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New Zealand’s coach Mike Hesson has said his side’s 2-0 sweep of the Test series in Zimbabwe is important as they look to establish themselves as a top team

Firdose Moonda11-Aug-2016New Zealand have taken major steps on the ladder to being considered a top Test team by winning another series in foreign conditions. Their 2-0 sweep in Zimbabwe meant they have only lost two of their last seven away series, which includes a victory in West Indies and a draw in the UAE. This result, coach Mike Hesson explained, is important as they look to improve.”We know we will only be judged a decent team once we start to do well away from home,” Hesson said after their series win in Bulawayo. “We won in West Indies and Sri Lanka, and we are getting better. We were challenged here in Zimbabwe with both bat and ball and India are going to challenge us in a few months’ time.”Hesson called different unknown surfaces “a great leveler” and Kane Williamson used the same term when he discussed how touring teams need to take on both the opposition and their conditions.”Any time you tour away from home, the conditions are so diverse that the challenge is not just playing a different nation, it’s having to make big adjustments to your game and your approach as a team,” Williamson said. “Those are challenges that are unique to the international game and something every side finds difficult. It’s a leveler as well because everyone is most used to their home conditions. So when you go away you have to adapt as quickly as you can and it’s not an easy thing.”So how are New Zealand working on being able to adjust their game to match up to changing conditions? “We’ve got enough experience in the group that players can talk about it,” Hesson said. “When we train, we train with a purpose. We’ve got a group of players that share ideas and learn from each other.”Of New Zealand’s current squad, four had played in the Bulawayo Test they won by 34 runs five years ago. It’s no surprise then that Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Martin Guptill and BJ Watling were among the top five run-scorers in 2016. They knew the pitch did not allow for quick runs and that they would have to show patience, a word they used with nauseating frequency in the lead-up, to build a total.The approach paid off. New Zealand posted two scored in excess of 500 and only rushed things in the second innings of the second Test when they needed to set Zimbabwe a total.The man who accelerated was Taylor, whose eye was in better than anyone else’s. “He is in an excellent space. A very calm space and technically, he is playing nicely,” Hesson said. “He is training very well and is just making good decision after good decision.”The best decision, though, was made by Neil Wagner. He banged in short ball after short ball on a surface that was not supposed to give him bounce and he stunned Zimbabwe’s inexperienced line-up in the first Test. Later, he showed he could work an old ball and find reverse swing, something that will be crucial in the subcontinent.In doing so, Wagner also kept New Zealand’s only seam-bowling allrounder Doug Bracewell out of the side. “Doug is competing with Neil Wagner. With Neil’s ability to reverse the ball, that’s a role we wanted. We thought Neil was the right one to go with and he had a very good first Test, so he got a second,” Hesson explained.Bracewell, though, will likely come into contention in South Africa, where pitches would be a bit more lively. Test cricket has never been played at either Kingsmead or SuperSport Park in August before, so New Zealand will have to adapt again. Bracewell, Matt Henry and offspinner Mark Craig could come into contention as New Zealand attempt to win a first-ever Test series in South Africa to continue their form on the road.

Hampshire moved to the top of the NatWest T20 Blast’s South Group last night by overpowering Middlesex by 21 runs in front of a crowd of around 18,000 at Lord’s

ECB/PA18-Jun-2015
ScorecardMichael Carberry, seen here in Big Bash action, played a vintage knock•Getty Images

