Matthew Breetzke 94 in vain as home side get home in shortened chase

ECB Reporters Network14-Jun-2024Derbyshire 123 for 3 (Donald 68) beat Northamptonshire 193 for 8 (Breetzke 94, Dupavillon 3-43) by 24 runs (DLS method) A brilliant innings from Aneurin Donald gave Derbyshire Falcons a 24 run win over Northants Steelbacks under Duckworth Lewis Stern in the North Group match at Derby.Donald smashed eight sixes in a 26-ball 68, equalling his own record for Derbyshire’s fastest T20 fifty, to put Falcons ahead of the run rate on 123 for 3 after 11 overs when a violent thunderstorm ended the game.Matthew Breetzke batted superbly to score a T20 best 94 from 54 balls, sharing a stand of 81 with Sikandar Raza, as Steelbacks reached 193 for 8.Rain left Falcons with a revised target of 187 from 19 overs but Donald’s demolition shredded the bowling before David Lloyd (33), and Cam Fletcher kept the home side ahead of the game before the heavens opened.Steelbacks scored only six from the first two overs which included a maiden from Daryn Dupavillon before Breetzke took three fours from Pat Brown.Ricardo Vasconcelos was dropped at cover by Samit Patel off Brown but it did not prove costly as the opener was comprehensively yorked in the fourth over by DuPavillion.Breetzke was finding his range and pulled Zak Chappell into the car park before David Willey dished out the same treatment to Dupavillon. But Dupavillon had the last word by getting Willey to miscue a drive low to mid-off as Steelbacks ended the powerplay on 55 for 2.After a brief stoppage for a sharp shower, Breetzke and Ravi Bopara worked the ball around without taking risks and had put on 48 from 36 balls when Falcons made a big breakthrough.Bopara tried to launch Mitch Wagstaff over the midwicket boundary only for Ross Whiteley to take a well judged catch just inside the ropes.But Breetzke and Raza trod on the accelerator to plunder 79 in five overs as the ball disappeared to all parts. After Breetzke reached 50 from 36 balls, he pulled Brown for six and dispatched Ross Whiteley for another maximum before Raza launched Chappell over the ropes.Breetzke passed his previous highest T20 score of 80 by taking three consecutive fours off Dupavillon before a yorker ended a thrilling innings.Brown and Chappell dragged it back by conceding only 11 from the last two overs in which Steelbacks lost four wickets trying to push towards 200.Falcons needed a fast start and Donald delivered, driving Willey straight for six and pulling and driving Ben Sanderson for two more as they raced to 50 in the fifth over.Donald pulled Raphy Weatherall into the home dugout and smashed a Saif Zaib full toss for six before he launched a no-ball over deep midwicket to reach 50 from 19 balls.He hammered two more off Freddie Heldreich before holing out to long-off in the seventh over but he had done exactly what the situation demanded.Bopara had Wayne Madsen caught behind and Patel was caught at deep square but the Falcons had done enough by the time torrential rain ended the contest.

The airport has been shut down indefinitely with the hurricane expected to pass by Barbados on Sunday night local time

Edited PTI copy01-Jul-2024A hurricane warning has left the T20 World Cup-winning India team stranded in Barbados.Hurricane Beryl (Category 4) is expected to pass by Barbados on Sunday night local time with the centre of the storm approximately 80 miles off the south coast. India are currently staying at the Hilton Hotel. They were initially planning a charter straight home but the airport has been closed since Sunday evening. South Africa had left earlier on Sunday.BCCI secretary Jay Shah said that board is planning a felicitation for the victorious team after they reach India.”Like you we are also stuck here. After the travel plans are clear, we will think about the felicitation,” Shah told reporters in Barbados.Related

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Shah: New India coach to take charge from SL series

Shah has said that the Indian team will have a new head coach from the limited-overs series in Sri Lanka starting later this month, but did not reveal who has been finalised to succeed the outgoing Rahul Dravid.Former India opener Gautam Gambhir is the frontrunner to take up the position of the head coach. The Cricket Advisory Committee [CAC] has conducted the interviews for the post and shortlisted Gambhir and former India women’s coach WV Raman.”Both coach and selector appointments will be made shortly,” Shah who is in the Caribbean with the Indian team that won the T20 World Cup 2024, said. “CAC has interviewed and shortlisted two names and after reaching Mumbai whatever they have decided we will go by that. VVS Laxman is going to Zimbabwe but a new coach will join from the Sri Lanka series.”The Indian team is due to tour Sri Lanka for three T20Is and three ODIs starting July 27.2:46

What is Virat Kohli’s legacy in T20Is?

