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Thrilling draw offers encouragement for one team, respite for the other

Vithushan Ehantharajah07-May-2023Glamorgan wore their disappointment proudly. Yorkshire’s relief trailed them like a soon-to-be discarded bow tie. Even as the end of this match came, Yorkshire clinging on nine down, Glamorgan clawing at that final wicket, here were two teams at the climax of an engaging final day at Headingley still saving face.Both remain winless in Division Two, but Glamorgan have far more to hold onto. This was their most impressive performance of the season so far, bossing Yorkshire throughout, and they perhaps only have themselves to blame for not finishing the job. The hosts will be happier overall, particularly when a batting line-up ransacked for 106 inside 31 overs a couple of days ago stood up for 96 overs, thriving for an outside shot of their 492 target, then surviving as matters got serious.The former and, by proxy, the latter was down to stand-in captain Adam Lyth, whose magnificent 174 was head and shoulders above anything anyone from Yorkshire managed over these four days. He is due to hand over the armband to Shan Masood who arrives this week, but the form and the example set can go a long way to holding together a listless dressing room.Two weeks after a fourth-innings knock of 69 not out that would have taken Yorkshire over the line against Sussex had the weather not intervened, he has saved the club from some further on-field introspection. Rarely has a club had to wake up every morning and check the papers to gauge its level of crisis. It will be of some consolation they can browse Monday’s offerings without any mention of being the bottom-ranked side in the country. Thanks to avoiding a second defeat of the season and picking up eight points, they are 17th out of 18.There was a moment when the worst came to mind. Lyth’s departure triggered what looked a terminal collapse. But Jordan Thompson stood up with an entertaining blend of cold-blooded resistance and hot-headed shot-making, bringing up 51 in 50 deliveries thanks to 10 fours and a six, before playing out a tantilising final over from Michael Neser to drag Yorkshire to safety. Only after he blocked the final delivery did he show any emotion, turning to the home dressing room immediately to punch the air.As valiant a final day as it was for Yorkshire, it was also worthy of lament. The capitulation after tea of 6 for 134 inside 27.2 overs was a bleak reminder of the fallibility of this group. The fight is commendable, but things should not have got this close.Glamorgan’s persistence pushed the match right to the limits, with four wickets for Timm van der Gugten and three to James Harris. But it is hard not to look back at the culmination of day three and spot an error of judgement. Had they pulled out earlier – rains came, with stumps eventually called following their declaration on 352 for 2 – they might have already been on the road back to Cardiff with something to sing about. Given the cloud cover at that point and the lack of it throughout Sunday, they could have nipped early wickets, as they did on the evening of day one when Yorkshire were 62 for 5.Wise after the event? No doubt. Lyth could have been out of action before we arrived on the final day. Then again, he could have been dismissed on 49 when Harris just missed a caught-and-bowled chance, and definitely should have been on his way for 69 when Marnus Labuschagne dropped the simplest of chances at second slip off van der Gugten.Was the chase of 492 ever “on”? You know what – yes. Probably. Certainly when Neser, first change after 12 overs, was driven through the covers for four and then hooked over backward square leg for six by Lyth. Neser, fresh after almost 48-hours with his feet up following 7 for 32 in the first innings, was supposed to be integral to Glamorgan’s search for 10 wickets in 96 overs. And here Lyth was, dashing him around to all parts. A hat-trick and career-best figures in the first innings, followed by 23 thankless overs in the second – what a sport.It was still “on” when Lyth moved to a 30th first-class century off delivery number 135, wasting little time in the nervous nineties or even the anxious eighties with six fours taking him from 76 to 102 in 12 legitimate deliveries.By then, he had George Hill for company. The allrounder was engaging throughout, facilitating Lyth who brutally exposed Andrew Salter’s flaws, smashing him for two fours and two sixes across two overs. The assault took their partnership into three figures and forced David Lloyd to pull his offspinner out of the attack immediately.However, a dart at the target was now an outside bet given the loss of Jonny Bairstow. England’s butcherer of fourth-innings chases last summer strode out after lunch, a break brought on by Finlay Bean’s dismissal to leave Yorkshire 99 for 1. With 393 more needed, Bairstow, in at No. 3, had a clear remit. Nine balls in, an attempt to cart van der Gugten through cover resulted in a slip catch to Labuschagne. Glamorgan went wild, Yorkshire sighed.Out walked Hill, ahead of the more established Saud Shakeel and Dawid Malan, presumably to keep the right-left thing going. A straight drive for four off his first delivery gave us all we needed to know about intentions.He certainly didn’t need the generosity of full tosses and long hops from Labuschagne bowling offies before tea. Fours off the first four deliveries of the last over of the middle session drew cheers from those bathing in the sun on the north-east corner. The second, punched through midwicket, took Hill to a sixth score of fifty or more – and second of the season.The requirement in the final session of 38 overs was still a daunting 252 to go. Hill was livid when he fell 16 deliveries after the restart – edging a drive through to keeper Chris Cooke for van der Gugten’s third – though Malan’s appearance as the eighth-ranked T20I batter in the world did make you wonder what fireworks we might see on Sunday evening. At the other end, 2022’s men’s Hundred MVP was still playing his shots, moving past 150 for the eighth time in his career.Just as the rate had moved above up to eight an over, Malan was trapped lbw by former Middlesex colleague Harris. Then, at 5.25pm, Lyth was given out trapped in front for Jamie McIlroy’s first, with a second right after as Dom Bess pocketed a king pair. Thompson got behind his first delivery, ensuring there was no second Glammy hat trick.Inexplicably, a Glamorgan victory was back on the table: four wickets needed in 17 overs. The second new ball was taken two overs later and given straight to van der Gugten and Neser.Saud Shakeel and Thompson set about seeing things out in their own way, inexplicably going shot for shot in a fifty stand that took just 51 deliveries, thanks largely to Thompson’s propensity to swing at anything in the slot.After 13 were scored from Neser’s third over with the new ball, Harris was brought back in at the Rugby Stand End and snicked Shakeel through to Labuschagne with his second delivery. With his sixth, Matt Fisher was lbw for another pair.And then calm, out of nowhere. The sun came out to bathe us from the west, Thompson thumped an 11th boundary to move to first fifty of the campaign. Mickey Edwards, too, struck three boundaries of his own. Then, to the final delivery of the penultimate over, he decided to leave van der Gugten.Off stump was knocked back and into the final over we went, Thompson on strike with an injured Ben Coad watching on helplessly at the other end. A couple shot off the seam and through to the keeper, but Thompson held firm.

