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Resistance on tired Old Trafford pitch proves sufficient but visitors remain bottom of standings

Paul Edwards28-Jul-2023
One winter in the late 1980s the Lancashire slow left-armer, Ian Folley, was talking about spin bowling in County Championship matches. It was one of the many eras in the county’s history when the team was making regular tilts at the title without ever winning it. “You want to know about pressure?” said Folley. “You turn up at a ground and realise that if it’s a spinning track, everyone’s looking at me and Simmo [Jack Simmons] to win us the game,’ he said. “That’s real pressure.”Nearly 40 years later, Jack Morley and Tom Hartley are discovering what Folley was on about. It is a Friday in late July 2023 and they are trying to bowl out Northamptonshire on a wicket that had seen 491.1 overs bowled on it over seven days’ play when the present innings began. Areas outside a left-hander’s off stump are showing dark craters made by bowlers’ footmarks – and Northamptonshire have five left-handers in their top six. In truth, Emirates Old Trafford’s Test match pitch is desperate for repair and its winter snooze, so 23-year-old Morley and 25-year-old Hartley are expected to take wickets on it. And they say county cricket is soft…As things turned out, they didn’t manage it, partly because their opponents’ youngsters showed that they are also learning a thing or two about pressure. Despite conceding a deficit of 202 runs, Northamptonshire’s cricketers, most notably Emilio Gay and Luke Procter but also Sam Whiteman and James Sales, battled as if their First Division survival depended on it and reached the end of the game with five wickets still intact and a lead of 12. The draw changes neither side’s position in the table. Procter’s team are still bottom of the pile and will need at least a couple of wins in September if that situation is to change. Lancashire are still seventh and that is a disappointment to everyone at the club.Yet what we witnessed on the ground that was hosting an Ashes match just a week ago was still fascinating stuff, not least because we saw a clutch of cricketers coming slowly to an understanding of their disciplines and skills. Not only Lancashire’s spinners, you understand, but also Northamptonshire’s Gay, who followed his century in the first innings with a Verdun-esque 61 in the second, a three-hour vigil which was only ended when he came down the track to Hartley and edged a catch to Keaton Jennings at slip.Gay’s was the third wicket to fall. Lancastrian hopes had been raised before lunch, first when Ricardo Vasconcelos was leg before to a ball from Tom Bailey that both jagged back and bounced like a crumpet on lino, and then when the right-handed Justin Broad had been caught at slip by Jennings off a beauty from Morley that turned sharply and took the edge. That wicket, though, only ushered in a 96-run partnership between Gay and Whiteman that sucked 39 overs out of the day and took Northamptonshire a good way closer to the draw that says much for their backbone in a hard summer.All the same, the draw was nowhere near a done deal when Gay was winkled out and much less so when Whiteman inside-edged a catch off Hartley to George Bell at short leg, who clutched the ball in his right hand and scampered away like a cat with the cream.But in the very best sense, Procter is a fighter, a quality that was apparent when he was at Lancashire and is no less plain now that he leads Northamptonshire. He lost Saif Zaib, lbw when playing no shot to Luke Wells five overs after tea but Sales joined his skipper and kept him steadfast company for 25 overs. And it says much for Sales’ unflappability that Lancashire did not really look like taking a wicket in the final hour of the game. Much, too, for the cricketers on both sides over the past four days that a match which might seem a little dull to anyone casually perusing the scorecard actually offered so much quiet enjoyment to anyone who cared to become engrossed in its ebbs and flows.

