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The tournament was originally scheduled to run from July 30 to August 22

Andrew Fidel Fernando09-Jul-2021The Lanka Premier League has been postponed until at least late November, thanks largely to competing cricket tournaments or series being scheduled for the original window. The second edition of the LPL was supposed to run from July 30 to August 22.According to tournament director Ravin Wickramaratne, the announcement of the Kashmir Premier League (set to run from August 6 to 17), the CPL (which requires players to be free from August 12), the ECB’s The Hundred (which runs from July 21 to August 21), and another possible international series involving Bangladesh, have forced the LPL tournament organisers to rethink their timing.The first edition of the LPL featured a significant number of Pakistan players, but occasionally, teams were unable to field four foreign players. The unavailability of Pakistan and West Indies players in particular, would seriously hamper the Sri Lankan league.The LPL is also fighting fires on the franchise front. They have officially terminated two of the five franchises that took part last year, Dambulla Viiking and Colombo Kings both being cut from the second edition.A third franchise, Jaffna Stallions, are also on thin ice according to tournament organisers. They claim that Stallions’ owners have not been forthcoming with the Know Your Client (KYC) details that franchises are required to provide in order to be vetted by the ICC, while the franchise has also not been prompt with payments to the tournament organisers. Stallions, meanwhile, contend that they have been unwilling to make payments to the league with so much uncertainty surrounding the second edition’s timing. Stallions had won last year’s tournament.A postponement to November would mean that the tournament will be played soon after the T20 World Cup. It also means the island’s north-east monsoon is likely to be in operation. Last year’s edition was also played in November, but was only occasionally hampered by the weather.

Curran set to return to the UK for rehab; Sixers will also miss the services of Manenti and O’Keefe for the next fixture

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Dec-2021Sydney Sixers fast bowler Tom Curran has been ruled out of the remainder of the BBL 2021-22 after suffering a troublesome hotspot in his back and is set to return to the UK immediately for his rehabilitation. The defending champions will also miss the services of spinners Ben Manenti and Steve O’Keefe due to injuries.Curran, who has taken six wickets in four matches this edition, was expected to play a crucial role in the Sixers’ pace attack alongside his English team-mate Chris Jordan. He was the team’s leading wicket-taker in the 2019-2020 title-winning campaign and chipped in with the bat in the middle order before missing last season’s BBL because of the difficulty in travel and the need to quarantine.Related

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Meanwhile, Manenti, who suffered neck stress fractures, will continue to undergo treatment in Hobart, where he plays Premier Cricket, and Sydney. O’Keefe, who has scalped seven this BBL, is ruled out of action in the “short term” after straining his calf in Sixers’ seven-wicket win over Melbourne Stars at the MCG on Wednesday. Sixers said in a statement that the veteran spinner is unlikely to feature in their next home fixture against Adelaide Strikers on Tuesday, and “a return to play to be assessed in due course.”Despite losing three key players to injuries, captain Moises Henriques believes the team, who are the table-toppers currently, has a strong bench strength to overcome these challenges.”We pride ourselves on being a club and a team that embraces challenges but to lose players of the calibre of Tom and Ben, and to have SOK on the sidelines, would be a challenge for any team and those guys aren’t simply replaced,” Henriques said.”On and off the field, all three of those guys play a massive role for us and their presence around the team and skills on the field will be missed by everybody in the group. But for us, we always look to have 18-match ready players in our squad, and we see it as an opportunity for others within our group.Henriques said there is “no need to panic” as he believes this series of injuries has only opened the doors for the likes of leg spinner Lloyd Pope and fast bowler Mickey Edwards and to step up.”There are guys like Lloyd Pope and Mickey Edwards who really deserve an opportunity, but due to the strength of our list haven’t been able to get as many chances as they deserve,” Henriques said. “So, it will be a great little period for those guys to have a run of games.”We also saw Ben Dwarshuis return from injury this week, Jackson Bird isn’t too far away, and Sean Abbott is back after the birth of his daughter, so there is no need to panic.”The Sixers have won three of their four matches and have accumulated 11 points so far.

Tawanda Muyeye, Zak Crawley show way of club’s future as long-time legend bids farewell

Vithushan Ehantharajah27-Sep-2022It was fitting that, at the end of Stevo Day, Kent’s Division One status was confirmed for another season. Needing 10 points to stay up on games won in the event of Warwickshire achieving a full 24-point win over Hampshire, Kent achieved eight bonus points within the first two days of their final match at Canterbury, bowling Somerset out for 202 inside 64 overs then responding with 405 for 7 after 88 overs. By the time they walked off on Tuesday for bad light at 5:35pm, news filtered through from Edgbaston that the hosts had declared on 272 for 4 to counter the weather, thus giving up three batting points.There was no real celebration from the Kent dressing room, or those few braving the September chill by the time stumps were eventually called at 5:55pm. Players and fans have been dismayed at just how badly things have gone with the red ball this season. Nevertheless, they have come good when the pressure was on. As things stand, they could still finish fifth.What emotion there was today was saved for Darren Stevens, given a final, rousing farewell at the lunch interval. He, by all accounts, managed to hold back the tears. As expected.Those at Kent County Cricket Club who have known him for all or the majority of his 18 seasons at the club know it takes a lot to draw that kind of emotion from the great man. It has only got harder, perhaps because we get more vulnerable with age, particularly at 46. And rallying against vulnerability of any kind has driven Stevens in these final years at Canterbury.The eyes, however, did fill. Again, as expected. At the lunch interval on Tuesday, Stevens walked through a guard of honour made up of current Kent players and staff. A video showcasing some of Stevens’ highlights – all of them would have taken more than the break’s allotted 40 minutes – including this summer’s Royal London Cup success was shown and was presented with a framed shirt bearing his number three, which will be retired. He then embraced friends and family on the field before greeting as many of the 1,042 supporters in attendance who by now were almost falling over the hoardings along the Pavilion End to get a little bit closer to their man as he said his final goodbyes. This was day two of Kent’s final Championship match of the season against Somerset, with Division One safety on the agenda. But this was Stevo Day.Stevens maintains he could have continued, and though this is the end of an era, at this point, it isn’t quite retirement. And though there remain plenty of fans both at this county and further afield who believe this particular exit premature, it was hard to watch Kent go about their business today and not realise a new generation are building on their promise.Related

