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A British passport holder, the quick will not need to represent the county as an overseas player

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jul-2021Daniel Worrall, the 30-year-old Australian quick who played three ODIs in 2016, has signed a three-year contract to play with Surrey. He will join the English county at the start of the 2022 season after wrapping up his Sheffield Shield commitments with South Australia. Worrall, who has been playing for Gloucestershire in the ongoing county season, is a British passport holder, and will thus not have to play at Surrey as an overseas player.”A professional ambition I have always held is to test myself as a cricketer in the UK, complimenting my personal desire to live internationally,” Worrall said in a statement released by Surrey. “Surrey CCC has extended an offer for me to play as a UK local player once my contract finishes in Adelaide at the end of the coming season. I have proudly accepted and am honoured to play for the most prestigious club in the UK.Related

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“I eagerly look forward to contributing to an already outstanding club history and fulfil my ambitions as an English cricketer in the second phase of my career.”By signing with Surrey, Worrall will give up his role as a local player for South Australia.”I’d like to welcome Dan to Surrey CCC. He is a high-quality bowler with a wealth of experience in Sheffield Shield, Big Bash and County cricket to draw on,” Surrey director of cricket Alec Stewart said. “With no Rikki Clarke [retiring at the end of this season] or Jade Dernbach [leaving the club after 19 seasons with them] with us next year, the need to add to our pool of fast bowling options to play for the Club over the course of our punishing six-month season was crucial and Dan will add significant experience and expertise to the group we already have in place.”Worrall’s stint in international cricket wasn’t too successful, as he picked up just one wicket in those three ODIs – one against Ireland and two against South Africa – but has 222 wickets from 58 first-class matches as well as 41 List A wickets from 35 games and 40 wickets from 52 T20s. He “will add further depth to Surrey’s fast bowling unit, representing the Club in all competitions,” the statement said.Overall, in two stints with Gloucestershire – in 2018 and now – Worrall has picked up 53 wickets at an average of 22.53.

The captain said that tension can be “amplified” when a team is losing

Alex Malcolm18-Aug-2021Australia limited-overs captain Aaron Finch has conceded reports of tensions coming from inside the dressing room regarding Justin Langer’s coaching style are “disappointing” and “not a great look.”Langer has come under intense scrutiny in recent days following Australia’s 4-1 T20I series defeat to Bangladesh which followed the same scoreline against West Indies. Finch was absent from the Bangladesh leg having flown home for knee surgery.During the Bangladesh series, Australia team manager Gavin Dovey was involved in a heated exchange with Cricket Australia’s digital journalist who was inside the Australian team’s bio-bubble as part of the touring party. Langer, a close confidant of Dovey’s, spoke briefly but firmly to the journalist in the immediate aftermath before the pair cleared the air the following day.The incident, first reported in the , has sparked further debate about Langer’s coaching style. Finch was asked about the tension around Langer’s position and cited the team’s recent poor form as partly to blame.”There’s always tension when results don’t go your way in all sports,” Finch said on radio. “Wins and losses are what count. I think anytime that doesn’t happen, that all gets amplified. It’s just one of those things. It’s disappointing that things are coming to the front the way that they are, that’s never ideal. It’s just one of those things that keeps popping up, which is disappointing.”Related

