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Australian opening batsman Chris Rogers has been left red-faced after it emerged that he has been attempting to sell tickets for the Ashes Test at Lord’s contrary to regulations

George Dobell23-Jun-20151:26

Rogers reprimanded for Lord’s ticket offer

Chris Rogers has been left red-faced after it emerged that he has been attempting to sell tickets for the Ashes Test at Lord’s contrary to regulations.Rogers, who is likely to open the batting for Australia in the Ashes, was one of two partners in Inside Edge Experience, a company offering tickets and hospitality to the Lord’s Ashes Test. The other partner was Tom Scollay, a former Middlesex colleague.To further embarrass Rogers, it appears that Scollay was offering prospective clients access to the Australian team as part of the package. Rogers has denied that he knew of such an offer.Sourcing 10 tickets quite legally from Middlesex – Rogers is a former club captain – the pair offered them as hospitality packages from a minimum of $3,590 Australian dollars (£1,765 ) for the Test, including additions such as a refillable cooler bag for drinks and a picnic lunch. The price of packages rose, with travel and accommodation included, to $5,950 (£2,925 ) for the Test.But when the MCC, the owners of Lord’s, learned of the scheme, they contacted Middlesex and it was immediately closed down. Inside Edge Experience are not licensed to sell cricket hospitality packages and are not one of the MCC’s approved operators. It is understood that only one package had been sold and that the party involved will receive a full refund.”We are vehemently opposed to the second ticket market,” a spokesman for the MCC told ESPNcricinfo. “In this case, we understand that no tickets have changed hands and we were assured that it was simply a case of naivety and over enthusiasm.”Middlesex’s senior management were also disappointed. They are given a relatively few tickets by the MCC – fewer than 100 a day – and supply them in the expectation they are used by family and friends.They have made it quite clear than onward selling of them for profit is inappropriate and an abuse of the privilege, though they have accepted that a junior member of staff knew about the scheme and had no idea that it breached any guidelines. They also accept that Rogers did not know the guidelines and made a genuine mistake.”They shouldn’t have done this,” a club official told ESPNcricinfo. “We have a great relationship with our landlords, the MCC, and the last thing we would want to do is jeopardise that.”These tickets are meant for family and friends and there has been some naive thinking if anyone thinks they can sell them on. It shouldn’t happen and we will have to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”A Cricket Australia spokesman termed the episode a “misunderstanding” and confirmed that Rogers had not faced disciplinary action.”He was very open about the venture,” the spokesman said, “but it may be he reflects that this type of thing is more appropriate once he has finished playing.”Cricket Australia were not aware of the suggestion that access had been offered to players. But an email sent by Scollay describes it as “a very unique opportunity to have access to the players during the test (sic) and something people can’t get elsewhere.”He went on to say: “Australian test opener Chris Rogers is my partner in this venture but we have to keep that off mainstream media due to Cricket Australia contract reasons.”As of June 23, the company’s website and Facebook page were still active. Middlesex demanded their logo was removed immediately.

A round-up of matches from the Caribbean T20 on Tuesday, January 15, 2012

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jan-2013
Scorecard
Trinidad and Tobago have now won four out of their five games in the Caribbean T20 and are at the top of the table. Their latest win came against Windward Islands in St Lucia, and a comprehensive one at that. Windwards batted first and were restricted to 125 for 6, thanks to economical spells from most of T&T’s bowlers. Keddy Lesporis top-scored with 31, but it came off 33 balls, and even Darren Sammy scored at less than a run a ball, making an unbeaten 25 off 27. Legspinner Samuel Badree was the pick of the bowlers, taking 2 for 15 in four overs.T&T lost openers Lendl Simmons and William Perkins inside the first five overs but Dwayne Bravo and Darren Bravo ensured there were no further hiccups. Both struck half-centuries, Darren striking four fours and three sixes, and Dwayne finishing with 62, with five fours and four sixes. Their unbeaten stand of 112 in just 68 balls sealed victory with 22 balls to spare.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Jamaica picked up their third win in the Caribbean T20, beating Guyana by five wickets in St Lucia. Jamaica chose to field and they had Guyana in trouble very early in the innings, the fast-bowling combination of Sheldon Cotterrell and Andre Russell rattling the Guyana top order. The pair shared six wickets between them, Russell taking four of them, and reduced Guyana to 41 for 6. Christopher Barnwell and Royston Crandon added 33 for the seventh wicket, Nikita Miller picked up two wickets and the innings folded for just 93.Jamaica’s chase suffered an early setback with the loss of two wickets inside the first three overs but Danza Hyatt, Krishmar Santokie followed by Russell chipped in with valuable 20s to see their team home with 11 balls to spare.

