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Charlotte Edwards has signed a new sponsorship deal with Serious Cricket – an equipment and coaching supplier

George Dobell31-Jan-2012Charlotte Edwards, the England Women captain, has signed a new sponsorship deal with Serious Cricket – an equipment and coaching supplier – allowing her to both enjoy the financial rewards her success warrants and extend her playing career without the concern that she ought to be looking to life after cricket.On the face of it, the news that Edwards has signed a sponsorship deal might seem of little interest. That is just the sort of thing you would expect from a top international sports star, isn’t it?Well, yes and no. While the captain of the England’s men’s side would be expected to have such deals, the news that Edwards had agreed to something similar is quietly significant. It marks another small step on the road to professionalism of the England women’s team.Edwards, 32, is a fine cricketer with an excellent record. She is also a fine captain and has played a huge role in leading England to unprecedented success. For a substantial part of her tenure, she has led the best side in the world.But, until very recently, England was in danger of losing some of their leading players. Some pursued careers with more stability and longevity, others simply found that the demands of trying to earn a living and playing international sport compromised them in both departments. The drop-off rate for young cricketers giving up the game shortly after leaving education was alarming. The lack of security or income from cricket was a major problem. Edwards even had to fund the purchase of some of England clothing and her accommodation on her first tour.Then the Cricket Foundation’s Chance to Shine scheme started to provide employment for a group of leading women cricketers. It meant they were required to coach in clubs and schools to spread the gospel of cricket, but also ensured they had a benevolent employer who would ensure they had time to train and tour as necessary. The ECB also supplies monthly payments to 20 women cricketers and recently introduced tour fees and incentivised appearance fees.Perhaps more importantly, Edwards’ new deal – in addition to Chance to Shine – will provide an incentive to other young women who are considering a career in the game to take the plunge and pursue cricket as a profession.

After spending December trapped in by now and bad weather Pubudu Dassanayake, the Canada coach, is thrilled that his team are playing in the Caribbean Twenty20 tournament just prior to the World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jan-2011After spending December trapped in by snow and bad weather, Pubudu Dassanayake, the Canada coach, is thrilled that his team are playing in the Caribbean Twenty20 tournament just prior to the World Cup.Canada completed a training camp on Wednesday and will play the tournament, which will be between January 10 and 23. With the World Cup just over a month away Dassanayake is thankful that the team will get some valuable match practice.”When I thought about it, here [in Toronto], there’s snow and you have to be indoors, and, if you go to the Caribbean, you’re going to face all the top quality bowlers, you’re going to play on good grounds and facilities,” Dassanayake told CBC.ca.Ravin Moorthy, Canada’s high performance manager, echoed the sentiment and reassured that the change in format won’t affect his side’s preparations. “It’s a slightly different format than what we’ll face in the World Cup [with its 50 overs], but it’s an opportunity to play against good quality cricketers in a well-organised tournament with good facilities,” said Moorthy.”It’s a good opportunity for guys to get outside, play some cricket outdoors and dust off some of the cobwebs.”Canada are in Group B at the Caribbean T20, along with Barbados, Hampshire Royals, Leeward Islands and Trinidad and Tobago and play their opening game against Hampshire on January 11.”What we want to achieve, of course, is to win,” Dassanayake said. “But at the same time, it’s all about going with the same plans we’re going to have in the World Cup. Having the same batting order, trying to improve our fielding as a group and the variations of how we use our bowlers, is all of the stuff we’re going to work on this tour as a preparation towards the World Cup.”Moorthy felt being together for nearly a year has done the team plenty of good and he hopes they will be ready to play their best cricket by the time the World Cup comes around. “At this stage, it’s not so much technical remediation; it’s learning how to bring your best performance onto the top stage.”It has not all been plain sailing however, with Canada’s all-time leading run scorer John Davison deciding last month to withdraw from the squad until further explanation was given for the omission of batsmen Geoff Barnett and Ian Billcliff from the World Cup squad.The turmoil is sure to have rocked the camp but Moorthy is confident the bond between the team is strong enough to overcome the loss and Dassanayake backed the youngsters to make up for Davison’s absence.”It’s a group that has very little challenges as everybody seems to enjoy each other’s company so, from that perspective, it’s a pleasure to be a part of,” said Moorthy. “Everybody’s on the same page and everyone is really focused towards doing something.”The youngsters that we have, especially Nitish Kumar, Hiral Patel, Ruvindu Gunasekera and Parth Desai, have the talent to be at that level,” Dassanayake said. “Even though they’re young, you can see that these guys came a long way and they do things like senior players. I’m expecting them to perform in the World Cup and put on a good show.”