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Langer had led Australia to No. 1 in both the ICC Test and T20I rankings in May 2020 after just two years in the job. But since then Australia have lost five T20I series in a row, one of which was coached by senior assistant Andrew McDonald, and lost a home Test series to India to miss out on the World Test Championship final.Reports regarding tensions between Langer and the playing group emerged following the loss to India at the Gabba. Those tensions were followed up in a wider post series review conducted by leadership consultant Tim Ford. Langer took on board the feedback and addressed the team at the pre-tour camp prior to the West Indies and Bangladesh tour.”The camp we had on the Gold Coast, to go through our culture and values and things like that, especially from a playing group, was really important, and one that I think players got a lot out of,” Finch said. “But when things are being leaked out from inside, that’s not a great look.”All of this has emerged as Langer and new national selector George Bailey finalise Australia’s T20 World Cup squad this week. Australia are set to welcome back David Warner, Pat Cummins, Steven Smith, and Glenn Maxwell who all missed the tours of the Caribbean and Bangladesh.Finch believes Australia’s full-strength squad can win the title despite their recent form.”Absolutely,” Finch said. “I’ve got no doubt that our best is as good as or better than anyone in the world. There’s a lot of experience there. There’s firepower, there’s class. I think that our best team covers all bases. And that’s what I’m really excited about.”Australia have not played a T20I with all their best available players to choose from since September 2020 against England. They may only get two practice matches ahead of the World Cup to prepare, with some players set to play in the IPL while domestic cricket in Australia remains in limbo due to heavy Covid-19 restrictions in New South Wales and Victoria, but Finch does not believe a lack of recent cricket together will affect his group.”I think with the way the side will most likely structure up, when you bring back Warner, Maxwell, Smith, we’ve played together a lot over the last eight years,” he said. “I’m not too bothered about that. I think guys who are going to the IPL are going to have that opportunity to prepare in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. I think the continuity of selection won’t play as big a part purely because we’ve played a lot of cricket together.”Finch is confident he will be fit for the opening practice matches despite having knee surgery to repair cartilage damage just five days ago.”It’s looking on track,” Finch said. “Obviously it’s hard to know until you get deep into your rehab but at this stage it’s just about trying to ice it and get as much swelling down as possible. That’s coming down. I’m walking around fine. There’s no pain. At this stage everything is looking really positive and having a little bit of time up my sleeve at the back end will be really important.”The plan is to be batting in four weeks and fully running and in full training in six to seven weeks. From the day of surgery it was 10-and-a-half weeks to that first World Cup game. That’s still really positive.”

The hosts chased down Zimbabwe’s total with eight balls to spare thanks to several contributions with the bat

Andrew Fidel Fernando16-Jan-2022Zimbabwe’s batters gave their side a healthy chance. On a flat Pallekele track, the openers put on 80 off 88 balls – debutant Takudzwanashe Kaitano hitting 42, and Regis Chakabva going on to make 72 off 81. Then Sean Williams dominated the middle and late overs, hitting 100 off 87.But although they made 296 for 9 – generally an excellent first innings score on Sri Lankan surfaces – the home side’s top order had the measure of the target. They had three major contributors. Opener Pathum Nissanka hit the first half-century of his ODI career, making 75 off 71 to set the chase up. Then No. 4 Dinesh Chandimal and No. 5 Charith Asalanka took the baton, putting on a match-defining 132-run stand, hitting 75 off 91 and 71 off off 68 respectively. In the end, they got there with five wickets and eight balls to spare.On a surface that was not particularly conducive to turn, the seamers of both teams made bigger contributions. For Sri Lanka, Chamika Karunaratne took 3 for 69 and Nuwan Pradeep claimed 2 for 54, both bowling their full quotas. Zimbabwe’s standout was Richard Ngarava, who claimed 3 for 56 from nine overs. Blessing Muzarabani and Sikandar Raza claimed one wicket apiece.In nine previous ODI innings, Nissanka’s high score had been 24, but batting in his preferred opening position in this match, he was efficient in the Powerplay, finding boundaries through midwicket and through cover, as Sri Lanka cruised to 59 for 1 at the end of the 10 overs. He put on a 40-run partnership with Kusal Mendis, and 41 with Kamindu Mendis, but it was during his stand with Chandimal that Sri Lanka really gained the advantage, the pair making 66 together off 66 balls.Nissanka continued to score heavily off errors of length, and struck at a run-a-ball more or less throughout his innings, reaching his maiden ODI fifty off the 49th delivery he faced. He was out in the 25th over, edging Sikandar Raza behind, though it did take a review to dislodge him.Sri Lanka were a batter light in this game, with Karunaratne coming in at No. 7, but their next partnership made the game safe. Chandimal had begun slowly, as he often does in ODIs, hitting just 11 off his first 22 balls, but nurdled his way into a comfortable rhythm, and even before he struck his first boundary, off his 43rd ball, looked like he would play an innings of substance.Where Nissanka had remained at close to a run-a-ball or better through the course of his innings, Chandimal was content to be less ambitious. He reached his half-century off his 64th delivery. Thanks to Asalanka scoring more quickly at the other end, Sri Lanka were cruising in their chase.Sean Williams celebrates his hundred•AFP/Getty Images

