All posts by n8rngtd.top

Scott Boland is the reserve fast bowler in a 13-player squad to face India in Perth

Andrew McGlashan09-Nov-20242:20

Malcolm: ‘McSweeney could be a future captain if he finds his feet’

Nathan McSweeney will open the batting for Australia in the first Test against India in Perth having won the race to partner Usman Khawaja while Josh Inglis has been included as the reserve batter in a 13-player squad.McSweeney had firmed as the favourite for the vacant role in recent weeks and though he couldn’t convert two starts against India A at the MCG – where he made 14 and 25 on a tricky pitch opening for the first time his first-class career – he has been preferred ahead of specialist openers including Marcus Harris who does not even make the squad.Related

• Usman Khawaja debunks strike rate 'myth' in McSweeney selection

• 'A bit more stressful' – Josh Inglis' up-and-down day as Australia captain

• 'A right-handed version of Warner': Josh Inglis launched into opening debate

• Batting issues loom over Australia with big five in focus

“I’ve been able to perform pretty consistently over the past couple of years in Shield cricket. I feel like my game is constantly getting better and improving,” McSweeney said. “I feel like I’m playing probably the best cricket I have. It’s nice to spend some time in the middle against India A in Mackay and here at the MCG and feel like my game’s ready.”McSweeney was only given the word by national selector George Bailey after the end of the second A game at the MCG. “There’s been a lot of talk about it, didn’t really know until I finally got the word, still probably hasn’t quite sunk in yet,” he said. “Getting a lot of nice messages. Very lucky and grateful for the opportunity.”One of those messages was from Marnus Labuschagne, who has been a mentor to McSweeney from his days with Queensland and with who there are often comparisons.”That was a nice phone call to Marnus last night as well. He’s super chuffed for me, and I’m thankful for his knowledge and the way he’s helped me through the start of my career,” McSweeney said. “At times I probably look similar, and I like to think I’ve got my own way of playing, but definitely using Marnus as a resource, that’s been very helpful for me.”Despite just one match at the top of the order, there is confidence McSweeney is ready for the role. “He’s a player whose growth is on a great trajectory, a very organised, composed player at the crease who has a game that will suit Test cricket,” Bailey said.For McSweeney, very little changes. “Other than walk out one position earlier than I normally do, my prep is the exact same,” he said. “I trained with the new ball batting at three, and you can be in there in the first over of the game.”As expected, Scott Boland takes his place as the back-up quick bowler behind captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood for the first Test at Optus Stadium which begins on November 22.The decisions taken by the selectors follows their recent mantra of picking the best six batters rather than focusing too heavily on the positions they traditionally occupy. The vacancy at the top of the order arose after the decision to move Steven Smith back to No. 4 following his four-Test stay earlier this year after the retirement of David Warner.Overall in first-class cricket McSweeney averages 38.16 with six centuries in 34 matches but over the last two years that average rises to 43.44 with all his hundreds coming during that period. In a sign of his standing among the selectors he was handed Australia A captaincy before he led his state, South Australia.Harris looked to have made a strong case for selection with a hard-fought 74 in the first innings against India A in Melbourne but it wasn’t enough to return him to the Test fold. Sam Konstas sealed victory in the match with a fine innings at No. 4 but after early-season excitement with his twin hundreds against South Australia it has been decided it is a little too early for the 19-year-old. Cameron Bancroft’s horror run of form meant he drifted well out of contention but Bailey insisted he and Harris remained in the selectors’ thoughts.”It’s a tough one because whenever the information is first given it potentially feels hollow that they’ve been overlooked again,” Bailey said. “But as I said its just to be really clear to them that not being selected is not us saying that we don’t think you aren’t a good player, we just have to make a decision on who is going to fit the role best and at the moment we think that’s Nathan.”Inglis’ selection is something of a left-field decision but rewards him for being one of the most in-form players this season with two Sheffield Shield hundreds. His credentials were lauded by New South Wales Greg Shipperd last month who said he should be in contention to open. Bailey played that down but did say he could play a role this season and that opportunity is now a step closer. He also provides wicketkeeping back-up for Alex Carey.Inglis will captain Australia for the first time later on Sunday in the deciding ODI against Pakistan and then in the three-match T20I series meaning he will link up with the Test squad after those matches are complete.

