All posts by n8rngtd.top

Their spinners were excellent last season while there are high hopes for import Tom Abell

Tristan Lavalette05-Dec-2021Captain Jimmy Peirson
Coach Wade SeccombeSquad
Tom Abell (England), Xavier Bartlett, James Bazley, Max Bryant, Tom Cooper, Ben Duckett (England), Sam Heazlett, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Chris Lynn, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Mark Steketee, Connor Sully, Mitchell Swepson Jack Wildermuth, Matt Willians, Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan)In Tom Abell, Ben Duckett, Michael Neser (Strikers), Connor Sully
Out Joe Burns (Stars), Lewis Gregory, Ben Laughlin, Dan Lawrence, Simon Milenko, Morne Morkel, Jack WoodLast season Challenger

Another underwhelming season appeared to be on the cards for Heat after winning just one of their first five games as they lost skipper Chris Lynn to a hamstring injury. But with Jimmy Peirson taking the reins, the rejuvenated Heat lit a fuse and headed into the playoffs as an outside title threat boosted by the dazzling return of Test star Marnus Labuschagne. They lived up to the billing with impressive wins over Strikers and Thunder, where their explosive batting order calmly chased down totals. But they were blown away in the challenger by a rampaging Perth Scorchers to fall short of the final and cap off an inconsistent season.Related

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International impact
Heat could be hit hard by key absences, testing their depth and resolve. Lauschagne will miss most of the tournament due to the Ashes while prized recruit Michael Neser, Mitchell Swepson and Mark Steketee are set to miss at least the start of the season due to Ashes and Australia A selections. Tom Abell will be absent at the start due to commitments with England Lions while hard-hitting English batter Ben Duckett will make his BBL debut after starring in the Hundred and is likely to be available for the entire tournament, so too Afghanistan’s Mujeeb Ur Rahman.Player to watch
BBL10 started slowly for destructive batter Chris Lynn, a headline act over the years and two-time Player of the Tournament. After being sidelined by a hamstring injury, the 31-year-old relished a move to the top of the order and finished with 458 runs at a strike rate of 154.73. With Peirson enjoying success as stand-in skipper, Lynn decided to step aside from the captaincy duties in the off-season after three years at the helm to focus on his batting. He was patchy in the Hundred, but a return to his favored BBL – and without the strains of captaincy – could fuel a resurgence for the six-hitting machine.Key stat (Gaurav Sundararaman)
With a bowling average of 17.81 Brisbane Heat’s spinners were the best in the competition last time around by a mile. Mujeeb, Swepson, Labuschagne stole the show taking 33 wickets among them although they may need Matt Kuhnemann to fill some of the holes this season.

ICC’s clarification on a total of eight penalty points comes when the side is staring down a mammoth task to salvage second Ashes Test in Adelaide

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Dec-2021As if England’s plight wasn’t difficult enough, staring down a 456-run deficit heading into the third day in Adelaide, the ICC piled on more misery by docking them a further three points for slow over rates in the first Ashes Test in Brisbane.England were originally handed a penalty of five World Test Championship (WTC) points – and fined 100% of their match fees – for maintaining a slow over rate in the first Test at the Gabba but the ICC on Friday announced the penalty would now be eight points in total.”Last Saturday, it was announced that England would be docked five WTC points, one for each over they were found to initially have fallen short by,” the ICC said in a statement. “However, it has since emerged they were eight overs short, and will therefore lose three additional points.”The points deduction for penalty overs is not capped and must reflect the actual number of penalty overs a team is short of the minimum requirement as per Clause 16.1.2 of the ICC Playing Conditions, hence they have been penalised one point for each over they were short.”Related

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The announcement leaves England in seventh place on the WTC table, with six points from five Tests in the current competition cycle, and came after England had lost early wickets to be 17 for 2 in response to Australia’s first-innings 473 for 9 declared when an electrical storm curtailed the final session on day two of the second Test at Adelaide Oval.England managed to bowl 89 of the scheduled 90 overs on the first day in Adelaide, albeit relying on five overs of Joe Root’s part-time off-spin to catch up.While over rates could well remain a concern for England’s five-man seam attack, Graham Thorpe, their assistant coach, played down the issue after the first day’s play, saying: “I think there’s bigger things going on in the world than over rates.”England, who lost the first Test by nine wickets and now face a mammoth task to salvage the second, were also penalised for a poor overrate in their home series against India in July and August, meaning they have now conceded a total of 10 points for slow over rate offences.

