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Rishi Patel, Marcus Harris, Lewis Hill score fifties as home side cruise to victory

ECB Reporters' Network22-Jul-2021Despite a century for Derbyshire captain Billy Godleman on his return after taking a break from cricket, Leicestershire cruised to a comfortable six-wicket win on the opening day of the Royal London Cup.Australian left-hander Marcus Harris hit 75, Rishi Patel 70 – a career-best in the 50-over format – and Lewis Hill 51 on his debut as captain as Leicestershire eased home with 24 balls to spare, overhauling Derbyshire’s 275 for 7, in which offspinner Arron Lilley took 3 for 49.The Foxes’ victory was overshadowed, however, by a serious injury to Nick Welch, their 23-year-old opening batsman, who suffered a dislocated right knee and potential ligament damage in a fall while batting.The Zimbabwe-born player, who had made 32 from 43 balls with four boundaries in an opening stand of 83 with Patel, lost his footing as he executed an expansive drive against le spinner Mattie McKierman, his right leg appearing to buckle under him.He was treated on the field for almost 10 minutes before being taken off on a stretcher with the help of St John Ambulance personnel, his dismissal for hit wicket after dislodging the bails as he fell rendered academic as it was clear from the outset that he could not have continued.Derbyshire also suffered a casualty with wicketkeeper Harvey Hosein unable to field after being hit on the head while batting. With Derbyshire’s squad already badly hit by injuries and illness, coach Ajmal Shahzad had to field in his place, with Brooke Guest taking the gloves.Billy Godleman pulls on his way to a century•Getty Images

Godleman, who had taken a month away from cricket to “recharge his batteries” after struggling for form this season, found the break had done exactly what was intended by making 116 from 129 balls with 10 fours and two sixes, his seventh century in what has long been his favourite format.He was himself struck two glancing blows on the helmet but was thankfully unscathed.With Guest, Hosein and McKiernan the only other batters in double figures, Derbyshire’s total looked below par on a good batting surface, despite 84 runs coming off the last 10 overs.They struggled through the middle phase against tight bowling from Chris Wright, Lilley and George Rhodes. Lilley had Guest caught at short fine leg, Fynn Hudson-Prentice at extra cover and picked up his third wicket when Hosein miscued to point.Despite the return of Ravi Rampaul to the Derbyshire attack for the first time in a competitive match since 2019, Leicestershire made easy progress to 56 without loss from the opening Powerplay – compared with Derbyshire’s 48 for 1.Ironically, Welch should have been dismissed in the over before his injury when he top-edged a pull off Ben Aitchison but Nils Priestley, one of two Derbyshire players making their senior competitive debuts, spilled the catch.Leicestershire lost Patel, who hit nine boundaries before chipping Rampaul tamely to cover to be 127 for 2 in the 24th, while Hill fell in the 36th just after reaching his half-century, bowled by a good delivery by Aitchison. Harris hit Aitchison straight to mid-on in the 44th, but after needing 103 from the last 20 overs and 50 off the final 10, the result was never in doubt, Rhodes driving Hudson-Prentice for the winning boundary.

Quick takes 4 for 53 but 73 from Jordan Silk reduced Tasmania’s first-innings deficit

Alex Malcolm23-Nov-2021Jhye Richardson’s case to play in the first Ashes Test is getting stronger by the day after he ripped through Tasmania’s middle-order to help give Western Australia a healthy lead heading into the final day at Bellerive Oval.Richardson took 4 for 53 to help bowl Tasmania out for 317, giving him 12 wickets in his last three Shield innings and 20 for the season in just four games. Cameron Green then tuned up for the Ashes with a fine unbeaten half-century to give WA a lead of 258 heading into the final day.Richardson produced a stunning burst with the second new ball early on day three nicking off Ben McDermott and Jake Doran as Tasmania collapsed from 2 for 214 to 9 for 259. Cameron Gannon and Matthew Kelly picked up five wickets between them in the aftermath of Richardson’s burst.But Jordan Silk made a defiant 73 to ensure the first-innings deficit was under 100. He added 58 for the 10th wicket with Gabe Bell who contributed just 8 runs. WA pushed nearly all their fielders into the deep and Silk picked them apart with some intelligent batting.WA started their second innings strongly with a 69-run opening stand between Cameron Bancroft and Jayden Goodwin before offspinner Jarrod Freeman struck twice in back-to-back overs. Sam Whiteman could not back up his first-innings century edging Peter Siddle behind for 13 but Green steadied alongside Hilton Cartwright. The pair put on 70 before Cartwright fell late in the day. Green struck six boundaries in his half-century and is well placed alongside Josh Philippe to tee off on the fourth morning as WA push for a declaration.

