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A round-up of the Under-19 World Cup action on January 21, 2020

Sreshth Shah in Bloemfontein21-Jan-2020ScorecardIndia took under two hours to bowl Japan out for 41, the joint-second-lowest total in the history of the Under-19 World Cup, and then took just 29 balls to chase the target down and secure their second win in Group A and virtually confirm their place in the quarter-finals.Legspinner Ravi Bishnoi, who was recently bought by Kings XI Punjab for IPL 2020, took 4 for 5, including two wickets in his first two deliveries, to wreck Japan’s middle order. Right-arm seamer Kartik Tyagi also took three wickets, of which two came with the new ball. Left-arm pacer Akash Singh collected two lower-order wickets while Vidyadhar Patil, playing his first game of the tournament, had one as the Indians were all over Japan.The highest contribution to Japan’s total – 19 – came from extras, of which 12 were wides as India’s new-ball bowlers looked for the yorker but erred in line, making wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, the birthday boy, to dive and scramble time and again.Opener Shu Noguchi and No. 8 Kento Dobell top-scored for Japan with seven apiece while five batsmen were out for ducks.Bishnoi was clearly the pick of the Indian bowlers, using his wrong’uns frequently and clean bowling two top-order Japanese batsmen in similar fashion.Tyagi and Singh initially bowled outside off, looking to get some movement, but seeing that the Japan openers weren’t to be tempted, soon changed their line to full and straight. That paid off for Tyagi, whose yorker knocked over Japan captain Marcus Thurgate. He then welcomed No. 3 Neel Date with another yorker and the batsman was trapped lbw for a duck. The total of 14 for 2 soon became 14 for 4 after Bishnoi’s introduction, and by the time Japan reached 19 they had lost seven wickets. A 13-run partnership between Dobell and No. 9 Maximillian Clements (5) took Japan past what is the lowest-ever Under-19 World Cup score [22, for Scotland against Australia in 2004], but then Singh and Tyagi returned to finish the innings for the same total that Canada managed against South Africa in 2002.Kumar Kushagra, who also played his first game of the tournament, opened the batting with Yashasvi Jaiswal during the reply. Jaiswal struck five fours and the game’s only six in his 18-ball 29 while Kushagra chipped in with 13 in 11 deliveries. Shashwat Rawat, the other India player appearing in his first game, ended up playing no major part in the match.Rakibul Hasan ran through the Scotland lower order•ICC via Getty

ScorecardAnother poor batting performance meant another heavy defeat for Scotland in Group C of the Under-19 World Cup, as they lost by seven wickets to Bangladesh in Potchefstroom, the same margin as their loss to Pakistan earlier.Batting first after winning the toss, like they had against Pakistan, Scotland again got off to a wobbly start, losing four wickets for just 21 runs before fighting back a bit through Uzzair Shah and Daniel Cairns. Uzzair was the dominant partner in the 31-run stand, with Cairns contributing just 7 runs in 37 balls, but it helped Scotland hold Bangladesh off for a while.Uzzair continued till the 28th over before becoming the ninth man out for 28, but by then left-arm spinner Rakibul Hasan, the Player of the Match, had started to weave his magic, tying the batsmen up in knots and running through the lower order. Jamie Cairns did hit a quick 17, but there was no stopping Hasan as he returned 4 for 20 in just five-and-a-half overs.The reply from Bangladesh wasn’t all smooth, as they lost Tanzid Hasan off the first ball of the innings, caught behind off Sean Fischer-Keogh, who went on to pick up all three wickets to fall in the chase. But there wasn’t a lot of penetration from the rest of the bowlers, and Parvez Hossain (25 in 15 balls) and Mahmudul Hasan (35* in 48) made sure Bangladesh earned full points, finishing the job in 16.4 overs.