“Everybody has played enough cricket to understand that this is the way the game goes and this is how you have to move forward”

Hemant Brar17-Jan-20221:15

Bumrah – ‘It’s been an immense pleasure playing under Kohli’

The Indian team is going through a transition. Rahul Dravid replaced Ravi Shastri as coach recently. A new support staff came in. Virat Kohli is no longer the captain in any of the formats. KL Rahul will lead the side in the first ODI against South Africa on Wednesday.Jasprit Bumrah, who will be Rahul’s deputy for the series, feels everyone in the side is “quite positive” about these changes and nobody is in a “weird space”.Related

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“I can’t speak for everyone but for me, I can say that it [the changes] doesn’t really make a lot of difference,” Bumrah said in a press conference. “We all are here to help in however way we can, and I think that’s the way all the players are responding to the changes that are happening as well.”Everybody is respectful, and they understand how the processes are going. Change is the only constant. I don’t think anybody is facing a problem or is in a weird space with the changes that are happening. Everybody understands the changes, everybody has played enough cricket to understand that this is the way the game goes and this is how you have to move forward. So everyone in the team is quite positive and quite eager to contribute and go about the changes.”Kohli announced his decision to step down from Test captaincy after the Cape Town Test. He may not be the captain anymore, but Bumrah said he would always be a leader and his role going forward would remain immense.”He [Kohli] told us in a meeting [after the third Test] that he is stepping down from Test captaincy,” Bumrah said. “It’s a personal decision and we respect his decision. He knows how his body is reacting and what frame of mind he is in.”As I’ve spoken before as well, he brings a lot of energy to the side. He will always be a leader in the group. His contribution has been immense and will always be immense going forward as well.””He has captained for such a long period of time, so his assistance and his knowledge of the game will always be used by us as a team. So even now, he’ll obviously add inputs and he’ll always give his suggestions. That’s very important for all our players and we all look up to him.””Everybody is respectful, and they understand how the processes are going” – Bumrah•Getty Images

Rohit Sharma has already been appointed India’s white-ball captain and is also a frontrunner for the job in Test cricket. Bumrah was asked if he harboured any captaincy ambitions.”If given an opportunity, it will be an honour,” he said. “I don’t think any player would say no and I am no different. Be it a leadership group or any responsibility, I always look to contribute to the best of my abilities. I look at this situation in the same manner, not to take any extra pressure that I would have to be over-cautious. Yes, taking responsibility, talking to a lot of players, trying to help them out in the best way possible has always been my approach and will be my approach going forward in any situation that comes.”As the vice-captain for the series, Bumrah has not been assigned any specific responsibility but he agreed his role in the side is changing.”When I was new, I used to ask a lot of questions to seniors. Now I am in a transition phase and when youngsters ask me something, I try to share my experience with them. Sometimes their inputs can help me as well. We try to make sure such communication is always there in the team because sometimes someone new can have some observation from outside which you cannot have from inside.”

Pair expected to be fit for the second Test; Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Wasim jnr called up as cover

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Feb-2022Pakistan have suffered a massive blow ahead of their historic first Test against Australia with the loss of both Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf through injuries. Iftikhar Ahmed and Mohammad Wasim jnr have been called up to replace the pair, but the holes left by the injured pair will not be easily filled.Both Hasan and Ashraf were part of Islamabad United’s injury-hit PSL campaign that ended on Friday evening with their narrow loss to finalists Lahore Qalandar.Ashraf missed the game with a hamstring strain while Hasan played, but limped off towards the end of Lahore’s innings with what has now been confirmed as an abductor strain.The pair have been key to Pakistan’s Test side over the last year. Ashraf has been the seam-bowling allrounder Pakistan haven’t had for years and though he’s taken only 10 wickets in the eight Tests he played in 2021, he was essential in providing shape and discipline to the attack, as well as relief for the other bowlers – something successive Pakistan attacks over the years have lacked. With the bat he’s averaged nearly 40 through 2021.Related

