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Rinku Singh nearly pulled off a stunning chase as KKR’s campaign came to an end

Hemant Brar20-May-2023Lucknow Super Giants 176 for 8 (Pooran 58, Shardul Thakur 2-27, Narine 2-28) beat Kolkata Knight Riders 175 for 7 (Rinku 67*, Roy 45, Bishnoi 2-23, Yash Thakur 2-31) by one runLucknow Super Giants survived a Rinku Singh scare to become the third team to qualify for the playoffs of IPL 2023 as they beat Kolkata Knight Riders by one run at Eden Gardens. They ended with 17 points, tied with Chennai Super Kings, but LSG’s inferior net run rate meant they finished third. They will now face the fourth qualifying team in the Eliminator in Chennai on May 24.At the start of the day, LSG had a chance to secure a top-two finish. However, CSK’s 77-run win over Delhi Capitals in the earlier game meant LSG needed to beat KKR by a margin of around 97 runs to go above CSK. That was not going to be easy, especially after LSG posted 176 batting first. At 73 for 5 in the 11th over, they didn’t look like scoring even that many, but Nicholas Pooran’s 30-ball 58 lifted them.KKR had a flying start before they lost their way in the middle overs. It came down to 56 needed from the last four overs, and then 41 from two. Rinku took 20 off Naveen-ul-Haq in the 19th, leaving 21 for the last.Vaibhav Arora took a single on the first ball of the final over, bowled Yash Thakur. That was followed by two dots and two wides, making it 18 required from three balls. Rinku hit the next one for a six but could pick up only a four off the fifth. A six on the final delivery only reduced the margin of defeat.

LSG’s hit-and-miss start

After being sent in, LSG lost a wicket in the third over of the innings when Harshit Rana bounced out Karan Sharma for 3. Prerak Mankad tried to attack but he was more like a cat on a hot tin roof. After being on 4 off eight balls, he picked up five fours in the next two overs but hardly looked comfortable. Once the powerplay ended, his attempted upper cut against Arora was taken at deep cover. Two balls later, Arora bounced out Marcus Stoinis for a duck, making it 55 for 3.Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine dragged LSG back further. Narine had Krunal Pandya mistiming a slog sweep to deep square leg in the tenth over, and Varun got Quinton de Kock to top-edge to deep midwicket. De Kock, who picked up two sixes in the powerplay – his only boundaries on the night – ended with 28 off 27 balls.

Pooran hits them beyond the boundary

Pooran came in at No. 7, a ball after the halfway mark in the innings. Varun induced an outside edge straightaway but Pooran had played it with soft hands, resulting in the ball falling short and to the left of first slip and going for four. The next ball, though, was too short, and Pooran cut it for four. Varun then overcompensated, erring on the fuller side and was duly smashed for a straight six.With another six in the spinner’s next over, Pooran moved to 23 off just ten balls. KKR had brought in Suyash Sharma as the Impact Player for Harshit, who had bowled three overs for 1 for 21. Pooran welcomed Suyash with yet another six, and ended the over with a four, making sure the legspinner didn’t bowl another over in the game.In the 19th over, Pooran brought up his half-century with a six off Shardul Thakur. He sent the next ball over the boundary line as well, but Thakur had him caught at deep third when the batter attempted a hat-trick of sixes. Andre Russell conceded only three off the first four deliveries of the 20th over before K Gowtham hit the last two for a six and four to take LSG past 175.

KKR quick out of the blocks

KKR had an almost impossible task in front of them: they needed to win in 8.5 overs to lift their net run rate above Rajasthan Royals’ to stay alive for the playoffs. Jason Roy and Venkatesh Iyer smashed 30 in the first two overs but the next two brought only 15. Roy did hit three fours off Krunal’s first three balls in the fifth over but Iyer fell to Gowtham in the next, and KKR finished the powerplay on 61 for 1.

