Sean Abbott five-for leads Surrey to crushing win over Middlesex

Luke Hollman’s career-best 5 for 16 in the format to no avail at Lord’s

ECB Reporters Network20-Jun-2024 Surrey 185 for 9 (Curran 48, Evans 41, Hollman 5-16) beat Middlesex 129 for 8 (Davies 35, Abbott 5-18) by 56 runsSean Abbott’s 5 for 18, including wickets with successive balls led the way as Surrey crushed London rivals Middlesex by 56 runs at Lord’s to return to the top of the South Group table.The Aussie seamer mixed slower balls with great yorkers to expose the home side’s fragile batting and ensure they were never in the hunt for a victory target of 186.Abbott’s wasn’t the only five-wicket haul of the night with Luke Hollman taking a career-best 5-16 in the format, including three in one over, but Tom Curran (48 from 28) and Laurie Evans (41 from 20) steered Surrey to a challenging 185 for 9 despite the Middlesex leg-spinner’s heroics.For Middlesex defeat was their 13th in a row at home in the Blast, a run now stretching back more than two years.Dom Sibley, dropped on nought by Martin Andersson, soon departed lbw for 5 after Surrey were invited to bat, but thereafter Dan Lawrence and Laurie Evans dominated the remainder of the powerplay for the visitors.Evans was particularly belligerent, upper-cutting one from Henry Brookes over the ropes before bludgeoning Tom Helm over mid-on for a second six. Lawrence was more classical, creaming one for four through the covers and cutting to good effect.The introduction of Hollman though changed the landscape. The leg-spinner began the fightback, pinning Evans lbw attempting to sweep one off the stumps before causing skipper Ollie Pope to sky one to extra cover in his next over.He wasn’t done there producing a trio of wickets in his third over – and it might have been more. Lawrence found the hands of Helm at long-on, while Rory Burns should have been stumped first ball, Jack Davies fumbling the chance, but the wicketkeeper atoned two balls later when Surrey’s red-ball skipper was undone by a googly. And Hollman capped a magical over, trapping Jamie Smith, a man with a strike-rate of 210 this season, lbw.The Brown caps had stumbled to 106 for 6, but Curran remained and counter-attacked fiercely. Three times the allrounder cleared the ropes with Brookes the bowler to suffer most, though the former Warwickshire quick gained some recompense when Curran holed out two short of 50 in the last over.Chasing 186, Andersson perished early caught in the deep off Abbott and when he removed Stephen Eskinazi and Holden with the last two balls of the powerplay, the latter for a first-ball duck, undone by a yorker, the rate was already over 10.Leus Du Plooy, recovered from a virus, fell in the next over to Curran and the hosts, dismissed for a worst ever score of 78 in the format nine days earlier, were staring at defeat once more at 41 for 4.Davies (35) cracked Abbott’s hat-trick ball through mid-on for four, but the usually explosive Ryan Higgins was trapped in front later in the over.At the other end, Curran was forced out of the attack after being struck on the arm, but Hollman was unable to repeat his heroics with the ball bat in hand and Davies became Abbott’s fifth victim as the visitors won comfortably.

Megan Schutt braced for women's game to feel impact of Covid-19

The pace bowler has seen friends lose their jobs as part of cost-cutting

Andrew McGlashan08-May-2020Australia pace bowler Megan Schutt has called on the women’s game to be treated fairly when it comes to potential cuts in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic but accepts it is inevitable that the impact will be felt.The domestic set-up across Australian cricket looks set to come under pressure amid cost cutting even though the players’ union cast doubt on the severity of Cricket Australia’s financial warnings which led to the majority of staff being stood down.While the prospects for the 2020-21 Australia season being able to take place are promising – on Friday the government launched a two-month road map to get the country back up and running – there remain a lot of questions around sport at all levels.In the women’s professional game the WBBL, which had its first standalone season in 2018-19 rather than being played concurrently with the men’s competition, and National Cricket League could both be shrunk.”Cricket around the globe is going to be affected by this and I have no doubt that women’s cricket is also going to suffer,” Schutt said. “Whatever kind of season they can muster together, I think they are going to be happy enough with.”Obviously there’s going to be reductions somewhere, there kind of has to be, and as long as we aren’t taking a significant hit in women’s cricket specifically then I’m okay with that. It’s about finding a balance of how we can get cricket going again on the national and international scene.”Alongside a potential reduction in matches there could also be a slimming down of support staff around teams. A number of the states have already laid off staff – Schutt has friends at the South Australian Cricket Association (SACA) who have lost their jobs – while the national team might not have the volume of coaches it has become used to.”It really sucks seeing staff being let go in all areas,” she said. “Returning to cricket there will still be people helping out…and individually we do that really well with helping each other out and we’ve been a little self-sufficient in how we go about how training sessions. Training conditions will be a little different, whether that’s in small groups or pairs. I’m confident we’ll be able to adapt to whatever we’ve given.”However, despite the positive progress being made against the virus in Australia, Schutt does not expect to see crowds this year. “I’m pretty sure there won’t be any crowds in 2020 but hopefully they can be allowed to attend next year. We are happy to play cricket whether that’s in front of fans or not.”

