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Mills bolsters Middlesex challenge

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Kyle Mills’ outstanding form for New Zealand in the Champions League has won him a contract with Middlesex in this summer’s Friends Life t20 competition.

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jun-2013Kyle Mills’ outstanding form for New Zealand in the Champions Trophy has won him a contract with Middlesex in this summer’s Friends Life t20 competition.Mills, now in his mid-30s, will join up with Middlesex on Friday morning, the day after New Zealand’s second t20 International against England at The Oval.He will play for Middlesex against Kent at Canterbury that evening and is available for the entire tournament, should they progress to finals day.New Zealand players are in big demand for England’s FLt20 competition. Mills is the third signed in not much more than a week, with Nathan McCullum signing for Glamorgan and Mitchell McClenaghan winning a deal with Lancashire.Mills took six wickets at 10.50 runs each and conceded less than four runs an over as New Zealand narrowly missed out on a place in the Champions Trophy semifinals.Middlesex CCC’s Managing Director of Cricket, Angus Fraser, was delighted at the capture of Mills. “There are several reasons why Kyle is a good and exciting signing for Middlese,” he said. “During the recent Champions Trophy he highlighted what a high-quality white-ball bowler he is by topping the tournament averages and having one of the best economy rates.”Kyle will bring experience and quality to our attack, with his presence also allowing the club to manage the workload of a bowling attack that is competing in all three domestic tournaments.Middlesex play two LV= Championship matches in the middle of their T20 campaign, matches which could easily go amiss during the concentration on th4e shorter format and undermine a strong Championship challenge which surprisingly faltered with a home defeat against a weakened Yorkshire side.”Ideally, we want to keep our fast bowers as fresh as we can.,” Fraser said. “At the moment we have two or three bowlers who are either injured or recovering from injury. Corey Collymore is not contracted to play t20 cricket and we will also lose Tim Murtagh to Ireland for a week in early July. The squad is looking forward to welcoming Kyle on board.”

We showed a lot of maturity – de Villiers

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In the space of a week, AB de Villiers has gone from captaining a team for the first time at any level, to winning an international series with two matches to spare

Firdose Moonda18-Jan-2012In the space of a week, AB de Villiers has gone from captaining a team for the first time at any level, to winning an international series with two matches to spare. He’d be forgiven for thinking leadership is one of the easiest things he has been asked to do. But he doesn’t.Of all the players in the South African side over the past year, de Villiers developed the most. From a rough and tumble, schoolboy-style youngster as recently as during the 2011 World Cup, he has become a reasoning, sensible man whom anyone would want to call their captain. He also showed the ability to motivate, guide, think creatively and strategise, which are essential qualities for a leader of men.”I am very proud of the boys. We took it one game at a time. I would like to think we will keep playing this kind of cricket,” de Villiers said after the victory in Bloemfontein, which gave South Africa a 3-0 lead in the series against Sri Lanka. “We showed a lot of maturity, and a lot of young guys that came in showed experience. We didn’t expect it to be 3-nil but we are very happy that it is.”South Africa managed to stay one step ahead of Sri Lanka even as the visitors took large strides towards improvement. The closest South Africa came to being caught was in Bloemfontein, but de Villiers lead the charge in a pressure situation to win despite wet weather. “The game was in the balance a little bit but I’m glad we got there in the end,” he said.One of South Africa’s successful tactics was the rotation of the No. 4 position between de Villiers, JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis. In the third ODI, du Plessis came up the order and made his highest ODI score, 72, and de Villiers said they would keep the position fluid. “I warned you guys that we are going to mix it up a little bit,” he joked. “I needed to bat down the order because it was important to get partnerships in the front.”du Plessis said he was “grateful” to get the opportunity to spend more time in the middle. “In the previous two games, I got two or three overs at the end so it was nice to go out and express myself.” He also expressed himself in the field, where he effected a run-out to dismiss Kumar Sangakkara and saved lots of runs at point.de Villiers also lauded a “much better” fielding effort by South Africa. Although they dropped four chances and missed five run-out opportunities, they caught four batsmen and ran out three others. de Villiers, however, said they had to improve and were not “a perfect team”.With the series won, de Villiers said the focus would be on “4-nil first” in Kimberley on Friday, because thoughts turn to a whitewash. It will also provide an opportunity to test new combinations, something South Africa started in Bloemfontein but can apply with more freedom in the remaining two fixtures.”We could have one or two bowlers coming in but the batting will stay more or less the same,” de Villiers said. South Africa had a new-look top three in Bloemfontein and de Villiers said they were likely to stick with that for the next two matches. “Colin [Ingram] deserves another chance at No. 3.”de Villiers also indicated that out-of-form batsman Graeme Smith would stay in the side, despite mounting criticism. Smith’s last ODI hundred was during the Champions Tophy in 2009 and he has managed only one half-century in his previous 15 matches. With Alviro Petersen in good form, talk is rife that Smith will dropped once Hashim Amla returns from paternity leave.”His [Smith’s] confidence is not very high at the moment but I am expecting runs very soon,” de Villiers said. “We know he is under pressure and we have to remember that no-one is invincible. Poor form is around the corner for all of us. But he is one of those big match players and he is old enough and experienced enough to know what to do. All we can do is support him.”Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Lonwabo Tsotsobe served South Africa well but two of them may make way for Vernon Philander and Wayne Parnell in the remaining games against Sri Lanka. Philander was brought into the squad after an injury to Rory Kleinveldt, but Parnell has been part of the group from the outset but has yet to get a look in.

