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Ryan Stevenson’s career-best 4 for 71 keeps Hampshire in contest

ECB Reporters Network08-Aug-2020Ryan Stevenson and Martin Andersson recorded career-bests for their respective sides as Middlesex and Hampshire fought out an absorbing first day of their Bob Willis Trophy encounter at Radlett.Devon-born seamer Stevenson, recalled for only his sixth first-class game, took 4 for 71, doubling his first-class wicket tally in the process, but Andersson, a man with just eight first-class matches behind him, hit 92 to take the hosts to 252 all out.Liam Dawson, Keith Barker and James Fuller were also among the wickets, seemingly justifying Sam Northeast’s decision to bowl first, but James Harris took two wickets to leave the visitors 27 for 2 in reply after a seesaw day of action.Northeast’s decision to field raised eyebrows given their hosts opted for two spinners on a pitch expected to turn late in the match.However, in humid conditions and thanks to some early seam movement, it didn’t take the visitors’ attack long to reward their captain’s faith. In just the third over Barker bowled Sam Robson for a duck with a beauty which clipped the top of off stump.Nick Gubbins, fresh from his hundred in the win over Surrey also didn’t stay long. The left-hander got away with one top edge hook over the slips, only to play the shot again in the same over and hole out to Felix Organ at fine leg, so giving Fuller a wicket against his former county. And when the Stevenson got in on the act for the first time, trapping home skipper Stevie Eskinazi for 18, Middlesex were struggling at 41 for 3.That was Andersson’s cue to enter the fray and he played positively from the off, steadying the ship in the company of opener Max Holden either side of the lunch interval.Holden was dropped at slip by Ian Holland off the luckless Barker early in the afternoon, but the drop wasn’t costly as the same combination accounted for the left-hander for 36 shortly afterwards – a wonderful catch taken just millimetres from the turf to end a stand of 44.Andersson was given his one life on 23 when Dawson spilt a difficult chance at slip and he went on to make the most of his reprieve, reaching 50 from 71 balls with eight fours. He found a staunch ally in wicketkeeper John Simpson, who after a sticky start hit Barker for three successive fours.Dawson dropped Simpson on 26, but like Holland earlier atoned soon afterwards to give Stevenson a second wicket and end a stand of 93 for the fifth wicket. Dawson, back from England ODI duty then struck with the ball having Harris taken at slip off the last ball before tea.Six more boundaries took Anderson past his previous best of 83 against Lancashire at Old Trafford last September and to within touching distance of a maiden first-class hundred, but he came up eight short when Fuller trapped him lbw.Tom Helm and Nathan Sowter added useful runs for the eighth wicket before Stevenson returned to dismiss the latter and Thilan Walallawita off successive balls to cap his excellent day.Helm ensured a second batting point by striking Dawson for a towering straight six, but Dawson had him caught and bowled later in the same over.With 14 overs left to bat, Hampshire looked set to get to the close unscathed before Harris found the edge of Organ’s bat and Sowter took a sharp catch at second slip.Barker was sent in as nightwatchman, but that plan backfired when Harris struck a second time with one that splayed the stumps, leaving the match intriguingly poised ahead of day two.

The New Zealand veteran said she saw potential for at least four teams, and possibly six, in the Women’s T20 challenge