‘Seniors will be there for CT and WTC’

Shah has also said that “seniors will be there” in next year’s Champions Trophy and the World Test Championship final, if India qualify for it, while a decision on whether Hardik Pandya succeeds Rohit Sharma as the next T20I captain will be taken solely by the selectors.”The transition has already happened with three greats retiring,” Shah said when asked about the team’s next phase following the T20I retirements of Virat Kohli, Rohit and [Ravindra] Jadeja.”The way this team is progressing, our target is to win the World Test Championship final and Champions Trophy. There will be a similar squad playing there. The seniors will be there.”This means that the senior players, fitness permitting, are likely to be available for the nine ODI matches that India will play before the Champions Trophy scheduled for February-March 2025 in Pakistan.India’s ODI assignments before that include three games each against Sri Lanka (away), New Zealand (home) and England (home).8:43

Rohit Sharma: ‘This has to be my greatest achievement’

‘From Rohit to Virat, all excelled’

Shah also praised the efforts of Rohit and Kohli, who played a match-winning knock in the final against South Africa which India won by seven runs in Barbados. Both Kohli and Rohit announced their retirement from T20Is after the triumph and were joined by allrounder Jadeja in saying goodbye to the format a day later.”It was the same captain last year and same here in Barbados. We won all games except the final in 2023 [ODI World Cup] as Australia played better. This time we worked even harder and played better to win the title,” Shah said. “If you look at other teams, experience counts. From Rohit to Virat, all excelled. Experience makes a lot of difference. In World Cups, you can’t experiment much also. A good player knows when to say goodbye to the game, we saw that yesterday. You look at Rohit’s strike rate, it is better than a lot of young players.”India, who had lost big finals in the past decade, finally ended their title drought after losing two ICC finals – World Test Championship and ODI World Cup final – over the last 12 months and Shah hoped the winning run would continue.”I would want India to win all the titles. We have the biggest bench strength, only three players from this team are going to Zimbabwe. We can field three teams if the need arises,” he said. “The way this team is progressing, our target is to win World Test Championship final and Champions Trophy. There will be a similar squad playing there. The seniors will be there.”On Hardik’s all-round performance in the T20 World Cup and chances of him taking over the captaincy from Rohit, Shah said: “Captaincy will be decided by the selectors and we will announce it after discussing with them. You asked about Hardik, there were lot of questions over his form but the selectors showed faith in him and he proved himself.”India will next travel to Zimbabwe for a five-match T20I series which begins on July 6 in Harare. Shubman Gill will lead the Indian side there with plenty of seniors being rested. Shah also confirmed that an India A team will be travelling to Australia later in the year ahead of the Border Gavaskar Trophy.

Libby ton in vain as Smith’s 130* sees Worcestershire fall by four wickets

ECB Reporters Network16-Aug-2024Warwickshire will visit Glamorgan in the Metro Bank One Day semi-finals on Sunday after a dazzling maiden List A century from Kai Smith powered them to four-wicket victory over Worcestershire at Edgbaston.Warwickshire were in deep trouble when, chasing 286, they hit 77 for 5, but Smith, whose previous List A best was 44, smashed an unbeaten 130 from 104 balls. A sixth-wicket stand of 181 in 163 balls between Smith and Will Rhodes (75) saw the Bears to 288 for 6 with six balls to spare.It was devastating turnaround for injury-ravaged Worcestershire who had totalled 286 for 9 thanks to a stylish century from Jake Libby. Already the national leading run-scorer in this year’s Metro Bank One Day Cup, the captain struck 112 from 115 balls to build on a platform set by Ed Pollock’s 54.Early wickets then put Worcestershire in command but 19-year-old Smith played with freedom, fluency and not a trace of nerves to book his side a semi-final in south Wales.Put in on a used pitch, Worcestershire openers Pollock and Gareth Roderick added 38 in ten overs before two wickets fell in five balls. Roderick was lbw to Rae and Rob Jones edged his second ball behind to reward Ed Barnard for an excellent opening spell.Pollock advanced to a 54-ball half-century against his former team-mates but added only four more before slicing a drive at Jake Lintott to point. Adam Hose, freed from Hundred duty, soon spliced Michael Booth to extra cover but Libby reached his sixth half-century of this year’s tournament (from 67 balls) and celebrated with six over mid-wicket off Barnard.Jake Libby hits through the off side•Getty Images

