All posts by h716a5.icu

Dave Roberts Embraces Dodgers' Massive Spending With Savage Line After NLCS Win

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

The Dodgers are off to the World Series for the second year in a row after they completed a sweep of the Brewers in the National League Championship Series Friday thanks to Shohei Ohtani's historic performance.

Before the 2024 season, the two-way superstar signed a monster 10-year, $700 million contract to join the Dodgers, which was the biggest contract in Major League Baseball history until Juan Soto signed a 15-year, $765 million deal with the Mets last offseason. L.A.'s $350 million payroll for this season leads the MLB, highlighted by big deals for their star core of Mookie Betts, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Freddie Freeman.

They made another star acquisition over the offseason, winning the Roki Sasaki sweepstakes to land the Japanese pitcher who has had an incredible postseason out of the bullpen. Clearly, the Dodgers aren't afraid to spend to remain atop baseball's mountaintop. Even though their massive spending brings out plenty of critics, manager Dave Roberts couldn't seem to care less, as he perfectly noted while celebrating their NLCS victory Friday evening.

"I'll tell you before this season started, they said the Dodgers are ruining baseball," Roberts said into the microphone on the podium. "Let's get four more wins and really ruin baseball, let's go."

The defending champions now await the winner of the ALCS between the Mariners and Blue Jays in the World Series. We'll see if either smaller market team is able to take down the big spenders, which is undoubtedly a tall task with Ohtani putting up performances never seen before. The Dodgers have made it to the World Series in five of the past nine years, now in only their second year of Ohtani in Dodger blue.

A dynasty could be budding and the franchise will continue to do whatever it takes to remain as baseball's standard.

The evolution of the Saurashtra family

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

How Kotak, Pujara and Unadkat have inspired players to dream big and stay honest to the game

Shashank Kishore in Rajkot09-Mar-2020″I’m always asked about the IPL auction, about how many crores I’ve gone for, am I happy or sad at my price tag, retained, not retained. Now, it’s pleasant to be giving interviews because of our Ranji Trophy exploits. This is about team Saurashtra, so it makes me that much more happy and I have been delighted to take time off to speak about our journey.”Jaydev Unadkat’s “take time off” reference is no joke. He may have picked up 65 wickets this season. Four more wickets and he will have the record for most wickets in a Ranji Trophy season ever, but his role at Saurashtra has gone far beyond just plotting dismissals. He’s Saurashtra’s captain, a bowling mentor, and also the team’s de-facto trainer.While not at the gym or in his room, on non-match days, Unadkat plans net sessions, monitors his bowlers’ workloads, analyses videos to devise plans for the opposition, talks to players he thinks may not fit the XI for the upcoming game. And, texting his best friend, even if he is across in New Zealand playing Test cricket, to discuss plans and strategies.”Chintu [Cheteshwar Pujara] has been like an elder brother of this team, (and) we’ve been best of best friends,” Unadkat says. “He cares about the team as much as I do. He feels it’s time he gives back to the team. He also knows that our players don’t get the guidance or other facilities to develop and become better cricketers. So he understands the lessons will have to come from someone who is playing at the highest level. Because his nature is such that he wants to help people, they feel free to talk to him whenever he’s around. There can’t be a better person to fit into the role. He knows the game in and out, knows the players very well, and he wants them to grow as players.”

One big performance is all we need, but even that, we aren’t stressing about like we did two or three years agoCheteshwar Pujara

Unadkat, 28 now, has witnessed Saurashtra’s evolution over the last 12 years as a player. He comes from the port town of Porbandar, known worldwide as Mahatma Gandhi’s birthplace. For all the development of facilities in Rajkot, the biggest city in Saurashtra, the other centres have remained ignored. The lack of cricketing infrastructure hampered players during the off-season, but Unadkat didn’t want that to become an excuse as they prepared for the 2019-20 season.Luckily, Unadkat has carried forward the traditions established by his seniors – former captain and domestic stalwart Sitanshu Kotak and Pujara – to guide the players. “We belong to a region where there isn’t a lot of cricketing infrastructure. There are people from Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Porbandar. These guys don’t even get enough match practice,” Unadkat points out. “District cricket structure isn’t in place most of the time. When it happens, it happens during Vijay Hazare Trophy or Mushtaq Ali Trophy. So the guys don’t get any match practice outside our domestic set up. There are no big fitness training camps.ALSO READ: Unadkat savours captaincy masterstroke and unforgettable wicket”So from there, to handle the pressure and grind of a domestic system, you have to have a support system. That system is each other. Sitanshu Kotak did a great job in the last four-five years, he used to guide them during the off-season. Now, he’s with India A, so the players do take a lot of help from me. The bowlers will come and ask me about their fitness methods, training methods, etc. The batters will go to Cheteshwar and ask him about how they want to go about working on certain things, like trying to tune your mind to a specific shot or countering bowlers on certain type of pitches. Apart from that, the guys support each other. I sense that isn’t the case with many other teams.”In this day and age of professionalism, it’s hard to believe that Saurashtra don’t have a trainer in their support staff. Unadkat has had to bank on his experience of working with trainers with the Indian team and at the IPL to help make plans. Juggling several roles has been challenging for Unadkat, but he has thrived in that position.Jaydev Unadkat sends one down•Shailesh Bhatnagar”I’m enjoying it now, but it did get intense at some point,” he reflects. “During this season, I felt I lost a bit of balance, but I am enjoying the responsibility. Not everyone will be as fortunate as I am to have so many responsibilities.”Earlier this season, the association appointed former India bowler Karsan Ghavri as the head coach. However, Ghavri, a Mumbai resident, was more of an outsider, forcing Unadkat to become the pointsperson.”In our team, in the culture that we have, I do have a free hand at those things, about how to plan training sessions, fielding sessions. Kotak was there last season, and Karsan joined after four games. He’s also new to the circuit, so the responsibility I have, I’m used to it. I want things to be under my control types, I like it when people get the benefit of the good work that I put in, the energy I put in to plan a session. When those guys come and tell me that this helped them, I feel motivated. That helps bring the best out of me.”My personal schedules are set, I have been working on them in the off-season; I know a lot about my body and bowling, so I don’t need to devote much time, it’s set. I just need to fine tune, more energy goes into how well I can plan for the team so that everyone gets something out of it. Thinking of XI, talking to guys not playing, involved in training of guys not playing – those things I enjoy. I sleep well at night because of all this.”‘Not just a team that has Cheteshwar or Ravindra’
This will be Saurashtra’s fourth Ranji Trophy final in eight seasons. Jaydev Shah was the captain until midway through the previous season (2018-19), but retired and is now the president of SCA. He is the son of Niranjan Shah, a former Saurashtra player and one of the oldest cricket administrators in India.Jaydev Shah captained Saurashtra in 110 games•ESPNcricinfo LtdJaydev Shah has seen Unadkat go from being a wiry teenager in the trials in Porbandar in 2009 to the bowler he is today, and only has words of appreciation.”People used to say, ‘oh, he’s getting ten crore in the IPL, he’s not interested here’, or ‘he’s not taking wickets’. But if they’ve seen Unadkat this season, the effort he has taken to go out of his way to not just work on his game but also on the team has been incredible,” Shah says. “He has Pujara’s support. They are great friends and he asks for inputs from time to time. They feed off each other. Ravindra (Jadeja) is consulted when he is around too.”For all talks of the administration being run by one family, the SCA resonates vibes of a close-knit group. And the president’s closeness to the players by virtue of him having led many of them for half-a-decade or more – he captained in 110 games over 12 years overall – has helped bridge the gap somewhat.”Anyone can walk in anytime,” Shah says. “Now that I am away from the dressing room, I don’t disturb them too much. I don’t like to disturb cricketing intuitions. If Jaydev takes a call, it’s his call. If he makes a mistake, he will know, he will learn. We don’t judge or hold them to ransom, asking why you did this or that. That comes with trust.