Hampshire moved to the top of the NatWest T20 Blast’s South Group last night by overpowering Middlesex by 21 runs in front of a crowd of around 18,000 at Lord’s. Michael Carberry’s 72 not out from 44 balls, and an equally fine innings of 64 from 45 balls by Owais Shah, underpinned Hampshire’s impressive 199 for 5, and Middlesex could only reply with 178 for 9.Paul Stirling smashed a six and nine fours in an explosive 27-ball 54, but when he was caught and bowled by Yasir Arafat in the 11th over, to leave Middlesex 107 for 4, they never looked like chasing down their victory target. It is Hampshire’s fifth win in seven South Group games, while Middlesex have won only two of their seven matches and remain at the bottom of the group.Stirling was joined in an explosive third wicket stand of 88 in 7.5 overs by John Simpson, who also impressed with 35 from 24 balls, featuring a six and three fours, before he perished to a catch at long-on to give Will Smith a second scalp with his innocuous-looking off breaks. Smith had also struck in the first over of Middlesex’s reply, having Nick Compton caught and bowled for a third ball duck, and the home side were 9 for 2 when Nick Gubbins was leg-before to Jackson Bird.But Stirling revived the innings by taking 24 off the fifth over, bowled by the unfortunate Chris Wood. The left-arm seamer was swung high over midwicket for six and, with a wide thrown in, was also taken for four offside fours by the Irishman – the first two punched through the covers and the last two angled away to third man.

Insights

Although Kent, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire and even at times Middlesex have played scintillating cricket this season, no team in the South Group has matched the consistency or winning nous of Hampshire. While they have registered regularly strong scores their innings have been far from faultless and on more than a couple of occasions they’ve had to work hard for their wins. Having selected just 15 players in their eight squads so far this season Hampshire are one of the most settled teams in the country and such stability is engendering success. Concerns still linger over the fast bowling however, which remains sporadic and profligate.
Freddie Wilde

Simpson hit Danny Briggs for a successive six and four, and it was only when he and Stirling departed in the 10th and 11th overs that Middlesex’s challenge faded away.James Franklin did his best with some defiant blows, but Andrew Balbirnie and Neil Dexter were both dismissed cheaply by Danny Briggs’s left-arm spin and when Ollie Rayner was run out and Franklin adjudged lbw for a 24-ball 35 in the 17th over, all that remained was for Middlesex’s lower order to bat out the remaining overs.Hampshire’s total was built upon a superb third wicket partnership of 118 in 12.1 overs between Carberry and Shah. The two veteran batsmen – Shah is 36 and Carberry 34 – constructed their stand along classical lines, at first predominantly pushing singles and rotating the strike but later hitting boundaries with great power as they set about the Middlesex attack.Shah was visibly annoyed when he got himself out by stepping back into his own stumps when swinging a ball from Kyle Abbott high over deep square leg for what would have been his third six. As it was, as umpire Graham Lloyd raised his arms high to signal the six to the scorers, Shah was stomping off swishing his bat in anger at his clumsiness.They came together at 27 for 2, after James Vince and Jimmy Adams fell trying to take full advantage of the initial six-over Powerplay. Vince was bowled by Abbott for 14 aiming something violent soon after he had marked his call-up to England’s Twenty20 international squad by taking three fours from the second over of the game, bowled by Harry Podmore, and Adams was leg-before to offspinner Rayner as he attempted to reverse sweep.Carberry and Shah had only just started to accelerate when Hampshire reached the halfway point of the innings at 71 for 2, but 60 runs came from the next five overs as Shah hit Rayner for four, six, four from successive balls in a 14th over costing 17. The 12th over had brought 13 runs, too, with Carberry mainly responsible for that, and Shah took a cheeky two for a free hit at James Harris which he launched high into the hands of long off for a “catch” that didn’t count.Towards the end of his innings, there was one flashing cover drive from Shah, off Podmore, which beat a boundary fielder in front of the Grand Stand even though the ball hit the ropes just ten yards from where he had been positioned.Sean Ervine, replacing Shah, took fours from the first three balls he faced – including a brilliant ramp shot from his first delivery from Abbott – and then smashed Harris straight for six soon after Carberry had swung the same bowler over midwicket for a maximum. Ervine’s 20, which was ended by a magnificent diving catch by Balbirnie, who sprinted in from long-on before throwing himself forward, took only seven balls and, in all, Hampshire plundered 68 from the last five overs.Carberry carved Abbott for two final fours in a 20th over in which the South African fast bowler was punished for 20 runs and contained two no balls.

