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The draft is set to take place between the second and third India-England Tests

Matt Roller01-Feb-2021Teams in the Hundred will confirm this week which men’s players they have retained from the squads they picked in the competition’s initial draft in October 2019, with the ECB billing Thursday, February 4 as ‘deadline day’.Following the Hundred’s postponement last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, men’s players who had been selected in the draft have been negotiating with teams, who were given the option of retaining as many players as they wished at a mutually agreed salary band. A number of retentions have already been announced, headlined by Jonny Bairstow staying at Welsh Fire on a top-bracket deal after losing his red-ball central contract.After the retention window shuts, a mini-draft will be held towards the end of the month in which squads will be finalised – though each team will then add a ‘wildcard’ player to their squad following the T20 Blast’s group stages in July.It is understood that on account of the logistical challenges posed by Covid, the draft will not be screened live from a studio like it was in 2019 and will instead be held behind closed doors. The ECB have been in discussions with broadcasters about how best to present the draft, and at this stage, it is likely to be staged virtually on Sunday, February 21 – between England’s second and third Tests in India, and after the IPL auction – with the picks in each round expected to be revealed on February 22 or 23.Related

• The Hundred – full 2021 squad lists

• Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan among names in latest Hundred player retentions list

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• ECB clarifies player retention plans for postponed Hundred

• Hundred faces salary cuts and partial re-draft – PCA chairman

Some teams, such as Trent Rockets, Southern Brave and Oval Invincibles, have retained the vast majority of their initial squads, while others, including Northern Superchargers, Manchester Originals and Welsh Fire, will have several picks to make. Around 30 spots will be free across the competition in the draft.ESPNcricinfo understands that the majority of English players who had been picked up on lucrative contracts have been retained, though a handful of consistent domestic performers including Richard Gleeson, Ben Foakes (both Superchargers), Danny Briggs (Fire) and Chris Wood (Invincibles) are set to be released into the draft pool, and Harry Gurney (Rockets) was yet to sign as the deadline approached. Salaries have been cut by 20% for 2021 but the banding remains the same, and some players have either negotiated a slot at a higher band – including Will Jacks (Invincibles) and Dawid Malan (Rockets) – or agreed to shift down.A number of overseas players including Marcus Stoinis (Brave), Chris Lynn (Superchargers), Qais Ahmed (Fire) and D’Arcy Short (Rockets) will be retained, while Shadab Khan (Brave), Fabian Allen (Invincibles), Mitchell Santner and Imran Tahir (both Originals) are among those set to be released. A full list will be revealed on ‘deadline day’, which is likely to include details of which salary band each player has agreed to.Availability of overseas players is posing a major headache for teams in their draft planning due to the uncertainty that Covid has introduced to the Future Tours Programme. West Indies are due to host Australia and Pakistan for multi-format tours which overlap with the start and end of the Hundred respectively, and teams are alert to the fact that other series could spring up at short notice, and that quarantine requirements both in England and overseas may further curtail availability.Some big names may be signed by teams planning for the long term, who would then sign short-term replacement players as cover but retain their stars in future seasons. Shaheen Shah Afridi, for example, is understood to have been retained by Birmingham Phoenix – despite his limited availability – as part of their long-term planning, while teams could go after players like Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer for the same reason.Jonny Bairstow was a top-bracket retention for Welsh Fire after he lost his Test central contract•Alex Davidson/Getty Images

That said, players without international contracts like Ben Cutting and Chris Morris may prove popular at the draft, and most teams will look to prioritise a strong core of domestic players. New Zealand and South Africa are not currently scheduled to play in the Hundred’s window from late July to late August, so their players may be attractive options, while depending on the dates for Bangladesh’s tour to Zimbabwe, Shakib Al Hasan may find a suitor.There is a long list of English players who were disappointed not to be picked up in 2019, many of whom will be anticipating deals this year after discussions between teams and agents in recent months. Olly Stone, Tom Lammonby, Samit Patel, Jamie Overton, Josh Cobb and Ian Cockbain are among those expected to attract interest after going unsold last time round.The end of the Kolpak era means that the players picked up as locals in the 2019 draft would now count towards a team’s overseas quota (three per squad, and per playing XI), and the majority will be released as a result. Dane Vilas, a surprise £125,000 pick by Manchester Originals in the first draft, is among those set to be released, though Welsh Fire and Oval Invincibles have considered retaining Colin Ingram and Rilee Rossouw respectively as overseas players.In the women’s competition, teams have until June to finalise their squads. There is no draft scheduled, with a less formal recruitment process in place, and eight further marquee signings are due to be announced later this month.

