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The game ended before the scheduled close of play, when the two teams mutually agreed on a draw with Vidarbha only 11 runs away from an outright victory

Sreshth Shah in Nagpur16-Feb-2019Character, that’s the word used by Vidarbha captain Faiz Fazal to describe his team’s attitude after they beat Rest of India on first innings lead in Nagpur to become only the third Ranji Trophy winners to also defend their Irani Cup title.Speaking to the media after their triumph over an RoI side that had three current Indian Test players in Ajinkya Rahane, Mayank Agarwal and Hanuma Vihari – and a middle order comprising of Shreyas Iyer and Ishan Kishan – Fazal said it’s that ‘character’ which has defined the team’s success over the past two seasons in domestic cricket. He also said that the way the team’s younger batsmen played in the fourth innings, was a performance beyond their years.”The target they had set was a sporting total,” Fazal said. “But the way we played, the way we approached the innings was credible. The boys showed their character.”It was important to show the character because such targets in such wickets is not easy. The way we approached the game was very good. I was out for a duck yesterday, so I think the way the youngsters adapted around Satish Ganesh, who played really nice innings was commendable.”R Sanjay played nicely, as did Atharwa Taide. They played a very matured innings. We need players in the team who show character. That’s how you build teams. That’s the reason why we are so consistent for last two years.”The game ended before the scheduled close of play, when the two teams mutually agreed on a draw with Vidarbha only 11 runs away from an outright victory. The decision surprised people in some corners. Fazal, however, defended his decision to end the game at that stage.”You’re right, we could’ve gone for the win, but it’s more important to lift the trophy,” Fazal said. ” But actually we were waiting for Ganesh’s 100. Unfortunately, it did not happen.”The wicket was turning, so maybe a new batsman would’ve gone out trying to go for those 11 runs, and our innings would’ve been spoilt. That said, we weren’t thinking negatively, but we were already satisfied having secured the cup by that stage.”Fazal also heaped praise on Vihari – who became the first batsman to hit hundreds in three consecutive Irani Cup innings’ – and Rahane, whose 229-run partnership with Vihari on the fourth day gave RoI an outside chance of winning the contest. He said that the way the two senior India batsmen played in that situation was a tutorial for Vidarbha’s batsmen.”Hats off to those guys. To be 30-40 [46] for 2 and then the way they made a comeback and the kind of innings they played, it was like a schooling for us,” Fazal said. “It was a learning process for us. They played extremely well. The technique with which they batted, they played very straight – no risk. I think we learnt a lot and that showed in our innings.”Fazal, however, said that there were still areas where Vidarbha could improve, come next season, especially in the batting department, but commended the sole centurion from his team, Akshay Karnewar for his effort. His 102 in the first-innings helped Vidarbha reach 425 in response to RoI’s 330 in the first innings.”There are a lot of areas we still need to work hard, like we need to get big scores like Hanuma got in both the innings, the way even Ajinkya played,” Fazal said. “Karnewar, the way he played in the first innings is a top innings from him and I think that’s why he got the Man of the Match as well. I think there are a lot of areas to work, and we will be working on it.”That’s the good sign of a team when you still want to learn and still want to improve. Those are very good signs to be consistent next season.”

According to the England allrounder, friendly competition to score the quickest centuries and hit the biggest sixes is driving the team during the World Cup

George Dobell in Headingley20-Jun-20193:04

Swann: England truly believe that 500 is possible

Friendly competition to score the quickest centuries and hit the biggest sixes is driving England’s batsmen during the World Cup, according to Moeen Ali.

Furthest six-hitting distances from England at World Cup

Jason Roy, 97m against Bangladesh
Moeen Ali, 93m against Afghanistan
Eoin Morgan, 92m against Afghanistan
Joe Root, 91m against Afghanistan
Jonny Bairstow, 86m against Pakistan
Jos Buttler, 85m against Bangladesh
Chris Woakes, 84m against Bangladesh
Liam Plunkett, 79m against Bangladesh

