All posts by n8rngtd.top

Welsh Fire fall well short despite Matt Critchley efforts to finish campaign without a win

ECB Reporters Network29-Aug-2022Trent Rockets guaranteed themselves a qualification spot after a comfortable 29-run win against the Welsh Fire at Trent Bridge.Batting first, the home side made 172 thanks to an 89-run opening partnership between Alex Hales and Dawid Malan, who made 58 from 37 balls, as well as cameos from Daniel Sams and Colin Munro.The total was too much for the Welsh Fire, as the Rockets spinners Tabraiz Shamsi (2 for 12) and Samit Patel (2 for 23) spun them out of the game and ensured they would go the whole season without a win.Put into bat, Rockets made a bright start, with the in-form Malan striking two boundaries to start the innings. The tournament’s leading run-scorer has made batting look easy and Malan continued to impress, striking 26 from his first 12 balls to leave Rockets on 42 for 0 after the powerplay.The opening partnership continued to find the boundary and took Rockets to 78 for 0 at halfway. David Payne would eventually get the breakthrough from the 58th ball as Hales found the off-side boundary sweeper to go for 38. The Nottinghamshire opener has scored over 250 runs in the group stages and put his name back into the conversation for an England call-up.Someone who is certain to be flying to Australia for the T20 World Cup is Malan, whose 58 took his group-stage tally to 358 runs. He eventually fell from the 79th ball, holing out off the bowling of Matt Critchley.The innings wasn’t allowed to stutter at the end thanks to an entertaining cameo from the promoted Sams. The Australian clubbed two huge sixes off his second and third deliveries and didn’t look back, striking 31 from 14 balls. His innings and that of Munro took the Rockets up to 172 for 4.Welsh Fire would need to get their highest total of the season and with only Ben Duckett reaching the three-figure mark for tournament runs prior to the game, the odds seemed low on a Fire victory.One underperforming star is Tom Banton, who produced a solitary score of note this season. The sometime England opener started well, crashing back-to-back fours before Cook got him lbw with a full toss to end a poor campaign.Joe Clarke and Duckett took Fire through the powerplay on 33 for 1 but the introduction of spin, one of the Rocket’s strongest weapons this year, brought a wicket. Patel did Clarke in the flight to have him stumped, bringing wild celebrations as Trent Bridge celebrated one of its favourite sons.Critchley (55 from 35 balls) and Duckett began rebuilding the innings and had their side in with an outside chance at 71 for 2 after 50 balls. But Rockets’ spinners struck again. Shamsi took the key wicket of Duckett after a good catch from Munro at mid-off. Four balls later, Shamsi dismissed fellow South African David Miller.Patel would return and pick up another scalp to take his group stage tally to ten at an average of 16.40. With the spinners taking four wickets, the spark was put out of Fire’s innings and Rockets could start planning for the eliminators.

Tournament to be played in Cape Town, Paarl and Gqeberha; India take on Pakistan on February 12

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Oct-2022The 2023 Women’s T20 World Cup will begin on February 10 with hosts South Africa taking on Sri Lanka in Cape Town. The final is scheduled for February 26 and a reserve day is available on the 27th.Bangladesh and Ireland, the finalists of the 2022 Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier, take the last two spots in the ten-team tournament which will be played in Paarl, Gqeberha and Cape Town.Defending champions Australia are in Group 1, along with New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. India, Pakistan, England, West Indies and Ireland make up Group 2.After South Africa open the tournament against Sri Lanka, England play West Indies and Australia take on New Zealand on February 11 in Paarl. The four Asian teams begin their campaigns on February 12, with India playing Pakistan and Bangladesh facing Sri Lanka in Cape Town.Each team will play all the others in their group once, and the top two from each group will qualify for the semi-finals. All of the knockout games – the semis and the final – will be held in Cape Town.Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 schedule•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup final between Australia and India at the MCG had a crowd of 86,175, just marginally short of the world record for a women’s sports event, and is widely considered to be a watershed moment in the women’s game.”We are thrilled to be announcing the match schedule for the next ICC Women’s T20 World Cup as we look to build on the success of Australia 2020 and host a uniquely African celebration of cricket,” ICC chief executive Geoff Allardice said. “As a key strategic priority for the sport, women’s cricket continues to build momentum and engage more fans than ever before. With T20 as the growth vehicle for cricket we are confident that this event and the inaugural U19 Women’s T20 World Cup preceding the senior event will leave a lasting legacy to grow girls and women’s cricket around the world.”With ticket prices starting at 60 Rand (US$ 3.36 approximately), Cricket South Africa chief executive Pholetsi Moseki hoped fans would attend the event in strong numbers. “South Africa is eagerly awaiting the opening match against Sri Lanka, which will prove our competitiveness on the field of play. It will also mark an historic occasion of South Africa hosting the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, and a first-ever chance for our fans to experience the attractive blend of women’s cricket that will be beamed across the globe,” Moseki said. “This happens at the time that the appetite for women’s cricket, as a distinct brand, is gaining traction amongst the fans. We have sliced the prices of tickets to allow all the fans the opportunity to attend stadiums and join in the excitement, which will confirm that women’s cricket is open for business.”