The combination of India’s ruthless attack and South Africa’s ordinary batting meant India cruised to a crushing win by an innings and 137 runs

The Report by Sidharth Monga13-Oct-20193:49

Agarkar: Glad Saha, Umesh getting applause for their hard work

The hallmark of Virat Kohli’s captaincy on the field in Test cricket has been the clinical execution. His field placements, his declarations, and his bowling changes have tended to err on the side of conservatism. On Sunday morning in Pune, he took a trip to the wild side by enforcing a follow-on on South Africa, and thus asking his bowlers to bowl a second day in a row.It turned out it wasn’t that wild a ride. The combination of India’s ruthless attack and South Africa’s ordinary batting meant India cruised to a crushing win by an innings and 137 runs, India’s biggest against this opposition. It also sealed their 11th consecutive series win at home. By agreeing to bowl for two days in a row, and doing it so well, the bowlers earned an extra day off between this and their third straight Test.ALSO READ: Stats – India break Australia’s record with 11th consecutive series win at homeModern cricket has shown that you enforce the follow-on only in extreme circumstances, unless you are certain the opposition is so far gone it is not capable of fighting back. There was no rain forecast so that took out one extreme circumstance. India probably felt the pitch was dying down, as was evident with the South Africa lower order’s ease with the old ball, so they needed to make use of it when it was still lively. What the follow-on had going for it was that India had five bowlers, and even if South Africa batted five sessions to save the Test, India couldn’t lose the Test.

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Despite all those circumstances, it is highly likely it all came down to the huge difference in class between the two sides. It has taken some miraculous batting in both the first innings of this series for South Africa to bat over 100 overs. India just didn’t expect South Africa to bat over 100 overs here. They lasted 67.2 overs.Damage began with Aiden Markram falling for a silver pair. So short is his confidence that he didn’t go for the review even though it seemed he wanted to. As was seen in the replays, this inswinger from Ishant Sharma was swinging too much. Theunis de Bruyn, whose series has been only marginally better than Markram’s, soon became a victim of some Wriddhiman Saha magic with a flying catch down the leg side off Umesh Yadav.India’s players celebrate their innings victory•BCCI

Dean Elgar and Faf du Plessis, promoting himself to No. 4 this time, provided some resistance but R Ashwin broke through that in the second hour of the day to go past Dennis Lillee’s tally of 355 Test wickets. It wasn’t without some help. Saha gladdened the hearts of those who facilitated his comeback after he sat out for 22 months, a hiatus that was not his own making. Ashwin drew an inside edge from du Plessis, on to his thigh pad, thus changing direction and heading towards Saha’s ribs. Saha’s gloves followed the ball, but didn’t quite keep up with it. He did get enough to keep the ball in the air, then in desperation he threw his left glove at the ball, lobbing it down the wicket. Now he was about to lunge for the ball, the lunge had started, and he realised there is time. So he took a mini step before lunging, getting enough distance on the dive to finish the catch where silly point would be.Just before lunch, Elgar made an argument for a long-off despite a big lead because batsmen these days can’t help hitting in the air. Because there was a long-off in place, Elgar tried to clear mid-on, and the ball turned to fly off the outside half of his bat for a catch to Yadav.Post lunch, it was the turn of Ravindra Jadeja to get among the wickets, beating a Quinton de Kock slog sweep and drawing an outside edge from Temba Bavuma. The latter was pretty significant because of the pressure Bavuma was under. He got a start, looked like their best player of spin in this innings, but after getting in and with the ball getting softer, he played a loose drive at Jadeja.Mohammed Shami produced an over from hell to almost blast the bat out of Vernon Philander’s hands and then get Senuran Muthusamy fending at a short ball. On day four on an Indian pitch. As has been the norm, there was resistance in the lower order against the softer ball with first-innings fighters Philander and Keshav Maharaj adding a half-century stand. However, once Philander tickled Yadav down the leg side, the end came swiftly.

