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Glamorgan claim second 50-over title in four seasons after 20-over contest on reserve day

ECB Reporters Network23-Sep-2024The last leg of Somerset’s treble bid went the way of the first two as Glamorgan won a truncated Metro Bank One-Day Cup Final on a gloomy reserve day at Trent Bridge that mercifully stayed dry long enough for them to lift the trophy for the second time in four years.In a match reduced in advance to 20-overs a side after Sunday’s total washout, overhauling Glamorgan’s 186 for 7 proved beyond them as the Welsh county, who beat Durham here to win the 50-over competition in 2021, came out on top by 15 runs, restricting Somerset to 171 for 6.Sam Northeast had anchored the Glamorgan innings with an unbeaten 63, while Billy Root added 39 off 27 balls, both hitting two sixes in a crucial fifth-wicket stand, Timm van der Gugten backing them up with 26 off just nine balls to bookend Will Smale’s 28 from 14 at the top of the innings.Skipper Sean Dickson hammered 44 from just 20 balls after Andy Umeed’s 45 from 36 for Somerset, but after offspinner Ben Kellaway and seamer Andy Gorvin had taken two wickets each, Glamorgan’s Jamie Mcilroy and Dan Douthwaite held their nerve with two fine overs at the death to finish the job.Beaten in the Vitality Blast final and knocked out of the race for the Vitality County Championship in the preceding nine days, the defeat left Somerset empty handed yet again.The only disappointment for the winning team was that their moment of triumph was witnessed in the flesh by only a smattering of spectators on the ground rather than the thousands who had turned up on Sunday.England spinner Jack Leach did not bowl a ball as Somerset opted to rely on five seamers, of whom George Thomas took 2 for 23 and left-armer Alfie Ogborn 2 for 36 from their four-over allocations.Sam Northeast cut loose for Glamorgan•Getty Images

After Sunday’s total washout forced the teams to return for the scheduled reserve day, play mercifully began on time, with the contest sensibly reduced to 20 overs per side even before the toss had been made, in anticipation of more heavy rain due to arrive in early afternoon.Somerset won the toss and opted to bowl as the Trent Bridge floodlights illuminated the misty gloom hanging over the ground.Ogborne took wickets with his third and fourth deliveries, bowling skipper Kiran Carlson before Tom Bevan shovelled tamely to short fine leg, but Glamorgan still put up 39 runs in the first four-over powerplay thanks to Smale’s aggression.Smale raced to 28 from his first 13 balls, living dangerously against Josh Davey with three boundaries over third but striking Ogborne cleanly over mid-on and for six over square leg. The threat he posed was removed when Dickson held a brilliant catch falling backwards at mid-off.After South African Colin Ingram, one of Glamorgan’s trump cards, picked out wide long-on off Thomas for just 11, Glamorgan were 71 for 4 from 10 and needed to find new energy.It came initially from Root, who cleared the rope three times, with Northeast eventually following suit with two of his own, one from a free hit, as Kasey Aldridge’s final over went for a damaging 29. They added 78 in 49 balls before Root was caught behind off Thomas.The next two wickets came quickly as Northeast’s failure to run as he was caught off a no-ball left the big-hitter Douthwaite stranded, before Kellaway sliced to short third, but van der Gugten’s swashbuckling cameo, encompassing four fours and a six off Davey hammered over long-off raised the total to something that looked defendable on a slow pitch.In reply, Somerset had Thomas run out in the third over of a stodgy powerplay and were some way off the pace at 63 for 2 from 10 after Lewis Goldsworthy, who had hit a century in the semi-final to down holders Leicestershire, picked out long-on off Kellaway, although Umeed was beginning to land some blows.A double setback followed as Umeed fell to a superb catch by Smale standing up to Andy Gorvin and James Rew was caught off a top-edged sweep as Kellaway landed his second blow, leaving Somerset 89 for 4 in the 13th and Glamorgan firm favourites.A blistering partnership of 66 in just five overs between Dickson and Archie Vaughan dragged Somerset right back into contention, Vaughan having survived Kellaway’s lbw shout on umpire’s call before he had scored.But after hammering 44 from 20 balls, hitting sixes off van der Gugten (twice) and McIlroy, Dickson reversed Gorvin to short third – from a delivery that might otherwise have been called wide – costing them critical momentum with 32 needed from 15 balls.It came down to Somerset needing 29 from the last two, a task that ultimately proved too much. Douthwaite picked up a wicket when Green heaved in the air to square leg and Vaughan’s boundary off the last ball was academic.