The New South Wales allrounder has been a regular reserve for Australia but it’s been nearly a year since a red-ball game

AAP17-Oct-2022Sean Abbott is eyeing the chance to prove his red-ball game is up to Test standard in a long-awaited stretch of Sheffield Shield as the silver lining to missing Australia’s T20 World Cup squad.Abbott will play his first red-ball game in close to a year on Tuesday, when NSW take on Queensland at Drummoyne.In many ways, Abbott has become the forgotten man of Australian red-ball cricket. A year ago he was being talked about as an option for an Ashes debut if one of Australia’s quicks went down or was rested. Then life, Covid bubbles and injuries got in the way.He pulled out of the Australia A squad early last summer ahead of the birth of daughter Ella. And when Pat Cummins became a Covid-19 close contact and Josh Hazlewood was injured at the Gabba, Michael Neser and Jhye Richardson got the chance.Related

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A week later, on Boxing Day, Scott Boland was handed his debut and starred, earning selection for the ensuing Test tour of Pakistan. Meanwhile, Abbott has not played a red-ball game since.He was injured after last summer’s Big Bash, then missed the end of the Shield season while with the white-ball squad in Pakistan. He broke his finger before the first T20 in Sri Lanka, played two top-end ODIs against New Zealand and a T20 in India before sitting on the sideline against England.”I definitely wouldn’t say I am frustrated. I’m right where I want to be,” Abbott told AAP.  “Although you are running drinks, it’s only because our Aussie side is so strong and the bowlers do well to play all three formats.”But this year I have got my cricket all going in the right direction and the players I am with are almost the best coaches.  My white-ball has always been there, but I have got my red-ball going right. So all of a sudden I am either on stand-by or getting called up.”This week should mark the first of five straight games for Abbott before the BBL, with the only possible interruption a call-up to Australia’s Test squad. In his two Shield games last summer, Abbott took 11 wickets at 20.72.  In the season before it was 21 at 29.14, while also scoring a maiden century and averaging 63.33 with the bat.”I’ve made no secret that playing Test cricket is the dream, and I have to play Shield to do that,” Abbott said. “If the opportunity comes up, I know 100 percent I am ready to go.”Even though I have only been in white-ball squads for the past two years, you are still working on things. Unless you’re doing structured bowling, your line-and-lengths and the way you feel at the crease is still the same as you would be aiming for in a four-day game.”

Why did Mosaddek Hossain have to re-bowl the final delivery?

Andrew McGlashan30-Oct-2022Bangladesh were celebrating, the players had left the field, Blessing Muzarabani had taken his pads off.This T20 World Cup threw up another extraordinary finish as the players were called back onto the field at the Gabba to re-bowl the final delivery after TV replays had shown that wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan had taken the last ball in front of the stumps.Amid the chaos, it meant that Muzarabani had one more chance to win the game for Zimbabwe with a free hit and now four runs needed against Mosaddek Hossain, but for a second time in around five ridiculous minutes he swished at fresh air and this time Hasan took the ball correctly and Bangladesh could breathe. Again.It has been a tournament where the Laws and playing conditions have been delved into a few times. This is the crucial part of the latest drama:

27.3.1 The wicket-keeper shall remain wholly behind the wicket at the striker’s end from the moment the ball comes into play until a ball delivered by the bowler touches the bat or person of the striker or passes the wicket at the striker’s end or the striker attempts a run.

