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Ferguson picked up the injury during the T20I against Sri Lanka on Sunday in Dambulla, where he claimed a hat-trick

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Nov-2024Lockie Ferguson will be flying back to New Zealand after picking up a calf injury in their series-levelling T20I victory over Sri Lanka in Dambulla. The 33-year-old fast bowler has been ruled out of the ODI leg of the tour which begins with the first of three matches on November 13.Ferguson was only just returning from injury – a different one, right hamstring – and was heavily involved in changing New Zealand’s fortunes, his hat-trick helping them defend a total of 108 as they came back from 0-1 down to share the spoils.An NZC release said he felt some discomfort while bowling his second over of the chase on Sunday. Ferguson left the field thereafter and was unable to take any further part in that T20I, although he did return to pick up the Player-of-the-Match award. He has been ruled out of the rest of the Sri Lanka tour based on initial assessments and is scheduled to undergo scans upon arriving in New Zealand to ascertain the full extent of the damage. Adam Milne has been called into the squad as Ferguson’s replacement and will arrive in Dambulla on Tuesday.”We’re gutted for Lockie,” New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said, “He showed in the space of just two overs what an asset he is with the ball and he’s also brought a lot of leadership to this group, so he’ll be a big miss heading into an important ODI series for us. To be ruled out so early in a tour is always tough to take, but we’re hopeful his recovery will be short and he’ll be back out on the field in no time.”Adam is a like-for-like replacement who brings genuine pace and plenty of international experience, so we’re looking forward to welcoming him into the group.”Ferguson has played one Test, 65 ODIs and 43 T20Is for New Zealand since making his debut in December 2016. He has been one of the team’s first-choice picks in white-ball cricket, a status he underlined by recording his country’s sixth T20I hat-trick. New Zealand will now be relying on a relatively inexperienced seam-bowling attack, although Milne’s inclusion – 49 ODIs and 53 T20Is played – does offset that a little. Milne will join Jacob Duffy and Nathan Smith to make up the team’s frontline seam-bowling options with support from allrounders Zakary Foulkes and Josh Clarkson.New Zealand are on the back end of a long tour of the subcontinent which began with a washed-out Test against Afghanistan in early September. That was followed by a 0-2 loss to Sri Lanka a few weeks later and a 3-0 win over India in India earlier this month.

Legspinner reveals he has been working on altering his run-up to ensure he can get the ball to skid while also trying to put his height to good use

Mohammad Isam24-Sep-2023After Ish Sodhi ripped out the Bangladesh batters in his first spell by claiming four wickets, captain Lockie Ferguson took him out of the attack after the 19th over. Once Sodhi returned for his second spell in the 30th over, he completed his maiden ODI five-wicket haul with a peach of a googly to dismiss Mahedi Hasan.It broke Bangladesh’s last recognisable batting pair to leave Mahmudullah to wage a lone battle as the hosts eventually fell short of the target by 86 runs in the second ODI. Sodhi later said that Hasan’s wicket was particularly “satisfying” as it embodied a type of delivery he had been imagining since he had reworked his run-up to bowl more at the stumps.”The most satisfying wicket actually was the fifth wicket,” Sodhi said. “Not necessarily because it was five wickets but I worked really hard on my run-up to bowl a fraction quicker compared to a year or two ago. That was the type of delivery that I was working hard towards. It was really pleasing to see that it got me a wicket.”Related