Teams poised for thrilling series decider

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ESPNcricinfo previews the fifth one-day international between Pakistan and South Africa at Dubai

The Preview by Liam Brickhill07-Nov-2010

Match Facts

November 8, Dubai

Start time 15:00 (11:00 GMT)Pakistan squeezed home to a one-wicket victory in the fourth match and and have fought back to 2-2 for the second time in their last two series•AFP

The Big Picture

An intriguing contest looms as Pakistan and South Africa head neck-and-neck into the final match of their limited-overs series. Pakistan were in this exact position in their last one-day last series, against England in September, having fought back from 2-0 down to set up what should have been a thrilling finale to their controversial English sojourn. As it happened, they capitulated pitifully on an autumnal evening at The Rose Bowl to hand England a 121-run win and the series.Pakistan’s mercurial style of play lends itself to such scenarios, and less than two months later a fittingly enthralling end to what has been a classic series is once again on the cards. It would be foolhardy to suggest a particular approach that Pakistan might take into Monday’s encounter at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium; they could flourish or implode in equally spectacular fashion. But despite the seemingly obligatory disciplinary issues in the Pakistan camp ahead of the game, morale is undoubtedly high and with a noisy crowd behind them they could well surge to a series-stealing win.Of course, South Africa have their own oft-repeated problems with ‘choking’ in crunch matches and will be hoping for a calmly professional performance to quieten those criticisms. The South Africans certainly started this series as the more fancied team, taking their dominance in the opening Twenty20 exchanges into the first ODI where they eased to a crushing eight-wicket win in the at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.But the three games since then have all been nail-bitingly close, and game No. 5 has the feel of a tournament final between two equally-matched teams. Can Pakistan overcome their indiscipline and inconsistency? Can South Africa finish the job and, with the World Cup just over 100 days away, show that the ‘chokers’ tag no longer fits them? There is plenty for both teams to gain from the final ODI.

Form guide

(most recent first)
South Africa: LWLWW
Pakistan: WLWLL

Watch out for…

Younis Khan’s return to Pakistan’s middle order has brought a much-needed level of calmness and experience, and has already added two half-centuries in this series to take his career tally to 39 – along with six ODI hundreds. If they are to avoid a repeat of their shocker at Southampton in September, a solid contribution from him will be vitally important.Graeme Smith is the kind of captain that looks to lead from the front, and won’t shy away from his responsibilities at the top of the order as South Africa push for a series win. He is also reasonably consistent against Pakistan’s attack, having managed 745 runs at 41.38 in 21 ODIs against them. Those runs include eight half-centuries, the last of which was Friday’s well-paced 92.

