'This is Karthik's moment'

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Twitter reacts to an unbelievable innings from Dinesh Karthik

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Mar-2018

South Africa's short-ball plan slides wide

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

South Africa’s plan of bowling short to bridge the gap between India’s experienced, confident batsmen and their own struggles went awry when their inexperienced bowlers erred in line

Sidharth Monga in Johannesburg18-Feb-2018In Twenty20 cricket, it is often the last few overs of each innings that change games, and are hence more analysed. It is less frequent that wickets in the Powerplay seal a game’s fate. Runs scored in a Powerplay that decide a match is even rarer. India scored 125 runs in their last 14 overs, South Africa 134 in theirs, and they did so despite losing wickets in desperate attempts to score quickly. And yet South Africa lost by a big margin.It was a match decided in the period of play when South Africa’s least experienced players went up against India’s most experienced ones. Debutant Junior Dala and Dane Paterson, playing only in his sixth T20I, wouldn’t even have been part of a full-strength South Africa side.Be that as it may, South Africa won the toss and asked for this contest upfront. Two newcomers against a top four that has individually led their batting units in the IPL. What you hope for at these times is well-set plans and spot-on execution. In ran Paterson to start the game with two men back on the leg side and no third man. Rohit Sharma saw one ball, and crunched the second – short and wide outside off – right where third man would have been. Later in the first over, Rohit showed those two men on the hook make no difference on a small ground, comfortably clearing them with a short-arm jab. The next ball he bunted over the infielders on the off side, knowing that’s all he had to do to get four.Dala, with the novelty of his wrong-footed action wearing off, bowled short and wide second ball, and Rohit accepted the same offer to third man. Dala did get a wicket with a straight short ball, primarily because Rohit tried to manufacture something out of the ordinary. In came Raina, and for one ball South Africa had a third man for him. Right after, South Africa went back to bowling short without a third man in place. Raina saw it coming, it was not express pace, and it was deposited over midwicket.Thirty-nine of the 78 runs in India’s Powerplay, with three sixes and four fours, came behind square on the off side. As a plan, you could understand why South Africa did. They were the weakened side, they needed to do something exceptional to take early wickets. “The plan was to try and take wickets,” JP Duminy said. “I felt if we were in that position, we were in a strong position, especially at a venue like this. I wasn’t too unhappy, the mindset and plan was an aggressive one which was to try and take wickets and with that, there are going to be times when you leak a few boundaries.”Associated PressIn the end, India scored 78, and had lost a wicket lesser than the minimum South Africa wanted. It is easy to think South Africa didn’t get the memo that India are currently playing the short ball well. It is not the case. A well-executed bouncer can be difficult for any batsman in the world. It is slightly higher risk but South Africa felt they needed to take the risk to bridge the gap between the two sides. Just that Paterson and Dala kept providing them the width required to exploit the absence of a third man.”To be honest I don’t think they have played it very well,” Duminy said. “It is going to come down to the execution of our skill. If we execute a plan well, it’s potentially going to work, but unfortunately with our plans in place, we didn’t execute as well as we’d have liked. I still believe and feel the plans are good, but especially when it’s a shorter format you have to execute well. Unfortunately there were few missed opportunities throughout the innings. But we’ll definitely come back stronger. I firmly believe that.”Were they asking too much of their young bowlers to bowl short and give no room to the batsmen? “They are inexperienced in terms of international cricket, but they are very experienced in terms of domestic cricket and what they have done at domestic level,” Duminy said. “They have a high standard in terms of their execution, but I’m not blaming that.”At the end of the day the batting has been our main Achilles heel throughout the series and that’s something we have to take on board. You will leak runs in this format, so even though we went for 200, from the way we started to the way we came back there are lots of positives to take.”South Africa could have asked Chris Morris to open the bowling for this plan, and used Paterson towards the end, a role he is more accustomed to. T20 is a format which bridges the gap between sides: South Africa were not behind in the last 14 overs of either innings. It will be interesting to see, in this light, if South Africa persist with the plan or tamper it.

