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Chris Woakes says tourists expect livelier surfaces with Pakistan 1-0 down in series

Matt Roller11-Oct-2024

England are bracing to play on “result wickets” for the remaining two Tests of their tour to Pakistan after winning by an innings on a lifeless pitch. The groundstaff in Multan, which will also stage the second Test of the series, were watering a fresh strip barely an hour after England completed their win on Friday, which will be prepared over the next three days.Shan Masood has spoken repeatedly about wanting to play on pitches that bring his fast bowlers into play since his appointment as captain, but there was nothing for them to work with as England racked up 823 for 7 in Multan. Pakistan need to win both Tests to secure a first home series win since February 2021 and England believe they may gamble on a green pitch.”There was talk about green surfaces,” Chris Woakes said. “I suppose it did have a tinge of green on day one, but it just got better and better. The ball is firmly in their court. When it’s a home series and it’s only three matches, and you lose the first, you’d like to think that the next two are going to be result wickets, whether that be green or turners. We’ll see.”Related

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PCB restructures selection committee by picking Aleem Dar, Aaqib, Azhar

Tony Hemming, the PCB’s Australian head curator, is due to meet with a revamped selection panel on Saturday in Multan, along with Masood and coach Jason Gillespie. Pakistan’s squad for the second Test will be finalised after that meeting.Masood played down the role of the pitch, instead blaming his bowlers. “We take discussion of the pitch too seriously,” he said. “You play a pitch for your squad and your strategy, but you can’t control every aspect of the pitch… What England showed us is you can find a way: they took 20 wickets on this pitch, so you can’t say it’s impossible to take 20 wickets on this pitch.”England hope to welcome Ben Stokes back into their side for the second Test after he missed the first due to his hamstring injury. He stepped up his rehabilitation this week, doing fitness work on every day of the Test, starting to bowl off a full run-up during intervals, and having several long batting sessions in the nets behind the media centre.Ollie Pope, who stood in as captain for a fourth successive Test, was optimistic about Stokes’ chances of playing next week. “I know he’s been training really well this week, and he’s as keen as ever to get playing again, so fingers crossed for everyone that he’s all good… He has had a good week training, but I will be ready if not.”If Stokes does return, England could face a selection dilemma depending on his availability to bowl – and the nature of the surface. The most likely change would involve him replacing one of their three seamers, but they could feasibly leave out one of their two spinners – most likely Shoaib Bashir – and instead give Joe Root a greater role with the ball.Chris Woakes took two wickets in his first overseas Test since 2022•Getty Images

For Woakes, this was a successful return to playing away from home after two successive winters without going on a Test tour. He finished with match figures of 2 for 110 but took one important wicket in each innings: Babar Azam in the first, whom he trapped lbw with the second new ball, and Abdullah Shafique, who lost his off stump to the first ball of the second.”I probably didn’t think I was going to get another opportunity to do this,” Woakes said. “In a way, I’d probably given up on it. But when you get the backing of the dressing room, of Ben and Baz [McCullum], you feel 10 feet tall and like you can go out there and win games of cricket for England. I’m never going to average 25 in these conditions but I don’t think many would.”Thankfully in this Test match, I’ve been able to make a couple of breakthroughs with the new ball on a wicket which was offering pretty much bugger all, so I’m pretty pleased I contributed. There are going to be periods in these conditions where you do have to hold and you’re working for the guys at the other end.”

David Lloyd anchors run-chase after top-order implosion from visitors

ECB Reporters Network07-Jul-2024Derbyshire 131 for 3 (Lloyd 50) beat Yorkshire 130 for 9 (Ferreira 44, Thomson 3-26) by seven wicketsAlex Thomson took three wickets in an over to put Derbyshire Falcons on course for a crushing seven-wicket Vitality Blast victory over Yorkshire Vikings in front of a 5,200 sell-out crowd at Chesterfield.Vikings collapsed to 21 for 5 on a ground where they have now lost their last seven T20 games and although Donovan Ferreira made 44 off 32 balls, they could only manage 130 for nine.On a two-paced pitch, Thomson’s off-spin claimed 3 for 26 and Pakistan pace ace Mohammad Amir took 2 for 23 while skipper Samit Patel conceded only 15 from his four overs.Falcons made short work of chasing down the target with skipper David Lloyd scoring 50 off 32 balls and Wayne Madsen a composed unbeaten 30 to take the home side to 131 for 3 in 15 overs.After heavy rain in the morning delayed the start by 30 minutes, Vikings started disastrously losing three wickets to Thomson in the second over.Dawid Malan sliced the first ball he faced to gully, Adam Lyth drove straight to cover and Shan Masood was stumped after he came down the pitch to play through the offside.It got even worse for Yorkshire in the next over when Amir pinned James Wharton in front with a yorker to reduce the visitors to 10 for 4Vikings hopes of setting any sort of competitive score rested with Ferreira who survived a difficult swirling catch to Lloyd running back from short third man off Zak Chappell when he was on four.Chappell took a stunning catch in the next over when he plucked the ball one-handed at point to remove George Hill which left the Vikings in danger of falling short of their lowest T20 total of 68 made on the same ground last year.Ferreira drove and pulled Pat Brown for two fours to take the visitors to 52 for 5 after 10 overs and put a dent in Thomson’s figures by pulling him for the first six of the innings.That drop was starting to look costly when he mistimed a cut at Luis Reece low to point and although Matt Revis and Jordan Thompson both cleared the ropes in a Madsen over that cost 14, Revis pulled Amir to deep square leg and Dom Bess skied Chappell to mid-wicket.Thompson pulled Amir for six but Brown conceded only three from the final over to leave Falcons chasing a modest target.Vikings needed early wickets to have any chance but Masood dropped Aneurin Donald at mid off in the first over from Bess.Donald put a dent in the target before he drove Revis to mid on and Reece struck two sixes to take Falcons to 50 in the fourth over.Reece miscued a drive off Ben Cliff to long on but at the end of the powerplay, Falcons were 68 for 2 and well on their way.Lloyd was intent on finishing it quickly, hitting five fours and a six from the first 13 balls he faced as he cruised to 50 from only 31 deliveries.Thompson yorked him in the 14th over but by then it was too late and Falcons wrapped up victory with five overs to spare to boost their hopes of making the quarter-finals.

