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The three-time men’s Ashes winner bows out with 570 first-class wickets, including 125 in Tests, following a knee injury that hampered him in 2023

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Aug-2023England fast bowler Steven Finn has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. He suffered a knee injury that kept him out of action for most of 2023 and led to him calling time on his 18-year career.”I have been fighting a battle with my body for the last 12 months and have admitted defeat to it,” Finn, 34, said in a statement shared by Sussex, his county. “I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to play cricket as my vocation since I made my debut for Middlesex in 2005. The journey hasn’t always been smooth, but I have loved it, nonetheless.”Finn played 36 Tests, 69 ODIs and 21 T20Is after making his international debut in 2010 against Bangladesh. He showed his wares early in his career, returning 14 wickets in England’s win in the men’s Ashes of 2010-11. He also picked up 12 wickets – the second-most for England – in the 2015 Ashes that they won. Overall, he finished with 125 wickets in Tests, 102 in ODIs and 27 in T20Is.Related

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Having played most of his domestic cricket for Middlesex, Finn moved to Sussex in 2022 and picked up 21 wickets in 20 appearances for them across formats. He bows out with 570 wickets in first-class cricket.”To have played 125 games for England, including 36 Tests, far surpassed what I dreamed of,” Finn said. “I want to thank Sussex Cricket for their support over the last 12 months especially and for welcoming me wholeheartedly into the club at the beginning of last season. It really is a great place to play cricket and I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to play more of a part on the field since joining the club.””Cricket has given me a lot and I hope to give back to the game in some capacity in the future. But, for now, I’ll enjoy watching on without wondering whether my body will be able to make it through another day’s cricket.”Paul Farbrace, Sussex head coach, paid tribute to Finn and said, “Steven has been a fantastic bowler for Middlesex, Sussex and England. I have had the real pleasure of watching him develop from a young bowler in the pathway to being three times Ashes winner.”In our short time together here at Hove, Steven has been an outstanding role model, a top professional and above all a fantastic person.”Finn has already launched a second career as a pundit on radio and television, and has worked with several major broadcasters in the UK in recent years.

Cites disagreement with SportScotland over attempts to move on from last year’s damning racism report

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Mar-2023Cricket Scotland chair Anjan Luthra has announced his immediate resignation after just six months in the role, amid the ongoing fallout from last year’s damning report into racism in the Scottish game.Luthra tweeted a statement on Friday morning in which he expressed his disagreement with the way SportScotland – the body that oversaw his appointment as chair – was looking to run cricket, claiming it was bowing to “the demands of a lobby group and a handful of individuals associated with them – even if that means the wider sport and community will be negatively impacted”.Cricket Scotland was placed into special measures last year after the Changing the Boundaries report found 448 examples of institutional racism in the game.Luthra said in a six-month update earlier in March that progress had been made on diversity, only for his comments to be criticised by anti-racism organisation Running out Racism. According to the BBC, four members of Cricket Scotland’s equality and anti-racism working group subsequently resigned in protest.”Cricket Scotland can announce that Anjan Luthra has resigned as chair with immediate effect,” the board said in a statement. “The organisation thanks Anjan for his hard work and input during his time as chair.”The Changing the Boundaries report, carried out by Plan4Sport, was commissioned after revelations by former players Majid Haq and Qasim Sheikh, both of whom have been critical of the board’s recent efforts.As well as lacking a chair, Cricket Scotland is also currently without a chief executive, after it was announced that interim CEO Gordon Arthur would be stepping down for personal reasons at the end of April.

Kuldeep and Prasidh set up the victory by sharing eight wickets between them

Sidharth Monga06-Dec-2025 • Updated on 08-Dec-2025KL Rahul resorted to spinning the coin with his left hand and finally won India a toss for the first time in their last 21 ODIs. They followed it up with a nine-wicket win to show what a challenge it had been for them to stay competitive and force a decider against South Africa, despite losing both the earlier tosses in this series.The beleaguered Prasidh Krishna began India’s turnaround, bowling Quinton de Kock after a sensational century. Kuldeep Yadav – playing with the dry ball for the first time in the series – then ran through the lower middle order to restrict South Africa to 270, after they would have entertained thoughts of 350 at various points in the innings.