Stoneman resists before familiar collapse opens door for Somerset

ECB Reporters Network20-May-2023Somerset 404 (Bartlett 121, Abell 77) beat Middlesex 175 (Simpson 57*, Henry 5-45) and 216 (Stoneman 60, Overton 5-46) by an innings and 13 runsCraig Overton recorded his best figures this summer to propel Somerset to their first LV= Insurance County Championship win of the campaign as they crushed Middlesex by an innings and 13 runs at Lord’s.Overton finished with five for 46, supported by fellow seamer Peter Siddle’s effort of three for 57, to dismiss the home side for 216 second time around, with more than four sessions to spare.Mark Stoneman, who occupied the crease for almost three hours in compiling 60, was the only man to register a half-century in a Middlesex side who have managed to post in excess of 250 only once this season.Somerset’s victory was only their second red-ball success away from Taunton in more than two years, the other coming against neighbours Gloucestershire at Bristol last summer.Stoneman and Stephen Eskinazi, who resumed on a steady 81 for one, ground it out for the bulk of an attritional first hour, with almost five overs from Matt Henry and Overton yielding just a single leg-bye.Although Stoneman tucked Overton away for a single soon afterwards to bring up his second half-century of the summer, Middlesex’s solid base was swiftly demolished by a fiery spell from Siddle at the Pavilion End.The seamer’s first delivery was carved for four by Eskinazi, but his second jagged back to clip the Middlesex vice-captain’s off bail and his departure for 28 signalled a familiar middle-order collapse.Stoneman – bowled by an unplayable Henry delivery first time around – was unlucky to fall victim to another ball of similar quality from Siddle, which seamed and careered into his off stump.Somerset collected three more wickets in the space of 21 balls before lunch, with Overton accounting for Max Holden and John Simpson to sandwich the first delivery of Jack Leach’s spell that pinned Robbie White leg before.Luke Hollman and Ryan Higgins displayed some fighting spirit after the interval, with the left-hander driving Henry twice off the back foot to the short boundary as he contributed 28 to their seventh-wicket partnership of 44.Although Hollman was caught at third slip, Toby Roland-Jones took up the baton by giving Leach the charge and also hammered Overton over long-on for two fours in a cameo of 27 from 24 balls.But Overton had the final word, bowling the Middlesex skipper before completing his side’s win as Higgins (31) hooked him into the safe hands of Lewis Gregory at long leg.