Shami spearheads massive win as India wrap up series

by csb10.top Uncategorized

After a thrilling last-over finish in Hyderabad, India romped to an eight-wicket victory in Raipur on the back of an inspired performance from their quick bowlers to take the series 2-0 with one match to go. India’s domination started with a display of swing and seam with great accuracy to bowl New Zealand out for 108 in under 35 overs in an international debut for the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium. Two sharp return catches also helped matters.India chased it down in 20.1 overs after a 51 off 50 from captain Rohit Sharma, who struck seven fours and two sixes before Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan saw the hosts through. It was India’s seventh consecutive bilateral ODI series win at home.Stifling Test-match style bowling from Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj caused the early damage, after India won the toss, to reduce New Zealand to 9 for 3. Hardik Pandya bowled three maidens and picked up 2 for 16 from six overs as New Zealand slipped to 15 for 5, with their top five falling in single digits, after 10.3 overs. Glenn Phillips stretched the score past 100 with the help of Michael Bracewell and Mitchell Santner, but 108 was a total too low to trouble a team that had scored 349 and 390 in their last two games.

Replay – Ind vs NZ, 2nd men’s ODI

You can watch the replay of the second ODI between India and New Zealand on ESPN Player in the UK and on ESPN+ in the USA.

Shami was the first to strike when he followed a few outswingers with one that came in and bowled Finn Allen for a duck in the first over. His swing and Siraj’s wobble seam tied up the top order, and Siraj had Henry Nicholls edging one to first slip in the sixth over.Four balls after Nicholls’ fall, Shami grabbed a sharp return catch with his left hand off Daryl Mitchell to finish his first spell with 4-1-5-2 while Siraj’s read 4-1-4-1. Shardul Thakur and Hardik also got breakthroughs soon after being brought on and kept the pressure on the visitors.1:17

Irfan: Siraj has become Rohit’s go-to bowler in ODIs

Devon Conway eased some nerves by registering the first boundary of the innings in the ninth over but Hardik sent him back with another one-handed return catch in the following over. Thakur also struck when Tom Latham, who had left nearly half of his first 16 balls, chased a wide delivery and handed Gill his second catch at first slip.Fifteen was the lowest score at which India have picked up five wickets in a men’s ODI and it was also New Zealand’s lowest score at five down.Phillips, Bracewell and Santner all bothered India but only briefly. Phillips started with back-to-back fours off Hardik – including a top-edge over the wicketkeeper – before Bracewell dispatched consecutive low full-tosses for fours off Shami in the 19th over. Shami immediately changed from around to over the wicket and banged in a bouncer that ended the stand of 41 when Bracewell nicked behind for 22.From 56 for 6, Phillips and Santner put on a patient stand of 47, thanks to two lives Santner got off Kuldeep Yadav. The first came when Rohit couldn’t hold on to a tough chance while diving to his right at midwicket, and Kuldeep later put down an easier return chance despite getting both hands to the ball over his head.Phillips scored at a good clip during his 36 with boundaries whenever he got loose deliveries from Thakur. Santner, too, chipped in with two fours off Kuldeep after the halfway mark of the innings, but he fell just after New Zealand crossed 100.Hardik started the 31st over with a 112.8 kph slower ball which Santner chopped on off the inside edge, and New Zealand collapsed again. Two long-hops from Washington Sundar saw Phillips and Lockie Ferguson hole out to deep midwicket, and Kuldeep trapped Blair Tickner in front in his eighth over to wrap up the innings.In the chase, Rohit and Gill started patiently as the new ball swung around. Soon though, Rohit turned aggressor, starting with a pull in the second over off Henry Shipley before also pulling Ferguson for six in the fifth over. Whenever the scoring would quieten for India, Rohit would either unleash another pull or manufacture room to dispatch the ball on the off side, including a stunning six over the covers off Tickner. Rohit also used the cut with perfect timing to collect boundaries as Gill waited more patiently for the loose balls to pick boundaries. Rohit also swept and reverse swept Santner to reach a 47-ball fifty but was trapped lbw when a Shipley delivery stayed low in front of off stump.Kohli was stumped off Santner for 11 after he struck Shipley for two fours and Kishan and Gill wrapped up the win by smashing three fours in the space of 11 balls.

