The BCB will be talking to Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal about their futures ahead of the New Zealand Tests, and Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraz are captaincy candidates for that series

Mohammad Isam09-Nov-2023Bangladesh cricket is facing a possible all-round overhaul in the weeks following their forgettable 2023 World Cup campaign, ranging from a new captain for the upcoming Test series against New Zealand to Shakib Al Hasan having to take a call on his future. While Shakib had announced in a pre-World Cup interview that he would quit the ODI captaincy after the World Cup, the BCB isn’t taking it as an official word.”He had not informed us about leaving captaincy before the World Cup. We believed that [the interview] was not an official thing,” Jalal Yunus, the BCB’s cricket operations chairman, said.Shakib, who is also Bangladesh’s Test captain, was ruled out of the rest of the World Cup due to a fractured finger he sustained while batting against Sri Lanka. As a result of that injury, he will also be missing the two home Tests against New Zealand.Related

• 'I have left them in a good space with a good platform' – Donald to sign off as Bangladesh fast-bowling coach

• How Bangladesh became a shadow of themselves at the World Cup

• Hathurusinghe: Our batting let us down with 'high expectations'

• Khaled Mahmud unhappy with role as Bangladesh team director

The BCB is keen for a full-strength squad for those Tests – the series starts Bangladesh’s World Test Championship cycle for 2023-25 – but is not leaning towards naming Litton Das captain. In fact, the board seems unhappy with Litton, who took two breaks while the World Cup was being played.He had first returned home to Dhaka a day after Bangladesh played Pakistan in Kolkata on October 31, before doing the same after the Sri Lanka game in Delhi on November 6. Litton was back in Pune, the venue of Bangladesh’s match against Australia, only three days later.ESPNcricinfo has learned that the general view among influential BCB directors is that Litton lost focus during the World Cup, although he was given both breaks on “humanitarian” grounds.That potentially leaves Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan Miraz as captaincy candidates. Shanto, who had led Bangladesh when Shakib had missed their World Cup game against India due to a quad injury, is also set to stand-in as captain for their final match against Australia, to be played on November 11.As for Shakib’s future in both Tests and ODIs, the BCB will be discussing it with him soon. Ahead of the World Cup, the comments on the ODI captaincy aside, he had even outlined his retirement plans, saying he would announce his retirement “after the 2025 Champions Trophy”.Meanwhile, there’s also a lack of clarity about Tamim Iqbal’s future in the Test side. He had missed the World Cup due to concerns with his back, and hasn’t played in any of the four rounds of the ongoing National Cricket League, which is Bangladesh’s premier first-class competition.Thus, with Shakib and Tamim potentially absent against New Zealand, it would leave Mushfiqur Rahim and Mominul Haque as the only experienced batters, despite the BCB wanting to play a full-strength squad. The bowling unit’s availability will largely depend on their fitness updates after the World Cup.

Andrew McDonald has floated the notion of a batting reshuffle, but the former captain cautioned against it

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff30-Nov-2023Ricky Ponting insists Cameron Bancroft should be David Warner’s replacement once the veteran Australia opener bows out of Test cricket in January.WA’s Bancroft is again the Sheffield Shield’s top run-scorer after making 945 runs – almost 300 more than the next best – last summer.Despite the 31-year-old’s domestic success, Bancroft was still overlooked for Marcus Harris for a spare batting spot in Australia’s Ashes squad in June.Related

• 'Traditions have to start somewhere' – Gilchrist hopes for revival of Test cricket in Perth

• Warner on track for Sydney farewell while Marsh and Green both named in Test squad

• Ball-by-ball: how Maxwell conjured another miracle

• Warner's Test retirement could lead to batting order reshuffle

• Mitchell Marsh: 'Past battling, I'm here to enjoy my cricket and have fun'