27.3.2 In the event of the wicket-keeper contravening this Law, the striker’s end umpire shall call and signal No ball as soon as applicable after the delivery of the ball.

Even though it quickly became clear the third umpire was checking the initial stumping, players from both sides had shaken hands and gathered near the boundary edge as the replay unfolded. There were looks of disbelief all around when the decision came through, although more from the Bangladesh side who had thought they had already won the match.However, in the end, Mosaddek held his nerve for a second time after he had been entrusted with the final over that began with 16 needed. Shakib Al Hasan, who probably kept Bangladesh’s tournament alive with a magnificent piece of fielding to run out Sean Williams, had gambled on using up his other bowlers.Williams, speaking after the match, called the whole episode “extremely weird”.”I’ve never experienced something like that in a cricket match before, but again, it just goes to show in a T20 game, there’s always a little bit of hope; anything can happen,” he said. “The first time I realised that there was a no-ball was actually when we were walking out to shake the umpire’s hands, and they told us to stop and the replay came on the big screen, and then we all noticed that it was a no-ball. Very interesting times.”The finish was reminiscent of last season’s T20 Blast final in England where Nathan Ellis effectively won the game twice after a belated no-ball call from the final delivery.

Bangladesh allrounder says T20 league may actually be inferior to the country’s domestic one-day tournament

Mohammad Isam04-Jan-2023Two days before the start of the new season, Shakib Al Hasan offered sharp criticism of the Bangladesh Premier League, going so far as to say the tournament may very well be inferior to the Dhaka Premier League, the country’s domestic one-day competition.Asked what changes he would bring if he was made head of the BPL, Shakib highlighted the problems they are facing, especially this year, when he said he would have ensured a timely players’ draft and a schedule where it wouldn’t clash with other T20 leagues.”If they made me the BPL CEO, it would take me one or two months to correct everything,” Shakib said. “You have seen the movie right? If you want to do something, you can do it in one day. I would do the players’ draft and auction (on time) and hold the BPL during a free time. We will have all the modern technologies. There will be quality broadcast and home and away venues.”Related

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The BPL took their time in selecting owners for each of their seven franchises, which in turn delayed their player draft to November 23. By that time, the two other tournaments that are also taking place in the same January-February window – UAE’s International League T20 and South Africa’s SA20 – had snapped up most of the big name talent. Even those they managed to sign won’t be around for the full season, a fact which left Shakib a bit displeased.”I don’t see what’s stopping us if we have the willingness (to correct things),” he said. “If we are willing, I don’t see any reason not to have the DRS, the draft or auction not being held three months in advance, or the teams wouldn’t be confirmed two months in advance. The players are only available for one or two matches. Nobody really knows for how long they are available.”Shakib said that the BPL may be an inferior tournament to the Dhaka Premier League, the domestic one-day competition that has been in place for nearly five decades. He even had an example to back up the assessment.”I saw in the news that the jersey is not ready. It is a messy situation. Maybe our DPL is more organised. They can arrange the team ahead of time. They know what their team is going to be. Every DPL team knows who is playing where for the next edition.”We don’t really know what’s going in the BPL. It only starts when the BPL matches start. Tournament starts from January 6. There’s no BPL before that. Before this, everyone is practicing on their own.”Shakib added that the BPL has never been marketed properly even in Bangladesh where cricket is the No. 1 sport.”There’s no market because we never created the market. If we could have added value to this market, it would have been really big. Cricket is played everywhere in this country, even in remote villages.”It is a very popular sport in a country of 160-180 million, so I don’t believe there can’t be a market for cricket here. It is a huge failure in terms of marketing.”Despite the BPL being telecast in several countries, Shakib said that performances in the tournament don’t carry the same weight as performances in the Caribbean Premier League or the Pakistan Super League.”They show a list of countries where the BPL is telecast, but nobody really watches the tournament. When an uncapped player does well in PSL or CPL, they get a national call-up. It doesn’t happen when they play in the BPL. It is quite disappointing that we have remained at this stage.”

