'Fake fielding' makes an appearance as Glamorgan cling on in thriller

AJ Tye hit two sixes in the final over – and three runs were needed off the last ball – before he was bowled trying to secure victory

ECB Reporters Network03-Aug-2018

ScorecardThere was a pulsating finish at Sophia Gardens, where Gloucestershire, mainly through the efforts of Jack Taylor, got within three runs of beating Glamorgan.AJ Tye, having hit the previous ball for six, missed the last, and Timm van der Gugten, having also dismissed Taylor earlier in the over, was Glamorgan’s hero. Glamorgan gained their fourth win, while the visitors were deposed at the top of the southern Group.Glamorgan scored 201 for 6, with Craig Meschede reaching a career best 77 not out from 47 balls, which included five sixes and four fours, and setting the visitors a testing target which required them to score at ten runs an over.They made a brisk start and were helped by a five-run penalty when a Glamorgan fielder was penalised for “pretending to field the ball” but the home team were soon in control as Gloucestershire lost three wickets in quick succession.Miles Hammond lifted Michael Hogan to long-on, then Michael Klinger and Ian Cockbain were out to successive deliveries. Klinger was well held by Hogan at long-off, then Cockbain nicked one from Rory Smith to the wicketkeeper. Benny Howell struck Smith for two sixes in the seamer’s final over, but when Graham Wagg was brought on, he bowled Howell with his first ball.Wagg was then struck a fierce blow on his head, attempting to get in the way of a drive from Ryan Higgins from the fifth ball of his second over, and although was reluctant to leave the field, common sense prevailed.Gloucestershire needed 75 from the final five overs, and a rapid 57-run stand between Taylor and Higgins gave them a flicker of hope. Higgins perished to Hogan, and Noema-Barnett also fell to the same bowler.But Taylor kept on swinging, and with sixteen runs needed from the final over, van der Gugten held his nerve to bowl Taylor for 52 from 21 balls, but when Tye swung the bowler for six, nine were needed from three balls, and three from the last ball.After they were put into Usman Khawaja, playing his final game for Glamorgan before returning to Australia, and Aneurin Donald opened for the home team with Donald soon into his stride, striking Higgins for six and four in the bowler’s opening over and then driving Tye for another six as the Australian conceded 17.After driving David Payne for a straight six, the bowler got his revenge two balls later when Khawaja player on to a full delivery after sharing an opening partnership of 45 in five overs.Donald was joined by Meschede, who struck Howell for three successive fours as Glamorgan ended the Powerplay on 60 for 1. The second-wicket pair added 37, before Donald, who scored 31 from 27 balls, was caught attempting the ramp shot off Howell.Kiran Carlson, who top scored in Glamorgan’s win against Surrey earlier in the week, struck a six to get off the mark, but after driving Tye to the boundary, was out the next ball when he skied to extra cover.Chris Cooke, leading the Glamorgan team in the absence of Colin Ingram, then settled into productive partnership with Meschede, scoring a brisk 29 in a stand of 50, before he was caught at midwicket.Glamorgan then lost two wickets for one run, as Wagg was leg before to Howell first ball, and Andrew Salter was caught behind, but Meschede kept Glamorgan going with a series of attacking strokes.Tye, one of the best T20 bowlers in the world was struck for 25 in his final over as he ended with 4-0-50-1

Teams split points after rain allows only 31.1 overs

Tamim Iqbal was not out on 64* and Peter Chase returned figures of 3 for 33 but prolonged rain meant the game was a washout

The Report by Mohammad Isam12-May-2017
Match Abandoned
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsShakib Al Hasan stood in as Bangladesh captain in the absence of Mashrafe Mortaza•Getty Images/Sportsfile