I’ve never seen a Saurashtra team being this clinical in my ten years as a first-class cricketerSheldon Jackson

“If you see our selection also, we believe in giving players a long rope. Three games they fail, no problem. You will never see us make five-six changes. The seniors are as important as juniors. If you see over the years, if one senior goes away, one junior comes in. Sheldon Jackson spent four seasons on the bench before he got his chance. Today, he is a senior player. Kotak retired, Arpit Vasavada took his place. He handles the middle-order and gives Jackson the freedom to express himself.”We aren’t just known as a team that has Cheteshwar or Ravindra. No one has mentioned that this season. For that, credit goes entirely to the team. We’ve developed a good combination. It’s a homely atmosphere, with no rules. I believe the captain needs his space to plan. That is how it was when I led. I don’t see it changing now.”Jackson has seen Saurashtra struggling earlier to even compete. In Mumbai, where he played corporate cricket, he sensed there used to be a perception about Saurashtra, of being bullies at home but poor on the road. He’s seen them slowly shed that tag. Last season, they beat Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka away in the quarter-finals and semi-finals. This year, they beat Baroda in Vadodara for the first time in 15 years. They beat Himachal Pradesh on a green top in Dharamsala without a score of substance from Pujara. For this, Jackson credited a change in mindset.”With both Jaydevs [Shah and Unadkat], there is no pressure,” he says. “If we win, it’s the best thing. If we don’t, it’s totally okay. You can’t let one bad patch or one bad session undo the good work done through the season. That is the bottom line. In the semi-final, we were 15 for 5. Our No. 11 [Chetan Sakariya] was promoted up the order, he batted expertly. Our lead spinner – Dharmendra Jadeja – got two wickets on a dead track where the ball wasn’t turning at all.The Saurashtra players celebrate a win•Shailesh Bhatnagar”Our captain comes from nowhere and suddenly cracks open a game we all were slowly beginning to worry about. For this, you have to credit the management for their selection consistencies. Yes, there are changes, but they aren’t drastic. When players feel secure, they are confident. Their way of moving around and interacting with you is totally different.”Why do they stress on family? Because they know no matter what mistakes you make, your family won’t throw you out. That is the feeling we get with this group now. I’ve never seen a Saurashtra team being this clinical in my ten years as a first-class cricketer.”Such freedom and clarity in selection and thought process has lent a relaxed vibe to the dressing room. Players aren’t bound by rules too much, there are unwritten laws that everyone abides by. They aren’t big on team activities for the sake of it, but respect individual space. Which is why two days before a final, five players can enjoy a movie, a few others can step away to meet friends, and others can X-box away, when they could well be asked to attend compulsory team meetings or team dinners.”I was part of the team for five games, before I left for the New Zealand tour. Now also, I see that same excitement and enthusiasm,” Pujara says. “There is no tiredness, no nerves, no anxiety. Everyone is confident in their own space. One big performance is all we need, but even that we aren’t stressing about like we did two or three years ago.”‘This final won’t be only game that matters in our life’
For Unadkat, winning would be the best thing, but it isn’t the end goal. “Winning would be the icing on the cake, but icing on cake is a small metaphor for how big it would be for us,” he says philosophically. “This is a state that actually has produced greats like [KS] Ranjitsinghji.”The cricketing culture is great, the legacy is great. I keep telling them to not have this worry of ‘oh, what if we don’t win’. This is the group that will do it for a number of years to come, so I tell them, we are going to win, but that won’t be our ultimate goal. Even if we win, we want to sustain it next year, and continue it for five years to come. Saurashtra has never had a better team, but this final won’t be only game that matters in our life.”

Dan Lawrence lives up to expectations as England's hot-house bears fruit again

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Nurtured like a tropical plant, Lawrence’s maiden innings may herald the start of a long career

Andrew Miller15-Jan-2021″The exciting thing for me is that this is the beginning of a very successful, long international career, where you’ll be winning many, many games for England.”Individual batsmen may still harbour their superstitions, but the England management clearly doesn’t believe in tempting fate these days. For these were the very words uttered by James Foster, the team’s wicketkeeping consultant, in the minutes before the start of the Galle Test, as he presented Dan Lawrence, his former Essex team-mate, with his maiden Test cap.No equivocation, no doubts, and only a fleeting nod to “luck” as Foster walked over to shake the youngster’s hand and confer on him cap No. 697*. And sure enough, it has taken just two days for Lawrence to live up to those eagerly-expressed expectations, with a thrillingly sure-footed maiden fifty that leaves few reasons to doubt there will be much more to follow.

A note of caution is obligatory at this stage. There have been 103 debut half-centuries in England’s 144-year history, and while David Gower and Peter May are notable examples of players who shone as brightly from the outset as they did in their pomp, Paul Allott and Liam Dawson also exist as proof of the old adage about all penguins being birds, but not vice versa.But if you reduce that sample size to the dawn of the millennium onwards – which also happens to be the dawn of England’s central contracts era – then a more focused picture appears. From the moment that England’s 20th century survival-of-the-fittest mentality was ditched in favour of a mutually supportive team ethic, a total of 21 England batsmen, or one a year, have landed on their feet at the first time of asking (as opposed to just three in the whole of the 1990s – the ebullient Darren Gough, whose self-belief could launch armadas, and a pair of more designated allrounders in Dermot Reeve and Mark Ealham, both of whom, you sense, probably benefited from the job security that their second string offered).That post-2000 list does include some curios, not least the current national selector Ed Smith, while likely lads of the future such as Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley are obvious absentees. But more relevantly for Lawrence’s prospects of living up to Foster’s lofty billing, it also features each of England’s six highest run-scorers of the century.There’s Alastair Cook at Nagpur in 2006, of course, parachuted into a chaotic debut after hot-footing it from an A-team tour in the Caribbean. There’s Kevin Pietersen at Lord’s in 2005, whose unfettered assaults on Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath sowed the seeds of a fightback yet to come. In 2004, Andrew Strauss’s Lord’s debut was so unwavering that Nasser Hussain, a fellow century-maker, instantly knew his days were done.ESPNcricinfo LtdBefore that, came Strauss’s long-term opening partner, Marcus Trescothick, whose demons may have curtailed his England career at the age of 30, but not before he’d chalked up 5825 Test runs at 43.79. And if Ian Bell faltered at times on his own path to the upper echelons of England’s run-makers, then his average after three Tests, an unwieldy 297, was a clear sign that his class was worthy of investment.And last but clearly not least, there’s Joe Root, the current England captain, and Lawrence’s partner throughout a fourth-wicket stand of 173 at Galle on Friday. He turned 30 a fortnight ago, he’s likely to reach 8000 Test runs before this match is over, and he’s set to play his 100th Test when the tour moves to India in three weeks’ time. But it feels like only yesterday that Root himself was also making 73 on debut, in the fourth Test at Nagpur at the culmination of England’s epic series win against India in 2012-13. Pietersen and Cook had bossed that campaign for England, but with a draw sufficient to seal the series, Root rocked up with an apprentice’s performance of such mastery that few onlookers had any lingering doubts that they were witnessing the real deal.So… expectations? Yep, there are a few bubbling below the surface for Lawrence. And yes, there will be tougher days in prospect that the one that he has just encountered. While batting in Asia is never an easy challenge, especially when the ball is spinning quite as sharply as it was when Jonny Bairstow was extracted without addition in the opening moments of today’s play, Sri Lanka’s performance with the ball was barely any more continent than their own batting had been on day one. Only the admirable Lasith Embuldeniya posed a consistent wicket-taking threat, until he too got collared as the hardness of the second new-ball backfired on a toiling attack.And yes, there were flaws in Lawrence’s maiden innings – a spilled nudge to gully, and a brace of missed stumpings, one of which drew a grin of amusement from Root as he all but hauled himself off his feet. But the most telling feature of his performance was the poise that he projected, right from the moment of his first two deliveries – a quick-wristed cuff into the covers to hustle off the mark first-ball, then a compact thump through the same region for his first boundary as Dilruwan Perera over-pitched.There’s something about Lawrence which evokes Kevin Pietersen•SLCWhatever nerves may have existed had vanished in a trice, and suddenly Lawrence was batting as an equal partner to his skipper. If Root’s ruthless sweep-shots were the bread-and-butter of their stand, then the cream was provided in no uncertain terms by the new boy, who blatted Embuldeniya for a hold-the-pose six over cow corner, a shot that screeched of the sort of belonging that entire generations of England cricketers never dared to feel in years gone by.It was a familiar brand of audacity, and one that many observers had probably been craning their necks to witness from the moment that Lawrence came to the crease. Comparisons with Pietersen don’t have to be odious (although you wonder if Tom Banton, for one, might wish they weren’t thrown his way quite so frequently) but there’s something about Lawrence’s imposing frame, meaty strokeplay, and preternatural confidence that evokes KP’s arrival in the side in the 2005. There might even be something about his catching too, to judge by his first visible act as an England player, although hopefully he’ll cling onto at least one of the first five chances that come his way.There’s something, too, about the selectors’ eureka moment in the final months before their senior call-ups, when both men produced an acceleration of intent to prove beyond doubt their worthiness. For Pietersen, it was a run of performances on the England A tour of India in 2003-04 that, even to this day, stand out from the scorecards; for Lawrence, it was a match-winning century at the MCG back in February 2020, as England Lions completed their first victory in an unofficial Test in Australia, after seven blank campaigns.Related

