All posts by n8rngtd.top

Jason Roy opted out of the tournament citing personal reasons

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Mar-2024Kolkata Knight Riders have brought in Phil Salt as a replacement for Jason Roy for IPL 2024 after Roy pulled out citing “personal reasons”. Having remained unsold in the latest auction after representing Delhi Capitals last year, this will be Salt’s second season in the IPL. He was acquired by KKR at his reserve auction price of INR 1.5 crore (approx $181,000).Salt’s most recent T20I appearances came in December 2023 in the Caribbean, where he recorded scores of 40, 25, 109 not out, 119 and 38, topping the run-scoring charts with his 331 runs, at a strike rate of 185.95. Unfortunately for him, the two centuries came on December 16 and 19, the latter the date of the auction. With Roy opting out, though, he became an option for KKR.His 48-ball century in the fourth T20I in the West Indies is the joint-fastest in the format for England, and Salt now has a stellar T20 record, with 5308 runs from 221 innings at a strike rate of 153.41 and an average of 25.89. And he has played around the world, too, including in the BBL, the Caribbean Premier League, the Pakistan Super League, and in leagues in Sri Lanka, the UAE and South Africa.Roy, for his part, hasn’t had a regular run at the IPL despite his reputation as a short-format champion, even though he has been around a bit, playing for the now-defunct Gujarat Lions in 2017, Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals) in 2018, and subsequently for Sunrisers Hyderabad and KKR.This, though, isn’t the first time he has opted out of the IPL. He had withdrawn in 2020 (Capitals) for personal reasons and then in 2022 (Gujarat Titans) when he took an “indefinite break” from the game.The swap doesn’t change the overseas/Indian balance of the KKR line-up. Salt becomes an option for the opening slot along with Rahmanullah Gurbaz, with Sherfane Rutherford the other specialist overseas batter in the mix. That aside, they have old regulars Andre Russell and Sunil Narine, as well as quick bowlers Mitchell Starc and Dushmantha Chameera, who had earlier replaced Gus Atkinson, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, the fingerspinner.Shreyas Iyer is the designated captain of the side, which will play its IPL 2024 opener on the second day of the tournament, March 23, against Sunrisers at home in Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.

Veteran allrounder set to move into coaching after calling time on 19-year professional career

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Sep-2024Steven Croft, Lancashire’s veteran allrounder and stalwart of their 2011 Championship-winning side, has announced his retirement from professional cricket at the age of 39.Croft stepped down from first-class and List A cricket at the end of the 2023 summer, and had been on a T20-only deal for this summer’s campaign. However, he has now confirmed his full retirement with immediate effect, and will instead move into Lancashire’s coaching staff on a full-time basis.His final appearance came earlier this month, in Lancashire’s defeat to Sussex in the Vitality Blast quarter-final, and was his 600th match for the club across formats. He made his Lancashire debut in 2005, and went on to make a total of 19,183 runs, as well as claim 199 wickets with his offspin.In 2011, he scored the winning runs against Somerset at Taunton, as Lancashire ended a 77-year wait for the County Championship, and four years later, he captained the T20 team to their maiden T20 Blast title at Edgbaston, beating Northamptonshire in the final.Between June 2006 and July 2018, Croft played 148 consecutive T20 matches for Lancashire, which is an English record. He finishes his career as Lancashire’s leading T20 run-scorer with 5,486 runs.”My dream as a boy was to play one game for Lancashire, in the end it became 600,” Croft said. “So, after just over two decades of playing for the club, I have taken the decision to retire as a player.”I can confidently say I have realised my dream and more, and what a ride it has been. To go with the games, runs, wickets and catches, I have played alongside some of my heroes and many greats of the game.”There have been so many highlights along the way, too. Winning the County Championship in 2011 will stay with me forever. The 2015 T20 Blast too, what a great night that was! But also, being awarded my county cap and being appointed club captain were special moments.Mark Chilton, Lancashire’s Director of Cricket, added: “On behalf of everyone at the club, I would like to congratulate Steven on an incredible Lancashire career.”Steven epitomises everything good about this club. He is an outstanding individual who always puts the team first and anyone who has watched him knows that Steven puts his heart and soul into every game and his record speaks for itself.”To be such an influential member of our side – as well as contributing to so many match-winning performances – over such a long period of time is something he should be very proud of.”Players like Steven don’t come around too often and whilst we will miss his skill and experience on the field, we’re thrilled that he will continue to play a vital role in continuing to develop the exciting young players we have at Emirates Old Trafford, working across the Men’s First Team, Second XI and Academy.”Even over the last 12 months, I’ve been really impressed with how quickly he’s taken to coaching and the impact he’s had in a short period of time. I am looking forward to seeing him develop these skills in the next chapter of his career.”