Australia squad for 1st Test vs India

Pat Cummins (capt), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc

Northern Superchargers move second after dumping two-time champions out of the competition

ECB Media23-Aug-2025Northern Superchargers 127 for 3 (Davidson-Richards 50, Litchfield 29) beat Oval Invincibles 125 for 6 (Winfield-Hill 37, Cross 2-16) by seven wicketsNorthern Superchargers solidified their position in the top three of the women’s competition of The Hundred with a comfortable win over a misfiring Oval Invincibles, whose hopes of staging a late run to the knockout stages lay in ruins after a maiden tournament half-century for Alice Davidson-Richards and another brilliant cameo from Phoebe Litchfield.A win here doesn’t quite confirm the Superchargers’ progression – London Spirit, in fourth, could yet haul them in – but the result does end the Invincibles’ slim chances of featuring come the business end.The result will sting for Lauren Winfield-Hill’s team, who scrapped hard but were always up against it once Tash Farrant was injured in the field; Tarrant was only able to bowl five deliveries, which meant that Winfield-Hill had to turn to spin. With Farrant indisposed and her new-ball partner Marizanne Kapp forced to complete her 20 deliveries early, Litchfield and Davidson-Richards counter-attacked devastatingly, putting on 47 to take the game away from the visitors.Davidson-Richards brought up her fifty with a slew of punches down the ground, hitting nine fours in all in her 32-ball stay, while Litchfield’s range of shots, with the signature reverse-sweep once more in evidence, was breath-taking at times, her 21-ball 29 taking her into the top three of the competition’s run-scorers.Despite losing both batters in quick succession, the Australian pair of Annabel Sutherland and Nicola Carey steadied any nerves to see the Superchargers home with a full set still to bowl.The Invincibles, two-times winners of the competition, will be hurting. A garlanded line-up only sporadically clicked into top gear and even today, despite a sparky knock of 37 at No.5 from Winfield-Hill, their big guns were quiet, with their top four of Paige Scholfield, Meg Lanning, Alice Capsey and Kapp contributing just 39 runs between them, as Grace Bollinger and Kate Cross set the tone with excellent new-ball spells.Meerkat Match Hero, Alice Davidson-Richards, was relieved that they held their nerve to get the job done. “I’ll be honest, I was a bit of a wreck at the end there, pacing around with a cup of tea, just hoping the girls [Sutherland and Carey] could get us over the line. In the end it was a really great win for the team.”Up top it was quite hard against the seamers who were swinging it around for both teams, but as I got in, it got a little bit easier. And at Headingley, it’s always a decent deck to bat on.”
ends

Update comes six months after he had accused Baroda captain Krunal Pandya of “bad behaviour”

Nagraj Gollapudi15-Jul-2021Deepak Hooda has joined Rajasthan as a professional for the 2021-22 Indian domestic season after severing ties with Baroda, his home team. Hooda, who had been banned for the 2020-21 season in January by the Baroda Cricket Association (BCA) for “indiscipline”, wrote to the BCA on July 12 asking to be “relieved” with immediate effect so he can “explore” professional opportunities with another team.In his letter to the BCA, Hooda said his time with Baroda gave him some of his most “memorable years”, but that he wanted to move on with an aim to “furthering my growth in my career and also I feel that my professional services can be utilised in a better manner”.Related

• Irfan Pathan wants resolution to Hooda-Pandya dispute

• Deepak Hooda accuses Krunal Pandya of 'bullying'

• Baroda suspend Hooda for rest of season for 'indiscipline'