Simon Harmer claims eight for the match as Sam Cook and Jamie Porter add impact

ECB Reporters Network14-Jun-2023Sam Cook, Simon Harmer and Jamie Porter confirmed Essex’s 196-run victory over Somerset – their first LV=Insurance County Championship win at the Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford for 11 months.Fast bowler Cook grabbed two in two with the new ball before Simon Harmer took two more wickets to claim match figures of 8 for 178 and Porter rounded off the tail.Somerset had batted stoically in the hope of batting out 151 overs, or reach 466 to win, but they were eventually bowled out for 269 with two sessions to spare.Essex only won two Championship matches at home last season, have gone unbeaten at Chelmsford between September 2018 and September 2022.The day’s play was preceded by a minute’s silence for the victims of the Nottingham attacks, while players from both teams and the umpires wore black armbands and the flags were at half-mast. The two students who died had links to Essex and Somerset cricket. Barnaby Webber, 19, played for Bishops Hull Cricket Club in Taunton. Grace O’Malley Kumar, 19, played and captained Essex Women from Under-11 to Under-15.Somerset had shown great fight and grit on the third evening to give themselves of saving a draw, having been bowled out for 167 with a first-innings lead of 295. But Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s dismissal to the final ball of the day swung things strongly in Essex’s favour.Tom Abell and James Rew did bat out the first 137 balls of the morning, putting on 56 with great skill. The second new ball was coming though and that would prove damaging for the visitors.Sam Cook needed just two deliveries to extract a thin edge behind to see off Abell for 83 before a wobble-seamed delivery nipped off the seam and into Kasey Aldridge’s off stump next ball.Craig Overton navigated a hat-trick ball that teased the outside edge but Rew soon fell to Harmer – who had shared the fresh nut. Left-handed Rew drove at the off-spinner with the edge brilliantly taken at first slip by a fully stretched Alastair Cook.Matt Critchley took an equally great catch at leg slip when Craig Overton turned Harmer around the corner.Essex’s second victory of the campaign was confirmed with Matt Henry tickling behind and Josh Davey was sensationally caught behind by Will Buttleman, both off Porter.Essex take 22 points, to Somerset’s two, to keep their nose in the Championship race.

Clarity of purpose at the crunch moment delivered both of England’s World Cup titles. Can the same work for the Ashes?

Matt Roller18-Jul-2023England love semi-finals. Their best performances in both one-day and T20 cricket over the last five years – and maybe ever – have come in semis: the eight-wicket thrashing of Australia at Edgbaston in 2019, and the ten-wicket demolition of India in Adelaide last November.Now, they are at the equivalent stage of an Ashes series: two wins away from a trophy. It is a different format, with different coloured balls and kits, but seven members of England’s XI at Emirates Old Trafford this week have featured in at least one of those two semi-final routs, and two of them – Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes – played in both.These situations seem to focus the minds of England’s players, and sharpen their resolve. Their most recent semi-final defeat – against New Zealand in Dubai, in the 2021 T20 World Cup – came after a cruise through the group stage, which culminated in a defeat to South Africa in a game that was effectively a dead-rubber.The scenario was very different to that in both World Cup triumphs. In both tournaments, surprise results early in the group stages left them on the brink of elimination, needing to win four games in a row. In both tournaments, they resolved to double-down on their attacking approach. In both tournaments, the clarity brought out their best.In 2019, a rare team meeting at Edgbaston instigated by psychologist David Young prompted players to discuss candidly their fear of defeat and elimination ahead of their first must-win game against India. England resolved, as Woakes recalled in the book , that “If we were going to lose, we were going to go down swinging”. It was Stokes who opened up first that day, having been encouraged by Young over coffee the day before.Chris Woakes was a key performer as England routed Australia in the 2019 World Cup semi-final•Getty Images

