CSA T20 League: Buttler, Miller, McCoy, Bosch sign up for Paarl Royals

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Buttler, McCoy and Bosch were also part of Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2022

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Aug-2022In a continuing sign of T20 franchise owners gravitating towards players they already know and trust, Paarl Royals snapped up the South African duo of David Miller and uncapped allrounder Corbin Bosch, England’s new white-ball captain Jos Buttler and West Indies fast bowler Obed McCoy. All four have worked for these owners before – in the IPL with Rajasthan Royals – and will continue to do so now in the upcoming CSA T20 LeagueAccording to tournament rules, a team can sign a maximum of one capped South African, three overseas players and an uncapped player ahead of the players auction. So far, the Durban franchise – owned by the same group that manages Lucknow Super Giants and comprising the same core of players who helped take LSG to the knockout stages of IPL 2022 – and MI Cape Town have announced their picks.Buttler bossed this year’s IPL for the Royals, scoring a whopping 863 runs, an average of 57.53 and a strike rate of 149.05. He hit four centuries and smashed 45 sixes and was also the leading run-getter of the competition.

Miller, who was part of the IPL title-winning Gujarat Titans, amassed a total of 449 runs at a strike rate of 141.19. He was eighth in the list of leading run-getters this season – and second behind captain Hardik Pandya for the Titans.McCoy, who represented Royals in the IPL this year, chipped in with 11 wickets from seven matches at an economy over nine. Early this month, he picked up his career-best figures of 6 for 17 for West Indies against India in the second T20I which the hosts won by five wickets.The uncapped South African Bosch joined the Rajasthan franchise this IPL as a replacement for injured fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile, but didn’t get to play a single match. The 27-year old, who plays for the Titans in domestic cricket, is a seam-bowling allrounder who bats in the lower-middle order. Having made his T20 debut in 2014, he has played only 30 games, scoring 151 runs at a strike rate of 120.80 and picking up 18 wickets at an economy of 8.16. He has also played 24 first-class games and 21 List A games.The CSA release on Wednesday also said the player auction would take place “in the next few weeks” before the league begins in January 2023. All six franchises have been bought by groups that own teams in the IPL and the league is likely to allow four overseas players in the playing XI with no requirements for transformation as of now.

Suryakumar blitz lifts India to top of Group A

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Kohli plays support role with sedate fifty, before Jadeja derails Hong Kong chase

Hemant Brar31-Aug-20225:32

Robin Uthappa: ‘Suryakumar’s ability to change his shot at last second standout’

India 192 for 2 (Suryakumar 68*, Kohli 59*, Ghazanfar 1-19) beat Hong Kong 152 for 5 (Hayat 41, Kinchit 30, Bhuvneshwar 1-15, Jadeja -15) by 40 runs
A blazing half-century from Suryakumar Yadav, and a more sedate one from Virat Kohli, helped India cruise into the Super 4 round of the Asia Cup as they beat Hong Kong by 40 runs in Dubai. The victory ensured India would finish as the top team in Group A.After being put in, India struggled to force the pace on the ball on a sluggish surface. But as the game progressed, the pitch seemed to ease out. Suryakumar cashed in on that, smashing six fours and as many sixes to post 68 not out in just 26 balls. Kohli, too, found his timing after a slow start and finished unbeaten on 59 off 44. His knock included one four and three sixes. The pair added an unbroken 98 in just 42 balls, propelling India to 192 for 2.From there on, it was always going to be an uphill task for Hong Kong. Despite scoring 51 for 2 in the powerplay, they were behind the asking rate, and once the field spread out, their scoring rate dipped further. In the end, they could manage only 152 for 5.However, it was a far from perfect game for India. Apart from a slow start, Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh looked off colour. Avesh gave away 53 from his four overs, and Arshdeep went for 44 from his quota. Both picked up a wicket each, though.India’ slow start
Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul started slowly; India managed just six runs in the first two overs. Rohit broke the shackles by jumping out of his crease to seamer Haroon Arshad and launching him for a straight six. Rahul joined him later in the over when he dispatched a free hit over deep midwicket. Off the last ball, Rohit hit a four to make it 22 from the over.Ayush Shukla broke the stand in the fifth over when Rohit mistimed an offcutter to mid-on. He scored 21 off 13 balls but Rahul was struggling for timing at the other end. Kohli too found it difficult to get going. At one stage, Rahul was on 21 off 25, Kohli on 12 off 14, and India hadn’t managed a boundary for 22 balls. Rahul ended that drought with a six off Aizaz Khan but despite that India only got to 70 for 1 at the ten-over mark.Suryakumar Yadav smoked 68 not out off just 26 balls•AFP/Getty Images

