Matthew Wade had given the home side a platform with a superbly paced century

AAP29-Oct-2023Tasmania pulled off the highest successful run chase in their Sheffield Shield history in a memorable three-wicket triumph over Queensland.Set 432 to win, they secured the victory with just 10 balls left in a thrilling conclusion to the match at Blundstone Oval in Hobart on Sunday.Unheralded lower-order batters Bradley Hope (48 not out) and Jarrod Freeman (47 not out) added an unbeaten 75-run eighth-wicket partnership to guide Tasmania to their second win of the season.Related

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Freeman smashed a huge six off former Tasmania player Gurinder Sandhu to complete the chase in the penultimate over.”I’ve never heard him [Hope] scream like that at the end there,” Freeman said. “He’s pretty pumped. That’s pretty special. I sort of thought if fielders are up straight, I’m going to try and get it [for six] and luckily enough I did. How good?”The run chase tops Tasmania’s previous best in a winning cause when David Boon’s 152 propelled them 402 for 6 against Western Australia at the WACA in March 1996.It was also the sixth-highest chase in the history of the Shield, which started in 1892-93, and the best since Queensland hit 471 for 5 to beat South Australia in 2014.Starting the day at 88 for 2, Tasmania looked no chance of winning until Matthew Wade and Beau Webster came together at 158 for 4Wade, who was recalled to Australia’s T20I squad on Saturday, carved out an impressive 105 for his 19th first-class century to boost Tasmania’s chances. Together with Webster, the pair put on a 164-run partnership before Wade was lbw to Mitchell Swepson.Michael Neser, who missed day two after flying home to Brisbane for personal reasons, looked to have sunk Tasmania when he bowled Webster.But Hope, whose best score in five previous first-class matches was 27 not out, looked assured at the crease with the big-hitting Freeman.Queensland go to 1-2, after opening their account for the season with a convincing victory over Victoria last week.”We couldn’t contain them,” Queensland coach Wade Seccombe said. “I think that’s one thing we could look back on and reflect and say there were moments in the game where we could have controlled the scoreboard a little bit better.”If we hadn’t done that it would have put a bit more pressure on the way they went about their scoring, but credit to them, they didn’t allow it.”

“The game continues to move and evolve. It’s no point staying stagnant; you’ve got to find ways to continue to improve”

Himanshu Agrawal05-Dec-2023Jason Holder, who had already joined the league of freelance T20 cricketers with stints in the CPL, IPL, BBL and SA20, has now added T10 to the list. The West Indies allrounder, representing Samp Army in the ongoing second edition of the Abu Dhabi T10, is relishing the challenge of cricket’s shortest format.Army started the season with a loss against Northern Warriors, but hit back with four successive wins. Holder played crucial roles in three of those victories. First, he bowled a decisive spell of 1 for 8 in two overs against Chennai Braves. Then, he produced back-to-back defining performances, smashing 29 from ten balls and grabbing 3 for 12 against Team Abu Dhabi, and a Player-of-the-Match contribution of 3 for 15 against Delhi Bulls.Related

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Holder made his feats in the newest format sound quite easy.”You’ve just got to be very clear. Once you’re clear, it’s easier to execute,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “The moment you have a clouded mind, it’s a lot more difficult to execute. Having a clear mind, being clinical and just executing your plans is very much on the precision part of the game, and you’ve got to be precise in terms of executing.”As a bowler, Holder has only two overs to try and make an impact in a T10 game, and yet has delivered the results with the ball this season. He says the pressure in T10 isn’t any different to that of any other format, and has the numbers to show it, too.Holder has bagged eight wickets in five games, bowling at an average of just 10.12 and an incredible economy of 8.10 runs an over. Eventually, he brings it all down to execution and learning, and being keen to work on his skills.”You’ve got to execute on any given day, and make sure you’re hitting your straps,” he said. “You’re always looking to develop your game; you’re never a complete package. The game continues to move and evolve. It’s no point staying stagnant; you’ve got to find ways to continue to improve. You’ve got to keep sharpening your skills, and making yourself better.”West Indies, along with the USA, will be hosting the T20 World Cup in just about six months’ time. They have another 14 T20Is scheduled before the big tournament comes along – five of them against England at home start next week – and being a rare West Indies player who currently plays all three formats for his country, Holder believes T10 is “a good challenge” to have.”It’s still the same skills in cricket. You’re probably under a bit of more pressure in a shortened game, so definitely [T10] challenges your skills, temperament and overall cricket development,” he said. “It’s a wonderful game, and I think it’s here to stay. As cricketers, you’ve just got to adapt – to any given situation and circumstances. As a professional if you can’t adapt, then you’ll always struggle.”

