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That said, the senior paceman doesn’t expect Australia to play the same four-man attack all summer

Alex Malcolm17-Nov-2021Australia vice-captain Pat Cummins feels he is as fresh as he has ever felt coming into a Test series, but says he would be surprised if the side persists with the same four-man attack through all five Ashes Tests, something they did against India last summer.Cummins returned to Australia and into hotel quarantine on the Gold Coast on Tuesday with the majority of the triumphant World Cup-winning squad to begin their Ashes preparation.He hasn’t played a first-class match since February. Cummins has also only featured in seven T20s since April having opted out of the limited-overs tours to the Caribbean and Bangladesh during Australia’s winter. He also missed the second half of the IPL prior to the World Cup to be home for the birth of his son.Australia will only have one three-day intra-squad match to prepare for the first Ashes Test starting December 8 but Cummins has no concerns about his personal preparation.”My body feels as good as it has in a couple of years. There’s no niggles,” Cummins said. “I think the first, I guess, benefit of the short spells is we’re all feeling really fresh. I always feel like it’s better to be underdone than overdone coming into a big Test series.”For now it’s just trying to work back from that day one, get a few good bowls in, I think. We’ve got access to quite a few centre wickets. So we’ll have three, four, five centre wickets where we try and have relatively big days, you know, bowl a couple of spells on those days. And we’ll be ready to go. And we had a similar prep last year and all felt really good going into that Adelaide first Test.”Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc played all four Tests against India last year, but the plan backfired as the trio tired on the final days in Sydney and Brisbane and were unable to bowl out India in either game as the visitors produced a famous come-from-behind series win.Australia rotated their bowlers heavily in the 2019 Ashes series using Peter Siddle and James Pattinson as specialists in those conditions. Cummins was the only one of the five Australian fast bowlers used in that series to play all five Tests and he expects that there will be some rotation again this summer.”When someone’s I guess rested it is normally more to it than just purely workload,” Cummins said. “There’s always niggles and small little injuries that we’re dealing with, basically after every single Test match.”The great thing is we’ve got a huge stable of fast bowlers. So yeah, I don’t think it’ll be a huge issue if someone’s not able to get up for a Test or someone’s just red-lining a little bit. Someone else can slot in.”I’d be surprised if the same four bowlers were used for all five Tests. That’s pretty rare, especially the five-Test match summer. But I certainly won’t be putting my hand up to be rested unless I’ve got something going wrong.”Pat Cummins hasn’t played a first-class match since February 2021•Getty Images and Cricket Australia

Jhye Richardson is firming as a certainty to play a part in this Ashes series having not played a Test match since 2019 when he dislocated his shoulder in the lead-up to the 2019 World Cup and Ashes tour.Michael Neser has also been a constant presence in Australia’s Test squads in recent years and could also make his Test debut this summer despite coming off a hamstring injury.”I think both can slot in really well,” Cummins said. “It might be like-for-like maybe in some regards. I’d say probably Jhye, especially last week, I only saw a little bit but apparently, he bowled beautifully up here at the Gabba.”It’s really great to see him back around the squad. He was on the verge of a World Cup and an Ashes series a couple of years ago before having a shoulder injury, so it’s great to see him get back and bowling well, fully fit, and hopefully he kind of starts off where he left off against Sri Lanka a few years ago.”Chairman of selectors George Bailey confirmed Australia would have a squad mentality after announcing the 15-man Ashes squad for the first two Tests as well as an Australia A squad on Wednesday. Bailey was also impressed by Richardson’s form leading into the Ashes series following his Player of the Match performance for Western Australia against Queensland at the Gabba last week where he took eight wickets including 5 for 23 from 22.2 overs in the second innings.”Getting pretty excited by Jhye,” Bailey said. “One physically, I think he looks as strong as I’ve seen ever seen him.”He’s had a couple of niggles, and he’s worked his way back from those so he’s starting to build some resilience into his body, still a young body.”I think he’s worked his way into the last three shield games quite nicely, but one particular spell I think it was the morning of day [three], a really impressive spell early on, I think he ended up ended up getting the wickets of Marnus [Labuschagne] and Joe Burns, who both commented that it was it was impressive quality.”