The New Zealand batsman rues the team losing the series 5-0 to India but hopes they can do better in the ODIs

Deivarayan Muthu02-Feb-20203:38

New Zealand lose from a commanding position once again

Ross Taylor had made his T20I debut in December 2006 in Wellington along with the likes of Peter McGlashan, Chaminda Vaas, and Muttiah Muralitharan. Nearly 14 years later, in Mount Maunganui, Taylor became only the second New Zealander, after Suzie Bates, to feature in 100 T20Is. After receiving a special cap from his good mate Martin Guptill, the 35-year old marked the occasion with a half-century, studded by three successive signature hockey-swiped boundaries in a 34-run over off allrounder Shivam Dube. Some of those blows had his family, who were at the Bay Oval, up on their feet.ALSO READ: New Zealand cricket is in the best hands with Williamson – KohliHowever, Taylor himself was at the heart of a dramatic collapse – 6 for 25 – as New Zealand lost another game from a seemingly winning position. He admitted that the defeat indeed soured the landmark and looked back at how T20 cricket has evolved from being a bit hit-and-giggle to a “pretty serious competition”.”It’s still sinking in,” Taylor said at the post-match press conference. “Disappointing with the series [loss] and the way things have gone, but nice to be the first one [NZ men’s cricketer] to get there [100 T20Is]. Hopefully, in time, Guppy and co. will surpass me and will set the benchmark. When I first played Twenty20 cricket, we used to play one game and think it would be a bit of warm-up for the one-dayers whereas it has turned into a pretty serious competition. But, no, it was evolved greatly and it’s a honour and privilege to be the first one for New Zealand.”Ross Taylor hits powerfully through the off side•Getty Images

In 2017, after the T20 World Cup in India, where Taylor had managed just 91 runs in five innings, he had been dropped from the side. The then-coach Mike Hesson explained that the players on the fringe were putting too much pressure on Taylor.Taylor has been largely out of favour in various T20 leagues around the world since the previous T20 World Cup, but is now back in the New Zealand middle order as they search for some stability. While Taylor did hit a brace of fifties against India, he was dismissed in the last over in regulation time before both the Super-Over finishes in Hamilton and Wellington.The trend continued in Mount Maunganui. After New Zealand had lost Guptill and Colin Munro cheaply in pursuit of 164, Taylor and Tim Seifert teed up 99 together off 56 balls. When New Zealand needed 66 off 60 balls, with eight wickets in hand, the game was within their grasp. However, Saini took down both the set batsmen while Jasprit Bumrah yorked Daryl Mitchell and Tim Southee to seal a 5-0 whitewash.”It’s one of those things where we’ve been there to Bangladesh a couple of times and you lose a couple of times… Different players deal with it in different ways and in saying that it’s probably a good thing that this series is over and we move onto a different format,” Taylor said.One of the positives for New Zealand in an otherwise horror series has been Seifert’s form in front of the stumps and also behind it. After struggling to finish the innings in the early half of the series, he moved up the order in the injury-enforced absence of Kane Williamson and struck back-to-back half-centuries.On Sunday, he unveiled a variety of strokes, including the slog-sweep and his favourite scoop over the shoulder. He had also briefly looked good against Bumrah when he took a blameless back-of-a-length ball from middle stump and swatted it away, bisecting wide long-on and deep midwicket in the 12th over of the chase. Taylor was pleased with Seifert’s progress and said that he will have to learn to adapt to batting outside the top three once Williamson returns from injury.Tim Seifert scored a quick half-century•Getty Images

“For him, he has taken his opportunity with Kane not going,” Taylor said of Seifert. “When Kane does come back, him batting at No.4 or wherever he ends up batting, he has got to learn that role and put pressure on the incumbents. I thought he batted well and it would’ve been nice if we had held in a little bit longer, but I’ve played 100 games and there have been what-ifs throughout my career. Not only with the bat, but with the gloves, and the way he patrols the outfield with the angles, he’s getting better and better each day.”Since the innings victory in the Mount Maunganui Test against England last November, New Zealand have been winless in nine matches across formats. Taylor, though, hoped that a switch in format to one-day cricket could switch up New Zealand’s fortunes. Taylor himself has been in stellar form in 50-overs, averaging 63.56 since the 2015 World Cup. Only India captain Virat Kohli has better figures among batsmen with more than 1000 runs in this period.New Zealand will also welcome back allrounders Jimmy Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme for the three-match ODI series, which begins in Hamilton on February 5. Neesham, in particular, has been in excellent domestic form, having won the 20-over Super Smash with Wellington Firebirds and bagged career-best List A figures of 5 for 29 in the Ford Trophy.”Even though it’s a different format, it [losing] still does hurt,” Taylor said. “Winning is a habit…and losing all those tight games. We’re going into a format that’s probably one of strengths and when we do come back to play Twenty20 cricket and Test cricket, those wounds would be addressed. Now, one-day cricket, hopefully Kane’s shoulder is alright, new personnel and some world-class to come back and we look forward to have them back in the squad.”