And in 2022, Jos Buttler delivered a similar message at a training session at Allan Border Field in Brisbane, again before England’s first must-win game – this time, against New Zealand. “If anything, let’s fall on the positive side every time,” he told his team-mates. “We’re not going to go through the next few games and come away thinking, ‘I wish I took it on a bit more.'”Such moments often take on greater significance retroactively, assigned importance as inflection points in narrative arcs. Yet it was that clarity that Stokes alluded to at Lord’s, in the aftermath of a defeat that left England two-nil down with three to play: “It’s actually very exciting to know that the way in which we are playing our cricket couldn’t be more perfect for the situation we find ourselves in.”England’s ultra-attacking method with the bat came under sustained scrutiny in their defeat at Lord’s, with an expectation that they would rein themselves in at Headingley. Instead, they doubled down: they raced along at 4.79 runs per over in the third Test, their quickest scoring rate of the series so far.Woakes came into the side and played a significant role in that win, and acknowledged the parallels with those World Cup wins. “It maps it out for you, doesn’t it?” he said. “There are no ifs or buts or maybes: you’ve got no choice but to go and win. That probably suits this team nicely, as it has done the white-ball team when we’ve been in those situations.Related

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“Hopefully, those experiences of a few players can help them. Everyone knows that we’ve got to go out there and try and win: Ben’s a big fan of not drawing Test matches. It does map it out for us and set it up for us that we have to go out there and win – and we are in Manchester, so I’m sure there’ll be rain at some point.”Stokes has suggested that the weather forecast – which is bad all week, but particularly at the weekend – will play a role in England’s approach, emphasising their determination to force a result. And that is where this Ashes Test differs from a World Cup semi-final: only one team actually needs to win.”A draw’s good enough for them,” Stokes said. Pat Cummins insisted that Australia’s “first preference is always to try to win”, citing their disappointment at drawing the 2019 series two-all. But he also conceded: “As the game progresses, you maybe start working out how risky you want to be.””It makes everything that we’ve been doing more relevant,” Stokes added. “If we were to shy away from the task at hand, that wouldn’t get the best out of us as a team in terms of the personnel that we have at the moment. Knowing we need to win this one… probably suits us even more, to be honest.”England’s unprecedented success in fourth-innings run-chases under this regime has proved that they thrive on lucidity, stripping the sport’s most impenetrable format back to something simple. If they do treat this Test like an Ashes semi-final, recent precedent suggests it will be worth watching.

The left-arm fast bowler will be reunited with India and Saurashtra team-mate Cheteshwar Pujara

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Aug-2023Fast bowler Jaydev Unadkat is set for his first stint in the County Championship after signing with Sussex, where he will join his India and Saurashtra team-mate Cheteshwar Pujara.Unadkat is set to be available for at least three of Sussex’s remaining four matches, starting with the game against Durham on September 3. He could, however, miss the team’s final match, if he returns to lead Saurashtra in the Irani Cup, which starts on October 1.”I have been following the team’s recent run of success and I had a nice conversation with Paul [Farbrace, Sussex head coach] and it looks like I can definitely add value and contribute towards the team’s goals,” Unadkat said in a statement. “The English County Championship has a wonderful legacy, and I was keen to grab the opportunity whenever I can and it seems to be the right time for me at this point in my career.”I hope to add to the laurels that my dear friend and team-mate, Cheteshwar, has been adding aplenty while representing Sussex for the last couple of seasons, and more importantly helping the team win games.”Unadkat recently turned out for India in their two Tests against West Indies, but went wicketless. He did however pick up a wicket in the only ODI he played on the tour.Unadkat, 31, has played 103 first-class matches, including four Tests. He has picked up 382 first-class wickets at an average of 22.58 and an economy of 2.94.He captained Saurashtra to their maiden Ranji Trophy title in 2020, taking 67 wickets in that campaign, which is the most by a fast bowler in a single season.He then led them to a second title this year, claiming the Player-of-the-Match trophy in the final against Bengal.”We are delighted that Jaydev will join us for the September championship period, he is a quality bowler and a great guy to have join our squad at an exciting time of the season,” Sussex head coach Farbrace said. “His record is outstanding, and we will be looking for Jaydev to share his experience with our developing team.”