“If you don’t win the battle in front of you, it’s all irrelevant”

Andrew Miller06-Jan-2022Stuart Broad has called on England’s Test cricketers to live in the moment for the rest of a dispiriting Ashes campaign, and focus on making some individual points at Sydney and Hobart, after suggesting that the squad has become too obsessed with long-term planning during the Covid pandemic, and has lost sight of the importance of winning each battle as it comes.Speaking at the close of the second day’s play at Sydney, where his figures of 5 for 101 made him the oldest England seamer (at 35 years, 196 days) to take a five-wicket haul in Australia, Broad acknowledged that his efforts, while personally satisfying, had been unable to seize a day that had been dominated by Usman Khawaja’s comeback century.Nevertheless, having played just one of the three Tests in which the Ashes were live, and that on a flat surface at Adelaide that was less likely to suit his methods than two juicier decks at Brisbane and Melbourne, Broad said that the chance to make a belated mark on the tour was a reminder to him of just how special Test cricket remains to him, even in his 151st appearance. And now, with England reaching 13 for 0 in reply, he challenged his team-mates to turn England’s fortunes around by grasping the moment in front of them, rather than deferring their focus to the tour of West Indies in March, or their home summer campaigns against New Zealand, India and South Africa.Related

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“There’s loads of reasons – not excuses – why [2021] wasn’t a successful year,” Broad said. “Covid has played quite a big part in it, but there’s a mindset within this group now that, instead of looking ahead at what’s coming in the next year, the next Ashes series, actually we need to get back to the real basics of what’s ahead of us right now. How are we winning this next Test match?”Sometimes when your brain gets too far away from what’s in front of you, you’re not focused on delivering what you need to deliver in that Test match. We don’t know what the world’s going to look like, or what cricket is going to look like in June, and in next November, but can we win tomorrow? Can we win the next opportunity that’s in front of us?”I think that should be a real focus for the England cricket team going forward, because it’s all well and good planning for the next away Ashes and looking at the World Test Championship, but actually, if you don’t win the battle in front of you, it’s all irrelevant.”We are devastated to have lost this series 3-0, obviously. But can we have an impact in Sydney, can we have an impact in Hobart, before we board a flight home and reassess? We need a bit of a short-term mindset, in my opinion, for the next couple of games, because there’s some points to prove for every player.”Broad’s own competitive instincts helped to keep England fighting on another day of Ashes adversity, in which a side injury to Ben Stokes caused an extra workload for their four remaining frontline bowlers, in particular his fellow seamers James Anderson and Mark Wood – who once again bowled with raw pace but little luck to finish with 1 for 76 in 26.1 overs.”I’m pleased to have had an impact,” Broad said. “Obviously I would have preferred it to be 5 for 30, not 5 for 100 – there’s no doubting it was Australia’s day, Khawaja played beautifully – but when you miss out on Test matches, it makes you realise how special it is to play.”Ashes cricket means the world to me, and I love playing sport for that competitive side. I love trying to get the opening batters out and working your way through [an innings], and that’s why I keep chugging in, because it’s quite addictive, and I’ve still got a burning desire to play the sport.”But, in noting that the average first-innings total at Sydney since 2017 is a hefty 457, including India’s 622 for 7 declared in 2019, Broad insisted that the onus must now shift to England’s under-performing batting unit, which has yet to post a total in excess of 300 in six completed innings on this tour, and has made substandard scores of 147, 236 and 185 in consecutive first-innings efforts at Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne.”You can dissect loads on this trip but actually first-innings runs is where you live in Test cricket, and we’ve failed to deliver,” Broad said. “There’s a bit of uneven bounce with a brand new ball but there’s an opportunity, I hope, for someone to be sat here tomorrow, having scored a big hundred, and answering some positive questions.”Honestly, doesn’t matter what bowlers you play if you are getting bowled out for 140. That might be a bit brutal, but that’s the truth in Test cricket.”Writing in his Mail on Sunday newspaper column ahead of the fourth Test, Broad had expressed his frustration at not making a bigger impact on this tour, particularly in the series opener at the Gabba on a pitch which he said had had him “licking his lips”.However, in light of the long-term calf injury that limited him to 12 wickets at 39.50 in 2021, “his worst year” in Test cricket, Broad insisted his recent comments had not been fuelled by the same sense of injustice that had caused him to speak so angrily to Sky Sports midway through the first Test of the 2020 series against West Indies.Stuart Broad struck twice in 11 balls•CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images