Eoin Morgan set a new ODI record by hitting 17 sixes in his innings in Manchester last week. But while he may have hit the most, his team-mates left him in no doubt that theirs were bigger and that his 57-ball century was “a bit slow” by comparison to their own. Three men in England’s top seven – Moeen, Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler – have hit quicker ODI centuries.And that competition – combined with plenty of hard work – is rendering England “almost unstoppable” according to Moeen.”We were a bit surprised by the numbers the other day,” Moeen, who once made a 53-ball century against West Indies, said. “We were like ‘that’s a lot of sixes’. But I told him I hit the biggest. The first one off Rashid Khan was the biggest.”When players go past 53 balls then I can always say ‘yeah, it’s a great knock but still a bit slow for my liking.’ I’m always hoping they don’t push me further down the list.Moeen Ali steers one through the off side•Getty Images

“We always talk about stuff like that. Jos came back after scoring 120 and I told him I’d hit the shot of the day. We have a bit of banter about it.”We’re just having a lot of fun and ripping each other all the time. We get stuck into each other about everything: about the football or about Fifa. Anything. It’s all part of team bonding. It’s all very natural.”While the team may good-naturedly compete for such accolades there is, according to Moeen, an acceptance that one man stands out.”Buttler is the biggest hitter,” Moeen says. “With ease. Some guys – like Jonny Bairstow – are brutal. Jason Roy is absolutely about power and Morgan does hit big sixes.”In the nets, Joe Root hits the most sixes. He tries to take us down all the time. I think everyone is capable of hitting big sixes and I think I’m the best of all of them. But Jos is the one guy that everyone knows is out front. Jos is power with timing.”But the serious side is that we work hard on it. You can’t just rock up and start hitting sixes for fun, you have to practice it and work on it.”As a team, once we get going, I’m sure everybody thinks that we’re almost unstoppable. When Jos, Morgs, Jason… we have some many players, almost everybody in the top eight. Who can do it. Once they get going, it’s almost unstoppable. That’s the great thing about the team.”

Acting BCCI president doesn’t want the careers of both players to be put in a limbo

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2019CK Khanna, BCCI’s acting president, doesn’t want the careers of KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya to be “kept in a limbo” and has urged the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) to lift their suspension until the court issues a directive.”I suggest that pending inquiry we reinstate both the cricketers in the Indian squad immediately and allow them to join the team in New Zealand at the earliest,” he wrote in an email, as reported by ‘They made a mistake, and they have already been suspended and called back from the series against Australia. They have also submitted an unconditional apology. We must not keep their careers in a limbo.”Hardik and Rahul were recalled from the tour of Australia after the Test series for their comments on a TV chat show that was aired on January 6. Since then, both players have pleaded guilty to the charge of indiscipline and misconduct imposed on them by the CoA.ALSO READ: Hardik Pandya and the man in the mirrorHaving missed the ODIs in Australia, their hopes of an imminent return were dashed when the Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned the hearing pertaining to Lodha reforms. The fate of Hardik and Rahul is one of several issues that are due to be resolved, but can only be done after the appointment of an amicus curiae to replace Gopal Subramanium, who left that post recently after holding it for several years.The disciplinary issue of the two players is tied to the appointment of a BCCI ombudsman, the board’s final adjudicating authority under its new constitution. The post has been vacant since Justice AP Shah finished his term in late 2016 and the Committee of Administrators has asked the court for directions on a new appointment.

India A add 205 for last five wickets to open up a sizable lead to give hosts chance of a series-levelling win

