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Hosts well-placed in chase through Buttler, Croft only to stumble short of finishing line

ECB Reporters Network07-Jul-2023Inaugural T20 champions Surrey are through to Finals Day a week on Saturday having just about defended a target of 188 to win a high-scoring thriller against Lancashire by 13 runs at Emirates Old Trafford.The 2003 winners inflicted a first home T20 defeat upon the Lightning in 22 games dating back to late 2020, and they did it as the hosts slipped from 124 for 2 in the 14th over of their chase to finish on 174 for 6.Captain and England white-ball seamer Chris Jordan excelled with two for 28 from four overs, leaving Australian seamer Sean Abbott defending 19 off the last over to seal a semi-final meeting with Somerset at Edgbaston.Surrey’s 187 for 5 having elected to bat was underpinned by 70 off 41 balls for opener Laurie Evans and 50 off 34 for Jason Roy from No. 3. But they didn’t get as many as they should have on a used pitch, opening the door for England white-ball captain Jos Buttler to put the game in Lightning’s favour with an opening 42. Veteran Steven Croft also made 55, but it wasn’t enough.At 119 for 2 after 13 overs, 200 was likely for Surrey. However, Lancashire squeezed well, and wicketless Luke Wells conceded only 26 from four overs of legspin.Sunil Narine only facing two balls from No. 7 and fellow overseas bowler Abbott not batting at all for Surrey was a surprise. The latter, for example, crashed a 34-ball century earlier in the competition.Evans hit three sixes as 58 for one came off the powerplay, two of them scooped over fine-leg in the same over from two-wicket seamer Tom Bailey and the other smashed over midwicket. Evans reached his fifty off 28 balls shortly afterwards and helped his side to 93 for 1 after 10 overs, by which stage Roy was settling.Phil Salt and Croft both let boundaries slip through their legs in the outfield, though the latter ironically led to the wicket of Evans, who was bowled by Liam Livingstone as the score fell to 104 for 2 in the 12th over. Had Croft not misfielded, it would have only been one and Roy on strike.Roy pulled Livingstone for a big six on the way to a 33-ball fifty. But he fell to a smart catch from Croft at cover off Luke Wood, with Surrey 140 for 3 after 15 overs.Despite their ground fielding been sketchy – Surrey’s was worse – Lancashire caught well. Dane Vilas took a superb low catch at long-off to help Bailey remove Sam Curran late on.Buttler started Lancashire’s pursuit by lofting his second ball for six over long-on off Will Jacks’ offspin, and they got going well at 31 without loss after three overs.Salt holed out to mid-off against Abbott as Lancashire, like Surrey had done, reached 50 for one after five overs. Salt’s wicket brought Croft to the crease, and he hit four of his first 10 balls to the boundary, outshining Buttler.Having that said, the England captain then launched Narine’s first two balls for six over long-on to blow that theory to pieces, more importantly taking Lightning to 69 for 1 in the seventh over.That became 94 for 1 after 10 with Buttler 41. That Buttler only added one more run before slicing Dan Moriarty’s left-arm spin to gully – 97 for 2 in the 11th over – boosted Surrey’s chances of a revival. And it proved a big moment.Having shared 62 with Buttler, Croft remained but Jordan led a squeeze in the rate just as the home bowlers had done earlier. Narine had Livingstone miscuing cheaply to deep midwicket, and Lancashire needed 64 off six overs at 124 for 3.Croft reached 50 off 32 balls shortly afterwards and while Daryl Mitchell was dropped on 4 in the deep, the target became 47 off four overs and later 29 off two.Jordan yorked Croft and had Vilas caught at long-leg in the penultimate, also running out Wells – 168 for 6 – leaving Abbott with room for manoeuvre. He finished with 1 for 22 from four overs.

