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The England opener has opened up a controversial episode in his career saying it was ‘a really, really tough time’

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Oct-2024Ben Duckett has lifted the lid on the incident that saw him sent home from Australia during the 2017-18 Ashes after pouring a drink over James Anderson, revealing Anderson threw a drink over him first before feeling bad and encouraging Duckett to return the favour.Duckett was part of the Lions tour at the time, desperate to add to four Test caps picked up from tours of Bangladesh and India at the end of 2016. The indiscretion ended up setting him back as he was sent home with a fine and suspension from the ECB. He eventually returned to the Lions set-up at the end of 2018.The incident took place before the third Test against Australia, at Perth’s Avenue Bar, with England 2-0 down and subject to intense scrutiny of their off-field behaviour. The venue had already gained notoriety on the tour after Jonny Bairstow “greeted” Cameron Bancroft at the bar by butting heads ahead of the series, a story that emerged with falsely malicious undertones during the culmination of England’s loss at the Gabba in the first Test.Related

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The ECB was already on high alert heading to Australia after Ben Stokes was charged with affray in September of that year, before being found not guilty in 2018. Duckett’s misdemeanour ended up being the final straw, prompting a midnight curfew instilled following the Bairstow-Bancroft episode to be made permanent, though it has been relaxed intermittently since.At the time, head coach Trevor Bayliss could not contain his anger, telling reporters: “It’s a fairly trivial incident but, in the current climate, it’s just not acceptable”. Anderson used his column in the to downplay what he regarded as “a pretty silly incident”.Both Bayliss and managing director Andrew Strauss – who had to insist England players were not “thugs” after losing the first Test in the wake of the Bairstow’s “headbutt” – put their foot down as allegations of a booze culture prevailed. England ended up succumbing to a 4-0 series defeat. By then, Duckett had already returned home as part of the collateral.Seven years on, Duckett is an established international, and with Anderson now retired – though he remains part of the Test set-up as a bowling consultant – he is comfortable clarifying that he was not the instigator on that fateful night in Perth, and that he feared his England career was over.”Jimmy actually threw a drink on me, but no one knows about that,” Duckett told podcast. “And then said, ‘oh, we’re just messing around. You can just lob one on my head. That’s fine.’ Genuinely. So then I just poured one on his head and the security guard saw me from the ECB, who looks after us, and it filtered back.”That was kind of basically the story. We carried on the rest of the night together, getting on well. That’s the story that’s got blown up. Then obviously when things start getting out in the media and everyone’s saying all this stuff, then everyone believes that like that. And as soon as a story or a headline’s out there, ‘well that’s what happened then’.”But then you can’t really come out and say what I’ve just said, because I’m a young lad trying to break into the England team. It’s one of the best ever England players, you know? And people didn’t really want to hear me.The 2017-18 Ashes tour was largely a miserable one for England•Getty Images

“It was actually a really, really tough time. People look back and it’s probably funny and stuff like that. But when you’re in Australia and you’re kind of being told you can’t go to training, you can’t play – it’s a lonely place for a 22-year-old.”And being in Australia, you’re not getting much sympathy from any anyone out there, are you? But yeah, it was one of those things where… it feels like your world’s ending. The time difference, you’re not speaking to family much. The lads around me in that group at the time were amazing.”Duckett’s subsequent emergence as an England regular across has allowed him to put a positive spin on that period of his career. Only Joe Root (2250) has more than Duckett’s 1980 runs since returning to the Test side as an opener at the end of 2022, at a strike rate of 88.55, with four centuries.The left-hander was one of just three batters to average over 50 in the recent 2-1 series defeat to Pakistan. He is also set to be a vital cog in the rejuvenation of the limited overs set-up, led by Test head coach Brendon McCullum who will assume control of England’s white-ball sides in the new year.While Duckett feared for his future after that 2017-18 winter, he believes the resolve it bred has been integral to developing as a mainstay across all three formats.”It’s not that moment that was the issue. It was, you know, for the next 12 months, it was, ‘you’re basically on hold now for a little while’. Which for a 23 [year-old]… that’s kind of a bad time to basically get told you’ve got no chance here.”It does make you grow up a little bit faster and stuff and dealing with what I had to deal with probably made me a little bit more resilient as a person and probably a bit tougher.”All these things now, in a really weird way, I wouldn’t change much of it because, where I am right now, when I play for England, it’s like I don’t want to give that shirt to anyone else.”I’ve probably not made things easy at times. I’m not a saint and an angel, and I probably was an easy target at the time. That would be the only thing I’ll say – whether it was dealt right or wrong, that’s for people to make their own mind up.”