The spinner has said leading Kings XI Punjab is an “opportunity to showcase” his captaincy skills and be “innovative”

Nagraj Gollapudi26-Feb-2018R Ashwin has made bolder statements on Twitter, but on Monday he said the responsibility of leading Kings XI Punjab is an “opportunity to showcase” his captaincy skills and be “innovative”.

KL Rahul to keep wickets for Kings XI

One pertinent question about Kings XI Punjab after the auction in January was if they had an experienced wicketkeeper. Kings XI team director Virender Sehwag answered that question on Monday, saying Indian batsman KL Rahul will be the team’s first-choice keeper. Uttar Pradesh wicketkeeper-batsman Akshdeep Nath will be the back-up option if need be.
Sehwag pointed out that his captain R Ashwin had already spoken to Rahul many times and he had indicated he would be happy to do the job. “Yes, we don’t have a flamboyant wicketkeeper like a [Adam] Gilchrist or MS Dhoni. But we will make do with what we have because winning is more important this year.”

Having been led all his IPL life by MS Dhoni, Ashwin, now 31, said being named captain was one of the “memorable days” in his life. “I will definitely give my best and have a lot of fun and we will try and play really exciting kind of cricket this year,” Ashwin said in a Facebook chat with Kings XI team director Virender Sehwag.Sehwag revealed that there were two players he had earmarked as captains before going into the IPL auction. Both are current Indian players, both with the experience of leading Tamil Nadu, and both good friends. One was Ashwin and the second was Dinesh Karthik, who was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders.Thirty-six-year old allrounder Yuvraj Singh, Sehwag pointed out, was one of the other potential candidates for the captaincy, but keeping the age factor in mind, the Kings XI management preferred Ashwin as a “long-term” choice.Sehwag said Ashwin “would do wonders” and lead Kings XI into the playoffs. Sehwag admitted that he was a big fan of bowler captains like Kapil Dev, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis and Ashwin had similar potential to influence Kings XI.”The best quality in Ashwin is he is very smart,” Sehwag said during the live chat. “He understands this T20 format better than anybody else. He used to bowl in Powerplay, he used to bowl in slog [overs], so he knows what to do in T20 format.”Ashwin pointed out one of his strengths was to be “innovative and change things up”. Despite the leadership inexperience, Ashwin said he would rely on seniors like Yuvraj and Chris Gayle in addition to Sehwag to help with his job. Ashwin said that Yuvraj, a former Kings XI captain himself, would be the “lynchpin” and the go-to man.”For me, it is all about Yuvi trying to go out there and entertain the fans. It is very important we play an aggressive brand of cricket. And as far as I’m concerned, I would love to see him play freely and hit those big shots. I’m looking to give him as many overs as possible. I think he will be one of the best batsmen in our team.”Part of Ashwin’s plans is also to reinvigorate the “pie chucker” in Yuvraj. One of the marquee players in the IPL, Yuvraj has hardly bowled in the recent past. He has bowled only 10 overs in the last 10 completed ODIs he has played since returning to the one-day side in January 2017. In T20Is, he sent down only 17 overs in 18 matches since the beginning of 2016. And in IPL 2017, he bowled a mere two overs in 12 matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad.However, Ashwin pointed out that Yuvraj was one of the only two frontline batsmen (along with Rohit Sharma) to have taken a hat-trick in IPL. “More than anything else, I would love to see the pie chucker in Yuvi . One of my strong points is to try and be innovative and try and change things up. And Yuvi will be a very, very internal part of our team. He will be a very big lynchpin for me to try and go for sort of advice on the field.”The pie chucker in him is somebody that I really like. Many great batsmen including the likes of Kevin Pietersen couldn’t play him properly. We can utilise that and get a few big wickets this time.”Two other allrounders, both Sehwag and Ashwin agreed, who would play a prominent role in Kings XI’s performance would be Axar Patel and Marcus Stoinis. But there was one other name that Ashwin personally singled out.As soon as Ashwin was bought, Sehwag revealed one of his “demands” was that Kings XI bought Afghanistan mystery spinner Mujeeb Zadran, who was bought for INR 4 crores (USD 625,000). “He could well be that X-factor we are looking for, but having said that, he is a young guy and I really look forward to look (at) him up close,” Ashwin said.Mujeeb is only 16 years old, but has already earned a national cap for Afghanistan and is currently in Zimbabwe for the World Cup Qualifiers. Sehwag was cautious in hyping up Mujeeb’s importance only because he was too young. “Do not expect the X-factor (Zadran) will play all the matches. He will only play a few matches because he is only 16. He will take a lot of time to learn and gain experience.”When asked by Sehwag what his first XI would be, Ashwin said he had a “problem of plenty.””You’ve got Chris Gayle, you ‘ve got Aaron Finch, both of whom can open the batting. Aaron Finch is batting lower down the order for Australia, that is some sort of an option which we can look to create. Generally, combinations with decent number of foreign bowlers and foreign batsmen – two and two will be a good combination. But with Stoinis around, we can look at playing three and one (overseas players). One thing you can be sure – I’ll never be predictable.”

