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Will Porterfield joins Red Rose after spin specialist opts to pursue opportunities on T20 circuit

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Mar-2024Carl Crowe, Lancashire’s assistant coach, has left the club by mutual consent on the eve of the 2024 county season, in order to pursue new coaching opportunities. He is replaced on the staff by Will Porterfield, who has joined with immediate effect after leaving Gloucestershire.Crowe, 48, played 83 professional games between 1995 and 2009, and worked as a consultant coach with Lancashire’s spinners for the 2020 and 2021 seasons before taking up the assistant role on a full-time basis in late 2021.Previously he had built his reputation on the T20 franchise circuit, including through his extensive work with Sunil Narine.”I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Emirates Old Trafford, but I have decided the time is right in my coaching career to now move on and seek some exciting new opportunities,” Crowe said.
.”It was a pleasure to work for the Red Rose and I am sure that there are successful times ahead for this group. I would like to wish Dale [Benkenstein], Keaton [Jennings], the players and our Members and supporters all the very best for the future.”Lancashire’s director of cricket performance, Mark Chilton, added: “Carl has made the decision to pursue new opportunities in his coaching career and we fully respect his decision to do so. I would like to thank him for all his hard work since joining us permanently in 2021 and wish him the best of luck with what is to come.”The club has enjoyed a really strong and productive relationship with Carl during the past few years and we would certainly be open to working together again in the future in some way, should the right opportunity present itself.”The wheels are already in motion to make a new addition to the coaching staff and we will be making an announcement about this in due course.”

Porterfield reunites with Benkenstein at Lancashire

Will Porterfield captained Ireland across all three formats•Getty Images

Porterfield, the former Ireland captain who played for Gloucestershire and Warwickshire, has moved to Old Trafford in order to link up with Benkenstein once again. Porterfield moved into coaching in 2022 after retiring as a player, spending two seasons under Benkenstein on the staff at Bristol.”I’m really pleased that Will has been able to join me at Emirates Old Trafford ahead of the new season and look forward to continuing our working relationship,” Benkenstein said. “Will and I worked together for two years in Bristol and I think that he will add real skill and experience to our coaching staff here at Lancashire, both from his playing days and first steps into coaching.”With Will and Craig White alongside me, I am really pleased to have my coaching team finalised as we head off on pre-season tour this week before the season gets underway in April.”Finally, I would also like to thank Carl Crowe for all of his efforts during our brief time working together here at Lancashire and I wish him all the best with his next steps.”

Kushal Bhurtel’s 99 had helped Nepal post 290 for 8 but it never looked overwhelming for Zimbabwe

Danyal Rasool18-Jun-20231:36

Williams: I’m going to give that one to my dad

An unbroken 164-run partnership between Craig Ervine and Sean Williams saw Zimbabwe canter to an eight-wicket victory against Nepal to open their World Cup Qualifier campaign. At a packed Harare Sports Club, Ervine played a captain’s knock to ensure Nepal’s 290 for 8 never looked overwhelming for his side, his fourth ODI hundred the highlight of a brilliant Zimbabwean batting performance. Williams went one better, scoring Zimbabwe’s fastest-ever hundred to help the side wrap up the game with nearly six overs to spare.Zimbabwe started brightly in their pursuit, with Joylord Gumbie taking advantage of the powerplay to strike early boundaries and get the side off to a punchy start. After Sompal Kami trapped him in front, Wesley Madhevere and Ervine continued in the same vein. Zimbabwe were particularly adept at rotating the strike, and quick to punish the loose deliveries. With Nepal’s attack ill-equipped to threaten, especially on a surface as docile as this, the home side had the experience of knowing the game was theirs to lose.That experience proved especially salient when Williams joined his fellow old hand Ervine at the crease. Madhevere had been done in by the short ball, but these two left-handers were perfectly equipped to handle Nepal’s spin. Crucially, they went about neutering Sandeep Lamichhane from the very first over, getting on top of his variations and punishing him whenever he erred in line and length.In the end, the only person discombobulated by Lamichhane’s variety was the bowler himself as he struggled for rhythm. Zimbabwe ensured he registered his second-most expensive figures in ODI cricket, 10-0-77-0, and was wicketless just the third in his career.Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh added 171 for the first wicket for Nepal•ICC/Getty Images

