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Harris, Short and Kellaway steer Victoria to victory in a short chase to seal their second straight Sheffield Shield final appearance against WA next week

Tristan Lavalette17-Mar-2023Victoria recorded a confidence-boosting seven-wicket victory over Western Australia at the WACA to set-up a rematch between the teams in next week’s Sheffield Shield final.Chasing just 61 runs to book a spot in the decider starting on March 23, after day three was halted by rain and bad light, Victoria endured several wobbles before achieving the target in the 27th over.Victoria leapfrogged Queensland into second place as they eye redemption after falling short against WA in last season’s decider, which finished in a draw.Their victory was set up by routing WA for 122 on the opening day before gaining a first-innings lead of 176 runs through half-centuries from opener Marcus Harris, in-form Matthew Short and 20-year-old Campbell Kellaway.Victoria has enjoyed a spectacular rise since the resumption of the Shield season last month with four straight victories to storm into the final.”I thought we were staring down the barrel of a wooden spoon,” Victoria coach Chris Rogers said after the match. “We’ve just had this fantastic run built on the back of a lot of younger players as well which has been pleasing.”You kind of think the bubble might burst a little bit with some of our inexperience but they’ve just continued to get the job done.”Victoria will return home to Melbourne for a few days before making the long journey back to Perth ahead of the final.They have several selection dilemmas with skipper Peter Handscomb and offspinner Todd Murphy likely to be available as they return from Australia’s Test tour of India.”It will be tough and there will be heartache for a couple of guys but this is part of being professional sportsmen, you’ve got to deal with these selection issues,” Rogers said.It was WA’s first loss of the season at home and they appeared mostly lethargic throughout having already secured hosting rights for the final.WA’s attack is set to be considerably strengthened by the inclusion of speedster Lance Morris, who has returned from Indiam and regulars Joel Paris and Matt Kelly.”We fully expect all three to be fit and firing and ready to go,” WA coach Adam Voges said. “We’ll take a lot of lessons out of this week and I think that will help us in our preparation for next week.”Even though a victory appeared inevitable, experienced openers Harris and Travis Dean were not taking anything for granted amid the high stakes on the fourth morning. They didn’t score in the opening couple of overs before Dean was bowled by quick Charlie Stobo for a duck.Harris and emerging batter Ashley Chandrasinghe survived several nervous moments as allrounder Aaron Hardie menaced with the new ball. Chandrasinghe was all at sea before falling for two to seamer David Moody to end his painstaking 49-ball innings.Ashes hopeful Harris, who top-scored with 84 in the first innings, showcased trademark drives before falling for 29 as Victoria wobbled at 3 for 32. But Short, amid a purple patch, dispatched several attractive boundaries to seal Victoria’s place in the final.

All Mitchell Starc wanted was some eggs to start his morning, but another hotel guest wanted to share a few words with him

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jun-2019Mitchell Starc’s day started with a sledge over breakfast and finished with him having notched another entry in his World Cup hall of fame with a delivery for the ages to castle Ben Stokes.Hours before Starc speared the swinging yorker under Stokes’ bat, to remove England’s last hope of chasing down Australia’s total, he had his morning briefly interrupted at the team hotel by a guest who had a few words to share about some strapping on his elbow and his choice of food: three poached eggs.WATCH on Hotstar (India only) – England’s wicketsStarc’s wife, Alyssa Healy, mentioned the breakfast chat on Twitter – thanking the person in question, later confirmed to be English, for firing him up – and Starc laughed it off after the match as all “good fun” saying he was “still half-asleep” when it happened.”Someone was having a go at my strapping tape and having a go at my bowling,” he said. “I was just hungry. He was just having a laugh at my strapping tape and what I was eating. It’s all been good fun throughout the tour around the crowds and at the hotel. It’s just part and parcel of a World Cup.”It was no surprise that Starc was in jovial mood having bagged 4 for 43 to take his World Cup haul to 19 wickets at 18.26 and a strike-rate of 20.4. He is now eighth on the list of World Cup wicket-takers with 41 wickets in just 15 matches at an average of 13.92, comfortably ahead of those above him in the list, and won’t have bowled many better deliveries than the ball to remove Stokes four years after the pair had been involved in Stokes’ obstructing the field dismissal on this ground.”We had a bit of a laugh that I think the last time we played one another at this ground was that one that came back at him,” Starc said. “He’s a fantastic player and he’s one of their key batters. Watching that game against Sri Lanka, he nearly got them home there with that 80-odd he scored. We knew while he was batting that we couldn’t just rest up, we couldn’t cruise. We had to try and take that wicket [and] fortunately got one through the gate but he was batting fantastically well today.”I’ve got a pretty simple one-day plan and it’s all about execution. To execute that ball exactly how I wanted to was pleasing for me, but just pleasing to get the result.”Australia are now safely in the semi-finals with two group games remaining, the next of which is on Saturday against local rivals New Zealand who are unbeaten in the tournament.”They are playing some fantastic cricket, they have really gone under the radar,” Starc said. “No one has spoken too much about them and they keep winning games. They’ve got a strong side batting and bowling, Kane Williamson is their linchpin in the middle there and they’ve got bowlers who swing the ball.”It’s another big game for us, obviously we have cemented our spot in the semis now, we want to try and finish as high as we can and play some really good cricket headed towards the finals series. They’re very important for us.”

