Spinner backs up first-innings five-for as on-loan teen Jacob Bethell impresses in Gloucestershire’s second innings

ECB Reporters Network14-May-2022Somerset steamrollered Gloucestershire’s patched-up team to complete a record-breaking LV= County Championship victory by an innings and 246 runs inside three days at Bristol.It was the Cider county’s biggest ever margin of victory over their arch-rivals, which was previously by an innings and 170 at Taunton back in 1893, a match in which WG Grace featured for the visitors.Gloucestershire, without injured skipper Graeme van Buuren, were bowled out for 186 in their first innings from an overnight 119 for 4, Jack Leach finishing with 5 for 49 from 25.4 overs.There was no respite for a home side including three new loan signings when they followed on 405 behind beneath cloudless skies. Leach completed match figures of 8 for 90, while teenager Jacob Bethell hit 61 in a total of 159.Somerset took 23 points to Gloucestershire’s one and have now reeled off successive victories after losing their first three Championship fixtures.With van Burren nursing a shoulder injury sustained in the field on day two, Somerset needed only five wickets at the start of the day to wrap up their opponents’ first innings.Bethell, on a one-match loan to Gloucestershire from Warwickshire, began with a sweet on-drive for four off Craig Overton and followed up with another boundary in the same over.There was concern for Somerset when Overton was forced off by a twinge in his left knee, but the England all-rounder was able to return to bowl at the end of the innings.Josh Davey made the breakthrough for Somerset with the total on 144, rapping Ryan Higgins on the back pad and pinning him lbw for 31, before quickly having Zafar Gofar taken at slip.Lewis Gregory uprooted Zak Chappell’s middle stump and the impressive Bethell fell leg-before on the back foot to Leach for 37 as Gloucestershire lurched to 152 for 8.Last pair Matt Taylor and Brad Wheal offered some resistance, taking the total to 186 for 8 at lunch. Taylor finished 24 not out when Wheal fell lbw to a ball from Leach that appeared to keep low.Gloucestershire’s second innings had reached 24 in the ninth over when George Scott edged Peter Siddle straight to James Hildreth at second slip.Marcus Harris fell on the same total, miscuing a pull shot off Overton and skying a catch to Tom Lammonby at mid-on. It was 28 for 3 when Miles Hammond nicked a ball from Davey through to wicketkeeper Steve Davies.Higgins was caught behind for 16 trying to force Gregory off the back foot and by tea Gloucestershire were in disarray at 74 for 4.Bethell had again given a lesson in technique to more experienced colleagues. But any hopes of a recovery disappeared in the over after the interval when James Bracey swept Leach and Tom Abell took an outstanding catch, one-handed above his head at backward square leg.Luck continued to desert injury-plagued Gloucestershire as Bethell slipped when called for a quick single off Leach by Zafar Gohar, who was forced to turn back and failed to beat Abell’s throw to the bowler’s end.Chappell was bowled off an inside edge for 20 by Overton, who then took a low catch at second slip off Leach to remove Taylor.Bethell’s mature batting in a crisis brought him a deserved half-century off 84 balls, with eight fours. But when he swept Leach into the hands of Lammonby at deep square, Somerset celebrated an overwhelming success.

Sam Cook, Matt Critchley take three wickets each as Essex cruise home

ECB Reporters Network10-Jun-2022Feroze Khushi brought his Second XI form to the Essex first team as he blazed a first Vitality Blast half-century to help his side to a 61-run victory over Middlesex.Batter Khushi averaged 91 in the Second XI T20 competition with three scores over 70 and continued that run with a stylish 67 at the Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford.Paul Walter also clocked up 58 not out as the Eagles set 187, before Matt Critchley took his Blast tally to 12 scalps with 3 for 22 and Sam Cook returned a magnificent 3 for 18. Middlesex were bowled out for 125 to extend their losing run to five defeats.Khushi was exceptional in his ball-striking but he was given three helping hands. John Simpson shelled a simple catch before he had got off the mark before he was also dropped on 36 and 40. In fact, Middlesex’s general fielding display will have disappointed head coach Richard Johnson, with Michael Pepper also surviving.Related

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Khushi eased into his work, with Adam Rossington, Pepper and Matt Critchley all departing in the powerplay having been put in, but found boundaries thanks to his strong wrist work. Having reached a 33-ball fifty, he unleashed a pair of sixes into the Hayes Close End – one of which landed on the roof of one of the houses.Two balls later though he holed out to the deep midwicket boundary, to end a 69-run stand with Walter. That came in a three-over spell which saw Essex score 45 runs, a key to their large total. Walter kept things moving, bringing up his second T20 half-century in 31 balls, with partnerships of 38 and 27 with Tom Westley and Simon Harmer.Martin Andersson picked up 3 for 42, including a wicked yorker to bowl Westley, as Essex piled up 186 for 6.Cook bowled Stephen Eskinazi with the fourth ball of the reply, before Max Holden followed an over later when Ben Allison found his outside edge.Joe Cracknell and John Simpson smashed five sixes between them but still couldn’t match the required run rate. Both departed attempting to up the ante, Simpson miscuing to extra cover and Cracknell bowled trying to sweep Critchley.Luke Hollman and Jack Davies both reached the 20s before they both departed, the former attacked Westley before Critchley had Davies lbw and Chris Green stumped.The home victory was confirmed when Cook returned to find Tom Helm edging to short third man and Andersson picked out a sprawling Harmer at long-on and Thailan Walallawita was run out.