Rinku takes it close

As far as this match was concerned, KKR were well ahead of the required rate. After eight overs, they were 78 for 1, but could score only 30 in the next six for the loss of three wickets. Ravi Bishnoi had Nitish Rana caught at extra cover, Krunal bowled Roy for 45 off 28, and Yash Thakur’s slower ball accounted for Rahmanullah Gurbaz for 10 off 15.With 63 needed from 28 balls, Russell hit Bishnoi for a six but was bowled on the next ball. Rinku was still in the middle, and if there is one thing this season has taught us, it is that no game is over till Rinku is batting. En route to his unbeaten 67 off 33 balls, he took Naveen for three fours and six in the 19th over but with 18 needed from three balls, he could hit only 6, 4 and 6.

Annabel Sutherland made 42 not out and took for 3 for 17 while Sophie Day bagged 4 for 19 as Stars routed Renegades in Ballarat

AAP and ESPNCricinfo staff29-Oct-2022Fine bowling efforts from Sophie Day and Annabel Sutherland set Melbourne Stars up for a six-wicket win over Melbourne Renegades, their first victory of the WBBL season.Playing in Ballarat, Renegades batted first and were bowled out for 91 with one over to spare in an innings in which they struck just six fours.Spinner Day and seamer Sutherland were the chief destroyers, setting Stars on the path to their first WBBL win over their crosstown rivals in almost three years. Day returned her best WBBL figures and Australian representative Sutherland bemused the batters with her short balls and changes of pace.Sutherland also played a key role with the bat combining with English batter Alice Capsey in a third-wicket stand of 47. Stars lost both openers inside the first 3.2 overs, but Sutherland and the highly-rated teenager Capsey put their side back in control.Capsey and Kim Garth were dismissed in successive overs, but Sutherland and captain Nicole Faltum steered Stars to victory with 15 balls to spare. They moved off the bottom of the table, jumping above Sydney Thunder and Renegades, with the latter dropping to last.Earlier, Renegades struggled from the start, with captain Sophie Molineux caught behind for a golden duck off Garth off the second ball.A second-wicket stand of 37 looked to have set a decent platform but Renegades lost 3 for 11. Among those dismissed was top scorer Hayley Matthews who looked good until she miscued and gave Sutherland a return catch. Renegades again looked to be rebuilding after a fifth-wicket stand of 25 but lost 6 for 17 with Day slicing through the lower order.Stars suffered a blow in the third over when India batter Jemimah Rodrigues was run out after a mixup with her opening partner Lauren Winfield-Hill. Rodrigues was beaten by a throw over the stumps from Shabnim Ismail, who four balls later had England’s Winfield-Hill caught at second slip.

Wafadar Momand, who is uncapped in T20I cricket, and Sediqullah Atal also part of 16-member squad

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jul-2023Rashid Khan, who had been rested for the one-off Test in Mirpur last month, will return to captain Afghanistan in the two-match T20I series against Bangladesh. Rashid is also part of the ODI squad that will be led by Hashmatullah Shahidi.Mohammad Shahzad, who last played international cricket for Afghanistan at the 2021 T20 World Cup, was recalled to the T20I side that also included Mohammad Nabi and Najibullah Zadran. Hazratullah Zazai, who had been left out for the T20Is against Pakistan earlier this year, also returned to the squad.Related

• 'Quality of our spinners shone through' – Afghanistan coach Trott pleased after opening win

• Rashid back in Afghanistan squad for Bangladesh ODIs

Wafadar Momand, who is uncapped in T20I and ODI cricket, too found a place in the squad alongside Sediqullah Atal, who made his T20I debut against Pakistan in Sharjah in March. Naveen-ul-Haq, who has taken a break from ODI cricket, but is active in T20 cricket, will form the seam attack along with Fazalhaq Farooqi, Azmatullah Omarzai , Fareed Ahmad and Karim Janat. Rashid will be assisted by Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Noor Ahmad in the spin attack.The two T20Is against Bangladesh will be played in Sylhet on July 14 and July 16.Afghanistan squad: Rashid Khan (capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad, Ibrahim Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Sediq Atal, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Wafadar Momand, Farid Ahmad, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