The captain received important support from Ethan Brookes and Tom Taylor in stands of 61 in ten overs and 28 in 18 as the pitch flattened out in the sunshine. Fateh Singh and Tom Hinley also cleared the ropes to lift Worcestershire to a strong total.They also started strongly with the ball, taking two wickets in the first five overs as Theo Wylie skied Harry Darley to mid off and Zen Malik off-stump was trimmed by an inswinger from Taylor.Barnard and Rhodes took the score to 50 before two big wickets fell in the 14th over. Barnard flicked Jack Home straight to midwicket. Three balls later, Michael Burgess was run out by a direct hit from Brookes.When Benjamin edged a cut at Brookes, Warwickshire were 77 for 5 but Rhodes and Smith were unfazed. While the former captain anchored the fightback, Smith raced to a maiden List A half-century and then onward to a scintillating ton off 89.The sixth-wicket pair had put their side in control by the time Rhodes was brilliantly caught by a sprawling Brookes from a skier. That left the Bears needing 29 from four overs and Smith and Lintott closed the game out nervelessly, Smith striking Taylor for six and four from successive balls to seal victory.

The squad also has Matthew Breetzke, the only uncapped member of the 15

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Sep-2024Senuran Muthusamy has been recalled and Dane Piedt has got another go alongside Keshav Maharaj as South Africa named three spinners for their two-Test tour of Bangladesh in October. The squad, which South Africa red-ball coach Shukri Conrad said was “for the conditions we are expecting to greet us” also has Matthew Breetzke, the only uncapped member of the 15.There were question marks over the tour, of two World Test Championship matches, because of the political unrest in Bangladesh in the recent past. But CSA gave the tour the go-ahead on Monday after its security assessment team conducted “an in-loco inspection” of Dhaka and Chattogram, the venues for the two Tests.”I want to firstly thank both boards, Cricket South Africa and the Bangladesh Cricket Board, for ensuring the series goes ahead,” Conrad said in a statement. “Bangladesh is always a tough place to tour. They’ve become a formidable side at home and we have to be prepared for the challenge that awaits us. We have therefore chosen a squad for the conditions we are expecting to greet us when we get there.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“We have three frontline spinners and all of them have the ability to step up at any time they are needed. This is a great chance for someone like Senuran, who has potential to make a mark with both bat and ball. We are really looking forward to seeing what he can offer. Overall, we trust the depth and versatility in our squad to meet this challenge head-on.”Giving the three spinners company are the fast-bowling options, Kagiso Rabada, Nandre Burger, Dane Paterson, and allrounder Wiaan Mulder.There is no Lungi Ngidi, and there is no update on whether there are fitness concerns around him or it’s a case of workload management. He’s currently part of the UAE tour where South Africa are playing Ireland in a white-ball series. Anrich Nortje, who has been in action in the CPL, has also not been picked, while Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee are both on a break and were not considered for selection.Lungi Ngidi has not been selected for the Test series•Alex Davidson/ICC/Getty Images

Paterson, 35, and the US-based Piedt, 34, memorably, went on South Africa’s Test tour of New Zealand at the start of the year, when South Africa could not send many of their first-choice players on tour because of the SA20.They have been included, as has Breetzke, the highly rated 25-year-old top-order batter who has played only eight T20Is in his international career so far. But with Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, captain Temba Bavuma, David Bedingham, Tristan Stubbs, and wicketkeeper-batters Ryan Rickelton and Kyle Verreynne in the mix, Breetzke might find it tough to make his Test debut in Bangladesh.Also in the South Africa travelling party is Ashwell Prince, the batting coach, who missed South Africa’s tour of the West Indies because of personal reasons. Having worked as Bangladesh’s batting coach in the past, Prince could be valuable to the South Africa management.South Africa have so far played six matches in the ongoing World Test Championship cycle and have six more Tests left. They are currently in sixth position on the table, having won two, lost three and drawn one Test.

