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Those with state and WBBL contracts stand to earn $151,000 on average next season

AAP02-Apr-2023Cricket is poised to become the first sport in Australia to break the six-figure wage mark for the vast majority of its domestic female athletes, with players on state and WBBL contracts to earn an average of AU$151,000 from next season.Cricket Australia and the players’ union are closing in on finalising the sport’s new pay deal, with a Memorandum of Understanding likely to be announced as soon as early this week.Final details are still being sorted, through a negotiation that has been largely amicable and headed by Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley and union counterpart Todd Greenberg.Sources from both sides have confirmed talks have been far removed from the dramas of the pay war of 2017, which resulted in an abandoned tour and threats of strikes.The big winners of the deal will be domestic female cricketers. AAP has been told that the lowest-paid players with state and Women’s Big Bash League contracts will earn AU$83,000, with state squad sizes to increase from 14 to 16 across each of the seven WNCL sides.Players will also continue earn match fees for WNCL matches beyond their salary, meaning a significant portion of those on a minimum salary will earn more than AU$100,000 in 2023-24.Ultimately, the deal will take the average salary to AU$123,000 and AU$151,000 after match fees.In comparison, players with a minimum WNCL and WBBL contract last year who received full match payments were paid AU$70,000.The deal will rocket cricket well above other women’s sports, with its nearest competitor being Super Netball where the minimum salary is AU$43,000 with no additional match payments.The AFLW minimum wage sits at close to AU$40,000, while NRLW is AU$30,000 and A-League women’s is AU$25,000.It’s also believed that contract values will significantly increase in the WBBL for overseas and Australia’s centrally contracted stars in a bid to keep the league competitive with England’s Hundred and other franchise tournaments.Organisers are hopeful the pay rise will be able to continue to attract the best overseas talent to Australia, for a tournament that was once unrivalled as the stand out in global women’s cricket.The deal will also mean Australia’s centrally contracted players have the potential to earn close to AU$1 million a season, when factoring in national deals and big-money offers from the WPL.

Jamieson has a stiff hamstring after returning from the tour of Bangladesh

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Dec-2023Uncapped fast bowler Ben Sears has been added to New Zealand’s ODI squad for the three-match series against Bangladesh as cover for Kyle Jamieson, who has a stiff left hamstring.Jamieson returned to New Zealand after the two-Test series in Bangladesh on Tuesday and then travelled to Dunedin to join the ODI squad. He played both Tests in Bangladesh, taking two wickets in 34 overs and scoring 52 runs in three innings.”We’re taking a cautious approach with Kyle,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said. “We don’t want to rush or push him back, particularly at the very start of our home summer. He could play if absolutely necessary but we don’t want to take any unnecessary risks, hence calling in Ben for this first match. Ben’s familiar to the team environment and it’s been good to see him back at full fitness for the [Wellington] Firebirds.”Sears, 25, hasn’t made his ODI debut yet but he has played six T20Is and was part of the ODI squad for the Chappell-Hadlee Series against Australia last year. He has 36 wickets in 29 List A matches at an average of 33.77 and economy of 5.62.New Zealand play the first ODI against Bangladesh on December 17 in Dunedin. The second ODI is in Nelson on December 20 and the third in Napier on December 23.New Zealand’s ODI squad: Tom Latham (capt), Adi Ashok (games 2 & 3), Finn Allen, Tom Blundell, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Jacob Duffy, Kyle Jamieson, Adam Milne, Henry Nicholls, Will O’Rourke, Rachin Ravindra, Ish Sodhi (game 1), Will Young, Ben Sears

SLC also believes they have enough power-hitters in the team “capable of meeting any challenge”

Madushka Balasuriya13-May-2024While the ongoing IPL may be a certifiable run-fest, the current school of thought surrounding the upcoming T20 World Cup is that conditions in the USA and Caribbean might be a little less batter-friendly. At least, that’s the working assumption Sri Lanka’s selectors were going on when they named their 15-man squad for the tournament.”If you look at the conditions in America and the West Indies, most of it is pointing towards the wickets there being quite slow,” chief selector Upul Tharanga said at a media briefing on Monday.”The Major League tournament was played in Dallas with drop-in pitches. If you look at those, even though they’re being brought down from Australia they are still quite uneven and a little slow. This could of course change, so it’s a little hard to predict.”Related

• Uncapped Dunith Wellalage in Sri Lanka's T20 World Cup squad

• Sri Lanka Cricket awards central contracts to 41 male players

It’s this line of thinking that has seen them stock their squad with spin-bowling options. While Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana will lead the line, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka and Dunith Wellalage all offer all-round options, while Vijayakanth Viyaskanth is among the travelling reserves.