Annesha Ghosh18-May-2019Suzie Bates, New Zealand’s most capped female cricketer, does not have a Test appearance to her name. Five years ago, she felt “a bit cheated” at not having had the opportunity to play in the longest format, a run of luck that has not changed 13 years on from her international debut. Nearly a decade-and-a-half since New Zealand women last played a Test, the 31-year-old former national captain underscored that the onus rests on the boards of the top eight nations, rather than the ICC, to host “at least one annual Test”.”There’s a real opportunity for the boards, away from the ICC, to encourage at least one annual Test match between certain countries,” Bates told ESPNcricinfo, putting her weight behind the multi-format women’s Ashes as a template for other nations to follow.”The series structure of England versus Australia is brilliant. If we had, say, a tour of India and we decided we have three ODIs, three T20Is and one Test match, that would be one of the best experiences for our group. I believe there is a real opportunity for the top eight nations to host a Test match a year. I was speaking to Smriti [Mandhana, the 22-year-old India opener, during the Women’s T20 Challenge] the other night. She has played two Test matches; I haven’t played any (laughs). She couldn’t believe that.”The two Tests Mandhana featured in are the only ones India have played in the longest format in the last decade. In fact, outside of Australia and England, India are the only team alongside South Africa (one match) to have played women’s Tests at all since 2008, with only one Test (England v Australia) taking place since August 2015.Bates’ views on the need for national boards, other than only Australia and England, to back Test cricket for their women’s players come a little over a month after Australia captain Meg Lanning called on “big fish” India to “get involved” in promoting women’s Tests.Beyond her standing as a stalwart of the women’s game, the New Zealander’s stance on women’s Tests assume greater significance when viewed in light of her position as the only woman on the current MCC World Cricket Committee, an independent panel of former and current players and umpires, that can propose changes to the sport’s laws. Bates also offered another suggestion to get more countries involved in women’s Tests.”One other thing I thought about, and with my role at the MCC… I see a potential in the opportunity for some of the best cricketers to play Tests, outside of bilateral series if they do at all turn into a reality, is when England and Australia play their Ashes series,” said Bates, who was appointed to the committee in 2017.”They could pick a Rest of the World side to play a Test match each against England and Australia in the build-up to their Ashes. That’s another way to see what the standard is like, besides providing them [England and Australia] with another match because they only play one match as well.”That’s something I’ve sort of thought of randomly, and it might be a good way to give a push to women’s Tests. It’s a something I’ve thought of as a selfish thing because I’d love to play a Test, and if the Ashes are the only Test series you’re going to hold, I’d love to play an Ashes. How cool would that be, even though I am neither from Australia nor England?”Bates admitted that T20s are the best bet to grow women’s cricket, but if commercial viability is the only hurdle on the path of hosting more women’s Tests, boards could chose to cut costs by not broadcasting the game(s).”The Test match doesn’t need to be televised,” said Bates. “We don’t need to televise everything if that’s a reason for not holding Tests, and if you want to promote only the Twenty 20 format as much as you can. Do they go along the commercial side with no broadcast? Perhaps yes.”I do understand why Twenty20 cricket has become the main push for women’s cricket. And, look, without it we wouldn’t have been at the [Women’s] Big Bash [League], KSL [Kia Super League], or the Women’s T20 Challenge. I get why the boards want more T20 cricket for women because commercially… the television factor, the entertainment, so understandably that’s going to come first now, and I’m supportive of that.”Only last week, Bates was part of the first multi-team Women’s T20 Challenge, as one of the 12 overseas participants. The Player of the Match in the one-off exhibition that took place in 2018, under the same tournament banner, Bates underlined that the road-map for the Indian domestic tournament should take into consideration a few key factors going forward.”I’m an advocate for progression,” Bates said. “I do believe that by having last year’s exhibition game slightly bigger, longer this year, you get a peek into the problems, you get to talk to the people close to the women’s game about what’s right.”I think for me the No. 1 thing is the real clear window, so that we don’t miss the likes of the South Africa and Pakistan and Australians, so there’s plenty of information for the boards over a period of time and you are able to get the best of the best from around the world. It will lift the standard.”Where does Bates stand on the teams’ structure for next year’s edition?”The number of teams is a contentious issue,” Bates replied. “I don’t know the depth of Indian (domestic) cricket, but even three teams like this year had really good players on the sidelines. So I’d definitely root for four, but I see potential for six.”Once you put them out there, the next tier of players have something to look up to. They may be miles away from the Indian side right now, but if they see here are six teams training hard for a women’s IPL, playing in a women’s IPL, they will want to be a part of it. Initially there may be a gap, but in the following one or two years, it just naturally builds as we’ve seen in the Big Bash.”