Du Plooy makes fifty against former team before Roland-Jones unbeaten stand

ECB Reporters Network23-Jun-2024 Middlesex 342 for 7 (Higgins 107, du Plooy 57, Roland-Jones 51*) vs DerbyshireRyan Higgins again proved the saviour of Middlesex as the hosts fought back from early trouble to post 342 for 7 against visitors Derbyshire on day one at Lord’s.The Zimbabwean-born all-rounder battled to a fourth century of the season from 152 balls, reaching his ton in the grand manner with a six into the Mound Stand as the hosts recovered from 189 for 6.Higgins and Seaxes skipper Toby Roland-Jones, whose 51 not out was his first championship half-century for 21 months, rewrote the record books with their unbroken eighth-wicket stand of 112 eclipsing that of 95 by Wilf Slack and Colin Metson set at the County Ground Derby in 1981.The late plunder was harsh on a Derbyshire attack who were excellent for much of the day, spinner Alex Thomson the pick of the bunch with 2 for 43.Middlesex’s decision to bat first on winning the toss was greeted by applause from the home faithful accustomed to seeing them insert opponents this season Ironically, it soon became clear their decision had been made on the sportiest wicket seen at Lord’s this campaign.Zak Chappell struck in the first over having Sam Robson taken at backward point, the former England opener back in the hutch without a run on the board. It set the tone for a fascinating morning’s cricket where Derbyshire’s bowlers extracted plenty of life and bounce from a green-tinged surface.Both Mark Stoneman and Max Holden had uncomfortable moments, the former nicking one from Chappell just short of slip, while the latter slashed another swinging ball from the probing Sam Connors wide of the close-catching cordon.The hosts appeared to have survived the worst when Stoneman flicked at a delivery wide down the leg-side from Anuj Dal, wicketkeeper Brooke Guest flying to his right to catch.New batter Leus du Plooy, playing against his former county, and Thomson began a gripping duel in the run-up to lunch, the batter looking fidgety and trying to give the bowler the charge, the spinner countering, mixing some tempting tossed up deliveries with others fired in short to stop his former teammate in his tracks.Holden was becalmed either side of lunch as the ball began to swing under increasing cloud cover and his patience ran out as he slashed a wide one to Aneurin Donald at slip.Again, Du Plooy and Higgins weathered a storm, the former unfurling some glorious extra-cover drives and playing a delicious late cut through third in advancing to his half-century.Thomson though proved his nemesis, when Du Plooy got too far away from one that bounced and gave Guest another catch to end a stand of 63.He’d also account for Nathan Fernandes before tea, a ball too close to cut, flying to Wayne Madsen at slip and when Jack Davies edged through to Guest five balls after the interval, Middlesex were 189 for 6.An unusually subdued Higgins, who’d been given a life on 33 when Donald grassed a chance at slip from a reverse sweep off Thomson, found sufficient rhythm to move through to 50 with five fours. Luke Hollman kept him company for a while before edging one from Daryn Pavillon to the diving Madsen at slip.With that, Higgins began to chance his arm and ride his luck, twice edging through the gap in the slip cordon to the fence at third, and with Toby Roland-Jones reviving memories of bygone days bat in hand with a couple of dreamy cover-drives the pair rattled up a 50-partnership in good time.The skipper broke his bat digging out a Connors Yorker and the change proved fruitful as he sent the next delivery over the short boundary into the Mound Stand. He later repeated the feat to raise the second batting bonus point and to compound Derbyshire’s growing frustration Higgins was reprieved a second time on 88 when a chance above head high at second slip fell to earth, Pavillon the unlucky bowler.He made the most of the let-off to reach his hundred in the death throes of the day, Roland-Jones’ landmark following shortly afterwards.