ESPNcricinfo understands CSA was not intending to stop Lee from participating in the Hundred, but was concerned with a perceived lack of discipline

Firdose Moonda17-Jul-2022Lizelle Lee has accused Cricket South Africa of threatening to deny her an NOC to participate in the Hundred and said national coach Hilton Moreeng was aware of the organisation’s actions, which contributed to her retirement. Both Moreeng and CSA have rejected Lee’s assertions.The opening batter stepped away from international cricket on July 8, saying she was “ready for the next phase of my career”, and would continue playing franchise T20 cricket but provided no other reasons for quitting until today. After Moreeng was asked at a press conference whether CSA’s alleged refusal to let Lee play in the Hundred led to her premature retirement, he said, “No comment, I was not aware of that.” Lee, however, tweeted that Moreeng “was definitely aware”. She also said, “I told him in person and it was said in a meeting with CSA”, but clarified that Moreeng “was not in that meeting.”Lee later reiterated to ESPNcricinfo that Moreeng was aware of the development.ESPNcricinfo understands that CSA was not intending to prevent Lee from participating in the Hundred, but was concerned with a perceived lack of discipline, including not being on time for the team schedule and having a disrupting influence on others. Efforts to bring Lee in line with her team-mates were attempted but failed, leading to her retirement. Sources confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that CSA is willing to provide NOCs to all its players contracted to teams in the Hundred, as usual. The tournament does not clash with any of South Africa’s other engagements.Related

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Lee, who missed South Africa’s recently completed series in Ireland as she recovered from Covid-19, travelled to England and played in the one-off Test. She also played in the warm-up match against England A on July 4. Four days later, she announced her retirement, which blindsided everyone from Marizanne Kapp to Moreeng. “The retirement came as a shock for everyone. It’s not anything anyone expected to happen, especially on a tour that we were looking forward to,” Moreeng said. “It caught everyone by surprise.”Moreeng went on to praise Lee’s contribution over the last nine years, which included two Tests, 100 ODIs and 82 T20Is and, at one stage saw her ranked No.1 in the world among batters in ODI cricket.”Like she highlighted in her statement, she has given her all for the country, she’s enjoyed it and we also enjoyed having her as a player, the players have enjoyed having her as a team-mate and she had an incredible career,” Moreeng said. “At the end of the day, we need to respect the player’s decision although it is tough on everyone, because we didn’t foresee it was going to happen so quickly. We knew that one of these days it’s going to happen and now it’s for us to respect it and just give her some space. She’s made her decision. We thank her for the time she has given to the Proteas and she will always be remembered as one of those that played incredible cricket for the country.”Lee’s absence has affected South Africa’s batting and headspace, as Kapp confirmed after their loss on Friday night. South Africa have been bowled out for under 225 in both matches and their line-up has appeared listless. Moreeng recognised their shortcomings but stressed that it would be difficult to find someone in Lee’s mould immediately.”To try and replace Lizelle is not something that can happen overnight. There are players that are capable and they can still take the game forward but they need to be scoring consistently,” he said. “Lizelle is not a player you can replace overnight because of how explosive and dynamic she was. In the future hopefully we will find a similar player who can go out and be as explosive as her.”

County seeks influential figurehead in the wake of racism allegations

David Hopps20-Aug-2022Yorkshire are expected to sign Shan Masood, the Pakistan opening batter, after he confirmed that he had turned down Derbyshire’s offer of a new contract and would leave the club at the end of the season.Masood, who is regarded in Derbyshire circles as one of their most influential overseas signings, could also be offered the Yorkshire captaincy following Steven Patterson’s decision to step down as leader of the Championship side at the end of last month and the departure of England’s allrounder, David Willey, who was in charge of the T20 side, to Northamptonshire.Masood is seen as a perfect fit for Yorkshire as they seek to promote an all-inclusive culture in the wake of racism allegations from their former player, Azeem Rafiq, which sparked the biggest crisis in the club’s history and brought charges of bringing the game into disrepute from the ECB after a prolonged investigation.As a multi-format player, whose international days might be drawing to a close, Masood could also be expected to become an important figurehead in minority-ethnic communities as Yorkshire work to build trust across all parts of the county.His considered leadership was a prime factor in Derbyshire’s qualification for the Blast quarter-finals, as well as a more stable season in Division Two of the LV= Championship, but he was called up by Pakistan for a Test tour of Sri Lanka and Derbyshire crashed and burned in their last-eight Blast tie against Somerset at Taunton.Related