The IPL has released its final list of 66 overseas players who will be involved in the IPL auction on Tuesday

Cricinfo staff16-Jan-2010The IPL has released its final list of 66 overseas players who will be involved in the IPL auction on Tuesday. The list is a mix of rising stars such as Kieron Pollard and Eoin Morgan, and ICL returnees like Shane Bond and Damien Martyn in addition to Pakistan players returning to the IPL-fold. The list includes players from all eight Test-playing nations other than India, with 11 players from Pakistan, Australia and South Africa; nine from Sri Lanka; eight from England and West Indies; four from New Zealand and one each from Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Canada and Holland.Initially, 97 players had registered for the IPL auction and once the franchises had gone through the names, the list was pruned to 66.Brad Haddin, Phillip Hughes and Doug Bollinger are prominent Australia players in the list along with Damien Martyn. Haddin’s reputation as an attacking wicket-keeper batsman, and Bollinger’s impressive performance with the ball in both ODIs and Tests, make them strong contenders. Hughes could go high in the auction, given his average of 51.22 in Twenty20 cricket.Bangladesh’s flag-bearer is allrounder Shakib Al Hasan, who, despite being ranked the No.1 allrounder during last year’s auction, wasn’t picked. Eoin Morgan’s aggression in the ODI series against South Africa will have some franchises interested – England’s players were named in the list only after the IPL organisers received a guarantee that they would be available for the full season. From New Zealand, Shane Bond’s admirable show after returning from the ICL, in the Champions Trophy, as well as in his short-lived Test comeback, makes him a bankable buy.The list also includes Pakistan’s Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi, who had played for Deccan Chargers in the first season, and Sohail Tanvir, who struck the winning runs for Rajasthan Royals in the final of the inaugural edition. Pakistan’s finds of 2009, Mohammad Aamer and Umar Akmal, are also in the list, as are ICL-returnees Imran Nazir, Abdul Razzaq and Naved-ul-Hasan. Pakistan’s players did not participate in the IPL in 2009 following a deterioration in diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks in November 2008.West Indies boast an impressive group of contenders; chief among them is Trinidad and Tobago’s Pollard, whose clean, ruthless hitting in the Champions League Twenty20 could merit a lucrative IPL contract. Ramnaresh Sarwan comes back on the auction list while, for South Africa, left-arm fast bowler Wayne Parnell is in the fray for a deal.Here is the complete list:Australia: Brad Haddin, Philip Hughes, Doug Bollinger, Ashley Noffke, Adam Voges, Luke Pomersbach, Clint McKay, Graham Manou, Ben Laughlin, Jason Krejza, Damien MartynEngland: Tim Bresnan, Eoin Morgan, Robert Key, Anthony McGrath, Monty Panesar, Mark Ramprakash, Graeme Swann, Jonathon TrottPakistan: Shahid Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Gul, Imran Nazir, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Mohammad Aamer, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal, Saeed Ajmal, Sohail TanvirSouth Africa: Zander de Bruyn, Wayne Parnell, Tyron Henderson, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Rory Kleinveldt, Yusuf Abdulla, Vernon Philander, Johan van der Wath, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, Morne van Vyk, Justin KempSri Lanka: Nuwan Kulasekara, Nuwan Zoysa, Upul Tharanga, Thissara Perera, Thilina Kandamby, Kaushalya Weeraratne, Chanaka Welegedara, Chinthaka Jayasinghe, Chamara SilvaWest Indies: Kieron Pollard, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Daren Ganga, Lendl Simmons, Darren Bravo, Wavell Hinds, Kemar Roach, Sulieman BennNew Zealand: Grant Elliott, Lou Vincent, Shane Bond, Nathan McCullumZimbabwe: Murray GoodwinBangladesh: Shakib Al HasanCanada: Rizwan CheemaNetherlands: Ryan ten Doeschate

