance

Ajinkya Rahane’s decision to bat at the toss backfired as Rajasthan Royals failed to recover from Ishant Sharma’s triple-strike in the Powerplay and were eliminated from IPL 2019. Delhi Capitals had a chance to finish top of the table if they’d chased 116 in 10 overs and though they couldn’t do that, the five-wicket win still gives them a chance to finish in the top two, provided Kolkata Knight Riders beat Mumbai Indians in the final match of the league stage on Sunday.He Shant be kept down for longThe 30-year-old fast bowler had been having a very lean campaign, fetching just three wickets in his last seven outings for the Capitals and had sat out their last match against Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday. But after the 80-run thrashing meted out by MS Dhoni’s men, Ishant was recalled and produced his best figures of the season: 3 for 38.He struck the first blow, dismissing Rahane as the batsman picked out one of only two fielders allowed in the deep during the Powerplay. Later, Ishant flummoxed Liam Livingstone with a fabulous offcutter and bowled him for 14.Sanju Samson was run-out following a big mix-up with Mahipal Lomror and Ishant made sure to send the survivor of that partnership back as well, leaving Royals 30 for 4 at the end of six overs.Mishra’s fourth time unluckyComing into the day, Amit Mishra had three IPL hat-tricks to his name and very easily could have had a fourth. On the second ball of the 12th over, Shreyas Gopal charged the legspinner who responded by dragging the length back and adjusting his line well wide of off stump, leaving the batsman flailing and stumped. Stuart Binny then played well away from his body edging a top-spinner behind for a golden duck. And K Gowtham, facing up to the hat-trick ball, played a bizarre slog tha went straight up.Rishabh Pant goes for the big one•BCCI

No mid-off was in place, forcing Trent Boult to run across from mid-on for the chance. But even though he covered the ground in time, the usually sure-handed New Zealander grassed it, his last-second, full-length dive to the right proving of little useIt didn’t matter much in the end as Mishra claimed Gowtham in his following over and Royals were suddenly 65 for 7. Riyan Parag ground through the rest of the innings, showing maturity beyond his years to become the youngest IPL half-centurion maker at age 17. Still, the total of 115 was severely under-par.Far from So-soPlaying just his second match of the season for Royals, legspinner Ish Sodhi nearly inspired a thrilling fightback. Brought on in the fourth over, he struck on his first two balls as part of a double-wicket maiden.Shikhar was beaten in flight as he charged out of his crease and the miscue was taken quite smartly by Riyan running back from mid-on. The non-striker Prithvi Shaw had crossed with the ball in the air and promptly dragged the next ball onto his stumps to put Sodhi on a hat-trick.Everything’s PantasticAfter seven consecutive dot balls by Sodhi, Shreyas Iyer wrestled the momentum back with two glorious straight drives for six. But it was Rishabh Pant who finished the game off.Perhaps his finest shot came in the 15th over when he stepped inside the line to flick Varun Aaron over fine leg for six. With scores level, he belted Sodhi’s first ball of the 17th over cow corner for his fifth six to bring up a 38-ball fifty, clinch victory and eliminate the opposition.

A wicket from the second ball of the day hints at trouble but Dean Elgar impresses as Surrey reach 244 for 6

