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Club permitted 19,000 spectators for match in July in extension of government pilot

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jun-2021The third ODI between England and Pakistan at Edgbaston next month will be permitted an 80 percent capacity crowd, in the latest steps of a government pilot scheme geared towards the return of full stadiums in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.The match, a day-night contest on July 13, is set to be held in front of a 19,000 crowd, which would make it the best attended cricket match in the UK since the start of the pandemic.The news comes after 70 percent capacity crowds were permitted at Edgbaston for the recent second Test between England and New Zealand – which amounted to 60,000 fans over the four days of the contest. On this occasion, however, the scheme will be extended to Under-16s, who were excluded from the last round of trials.”It’s fantastic for sport in the West Midlands that so many cricket fans will be able to enjoy another blockbuster fixture in England versus Pakistan at Edgbaston,” Stuart Cain, Warwickshire’s chief executive said.”The recent Test match gave us a fantastic opportunity to build a new model for large scale sporting events and I’m pleased to see elements of this first trial being carried forward for the Pakistan match.Related

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“Technology played a big part in this and we will again focus on using this as a way of creating a safe environment whilst enhancing Edgbaston’s reputation as one of the best atmospheres in world cricket.”That reputation took a dent last week following a large-scale pitch invasion at the end of Birmingham Bear’s defeat to Derbyshire in the Vitality Blast, an incident that was blamed on a student promotion that got out of hand.Cain branded the scenes at that event as “disgraceful”, adding that the club would seek to ban those responsible for life.To secure their attendances for the Pakistan ODI, spectators aged 11 or older will be required to show a negative Covid lateral flow test result, or proof of two vaccinations (first and second dose) at least 14 days before the fixture.Any ticket purchasers who no longer wish to attend the match can request a refund via an online form at the club’s website, although all such requests must be made before the deadline at 4pm on Thursday, July 1.

Scorchers cruise to victory and stay atop after Tye bags three wickets and Inglis and Bancroft control the chase

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jan-2023Nic Maddinson’s suspected serious knee injury has compounded Melbourne Renegades’ woes after they suffered a fourth consecutive BBL defeat. Renegades copped a five-wicket loss to the red-hot Perth Scorchers at Marvel Stadium on Sunday, continuing their slide after a positive 3-0 start to the season.Aaron Finch’s 65 off 48 had given the home side a sniff, steering them to 155 for 6 from their 20 overs, with Scorchers quick AJ Tye taking 3 for 32 to restrict the hosts. But Josh Inglis and Cameron Bancroft got Scorchers over the line in a controlled chase.Scorchers reached the target with two balls to spare, despite the efforts of Renegades quick Kane Richardson. It was Scorchers’ fourth straight win, firming up their spot at the top of the table.Maddinson’s slump continued when he was out for a first-ball duck, giving him a total of just three runs in his last five innings. His day got worse when he injured his knee while fielding during the second over of Scorchers’ chase, twisting his left leg as he turned to throw the ball.The 31-year-old immediately slumped to the turf and was assessed for several minutes before being driven off the field. Renegades are yet to determine the full extent of the injury, with Maddinson set to be sent for scans.Wicketkeeper Peter Handscomb also failed to see out the match, substituted off after 16 overs as he struggled with the effects of the soaring temperature.Andrew Tye was Player of the Match after taking 3 for 32•Getty Images

Import opener Faf du Plessis and Bancroft gave Scorchers a solid platform in their chase.Richardson was on a hat-trick when he removed Adam Lyth with the last ball of one over and du Plessis with the first of another, but he could not complete the feat.Bancroft was brilliantly run out by Will Sutherland, but Inglis took the reins and put his side on the brink of victory.There was late drama when Inglis unsuccessfully reviewed an lbw decision and was given out before Nick Hobson hit the winning run off Sutherland.Earlier, Finch became the second player to reach 3000 career runs in the BBL, joining all-time leading scorer Chris Lynn. Tye was the pick of Scorchers’ bowlers claiming the key wickets of Finch, Handscomb and Mackenzie Harvey. Jason Behrendorff also bowled superbly claiming 1 for 17 from four overs.