ESPNcricinfo previews the second Test between South Africa and Sri Lanka at Durban

The Preview by Siddarth Ravindran25-Dec-2011

Match facts

December 26-30, Durban
Start time 10:00 (08:00GMT)Vernon Philander’s knee injury was a major worry for South Africa ahead of the Durban Test•Getty Images

The Big Picture

For a team that has almost always been near the summit of the Test rankings, South Africa’s recent home record is surprisingly ordinary – no series wins in more than three years. Their performances at Kingsmead in that period are similarly bleak – losing to each of the other major contenders for the title of world’s best Test team. Graeme Smith and his side get the chance to erase both those blots this week as they take on a disjointed Sri Lanka.After subsiding for below 200 in both innings of the first Test, the Sri Lanka batsmen won’t be overly thrilled at the sight of a green-tinged track. In a bid to bolster the batting, Sri Lanka are mulling bringing in highly rated wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Chandimal in place of Kaushal Silva, who hasn’t had the best of times in his three matches as replacement for regular gloveman Prasanna Jayawardene.The number that is becoming synonymous with discussions about the decline of Sri Lankan cricket is the number of Tests they have gone without a victory since the retirement of their greatest player, Muttiah Muralitharan, last year. That now stands at 15, but almost as worrying is that in only two of those matches have Sri Lanka managed to bowl out the opposition twice.Adding to the troubles on the field, are the many problems off it. A bankrupt board which is struggling to pay player salaries, and has indefinitely postponed its domestic matches. To top it off was the confusion in communication – their captain Tillakaratne Dilshan’s announcement that fast bowler Nuwan Kulasekara will join the squad was over-ruled a few days later by the sports ministry. All of which means Sri Lanka will need a Christmas miracle to pull off a victory in Durban.

Form guide

(Most recent first)
South Africa WLWDL
Sri Lanka LDLDD

Watch out for…

Thilan Samaraweera boasts a career average of 52.20 after playing as many as 69 Tests. But he doesn’t get the respect that others with similar figures do because of his average record overseas, particularly against top teams like England, Australia and India. A big contribution on a tough Kingsmead track against a world-class South Africa attack will be a fitting riposte to his detractors.Jacques Rudolph revived a seemingly dead South Africa career with a wagon-load of domestic runs this year, but he hasn’t been able to carry that form to the Test level. With no half-century in three Tests, the selectors could be tempted to bring back Alviro Petersen if there are more failures. Petersen himself was axed after a relatively short fallow period, and his recall to the squad for the series sends a message to Rudolph.

Team news

South Africa will be waiting on Vernon Philander’s fitness after he injured his knee during training, but it seems likely he will play. If he doesn’t, Lonwabo Tsotsobe is the likely replacement, provided he has recovered fully from a side strain which has sidelined him since early November. If not, South Africa will have to call on a reserve – Marchant de Lange could make his debut. Smith has said that “ideally the team will stay the same.”South Africa: (probable) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Jacques Rudolph, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 AB de Villiers, 6 Ashwell Prince, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Vernon Philander, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Imran TahirDilshan has hinted that Chandimal will play in place of Kaushal Silva and it’s expected that Thisara Perera will sit out for Dhammika Prasad.Sri Lanka: (probable) 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan (capt), 2 Tharanga Paranavitana, 3 Kumar Sangakkara, 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Thilan Samaraweera, 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 8 Rangana Herath, 9 Dhammika Prasad, 10 Dilhara Fernando, 11 Chanaka Welegedara

Pitch and conditions

Durban has usually been a fast bowler’s delight, and it is expected to have plenty of swing this time round as well, so don’t count on a high-scoring draw. The bowlers will relish the green pitch and overcast conditions and the only downer is the mid-week rain that is predicted.

Stats and trivia

• Sri Lanka are the only team against which Jacques Kallis hasn’t scored a Test century
• If Chandimal is picked, he will be Sri Lanka’s eighth Test debutant this year, the most since 1999
• In Tests between the two countries, Muttiah Muralitharan has 104 wickets – that’s more than twice the next highest, Shaun Pollock with 48

For a full stats analysis, click here.

