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Opener’s attacking 80 sees Sussex overturn first-inning deficit of 79 and push on into useful lead

ECB Reporters Network06-Apr-2019A typically vigorous innings from Sussex opener Phil Salt helped dispel his side’s unhappy memories of their disappointing first-innings display against Leicestershire at Hove. Salt hit 11 fours and a hooked six off Will Davis as he and opening partner Tom Haines made light work of a first-innings deficit of 79.Salt’s dynamic 80 from 67 deliveries helped make up for his four-ball duck on the opening day. In the first over, he hit Chris Wright for three fours, straight, to third man and to backward-point. He scored 41 off 27 balls as he and Haines raised the 50. And the opening pair took just 16 overs to wipe off the arrears.As the Sussex press officer quipped: “We’ve had Greenidge and Haynes – now we have Salt and Haines!” And Salt, like the legendary West Indies openers, was brought up in Barbados.Salt’s tempo slowed, allowing Haines to catch up a little. But he still managed to reach his half-century off 41 deliveries. In a bid to stem the tide Leicestershire brought on offspinner Colin Ackerman to bowl the last over before tea, and with his fifth ball he had Haines lbw for 39.Ackermann removed Salt, too, with the score on 136 in the 29th over. It was a tame end to a vivid innings as he tapped a return catch to the bowler. But then the Leicestershire bowlers came up against another Sussex batsman with a point to prove. Luke Wells had also made a duck in his first innings, but he showed determination as he dug in with Stiaan van Zyl. The unbroken third-wicket partnership is so far worth 75, with both batsmen undefeated on 41.Leicestershire had started the cold and blustery second day on 131 for 5, 42 runs behind, and looked unlikely to reach their 252 when, in the fifth over of the morning, Harry Dearden, half-forward, was lbw to a ball from Ollie Robinson which kept a little low.But a seventh-wicket stand of 52 in 17 overs between Lewis Hill and Tom Taylor took them past the Sussex total. When Hill leg-glanced David Wiese for a single in the 14th over of the day Leicestershire went past the Sussex total. Hill took a battling hour to add the 10 runs he needed to reach his half-century.Sussex fought back with three wickets in seven overs. Spinner Danny Briggs bowled Hill, sweeping, for 67 and then Haines had Taylor lbw for 33. Gavin Griffiths was caught behind off Chris Jordan for 1, but then a last-wicket stand of 31 between Wright and Davis frustrated the Sussex bowlers and delayed lunch by 30 minutes.

Walsh was concerned about the injuries picked up by Bangladesh’s players, including Rubel Hossain, Mohammad Saifuddin and Abu Jayed

Mohammad Isam22-Apr-2019Bangladesh bowling coach Courtney Walsh wants fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman to be given enough time to recover from his ankle injury, and not be used too much during the tri-series in Ireland next month. Walsh suggested that given Mustafizur’s habit of picking up small injuries, he should be geared towards his work for the World Cup, which begins two weeks after the Ireland tour.Speaking after the side’s first training session in Dhaka before leaving for Ireland, Walsh was concerned about the injury worries to some of his pace bowlers. Apart from Mustafizur, Rubel Hossain has a side strain while Mohammad Saifuddin is suffering from a tennis elbow. Even Abu Jayed is said to have picked up a niggle.But it is Mustafizur who has had such an impact in the Bangladesh bowling line-up after the 2015 World Cup and is the biggest concern ahead of the next big event in England.”[Mustafizur] has got a big role to play in the World Cup, once he is fit,” Walsh said. “But I don’t think we rely on any one player. Shakib [Al Hasan], Mash [Mashrafe Mortaza] and Rubel have been consistent. Fizz hasn’t been as sharp since his injury, and he keeps picking up slight niggles. A fully fit Mustafizur can win games for you but we have to have him as fit as possible. We have a bit of time on our side. My concern is that I hope we don’t over-rush him, and probably use him too much in Ireland, and he is not fresh for the World Cup.”Out of the five we have three injured – Fizz, Rubel and Saifuddin, who has the tennis elbow. We need to get them back into bowling, within the right frame of mind, and be sharp enough to do a bit of bowling in Ireland and be ready for the World Cup. We have Taskin Ahmed, Khaled Ahmed and Shafiul Islam as well [for back-up]. You can probably say that we have them just in case we need them.”Walsh said that playing the tournament in England, where the pitches are mostly expected to help the batsmen, will require the pace bowlers to not just have skills, but also know when and where to use them. “It will be a big challenge. The World Cup is going to be long tournament,” Walsh said. “There are going to be some good cricket wickets, which are batting-friendly. We have to be intelligent, and try to execute well.”We have to read the conditions and the surfaces we play. Some places the ball might swing more than others. We have to assess when we get there. Most of the wickets will be docile and flat. We have to work on our variations and execution.”Everybody studies one another these days, so they know our strengths and weaknesses. Likewise, we also know theirs. So it is about execution on the day, and try to be smart.”Walsh said that the progress shown by someone like Saifuddin, whose bowling has evidently improved in recent months, had excited him.”He has come along tremendously. He has bowled very well,” Walsh said. “He is a very excitable allrounder. His form in the domestic tournament has been very good. His confidence is quite good. He is keen to do what he is doing. If we can get him fully fit with the tennis elbow being solved, it will be a big plus for us as well.”