India penalised for slow over-rate

India’s players have been fined 10% of their match fees for their slow over-rate against South Africa in the second ODI in Raipur on December 3.

KL Rahul’s team was ruled to be two overs behind the target in match referee Richie Richardson’s estimation, and the team was penalised in accordance with Article 2.22 of the ICC’s code of conduct for players.

The charge against India was levelled by on-field umpires Rod Tucker and Rohan Pandit, third umpire Sam Nogajski, and fourth umpire Jayaraman Madanagopal.

The low target allowed Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal to be measured in the initial overs, as the ball moved for longer and the dew appeared later than in the first two matches. Rohit shepherded Jaiswal in the early parts of his innings as the youngster found his tempo in a new format. However, Rohit didn’t stay long enough to watch him cruise to a maiden ODI hundred.In the end, the match wasn’t as simplistic as “win the toss, win the match” – it ebbed and flowed with a variety of conditions presenting themselves.Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana used the early moisture – perhaps a touch extra, to stop the pitch from drying out in the first innings – beautifully to tie South Africa down. Ryan Rickleton was opening, with Aiden Markram pushed down the order – to No. 5 – in Tony de Zorzi’s absence. Arshdeep took Rickleton’s edge in the first over. Rana followed it up with a maiden. India bowled three maidens in the first eight overs and only two edged boundaries from de Kock’s bat took South Africa to 25 for 1.Quinton de Kock brought up his seventh ODI ton against India•BCCI

The introduction of Prasidh, already under fire in this series, brought South Africa an opportunity to break free. De Kock took a special liking to him, pulling him for two sixes in his first two overs and playing the two shots of the day: an aerial extra-cover drive on the up for a six and one along the ground for four. Prasidh went for 27 in his first two, and runs started to flow in a 113-run stand between de Kock and Bavuma. The latter scored only 48 of those in 67 balls, which was more indicative of the conditions and the quality of bowling. De Kock, on the other hand, was already 63 off 55 at this point.The pitch had settled by now, and Matthew Breetzke took down the part-time spin of Tilak Varma, playing in place of Washington Sundar. By the end of the 26th over, the fifth-bowler combination of Prasidh and Tilak had leaked 56 runs from their five overs. De Kock was well on his way to a seventh century against India in just 23 innings. No one has scored more against India. Nor has any visiting batter scored more than his seven centuries in India.Related

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This is when, at 158 for 2, Prasidh started his second spell. His first over went for just two. Rana came on at the other end, with India desperate for a wicket. De Kock hit a four to take South Africa past a run a ball for the first time. In Prasidh’s next, Breetzke tried to get back to dominating him and made an error in judging length. He was out plumb lbw playing back and across the line to a ball hitting top of off. In the same over, Markram ended up chipping one to Virat Kohli, fielding close at short cover.Given the depth in their batting and the need to capitalise on the overs before the extra fielder went out for the last 10 overs, South Africa kept going. The run rate stayed up, but de Kock ended up playing all around a long half-volley from Prasidh, dismissed for 106 off 89 out of a score of 199 for 5 in 32.5 overs.Dewald Brevis and Marco Jansen kept attacking, but the return of Kuldeep brought new challenges. India needed to bowl five overs of spin in the last 14, which could have been tricky. However, Kuldeep was cherishing the dry ball for the first time this series as well as the older ball for the first time in his career, since the bowling side is now allowed to bowl with only one of the two balls after the 34th over.Brevis and Jansen were bullish in their response. They were not willing to play out Kuldeep, the leading wicket-taker in the series despite a predominantly wet ball in hand. When Kuldeep started the second over of this new spell, there had been 19 balls without a boundary. The extra fielder would go out in two overs as well. Aware of a big shot around the corner, Kuldeep kept tossing the ball wide and taking it away. Both of the batters holed out in the same over.Rohit Sharma celebrates with Kuldeep Yadav, who took four wickets•Associated Press