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Hasan, meanwhile, was the third-highest wicket-taker in Tests last year, behind his team-mate Shaheen Shah Afridi and R Ashwin with 41 wickets at an average of just 16.The pair is expected to be fit for second Test, which starts in Karachi on March 12.”Faheem and Hasan will rejoin the squad in the coming week and, after completing their three-day mandatory isolation, integrate with the rest of the squad during the first Test. Both are expected to regain full fitness before the second Test that will be played in Karachi 12-16 March,” the PCB said.”Both Iftikhar and Wasim (chosen due to their all-round ability) will reach Islamabad tonight and start their three-day isolation at the team hotel, after which they will join the rest of the squad after clearing Covid tests.”The first Test begins in Rawalpindi on March 4, the first international game Australia have played in Pakistan in over 23 years.

Queensland left a target of 236 in 45 overs but it was never in the home side’s sights

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Feb-2022Victoria came through a final session trial by spin as their clash against Queensland ended in a draw after declining to have a dip at a run chase offered by Jimmy Peirson’s declaration.A target of 236 in a minimum 45 overs was always unlikely and any chance of Victoria, who are top of the table, setting themselves up for it vanished when they lost early wickets which opened the door for Queensland to create some nervy moments.”We had every intention of trying to chase, but just got into a little bit of a hole against the new ball,” Victoria coach Chris Rogers said. “It was always going to be tough against the spin on that kind of wearing wicket with the footmarks. With one of our best players out there in Nic Maddinson, he felt that it was going to be too hard to try and chase, and we supported that decision.”Travis Dean edged to third slip in the fourth over and the in-form Peter Handscomb was given out to a top-edged hook although did not appear impressed by the decision. When Marcus Harris was beaten by one which skidded through from Matt Renshaw, Victoria were 3 for 33.Queensland crowded the bat – in the final hour everyone was in a catching position – with Mitchell Swepson, Matt Kuhnemann, Renshaw and Gurinder Sandhu, the latter bowling offspin rather than his usual seam up, rattling through the overs and they created a number of near-misses for the batters.However, Nic Maddinson, who had scored a century in the first innings and will now be on stand-by for the tour of Pakistan should there be any late issues before the squad departs, and Matt Short survived 30 overs.Mark Steketee, who has been drafted into the Pakistan tour after Michael Neser’s injury, only bowled two overs in the second innings before leaving the field nursing his side but after the match Peirson said it was a precautionary move and all indications were that Steketee would be fine.Earlier in the day it appeared that Victoria might be able to force a result themselves. Queensland had resumed just 58 ahead with three wickets down and Sam Truloff fell in the 11th over of the day. When Jack Clayton reverse swept to slip and Sandhu was caught behind, Queensland’s lead was 141 with considerable time left.Peirson and James Bazley prevented further loss and then opened their shoulders to push Victoria towards their declaration which included Jon Holland being taken for 17 in an over before removing Peirson to a catch in the deep.

Head coach says team was comfortable with the decision to give ample time for Williamson to recover from elbow injury

S Sudarshanan05-Apr-2022New Zealand head coach Gary Stead has said that although the team missed the services of Kane Williamson for the home season, the move to rest him was the right one and that the team was at peace with the decision. Williamson was ruled out of the Mumbai Test due to an elbow injury during New Zealand’s tour to India and both he and Stead have maintained that surgery would be the “last resort”.”He is one of our great batsmen and he’ll always be missed,” Stead said speaking after the series against Netherlands. “But we still maintain that it was the right thing for Kane and the right thing for us in the long run. The difficulty was and, the catch-22, is Kane comes back early, scores a hundred and his elbow is gone again and we’d be in the same place. We’re still comfortable on the decision that has been made.”New Zealand played two Tests each against Bangladesh and South Africa before the white-ball series against Netherlands. They managed to draw both the Test series, with each of Bangladesh and South Africa managing to win a match each.Related