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For that’s the thing about England’s expectations these days. It’s no longer simply that a good player rocks up with a reputation after a handful of county knocks, and gets the cocksuredness knocked out of him by team-mates and opposition alike. As alluded to by Foster in his capping ceremony, Lawrence is a pathway player, identified as a 15-year-old as Essex’s Next Big Thing, and nurtured like a tropical plant thereafter. So too is his likely rival for selection in the short term, and likely sidekick for years to come, Pope – injured at present, but gunning for full fitness in India next month, the team against whom he debuted at Lord’s in 2018.Since then, of course, the world has turned upside-down, and Lawrence is the first England debutant of the Covid era – a player who has been part of the Test bubble since last June, a period of dressing-room hot-housing like no other in Test history. For months at a time, the players have been cooped up like contestants on Big Brother, and behind those closed doors, their characters – good, bad and insidious – will doubtless have been scrutinised by players, management and psychologists alike, and with every bit as much intensity as a high-octane passage of Test cricket.Lawrence’s apprenticeship has encompassed tragedy too, with the death of his mother in August leading to a spell of compassionate leave during the Pakistan Tests. But as Root reiterated at the close – and as frequently mentioned by James Anderson, the last man with a true insight into England’s dog-eat-dog days of yore – the current dressing-room atmosphere is more accommodating and supportive than at any stage in its history.”You just want them to feel as at home as possible,” Root said at the close. “We have got a very good environment. We’ve got some really good senior players, a good group of lads who enable that process of coming into the team to be a smooth one and a nice one. If you feel comfortable in the environment, I do think it probably feeds into your game, but the most important thing is that they see that as a start of something very exciting to build on.”* Alan Jones was retrospectively awarded England cap No. 696 in June 2020 after playing against Rest of the World in one-off Test in 1970

Essex the team to beat once again

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

We assess the chances of the teams in Group One in our County Championship preview

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Apr-2021Derbyshire Matt Critchley consults with captain Billy Godleman•Getty ImagesLast season: 2nd in North Group
Head of cricket: Dave Houghton
Captain: Billy Godleman
Overseas: Billy Stanlake
Ins: Brooke Guest (Lancashire)
Outs: Tony Palladino, Ravi Rampaul (released)
Few clubs embraced the euphoria of last season’s Bob Willis Trophy quite like Derbyshire. The glee of release was two-fold in their case, from the constraints of lockdown on the one hand, but also from their pre-ordained struggle for survival on the other, as they unleashed a hungry crop of youngsters on a host of Test-match grounds in the North Group, and were still in the hunt for a Lord’s final berth ahead of their final-round loss to Lancashire.
The retention of the conference system for 2021 gives Derbyshire another dart at the big time this year – with champions Essex among their rivals in Group One – and if Billy Godleman can coax similarly ambitious displays from his squad, then there’s no reason to think they can’t strike a few similar blows.
Certainly, Dave Houghton has moulded a squad with many of the punch-above-weight attributes of the Zimbabwe team of his playing days. Wayne Madsen, Derbyshire’s captain when they last confounded expectations to earn promotion in 2012, remains a pivotal figure at the age of 37, while the balance that Luis Reece offers while opening the batting and bowling with his left-arm angles is invaluable.
Among the coming men in Derbyshire’s ranks, Leus du Plooy and Fynn Hudson-Prentice both made strides in the BWT, while Matt Critchley’s emergence as a legspinning allrounder did not go unnoticed either. No Derbyshire bowler fared better than his 17 wickets at 26.88.
One to watch: If he can stay fit – and, sadly, it has been a big ‘if’ in recent years – then Billy Stanlake could prove to be one of the signings of the summer. His 6ft 7in cloud-snagging action offers natural attributes that make him a threat in all conditions, and his desire to prove his stamina in red-ball cricket gives an eye-catching focal point to a seam-bowling attack that was arguably Derbyshire’s weak link last summer. Andrew Miller
Bet365: 33-1DurhamPaul Coughlin is one of a number of Durham returnees•Getty ImagesLast season: 6th in North Group
Director of cricket: Marcus North
Coach: James Franklin
Captain: Scott Borthwick
Overseas players: Will Young (April-May), Cameron Bancroft (May onwards)
Ins: Scott Borthwick (Surrey)
Outs: Scott Steel (Leicestershire), James Weighell (Glamorgan), Sol Bell, Josh Coughlin, Gareth Harte, Nathan Rimmington, Ben Whitehead (all released)
Scott Borthwick’s return north as Durham’s Championship captain will further inspire hopes that Durham are on the up, the after-shocks of their near-bankruptcy in 2016 now departed. The regional loyalties that are at Durham’s heart are also exemplified by the recent return of two bowling allrounders, Ben Raine and Paul Coughlin, but when all is said and done it is cricketing statistics that matter. Departures of two top-order batsmen, Gareth Harte and Scott Steel, have been presented as blows but Harte had a first-class average under 30 and Steel, only 21, had only played two first-class matches. Far more important is that David Bedingham, the former South Africa U-19 batsman, builds on an excellent maiden season in 2020 and that Jack Burnham, Ned Eckersley and Sean Dickson address the poor returns that saw them make only two half-centuries between them last season.
Durham look a seam bowler light so Chris Rushworth, who is 23 wickets shy of becoming Durham’s most prolific first-class bowler, needs Matty Potts to take his T20 form into the four-day stuff. And then there is Borthwick’s unpredictable legspin: as captain, at least he can bring himself on at the right time. Durham’s toughest fixtures are up first – away trips to Nottinghamshire and Essex with the opener at Trent Bridge particularly intriguing.
One to watch: Matty Potts, a Sunderland-born seamer, became the latest homegrown product to catch the attention with a strong Vitality Blast last season and he will now hope to make a more regular impact in the Championship. David Hopps
Bet365: 50-1EssexAlastair Cook and Tom Westley will be key figures once again•Getty ImagesLast season: 1st in South Group, BWT winners
Coach: Anthony McGrath
Captain: Tom Westley
Overseas: Simon Harmer, Peter Siddle
Ins:
Outs: Rishi Patel (Leicestershire)
Defending County Champions from 2019, Essex also pocketed “the Bob” during last year’s truncated season and will go into the summer as the team to beat in red-ball cricket. The strategy that underpins their success is deceptively simple: a largely homegrown squad, blending youth and experience, spearheaded by one of the most potent attacks on the circuit. Over the last four seasons of Championship and Bob Willis Trophy cricket, no bowlers can touch Simon Harmer (250 wickets) and Jamie Porter (208) at the top of the tree; Sam Cook and Aaron Beard, two 23-year-olds, provide sharp support and the return of Peter Siddle, once his involvement with Tasmania in the Sheffield is concluded, will add further cutting edge.
Stability has also been a key feature of their success. Tom Westley succeeded Ryan ten Doeschate as captain last year, but of the group that won the 2017 Championship, the only significant departures have been Ravi Bopara (now at Sussex) and James Foster (retirement). Alastair Cook continues into the third year of his contract post-England, Dan Lawrence will be looking to burnish his Test credentials after showing glimpses of his ability on the winter tours of Sri Lanka and India, and the familiar outlines of Nick Browne, Westley and ten Doeschate will help fill out the batting order. Worryingly for the rest, their appetite to extend the title-winning dynasty at Chelmsford seems as strong as ever.
One to watch: Feroze Khushi received unwanted attention after having beer poured over him during last year’s Bob Willis Trophy celebrations (Khushi is a Muslim), but the 21-year-old batsman had caught the eye with a couple of attractive innings in victories over Kent and Surrey, and will be looking to force his way into Essex’s settled top order. Alan Gardner
Bet365: 11-2NottinghamshireBlast champions Notts are looking to regain that winning feeling in red-ball cricket•Getty ImagesRelated

Hanuma Vihari confirmed for Warwickshire stint after Pieter Malan deal hits visa snag