'It's ruthlessness, not overconfidence' – Rohit disagrees with Shastri's assessment

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After India’s nine-wicket defeat in Indore, Shastri had said that they were complacent, overconfident, and overeager to dominate

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2023

Ravi Shastri feels Rohit Sharma and Co. were overconfident going into the third Test•Getty Images

Rohit Sharma doesn’t agree with former coach Ravi Shastri’s assessment that India were overconfident and complacent going into the third Test against Australia, and it led to their nine-wicket defeat.”Honestly, when you win two games, if the people outside are feeling that we are overconfident, it’s absolutely rubbish, because you want to do your best in all four games,” Rohit said on the eve of the final Test in Ahmedabad. “You don’t want to stop by winning just two games, it is as simple as that.”Obviously, all these guys, when they talk about being overconfident and all that, especially the guys who are not part of the dressing room, they don’t know what kind of talk happens in the dressing room. Ruthless is the word that comes to my mind, and it comes to every cricketer’s mind, being ruthless. Not to give any inch to the opposition when they are playing, especially when they’re touring abroad, and that is exactly what we have also experienced when we have toured outside. The opposition will never let you come into the game, never let you come into the series. And that is the mindset we have as well.Related

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“We want to do best in all the games. If it seems overconfident or anything like that to the outsiders, it doesn’t really matter to us, because Ravi himself has been in this dressing room, and he knows what sort of mindset we have when we play. It’s about being ruthless, not being overconfident.”Batting first after winning the toss in Indore, India lost seven wickets in the first session and were all out for a mere 109 as Matthew Kuhnemann picked up 5 for 16. They fared only slightly better in the second innings, posting 163 and setting a target of 76, which Australia chased down easily.”This is what a little complacency, a little bit of overconfidence can do when you take things for granted, you drop guard and this game will bring you down,” Shastri had said on air. “I think it was a combination of all these things when you actually cast your mind back to the first innings, see some of the shots played, see some of the overeagerness to try to dominate in these conditions. You reflect back, take a step back or two to analyse.”The result gave Australia a shot at squaring the series after having fallen 2-0 behind following losses in Nagpur and Delhi. In terms of the bigger picture, Australia’s Indore win sealed their spot in the final of the World Test Championship. For India to do the same, they need to win in Ahmedabad. Anything less than a win and they will have to rely on New Zealand not losing to Sri Lanka 2-0.

'There are people who will be fired' – Erik ten Hag's former assistant sends warning to Ruben Amorim after being 'faced with this reality' at Man Utd

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Erik ten Hag's former assistant at Manchester United has expressed his sympathy for current coach Ruben Amorim amid a difficult time at Old Trafford.

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  • Man Utd continue to struggle under Amorim
  • Van der Gaag discusses coach's 'reality' at Old Trafford
  • Ex-assistant believes the Portuguese has little 'control'
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  • WHAT HAPPENED?

    Mitchell van der Gaag followed Ten Hag from Ajax to United in 2022. Though Ten Hag stayed on until October 2024, Van der Gaag was dismissed in July amid a backroom staff overhaul. Since then, the club have brought in Amorim from Sporting CP to turn things around at Old Trafford.

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    THE BIGGER PICTURE

    The Red Devils' struggles have continued under the Portuguese manager as they sit 16th in the Premier League with two games left to play, though they may still end the campaign with the Europa League title and a place in next season's Champions League. Amorim's rough start comes as no surprise to Van der Gaag, who feels the coach has limited control over the situation while Sir Jim Ratcliffe continues to make significant cuts in the background.

  • WHAT VAN DER GAAG SAID

    "A coach always needs victories to get his ideas across and for the players to believe in him," he told . "Coming in mid-season is always difficult, and even more so with the changes that are happening, especially outside the club. In the structure, training centre, stadium, and there are people who can't stay at the club and will be fired. There's a lot going on around the club. Then a top coach arrives here in Portugal, but he's faced with this reality, he has no control over it and he needs to work. It's not easy and I hope he has time to change because it's not easy."

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    WHAT NEXT FOR MAN UTD?

    United are winless in their last six league matches heading into Friday evening's game against Chelsea. They will then head to Bilbao to take on Tottenham in the Europa League final on May 21.

Wrexham to waive Paul Mullin transfer fee? 110-goal striker could leave as free agent as Ryan Reynolds & Rob McElhenney prepare to part with history-making promotion hero

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Wrexham are reportedly ready to waive a transfer fee for Paul Mullin and allow the 110-goal striker to leave as a free agent in the summer window.

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Frontman has slipped down pecking orderUnder contract until summer of 2027May be moved on to free up squad spaceFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The 30-year-old frontman moved to SToK Racecourse in 2021, a matter of months after Hollywood co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney completed their stunning takeover in North Wales.

