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Back-to-back centurion describes change in attitude under McCullum and Stokes as “massive”

Matt Roller24-Jun-2022Jonny Bairstow says England are trying to play in a style that is “different to the norm” and has described Test cricket as “a simple game that we complicate” after hitting a 95-ball hundred to rescue England from 55 for 6 at Headingley.Bairstow walked out to bat with England 17 for 3 in the seventh over after a stunning new-ball burst from Trent Boult and had only faced one ball when Joe Root edged Tim Southee behind to leave them 21 for 4. That brought in Ben Stokes, with whom Bairstow had added 179 in 20.1 overs during England’s remarkable run chase in Nottingham in the second Test.”‘Fancy doing another Trent Bridge?’ was the first thing that we said,” Bairstow told Sky Sports. “That was it: ‘OK, let’s crack on’. Sometimes it’s a simple game that we complicate. That’s all we’re trying to do: strip that complicated nature of it back, allow people to go out and express themselves in a way that will bring the best out of them as individuals and also as personalities.”There is sometimes a lot of rubbish spoken about a lot of different things. Sometimes it gets into your mind and clutters it; sometimes you have to just flick it. You have to listen to the people that matter to you and right now I am doing that.”The most important thing is me being me. Literally all Brendon [McCullum] has said is ‘go and impose yourself on the game’. It’s an exciting game and the way I’ve always played my cricket. I’ve gone back to young Jonny, where you’re just watching the ball and seeing the ball.”McCullum, who has quickly instilled an ultra-attacking philosophy since his appointment as England’s Test coach, gave a team talk that Ben Foakes told ESPNcricinfo was “like William Wallace” on the final day of the Trent Bridge Test, but Bairstow said that the message had been stripped back to its core principles in Leeds.Related

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“Literally, there wasn’t anything said,” Bairstow said, “just ‘good luck and enjoy’.” Asked if the simplicity felt new to him, he replied: “Or is that the way that people are so used to it happening? I don’t know. I’m asking you the question. Is that the way that we’re so used to it happening? Or is it just ‘we trust you guys to go and play the way in which you see fit’?”He described the change in attitude under McCullum and Stokes as “massive”, adding: “It’s a buy-in from everyone, from the head coach right down to the guys making their debuts and coming into the squad. Whether you’ve played 170 Tests like Jimmy [Anderson] or making your debut like Jamie Overton, everybody’s buying into a certain way that we believe we’re capable of doing – but also a way of Test cricket that is different to potentially the norm.”It’s a case of putting pressure back on other people. If you sit there, sit there, sit there, there’s a good ball in there for you. Rather than being a sitting duck and saying ‘look, alright, you can bowl at me’ it’s ‘OK, you can’t bowl at me, so let’s go’.”Bairstow hit the sixth and seventh balls he faced for boundaries, both off Boult, and said that he had felt as though he needed to “transfer the momentum” after England’s disastrous start. He continued to attack even after Stokes had chipped Neil Wagner to mid-off for 18 off 13 balls and Foakes had been trapped lbw, leaving England six wickets down early, adding an unbroken 209 with Overton in 37.1 overs to cut the deficit to 65 runs overnight.”There’s different ways of looking at it,” Bairstow said. “You can either go into your shell and bat the way people have done for years and years and years – try to survive against bowlers like Trent Boult and Tim Southee when they’re bowling so well. But you need to transfer the momentum, take them off their lengths. They were hitting their straps, conditions were in their favour.”We’re only a few games into it but we’re definitely looking at it in a different way, going out and expressing ourselves, taking the game forward and hopefully playing in ways that can change games. You need people to stand up and change games. That’s how you win games of cricket, whether it’s a bowler taking five, six or seven-for or batters scoring hundreds.”Bairstow’s hundred was his second at his home ground, and his first since 2016. “You know how much this place means to me,” he said. “Being a Yorkshire lad scoring a Test hundred at home, it’s pretty special. All my family and my mates are here.”Every time you score a Test hundred it’s emotional. It means so much to me to play Test cricket for England and that’s the kind of guy I am: I wear my heart on my sleeve. Sometimes it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but I love representing this team, and I am really excited about the journey we are embarking on.”