South Africa squad for Test series in Bangladesh

Temba Bavuma (capt), David Bedingham, Matthew Breetzke, Nandre Burger, Tony de Zorzi, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Dane Paterson, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Kyle Verreynne (wk)

Rain curtails play with visitors on course for parity in match where draw should suffice

ECB Reporters Network10-Sep-2024Ryan Patel led a solid Surrey batting effort to defy nearest challengers Somerset on the second day of the top-of-the-table Vitality County Championship First Division clash at Taunton.The 26-year-old all-rounder was unbeaten on 61 in a first innings total of 169 for three when rain ended play for the day at 3pm, with a minimum of 26 overs remaining. Ben Geddes made 50, while all three wickets fell to 18-year-old off-spinner Archie Vaughan.Surrey trailed by 148, but with seven wickets in hand will be confident of at least getting close to Somerset’s first innings total of 317, knowing that a draw will be sufficient to make them red-hot title favourites with only two more games to play.The visitors went into the match 24 points clear of their second placed opponents and, with both sides having so far taken three bonus points, the advantage remains the same.The skies were heavily overcast as Surrey began their first innings at the start of the day. Somerset debutant Brett Randell opened up with a maiden from the River End and both the Kiwi seamer and Craig Overton beat the bat in their early overs.Rory Burns and Dom Sibley survived to be confronted by spin from the eighth over when Jack Leach was introduced into the attack, soon to be followed by Vaughan, operating from the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion End.Both were soon providing a tough examination for the Surrey openers, extracting turn from the second-day pitch. But Burns and Sibley proved up to the challenge and had put together a stand of 41 in 16.2 overs when they were parted.Sibley, on 16, went to slog-sweep a delivery from Vaughan and failed to clear mid-wicket where Tom Abell took a smart two-handed catch above his head.Burns appeared to survive a chance to wicketkeeper James Rew off Vaughan when on 21. But it mattered little as the left-hander departed without addition, lbw trying to sweep a delivery from the same bowler, which straightened from around the wicket.At 48 for two, Surrey were in a spot of bother. But the skies were clearing and Patel and Geddes rotated the strike intelligently while taking advantage of rare loose deliveries, particularly from Leach.By lunch, they had taken the total to 91 for two from 37 overs, with Geddes unbeaten on 27 and Patel 19 not out. Vaughan had figures of two for 17 from 12 overs, having been a model of accuracy in only his second first class game and gone past the outside edge on several occasions.A curtailed afternoon session saw Geddes bring up the half-century stand with a boundary off Vaughan, who bowled 19 overs unchanged either side of lunch before switching ends and sending down seven more.Geddes, making his first Championship appearance for Surrey since 2022, went to an impressive 93-ball fifty, with six fours, but fell soon afterwards with the total on 128, miscuing a sweep off Vaughan and lofting a simple catch to Lewis Goldsworthy at short fine leg.By then Patel was looking well set. He brought up his half-century having batted patiently for 130 balls and looked increasingly comfortable against the spinners. Ben Foakes was equally watchful as they strengthened Surrey’s position under darkening skies.With the score 168 for three, the umpires ordered the floodlights to be turned on. But soon afterwards, with Goldsworthy preparing to bowl his first over of the match, the rain, which had been forecast, started falling and the players made for the pavilion.It got heavier and persistent, leading to play being abandoned at just after 4.30pm.

