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Opener makes unbeaten 50 to defeat Worcestershire by DLS method

ECB Reporters Network14-Jun-2024Nottinghamshire 100 for 3 (Hales 50*) beat Worcestershire 141 for 6 (Hose 43) by 1 run – DLSAlex Hales helped Nottinghamshire celebrate their first win of the summer in the Vitality Blast after overcoming Worcestershire Rapids by one run under the Duckworth-Lewis Method at Visit Worcestershire New Road.The Outlaws had lost their opening five matches in the competition including the meeting with the Rapids at Trent Bridge nine days ago. But a disciplined bowling performance by their seamers restricted the home side to 141 for 6 under heavy skies.Then Hales batted responsibly to ensure there was little threat of Notts falling behind the Duckworth-Lewis Method. He scored 50 not out from 37 balls to guide his side to victory by the narrowest of margins.For Worcestershire it was a third successive defeat.Nottinghamshire captain Joe Clarke won the toss and elected to bowl first on a fresh hybrid pitch which was two-paced in nature. He persevered with all-pace during the powerplay and was rewarded with three wickets.Ben Lister made the first breakthrough when Worcestershire Club captain, Brett D’Oliveira, top-edged a catch to third man. Josh Cobb was then trapped lbw by Matt Montgomery working to leg and Matthew Waite pulled Olly Stone into the hands of deep mid wicket.Worcestershire were restricted to 27 for 3 in the first six overs and it became 42 for 4 when Ethan Brookes went to cut and was bowled.The Rapids broke the shackles in the 15th over from Lyndon James which yielded 15 runs with Nathan Smith smashing a six over long off.Adam Hose and Nathan Smith added 69 for the fifth wicket with the latter striking maximums off Lyndon James and Calvin Harrison. But Harrison brome the stand when Smith perished on the deep midwicket boundary.Hose battled away to make 43 off 35 balls before he holed out to long on in the penultimate over from Ben Lister.Worcestershire’s new ball attack of Smith and Tom Taylor bowled accurately and the latter made the breakthrough when Joe Clarke (26) lost his middle stump.Run-scoring was again not a straightforward process on this surface and the increasingly leaden skies meant Nottinghamshire had one eye on Duckworth Lewis.Hales ensured they moved comfortably ahead with two sixes in the opening over from Cobb. But West Indian spinner, Hayden Walsh, struck in his first over when he bowled Will Young to leave the game again in the balance.Walsh made it two wickets in two overs as Haynes went for a reverse-sweep and was lbw.But Hales again wrestled the initiative for his side with two enormous pulls over the midwicket boundary at Walsh’s expense to edge Notts in front.

South Africa captain puts off-field emotions to one side to lead team to priceless series win