Malan has previously been batting coach and assistant coach of the New Zealand men’s team

Sreshth Shah04-Jan-2022South Africa-born Heinrich Malan, the 40-year-old former allrounder who has had extensive coaching stints in New Zealand, will succeed Graham Ford as full-time head coach for the Ireland men’s team.Malan is expected to take up the role in March (subject to work permit approval) for three years. He holds a Level 3 Coaching Certificate from Cricket South Africa and his recent coaching stints across 11 years include being the assistant coach and fielding lead for the New Zealand men’s team. He was also the head coach of New Zealand A, and has also held the batting coach role with the senior men’s team.While Malan officially succeeds Ford to the full-time role, he will actually take over from interim head coach David Ripley. Ripley, the former Northamptonshire boss, has accompanied Ireland to their tours of the USA and West Indies after Ford resigned due to fatigue arising from operating in a Covid-19 world.Malan, a former middle-order batter and medium-fast bowler, played first-class cricket in South Africa from 2005 to 2009, and has earned considerable success as a coach outside the New Zealand national team too. Under his coaching, Central Districts Stags won the one-day competition (Ford Trophy) in 2014-15 and 2015-16, the first-class competition (Plunket Shield) in 2017-18 and 2018-19 and the domestic T20 competition (Super Smash) in 2018-19. After switching to Auckland Aces, he won the 2019-20 Ford Trophy as coach.In a press release issued by Cricket Ireland, Malan also credited Ford for creating the “building blocks in place” that will help the men’s team progress further under his coaching.”My coaching philosophy has certainly evolved over time and I am very keen to get to know this group of players and staff to collaboratively shape our environment through the way we want to operate on a daily basis,” Malan said. “The ‘wheel’ in Irish cricket is turning nicely for the stage it is at, but this point in time is a great opportunity to review what – and how – we are operating to not only grow the wheel, but make that wheel turn quicker.”While I came up through the South African system, the opportunity to move to New Zealand in 2013 really enhanced my coaching experiences and created opportunities to progress my coaching career. Hopefully, I can share these experiences and help our players improve and compete consistently across formats. And that is the key – to create greater consistency of performance over the long term.”Richard Holdsworth, the high performance director at Cricket Ireland, said that Malan’s reputation as an innovative coach with an interest in sports science played a role in his appointment. The short-term goal for Ireland, according to Holdsworth, is making greater strides in white-ball cricket.”Despite coming from outside the Irish system, Heinrich clearly articulated an understanding of the Irish cricket identity, and is determined to succeed in bonding the senior squad around these ideals, then flow those ideals down the pathway system,” Holdsworth said. “He fully understands the development stage we are at as a new Full Member, and is clear on the goals of the organisation – but is committed to working hard on building a skilled and confident squad that is competitive with the world’s leading sides.”After the ODI series against USA was called off due to a Covid-19 outbreak in both camps, Ireland are now set to play West Indies in Jamaica for three ODIs – part of the ODI Super League – and one T20I. Malan will join the Ireland set-up in March, just before the team tours Zimbabwe for a series that was postponed from last year.

The batter did not field in Canberra and both teams have an eye on the upcoming World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Feb-2022Australia may take a cautious approach with Beth Mooney in the second ODI but they are in no mood to let up on England despite the Ashes having been retained.For those involved in the 2017-18 series there are memories of how England were able to fight back to level the contest at 8-8, something Australia are determined not to let happen again.”We didn’t finish off as well as we would’ve liked,” Rachael Haynes said of 2017. “We played some good cricket but we just opened the door and it felt like we allowed them to finish pretty strongly, I guess walk away feeling like they drew the series. From our point of view we want to make sure that we win.”However, they are unlikely to take a risk with a key player as the departure date for the World Cup approaches. Mooney, who has returned to action remarkably quickly after a fractured jaw, did not field in Canberra due to some quad tightness after her 73 had anchored Australia to what proved a match-winning 205 on a tricky surface.Related