Harris and Queenslander Matt Renshaw loom as the other candidates at the top of the order to partner Usman Khawaja after Warner’s farewell at the SCG.All three will get another chance to impress for the Prime Minister’s XI against Pakistan in Canberra next week.However, Ponting believes Bancroft needed to be recalled for his first Test since 2019 due to his sheer weight of runs.”If you look at those three guys, I think it’s quite clear that Bancroft is the one that’s got the runs on the board and I wouldn’t be surprised if they [selectors] go that way,” he told SEN on Thursday. “If you wind the clock back about six months it might have been a slightly different order than what it is now.”I think they probably had Harris as the one that would come back in a while ago. To me now it sort of feels [there’s] a bit more of a groundswell behind Cameron Bancroft getting first crack.”Australia coach Andrew McDonald has floated the possibility of a change in the batting order to open so allrounder Cameron Green can slot back into the Test XI.But Ponting has cautioned against such a move, saying Green should be forced to earn his spot by finding form in the Shield with WA.But the prodigiously talented 24-year-old was dropped during the Ashes, just months after his maiden Test century, for Mitchell Marsh.”I think Cameron Green might just have to sit back and bide his time and wait for the opportunity to come back,” Ponting said. “He can get a truckload of runs in Shield cricket and sort of force his way back into the side.”[Marnus] Labuschagne has been outstanding at number three for Australia, it’s very much a specialist position.”Ponting also believes enigmatic allrounder Glenn Maxwell should seriously be considered for a Test recall after his stunning white-ball success in India.Maxwell played the last of his seven Tests in 2017, but his three recent international centuries, two in the ODI World Cup and one in a T20, have been irresistible.”I could see him getting back into a Test line-up because of the all round game that he brings in those conditions,” Ponting said. “The [201] not out in that game against Afghanistan, which is the most remarkable one-day innings I’ve ever seen.”I’ve been around a lot of games, watched a lot of games, played a lot of games, I’ve never ever seen anything like that.”Ponting, who captained Australia to World Cup titles in 2003 and 2007, has urged Pat Cummins’ team to maintain the rage in the Test summer when they host Pakistan and the struggling West Indies.”I’d be saying to go as hard as you can and just really try and bury these teams and win as convincingly as you can,” Ponting said.The squad for the first Test in Perth is expected to be named shortly after the conclusion of the ongoing round of Sheffield Shield matches and before the PM’s XI contest.

Josh Hazlewood has been called up for the game in Sydney and Spencer Johnson will join in Canberra

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Feb-2024Xavier Bartlett, who starred on international debut at the MCG, will be rested for Sunday’s second ODI against West Indies but is expected to return in Canberra for the third game.Travis Head has been released from the ODI and T20I squads for the rest of the matches while Josh Hazlewood has been added for the second ODI in Sydney.The management of Bartlett, who claimed 4 for 17 in Melbourne, is understood to be part of a plan to be careful with his workloads amid three ODIs in five days after his back injury last year, and without any one-day or Shield cricket this season.Related

• Smith, Cummins, Starc return for New Zealand T20Is, Marsh to captain

• Short ruled out of final ODI with McDermott called up

• Australia, West Indies look to grow depth with eye on 2027

• Bartlett four-for, Green's all-round effort give Australia 1-0 lead

• Bartlett makes a massive impact on 'almost not real' debut

“I was injured at the start of this year and didn’t have a chance to play any domestic cricket, which was a frustrating time,” he said after his Player-of-the-Match display. “But you can kind of see the light at the end of the tunnel and you’ve just got to keep trying to work hard because these days don’t happen very often in the game of cricket.”Left-arm quick Spencer Johnson will join the squad as cover for the third ODI in Canberra on Tuesday.Hazlewood was among Australia’s all-format quicks initially rested for the ODI series following the Test summer but was included for the T20Is.No replacement for Head has been named, which opens the door for Jake Fraser-McGurk to make his ODI debut at the SCG. Head fell in the first over of Australia’s chase in Melbourne when he edged Matthew Forde for 4, following his king pair in the Gabba Test. He is expected to be part of the T20I squad for the tour of New Zealand.