Kuldeep’s wizardry picked up two more wickets – only Adam Zampa has taken more hauls of four or more since Kuldeep’s debut – and Prasidh wiped off the last man.If South Africa had to compete in this defence, they needed early wickets. The ball moved around for Jansen and Lungi Ngidi, but seven wides in the first two overs and the occasional calculated strike from Rohit kept India in touch with the asking rate.Even as Jaiswal struggled, Rohit took the game on, charging and pulling Ngidi for a six and chipping Keshav Maharaj for a four against the turn. His trademark imperious pull made an appearance soon enough. While Jaiswal’s strike rate hovered around 50, Rohit got to his 94th score of 50 or more at a run a ball, buying Jaiswal time.It hasn’t been an ideal scenario for Jaiswal, filling in for the injured captain Shubman Gill. He was obligated to hit out in the first two ODIs as India strived for above-par scored to counter the toss disadvantage, but here, he could use the extra time and post a big score before Gill takes over again.The innings flowed smoothly after he reached 50 off 75 balls. He reached his hundred in just 36 more balls, becoming the sixth batter to be a centurion for India in all three formats. He batted with the two others in this chase. After Rohit fell 25 short of what would have been a 34th ODI hundred, Kohli displayed yet another upgrade to his game: he took his sixes tally to 12 – more than he has ever hit in a series before. He finished unbeaten on 65 off 45, as India won with more than 10 overs to spare.

The series could provide match practice, or serve as an audition, for a couple of back-up players likely to be picked in the Test squad

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Oct-2024 • Updated on 25-Oct-20247:07

What India A squad for Australia tour indicates about Border-Gavaskar Trophy selection

Ruturaj Gaikwad will lead the India A squad on their tour of Australia later this month.Gaikwad, who has begun his Ranji Trophy season with scores of 86, 0 and 145 for Maharashtra, is one of the contenders for the role of reserve opener for India’s five-Test tour of Australia, which will closely follow India A’s tour. That role has gained extra significance with India captain and opener Rohit Sharma set to miss one of the first two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar series for personal reasons.Apart from Gaikwad, the 15-member India A squad also includes two other candidates for that role in Abhimanyu Easwaran, who has been named vice-captain, and Sai Sudharsan.The matches against Australia A could provide match practice, or serve as an audition, for a couple of other back-up players likely to be picked in the Test squad. Devdutt Padikkal, B Indrajith and Ricky Bhui are set to be the middle-order batters in the India A squad; Abishek Porel and Ishan Kishan the wicket-keepers; Nitish Kumar Reddy, Tanush Kotian and Manav Suthar the allrounders; and Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed and Prasidh Krishna, replacing the initially picked Yash Dayal, the fast bowlers.Abhimanyu, 29, has been part of India’s Test squad previously – in Bangladesh in 2022 – and he has been in superb form this domestic season, scoring two hundreds in the Duleep Trophy, another century in the Irani Trophy, and beginning the Ranji Trophy season with a ton for Bengal. Sudharsan, 23, made a first-class hundred for English county Surrey in August, before scoring a century in the Duleep Trophy and a double-hundred in Tamil Nadu’s Ranji Trophy match in Delhi.Having recovered from a hernia, 21-year-old allrounder Reddy made his T20I debut for India against Bangladesh earlier this month and is currently a reserve player in India’s Test squad for the home series against New Zealand. He is seen by India’s selectors as a promising allrounder who could improve with more experience and exposure.

India opt for intra-squad warm-up

India A are scheduled to play Australia A in two four-day matches in Mackay from October 31 to November 3 and in Melbourne from November 7 to 10. They will then play the India squad in a warm-up match in Perth from November 15 to 17 before the first Test against Australia begins on November 22.India have opted for this intra-squad game as their warm-up to the Test rather than a practice match against an Australian domestic side. This is a departure from their preference on their last two tours of Australia. They began the red-ball leg of their 2020-21 tour with a three-day game against Australia A, and played a four-day game against a Cricket Australia XI before their Test series in 2018.19.