The weather might not have allowed for much cricket, but for spectators at the venue, it was a rare chance to get up close to the cricketers

Daya Sagar12-Sep-2022Raghuram and Leelakrishna, 14 and 12 respectively, are brothers. Away from school hours, they go to a cricket academy not far from home, in Dharwad, in northern Karnataka, to train. Sunday was a memorable day for the boys, as they got to see some prominent cricketers, and get a few autographs and selfies. All in their neck of the woods – Dharwad to Hubballi is a half-hour’s drive – which is not a regular destination for international cricketers.But that’s where the second India A vs New Zealand A four-day game was on. There wasn’t much cricket because of the rain, but that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the spectators who turned up. If anything, they created a buzz around the game. On the first and fourth days of the game, they filled the colourful seats and the space inside the tents around the ground. And when they spotted a player or two – Indian or from New Zealand – the excitement went through the roof. Perhaps because of the mood around a non-international contest such as this one, that too one where little play was possible, the players were also happy to join in the fun, as KS Bharat acknowledged in a press interaction after the game.The star attractions, understandably in this IPL age, were Umran Malik and Rajat Patidar. Malik is an obvious star. He bowls at over 150kph, and is also now an India player. And Patidar, well, he was one of local IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore’s top performers this season, wasn’t he?Umran Malik was one the most in-demand players•Manoj Bookanakere/KSCA

Raghuram and Leelakrishna had brought a miniature bat with them. By the end of it, autographs from Malik, Rahul Chahar, Patidar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Sarfaraz Khan, Priyank Panchal and Kuldeep Yadav had found their way to it. Shardul Thakur didn’t oblige, and that, they said, was the big disappointment.”We used to watch these cricketers on TV; this is the first time we have seen them in the flesh,” Raghuram said. “Watching them, I could figure out what they do, how they warm up and train, before going out to play. They don’t show all that on TV. At the academy, they train us to bat, bowl, field, but seeing the real players is a new experience.”I saw live, from a distance, where the fast bowlers pitch the ball, how the batters watch the ball…”Harshith, a 12-year-old legspinner who likes to bat, too, had a similar story to tell. It was a first time at a match of this level for him too, and the Shane Warne fan – there’s the legspin connection – got to take back Chahar’s autograph. It’s a proper – not souvenir – bat he got the autograph on, and that will be packed away now, Harshith said.Raghuram and Leelakrishna, who went back with a neat stack of autographs•Daya Sagar

Not looking as thrilled as the boys was 16-year-old Prarthana Dikshit, a middle-order batter and part-time offspinner who trains at an academy in Hubballi. The reason for her disappointment was that she got late getting to the ground on the fourth day, having stayed back anticipating rain, but by the time she got to the ground, all the play for the day – 13 overs’ worth – was done and the rain was back.”It was nice to catch a glimpse of Ruturaj and Umran, my favourite cricketers, but I wanted to watch them play,” she said.Her father, Prasanna, has followed domestic cricket for many years, and was happy that first-class cricket was being played in his city. “It’s a big difference, watching cricket on TV and watching it live at the ground,” he said. “At the ground, not only do you watch cricket, but you feel it. It’s wonderful for young cricketers, like my daughters, to get a real understanding of the game. We should have more first-class cricket here.”

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.

Veteran seamer set to lead the line under Adelaide floodlights in second Test

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Dec-2021James Anderson has warned England’s bowlers not to get carried away with the prospect of extravagant movement with the pink ball, as the team looks to battle back into the Ashes in Thursday’s second Test under the Adelaide floodlights.Anderson, who sat out last week’s nine-wicket loss in Brisbane, has been confirmed in England’s 12-man squad for Adelaide, where he hopes to emulate the form he showed in the corresponding day-night contest four years ago, when he claimed his maiden five-wicket haul in Australia.However, from his own experience of that game, and from studying Australia’s form in each of the five floodlight Tests they’ve so far played at the ground, Anderson knows to expect a typical war of attrition for long periods of the contest, particularly during the daylight hours of the match.”I had success with [the pink ball] last time here but, obviously, it is quite temperamental,” Anderson said. “It’s not a given that it’s going to swing around corners, or seam, or anything like that. We know it’s generally a good pitch here, and if the sun’s out, then it won’t do a great deal.”It doesn’t necessarily do nothing during the day, but it might not do as much,” he added. “Especially for a new-ball bowler, you got to try and see if it’s swinging. If not, then maybe you go slightly more defensive. If it is swinging, you can attack a little bit more. It’s just the same in that respect as any other Test match, to be honest. It’s something that we’ll try and read as we go along.”England’s hopes for the second Test received a relative boost when it was confirmed that Josh Hazlewood, one of Australia’s most effective pink-ball operators, would be missing the match with a side strain. He was devastating in the last day-night match at the venue, claiming second-innings figures of 5 for 8 as India were routed for 36 on the third and final morning of the match.”I’ve watched most of the pink-ball Tests here, whether it was actually being here or in middle of the night back home, to get an idea of how I should be bowling these conditions,” Anderson said. “That was certainly a spell I watched and hopefully I can do something similar. From that [performance], and the practice that we’ve had, we know that it swings around at times, even earlier on in the day.”Related

