All posts by n8rngtd.top

The left-arm spinner had a recurrence of knee soreness after the India series

AAP14-Dec-2024Australia have a fresh injury concern ahead of the Ashes with Sophie Molineux ruled out of the women’s ODI tour of New Zealand with a knee injury.Already sweating on the fitness of captain Alyssa Healy and her sore knee, Australia suffered more bad news on Saturday in the form of Molineux’s injury.Related

• Inspired by Dooley, Melbourne Renegades 'don't f*** it up'

• Mooney: Voll has taken to international cricket 'like a duck to water'

The finger-spinner has battled knee issues this summer, missing some WBBL games with the Melbourne Renegades to manage pain in the joint.She played in the last two of Australia’s 3-0 series sweep over India, but pulled up sore following the last victory in Perth on Wednesday.It means she will now skip all three ODIs against New Zealand this month, with bowling-allrounder Heather Graham to take her spot four weeks out from the Ashes.The games double as the team’s last before next month’s multi-format Ashes series, where Australia will aim to retain the trophy for a fifth straight time.”Sophie Molineux has been withdrawn from the NZ Series due to knee soreness,” Cricket Australia said in a statement. “Heather Graham will join the squad in New Zealand on Tuesday, following Tasmania’s Women’s National Cricket League matches against New South Wales in Hobart.”Georgia Wareham would be the most likely player to come into Australia’s XI for the first ODI against New Zealand on Thursday, after she was left out of the final two games against India.In better news for Australia, Healy is at least a confirmed attendee on the New Zealand trip. Australia’s captain missed the three ODIs against India through her own knee injury, after also missing the end of the T20 World Cup with a foot issue.Healy’s return will create a potential headache for selectors given Georgia Voll’s impressive start to her international career against India.Voll made scores of 46 not out, 101 and 26 while deputising for Healy at the top of the order, after a breakthrough WBBL with the Sydney Thunder.But Voll is at risk of being squeezed out of the ODI side in New Zealand, with Healy expected to slot back into opening alongside Phoebe Litchfield.It means the only way Voll would remain in the first-choice XI is if selectors opt to bat her down the order and make the bold call of leaving out a more established player.

Returning quicks close out soggy win after Markram, Brevis and Ferreira cameos

Firdose Moonda10-Sep-2025Don’t read too much into it, but South Africa took the lead in the three-match T20I series against England after winning a game initially reduced to nine overs a side by batting for 7.5 and then defending an adjusted five-over target.Wet conditions in Cardiff stalked the match throughout as play began two hours and 20 minutes after the scheduled 6.30pm start, and was then interrupted with seven balls remaining in South Africa’s innings.South Africa were on track for a total over 100 thanks to a top-score of 28 from captain Aiden Markram, who sold for R14 million (US$800,000 approx.) at Tuesday’s SA20 auction and hit two fours and two sixes in the 14 balls he faced. Markam shared in a 32-run second-wicket stand with Lhuan-dre Pretorius before Dewald Brevis and Donovan Ferreira put on 36 off 15 balls to form the spine of a competitive total.A heavy burst of rain ended South Africa’s innings prematurely and England were set a reduced target of 69 of 30 balls. With a required run rate of 13.8 an over, their task was always going to be tough but losing Phil Salt and Harry Brook for ducks made it even more difficult. Jos Buttler returned to the top of the order and scored 25 off 11 but needed support against South Africa’s top seamers to challenge for the result to go England’s way.

Wood proves his worth

England made a late change to include left-arm seamer Luke Wood in their XI in place of Jofra Archer, who was wrapped in cotton wool in wet conditions. Wood seized his opportunity: his second ball, and first to the left-handed Ryan Rickelton, swung away, Rickelton drove with no footwork and edged to Buttler for a golden duck.Luke Wood claimed Ryan Rickelton for a first-ball duck•AFP/Getty Images

Markram hit Wood over mid-off for the innings’ first boundary later in that over, then back over his head for six and over mid-on for four at the start of his second over but Wood came back well. Pretorius tried to hit over the leg side but miscued towards mid-off where Brook dived forward to take a stunning catch and Wood ended with 2 for 22.