India seamer impressed in short spell in 2023 season and is set to return for final five games

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Mar-2024Jaydev Unadkat, the India left-arm seamer, will return to Sussex for the final five games of their 2024 County Championship campaign.Unadkat played the most recent of his three Tests against West Indies in Trinidad in July last year, whereupon he joined Sussex for the final portion of their first-class season. He featured in three of their final four County Championship games, taking 11 wickets at 24.18 to help Sussex to a third-place finish in Division Two.His best performance came against Leicestershire on his home debut at Hove, where he overcame an ankle injury to return figures of 6 for 94 in the second innings to seal Sussex’s third win of the campaign, by just 15 runs.”It was at Hove last season when we won a last-day thriller against Leicestershire, that gave me a sense of belongingness to county cricket, and to Sussex as my home,” Unadkat said.”When Farby [head coach, Paul Farbrace] offered me a contract this season for the last leg of the championship, I was sure I wanted to come back and hopefully win games with the guys.”While my first county season was good, I can’t wait to be back and push for that promotion this summer which everyone at Hove is rooting for!”Farbrace added: “We are all delighted that Jaydev is returning to The 1st Central County Ground for the final five Championship matches of the coming season.”Jaydev lived up to the expectation that not only would he show his class on the field, but he would also be a fantastic person and be part of what we are all trying to achieve.”Jaydev is a lovely guy who did everything he could to help our players and share his fantastic knowledge.”

KKR are at No. 3 on the points table, while RCB are bottom, and have lost their last five games in a row

Hemant Brar20-Apr-20244:10

Bishop: If Narine is available, he walks straight into the WI T20I team

Match details

Kolkata Knight Riders (2nd; W4, L2) vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru (10th; W1, L6)
Kolkata, 1530 IST (1000 GMT)

Big picture – Narine vs RCB

With five defeats in a row, and just two points from seven games, RCB are fighting for survival. They are at the bottom of the points table and a defeat against KKR on Sunday will push them to the brink of elimination.To avoid that, their batters will have to win the battle against KKR’s spinners, especially Sunil Narine.Related

• 'That door is now closed' – Sunil Narine rules out West Indies comeback for T20 World Cup

• Clash of misfiring top orders as Titans and Kings seek crucial points

• IPL 2024, a turbo-charged, batter-dominated season like no other

• Powell is trying to get Narine to play T20 World Cup

• 'Attacking batting and not defensive bowling will win this IPL'

Virat Kohli has been the torch-bearer of RCB’s batting for years, but in the last few years, spin has proven to be his kryptonite in T20s. Since the start of 2020, his strike rate against spin is 113.52. During the same period, he has struck at 145.79 against pace.However, Kohli seems to have addressed this issue somewhat and has scored at a much more respectable 130.09 against spin in IPL 2024. He even dominated Narine (21 off 12) when these two sides met earlier in the tournament. But it will not be easy at Eden Gardens, especially if the pitch is on the slower side. Kohli’s overall record against Narine is not great either: 162 runs off 157 balls with four dismissals.And it’s not just Kohli. Faf du Plessis and Dinesh Karthik have also struggled to score freely against Narine. Du Plessis has a strike rate of 77.14 against him and Karthik 119.29. So far this season, Narine has seven wickets in six games at an excellent economy of 6.87.Narine has been just as exceptional with the bat. Back as opener, and despite the two-bouncer rule, he has scored 276 runs at a strike rate of 187.75. Previously, fast bowlers would get him out with the short ball. This time, too, he has not looked in control against the short ball at all times, but has managed to survive and has made oppositions pay. RCB have already got a taste of that in their previous meeting with KKR.Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli have their jobs cut out•BCCI

Form guide

Kolkata Knight Riders LWLWW
Royal Challengers Bengaluru LLLLL

Previous meeting

Earlier in the season, KKR thrashed RCB by seven wickets at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Batting first, RCB posted 182 for 6 with Kohli scoring an unbeaten 83 off 59 balls. In response, Narine smashed 47 off 22 balls and Venkatesh Iyer 50 off 30 as KKR chased down the target in the 17th over.