Seamer seals thumping innings win at Wantage Road after batting failure confirms Surrey glory

ECB Reporters Network28-Sep-2023Northamptonshire seamer Jack White rounded off the LV= Insurance County Championship campaign with a five-wicket haul to ensure his relegated side bowed out of Division One in style by crushing runners-up Essex.White, who received the Northamptonshire supporters’ player of the season award during the lunch interval, achieved his century of first-class wickets as the visitors were hustled out for 211 in their first innings at Wantage Road.That snuffed out Essex’s hopes of denying Surrey another title – and, having been put in again, they promptly collapsed to 119 all out, with Paul Walter’s pugnacious 73 from 53 balls their only significant contribution.White claimed the final wicket to finish with five for 57 – his 50th Championship scalp of the season – while former England captain Sir Alastair Cook made just six in what could be the final innings of his illustrious career.Essex resumed on 125 for four, but their already slim hopes of amassing the runs required to prolong the title race were dented further as Tom Taylor’s first ball of the morning sent two of Walter’s stumps flying.White and Ben Sanderson both found some unpredictable bounce from the David Capel End, but it was a half-volley by the latter that secured his landmark 100th wicket when former Northamptonshire team-mate Adam Rossington drilled to mid-on.Essex skipper Tom Westley applied himself diligently, but he then got stuck on 49 and was eventually undone by a beauty from opposite number Luke Procter that pitched, left him and took a faint edge through to Lewis McManus.Procter pinned Simon Harmer leg before to finish with figures of three for 47, but Umesh Yadav opted to throw the bat and rattled up 24 from 18 deliveries, playing some delightfully wristy shots as well as lifting White for a leg-side six.Sam Cook joined in, steering Taylor for successive fours to lift the Essex total above 200 but Yadav holed out to deep midwicket before last man Jamie Porter was castled by Taylor to confirm the Championship pennant would remain in Surrey’s possession.Having not managed to supplement his three wickets from the previous evening, Sanderson made amends for that in the first over of the follow-on, with Nick Browne misjudging a ball that jagged back and careered into his off stump.Lunch offered Essex some respite – but the carnage continued after the interval and within seven overs of their second innings, the visitors had collapsed to 13 for five, with Sanderson and White claiming another two wickets apiece.Those included Cook, caught behind nibbling outside off stump at Sanderson, while Justin Broad’s tumbling cover catch accounted for Westley and Emilio Gay pouched two at second slip.Walter launched a bold counter-attack with a series of front-foot drives, while Rossington kept him company for 35 minutes despite playing just a single scoring stroke as the pair shepherded Essex to 50.Taylor broke the partnership with an unplayable delivery that kept low and seamed back to uproot Rossington’s off stump, but Walter kept going and advanced to his half-century with a cover boundary off White.Rob Keogh’s first over of off-spin cost 19 runs, with Walter twice dispatching him over the stand before White eventually got his man, tempting the left-hander to pull a short ball and top-edge to Saif Zaib in the deep.That paved the way for White to apply the finishing touch and he bowled Harmer before clipping Yadav’s off bail to wrap up Northamptonshire’s second win of the season – their first by an innings in more than two years.

He will join the team directly in Lucknow where India play England on October 29

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Oct-20231:48

Pujara: Hardik’s injury will hurt India’s balance

Hardik Pandya has been ruled out of India’s next World Cup game, against New Zealand in Dharamsala on Sunday, after hurting his left ankle against Bangladesh in Pune.”He will not be taking the flight to Dharamsala with the team on 20th October and will now join the team directly in Lucknow where India play England,” the BCCI said. “He is advised rest and will be under the constant supervision of the BCCI medical team.” India play England on October 29, seven days after the New Zealand match.Pandya injured himself during his first over – the ninth of Bangladesh’s innings – when he appeared to twist his ankle while trying to stop a shot with his foot during his follow through. He was taken for scans and played no further part in the match, and will head to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for treatment.”He pulled up a bit sore,” Rohit Sharma said after the game against Bangladesh. “There’s no major damage. That is good for us. But honestly, with an injury like that, you’ve got to assess every day. So we just hope that he pulls up well tomorrow morning. And then we will assess, whatever is required for us to do as a team, we’ll do that.”Apart from Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav, Pandya is arguably the most irreplaceable player in the India squad because of the all-round role he performs. He is good enough to play as a specialist batter but his bowling provides India the sixth bowler they badly need. Pandya had bowled 16 overs in India’s first three World Cup matches and taken five wickets.With no like-for-like replacement available, India will have to change their combination against New Zealand. One option is to bring in Suryakumar Yadav for Pandya and Mohammed Shami for Shardul Thakur. That, however, will leave Rohit with just five specialist bowlers.India have won all their four matches in the World Cup so far and are second on the points table, behind table-toppers New Zealand who are ahead on net run rate.