“In Southampton, I felt I had bowled really well in the Ashes series in 2019. I bowled really well in South Africa, being the leading wicket-taker, and then I didn’t play the next game. So I felt like the shirt belonged to me,” he said. “That did fuel quite a bit of fire in me.”But with how this year has gone, when I arrived in Australia, the shirt wasn’t mine. I got injured in the India series and the bowlers bowled really nicely, although we didn’t get the results we wanted in the series. So I respect that about the decision-making. No Test cap should be given out, you always have to earn them.”But when Rooty told me I was playing, obviously I was gutted for Robbo [Ollie Robinson], he’s had a really good trip, but I was buzzing to play, I was really pleased to get an opportunity. And bowling today made me again relight that fire … yeah, this is awesome. Great stadium. Good atmosphere, bowling at the world’s best. It’s what it’s about.”In terms of his long-term hunger, Broad insists he’s got plenty left to give to the England team, and cites the enduring class of Anderson, four years his senior, as both evidence of what he could yet achieve, and an inspiration to put in the efforts to remain a world-class competitor.”A few years ago I was umming and aahing, and I spent a lot of time talking to my dad about it. He has a great belief that you should play the sport you love for as long as you can. While the fire burns you should play because nothing replicates it in life. Nothing can bring you the satisfaction, the pain, the highs and the lows. They are quite addictive.”Jimmy’s been an inspiration for me,” he added. “I see how much drive he’s still got at 39, how much energy he puts in, not just to the match days, but the training and the skill development.”He is truly the most professional I’ve seen him in the past two years, so why can’t I replicate it? I’m not as skilful as Jimmy and I haven’t got as much armoury in my locker, but I’ve got the motivation and the drive, similar to him, and I’m as disciplined as he is. And I feel like I can contribute as much as Jimmy has since that age. He’s a driving force behind my mindset and hopefully I get to play more Test cricket with him because we had a lot of fun out there today.”And if that ambition, late in the career of two England greats, means that the team as a whole ends up taking a short-term approach to its coming series, then Broad is adamant that this would not necessarily be a bad thing.”I haven’t been a regular this year,” he said. “When I was 26-27-28, I expected to play every game. I haven’t done that this year. So when you miss a few and then you play, you realise how awesome it is to play, how special it is. And I really enjoyed my time out there.”

Former chairman casts doubt on validity of Lord Patel’s appointment to lead board

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Feb-2022Yorkshire’s attempts to secure the return of international cricket this summer have suffered a setback after the club was forced to delay a proposed Emergency General Meeting (EGM), which had been expected to confirm governance changes in the wake of the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal.The EGM had been due to take place on Wednesday evening, but was cancelled after Yorkshire admitted it “had not been properly called under club rules”. The news was followed by claims from former chairman Robin Smith that the process to appoint Lord Kamlesh Patel to lead the board last year was “invalid”.Patel has been the driving force behind Yorkshire’s response to being stripped of the right to host international matches by the ECB, following their mishandling of a report into Rafiq’s claims of institutional racism. Patel was brought in as chair in November, shortly after the incumbent, Roger Hutton, resigned.He said last month the club had made “significant progress” but warned that they could not remain “financially viable” without the restoration of major match status, with Headingley otherwise set to lose out on hosting a Test on New Zealand’s tour and an ODI featuring South Africa.Related