“There’s an opportunity for innovation and it makes the game fairer,” Ashwin argues

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Aug-2024R Ashwin believes the Impact Player rule has brought in a strategic element into the IPL that will go away if the rule is scrapped.There has been a lot of criticism of the rule from several quarters, including from Rohit Sharma, who isn’t a “big fan”. The big criticism is that it prevents allrounders from developing. And also that teams have started scoring bigger because of the cushion of an additional batter (if that’s the team’s choice).”Why I think the Impact Player rule is not so bad is because it gives a little more value for strategy,” Ashwin said on Kris Srikkanth’s YouTube show Cheeky Cheeka. “The other side of that argument is it doesn’t encourage allrounders. But no one is stopping them.Related

• Shah on Impact Player: 'Not permanent, not saying that it will go'

• How Shivam Dube evolved into the disruptor India need

“In this generation, they don’t do it [batters bowling and vice-versa]. It’s not like they’re discouraged because of the Impact Player rule. Look at Venkatesh Iyer, he’s currently rocking for Lancashire. There’s an opportunity for innovation and it makes the game fairer.”Ashwin cited an example from Qualifier 2 of IPL 2024 to underline his stance. “Sunrisers [Hyderabad] brought in Shahbaz Ahmed as an Impact Player [vs Rajasthan Royals, after hitting 175 for 9 batting first]; he went on to become a match-winner [with 3 for 23].”When dew has the potential to make games one-sided, teams bowling second get an extra option as a counter. If you’re batting second, you can tactically make a substitution by offloading the extra bowler for a batter.”Games are tighter, an extra player is getting to play. Barring Kolkata or Mumbai, where scores skyrocketed, they haven’t been a drastic change elsewhere. Like at Punjab Kings’ home venue [Mullanpur], they were all 160-170 games.”Ashwin argued that a number of players had moved up the ranks, even into the national team, as a result of the rule. “Shahbaz Ahmed, Shivam Dube most importantly, Dhruv Jurel… If not for the Impact Player rule, he may have never gotten the chance. So the emergence of a lot of players has happened. I’m not saying that’s the only way for players to emerge, but it’s not so bad.”Elsewhere, there’s a mega auction coming up. The Right to Match (RTM) hasn’t been used at IPL auctions since 2018, but the IPL is still deliberating on the retention rules for the auction and the reintroducing RTMs is one of the things on the table.Ashwin doesn’t want it, not in its current form.”If a franchise has released a player because they don’t see him in their top four or five, then what gives them the right to jump in during an auction,” Ashwin argued. “You give the option to the player asking if he wants to be right to matched. There should be a contract binding the two parties, which says he can be RTMed only if the price is X amount and leave that pre-determined amount to be decided by the player.”

Zaheer ‘all for’ Impact Player

Former India fast bowler Zaheer Khan, too, threw his weight behind the Impact Player rule, stating that it could “improve Indian cricket as a whole”.”There has been a debate around the impact sub rule. I’m going on record to say that I’m all for it,” Zaheer said at a media interaction shortly after being unveiled as Lucknow Super Giants’ mentor.”It has definitely given opportunities to a lot of uncapped Indian talents. It is something you will see this in the mega auction when teams will be looking at them.”That opportunity goes a long way with improving Indian cricket on the whole. The time spent in match time, it’s something you cannot beat. That’s the biggest plus. As far as allrounders are concerned, right now there is no space for a half an allrounder because of the Impact (rule). But if you are a genuine allrounder, (then) no one can stop you. There is always going to be a value addition with the ability with bat and ball.”

