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The club, who own Lord’s, are in a transitional period with key figures moving roles

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Aug-2024Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has started the search for a new chief executive, with incumbent Guy Lavender standing down to take up the same role at Cheltenham Racecourse.MCC, the owners of Lord’s and the custodians of the laws of the game, are in a transitional period with significant turnover in key roles. Mark Nicholas will become the club’s chairman in October, replacing Bruce Carnegie-Brown, while Mervyn King will replace Nicholas as president. Earlier this year, Rob Lynch replaced Jamie Cox as director of cricket and operations.Related

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In MCC’s statement confirming his departure, Carnegie-Brown described Lavender as an “outstanding CEO”. The club said his major achievements included leading MCC through the Covid pandemic, continuing the redevelopment of Lord’s, ensuring strong financial results and delivering major matches, including the men’s 50-over World Cup final in 2019.He has also been heavily involved in discussions with the ECB and the club’s members around the Hundred’s future, with MCC set to be given a 51% stake in London Spirit later this year. The other 49% will be sold centrally by the ECB, with Nicholas recently suggesting that several IPL franchises have registered their interest.”It has been an immense honour and privilege to have been CEO of this great club,” Lavender said. “I have every confidence that MCC will go from strength to strength. The committed, excellent and diligent staff across the club do a superb job in support of the membership and make the MCC the wonderful club it is.”MCC said that the club has already started the process for appointing a replacement, which will be lead by its nominations committee later this year. The club added that Lavender will “continue to fulfil his duties at MCC” to enable a “smooth transition period” before his departure.

Moeen Ali has declared himself fit and ready to take on Australia in next week’s first Test at Brisbane

George Dobell in Townsville13-Nov-2017
Moeen Ali has taken an innovative approach – and received a few blows in the process – ahead of the belated start to his Ashes preparations as he prepares to take on Australia’s fast bowlers.Moeen, who returns to the England side for the warm-up match in Townsville having recovered from a side strain which has sidelined him since arriving in Australia, has been using a wet tray and extra bouncy balls in an attempt to replicate the pace and bounce he anticipates he will receive.”I’ve been doing that recently to exaggerate the pace with the ball coming at you,” Moeen said. “It just sharpens you up.”It’s a tray and you just wet it. It’s an Indian drill. The balls I bring with me, they’re slightly different. It skims off it. You need a good thrower, which Paul Collingwood is. I’ve been hit before loads of times but the more I’m doing it the better I’m feeling.”It doesn’t mean you’re going to be the best player of fast bowling it just means you’re probably going to be better than you were.”I’ve been practising everything to be honest with you as much as I can – pace in general. I almost try and go over the top with it and then hopefully it’ll be a lot easier after that.”Moeen played a key role in the 2015 Ashes – his lower-order partnerships with Stuart Broad, especially at Edgbaston, giving England crucial late runs – but his technique against the short ball has occasionally been tested when batting higher up the order. With Ben Stokes absent, Moeen is expected to move up a spot to No. 7 where his runs could be even more important.”Some days I feel like I’m seeing it better. Some days I’m seeing it well but in the past I definitely didn’t have the technique to deal with it. But that’s something I’ve been working on. I am definitely a better player than I was in the 2015 Ashes series. I actually didn’t do that badly in that series but I feel like I’m a much better player than I was then.”While Moeen was understandably eager to get back to action after watching the first two warm-up matches, he felt that his time on the sidelines was not without its benefits. “It was a bit frustrating not playing but also not a bad thing,” he said. “You get a lot more work done than anybody else.”Sometimes when you’re playing you don’t get the chance to focus on yourself. Another benefit of not playing those two games is that it makes you hungrier to get out there and be with the guys.”I’m ready to go now. I can’t wait to put my whites on and start performing, getting a bit of game time in my system and then I’ll be ready to play at the Gabba.”Australia’s traditional venue for the first Test of their summer is one of the most notorious grounds for visiting teams – no side has won there since West Indies’ fast bowlers ruled the roost in 1988. However, Moeen said he was unconcerned by the reputation of the “Gabbatoir”.”I’m very excited and looking forward to the atmosphere,” he said. “Australians like to talk a lot, big themselves up. That’s part of the game. It’s not something that I haven’t had before.”That doesn’t faze me. It’s something you have to block out. You have to focus on your game and the situation that the team is in. I’m just going to come out and play like I always do for England and give it my best shot.”