Quotes

“The wicket looks like it should go more than three days, unless one team puts up their hand and plays unbelievable cricket. It will be a good Test wicket with something for both bat and ball and something to play for over five days for a change.”
“I remember facing Mfuneko Ngam, who was the quickest bowler I had faced. It was a Test match that we fought hard to draw.”

A round-up of the second day of the seventh round of Division One of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Dec-2010Faisalabad have an excellent chance of picking up their first win of the season as Multan lead them by just 118 runs with one wicket in hand at the Bahawal Stadium in Bahawalpur. That Multan even lead by that much was due largely to Kashif Naved’s remarkable 97, which is 45 more than anyone else has managed so far. Coming in at No.7, Naved decided to go after the bowling, smashing 15 fours in his 108-ball effort, and was unfortunate to miss out on a hundred, edging one to the keeper off Zeeshan Butt. In contrast, opener Zaka-ul-Rashid needed 172 balls to make 54, as he battled for four hours and four minutes. Butt and Hasan Mahmood picked up three wickets each, to leave Multan 207 for 9 at stumps. Only 10 wickets fell on day two, after 19 batsmen made the walk back to the pavilion yesterday.Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited trail Habib Bank Limited by 37 runs with seven wickets in hand in their second innings at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. HBL started the day on 130 for 4, and Hasan Raza and Aftab Alam extended their fifth-wicket partnership to 84 before Alam was bowled by Rehan Riaz for 44. Raza went on to make 60, and Kamran Hussain chipped in with 42 down the order, the two sharing 60-run partnership for the seventh wicket, to take HBL to 299. Mohammad Khalil bagged 5 for 64 for ZTBL. Openers Yasir Hameed and Inam-ul-Haq then set about erasing the deficit, adding 124 together, but three quick wickets at the end, two to Pakistan legspinner Danish Kaneria, titled the game firmly in HBL’s favour. HBL and ZTBL are currently tied for second in the points table with 39 points each.Sialkot took control of their game against Karachi Blues at the National Stadium in Karachi on the backs of a mammoth stand between centurions Mohammad Ayub and 22-year-old allrounder Mansoor Amjad, and the pace bowling of Imran Malik. Ayub and Amjad, who has played one ODI for Pakistan, added 289, with the former making 134 and the latter 157, in the visitor’s total of 389 for 9 declared. Malik then took 4 for 22 from 14 stingy overs, to leave Karachi reeling at 136 for 8. Rameez Raja and Murtaza Majeed, with 37 and 35 respectively, were the only two batsmen to go past 20.National Bank of Pakistan rebounded from a poor first innings to edge ahead in their game against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. NBP took the last 8 SNGP wickets for just 62 runs to dismiss them for 135, before the openers added 73 to extend their lead to 88. Resuming on 73 for 2, Naeemuddin was the only batsman to offer any resistance, making 48 in a little under four hours, as wickets tumbled all around him. Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal had a banner day behind the stumps, grabbing six catches, as four bowlers shared the nine wickets to fall (Samiullah Khan was absent hurt).The game between Water and Power Development Authority and Pakistan International Airlines was evenly poised at the Marghzar Cricket Ground in Islamabad, after PIA took a 13-run first-innings lead, and extended it to 81 by the close of play. Rafatullah Mohmand was the only WAPDA batsman to go past 50, making 57 before becoming one of Anwar Ali’s three victims. He shared in a stand worth 57 with Aamer Sajid, who made 35. Aizaz Cheema took 4 for 57 to lead the bowlers. Agha Sabir made 41, before retiring hurt, to take PIA to 68 for 2.A maiden ton from Shoib Nasir and half-centuries from Babar Naeem and Zahid Mansoor put Rawalpindi in command of their game against Islamabad at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad. Nasir, playing just his fourth first-class game, made 110, and added 126 for the fourth wicket with Naeem, who made a rapid 66-ball 58, striking 11 fours. Both batsmen were bowled by Fakhar Hussain, who finished with 5 for 56, his first career five-wicket haul. Mansoor was unbeaten on 59, having put on 71 with Jamal Anwar for the eighth wicket, as Rawalpindi ended the day on 353 for 7.