Richard Hobson at The Oval07-Jul-2019The walls alongside the staircase inside the Oval pavilion are decorated with framed photographs of Surrey’s capped players. There, side-by-side a few yards from the Prince of Wales room on the second floor, hang pictures of two batsmen honoured in 2014, both with hair flicked back, both moustachioed, both now England players. And soon, perhaps, Test match opening partners.Barring injury, Rory Burns must be a certainty to face Ireland later this month and Australia at the start of August. Jason Roy may well be there with him. Trevor Bayliss has confirmed that the selectors are thinking of rewarding his white-ball brilliance, saying: “Whether it’s at the top of the order or number three, there’s no secret in Test cricket we’ve been looking for a solid combination.”Not long after the story broke, Burns was demonstrating his own value in some of the most challenging conditions for batting. Grey above, green below, the ball seaming and wobbling maliciously. A situation demanding judgement, saintly patience and soft hands. Roy can utilise a Powerplay, but how will he cope if it is like this at Edgbaston come day one of the Ashes, August 1?Bayliss and national selector Ed Smith might reflect on the judgement of Michael di Venuto, the Surrey head coach, who thinks they would be mistaken to use Roy in that role when he bats in the lower middle order for the county. Roy would have liked capitalising on the foundation given by Burns and Dean Elgar here. But he might have struggled to lay it.The scorecard tells only a partial story. Burns and Elgar were superb in the 70 minutes before lunch. When play began at noon the outlook had 150 or so all out written all over. Darren Stevens and Harry Podmore must have licked their lips in anticipation of edged catches and balls nipping back onto pads. Spinner Ollie Rayner might have wondered if he’d get a bowl.Kent did not operate badly at all, but they missed opportunities in the field. By the time they did have Surrey three down conditions had eased greatly. Sam Curran and Ben Foakes profited; they should have stood Burns and Elgar rounds at the bar once bad light brought an absorbing day to a premature end some ten overs ahead of schedule.Nothing quite matched the drama of the first two balls. Burns edged the first, from Podmore, to first slip where Sean Dickson dropped the catch. Cheekily, Surrey took the run. But Mark Stoneman opted not to play the next delivery which swung late into his pads and resulted in a leg-before decision. The idea that only five more wickets would fall in the next six hours seemed preposterous.Both Stevens and Podmore, then Matt Milnes, maintained full lengths to give the ball every chance of deviating. Cuts and pulls were conspicuous by their absence. Podmore overstepped when he thought he had Elgar lbw on 8, and it was not until the 14th over that Surrey hit a first four, Burns forcing Grant Stewart through extra cover.Stewart was to prove relatively expensive, but at least he was encouraging the drive. And although Elgar, in a new position at No. 3, forced clinically through mid-on, boundaries were few and far between across the truncated first session. With the sun emerging during the break it started to feel like a different game, as though Surrey had qualified for round two of a series.Easier, but never actually easy. Stewart was increasingly impressive, quick and powerful with a low arm, and he undid Burns with a brute of a ball that bounced and went across the left-hander to the keeper. An inswinger from Podmore did for Scott Borthwick, but Dickson dropped a second chance when Elgar edged Stevens on 51.Instead, it was Stewart who removed the South African, the ball perhaps keeping a touch low from a length that always leaves unresolved the question of whether to go forward or back. Elgar’s 63 in 206 minutes was worth three figures on another occasion, and for the next hour or so Curran was able to play strokes that would have brought a very quick demise had he tried them earlier.Throwing his hands at the ball, he struck his first and third balls to the cover point boundary and soon forced Rayner straight for six. His battle with the spinner was closely contested, another six following while Rayner also turned one sharply past the bat. Adventure finally got the better of Curran when he top-edged an attempt to pull Milnes.Foakes offered steady support, restraining some of his own strokeplay before completing a half-century from 115 balls. In the previous home game, against Warwickshire, he twice gifted his wicket when he looked a million dollars. By taking more care this time, he was giving his top-order colleagues the respect their endeavours deserved.

The hosts secured their very first ODI series clean sweep over a fellow Full Member in Stormont