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Sodhi revealed that he has been working on altering his run-up to ensure he could get the ball to skid while also trying to put his height to good use.”A lot of the really successful new-age legspinners are a lot shorter than what I am. They get the ball to skid to keep the stumps in play all the time. I thought that the bounce could play against me sometimes. One, they don’t actually hit the stumps.”Sometimes on slow wickets, I can sit in the wickets a little bit more. I was trying to add the skiddy sort of nature to my game by changing my run-up a year ago. Certainly not trying to neglect my height as well. I am trying to use it as much as I can,” he said.Given the lack of spinning tracks in New Zealand, Sodhi had to find ways to prepare and be successful and the changed run-up was one such way. Though he said it took him a bit of time to understand pitches in Bangladesh, he looked at home in Mirpur on Saturday.”In New Zealand, you might get a pitch that spins once every two years. You have to find different ways to be successful. If you can’t find those ways, it is easy to go for a lot of runs. Sit on the bench for a really long time.”So it is important to find other ways to be successful. I naturally find it difficult here. The type of balls that spin (here) don’t necessarily spin in New Zealand. Finding out what the stock ball looks like is really important,” he said.By picking up a match-winning 6 for 39 against Bangladesh, Sodhi joined the likes of Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Shane Bond and Scott Styris among New Zealand bowlers to take six-wicket hauls in ODIs. He was also the first bowler to do so in Bangladesh.”I love legspin bowling. I love the fact that a lot of young legspinners are coming through in New Zealand. I think it is a product of all the legspinners in T20 cricket around the world. When I was growing up, I wanted to be like Shane Warne. Guys are exposed to so many different types of media now, you can see a lot of guys. They find something they really enjoy. Rashid Khan is playing a big role.”It is great to be in the company [of bowlers taking six-fors in ODIs]. I can hopefully produce some match-winning performances for New Zealand in the coming years,” he said.Sodhi felt New Zealand made the right decision to bat first to get to 254 – which proved enough at the end – even though they had initially thought of setting up a slightly bigger total.”The wicket definitely got tougher to bat later in the day,” he said. “It was the whole reason we decided to bat first. It definitely deteriorated over time and it turned out we took the right decision.”The batters coming in said that 270-280 might be a good score on this wicket. We lost a couple of wickets in the middle order so we felt 250 was a target. We fortunately got there in the end but you never feel it’s enough with someone like Tamim Iqbal, who can take the game away. Getting him out was an important part of the game.”

Four wickets for England captain and unbeaten century for batter give hosts slender edge

ECB Reporters Network24-May-2024A late fightback from Somerset left their Vitality County Championship game with Durham finely poised, despite starring roles from Ben Stokes and David Bedingham.Stokes took four wickets to restrict Somerset to 171 all out in their first innings while Bedingham led Durham’s reply with an unbeaten century on day one at an overcast Seat Unique Riverside.Having been put in on a grassy pitch, Somerset had their backs to the wall for most of the day, but Migael Pretorius, who was later replaced by Jake Ball due to concussion, got his second 50 of the season and Craig Overton had the hosts in a spot of bother at 19 for three.Ball took three late wickets including that of Stokes and Ollie Robinson, but Bedingham got his century just before close to leave Durham 177 for 6, six runs ahead with four wickets in tact.Durham skipper Scott Borthwick elected to bowl at the toss and it was justified in the first over, with Ben Raine claiming the scalp of Tom Abell for four with a ball that clipped the top of off-stump.After being restricted to run-scoring rations by Raine at the other end, Tom Lammonby then started to find his groove, with three fours from a Paul Coughlin over.At the other end, Australian international Renshaw was dogged in defence, with just five runs from 39 balls before he was caught behind by Robinson, Stokes’ first wicket of the day.Lammonby was the second victim of Stokes with the left-hander looking to cut one but extra bounce deceived him and he edged behind to the dependable Robinson for 22.Just five balls later, Siddle then joined the party on home debut as Andy Umeed edged to second slip for nine.Banton and James Rew came to the crease and combined nicely, but Raine got his second of the innings on the stroke of lunch when Rew was out LBW for 13 after padding up to one which was plumb.The lunch break didn’t bring better fortune for Somerset as in the first over after the break Siddle struck twice in two balls, removing Gregory and Craig Overton before Pretorius successfully defended the hat-trick ball.Pretorius supported Banton as they combined for a partnership worth 35, but Raine put an end to Banton’s defiance, as he chipped a ball straight to mid-wicket to give Raine his third.Stokes grabbed his third of the day when Josh Davey was LBW for 10, which spurred Pretorius on to attack and reach his half-century.Despite wickets falling at the other end, Pretorius played well for his 50, but the South African did not last much longer as he edged a Stokes delivery to second slip to wrap up the Somerset innings.That was Pretorius’ last action of the match as he was subbed out with concussion after being struck on the helmet prior to his dismissal, with Jake Ball replacing him for the rest of the game.Responding to Somerset’s total of 171, Durham started in the worst possible way as Alex Lees was run out for three while backing up, after Overton got his hand to a Borthwick straight drive and the ball cannoned onto the stumps when Lees was out of his ground.Colin Ackermann was then dismissed for one after he edged an Overton delivery to second slip and the Somerset man struck again to leave Durham 19 for three, after Borthwick was out LBW for nine.The in-form duo of Bedingham and Robinson decided to attack on the bowler-friendly wicket, as they ticked the scoreboard over and went past 100.The pair elegantly chipped away at Somerset’s total, with Bedingham hitting a Jack Leach delivery down the ground for six to reach his half-century from 60 balls.Unlike his partner, Robinson could not make it to the half-century mark as he fell to Ball for 46, which brought Stokes to the crease.The England Test captain then departed for a duck after Ball got him LBW and Ball struck again to remove Graham Clark for one.Just before close Bedingham hit his fourth consecutive County Championship hundred from 103 balls, giving Durham the edge over Somerset going into day two.