Abahani cruise to sixth successive win; Reza, Mahmud star in Doleshawar’s win over Dhanmondi

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Feb-2018Abahani Limited romped to their sixth consecutive win in the Dhaka Premier League after crushing Mohammedan Sporting Club by 112 runs.Mashrafe Mortaza and Mehidy Hasan took three wickets each as Mohammedan, who won their last three league matches, were bowled out for 147 runs in 30.4 overs in chase of 260. Earlier, Nasir Hossain (67) and Anamul Haque (63) made match-winning half-centuries.Mohammad Sharif’s six-wicket haul, which included a hat-trick, helped fire Legends of Rupganj to a five-wicket win over Gazi Group Cricketers.Batting first, Gazi Group were bowled out for 190 in 32.4 overs after the match was reduced to 33-overs per side due to a delayed start owing to a wet outfield. Sharif removed Imrul Kayes and India international Manoj Tiwary in his first spell.Off the second ball of his second spell, Mahedi Hasan fell for five before Sharif nipped out Rajibul Islam, Nadif Chowdhury and Ruhel Ahmed off consecutive balls in the following over. It was Sharif’s first six-wicket haul and second hat-trick in List-A cricket.Parvez Rasool and Tushar Imran rescued Rupganj’s chase by adding 102 runs for the fifth wicket after they had slipped to 86 for four in the 15th over. Rasool remained unbeaten on 61 off 57 balls with five fours and two sixes.A century by Fazle Mahmud and Farhad Reza’s four-wicket haul helped Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club to a 56-run win over Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club in Fatullah.Batting first, Doleshwar were propelled to 293 for 6 on the back of Mahmud’s unbeaten 120. He added 82 runs for the second wicket with Liton Das and another 71 runs for the fourth wicket with Zohaib Khan.Nurul Hasan later struck an 86-ball century too but Dhanmondi Club were bowled out for 237 runs in 45 overs. Nurul, who earned a call-up to Bangladesh’s T20 squad on the same day, struck seven fours and a six. He added 99 runs for the seventh wicket with Elias Sunny. Farhad took four for 56 while Arafat Sunny took two wickets.

Sam Billings, the Kent and England wicketkeeper-batsman, has signed to play for Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League in Australia next month

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Nov-2016Sam Billings, the Kent and England wicketkeeper-batsman, has signed to play for Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League in Australia next month. He is available for the group stage, although he is expected to miss the later stages of the tournament because of a clash with England’s ODI tour to India in January.Billings will join England team-mate Jason Roy in a squad that also includes a former Kent team-mate in Doug Bollinger, the veteran Australia pace bowler. Nottinghamshire’s Michael Lumb is also part of the Sixers squad.Billings said: “It’s a great competition and to get the opportunity to play in it is fantastic. I spent six months in Sydney in 2013 and it was a very good experience and great for my game.”Sydney Sixers head coach Greg Shipperd said Billings’ flexibility was an attraction. “Sam is a crucial addition to our ranks given the selection for Australia of Nic Maddinson and the possibility of other Australian selections.”Recent international performances have whetted our appetite that his explosive and creative style of batting will nicely suit our line-up. Sam can bat anywhere in the order and we like that flexibility in our players. Also his fielding is highly rated both as a keeper or outfielder.”

A round-up of all the Ranji Trophy Group B matches on October 15, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2015
ScorecardFile Photo – Kedar Devdhar’s 97 held Baroda’s innings together on the first day•Cricket Kenya