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The squad departs for New Zealand two days after the Ashes concludes, and will undergo 10 days hard quarantine which adds to the complexity for anyone who is carrying an injury into the tournament.”I wouldn’t be surprised if our staff took a little bit of a conservative approach with Moons just given how crucial she is to our line-up,” Haynes said. “I don’t think they’ve selected the team yet but I wouldn’t be surprised if she was rested just to make sure she’s raring to go with what’s ahead.”If Mooney does sit out it could open the door for a return for either Annabel Sutherland or Nicola Carey unless they call in someone from outside the Ashes squad.Although both teams have insisted their focus has remained firmly on the Ashes, Haynes would not be surprised if a few different combinations are tried out. The two teams face each other in their opening World Cup match on March 5.”It’s sort of a bit of a tricky time because you want to make sure you’re peaking at the right moment,” Haynes said. “You don’t want to peak too early and then all of a sudden you get to a World Cup and run out of gas.”It might even be interesting to see how both teams approach these last couple of games. Whether there’s a bit of cat and mouse in terms of how they mix up their attacks or lineups in general in teams. It could be something that each opposition does.”After the first ODI, England captain Heather Knight conceded her team had not seized the chances that had come their way but they are determined to leave their mark on the series.”We feel like we’ve played some good cricket on this tour so far but it’s about getting over the line and we haven’t quite been able to do that which is frustrating,” Anya Shrubsole said. “There’s still a chance to level up the Ashes if we win the next two games…It’s not what we came to do, we came to win the Ashes but there’s still a huge amount to play for in this series and with the World Cup around the corner.”After the England A portion of the tour concluded in Canberra, Lauren Bell, Georgia Elwiss, Eve Jones and Emma Lamb have stayed with the England squad for the final two ODIs. The World Cup squad will be announced on February 9.

Strikers described it as “a difficult decision” after veteran middle-order player was their leading scorer last season

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Feb-2022Adelaide Strikers have parted ways with reliable middle-order batter Jon Wells citing a shift in list management strategy.Wells played 68 matches over five seasons with Strikers and was the club’s leading scorer in BBL 11 making 501 runs at a strike-rate of 128.79 with four half-centuries including 62 not out from 47 balls in the Striker’s Challenger loss to Sydney Sixers.Wells, 33, sits fourth on the list of all-time leading runscorers in the BBL behind Chris Lynn, Aaron Finch and, Glenn Maxwell, having begun his career at Hobart Hurricanes.”This is a difficult decision, however with the uncertain nature of overseas player recruitment in the current landscape, the depth of young talent and a need to consistently evolve as a team, the Strikers remain committed to doing everything possible to build a team contending for titles,” a Strikers statement said.Strikers coach Jason Gillespie paid tribute to Wells. “Wellsy is a brilliant cricketer and I cannot speak highly enough of what he has brought to the Strikers in his time here,” he said. “You know when he walks to the middle that he will give everything for the team, and more often than not he delivers exactly what is required.”We thank Wellsy for always being that calm head for us, and for being a leader both on and off the field. I know Wellsy will continue to succeed at any challenge thrown his way.”