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Mullin is a three-time Player of the Year at Wrexham and has formed part of squads that have rewritten the history books by securing three successive promotions. He did, however, tumble down the attacking pecking order in 2024-25.

DID YOU KNOW?

Questions are being asked of Mullin’s future, with Wrexham expected to spend again ahead of a step up into the Championship, and Alan Nixon has posted on his account that the Red Dragons are prepared to let their iconic No.10 leave for nothing despite being under contract until 2027.

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Phil Parkinson has said when asked about the role Mullin and fellow experienced forward Ollie Palmer have to play in his plans after finding game time and spots in matchday squads hard to come by: “Of course there’s always players who would have liked to have played more. Equally, contributions can come in many forms, so I’m delighted with everybody as a group. Mulls and Ollie will always be legends at this club for what they’ve done. They’re under contract next year and they’ll be back in pre-season ready to go again.”

Rajat Patidar to miss first half of IPL 2023 with heel injury

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MRI on April 14 to determine next course of action

Shashank Kishore25-Mar-2023Rajat Patidar, Royal Challengers Bangalore’s breakout star of IPL 2022, is set to miss at least the first half of the upcoming season due to a heel injury. Patidar is currently undergoing rehab at the NCA in Bengaluru.ESPNcricinfo understands Patidar has been advised rest for the next three weeks before an MRI scan will determine his participation in the second half of the competition. He picked up the injury prior to joining the camp, and will need an NCA clearance before linking up with Royal Challengers.Patidar’s absence could force Royal Challengers to rethink their batting combination. With him in the mix, Mike Hesson, the franchise’s director of cricket, had stated after the auction that Virat Kohli would continue to open the batting with Faf du Plessis. The injury now potentially means they could have Kohli slot back at three with one of Finn Allen or Anuj Rawat opening with du Plessis.Related

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Patidar wasn’t picked at last year’s mega auction but came in as a replacement midway through the season following an injury to wicketkeeper Luvnith Sisodia.He announced his arrival in the Eliminator by hitting the fastest hundred by an Indian in the tournament’s history, an innings rated by ESPNcricinfo’s panelists as the best in men’s franchise cricket in 2022.Patidar finished the season as the third-highest run-scorer for Royal Challengers, behind du Plessis and Kohli. He made 333 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 152.75. His IPL exploits along with stellar returns in a title-winning Ranji Trophy campaign with Madhya Pradesh earned him a berth in India’s ODI squad during their home summer last year.Patidar’s unavailability isn’t the only concern for Royal Challengers. There are also doubts over Josh Hazlewood’s participation. The Australian fast bowler is currently recovering from Achilles tendonitis.He flew home midway through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in February after missing the first two Tests. Hazlewood’s fitness is going to be monitored closely, given Australia have the World Test Championship final and the Ashes coming up immediately after the IPL ends on May 28.

Harmanpreet to lead Mumbai Indians in WPL

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Mumbai had bought Harmanpreet for INR 1.8 crore, the third-most expensive for them after Nat Sciver-Brunt and Pooja Vastrakar

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Mar-2023

Harmanpreet Kaur was named the Mumbai Indians captain•Mumbai Indians

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur will lead the Mumbai Indians franchise in the inaugural edition of the WPL, set to begin on March 4 in Mumbai. Harmanpreet was not the most expensive player bought by Mumbai at the auction last month but she was expected to lead the side, which will feature other top international names such as Nat Sciver-Brunt, Hayley Matthews and Amelia Kerr.”As the national captain, she has led the Indian Women’s team to some of their most exciting wins,” Mumbai Indians owner Nita Ambani said in a statement. “And I am sure that with Charlotte [Edwards, head coach] and Jhulan’s [Goswami, bowling coach and mentor ] support, she will inspire our MI women’s team to play their best cricket, display a sense of pride, and bring even more glory to women in sports.”Related

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Mumbai had bought Harmanpreet for INR 1.8 crore (US$ 220,000 approx.), the third-most expensive for them after Nat’s INR 3.2 crore ($390,000 approx.) and Pooja Vastrakar’s 1.90 crore ($232,000 approx.).Harmanpreet has led India to the knockouts in the last three T20 World Cups, including the final of the 2020 edition in Australia. In the recent T20 World Cup that finished in South Africa last month, India narrowly missed out on the final berth when they lost to eventual champions Australia by five runs after Harmanpreet’s 52 off 34.Harmanpreet is the only player in the world – in men’s or women’s cricket – to have played 150 T20Is, with her Indian counterpart Rohit Sharma, who leads Mumbai Indians in the IPL, second with 148 games to his name.Harmanpreet will be in the team management with Edwards, Goswami, and batting coach Devika Palshikar. The squad also includes Pooja Vastrakar, Yastika Bhatia and Amanjot Kaur as the other international India players.Mumbai will take on Gujarat Giants in the WPL opener on March 4 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.