The Report by Liam Brickhill07-Jul-2019James McCollum’s second fifty of the series, and a nuggety 49 from captain William Porterfield, took Ireland to an historic six-wicket win over Zimbabwe in Stormont. Following on from his fifty in Ireland’s series-sealing win on Thursday, McCollum set up Ireland’s pursuit of Zimbabwe’s 190 with 54 at the top of the order. Porterfield’s knock pushed Ireland closer to victory, and an unbeaten 35 from Kevin O’Brien secured their very first ODI series clean sweep over a fellow Full Member.With swing on offer with the new ball, McCollum didn’t have it all his own way early in his knock and was given a particularly thorough working over by Kyle Jarvis, playing and missing at three outswingers in a row. But Zimbabwe couldn’t make any inroads, despite several near misses and one clear chance that came their way. In the second over of Ireland’s chase, Tendai Chatara drew a false shot from Paul Stirling, a leading edge presenting Sean Williams with a tough high chance running back from cover, but it was spilled and Ireland cruised through the Powerplay at better than five an over.Having scored six consecutive fifty-plus ODI scores, Stirling was in sight of a seventh when he edged an attempted cut off Chatara to fall for 32. Zimbabwe snaffled a second wicket just before the first drinks break, Andy Balbirnie top edging a sweep off Williams before he could get going, but after the interval McCollum and Porterfield continued to find the boundary whenever one was needed to ease pressure.Porterfield nudged his way past 4,000 ODI runs during a 43-run third wicket stand that steadied Ireland and took the score beyond 100 in the 23rd over. At the other end, McCollum raised his fifty with a handsome drive through cover off Solomon Mire, but then fell against the run of play in Mire’s next over, driving a long half volley uppishly into the covers, where Ryan Burl dived to his right to hold the catch.By then, Ireland needed only 81 more runs from the better part of 25 overs, and Porterfield steadily whittled away at the target alongside Kevin O’Brien. So effective in the last match, today Zimbabwe’s spinners struggled to pin Ireland’s middle order down, with Porterfield putting the sweep to particularly good use against Sikandar Raza’s offspin.It was Ryan Burl’s part-time legspin that finally got the better of Porterfield, however, as he was beaten by sharp turn and bowled for 49 in the 37th over, with Ireland needing just 32. O’Brien administered the last rites, batting a little within himself but still allowing for the odd moment of flair.”We set out to win the series and obviously to win it 3-0 is pretty good,” Porterfield said after the game. “Starting back in May, quite a few cricketers have come in. It’s really pleasing that the lads are coming in and making contributions. There’s depth in that pool of players and the confidence is right up there.”It was one of Ireland’s veterans who set the match up. Once again utilising the conditions expertly, Tim Murtagh picked up 3 for 39 to lead the attack. He found the outside edge of Burl’s bat in the third over of the morning, the left-hander having been promoted to open, and then snapped up the vital wicket of Brendan Taylor for the second time in the series. With Craig Ervine dragging a pull at Mark Adair onto his own stumps, Zimbabwe were three down early and the slide began in earnest.They were tottering at 88 for 6, but Richmond Mutumbami joined a settled Williams at the crease to steady things somewhat with a 43-run stand. Boyd Rankin’s pace and bounce snapped the partnership, Mutumbami wafting flat-footed outside off to be caught behind, but after him Jarvis also showed a little stickability to chaperone Williams to his second fifty of the tour.Williams’ desperately unlucky dismissal for 67 – run out at the non-striker’s end as Adair palmed a firm drive from Jarvis back onto the stumps – completely opened up Zimbabwe’s tail. Jarvis attempted to push things on with a couple of lusty blows, but two overs later Zimbabwe were all out for their lowest total of the tour.”I’m obviously getting on a bit now, but still enjoying my cricket,” Murtagh said after being named Player of the Series for his nine wickets. “And these boys keep me young. I’m enjoying it. They’re good kids. They’re desperate to learn. Mark’s last over in the last game was really special. Shane [Getkate] looks like he’s been playing for years.””We haven’t played our best cricket,” admitted Zimbabwe captain Hamilton Masakadza. “Ireland have showed us up and really put us under the pump. We need to make better decisions under pressure. That’s what Ireland have done, every time they’re on top, they haven’t let us come back.”

Test side has “suffered a bit” due to white-ball emphasis, admits Giles, and red-ball stars might be afforded fewer IPL opportunities