Luke Wood three-for puts seal on comfortable victory at Wantage Road

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jun-2023Steven Croft smashed his maiden T20 century to power Lancashire Lightning to an imposing 204 for seven and set up a 35-run victory over Northamptonshire Steelbacks at Wantage Road.Croft took the attack to the Steelbacks attack, blasting seven sixes and five fours in his 101 and shared a 146-run partnership in 12 overs with Daryl Mitchell (48). The pair had led a belligerent fightback after Ben Sanderson (2 for 29) had raised home fans’ hopes by removing England power hitters Jos Buttler (0) and Phil Salt (12) in his first two overs.With Luke Wood (3 for 39) taking three wickets in an over in the powerplay, the hosts’ hopes rested once more on Australian big hitter Chris Lynn but when he fell for 21, it was left to all-rounders Tom Taylor (40) and AJ Tye (35) to entertain the crowds in a lively stand of 58 in five overs as the Steelbacks fell to their sixth defeat of the campaign. Lightning now have five wins from nine games, keeping them firmly in contention for a playoff spot.The Steelbacks’ evening had started promisingly when they restricted Lightning to just 39 for three off the powerplay. Sanderson trapped Buttler leg before in his first over and removed Salt in his second thanks to keeper Lewis McManus who took a diving legside catch. Wells became the third wicket to fall when he holed out off Taylor with Willey taking a well-judged catch.That though brought Mitchell and Croft together who were quick to go on the attack. Mitchell hit his first delivery for four and later dispatched Tye high over extra cover.Croft hit the first six of the game over long on off Sanderson and greeted Freddie Heldreich by sweeping him over square leg for two sixes and a four in his first over. He pulled Taylor over deep square for six and then hit the next two balls he faced, both from Heldreich, for two further maximums.Mitchell was also clearing the ropes, smashing two sixes down the ground off Zaib’s only over. He offered the bowler a sharp return chance though, but the bowler could not hold on.Justin Broad, playing his maiden first-team game for Northamptonshire finally made the breakthrough in his only over, accounting for Mitchell who was caught by Lynn off an attempted scoop.Croft fell soon after reaching his century thanks to Zaib who held onto a steepling chance at deep backward square off Tye, who also removed Tom Hartley in the final over.Liam Livingstone (25) played some big shots, clubbing England teammate Willey down the ground for six before he was run out off the final ball of the innings.Northamptonshire’s new opening pair Ricardo Vasconelos (15) and Emilio Gay (13) took 22 off the first two overs. Gay hit three consecutive boundaries off Jack Blatherwick before he was caught off the leading edge off the first ball of a highly eventful over from Wood.Vasconcelos pulled a free hit from Wood for six but departed to the next delivery when the bowler took a sharp low return catch. Wood then accounted for Willey next ball, caught by Salt, before Zaib safely survived the hattrick ball.Zaib hit Blatherwick into the top of the Turner Stand but was caught behind by Buttler off the next delivery to leave the Steelbacks in real trouble on 47 for four.Broad (14) looked unfazed on the big occasion, reverse sweeping Hartley for four and crunching Wells through extra cover before he was put down at long-on. Wells soon had his man though when Broad was caught by Mitchell at long-off.Lynn needed to play another powerhouse innings for the Steelbacks and had a stroke of luck when he was put down on the boundary off Hartley with the ball running away for four. But Hartley struck soon afterwards when he had Lynn caught off a top edge attempting to hook. Three overs later Wells picked up his second wicket when he bowled Lewis McManus (11).Tye and Taylor were determined to go down all guns blazing and took on the bowlers to give the home fans something to cheer. Tye dispatched Livingstone over the ropes and hit Blatherwick for an even bigger six over deep square leg. The fun ended when the Australian tried to uppercut Mitchell over the infield on one leg and was caught by Blatherwick for 35 (two sixes, three fours). Mitchell then had Sanderson caught and bowled two balls later.Taylor continued to blaze away, ending the game with an enormous six over deep midwicket to finish unbeaten on 40 (one six, two fours).