David Moyes is keen to make a series of rousing signings at Everton as he leads his squad toward a new home at Bramley-Moore.

Having succeeded in guiding Everton away from the relegation rabble and indeed settle into a 14th-placed Premier League spot with just three fixtures left before the summer, the Scottish manager has struck a tuneful chord with the Merseysiders once again, 12 years after relinquishing his seat in the dugout to replace Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.

The 62-year-old reunited with his former protégé, Wayne Rooney, at the Theatre of Dreams, and while things went awry, he’d love to have such a player in his current Toffees brood.

He may not be a forward, but Everton do appear to have set their sights on a Premier League legend ahead of the market.

Everton chasing Premier League legend

According to transfer insider Graeme Bailey, John Stones’ future at Manchester City is “far from certain,” and Everton are keen on bringing their former prospect back onto Merseyside.

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He told the publication: “If he [Stones] does indeed hit the open market, I believe that Everton would be open to the prospect. Stones is settled in the North West so it could be an option. But we have to see the plans new City sporting director Hugo Viana puts into practice, but the defence is a major area they want to work on.”

Stones left Goodison Park to join Pep Guardiola’s fledgling project in a £47.5m move back in August 2016, and he’s since become one of the most decorated Englishmen of his generation.

Though the dynamic defender has offers from the Saudi Pro League, he may feel he has more to offer European football, and Everton’s new chapter could entice him to retrace his once-walked path.

Why Everton should sign John Stones

Like Rooney did eight years ago, Stones could return from a successful career in Manchester to make an impact at his former Merseyside outfit as he approaches the later stage of his career.

Crucially, Stones still has enough quality to help Everton climb toward the upper levels of the Premier League, maybe even knocking on the door of European competition.

Stones went on to play 95 times for Everton before City came calling. He was described by Three Lions teammate Ezri Konsa as being “world-class” last year but always carried the seeds of such ability at Everton.

An astute deal for Stones wouldn’t come without its caveats. Stones might be one of the most accomplished defenders of modern times, but he’s been reduced to a bit-part role in Pep Guardiola’s team over the past several years, with incessent injury blows limiting him to just 18 top-flight starts across the past two seasons.

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However, the 30-year-old is one of the most gifted defenders kicking a ball today and would add a dimension to Moyes’ unit. If Everton retain Jarrad Branthwaite’s services this summer, a continued partnership of him and James Tarkowski would reduce the weight of Stones’ responsibility.

Thrusting him into the Bramley Moore project with the expectation of week-in, week-out starts would surely see him sink like a… stone, but as with Rooney, if he’s managed correctly, it would prove to be a boost that could result in the collection of several invaluable points come season’s end.

Rooney was, of course, brought onto the professional scene by Moyes. The versatile forward posted 59 goal contributions across 116 matches under the manager.

After scoring that goal against Arsenal in his breakout campaign, the teenager was clearly destined for greatness, and after achieving that at Old Trafford, Rooney returned to his boyhood club in the twilight of his career and scored ten goals during the 2017/18 term before moving over the pond.

Stones could repeat that feat. He’s still a brilliant performer when fit and Moyes has demonstrated through the right-back placement of Jake O’Brien that he’s willing to field his stars in unconventional roles, something Stones would surely relish given his multi-facetedness.

With the £80k-per-week Michael Keane among those nearing the end of their contract this summer, making a shrewd move for an experienced head in Stones, with the perfect mentality too, could prove a huge success as Moyes looks to really get his vision up and running.

The next Bergkamp: Arsenal weigh up move for "one of the greatest CMs ever"

Arsenal could sign one of the Premier League’s greatest-ever players this summer.

ByMatt Dawson May 4, 2025

Fulham are now keen on signing a full-back who has a tempting release clause, but there is set to be competition for his signature from West Ham United, according to Sky Sports Germany.

Cottagers stepping up summer transfer plans

The Cottagers are on course to record another solid finish in the Premier League, under the helm of Marco Silva, and they have picked up some very impressive results along the way, most notably defeating champions elect Liverpool 3-2 earlier this month.

The only thing that may prevent Silva’s side from qualifying for Europe is a lack of consistency, having dropped points against the likes of Ipswich Town and West Ham United, while the 1-0 loss at AFC Bournemouth last time out could also be costly.

As such, Silva may feel some new additions are needed this summer, and targets have been identified in a number of positions, recently reigniting the interest in AC Milan forward Samuel Chukwueze, who was on the verge of a move to Craven Cottage last winter.

"Complete" target nears decision as Fulham battle against UCL club

It appears he’s made his choice…

1 ByTom Cunningham Apr 12, 2025

Panathinaikos striker Fotis Ioannadis has also been identified as a target, but there is a feeling the west Londoners could miss out, with Sporting CP also in the race for his signature.

Not only are Fulham looking to strengthen their attack, but they may also bring in a new left-back this summer, with a report from Sky Sports Germany revealing they have now joined the race for Werder Bremen defender Felix Agu.

The 25-year-old is being closely monitored by the Cottagers, having put in some impressive performances in the Bundesliga this season, but they are not the only English club in the picture.