Tom Harrison said an entire home summer without cricket was “not an outlandish scenario”

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Apr-2020Tom Harrison, the ECB’s chief executive, has estimated that an entire season without cricket will cost the game in England and Wales “well in excess of £300 million”.In a letter to PCA chief executive Tony Irish, seen by ESPNcricinfo, Harrison admitted that the ECB is “having to reset our future plans across the whole game in order to ensure its long-term survival” in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which threatens to wipe out much of the English summer.The ECB unveiled an initial £61m support package on Tuesday night, aimed at ensuring both professional and recreational cricket can withstand the impact of the ongoing crisis. But with its reserves worth £11m in 2018-19 – down from £73m in 2015-16 – the potential cost of a season without cricket is a major concern.ALSO READ: PCA stall on ECB’s request for players’ 20% pay cutAs things stand, the season’s start has been pushed back to May 28 at the earliest, though that is little more than a holding date. The ECB is currently modelling what the season might look like with possible start dates in June, July and August, as well as planning for games to be played behind closed doors.In his letter, dated March 29, Harrison described the ongoing pandemic as “the biggest challenge the sport has faced in the modern era” and admitted that “although the full extent and impact of the pandemic on cricket is as yet unknown, it is already clear that it will be extremely significant”.”At the start of 2020, cricket in England and Wales was in a very strong financial position,” Harrison wrote. “Our recent renewals of media rights contracts and commercial partnerships all but guarantee our revenues and provide a high level of relative security for the next five years. With this relative security, we have been able to build a strategy for growth, based on strong investment in our core, to grow cricket and thus secure our long-term future.”This strategy has seen hugely increased investment and commitment to our players across our international and domestic game, with substantial improvements both to the pay and the conditions under which professional cricketers are employed across first-class county clubs (including raised salary collar and caps).”We have also been clear that investment into grassroots cricket is critical to creating a sustainable sport, hence our commitment to recreational programmes, to reinvigorating cricket in schools, to the women’s and girls’ game and creating the next generation of volunteers.”The investment, however, is fundamentally based on the proviso that cricket is played and thus the value proposition delivered to our broadcast and commercial partners. Whilst a range of scenarios is contemplated to account for lost matches or series across the term, a situation like the one we are facing is beyond the scope of any risk assessment and therefore has extremely serious consequences for the game’s revenues. With this public health crisis, and its likely impact on this coming season, we are thus forced to review every investment and every line of cost.”The English season has been delayed until May 28 at the earliest•Getty Images

Harrison went on to state that “everyone is feeling the pain”, listing broadcasters, commercial partners, county stakeholders, and “ordinary and loyal cricket fans” among the groups affected.”As I have said, we can only estimate the total financial impact on the game, which will not be clear for some time, but by way of offering an indication of the potential scale of the loss to the game, losing an entire cricket season – which is not an outlandish scenario – will cost cricket in England and Wales well in excess of £300m,” Harrison wrote.”Our absolute priority in the face of this challenge is firstly, to ensure the public safety of our people – our staff, players and colleagues around the game, but secondly, that the cricket network remains intact, and emerges from this crisis in a state to resume our trajectory towards a bright future.”An excerpt from Tom Harrison’s letter to Tony Irish•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Harrison himself has taken a 25% salary cut for at least the next three months – he was paid £719,175 in 2019 – while ESPNcricinfo understands that other executives have volunteered a 20% cut. Some ECB staff were informed on Wednesday morning of a decision to furlough them.On Tuesday, Harrison dismissed criticism of the ECB’s forward planning. “You can normally make business models and forecasts where you might get a 15-20% fall in revenue,” he said. “[But] there are very few businesses that would put a complete drop in revenues to zero on a risk register.”I don’t think there is a big enough reserves pot to anticipate this sort of challenge. And it is important to base any judgement on our reserves policy against the money that has gone into the network: we have a thriving network, a high-performing sport and well-paid players.”Eoin Morgan, England’s white-ball captain, said that “the serious nature of the situation economically and financially for the game is something that we have never come across”.”Certainly I’ve never experienced anything like it and don’t think anyone else has,” Morgan said. “Times are still uncertain at the moment, there’s information coming out daily, weekly, and the most important information is probably yet to come given the last week or 10 days we have had in isolation.”People are waiting to see what sort of impact that has had on the virus and if it has slowed things down or stopped the increase in infection. Realistically we can’t think about playing, when our first game will be, or how many we will play until the situation is downgraded from a pandemic.”