New Zealand ended 476 runs ahead after day two as Zimbabwe looked tired on a flat surface

Firdose Moonda08-Aug-2025Centuries from Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls and Rachin Ravindra took New Zealand to their highest total against Zimbabwe, and a 476-run first innings lead in the second Test. They have not declared, and have plenty of batting to come. With conditions suited to the filling of boots, and with three days left in the game, New Zealand might be eyeing more on a flat surface against a tired opposition.Already, three of New Zealand’s line-up have given them food for thought ahead of the next World Test Championship cycle. Conway brought up 2000 Test runs and his fifth hundred, two-and-a-half years and 32 innings since his last – against Pakistan in Karachi in January 2023. Nicholls’ century was his tenth in the format and an important one after he was left out of the XI for all of 2024. And Ravindra’s hundred was his third and fastest, off just 104 balls.Zimbabwe had three bowlers bring up unwanted triple-figure scores of their own. Blessing Muzarabani, Trevor Gwandu and Vincent Masekesa all conceded more than a hundred runs. They were also the only bowlers among the seven Zimbabwe used to get themselves among the wickets, though Gwandu’s came on the first day. Zimbabwe have bowled 130 overs in the match so far, including 91 on the second day.New Zealand resumed their innings in cold conditions on 174 for 1 on the second morning, 49 runs ahead of Zimbabwe. If there was anything to be offered from the overheads, Zimbabwe were unable to make much use of it. The first ball was short and wide, and Conway cut it for four in a sign of what was to come. To Tanaka Chivanga’s credit, he managed to hurry nightwatcher Jacob Duffy into two pulls – but the first fell short of mid-on, and the second short of midwicket. Duffy, though, got it right off Muzarabani, and his stand with Conway grew to fifty. Their partnership was worth 62 when Conway drove Muzarabani through mid-off to bring up his century off 143 balls.Brian Bennett did well to catch nightwatcher Jacob Duffy•Zimbabwe Cricket

Duffy batted for 13.2 overs on the second morning, and almost the full first hour, before he pulled Masekesa to short midwicket, where Brian Bennett moved quickly to his right to take a good catch. But Zimbabwe’s joy was short lived as that wicket brought Nicholls to the crease, and they would go 30 overs without another wicket.Nicholls took his time to get himself in, with nine runs off the first 25 balls he faced, before he was gifted a full toss from Masekesa and sent it to the square-leg boundary. That set Nicholls on his way, and he was particularly successful against spin, as Zimbabwe turned to their slower bowlers while waiting for the second new ball. In total, Nicholls scored 96 runs off Zimbabwe’s four spinners.New Zealand went to lunch on 306 for 2, with a lead of 181, and with the second new ball nine overs away. Before it arrived, Nicholls got to fifty and then Conway to 150 off the final delivery with the old ball.Zimbabwe took the second new ball as soon as it became available, and Muzarabani seemed to find some extra bounce. With a zip in his step, Muzarabani thought he had Nicholls lbw with a delivery that angled in and hit him on the pad, but must have been going down leg, and then did get Conway. Bizarrely, Conway shouldered arms to a back-of-a-length ball that he must have thought was going over the stumps but instead hit his body and ricocheted onto off stump. He was dismissed 2.3 overs into the second new ball.Henry Nicholls scored his tenth Test hundred•Zimbabwe Cricket

Conway’s dismissal did little to halt Nicholls’ momentum. He hit Chivanga wide of point for four as Ravindra arrived, also slightly circumspect. Ravindra scored seven runs off the first 13 balls he faced but then raced to 26 off 24 balls after carving Muzarabani up through extra cover, past gully and over the leg side for three fours in the sixth over of his spell. Zimbabwe were soon back to spin, and though Sikandar Raza occasionally beat the bat with flight, there was very little threat from Zimbabwe. By tea, New Zealand were 302 runs ahead.The final session was all New Zealand as Nicholls brought up his century when he flicked Gwandu past mid-on and ran three. Ravindra took back-to-back to back boundaries off the rest of the over to race to 75. The boundaries dried up from there on, and Ravindra had to work hard for his next 25 runs. But he got them in 36 balls, and then hammered Raza through extra cover for four for good measure. With milestones up for both batters and 500 up for New Zealand, they played with freedom and scored 88 runs off the last 11 overs in the day.Nicholls and Ravindra both reached 150, as Conway had done earlier in the day, to make only the third time in Test history that three batters had crossed that landmark in a Test. Neither Nicholls nor Ravindra looks ready to stop just yet – which could mean another long day in the field for a weary Zimbabwe side whose winless streak seems set to continue.