Maxwell says he won’t change anything after scoring his fourth international century in his last nine innings across two formats

Alex Malcolm11-Feb-2024Glenn Maxwell says he’s trying to ride his career-best form for as long as he can after scoring his fourth international century in nine games, and equalling the record for the most T20I hundreds with a dazzling 120 not out from 55 balls against West Indies in Adelaide on Sunday.Maxwell struck eight sixes and 12 fours in yet another astonishing display of white-ball batting to help set up Australia’s highest T20I score on home soil of 241 for 4, which was enough for the home side to secure a win and series victory over West Indies.In his last nine international innings dating back to the ODI World Cup, Maxwell has scores of 106, 41, 201 not out, 1, 2 not out, 12, 104 not out, 10 and 120 not out. His last two centuries have come in T20Is. He now has five in the format, equalling Rohit Sharma’s record, and he has been not out in all five with Australia winning every game.”I feel really comfortable in this format,” Maxwell told Fox Sports at the post-match presentation. “I think over the last probably 18 months I’ve felt really good about my batting and really good about my game. I feel clear when I’m out in the middle. The game can sometimes feel nice and simple when you’re out there and at other times you nick a couple of early and all of a sudden becomes really difficult. So I think while I’m going well I’m just trying to ride that as much as I possibly can and keep doing the same things.”Related

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Maxwell admitted that he got frustrated early in his innings on Sunday. He was 4 off 6 at one stage having yelled loudly at himself several times after finding fielders with well-struck shots.”I probably just didn’t hit the gaps as well as I would have liked straight away from the outset,” Maxwell said.”I probably expected too much of myself early on. But once I sort of calmed down, I hit a few gaps and gave myself a decent platform. We knew we were going to cash in the back 10 [overs] with a couple of wickets in hand, so it worked out really nicely.”Maxwell got his innings going with a huge slog sweep off Akeal Hosein and then took flight from there. He hit some extraordinary shots including a switch hit off Hosein into the second tier at cover-point. But he said the first blow was the one that proved he was switched on.”I made a good decision against Akeal when he bowled an inswinger,” Maxwell said. “I slog swept that one and I just felt like I was really clear in that moment, as soon as he bowls that swinger, to go to that shot, it just shows that I was watching the ball really hard. I was proud of that and I was able to, sort of, ride through the waves of the innings a little bit. You’re not going to hit everything out of the middle, you’re not going to hit everything for six but to go through the waves and mistime a couple, I was able to lock back in and stay pretty clear.”Maxwell’s score of 120 was the second-highest by a batter coming in at No.4 or below in T20Is. Four of his five T20I centuries have come at No.4, which is a position he loves batting in.”It’s been a nice position for a long period of time but it’s a difficult position as well,” Maxwell said. “I think that’s why I enjoy it so much. There’s so many different scenarios you can come into and you’ve got to think your way through it and change the momentum of the game. I love it.”

“The biggest difference is that you know your team-mates really well playing for Australia,” Cummins says of leading a franchise T20 side

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Mar-20242:29

Steven Smith: ‘Starc won’t be affected by his price tag’

Pat Cummins vs Mitchell Starc. INR INR 20.50 crore vs INR 24.75 crore. Hardly a rivalry, even if it’s been talked up ahead of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) game at Eden Gardens on Saturday. For Cummins, it’s only going to be “weird looking across and seeing him in the other dugout”.”I will say this: hopefully I don’t have to face Starc because that means our batters have done quite well,” Cummins said at a press conference a day off from the game. “It’s funny… it’s one of the beauties of the IPL; I have been playing with Starcy for 15 years, [and] I can’t remember another game where I have played against him. Also it’s going to be weird looking across and seeing him in the other dugout.”But there’s that big salary to live up to. “Yeah, being an opposition captain, seeing how we go about playing him will be an interesting part of tomorrow. But we’re both bowlers, so I am not sure we’ll cross [paths] too much.”Related