Heavy rain in Malahide washed out the tri-series’ opener between Ireland and Bangladesh after the visitors’ innings came to a halt in the 32nd over. Bangladesh were 157 for 4 in 31.1 overs when the weather forced them off, and they did not return. Although the rain relented as the evening progressed, it never entirely stopped. The game was called off at 4.50 pm local time.In what is their first visit to England and Ireland in seven years, the Bangladesh batsmen, barring Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah, struggled on a green pitch.Tamim and Mahmudullah led the visitors’ recovery with an unbroken 87-run fifth-wicket stand – after they were struggling at 70 for 4 – but it was mainly the Ireland bowlers’ inability to take full advantage of pace-friendly conditions that let the visitors off the hook.Peter Chase was the pick of the bowlers with his three wickets, while Tim Murtagh and left-arm spinner George Dockrell kept Bangladesh in check with tight bowling. Barry McCarthy, Kevin O’Brien and Stuart Thompson however failed to find their rhythm.Tamim battled hard for his 88-ball 64, finding the boundary eight times, while Mahmudullah scored 43 off 56 balls, bringing to a halt his string of low scores in ODIs since October.On a pitch that was hard to differentiate from the outfield, Bangladesh started gingerly, losing Soumya Sarkar and Sabbir Rahman in the first 3.2 overs. Soumya edged Chase’s short ball, which was moving away from his off stump, while Sabbir was struck on his arm first ball before deciding that an ultra-aggressive shot was needed to break the shackles. The attempted slog over midwicket duly ended up in third man’s grasp and Chase had struck twice in quick succession.Mushfiqur Rahim and Tamim then added 38 for the third wicket, but the former drove at and edged a Barry McCarthy good-length delivery to the slip fielder in the 12th over.Shakib Al Hasan, standing in as captain for the suspended Mashrafe Mortaza, also looked uncomfortable tackling such a pitch. Even as he looked to get his timing right, Chase got him on 14 with a wide delivery.Like Tamim, Mahmudullah generally played the ball quite late, making sure he used the depth of the crease. Both batsmen left the ball regularly, whenever a delivery’s line and length made it risky to drive through off.But the Ireland bowlers kept feeding them boundary balls and wide deliveries (they bowled 13 in the first 20 overs), which meant that the pressure on the pair wasn’t absolute. They figured out how to deal with the green top, but the rain arrived just when they had started to dominate the home bowling attack.

Australia turn on the power to chase 179 and seal series

Hashim Amla’s career-best 97 not out was not enough for South Africa as Australia squeezed with spin and then attacked with the bat to claim a 2-1 series win

The Report by Firdose Moonda09-Mar-2016
Live Scorecard and ball-by-ball details 1:47

‘My goal to have a century in each format’ – De Kock

Hashim Amla’s career-best 97 not out was not enough for South Africa to secure a series victory as Australia squeezed with spin and then attacked the opposition’s slower bowlers to claim a 2-1 win in the T20I decider at Newlands.The result means that the same puzzle that has faced South Africa all summer remains unsolved. Their middle-order is still missing some reliability and they have yet to decide who to anoint as their fifth bowler.Australia, on the other hand, have answered some of their own questions. They found an opening combination that worked, their captain contributed a vital innings, and they were successful against spin on a surface that South Africa had asked to resemble a sub-continent strip as far as possible.While run-scoring had stuttered during the women’s match that preceded this one, Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla scotched any notions of sluggish track with fluency from the outset. In AB de Villiers’ absence, both seemed eager to impress for the opening spot in India and took turns taking the initiative.De Kock opened with two finesse-laced flicks off Nathan Coulter-Nile, whose line was initially too straight. Amla responded with impressive footwork to send Shane Watson to opposite ends of the ground. South Africa raced to 47 after four overs and were threatening to run away with it when de Kock threw his bat at a full delivery and John Hastings took a smart catch at third man.That only seemed to spur Amla on even more. He unleashed a powerful pull to Coulter-Nile’s next ball and then got away with a top edge that carried for six to force another bowling change. James Faulkner was the fourth bowler used in the Powerplay and Amla drilled him for back-to-back boundaries to take South Africa to the second highest total in the six-over period at Newlands, 68 for 1.Hashim Amla’s unbeaten 97 wasn’t enough for South Africa•Getty Images

