Late collapse sees visitors fall short after Ben Kellaway rescued Glamorgan with bat

ECB Reporters Network25-Jul-2024Glamorgan 187 for 8 (Kellaway 65*) beat Gloucestershire 160 (Bracey 86, Douthwaite 4-25, Gorvin 3-32) by 27 runs Glamorgan opened their account in the Metro Bank One Day Cup with a nail-biting derby win over Gloucestershire.In a 33-over rain-affected game, Glamorgan set 187 for 8 with 20-year-old Ben Kellaway hitting a rescuing 65 not out to prevent the hosts from collapsing at 27 for 3.Dan Douthwaite shone with the ball with four for 25 including the crucial wicket of James Bracey whose solo magnificence was in vain after striking a 79-ball 86.The visitors looked set to win yet another Severnside derby before Douthwaite and Andy Gorvin combined to trigger a Gloucestershire collapse from 157 for 5 to 160 all out.Gloucestershire won the toss and put the hosts into bat after the near three-hour delay. Jack Taylor’s decision proved to be a smart one initially with openers Josh Shaw and Ajeet Singh Dale making the most of early seam movement to get into the Glamorgan middle-order.Will Smale was unable to continue his fine form from Friday’s record-breaking Vitality Blast game, bowled for a duck, with Eddie Byrom dismissed for 5 just an over later to give the Gloucestershire openers a wicket apiece.Captain Kiran Carlson and Billy Root managed to add some stability in the middle, forming a partnership of 49 from 41 balls, pouncing on some loose deliveries from Goodman and Zaman Akhter.More wickets at bad times for the hosts had a par score looking far off once again when Carlson’s attempted fine cut found the edge and, subsequently, Bracey’s gloves with a similar story for Root off Akhter. Debutant Asa Tribe and his 20-year-old teammate Kellaway were forced to rebuild from 99 for 5 with only 14 overs to bat.A catalogue of aesthetically pleasing drives through and over extra cover and straight past Akhter were the highlights of the crucial Kellaway knock.While it was Kellaway who starred, his partnerships with Tribe, Douthwaite and Timm van der Gugten were just as important to ensure the hosts batted the full allocation of overs despite slow periods towards the back end of the innings.Gloucestershire’s pursuit started in almost identical fashion to the hosts’ innings.Van der Gugten and Jamie McIlroy extracted the same movement as their Gloucestershire counterparts did in the early overs, claiming the wickets of Australian international Cameron Bancroft, Ollie Price and Miles Hammond for just 44.It came down to Bracey’s excellence to keep the visitors in the contest. As Kellaway did for Glamorgan, the former England keeper’s solo brilliance looked to take the game away from Glamorgan.Glamorgan thought they would’ve not had luck on their side as a matter of millimetres separated a Bracey skier off Douthwaite and Tribe at deep square leg while on 61 and the score 99 for 4.When Charlesworth and Taylor both departed for supportive innings of 14 each, Graeme van Buuren attacked as the required run rate crept above seven before three fours and a six took the pressure off Bracey in their quickfire 41-run partnership, leaving just 31 to get from the final six overs.As the pendulum swung in the space of 11 balls from Douthwaite and Gorvin, the match slipped away from Gloucestershire to take them to the wrong side of another derby thriller after moments of brilliance saved the game in both County Championship and Blast affairs in 2024.

He said the experience he gained travelling with the squad helped him perform better when he made it to the team

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Aug-2024Kamindu Mendis’ second-innings 113 for Sri Lanka in their defeat to England in Manchester left him with a batting average of 92.16. It is the second-highest in Test history among players with more than 500 runs, and he explained at Lord’s ahead of Thursday’s second Test that it owes to a simple mantra: “Do basic things, and try to keep calm.”Kamindu made his debut against Australia two years ago, deputising for Dhananjaya de Silva on account of a positive Covid test. He made 61 in an innings win but had to bide his time for another opportunity, eventually returning to the side earlier this year and making twin hundreds against Bangladesh in Sylhet.”I knew that the batting was packed, but what I tried to do was to do as best as I could in the chance that I had,” Kamindu said on Tuesday. “I had to exit the team after that, but I don’t see that as a mistake. You have to take various decisions to balance a team, and I came into that side only because Dhananjaya had Covid. When he returned, I had to make way. That’s fair.”Related