Chanaka Welegedara will not bowl again in the Boxing Day Test and is unlikely to recover in time for the third Test, after initial scans revealed a tear in his right hamstring

Andrew Fernando at the MCG27-Dec-2012Chanaka Welegedara will not bowl again in the Boxing Day Test and is unlikely to recover in time for the third Test, after initial scans revealed a tear in his right hamstring. Wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene is unable to keep wickets for the remainder of the Test, having fractured his right thumb while batting the previous day, but the Sri Lanka management are hopeful he will bat in the second innings. Kumar Sangakkara has taken the gloves in his stead.In addition, scans on Thursday revealed Nuwan Kulasekara was suffering from a hairline fracture to a rib, which was originally thought to be nothing more than bruising. He suffered the injury when he took a blow to the ribs on the final day in Hobart, and was left out of the second Test when he was unable to bowl comfortably in the nets, in the lead-up to the match. Sri Lanka are hopeful that both Kulasekara and Jayawardene will be available for the Sydney Test which begins on January 3rd, but their condition will be reassessed closer to the start of that Test.Having opened the bowling for Sri Lanka on the second morning, Welegedara was halfway through his fourth over, when he pulled up during his approach to the crease. He bent down to stretch his right hamstring, and appeared to be in discomfort as he left the field. Shaminda Eranga completed his over. Welegedara will undergo another scan on Friday to confirm the extent of the damage, but the situation does not look promising, batting coach Marvan Atapattu said after play on day two.Welegedara has had an injury-plagued year, having missed eight months of Test cricket with two separate injuries. He strained his groin in March during the home series against England and though he had recovered from that by June, he tore a shoulder muscle as Sri Lanka prepared to play Pakistan later in the month. The Hobart Test against Australia was his first taste of competitive cricket since March, as his recovery period did not coincide with Sri Lanka’s domestic season.He is regarded as the leader of Sri Lanka’s pace attack, and his presence was missed on day two, when Australia amassed a lead nearing 300, with two wickets still intact. Welegedara had been the leading wicket-taker for Sri Lanka in the first Test in Hobart.The loss of Jayawardene may have also hurt Sri Lanka, with two clear-cut chances having been missed by Sangakkara behind the stumps. Shane Watson was spilled late on day one as Sangakkara dived to his right, and a difficult stumping chance off Michael Clarke also went begging in the first session on day two. Clarke and Watson made 106 and 83 respectively, and were involved in a 196-run partnership that took Australia to a commanding position from 117 for 3.

Fast bowler Umesh Yadav has injured his left hand and will be replaced by Abhimanyu Mithun in India’s squad for the last two ODIs against England

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Oct-2011Fast bowler Umesh Yadav has injured his left hand and will be replaced by Abhimanyu Mithun in India’s squad for the last two ODIs against England. Umesh hurt the webbing on his hand while stopping a shot from Jonathan Trott at short fine leg during the last over of England’s innings in the third ODI in Mohali. MS Dhoni, the India captain, had confirmed the injury after the match and the BCCI have now announced Mithun as Umesh’s replacement.Though he was expensive in the last two games, Umesh impressed with his pace over the series, and took two wickets in each of the first two matches.India also have Varun Aaron, the 21-year-old fast bowler, in the ODI squad. Aaron was on the limited-overs leg of India’s tour of England as well, but did not get a game. Umesh’s injury means he might make an international debut.Mithun has played four Tests and two ODIs for India but appeared to have fallen out of favour after an ordinary tour of the West Indies.