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Cummins, as has been discussed ever since he was named SRH captain for the 2024 IPL season, has never captained a T20 side at a competitive level despite being Australia’s Test and ODI captain and playing international cricket – all formats – since 2011. A fast-bowling captain at that.”Really excited, good to go,” Cummins said while acknowledging his lack of experience helming a T20 side.”It’s got its challenges,” he elaborated. “In that you play 14 games in six-seven weeks, plus finals. I’m used to playing a lot of Test cricket, so four overs isn’t as taxing on your body. But it can be mentally taxing, the travel, obviously a different country, play a new team every few days you have to prepare for… But it’s nothing new, we’ve done it before. Obviously, the game day is most important. That’s what we put most days into. No teams play the same XI for all 14 games. I am sure we’ve got to call on our squad and we’re lucky we’ve got a young, fit squad.”I think it’s been a part of the IPL, you have expectations, you have a lot of fans who demand a lot out of the team, they want results. Yeah, being captain is probably a little bit more [of responsibility]. But it’s not much different to what we’re used to as players. We’ll give it our best.”As for the players who don’t get many chances, Cummins has a simple message: “You want a bit of people rivalry, you know, a bit of rivalry when people try to break into the XI.”At SRH, Cummins will have for company Travis Head, who he leads in Tests and ODIs, but it’s going to be very different from leading Australia, who he has captained to world titles in both those formats.”The biggest difference is that you know your team-mates really well playing for Australia. There’s a lot of things doesn’t need to be said, because I have played with Joshie Hazlewood and Starc for 15 years. So there’s a real kind of trust and you just don’t really need to say much, everything kind of runs by itself,” Cummins said. “I think here, learning [about] some new players, that’s going to be the biggest difference, and just learning those different roles within the team. I know a few of the other guys, obviously, and have done a bit of homework to try and get the best out of the guys. But that’s probably going to be the biggest difference.”Washington Sundar adds depth to the SRH batting while also bowling his quota of overs•Associated Press

Are SRH light on the spin-bowling front?

There is Wanindu Hasaranga in the ranks, but that takes away an overseas slot and leaves just two, with Cummins as captain a starter. Outside of Hasaranga, SRH’s best spin options are Washington Sundar and Mayank Markande. Both solid performers at the IPL over the years, but not quite names that would strike fear in opponents.”Whilst not having any huge names that have played a lot of cricket for India, I’ve been really impressed with the guys we do have,” Cummins said. “Washington, who can bat in the top seven but also give handy overs. Markande as well, who’s had some success as well. So I feel like we’ve got that covered. We’ve also got guys like Aiden Markram and Travis Head, who can chip in if we need to as well. So feels like there’s a bit of quality there and if it’s a spinning wicket, we’ve got plenty of guys who can bowl.”Which might be the case at Eden Gardens, which Cummins knows well, having turned out for KKR in the past. His great 14-ball half-century, however, didn’t come in Kolkata, but in Pune, against Mumbai Indians, though Cummins would like to give it another heave on Saturday.”Maybe, I’d love to. It’s great fun. It’s much more fun than trying to block and hang around and cop a few on the body,” he said. “So yeah, I look forward to that, especially the IPL, I’ve got a few runs over the years… I’ve been hit for a lot of sixes in my life, so I’ll try to get a few back.”

