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Stokes backed for return to form in New Zealand with short turnaround between tours

Matt Roller27-Oct-2024Brendon McCullum, England’s coach, said that Ben Stokes is “hurting” after struggling to make an impact in their 2-1 series defeat in Pakistan, but has backed his “tough bugger” captain to return to his best in New Zealand next month.Stokes returned from two months on the sidelines with a torn hamstring ahead of England’s second Test in Multan last week but failed to contribute as Pakistan staged their comeback. He apologised to his players for losing his temper following a string of fielding lapses in the second Test, bowled 10 wicketless overs in the series, and made 53 runs in four innings, with two slapstick dismissals.After England’s nine-wicket defeat in Rawalpindi, Stokes said that the last three weeks had “felt like a very long tour” due to his intense rehabilitation, which McCullum suggested had inhibited his performance both as a batter and as a captain.Related

• 'No excuses' says McCullum as England succumb to Pakistan's spin cycle

• Captain Stokes loses his sheen as Rawalpindi return ends in flat defeat

• Stokes bullish after defeat: 'We've got the best top six in England'

“That injury was quite a significant injury,” McCullum said. “He had to work incredibly hard to get back. As the driven athlete he is, he’s all in when he does something. He had to put in a lot of graft there, and subconsciously, it can… not cloud things, but maybe you’re not quite as screwed down as you can be in terms of decision-making.”That’s natural, as long as you learn from that and make sure next time you’re presented with that situation you’re able to block out the noise and stay crystal clear in the moment. He’s disappointed, but he’s our skipper and we know he’s a tough bugger. He’ll make sure he’ll come back and it’s our job to make sure we wrap our arms around him and help him along the way.”The series defeat was only England’s second since Stokes took over from Joe Root as captain two-and-a-half years ago, but both have come in the subcontinent this year. The first, a 4-1 loss in India, prompted McCullum to call for “refinement” ahead of England’s home summer, but this time there is only a short turnaround before their three-match series in New Zealand.Ben Stokes could not exert his usual influence, despite winning the toss in Rawalpindi•Getty Images

McCullum said it would be his own responsibility to ensure that England’s management are consistent in their messaging. “We all know how competitive and driven the skipper is,” he said. “He’ll be hurting right now, with how the series has unfolded. It’s my job to make sure I’m there to support him, and make sure we still remain on-task with what we are trying to do as a collective, and our messaging to the group about how we want to keep playing cricket moving forward.”Sometimes as leaders, if you do suffer a little bit of disappointment yourself, it can be very easy to allow that to permeate through in your messaging to the group. But since Stokesy came on board as captain, he’s been very clear and precise about how he wants his team to play.”What’s really important is to never flinch with that and stay true to it, even if you’re struggling yourself. You’ve still got to keep using the same messaging. He’ll be better for the run, no doubt: a couple of weeks off, freshen up and back to conditions which are a bit more similar to back in England. It’s another opportunity for us.”England have lost six of their eight Tests in Asia this year, and are not due to return to the subcontinent until a two-match series in Bangladesh in February 2027. McCullum said the team would look back with “disappointment” and this tour and that their method in spin-friendly conditions needed to be “a little bit better” than it has been”If we’re being honest with ourselves, we’ve had opportunities to put up a better record than that, so it’s disappointing,” McCullum said. “You don’t get too many opportunities to nail down big series in the subcontinent. We’ve had those chances, and we weren’t quite good enough.”I know we don’t come back to the subcontinent for a couple of years, but there’s still times even in other countries when we’re presented with spinning wickets, and we’ve got to make sure our approach is a little bit more screwed down, a little bit better than it is. That will be some of the conversations we have.”It’s a matter of trying to get that environment to a place where it’s confident, it’s clear and the messaging is very simple. With failure, sometimes it brings about a little bit of deeper thought and that’s something we’ll have to do over the next little while.”We’ve also got a very quick turnaround for the New Zealand series, but we have to make sure we’ve learned some lessons from this and be better when we get the chance. That’s the nice thing: we do get an opportunity, and it would be nice to bounce back in New Zealand.”