Team news and impact player strategy

Kolkata Knight Riders
Given the RCB batters’ sub-par record against spin, there is a case to play a third spinner, Suyash Sharma, in place of Vaibhav Arora. One of Suyash and Ramandeep Singh could be the impact player, depending on whether KKR are batting first or bowling.Probable XII: 1 Phil Salt (wk), 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Angkrish Raghuvanshi, 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 Venkatesh Iyer, 6 Andre Russell, 7 Rinku Singh, 8 , 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Varun Chakravarthy, 11 Harshit Rana, 12 Royal Challengers Bengaluru
With Glenn Maxwell on a break, Will Jacks is likely to continue at No. 3. RCB may consider bringing in Mayank Dagar for Yash Dayal. Anuj Rawat and Dagar could be their impact pair.Probable XII: 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Faf du Plessis (capt), 3 Will Jacks, 4 Rajat Patidar, 5 Saurav Chauhan, 6 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7 Mahipal Lomror, 8 , 9 Vijaykumar Vyshak, 10 Reece Topley, 11 Lockie Ferguson, 12 Mitchell Starc has started to pick up wickets but is still KKR’s most expensive bowler this season•BCCI

In the spotlight – Mitchell Starc and Faf du Plessis

Mitchell Starc, the most expensive buy in IPL history, started the season poorly but has started to show signs of settling in. Overall, though, in six games, he has just five wickets and his economy of 10.54 is the poorest among KKR’s frontline bowlers. With no other experienced seamer in the squad, KKR will need Starc to turn his season around sooner rather than later.Meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik is having a dream season. He has consistently provided RCB with strong finishes and is their third-highest run-scorer with a tally of 226 in six innings. Among those who have scored at least 200 runs this season, his strike rate of 205.45 is the highest. In fact, in four of his six innings, he has struck at more than 230. If he continues in the same manner, he could even find himself in India’s T20 World Cup squad, which he said will be “the greatest feeling” for him at this stage of his career.

Pitch and conditions

So far this season, Eden Gardens has hosted three games. In two of those, 200 was breached in all four innings. In the third, KKR chased down 162 against Lucknow Super Giants in the 16th over. But it needs to be seen whether it will be another run fest or KKR will dish out a slightly different surface. Given it’s an afternoon game, there will be a temptation to bat first on winning the toss.Dinesh Karthik has brought out his best finisher’s self this IPL•Associated Press

Stats that matter

• Kohli has dominated Starc in T20 cricket: 45 balls, 80 runs, no dismissal
• Karthik has taken Andre Russell for 43 runs off 21 balls without being dismissed
• Reece Topley has dismissed Phil Salt three times in 16 balls while giving away only 17 runs
• Till Friday, 32 batters have faced 100 or more balls this season. Among those, Shreyas Iyer’s strike rate of 122.80 is second lowest
• RCB have the poorest economy rate in the powerplay this season: 10.54. KKR are the second-poorest with 9.83

Quotes

“It’s not the most talented team that goes on to win the IPL. It’s the most courageous team, that’s willing to fight till the last drop of blood, will go on to win the IPL.”
“The belief is definitely there. If you don’t have belief, there is no point playing a tournament like the IPL. Every year there will be a couple of teams at this stage trying to find their feet and there have been so many instances when they have picked up and won the matches. We believe that if we can do something special and win a few matches, we could get that momentum – that interesting word that always happens in the IPL – and use that to our confidence.”