“Hindsight is a beautiful thing, and obviously, I wish now that I didn’t play that shot and get out,” Harry Brook says

Matt Roller04-Aug-20251:58

Bangar: Brook largely responsible for what unraveled

Harry Brook was “very confident” that England would win The Oval Test when he arrived at on Monday morning, but ended up looking back on his own dismissal with regret after their six-run defeat.Brook scored a swashbuckling 111 off 95 balls in a seemingly game-changing fourth-wicket stand with Joe Root on Sunday, taking England to 301 for 3 in pursuit of 374. But he miscued to mid-off while charging down and trying to hit Akash Deep over extra cover for a third consecutive boundary, and his dismissal was the first domino to fall in a collapse of 7 for 66.”My thought process was just to try and hit as many runs as quick as possible,” Brook said at the post-match presentation. “Like I said, the game’s done if we need 40 runs with me and Rooty in there; if I get out there [with 40 to win], the game’s still done. Obviously, it didn’t work. Hindsight is a beautiful thing, and obviously, I wish now that I didn’t play that shot and get out.”Related

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He told the BBC’s : “At the time, I was obviously very confident. If I’d have got a quick 30 off the next two overs, then the game is done. That was my thought process. I always try and take the game on and put them under immense pressure… I wish I was there at the end, but you can’t write them things.”I had no idea that we were going to lose seven wickets for 60 runs. You’ve got arguably the best Test cricketer in the world out there at the time as well in Rooty, and in the back of my mind, [I thought] I’d try and get as many runs as quickly as possible and the game is done. I had every faith in Rooty that he was going to be there at the end.”But while Brook said he regretted his shot, Ben Stokes sprung to his player’s defence and highlighted the wider value of his attacking approach. “Harry got us into that position by playing a particular way, putting the Indian bowlers under immense pressure to take them away from being able to consistently bowl the areas that they wanted to bowl in,” he said. “I’m sure everyone was applauding him when he brought up his hundred in the way that he did. Some of the shots he played were unbelievable. The dismissal and the way that he got out was a shot that we’d seen a lot of him do in that innings, which I’m sure was getting a lot of praise.”7:00

Stokes: ‘Series great for the wider game’

Brook had a life early in his innings, picking out Mohammed Siraj at long leg on 19 only for the fielder to tread on the advertising cushion on the boundary rope while steadying himself. “I thought the match was gone,” Siraj later said. “Had we got Harry Brook out before lunch, things would have been different. There would have been no fifth day.”Instead, Brook blitzed a brilliant hundred, doubling down on his attacking approach to reach a 39-ball 50 before shifting down a gear and rotating strike with Root. His second fifty took 52 balls and brought the requirement down into double figures. Despite his dismissal, he had put England on course to complete what would have been the second-highest successful chase in their history.They were clear favourites as long as Root was at the crease, but he was caught behind for 105 late on the fourth day – looking to steer a Prasidh Krishna outswinger away for a single – before rain intervened. Even then, with 35 runs required and four wickets in hand, Brook said he was sure Jamie Smith and Jamie Overton would see England home.”I came into the day this morning very confident,” he said. “We had two very good players out there at the time, and I just thought we were going to easily see it home. The way that the Indians fought back there and the way that Siraj bowled especially, I think he deserved every success there.2:19