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• Warwickshire sinking in the showers as relegation fears grow

• Keaton Jennings, George Balderson miss milestones but Lancashire are sitting pretty

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A high-profile win over Hampshire last week to keep survival in their hands has been built on emphatically. Nathan Gilchrist (22 years of age), missed out on a hat-trick with his first ball of the morning but went on to claim the final Somerset wicket – the impressive Lewis Goldsworthy for 94 – for a career-best six to dismiss the visitors for 202. Within 30 overs – up to lunch – Tawanda Muyeye (21) and Zak Crawley (24) had 149 between them (Kent’s third century stand between openers this season). Following further contributions from skipper Jack Leaning (28), a bright half-century from soon-to-be-Durham-bound Ollie Robinson (28), and darts from new signing from Nottinghamshire Joey Evison (20) and Hamidullah Qadri (21), 400 was passed and relegation avoided in style. Just in time for a more private audience with Stevens in the Les Ames stand. “He might have had a couple of beers to loosen him up and give a nice speech,” joked Crawley, before heading over to join his teammates.Crawley’s knock of 79 from 102 deliveries set the tone – particularly the first 50, which took just 59 deliveries thanks to nine fours, five of which came in the space of six deliveries. It felt like an extension of the form he finally found in the last Test match, against South Africa at the Kia Oval, when he finished unbeaten on a match- and series-winning 69.At the other end, Muyeye was showing just why they rave about him in these parts, wedding an eye for length and quick touch for 85 for only his second Championship half-century of the summer in seven innings. An edge behind off Kasey Aldridge, the pick of the Somerset attack with 4 for 83, left the right-hander short of bettering his previous first-class best of 89. Nevertheless, by the time he departed (190 for 2), the visiting attack had already been put through the wringer.That opening stand of 176 – scored at 4.76 an over – was as much down to intent as the desire for these two to score at will. The overall equation of survival assured before a definitive match result was something Kent were aware of Warwickshire did not get 350, even though they assumed 350 would be achieved. But Kent still had plenty to do, and Crawley and Muyeye were keen to set the tone.”‘Intent’ was the word we used a lot with each other,” said Crawley. “We kept their good balls out and put their bad balls away. And T (Muyeye) batted brilliantly. For someone so young to put a good bowling attack to the sword like that was class.”Particularly evident was how Somerset, who used seven bowlers within the first 25 overs, struggled to adjust their lengths. While both Crawley and Muyeye are right-handers, the height difference of about a foot meant the same length required different fields, which was tough to keep on top of as the strike was rotated so often.”I feel like we ran really well and had a lot of singles, so they constantly had to mix up the lengths. Because a good length for me, Tawanda’s pulling. And a good length to him, I can drive. We were quite a good partnership like that. He’s a chilled lad so we took a bit of pressure off each other.”Crawley made a point of mentioning Stevens at this juncture. Part of the great man’s on-field charisma, particularly when he was batting, was seemingly opting for entertainment first: perpetual appointment viewing, whether in the flesh or on a stream. And Crawley, who has always been an engaging batter – hence why Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes are so enamoured with him at Test level, even in a summer of famine – felt a sense of pride that they were able to take a page out of Stevens’ book today.”I was thinking of Stevo before this game, and exactly how he’s always played – try and take the game on, try and give the crowd something to watch. That’s exactly how we want to play our cricket and there was plenty of crowd here loving how we play our cricket.”We’ve got a lot of young players who are really good prospects. The next ten years should be good, hopefully.”It was worth noting the attendance from first to second session dropped considerably. Many had simply turned up to bid Stevens farewell before getting on with the rest of their day. Life moves on, cricket moves on. As will Kent, into another season of Division One cricket.

Part two of our BBL previews takes a look at Melbourne Stars, Perth Scorchers, Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder

Alex Malcolm, Tristan Lavalette and Andrew McGlashan06-Dec-2023
Squads as of December 6 and subject to change

Melbourne Stars

Captain Glenn Maxwell
Coach Peter Moores
Fixtures Click hereSquad Scott Boland, Joe Burns, Hilton Cartwright, Brody Couch, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Liam Dawson, Sam Harper, Campbell Kellaway, Nick Larkin, Glenn Maxwell, Usama Mir, Jono Merlo, Joel Paris, Haris Rauf, Corey Rocchiccioli, Tom Rogers, Mark Steketee, Marcus Stoinis, Olly Stone, Imad Wasim, Beau WebsterHow the draft wentStars’ gamble to take Harry Brook with their first pick in the draft (having cheekily tried to take Rashid Khan for the second straight year before Adelaide Strikers intervened with their retention pick) backfired. Brook was always set to be unavailable for the last few games of the tournament but his selection in England’s two white-ball squads for the Caribbean in December was not a guarantee at draft time. Once England called, Brook’s BBL was cooked and it left Stars without their star recruit.Related