Defending champions take all 24 points with ruthless display at Canterbury

ECB Reporters Network22-Apr-2024Surrey have beaten Kent by an innings and 37 runs in the Vitality County Championship at Canterbury.The reigning champions dismissed the hosts for 262 in their second innings, with Dan Worrall taking 4 for 31 and Cameron Steel, claiming 3 for 38. Steel remains the leading wicket-taker in the country this season, with 20 after three matches.Joey Evison made 53 and Matt Parkinson hit his highest first-class score of 39. But after a dogged rearguard action that saw them through the morning session, Kent subsided midway through the afternoon.The hosts were 120 for 5 overnight, still 179 runs in arrears, and their slim hopes of batting out the day were dealt a near-fatal blow when Ben Compton was out in the fifth over of the morning. Compton, unbeaten on eight overnight, chased a Worrall delivery that veered away and was caught behind.The home crowd, however, were pleasantly surprised by the way Evison and Parkinson survived the rest of the morning. Parkinson, promoted up the order to number eight, had spent the winter working on his batting as part of a concerted effort to shore up Kent’s lower order. Although there were a few alarms, by lunch Kent had reached 203 for six at lunch and the impossible now seemed merely improbable.Evison, however, fell to Tom Lawes in the afternoon’s third over. He cut Lawes for fours off successive boundaries to reach his half-century but then edged him behind.With Evison gone, Kent crumbled. George Garrett was lbw to Steel for four and Jas Singh went for a duck when Jamie Smith took a brilliant catch at short leg off the same bowler.Number 11 Arafat Bhuiyan had some fun with the new ball, flicking three consecutive balls from Kemar Roach for a six and two fours on his way to his highest championship score of 22 not out, making him the fourth Kent tail-ender to reach that personal landmark in this match, after Garrett and Singh hit their career-best scores in the first innings.This merely delayed Surrey’s celebrations, however, and an emphatic victory was sealed when Smith took another exceptional close catch to snare Parkinson off Kemar Roach. Surrey take 24 points and Kent two.

He had missed a few first-class games last season citing back issues, culminating in him losing his central contract with the BCCI

ESPNcricinfo staff25-May-2024India batter Shreyas Iyer has said he raised concerns about having issues with his back while playing the “longer format” after the 2023 ODI World Cup, but “no one was agreeing to it”.”I was definitely struggling after the World Cup in the longer format,” Iyer, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain, said a day before the IPL final against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Chennai. “When I raised my concern, no one was agreeing to it.”But at the same time the competition is with myself. When the IPL was approaching all I wanted to see was that I’ve put my best foot forward and whatever planning and strategising we [KKR] did before it, basically if we could execute it to the best of our abilities, we would have been in a great spot – and that’s where we are right now.”Iyer had recovered from a back injury to make a comeback in the Asia Cup last year, before playing the ODI World Cup in October-November. Then, in early 2024, he was picked for the first two home Tests against England, before being left out for the remaining three Tests. At the time, it was understood that Iyer had experienced back spasms a day or two after the second Test but had been cleared for selection. Then, while out of the Test squad, he went on to miss some Ranji Trophy games for his domestic side, Mumbai. ESPNcricinfo had reported that he had communicated to the Mumbai Cricket Association that he was suffering from “back spasms”, even though he had been cleared for selection by the BCCI medical staff.Related