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Even so, Anderson acknowledged that the prospect of bowling at twilight, with the extra assistance that the conditions seem to offer to the pink ball, was one that he would be relishing, even though he conceded it was largely “luck of the draw” as to which side would get the chance to capitalise on such a moment.”There might be times during the game, at twilight when it gets dark under the lights, it might do a little bit more. But it’s just it’s trying to take advantage of those times when it when it does do a little bit more,” he said.”Both sides will be hoping for that, but there’s nothing that we can control about that. We’ve got to be able to bowl well in all conditions, whether the sun’s out at two o’clock in the afternoon or whether it’s nine o’clock at night under lights.”If Anderson plays at Adelaide, it will be his fifth Test appearance at the ground, more than any other overseas venue. And, having starred there in adversity on his maiden England one-day tour in 2002-03, it means his association with the venue will have stretched across 20 seasons.”I’ve probably had more crushing defeats than good times, but I think it’s my favourite ground outside the UK,” he said. “Obviously it’s changed since I first played here, but I’ve always enjoyed it, whether it’s been with the one-day side or the Test side.”The atmosphere is great. People love their cricket in Adelaide and the stuff they’ve done to the ground I think is fantastic. It’s now an amazing stadium. All the guys love playing here. And we’re just hopeful of putting in a good performance to try and edge that back into more good games for me, rather than bad.”

Six out of eight equity sales have been completed, but Oval Invincibles and Trent Rockets still negotiating

Matt Roller30-Jul-2025The ECB insists that external investment in two Hundred teams remains “on track” despite the fact that their deals are yet to be completed.ESPNcricinfo revealed last week that Knighthead Capital’s investment in Birmingham Phoenix had been signed off and five more investors have now completed deals, which were agreed in principle earlier this year. The sales process valued the eight teams at nearly £1 billion collectively, with over £500 million invested in English cricket as a direct result.But two deals have taken far longer than anticipated to complete. The ECB initially gave new investors an eight-week deadline to finalise paperwork, which was later extended after disagreements over the participation agreement, and the deadline for completion has now been extended further for both Oval Invincibles and Trent Rockets.Related

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The ECB announced the completion of six deals on Wednesday, with chair Richard Thompson hailing a “seminal moment” for English cricket. The board said in a statement: “The remaining two [deals] are set for formal completion at a later date. They remain on track, in line with the ECB having offered investors the option of completing later.”Invincibles will be run as a joint-venture between Surrey (51%) and Reliance (49%), the Indian conglomerate which owns Mumbai Indians and their affiliated franchises around the world. Surrey declined to comment, but are understood to be very confident that the deal will be completed at the start of October.ESPNcricinfo has learned that the Ambani family, which owns Reliance, will attend the fifth England vs India Test at The Oval, but that the visit is unrelated to the timeframe of the deal. One outstanding issue in discussions surrounds the name of the franchise, which could be renamed MI London or MI Oval in line with Reliance’s other franchises outside of India, but branding is not considered a major sticking point.The Rockets’ new investors are Cain International – whose co-founders Todd Boehly and Jonathan Goldstein are part of the consortium that owns Chelsea FC – and private equity firm Ares Management. They will run the franchise as minority partners, with Nottinghamshire – who also declined to comment – retaining a 51% interest.Trent Rockets’ new investors are Cain International and Ares Management•Nathan Stirk/ECB via Getty Images

Both investor groups are understood to have taken up the option presented to them by the ECB to complete their deals post-season on October 1, when they will assume operational control of their teams.Richard Gould, the ECB’s chief executive, has previously blamed the deals’ slow progress on the need to consider “what ifs” and new investors wanting “clarity on all sorts of details” before signing. Gould told ESPNcricinfo last month: “I hate to think how many sets of lawyers are in on this, but that’s what they’re paid to do.”The imminent financial windfall will be significant for many counties, not least Yorkshire, who have sold 100% of Northern Superchargers to the Sun Group. “The deal puts the club in a strong financial position, which has been far from the case for many years,” Sanjay Patel, their chief executive, said. “The first priority is clearing our debts.”The new investors will assume operational control from October 1, with the ECB running all eight teams for the 2025 season which runs from August 5-31.