Ireland name their squads for the series, with Morgan Topping and Gavin Hoey making it to the red-ball unit

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jan-2025Zimbabwe are set to host Ireland for an all-format tour consisting of seven matches in February, the board announced on Friday. The tour will begin with a one-off Test match from February 6 to 10 in Bulawayo, before the white-ball leg in Harare. The teams will play three ODIs on February 14, 16 and 18 and as many T20Is on February 22, 23 and 25. Originally, this series was pencilled in for two Tests along with six white-ball games in the ICC men’s Future Tours Programme (FTP).Zimbabwe are currently in the final leg of their multi-format home series against Afghanistan, where they lost both T20I and ODI series 2-1 and 2-0 respectively and secured a draw in the high-scoring, rain-affected first Test. The tour concludes with the ongoing second Test, on January 6.Zimbabwe Cricket managing director Givemore Makoni stressed on the significance of hosting back-to-back full tours.”We are delighted to welcome Ireland for what promises to be an exciting and competitive tour,” he said. “Hosting two full tours in quick succession is a testament to our commitment to providing our players with regular international cricket and to our efforts in growing the game in Zimbabwe.”

Ireland tour of Zimbabwe

• One-off Test: Feb 6-10, Bulawayo

• 1st ODI: Feb 14

• 2nd ODI: Feb 16

• 3rd ODI: Feb 18

• 1st T20I: Feb 22

• 2nd T20I: Feb 23

• 3rd T20I: Feb 25

(Both ODIs and T20Is in Harare)

Zimbabwe and Ireland have played only Test against each other, in July 2024 in Belfast. The hosts Ireland won the match by four wickets. Zimbabwe last hosted Ireland in late 2023 for six white-ball fixtures. They lost the T20Is 2-1 and the ODIs 2-0.

Topping earns maiden Test call-up for Ireland

Morgan Topping has earned a maiden call-up to the Test and ODI squads for this tour for Ireland. The right-hand batter represents Northern Knights and plays in the top order in domestic cricket.*Legspinner Gavin Hoey, after making his international debut against South Africa last October, has retained his place in the ODI squad and is also in line for a Test debut. Topping and Hoey are the only non-capped players in the Test squad.Fast bowlers Barry McCarthy, whose last international appearance was the Test against Zimbabwe last July, and Gareth Delany – who last played in a T20I in June last year – have returned from injuries. While McCarthy features in all the squads, Delany is included in the T20I squad.Andrew White, national men’s selector, said: “After a break since the series against South Africa in Abu Dhabi, it will be great to see us get back into action in a few weeks’ time. Since 2007, there has been some wonderful contests against Zimbabwe and this should be no different – and it’s exciting to have all three formats on this tour.”Morgan Topping gains his first international call up at senior level having recovered from injury which prevented him making his debut against South Africa last year. He has demonstrated key attributes needed to perform at international level over recent Wolves and Academy fixtures and we wish him well.”It’s going to be exciting to see our two young spinners and the likes of Ross Adair again in action alongside the experienced players and we do, of course, have the return of Josh Little who had a big impact the last time we were in Zimbabwe.”We also have Gareth Delany and Barry McCarthy returning from injury, while Craig Young misses out in the T20 format on this occasion.”It promises to be a very busy cycle ahead – from 2026 to 2028 we will see three white-ball World Cups, however, we have 2025 free from ICC events to build towards this key period.”Ireland Test squad: Andrew Balbirnie (capt), Mark Adair, Curtis Campher, Gavin Hoey, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphreys, Andrew McBrine , Barry McCarthy, Peter Moor, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Morgan Topping, Lorcan Tucker, Craig Young.Ireland ODI squad: Paul Stirling (capt), Mark Adair, Andrew Balbirnie, Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gavin Hoey, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphreys, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, Harry Tector, Morgan Topping, Lorcan Tucker, Craig YoungIreland T20I squad: Paul Stirling (capt), Mark Adair, Ross Adair, Curtis Campher, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Graham Hume, Matthew Humphreys, Josh Little, Barry McCarthy, Neil Rock, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Ben White*