Bangladesh have five quicks to pick from in their 16-man squad for the forthcoming tri-nation series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe

Mohammad Isam14-Jan-2018Bangladesh will keep backing a three-man pace attack in the tri-nation series at home despite their recent poor form, according to their ODI captain Mashrafe Mortaza.The hosts have five pace bowlers to pick from in their 16-man squad, which also contains three frontline spinners. The cold conditions in Dhaka over the last two weeks, however, suggest that seam and swing are more likely than spin. There is also the chance that dew could negate the effectiveness of Shakib Al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Sunzamul Islam.Mashrafe said the fast bowlers had to be backed because of how they had delivered since the 2015 World Cup. And with another World Cup coming up in 18 months, he said, persisting with a pace-heavy attack made more sense to him.”We have hardly played too many games since 2015 with less than three pace bowlers,” Mashrafe said. “They have helped us win games and have also been cause of some losses too. There can be a bad patch, but it is important to have faith in the pace bowlers, especially with a World Cup in England coming up.”In the current squad, Mashrafe and Mustafizur Rahman are the first choices with Rubel Hossain, Abul Hasan and Mohammad Saifuddin vying for the third seamer’s slot. If the pitch and conditions demand a very pace-heavy attack, Bangladesh could play four seamers, and Shakib as the lone spinner.The pace bowlers have to bounce back from an underwhelming tour of South Africa. Rubel returned the best figures there, having taken a seven scalps at an average of 53.14. Mashrafe, Mustafizur and Saifuddin took only five wickets in all, while Taskin Ahmed took two wickets across all formats. He was then dropped from the ODI squad.Mashrafe, who went wicketless in the ODI series in South Africa, was the only pace bowler who bounced back well in the BPL, bagging a tally of 15 wickets.”There is always pressure when you are playing for your country,” he said. “It is a good thing, because the best performance comes out in a pressure situation. But I think many of our players have played under more intense pressure. We didn’t get what we wanted from our last tour but I am hopeful that we will be able to execute better this time.”

ECB chief executive promises that counties will be held to account in transition to new professional set-up

Matt Roller18-Apr-2024Yorkshire’s unsuccessful bid to host a Tier 1 team in England’s new domestic women’s structure does not amount to the club being “punished for past sins”. That is according to ECB chief executive Richard Gould, speaking after Yorkshire’s board said they were “shocked and disappointed” to learn they would not receive funding for a fully professional side until 2027.Northern Diamonds, the regional side in the north east, have predominantly been based at Headingley since formation although they will also play home games at Chester-le-Street, Scarborough and York in 2024. Durham will host a Tier 1 county in the initial eight-team structure from 2025, which Yorkshire’s board described as “tough to take”.”We believe we hit all of the criteria set out as part of the tender, so we will be taking time to investigate and understand the detail behind the decision,” Yorkshire’s board said in a statement, which also highlighted Yorkshire’s large active playing base of women and girls, and the county’s success in producing players that have gone on to play internationally for England.Yorkshire were heavily fined and deducted points last year over the club’s failings in response to allegations of institutional racism, and cited their disappointment that they would not be able to use a Tier 1 women’s team to help them achieve their ambition to become “the most welcoming and inclusive cricket club in the country”.But Gould denied that was a factor in the ECB’s decision. “It’s certainly not [that Yorkshire are] being punished for past sins,” he said, at an event launching a national tape-ball competition. “That’s not our role. Our role is to promote the game, not punish. We have responsibility when we have an opportunity such as this to get the best outcomes nationally.”Yorkshire said that the news was “frustrating and upsetting” for Northern Diamonds players and staff, with Heather Knight, England’s captain, confirming that the prospect of having to relocate from Leeds to Durham had caused “quite an unsettling time” for some of the Yorkshire-based domestic players. “It’s important that the girls are looked after and helped to transition into the new structure,” she said.Gould, however, insisted that such tough decisions would have to be part of the process. “This is professional sport,” he said. “It’s no bad thing. If you want to be paid to be a player in this set-up, you’re going to be a Tier 1 player.”Related