Former Mumbai captain Shishir Hattangadi, the BCA’s chief executive officer, told ESPNcricinfo that Hooda had been asked in early June to join the conditioning camp comprising 45 probables for the men’s senior team. In an e-mail to the BCA apex council, Hattangadi said that Hooda had been picked for the conditioning camp by the state selection committee on June 25, and while the player was duly informed, on June 30 the selectors informed Hattangadi that Hooda had not joined the camp. On the same day, Hooda sent an email to the BCA president and Hattangadi saying that he would join the camp on July 10.”We received a mail on the 13th of July from Deepak Hooda requesting for an NOC to allow him to play elsewhere (team not mentioned),” Hattangadi said in the email to the apex council. “We have granted him an NOC signed by the Secretary, and have informed the Selection Committee and the coach of the development.”The development came six months after Hooda moved out of the team hotel on the eve of the Baroda’s first match in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this January, alleging that Baroda captain Krunal Pandya’s “bad behaviour” including using abusive language and “bullying” had made him “depressed, demoralised and under pressure” and forced him to walk out. Recently speaking on , the podcast hosted by the , Pandya said that he had always believed in putting the team the first and the reason he had been silent on the issue was to maintain his “dignity”.”There have been a lot of allegations,” Pandya said on the podcast, aired in June. “I’ve gone through a lot of hate messages on social media. It doesn’t bother me that much. I’ve never spoken on that from my side and have maintained that dignity because I’ve (got) very, very high respect for the institution that I play [for]. Obviously there have been campaigns running against me, to portray me in a particular way.”Till now I’ve not said anything, which is not because I’m wrong but because I have respect for the association, I have that respect for the sport and I have the respect for my team-mates. I’ve never come out and said my side of the so far, it’s only one side of the story [that has come out]. And I’ll maintain my dignity.”What the other person did in this incident was going out in public and saying his own side of the story and gaining sympathy. From my side I’ll say that I and Hardik have always, always played this sport as a team sport and we have never ever kept ourselves first. As a leader it was my responsibility that it’s a team sport and if one individual can be so indisciplined and can be so careless that he’s troubling or not maintaining the decorum of the team. I always stand for things that are right, without agenda and Hardik is also the same in this case. I will stand always for the team and for the players. Our intention has always been to help more young players, our focus has lately been to bring more talent from Baroda and to help the youngsters.”Hooda, 26, is originally from Haryana but started his first-class, List A and T20 careers with Baroda, turning out first in a T20 game in March 2013 before the other formats. Overall, Hooda played 42 first-class matches for Baroda, making 2718 runs with a highest score of 293* at an average of 43.14, including eight centuries and 15 fifties. In List A cricket, Hooda made 1428 runs from 40 matches at 42, with two centuries and 10 fifties. In T20 cricket, where Hooda is known as a power-hitter, he played 51 matches for Baroda, scoring 993 runs at a strike rate of 138.1 with a century and six fifties.

Also, why did Capitals go against the trend and choose to bat first? And should Williamson have attacked more?

Matt Roller08-Nov-20205:13

Were Sunrisers out of the chase after Warner’s wicket?