Lauren Filer’s 3 for 8 backed up by two wickets each for Kathryn Bryce, Mahika Gaur and Sophie Ecclestone

ECB Media13-Aug-2025An astonishing bowling performance from a high-class Manchester Originals attack saw them stroll to a facile seven-wicket win with 19 balls to spare to further their chances of progression as the Hundred women’s competition hots up.With her side having elected to bowl first, England starlet Mahika Gaur backed up her spell against London Spirit, bowling 20 of the first 25 balls to leave Welsh Fire in disarray at 12 for 2. She saw the back of England team-mates Sophia Dunkley and Tammy Beaumont in a spell where she made the ball talk and finished with 2 for 10.Incredibly, Gaur’s figures were not the best on display. Sophie Ecclestone was typically excellent, dismissing the dangerous Hayley Matthews and Georgia Elwiss while conceding just 11 runs from her allocation while the most economical figures of the afternoon went to Lauren Filer, who dismissed Sarah Bryce and Emily Windsor in successive balls to snuff out any chance of Welsh Fire posting a defendable target. She added the wicket of Jess Jonassen in the same set of five to return the remarkable figure of 3 for 8 in her 20 balls.Kathryn Bryce took two wickets in the final set to finish with 2 for 10 as Fire ended with a hugely underwhelming 73 for 9.When Originals batted, it was all about the win, Kathryn Bryce and Seren Smale taking their time to ensure there were no hiccups after the early dismissals of overseas stars Beth Mooney and Melie Kerr. Katherine Bryce was stumped late on by sister Sarah for a studied 45 off 41 with five boundaries but it was too little too late as the Originals made it two from four.Meerkat Match Hero Gaur said: “It feels really good. It was a great effort by the bowlers. The conditions were good and it was swinging early so I’m really happy with that. The last game was so close; it just shows that when we play at our best, we can beat any team in this competition.”

Warwickshire strike early but captain’s innings keeps rivals at bay

ECB Reporters Network09-Sep-2024Club captain Brett D’Oliveira struck his fourth successive half-century since returning from injury to inspire another Worcestershire recovery on the opening day of the Vitality County Championship derby with Warwickshire at Visit Worcestershire New Road.D’Oliveira had come to the wicket just over a week ago with Worcestershire 10 for 4 on the opening morning versus Essex at Chelmsford and his 68 helped his side rally to 266 all out on their way to a 43-run success. That followed his 97 during the home win over Kent and for good measure he hit another 51 in the second innings against Essex.Here, his side were struggling at 67 for 4 in testing conditions when he walked out to the middle and was again the cornerstone of a fightback with the top score of 76.D’Oliveira received excellent support from Adam Hose, fit again Matthew Waite and Logan van Beek in partnerships of 49, 76 and 43.He had missed the entire Metro Bank One-Day Cup campaign whilst having extensive rehab to a shoulder problem which has troubled him for the past year. But the treatment seems to have paid handsome dividends for the 32-year-old who has been in prime form since the Championship programme recommenced.Waite also made his mark with a fluent half-century on his return to action after nearly two months on the sidelines with a side strain.Oliver Hannon-Dalby, the leading wicket-taker in Division One, added three more scalps to take his tally for the season to 46 and again bowled impressively.Worcestershire gave a Championship debut to young Academy pace bowler Jack Home who last week signed a three-year contract after taking 16 wickets in five games in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup.Warwickshire made one change from the side which had defeated Kent with spinner Danny Briggs replacing Jacob Bethell.Warwickshire skipper Alex Davies put the home side into bat on a wicket where the bounce was variable, particularly when bowling from the New Road End, and Hannon-Dalby made the first breakthrough when Jake Libby pushed forward to a delivery which nipped away and was caught behind.Kashif Ali, who had scored two centuries in the corresponding game at Edgbaston, provided keeper Michael Burgess with another catch off former Worcestershire allrounder Ed BarnardGareth Roderick had his middle stump knocked back by Michael Rae and then Ethan Brookes, promoted to No. 4, was lbw to Hannon-Dalby on his return to the attack with a delivery which swung back in. Hose and D’Oliveira battled through to lunch at 77 for 4 from 30 overs.D’Oliveira pulled Rushworth for four to bring up the 100 in 39.3 overs. The fifth wicket pair extended their partnership to 49 but Hose, having battled for nearly two hours for 33, drove at Barnard and was pouched at second slipWaite was full of positive intent from the start and collected four boundaries at Barnard’s expense in two overs.He was the dominate figure in a half-century partnership with D’Oliveira and completed his own fifty from 71 balls with nine fours.The afternoon session produced 111 runs from 34 overs for the loss of one wicket. But Waite added only one more run before he was lbw to Rae after he switched ends to end a stand of 76.D’Oliveira reached another excellent half century from 115 balls when he late cut Briggs for his seventh boundary. He found another staunch ally in van Beek in adding 43 for the seventh wicket but on 76 was finally caught low down at first slip by Yates off Will Rhodes.The second new ball accounted for van Beek with a third scalp for Hannon-Dalby thanks to Yates again showing a safe pair of hands, this time at second slip.But Home, who hit Barnard for the first six of the game backward of square, and Tom Taylor earned Worcestershire a precious batting point before the close during an unbroken stand of 52.