• Lauren Winfield-Hill set to sign long term contract with Yorkshire

• Yorkshire granted women's Tier 1 team from 2026, one year ahead of schedule

• Smale sets out to cause a storm in allrounder ranks

• Yorkshire fined £400,000, handed points deductions following racism charges

• Essex focussed on 'future-proofing' after being awarded Tier 1 women's status

The Professional Cricketers’ Association anticipate some “teething problems” and have also, along with the ECB, pledged to hold counties to account in delivering on the proposals that formed part of their bids. “I’m in a region [Western Storm] that has three different counties,” Knight said. “You don’t have one county that’s accountable for you. Hopefully, that’s going to change.”Gould said he welcomed scrutiny from the PCA on counties. “There are always local issues: who gets into the gym at what time, who uses the nets at particular times. Those are small things, but they’re important things that need to be ironed out. This is all part of the education that we’re going through, but people will be held to account.”As well as Yorkshire, seven other counties were unsuccessful in their bids – though Glamorgan, like Yorkshire, have been told they will receive funding to host a Tier 1 team from 2027. Kent, Leicestershire and Middlesex all issued forthright statements in response. “Lots of clubs are disappointed,” Gould acknowledged.Knight believes the scale of that disappointment is a “sign of the progress that has been made” since she first played in Berkshire’s age-group system.”It sounds like there are some counties who are disappointed, which is a shame – but also pretty cool,” she said. “When I was playing a long time ago, a lot of counties weren’t interested.”The ECB say that their investment in women’s domestic cricket – which will be around £19 million per year by 2027 – could grow the number of female professional players in the country by 80% in the next five years, and Knight believes there is enough talent to sustain that structure. “It’s always an argument that the depth isn’t there… but it’s an argument that shoots itself in the foot,” she said.”If you don’t invest, you don’t grow the talent. There’s so many girls that have seen cricket and want to get involved, so they need that structure to get them in and keep them in the game. Hopefully, this will do that. Investment is key to growing the depth. There’s a lot of sports out there and it’s important that cricket is a viable [career] option.”Knight believes the revamp is “the next logical step” in the professionalisation of women’s cricket in England and Wales. “It’s going to be really interesting to see how it plays out. It’s super exciting to see the plans that have been presented, and I guess now it’s about seeing how they’re enacted and how women’s cricket is put alongside the men and given that equal opportunity.”

And can Ireland nullify any such calculations with their first win against India across formats?

Vishal Dikshit22-Aug-2023

Big Picture – Will Bumrah give chances to Jitesh, Shahbaz and Avesh?