India A squad for tour of Australia

Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), Abhimanyu Easwaran (vice-capt), Devdutt Padikkal, Sai Sudharsan, B Indrajith, Abishek Porel (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Mukesh Kumar, Ricky Bhui, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Manav Suthar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Tanush Kotian, Prasidh Krishna

India captain wants to use Jadeja “a lot more with the bat”, citing example of his promotion in the T20I series

Andrew Fidel Fernando06-Mar-20225:44

Rohit: Jadeja just ups his game every time we see him

R Ashwin is an “all-time great”. Ravindra Jadeja is one of the “top allrounders”. This is what captain Rohit Sharma had to say about India’s two most consistent match-winners at home, after they took 15 wickets between them in the innings-and-222-run victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test in Mohali.In the second innings, in which Ashwin took four wickets, he surpassed the tally of Kapil Dev, finishing with 436 Test wickets to Kapil’s 434. This makes Ashwin the second-highest wicket-taker for India, only behind Anil Kumble.”To me, he is already an all-time great,” Rohit said of Ashwin. “He has been playing cricket for the country for so many years, his performances have been so good over the years. He has given many match-winning performances.”Related

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Jadeja, meanwhile, was easily the most impressive cricketer in a one-sided match, hitting 175 not out in the first innings, before grabbing 5 for 41 and 4 for 46, as Sri Lanka batted twice in succession. It was Jadeja’s highest score in Test cricket by a distance. His batting average, which has been on a linear incline since 2017, has also never been higher than 36.46, where he currently sits after that knock.”To me, he is one of the top allrounders,” Rohit said while heaping praise on Jadeja. “Look at the performances: to score 175 not out and take nine wickets in the game, he’s just upping his game every time we see him. He’s very hungry, as you can see. That hunger is something that drives athletes to move forward. When I talk to him about certain things, he is very open-minded. He wants to take the responsibility, he wants to take the challenge.”The example was there in the T20 series against Sri Lanka. I just casually asked him if he would want to bat up the order, and he was open for it. This is why we asked him to go up in the first T20.”As a captain, I want to use Jadeja a lot more with the bat. We all know his bowling. Everyone knows about his fielding. He brings so much balance to the team as well.”India’s lower order also scored heavily in the Mohali Test. At one stage, they were 228 for 5, in seeming danger of being dismissed for less than 300. However, for the loss of only three further wickets, the hosts added a whopping 346, thanks largely to Jadeja. Ashwin also scored 61, and Mohammed Shami contributed an unbeaten 20.”It’s very, very crucial in Test matches – the lower order coming to the party,” Rohit said. “I clearly remember back in 2015 when Virat [Kohli] took over as captain, we wanted to create a strong lower-order contribution and a strong foundation for that.”This is why we kept emphasising how important it is for all the bowlers to go out and bat in the nets; try and improve one or the other skill. If possible, go put that contribution out.”

Former South Africa captain had served as Director of Cricket until March this year

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jul-2022Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith has been appointed the lead of the country’s new franchise-based T20 league, which is scheduled to begin in January 2023. Smith has been put in charge of all aspects – “both cricketing and non-cricketing” – of the tournament, which is being viewed as crucial to the long-term sustainability of the game in South Africa.One of Smith’s first responsibilities, according to a Cricket South Africa (CSA) statement, is to confirm the participating franchises in the tournament. ESPNcricinfo reported on Tuesday that all six of the teams in CSA’s T20 league had been bought by owners of IPL franchises.”I’m extremely honoured to be entrusted with leading this exciting new venture,” Smith said. “I’m excited by the opportunity to deliver the new league which I believe will be an extremely competitive product, one that can bring the much-needed investment into the game and provide new opportunities for players around the world and more importantly to our SA home grown talent.Related