Suryakumar lights up the night
Kohli showed signs of aggression after the halfway stage, hitting Mohammad Ghazanfar for a four and a six in successive overs from the legspinner. Ghazanfar, though, ended Rahul’s struggle by having him caught behind for 36 off 39 balls.That brought Suryakumar to the middle, and he swept the first two balls he faced, from Yasim Murtaza, for fours. That was just the teaser, and soon he showed his full range. In the 16th over, he hit Aizaz over short third for four before scooping him for a six, off consecutive balls. A couple of overs later, he flicked Shukla over deep square leg to move to 41 off just 17 balls.Kohli, meanwhile, brought up his fifty off 40 balls. Three balls after reaching the landmark, he slog-swept Ehsan Khan for a 91-metre six but it paled in comparison to Suryakumar’s dazzling strokeplay.In the last over of the innings, Suryakumar hit Haroon’s first three deliveries for sixes – the second one took him to his fifty off just 22 balls and was arguably the shot of the day. He had initially shaped up for a scoop but seeing Haroon bowl it full and wide, he changed his shot and lofted it over deep cover. The fourth ball was a dot, and Suryakumar pulled the next one over short fine leg for another six. Haroon escaped with a couple off the final ball but India already had a daunting total.Ravindra Jadeja hurt Hong Kong with a run-out and the wicket of Babar Hayat•AFP/Getty Images

Spinners put brakes on after Babar Hayat’s brisk start
Arshdeep bounced out Yasim in the second over but Babar Hayat’s power-hitting took Hong Kong past 50 in the sixth over. The tall right-hander smashed Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Avesh over their heads for a six off each. In the sixth over, he took on Arshdeep, hitting him for two fours.India found some relief when Nizakat Khan was run out on the last ball of the powerplay. It was a free hit that Nizakat steered towards backward point before taking a couple of steps down the pitch. But Ravindra Jadeja nailed a direct hit before he could get back in.Yuzvendra Chahal and Jadeja then conceded only 14 in the next four overs. That left Hong Kong with a monumental task of getting 128 from the last ten.The chase peters out
At the end of the powerplay, Babar was on 29 off 17 but could manage only 12 off the next 18 balls he faced. Jadeja sent him back when he miscued a cut to backward point. Kinchit Shah and Aizaz offered some resistance by adding 31 off 22 balls for the fourth wicket but it was too little to trouble India. In the final two overs, Zeeshan Ali and Scott McKechnie hit a flurry of boundaries but that was too little too late to have an impact on the final result.

Middlesex keep eyes on the prize as Toby Roland-Jones harries Worcestershire

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Home batters made to struggle on rain-affected day as promotion race nears conclusion

Paul Edwards26-Sep-2022It is the last week of the season and suddenly it seemed so at New Road this morning. Full daylight came late to the city and Middlesex’s players seemed to be wearing an extra layer each as they strolled across the Worcester Bridge to the cricket ground. Travelling in the other direction, lines of commuter traffic took people to other, surely very different, occupations. One wondered how many earlier generations of visiting players, hairstyles different but concerns similar, had also walked from the nearby hotel and thought themselves fortunate indeed to be paid for playing the game they loved. It would have been easy at such autumnal moments to surrender to melancholy had not the Severn lay lacquered and still in the morning light, the swans cruised as though in formation and the cathedral been shadowed before a reluctant sun. “The doctrine of despair was never taught by such as shared the serenity of nature,” wrote Henry David Thoreau.Some farewells are more final – and more poignant. Nick Cook was given a guard of honour to mark his retirement from the first-class umpire’s list after this match and it is also Ed Barnard’s last game for Worcestershire before he joins Warwickshire. That, though, brought an end to the good fellowship. Important points are at stake around the country over these four days and for no one more so than Middlesex, who could be hailed as champions, congratulated as runners-up or dismissed as also-rans.That latter judgement would be savagely hard on Tim Murtagh’s team, who have won six and lost two of their 13 games, but if Glamorgan beat Sussex and Middlesex fail to win at New Road, there is a chance Lord’s will be the home of second-tier cricket in 2023. Murtagh and his players will be reminding them that matters are still in their hands. Beat Worcestershire and they will be promoted, perhaps even as champions depending on Nottinghamshire’s result against Durham. It would be a lovely conclusion to the season, particularly so for Toby Roland-Jones, who took three wickets on a rain-scarred day, one on which Worcestershire’s 167 for 8 was a disarmingly decent effort.Ed Pollock, on the other hand, might be rather pleased to see the end of the season. After making a 12-ball nought against Nottinghamshire last week, Pollock lasted 11 deliveries fewer on the final morning, his blameless forward defensive to Murtagh’s first nut of the game edging a catch to John Simpson. Five overs later Jake Libby was gone as well, lbw to a ball from Roland-Jones that nipped back a little.After an hour’s play the essential shape of this day seemed clear. This is a not a poor pitch but it was used for the game against Sussex in April and Middlesex’s exclusively seam attack clearly enjoyed bowling on it, especially as a couple of showers allowed them useful recovery time. On such days and on bowlers’ wickets like this, even modest contributions assume greater value and careless dismissals greater censure. Jack Haynes batted as calmly as anyone for his 20 runs but then fished at a wideish ball from Roland-Jones and Sam Robson grabbed the resulting chance.Azhar Ali committed no such indiscretions. Instead he laboured an hour and a half longer than Haynes for seven runs more than his young colleague before being pinned on the crease by Ryan Higgins. Barnard arrived to play his penultimate innings on a field he has always regarded as his home ground and immediately made batting seem simpler than anyone else. But each of Barnard’s six fours were scored either square or backward of square on the off side and he perished a little as he had lived when he edged Roland-Jones to Steve Eskinazi at slip. Gareth Roderick, last week’s centurion, arrived and left almost immediately when he clipped his fifth delivery off his toes and short leg Mark Stoneman clutched a ball that had been trapped somewhere near his armpit.That gave Murtagh his second victim of a day on which Roland-Jones’ three wickets had taken him to a career-best tally of 66 with power to add a few more in the rest of this match. But Middlesex’s captain will know that the game is probably evenly poised. For while wickets were falling at the other end, Brett D’Oliveira, Worcestershire’s skipper, was attacking the bowling where possible and putting his many play-and-misses behind him.D’Oliveira was one of his side’s best batsmen in the first half of the season and his dismissal, caught by Robson off Ethan Bamber for 44 a few minutes before the close, might yet be seen as vital in the outcome of this game. A few moments after his departure Cook, aided by his colleague Rob Bailey, took the players off the field. Cook has three days left in his career as a top-level umpire. Middlesex’s cricketers, by contrast, have three days left in which to realise the ambitions they have nursed for nearly a year.