India have largely achieved what they wanted from this Ireland series. Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna have made excellent returns to form and fitness and have subsequently been drafted into the Asia Cup squad. Ruturaj Gaikwad has returned to the T20I set-up with one unbeaten knock and one quick half-century. Sanju Samson looked fluent during his 40 in the second T20I before Rinku Singh sparkled on what was effectively his debut. Shivam Dube has auditioned as the back-up for Hardik Pandya’s role – although he could do with some more wickets. And Ravi Bishnoi grabbed four wickets in the two games after going wicketless in his only outing in the Caribbean. And, India have the series in the bag.So now they can turn attentions to the players who’ve been on the bench in Malahide. Jitesh Sharma could be given his India cap and bat in the lower middle order with licence to showcase his hit-from-ball-one skills. Shahbaz Ahmed could also come in – confident after his haul of wickets in the Deodhar Trophy – to give India another all-round option while resting the more-established Washington Sundar. And Avesh Khan, once such a promising force with the white ball, could do with another chance to prove he has ironed out his flaws.Ireland will have to step up big time with both bat and ball to give India a fight. In the first game, they slumped to 59 for 6 against two bowlers returning from injury, who were not yet at their peak. Opting to bowl in the second match, all India’s batters bar one flourished, Ireland leaked too many in the death overs, and their top four batters – barring Andy Balbirnie – couldn’t find answers to Prasidh’s short balls and Bishnoi’s wrong ‘un.Related

• Avesh Khan ready for reboot after being 'all over the place'

Even if they leak runs again, which isn’t a crime in T20s, Ireland’s batters will have to shoulder most of the responsibility if they want to register their first win against India after ten unsuccessful attempts.

Form guide

India WWLWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Ireland LLLWW

In the spotlight – Shivam Dube and Paul Stirling

Allrounder Shivam Dube had a second coming of sorts in the IPL this year with the bat. He had his most prolific season – 418 runs at a strike rate 158.33, including a whopping 35 sixes (second-most in IPL 2023), while also averaging 38. More than half of those runs and 22 of those 35 sixes came against spin, though, and the conditions in Ireland are as different as they could get from Chennai (his home base at the IPL) – soggy, overcast, and quicker, bouncier, greener tracks. He faced only pace in the second T20I and scored 22 not out off 16 balls. His challenge will be to score more off the short stuff should it come his way, and be a wicket-taking option in the middle overs in conditions that better suit him.Paul Stirling has been scoring all around the world in the last couple of years – in the Vitality Blast and the Hundred in England, at the Lanka Premier League, the Pakistan Super League, the Caribbean Premier League and the SA20, apart from in international cricket. He
took the added responsibility of the captaincy from Balbirnie in July, but he hasn’t scored much against the No. 1 T20I side in this series. He fell to Bishnoi’s googly in the series opener before being bounced out by Prasidh for a duck and, with Ireland’s batting under pressure, Stirling will be eager to end the series with a significant contribution.

Team news – Will Theo van Woerkom get a debut?

Samson could hand over the wicketkeeper-batter reins to Jitesh, Shahbaz could come in for Washington, and Avesh for Arshdeep Singh, since Bumrah and Prasidh would want more game time before the Asia Cup. The only question would be whether India would want to make as many as three changes.India (possible XI): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 3 Tilak Varma, 4 Rinku Singh, 5 Sanju Samson/Jitesh Sharma (wk), 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Washington Sundar/Shahbaz Ahmed, 8 Arshdeep Singh/Avesh Khan, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Jasprit Bumrah (capt), 11 Prasidh Krishna.Ireland have used the same XI in both games and, with nothing more to lose, they could also hand a debut to Christchurch-born left-arm spinner Theo van Woerkom. He was part of New Zealand’s Under-19 World Cup squad in 2012 but has qualified for Ireland, with an Irish background on his mother’s side. He could come in for legspinner Ben White. They could also try out Ross Adair (Mark Adair’s brother) at the top or batting allrounder Gareth Delany in the middle.Ireland (possible XI): 1 Paul Stirling (capt), 2 Andy Balbirnie, 3 Lorcan Tucker (wk), 4 Harry Tector, 5 Curtis Campher, 6 George Dockrell, 7 Mark Adair, 8 Barry McCarthy, 9 Fionn Hand/Craig Young, 10 Josh Little, 11 Ben White/Theo van Woerkom.

Stats and trivia

• Paul Stirling is fifth among the all-time T20I run-scorers, behind the high-profile names of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Martin Guptill and Babar Azam. He will overtake Babar on Wednesday if he scores more than 77.
• Bumrah’s economy rate in this series so far is just 4.88 – no other bowler has gone at under six an over.