Wahab will take his oath of office after returning from the Bangladesh Premier League

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jan-2023The relationship between Pakistani cricket and politics has thrown up another candidate set to straddle the two, with fast bowler Wahab Riaz named as the caretaker Sports Minister of Punjab. Wahab, who is currently playing for Khulna Tigers in the Bangladesh Premier League, will take his oath of office once he returns home.There is no official word on what this means for his involvement with the Pakistan Super League, though he is almost certain to take full part in it.Wahab plays for Peshawar Zalmi and, until this year, captained the side, before Babar Azam’s move to the 2017 champions saw him take over the captaincy. He was retained in the Diamond category by Zalmi, a downgrade from his erstwhile Platinum status.He is the runaway all-time leading wicket-taker in the PSL with 103, Hasan Ali a distant second with 81.Wahab, 37, last played international cricket for Pakistan in 2020, playing 27 Tests, 91 ODIs and 36 T20Is in all, taking 237 wickets across formats.His appointment was notified by the caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab, Mohsin Naqvi, and he is set to hold the position until provincial elections are hosted in Punjab, likely to take place in April.In Pakistan, a caretaker government is established upon the dissolution of assemblies in the lead-up to provincial and national elections. The caretaker government oversees elections, and ministers holding caretaker posts are appointed rather than elected. Wahab does not have overtly political affiliations or administrative experience, though his late father-in-law and Naqvi were prominent members of Lahore’s business community.Until the establishment of a caretaker setup in Punjab, the government in Pakistan’s largest province by population and political allocation, was headed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, whose chairman is former Pakistan captain and Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Dhaka Metropolis are ahead in tier 2, but Rajshahi and Barishal are not too far behind

Mohammad Isam10-Nov-2022Rangpur Division jumped to the top of the points table in tier 1 of the National Cricket League after their ten-wicket win over Chattogram Division in Savar. Sylhet Division, meanwhile, lost to Dhaka Division by 333 runs, and will now have to beat Rangpur in their last-round match if they are to clinch their maiden title.Dhaka Metropolis gave themselves the best chance for promotion from tier 2 after their two-wicket win against Rajshahi Division. Elsewhere, Khulna Division got their first win of the season, a ten-wicket hammering of Barishal Division.Best batters
Eight centuries were scored in this round, with the Dhaka pair of Abdul Mazid and Shuvagata Hom leading with the most valuable ones. Dhaka were bowled out for 113 in the first innings, but their bowlers fought back and bowled out Sylhet for 76. Dhaka then slipped to 136 for 4 with three of their top six getting ducks. However, Mazid and Hom steadied the ship by adding 254 runs for the fifth wicket, and completely changed the direction of this game. Mazid top-scored with 176 with 11 fours and seven sixes, while Hom struck 16 fours and three sixes in his 145.Rangpur’s massive win over Chattogram was made easy by veteran Naeem Islam reaching his 29th first-class century. He was unbeaten on 131 off 251 balls with 11 fours and a six. He was at the crease for more than six hours to ensure Rangpur got a 263-run first innings lead. Chattogram’s Pinak Ghosh struck a century off 264 balls with ten fours, but could only take his side to even Rangpur’s first-innings total.Dhaka Metropolis’ Mohammad Naim and Sharifullah struck centuries against Rajshahi. Naim raced to 112 off 105 balls with nine fours and five sixes, while Sharifullah rounded up an exact 100 off 129 balls with 11 fours and three sixes in response to Rajshahi’s 252.Tanzid Hasan struck 101 in the first innings with seven sixes and six fours, while Mushfiqur Rahim missed out on a second-innings century, getting out for 97.Moin Khan reached his maiden first-class century, scoring 102 with seven fours and two sixes after Barishal were asked to follow-on in their defeat against Khulna.Best bowlers
Rangpur’s seamers Robiul Haque and Musfik Hasan were the stars with the ball. Robiul picked up 5 for 13 in the first innings and 3 for 50 in the second against Chattogram, while Musfik’s 4 for 60 in the first innings was crucial too.Sylhet’s Enamul Haque took 5 for 33 to give his side the advantage against Dhaka, who were rolled for 113, but Dhaka’s pace duo of Salauddin Sakil and Sumon Khan shared 15 wickets between them, giving Dhaka a 37-run lead. Left-arm quick Sakil took 5 for 14 and 3 for 52, while Sumon finished with seven wickets in the match their win over Sylhet. Rajshahi’s Nahid Rana continued to impress, picking up 5 for 76 and 4 for 51 against Khulna.Best match
Dhaka Metro’s two-wicket win against Rajshahi did not provide just a thrilling finish but also an important result. Batting first, Rajshahi were bowled out for 252 runs despite Tanzid’s 101. Left-arm spinner Rakibul Hasan took four wickets, while Abu Hider and Sharifullah took three each.In response, Sharifullah and Naim struck hundreds to give Dhaka Metro a 121-run lead. Rajshahi were then bowled out for 297, with Sharifullah again doing the job with the ball, taking 4 for 59. Chasing 177, Dhaka Metro found it tricky as they lost regular wickets until Hider and Rakibul took them home with an unbroken 15-run stand for the ninth wicket.Points to ponder
Sylhet need to beat Rangpur outright by eight points to win their maiden title, while Rangpur need only a draw to lift their second NCL trophy. Dhaka Division too have a chance but only if they win by an innings or ten wickets.Dhaka Metro are on 25 points, Rajshahi on 22 and Barishal on 19. The top team from tier 2 will get a promotion to tier 1.Players to watch
Sumon and Sakil have been excellent for Dhaka during this season. Sumon is currently the third-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 26 scalps from five games, at an average of 9.88 and a strike rate of 23.7. Sakil has 21 wickets from four games, at an even better average (8.95 ) and strike rate (21.9). Sakil has done well in the past as well, for Sumon, this is his breakout season.