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They also took Stars’ favourite Haris Rauf with their second pick but his NOC from the PCB was very late in being approved after he made himself unavailable for Pakistan’s Test tour, to the displeasure of Pakistan’s new coach and selector. Stars then used their last pick on Pakistan legspinner Usama Mir. There were more established spinners available including Akeal Hosein, however Stars opted for Mir who showed some promise during the ODI World Cup, although he had a very tough day against Australia in Bengaluru.Stars have since added two left-arm orthodox as overseas replacement players with England’s Liam Dawson available for three games while former Pakistan spinner Imad Wasim will join Stars after Christmas and looks a shrewd signing as he will be available for the remainder of the season. England quick Olly Stone is in Australia and has also been training with the Stars squad and could be added as cover for Rauf.How they stack upStars look thin in terms of their overall depth having lost Adam Zampa and Joe Clarke from last season after they finished last with only three wins. But with Glenn Maxwell fully fit and in the form of his life he could single-handedly win them a lot of games early in the season and help the team get on a roll. A lot of the runscoring will fall on his shoulders along with Marcus Stoinis. Sam Harper has found some form in the Sheffield Shield coming off a 66-ball century while Joe Burns has also been in good nick for Queensland after missing the last BBL season with a hamstring injury. Hilton Cartwright and Beau Webster have also been in great Shield form but whether that translates remains to be seen.Opposition sides will certainly look to target Stars’ bowling line-up. Stars have gone bowler-heavy with their overseas picks but the availability issues make that a risky strategy. They are unlikely to see much of Scott Boland due to Test duty. The other new signing Joel Paris has had some injury concerns this year. They’ve also added Mark Steketee but he will miss the first game due to the Prime Minister’s XI match against Pakistan. Maxwell, Stoinis and Webster will be required to do a lot of bowling.Player to watchGlenn Maxwell is always the player to watch. He’s always done something spectacular in the BBL. But he’s never come into a BBL in this kind of form. He’s coming off scoring the fastest ODI World Cup century, the first ODI double-century by an Australian male, and another stunning T20I century in a winning chase in India. On top of that, he is bowling as well as ever, having been a vital part of Australia’s World Cup title with the ball as much as with the bat. If he’s not physically and mentally fatigued, he could have an enormous BBL.Availability issuesRauf is due to arrive in Australia on Wednesday, 24 hours before the first game and with Pakistan set for a white-ball tour of New Zealand starting on January 12 the PCB have only approved his NOC for five games up until December 28. He may only play in four if he is rested for the season opener. Mir has also been approved for five games with the PCB wanting to limit his workload ahead of the New Zealand series. Dawson is only signed for the first three matches but Imad’s presence after Christmas should provide the Stars with some stability for the final eight matches. Boland is unlikely to be available for the whole season.Three in a row? Batting and pace bowling looks strong for Perth Scorchers, but spin raises questions•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Perth Scorchers

Captain Ashton Turner
Coach Adam Voges
Fixtures Click hereSquad Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Cooper Connolly, Zak Crawley, Stephen Eskinazi, Laurie Evans, Aaron Hardie, Nick Hobson, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kelly, Mitchell Marsh, Hamish McKenzie, Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Sam Whiteman, Liam HaskettHow the draft wentReplicating what they did in the BBL draft a year earlier, Scorchers passed on their platinum pick. They selected Zak Crawley at pick 16 on the back of his spectacular Ashes campaign in an important signing after the departure of opener Cameron Bancroft. They also selected middle-order batter Laurie Evans, who was player of the final in BBL11 but did not play last season after his contract was terminated following a positive doping test.How they stack upScorchers are the BBL’s powerhouse having claimed a record five titles. Their latest challenge is to become the first team to win a hat-trick of titles having fallen short of the feat in BBL05. They will start as arguably the team to beat with Scorchers again backing their talented core of local players.There will be some tweaks with Crawley replacing Bancroft at the top, while WA Shield captain Sam Whiteman has returned after two seasons with Sydney Thunder. A three-time title-winning player with Scorchers, Whiteman has been in good white-ball form in the Marsh Cup and is also the back-up wicketkeeper to Josh Inglis. Top-order batter Stephen Eskinazi was a late signing having been part of last season’s triumph. Scorchers boast a formidable middle order led by Inglis, allrounder Aaron Hardie and captain Ashton Turner.Their pace bowling is stacked with Jhye Richardson and Lance Morris having returned to domestic cricket from injury layoffs, but Matt Kelly – a key bowler at the death – remains on the sidelines with a quad injury and is expected to miss the early rounds.An area of concern for Scorchers is their spin options with left-armer Ashton Agar likely to be unavailable for the start of the season due to the calf injury that ruled him out of the World Cup. Left-arm wrist spinner Hamish McKenzie, who recently made his first-class and List A debuts, is also on the sidelines due to a stress fracture in his back. Scorchers lost legspinner Peter Hatzoglou, who signed with Hobart Hurricanes having been an important member of the squad and he was particularly valuable on the slower wickets on the east coast.Player to watchWith Scorchers’ spin stocks severely tested, allrounder Cooper Connolly might just be able to fill the breach. While his powerful batting is a bit more advanced, as he memorably showed in last season’s BBL final, Connolly’s slow left-arm orthodox bowling is more than useful and he can tie up an end in the middle overs.There has been much anticipation over Connolly, 20, after his heroics in last season’s BBL made him a fan favourite. After making his List A debut to start the domestic season, Connolly was in line for a Shield debut until he suffered a toe injury during a freak boat accident. But he’s returned and has opened the batting in the Marsh Cup to underline his versatility. Connolly feels primed to be the type of breakout player that Scorchers seem to unearth almost every season.Availability issuesCrawley is part of England’s ODI and Test squads to India meaning his availability is limited to around six games, while Evans will be available for the regular season before flying off to the UAE’s ILT20. Allrounder Mitchell Marsh is in a battle with Cameron Green for the number six Test position making his status for the BBL unclear for the time being. Morris is part of Australia’s first Test squad against Pakistan as he eyes an international debut and will likely be around that group for much of the season.Sean Abbott is regularly one of the leading performers in the competition•Getty Images

Sydney Sixers

Captain Moises Henriques
Coach Greg Shipperd
Fixtures Click hereSquad Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird, Tom Curran, Joel Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Moises Henriques, Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Todd Murphy, Izharulhaq Naveed, Steve O’Keefe, Kurtis Patterson, Josh Philippe, Jordan Silk, Steven Smith, James VinceHow the draft wentSixers went with familiarity and brought back club stalwarts Tom Curran (platinum) and James Vince (gold). Chris Jordan was another who they could have retained. “We know what Tom brings,” Shipperd said. “He’s a great team player, we think he’s got fight in him because he’s been injured for a couple of seasons now and he’s on his way back to his very best form.” They also selected England legspinner Rehan Ahmed at bronze but his call-up to England’s ODI and T20I squads for the West Indies has put paid to his stint given the limited number of games he would have been available for.How they stack upThey retain a very experienced core built around the likes of Sean Abbott and Moises Henriques who have been central to Sixers’ success over the years. They will hope that Josh Philippe’s lean red-ball season does not impact his T20 form and that he can reform a strong pairing with Vince at the top of the order (although Steven Smith will slot in for at least one game). The club will be looking for Todd Murphy to step up in the spin department after they didn’t re-sign Nathan Lyon and with Steve O’Keefe at the backend of his career.Player to watchJack Edwards produced some eye-catching Sheffield Shield performances early in the season and if he can have a similar breakthrough in T20 he has the makings of a valuable all-rounder player, particularly the power he could bring the bat. So far the format has been a struggle with 357 runs at a strike-rate of 104.08 in 29 matches and he has yet to bowl a ball. With Dan Christian’s retirement, there is a spot for a young allrounder to step up.Availability issuesCurran and Vince both have ILT20 deals and that tournament overlaps with the BBL finals. Among their domestic players, Smith will play the opening game against Renegades and the club hope also the Sydney derby on January 12 between his Test commitments. Elsewhere they shouldn’t be hit by international calls unless Murphy is needed. Abbott is unlikely to push for a Test spot unless there is a spate of fast-bowling injuries.David Warner should be available to Sydney Thunder after his Test retirement•Getty Images

