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Former cricket and rugby league pro to join squads for tour of South Africa and Women’s Ashes

Valkerie Baynes14-Nov-2024Courtney Winfield-Hill will join the England Women’s set-up as an assistant coach for the upcoming tour of South Africa and the Women’s Ashes.Winfield-Hill, a 37-year-old former cricket and rugby league professional who was part of England’s backroom staff on the tour of Ireland in September, will be reunited with the squad in South Africa once she has finished her second-year stint as an assistant coach with WBBL side Brisbane Heat.Winfield-Hill worked with Trent Rockets in the most recent edition of the Women’s Hundred and previously held a regional academy coach role with Northern Diamonds as well as assistant coaching roles at Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Women’s Premier League and England Women’s A and U19 squads.”I am really proud to be a part of the set-up,” Winfield-Hill said. “Since working with England teams, I have been made to feel nothing but welcomed and feel the ECB have invested in developing me as a coach.”The development of the domestic game over the last five years has been brilliant to watch and I have taken a lot from recent involvements with the England A, development games and the Ireland tour. South Africa and the Ashes are two exciting series and I am really looking forward to linking up and working with the group.”As a player, Australia-born pace bowler Winfield-Hill – who is the wife of former England and current Brisbane Heat batter Lauren Winfield-Hill – represented Queensland Fire and Brisbane Heat.After moving to England in 2018, she led Leeds Rhinos to a Grand Final and Challenge Cup double in 2019. She represented England at the Rugby League World Cup in 2022 having qualified on residency and now works for the sport’s governing body as Senior Women and Girls’ Partner.Courtney Winfield-Hill switched countries and sports to star for England at the Women’s Rugby League World Cup•Getty Images

Jonathan Finch, Director of England Women’s Cricket, said Winfield-Hill’s dual background in professional sport offered a fresh outlook to the current coaching set-up, led by head coach Jon Lewis.”Courtney has played such an important role in developing the up-and-coming players on our international pathway and adds tremendous value in any environment she is part of,” Finch said. “She will bring a different outlook on the game into the coaching team which will ensure the support we provide to players continually moves forward in what will be an exciting period for the senior team.”

The allrounder was struck by a Kagiso Rabada bouncer shortly after arriving at the crease

Firdose Moonda07-Sep-2023Cameron Green was substituted out of Australia’s opening ODI against South Africa in Bloemfontein with a concussion after he was hit by a Kagiso Rabada bouncer in the sixth over of the chase. Marnus Labuschagne took his place in the line-up and, as he did at Lord’s in 2019, produced a vital innings which took his team to victory.Green had only just arrived at the crease after Rabada removed Mitchell Marsh with the first ball of his third over and defended the first delivery he faced. That ball was full but Rabada immediately went for change in length, charged in and delivered a 140kph-plus ball which angled in from off stump. Green did not have much time to react but turned his head to the offside and was hit on the left ear flap.He took his helmet off to reveal a drop of blood behind the ear and swelling in the area, which was visible within seconds. He received an on-field concussion check from the Australia phyiso then left the field to receive further treatment. Australia were 38 for 2 at the time.A short while later the concussion replacement was confirmed and Labuschagne walked to the crease at the fall of Alex Carey’s wicket which left Australia are 72 for 5.A Cricket Australia spokesperson said that Green was “being monitored by medical staff.”It was the second time Labuschange has been a concussion sub in international cricket after replacing Steven Smith during the 2019 Ashes Test at Lord’s in what would be a defining moment of his career.Labuschagne was not an original part of this ODI squad but was called in when Smith was ruled out with a wrist injury

The visitors’ depth is being tested by injury but the pressure will be on Sri Lanka’s top order