After a month-long heat wave across the UK, the weather gods decided to play a prank on a pair of Associate nation guests making their long-awaited return to Lord’s

Peter Della Penna at Lord's29-Jul-2018
ScorecardAfter a month-long heat wave across the UK, the weather gods decided to play a prank on a pair of Associate nation guests making their long-awaited return to Lord’s. In the T20 tri-series played by hosts MCC, Nepal and Netherlands, rain was the ultimate winner as a pair of scheduled 20-over matches between the MCC and each Associate were reduced to six-over affairs before the finale between Nepal and Netherlands ended with a no result after 16.4 overs.For Netherlands, this was their first T20I at Lord’s since the 2009 World T20, where they pulled off one of their greatest triumphs against England. Two years ago, Nepal had made their 50-over Lord’s debut against the MCC in front of more than 5000 fans. Despite it being on a weekend, just over 2000 fans turned up to Lord’s on this day as the majority of fans around the UK were scared off by damp weather, a scarce occurrence all July.Fans who did show up were treated to an impressive Dutch batting display through much of the afternoon. Making use of the short east side boundary on offer thanks to a pitch chosen near the end of the Lord’s square, Wesley Barresi powered the Netherlands with an impressive 44 off 24 balls after entering at No. 3. His innings included six fours as well as an exquisitely timed six driven over cover off medium pacer Sompal Kami.Barresi added 54 for the third wicket with Ryan ten Doeschate and when Barresi departed near the end of the ninth over, it was ten Doeschate who dazzled with a series of elegant flicks over mid on. Playing his first T20I in more than eight years, the ageless wonder spent his day off from Essex captaincy showing he hasn’t lost his touch at international level one bit as he cruised to 38 off 27 balls.A rain break after 12 overs broke Netherlands’ momentum. They resumed at 112 for 3 with two overs shaved off the match and two balls later ten Doeschate was run out thanks to a brilliant charge, scoop and fire by Dipendra Singh Airee from backward point.Michael Rippon showed how much he was missed at the World Cup Qualifier by dismantling Nepal’s spinners on his way to 38 not out off 22 balls. Shane Edwards was just as relentless, swatting an unbeaten 34 off 14 that included three fours and back-to-back sixes off star legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane in the 16th. He was the most expensive bowler on the day, finishing with 0 for 43 in three overs.Captain Paras Khadka vigorously dried the ball with a towel after nearly every delivery in a vain attempt to make it easier for Lamichhane and the other spinners to grip in the midst of a steady drizzle. A short time later, the drizzle turned into a thick shower and it became clear that play would be difficult to continue. When Rippon backed out of a delivery with the wind and rain blowing in his face midway through the 17th over, that became the final signal and the umpires took everyone off one ball later with Netherlands’ innings declared finished at 174 for 4.Despite hopes of a restart, officials called off play more than an hour before the official cutoff time as the forecast for the rest of the evening remained bleak. Nepal’s players shook hands with the Dutch, then continued on to the edge of the stands to show thanks to their supporters. With many having traveled from as far as the USA and even Nepal to take in the occasion, a selfie with Khadka, Lamichhane and the rest was just as good as a six.