ICC cites integrity and player safety for change to gender eligibility regulations

Hemant Brar21-Nov-2023Danielle McGahey, who became the first transgender player to feature in international cricket earlier this year, will no longer be able to participate in women’s international games following a key change to the ICC’s gender eligibility regulations.Under the new rules, approved by the ICC board on Tuesday, any player who has transitioned from male to female and has been through any form of male puberty will not be allowed to participate in women’s international cricket, regardless of any surgery or gender reassignment treatment they may have undertaken.McGahey, a 29-year-old batter, is originally from Australia but moved to Canada in 2020 and underwent a male-to-female medical transition in 2021. In September 2023, she appeared for Canada in the Women’s T20 Americas Qualifier, the pathway tournament to the 2024 T20 World Cup. So far, she has played six T20Is, scoring 118 runs at an average of 19.66 and a strike rate of 95.93.Related

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Brazil Women’s captain Roberta Moretti Avery, against whose side McGahey played two T20Is and registered her best of 48, respected the ICC’s decision but called its timing “unfortunate”.”It’s a decision that appears to have been made by the ICC in good faith with the benefit of the most recent scientific advice,” Avery told ESPNcricinfo. “That said, the timing of the decision is really unfortunate.”Danielle McGahey was allowed to play in the recent World Cup Qualifier on the basis of the rules that applied at the time. As a result, she was subjected to a lot of abuse from people who have never met her and who do not understand the difficult journey she has been on.”She and her team-mates also had a reasonable expectation that she would be allowed to play in future matches. So it’s unfortunate that this decision has been made after the event, once Danielle’s hopes had been raised and after she has already been exposed to a huge amount of scrutiny and abuse. That can’t be good for anyone’s mental health. The ICC lifted the hopes of a whole community and it feels like those hopes have now been dashed.”The ICC finalised the new policy following a nine-month consultation process with the sport’s stakeholders. “It is based on the following principles (in order of priority), protection of the integrity of the women’s game, safety, fairness and inclusion,” the board stated in a release. “The regulations will be reviewed within two years.”ICC CEO Geoff Allardice added: “Inclusivity is incredibly important to us as a sport, but our priority was to protect the integrity of the international women’s game and the safety of players.”For now, the review, which was led by the ICC medical advisory committee chaired by Dr Peter Harcourt, relates to gender eligibility for international women’s cricket only. “The gender eligibility at domestic level is a matter for each individual Member board, which may be impacted by local legislation,” the ICC said.

Allrounder relishing important role with the ball even as batting continues to misfire

Cameron Ponsonby07-Dec-2023″Are you saying I’m a bowler who bats?” Liam Livingstone responds, smiling at a question about the current role he sees himself playing in this England team. “I am at the moment!”England want Livingstone to work. A Swiss Army knife of a cricketer, he provides a level of versatility that few others in the world game could dream of. He hits massive sixes, bowls legbreaks and offbreaks, and is excellent in the field. Whatever you need, Livi’s got one of them in the back.But since the start of the World Cup, the form with the bat has departed entirely, as an average of 11.00 is paired with a bowling average of 35.28. Go back slightly further to include the New Zealand series in September, where he made a fine 95 not out, and the figures are kinder, but still the wrong way round. 26.30 and 31.27.Nevertheless, in the second ODI against West Indies, he was at his best with the ball. Three wickets, one of which broke a 129-run partnership between Shai Hope and Sherfane Rutherford that threatened to take the match away from England, and a third that clean bowled Hope for 68. Until that point, Hope had scored 177 runs against England this series without cause or concern. Then Livingstone ripped one past bat and pad.”Yeah I think so,” Livingstone confirmed as to whether it was his best ODI wicket to date. “I was speaking to Daws [Richard Dawson] before, it’s probably the two balls back-to-back, being able to do exactly what I wanted – to execute my plan pretty much perfectly.”Related