Bangladesh are searching for a 3-0 series clean sweep; Pakistan are looking for fixes

Danyal Rasool23-Jul-2025

Big picture: Can Bangladesh make it 3-0?

Bangladesh set aside Pakistan’s pseudo-paternalistic concerns about their home pitches not helping them away on Tuesday. After all, this series is taking place in Bangladesh, and in the corresponding one six weeks ago, Pakistan prepared surfaces designed to suit their own game; it hasn’t exactly helped them away in Bangladesh, either.A dominant bowling performance helped Bangladesh wrap up the three-match T20I series at the earliest opportunity, with the visitors grateful for a counterattacking knock from Faheem Ashraf that staved off sharper embarrassment, though not defeat.Coming a day after the tragic events of a plane crash into a school that took many lives, an emotional crowd in Dhaka were given something to cheer by a home performance which oscillated between steel and swagger. The former was required when Pakistan’s bowlers punctured Bangladesh’s top order repeatedly in the powerplay and beyond; Jaker Ali and Mahedi Hasan stanching the bleeding and keeping alive their hopes in the contest. The fast bowlers then lit the stadium up in a scarcely believable powerplay where they took five wickets.Related

• Hesson slams 'unacceptable' Mirpur pitch

• Bangladesh seal first T20I series win against Pakistan

• Jaker: 'I only count match-winning runs, the rest doesn't register'

Even more satisfying, perhaps, for Bangladesh is the well-roundedness of their displays this series. They showed, in the first game, an ability to hunt down a low-scoring total with ease despite early pressure, before defending one in the second, holding their nerve in a tight finish. They even rested two of their best performers in the second contest – Tanzid Hasan and Taskin Ahmed – without leaving them too exposed in these conditions. At just about every stage in each game, they have found themselves ahead of Pakistan, and fittingly, that’s where they are guaranteed to stay.When Pakistan trounced this opposition at home a few weeks earlier, captain Salman Agha had said he would judge his team by intent more than results. However, that intent – particularly on Tuesday after Pakistan lost a heap of early wickets – was lacking for large periods. The asking rate ballooned to a point where, even in a low-scoring game, Pakistan scored 78 off the last 45 balls and still end up short. Salman himself scratched around for 23 balls, managing just nine.However, one thing going for Pakistan is that they have a large number of T20Is over the rest of the year. If they find themselves unable to implement the fixes they have so publicly promised they are seeking, it won’t be for lack of match practice. The final game against Bangladesh may offer a window into how quickly those fixes can begin to be implemented.

Form guide

Bangladesh: WWWWL
Pakistan: LLWWWMustafizur Rahman returned outstanding figures of 4-0-6-2 in the first T20I•BCB

In the spotlight: Mustafizur Rahman and Hasan Nawaz

Mustafizur Rahman has tormented Pakistan this series, using his famous offcutters on a surface designed to make them impossibly difficult to play. The pace-on variation makes that weapon even more deadly, and Bangladesh have wrapped up the series before Pakistan have figured out how to handle him. Across two games, he boasts an economy rate under five and has taken three wickets, including the one that finished Pakistan off on Tuesday. Should Bangladesh play him with the series already done, there’s little to suggest Pakistan won’t struggle similarly against him.Hasan Nawaz intersperses big scores and impactful innings with a string of low ones, and he’s in the latter cycle right now. He’s faced ten deliveries this series, but he’s yet to score, dismissed for a duck each innings. It’s been a story that’s repeated itself throughout his brief career so far; the T20I series against New Zealand in March saw him score one century but add just a solitary run in the other four innings. It is that explosiveness that Pakistan use to justify his selection, and what they will bank on as they try and avoid a series whitewash.