The Report by Varun Shetty in Alur10-Sep-2018Andhra Cricket Association

India A batted Australia A into a corner on the third day of the second unofficial Test in Alur. They lead of 159 came on the back of KS Bharat’s 106, and his various partnerships with the lower order that meant India made 205 for the last five wickets, finishing eventually with 505 in reply to Australia’s 346. Bharat’s century was India’s first of the series, and the innings was at its peak during his eight-wicket stand of 113 with Kuldeep Yadav, who batted 112 balls for his 52.The pair were in full control after they’d both been dropped off part-time legspinner Marnus Labuschagne when the lead was slim. Kuldeep then begun dominating the stand, looking calm and assured as Australia switched their bowlers around constantly. While the innings was studded with boundaries, it was an aggressive one in approach, with the footwork sorted the whole way through against pace and spin.It gave Bharat the license to play the boundary strokes at the other end and he picked up 12 fours and a six during his forage. Bharat’s most productive strokes were the hook and the cover drive, both of which were a consequence of Australia’s struggle to hold up a constant strategy. The seamers, particularly Brendan Doggett, were all over the place against Bharat and on a slow pitch, he cashed in on their offerings.Against spin, he was more content playing with a straight bat, often in defence, and rarely got out of the crease to manufacture shots. There wasn’t much need for it in any case, with Australia’s spread out fields offering many easy run-scoring avenues.This was also the case when Shubman Gill had got going in the first session. Gill, the overnight batsman alongside India A captain Shreyas Iyer, had a much easier start to the day than should have been, considering the that the same bowlers – Mitchell Marsh and Mitchell Swepson – had troubled them in the last 30 minutes on Sunday. The pair had even come out to overcast, cold conditions, which offered the Australian bowlers more than they had got on a blazing Sunday.But they were barely troubled, with Swepson struggling to land the ball from around the wicket. Many full tosses down leg side were put away, including one that was ramped by Iyer over the long leg boundary, and when he did finally start landing the ball, the umpires deemed that he was bowling a negative line and penalised him. Marsh did end up slanting one in to beat Iyer and hit his stumps, but Australia’s day would be filled with more such peculiar moments.In front of a considerably bigger home crowd than had watched during the weekend, the Australians came apart slowly, with fumbles and extras, and were even penalised for having three fielders behind the popping crease on the leg side at one point.The start of that decline began with Gill’s exquisite wrists that aided his flowing drives, but were especially impressive as he got on the back foot to manipulate the square field on the off side. Australia operated with one slip all day, and Gill used that open side of the field to full effect.But the 19-year-old batsman didn’t capitalise on his fluid start, and was bowled playing inside the line of a Chris Remain delivery with India still 46 behind and a fragile lower order exposed. K Gowtham undid the pressure though – as Bharat endured an anxious start – and his confident batting brought India five runs away from parity. By then, Bharat settled in and shepherded the lower order.Australia were given only three overs of seam bowling to play as they came out to play the last hour, and the relentless intensity of India’s spinners produced wickets off stark variety. Kurtis Patterson got into his shell and was bowled leaving an arm ball from Gowtham. At the other end, Renshaw’s attacking strategy produced a pictureesque straight six against Nadeem, but some sweeps later, he top-edged one to a diving Deepak Chahar at short fine leg.

The wider sporting world has allowed athletes to play with the virus, but the league is adopting more stringent protocols

Nagraj Gollapudi18-Mar-2023Even as sporting authorities worldwide are permitting athletes to participate in events despite testing positive for Covid-19 over the last year, the IPL has decided to stick to its 2022 policy of asking players with the virus to go through a week-long isolation period before rejoining their teams.While the season will no longer need to operate out of a bio-secure bubble, which had been mandatory for the three years since the pandemic, the IPL has said it wants to be “careful” and players testing positive will not be allowed to participate in a match or in training until they return consecutive negative tests, the earliest of which can be taken on day five of recovery.”While there has been a decline in the number of Covid-19 cases in India we still have to be careful of the emerging strains which are becoming a concern at regular intervals,” the IPL’s medical guidelines, which were distributed to franchises this week, say. “Positive cases must be isolated for maximum seven days. Positive cases will not be allowed to participate in any match or any form of activity/event during the period of isolation.”From day five, they can undergo a RT-PCR, provided they must be must be asymptomatic without any medication for 24 hours. Once the first result is negative the 2nd test must be done 24 hours apart. Only after obtaining two negative RT-PCR tests 24 hours apart i.e. day five and day six, can they rejoin the group.”The IPL pointed out that testing will be carried out only for those actually showing signs of Covid-19, not for those who are asymptomatic. Any participant continuing to test positive even after day seven would need to present two negative tests 12 hours apart before rejoining the group.This is in contrast to the loosening of restrictions in dealing with Covid-19 cases in global sport including international cricket. Last August, Australian allrounder Tahlia McGrath became the first cricketer to play a match despite testing positive for Covid-19 in the Commonwealth Games T20 final against India.A few months later, at the men’s T20 World Cup, Mathew Wade, who had tested positive, was named part of the Australian team in the league match against England which was eventually washed out. In January, Australian opener Matt Renshwaw reported Covid-19 symptoms on the first morning of the New Year’s Test against South Africa in Sydney, tested positive before toss, but went on to play the match.The ICC has allowed players to participate in matches at global events including the CWG in England and the T20 World Cup in Australia last year. It remains to be seen, though, whether it will retain the same process during the ODI World Cup in India later this year.