One of the key challenges that England will have to confront as they aim to secure a series victory against South Africa won’t actually come from the home side, but rather the geographical location of the Wanderers

Andrew McGlashan in Johannesburg11-Jan-2010One of the key challenges that England will have to confront as they aim to secure a series victory against South Africa won’t actually come from the home side, but rather the geographical location of the Wanderers. The stadium is 6000 feet above sea level which creates a unique atmosphere – or lack of it – for the players.The air is noticeably thinner at such a height and after three weeks down at sea level for the Durban and Cape Town Tests it will take some getting used to. The batsmen tend to notice it running while between the wickets, the fielders while chasing down boundaries – and the ball seems to travel that much quicker at altitude – and the fast bowlers notice it while coming off their long runs.As a home team has every right to do, South Africa have been clever in their scheduling of this tour – although they haven’t made the most of their home advantage thus far, seeing as they are currently 1-0 down. Prior to the first Test at Centurion Park, which is also on the highveld, England spent 10 days on the coast in East London and they are now in the same situation.”It’s unbelievable. There’s no oxygen, for a start,” Matt Prior, the England wicketkeeper said. “Your body, your lungs can feel it just in the warm-up. We’ve been at sea level a long time, at Durban and Cape Town, so coming back to altitude is something that takes a bit of getting used to. But the fitness work has been good so it should be fine after today and tomorrow.”The altitude also has an impact on Prior’s role behind the stumps, with the ball flying through quicker from the pacemen and demanding that he says alert. “The odd one seems to hit the hands a bit harder than usual,” he said. “But you just have to adapt to the conditions.”However, Prior is now a very confident wicketkeeper – far removed from the fragile player who was dropped following the 2007-08 series in Sri Lanka in which he scored runs but missed a host of chances – and the fact he has barely been talked about in this series is a sign of his development. An invisible keeper is a good keeper, and Prior had an extra long practice session with Bruce French, England’s keeping coach, on the outfield at the Wanderers on Monday.”Touch wood,” he said when his almost error-free keeping was mentioned. “I’ve worked very, very hard on my keeping and I’ll continue to do so. I always mention Frenchy. He’s been an absolutely fantastic help.”All or nothing: Matt Prior has had a hit-and-miss series with the bat•Getty Images

Prior added that it has been his batting form that has caused him more problems during the tour despite two important half-centuries at Durban and Cape Town. It has been a case of all-or-nothing for Prior during the Tests, with his other three innings being single figures.”It’s been a weird series for me individually with the bat,” he said. “I’ve managed to get a couple of scores, which has been nice, at important times. To help the team in those situations is always a great feeling.”But I’ve not gone into the series feeling in great form with the bat. It’s as important to come up with those performances when you’re maybe not feeling in the best nick. It’s no good just scoring runs when you’re feeling great; sometimes, you’ve got to get your ‘ugly’ runs when the feet maybe aren’t moving as well as you’d hope. You’ve still got to get stuck in.”Before the series began it was expected that Prior would play at No. 6 with England fielding an extra bowling option – either Luke Wright or Ryan Sidebottom – but Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower went for six batsmen which shunted Prior down a spot. It was seen in some quarters as a defensive approach, but has worked a treat so far with the extra batsman – Ian Bell – helping to win and draw a Test.However, Prior was adamant that even though England only need a draw at the Wanderers to take home the main prize there won’t be any thoughts of playing it safe.”This team is going out to win this Test match, not to hang on to a draw or try to scrape through,” he said. “If we can go back 2-0, that would be a dream come true for all of us. It would obviously be a fabulous achievement to beat two of the top teams in the world, in back-to-back Test series.”We didn’t come here to draw a series; we came here to win one. The coach had a long chat with us this morning and was pretty adamant on that. We don’t want to be the nearly-men.”

It came down to two off the last ball and Arundhati Reddy had to put in a dive to make her ground and seal the win

Vishal Dikshit15-Feb-2025Barely 24 hours after 202 was chased down easily on the opening night of WPL 2025, a target of 165 proved to be tricky on the same pitch for Delhi Capitals, who got over the line on the last ball against Mumbai Indians for a two-wicket win. It came down to 30 from 18, 10 from six, two off the last ball and eventually a matter of centimetres as Arundhati Reddy put in a dive to make her ground that turned out to be the winning runs.Under-19 World Cup-winning captain Niki Prasad will remember her WPL debut for taking DC within touching distance. She held the chase together in the end with her 35 off 33 and started the last over with a four when they needed 10 to win but holed out when the equation was two off two.The game otherwise saw collapses in both innings after blazing knocks from the frontline batters. Nat Sciver-Brunt led MI to a respectable total with her unbeaten 80 off 59 and Harmanpreet Kaur blasted 42 off 22, but they soon lost 7 for 35. Shafali Verma’s 43 off 18 set the tone for the chase to hammer away 60 runs for DC in the powerplay, but they soon lost four wickets for 16 runs that made the equation far more tense and took it down to the last ball.Niki Prasad guided Delhi Capitals late in the chase•WPL