He is unlikely to play Sheffield Shield cricket until after Australia’s ODI and T20I series against Pakistan

Alex Malcolm11-Oct-2024Glenn Maxwell has been named to make his red-ball return in Cricket Australia’s Second XI four-day competition after being named in Victoria’s 12-man squad to play Queensland at the Junction Oval starting on Monday.Maxwell was named for his first four-day match in over 12 months as he begins a build towards potentially going on Australia’s Test tour of Sri Lanka early next year.It is unlikely Maxwell will play in Victoria’s next Sheffield Shield match which starts on October 20, just three days after the completion of the Second XI game. Some of Australia’s Test players including Steven Smith, Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc are set for that match while Scott Boland is likely to make his Shield return in that game as well.Related

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The rules in CA’s Second XI competition allow for 12 players to play in the game, with 11 batting and 11 bowling, meaning rest and rotation is possible for players within the four days. Maxwell’s workloads are carefully monitored given the horrific leg injury he suffered two years ago. He turns 36 on the first day of the match and has played only two first-class matches in the last five years.Victoria coach Chris Rogers was very happy to have Maxwell playing with some of Victoria’s young Second XI players while being unsure when he will have him available for Shield cricket.”This is an opportunity for us,” Rogers said. “We’ve got a lot of young players who are playing, and anytime you get to throw in someone with that experience and talk about batting and fielding and strategy, that’s great for us as well.”Maxwell looks set to play the one-day domestic fixture against New South Wales on October 25, which could feature Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, but he is unlikely to be available for the third or fourth Shield rounds for Victoria which overlap with Australia’s ODI and T20I series against Pakistan.He would be available for Victoria’s fifth and sixth Shield games before the BBL begins and appears set to play at least one of those. Victoria play Queensland on November 24 at the Gabba in a pink-ball game under lights before hosting Queensland at the MCG on December 6.Australia’s selectors could also give him a run in a two-day pink-ball Prime Minister’s XI game against India in Canberra starting on November 30.Maxwell is a serious contender for Australia’s Test tour of Sri Lanka given his Test experience in the subcontinent. Maxwell was part of the Sri Lanka tour in 2022 and nearly played the first Test in Galle, with his ability as a spin-bowling allrounder seen as an asset in spinning conditions, especially if the Tests are set to be low-scoring and fast moving.All of his seven Test matches have been played on the subcontinent with his last coming in Bangladesh in 2017. The selectors have indicted previously that Shield cricket has no relevance to Test cricket in Sri Lanka given the conditions and style of cricket is vastly different but it is understood both Maxwell and Australia’s selectors are keen for him to play some red-ball cricket from a physical conditioning standpoint.Victoria have also named state captain Will Sutherland to play in the Second XI game after he was left out of the first Shield round as he continues to build his bowling following a serious back injury. He will bowl under restrictions.”He’s tracking well,” Rogers said. “This game was probably a bit too far where he was to bowl back-to-back days, and multiple spells. “But he’s ready to go for the Second XI and hopefully that’ll set him up well for the Shield game against New South Wales.”Rogers was unsure whether spin-bowling allrounder Matthew Short would be available for the next Shield game against New South Wales as he recovers from a minor adductor strain he suffered in the final ODI of Australia’s white-ball tour of the UK last month.Victorian Second XI squad: Will Sutherland (capt), Austin Anlezark, Liam Blackford, Dylan Brasher, Xavier Crone, Harry Dixon, Jai Lemire, Reilley Mark, Glenn Maxwell, Jon Merlo, David Moody, Doug Warren

Bangladesh’s decision to bowl first did not earn much rewards early on, but they enjoyed two wickets in the last ten overs of play