In their second innings, India also struggled against spin but had a lead of 478 by stumps

Vishal Dikshit15-Dec-2023After dominating the first day with the bat, India bossed the second day’s play even more fiercely in Navi Mumbai, by spinning a web around England and bowling them out for just 136 in reply to their first-innings total of 428. It was Deepti Sharma’s use of generous flight and turn that started England’s dramatic collapse of 7 for 28 as soon as she came to bowl on a 19-wicket day, of which 15 fell to spin. Deepti finished with stunning figures of 5 for 7, her maiden five-for, from just 5.3 overs that included four maidens and made England look completely clueless.India didn’t enforce the follow-on despite a massive lead of 292, and even though they didn’t stitch partnerships as they did on the first day, they continued to score at well over four an over to finish the second day on 186 for 6, extending their lead to 478 with two days still left in the game. It is possible, though, that their first-innings top-scorer – debutant Satheesh Shubha – may not bat because of a hairline fracture on her left hand.Related

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At lunch, England were in a decent position of 67 for 2. Tammy Beaumont and Nat Sciver-Brunt brought up a half-century stand but once Beaumont fell to a direct hit from Vastrakar, who swooped to square leg from short midwicket to end any hopes of a quick single, England couldn’t put on any more sizeable partnerships.Debutant Renuka Singh had bowled Sophia Dunkley with an inducker for 11 and Vastrakar had removed captain Heather Knight by trapping her lbw in the first session. From 28 for 2, England were primarily led by the ever-reliable Sciver-Brunt, who started with a flurry of boundaries and collected more of them whenever the bowlers were too full or too short. After lunch, India returned with a renewed aggression, though.Nat Sciver-Brunt scored a fighting half-century•BCCI

Once Beaumont was run out for 10 in the third over after the break, four boundaries from Danni Wyatt against Vastrakar gave England hopes of another steady stand. But Deepti dashed any such aspirations. Her second ball had Wyatt caught at short leg off an inside edge for 19, and even though Sciver-Brunt brought up her fourth Test fifty next over, Deepti returned with two wickets in an over, the first of which was aided by luck. A pull from Amy Jones hit Smriti Mandhana on the helmet at short leg and ricocheted to Shafali Verma at leg slip for a sitter. Two balls later, Deepti turned the ball in sharply and it kept low to knock back Sophie Ecclestone’s off stump for a duck.At 126 for 6, Sciver-Brunt was England’s only hope, but she too lost her off stump in the next over when Sneh Rana tossed the ball up generously and turned it in viciously to beat the batter. Deepti and Rana kept tossing the ball up around 70kph, and the flight and turn from outside off kept beating the batters. Charlie Dean was lbw when she left one just outside off against sharp turn from Rana, Kate Cross handed a return catch to Deepti before Lauren Filer also lost her stumps after being beaten by the turn. England were all out in just 35.3 overs, losing their last seven in just 10.2 overs to spin.Despite having a lead of almost 300 and having bowled for just over a session, India surprisingly came out to bat again. England also gave the second over to a spinner this time, but Ecclestone’s first ball was smacked over wide long-on for six by Mandhana in an 11-run over. When Knight dropped Shafali’s thick edge at second slip off Lauren Bell in the next over and another fell short of first slip, it looked like it was going to be another day of chances either not going to the England fielders’ hands or not sticking. England, however, changed that later in the last session by holding on to four catches, but not before Mandhana and Shafali took the lead past 350 with their fifty stand.Smriti Mandhana scored quickly at the start of the second innings•BCCI