Kuldeep climbs four spots to occupy 10th place on the bowlers’ list

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Aug-2023India opener Shubman Gill has reached a career-high fifth place in the ICC men’s player rankings, following his exploits in the recently-concluded ODI series against West Indies. Gill, who scored 126 runs from three matches including a match-winning 85 in the series decider, rose to 743 rating points and is now within touching distance of the fourth-placed Imam-ul-Haq (745) and third-placed Fakhar Zaman (755). Pakistan’s Babar Azam, with 886 rating points, is still well ahead at No.1 on the ODI list.Also making significant gains in the ODI rankings was Gill’s opening partner Ishan Kishan, who jumped nine places to 36th. Kishan scored fifties in all three matches, to end with 184 runs and the Player-of-the-Series award.Among the bowlers, wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav and seamer Shardul Thakur made the biggest impressions. With seven wickets from three matches, including figures of 4 for 6 in the first ODI, Kuldeep climbed four places to occupy the 10th spot in the bowler rankings. Thakur, who was the leading wicket-taker in the series with eight scalps, rose to No. 30 on the list.While West Indies didn’t have a lot going for them in the ODIs, several of their players have made jumps in the T20I rankings. Nicholas Pooran (14th) and Rovman Powell (32nd) were the biggest movers on the batting list, while fast bowler Alzarri Joseph (13th) and spinner Akeal Hosein (14th) made strides among the bowlers.India’s Tilak Varma, who made his international debut in the ongoing T20I series, entered the batting rankings at No.46, following scores of 39, 51 and 49* from his first three matches.

Dean Foxcroft included in a squad which sees a number of senior players rested before the World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Sep-2023Lockie Ferguson will captain New Zealand in their ODI series against Bangladesh later this month with Tom Latham among a group of senior players given a break before the World Cup.Latham, currently leading the one-day side in place of Kane Williamson, has been rested from the three-match tour in late September along with Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner and Tim Southee to allow them a short period at home.Trent Boult will feature along with Kyle Jamieson and Adam Milne. The spin bowling will be shared between Ish Sodhi, Rachin Ravindra and Cole McConchie.Related

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Ferguson recently captained New Zealand in a T20 warm-up match against Worcestershire on the current tour of England.”Lockie is an experienced bowler at the international level, and this is an opportunity for him to really lead from the front with not just the bowling group but the team as a whole,” head coach Gary Stead said. “He stepped into the role for the warm-up matches in England and led a group with a lot of moving parts well.”We have a very full schedule between now until the end of our tour to Pakistan in April including the World Cup and the start of the new World Test Championship cycle so trying to keep players and staff fresh and ready at the right times is paramount,” Stead added.”Balancing workloads also provides opportunities and it’s exciting to have different players in the group and learning in an environment like Bangladesh. It can be a challenging place to tour and getting used to different conditions quickly will be important over the next few months.”Dean Foxcroft, who has recently qualified for New Zealand and made his T20I debut against UAE last month, has been included in the squad.”Any time a player is selected for the first time it’s exciting and Dean’s shown as the [Otago] Volts’ leading white ball run scorer last summer the talent he has,” Stead said. “We were impressed with the way he came into the group with the T20 squad, and this will be another great opportunity to keep learning in our environment.”Mark Chapman and Jimmy Neesham weren’t considered for selection because of the birth of their first children.The three ODIs will take place in Dhaka on September 21, 23 and 26 with the teams then heading to India for the World Cup.New Zealand ODI squad vs Bangladesh Lockie Ferguson (capt), Finn Allen, Tom Blundell, Trent Boult. Chad Bowes, Dane Cleaver, Dean Foxcroft, Kyle Jamieson, Cole McConchie, Adam Milne, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Ish Sodhi, Blair Tickner, Will Young

Rocchiccioli and Gannon claim three wickets each as the two-time defending champions won by an innings without their frontline pace attack