Mohammad Isam22-Nov-2024Mikyle Louis and Alick Athanaze both suffered the heartbreak of falling in the nineties on the first day of the Antigua Test against Bangladesh. Otherwise, the West Indies pair did enough to make the opening day of the series theirs. The 140-run fourth wicket stand between the pair revitalised West Indies’ innings, adding pace to the overall scoring. It led to West Indies dominating proceedings for more than two sessions.Louis came agonizingly close to his maiden Test century, but fell on 97. Despite showing great restraint throughout his 218-ball stay, Louis spent 27 balls in the nineties before falling to Bangladesh stand-in captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Athanaze fell to Taijul Islam a few overs later, the second time he got out in the nineties in his short Test career.The Bangladesh bowlers would be disappointed that they couldn’t hold back the Louis-Athanaze partnership after keeping West Indies’ scoring rate in check in the first 54 overs. Taskin Ahmed took two wickets, while Taijul and Mehidy took one each, average returns overall despite Bangladesh choosing to bowl first at the toss.After the Louis-Athanaze pair fell to the spinners, Justin Greaves and Joshua Da Silva scored freely against the second new ball towards the end of the day. Play was called off after 84 overs when a drizzle started, while the light was not great either.Bangladesh’s fast-bowling trio of Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam and Taskin challenged West Indies early in the day, but Louis held his own. Hasan kept beating him outside the off stump. Shoriful tested him around the off stump with the delivery always threatening to shape in. Taskin used the wobble seam, sometimes bowled the yorker, and pressed Louis to fish outside off.Shoriful, who got more swing from the Sir Curtly Ambrose end than the Andy Roberts end, was playing his first Test since mid-August. He missed the previous five Tests but looked in tune with the red ball. He roubled Kraigg Brathwaite, who tried to dig in despite the runs not flowing from his bat. Louis meanwhile waited for the short ball, which got him two fours with the pull shot.Taskin then removed Brathwaite, trapping him lbw with a hint of inward movement that beat his bat. Taskin then had Keacy Carty caught at mid-on when he couldn’t keep his wristy whip down, ending up as a tame dismissal. Brathwaite made four runs in 38 balls, while Carty ended on a eight-ball duck.File photo: Alick Athanaze fell in the nineties for the second time in his short Test career•Getty Images

Louis found Kavem Hodge a little more forthcoming as they tried to rebuild the innings. The pair struck four boundaries before the lunch break, but then consolidated in the second session.Louis brought up his fifty when he struck Taskin with a punch down the ground for a boundary. Hodge then slapped Taskin with a square cut, but he wouldn’t last too much longer. Attempting a second run off Mehidy’s bowling, Hodge was run out for 25 after Taijul’s throw from long leg had him well short despite a dive.Athanaze made efforts to push the run-rate but he was met with Bangladesh’s continued discipline. In the afternoon, it was the spinners Mehidy and Taijul, who kept things tight. Athanaze skied a couple of balls that fell slightly away from the fielder’s reach. One of them, a top edge towards mid-on, could have become a catch had Taskin moved slightly faster. Athanaze struck Mehidy with a sweep for four, but couldn’t quite connect with his several reverse sweeps in the second session. Louis, who lifted Taskin for a four over the bowler’s head towards the end of the second session, remained mostly quiet in his approach.Athanaze took the initiative to raise West Indies’ scoring rate after tea. He started the the final session with two square-cut boundaries, before he finally got a four with a reverse sweep off Mehidy.Louis then lofted Mehidy for the first six of the day, which took him into the eighties. Then, Mehidy dropped Louis at slip when he reached 90. Louis picked up Mahmud for his ninth boundary as he edged closer to his maiden century, while Athanaze opened up at the other end too.He swept Taijul before hitting Taskin for consecutive fours in the 71st over, cut and flicked away. Athanaze then slog-swept Taijul for his first six, and then came another reverse-swept boundary.Against the run of play, Mehidy removed Louis, charging at him, caught at slip where Shahadat Hossain took a good catch. Three overs later, Taijul had Athanaze caught behind. In the space of four runs, both batters were gone, allowing for a small opening come day two.

Mumbai, the winners of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, haven’t made the knockouts

Shashank Kishore05-Jan-2025Mayank Agarawal slammed his fourth List A hundred in five innings as Karnataka entered the knockouts of the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy along with defending champions Haryana, Punjab, Bengal and Tamil Nadu among others.Mumbai, the winners of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, haven’t made the knockouts after finishing third in Group C with five wins in seven games. Both their losses, to Karnataka and Punjab, deflated their campaign which they ended on a winning note on Sunday with teenaged opener Aayush Mhatre hitting an unbeaten 148 to seal victory over Saurashtra in a 290-run chase.Mhatre, who made his List A debut for Mumbai during the competition, finished as the side’s leading run-getter with 458 runs in seven innings, including two centuries and a half-century. The only other centurion for Mumbai was Shreyas Iyer, the captain, who also hit two centuries: an unbeaten 55-ball 114 in a losing cause against Karnataka and a match-winning 133-ball 137 not out against Puducherry.Related