Mandhana continued to attack Ecclestone whereas Shafali muscled Charlie Dean for a six over long-on and also used a review to get the on-field lbw decision overturned in the next over by Cross to pile on more agony on England. Ecclestone’s return for her second spell started with a six from Shafali but the left-arm spinner had Mandhana caught at short leg in the same over to finally end the opening stand.India promoted Yastika Bhatia in the absence of Shubha but she and Shafali fell in consecutive overs to England’s spinners. First, Shafali holed out to long-on for 33 and then Bhatia couldn’t account for the extra bounce Ecclestone extracted and handed another catch to Beaumont at short leg. Since the England spinners bowled much fuller and quicker than their counterparts, Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues used the drives and sweeps. Rodrigues was more brisk but when Dean slowed one down a fair bit, the flight and drift took her inside edge to short leg where Beaumont pouched her third.Dean was soon on a hat-trick when she trapped Deepti, who tried one sweep to many, and had Rana bowled for a golden duck. What was otherwise a precarious score of 133 for 6 wasn’t too troubling for India because their lead had sailed past 400, and with Harmanpreet solid at one end on 44 at stumps, they will be looking to set an even stiffer target on Saturday.Earlier in the first session, England took under 40 minutes to pick up India’s remaining three wickets for just 18 runs, despite putting down two more chances, both by close-in fielders off Ecclestone. Deepti first got a life on 62 in the third over of the day when Beaumont put one down at short leg and Renuka was later dropped at silly point by Dunkley. Bell, however, tempted Deepti to drive with full and swinging deliveries from around the wicket and got her outside edge to have her caught behind for 67 to finish with 3 for 67. Ecclestone soon wrapped up India’s innings by yorking Renuka and then having Rajeshwari Gayakwad caught at silly point.

The former Australia captain, who will coach Delhi Capitals in the IPL, has yet to commit to anothe role

AAP01-Feb-2024Ricky Ponting could become the biggest signing coup in Major League Cricket’s short history after confirming he is in talks to coach the Washington Freedom.The legendary former Australian captain is deciding if he can commit to both the US-based MLC competition and commentary duties at the T20 World Cup, to be held in North America and the Caribbean in June.The second edition of MLC will begin only four days after the T20 World Cup final is played in Barbados on June 30.Ponting would be the highest-profile signing with MLC, a six-team competition that debuted last year and has received financial backing from IPL sides.”We’re not there yet, I haven’t committed to anything just yet, but I’ve had some initial discussions [with Washington],” Ponting told . “The time of the year sort of fits in okay for me, but I’ve got a really hectic off-season again. When I say off-season, there’s no such thing as an off-season for cricketers anymore.”Ponting will coach IPL side the Delhi Capitals for a sixth consecutive year from next month ahead of his potential involvements with MLC and the World Cup.A highly rated pundit for Channel 7, Ponting is not yet locked in to commentate the T20 World Cup. The World Cup will be the first broadcast in Australia on streaming service Amazon Prime, which acquired exclusive rights to ICC events until 2027 in a landmark deal struck last year.”It’s potentially another big year of time away if I want it, so there are things I’ve got to work through,” Ponting said. “If I’m actually going to be commentating the T20 World Cup or not and if I’m not doing that, where does MLC fit in?”Ponting previously coached the Mumbai Indians and has worked in the Australian set-up, most recently as an assistant to former head coach Justin Langer.”I love the coaching side of it,” Ponting said. “I love working with the best players in the world and trying to find a way to make them better, and winning some games along the way.”Under the guidance of Sydney Sixers coach Greg Shipperd, Washington finished third on the ladder in the first MLC, but were eliminated by eventual champions MI New York in the play-offs.Ponting’s former Australian team-mate Shane Watson was coach of the San Francisco Unicorns last season, while Aaron Finch, Dwayne Bravo, Rashid Khan and Quinton de Kock were among star players involved.

England Test coach looking for team to refine method but says he and Stokes won’t change approach

Vithushan Ehantharajah10-Mar-20241:57

What did this series tell us about England’s batting?

Brendon McCullum admits India exposed flaws in England, forcing them to play “timid” cricket, and says refinement and some tough conversations will be on the agenda in the aftermath of their 4-1 defeat.The fact that this was the first series loss of McCullum’s reign did not lead the head coach to sugarcoat his assessment of how matters played out following England’s opening win in Hyderabad. Strong positions relinquished in the next three Tests culminated in the fifth at Dharamsala, where India stomped to an innings victory inside three days.England’s overall record with McCullum at the helm and Ben Stokes as captain now reads 14 wins out of 23, with eight defeats. Seven of those defeats have come in 13 matches since the start of 2023. Though losing to India was nothing to be ashamed of, given they are unbeaten in series since the start of 2013, McCullum conceded lessons needed to be learned to refine the overall approach, along with specific aspects to address once the dust has settled.Related