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It had also emerged that Iyer had attended a KKR pre-season camp when he missed one of the Ranji Trophy games. He later returned to play the Ranji Trophy semis and final, but by then had lost his central BCCI contract. A few days earlier, BCCI secretary Jay Shah had issued a warning to players to not to prioritise the IPL over domestic cricket. Iyer lost his central contract despite having fulfilled the minimum criteria set by the board in terms of matches played.A couple of weeks later, during the Ranji Trophy final against Vidarbha, Iyer was not on the field for two days in a row because of back issues.Talking about his preparations for the IPL, Iyer said: “The transformation from red-ball cricket to white ball, it’s kind of difficult as a batsman and also as a bowler, I feel. It was kind of difficult at the start but once you get used to it, I think you pick up the pace and march on with the other players.”

Alana King helped herself to a career-best haul after a rain delay as the home side produced a strong performance

Andrew McGlashan10-Feb-2024Standout performances from Beth Mooney and Tahlia McGrath enabled Australia to recover their composure after the heavy defeat three days ago to secure the ODI series in convincing style. It means they are 8-4 ahead in the multi-format contest leading into the Test match, and can’t be overtaken.Mooney anchored Australia’s innings with an unbeaten 82 off 91 balls without ever finding top gear after Alyssa Healy had struck a crisp half-century. South Africa kept themselves in the game by removing McGrath and Ash Gardner in quick succession, but Annabel Sutherland and Alana King played handy innings down the order alongside Mooney.McGrath and Kim Garth then did the significant damage with the ball. Garth’s swing accounted for Laura Wolvaardt and Anneke Bosch, while McGrath had Tazmin Brits and the key wicket of Marizanne Kapp both held in the deep in the space of four balls.Beth Mooney was unstoppable and finished 82 not out•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Rain interrupted South Africa’s chase after 14 overs and for a while looked like it may not relent to allow the game to be completed, but it resumed as a 31-over contest. South Africa immediately needed ten an over, which proved way beyond them and wickets fell in a rush including three in an over for King, who was a whisker away from a hat-trick.South Africa had made an encouraging start after Healy won another toss. Phoebe Litchfield’s lean series continued when she found cover, and after seven overs Australia had been held to 21 for 1 with Kapp producing an opening spell of 4-2-5-0.But Healy, who was given a life on 27 when a very tough chance was spilled at deep square-leg, started to increase the tempo alongside Ellyse Perry as the pair added 82 for the second wicket. Masabata Klaas produced a brilliant inswinger to remove Perry, and after passing fifty from 61 balls, Healy somewhat carelessly flicked to deep square-leg.Mooney, who took 13 balls to get off the mark, and McGrath built another important stand, although progress was often hard work. McGrath broke the shackles with five consecutive boundaries off Ayanda Hlubi but was beaten by one that skidded through from Chloe Tryon in the next over. Gardner was then pinned lbw by Kapp to leave Australia 187 for 5 in the 37th over.Alana King knocked her stumps over while hitting a waist-high no-ball for six, and then hit the free hit for six as well•Getty Images

Mooney brought up her fifty from 71 balls and would go on to add 32 from her next 20 deliveries as Australia accelerated in the final ten overs. A brace of superb catches – one by Wolvaardt at cover and another by Nadine de Klerk in her follow through – dented Australia’s ambitions a little, but their total was given a boost when 13 runs effectively came from one delivery. King swung a huge full toss from Klaas for six (demolishing her stumps in the process) and then dispatched the free hit as well.Wolvaardt has not managed to get going in the ODIs and soon edged Garth to first slip. At the other end, Darcie Brown, who replaced a rested Megan Schutt, was bowling with good pace and struck Brits a nasty blow on the wrist.Brits fought through the pain before finding deep midwicket and South Africa’s best hope then vanished when Kapp, who had been so inspirational in the second game, helped McGrath into the hands of deep-backward square-leg.Either side of the rain delay, de Klerk and Sune Luus added 50 but Australia had plenty of breathing space.