Adam Zampa came on immediately after the fielding restrictions were lifted and bowled the first boundary-free over the innings. That meant Faf du Plessis had not got in on the action at all and, in his haste to join in, he misread a Watson slower ball and spooned a catch to short mid-wicket.While Amla bided his time, Rilee Rossouw was kept quiet by Zampa and Glenn Maxwell – and Zampa should have had him caught on the mid-wicket boundary when he was on three only for Maxwell to spill the catch. Amla reached his fifty off 31 balls and seemed content to rotate the strike during the squeeze.In the five overs that followed the Powerplay, Australia conceded just 25 runs to put the onus back on Amla to get things going. He took on Zampa and Maxwell, finding a boundary in each of their next overs. When Rossouw tried to do the same off Coulter-Nile, he failed, gifting a catch to Steve Smith at long-off.South Africa promoted David Miller above JP Duminy and his quick-fire 30 took the pressure off Amla. It also denied him a century. Amla entered the final over on 84, hit a six off the first ball and then took a single to put Miller on strike. Miller ran two and then sent a full toss to cover but did not run to leave Amla off strike. Amla duly struck the last ball of the innings for six but had to settle for 97 not out.In the end, South Africa had needed a little more than just those three runs. The Sydney team-mates, Usman Khawaja and Shane Watson, got Australia off to a solid start before Steve Smith and David Warner guided them to the finish.Australia’s openers took on the short ball which Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada and Kyle Abbott were all generous in serving up. Although Australia’s Powerplay was not as explosive as South Africa’s – they scored 51 runs in the six overs – it set them up. Australia changed tack when the fielding restrictions were lifted and targeted the spin instead, with good results and a touch of luck.Watson dispatched Imran Tahir’s second ball over mid-wicket but, when he tried to hit him down the ground, Watson should have been caught. David Miller at long-off spilled the chance. Watson was not deterred by that and sent the last ball of that over into the stands.The plan continued into Tahir’s next over, when Watson tried to go straight down the ground again. He should have been caught again off the first ball but, between Miller at long-off du Plessis at cover, they could not decide who should take it. He was caught off the next ball, however, playing the same shot, and Tahir struck again in the same over when Khawaja joined in on the strategy. He tried a sweep but got as far as Amla at deep square-leg.South Africa worked their way back into contention but instead of turn to a strike bowler, du Plessis brought Duminy on. Australia paid him some respect at first – Smith instead turned his attention to Tahir, hitting him for the straightest six of the match, before taking on Duminy as well.Steyn was brought back on to try and break the partnership but Smith and Warner were seeing the ball too well. Warner was particularly severe on Wiese, whose pace off the ball approach did not work, and with 47 needed from the last six overs, the sting was taken out of the contest.Neither Smith nor Warner hung around to finish but they’d done enough. Maxwell whittled the requirements down to 12 off 12 and Mitchell Marsh hit the winning runs with four balls to spare.

Warner dropped from ODI squad

David Warner has been dropped from Austalia’s squad for the ODIs against Scotland and England, while Mitchell Starc will also return to Australia due to lower back soreness

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Sep-2013David Warner has been dropped from Austalia’s squad for the ODIs against Scotland and England, while Mitchell Starc will return to Australia after complaining of lower back soreness. Steven Smith, who was part of the original 18-member limited-overs squad, has already flown back after a thigh injury.”David has been left out of the Australian ODI squad for this tour purely due to his recent lack of form in this format,” Darren Lehmann, the Australia coach, said. “By his own admission, David would acknowledge that unfortunately he hasn’t scored the weight of runs that he would like recently in one-day cricket for his country.”Warner was part of Australia’s Champions Trophy squad in England, but featured in just one match, scoring 9 against England, but was suspended from the team after a bar incident in Birmingham. He has only played three more ODIs this year, in January against Sri Lanka, and scored 10, 60 and 4. Warner scored a 42-ball 53 on Saturday in the second T20 against England, but that wasn’t enough to sway the selectors.”Like all selection matters, it was a tough decision, but like all players he understands the situation and knows he needs to get back to playing Ryobi Cup and making a heap of runs that we can’t ignore,” Lehmann said. “I spoke with David at length about what he needs to do and I’ve been impressed with his attitude since I’ve come into the Australian setup.”Australia kickstart the ODI leg of the tour with a one-off match against Scotland in Edinburgh on September 3 before taking on England for a five-match series that starts on September 6 in Leeds.Squad: Michael Clarke (capt), George Bailey, Fawad Ahmed, Nathan Coulter-Nile, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Josh Hazlewood, Phillip Hughes, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Clint McKay, Adam Voges, Matthew Wade (wk), Shane Watson.