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Williamson returned to action in the IPL 2022, where he is leading Sunrisers Hyderabad.”Everything is going to plan in terms of how he is feeling and how he is preparing,” Stead said about Williamson’s rehab. “I didn’t see at what he scored overnight but sounds like not too many and he’ll be disappointed about that. But he is going well on track and is where we want him to be as far as getting him ready for the Test match series in England.”We would like him to play everything if he’s available. Any team with Kane Williamson in it looks slightly stronger that one without him in it. Kane, like any of us, needs breaks at certain times and he’s dying to play for NZ again, I can assure you that. But we can’t burn him out in the future and have to be smart about those things.”In Williamson’s absence, although Tom Latham captained New Zealand, Stead was non-committal on whether it is the way forward.”We haven’t talked about that and at the moment Kane’s out of that role because he hasn’t been available for us. It hasn’t been discussed and when Kane comes back I expect him to be captain again.”The home season also saw Ross Taylor on the field for the final time, the third ODI against Netherlands being his last in international cricket. Taylor, who made his international debut in 2006, had announced at the start of the year that the Tests against Bangladesh and the ODIs against Netherlands would be his last.While he picked up a wicket on the final ball of his Test career, he could score only 14, which included his trademark slog sweep, in his final ODI.”We had a great night for Ross as well as Mike Sandle (New Zealand manager) as well, two stalwarts of our team that have been there for a long time,” Stead said. “We had some internal stuff and small presentations to the guys because I am not sure that the time they have put in does justice to any real gift you can give them. I hope they remember it fondly.”I’ve seen it a few time before and been through it in my own career. I guess I have an understanding of what it was like. I have never seen Ross so content and happy in what he was doing and I think that speaks for the decision that he has got to. It’s important that he walks away to a happy place.”Does he see Taylor in a coaching role in the future?”We were having a chat last night just around coaching just about what it might mean and mentoring players in the future and I am sure he will be open at some stage to be able to do that,” he added. “In fact talking to the boys last night he mentioned that he is always there to listen and talk to people and I think that is the mark of the man he is.”

Club reprimanded by Cricket Discipline Commission following comments by former chair

ESPNcricinfo staff05-May-2022Essex have been fined £50,000 and warned as to the club’s future conduct after accepting two charges relating to a historic racist comment.The club pleaded guilty to the charge that John Faragher, the former chair, used the offensive term “n***** in the woodpile” during a board meeting in February 2017, and also acknowledged that it had failed to conduct a timely investigation into the matter.Faragher, who resigned last November, continues to deny the allegation, having insisted in a social media post in February that the process had been “entirely reactive and fundamentally unfair”, and driven to a large extent by Essex’s and the ECB’s desire to avoid the mistakes made by Yorkshire in their handling of Azeem Rafiq’s allegations of institutional racism.To that end, the written findings of the CDC panel commend John Stephenson, Essex’s chief executive and interim chair, for doing “all within his power” to take internal action on the matter, but noted that “he has been thwarted by the ECCC board, which has been paralysed by division”. This includes last week’s resignation of Wasim Haq, the board member who blew the whistle on Faragher’s comments, alongside fellow board member Paul Harvey.”The use of racist and discriminatory language such as this is plainly unacceptable: it’s utterance by a club chair is all the more deplorable,” the summary continued.Related

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“It is clear that the club has failed to uphold the standards expected of it, not only in respect of the conduct of its former chair but also as regards its failure to act appropriately or at all thereafter.”It is also clear that the impact of this breach has had a negative effect both upon the game of cricket and upon the ECB.”Nevertheless, the panel – chaired by Ricky Needham, alongside Amrisha Parathalingam and Mark Milliken-Smith QC – also concluded that a points deduction would be inappropriate given that the comments had been made by a non-player away from the field, and allowed for £15,000 of the fine to be suspended for two years.The club was also credited for its “significant motivation” to tackle racism and to “re-energise” its “historically positive approach to its EDI obligations”, both within the club and the wider community.Responding to the CDC findings, Essex said in a statement: “The club has a zero-tolerance policy towards racism and any form of discrimination. We continue to work with the ECB to eradicate discrimination from the game, which includes implementing their 12-point action plan and the club’s further commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion policies and processes.”