Andrew McGlashan13-Jun-2022 • Updated on 14-Jun-2022

Big picture

Welcome back to the five-match ODI series, although, maybe, for the last time? Not since before the 2019 World Cup has there been a bilateral contest of this length in the men’s format. For Sri Lanka and Australia, it’s an extended opportunity to work on their games ahead of next year’s ODI World Cup, but these matches will have no bearing on qualification as they aren’t part of the one-and-done Super League (just nod and accept, it’s a cricket thing).There will be a glut of ODIs over the next nine months as FTP and Super League commitments are completed before the cut-off date. Australia have been particularly light on in the 50-over game since the pandemic; they did not play a single match at home last season and have had just two series -against West Indies and Pakistan – since late 2020.This will also be the first time they have had the majority of their first-choice ODI squad together in more than 18 months – Adam Zampa is missing on paternity leave – so while injuries have created some complications, it marks a moment where planning for the World Cup in India can start to get serious, in conditions that at times may not be a million miles away from those at the tournament. It is a chance for Andrew McDonald and Aaron Finch to start forming the style of one-day cricket they believe can be successful (early hint: expect an aggressive outlook with the bat that started in Pakistan).Related

• Australia's twin ambitions: win the ODIs, prepare for Tests

• If ODIs feel irrelevant now, just wait till the next FTP cycle

Australia will rotate through their fast-bowling depth, which is being tested with Kane Richardson now ruled out of the ODIs with a hamstring injury. Mitchell Starc will miss at least the first two matches, while Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood will be managed. There may also be some different batting combinations tried. Travis Head’s successful return in Pakistan means there are no shortage of top-order options, and when Mitchell Marsh is fit and Cameron Green ready to bowl, the all-round depth is well served.Sri Lanka have named a 21-player squad, which may seem a touch excessive for a home series but at least means they can tick the all-bases-covered box. Their ODI cricket remains inconsistent and they are currently outside the automatic-qualification zone in the Super League. They have won their last two series, at home against South Africa and Zimbabwe, but have dropped what could be vital games in both. This will be the first ODI series under new coach Chris Silverwood.As ever, when facing Australia in subcontinent conditions, there will be a temptation to go with a spin-heavy attack, but Sri Lanka’s prospects will come down to whether their batting order can perform consistently. The record-breaking finish to the chase in the final T20I was a timely confidence boost. There is also significant excitement around uncapped 19-year-old allrounder Dunith Wellalage, and he may get a chance in the XI.

Recent form

(last five matches, most recent first)Sri Lanka WLWWL
Australia LLWWLKusal Mendis has to do well with the bat if he wants to remain the No. 1 contender for the wicketkeeper-batter’s position•AFP/Getty Images

In the spotlight

If Kusal Mendis is given the nod as the wicketkeeper [see below], he will need to repay the faith with the bat. In the six ODIs he has played in the last two years, he has a top score of 36 and there are no shortage of candidates to take the gloves with Dinesh Chandimal and Niroshan Dickwella also part of the large squad. An ODI average of a tick under 30 from 80 innings feels underwhelming for a player of Mendis’ talent.Pat Cummins is among a group of senior Australia players returning to ODI colours since late 2020. He left the IPL early to recover from a hip injury, which Finch revealed he had been carrying for the last 12-14 months. These one-day matches will also act as his tune-up for the Test series in Galle. Cummins’ only previous cricket in Sri Lanka came when he was part of the 2012 T20 World Cup.

Team news

Nineteen-year-old Wellalage, a left-arm spinner who bats pretty well, seems likely to debut on Tuesday, joining a spin attack that comprises Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana. This means Chamika Karunaratne is likely to be the second seam option behind Dushmantha Chameera.Sri Lanka have a few options on the wicketkeeper-batter front. They could keep Mendis in place, though he wasn’t particularly effective with the bat in the T20Is. Charith Asalanka will likely move down to his familiar No. 5 position in ODIs. Word from captain Dasun Shanaka is that they will keep the six batters, two allrounders, three bowlers combination from the ODIs. Bowling-wise, Hasaranga, Chameera and Theekshana are pretty much certain to play.Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Danushka Gunathilaka, 2 Pathum Nissanka, 3 Kusal Mendis (wk), 4 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 5 Charith Asalanka, 6 Dasun Shanaka, 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Chamika Karunaratne, 9 Dunith Wellalage, 10 Dushmantha Chameera, 11 Maheesh TheekshanaAustralia’s injury list is growing with Kane Richardson the latest casualty. Jhye Richardson has been preferred ahead of a second frontline spinner in Mitchell Swepson. Finch said they were keen to use Alex Carey at No. 5 to provide another left-handed option in the middle order.Australia 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch (capt), 3 Steven Smith, 4 Marnus Labuschagne, 5 Alex Carey (wk), 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Glenn Maxwell, 8 Ashton Agar, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Jhye Richardson, 11, Josh Hazlewood