Sydney Thunder

Captain Chris Green
Coach Trevor Bayliss
Fixtures Click hereSquad Cameron Bancroft, Ollie Davies, Liam Doddrell, Matt Gilkes, Chris Green, Alex Hales, Liam Hatcher, Zaman Khan, Nathan McAndrew, Blake Nikitaras, Alex Ross, William Salzmann, Daniel Sams, Gurinder Sandhu, Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, David WarnerHow the draft wentThey went for an established Thunder player in Alex Hales with their platinum pick, and didn’t have to use their retention option, to bring the former England opener back. He made 245 runs in nine matches last season, at a strike-rate of 141.61, and overall is their second-highest run-scorer behind Usman Khawaja. He should be available for the full regular season. They then took Pakistan quick Zaman Khan at gold as a death-bowling option before passing on the final two rounds.How they stack upThey feel like a bit of a tricky side to read, but if their big names fire they certainly have the makings of a powerful outfit. The role they give Cameron Bancroft will be interesting and they will hope that Ollie Davies’ fractured finger picked up in the Sheffield Shield doesn’t sideline him for too long – he has the potential to be a gamechanger in the middle order. Liam Hatcher’s move from Melbourne Stars bolsters the pace attack while Nathan McAndrew has enjoyed a stunning run in red-ball cricket.Player to watchTanveer Sangha had to watch the entirety of last season from the sidelines after a stress fracture of the back wiped out his summer. That followed two campaigns where he had shone, taking 37 wickets at 17.89 and an economy of 7.52. But he has returned to action in the last few months and shown his skills at the international level with 4 for 31 on his T20I debut against South Africa. He looks primed to be the future of Australian spin bowling across formats.Availability issuesDavid Warner won’t be available until after the Pakistan Test series, but his retirement from the format opens up a window for him to play the latter part of the tournament. There still remain some questions marks as to when he will take up his ILT20 deal. That brings with it the prospect of him opening with Bancroft, who has signed from Perth Scorchers in one of the big off-season moves, although Bancroft may be Warner’s Test replacement and leave the tournament as he arrives. Daniel Sams is expected back from his Abu Dhabi T10 stint in time for the opening game.

England captain will continue to build towards Test summer by turning out against Lancashire in Blackpool

ESPNcricinfo staff14-May-2024Ben Stokes will make his first appearance for Durham in the County Championship since May 2022 against Lancashire this week as he steps up his return as an allrounder.The England Test captain’s last competitive match came in the final match of the tour of India at the start of March. Having pulled out of the IPL, Stokes subsequently made himself unavailable for next month’s T20 World Cup to ensure he can play a full part in the Test summer, with bat and ball, following surgery in November to clear out a troublesome left knee that prevented him from doing the latter.With almost two months to go before the first Test against West Indies, which begins at Lord’s on July 10, Stokes will begin his tune-up at Blackpool on Friday. With Durham sitting fifth in Division One with one win and three draws, head coach Ryan Campbell was understandably buoyed by the influence Stokes’ will have on his squad and the competition as a whole.Related

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“We’re looking to kickstart our season and we’re looking forward to welcoming England captain Ben Stokes back into our team for the first time – it will be absolutely awesome,” Campbell told BBC Radio Newcastle.”I suggest if you’ve got a few days over the weekend you get down to Blackpool and watch the great Ben Stokes return for Durham.”Players always want to play against the best players in the competition. To have one of those players in our own team to show us the way, his experiences, it’s unbelievable.”Suddenly, there’s an air of excitement around the place just because he walks in the room.”Stokes, 32, played all five matches of England’s 4-1 loss in India, but only bowled in the final Test. He removed Rohit Sharma with his very first delivery, eventually bowling just five overs.Having initially ruled himself out of bowling on the trip, such was the speed of his recovery behind the scenes that he decided to turn his arm over in Dharamsala. He subsequently left the tour with his sights set on building his bowling back up, not least because England struggled to balance their team without a seam-bowling allrounder.Though Stokes has had time off, he has ticked over with his bowling, slowly increasing the intensity of sessions with six Tests to come this summer – three against Sri Lanka after the West Indies series – and tours of Pakistan and New Zealand before the end of the year. Speaking to the BBC’s podcast on Monday, men’s managing director Rob Key said he was encouraged by Stokes’ progress.”Ben in particular is feeling, for the first time in quite some time, that he is bowling pain free, and is able to bowl almost, straight away, into his top end speed,” Key said. “And he’s not having to go through pain barriers all the time to do it. I think he feels liberated by the fact the knee op has been a success and he feels he can now look to this part of his career being able to do both things, which is always a big thing for an allrounder.”It’s one thing if you’re batting; if you fail with the bat you feel you can contribute with the ball. If you take one of those away, it becomes a trickier game for allrounders.”The trip to Blackpool is one of four red-ball matches for Durham that Stokes could play between now and the first West Indies Test. It is still to be determined whether he will be available for Durham’s Vitality Blast campaign, which begins on May 30. Whether with the red or white ball, Stokes and the England management will aim to ensure he has the necessary overs under his belt before the Test summer begins.”Even Ben Stokes, as indestructible as we always think he is, he needs to build up slowly and then hopefully peak at just the right time to go on and not have to worry,” said Key.”Because it’s not just about your back, your knee and the knee you had operated on – you just lose that bit of resilience and robustness that bowling requires. I don’t think there’s any other force you can put your body through like what it does when you bowl, so he just needs to build up into that again.”