Williams was instrumental in taking pressure off his captain, happy to take on the role of the aggressor. This reflected in the speed with which he brought up his 34th half-century, taking just 41 balls. By then, the asking rate had been tamed, brought down well below six. Soon after a caress through the covers brought up Ervine’s hundred, and as cries of “captain” broke out from the Harare crowd, their leader saluted them back.Ervine took 111 balls for his hundred, and Williams wouldn’t be content with just a half-century either. He continued accelerating as Zimbabwe turned the chase into a formality, and the only obstacle to his century was that Zimbabwe were running out of runs to chase. But with five runs required, he slashed Gulshan Jha to the wide long-off boundary to level the scores. His hundred came in just 70 balls, and the Castle Corner was only too happy to get on its feet again.Nepal had begun so much brighter than they ended, a sensational 171-run opening stand between Kushal Bhurtel and Aasif Sheikh providing the dream platform on a placid pitch to go and push ahead past 300. But when Bhurtel, whose stroke-making all day had been sublime, was cruelly cleaned up by Wellington Masakadza on 99, Nepal’s day turned. Sheikh fell soon after, and Zimbabwe’s fingerspinners sent them back into rebuilding mode.There were cameos, especially from Kushal Malla and captain Rohit Paudel, but Richard Ngarava seared through the middle order with four wickets, and the innings began to peter out. The last five overs saw just 32 runs scored, and when the players went in for lunch, the sense was that Nepal had well and truly lost momentum.In the end, with Williams and Ervine in that kind of form, none of it might have mattered after all. As the players indulged in a lap of honour to thank a crowd that had stayed back to celebrate, this day in Harare truly belonged to Zimbabwe.

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.”

Sri Lanka never had enough as Bangladesh chased 133 in just 16.3 overs

Mohammad Isam16-Jul-2025Career-best contributions from Mahedi Hasan and Tanzid Hasan powered Bangladesh to a series-winning eight-wicket win against Sri Lanka. The home side had blown away Bangladesh in the first game in Pallekele, but the visitors fought back in the second game in Dambulla, before this win in Colombo. Bangladesh have previously only once turned around from 1-0 down to win a three-match T20I series, against West Indies seven years ago.Mahedi took 4 for 11, in a spell that never let Sri Lanka change gears due to constant wickets. This was an apt reward for a bowler who had been out of the side for Bangladesh’s previous four T20Is. By the time his spell was over, Bangladesh were in control, and they seldom looked in trouble thereafter.Tanzid cracked an unbeaten 47-ball 73, ensuring Bangladesh strolled through their 133-run chase. He struck six sixes, all of them with a bit of class and nonchalance.Sri Lanka had earlier chosen to bat at the toss – an unusual decision given the lopsided results for sides batting first at the R Premadasa Stadium. After the quick boundaries Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis hit in the match’s first over, captain Charith Asalanka may have thought he had made the right call. As it turned out, by the end of the evening, the home side has lost every time they decided to bat first at this ground in night matches.The Sri Lanka innings never got going•AFP via Getty Images

Mahedi makes a comeback statement

The game began at top speed. Shoriful Islam removed Kusal Mendis in the first over, caught at the deep backward square leg boundary. Mahedi, who had replaced Mehidy Hasan Miraz for this game, jumped into action from the other end. He had Kusal Perera caught at slip for a duck.Chandimal, returning to the T20I side after more than three years, survived two out of three chances in the space of six balls – Tanzim Hasan Sakib and Mustafizur Rahman dropped catches off his bat. Soon after, Chandimal top-edged Mahedi with a slog and was caught at point.Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka was next to go, on the receiving end of what might have been the ball of the series. Mahedi got the ball to turn just enough to beat Asalanka’s backfoot push, flattening the off-stump.Nissanka was dismissed for 46, Mahedi completing a simple caught-and-bowled chance to claim his fourth wicket. Sri Lanka were 66 for 5 in the 11th over.Mahedi Hasan celebrates a wicket en route to his four-for•Associated Press

Shanaka’s last-gasp blast

Bangladesh kept picking up Sri Lanka’s wickets through the middle and death overs, but could not dislodge Dasun Shanaka. He unleashed his shots in the last over, taking 22 off Shoriful, who finished with 1 for 50 from his four overs.Shanaka hammered two fours and two sixes – one of which was hit out of the stadium – as the packed Khettarama crowd finally cleared their collective throats. The big-hitting bumped up Sri Lanka’s total to 132 for 7 in 20 overs, which had looked unlikely for most of an otherwise placid innings.