Firdose Moonda29-Jan-2023″I am still here and I still deserve to be where I am.”That’s what Temba Bavuma meant when he gestured to his name on the back of his South Africa shirt and then thumped on his heart and the Protea badge as he celebrated his third ODI century.His innings of 109 from 102 balls been described by commentators and former captains Shaun Pollock and Ashwell Prince as the best they’ve seen Bavuma bat in international cricket, not only because of his clean hitting and quick-scoring but because of the context this hundred came in.Bavuma has spent the last year on an “emotional rollercoaster,” with questions over his place in South Africa’s white-ball sides and his ability to score quickly enough to keep up with modern batting trends. Painful, but also legitimate, questions.Since his 110 against India in Paarl last January, Bavuma had batted in 33 international innings across all formats, scored four fifties and had been dismissed in single figures 15 times. Among those were two ducks and a 3 against India on his comeback from an elbow injury that sidelined him for three months in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup. There, he captained South Africa to an exit at the hands of Netherlands. He was subsequently snubbed at the SA20 auction and is the only member of the current squad not playing in the marquee T20 tournament, which has become the biggest party in the country’s cricket. Imagine being the national white-ball captain and not invited.”Emotionally it can be draining and it can be taxing. As much as you try to block it out, it does affect you,” Bavuma said. “The biggest one is when it affects people around you – your family. As a player, I have my ways of dealing with it. It is a part of the journey.”But that doesn’t mean it was easy. “We all go through periods of ups and downs, whether in our careers and family life,” Bavuma said. “The difference [with professional sportspeople] is that it’s in the eyes of everyone and everyone wants to have a piece of you. It’s about trying to not be as emotional as you can and to see things as plainly, as they are. Blocking out the noise is something you have to do but that is quite impossible, especially me in the situation I find myself in, as the captain.”That’s why Cricket South Africa offered him as much quiet time as possible. When Bavuma returned from the T20 World Cup, he, along with Kagiso Rabada, were the only two players not required to play red-ball cricket in preparation for the festive Test series against Australia, so they could take a mental-health break. Bavuma ended as South Africa’s most successful batter on an otherwise disastrous tour, making 185 runs at 37.00 in the 2-0 series loss.When he came home from that tour, Bavuma had another two weeks off before this series as the SA20 launched, and it allowed him to clear his head. “Being out of action for the last two weeks, being at home and away from the game, has also helped me,” he said. “Physically, I’m maybe not in the best shape but mentally I am. I’ve come in a bit more open towards the team and how we would like to go about things.”He also came into an environment with a new coach (albeit only temporarily in white-ball cricket). Bavuma has worked with Shukri Conrad at domestic level. and after the pair were spotted deep in dialogue in Bloemfontein, he revealed that Conrad had helped him work through some of his doubts.”The conversation I had with Shukri helped,” Bavuma said. “It was just being vulnerable to the coach about where I see myself and how I feel about everything. He helped me clear through all the nonsense that was in my head and helped me get ready for the series.”But he wouldn’t reveal too much more. “It was just him giving me an ear, hearing me out and validating the feelings that I’ve had. The biggest thing is getting your mind into the right state to play the game. Shuks is not a therapist. What I enjoyed was the honesty and the clarity that he gave in the chat.”Whatever was said, it obviously worked. Bavuma showed his intent in the first match, albeit he only scored 36. He made those runs, however, off 28 balls to give South Africa a good start and went on to make good tactical decisions in the field (such as holding Sisanda Magala back for the middle overs) which gave South Africa the series lead.Related

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Then, he brought out the big guns. Chasing a record 343 at the Mangaung Oval, Bavuma was a batter transformed. He outscored Quinton de Kock from the get-go, with with five fours and a six from his first 25 balls to assert himself with a hundred for the ages, and after overcoming a bout of cramp, a celebration to match.”It was quite emotional getting to that moment.” he said. “The celebration wasn’t planned. It was a reminder to myself and to everyone that I am still here and I still deserve to be where I am.”Bavuma put his bold strokeplay down to a mindset of “looking to score, looking to dominate the bowlers,” and South Africa’s approach that is less about results and more about establishing a style of play that they can employ for a few years. “We’ve made it clear to ourselves that our focus is going to be on the process but not so much on the outcome,” Bavuma said.But the outcome for Bavuma mattered much more than he was willing to say. A self-confessed “resolute guy” who tried to “put my best foot forward”, Bavuma has obviously been hurt by the events of the last year. However, he has carried himself with integrity throughout. He knows his responsibilities as the captain – and before this series said he was willing to stay on as long as he was wanted but also that he would step aside if needs be – as the country’s only black African international batter and a role model to millions.For them, he had this message: “I’m sure other people are going through what I went through. You’ve got to find a way to keep going forward. Don’t give up. Keep going forward.”