West Indies did not stand a chance after being restricted to 6 for 2 at the end of their powerplay

S Sudarshanan25-Jan-2023It went from bad to worse for West Indies in the women’s T20I tri-series in East London. After facing back-to-back defeats in the first two games, another meek batting display saw them restricted to 97.In reply, openers Tazmin Brits and Laura Wolvaardt helped South Africa coast to a ten-wicket win with 38 balls to spare. The result knocked West Indies out of the competition.

Wolvaardt, Brits make easy work of the chase

Wolvaardt flicked the first ball of the 98-run chase for four through wide mid-on. Brits, brought in for Anneke Bosch, also showed intent by using her feet to put the bowlers off. She pulled a full toss through square leg to get going before dancing down and hitting offspinner Karishma Ramharack over mid-off.In the interim, Wolvaardt played her trademark cover drive off Shamilia Connell to beat sweeper before cutting the next delivery well past backward point. The pair then took three fours off legspinner Afy Fletcher’s opening over to bring up their fifty-run partnership.While Wolvaardt stuck to the traditional strokes, which are her strength, Brits was adventurous and used the reverse sweeps and heaves after charging down the track in order to attack the bowlers. She also hit the only six of the match.

Same old story for West Indies

Captain Hayley Matthews had won the toss and opted to bat. No side had lost a game in the tri-series after batting first till then. But the lack of intent from the top order was quite surprising. Left-arm spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba kept wicketkeeper-batter Rashada Williams guessing before having her miscue one to mid-off.The other opener, Britney Cooper, was quite happy to play the waiting game and saw out seven straight dot balls against Marizanne Kapp before getting off the mark. Soon, Shemaine Campbelle, fresh off a 47 against India, was run out and the powerplay saw West Indies crawl to 6 for 2.All in all, the top four batters – including Cooper’s 26-ball 10 – scored 17 off 55 balls and the team was languishing at 29 for 3 at the 10-over mark.It was only through Matthews, walking in at No. 6, and Shabika Gajnabi’s 61-run partnership that West Indies reached close to a hundred. They helped West Indies add 30 off the last four overs with Matthews scoring 34 and Gajnabi making 33.But it was a total well below par. Mlaba finished with 1 for 7 off her four overs while Tumi Sekhukhune – coming in for Ayabonga Khaka – finished with 2 for 24. South Africa also handed a T20I debut to seam-bowling allrounder Annerie Dercksen, who replaced Delmi Tucker in the XI, but she gave away 21 off her two overs.

England captain not fussed about follow-on tactic gone wrong, says knee will be fine for Ashes in June

Andrew Miller28-Feb-2023Ben Stokes, England’s captain, insisted that his team’s pride at playing a part in one of the most gripping Test matches of all time outweighed their disappointment at the final result, after their run of six Test wins in a row came to an end with an incredible one-run loss against New Zealand in Wellington.A packed crowd at the Basin Reserve had been invited in for free by Cricket New Zealand in expectation of a gripping finale, and the two teams did not disappoint. In a thrillingly fluctuating final day, England lost four quick wickets in the first hour before settling into a seemingly match-turning sixth-wicket stand between Stokes himself and Joe Root, only for Neil Wagner’s short-ball approach to break the game open in a scintillating finale.”It’s right up there,” Stokes said. “Going down to the last day, being in the situation of that last half an hour … it’s everything you wish for. Even though we came out on the wrong side of it, you can’t help but feel blessed that we’ve managed to be a part of that incredible game.”It’s disappointing to not win, obviously. But we look at the bigger picture of what everyone’s enjoyed and seen here today. It’s probably bigger than the disappointment at the moment.”One of Stokes’ stated aims since taking over the England captaincy has been to max out on entertainment, and risk losing games in order to win them. That policy has paid handsome dividends over the past year, most especially in Pakistan before Christmas when England’s attacking instincts broke open the series, most memorably in the first Test at Rawalpindi.”That’s obviously a huge objective of ours,” he added. “I don’t want people to get mixed up, [because] that doesn’t mean that we’re not fussed if we don’t win or lose. Obviously, we always want to win. It’s very disappointing to lose, but you can’t help but be excited that we’ve been a part of a game like that.”Related