Nishan Madushka, Kasun Rajitha and Nisala Tharaka make way from the group that toured England

Madushka Balasuriya16-Sep-2024Top-order batter Oshada Fernando has returned to Sri Lanka’s Test fold following an 18-month absence, but this means there is no room for opening batter Nishan Madushka in Sri Lanka’s 16-man squad for this month’s two-Test series against New Zealand at home. Of those that toured England, fast-bowling allrounder Nisala Tharaka and seamer Kasun Rajitha are the other two to be left out.Oshada’s return follows an impressive showing with the A team, who are currently touring South Africa. The 32-year-old batter, who has played 21 Tests, struck 122 and 80 on the way to a Player-of-the-Match showing, as Sri Lanka A won the first of two unofficial Tests in Kimberley. The performances were enough for the selectors to curtail his time in South Africa and shoehorn him into a Test squad for the first time since March 2023.Madushka was unsurprisingly the odd man out, following a difficult tour of England where he accumulated scores of 4, 0, 7 and 13 over the first two Tests before being dropped for the third. His replacement at the top of the order, Pathum Nissanka, struck a match-winning century in the final Test, which now means there is no natural spot in the playing XI for the 25-year-old wicketkeeper.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Neither Tharaka nor Rajitha played a game in England, and with the seamers that did – Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando and Milan Rathnayake – impressing, Sri Lanka’s seam contingent was already overstocked considering the spin-friendly conditions expected in Galle.Despite his recall, though, Oshada might find it difficult to secure a spot in what is a fairly settled batting order. Dimuth Karunaratne, Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis are all likely to retain their places in the XI, while Ramesh Mendis might slot in at No. 8 to bolster both the batting and spin-bowling ranks. There is also Sadeera Samarawickrama waiting in the wings.Related

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With the remaining three slots going to lead spinner Prabath Jayasuriya and two others – likely two seamers, or possibly even an extra spinner in Jeffrey Vandersay – it’s hard to see where Oshada fits in unless one of the senior men in Mathews or Karunaratne makes way.Both Tests will take place in Galle with the first Test beginning on September 18.

Sri Lanka Test squad against New Zealand

Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Oshada Fernando, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Prabath Jayasuriya, Ramesh Mendis, Jeffrey Vandersay, Milan Rathnayake

He became only the third bowler in men’s T20 cricket to take seven in an innings

Mohammad Isam02-Jan-2025Taskin Ahmed became only the third bowler in history to take a seven-wicket haul in men’s T20s, claiming 7 for 19 in Durbar Rajshahi’s Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) match against Dhaka Capitals. It is also the best bowling figures in the BPL’s history, beating Mohammad Amir’s 6 for 17 for Khulna Tigers in 2020.Taskin continues to be consistent in all formats after he finished 2024 with 63 international wickets at 19.23, Bangladesh’s biggest haul in the year.He emulated Colin Ackermann, who was the first bowler to take seven wickets in a T20 – in a Vitality Blast game in 2019 – and Malaysia’s Syazrul Idrus, who took seven for Malaysia against China in 2023.After Dhaka decided to bat at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Taskin removed both openers Litton Das and Tanzid Hasan in his first two overs. He bowled a ripper to Litton, who fended the short ball towards first slip, before Tanzid was caught behind chasing a wide one.Dhaka recovered in the middle overs before Taskin returned with the wicket of Shahadat Hossain in the 17th over. Beaten by a slower ball, Shahadat holed out to Ryan Burl who took a sharp catch at long-on. Taskin had Chaturanga de Silva later in the same over, before a triple-wicket final over. Alauddin Babu was the first to go in the 20th, skying one to mid-off, before Taskin yorked Mukidul Islam. He missed out on the hat-trick but got Shubham Ranjane next ball to finish with 4-0-19-7.The glut of wickets in the last four overs slowed Dhaka down significantly, leaving Rajshahi with a moderate 175 to chase. They reached the target in the 19th over, with seven wickets in hand.Taskin said it was a proud moment for him, becoming the bowler with the best figures in the BPL. “I have always thought about taking a lot of wickets. If you don’t visualise it, you can’t make it happen. Obviously you need luck to take wickets. I am happy that I could execute my plans… It is a great feeling that I could deliver whenever my captain brought me into the attack.””It is always special to take a five-wicket haul in every format,” he added. “I have taken three or four wickets plenty of times. You need luck to get five. I am really happy. It’s a big deal for me. I am from Bangladesh so I will remember holding this BPL record.”Taskin said that he was happy with the type of pitches on offer at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, with the surfaces mostly sporting. “I think there is little margin for error. We can’t get away with any lose deliveries. Pitches are great for batters, who face a bit of challenge only against the new ball. I think such pitches will help us in the Champions Trophy [in February] where we will play on mostly good batting tracks in Pakistan and UAE.”