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However, the reported on Thursday that Yorkshire’s failure to register a rule change, which had been voted on at last year’s Annual General Meeting, with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), meant that Patel’s authority had been called into question.Smith, who had two spells as Yorkshire chairman between 2002-05 and 2018-20, raised the issue with Yorkshire, who belatedly contacted the FCA this week. Until that point, the club should not have been able to appoint “a non-member or a member with less than two years’ membership like Patel,” according to Smith.Smith had previously written to Yorkshire claiming that Patel could not table proposals without being formally elected by members.”Lord Kamlesh Patel was appointed by the rump of the old board,” Smith told the . “He had not been a member for two years and therefore his appointment is invalid.”As he was not validly appointed, he could be personally liable for the decisions he has made. Why should the club or its members pay for decisions taken by someone who shouldn’t even be in office?”Among Patel’s first actions taken as chair was settling an employment tribunal with Rafiq, and overseeing the removal of Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s long-serving director of cricket, and Andrew Gale, the head coach, as part of a cull of 16 staff members.Yorkshire had been hoping to push through changes to the structure of their board, which reportedly included the ECB being given a seat on the club’s nominations committee, this week – with the outcome expected to influence the possible return of international cricket to Headingley.Martin Darlow, the ECB’s deputy chair, said during an appearance before the Department of Culture, Media and Sport select committee last week that the governing body “will be making a decision and considering their options” following the EGM. Rafiq himself said last month that the “time is right” for Yorkshire to regain its hosting rights.Yorkshire released a statement saying that it had cancelled the EGM after taking “specialist legal advice”, suggesting that the failure to notify the FCA of changes to its rules was “a legacy issue” attributable to the previous leadership. The club also said that it hoped to rearrange the EGM before the end of the month.”The decision to cancel the EGM scheduled for February 2 was based on specialist legal advice, after it had come to the club’s attention in recent days that the meeting had not been properly called under club rules,” the statement said.”Specifically, this was a legacy issue as the previous leadership of the club had failed to ensure registration of the amended club rules with the financial conduct authority. The relevant amendments to the club rules had been approved overwhelmingly by members at the March 2020 and March 2021 annual general meetings.”Owing to this failure to register the changes, the club now understands that the notice of the 2021 meeting and this EGM should properly have been given to members by post only, rather than by post and electronic means including the YCCC website (as members had approved by passing the resolution at the 2020 meeting).”Accordingly the notices of the meetings at the time they were called – before the registration of the changes with the FCA – were invalid until the FCA registration was completed.”Following discovery of this oversight, YCCC has now rectified the position: the rule changes in 2020 and 2021 have been filed with the FCA as required, and they are available for public inspection.”

Fast bowler praises competitive surface after picking up five-wicket haul on second day

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jan-2022Heather Knight’s battling century in the Ashes Test in Canberra ranks among the “top three” performances in women’s cricket, according to her longest-serving team-mate Katherine Brunt, whose own five-wicket haul helped to keep England in contention after two days of a keenly fought contest.By the close of the second day, Knight’s unbeaten 127 had rescued England from the prospect of the follow-on, after they had at one stage slumped to 169 for 8 in reply to Australia’s 337 for 9 declared. But with Sophie Ecclestone providing stout support with an unbeaten 27, England reduced the arrears to 102 with the prospect of further runs when play resumes on Saturday.It was Knight’s second Test century, after a matchsaving 157, also against Australia at Wormsley in 2013, but Brunt – who has been critical of the quality of pitches used for women’s Tests – had no doubts that this was the superior knock, after withstanding a varied Australia attack on a surface offering turn for the spinners and carry for the quicks.”It was massive, beyond a shadow of a doubt,” Brunt said, of an innings that spanned 249 balls, and was 100 runs more than England’s next highest scorer. “She’s resilient as ever, showing fighting spirit, and she’s 100% a leader. You want to lead by example, and that’s how you do it. I don’t know how she does it personally, but if she could teach me how, that’d be lovely.”There was a bit more in this [pitch],” Brunt added, compared to the Wormsley match in which 23 wickets fell across the four days. “Both were equally brilliant, both really tough situations. But that’s what she’s made for. And none of us thought that she would go out there and not do it. We all believe that she can do it – she does, Australia do. She’s at that level [now], but unfortunately no-one could back her up which is the sad thing about it.Heather Knight sweeps during her century in Canberra•Getty Images