Dhananjaya, Wellalage show versatility is key

Among the main beneficiaries of Sri Lanka’s focus on spin have been Dhananjaya and Wellalage.A lack of power-hitting pedigree has seen the 32-year-old Dhananjaya struggle to become a mainstay of the T20 side, while his position in the batting line-up has also yo-yoed. Over the past four years, he’s batted in each of the top seven positions, though primarily in the middle order, and of Sri Lanka’s nine T20Is this year he’s only played in four of them. As for Wellalage, he is yet to debut for Sri Lanka in T20Is, though he has 21 ODIs and a solitary Test to his name.But despite this lack of game time, both have been included in Sri Lanka’s squad, and Tharanga explained that it was their versatility that cemented their inclusion.”There could be a chance that we play three spinners sometimes. Looking at that is why we picked Dunith, particularly his batting, because sometimes we could go with him ahead of a fast-bowling allrounder.”As for Dhananjaya, we value his bowling. And with regard to power-hitting, we think we can get that from elsewhere in the side. In terms of his all-round input, and taking into consideration the conditions, he was a better option.”Tharanga also revealed that the uncapped Viyaskanth, who had impressed in the LPL in recent seasons as well as the ILT20 earlier this year, had been picked as a travelling reserve ahead of the likes of Jeffrey Vandersay and Akila Dananjaya owing to him being more suited to the conditions.”Viyaskanth is taller and has a higher arm action, and because of that we thought he would suit the West Indian conditions better. Along with Viyaskanth, we looked at Akila Dananjaya and Jeffrey Vandersay, and compared to them Viyaskanth has bowled more in franchise cricket, and so we think he’s best suited to fill in in the case of any injury.”Matheesha Pathirana has been in sensational form for CSK, but Sri Lanka will have to wait on a final medical report before they can clear him for return•BCCI

Concerns over power-hitting?

The build-up to the World Cup – in the shadow of the IPL – has brought with it a certain degree of uncertainty over what the scoring will be like at the tournament, with ground averages perhaps no longer a reliable indicator of scoring patterns considering the kind of uber aggressive batting seen in the IPL so far.In this vein, there were questions over the selection of Dhananjaya over more explosive options like Kusal Janith Perera and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (travelling reserve). The selectors, though, were confident that the team selected has the firepower needed to go deep in the tournament.”If you look at scores in the West Indies historically, as well as the US, average scores are around 160. But until we play on them we won’t know how such wickets behave. But I do believe that this a team capable of meeting any challenge.”Speaking further on Perera’s axing, Tharanga said it was down to his recent lack of form, while he added that Bhanuka had been kept as a reserve as there were enough power hitters in the side already.”From the 15 players we’ve selected I think we have the necessary power in the side in terms of batters. In the opening slots we have Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka, then we have Kamindu Mendis, Charith [Asalanka], there’s Wanindu and Dasun Shanaka. So we have faith that we can cover the power side of the game with those players.”

Special request for Liyanage

Janith Liyanage was not part of the initial 25-man shortlist the selectors had identified as potential candidates for their final squad, but such has been the strength of his performances in ODIs – he has scored three fifties and a century in six innings since debuting in March of this year – they had been urged to reconsider his role in shortest format.As such, Liyanage, despite having played the last of his three T20Is back in February 2022, has been named one for four travelling reserves.”He wasn’t selected in the initial 25-man list because we thought we could go forward with those selections. But in the games following that decision, Janith performed very well,” Tharanga explained.”This meant that some of the seniors and coaches in the side asked again if it was possible to take Janith for the tournament.”