Team news: Farhan, Muqeem to get a chance?

Bangladesh may rest the odd player or two with the series done, but there are no new injury concerns.Bangladesh (probable XI): 1 Tanzid Hasan, 2 Parvez Hossain Emon, 3 Litton Das (capt), 4 Towhid Hridoy, 5 Jaker Ali (wk), 6 Shamim Hossain, 7 Mahedi Hasan, 8 Rishad Hossain, 9 Tanzim Hasan Sakib, 10 Mustafizur Rahman/Shoriful Isman, 11 Taskin AhmedWill Sufiyan Muqeem come into the side for the third T20I?•AFP/Getty Images

Sahibzada Farhan is yet to get a game this series, as is Sufiyan Muqeem. The inclusion of either won’t be a surprise, though Pakistan’s weakened bowling attack means they will continue to be forced to turn to part-timers to run through an innings.Pakistan: (probable XI): 1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Saim Ayub/Sahibzada Farhan, 3 Mohammad Haris (wk), 4 Hasan Nawaz, 5 Salman Agha (capt), 6 Khushdil Shah, 7 Abbas Afridi, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Ahmed Daniyal, 10 Salman Mirza, 11 Abrar Ahmed/Sufiyan Muqeem

Pitch and conditions

Mirpur has stayed dry even amidst heavy monsoon rain in Dhaka of late. There’s an afternoon shower forecast, while the pitch – a subject of such focus this week – is unlikely to be significantly different.

Stats and trivia

• Rishad Hossain is two wickets away from becoming the sixth Bangladeshi man to reach 50 T20I wickets
• Bangladesh have won two T20I series 3-0 against Full Members – once at home against England in 2023, and one in the West Indies last year

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

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• 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.

The 18-year-old is tipped as the next big run-scoring star in Australia cricket but likes to avoid the spotlight

Tristan Lavalette07-Oct-2022Late on day two of the Sheffield Shield match between Western Australia and New South Wales, as the shadows deepened at the WACA Ground, 18-year-old Teague Wyllie flicked a frustrated Nathan Lyon to the boundary.As his team-mates and the sparse smattering of fans collectively rose in the terraces, Wyllie walked slowly towards batting partner Matt Kelly and finally, almost reluctantly, raised his bat.In just his third first-class match, Wyllie became the youngest Shield centurion since Ricky Ponting in 1992-93. It was a feat made more impressive considering only two other batters compiled half-centuries in the bowler-dominated match, which WA won by eight wickets in a powerful launch of their title defence.”He [Wyllie] said ‘tax accountants don’t celebrate when they do their tax return so I shouldn’t celebrate scoring a hundred’,” chuckled WA captain Sam Whiteman, who spoke to ESPNcricinfo after the match. “He loves batting and is an impressive young man. He feels like he’s 28.”Related

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• Under-19 World Cup 2022: Wyllie, Dhull, Brevis and Wellalage headline ESPNcricinfo's Team of the Tournament