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It was with his legbreaks that Livingstone removed Hope, but another string to his bow has been the improvement of his offbreaks that he employs almost exclusively to left-handers. Across his 24 ODIs, he has only taken three wickets with his offies, but his economy of 4.95 (according to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data) means he is able to defend as an offbreak bowler and attack as a legspinner.”I guess the most pleasing thing for me now is I feel like I can bowl in a number of different situations and scenarios, and also be able to impact the game like I have done today,” Livingstone said. “So yeah, I guess the role I played [on Wednesday] was very different to the one I played the other day.”It’s something I’ve worked really hard on for a number of years. It’s probably not come as naturally to me as what batting has over the last five years. So it’s nice [to have] that when my batting’s not really in the best place at the moment.”Livingstone debuted for England in T20 cricket in 2017 and was a non-playing member of the Test squad that travelled to New Zealand in 2018. But it is only the last couple of years that he has forced his way into being almost ever-present in both England’s white-ball teams.His player-of-the-tournament performance in the inaugural edition of the Hundred, combined with a T20I century against Pakistan and that time he hit the ball over the Football Stand at Headingley, has meant the lust for Livingstone remains. But his use as a lower-order belter means that his feel for the blade is diminishing. In 48 innings for England, he has faced more than 40 deliveries just three times.”If I had the reason I’d have probably changed it by now,” Livingstone reflected on where his difficulties with the bat are coming from. “I keep turning up to training, trying as hard as I can. I guess maybe just try to put a little bit less pressure on myself and go out and enjoy myself like I have done my whole career. It only takes one innings to change it around. I’ve had it before and I’m sure when things do change around, I’ll look back on this time in my career as something that was probably a massive learning curve for me.”But I still feel like I can affect games of cricket for England and that’s the major bonus for me at the moment. The ball’s coming out of my hand really well and I know for a fact that things are going to change around with the bat.”In the opening ODI, Livingstone had batted well for 17 before a length delivery from Romario Shepherd kept low and trapped him lbw. He is an almost certain starter for the remaining six white-ball matches of the tour as England search for a combination that allows them to play both himself and Sam Curran as all-rounders. However, despite England’s recent World Cup struggles and his own lack of form with the bat, Livingstone has remained level when it comes to the game.”Yeah, life goes on, the sun comes up.” Livingstone said of his main learnings from the World Cup campaign. “Cricket’s a sport, we are incredibly privileged to be able to play for our country. But it’s not the be-all and end-all. I was incredibly happy to be able to go home and see my grandad, who’s not in the greatest health at the moment. He’s in the latest stages of his life. So that gives incredible perspective for me.”There’s more to life than cricket, and cricket while we’re playing and while we’ve got this opportunity to represent our country, it should be enjoyed.”

Ross Taylor has declared himself 85-90% fit and should be available to play the Champions Trophy

Firdose Moonda28-Mar-2017It’s only March but Ross Taylor has come up with a resolution for next year – or maybe just next season – already. “I think I am going to start [keeping count of] how many games I can play without getting injured,” Taylor joked during a stint on the , SkyTV’s daily tea-time interview slot, during the fourth day’s play between New Zealand and South Africa in Hamilton. “Calf, hammies, side-strains, fingers, bones. It’s just disappointing that it’s South Africa I have missed a few times.”Taylor has missed some part of the last three series against South Africa, the first in the aftermath of the captaincy debacle in 2012-13, the second a limited-overs series in 2015 following surgery after a groin injury sustained in Zimbabwe, and now the last two Tests in this series, after tearing a calf in the first.Although Taylor admitted that not having to front up to “Morkel and Rabada is probably not a bad thing,” he said he would like to play as much as he can in the lead-up to the 2019 World Cup, which is being touted as the swansong of his career. His most recent injury has served to spur him on to ensure he gets there. “I just need motivation when things aren’t going well, when you get a bit tired of day-in, day-out cricket, just a nice little reminder to say why you play this game. Hopefully I can get through that.”For now, Taylor has declared himself 85-90% fit and should be available to play the Champions Trophy and the triangular tournament in Ireland, also featuring Bangladesh, which precedes the ICC event. New Zealand will be without their IPL players for that tri-series, which will make Taylor’s presence even more important and he hopes he can play a role in mentoring some of the younger players. “You want to expose young players to get the depth in the squad that we are comfortable with,” he said. “[So] we have 20 players at any time that can be very competitive against any side in the world.”One thing he may not be teaching them is to copy his signature celebration of sticking his tongue out on reaching a century. “I did it when I was youngster growing up – I got a cheeky hundred, I was dropped a couple of times and then I got a cheeky hundred so I did it. When my daughter was growing up, she was 2 or 3, she said, ‘Daddy, can you get a hundred for me and poke your tongue out?’ So that’s what I do now,” he said.Taylor has had the chance to do that in two ODIs and a Test this summer, which is not his best tally but has contributed to what he regards as an overall period of good progress for the team. “It has been a great summer,” he said. “Regardless of what happens [in this Test], it has been a successful summer. We retained the Chappell-Hadlee and got some convincing results against Pakistan and Bangladesh. We could finish off the summer really well with a Test victory here and we’ve seen some young players coming through and some veterans stepping up.”The highlight, though, has been the way Kane Williamson has stepped up to the captaincy. Since taking on the job in July last year, Williamson has scored 1079 runs at an average of 59.94 which includes four Test hundreds. He has also become the fastest New Zealander to 5,000 runs and equalled Martin Crowe’s century haul, and Taylor believes there’s no limit to what he can achieve.”He is only 26. He is in fantastic form and he scored a great hundred here. Add into it how the team played in Wellington, going into a must-win match and having to step up at a crucial time, to get a century here – every one starts talking about how many he is going to get,” Taylor said. “He could go down as our best batsman.”