The short gap between the Sri Lanka series and the South Africa tour has forced the team to get into a “game situation” as preparation for the tour, according to the India captain Virat Kohli

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Nagpur23-Nov-20171:19

Need to assess preparation time for overseas tours – Kohli

A packed international calendar has left India with ‘no choice’ but to get into a “game situation” for the upcoming South Africa tour by playing on seam-friendly pitches in the ongoing home Tests against Sri Lanka, according to Virat Kohli. The series against Sri Lanka, which also includes three ODIs and three T20Is, ends on December 24, 12 days before the first Test against South Africa in Cape Town. This only gives India time to play one two-day warm-up match, on December 30 and 31 in Paarl.”Unfortunately we get only two days before we fly to South Africa after this series gets over,” Kohli said, on the eve of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Nagpur. “So we have no choice but to be in game situation and think of what’s coming ahead of us.”Had we got a month off, ideally, we would have done a proper preparation in a camp sort of scenario but we have to make do with what we have. As usual, cramped for time, which I think we need to assess in future as well, because we very easily assess the team when we go abroad but we don’t look at how many days we have got to prepare before we go to a particular place to play.”And everyone starts judging players when results come after Test matches. It should be a fair game where we get to prepare the way we want to and then we are entitled to be criticised. So we thought this is an ample opportunity for us to challenge ourselves.”As I said, we want to embrace being in difficult conditions. I am not saying that everyone will go out and perform immediately but if we can feel comfortable about it, after one or two or three innings, someone will come good. And once you come good, you build on that confidence. It’s the same for the bowlers. Yes, we are looking at this as an opportunity.”In the first Test at Eden Gardens, a green pitch and overcast skies made for a rain-interrupted Test dominated by the faster bowlers. India’s spinners, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, only bowled 10 overs between them across the two innings. Both are among the top five in the ICC’s Test bowlers’ rankings, but Kohli said India might find it difficult to play both in overseas conditions, despite their batting ability.”I can’t commit to that 100% when we play abroad, that we will be playing with two spinners, to be honest,” Kohli said. “Because we need to have a look at the balance of the side as well. Obviously, those two guys with their batting abilities are both contenders to start a Test match, but depending upon the batsmen we are up against in the opposition – when you play on tracks which don’t turn and bounce – it’s very important to understand if the left-arm spinner is bowling to five right-handers or the offspinner is bowling to four left-handers.”Just the angle the ball coming in makes so much difference against a spinner. And it can turn away from you at some stage in the Test match. Those are very minor factors that you assess before picking the first spinner in overseas conditions but that’s quite far away.”But yes, we count them as allrounders because they have proved themselves in different situations and they have made some very important contributions to the team. So they are not tail-enders anymore, they are proper allrounders. Their ranking does justice to that. They have really improved their games, it gives us good balance when we play both of them because when you play both of them, you can, if you want to, play an extra bowler as well. So that certainly gives us some cushion to play around.”Kohli stressed the importance of a seam-bowling allrounder in overseas conditions, and said India had picked Vijay Shankar in their squad for Nagpur to try him out as a back-up for Hardik Pandya, who has been rested.”He [Shankar] has been very consistent. He has earned his spot,” Kohli said. “We wanted to look at another allrounder keeping in mind that it’s a very important aspect of the team going forward. Obviously, Hardik is in our scheme of things as our first allrounder. But we need to, obviously, find out more people who have that capability and whom we can groom and make as back-ups for the allrounder’s slot, which is very, very crucial for us when we travel abroad.”That is the whole idea of bringing him in and keeping him in the set-up and making him familiar with what’s going on here and making him understand what he needs to work on and look at his game as well. He is a pretty balanced cricketer, he is very composed. He is handy with the ball – he can easily give you 10-12 overs a day – and he is very solid with the bat. I just saw him at the nets. Big moment for him. He has earned it, as I said.”BCCI

On the fifth day in Kolkata, India’s charge to an unlikely victory was halted by bad light, but also held up on occasion by Sri Lanka’s delaying tactics. Niroshan Dickwella, their wicketkeeper-batsman, was particularly adept, stopping Mohammed Shami in his run-up on a couple of occasions, and exchanging words with him. Asked about this, Kohli said he liked his competitiveness.”I like to see that character,” he said. “He is someone who takes a lot of pride in his cricket. Impressed with what I have seen so far from the last series as well. He has got great ability to do something very special for Sri Lankan cricket.”I like to see that competitiveness on the field. In the heat of things, I will do anything for my team to win. Afterwards we had a normal chat, and on the flight as well. Those things end on the field. When you are competitive as an opponent, we always respect that about any opponent. He is a very feisty character and that works for his game. Credit for him for maintaining that and I am sure he will do many good things in Sri Lankan cricket.”