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Besides being only the second one-run win in Test history, after West Indies’ victory over Australia at Adelaide in 1992-93, this was the fourth time that a side has won a Test match despite being asked to follow-on – and like the most recent occasion, the Kolkata Test in 2000-01, the turning point of the match was arguably Stokes’ decision to enforce the follow-on, after New Zealand had been bowled out for 210 on the third morning.The man himself, however, had no regrets about his call, even though New Zealand’s second innings of 483 – built around a doughty century from the Player of the Match Kane Williamson – meant that his bowlers spent more than 215 consecutive overs in the field.”Imagine captaining in hindsight?” he said. “That’s nothing that I would ever do.”It was always our game to lose once we enforced the follow-on,” he added. “But the logic behind it was that our opening bowlers have ripped through their top-order for three innings in a row. We knew that New Zealand had to pretty much play the perfect game to put us in a situation like this.”In England’s home summer, Stokes’ men had chased consecutive targets of 277, 299 and 296 against New Zealand, followed by a hefty 358 against India, and so despite their tough grind in the field, Stokes insisted that the target this time around, 258, had not left his team daunted.Winning after following on in Tests•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“Batting in the last innings, chasing 250 is something that we were never worried about,” he said. “But give huge credit to New Zealand, not only to the way that they played in the second innings, but also the way that they bowled and managed to get very early wickets with not too many runs on the board.”So in terms of looking back and making my decision around the follow-on, No, I don’t regret it. Other teams are allowed to play better than us and New Zealand have played better than us this week.”England’s next Test assignment is the one-off four-day Test against Ireland – starting June 1 – followed by the Ashes and while they are bound to head into the series with confidence after four wins in five this winter, one area of concern is Stokes’ own fitness. His troublesome left knee was causing him visible pain, both during a curtailed two-over spell in the second innings, and for long periods of his own second innings, a dogged 33 from 116 balls that ended with an off-balance pull against a Wagner short ball.Before the series begins in June, Stokes is due to play a season of IPL with Chennai Super Kings – which he may leave early to prep for the Ashes – but he said he had no plans to withdraw at this stage, instead hoping that the less intense workload of T20 cricket would give him more time to get it right off the field.Ben Stokes batted within himself while managing a knee issue•Getty Images

“I’m not sure exactly,” he said, when asked how his knee was feeling. “There’s maybe three or four months before we get to the Ashes and we’ve worked incredibly hard with our physios and medics to get everything right strength-wise.”But it’s been very difficult out here, especially once the Tests have started, because the games came thick and fast. But it’s a good opportunity out in India to get myself into a position that I feel like I don’t have to worry about my knee anymore.”I’m not going to lie. It is very frustrating knowing that I’ve got something holding me back in terms of my body. It’s been around for a while. It is frustrating, but we’re doing everything we possibly can to allow me to fulfil that fourth-seamer role, like I was able to do two or three years ago. Hopefully, come the Ashes, I don’t have to worry about it.”