Rwanda women register victory with 116 balls remaining – also a record – in Kwibuka Women’s T20 tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jun-2019It took Rwanda women just four balls to finish their chase after Mali women were bowled out for a record-low 6 in the Kwibuka Women’s T20 tournament in the Rwandan capital of Kigali City.The record for the lowest women’s T20I team total before Tuesday was 14, China women’s score against UAE women in January this year during the Women’s T20 Smash in Bangkok. That was in reply to their opponents’ 203 for 3, with China bowled out in just ten overs.UAE’s victory margin – 189 runs – remains the biggest in terms of runs in women’s T20Is, while Rwanda’s latest win is now the record for the biggest margin of victory in terms of balls remaining – 116.The Mali innings lasted nine overs, but only one of their six runs came off the bat, courtesy opener Mariam Samake. After that, it was a sequence of ducks, with five extras.For Rwanda, 19-year-old medium-pacer Josiane Nyirankundineza picked up three wickets without conceding a run, while medium-pacer Marie Diane Bimenyimana and legspinner Margueritte Vumiliya picked up two wickets apiece. Bimenyimana was Rwanda’s most expensive bowler, conceding two runs – from that single to Samake and a wide – in her three overs. Three of the Mali batsmen were out bowled, while three were caught in the outfield, and there were two lbws and two run outs.Rwanda’s reply was short and swift, openers Antoinette Uwimbabazi and Nyirankundineza knocking off the runs without any fuss off Mali’s opening bowler Youma Sangare.

Malan’s 166 leads visitors to total of 384, Helm takes 4-8 as Glamorgan fall to 25 for 4 in reply