Rana’s five-for saw West Indies go from 85 for 1 to 146 all out before a counter-attacking start helped Bangladesh take a lead of 211

Mohammad Isam02-Dec-2024Bangladesh’s counter-attacking batting and accurate fast bowling gave them their best day on this West Indies tour so far. At stumps on the third day of the Jamaica Test, the visitors led by 211 runs after they bowled out the hosts for 146. This was only the second time in their history that Bangladesh took a first-innings lead after being bowled out for less than 200 runs.They fared much better in their second innings – and the game’s third – finishing the day on 193 for 5, coming on the back of some hostile bowling from the West Indies fast bowlers. The fielders, too, brought some heat with their words. Bangladesh, for the most part, appeared to show restraint. Umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Asif Yaqoob intervened several times to talk to a fielder or West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite.Earlier in the day, West Indies had thrown away a solid position to fold for 146, losing their last nine wickets for only 61 runs. Nahid Rana, the sensational fast bowler, led Bangladesh with a maiden five-wicket haul, that included some intimidating bowling. Rana’s figures of 5 for 61 in the afternoon also included a bruising of Kemar Roach, who got hit twice on his shoulder while batting. Roach would later come out to bowl only in the 31st over of the third innings, allowing Bangladesh to avoid facing the man with a devastatingly good record against them.Rana’s morning burst that left West Indies limping was a continuation of his performance on the second evening. Apart from his pace, his height generated extra bounce on the Sabina Park pitch. It helped remove Brathwaite with a 142kph snorter that caught the batter hopping at the crease. The fend-off resulted in a loopy low catch to substitute Zakir Hasan at gully.Rana forced Kavem Hodge into a mistimed pull shot shortly afterwards, but Taskin Ahmed couldn’t latch on to the catch running in from fine leg. It didn’t cost Bangladesh a run, when later in the same over, Litton Das took a superb behind the stumps catch to remove Hodge.Taskin got into the act when he bowled Alick Athanaze off the under edge. But it wasn’t just pace that knocked West Indies down. Taijul Islam got one to turn between Justin Greaves’ bat and pad, bowling him for just 2. Mehidy Hasan Miraz too picked up a wicket, when he trapped Shamar Joseph lbw shortly after the lunch break.Rana and Taskin were fired up, and Hasan Mahmud wasn’t too far behind. He trapped Joshua Da Silva lbw and got Keacy Carty caught behind, down the leg side, in the space of three deliveries.Rana then made light work of Alzarri Joseph, forcing him on the back foot, before foxing him with a slower ball which Alzarri timed straight to mid-off where Mehidy took a tumbling catch. It ended a fine morning session for the visitors, who took seven wickets for 65 runs in 25 overs. West Indies lasted three more overs after the lunch break when Rana had Kemar Roach lbw, to complete his five-for and give Bangladesh an 18-run lead.Shadman Islam was solid again for Bangladesh•Athelstan Bellamy

Before Bangladesh’s innings began, umpire Dharmasena could be seen speaking to Brathwaite and also with the slip cordon. Jayden Seales wouldn’t back down, however, continuing to engage with the Bangladesh batters before gesticulating towards the Bangladesh dressing room when he dismissed Mahmudul Hasan Joy for a duck.The chatter from the West Indies bowlers and fielders, though, lost its voice when Shahadat Hossain, promoted to No. 3, started going after the bowling. He miscued a couple of lofted shots before he cracked Alzarri for a four with a square cut.He curled one through mid-on off Shamar before Brathwaite dropped him on 22. Shahadat, however, didn’t back off, as he slammed Alzarri through mid-off shortly afterwards, for another four.But Shahadat fell trying one lofted shot too many. Seales took the catch at mid-off when Shahadat miscued Alzarri, but his 26-ball 28 with four fours had lifted Bangladesh’s mood.It resulted in a burst of fours from Shadman Islam and Mehidy, who batted at No. 4 in the absence of the ill Mominul Haque. Mehidy struck Shamar for four fours in a row in the next over. He struck two straight drives before edging two through the slip cordon. Shadman and Mehidy then hit three pull shots to get as many fours in the following over bowled by Seales. Shadman then struck Seales for two more fours, to make it ten fours in the space of four overs.Shadman, however, fell shortly after the tea break, edging Shamar in a similar fashion for the second time in the game. He scored 46 off 82 balls, including seven fours and his dismissal ended a whirlwind 70-run stand for the third wicket. Mehidy followed Shadman shortly afterwards, strangled down the leg side by Shamar and given out after West Indies successfully reviewed a not-out call. Mehidy also struck seven fours in his 39-ball 42.Litton and Jaker Ali then struck Seales and Shamar for two fours each, before Da Silva dropped Litton off Shamar’s bowling. It was a slightly difficult chance down the leg side but wicketkeepers are often seeing taking such catches. Litton fell for 25, almost against the run of play, when he missed Greaves’ offcutter.Jaker stayed firm, taking Bangladesh past the 200-run lead as West Indies captain Brathwaite struggled to rotate his bowlers around in Roach’s absence. Greaves filled in but the main bowlers struggled to keep the visitors quiet. Bangladesh fought tooth and nail against West Indies’ bouncers – of various kinds – to claim a memorable day in Jamaica.

“The players can’t play all this cricket, just from a health, safety and welfare point of view.”