Lack of biobubbles at DPL “was one of the reasons I signed the contract,” Pakistan veteran jokes

Mohammad Isam16-Mar-2022Mohammad Hafeez is playing in the ongoing Dhaka Premier League in Bangladesh for his “own enjoyment and passion” and to “inspire youngsters”, but he will have a big job to do at his team, Mohammedan Sporting, too, as they are without some of the top international players, who are on tour in South Africa.”I am playing for my own enjoyment and passion, and to inspire and help youngsters around the world,” Hafeez, Player of the Match in the PSL final last month, said. “My motivation is to enjoy the cricket. I am retired from international cricket but, personally, I still have something in me to give to cricket. I try to inspire the youngsters, so that they can learn from me. I always try to be helpful to everyone, whoever wants me in their game.Related

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“I didn’t play ODIs in the last couple of years, but I believe I can do well in this format. I try to hit the same fitness levels every day that is required at the international level. Mohammedan were very welcoming, they were kind in handling lots of things.”Hafeez’s heroics helped Lahore Qalandars lift the PSL trophy for the first time this season, and he is now with a team that is looking for their first DPL title since 2009-10. And they are missing Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed and Abu Jayed, who are all in South Africa.”Some of the teams will miss their best players,” Hafeez said. “They are on the tour. It is a good opportunity for the youngsters to show their talent. We are very confident that we will do well as a team. We have some international experience like Soumya Sarkar. It will be good to be part of Mohammedan club.”Hafeez said, half-jokingly, that he became more excited about playing in the DPL when he was told that there wouldn’t be ant biobubbles.”It was one of the reasons I signed the contract,” he said. “I asked him [a team official] if there’s a biobubble, he said, ‘no’. I said, ‘I am coming’. I wanted to be a part of this beautiful Muslim culture. I want to move around freely, enjoy my stay, enjoy the cricket. Biobubble gets on you mentally. In this league, everyone will enjoy a little bit extra.”We all are human. We spent two-and-a-half months in England, without our family. It can break you mentally. You don’t feel like a human being staying in a controlled environment. Everyone needs a bit of freedom, so now we all know how to live a life in Covid.”Hafeez admitted that he would be interested in a role in Pakistan cricket in the future, but doesn’t want to hurry into anything: “At the moment, I am enjoying my cricket, giving time to my family members. I am not a job-seeker. If I can add value in any system, I will definitely opt for it.”Hafeez has also kept an eye on the ongoing Tests in Pakistan and said that Australia had showed more intent than the home team in the series so far. At the start of the fifth day of the second Test in Karachi, Pakistan were 192 for 2 and needed another 314 runs to win, after the first game in Rawalpindi ended in a high-scoring draw on a “below-average”pitch.”You need to be result-oriented,” Hafeez said. “No one wants to watch drawn Tests. The fans basically want results, which is why Super Over has been inducted in T20s. Draws aren’t the best way to move forward.”We all want Test cricket to be the No. 1 format of international cricket. I don’t mind assistance to seamers or spinners, but there should be a result. I am a fan of Test cricket, so it feels more when you know on the first day it is going to be a draw. There’s no excitement then. Intent wasn’t good, but so far Australians are showing a little bit more intent to win the game and the series.”

Surrey opener heard of call-up after interrupted phonecall to selector Ed Smith at windy Taunton