Sri Lanka wait on Pathirana injury

Matheesha Pathirana had impressed in his second IPL campaign, picking up 13 wickets for Chennai Super Kings in six games before being sidelined with a hamstring strain. According to Tharanga, they are hopeful of the slinger being fit for the start of the tournament but will have to wait on the final medical report before identifying a clear timeline for his return.He is one of five seamers Sri Lanka will be taking to the US, alongside fellow slinger Nuwan Thushara, Dilshan Madushanka, Dushmantha Chameera and travelling reserve Asitha Fernando.In those, Tharanga believes there is enough to trouble opposition batters in all phases of play.”We have players to bowl at the death, but it’s in the powerplay that we need to focus on picking up wickets. So for that we have Madushanka and then as travelling reserve we have Asitha.”If we take our side, Thushara, Pathirana they can bowl in the death overs. But we needed someone that could come in if we needed a wicket-taking option with the new ball, which is why we went with Asitha [as a reserve over Binura Fernando].”

Former allrounder was jailed for rape in 2019, and served two years of a five-year sentence

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Sep-2024Alex Hepburn, the former Worcestershire allrounder, has been suspended from playing in ECB competitions for 10 years by the Cricket Discipline Commission, three years after serving a prison sentence for rape.Earlier this year, Hepburn was charged by the Cricket Regulator with two breaches of ECB Directive 3.3. The first related to his conviction in 2019, for which he was released in October 2021 after serving two years of a five-year sentence, while the second related to his participation in a misogynistic Whatsapp group during his playing days with Worcestershire in 2017.Hepburn, now 28, has not played professionally since the details of his arrest in April 2017 were made public. In the course of his four-day trial, it was heard how Hepburn had “dehumanised” women, rating them in text messages to his team-mates in a “sexual conquest competition”.He was subsequently found guilty on one count of oral rape, after an attack that took place in the flat that he shared with his then team-mate, Joe Clarke, with whom the victim had initially believed she was having sex. He appealed against the conviction, but the appeal was dismissed in September 2020.Given Hepburn’s time in prison, the Cricket Regulator was only able to serve him notification of the charge earlier this year, but his suspension has been backdated to the date of his release, on October 30, 2021. The suspension relating on the second charge, for a period of two years, is deemed to have been already served.A statement from the Cricket Regulator added: “Mr Hepburn failed to respond to the charge letter and related communication. As such, the CDC panel reached its decision in his absence. Mr Hepburn has not appealed the CDC panel’s decision.”Hepburn will also have to undertake “appropriate professional treatment” for the issues which led to his criminal conviction, and undertake appropriate training and education courses before he will be permitted to play, coach or undertake any cricket-related activity which falls under the authority of the ECB.He has also been placed on the sex offenders register for life as part of his conviction.

Taj Nehar and Sanjida Akter earn maiden call-ups to the ODI side

Mohammad Isam18-Nov-2024Bangladesh have recalled Sharmin Akhter and Jahanara Alam to their ODI squad for the upcoming three-match series against Ireland. Taj Nehar and Sanjida Akter, meanwhile, earned their first call-ups to the ODI side.Sharmin had missed the T20 World Cup earlier this year and had last played international cricket during the ODI series at home against India in July 2023. The 28-year-old has played 35 ODIs and 16 T20Is since she made her international debut in 2011. As for Jahanara, she is among the three Bangladesh players who have played at least 50 women’s ODIs. Jahanara has picked up 48 wickets in 52 matches at an average of 30.39.Middle-order batter Taj made her international debut in the Women’s T20 World Cup in October, while left-arm spinner Sanjida has played 18 WT20Is.This is Bangladesh’s first ODI series since the Australia series in April this year. From that squad, the selectors have excluded Farzana Akter, Sumaiya Akter, Disha Biswas and Nishita Akter.Bangladesh have won three out of six ODIs against Ireland. They won the last bilateral series between the two sides, back in 2016.
This time, they will play the three ODIs in Dhaka on November 27 and 30 and December 2. They will also play three T20Is in Sylhet on December 5, 7 and 9.This is Bangladesh’s first international series since the Women’s T20 World Cup held in UAE in October.