The World Cup final will be played on the same surface on which India beat Pakistan in the league stage

Shashank Kishore18-Nov-2023The 2023 ODI World Cup final between India and Australia will be played on pitch No. 5 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the surface that was used for the India-Pakistan fixture.India won that game in 73 overs, but it was played on October 14, when the weather was hot and dry. A little over a month later, there’s an early winter nip in the air in Ahmedabad, the evenings are cooler, and there’s a lot more dew. Pitch no. 5 has been watered, rolled, and watered. The curator believes it will retain a little more moisture now.India’s captain and coach, Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid, spent considerable time pitch side during India’s optional nets on Friday evening. Australia arrived in Ahmedabad late Friday evening and had their first and only training session ahead of the final early on Saturday morning.Related

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And when Australia’s captain Pat Cummins suited up for the pre-match press conference, the first question was about the 22 yards.”Yeah, just had a look.””Again, I’m not a great pitch reader, but it looked pretty firm. They’ve only just watered it, so yeah, give it another 24 hours and have a look, but it looks like a pretty good wicket.””Yes, I think Pakistan played someone there.””Yeah, hard to know, I think it’s been a bit more high scoring here throughout the tournament. Yeah, it’s been a pretty good wicket, so yeah, hard to say.”Cummins was asked about the challenges of bowling on pitches like these, typical of the subcontinent, where there’s a wear and tear a lot earlier in the game than in Australia. He said the considerable time spent in India over the past year or so had helped develop familiarity with the conditions.”You’ve got to be brave with some of the balls you use, slower balls, bouncers, you’ve got to find that balance between mixing it up but also not go chasing too much,” Cummins said. “I think we’ve struck that balance pretty well and at least over here in India, a lot of times by the end of the innings, things like cutters work perhaps better than it does elsewhere in the world.”After the furore around the pitch-switch ahead of India’s semi-final against New Zealand in Mumbai, Cummins was asked about how much of a home advantage the surface would give India.”Yeah, I mean, it’s hard to say,” he said. “It’s obviously the same for both teams. No doubt playing on your own wicket in your own country has some advantages, similar to wickets that you’ve been playing your whole life. But we’ve played a lot of cricket over here.”So, yeah, we’ll wait and see. I think, of all the venues, perhaps this venue – the toss isn’t as important as, say, a Mumbai Wankhede Stadium or other venues. So, we’ll be ready in terms of anything they’ll throw at us. Yeah, we’ll wait and see, but we’ll make sure we have some plans.”

He last played for Pakistan in a T20I against New Zealand in April this year

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2023Pakistan allrounder Imad Wasim has retired from international cricket with immediate effect. Imad, who announced his retirement with a post on social media, played 55 ODIs and 66 T20Is for Pakistan as a left-arm spinner and lower-order batter. He last represented Pakistan in April this year in a T20I against New Zealand in Rawalpindi.”In recent days I have been doing a lot of thinking about my international career and I have come to the conclusion that now is the right time for me to announce my retirement from international cricket,” Imad wrote on X. “I would like to thank the PCB for all their support over the years – it has truly been an honour to represent Pakistan.”Each of my 121 appearances across the ODI and T20I formats was a dream come true. It’s an exciting time for Pakistan cricket going forwards with new coaches and leadership incoming. I wish all involved every success and I look forward to watching the team excel.Related

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“Thank you to the Pakistan fans for always supporting me with such passion. A final thank you to my family and friends who have been so important in helping me achieve at the highest level. I now look forward to focussing on the next stage of my playing career away from the international stage.”Imad, now 34, was part of Pakistan’s Under-19 World Cup-winning side in 2006 and went on to lead Pakistan in the next edition, in 2008. He had to wait till 2015 for a Pakistan debut, in a T20I against Zimbabwe in Lahore. This was when international cricket returned to Pakistan six years after the attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore. He represented Pakistan in the T20 World Cup that followed, in 2016. In 2019, he captained Pakistan, in two ODIs against Australia in Dubai, when regular captain Shoaib Malik was out with an injury.In all, he took 44 wickets and scored 986 runs in ODIs. In T20Is, he took 65 wickets and scored 486 runs. His best performance with the ball, incidentally, is identical in both formats – 5 for 14.Imad is currently in Karachi Kings’ roster for the PSL, and recently played in the Hundred, the CPL and the LPL as well. He has also been a regular in the English county circuit. In fact, born in Swansea in Wales, he played his early cricket in the UK.

