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Uday Saharan, Rishith Reddy, Ansh Gosai, Abishek Porel and Pushpendra Singh Rathore called up

Sreshth Shah21-Jan-2022The BCCI is sending five players to the Under-19 World Cup in the West indies as back-up following a Covid-19 outbreak in the Indian camp, with five players of the original squad in the Caribbean testing positive for the virus this week.The five players being sent in as reinforcements are Uday Saharan, Abishek Porel, Rishith Reddy, Ansh Gosai and Pushpendra Singh Rathore.On Wednesday, six India players were unavailable for selection for the fixture against Ireland. The group included captain Yash Dhull and vice-captain Shaik Rasheed. They, along with Aaradhya Yadav, Manav Parakh and Siddarth Yadav have also been ruled out of India’s last group-stage game, against Uganda, scheduled for Saturday.While Saharan, Reddy, Gosai and Rathore were all part of the travelling reserves announced by the BCCI before the World Cup, they did not travel to the Caribbean with the main squad. Porel, who was initially not part of the reserves, has made the cut in the place of Amrit Raj Upadhyay.Related

• Yash Dhull and four others recover from Covid-19 and available for knockouts

• Bawa, Raghuvanshi centuries power massive India win

• India U19s' concerns: Depleted squad, travel worries

• Covid-19: Five Indians ruled out of game against Uganda

Left-arm spinner Upadhyay was originally picked among the reserves, but has been pipped by Porel, and the reason, ESPNcricinfo understands, is that he is a wicketkeeper. Aaradhya, the second keeper in the main squad, is currently in isolation, leaving the squad with only Dinesh Bana to wear the big gloves.Saharan is a batter from Rajasthan, who hit 102 in the tri-series competition played between two India Under-19 sides and Bangladesh Under-19 late last year. Reddy is a right-arm seamer from Hyderabad who picked up 5 for 53 against Bangladesh Under-19s in the same tournament. Saurashtra’s Gosai is a right-handed batter known for his innovative shot-making, and Rajasthan’s Rathore is a batting allrounder.Once the five reserves reach the Caribbean, they will have to serve a mandatory quarantine period before joining the team. They are currently not part of the main squad; the tournament’s event technical committee will have to approve them before they can play in the competition.It’s possible that the committee will allow them only as temporary Covid-19 replacements, which comes with the caveat that they must exit the squad once the affected players return after recovery. If the BCCI so wants, these players can apply to be permanent additions to the squad, but that is usually done to replace injured players.Although the five Covid-infected players are currently in isolation, they are expected to be available for India’s quarter-final game, which likely be played on January 29. However, if their recovery takes longer or more players return positive tests or suffer injuries, the team management can dip into their reserves at short notice.India, who became the first team in the competition to qualify for the quarter-finals, have their knockout fixture scheduled in another country, Antigua and Barbuda. This means the players who are currently in Trinidad and Tobago will have to return negative tests before they can fly out.

“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

• Siraj the star as India square series with epic six-run victory

• How Woakes defied injury to front up in England's hour of need

• Six-run thriller – India script their narrowest win in Tests

• Gill: 'We are a gun team, and we have gun players'

• Rahul: This series 'will rank right at the top' for India

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.”

Tom Bailey took 3 for 24, Will Williams and Luke Wood picked up two wickets each with Robson not out 56