Whirlwind hundred against former team leaves Kent facing final-day fight to save game

ECB Reporters Network14-Apr-2024Essex 530 for 7 dec and 254 for 7 (Cox 116*) lead Kent 413 (Compton 165, Bell-Drummond 135, Critchley 5-105) by 374 runs Jordan Cox pulverised his former Kent team-mates with a whirlwind century as Essex piled on the runs towards a declaration in the Vitality County Championship at Chelmsford.Cox, 23, reached his first three-figure score for his new county with a mighty six over square leg, one of six sixes in an unbeaten 116 as Essex raced to 257 for 4 and a lead of 374 in 40 over in a lengthy evening session. The fast accumulation of runs was necessary with rain and high winds forecast for the final day.Earlier Ben Compton had weighed anchor for more than eight-and-a-half hours to help Kent avoid the follow-on by 33 runs. The obdurate left-hander was last man out for 165, his highest score for Kent, eked from 263 balls and spliced sparingly with 18 boundaries.That Essex were able to get so close to asking Kent to go straight back in was due to an inspired spell from legspinning allrounder Matt Critchley, following up his career-high 151 with 5 for 105, his best figures since moving from Derbyshire in 2022.Wickets had been scarce on day two, but things were soon back to normal. Daniel Bell-Drummond had added just a single to his overnight score when he was late on a straight one from Jamie Porter. He had been in the middle for 73 overs with Compton while putting on 224 for the second wicket.It was the breakthrough Essex needed after waiting so long. They had taken the new ball at the start of the day and it quickly accounted for Jack Leaning in Porter’s next over, lbw to one that jagged in, before Shane Snater removed Joe Denly’s leg stump to claim his 100th first-class wicket.It was then over to Critchley, who flipped from end to end, taking wickets at both. Harry Finch misdrove to a stooping mid-off to the first ball of a brief spell from the river end, Jaydn Denly lunged extravagantly to loop a ball from the opposite end into short leg’s hands and Wes Agar toppled forward to fall lbw as Critchley reverted to his original starting point.However, that only brought in Nathan Gilchrist who pulled Critchley and Simon Harmer for sixes as he contributed 33 towards the first fifty of a 88-run stand with the immovable Compton.Gilchrist was finally out for a career-high of 41 from 64 balls, having helped Kent avoid the follow-on, before edging Critchley behind where Michael Pepper grabbed the catch at the second attempt. Critchley’s fourth career five-wicket haul was confirmed when Matt Parkinson thick-edged to slip.Compton, 100 not out at start of play, watched the wickets tumble from the other end. He played one of the shots of the day when he rocked back and drove Harmer through the covers for four. But he was denied the honour of carrying his bat, bowled around his legs attempting to sweep Harmer.When Essex batted for a second time, Dean Elgar survived a chance to Agar’s third ball, dropped at the third attempt by a diving Finch. Elgar made Kent pay with 34 from 48 balls before Garrett trapped him lbw.Kent had broken through when Feroze Khushi watched in horror as an injudicious pull off Agar ended up in deep midwicket’s hands. Agar had a second wicket when Tom Westley played all around one and was lbw.Cox quickly found his range, twice reverse-sweeping Parkinson for boundaries and then slamming two fours through midwicket and a six over extra cover in a Parkinson over that cost 19. That wasn’t the end of the T20-style innings as sixes rained around Chelmsford. The ubiquitous Critchley hit 25 from 23 balls in a quickfire 87-run partnership with Cox before being bowled by Parkinson while Pepper helped add 91 for the unbroken fifth wicket.

His tenure is now scheduled to end in mid-2027, by when Ireland’s qualification status for the ODI World Cup will be known

ESPNcricinfo staff27-May-2024Heinrich Malan has agreed to a two-year contract extension as head coach of the Ireland men’s team. Malan, who had secured a three-year contract upon being appointed in January 2022, will now continue to hold onto the role until mid-2027.The decision comes with the aim of Malan helping Ireland qualify for the 2027 ODI World Cup, slated for October and November. The 14-team event will comprise hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe, the top-eight ranked teams excluding the hosts, and four teams from the World Cup Qualifier in 2026, which means that Ireland’s qualification status will be known by the end of Malan’s tenure.Ireland were unable to qualify for the previous two ODI World Cups, which were ten-team events, but featured in both T20 World Cups and defeated eventual champions England in the group stage of the last edition. They claimed their first-ever Test victory by beating Afghanistan in February and now head over to the Caribbean for the 2024 T20 World Cup, which starts on June 1.Related