Pitch and conditions

Although the last T20I became a reasonably high-scoring game, there were also times when both sides struggled with the bat. The day-time element to the ODIs could be a factor. In the Sri Lanka-Zimbabwe series earlier in the year that was held entirely in Pallekele, the opening match saw Sri Lanka chase down 297 reasonably comfortably before Zimbabwe defended 302 and were then bundled out for 70. There is a chance of storms interrupting play.

Stats and trivia

• Warner, Smith, Cummins and Maxwell have not played an ODI since facing India in late 2020.
• The last bilateral ODI series between the two teams was in Sri Lanka in 2016 when Australia won 4-1. National selector George Bailey was Player of the Series then.

Australia will ponder tinkering with their XI to find a way to keep control of New Zealand’s batting

Andrew McGlashan02-Mar-2021

Big Picture

The logistics have changed significantly due to the impact of the Auckland lockdown, and there won’t be any crowds to witness the rest of the games, but the challenge remains the same for Australia: they need to win three matches in a row in Wellington if they are to take the series.New Zealand, with a full-strength side, are playing dynamic, confident cricket although did breathe a sigh of relief at the end of a pulsating contest in Dunedin where the game was nearly snatched away from Marcus Stoinis and Daniel Sams.Australia have identified that it is the post-powerplay, pre-death period with the ball where they have especially struggled to match New Zealand. From overs 7-16 they have conceded 11.35 and taken just three wickets, while the home side have gone for 9.02 runs per over and claimed 10 wickets.The return to form of Martin Guptill in Dunedin ticked another box for New Zealand with most players having now made a contribution across the first two games. However, Tim Seifert has started with two low scores and Kyle Jamieson has had a tough time going for 56 in Dunedin.Both squads had some downtime in the unusually long break between matches. The Auckland-based New Zealand players who briefly returned home had to hastily leave the city when lockdown was announced and underwent precautionary Covid-19 tests which all came back negative on Monday. New Zealand were the first international side to play behind closed doors during the pandemic, against Australia at the SCG last March, but this will be their first time since.

Last T20I switched to enable Australia to catch charter flight home

Another change has been made to the schedule for the series with the final match on Sunday switched to an earlier start to allow Australia to get a charter flight home from Wellington that evening.

Australia have been desperate to avoid having to quarantine for two weeks on returning home which they would have had to do if they transited through Auckland as was the original plan which is now a “red zone” due to a Covid-19 outbreak.

It means the men will play the first of the double-header matches starting at 12pm local time followed by the New Zealand Women v England Women T20I.

NZC has said if alert levels are lowered in time for the Sunday matches then crowds will be allowed to attend in Wellington.

“We’re thankful NZC have rescheduled so we can avoid those hot zones and we can get back without quarantine,” Andrew McDonald, Australia’s coach, said. “It’s a positive any time you can avoid 14 days of hotel quarantine. I wouldn’t wish it upon too many people to be perfectly honest.”