Pitch and conditions

Wednesday is expected to be mildly sunny in patches, with more of cloud cover and windiness and some rain expected. The temperature is expected to settle just under 20 degrees Celsius. There are more chances of rain later in the evening especially so, with a 3pm local time start, we should get a completed game squeezed in, even if it is interrupted.

“The way the wicket played in the second innings, definitely I’d say [167 was a] par score,” says Ruturaj Gaikwad

ESPNcricinfo staff05-May-2024Only in one game since match number 46, on April 28 in Chennai, has 200-plus been scored in IPL 2024*. That’s six games without 200. The highest in these matches is 169, and the one exception was 201 plays 200, far from the record-breakers we have gotten used to. Are pitches getting tired and slow? And are par scores getting lower? “The way the wicket [in Dharamsala] played in the second innings, definitely I’d say par score,” Ruturaj Gaikwad said after Chennai Super Kings (CSK) scored 167 for 9 and it was enough to beat Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 28 runs on Sunday evening.”Everyone believed the wicket was slow, it was coming slow off the wicket, even low bounce,” Gaikwad said on the host broadcast after the win, which took CSK to No. 3 on the points table. “But with the start we got [CSK were 60 for 1 after the powerplay], we thought we could push till 180-200. But we lost two wickets in consecutive balls, and then we thought probably 160-170 would be a good score, or just par, here and there, ten runs short. But the way the wicket played in the second innings, definitely I’d say [167 was a] par score.”There was the slowdown, and then there was Ravindra Jadeja – providing the acceleration with 43 in 26 balls from No. 6 before utilising the pitch well enough to get 3 for 20 with the ball.Related

• Jadeja, the bowler, is a health indicator of CSK

• Jadeja stars with bat and ball as CSK climb to third

“It was a day game, so the wicket was slow, which we expected,” he said. “We did well in the [batting] powerplay, but then we couldn’t build partnerships. We wanted to build partnerships, so in the last four-five overs, we could score quickly. Partnerships didn’t happen, but as a bowling group, we did well. Tushar [Deshpande] got important wickets in the powerplay. Then Mitch [Santner] and I did well in the middle overs.”During the powerplay, the wicket always looks flat. But as the ball gets a little old, the ball doesn’t come on to the bat. Especially at a new venue, you don’t know what to expect. That’s why we felt we were 15-20 runs short but we bowled well in the powerplay and middle overs, didn’t bowl loose balls.”Deshpande sent back Jonny Bairstow and Rilee Rossouw in the second over of the chase. There was a partnership of 53 between Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh, but then the spin twins came to the party – Santner returned 1 for 10 from three overs to go with Jadeja’s star turn. Richard Gleeson was expensive, but Simarjeet Singh, playing his first game of the season – like Santner – did well, his three overs giving him 2 for 16, Jitesh Sharma and Harshal Patel his victims.”I don’t know what he’s doing, but even the pre-season we had, he was clicking around 150s [kph] in practice,” Gaikwad said of Simrajeet.” That was one factor that we wanted to consider, but just the bowling options we had – we had Deepak [Chahar], we had Shardul [Thakur] sitting out initially; we had Tushar, who did really well last season, plus [Matheesha] Pathirana and Fizz [Mustafizur Rahman]… So he didn’t get too much chance.”But nevertheless, nothing is late, and he got a game today. We were thinking of sending an impact batter but then we thought the impact batter might give 10-15 runs extra, but the kind of bowling he has, we might end up getting two-three wickets extra as well. Good for him, he has been working hard.”It has been tough for CSK – Mustafizur has gone back home to do duty for Bangladesh, Pathirana is back home to look after a hamstring injury, and Chahar is sidelined too. Making things work has been a challenge, but CSK have done well enough.Gaikwad admitted that too: “Sigh of relief with the things that were happening… the previous night, or the night of the match, Pathirana slightly here and there, then some of the guys struggling with the flu as well, so not really sure till gameday morning who is playing and who is not.”