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Sep-20182:09

Burns’ consistency across seasons merited Test elevation – Ed Smith

Rory Burns believes he has enough “clarity in his method” to translate his prolific form for Surrey in the County Championship into a potential Test debut on the spinning wickets of Sri Lanka, after being named in his first England Test squad at the age of 28.Burns, who is back in action for Surrey at The Oval, has led the county to their first Championship title since 2002 with a formidable haul of 1319 runs at 69.42 in 13 matches, which is almost 400 runs more than his nearest challenger, Somerset’s James Hildreth.It has been the fifth season in succession that Burns has passed 1000 runs in Championship cricket, and speaking on Friday after confirming his call-up, England’s national selector Ed Smith said that he had impressed everyone with his consistency.”For me personally, it’s been a lot of hard work,” Burns told Sky Sports ahead of Surrey’s match against Essex. “I’ve tried to let my bat do the talking and churn out runs, and it’s satisfying to get the nod in the end and get the opportunity.”I’ve obviously got five seasons of backing in my own head. I’ve got some self-belief, so you’ve got to trust your method and trust the processes that you go through.”Burns heard the news while down at Taunton on Friday, where Surrey’s quest for a tenth consecutive Championship victory was curtailed by high winds. And that adverse weather may have been a factor in his slightly disjointed phonecall.”Ed Smith rung me last week after the Somerset game, but it actually cut out halfway through,” Burns said. “He started to tell me I’d got the nod, but it cut out so I had to run outside quickly and find some phone signal, and give him a call back.”The message got through in the end, however, and if selected for the first Test in Galle on November 6, Burns will be stepping into the shoes of none other than Alastair Cook, England’s all-time leading run-scorer who retired at The Oval earlier this month following a record run of 159 consecutive appearances.”I don’t think it’s [extra pressure], I think it’s exciting,” Burns said. “You probably can’t say enough about Alastair’s career – well I can’t, because I don’t think I’m as good as him at the minute. But it’ll be an exciting time and I hope I get an opportunity to do it.”Despite his success on home soil, Burns is under no illusions about what will await him in Sri Lanka, especially after speaking to his Surrey team-mate Dean Elgar, who toured the country with Sri Lanka back in July and August.Rory Burns and Dean Elgar plot a good day for Surrey•Getty Images

“I’m a decent player of spin, I’ve got a few options that I try to work my way through, but [Elgar’s] just got back from Sri Lanka, and said he didn’t face a ball of seam,” said Burns. “So it’ll be trial by spin and it’ll be interesting to see how I’ll go.”I think it’s about clarity in your method,” he added. “You need to understand what you do well, what your options are at certain times. It’s no different from going from seam to spin, there are different methods to both and you’ve got to cycle through them.”Burns’ batting technique, much like the man he is replacing, is best described as functional rather than beautiful. His backside sticks out to square leg, and he has a habit of looking towards mid-on before each delivery. But there’s no arguing with his body of work in recent seasons.”My method is slightly unorthodox,” Burns admitted. “There’s some nuances to it, let’s put it that way. I got told I was left-eye dominant, so [looking to mid-on] is about me trying to get my left eye on the ball as much as I can. Then it almost became a rhythm thing in terms of little routines at the crease. That’s how that came about.”Burns’ England call-up caps a remarkable year for a player who has only just taken up the reins at Surrey, the County Champions-elect.”You set out at the start of the season to try to win some trophies, we managed to get the biggest one, and then to get the call-up has been pretty special,” he said. “I am fortunate to come off the back of Gareth Batty and the way he stabilised the club in his tenure, so to win it is a special feeling.”We’ve done it with a group of young Surrey lads, a lot of guys in the system that we’ve played with a lot of the way up, through age groups and the academy.”From a playing side of things, we are backing youth, backing guys coming through the system and complementing that with some very good experienced cricketers around them, and off the pitch we seem to be getting people through the gate and making some money.”When we won [the title] at Worcester, most of the boys started celebrating but I was already thinking about next year and trying to do better. Hopefully this will be the first year of many years of success, but a lot of hard work has gone into winning it this year. We’ve got to recognise that, and try to reproduce it next year.”