West Ham are also keen on signing Agu, and the Premier League duo could be tempted by the appealing release clause of just €8m -€10m (£6.9m – £8.5m) included in his contract with the German club, which is set to expire at the end of May.

Fulham’s upcoming Premier League fixtures

Date

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April 20th

Southampton (a)

April 26th

Aston Villa (a)

May 3rd

Everton (h)

May 10th

Brentford (a)

May 18th

"Talented" Agu could excel in Premier League

There are clear signs the 25-year-old could now be ready to make the jump to the Premier League, having been lauded as “one of the best full-backs” in the Bundesliga by journalist Oma Akatugba last month.

The Werder Bremen star has made 17 appearances in the Bundesliga, displaying his attacking prowess by picking up three goals and one assist, and he ranks in the 94th percentile for non-penalty goals per 90 over the past year.

Silva already has a top-quality option at left-back in Antonee Robinson, but there has been speculation over the American’s future, and Agu’s ability on the front foot indicates he could be a like-for-like replacement.

Not only that, but the “talented” defender is also extremely versatile, having played at both left-back and right-back throughout his career, as well as further forward, so he could be a fantastic addition to the squad at just £6.9m – £8.5m, regardless of whether Robinson leaves.

They are India’s most vital players and if they’re on form, it’s a big battle won

Ian Chappell22-Sep-2024India have the ideal build up to their tour of Australia with two Tests against Bangladesh, then a more demanding three-game series with New Zealand.Apart from winning both series, India’s priority will be to get as many players as possible into form without suffering major injuries. However, the most pressing matters are to achieve those aims with Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant.Pant’s ability to bounce back onto the Test scene is quite remarkable given his horrific car accident. He is a crucial wicketkeeper-batter in the Indian line-up and he’d give the team a major boost if he’s at the peak of his powers for the Australian tour.Related

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As an in-form batter, Pant is vital, which he displayed on the 2020-21 Australian tour with crucial innings in both the SCG and Gabba Tests. His ability to score quickly utilising his innovative aggression is an important part of India’s strategy.His wicketkeeping is also vital – if Pant can perform at his best, he’s the ideal keeper for Australian conditions. If he’s able to continue with his agile performance standing back, that is what is required in Australia. You need a keeper who capably covers a lot of territory to both sides of the wicket. Any keeper who fulfils those requirements not only improves the team’s fielding but also allows the slip fielders to spread wider to cover extra territory.Pant’s keeping standing up to the stumps drastically improved before his serious injury, following an ultimatum from coach Ravi Shastri. The fact that Pant progressed from being a dubious keeper against spinners to a very good gloveman standing up to the stumps, admirably displayed his willingness to work hard.Pant’s improvement sums up the thoughts of that excellent Australian gloveman Rod Marsh: “If you’re the incumbent,” he said, “and you don’t improve, then you’re not thinking correctly.” Marsh rightly concluded that if you were keeping and practising most days of the week, then you should become a better keeper.

At the start of the 1972 Ashes tour I suggested we might keep Dennis Lillee in cotton wool. He told me: “Like a batsman, I need to be in form. When I take a five-wicket haul, you can talk about putting me in cotton wool”

While the batting needs to be at its best, the other crucial factor will be the Indian pace bowling. The presence of a keeper-batter in the middle order and allrounders Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin give India the luxury of selecting five bowlers for each Test.That makes the choice of fast bowlers paramount. The good form and fitness of both Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj – the two most successful pace bowlers on the last Australian tour – is essential. Of those two, Bumrah is the attack leader.A critical part of India’s build-up to the Australian tour will be ensuring Bumrah is in form but remains fit to play the bulk of the five Tests. The difficulty of balancing this task was summed up perfectly by Australian pace hero Dennis Lillee on the 1972 tour of the UK. At the start of the long tour I suggested we might keep Lillee in cotton wool. He told me in very strong terms: “Like a batsman, I need to be in form. When I take a five-wicket haul, you can talk about putting me in cotton wool.”It was a lesson I learned from the big-hearted fast bowler and never forgot.It would be ideal if the mercurial Mohammed Shami is fit for Australia but the presence of a good left-arm paceman would also improve India’s variety in attack.The spin bowling is in good hands with Jadeja and Ashwin. Nevertheless I wouldn’t discount the importance of Kuldeep Yadav on some Australian surfaces.Of the young batters Yashasvi Jaiswal looks very talented but he needs to show good form in Australia. Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli should act as guiding lights for the younger batters on tour.The batting needs to be good in Australia as India showed with their series wins on the last two visits. Batting aside, it will help India’s chances enormously if both Pant and Bumrah are performing at their best in Australia.