Team news

Lonwabo Tsotsobe’s back spasms continue to be a worry for South Africa, and once again they didn’t have the firepower to restrict Pakistan in the closing overs on Friday. Wayne Parnell leaked 53 runs in less than nine overs in that game, and could make way for Rusty Theron, who is a canny operator at the death.South Africa (possible): 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 AB de Villiers (wk), 5 JP Duminy, 6 Colin Ingram, 7 David Miller 8 Johan Botha, 9 Dale Steyn, 10 Morne Morkel, 11 Rusty Theron
Pakistan seem to have struck a winning combination and, barring injury, are unlikely to mess with the line-up that fought so hard for Friday’s series-levelling win.Pakistan (possible): 1 Imran Farhat, 2 Mohammad Hafeez, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Asad Shafiq, 5 Fawad Alam, 6 Shahid Afridi (capt), 7 Abdul Razzaq, 8 Abdur Rehman, 9 Zulqarnain Haider (wk), 10 Wahab Riaz, 11 Shoaib Akhtar

Pitch and conditions

The same strip is being used for the third match in a row, and the low, slow bounce and grip for the spinners that has been exhibited by this pitch so far is sure to get more exaggerated. Of course, that didn’t stop 549 runs being scored in the fourth match, and if the bowlers get it wrong they will still be punished. All of which makes a winning total rather hard to predict. What be predictable, though, is the weather: there might be the odd cloud around on Monday but it should be hot and dry once again.

Stats and trivia

  • Shoaib Akhtar has bowled reasonably well in this series without setting the world alight, and is Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker with six scalps at 32.16. But his career average in ODIs against South Africa is very impressive indeed, with his tally currently at 26 wickets at an average of 21.53.
  • Hashim Amla needs just four runs to reach 1,000 in ODIs in 2010. AB de Villiers is not far behind him at No. 3 on the 2010 runscorers list, and will also reach 1,000 for the year if he gets close to a hundred. Shahid Afridi, at No. 22, is the leading Pakistani runscorer, with 577 ODI runs to his name.
  • Pakistan are yet to beat South Africa in a limited-overs series, and have not won a one-day series since they beat West Indies 3-0 the last time they were in Abu Dhabi in November 2008.

Quotes

“This series is a very close affair, so we need to take all our chances and if we do then we will win the series, which will be a very good achievement considering our recent record.”

“We obviously want to win the series, but you also want to see which players are available before the World Cup because this is our last chance to play on sub-continent type of pitches here.”

Lamichhane lands in West Indies, will play Nepal's last two World Cup league games

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The ICC is yet to release a statement about whether his addition to the Nepal squad has been approved

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jun-2024Not long after he was denied a US visa, Sandeep Lamichhane has landed in the West Indies to play Nepal’s last two league games in Kingstown, St Vincent. Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) told ESPNcricinfo on Monday that the board had requested the ICC to allow Lamichhane as a late addition to their World Cup squad, which the governing body has approved, and he does not require a visa for St Vincent.Lamichhane was not part of the original 15-man squad, which was also listed on the ICC website, announced last month and couldn’t fly with the contingent to the USA because he couldn’t get a US visa for that leg.All boards were allowed to make changes to their T20 World Cup 2024 squads by May 25, but when Lamichhane didn’t get a US visa even on second attempt, and Nepal were to play their first two games in the USA, CAN had said on May 30 that Lamichhane was going to miss the tournament. But CAN president Chatur Bahadur Chand told ESPNcricinfo on Monday that the board had originally submitted 14 names on May 24 to the ICC to allow for Lamichhane’s late addition. An ICC spokesperson also confirmed the allowance was given to Nepal since they had originally submitted only 14 names.Lamichhane, however, landed in the West Indies on June 9, local time, and tweeted that he was going to join the Nepal national team “for the last two matches,” which they are to play against South Africa on June 14 and Bangladesh on June 16.

Barely a couple of hours before that, CAN also issued a statement on their social media saying Lamichhane will join the squad. Currently the Nepal squad is in Lauderhill, USA, for their second Group D match against Sri Lanka on June 11, after they lost their tournament opener to Netherlands in Dallas.”We, along with Nepal government, had tried hard to secure a US visa for Lamichhane but that didn’t work out,” Chand said. “We had already requested the ICC to give an allowance for him to be added to the World Cup squad even as a late entry. The ICC has now allowed Lamichhane to be added for the last two matches.”Lamichhane’s applications for the US visa were denied twice last month despite interventions from the Nepal government. The most high-profile cricketer from Nepal, Lamichhane had been arrested in October 2022 with accusations of raping an 18-year-old woman. He was immediately suspended by CAN at the time. After a trial in January 2024, he was found guilty only to be acquitted on appeal by the Patan High Court in May, because of “a lack of evidence”. CAN allowed him to resume playing cricket with immediate effect and was harbouring hopes of sending him to the USA and the Caribbean for the T20 World Cup until his US visa was denied.