Shakib Al Hasan becomes the fifth bowler to take 400 wickets in T20 cricket

Mohammad Isam24-Jan-2022
How the match played out
Andre Russell was in his element, following up figures of 2 for 27 with an unbeaten 31 off 15 balls, as Minister Group Dhaka beat Fortune Barishal by four wickets in Mirpur. This was Dhaka’s first win in three matches in BPL 2022 and Russell’s first major contribution this season.Chasing 130, Dhaka were in early trouble at 10 for 4 in the third over. Left-arm quick Shafiqul Islam bowled Tamim Iqbal in the first over of their chase before Alzarri Joseph dismissed both Mohammad Naim and Jahurul Islam in the second over. When Shafiqul bowled Mohammad Shahzad in the next over, Dhaka were tottering.Mahmudullah and Shuvagata Hom then steadied things with a 69-run fifth-wicket stand before Russell did what he does best: close out games with his big hits. Shakib Al Hasan, however, gave Barishal a reason to celebrate: he became only the fifth bowler to take 400 T20 wickets.Earlier, Barishal had slipped to 23 for 3 in the powerplay, when they lost Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shykat Ali and Towhid Hridoy. The experienced pair of Shakib (23) and Chris Gayle (36) then added a semblance of respectability to their innings. But neither could convert it into a bigger knock, which left Barishal at 94 for 6 in the 16th over. Dwayne Bravo’s unbeaten 26-ball 33 then dragged the side to 129 for 8.All six of Dhaka’s bowlers were among the wickets, with Isuru Udana and Russell taking two each. Meanwhile, Rubel Hossain, Hom and Hasan Murad all bowled economical spells.Big hit
Russell’s big blows – a four and a six clobbered through square-leg off Joseph – gave Dhaka a huge sigh of relief. It ensured Dhaka were in touch with the asking rate before Russell rushed them to victory with a six and a brace of fours off Taijul Islam in the 17th over.Dhaka captain Mahmudullah provided Russell great support at the other end, scoring a run-a-ball 47. He struck three fours and a six before he became Shakib’s 400th victim in T20 cricket.Barishal made a decent fist of their defence, thanks to Shafiqul who bowled with good pace and a bit of movement with the new ball. He was well-supported by Joseph before Russell lined up his West Indies team-mate.Big miss
Tamim missed out for the first time in three matches, getting out for a second-ball duck in this game. Dhaka’s top four managed only single-digit scores of 0,5,4,0. It could be an alarming sign for Naim and Jahurul who are yet to make a sizeable contribution this season.

The two will also train at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane and be part of Queensland Bulls’ pre-season preparations

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jul-2022Chetan Sakariya and Mukesh Choudhary will headline the overseas presence at the KFC T20 Max series in Queensland next month. They will also train at Cricket Australia’s National Cricket Centre in Brisbane and be involved in Queensland Bulls’ pre-season preparations, as part of the old exchange programme with the Chennai-based MRF Pace Foundation, which had been paused because of Covid-19.Sakariya, 24, made a name for himself during IPL 2021, playing for Rajasthan Royals, and has turned out in an ODI and two T20Is so far while also playing for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2022, while Choudhary was impressive in his debut IPL season, this year, for Chennai Super Kings, picking up 16 wickets in 13 games. The two will be joined by three Papua New Guinea internationals: Norman Vanua, Chad Soper and Charles Amini.Related

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Sakariya will play for Sunshine Coast, while Wynnum-Manly will have the services of Choudhary. Sandgate-Redcliffe have all the three PNG players – regulars with their national side, which finished third at the recent World Cup qualifiers in Zimbabwe – in their ranks. Vanua and Soper are medium pacers, while Amini is a legspinning allrounder.There will also be a strong list of current or recent BBL players, some of them internationals, in the mix too: Jordan Silk, Beau Webster, Cameron Boyce, Ben Cutting, Liam Guthrie, Nick Larkin, Clint Hinchliffe, Josh Lalor, Nick Hobson, Jake Lehmann, Arjun Nair, Chris Sabburg, Nick Bertus, Ryan Gibson, Spencer Johnson and Nathan McSweeney.In a note on its website, Queensland Cricket said, “Due to the popularity of the concept and a surge in the number of players expressing interest, Queensland Cricket today updated the competition rules to allow each Premier club to sign an additional interstate or international recruit, moving from three players per club to four.”Several regionally based players have already brokered arrangements with teams, while contracted Queensland Bulls and Brisbane Heat players will be available for selection as part of their pre-season preparations.”The tournament will be played over three weeks, from August 18 to September 4, at the club grounds as well as at the refurbished Allan Border Field, under lights.Exchanges between the MRF Pace Foundation, founded in 1987, and Australia began in 1992, when the academy opened its doors to players from beyond India’s shores.Among the first to come and train under Dennis Lillee, then the director at MRF, was Glenn McGrath, who later took up the directorship once Lillee retired after a 25-year stint in 2012. Fast bowlers from many other countries, including Mohammad Asif (Pakistan), Chaminda Vaas (Sri Lanka), Heath Streak (Zimbabwe), and premier quicks from Australia like Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson, have all trained at the academy over the years. Similarly, young Indian quicks have been given the opportunity to spend time in Brisbane as part of the programme. The last of these, in 2019, were Prasidh Krishna, who has since played ten ODIs for India, and Mukhtar Hussain, the 23-year-old right-arm quick from Assam.