All his performances between January 17, when he provided his sample, and March 22, when he accepted a provisional suspension, “have been disqualified”

ESPNcricinfo staff17-May-2022Zubayr Hamza has been banned from “all cricket-related activities” for nine months by the ICC after admitting to an anti-doping rule violation.The South Africa batter provided an out-of-competition sample on January 17 in Paarl which was found to contain Furosemide, a substance specified in Section S5 of the 2022 WADA Prohibited List. Hamza accepted the provisional suspension, which was backdated to March 22, meaning he will be eligible to return to cricket on December 22, 2022.In addition, all of the international cricket that Hamza played between January 17, when he provided the sample, and March 22, when he was banned, have been stripped from his stats. That’s essentially one Test match against New Zealand, where he scored 25 and 6.The ICC release made a point to mention that Hamza wasn’t significantly at fault for the substance found in his sample with Alex Marshal, the general manager – integrity unit, adding it was “a timely reminder to all international cricketers that they remain responsible for anything they put into their bodies, to know exactly what medication they are taking so as to ensure it does not contain a prohibited substance and does not result in an anti-doping rule violation”.”I have never intentionally taken a prohibited substance,” Hamza said in a statement issued by the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA), “And I am relieved that the ICC determination confirms this fact. The past few months have been difficult for me on a personal and professional level, and I have learnt lessons that I will share with my fellow players.””We are pleased that Zubayr will be back playing cricket at the end of this year,” SACA CEO Andrew Breetzke said. “SACA will continue to support Zubayr during the period of his suspension.”On March 23, CSA had issued a statement confirming that Hamza was “not disputing” the positive test and was “cooperating fully with the ICC” on the matter, and had agreed to voluntary suspension.Hamza made his Test debut against Pakistan in early 2019 when he became South Africa’s 100th Test player since readmission. He made his ODI debut against Netherlands in November last year, scoring 56 in a washout. He has played six Tests in all and had withdrawn from both Test and ODI series against Bangladesh earlier this year because of “personal reasons”.

The defending champions have opened their title defence with two consecutive wins

Ashish Pant04-Apr-20232:44

Moody: ‘Sudharsan showed maturity beyond his years’

Three-wicket hauls from Mohammed Shami and Rashid Khan, backed up a measured unbeaten half-century from B Sai Sudharsan gave the defending champions Gujarat Titans their second consecutive win at the start of the 2023 season. Delhi Capitals suffered their second straight loss, in their first home game this year.After Shami, Alzarri Joseph and Rashid restricted Capitals to 162 for 8, Anrich Nortje’s pace had Titans in trouble at 54 for 3 in the sixth over. Sudharsan and Vijay Shankar, who was subbed in as Gujarat’s Impact Player for Josh Little, forged a 53-run stand to take Titans closer. David Miller, who had arrived in Delhi from Johannesburg only the previous day, provided the finishing touches as Titans wrapped up the win with 11 balls to spare.

Shami struggles and then hurts Capitals

The Delhi pitch was lively from the outset and Shami was unable to control his swing, conceding ten runs through wides in his first two overs during the powerplay. He also bowled several superb deliveries, one of which beat David Warner and grazed the off stump but did not dislodge the bail. Shami got Prithvi Shaw to spoon a well-directed short ball to mid-on and had Mitchell Marsh chopping a back of a length ball on to his stumps. Though Capitals managed to score 52 for 2 in the powerplay, none of their batters looked confident.Sai Sudharsan is filling the gap left by Kane Williamson at No. 3 for Gujarat Titans•BCCI

Joseph and Rashid contain Capitals

Joseph also made life miserable for the Capitals. His first over cost 11 runs but his second was memorable. He first ended Warner’s difficult stay, inducing a thick inside-edge on to the stumps. The next ball was a snorter to Rilee Rossouw, who fended in the air towards point, where Rahul Tewatia dived forward to take a sharp catch. Joseph was quick, mean, and accurate. Sarfaraz Khan and Abishek Porel were both struck on the helmet by his ferocious bouncers, as Joseph kept hitting speeds in excess on 145 kilometres per hour.With pace causing Capitals plenty of problems, legspinner Rashid Khan was brought into the attack only in the 13th over and he had immediate impact. Rashid had Porel playing all around a sharp legbreak second ball, and he dismissed Sarfaraz and Aman Khan in the 17th and 19th overs. Only Axar Patel looked comfortable for Capitals, and his 36 off 22 balls helped them reach 162.