Pennington puts Lancashire on brink of ignominious defeat with three second-innings wickets

ECB Reporters Network12-May-2024Haseeb Hameed struck a record-breaking career-best 247 not out as Nottinghamshire took control of their Division One match against Lancashire in the Vitality County Championship at Trent Bridge.The sometime England opener scored almost half his side’s runs as Nottinghamshire, all out for 503, turned an overnight deficit of 52 with seven wickets down into a first-innings lead of 172 before the visitors closed in deep trouble on 100 for 6 in their second innings, still 72 behind.Hameed’s score is the highest by a Nottinghamshire player carrying his bat through an innings in the county’s first-class history, eclipsing the 239 not out made by opener Charlie Harris in 1950 in an all-out score of 401 against Hampshire at Trent Bridge. There have been only 10 higher carried-bat innings in the history of county cricket.Hameed, who is in his first season as Nottinghamshire’s red-ball captain, was at the crease for 10 hours and 21 minutes and found brilliant support from an unlikely source in England fast bowler Olly Stone, his overnight partner, who made a career-best 90 in stand of 163, an eighth-wicket record in matches between these sides.”I wasn’t aware of the record until you told me just now,” Hameed said. “I guess it’s one of those things that maybe I’ll look back on down the line and be proud of the achievement. To break a record that had stood for 74 years is pleasing. And it’s my first double-hundred at first-class level too, so it is nice to get that one ticked off”I know Stoney is a very capable batter. We had a nice little partnership in the same fixture last year. I know he can play having seen him bat in the nets, so it came as no surprise.”Stone’s new-ball partner Dillon Pennington then followed up his three first-innings wickets with three more as Lancashire made a woeful start to their second innings, before Dane Paterson and Lyndon James combined to take another three, with all six casualties caught in the slips or behind the wicket.It was Hameed’s maiden double-hundred, yet Stone’s performance came as the biggest surprise of the day. Prior to this match, the 30-year-old had only once gone past fifty in his whole career, making 60 for Northamptonshire against Kent in 2016.Indeed, as he dusted off a few shots from his batting repertoire at the start of the day, it was easy to imagine that the back end of the Nottinghamshire innings might follow a similar pattern to Lancashire’s 24 hours earlier: a quick dart at an extra batting point or two before the opposing bowlers brought things to a conclusion.Dillon Pennington removed three of the Lancashire top four•Getty Images

But where Lancashire’s tail was done wagging within 26 balls of the restart, with 25 extra runs that gained nothing in terms of points before Stone picked up the last two wickets, a Nottinghamshire game-plan that must have had roughly the same goals turned into the biggest partnership of the match, tipping the balance in the home side’s favour.Indeed, it was Stone who played the lead role. As Hameed, whose fluent striking had taken him to 137 not out on day two, found himself scratching around by comparison, perhaps wary of a deteriorating pitch, Stone played as if big scores were second nature to him.While Hameed was taking 11 overs to find the 13 runs he needed for the second 150 of his career, Stone was profiting so readily from authentic shots across a fast outfield that he clearly felt he may as well see how far it would take him.The answer was undoubtedly much further than he could have imagined. Nottinghamshire increased their batting bonus points tally from one to three and by lunch they were 63 runs in front, Stone having gone past his eight-year-old career-best. Hameed, ever patient, was on 182.Lancashire finally broke through 65 overs into the day as Tom Bailey uprooted Stone’s off stump. As he walked off, Stone must have wondered if such a chance to make a first-class hundred would come his way again but surely allowed himself to enjoy the appreciation of the crowd. He had hit 15 fours, with scarcely a false shot among them.Hameed, meanwhile, was just past his own milestone, a double-hundred of which half the runs had literally been run. It beat his previous best of 196 against Derbyshire in 2022.Remarkably, it is the third double-hundred in consecutive matches by a Nottinghamshire batter following Joe Clarke’s unbeaten 213 against Somerset and Ben Duckett’s 218 versus Warwickshire last month.Even with the eighth-wicket stand broken, Lancashire still needed another 19 overs to finish the job. Pennington was leg before without scoring but Paterson stuck around for almost an hour, finding the boundary four times before he was bowled by leg-spinner Luke Wells for 18.Wells was the first casualty of Lancashire’s second innings, caught at third slip by a diving Will Young off Pennington, who struck again three balls later as Josh Bohannon nicked into the gloves of wicketkeeper Clarke.Pennington struck for a third time when George Bell edged to second slip before Paterson had Lancashire skipper Keaton Jennings caught at first slip, the South African almost grabbing what would have been a brilliant catch off his own bowling when George Balderson was on four.Lyndon James had the visitors in more trouble when New Zealand batter Tom Bruce was caught behind for 15, Paterson further reducing them to 61 for six as Balderson was grabbed at third slip, having not added to his score.