Five fast bowlers and two spinners present them with a lot of options, but landing on the right one won’t be easy

Karthik Krishnaswamy01-Oct-20222:13

Parnell: South Africa don’t need to panic

Cricket loves a ‘good’ headache: the kind where a team has to choose between multiple options – each of them compelling – for the same role. When the T20 World Cup begins later this month, South Africa will have more than one good headache to deal with, particularly on the bowling front.Their 15 for the tournament includes five fast bowlers – two of whom are bowling allrounders – and two spinners. That isn’t an unusual number of options, but South Africa differ from some other teams in not having a clear-cut hierarchy among those options, with Kagiso Rabada perhaps the only guaranteed starter.”I think competition is good, competition for spots,” Wayne Parnell, one of the two fast-bowling allrounders in South Africa’s squad, said ahead of the second T20I against India in Guwahati. “Every single fast bowler we have is different; we have a different skillset.Related

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“I think that’s a positive for us. It also means that when we’re presented with any particular conditions, we can play a certain set of fast bowlers. So I think, personally, having the variety that we do have is actually really good.”When South Africa toured India for another T20I series this June, they tried out an unusual combination, picking six bowlers and pushing Dwaine Pretorius – one of their two allrounders – up to No. 3 as a pinch-hitter. This time around, they have stuck with five main bowling options, with Aiden Markram’s offspin providing a sixth option.Five bowlers is probably the more balanced approach, but it means choosing one more bowler to leave out.South Africa’s fast bowlers, as Parnell pointed out, are all different, and each of them prefers bowling in certain phases. This complicates selection. Given the need for batting depth, one of Parnell or Pretorius will have to play, but the former is a left-arm swing bowler who likes to bowl in the powerplay, while the latter is a predominantly second-half-of-the-innings operator.This was perhaps why South Africa, having picked Parnell for the first T20I in Thiruvananthapuram, left out Lungi Ngidi, despite his being perhaps their most impressive performer in the T20I leg of their recent tour of England. Ngidi has been a hugely improved T20 bowler over recent months, showing excellent control over his slower ball – whether it is full and at the stumps, wide and making the batter reach for the ball, or bowled into the pitch and short of a good length.But South Africa have used Ngidi largely as a top-and-tail bowler – he has only bowled one over in the middle overs in T20Is this year – and with Parnell playing, they needed a middle-overs enforcer in their attack in Thiruvananthapuram, which meant they preferred Anrich Nortje over Ngidi.At another venue, where they expect new-ball swing to be less of a factor, there is every chance South Africa could pick Ngidi and Pretorius over Parnell and Nortje.Kagiso Rabada is perhaps the only guaranteed starter among the SA bowlers, with the likes of Lungi Ngidi in the queue•ICC via GettyThere is another choice, too, that South Africa may have to consider, particularly once the World Cup begins. So far this year, Keshav Maharaj (11) and Tabraiz Shamsi (10) have played more T20Is than any other South Africa bowler, but on certain Australian pitches, the team management could be tempted to leave out one of them and play a fourth fast bowler.Which spinner makes way in that situation is another difficult choice. Shamsi is ranked No. 2 on the T20I bowlers’ rankings, but is in the middle of his worst year in the format in terms of economy. Having conceded his runs at economy rates of 7.97 and 5.72 in his two previous years, Shamsi has gone at 9.37 so far in 2022.And while Shamsi’s average is a fairly impressive 24.75, five of his 12 wickets came in one innings in Southampton where an already struggling England line-up collapsed while going after him.Maharaj has been significantly more economical than Shamsi this year, going at 8.33 per over, and has done this while bowling regularly in the powerplay – in seven out of 11 innings. Shamsi hasn’t bowled a single over in the powerplay this year.Between the two, Maharaj is by far the better lower-order batter, as he showed while top-scoring with 41 off 35 balls in Thiruvananthapuram to help South Africa recover – in a manner of speaking – from an abject 9 for 5 to an eventual 106 for 8. This could tilt the selection too.As a left-arm orthodox spinner, Maharaj turns his stock ball away from the right-hander, which should theoretically make him easier to fit into a bowling attack against most teams. Shamsi, however, turns the ball both ways, and as a wristspinner could be better suited to harder Australian pitches that offer bounce but not a great deal of grip.Decisions, decisions. Whichever way South Africa go over the two remaining T20Is in India and then the World Cup – three quicks and two spinners; four and one; or any other combination – they will have a headache to negotiate. It is a ‘good’ headache in theory, but is by no means painless.

Martin Donnelly’s brief Test career was interrupted by World War II but he shone nevertheless