PCB, ECB discuss back-up plan as political unrest continues near venue of scheduled series opener

Umar Farooq15-Nov-2022Karachi is being discussed as an alternative venue for England’s historic first Test in Pakistan, as part of a back-up itinerary the PCB and ECB have been discussing as political unrest continues in Rawalpindi, the original venue for the series opener.In this itinerary, the dates of the tour remain the same but Karachi hosts both the first and third Tests, with Multan staging the second as in the original schedule. England have not played a Test in Karachi for more than 20 years, since their famous twilight win in the 2000-01 series.A final decision is expected to be taken in the next 48-72 hours, with the PCB keen to ensure all state and local bodies are on board with the switch.Rawalpindi, home to army headquarters and next to the capital Islamabad, was due to host the Test from December 1. But unrest around the capital following the assassination attempt on former premier (and former captain) Imran Khan at a rally nearly two weeks ago has resulted in a series of protests since.Khan escaped with injuries to his right leg and is now planning, with his PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf – Movement for Justice) party, a long march on to the capital, demanding fresh elections.He was ousted from power in April after a parliamentary vote of no confidence. Though no dates have yet been announced, the march from Lahore is expected to culminate in the capital towards the last week of November, around the time the England squad land.Amid the public protest last week, the Quaid-e-Azam trophy game between Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at Pindi stadium was first delayed for a day with the teams unable travel from the hotel to the stadium, then abandoned outright, with both teams taking five points. The latest round of the competition, which got underway on November 14, features ongoing matches in Karachi, Lahore and Abbottabad, with Rawalpindi not scheduled to host any further games.ESPNcricinfo understands that the England tour isn’t facing any direct threat from the ongoing situation, with the security of the team the PCB’s highest priority, and the ECB on board with all the back-up plans. Last week, Ben Stokes, England’s Test captain, said that his team would put its faith in the ECB’s security delegation, led by their veteran advisor Reg Dickason.Aside from the venue switch, the dates of the tour remain unchanged, with England expected to arrive from their training camp in Dubai on November 26-27, with the first Test set to begin on December 1. The second Test in Multan from December 9-13 and the third Test, already scheduled for Karachi from December 17-21, remain as originally planned.

The win against India A gave them a bonus point, but their chance of making the final was wiped out by Australia A’s victory over India B

The Report by Sruthi Ravindranath in Bengaluru27-Aug-2018On a cloudy day and a greenish pitch, South Africa A’s pacers ran through India A, consigning them to a four-wicket defeat and knocking them out of contention for a place in the quadrangular series final. The win gave South Africa a bonus-point, but their own chance of making the final was wiped out by Australia A’s victory over India B.Dane Paterson was the destructor-in-chief as he scythed through the hosts’ line-up, picking up his best bowling figures in a limited-overs game. The South Africa batsmen, in their chase, survived an equally-disciplined India bowling effort on a pitch that never looked easy to bat on.”Funnily enough, that was a South African wicket put out today,” Paterson said after the match, following his figures of 5 for 19. The new-ball duo of Paterson and Robert Frylinck found movement off the pitch, quickly drew parallels with the ones back home, and made no mistake in applying them. While keeping the scoring quiet with probing lines outside off, they accounted for the top-four batsmen within the first ten overs to leave India A reeling at 31 for 4.

Dane Paterson on being called a T20 specialist

• “It’s a dream to play Test cricket, so I’m working on that, aspiring to be there. It’s funny because at the beginning of my career, I used to have a lot of success with the red ball and suddenly now once I’ve got older, my white-ball game has taken off.

• “I feel relieved, it’s been a long time since I took a five-for, it was my first with the white ball, so quite happy about today’s performance.”