Not again! Saim Ayub adds to Pakistan's first slip woes

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David Warner was given a life from a simple chance, although it wasn’t as costly as it could have been

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jan-2024

First Test, Perth

15.1 Aamer Jamal to Khawaja, FOUR, dropped! Short outside off, goes for the pull, gets a big top edge which loops over the cordon and Shafique, running back from first, never settles under it. Not a simple chance, but had time to get there

Second Test, Melbourne

2.6 Shaheen Shah Afridi to Warner, no run, Edged and dropped! Can you believe it? What have you done Abdullah Shafique! It was a regulation catch at first slip and once again Pakistan not taking their chances! That was an extraordinary delivery on a length and moved away just enough to scratch his outside edge, was a touch low and just burst out of his hands. They give Warner a big reprieve!15.1 No, no, no! Scurries in and hammers it on a length, gets it to zip away outside off and it’s that man again Abdullah Shafique who drops another soda in the slip cordon. This is unbelievable! Marsh gets a huge reprieve. Will he make the bowlers suffer?

Third Test, Sydney

13.2 Aamer Jamal to Warner, no run. Edged and dropped! Can you believe it? Saim Ayub, the culprit. Just burst out of his hands! That was a regulation catch! Lovely delivery a back of a length and it’s whooshing away in the corridor, a tentative poke at it and Pakistan nearly got their first breakthrough. This is poor from the young man.***For once, however, Warner didn’t pile on the runs and punish Pakistan too severely after his reprieve. Ten overs and 14 runs later, he would nick off to first slip again. This time, Babar was back in that position.24.3 Salman to Warner, OUT. Caught at slip! This rags from the surface! Salman should have been on sooner! What a delivery. Drifting into leg, Warner is playing back from the crease, closes the face, it bites and spins sharply across him to catch the shoulder of the bat and Babar takes a nice catch rolling to his left.

Sophie Luff, Fran Wilson steer Western Storm to comfortable DLS victory

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Lauren Filer three-for ensures Lightning can’t get close in rain-affected chase

ECB Reporters Network02-Jul-2022Western Storm 260 for 9 (Luff 48, Cleary 3-45) beat Lightning 166 for 9 (Filer 3-35) by 75 runs (DLS method)Western Storm opened their Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy campaign with a comfortable victory over East Midlands side Lightning in a rain-affected match at the Haslegrave Grove ground in Loughborough.Chasing a revised target of 250 from 46 overs after Storm had finished on 255 for 9 from 50, Lightning were 166 for 9 from 34.2 overs when a second stoppage for heavy rain forced the match to be abandoned, losing by 75 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern index.Sophie Luff made 48 and former England international Fran Wilson 43 off 37 balls after Lightning chose to bowl first. Australian seam bowler Piepa Cleary led the Lightning attack with 3 for 45 from her 10 overs.There were useful contributions too from wicketkeeper Natasha Wraith, with a run-a-ball 35 and 17-year-old Sophia Smale, who hit an unbeaten 23, adding 25 with Claire Nicholas for the last wicket.Allrounder Lucy Higham top-scored with 34 for Lightning, who never recovered from slipping to 23 for 3 inside seven overs, their troubles compounded when they incurred a five-run penalty for a disciplinary code breach.The occasion made history by being the first professional match in England to feature a husband-and-wife team of on-field umpires in Naeem Ashraf, an allrounder who played two one-day internationals for Pakistan in 1995 and Jasmine Naeem.In gloomy conditions with rain in the air, Storm soon lost Georgia Hennessy leg before to Cleary but were 44 for 1 after 10 before left-arm spinner Kirstie Gordon bowled Alex Griffiths for 22.Luff and Wilson dominated for a dozen overs, Wilson mixing power with panache as she cleared the short, straight boundary off Gordon and medium-pacer Teresa Graves but took fours off Higham’s offspin with reverse paddle-sweeps.But Lightning were handed a breakthrough as Wilson hit Graves straight to the fielder at mid-off in the 25th over and when Luff was caught behind down the leg side off 17-year-old leg spinner Sophie Groves two short of a half-century, Storm were 143 for 4 in the 29th.Katie George and Dani Gibson made starts but soon came unstuck but, as play continued despite persistent showers, Wraith and Lauren Parfitt added 28 before the latter was caught at mid-off.Wraith and Smale put on another 27 before Beth Harmer’s fine throw from mid-off ran Wraith, Lauren Filer was caught and bowled after sending a ball from Cleary a long way skywards but Smale and Nicholas made good use of the final four overs.It looked like a score Lightning might fancy themselves to chase down but their reply started badly, their top three batters falling in the opening seven overs to Storm’s new-ball duo of Filer and Gibson. Filer arrowed one in to bowl Sarah Bryce before sister Kathryn found Wilson at point and Marie Kelly picked out Smale at cover to leave their side in trouble.Either side of a 50-minute stoppage for rain, Higham and loan signing Emily Windsor, the Southern Vipers batter, added 62, the last 40 coming in five overs as they attacked George and Smale. But Higham was unlucky to fall on 34, when a full blooded drive was turned into a stunning return catch in her follow-through by Nicholas.When slow left-armer Parfitt dismissed Windsor and Cleary with the last two balls of the 22nd over, caught at backward point and mid-off respectively, Lightning looked out of contention at 102 for 6, despite the best efforts of Harmer, who hit 27 from 20 balls before she was run out.Gordon and Groves were both caught behind as Filer returned to the attack, Graves finishing unbeaten on 26.