ECB Reporters Network10-Sep-2023Middlesex’s Sam Robson batted over four hours for an unbeaten 56 but could not prevent Lancashire having by far the best of the first day of the LV= County Championship Division One match at Emirates Old Trafford.By the time a combination of rain and bad light had shortened play by 38 overs, Robson’s relegation-threatened side had struggled to 132 for 8 and their problems were in sharp contrast to the prosperity Kent were enjoying at Canterbury, where Zak Crawley’s century had helped Kent make up three of the seven points between the sides at the bottom of Division One.However, Middlesex supporters could be grateful their plight was not worse. Their close-of-play position represented a recovery from 19 for 5, the score when Ryan Higgins joined Robson to put on 64, the only substantial partnership of the innings to date.Lancashire’s bowlers, on the other hand, enjoyed a fine day. As though keen to capitalise on their opponents’ decision to bat first under cloudy skies, Tom Bailey took 3 for 24 from 16 overs, and both Will Williams and Luke Wood picked up two wickets.Predictably, perhaps, Middlesex’s innings began dreadfully. Mark Stoneman was out for nought in the third over when he edged Bailey to the safe hands of Tom Hartley at fourth slip and nine balls later Joe Cracknell was bowled for one when Williams brought one back from outside off stump to defeat his loose drive.Robson and Jack Davies then defied the Lancashire seamers for 45 minutes but that was merely the prelude to the fall of three wickets in 16 balls. Davies was caught by Phil Salt off Wood for four when he gloved an attempted pull down the leg side; Max Holden was out first ball when his hesitant push to a good ball from Wood merely edged a catch to George Bell at first slip; and then, having made just a single, the normally reliable John Simpson nicked a George Balderson delivery to Salt.Ryan Higgins joined Robson and the sixth-wicket pair effected modest repairs either side of lunch with Higgins’ committed strokeplay a refreshing change from the indecision that had gone before. Seven overs after the resumption, though, he was bowled by Williams for a 50-ball 41 and by the time rain arrived to interrupt play for 90 minutes Josh de Caires had also departed, caught at first slip by Bell off Bailey for 14.Play resumed under cloudy skies and with five slips posted but the next wicket fell in unconventional fashion when Jayant Yadav marked his Middlesex debut by pulling Bailey straight to Luke Wells at slip and departing for four.The visitors’ hopes of making a competitive first-innings total now rest on Robson, the only batter to have made a first-class century this season for a team that has gained just two batting bonus points in 12 innings.

Sachin Tendulkar sends across 13-point response to BCCI ombudsman, asks for Vinod Rai and Rahul Johri to be called to ‘clarify their position’

PTI05-May-2019Sachin Tendulkar has rejected the BCCI’s observation that the conflict-of-interest charges against him fall in the “tractable category’, holding the board “responsible for the situation”. The issue arose because of his dual role as member of the BCCI’s Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) and an icon with Mumbai Indians.In his 13-point response to BCCI ombudsman and ethics officer Justice (Retd) DK Jain, Tendulkar has requested for Vinod Rai, the chief of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators, and Rahul Johri, the BCCI CEO, to be asked to “clarify their position” on the matter.According to clause 38 (3) (a) of the BCCI’s constitution: “Tractable conflicts are those that are resolvable or permissible or excusable through recusal of the individual concerned and – or – with full disclosure of the interest involved.”All three CAC members – Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman – were served notices by Jain for alleged conflicts of interest, and all three denied the charges in their initial affidavits.ALSO READ: Allegations ‘baseless’ as CAC not permanent body – LaxmanWhat seems to have angered Tendulkar is Johri’s letter (in consultation with CoA) to Jain where – as with Ganguly – the issue has been termed as a case of “tractable Conflict of Interest”.The key areas where Tendulkar has provided strong rebuttals are Points 10, 11 and 12.”Without prejudice to the aforesaid, the Noticee submits that it is surprising that the BCCI, being the very authority responsible for the Noticee’s empanelment to the Cricket Advisory Committee (“CAC”), is presently taking a position that the Noticee is exposed to an alleged conflict of interest,” Tendulkar wrote in his reply.Sachin Tendulkar speaks to Kieron Pollard while Rahul Chahar looks on•BCCI