“I’ve been around a long time now, and seen some brilliant hundreds in World Cup cricket and a hundred here by Danni Wyatt in in a T20 [in the 2017-18 Ashes], but that [was in the] top three. Not one person has scored a significant score so she has taken the whole world on her shoulders and dug extremely deep to put a score on the board.”Earlier, Brunt did her utmost to keep England afloat, claiming her third Test five-for, and her first since 2009. She picked off both of the Australia wickets to fall on the second morning, prior to Meg Lanning’s declaration, including an outstanding delivery to pick off the top of Annabel Sutherland’s off stump.”It’s been a while,” Brunt said. “I think someone said maybe 16 years [sic], which is absolutely ridiculous, but we don’t often get to play on wickets that have a little bit of something in it for the bowlers. So I’m just really happy that the conditions suit.”No-one wants to play on a pitch where you don’t get a result,” Brunt added. “No-results are just sad, you always want it to go one way or the other. A result means an exciting game of Test cricket and, with it being viewed on air, we want to be able to showcase our skills bat and ball, not just the bat. It’s a breath of fresh air to have something to get excited about and be happy to run in on.”Related

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England’s position could have been stronger but for a mixed display in the field. Knight dropped Lanning on 14 before lunch on the first day, while Nat Sciver reprieved Rachael Haynes off Brunt’s bowling, allowing Haynes to recover and post a key innings of 86.”I can’t scream at my fiancée, can I?” Brunt said of Sciver’s spill. “Screaming and shouting gets you nowhere, I’ve found that over the years. It only makes people feel worse, then they are stressing about the next one coming. It’s heart-wrenching, but everyone’s trying their best. I’m really fiery and passionate and want the best, but stuff like that happens, so you can’t let it destroy you.”Addressing the match situation, Brunt insisted that England “can win from anywhere” – and they need to as well, with Australia leading the series 4-2 on points after a win and two washouts in the T20Is.”Had we taken our opportunities, they might be 100 less on the board and we’d be sitting in a really good position. But we’ve been clawing that back since, and the fight that we’re showing should be an example of what it means to us, and what we’re trying to achieve in this Test.”

New Zealand are hoping to have a fully-fit Williamson in the mix for the Test tour of England after he finishes up with the IPL

Srinidhi Ramanujam16-Mar-2022New Zealand head coach Gary Stead has revealed that the team management wants Kane Williamson, who has been struggling with injury for a while now, to focus on T20 cricket for the next few months, as that would make it easier to manage his workload and ensure he is available for the tour of England in June.Williamson, who has an elbow problem, is set to return for Sunrisers Hyderabad at the IPL, scheduled to begin on March 26.Related