Brevis justifies the big bucks

After breaking the SA20 pay record and selling for R16.5 million (approx US$944,000) a little over 24 hours ago, Brevis is expected to produce big things and he delivered. When Liam Dawson was brought on in the fifth over, Brevis played the no-look six first up and then smashed a low full toss into the sightscreen for six more. He is a strong player of spin and dispatched Adil Rashid too, over midwicket for his third six.But when Sam Curran was brought on, to bowl his first international spell of the year, he foxed Brevis with an ultra-slow slower ball that Brevis played too early and edged to third. Still, his cameo in partnership with Ferreira showed off his quality – and the reason Pretoria Capitals were willing to splash the cash.Dewald Brevis drills a six down the ground•AFP/Getty Images

Welcome back, South Africa’s strike bowlers

The wisdom of picking Kagiso Rabada, who sat out the ODIs in both England and Australia with ankle inflammation and will have a big role to play in upcoming tours to Pakistan and India, and Marco Jansen, who has not played for almost three months, could have been questioned but both seemed keen to be back.Rabada’s first ball back was full to Phil Salt, who picked out Kwena Maphaka at deep backward square with precision. Rabada barely had time to celebrate his early strike before Buttler hit his fourth and fifth balls, both pace-off, for four and then six to close out the over strongly.Jansen beat Jacob Bethell to start but was then dispatched over midwicket for six before he had him caught at cover. After Brook missed a coupe, Jansen then found extra bounce to beat his uppercut and ended with a slower ball. He bowled a second over, mixed up his pace well and ended with the wicket of Buttler, caught off the inside edge, to end the game as a contest.South Africa were without Lungi Ngidi, ruled out of the series with a hamstring strain sustained at training on Tuesday, and Keshav Maharaj, who tweaked his groin during the warm-ups. Nandre Burger will replace Ngidi – who is due to fly home on Thursday – and will join up with the squad ahead of Friday’s second T20I in Manchester.

Support from coach and captain helped spinner rediscover his enjoyment for the game

Matt Roller21-Oct-2024Jack Leach believes that being dropped by England during their home summer enabled him to fall back in love with cricket, aided by an unexpected phone call from Ben Stokes in the aftermath of a Test win.Leach is the leading wicket-taker in England’s series in Pakistan with 14, but had only played two Tests in the 18 months before the tour and failed to complete either due to back and knee injuries. He had returned to full fitness after knee surgery by the time England picked their first Test of the summer in June, but they selected his Somerset team-mate Shoaib Bashir instead.Bashir earned widespread praise after his match-winning five-wicket haul against West Indies at Trent Bridge, and was preferred throughout the rest of the summer. But when England returned to their Nottingham hotel after that win, Stokes called Leach to tell him that Bashir’s success did not mean he had been forgotten.”I felt really happy and proud,” Leach recalled on Monday, speaking at England’s hotel in Islamabad. “He just wanted to tell me how great I was, basically, in the way that he does, and just recognise how I’ve dealt with the situation. That gave me a chance to say some nice things back to him about what he’d given me, probably going back to 2019 at Headingley.Related