Lawyers say the two franchises can take the board to court over its unilateral action and have their cases referred to arbitration

Tariq Engineer11-Oct-2010The BCCI may have decided to expel the Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab out of the IPL, but lawyers familiar with the legal processes in Indian cricket say the two franchises can take the board to court over its unilateral action and have their cases referred to arbitration under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.The IPL franchise agreement specifically provides for arbitration in the case of a dispute that cannot be settled amicably. Clause 21.1 of the agreement, states that “such dispute shall be submitted to arbitration and conclusively resolved by a single arbitrator appointed by mutual consent.”Delhi-based lawyer Rahul Mehra, who famously filed a public interest litigation against the BCCI in 2000 in an attempt to extract more accountability from the board, told ESPNcricinfo that if the agreement allows for arbitration, then “there should be arbitration.”Usha Nath Bannerjee, who has represented former board president Jagmohan Dalmiya when he was taken to court by the BCCI over alleged corruption, seconded Mehra’s opinion. Banerjee, who was also the lawyer for India footballer Bhaichung Bhutia during a Kolkata club dispute, said the matter has to be referred to a high court, “in the absence of an agreed arbitrator.”If the situation cannot be settled through negotiations, Mehra believes the franchises will ultimately go to court as there are issues of defamation in play as well. “There has been damage to their reputations,” he said. “Their brand was created over three years and has now been completely tarnished.”The IPL franchise agreement also states that only the BCCI-IPL, and not the franchisee, has the right to file a case in the Mumbai court (clause 21.6), but Mehra says this violates the principles of natural justice. “You can’t take a decision of this magnitude by saying we will do it, and we won’t give you a chance to be heard. You have got to give them the right to be heard.”Bannerjee said that the clause in the franchise agreement that forbid a franchise from going to court was “immaterial”. He said that the principles of natural justice have to be read as incorporated in any agreement. Banerjee said, “If I have a statutory or legal right under the law, it cannot be taken away.” According to the ‘principles of natural justice’, universally regarded as fundamental to a fair legal system, no one can be a judge in his own case and every side should be given the opportunity to present their case.Both lawyers agreed the franchisees’ case is likely to be heard by the courts. Should the court decide to take on the case, any decisions to do with IPL 2011 will probably be stayed until the matter is decided. Depending on how long the case takes, this could result in the postponement of the player auction currently scheduled for mid-to-late November.

Kumar Sangakkara has called on his spinners to raise their game in the final Test in Mumbai

Sa'adi Thawfeeq27-Nov-2009It hasn’t been a great tour for Muttiah Muralitharan so far•AFP

Sri Lanka came into the series intending to secure their maiden Test victory on Indian soil but were left with a lot of soul searching to do after they were thrashed by an innings-and-144-runs in the second Test in Kanpur.Though India ran up 642, Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara defended the selection of three spinners. “If we had won the toss and batted first on the wicket and got a decent amount of runs on the board our spinners would have been quite a threat on this track,” he said. “It would have been very hard to score runs off them as well. The chances that we did create were not taken by us, allowing the Indian batsmen to get away on a really flat track. 400 runs on the first day was a little too much.”The main concern for Sri Lanka was the inability of the world’s leading wicket-taker Muttiah Muralitharan to provide the breakthroughs for his team as he had done till the recent past. Murali went for over hundred runs for the second time in two Tests; so far in the series his returns are five wickets for 396 runs, average 79.20. “It does become a concern when your star strike bowler is not really picking up the wickets you know he can, but he is still the best bowler that’s played the game,” Sangakkara said. “You still have to have faith in him and trust him and back him 100% to do the job because he is going to do it at one point, hopefully in the next Test.”The Kanpur defeat was the largest in terms of runs to India but Sangakkara remained optimistic that he had the bowlers to win in Mumbai. “We have the potential to pick 20 wickets with the bowlers that we have,” he said. “Potential is one thing really doing the job is another. We would like a bit more penetration with the spin.”With our fast bowlers we always created opportunities, the disappointing thing is we haven’t really taken those chances twice in the first over in two Test matches, especially this one on a track that was one of the flattest we’ve played on.”We’ve still got a lot to achieve in Mumbai. We can still equal the series and finish one-all. That’s a great motivation for us. Disappointed with today’s defeat, but that’s the way cricket goes. If you don’t play well enough you lose and you’ve got to accept that responsibility but still move on. You have no one else to blame. You got to look at the 16 players in the dressing room and say that we were just not good enough. We were outplayed by India who were a better team in this Test match.”It was a good toss to win for Dhoni the first day the wicket was going to be the flattest and it got slower and slower as the game progressed. If we probably had kept India down to about 450 in the first innings it would have been a chance for us to come back, but 600 runs on we were always chasing. Bad batting in our first innings put us into trouble.”