Fast bowler proud of resilience after bouncing back from brutal treatment by England batters

Andrew Miller28-Feb-2023Neil Wagner, New Zealand’s final-day hero at Wellington, was hailed by Brendon McCullum – his former captain and current England coach – as “one of the toughest I’ve come across”, after his bruising four-wicket haul secured a thrilling one-run win in the second Test.Wagner’s final figures of 4 for 62 in 15.2 overs included both of England’s set batters, Ben Stokes and Joe Root, as well as the crucial final scalp of James Anderson, caught down the leg side by Tom Blundell, as England slipped from 201 for 5 to 256 all out in the course of his final gut-busting ten-over spell.And the performance capped an extraordinary comeback from one of New Zealand’s most indefatigable performers, after he had borne the brunt of England’s aggression, both in second innings at Mount Maunganui, where his figures of 13-0-110-2 had been the second least economical in Test history, and in the first innings at Wellington, where Harry Brook’s thrilling 186 had dispatched him at close to a run a ball across 21 more overs.This time, however, with England reeling in their run-chase after the loss of four early wickets on the final day, Wagner’s aggression proved the difference, with both Stokes and Root falling in consecutive overs in failed attempts to capitalise on a deck-hitting approach that proved so effective for New Zealand throughout their reign as World Test Champions.”I got a bit of rhythm, something ticked which is nice,” Wagner said in the moment of victory. “I guess it happens in cricket. But credit to Harry Brook, he’s a serious talent. The way he’s played it and came after me, he was pretty awesome to watch but not to receive. He’s a serious player but to finally get some reward from it was quite pleasing.”Related

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The win – which was set up by a second-innings of 483, led by a century from Kane Williamson and a 149-run opening stand between Tom Latham and Devon Conway – squared the series at 1-1, and so preserved a proud home record that now stretches to 11 unbeaten campaigns since 2017.”That’s the characteristics of this team, we keep having to fight for each other, find a way of doing the hard yards out there, and we did,” Wagner said. “It’s a special one, this, and we’ll celebrate it well. It’s an amazing achievement, and obviously everybody contributed, so hats off to everyone. That’s what this team is about, to keep fighting and it’s just something that we’re extremely proud of.”Tim Southee, New Zealand’s captain, admitted that the victory had to rank as the best he had ever been a part of, having sat out their similarly fraught four-run win over Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in 2018-19.”It’s hard to go past having only been the fourth team to win a Test match when asked to follow-on,” he said. “I imagine it’ll be a Test match that’s talked about for a long time.”We went back to what Wags’ biggest strength is,” Southee added. “He bought into it, he trusted it, even though it hadn’t come off as he’d have liked in the series. We trusted his best method and he was able to come in and change the game in this last session, like he has done for a long period of time.”It’s an unusual tactic that you see a little bit more of nowadays, but it’s something Neil’s done for a long period of time. For him to come in and change the game there, when it looked like Ben and Joe had almost taken it away from us was a massive part of this game, and shows you the ticker that Neil’s got.”It shows more about him as a character and a cricketer. He doesn’t give up. It’s in his DNA to keep giving to this team. And I think we saw that and how valuable he can be: when nothing was really happening, and into the wind as well, was able to change the game in that last sessions.”McCullum’s own reign as New Zealand captain, from 2013 to 2016, was instrumental in instilling the fighting spirit that endures to this day, and he paid special tribute to Wagner, a man whom he first played alongside in the Caribbean in 2012.”It’s a tough game, right, and tough characters have to find a way and they do,” McCullum said. “Neil Wagner is one of the toughest that I’ve come across. Obviously I had the pleasure of captaining them for a long period of time, and now playing against him, you know that he’s got a huge heart and he’ll find a way when the going gets tough.”He was good today. He was better than good, he was excellent. He turned the game on its head.”

Imrul Kayes struck the first century of the season while Jake Lintott and Raihan Uddin picked up five-fors

Mohammad Isam11-Apr-2023

Key takeaways – Abahani Limited’s winning run ends

Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club beat Abahani Limited to break their eight-match winning streak on Monday. They are now on 16 points each on top of the points table, with Legends of Rupganj and Prime Bank Cricket Club behind them. Gazi Group Cricketers and Mohammedan make up the top six.

Best batter – Imrul Kayes and Mohammad Naim

Mohammedan’s Imrul Kayes struck his first century of the season when his 114 powered his side against City Club. Anamul Haque’s off-colour week means that his Abahani opening partner Mohammad Naim took pole position among the run-getters. Naim is on 640, while Anamul has 615 runs. The pair have already scored more than 60% of Abahani’s runs in the season.