New Zealand rebound from their opening-day loss to notch up two successive wins

Annesha Ghosh10-Mar-2022New Zealand 260 for 9 (Satterthwaite 75, A Kerr 50, Vastrakar 4-34) beat India 198 (Kaur 71, Tahuhu 3-17, A Kerr 3-56) by 62 runs
After their opening-day loss to West Indies, New Zealand have now bounced back to win two in a row. Their latest, by 62 runs over India in Hamilton, came on the back of impressive half-centuries from Amy Satterthwaite and Amelia Kerr.Amelia also took a three-for with the ball, as did Lea Tahuhu, with India folding in 46.4 overs without even threatening to make a fist of their chase. Only Harmanpreet Kaur stood tall amid a collapse. She made 63-ball 71 before being the eighth Indian wicket to fall. For New Zealand, this was a continuation of their domination over India, who were beaten 4-1 in a bilateral ODI series last month.Just like in the previous game at the venue, between Australia and England that yielded 608 runs, Thursday’s fresh surface encouraged stroke-making. Satterthwaite led the charge with the bat, adding two vital fifty stands – with Amelia and Maddy Green – and a 49-run fifth-wicket partnership with Katey Martin.India’s decision to bowl – seemingly mindful of dew, which didn’t eventually play much part in the proceedings – didn’t pay off. New Zealand posted 51 for 1 in the powerplay, with just the loss of Suzie Bates. The former captain, who made 78 in the previous game, enjoyed the rub of the green early as a thick edge off Meghana Singh flew over the slips.Three balls later, though, a drop-and-run call from Devine had non-striker Bates run out for the second time in three innings, thanks to a superb direct hit at the wicketkeeper’s end by Vastrakar from cover.Captain Sophie Devine then launched a minimal-risk offensive, punishing the slightest width on offer and erroneous lengths without breaking a sweat. She clubbed two back-to-back fours in Meghna’s second over. Two more, off consecutive deliveries, came in the next over, this time off Jhulan Goswami.First-change, left-arm spinner Gayakwad then came agonisingly close to providing further inroads when she drew Kerr into the sweep when she was on 7, but Yastika Bhatia, who replaced Shafali Verma in the XI, shelled what was a tough chance at deep square leg.New Zealand had just lost the set Sophie Devine, in the 11th over, when Satterthwaite walked in. A run-a-ball 67-run third-wicket stand between her and Amelia then helped the hosts dictate terms. Amelia then brought up her maiden World Cup fifty, and her fifth on the bounce against India.Kerr, however, was trapped lbw soon after by Gayakwad. The onus then fell on Satterthwaite to take the hosts to a formidable total. And she delivered, with a fluent 75, at a ground she averages at over 104. Her nine fours, 31 singles, and four twos helped keep the run rate above four through the major part of her stay in the middle as India struggled to tighten the scoring areas against the left-hander.Martin’s innovations helped keep New Zealand’s scoring rate up in the initial part of the final 10 overs. With Satterthwaite she added 49 for the fifth wicket as the home team set themselves up for a 250-plus score.Vastrakar oscillated between extraordinary and sloppy in the field, conceding a four through her legs and then dropping Martin on 27 after handing India an early advantage with Bates’ run out. She rounded out her outing with a flurry of wicket-taking yorkers, and Goswami India’s with a five-run over where she bowled Martin to become the joint-highest wicket-taker in women’s ODI World Cups.Harmanpreet Kaur thrilled fans briefly with a counter-attack after her half-century•AFP via Getty Images

India never quite looked the part to mount New Zealand a challenge in the chase. Dot-ball pressure induced opener Smriti Mandhana’s early dismissal to Jess Kerr, and the fall of No. 3 Deepti Sharma then saw them post their lowest ODI powerplay total since the start of 2017 (rain-interrupted matches excluded): 26 for 2. Bhatia’s promotion to the opening spot on World Cup debut, too, didn’t bring the desired results as she could manage only a 59-ball 28.Inside 20 overs, India’s top three – all left-handers – were back in the hut; Tahuhu, sensational with her mix of cutters, short balls and stock deliveries under lights, took out two of them: Deepti and Bhatia. Under a pile of pressure, India required 211 runs from 30 overs. Mithali Raj, dropped on 6 by Mackay off Tahuhu, and Harmanpreet Kaur reduced the deficit with a fourth-wicket 47 stand.India had only just begun staging a fightback when Amelia Kerr dented them further with a double-wicket third over. Raj was stumped off an orthodox legbreak and Ghosh lost the top of her offstump with a ripping wrong-un.On a hat-trick, Kerr brought five close-in fielders in but a loose delivery to the under-siege Sneh Rana meant the eventful over ended with an anticlimactic four. Not long after, off the final ball of her outing, did Tahuhu take out Rana, rounding out her exemplary returns with 10-2-17-3.Kaur’s late burst had an element of futility about it from the get-go given the required run rate had ballooned to over 10 by the 37th over. She strung a seventh-wicket 35 stand with Goswami but the prospect of a come-from-behind win for India was quashed when Amelia had Kaur caught at long-off.