Litton, Tanzid topple Thushara’s early blow

Nuwan Thushara gave Sri Lanka what they needed to defend 132: a wicket off the first ball. Thusara trapped Parvez Hossain Emon lbw with an in-dipper, which he perhaps telegraphed with his slinging action, but it dipped late on Emon. Litton Das survived another lbw appeal with a review in the next over, but he was constantly looking for boundaries.Bangladesh’s counterattack came to the fore with Tanzid hitting Maheesh Theekshana over extra cover for the first six. Litton clattered Fernando over square-leg in the next over, before Tanzid launched Asalanka for two straight sixes. Tanzid’s fourth six was a slog against a Jeffrey Vandersay floater.By the eighth over, Bangladesh had sped to 71 for 1.Litton Das and Tanzid Hasan ensured Bangladesh were never in trouble•AFP via Getty Images

Tanzid leaves Sri Lanka in disarray

Kamindu Mendis ended the second-wicket stand worth 74 runs when he had Litton caught at the deep square-leg boundary. Litton made 32 off 26 balls with two fours and a six – an excellent supporting act for the marauding Tanjid.Tanjid didn’t let Litton’s dismissal – against the run of play – slow him down, as he struck a fifth six. He then followed it up with a tickled boundary to reach his fifth half-century in T20Is. Tanzid’s attack had Sri Lanka in disarray, who were guilty of several misfields. Theekshana dropped Tanzid on 60 – a straightforward chance he fluffed trying to run in too hard.But the over ended with Tanzid hammering Kamindu for his sixth six. Hridoy also struck a maximum of his own, before taking the winning run in the 17th over.Tanzid let out a loud yelp, although it was in front of a quiet home crowd.

Explosive batter riding a new wave into his Ashes debut

Vithushan Ehantharajah14-Jun-2023Of the players arriving into this Ashes riding the crest of England’s nu-wave, Harry Brook is probably at its very peak. Which explains the confidence he has in stating the faster Australia bowl, the quicker they will get sent to the boundary.”Obviously they might have a little bit of extra pace, but if they bowl quicker it tends to go to the boundary quicker,” he said, when asked about the arsenal of the visiting quicks. They will be the best and sharpest he has faced so far. And he doesn’t seem all that bothered by them at all.All to a man speak of belief and a love of being where they are and doing what they are doing. But few wear it as proudly as Brook. The 24-year-old has tangible proof of just how highly he is regarded in the England set-up.That the return of 2022’s Bazball totem Jonny Bairstow meant losing Ben Foakes, a reliable performer and certainly a superior wicketkeeper, was a testament to how the Yorkshire wunderkind has made the position his own. Seven caps in, 818 runs, four centuries, averaging 81.80 and striking at 99.03 – in a free-wheeling group, he is non-negotiable.Related

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“There was a lot of talk of me opening the batting – thank god I’m not doing that,” laughed Brook, perhaps remembering a 10-game stint for Yorkshire across 2018 and 2019 in which he averaged 14.94 at the top of the order.”I was never asked. It gives me a lot of confidence knowing that I’m going to be batting five and they back me batting there.”To have established himself so early and in such fashion – after picking up a T20 World Cup winners’ medal, he then toured Pakistan and New Zealand, scoring more runs in nine innings than any in Test history – speaks to a high base level of self-regard dovetailing with undoubted ability. The drive to get to this level has been evident throughout, and the enthusiasm to replicate the exploits of the England stars of 2005 – a fond series for him, albeit on DVD years after given he was six at the time – is clear. Some of his mates will be on hand in the Hollies, and will no doubt toast Brook’s Ashes debut repeatedly throughout the day.This Test, however, is the first with a sense of responsibility around Brook, even if the McCullum-Stokes ethos is geared towards quashing anything that promotes caution. That he feels part of it all is in some way an acceptance of those expectations.”It’s a dream come true to be involved in my first Ashes,” said Brook. “Growing up I was watching some of these players who are still playing, against the best in the world and the best Australians. I’m looking forward to it.”I feel like I’m more part of the team now. Obviously as a deputy you don’t quite feel like you’re meant to be there if you know what I mean. So to have been contributing and gain a few match-winning performances this winter has meant the world and I feel a big part of the team now.”Harry Brook launches a drive down the ground•Getty Images