Tristan Lavalette07-Oct-2023Western Australia’s second-string attack overwhelmed Victoria on a sluggish WACA pitch in an ominous start to their bid for a hat-trick of Sheffield Shield titles.In a re-match of the last two Shield finals, WA once again had Victoria’s number as they showed off their enviable depth of talent. Without frontline quicks Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson, Matt Kelly and Joel Paris, WA’s new-look pace attack produced a disciplined performance on the final day to bowl Victoria for a second time out shortly after tea.Fringe quick Cameron Gannon was relentless, while left-arm debutant Liam Haskett shone with fast and aggressive bowling. With Morris and Richardson engaged in centre-wicket practice after the match, selection headaches loom for WA’s hierarchy.Tall offspinner Corey Rocchiccioli conjured sharp spin and found inconsistent bounce on a wearing pitch that finally started to play some tricks having been sedate throughout the match. Rocchiccioli finished with the remarkable figures of 3 for 14 from 26.2 overs, including 20 maidens.Having taken three wickets on day one, Rocchiccioli outbowled Test offspinner Todd Murphy, who took just 1 for 141 off 32 overs in WA’s first innings.”He’s going to keep getting better,” WA captain Sam Whiteman said of Rocchiccioli. “The impressive thing is he’s taking wickets at the WACA which is notorious for [a lack of] spin.”I’m particularly proud of the bowling group, which is a completely different attack than what we finished with last season.”Allrounder Aaron Hardie capped a strong match by taking the early wicket of former Victoria captain Peter Handscomb. Hardie, who recently made his international limited overs debut, claimed five wickets for the match and made 48 at number five in WA’s first innings.WA’s attack set up the victory after bowling out Victoria for 256 on day one before opener Cameron Bancroft scored a century to power them into a big lead.With national selector Tony Dodemaide in the terraces, Bancroft made an early season statement to replace David Warner who is set to retire from Test cricket during the summer.But it was a particularly lacklustre performance from Victoria, who were left to rue gifting wickets on day one and they never recovered. The return of Will Pucovski, who made 39 in Victoria’s first innings, from an extended absence was encouraging, and so too was the final-day grit from nightwatchman Mitch Perry.”Getting sick of losing to them [WA], so was enough motivation to stay out there as long as I could,” said Perry, who made 43 from 173 balls.Resuming at 64 for 3, still trailing by 161 runs, Victoria’s hopes of avoiding defeat largely rested with Handscomb but he fell for 2 after being caught behind off a superb Hardie delivery. It ended a disappointing match for Handscomb, who has been keen to shake being pigeonholed as a subcontinent specialist. He lacked rhythm in a first innings of 31 from 85 balls and fell badly after miscuing a whip to point off a leading edge.Hardie, who had opened the bowling, was in a fiery mood with a searing bouncer smashing into Perry’s body and leaving him shaken. But Perry, something of a nightwatchman specialist, gamely fought on and found a willing partner in Jonathan Merlo, who was intent solely on defence.Pinned back to the crease, Merlo excruciatingly faced 36 balls without a run. He finally opened his account with a push through covers for two runs before being clean bowled next ball by a cracking Gannon delivery.Victoria shut up shop after lunch with captain Will Sutherland, normally such a belligerent batter, continuously blocking alongside Perry. They weren’t particularly looking for runs, essentially taking turns holding up an end. Sutherland’s 75-ball grind of 6 ended when Bancroft snared a sensational catch at short-leg off Haskett. Perry’s rearguard finally ended shortly before tea as Victoria inevitably slumped to a hefty first-up defeat.

Former Notts and England keeper takes over from Paul Shaw on two-year contract

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Nov-2023Chris Read, the former Nottinghamshire and England wicketkeeper, has been appointed as the new head coach of Thunder, and will take over from Paul Shaw who stepped down at the end of the 2023 campaign after four seasons in charge.Read, who played 15 Tests between 1999 and 2007 and represented England in all three formats, has since served as assistant coach with Trent Rockets in the women’s Hundred and Hobart Hurricanes in the WBBL, as well as wicketkeeping consultancy work with the ECB, including a stint with England men’s Under-19s squad.He will join the Thunder set-up on a two-year contract in January, and inherits a squad that reached Finals Day in the 2023 Charlotte Edwards Cup.”I am extremely proud to have taken up this position and I am looking forward to getting to work with such an ambitious club and a talented squad of players,” Read said.”The development of the Thunder regional programme in recent years has been most impressive and it is clear to see the ambitions of everybody involved is to back that up by bringing silverware to Emirates Old Trafford.”I believe that my experiences as both a player, and more recently as a coach around the world, will help Thunder push on and achieves our ambitions in the coming seasons.”David Thorley, regional director of women’s cricket, added: “Throughout an extensive interview process, Chris excelled against the candidate brief of what we were looking for in a head coach – which is somebody to build on the strong foundations laid during Paul Shaw’s tenure and to help continue to evolve the high-performance culture here at Thunder.”It is clear that Chris is an excellent strategist who knows what it takes to win through a positive brand of cricket, and I am looking forward to the future of Thunder under his leadership.”