Form guide

(last five completed matches)
New Zealand WWLWW
Australia LLWLL

In the spotlight

Glenn Maxwell hasn’t got going yet in the series with scores of 1 and 3. In the opening match he edged the swinging new ball to slip and in the second was well caught at short third man when off a top-edged reverse sweep. Where he comes in is dedicated by how many wickets Australia have lost and the ideal scenario is a base to work from but a reasonable number of overs remaining. Depending on the balance of Australia’s attack it could be that his offspin is used a bit more having sent down one over in the series so far.Trent Boult has impressed in two contrasting stages of the innings in the first two games. In Christchurch he found movement with the new ball and claimed early wickets to seal the game, then in Dunedin produced the over that gave New Zealand breathing space at the death when he went for just six in the 18th against the brutal bats of Stoinis and Sams. He has been the standout pace bowler on either side.New Zealand can secure the series with victory in the first of three Wellington matches•Getty Images

Team news

Mitchell Santner was ruled out on the afternoon of the game after waking with a head cold. He was self-isolating as a precaution while awaiting the result of a Covid test. It means New Zealand will have to rebalance their attack. Pace bowler Adam Milne, who is based in Wellington, was drafted into the squad while seamer Hamish Bennett is the other bowling option available.New Zealand (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Tim Seifert, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Devon Conway, 5 Glenn Phillips, 6 Jimmy Neesham, 7 Kyle Jamieson, 8 Tim Southee, 9 Ish Sodhi, 10 Hamish Bennett, 11 Trent BoultAustralia coach Andrew McDonald hinted at a change or two being made although he did that before the second match and it became the same XI. There could be a chance that they strengthen the pace attack, perhaps with Andrew Tye or Jason Behrendorff, at the expense of a spinner, although both Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa were given a vote of confidence, or boost the batting and rely on more overs from the allrounders.Australia (possible) 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Josh Philippe, 3 Matthew Wade (wk), 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Daniel Sams, 8 Ashton Agar/Andrew Tye/Jason Behrendorff/D’Arcy Short, 9 Jhye Richardson, 10 Kane Richardson, 11 Adam Zampa

Pitch and conditions

The Cake Tin, as it is colloquially known, has the lowest run rate (8.03) of any T20I venue in New Zealand. One of the quirks is that teams don’t train at the ground, instead using the Basin Reserve, so visiting sides don’t have much change to assess conditions although with three games in a row there is time for Australia to get used to them. The forecast is for a cloudy but dry evening.

Stats and trivia

• Australia have only played one previous T20I at the venue in 2010
• New Zealand have a good record at the ground with eight wins from 12 matches. Last season they lost in a Super Over against India

Quotes

“The one thing we can control is our bowling. We’ll look at how we use our bowling in that [middle] phase of the game. Clearly as a batting unit we’re trying to be aggressive in that period of time anyway. It’s more how we defend the New Zealand batters and what match-ups we use in that period of time I’d say where we get the most improvement out of our performance.”
Andrew McDonald“It’s definitely different. At the end of the day think it comes down to individuals’ attitudes around that and how they respond. Of course we love playing in front of crowds, but in this Covid era we need to be able to adapt and it’s something we pride ourselves and hope you see a really good performance out of us still.”

The left-arm spinner had trouble bowling the right line but, after a chat with Faf du Plessis, all that changed

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Oct-2019George Linde is a rookie who was dropped into a Test match in India like emergency rations, and in his first ever outing, he’s had to be South Africa’s lead spinner and deal with batsmen of the quality of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara. Not to mention a six-obsessed Umesh Yadav. How is that for a tough initiation?

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Still come the end-of-day press conference, Linde – who replaced the injured Keshav Maharaj in Ranchi – was pinching himself to figure out if the whites he was wearing were all real.”Yeah, it’s been lessons. I didn’t expect to play Test cricket, well in this series,” Linde said. “I obviously didn’t expect to come back to play the Test series. So when I got the call-up, I was quite nervous but luckily I had a few days to just settle and then today a few lessons to learn, especially there at the end. But if you’d told me I’ll take four wickets on my debut, I’ll take it any time of the year.”The 27-year old left-armer finished with 4 for 139 from 31 overs, figures that took a beating as India searched for quick runs towards the end of the second day’s play in Ranchi. But Linde was happy to take it because not too long ago, he was back home in South Africa. He had been with the squad during the T20Is as well and had been part of the A team that had visited India in August to get a measure of the conditions but Maharaj has been the team’s lead spinner in red-ball cricket and Linde has had to wait a long time to get his chance.George Linde celebrates his maiden Test wicket•Associated Press