Konstas made 73 not out and Beau Webster made an unbeaten 46 as Australia A chased down 168 with six wickets to spare

Alex Malcolm09-Nov-2024Sam Konstas signalled he is a player for the future, even if he might not be ready for the first Test, making an outstanding unbeaten half-century to guide Australia A home in a tricky run chase at the MCG after Dhruv Jurel and Prasidh Krishna gave India A hope while putting their hand up to play in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.Konstas, batting at No. 4 in this match for the first time in his short career after appearing to be removed from the Test opening calculations, made a composed 73 not out alongside Beau Webster, who made an unbeaten 46, to guide Australia A to a 2-0 series win after slumping to 73 for 4 chasing 168 in the fourth innings.Earlier, Jurel made his second half-century of the match while Prasidh made 29 as India’s tail wagged with contributions from Nitish Kumar Reddy and Tanush Kotian ensuring Australia A had a tricky chase after the game threatened to finish early on day three.Prasidh then struck twice in the opening over of the fourth innings with Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft falling for ducks in consecutive deliveries. Nathan McSweeney only made 25 as Australia A slumped to 48 for 3 and 73 for 4 before Konstas and Webster combined for an unbeaten 96-run stand to win the game.Australia’s A chase got off to a disastrous start and Australia’s selectors did not get the final pieces of information they were hoping for from Harris and McSweeney. Harris played a half-committed drive to a very full ball and was given out caught behind off the inside edge. His luck from day two might have evened out as it was not entirely clear whether he hit it. Bancroft’s horror run of form continued when he was hit on the toe by a cracking yorker and given lbw. It was tight to leg but probably hitting. Bancroft has scored 29 runs in eight first-class innings so far this season, including four ducks, with any hopes of a Test recall completely dashed for the time being.McSweeney looked organised in his last bid to convince selectors he is worthy of opening the batting in the Perth Test. He hardly made an error in his 69-ball 25. But he was undone by a cracking delivery from Mukesh Kumar that angled into off and nipped away to catch the edge.Konstas, 19, then showed the composure and the batting craft that has so many astute judges in Australian cricket cooing. He weathered the storm with resolute defence and then began to expand as the ball got softer and Kotian came into the attack. He unfurled a cracking pull shot off Prasidh and then skipped out to Kotian several times to bang him over the top down the ground. He also sat back and punched him through the off side. He didn’t get sucked into playing at balls outside his leg stump when a short leg and leg gully were set for him.He lost Ollie Davies for a brisk 21 when his New South Wales team-mate misjudged the length from Kotian completely and was bowled attempting an ambitious cut shot.Webster settled after a nervy start and hit the ball with trademark power to help ease the pressure of the chase. The pair rattled along, striking 13 boundaries and a six between them. They scored fast enough for the umpires to extend play with an extra half-hour to win the game on the third night. Konstas only gave one life, with substitute Abishek Porel dropping him at deep square with 15 runs to win.Dhruv Jurel made 68 in the second innings•AFP