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“Kane’s heading off to India. All the IPL guys [12 New Zealand players are part of the league] are away this week and heading off there. That’s just part of the current cycle of what it looks like in world cricket,” Stead said after New Zealand announced their squads for the series against the Netherlands, which runs from March 25 to April 4. “He’s going really well. He’s been everywhere we want him to be and that’s great.”For us, Kane playing T20 cricket is the right way forward for the short term. It means we can manage his loads a little bit more. And we have a little bit more of a clear idea around how many balls he will be hitting to make sure he is loading the elbow progressively, with a view to him being right for the Tests in the UK which we will be really hopeful for.”The recurrence of the old elbow problem – which had troubled him for much of 2021 – during the New Zealand tour of India meant Williamson has not played any cricket since last December. Stead said that the plan was to have a fit Williamson for the three Tests in England – part of the World Test Championship – starting June 2.Williamson played a total of five T20Is in 2021 before the T20 World Cup in October and did not feature in a single ODI last year. He also missed a few matches in the first leg of IPL 2021 and had to cut short his stints at the nets during the T20 World Cup to manage the injury that had flared up in the lead-up to the global tournament. Williamson, 31, had opted against undergoing surgery, and instead went into rehab. He had earlier planned to return to action for the Test series at home against South Africa in February this year, but that didn’t happen.Meanwhile, though 12 players are unavailable for the challenge against Netherlands, Stead expressed his excitement at the prospect of having new faces like Michael Bracewell and Dane Cleaver – both earned their maiden call-ups – in the squad. While Bracewell has been named in both the ODI and the T20I squads, Cleaver has been selected only for the T20Is. Bracewell and Cleaver were the top-two run-getters in this season’s Super Smash, New Zealand’s domestic T20 competition, scoring 478 and 369 runs, respectively.”It’s a great opportunity,” Stead said. “Every time a new player gets selected for New Zealand and plays for the Black Caps, it’s exciting for them and exciting for our team. I think the natural opportunity that’s come around with 12 guys being essentially ruled out by playing in the IPL is exciting for us.”We try and show loyalty to those that have been in our squad and I think that’s been part of the reason we’ve had some of the success we’ve had. We don’t make it easy to get into the teams, but Michael’s been knocking on the door for a while now. He’s a true allrounder. He’s got some great skills in all three forms of the game, so I’m looking forward to seeing what he can bring.”The home series against the Netherlands begins with the one-off T20I on March 25, followed by the three-match ODI series – which will be a part of the World Cup Super League – from March 29.

Says India is “such an untapped market” and “they’re going to be unbeatable in a 10-year time” with launch of Women’s IPL

Annesha Ghosh30-Mar-2022Australia wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy has welcomed the BCCI’s and the PCB’s plans of launching a Women’s IPL (WIPL) in 2023 and a Women’s PSL (WPSL) in the near future, respectively. Though the start of these domestic leagues would require considerable planning to incorporate them into the women’s international calendar, Healy said the feasibility of hosting these tournaments gaining traction is what impressed her the most.”The announcements of those competitions are pretty great,” Healy said on the sidelines of Women’s ODI World Cup. “It’s exactly where we thought the women’s game needed to go. That was like the next step.Related

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“We’ve had a really successful WBBL, and the Kia Super League went really well, now into the Hundred – there’s sort of some thriving domestic competitions [around the world], so to see the announcement of the IPL, in particular, to be able to grow the game in India is unbelievable.”Healy has long been an advocate of a WIPL. Like several other top-drawer international cricketers from the world over, she had previously called for the roll-out of a WIPL to inject impetus into the growth of the Indian women’s national team.Healy, who featured in the inaugural one-off exhibition game of the now four-match Women’s T20 Challenge, said: “It [India] is such an untapped market, I feel, in the women’s game.”With that many people, surely, they’re going to be unbeatable in sort of a 10-year time. They just really needed a sort of a leg-up in that domestic set-up to showcase what these amazing women can do, so it’s really exciting.”Healy, and other Australians, have not participated in the T20 Challenge, deemed a precursor to an IPL-style women’s league in India, since the first edition in 2018. A last-minute stalemate between the BCCI and Cricket Australia in the lead-up to the 2019 T20 Challenge had led to the Australians missing out on the Indian tournament.A clash in the scheduling of the three-team tournament with the WBBL the following year meant the Australians, who made up the largest contingent of overseas players in the inaugural edition, missed out for a second straight time, drawing criticism from Healy and several other stars of the women’s game from other teams. The BCCI didn’t stage the competition in 2021 for unexplained reasons.In an interview with ESPNcricinfo in 2020, Healy had stressed that the decision-making around scheduling of domestic tournaments should be determined only by what’s “actually best” for women’s cricket. On Wednesday, she reiterated that planning of the WIPL will require a similar approach and that she would be available to play in any forthcoming domestics leagues.”The scheduling is going to come into play,” Healy said. “Obviously, what that looks like, I’m not 100% certain, but we’re going to have to work it out, whether or not international players are going to be available for all the domestic competitions with an increase in international cricket or whether there’s a focus on these domestic leagues – I’m not 100% certain.”But first and foremost, it’s just great to see them being spoken about [and] hopefully, see them get off the ground and if they want a 32-33-year-old opening batter that can chirp a little bit behind the stumps, I’m available.”The other high-profile women’s domestic tournaments set to kick off this year include the ICC-recognised six-team FairBreak Invitational in May and the three-team Women’s CPL (WCPL) in August-September. Reflecting on the need for identifying and nurturing young talent to offer a feeder line for the West Indies team, Hayley Matthews said the WCPL could play a pivotal role in that process.”I reckon the more cricket we can play at a lower level to the domestic stuff, which is why CPL is going to be so big for us, the better, hopefully, we can get some more young girls coming through the system,” Matthews, the West Indies allrounder, said after her team’s loss to Australia in the World Cup semi-final at the Basin Reserve.”Obviously, in this batch of players, this may be their last World Cup for a lot, not sure but at the same time, it would be really good if we could start nurturing some younger players throughout the domestic cricket season and yeah, get some more people filtering into West Indies stuff.”