Paul Edwards09-Jun-2020If you were to seek solace in these strange days by going for a walk in the Parks at Oxford you might notice that a few of the benches around the cricket ground have been placed there in memory of former Blues. One has been dedicated to Martin Donnelly but even were you reasonably well-versed in the game you might still not be able to name his achievements with much precision. And you would not be alone. Among the hundreds of lists compiled in these cricketless months, one table sought to rank the finest left-handed batsmen in history. It is a ticklish task given that the candidates include Lara, Sobers, Pollock and Clive Lloyd. Pardonably perhaps, no one mentioned Donnelly. Who would have thought that in those joyous post-war summers of abundance and shortage he was reckoned the finest leftie in the world?Please take your walk again. It is a May morning in 1946. Oxford are batting against Lancashire, who will become one of Donnelly’s favourite opponents. Suddenly the university lose their second wicket and he strides from the pavilion wearing the lucky multi-coloured cap he picked up in a Cairo bazaar during the war. Before long the ground will be ringed with spectators. A few tutorials have been hastily postponed but this, it turns out, has been to the perfect satisfaction of both parties, for undergraduates soon notice that dons are also watching the cricket. One of the latter may be JC Masterman, the Provost of Worcester; he helped arrange Donnelly’s two-year stay at Oxford, where he is reading Modern History at Masterman’s college. The Parks may not be thronged like this again until the mid-1970s when Imran Khan is in residence and the proximity of two all-women colleges helps to increase the number of spectators watching the cricket or something. Now, though, Dick Pollard drops a shade short and Donnelly square-cuts him for four. The undergraduates settle into their seats and some wonder if they can fit in a lunchtime pint at The Lamb and Flag.ALSO READ: Odd Men In – Alan Richardson“Bare figures can give no idea of the electric atmosphere in the Parks when that short, sturdy figure went out to bat,” wrote Geoffrey Bolton. “A lucky spectator might have half an hour to spare between lectures… In that half-hour he might well see Donnelly hit nine boundaries, each from a different stroke… If Oxford were fielding the spectator’s eyes would turn to cover point.”The students were watching Donnelly at close to the peak of his powers. Within four years he had all but retired from the first-class game and moved to Australia to become Cortaulds’ sales and marketing manager in that country. He joined the Coventry-based firm on going down from Oxford and they allowed him to play for Warwickshire in 1948 and to join the New Zealand tour the following summer. But by 1950 Donnelly was 32 and had decided to make a career in business. He played his last County Championship match at the Cortaulds Ground in early July. For something like five years he had flamed across the English game and now he was gone. “It was as if all his own cricket had been a student pastime, a youthful wheeze not worth mentioning any more,” wrote Frank Keating.The promise, however, had been clear since the early 1930s when Donnelly was a pupil at New Plymouth Boys High School in the North Island. At that stage it was unclear whether cricket or tennis would be his major summer sport but a letter he received from Australia in 1933 may have settled matters. “Dear Martin,” it read, “Having heard that you were a very keen little cricket enthusiast, I thought I would write and encourage you into even greater deeds. New Zealanders love the game as much as we do, and I am looking forward to seeing your name among their champions in the future.” The 15-year-old Donnelly kept that letter from Don Bradman under his pillow. Less than four years later he was selected for New Zealand’s tour of England, the decision to include him in the party being made on the strength of his innings of 22 and 38 and some brilliant fielding in a Plunket Shield game for Wellington against Auckland. It was his first-class debut.Donnelly was 19 when he arrived in the country where he would play all seven of his Test matches and make all but two of his 23 first-class centuries. His height had long earned him the nickname “Squib” but his maiden hundred against Surrey revealed a different type of stature and announced that he was “decidedly a ‘star’ in the making”. He managed 120 runs in the three matches against England and although New Zealand lost the series 1-0, Donnelly’s innings were already crafted as occasion required. He was beyond promising. All the same, he began his Test career with a duck at Lord’s, an indignity he shared with one of England’s debutants, Leonard Hutton. In view of the innings he played on the ground after the war, Donnelly probably viewed that nought with a wry smile. And on the way back to New Zealand he was able to thank Bradman for his earlier letter when the tourists played at Adelaide. It would be one of only two first-class games Donnelly would play in Australia.

He had certain similarities with Bradman: the build, the hawk-eye, the forcing stroke square of the wicket on the leg side, the determination to establish a psychological supremacy over the bowler. But Donnelly did not share Bradman’s passion to get outAlan Gibson on Martin Donnelly

