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Details set to “be announced in a week or so” but arrangements conditional on the “changing” Covid-19 pandemic

Firdose Moonda21-Jan-2021Cricket South Africa is confident Australia’s visit for three Tests will go ahead, with details set to “be finalised and announced in a week or so”, according to acting CEO Pholetsi Moseki.ESPNcricinfo understands that the full series will be played on the Highveld, with matches divided between SuperSport Park and the Wanderers, and the Irene Country Club will be used as the teams’ biosecure base, as was the case for the Sri Lanka series over the festive period. While dates are yet to be confirmed, former Australia fast bowler Ryan Harris, speaking on SEN radio last week, suggested that the Australian team will depart their shores on February 24, with the Tests to start in early March. All these arrangements are conditional on the ever-changing situation of the Covid-19 pandemic.”Australia’s tour at this stage is going ahead. I had a chat with the chair of Cricket Australia about a week ago and we agreed that the tour is going to go ahead,” Judge Zak Yacoob, chairperson of CSA’s interim board, said. “We agreed that we are going to ensure that our facilities are as good as possible, as good as necessary. We also agreed we learn every day but that is not on the basis that we did anything wrong when England was here because you know that none of the English were affected. That’s the bottom line. They all flew back and that was fine.”But the learning in relation to this virus changes all the time and as it changes things must change. We agreed that as professionals neither he [CA’s chair] nor I know anything about this. We have doctors, we have experts, who lead us through this process and what we have adopted is an approach that as long as the experts on both sides, true professionals in relation to coronavirus and health, agree that the facilities are fine, we go on the basis that the facilities are fine. So far there is between the chair of CA and myself no doubt that the series will go ahead, but we have agreed also that the coronavirus is so changing, that we cannot predict what will happen. If things suddenly go down for the worse and we really can’t do it and our experts say we can’t do it and the other experts say we can’t do it, we won’t be able to.”South Africa have already hosted two international series this summer, first against England, who were based in Cape Town, and then against Sri Lanka, who were in Johannesburg. England were due to play three T20s and three ODIs but left without playing the 50-over matches after concerns over the integrity of the biosecure environment. Three South African players and two hotel staff tested positive for Covid-19 over the course of the three T20s, as did two England players before the ODIs, though those tests were later proved to be false positives, while both teams were allowed out to play golf. CSA tightened protocols ahead of the Sri Lanka series, with neither team allowed to leave the base except to go to the ground, and that series took place without incident.Given the success of the Sri Lanka series, that there are two Test venues on the Highveld and that it is more affordable for CSA to create a biobubble at the Irene Country Club than Cape Town’s Vineyard Hotel (where the players were housed for the England series), the Australia Tests are more than likely to take place in upcountry rather than at any of the coastal venues.The only factor that could cause concern over hosting the series in the Gauteng province is the rising number of Covid-19 infections. South Africa are deep into the second wave of the pandemic and daily case numbers range between 10,000 and 20,000. The Gauteng province, where many festive holiday-makers have returned, is expected to see a continued rise in cases and there is concern that the healthcare system could be overwhelmed. Restrictions are in place countrywide, which include a 9pm-to-6am curfew and a ban on alcohol sales, but interprovincial and international travel by air is allowed. Despite that, several airlines, including Emirates and KLM, have temporarily suspended flights to and from South Africa.In all likelihood, the Australian team will have to arrive by charter flight, but will not need to enter a strict quarantine on arrival. It is likely they will train in small groups at first and as a squad within a few days, as Sri Lanka did. CA has been in touch with the staff at the Irene Country Club to request extra facilities – such as a makeshift gym – and it is understood further negotiations concern the logistics around players’ families joining them on the tour.CSA is expected to try and be as accommodating as possible to Australia given the financial importance of the tour. After losing USD 1.5 million from the postponed England ODIs, the Australia tour is the last opportunity for CSA to earn money this summer, and could also impact the negotiations for their new broadcast deal, which will be finalised in April. The deal is expected to be worth less than the previous one due to both the economic climate and the team’s declining fortunes, but a more competitive South African side that plays against top opposition regularly could bump up the value.Australia, too, will be keen to play. After losing to India at home, they need to win two Tests in South Africa and draw the third in order to leapfrog New Zealand on the World Test Championship table. Australia have only lost one series in South Africa since readmission, in the 2017-18 summer. They have returned to play ODIs in the country since then and were whitewashed 3-0 last March, but this will be the first time their Test team plays in South Africa since the ball-tampering scandal.

