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Ashes hopeful Glenn Maxwell (with a remarkably sedate strike rate of 39) and Victoria captain Peter Handscomb were at the crease on 20 and 5 respectively

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Nov-2017
ScorecardAlex Doolan celebrates his double-century•Getty Images

A second first-class double-century, which Alex Doolan turned into a career-best 247 not out, helped Tasmania set Victoria a target of 453 at the MCG. The defending champions were 2 for 67 having played out 24.5 overs at stumps, with play called off early due to bad light.Tasmania declared on 2 for 424 in their second innings and Doolan was the top story in the Sheffield Shield for much of the day, barring a few moments when burnt toast stopped play at Allan Border Field. He hit 30 fours and a six in a knock that spanned nearly 400 deliveries, adding to a strange path his career has taken since the 2016-17 season: Doolan has two double-hundreds in his last 20 innings, but also 16 scores of 25 or less. Tim Paine, who recently made a comeback to the Australian team, gave Doolan company, scoring 71 not out in a partnership worth 191.In the hopes of pulling off something similar, Ashes hopeful Glenn Maxwell (with a remarkably sedate strike rate of 39) and Victoria captain Peter Handscomb were at the crease on 20 and 5 respectively.

The pace bowler expects a much better showing from New Zealand than they managed against England

AAP06-Aug-2022″We want to hold all the jewellery.”In seven short words, fast bowler Megan Schutt has delivered an insight into the mindset driving Australia towards dizzying new heights.They go into Saturday’s Commonwealth Games semi-final against New Zealand knowing they are just two wins away from setting a new benchmark for limited-overs success, as they look to add a gold medal to a glut of T20 and ODI World Cup triumphs. This is a team driven to succeed, and happy to embrace all that comes with it.”We’re coming in as favourites, but we come in expecting to win every single game we play and have been the favourites for a lot of tournaments now, so we’re kind of used to it,” Schutt said. “It’s a tag that we’re humbled by. We are the favourites but we thrive on that.”They also thrive on avenging missed opportunities. Cricket’s reintroduction to the Games is the 10th major limited-overs tournament for Australia since 2010, and they have won seven of the previous nine, a run that includes five T20 World Cup crowns.But while the wins are what define this team as one of the greatest national teams of all time, it is the losses – like the upset against the West Indies in the 2016 T20 World Cup final and the ODI World Cup semi-final loss to India in 2017 – that provide the motivation.”There are obviously two tournaments in the past that have haunted us, and something that kind of reinvigorated our team is that 2017 loss,” Schutt said. “We do talk about that a lot, that has been a new era for us.”Losses drive you forward and for us we want to win every single game that we play, we want to win every major championship. It’s about getting better and evolving as a team and each new tournament brings a new challenge.”On Saturday that challenge is New Zealand, who were well below par in their loss to England in Thursday night’s final pool game.New Zealand made just 71 off their 20 overs, a target England reeled in within 12 overs, with star duo Suzie Bates and skipper Sophie Devine both failing with the bat.”That was un-New Zealand like,” Schutt said of the heavy defeat. “They never turn up twice like that in a row and its T20 cricket where any team can win, so we certainly are not taking them lightly.”Saturday’s semi-final – which will be played on a traditional turf pitch at Edgbaston after hybrid surfaces were used during the preliminary rounds – is due to start at 1800 local time (Sunday 0300 AEST).

Continuity from familiar faces is the aim for Worcestershire as they seek to recover from the ousting of their director of cricket Steve Rhodes

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jan-2018Worcestershire have sought to minimise the fallout from the departure of Steve Rhodes as director of cricket by promoting his trusted right-hand man, Kevin Sharp, to the role of head coach.Sharp steps up from a role as 2nd XI and batting coach, but he will not have the same authority as Rhodes as Worcestershire’s restructure reasserts that overall charge rests with the chief executive: Matthew Rawnsley, a businessman and former spin bowler with the county, was appointed last month.The former Worcestershire pace bowler Alan Richardson returns to the county as bowling coach – a role that he lost at neighbouring Warwickshire after their relegation in the Championship last season.Matt Mason has also been reshuffled. He now takes charge of the 2nd XI in addition to overseeing a number of outreach coaching programmes involving young player and coach development.Sharp’s appointment brings a homely conclusion to a period in which Worcestershire were linked with such exotic choices as Graeme Hick, the former England batsman, who had a prodigious career with the county but who is now settled in Australia.His appointment reflects the county’s desire for continuity as the team seeks to build on the development of a young but rapidly maturing group of English-qualified players in which Rhodes took such pride and who held him in such high regard.Rhodes was forced out after his failure immediately to report rape allegations that had been made against a 2nd XI batsman, Alex Hepburn, until after the player had been charged.Sharp’s considerable coaching experience was primarily with Yorkshire until he was part of a coaching cull carried out by the then chairman Colin Graves, now chairman of the ECB.During his time, Yorkshire unearthed a host of batsmen who went on to play for England, including Joe Root, the England Test captain, Jonny Bairstow and Adam Lyth.After a spell coaching Shropshire, Sharp joined Worcestershire in 2014.Sharp said: “I am honoured and privileged that the club think of me in this way in awarding me this position. It was unexpected but I will do all I can to help Worcestershire be successful.”Richardson took more than 250 wickets in just four years for Worcestershire and Sharp said he has much to offer as a coach.