At that point, Krunal Pandya joined Nitish Rana at the crease, following which India saw a brief flash of recovery. The two motored on for about six overs, rotating strike and seeing off the new-ball pair, but then Pandya edged one to the keeper, contributing just five to the overall score. While Rana pushed India’s score past 50, his struggle against the short ball was exposed, and soon he lost his wicket to a Malusi Siboto bouncer after making a 45-ball 19.The onus was on Sanju Samson to resurrect India’s innings, but Deepak Chahar did his bit to hold up South A too. He batted freely even as South Africa captain Khaya Zondo set an aggressive field. While Samson at the other end played watchfully, Chahar hit three sixes and as many fours to make a 42-ball 38, ending as India’s top scorer of the day.From 76 for 6, the duo pulled India to 140 before the South Africa pacers struck again. The promising 64-run stand was ended by a sharp catch by Pieter Malan at backward point to send Chahar back, and the fielder duly received a loud appreciation from the 50-odd spectators at the stadium. Following that, Paterson and Sisanda Magala did not take much time to wrap up the innings.For South Africa, Malan opened with Gihahn Cloete and the pair was treated to tidy bowling by Chahar, Shivam Mavi and Khaleel Ahmed. Khaleel provided the breakthrough for India, sending an edgy Cloete back, but Malan stuck around at the other end, making an 86-ball 47 before Khaleel came back to dismiss him. Paterson was sent in at No. 5 with the intention of collecting quick runs, but his brief stay at the crease was terminated by a Khaleel full toss that found its way to deep point to leave South Africa 111 for 5.With spin pressing from both ends, South Africa’s scoring slowed down in the middle. Mayank Markande and Krunal Pandya stifled the flow of runs with tight lengths – and also picked up three wickets between them in all – but India needed more runs on the board. South Africa took the relatively small chase to the 38th over but got home they did, Farhaan Behardien and Frylinck finishing the job. The bonus point they got for doing it in under 40 overs took them over Australia A in the points table, but only till the latter registered a win themselves later in the day in Alur.

There is a 90% chance of rain in Sydney which may put a damper on the opening match of the Super 12s

Deivarayan Muthu21-Oct-20223:23

Will Guptill find a spot in the NZ XI? Do both Milne and Ferguson play?

Big picture

Less than one year after New Zealand were blown away by Australia in the 2021 T20 World Cup final in Dubai , the two teams come together once again, this time to launch the main draw of the 2022 T20 World Cup at what will be a packed SCG. However, with the La Niña weather event in play there is a 90% chance of rain in Sydney, which could potentially play spoilsport.New Zealand’s warm-up fixture against India was also washed out though it was in Brisbane earlier this week. They will also have to contend with the injury-enforced absence of Daryl Mitchell – one of their heroes from the 2021 T20 World Cup – who is racing against time to be fit for the game against Afghanistan on October 26 at the MCG.Fast bowlers Lockie Ferguson and Adam Milne are also working their way back from injuries and were hence managed carefully in the most recent T20I tri-series at home in Christchurch. Then, there’s New Zealand’s record against Australia in Australia, which hangs like Coleridge’s albatross around their necks. Zero wins in any format since 2011.Related

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In their quest to remedy that and maximise the powerplay, in particular, New Zealand have made the tough call of relegating Martin Guptill to the bench and bumping Finn Allen up to the top along with Devon Conway. Allen is one of the most exciting short-format players currently, boasting a powerplay strike rate of 156.48 – the best among all batters who have played at least ten innings during this phase since his T20I debut in March 2021.1:31

Williamson: Both Ferguson and Milne bring something different

The selection headaches don’t end there. New Zealand will have to choose between Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi and Michael Bracewell, the Wellington Firebirds batting allrounder who has shown that he can do the job as a bowling allrounder too. It is very unlikely that all three can find a place in the same XI.Australia have also had their fair share of issues in the build-up to the World Cup, but their appear in much healthier shape, despite losing spare wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis to a golf injury. Matthew Wade, Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa have all excelled in T20 cricket over the past 12 months. Throw in the finishing skills of Tim David and the pedigree of David Warner at the top, and you have the ingredients of another title-winning side.If it comes down to a truncated shootout on Saturday, Australia arguably have more depth and explosive power than New Zealand. However, one can never count New Zealand out at a global tournament.