Stevie Eskinazi’s career-best, unbeaten 178 was the mainstay for Middlesex as they ground to within striking distance of Warwickshire

Jon Culley at Edgbaston04-Jul-2017
ScorecardStevie Eskinazi made a career-best 178 to carry the fight for Middlesex•Getty Images

The considerable fillip Warwickshire drew from dismissing Sam Robson for a third-ball duck was counterbalanced by a century from Stevie Eskinazi in which the South Africa-born batsman produced some good, aggressive strokeplay but also had to show some gritty qualities and ride his luck.Eskinazi, whose 157 against Yorkshire at Scarborough this time last year was one of the key innings of Middlesex’s title-winning season, doubled his tally of career first-class centuries to four with his second of this season, consolidating his position as leading run-scorer.Although born in Johannesburg, Eskinazi has an English mother and a Zimbabwe-born father and after playing some junior cricket in Hampshire moved with his family to Perth, in Western Australia, where he played representative state cricket at under-17 and under-19.Goodness knows where that leaves him in terms of nationality, although that is a matter for another day. For the moment, he is unbeaten on 178, having overtaken his Scarborough scored to guarantee himself a new career-best with his 23rd four after more than five hours at the crease.By the close, against the team propping up the table and desperate to find a first win, he had hit 24 fours and pulled Boyd Rankin for three sixes, which were impressive statistics, although he had been well into three figures before he began to look properly comfortable.At times earlier he had looked anything but, as was illustrated, even on 116 and 124 against a ball that was 55 overs old, when he twice edged Rankin to the boundary through gaps in the cordon.Another difficult over earlier in the day had seen Rikki Clarke beat him twice but somehow miss the stumps. There was a close call on a run-out too and, not long afterwards, a sharp chance offered to wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose when Jeetan Patel entered the attack after 31 overs and Eskinazi was on 56.All of that followed a massive appeal for a catch in the gully off the first ball he faced, which was turned down on the basis that the deflection was off pads only.How different the day might have been had the finger gone up at that moment, given that Keith Barker, spearing the ball in from around the wicket, had dismissed Robson leg-before with the immediately previous delivery. Robson has twice hit a double-hundred against Warwickshire.But if he was lucky at times, Eskinazi might reasonably claim he earned it on a pitch of unreliable bounce that had a nasty surprise in store for a number of batsman.Earlier in the day, Barker had been denied a half-century with the bat when he was deceived into playing too soon at a ball from Tim Murtagh, connecting with a leading edge. Murtagh, going down low in his follow-through, took a good return catch.Nick Compton suffered in a more painful way, hit first in the box and then on the inside of the left knee by balls that did not get up. The second blow forced him to retire on 12, although he was able to return after the fall of the next wicket, when Patel’s second ball accounted for Dawid Malan, who went back to cut but could only nudge the ball into the gloves of Ambrose, who this time held the chance, albeit none too tidily.Like Nick Gubbins, who was left out of this match through lack of runs, Compton has not had a productive season. It would have been a toss up between the two of them as to who stood aside to make way for Robson’s return from the Lions. Compton’s hundred against Essex last week came at just the right moment.He did not look vastly more on top of things in his second spell at the crease and had reached 33 when Clarke returned for a new spell and had him caught behind off a thin edge with his second delivery.That left Middlesex 195 for 3, following which a terrific catch from Matt Lamb at point in the next over ensured Paul Stirling’s stay was brief, the 20-year-old hanging on to a full-blooded cut off Rankin.After a mostly sunny day, Patel increasingly came into his own deep into the final session, when he had John Simpson caught off bat and pad at short leg and Ryan Higgins caught behind, feathering a catch after shaping to cut.Spin could become a bigger factor still on the last two days, so Middlesex will look to Eskinazi to squeeze out a few more runs yet to give them a lead.