Best bowlers – Jake Lintott and Raihan Uddin

Left-arm wrist spinner Jake Lintott took his first five-wicket haul in List-A cricket when he took 5-37 against Brothers Union at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. Raihan Uddin picked up the league’s first six-wicket haul of the season that helped Dhaka Leopards to their first win in the season, too.

Best match – Abahani Limited vs Sheikh Jamal Dhanmodi Club

Defending champions Sheikh Jamal’s four-wicket win over Abahani is a significant result in the title race. Batting first, Abahani were restricted to 250 for 9 with Arif Ahmed taking three wickets. Sheikh Jamal completed the chase in the last over though fifties from Towhid Hridoy and Taibur Rahman got them near the target. How the teams finish in the DPL’s first phase usually has significance in the Super League.

Points to ponder

Star-studded Mohammedan have finally woken up, finding themselves in the top six of the points table. They have now won four matches in a row, coinciding with the return of Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz from international duty. The Leopards remain in bottom position with Agrani Bank and Shinepukur Cricket Club also in the danger zone.

Players to watch – Towhid Hridoy and Mahmudullah

Despite two match-winning fifties this week, Mahmudullah remains out of favour with the national selectors who, after “resting” him in the home ODIs against Ireland, have now ignored him for the away ODIs next month too. Hridoy, who effectively replaced Mahmudullah in the ODI setup, spruced up his 2023 form with a match-winning half-century against Abahani.

Sam Curran, Will Jacks also in the runs as Surrey post mammoth 236 for 2

ECB Reporters Network07-Jun-2023A record-breaking batting performance from Laurie Evans and his Surrey teammates set up a 65-run victory against Glamorgan in their Vitality Blast match in Cardiff.Evans made the highest score against Glamorgan and the highest score on this ground as Surrey also set a record total at Sophia Gardens.With Sam Curran and Will Jacks both making runs, Surrey set Glamorgan a target of 237 to win. This was a hard enough task but with big hitting all-rounder Dan Douthwaite unable to bat, having only managing to bowl 10 balls before he left the field, it became even harder.Glamorgan eventually reached 171 for 8 as Surrey closed out a comfortable win with Sam Northeast’s 76 the only significant score from the home side.Surrey won the toss and elected to bat and were electrifying from the start of their innings. Jacks gave Evans great support in an opening stand that brought 115 runs from just 64 balls. Jacks was dismissed when he was trapped lbw by Glamorgan’s Australian leg-spinner Peter Hatzoglou for 46 from 29 balls.While Evans had been the aggressor in his stand with Jacks it was Curran who took on the role when he walked into bat at three. In innings that was full of outrageous shots, seven of which were smoked over the boundary for six, it was the three balls Curran hit over the rope in Prem Sisodiya’s final over that will live longest in the memory. The last of these was a shot where Curran danced down the pitch a long way from where the ball pitched and still managed to straight drive it for six.It was in that same Sisodiya over that Glamorgan nearly had some respite from the partnership between Curran and Evans, but Kiran Carlson, playing with a dislocated finger he sustained in Sunday’s match against Sussex, put down a catch at long on when Evans was on 94.Evans made the most of his chance to score his third hundred in T20 cricket and his first for Surrey. His career best 118 not out came from 60 balls and contained 12 fours and six sixes.Curran departed in the final over, caught by Colin Ingram at long on going for another six, as Surrey posted 236 for 2, the highest total made on this ground, going past the 216 for 5 that Glamorgan made against Hampshire in 2019.Glamorgan were left with a near insurmountable task of going at nearly 12 runs an over from the very start of their innings and they were two wickets down inside the powerplay with Carlson and Callum Taylor both falling inside the first six overs.Glamorgan came into this match with four wins from five matches and most of that success has been down to the form of Ingram and Chris Cooke. There was a rare failure for both of them with Ingram dismissed for 11 by Sunil Narine and Cooke clean bowled by Gus Atkinson for 12.With Cooke and Ingram gone it was left to Northeast to try and bring some respectability to the Glamorgan total and his half-century the only bright spot on a tough day for his side.