Freya Kemp set to bat at No. 5 at Edgbaston in allrounder’s absence

Valkerie Baynes10-May-2024Nat Sciver-Brunt will miss England’s opening T20I against Pakistan at Edgbaston on Saturday after undergoing a “minor medical procedure”, her captain Heather Knight has revealed on the eve of the match.Knight said the absence of allrounder Sciver-Brunt opened the door for left-hander Freya Kemp to bat at No. 5. Allrounder Kemp is in England’s T20I squad purely as a batter as she continues her return from a back problem.”Nat Sciver-Brunt is unavailable tomorrow,” Knight told reporters on Friday. “She’ll be available for the next game. She’s had a minor medical procedure, so this game tomorrow comes a little bit too soon for her.”We obviously played those three T20s in New Zealand without her as well and without a few other players, so that gave us an opportunity to find out about a few people and add to our depth a little bit. There’s some good young allrounders coming through. Dani Gibson has been impressive, particularly with the ball at the back end. Freya Kemp is obviously a massive clean ball-striker and a left-hander which we don’t have a lot of in England, and when she’s back bowling as well, she’ll become a real asset.”There’s some really good talent coming through. It is just about guiding those younger players and keeping them on the right track to fulfil the potential that they have.”Related

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Maia Bouchier enjoyed a breakthrough tour of New Zealand in March, making the most of her opportunities at the top of the order amid the late arrivals of Danni Wyatt and Sciver-Brunt from the WPL as England won the T20I series 4-1.That tour was an important stepping stone in England’s build-up to the T20 Women’s World Cup in Bangladesh in October, as is this visit by Pakistan and the upcoming home series against New Zealand in June and July.”In New Zealand I felt like our T20 game evolved a little bit,” Knight said. “We played on pitches that were slightly more tricky in the powerplay, slightly bigger boundaries, and we had to play a slightly different game. That was really good for us. It probably added a few more tools in our bag and made us be a bit smarter with how we attacked, and how we put pressure back on the bowlers. There was a lot more hitting into pockets, hitting twos, it was harder to hit sixes out there.”I feel like that’s evolved us a lot as a side and evolved our method a little bit. That’s going to be the same in Bangladesh, it’s conditions that we haven’t played a huge amount of cricket in as a squad, so it’s about having as many skills in our cricket toolbox to try and call upon when we need them, and building settled positions. As a bowling unit as well, having different people to bowl in different positions and giving opportunities as and when there is the chance to do that.”Heather Knight during a practice session in Birmingham•PA Images via Getty Images

Meanwhile Pakistan are coming off the back of a disappointing tour by West Indies, who won their T20I series 4-1 and swept the ODIs 3-0. But Knight said there would be no complacency in her side as a result.”They’ve had some good results as well in New Zealand, they won that series away, which is a really good result for them,” Knight said of a Pakistan side captained by Nida Dar since last year, taking over from Bismah Maroof who recently retired from international cricket.”They’ve also got a new captain and a few retirements in their team and that quite often I think brings energy and reinvigorates the team, so we’re certainly not underestimating them at all. They’ve obviously got a few gaps to fill, so it’d be interesting who they bring in and what young talent they potentially bring in. It’ll be a good challenge for us.”The match in Birmingham is the first of three T20Is between the sides, with games in Northampton and Leeds to follow ahead of a three-match ODI series.