Durham chase never gets going after visitors pile on the runs in first half

ECB Reporters Network17-Jun-2022An onslaught from Adam Lyth was decisive in guiding Yorkshire Vikings to a comfortable 65-run victory over Durham in their Vitality Blast clash at Seat Unique Riverside.The left-hander blasted 81 from 46 balls to set the tone for Vikings at the top of the order, dominating the Durham bowlers. Lyth was supported by Finn Allen and Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who finished 48 not out in their innings of 201 for 5. Scott Borthwick limited the damage with figures of 3 for 34, but the chase was always going to be an uphill challenge.Durham were unable to time the ball off the square in the same manner as the visitors amid tight bowling. Michael Jones and Ollie Robinson were the only players to find their range without threatening to chase down the total. Jack Shutt enjoyed another successful outing at Chester-le-Street with figures of 4 for 35, having claimed 5 for 11 on his previous T20 visit, which allowed the visitors to canter towards their fifth victory of the campaign.After opting to bat, Lyth quickly found his range against the Durham attack, dispatching Paul Coughlin for three consecutive fours, including a sublime strike over cover. Allen responded to keep the pressure on the home side with three boundaries of his own from Liam Trevaskis’ first over. The Yorkshire openers raced to their fifty partnership from 21 balls, capitalising on mediocre bowling. Lyth ended the powerplay by drilling a boundary just past the diving Ashton Turner to propel Yorkshire to 79 without loss.The left-hander notched his second fifty against Durham of the campaign in a blistering 24 deliveries, sweeping Nathan Sowter to the fence to secure the milestone. Borthwick made the breakthrough by bowling Allen for 48, but only afte Vikings cruised by the 100-run mark after eight overs. They maintained their intensity, scoring at 10 runs per over through the middle stages as Kohler-Cadmore provided ample support for Lyth, crashing Borthwick for a maximum into the County Durham Stand.However, Durham staged a fightback as the visitors lost four wickets in 13 balls. Borthwick bounced back from being struck for a six by removing Lyth for 81 and then Harry Brook for a first-ball duck as Jonathan Bushnell claimed two catches in the deep. Shadab Khan and Will Fraine then fell cheaply, reducing the Vikings from 164 for 1 to 170 for 5. Late striking from Kohler-Cadmore and Jordan Thompson propelled Yorkshire above 200, but the home side gave themselves a glimmer of hope after limiting the damage.In their chase Durham failed to get going from the off, and lost Graham Clark early when he was clean bowled by Dom Leech for 7. The hosts could not muster the same timing as the Yorkshire top order, scoring only 42 from the powerplay as the required run rate leaped to over 11. Shutt cranked up the pressure by dismissing Michael Jones for 34 and skipper Turner on his return from a shoulder injury for 3 to reduce Durham to 66 for 3 at the halfway stage.Robinson offered resistance with a decent knock of 44 from 34 balls, including back-to-back sixes into the leg-side off Shutt. However, the offspinner had his revenge from the following delivery to notch his third wicket and effectively end the contest, although he added another scalp by dismissing Trevaskis to cap a fine road performance.

Opener left stranded on 92 not out as rain forces abandonment with series squared

Andrew Miller24-Jul-2022South Africa 159 for 2 from 27.4 overs (de Kock 92*) vs England – match abandonedQuinton de Kock was left stranded on 92 not out from 76 balls after an effortlessly fluent innings, but his hopes of an 18th ODI hundred were dashed as two heavy bands of rain swept across Headingley to wash out the third ODI and leave the series squared at one match apiece.De Kock scored the first 69 of his runs from 55 balls in a 90-minute window prior to the first of two rain delays, then added a further 23 from 14 balls when play resumed briefly at 2.15pm. But 33 balls later, a heavier downpour swept in, shortly after his partner Aiden Markram had brought up exactly 1000 ODI runs in reaching 24 not out from 34 balls.De Kock, in particular, had been in the mood to make good on his skipper’s ambitions after taking first use of a dry run-laden deck. His chanceless knock contained 13 fours, almost exclusively the product of supreme timing and placement, not least an angled push through the covers off Reece Topley that perfectly bisected two fielders.His delicate ramp through deep third off Sam Curran was no less impressive, as he stood tall to the short ball, and deflected it without fuss beyond the reach of the keeper, and though the near two-hour break in play came at an inopportune moment for de Kock, he resumed without fuss with three more fours: a brace of well-timed reverse sweeps off Adil Rashid and a lashed drive through the covers off Liam Livingstone.De Kock’s batting partners didn’t find the going quite so good, as England’s seamers in particular continued the good work they have shown all summer to keep their team competitive even while their batters have been struggling for their usual fluency.David Willey prised the day’s first opening to see off Janneman Malan, who had been limited to two runs from his first 13 balls before changing his approach with two off-side fours in three balls from Topley. That flurry didn’t last, however, as Willey held a firm line across the right-hander from over the wicket, and Jason Roy accepted an open-faced drive at backward point.Rassie van der Dussen, a centurion at Durham in South Africa’s emphatic victory in the opening ODI, looked good once again for his 26 from 38 balls, with four fours including a dinky ramp over the keeper off Moeen Ali. But, after de Kock had cashed in on an unusually loose first over from Rashid, the legspinner tightened his line to the right-handed van der Dussen, and Jonny Bairstow at backward square leg clung onto a lofted sweep.Both teams had named unchanged XIs following England’s series-levelling win in another rain-affected contest at Old Trafford on Friday.