Why did Capitals choose to bat first?
Shreyas Iyer, the Delhi Capitals’ captain, went against the trend in the tournament by opting to bat when he won the toss. As the tournament has worn on, chasing teams have been increasingly successful, and especially in Abu Dhabi, where the stadium’s open sides have created perfect conditions for dew later in the evenings. Coming into this game, 10 of the last 11 chasing teams had won (excluding Super Overs).Iyer explained that his decision had been informed by a good batting pitch, the fact that the Capitals had lost their last two games against the Sunrisers while chasing, and the Sunrisers’ unconvincing performance batting second against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Eliminator.”We had two outings against the Sunrisers and we bowled [first] against them,” Iyer said. “I feel that it’s a better option to bat against them, and we saw in the previous game as well that they were a little vulnerable chasing. The wicket also looks really good to bat on, so putting a good total on the board would be a great responsibility for us as batsmen.”Should Rashid have bowled in the powerplay?
With Marcus Stoinis promoted to open the batting alongside Shikhar Dhawan – as mooted by ESPNcricinfo’s tactics board in the build-up – the Sunrisers struggled early on. After getting a life thanks to Jason Holder’s drop at silly mid-on, Stoinis put his foot down and had raced to 33 off 21 balls by the end of the powerplay.When he fell to the fourth ball he faced from Rashid Khan, in the ninth over, it invited the question as to whether David Warner should have thrown the ball to his best bowler inside the powerplay. In fact, Rashid has not bowled a single over inside the first six this season, despite having done so plenty of times in other leagues around the world.The case was made stronger by Stoinis’ poor historical record against top-quality legspinners, including a head-to-head record against Rashid that read: 18 balls, 21 runs, two dismissals. And on top of that, Rashid’s record against the Capitals is superb: across his five previous games against them, Rashid had taken 10 wickets for 72 runs in 20 overs. When Stoinis lost his off stump in the ninth over, it felt like Warner had missed a trick by holding his star man back.Why did Iyer come in at No. 3?
With 86 on the board after 8.2 overs and the prospect of Khan and Shahbaz Nadeem bowling the bulk of the middle overs, it might have made sense for Delhi to send in Shimron Hetmyer at No. 3. After all, he is a destructive player of left-arm spin – with a strike rate of 162.38 against it in his T20 career – and took Khan down playing for RCB last season. What’s more, No. 3 has been his favoured role in T20s, both for West Indies and Guyana Amazon Warriors.Instead, the Capitals decided to send in their captain, Iyer, to maintain their left-right combination alongside Dhawan. Iyer is a slow starter in T20s, scoring at a strike rate of 95.5 in his first 10 balls – by means of comparison, Suryakumar Yadav’s equivalent figure is 139.8 – and he showed only limited intent in making 21 off 20 balls with a single boundary. Given Nadeem’s struggles against left-handers – his 16 balls against them went for 38 runs off the bat – it might have been a better decision to push Hetmyer up ahead of Iyer.Why was Ashwin held back?
In the chase, Iyer’s use of his offspinner R Ashwin was unusual. Ashwin bowled the first over, seemingly to target the left-handed Warner, but was instantly taken out of the attack after conceding 12 runs, including a huge six from Priyam Garg – promoted to open after Shreevats Goswami’s three-ball duck in the Eliminator.With three spinners in their line-up, and Stoinis as the third seamer, the Capitals could afford to hold Ashwin back through the middle overs, deciding instead to split spin-bowling duties in the period between legspinner Privam Dubey and slow left-armer Axar Patel, both of whom turned the ball away from Sunrisers’ right-handers.With Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje both coming back for a third over relatively early in the piece to try and break the partnership between Holder and Kane Williamson, Ashwin had to bowl two more overs at the death – the 16th and the 18th. He bowled defensively, bowling back-of-a-length and forcing the batsmen to take on the boundary-riders, and while his figures – 0 for 33 in three overs – looked relatively ugly, he managed to fill the gaps around Iyer’s attacking moves.Should Williamson have attacked more?
If I asked you to think of an archetypal Williamson innings in T20 cricket, you’d probably picture him deftly finding gaps, facing hardly any dot balls, and managing to turn singles into twos by scampering between the wickets. But tonight was very different. Instead, he scored 44 of his 67 runs in boundaries, faced 13 dots in his 45-ball stay, and failed to hit a single two or three.According to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data, Williamson only attempted nine boundaries in all, and managed 23 off the 36 balls that he faced which did not go for four. Perhaps it is unnecessarily harsh to criticise Williamson for his innings – after all, he kept Sunrisers alive from 44 for 3 after five overs. But on an excellent batting pitch, and given how well he seemed to time every attacking shot, it felt like he could have gone harder against the Capitals’ weaker bowlers in particular.Did the umpires miss a no-ball?
With 29 runs required off the last 11 balls, Kagiso Rabada let a high full toss slip out which Abdul Samad smashed for six over deep-square leg. Warner, on the sidelines, held out one arm as though signalling a no-ball, and yelled onto the field to ask why it had not been called for height. The next ball – which would have been a free hit, if it had been given, Samad was caught at long-off by Keemo Paul, on as a substitute fielder.Replays would later reveal that it had reached Samad ever so slightly below his waist. Therefore, despite Warner’s protestations, the decision reached was the correct one.

The India Test captain is back to reclaim his spot in the XI for the Mumbai Test, but who will sit out? He isn’t telling just yet

Sidharth Monga02-Dec-20215:11

Kohli: ‘We are not playing in normal times’

Virat Kohli is back in international cricket after a break, during which he skipped the T20I series against New Zealand completely and then essentially chose to step off the treadmill and spend time working on his game rather than jump right back into Test cricket. While India played the Kanpur Test, Kohli worked with former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar in Mumbai, which is where he lives.

Watch live cricket on ESPN+ in the US

India vs New Zealand is available in the US on ESPN+. You can subscribe to ESPN+ and tune in to live coverage of the 2nd Test in English or in Hindi.