The three contentious run-outs that weren’t

As the match got closer and closer with DC losing wickets, there were three run-out decisions that all went to the third umpire Gayathri Venugopalan, and those decided the game. The first came in the 18th over when Shikha Pandey was given not out on her first ball, which resulted in DC getting a bye. No part of Pandey’s bat seemed inside the crease when the LED wicket lit up, but the third umpire gave it not out, basing her decision on a later television frame in which the bail was visibly dislodged.The second came in the next over when DC needed 16 from eight. Radha Yadav was given not out when she ended up bouncing her bat off the ground while diving in; the bat was in the air when the wicket lit up but the umpire, again, was heard going by when the stumps were visibly broken. Radha then smashed the next ball for a six and brought the equation down to 10 off the last over.The last instance was on the last ball of the game, when DC needed two off two. Reddy put in a dive while trying to complete the second run and the stumps lit up when the bat seemed to be on the crease line but the third umpire gave it not out again and it sparked off celebrations for DC.

Shafali swings the powerplay in DC’s favour

Shafali came out all guns blazing even as Shabnim Ismail made Meg Lanning look clueless against her outswingers and beat her six times in 12 balls before eventually knocking over her off stump. Shafali, at the other end, tore into Saika Ishaque with a belligerent hit for a 22-run over. She followed a big six over the covers with four consecutive fours, three of which raced to the off-side boundary and one straight back over Ishaque’s head. Shafali then took Hayley Matthews for 15 runs in the last powerplay over with two fours and a six although she mis-timed one in the same over to midwicket.

Two WPL debutants hold their nerve for DC

Two balls later Lanning fell when Ismail got a fourth straight over and it soon became four wickets in four overs when Jemimah Rodrigues was dismissed by Amelia Kerr and Annabel Sutherland missed a shooter from Sciver-Brunt. When DC thought the partnership between Alice Capsey and Prasad of 33 was bringing them back on track, Capsey found Ismail at long-on and DC were in trouble, still needing 56 off 31 with five wickets down.The match turned again when another WPL debutant, Sarah Bryce, also punished Ishaque and then followed an edged four off Sciver-Brunt with a six on the leg side. Bryce soon fell though, for 21 off 10, but Prasad held her nerve to chaperone the lower order into the last over before it went down to the last ball.Sarah Bryce whacked 21 off 10•WPL

Pandey’s swing and Sciver-Brunt’s class

Pandey made a stellar start to her WPL campaign with some delicious inswing into both right and left-hand batters. She struck twice in her first spell; first in the first over when she made Matthews edge to slip for a duck and four overs later she knocked over Yastika Bhatia’s leg stump in a frugal spell of 3-0-8-2.The other bowlers were not spared so much though. Capsey leaked 19 runs in an over, with Sciver-Brunt showing her dexterity by placing the ball perfectly in the gaps for boundaries. She dabbed one late off Capsey on off, she scooped Reddy on leg, and she unleashed powerful pulls to help MI to 41 for 2 in the powerplay.

Harmanpreet throws the hammer

Harmanpreet often starts slow and then suddenly flicks her switch on in T20s, and on Saturday this happened in the eighth over. Once she carved Radha over cover-point for four off a no-ball, Harmanpreet launched the free hit for a six over long-off to make it an 18-run over. Next over, she picked Reddy for a six over long-on in a 15-run over but the assault didn’t last too long.After back-to-back fours off Sutherland on the off side, Harmanpreet smoked a six over the midwicket rope to reach 8000 T20 runs and followed it with another four over point. But when she went for another slash outside off, she handed a catch to Prasad; nobody else would hit a six in the remainder of the MI innings.Nat Sciver-Brunt brought out many shots•WPL

Sciver-Brunt the lone woman standing

Sciver-Brunt had also struck eight fours by then to lead MI past 100 with Sutherland’s 20-run over. Sciver-Brunt reached fifty off 36 balls to keep MI in touching distance of 10 an over with seven overs to go and seven wickets in hand.MI, however, slipped and didn’t even last all 20 overs; they lost wickets in nearly every over from thereon. Kerr was run-out at the non-striker’s end when Minnu Mani deflected a ball off her own bowling, S Sajana edged a slower one to the keeper, Amanjot Kaur yorked herself against Capsey to lose her stumps, and there were two more run-outs as the tailenders tried to give the strike to Sciver-Brunt at the death. When she did get strike, she used her power to despatch the older ball and finished with her highest WPL score.