Asalanka himself had started with measure, but hit two fours and a six in the space of nine balls to get his strike rate around 100, and though he slowed slightly through the middle – Raza, Tendai Chatara, and Ngarava bowling nicely through the middle overs, Sri Lanka never seemed under particularly testing pressure, thanks to the singles both batters were squeezing out. Asalanka reached his fifty off the 57th ball he faced.He accelerated a little after that, as Sri Lanka’s required rate edged occasionally above a run-a-ball. He struck Ngarava for six over square leg to bring the equation down to five needed off the last 13 balls, then was hit on the pads and was trapped lbw. Dasun Shanaka and Karunaratne took the chase home in the next over.Earlier, Zimbabwe had looked like they were headed to a total near 300 since the start of their innings, when Kaitano and Chakabva put on 80 together for the first wicket. Kaitano was the aggressor through much of that, finding five of his eight boundaries behind square. Chakabva also used the pace of the ball to score a substantial percentage of his runs, but also picked frequent singles and twos through cover and midwicket, against the spinners in particular, as he put on a 50-run partnership with Williams as well.Williams’ own innings was perhaps the best of the match, even if his first boundary was a lucky top edge for six off Nuwan Pradeep. He kept his run rate healthy via frequent singles and twos, but made sure to punish Sri Lanka’s errors in line in particular. He reached his half-century off 52 balls, and upped the tempo in the death overs, although Zimbabwe will perhaps reflect they should have hit more than the 69 they managed in the last 10 overs, with six wickets still in hand.Williams was especially severe on Karunaratne, whom he hit for two fours and a six in the 48th over. He got to his fifth career hundred in the next over, but Karunaratne dismissed him eventually, hitting his off stump as Williams heaved across the line. It was a heroic effort from the Zimbabwean, though in the end, not a match-winning one.

Shahrukh was originally picked as a reserve player for the T20Is against West Indies

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Feb-20222:38

Shahrukh Khan: ‘Whichever team I get picked for, I will do my best for them’

Tamil Nadu batter Shahrukh Khan has been added to India’s main squad along with Ishan Kishan for the first ODI against West Indies in Ahmedabad on Sunday.Shahrukh was originally picked as a reserve player for the T20I series against West Indies along with his Tamil Nadu team-mate R Sai Kishore.On the eve of the first ODI, India’s white-ball captain Rohit Sharma confirmed that Kishan will open the batting along with him in the Covid-enforced absence of Shikhar Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Mayank Agarwal, the other reserve batter, is still undergoing mandatory quarantine and is unlikely to be available for selection for the first game.Shahrukh has been Tamil Nadu’s designated finisher over the past three white-ball seasons, having batted at the top in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). He hit the winning runs for Tamil Nadu during their back-to-back Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy victories. In the most recent season, when Tamil Nadu needed five off the last ball against Karnataka, he hit a six, underscoring his status as one of the best finishers in Indian domestic cricket.During a chat with ESPNcricinfo recently, Shahrukh said he would want to play a similar style of cricket if picked for India during the series.”Playing for India is a huge responsibility in itself, and brings with it its own pressure,” Shahrukh said. “There are some massive names in this team, and I have grown up watching them on TV. My aim – if I get the chance – would be to simply go with an open mind and enjoy my cricket, just the way I do for Tamil Nadu.”If I overthink this, then I would just create more pressure on myself and stray from my natural game. My aim in every game is to go out to the middle and play freely, without worrying too much about the results and focusing on the process instead.”Shahrukh initially featured among the first round of uncapped players, which will start from Player No. 55, for the forthcoming IPL mega auction. If he makes his international debut on Sunday, he will instead be part of the capped players’ pool. Shahrukh had increased his base price from INR 20 lakh to 40 lakh when the auction shortlist was announced earlier this week. Kishan, meanwhile, had listed his base price at INR 2 crore, but he isn’t part of the marquee set.India squad for first ODI: Rohit Sharma (capt), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wk), Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Ishan Kishan, Shahrukh Khan