Wyness steps down from US T20 role

Keith Wyness, the former chief executive of Aberdeen and Everton FC, has stepped down as the first chief executive of Cricket Holdings America

Peter Della Penna13-Sep-2012Keith Wyness, the former chief executive of Aberdeen and Everton FC, has stepped down as the first chief executive of Cricket Holdings America (CHA) after being in the position for just under seven months. CHA is a joint venture formed in 2010 between New Zealand Cricket and the USA Cricket Association for the development of cricket within the USA, and it aims to launch a professional Twenty20 league in America next year.Wyness, 54, is being replaced by Neil Maxwell, 45, who is currently on the CHA board of directors. Maxwell previously served as the chief executive of the Kings XI Punjab franchise in the IPL’s inaugural season in 2008.”We are very grateful to Keith for his creative leadership in the initial phase of this project and in helping us achieve the crucial first phase of funding to allow the project to move forward,” Maxwell said in a CHA press release. “He will continue to be a very important advisor to us in many areas and we look forward to a long relationship as the project moves through the operational phase to reality.”Wyness spoke with ESPNcricinfo on Thursday and was eager to stress that he was not completely walking away from CHA. He also said that this transition had been planned for from the time he accepted the CEO position in February.”When I first came on, they knew I’d be doing this first phase of the project to get the whole strategy set up, the whole business plan in place and the venues, etc., and then I would take more of a back-seat role to hand over to more of an operational team,” Wyness told ESPNcricinfo. “I’m still going to carry on very much with the project as a strategic advisor to the board.”Wyness says he’s happy with the work he completed during his relatively short stint as CHA’s chief executive and believes the groundwork has been laid for CHA’s professional Twenty20 league in the USA to have a successful launch next summer.”I think there’s some pretty major issues we’ve managed to solve over the last few months,” Wyness said. “Certainly in terms of the international relationships is one of the key areas. The player side and the venue side, the whole commercial plan, the broadcasting, there’s a lot of different areas that we’ve done a huge amount of work on to allow the thing to go ahead.”Late last month, CHA announced that a franchise sale process would begin in September for the original six teams that will make up the league when it gets underway in June 2013. Wyness said that CHA has received a lot of interest from businesses and investors around the globe seeking to potentially buy a stake in a US cricket franchise and believes many of the owners will be from outside of the USA.”While there’s definitely interest in the States, we do want to make sure there’s a mix of international owners and we want to try to make the league an international global attraction in that sense,” Wyness said. “We’ve always intended this to have an international flavor and certainly some of the owners of the franchises we hoped are going to be an international mix. Some of those are European that we’re aiming for, some Asians, a whole global mix is what we’re still hoping for in terms of the franchise owners.”

Smith focussing on ODI batting revival

Injuries combined with the pressures of captaincy may have inhibited his batting previously in the ODI-format, says Smith, and it’s something he hopes to set right in the upcoming season