ECB Reporters Network13-Jul-2019Dawid Malan, the Middlesex captain, again led from the front as Middlesex recovered from 131 for 6 to reach 384 in their first innings. Malan scored 166 of those runs – his fourth Championship hundred this summer, his third score over 150 and taking his season’s tally to 933 runs.Malan was well supported by the tail, with Toby Roland-Jones scoring a half-century and Nathan Sowter a career-best 57 not out batting at No 10.In reply, Glamorgan were in disarray on 25 for 4 at the close on a day where the seamers obtained plenty of movement from a well grassed Sophia Gardens pitch, but apart from Michael Hogan and Lukas Carey the other Glamorgan bowlers were wayward and failed to advantage of the conditions.Tom Helm wrecked the Glamorgan top order by taking 4 for 8 from his opening four overs, which included the wicket of Marnus Labuschagne, who has scored more than 1000 championship runs this season.Malan did not exercise his right to field first and might have regretted his decision when Middlesex lost four wickets in the opening session. Sam Robson and Nick Gubbins both edged catches off Lukas Carey, who bowled a useful opening spell of 7-1-20-2.Stevie Eskinazi struck 36 in quick time, but Graham Wagg, after an opening over that cost twelve runs, made amends in his second over when his second ball was deflected to wicketkeeper Chris Cooke, who took a tumbling catch.George Scott soon departed, leg before to Michael Hogan playing no stroke, but Malan was confident from the start and, partnered by John Simpson, began his team’s recovery they put on 58 for the fifth wicket.Malan, however, should have been out on 43, when, in the first over after lunch, Carey found the edge of his bat only to see the ball dropped by David Lloyd at first slip. It proved a costly miss as Malan and Roland-Jones shared a 90-run partnership.Roland-Jones was inches away from playing on from his first ball, but then settled to strike some lusty blows and scored 54 from 81 balls, including a six and nine fours.There then followed the best partnership of the innings as Malan found an unlikely ally in Sowter, whose previous best was 37. Playing some unorthodox shots he raced to 50 from only 40 balls, twice carving Marchant De Lange over the short cover boundary for six as the ninth wicket pair put on 103 from just 77 balls.After scoring 57, Sowter was struck on the hand by Wagg, and immediately left the field but, after Tim Murtagh was dismissed, he returned to resume his partnership with Malan. He did not face another ball, however, as Malan was caught on the boundary for an innings that included three sixes and 22 fours.Glamorgan had to face nine overs at the close, but soon lost Nick Selman and night watchman Carey in Helm’s second over, and when Labuschagne and Charlie Hemphrey went in the penultimate over, the follow-on figure of 235 seemed a long way away.

Bangladesh’s new coach stresses on the need to adapt to the local culture instead of expecting the players to change to his ways

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Aug-2019Russell Domingo’s appointment as the seventh Bangladesh head coach in eight years does suggest a somewhat rough next few months for the South African, but he sounded upbeat and up for the challenge in his first interaction with the media after reaching Dhaka. The theme was adapting to Bangladesh’s ways, and not expecting the players to adapt to his style, while also stressing that “monitoring the players just beneath the national side” would be one of his targets.No Bangladesh head coach has completed his tenure since Jamie Siddons left in 2011, and it has been a bit of a rough and tumble at the best of times. But, if making the right noises is a good start, Domingo played it well to begin with.”We [the overseas coaching contingent, including new bowling coach Charl Langeveldt] can’t expect Bangladesh cricket to adapt to us, we’ve got to adapt to Bangladesh cricket. And we’ve got to find a way to make our processes and our systems work with the cricket organisation and with the players,” Domingo said. “So we might need to alter the way we go about things to fit in with the culture, more so than the culture changing to fit in with us.”My immediate goal is to make some sort of connection with the players, to understand the players, build some relationships over the next week or two – I think that’s massively important, to try and gain the players’ trust, see how the players go about their work.”ALSO READ: Isam – Seven points to ponder for Russell DomingoWith the domestic structure in a bit of a shambles, the emergence of quality new players hasn’t always happened in an ideal manner. This was an aspect Domingo had also stressed on in his presentation to the Bangladesh Cricket Board.”Because I have worked at a lot of different levels of cricket, from Under-15 to Under-17 to domestic cricket to international cricket, I think I am very aware of how important feeder systems are,” he explained. “That’s where your next tier of players come from. I want to place a lot of emphasis on monitoring the players just beneath the national side, and when there are opportunities to play some of those players, you need to take those opportunities.”And it can’t be for one or two games, you need to try and give players a little bit of a run. Young players especially, so they can find their feet in international cricket. We’ve got a good national side but it’s important that we are evaluating the players just below the national side to sustain the success of Bangladesh cricket.”After our [triangular T20I] series against Zimbabwe and Afghanistan, I’m hoping to go to Sri Lanka to watch the ‘A’ side play. It’s impossible to watch all the cricket, there’s no doubt about that. I’ve got to make sure I surround myself with people I can trust, selectors who are going to give me good inputs, connect with the high-performance coaches, with the ‘A’ side coaches, and find out who they think the best players are that we can invite closer to the national side.”Bangladesh are a team on the ascendance, especially at home, where they have had some excellent results in the last few years. But an eighth-place finish at the recent World Cup – where Shakib Al Hasan almost single-handedly drove their fortunes – and then a 3-0 ODI series defeat in Sri Lanka has hurt the team and their legions of fans.”I don’t think they are a bad team because they lost to Sri Lanka. Touring straight after a World Cup is always going to be hard. Sri Lanka probably had a bit more to gain from it with a few players leaving, it was the last game for Lasith [Malinga], [Nuwan] Kulasekara was given a farewell, they had a bit more to prove,” Domingo said. “The World Cup performances, I thought they played really well. They were really close to winning some of the games that they lost.”You think of the game against New Zealand, maybe a missed run out [of Kane Williamson, by Mushfiqur Rahim] cost them the game. The margins of winning and losing international games are minimal, so … I think the team is really close to becoming a real force in world cricket. If they just make the right decisions, at the right times, on the right days, I don’t think they are really very far off other sides at the moment.”The log will say they ended in seventh [eighth], I think they played better than that. And I’ve been in international cricket long enough to know that sometimes the results can hinge on a decision here and there, so it’s not always a fair reflection of where you are as a team. There were a lot of positives to come out of the World Cup that they can build on going forward for sure. There are a lot of areas they can improve in, but there were a lot of positives in the World Cup.”Russell Domingo and Charl Langeveldt catch up with Akram Khan, BCB chairman of cricket operations•BCB