A 97 from the opener Kedar Devdhar, and an unbeaten 45 from the No. 8 Swapnil Singh were major contributions for Baroda in their Group B clash against Andhra, as they ended day one with 234 for 7.Hitesh Solanki and Devdhar put on 65 for the opening stand. But seamer Cheepurapalli Stephen picked up two wickets in a space of 10 deliveries to reduce Baroda to 71 for 2 in the 28th over. A middle-order collapse ensued, and the visitors were further reduced to 94 for 4 and then 110 for 5. Devdhar shared a 34, and 47-run stand with Ketan Panchal and Swapnil before Paidikalva Vijaykumar had him caught behind three short of his ton. Swapnil and Pinal Shah came together for an unbeaten 43-run, eighth-wicket stand that revived Baroda and took them past 200.Left-arm seamer Stephen almost single handedly ran through the Baroda middle order and ended the day with figures of 4 for 57. Though right-arm seamer Duvvarapu Siva Kumar managed to pick up only one wicket, he delivered 10 maidens of the 16 that he bowled on the day.
ScorecardPriyank Kirit Panchal’s fourth first -class ton, and Samit Gohel’s 54 helped Gujarat dominate Punjab on the first day of their Group B game in Mohali.Gujarat added 117 for the opening stand before Siddarth Kaul ran out Gohel off the last ball of the 40th over. Punjab captain Yuvraj Singh then had Bhargav Merai caught behind for 29 in the 56th over, ending the 59-run stand between him and Panchal. But Gujarat captain Parthiv Patel teamed up for a brisk 45-run stand with Panchal, taking the team past 220 as Panchal went past triple figures.In the 67th over, left-arm seamer Brainder Sran ended Panchal’s first innings when he had him caught by Jiwanjot Singh for 105. Venugopal Rao and Parthiv were unbeaten on 41 and 40 respectively. Punjab’s bowling was not very disciplined as they conceded 21 extras in the 85 overs bowled on the day, that included nine no balls.
ScorecardA maiden first-class century from the opener Ashish Singh powered Railways to 316 for 5 by stumps on the first day against Uttar Pradesh in Ghaziabad. Railways, after being inserted, began brightly, as they were buoyed by an opening stand worth 77 between Saurabh Wakaskar and Ashish. Wakaskar fell seven short of a fifty, but Ashish continued to pile on the runs, combining with Faiz Ahmed (74) for a second-wicket association which yielded 138 runs. Railways were further lifted by handy knocks from Prashant Awasthi (42) and Arindam Ghosh (37 not out), which ensured that despite a flurry of wickets towards the end, they had the edge going into the second day. Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of UP’s bowlers, collecting 3 for 64.Tamil Nadu v Mumbai in Mumbai – Dabholkar’s four gives Mumbai the edge

Miguel Cummins ripped through the Trinidad & Tobago line-up to dismiss them for 110 on the first day of the regional four-day final at Kensington Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff10-May-2013
ScorecardMiguel Cummins ripped through the Trinidad & Tobago line-up to dismiss them for 110 on the first day of the regional four-day final at Kensington Oval. The Barbados top order built on Cummins’ third five-wicket haul of the tournament to end the day 34 runs in front with eight wickets standing.T&T were in early trouble after Barbados chose to bowl on a grassy surface, Cummins taking four of the first five wickets to have the visitors limping at 19 for 5. He had Adrian Barath and Yannick Cariah caught off successive deliveries in his second over, and sent back Jason Mohammed in his third. At the other end, Kemar Roach accounted for Lendl Simmons.The T&T lower order fought briefly, No 9 Rayad Emrit leading the way with 34 and No 7 Stephen Katwaroo chipping in with 24. Cummins completed his five-for, removing Emrit to end the innings in the 38th over.Kraigg Brathwaite and Rashidi Boucher, with a breezy 46, put on 62 upfront for Barbados and captain Kirk Edwards followed up with 48 before falling late in the day to Simmons. Brathwaite was unbeaten on a patient 49.Cummins’ showing took the 22-year old’s tournament haul to 31 wickets, the most by a fast bowler. “Things have been going great for me this season,” Cummins said. “This is my first full season playing for Barbados at the senior regional level. I had one match last year and it didn’t work out that well, but I was determined and came back and told myself ‘this year would be my year’.”We are going to look to bat the whole day on Friday, but if we have to bowl at all, I’ll be looking to come out bowling as hard again as I did on the first day.”