Sam Billings, Saqib Mahmood, George Garton, Tymal Mills, Reece Topley and James Vince to head home by January 7

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jan-2022Six members of England’s T20I squad will be withdrawn from their respective BBL sides by January 7 to allow them time at home in the UK before flying out for the tour of the West Indies.Sam Billings, Saqib Mahmood, George Garton, Tymal Mills, Reece Topley and James Vince will all head home in the next week prior to England’s T20I squad flying to Barbados on January 15 for the five-match T20I series, which is scheduled to start on January 22.Related

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While the last day of the Ashes series is January 18, none of England’s Test squad members are involved in the T20I series and coach Chris Silverwood will also be absent. Assistant coach Paul Collingwood, who left Australia prior to Christmas, will stand in for the T20I portion of the Caribbean tour, with Marcus Trescothick assisting him. The ECB also recently advertised for three additional coaching roles on short-term contracts for the T20Is in Barbados.The withdrawal of the BBL players leaves Sydney Thunder (Billings and Mahmood), Adelaide Strikers (Garton), Melbourne Renegades (Topley), Perth Scorchers (Mills) and Sydney Sixers (Vince) without key players for the back-end of the tournament – though Garton was left out of the Strikers’ defeat to Sydney Thunder on Sunday after a run of poor form. However, the teams had been aware of this scenario since the England squad was selected on December 23.The ECB confirmed that the players selected were always set to return early to prepare for the Caribbean tour with safe-living guidelines and Covid-19 protocols at the forefront of the ECB’s thinking. Each player will coordinate with their own BBL club as to how many more fixtures they can play prior to heading home to the UK.

KS Bharat wallops a match-winning 161 for Andhra while Nagaland crash to 48 all out against Tripura

Himanshu Agrawal12-Dec-2021

Iyer’s blitz downs Vohra, Kaushik’s centuries

Iyer arrived when Madhya Pradesh were 56 for 4, and added 122 with his captain Aditya Shrivastava, who departed after hitting 70. Cameos from the lower order propelled them to 331, but Iyer did most of the heavy lifting as the last five overs of the innings yielded a whopping 70 runs. Chandigarh were in turn reduced to 77 for 3 in the chase before captain Manan Vohra and Ankit Kaushik added 166. While Vohra fell for 105 and Kaushik hit 111, no other notable contribution meant Chandigarh fell short despite the tail threatening to stage an upset.

Dhawan fails again, Bharat shines, Pandey dips

In the midst of a competition for places in the Indian top-order, Shikhar Dhawan fell for 18 against Haryana. This follows on from the 0, 12 and 14 he got in the previous three matches. But despite that batting wobble, Delhi managed to inch past the opposition by 10 runs, thanks to Jonty Sidhu’s century and Anuj Rawat’s unbeaten 16-ball 44.Just days after being left out of India’s Test squad for the South Africa tour, Andhra captain KS Bharat kept knocking on the India selectors’ doors with 161 off just 109 balls against Himachal Pradesh. Accompanied by Ashwin Hebbar’s hundred, Andhra posted 322 to win by 30 runs in Mumbai.Meanwhile, Karnataka captain Manish Pandey had started the tournament with respectable scores of 64* and 40, but followed it up with 5 against Mumbai on Saturday and 19 in a paltry chase against Baroda on Sunday.Washington Sundar picked up a five-wicket haul for Tamil Nadu, but it went in vain•Getty Images

Youngsters Abhishek, Nagarkoti, Bishnoi and Parag deliver

Punjab opener Abhishek Sharma cracked a career-best 169* from 117 balls, as they eased past Services, who set them 261 to win. Abhishek’s innings featured 17 fours and nine sixes, ensuring Punjab romped home by nine wickets and more than 12 overs in the bank. Also, Rajasthan crushed Assam by 142 runs following centuries from Manender Singh and Mahipal Lomror, before legspinner Ravi Bishnoi and fast bowler Kamlesh Nagarkoti combined to share seven wickets in the defense. Bishnoi, who claimed 4 for 45, ripped through the middle and lower orders after Nagarkoti’s twin early blows. The Assam batters struggled to keep up in a tall chase, with Riyan Parag top scoring with 51 from only 28 deliveries.