Borthwick's return as captain marks Durham's levelling up

Vihari lined up for Warwickshire stint after Malan deal hits visa snag

Last season: 4th in North Group
Director of cricket: Mick Newell
Coach: Peter Moores
Captain: Steven Mullaney
Overseas players: Dane Paterson
Ins: Brett Hutton (Northamptonshire), Lyndon James (academy), Toby Pettman, Dane Schadendorf
Outs: Chris Nash, Jack Blatherwick (Lancashire)
June 23, 2018 is etched into the minds of Nottinghamshire members: the date they last felt the joy of victory in a first-class match. They are winless in 27 fixtures since that victory at Chelmsford, and as a result, any optimism for the 2021 season should be cautious in the extreme. There were glimmers of hope in the BWT last summer, with runs for recent recruits Ben Slater, Haseeb Hameed, Ben Duckett and Joe Clarke – who are likely to form the top four at the start of this season – but they were unfortunate with the weather and lacked a ruthless streak in crunch moments, most notably in the defeat against Derbyshire.
The club have built a deep pool of seamers too, both homegrown and imported. Zak Chappell and Jake Ball were both in the wickets last summer and Stuart Broad is likely to play a handful of early-season fixtures. Dane Paterson – eventually signed as an overseas player after 12 months in limbo – looks like a smart pick-up, while the underrated Brett Hutton has returned from Northants. For all the club’s white-ball success during the Peter Moores era, the first thing to tick off this season will be that elusive four-day victory.
One to watch: Samit Patel has not officially retired from red-ball cricket, but is not expected to feature in the Championship this season unless injury strikes. As a result, there is a vacancy for a left-arm spinner who can hold a bat, and Liam Patterson-White is the ideal candidate to fill it. He will play a holding role in the early rounds, but a pre-season five-for against Warwickshire suggests he will have no trouble running through the tail when required. Matt Roller
Bet365: 8-1WarwickshireOlly Stone breaks through for Warwickshire•Getty ImagesLast season: 3rd in Central Group
Director of cricket: Paul Farbrace
Coach: Mark Robinson
Captain: Will Rhodes
Overseas: Pieter Malan
Ins: Danny Briggs (Sussex), Manraj Johal, Jacob Bethell (both academy), Jacob Lintott
Outs: Jeetan Patel, Ian Bell, Tim Ambrose (all retired), Liam Banks (released)
This is the start of a new age at Warwickshire. With a host of familiar faces – Bell, Ambrose, Patel, Jim Troughton and Jonathan Trott among them – having departed in recent years, there is a new look to the playing and coaching staff. So, while some experience has been brought in – Pieter Malan (or Hanuma Vihari) should add some solidity to the batting, Danny Briggs the bowling and Tim Bresnan a bit of both – there is still a green look to the batting, in particular. But Warwickshire, a club whose youth system has underachieved for a long time, feel that in the likes of Dan Mousley, Rob Yates and Matt Lamb they have the nucleus of a team that could build into something pretty exciting.
At full strength, the seam department boasts impressive pace and promise. But Henry Brookes, Ryan Sidebottom and Olly Stone will rarely play together so Briggs, the man charged with replacing Patel, and Oliver Hannon-Dalby will be relied upon to hold things together.
There’s a new head coach in Mark Robinson and a nearly new captain in Will Rhodes, too. So while Warwickshire will hope to improve on some pretty modest Championship form over the last few years – they have only won one Division One or BWT match at Edgbaston since September 2016 – it will probably pay for supporters to retain modest ambitions in the short term. This is a rebuilding process that could take a while.
One to watch: Dayle Hadlee famously once described Ian Bell as “the best 16-year-old I’ve ever seen”. Well, now it’s Bell’s turn. He has described Jacob Bethell as “the best 17-year-old” he has ever seen. A Barbadian, Bethell’s primary skill is his batting but his left-arm spin is highly rated, too. He might have to wait for an opportunity, but he really is an exciting prospect. George Dobell
Bet365: 14-1.WorcestershireJake Libby enjoyed a prolific Bob Willis Trophy•Getty ImagesLast season: 2nd in Central Group
Coach: Alex Gidman
Captain: Joe Leach
Overseas: Alzarri Joseph
Ins: Alzarri Joseph, Gareth Roderick (Gloucestershire)
Outs: Wayne Parnell (Northants), George Scrimshaw (Derbyshire), Ben Twohig, Olly Westbury (both released)
Worcestershire go into the Championship season with a bit to prove. Although they had a decent BWT, they finished ninth in Division Two in 2019. Even without Josh Tongue and Pat Brown, who are unlikely to feature before May as they come back from injury, they look to have an impressive seam attack with Alzarri Joseph, available for the first seven Championship games, adding pace with the ball and the prospect of lower-order runs. Adam Finch, who impressed on loan at Surrey, should challenge some more established seamers for a place, too.
The spin bowling is less strong. With Keshav Maharaj having pulled out of a deal and Moeen Ali’s availability severely limited, Brett D’Oliveira will be required to provide the spin option and avoid over-rate fines. The club may well recruit an overseas spinner later in the campaign.
Gareth Roderick, who is expected to bat at No. 3, should add some solidity to a batting line-up that was noticeably improved by the recruitment of Jake Libby last year. The likes of Jack Haynes and Rikki Wessels, in the last year of his contract, may be fighting it out for the final batting spot, though the number of bowling allrounders – Leach, Joseph and Ed Barnard among them – should provide lower-order runs.
While qualifying for Division One will, no doubt, be the aim, reaching Division Two would probably represent a season of progress.
One to watch: Kane Williamson and Morne Morkel were among those impressed by Dillon Pennington’s first season in 2018. And while a foot injury appeared to rob him of his outswing and slow his progress the following year, he has looked back to his best in pre-season. Strong, sharp and blessed with an ability to move the ball away from the right-hander, he has the potential to enjoy a long career. GD
Bet365: 12-1

Three squandered chases bring Sunrisers Hyderabad's middle order into the spotlight yet again

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Their two big overseas batters have been left to perform a difficult juggling act: score quickly while also batting deep

Sidharth Monga17-Apr-20215:10

Manjrekar wants Jadhav in the Sunrisers middle order

Sunrisers Hyderabad must have been put in the mind of Groundhog Day. Three matches, three great positions in chases, all squandered, their worst start to an IPL. A weak middle order leaves their two big overseas batters – whether it be Kane Williamson or Jonny Bairstow playing alongside captain David Warner – too much to juggle: score at a quick tempo but also bat deep. With Williamson injured, one out of Bairstow and Warner has threatened to win each of their three matches, but their dismissal has always been followed by the middle order struggling on the slow Chepauk surface.The Sunrisers’ leadership has called for “smarter cricket”, better manipulation of the field, and for at least one set batter to go deep into the innings. That was Warner’s role in this chase against the Mumbai Indians, but he ran himself out, an event he shrugged off.Related

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“They [150 scores] are very chaseable,” Warner said after the game. “It’s just poor batting. If you get a partnership there and have one guy there at the end… like all the teams batting first have always had one person there at the end. If you’re able to do that you can chase 150 quite easily.”You just need smart cricket in the middle. At the moment we haven’t been able to produce that. I think our bowlers adapted fantastically to this wicket, and this wicket was a lot slower than the previous ones we played on.”VVS Laxman, the Sunrisers’ mentor, echoed Warner’s sentiments.”That’s a very important skill especially on these kind of wickets because it is not easy to hit through the line,” Laxman said. “You can’t rely on just boundaries and sixes. It’s very important to keep the dot-ball percentage low, and the only way you can do it is by manipulating the field by rotating the strike. I think that is one aspect of the game that is very important on these kind of wickets.”Unfortunately we were not able to do that especially when Rahul Chahar was bowling and even when other fast bowlers were bowling in the middle overs. That’s one aspect which is very critical if you have to put the pressure back on the bowlers and the fielding side.”Jonny Bairstow gave the Sunrisers a blistering start against Mumbai•BCCI/IPLLaxman was glad the Sunrisers got the first bit right: score quickly during the Powerplay to bring the asking rate down. “As the ball gets old in the second half of the innings, it is getting tougher to play your natural game, to play the big shots because the ball is just stopping on the wicket and it is two-paced,” Laxman said. “And also the spinners are extracting turn along with bounce. That is one of the aspects we definitely discussed. If you see the way Jonny Bairstow and David Warner capitalised on the powerplay, that will be very important going forward especially when you are playing on slow tracks like what we are seeing in Chennai. To use the new ball, to use the Powerplay restriction, so that you put the other batsmen who are coming in later under less pressure.”Also it is very important that one set batsman plays quite deep into the innings because it is quite difficult for a newcomer to get used to the surface straightaway especially when the asking rate is climbing up. The first 10 overs, the way you show your positive and aggressive intent, will help the second half of the innings.”The Sunrisers have tended to hold Abdul Samad, the one bright spot in a disappointing middle order last year, for the final few overs, but Laxman was asked if there was a temptation to drop the struggling Manish Pandey down the order and give Samad more time in the middle. “We have been flexible with our batting order,” Laxman said. “Even today we made changes, we had Virat Singh and Abhishek Sharma, two left-hand batters, to counter the Mumbai spinners. We have got some days before the next game, and we will definitely go back to the drawing board to work out the strategy to get a win under our belt and we will look at what the best combination and batting order is.”Between now and the next game, Sunrisers will also be looking at their medical team who now have T Natarajan’s sore knee to take care of in addition to Williamson’s elbow. Laxman revealed Natarajan was left out because of a niggle in the knee, but his replacement, Khaleel Ahmed, did a good job with figures of 4-0-24-1.