Teenage legspinner impressed in Antigua defeat and hopes to continue learning from England’s past master

Cameron Ponsonby04-Dec-20231:50

Miller: Judge Buttler and Mott on T20Is, not ODIs

For more than a decade, the of England’s white-ball set-up has been Adil’s wristspin.Filling the shoes of any world-class performer is almost always a doomed task. And those anointed to do so rarely appreciate the burden of expectation that is lumped on their growing shoulders. But nevertheless, step forward Rehan Ahmed.Rehan was the pick of England’s bowlers during defeat to West Indies in the first ODI, claiming 2 for 40 from his ten overs, spinning the ball sharply in both directions. His googly, which is arguably more of a stock delivery for him than his legbreak, is sensational. A modern-day legspinner in the shape of Rashid Khan as opposed to Shane Warne. And he can launch the ball out of the ground with the bat too.Related

• Sad Jos Buttler, Sad England

• Shai Hope's unbeaten 109 piles more misery on England

• No IPL 2024 for Archer as ECB looks to manage his workload

At a time when England are heading into the final years of Rashid’s career, the fact a readymade replacement is developing in front of our eyes is a blessing. Whether Rehan contributes the same quantity of wickets that Rashid has done across his career, it’s impossible to tell. What you can be sure of, however, is that he will provide a quality of entertainment that few across the rest of the game can.Rehan was picked for Pakistan last winter on the basis that Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum just liked it. What they liked exactly, no one was really sure. A batter who bowls? A bowler who bats? No one knew. They just felt that whatever mysterious concoction they’d been served up by the Leicestershire academy was delicious and they wanted lots more of it.”I don’t mind being hit for runs,” Rehan said the day after England’s defeat. “I just want to take wickets. The runs aren’t really part of it. I know there’s going to be a couple days where I get it wrong and I get hit around, which I’m fine with, it’s just more when I’m on top and I’m bowling well to [try to ] impact the game as much as I can.”On Sunday in Antigua, Rehan gave West Indies No. 3 Keacy Carty a living nightmare. In 17 deliveries to Carty, who has been struggling for domestic form, Rehan conceded just seven runs as he consistently turned the ball past both edges. Yes, the pitch assisted spin – but if it’s turning, you want your spinner to bowl well. And he did.”I think there was a couple of overs in there I could have maybe attacked a bit more,” Rehan said a spell that looked certain to have won England the match. “[I could have] played around with the field a little bit more. But again I’m not seeking perfection and I felt like I bowled very well. I think I challenged the stumps quite a bit. But there’s always ways to improve.”Rehan Ahmed was the pick of England’s attack in the first ODI•Getty Images