“It’s pretty rare for a cricketer these days to get three months off, so I’m really going to make the most of it.”

AAP27-Mar-2022Australia legspinner Adam Zampa is confident his upcoming three-month break won’t leave him short of a gallop for this year’s T20 World Cup on home turf.Zampa is currently in Pakistan preparing for Australia’s three-match ODI series and one-off T20 clash. But with his wife due to give birth in June, Zampa is expected to miss the mid-year tour of Sri Lanka, which features three T20s, five ODIs, and two Tests.The T20 World Cup starts on October 16, and Zampa is confident he will have enough cricket under his belt despite the long mid-year break.Related

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“It’s pretty rare for a cricketer these days to get three months off, so I’m really going to make the most of it,” Zampa said ahead of Tuesday’s ODI series opener against Pakistan in Lahore.”Potentially the next game of cricket that I’ll have is the 100-ball competition [starting in August], and then we’ve got a lot of cricket after that. I sat down with [selector] George Bailey yesterday and there’s potentially 15 games of cricket for me before the World Cup.”There’s going to be a lot of rest coming up for me, but then definitely enough cricket before it gets real again.”Zampa played a key role in Australia’s T20 World Cup win in November, further cementing his status as one of the team’s most important white-ball players. But the 29-year-old says it felt vastly different earlier in his career.”I feel like I don’t have to look over my shoulder too much with selection,” Zampa said. “When you’re younger, you naturally probably look over your shoulder, you doubt yourself a lot more.”Aaron Finch has helped me massively with my game. He backs me in when I’m out there, and he lets me run my own show with my bowling, and has been really good with his own ideas as well.”I’ve been in this team for six years now. You never want to use the word comfortable, but I definitely back myself in a lot more these days.”I can go out there and maybe experiment and put things on the line for the team to try to do my role.”Australia are brimming with confidence after securing a 1-0 Test series win in Pakistan. But with stars such as David Warner, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, and Steven Smith all missing from the white-ball component of the tour, Australia face a challenge to come away with victory.”It’s going to be a difficult challenge,” Zampa said. “The plus that comes from that, as it always does when these things happen, is you build depth.”

BCB is trying to convince Tamim Iqbal, who has taken a break from the format, to be available for selection

Mohammad Isam17-May-2022Bangladesh will play a T20I tri-series in New Zealand, likely in September-October, as part of their build-up to this year’s T20 World Cup, BCB’s cricket operations chairman Jalal Yunus has confirmed, adding that Pakistan are likely to be the third team, and the series is going to be held in Christchurch.Before reaching New Zealand, Bangladesh will travel to Australia for a weeklong camp in Adelaide, where they will play T20 practice matches against local sides. This will be in September. The dates for the tri-series haven’t been announced yet, but the likeliest window is between late September and early October. The World Cup starts October 16, with the Super 12s, of which Bangladesh and New Zealand are a part, starting October 22.”We will play more than 16 T20 matches [before the T20 World Cup],” Yunus said at a press interaction. “We will not need a separate camp, since this is itself a lot of preparation. We will be holding a camp in Adelaide for a week, before heading to New Zealand to play the tri-nation tournament.”Related

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The 16 matches Yunus mentioned include T20Is in West Indies and Zimbabwe in July and August, apart from the Asia Cup, which will also be a T20I affair.Yunus said that the BCB has been holding regular meetings with Tamim Iqbal about his possible return to the T20I side. Tamim said in January that he should not be considered for selection to the T20I side for six months, but that might change.”Tamim is one of the most senior players. We have held a series of meetings with him, and he understands his position very well,” Yunus said. “You will probably hear about it from him when the six months are over. We want him to play, and we are trying [to convince him]. We will definitely respect his decision since he has to consider his future as a cricketer.”Yunus also said that Anamul Haque, who made a record-breaking 1138 runs in the List A Dhaka Premier League last month, could be selected in the Bangladesh white-ball teams in next month’s West Indies tour. “I think the selectors are considering [him] for the ODIs and T20Is against West Indies,” he said.