Toby Radford, the West Indies assistant coach, has denied that the confidence levels of the hosts’ young batsmen are taking a battering ahead of a tour of England, in the wake of the top order struggling once again on day two in Dominica

Daniel Brettig at Windsor Park25-Apr-2012Toby Radford, the West Indies assistant coach, has denied that the confidence levels of the hosts’ young batsmen are taking a battering ahead of a tour of England, in the wake of the top order struggling once again on day two in Dominica. Chief among several areas of concern for West Indies is 19-year-old opener Kraigg Brathwaite, who after starting the series with a fighting half-century in Barbados has since made three consecutive ducks.Following Brathwaite’s dismissal at Windsor Park, Adrian Barath and Kieran Powell formed the foundations of a useful stand, but once Barath went the rest fell away alarmingly, leaving Shivnarine Cahnderpaul to mount the best salvage operation he could against an Australia attack that has slowly gained a measure over their opponents across three Tests. Radford, however, argued that the series had been a difficult one for batsmen of both teams.”I think it [this series] is difficult for both sides. I was happy with how we dealt with the new ball today. I thought Barath was good, I thought Powell was good,” he said. “Having got a really good start against the new ball, suddenly spin did the damage. We’ve had other games where we’ve struggled against the new ball, we’ve talked a lot about it.”How to play [Ben] Hilfenhaus, the fact he sets you up bowling away and then there’s the big inswinger… We’ve looked at that, thought we played that really well today and then on comes an offspinner, lots of turn and bounce, and he does the damage. These are young guys, talented guys, who I think will have good careers and we’ve got to be patient with them. They’re learning and they’ll learn around people like Shiv at the other end. It’s not suicide for us. You learn, you come back and are stronger. Hopefully we can go to England and then perform there.”As for Brathwaite, Radford said he and head coach Ottis Gibson would seek to remind the teenager of the character and ability he had shown in his first innings of the series. Brathwaite’s ability to hang in there at the crease is a critical element of the batting line-up West Indies are seeking to build, as they sorely need batsmen capable of soaking up time and overs in the manner of the 37-year-old Chanderpaul.”You chat with him [Brathwaite]. You talk with him. You practice with him whenever you can and you remind him how good a player he is,” Radford said. “He played very well in Barbados in that first innings. Today he got out in a similar fashion to how he got out in the second innings in Barbados, just hanging the bat a little bit, but again you back him. He’s a good player. He’s a young player. Our job as coaches is to keep his confidence high and work on any little issues as they come along. You’ve got to back your young players.”Of greater concern to Radford is the way in which Australia’s tail has repeatedly wagged. While the captain Darren Sammy had pointed to Michael Hussey as the major source of these rear-guards, in Dominica it was Matthew Wade shepherding the lower order, though Mitchell Starc and Ben Hilfenhaus also played a few handsome strokes of their own in building a final tally of 328.”We’ve regularly got out top quality players. [Shane] Watson, [Ricky] Ponting, [Michael] Clarke. Hussey’s been fantastic all the way through, didn’t get any in this game, but they bat very deep,” Radford said. “Guys come in at No. 9, 10 or 11 and can hold an end up. Last week it was Pattinson, today others take on that mantle. Starc played really well, he got 35 as a guy coming in lower down.”I think if we can take anything away [from this match], it’s important that we bat in the same way with the same brains, the same technique. We’re always looking to develop, we’re always looking to analyse and learn – that’s always my message when we have bad days, that you come in tomorrow and say ‘right, how we going to have a better one’. We must keep learning. I think we’re a side who’ve done well over the last few weeks, we’ve fought well. This happens to be a bad day and we’ve got to come back with a better one tomorrow, simple as that.”Radford said the West Indies bowlers had been reminded of the importance of bowling at the tail in the same manner they had stalked Australia’s top order, but admitted that fatigue after day one in the field under Roseau’s sapping tropical sun may have been a factor in a flat display on the second morning.”The message was we must bowl at those guys – Starc and Wade – as if they were Hussey and top order batters. We’ve got to bowl the same way. We can’t think they’re just going to fall over because we know Australians don’t just fall over,” he said. “Don’t think because they’re No. 9, 10 and 11 they’re just going to give their wickets away, it just doesn’t happen like that. I certainly think fatigue [played a part]. We had a long day in the field yesterday.”Six hours in that heat, I think, took a bit out of the seamers and it’s the physical toll [that affected them]. Someone like Kemar Roach, who has been absolutely magnificent and is a world class bowler, he’s starting to get a bit fatigued. He’s bowled all summer in this series and I think it was hard for him this morning to just dig that bit deeper again. You’re expecting a lot [of a bowler], to do it day in and day out in these temperatures.”