The 30-year-old has formidable numbers: 4000 runs in first-class cricket at an average of 45.97, with 12 tons

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jan-2024Rajat Patidar, the Madhya Pradesh batter, has been called up to India’s Test squad as a replacement for Virat Kohli, who has pulled out of the first two Tests against England for personal reasons. Patidar was in Ahmedabad where India A are playing England Lions, and will reach Hyderabad later on Wednesday.With Kohli unavailable, India had no reserve specialist batters in the Test squad, apart from KS Bharat and Dhruv Jurel, one of whom the head coach Rahul Dravid confirmed would play as the specialist wicketkeeper.Patidar is coming off 151 off 158 balls in the first four-day match against an England Lions attack that included three internationals. The 30-year-old has formidable numbers: 4000 runs in first-class cricket at an average of 45.97, with 12 hundreds. Patidar had made his ODI debut against South Africa in December.When asked whether India had considered a more experienced batter as a replacement, captain Rohit Sharma spoke of the importance of giving untested players an opportunity.”We did actually think about it (picking an experienced player) but all these younger players, when are they going to get their opportunity? That’s something we thought of as well,” Rohit said on the eve of the first Test in Hyderabad. “Leaving out an experienced player, or not considering them, is very hard because of the amount of runs they have scored, the kind of experience they’ve had, the amount of games that they have won. It’s very hard to ignore all of that but sometimes you have got to bring certain players into your set-up as well, and you have got to give them favourable conditions. You don’t want to expose them or bring them on a foreign tour where they have not played before. That’s the thought (process) behind all of that. I t’s important that we try and get some of these youngsters in whenever there is an opportunity.”The first Test of the five-match series between India and England begins in Hyderabad on January 25.Devdutt Padikkal, the Karnataka batter, meanwhile has been added to the India A squad as a replacement for B Sai Sudharsan, who is out with back spasms. Rinku Singh has also been added to the India A squad for the second four-day match against England Lions, to be played in Ahmedabad from January 24, after earlier only being named in the squad for the third – and final – game of the series.

India’s squad for first two Tests against England

Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, KS Bharat (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Avesh Khan, Rajat Patidar

Veteran strikes with three quick wickets but Hannon-Dalby five-for gives Warks the edge