Harris, Bancroft and Renshaw are in the mix but the possibility remains of someone else being moved up the order

Alex Malcolm30-Dec-20235:10

‘A classic at the MCG’

Everything will be considered as far as David Warner’s replacement to open the batting for the West Indies series in January with Cameron Green still a serious contender to be recalled as part of a batting order reshuffle.Speaking the day after Australia’s 79-run win against Pakistan in Melbourne to claim the series 2-0 with a game to play in Sydney, coach and selector Andrew McDonald said that all options for Warner’s replacement remained open for discussion, and confirmed that included specialist openers Marcus Harris, Cameron Bancroft and Matt Renshaw, as well as allrounder Green returning to the middle order.Australia’s side has remained settled throughout the Test summer with no injury issues or form concerns to speak of and looks likely to be unchanged for the third match in a row at the SCG which will mark Warner’s retirement from the format. Australia’s selectors are meeting on Saturday to confirm the squad but it is unlikely they will make a decision on Warner’s replacement until after the third Test against Pakistan.Related

• 'I'm pretty keen' – Steven Smith wants to open the batting in Tests

• Bancroft: Opening the batting is a specialist position

• Warner set to miss West Indies white-ball matches for ILT20

• Warner picks Warner's replacement: 'Harris has always been next in line'

• Harris makes most of his opportunity to push case as Warner's replacement

“All options will be considered,” McDonald said. “And I said we’re not going to make the decision until the deadline which will be the West Indies game.”There’s a few options. Everyone is well aware of the options. I’m a person that once you know when you’re going to make the decision, you make it at that point in time. Until then the discussions will be open. We’ll put a deadline on that. That’ll be the West Indies selection meeting.”The debate between picking a specialist or experienced opener in either Harris, Bancroft or Renshaw or picking the best six batters available and simply reshaping the batting order to accommodate them remains a real discussion point among the selectors, with the prospect of having two allrounders in Marsh and Green remaining very enticing.”Cameron Green, as a discussion around who are the best six batters, has definitely been in the conversation,” McDonald confirmed.Warner himself endorsed Harris as a possible successor during the Boxing Day Test, but McDonald noted with a wry smile that it was not a hint at the selectors’ thinking and that the retiring opener had endorsed a different name earlier in the year.Cameron Green has not featured in the Test side yet this season•Getty Images

“Davey’s not a selector,” McDonald said. “And I remember back to when I think Davey endorsed Matt Renshaw so I think the next one will probably be Cam Bancroft and then Cameron Green and he’ll have all bases covered, but…it’s great when a fellow player endorses someone else internally. It means that they’ve probably excluded other players as well, but he was asked his opinion and we’re happy with him to express that.”It is unlikely that the preferred candidate would be added to the Sydney squad to be reintroduced to the playing group given Bancroft and Renshaw have BBL commitments, although Harris does not have a BBL contract.Green also doesn’t have a BBL contract and has not played any cricket since the Prime Minister’s XI match against Pakistan in early December. There is a Cricket Australia XI tour match against West Indies at Karen Rolton Oval from December 10-12, prior to the first Test starting on January 17 at Adelaide Oval, but it is understood that he is unlikely to play in that game in order to get some match practice.Meanwhile, McDonald confirmed that Warner would apply for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to miss three ODIs and three T20Is against West Indies in early February in order to play for Dubai Capitals in the ILT20 tournament that will be held in the UAE at the same time.McDonald said NOC’s would be handled by Cricket Australia’s head of national teams Ben Oliver and chairman of selectors George Bailey with each decision being made on a case-by-case basis.”He’ll apply for an NOC,” McDonald said. “It’s something that we work through anytime it’s in season. Adam Zampa and Marcus Stoinis went to the UAE last year as well. So every application is different in terms of the circumstances with what cricket they’ve got coming up, so I’m sure he’ll apply. It’ll be considered. George Bailey and Ben Oliver will work through that and there will be an outcome.”I think Matthew Wade was given an NOC to miss a Tasmania game for the IPL as well. I think every case should be considered individually.”