The 26-year-old Afghanistan spinner went past Dwayne Bravo’s tally of 631

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Feb-2025Rashid Khan, for long one of the most compelling sights in T20 cricket, has now climbed to a pinnacle becoming the format’s highest wicket-taker ever. The 26-year-old Afghanistan wristspinner went past Dwayne Bravo’s tally of 631 wickets when he bowled Dunith Wellalage in the SA20 qualifier 1 against Paarl Royals on Tuesday.”It’s a great achievement,” Rashid told the host broadcaster after his team secured victory. “I never thought about it, if you asked 10 years before this if I would get there. It’s a proud feeling to be from Afghanistan and to be at that level where you top the table. DJ [Bravo] is one of the best T20 bowlers. It’s a great honour and I’m looking forward to continuing.”Related

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Rashid made his T20 debut when he was still a teenager in October 2015. He is now fast approaching 500 matches having been a hugely sought after player in leagues all over the world. He has won an IPL title and a PSL title and was virtually a household name in Adelaide where he played 69 matches for the Strikers, including picking up career-best figures of 6 for 17.The ability to bowl quickly through the air and keep the stumps in play made Rashid an extremely difficult bowler to face, especially since it was hard to pick which way the ball was going to turn. He gave batters no time to adjust and very little clues what was going to happen. Eventually, teams simply started playing him out without taking too much risk. Rashid could run through a side – he has 20 hauls of four wickets or more – but his defining quality was that he could always keep opposition batters under control.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Rashid spoke about how wickets weren’t necessarily his priority in an interview with The Cricket Monthly last year. “If someone is going after me, I’m going to make it super hard for him. If he still hits it, it’s a good shot. But I won’t ease down [on creating the pressure]. It’s more about making things harder and harder for the batter.”As he gained experience – Rashid has played in the Hundred, CPL and the BPL – his batting also improved. He is known for his ability to come in and hit sixes straight away and has a shot all his own, called the snake shot, where he gets underneath a yorker length ball and whirls his wrists to such an extent the bat makes contact and surges back, like whiplash. Rashid’s all-round prowess was on show in the playoffs of IPL 2018 when he made 34 off just 10 balls to lift Sunrisers Hyderabad to a total of 170 and then helped defend it by taking 3 for 19 and taking two catches as well.In a sign of how influential Rashid can be, his current IPL team, Gujarat Titans, retained his services for INR 15 crore (USD 1.8 million approx).