In 2019, Khadka led Nepal to their maiden ODI series win against UAE

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2019Paras Khadka, the 31-year-old Nepal allrounder, has resigned from his role as team captain after nearly ten years at the helm. He made his decision public through social media one day after the ICC restored Nepal’s membership. Khadka was the longest serving captain in Associate cricket, having been in the role since November 2009. At the time, Nepal were in Division Five of the World Cricket League. But starting with victory on home soil over USA in the final of Division Five in 2010, he led Nepal on their gradual rise to ODI status, finally achieved at the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe in 2018.For the majority of his decade in charge, Khadka was the most reliable batsman in Nepal’s line-up, providing the backbone at No. 3 and 4. He was just as valuable as an offspinner, though he sometimes bowled medium pace when Nepal were lacking for genuine seamers. Another major achievement during his reign was leading Nepal to their first ever major global event at the senior level when they clinched a berth in the 2014 T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. Nepal scored victories over Hong Kong and Afghanistan in the opening round but fell short of advancing to the main draw as Bangladesh moved ahead on the net run-rate tiebreaker with both teams at 2-1.ALSO READ: Nepal’s cricket addicts celebrate with their kingpinMore recently, in January 2019, Khadka led Nepal to their first-ever ODI series win, against UAE, where he became the first man from his country to score an ODI century. In September 2019, he also became the first Nepal batsman to score a T20I century, against Singapore.Sandeep Lamichhane, the Nepal legspinner who began his career under Khadka and is now much sought-after in various T20 leagues, paid tribute to his captain via a tweet: “Starting the journey under your captainship, we’ve reached places Nepal cricket had never been able to before. You’ve inspired so many youths including me in the past years and given us all more reason to love this beautiful game. Best wishes for your future endeavors. And we’d all love to see you representing Nepal for as many years as possible! You truly are a legend that has made a huge mark on all of our hearts. Here’s to you Captain! The Legend Daju”Although Nepal’s readmission comes on a conditional basis, it is a move towards the right direction as they are once again eligible for ICC funding. They were suspended in 2016 for breach of ICC regulations that prohibit government interference while also requiring “free and fair elections”. Following the election of a 17-member central working committee for the Cricket Association of Nepal earlier this month, the ICC readmitted the Nepalese board. A transition plan for Nepal’s full reinstatement will now be developed.On Monday, ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar had said: “Given the progress made in Nepal, a transition plan will now be developed for the Cricket Association of Nepal to support full compliance with Associate Membership criteria, which will also involve controlled funding.”

David Willey claimed 2 for 20 and Jack Brooks 3 for 23 from their respective four overs in a ruthless all round display

ECB Reporters Network31-Jul-2018
ScorecardNew Zealand captain Kane Williamson hit a superb 77 and showed why he was this season’s leading run-scorer in the IPL as Yorkshire brushed Leicestershire aside by 60 runs at Headingley to get their Vitality Blast campaign back on track.The Vikings had lost their last two matches to Derbyshire on Saturday and Monday, but they returned an impressive performance with bat and ball to secure a fifth win from nine matches.The Foxes chase was ruined as they slipped to 49 for 5 inside six overs as David Willey and Jack Brooks excelled with the new ball. They finished on 127 for 9, with No. 9 Callum Parkinson’s 27 not out the top score.Willey claimed 2 for 20 and Brooks 3 for 23 from their respective four overs in a ruthless all round display.Yorkshire are now back into the top four in the North Group on 10 points alongside Lancashire, Worcestershire and Durham. But they are the only team to have played nine.Williamson’s 77 off 41 balls, his first fifty since returning to the club for a fourth spell as their overseas approximately a fortnight ago, was backed up Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s 53 off 44 at the top of the order.They shared 67 in eight overs to advance from 71 for two in the eighth.Williamson topped the 700-run mark in the IPL earlier this year for Sunrisers Hyderabad, and he hit five leg-side sixes in a classy knock.Yorkshire lost their last six wickets for 11 runs in defeat against Derbyshire here 24 hours earlier, but they were much more measured with the bat after Steve Patterson won a fifth successive toss.Williamson and Kohler-Cadmore were happy to accumulate through the middle overs. The former then put his foot down late on before being bowled around his legs by Pakistan seamer Mohammad Abbas in the last over. He had reached his fifty off 30 balls.Five Leicestershire bowlers took a wicket apiece, although nobody was able to create any pressure.The Foxes were then blown away inside the first four overs of their chase as Willey, who earlier hit 31, and Brooks struck twice apiece to leave the score at 30 for four.Willey removed Cameron Delport and Mark Cosgrove, the latter superbly caught behind by Jonny Tattersall, in the third over before Brooks got Ben Raine and Colin Ackermann, the latter who had his off and middle stumps removed.From there, the Foxes, who have now lost five of eight matches, were fighting a forlorn battle to avoid a first defeat away from Grace Road.Brooks, back in the side for rested Tim Bresnan, struck for a third time to get Neil Dexter caught behind for 20 as he matched Delport’s score, with the visitors now 49 for five after six.Azeem Rafiq claimed two wickets and Steve Patterson and Jordan Thompson one apiece as the Foxes staggered beyond 100.