He finished with a match haul of 10 wickets as Bangladesh scripted one of their finest Test wins

Mohammad Isam02-Dec-2023Taijul Islam scripted one of Bangladesh’s finest Test victories, as he took six wickets in the second innings to complete a 10-wicket match haul to help beat New Zealand by 150 runs in Sylhet.The home side needed 86 minutes to take the remaining three wickets of the visitors on the fifth morning. New Zealand added 68 runs, but Taijul took two of the three wickets that fell. Overnight on 113 for 7 with Daryl Mitchell as the only one from the top six surviving the rout, New Zealand needed a miracle to survive on the final day. It was also the first time in the game that the pitch offered uneven bounce.Mitchell was watchful during his stay in the morning and also reached his ninth Test fifty. But his resistance ended when he couldn’t connect a sweep off Nayeem Hasan properly, giving Taijul a tumbling catch halfway from deep square leg.Related

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Tim Southee and Ish Sodhi then resisted for the next 52 deliveries it ended when Southee gave a low catch to midwicket off Taijul’s delivery. Southee struck a couple of sixes in his 24-ball 34 to take his tally to 85 sixes in Tests, which took him past Vivian Richards’ record of 84, and he is now ninth on the list of batters with most Test sixes.The end came when Ish Sodhi tried to block a Taijul delivery that turned a tad but ended up giving silly mid-off a straightforward catch. He had lasted 91 balls for his 22.Bangladesh are now on 12 points in the World Test Championship points table. Their only other WTC win was also against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui at the start of 2022.New Zealand’s hopes of a win diminished on day four. Shoriful had Tom Latham edging his pitched-up delivery that moved away slightly and Nurul Hasan dived low to his left to remove the opener for a duck. Kane Williamson, who had scored his 29th Test hundred in the first innings, was going to be key to New Zealand’s approach on the fourth day.But Taijul then got the prized wicket of Williamson, who was dragged forward on the defensive push, only for the spinning delivery to beat the inside edge and hit his front leg. Williamson opted for the review but found out quickly that he was plumb in front.Henry Nicholls top-edged a sweep off Mehidy Hasan Miraz and was caught by Nayeem at short fine leg. Devon Conway lasted more than an hour for his 22 before giving Taijul his second wicket. Shahadat Hossain took the simple catch at short leg after the left-hander charged the left-arm spinner and got an inside edge onto his pad. Tom Blundell looked in trouble from the onset and didn’t last too long. Taijul found vicious turn and bounce to have Blundell squared up and feather the ball to the keeper. The collapse continued in the 35th over when Nayeem trapped Glenn Phillips lbw for 12, before Taijul also trapped Kyle Jamieson lbw.Bangladesh had set New Zealand a 332-run target in the fourth innings, after getting bowled out for 338 runs in their second innings. Najmul Hossain Shanto’s century had put the hosts in the driver’s seat and Taijul drove them to the finish line.

With the series in their bag, India might look to rest a few of their players in the final T20I

Ashish Pant02-Dec-2023

Big picture: 4-1 or 3-2?