• Pakistan deploy fans, heaters in bid to produce Rawalpindi turner

• Brendon McCullum plays down England spin concerns as Pindi decider looms

• Shoaib Bashir's raw returns turn spotlight on England's spin gamble

• Switch Hit: Spinner, spinner, chicken dinner

“There’s just a mutual respect there, so it was a nice conversation to have for sure. It just reminded me that I was going about things in the right way, and gave me confidence I still had something to offer the team and I was a part of it, in a small way. That gave me good motivation for the remainder of the summer… a nice reminder that there was still a chance to play.”Leach admitted that he briefly feared that his England career would be over when he initially learned of his omission. “You always do,” he said. “After a long time out with injury, I maybe felt that might be it… I really understood the situation. If you’re not able to stay fit, then other people come in and do well, and Bash certainly did that.”But he was happy with the level of communication from England’s management throughout, and received a similar call from Brendon McCullum the day after speaking to Stokes in July. “I was really happy with that – and in a way, not surprised, because of what I’d experienced when I was there [in the squad],” he said. “I’m very thankful for that, and my relationship with those guys.”After a slow start to the season which saw him take nine wickets at 50.44 in his first four appearances for Somerset, Leach thrived at the end of the year with 36 at 15.86 in five matches. He said that the secret was as simple as “remembering what I’m about, and being happy with that” rather than worrying too much about making minor technical changes.”I just felt like I needed to rediscover that kid-like mentality of why you play the game,” Leach said. “You have that on the journey up to playing for England, that nothing-to-lose mentality. Then it’s like, ‘I’m here now, I want to keep that’. That’s tiring, it’s stressful, it’s not enjoyable… You forget what your main strengths are.”This summer actually provided a really good opportunity to go back to play for Somerset – which is what I always wanted to do as a young boy – and to just simplify everything; just do what I was good at, and build the confidence that actually, that was good enough… I’ve discovered that again: just being myself, and actually really enjoying that.”Leach has outbowled Bashir in England’s first two Tests in Pakistan, but said that reclaiming his status as first-choice spinner is “not important” to him. “That’s not really in my thoughts,” he said. “I just want to keep building on what I’ve done in the summer and what I’m doing out here… For me, it’s all about the team. Maybe I’m at an age where that’s all that really matters to me.”The pair have worked closely together in Pakistan. “He’s just done so well,” Leach said of Bashir. “He’ll just be learning so much, so quickly. He’s quality. We have a good relationship, good fun, and try to work together. I try to help where I can. I don’t want to overload him with stuff: I feel like he’s just learning through playing, and it’s all going to come quite naturally.”The series decider starts on Thursday in Rawalpindi, with another turning pitch in prospect after Pakistan’s 152-run win last week. Two years ago, it was the scene of a famous England win: they racked up 657 in 101 overs in their first innings, and Leach applied the finishing touches when trapping Naseem Shah lbw on the final evening to seal the victory.”That’s probably my favourite wicket: just the pictures of the appeal, and then just after of everyone celebrating,” Leach said. “It was just such a good game to be part of.” England will hope for something similar this week, in their bid for a 2-1 series win.

Filling in as opener, Babar Azam had a good day with the bat but was left to ponder what could have been

Danyal Rasool06-Jan-2025Babar Azam found himself rooted to the crease in disgust. He couldn’t believe the shot he’d played after being set on a surface where there was limited threat from either the pitch or the bowlers. He must have thought he’d never make that mistake again, but two sessions later it happened.So, on a day where Babar scored two half-centuries, the bigger talking point surrounded his shot selection. Well set during Pakistan’s first innings in the opening session, Kwena Maphaka had bowled one well down leg side, and managed to coax Babar into tickling it through to the wicketkeeper. It has been a persistent issue with Babar – the strangle down leg. But then again, so is his manner of dismissal two sessions later when, in the dying throes of the day, he threw his hands at a wide delivery from Marco Jansen, and edged it straight to gully.Related

• Pakistan need to know what they want from Test cricket

• Babar, Masood fight for Pakistan after South Africa enforce follow-on

• Stats: Masood and Babar raise the follow-on bar for openers

• Masood practices the art of not letting go

Babar admitted the dismissals meant it was disappointment rather than relief that dominated his emotions. “I’m very disappointed with both innings. I started well, but didn’t finish well,” he said. “If you settle, you must go much bigger. That is why I was a bit upset. There were just 15 minutes left.”It was all the more frustrating because South Africa posed no danger of dismissing either him or Shan Masood, who scored an unbeaten hundred. Having sent down nearly a hundred overs across the two innings, their discipline over the last two sessions had been poor; they bowled 10 no-balls in 49 overs of the second innings. There was almost no swing or movement of the seam, and Pakistan’s openers appeared set to finish the day unbeaten, looking to salvage something after the disaster of the first.”The conditions here are different from Centurion,” Babar said. “When you come to South Africa, you don’t expect that [the pitch will be so flat]. With the new ball, it was a bit challenging, but once you settled down and built a partnership, it became easier. But there are some rough patches; you saw a couple of overs from Maharaj to Shan which got some turn and bounce. So the spinner is a bit of a challenge for the batter. But against the fast bowler, if you’re settled, just play your normal game.”There was, however, some relief for Babar. After about two years without a Test fifty, he had scored three on the trot, a run stretching back to the second innings in Centurion. However, all three dismissals were down to poor shot selection rather than bowlers working him out.”I should have capitalised during our partnership, but unfortunately it didn’t happen,” he said. “In the second innings, my partnership with Shan has helped us come back into the game a little. Tomorrow, we have to try and build a partnership, and the longer those partnerships are the more pressure there’ll be on South Africa.”But there is a bigger picture, one that his continued struggle of late has put him in a better position to appreciate. He is the highest run-scorer for Pakistan this series, and now has something every batter values: competitive time at the crease under his belt.”Things change in life all the time,” he said. “I learned a lot during this time [of poor form] when what I wanted to do I wasn’t able to do, and when I couldn’t do the things that people expected of me. I just kept telling myself to stay calm, and believe that my ability and hard work would be vindicated, and to try and enjoy myself. But what was really important was to spend some time on the pitch, and thankfully [that has happened this series].”