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“The response from stakeholders has been very positive thus far and we’ve made great progress in the initial stages. We’re determined to deliver a valuable, sustainable and appealing tournament for South African cricket.”This is Smith’s second administrative association with CSA after he worked as their Director of Cricket (DOC) from December 2019 to March 2022. Smith chose not to reapply for the role, and his tenure ended with an arbitration process during which he was found not guilty of engaging in racially prejudicial conduct over his hiring of former South Africa wicketkeeper Mark Boucher as the men’s national head coach over Enoch Nkwe; the non-selection of wicketkeeper Thami Tsolekile during his playing days; and an alleged refusal to work with former CSA CEO Thabang Moroe, who is black.Smith was in the job during the Covid-19 pandemic and masterminded South Africa’s return to action with a three-team exhibition match in July 2020, when the controversy over how they were going to show support for anti-racism began. At first South Africa’s players indicated they were not going to take the knee, but then everyone involved in the match did. That set in motion the Social Justice and Nation Building commission, which culminated with disciplinary charges being brought against Boucher, and then dropped.Smith’s time as DOC coincided with a tense and racially-charged period for South African cricket, but also produced some of their best on-field results. The men currently top the World Test Championship points table while the women’s team has qualified for the semi-finals of successive ICC events.Smith’s relationship with the BCCI also ensured that CSA hosted a profitable series against India in the previous home summer, and the board hopes he will be able to produce a similarly successful T20 league.”I worked closely with Graeme during his role as DOC and believe he is the perfect candidate to lead this new chapter of South African cricket,” CSA CEO Pholetsi Moseki said. “His expert understanding of the local and international cricketing environment will ensure the League delivers a thrilling product that will change the face of South African cricket for the better.”

The allrounder has cited issues with the team environment as the reason for her decision, and looks forward to “playing domestic cricket around the world”

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Aug-2022Deandra Dottin, the scorer of the fastest century in Women’s T20Is, has announced her retirement from the West Indies team. The allrounder made the announcement via Twitter, citing reservations with the team environment as the reason behind her decision.Dottin has made no indication that she has retired from any other team barring West Indies. She is currently representing Barbados at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, and said in her retirement announcement that she is “looking forward to playing domestic cricket around the world”.Related

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Whether this includes the inaugural Women’s CPL that begins on August 30 – she is set to captain Trinbago Knight Riders in the three-team tournament – remains to be seen, since the tournament will be played under the auspices of Cricket West Indies. She is, however, set to play for the Manchester Originals in the second season of The Hundred in the UK.”There have been many obstacles during my cricket career that I have had to overcome[.] [H]owever, the current climate and team environment has been non-conducive to my ability to thrive and reignite my passion,” Dottin wrote in her announcement.”I am appreciative of the opportunities afforded to me and I have ruminated on my decision over a period of time. Playing for the West Indies and representing the region has been an honour. During my 14 years of playing, I have trained at my best and grown as a player physically, mentally and emotionally. It is the combination of this growth that has assisted me in reflecting on what is truly important to me.”With much sadness but without regret, I realize that I am no longer able to adhere to team culture and team environment as it has undermined my ability to perform excellently.” Dottin is West Indies’ most-capped international cricketer, having played 124 T20Is (she has also played two for Barbados at the ongoing Commonwealth Games) and 143 ODIs since her debut in June 2008. She has scored 3727 ODI runs at an average of 30.54, including three hundreds, and 2697 T20I runs – 2681 for West Indies – at 25.93, with two hundreds. Among the 38 batters to have scored at least 1000 T20I runs, only four have a better strike rate than Dottin’s 122.98.The most memorable display of her spectacular hitting came at the T20 World Cup in 2010, where she smashed an unbeaten 112 off just 45 balls against South Africa in St Kitts. She reached her hundred in 38 balls – it remains the Women’s T20I record, and was the overall record in all T20Is until October 2017, when South Africa’s David Miller hit a 35-ball hundred against Bangladesh.With the ball, Dottin has picked up 72 wickets in ODIs and 62 in T20Is, including a career-best haul of 5 for 5 against Bangladesh in 2018 – the best bowling figures in Women’s T20 World Cup history. Injuries had limited her bowling workload in recent years, but she still made a contribution when she stepped up for the rare over of medium-pace. In the opening game of this year’s Women’s World Cup, she stepped up to bowl the final over when New Zealand needed six runs to win with three wickets in hand. Dottin, who had only bowled 11 overs in the preceding three years, won West Indies the match, conceding just two runs while picking up two wickets and completing the match-ending run-out.

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

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.”

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.