Jaker smashed 72 not out off 41 and Rishad bagged three wickets as the hosts were bowled out for their lowest total against Bangladesh

Mohammad Isam20-Dec-2024Bangladesh completed their demolition of West Indies with an 80-run win in the third T20I at the Arnos Vale Ground. It resulted in their first 3-0 win in a T20I series in nearly two years as they capped off a tough West Indies tour with a trophy. After posting 189 for 7, they bowled West Indies out for 109, their lowest total against Bangladesh, with the margin of victory being Bangladesh’s second-biggest in terms of runs.Jaker Ali continued to be their tour’s MVP, signing off with a dramatic, match-winning performance. His unbeaten 72 powered the visitors to 189 for 7, their highest score in the West Indies, before Rishad Hossain helped bowl the opposition out cheaply.Jaker had walked off the ground when he was on 18 after a mix-up with Shamim Hossain. But the TV umpire Zahid Bassarath instead adjudged Shamim as the one dismissed, as he had placed his bat inside the crease after Jaker. It sparked a dramatic turnaround, as Jaker struck six sixes and three fours in his 41-ball knock.

Parvez sparks rapid start

Bangladesh had their best start of the series with the bat. Parvez Hossain Emon, who replaced the injured Soumya Sarkar, went after debutant Jayden Seales and Romario Shepherd in the first three overs. Parvez then launched Alzarri Joseph over wide long-on for his first six, before Litton Das fell for 14, his first double-digit score in six innings across formats.Parvez continued to go after the fast bowlers, blasting Joseph for his second six over long-on. Next ball, though, Justin Greaves caught Parvez at the square-leg boundary after juggling a couple of times. Parvez made 39 off 21 balls, giving Bangladesh their best powerplay (54 runs) of the series.File photo: Parvez Hossain Emon smashed 39 off 21 balls•ICC via Getty

Jaker’s dramatic re-entry

Bangladesh were 102 for 4 at the start of the14th over when Jaker struck Gudakesh Motie towards deep midwicket. Spotting Obed McCoy getting injured trying to take the catch, Jaker signalled to Shamim not to take the third run as the ball had spilled away from McCoy.In the next over, Jaker and Shamim had a communication breakdown, with both batters ending up at the striker’s end, while Roston Chase broke the stumps at the bowler’s. Jaker, who ran through the striker’s end, was irate with Shamim. He walked off fuming while the third umpire spotted that he had actually reached the crease before Shamim.The fourth umpire Gregory Brathwaite hauled Jaker, who had taken off his gears inside the dressing room, out to the middle to continue his innings. The distance between Jaker and Shamim, not looking at each other, as they crossed each other near the boundary was immense.