Kohli is now back refreshed and recharged, and emphasised on the need to look after one’s mental well-being in this bio-bubbles era of cricket. “It is very important to understand that it is crucial to refresh yourself mentally,” Kohli said a day before the Mumbai Test. “When you play so much cricket at a certain level for so long, it gets taken for granted that you will keep turning up series after series and perform with the same intensity in every match.”Since the situation has changed [with bio-bubbles being introduced as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic], a lot of people have spoken about how difficult it is in bubble life. Our players’ understanding and management’s communication is good, we have spoken a lot about how to manage the workload. More than workload, giving them mental space.Related

• Virat Kohli returns as New Zealand eye elusive series win in India

• Anatomy of a stalemate on a dead Kanpur pitch

• Dravid: 'Hopefully it is a matter of one innings for Rahane'

“From my personal experience, I can tell you that practising in an environment where you were not in a structured environment and there weren’t 50 cameras trained at you… we could do that previously, we would have windows where you could step aside and individually work on your game or take some time off where you are not doing the same thing every day. That makes a lot of difference.”To maintain the quality of cricket, to maximise the ability of the cricketers, to keep them in a good space, it is very important to consider this. Not just our team, but across the world, players are in the mindset to manage the workload, more from the mental point of view rather than physical.””When you play so much cricket at a certain level for so long, it gets taken for granted that you will keep turning up series after series and perform with the same intensity in every match”•AFP/Getty Images

Kohli has now gone two years of international cricket without a century. This period has included the break because of the pandemic and his paternity leave, but 12 Tests and 15 ODIs is the longest he has had to wait for a century. Was there anything specific he felt he needed to work on during this week spent away from the spotlight? No, said Kohli.”It was just to stay in the rhythm of playing red-ball cricket,” he said. “The idea was to get repetition and volume, which is important in Test cricket. It is just about getting into the mould of switching in-between formats, something that I have always tried to do. Whenever I get the opportunity to get some time to work on setting up for different formats. It is more so mentally than doing anything technique-wise. The more cricket you play, you understand your game more. It is just about getting into that headspace that you want to play in a certain way in a certain format. It was purely based on that.”There is no soft landing for Kohli. Straight off the bat, he has to make a tricky call on who should make way for him in the XI. Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have had low returns for a while now, and Shreyas Iyer has amplified that with a century and a half-century on debut. Kohli didn’t give any information on what changes to expect, but spoke on dealing with such tough calls on a human level, mainly handling the person who is left out.2:12

Agarwal or Rahane: Who will sit out when Kohli is back?

“You have to obviously understand the situation of where the team is placed,” Kohli said. “You have to understand where individuals stand at certain stages during the course of a long season. So you have to obviously communicate well. You have to speak to the individuals, and approach them in a way where you explain things to them properly. Mostly it has been combination-based whenever we have done changes in the past.”We have explained it to the individuals, and they have understood the mindset behind going in with a certain combination. It is not a difficult thing to do when there is collective trust and belief in the group that we are working towards the same vision. Along the line, there are ups and downs, and we understand that as cricketers and sportspeople in general.”It is never a thing that you say that I am absolutely okay or happy about being told that the combination doesn’t allow me to play. That is the dynamic of team sport, and we prioritise the team first, and making sure we take care of individuals along the way. That’s something we have done consistently as a Test team.”We have backed the set of players that have done the job for the Indian team the last five-six years. We maintain and continue to maintain they are the integral part of the larger scheme of things, of the core group of the Indian Test team. They have always been players we have relied upon on many occasions. And they have done the job. It is upon realising and being aware of what’s happening, and then we find the right space and the right way to approach people. Obviously with the management, the coaching staff, discussions happen in a rounded manner.”

Akram irked by conduct of an unidentified individual in the Qalandars’ hospitality box, leading to an off-field spat

Umar Farooq in Dubai25-Feb-2019Lahore Qalandars have lodged an official complaint against Karachi Kings president Wasim Akram and their players Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim after an off-field spat following the PSL game between the two sides on February 16.The PCB is yet to arbitrate on the issue, but Lahore insist that the incident was a “clear violation of code of conduct”.Akram was seen having a heated argument with the family members of Fawad Rana, the owner of the Lahore franchise, after Karachi’s loss by 22 runs. Imad, the captain, and fast bowler Amir were also part of the argument, which allegedly included inappropriate gestures.Moments later, Akram stormed off and made his way to the post-match presentation while Imad and Amir were dragged into the dressing room by the Karachi manager. Usman Wahla, a PCB official, is also believed to have been involved in the incident. Two dignitaries from Lahore’s hospitality box were briefly taken into custody too, but were released shortly after.ESPNcricinfo understands that an unidentified fan in Lahore’s hospitality box had seemingly angered Akram, which resulted in an argument. Lahore then sent a written complaint to Roshan Mahanama, the match referee, the next day, but he distanced himself from the issue. The PCB and the PSL’s technical committee are now looking into it.Lahore want the PCB to retrieve CCTV footage and take action before they face Karachi again on February 28. Karachi, meanwhile, haven’t offered an explanation yet, with a spokesman confirming that the PCB hasn’t engaged with them on the matter as of Tuesday evening.