Miller: Woakes’ bravery epitomises the value of Test cricket

“We were thinking the bowlers would stiffen up a bit [overnight] and the pitch would be a little bit flatter, but obviously with the overcast conditions – lights on again – it started to zip around a bit. Like I said before, Siraj, he’s played five Test matches in a row, bowled 85mph-plus every ball, and he’s had a phenomenal series. I respect him a lot for what he’s done this series.”Brook was nominated as England’s Player of the Series by India’s coach Gautam Gambhir after scoring 481 runs at 53.44 in nine innings, including hundreds at Edgbaston and The Oval and 99 at Headingley. “I’ve played all right,” he said. “I could have won that game yesterday, which is devastating, but I’m just happy to contribute to as many games [as I can].”He plans to play the full Hundred season as Northern Superchargers captain – starting this week – before leading England into white-ball series against South Africa (at home) and Ireland (away). He will then finally get a short break before travelling to New Zealand for a white-ball tour, leading into the main assignments of the winter: the Ashes, then the T20 World Cup.”My first game is on Thursday, so it’s a fairly quick turnaround. We’ll see how I get on. It’s a completely different ball game,” he said. “I’ll go out there and try and work on a few things and get ready for another long winter ahead. It’s going to be awesome. We’ve got a lot of cricket to be played… There’s a lot to look forward to. Hopefully, everybody stays fit and we’ll be raring to go.”

“That is why I had tears in my eyes; without my father, I would be nothing. He has never left my side”

Shashank Kishore and Afzal Jiwani23-Jun-2022Behind the warm smile, the runs and the , there is a deeply emotional side to Sarfaraz Khan. It comes up almost always when he talks about his cricket. No conversation ever passes without the mention of his . On Thursday, after scoring his fourth hundred of the season, and eighth overall in first-class cricket, Sarfaraz was a man in demand.Sunil Joshi, the national selector, caught up and had a lengthy conversation with the Mumbai batter. Then, it was Harvinder Singh’s turn. A few minutes later, as he jogged up the stairs towards the dressing room for a team meeting, he promised to return shortly to chat with journalists waiting besides the boundary.Related

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Sarfaraz was chirpy, candid, and spontaneous, just like his batting. Over the past three weeks, no two interactions with him have felt alike. It can with so many cricketers of the current generation, because they’re always focused on the ‘process’ and not the ‘results.’ Sarfaraz is driven by results. Driven by the desire to score big runs, every time he goes out to bat. This perhaps explains why six of his eight hundreds are all 150-plus scores.One moment, Sarfaraz had everyone in splits with his jokes and how a “yes, I’ll hang in, you bat your way” from Tushar Deshpande can only mean a wild slog off the next ball. Next, he was teary eyed and ever-so-grateful to his , for his sacrifices in making Sarfaraz and Musheer Khan, his younger brother who is also part of the Mumbai squad, cricketers of some standing.Musheer, incidentally, is yet to make his first-class debut, but recently led Mumbai to the final of the Under-19 Cooch Behar Trophy, a tournament where he made 670 runs and took 32 wickets to be named Player of the Tournament.Sarfaraz’s tears stemmed from a sense of gratitude and respect towards his .”You all know the roller-coaster ride I’ve had, if not for my father, I wouldn’t have been here,” he said, wiping tears off his face. “When we had nothing, I used to travel with my father in trains. When I started playing cricket, I dreamt of scoring a century for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. That was fulfilled.”Then I had another dream of scoring a hundred in a Ranji final when my team needed it the most. That is why I got emotional after my century and had tears in my eyes, because my father has worked very hard. All the credit for my success goes to him. Without him, I would be nothing. He has never left my side.”Many times, I feel bad thinking about him, because he has always stood by me. He is very happy. In life, some dreams get fulfilled even if it takes time, but I’m happy I have my dad who has bailed me out of tough situations.”The century, Sarfaraz said, was dedicated to late Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala. As he got to the landmark, Sarfaraz slapped his thigh, pointed his index right finger to the sky – Moosewala’s signature move – and then belted out a roar towards his applauding teammates.”I have a mindset that to score a century, I need to play at least 200 balls. I can’t have that mindset that this can be achieved hitting consecutive sixes. I can score big only after playing many balls. I tried to play three-four overs from each bowler. Once I start getting used to the pitch and know their plans, I know the runs will flow because I have all the shots.”Sarfaraz hoped Mumbai would display “tremendous discipline” on Friday, the third day of the final, if they are to restrict Madhya Pradesh, who went to stumps comfortably placed at 123 for 1 in response to Mumbai’s 374.”This match is not over yet, there’s a long way to go,” he said. “I’ll be jumping the gun if I say anything right now. I’m confident we can take the lead, but even if we don’t, MP will be batting last in the fourth innings, and it won’t be easy for them.”After two successive seasons of 900-plus runs, Sarfaraz is now firmly on the radar of the national selectors. However, he is focused firmly on the present. “As far as Team India’s selection is concerned, I’m working hard. My focus is to only score runs. Every person has dreams. It will happen if it is written in my destiny.”