Bangladesh ODI squad

Nigar Sultana (capt), Nahida Akter, Murshida Khatun, Fargana Hoque, Sharmin Akhter, Sobhana Mostary, Shorna Akter, Ritu Moni, Rabeya Khan, Fahima Khatun, Marufa Akter, Jahanara Alam, Sultana Khatun, Taj Nehar, Sanjida Akther

England’s focus may be elsewhere at end of long season, but for hosts, this is the be-all-and-end-all

Andrew Miller16-Sep-2025

Big picture: Big-ticket visit, but small beer for visitors

It’s a state of affairs that sums up the imbalances of international cricket. England and Ireland are about to play their first-ever bilateral game of T20 cricket – even though the format has consumed the sport in the course of the past two decades – at a moment in the respective itineraries of the two nations that could scarcely be more polarized.On the one hand, there’s the visitors England, girding their loins for one final push after an exhausting home season comprising a five-Test series against India, while already casting their eyes forward to the single biggest date on their 2025 calendar: November 21, and the start of their legacy-defining Ashes campaign.Despite the notable pick of Jacob Bethell as captain, they’ve arrived in Dublin with something close to their first-choice XI, or at least the version that took the field with such stunning success in their most recently completed match, against South Africa at Old Trafford last week.Jamie Smith and Ben Duckett were scarcely missed while Phil Salt and Jos Buttler were blazing England towards that record 304 for 2, but they remain in mothballs alongside the regular captain Harry Brook and Jofra Archer – each of whom, with as much respect as can be mustered in such circumstances, has bigger fish to fry in the coming months. As indeed has the head coach, Brendon McCullum, who has already flown home to New Zealand.And then, there’s the hosts Ireland – for the most part exiles in their own land, given how rarely they are able to attract the quality of opposition that justifies the outlay required to accommodate them. This three-match series is their biggest ticket since India popped over for three T20Is in August 2023 (one of which was abandoned).Sure enough, Malahide has rolled out its temporary stands (at considerable expense) to take the ground’s capacity to around 4,000 for these three games. Happily, Friday and Sunday are already sold out, while Wednesday’s series opener should be at least 80% full, with tickets still available. Given that last year’s visit by Australia was canned on the grounds that even those broadcast rights couldn’t have covered Cricket Ireland’s costs, their financial tightrope is real and terrifying.For both teams, however, this series remains a key staging post for a significant and looming peak. England’s thoughts will have to turn to the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka almost before they’ve completed their Ashes comedown, and such are the reasons why experimentation for this leg has been relatively limited, even if the conditions in Malahide will be as far removed from those in the subcontinent in February as can be imagined.For Ireland, however, that focus will be nothing less than full-bore. So much of their raison d’etre revolves around ICC events, from the long and anxious qualification bids that precede them, to the crucial exposure and funding that their moments on the big stage provide. But here, in a slender weather-threatened five-day window, that stage has at long last come back to their own shores.

Form guide

Ireland LLWLL (last five T20Is, most recent first)

England WLWWW

In the spotlight: Jordan Cox and Ross Adair

All he ever seems to get are scraps from the table, but to Jordan Cox’s immense credit, he has not yet been consumed by frustration at an international career that simply cannot stick a landing. The false starts have been numerous – most gallingly the broken thumb that robbed him of three guaranteed Tests in New Zealand last winter – while his two previous T20I appearances, against Australia last year, were – just like this potential recall – tacked onto the end of a long international summer. But his belated call-up to the squad is entirely on merit, after his MVP displays for Oval Invincibles in the Hundred. Given half a chance, he is still hungry to make the most of it.At the age of 31, and having parked his previous career in rugby union, Ross Adair is a significant bolter for this winter’s T20 World Cup. His last-but-one international innings was a storming knock of 100 from 58 balls as Ireland beat South Africa in Abu Dhabi this time last year, and as he told ESPNcricinfo this week, the explosive nature of T20 cricket means there are plenty of transferrable skills from his previous incarnation as a winger.