Marcus Harris said that Paine remains the best wicketkeeper in the country

Andrew McGlashan24-Nov-2021Tim Paine can still be a leader in the Australian team despite losing the Test captaincy, although there was shock at the dramatic developments late last week which sent their Ashes planning into a tailspin.Paine remains available for selection with every indication he will be included in the first Test at the Gabba providing he comes through his return-to-play following neck surgery. He is currently part of a 2nd XI match against South Australia and will then have the intrasquad Australia vs Australia A contest in Brisbane.Pat Cummins is expected to be installed as the new Test captain in the coming days, although the identity of his vice-captain will also be significant with Steven Smith in the running for that role. However, even though Paine won’t have an official leadership position, it appears his experience will continue to be highly sought after.Related

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“People were a bit shocked [but] we’ve got a lot of good leaders around our group,” Marcus Harris, the first member of the Australia team to speak since Paine’s resignation, said. “So it’s not ideal, but someone’s going to have to step up and, lead from the front and there’s plenty of people that can do that job. Painey will still be around and can still show leadership in many different ways. We’re looking forward to getting into camp and get on with it.”Tim’s obviously been a great leader around the group. He’s always been really good to me and my family,” Harris added. “Our hearts went out to Tim and [wife] Bonnie, the kids and his family. Knowing Painey and his character, he’s a pretty strong and resilient bloke. If anyone can get through it, I’m backing Painey to. He’s done a really good job in the last few years, under tough circumstances.”Tim Paine has been backed to take his place at the Gabba•Getty Images

Without the captaincy, there has been debate around whether Paine remains the best wicketkeeper-batter option for the Test side with pressure from the uncapped Alex Carey and Josh Inglis who are in the Australia A squad. However, questions over his batting output have arguably been overplayed – in the last two home seasons he has averaged 37.00 – with his overall numbers comparable to Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow”You’d probably still argue that he’s still the best gloveman in the country,” Harris said. “And he still played some really important innings last summer against India. I know he’s got the support of all the players. We’re looking forward to him getting up here in the next week or so and getting on with cricket. When you have things going on, sometimes the best thing to do is actually be out in the middle.”Paine has been given the backing of the Australian Cricketers’ Association, who said they did not believe he should have had to resign over the messages given he was cleared of a code of conduct breach in 2018. His state, Tasmania, put out a withering statement on Tuesday condemning how he had been treated by Cricket Australia.

Trio were due to tour with Pakistan for England series in August-September

Danyal Rasool22-Jun-2020Haider Ali, Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf have tested positive for Covid-19, the PCB have announced.The three players, who, according to the board, are all asymptomatic, will now undergo a period of isolation. Imad Wasim and Usman Shinwari were the other players tested in Rawalpindi alongside the trio, with their results coming back as negative. The rest of the players and officials, barring bowling coach Waqar Younis, Shoaib Malik and Cliffe Deacon, all underwent tests, with their results expected back on Tuesday.The developments lay bare the stark challenges of going ahead with international cricket in these times, with Pakistan’s departure for
England for a three-Test three-T20I tour less than a week away.The team is due to arrive in the UK five weeks before the start of the series in August, with the travelling party self-containing in a “bubble” which means they will not contact anyone outside their group. Families are to be prohibited from joining the players, and just last week, Haris Sohail and Mohammad Amir announced they would not take part.
As yet, the entire squad has not been required to go into self-isolation because the team hasn’t begun training collectively, but the PCB did advise anyone who had been in contact with the trio to “self-isolate immediately”.According to the protocols laid out by the PCB for the England tour, it is not impossible that the trio may still be able to join the tour at a later date, even though they will not now be permitted to travel with the main squad, which is due to leave for Manchester from Lahore on a specially chartered flight on June 28.ALSO READ: ‘Big risk’ – PCB director of sports medicine on England tourProvided the trio recover after 14 days in isolation and test negative thereafter, they will then be allowed to take a commercial flight to England, where they will be admitted into the bubble that the existing players are in, after following the UK government’s guidelines. All players will be tested again when they land in England.While these are the first three players to test positive from what is expected to be the travelling group, it is not the first time the pandemic
has affected Pakistan’s preparations for the tour of England.A fortnight ago, the PCB scrapped plans to host a training camp in Pakistan ahead of the tour, with the rapid growth of cases in the country making it impossible to achieve a bio-secure environment. That necessitated bringing forward the team’s departure to England, with the aim of conducting a camp there, where the virus has passed its peak.Pakistan has seen a surge of Covid-19 cases over the past few weeks, prompting the government to reimpose a partial lockdown earlier this week. The country currently has around 185,000 confirmed cases, which ranks it 13th globally, while it is believed the pandemic has not yet reached its peak in the country.Last week, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi announced he had tested positive for the virus, and was self-isolating. Taufeeq Umar also contracted the virus, going on to make a full recovery.Speaking prior to the squad’s departure, Dr Sohail Saleem, Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB’s) director of sports medicine, conceded that the players were taking a “big risk” embarking on the tour of England in the midst of a pandemic.”We are trying to build a new normal, redefining etiquette – respiratory marks, hand washing,” Dr Saleem said. “It is a combination of many thing to make sure that we are keeping safe or reducing the risk factor to the minimum.