He had travelled for a charity cricket event in Bundaberg

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff24-Feb-2022Former Australia wicketkeeper Rod Marsh is in a Queensland hospital after suffering a serious heart attack.Marsh, 74, was in Bundaberg for an event for the Bulls Masters charity group. He was reportedly rushed to hospital by Bulls Masters organisers John Glanville and David Hillier.”John and Dave deserve so much credit because the doctor said if they had waited for an ambulance he would not have made it,” Bulls Masters boss Jimmy Maher told .”Rod landed at 10.05am and rang me from the car at about 10.30. He said he could not wait to have a beer with me. Then soon [after] Dave rang me from the car and told me what had happened. It’s devastating.”Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley said: “We are very concerned to hear the news about Rod and send him all our best wishes. Our thoughts are with him, his wife Ros and their family and many friends at this difficult time. Rod is one of the most iconic and popular figures in the game and we thank and acknowledge those who are looking after him.”The Australian Cricketers’ Association said: “The thoughts of everyone within cricket are with the family and many friends of Rod Marsh who is in a critical condition in hospital after suffering a heart attack this morning. Rod is an influential figure in Australian cricket and has been so for more than 50 years.”He was in Bundaberg as part of the Queensland Bulls Masters event and is currently surrounded by some of his former team-mates. He will soon be joined by his family who are making their way to Bundaberg.”Marsh played 96 Tests for Australia between 1970 and 1984, snaring 355 dismissals behind the stumps. He also previously served as Australia’s men’s chairman of selectors before stepping down in 2016.