Afghanistan agree 'in principle' to support women's cricket

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The hosts of the U19 World Cups – men’s and women’s – have been identified, while the men’s ODI World Cup has been expanded to 14 teams from 2027

Shashank Kishore13-Nov-2022The ICC’s Afghanistan Working Group (AWG) has conveyed to the governing body’s board that the country’s government has reiterated its commitment to “fully respect and comply” with the ICC constitution, including agreeing “in principle” to support the development of women’s cricket.The focus was to ensure “diversity and inclusivity, and for the Afghanistan Cricket Board to operate independent from government interference,” an ICC statement following meetings in Melbourne over the weekend said.Related

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“The meeting was positive and respectful, and the [Afghanistan] government representative was clear in his support for the ICC constitution including in principle for women’s cricket in Afghanistan,” Imran Khwaja, the AWG chair, was quoted as saying. “There are obviously challenges for it to resume but we will continue to work with the ACB to take this forward. The Working Group will closely monitor the commitment undertaken by the Afghanistan government and will continue to report back to the ICC Board.”As things stand, Afghanistan is the only Full Member to have received that status without having an operational women’s team in place. Last year, the ACB had announced its first contracts for women in their quest to build a team, but those efforts were put on the back-burner following the Taliban’s takeover of the administrative affairs of the country in September 2021.At the time, ACB chief executive Hamid Shinwari admitted that the women’s game was “in peril”, even as then acting chairman Azizullah Fazli said women would be allowed to play as long as the players adhered to Islamic rules. Soon after, Afghanistan’s Test in Australia – their first in the country – was called off. Australian sports minister Richard Colbeck said at the time that Afghan athletes would “remain welcome in Australia, but not under the flag of the Taliban”.The men’s ODI World Cup will be a 14-team affair in 2027•Getty Images

Thailand, Nepal, Namibia among hosts for U19 World Cups
Sri Lanka will host the men’s Under-19 World Cup in 2024, while Zimbabwe and Namibia will stage the 2026 edition together. And, as part of the ICC’s attempts to spread the game, Malaysia and Thailand have been named joint hosts of the women’s Under-19 T20 World Cup in 2025, while Bangladesh and Nepal will jointly host the 2027 edition of the same tournament.The Under-19 World Cup for women is finally set to take off after a pandemic-enforced delay, with South Africa hosting the inaugural edition in January 2023.Men’s 50-over World Cup in 2027 will feature 14 teams
The ICC has also formulated a qualification pathway for the women’s 2024 T20 World Cup – the ten-team event will have eight automatic qualifiers – the top-three teams from each of the two groups at the 2023 women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa, hosts Bangladesh (if they fail to make the cut in 2023), and the next-highest-ranked teams in the ICC rankings when the 2023 edition concludes. The remaining two teams will be identified through the ten-team global qualifying event.The men’s ODI World Cup in 2027 will be a 14-team event, as compared to ten in 2023 in India. South Africa and Zimbabwe will qualify as hosts, along with the next eight teams in the rankings on a date that is yet to be announced. Four others will join these ten via a global qualifier.

Lewis, Hunter, Kelly star in Ireland's historic series win

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The openers set the tone with a 110-run stand before the bowlers took over

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Nov-2022Gaby Lewis, Amy Hunter and Arlene Kelly helped Ireland to a historic series win against Pakistan on their first-ever visit to the country. With the three-match T20I series levelled at 1-1, Ireland trounced the hosts by 34 runs in the decider in Lahore.After Ireland opt to bat, Lewis and Hunter set the tone with a 110-run partnership for the first wicket. It was only the third time Ireland had managed a century stand in women’s T20Is. Lewis and Hunter used the crease well to explore the gaps in the field and finished the powerplay on 56 without loss, and by the end of the tenth over, they had raced to 87.Lewis led from the front with a 26-ball half-century, the second-fastest in T20Is for Ireland. Nashra Sandhu broke the opening stand by dismissing Hunter for 40, and Lewis fell two overs later for a 46-ball 71, but Orla Prendergast kept the momentum going by hitting 37 off just 23 at No. 3. That meant Ireland posted 167 for 4, their highest against Pakistan.In reply, Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals even as Javeria Khan kept going from one end. A flurry of fours off Laura Delany and Richardson took her to a half-century off 36 balls but Jane Maguire had her chopping one on soon after to severely dent Pakistan’s hopes. At that stage, Pakistan needed 86 off 53 balls with six wickets in hand, and while Nida Dar did take the spinners on during her 24-ball 26, it was too tall a mountain to climb.Kelly, who hardly allowed the batters to get away, finished with three wickets to go with Delany’s three.Pakistan had won the ODI leg of the tour 3-0.