Phoenix make it two wins from two games after unbroken partnership worth 78

Charlie Peters15-Aug-2022Birmingham Phoenix cruised to an eight-wicket victory over Trent Rockets at Edgbaston after an astonishing collapse from the visitors saw them slip from 70 for 1 to a sub-par total of 116 for 9.Emily Arlott was the pick of the bowlers, claiming 3 for 19 including the key scalp of captain Nat Sciver, and was ably supported by Georgia Elwiss and Sophie Molineux, who picked up two wickets apiece for the home side.Rockets never really looked as if they had an answer for the Phoenix’s all-round bowling brilliance, with all bar three batters failing to post double-digit scores.Phoenix then cantered home with the bat in reply, Amy Jones and Ellyse Perry posting an unbeaten 44 and 39 respectively to secure an undefeated start to the season for Phoenix.Rockets initially struggled to find any form of momentum in their innings. Molineux’s first set of 10 deliveries cost her just six runs inside the powerplay, and included the wicket of Bryony Smith for 1, leaving the visitors teetering at 1 for 1.Sciver, making her first Hundred appearance of 2022, and Elyse Villani were then able to build a solid foundation, taking the Rockets up to 70 for 1 thanks to their half-century partnership. It was a partnership of stability rather than intent, however, and when Villani holed out to Perry at long on off the bowling of Elwiss, it signalled the start of a miserable collapse for the away side.Sciver departed not long after for an uncharacteristically quiet run-a-ball 31, before overseas star Mignon du Preez hooked an Issy Wong short ball straight into the hands of Gwen Davies for just 2. Only Kathryn Bryce, Rockets’ No. 10, could register double digits as the visitors crumbled to an under par 116 for 9.Phoenix didn’t exactly get off to a flyer in reply, but then they had no need to with such a low total to chase. Sophie Devine holed out attempting to line up Sciver and departed for 16, while Eve Jones went for 11 not long after, but from then on it was plain sailing. No real risks were required, and Perry and Amy Jones were able to manipulate the field and pick up singles for much of the middle of the innings.Amy Jones in particular looked in fine touch, as she racked up her 44 off 32 deliveries. A succession of glorious shots off England’s Sarah Glenn flew off the bat and over the boundary rope for four to bring her side within touching distance of victory. The second, a reverse-paddle past point, stood out as a moment of brilliance in a largely jeopardy-free chase, as she and Perry accelerated at the death to see them over the line with nine balls to spare.Not even last week’s hat-trick hero Alana King could provide enough magic stardust to successfully defend the total the Rockets had posted earlier. Glenn and Katherine Brunt, too, were unable to find that all important breakthrough, and both finished wicketless as the Phoenix simply proved too much to handle.

Former England Women’s captain Charlotte Edwards is giving the USA Women’s squad a leg-up in their preparation for the ICC Europe this summer by visiting Texas this week to run a women’s coaching camp.

Peter Della Penna14-Apr-20173:20

‘There’s a real hunger in USA for female coaching’ – Edwards

Former England Women’s captain Charlotte Edwards is giving the USA women’s squad a leg-up in their preparation for the ICC Europe T20 Qualifier this summer by visiting Texas to run a women’s coaching camp.”Part of what I’m over here for is to help prepare them, talk to them about T20 cricket,” Edwards told ESPNcricinfo. “I’ve had a little bit of a chat with the girls around the strategy behind it. I’m just trying to help them as much as I possibly can in preparation for that tournament, which is huge for them.”Edwards arrived in Texas last Saturday and worked the next day with six players of the women’s squad who were invited to join the USA men’s team at a high-performance camp last weekend at Moosa Stadium in the south Houston suburb of Pearland. She has remained in Pearland to conduct a four-day camp that began on Thursday and is specifically targeted for 30 women’s squad players to train during the Easter holiday weekend.This isn’t the first interaction Edwards has had with the USA women’s squad. She was part of the inaugural MCC women’s tour to North America in September and played a couple of matches against USA women in Philadelphia, including one at the historic Merion Cricket Club. At the time, Edwards had said she would be interested in making future visits to stay involved with the USA women’s programme and has followed up on her pledge by coming to Texas this week.”I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the MCC here in Canada and the United States,” Edwards said. “For me, I just saw a passion for learning and wanting to be better and I think there was just a hunger here for obviously some female coaching. I’m a person of my word and I said I’d come back.”Back in September, that opportunity wasn’t there then and it’s great. Once I heard that they’ve got that opportunity to play in a T20 Qualifier, it’s enormous.”Edwards says she has already noticed improvements in the women’s players since her first visit and is hoping to do what she can on this trip to enhance their tactical skills and match awareness, identifying those as key areas for improvement. She believes women’s players in the USA are disadvantaged in tactics simply by lack of match opportunities at club level – there are approximately 100 women’s players registered nationwide – to be able to test out methods and learn from experience.”There’s many things I kind of want to help with,” Edwards said. “I think growing their awareness of the game and obviously having played a lot myself, hopefully I can pass on a lot of advice and experiences that I’ve been through. Upskilling them, that’s always important. Working on their skill development, giving them options especially in terms of the batting. I think that’s where probably I’m hopefully going to be a real asset to them.”We’ll be doing a lot of scenario work. They obviously don’t get that much chance to play cricket so we’ve got to create that as much as we can over the four-day camp which I’m really excited about.”Charlotte Edwards arrived in Texas last Saturday and worked the next day with six players of the women’s squad•Peter Della Penna