George Dobell29-Jul-2019English cricket will “redress the balance” between red and white-ball cricket over the next few years.Ashley Giles, the managing director of England men’s cricket, accepts that white-ball cricket took priority in the previous four-year cycle and he accepts the strategy, put in place by his predecessor, Andrew Strauss, paid off. England went from also-rans at the 2015 World Cup to champions in 2019.But he also accepts England’s Test cricket may have “suffered a little bit.” England are currently No. 4 in the ICC’s Test rankings while they are No. 1 in the ODI and No. 2 in the T20I rankings. So, while he is keen to pay tribute to Strauss’ influence, he feels that winning the World Test Championship – which is launched at the start of the Ashes series which starts on Thursday – should be the new goal of English cricket. And to that end, he feels the red-ball game should now be given greater priority in terms of planning, scheduling and investment.”When Strauss came in he said we have to swing the balance right towards white-ball cricket and that’s what we did,” Giles said. “All the attention and the way we play county cricket was definitely focused on the shorter formats.”It was the focus we needed. It was the strategy that led to us winning the World Cup which we looked miles away from doing in 2015. It was important that the pendulum didn’t swing back to 50-50, it had to swing right back to white-ball cricket. We had never approached things in that way before in this country.”Has Test cricket suffered a little bit? Well, perhaps a little bit. We need to do that in red-ball cricket now. Whether it’s the World Test Championship or not, Test cricket is really important to us in this country. We haven’t neglected Test cricket for white-ball cricket, but focus has definitely been more on that side and we just need to redress that balance now.”In the future we need to work with the counties on producing future Test players. Our focus has certainly been on white-ball cricket and we need to redress that balance now to try and even things out.”Giles’ task is not straightforward. The county schedule will continue to see white-ball cricket take precedence in peak season – there will be no County Championship cricket played in the white-ball window built for The Hundred and 50-over cricket from 2020 – which means domestic first-class cricket will continue to be played in the margins of the season when pitches tend to provide substantial assistance to seam bowlers.But there some tools available to him. For a start, county cricket is already using a brand of Dukes ball with a less prominent seam that provides a little less help for bowlers. The counties have also been encouraged to provide better batting surfaces in the hope that seamers are required to work harder for their wickets and batsmen can gain some form and confidence in a more meritocratic environment. It is also hoped the combination of flatter wickets and less helpful balls will encourage the development of faster bowlers and spinners.That prioritisation will also be demonstrated in the value of the new central contracts. While players in all formats will receive a substantial pay rise when the new contracts begin in October – those contracted for red and white-ball cricket will earn just under £1m a year before appearance fees – the percentage rise will be greater for those involved in Test cricket. Meanwhile young fast bowlers will be taken on to incremental contracts – a scheme that will replace the fast bowling programme – which will allow the England management to rest them, or place them in overseas cricket, as they see fit.There may also be less leeway for Test players to take part in T20 leagues, including the IPL. While appearances in such leagues have helped England’s player develop in the white-ball game – and while there is a World T20 Cup at the end of next year – Giles is keen to ensure candidates for the Test squad have both rested and reacclimatised to English conditions before returning to the Test team. He hopes the value of the new central contracts – which will see some England players earning between £1.2 and £1.5m a year when appearance fees are included – will diminish the allure of such leagues for his top assets.There may be fewer IPL opportunities for Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, Giles suggested•PTI

Most of all, though, he wants the county game – and the ECB pathways – to deliver better results. That means creating an environment where top-order batsmen have a better chance to develop, where counties are rewarded for producing players and where the qualities required to succeed in Test cricket are replicated and cultivated.”It’s fundamentally important that our county cricket is system is producing good players,” Giles continued. “And what we’ve seen this year is sides preparing better pitches to play on. As a result, scores have been better and there seems to be better cricket round the country; really competitive cricket. The stats would say that when we’ve had a deep and successful [Test] batting order, we’ve had a really strong County Championship with high scores, lots of runs and batsmen scoring 1,000 runs a season. We certainly need the network and county system to work with us.”Even just saying ‘we’re going to win the World Cup’ in 2015 placed a lot of emphasis on our focus in terms of how we grew players, grew talent and spotted talent. Now we do need to redress that, so placing more emphasis on how we support and improve our long-form cricketers. And some of that is about working with the counties and collaborating much more on growing a bigger pool of players to prepare to play Test cricket.”But it not going to be an overnight change. We won’t suddenly start producing dozens of top-order players. In the short term, the Test Championship has to be on our to-do list. It doesn’t get much tougher but we have to have that as a goal. Test cricket’s really important to us and we need to be trying to compete for that Championship and if not this one then the next one.”In the shorter term we’ve got two T20 World Cups. Next year in Australia probably represents a really good opportunity for us to win that and wouldn’t it be great if we could hold both white-ball trophies at once?”Having our resources, we should be trying to compete across as many formats as we can. In the really short term you might swing some of your focus towards T20 cricket instead of 50-over cricket as we’re four years away from another 50-over World Cup. But we need to give Test cricket the focus it deserves.”