Alana King, Nat Sciver power Melbourne Stars to maiden WBBL final

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Scorchers could not recover sufficiently from King’s strikes to post a target large enough to test the Stars

Andrew McGlashan25-Nov-2020The Melbourne Stars put in a performance worthy of their table-topping status to book a place in the WBBL final. Legspinner Alana King continued her outstanding tournament with three scalps, including the imposing opening duo of Sophie Devine and Beth Mooney, from which the Perth Scorchers could not recover sufficiently to post a target large enough to test the Stars.Having been put in to bat, the Scorchers struggled to impose themselves on the match and the first half of their innings included just a single boundary. Nicole Bolton managed to haul them over 120, but Meg Lanning was rarely under pressure as the fielding captain.Briefly, when Devine struck her first delivery there was the possibility that the extra pressure of a semi-final could come into play and make the target more daunting than it really was. However, there was a crispness and confidence about the strokeplay even when they shipped three wickets inside seven overs before an unbroken stand of 67 between Nat Sciver and Annabel Sutherland sealed the result. Now the Stars wait to see whether they will face the Brisbane Heat or Sydney Thunder in Saturday’s finalDealing in singlesThe pressure was applied early to Devine, who was unusually tentative, and Mooney as their scoring in the first three overs of the Powerplay was solely in singles. The first ball of the fourth over finally brought a boundary – albeit an outside edge from Mooney – and by the end of the six overs they had given themselves a base at 0 for 32, albeit a sluggish one, and the boundary count remained at one. It would be a while until that changed. And it was about as good as the Scorchers’ position got.King crownedKing has been one of the revelations of the season for the Stars – both with bat and ball – after not making the starting XI for the first two matches. With her first delivery she struck the huge blow, trapping Devine lbw when she missed a sweep, and across her next three overs would all-but win the match. Amy Jones, whose tournament has never got going due to injury, chipped a catch to mid-off and when Mooney did the same, with a touch more force, the Scorchers were 4 for 51 in the 11th. Between the mayhem caused by King, Chloe Piparo had been run out by Erin Osborne from her follow through after responding to Mooney’s call. King finished with 3 for 16 and her four overs included 15 dot balls.Scrambling a scoreThrough a combination of Bolton, Heather Graham and Sarah Glenn the Scorchers did manage to rally in the second half of the innings. Their boundary count was finally doubled in the 13th over when Graham sent King over mid-off, repeating the dose next ball as King conceded half her final tally in those two deliveries which emphasised the overall control she had. Left-arm spinner Sophie Day was given the responsibility of the 19th over and conceded just five while Nicole Faltum produced a smart piece of glovework to remove the dangerous Sarah Glenn.Natalie Sciver plays one fine•Getty Images