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“Sometimes, you can get away with things,” McCullum said. “But when you’re exposed the way we have been in the back end of this series in particular, it does require some pretty deep thinking and some adjustment to make sure we’re staying true to what we believe in.”If anything, we got more timid as the series went on, and that was because of the pressure that was applied to us by the Indian line-up, not just with the ball. With the bat, they put us under a tremendous amount of pressure, too.”There are some things where you can get a little bit of luck on your side and you paper over a couple of the cracks. When you are exposed in the way we have been here, you know that you have to get better in some areas. The next couple of months will be us working out that and making sure when we come to the summer we are a more refined version of what we are at the minute.”Of frustration for McCullum were the missed chances over the last seven weeks. The third Test in Rajkot, when India were 33 for 3 on day one and ended up with 445 before England lost 8 for 95, having been 224 for 2 in their first innings, is one “at the forefront” of his mind. Allowing India to recover from 177 for 7 on day two of the fourth in Ranchi is another, as the hosts narrowed what should have been a vast first-innings lead, eventually chasing down 192 to seal the series.”We were placed under a lot of pressure in those games, and we had our opportunities when we were in front of the game and we weren’t able to close it out. Whether that affected our approach a little bit and put some doubt in our minds that wasn’t there early in the series, I’m not really sure why at this point in time.”They probably outplayed us at the style of cricket that we want to play and made us start to retreat a little bit. So that’s something that we will have to change.”England suffered one final collapse on day three in Dharamsala•Associated Press

The notion the England set-up is too cushy was dismissed out of hand by McCullum, along with the suggestion that a relaxed team environment lent itself to a lack of ruthlessness both here and in last summer’s drawn Ashes. He stopped short of divulging whether tough conversations were had on this trip, insisting “they should remain private”, but insisted both he and Stokes have no truck for players coasting given the support and encouragement afforded to them.”We didn’t get where we’ve got to in life and in our careers without having some sort of hard edge,” he said. “For us, we judge the input, the enthusiasm, the energy and always giving to the team, and the want to develop as a player. Not to be content with being the player you are now.”Occasionally, as we all have in our lives, someone might have to give you a little nudge and say, ‘Do you think you’ve got it right here?’ In your own way, you might then recalibrate and put your energy into gear, but that’s just natural. That’s part of running a cricket team. It’s just like running a family. It’s no different.”McCullum was also reluctant to reveal the “couple of areas” that require his immediate focus but stated they will be a priority when he and Stokes reconvene after a break. The squad will fly home on Tuesday, with McCullum heading back to New Zealand before he begins “plotting” to rebuild the team from this setback. The next assignment is a three-Test home series against West Indies, which begins at Lord’s on July 10.One area is certain to be around personnel, particularly with the emergence of Lancashire left-arm spinner Tom Hartley and Somerset offspinner Shoaib Bashir. The pair were the only two uncapped members of the touring party but finished as the leading wicket-takers, with 22 and 17 dismissals, respectively. Hartley’s tally, supplemented by 185 runs, had him second on the wicket-taking charts, four behind R Ashwin.Jack Leach, who left the tour with an injured left knee after just one appearance, has been Stokes’ No. 1 spinner. But the emergence of Hartley and Bashir means Leach now faces competition for his spot.”Jack will understand that himself,” McCullum said. “He will be proud of it, because he is a guy that invests in the team. Whilst he is desperate to be the number one spinner for England, he is also connected to try to help these other guys. He was the first person that rung Bash after he got selected and he was fantastic working along Tommy Hartley, along with Rehan Ahmed.”It’s a good place to be when you’ve got depth and different types of options. We’ve got to embrace that and there will be some challenging selections throughout the summer. That’s a good place to be. Rather than scrambling to find someone, we’ve got plenty of depth, so just need to make sure we get it right.”Another situation to negotiate is the wicketkeeper role, after Ben Foakes donned the gloves for the duration in India, having been usurped the previous summer by Jonny Bairstow. While Foakes was close to immaculate behind the stumps, taking 12 catches and effecting four stumpings, both he (205 runs at an average of 20.5) and Bairstow (238 at 23.8) underperformed as part of a misfiring middle order.While Bairstow, who brought up 100 caps in the fifth Test, could reprise the role he performed last summer, now may be the time to move on from the Yorkshireman and blood a new option, whether that is Ollie Robinson (Durham), Jamie Smith (Surrey) or James Rew (Somerset).”We’ve got time to be able to work out what we want moving forward,” answered McCullum when asked if Bairstow, Foakes or a new challenger will take the gloves this summer. “I don’t really need to go into that anymore.”I think Foakes has kept brilliantly here, and obviously Jonny had a decent series with the bat in the Ashes as well, so there are good options and we’ve just got to make sure we make the decision that we feel gives us the most amount of – I guess – weaponry to be able to ensure that we are able to go toe-to-toe with the best teams in the world and we’ll make that decision in time.”Ben Foakes had a good series with the gloves but could again find himself out of the picture at home•Associated Press