The Shafali-Lanning show flattens RCB before Tara Norris' five-for

by csb10.top Uncategorized

It was just over a week ago when a disappointed Shafali Verma was watching Australia captain Meg Lanning celebrate a thrilling win over India in the T20 World Cup semi-finals in Cape Town. On Sunday, the two came together to feast on a listless Royal Challengers Bangalore bowling, fist-bumping their way to a rollicking 162-run stand in 14.3 overs at the Brabourne Stadium.Delhi Capitals amassed 223 for 2, the second 200-plus total in a row in the WPL, and in turn, Royal Challengers could only get to 163 for 8, as USA’s Tara Norris – the only Associate player in the tournament – bagged five wickets.It wasn’t like Royal Challengers did not have the firepower. Having Smriti Mandhana, Sophie Devine, Ellyse Perry and Heather Knight in your line-up is an absolute dream. On a good batting surface, you expect these big names to show up. But Capitals have Lanning and she is no ordinary captain. Actually, we can say it out loud: she is a five-time World Cup-winning captain.She placed a mid-off and prompted Alice Capsey to bowl wide to Devine, who had been targeting that area for boundaries. That resulted in a superb catch by Shafali at mid-off to dismiss the dangerous Devine for just 14. Lanning brought on left-arm spinner Radha Yadav only after Mandhana was dismissed. And she never gave Royal Challengers a chance to recover after that.

The Shafali-Lanning serve: elegance, power and everything in between

“, video analyst (Every team has a video analyst so everyone knows others’ strength and weakness, we have planned everything and we will execute it).”That was Shafali’s response to the host broadcaster before the match on being asked what advise she gave Lanning to stop Mandhana from scoring runs. On the day, Shafali made sure Royal Challengers did not execute any of their strategies they possibly had for her, as she brought her . It was evident in the way she effortlessly charged down the pitch to gracefully drive the ball over long-on or how she backed away to heave a short and wide ball from Devine powerfully over mid-off.While acknowledging that she found her fluency on the day, Shafali also said she was upset that she fell before reaching her century.”I knew it was my day today,” she said after the match. “I was telling myself that I need to bat throughout. When I got out in my 80s, I got really sad because it was that kind of a day, and I couldn’t get my century. It was my time to have hit a century. My family’s presence at the stadium also gave me confidence. And I was only thinking that I should convert and that I shouldn’t play any loose shot.”At the other end was world-class Lanning, showing off her elegance with every shot. She played her favourite cut every time the ball fell short and wide. She also targeted the area behind square with her pulls and sweeps. The duo hardly spared any bowler, leaving Royal Challengers clueless. They put up the fifth-highest stand in women’s T20 leagues, and they did that by constantly encouraging each other in the middle.”She [Lanning] was constantly appreciating me and I was more and more encouraged by it,” Shafali said. “We were just backing each other. She knows how I play and I know how she plays. I was also trying to back her, [I wanted her to be] confident and comfortable playing with me. When I hit a four she said, ‘good shot, keep playing’ and I also (did) that, kept telling her ‘good shot, keep going like this’ and I really enjoyed playing with her.”Ahead of the tournament, Lanning had said she couldn’t wait to stand at the other end and watch Shafali “whack other teams around the park”. Not only did her wish come true in Capitals’ first match, but she also got to join the party. On a sweltering Sunday afternoon, the duo made Mandhana regret her decision to bowl first.While we’ll leave you to decide what the pair’s nickname should be, all we can say is we ship this budding womance.Tara Norris bagged a five-for on WPL debut•BCCI