Jaker takes full advantage

As if one dramatic run-out was not enough, Mahedi Hasan was also run-out in the same over. Jaker, however, regrouped quickly in the following over, hitting Joseph straight down the ground for his second six. McCoy then conceded 20 runs in the 18th over when Jaker and Tanzim Hasan Sakib struck a six each; Jaker blasted him with a slog sweep, and Tanzim swung him over long-on.Joseph then went for 25 in the last over, with Jaker hitting him for three sixes in the last four balls of the innings. It turned out to be Bangladesh’s best-ever 20th over in a T20I.File photo: Rishad Hossain got three wickets, apart from affecting a run-out•Cricket West Indies

West Indies in tailspin

For the third game in a row, West Indies lost half their side before reaching 50. After Taskin Ahmed removed Brandon King early, like in the previous two matches, Greaves was caught at long-on off Mahedi. Johnson Charles and Nicholas Pooran struck a cluster of boundaries before Pooran fell to Mahedi for the third time in the series, bowled off an inside edge for 15. West Indies finished the powerplay on 45 for 3.

Rishad sends ’em packing

As if Pooran’s fall was not enough, Charles then seemed slow in reaching the crease while completing the single; Rishad’s throw caught him short. This was two balls after Hasan Mahmud had dismissed Roston Chase for a duck.Rishad further got into the act, with three wickets. The legspinner had Rovman Powell caught behind in the tenth over with a dipping delivery, leaving West Indies on 60 for 6. In his last over, the 15th of the innings, Rishad had Motie caught straight down the ground while Joseph gave a simple catch to Hasan at extra cover. Tanzim and Taskin removed the last two wickets to spark the celebration in the Bangladesh camp.

The consensus among the TV commentators following the decision was that a mistake had been made

ESPNcricinfo staff22-May-20241:54

‘Karthik’s first-ball reprieve was a hasty decision’

The TV umpire Anil Chaudhary’s decision to overturn an lbw decision from out to not out in Dinesh Karthik’s favour came under heavy scrutiny during the Eliminator between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Ahmedabad.The incident took place in the 15th over of RCB’s innings. After Rajat Patidar had just been dismissed, Avesh Khan swung the ball into Karthik, and the batter was given out lbw by the on-field umpire KN Ananthapadmanabhan.Karthik did not immediately review the decision and only made the DRS signal after a chat with his partner Mahipal Lomror. The replays showed the bottom of the bat close to the front pad at the same time as the ball passing the bat, and striking the pad as Karthik came forward.The question was whether the spike on Ultra Edge was the ball hitting the inside edge of the bat or the bat hitting the pad. TV umpire Anil Chaudhary thought it was bat on ball and asked the on-field umpire to change his decision to not out, though it seemed like there wasn’t conclusive evidence to do so.The consensus among the TV commentators following the decision was that a mistake had been made and cameras showed the RR director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara unhappy while talking to the fourth umpire outside the boundary.Speaking at the press conference after the game, Avesh, however, was fine with Karthik getting the benefit of the doubt.”When you are bowling, the emotions are running quite high. If you look at any bowler, they always ask for reviews, they feel the batter is out [if it’s close],” he said. “But when they showed the replay on the screen, there was some doubt – I suppose DK got the benefit of the doubt. The decision the umpire took must have been the right one, the umpiring is always fair.”If Karthik had been given out, RCB would have been 122 for 6, but he went on to score 11 off 12 balls in a partnership of 32 off 24 balls with Lomror. Karthik was eventually dismissed in the 19th over, and RCB finished on 172 for 8 fore going down by four wickets to be eliminated from the tournament.