While Bangladesh have shown promise in 50-overs cricket, results in Test matches and T20Is have largely been disappointing, and that’s something Domingo is aware of.”It’s hard to get any sort of rhythm in your Test match cricket if you’re not playing that many Test matches. With the new Test Championship, that allows a team to focus a lot more on Test match cricket. We know often Bangladesh play one- or two-Test series. Hopefully now there will be three-Test series, four-Test series, which gets them more into that format,” he said. “A lot of that focus now needs to move away from the World Cup and the 50-over format into Test match cricket. So it will be a good start to put a lot more focus and emphasis on our red-ball skills in the next couple of months.”It’s a massive opportunity for Bangladesh to compete regularly in Test match cricket. Their last Test match was maybe six months ago, we can hardly remember when it was. The more you play the better you’re going to get in the format. That’s probably where they have been lacking, they haven’t played a lot of Test match cricket. If you look at England, Australia, India, and weigh those up against the number of Tests Bangladesh have played, you can understand why they are the leading sides in the world in that format.”To be a leading side, however, there are many creases to iron out, and a big one is the country’s fast bowling. And that’s where Langeveldt comes in.”That’s a challenge. When I was coaching in Afghanistan, it was a challenge there too. If you can rectify that, if you can strike with the new ball, it will make life easier for the spinners, and you will compete a lot more in 50-overs and Test cricket,” he said. “It could be a small thing, a technical thing. The new ball is important in one-day cricket, even in Test cricket, especially in these conditions.”The test for me is going to be to find seamers that can bowl outside Bangladesh, that can bowl in conditions in South Africa, Australia. If you look at India now, they’ve got three seamers and they are winning games in South Africa and Australia. We’ve got to find somehow seamers, so when we go abroad, in those conditions we can compete.”

Anderson first tore his right calf muscle while playing for Lancashire against Durham at Sedburgh on July 2

