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Saini’s 5 for 72 helps knock Warwickshire over for 225

ECB Reporters Network20-Jul-2022Joe Denly’s compact unbeaten half-century dug Kent out of trouble and left their vital LV=Insurance County Championship tussle with Warwickshire finely poised at the halfway stage.Trailing by 60 on first innings, the visitors closed the second day at Edgbaston on 198 for 4 – 138 ahead – with Denly unbeaten on 70. Kent were in peril at 105 for 4 but the former England batter joined forces with Jordan Cox (40 not out) to add an unbroken 93 to keep their side in with a chance of a vital victory in a contest between the two sides just above Division One’s bottom two.In the morning they bowled Warwickshire out for 225 with the impressively pacy Navdeep Saini taking 5 for 72 on his debut. Four of the Indian’s wickets were among seven catches in the innings for wicketkeeper Sam Billings. It was Billings’ second haul of seven, though the Kent record remains eight (Steve Marsh v Middlesex at Lord’s in 1991).Sam Hain defied discomfort from a sore back to lead Warwickshire’s batting. He was last to fall, for 99, as the home side acquired a lead that was useful rather than commanding.During an overcast morning, Warwickshire made bitty progress as Hain battled to cajole runs from the tail. As Kent’s refurbished seam attack plugged away manfully, the last four wickets were all snaffled by Billings. Danny Briggs edged Matt Henry and when Henry Brookes and Craig Miles nicked Saini, it was left to No. 11 Olly Hannon-Dalby to try to escort his team to a batting point and his partner to 100. The former happened but the latter did not as Hain bottom-edged a cut at Matt Milnes.Second time round, Kent again started falteringly and lost both openers before the deficit was erased. Ben Compton edged Hannon-Dalby to third slip and Zak Crawley chipped Will Rhodes to mid-wicket.Daniel Bell-Drummond collected 27 from 44 balls but fell lbw to Hannon-Dalby and when Craig Miles hit Jack Leaning’s off-stump with a beauty, Kent were 105 for 4 – just 45 ahead.Denly and Cox played with composure and patience to first stabilise the innings and then accelerate gently against the softening ball as the pitch appeared to start to flatten. Denly continued his return to form by reaching 50 in 92 balls and celebrated with a straight six off Briggs. Cox batted impressively for the second time in the match and that the sixth-wicket pair stayed intact to resume in the morning tilted the balance of power in this fluctuating contest narrowly Kent’s way.

Overton, McKerr add vital runs for ninth wicket to secure slender advantage

ECB Reporters Network26-Jul-2022 Warwickshire 253 (McAndrew 44, Sibley 43, Lawes 3-38, McKerr 3-39) and 1 for 0 trail Surrey 316 (Pope 65) by 62 runs Ollie Pope’s sparkling 65, and a determined ninth-wicket stand of 72 between Conor McKerr and Jamie Overton, edged Surrey ahead of Warwickshire at the midway point of a hard-fought LV= Insurance County Championship contest at the Kia Oval.Pope, who faced only 73 balls and hit two sixes and nine fours, scored the only half-century of the match so far, while McKerr and Overton’s heroics enabled Surrey to reply with 316 to Warwickshire’s 253. In two overs’ batting before stumps, Warwickshire reached 1 without loss in their second innings, reducing their overall deficit to 62.Fast bowler McKerr, called up only as a late replacement for Dan Worrall, who suffered a shoulder injury in the warm-ups before the game, scored an assured career-best 37 in two hours’ resistance.And Overton, batting down at No.10 because of a damaged right hand, contributed an equally responsible 38 to earn Division One leaders Surrey a precious third batting bonus point as well as a handy first-innings lead.Just after McKerr’s dismissal, lbw on the back foot to slow left-armer Danny Briggs, and before he was last out, pulling Ollie Hannon-Dalby to deep mid wicket, Overton was struck a painful blow on the same hand by Liam Norwell but, after on-field treatment, he batted bravely on. Hannon-Dalby finished with 3 for 44, taking his season’s championship wicket-tally to 46.In contrast to Warwickshire’s first innings, Surrey’s reply was always more aggressive in intent with Ryan Patel setting the tone almost immediately by taking three successive fours off Norwell’s opening over.Two magnificent extra cover driven boundaries were followed by another four to square leg but then, from the very next ball, Patel’s attempt to hit a near long hop through square cover was undone when the ball hit the toe-end of his bat and looped up almost comically to Nathan McAndrew at cover, who ran in to take the easiest of catches.Patel departed in understandably high dudgeon and when Hashim Amla was leg-before to the probing Hannon-Dalby for 9 in the ninth over Surrey were in early bother at 25 for 2.Opener Rory Burns’ reaction, now in partnership with Pope, was to counter-attack and the pair had added 47 in six overs when, shortly before lunch, Burns was adjudged lbw to McAndrew for 27.Pope, who had shuffled down the pitch to drive his very first ball, from Hannon-Dalby, deliciously wide of mid-on for four, and had also in the morning session swivelled in his crease to club a shortish ball from Brad Wheal high over square leg for six, was now joined by Ben Foakes in a stand of 55 in 15 overs that continued to take the attack to Warwickshire.Hannon-Dalby, though, impressed in a lengthy spell from the Vauxhall End and, in his 13th over and the 30th of the innings, his perseverance paid off when an off-cutter pinned Foakes plumb lbw for a well-made 31.Will Jacks was away quickly with a flicked four to long leg against Hannon-Dalby and Pope went to the game’s first half-century with a superb square driven four off Norwell. Jacks then whipped Will Rhodes’ medium pace twice wide of mid on for further boundaries.Pope, however, had just pulled Wheal for six when, attempting to repeat the stroke next ball, skied for Alex Davies to take the catch running in from deep square leg.He and Jacks had added 46 in eight overs and another 39 in seven came from Jacks’ subsequent alliance with Jordan Clark, who offered some thumping strokes of his own until McAndrew bowled him for 28 with an excellent ball that removed off stump.By then Jacks had also gone, for a bright 51-ball 44, caught behind off McAndrew, but Surrey’s middle order had scored 164 in 36 afternoon overs and, after tea, the tail added another 73 thanks largely to McKerr and Overton.Tom Lawes, caught at second slip off Norwell for 12, had enjoyed a remarkable escape just before the interval when he was beaten by a ball from McAndrew which clipped the outside of the off stump so hard that it deflected away past diving keeper Michael Burgess for four byes. The bails, though, did not budge!Day two had begun with Warwickshire, on 240 for 8 overnight, losing their last two wickets for the addition of only 13 runs. McAndrew, who resumed on 40, at least made sure of a third batting bonus point before he sparred at a ball from Kemar Roach, berating himself for edging a catch to Pope at second slip.And Lawes, replacing Roach, struck with his fourth ball to bowl Norwell with a perfect inswinger that plucked out middle stump. It gave Lawes figures of 3 for 38 from 20.4 overs, and the teenager was the pick of Surrey’s attack throughout the innings in just his fifth first-class appearance.