Edwards, Dunkley and the Vipers connection – how Southern Brave reached the Hundred final

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Charlotte Edwards seeks to add Hundred title to impressive CV after masterminding Brave’s maiden campaign

Matt Roller20-Aug-2021The Edwards factor
Charlotte Edwards’ reputation as a coach has burgeoned over the last two years and it would be no surprise to see her succeed Lisa Keightley in the England job before too long. She captained Southern Vipers to the inaugural KSL title in 2016, coached them to the inaugural Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy last summer, and there is every chance she will make it a treble in the Hundred.Her role in recruitment has been particularly key – Mahela Jayawardene, her men’s counterpart, joked that he “didn’t know how Lottie managed to get that top order together” – and she has galvanised the dressing room, encouraging batters to play without fear of being dismissed.”I was pretty clear from the start that I really wanted to work with her,” Anya Shrubsole, their captain, said. “She was my first England captain and we’ve always got on. She’s really quite inspiring to work with and you want that in your corner. Her knowledge of the game is obviously really good and we’re both to the point, but pretty relaxed.”Drafting Dunkley
Edwards drew up a wishlist of players after being appointed coach and while she was only 21 at the time, Sophia Dunkley’s name was at the top of it. “I remember her calling me when I was in Portugal and I was dancing round the swimming pool when she said she’d play for me,” Edwards laughed.”I knew what a talent the girl was going to be and we offered her a top-four batting spot, which nobody else did. That’s how we got her: we believed in her and we knew what she could do.”Sophia Dunkley has been a revelation this summer•Harry Trump/Getty ImagesIt became clear in England’s multi-format series against India earlier in the summer that Brave had made a wise move but Dunkley’s performances in the Hundred have still surpassed expectations: she made 244 runs in the group stages, with an average of 48.80 and a strike rate of 143.52 demonstrating her ability to combine heavy-scoring with a high tempo from No. 3.Vipers core
Dunkley and Shrubsole are exceptions that prove the rule as two of the only players in the Brave squad without a tie to Southern Vipers, the regional hub based at the Ageas Bowl who previously competed in the KSL. “We were really keen to keep a core of domestic player that Lottie knows and that play down here at the Vipers,” Shrubsole said.Edwards added: “Anya knows I’ve got a lot of knowledge about the domestic structure and she’s trusted me in terms of our selections domestically, which have proved to be really, really good ones. A lot of it was about people we knew had played with this group and a big part of this group has been the fact we gelled together really quickly.”The biggest part of it has been that our domestic players have stood up. You expect England players and overseas players to win you games but we’ve actually had really good performances from our domestic players: Lauren Bell and Maia Bouchier have been two of the standouts.”Bouchier has only faced 55 balls in the tournament due to Brave’s top-order strength but has batted positively, making 85 runs off them at a strike rate of 154.54. Following her match-winning stand with Dunkley against Northern Superchargers, Danni Wyatt described the pair as “stars of the future – that’s going to be the future of English cricket right there.”Bell, meanwhile, is Brave’s second-highest wicket-taker with her hooping inswingers and has impressed both in the Powerplay and the middle of an innings. She has claimed some big scalps – Nat Sciver, Hayley Matthews, Sarah Taylor and Jemimah Rodrigues among them – and Dinesh Karthik, the former India batter, said on Sky Sports that she has “everything going for her as a fast bowler”.Lauren Bell celebrates with Stafanie Taylor•Getty ImagesTwo of their three overseas players have Vipers links: Stafanie Taylor has anchored in the middle order and chipped in with her offbreaks, while Amanda-Jade Wellington – a late replacement for Amelia Kerr – is their leading wicket-taker, having played under Edwards with the Vipers and in the WBBL with Adelaide Strikers. She was initially expected to miss the final due to state commitments but has been allowed to stay on.Batting depth
Wyatt’s opening partnership with Smriti Mandhana – who has left for some time at home ahead of India’s Australia tour – was dream-team stuff, with their complementary styles making them hard to attack with the new ball. Both scored at strike rates above 130 across the group stage, with Wyatt explaining that the message from Edwards had simply been: “Play your natural game.”They were able to do so because of the resources that Brave deployed beneath them, with Dunkley, Taylor and Bouchier offering a cushion in the rare occasions that both openers failed. Their allrounders have hardly been used: Shrubsole hit 40 not out off 30 balls in their opening game but has only batted once since, and Wellington – a handy lower-order hitter in the WBBL – has faced 10 balls in the competition.Saturday will provide a big test, with Mandhana’s absence putting more pressure on the rest of the top order to perform; Gaby Lewis, the Ireland international replacing her, is an attacking opener but struggled for rhythm in her first innings against Oval Invincibles on Monday. If they can remain positive and trust their batting depth, their bowlers should be strong enough to get them over the line.

Adam Milne stands tall in Lockie Ferguson's absence

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Often unlucky to miss out in the past, the fast bowler has made the most of his opportunities in UAE

Deivarayan Muthu07-Nov-20212:07

Milne delighted to be part of NZ’s five-specialist bowlers group

Adam Milne runs in hard. Hits the deck harder. Hits wicketkeeper Devon Conway’s gloves even harder. Mohammad Shahzad loads up for an almighty flat-bat swat with his right leg in the air. But the pace – it looks a whole lot quicker than the 136kph on the speed gun – and bounce of Milne does Shahzad. The top edge keeps swirling away from Conway, the hit-the-deck bustle of Milne challenges his gloves even further, but he leaps to his right and somehow snags the catch after a bobble.Milne keeps running in hard. Keeps hitting the deck harder. Keeps threatening the gears and upper bodies of the batters. All of this on a scorching afternoon in Abu Dhabi in a must-win for New Zealand. It’s a bit like the right-arm equivalent of Neil Wagner in T20 cricket. Seventeen of Milne’s 24 balls on Sunday were short or short of a good length, according to ESPNcricinfo’s logs, and he gave up nine runs off them.Watch cricket live on ESPN+

Sign up for ESPN+ and catch all the action from the Men’s T20 World Cup live in the USA. Match highlights of Afghanistan vs New Zealand is available in English, and in Hindi (USA only).

Milne, however, wasn’t lined up to be New Zealand’s ‘shock’ bowler at the T20 World Cup in the first place, despite hitting similar unhittable lengths in the inaugural Hundred. It was Lockie Ferguson who was supposed to rough up the opposition and intimidate them. However, a calf injury sidelined Ferguson from the entire tournament less than an hour before New Zealand’s opener against Pakistan.Head coach Gary Stead’s Plan B was to unleash Milne from the reserves, but his inclusion into New Zealand’s main squad wasn’t rubber-stamped by the ICC before the match against Pakistan. It didn’t go down too well with Stead; Milne, too, felt that he could’ve replicated the kind of impact Pakistan tearaway Haris Rauf had made in that game.Although Milne had bounced back after shaky starts against India and Scotland, he hadn’t quite fired like he can until Sunday. After two powerplay overs of serious heat that matched Abu Dhabi’s afternoon temperatures, Milne returned in the 11th over.Najibullah Zadran had just laid into New Zealand’s slower bowlers – Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi and Jimmy Neesham – but when he set himself up to go after New Zealand’s fastest bowler, Milne cut his pace down to 123kph and floated a cutter away from Najibullah’s swinging arc. In the 15th over of Afghanistan’s innings, his last, Milne, once again, took pace off and took the ball away from Najibullah and Mohammad Nabi.Adam Milne kept thudding the ball into Devon Conway’s gloves•Getty ImagesWhen Milne burst onto the scene as an 18-year-old, he was just about raw pace. Comparisons with his mentor Shane Bond were inevitable when he produced a 153kph thunderbolt against West Indies in Auckland in 2014. Injuries then ravaged his career – he has had to deal with multiple elbow, hamstring and heel complaints along the way.Related