He returned home having scored 1414 first-class runs in his first English summer yet it was by no means clear how his cricket career would develop. He read for a BA degree at Canterbury University and transferred his allegiance to the province for the 1938-39 season. But he played only six Plunket Shield games for his new team before being commissioned in 1941 and posted first to Cairo, where Major Donnelly commanded a squadron of tanks and was a star of the Gezira Club. Having later served in Italy he returned to England in 1945 to represent New Zealand Services during a four-month tour that would take them from village greens to the Test grounds. None of the players minded and all the spectators were grateful. Though the war against Japan continued until August, cricket seemed as good as way as any of celebrating peace in Europe, even if The Oval still looked more like the POW camp it had recently been. Austerity and even the Iron Curtain were problems for other years. Donnelly was 27 and had played just 41 first-class matches.In late August he represented the Dominions against England at Lord’s. It was a three-day match which featured two centuries by Wally Hammond, ten wickets for Doug Wright and an extraordinary innings of 185 in 168 minutes by Keith Miller. described it as “one of the finest games ever seen”. Donnelly made 133 in ten minutes over three hours and although overshadowed by Miller’s extraordinary hitting on the final morning, that century had been as clear a proclamation of talent as anyone could desire. Denzil Batchelor was clearly sold: “You sat and rejoiced, hugging the memories to your heart and gradually letting the dazzle fade out of your eyes.”Over the next four years there would be at least three more such occasions, all of them at Lord’s. At Oxford, strong county elevens found a mature batsman of international class waiting for them when they arrived to take on the undergraduates. Journalists returning late from the war hurried to the Parks to see what the fuss was about, only to find it was not a fuss at all, but the real thing. Given his fame, it would have been easy for Oxford’s best cricketer to trade on his status and become something of a star but after Donnelly’s death in 1999, Professor Douglas Johnson, a contemporary at Worcester, penned an addition to the obituary in the :”In college, Martin was universally liked. He was a quiet, modest man who was interested in the same things as the rest of us. At a college society meeting he talked about folk-music and folk-songs. He was not too grand for college games, and, if he was available, he would play in the college teams for cricket and rugby, at a time when they were far from strong. In one such match he hit five sixes in one over, against a visiting team that had not expected to encounter a Test batsman.”Donnelly made six centuries for his university in 1946, including 142 in front of 8000 spectators in the Varsity Match at Lord’s. The following season there were four more hundreds and a three-hour 162 not out for the Gentleman against the Players. Hubert Preston’s account of that innings in Wisden suggests why Donnelly was one of the Almanack’s cricketers of the year: “Apart from a chance to slip off [Doug] Wright when 39, he played practically faultless cricket and hit twenty-six 4’s, his punishment of any ball not a perfect length being severe and certain; he excelled with off-drives; hooked or cut anything short.”Yet however glittering his talent, cricket was always an amateur pursuit for Donnelly. Perhaps that was one reason why he struggled in 1948, his one full season for Warwickshire. He certainly found Bradman’s Australians no more vincible than anyone else had: his eight innings for four different teams produced an aggregate of only 116 runs with a best score of 36 at Scarborough. That letter of encouragement had become a fond memento of another time.Martin Donnelly batting in the nets on New Zealand’s 1949 tour•Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesBut one reason why Donnelly had played cricket during his first year with Cortaulds was in the hope he might be selected for the New Zealand tour in 1949. Despite a degree of opposition in a homeland where he had not played for nearly a decade, he achieved his aim and that trip would become his glorious farewell to the game’s great occasions. While his fellow tourists may have been met by a team-mate who spoke with an English accent when they arrived in April 1949, they also found a cricketer determined to prove that New Zealand should no longer be fobbed off with three-day Tests while Australians were granted five-day fixtures.Donnelly made 2287 first-class runs in his last full summer of cricket. The tally included four centuries and the first double-hundred made by a New Zealander in Test matches. That was scored at Lord’s, of course, and it took him five minutes short of six hours. The final stages of Donnelly’s last great innings, which was completed on a Monday morning of dry London heat, were described by Alan Mitchell, the correspondent who travelled with the team on their tour:”His pulling was bloodthirsty, coldly calculated, executed with both strength of wrist and perfect timing and balance, and a graceful swinging body. His off-driving was full of weight and his newly perfected late cutting a thing of joy and a suppleness of wrist that D’Artagnan could have admired. Bailey pounded up to the stumps, dragging a foot and spurting dust, only to be battered and in one over alone, hit for 12; Hollies lowered his trajectory and added speed to his spin, only to be cut or driven straight.; Gladwin glistened but with mere perspiration and the new ball lost its shine; Young was pulled and cut. The Don was alive in Donnelly.”Perhaps so but Mitchell also knew his comparison was momentary; Bradman’s statistics belonged in a category of their own. As Alan Gibson reflected in 1964: “He [Donnelly] had certain similarities with Bradman: the build, the hawk-eye, the forcing stroke square of the wicket on the leg side, the determination to establish a psychological supremacy over the bowler as soon as possible. But Donnelly did not share Bradman’s passion to get out.” Then again, it is difficult to imagine the Don singing folk-songs.New Zealand drew all four of the Tests in 1949 and Donnelly made 462 runs from No. 5 in their batting order. By now the best cricket writers of the day were searching carefully for appropriate references and ransacking their store of metaphors. As ever, RC Robertson-Glasgow found the words for the moment: “It is a position where the player must be equally able and ready to arrest a decline or to blaze an attack, to be Fabius or Jehu at need and in turn. In this exacting role Donnelly went from triumph to triumph. He was, as it were, both the gum and the glitter; and he carried his burden like a banner.”After his retirement Donnelly spoke about his own cricket only to those who made a point of asking about it. He made a new career in Australia and set about the serious business of raising three sons and a daughter. Occasionally, though, the past would be revived. There were reunion dinners and in 1990 he was elevated to the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame “They said he had everything as a Test batsman,” read the citation, “Style and grace, confidence and determination, success and modesty.”Yet still you would be forgiven if you did not quite understand Donnelly’s place in the history of cricket in two countries. Perhaps you needed to live through those post-war years to understand their mixture of relief and guilt, exultation and grief, responsibility and abandon. Peace levies its own tariffs. Maybe the best we can do is find Donnelly’s bench in his beloved Parks and imagine his feelings as he strode out to bat in the few summers the gods had allowed him. Odd Men In