Trading blowsThe Stars did not hold back during the powerplay. Elyse Villani took 14 off the opening over – although her first boundary was a top edge that nearly found deep square leg – and then Mignon du Preez, who has been the glue of the batting, was bowled off her boot by Devine’s first delivery. Would 2 for 20 prompt a period of watchfulness? Nope. Lanning and Sciver took 14 off Glenn’s second over, quickly eating into the small target, and after six overs the Stars were 2 for 54. Then came one of the deliveries of the season as Graham nipped one off the seam to take Lanning’s off stump. Another quick wicket and anything was possible but the experience of Sciver and the coolness of the ever-improving Sutherland – who produced one of the shots of the night with a lofted drive for six – ensured no further alarms. They will take some beating in the final.

I'm not 'performing at the standards I need to' admits Jos Buttler

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England’s wicketkeeper is averaging just 23.14 since the start of the 2019 Ashes

George Dobell in Cape Town01-Jan-2020Jos Buttler has admitted he is “not quite performing to the standards” he would like with the bat in Test cricket.Butter is averaging just 23.14 since the start of the Ashes – a period of 14 innings in seven Tests – with one half-century (70 against Australia at The Oval). His average since he was recalled to the Test team in May 2018 is now 34.10, while his overall Test average, after 38 Tests, is 33. He has made just one century.ALSO READ: Pope fit and raring to make Test spot his ownNow Buttler concedes he is still “trying to work out” a way to play Test cricket with the natural aggression that has rendered him one of the world’s most dangerous limited-overs batsmen. And he has resolved to be “a bit more positive” in the future if the situation allows.”I feel like I’m not quite performing to the standards I need to,” Buttler said. “I’m trying to improve that and affect games in positive ways for England.”Since I’ve come back into Test cricket I’ve tried to trust my defence for longer periods of time. I’ve been able to do that on occasions. But [playing my natural game] is certainly something I’m trying to work out.”You can do a lot of work in the nets but I’m spending a lot of time thinking about the game when I’m sat in my room or trying to visualise things or work through them in my head. Moving forward I’ve got to play the situation, but I will try to be a bit more positive.”He doesn’t have to look too far for an example. For while Buttler made 12 off 39 balls in the first innings in Centurion, failing to marshal much resistance from the tail, his South Africa counterpart Quinton de Kock thumped 95 from 128 balls in the first innings and 34 from 37 in the second, to speed the game away from England.”Quinton played a really good knock and put pressure back on the bowlers,” Buttler said. “He tried to take the initiative and, watching that from behind the stumps, it resonated with me.”When you’re batting with the tail, you try to sum up situations and work out how best you can score. You work out your risk management.: what is too much risk; what is trying to push the game on.”Looking ahead to this Test, I want to look to be a bit busier and try to look a bit more on the positive side.”Jos Buttler has endured a tough run in Test cricket•Getty Images

While some have suggested Buttler would benefit from a position higher up the batting order to allow him time to build an innings, the England management believe that batting him at No. 7 allows him the freedom to play his familiar, aggressive game in the knowledge that he has limited before the lower-order are dismissed.He has batted everywhere from No. 5 (eight times) to No. 8 (twice) since his return to the Test side (he has batted 13 times at No. 6 and 15 times at No. 7) with little obvious change in strike rate or average. Overall, he averages slightly more at No. 7 (33.15, with a strike-rate of 56.77) than No. 5 (28.62; strike-rate of 53.62) with No. 6 (average 39.69; strike-rate 63.15) his best position.”It’s obviously nicer to be 300 for 5 than 100 for 5,” he said. “But you turn up and try to play the situation.”With Jonny Bairstow – who averaged just 18 in 2019 – also having lost form, there is not the pressure on Buttler’s position from within the squad that there might be. But Ben Foakes, who averages 41.50 from his five Tests and is, in the eyes of many, the best wicketkeeper available to England, in the background, Buttler will know neither he or his team can afford a sustained fallow period.