Firdose Moonda19-Aug-2011Graeme Smith, South Africa’s Test captain, has decided what he wants to be when he grows up. A good friend (especially to AB de Villiers), a loving husband and a batsman. More specifically, a one-day batsman.”If I look at the record I have built up over the years, I am proud of it, but there is still a lot more to do,” Smith told ESPNcricinfo in Johannesburg, where he was attending a CSA sponsorship announcement. “The injuries that I’ve had have mostly affected the ODI format so I am focussing on that.”Since 2008, Smith has had six hand-related injuries, battling tennis elbow and an array of broken bones. Those ailments have kept him out of a significant number of one-day matches in recent times. In the first six years of his career, Smith played an average of 20.8 ODIs a year. That number has reduced to 11.75 over the last four years, including this one.In some ways, the most remarkable thing about that statistic is that Smith has been playing international cricket for a decade, eight years of which he has spent as captain. It’s a length of time that justifies thoughts of reinvention, something that Smith has been working on. He stepped down as Twenty20 captain in August last year and relinquished the one-day leadership after the 2011 World Cup, to give him more time to focus on batting.”Injuries, combined with the pressures of captaincy, may have inhibited my batting,” he said. “At the moment I am just concentrating on getting some confidence back. I know that I’ve never been the most elegant batter, but I’ve always had self-belief. I need to build up some confidence.”With his place in the ODI side no longer secure, Smith’s form in the shorter version of the game is under scrutiny and recent performances are not in his favour. His average of 28.25 in 2011 is a big step-down from his career average of 39.25, and is at its lowest since 2006. He has not scored an ODI century since 2009, when he made 141 in a losing cause against England during the Champions Trophy. He was also not able to clock up a half-century at the World Cup and his failure to return home with the rest of the squad at the end of March saw him heavily criticised by the South African public. He has since had a knee operation and has only been able to train for the past three weeks.”The World Cup was one of the darkest places I have been in my career,” he said. “I’ve had some time to press the reset button and I’m looking forward to the new season.” It will be a season of change, and freedom, for Smith, who will no longer feel the weight of the captain’s armband. “After being captain in all three formats, I can now focus on myself. It’s going to be a big season for me.”With expectation of a different sort hanging over him, Smith believes that in former opening batting partner, Gary Kirsten he will have an ideal mentor and challenger. “When we played together Gary and I had a deal that whoever scored more runs in the season would take the other one out for dinner. I always ended up paying for dinner,” he said jokingly. Kirsten can’t make deals like that anymore but he will “bring a lot of common sense to the side and will bring the best out of players”.Having basically grown up being the captain gave Smith the space to mature and develop while leading, an opportunity not a lot of people get. “When I started in the job, I was 22, and I didn’t have the experience in terms of relationships. I learnt how to allow each guy the space to grow and feel comfortable, and it helped having good guys around.”Now, Smith has to be that good guy, the one who will provide de Villiers with advice when needed and then back off at the right time. “I will always been an ally for him, but it’s important that he forges his own way,” Smith said. He believes that zoning in on his own game will allow de Villiers to have the space he needs to build a team that will have this ethos and that Smith will be able to fit into that as someone who will “score lots of runs,” for de Villiers.Smith remains South Africa’s Test captain and the coming series against Australia and Sri Lanka are foremost in his mind, as South Africa aim to challenge England for the No.1 ranking. “I see it as a season filled with prospects, in some ways similar to the 2008-09 season.” South Africa beat Australia in Australia for the first time then, getting one over the No.1 team in the world, although their ranking did not change. The over-riding image of that tour was Smith walking out to bat with a broken hand. Smith the batsman, the same one he wants to become now.

Solanki resigns as Glamorgan go top

Glamorgan went to the top of County Championship Division Two after sealing their seventh win of the season, beating Worcestershire by 241 runs at Colwyn Bay

12-Aug-2010

ScorecardGlamorgan went to the top of County Championship Division Two after sealing their seventh win of the season, beating Worcestershire by 241 runs at Colwyn Bay.
After the match, Vikram Solanki tendered his resignation as Worcestershire captain after five years in charge and Daryl Mitchell will take over as skipper for the rest of the season.Glamorgan’s victory, which saw them leapfrog Sussex into top spot, came after they bowled Worcestershire out for 175 with 27.1 overs to spare after setting them 417 to win. David Harrison led the way with three wickets in three overs – claiming the important scalps of Mitchell, who has now passed 1,000 first-class runs for the season, and Alexei Kervezee – while Dean Cosker took 4 for 27.Although David Wheeldon survived a sharp chance to wicketkeeper Mark Wallace off Harrison, the opening pair looked relatively secure either side of lunch.
But they were separated by the run-out of Wheeldon, who was well out of his ground at the bowler’s end after a fine piece of fielding by Mark Cosgrove.At 49 for 1, however, there was still no indication of the collapse that was to follow.
It was James Allenby who began Worcestershire’s demise by dismissing Solanki and Moeen Ali with consecutive balls. Solanki was adjudged leg before by umpire Peter Hartley, while Moeen was caught behind down the leg side.Worcestershire still had faint hopes of saving the game while the prolific Mitchell, who had scored consecutive 100s in his previous three innings, and Kervezee were still there.
The fourth-wicket pair had put on 55 until the wheels came off the Worcestershire innings as Harrison, in his 100th first-class match, took three wickets for three runs in 12 balls.First he captured the prize wicket of Mitchell thanks to a brilliant diving catch by captain Jamie Dalrymple at extra cover. It ended a remarkable sequence of batting by the right-handed opener, who had accumulated 344 runs from 624 balls in 14 hours and 13 minutes in three innings before being dismissed – having also made a ton in the previous knock.In his next over, Harrison had Kervezee caught behind and then trapped James Cameron leg before. All the wickets at that stage, apart from the run out, had come at the Penrhyn Avenue end where there had been uneven bounce.But at the other end – the Embankment end – Cosker struck twice with consecutive balls. First Ben Cox was sharply caught by Dalrymple at slip and then Richard Jones went leg before, meaning five wickets had fallen for just 26 runs. Cosker also got the final two wickets as Glamorgan wrapped up the win 20 minutes after tea.At the start of the day Glamorgan decided to bat on for a further seven overs, adding 42 runs.
On 97 overnight, Ben Wright went to his third Championship century – his second of the season – by pulling a Shakib Al Hasan full toss for six over midwicket.
That was after he lost Robert Croft to the third ball of the day as the veteran edged Matt Mason, who finished with four for 87, to Moeen Ali in the gully. Harrison followed three overs later, bowled by Shakib.Glamorgan ensured a lead of 400 when Wright planted Mason over long-on for his second six. Dalrymple declared after 25 minutes, leaving Wright not out on 121 from 144 balls.