On the bowling front, McCullum singled out fast bowler Gus Atkinson, an unused member of the squad, for a debut this summer – “He’s got something that we need to take a good look at” – and Matthew Potts, who took 23 wickets in McCullum’s first six Tests and impressed for the Lions out in India with 20 dismissals at 16.95.McCullum has also challenged those outside the group to catch the attention of the selectors with big domestic performances, as he looks to broaden the net. As things stand, the only batter to have been dropped since McCullum took charge is Alex Lees.”It’s certainly not closed at all it’s just that at this stage these are the guys we believe are the best cricketers to win a series. You give them time for that plan to play out. If it doesn’t play out, of course, if someone is banging down the door you look at that. Certainly nothing is closed to anyone it’s just that you have to bang the door down.”As the first two years of McCullum’s tenure come to a close, the focus now is on the next phase of this project, which culminates in a home series against India, followed by the Ashes in Australia in 2025-26. Series against West Indies, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and New Zealand await this year for a group of players who have been backed to the hilt so far. And while changes are coming, McCullum wants to retain a lot of what has made England an engaging and watchable side after the previous lows of just one win in 17 before he came on the scene.”It would be foolish of us to throw away the good work we’ve done in search of something else over the next little while. The skipper and I have total conviction in our methods and we won’t backing away from that. We’ll be trying to refine that absolutely, but we won’t be backing down from the way we think this environment should run. We’ve just got to make sure we are getting the best out of people.”We didn’t get what we came for [in India]. But I think so much good is going to come out of this series; I really do. It’s given us an opportunity to take a step back and look at areas we need to improve and have the conviction in ourselves to ensure that we make those changes and drive the team forward.”

The Australia allrounder reflects on his first-hand experience of facing new pace sensation Mayank Yadav

Alex Malcolm04-Apr-20242:25

Maxwell: Mayank’s consistent high pace is rare

Glenn Maxwell has described the pace of Mayank Yadav as “pretty formidable” and believes the speeds he produced were the equivalent of former Australia quick Shaun Tait in his prime.Maxwell was one of Mayank’s three victims in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s loss to Lucknow Super Giants at home on Tuesday.Mayank’s stunning display earned him his second straight player of the match award and sent shockwaves to Australia given he bounced out Maxwell and castled Cameron Green with two deliveries above 150kph.Related

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Speaking on ESPN’s , Maxwell said he had paid close attention to Mayank while watching LSG’s previous game against Punjab Kings but nothing could prepare him for the real thing.”I thought it was really impressive,” Maxwell said. “He hurried on a few of the Punjab batters and I certainly did a little bit of homework before coming up against him. But it’s nothing doing homework against someone until you actually see it coming out of the hand and have to try and pick up the length.”He bowled me the first one which was just a high bouncer and the wicket that we’ve been producing at [Bengaluru] has been a little bit two-paced and it sort of came through a bit slower than I thought it was going to. And I was like, ah, that wasn’t too bad.”And then the next one was hard length and skidded on probably faster than I thought it was going to be and as you saw I went to pull thinking that I picked up the length really well and before you know it, it’s on you, hitting the shoulder the bat and ballooning up in the air.”He has some real extra speed that you don’t really see a lot of around world cricket at the moment. You see guys bowl pretty consistently around the 140s [kph] or high 140s. But to have mid-150s consistently in your arsenal is pretty formidable.”Maxwell said that the closest comparison he could draw in terms of pace was to Tait, who he faced in Australian domestic cricket in the second half of his career.”It’s such a beautiful smooth action,” Maxwell said. “He [Mayank] sort of glided through the crease really nicely. I think pace-wise, the only one that I can sort of really resemble it to is a little bit like Shaun Tait when he was in his heyday.”I think when he was at the peak of his powers it was extremely hard to pick up the extra zip it feels like it has off the wicket. I think that’s as close as it probably comes to it.”Maxwell admitted that he and RCB had not started well after losing three of their first four games. Maxwell has bowled impressively but has scores of 0, 3, 28 and 0. He said that RCB’s overseas batters in particularly were having trouble adjusting to some unexpected surfaces in Bengaluru in particular.”It obviously hasn’t been a great start for us or myself individually,” Maxwell said. “It’s been a little bit of a struggle. I think we’ve been probably caught a little bit behind with our conditions that we’ve probably produced in the first few home games as well.”I think last year we had a beautiful even wicket that we were able to I suppose get ourselves into the game, get our top batters going and I’ve felt that those two-paced wickets it’s just been a bit of a struggle for our overseas players to get into the game and get that sort of consistency of performance. And when you start slow in T20 cricket it can be a hard thing to come back and find rhythm to get back into it. So hopefully this little away trip does us some good.”