Team news: Calitz, Baker in line for debuts

Ireland could hand a maiden cap to Ben Calitz, the 23-year-old Canada-born batter, with Paul Stirling, their captain, saying they were “crying out” for a left-hander in their middle order. Their bowling stocks have taken a hit with Josh Little and Mark Adair both absent for this series – Little has played just once for Middlesex in two months as he nurses a side injury. Matthew Humphreys is set to lead the attack once more, after impressing in his only outing against West Indies in June.Ireland: (possible) 1 Paul Stirling (capt), 2 Ross Adair, 3 Harry Tector, 4 Lorcan Tucker (wk), 5 Ben Calitz, 6 George Dockrell, 7 Curtis Campher, 8 Barry McCarthy, 9 Graham Hume, 10 Matthew Humphreys, 11 Craig Young.Sonny Baker seems in line for a maiden T20I outing, and ideally a less brutal return to England colours, after being launched for 76 runs on his wicketless ODI debut against South Africa earlier this month. Cox is the obvious replacement for Brook in the middle-order, with England likely to persevere with their spin-heavy attack in preparation for the T20 World Cup.England: (possible) 1 Phil Salt, 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Jacob Bethell (capt), 4 Jordan Cox, 5 Sam Curran, 6 Tom Banton, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Liam Dawson, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Luke Wood, 11 Sonny Baker.

Pitch and conditions

Dublin in early autumn is unlikely to be the sort of batting paradise that England encountered in that Old Trafford contest. Stirling predicted conditions would be as “alien” to those at next year’s World Cup as you could imagine: “September in Ireland is going to be green, it’s going to nip a little bit, and it’s going to be slightly slow.” The weather for Wednesday is mostly set to be clear, though torrential overnight rain is anticipated, which may well influence the decisions at the toss.

Stats and trivia

• England and Ireland have played only twice before in the T20I format – at the T20 World Cups in 2010 (then the World T20) and 2022. Ireland memorably won the second of those at the MCG and might well have won the first but for a washout. England, remarkably, recovered from those set-backs to claim the title on each occasion.
• At 21 years and 329 days, Jacob Bethell is set to become the youngest captain in England’s history, beating the mark currently held by Monty Bowden, who was 23 and 144 days when he led England against South Africa at Cape Town on the Test tour of 1888-89.

Quotes

“It was fantastic viewing… Hopefully it’ll be a bit different than Old Trafford, where the pitch didn’t seem to be doing much. Coming here, it might be a bit slower, it might do a bit more, and hopefully we can catch a team off-guard that way if things go our way – maybe win the toss and go from there.”
“I’ve played with Paul Stirling myself, and I’ve seen how destructive he is at the other end. He’ll be someone we’ll be looking to target early and try to get him walking back into the sheds.”

He comes in with an experience of having coached WA and Perth Scorchers to back-to-back Australian domestic trebles

Alex Malcolm03-Aug-2023Adam Voges, who has coached Western Australia and Perth Scorchers to back-to-back Australian domestic trebles across the Sheffield Shield, Marsh Cup and BBL, has been appointed to take charge of Australia A against New Zealand A later this month and hopes to use the experience to further build his coaching skills.Australia A will host New Zealand A in two four-day matches and three 50-over matches in Queensland starting later this month, which will run concurrently with Australia’s T20I and ODI tour of South Africa. The A series four-day games will be held at Allan Border Field in Brisbane from August 28-31 and Great Barrier Reef Stadium in Mackay on September 4-7, which will be a day-night fixture with a pink ball. The first 50-over game will also be held in Mackay on September 10 before the second and third games return to Brisbane on September 13 and 15.The squads for the matches are yet to be named but Voges will lead a coaching staff that will include former Australia captain Tim Paine, as well as former Sri Lankan batter Thilan Samaraweera. Former Tasmania allrounder and South Australia assistant coach Luke Butterworth will also work under Voges, as well as Australia women’s bowling coach Scott Prestwidge and Queensland cricket’s coach and talent development specialist Tony Hampson. Australia’s chair of selectors George Bailey will also be with the group in Queensland for the series.The appointment of Voges is a departure from the last two Australia A squads that were led in Sri Lanka last year and New Zealand early this year by Australia assistant coach Andre Borovec to maintain some continuity between the Australia set up and the A team.But Cricket Australia’s (CA) head of national development Sonya Thompson had approached WA Cricket’s general manager Kade Harvey about allowing Voges to take charge of the Australia A squad for the series after the WA and Scorchers coach had done what no other Australia domestic coach has achieved in winning the Shield, Marsh Cup and BBL treble twice in back-to-back seasons.Current Australia coach Andrew McDonald is the only one who has led sides to an Australian domestic treble since the BBL’s inception, doing so with Victoria and Melbourne Renegades in 2018-19 before becoming an assistant coach and then head coach with Australia.Shaun Marsh and Adam Voges with the Sheffield Shield•Getty Images