BCCI president says there’s a “plan in place” to conduct a camp for the India women’s team

PTI02-Aug-2020BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Sunday said the women’s IPL or the Women’s T20 Challenge, as it is better known, is “very much on”.The men’s IPL will be held between September 19 and November 10 in the UAE due to the surge in Covid-19 cases in India. The women’s T20 matches will also be fit into the schedule, according to Ganguly.”I can confirm to you that the women’s IPL is very much on and we do have a plan in place for the national team also,” Ganguly said.The BCCI president, who is awaiting a Supreme Court verdict on waiver of the cooling-off period to continue in the position, did not divulge details but another senior official privy to the development said that the women’s T20 matches will be held during the last phase of IPL, like last year.”The women’s Challenger series is likely to be held between November 1-10 and there could be a camp before that,” the source said.A BCCI release later in the evening stated that the Women’s T20 Challenge would also take place alongside the IPL, featuring three teams playing four matches during the final week of the tournament.Ganguly also said that the centrally-contracted women players will have a camp which has been delayed due to the prevailing situation in the country.”We couldn’t have exposed any of our cricketers – be it male or female to health risk. It would have been dangerous,” Ganguly said. “The NCA also remained shut because of Covid-19. But we have a plan in place and we will have a camp for women, I can tell you that.”The BCCI’s cricket operations team is chalking up a schedule where India Women are likely to have two full-fledged white-ball series against South Africa and West Indies before playing the ODI World Cup in New Zealand next year.With the WBBL scheduled to run between October 17 and November 29 in Australia, it remains to be seen how the authorities will manage the participation of several Indian and foreign players.

The allrounder’s one-year ban ends on October 29

Mohammad Isam11-Aug-2020Shakib Al Hasan is likely to make an immediate return to the Bangladesh team after his suspension deadline ends on October 29, with Sri Lanka the assumed venue of his comeback. Bangladesh’s tour of Sri Lanka is all but confirmed and given how the tour schedule is shaping up, it is more than likely that Shakib will at least feature in the proposed three-match T20I series.According to SLC chief executive Mohan de Silva, the two boards have reached an agreement on Bangladesh’s departure date, but they are still in discussions over whether it will be a two or three-match Test series after the BCB requested a three-match T20I series in addition to the original tour schedule.Shakib will be training at the BKSP – Bangladesh’s largest sporting institute – from next month, so it is likely that the Bangladesh team management will have one eye on his progress towards full fitness.Head coach Russell Domingo has said Shakib’s return will depend on his fitness levels and possibly some match-time under his belt. However, he compared Shakib’s year-long break from cricket with the current Bangladesh players also having had to sit out for six months without any on-field action, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.ALSO READ: Qazi Onik banned for two years for failing dope test“I think Shakib being out for a year is not that much different to the rest of our squad who have been out for six or seven months as well,” Domingo told ESPNcricinfo. “We are hoping all the players are fit. Obviously, there are standards that they need to attain in terms of fitness level. We have to organize a bit of game time for Shakib, as well as for all the players. It is very difficult to get into international cricket without any sort of cricket. I think we need to try to find some opportunities for him to play some games. He is a world-class player so I am sure he will get back into it pretty soon, but fitness is an important thing.”Domingo, however, said Shakib would have to play unofficial cricket matches as a suspended cricketer, so a lot would depend on his fitness regime and net practice during the next couple of months. “It is something that we have to discuss with the selectors. I don’t think he can play any official game before October 29, so all games that he plays have to be unofficial games. It might be inter-squad games but we need to have clarity if he is allowed to play that.”He has to make sure he is fit and that he starts hitting balls and bowling some balls. Once we assemble before heading off to Sri Lanka – when that tour is confirmed – we will get closer to making a decision. There’s still a while to go; it is only August now. His ban finishes in two-and-a-half months. When he is fit and available, we will cross that bridge.”On Tuesday, SLC chief de Silva said Bangladesh’s departure date, September 24, is nearly confirmed but the boards are still a couple of days away from finalising the tour schedule. “It is more or less [finalized],” de Silva told the Dhaka-based TV channel . “We are actually negotiating. They [BCB] want to play three T20Is and three Tests. So we are actually negotiating with them to reduce one Test and then play the T20Is. We will be able to confirm it within a day or two.”