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Meanwhile, Punjab’s road to the knockouts was dotted with impressive batting performances that helped them rack up scores of 424 and 426 against Saurashtra and Hyderabad respectively. On Sunday, they scored 338 to win by 167 runs against Puducherry and finish the group stage with six wins in seven games. However, Karnataka by virtue of their one-wicket win over Punjab topped the group.That loss notwithstanding, Punjab finished as the best second-ranked team (in terms of points) from all five groups to earn a direct quarter-final berth. Their campaign has been spearheaded by wicketkeeper-batter Prabhsimran Singh, who has so far slammed three centuries: 150* vs Mumbai, 125 vs Saurashtra and 137 vs Hyderabad.Prabhsimran’s opening partnership with Abhishek Sharma has been particularly formidable. Against Saurashtra, they put on 298, the joint second-highest opening stand in the tournament history, equalling the record set by Bengal’s Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sudip Gharami in 2022. Abhishek, Punjab’s captain, hit a career-best 170, off just 96 balls, while Prabhsimran hit 125.Punjab’s scintillating run has also seen wholesome contributions from pace spearhead Arshdeep Singh, who sits atop the wicket-takers’ charts. Arshdeep’s 17 wickets in six games have come at an economy of 5.53, with a best of 5 for 38 against Mumbai.Elsewhere, Gujarat and Vidarbha were the only two teams to finish the group stage with an all-win record, while Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan Bengal are the only three teams (out of ten) to make the knockouts having lost two games.Gujarat’s campaign has been spearheaded by their fast-bowling pair of Chintan Gaja and Arzan Nagwaswalla, who are second and third on the wicket-taker’s charts while Vidarbha’s run comes on the back of Karun Nair’s record-breaking run of form: he has hit four hundreds in five innings.Nair holds the record for most List A runs without being dismissed. He’s currently second on the run charts with 542 runs, behind Agarawal’s tally of 613 in seven innings, which includes four hundreds and a half-century.

Vijay Hazare Trophy knockouts line-up

Pre-quarterfinals: Haryana vs Bengal, Rajasthan vs Tamil Nadu (both on January 9)
Quarter-finals: Vidarbha vs Punjab, Karnataka vs Baroda (both on January 11); Gujarat vs winner of Haryana-Bengal, Maharashtra vs winner of Rajasthan-Tamil Nadu (both on January 12)Semifinals: January 15 and 16.Final: January 18

Earlier in the match, Haris Rauf went off the field with what was later confirmed to be a low-grade side strain

Danyal Rasool08-Feb-2025New Zealand batter Rachin Ravindra is unlikely to feature in the ODI against South Africa on Monday, after sustaining a blow while fielding during Saturday’s tri-series ODI against Pakistan.Fielding at deep square leg in the 37th over, Ravindra steadied himself to take a catch as Khushdil Shah slog-swept Michael Bracewell towards the on side. But Ravindra seemed to lose the ball, struck flat and low, mid-flight, and took no evasive action as it struck him square on the forehead. He was seen staring at the ground, apparently in a daze, as blood streamed down his face while medical staff rushed onto the field.New Zealand Cricket [NZC] has since released a statement saying that Ravindra is “otherwise well” and will continue to be monitored.Related

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• Phillips 72-ball hundred flips the script as New Zealand beat Pakistan

“Rachin Ravindra sustained a laceration to the forehead after being struck by the ball in yesterday’s ODI tri-series win over Pakistan in Lahore,” the release said. “Ravindra passed the initial head injury assessment and the laceration, which required stitches, was addressed and treated at the ground. He is otherwise well and will continue to be monitored under HIA (Head Injury Assessment) protocols. He is unlikely to feature in tomorrow’s match against South Africa.”A stunned silence took hold of the ground after Ravindra went down. A stretcher was brought on as well, though it was ultimately not required. The Pakistan team doctor, nearest to the incident, also rushed on to provide first-aid assistance. After lying down on the ground while receiving a few minutes of treatment, Ravindra got up with the assistance of medical staff, and walked off the field, holding a towel to his head, to warm applause from what had just recently been a packed Gaddafi Stadium.New Zealand, riding on Glenn Phillips’ maiden ODI ton, won the opening game of the tri-series comfortably by 78 runs. Ravindra had earlier opened the batting and scored a brisk 25 off 19 balls to get his side up and running and sent down three overs.Haris Rauf walked off the field with a side strain•Associated Press