The Big Bash League’s next broadcast rights deal – and perhaps even its coverage later this year – has been pushed into uncertain waters by a grim financial outlook for its current rights holder, the Ten Network

Daniel Brettig13-Jun-2017The Big Bash League’s next broadcast rights deal – and perhaps even its coverage later this year – has been pushed into uncertain waters by a grim financial outlook for its current rights holder, the Ten Network.Ahead of the final season, before the rights to the BBL are to go to market where it has been expected to earn up to A$40 million (approx US$30.21 million) more per tournament for Cricket Australia, Ten announced on Tuesday that it had requested a temporary trade halt on the Australian share market (ASX).The request was made after the network was informed that two of its major financial backers, Lachlan Murdoch’s investment company Illyria and Bruce Gordon’s Birketu, don’t intend to renew their financing of the company after the December 23 expiry of the current A$200 million (approx US$151.12 million) loan from the Commonwealth Bank. It is an announcement that increases the likelihood of the network going into receivership, jeopardising its ability to bid for the BBL next year and potentially affecting this summer’s coverage.”Over the weekend, Ten received correspondence from financial advisers to Illyria Pty Limited and Birketu Pty Limited, two of the shareholders which guarantee the company’s current credit facility,” the company said in a statement to the ASX. “That correspondence confirms that those guarantors do not intend to extend or increase their support for the company’s credit facilities beyond the term of the current facility, which expires on 23 December 2017.”Ten’s board is considering the position of the company in light of the position being taken by Illyria and Birketu and the range of restructuring and refinancing initiatives it has underway. Pending these determinations over the coming days, Ten considers that its shares will not be able to trade on an informed basis and, accordingly, requests the trading halt.”Ten had warned back in April that uncertainty over its future financing “may cast significant doubt on the group’s ability to continue as a going concern” after the network posted a A$232 million (approx US$175.30 million) loss in the first half of the 2016-17 financial year.Strong television audiences for the BBL and WBBL have been one of the few positives for the network in recent times, following the signing of a deal with CA in 2013 that was worth A$100 million (approx US$151.12 million) over five years. Due in large part to the quality of Ten’s coverage, estimates for the next rights round have tipped the BBL’s value to rise to as much as A$300 million (approx US$222.68 million) from 2018 to 2023. However, that figure was predicated on consistent competition in the marketplace.Nine, the longterm international cricket rights holder, has previously expressed an eagerness to bid for “everything” next year, while the pay-television provider Foxtel is also interested in returning to broadcast matches played in Australia, perhaps via a simulcast arrangement where it could share the cost of broadcast rights with a free-to-air network as is the case in the AFL and NRL.The figure to be raked in from the next broadcast rights deal is among the areas of uncertainty currently at issue in the pay dispute between CA and the Australian Cricketers Association. CA has argued that it wants to break the fixed revenue-percentage model and provide fixed wages for the players as a result of this uncertainty. However, the Australian Cricketers’ Association has argued that shared risk is one of the principles of a partnership that has lasted for two decades.At the same time, CA is currently on the lookout for a new head of the BBL, after its overseer Anthony Everard was promoted to the board’s executive management team as the man in charge of events and leagues. The newly-created position merges some of the responsibilities held by former operations chief Mike McKenna and the ex-head of events Chris Loftus-Hills, both of whom are now working for the new Perth stadium.Ten’s trading halt is to last for 48 hours, or until the network’s board makes a further announcement about its future.