• Ireland's players get revised central contracts with pay raise

• Ireland already 'building towards 2027' as World Cup prep overshadows ODI series

Malan spoke about his role and the team’s ambitions ahead of Ireland’s departure. “I am delighted with the extension as it provides the squad and coaching staff a great deal more certainty as we build upon the foundations we have put in place over the last two years.”We are now a three-format squad and – despite our smaller talent pool to draw from compared to other Full Members – we have been gradually building a sustainable structure that ensures we can continue to compete and improve on all three fronts.”This work has borne fruit in two successful T20 World Cup qualifying campaigns and in our recent Test success. But we are all conscious that we’ve missed out on playing in the last two 50-over world cups, and qualification for the 2027 tournament will be one of the focus areas across the next three years.”Malan’s extension comes after Ireland’s players secured revised central contracts, including pay raises, after negotiation. Extending his contract was a “very straightforward decision,” according to Richard Holdsworth, High Performance Director of Cricket Ireland.”Over the last 18 months or so, the team has improved significantly in the T20 format which was our weakest format,” Holdsworth said. “His research into what world-class looks like, and the data he has gathered around the T20 format globally, has led to the production of a blueprint for the Ireland Men’s team.”Malan will join forces with captain Paul Stirling – who took over from Andy Balbirnie, after Ireland failed to qualify for the 2023 ODI World Cup – and the duo’s first ICC event comes on the back of the team beating Pakistan for the first time in T20Is and winning a tri-series against Netherlands and Scotland.”With new leadership in white-ball cricket, the relationship between Heinrich and the two captains has been key,” Holdsworth said. “This goes from strength-to-strength, and we now have a key focus on strategic planning towards the 2027 Cricket World Cup in mind. I look forward to seeing what the next three years brings.”Ireland will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against India on June 5 in New York and are part of Group A, along with Canada, USA, India and Pakistan.Malan has had extensive coaching stints in New Zealand before being appointed as Ireland’s head coach two years ago. He is a former middle-order batter and medium-fast bowler, who played first-class cricket in South Africa from 2005 to 2009.

“Up to them to decide how they’re going to take their games forward,” says coach after India defeat

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jun-20243:15

Kirsten: ‘Pakistan made poor decisions at important phases’

Gary Kirsten has issued a stark warning to his players that they face being left behind by the modern game if they don’t improve, as the repercussions after two straight losses in the T20 World Cup 2024 begin.Pakistan lost to India in New York on Sunday in a tight game, failing to chase a target of 120. That, coupled with a shock Super Over loss to USA in their opening game in Dallas last week, means their chances of progressing to the Super Eight are already out of their own hands. For Kirsten, who began officially as Pakistan’s white-ball coach a week before the tournament began, the start could not have been any rockier.Related

• Chance for Canada to shut the door on Pakistan's stumbling World Cup campaign

• Bumrah spearheads India's defence of 119; Pakistan on brink of elimination

• Kirsten bemoans Pakistan's 'poor decision-making'