Allrounder keen to focus on personal form and pushing case for T20 selection

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Nov-2023Warwickshire have announced that Will Rhodes has stepped down as club captain after five seasons in the role.Rhodes, 28, helped the club to claim a County Championship and Bob Willis Trophy double in 2021. Warwickshire were briefly in contention once again last season but only won one in six between May and September before finishing fourth.The allrounder, who remarkably has never missed a first-class game since joining the club from Yorkshire ahead of the 2018 season, made 618 runs at 30.90 in 2023 and told the club that he wanted to focus on his form, as well as regaining a place in the T20 side.”Coming to the club as 22-year-old I never thought I’d get such an opportunity to captain a great club like Warwickshire,” Rhodes said.”It’s been an unbelievable honour. I was hugely grateful for the opportunity when Jim Troughton and Paul Farbrace asked me to do it. And with the support of Robbo [Mark Robinson, Warwickshire’s head coach] and most recently Gavin Larsen I’d like to think I’ve made a positive contribution and helped take the club forward.”I’m looking forward to next season, helping whoever will be the new captain, and hopefully giving them a bit of advice from the experience I’ve gained over the years. And most importantly, collectively pulling together to win as many games as possible for the club.”Warwickshire have yet to make a decision on Rhodes’ successor but Robinson offered his personal thanks after the pair worked together as captain and coach for the past three seasons.”He’ll always be remembered as one of few players who’ve captained a side at Edgbaston to the County Championship,” Robinson said. “I’ve planned and plotted tactics with Rhodesy for several year now and I would personally like to thank him for all the support he’s given me as well as the wider club.”Rhodesy obviously isn’t retiring and will hopefully transition seamlessly into the ranks and continue helping us in our quest for success. But for now we thank him for all he has achieved with us as a leader.”

The MI franchise in the CSA T20 league is the first to announce its list of signings before the auction

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Aug-2022MI Cape Town – Mumbai Indians’ franchise in the upcoming CSA T20 league – have announced Rashid Khan, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada and Dewald Brevis as their five signings ahead of the player auction.As per the league’s rules, each of the six franchises will get to pre-sign five players – three overseas, one South Africa international player and one uncapped South African player – prior to the auction, and MI Cape Town are the first team to announce their list of players.”I’m excited as we begin our journey in building MI Cape Town,” Akash Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Jio, the owners of MI Cape Town, said. “With our direct player signings, we have taken the first step towards building the MI philosophy – having a strong core around which the team will be planned. I am glad to welcome Rashid, Kagiso, Liam, Sam, to the #OneFamily and happy to have Dewald continue with us on this new journey.”On Wednesday, the CSA league had announced that it had signed over 30 marquee players and that each squad could have 17 players on their roster.While no other team has announced signings yet, it has been confirmed that Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Faf du Plessis, Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Eoin Morgan, Jason Holder, Jason Roy and many others will participate in the league. While Livingstone and Buttler will earn $US500,000 each, Moeen will take home $400,000, du Plessis 350,000 and the likes of Rabada, de Kock, Miller, Morgan and Curran will get $300,000 each.So far 11 England names have signed up for the league – the largest overseas representation – followed by 10 from Sri Lanka. As expected, there are no Pakistani names in the list.The CSA release on Wednesday also said the auction would take place “in the next few weeks” before the league begins in January 2023. All six franchises of the league have been bought by groups that own teams in the IPL and the league is likely to allow four overseas players in the playing XI with no requirements for transformation as of now.

She is self isolating at home after experiencing mild symptoms

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Mar-2021Harmanpreet Kaur has tested positive for Covid-19, the update coming after she had experienced mild symptoms and was tested. ESPNcricinfo understands that the India T20I captain experienced a fever for four days before testing positive on Monday. She is currently self-isolating at home.Kaur did not play any part in the recent T20Is at home against South Africa as a result of a hip-flexor injury, which she picked up during the fifth ODI in the longer-format series preceding the T20Is. In Kaur’s absence, Smriti Mandhana led India to a 2-1 series defeat. Earlier, Mithali Raj had led India to a 4-1 loss in the ODIs, in which Kaur hit 160 runs in four innings at an average of 53.33, including a 54 in the fourth ODI.Kaur is the second high-profile India Women cricketer to have tested positive for Covid-19 after pace bowler Mansi Joshi tested positive last October. As a result of that, Joshi had to miss the Women’s T20 Challenge in the UAE, where she was to represent the Velocity side, led by Raj.Separately, a number of former Indian cricketers, who were part of the Road Safety Series in Raipur, have tested positive for Covid-19: Sachin Tendulkar, Yusuf Pathan, S Badrinath and Irfan Pathan have returned positive tests.