Exiled Afghanistan women players to men's team: 'Please be the voice of the girls'

Firooza Amiri and Benafsha Hashimi, who fled the country after the Taliban takeover in 2021, speak to ESPNcricinfo about the complexities of Afghanistan’s place in world cricket

Firdose Moonda & Valkerie Baynes22-Jan-20252:01

Amiri: If Afghan women can play sports, they can study as well

Don’t ban the Afghanistan men’s side from playing international cricket but do expect them to do more for the women and girls who don’t have the same rights they do. That’s the opinion of two formerly contracted Afghanistan women’s players living in exile in Australia.Firooza Amiri and Benafsha Hashimi fled Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in 2021 and have narrated their story of escape to a new life on ESPNcricinfo’s Powerplay podcast. Both women continue to play club cricket in Australia, with hopes of representing their country someday even though that will not be possible until the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) put up a women’s team. Under Taliban rule, the ACB cannot do that because of the country’s laws, which forbid women from playing sport, studying and working.Given that Afghanistan are ICC Full Members, and that one of the conditions of that status is to have a women’s side, there has been debate over whether or not to sanction the Afghanistan’s men’s team. Both Australia and England refuse to play bilateral series against them in protest, but continue to play them at ICC events, while the other nine Full Members engage with Afghanistan, sometimes amid growing calls to boycott them. South Africa are the most recent and relevant example, given they were isolated from the 1970s to 1990s for the country’s race-based Apartheid system. While the country’s sports minister, Gayton McKenzie, recently cited gender discrimination as a reason not to play Afghanistan, Cricket South Africa believes punishing the men’s players for a situation beyond their control will not force change. Amiri and Hashimi hold similar views but it is important to know that some of the other players are known to feel differently.Related

  • Afghanistan women's players soak up World Cup experience

  • Human Rights Watch asks ICC to suspend Afghanistan's membership

  • England-Afghanistan to go ahead despite ECB speaking out over 'gender apartheid'

  • Pressure mounts on ICC amid Afghanistan women's fundraising drive

  • Powerplay: More than just a match for Afghanistan Women's XI

“The Afghanistan men’s team brings a kind of hope. They are role models for us. I don’t want to say I’m not supporting them at all,” Amiri told ESPNcricinfo in May 2024, when we first interviewed her. “But when I cannot play for Afghanistan, what’s more heartbreaking is when you see the men can do something and the women cannot do it – which is absolutely wrong. Everything men can do, women can do as well.”Hashimi, whom ESPNcricinfo spoke to last November, has similar feelings watching the men’s team. “I can say 50-50. I was happy because my team has played very well and Afghanistan got to the semi-finals [of the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup] which is quite good for us because we haven’t been there but on the other side I was just hopeless. We have a really great men’s team but we never focus on a women’s team and it is a bit difficult to talk about. So I was happy and I was sad too. It’s a difficult feeling to describe: men having more opportunity than girls.”Australia, where Amiri and Hashimi live, refuse to play Afghanistan in bilateral cricket. This has caused Amiri to wonder whether selective shunning of the men’s team is worthwhile. “If it has an impact on our team, that we can put pressure on the Afghanistan Cricket Board to make a women’s team, then we will be happy, but only if it’s a way we can start playing cricket.”2:52

Mel Jones: Afghan women’s love for the game blew me away

Though she considered the thought of a ban, Amiri recognises that the Afghanistan men’s team has made rapid progress and its success could be more of a statement than a ban. “They are in a good position at the moment in the world and if they start supporting us, they’ll have a big impact on our team. They can be very, very helpful for us and for all the women. If women can start playing sport, women can start studying as well. It can be a pathway.”If they start supporting us, it’s going to be a way for all women. If they can hear my voice from here: Afghanistan, national players, please, please be the voice of the girls at the moment. Please do more for us. Start doing something for women. You are the voice of Afghanistan. They are the most famous people at the moment. They can be the voice of millions and millions of girls.”