After three run-fests, Raipur finally provided an even contest between bat and ball as India sealed the five-match series with a game to go. But expect the runs to start flowing again, and with some intensity, as India and Australia travel to Bengaluru for the fifth and final T20I.A turnaround time of under 48 hours isn’t ideal but the Australians, Travis Head and Tanveer Sangha, in particular, might not complain. The duo are the only ones in the current squad who have been in India since the start of the ODI World Cup – Head as part of the 15-man squad, Sangha as travelling reserve – and will keenly be looking forward to going back home.Australia have tried as many as 19 players so far in the series, ringing in the changes in a bid to give some of their exhausted players a break. They made five changes for the Raipur T20I but the reinforcements coming in failed to level the series. While they’ve taken the fast bowlers to the cleaners consistently, the Australian batting has been found wanting against the spin duo of Ravi Bishnoi and Axar Patel.Related

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They could, however, expect some respite from the Bengaluru pitch, which has historically not aided spin as much as some of the other surfaces they’ve played on as Australia look to end their tour of India on a high.While India haven’t been as clinical, what would please Suryakumar Yadav the most is the individual players standing up under pressure. Jitesh Sharma, playing his first game of the series came in and smashed a 19-ball 35 in Raipur while Rinku Singh showed that he was not just a finisher and had the technique to set up a total as well.The fast-bowling unit is probably one area where the boxes haven’t been ticked, but Deepak Chahar’s return after an injury layoff will give India reasons to be happy. He didn’t have the best of starts to his spell but came back well later and struck two important blows. The team management will hope for a more rounded show from the fast-bowling attack come Sunday.

Form guide

India WLWWW (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
Australia LWLLWYashasvi Jaiswal has a powerplay strike rate of 174.62 in the series so far•Associated Press

In the spotlight: Yashasvi Jaiswal and Aaron Hardie

Barring the third T20I, Yashasvi Jaiswal has given India a quick start in every game this series, but is yet to make it out of the powerplay. No other batter in the series has scored more runs in the first first six overs than Jaiswal while his strike rate of 174.62 during this phase is only second to Head’s 194.11. However, the Indian management might want him to convert his starts into something more substantial. Jaiswal has had a terrific start to his T20I career – two fifties and a century in 11 innings. Bengaluru gives him a chance to add to those numbers.Aaron Hardie hasn’t set the T20I stage on fire yet, but the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru is probably one venue where he will feel most at home. He likes pace on the ball and the ball coming onto the bat, and the conditions in Bengaluru are likely to provide him with that. Hardie had a tremendous 2022-23 BBL season, finishing as the top run-getter. He hasn’t fully shown that big-hitting potential in the two T20Is that he has batted this series, but the surface in Bengaluru and the boundary dimensions could help him unleash some of those hit-through-the-line maximums. A few wickets with the ball, and Hardie could well be the player to watch out for.

Team news: Expect more changes

India made four changes to their side for the fourth T20I, and with the series in the bag could well make a few more for the final game. They might be tempted to give Washington Sundar a game in place of one of Axar or Bishnoi, while Tilak Varma could also get a game, in case the team management wants to rest any of the players in the top order. India went with Mukesh Kumar, Chahar and Avesh Khan as their fast-bowling options in Raipur and are unlikely to make any changes on that front.India (probable): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 3 Shreyas Iyer/Tilak Varma, 4 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 5 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Axar Patel/Washington Sundar, 8 Deepak Chahar, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Avesh Khan, 11 Mukesh KumarAustralia don’t have the scope to make a lot of changes, considering they have only 13 players in the squad left. They could consider bringing in one of Kane Richardson or Nathan Ellis in place of Sangha.Australia (probable): 1 Josh Phillippe, 2 Travis Head, 3 Ben McDermott, 4 Aaron Hardie, 5 Tim David, 6 Matthew Short, 7 Matthew Wade (capt,wk), 8 Ben Dwarshuis, 9 Chris Green, 10 Jason Behrendorff, 11 Tanveer Sangha/Nathan Ellis/Kane Richarson

Pitch and conditions: Another run-fest in the offing

Runs, runs and runs have been the theme at the Chinnaswamy Stadium of late. With short boundaries and a placid surface, another run-fest could well be on the cards on Sunday. In the IPL this year, scores in excess of 180 were breached in nine of 14 innings, and even in the ODI World Cup batters enjoyed their time here.While the overhead conditions are likely to remain cloudy, there is no threat of rain with the temperature expected to hover around the 18 to 22 degree mark on the Celsius scale.