Kapp’s blitz and Tara Norris, the Associate trump card

The duo also laid the perfect platform for Marizanne Kapp to the off from. Along with Jemimah Rodrigues, Kapp made sure the run rate did not drop as she took on Perry, Megan Schutt and Knight for fours and sixes to get the team total to 200 in the 19th over. She scored a boundary off the last ball of the innings to finish with a 17-ball 39.Capitals had a standout performer in the bowling department too. Norris, the USA left-arm quick, who has been building her experience by plying her trade in the England domestic circuit, came to the party later in the evening.When Perry was just finding her touch in the tall chase, Norris all but ended Royal Challengers’ hopes by getting her to drag on in the 11th over. In the same over, she sent No. 4 Disha Kasat back with a short ball. Norris struck twice in her next over too, dismissing Richa Ghosh and Kanika Ahuja. By the end of that 13th over, Royal Challengers’ equation had reached an improbable 128 off 42 balls with just four wickets in hand.And in her final over, with Royal Challengers floundering, Norris also had Knight caught at cover to cap a memorable spell of 5 for 29.

Essex's own Bobby Dazzler gets their Blast season up and running

by csb10.top Uncategorized

Essex 196 for 7 (Das 69, Khushi 34, Westley 31*) beat Gloucestershire 195 for 7 (Charlesworth 52, Dent 33) by three wicketsRobin Das continued his incredible breakthrough week with his maiden Vitality Blast half-century as Essex belatedly began their campaign with a six-wicket victory over Gloucestershire.Das, the 21-year-old batter, struck a century on his first-class debut against Ireland on Friday before crashing a stylish 69 to help Essex towards a daunting 196 target.That huge Gloucestershire score was in large part down to Ben Charlesworth’s brutal 19-ball fifty, the quickest for the county in T20s.But Das, together with fellow homegrown batter Feroze Khushi’s 34 off 12 balls and Tom Westley’s street-wise 31 not out guided Essex to victory with five balls to spare.”There is a lot of scope for things to go better but I guess I’ve had worse weeks,” Das said. “I am really happy with how the week has gone and hopefully can keep the ball rolling and keep the momentum going.”It is very pleasing to contribute with Feroze. I have played with him since club cricket at the age of 13 or 14. It is nice to play with those players you grew up with and shows a really strength to our club; players coming through the pathways and into the first team.”Related

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Essex and Gloucestershire hadn’t bowled a ball at each other at the Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford since 2016, following an incredible run of five consecutive washouts. Essex had also delayed the start of their Blast season due to the Ireland clash.Former Eagles Grant Roelofson and Chris Dent got Gloucestershire off to a strong start in the powerplay – 61 for 1 – but the former feathering an edge behind saw them stall.Miles Hammond and Dent fell in the following two overs, with Ollie Price bowled soon after, leaving the visitors on 80 for 4 just past the halfway point. But after an unspectacular start, where he was dropped on 13 and had 20 off his first 13 balls, Charlesworth went into hyperdrive.He took Matt Critchley for two consecutive sixes on the leg side before tearing into Sam Cook. Two fours through mid-on were followed by two maximums over deep square – one on the back foot, the other flicked off the front – to take him to his half-century.Next ball, Cook had the last laugh by finding his edge. James Bracey heaved his first ball for six – which made it 47 runs in 12 balls for Gloucestershire – but next ball he picked out long off, with Jack Taylor coming and going in the same Daniel Sams over.If Essex thought the onslaught had ended with Charlesworth, Marchant de Lange got their necks craning again by helping himself to 18 off the penultimate over – including a run of four, six, six.Danny Lamb, who arrived on a short-term loan from Lancashire before the match, crashed a four and a six off the last over to take Gloucestershire to an imposing 195 for 7.Fast bowler de Lange had Adam Rossington caught at deep midwicket with his third ball but pulled out of his delivery stride before bowling another ball before walking out of proceedings.Khushi had already pinged de Lange back over his head before repeating the trick twice off Tom Smith’s spin. But he fell to a stunning catch at short third as Essex blasted 72 for 2 in the powerplay.

Das showed his classy shot-making against Ireland but proved his outright power for a small man with 11 fours and sixes straight and over midwicket. His maiden T20 fifty came in 27 balls, although he had earned a life when dropped on 38. He may not have even played had Michael Pepper not suffered a knock in a Second XI match.The Eagles were well ahead of the rate but were pegged back when Critchley slogged to long-on and Das top-edged a slog-sweep.Walter was bowled by Price, Sams chopped to short fine and Simon Harmer clubbed to long-on, but Westley eased to the conclusion to condemn Gloucestershire to a third defeat in four.

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