USA women’s captain Nadia Gruny said she was eager to work with Edwards again after their initial meeting in Philadelphia last year. Gruny was one of the six women’s players invited to the men’s camp last weekend and said that Edwards had already begun to make a difference from day one of her interactions with the half-dozen members of the USA Women’s squad, offering unique insights on the women’s game that the players were unable to get from other coaches.”We worked with her last September and seeing her again in April, it’s quite a lot of months, but at the same time it feels like there is some continuation; it doesn’t feel like it was a long time ago,” Gruny said. “Having Charlotte with us, we’re able to relate to her a lot better because she’s a woman player and she understands many of the nuances of the women’s game that may be different to the men’s game.”For example, women that haven’t as much strength as most of the men, the pace of the spinners, what to expect from the bowlers in a typical women’s game. So just being able to relate to us with our game specifically has been a big help.”When asked about the possibility of joining USA’s coaching staff in a formal capacity for the T20 Qualifier, which is scheduled for August 12-20 in Scotland, Edwards said she would have to decline due to her commitments in England’s Kia Super League. But she is keen to pass along whatever she can before then, starting with this week’s camp in Texas. The eagerness of the players to soak up tips is a major reason why Edwards said she is offering her support to the USA Women’s team.”I think they’re just growing in confidence the whole time,” Edwards said. “I think the opportunities they’re now getting in terms of being [at the men’s national camp] for the week, they’ve loved it. They’re relishing all the opportunities they’re getting and they’re improving.”What stood out to me is we were doing a really good fielding session with Trevor Penney and just their resilience, their real hunger to want to be better and I think that’s something you can’t coach. Them willing to take stuff they’re learning in the nets into the match situations. I just think they’re growing in confidence all the time which, hopefully, they’ll just continue to do that.”

South Africa captain says lack of match awareness and match fitness also played a role coming into the series

Firdose Moonda30-Dec-20212:29

Cullinan: SA ‘not following the basic principles of Test cricket’

Lack of runs in their first innings rather than leaking runs in India’s first cost South Africa the opening Test against India, according to captain Dean Elgar. After conceding 272 for 3 on the first day, thanks largely to a wayward morning with the ball, South Africa went on to take 7 for 49 on the third to bowl India out for 327. They were then dismissed for 197, where Elgar said the match was lost.”You need runs to compete and it’s safe to say we didn’t get that in our first innings,” Elgar said. “They bowled well with the new ball and the nature of Test cricket is that you’ve got to compete against the new ball. The way they started was something we struggled against. We know what it’s like scoring 250-plus runs here.”Just last year, South Africa piled on 621 runs on this ground, albeit against an under-strength Sri Lankan attack, and in four of their last five Tests here, they scored over 250 in the first innings. That they went on to win all those matches makes clear the importance of first innings runs, but for that you need a strong and somewhat reliable line-up, which can only be achieved with regular competitive game time against quality opposition.South Africa have only played six Tests this year, the last one six months ago. There have only been four rounds of domestic first-class cricket and of this squad only Duanne Olivier and Keegan Petersen played in all four.There is an obvious lack of match time, which both vice-captain Temba Bavuma and Elgar recognise as a weakness.”Playing four or five-day cricket is something you can’t replace but the schedule doesn’t allow for our players to play a lot of first-class cricket,” Elgar said. “So there’s a little bit of (a lack of) match awareness and match fitness. It’s by no means an excuse. We knew that coming into the series. There’s a lot of learning for us that the basics of the game still applies. I don’t think we had that with regards to the batting.”You may immediately ask why Petersen, the only one who played in this Test who has sufficient match practice to his name, was not more successful but there’s a reason for that too. South Africa’s opening stand has been particularly poor and has not crossed double figures in the three Tests Petersen has played.”KP has come in and played in three Tests matches and the three batting conditions that he has experienced have been relatively tough,” Elgar said. “He has had a bit of a rough start and it doesn’t reflect on him as a player. He is an extremely talented player – one of our better players in the first-class system. The stats don’t reflect his ability. I feel for him. I know he wants to make a play and is maybe a little bit anxious. We need to, as a leadership group, try and give him a better opportunity to try and contribute.”Dean Elgar: “In Test cricket facing the new ball and opening is not easy”•AFP via Getty Images