A deep-seated trust issue is central to the problems Zimbabwe Cricket faces as it attempts to build a unified outfit, according to former national coach Alan Butcher

Firdose Moonda27-May-2016A deep-seated trust issue is central to the problems Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) faces as it attempts to build a unified outfit, according to former national coach Alan Butcher. That conclusion was the starkest takeaway from his book , an account of his three years in charge of Zimbabwe.The honest, personal story of Butcher’s time with the team, which he largely enjoyed thoroughly, is filled with details of suspicions, misunderstandings and hidden agendas between ZC management and the players. In some instances, these divisions were racially motivated; in others, they were personality-driven, but combined they had a detrimental effect on morale and performance.”There are massive trust issues in Zimbabwe, and these go back to a time before independence. Independence didn’t just flick a switch and make everything okay….” Butcher writes. “That there will be mistrust of each other’s motives is the most natural thing in the world.”In particular, Butcher reveals how the actions of former convener of selectors Givemore Makoni during the 2012 World T20 led to the retirement of Ray Price the following year.Makoni was appointed to the post in October 2011, 18 months into Butcher’s tenure. Butcher admits only knowing Makoni “a little” but being “apprehensive” about his appointment, having previously dealt with him as a selector.Butcher’s reservations were confirmed shortly after, when the selectors, led by Makoni, unilaterally announced the Test squad to play New Zealand, without meeting with the coach or captain. The group initially excluded Chris Mpofu and Tatenda Taibu, who both ended up playing in the match at Butcher and Brendan Taylor’s insistence. Butcher won that battle, but he would not win many more.The next March, during the World T20, Butcher was invited to dinner with ZC’s communications manager Lovemore Banda, Makoni, and assistant coach Steven Mangongo in Colombo. There, Banda told Butcher there was a perception that Butcher was marginalising Prosper Utseya.”The point was a none too subtle warning there were ‘people’ who were disappointed by the fact that if I thought someone should be dropped from the team that person was always Prosper Utseya and that those people were beginning to think that there was an agenda of some sort against him and that I would be wise to think about the possible consequences of that perception,” Butcher wrote.The quartet went on to enjoy the evening, but once they moved to Hambantota, the venue of their first match, Butcher was made to understand why Banda had communicated that message.The night before Zimbabwe’s opener against Sri Lanka, the coaching staff agreed that Utseya would sit out the first match against Sri Lanka in favour of Graeme Cremer and Ray Price. When Makoni heard the decision, he accused Butcher of “trying to wreck Utseya’s career, of racism and much more besides…”Makoni insisted Utseya should play and Butcher realised “fighting it would cause the team many more problems than having Prosper in it,” and so gave in. However, he then had to inform Price that he would be benched.Price had spent the afternoon in the hotel pool, opposite where the meeting with Makoni and Butcher had taken place, and already had an idea of what was coming. “Although disappointed, recognised an impossible position the captain and I were in and took it pretty well.”Butcher thought the matter was over, but on the day of the match, Grant Flower, the then batting coach, refused to go to the ground because of Utseya’s inclusion in the team. Butcher met with Flower and persuaded him otherwise, but the players had by then learnt of Flower’s threat. Butcher’s immediate task was to see how Utseya was handling it and he discovered the player was “not feeling great about being the reason for a coach refusing to go to the ground.”Utseya was among the better bowlers on the day, but Zimbabwe’s performance was, in Butcher’s words, “shambolic,” and things were only going to get worse.Zimbabwe did not play again until the next February, when they toured the West Indies, and as with any tour, the first job was to pick the squads. Butcher wanted Price “in my team in all formats,” and expected Makoni to disagree, but at their meeting, “Makoni indicated he thought Price should be in the squad.”A few days later, Butcher saw the squad list without Price’s name on it and called Makoni to clarify. Makoni said Price would not be travelling. Butcher gave Price the news, but instructed him not to do anything until Butcher had sorted it out, fearing Price would “retire on principle.” Price, however, set up a meeting with Mangongo and Makoni in which he was “virtually forced to retire from ODIs to continue playing Tests.” As a result, Price travelled as part of the Test squad but not the limited-overs team.Price retired that July after being left out of the ODI squad to play India despite new coach Andy Waller wanting him in the group.In the immediate aftermath of the squad selection for the 2013 tour of West Indies, Butcher noted with “sadness,” that “turned to anger,” reports in the Zimbabwean press detailing the argument with Makoni at the 2012 World T20. Utseya’s omission was described as bordering on “the issue of colour,” which Butcher took as an accusation against him of racism. He described it as his “darkest time” in Zimbabwe and it may have played a role in him opting not to reapply for his job later that year.After Butcher’s departure, Makoni was promoted to a managerial role in ZC in 2015 and Kenyon Ziehl was appointed selection convener. That may change in the next few weeks with ZC set to unveil yet another new selection panel.Butcher compared that kind of constant change to a “revolving door spinning from all exits,” caused by there not being “enough people everybody trusts”. Caught in the middle of that, “a national team of mixed races is expected to just knuckle down and win cricket matches,” which for Butcher is a big ask.Despite the overarching problem in Zimbabwean cricket, Butcher left with the impression that, “trust between the races was alive and well among the younger generations,” but warned that the spirit of goodwill should not be overshadowed by a political system which hardens attitudes. The Good Murungu: A Cricket Tale of the Unexpected