A bilateral ODI series might not get too many excited at the moment but, for context, there’s a World Cup spot to nail down for these two teams

Andrew Fidel Fernando24-Nov-2022So, we’ve arrived at another ODI series. While Tests enjoy the affections of the purists, and T20s set the world alight, bilateral ODIs have become the quiet presence in the corner of the party. They used to be the cool kids, and occasionally still have their moments. But when you think of the world of cricket, these are the series that seem least likely to stimulate.Add to this the fact that Sri Lanka and Afghanistan have played surprisingly little cricket against each other for teams in the same global neighbourhood and, as such, have not developed tantalising narratives. When Sri Lanka play Pakistan, it’s all smiles and saccharine affection. When Afghanistan play Pakistan, you need extra security in the stands.Sri Lanka v Afghanistan? There’s not a lot there. Yet.So why should we care?
Perhaps the greatest triumph of the ODI Super League structure is to bring context to series like this. These three ODIs are, in fact, vital to both teams. The rules are that after 24 ODIs (four away series, four home series, three ODIs each), you’ve got to place in the top eight, out of 13 teams, to gain automatic qualification for next year’s ODI World Cup. If you don’t you will have to play a qualifying tournament.Afghanistan are sitting in a relatively pretty good spot. After having played only half their Super League games, they’re at 100 points, having won 10 matches and lost two (their opponents so far have been Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Netherlands, and Ireland). This puts them at seventh on the Super League table – essentially on the cusp of qualification. Three wins here might just seal their World Cup place.Sri Lanka, meanwhile, essentially need to win all their remaining six matches. After 18 games, they have a paltry 62 points, which puts them at 10th on the table. The likeliest outcome for them is that they will have to play the qualifying tournament, as they are probably in a three-way battle with Ireland and South Africa to claim the last automatic-qualification spot. Even a rained out match – which is very possible in Pallekele in November – is a bad result for them.Their best ODI series in recent times – the victory over Australia in a five-match series this year – didn’t count towards the Super League at all.What will conditions be like?
In some ways, the conditions in Pallekele might even out the bowling attacks. It is one of Sri Lanka’s livelier pitches for seam bowling, with the ball tending to do plenty under lights, particularly when there’s a bit of moisture around, as there usually is in November.With Dushmantha Chameera likely out for several more months following ankle surgery, and Dilshan Madushanka still unavailable, the hosts’ seam attack will be led by Lahiru Kumara, with Kasun Rajitha likely being the second seam option. Pramod Madushan is available as well. Afghanistan, meanwhile, have Fazalhaq Farooqi, who has done well against Sri Lanka in T20Is, as well as left-armer Fareed Ahmad, and Yamin Ahmadzai.Owing to little more than familiarity with the conditions, though, Sri Lanka will hope they have the higher ground on the batting front. Afghanistan’s arrival having been only several days ago, they’ve not had a lot of time to familiarise themselves with conditions either.Battle to watch
Sri Lanka’s spinners vs Afghanistan’s
Twenty-nine ODIs into his career, Wanindu Hasaranga is a decent one-day spinner, but not quite the phenomenon he is in T20Is. In this format, he has 34 wickets in 31 matches, at an average of 35.55, though with a half-decent economy rate of 5.09. His counterpart, Rashid Khan, has corresponding numbers of 18.65 and 4.16.The caveat is that 46 of Rashid’s bowling innings have been against Zimbabwe and Ireland – teams he has absolutely dominated. But even against the likes of Pakistan, or West Indies, or Bangladesh, his record is much more impressive than that of Hasaranga, who is frequently an economical spinner, but not a penetrative one in this format. Hasaranga, though, did claim career-best figures of 4 for 58 against Australia, in the last ODI series he played, so he will hope his ODI trajectory has shifted.Mujeeb Ur Rahman has also got significantly better numbers than Maheesh Theekshana, averaging 23.43 a wicket to Theekshana’s 33.40, although their economy rates are both excellent, a tick either side of four.Theekshana, though, is only nine ODIs into his career, and has proved an excellent throughout-the-innings operator already. There have been few situations, across formats, in which he has seemed overwhelmed.

MLB announced on Sunday that Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz will remain on non-disciplinary paid leave “until further notice" after they were originally placed there from a gambling investigation, ESPN's David Purdum reported.

The league would not provide any further information until the investigation is complete. Ortiz was placed on leave back on July 13, while Clase followed on July 28. Ortiz's leave ended on Sunday, but now it has been extended.

MLB is investigating gambling activity around two Ortiz pitches earlier this year—one on June 15 against the Mariners and one on June 27 against the Cardinals. The latter came in Ortiz's most recent start since he's been on leave, in which he gave up four earned runs and lost 5-0. Clase is tied to the same investigation.

Before being put on leave, Ortiz posted a 4.36 ERA with 96 strikeouts in 88 2/3 innings pitched in 2025. Clase, as a closer for Cleveland, posted a 3.23 ERA in 48 games this season with 24 saves.