The Queensland captain will miss the game against Victoria with an eye on the Test summer which starts in December

AAP12-Oct-2023Usman Khawaja has been rested for Queensland’s next Sheffield Shield fixture as Cricket Australia’s workload management spreads to include batters ahead of the international summer.The Queensland captain is fit and healthy, but on Saturday he will watch his side’s clash with Victoria in Mackay from his home in Brisbane.Queensland still have four Shield games before the first Test of the summer against Pakistan, beginning in Perth on December 14.Related

• Khawaja rested for second straight Sheffield Shield game due to workload management

• Neser and Peirson centuries help Queensland hold out NSW

• Khawaja: Neser is Australia's Woakes

• Will Pucovski to miss Victoria's Shield clash with Queensland

Australia, currently competing in the ODI World Cup in India, will play a five-game T20 series against the hosts, before returning home for a five-Test summer.They will also play two Tests in New Zealand in February and March, and contest T20 series alongside those five-day clashes.AAP understands all Australian squad members will be subject to the load management policy – which had not been flagged before Khawaja’s omission on Thursday – on a case-by-case basis.How to best manage bowlers’ workloads has long been a divisive topic, with Australian captain Pat Cummins dismissing the notion of rotation in India and hopeful his battery of quicks will play every World Cup game if fit.The 36-year-old Khawaja has a relatively light schedule compared with some of his Test team-mates who frequent the world T20 circuit, but he will play for the Brisbane Heat in the BBL.His omission is a nod to how crowded the modern-day cricketer’s calendar has become.”Ideally you want your captain and best player to be there for every game, but we all know that, barring injury, he will be one of the first bats picked for the Pakistan series, so we understand the rationale behind the decision-making process,” Queensland coach Wade Seccombe said.”Uzzie is philosophical about it. He’d be happy to play, but he will also benefit from a more measured build-up ahead of another big international schedule for Australia.”He’s hitting them well, so we shouldn’t be too concerned on that front.”In-form wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson will captain in Khawaja’s absence, while Gold Coast product Ben McDermott is poised for a Shield return after his off-season move from Tasmania.

Pakistan allrounder goes straight into squad for upcoming fixture against Nottinghamshire

Matt Roller25-Apr-2024Warwickshire have signed allrounder Aamer Jamal on a multi-format contract until the end of July, after he was left out of Pakistan’s ongoing T20I series against New Zealand.Jamal announced himself to the world by taking 18 wickets in three matches in his maiden Test series for Pakistan in Australia late last year, and has also played six T20Is. He was part of a training camp at the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul earlier this month, but does not appear to be part of their T20 World Cup plans after missing out on selection against New Zealand.He will be available until the end of the T20 Blast group stages and has been named in Warwickshire’s 14-man County Championship squad to face Nottinghamshire at Edgbaston from Friday. “He’s jumping out of his skin to be on the park on Friday,” Gavin Larsen, Warwickshire’s performance director, said.Related