Kuhnemann leaves India after 'awesome tips' from Jadeja

“He was really nice, and just said any time to reach out and even sent me a message on Instagram, so that was pretty cool”

AAP15-Mar-2023Ravindra Jadeja is a man of his word. The India allrounder had promised Australia spinner Matt Kuhnemann a masterclass after the Border-Gavaskar series – and he did just that.As soon as the fourth Test in Ahmedabad ended in a draw on Monday, Jadeja made time to speak to the Australian newcomer. A self-confessed “massive fan” of Jadeja, Kuhnemann revealed after taking 5 for 16 in the third Test in Indore that he spoke with Jadeja after his debut in Delhi.”I said, ‘Have you got any tips for me after the [second] Test?’ He said, ‘Yes, at the end of the series’,” Kuhnemann had said in Indore.Related

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The left-arm spinner was still buzzing on Tuesday about playing three Tests on his debut tour, after only flying over to join the squad following Australia’s series-opening defeat in Nagpur.Adding to it all, Kuhnemann was nicknamed “Jaddu” by his Sheffield Shield team-mates after running through South Australia in a game for Queensland in 2021.”It was probably about 15 minutes, he [Jadeja] was just giving me some awesome tips; we talked about everything,” Kuhnemann told AAP. “Nathan Lyon helped organised it [the chat] as well. He [Jadeja] was really impressed with Todd [Murphy], Gaz [Lyon] and myself so that was really cool to hear that from him.”He gave me some good tips for the next time we’re in the subcontinent, and some tips to go back home with as well. He was really nice, and just said any time to reach out and even sent me a message on Instagram, so that was pretty cool.”Interacting with some of the game’s greats during a whirlwind month has only fuelled the 26-year-old’s hunger and desire to keep improving at international level.Kuhnemann, Lyon and Murphy received the ultimate praise from Indian coach Rahul Dravid after the series, calling the Aussie trio the best spin attack the hosts had faced in their own conditions for more than a decade. All three had their turn taking bags of wickets across the four Tests, claiming 45 scalps between them, headlined by Lyon’s 22.”The way that it happened, I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Kuhnemann said. “Nathan Lyon took myself and Todd under his wing from the get-go, he was pretty much like a big brother to us over here.”I think we’re very lucky to have Gaz and his experience to learn off. I’m ready to get back in the nets, get back in there after speaking to Jadeja. I’m really keen to tinker with a couple of things, trying just to keep improving my skills and play as much cricket as I can.”If all of that wasn’t enough, Kuhnemann put his hand up to open as a nightwatch-opener during Australia’s second innings in Ahmedabad after Usman Khawaja was troubled by a leg injury. Kuhnemann became the first Australian to open and bat at No. 11 in the same Test match since Percy Hornibrook against England in 1929.

Marnus Labuschagne laments 'innocuous dismissals' of set batsmen

“We’ve certainly showed last game no matter how many you have you’re in the game”

Daniel Brettig26-Dec-2020Marnus Labuschagne has admitted that Australia’s top order has been wrestling with the fact that India have turned up for the Test series with multiple highly evolved plans to confound them, after they were bowled out for 195 on Boxing Day to follow up a first innings of just 191 in the first Test in Adelaide.You have to go back to November 1984, when Australia were being obliterated by West Indies on the way to Kim Hughes’ resignation as captain, for the last time they failed to reach 200 in consecutive first innings; they were bowled out for 76 in Perth and then 175 in Brisbane. That the record would be matched in the season when the Australians had hoped to regain the batting initiative against India after struggling without Steven Smith and David Warner in 2018-19 says much about how India have approached their task, the sporting nature of the pitches at Adelaide Oval and the MCG, but also the profligate nature of some dismissals.Related