South Africa lost their practice T20 match, but Nadine de Klerk felt there were “more positives than negatives”

Valkerie Baynes25-Jan-2024Australia Women are looking to press on from their successful white-ball campaign in India during what allrounder Ellyse Perry describes as a “landmark” tour by South Africa.Having swept the three-match ODI series and beaten India 2-1 in T20Is over the New Year period, Australia will host South Africa in the first of three T20Is on Saturday in Canberra, the first time the sides will meet in the format outside the World Cup arena and the first bilateral series between them since a five-match ODI in 2016 (Australia’s planned white-ball tour of South Africa in 2020 was abandoned amid the Covid-19 pandemic). Three ODIs will follow before a maiden Test between the two nations closes out the tour in Perth in mid-February.Perry said Australia were making good progress on finding their desired approach to T20 batting, having bounced back from an opening-match defeat in India and as they prepare to face South Africa for the first time since defeating them in the T20 World Cup final almost a year ago.”Really pleasingly, we’re starting to nail down exactly what that looks like for us,” Perry said. “That’s broadly speaking for the team, but also for every individual within the batting line-up. Someone like Phoebe [Litchfield] had a phenomenal series over in India, both in the one-dayers and the T20s, but I think everyone took some really great strides forward and it’s a great chance again to start this series with T20 to just look at continuing to expand that.”They’re coming pretty hungry after the World Cup final last year. It’s nice to play them again. They’re a wonderful team, they’ve got some seriously world-class players in that group. They’ve been competitive for a long period of time. We’ve had some great tussles against them, none more so than that World Cup final, so it’s nice to host them here in Australia and looking forward to the challenge.”Litchfield notched two half-centuries and a hundred opening in the ODIs against India before posting scores of 49, 18 not out and 17 not out in the middle order during the T20Is. Australia have stuck with Grace Harris in their squad for the T20I leg of South Africa’s visit, boosting their batting firepower as they did in India, before she makes way for legspinner Alana King in the ODIs.Meanwhile, Perry, who scored 145 off 137 balls for Victoria in a 50-over Women’s National Cricket League match against Australian Capital Territory last week, expected captain Alyssa Healy to be fit to play on Saturday despite not training fully on Thursday due to illness.”I think Midge was just feeling a bit crook today,” Perry said. “She was cleared of Covid, so didn’t test positive for that, but probably just needs a day or so to take it easy. As far as I know, she should be available for Saturday without anything untoward happening.”Nadine de Klerk smacked an unbeaten 48 off just 24 balls against Governor General’s XI•Getty Images

South Africa warmed up for the series with a practice T20 against Governor General’s XI at North Sydney Oval. Batting first, they lost three wickets inside the powerplay, including captain Laura Wolvaardt for a duck, before Nadine de Klerk’s unbeaten 48 off just 24 balls lifted them to 149 for 7. Chloe Tryon, who returned to the side after a groin injury suffered during the WBBL, was the tourists’ second-highest scorer with a handy 39 from 29 balls, sharing a half-century stand with Sune Luus, who scored 31 off 28.But the hosts chased down the target with four balls to spare. Opening the innings, captain Sophie Molineux led with 59 off 41 to take her side to a four-wicket victory despite Masabata Klaas’ impressive 3 for 16 from four overs.”Results isn’t the only thing to look at,” de Klerk said. “Tough loss, but I think there are more positives than negatives, so we’ll definitely take that into the first couple of games. It really put us on the back foot losing those early three wickets, but I think we bowled really well. They had a few partnerships going and I think we lost it probably a little bit towards the back end. Probably the bowlers would look to tidy up on those death plans and back end and when the batters are getting going and I think that’s pretty much it.”She was also full of praise for the experience shown by Tryon and Luus to help South Africa to a competitive total.”Chloe was out there for quite a while before she actually got going and I think that was what was needed on the day,” de Klerk said. “I know it is T20 cricket and you want to be expressive and really aggressive as well, and I think Chloe just took a bit of time, and the same with Sune. They both batted beautifully and laid some sort of platform for the rest of the batters to come. I think they had quite a decent partnership there. It makes a massive difference. We were 19 for 3… so it just shows that if one or two batters put their heads down and bat for just a little period, it does become a little bit easier.”I was a bit nervous, to be honest, when I went out to bat. It looked a bit tough early on, but I just tried to take my time and obviously got some good advice from Chloe as well when I came in. So it was just about giving myself some time. It’s a great start to the series and you want to go in with a lot of confidence starting on Saturday so yeah, it’s been great fun to be out there and I’m so glad it was a good contest. I think we, as a team, got out of it what we wanted.”