He didn’t start well though. “Before the Test, we did say don’t get it on the legs, which I did a few times yesterday,” Linde said. “It’s not easy to bowl here. Have to bowl a bit straighter line, especially to their batsmen. In South Africa you can bowl a bit wider because there’s more bounce but here…”Linde understood he was in trouble and went to the South African backroom staff to sort it out. “Last night I was in [South Africa video analyst] Prasanna’s room and we just went over a few clips just to see what I can do better, where I can improve. Also me and Faf [du Plessis] chatted at the end of the day about me getting just a bit closer to the wicket [at the point of delivery] and just trying to bowl middle and off [line]. You don’t really want to get on the legs because they’re very good on their legs. So today I tried to be on off stump, challenging their inside and outside edge.”Taking the advice he received on board, Linde proved to be South Africa’s best bowler, responsible for four of the six Indian wickets that fell on the second day in Ranchi. He used turn and bounce to have Ajinkya Rahane caught behind and conversely the straighter ball to trap Wriddhiman Saha. He even created a chance to get rid of Rohit Sharma in his very first over of Test cricket, but the fielder at short leg, Zubayr Hamza, dropped a very difficult catch.”You know those catches, they stick or they don’t Unfortunately it wasn’t our day. It was Rohit’s. He played well so, well done to him.”South Africa gave away 497 runs after being on the field for more than 100 overs again and that weariness affected their opening batsman. Both Dean Elgar and Quinton de Kock were bounced out after which rapidly fading light put an early end to play with the score 9 for 2.”Bad start,” Linde said, “Not the way we wanted it to go but tomorrow is another day. We need to be positive, the guys are smiling in the changing room. So we are ready for tomorrow.”

Niroshan Dickwella agreed with his captain, saying Sri Lanka made too many mistakes in the field to defend a total of 244

Andrew Fidel Fernando01-Aug-2018Angelo Mathews put it bluntly: “We were a bunch of school kids when it came to today’s fielding.” Niroshan Dickwella said basically the same thing, but with a little more subtlety, drawing attention to the many “mistakes” that led to Sri Lanka’s 10th straight loss to South Africa, and their second loss in this series.Sri Lanka had begun shakily with the bat, losing two wickets in the second over – bowled by Lungi Ngidi. They had failed to accelerate through the late overs, with wickets having fallen regularly, and ended up with only 244 on the board. Then in the field, they shelled two straightforward chances in the early overs, both off the bowling off Kasun Rajitha, and the reprieved Hashim Amla (4) and Quinton de Kock (24) put on a 91-run opening stand to reinforce South Africa’s advantage. More shoddy fielding was to follow, as well as poor bowling at various times in the innings.”We made mistakes throughout the game,” Dickwella said. “If we want to win a match, we can’t make so many mistakes. Maybe you can make two or three mistakes and fix those things within the game itself and win the match. But if you make mistakes through the match, it’s hard to win.”Dickwella’s own batting though, was less ridden with mistakes, especially compared with how his team-mates played, and as such he hit 69 off 78 balls to give Sri Lanka’s top-order effort a little bit of credibility. Dickwella has been struglling for runs through this tour, recording scores of 18, 9, 5, 7* and 2 across the two Tests and first ODI. His success on Wednesday was due to a change of approach, or rather a reversion to the way he used to play, before coaches had asked him to change his technique. As is often the case with Dickwella, more than half his runs came behind square.”I was working with the batting coach Thilan Samaraweera and coach Chandika Hathurusingha, and I did some changes in my batting and I was worried about those things,” he said. “Then we had one-to-one meetings, and I said I’m going to play like how I used to play, and not think about my technique. I’m going to work on my technique in the nets, but I’m going to play my normal game like I used to play when I started my career. That’s what I did when I went to the middle today. It worked out for me.”Part of that “normal game” for Dickwella, is to attack more or less relentlessly in the early overs. In this match, he hit three audacious boundaries off the opposition’s best bowler, Kagiso Rabada, to set his innings off at a canter. He started by socking Rabada over mid off for four in the third over, before twice backing away to scythe him through the off side – one of those shots was a ramp shot that flew just over slip. Soon enough, Dickwella was on 21 off 18 balls, and seemed more comfortable at the crease than he had all through this tour, even as Sri Lanka lost wickets at the other end. Dickwella’s 67-run partnership with Mathews would be the best stand of Sri Lanka’s innings.”If I go to a negative mindset after we lost two wickets, definitely I’m going to get out,” Dickwella said. “I didn’t think about the wickets. It was not my mistake to lose those wickets, so if I think about those things, and bat as a reaction to that, it’s not going to help me. I spoke to my partners, and we wanted to build a partnership. Then Angelo Mathews came and it really helped me because he is the senior player and he always talks to me. He always advises me how to play and how to take the calculated risk. That helped me.”