England allrounder to focus on 50-over form with Yorkshire ahead of World Cup, after late birth of child

David Hopps at Headingley29-Mar-2019David Willey has confirmed that he has pulled out of the IPL for family reasons and will not now be playing any part in the tournament.Willey’s stint with Chennai Super Kings had been delayed because of the late birth of his second child and he feels unable to leave his wife, Carolynne, in the current circumstances.He has therefore agreed, with the understanding of Super Kings’ head coach Stephen Fleming, that it would be too late for him to team up with the franchise at any stage.Willey, the England allrounder, said at Yorkshire’s pre-season media day at Headingley: “Unfortunately, due to family reasons I’ve had to pull out of the IPL. Chennai were very understanding and supportive as Yorkshire have been as well.”It’s never an easy decision. Nonetheless it’s the right decision for the family. We are due to have our second baby and my wife has had a bit of a tough time so I need to be in England.”I need to put the family first at the minute. If we can get that sorted then I can concentrate on the cricket. I’m here in Yorkshire and it’s a bit open-ended when I’ll be available for selection, but hopefully I’ll definitely be ready for the 50-over competition.”England’s World Cup players are required to return home by April 25 which, as difficulties at home took priority, made his involvement in the IPL unproductive for all parties.Willey’s situation is a reversal of a year ago. Then he was called up as a late replacement for Super Kings, the eventual champions, leading Yorkshire’s director of cricket, Martyn Moxon, to suggest English county cricket was in “an impossible situation” and to call for a cut-off date for IPL franchises to be able to call up reinforcements.This year Willey was retained by Super Kings from the outset, for an envisaged second season, but has spent the time training with his Yorkshire colleagues ahead of the county season which begins on April 5.The prospect that he will play some 50-over matches in the Royal London Cup has encouraged his hopes that he can secure his place in England’s World Cup squad.Willey has been a regular fixture in England’s one-day side for the past four years, but when the ball is not swinging he has not always had the bowling opportunities he would have wished for, and has only completed a full 10-over spell on eight of his 42 ODIs. He last played an ODI in July last year, against India on his home ground at Headingley.His T20I involvement was more rewarding during the winter. He returned career-best international figures of 4 for 7 in his most recent appearance – an eight-wicket win that completed a 3-0 defeat of West Indies three weeks ago.”When I’m playing regular cricket I play my best cricket and when I return for Yorkshire I need to keep my name at the forefront of the selectors’ minds,” he said. “Nothing is nailed on. You are not comfortable or settled until you’ve had that phone call to say you are in.”Willey played down suggestions that he was in direct competition with Jofra Archer, the Sussex allrounder, whose availability for England makes him many pundits’ favourite to time to perfection a late run into the one-day side.”Not necessarily,” Willey said. “When you look around there are a lot of guys who have put their hand up. With it being an ICC competition, there might be some turning pitches so you never know what sort of balance they are going to go with in the squad.”It’s been difficult at times at Yorkshire – I’ve been in and out, in and out of the side. It’s been a challenge to cement myself among the group and I’ve tried to add value wherever I can. It’s my fourth season and we haven’t won any silverware. I really want to put that right this year.”