“I see it as an opportunity,” Voges told ESPNcricinfo. “I love my job here in Perth. I’m really grateful for the opportunity I get here [in WA]. I’d love to continue to develop and grow and learn as much as I can as a coach and this opportunity gives me another chance to do that. So that’s probably how I see it.”I’ll enjoy the three-and-a-half weeks that I get with [the Australia A] program and then run or charge full steam into our domestic season. So they’re the priorities at the moment. I’m always looking to just keep learning and growing in the role.”Voges has spoken to McDonald about keeping some continuity between the national team and the A side in terms of the environment and messaging to players, but McDonald has given him the freedom to create the best environment he sees fit for the series.”He’s pretty happy for me to take the lead on that,” Voges said. “Albeit I’m certainly mindful of trying to keep those messages as similar as possible. So that gives us a bit of a guide as to what it can potentially look like, and I’ll probably touch base again between now and then but appreciate he’s been pretty busy over the last couple of months.”Voges is fully aware of the challenges of bringing an A team together at short notice when players are coming and going, while also eyeing personal advancement to the national sides. Despite the challenge being different from taking charge of a year-round state program with a stable group of players, Voges has experienced a lot of chopping and changing within his WA and Scorchers teams over the past two seasons as a number of his players have filtered in and out of national squads during that time.Voges has experience of Australia A programs as a player, combined with his wonderful international career, as well as being part of the 2019 Australia A tour of England as an assistant when he was first finding his feet as a state coach.”Having been part of those setups as a player as well as a staff member, I think that’s the challenge is to try and unite a group in such a small timeframe,” Voges said.”CA are putting a big emphasis on these opportunities and trying to provide them [for the players] so hopefully, understanding the opportunity for what it is and making the three-and-a-half weeks as enjoyable as possible. And if we can do that and play some good cricket along the way then hopefully not only does it kick start those players start of the domestic season, but we enjoy our time as well.”Voges was also excited to reconnect with Paine having spent two years together at CA’s Centre of Excellence as players and appeared in ODI and T20I cricket together, although their Test careers did not overlap.”I have had a fair bit to do with Tim over the journey and I’m really excited for him to start to dip his toe into coaching post-career and looking forward to him being around the group,” he said.”To have a former Australian captain in amongst it and to be able to lean on him and for him to provide that experience to a couple of the younger players I think will be great.”

Players have been moved around, seemingly haphazardly, and the results have mostly gone against them so far

Mohammad Isam14-Oct-20232:09

Where have Bangladesh faltered?

The quality of Bangladesh’s batting at the start of their World Cup match against New Zealand was almost matched by the awkwardness of the conversations at the end of the day in Chennai.Najmul Hossain Shanto struggled to explain why Bangladesh were unsure about the positions of the batters in the middle order, while assistant coach Nic Pothas’ convoluted clichés left many befuddled.Shanto, who had settled into the No. 3 role in all three formats for the last 12 months, has batted twice at No. 4 so far. Mehidy Hasan Miraz took Shanto’s place at No. 3 when that happened. Shakib Al Hasan has switched between Nos. 4 and 5, while Towhid Hridoy has been at No. 7 after making most of his runs this year at No. 5. Mushfiqur Rahim, meanwhile, has been at No. 6, even though the evidence suggests he should, perhaps, move up to No. 4.Related

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• NZ make it three wins in three, but Williamson goes off hurt

