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David Warner’s reinvention as a middle-order batsman received a tremendous boost as the left-hander amassed 193 runs against South Africa A in Pretoria

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jul-2013
ScorecardDavid Warner was in prime form, striking 29 fours and a six in an innings of 193•Getty Images

David Warner’s reinvention as a middle-order batsman received a tremendous boost as the left-hander amassed 193 against South Africa A in Pretoria. The visitors finished one run short of 400 on the opening day as Glenn Maxwell celebrated his maiden first-class century as well.Warner was suspended from the Australian side after an altercation with England batsman Joe Root during the Champions Trophy and could not participate in the warm-up matches for the Ashes. Subsequently he was not picked to play the first Test and with coach Darren Lehmann confirming Chris Rogers and Shane Watson as Australia’s openers, Warner’s future in the side demanded that he adjust to the role of a middle-order batsman. He was sent to Africa with the A side to prepare him for the role; a role he was keen to perform, expressing a wish to fill the shoes of Michael Hussey.Having failed in his only outing in Zimbabwe, Warner stepped into a delicate situation with Australia A two down, both wickets going to Kyle Abbott, by the 13th over. A 73-run partnership for the third wicket between Warner and captain Aaron Finch, who scored a half-century, revived Australia A. Marchant de Lange accounted for Finch, but Warner, having already surged to a run-a-ball, fifty spearheaded a 76-run stand with Moises Henriques to put Australia A in the driver’s seat.Henriques’ fall brought Maxwell to the crease and misery to South Africa A as the duo piled on 204 runs off 229 balls with Maxwell reaching his century with his 13th four. Warner’s wicket, bowled by de Lange, signalled the end of day one, but not before Warner had lasted 226 balls, and hit 30 boundaries, including one six.Maxwell was very pleased with his innings. “It’s always nice to get the century out of the way on the first day,” he said. “I’m very happy with my performance; this is probably the best I’ve batted in a long time. It was good to bat with Dave Warner. He was taking a lot of the pressure off me by scoring pretty quickly.”Justin Ontong, the South Africa A captain, was disappointed with his side’s performance. “It was quite a hard day for us. The wicket was good to bat on but we should have bowled a little better in the first hour,” he said. “We bowled on both sides of the wicket which made it very difficult for me to set fields. And if you bowl [like that] to good batsmen like Warner, they’ll punish you.”We need to pick up five more wickets. We are going to have a good chat now and come back strongly tomorrow. Still it will be hard work for our batters but they need to apply themselves and show patience and get themselves in a position like David Warner got.”

Essex eased to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Leicestershire in their bottom of the table Clydesdale Bank 40 Group A clash at Chelmsford.

05-Aug-2012
ScorecardEssex eased to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Leicestershire in their bottom of the table Clydesdale Bank 40 Group A clash at Chelmsford. In a match reduced to 25 overs each because of rain, the hosts surpassed Leicestershire’s 151 for 7 with nine deliveries to spare.Owais Shah led the way for Essex with an unbeaten 45 from 46 deliveries, which included three fours and a six.The foundation had been laid by openers Mark Pettini and Tom Westley who shared in a stand of 62 in nine overs before both fell to medium-pacer Wayne White. Westley fell lbw to the last ball of his first over for 27, while with the first delivery of White’s next over, Pettini put up a simple catch to Robbie Joseph at short extra cover.Greg Smith made 20 while helping Shah carry the total to 102 in the 19th over, at which point he was superbly taken low down by Rob Taylor at deep square leg.Essex arrived at the final five overs still requiring 42 but Shah then stepped up a couple of gears to help see them home. He took successive fours off medium-pacer Michael Thornely before despatching Nathan Buck for an on-driven six. Then Ryan ten Doeschate maintained the tempo, sealing victory with three successive boundaries at the expense of Buck.Although White emerged as the visitors most successful bowler with two wickets for 17 runs from four overs, it was left-arm spinner James Sykes who impressed the most – the 20-year-old’s five overs cost only 15.Leicestershire’s innings owed much to Thornely. Fresh from his century in the County Championship battle between the two counties, he again batted with a confident assurance that brought him 55 from 53 balls. The pick of his shots was a towering six over long-on off the bowling of left-arm spinner Tim Phillips.Thornely had also laced his innings with four fours until he was brilliantly caught on the long-on boundary – Graham Napier racing 20 yards and diving to cling on to the ball inches off the ground.Of the other batsmen, only Matthew Boyce topped 20, before he drove Napier into the hands of extra cover in the final over when on 24.Essex, who put their opponents into bat, used seven bowlers, the most successful of whom was off-spinner Harbhajan Singh who took 3 for 29 from five overs and among his victims was opener Ramnaresh Sarwan, who needed 22 deliveries to gather 14 runs until he holed out to Phillips on the midwicket boundary.Greg Smith was another top-order batsman who failed to out his foot on the accelerator, requiring 28 balls to make 18. Smith was also caught on the midwicket boundary, this time by Harbhajan, when he decided to open his shoulders against ten Doeschate.