That Bairstow is behind him offers him license to go even harder, if that is possible. And with Moeen Ali behind the keeper-batter, Brook is excited by the prospect of seeing how a blockbuster lower-middle-order can perform out in the middle.”It’s a long batting line-up, that’s for sure. There’s a lot of T20 experience in there and lads batting with the tail tend to go harder and hit as many runs in a short period of time. To have them boys batting at seven and eight is ridiculous really.”That Brook has never faced Australia – the match at last year’s World Cup was rained off – puts a little bit extra on this. There is no doubt he will be the subject of a lot of their attention. The numbers – what he’s posted and his age – have put a target on his back, and he will not be lost for people to talk to when batting as the visitors look to disrupt his flow.There is no doubt the man will be willing to go toe-to-toe and give a bit back. He is certainly aiming to carry on his domineering ways out in the middle, even against the best attack in the world right now. And especially against one of the modern era’s premiere off-spinners in Nathan Lyon.”If I get a good ball I’m going to try and survive against that good ball, and if he bowls me a bad ball I’ll try and hit it for four or six. So it’s not necessarily I’m going to come after him and try and hit every ball for six. I’m going to respect the bowler and whatever he bowls and if it is a bad ball I’ll try and hit it for six.”

After losing to Sydney Sixers they were straight on a plane to Perth for Tuesday’s Eliminator final

Andrew McGlashan26-Nov-2023Sydney Sixers 126 for 1 (Perry 82*) beat Sydney Thunder 123 (Knight 38, Litchfield 34, Gardner 4-26) by nine-wicketsSydney Thunder were left having to undertake a hasty cross-country journey in their bid to reach the WBBL final after falling to defeat against local rivals Sixers at the SCG.Victory would have secured Thunder a home Challenger final on Wednesday, but instead they will have to take the long route to the final – in every sense – after Ellyse Perry’s unbeaten 82 secured a comfortable nine-wicket win.Thunder will now face Brisbane Heat in the Eliminator on Tuesday at the WACA before the winner backs up against Perth Scorchers a day later in a bid to play Adelaide Strikers in next Saturday’s final.Such is the condensed nature of schedule, the Thunder players boarded a coach to the airport immediately after the Sixers match concluded to catch a five-hour flight to Perth and ensure they had a day to prepare in the city on Monday.Thunder’s regular season has stuttered to a conclusion after they were well placed to push for top spot a couple of weeks ago. Instead, five defeats in their last six games has seen them cling onto fourth place meaning they (and Heat) will have to win three matches to take the title.”It’s frustrating, there was that real carrot of staying in Sydney and having a home semi-final,” Thunder captain Heather Knight said. “But, I’ve just said to the girls now, if you’d said at the start of the year that we were going to make finals after winning just [five] games in two years we’d have taken it.”We are obviously going to have to do things the hard way now with a flight over there and win three games to try and win it. We’ve got to park what happened in the back of the group stages and move on.”Against Sixers, in front of a crowd of 7118 to complete the three days of matches at major stadiums, a batting collapse proved costly as Thunder lost their last eight wickets for 39 including the last five in the space of 11 balls.Although the tempo hadn’t been high, Chamari Athapaththu and Phoebe Litchfield had laid a foundation only for the innings to crumble after they fell. Litchfield was going along nicely when she rifled a drive to mid-off which was well held by Suzie Bates.From there, wickets tumbled against Sixers’ spin duo of Ashleigh Gardner and Linsey Smith while three run outs added to their problems. Knight attempted to hold the innings together with a run-a-ball 38.Thunder thought they had broken through early when Sam Bates had Suzie Bates lbw, but DRS showed there had been a thin bottom edge on the sweep.From there an opening stand of 59, dominated by Perry, set the base for the chase before Bates fell to a brilliant leg-side stumping by Tahlia Wilson. But Perry eased to a 44-ball fifty and finished the game in a rush of boundaries leaving Thunder to collect their already-packed bags and head straight to the airport.