Lancashire make early running on truncated day before former star digs in for visitors

ECB Reporters Network24-May-2024Three wickets from Lancashire’s Tom Bailey put the hosts in charge against Warwickshire after a truncated day at Emirates Old Trafford ended with the visitors 89 for three from 39 overs on day one of this Vitality County Championship Division One clash.Bailey, who has struggled for consistency so far this campaign, showed what the Red Rose had been missing, as he dismissed Rob Yates, Will Rhodes and Ed Barnard either side of tea to finish the day with three for 25 after the game had finally got underway at 2.10pm following overnight rain.Full of confidence following a fine performance in beating Durham at Blackpool, a win which has left them within striking distance of mid-table, Lancashire will be looking to move off the bottom with a similar result against the Bears, who are winless in six matches, their second defeat – added to four draws – coming on Monday against Essex at Chelmsford.Once the extensive mopping-up operation had finished, Warwickshire, having won the toss, began batting under typical overcast Manchester skies with Yates opening the batting with former Lancashire wicket keeper batter, Alex Davies.The opening pair had put on 38 when Yates badly misjudged a Bailey delivery which jagged back and removed his off bail in the 11th over as the left-hander departed for 19.Skipper Davies, meanwhile, was going along nicely against his ex-teammates, with some trademark cover drives and busy running, a painful reminder to the home crowd of his talents.But it was Bailey, who had the bit between his teeth and with a worn pitch, gloomy skies and Nathan Lyon at the other end in support, he produced a beauty to find Rhodes’ edge with the batter on 14 when keeper Matty Hurst took the catch.74 for two quickly became 82 for three when Barnard edged another excellent Bailey delivery to Hurst to depart for two.The score had progressed to 89 for three with Davies unbeaten on 47 and Dan Mousley one not out when the players left the field at 5.09pm due to a combination of drizzle and bad light.

Dreary drew ensues after youngster stars for Warwickshire with career-best 93

ECB Reporters Network29-Apr-2024Nottinghamshire 400 (Duckett 218, Haynes 74, Slater 65, Hannon-Dalby 5-78) and 75 for 1 drew with Warwickshire 361 (Bethell 93, Barnard 69, James 3-65, Pennington 3-74)Another stalemate landed in the ocean of early-season Vitality Championship draws as the match between Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire petered out at Edgbaston.In reply to 400 all out, Warwickshire extended their first innings to 361, Jake Bethell posting a career-best 93 (163 balls), before Nottinghamshire went in again and acquired 75 for one.As soon as Warwickshire reached 251, which they did with some comfort with five wickets down, the match was consigned to a draw, the home side’s fourth in four championship matches and Nottinghamshire’s third in four.It was a dreary conclusion to a match which delivered some excellence – Ben Duckett’s double-century and the seam bowling of Olly Hannon-Dalby and Dillon Pennington – but was ultimately smothered by a docile pitch and the loss of more than a day to rain.After Warwickshire resumed on the final morning on 175 for five, 76 short of the follow-on figure, Nottinghamshire needed to strike quickly but Bethell and Danny Briggs (37, 79) were soon collecting boundaries. Stubborn batting, allied to a pitch which stubbornly refused to deteriorate, drew the sting of a seam attack which bowled with a quality during this match to suggest they will cause batters a lot of problems in more helpful conditions.Bethell and Briggs added 85 in 23 overs to take their side to the requisite 251. Almost immediately, Briggs swatted Calvin Harrison to mid on where Freddie McCann entered the history books as the first former Papplewick & Linby CC player to take a catch as a substitute in first class cricket with the floodlights on at Edgbaston on a Monday.Bethell’s classy and composed innings ended seven short of a deserved maiden century when he edged Olly Stone to give the former Warwickshire player his first wicket back on his old patch. Bowling remained a joyless assignment though and Michael Burgess (43, 63 balls) and Aamer Jamal (40, 46) added 71 in 15 overs before the latter hammered a return catch to Lyndon James.After Hasan Ali chipped James into the covers, Hannon-Dalby settled in with his customary aplomb before running out of partners when Burgess mowed to mid off. James’ analysis had been upgraded from 0 for 57 to three for 63 in 18 balls.Nottinghamshire went into bat again at 2.54pm and filled the rest of a grey afternoon with batting practice. Duckett followed his 264-ball 218 with a six-ball seven when Hannon-Dalby trapped him lbw but Haseeb Hameed (41 not out, 69 balls) and Ben Slater enjoyed an outdoor net for the remaining two hours as the match fizzled out in a manner redolent of Nottinghamshire’s visit to Coventry in 1928 when they amassed 656 for three, four of the top five scoring centuries (only Arthur Carr missed out with a paltry 58) but their victory hopes were thwarted by a benign pitch, weather damage and obdurate batting by Warwickshire legends Tiger Smith and Bob Wyatt.