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It was the heel injury that put him out of the semi-final – and final – of the ODI World Cup in 2015. In the 2017 Champions Trophy,  Milne watched Mosaddek Hossain score the winning runs off him as Bangladesh KO’d New Zealand in Cardiff.Four years later, in the Emirates, a fitter and stronger Milne, armed with greater T20 experience and expertise, set New Zealand’s path to the World Cup semi-finals with figures of 1 for 17 in his four overs.”Obviously to come from the reserves and be part of the World Cup now is pretty special,” Milne said at the post-match press conference. “Yeah, to qualify for the semi-final is a great moment and hopefully in the semi-final we can put in a performance and make it into the final.”When New Zealand lost Ferguson to injury, it appeared a massive blow, but Milne has slotted in quite seamlessly into the role of being the chief enforcer.”I think so,” Milne said. “All they want me to do is to sort of come in and keep bowling fast and use my change-ups. Be aggressive and use the short ball – so yeah.”Emerging – and re-emerging – from outta nowhere has been a fairly recurrent theme in Milne’s career. He made his first-class debut for Central Districts in 2009-10 largely because Michael Mason was called up to the national squad after an injury to Jacob Oram.More recently at the Blast, he was signed as a late replacement for Mohammad Amir. He pressed on to claim a hat-trick in that tournament. At the Hundred, he was roped in by the Birmingham Phoenix as a late replacement for Shaheen Shah Afridi. He was the bowler to concede less than a run-a-ball in that competition.After spending much time on the sidelines and the fringes, Milne is finally ready for the limelight.

BPL: Comilla and Khulna look the strongest, Chattogram could spring a surprise

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Shakib’s presence makes Barishal formidable, Dhaka has the Mahmudullah-Mashrafe-Tamim combo, while Sylhet have great balance

Mohammad Isam19-Jan-2022 Comilla Victorians Team overview
Comilla Victorians, the two-time BPL champions, return to the tournament after missing the 2019-20 season. And Comilla, who won the 2015 and 2019 editions, will be boosted by the return of their head coach Mohammad Salahuddin.They have one of the most balanced squads in the tournament, with a good mix of experience and local expertise. Faf du Plessis and Sunil Narine are their marquee players, while Mustafizur Rahman, Moeen Ali and Cameron Delport are big names in T20 cricket in most places around the world.Among the other batters, Liton Das is in good form, while Imrul Kayes has plenty of BPL experience. Parvez Hossain Emon is the wildcard in the top order, having struck the fastest hundred by a Bangladeshi in T20s, in 2020. Comilla have also roped in allrounder Nahidul Islam, a known T20 specialist, to add to the spin-heavy bowling attack.Related