Visitors lurch to 9 for 4 as rain halts play after 14 balls on third day

ECB Reporters Network22-Sep-2022Durham took one wicket at Seat Unique Riverside before rain intervened to halt their charge for victory against Sussex and take the game into the final day.On a day which only saw 14 balls delivered, Ben Raine still found time to pin Dan Ibrahim lbw for a duck before showers ended the session and eventually the day after just 10 minutes of play, Sussex adding three runs to their overnight score to be 9 for 4.The inclement weather continued to keep the players off the field when eventually the umpires called the close at 3:40pm local time, with the visitors still 288 runs behind and likely needing to bat the final day out to rescue a draw.

Missing Caribbean tour may have prolonged career, fast bowler admits

Vithushan Ehantharajah11-Feb-2023It was in New Zealand back in 2008 that Peter Moores pulled the cord on the future of English Test cricket. Out went the experience of Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard for the second Test at Wellington. In came 25-year-old James Anderson and 21-year-old Stuart Broad.The pair would play the next match in Napier, too, going on split 16 wickets between them as England secured what remains their last series victory in these parts. A month shy of 15 years on, and 1,225 more dismissals between them later, they return to the country where it all truly began.It’s tempting to fawn over such Origin Story shtick with Anderson and Broad, as per their three visits since. With good reason, mind, given their longevity is a key part of their legacy, specifically a sense they had as much control over their own destinies as the seam on a ball. But this tour carries the whiff of something a little different. That maybe now they are ceding a bit of that control and allowing themselves to be slaves to fate, just like the rest of us. Particularly Broad.When both Broad and Anderson were dropped last March for the tour of the Caribbean after another disastrous Ashes Down Under, retirement came into their minds. It’s hard to gauge who was closer to making that call, but Broad was being pencilled into the rota for Sky Sports’ Test coverage in the 2022 summer, which suggests feelers had been put out.A permanent move from the pitch to the commentary box will have to wait a little longer, though Broad did occupy the couch as a pundit for the Pakistan tour, which he missed for the birth of his first child, Annabella. Now, sitting as comfortably as ever in England training gear outside the team room of the Novotel Hotel in Hamilton, he sees a different side to missing that West Indies series.”Arguably that decision saved my career,” Broad says. “If I had gone there on those pitches I’m not sure I’d be here now.” The series ended in a 1-0 defeat after two high-scoring draws in the opening matches in Antigua and Barbados. “I don’t think it was designed like that by the selectors but I count myself as pretty lucky.”Now here we are: Rob Key as men’s managing director, Brendon McCullum as red-ball coach, Ben Stokes as Test captain and a run of nine wins out of 10 after just one in 17. English cricket is in an wonderfully absurd place right now, catalysed to an about-turn few saw coming. Broad has been a key part of that, particularly as the leading wicket-taker of the 2022 summer with 29 at 27.17.He knows his numbers, of course – there aren’t many in the game quite as invested in the minutiae of their statistics as Broad. “If I’d have gone on the two tours I missed [West Indies and Pakistan] I would have ended up the leading wicket-taker in the world [in 2022],” he says, assuming of course that first tour hadn’t finished him. He ended up with 40 in the calendar year, seven shy of the joint-leaders Nathan Lyon and Kagiso Rabada.Stuart Broad was England’s leading wicket-taker in the 2022 summer•Getty Images