Bonner racks up 123 in marathon knock as hosts build 62-run buffer

Valkerie Baynes10-Mar-2022Nkrumah Bonner played an innings of patience, resilience and reward to mirror his international career with a hard-earned century guiding West Indies to a first-innings lead over England.Bonner fell for 123 shortly before stumps on the third day in Antigua, to the elation of England’s bowlers who had done it tough on a benign pitch against a stubborn West Indies line-up. Veerasammy Permaul offered keen resistance to remain unbeaten on 26 at stumps with Jayden Seales yet to score and the hosts 62 runs ahead.At the age of 33, Bonner raised the second century of his fledgling Test career, which is only 10 matches old and began in February last year – almost a decade after he made his international debut in a T20 against England at the Oval in 2011. Bonner played just one more T20I, in March 2012, before eventually earning a recall to the West Indies set-up, initially in January last year for three ODIs in Bangladesh before playing two Tests on that same tour.His first Test ton had come at the same ground as this one, a similarly attritional 113 not out in a Player-of-the-Match performance in the drawn first Test with Sri Lanka. On this occasion, he batted for nine hours to lead West Indies’ recovery from 127 for 4, build a small but potentially crucial lead and put merciless miles in the legs of an England attack without – no, not – an injured Mark Wood, who disappeared to the changing room shortly before lunch having bowled just five overs for the day and 17 for the match before succumbing to an elbow problem.Bonner resumed on 34 not out and with West Indies 109 runs in arrears, having helped haul the hosts back into the contest in partnership with Jason Holder after the tumble of wickets had all but ruined the solid foundation laid by an 83-run opening stand on day two.Holder fell to Ben Stokes – and his own indecision – early on the third day, adding just two runs to his overnight 43 before making a late move to leave one around off stump and edged a catch to wicketkeeper Ben Foakes, ending his union with Bonner at 79.Stokes almost had Bonner, on 40 at the time, attempting to pull a bouncer which looped towards midwicket, where substitute fielder Ollie Pope dived forward but couldn’t manage to grasp it.Bonner brought up his fifty prodding a single through the covers and he faced another 15 balls for his next scoring shot, launching Wood over the fence at fine leg for six off a top edge.He had a life on 73, when Zak Crawley spilled an edge off Jack Leach at slip, but reached his century off 257 deliveries on the second ball of the evening session, sweeping a Leach half-volley on leg stump behind square for four. Bonner celebrated with a relieved sigh as he embraced Kemar Roach, with whom he ultimately shared a partnership to follow the theme of the day – patience – worth 44 off 173 balls for the eighth wicket.But when Bonner nudged Leach to backward point and the pair dashed off for a single, they were chancing the arm of Pope, who fired the ball to the striker’s end and Foakes removed the bails with Roach just shy of his crease. Roach had provided steadfast support to Bonner, facing 89 balls for his 15 runs.Twice England thought they had Bonner lbw to Leach but they failed to overturn Joel Wilson’s decisions, upheld on umpire’s call with ball-tracking suggesting it was clipping leg stump on both occasions. Bonner was also given out lbw to Stokes on 121 but successfully reviewed after getting an inside edge.They finally broke through when captain Joe Root, running out of ideas, brought Dan Lawrence into the attack to almost immediate effect as Bonner feathered his fifth delivery to Foakes down the leg side, although it took an England review to overturn umpire Gregory Brathwaite’s not-out decision with replays showing the faintest of edges.Stokes ended up bowling 28 overs – with 2 for 42 to show for it – his heaviest innings workload since 2015, having only just returned to bowling after breaking down with a side strain in the fourth Ashes Test.Much had been made of England’s 12-match stretch without breaking the 300-mark before Jonny Bairstow’s century led them to 311 in their first innings here, but West Indies had endured a virtually identical run dating back to the second Test against Sri Lanka in Antigua last March.Their ability to forge partnerships was key as they passed the milestone on Thursday, all but the first one held together by Bonner, on a day when 171 runs were scored from 90.1 overs.His most-substantial stand of the day came with Joshua Da Silva, who wisely reviewed his lbw dismissal to Craig Overton when on 16, but there was no such reprieve shortly after lunch when Leach, who at that point had bowled well for no reward, rapped him on the back pad with one that skidded onto the knee roll. Da Silva’s review failed this time, with replays showing the ball was hitting leg stump, but he had already helped add another 73 valuable runs.

Seamer takes wicket tally for season to 14 as Leicestershire manage just single batting point

ECB Reporters Network21-Apr-2022Derbyshire seamer Sam Conners continued his fine start to the season by taking 4 for 62 as Leicestershire were dismissed for 213 on the opening day of the LV= Insurance County Championship clash between East Midlands rivals at the Uptonsteel County Ground.Opener Sam Evans top-scored with 63, South African allrounder Wiaan Mulder made 39 on his Leicestershire debut and Ed Barnes an unbeaten 34 but it was another disappointing first innings by the home side, who have picked up only four batting points from the first three matches of the season.Sri Lanka Test fast bowler Suranga Lakmal, wicketless against Sussex last week, finished with 2 for 52 and saw two slip catches spilled, and 19-year-old seamer Nick Potts looked a decent prospect with 2 for 32 in only his second senior appearance, but 23-year-old Conners was Derbyshire’s brightest spark with the ball, raising his wickets tally for the season to 14.Derbyshire closed on 36 for 1 in reply, having lost skipper Billy Godleman. Pakistan star Shan Masood, already past 400 runs for the season in just his fourth innings for the county, was unbeaten on 20.Skipper Colin Ackermann chose to bat first on a green-tinged pitch but Leicestershire struggled. They lost four wickets for 68 runs before lunch and another three in the afternoon to be 158 for 7 at tea.Hassan Azad, who began the season with a century against Worcestershire, cut and drove Conners for the day’s first boundaries but Conners then produced an inswinger to have him leg before.Anuj Dal nipped one past the outside edge to bowl George Rhodes for 6, then took a good catch at backward point as Ackermann played loosely at Potts and there was a bonus wicket for Derbyshire in the over before lunch when legspinner Mattie McKiernan, playing his first match this season, bowled Louis Kimber.Sam Evans top-scored for Leicestershire with 63•Getty Images