“It is reiterated that, the Noticee was declared as the Mumbai Indians ‘ICON’ post his retirement in 2013, which was much prior to his appointment to the CAC in 2015.”Like Laxman, Tendulkar stated that neither the BCCI CEO nor the CoA had ever clarified the terms of reference vis-à-vis his appointment in the CAC. “The Noticee (Tendulkar) has time and again sought clarification from the BCCI on the scope of his role in the CAC – but has not received a response from BCCI till date. BCCI is aware that the CAC merely performs an advisory / recommendatory role – and therefore, the Noticee’s role as a Mumbai Indians Icon (which in fact has always been in the public domain) cannot, in any practical way, conflict with his involvement in the CAC.”In Point No. 12, Tendulkar wrote: “The Noticee fails to understand how the BCCI (after having appointed him to the CAC) can now maintain its current stand that he is in a position of ‘tractable’ conflict of interest. The BCCI Response does not clarify this variance in its stance and the Noticee requests the Hon’ble Ethics Officer to call upon BCCI Officials, Mr. Rahul Johri and Mr. Vinod Rai to clarify this position.”Tendulkar also pointed out how he had recused himself from the recruitment process of the national Under-19 selection committee as his son Arjun was a contender in the team.”It is critical to note that the Noticee had specifically written to the BCCI in respect of the potential conflict of interest that could have arisen in the aforesaid scenario,” he wrote.”The Noticee has served the Indian cricket team for more than 2 decades and accepted empanelment with the CAC to help and contribute towards the growth of Indian cricket. It is unfortunate that the Noticee has to clarify the questions raised in the Complaint and BCCI Response.”The Noticee repeats that BCCI is responsible for the situation created in terms of the Noticee’s honorary empanelment to the CAC even though he was a Mumbai Indians Icon at the relevant time. The BCCI shall be called upon to clarify the issue.”

The India opener said that his time off from international cricket was spent reflecting, and working with Rahul Dravid

Varun Shetty in Bengaluru28-Feb-2019Serving a suspension and taking time off to reflect has made KL Rahul more humble, the India opener said on Wednesday.Rahul and Hardik Pandya had been suspended from international duties following controversial remarks on a chat show, before the BCCI lifted their suspensions on January 24.”It has humbled me a little bit,” Rahul said after slamming a 26-ball 47 in India’s seven-wicket defeat in the second T20I against Australia in Bengaluru. “I obviously respect the opportunity I have got to play for the country. It is the dream of every kid and I am no different. Just [want] to value where I am and keep making the opportunities count, put my head down and keep working on my cricket.”It has been a hard time, no doubt. As a player, as a person, everyone has to go through difficult times and it was my time to go through that. It gave me the time to reflect on my game, on myself. I have always been somebody who takes things as it comes and I am just happy to be back here now.”Prior to the suspension, Rahul had endured a difficult period touring with the Test team. He had below-average returns in Australia where the ghosts of a potential weakness against incoming deliveries, which first appeared on the England tour, led to tentative, muddled performances.Tentative is far from what he’s been so far in the series, however, with free-flowing knocks in both T20Is and a confident, if not adventurous, demeanour against deliveries angled into him. Rahul attributes this to time spent with the India A team and Rahul Dravid earlier this month.”Nothing really [has changed]. Got some time off from international cricket, so I could come back here and reflect on what wasn’t going right for me,” he said.”Fortunately, I got to play some India A games and some games where the pressure was a little less, so that I can focus on my skill and my technique. I spent a lot of time with Rahul Dravid, working on my game and chatting about cricket. He helped me a lot in the games I played for India A.”The Australian tour now moves into the ODI leg, where Rahul will slot back into his long-serving role as back-up opener to Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. However, with time lost in between because of his absence on the New Zealand tour, Rahul could have more game time in ODIs before heading into the IPL for Kings XI Punjab, as Virat Kohli had hinted at this at the post-match presentation after the first game. This could be crucial for Rahul, who in his last four innings (two first-class games and two T20Is) has looked good for centuries without managing to get there.”It’s nice to be back with the boys and be back in blue. Just happy that I have tasted a bit of success in the last two games and my batting has come out pretty well,” he said.”But the other side is that I could have carried on in both innings, got a big score and won the game for my team. I’ll take the two knocks but there is a lot that I have learnt from the two knocks and I want to improve.”