England batter leads way as Eagles come close to breaking their drought on damp night in Hove

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay13-Jun-2025Essex’s hopes of claiming their first win of the season in the Vitality Blast were thwarted by the rain when they were well on top against Sussex Sharks at Hove.In a game reduced to 17 overs a side, Jordan Cox – making only his second appearance in the competition this season after being involved with England Lions – hit four successive balls from offspinner Jack Carson for six on his way to a 47-ball 82 in an imposing total of 177 for 4.Shane Snater then took three wickets without conceding a run as Sussex slumped to 23 for 3 after 3.1 overs when the rain which had delayed the start returned at 9.35pm. Umpires Martin Saggers and Hassan Adnan abandoned the game shortly afterwards as the rain set in.It was a frustrating outcome for an Essex team who did not play like a team beaten in their first five games and that was largely down to a high-class contribution from England international Cox.Together with left-hander Paul Walter, he added 115 in 9.1 overs for the third wicket with Walter contributing 35 from 22 balls, after opener Dean Elgar had got the innings off to a rumbustious start with 33 from 18 balls, seven of which he hit to the boundary.The best way to describe Sussex’s bowling effort would be mixed, with three overs costing a combined 70 runs. Skipper Tymal Mills had to take himself out of the attack after bowling two bouncers in his first five balls, which went for 25 and had to be completed by Tom Clark.The eighth over went for 30 as Cox struck Carson for three leg-side sixes before going down the pitch to loft the off-spinner for a straight maximum and Cox hit another six off James Coles in the tenth over which went for 15.It wasn’t all bad. Ollie Robinson was economical and Henry Crocombe, in his first T20 appearance for nearly two years, finished with 2 for 28 and picked up both Walter – lbw to a fast, full and straight delivery – and Cox, who was well caught at deep backward square by Harrison Ward off the first delivery of the final over. Cox’s runs came from 47 balls and he also hit six boundaries.Carson had the consolation of removing Elgar with his first ball, courtesy of a juggling catch at long-off by Robinson but Sussex were left to score at 10.40 runs an over.Sussex made the worst possible start. Zimbabwean Snater bowled Ward through the gate with the first ball of the reply and skipper John Simpson was taken at short fine leg off the fifth. Cox then took a terrific catch standing up off the first ball of Snater’s second over to remove James Coles and at 23 for 3 Sussex were in considerable strife before rain saved them.

After the defeat to New Zealand in Karachi, Pakistan must travel to Dubai to play India, a team they have struggled to beat for several years

Sidharth Monga22-Feb-20251:47

Do India stick with Kuldeep, or bring in Varun?

Big picture: Pakistan’s fight for survival

If ever Pakistan needed a miracle, it is now. Not for the cricketers’ fault, they find themselves isolated in international cricket to the extent that this is the first ICC event they are hosting in 29 years. And barely three days into the Champions Trophy, following a thrashing against New Zealand, they are staring at the exit sign of a party they waited three decades to host.To stay alive in the tournament, Pakistan must beat their arch-rivals on a slow, tired track, where India have already played and won one match, and have five spinners to choose from. For no fault of India’s cricketers, Pakistan must leave their own party and travel to Dubai because India refused to travel to Pakistan for reasons neither their board nor their government will specify. Would you blame Pakistan for feeling under siege when they must fight to even reinstate their nation’s name in the official broadcast branding? At such times, the reasons behind any such omission can seem sinister even if they might not be.It creates a weird dynamic between the two sets of cricketers. Despite all the machinations, the cricketers respect each other and are civil to each other to the extent that it annoys those who want their own hatred to reflect on the field. The edge is also perhaps because of the gulf between the two sides.As is likely to happen with a team left isolated, Pakistan, once at the forefront of innovation in Asia, are woefully behind the times, especially in limited-overs cricket. India, once the land of accumulators but not always winners, are now continuously striving to push into the future. In an era that the ICC engineers its tournament schedules to ensure at least one big India-Pakistan match, it says a lot that Pakistan have won only in 2017 and 2021 since 2011.More than the four-year pattern of wins, Pakistan will look at the conditions with some hope. The slow pitches in Dubai, recently used for the ILT20, call for an old-fashioned game that could neutralise to an extent India’s big-hitting advantage in the middle overs. With no dew – 1pm starts anyway leave little room for dew to play a role – the toss on these pitches is a big advantage. In similar conditions last year, Sri Lanka got the better of India in a bilateral series at home with an unheralded spin attack. They won the tosses, batted first and got mid-200s in each game. Pakistan will hope for a repeat, but India will also lean on the lessons they have learnt.