The Kimber dismissal ushered in Mulder, who tested positive for Covid-19 while on Test duty earlier this month. Mulder survived a low chance to Alex Thomson at slip off Lakmal on 1 but grew in assuredness and picked up half a dozen boundaries as he and Evans built a partnership.After his match-saving half-century at Chester-le-Street, Evans completed another but then gave his wicket away with a poor shot, hanging his bat out to a ball from Conners to give an easy slip catch. The fifth wicket had added 69 but its value was diminished when Harry Swindells was lbw without scoring in the same over.Thomson put down Barnes at slip in almost a carbon copy of the Mulder escape but Lakmal was rewarded when he beat the South African’s attempt to work the ball to leg, trapping him in front.The Sri Lankan’s second wicket followed four overs after tea. Callum Parkinson, the left-arm spinner, unsettled by being hit on his bowling hand, then steered a ball rather tamely to second slip. Beuran Hendricks was ninth out when he dragged a Conners full toss on to his stumps.Barnes and Will Davis held Derbyshire up with a 39-run stand for the last wicket that at least secured one batting bonus point but ended when Davis edged behind to give Potts his second wicket.Derbyshire faced 16 overs at the close as they began their reply, losing Godleman, who was tested by Hendricks before being caught behind off a ball he tried to leave.

A win for Knight Riders, meanwhile, could spice up the remainder of the league phase

S Sudarshanan17-May-2022

Big picture

Kolkata Knight Riders and their opening partnership don’t really see eye to eye. They’ve already used five combinations this season, and finally managed to get their first 50-plus opening stand through Venkatesh Iyer and Ajinkya Rahane two games ago. But with Rahane ruled out of the competition, they will be forced to tweak their opening pairing yet again.Lucknow Super Giants had their opening combination pretty much decided on the day of the auction. Their average of 36.13 for the first wicket is the second-best in IPL 2022. But their batting problems start after the pair of Quinton de Kock and KL Rahul is separated.From Nos. 3 to 6, Super Giants’ batters have averaged 21.88, which is the worst of any team this season. They have attempted to use the flexibility offered by their plethora of allrounders to maximise match-ups, trying as many as nine batters – including K Gowtham, Jason Holder and Karan Sharma – at Nos. 3 and 4 alone. But it hasn’t always worked, and the middle order has turned into an area of weakness.

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ESPN+ will broadcast the match in English and in Hindi.

Despite having 16 points from 13 games, Super Giants are yet to nail a playoffs spot – they are in a comfortable positions thanks to a net run-rate of 0.262 – but they’ll want to fix their batting issues to ensure they seal their spot, having fallen well short in run chases in their last two matches.Super Giants will go through if they win Wednesday’s game at the DY Patil Stadium. A win for Knight Riders, however, will add considerable spice to the final set of league-stage contests.Ajinkya Rahane has been ruled out of the remainder of the season with a hamstring injury•BCCI

In the news

A hamstring injury brought the curtains down on Rahane’s journey this season. Knight Riders could go back to B Indrajith at the top of the order alongside Venkatesh, which would be their sixth opening combination of the season.

Likely XIs

Kolkata Knight Riders: 1 B Indrajith, 2 Venkatesh Iyer, 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Nitish Rana, 5 Sam Billings (wk), 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Varun ChakravarthyLucknow Super Giants: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 KL Rahul (capt), 3 Deepak Hooda, 4 Krunal Pandya, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Ayush Badoni, 7 Jason Holder, 8 Avesh Khan, 9 Mohsin Khan, 10 Ravi Bishnoi, 11 Dushmantha Chameera

Strategy punt

Knight Riders have lost 38 wickets to short or short-of-good-length balls from fast bowlers, the most by any side in IPL 2022. Super Giants successfully exploited this weakness the last time these teams met, and could look to emulate the same plans this time. Of all batters who have faced 50 short or short-of-good-length balls from fast bowlers this season, nine have scored less than seven runs an over against those lengths, and three of them – Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana – play for Knight Riders.