Ireland captain available for all group matches, plus knockout stages

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Aug-2020Andy Balbirnie, the Ireland captain, will play for Glamorgan in this year’s T20 Vitality Blast.Balbirnie will be available for all 10 group matches, plus the knockout stages if Glamorgan make it that far, after Cricket Ireland approved the move by submitting a No Objection Certificate.”I’m very pleased to see the deal go ahead – it’s a fabulous competition, and having spent a few years in Cardiff during my university days, it’s a city I know pretty well,” Balbirnie said. “”It’s a tournament I’ve watched a lot and have many friends who have played in it over the years, so I’m looking forward to the opportunity to play with new people and learn from different coaches, as well as to play in a different tournament in different conditions.”It’s not been a great season for playing much cricket, so to be able to go over and play a short, sharp tournament of intense cricket will be enjoyable and a good way to end the summer.”T20 Blast – Full fixture listBalbirnie struck his sixth ODI century in a 214-run partnership with Paul Stirling to chase down a target of 329 for victory over England earlier this month in the third match of their series, won by England 2-1.A product of Cardiff MCCU, Balbirnie has has played 70 ODIs for Ireland, scoring 2041 runs with a career-best 145 not out against Afghanistan last year. He has also played 43 T20Is, scoring 945 runs at an average of 25.54 and strike rate of 129.80 with four half-centuries.Mark Wallace, Glamorgan’s director of cricket, said that with David Lloyd suffering a broken foot and Colin Ingram’s arrival from South Africa looking unlikely due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, the club wanted to add some batting depth by signing Balbirnie.”Andrew is a fantastic player with a strong record in the one-day formats and was in great form during the recent series against England,” Wallace said. “He is also very used to playing in our conditions and will add a lot of experience and class at the top of the order.”The 2020 Blast season will start on August 27 with the quarter-finals on October 1 and Finals Day on October 3 at Edgbaston.

Sophia Dunkley and Katie George added to T20 World Cup squad

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Sep-2020Georgia Elwiss has been ruled out of England women’s five T20Is against West Indies due to a back injury, with Sophia Dunkley and Katie George included in a 16-strong squad for the series.Head coach Lisa Keightley has largely stuck with the squad knocked out of this year’s T20 World Cup thanks to a semi-final washout against India, with Elwiss the only member of that group not selected. Allrounder Bryony Smith and left-arm spinner Linsey Smith are both on standby.Some 24 women’s players had gone into the biosecure bubble at Derby ahead of the series, and the seven not selected will be available for the final round of Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy fixtures and the final (if their teams qualify). Those seven players are Lauren Bell, Alice Davidson-Richards, Kirstie Gordon, Emma Lamb, Bryony Smith, Linsey Smith and Issy Wong.West Indies arrived in the UK on August 31, and both teams have been playing intra-squad warm-up matches in Derby over the past two weeks. The series starts on September 21.”It’s been a challenging summer for everyone and we are privileged to be in a position to play an international series, and to get the chance to showcase the women’s game,” Keightley said.”We have worked hard since the group came back together in preparation for this series and we’re in a great place going in to the Vitality T20Is against West Indies.”England squad to play West Indies: Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Kate Cross, Freya Davies, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Katie George, Sarah Glenn, Heather Knight (captain), Amy Jones, Nat Sciver, Anya Shrubsole, Mady Villiers, Fran Wilson, Lauren Winfield, Danni Wyatt.