Mahmudullah didn’t have to bat in the win over Afghanistan, was dropped for the England game, and batted at No. 8 against New Zealand; he hadn’t batted that low in an ODI since 2010.When asked the question at the post-match press conference, Shanto said captain Shakib and coach Chandika Hathurusinghe would be better placed to answer the question. He, however, said that the batters were made aware of their new positions before every game, but admitted that it took a bit of time to adjust to the new roles.”I am prepared to bat at any position for the team. I have scored runs at No. 4 before. I just haven’t scored runs in two games [in the World Cup],” Shanto said. “The decision [to change the order] is with the captain and coach. I can bat anywhere they tell me to. It does take a bit of time to adjust. Everyone has to be a little bit flexible to bat in any position. We are informed ahead of time. We are aware of our batting positions.”Now we are talking about it because nobody has performed in those [new] positions. When Mehidy was sent up the order against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup, we didn’t talk about it much. Some of these things are right, some are wrong. The batters haven’t made runs. Miraz and I batted in those positions for the left-right combination. We might have two lefties against the new ball. We don’t have many lefties down the order.”Shanto, the vice-captain of the side, also said that none of the batters had complained about the tweaks. “I think the middle-order batters – those who bat at Nos. 4, 5 and 6 – there’s flexibility in some teams. In our side, every batter is quite comfortable. Nobody is complaining that they are being given new batting positions every day.”On Friday, Litton Das’ first-ball dismissal, when he charged Trent Boult only for his flick shot to be caught at fine leg, was a bit unfortunate. In that, he found the only fielder in the deep on the leg side. Pothas argued that Litton’s shot was part of the team’s bold approach, but looking at the manner of the dismissals – mostly soft – of the other top-order batters, that argument felt a bit thin.”He made a positive statement. The ball goes five yards either side, it’s four. We are not having this conversation. We want our batters to be brave,” Pothas said. “Litton had a plan. Boult is a quality left-arm seamer. We have seen what happens when people stand and play. I have no problem with Litton.”1:17

McClenaghan: Your best batters should get more time to score the runs

When asked whether it would have been wiser for Litton to hold back for a few deliveries, Pothas said, “You are talking about an outcome, I am talking about process. We are talking in different language. We wouldn’t be having this conversation if that ball went for four. If he batted three more balls and got lbw, we would be having the same conversation.”Process is the most important thing. His process and thinking was brave. It was well thought for a guy who swings the ball into the bat. He wanted to meet him. The ball went to a fielder. That can happen.”Whatever Pothas and Shanto might say – or leave unsaid – Bangladesh are in a difficult situation, with two losses to one win so far. England and New Zealand have showed them up, proved that Bangladesh aren’t sure of their strengths and plans. Shanto and Hridoy’s batting demotions are cases in point. And it won’t get any easier, remember: their next two matches are against India and South Africa. That semi-final dream is already looking quite improbable.

Wickets tumble as hosts reach small target to keep pressure on Surrey at top of Division One

ECB Reporters Network22-Jul-2023Essex 458 for 8 dec (Critchley 117, A Cook 87, Harmer 83*, Arshdeep 3-58) and 30 for 3 beat Kent 207 (Compton 47, S Cook 3-19) and 280 (Finch 114, Evison 58, S Cook 4-46, Harmer 4-72) by seven wicketsEssex made heavy weather of scoring the 30 runs required to beat Kent by seven wickets and secure their fourth successive LV= Insurance County Championship victory. It needed Paul Walter to keep his head when others around him were losing theirs and stroke the winning runs 23 balls into what turned into a more difficult run chase than necessary.Essex attempted to make light work of reaching the target and were halfway there from the first over bowled by Hamid Qadri. But that was the prelude to the drama. Dan Lawrence was first to go when he tried to hit Grant Stewart’s first ball out of the ground but only skied to mid-on.Adam Rossington followed in the next over, lbw attempting to reverse sweep Qadri, and first-innings centurion Matt Critchley departed first ball to a caught-and-bowled by the offspinner, taken running back and over his head at mid-on. That was 23 for 3 in the third over, but Essex managed to get over the line in the next over to take 21 points and keep up the pressure on Championship leaders Surrey.With the threat of rain around later in the day, Essex needed eight overs before breaking the stubborn overnight partnership. But once Qadri departed to a smart catch at short square leg by Simon Harmer the innings collapsed in just six balls.Sam Cook added a second of the morning three balls later when Matt Quinn played on and Joey Evison fell lbw to the first ball of Harmer’s 44th over of the innings. Harmer finished with 4 for 72 to take his season’s tally to 41 wickets and Cook had figures of 4 for 46.