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“We had three innocuous dismissals, that we probably didn’t need,” Labuschagne said. “Just three frustrating dismissals, and I think all three of those guys were set and were in. It’s a big job from our batting group, whoever that is on the day – whether that’s myself or anyone else in the top order – that we make sure we get the big scores.”You just know you’re going to have to lock in and bat for periods of time. They’re bowling really straight lines, you’re not getting many runs through the off side, so this is the art of Test cricket, this is why we all love it. Because it’s a continual challenge for the bowlers to come up with new ideas to stop the batters scoring and build pressure and that’s what they did today.”Labuschagne, in a 132-ball stay worth 48 runs, has gone close to getting fully established in both Tests, but even he has struggled far more than last summer when Pakistan and New Zealand looked bereft of ways to get past him. At the same time, Smith’s scores of 1 and 0 are his worst-ever first-innings scores to start a Test series.”Something that we’re realising very quickly is people are coming up with new ways, thinking about the game slightly differently,” Labuschagne said. “Obviously today, they came out with a heavy leg-side field and bowled very straight and didn’t give us any scoring options to the off side.”So for all our batters, you’ve just got to keep rolling with the punches, learning the game, understanding what they’re doing and take that innings to innings. I think that’s the key. As long as we do that as a batting group and learn from that, we’re just going to keep getting better and learning.”Looking ahead to the rest of the game, Labuschagne placed plenty of store in the Australian side’s bowlers to keep them in the contest, given how much movement was available. “We’re in the game,” Labuschagne said. “We’ve certainly showed last game no matter how many you have you’re in the game. It’s pretty hard for me to make an assessment on the wicket currently, you’re both going to have to bat on the wicket to see how both teams bat.”There was a little bit more in it, the ball seamed and you even saw the ball swing at the 50th over mark, which is something you probably don’t see usually here at the MCG at that time. We’ve got to make sure we adapt and whatever they get, we get a big score in the second dig.”As for the blow to the helmet from the swift Mohammed Siraj, Labuschagne said he had not felt any lingering effects. “Not at all,” he said. “I’m very accustomed to getting hit in the head, so just shake it off and move on.”

Thilak Naidu appointed India's junior selection committee chairperson

The CAC also added Shyama Shaw to the women’s senior selection panel

Shashank Kishore19-Jun-2023Thilak Naidu, the former Karnataka wicketkeeper and Ranji Trophy winner, has been named the chairperson of BCCI’s junior selection committee (men). He fills the position left vacant by S Sharath, who was elevated to the senior men’s selection panel in January this year.The rest of the panel, comprising Ranadeb Bose (East Zone), Harvinder Singh Sodhi (North), Pathik Patel (West) and Krishen Mohan (Central) remains the same. The first task for Naidu’s panel will be to identify a pool of players and prepare them in the run-up to the Under-19 World Cup to be held in Sri Lanka early next year.ESPNcricinfo has learnt that the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising Sulakhana Naik, Ashok Malhotra and Jatin Paranjape, formerly a national selector himself, lent weightage to Naidu’s candidature owing to his experience and body of work since his retirement in 2012.Naidu’s first-class career saw 93 matches in which he took 220 catches and effected 18 stumpings. He was also an aggressive lower-order batter, making 4386 run at 34.80, including eight centuries. Naidu chaired Karnataka’s junior selection panel from 2013-16 and was also part of the senior selection committee in 2015-16.The CAC also named Shyama Shaw as part of the women’s senior selection committee. The former allrounder represented India in three Tests and five ODIs in the mid-1990s and has since served in various administrative capacities, most notably as a Bengal selector for two terms. She replaces Mithu Mukherjee in the panel.Shaw joins the panel chaired by former India left-arm spinner Neetu David. Also in the committee are Arati Vaidya, Kalpana Venkatachar and Renu Margarate. Their immediate task will be to pick the India ODI and T20I squads for the limited-overs tour of Bangladesh in July, the team’s first international assignment since the T20 World Cup in South Africa in February.The announcement of the selection panel is likely to be followed by the appointment of a full-time head coach, for which the BCCI had invited applications in May.ESPNcricinfo has learnt the board was keen on appointing Gary Kirsten for the top job. However, Kirsten* confirmed he hadn’t been approached. Among those in contention are Amol Muzumdar, the former Mumbai captain, and Hrishikesh Kanitkar, the former India allrounder and current interim head coach. The search for a “big international name” is believed to be one of the reasons for the delay in appointment.It’s understood Charlotte Edwards hadn’t thrown her hat into the ring until recently; it couldn’t be confirmed if that stand has changed. The World Cup-winning former England captain is currently head coach of Mumbai Indians in the Women’s Premier League.The new coach is likely to be given a two-year term to begin with, especially because there are two ICC events – the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in 2024 and the 50-over World Cup in India in 2025 – within this period.0900GMT The story has been updated with Gary Kirsten’s response.