Batsman Mark Chapman reported feeling ill on Monday and was awaiting results of a test

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Oct-2020Auckland seam bowler Ben Lister became the first Covid-19 substitute called into action as a replacement for batsman Mark Chapman before the start of the Plunket Shield match against Otago.Chapman reported feeling ill on Monday and underwent a Covid-19 test with Lister being designated his replacement until the result is known. The match started a day later than the other two first-round Plunket Shield games, so the switch was made before the toss rather than in-match.The ICC approved Covid-19 substitutes for Test cricket in June and various domestic competitions that have started since have followed similar guidelines. New Zealand coach Gary Stead, who was watching the match at Eden Park’s outer oval, said: “I wasn’t aware until I got here this morning, that Mark Chapman had been feeling ill and had to get a Covid test. But from my perspective, it’s great that he’s not penalised for doing the right thing in what is obviously different times we face in the world.”Just shows that we and cricket aren’t immune to that either, so following the right protocols is definitely the right thing to do.”Lister claimed Auckland’s first wicket of the season when he had Cam Hawkins caught behind, finishing with 1 for 40 from 12 overs as Otago were bowled out for 186 with Michael Rippon’s century lifting them from 33 for 6.

Players hail Mumbai’s ‘hunger’ and the support staff for their success

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Nov-20203:38

What makes the Mumbai Indians franchise so special?

Jasprit Bumrah: It means a great deal [us playing this tournament amid a pandemic]. As we know, it is a difficult time and everyone’s stuck at home. We are few of the privileged ones. We are grateful we can always play cricket and come back and do what we love to do. It is a big thing and we can entertain those who are watching us as well. It is a big thing in this difficult situation if you can give a bit of entertainment for people watching at home and you know facing difficulties. If we could bring smiles to their faces, that’s the best we can do. Hopefully we were able to do that.Very happy [to win the title]. We have worked very hard. We started preparing much earlier than the other teams and we were working hard towards the process. All the processes have got us results. As he [Suryakumar] said we had decided we were winning tournaments every alternate year, so this year’s goal was that we had to break that jinx and that aim has been successfully achieved. That’s the best feeling ever.Suryakumar Yadav: I think it’s an amazing feeling. Before coming here we had a chat in the bus and even in the team meetings that we have won tournaments in alternate years and odd years and we wanted to break that jinx and create history. So here it is, very happy with it. I think they [coaches and support staff] have been amazing throughout the tournament. Preparations, process are all important. They just said one thing, we will take care of all this you guys just go out there, express yourselves, enjoy and do what you do the best. I think he [Rohit] was batting really well at that moment [when I sacrificed my wicket]. Most importantly, he has been anchoring the innings since the first game. And I don’t mind sacrificing my wicket for him at all.Ishan Kishan: I think, to be honest, I wasn’t looking in good shape before this season. I had a chat with Hardik and Krunal , so they actually asked me to improve my fitness and keep working on my off-side game. I think that overall worked good for my batting and that was the plus point for me this season to score big runs.Krunal Pandya: I guess it’s the hunger to stay at the top always. We’ve never taken any season or any game lightly though we’ve we’ve played good cricket this season as well. The way we went about all the games – there was 100% effort from all the boys and a lot of credit goes to how we prepared before the season as well. Back in Mumbai for two months, everyone was training hard and from hereon, one month before we came, everyone knew their roles very clearly. Then, when the tournament started, everyone was in good shape and going out and executing what they’ve been doing at the nets.There has never been doubt at Ishan’s talent and the No.1 thing I liked about him this season was he was ready to improve. The moment you know you’re lacking something and accepting you have to work hard. All credit goes to him…the way he came back this season. He was not there in the first playing XI and he got his opportunity and capitalised on it. It’s not easy batting at 4, then again opening the batting, and again batting at 4.Mumbai Indians – five-time winners of the IPL now•BCCI