Form guide

Australia LLWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
New ZealandLWWWL

In the spotlight

The boundaries in Australia are bigger than the those in many other parts of the word. But they still might not be big enough for Tim David who has a bit of Kieron Pollard about his six-hitting. In addition to muscling the ball over midwicket, David is particularly good at hitting in the ‘V’ like his Mumbai Indians senior. His duel with Ferguson/Milne could set the pulses racing.John Cena’s Glenn Phillips‘ time is now. He only had a peripheral role to play in the last T20 World Cup but with Mitchell injured, he will be one of those asked to pick up the slack. Phillips is quite capable, his 360 degree game attracting the attention of T20 franchise owners all around the world. He is also a live wire on the field, can keep wicket and bowl some fastish offspin, if required.Everyone’s coming for the trophy in Australia’s hands•Getty Images

Team news

The sensational Cameron Green has found a way into Australia’s squad, but may not be able to make the XI, especially now that it looks like Marsh might just be available to bowl a few overs, if needed.Australia (probable): 1 Aaron Finch (capt), 2 David Warner, 3 Mitchell Marsh, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Tim David, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh HazlewoodKane Williamson didn’t rule out the possibility of both Ferguson and Milne featuring in New Zealand’s XI. Bracewell emerged as the Player-of-the-(Tri)Series against Bangladesh and Pakistan earlier this month but might miss out if New Zealand opt for the experience of Santner and Sodhi and the batting insurance offered by Mark Chapman.New Zealand (probable): 1 Devon Conway (wk), 2 Finn Allen/Martin Guptill, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Glenn Phillips, 5 Michael Bracewell/Mark Chapman, 6 Jimmy Neesham, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Tim Southee, 9 Trent Boult, 10 Lockie Ferguson/Adam Milne, 11 Ish Sodhi

Pitch and conditions

The pitch was under cover for most of Friday so Finch only got a brief look at it. He said it was on the drier side. Though the forecast is grim, the SCG recovers quickly from rain, which the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, says is likely to come in the afternoon and the evening.

Stats and trivia

• Williamson’s form has been iffy since the last T20 World Cup and his niggly elbow hasn’t helped him either. Since the final against Australia in November last year, he has managed only 420 runs in 20 T20 innings at a strike rate of 105.26.
• Boult could be New Zealand’s best bet to tackle Wade. The left-arm seamer has dismissed Wade three times in 23 balls in T20Is.
• No seamer has taken more wickets than Hazlewood (23) in the powerplay in T20 cricket in the past year. He has picked up 23 wickets in 32 innings at an economy rate of 6.20. Among all bowlers, only Sri Lanka’s Maheesh Theekshana is ahead of Hazlewood with 24 strikes, but he has had the benefit of 40 innings.

Quotes

“We haven’t thought too much about that. Nice to play against Australia first up, and it should be a good game.”

After playing as a specialist batsman in ODIs, T20 wicketkeeper will take on the vice-captaincy under Aaron Finch

Melinda Farrell26-Jun-2018Alex Carey says Australia can bounce back from their one-day series defeat by England and will go into their standalone T20I at Edgbaston on Wednesday aiming to top the international T20 rankings.Carey, who played in the final two ODIs of the series as a specialist batsmen, will take on both the wicketkeeping duties and the vice-captaincy under Aaron Finch for the match and said it was important for Australia to finish what has been a difficult tour of England tour with a win.”Absolutely, losing 5-0 is not acceptable for the Australian cricket team,” said Carey. “We don’t want that result ever again. Our T20 is going really well, we’re second in the world at the moment and we want to go one better. And we come up against [No.1 ranked] Pakistan in a week’s time as well.”With England playing the cricket they are, they’re going to be red-hot. We’ve got a few new inclusions into the T20 side and I think it’s just really exciting, not to start again, but to go out there and show the T20 cricket we are playing is fantastic. If we can back up the tri-series we had in New Zealand and against England, we’ll be fine.”Carey started the tour as a reserve wicketkeeper behind captain Tim Paine but was brought in for the last two ODIs as an attempt to stiffen Australia’s middle order. He made just six runs at Chester-le-Street but his 44 in the thrilling one-wicket loss at Old Trafford was a valuable contribution in the closest match of the series.”It’s been quite tough watching the boys in the first few games not getting the results we would have liked,” said Carey. “Playing the last few games was a great experience for me, playing over in England, a one-day series against the best side in the world.”But we didn’t win. It would have been nice to get a win on the board but I think we take a lot out of it. I know I personally did sitting back watching the best side in the world go about their business, and how much work we’ve all got to do to lift our game to be ready this time next year.”Carey has relished the opportunity to work with Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist – who has been commentating throughout the tour – and has set some clear goals as a result.”I want to be the best player of spin,” said Carey. “We’ve seen through those middle overs we need to be better – it doesn’t have to be scoring boundaries every ball but at least manipulating the field, being a bit more busy, and getting on top of the spin.”I’ve been speaking to Punter about whatever it is that comes up. There’s so much I’ve spoken to him about and just trying to take what works for me as well. Adam Gilchrist is over here at times and obviously JL [Justin Langer] is pretty good as well. Just taking bits from all these guys and trying to put it into my game without trying to complicate it as well.”After the loss at Old Trafford, Paine – who averaged 7.20 for the series – said he expected his tenure as ODI captain would be up for discussion. Carey’s position as the stand-in ODI keeper and T20 gloveman and vice-captain puts him in prime position to cement his roles in both white-ball teams..”First and foremost, my goal is to do my best behind the stumps and keep really well, and whatever role it is with the bat through the middle overs, play spin really well or if it’s the back end, then try to close the innings,” said Carey. “The off-field stuff will just come, I think. Standing behind the stumps you get to see the game unfold. If I’ve got nothing for Finchy on the day or if I’ve got something to bring in then no worries. It’s a really exciting squad of guys and we’ve all played a fair bit of cricket against and with.”