Earlier in the match, Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf went off the field two balls into his seventh over, and the PCB later revealed he had complained of “sharp pain in the left side of the chest and abdomen muscles”, which was later confirmed to be a “low-grade side strain”. Rauf, it was confimed, would not come out to bat during Pakistan’s chase.These developments come just 11 days before the start of the Champions Trophy, which begins when these two sides meet in Karachi on February 19. New Zealand’s next game is on Monday, when they take on South Africa in the second match of this tri-series, while Pakistan are scheduled to meet South Africa on Wednesday.As the Champions Trophy looms, New Zealand could also be without the fast bowler Lockie Ferguson, who suffered a hamstring injury while playing in the ILT20 in the UAE. As yet, the team is awaiting reports of a scan on Ferguson’s injury.GMT 0925 The news report was updated following NZC’s statement on Ravindra’s injury.

The No. 3 is now the batter under scrutiny heading into the World Test Championship final and tour of West Indies

AAP10-Feb-2025Selectors will wait to make a call on Marnus Labuschagne’s Test future as Australia brace for a batting squeeze in the World Test Championship final and beyond.It comes as in-form Steven Smith urged selectors to keep the faith in Labuschagne, saying it was not long ago he was in a similar predicament to the faltering No. 3.Related

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Labuschagne’s lukewarm form continued in Australia’s 2-0 series defeat of Sri Lanka with scores of 20 and 4 in his first two knocks. He looked to be finding his feet as he made an unbeaten 26 in a 37-run stand with Usman Khawaja that sealed victory in the second Test in Galle on Sunday.But despite that effort and handy half-centuries in Melbourne during the recent India series, Labuschagne has only made one century in his past 51 Test innings. Since the beginning of 2023, Labuschagne has averaged 31.54, well down on the 62.29 he managed across the four calendar years before then.The timing looks unfortunate with a glut of batting options available for the WTC Final against South Africa at Lord’s in June.Cameron Green is set to return to the selection frame as a middle-order option following back surgery, while Josh Inglis impressed with a century on debut in Sri Lanka.Sam Konstas is pushing for a recall after being ousted from the top to facilitate Travis Head’s shift from No.5 and Nathan McSweeney is vying for a first Test in his preferred middle-order spot.”It’s clear that we’ve got some players that have put their hand up, so there is a squeeze,” said coach Andrew McDonald. “Whoever misses out will be very unlucky.”Australia could change their XI around between the WTC Final and the three-match West Indies series that begins later in June. McDonald said it was “highly likely” the squads would be different for the two, but Australia will defer selection calls, including on Labuschagne, until closer to June.”England creates a different challenge and then off to West Indies, which can spin, it can also swing and seam,” McDonald said. “The beauty of it is we’ve got some time before we have to make some decisions.”It’s great to have options. Will they all be fit at that time? Who fits what conditions and when? I think that’s going to be the art of what transpires across the journey.”Smith remains confident Labuschagne is approaching a big score, sceptical about claims his close mate is even out of form. The stand-in captain went as far as to say he had recently been in a similar situation to Labuschagne, feeling at his best despite scores of 0, 17 and 2 to begin the home summer.Smith has since scored centuries in four of five Test matches since those lean figures against India and was player of the series against Sri Lanka.”Marn’s similar to me, in a way,” Smith said. “I’ve said this a lot of times about myself, there’s a difference between being out of form and out of runs. I don’t think he’s out of form, personally. I’ve watched him train, I’ve watched him play and a lot of the things that he’s done so well are there.”He knows he’d love to score more runs, we’d love him to score more runs, but in my opinion, it’s just around the corner.”