Despite her plea, Amiri recognised that the men’s players may be risking their own safety if they speak out. “I know that there were always some challenges for them as well. Some of their families are still in Afghanistan. We don’t want you to be in danger.”We interviewed Amiri in November again, by which time she had also taken in Afghanistan’s semi-final showing at the T20 World Cup in June, and it had been announced that an Afghan Women’s XI will play against a Cricket Without Borders side at the Junction Oval in Melbourne on January 30, the same day as the Women’s Ashes Test starts.”The Afghanistan men’s team went on a very long journey as well. It’s never been easy for all of us. We all came through one journey and obviously because they are men, they had more opportunities than us as we are women, but they’ve come a long way. They are playing really well and they are achieving so much for Afghanistan. This is what we want too. We want to make Afghanistan proud as a men’s and women’s national team, and I could say our goals are the same.”We don’t want to make another problem by stopping them or keep talking about stopping them from playing cricket. Now we have our base, we want to play for the Afghan XI. We want to make a better future for Afghanistan women inside Afghanistan and make a change in cricket.”Firooza Amiri: ‘We want to make Afghanistan proud as a men’s and women’s national team, and I could say our goals are the same’•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

In the months since ESPNcricinfo spoke to the two players, things have regressed further in Afghanistan, with the Taliban closing down institutes for women training as nurses and midwives, effectively blocking women’s last remaining avenue to higher education in the country and putting women with medical issues at significant risk – women are not allowed to consult with male medics in Afghanistan without having a male guardian present. This prompted some of the first public reactions from the men’s team, with Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Rahmanullah Gurbaz posting on social media in support of women’s education.ESPNcricinfo also spoke to Mel Jones, who was instrumental in helping the female Afghanistan cricketers leave the country and settle in Australia. Jones agrees that campaigning for a women’s team is not as simple as banning the men’s side, but has asked the cricketing community to play its part in keeping the story of the Afghanistan women’s team alive.”It is one of the most complex pieces I’ve seen,” Jones said. “There’s nothing black and white about this at all… but I do think there’s a question around leadership. People take on positions of leadership to lead, and it’s not to say that you have to make a black and white decision about things but I think you have to stand up and be a voice and lean into some tough situations. And this is a really tough situation.Rashid Khan, in December, put out a social media post supporting women’s education in Afghanistan•ICC via Getty Images

“I think the frustration has been the lack of conversation around it. And so here’s this amazing group of women who are trying to rebuild their lives and still connect to cricket. And they’ve hardly had a conversation with our leaders right across the world. And that’s the most frustrating thing for me. We might still get to the same point and decisions that we are now regardless of those conversations. But give these women their due. Give them space… that’s probably the one piece that I would say we’ve been really bad at over the last three or four years: it’s that people turn their back on that conversation. And I would hope that if we’d learn anything from this, is that if something like this happens again, whether it’s a different country or a different group of people, if it’s a men’s team somewhere or something like that, that we just don’t turn our back on people and hope that silence will make it go away, because it just doesn’t.”Episode 2 of the ESPNcricinfo Powerplay podcast will look at where Amiri and Hashimi find themselves now as well as the practicalities and challenges of the Afghan women in exile playing as a team.

Rain frustrates Originals and Spirit after Buttler's fireworks

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.

However, Max Holden was dropped at by Jordan Thompson at long-on off Matt Critchley when on 2 and Buttler was unbeaten on 26 when a shower forced the players from the field.That interruption reduced the match to a 90-balls per side affair at most with Spirit’s target being calculated using Duckworth-Lewis-Stern. On the resumption, Holden and Buttler continued to make hay with Originals’ skipper hitting three more sixes, two of them off successive balls from the legspinner, Critchley.The Essex bowler soon had some consolation, though, when he had Holden stumped by Rossington for 23 and Spirit immediately had another boost when Laurie Evans was bowled for 1.The introduction of Ravi Bopara’s medium pace completed Spirit’s fightback. Varying his pace intelligently, Bopara bowled Buttler with a slow yorker and had Paul Walter caught by Matthew Wade for 2.Related