• Wyllie's maiden hundred hands Western Australia control

• Nine for Morris as WA make winning start to Shield defence

While Wyllie’s reserved celebration caused mirth for his team-mates, it underlines his maturity beyond his age and should serve him well amid being bandied around as Australia’s next great batter. He topped Australia’s batting at the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year and was named in the tournament’s most valuable team.”A lot of the lads take the mickey out of me for not taking the helmet off but I just don’t like the attention from it,” Wyllie told reporters in Perth on Friday.”My old boy drilled into me when you get a hundred that the job is not done. So I’ve never been a massive fan of carrying-on…because I’m just trying to get the team into a good position.”His 104 off 204 balls masterclass rescued WA from a precarious 100 for 6 as the No. 5 calmly batted with the tail to lift his team to 258 and an invaluable 78-run first innings lead in the low-scoring contest.Having come through the ranks as an opener, the tall Wyllie – who stands over six foot – is already an intimidating figure at the crease but his batting is built on compact defence and eyeing the long haul. He’s perhaps a throwback to a more sedate time although can shift gears when needed. While more senior batters were undone by the seam and bounce on a tricky WACA pitch, Wyllie played straight and produced several eye-catching drives down the ground.”Test cricket is the goal and I believe it is the pinnacle when it comes to cricket,” he said. “I’ve always loved batting for a long period of time.””I’ve never been a massive fan of carrying-on…because I’m just trying to get the team into a good position”•Getty Images

It is little surprise then to learn who he has modelled his game on.”I idolised Rahul Dravid growing up,” Wyllie said. “He values his wicket more than anyone. Growing up I modelled my game on him a bit when it comes to valuing his wicket and batting for long periods. Kane Williamson is another who I try to learn a lot from.”Wyllie, who grew up in the regional city of Mandurah less than an hour from Perth, has long been seriously devoted to cricket having eschewed playing other sports competitively. It led to “burnout” three years ago, but Wyllie’s found a better balance as he starts his professional career and enjoys playing golf and watching TV shows when he’s not carefully honing his game.But his life has already started changing and becoming busier, as he quickly realised when he received around 500 messages from friends and family after his Shield heroics.Surrounded by a wealth of experience, including mentor Shaun Marsh, Wyllie has received a particularly wise tip to deal with his growing stardom.”I’ve spoken to a few of the senior guys…they got rid of social media. I haven’t gotten to that stage,” he said.But you feel Wyllie will handle keyboard warriors similarly to how he blunts exasperated bowlers.”I don’t go looking into social media comments because it’s just white noise and it doesn’t matter that much,” he said. “I tend to stay out of the spotlight…I love batting.”

Australia batter’s 44 is highest score as Group Three leaders shade madcap opening day

ECB Reporters Network03-Jun-2021The bowlers held sway in the LV=Insurance County Championship match between Glamorgan and Lancashire in Cardiff with 19 wickets falling on the opening day.Lancashire were put into bat and managed 173 all out with the highest partnership of the innings being the 36 put on between Luke Wood and Danny Lamb for the seventh wicket. Michael Neser returned the best figures for the hosts with 3 for 46, with the other Glamorgan seamers all chipping in.Glamorgan started solidly in reply with an opening stand of 39 between David Lloyd and Joe Cooke but from that point on, the wickets continued to tumble with Tom Bailey – who had top-scored with 31 – claiming 3 for 40 for Lancashire.Related

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Glamorgan reached the close on 150 for 9, still trailing by 23 and in danger of conceding what could be a telling first-innings lead.Having won the toss and elected to field, they had started well in the first session with James Weighell the pick of the bowlers, but it was the ever-reliable Michael Hogan who made the first breakthrough from a ball that moved in sharply to the left-handed Keaton Jennings, clattering into his stumps.Weighell took the two next wickets to fall, the first from an inswinger that Luke Wells left alone and he was given out lbw. Alex Davies had looked to be finding his feet when he attempted to cut a ball that was too close to him for the shot and he spooned a catch to Andrew Salter at point for 21.It was Dan Douthwaite who claimed the final two wickets of the Lancashire innings with both Saqib Mahmood and Bailey chopping the ball on to their stumps.The wickets also fell at regular intervals in the Glamorgan innings, the first being Lloyd for a punchy 21, bowled when he left a ball from Mahmood that clipped his off stump.Bailey claimed two wickets in two balls when he had Joe Cooke bowled and Billy Root trapped lbw to leave Glamorgan 74 for 3.Marnus Labuschagne was the one player who looked well set but he also fell on this madcap day, dismissed lbw to Lamb. His 44 in this innings doubled his run tally for Glamorgan this season with the Australian yet to rediscover the outstanding form of his 2019 county campaign. With him gone there was little further resistance, as Lancashire made their way through the lower order.”There was some good bowling there, shot selection was a bit of an issue at times… there is the odd ball that nips around a bit but it is a nice wicket,” Hogan said. “After that first hour, I thought that we were in for a long old day, and it seemed like a nice wicket. 19 in the day is interesting but I suppose the game goes like that sometimes.”