Daniel Brettig25-Nov-2020Greg Barclay, the new ICC chairman, has declared the “unsustainable” global cricket calendar needs to be fundamentally examined and effectively rejected the suite of global events put to market by the governing body’s chief executive Manu Sawhney earlier this year.In a strong initial statement of intent, Barclay told ESPNcricinfo that the proposed return of a Champions Trophy style event in addition to men’s and women’s ODI and T20I World Cups was not on his agenda, and also indicated that cricket had to consider awarding major events to nations such as the USA in order to grow the game beyond its established base.After winning a run-off with the incumbent Imran Khwaja over two rounds of voting, Barclay also said he would quit as chairman of the International Rugby League in order to concentrate on the many governance, strategy and cricket development issues piling up for the ICC in the time of coronavirus.”We haven’t really built the calendar of events. There’s a lot of conjecture around whether it should be eight events, seven events, six events or whatever. I honestly don’t have a preference,” Barclay said. “What I want to ensure is that whatever we do end up with gives us optimum cricketing outcomes. I know a lot of the emphasis has appeared to be on commercial outcomes and this view that eight events will give the ICC more money.”I don’t think we’ve put enough thought into cricket and cricketing outcomes, particularly from the players’ point of view. The players can’t play all this cricket, just from a health, safety and welfare point of view, it’s just not sustainable. So we’ve got to work around that so we’ve got our best athletes in positions where they’re able to give their best for their countries in world events, and also make a living out of the game.”So there is a heck of a lot to balance, and we’ve got to be really careful as to how we construct our annual calendar, so all these issues are taken into account. So it’s not just a case of building a world events program and saying ‘hey there it is, everything needs to fit’, we need to get it all together into a dynamic model so that we get optimum cricketing outcomes.”Coming from New Zealand, Barclay suggested he would offer empathetic leadership while also striving for strategic cohesion after some years of dysfunction at the ICC. “The first thing we need to do is get the ICC strategy very clear, so we understand what it is we’re trying to achieve, how that helps global cricket, how it supports members’ interests,” he said. “We’re through a strategic planning exercise, but it’s been two or three years and we need to get that closed out so it is quite clear what we’re doing. Then we can make some decisions based on our strategy.Protesters take to the streets in Karachi over the Big Three takeover at the ICC•AFP

“That can be as simple as if we have more money, do we want to invest more to grow the game, and if we do that what does it look like. Are we looking to grow cricket in the USA, what does that look like. That might mean we need to accept some of our world events need to be hosted in places like that, where it can be showcased and used as a platform to grow the game. But that will mean the revenue generated off that might be less than what the members ideally would want. So a lot of decisions, but it needs to be driven by a strategic approach.”The possibility of wresting global events away from India, England and Australia, the most concrete remaining legacy of the “big three” governance resolutions in 2014, would be a major change in direction.”A major reason for doing that is if we want to grow the game, whether it’s in Asia or the Americas, but the USA being the logical place to start,” Barclay said. “Maybe we need to look at hosting a world event, maybe a co-host between the West Indies and the USA. but we do need to have a good look at the outcomes we’re trying to drive here. Those world events are an integral part of decision making.”The second thing is while from a revenue point of view we need to accept those countries have to be there or thereabouts in hosting a certain event, maybe the way that events are funded and the way revenue is dealt with can be done differently as well. So it doesn’t necessarily stand to reason that a country hosting an event keeps the amount of revenue they do. Maybe there’s different ways of approaching the commercial properties that emanate from an event. I just think we need to be open-minded, look strategically at what we want to do, and move forward to see what’s workable.”Noting the lengthy and often chaotic process by which he ultimately took the chair, Barclay said it was fair to suggest the major differences in worldview around ICC events and bilateral series had played a part. But he also stated firmly that he was not in the job to work merely at the behest of cricket’s richest nations.”I think it would be fair to say that there was a clash of agendas, which meant that it suited some directors not to get a decision,” Barclay said. “To give it some context and be fair to them, we are trying to undertake a governance review at the moment, so a lot of them felt we should just leave things until such time as we had an outcome of that review process. The difficulty with that is we didn’t know how long that would take, and of course whatever recommendations came to the board from that process may not have been adopted. So it was fraught to leave it totally reliant on the outcome of the review.”A lot of the media has touted the “big three” concept, but I don’t subscribe to it at all. There is no big three to me, they’re just members of the ICC. Sure they’re really important members, they help drive a lot of cricketing outcomes, and to have them as hosts of events or as cricketing opponents is hugely beneficial. But they are individual members of the ICC, so they’re just as important but no more so than anyone else. I wasn’t at the ICC when the big three resolutions were put in place, but while that changed the funding model, there were also some good things that came out of that like the FTP, so members got certainty around their playing arrangements and certainty around their funding.Fort Lauderdale in Florida has regularly hosted T20 internationals and CPL games•CPL T20/ Getty Images

“While it was an inequitable split, New Zealand and other members were still better off than what we had been previously. But I think what was done under Shashank [Manohar] once he got there and they rolled back the resolutions and lessened the influence of those three countries was absolutely the right thing. Now there has been no concept of “big three” for the last four years or so, and I know for a fact that England and Australia are very much of that view.”They get the same amount of [ICC events] money as everyone else and that’s never really been an issue. India are a slightly different case, they’re a huge cricketing force, we need to have them in the tent and with 1.3 billion people and the stuff they do around cricket, I think we just need to address some of their issues differently. There are a lot of positives to come out of what they do as well as any perceived negatives.”