The visiting quicks made outstanding use of the new ball, which had been the most difficult period to bat in this game

Andrew McGlashan06-Jul-2025Australia made swift work of securing a 133-run victory on the fourth day in Grenada, and with it retained the Frank Worrell Trophy which they have held since 1995, as West Indies’ batting crumbled to 143 all out midway through the afternoon session.Australia’s last three wickets were able to add only 22 runs to the overnight total, but despite positive talk the previous evening, a target of 277 was always going to be a tall order for West Indies. In the end, it barely appeared as a dot on the horizon as they lost four wickets in less than 13 overs before lunch, including another Hall of Fame delivery from Pat Cummins to take Brandon King’s off stump.Related

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Mitchell Starc’s 3 for 24 left him on 395 wickets heading into his 100th Test in Jamaica, and Nathan Lyon ended the match with a superb catch over his shoulder from his own bowling to finish within one of Glenn McGrath’s tally of 563 as the second-most for Australia.The visiting quicks made outstanding use of the new ball, which had been the most difficult period to bat in in this game. Deliveries leapt to take the gloves regularly, while there was always the fear in the back of a batters’ mind that one would scuttle low. Roston Chase and Shai Hope briefly counterattacked after lunch, but it would have needed something extraordinary to turn the game around. In all, 13 wickets fell in 41.3 overs on the fourth day.The pattern had been similar to Barbados: West Indies had stayed with Australia across the first two days but couldn’t sustain the challenge. In this instance, it was the runs of Cameron Green and Steven Smith in the second innings which made a key difference.The Grenada pitch played into Josh Hazlewood’s hands•Associated Press

Josh Hazlewood, who has been outstanding in this series on pitches ideally suited to his hammering of the back-of-a-length, set the tone as Australia set about defending their total, pinning John Campbell lbw with his second delivery.Further wickets never felt far away. Keacy Carty was handed a life on 5 when Beau Webster couldn’t haul in a high chance at second slip – given how brilliant he is in the cordon, he would probably have expected to gather it – and Carty was given a painful working over with numerous blows on the hand and body. At one point, Australia had two short legs.Starc ended Carty’s difficult stay with an outside edge from around the wicket, and former captain Kraigg Brathwaite, in his 100th Test, fell for his fourth single-figure score of the series when he nibbled at one in Webster’s first over.Briefly, King defied the conditions, getting off the mark first ball with a blistering cover drive against Starc before repeating the dose to Hazlewood. He added a straight drive off Cummins to suggest a repeat of the first innings could be possible but, having seen Green drop a very tough chance at third slip low to his left, could do nothing to keep out Cummins.The delivery after the ball was changed – a frequent event in this match as it was in Barbados – Cummins angled one in towards off stump which straightened, skimmed past the edge and smashed off stump. It brought back memories of Joe Root at Old Trafford during the 2019 Ashes.Roston Chase made a counter-attacking 34•Associated Press

With nothing much to lose, Chase and Hope played their shots after the interval with numerous deliveries flying in the air but away from fielders. Chase emphatically sent Webster down the ground for six, too. But it was a high-risk strategy that wouldn’t last long, and Hope fell to a top-edged pull when Hazlewood returned in place of Cummins.Chase produced a magnificent flick for six over midwicket against Starc, which left even the bowler impressed, but was given out lbw four deliveries later to bail-trimmer from around the wicket. In his next over, Starc trapped Justin Greaves with one that shot through at ankle height.Alzarri Joseph had launched his first two deliveries for six against Lyon but was well held by Green running around the midwicket rope when he attempted another. As he had done in Barbados, Shamar Joseph also hit out and collected three sixes before finding long-on after Lyon had changed ends. Lyon was taken for six sixes in less than six overs, but had the final say.The final Test in Jamaica, which will be a day-nighter at Sabina Park, begins on July 12.

Konstas is set to be on the bench for the second Test against Sri Lanka too but head coach McDonald has suggested the WTC final line-up will have a different look