Bangladesh fight back after Pujara, Iyer prop up India

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Both batters hit fifties in a 149-run stand to put India in a strong position before a couple of late strikes kept the hosts in the contest

Hemant Brar14-Dec-20222:35

Jaffer: A typical Pujara innings where he soaks up all the pressure

India 278 for 6 (Pujara 90, Iyer 82*, Taijul 3-84, Mehidy 2-71) vs BangladeshHalf-centuries from Cheteshwar Pujara and Shreyas Iyer gave India the advantage on the opening day of the first Test in Chattogram, but two late wickets meant the door is still open for Bangladesh to script a comeback.At one point, India were struggling at 48 for 3 but first Pujara and Rishabh Pant, and then Pujara and Iyer stitched together crucial partnerships to help them reach 278 for 6 at stumps. Pujara fell ten short of what would have been his first Test hundred since January 2019, while Iyer finished the day unbeaten on 82.Related

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Both Pujara and Iyer benefitted from the dropped catches as well. Pujara was on 12 when Nurul Hasan put him down off the bowling of Ebadot Hossain. That was on the second ball after lunch, when Pujara drove a full delivery only to edge it low to the right of the wicketkeeper. Nurul, though, couldn’t hold on to the chance.Iyer got two reprieves. On 30, Nurul grassed a chance off Shakib Al Hasan. Then on 67, Ebadot put down a straightforward catch at deep midwicket, Mehidy Hasan Miraz being the unlucky bowler this time.Iyer had another stroke of luck on 77. Ebadot’s inducker beat his inside edge and brushed the off stump but the bails didn’t dislodge.In the morning, when India opted to bat, Bangladesh captain Shakib hoped the grass cover would help his seamers pick up early wickets. But the pitch offered little assistance to the fast bowlers, forcing Shakib to bring himself on as early as the sixth over.The Bangladesh seamers, Ebadot and Khaled Ahmed, didn’t help their cause either by hardly bowling anything full. Some of the balls did keep low but they were all well outside off. Shakib tried playing around with the field, deploying a leg slip, a catching short midwicket, and a catching cover at various times but to no avail.It was Taijul Islam who eventually broke through. At the stroke of the first hour, Shubman Gill tried to lap-sweep him but the ball just dropped on him, inducing a top edge. Yasir Ali, anticipating the shot, ran around to his left from first slip and gobbled it up.KL Rahul fell soon after, chopping Khaled onto his stumps. In the next over, Virat Kohli played back to a length ball from Taijul that spun past his outside edge and trapped him lbw as he looked to work the ball into the leg side. That meant India, who had looked in full control at 41 for no loss, were all of sudden in a spot of bother.Pujara and Pant, batting in their contrasting styles, bailed them out. They added 64 off just 72 balls for the fourth wicket before Mehidy broke their stand. Having hit the previous ball for a six, his 50th in Test cricket, Pant went back in an attempt to steer Mehidy behind point. The ball, though, kept coming in with the arm to cramp him. The result was a bottom edge that bounced off the pitch to dislodge the off bail, and Pant walked back for a 45-ball 46.Shreyas Iyer was a positive presence at the crease•AFP/Getty Images

Iyer started tentatively, edging his first ball, against Mehidy, just past the slip fielder. Then Ebadot beat both his edges in the same over. But as the innings progressed, he started looking more and more comfortable and wasn’t afraid to take the aerial route against spinners.Pujara, meanwhile, used his feet against the spinners to skip down the track regularly, even if he didn’t look in complete control all the time. He brought up his half-century with a four off Taijul and celebrated the occasion with another boundary off the next ball. Iyer followed him to the landmark, also with a boundary.With both batters looking set for their hundreds, Bangladesh took the new ball as soon as it became available. And with that came the breakthrough. Taijul, who had beaten the outside edge of both Pujara and Iyer multiple times, finally got his reward when he got yet another one to spin past Pujara’s outside edge. This time the ball pinged the off stump to end the 149-run stand.Axar Patel survived a bat-pad appeal when Bangladesh didn’t opt for the review but the replay showed a clear inside edge. That didn’t hurt Bangladesh though, with Mehidy trapping him lbw on the last ball of the day to keep his side in the contest.