Four years after the incident with Joe Root in a Birmingham bar, the Australia vice-captain says it changed him as a person and cricketer

George Dobell in Edgbaston08-Jun-2017David Warner admits the incident in which he punched Joe Root in a Birmingham bar four years ago was “pivotal” to his development as a cricketer and a man.Warner, the Australia vice-captain, was fined and suspended after the incident during the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, following England’s defeat of Australia. But now, four years to the day since the event and back in Birmingham to play England in a must-win Champions Trophy fixture on Saturday, he reflected on the episode as a key learning experience in a career that has risen to new levels in recent times.”It was a learning curve for myself,” Warner said. “I was young and now I’m old. I’ve two kids and I’m married. There’s a lot of settling down there.”It definitely was [pivotal] to me becoming the person I am today; not just the cricketer. We all go through periods when we’re young and naïve. It’s not about stuffing up and moving on, it’s about learning the ropes of being away on tour for such a long period of time. There are things you have to think about as a youngster: what you can or can’t I do.”I probably didn’t work that out at that stage. But now I have and I have a great balance on and off the field.”A fan’s t-shirt references the David Warner-Joe Root incident from 2013•Getty Images

There’s little disputing that Warner is a more consistent player. As well as being rated No. 2 in the ODI batting rankings – he recently
became the third-fastest man in history to 4000 ODI runs – Warner finished the recent IPL season as the top run-scorer and is placed at No. 7 in the ICC’s Test batting rankings. Such is his growing maturity, he has been promoted to vice-captain of the Australia side, been a eloquent critic of Cricket Australia’s plans to abandon the revenue-sharing model and earned the nickname ‘Rev’ – short for The Reverend David Warner – by colleagues who have marvelled at his change in behaviour since he gave up alcohol a couple of years ago. He used to be nicknamed ‘Bull’ for pretty obvious reasons.”The bull can still come out here and there,” he admitted. “It just depends on what day you get me. Most of the time, I’m probably the reverend – as they say – but look, it’s about winning games for Australia and being the best person I can around the team and around people outside cricket.”While Warner said he would be happy to revisit the Walkabout bar where the incident happened and shake Root’s hand, he did hint that he felt his side of the incident wasn’t fully recognised. There was a suggestion at the time that Warner felt Root, who was playing with a wig, was mocking South Africa’s Muslim batsman Hashim Amla. It is a suggestion strongly denied by Root and his colleagues, who insist Root was making fun of himself, his infamously youthful complexion and his inability to grow facial hair.”People didn’t look too far or deep into it to see who was in the right or wrong,” Warner said. “But that’s all gone, it’s in the past and we can tell a happily ever after story at the end of my career.”If they [at Walkabout] give me a couple of free drinks, some diet cokes, and the rest of the boys they can shout them a table. And if I see Joe I’ll give him a handshake.”