Veteran seamer says new coach McCullum has made an impact already

Alan Gardner15-Jun-2022Brendon McCullum urged England to “attack the danger” during their run chase in Nottingham, with the result being what Stuart Broad called “the most outrageous hour I’ve seen in Test cricket”.Broad was padded up and watching on from the dressing room at Trent Bridge as Jonny Bairstow blew the doors off England’s chase of 299, hitting 93 off 44 balls after tea on the final day. Comparing the game to Headingley 2019, when Ben Stokes guided England to victory after a 76-run partnership for the final wicket, Broad said the win over New Zealand had been just as astounding.”Baz’s team talk was very much ‘let’s attack the danger, let’s run towards the danger’ and every part of your mind is going for this win,” he said. “Whoever is to come, the changing room has full belief that you can do your job to get the win. So it was never really a case of, if we lose one we might shut up shop. It was always we’re going to win. And if it doesn’t work, don’t worry about it, but we’re going to go for the win.”But I didn’t quite expect to see what I saw from Jonny. It was the most outrageous hour I’ve seen in Test cricket from a partnership. Obviously Headingley had incredible nerves. I felt sick watching that tight thing with Leach and Stokesy. But that was just exhilarating, astonishing. Trent Bridge giving out free tickets, I’m sure there were people in this ground who have never watched Test cricket before. How inspiring is that?”At Headingley, you could cut the atmosphere with a knife and it felt very nerve-wracking, you were sick with seeing what’s coming. Whereas that was just about shouting every time a boundary happened. I saw a stat that showed in nine overs they scored 102 after tea. It wasn’t as if Baz said ‘go and whack it, go and slog it’. It was just play with the mindset that we’re going to chase these runs down. And Jonny just got hold of a few pull shots that got him going. That striking was… only a handful of players in the world can do that. Johnny is obviously in that group.”Related

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Broad said that “there’s no doubt Baz has had an impact already”, with various members of the team having spoken already about the mantra of relentless positivity that has accompanied McCullum’s arrival as Test coach.”He was absolutely buzzing that we got 380 on day three,” Broad said. “It didn’t matter how many wickets, it was the run rate. How good is that? 380 in a day, well batted lads. It’s not just praising guys who get a hundred, it’s tiny little things, bits of fielding, momentum changes in the game. He will bring attention to that.”He looks like a guy who has a cricket brain that is working all the time. He is thinking how we can change the game. That doesn’t mean he’s saying ‘what about this or that’ every minute. I feel like he’s got an energy of not letting the game sit, where can we manoeuvre it to.”At tea today, the way he spoke two-three minutes before the bell, he didn’t say I’d prefer to lose than draw, but it was that mindset – it was going for a win at all costs. I want to win, find your way to do that. You have my full backing, Stokes’ full backing to go get the win.”The effect has been clear on both batting and bowling. England scored at a rate of 4.7 runs per over during the Trent Bridge Test, and continued to set attacking fields as New Zealand made 553 in their first innings. Broad struggled somewhat, with figures of 2 for 107, but saw chances go down off Henry Nicholls and Tom Blundell.”I didn’t bowl that well in the first innings, but it felt like any mistake I made on length and line it went for four,” he said. “I felt like it got even quicker as the game went on. Could we have bowled dry? Potentially, but that is a different day if we snaffle a couple of catches. [Daryl] Mitchell went down, Blundell, Nicholls. The mindset is, how do we get more fielders in wicket-taking positions rather than protection, which gives us a better chance of bowling them out?”In the second innings, Broad helped bring about crucial breakthroughs. On the fourth evening, Blundell was held by Stokes in a catching position at backward square leg to end another potentially pivotal fifth-wicket stand; then on day five, with New Zealand edging further in front, Broad’s short ball again did the trick as a change to the field tempted Matt Henry into hooking and opened up the game.”How it’s affected me is that rather than having the bloke 20 yards further back to stop the four, it’s if he strikes it well and he’s 20 yards in, he could catch it,” Broad said. “It’s a tiny little mindset change, but it’s about getting wickets, not stopping boundaries.”My role as a bowler [on day four] was how could we take 10 wickets here and get us over the line. Although it wasn’t the classical seven – it’s not like we guided them out with skill and pressure, we got seven wickets through the momentum of the game really. And once we got a sniff… I came this morning feeling very relaxed. I felt like we were going to win the game.”