Crowds, controversies and Steven Smith: BBL gets its mojo back

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The tournament enjoyed a resurgent season but cricket’s crammed schedule will continue to present challenges

Tristan Lavalette06-Feb-2023Twelve months ago, there was a lot of unrest over the maligned BBL after a second straight season was ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic.Everyone, including BBL general manager Alistair Dobson, seemed to acknowledge that the tournament’s 12th edition was going to be a pivotal juncture magnified by Cricket Australia’s vital media rights negotiations in the backdrop.Fast forward a year, in the aftermath of a riveting season capped by a fitting finale at a heaving Optus Stadium, the BBL is glowing amid a stunning revival to rekindle its heyday from mid-last decade.Here are some of the main reasons for the BBL regaining its standing as a hot ticket in the congested Australian sports summer after being mired in uncertainty in recent years and some of the questions that remain.

Return of homegrown stars

Australia’s best players have rarely ever been available to play in the BBL. Finally, David Warner returned after nine years, but it was his great mate Steven Smith who stole the show with a spectacular whirlwind of a stint to become the marquee drawcard.Related

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  • Peirson 'immensely proud' of Heat's late season revival despite falling short of title

  • Turner puts Scorchers' success down to 'confidence in the depth of our squad'

Smith and Warner, the latter who had been courted by the cashed-up new UAE T20 league, were paid a lot of money to play in the BBL, but it was worth every dollar. Some of the returning Australian stars struggled during their short stints, including Warner and Strikers skipper Travis Head, but they lit a fuse under the latter stages of the regular season during what is perennially a dreary period.The star power provided a much-needed injection of talent into the BBL after a slew of overseas players left for the new UAE and South African T20 leagues. The competition was upended with lowly Heat storming into title calculations after the inclusions of skipper Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and Matt Renshaw.By any metric the returns of some of Australia’s best and most popular players was a huge success. It’s well and good to covet top international players but, ultimately, homegrown heroes whip up local interest.South Africa controversially pulling out of a three-match ODI series set for mid-January – to ensure its players were available for their new T20 league – proved a godsend for CA.Steven Smith made two stunning centuries•Getty Images

New-name match-winners

But, as in the past, the BBL showed it wasn’t all about the A-listers. Some players took the chance to make a name for themselves. Left-arm spinner Paddy Dooley and left-arm quick Spencer Johnson led the way as key parts of Hurricanes’ and Heat’s attacks respectively.Johnson’s team-mate, Josh Brown, meanwhile produced one of the most memorable individual performance of the season with his fierce 62 off 23 balls against Sixers.And in the final itself, Nick Hobson, an accountant by trade who had taken annual leave to play the BBL, composed himself after a mix-up Ashton Turner to help take Scorchers to victory. “I’ll come back the week after,” he said of returning to the day job. “I’ll let it all decompress.”

Should a dedicated BBL window be created?

It’s become an annual pastime to debate what the ideal Australian cricket summer should look like, but this season might have provided answers.In other words, a clear window for the BBL after the traditional New Year’s SCG Test is probably optimal. But with cricket’s calendar increasingly brimming to capacity, it’s not always going to be possible for Australia’s Test players to be available.There will be a clash next year with West Indies set to be playing a two-Test series in the latter half of January. While it’s laudable that Test cricket is still a major priority for CA, it feels like a matter of time before they follow the lead of several other nations and dedicate space for their T20 league to ensure the BBL’s long-term viability, although it appears unlikely under the recently confirmed Future Tours Programme with the expectation that, on average, every other season will see significant clashes.Spencer Johnson was one of the breakout stars•Getty Images

Bigger crowds help turn around BBL’s perception

Tune into a BBL game in recent years and often the first thing that stood out was the near empty grandstands. Of course, some of that had to do with the Covid-19 situation but the sterile surrounds further fuelled the BBL’s spiralling reputation with crowds having already started to dip prior to the pandemic.With Australia’s strict policies on Covid-19 effectively binned, crowds returned with around a million fans attending games this season to beat the combined turnouts of the last two seasons.The crowds have, of course, helped create better spectacles which have translated well onto television screens, where ratings have jumped.The BBL has undoubtedly benefited from a scrapping of Covid-19 policies, particularly in Western Australia where Scorchers only played five home games in the previous two seasons due to the state’s hard-line pandemic rules. With WA’s hard border removed, the beloved Scorchers attracted healthy home crowds all season, including around 95,000 fans for the two finals staged at Optus Stadium.It only added to a growing belief that Scorchers are more popular among parochial West Australians than the Australian cricket team.Several marquee BBL games, such as Strikers’ annual New Year’s Eve game at the Adelaide Oval and the Melbourne Derby at the MCG, also reeled in the masses to help turn around the competition’s perception.

Thrillers and controversies create constant headlines

An opening night thriller between Sydney Thunder and Melbourne Stars foreshadowed what was ahead for a madcap BBL season.There were numerous nerve-jangling finishes, while records were made along the way, including Strikers’ epic chase down of 230 against Hurricanes at home. Thunder, too, were in the record books but for all the wrong reasons after being humiliated for just 15 against Strikers in a disastrous performance that made global headlines.Michael Neser’s contentious juggled catch on the boundary and Adam Zampa’s attempted run-out of Tom Rogers at the non-striker’s end also sparked furious debate worldwide. All of this attention helped BBL lift firmly back to relevance and become an almost daily talking point.Matthew Short’s century in a huge chase was one of the moments of the season•Getty Images

Dud Test summer created an appetite for the BBL

When the BBL memorably started peaking in 2015-16, marked by a still record BBL crowd of 80,000 for the Melbourne Derby, there had been a major thirst for competitive cricket on the back of a lacklustre Test series between Australia and West Indies.Similarly, this Test summer was mostly one-sided with West Indies again out of their depth and South Africa enduring a rare misfire in Australia. Much like seven years ago, the BBL stepped up and delivered a riveting season filled with instant classic games and never-ending storylines.But it has proven harder for the BBL to find the same amount of oxygen during summers involving England and India, which are likely to get more bloated in the future.