The allrounder takes over on a permanent basis from Travis Head

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2023Matthew Short, last season’s player of the tournament in the BBL, has been named Adelaide Strikers’ new captain.Short takes over permanently from Travis Head having stood in for him last season. He scored 458 runs and claimed 11 wickets in the 2022-23 edition of the tournament and has since made his T20I and ODIs debut for Australia.He will be in the running for a spot in next year’s T20 World Cup squad although there is a squeeze for top-order batting slots along with Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith.At the end of the recent T20I series in India Short was given a run lower down the order to see him in a finishing role”Matt was a standout choice to take on the captaincy at the Adelaide Strikers and we are thrilled to announce him as our sixth captain,” Strikers head coach Jason Gillespie said. “When he stepped up last year we were very impressed with his leadership and we are looking forward to seeing him grow further into the role.”Short added: “I really enjoyed the little taste of captaincy I got last season and I’m excited to put my full attention to it in BBL13.”Strikers are unlikely to see much of Head or Alex Carey for this season’s tournament given the Test schedule although there is a chance they could make an appearance between the Pakistan and West Indies series in mid-January.Strikers finished seventh last season with just five wins from 14 matches. They will open this campaign against Brisbane Heat in Adelaide on Saturday.

The left-handed opener compiled an impressively composed innings to leave his team in a strong position

AAP26-Nov-2024Campbell Kellaway scored his maiden Sheffield Shield century to put Victoria in the box seat of their pink-ball clash with Queensland at the Gabba.Queensland went to stumps on day three struggling at 58 for 3 chasing 329 for victory.  Kellaway made a seven-ball duck in Victoria’s sub-par first-innings total of 186. But the 22-year-old was in a class of his own in Victoria’s second innings, combining with Marcus Harris for a 154-run opening stand to catapult the visitors back into the contest.Related

• Harris helps keep game even after Bartlett boosts Queensland's lead

• 'Risk losing to try and win' – Ward's second fifty sets up Tasmania

Tom Rogers, Matt Short and Peter Handscomb also chipped in with handy knocks to help lift Victoria to an imposing 439.In reply, Queensland lost Matt Renshaw for a duck to 40-year-old veteran Peter Siddle in the first over of their run chase and they were 32 for 2 when Bryce Street fell for 7.Angus Lovell put up some resistance, but he was sent packing following a stunning one-handed catch by Short while he was running with the flight of the ball from slip to haul in a top-edged pull.Victoria started day three at 122 without loss in their second innings Harris was caught at slip off the bowling of Lovell, but Kellaway went on with the job to post his maiden Shield century.Kellaway’s 175-ball knock, which featured 14 boundaries, was finally brought to an end when he was bowled by Street in the final over before the dinner break.Queensland used eight bowlers in their bid to make inroads into Victoria’s strong batting line-up, but breakthroughs were few and far between

Jadeja’s role with the ball and on the field, and cameos from India’s top order, topped off yet another dominating win