As much as the new environment has helped, in particular the attacking mantra in the field of progress over preservation, Broad admits to a shift in his general outlook. After a period of “waking up more confused and angrier with each passing day” as he wrote in hiscolumn following his axing, came the decision to focus on what was right in front of him.”When I got left out of the Caribbean I changed my mindset to just attacking a week at a time, because it can be quite tiring looking too far ahead all the time, and we got in a habit of doing that. It is so refreshing just to have a crack at the week in front of you and sign it off.”Looking back a year, I would not have chosen to miss the Caribbean but it was a good thing that has happened for me. I never decided I was not going to play for England again but, when I got back to playing for Notts, I decided to give it everything, put my heart and soul into this week, try and get a win, sign it off, recover and move on.”With me going down that mindset, and Baz and Stokes taking over, it has been incredible for my enjoyment levels and me personally. I bowled well and felt I did my thing for the team instead of saying ‘I’ve got to do this to try and play at Edgbaston in July’. I’m very relaxed. If and when I get selected, I will give it everything, charge in, sign it off and go again.”The “if and when I get selected” is sincere. Since the emergence of Ollie Robinson, Broad’s place is no longer guaranteed. He is now as likely to play alongside Anderson as he is to deputise for him.It’s something he accepts, in terms of the reality of the situation right now rather than a reflection of his skills. And as such, the last year has been spent workshopping a new gather (when a bowler “loads up” their arms before delivery). If his usual action has his right (bowling) hand under his chin before coming back over his shoulder, like he’s tucking a napkin into his shirt before going to town on some soup, this new variation has his right hand cocked out just in front of his nose, like a T-Rex about to catch a sneeze.The idea is to improve his wobble-seam delivery to right-handers. The new method is still a work in progress, with Broad having used it sparingly at the end of last summer, but he gave it another go during the warm-up match against New Zealand A.Related

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“It came about at the start of last year with the Dukes ball,” Broad said. “it didn’t necessarily swing a huge amount in those first four Tests. The wobble wasn’t getting a huge amount of reaction, so I wanted to change my seam position and the way I wanted to do that was just change my shoulder position.”So it almost looks a bit like Dominic Cork, how he used to have that high load, and used to twist his shoulders around. I’ve got quite an open front side, so the aim of it is to load high, to twist my shoulders earlier, to be able to hold my front side and get the ball to bounce away more to the right-hander. So it’s something that I’ll use against right-handers with the red ball a little bit more, but it’s just a technical tweak to get my shoulder a little bit more aligned to the batter.”Popey spotted it when he batted [in the nets] but a few of the guys didn’t really notice it too much. So I’m hoping that opposition batters won’t be able to spot anything. It’s just a real flow through the action to relax the arms and try to get a bit more flick.”Whether Broad plays in Mount Maunganui on Thursday or is saved for the second Test and a return to Wellington on February 24, Broad’s return will come off the longest break he has had since his school days. His domestic season ended at the end of September as Nottinghamshire sealed promotion to Division One. Then came the newborn and the associated loss of free time. “I didn’t do a huge amount because even having a shower was quite a big commitment to be honest.” he says. “Bowling six overs indoors just wasn’t going to happen.”He probably could do with a few more sessions ahead of the first Test if selected, though Cyclone Gabrielle is expected to wash out any hope of meaningful outdoor practice on Monday and probably Tuesday, too. But there are no regrets for Broad after what he regards as an incredibly fortunate few months at home.”I feel very lucky and blessed for Baz to have let me miss that period away from cricket,” he says. “I watched it [the Pakistan tour] intensely as a great tour to watch, and the guys really enjoyed it. I feel very lucky to have been around for the birth and the first 12 weeks of Annabella’s life. It’s certainly life-changing, that is for sure. It’s incredible. But I’ve enjoyed being back with the group here and it’s been a great first two weeks.”Unfortunately, Broad’s time away was also a period of sadness as his father-in-law passed away after a short illness. Missing the tour meant he was able to be there for his partner, Mollie, and her family.With anyone else, becoming a father and suffering loss might offer a reminder that there are more important things than cricket. But Broad has never lacked for perspective or taken what he has for granted, which is exactly why he finds himself back here in New Zealand, on the cusp of his 160th Test, with 566 wickets to improve upon, and an 11th Ashes series on the horizon.Though he may have less control over his own destiny, with uncertainty over how much road there is to go, he is arguably the embodiment of a team living in the moment and wanting to test the limits of what they can achieve.