Dooley cut by Tasmania following recruitment of Kuhnemann and MacMillan

Tasmania poach Australia Under-19 World Cup winning offspinner Raf MacMillan from New South Wales

Alex Malcolm03-May-2024Paddy Dooley has been left off Tasmania’s contract list after the Tigers went on a spin-recruitment drive to land Test spinner Matthew Kuhnemann and Australia Under-19 World Cup winning offspinner Raf MacMillan.Dooley was recruited from Queensland for the 2023-24 season after joining Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL and played seven of Tasmania’s eight Marsh Cup games last summer. He picked up nine wickets, including scalps in six of the seven he played, at an economy rate of 5.82. But the recruitment of fellow left-arm orthodox Kuhnemann, who has played Test and ODI cricket for Australia, has meant that there was no room on Tasmania’s contract list for Dooley. He joins retired duo Matthew Wade and Sam Rainbird as the only omissions from the contract list.Related

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Tasmania have also signed MacMillan from New South Wales after his outstanding performances in the Under-19 World Cup. The 19-year-old took wickets in every game as Australia won the title. He took 3 for 16 and smashed 19 not out off 12 balls against England. He took 1 for 29 from 10 and made 19 not out in a 17-run 10th wicket stand to win a nail-biting semi-final against Pakistan. He then took 3 for 43 in the final against India.Tasmania have also signed young fast bowler Will Prestwidge from Queensland. The 22-year-old made 37 and took 1 for 49 on List A debut for Queensland late last season.Tasmania coach Jeff Vaughan was pleased with the new recruits as they look to go one step further in the Sheffield Shield next year after losing the final to Western Australia.”I am very happy with the quality of the players on our list, on and off the field,” Vaughan said. “We took a massive step forward as a program last year with some big changes to our squad, and we rewarded players who stepped up for us and showed us what it means to play cricket for Tasmania.”While we did see some success on the field, there are still many facets of the game that we can look to improve upon, and we are confident the quality of players we are bringing into our squad will help us go to the next level as we look to bring more success to Tasmania.”Tasmania contract list 2024-25: Gabe Bell, Iain Carlisle, Nick Davis (rookie), Jake Doran, Kieran Elliot, Jarrod Freeman, Bradley Hope, Caleb Jewell, Matt Kuhnemann, Raf MacMillan (rookie), Riley Meredith, Lawrence Neil-Smith, Aidan O’Connor (rookie), Mitch Owen, Will Prestwidge, Nivethan Radhakrishnan (rookie), Jordan Silk, Billy Stanlake, Charlie Wakim, Tim Ward, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster, Macalister Wright

Jadeja, Kohli lead India to fourth win in a row

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.