Stats that matter

• Among fast bowlers to have bowled at least 15 overs in IPL 2022, Mohsin Khan (6.1), Umesh Yadav (6.9) and Tim Southee (7.0) have been the most economical.
• Rahul has scored only 101 runs in Super Giants’ last five games, at an average of 20.20 and a strike rate of 104.12. In his first eight games of the season, he had scored 368 runs at 61.33 and 147.79.
• Super Giants’ run-rate of 11.30 at the death is the best of any teamin IPL 2022, while Knight Riders are at the bottom of that list at 9.82.

Foakes remains in isolation after Covid diagnosis; Crawley retained despite lean run of form

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jun-2022Sam Billings has been added to England’s Test squad to face India at Edgbaston on Friday, after stepping in to the team at Trent Bridge as a Covid substitute for Ben Foakes, whose place is in doubt while he undergoes five days of isolation.Billings, whose previous Test cap had come in Hobart at the end of the Ashes tour in January, was once again called up at short notice, after Foakes missed the whole of the third day’s play at Headingley with a stiff back, before being substituted out of the game following his positive test.Under the ICC’s protocols for Covid substitutions, Billings would have been permitted to bat if required in England’s second innings, and has now officially earned his second Test cap, even though his main contribution was a bizarre caught-behind off Neil Wagner that he managed to wedge between his knees.However, having worked under Brendon McCullum at Kolkata Knight Riders, Billings is already enjoying the new atmosphere around the England team, as he told Sky Sports before the start of the final day’s play at Headingley.”[McCullum’s] got this amazing quality to be able to say something with emotion, but being emotionless, if that makes sense,” Billings said.”So the lasting effect it has on the group isn’t like it’s talked about for days afterwards. It’s to the point, it’s clear, it’s clarity, and it’s about making you feel ten feet tall”I know that’s been said a lot, but that’s probably his best quality. He absolutely puts confidence into you and together with Stokes they encapsulate exactly what this team wants to be.”The most important thing is he’s a quality human being. Everyone knows that, whoever has played against him or the Kiwi lads as well. He’s a quality human being and everything he does is with incredible integrity and honesty.”And that’s all you want as players. You want that clarity and honesty, combined with someone who’s got the best in mind for you. Yeah, it’s a really good combination.”It will be touch and go whether Billings will be required to make his third Test appearance against India on Friday, however. Having gone into isolation following his diagnosis on Sunday, Foakes is due to link back up with the squad on Birmingham, one day out from the Test.Billings’ addition is the only change to what is now a 15-man squad, with the selectors choosing to keep faith in Zak Crawley at the top of the order, despite a lean series in which he was visibly struggling for form and confidence. His final contribution was an unconvincing innings of 25 from 33 balls, which included the run-out of his opening partner Alex Lees for 9, and he finishes the series with 87 runs at 14.50.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

However, with the short turnaround to the India Test, and given that England’s management of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum are keen to reinforce a positive mindset within their players, Crawley has been backed to come good, having already made a century in the Caribbean earlier this year.One probable change for the India Test will be the return of James Anderson to lead the attack, having missed the Headingley match with an ankle niggle. With Matthew Potts having starred against New Zealand with 14 wickets at 23.28, Anderson’s return may come at the expense of either Jamie Overton, who claimed one wicket in each innings of his debut Test but was singled out by Stokes for his match-turning innings of 97, or Stuart Broad, whose 12 wickets in the series came at 35.25.