The Sydney Sixers had as close to a perfect T20 day as possible, bowling the Brisbane Heat out for 73, and then chasing it down in 10 overs

The Report by Geoff Lemon18-Jan-2018
Getty Images

When one team is playing for a finals berth, and one team is playing for pride, there shouldn’t be a contest. But the Brisbane Heat put a huge dent in their own playoffs hopes, after they were bowled out for 73 in the 17th over, the third-lowest BBL score, while a Sydney Sixers side with no hope of finals action ran the target down in 10 overs.With only two wins from eight games before this match, the Sixers shouldn’t have been a threat, but they made use of some inconsistent bounce at the Sydney Cricket Ground, to the delight of their magenta crowd.Heat capitulate after early collapseNot much has gone right for the Heat off the field lately. Demolition man Chris Lynn has been absent with a calf strain. Joe Burns took up his mantle with some success, but was also withdrawn from this match after tearing his adductor tendon in training.That left everything up to Brendon McCullum, but the former New Zealand captain couldn’t deliver, skewing a Johan Botha delivery for a sprawling Carlos Brathwaite catch at mid-off. Marnus Labuschagne was distracted by a hit to his box before chipping one up to square leg, and Sam Heazlett toe-ended a slog to mid-on.Three catches in the circle, and a score of 3 for 12 after four overs, and the Heat had all but capitulated already. The Heat could still make it with a last win, but only if the Hurricanes and Renegades both drop their last two games.Lyon takes flight, Abbott takes advantageNathan Lyon is always trying to make a point about his limited-overs skills. Playing his third BBL game after Test duty, he bowled as he ever has in this format. Remember this was a spinner who first made his mark playing T20s for South Australia, tossing the ball up and beating batsmen in the air.He did the same on Thursday, first drawing Heazlett’s false shot, then later deceiving Ben Cutting to have him caught off the sweep at deep square leg. “Nathan Lyon, he’s done a lot of that in the last 12 to 18 months – clapping, watching batsmen walk off,” said Adam Gilchrist on the television commentary, as Lyon wrapped up figures of 2 for 17 from his four overs.Sean Abbott finished up with the best numbers though, cleaning up the middle and lower order by consistently landing the ball back of a length, and getting a bit of venom out of a pitch that sometimes kept low. His haul was 4 for 11, with a couple of snorters gloved through to wicketkeeper Peter Nevill the highlight.Missing player laments players who went missingAs the early slump of 3 for 12 slid away further to 7 for 53, then 73 all out, Lynn could only watch on. He had a good view, given he was down at the ground in team kit, and interviewed mid-match on the boundary line. “Recovery’s going well, had my first hit today and went for a run,” he told Lisa Sthalekar. “At the time the team sheet hadn’t been put in, and I was trying to get the coaches to get me over the line, but couldn’t get in.”He was blunt, though, about his team-mates’ work in his absence, citing a pitch with variable bounce as the reason that his side should have taken a more circumspect approach. “We had to fight down and dig in, so some really soft dismissals are disappointing.”Yasir we can, except when we can’tDefending such a small total, the Heat had no option but to attack. McCullum is exactly that kind of captain. Needing to make something happen, he allotted the second over to Pakistani legspinner Yasir Shah. McCullum also stationed a slip for his bowler. It nearly worked.Yasir didn’t quite land a couple, dragging them a bit short but putting enough overspin on them to make them shoot on straight. The first deceived the left-handed Daniel Hughes and drew the edge, but it flashed just wide of the slip for four. A couple of balls later, Joe Denly played the exact same shot to the same kind of ball, and also saw his edge fly wide.To defend that kind of target, everything has to go exactly right. Yasir saw a glimpse of a world in which that might have happened, but had to accept that it remained a dimension away. He eventually got Hughes lbw with a lovely dipping legbreak, but by then the batsman had made half of the required score.