George Dobell at Edgbaston01-Aug-2019James Anderson has been described by his team-mate Stuart Broad as “a bit distraught” after experiencing a recurrence of tightness in his right calf that is likely to prevent him from bowling for the remainder of the first Test.Anderson, the leading wicket-taker in England’s Test history, first tore his right calf muscle while playing for Lancashire against Durham in Sedburgh on July 2. While the England management was confident he had fully recovered from the injury, he experienced further discomfort during his fourth over of the match at Edgbaston and left the field for treatment.ALSO READ: Jofra Archer given chance to prove Ashes fitness in Sussex gamesWhile he returned to the pitch a short while later, he did not bowl again, and underwent a scan on Thursday afternoon. If that scan shows any new tear, there is a strong chance that Anderson will be ruled out of the next two or three Tests. Even if it does not, it’s hard to imagine that England will risk worsening the injury by asking Anderson to bowl. However, it was confirmed on Friday morning that Anderson would bat. He had done some gentle running during England’s warm-ups.*”He’s a bit distraught,” Broad said after the end of play on day one. “He came and said sorry to the bowlers. He feels like he’s let the bowling group down, which of course he hasn’t. He’s down and he’s frustrated.”The news is bound to raise questions about the wisdom of playing Anderson, who celebrated his 37th birthday earlier this week, and the medical advice the management received.Anderson had, however, bowled without discomfort in training – notably on Monday, when he was one of three players who appeared at an optional net session – though England’s preparations were hit by poor weather and he may not have bowled the number of overs ahead of the game that might have been envisaged. England were forced to train indoors on Tuesday, where most of the seamers did not bowl due to concerns about the risk of impact issues, while the nets were damp on Wednesday, which meant most bowlers having gentle sessions on the outfield.England were tempted to name Jofra Archer in their team for this first Test. The management reasoned, however, that it would be a risk to go into a game with two bowlers coming back from injury. Mark Wood, another man who had nominally been in England’s Ashes plans, is also likely to be out for the season after a slow recovery from the side strain he sustained in the World Cup final.If – as is likely – Anderson is unable to bowl for the rest of the game, it will increase the burden on the four remaining frontline bowlers in England’s attack: Broad, Chris Woakes and Ben Stokes, plus the offspin of Moeen Ali. They were made to toil in Anderson’s first-day absence by a brilliant century from Steven Smith, who led Australia’s recovery from 122 for 8 to 284 all out.It is not out of the question that Anderson may have bowled his final ball in Ashes cricket. His original calf injury occurred almost four weeks ago, and if he requires a similar spell on the sidelines this time around, his experience in this match suggests that England will not risk playing him without sufficient match practice ahead of the fifth Test at The Oval, which begins on September 12.*11.10amBST, August 2: The story was updated with news of Anderson being able to bat

Seamer wrecks MIddlesex top-order with five wickets after Livingstone half-century

Paul Edwards16-Sep-2019
At just after 4.30 on the first day of this game at Emirates Old Trafford Adam Rossington was caught by Alex Lees for 82 off the bowling of Matt Salisbury. The dismissal took place at Wantage Road, which is 135 miles from Emirates Old Trafford, but news travels fast in cyberspace and it confirmed what had long been virtually certain in any case: that Lancashire would end this season as the champions of Division Two. Northamptonshire’s haul of one bonus point, combined with the two Dane Vilas’s side picked up in their first innings against Middlesex, decided the matter.Lancashire knew they had won the division after they had posted 259 but before they went out to bowl. They celebrated not by larking around but by ripping the heart out of Middlesex’s batting and reducing the visitors to 39 for 6 by the close. Ripper-in-Chief was Tom Bailey, whose accurate medium-quick bowling with all the variations of his craft helped him take five wickets in 24 balls and finish with 5 for 16 from nine overs with power to add on the morrow. Nick Gubbins and Dawid Malan were caught behind; Martin Andersson and Miguel Cummins were lbw; Max Holden was brilliantly caught and bowled, low to Bailey’s left. If Vilas scorns the current fashion and opts to enforce the follow-on, a two-day finish cannot be discounted. This is a pitch which repays tight lines and it was the failure of the Middlesex attack to string enough good balls together that partly explains the strife they are in now.To be sure, Lancashire’s Liam Livingstone batted well for his 84 and would have got a century had he not fallen lbw when playing across the line to a ball of full length from Ethan Bamber; Steven Croft then played cannily with the tail and scored the fourth first-class fifty of what has been a lovely season for him. But both batsmen knew that if they gutsed it out long enough, a half-volley or a wide long hop would come along in due course. Not many, mark you; this Middlesex attack had Lancashire 129 for 5 when Vilas pushed all too firmly at Cummins and edged to Malan at slip for a duck. But there were enough loose ones to sustain the batsmen’s patience and Lancashire’s ability to double that total may well have decided this match.The reaction of Lancashire’s supporters to their side’s success could be gauged almost immediately. Old Trafford’s PA announcer, John Gwynne, is still a newsman to his fingertips and he announced the side’s success to the crowd. There was a warm round of applause although warmth of a slightly different nature may be apparent at the Members’ Forum which is being held after today’s play. We shall see; or rather, we shall hear.But what even the most stubborn curmudgeon surely cannot doubt is that Lancashire have been by far the best side in Division Two this year. They rested Richard Gleeson for this match and have not been able to call on James Anderson since the game against Durham at Sedbergh. But their seam attack is the equal of any in Division One. Their young batsmen, most obviously Josh Bohannon and Rob Jones, are improving with every month. Yes, this is Lancashire’s third promotion in seven seasons. Yet they can go up with greater optimism than in any of the others.And on a day when one issue was finally resolved it was curious to recall the occasion in April when these sides last met in the Championship, nothing at all was decided and optimism was on tap at all counties. That game took place at Lord’s in April and a few saw it as a top of the table clash in the first fortnight of the season. Well, so much for hubris. Northamptonshire and Gloucestershire have a short way with such careless arrogance. Lancashire won that game and did so partly because Jones made a patient century.But another Lancashire batsman also reached three figures at Lord’s and batted outstandingly well. That, of course, was Haseeb Hameed, who was released by Old Trafford last month. Hameed’s hundred against Middlesex was thus his last for the county of his birth. It is sometimes difficult to accept such simple facts; and for those who saw the young batsmen in the wonderful springtime of his career, it is even more poignant this autumn to write them down and know them for the truth.