This isn’t to retire Rashid prematurely, with the sweet spot for England potentially lying in the idea of playing both of them. For just £40, you can go to a Trent Bridge ODI and watch Qui-Gon Jinn train his Padawan one over at a time. After all, in the same way that Rehan was picked for the tour of Pakistan on the basis that if you’re good enough, you’re old enough – a 39-year-old Rashid in 2027 may rock up to another World Cup on the basis that if you’re good enough, you’re young enough.”I think so,” Rehan replied when asked if he reckoned England could play with two leggies in one side. Which, admittedly, is a question it is in his interest to answer affirmatively. “You see more than one seamer in a team, so there can always be more than one legspinner.””Rash is probably the best legspinner in the world right now and whenever I’m with him I try to take as much information as I can, especially on his legspinner – he’s got about 12 so I just try to pick one of them for now. But it has offered me a lot and I’m getting a bit more sidespin than I used to.”I played a couple of T20s in the summer and the Bangladesh game [in March] as well so I think it was a nice feeling for all of us together. I feel like I can speak to Rash about bowling and it felt like a practice game even though it was an international game so it kept me very relaxed.”What’s more, if the idea of more than one legspinner in a team is cause for excitement, a team with more than one Ahmed is doubly so, with Rehan’s brother, Farhan, a 15-year-old offspinner, set to be named in England men’s Under-19 World Cup squad.”He bowls a lot of dot balls so he’ll be quite boring,” Rehan joked. “But no, I’m very happy for him. He’s very young and he’s been picked for such a big thing as well. It’s an unbelievable achievement. He’s actually at school right now doing his physics test.”Rehan is one of three brothers, and the family have a strong cricketing bond with his elder brother playing regularly for Nottinghamshire 2nd XI. The trio also regularly turn out together for their club side Cavaliers and Carrington – previously described by Rehan as the “Manchester United of cricket, the best club in England”.So invested is Rehan, he returned to play for Cavaliers the weekend before the Ireland ODI series in September began. “I play with my older brother and younger brother and dad in club cricket and it’s the best feeling ever. As many of us that can play together, it’s always going to be good. Whether it’s for England, for county, for school, for a club, anything. I think playing alongside family is always a great feeling.”

Williamson has only played two ODIs since the 2019 World Cup final, while Southee’s last one was in February 2020

Andrew McGlashan17-Aug-20220:58

Looking forward to moving into ‘life after cricket’ – Trent Boult

It’s 10 years since New Zealand have played an ODI in West Indies but they could, depending on final selection, field five players who were part of that team in St Kitts in July 2012.Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Tom Latham, Tim Southee and Trent Boult are back as part of this tour – a mark of their longevity and success as international cricketers – as the side gears up for next year’s ODI World Cup which, for some, might be their last global tournament.For Boult there is even a question mark over that after his recent decision to step away from his central contract. Beyond this tour (and the upcoming T20 World Cup which he appears set to play) the criteria around his future selection remains to be decided.Related

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• Hetmyer, Paul and Motie ruled out of New Zealand ODI series

Boult’s previous ODIs came in March 2021 – they have been a scarce format for New Zealand until recently which has left them a lot of catch-up series to play over the next few months – but for some, it’s even longer since an appearance in the format.Southee is no longer a first-choice pick in ODIs, but it is still remarkable to think that his last appearance was before the pandemic was a reality – against India in February 2020.Williamson’s most recent outing came just a month later, in the first behind-closed-doors game at the SCG just as sport around the world was being shut down. That is one of just two matches he has played since the 2019 World Cup final owing to injury and rotation.Kane Williamson has not played an ODI since March 2020•Getty Images

Barring Matt Henry’s injury which has ended his tour, New Zealand are at full strength for the series having explored their depth on the recent tour of Europe and over the last couple of years. A number of players have emerged during that time and some find themselves on this tour: opening batter Finn Allen, allrounder Michael Bracewell who produced some stunning performances in Europe, and pace bowler Ben Sears who has replaced Henry.”Sears [has] that bit of extra pace which is always nice to have in your side. Finn who has done really well in the Super Smash and over in Europe he played really well,” Latham said. “Both those guys are youthful and play an exciting brand of cricket.”With spin expected to play a significant part, there may only be room for two frontline quicks in New Zealand’s XI.”It will be interesting to see what the surfaces are like,” Latham said. “Looking at some of the scores in recent times here in one-day cricket they do vary a little bit so sure spin will play a part but we also have a bit of pace in our squad as well.”Having played just three of their World Cup Super League series, New Zealand have more ODI cricket than most between now and next March. After this series they head to Cairns in northern Australia in early September and after the T20 World Cup host India before heading to Pakistan. They wrap up their home season against Sri Lanka.”With the big picture of the World Cup not too far away so for us it’s about getting used to different conditions,” Latham said. “Somewhere here like West Indies, it might be similar to what we are faced with in India.”Any time you get the opportunity to play on different surfaces to home it’s important you take all the learnings and try to adapt the best you can. That’s something our squad has done really well of late, we’ve played over in Europe and here with the T20s so it’s all about trying to adapt as quickly as you can.”New Zealand ODI squad Kane Williamson, Finn Allen, Trent Boult, Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee

India’s captain expressed his surprise at the choices for the awards, which went to Sam Curran and Jonny Bairstow respectively