Commitment from two young players follows recent exodus of senior players

David Hopps22-Jun-2022Yorkshire’s new regime have received the first show of faith they needed with Harry Brook and Dominic Leech both committing themselves to a long-term future with the club.After a testing week, in which both David Willey and Tom Kohler-Cadmore have chosen to go elsewhere, the decision by two Yorkshire-born players to keep faith with the county during a difficult transition will lift spirits.The news of the new contracts will be welcomed as a blessed relief – adding to the delight around Headingley over some of the best ticket sales in the ground’s history for a Test bedevilled by rail strikes and positive Covid tests.The county is negotiating its way through the most challenging phase in its history after allegations of institutional racism and an unhealthy dressing-room culture.It is inevitable that the Headingley Test will be the focus for more disruption – and four former chairmen, including the ex ECB chairman Colin Graves, have teamed up to publicly demand an independent enquiry into the ECB’s handling of racism allegations against Yorkshire.Brook, who is currently in the Test squad and making a strong case to play for England in all three formats, will gain most attention by signing a five-year extension that will keep him at Headingley until at least October 2027.Leech, a 21-year-old fast bowler, is less well known, but his promise is considerable. He made his debut in 2020 and will remain with Yorkshire until at least October 2024.Yorkshire’s coaching team of Darren Gough, the interim director of cricket, and Ottis Gibson, the head coach, have clear views about their priorities as they seek to build a positive environment, and successful side, in the wake of the global fallout from Azeem Rafiq’s racism allegations. Both will be thrilled by the first sign that they build a successful future.”We are absolutely delighted that they have both committed their futures to the club,” Gough said. “Harry is an incredible talent and the performances he has put in so far this year have been nothing short of incredible, rightfully earning him an England call-up.”It’s clear that he has a very bright future and it’s great for the club to be able to secure his services for a long period of time.”Dom is a highly regarded seamer and we are really excited to see what he can achieve over the next few years.”Like most young fast bowlers, he’s had to cope with a few injuries in the early stage of his career but we are confident he has all of the attributes to be a brilliant cricketer for Yorkshire.”Dominic Leech is a promising young seamer who has committed to Yorkshire until 2024•Getty Images

Brook has enjoyed a stellar rise to prominence. So far this season he has scored a remarkable 926 runs in 11 County Championship innings, alongside 282 Vitality Blast runs at an average of 47. His form was recognised with a call-up to the England Test squad for the New Zealand series, having made his T20I debut during the tour of the Caribbean in January.He also skippered Yorkshire in their latest Blast fixture against Derbyshire at Chesterfield on Saturday.Yorkshire’s mass sacking of their coaching and ancillary staff in December will be debated for decades. Cricket does not deal in such wholesale changes in the same way as football does. But they will hope that a pattern may now be set.Most uplifting for Yorkshire was that the comments from both players appear to suggest a willingness to put recent political disruption behind them, perhaps even accepting it as the lot of a professional in team sport.Brook said: “I’m delighted to extend my contract with Yorkshire and hope I can contribute to a lot of wins in the coming years. Yorkshire is my home club and I’d love nothing more than to help bring some silverware to Headingley.”Leech said: “I’m really pleased to have signed a contract extension with Yorkshire and committed my future to the club. I’ve had a great taste of first-team cricket over the last few years and want to push for a permanent spot in all squads.”I’ve enjoyed working with our new coaching staff and look forward to continuing to develop my relationships with them. It’s great that the club have recognised my performances and rewarded me with this contract. Hopefully I can play my part in the side winning some trophies.”