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Strengths
A potent spin attack led by Narine, in addition to allrounders like Mahedi and Nahidul. Left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam could be one to look out for, too.A well-balanced batting line-up led by du Plessis. Liton and Imrul are capable of giving the team big starts, while Moeen will be in charge of providing a late flourish if needed.Weaknesses
A pace attack in which Mustafizur will have to do most of the heavy lifting. Oshane Thomas and Karim Janat are useful, but Shohidul Islam, Sumon Khan and Abu Hider all have their work cut out.Squad: Faf du Plessis, Moeen Ali, Sunil Narine, Mustafizur Rahman, Liton Das, Shohidul Islam, Imrul Kayes (capt), Tanvir Islam, Kusal Mendis, Oshane Thomas, Ariful Haque, Nahidul Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Sumon Khan, Mominul Haque, Mahidul Islam Ankon, Parvez Hossain Emon, Abu Hider, Mehedi Hasan, Cameron Delport, Karim Janat.Shoriful Islam will lead Chattogram’s bowling attack•ICC via GettyChattogram ChallengersTeam overview
Chattogram Challengers will hope to go a step further than they did at the 2019-20 BPL, where they made it till the second qualifier, where they lost to eventual champions Rajshahi Royals.But Chattogram overall had a decent outing in that season – which is probably why they have retained Rayad Emrit, Enamul Haque, Nasum Ahmed and Chadwick Walton, as well as head coach Paul Nixon. However, they are yet to name their captain for this season.The line-up looks promising. Afif Hossain, Shamim Hossain and Zakir Hasan are all in-form Bangladesh players, and they have the overseas trio of Kennar Lewis, Will Jacks and Chadwick Walton to complement them well. Sabbir Rahman, who has now fallen off the radar, is also part of the team.Shoriful Islam and Benny Howell will lead the bowling attack which also has Mehidy Hasan and Nasum Ahmed in the spin department.Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, a left-arm quick who has impressed in the Under-19 and domestic circuit, is an interesting pick. Chattogram also have three wicketkeeping options in Walton, Zakir and Akbar Ali.Strengths
They have quite an impressive batting line-up that includes several foreign and local big-hitters, so they would hope their batters turn up well at the tournament and provide them with some solid starts up front.Weaknesses
The big names in the side will be expected to keep up with the pressure especially in the back-end of the tournament, where they let it slip last season.Squad: Nasum Ahmed, Benny Howell, Kennar Lewis, Will Jacks, Shoriful Islam, Afif Hossain, Shamim Hossain, Mukidul Islam, Chadwick Walton, Rayad Emrit, Rejaur Rahman Raja, Sabbir Rahman, Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, Mehidy Hasan (capt), Akbar Ali, Naeem Islam, Enamul Haque, Zakir Hasan.With a captain-coach combination of Shakib Al Hasan and Khaled Mahmud, Barishal Fortune have plenty of experience in the think-tank•AFP/Getty ImagesFortune BarishalTeam overview
A Barishal franchise returns to the BPL for the first time since 2016. Burners and Bulls had their moments in the first four editions, but now we have Fortune Barishal.Fortune Barishal had finished fourth – out of five teams – in the Bangabandhu T20 Cup in December 2020.For the BPL, they signed up Shakib Al Hasan and coach Khaled Mahmud first up, which gives them a great think-tank. Shakib and Mahmud are linking up again after a coach-captain partnership for several seasons with Dhaka Dynamites, including their triumph in 2016.They have picked a number of young Bangladeshi batters, a Mahmud hallmark. Najmul Hossain Shanto leads this pack that also includes Towhid Hridoy, Munim Shahriar and Salman Hossain. Chris Gayle will join the set-up slightly later on, adding a truckload of firepower and experience to the batting line-up.They have a strong pace attack with Alzarri Joseph and Obed McCoy in lead roles, complemented by local left-arm quicks Mehedi Hasan Rana and Shafiqul Islam. They also have quality spinners to call upon, including Shakib and Taijul Islam, and Afghanistan ace Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who is likely to join the side a bit later on.Strengths
Variety in the spin attack. They have orthodox left-arm spinners in Shakib and Taijul Islam, and left-arm spin of the unorthodox kind from Jake Lintott. Mujeeb Ur Rahman adds a bit of mystery, while Nayeem Hasan is an accurate offspinner who’s in great domestic form.A pace attack with three left-arm quicks. Obed McCoy will bring pace and guile, while Mehedi Hasan Rana and Shafiqul Islam have the local know-how.Weaknesses
If Shakib bats in the Barishal top three, that makes eight top-order batters in their squad. It would mean some of the younger openers may have to do an unfamiliar middle-order job.Not enough allrounders apart from Shakib and an aging Dwayne Bravo. Evidence from previous BPL seasons suggests that bowling allrounders are useful on slow and low pitches where teams tend to pick fewer out-and-out fast bowlers.Squad: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Chris Gayle, Nurul Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mehedi Hasan Rana, Fazle Mahmud, Obed McCoy, Alzarri Joseph, Towhid Hridoy, Ziaur Rahman, Shafiqul Islam, Shykat Ali, Nayeem Hasan, Taijul Islam, Salman Hossain, Irfan Sukkur, Dwayne Bravo, Munim Shahriar, Jake Lintott.Mushfiqur Rahim will lead a team that has the quality to go all the way•BCBKhulna TigersTeam overview
Khulna Tigers, a team built around allrounders, are sending out positive vibes, they look like a team that can go all the way. The closest they got to that was the last time the BPL was held, in 2019-20, when they reached the final before losing to Rajshahi Royals.Led by Mushfiqur Rahim and coached by Lance Klusener, Khulna’s player choices, even the overseas ones, are tailor-made for Bangladeshi conditions.Mushfiqur has Soumya Sarkar, Yasir Ali, Rony Talukder and Andre Fletcher as the main batters. Mushfiqur is also the wicketkeeper, Soumya bowls useful medium-pace, and Talukder is another keeping option.The genuine allrounders include Thisara Perera, Mahedi Hasan, Seekkuge Prasanna and Sikandar Raza, with support from domestic stalwarts Farhad Reza and Mohammad Sharifullah. Most of them are capable middle-order batters, but they will mostly be required to do the job at the death.Kamrul Islam Rabbi and Naveen-ul-Huq will lead the pace attack, while Khaled Ahmed is there to provide support. Rabbi has made his name as a good death bowler in recent BPL seasons, and has a burgeoning reputation as a big-hitter too. Veteran left-arm spinners Sohrawardi Shuvo and Nabil Samad will come in handy as the pitches get weary.Strengths
Allrounders. Perera, Raza and Prasanna have international pedigree while Mahedi isn’t too far behind, particularly in the BPL.Weaknesses
Managing the expectations could be a big challenge for Khulna. They were finalists in the last BPL and given their overall strength this time, taking them down will give most teams a lot of pleasure.Squad: Mushfiqur Rahim (capt), Mahedi Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Farhad Reza, Yasir Ali, Rony Talukder, Jaker Ali, Khaled Ahmed, Mohammad Sharifullah, Sohrawardi Shuvo, Nabil Samad, Seekkuge Prasanna, Sikandar Raza, Thisara Perera, Naveenul Huq, Andre Fletcher.Mashrafe Mortaza and Mahmudullah, in the same corner this time•BCB Minister Group DhakaTeam overview
Dhaka’s ownership changed dramatically the night before the player draft last month when the consortium that had initially bought the franchise couldn’t pay the bank guarantee. It left the BCB to take over the team, with selector Habibul Bashar getting only a few hours to prepare for the draft.He went on to pick Mahmudullah, Tamim Iqbal and Mashrafe Mortaza. It was an interesting call because this showed the BCB’s faith in these three senior players, who they have felt, at three instances between 2017 and now, were well past their prime, at least for T20s.They have also roped in Mohammad Naim, Shamsur Rahman, Jahurul Islam and Shuvagata Hom among the local batters, apart from the Afghan quartet of Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Shahzad, Qais Ahmad and Fazalhaq Farooqi.They later signed Andre Russell, who at USD 250,000 is the most expensive player in the tournament.They also have Isuru Udana of Sri Lanka, Rubel Hossain and Ebadot Hossain to round off a steady bowling attack.Mashrafe, meanwhile, will miss the first few matches because of a back injury.Dhaka are the most expensive team in the competition at USD 900,000. Comilla and Sylhet Sunrisers are next in line, but their respective spending in players has been less than half that of Dhaka, at around USD 426,000 and USD 418,000.Strengths
Balance in the line-up. They have a strong top and middle order, with Mahmudullah and Russell taking care of the death overs. The bowling attack is also well stacked up with the pace and spin bowlers.Weaknesses
The same as their strengths – they might be a bit over-reliant on those experienced players.Squad: Mahmudullah (capt), Isuru Udana, Qais Ahmad, Najibullah Zadran, Tamim Iqbal, Rubel Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shuvagata Hom, Mohammad Shahzad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mohammad Naim, Arafat Sunny, Imran Uzzaman, Shafiul Islam, Jahurul Islam, Shamsur Rahman, Ebadot Hossain, Rishad Hossain, Andre Russell.Taskin Ahmed will lead Sylhet Sunrisers’ pace-bowling attack•Getty ImagesSylhet SunrisersTeam overview
Sylhet Sunrisers have picked a pretty balanced squad on paper, but a lack of genuine T20 match-winners may leave them short at some stage in the tournament.Anamul Haque is set to lead a side that includes Colin Ingram, Lendl Simmons and Ravi Bopara among their marquee foreign players. He will also have batting cover from Mohammad Mithun, Alok Kapali, Mizanur Rahman and Nadif Chowdhury among the locals, while Mosaddek Hossain, Sohag Gazi and Muktar Ali are the main allrounders.Taskin Ahmed will lead the bowling attack, along with Kesrick Williams, Shiraz Ahmed and Al-Amin Hossain. The spinners include Nazmul Islam, Jubair Hossain and Sunzamul Islam.Mervyn Dillon, the former West Indies fast bowler, will coach the side; it’s his first assignment in the BPL. Given their lack of top T20 names, Sylhet might have to play out of their skins to compete against top sides like Dhaka, Khulna and Comilla.Strengths
A lot will depend on Bopara, Ingram and Taskin. Ingram has to score quickly at the top while Bopara’s middle-order contributions and four overs with the semi-new ball will be crucial. Taskin has to pick up wickets at the top, and fire in his yorkers in the death overs.Weaknesses
Very few match-winners and allrounders. Sylhet could perhaps load their team with bits-and-pieces cricketers, but that approach is seldom successful in T20s.Squad: Anamul Haque (capt), Taskin Ahmed, Kesrick Williams, Colin Ingram, Shiraz Ahmed, Mosaddek Hossain (capt), Mohammad Mithun, Al-Amin Hossain, Nazmul Islam, Ravi Bopara, Sohag Gazi, Alok Kapali, Muktar Ali, Jubair Hossain, Mizanur Rahman, Nadif Chowdhury, Shafiul Hayet, Sunzamul Islam, Lendl Simmons, Devon Thomas.

Kyle Jamieson stands tall but Colin de Grandhomme epitomises New Zealand pain

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Four-wicket salvo keeps tourists in contest but allrounder’s no-ball could prove pivotal

Valkerie Baynes04-Jun-2022Kyle Jamieson embodied the ecstasy and Colin de Grandhomme the agony of New Zealand’s bowlers as their first-Test match-up with England stood poised on a knife-edge at the end of the third day at Lord’s.Jamieson bowled beautifully, making early inroads on the hosts’ pursuit of their 277-run victory target before putting them firmly on the back foot and then grabbing the crucial wicket of Ben Stokes just as England were frustrating their visitors.de Grandhomme, meanwhile, could be in doubt for the rest of the three-Test series after picking up a foot injury early in England’s second innings to cap a forgettable day for the New Zealand allrounder.Related