Allrounder played three Tests for England in 1960, winning all of them

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Apr-2020Former Glamorgan and England allrounder Peter Walker has died aged 84 following a stroke.A dependable option with bat and ball, Walker’s standout attribute was his close catching: he managed 697 catches over the course of his first-class career, including a club-record 656 for Glamorgan, with the vast majority at either slip or short leg.Partly educated in South Africa, Walker spent two years in the merchant navy before starting to play first-class cricket, making his debut in 1956. He passed the 1000-run mark in 11 separate seasons as an attacking middle-order batsman, and after starting out as a left-arm swing bowler, he developed into a left-arm orthodox spinner towards the end of his career.He made his Test debut aged 24, making 9 and 37 in a win against South Africa at Edgbaston, and added his only half-century at Lord’s two weeks later. But three games – and three wins – into his England career, he was left out and was never called upon again. Alongside Martin Saggers and Toby Roland-Jones, he is one of three men to have played three Tests or more in his England career while maintaining a 100% win record in the post-war era.He was a key part of the Glamorgan side that went undefeated in the 1969 County Championship season, which culminated in the club’s second title, and retired in 1972 to further his broadcasting career with the BBC, where he was the face of Sunday League coverage for several years.He went on to become an administrator, and was a driving force behind the creation of the National Cricket Centre for Wales at Sophia Gardens. In 2010, he was awarded an MBE for services to cricket, primarily for his role at the centre.He later had a short stint as Glamorgan president, starting his tenure in March 2009 but resigning in November 2010 following the sacking of Jamie Dalrymple as captain and the departure of Matthew Maynard as coach.Glamorgan chairman Gareth Williams said: “Everyone at Glamorgan is saddened to hear this news. Peter was a club legend, a man who gave everything he could to the club he loved while playing, and later in an off-field capacity. He gave so much back to the game, in particular through his work with Cricket Wales and the National Cricket Centre, and through his outstanding service as President of Glamorgan.”Hugh Morris, the club’s chief executive, said: “A combination of world-class catching ability, aggressive batting and accurate spin made him a triple threat and a brilliant allrounder. He helped Glamorgan to win a County Championship title and represented England, making him a true legend of the club.”We may never see another player quite like him, and he will be missed by everyone at the club. Our thoughts go out to his family, and his friends.”

For Joe Burns, too, it was an emotional occasion as his fourth Test century came after a roller-coaster couple of seasons