Is a scaled down BBL needed?

After such a success, it can be now pondered whether shortening the BBL season from its current 61 games to 43 – a key plank in the new media rights deal with plans for it to be implemented as early as next season – was done in haste. Sticking with the 14-game home and away format for each side has advocates.”I have no problem with reducing the season but I think the current format is fairer,” Strikers coach Jason Gillespie told ESPNcricinfo. “I think the length of the BBL could have been condensed without losing games by having more doubles headers and teams playing back-to-back games.”That type of schedule can better test out a BBL list, where currently there are a few players who don’t often get a look in.”But a shorter season is happening, and could yet start next summer if everything can be put in place, and time will tell if it’s the right formula amid cricket’s changing landscape.

Rohit hints India could request green pitch in Ahmedabad

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“It’s definitely a possibility, we’ve already spoken about it. We need to get the guys ready for it as well”

Karthik Krishnaswamy28-Feb-202310:31

Rohit: Rahul’s removal as vice-captain doesn’t indicate anything

Rohit Sharma has hinted that India could request a green pitch for the fourth Border-Gavaskar Test in Ahmedabad if they win the third Test in Indore and seal their place in the World Test Championship final. India, currently 2-0 up in the four-Test series, need one more win to confirm their place in the WTC final, which is set to be played at The Oval from June 7 to 11.Australia are the other favourites to play the final, with Sri Lanka also in with an outside chance.India have prepared seamer-friendly home pitches in the past with an eye on preparing for major away tours. In the 2017-18 season, shortly before a tour of South Africa, they played on a greentop at Eden Gardens against Sri Lanka – the seamers took 32 of the 35 wickets that fell in the Test match.Related

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  • Australia bank on Smith and Labuschagne to flip the script in Indore

  • Ganguly on Rahul: 'When you fail for a while, obviously there will be criticism'

On Tuesday, Rohit said something similar could be on the cards if India go 3-0 up in Indore, setting up a potential WTC final dress rehearsal in pace-friendly conditions in Ahmedabad. He added, however, that selection could prove tricky, given that Shardul Thakur, India’s preferred pace-bowling allrounder in overseas conditions, isn’t part of their squad for this series, and has not played competitive cricket in over a month. Rohit attended Thakur’s wedding during the break between the second and third Tests.”There is definitely a possibility of that,” Rohit said. “We’ve already spoken about it. We need to get the guys ready for it as well.”The important one is Shardul Thakur, because he comes into that plan for us. I don’t know how ready he is, knowing that he just got married. We don’t know how many overs he has bowled. But yeah, that thought process is definitely there. If we do what we do here and we get the result we want, we might think of doing something different in Ahmedabad for sure.”In that Kolkata Test against Sri Lanka, the damp weather played as much of a role as the pitch in helping India simulate overseas conditions. While it should be possible for India to prepare a green pitch in Ahmedabad, the weather is expected to be hot and dry, with maximum temperatures in the mid-to-high 30s (Celsius) – nothing, in short, like London in June.India played a greentop at Eden Gardens against Sri Lanka, shortly before a tour of South Africa, in 2017-18•BCCI

Before their thoughts can turn to such matters, however, India have a Test match to play in Indore, and Rohit warned against letting their thoughts stray too far ahead. Though India won the second Test in Delhi by six wickets, they were made to work hard for their result – at one stage, they were 139 for 7 in reply to Australia’s first-innings total of 263. Rohit expected Australia to push India hard again in Indore.”It will be a great achievement for us [to reach the WTC final], but we know that we need to cross that final hurdle, and for that we need to win the next game as well, so the focus is on this Test, how we can win this game, and not look too far ahead, because after this game we’ve got one more Test match to be played, and then after that there’s two months of IPL,” Rohit said.”There’s a lot of time to think about the final, but right now it’s very important for us to focus on this one and see how we can turn it around and win this game as well, because in the last game we were put under pressure for sure, we can expect the same here as well, so we need to be ready for that.”When pressed to look ahead to the WTC final, Rohit said it would be exciting for the two teams playing it to meet in neutral conditions.”It’ll be a different ball game, for both teams actually,” he said. “Actually, I don’t want to talk about the World Test Championship. We’re not there yet. We want to win this game and then talk about it. That’ll be the right thing to do.”But just speaking of it from the outside, clearly, I don’t think England is going to qualify, so both teams who are going to play the final will be neutral teams. It’s going to be exciting. There’s no home advantage, no conditions advantage. India have played a lot of cricket in England over the last couple of years. Australia have played a lot of cricket [there]. Sri Lanka and South Africa are also in the mix [South Africa are out of the reckoning]. They probably have played a lot of cricket there as well. It’s not going to be alien conditions as such, to both teams who will make the final. It’ll be a good contest between the two teams, whoever those teams are.”