Andrew Miller19-Sep-2023Warwickshire 72 for 4 (Rhodes 36*, Murtagh 3-17) trail Middlesex 121 (De Caires 40, Hannon-Dalby 5-29) by 49 runsThere’s a chance that Tim Murtagh was feeling rather sheepish when, shortly after 4pm, he stepped out of the pavilion as Middlesex’s No. 11 to witness – in the middle distance, and on the most central and prestigious strip that Lord’s has to offer – a guard of honour lined up to mark his impending retirement.The gesture was touching, as was the roar of approval when he blocked his one and only delivery from Chris Rushworth straight back down the pitch, but the timing was a touch discombobulating. After all, at 100 for 9 on the first day of Middlesex’s – and therefore, potentially, Murtagh’s – penultimate match of the season, it wasn’t as if the prospect of a later, and more terminal, visit to the crease was off the table just yet.And besides, there was something about Middlesex’s distracted display up to that point – even by the standards of their flatlining season – that had reeked already of “benefit match”. Murtagh’s inclusion, for his 264th first-class appearance and his 91st at Lord’s, had come at the expense of the club captain Toby Roland-Jones, and so (apart from anything else) had further weakened one of the most brittle batting line-ups in the land. On the face of it, it seemed an odd moment to ignore the realities of their ongoing race to the bottom with Kent.Warwickshire’s Oliver Hannon-Dalby duly reminded them what was at stake with a route-one haul of 5 for 29 in 10.5 overs: each of his first four wickets was the reward for a hint of movement on a probing off-stump line, until Josh De Caires, counterattacking gamely at No. 7 for an enterprising 40 from 58 balls, clipped him low to midwicket to leave Murtagh high and dry on 0 (1). All out for 121 then, with an uptick of zero batting points to Middlesex’s survival bid.But with Kent’s own bonus-point quest being stymied by Tom Lammonby and Lewis Goldsworthy down at Taunton, up stepped Murtagh for his main event, and for the penultimate time on his favourite stage. Seven overs and three wickets later, he’d shown once again that – in bleak autumnal conditions and in your county’s hour of need – sometimes a timeless display of ball-on-a-string seam bowling is all a team needs to get back on an even keel.Murtagh is 42 years old now, and has effectively been a Lord’s specialist this season, with five of his six Championship appearances now coming at HQ. But what a specialist, and how effective! His ten-wicket haul against Kent in April remains the key reason why Middlesex are not (quite) in the relegation positions, and on this evidence – though Warwickshire closed the day with a degree of poise through Will Rhodes’ 36 not out – it’s not out of the question that Murtagh ends up accounting for half of Middlesex’s four Championship wins in this campaign. There’ve been 14 wickets on this first day, after all. Even allowing for a two-hour rain delay, it’s hard to see this one finishing as a draw.Murtagh needed a solitary ball to sow those familiar seeds of doubt, as Rob Yates flinched outside off to a delivery that typically was there to be hit until it was not. His next offering was more inviting still, swinging across the left-hander and gathering shape as it did so, to induce an uncertain flat-footed cut and a fat inside-edge into his stumps – Warwickshire were 0 for 1 after two balls, and the game was unquestionably afoot.Three overs later, with just one run chiselled from his offerings, Murtagh struck again, courtesy of a superb diving take from John Simpson, flinging himself low to his right to scoop up a snick off Kraigg Braithwaite that was never destined to reach the cordon. Alex Davies then flapped his second ball over the cordon for four as Murtagh hit the seam and found extravagant bounce outside off; that shot was almost certainly on his mind six balls later, as he stabbed a fat front pad down the line to be pinned for the plumbest lbw imaginable.Even when his spell was done, Murtagh’s impact was arguably still apparent. Ethan Bamber replaced him at the Nursery End, and duly struck with his second ball – from round the wicket, with a touch more pace behind his nip off the seam, to crash past Dan Mousley’s defences and into his off stump. At 42 for 4, the contest was properly in the balance, but Rhodes and Ed Barnard quelled the threat as the light faded, to leave much more of the same required on Wednesday – at Lord’s and at Taunton – if Middlesex are to keep their hopes alive.If, however, the worst does come to pass for the club, then there’s really no escaping where the fault will lie. Another sickly batting card has left them relying on a soon-to-be-retired stalwart for one more bail-out, and even that is unlikely to be enough if the second innings serves up a similarly passive display.Warwickshire won the toss and the wickets were quickly passed around, not unlike a puppy at a primary school – soft and moreish. Rushworth struck the first blow, snicking Mark Stoneman’s edge for 13, one ball after he’d induced an almighty waft outside off. Hannon-Dalby bagged the second, as Sam Robson planted his front foot on off stump and was surprised by a hint of nip back into his pads. Craig Miles then came round the wicket to unroot Jack Davies’ off stump, before Ed Barnard struck one over later, condemning Ryan Higgins’ own stump to a similar fate.Barnard then made it two in four overs as Simpson wafted into a flimsy cramped cut and feathered an edge through to Michael Burgess for a duck, as Middlesex limped to lunch, five-down and freefalling.And once the afternoon rain had abated, it was over to Hannon-Dalby, flapping his limbs like a latter-day Bob Willis as he cantered in from the Nursery End, hounding a succession of techniques with high-kicking, stump-threatening line and length. Only De Caires, in the midst of a fine late-season flurry with bat and ball, found the gumption to resist, with a deft scoop over the keeper among his five fours, and a flat slam into the Grandstand for six for good measure. But Murtagh aside, not too many of his team-mates have yet found the fight to match their team’s needs.