The captain’s two wickets threatened a huge result but West Indies’ depth saw them home

Shashank Kishore03-Jun-2024

John Kariko’s excellent spell put pressure on West Indies•ICC via Getty Images

From being labelled as the nearly men in the cut-throat world of associate cricket, the tide is beginning to turn for Papua New Guinea. They missed the bus in 2014 and 2016 after frittering away a good chance to qualify but are now playing their second T20 World Cup in three years, after breaking through for the first time in the UAE in 2021.Sunday’s T20 World Cup 2024 opener against West Indies was only their eighth against a Full Member and, for a while reputation counted for little as PNG smelt an upset. After having huffed and puffed to 136, they had West Indies on the racks at 97 for 5 in 16 overs. Then their dreams were shattered as Andre Russell and Roston Chase bailed West Indies out.Related

• Chase seals West Indies' jittery victory against spirited PNG

• 'I had to take it home' – Calm Chase eases West Indies' opening-game nerves

Assad Vala, the PNG captain, felt they may have been in a position to challenge West Indies with a “few more runs towards the end” after playing catch up for most parts of their innings. From 34 for 3, PNG recovered courtesy a fine 43-ball 50 by Sese Bau. Then towards the end, Kiplin Doriga injected momentum to make an 18-ball 27.”I think batting as well, I think we didn’t play the crucial moments the way we wanted,” Vala said. “They had batsmen towards the end, which we didn’t. I think we missed out on a few runs towards the end as well. But I think credit to them. They got a lot of experience. So, I think we played really well. We executed our skills really well.”We just couldn’t execute towards the end when we were put under pressure, but really happy with the overall performance of the boys. We didn’t post the target we wanted, but they fought till the end, so really happy with the effort.”Assad Vala’s two wickets had PNG dreaming•ICC via Getty Images

With Tony Ura, PNG’s highest run-getter and arguably their most destructive batter, gone early and Vala out for 21 to a sensational catch at backward point by Chase, PNG needed someone to step up, and Bau’s efforts gave them chance to be in the contest.Fast bowler Ale Nao dismissed Johnson Charles first ball. They should have had Nicholas Pooran first ball, but for a lbw shout PNG chose not to review, with replays confirming the ball had pitched in line and would have hit middle and leg. Pooran eventually got going as he went after Bau to hit him for 18 in his only over, but his dismissal for a run-a-ball 27 in the ninth over had PNG turn the screws as the spinners came storming back.Vala dismissed Brandon King and Sherfane Rutherford, while John Kariko, the 20-year-old left-arm spinner, built on his wicket of Pooran to finish with figures of 4-0-17-1 to count as one of many positives for PNG. All told, PNG were in the contest until the 18h over.”I think Sese Bau batted really well. And John Kariko, the left-arm spinner bowled really well. I think, Alei upfront with the new ball. There was a lot of stuff that we did really well,” Vala said. “I think there are a lot of positives to take out from the game today. I think the overall performance was really good, but just the key moments that we just couldn’t put the nail in the coffin. But I think as I said before the effort was outstanding, we kept fighting against a really good side so happy, really happy.”How crucial did the decision to not review Pooran prove to be? Vala pointed to their inexperience of using technology as the reason for the one that got away.”It’s a bit of a funny story,” Vala said. “It was a bit like in street cricket, we don’t use a lot of DRS, so there was a lot of calls coming from everywhere – take it don’t, take it, take it, don’t take it. I didn’t know who to listen to but it is something we can learn from like I said we need to get the communication right when we [play] in the upcoming games.”