Sundar’s five in vain; Nagaland’s low

Washington Sundar nabbed his best List A figures of 5 for 48, as Tamil Nadu restricted Puducherry to 225. However, the effort went in vain after the match was truncated to 44 overs, in which Tamil Nadu were to get 205 but fell short by one run. They were 159 for 3 after 35 overs but lost their way once half-centurions N Jagadeesan and Dinesh Karthik were dismissed.In a Plate Group match in Jaipur, Nagaland were skittled for 48 as Tripura’s Manisankar Murasingh grabbed 5 for 19, with only Imliwati Lemtur getting into double-figures. Six out of the 11 batters were dismissed for ducks, before the Tripura openers knocked off the target with 239 balls to spare.

Derbyshire’s five-match winning streak comes to an end with hefty defeat

ECB Reporters Network23-Jun-2022Derbyshire Falcons’ five-match winning streak in the Vitality Blast came to an end after Notts Outlaws bounced back from three consecutive defeats by posting 247 for 6 – their highest total in this format – in a thumping 94-run victory over their East Midlands neighbours.Ben Duckett hit a season’s-best 63 and Alex Hales his third half-century of the campaign as the Outlaws, who conceded a competition-record 261 against Birmingham Bears here last week, enjoyed their best night of what has been a disappointing season.On a good batting surface, the Falcons had fancied themselves in a chase when they opted to field first but were never in the hunt, bowled out for 153 as fast bowler Zak Chappell marked his first appearance of the season by taking 3 for 28, veteran spinner Samit Patel 3 for 32 and Steven Mullaney a miserly 2 for 17 after Brooke Guest top-scored for Derbyshire with an unbeaten 40.Nonetheless, with two matches to come, the Falcons remain well-placed to qualify for a second Finals Day appearance in four years.After racking up 95 in the powerplay at Derby earlier in the season, the Outlaws punished the Falcons bowlers again with 86 off the first six and never took their foot off the pedal.Hales set the tone with a brutal 55 off just 22 deliveries, twice clearing the ropes as he plundered 21 against Sam Conners in the second over and lofted a towering straight six off Mattie McKiernan to complete his half-century.As on Tuesday against Leicestershire, he was caught at long-on attempting a repeat, but where he was the only Outlaw to pass 12 on a dismal night, this time he had plenty of support.Joe Clarke, who got away with a miscue when still in single figures, pulled Wayne Madsen’s opening ball for six to move to 38 before he was caught by the bowler off a towering top edge.Three boundaries in a row by Duckett off Wayne Madsen took the Outlaws to 124 for 2 at halfway, which became 188 for 3 after 15 following Mullaney’s 45 off 20 balls including four sixes, three of them off consecutive balls from George Scrimshaw as a top-edge over long leg was followed by two more launched over mid-wicket, where he was caught going for another.Duckett completed his first half-century of the campaign before hitting straight to mid-on and Patel was brilliantly caught by Leus du Plooy on the midwicket boundary as Mark Watt (1 for 51) and Scrimshaw (2 for 62) picked up consolation wickets, but four boundaries by Tom Moores took the Outlaws past their previous record total, also against Derbyshire, of 227 in 2017.The Falcons responded with 72 in their powerplay but at the cost of three wickets, critically among them that of leading scorer Shan Masood, bowled making room to cut by Chappell. Luis Reece and McKiernan were the other two casualties, as Clarke and Mullaney pulled off fine catches.Australian all-rounder Hayden Kerr struck 24 off 11 but was stumped off Mullaney’s first delivery. His seventh bowled Madsen in an attempted reverse sweep and at the halfway point the required run-rate was just shy of 15 per over at 99 for 5, with another setback soon to follow as Du Plooy fell on 35, picking out mid-off to give Chappell his second wicket.Alex Hughes skied one to become Chappell’s third scalp, Patel obtained two lbw verdicts in consecutive deliveries to remove Watt and Conners to leave the Falcons nine down in the 15th over, before Guest and Scrimshaw salvaged a little pride for the visitors by adding an unbroken 34.