Second Pakistani overseas player to join Haris Rauf for 2022 season

David Hopps01-Apr-2022Yorkshire’s overseas signings could not be more designed to persuade their Muslim communities that change is here to stay. To the Pakistan quick, Haris Rauf, who will play the first six Championship matches as well as an envisaged stint in the Vitality Blast, they have added his fellow Pakistani, the legspinner Shadab Khan, as they herald the start of a new era.Yorkshire are not openly saying that they are deliberately majoring on Pakistan-based talent to build trust after the racism allegations levelled by Azeem Rafiq plunged the county into one of the deepest crisis in its history, but it is pretty self-evident.It certainly bears comparison with their first attempt to woo minority ethnic fans, in 1992, when they signed an Indian batsman and he posed for photographs with a pint of Tetley bitter – a slight miscalculation perhaps, in the Muslim areas of the inner cities. But then Sachin Tendulkar was not so famous then.Ottis Gibson, Yorkshire’s coach was delighted at the prospect. “He’s a fantastic T20 player. I was in the PSL and he was player of the tournament, I think, making runs, taking wickets, full of energy. He brings a lot. In T20 cricket, you like all your players to be three-dimensional and he’s definitely a three-dimensional player that will add value with bat, ball and in the field.”Shadab is available for the first five matches, and then from the ninth match onwards, and will be a key figure as Yorkshire seek to arrest a poor record in T20 cricket. The view of their interim director of cricket, Darren Gough, is that often their overseas signings have not been ambitious enough.With Gary Ballance expected to miss the start of the season – perhaps much longer – because of a recurrence of his mental health issues, and Tom Kohler-Cadmore still affected by concussion he suffered on a pre-season tour to Dubai, Yorkshire are also trying to finalise another overseas batter on a short-term contract. Sri Lanka sources confidently predict that Dimuth Karunaratne is the batter in pole position, but Yorkshire insist that no deal has been finalised.Ballance’s mental health issues remain a private affair, although it seems fair to observe in passing, without jumping to conclusions, that he received considerable criticism for his role in Rafiq’s racism allegations.Gough said: “Obviously, that’s a serious situation, so we just want to support him the best we can and give him the space that’s required. I would like to think that people give him that space as well because it’s a serious illness, mental health.”Having lost two of my best friends to suicide, we will give him as much time as he possibly needs to make sure he’s in the right frame of mind to play cricket again. However long that takes.”Short on top-order batters, it is not surprising that Yorkshire hope that Joe Root’s post-England relaxation might involve a spot of Championship cricket, perhaps against Kent at Headingley on April 28.Gibson suggested he had said: “‘Just get yourself down here, back to your happy place in Headingley and come and play some cricket with your mates’. He’s going to take a break now and I believe he’ll be back for the last two or three four-day games, near the back end of April.”

Under-16 tournament for women, last staged by Women’s Cricket Association of India (WCAI) in 2006, also brought back

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jul-2022The BCCI is set to bring back the Duleep Trophy – in a zonal format – and the Irani Cup to a full-fledged 2022-23 senior men’s domestic calendar that is set to begin in early September. The board has also added a number of women’s competitions this upcoming season, most significantly an Under-16 tournament.The Ranji Trophy, which is tentatively slated between December 2022 and February 2023, is likely to follow both the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s (October-November) and the Vijay Hazare Trophy (November-December). India’s premier first-class competition will revert to its old format of having four elite pools and a plate division, with an elite team likely to get at least seven group games.For the first time ever, the Ranji Trophy had to be completely abandoned in 2020-21 because of the impact of Covid-19. It returned the next season but was held as a truncated tournament, with Madhya Pradesh beating Mumbai in the final to win their first championship.Related

• Refreshed Ajinkya Rahane eyes domestic season 'to start from zero again'

• Irani Cup returns after three years, Saurashtra to face Rest of India from October 1 to 5