The West Indies captain said to move up the rankings from ninth to third in a year was “tremendous work”

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jun-2024West Indies’ T20 World Cup 2024 campaign came to an end with defeat to South Africa in Antigua on Sunday, but their captain Rovman Powell was full of praise for the progress they made as a team in the year leading up to the competition.”I think when you look on a large scale, we haven’t won the World Cup. We aren’t in the semi-finals. [But] I think the cricket we have played in the last 12 months or so is commendable,” Powell said in the post-match presentation ceremony. “Credit has to be given to the team. If you can take a year to move from number 9 to number 3 in the world, that’s tremendous work.”Related

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“We haven’t won the World Cup, but there was a lot of improvement. There’s a lot of buzz around the Caribbean again about West Indies cricket. We have done some very good things over the last 12 months.”Now is where the work starts. It’s for us to continue to work as a group, still be tight, and hopefully, just hopefully, we can continue to climb the rankings and make the Caribbean people proud,” Powell said.Powell also acknowledged the support they received on and off the field during a home World Cup, and said that it is a sign of the team headed in the right direction.”That has been fantastic. For all the venues that we have played, for all the social media likes and stuff that people have given us, we as a team really appreciate it,” he said.”It’s good to see that some buzz is back in the Caribbean for cricket, because we know how long that has died down. Now people are rallying around the West Indies as they do. Now, when we hear the anthem play, as players we feel something. I think that is heading in the right direction.”West Indies fans show their support in North Sound•Associated Press

Powell: ‘A batting performance we will try and forget’

After being put in to bat in a virtual knockout game by South Africa, West Indies unravelled against spin in Antigua. They could only make 135, but they then had South Africa at 15 for 2 after two overs when rain set in. With the target revised to 124 in 17 overs, West Indies kept chipping away, especially with Roston Chase dismissing David Miller and the set Tristan Stubbs in consecutive overs.But in the end, Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada sealed a three-wicket win for South Africa, with five balls to spare.”I think credit has to be given to the boys. I think they fight to the very end,” Powell said.”As a batting group, this is one batting performance we’ll try our best to forget. I think we didn’t bat well in the middle overs especially,” he said. “I think obviously you see both teams bat on the wicket. Obviously it wasn’t an easy wicket, especially to get started.”I think [in] the middle overs, we lost wickets in clusters. The first time in this competition we have lost wickets in clusters. That always breaks the back of a batting team.””I think it was a commendable bowling effort. 130 [135] at the halfway mark, we said we’re just going to give it our all,” Powell said. “Whatever happens, happens. Credit has to be given to the guys at the halfway mark. They believed, even though it was only 135.”