Craig Ervine, batting on 53, holds the key for Zimbabwe, who are 73 runs from their target but have just two wickets in hand going into day five

Abhimanyu Bose05-Jan-2025Ismat Alam’s century on debut and Rashid Khan’s six-for bookended a day of dominance for Afghanistan, who will come back on the fifth and final day needing just two wickets to seal the match and the series against Zimbabwe.Ismat, who had come into the Test with a first-class average of 92 and had converted all four of his fifties at the level into centuries, also converted his maiden Test fifty into a century to help Afghanistan finish on 363, setting Zimbabwe 278 to win.After that, it was all Rashid magic as he ran through Zimbabwe, who fought back with a gritty fifth-wicket stand between captain Craig Ervine and Sikandar Raza, but in the end Afghanistan were in a winning position at stumps.Zimbabwe had a bright start in their chase of 278. Ben Curran hit two late cuts as Zimbabwe took 12 runs off Fareed Ahmad’s first over. Seven runs came off the next over before the Afghanistan bowlers found more discipline and started to dry out the runs. While there was some movement on offer with the new ball, the fast bowlers could not really threaten the Zimbabwe openers.Spin was introduced in the tenth over in the form of Zia-ur-Rehman and the left-arm spinner struck in his third over. Joylord Gumbie had reverse-swept him for four off the first ball of the over, but when he went for another reverse-sweep he ended up gloving the ball behind to first slip.From there on in, it was the Rashid show for Afghanistan. He first got one to spin in from the rough outside off to knock Curran over. In the next 37 balls, Zimbabwe managed just 14 runs and Takudzwanashe Kaitano released the pressure by authoritatively pulling Fareed for a six over backward square leg.Rashid then changed ends and drew the top edge from Kaitano as he went for a sweep. Abdul Malik ran across from slip to take the catch down the leg side, giving Zimbabwe another breakthrough just before tea.Blessing Muzarabani walks back with his career best innings figures of 6 for 95•Zimbabwe Cricket

In the third over of the final session, Dion Myers slashed at a wide delivery from Rashid and got a thick edge for four, but Rashid hit back by trapping him in front with a wrong’un, for his 400th international wicket.At 99 for 4, Zimbabwe were in trouble but the senior pair of Raza and Ervine combined to frustrate Afghanistan with a 58-run stand. They were watchful and kept the runs ticking with plenty of singles in the absence of close-in fielders. They hit just the one boundary in a partnership that lasted 19 overs.Rashid finally broke through, although it had little to do with his bowling. Raza, ever so watchful until then, was tempted into a drive as Rashid threw down a half-volley outside off, but he couldn’t get it over the cover fielder, much to his frustration.Sean Williams, nursing a back injury from the first day of the Test, was next on Rashid’s radar, as he got another one to spin in from the rough outside off to crash into off stump with Williams missing a sweep. That completed Rashid’s fifth Test five-for in just eight games. One ball later, he darted in a quick, flat legbreak that spun past the outside edge to crash into Brian Bennett’s off stump.In the next over, Zia trapped Newman Nyamhuri, as Zimbabwe lost three wickets in seven deliveries, still 100 runs away from their target.Ervine fought on for Zimbabwe, hitting Rashid for two boundaries either side of the wicket in the next over before depositing Zia over midwicket. He took Zimbabwe past 200 with a cover drive and hit another boundary down the ground – a misfield at long-on that helped him to a second half-century in the match.Soon after, Zimbabwe’s No. 10 Richard Ngarava pulled up holding his calf, and with lights fading, it brought on stumps with Zimbabwe still needing 73 and Afghanistan two wickets from victory.Afghanistan began the day 205 runs ahead and scored quickly with Ismat and Rashid finding the boundary regularly. But the latter failed to get out of the way of a Blessing Muzarabani bouncer and gloved a catch behind to give him his maiden Test five-wicket haul.Ismat carried on, hitting three fours in four overs after Rashid’s dismissal, and went past Ibrahim Zadran’s 87 in 2019 for the highest score by an Afghanistan batter on Test debut. With Zimbabwe spreading the field, he was forced to slow down but with Yamin Ahmadzai for company, he brought up his century and celebrated with a series of fist pumps. The celebrations were worth it after he had fallen for a two-ball duck in his maiden international innings.He fell on 101, miscuing a pull off Muzarabani, after which Afghanistan added just seven runs.