Organ shares strong partnerships with fellow opener Ian Holland and Rilee Rossouw

ECB Reporters Network13-Jul-2019Felix Organ celebrated his maiden first-class century as Hampshire ended day one of their Specsavers County Championship fixture slightly on top against Kent.Academy graduate Organ, making just his third Championship appearance, showed a delightful mixture of defensive resolve with a pinch of flair to score 100. The 20-year-old Sydney-born Organ enjoyed sizeable partnerships with fellow opener Ian Holland and middle-order batsman Rilee Rossouw, who both collected half centuries of their own.Despite Hampshire bossing the day, evening wickets with the second new ball gave Kent rewards for their toils as the hosts ended the day on 340 for 6.With James Vince and Sam Northeast away with England and England Lions respectively, Kyle Abbott stood in as Hampshire’s captain. The South African fast bowler won the toss and elected to bowl on an almost identical track to the one they scored 539 on against Warwickshire last week.Hampshire appear to have stumbled across two young openers, in Holland and Organ, in the wake of Joe Weatherley’s fractured ankle. The new-look top order worked against Warwickshire a week ago, when Holland churned out his first professional hundred. But this was Organ’s turn to prove his worth.Together they saw off the new ball with relative ease, neither offering a chance, with Holland playing a series of glorious off-side shots. While Holland played with a glimmer of attacking intent, Organ curbed his aggression – with his wicket prized more than runs in the morning session.American-born Australian Holland followed his century a week ago with a 74-ball fifty. But he fell, after a 92-run stand for the first wicket, when he edged Harry Podmore to Sean Dickson at first slip.In the next over, Ajinkya Rahane, on his last outing as Hampshire’s overseas player, drilled a cut shot powerfully to point only to see Daniel Bell-Drummond produce a stunning low catch.That mini-wobble would have concerned the Hampshire dressing room, who had elected to bring in Mason Crane as an extra bowling option in the absence of batsman Northeast. But they needn’t have worried as Organ and Rossouw eased up and down the gears in a 166-run partnership.Organ’s innings was particularly curious as he reached his half-century in 158 balls, but with three sixes to his name. At one point his strike-rate dipped below 20 to hint at a watchful vigil but a penchant for the odd attacking shot meant there was plenty of entertainment.Rossouw showed maturity in his innings to restrict his usual swashbuckling efforts, leaning on his timing rather than raw power to lift his bat on an 80-ball fifty. The South African passed his highest score of the season but his departure, caught well at first slip attempting a reverse sweep, saw three wickets fall for 22 runs in five overs.Among the collapse, Organ ran the happiest three of his life to reach three figures in 234 balls; his enthusiasm was matched by a loud reaction from the crowd. But next ball he nibbled outside off stump and edged behind before Gareth Berg was bowled two balls later – handing Darren Stevens two wickets in an over with the second new ball.Aneurin Donald furnished the evening session with a quick-fire 40, but before he could match the heights of his 225 runs at a rate of 118 last week, the Welshman mistimed a pull and saw Joe Denly run back from mid-on to take a great catch.Keith Barker and Lewis McManus saw Hampshire to close without further troubles.

The allrounder battled a form slump and injury which almost led him to walking away from the game but has now completed a notable comeback