Earlier in the day, Jurel was once again the fulcrum that held India A’s batting together with another outstanding knock. There have been three 50-plus scores in the match and he has two of them. His 68 was the key to giving the visitors a total to defend in spite of four wickets to Corey Rocchiccioli and three to Webster.Unlike the first innings though, he did need a large stroke of luck. Early in the morning, on 25, he uppercut Scott Boland to deep third absentmindedly with a fielder placed there for that exact shot. Ollie Davies had to run forward and dive but he spilled the difficult chance offered despite getting two hands to it. Had that been held, India A would have been 85 for 6, leading by just 23 and in danger of losing before lunch.Thereafter, the momentum swung in India A’s favour. Jurel and Reddy shared a pivotal 94-run stand to give their side a chance. Jurel’s class shone through again. He pounced on anything short or overpitched and was rock solid in defence. While his team-mates have looked all at sea against the extra bounce at the MCG, Jurel has looked right at home with a game tailormade for Australian conditions.Reddy played his best innings of the tour to-date, striking five fours and a six in a key supporting role. Australia A struggled to penetrate given they were a bowler down after the loss of Michael Neser on day one.But just as Jurel got a stranglehold on the game, he holed out to deep square off Rocchiccioli to open the door to the tail. Three overs later, Reddy fell to Webster for the third time in four innings. It was also the third time he was bounced out, gloving one to the keeper trying to hook to fine leg.That left India A 162 for 7 with a lead of just 100. But the last three wickets added 67 to ensure Australia would have a tricky chase. Kotian and Prasidh frustrated the bowlers with an entertaining and vital 49-run stand. They struck nine fours and a six between them. Kotian posted the fourth-highest score of the match, making 44. Prasidh’s innings was bewildering. He consistently backed away but slapped the ball with power both sides of the wicket in a breezy 29. He eventually fell to a sensational diving catch at deep midwicket by Konstas.Kotian added 28 with Mukesh Kumar who scored just 1 before miscuing one to mid-off. Rocchiccioli wrapped up the innings with his fourth wicket, pinning Mukesh plumb lbw.

The pair helped take New Zealand to 166, and UAE fell 32 runs short

Ashish Pant20-Aug-2023 • Updated on 22-Aug-2023New Zealand put up a complete show as they roared back in style following the loss on Saturday, to win the third T20I by 32 runs and seal the three-match series 2-1.The win was set up by fifties from Will Young, playing his first game of the series, and Mark Chapman, who continued from where he left in the second game, as the visitors racked up 166 for 5 in their 20 overs. Junaid Siddique was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts, picking up 3 for 26.

Siddique handed two demerit points

UAE’s Junaid Siddique was handed two demerit points and fined 25% of his match fees for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct twice. The first incident took place in the fifth over of New Zealand’s innings when Siddique moved close to the dismissed batter, Tim Seifert, and shouted aggressively at him. For this, Siddique was handed an official reprimand and one demerit point.

Then, in the 17th over, Siddique showed dissent by using inappropriate language towards the umpire after an appeal was turned down. For this, he was handed one more demerit point and fined 25% of his match fee.

In reply, UAE’s top half was blown away by some restrictive New Zealand bowling. Basil Hameed and Aayan Afzal Khan added 68 off 57 for the sixth wicket, but it came a bit too late for the hosts as they could only muster 134 for 7.

The coin goes Waseem’s way, again

Muhammad Waseem made it three out of three at the toss and stuck to fielding first as he has all series. The UAE bowlers then backed their captain’s decision by restricting New Zealand to 38 in the powerplay while also removing the openers. Tim Seifert got off the mark with a fierce cut while Chad Bowes also got going with a slash through covers. But Bowes’ joy was short-lived with Muhammad Jawadullah sending him back with a skiddy short-of-a-length ball that he could only top-edge to short third where Zahoor completed the catch on the second attempt.Siddique then removed Seifert, who hacked his pull to the right of Hameed at deep backward square leg, the fielder sprinting low to his right and pulling off a screamer. New Zealand were more proactive in the powerplay but were only going at a run rate of just a tick over six.