Stats and trivia

• Yashasvi Jaiswal has scored all his runs (117) in this series in the first powerplay, at a strike rate of 174.62.
• Jason Behrendorff has the best economy rate of all bowlers – 5.75 after three matches. He has also picked up four wickets.
• Rinku Singh has scored 49 runs off 20 balls in the death overs in this series, striking at 245.00.
• Suryakumar needs just 20 runs to reach 2000 runs in T20Is. If he gets there on Sunday, he will be the quickest Indian to the mark.

Quotes

“Throughout the series, he has been bowling very well. And our partnership has also been great. He’s bowled in the powerplay so have I, and that combination has been good.”

The left-arm bowler wants to bowl the fastest ball in the world

PTI09-Feb-2024India Under-19 seamer Naman Tiwari wants to bowl the fastest ball in the world. The inspiration has come from watching videos of the greats of the game and speaking to Jasprit Bumrah.Left-arm fast bowler Tiwari, who is grabbing headlines in the ongoing Under-19 World Cup in South Africa, has found the tips he received from Bumrah at the NCA in Bengaluru working magic.Tiwari, who comes from Lucknow, has troubled batters with his yorkers and speed, grabbing ten wickets from five games so far, including two four-wicket hauls.Related

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“Bumrah is a source of inspiration for us,” Tiwari told PTI Bhasha on the sidelines of a practice session at Willowmoore Park Stadium. “I watch his bowling videos a lot. I have met him several times at the NCA and talked to him a lot about the mentality and skills of a bowler.”He explained a lot [of things to me], which have been useful. He told me how to bowl accurate yorkers, and I have worked a lot [on that aspect] following his advice. I have to work hard to bring more aggression in my bowling.”I try to learn something from every bowler I like. I try to understand and learn by watching his [Bumrah’s] videos. I like Shoaib Akhtar’s speed, Dale Steyn’s swing and Mitchell Starc’s aggression very much.”Tiwari originally wanted to become a batter but fewer opportunities turned him to bowling.”I started playing cricket as a batsman but I was not getting many chances,” he said. “That’s why I started bowling at an academy in Lucknow. Since I am left-handed, I became a left-arm fast bowler.”His father is an LIC agent and the pressure to focus on academics was immense given his middle-class background. But his heart was in cricket.”Papa always told me to focus on my studies. I was in seventh standard and wanted to play cricket. I asked my father to give me three years’ time to prove myself in cricket. My family is very happy with my success today.”Papa calls me every evening. Seeing them [family] happy makes me feel very good that I did not disappoint them.”Tiwari’s aim is to become a lethal fast bowler and play Test cricket for India.”One day I want to bowl the fastest ball in the world. I also want to play the World Cup with the senior team. But, for now, I have to focus on performance. I want to continuously improve my game because the challenges will be even bigger in the future and I will have to prepare my base to face them.Happy with the team’s performance so far in the Under-19 World Cup, Tiwari said that it was the result of the team effort.”So far, the performance of all the players has been very good. Especially in the semifinals against South Africa, we showed tremendous spirit. I am very happy with the way we are playing and will try to maintain this momentum in the final also.”Although I like all formats, I find Test cricket the most challenging. That’s where the real test of a bowler lies and I want to become a good Test cricketer in the future.”

The home side had a productive day amid stoppages as they push to get into the Shield final

AAP02-Mar-2024Western Australia 310 (Goodwin 115, Whiteman 79, Bartlett 5-64) and 16 for 0 lead Queensland 170 (Wildermuth 41, Rocchiccioli 4-54) by 156 runsWestern Australia’s bid for a hat-trick of Sheffield Shield titles was back on track after producing a sizzling bowling display against Queensland at the WACA Ground.In reply to WA’s competitive 310, Queensland were skittled for 170 in 54.5 overs in overcast and windy conditions on Saturday. WA reached 16 for 0 in their second innings before nearby lightning forced players off the ground late in the day.Related