They had struggled against England’s slower bowlers, and could face similar troubles in Zimbabwe, where the conditions are more suited to the spinners

Liam Brickhill in Harare01-Jul-2018After a gruelling tour of England, where they were swept 6-0 in the limited-overs series, Australia might have hoped that a short trip to Zimbabwe would provide a welcome change of pace and a change of fortunes. But their tri-series opener will be against the No.1 T20I side, and after Pakistan’s clinical drubbing of the hosts in Sunday’s game it seems there will be no let-up in intensity for Australia just yet.”England was a tough tour, losing the one-dayers and the T20 game,” Australia T20 captain Aaron Finch admitted. “But we’re here to win. There’s only a handful of us that have played here before, but we know reasonably well what the conditions are going to be. Half the boys trained this morning, and half were [at Harare Sports Club] to watch today to just try and find out some more info.”What they found out could well trouble them. Australia had struggled to impose themselves on England’s slow bowlers, and conditions are usually more suited to the spinners in Zimbabwe. On Sunday, Pakistan’s spinners claimed a combined 5 for 43 in 8.5 overs, with Mohammad Hafeez celebrating his return to legality as an international bowler by taking 2 for 3 in five balls. Left-armer Mohammad Nawaz had done the early damage, taking a wicket in the first over and immediately putting the brakes on Zimbabwe’s chase. He is likely to perform a very similar role with the new ball against Australia.”For the last couple of seasons I’ve been opening the bowling in T20 cricket,” Nawaz said. “[Against Zimbabwe] I was varying the pace and getting a little help from the track. The slower deliveries were turning a bit, though with the new ball there wasn’t that much.”We’ll go in with the same mindset tomorrow and play our best cricket,” he said. “We’ll keep the same strategy we had today, and probably the same gameplan too.”Pakistan appear to have the firepower in their spin attack to keep Australia in check. But it was Australia who had outgunned Pakistan the last time the two sides met, at the World T20 in Mohali, with James Faulkner taking 5 for 27 to seal a 21-run win that knocked Pakistan out of the tournament. There will be a completely different complexion to both sides this time around, however, with Pakistan enjoying their hottest winning streak in T20Is while Australia are floundering for stability.Pakistan have won their last eight T20I series, and their last eight games. Since that disastrous World T20, they’ve undergone a fundamental personnel change in the format and won 20 of the 23 T20Is they have played. During the same period, Australia’s record reads: played 14, won 9, lost 5.Shadab Khan led Pakistan’s fightback with a flurry of wickets•Getty Images