Mark Coles resigns as Pakistan women's head coach

He has resigned after just four months into his stint citing personal reasons

Danyal Rasool10-Aug-2023Four months after he was appointed head coach of the Pakistan women’s side for the second time, Mark Coles has resigned with immediate effect citing personal reasons. Coles had earlier served as the head coach of the team from 2017 to 2019.The resignation comes at a less-than-ideal team for the women’s side, who take on South Africa in a high-profile series at home that begins on September 1 in Karachi. The sides play three T20Is and three ODIs, with all six games taking place in Karachi. The PCB said a new coach will be announced “in due course” though there is no guarantee a permanent replacement will be in place by the time that series begins.Pakistan have a busy upcoming schedule, playing 15 ODIs and 17 T20Is in the upcoming year. Aside from South Africa, they host the West Indies at home, and travel to Bangladesh, New Zealand and England.It is understood the resignation came as something of a surprise to the PCB, and Coles has not made any public comment on the matter. When he was announced as Pakistan’s head coach alongside Nida Dar as the new captain, he said he was “excited to lead the team in the upcoming events”.”It has been a privilege to work with such a talented group of players and I look forward to the exciting times ahead as we aim to improve our previous performances and achievements,” Coles had said at the time. “We have a lot of potential in the team, and I look forward to helping the players give their best and achieve success on the international stage.”In the end, he would oversee no games during this second stint. He did enjoy a relatively successful time on the pitch when he was first appointed in 2017. Pakistan won nearly half of their ODIs – 7 in 16 – including a famous come-from-behind series win against West Indies. They also won 15 of 32 T20Is before Coles quit because of “family commitments”.The PCB said in a statement that it would “like to extend its gratitude to Mark Coles for his brief stint with the women’s side and wishes him well in his future endeavors.”

Centuries to Nat Sciver and Alice Davidson-Richards put England back in front

Stalwart and debutant, friends since school, take hosts from precarious position to 44-run lead

Valkerie Baynes28-Jun-2022Centuries for Test debutant Alice Davidson-Richards and stalwart Nat Sciver turned England’s innings around and put the hosts back in control of their contest with South Africa in Taunton.Friends since their school days at Epsom College, where they played cricket, hockey and netball together, the two rescued their side from a precarious position at 121 for 5 with a record sixth-wicket partnership for England Women in Test cricket. Worth 207 runs, it was also their joint second-highest stand for any wicket and it took the side to 328 for 6, a lead of 44 runs.At the age of 28 and making her first England appearance since she played six white-ball games in 2018, Davidson-Richards became the second England player after WG Grace to score a century and take a wicket on Test debut after she had Nadine de Klerk caught behind on the first day.She was resolute in supporting Sciver to her fifty, brought up with a lovely drive for four through mid-off. Davidson-Richards had nine runs from 45 balls before driving Nonkululeko Mlaba through the covers for her first four.By tea she had struck four more boundaries and of the 17 she had scored by the close, the best was arguably her delicious cover drive off de Klerk to move to 75, holding her pose and shaking her bat in in approval as the ball sped to the rope. That was before her gloriously timed punch in front of point to bring up her century before she was met with the warmest of hugs from Sciver.When Sciver had raised her century a little earlier with a scampered single off Marizanne Kapp, Davidson-Richards celebrated just as enthusiastically as her team-mate, pumping her fist and jumping into the air as Sciver removed her helmet, raised her bat and acknowledged the applause from the stands.It was Sciver’s maiden Test hundred in her eighth match and continued a rich run of form that played a key role in her side finishing runners-up at the World Cup in April, where she scored unbeaten centuries against Australia in England’s opening match and again in the final.It also came in the midst of a tense match situation. After England had reduced South Africa to 45 for 4 on the opening morning, Kapp’s brilliant 150 carried them to a respectable total of 284 by the close. In reply, England began brightly, their new opening pairing of Tammy Beaumont and Emma Lamb, another of England’s four Test debutants, putting on a 65-run stand as the South African bowlers struggled to hit the right lengths.But then Anneke Bosch trapped Beaumont lbw playing round one that swung away late and struck her on the toe in line with middle and leg stump and followed up with the wicket of Lamb for an accomplished 38 with a gem of a delivery that nipped back in off the seam and through the gate to uproot off-stump.Kapp should have had Heather Knight’s wicket shortly before lunch, but wicketkeeper Sinalo Jafta dived across first slip and Sune Luus, poised for a catch that looked sure to be hers, spilled the ball in the confusion.As it happened, Knight fell without adding to her score of 8 on the first ball after the break, caught short of her ground despite a desperate full-length dive after Sciver had turned a de Klerk delivery towards square leg and called for a single. The slightest of hesitations mid-run from both of them proved crucial as Tumi Sekhukhune fired the ball to Jafta, who removed the bails at the striker’s end.Bosch then claimed her third wicket when she invited Sophia Dunkley to drive with a fuller ball just outside off stump, finding the edge which sailed to Andrie Steyn at slip.In the next over, Mlaba bowled Amy Jones for duck with an excellent ball tossed up on middle stump and straightening as Jones chopped onto her stumps and England looked to be in serious trouble still 163 runs behind.But from there Sciver and Davidson-Richards set about their task with great class, Sciver unbeaten on 119 when, off the last ball of the day, Davidson-Richards sent a straightforward catch to Lizelle Lee at backward point off Sekhukhune.