A disciplined bowling effort from India’s seamers led England to scale back their usual aggressive intent

Matt Roller10-Jul-20251:21

Manjrekar in praise of Root’s batting

Shubman Gill declared the return of “boring Test cricket” but England did not care. They scored uncharacteristically slowly – at just 3.02 runs per over – and ground their way into the ascendancy on their slowest-scoring full day of the Bazball era, as Joe Root reached the close a run short of his 37th Test century and his eighth at Lord’s.”Baz-Baz-Bazball! Come on, I want to see it,” Mohammed Siraj was heard telling Root over the stump microphones, as England put their attacking shots away during a wicketless second session. “No more entertaining cricket, lads,” Gill told his team-mates, after Ollie Pope left the ball alone outside his off stump. “Welcome back to the boring Test cricket.”Boring suited England just fine. The crowd at Lord’s was probably anticipating a very different day when they cheered Ben Stokes’ decision to bat after winning his third consecutive toss, but a sluggish surface and a disciplined bowling effort from India’s seamers – including the returning Jasprit Bumrah – led England to scale back their usual aggressive intent.Related

• Reddy credits Cummins and Morkel for bowling improvement

• For Crawley and Pope, the struggle gets real

• Bumrah and Root show their class on bizarre Bazwalling day

• England sweat on Ben Stokes as spectre of injury looms

• Pant suffers blow to finger, Jurel called up as substitute keeper

But India will be heartened by the fact that after a long day in the field, they have kept England in check. The bowling heroes of their 336-run win at Edgbaston, Siraj and Akash Deep, both went wicketless, but timely scalps for Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, and two in an over from Nitish Kumar Reddy ensured that England never got away from them.Root walked in straight after Reddy’s first over, which accounted for both England openers and saw Gill drop a tough chance off Pope in the gully, and quickly got his head down. He put on 109 with Pope for the third wicket, then an unbroken 79 with Stokes for the fifth – though Stokes’ apparent groin issue could become a major worry.India had their own injury problem to worry about: Rishabh Pant tried to grimace through the pain after being struck on the index finger as he tried to gather a rare loose ball from Bumrah, but instead spent the last 49 overs off the field. But Dhruv Jurel proved an able deputy, taking a fine catch to dismiss Pope as Jadeja found his outside edge with the first ball after tea.0:57

What explains England’s ‘Blockball’ approach?

Brendon McCullum ordered a pitch with “plenty of life in it” after England’s heavy defeat at Edgbaston but his plea either arrived too late or fell on deaf ears. It was clear within an over that this was a slow surface, with Ben Duckett edging through to Pant on the half-volley; Bumrah, who replaced Prasidh Krishna, immediately called for the slip cordon to stand closer.Duckett was repeatedly struck on the body in the first hour as Bumrah nipped the new ball off the seam, while Crawley was frenetic. He changed his guard several times and threw his hands at the ball; while he nailed three cover drives, he slashed another over the slips and regularly played and missed at both Akash Deep and Siraj.But it was Reddy, wicketless in Birmingham, who made the breakthroughs. He struck first with perhaps the worst ball of the morning, a long-hop on Duckett’s hip which he under-edged to Pant on the pull, but then dismissed Crawley with one of the best, a wicked outswinger which angled in then shaped away late to take the outside edge.Pope was reprieved by Gill in between those two dismissals and batted as though determined to live up to his tag – coined by Steve James in the – as “the worst starter since prawn cocktail”. But he made it through to lunch unscathed, and dug in alongside Root after the interval; early in the second session, they went 28 consecutive balls without scoring.1:15

Manjrekar: India introduced spin very late

Root, the senior pro, recognised that the best way to play Bumrah was from the non-striker’s end: he faced only two balls of his five-over spell after lunch, pinching singles to give Pope the strike back. They added 70 in a sleepy second session, as India’s seamers hung the ball wide outside off stump and waited for a mistake which didn’t come.It finally arrived straight after tea, as Pope flashed hard at Jadeja and edged through to Jurel. He stood disconsolate, bent over his bat handle in disbelief that he had thrown his wicket away. India had another soon after, as the battle between the ICC’s No. 1-ranked Test batter and bowler ended swiftly: Bumrah nipped one back off the seam to peg Harry Brook’s off stump back.Stokes was underway early with consecutive cuts for four, but looked uncomfortable against spin once more and survived an lbw shout from Reddy via DRS thanks only to the on-field umpire’s call. He was in obvious discomfort after a leave against Reddy, but batted on getting treatment from England’s physio during another long delay.Root, meanwhile, cruised along as he does, only once putting his foot down with a rasping slog-sweep off Jadeja. He was a boundary away from his hundred in the final over of the day but could only manage a two and then a single. History bodes well: the previous 16 men to sleep on 99 in Test cricket have all reached three figures the following morning.