Somerset old guard holds firm after new-look Warwickshire attack makes inroads

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Gregory, Davey rebuild innings after Barnard, Hasan, Rushworth strike on debuts

ECB Reporters Network07-Apr-2023Somerset 269 for 8 (Gregory 65*, Barnard 3-54) vs WarwickshireSkipper Lewis Gregory led an enterprising Somerset fightback on the second day of the rain-affected LV= County Championship match with Warwickshire at Taunton.The visitors’ new-look seam attack looked to have taken control when reducing their hosts to 136 for seven shortly after tea, Ed Barnard (three for 54), Hasan Ali (two for 62) and Chris Rushworth (one for 51) all taking wickets on debut.But Gregory and Josh Davey had other ideas. Somerset’s eighth-wicket pair added 105 in 25.1 overs with some attractive counter-attacking cricket to help their side to 268 for eight at the close.Gregory contributed an unbeaten 65, off 105 balls, with 9 fours, while Davey lost nothing by comparison, hitting seven boundaries in his 42 before falling lbw to Oliver Hannon-Dalby (two for 65) with the second new ball.After no play on the first day due to a saturated outfield, umpires Alex Wharf and Rob Bailey made a 10.30am inspection and ruled that the game could start at noon, with lunch at 1.30pm and 88 overs to be bowled in the three sessions.Gregory, acting Somerset captain while Tom Abell completes recovery from a rib injury, won the toss and backed his side’s new top order, including debutants Sean Dickson, Cameron Bancroft and Tom Kohler-Cadmore, by electing to bat first under clear blue skies.Rushworth impressed during an initial five-over spell from the River End and was unlucky not to claim a wicket when former Durham team-mate Dickson, on five, was dropped by wicketkeeper Michael Burgess, diving in front of first slip.The error did not prove expensive as, without addition to his score, Dickson connected sweetly with a drive off Hannon-Dalby, but directed the ball straight to Barnard, who pouched a sharp chance at point.Bancroft walked out at 13 for one in the fifth over. The Australian was soon making good use of the quick single, but both he and Tom Lammonby survived several close shaves as Warwickshire’s seamers went past the bat and had some confident lbw shouts rejected.The pair took the score past 50 before Lammonby, who had shown commendable patience, was caught behind for 22, victim of Barnard’s first ball having switched to around the wicket, a perfectly-pitched delivery that moved away off the seam.The umpires immediately signalled lunch with Somerset 52 for two in the 23rd over, Bancroft unbeaten on 24.Kohler-Cadmore was beaten by Barnard in the first over after the interval, but quickly responded with three boundaries through the off-side off the same bowler.Bancroft looked to have plenty of time to play his shots and appeared well set on 44 when chasing a short, wide ball from Rushworth and edging to Rob Yates at first slip. He had faced 104 deliveries and hit 5 fours.From 98 for three, George Bartlett helped add 22 for the fourth wicket before departing on 13 to a similarly poor shot, edging Barnard to Yates, who took another routine catch.Three balls later Kohler-Cadmore, who had just struck his seventh boundary to move to 34, became the third Somerset player to be pouched at first slip, Yates this time taking an excellent low catch to give Hasan his first Warwickshire wicket.By tea, the hosts were reeling at 128 for five and would have been in worse trouble had Burgess not spilled a regulation catch behind offered by James Rew on two.Again the wicketkeeper’s mistake was not costly. Rew had moved onto six when bowled by Hasan between bat and pad in the fourth over of the final session to make the score 135 for six.With only a single added, Barnard bowled Craig Overton with an in-ducker. It was an all too familiar tale for Somerset supporters, whose team struggled to post meaningful first innings totals last season.But their spirits were lifted by Gregory and Davey, who capitalised on a tiring attack with a flurry of positive shots all around the wicket to give Somerset serious momentum going into day three.Gregory moved to an entertaining half-century off 85 balls before Davey departed and Jack Leach came in to help Somerset to a first batting point with successive fours off Hasan.

Potential India captain Hardik hosts superstar Dhoni in IPL opener

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings have proved experts wrong, and 2023 season begins with new rules

Deivarayan Muthu30-Mar-20233:17

Is death bowling a concern for CSK?

Match details

Gujarat Titans vs Chennai Super Kings, Ahmedabad: 7.30pm IST (2pm GMT)

Big picture

Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans, two teams that have specialised in proving haters – and experts – wrong, kick off the new IPL season in front of what is expected to be a capacity crowd in Ahmedabad. MS Dhoni in the bright yellow corner; Hardik Pandya, who has seemingly taken the Dhoni route to captaincy and his batting, in the navy blue one.You never know with Dhoni, but this could well be his farewell IPL season, while for Hardik, a successful title defence could potentially lead to his coronation as India’s future full-time white-ball captain. An intra-squad practice session that was thrown open to the public just an hour before the start at Chepauk is a portent of things to come at home, but Super Kings will have to deal with playing five of their first eight games away from home. They had the second-worst economy rate at the death last season with 11.29, but they didn’t quite remedy that at the auction.As for Titans, their major issue last season was the absence of a reliable anchor – they had trialled Vijay Shankar and B Sai Sudharsan in that role – but now they have brought in Kane Williamson, whose elbow is in much better shape than it was last year. Williamson’s presence could allow Hardik to float down the order as opposed to float up, something he did often last IPL. Titans’ bowling attack too ticks most boxes, with the arrivals of Shivam Mavi and Josh Little – the first Ireland player to be picked in the IPL – strengthening them even further.Related

  • 'Home-and-away is what makes the IPL what it is'

  • Will Chepauk return help CSK spin it to win it?