Having seen their side lose four wickets in 16 balls, Ashton Turner and Jamie Overton attempted to rebuild the Originals’ innings but their work was not completed when rain forced the players off for the final time. Bopara finished with 2 for 13 from his two sets of five.”It’s nice to get out there but it’s a shame we couldn’t get a full game in. But personally, it was a good day for me,” Buttler said. “There was a lot of energy left in the changing room – the guys were desperate to get out there and play, but it is what it is and fingers crossed that it won’t affect too much more of the competition.”There’s always a lot of anticipation in the build up to the Hundred. People are excited to get together in such a fun competition and in front of a really good crowd. I’m just disappointed for the boys – and the fans who don’t get their money’s worth and two full games today.”Meanwhile, at Edgbaston, Birmingham Phoenix’s fixture against Trent Rockets was abandoned without a ball bowled after persistent rain.

Dhananjaya de Silva says Sri Lanka knew Chattogram Test would end in a draw from the first day

“The wicket didn’t have anything for the bowlers. We are very happy with the draw”

Mohammad Isam19-May-2022By the end of the Chattogram Test where even three innings couldn’t be completed, the once famished batters from both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were wearing a satisfied look. They had spent five days tucking into some much needed comfort food thanks to the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium pitch.Sri Lanka had a rough time in India in March, when they couldn’t cross 208 in four innings. Bangladesh have been bowled out for less than 150 on four occasions in the last six months, including scores of 53 and 80 in South Africa last month.Batters averaged 44.88 in this Test, with three centuries and six fifties. Whenever there was a cluster of wickets, both sides managed to string partnerships to get them out of trouble. These recoveries happened on the first, second and fifth day for Sri Lanka, and on the fourth afternoon for Bangladesh. Despite Nayeem Hasan’s six-wicket haul and four-fors from Taijul Islam and Kasun Rajitha, it was a bowler’s nightmare.Related

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Last year, Kyle Mayers’ unbeaten 210 on the final day helped West Indies to a miraculous Test win in Chattogram. Bangladesh couldn’t knock over the last three wickets, in part, because the pitch didn’t break down they way they like. Sri Lanka had run up big totals here in 2014 and 2018 as well, when the ICC rated the pitch below average. The last time this pitch won praise for being sporting was in 2016.Is it just coincidence that almost every time Bangladesh come to Chattogram, their batters are in dire need of runs, and the pitch is obligingly flat? Four years ago, these same two sides played out a dull, high-scoring draw at this very stadium.On Thursday, the Sri Lanka allrounder Dhananjaya de Silva even admitted that “we knew it was going to be a draw from the first day. There was a very slight chance of Bangladesh to win but the wicket didn’t have anything for the bowlers. We are very happy with the draw.”Bangladesh captain Mominul Haque said that the batters have to make mental adjustments when they play in Dhaka next week, given the pitch there is much more sporting.”Playing on different pitches and conditions is a mental adjustment,” Mominul said. “We play in Dhaka and Chattogram all year long, so we all know how to play pace and spin in the two venues. The spinning ball comes a bit slow here, but in Dhaka the same type of ball will come quicker, whether it will turn in or go away. We can set it in training, so I think it is a matter of mentality.”The Shere Bangla National Stadium is going to be a test for the batters, but Mominul is confident that having batted well as a team, they can definitely carry their form. He was, however, slightly worried about the fast bowlers not doing well enough.”Everyone looked good to score runs and take wickets. We played as a team, and I have often said that we do well when we play well as a team. It gives us good results.”Pace bowlers have gained acceptability recently so they could have bowled better in the first innings. I think the spinners did well on a pitch where it is difficult to take wickets. Shakib had a very important role. They had raised their tempo in the first innings, but Shakib reined them in. It happened in the second innings too,” Mominul said.Sri Lanka, meanwhile, would be happy with how their fast bowlers put Bangladesh under pressure, despite the injury to Vishwa Fernnado. But de Silva is pretty sure what’s going to happen to them in Dhaka.”Definitely one pacer and three spinners [in the XI],” he said. “The wicket will be helpful to the spinners. If we are batting first, we will try to get 275-300, and then get them out for less than 150 in one innings. It will give us a chance to win.”Not many would argue with that assessment. The BCB have so far remained tight-lipped about the type of pitch in Dhaka but it is anybody’s guess what curator Gamini Silva dishes out.

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