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During his two-year absence, he remained part of the set-up as a squad player and said he had benefited hugely from that experience. “Even though I didn’t get to play, I was in the squad and travelling with the team, pretty much every tour,” he said. “Going on so many tours with experienced players on those tours also helped me play well in my first few innings.”Kamindu edged Chris Woakes behind for 12 in the first innings in Manchester, but made 113 in the second and enjoyed partnerships of 78 and 117 with Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal respectively. “In the first innings, I wasn’t able to score runs. The conditions were challenging,” he said. “It was colder than we expected. We did as well as we could as a team.”I had a lot of support from the others when I went to bat, both Angie and Chandi aiya. I have to mention Chandi in particular, because him playing through that finger injury and putting up runs was vital for the team. He was a big support to me too, to get to 100, and their experience really helped me. They shared what they knew with me in the middle.”He revealed that he has a simple philosophy underpinning his batting – “I do basic things, and try to keep calm in the middle” – and brushed off questions about his average. “What I wanted was to do what I could on the day for the team. That’s really my only goal: to give as much to my team as possible, whether on the batting front, bowling front, or via fielding.”Kamindu had never been to England before this tour, and said that he will fulfil a dream this week: “From when I was little, I had a dream to play a Test at Lord’s,” he said. “It’s not just my dream, I think every player has that target. I’ve been able to get there. If we can win this match, it’ll be even more valuable to us.”

Raghvi Bist helped India A recover from a tricky start to post a decent total in Mackay

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Aug-2024Katie Mack’s superbly-constructed 129 led Australia A to a four-wicket victory over India A which was more comprehensive that the final scoreline suggested in the first one-day match in Mackay.Mack’s hundred controlled the chase as she added 122 in 20 overs for the third wicket with captain Tahlia McGrath who continued the form she showed in the last two T20s with a brisk half-century.Mack took 106 balls to bring up her century and the innings ensured the home side was never under significant pressure. She added 50 for the first wicket with Maddy Darke and 65 for the second with Charli Knott before the latter was run out by a direct hit. Mack was yorked by Meghna Singh with five runs needed.”It swung a little bit early then died down,” Mack said. “Think the challenge was finding the boundaries on a bit of a slower wicket with not much pace on the ball so it was a bit of a slog with a lot of running, but I was super focused to make sure I made the most of the start. Got a couple of starts in the T20s so just wanted to make sure I capitalised today.”McGrath was given a life on 10 when Sayali Satghare dropped a return catch. She later appeared unhappy to be given out sweeping although by then the result was assured despite a flurry of late wickets which included two falling with the scores level.India A had earlier been put into bat and were soon under pressure as Nicola Hancock struck with the new ball, nipping one back through Shweta Sehrawat in the first over then having Priya Punia edging to slip.From 56 for 3 the innings was rebuilt by consecutive stands of 55, 52 and 68 all involving Raghvi Bist. Legspinner Grace Parsons again impressed, producing a sharp leg-break to remove Tejal Hasabnis for 53.Maitlan Brown closed out the innings well, ending Bist’s hopes of a century and then claiming three wickets in the final over.There are two more one-day games in Mackay on Friday and Sunday before a four-day match on the Gold Coast next week. Australia A won the T20 series 3-0.

New Zealand batter fell for 92 just eight balls into the final morning, before Jayasuriya bagged five in the second innings

Madushka Balasuriya23-Sep-2024Sri Lanka didn’t need long on the final morning in Galle to wrap things up, taking just 15 minutes to grab the final two New Zealand wickets and secure a 63-run win in the first Test. The result means Sri Lanka go 1-0 up in the two-match series, while also leapfrogging New Zealand up to third place in the World Test Championship (WTC) points table.Prabath Jayasuriya was at the forefront of Sri Lanka’s charge, finishing with figures of 5 for 68 – his eighth five-wicket haul, and his seventh in Galle. He ended with match figures of 9 for 204, taking home the Player-of-the-Match award.After having fought so hard the previous day, Rachin Ravindra lasted just eight deliveries into the first session of the final morning as Jayasuriya trapped him in front with an arm ball for 92 off 168 balls. Coming around the wicket, Jayasuriya tossed one up on leg as Ravindra was caught in the crease playing down the wrong line. He reviewed, but once it was confirmed to be pitching in line, there would be no saving him.And any lingering hopes of a famous rearguard were then swiftly quashed, as Will O’Rourke kept out just five deliveries before the sixth slipped past his forward defence and on to off stump to hand Jayasuriya his fifth wicket of the innings.O’Rourke wouldn’t quite be satisfied with how the game ended after an impressive showing in the game as he finished with eight wickets to his name – the second-most across the Test, and the same as Ajaz Patel.In terms of how this result impacts the WTC, it keeps Sri Lanka’s outside hopes of a berth in the final alive. But for New Zealand, it makes their task considerably tougher, with an away series against India and a home series England coming up in the next few months.There will be no time to dwell on this result for either team, with just a two-day break before the second Test gets underway on Thursday – also in Galle.