Willey suggests ‘mother cricket’ got involved after attempt to delay the inevitable

Firdose Moonda23-Jul-2022Heinrich Klaasen was not concerned that the white ball would disappear into the white sheeting, visible at the bottom of the sight screen after 10 overs of the South African innings in the second ODI against England, but he was hoping to use up some time as South Africa found themselves in an impossible situation.At 39 for 5, with 164 runs required off the last 19 overs in a rain-reduced match, the advertising boards were pulled back to make room for the hover cover to come on in a hurry and, with rain around, Klaasen saw an opportunity to slow things down. He spent several minutes asking for the sightscreen to be restored to its usual appearance.Asked how much of his gesticulations had to do with sighting the ball, Klaasen admitted it had nothing to do with that at all.”It was zero percent of the ball disappearing into the sight-screen. The rain came down a little bit harder. I just tried to delay the game a little bit and change the momentum. Hopefully the umpires could have taken us off but that didn’t happen,” Klaasen said afterwards. “It was just a little bit of old-school tricks to see if I just change the momentum and slow the game down a little bit.”Though he could laugh about it afterwards, at the time Klaasen knew he was ruffling feathers. England’s captain Jos Buttler was noticeably unhappy with his tactics and pleaded with the umpires to speed the game up as the showers grew.”The English boys didn’t like it,” Klaasen said, explaining that he expected the opposition to react the way they did. “I knew it was going to come so it’s nothing new to me. But for me, in that situation, we weren’t in a great position, so just to upset the rhythm of the game a little and change the momentum maybe, and see what happens couldn’t have done any harm. It frustrated a lot of the guys, so the trick worked a little bit but it didn’t come off tonight.”Related

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Klaasen’s assessment of England’s reaction to his antics was accurate, as David Willey said afterwards.”It was frustrating, to be polite. I think it was clear what they were trying to do. There was a bit of rain going around. It’s 20 overs for a game, they were hoping the rain was going to stick around a bit longer and we’d be off and they’d go to Headingley 1-0 up and unable to lose the series,” Willey said, pleased that Klaasen’s strategy did not actually succeed in taking the players off before 20 overs had been bowled to make it a game.”I’m thinking mother cricket came around, they lost a couple more wickets and the game was beyond them. They knew what they were doing, we knew what they were doing. The umpires just needed to make a call and get on with the game.”Klaasen was one of the wickets that fell in England’s final push to victory. He only lasted another 4.4 overs before being stumped off Moeen Ali as he advanced down the track to a ball that dipped on him, and Buttler took off the bails. He was given a fairly vociferous send-off but shrugged it off as just part of the game.”Stuff like that doesn’t bother me at all,” Klaasen said. “It’s fun and games on the field, and hopefully we can have a cool drink or a beer after the game and be good mates again. If they can keep it on the field, it’s easy for me to keep it on the field. As long as it doesn’t go off the field, I don’t have any issues with what they say, what they call me or what they do to me.”Asked what England called him, Klaasen said he would “keep that for on the field”.He was in a similarly carefree mood when it came to summing up South Africa’s performance after they went from their highest total against England in the series-opener to their lowest in the second match.”We took our risky options and it didn’t come off. It’s part of the game. The batters are in good form,” he said. “Our blueprints are good. I don’t think we need to change a lot. We need to keep having confidence. We are playing good cricket.”