Glamorgan batsman Will Bragg scored his second hundred of the summer to ensure honours remained fairly even at the mid-point of their Championship clash with Kent in Canterbury

Press Association11-May-2015
ScorecardWill Bragg hit his second hundred of the season to keep Glamorgan in touch•Getty Images

Glamorgan batsman Will Bragg scored his second hundred of the summer to ensure honours remained fairly even at the mid-point of their Championship clash with Kent in Canterbury.Bragg, fresh from a career-best 120 against Leicestershire in the first round of this season’s Division Two games, hit a dozen boundaries in his 208-ball innings as Glamorgan posted 281 all out in response to Kent’s season’s best first-innings total of 357.The left-hander from Newport took advantage of a let-off with his score on 16 to reach the fourth hundred of his career and cut Kent’s first-innings advantage to a mere 76 runs.With his side in trouble on 54 for 3, Wagg was fortunate to see Matt Coles, stationed at second slip, drop a comfortable catch off the bowling of Calum Haggett and went on to bat late into the last session on an easing pitch.Kent looked set for a considerable first innings lead as they claimed three wickets in the 90-minute stint through to lunch. Rookie Ivan Thomas set the tone by trapping James Kettleborough leg before with an offcutter, then Coles ripped out the off stump of Jacques Rudolph and, when bowling around the wicket, had left-hander Colin Ingram snaffled at second slip.Glamorgan counter attacked in the middle session but, although the run rate increased, wickets still fell at regular intervals. Chris Cooke cutting at Darren Stevens picked out Joe Denly at cover point then Mark Wallace was caught behind down the leg side when attempting to glance against Thomas.Graham Wagg prodded forward in defence at a Stevens’ awayswinger to edge low to James Tredwell at slip and, with their score on 170 for 6 at tea, Glamorgan still had concerns over reaching their 208-run follow-on figure.Tredwell pocketed another catch in the cordon after tea to account for Craig Meschede and give Haggett a deserved scalp on his comeback appearance, but Bragg ensured that batting again would not be Glamorgan’s fate. He moved to 99 by steering one from Coles to third man then punched a single to extra cover to raise three figures having spent a shade under four hours at the crease.Bragg’s vigil ended when Thomas returned to bowl him around his legs for 104, then Stevens plucked out Michael Hogan’s middle stump. Stevens, Thomas and Coles all finished with three wickets apiece and Kent batted out the final over of the day, scoring a single to extend their lead to 77.At the start of day two, Glamorgan required barely half an hour to take Kent’s two remaining first-innings scalps, with Hogan bagging a season’s best 5 for 71. A cameo 25 from Coles eased Kent past 350 for a fourth batting bonus point.