A strong comeback in the final session has left West Indies in a good position against Pakistan in the third Test of the series in Sharjah

The Report by Sirish Raghavan30-Oct-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAlthough four Pakistani batsmen made fifties, West Indies finished on top•AFP

After losing another toss and having to bowl again, West Indies rocked Pakistan with Shannon Gabriel’s two wickets in the first over, and had a productive final session to leave Pakistan at 255 for 8 by the end of the first day in Sharjah. Sami Aslam, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq and Sarfraz Ahmed all made fifties, but Pakistan were pegged back by untimely setbacks, partly of their own making.Resuming at 148 for 3 after tea, Pakistan lost five wickets to concede the advantage to West Indies. Aslam, who had looked increasingly assured for his 74 off 172, was the first to depart. In the first over of the session, he gloved a reverse sweep over the wicketkeeper but Jason Holder ran around from first slip to take a simple catch. Misbah and Sarfraz then added 80 at more than four runs an over, before the Pakistan captain also perished to a reverse sweep that went wrong. Legspiner Devendra Bishoo was the bowler on both occasions and he finished with 4 for 74.That was the start of Pakistan’s silly season. Mohammad Nawaz charged at Bishoo, did not get anywhere near the pitch of the ball and was comprehensively beaten to set up a straightforward stumping. Sarfraz, having brought up an enterprising fifty, drove away from his body, off Gabriel, to drag the ball back onto his stumps. When Bishoo beat Wahab Riaz’s limp forward prod to trap him lbw, Pakistan had lost their last four wickets for 18 runs. They added seven more, before bad light brought proceedings to a premature end, leaving Pakistan to rue the way they had relinquished a good position.It could have been worse. Misbah began his 49th Test in charge – a Pakistan record – by winning his third toss of the series and opting to bat yet again. But that was where the sense of déjà vu ended.Gabriel dismissed Azhar for a first-ball duck off just the second delivery of the match. Banging the ball in short of a length, he got it to rise awkwardly and swing away a touch, to hit the shoulder of the bat and provide a comfortable catch to Kraigg Brathwaite at second slip. It was the third time Gabriel had dismissed Azhar in the series.Then, Gabriel nipped one back into Shafiq to beat his bat and hit his pad. It looked like the ball may have been going down leg, but West Indies reviewed Paul Reiffel’s not-out decision and Hawk-Eye showed it hitting enough of leg stump to send the batsman on his way. Pakistan were 1 for 2.A good start for West Indies could have been even better had Marlon Samuels, fielding at cover, hit the stumps at the keeper’s end after Younis set off for a risky single in the second over. Sami Aslam would have been run-out by a distance.But as both batsmen settled in, they played some lovely shots. Younis timed a half-volley through midwicket for a boundary and followed that up with a gorgeous cover drive a few overs later. Aslam played a beautiful drive through mid-off and unleashed a number of sweeps and slog sweeps. The two put on 106 runs for the third wicket.Younis had a couple of lucky escapes in the 22nd over. He flicked a full ball from offspinner Roston Chase towards midwicket, where Leon Johnson, still wearing a helmet from his stint at a close-in position, dropped a tough catch. Two balls later, Younis charged out but missed a leg-side delivery; wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich fumbled the ball in his haste to effect the stumping and the batsman dived back in to safety.Chase eventually had his man when Younis, on 51, top-edged an attempted sweep to square leg, where Johnson made amends for his earlier drop.Pakistan’s biggest reprieve of the day came halfway through the second session. In the 43rd over, with Misbah batting on 6, Gabriel went up for a big lbw appeal and reviewed the not-out decision. It was a full ball that pitched on off and seemed to miss Misbah’s bat before hitting the pad. Then it hit the back pad, creating two noises and therefore doubt in the on-field umpire’s mind. Without snicko or HotSpot to eliminate the possibility of an inside edge, third umpire Richard Illingworth felt there wasn’t enough evidence to overturn the on-field call. Though the ball would have gone on to hit middle, Misbah survived and added another 47 to his score.But Pakistan frittered away their advantage after tea, allowing West Indies to work through their middle and lower orders and have the better of the opening day.