The fast bowler had a session for more than an hour after the end of the India-NZ Test

Ashish Pant20-Oct-2024Mohammed Shami bowled for more than an hour on one of the main pitches at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium after the conclusion of the first Test between India and New Zealand in Bengaluru on Sunday. He also took part in fielding drills as he works towards a comeback from an ankle injury that has sidelined him since November last year.The 34-year-old fast bowler had heavy strapping on his left knee but bowled at full tilt to India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar, with bowling coach Morne Morkel watching over the session. He did not look in any obvious discomfort, bowling almost continuously and only taking a break for the fielding drill close to the boundary.Shami began his session around 2.30pm and after a few warm-up deliveries, he marked out his full run-up and used that for the rest of his practice. Once Nayar was done batting, Morkel placed cones on the pitch and stood behind the wickets as Shami continued to run in and bowl. He finished up at around 3.50pm.

England captain targets 3-0 win in New Zealand to cap year of evolution for Test squad

Vithushan Ehantharajah12-Dec-2024England men’s last overseas Test before the 2025-26 Ashes takes place in Hamilton this week – but Ben Stokes has urged his team not to get distracted by next winter’s assignment in Australia.The warning comes as England prepare for their final Test against New Zealand at Seddon Park this week – their 17th of the year – as they look to cap off 2024 with a 3-0 clean sweep. Their next assignment will come in May, a one-off Test against Zimbabwe, before a huge five-match series with India. Though the Ashes glow brightly on the horizon, the captain has reiterated head coach Brendon McCullum’s mantra, to “be where your feet are”.Stokes has overseen a transitional year with the red-ball set-up. There have been seven debuts, with Gus Atkinson, Jamie Smith and Shoaib Bashir becoming mainstays. Winter debutants Brydon Carse and Jacob Bethell have made strong cases to remain part of the XI, particularly against the Black Caps – Carse as the series’ leading wicket taker (16) and Bethell as the team’s second-highest runscorer (172 at 57.33). While Carse is 29, the rest are mid-twenties and younger: Atkinson 26, Smith 24, while Bashir and Bethell are both 21.The collateral has been an experienced core of players moved on, including Test cricket’s leading wicket-taker James Anderson at the start of the home summer. Indeed, it was while addressing Anderson’s enforced retirement after his 188th and final Test cap, against West Indies at Lord’s, that Stokes explained the move to refresh the team was done with a view to competing in the next Ashes. “We had to make some decisions around what we think is best for the team going into that Ashes series,” Stokes said at the time. “We want to go out there and we want to get that urn back.”While there was plenty of blowback from pensioning off Anderson, the motivation was sound. Hard though they pushed Australia in 2023’s home series – in which Anderson took five wickets at 85.40 – the 2-2 draw saw England fall short of a first Ashes win since 2015. That disappointment, wrapped up with the 4-1 series defeat to India at the start of 2024 put the onus on finding players who could perform in all conditions – particularly those they will face next winter.Stokes says he now regrets those comments made at Lord’s. While he insists those words have not impacted the team, there is a suggestion the management are wary of players looking too far ahead and possibly overlooking the challenges in front of them.Related