Saurabh Somani28-Mar-20212:12

Manjrekar: Thakur gets you wickets but he’ll never be economical

India’s seven-run win in the third ODI against England won them the series 2-1 and completed a sweep across formats.India had put up 329 and had England on the ropes at 257 for 8, but a career-best 83-ball 95* by Sam Curran kept England in the game till the end of the final over. Curran had also got the wicket of a free-flowing Rishabh Pant to end India’s best partnership in their innings. In a relatively rare occurrence, players from the losing side were awarded the Player-of-the-Match and Player-of-the-Series awards, Curran winning the former and Jonny Bairstow the latter for topping the run-charts in the series with scores of 94, 124 and 1.India captain Virat Kohli expressed his surprise at the choices for the awards, holding that Shardul Thakur and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were better candidates for both.”I am quite surprised that he (Thakur) wasn’t the Man of the Match today, to be honest,” Kohli told Star Sports at the post-match presentation ceremony. Thakur had figures of 4 for 67 and had earlier scored 30 off 21.Related

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“Four wickets for 65 in ten overs and scoring 30 off 20 balls…And Bhuvi, again, a big contender for Man of the Series as well. Picking up six wickets at an economy of under six on these kind of wickets? For me, it’s a no-brainer and I think these two guys were the difference during those middle overs and with the new ball as well. I think they were outstanding and a lot of credit goes to them for the series win.”Bhuvneshwar continued his fine form on his comeback to international cricket, following on from a stellar show in the T20Is to end the ODI series with six wickets in three games, at an economy rate of 4.65 – the best by a distance for any bowler in a series where the total of 300 was topped five times in six innings, and only a freak England collapse prevented it from being six out of six.Thakur ended up as the highest wicket-taker in both limited-overs series, taking eight wickets in the T20Is and seven in the ODIs, employing his slower ball variations to good effect throughout.Playing in bubbles for so long going to be very, very difficult

Kohli also reiterated that moving from bubble to bubble for extended periods of time was not a sustainable model for cricketers, saying the schedule needs to be looked at.The Indian players will move to their respective IPL team bubbles for the tournament that starts on April 9, making it nearly four non-stop bubbles since the start of last year’s IPL in September.”As I said, a couple of days ago as well, scheduling is something that needs to be looked at in the future,” Kohli said. “Because playing in bubbles for so long, two-three months, is going to be very, very difficult going forward. You can’t expect everyone to be at the same level of mental strength. Sometimes you do get cooked, and you do feel like a bit of change. I’m sure that things will be discussed and things will change in the future as well. But a different tournament, so it brings in fresh challenges now heading into the IPL. “

Opening batsman feeling better after illness and expects to train on New Year’s Day

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Dec-2019England have finally received some encouraging news on the health front, with Dom Sibley feeling better after being struck down by the illness that has cut a swathe through the visitors’ camp.Opening batsman Sibley became the latest player to succumb to the virus which has hit 17 members of the touring party, including key players and backroom staff, over the past fortnight.Sibley was to be monitored while travelling with the squad to Cape Town on Tuesday for the second Test, starting on January 3, and he was expected to train on New Year’s Day. The fact that no one else has been hit by the bug over the past 24 hours can be regarded as progress, although England management have been eager not to use the illness as an excuse for the side’s lacklustre performance in Centurion which resulted in a 107-run defeat.Some 11 England players have been sick. They include Jofra Archer and Stuart Broad, who showed some lingering effects of having spent the best part of the week before England’s first-Test loss in bed, as well as Joe Root, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, who spent time off the field during the match because they felt ill.Of most serious concern is Jack Leach, who also spent time in hospital in New Zealand with gastroenteritis and whose situation complicated by his history of Crohn’s disease. Leach is travelling with the rest of the squad to Cape Town, although it remains unlikely he will be considered fit for the second Test, having hardly bowled a ball for a month.Dom Bess and Matt Parkinson are vying for a spot in Leach’s place, with Bess considered to have the edge at this stage.Also read: We ‘won’t be afraid’ to leave out Broad or Anderson – SilverwoodWhile most of those previously affected have returned to training, it will take time to rediscover their fitness and stamina, particularly in the heat and altitudes they face in South Africa.While no decision has been taken on Sibley’s availability yet, if he fails to be deemed fully fit for the second Test, it could hand an opportunity to Zak Crawley to open the batting. It could also provide a reprieve for Jonny Bairstow, who looks set otherwise to make way for the now-recovered Ollie Pope.