Calls time at age of 38 to take up coaching role in Women’s Hundred

Peter Della Penna22-Mar-2023Kyle Coetzer, the former Scotland captain who led his side to famous victories over No. 1-ranked England in 2018 and into the Super 12 stage of the 2021 T20 World Cup, has announced his retirement from international cricket at the age of 38.Coetzer, who was born and raised in Aberdeen, had stepped down from the captaincy in May 2022 at the end of Scotland’s ODI tour of the USA and also retired from T20Is, but he has now called time in all formats to take up a role as assistant coach with Northern Diamonds for the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and Charlotte Edwards Cup.”I don’t ever think there’s a perfect time for a decision like this, but I’ve been considering my options for some time, and an opportunity came up which was too good to turn down,” Coetzer said in a retirement announcement through Cricket Scotland. “The balance that the Scotland team need at this time was outweighed by the opportunity for me to move into coaching, and I’m extremely excited about the chance to work with such a high-profile team.”Having come up through Scotland’s Under-15 and Under-19 pathway, Coetzer made his initial appearance for Scotland as a 19-year-old in an unofficial UK tour warm-up match for Pakistan at Glasgow in 2003. A year later, he made a full-fledged international debut against Kenya in the Intercontinental Cup, the ICC’s first-class competition for Associates, in which he made an unbeaten 133 in the second innings to help claim enough points in a draw that put Scotland into the final, where they beat Canada a week later to claim the title.Though the Intercontinental Cup is no more, his performance in that match was a harbinger of things to come in a far more illustrious ODI and T20I career. Coetzer leaves the game as Scotland’s all-time leading scorer in ODIs with 3192 runs in 89 matches at an average of 38.92 as well as ending up second overall in T20I runs for Scotland with 1495 runs in 70 matches.Coetzer’s individual ODI zenith came during the 2015 World Cup in Australia when he made 156 against Bangladesh, one of five ODI centuries during his career. However, it was another century he made in 2017 in a win against Zimbabwe during his second stint as captain that left a far bigger imprint on his Scottish cricketing legacy and paved the way for the team to reach even greater heights.It was their first-ever win over a Full Member and came a year after Scotland had finally broken their World Cup curse by defeating Hong Kong at the 2016 T20 World Cup to register their first win at a major ICC global event.Scotland memorably beat England at the Grange in 2018•Peter Della Penna

With Coetzer as captain during the coaching tenure of Grant Bradburn, the belief was instilled that those would not be Scotland’s last major achievements either. That same summer of 2017, he produced a century in an unofficial one-day win over Sri Lanka ahead of the Champions Trophy. A year later, his 58 off 49 balls as part of a century partnership with Matthew Cross laid the platform for Scotland to defeat England by six runs in an epic match at the Grange in Edinburgh.”I’ve been so lucky throughout my Scotland career that it’s tricky to pick out a highlight,” Coetzer said. “Getting our first win in the ICC T20 World Cup against Hong Kong in 2016 was special… but then so was the whole of 2018. The victory against England at The Grange was just amazing. That whole year – Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, England – just felt like a change of momentum and belief amongst the players about competing against the best teams in the world.”Another feather in Coetzer’s cap came in 2021 when he captained Scotland to three wins from three in the opening round of the T20 World Cup in the UAE. That included a win over group favourites Bangladesh and helped propel them into the Super 12 stage for the first time.”Reaching the ICC T20 Super 12s in 2021, having never achieved it before, and being the captain of that squad, will always stay with me,” Coetzer added.His last ODI century came in his penultimate match as captain against the UAE on Scotland’s tour of Texas in 2022. His form waned in the final year and a half of his career after relinquishing the captaincy, crossing 50 just once in his last 16 ODI innings while making 315 runs at an average of 22.50, well below his career mark.Related

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Yet his contributions were still significant enough over the last three years to help Scotland finish as the champions of the ICC Cricket World Cup League Two ODI tournament for top-ranked Associates, and in the process helped Scotland clinch a spot in the 2023 ICC World Cup Qualifier later this year in Zimbabwe.Aside from his lengthy career with Scotland which spanned two decades, Coetzer was also a regular on the county circuit, having started at Durham Academy in the early 2000s before making his senior debut in the County Championship against Glamorgan in 2004. His last match for Durham came in 2011 before a move to Northamptonshire, where he stayed through to the end of the 2015 season, before a brief cameo for three matches in the 2018 T20 Blast.Between the Intercontinental Cup and his county career, Coetzer made 4404 runs across 94 first-class matches at 30.37 with eight centuries and a best of 219. His decision to take up a role in women’s cricket coaching with Northern Diamonds in England follows up his role as a consultant coach with the Scotland Women’s team in September 2022 during their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier tour of the UAE.His retirement continues the changing of the guard within the Scotland set-up. Fellow batting stalwart Calum MacLeod – player of the match in that England victory – announced his retirement in November following the conclusion of the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.

DC finally rise from the bottom after winning four of their last five games

Vishal Dikshit06-May-20233:08

Moody: Salt a brave player who doesn’t fear for his wicket

The Delhi Capitals’ batting might has turned up a little late in the tournament but they gave their home crowd a dazzling display of boundary hitting, the centerpiece of which was Phil Salt’s 87 off 45 balls, to finish off a chase of 182 against RCB with 20 balls to spare.After three ducks and only one score over 10 in his last five T20 innings, Salt sent five of his six sixes over the leg-side boundary during at assault that featured a lot of horizontal-bat shots. The Capitals chase got going with their first half-century opening stand of the season, and Salt kept attacking to bring the asking rate under six in almost no time. They raced to 70 in the powerplay, 115 at the halfway mark with Salt’s 28-ball fifty, before plundering 24 runs off a Harshal Patel over to reduce the chase to 32 off 42 balls.Salt was eventually bowled for 87 but his eight fours and six sixes helped Capitals beat RCB for the first time in three years. It was Capitals’ fourth win in their last five games, and lifted them off the bottom of the table.

DC’s best powerplay

The Capitals chase was unlike any of their batting displays this season. David Warner began with two fours off the first three balls from Mohammed Siraj, before sweeping Wanindu Hasaranga’s first ball for six in the fourth over. In between, Salt took on Josh Hazlewood for two fours before a feisty fifth over from Siraj.Salt top-edged the first ball for six over the wicketkeeper, slapped the second one over cover and into the stands, and then flicked one bounce into the square-leg boundary. Siraj responded with a bouncer that was called wide and there followed a heated conversation between the bowler and the batter, and some animated finger-pointing from Siraj towards both Salt and Warner.Warner skied a catch off Hazlewood for 22 off 14 in the last over of the powerplay but Mitchell Marsh ended the over with a big six over midwicket and an edged four to power Capitals to 70 after six overs. They might not have got so much had Dinesh Karthik held on to a tough chance from Salt – an inside edge off Hasaranga – in the fourth over.It got heated between Phil Salt and Mohammed Siraj•Associated Press

Salt’s boundary bonanza

Salt was on 35 off 17 at the time and he threw his bat at anything wayward: wide balls disappeared over cover, short ones were pulled disdainfully, and a few edges also raced to the boundary.Marsh holed out off a full toss but the attack on RCB’s bowlers did not abate. Salt began the 13th over, from Harshal, with a six over the leg side and Rilee Rossouw smashed two more down the ground, before a misfield on the long-off boundary from Suyash Prabhudessai made it 24 runs off the over.Salt belted out two more boundaries before falling to Karn Sharma and Rossouw ended the game in the 17th over with his third six.