Home side dismissed for just 76 as Australia legspinner claims women’s Hundred first

ECB Reporters Network13-Aug-2022Alana King took the first hat-trick in the women’s Hundred as Trent Rockets comfortably beat Manchester Originals by 43 runs at Emirates Old Trafford.Fresh from a gold medal for Australia in the Commonwealth Games last weekend, King had a near-perfect day with bat, ball, and in the field, as spin dominated the low-scoring affair.Seven of Originals’ ten wickets fell to spin as they were bowled out in pursuit of 119, after Rockets’ Abbey Freeborn top-scored with an unbeaten 45 off 38 amongst a solid bowling and fielding effort from the home side.But it was King, who scored a quick 19 off nine, claimed 4 for 15 off 20 with the ball, and took a fantastic catch to round her performance off, who will rightly take the headlines.King dismissed Cordelia Griffith, bowled for 12, before Sophie Ecclestone was trapped lbw first ball. With the crowd anticipating something special, Originals’ captain Cross was the victim of the hat-trick ball, as a jubilant King wheeled away in celebration after bowling the England international.After being inserted, Rockets struggled with the bat in the absence of Australia overseas signing Meg Lanning, who is taking an indefinite break from cricket, as they slipped to 43 for 4 after 40 balls.Elyse Villani, standing in as Rockets captain for Nat Sciver, who missed the match for personal reasons, attempted innovation in her three-ball innings, but was out reverse sweeping Hannah Jones for just 4. Marie Kelly, Mignon Du Preez, and Bryony Smith also fell for low scores, as Originals captain Kate Cross utilised the fast-changing nature of the format to introduce all six of her bowlers within the first 30 balls of the match to great effect.Freeborn was the mainstay of the Rockets innings, using a mixture of power and deftness on her way to 45. She was assisted by King’s aggressive 19, including two big sixes over midwicket – the only maximums of the innings – to drag the Rockets to what looked an under-par 119 for 5.The wickets were shared around for Originals with former West Indies player Deandra Dottin’s 2 for 21 from 20 standing out in restricting the Rockets total.Recently retired former South Africa international Lizelle Lee got Originals off to the perfect start, hitting the first ball of the chase for six, and then followed that up with two more fours to take 14 from Katherine Brunt’s opening set of five.However, after Lamb was bowled by Kathryn Bryce for nought, it was Rockets’ spinners that made the key contributions. First, the dangerous Dottin was caught off King without scoring before Sarah Glenn took a spectacular outstretched one-handed catch to dismiss the dangerous Lee for 17. Glenn then struck with her first ball, getting New Zealand’s Amy Satterthwaite stumped.But it was King’s historic hat-trick that the sizeable Mancunian crowd will remember. Her near-perfect day wasn’t over either, as she took an excellent catch diving forward to dismiss Ami Campbell off fellow legspinner Glenn for 13.From there the Originals innings petered out, finishing in disappointing fashion with a run-out to leave them with a heavy 43-run defeat.