  • Gujarat Titans look stronger for their title defence

  • Revitalised Williamson returns to scene of his debut heroics

  • How much impact will the Impact Player rule have?

Team news

The Sri Lanka pair of Maheesh Theekshana and Matheesha Pathirana will not be available for Super Kings’ first three games since they are currently participating in a six-match white-ball series in New Zealand. NZC, though, has released both Devon Conway and Mitchell Santner, who is likely to start for Super Kings not only in the absence of Theekshana, but also for the rest of the IPL. Left-arm seamer Mukesh Choudhary has been sidelined from the entire season with a back injury and replaced by Akash Singh.There were reports on Thursday that Dhoni could miss the IPL opener with an injury, but their CEO told ESPNcricinfo that Dhoni was fit.4:00

How crucial is Miller’s form for Gujarat Titans?

Fast bowler Sisanda Magala will also be unavailable for the early exchanges as he will be in action for South Africa against Netherlands. Similarly, Titans will miss their finisher David Miller, who will only link up with the franchise after the Netherlands ODIs end on April 2.

Toss and Impact Player strategy

Gujarat Titans
Possible bat-first XI: 1 Shubman Gill, 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Matthew Wade, 5 Hardik Pandya, (capt) 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Shivam Mavi, 9 Jayant Yadav/R Sai Kishore 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Mohammed ShamiA resoruce-maximising option for Titans is to bring in another batter, Abhinav Manohar, for instance, in place of one of the dismissed batters who is not athletic in the field. In this scenario, they can have seven bowling options, including Hardik and Tewatia, for their defence.Possible bowl-first XI: 1 Shubman Gill, 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Matthew Wade, 5 Hardik Pandya (capt), 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Shivam Mavi, 9 Jayant Yadav/R Sai Kishore 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Mohammed ShamiThis XI is no different to the bat-first XI, but in this case, Titans could use the Impact Player rule to bring in either Sai Sudharsan, if they need to stabilise the innings, or Manohar for a finishing kick, in place of Mohammed Shami.Chennai Super Kings
Possible bat-first XI: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Ben Stokes, 4 Moeen Ali, 5 Ambati Rayudu, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Shivam Dube, 8 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 9 Mitchell Santner, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Simarjeet Singh/Tushar DeshpandeIf Santner starts for Super Kings, they will have batting depth all the way down to No. 10, as well as six bowling options, discounting Ben Stokes. Ajinkya Rahane could be a failsafe at Chepauk, but it’s hard to see him slot in as an impact player away from Chennai. Plus, the other reserve batters Shaik Rasheed and Subhranshu Senapati are yet to make their IPL debuts. Don’t be surprised if Dhoni uses no Impact Player.Simarjeet Singh is a swing bowler, whereas Rajvardhan Hangargekar can dig the ball into the pitch•BCCI

Possible bowl-first XI: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Ben Stokes, 4 Moeen Ali, 5 Ravindra Jadeja, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Rajvardhan Hangargekar, 8 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 9 Mitchell Santner, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Simarjeet Singh/Tushar DeshpandeSuper Kings opted against rushing seam-bowling allrounder Rajvardhan Hangargekar into action last season. But following a good domestic season for Maharashtra, he could break into the starting XI if they need some hit-the-deck hustle. The 20-year-old can dig the ball into the pitch and offer something different to Super Kings’ seam attack, as both Deepak Chahar and Simarjeet Singh are both swing bowlers. When they bat, Super Kings could yank Ambati Rayudu out of the bench and use him in the middle order to counter Rashid Khan. He could potentially come in for Simarjeet as an Impact Player.

Stats that matter

  • Rayudu has had the wood over Rashid, scoring 79 runs off 65 balls off him being dismissed in the IPL.
  • Despite having missed the entire IPL 2022, Chahar remains the top wicket-taker in the powerplay in the past five seasons, with 42 strikes in 58 innings at an economy rate of 7.61.
  • In the past year, Alzarri Joseph has conceded only 7.51 runs an over at the death in T20s. It is the second-best economy rate among right-arm seamers who have bowled at least 100 balls in that phase. Only Anrich Nortje has fared better than Joseph on this front with an economy rate of 7.39, but Nortje’s 16 wickets are two fewer than Joseph’s.

Pitch and conditions

The Motera has six red-soil pitches and five black-soil pitches. The ones used for the last IPL final and the recent T20I against New Zealand aided seamers, with dew not being much of a factor later in the evening. It rained on the eve of the IPL opener, disrupting the practice sessions of both teams, but the weather is expected to be clear for the duration of the game.