• Aamer Jamal leaves Warwickshire early after injury-blighted stint

Mark Robinson, their coach, said he would make a late call on Jamal’s inclusion after he arrived in Birmingham on Thursday. “He’s raring to go. It’s fantastic he’s itching to get straight into action with us but he hasn’t played a competitive game for a few weeks, so we’ll see where he’s at and make a decision tomorrow.”Larsen said: “He really captured the cricket world’s attention in Australia. He took the Aussies on with good pace, bounce, and a combative approach, all attributes you want in a fast bowler. Pat Cummins was named player of the series but you could have made a very strong argument for Jamal to have been awarded that title.”Jamal joins his compatriot Hasan Ali in Warwickshire’s squad, who was also left out of the ongoing New Zealand series after being invited to Pakistan’s recent training camp. They will fill Warwickshire’s two permitted overseas spots until the end of July, while Hasan’s contract includes an option to extend into September.Warwickshire will be without Moeen Ali, their T20 captain, for at least the first half of the Blast as he is expected to be named in England’s provisional T20 World Cup squad next week. The club said in January when Alex Davies was appointed club captain that a decision over the T20 captaincy would be made nearer the start of the Blast.They have strengthened their T20 bowling attack significantly in the off-season with the additions of George Garton and Richard Gleeson, though Gleeson could yet miss the start of the Blast. He was recently signed by Chennai Super Kings as an injury replacement at the IPL, and they are on course to qualify for the play-offs which run until May 26, five days before Warwickshire’s opening match.Sam Hain, who has missed the start of the Championship season due to personal reasons, played for Warwickshire’s 2nd XI but does not feature in their first-team squad this week. For Notts, Olly Stone – who left Warwickshire at the end of the 2022 season – is back in the squad after a groin injury and could play his first Championship game since May 2023.Elsewhere, Sam Cook will lead Essex for the first time this week when they face Durham, with club captain Tom Westley on paternity leave. They have brought in Harry Duke on a short-term loan deal from Yorkshire with Adam Rossington and Michael Pepper both injured and Jordan Cox unable to keep wicket after breaking his finger during the Hundred last year.Ollie Pope and Gus Atkinson are both in Surrey’s squad to face Hampshire at The Oval, though Ben Foakes has been rested by the ECB. In Division Two, Rehan Ahmed is back in Leicestershire’s squad after two weeks away on a pilgrimage, while Josh Hull – a tall left-arm seamer recently name-checked by Rob Key as an England prospect – returns from a side strain.

For upcoming Tests in SL, Babar wants mistakes from previous WTC cycle to not be repeated

Umar Farooq06-Jul-2023Talking about the October 15 ODI World Cup fixture against India, Pakistan captain Babar Azam has said that the tournament doesn’t revolve around only one game, and all nine fixtures will be important. Babar addressed the media in Karachi, where the team is undergoing a preparatory camp before the Sri Lanka Test series.”We are going to play World Cup and not just going to play against India only,” Babar said. “There are eight other teams and it’s not only India and only if we beat them then we will make it into the final. We are not focused on only one team, we are focused on all other teams in the tournament. Our plan is that we have to play well against all of them and win against them.”Pakistan are scheduled to play their nine league matches in five cities, their first stop being Hyderabad. There they play Netherlands and Sri Lanka – the two qualifiers from Zimbabwe – on October 6 and 12 respectively. Their next fixture is the big one, travelling west to Ahmedabad for the India game on October 15. They then go down south to Bengaluru to play Australia on October 20, and onward to Chennai, where Afghanistan await on October 23 and South Africa too on October 27. Pakistan then shuttle between Kolkata (v Bangladesh) and Bengaluru (v New Zealand) on October 31 and November 4 respectively, before finishing their league-stage fixtures against England in Kolkata.”In our thought, wherever the cricket will be played, wherever the matches are, we are going to play there. Because as professionals that is what we do, you have to be ready for everything. You prepare yourself for different conditions and in every environment and that is what we call a challenge and you take it to live up to it. Me, as a player and captain, I aspire to score runs in every country, dominate and win Pakistan games. So this is all we have in mind and not only that we’re going to play against one team.”Pakistan’s league stage matches at the 2023 ODI World Cup•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Pakistan’s participation is subject to the government approval, though there is a tentative approval which will be reviewed closer to the event. There will be the usual security reconnaissance before the team flies out, but there is no other hindrance at this stage.There was a letter sent out to the government by the PCB seeking advice on whether the Pakistan team is allowed to travel to India, and if so, if there are any reservations about any of the five venues for the Pakistan games, and if the Pakistani government wants to send a security delegation.