Victoria had earned a handy first-innings lead but Liam Guthrie hit back for Queensland

AAP18-Nov-2023Queensland took two crucial late wickets to set up an absorbing final day in their Sheffield Shield match against Victoria.The home side were 156 for 6 in their second innings, an overall lead of 237. Victoria looked like they were taking firm control after tea on a see-saw third day, with captain Will Sutherland and Campbell Kellaway posting a crucial 90-run stand for the fifth wicket.But Mitchell Swepson bowled Kellaway for 30 and eight balls later Liam Guthrie had Sutherland caught behind for 66 in a massive double breakthrough.Related

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Sunday’s morning session will be telling, with Victoria needing a solid rearguard contribution from their lower order. It will then be a question of how well the Queensland top order weather the new ball in their run chase.Queensland’s James Bazley is out of action because of a hamstring problem and Guthrie has stood up superbly, taking 4 for 38 from 10 overs.”To keep them to lead of 230, it’s good for us,” Guthrie said. “To have them six down at stumps is a good effort.”Earlier, the visitors resumed on 106 for 5 and made a bright start. Jimmy Peirson and Jack Wildermuth put on 55 for the sixth wicket before Fergus O’Neill made the breakthrough, having Peirson caught behind for 28.Wildermuth fell nine runs later, caught behind off Mitchell Perry and top-scoring with 40. Gurinder Sandhu made an unbeaten 25 and Swepson contributed 16 at No. 11 as Queensland restricted Victoria’s first-innings advantage.Guthrie then snared three wickets to leave Victoria 48 for 4 and Queensland looking like they were taking control.Sutherland played an outstanding captain’s knock, hitting nine fours and two sixes off 77 deliveries. Kellaway’s 70-ball innings featured two fours and a six, but he was dismissed going for a big hit off Swepson.”I haven’t really got any runs this season, so it was a really good scenario that suits my game – I could be really positive and aggressive,” Sutherland said.”It’s definitely turned into a bit of a new-ball wicket.. we’re going to need to be really positive tomorrow morning.”

Current ACA boss and former NRL CEO to take over CA CEO role when Nick Hockley departs at the end of the summer

Alex Malcolm03-Dec-2024Todd Greenberg has been announced as the new Cricket Australia chief executive to take over from Nick Hockley when he steps down from the role at the end of the summer.Greenberg, the current Australian Cricketers’ Association CEO and former CEO of the National Rugby League, had long been the front-runner to replace Hockley.He has strong relationships with the players due to his current role but also played first-grade cricket in New South Wales. His background as NRL CEO and General Manager of Stadium Australia has given him extensive experience in management of broadcast partners, sponsors, stadia and live events.He was a key player in the most recent MOU signed between CA and the ACA and also toured Pakistan in 2022 alongside Hockley when Australia returned there to play international cricket in the country for the first time since 1998.CA chairman Mike Baird was thrilled with the appointment.”I’m delighted Todd Greenberg will join Cricket Australia as Chief Executive Officer,” Baird said.”Todd will bring enormous experience to the role from his time leading the National Rugby League and his current position as CEO of the Australian Cricketers’ Association, as well as his time in club and stadium management.”He is also a renowned driver of commercial growth and innovation, such as bringing the State of Origin to Melbourne and introducing the NRLW.”We are entering a period of great opportunity and the recruitment panel and CA Board was enormously impressed by Todd’s passion for cricket and his vision to build on the achievements of the past few years and continue the game’s growth.”I would like to thank Nick Hockley who will leave the game in a position of great strength at the end of the season with important foundations including our broadcast rights deal, MOU and seven-year content strategy in place.”Todd Greenberg (left) has traveled to Pakistan with Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley•Getty Images

Greenberg said he was excited to take on the new role as head of CA’s administration after beating out a field of candidates from within Australia and overseas.”I am grateful to be given the opportunity to take on this enormously important role in Australian sport and to further my involvement with a game I’ve loved since childhood.” Greenberg said.”This is an extremely exciting time for cricket with the rapid growth of the game across the globe creating fantastic opportunities, while also presenting some challenges to ensure Australian cricket retains its position at the very peak of the game.”Thanks to the work of the current administration the game has strong fundamentals in place. I want to ensure we build on this momentum so Australian cricket continues to thrive – from local parks to the nation’s biggest stadiums.”I’m grateful to all those at the Australian Cricketers’ Association where we formed positive and productive partnerships across the game, and I look forward to continuing and enriching these relationships for the betterment of cricket.”