The Surrey seamer Jade Dernbach has been named as the surprise replacement in England’s World Cup squad, after Ajmal Shahzad was forced out of contention for the knock-out stages of the tournament after sustaining a hamstring strain

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Mar-2011The Surrey seamer Jade Dernbach has been named as the surprise replacement in England’s World Cup squad, after Ajmal Shahzad sustained a hamstring strain that ruled him out of contention for the knock-out stages of the tournament.Dernbach, who is currently in the West Indies with the England Lions, has received approval from the ICC Event Technical Committee, and is expected to be released from his current fixture against Windward Islands, and will arrive in the subcontinent in time for the quarter-finals, which get underway on March 23.Dernbach, 24, began the winter on the England Performance Programme in Australia before going on to make his England Lions debut last month, playing in the WICB regional four-day competition where he is currently the side’s leading wicket-taker. The Surrey player has spent the previous two winters on the ECB Fast Bowling Programme in Florida and Chennai and is a graduate of the Surrey Academy.Chris Adams, the Surrey cricket manager, believes the call-up is due reward for hard work. “From what we’ve seen for the last two years with Jade, as a cricketer and a person, he’s matured in an accelerated way,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “Partly because the situation at Surrey meant from an early age he was being asked to lead attacks which was good exposure and a steep learning curve.”As a bowler has come on immensely in the last two years, but as a person he has also really matured into an outstanding individual. There are perceptions that people may have had in past that haven’t always been that favourable, but take it from me he’s an outstanding individual. He’ll run through brick walls for his team-mates and loves winning.”One of the aspects of Dernbach’s game that has caught the eye on the domestic circuit and kept the selectors interested is his accurate slower ball which has proved very effective in one-day cricket. He has taken 95 wickets in 60 List A fixtures with a career-best of 5 for 31, although his economy rate is high at 6.33, and on the current Lions tour has taken 19 wickets at 15.63 in the Caribbean four-day competition.”He’s developed a slower ball, a very special variance, which is dynamite and is unusual. It’s bowled very well and has great deception,” Adams said. “All those aspects coming together and this x-factor delivery is good reason for the selectors to have called him up. If you have a slower ball that gets purchase or grip, anything off the pitch, you’ll be in the game so long as you can disguise it well which Jade is exceptional at.”National Selector, Geoff Miller, said: “We have been following the progress of Jade for some time and he has impressed throughout his two years on the fast bowling programme in 2008-09 in Florida and Chennai and the England Performance Programme in Australia late last year and during the domestic season with Surrey.”He is a talented athlete and has performed very well with the Lions on the current tour of the West Indies and we feel his variations will be extremely useful on the surfaces we will be playing on should we progress to the knock out stages of the World Cup.”Dernbach was picked ahead of the Warwickshire allrounder, Chris Woakes, who impressed in his maiden England series in Australia recently. Liam Plunkett, who played the last of those seven ODIs against Australia, is currently injured.The England team is currently waiting for confirmation that the side has reached the quarter-final stages of the ICC World Cup which is dependent on the remaining matches in the group stages. A victory for South Africa over Bangladesh, or India over West Indies, would be enough to guarantee a place in the last eight.Dernbach, who was named in England’s 30-man preliminary squad, becomes the fourth replacement in England’s World Cup 15, although Eoin Morgan – who was replaced by Ravi Bopara – subsequently returned as a replacement for the injured Kevin Pietersen. Chris Tremlett was called up in place of Stuart Broad, who suffered a side strain during the victory over South Africa.