“Losing is a normal thing, but we’re too good a team to lose by this kind of margin,” says the Sri Lanka captain

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Aug-20221:31

Jaffer: Farooqi sets up batters by swinging the ball both ways

Sri Lanka must ask their batters “whether they were ready” for the challenges Afghanistan’s quicks threw at them, Dasun Shanaka

The swing Fazalhaq Farooqi got was the big problem, Shanaka said. Kusal Mendis and Charith Asalanka fell to the quick off deliveries that moved into them. The rest of the top order struggled against Naveen-ul-Haq.”We have to ask our batters whether they were prepared,” Shanaka said. “We know that Farooqi swings the ball both ways. Naveen-ul-Haq also swings it most of the time. It’s not like in our conditions; these bowlers are a bit skiddier. We have to ask that question of whether we were ready for them.”It was a really good pitch. It was the first two overs that changed the whole situation. It’s been a concern over the past two years that we haven’t had partnerships upfront. That’s where we should be concerned.”Afghanistan raced to the small target, losing only two wickets before they completed the victory in 10.1 overs. Sri Lanka’s net run-rate will be a concern going forward too, as qualifying for the next round might come down to it.”When you lose two wickets in the first over, and four inside the powerplay [in 7.2 overs], it’s really hard to get back into the game,” Shanaka said. “Losing is a normal thing, but we’re too good a team to lose by this kind of margin. They bowled really well with the new ball, but we have no excuses. You’ve got to be able to bat in any conditions.”The team that beat them has the chance to take it all the way, though, Shanaka said.Afghanistan’s spin attack, led by Rashid Khan, but comprising experienced bowlers such as Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Mohammad Nabi, has long been their strength. But with the quicks now among the wickets, and the likes of Rahmanullah Gurbaz (40* in 18 balls) and Hazratullah Zazai (37 in 28) batting well, they may be serious contenders.”These are their home conditions, so if their batsmen come good in the tournament, they have a really good tournament, they have a very good chance to make it into the finals,” Shanaka said. “There’s no doubt that their bowling is world class – their spinners especially.”