Andrew McGlashan04-Feb-2025Travis Head has backed Sam Konstas to regain his place as opener for the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s where Australia are likely to face a batting squeeze given the recent success of their debutants.Konstas burst into international cricket against India at the MCG and was named Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year at last night’s Australian Cricket Awards. But he was left out of the opening Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, and won’t feature in the second starting on Thursday with newspapers reporting he will head back to Australia for Sheffield Shield cricket, after the selectors opted for the horses-for-courses approach they had long planned by using Head alongside Usman Khawaja.Former captains Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke had been among those to push for Konstas to retain his place in Sri Lanka with an eye to the future given the WTC final had been secured, but selector on tour Tony Dodemaide stressed it was not a development trip.The move was vindicated with Head’s 57 off 40 balls setting the agenda in what became one of Australia’s most dominant overseas batting displays as they piled up 654 for 6 which was their highest total in Asia.However, using Head as opener will only remain a realistic option for Australia in certain subcontinent conditions with coach Andrew McDonald already flagging a very different looking batting order against South Africa.Adding to the selectors’ options was the sparkling debut of Josh Inglis who sped to a 90-ball century, which followed Beau Webster’s strong entrance against India in Sydney, while Cameron Green remains on track to be available as a batter for the WTC final following his back surgery.”Most likely I’d go back in the middle order and Sam would open,” Head told reporters in Galle. “But I’m glad I’m not a selector. Josh has had an amazing start, the guys are playing well, Greeny’s going to be fit. So it’s going to be hard to fit [them all] in. I think that’s what we want. We want an Australian cricket team that’s tough to get in.Josh Inglis scored a century on debut•Getty Images

“I think that’s all we’ve ever known is players that are unlucky and players that are in the team and expecting good performances. And that’s where the pressure comes [from], it’s trying to hold your spot every Test, knowing that there’s people behind you. We’re in a strong position. It’s better having seven or eight batters talked about than three or four.”When it emerged that Konstas was likely to lose his spot, stand-in captain Steven Smith stressed the value that could be gained from still being on tour. As it transpired, Konstas spent much of the opening match ill at the team hotel but was back training with the squad on Tuesday.”I know there was a little bit of talk around whether he might play or not, whether there’s a series that, I guess, you can blood [him]. But whether he played or not played, it’s great to have him here and great to have him experience the conditions.”I don’t think there’s been a Test match in the history that they’ve blooded someone or thought there was a free hit. We’re here to win 2-0, and Sam’s a big part of where we’re going. There’s no doubt about it.”For someone to come in and take the game [on] the way he did in Melbourne, the confidence he’s got, it’s a good thing to have a young kid around that’s a bit naive and just plays the game the right way. He’s got a huge future for Australia. It’ll just be how he, over the years, deals with adversity. At this stage, he looks like he deals with it really well.”Head, named the Allan Border Medalist on Monday night after a dominant 12 months, reflected with a degree of satisfaction at being able to play the role asked of him in the opening Test, which included taking three boundaries off the opening over, although added there had not been a preconceived plan to attack from the outset.”It was not by design to go out and score as quick as I did,” he said. “If they present an opportunity to score, I want to score. Probably disappointing [was] the fact that the one risk I took did end up being the one [that got me] out. The percentages, I still felt like I was a chance, but I did flirt with danger and was out.”But sometimes you’ve got to take those risks and sometimes you’ve got to try and push the game. I felt that was the right moment to really try and put the foot down. I guess that’s hard to say in Test cricket, but I felt like I played well, I played positively, I played what the team needed at the time. It goes different ways in terms of what they offer and how they bowl. It was nice I was able to take the opportunity at the start of the Test.”

New Zealand batsman “surprised” to be included in the 13-member squad for the first two Tests against Pakistan

Cricinfo staff21-Nov-2009Peter Fulton, the New Zealand and Canterbury batsman, has said he was “surprised” to be included in the
13-member squad for the first two Tests against Pakistan. Jesse Ryder’s absence through injury has given Fulton a chance to cement his place in the middle order a day after he helped Canterbury beat Otago in the Plunket Shield.”It’s a nice surprise to get, especially after a game like that,” Fulton told the . “When I missed out on the [New Zealand Invitation] team to play [Pakistan] down in Queenstown, I was obviously pissed off. At the back of your mind, you always sort of know that if you score enough runs you can force your way into contention, and that’s how it’s worked out.”Missing out on Queenstown was obviously an indication that I wasn’t really in the frame last week, but the runs I’ve scored this week has helped push my case.”Fulton made 172 in the first innings against Otago to help Canterbury post 440 and then hit 77 as they declared on 265 for 5 in the second, setting Otago a massive 471 to win. They were bowled out for 355.”I was really pleased with how I batted, actually,” said Fulton. “Just the amount of time I was able to spend at the crease and the tempo that I batted with. It was quite even all the way through.”Fulton, 30, has not played a Test since December 2008 and was eager to improve on improve on a batting average of 24.72 from eight matches. “The last nine to 12 months have obviously been pretty disappointing selection-wise, and missing out on a [New Zealand Cricket] contract,” he said. “I’ve had time to reassess where I’m at, and Test cricket is where I want to be, and I worked pretty hard over the winter.”