The Australia quick grabbed four wickets as Western Australia slipped from a promising position

AAP11-Mar-2024Scott Boland returned from New Zealand to help Victoria claim an early advantage in their must-win Sheffield Shield clash with Western Australia.The 34-year-old was an invaluable inclusion for Victoria after being released from Australia’s Test squad having been deemed surplus to requirements for the 2-0 series victory over New Zealand.Related

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Boland toiled away in hot conditions on Monday to take 4 for 41, helping bowl WA out for 244 after Victoria captain Will Sutherland won the toss and sent the visitors in to bat at the Junction Oval in Melbourne.Sutherland’s decision was looking questionable when WA moved to 203 for 4. But Boland, Fergus O’Neill (3-48) and spinner Todd Murphy (2-54) helped trigger a collapse of 6 for 41.”I would have liked to have stayed over in New Zealand if I was playing, but there was an opportunity to play back here,” Boland said. “I’ve spent so much time carrying the drinks this year so it’s been nice to be back on the field. Credit to our whole bowling group, we stuck to our plans that we wanted to implement to their batters.”Most of the WA top-order got starts, but Jayden Goodwin finished top scorer with 43. Aaron Hardie and Hilton Cartwright battled hard during their knocks but could never settleVictoria had to face five overs before stumps, losing in-form opener Nic Maddinson to Cameron Gannon for 2.Former Test batter Peter Handscomb is due to come in at No. 5 in his 100th Shield match.Dual reigning champions, WA need to avoid losing to be assured of reaching a third successive decider. Sitting second on the table, the visitors can still make the final with a draw.But Victoria – one place lower on the ladder – will be pushing hard to force a result after losing the last two finals against WA.Tasmania, who last won a Shield title in 2012-13, are in the box seat to host the final after losing just once this season.

October 15, the original date for the match, is the first day of the Hindu festival of Navaratri, so the game could now be played a day before on October 14

Nagraj Gollapudi26-Jul-2023In a move that could impact the overall ODI World Cup schedule, the BCCI is considering moving the most high-profile match of the tournament – India vs Pakistan in Ahmedabad – from October 15 to October 14.The reason for the change, ESPNcricinfo has learned, is that October 15 is also the first day of the Hindu festival of Navaratri, and the local police has told the BCCI that it would find it difficult to take care of security on the day.It is understood that the BCCI has alerted the ICC about the issue, but no concrete decision has been taken yet. The BCCI is expected to have a meeting with all the state associations that are hosting World Cup matches on July 27 before a final call is taken.Related

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The original World Cup schedule has October 14 down as a double-header day: England play Afghanistan in a day match in Delhi and New Zealand play Bangladesh in day-night game in Chennai. Incidentally, there are no triple-headers scheduled, though there are two matches on six days.India, who open their World Cup campaign on October 8 with a game against Australia in Chennai, would have also played Afghanistan on October 11 in Delhi before the game against Pakistan, while their next fixture is against Bangladesh on October 19 in Pune.As for Pakistan, they play Netherlands in Hyderabad on October 6, the second day of the tournament, and Sri Lanka on October 12, also in Hyderabad, before playing India, followed by their fourth game, against Australia in Bengaluru on October 20.Therefore, in case the game moves to October 14, Pakistan will have just a day between their games in Hyderabad and in Ahmedabad, while India will have two days’ gap.The development comes roughly a month after the BCCI announced the World Cup schedule, which itself was severely delayed. While the BCCI has not yet announced any information on when matches tickets will go on sale, fans and other stakeholders have already booked flights and hotels in Ahmedabad for the match, which has historically been one of the most watched sporting events globally.

The middle order had given the home side some impetus but the weather had a final say