• BCCI introduces A+ category for umpires; four international in it

• SC to hear case on tenure of Ganguly-led administration on July 28

India’s domestic calendar for 2022-23 – accessed by ESPNcricinfo – was presented by Abey Kuruvilla, the BCCI general manager, to the operations team at the apex council meeting in Mumbai on Thursday. This is still a tentative schedule with a final call on it expected soon.Meanwhile, the Under-16 tournament for women that was last staged by the Women’s Cricket Association of India (WCAI) in 2006 has been brought back now in preparation for the inaugural edition of the Women’s Under-19 World Cup to be played in the T20 format in January 2023 in South Africa.”The under-16 is a very important tournament,” India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana said. “I remember when I was 10-11 [years old] and trying to make it to the Under-19s, I was told I was too young.”A lot of girls in the age group have started to play cricket, and there is an opportunity now for them to play in the Under-16s and then graduate to the Under-19s. That way they have two tournaments to prepare themselves for the U-19 World Cup.”Equally significant is the reintroduction of the women’s zonal competition – in both T20 and 50-over format – for the seniors after a five-year gap. There is also a T20 and 50-over competition for the Under-23s to ensure players who miss the bus at the Under-19s have another level to aim for.”I personally enjoyed playing in the zonal competition; this is amazing news,” Mandhana said. “I have great memories of playing for West Zone. It helped me improve as a cricketer.”We had zonal tournaments both at the Under-19s and at seniors, where having just five teams after going through the full domestic season elevated the standard of cricket. I’m happy that it is coming back.”The addition of several new tournaments to the women’s calendar will also help the BCCI test the waters further as they build towards a Women’s IPL, work for which is underway according to BCCI president Sourav Ganguly. The matter is likely to come up for discussion at the BCCI Annual General Meeting in September.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz set to play for the Warriors as well, replacing Heinrich Klaasen

Deivarayan Muthu18-Sep-2022Shakib Al Hasan has joined Guyana Amazon Warriors for the remainder of CPL 2022. He replaces Tabraiz Shamsi, who worked particularly well with his idol Imran Tahir but now has to leave for South Africa duty. The Amazon Warriors’ attack has revolved around their wristspinners’ exploits this season, and though they now lose a bit of that X-factor, in Shakib, they get a player with vast experience and proven pedigree. He is the fifth-highest wicket-taker (419) in the history of T20 cricket.Shakib’s work in the CPL is also impressive: in 2016, he had won the title with Jamaica Tallawahs and three years later he repeated the feat with the Barbados Tridents (now Royals). He also holds the record for best bowling figures in CPL history, having bagged 6 for 6 in 2013.Shamsi was always meant to leave Amazon Warriors midway through the season and Shakib was always meant to join them, which is why he had obtained a No-Objection Certificate from the Bangladesh Cricket Board prior to the start of the CPL. But the league will now clash with a T20 World Cup preparatory camp in Dubai and BCB chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury said the team management will decide if Shakib will be called back from the CPL to attend the camp.Amazon Warriors captain Shimron Hetmyer had said that spin would play a huge part in the last leg of the tournament in Guyana.”It [spin] will be a big factor, especially going down to the end because all the pitches in the Caribbean are quite slow and they get lower and lower as we progress longer in the tournament,” Hetmyer said. “They will play a massive part for us in restricting teams for us and bowling teams out and just making sure if we’re bowling second to cross the line.”Amazon Warriors are currently at the bottom of the points table with just one win so far in five games.

Nabi and Gurbaz get CPL deals too

Jamaica Tallawahs have signed up Afghanistan T20I captain Mohammad Nabi for the final leg of CPL 2022 in Guyana. Nabi will bolster Tallawahs’ spin attack after they had released Nepal legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane from the tournament earlier this month.Lamichhane’s exit from the league came in the wake of his suspension by Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) after an arrest warrant was issued against him in Kathmandu over an alleged case of coercion of another person. Lamichhane maintains his innocence though and said he was ready to face the “baseless allegations”.Nabi, meanwhile, will also lend middle-order muscle to a fairly top-heavy Tallawahs line-up. He, like most of the other Afghanistan senior players, didn’t feature in CPL 2021 owing to national commitments. In his most recent stint, with St Lucia Kings, he was a vital part of then-coach Andy Flower’s all-rounder heavy side, picking up 12 wickets in 12 games and scoring 156 runs at a strike rate of 124.80. Nabi has also turned out for St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in 2017.Nabi’s Afghanistan team-mate Rahmanullah Gurbaz has also earned a CPL deal this season, as a replacement player for Amazon Warriors. He is set to slot in for South Africa wicketkeeper-batter Heinrich Klaasen who will return home to prepare for the six-match white-ball series in India, which begins with the first T20I in Thiruvananthapuram on September 28.Gurbaz is only 20 and is yet to make his CPL debut, but is a well-travelled cricketer, having had stints at Pakistan Super League (Islamabad United and Multan Sultans), Bangladesh Premier League (Khulna Tigers), Indian Premier League (Gujarat Titans) and Lanka Premier League (Jaffna Kings and Kandy Tuskers). In all, Gurbaz has played 90 T20s, boasting a strike rate of 154.