Teenage seamer James Harris claimed four Sussex wickets as Glamorgan shaded the opening day of their Division Two clash at a sunny Swalec Stadium

09-Apr-2010
ScorecardTeenage seamer James Harris claimed four Sussex wickets as Glamorgan shaded the opening day of their Division Two clash at a sunny Swalec Stadium. But Glamorgan, who had Sussex 153 for 6 and then 237 for 9, were held up by Robin Martin-Jenkins until he was last man out, one of three wickets for Dean Cosker.Sussex were eventually bowled out for 284 with Martin-Jenkins batting for 47 overs for his 65 from 133 balls. Glamorgan captain Jamie Dalrymple decided to bowl after winning the toss. With frontline seamers David Harrison and Adam Shantry both injured and Glamorgan naming three spinners that seemed a foolhardy decision.But after Sussex made a good start Glamorgan, thanks to Harris, pegged them back to 111 for 3 by lunch. Sussex, back in Division Two for the first time since 2001, made an ominous start to the season against young seamers Chris Ashling and Harris, 20 next month, who got through 23 overs.Michael Yardy took 10 off Harris’ opening over with Glamorgan conceding 17 runs in the first two overs. But on a pitch which started slightly damp Harris struck back to trap Chris Nash leg before with the first ball of his third over to have Sussex 27 for 1 in the fifth over.After reaching 50 at the end of the 12th Joe Gatting, nephew of former England captain Mike, was given a life when he was dropped by Ben Wright at first slip off James Allenby. But Allenby then clung on to a catch at first slip in the next over as Harris claimed the wicket of Yardy to leave the visitors on 73 for two.And two overs later Harris bagged his third victim by trapping Gatting lbw. But from 74 for 3 Goodwin and Wright took Sussex to lunch despite confident appeals against both batsmen. Goodwin sent Ashling to the boundary for four fours in an over to help bring up the 100.After lunch the fourth-wicket pair continued to look comfortable until Allenby removed both in the space of three overs. First the former Leicestershire all-rounder bowled Goodwin, who shouldered arms, and eight balls later he struck again as Cosker took a brilliant left-handed catch at backward point as Sussex were reduced to 144 for 5.Sussex’s slump continued when Harris secured his fourth wicket, claiming a return catch from Michael Thornely. But from 153 for 6, Andrew Hodd and Martin-Jenkins set about a recovery either side of tea which Sussex reached at 193 for 6.After tea Ashling trapped Hodd lbw before Cosker struck. He claimed the wickets of James Anyon and Monty Panesar with consecutive deliveries before ending Martin-Jenkins’ 10th-wicket stand with Corey Collymore which was worth 47 runs.

He bowled two waist-high full tosses in the 18th over of Melbourne Renegades’ innings

Tristan Lavalette15-Dec-2025Shaheen Shah Afridi, on his BBL debut, was removed from the attack for dangerous bowling in the match between Brisbane Heat and Melbourne Renegades in Geelong.In the 18th over of Renegades’ innings, after Heat elected to field, Afridi bowled two waist-high full tosses – one each to Tim Seifert and Ollie Peake – and he was forced out of the attack.After being told he could no longer bowl, Afridi sported a wry grin as Heat captain Nathan McSweeney had to bowl the final two deliveries to complete the over.It meant Afridi finished with the rough figures of 0-43 off 2.4 overs, including three no-balls and two wides, in a tough BBL initiation. Entering the game amid much fanfare, with Pakistan team-mate Mohammad Rizwan also making his BBL debut for Renegades, he had started well with three dot balls in the second over.But things went downhill after that as he missed his lengths and was not brought back on until the 13th over when Renegades took the power surge. Afridi conceded 19 runs in the over before the horrors of the 18th over, where he ultimately leaked 15 runs, including three no-balls.Renegades finished with a massive 212 for 5 with Seifert smashing 102 off 56 balls and Peake clubbing 57 off 29. Rizwan, batting at No. 3, made just 4 from ten before holing out to left-arm spinner Paddy Dooley.