The Sudharsan-Vijay Delhi connection

Heading into this game, Tamil Nadu team-mates Sudharsan and Vijay had strung together two fifty-run stands in four innings, and coincidentally both of those partnerships had come at the Aurn Jaitley Stadium during the 2021 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Now, batting for Titans, the pair produced another half-century stand in Delhi after beginning their stand in a difficult situation. Nortje had bowled the openers Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill, and Khaleel Ahmed had Hardik Pandya caught behind. With the asking rate under control, Sudharsan and Shankar built the chase steadily, taking no unnecessary risks and rotating strike while scoring the occasional boundary in between.Mohammed Shami gave the Titans two early wickets•Associated Press

Sudharsan keeps his head; Miller does what he does best

Sudharsan was one of the finds of the tournament last year and comes into this IPL on the back of a terrific domestic season. Though Nortje cranking up the pace and Kuldeep Yadav getting the odd one to rip, he never seemed out of depth. Sudharsan reached his fifty off 44 balls and remained unbeaten at the finish. Miller, on the other hand, found his bearings from the start, cracking Mukesh Kumar for 20 runs in the 16th over to decide the game. Miller was Titans’ mainstay last year with his finishing abilities, and he started this season by having a similar impact.

Impact Players: Khaleel Ahmed and Vijay Shankar

Vijay had a stronger impact on the game than his Delhi counterpart. Khaleel entered the game at the start of the second innings, replacing Sarfaraz Khan, and while he did dismiss Hardik, he went for 38 runs in his four overs. Vijay managed a 23-ball 29 and his partnership with Sudharsan was one that turned the game for the Titans.

Royals chased the total down with 27 balls to spare to move to No. 1 on the points table with a hat-trick of wins

Sreshth Shah01-Apr-20242:22

Aaron: ‘Chahal the best spinner to have ever played the IPL’

Hardik Pandya’s return to the Wankhede Stadium as Mumbai Indians captain was far from a fairy tale, as the five-time champions lost their third game in a row, this time with 27 balls to spare. Rajasthan Royals – led by superb performances from Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal and Riyan Parag – gave them a thorough hammering to move to No. 1 on the points table with a hat-trick of victories.Boult left Mumbai gasping within minutes of the start of the match when he dismissed Rohit Sharma, Naman Dhir and Dewald Brevis for first-ball ducks in his first eight balls. His 3 for 22 was only matched by the 3 for 11 taken by Chahal, who controlled the middle overs to ensure Mumbai did not stage a batting comeback.Chasing 126 for victory, Parag dragged Royals out of some early trouble and shepherded the chase. He finished the game with six, six, and four to stay unbeaten on 54 to take the No. 1 spot on the orange cap leaderboard – tied on runs with Virat Kohli but ahead of strike rate.

Boult sets up the demolition job

Rohit had all the support from the crowd, who chanted his name even as they booed Hardik, but his time with the bat lasted only one ball when Boult got one to swing away from him and get him to edge it behind. Next ball, Boult swung it the other way, getting a full ball to nip into Dhir.With two wickets gone inside the game’s first six balls, Mumbai brought in impact sub Brevis in the second over itself, but he too fell prey to the ball angling across, edging it to Nandre Burger at short third.Trent Boult picked up three wickets in his first eight balls – par for the course•Associated Press

With three wickets in his first eight deliveries of the game, Boult gave Royals an advantage that they never let go.

Scintillating Chahal

After Boult’s searing opening spell, Burger got in on the action. Playing as a replacement for the injured Sandeep Sharma, Burger came around the wicket to pick off Ishan Kishan with a length ball that angled away and took his edge.With Mumbai Indians 20 for 4 in three-and-a-half overs, Tilak Varma and Hardik looked to build a recovery, almost succeeding with a 56-run fifth-wicket stand, but Chahal dismissed both batters to snuff out any chance of a comeback.After hitting six boundaries early in his innings, Hardik fell on 34 when he holed out at mid-on trying to hit Chahal. Tilak was sent packing on 32 soon after when Chahal’s googly was edged to R Ashwin at short third.Chahal finished his spell with the wicket of Gerald Coetzee late in the innings. In all, 16 of Chahal’s 24 deliveries were dots, and his four-over spell ended with an economy of only 2.75.A late wicket for Avesh Khan and a second for Burger ensured Mumbai finished on 125 for 9, a score too low on a surface that is traditionally batting-friendly.