England indebted to rookie as Sri Lanka’s bowlers probe away on rain-truncated day

Andrew Miller22-Aug-2024England 259 for 6 (Smith 72*) lead Sri Lanka 236 by 23 runsAsitha Fernando produced a compelling display of all-purpose seam and swing bowling, while Prabath Jayasuriya chipped in with two bewilderingly brilliant deliveries in an otherwise steady display of left-arm spin, as Sri Lanka fought gamely to stay in touch on a gloomy second day of the first Test at Emirates Old Trafford.By the close, England were indebted to their rookie keeper, Jamie Smith, who justified his promotion to No. 6 with a hard-earned 72 not out, his third half-century in five innings since taking over from his Surrey team-mate Ben Foakes at the start of the summer. Harry Brook added another fifty of his own as England recovered from a dicey 125 for 4 to close on 259 for 6, with a slender lead of 23 in the bank.As had been the case throughout the West Indies series earlier in the summer, the impression after two days of action is that England should yet close out this contest with some ease, but the quality and spirit of the visitors’ bowling has forced them to graft with rather more diligence than might have been the case in previous incarnations of the Bazball era. Asitha in particular was superb throughout his 14 overs, spread across three key spells, including an incisive mid-innings bout of reverse-swing that belied the dank conditions.After sweating under the covers for several hour during a rainy morning in Manchester, the Old Trafford pitch was ripe for seam bowling when play finally got underway at 1.15pm, and Asitha was primed to cash in. With his bustling approach and a commitment to a full length, he posed problems from the outset, under still-dense cloud cover and with the floodlights in full beam.His performance went into overdrive from the first ball of his second over, when Dan Lawrence was pinned on the pad and given out lbw by umpire Paul Reiffel. Although that decision was successfully overturned, with the ball shown to be skimming over the bails, the information was stored away and perfectly processed by the bowler.Two balls later, and now with Ben Duckett on strike, Asitha fired the ball in a good two feet fuller, and was this time the successful reviewee, with the ball shown to be both pitching on and hitting leg stump as Duckett was turned inside-out on his attempted flick across the line.And in his very next over, Asitha served up the piece de resistance of his new-ball spell, an exceptional wobble-seam delivery, pitching half a foot fuller than the Lawrence ball, and straightening off the pitch to smash into the top of Ollie Pope’s off stump. England’s captain was gone for 6, and at 40 for 2 in the ninth over, England had a bit of a rebuild to undertake.Root is no stranger to skinny top-order scorelines, of course, and as he bedded in for the long haul, it was Lawrence who initiated England’s counterattack, with a brace of forceful whips through the leg side as Asitha strayed in length. But, having scored just four of his 30 runs through the off side, his vulnerability in the channel was superbly exploited by Vishwa Fernando, who nicked him off after a change of ends, using the breeze from the James Anderson End to push a lifter across his bows from his left-arm angle.Jamie Smith gets on top of a pull•Getty Images