Daniel Brettig in Canberra01-Feb-2019Australia’s vice-captain Travis Head raised his eyes to the heavens upon reaching his first Test century, and later spoke tearfully of how he had dedicated the innings to the late Phillip Hughes, his mentor and teammate until his death in 2014.Head played a classic counter-attacking innings in the company of opener Joe Burns to turn a wobbly Australian start against Sri Lanka into a dominant day one of the inaugural Canberra Test match, as their stand of 308 led the hosts to a commanding 4 for 384 by the close.In reaching three figures after several near-misses so far in his brief Test career, Head’s thoughts turned to Hughes, who had died after being struck by a short ball during a Sheffield Shield match at the SCG a little more than four years ago.”Yeah [I dedicated it to] a few, but Hughesy as well, a little bit emotional to be honest,” Head told SEN Radio before breaking into tears. “It was a little bit about trying to get the momentum back, it was a little like last week where we lost quick wickets and were a little bit under the pump, it was trying to get that momentum back. Last week I started my innings really well, left the ball really well, just tried to get that momentum back and get it to swing back our way. I felt like Burnsy and I were able to do that again.ALSO READ: Australia’s last resort Joe Burns makes their first hundred of the summer”To go out there and continue from last week, personally and as a team we put ourselves in a great position to get hundreds and weren’t able to, that was the disappointing part, but it was really good today to get out there, and once we got our chance, to make it massive.”At the other end, Burns said the emotion in Head’s celebration was certainly moving, leaving him to feel that all he wanted to do was offer his team-mate a long, strong hug to mark the moment.”He was very emotional for his first hundred, out in the middle you don’t ask how someone’s feeling [but] I was just over the moon for him,” Burns said. “To see a bloke, the hard work he’s done all summer and for a number of years playing against him, you knew how good a player he was.”It’s one of those innings today that’ll get him started in his Test career, get that first one out of the way and open the floodgates. I just wanted to hug him as hard as I could for as long as I could and just keep batting with him. It was really enjoyable.”Full credit to Trav, he comes out with great intent, puts the bowlers off their mark, and turns three early wickets into straightaway pressure back on the bowlers. And you could sense out there the left-hand/right-hand combination and being able to score in different areas and keep the scoreboard ticking all day meant their bowlers couldn’t get that build-up of pressure. That’s the key to a good partnership and really satisfying to do that for a long period.”Burns had plenty of his own reasons for being emotional, a little more than two years after a strong start to his Test career had been blown off course by none other than Sri Lanka on a troubled 2016 tour.Joe Burns kisses the badge on reaching his century•Getty Images

Since then, he has appeared at times to struggle to win the favour of the selectors, not least when twice picked then dropped immediately, in Hobart in late 2016 and then after the Johannesburg Test immediately following the Newlands scandal.”Look, it can be tough,” Burns admitted of how he had tried to process those episodes. “Two very different circumstances, both extreme the way they unfolded, but that’s not just cricket, that’s life sometimes, you can’t plan too far ahead, take the good with the bad. It makes days like today – when you get to kiss the badge on your helmet – bloody good, that’s for sure. It makes you really appreciate the good days because you never know when’s your last Test match or when you’re going to be out of the team.”You can’t take anything for granted, just have a responsibility to play as hard as you can and as best you can and what will be will be. It’s just one of those times where you appreciate a good day. You’ve got to do that in this game because you have a hell of a lot of bad days as well, so appreciate the fact it’s a good day and we’re just eager to come back tomorrow and do it all again hopefully and make tomorrow an even better day.”Coming into the day’s play, we knew the first hour was going to be pretty tough. Bit of grass on the wicket, bit of overheads, so despite losing the three wickets we knew we had to absorb that pressure they posed to us and we were also aware they were an inexperienced bowling attack that were going to present scoring opportunities if we could get through those tough periods. Last time I played Sri Lanka we got thumped, so I’ve got a hell of a lot of motivation to get out there and get a series win, that’s for sure.”Perspective, too, had come from the team’s visit to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra two days out from the start of the match. “I had that sense of your country and how lucky we are to play cricket for Australia,” Burns said, “And how much you just want to make runs for the Australian people and get the chance to get to a hundred and have the crowd applaud you like that, there’s nothing better.”

Jamie Porter also claimed two prizes after helping Essex to the County Championship title while James Anderson and Joe Root took the England awards

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Oct-2017Samit Patel and Nat Sciver have been recognised by their peers with respective Player of the Year titles at the Professional Cricketers’ Association awards night.Patel, the Nottinghamshire allrounder, won the Reg Hayter Cup after being voted the PCA Players’ Player of the Year, following his starring role in Nottinghamshire’s impressive season where they won both white-ball competitions – the Royal London Cup and NatWest T20 Blast – and secured promotion in the County Championship.Patel topped the voting ahead of Kumar Sangakkara, who signed off his first-class career by averaging over 100 in the Championship for Surrey, Essex’s Jamie Porter, the leading wicket-taker of the season, and Glamorgan’s Colin Ingram who made over 1000 runs in white-ball cricket.He was Nottinghamshire’s leading run-scorer in the Championship with 906 at 53.29 and also claimed 19 wickets. He also topped the county’s run chart in the Royal London Cup – and was fourth overall – with 539 at 67.37 then added 405 runs and 16 wickets in the T20 Blast. His success has been enough to have him floated as a possible replacement for Ben Stokes should the latter be withdrawn from the Ashes.