• Old debate, simple answer: Pakistan's batting just not very good

Asked after the loss to India whether the team had put themselves under too much pressure, Kirsten agreed.”You are pretty much spot-on,” he said. “These guys are all international players and they’re aware that when they’re not performing at their best that there’s going to be pressure put on them. That’s understandable, but a lot of these guys have played a lot of T20 cricket around the world over many, many years and it’s really up to them to decide how they’re going to take their games forward.”Kirsten didn’t take names, but Pakistan have retained a strong T20 core through the last three World Cup campaigns now. Seven of the XI that played in New York against India were part of the team that lost the semi-final to Australia in November 2021. Six from yesterday’s XI were in the side that lost to England in the final a year later at the MCG.The scrutiny will fall on the captain Babar Azam and his opening partner Mohammad Rizwan, each of whom have top-scored in the two games but with innings that divided opinion for their strike rate and notable lack of intent. Their approach has been consistent through the three campaigns and though Pakistan experimented with the opening partnership in the run-up to the event, Kirsten said there was “concern around how we can put our innings together and structure it”.Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf have also been part of both previous campaigns and though the bowling has mostly held up its end of the bargain – and came in for praise from Kirsten yesterday – the decline in Shadab’s legspin has hurt Pakistan.Kirsten acknowledged that he still needed time to take better stock of the situation but was clear that players needed to evolve as the format did.”As I said, I’ve only been here a handful of days. I’m having a look into the environment and looking at what the issues are. I look at these players, I’ve watched them play many, many years on TV and kind of getting to know them, they’re fantastic guys. They’re playing for their country, so they really are pumped. I mean, there’s a lot of very disappointed guys in the change room now.”I think for me the most important thing for every international player is that you continue growing and developing as a player, and understanding what the demands of international competition are. The game is changing pretty much every year. So, if you’re not up to it and you’re not improving, you’re going to get found out somewhere.”Former captain Wasim Akram, who was commentating on the game, went further and called for a clear-out from the current team. Though Akram did not take names, he said the nature of the defeat meant somebody had to “bell the cat now”.”Enough is enough. We need changes now. Bring in a new team, six to seven players and then back them through losses so they can develop as a team. It’s time for the PCB chairman to take a bold step. We keep hearing [of the team] that this guy isn’t talking to that guy, or that guy isn’t talking to him. This was the best New York pitch so far, it wasn’t that difficult. How difficult was it to chase 120?”After this performance I don’t think Pakistan deserve to go into the Super Eight.”1:47

Mumtaz: PCB needs to provide leadership skills to players

Shahid Afridi, another former captain, was also far from pleased with what he saw. “The Pakistan batting line-up simply isn’t clicking and what we saw was a weak display of power hitting,” Afridi wrote in his column for the ICC. “For several reasons, this game [against India] wasn’t about playing aggressively. But strategy and smart cricket were required to get the run chase over the line, and those qualities are exactly what Pakistan lacked.”I think now is the time for Gary Kirsten and Babar Azam to make some changes. I would like to see Salman Ali Agha [he is not part of the T20 World Cup squad] come into the side in place of Usman Khan and Abrar Ahmed to come in for Shadab Khan.”Most of all, I believe Fakhar Zaman should be promoted to open the innings alongside Mohammad Rizwan, with Babar dropping down to number three.”There are some tough conversations and choices to come but we need to remember that there is still hope: Pakistan are not out of the tournament yet.”

Ollie Robinson double-strike hastens Northants’ demise on third morning

ECB Reporters Network02-Jul-2024Sussex quick bowler Nathan McAndrew took five wickets, including two in three balls, to power his county to victory over Northamptonshire and cement their place at the top of the Vitality County Championship Division Two.Australian overseas signing McAndrew, who removed both openers on day two, finished with figures of 5 for 73 as Northamptonshire were bowled out for 220, Sussex winning by 63 runs.A short, fiery spell from overlooked England seamer Ollie Robinson did the early damage in gloomy, drizzly conditions. Robinson found plenty of bounce and carry to remove both not out Northamptonshire batters, Matthew Breetzke and Rob Keogh, inside the first 20 minutes of this third morning at Wantage Road. It was a spell which effectively dashed the hosts’ remaining hopes of chasing 284 to win.While Robinson went off with a niggle soon afterwards, Sussex kept the pressure on, removing the in-form Lewis McManus cheaply before a stubborn eighth wicket partnership of 50 in 14 overs between Justin Broad (45) and Ben Sanderson (24) kept Northamptonshire in the chase.But McAndrew, playing the second of two Championship matches this summer, then returned to take the last three wickets to earn his side their fifth win of the summer.Northamptonshire had started the day on 137 for 4 – still needing another 147 to pull off a first win of the season. But they soon lost South African T20 international Breetzke when he pulled out of a pull shot against Robinson, only for the ball to climb and take the edge through to keeper John Simpson.Robinson then got another pacy delivery to lift sharply with Keogh only able to edge through to Jack Carson at fourth slip before Sean Hunt accounted for McManus, caught behind, to leave Northamptonshire in trouble at 155 for 7, having lost three wickets for 11 in seven overs.Broad and Sanderson dug in to keep Northamptonshire’s hopes alive, running sharp ones and twos to keep the scoreboard ticking over, but unafraid to put the bad balls away.Sanderson showed his batting credentials with a glorious on drive past the bowler for four to get off the mark against Hunt before clipping Fynn Hudson-Prentice off his legs through midwicket for another boundary.In neat symmetry, Broad, who drove Robinson straight down the ground for four to bring up Northamptonshire’s 150, reverse swept the left-arm spin of James Coles for another boundary to take the hosts past 200.The decision to reintroduce McAndrew into the attack proved inspired when, in his first over, he removed Sanderson, who chipped straight to Dan Hughes at mid-on. Then, two balls later, the bowler accounted for Raphy Weatherall with an unplayable inswinging yorker.Broad still showed belief though, taking the attack to McAndrew, ramping over the keeper for four, smashing over midwicket for six and carving the ball square for another boundary. The bowler ultimately had the last word though and when Broad attempted to swing him over fine leg, Coles took the catch in the deep.