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“I know whenever we spoke about Australia there is a lot looking towards that, but there are still massive series before that,” Stokes said. “We have India. And I think through my own fault, I maybe spoke a little too much about the Ashes and putting too much emphasis on that series, considering how much cricket we had to play before that.”I quite like staying in the present, in the moment. But it is quite tough when you’ve got an Ashes coming around the corner.”I’ve been involved in quite a few of those now and you do always look at the calendar and think ‘oh it’s nearly here’. It’s just hard to avoid. But I think just making sure I keep my focus on being in the here-and-now and what we’ve got coming up. And then, when the Ashes is our next series, then we will focus on it.”On the field, it has broadly been a positive year for England. They will finish with a winning record regardless of the result in Saturday’s Test in Hamilton, having won 9 out of 16 thus far, with three series victories. But the 4-1 and 2-1 losses away to India and Pakistan, respectively, still smart, particularly having been 1-0 up on both occasions.”Seventeen (Tests) in a year is a lot when you add the other cricket,” Stokes added. “A long tough slog but a really good year. Played some good cricket, found some extraordinarily talented players who have shown they’re capable of delivering big performances on the biggest stage, which is playing for your country. So overall, really happy.”The year has also been one of discovery for Stokes, both of the limits of his body, and of areas to improve as a captain – two facets which have been intrinsically linked.A return to bowling as an allrounder following knee surgery at the end of 2023 was interrupted by a hamstring injury, which resulted in him missing four Tests. That had knock-on effects in Pakistan when Stokes’ mood had his team-mates “walking on eggshells”.He had reason to be on edge, after working flat out to regain full fitness, then having his house burgled during the second Test. But in the time between tours, both he and McCullum felt he had veered from being the leader he set out to be when taking charge in 2022.Stokes began this New Zealand tour apologising for his conduct in Pakistan. He now ends it in similar fashion, sensitive to the fact that talk of the Ashes might have a distracting effect on the team.”At the start of the tour where there was a learning curve for me as a captain, from my experience of Pakistan. And then looking back to then (his comments at Lord’s), even speaking and saying stuff like that – we’re so far away from what my leadership had been about. Staying present, staying where we are, and then worrying about stuff when we have to worry about.”In leadership roles, you can maybe differ from where you first started, and think that’s the right thing to be saying or be thinking about. Which then takes you away from a successful mindset, a successful way of speaking within the group. So, yeah, learning curves as a leader I guess.”

ICC says tickets will go on sale for the final only after the conclusion of the first semi-final, scheduled on March 4

Nagraj Gollapudi27-Jan-2025Tickets for the 2025 Champions Trophy final, scheduled on March 9, will be available only four days prior to the match. Announcing the sale of tickets on Monday for the eight-team tournament, which begins from February 19, the ICC said tickets for the final will be available after the first semi-final, which is scheduled on March 4.Such a late release of tickets for the final has been necessitated by the hybrid model put in place for the tournament because of India’s refusal to travel to Pakistan for the event. As a result, it was decided India would play all their matches in Dubai, including the knockouts should they reach them. Dubai will host the first semi-final, however, regardless of whether India reach the last four or not. In case India reach the final, that too will be played in Dubai. The second semi-final will be played in Lahore, and should India not make the final, that game will also be played in Lahore.Related

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The ICC on Monday said the tickets for the Pakistan leg of the Champions Trophy, comprising 10 matches and the Lahore semi-final, will go on sale from Tuesday (2 pm Pakistan time/1.30 pm IST). Tickets for the Dubai leg are not going on sale yet, the ICC saying, “information would be made available in the coming days” without specifying any date.Tickets for matches in Pakistan are priced from 1000 Pakistan rupees [approx. 3.59 USD] for the general category, while the premium category starts from 1500 rupees [approx. 5.38 USD]. Sumair Ahmad Syed, the tournament director and PCB COO, said the tickets have been made “affordable” to ensure “fans from all walks of life can be part of this historic spectacle, making it a celebration for all generations of cricket lovers.”India and Pakistan are both in Group A, along with Bangladesh and New Zealand. The highly anticipated India-Pakistan group game is scheduled to take place in Dubai on February 23.The PCB is currently racing to have its stadiums ready for the event. All three venues in Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi have been undergoing varying degrees of renovation but the Pakistan board remains confident that they will be ready ahead of time. Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore and Karachi’s National Stadium are due to host a short triangular ODI series with New Zealand and South Africa before the Champions Trophy.The 2023 ODI World Cup in India was also hampered by a late release of tickets, with the first batch going on sale 41 days before the opening game.