Michael Hussey hopes that one Sheffield Shield match and some net sessions against the red ball will be enough to turn his form against South Africa around

Brydon Coverdale31-Oct-2012Michael Hussey is entering his 19th season of first-class cricket. In all that time, he has not faced a better attack than the South Africa group led by Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander. Since Steyn and Morkel arrived on the scene, Hussey has played eight Tests against South Africa for a top score of 50. Next week, he will walk out on to the Gabba and attempt to rectify that record with only one Sheffield Shield match behind him. He’d better hope it doesn’t rain in Melbourne over the next four days.Hussey is the first to admit that his preparation, which virtually begins and concludes with a Shield match against Victoria starting on Thursday, has been far from ideal. Even in the lead-up to the disastrous 2010-11 Ashes, a series that led to the Argus review and serious criticisms of Australia’s preparation, he had played two Shield games before the first Test. Now, he hasn’t played a first-class match since April, his longest such lay-off in five years.It’s not that he hasn’t been playing cricket – there was the limited-overs tour of the UAE in August and September, followed by the World Twenty20 and the Champions League T20 – it’s just that his bat hasn’t been collecting red cherries. The best he has managed were some net sessions with a red ball facing his Chennai Super Kings team-mate Ben Hilfenhaus over the past few weeks in South Africa.”It’s not perfect. You’d definitely prefer at least a couple [of Shield games],” Hussey said. “But that’s the way the schedule is and there’s nothing I can do about it … But I must admit my training while I was over in South Africa was trying to get back into Test match cricket mode. I was facing Ben Hilfenhaus with red balls over there. I have done a fair bit of work in the lead-up to this Shield game.”This Shield game is very important as well. I’d prefer to have more first-class games but having said that I find the transition from Twenty20 into the longer form a lot easier than the other way around. I’ve always struggled going from a Test match into a T20 game. I’ve found that’s taken me a lot longer. Hopefully I can make the adjustment relatively quickly.”Hussey is not the only batsman in Australia’s Test side facing the same problem. None of Hussey, David Warner and Shane Watson have played first-class cricket since the Caribbean Test tour in April, and although they were all at the Champions League, Watson was sent home early to work on his Test preparation. At least Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Ed Cowan have been at home playing Shield cricket.Hussey can ill afford to head to the Gabba without red-ball runs to his name. Over the past four years, Australia and South Africa have delivered eight of the most magnificent Tests, but Hussey’s contributions have been slim. Steyn and Morkel have each dismissed him five times, and although Hussey might be able to target the legspinner Imran Tahir, he will have to find a way to counteract the swing and bounce of South Africa’s quicks.”It’s probably the best attack that I’ve faced,” Hussey said. “They complement each other quite well. They’re all different bowlers. Steyn is a bit shorter, extreme pace but can swing the ball away from the right hander. Morkel gets that awkward bounce so he’s very different. He’s a bit wider of the crease and bowls very well to the left handers in particular.”Philander is extremely disciplined, lands the ball on the seam and does a little bit either way. They’re well backed up by Kallis, who has done a fantastic job over a long time, and they’ve got a very good spinner as well. They’re a very well rounded attack. They complement each other very well and we’re going to have to play extremely well to get on top of them.”But Hussey knows that lying awake at night worrying about the South Africans won’t help. Over the years, Hussey has admitted to sometimes over-thinking things and he has learnt that a clouded mind is his enemy. He knows that at 37, his next extended lean patch could be career-ending – though only if a younger batsman emerges from Shield cricket with better credentials, which for the time being is not happening. But he refuses to let himself become anxious over a record of 277 runs at 18.46 in his past eight Tests against South Africa.”There’s no point [worrying],” Hussey said. “I have tried doing that before, against England. I’d had a mediocre season against England and I was getting all worried about it, and then ended up performing a lot better against them next time. There’s no point in worrying or stressing about anything that’s happened in the past, because there’s enough things to worry and stress about when you’re out in the middle in a Test match anyway.”The Test matches we’ve played against South Africa in South Africa have been extremely difficult for batting. I think back to the Cape Town game when we were bowled out for 40-odd, Michael Clarke’s innings of 150 was one of the best innings I’ve ever seen, because the pitch was doing an extraordinary amount and no other batsman looked comfortable at all. I’m expecting the pitches in Australia to be very good, very true, and if you can get in and get through that initial period, there’s no reason why a few of the guys can’t go on and get big scores.”The question is whether Hussey is one of those guys. At least he knows he has the support of the national selector John Inverarity.”Last year when [the selection panel] were contemplating the first Test team against India at the Boxing Day Test, we were discussing Ben Hilfenhaus, and a couple amongst us said Ben Hilfenhaus’ record at the MCG is not at all good,” Inverarity said this week. “Then one amongst us said ‘well he’s due to take wickets’ and he got five. So I would say against the South Africans, Michael Hussey who is a very fine batsman, is due to make some runs.”The Australians just hope that in a month’s time he’s not overdue.