Ekanth25-Feb-2025 – No resultA second washout in three games handed Zimbabwe a 1-0 T20I series win to end their home summer on a high. There was space for just one innings as rain delayed the toss by 45 minutes and then returned during the innings break to have the final word.Zimbabwe had a stop-start innings after being put into bat in the 18-overs-a-side contest. They stretched their way to 142 thanks to Sikandar Raza taking control after having come in at 18 for 2, before Tashinga Musekiwa and Tony Munyonga’s cameos provided late acceleration.Craig Young and Gareth Delany picked up two wickets each for Ireland. The bowlers did have trouble gripping the moist ball, but managed to keep the run rate at a shade under eight an over.The evening started with Paul Stirling winning the toss and Ireland striking twice in the first three overs. Young found seam movement to have Tadiwanashe Marumani caught behind. Matthew Humphreys then darted in an arm ball from around the wicket to smash Wessly Madhevere’s stumps.Raza started off with a streaky boundary over short third before going through a couple of tense moments. He was in pain after edging a mistimed pull on to his leg, he survived an lbw call off Josh Little in the seventh over, and an edge off his bat didn’t carry to wicketkeeper Lorcan Tucker in the eighth.He did dispatch a Fionn Hand slower ball over long-on and pumped Humphreys for a four and a six. But when he tried a flat-bat hit off Delany, the ball seemed to hold up in the pitch and ended up in Harry Tector’s hands at long-on.Delany got Brian Bennett four balls later with a ball that bounced low to take an edge and flatten leg stump as Zimbabwe slumped to 67 for 4. However, that was the only over Delany bowled for the day.Munyonga got a fortunate boundary in the 11th over as debutant Tim Tector, at long-on, came in too close and the ball soared over him for a boundary. Ryan Burl offered two near chances in the following over off Hand, neither of which carried to the outfielders running in. The duo picked up seven twos, four of them in the 13th over, in their 27-run stand. That was broken by Little, who had Burl caught at deep third.Musekiwa launched Young for two sixes in the 15th over, the first of which brought up Zimbabwe’s hundred, before pulling a half-tracker from Little into the grass banks. Musekiwa got a free hit after Hand, in a bid to keep the ball out of the arc, delivered a ball so wide that it was outside the cut strip. But a wide later, he missed out on a full-toss free hit.Munyonga had near chances in the 16th over, both of which resulted in twos, but fell to Young in the final over, trying to swipe the ball over long-on. Wellington Masakadza got a boundary off his first ball, but Young bowled four yorkers on the bounce to keep the batters quiet.With dew around, Ireland would have fancied their chances of chasing down the total and ensuring that Zimbabwe finished their home summer without a series win, but it was not to be.

Rain again thwarts visitors’ push for victory on same day that they receive points deduction

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay11-Sep-2025A bad day for Hampshire ended with them flirting with first division relegation after rain frustrated their attempt to beat Sussex at Hove.Only 21 overs were possible on the final day at the 1st Central County Ground and between the showers Sussex, who needed 278 to win, reached 84 for 3 before a final downpour at 4pm ended play with opener Tom Haines unbeaten on 40. Both teams took 11 points.That at least covered the eight points Hampshire had been deducted earlier in the day for preparing a poor pitch when Sussex won at the Utilita Bowl in May.Hampshire have a trip to Somerset next week before they finish the season at home to title-chasing Surrey.Having been up against it after two days, Sussex will be relieved with an outcome which stretches the gap between them and the bottom two. They host ninth-placed Yorkshire next week before finishing the season against the side currently bottom, Worcestershire, at New Road.After the entire third day was washed out, more rain delayed the start until 2pm, leaving Sussex 51 overs to score a further 241 at 4.7 runs per over.On a pitch which was becoming more comfortable to bat on, Hampshire needed to take every opportunity going but in the third over of the day wicketkeeper Ben Brown put down a chance low to his right offered by night watcher Sean Hunt off Kyle Abbott. In the next over Hunt edged Keith Barker between second and third slips.Just 27 minutes were possible before another shower drove the players off with six overs lost but Hampshire then struck twice in successive overs to give themselves hope. Hunt had done his job, using up 61 balls in making 19 before left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin pinned him lbw half forward.In the next over Barker picked up a deserved wicket when Ollie Carter was bowled by a delivery which nipped back onto his off stump. But only 8.4 overs more were bowled either side of tea before another downpour was quickly followed by handshakes on the dressing-room balcony.

England captain hits 62 off 36 balls between showers in shortened match

ECB Reporters Network05-Aug-2023Manchester Originals skipper Jos Buttler smacked five sixes in an entertaining 36-ball 62 but his side’s match in the Hundred against London Spirit eventually fell victim to the Manchester weather.The home side had reached 138 for 5 after 80 balls in the game’s only innings when umpires Graham Lloyd and Steve O’Shaughnessy took the players from the field for the second time. They did not return and the no result outcome means that each side have taken one point from their first two matches in the Hundred.The first interruption might have come at a useful time for Spirit’s bowlers and fielders. The former had conceded five sixes in 35 balls, three of the maximums being struck by Phil Salt, who was dropped by Dan Lawrence off Liam Dawson when only 8. Salt was eventually caught by Adam Rossington for a nine-ball 21 when he thin-edged a pull off Dan Worrall.