Lead swells to 275 at stumps on day three, despite Dubey scoring a century for Madhya Pradesh

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Mar-2023
Services offspinner Pulkit Narang picked up a four-wicket haul to help dismiss Madhya Pradesh for 294 and hand Rest of India a first-innings lead of 190 on the third day of the Irani Cup in Gwalior. Mumbai batter Yashasvi Jaiswal followed up his first-innings double-hundred with a 46-ball half-century to swell Rest of India’s overall lead to 275 at stumps. Jaiswal was unbeaten on 58 along with Abhimanyu Easwaran, who made 26 not out off 51 balls.From an overnight 112 for 3, MP fought their way towards 300, thanks in no small part to Yash Dubey, who scored his fourth first-class ton. However, his dismissal by Narang sparked a collapse as MP lost their last five wickets for 53 runs. Narang also accounted for Saransh Jain, who was the second-highest scorer for MP with 66 off 150 balls. Jain and Dubey added 96 for the sixth wicket before Narang ran through the lower order.Earlier in the day, Harsh Gawli converted his overnight 47 into a half-century, but Navdeep Saini cut his innings short at 54 off 149 balls. Saini, who is working his way back from injury, proved his fitness and form by taking 3 for 56 in 20 overs. As for Narang, he ended with 4 for 65 in 25.5 overs.Rest of India then had a wobble at the start of their second innings, losing their captain Mayank Agarwal for a duck to left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya. However, Jaiswal and Abhimanyu struck up an unbroken 84-run stand for the second wicket off 102 balls to help their team re-establish command over MP. Jaiswal struck eight fours and a six, including three in a row off fast bowler Avesh Khan in the fourth over. Jaiswal was also severe on Ankit Kushwah, taking him for 19 off 13 balls.

Her 128-ball innings lifted the hosts to 270 for 6 in East London

Firdose Moonda09-Apr-2024No result Tazmin Brits’ second ODI century was scored in vain as the first ODI between South Africa and Sri Lanka was washed out in East London.After a delayed start from a wet outfield, Sri Lanka were set a target of 271 but only faced 6.5 overs before rain forced the fixture to be called off. Sri Lanka were 23 without loss at the time.Brits and Laura Wolvaardt were off to a strong start and put on 94 for the first wicket, largely unthreatened by a Sri Lankan side that chose to bowl first. Brits was the early aggressor, kept the bulk of the strike and allowed Wolvaardt to find her tempo. They posted 55 in the first Powerplay and Sri Lanka looked uninspired, with the ball and in the field.Brits reached 50 off 56 balls and the partnership grew to 94 when, against the run of play, Wolvaardt was caught behind off Kavisha Dilhari. Anneke Bosch, playing in her 17th match, was in at No.3 and shared in a 70-run second wicket stand with Brits and brought up her third highest ODI score in her 17th match.Her dismissal brought the struggling Sune Luus to the crease and she scored 22 off 30 balls before being caught and bowled by Sugandika Kumari and sparking a mini-late collapse. South Africa lost 3 wickets for 28 runs, with Chamari Athapaththu creating pressure at one end and the offspinners Kumari and Oshadi Ranasinghe benefitting with wickets at the other. In that time, Brits brought up her 100 off 118 balls, her second this summer after a maiden century against Bangladesh, and was also dismissed which meant she could not finish the innings off.Before the match, Wolvaardt stressed the need for South Africa to push past totals of 170 into the 200s and Nadine de Klerk, having now embraced her role as a finisher, took that to heart. She scored 34 off 22 balls, including the innings’ only six to push South Africa to 270.That meant Sri Lanka had to pull off their highest successful ODI chase to win, after a previous best of 257 for 7 against India in 2018. They were steady in pursuit and saw off Marizanne Kapp and Ayabonga Khaka’s opening spells and did not have the opportunity to test themselves against South Africa’s change bowlers. The second match takes place on Saturday in Kimberley, where conditions are expected to be drier.

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.