“He is a diamond. All we’ve done is to cut and polish him a little,” says Surrey’s interim assistant coach Azhar Mahmood

Osman Samiuddin23-Jun-2022Jamie Overton has been a long, long time coming. Having impressed at U-19 level a decade ago, and been first called up to an England squad in 2013, and despite being a near-permanent presence on England’s radar, he only makes his England debut today, at Headingley.The pace has always kept them interested but, this season, a confluence of events has finally thrust him into the limelight proper. England are missing, through injury, nearly an entire XI of fast bowlers, but Overton’s performances this season for Surrey mean he would’ve been beeping brightly on that radar in any case.Related

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He has been the standout English fast bowler on the circuit; his strike rate of 38.3 is bettered only by his twin brother Craig (min. five matches), but it is – again, still – the pace that has people cooing. He’s picked up a decent haul of wickets, but there’s been as much excitement about the hustle and threat of his bouncers. In some dispatches he’s said to have been 10mph quicker than any other bowler around him.It is in stark contrast to the desperate struggle of last season, in which Overton picked up six wickets at 75 in eight games. The inconsistency has been a theme but, this season, under the watchful eye of Azhar Mahmood, there are signs that may be changing.Mahmood has quietly built up an impressive coaching career, with international experience with Pakistan burnished by stints in the Pakistan Super League – most recently as head coach at Islamabad United. As an interim assistant coach at Surrey, he has taken on Overton as a personal project and early results, after a little technical tweaking, have been spectacular.”The first thing we did with him was to reduce his run-up,” Mahmood says. “We reduced it from 24 yards or so that it was before to around 18 now. He was losing momentum when he was running in for those last strides to the popping crease, where you actually have to build that momentum up.”Because of that loss in momentum, Mahmood explains, he wasn’t following through towards his target properly. “When you drive your hip through in the action, you transfer weight and bring your hip forward, for the follow-through. He was stopping a little but if you watch now, he gets closer to the batsman. He is taller at the crease now.”Mahmood is meticulous when it comes to thinking through bowling actions, though he’s careful to not tinker too much. His phone is a video treasure trove of bowlers and bowling actions from his work around the world; little tips that he’s given them, minor tweaks he’s made, hours he’s spent just watching and logging.He identified Overton’s run-up as a prime cause for the inconsistency in his release and action, which would result in him often straying down legside. But pre-season work brought some immediate results. After shortening the run-up, Mahmood asked Overton to note how many balls he bowls down the legside. Overton bowled to Hashim Amla in the nets one day for half an hour and Mahmood remembers only two balls that Amla could play through the legside. Amla was impressed and wondered whether Overton could sustain that consistency.Mahmood identified Overton’s run-up as a prime cause for the inconsistency in his release and action, which would result in him often straying down legside•Getty Images

“Now you can see, it’s half a season gone and he’s been sustaining it,” Mahmood said. “Because of his pace that inconsistency can creep in. At that pace, a good day can be a great day, but a bad day a very poor one. If you’re slightly off line at that pace, you go for runs. Jamie’s getting that consistency now. He’s still a work in progress. That will keep going. But this season I think people have seen the best of him.”Mahmood remembers, in particular, Overton’s first game this season. Having been rested for tactical reasons for Surrey’s season-opener, Overton blew away Hampshire with an eight-wicket haul at The Oval. The performance had all the classic really fast-bowling dismissals: an outswinger that hit the stumps, bouncers from round the wicket, yorkers and then, a sustained short-pitched attack in the second innings. The speed gun, Mahmood says, clocked him at 92mph at one point.The one wicket he recalls, though, is from the Somerset game: Matt Renshaw bowled from over the wicket, leaving a full ball that swung in late and quick. ” [blew away his sticks],” Mahmood says.Mahmood has been almost as excited by Overton’s batting this season, not least in a game against Kent where he watched in awe as Overton hit a 92-ball 93. He sees a bit of himself in the batting: Mahmood hit three Test hundreds, all against strong South African attacks, two in South Africa and from seven and eight in the order. He averaged nearly 32 in first-class cricket.”I spoke to him about his batting,” he says. “I said you remind me of myself, you have exactly the role I used to have. To help build an innings lower down in the order. I said to him this is the role. With that batting this guy can be one of the best allrounders in the world.”I really haven’t done that much with him. Jamie Overton is special. He is a diamond. All we’ve done is to cut and polish him a little.”