Ahead of the Ashes, Australia offspinner says Shoaib Bashir, England’s current No. 1 spinner, “has been okay”

Alex Malcolm31-Jul-2025Australia’s greatest ever offspinner Nathan Lyon believes that left-arm spinner Jack Leach is still England’s best spinner, and says offspinner Shoaib Bashir, England’s currently injured No.1 spinner and likely Ashes tourist for 2025-26, “has been okay”.Speaking at a Cricket Australia sponsorship announcement in Sydney on Thursday, Lyon said former England seamer James Anderson had revealed to him that Bashir had been selected to try and replicate what Lyon does in Australia. But Lyon believes Leach is still the best spinner England has.”I obviously played with Jimmy Anderson last year at Lancashire, and they basically said that they’re picking Bashir to do what I do,” Lyon said. “So I took a little bit of pride out of Jimmy respecting a little bit of what I’ve been able to do in my career. But Bashir has been okay.Related

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“Jacob Bethell is playing this Test match [at The Oval against India], and he looks like he’ll take up the spin bowling from Liam Dawson. But in my eyes, Jack Leach is still their best spinner.”Leach, 34, has not played for England since last year’s tour of Pakistan, where he had a modest series compared Noman Ali and Sajid Khan, who spun Pakistan to victory in the final two Tests. Leach’s return of 16 wickets at an average of 31.43 and a strike rate of 50.75 in three Tests in that series were still well ahead of Bashir’s nine wickets at 49.55 and 79.44, respectively.England have since committed to Bashir as the No.1 spinner across their last three series – against New Zealand, Zimbabwe and India. When he suffered a series-ending finger injury in the Lord’s Test of the ongoing series against India, Liam Dawson returned as England’s sole spinner for the fourth Test in Manchester after eight years in the Test wilderness. Dawson has since been left out for the fifth and final Test at The Oval, with England picking four fast bowlers as well as Jacob Bethell as a part-time left-arm spin option in place of Dawson.Leach took 6 for 63 in his most recent outing, for Somerset against Durham at Taunton, in what turned out to be a two-day game on a pitch that was described as “appalling” by Ian Botham. Leach is currently the fourth-leading wicket-taker, and the leading spinner, in division one of the County Championship this season, with 39 wickets at 24.76, including two six-wicket hauls.Jack Leach played three Tests on the last Australia tour in 2021-22•Getty Images

Leach played three Tests in Australia on the 2021-22 Ashes tour, taking just six wickets at 53.50, and was left out of the final Test in Hobart. Instead, England picked four seamers in a pink-ball game where Lyon did not bowl a single delivery as Australia won inside three days.Bashir, meanwhile, was sent on the England Lions tour of Australia earlier this year to play three four-day games against Cricket Australia (CA) XI and Australia A, although none of them was played at Test venues.He returned match figures of 2 for 91 and 1 for 109 in the two fixtures against the CA XI in Brisbane. Against Australia A in the unofficial Test at Cricket Central in Sydney, which the Lions lost by an innings, Bashir got 1 for 74 in the only innings he bowled.Lyon himself was left out of Australia’s most recent Test match, against West Indies in Jamaica, as the selectors opted for four quicks in a pink-ball game that ended inside two-and-a-half days. But he believes spinners will have their share of role to play in the Ashes in Australia despite the pitches being very seam-friendly in recent years.”It is a massive role, and it can be a massive challenge for people who haven’t done it in the past in these conditions,” Lyon said. “But I’m not going to let my secrets out so they come out and perform well out here. Our guys know how to play spin really well in this country. That’s probably what helped me produce my skill to where it is at the moment. I know I’ll keep trying getting better, and we’ll see how their spinners go.”