Kings XI Punjab batsman Shaun Marsh has been ruled out of the IPL with a back injury

Arun Venugopal02-May-20163:16

Kings XI’s options to replace the injured Shaun Marsh

Kings XI Punjab batsman Shaun Marsh has been ruled out of the IPL with a back injury.ESPNcricinfo understands Marsh picked up the injury in the game against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 19, and has been carrying a niggle since. He batted and fielded in Sunday’s game, when Kings XI beat Gujarat Lions, with some discomfort. He is likely to return to Australia immediately, even as the franchise discusses replacements.Marsh had missed the team’s opening game with food poisoning, before scoring 159 runs in the six matches he played, at 31.80 with a strike rate of 118.65. His top score came against Knight Riders – 56 not out off 41 balls in a losing cause.Despite Sunday’s win against Lions, Kings XI sit at the bottom of the points table after seven matches, with only two victories.Marsh was the latest in a growing list of overseas signings to be ruled out of the tournament due to injury over the past week, following Rising Pune Supergiants’ Kevin Pietersen, Faf du Plessis, (Shaun’s brother) Mitchell Marsh and Steven Smith.

Mohammad Hafeez’s omission from the Pakistan Test squad has given South Africa a clear indication of where to draw the battle lines for the two-match series

Firdose Moonda in Sharjah06-Oct-2013Mohammad Hafeez’s omission from the Pakistan Test squad has given South Africa a clear indication of where to draw the battle lines for the two-match series. With Khurram Manzoor set to occupy one opening spot, and the other yet to be decided but likely to be filled with a less experienced batsman than Hafeez, South Africa’s seamers are targeting Pakistan’s fragility at the top.”Our pace attack against their opening batters will be important to set up the series for us,” South Africa’s coach Russell Domingo said ahead of the first training session in Dubai. “Hafeez’s form has been a bit of a concern for them for a period of time. But he is a quality bowler and a quality batsmen and we are not displeased that he is unlikely to play a part.”Despite conditions expected to suit spinners more than quicks, Domingo said the fast men will be tasked with putting Pakistan under pressure from the get-go, by exploiting what appears to be their most obvious weakness. Domingo said Test achievements were built on strong first-wicket stands and if South Africa can prevent Pakistan from establishing one, it will set them up in pushing for victory.”If you look at South Africa’s Test cricket, it has been successful because of the way the openers have gone about their business,” Domingo said. “Its the most important partnership in any format. If you think of great Test sides, like Australia had Hayden and Langer, that’s the kind of thing you need.”Domingo also played down talk of raging turners, saying he was ready should the groundstaff prepare something different. “We’ve been involved in series where we want a certain type of wicket and we don’t get it, so it’s difficult to pre-empt,” he said. The practice pitch at the Sharjah Cricket Ground told a different story. Imran Tahir and JP Duminy spent a significant amount of time bowling and both found substantial turn.And Pakistan certainly seem to be expecting spin. Without Hafeez to add to the bowling options, they have Zulfiqar Babar, who will be hopeful of a first Test cap, and who could be their surprise package. “We’ll need to have an in depth look at him and do some analysis,” Domingo said. “He has obviously got a lot of experience but we need to sit down and do our homework.”So far South Africa have only had time to reacquaint themselves with each other, after not playing as a Test outfit since March. On arrival in Sharjah, they held a bonding session of sorts at an establishment where they watched the country’s national rugby team, the Springboks, lose to New Zealand’s All Blacks on Saturday afternoon.The rest of the day was devoted to enjoying some quiet and Domingo hoped it would help in acclimatising, especially to the heat. “When you get here to start with the heat is always stifling but after four or five days, you tend to get used to it.”Work, as is customary in this part of the world, began on Sunday morning when they held their first team meeting. “We had a good chat and emphasised the important elements that made this Test side so successful and how we want to try and continue to do well,” Domingo said.They will have two days of training – today and tomorrow – before a three-day warm-up game against Pakistan A. Domingo said he would have preferred another practice outing but is satisfied that the cricket some of the squad has played in the last few months will ensure they are match-ready. “One warm-up game is not ideal. But its better than nothing,” he said. “Quite a lot of the guys have been playing cricket in Champions League, Hashim [Amla] was playing county cricket and some preparing with their franchises.”The last arrival from the CLT20 flew in today. Faf du Plessis was with the Chennai Super Kings and left India on Sunday morning. He traveled straight to the ground to join the practice. Thami Tsolekile, the reserve wicketkeeper, will arrive later in the week. He is on compassionate leave following the death of his mother-in-law.South Africa will look to play 13 in their practice match to ensure everybody has a “bit of a go,” and have the opportunity to size up some of the players who could form part of the opposition. Given that Pakistan are likely to pick their other opener from the cricketers who do duty in the warm-up match, with Ahmed Shehzad the leading candidate, it will also give South Africa’s quicks the chance to make a first impression on whoever partners Manzoor at the top.