Babar wants faster runs from Test batters

Most Pakistan players are currently in Karachi, attending a conditioning camp before their two-match Test series in Sri Lanka. The series starts July 16 in Galle, with Pakistan playing their first Test after a gap of six months. The second Test is in Colombo from July 24.In the last ICC World Test Championship cycle, Pakistan were derailed in their home series with scorelines of 0-1 against Australia, 0-3 against England, and a drawn series against New Zealand. The Sri Lanka Test series is the first away series for Pakistan in the 2023-2025 cycle, and also have away tours of Australia (three Tests) and South Africa (two) lined up. They will host England (three), West Indies (two), and Bangladesh (two) at home.Honours were shared in SL when Pakistan last toured in 2022•AFP/Getty Images

“When you reflect back on the championship, you look out for all the positives and mainly what we were lacking in,” Babar said. “We did look back and plucked a few points. We’ll try to start this cycle in a positive way and up our game by 5-10 percent. We talked about taking our partnerships longer and with the ball, we have to take wickets. With the bat, if we were going with 3.5 [run rate], so now we have to change our game to try and go with 4.”On a question about taking a leaf out of the book on how England and Australia play Test cricket, Babar insisted that his side has its own way of playing.”As a captain, the approach is to win matches and always look to have a result,” he said. “Every team has a mindset and they play in their way. We try to play our best game and apply ourselves. For example, we went on to chase 360 [342] in Galle last year with our game. It happens when you have to score at the rate of three or four but sometimes you have to be defensive so it’s the need of the hour that dictates how you going to go into the situation. You learn every day and try to add new things to the system.”

Former Championship-winning fast bowler returns home after six years with Lancashire

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Nov-2023Graham Onions has agreed a return to his home club of Durham as lead bowling coach, after calling time on his six-year spell at Lancashire.Onions, who made more than 250 appearances for Durham across formats between 2004 and 2017, was instrumental in the club’s glory years, playing a key role in three County Championship titles between 2008 and 2013, and the One-Day Cup in 2014.He then moved to Lancashire for the final years of his career, helping them to win the 2019 Division Two title before stepping into the role of bowling coach following his retirement in 2020.In the course of his career, he claimed 527 first-class wickets for Durham, a haul bettered only by Chris Rushworth, and a further 104 in 23 matches for Lancashire at 20.73. He also played in nine Tests for England between 2009 and 2012, claiming 32 wickets at 29.90.”I am grateful and excited for the opportunity to come back to the county where it all started as a player,” Onions said. “I’m really looking forward to working with a talented group of players and also the opportunity to develop my own coaching with some exciting coaches.”I have loved my time at Lancashire as both a player and most recently as bowling coach. The time is right for me to move back to the North East to be around my family more often, but I will always be grateful for the six years I have spent at Emirates Old Trafford.”Durham’s director of cricket, Marcus North, added: “His 14-year playing career at Durham and understanding of our club’s culture and the North East cricketing landscape is a huge advantage in his arrival back to Durham.”We have an exciting group of bowlers at Durham and we believe this appointment is key to the development and success of this group. Graham will also play a leading role with Nathan Rimmington in overseeing our pathway talent.”