Captain proud of manner in which England bounced back from Lord’s defeat

Vithushan Ehantharajah27-Aug-2022Ben Stokes wants England’s emphatic win in the second Test against South Africa to be the benchmark for his team.The manner in which England squared the series at Emirates Old Trafford, with victory by an innings and 85 runs inside three days, was a profound statement after being on the receiving end of an innings shellacking at Lord’s last week.England’s reaction to a first defeat this summer was always going to be instructive of how much this group truly believes in themselves, as well as the wider ethos handed down from Stokes and reinforced by head coach Brendon McCullum. After dismissing the Proteas on the opening day for 151, they amassed 415 for nine in their only innings before completing the rout on Saturday.Stokes hailed an “amazing team performance all round”, and seemed particularly comforted by the manner in which those around him stood tall and did not “take a backward step”. He was player of the match with his 103 and four wickets in the match, while the established pair of James Anderson (six for 62 in the match) and Stuart Broad (four for 61) also played key roles.But Ollie Robinson capped an impressive return to Test action, taking four for 43 in the second innings; Ben Foakes overcame his doubts for an unbeaten 113 and the under-fire Zak Crawley battled away for 38 from 101 deliveries to provide something of a platform for their total.Even when there was a moment of doubt on the third afternoon, as Rassie van der Dussen and Keegan Petersen offered a spirited defence throughout the middle of the day, the atmosphere on the ground was of constant optimism that they would eventually get the job done.”Cricket is about how you bat, bowl and field and I think that the way we batted, bowled and fielded this whole all game is like the benchmark of the standards of what we set,” Stokes said. “The energy throughout the whole week… When Rassie and Keegan were in that partnership, where it looked like they were able to counteract everything we threw at them, the energy that the bowlers were running in with and in the field didn’t drop.”Related

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Stokes also went on to praise England’s approach with the bat, which has perhaps been disregarded as mere thrashing amid the hype of England’s four run-chases earlier in the summer, when in fact their methods involve more consideration. That latter trait was particularly evident here, with Crawley, Jonny Bairstow (49), Stokes and Foakes weathering the storms that they encountered, particularly the variable bounce.England’s run-rate was still a brisk 3.89 overall, but Stokes was heartened to see that his batters are starting to make judgement calls of their own accord, based on how things are unfolding in front of them.”I think what we did incredibly well with the bat was assess that we didn’t feel this was a wicket where we could go out and play in the way that we spoke about,” he said. “I think that is real progress for the side.”It didn’t feel like a wicket where could stand there and hit through the line because of the the variable bounce that it was offering. Some balls were going through and bouncing, some were skidding but at a good pace. But in terms of our mindset, and our intent, it was always to be positive and to get on the front foot, always look to score first.”And I think that made our decision-making a lot better. Zak really set that game up, for me and Foakesy to be able to play in the way that we did, and it certainly shouldn’t be overlooked because he absorbed the pressure in what I thought was a real positive manner.”He always looked to score whenever that scoring opportunity presented itself, but the decision-making around leaving and playing at the reversing ball, which is obviously very, very hard to do as a batter, I thought was top-class.”Stokes also saved special praise for Anderson, who ended up moving to 951 international wickets with his three for 30 on day three, moving him to 664 in Tests. He moved ahead of Australian Glenn McGrath, who previously led the way among quick bowlers with 949. Stokes believes there is still plenty more to come.”You know what you are going to get: a man who runs in, gives the batter absolutely nothing and is absolutely relentless in everything he does,” he said.”I said before this game started that I honestly can’t see when he’s going to stop. you can see him just enjoying every moment he’s out there. He is 40 but he doesn’t act like a 40-year-old. He’s been amazing around the dressing-room. The energy that he runs in with and bowls is just incredible. And he’s a testament to himself and a great ambassador for the game, especially for fast bowlers.”

“We’ve got to get someone in who’s got experience, who’s bowled in Australia, and see what he has to offer,” Rohit said

Karthik Krishnaswamy05-Oct-20221:25

Jaffer backs Chahar to replace Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah is out of the T20 World Cup. India have until October 15 to name their replacement, but their coach Rahul Dravid and their captain Rohit Sharma have both hinted that Mohammed Shami might be the frontrunner.Shami last played a T20I during last year’s T20 World Cup in the UAE, and his chance of getting game-time ahead of this year’s tournament vanished when he tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of the three-match series against Australia last month. He missed both that series and the three T20Is against South Africa that followed, and is currently in Bengaluru, where his fitness is being assessed at the National Cricket Academy (NCA).Related

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Shami and Deepak Chahar are the two fast bowlers among the reserve players in India’s T20 World Cup squad, but the selectors are entitled to look outside the reserve group if they so wish.”In terms of who the replacement is, we’ll have a look, we’ll see, we’ve got time till October 15th,” Dravid said on Tuesday night, at a press conference after the third T20I against South Africa in Indore. “Shami obviously is someone who’s in the standbys, but unfortunately for us, he couldn’t play this series, which would have been ideal from that perspective.”He’s in the NCA at the moment – we’ll have to get reports as to how he’s recovering, and what’s his status after 14-15 days of Covid, and we’ll take a call, once I get reports on how he’s feeling, then we can take a call and the selectors can take a call on how we move forward on it.”Rohit, meanwhile, suggested at the post-match presentation that India would be looking for a bowler with experience in Australian conditions.”We’ve got to get someone in who’s got experience, who’s bowled in Australia, and see what he has to offer,” Rohit said. “I don’t know who that guy is yet. There are a few guys in the reckoning for that, but we’ll make that call once we reach Australia.”Shami has been part of multiple tours of Australia, and has been involved in two Test-series wins as well as an ODI World Cup in which he was among the leading wicket-takers.He has, however, played only one T20I in the country, though this is unlikely to count against him in a straight shootout with Chahar, who has only played three T20Is in Australia and no international games in the other formats.