“When I started first-class cricket, I bowled a lot with my left arm. But later, it became about 60% right arm, and 40% left arm.”

Andrew Fidel Fernando17-Jun-2025″I don’t know which arm I’ve taken more wickets with,” says Tharindu Rathnayake of his wicket tally in domestic cricket. “I’ve never looked at it properly. I’ve bowled a lot with both my arms.”If this seems like bragging, Rathnayake continues to speak as if being able to bowl with either arm is a normal experience to which anyone could relate. It must seem natural to him, though – he has 337 first-class wickets, and 122 List A dismissals.”When I started first-class cricket, I bowled a lot with my left arm. But later, after a couple of years, it became about 60% right arm, and 40% left arm.”Related

• Shanto, Mushfiqur hundreds headline Bangladesh's dominance

• 'These are not easy runs' – Mushfiqur reflects on 'special' century

Right, so why, on day one of his debut Test, against Bangladesh in Galle, did Rathnayake bowl 15.5 overs of right-arm offbreaks before he tried his first ball of left-arm spin?”I just felt that the ball that turns into the batter is harder for them to face because this wicket is suited to the batters. When you bowl right-arm offspin against right-handed batters with the red ball, it’s not easy for them to play. When I bowl offspin, I also have more options with the fields I can set. With left-arm spin, because the wicket is not behaving as we want it to, they can put the ball into gaps, and they have more scoring options.”To what extent Rathnayake knows this unusual craft is not clear yet. Unlike Kamindu Mendis, the other ambidextrous spinner in the side, Rathnayake is primarily a bowler. In the match-ups age, though, being able to bowl with either arm could be a supremely useful skill. Rathnayake seems to be aware of that potential.”Before we come to the match, in our planning, we talked about what each batsman is better at facing, and which sides they hit to,” he said. “So I try to create plans around their weaknesses, and change which arm I’m bowling with according to that.”Though Rathnayake claimed two wickets – both left-handers caught at slip against his offbreaks – in his first session of Test cricket, he said the Galle pitch got better to bat on through the day.”There was a little moisture early on, but it dried out. There wasn’t much spin. I’m expecting it to stay good until day four.”

West Indies fast bowler will be available for final three games as Durham look to avoid relegation battle

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Sep-2024Durham have signed West Indies fast bowler Chemar Holder for their final three games of the County Championship season.Holder, who has played a Test and an ODI for his country, will be available for the round of Championship games starting on Monday, when Durham host Lancashire at Chester-le-Street. He replaces Neil Wagner, the New Zealand left-armer, whose stint was cut short by injury.”We are pleased to welcome Chemar to Durham for the final stages of the season, he is an exciting tall quick bowler who will add a point of difference to our available bowling group,” Marcus North, Durham’s director of cricket, said.”With international call ups and a number of injuries, it was extremely important to bring in an additional seamer and we are pleased to have secured a bowler of Holder’s quality.”Holder won a Test cap in 2020, after impressing in the domestic first-class system, and has also featured for Warwickshire in the County Championship. He spent more than a year out of the game after requiring shoulder surgery but was given a CWI franchise contract earlier this year as West Indies looked to keep him part of their fast-bowling pool.Holder said: “It feels very good to be a part of Durham and to be playing county cricket for a second time.”Once I step on the field, I always put my best foot forward and leave everything out there. I will put my all into the upcoming games and am looking forward to this opportunity. I can’t wait to get started if I am selected this week and give my all for Durham.”Durham are currently seventh in Division One of the Championship, 24 points clear of second-bottom Lancashire.

It also announced an expansion in the number of teams in the Women’s T20 World Cup to 16 from 2030