Kohli and Du Plessis solid but not spectacular

After RCB chose to bat on what was considered to be a slow pitch at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Virat Kohli started by playing nine dot balls in the first three overs, but also found the boundary in each of them.RCB got a boost when Faf du Plessis struck Mukesh Kumar for three fours in the fifth over before he hit Khaleel Ahmed for a straight six and a four to make it 51 from the powerplay.

Marsh goes bang, bang

Kohli and du Plessis batted into the 11th over of the innings, when Marsh had du Plessis caught slapping a short and wide slower ball to deep point. He then had Glenn Maxwell caught first ball to reduce RCB to 82 for 2. Kohli was on 36 of 31 at the other end, and the run rate dipped slightly.

Mahipal Lomror lifts RCB

Mahipal Lomror raised the tempo of RCB’s innings quickly. He pulled his fifth ball for six off Kuldeep Yadav, and used the reverse-sweep and the loft down the ground to find the boundary, before pulling Marsh for another six to lift the run rate over eight an over.Kohli, meanwhile, found short fine leg for 55 off 46 and RCB were 137 for 3 with four overs left. Lomror didn’t get a lot of support and ended up doing most of the hitting himself. His two fours off Ishant Sharma, an edge for four off Khaleel, along with Dinesh Karthik’s six helped RCB collect 29 runs from the 17th and 18th overs. Mukesh then nailed a few yorkers and Khaleel used his cutters to keep RCB to 15 off the last two. Kohli said he thought 181 was a good score during the innings break, but the Capitals ran down the target with ease.

Northants seamers run through hosts’ top order to inspire faint hopes of relegation escape

Vithushan Ehantharajah21-Sep-2023There was a moment, before rain arrived after the completion of the 40th over in Surrey’s first innings, that “The Great Escape – 2023, Steelbacks Edition” looked on.Northamptonshire, bottom of Division One, 32 points from safety, had the 18-point league leaders on their knees at 91 for 6, trailing by 266. A relegation battle had burst into life, and with second-place Essex dominating Hampshire, the race for the County Championship title was about to be upgraded to “simmering”.Northants had only added five to the score they began day three on at the Kia Oval, Karun Nair moving to 150 before over-hand patting a return catch to Tom Lawes for the 20-year-old’s second five-wicket haul of the season, and 50th first-class dismissal outright. But with 357 on the board the visitors had something to fight for. And fight they did.Tom Taylor nicked off opposition skipper Rory Burns, captain Luke Procter had Ryan Patel caught at cover and Indian debutant Sai Sudharsan snared through to the keeper (off forearm rather than glove) before twin strikes after lunch from Jack White ended Dom Sibley’s 83-ball resistance and nabbed Cameron Steel for a duck. Just like that, a team who have been second to most throughout this campaign had the defending champions looking to the heavens for divine intervention in between glances of the scorecard at Chelmsford.Mother Nature obliged, first washing away two hours’ worth of play from 2.17pm, before returning at 5.12pm to take us to a premature close. By then, a belligerent 33 not out from Ben Foakes and furious 50 off 52 from Jamie Overton had provided some much-needed insurance in a stand of 79.Overton had been dropped on 40, hooking Procter to Sanderson at fine leg – a catch that would have made it 142 for 7, with Northants still leading by 215. But as Overton and Foakes walked off to cheers as the umpires declared the light too poor, 10 minutes before the heavens opened, Surrey looked to have got away with it. Especially as Hampshire had rallied some 40 miles away to avoid the follow on.Of course, this is far from over, with Surrey not safe from being sent straight back in. Just as Northants did against Warwickshire, these two could also strike a deal involving twin declarations to give both a sniff at victory. Despite the state of the match, Surrey have the stronger hand because they will take a lot of convincing to even consider the risk of defeat. Whatever Procter poses to Burns in any such discussion will have to be akin to the 176 from 60 overs accepted at Edgbaston last week, which resulted in a two-wicket defeat.The fact Northants host Essex in the final round might make Surrey more amenable to such a tryst, though the sense at this stage is they are happy to take the draw. That may change if Tom Westley is able to twist James Vince’s arm on Friday morning. Just to add a layer of melodrama to all of this, Hampshire host Surrey at the Ageas Bowl next week.Whether or not we are in for a manufactured finish should not detract from the work of Nair and an attack that combined to get Surrey 66 for 5. Taylor, whose 66 dovetailed with Nair in a 114-run stand for the eighth wicket, struck first by squaring up Burns from around the wicket. Procter’s brace then prised open up a middle order shorn of Will Jacks and Jamie Smith.White made a lacquer-less Dukes move to his beat. After pinning Sibley in front of middle with one that decked in, the only straight delivery the former England opener failed to get bat on, the ball that took out Steel’s off stump followed a similar path out of the hand, only to straighten off the surface and beat the right-hander on the outside edge.Jordan Clark was the first batter to offer anything by way of a riposte, hooking Sanderson over backward square leg for the first six of the innings. Two balls later, Clark was begrudgingly on his way back to the pavilion, displeased by the umpire’s decision to adjudge him caught behind after Sanderson had seemingly trimmed him off to make it 79 for 6.Foakes, as he has done all season, and for England under Ben Stokes’ leadership, fought the fires and rebuilt, with a couple of gorgeous straight drives that soothed home souls and calmed dressing-room nerves. And when Overton arrived as the ideal foil, walking at White and lifting him over mid-off for his first boundary before the first rain interval, the tempo and feel shifted considerably. While there were a handful of edges dropping short of the cordon, their approach allied with the weather took the heat out of proceedings.Day four brings with it opportunity, possibly the last chance for Northants to preserve their Division One status. But as much as they have fought valiantly over the last three days and deserve a shot at dictating their terms instead of being led by the weather, their poor showings up until this week are the reason why they remain odds on for an unedifying return to Division Two.