Hard-hitting Bouchier puts side on course for imposing victory

ESPNcricinfo staff18-May-2022Southern Vipers 155 for 5 (Bouchier 41) beat Lightning 124 for 8 (K Bryce 54, Bell 3-12) by 31 runsLauren Bell underlined her England credentials with a spell-binding three for 12 as Southern Vipers swatted Lightning aside by 31 runs in the Charlotte Edwards Cup.Towering right-arm swing bowler Bell is considered among the favourites to replace the internationally retired Anya Shrubsole and make her debut for Lisa Keightley’s team this summer. She put on a new-ball clinic to claim two for two from her first two overs, before she returned her career-best T20 bowling figures.
Maia Bouchier continued her fine start to the season with a mighty 41 as Vipers garnered 155 for five, before Lightning spluttered to 124 for eight after Bell’s antics – with skipper Kathryn Bryce top-scoring with 54.Vipers are now two comprehensive victories from two in this year’s tournament, while Lightning are still yet to secure a point across two seasons.Bell has a metronomic run-up which springs into an explosion of a high front arm and high-to-low action which naturally brings prodigious in-swing. Marie Kelly attempted to negate this by walking down the pitch, but got cramped by a cross-seam delivery to sky to keeper Carla Rudd.Sarah Bryce tried the opposite and stayed still for as long as possible. The Scotland international got stuck on her crease as an in-ducker knocked over her off pole, via a deflection off the thigh pad.Bell’s sights were now on England opener Tammy Beaumont. She drew a leading-edge, only for it to fall agonisingly short of mid-on, but criminology student Bell got her high-profile victim in the following over when she yorked her. She should have pouched a four-for only for Rudd to spill Teresa Graves – who lived a charmed life with Nancy Harman also dropping her.Vipers simply kept it tight from then on, allowing the required rate to rocket. Kathryn Bryce’s battling 47-ball half-century aside, no Lightning batter past 17. Charlie Dean claimed three for 23 and Georgia Elwiss two for 18 to complete the simply triumph.Earlier, Vipers were stuck in and despite losing Georgia Adams to a simple deep square boundary catch, Danni Wyatt and Bouchier used their textbook power to contribute a quickfire 43 for the second wicket before the former was caught on the ring.Bouchier, who began the campaign with an unbeaten 48, found the middle of her bat for the sweetest of sixes over midwicket before advancing and pumping Lucy Higham back over her head for another maximum.Vipers, and Bouchier, were slowed by a brilliant 13th to 16th over fight back. Vipers appeared on course for a huge total at 100 for two but slumped to 110 for five – with a wicket falling in each over.First Elwiss top-edged straight up off Piepa Cleary, then Kirstie Gordon bowled Bouchier through the gate with a wonderful arm ball before Paige Scholfield advanced and hoicked to extra cover.Freya Kemp and Dean added 45 in the last five overs to swing the momentum back Vipers’ way, and the barometer never moved back after Bell dislodged the visitors’ top order.