Yet, Australia are still ranked third, just one point behind India, and if they are able to completely reverse their fortunes and go undefeated through this tri-series, they could leave Zimbabwe as the top-ranked T20I side in the world, usurping Pakistan.”We’re ranked no. 3 in the world behind Pakistan, so this is a really good opportunity to test ourselves again and make sure that we’re measuring up and still improving in this format,” Finch said.”And you can never take anything for granted in T20. We know it’s a game that anyone can win by themselves on a given day,” Finch said, echoing what has already become a familiar refrain in this tri-series.”There is no weaker side in T20 cricket,” Nawaz agreed. “If it’s your day, you’ll dominate, if it’s not, you won’t. Going in to this game, there is an equal chance for both teams.”A short, sharp series means they won’t have much time for Australia to get their combinations right in Zimbabwe, and the situation hasn’t been helped by a couple of delayed flights that have slowed preparations. They are also already missing several frontline players through injury or misadventure.”All the teams are missing a couple of players, but that’s just the nature of sport,” Finch said. “You have some injuries, you have some other issues that pop up every now and then. So we’re still really confident in the players we have coming into this series. Everyone who’s here has a chance to play. When you pick a squad you like to mix and match the guys who can fit in anywhere.”

The batsman faces a disciplinary hearing in Dhaka on Saturday; Shakib Al Hasan included despite finger issue

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Aug-2018Sabbir Rahman, who faces a hearing with the BCB’s disciplinary committee this weekend, has been left out of Bangladesh’s 16-man squad for the Asia Cup that will be played in September in the UAE.Sabbir’s place was always up for debate given his prolonged run of poor form this year, but the 26-year-old’s axing is linked to his off-field issues. His latest brush with the authorities is due to the alleged abuse and threats he subjected two fans to on social media from what is believed to be his official account. His alleged comments include foul language and the threat of physical harm. He faces the disciplinary hearing for this incident.

The Bangladesh squad

Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Shakib Al Hasan (vice-capt), Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Mithun, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Ariful Haque, Mahmudullah, Mosaddek Hossain, Nazmul Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nazmul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Hider
IN:Mohammad Mithun, Ariful Haque, Nazmul Islam
OUT: Sabbir Rahman, Anamul Haque, Abu Jayed

This comes after an altercation between Sabbir and a fan late last year, a minor who Sabbir assaulted during a Rajshahi Division first-class game. He lost his central contract for that incident and was fined USD 25,000 approximately, with the disciplinary committee’s vice-chairman saying that Sabbir could be “permanently suspended” if there were further breaches.Top-order batsman Mohammad Mithun was included in the 16-man squad named on Thursday, along with Ariful Haque who has so far only played T20Is. Mithun, whose last ODI was the tri-nation series final in January this year, was included after strong recent showings – 87 not out and 73 – against an Ireland A side earlier this month. He is likely to take up a lower-order role in the Asia Cup, in place of Sabbir.According to chief selector Minhajul Abedin, Mithun was the choice of captain Mashrafe Mortaza and coach Steve Rhodes for that role. “They wanted Mithun for the No. 6 or 7 batting position, in place of Sabbir,” he said. “Ariful too is picked for a similar role.”Meanwhile, Anamul Haque and Abu Jayed have also been omitted from the squad.The rest of Bangladesh’s squad for the Asia Cup was unchanged from the West Indies ODI series – their previous one-day assignment – which Mashrafe Mortaza’s side won 2-1.Shakib Al Hasan stays in the squad, meaning he will play with a finger that is not quite right. He injured the little finger on his left hand in January, which forced him out of the home Tests and T20Is against Sri Lanka and the Pakistan Super League. He is supposed to undergo a finger surgery. But now, after being included in the squad, it appears he will miss the home series against Zimbabwe in October to have the surgery.Bangladesh, whose best performance in the Asia Cup was runners-up in 2012, begin their campaign with a game against Sri Lanka in Dubai on September 15.