Fast bowlers fill void left by James Anderson, while paying tribute to retired great

Alan Gardner30-Jul-2024What’s the one thing better than having a 90mph fast bowler at your disposal? Being able to call on two quick men, of course. England’s new-look Test attack gave a glimpse of what might be possible in overseas conditions that tend to drawn the sting of medium-pace seam and swing – although both Mark Wood and Gus Atkinson paid tribute to James Anderson for his input as the team’s bowling mentor following his retirement one match into the series with West Indies.Wood bowled three of the fastest overs ever delivered by an Englishman (since speeds start to be reliably recorded two decades ago) in the second Test, although he had to wait for his rewards. Having taken 2 for 88 in the match at Trent Bridge, followed by 2 for 52 in the first innings of the third Test, at Edgbaston, he went in at lunch on day three with 0 for 31 from eight overs and feeling despondent.A chat with Anderson helped Wood maintain focus on the skill of bowling, rather than the outcome – and his ensuing spell was one for the record books, as the 34-year-old claimed 5 for 9 in six overs of rapid reverse-swing to set England on course for a 10-wicket win.Related

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“I was probably thinking too much: ‘Why am I not getting wickets?’ But Jimmy was great with me,” Wood said. “So too was Jeetan Patel and some of the other staff – just thinking about the process and, when the ball was reversing, Jimmy put in my mind more about, like, tactically what I would try to do with the ball. Some here, some there, field placings – and it sort of took my mind off it a little bit and when you get the first wicket, then the confidence came back and I stopped thinking about other stuff and then I just bowled.”While Wood was named Player of the Match for his efforts, England’s Player of the Series went to Atkinson for his 22 wickets at 16.22. Atkinson claimed 12 on debut at Lord’s, bowling alongside Anderson, before graduating to taking the new ball in his absence – but still benefiting from the advice of England’s most-prolific bowler of all time as he settled into a new role in the dressing-room.”He doesn’t need to offer too much,” Atkinson said of Anderson’s input. “I think there’s small things, little questions where he gives you confidence in yourself. Getting that from someone like Jimmy means a lot and really helps. I am looking forward to working with Jimmy again in the future.”Atkinson impressed with both his pace and his ability to move the ball, largely using a scrambled seam. Although not as quick as Wood, who was regularly in the 93-97mph region, Atkinson said that he was working on delivering consistently higher speeds over longer spells. He also revealed that he had made changes to his run-up since the tour to of India in January-March, withdrawing from his IPL deal with Kolkata Knight Riders to focus on his technical work which involved – like Wood – making it longer.”I changed my run-up. That was something I felt I needed to do. I didn’t feel consistent at the crease, so improving my run-up has helped a lot. That is the reason why I pulled out of the IPL, to get ready for the Test summer. I feel playing for Surrey in the Championship was important. Equally playing in the Blast helped me get rhythm for the series. I have done anything too crazy but just a few changes with my run up – [straighter] and it’s about three metres longer as well.”Mark Wood and Gus Atkinson brought a different dynamic to England’s attack•Darren Staples/AFP/Getty Images

On matching Wood’s impact on the speed gun, he said: “It will be pretty tough to get up to that sort of pace, but I will always be looking to improve my pace. It’s my first time playing three games back-to-back, so physically it’s a good test. But that is something I will try to improve on, getting my pace higher and higher.”To back it up and take wickets in the last two Tests is great. On flat wickets I like to do what the captain says. I’ll bowl bouncers, or whatever. To back it up was fantastic and I’m looking forward to the future.”The quicker I can bowl the better. Definitely something I will focus on, and it’s just trying to get quicker for long periods of time.”Wood was also pleased to have been able to maintain his speeds over the course of back-to-back appearances – albeit with an extra day of rest after the second Test finished in four days. He said that his body was “pretty sore now” but he would be focusing on rest and recovery while the Hundred was on, in preparation for the series against Sri Lanka starting in late August.And while Wood has sharpened his ability to swing the Dukes now that he has hit his mid-30s, he was under no illusions about his primary utility to the team.”I’m mainly in the team to bowl fast and try to make something happen there,” he said. “At times maybe I don’t want to just be pigeonholed as an enforcer, maybe I can bowl a skill [role]. And hopefully in that little period I can show that I can do that. But first and foremost, my role in the team is to bowl fast.”The wickets in England tend not to be as quick but with the Dukes ball I’m trying to move the ball at pace, rather than just being a straight-up fast bowler, actually trying to move it in some sort of way makes it a bit more deadly.”The other thing is that I’ve gone from someone that would maybe bowl one or two quick spells to now consistently keeping my pace up, and that makes another big difference. And I’m really proud that I’ve managed to go back-to-back and managed to keep my speeds up. Looking at the screen and seeing it still coming in at over 90 mile an hour is pleasing for me.”