PCA award winners

Reg Hayter Cup for the NatWest PCA Players’ Player of the Year
Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire)
John Arlott Cup for the NatWest PCA Young Player of the Year
Jamie Porter (Essex)
NatWest Women’s Player of the Summer
Natalie Sciver
Investec Test Player of the Summer
James Anderson
Royal London One Day International Player of the Summer
Joe Root
Specsavers County Championship Player of the Year
Jamie Porter (Essex)
NatWest T20 Blast Player of the Year
Wayne Madsen (Derbyshire)
Royal London One-Day Cup Player of the Year
Colin Ingram (Glamorgan)
Greene King PCA England Masters Player of the Year
Owais Shah
PCA Lifetime Achievement Award
Fred Rumsey
ECB Special Award
Heather Knight and Mark Robinson
Harold Goldblatt Award for the PCA Umpire of the Year
Michael Gough

“It’s a great honour to be voted by your peers. It’s a great feeling and it demonstrates how well we have done as a team and individually this season,” Patel said. “I’m a little bit surprised actually. To be up there with a world-class player like Sanga, with the amount of runs that he scored in a short amount of time, is a privilege in itself.”Allrounder Sciver, part of the World Cup-winning side, was named England’s Player of the Summer ahead of Tammy Beaumont and Alex Hartley. Sciver scored 369 runs at 46.12 and took seven wickets to help England secure the title and, during the tournament, had a shot named after her.The ‘Nat-Meg’ was unveiled, at least to a wider audience, during her 129 off 111 balls against New Zealand when Sciver deliberately deflected a leg-stump yorker through her legs for two runs. Earlier in the tournament she had scored a career-best 137 against Pakistan which included England’s fastest World Cup century off 76 balls.In the final against India, played at a sold-out Lord’s, Sciver held England’s middle order together with 51 off 68 balls to help them to 228 for 7, which ultimately proved just enough thanks to Anya Shrubsole’s inspired spell.”Nothing can take away from that day at Lord’s and just being there with the whole team and the girls who didn’t quite make the 15 so we were there as a squad,” Sciver said. “This caps off a brilliant year for us and hopefully we can produce a few more brilliant years. To be voted by my peers is a really nice feeling.”There are a few other players who could have been nominated as well. It was a performance by the full 15 in the squad, so I am very lucky.In the other awards, Porter picked up two prizes – the Young Player of the Year and the County Championship award for his 75 wickets at 16.82 in Essex’s unbeaten campaign. His success has earned him a place on the England Lions tour of Australia next month.The England Test and one-day awards went to James Anderson and Joe Root respectively, Ingram was named the Royal London Cup Player of the Year and Wayne Madsen took the same title for the NatWest t20 Blast.In the PCA’s 50th year – the organisation’s first meeting was on September 4, 1967 in London – they gave a lifetime achievement award to the founder Fred Rumsey.”In our 50th Anniversary year it is only fitting that our Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to one of our founding members, Fred Rumsey,” David Leatherdale, the PCA chief executive said. “His courage and determination some 50 years ago has enabled the PCA to become the respected organisation it is today.”PCA team of the year Alex Hales(Nottinghamshire), Mark Stoneman (Surrey), Colin Ingram (Glamorgan), Kumar Sangakkara (Surrey), Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire), Darren Stevens (Kent), Ben Cox (Worcestershire), Kyle Abbott (Hampshire), Craig Overton (Somerset), Simon Harmer (Essex), Jamie Porter (Essex)