Criticism comes after Nathan Lyon walks off lbw without reviewing – and Mitchell Starc seemingly offers him no guidance – with two reviews at Australia’s disposal

Andrew McGlashan in Sydney06-Jan-20193:00

Martyn: Not enough desperation from Australia

Ricky Ponting has slammed Australia for showing “no desperation” after Nathan Lyon opted not to review his lbw when given out to Kuldeep Yadav despite there being two challenges remaining.Lyon walked off almost straightaway after the decision from umpire Ian Gould, as non-striker Mitchell Starc appeared to not offer any guidance on whether to use the DRS. The ball from Kuldeep was very full and may have hit Lyon’s boot flush, which means the umpire has to consider it goes straight on, and there could also have been a question as to whether Lyon got outside the line.”That dismissal actually says a lot to me about the mindset of this Australian team at the moment. There’s no desperation there whatsoever,” Ponting said on Seven, one of the host broadcasters. “Why wouldn’t they have had a look at that? They’ve still got the two reviews up their sleeve. There had to be some sort of doubt in that.”Given out straight away and Mitchell Starc just puts his hand out and says ‘oh well, it’s not me, it’s up to you to make [a call]’. Well, unfortunately, when you’re out there together it’s a partnership. You’ve got to do whatever you can to try and save your mate. And there was absolutely none of that there. And as it’s shown already that would have been given not out. Slack and not desperate enough.””You can see where Mitchell Starc is standing at the non-striker’s end,” he added. “One, look how wide he’s standing. There’s no need to be that wide in the first place. Nathan Lyon looks up, ‘Oh what do you reckon?’ ‘Oh I don’t know mate. Yeah I don’t know. But let’s not bother looking. We’ve only got two [reviews] up our sleeve.'”After the day’s play was curtailed by bad light with Australia having been asked to follow-on in a home Test for the first time in 31 years, Peter Handscomb insisted there were no issues with Lyon walking straight off”You ask Gazza, he thinks he was hit on the full on the middle toe or his big toe, it’s not often anyone in the world thinks they’re going to review that. So he waked off in no doubt, he knew he was out, so that’s fine. That’s his decision, we back that in completely.”Ponting’s forceful reaction was not his first stinging comment during the match. On the third day he had also made a pointed reference to Australia’s inability to make big runs following comments over the last couple of games that the pitches have not provided enough assistance to the home attack. “If they’re flat, get some runs on them,” he said.There have been suggestions of tensions in the Australia camp throughout this Test following the bowling performance on the opening day, where they went to a short-pitched tactic midway through the first session.When Lyon was asked on ABC Radio how the plans came about, he said. “I’m not really sure about, I wasn’t really happy about it to be honest. We missed out using the moisture in the wicket, thought we could have stuck there longer but the captain and the bowlers came up with a decent plan and unfortunately it didn’t work.”ALSO READ: The puzzle of Mitchell’s stark strugglesStarc himself is the most under scrutiny of the bowling having taken 1 for 123 from 26 overs in the first innings which has taken his average in his last nine Tests to 46.05.David Saker, the bowling coach, then gave an interview where he revealed heated discussions in the changing room which Tim Paine later denied were as hostile as had been made out.”We talked quite heavily about the day, more because we thought it was a really disappointing day and we just wanted to get our point across,” Saker said. “Some of it was quite aggressive and that’s not like me usually. I was quite animated, and I know I was not the only one. JL [coach Justin Langer] wasn’t happy. The bowlers know that.”

WV Raman appointed batting consultant while Saurasish Lahiri will continue as the assistant coach

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jul-2022Laxmi Ratan Shukla has been appointed as the head coach of the senior Bengal side for the upcoming season. He succeeds Arun Lal, who stepped down from the post earlier this month.”It’s a new responsibility and I will give my best like I did when I used to play for Bengal,” Shukla, 41, was quoted as saying in a Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) release on Tuesday.”I like taking new challenges. All the past coaches for Bengal did a superb job for the team. We have come close to winning trophies in the past but we’ll have to climb all the way again to reach the top in the new season.”My motto is everyone can and everything is possible. I want everyone to believe in themselves. We will have to develop the art of holding onto our nerves when the situation is tough. All players who have reached this level are all capable. It’s a new year, new season and we are hoping for the best.”Bengal were runners-up in 2019-20 in Ranji Trophy and bowed out of the semi-final earlier this year. They had a rather underwhelming white-ball season in 2021-22, bowing out of the quarter-final in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy while missing out on the knockouts in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy.””The decision is taken by all the office bearers unanimously as we selected the veteran as the most deserving among the other reputed contenders who were up for the slot,” Avishek Dalmiya, the CAB president, said.”I am very hopeful that under him Bengal cricket would reach greater heights as we all know his commitment for Bengal cricket. He can connect with the players very smoothly.”Meanwhile, former head coach of India women’s national side, WV Raman was appointed as the batting consultant while Saurasish Lahiri will continue as the assistant coach of Bengal.Raman was previously head coach of Bengal in 2011-12. Under him they won the Vijay Hazare trophy in 2012 by beating Mumbai, a game in which Shukla made a match-winning century.Bengal will be without Wriddhiman Saha, who will play for Tripura in the 2022-23 season.