Ben Stokes is a doubt for the second Test against Sri Lanka, on his home ground at Chester-le-Street, after suffering a knee injury at Headingley

George Dobell at Headingley21-May-2016Ben Stokes is a doubt for the second Test against Sri Lanka, on his home ground at Chester-le-Street, after suffering a knee injury at Headingley. Alastair Cook, England’s captain, said Stokes “doesn’t look good” and that back-up would be added to the squad.Stokes took to the field at the start of day three but, after a few overs, reported discomfort and returned to the dressing-room for treatment. He did not bowl as England wrapped up an innings-and-88-run victory but remained at the ground.He had briefly left the field for treatment on day two after jarring his left knee while bowling. He later returned and bowled a few more overs which, in retrospect, may have been a mistake. The second of back-to-back Tests starts on Friday, with England’s three-day win providing valuable extra time off. There were indications that the management would give Stokes every chance to recover, although Cook wasn’t hopeful.”He doesn’t look good for Durham,” Cook said of Stokes. “He’ll have a scan tomorrow. We will certainly add to the squad. Even if he’s named there will be a risk.”We don’t know. He has something in his knee and is not 100 per cent right. It took a major shoulder thing for him to leave the pitch in Abu Dhabi so for him to not feel right is not great. But you never know.”The England selectors will meet in the next day or so, with Chris Woakes one of those who might be considered a potential replacement. While he is not Stokes – England have been looking for such a player since the retirement of Ian Botham – he is averaging 61 with the bat and 26.64 with the ball in this year’s County Championship.Another option would be for Bairstow, who made a century in England’s first innings at Headingley, and Moeen Ali to move up a position in the batting order and select Jake Ball as a fourth seamer. Paul Farbrace, England’s assistant coach, said that both those options – an allrounder being called up or an extra seamer – would be considered.

Kent strengthened their chances of securing their opening win of the season by removing Glamorgan’s dependable leader Jacques Rudolph in the closing moments of the third day’s play in Canterbury.

Press Association12-May-2015
ScorecardJoe Denly, seen here for his old county Middlesex, helped put Kent in a strong position•Getty Images

Kent strengthened their chances of securing their opening win of the season by removing Glamorgan’s dependable leader Jacques Rudolph in the closing moments of the third day’s play in Canterbury.Push-driving at a Matt Coles offcutter, Jacques, the South African left-hander, inside-edged the ball onto his leg stump to go for 14 and leave his side with a mountain to climb as they chase 404 for victory on the final day.Glamorgan went in at stumps on 36 for 1 after 11 overs, with opener James Kettleborough on 16 and nightwatchman Dean Cosker still there with a single. They will require a further 372 to record their first win of the campaign.Kent batted the majority of day three in order to post their second 300-plus score of the match and leave the visitors 11 remaining overs on Tuesday, coupled with a minimum 96 on the final day, to pursue their first victory of the season at an asking rate of 3.7 per over.Resuming on 1 for 0, Kent suffered the early loss of first-innings century-maker Daniel Bell-Drummond for just 1, lbw to a Michael Hogan offcutter. The hosts laid solid foundations thereafter through opening bat Joe Denly and nightwatchman James Tredwell, who both hit half-centuries in a second-wicket stand of 114.Denly’s 112-ball stay ended for 66 when he shouldered arms only to have his stumps rearranged by Graham Wagg, leaving Tredwell to reach a 124-ball 50 with six fours. It was the England left-hander’s first championship fifty for Kent since the clash with Leicestershire here in May 2012.Tredwell vigil ended when he drove the first ball of a new spell by Hogan into the hands of short extra cover, a dismissal the sparked the loss of two more wickets before Sam Northeast was bowled for a duck playing across the line of a Hogan yorker, then Brendan Nash fell for 45, sking an attempted pull to the keeper to leave the hosts on 228 for 5 at the interval.Soon after the resumption Darren Stevens edged a leg glance into the gloves of Mark Wallace, but Kent pressed on through youngsters Sam Billings and Fabian Cowdrey, the latter reaching his maiden Championship half-century from 63 balls with seven fours and a six.Cowdrey departed after holing out to Kettleborough at cow corner, then Billings ran down the track to Cosker only to clip a firm catch to midwicket and depart for 37. Matt Coles and Calum Haggett perished in the quest for quick runs, leaving Kent all out by 5.34pm and Glamorgan’s Aussie paceman Hogan with 4 for 65 and match figures of 9 for 136.Commenting on his first championship 50 for Kent, Fabian Cowdrey said: “It was a nice feeling for me to contribute just when we needed a quick-scoring partnership to move the game forward. We managed to accelerate at just the right time and get our heads above water. I was disappointed to get out when and how I did though, caught on the ropes, I should have followed through with it and hit it out of the field and into the Cricket Academy.”We’ve set them over 400 and that’ll be a damned good chase in anyone’s books if they get it. We need to do our things right. Getting Jacques Rudolph out tonight was a massive boost for us and a big blow to them. We just need nine more great balls like that one.”Rudolph, the Glamorgan skipper, while disappointed after losing his off stump, still believes his side are in with a chance of victory. “It’s still a very good wicket and I think this game has shown that if you can get past the new ball it’s possible to canter along at 120 in a session. That mean’s it’s an achievable target if we can just get off to a good start.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the Champions League match between Lions and Yorkshire in Johannesburg