Harleen Deol makes a comeback to India’s 50-overs set-up having played her one and only ODI in 2019

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jun-2022Veteran fast bowler Jhulan Goswami does not feature in India’s white-ball squads that will travel to Sri Lanka later this month. The contingent will also be without the newly retired Mithali Raj, but Jemimah Rodrigues returns for the T20I leg, while Harleen Deol comes in for the ODIs.India T20I captain Harmanpreet Kaur has been put in charge of the ODI squad too, taking over from Raj, with Smriti Mandhana deputising.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Raj, 39, had announced her retirement from international cricket earlier in the day, saying she was leaving because “the team is in the capable hands of some very talented young players”. That next generation will also have to bridge the gap in experience left by the additional absence of Goswami, who is also 39. Raj and Goswami between them have the experience of 433 ODIs and 157 T20Is.Given her potential, 21-one-year-old middle-order batter Rodrigues’ omission from the Indian women’s team’s previous assignment – a limited-overs tour of New Zealand in February followed by the 50-over World Cup in the same country in March – had caused a stir, despite her form not being the best. Now she has made her way back into the T20I set-up following a Player-of-the-Match 66 off 44 for Trailblazers in the recent Women’s T20 Challenge.Related

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Left-arm spinner Radha Yadav, who last played for India in mid-2021, also returns to the T20I squad. Both Simran Bahadur and S Meghana were retained in the T20I squad and returned to the main ODI side after being among the reserves at the recent World Cup.Deol, meanwhile, will be looking forward to her first ODI since February 2019 – her only ODI till date. The middle-order batter had finished third on the runs charts while averaging over 60 in the domestic Senior Women’s One-Day Challenger Trophy, but did not make the cut for the last World Cup. The players who did make it but miss out here are allrounder Sneh Rana and left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht.

Sri Lanka vs India fixtures

1st T20I, June 23, Dambulla
2nd T20I, June 25, Dambulla
3rd T20I, June 27, Dambulla
1st ODI, July 1, Kandy
2nd ODI, July 4, Kandy
3rd ODI, July 7, Kandy

India Women’s ODI squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana (vice-capt), Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), S Meghana (reserve at World Cup), Deepti Sharma, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Simran Bahadur (reserve at the World Cup), Richa Ghosh (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Harleen Deol
Out: Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami, Sneh Rana, Ekta Bisht (reserve at World Cup)
In: Harleen DeolIndia Women’s T20I squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana (vice-capt), Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia (wk), S Meghana, Deepti Sharma, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Simran Bahadur, Richa Ghosh (wk), Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Singh, Jemimah Rodrigues, Radha Yadav
Out: Sneh Rana, Taniya Bhatia, Ekta Bisht
In: Jemimah Rodrigues, Radha Yadav

Sophie Luff hits 95 but Stars captain leads the way with bat and ball

ECB Reporters Network23-Jul-2022Alice Davidson-Richards produced a brilliant all-round performance to inspire South East Stars to a 36-run victory over Western Storm in an entertaining Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy encounter at Cheltenham.Davidson-Richards made 50 with the bat and then weighed in with 4 for 33 with the ball to ensure Stars maintain their pursuit of frontrunners Southern Vipers and Northern Diamonds.Chloe Brewer top-scored with 61 and Rhianna Southby hit 54 as Stars posted a formidable 283-8 after winning the toss, while offspinner Chloe Skelton took competition-best figures of 5 for 54 to keep Storm in the hunt.Sophie Luff and Alex Griffiths made a decent fist of chasing, scoring 95 and 48 respectively in staging a stand of 102 for the second wicket, but Davidson-Richards took key wickets and Alexa Stonehouse returned figures of 3 for 27 as Storm were dismissed for 247 in 48 overs, Stars holding their nerve to see the game out with something to spare.Stars elected to bat and, thanks to Brewer’s initiative, commenced their innings in T20 mode. Playing on the front foot, Brewer succeeded in knocking Storm new-ball stalwart Lauren Filer off her length and putting the home side under immediate pressure.Sophie Luff led from the front•Getty Images