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jul-2024The ICC has confirmed that a review into the conduct of T20 World Cup 2024 will be carried out after the global body set up a panel with three of its board directors – Roger Twose, Lawson Naidoo and Imran Khawaja – to oversee the review and submit findings later in the year.ESPNcricinfo had reported earlier that there was scrutiny on the extent of expenditure on the US leg of the tournament and the organisation of the Caribbean leg. The decision to appoint a review panel was taken at the ICC annual conference in Colombo from July 19 to 22, which was attended by all 108 members. The three-man panel will engage an independent consultancy to carry out the review, before reporting back to the board.The ICC also approved the expansion of the Women’s T20 World Cup to 16 teams in 2030. Eight teams had taken part in the inaugural tournament in 2009 and that number rose to ten in 2016. Ten teams will also take part in the 2024 Women’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in October. The 2026 edition will have 12 participating teams, for which the cut-off date for qualification is October 31, 2024, before the expansion to 16 in 2030.For the next Men’s T20 World Cup in 2026, the ICC said the allocation of the eight regional qualifying spots would be as follows: two teams each from Africa and Europe, one from the Americas, and three from Asia and East Asia Pacific (EAP) combined. Previously, Asia had two spots and EAP one.The ICC also announced that USA Cricket and Cricket Chile have been “formally put on notice” because both organisations are not compliant with ICC membership criteria. They have 12 months to make rectifications.”Neither member is considered to have in place a fit for purpose detailed governance and administrative structure and systems,” the ICC said in a release. “The ICC Americas office will work with Cricket Chile to support them in remedying their non-compliance. The board agreed that a normalisation committee comprising of board and management representatives will be set up to oversee and monitor USA Cricket’s compliance roadmap and the ICC board will reserve its right to suspend or expel the member for continued non-compliance.”

Young batter one of four to reach fifty as Lancashire struggle for penetration

ECB Reporters Network12-Apr-2024Tom Prest suggested 2024 will be his breakthrough season by scoring an impeccable 85 as Hampshire edged day one of their Vitality County Championship clash with Lancashire.Former England under-19 captain Prest hinted at his first-class talents with his maiden ton towards the end of last season and opened his account this year with a high-quality knock.He was one of four half-century makers for the hosts – with Nick Gubbins, James Vince and Liam Dawson also reaching the milestone as Hampshire totted up 305 for six in front of their highest first-day-of-the-season crowd from over a decade.Nathan Lyon picked up his first two wickets for Lancashire during a mammoth 32-over day which yielded two for 97.Skipper Vince won the toss and chose to bat first, giving debutant Ali Orr an immediate chance to impress the Hampshire supporters after his winter move from Sussex.His collaboration with new opening partner Fletcha Middleton may need some work after the latter was run out in the ninth over by a George Balderson direct hit after a miscommunication.Orr departed four overs later when Tom Bailey cut him in two with a wicked in-jagger to be caught behind, but from there, Hampshire found more fluency and built partnerships in overcast conditions.Vince had come off a winter of seemingly endless white-ball cricket, taking him from Abu Dhabi to Australia, Dubai to Pakistan.He ended last season’s Championship campaign – one where he become Hampshire’s first batter to 1,000 first-class runs since 2016 – with 56 and began the new campaign in identical fettle.It was a look down and you missed it half-century, coming up in 62 balls but with hardly a shot in anger. It included a cover drive but otherwise kept the ball on a string to ease his side from danger in an 84-run stand with Gubbins, taking the score away from the worrying 26 for two.Gubbins, who had scored twin centuries on Lancashire’s previous trip to Utilita Bowl, unfurled his typically aesthetic yet steady knock to provide the foil for Vince before helping Prest lay the foundations for his innings.Australian spinner Lyon had been due to play for Hampshire in 2020 before Covid prevented him from arriving. His maiden first-class outing on what would have been his home ground saw him strike in his seventh over as Vince tamely turned to leg-slip.Lyon was given the lone front-line spinner furrow, with England left-armer Tom Hartley left out having played in the rain-affected draw against Surrey. The 36-year-old also lured Gubbins into a drive to edge behind three balls after reaching a 112-run 50 but the most intriguing passage of the day was Lyon’s battle with 21-year-old Prest.It began with a sharp chance at short-leg, which was followed by a maiden over where every ball landed on the same spot, before Prest replied with a pair of reverse sweeps. The battle would conclude with 33 runs and 34 dots in 51 balls – including the day’s only maximum on the slog sweep.Prest is one to watch this season after his maiden century in the penultimate fixture of last season, where he took down Simon Harmer in style.His 76-ball fifty oozed quality and underlined his tag but fell short of a century when he gloved a sweep to slip, three balls after Lyon had dropped a difficult chance on the dive. It ended a 93-run alliance with Dawson.Ben Brown fell soon after when Will Williams secured an edge to third slip with the second new ball but Dawson made it a quartet of fifty-makers with an unbeaten 61 – although was dropped on 51 before the close.