Amjad Khan took season’s best figures as Sussex skittled Middlesex to give a further boost to their outside chance for the title

David Lloyd at Hove10-Aug-2012
ScorecardAmjad Khan took his second five-wicket haul of the season•Getty Images

Perhaps they’ve left their charge up the table just a little too late. But in the space of five-and-a-bit matches, Sussex have transformed themselves from relegation worriers into title dreamers.The ten-wicket loss to Middlesex at Lord’s in early June had the champions of 2003, ’06 and ’07 looking anxiously over their shoulders towards the drop zone. Since then, though, they have beaten Surrey, Durham and Worcestershire, drawn with long-time top two Warwickshire and Notts and are now fancied to take over second place by claiming another victory here.Steve Magoffin, James Anyon and Monty Panesar have been the mainstays of their attack for most of this campaign. Today, though, it was Amjad Khan who ripped through Middlesex’s middle order on his way to season’s best figures of 5 for 25 from 14 overs.Khan, who played his only Test in 2009, has fallen a long way down the pecking order when it comes to England fast bowling candidates and throughout the middle part of this campaign he was not able to force his way into Sussex’s four-day side. On Friday, though, the 31-year-old proved almost unstoppable on an evenly grassed pitch which, thanks to some cracking, produced variable bounce. In the space of eight balls, he removed Dawid Malan, Sam Robson and Neil Dexter to leave Middlesex in serious difficulty at 62 for 5.Unlike Sussex’s catching, which was splendid for the most part, some of the opposition batting left a fair bit to be desired. But Khan deserved bags of credit for hitting the right spot, more often than not, and making the opposition play.He completed his first five-for since starting the season, when he claimed a handful against Surrey, by locating the outside edge twice more, thereby removing Ollie Rayner and Gareth Berg. At that stage, all eight Middlesex wickets had fallen to catches behind the wicket – from keeper through to gully – and a perfect ten seemed probable, rather than possible.Instead, Panesar ended the neatness by winning a leg-before decision against Toby Roland-Jones and, thereafter, Middlesex were grateful to a bright and breezy 34 from No. 10 Tim Murtagh to take them past 150. His knock included one particularly pleasing sweep against Panesar, which sent the ball soaring for six.When Sussex’s top order batsmen found life only a little easier against the new ball it looked as though Murtagh’s innings might be the day’s top score. But Ed Joyce was not quite finished when it came to making life difficult for his former employers.The ex-Middlesex batsman has only recently taken over the Championship captaincy at Sussex. He began his reign by leading the county to an innings victory against Worcestershire last week and here, having taken a punt by inserting the opposition, he underpinned the bowlers’ good work with a diligent, unbeaten innings of 49.The Irishman needed 116 balls to make one short of 50 but that mattered not a jot. Having flashed an early drive through a startled slip cordon, he put his nose to the grindstone while losing the company of Chris Nash, Luke Wells and Murray Goodwin. At 64 for 3, Sussex needed a partnership. They were given one by Joyce and Mike Yardy, the man who handed over the captaincy in order to concentrate on his own game, and the pair will hope to add significantly to a 42-run alliance on Saturday.