Young, Chapman sizzle in the middle overs

While the start followed a similar pattern to the previous game, Young and Chapman ensured they dealt with the middle overs differently this time. Young got off the mark with a finely edged four off his second ball before planting Siddique over the long leg fence. Young did slow down a touch when Seifert fell but three successive fours off Hameed got him going again, and he reached his fifty off 40 balls.Young found an ally in Chapman, with the duo adding 84 off just 60 balls for the third wicket to tilt the scales back in New Zealand’s favour. Chapman was circumspect initially but took 17 runs off a Mohammed Faraazuddin over to get into the flow. The surface seemed to be better for shot-making than the first two games and both batters capitalised on it as New Zealand moved from 55 for 2 after nine overs to 132 for 3 after 16. Chapman reached his fifty off 30 balls with five fours and two sixes as New Zealand looked set for a tall total.Kyle Jamieson is congratulated after picking up a wicket•Emirates Cricket Board

Siddique three halts New Zealand’s charge

Siddique came back in style, having been rested from the second T20I, by picking three key wickets to keep his side in the game. He got rid of Seifert in the powerplay and then removed both Young and Chapman in the space of two overs. Young was foxed by a shortish slower ball that he could only spoon to extra cover while Chapman swished one straight to deep backward square leg.Siddique’s spell halted New Zealand’s momentum at the back end. They could only score 24 runs in the last three overs which included a six off the final ball of the innings from Mitchell Santner.

New Zealand keep mistakes to a minimum

After a maiden over by Tim Southee, Ben Lister was carved away for two successive fours by Waseem. But Lister struck back immediately to catch Waseem’s outside edge. Vriitya Aravind scored a couple of cracking boundaries but he was dismissed by Kyle Jamieson as the hosts reached 40 for 2 after the powerplay.While that was still more than what New Zealand managed in theirs, UAE could not capitalise in the middle overs. Aryansh Sharma was stumped off Santner for 16 before Adithya Ashok claimed his maiden international wicket sending back Asif Khan. Two balls later Ansh Tandon committed a near-impossible run and UAE lost 3 for 9 in 11 balls.At 56 for 5 after 10 overs, the asking rate was always going against UAE. Hameed and Aayan did manage to keep UAE ticking along but the big hits never arrived. There were a few boundaries from time to time but New Zealand bowled with discipline. Lister then picked up two wickets in the 19th over to finish with 3 for 35 as New Zealand sealed a comfortable win.

The allrounder received a guard of honour in what seemed to be his final CPL game

Deivarayan Muthu19-Sep-2024Andre Russell summed up the overwhelming feeling at the Queen’s Park Oval as the Trinidad crowd turned up in droves on Wednesday to celebrate one of its greatest T20 heroes in what was possibly his last CPL game.Before the start of CPL 2024, Dwayne Bravo had announced he would retire from the league after the end of the ongoing season. But he has played just two games so far this season, and the one against defending champions Guyana Amazon Warriors at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain might have been his last, Russell suggested after winning the Player-of-the-Match award and dedicating it to his good friend.”I’m just happy to be part of this game tonight and that’s the reason why so much emotion was kind of behind that celebration,” Russell said after Trinbago Knight Riders beat Amazon Warriors by five wickets. “He [Bravo] deserves a win tonight. You have helped me a lot with my cricket – how to outthink the batter and then to be a smarter bowler. You’re not going to get it right all the time but once you have the right mindset to get the execution, I think you’re on the right way.”We’re going to miss him but I hope he is still going to be around for the rest of the tournament. But he’s definitely one we all listen to and we all look up to and you know he might shed a bit of tears tonight inside the changing room, but I appreciate him.”Related

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Russell, who has played 130 matches alongside Bravo, including 74 for West Indies, spoke glowing of the impact Bravo has had on his own career.”I think me being who I am today, Bravo has a lot to do with it,” Russell said. “I used to wicketkeep, then I started bowling and batting at No.10, No.11 and 9. Watching him play in Test cricket for West Indies – bowling good pace, fielding and diving and all those things and then when he comes to bat, he gets the job done.”