Form guide

Pakistan LLWLW (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
India WWWWL

In the spotlight: Virat Kohli and Salman Agha

Virat Kohli has been out to legspin in each of the five last matches that he has faced such bowling. That’s five dismissals for 21 runs in the last 46 balls of legspin he has faced in ODIs. Now Pakistan don’t have a classic legspinner in their ranks, but Abrar Ahmed does turn the ball both ways like a legspinner. Most batters these days can hit big on flat tracks, but it is here you need the skill to pick singles without taking risks. It is not hard to imagine India needing just that in one of these games. Will the Kohli of the old turn up?Salman Agha has been the silver lining for Pakistan in recent ODI cricket. Since 2024, he has scored the second-most middle-over runs for Pakistan: 325, at an average of 65.00 and a strike rate of 88.07. Pakistan will need all of his industriousness in the middle overs when India try to choke them with their slower bowlers.

Team news: Imam or Usman in place of Fakhar?

Imam-ul-Haq has come into the squad as the replacement for the one dynamic opener Pakistan had, Fakhar Zaman. Usman Khan is their other reserve batter, but if he does make his ODI debut, he will have to do so in an unfamiliar role: he bats at No. 4 in List A cricket.Pakistan (possible): 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Babar Azam, 3 Saud Shakeel, 4 Mohammad Rizwan (capt, wk), 5 Salman Agha, 6 Tayyab Tahir, 7 Khushdil Shah, 8 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Abrar AhmedThere’s no reason for India to make any changes to their combination or personnel.India (possible): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Harshit Rana, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Kuldeep Yadav

Pitch and conditions

India wanted to field first in their opening game against Bangladesh but given the way the pitch slowed up and how there was no dew, don’t expect any side to make that mistake in Dubai again. Expect teams to make the most of powerplay before the middle overs tie them up. It is hard to see the trend changing on pitches that were recently used for a whole T20 tournament.

Stats and trivia: India dominate Pakistan

• India have won nine of their last 11 completed ODIs against Pakistan, across the World Cup, Champions Trophy and Asia Cup.
• Pakistan have beaten India in three out of five matches in the Champions Trophy, including the 2017 final.
• Kohli needs 15 runs to become only the third man – and the fastest among them – to score 14,000 ODI runs.

Quotes

“If you remove pressure, then what remains in an India-Pakistan game? A player needs that pressure to show his wares.”
“Because there is no dew, I don’t think the toss matters much. In every big match, if there is no dew, whichever team that bats second is under a bit more pressure. Whichever team handles the pressure better, has a better chance of scoring the win.”

Former West Indies fast bowler hopes to instill in the squad a sense of the pride with which they dominated cricket in the past