Australia’s selectors have jettisoned the young allrounder Steven Smith for next month’s Test series in Sri Lanka, after previously giving every indication they were intent on persevering with him

Daniel Brettig26-Jul-2011Australia’s selectors have jettisoned the young allrounder Steven Smith for next month’s Test series in Sri Lanka, after previously giving every indication they were intent on persevering with him.Having played five Test matches with varying degrees of success since his debut against Pakistan at Lord’s in 2010, Smith is now the latest victim of a cycle that has churned through 12 spin bowlers since Shane Warne retired in 2007.Smith’s place has been effectively taken by two players. One is Nathan Lyon, the gifted South Australian slow bowler who has played only four Sheffield Shield matches and is currently in the midst of his first ever pre-season with the Redbacks after being the break-out success of Australia A’s tour of Zimbabwe.The other is Shaun Marsh, the talented but not yet prolific West Australian who will compete with another left-hander, Usman Khawaja, for the spot in the Australian top seven that has been vacated by Smith.Andrew Hilditch, the chairman of selectors who is widely expected to be removed from his post after the Argus Review tables its findings about the performance of the national team, argued that Smith had not made a spot his own.”It’s a very harsh call on Steven. He was very disappointed when I spoke to him, which I would expect,” Hilditch said. “We really made an assessment, and as I spoke to Steve about, that we didn’t think he’d cemented a spot in the top six batters and we didn’t think he’d cemented a spot as a spinner.”We really think the best thing for him, and Australian cricket, is that he [first] cements his position in the short forms of the game and plays some more Shield cricket, and gets better at both those skills. I think it’s important that people realise that we’re hardly moving away from him.”Hilditch went on to say the selection was specific to Sri Lankan conditions, which seemed highly odd given that Smith’s skills and SCG upbringing seem to make him better suited to the subcontinent than anywhere else.A batting technique best described as homespun is more likely to confound slow bowlers than fast ones, while Smith’s bowling would have offered the squad greater flexibility. Now the vice-captain Shane Watson can expect to bowl long spells as the third seamer or the captain Michael Clarke to deliver more overs than he would like as the second spinner.Lyon’s selection is rightly touted as a happy tale, and one that harks back to less regimented times. But his preparation for the rigours of Test match bowling have been rudimentary, and he struggled with the physical demands of consecutive Shield matches late last summer.”In an ideal world it would be nice if he’d played more Shield cricket, there’s no doubt about that,” said Hilditch. “But from our perspective we’re very confident that he’s ready. He’s a very talented spin-bowler, he’s had a meteoric rise. It was one of the great parts of my job to call him this morning and tell him he’s got the opportunity to play for Australia.”We’ve followed him closely coming through from limited-overs cricket. He then played very well in the Shield games but it was of course a very big learning curve for him as well. We took him to Zimbabwe and he was player of the series, albeit in the one-day series there. Really, the feedback we got from everyone there — the selector on that tour and the coaching staff — was that he really impressed as being ready to play international cricket.””The reason he wasn’t in the longer form of the game in Zimbabwe was simply that we thought Jason [Krejza] and Michael Beer deserved the first opportunity to impress ahead of Sri Lanka.”Krejza’s omission maintains his topsy turvy run at the fringes of the national team. An apparent inability to drop into a consistent rhythm over long spells has counted significantly against him, but it remained surprising to hear that Krejza had managed to bowl himself from the top of Australia’s Test slow bowling ranks to the bottom in the space of one brief tour to Zimbabwe.Beer was victor in that duel, but Hilditch now painted a demanding picture of what would be required of him in Sri Lanka. Having never taken more than three wickets in a first-class innings, Beer will fly to the island nation as Australia’s lead Test spin bowler, and if he does not thrive against skilful Sri Lankan batsmen on pitches of their choosing he will likely be thrown aside just as Smith and plenty of others have been.”It’ll be a very important tour for Michael Beer in particular,” said Hilditch. “We thought he bowled well [in the fifth Ashes Test] without much luck, so you’d expect him to play in Sri Lanka in fairly good conditions but against high quality batters, so it’ll be a big test for him but we think he’s up to it.”In the end all players are assessed on performance, everybody has to perform to play cricket for Australia. Obviously the hope is that they play really well and move on from there.”Among the batsmen, Marsh and Khawaja will now be counting down to Australia’s lone warm-up match before the first Test, for it will be their one chance to dictate which of the two will seal a spot in Australia’s batting order, most probably at No. 6. Marsh has the job ahead of him to prove that his talent can be allied to Test match concentration, so attractive starts become substantial innings. It is a quality Khawaja possesses, but in Zimbabwe his form deserted him and he is not known as a particularly adept player of spin.”Shaun Marsh is someone we’ve identified for several years as someone we think can have an impact in international cricket,” Hilditch said. “I think if you look carefully last year, he really did turn the corner as far as consistency of performance at Shield level. He got some really big scores and was really hampered by injuries at the most critical times, just before Ashes selection and just before World Cup selection.”So we think he was ready last year and playing very well and scoring big runs for WA. I agree that’s a stage that a lot of young batters need to make, where they go from being talented to actually nailing Shield cricket, and we thought Shaun had made real progress last year. If not for injury I think it would’ve been very different. He’s worked very hard on those issues, you won’t find anybody assessing him say anything other than he’s a very talented player.”