Danielle Gibson had Kirstie White held at slip for 11 in the fifth over, but Brewer was already out of the traps and in full flight, having quickly worked out how to use the College Ground slope to her advantage. Cutting and driving with impunity, the 20-year-old opener raced to a 36-ball 50 as Stars made the most of the fielding restrictions to post 70 from 10 overs. Having set an aggressive tone to raise 61 from 53 balls and garner nine fours, Brewer chanced her arm once too often, miss-timing a drive off Skelton and skying a catch to mid-off, where Gibson took a tricky catch over her shoulder.Storm breathed a sigh of relief and sought to restore order by deploying spin at both ends, Skelton and Sophia Smale at least succeeding in controlling the run rate where seam had failed. Encouraged by her earlier success, Skelton made further inroads, inducing Kira Chathli to drive expansively and hole out to Fi Morris at mid-on for 14.But Davidson-Richards was already displaying immaculate timing and striking the ball cleanly and her alliance with Phoebe Franklin, who adopted the role of chief support in a progressive stand of 56 in 11 overs for the fourth wicket, ensured Stars reached halfway on 144-3 to regain the upper hand.One of four spinners who sent down 32 overs between them for Storm, Morris removed Franklin in the 28th over, the Kent right-hander miss-cuing a drive and offering a catch to the ubiquitous Skelton at mid-off, having contributed a handy 29 from 37 balls. Davidson-Richards went to 50 via 64 balls, with five boundaries, and was looking to bat long when she inexplicably attempted a reverse sweep against Claire NIcholas and was held at backward point.Katie George kept things tight during seven overs from the Chapel End, but Stars again broke loose from any attempt to shackle them, Southby and Lauren Smith wresting back the initiative in an exhilarating stand of 57 in 44 balls for the sixth wicket. Southby demonstrated excellent placement in scoring at a run a ball and she and Australian Smith ran frantically between the wickets to put the fielding side under intense pressure.Southby raised 50 in the grand manner, hoisting a delivery from Gibson over the square leg boundary to register the only six of the innings. She had harvested 54 from 52 balls and accrued 5 fours and a six when she hit the returning Skelton to mid-on with the score on 247. Skelton accounted for Smith and Alexa Stonehouse in quick succession, taking three wickets in five balls to register her first five-wicket haul in the competition, but the damage had already been done.Related

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Constrained by Stonehouse, who sent down five overs for nine runs and clean bowled Nat Wraith for four, Storm battled to 48-1 by the end of the 10-over powerplay. Setting their stall out to bat long, Luff and Griffiths advanced their partnership to 50 from 65 balls, found modest acceleration to raise a three-figure stand from a further 57 deliveries and demonstrated impressive footwork to deal with the threat posed by Danielle Gregory’s legspin.Luff reached 50 from 66 balls and Griffiths, having hewn 48 from 79 deliveries, looked a sure bet to emulate her when she top-edged a drive and was caught at the wicket off the bowling of Davidson-Richards in the 27th over with 123 on the board.The required rate was already above seven an over when new batter Fran Wilson smacked Davidson-Richards straight to midwicket and departed for 15, and Franklin made Storm’s task even more difficult by removing George for 16 in the 38th over. Morris was bowled by Eva Gray in the next over, at which point Storm were 183 for 5 and in need of inspiration.Chasing 86 to win off the last 10 overs, Storm suffered a further blow when the returning Stonehouse bowled Gibson for 9, while Smale was adjudged lbw to Ryana Macdonald-Gay as Stars turned the screw.Lauren Filer elected to throw caution to the wind, scoring at better than a run a ball to put the visitors under pressure, but Luff’s brave pursuit of victory ended when she was bowled by Stonehouse, having made 95 from 119 balls, with 11 fours. And with the captain, went Storm’s last chance.