Cricinfo staff06-Nov-2009Former West Indies fast bowler Joel Garner, recently appointed team manager for the tour to Australia, has said he hopes to instill in the squad a sense of the pride with which they dominated world cricket in the past. Garner, also a West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) director and president of the Barbados Cricket Association, will travel with the side to Australia for their three-Test tour of Australia.”There are some things that are non-negotiable, things like discipline, punctuality and I think that players know and understand that there are some things that are not negotiable, the way we approach our cricket, the way how we train, all of those things will come back into force,” he said.
“The West Indies team that we had that was a good West Indies team of the 70s and 80s was not all talent. We were successful because we worked hard and we took the time out to do the things that were right and to bring the cricket up.”Garner aimed to make a difference on the tour in an attempt to revive West Indies cricket which
has faltered, more especially over the past two decades, through weak leadership and general mismanagement. “I’m looking at bring back some of those values that made us great, back into the team,” he said. “The first thing you have to do is start talking and let them understand what it takes to get to the top. You don’t just really want to make the squad, you want to make the team and you want to keep working, you want to keep performing.”Chris Gayle was recently reappointed to lead the team, marking the end of the contractual dispute between the striking players and the WICB. Garner said the time had come to forget the bitter contractual row and strive to put West Indies back at the top of the cricketing map.”What is happening in world cricket [is[ there are divisions where you have four or five world teams who are at the top and they want to go it alone and they want to play more cricket between themselves because they have the bargaining power,” he said. “We have to understand we have to get from the position of number eight to be in those top four to be a force to be reckoned with in world cricket.”The time to put aside all the nonsense [has come] and [we have] to look forward in a positive way. If you are only going to come to the party and not participate in the party then you’re in the wrong sport.”Senior players such as Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo also returned to the squad for the three-Test series following the strike, while youngsters such as Adrian Barath, Kemar Roach and Gavin Tonge made the cut as well. For Garner, 56, one challenge was to ensure team unity.”We have a challenging period ahead with the merging of the fellows who played during the strike and those fellows who were on strike,” he said. “It is going to be a challenge to sort of get everything working smoothly and get them to play competitive cricket while we are in Australia.”That’s what is going to take most of the time and when we talk about the players who were playing and those who went on strike, this is where they need to understand they need to move on. We have to look at the future of West Indies cricket we have to look at what is happening in world cricket.”

“There are quite a few players who have never beaten India in a Test series. It’s quite astounding,” Hazlewood said

Andrew McGlashan18-Aug-20242:42

Why they said it – “It’s been ten years of unfinished business”

Nathan Lyon hopes to make use of the knowledge gained from England’s Tom Hartley during his spell with Lancashire when he comes up against India later this year as Australia look overcome a decade of “unfinished business” against them.Australia have not held the Border-Gavaskar Trophy since 2014-15 when they won 2-0 and that period includes consecutive series defeats on home soil. In 2020-21, India came from 1-0 down after being bowled out for 36 in Adelaide to take the series with famous wins at the MCG and Gabba alongside a stirring draw in Sydney.Related

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A series victory over India is a major missing piece for this generation of the Australia side, with current captain Pat Cummins among those yet to hold the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, although they did claim the World Test Championship (WTC) title in the one-off contest at The Oval last year.”It’s been ten years of unfinished business, it’s been a long time, and I know we’re extremely hungry to turn things around especially here at home,” Lyon said. “Don’t get me wrong, India is an absolute superstar side and extremely challenging but I’m extremely hungry to turn things around and make sure we get that trophy back.”Feel like we are a different team to a couple of years ago, we are on a journey of becoming a great Australian cricket team. We’re definitely not there but we are along that journey and have been playing some decent cricket.”1:38

Cummins explains why he will miss the September tour to England

Lyon lauded India’s ability to continue to find world-class players, and singled out opener Yashasvi Jaiswal among the newer names. But the offspinner has made use of his time in county cricket this winter to pick up some intel.”I haven’t come across him [Jaiswal] yet, but that will be a massive challenge for all us bowlers,” he said. “The way he played against England, I watched that quite closely and thought that was quite amazing. I had some really good chats with Tom Hartley about different ways he went about it to different guys which I found quite interesting.””I love talking about cricket, so if I can talk to someone who has played Test cricket I might be able to pick up something I’m not aware of. There’s so much knowledge floating around this game that we can always tap into.”Lyon knows that could also work in reverse for next year’s Ashes, but asked if he thought the conversations about India would prove valuable, he added: “If the plans we’ve spoken about come to true, then I think it will be.”Along with Lyon, Josh Hazlewood is another survivor from the 2014-15 series and conceded Australia’s recent results against India was a significant hole in their record.Tom Hartley and Nathan Lyon have a chat in the field•Getty Images