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-20192:03

Blundell picked because of his superior keeping – Stead

New Zealand allrounder Jimmy Neesham came to the brink of retiring 18 months ago amid a battle with form and injury that had seen him fall out of love with cricket.Neesham spoke about his challenging time as he soaked up the “surreal” experience of securing a spot in the 15-man World Cup squad as his career came full circle in a four-year period. He narrowly missed the cut for the home World Cup in 2015, an experience he described as “gut-wrenching”, when Grant Elliott was preferred at the last minute. Neesham found himself in the stands at Eden Park as Elliott struck that iconic six against South Africa to secure a spot in the final.Neesham was part of the one-day side over the next two seasons but was dropped after the 2017 Champions Trophy. He was determined to get his place back but it became overwhelming, and coupled with injury his form faded, so he called Heath Mills, the CEO of the New Zealand Players Association, to tell him he wanted to quit having reached the point where he would open his curtains and hope it was raining.”It came as close as it could get,” Neesham said. “I actually called Heath Mills and told him I was going to retire so I owe a lot to him to convince me to take a little break and come back three or four weeks later. From there, being able to make progress steadily, come back with Wellington and make this team it’s all been a pretty surreal ride.ALSO READ: Bowling teams out at World Cup will be ‘critical’ – Gary Stead“Waking up in the morning, opening the shades and hoping it was raining is not the ideal way to start a day of cricket and I’d basically got to the point where I needed to have a full overhaul in the way I was approaching the game.””I put way too much pressure on myself. When I got dropped the start of last season I put a lot of pressure on myself to succeed and wanted to dominate domestic cricket, once that starts going in a downward spiral and you aren’t scoring runs, taking wickets you put more pressure on yourself and it got to the point where it had to break. Luckily I took the advance, took a short break rather than a long break, and since then it’s been on the up and up.”Mills told Neesham not to pick up a bat for a few weeks then see how he felt and he also sought the help of a psychologist. He made a comeback for Otago at the end of the 2017-18 season although wasn’t sure his heart was in it, results were promising and then an off-season move to Wellington helped rekindle his passion for the game. It was in the Ford Trophy one-day tournament where he really shone, scoring 503 runs at an average of 62.87 with a strike rate of 110.79, which earned him an international recall to face Sri Lanka.”I saw a psychologist who was really helpful, starting at the bottom and working up to where all these frustrations were coming from,” he said. “I’m not much of communicator at the best of time, just being able to talk through some of the struggles I was having off the field – it only took four or five sessions to really see some progress.”I’d given it a good crack trying to get enjoyment from succeeding but once I paid less attention to the runs and wickets, less attention to hitting balls for two hours the day before a game, and just going out and enjoying it that was when the results started to come. It couldn’t have gone better, to be honest.”It’s a long road back from 18 months or so ago but once I got back into the fold with Wellington and was back scoring runs, taking wickets I always knew that in New Zealand you are never too far away if you put in a good couple of months but still to get the call was pretty surreal.”

Pakistan were bowled out for 240 at the Gabba after Asad Shafiq’s 76 ensured a collapse was halted

The Report by Andrew McGlashan21-Nov-2019Australia finished the opening day of their Test summer in a strong position on one of their happiest hunting grounds, although for periods either side of a five-wicket surge in the afternoon they were made to work hard by Pakistan.Whether Pakistan’s 240 – boosted by Asad Shafiq’s 76 – will be enough to keep them in the contest remains to be seen and rests with their bowling attack. At nine for 75, they would have hoped for much better; at 5 for 94, they probably feared much worse, before Yasir Shah helped Shafiq add 84 for the seventh wicket. For Australia, the feelings might have been reversed.Mitchell Starc, on his return to the Test side, finished with 4 for 52 – cleaning up the tail as he can do so well – and was on a hat-trick late in the day when 16-year-old debutant Naseem Shah faced up to the first delivery of his career and somehow squeezed the ball to the leg side.Mitchell Starc finished with four wickets•Getty Images