Captain Tammy Beaumont’s unbeaten half-century secures nine-wicket win at Southern Brave

ECB Media14-Aug-2024Hayley Matthews continued her remarkable all-round form as Welsh Fire cruised to a commanding nine-wicket victory over bottom side Southern Brave at the Utilita Bowl. The margin of victory ultimately guaranteed the Fire top spot and progression to the Hundred’s final on Sunday at Lord’s.The Barbadian, opening the bowling, delivered figures of 4 for 14 with her offbreaks, before her unbeaten 35, in the slipstream of Tammy Beaumont’s 59 not out off 40 balls, helped the visitors knock off their target with 26 balls to spare.Fire’s win put them in a strong position, due to their superior net run rate, to finish in top spot and qualify automatically for their first Hundred final. Their progress was confirmed when Oval Invincibles failed to chase their 92-run target inside 58 balls against Trent Rockets later on Wednesday afternoon, which would have been enough to leapfrog the Fire on net run-rate.”I think we’ve been really good,” Matthews said. “When you look at our line-up, we’ve got a lot of experience, and we’ve played on that really well.”The bowlers have done a really good job at making sure we don’t have to chase too big of a total. I think it’s been a complete team performance and that’s where we’ve performed really well, everyone’s been chipping in and playing their role.”Tammy Beaumont’s half-century set up Welsh Fire’s win•ECB via Getty Images

After Beaumont put the Brave in at the toss, Matthews dismissed the in-form Danni Wyatt, caught at deep midwicket, before Smriti Mandhana departed four balls later to the pace of Shabnim Ismail, to leave the Brave 15 for 2 at the end of the powerplay.And Brave were quickly four down when Jess Jonassen had Georgia Adams stumped, before Maia Bouchier fell to give Matthews her second after Phoebe Franklin held onto a superb diving catch in the deep.Wickets continued to fall. Freya Kemp got a feather to a Jonassen arm-ball, Naomi Dattani was bowled by a beauty from Matthews, and when Kalea Moore was stumped two balls later, the Brave were tottering on 47 for 7.Chloe Tryon singlehandedly rescued the innings with an aggressive 55 (38), dominating the latter stages with boundaries down the ground and through the cover region, adding 52 with keeper-bat, Rhianna Southby.Despite this mini-fightback, the result rarely looked in doubt after the Fire’s flying start, with 34 runs posted before the loss of Sophia Dunkley to the final ball of the powerplay.Beaumont was especially strong on anything loose, working the field with sweeps and cuts, while Matthews picked the gaps behind square as the former reached her half-century in just 31 balls. The pair put on 72 in 54 deliveries to ensure Fire roared into the latter stages of the competition.