“There are quite a few players who have never beaten India in a Test series. It’s quite astounding to say that,” he said. “That’s one we need to tick off, definitely, in particular at home – we should pretty much win every series here at home.”That last series we obviously bowled them out for 36 in Adelaide and we thought here we go, [we are] back at home [and] confident on these grounds. People say we played India B in that last Test, but they can sometimes be stronger than the best team. They’ve got unbelievable depth in all formats and we are starting to see that now.”The five Tests against India will also be key in shaping the race for the WTC final at Lord’s in June 2025 with Australia aiming to defend their title and it’s something that has extra significance for Hazlewood who missed last year’s final.”It’s always in the background, we have the table up [to see] where we are sitting and what we need to tick off,” he said. “For me, it’s a big one because I didn’t get to play the last one in England so that’s a burning one for me.”Hazlewood will be part of the upcoming T20I and ODI tour of the UK. He is then looking at playing one Sheffield Shield match before the first Test against India. Lyon, meanwhile, is earmarking up to three Shield outings for New South Wales early in the season.

Worcestershire need 71 to make Surrey bat again after being bowled out for 212 in their first innings

ECB Reporters Network25-Jun-2024Worcestershire 212 (Libby 77, J Taylor 3-19, Lawrence 3-49) and 207 for 5 f/o (Kashif 66, Roderick 63, Clark 3-31) trail Surrey 490 by 71 runsLeaders Surrey remain on course to win their fifth Vitality County Championship match of the season despite prolonged resistance from Worcestershire’s Gareth Roderick and Kashif Ali on day three at Visit Worcestershire New Road.Surrey achieved the first objective before lunch in claiming the final three Worcestershire first innings wickets and enforcing the follow on with a lead of 278 despite resistance from top scorer Jake Libby, Ben Allison and Adam Finch.Opener Roderick and Kashif then dug in to add 135 from 34 overs in relatively untroubled fashion for the second wicket. But three wickets then fell in three overs to turn the game firmly back in Surrey’s favour in the final session of the day.Jordan Clark was the chief thorn in Worcestershire’s side with three wickets as they closed still needing 71 to make Surrey bat again.England spin bowling coach, Jeetan Patel, was at New Road and put Shoaib Bashir, on loan to Worcestershire from Somerset, and Dan Lawrence through their paces before the start of play.He saw Lawrence quickly strike for a third time in the innings after only nine runs had been added to the overnight 147 for 7. Allison, having added 54 for the ninth wicket with Libby, pushed forward to the spinner and edged to Surrey captain Rory Burns at slip.Finch provided Libby with staunch support during a stand of 15 overs before the latter’s five hour resistance came to an end. He was on the receiving end of a fine delivery from Gus Atkinson which left him and Foakes gobbled up a fifth catch of the innings.The innings was wrapped up when Shoaib Bashir pulled James Taylor straight to square leg to leave Finch unbeaten on 27 spanning 71 balls. The final three wickets held out for 43 overs – the same as the first seven dismissals.When Worcestershire followed on, Libby did the bulk of the scoring but after making 28 out of 33 he went for an expansive drive and was bowled via an inside edge by Jordan Clark.Roderick cut and cover drove Taylor for four but was fortunate when he mistimed a drive against Clark which flew in the air past the bowler and Lawrence at mid-on.Kashif Ali needed treatment after being struck on the hand by Gus Atkinson and then nicked the same bowler for a fortunate four but he also played some delightful late cuts.Roderick was first to his half century off 114 balls with seven fours and just ahead of Kashif whose fifty was completed off 85 balls.The century partnership was completed off 167 balls but the two batters fell in quick succession. Roderick (63) edged Clark and was caught low down at slip and then Kashif (66) went to pull Atkinson and lobbed up a simple catch to square leg.Rob Jones (0) fell to a diving catch by Foakes off Clark from a delivery that was too full to attempt a cut. Ethan Brookes also nicked through to Foakes when trying to force Abbott off the back foot – his eighth catch of the match.