Madhwal comes good on season debut

Only wickets could save Mumbai after that batting effort, and they played their trump card early when Jasprit Bumrah shared the new ball, with Kwena Maphaka, for the first time this season.But even though Bumrah bowled three of the six powerplay overs, the Royals batters did not give a wicket away to him. Yashasvi Jaiswal fell to Maphaka in the first over itself, while the other three wickets went to Akash Madhwal, playing his first game of IPL 2024.Madhwal struck with the second ball of his spell when he got Sanju Samson to chop on to his stumps, and added a second when Jos Buttler pulled him to fine leg. He added a third later, in the 13th over, when Ashwin sent a leading edge off a short delivery to point. Madhwal was the standout bowler for Mumbai Indians with 3 for 20.Riyan Parag scored another half-century, and claimed the orange cap•BCCI

Parag’s form continues

Parag walked in ranked No. 5 on the orange cap list and finished the day with the cap on his head. With no real scoreboard pressure on this occasion, No. 4 Parag played risk-free cricket early on, but tore into Coetzee with four fours and two sixes.It all started with back-to-back boundaries off Coetzee in the eighth over, followed by another lofted four over the covers in the 11th. He then smoked Bumrah through mid-off in the 14th over before depositing Piyush Chawla over long-on in the 15th.Parag then put the finishing touches on the result by hammering Coetzee for 16 runs off the first three balls of the 16th over. The first ball went for a clubbed six over the covers, and he reached his fifty next ball with a slog over midwicket. The winning runs came over wicketkeeper Kishan’s head and sent Royals and Mumbai Indians to opposite ends of the points table.

Ricky Ponting is keen to be an international coach but indicated the timing is not yet right for him

ESPNcricinfo staff23-May-2024Ricky Ponting has revealed he was approached to be India’s next head coach but despite significant interest in the job said it is an “unlikely” option for him at the moment given the commitment it would require.Justin Langer, too, has said that the time isn’t right for him to take up the “awesome job”, while Kasi Viswanathan, the Chennai Super Kings chief executive, has said that Stephen Fleming, the team’s coach, will not like to take a job that requires him to work “for nine-ten months in a year”.Deadlines for applications close on May 27, the day after the IPL final, and ESPNcricinfo has previously reported that Rahul Dravid will not be seeking another stint .Related

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Ponting said he had ambitions to be a national-team coach, but amid his other current roles – head coach at Delhi Capitals and television work in Australia – the time is not right.”I’ve seen a lot of reports about it,” Ponting told the . “Normally these things pop up on social media before you even know about them, but there were a few little one-on-one conversations during the IPL, just to get a level of interest from me as to whether I would do it.”I’d love to be a senior coach of a national team, but with the other things that I have in my life and wanting to have a bit of time at home…everyone knows if you take a job working with the Indian team you can’t be involved in an IPL team, so it would take that out of it as well.”Also, a national head coach is a ten- or 11-month-of-the-year job, and as much as I’d like to do it, it just doesn’t fit into my lifestyle right now and the things that I really enjoy doing.”However, Ponting did appear to keep the door slightly ajar by saying his young son Fletcher had offered a positive response to the prospect of him taking the job.”My family and my kids have spent the last five weeks over at the IPL with me and they come over every year and I had a whisper to my son about it, and I said, ‘Dad’s been offered the Indian coaching job’ and he said, ‘Just take it, dad, we would love to move over there for the next couple of years'” he said. “That’s how much they love being over there and the culture of cricket in India, but right now it probably doesn’t exactly fit into my lifestyle.”Ponting’s other current roles include head of strategy at Hobart Hurricanes and head coach of Washington Freedom in MLC having signed a two-year deal for that tournament which will follow straight on from the T20 World Cup in USA and West Indies. He has previously worked with Australia’s T20I and ODI side.Stephen Fleming might have been another contender for the top job•ECB/Getty Images