Josh Philippe masterclass ensures thumping win over Scorchers

Livingstone heroics went in vain as Sixers cement hold on top spot

Alex Malcolm16-Jan-2021Josh Philippe may well have secured a trip to New Zealand with Australia’s T20 side after producing yet another dazzling display with the bat to entrench Sydney Sixers in top spot on the BBL table with a comfortable win over Perth Scorchers.Philippe, the tournament’s leading runscorer, made light work of what could have been a tricky chase of 164 showcasing his full array of skills in an innings of 84 from 52 balls. He shared a 106-run stand with James Vince who scored an equally classy 52 from just 35 as the Sixers cruised to victory by seven wickets with seven balls to spare.The Scorchers only have themselves to blame after inviting the Sixers back into the game. At the ten-over mark of the first innings, they were for 1 for 103 having won the toss and batted first. Liam Livingstone lit up Manuka Oval with some phenomenal striking, launching six balls into the stands in a blistering 38-ball 67. But they boldly took the Power Surge in the 11th over and Livingstone holed out first ball to spark a stunning collapse. They lost 6 for 60 in the last 10 overs with Dan Christian, Carlos Brathwaite, and Jake Ball strangling the Scorchers middle order taking two wickets each.The Sixers moved nine points clear on top of the BBL table, while the Scorchers remain in third thanks to the Bash Boost point.Living dangerouslyLivingstone was dropped first ball in the last game against the Hobart Hurricanes and made them pay with a half-century. He was dropped fifth ball off Steve O’Keefe and made the Sixers pay a heavy price. It was a straightforward chance at mid-off which Daniel Hughes made a mess of.The Scorchers scored just nine runs off the first two overs before Livingstone teed off. Jackson Bird’s line and length was treated with disdain as he clubbed two fours a six in one over. O’Keefe then suffered the ignominy of conceding the most runs in an over in this BBL season. Livingstone plundered 26 off the bat, including three sixes, two of which were struck one-handed down the ground, while O’Keefe delivered a wide as well. The Scorchers took 53 off the powerplay and kept rolling.Livingstone brought up his half-century in the seventh over off just 29 balls with his fifth six. Even the loss of Jason Roy didn’t slow him down as he cleared the rope for a sixth time. The Scorchers were 1 for 103 after 10 overs but incredibly, Dan Christian bowled the eighth and 10th over and conceded just 10 runs while picking up Roy.Liam Livingstone launches into one of his sixes•Getty Images

Power FailureThe Scorchers took the Power Surge immediately and it triggered a collapse as they lost 4 for 18 in four overs. Livingstone later blamed himself after chipping the first ball from Jake Ball to mid-off, and Ashton Turner holed out later in the over. They managed to score just 9 runs from the Surge with Ball and Christian tying them down with some excellent yorkers and slower balls. Colin Munro watched his teammates come and go and struggled for fluency against some clever bowling and fell to Carlos Brathwaite for 34 off 32. The Scorchers scored just 60 off the last 10 overs and lost six wickets.Philippe firesPhilippe continued his outstanding form on a day when Australian T20 captain Aaron Finch suggested he was being looked at closely for national duties. He got off the mark with a streaky outside edge past slip but was flawless thereafter, feasting on Andrew Tye in the third over taxing three overpitched deliveries in a row. The chase stalled a touch when Philippe and Vince didn’t score a boundary for four overs after Justin Avendano fell to Jason Behrendorff in the midst of a tidy spell from the left-armer. But Tye returned and Philippe pumped him through midwicket to bring up a very comfortable half-century off 31 balls.He then stepped on the accelerator and Vince went with him. The pair struck six fours and two sixes in 30 balls without taking the Power Surge. They called for the Surge in the 16th over and brought up a century stand and Vince’s half-century in the same over. They couldn’t finish the game off themselves. Philippe was hit in the helmet trying to pull a slower ball bouncer off Jhye Richardson and lost his middle stump next ball trying to paddle scoop fine. Vince played all around a leg break from Fawad Ahmed in the next over but Hughes and Christian scored the last 16 runs without error.