West Indies captain hopes the rest of his attack allows the legspinner “liberty to express himself” once again

Liam Brickhill in Bulawayo28-Oct-2017West Indies captain Jason Holder has called legspinner Devendra Bishoo “the main man” ahead of the second Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo. Bishoo’s match haul of 9 for 184 helped West Indies seal a 117-run win in the first Test, and with both games being played at the same ground conditions are once again likely to favour spin bowling.”The conditions look to be in his favour again, so hopefully we can support him and aid him in being the main man,” Holder said. “The beauty of the way he bowled is also how well the other bowlers supported him. I don’t think he would have been as successful if we’d leaked runs at the other end, so I must give credit to all three seamers too. I think we held things up nicely from the other end and gave him the freedom and liberty to express himself. He was able to come in, settle quite nicely, apply pressure and grab wickets.”After a quiet tour of England during which he took just three wickets across two Tests, Bishoo’s was a scene-stealing performance and the most recent peak since his return to West Indies’ Test squad in 2015. Since then, Bishoo has 58 wickets from 16 Tests, and could pass 100 Test scalps in the second match against Zimbabwe.”I thought he was a lot better than previously,” Holder said of Bishoo. “In the past, he’s been really hampered by his starts. I think a lot of teams have tried to get on top of him early and he hasn’t been able to really come back in to the game per se. In this series so far he’s been able to start well, keeping the batsmen honest, keeping them on the front foot and asking really good questions of them. Hopefully if he continues in that vein in this Test match, I’d expect a ten-wicket haul perhaps from Bishoo.”Bishoo came on as first change in the first innings against Zimbabwe in the first game, taking advantage of the relativeness quickness of the track to take 5 for 79. Bowlers on both sides had to work a lot harder for their wickets as the match wore on and the pitch slowed up.”As the match progressed, the wicket really slowed down, the spin was a lot slower and you had time to adjust,” Holder explained. “From the second-innings scores from both teams, you could see the pitch became a lot easier to bat on. It’s one those wickets where you’ve really got to knuckle down early on in your innings, absorb as much pressure as possible. Guys like Roston Chase, Shai Hope, Kraigg Brathwaite and Kieran Powell showed that if you absorb that pressure, you’re able to cash in.”Though some unseasonably cold weather set in before the start of the second Test, Holder expected the track being used to play much the same and to retain its dryness. “I don’t think the pitch itself will really change much. I had a look at it, yesterday and today, and it still seems really, really dry. I could expect spinners to have a big impact again.”

Leicestershire have signed Surrey all-rounder James Burke on a season-long loan

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jan-2017Leicestershire have signed Surrey allrounder James Burke on a season-long loan deal.Burke’s arrival at Leicestershire should bolster their seam bowling resources which were a chief reason for the fading of a surprising promotion challenge last season.Burke is available to play in all three competitions but will not feature if Leicestershire play Surrey in any fixtures during the 2017 season. He is currently training in Cape Town and will join up with his new teammates on Leicestershire pre-season tour to South Africa next month.The allrounder, who celebrates his 26th birthday today, has played for both Somerset and Surrey in his county career and also represented England from Under-17 to Under-19 level.He caught the eye against Leicestershire in Surrey’s promotion year in 2015 by claiming four wickets haul in a Championship victory at Grace Road.Leicestershire’s head coach Pierre de Bruyn said: “It is important for us to have depth in our squad and James is a highly talented all-rounder. He will compete for a place in our side across all three competitions. He will add strength to our batting and bowling, and he is also a dynamic fielder. “Burke made little impact as Surrey returned to Division One of the Championship, playing only six matches across all three formats.Surrey’s director of cricket Alec Stewart said: “This is a great opportunity for James to play all forms of cricket on a regular basis, allowing his game to develop.”

ESPNcricinfo’s wrap of the second day of the Sheffield Shield match between Tasmania and South Australia in Hobart

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Mar-2017
ScorecardFile photo – Joe Mennie picked up 5 for 67•Getty Images

Joe Mennie snared a five-wicket haul in his return to cricket following a serious head injury in December, to keep alive South Australia’s slim hopes of reaching the Sheffield Shield final. The Redbacks must not only win comfortably in their match against Tasmania in Hobart, but to make the decider they would also need to rely on results in other games.A maiden first-class century from Tasmania batsman Ben McDermott ensured a healthy first-innings lead for the Tigers, who also had valuable contributions from Beau Webster (50), George Bailey (49) and Tim Paine (44). McDermott eventually fell for 104, one of the victims of Mennie, who had not played at all since suffering a minor skull fracture and brain bleed shortly before Christmas.After Mennie finished off the innings to end up with 5 for 67, the Redbacks needed a strong batting display in their second innings to make up for their 107-run deficit. By stumps, South Australia had cut Tasmania’s lead to 38 runs by reaching 0 for 69, with Jake Weatherald on 22 and debutant opener John Dalton on 46.