Justin Langer puts himself out of contention

Gautam Gambhir has been sounded out by the BCCI for the job, while other names linked to it have included Fleming and Langer.”It would be an amazing job, [but] I have [put myself out of contention],” Langer said on BBC’s Stumped podcast. “I also know that it’s an all-encompassing role, and having done it for four years with the Australian team, honestly, it’s exhausting. And that’s the Australian job!”Would he never want to do it, Langer was asked, and he said, “You never say never. And the pressure of doing it in India… I was talking to KL Rahul [the captain at Lucknow Super Giants, where Langer is the head coach] and he said, ‘You know, if you think there’s pressure and politics in an IPL team, multiply that by a thousand, [that’s] coaching India. That was a good bit of advice, I guess.”It would be an awesome job, but not for me at the moment.”As for Fleming, Viswanathan said on CSK’s YouTube channel, “I know that it’s not going to be his cup of tea because he doesn’t like to be involved [in coaching] for nine-ten months in a year. That’s my feeling. I have not discussed anything more with him.”The BCCI has said that the head coach’s role will be across all three formats for three and a half years starting July 2024 until December 2027.Dravid began his two-year term after the 2021 T20 World Cup. His stint was due to end after the 2023 ODI World Cup in November last year, but he agreed to an extension until the end of the upcoming T20 World Cup.

The appointment is till the end of the Champions Trophy next year, after which the PCB will finalise the full-time coach

Danyal Rasool18-Nov-2024Aaqib Javed has been named interim head coach of Pakistan’s men’s national white-ball teams till the end of the 2025 Champions Trophy, of which Pakistan are the hosts.Former Pakistan quick and UAE men’s head coach Aaqib will continue to serve as a senior member of the Pakistan men’s selection committee, and “will be assigned additional responsibilities following the conclusion” of the Champions Trophy, the PCB said in a statement on Monday.The PCB added that it “will initiate the recruitment process for a permanent white-ball head coach” with the aim of completing the appointment by the end of the Champions Trophy, which is set to run from February 19 to March 9.Speaking at a press meet at Gaddafi Stadium on Monday, Mohsin Naqvi, the PCB chairman, said, “We have temporarily asked Aaqib Javed to take over as coach until Champions Trophy. We don’t want to act too hastily in bringing in another coach who isn’t right. So this three-month gap, Aaqib will work [in that position]. He definitely wants to work on other things but we requested him to work for three months as head coach and after that we will see about the other stuff he wants to do.”It is only for [Aaqib to be only] white-ball [coach] and only [in an] interim [capacity]. We will begin the process of looking for a head coach in the next 10-15 days so we can search and find a good head coach.”Jason Gillespie, meanwhile, will continue to helm the Test side, and will join the touring party for the two-Test series in South Africa, which starts on December 26 after a T20I and ODI series. Last week, Gillespie was sounded out to perform white-ball duties until the Champions Trophy, without a change in his current contract – in effect, to take on two additional formats without being paid more for the increased scope of his role. Gillespie turned that offer down.Aaqib continuing to be on the selection committee puts the PCB’s coaching set-up in the unusual position, where the interim white-ball coach does have a say in selection across formats, while the full-time red-ball coach does not have a say in selection for the Test side.The decision to hand Aaqib white-ball coaching duties at such a critical phase of white-ball cricket for Pakistan underscores how swift the speed of Aaqib’s ascent has been. Until a few weeks ago, he was Lahore Qalandars’ long-term coach and director of cricket operations, where he had a mixed record; he led the side to consecutive PSL titles, but also saw several bottom-place finishes, including earlier this season.Jason Gillespie will continue to be Pakistan’s red-ball coach•Getty Images

When appointed a member of the selection committee, he was viewed by the PCB’s top brass as the mastermind behind the implementation of spin-friendly pitches against England to turn that series. He quit his role at Qalandars to focus on the PCB, where he was initially viewed as the favourite to be appointed director at the National Cricket Academy. He served a stint as Sri Lanka’s bowling coach earlier this year, but now begins his highest profile challenge.Pakistan haven’t had a full-time white-ball coach since Gary Kirsten resigned in late October. Gillespie had been given additional responsibilities for the ongoing white-ball tour of Australia.The tour of Australia, where Pakistan won the ODI series but lost the T20Is, ends today, and Pakistan are next slotted to play three ODIs and three T20Is in Zimbabwe (November 24 to December 5) before travelling to South Africa. In South Africa, they will first play three T20Is (December 10 to 14) and then three ODIs (December 17 to 22) before the two Tests. Pakistan then play a two-Test series at home against West Indies (January 16 to 28) before hosting New Zealand and South Africa in a short ODI tri-series just before the Champions Trophy.