Sean Dickson leads Kent plunder against depleted Warwickshire

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Century opening stand with Zak Crawley sets the platform as Sean Dickson ends the day unbeaten on 146

ECB Reporters Network30-Jun-2019Sean Dickson put Warwickshire’s patched-up side to the sword with a season’s best 146 not out as Kent cantered to 338 for 2 on the opening day of their Specsavers County Championship match in Canterbury. In the best batting conditions of the summer, Dickson featured in two century stands for the sixth-placed hosts that ensured Warwickshire, in seventh, had plenty of leather chasing to do during a one-sided opening day of 96 overs.Batting first after winning the toss, Zak Crawley and Dickson made hay with their season’s best opening stand of 132 against a makeshift Bears’ attack shorn of six first-choice bowlers through injury or unavailability.With such a lengthy list of absentees, Warwickshire named two loan signings in Ben Mike, brought in from Leicestershire, and Toby Lester, as well as James Wainman, the former Yorkshire left-arm seamer, recently signed on a short-term deal as a free agent.Sensing their opportunity, Dickson and Crawley latched onto anything loose to post 50 at a run-a-minute with Crawley plundering five boundaries to Dickson’s brace. Some brief cloud cover allowed Warwickshire to re-group and send down four maidens through Wainman and Will Rhodes, but the return of blue skies rekindled Kent’s dominance with the bat as Crawley stroked his ninth boundary through extra cover to move to a 68-ball 50 and take Kent into lunch on 116 without loss.After the resumption Dickson posted his second half-century of the summer from 99 balls and with five fours as he and Crawley went past 128, their previous best opening stand of the season scored against Surrey at Beckenham in May.But soon after notching his 700th first-class run of the season Crawley fell leg before for 72 after missing an attempted flick through midwicket to a Rhodes inducker. Their stand of 132 was Kent’s best first-wicket partnership on the ground in Championship cricket since David Fulton and Joe Denly hit 123 against Middlesex in 2006.Dickson and Denly, now in his second stint with Kent, both ploughed on adding 54 inside 16 overs before Denly, tied down on 22 after an hour at the crease, needlessly flung the bat at a wide one from Matt Lamb to be caught at slip.Kent secured a first batting bonus shortly before tea, then Dickson reached his second century of the summer early in the final session from 212 balls with 10 fours. With a second batting point under their belts, Dickson and Daniel Bell-Drummond tried to accelerate, but Jeetan Patel, the Warwickshire offspinner and skipper, sent down 21 frugal overs either side of tea to keep the run-rate in check.Even so, Kent’s third-wicket partners notched a century stand in 34 overs with Bell-Drummond reaching his half-century from 122 balls that also raised Kent’s 300.Patel finally rested, allowing Lester and Wainman to share the second new ball, but Warwickshire’s wicketless run increased to 43 overs as Kent reached stumps without further alarm with Bell-Drummond on 68 not out.

Chris Gayle named West Indies vice-captain for 2019 World Cup

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Shai Hope appointed vice-captain for the ongoing tri-nation series in Ireland

ESPNcricinfo staff07-May-2019Chris Gayle has been named West Indies vice-captain for the 2019 World Cup, while Shai Hope has been appointed vice-captain for the ongoing tri-nation series in Ireland, also involving Bangladesh.Gayle, who is set to retire from ODIs after the World Cup, is by far the most experienced player in West Indies’ World Cup squad, with 10,151 runs in 289 ODIs. His career-best of 215, which came against Zimbabwe during the 2015 edition of the tournament, is still the highest ODI score for the team, and remains one of only eight double-centuries in the format.”It is always an honour to represent the West Indies in any format and this World Cup for me is special,” Gayle, who last captained West Indies in an ODI in June 2010, said after the announcement. “As a senior player, it is my responsibility to support the captain and everyone else in the team.”This will probably be the biggest World Cup, so there will be great expectations and I know we will do very well for the people of the West Indies.”On his appointment as deputy for the tri-nation series, Hope said, “Ahead of this tournament I was asked to take on this role and I was happy to accept. Anything I’m asked to do for West Indies cricket I’m always happy and willing to put my hand up, so this is great.”The tri-nation series is set to end on May 17 in Malahide before West Indies make their way to England for the World Cup that begins a fortnight later. Their World Cup campaign begins with a trip to Trent Bridge to face Pakistan on May 31.

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