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As it stands, England need 61 runs more with five wickets in hand, leaving New Zealand with plenty of work to do, but Jamieson was hugely influential in getting them this far.He claimed the wicket of England opener Alex Lees, who looked in decent nick stroking four boundaries on his way to 20 from 32 balls before he somewhat inexplicably left a delivery which nipped back and crashed into the top of off stump shortly before lunch.Another brain fade – this time from de Grandhomme – had contributed to New Zealand’s second-innings collapse in which they lost 6 for 34 in eight overs within the first 90 minutes of play on Saturday following a half-hour rain delay at the start.No sooner had Stuart Broad had an exuberant appeal for lbw against de Grandhomme turned down than Ollie Pope gathered the ball at fourth slip and fired it into the stumps at the striker’s end. de Grandhomme, meanwhile, had wandered down the pitch and had his back to the action, seemingly oblivious to the urgency required as he turned sluggishly and tried to regain his ground but was run out for a duck.The blame for New Zealand’s demise cannot be laid entirely at de Grandomme’s feet – far from it – with Broad’s wickets either side of his bizarre dismissal removing centurion Daryl Mitchell and Jamieson to make it a team hat-trick, as only Tim Southee offered some resistance from the lower order with an enterprising 21 from 26 balls. But losing de Grandhomme did nothing to help New Zealand’s cause.Nor did de Grandhomme’s no-ball when he thought he had Stokes out chopping on to his stumps for just 1. Stokes was three-quarters of the way through his journey back to the pavilion when he was called back after de Grandhomme was found to have overstepped.It was another insult and then came the injury, de Grandhomme pulling up on approach to Stokes on the last ball of his fourth over and limping off the field almost immediately. Team management later confirmed that de Grandhomme would play no further part in the match after suffering a suspected tear in his heel and that an MRI scan on Sunday would determine his outlook for rest of the series.Colin de Grandhomme had a day to forget•AFP/Getty ImagesDespite a streaky continuation to tea, Stokes returned after the interval more composed and worked his way to a half-century – including three sixes off spinner Ajaz Patel – in a 90-run stand for the fifth wicket with Joe Root.He fell in ugly fashion though, cramped by a Jamieson short ball that had him performing a backbend, hands straight up as the ball brushed his glove and flew into those of wicketkeeper Tom Blundell. Furious with himself, Stokes looked skyward as he dropped his bat in disgust, knowing the importance of the moment.That brings us back to Jamieson and the impact he had on the state of the game with his impeccable probing line on the top of off stump.His second over after lunch was superb as he stayed in the attack and picked up where he left off having snared Lees’ wicket. Jamieson’s first delivery drew an inside edge on to Zak Crawley’s back leg and, two balls later, Crawley missed an attempted drive by the barest of margins off one that was full and outside off but swung away a fraction too much. The final ball of the over swung perfectly though on a full length as Crawley defended away from his body and edged to Southee, who took a strong diving catch at third slip. At that point, Jamieson had 2 for 8 from four overs.A loose drive from Jonny Bairstow delivered Jamieson’s third as he was bowled through the gate for 16, having narrowly avoided nicking the previous delivery full outside off stump. At that point, Jamieson ended his nine-over spell with 3 for 24 and England were 69 for 4, in all sorts of trouble.But by tea, Stokes and Root had built their partnership to 30 and, when Jamieson returned to action inside the first half-hour after the break, his day soured slightly, with Stokes clobbering him through the covers for four, evading what could have been an outside edge and then seeing the ball disappear leg side for five wides.Patel conceded 17 off his first over back into the attack, all of them bar four byes etched next to Stokes’ name, including two sixes heaved over the leg side.When Jamieson finally sent Stokes packing, New Zealand might have scented the collapse that many a pessimistic England fan feared but an unbroken fifty stand between Root and Ben Foakes had the match firmly in the balance at the close.Playing his 15th Test, Jamieson ended the day with 4 for 59 from 20 overs and Mitchell backed his side to take the remaining wickets they needed.”We can see with the nature of this wicket the morning is the toughest time to bat and hopefully we can show up tomorrow morning and it zips around a little bit like it has the last three days and we give ourselves an opportunity to win a Test match,” Mitchell said.”The wicket has slowed as the game goes on and you can probably see by the scores that are happening that it is getting easier to bat but we know that we’re literally one wicket away from being into their bowlers.”Kyle bowled awesome, the way he came in and he bashed a length for long periods of time and he really brought some energy, which we know Kyle does every time. He’s a world-class bowler and I know he’s only had a short career but what he’s done in a short period of time is very special.”

Where does Joe Root rank among England's greatest batters?

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

He’s up there with the likes of Hutton, May, Gooch and Cook. Like his team-mates seem to think, might he be the greatest of them all?

Mark Nicholas07-Jun-2022These past four days the United Kingdom has celebrated the 70-year reign of Her Majesty the Queen with gusto. There have been numerous parties in her name since she ascended to the throne in the cold February of 1952, but this platinum jubilee has been the mother and father of them all. Happily, yesterday’s finale coincided with England’s thrilling Test match victory at Lord’s. It had not been 70 years since England last won but it felt a bit like it – a long ten months let’s say.In the summer of 1952, England played four Test matches against India, winning the first three comprehensively and watching the rain fall for much of the fourth. At the top of the batting order was Len Hutton and at three, four and five in the first two matches were Peter May, Denis Compton and Tom Graveney, each of them wizards in their way. Hutton was technically close to perfect and, typically of Yorkshiremen, resilient. Bowlers used to say that they felt any ball bowled to May could have been hit for four; the only other batter I’ve heard that said of was Viv Richards. Compton had hints of genius in him, created by quicksilver feet, an eager eye, and the most splendid expression. Graveney was elegant beyong imagination and blessed with extraordinary powers of concentration. These were wonderful batters during something of a golden age for English cricket, and the legend of each lives on in the hearts of those for whom cricket is so much more than just a game.None of them, however, were better than Joe Root. The current players like to refer to Root as the best English batter of all time. I don’t know about that, and nor, really, do the players, but they are hugely proud of him. Root is a man of great dignity and no little modesty. He would rather they didn’t fuss but, then again, it is a fine thing to be so appreciated by your peers.Related

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'England's most complete all-round batter of all time'

Batting is a craft that has evolved over a couple of centuries. Film of WG Grace in the nets does not tell us much, other than how different the game was back then. The same can be said about grainy footage of Jack Hobbs, though 197 hundreds must count for something. Photographs at the MCG of Walter Hammond and Bill Ponsford remind us that many of the pitches of the day were barely identifiable from the outfields and therefore the balance between bat and ball was far less weighted in favour of batters than it is today. In 1937, the lbw law changed so that bowlers could trap a batter in front by pitching the ball outside off stump and bringing it back into his pads. Previously the ball had to pitch on the stumps and be going on to hit them, which takes some bowling.Tom Graveney was among those who bucked the trend of predominantly playing back on the pitches of his day•Getty ImagesOf course, batting is a subjective skill and has changed considerably even in the relatively short time that I have been involved with the game. On uncovered pitches and before the introduction of helmets, the tendency was to play back. This allowed more time to react to the uncertain bounce of the ball and more time to respond to its speed. The clarion call on uncovered pitches was for “soft hands”, meaning a loose grip and a gentle method of letting the ball come to you before dropping it safely at your feet. If you study footage of Compton against Keith Miller, for example, or of the Australians being bowled out by Jim Laker at Old Trafford in 1956, you will see them play back almost exclusively. Just occasionally a player emerged to buck the trend and foremost among those was Graveney, who was best known for his cover drive but became much admired for his ability to hook and pull off the front foot.Root appears to have all these skills and more. He is, as they say these days, a 360-degree player, and more remarkably in an age when batters come so hard at the ball, he is that player off both feet. Picking a signature shot is difficult, though the cut might be the one. He has the ability to score without being noticed and to change the tempo of a match while doing so. The pitch at Lord’s was tricky, offering swing and seam to the bowlers and suggestions of uneven bounce and pace. Footwork was crucial, as proven by the fall of those who stayed trapped on the crease, as was Root’s ability to play the ball late enough to flow with its movement in his strokes or watch it fly by.For much of the first act in this Root exhibition, he simply hung around at the other end while Ben Stokes went about justifying his pre-match rhetoric. Of the 90 runs they added together the new captain made 54 – a dazzling array of the ridiculous and sublime – and the old one 30-odd. When Stokes went, the second act began as Root upped the ante in a manner that took courage and all of his skill. Far from dropping anchor to ensure that one wicket didn’t bring two, he began to look for scoring opportunities with an increased sense of urgency and purpose. This caught the New Zealand players off guard and whisked away their potential for momentum. Root knew that the sunlit Saturday evening – play had been extended to 7pm after morning rain and a generally slow over rate – with the pitch drying, the ball soft, and the opponents wilting, was England’s moment. All the best players can sense this and most move in for the kill.Which one’s better?•Philip Brown/Getty ImagesWhen stumps were drawn that evening, England needed just 61. Ben Foakes had become to Root what Root had been to Stokes. When cricketers use the phrase “bat in partnerships” this is exactly what they mean. In that final hour’s play on Saturday, Foakes made 9 of the 57 he and Root put on together in 15 overs: runs that negated the likelihood of New Zealand dragging the game to the point at which they could use a second new ball on the fourth morning and, to some degree at least, allowed the England dressing room to sleep easy.For sure, England got lucky when Colin de Grandhomme overstepped the popping crease by less than a centimetre to give Stokes a reprieve early in his innings, but it is said, better to be lucky than good. Or just be Joe Root.As it was, New Zealand bowled poorly on the fourth morning but Root deserves the credit for that. He simply outplayed them. The innings was a masterpiece, one of which any player, from any age, would have been proud. He had rescued the Stokes-McCullum dream start from ignominy, and gave the country a wonderful sidebar across a weekend in which joy and celebration were the national mood.How good is he? Well, the line of exceptional English batting began with Grace and moved through such players as Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe, Hammond, Hutton, Compton and May, Ted Dexter, Colin Cowdrey, Ken Barrington, Geoff Boycott, Graham Gooch (latterly), David Gower, Graham Thorpe, Kevin Pietersen and Alastair Cook. Root is as good as any of them and better than most. You could make a shortlist of five, I reckon, but I’ll leave that to you. Suffice to say that the lad from Sheffield with 10,015 Test match runs to his name is amongst them and that no one is happier about that than his successor as captain.

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