In order for that to happen, Elgar and Aiden Markram have to start better, which they know but can’t guarantee. “In Test cricket facing the new ball and opening is not easy. You get a good ball and you go and sit and watch the rest of the game. That’s the nature of the beast,” Elgar said. “Aiden and I have had the rough of the green but we are very mindful that we need to start well.”Another option is to swap Petersen with the (slightly more) experienced Rassie van der Dussen. “It is something that will be a conversation,” Elgar said.So will changes to the lower order. Olivier should be available for selection and should be an automatic pick at the Wanderers. Ordinarily, that would mean leaving out his replacement Marco Jansen. But the 21-year-old acquitted himself so well in his first Test that the discussion will turn to whether Wiaan Mulder, playing as an allrounder but not really contributing with the bat, should be benched to give Jansen the chance to stake a claim in that position.”Wiaan had a pretty good game with the ball. He is not living up to his standards with the bat which is something we will chat to him about,” Elgar said. “In this environment you have to have those open conversations in order for this environment to grow and for individuals to grow. Marco had a brilliant debut. He was our player of the game. And he came into a really tough situation. He didn’t shy away from his responsibilities within the side.”And Elgar is not hiding from his – as captain of a team that has to turn the corner soon and is feeling more and more sure that they can in three days’ time. “I don’t think we’ll lack any confidence heading into Johannesburg but it’s never nice losing a game especially when we know where we went wrong,” Elgar said. “It’s difficult to correct those wrongs during a game, but building into the second Test, we’ll have some time to reflect around what has happened.”

The left-arm quick has been ruled out of action for four to five weeks, according to team physio Bayjedul Islam

Mohammad Isam19-May-2022Bangladesh left-arm quick Shoriful Islam has been ruled out of the rest of the Test series against Sri Lanka after he sustained a right hand injury on the fourth evening in Chattogram. An X-ray revealed a fracture and Shoriful has been ruled out for four to five weeks, which is likely to make him unavailable for the first West Indies Test as well, set to start on June 16.The selectors didn’t name a replacement for Shoriful while announcing an unchanged squad for the second Test in Dhaka starting May 23.”Shoriful Islam had a contusion of the right hand while batting,” Bayjedul said in a BCB release on Thursday. “After the fourth day’s play an X-ray was carried out which has revealed a fracture on the base of the 5th metacarpal bone. Such injuries tend to take around three weeks to heal followed by a couple of week’s rehab. He will not be available to play for four to five weeks.”Kasun Rajitha struck Shoriful on his right hand after he tried to fend away a short ball in the 167th over of the Bangladesh innings. Physio Bayejidul Islam came out a couple of times to tend to him but Shoriful continued to bat. Four overs later, he fell down screaming in pain after swinging and missing at Rajitha.Shoriful eventually retired out to close the Bangladesh innings on 465 and he didn’t come out to bowl at all when Sri Lanka batted again.Bangladesh are already without Taskin Ahmed and Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the Chattogram Test due to injuries. Taskin’s participation is also a concern for Bangladesh’s West Indies tour next month as well. Taskin, who consulted a specialist in London for his shoulder injury earlier this month, is undergoing conservative treatment at the moment, so the selectors are yet to decide if he will be considered for the Tests in the West Indies.”We are not getting Shoriful for the Tests in West Indies. Taskin too is most likely unavailable for the red-ball matches. We might get the pair in the white-ball part of the tour,” Minhajul Abedin, the BCB chief selector, said.Bangladesh are likely to head for the tour on June 5 to play two Tests, three T20Is and three ODIs till mid-July.