After not quite getting their lengths right in the opening session, Australia’s three quicks were excellent after the interval as Pakistan’s impressive morning’s work unravelled. That was compounded by the controversial dismissal of Mohammad Rizwan, who edged behind off Pat Cummins only for replays to suggest Cummins had no part of his foot behind the line, but third umpire Michael Gough gave him the benefit of some very slim doubt.That left Pakistan 6 for 143 and still in danger of folding for under 200. However, Shafiq, who scored 137 at the ground on his previous visit, continued his excellent form from the warm-up matches where he made hundreds against Australia A and a Cricket Australia XI. He was eventually cleaned up by a beauty from Cummins with the new ball during Australia’s strong finish as they claimed 4 for 13 to end the innings.Captain Azhar Ali had won the toss and despite a green tinge to the surface, was not lulled into bowling. He and Shan Masood then played superbly during the opening session, happy to give the two hours to the bowlers unless there was a loose delivery to attack in a session that brought just five boundaries. The pair left well, helped by the back-of-a-length approach from the quicks, and a lunch score of none for 57 – by the standards of visiting teams at the Gabba – was a fine start. To show how tough a place it is for visiting sides, their final partnership of 75 was the highest for a visiting team in the first innings of a Test at the ground.Then, however, things started to change. In the sixth over after the break, Cummins, bowling around the wicket, squared up Masood to take his outside edge. Three balls later, Hazlewood drew a nick from Azhar which carried low to first slip where Joe Burns held on. All of a sudden, two new batsmen were at the crease. One of them was Haris Sohail, who struggled in the warm-up matches, and he did not last long when he flashed at Starc.The fear that Pakistan were about to completely lose their way increased when Babar Azam played a horridly wild drive at Hazlewood to provide another slip catch. After such a build-up for Azam – including runs in the T20Is and the Australia A match – it was a hugely deflating shot.Asad Shafiq acknowledges his half-century•Getty Images

Nathan Lyon then returned to the attack for his second spell and struck first ball when a hard-handed Iftikhar Ahmed inside-edged to short leg and it had the feel of a full-blown collapse that could decide the Test by tea on the opening day.That did not transpire, thanks to a mixture of punchy and pugnacious batting. Rizwan, playing just his second Test, counterpunched strongly either side of tea to score at better than a run-a-ball before the nick off Cummins prompted significant amount of slow-mo replays of the front foot. When it comes to calling no-balls on replays, the benefit of any doubt goes to the bowler. Cummins, though, may still have got lucky.There was no great expectation that Shafiq would now have much support, but Yasir proved otherwise in a stand that spanned 26 overs. The pair took advantage of a period where Tim Paine sat back a touch, using Lyon and Marnus Labuschagne ahead of the second new ball – Australia’s over rate was poor for much of the day, which can now lead to points deductions in the Test Championship.Shafiq’s fifty came from 99 balls and when the pair made it to the 80-over mark there was a chance that if they survived to the close Pakistan could yet eye 300. However, those hopes were dashed in the amount of time it took Starc to get loose as he speared a yorker through Yasir then found Shaheen Afridi’s edge first ball, although it needed a review which Paine, perhaps still haunted by his DRS errors in the Ashes, was reluctant to take.When Shafiq’s fine innings was ended by Cummins, it looked as though Australia would bat before the close, but Naseem – who generated one of the biggest cheers of the day when he on-drove Starc for his first boundary – and Imran Khan took the innings deep enough that when Naseem lobbed a short delivery in the air, Australia’s openers would not have to contemplate batting until the morning.

Follow our live report for updates, stats, trivia, colour and discussion during the second Test of the 2019 Ashes from Lord’s.

Valkerie Baynes14-Aug-2019

New Zealand seamer took 75 wickets in 11 games for club in 2018 season

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jan-2020Matt Henry, the New Zealand seamer, will return to Kent for the first seven matches of this season’s County Championship.Henry, who impressed during last year’s World Cup with 14 wickets as New Zealand reached the final, took 75 wickets at 15.48 in the 2018 Championship, helping Kent to promotion.He took five five-wicket hauls that season, including 7 for 45 against Durham and 7 for 42 against Northamptonshire, and struck a first-class best 81 from 75 balls from No. 9 against Derbyshire.”I’m thrilled to be able to come back to Kent after having such an enjoyable time here in 2018,” Henry said. “It was great to see the club perform so well back in Division One last summer.”There’s a great group of guys here and I’m looking forward to playing in a Kent jersey again in the club’s 150th year.”Kent’s director of cricket, Paul Downton, said: “Matt is a hugely popular figure in the dressing room and also with our members and supporters.”We are absolutely delighted that he will be joining us for the first half of the season as we look to compete and win matches in Division One.”Matt’s ability to lead the attack, and his proven ability to take wickets in English conditions, make him a really exciting addition to our squad. We can’t wait to welcome him back to Kent this season.”