Gloucestershire overseas signing flies home after father taken ill

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jun-2022Naseem Shah, the Pakistan fast bowler, has returned home from his stint in county cricket with Gloucestershire after his father was taken ill.Shah, 19, signed for the first half of the summer but saw his involvement in the Championship curtailed by a shoulder problem, which led to Gloucestershire bringing in Mohammad Amir as cover. Shah has since played three times in the Vitality Blast, taking five wickets.Related

• Naseem Shah ruled out for a month with shoulder injury

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The club announced on Monday that he had flown home “due to a family emergency”, adding that they hoped he would be able to return to the UK in due course.Steve Snell, performance director at Gloucestershire, said: “We thoroughly support Naseem’s decision to return home to see his father. Of course we will miss him on the field, but Naseem’s wellbeing and the health of his loved ones far outweigh any cricketing priorities.”We have loved having Naseem with us as part of the Gloucestershire family and we are looking forward to welcoming him back to us as soon as possible.”Everyone at Gloucestershire cricket is thinking of Naseem and his family and sending our upmost support”.Gloucestershire are currently mid-table in the South Group of the Blast, with two wins and two defeats, as well as a no-result. Their next fixture is against Glamorgan at Cardiff on Tuesday, before back-to-back matches against Somerset and Sussex on Thursday and Friday.Shah has also been signed by Welsh Fire to play in the Hundred, which begins in August.

Six-wicket victory at Canterbury in South Group basement battle

ECB Reporters Network24-Jun-2022The Sussex Sharks’ slim chances of qualifying for the Vitality Blast quarter-finals are over, after they were beaten by six wickets by the Kent Spitfires at Canterbury.Joe Denly hit 58 and Sam Billings was unbeaten on 33 as Kent eventually coasted home with seven balls remaining, to finish on 159 for four.Grant Stewart earlier took 3 for 38 and George Linde two for 14 as Kent restricted Sussex to 158 for seven. Ali Orr made 36 and Harrison Ward 33, but the Sharks failed to kick on after racing to 76 for 1 at the end of eight overs.In a derby billed as “The War of the Wealds”, Kent made an early breakthrough when, having won the toss and chose to bowl, Fred Klaassen had Mohammad Rizwan caught at gully for four with the fourth ball of the innings, but Orr and Ward responded with a rapid partnership of 73.Having endured a brutal debut at home to Gloucestershire on Tuesday night, when his only over went for 26, Jas Singh looked like getting a deserved wicket when Ward skied him to mid on, but Klaassen dropped the catch. and the run rate was threatening to get out of hand until the Spitfires took two wickets in the ninth over. Ward was run out by Ahmad, chasing a non-existent single to point and Qais then caught Tom Alsop for one off George Linde.Orr fell in Linde’s next over, caught at deep backward square by Jack Leaning for 33, and the same fielder caught Ravi Bopara off Qais Ahmad for seven at cow corner.A nonplussed Delray Rawlins was given caught behind off Qais for 28 and Rashid Khan had made just three when he chipped Stewart to Tawanda Muyeye at mid off, before George Garton gave Sussex something to defend with 31 from 15 balls, before he edged the final ball of the innings to Klaassen to hand Stewart his third wicket.Rawlins had Muyeye plumb in front for a duck in the first over of the chase but Henry Crocombe then dropped Cox off Steven Finn when he was on four.Crocombe took his revenge when he tempted Cox into a miscue that was caught by Orr at short fine leg, dismissing him for 18, but Denly batted Kent into a winning position with another explosive innings that included a six off Will Beer that cleared the Frank Woolley stand – for for only the third time in its history. He moved to 50 with a single off Rawlins and then hit Bopara for another six, but edged the next delivery to Brocombe.With Denly gone Billings was left to anchor the chase. He lost Alex Blake was lbw to Khan for six and the boundaries dried up, but managed to keep the scoreboard ticking over with George Linde at the other end, chipping away at the target with ones and twos.Bopara and Khan kept Sussex in it with some tight bowling and Kent still needed 24 from 18 when Finn came on at the Pavilion End, but the former England man was pummelled for 18 runs, including successive fours off the final two balls from Linde.Linde hit the winning run when he edged Beer and Orr couldn’t pull in a difficult, diving catch. The result means Sussex cannot now qualify for the last eight, while the already eliminated champions Kent recorded their third Blast win of the season.