‘Maybe the selectors felt I needed a break. Maybe the team thinks some changes are required. I respect that, and I have no complaints,’ he says

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Sep-2019Kuldeep Yadav hasn’t been part of the last two T20I squads India’s selectors have chosen, for the West Indies tour and at home against South Africa, but that hasn’t dented his confidence. Kuldeep was instead picked in the India A side for the second unofficial Test against South Africa A, which ended in a draw in Mysore on Friday.Kuldeep had a reasonable outing in the game, taking 4 for 121 in 29 overs in the only innings India bowled in.”So far, I have done a good job in limited-overs format. I feel very comfortable with the white ball,” Kuldeep told and . “I am not worried about not being picked for the last two T20I series. Maybe the selectors felt I needed a break. Maybe the team thinks some changes are required. I respect that, and I have no complaints. I see this as an opportunity to do well in Tests.”Stats bear out Kuldeep’s assertion. After the 2016 T20 World Cup, he has been among the best spinners in the world in T20 cricket, and one of the top two Indians.In 68 T20 matches since that T20 World Cup, Kuldeep has taken 81 wickets at an average of 22.97 (ninth-best in the world, second among Indians), and an economy rate of 7.60 (fifth among Indians). His strike rate of 18.1 is seventh-best among all spinners. Yuzvendra Chahal has a marginally better average (22.11) and a better strike rate (16.9, third-best in the world), but a higher economy rate of 7.83.”There is no doubt that wristspinners are dominating the world,” Kuldeep said. “But sometimes, when you try to stop runs, you actually turn out to be expensive. We need to work on our accuracy. You need to accept that you do get hit for runs and work on being economical.”The recent T20I series exclusion, however, could be down to India’s desire to have bowlers who can contribute with the bat, as was expressed recently by captain Virat Kohli.That might work towards pushing Kuldeep to hone his red-ball skills, where he is still in the mix, even though he has had little game time of late. Since the start of 2017, Kuldeep has played in just 10 first-class games, six of them Test matches, largely due to his national commitments and being the third spinner in a Test team that already has R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. He has done reasonably well in those games though, taking 40 wickets at 25.87, with three five-wicket hauls.”It’s hard to play red-ball cricket when you aren’t consistently playing that format,” Kuldeep said. “If you aren’t a regular in this format, it takes time to get into your rhythm. When you are consistently playing limited overs and suddenly switch to Tests without much preparation, it will be tough to excel. You need to bowl long spells, play practice games, to understand field placements and to know how to pick wickets. It was important for me to come here (in the India A game) and bowl as many overs as possible. There is still plenty of work to do.”When three spinners like Ashwin, Jaddu and I are in the squad, it’s challenging to pick the right combination. You need to be ready to grab your chance. Of course, there is pressure because you only get a few chances, and you have to make full use of them.”

All the live updates and chatter from Pakistan’s premier domestic first-class competition

Danyal Rasool12-Nov-2019