Jason Gillespie, the former Australian fast bowler, is heading to Zimbabwe to take up a position as head coach of the Kwekwe-based MidWest Rhinos franchise

Cricinfo staff22-Jul-2010Jason Gillespie, the former Australian fast bowler, is heading to Zimbabwe to take up a position as head coach of the Kwekwe-based MidWest Rhinos franchise. Gillespie’s tenure will begin before the start of the domestic season in September, and he replaces Andy Waller – who has moved to Harare to take charge of the national age-group sides – in the role.”We are really excited to have Jason taking charge of the team,” said MidWest Rhinos chief executive Kenyon Ziehl. “It is a tremendous development in the franchise. He played for Australia at the highest levels with the greatest respect and was one of the best bowlers ever to open for Australia.”Gillespie played 71 Tests and 97 one-day internationals for Australia, forming one half of the country’s most statistically successful bowling partnerships with Glenn McGrath before retiring at the end of the 2007-08 season. He will be taking over a domestic side that has been firmly ensconced in the middle of the domestic tables, though they managed to reach the finals of the four-day Logan Cup and the Metbank Faithwear one-day competition.”We will rely on his experience and expertise to add more value to the whole franchise, especially our bowlers,” added Ziehl. “He will definitely help us finish the next season with some silverware. Gillespie will help us develop the whole squad so that we produce top class players and our franchise B squad will be a key area for development of the standard of professionalism we expect to reach.”He [Gillespie] is also keyed up to be in Zimbabwe. He told me that Zimbabwe is on the up and up, and it will be great to have some of the players he will be working with in the next Zimbabwe Test squad.”

The Australia captain has picked up a knee injury and won’t feature again for Sydney Sixers

AAP17-Nov-2024Alyssa Healy is racing the clock to play in Australia’s looming ODIs against India after being ruled out of the remainder of the WBBL with a knee injury.Sydney Sixers on Saturday said Australia’s captain would not play for them again this tournament, after picking up an injury in her left knee. Australia’s three-match ODI series starts four days after the WBBL final, leaving Healy in significant doubt for international duties.Related

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Healy did not keep in Sixers’ last-start loss against Brisbane Heat because of body management, and had entered the tournament with a foot injury that ended her T20 World Cup early. Australia host India in three ODIs, before travelling to New Zealand over Christmas for three more one-dayers.It’s understood Healy will be assessed in the next fortnight ahead of those two series, with a squad to be announced next weekend.The injury is not believed to be serious enough to have her in any current doubt for the multi-format Ashes, which begin with an ODI at North Sydney on January 12.Healy had warned on her return from her foot injury that she may need to be managed through the summer.”There are higher powers sitting above that are quite vocal in what can and can’t happen, which I completely understand,” Healy said earlier this month.  “Being skipper as well is a fairly big role for me. I want to be available for as much of the summer as I can.”I’ve hardly played a game for the Sixers for the past two seasons, and it’s a place I really enjoy playing cricket.  I want to be available for every game that I possibly can, but the reality is that might not be the case.”It’s going to be managing the pain, function and what I can and can’t do [all summer]. How I pull up from games is going to be really important as well.”Healy’s injury comes as a serious blow to Sixers, who face the prospect of needing to win their last three matches to make the WBBL finals.If Healy does miss international matches, Tahlia McGrath would be expected to deputise as captain again after doing so in the World Cup.