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Derbyshire had been in discussions with Masood, 32, regarding an extended contract for several months and despite a significantly improved offer, he has decided to take on potentially a hugely influential role.Derbyshire’s head of cricket, Mickey Arthur, was philosophical about Masood’s departure but nevertheless it is a blow for his efforts to change the county’s reputation as one of the weakest in the country.”Bringing Shan to Derbyshire was my priority when joining the club last winter,” Arthur said. “He’s shown the performances I knew he was capable of in county cricket and we’ve been keen to extend his deal since very early on in the season.”The contract renewal reflected his performances and value to the club, but ultimately we couldn’t match the offer. The other county set their stall out to bring in Shan and while it is of course disappointing to lose a player of his calibre, I and everyone at the club wish him the very best for the future.”We’ve seen a different Derbyshire this year and the group have surpassed people’s expectations. We’re shaking off that underdog tag and teams know when they play us that it’s going to be a competitive game. There’s more to come from this group and we’ll supplement that core with overseas recruitment, the process for which is already underway.”Masood offered optimistic words in return. “Derbyshire is a great club with a very positive outlook and inclusive culture. Under Mickey’s project I see the group challenging for trophies and reaching greater heights in the very near future. It has not been easy making this decision, but I feel this move is the next phase of my life and career.”He is on course to finish the season with more than 2,000 runs across all formats, including a double century against Sussex.Yorkshire explored the possibility earlier in the summer of signing Moeen Ali as another statement signing, although that prospect was always unlikely. Moeen said in June that he would be open to joining Yorkshire for cricketing reasons but “not as a publicity stunt” before making an expected switch from Worcestershire to his first county Warwickshire and his home city of Birmingham where his popularity is evident, not least in his leadership of Birmingham Phoenix in the Hundred.Yorkshire would welcome a similar impact from Masood as they try to reinvigorate a county where membership has fallen to historically low levels and debts remain around £20 million.

SL were all out for only 105 in the tournament opener against Afghanistan

Shashank Kishore02-Sep-20226:27

Maharoof: ‘Afghanistan firm favourites for me’

Big picture

Sri Lanka can breathe easy. Or can they?

Having been blown away by Afghanistan and then having to use every ounce of firepower to get past Bangladesh, they will once again face a trial by spin. Against the Rashids and the Mujeebs. However, the current Afghanistan team is beginning to establish a new bowling order. Their fast bowlers Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen ul Haq have been the perfect prelude to the spin superstars. So as a batting unit, there’s unlikely to be any respite.Does the current line-up have the confidence to take on bowling straightaway? In their virtual knockout, Sri Lanka had to go for broke, for a flight was waiting to take them home otherwise. Can they replicate a similar mindset with the stakes significantly higher?Chris Silverwood’s focus is on bringing back Sri Lanka to their refreshing approach to white-ball cricket that revolutionised the ODI game in the 1990s, the kinds that gave opponents nightmares when Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana destroyed attacks with disdain.However, that is easier said than done. The proof lies in the pudding. Saturday will be another opportunity to test that.

Watch live on ESPN+

If you are in the USA, you can watch the Afghanistan-Sri Lanka game live on ESPN+, both in English and Hindi.

Afghanistan have proved they’re giant killers no more. UAE conditions are as good as home conditions. Most players are residents here, and train and play all year round on pitches such as these, and in weather far more oppressive. What they will want to guard against is complacency.So far, they haven’t been tested while batting first. How they approach it – should this scenario play out on Saturday – will be interesting to watch.Afghanistan have the edge but having just about stopped the door from shutting them out of their own party, they will now want to barge it open.

Form guide

Sri Lanka: WLWLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)

Afghanistan: WWLWW

In the spotlight

On T20I debut, Asitha Fernando won Sri Lanka game that even his teammates thought had slipped away. His 10 out out of three balls helped clinch a thriller to put Sri Lanka in the Super 4s. Against Bangladesh, Asitha seemed a tad nervous and sprayed the ball around even as the Bangladesh top order took him on. He finished with 1 for 51 off his four overs. Now, he’d be looking to impress with the new ball, which is his primary skillset.Can Fazalhaq Farooqi repeat his Group B performance?•AFP via Getty Images

Afghanistan are slowly beginning to establish an identity beyond their globetrotting T20 superstars. Among those who putting themselves high on the radar of franchises around the T20 circuit is Rahmanullah Gurbaz. The hard-hitting 20-year-old was given out on zero in the Asia Cup opener but overturned the lbw call on review and went on to take Sri Lanka’s attack to the cleaners by making an 18-ball 40 in a low-key chase. Can he rise to the occasion? Now the stakes are high, and a Super 4 game win first up could set them on the road to the final.