The Preview by Kanishkaa Balachandran19-Oct-2012

Match facts

October 20, 2012
Start time 1330 (1130 GMT)Yorkshire are still looking for their first win•Getty Images

Big Picture

With two wins and a game to play, Lions are just one victory away from joining Sydney Sixers as the other team from Group B in the semi-finals. Lions play the opening game of the Wanderers double-header on Saturday and their match against Yorkshire will be closely followed by Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, who face each other later in the evening. A Lions win will reduce the IPL derby to a dead rubber. It’s been kind of a tournament for the IPL teams, having to rely on other results to progress. If Yorkshire can sneak in a win, though, it opens up the group.Nothing much has gone right for Yorkshire since qualifying for the main draw. After being demolished by Sixers in the most one-sided game of the tournament, their match against Mumbai Indians was washed out. They managed to get some game time though, conceding 156 in just under 18 overs. They opened their account with two points from the washout, but their anxieties grew when Ryan Sidebottom and Moin Ashraf pulled up with injuries. Though Sidebottom returned to bowl, Ashraf limped off after pulling his hamstring. Their fitness will be a concern ahead of the Lions clash.Yorkshire will have to get their act together against one of the form teams of the tournament. Having calmly brushed aside the two IPL teams, Lions tripped up against the most dangerous of the lot, Sixers, on Thursday at Newlands. Gulam Bodi continued his good form from the Super Kings game with a half-century, but his colleagues, Neil McKenzie and Quinton de Kock, failed to show up. They will be back in home surroundings at the Wanderers, but both teams will be up against the weather, with rain forecast on match day.

Watch out for…

With six wickets in three games at an economy rate of 4, priceless by Twenty20 standards, Lions’ Aaron Phangiso has been the find of the tournament so far. Bowling Sachin Tendulkar was his most cherished scalp, and to prove that it wasn’t a fluke, he silenced Sixers through his spell, giving away only 14 and taking out the top three.Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale is in need of runs. After his 61 against Sialkot Stallions in the qualifiers, his next three scores have been an underwhelming 13, 2 and 8. He struggled to get bat on ball against Sixers, before losing his leg stump while trying to manufacture a scoop to fine leg. The struggling side needs their captain to lead from the front.

Quotes

“We want to lead. We want teams to take us seriously.”

“I’ll have to speak to Scott McAllister, our physio, but at this stage we’re just going to monitor the progress of both of them.”