Ruhuna’s Dinesh Chandimal says the CLT20 is important, keeping in mind the international career he hopes to build

Abhishek Purohit in Hyderabad18-Sep-2011He was talked up as one of Sri Lanka’s future stars even before his debut. He made two centuries in his first six ODIs, including one at Lord’s. Life could not have got better for Dinesh Chandimal at 21. It didn’t, and came crashing down suddenly. He was dropped after only three indifferent outings in the home ODI series against Australia and is now looking at the Champions League Twenty20 qualifier as a potential launching pad for a national comeback.”This tournament is definitely very important for me,” Chandimal said in Hyderabad. “It could help me make the Sri Lankan side more regularly.”His shy smile didn’t disappear, but there was hurt in his eyes when the word ‘dropped’ was mentioned. Twenty-one is not an age when a cricketer becomes adept at diplomacy or eloquence, but Chandimal was. “That’s the selectors’ call,” he said. “I can only focus on my game and can’t do much otherwise.”It wasn’t the low scores but the manner of his dismissals against Australia that was worrying. On all three occasions, he chased and edged deliveries outside the off stump. What went wrong? “You see, my normal position is No. 3 but I came in at No. 5 [twice] against Australia. But I know that I have the potential. I am ready to play for my country at any position whenever I am selected.”Chandimal has been a wicketkeeper from the beginning, but his batting is so highly rated that he has played a majority of the games in his short international career as a specialist batsman. It is as a keeper, though, that he wants to leave a mark. “I have kept wicket all through my career, right from school level through age-group cricket. I like playing as a keeper-batsman. Keeping is good for my batting as well, as I get to observe from up close how the pitch is behaving.”I hope to take over from Sanga [Kumar Sangakkara] one day. At the moment, Prasanna Jayawardene is doing very well in Tests, but I would like to keep wicket in Tests as well in the future.”Despite having a first-class average of 58.52, Chandimal’s eagerness to keep wicket could mean that he will have to wait for that Test call-up till a vacancy arises behind the stumps. Lahiru Thirimanne, another promising batsman – one who does not keep wicket – was blooded ahead of Chandimal during the Tests against England. Chandimal is prepared to wait. “I expected to be picked for the Australia Tests, but I have a lot of years ahead of me and my time will come.”

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori has expressed disappointment after his side’s second successive defeat against Bangladesh, giving the hosts an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the five-match ODI series with two games to go

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Oct-2010New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori has expressed disappointment after his side’s second successive defeat against Bangladesh, giving the hosts an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the five-match ODI series with two games to go. Vettori identified New Zealand’s continued struggles against Bangladesh’s spinners as the reason for the defeat.”We are disappointed with the batting,” Vettori said after the game. “[Jesse] Ryder and [BJ] Watling set us up, but from then on we were under pressure. The spinners for Bangladesh bowled very well and we have to adjust quickly. We have to post a decent score in the next game to put some pressure on them.”After the early loss of Brendon McCullum, New Zealand recovered through Ryder and Watling who added 55 for the second wicket. However, their good work was undone by the home side’s spinners, with left-armer Suhrawadi Shuvo taking 3 for 14 in 10 overs.Chasing 174 for a win, Bangladesh cantered home with 10 overs to spare, the first time they have managed to string two consecutive wins against top opposition, not counting the 3-0 victory against a depleted West Indies side last year.”Suhrawadi bowled well and we kept taking wickets,” the stand-in Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan said. “Our opening batsmen then batted solidly and gave us a good start, that’s what we needed.”

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.