Shashank Kishore19-Oct-20231:43

Pujara: Jadeja is more accurate than a bowling machine

The sameness to a Virat Kohli innings in a middling chase is no criticism of his batting. The beauty of it lies in the repetitive nature of it, a mark of his hunger to make every start count. On Thursday, it helped deliver ODI century No. 48, which takes him that much closer to the man who he hoisted on his shoulders on that famous April night in 2011, before delivering an epic line that made a country of more than a billion shed happy tears.Kohli’s knock, which turned into a race between his hundred and a victory towards the end, was preceded by a run-torrent from Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. The pair’s 88-run opening stand in a chase of 257, which seemed well short of a par score, was an exhibition of batting aesthetics dreams are made of. Rohit, with his lazy elegance, ferocious cuts and monstrous pulls did the early running, and Gill took over the mantle to slowly get into top gear.And after the two fell against the run of play, caught in the deep to shots they’d back themselves to execute 99 times out of a hundred, Kohli ushered everybody aboard his train of ODI batting that has delivered runs unfailingly. Fleeting cameos from Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul topped off a dominating win, India’s fourth, that now puts them level at the top with New Zealand, their next opponents on Sunday in Dharamsala.It was one that had been set up by Ravindra Jadeja, both with the ball and on the field with his catching. His figures of 2 for 38 may not seem blockbuster at first glance, but it played a massive role in pulling Bangladesh back from an innings that was at one point running at a breakneck speed.From 10 for 0 in five overs, the next four went for 37. Tanzid Hasan soon got into gear and raced towards a maiden ODI half-century off 42 balls. He hooked Jasprit Bumrah, toyed with Shardul Thakur and took him for 6,4,6 in a forgettable opening over and laid down a marker for the innings. But as spin came on, Kuldeep Yadav delivered an opening in the 15th to break a 93-run stand.Hardik Pandya gets treatment after injuring his ankle•ICC via Getty Images

In between that, India had a jolt with Hardik Pandya hobbling off three balls into his opening over, after twisting his left ankle in his follow-through. You wondered then if the absence of a sixth bowling option would hurt them. It didn’t as Shardul bounced back from his opening over to bowl eight more, even picking up a wicket before Mahmudullah hurt his figures in his final over.Pandya didn’t return for the rest of their innings and wasn’t needed with the bat either, but once the euphoria of the result dies down, realisation of how massive Pandya is to the balance of the team will dawn sooner.Even as Kuldeep slowed the innings down, Jadeja brought the crowd to life with his accurate wicket-to-wicket stuff that sent back Shanto. By now, runs had reduced to a trickle and the pressure to up the ante also got Litton chipping one straight to long-off to give Jadeja a second wicket. At 137 for 4, the innings was in build-rebuild-build mode.Mushfiqur Rahim played an array of neat paddles and sweeps to keep the scorecard ticking in the hope of taking the innings deep, but the resultant pressure from Towhid Hridoy’s struggles – he was on 14 off 32 – with 14 overs left, led to him trying to be a bit more enterprising, especially with Hridoy unable to capitalise after playing himself in.One such chance off a Bumrah cutter found an acrobatic Jadeja diving full-stretch to his right to pull off a sensational grab to send back Mushfiqur for 43. It was as exhilarating as Rahul’s stunning grab at full stretch down leg to dismiss Mehidy Hasan a while earlier. The superhit moments on the field continued when Bumrah dismantled Mahmudullah with a pin-point yorker, but not before the allrounder’s 46 had somewhat lent respectability to Bangladesh’s total.Ravindra Jadeja trapped Najmul Hossain Shanto in front•Getty Images

It set up the kind of chase teams can be wary of, not sometimes knowing how hard to go up top. But India’s plans seemed clear. Rohit wasn’t going to tamper with the fundamentals of his reinvigorated game that centers on taking the attack to the opposition in the powerplay. But on 48, he went for a pull that was right out of the screws, except it found deep square.Kohli had two free hits off his first four balls that he converted into a boundary and a six to fire his innings into orbit straightaway. There on, he didn’t look back. He drove well, ran hard, manuovered spin expertly, and also treaded caution especially against the skiddy Hasan Mahmud.Like Rohit, Gill too fell against the run of play after tantalising with some languid shots to signal, signs of dengue seemingly a thing of the past. Shreyas Iyer would have perhaps been a tad disappointed at not seeing the game through especially after playing himself in, but the timing of his dismissal was hardly a reason to fret for India. Rahul calmed the nerves before he reined his game in to allow Kohli to get to the landmark.At one point, India and Kohli both needed 19. You wondered briefly if No. 48 had to wait. But it didn’t need to. With two needed, Nasum fired one down leg in anticipation of a wide that wasn’t given. One ball later, Kohli stepped out and hacked a low full toss into the deep midwicket stands to seal victory.