Hardik Pandya: To be honest no [was this IPL difficult because you could just execute one skill?]. For me it was about opportunity, whether batting or bowling, for me bowling this year I wasn’t able to do. But, it’s just about backing myself and as Krunal mentioned it’s all about preparation. On that bracket, we did pretty well and we focused on improving our game day-by-day, and that’s what we were able to implement in the ground.Nathan Coulter-Nile: Ah, I think, Patto [James Pattinson] was bowling beautifully, so I was just quite happy to sit on the sidelines and wait [for] my turn. I got my chance at the end and [I was] lucky enough to kick him out of the side. He’s a very good bowler, and he’d have done the job just as well today, so happy I got the chance.Quinton de Kock: “Obviously it helps that Mumbai have a great set-up, so we’ve been able to move with the gym work and training and stuff. Missing the family has obviously been difficult for everyone, some of our families couldn’t come with us, but we held in and we’re reaping the rewards today for it. You can see how much it [winning] means to everyone in the Mumbai team – staff and the owners. I think this year because there were questions around Mumbai team in general whether we can win back-to-back. I think the guys really did the extra work to make sure we can hold on to the title for the second time in a row. I think everybody worked extra hard. You can see it’s paid off. Congrats to all the guys who worked extra hard on all the nitty-gritties.

Former Kent stalwart was member of famous family dynasty

George Dobell11-Nov-2020Graham Cowdrey, the former Kent batsman who was part of one of the sport’s best known family dynasties, has died at the age of 56.Cowdrey enjoyed a long career as an aggressive middle-order batsman for Kent, before going on to work for the ECB as a Cricket Liaison Officer; a role well-suited to his good-natured and gentle bonhomie. Both his father, Lord Cowdrey, and his brother, Chris Cowdrey, captained England, while his grandfather and nephew also played first-class cricket.He was a key part of the Kent side which won AXA Equity & Law League trophy in 1995 – he was the club’s top run-scorer in the competition that year, hitting two centuries and averaging 53.90 – and made it to the final of the Benson & Hedges Cup. He also helped Kent finish second in the 1992 County Championship; a season in which he scored 1,291 runs in the competition at an average of 53.85. His stand of 368 made with Aravinda de Silva against Derbyshire in 1995 remains the club’s highest fourth-wicket stand and was, until broken by Sean Dickson and Joe Denly in 2017, Kent’s highest partnership for any wicket.While he was unable to follow his father and brother into the England side, he represented Young England as a teenager, made his first-class debut aged 20 and was awarded a county cap in 1988. After being awarded a Benefit Year in 1997, he retired from the game in 1998 having played 440 first team games and amassed exactly 14,000 runs for the club. He just missed out on the advent of the T20 format which would, you suspect, have well suited him.”I am numb with shock and sadness that the brilliant, generous, funny and complex friend who lit up so many cricket grounds, on and off the pitch, has slipped away,” said Cowdrey’s former team-mate and captain, Matthew Fleming. “‘Van’ as he was universally known because of his love of all things Van Morrison, was an instinctive cricketer, a game changer, who won matches with his prowess as a batsman and a fielder.”However, it was his deep love of cricket and Kent, his commitment as a team-mate, his integrity and his wicked sense of humour, his loyalty as a friend and the ‘twinkle in his eye’ that shaped almost everything he did that we will also remember with the greatest possible affection.”Kent cricket have released a statement expressing “its deepest sympathies to Graham’s family and friends at this difficult time, especially his children, Michael, Grace and Alexander.” It went on to say the club was “devastated to learn of the passing of our much loved former player… after a short illness.”The statement continued: “More than his facts and figures, Graham will be remembered for the way he played the game: his vibrant personality at the wicket or in the field, with his sense of fun as clear as his competitive passion.”Graham recently appeared on the Club’s ‘Spitfire Sessions’ alongside his brothers Chris and Jeremy earlier this year, where he discussed his “happy memories of all those days down at Canterbury, Maidstone and everywhere we used to play”.”During the live forum, his brother and former Captain Chris, highlighted Graham’s outstanding talent in one-day competitions. Stating that if he were to select his all-time Kent T20 XI, ‘there’s one person that I would pick first, and that would have been Graham Cowdrey. He was the most devastating striker of the ball and could turn a match in four overs.'”