Pitch and conditions

The surface in Sharjah will be the same as the Pakistan v Hong Kong game. There is likely to be some rough patches and dry spots that could aid the spinners. That said, the ground dimensions are significantly smaller than Dubai, and both sides have batters than can take surfaces out of the equation. So far, there hasn’t been any dew across both venues. Toss should not be a deciding factor.

Team news

Both sides have a fully fit squad of players to choose from. They are unlikely to make changes.Sri Lanka: 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Kusal Mendis (wk), 3 Charith Asalanka, 4 Danushka Gunathilaka, 5 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 6 Dasun Shanaka (capt), 7 Wanindu Hasaranga, 8 Chamika Karunaratne, 9 Maheesh Theekshana, 10 Asitha Fernando, 11 Dilshan Madushanka.Afghanistan: 1 Hazratullah Zazai, 2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 3 Ibrahim Zadran, 4 Najibullah Zadran, 5 Mohammad Nabi (capt), 6 Karim Janat, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Azmatullah Omarzai, 9 Naveen-ul-Haq, 10 Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Stats and trivia

• Hazratullah Zazai and Gurbaz are the second-most prolific pair for Afghanistan in T20Is. They have eight fifty-run stands in just 21 innings together, including a 37-ball 83 against Sri Lanka last week.
  
  
• In 13 T20Is this year, Sri Lanka have conceded runs at 8.21 during the powerplay at an average of 42.73. While this average is the worst among all Full Members, their economy is third worst, behind England and West Indies.
  
  
• Mujeeb ur Rahman has a prolific record in Sharjah: 10 wickets in four T20Is.

Quotes

“Chris Silverwood is trying to bring back the positive, aggressive brand of cricket we used to play a couple of decades back. He has given us the freedom to think as adults and not be pampered.” – “The way the boys have performed, the way they have adjusted and taken the responsibility upon themselves has been great to see. In the Super 4s too, our focus is on playing the same brand of aggressive cricket, but also learn from the mistakes we made and not repeat it.” –

Carter, Orr provide key support as Worcestershire’s victory hopes are thwarted

ECB Reporters Network15-Sep-2022Sussex 220 and 312 for 6 (Alsop 137*, Carter 55) drew with Worcestershire 438 for 5 (Libby 215) Sussex’s Tom Alsop led the resistance with an unbeaten century as Worcestershire’s promotion hopes in the LV= Insurance County Championship suffered a potentially fatal setback.Alsop’s 137 not out – his fourth Championship hundred of the season – and valuable contributions from Oli Carter (55), Ali Orr (48) and Tom Clark (36) took Sussex to 312 for six, a lead of 92, when the players shook hands with 13 overs remaining at the 1st Central County Ground.Worcestershire picked up 14 points but they are 28 points behind second-placed Middlesex with two games to play and will almost certainly be in the second division again next season. Sussex remain seventh and have little prospect of improving on that position with two matches to go.The visitors were ultimately left to rue the loss of 84 overs to the weather. There were a couple of moments on the final day when they sensed an opportunity but Alsop held things together impressively for the hosts.The wicket at Hove didn’t really deteriorate but Sussex were still 130 runs in arrears when they lost opener Orr, leg before when Ben Gibbon found some late inswing.Alsop had come to the crease in the sixth over of the day after nightwatchman Brad Currie had two stumps knocked over by Josh Tongue’s inswinger.It was hard work at first but gradually Alsop, fluent as always on the leg side, and Clark began to find some rhythm as the ball softened.Clark went down the wicket to hoist Brett D’Oliveira for a straight six but in the next over he was brilliantly caught down the leg side by the diving Gareth Roderick off the persevering Dillon Pennington after adding 83 in 27 overs with Alsop.Worcestershire sensed their chance but Carter proved an excellent foil for Alsop in a fifth wicket stand of 110 in 30 overs.Alsop went to his century with a clip to the mid-wicket boundary off Tongue but two wickets in five balls after tea, when they took the new ball, gave Worcestershire renewed hope.Carter, who hit nine fours as he passed fifty for the sixth time this season, was beaten by a fine delivery from Pennington which trimmed the bails.Then in the next over Joe Leach bowled Fynn Hudson-Prentice with one which kept low. Sussex’s lead was just 64 at that stage and their lengthy tail was exposed.But Alsop stood firm and James Coles belied his inexperience to offer solid support at the other end as they put on 30 runs before the players shook hands. Alsop’s innings spanned 228 balls and contained 18 fours and he departed to a standing ovation.