Despite the conditions, Sri Lanka were able to find some appreciable reverse-swing off a typically abrasive Old Trafford pitch, meaning that Root and Brook had to be on their mettle even as their 58-run stand clipped along at more than five an over. Milan Rathnayake, Sri Lanka’s first-day hero, was picked off for three fours in an over as he strained for that swinging full length, but it was Asitha’s return to the attack that would prise the most vital wicket of the day.Root had reached 42 from 56 balls in another understated display of touch and timing when he was undone in expert fashion, climbing into a wider line from Asitha while still playing for the inswing that had been the feature of his over to that point. This ball, however, held its line and skidded straight on, and Dinesh Chandimal scooped up the low edge to leave England wobbling at 125 for 4.Brook, however, kept the foot down in his familiarly forceful manner, driving with heavy timing whenever the ball was over-pitched, and working the gaps well, with Sri Lanka’s field still veering towards the defensive given England’s reputation for boundary-hunting. He duly rattled along to a 59-ball half-century, his 14th in just 25 Test innings, and if it was beginning to feel as though something special would be needed to dislodge him, then Jayasuriya obliged shortly after tea.Sri Lanka’s left-arm spinner had been diligent without being threatening for much of his day’s work, when out of the blue, he served up something unplayable: a perfectly pitched ripper that gripped and bounced on middle and leg to clip the top of off. Brook could only blink in astonishment – as, indeed, would Chris Woakes, some 18 overs later, when he fell in near-identical fashion, to almost the only other spinning delivery to deviate from the straight all day.Between those two moments, however, there was Smith, with the third fifty of his fledgling career, and unquestionably the hardest-earned yet. He was forced to graft against the swinging ball early in his innings, although one massive straight six off Jayasuriya signalled his refusal to be cowed, but it was the mid-point of his innings that displayed his savvy – in particular a relative grind through the 40s, after Rathnayake had induced two inside-edges in the space of three deliveries with his probing fourth-stump line outside the rookie’s eyeline.Woakes was the ideal ally for a defensively minded rebuild, as England – a batter light in Ben Stokes’ absence – focused on batting long, rather than rushing into a lead. Sri Lanka’s tactics arguably failed to adapt to the dominance that their bowlers were exerting in this period, although in reducing the pair to a run-rate of less than three an over in their 52-run stand, they succeeded in keeping themselves in the game.And when the light began to fail, only minutes after Woakes’ extraction, there was never any thought of Sri Lanka bowling spin in the gloom for the sake of filling out the overs, as had been England’s approach at the same stage on day one. Dhananjaya de Silva marched his players straight off for the pavilion, with six wickets in the bank, and the prospect of a night’s rest for his quicks before they continue their quest to stay in touch with a quietly engrossing contest.

Knott in the wickets after Adams top-scores with 48, to get back to winning ways

ECB Reporters Network30-May-2024Southern Vipers 173 for 5 (Adams 48, Elwiss 45, Wellington 3-20) Western Storm 145 for 7 (Luff 34*, Knott 4-23) by 28 runsAustralian Charli Knott put Western Storm in a spin to get Southern Vipers back to winning ways in the Charlotte Edwards Cup.Off-spinner Knott tore through Storm with her best T20 figures of four for 23, with a helping hand from some electric wicket-keeping from Rhianna Southby.Georgia Adams had struck 48 to lend herself as the backbone to Vipers’ 173 for five – the side’s second-highest score in the competition’s history – with Georgia Elwiss (45) and Freya Kemp (34) also contributing. Storm could only manage 145 in response to give the hosts a 28-run victory.It meant Vipers – who have now won two from four this season – continued their 100 percent record over Storm in both competitions in the regional era, with their last defeat coming in the 2019 Kia Super League final.Storm chose to field first which saw England quick Issy Wong finally get her first bowl since arriving on loan from Central Sparks – which began with two tidy overs.Knott and Elwiss got motoring in the fourth over as the latter carved back-to-back boundaries off Ellie Anderson – with the pair adding 46, after stands of 47 and 73 in their previous two opening partnerships together.Overseas Knott fell in the seventh over as she took on the ultra-long Utilita Bowl boundaries, the wind and fellow Aussie Amanda-Jade Wellington to offer long on a simple catch.That just began another productive partnership as Adams joined her namesake to add another 40.Elwiss fell five short of a second fifty of the competition when she was strangled on the sweep, but that only began an innings-defining alliance between Adams and Freya Kemp.Kemp was scratchy for large periods but every so often found the middle of her bat to crunch four fours and the innings’ only six, but it was Adams who was the main attraction.The 2023 MVP never looked in trouble as she found gaps and pushed extra runs to score 48, with 70 coming with Kemp.Vipers’ middle-order had cost them two matches, but here they scrambled runs while losing wickets, as they reached 173 but lost Adams and Kemp to Wellington – who returned three for 20 – with Nancy Harman giving Sophia Smale a second wicket.Storm’s reply always struggled to keep with the required rate, which started at just over eights and quickly ballooned over tens and higher.After Nat Wraith had dragged to midwicket, Emma Corney was given a life on five, which she took with consecutive fours off Mary Taylor. But when she was given another on 24 this time she quickly perished due to the rapid hands of a stumping Rhianna Southby.Sophie Luff and Niamh Holland stuck around without making a dent in the chase, their 24 together coming in 23 balls before Southby sensationally stumped Holland off Knott.Knott got Wong out clubbing to cover next ball, and even though her hat-trick ball was a wide, she bounced back to toss one out wide to Alex Griffiths and notch hand Southby another stumping.Wellington and Luff put on 46 but the run-rate had already far outgrown their capabilities as the latter was run out in the penultimate over.Mollie Robbins holed out to the last delivery as Storm remain winless.