Just as Kate Middleton would have been conspicuous by her absence had she not been at the Royal Wedding, Adrian Shankar was conspicuous by his absence at New Road

George Dobell at New Road29-May-2011
ScorecardJust as Kate Middleton would have been conspicuous by her absence had she not been at the Royal Wedding, Adrian Shankar was conspicuous by his absence at New Road.
It’s not that he was expected – he certainly was not – but the repercussions of Shankar-gate continue to be felt here. And throughout English cricket.In the latest development, the England and Wales Cricket Board will launch an internal investigation into the background and implications of the case. While it seems that Worcestershire will escape censure – no-one is claiming they have been anything other than naive – there is concern over how easy it was for a man to doctor a photocopy of his passport and talk his way into a two-year county contract. Worcestershire, at least, feel that the ECB failed to carry out all the usual checks with due diligence.Whether the club are completely beyond reproach is debatable. Shankar actually represented the county’s second XI in 2003 and, at the time, gave his date of birth as May 1982. When he reappeared this season, however, it had changed to May 1985. It seems no-one at New Road bothered to cross-check the information.Worcestershire might also reflect upon how they came to sign a player with such a modest record in second XI cricket. Yes, they were duped by records purporting to show Shankar’s success in Sri Lanka – similar fictitious records exist suggesting a prolific season in the Central Lancashire League – but he must have also impressed in the nets.That’s a bit of a surprise. As Mike Green, the President of Bedfordshire County Cricket Club, put it: “Frankly we were amazed when we found out he was signing for Worcestershire because he would have struggled to get into our side. He hasn’t been good enough to get into our first XI for a good six or seven years.”Either way, Worcestershire have confirmed that they have released Shankar without paying him a penny and that they would not have signed him had they known he was over 26. Quite what the ECB intend to do about the young player incentive payment due to the club for fielding Shankar in the Championship match against Durham remains unclear.Lancashire’s role is also unclear. Shankar first lied about his age during his time at Old Trafford, but exactly when the club became aware of that – and why they decided to remain silent – is something of a mystery.In an unlikely twist, Shankar has now claimed that he fears for his safety. Declining to speak on the phone after claiming his line might have been bugged – quite who by is hard to say – he sent a series of texts stating: “I have a family with young nephews and nieces and our safety is at risk here… I have already notified the police… I need to secure the safety of my family.”With the talented Mr Shankar, however, it’s sometimes hard to tell where the lies end and the truth starts.Meanwhile, 12 wickets fell on the first day of Worcestershire’s Championship match against Nottinghamshire. On a pitch offering substantial assistance and some variable bounce, ball dominated bat throughout and Nottinghamshire’s first innings score of 223 may not prove to be too far below par.Only two men rose above the surface to make batting look a pleasurable business. For Nottinghamshire, Rikki Wessels, the 25-year-old former Northants player who is making his Championship debut for the champions, made a pleasing 67 containing 10 crisply-hit fours and a short-arm pull for six off Alan Richardson.Generally, however, Worcestershire experienced seamers – Richardson, Damien Wright and, to a lesser extent, Gareth Andrew, exploited the conditions expertly. Maintaining a probing line on off stump, they lured Akhil Patel into a loose drive before Mark Wagh, Samit Patel and Adam Voges were also lured into edges off fine balls that left them sharply.Wessels and Paul Franks played across straight balls and when Chris Read’s spirited defiance was ended by another fine catch by the excellent Ben Scott – his fifth of the innings – Nottinghamshire’s tail fell away quickly.Vikram Solanki led Worcestershire reply with a sparkling half-century. Timing the ball superbly off front and back foot, Solanki produced some delightful drives as well as one powerful pull for six. In partnership with the stubborn Matt Pardoe (93 minutes for his 13 runs so far), Solanki added 65 for Worcestershire’s second wicket and was only undone by a horrid delivery that kept impossibly low. That it was easily the highest stand of the day speaks volumes: this pitch is decidedly lively and batting is likely to remain tricky.

Brendan Nash, the West Indies middle-order batsman, has said his team is desperate to end its losing run and turn things for the better in the Test series against South Africa that begins on Thursday

Cricinfo staff10-Jun-2010Brendan Nash, the West Indies middle-order batsman, has said his team is desperate to end its losing run and turn things around for the Test series against South Africa that begins on Thursday. West Indies are yet to win a game on this tour, losing both Twenty20 internationals and being at the receiving end of a 5-0 thrashing in the ODI series.”We’re sick of losing. We don’t like losing. We don’t enjoy it, but it is not something we can just turn around in one day,” Nash told 103 FM ahead of the first Test in Trinidad. “It is going to be a slow process, but we’re trying to do the right thing.”Nobody wants to lose, we’re doing what we can with the resources we have and the structures we have to try and turn things around.”Nash sought inspiration from West Indies’ performance against England in Trinidad last year, when they held on to draw the final Test and win the series. Nash scored a century in that game, his first in international cricket, and has been in excellent form of late. He had a very successful tour of Bangladesh with West Indies A, being dismissed just once in the two four-day games, scoring 202 runs in the process, and notched up two half-centuries in three limited-overs matches.”I hope everyone remembers the series last year against England. It came down to the last match. We were one up and we held on for a draw to win the series,” he said. Hopefully the Trinis put their minds back to that and support us. That’s what we needed at that time and that’s what we need at this time.”We haven’t had the best of runs in the shorter format of the game. (Tests) are different and we showed some good signs against Australia at the end of last year, and this is the next Test series since then so hopefully the fans will come out and support us.”Nash also said training sessions for the teams have been interrupted by sporadic showers. “(Practice has been) a little bit disrupted” he said. “We’ve made the most of it and tried to get on the field [when] we could and get in the indoor nets.”

Cricket Australia chair says, “the Gabba has a use for life that ends in 2030. We need a solution, and are working on it”

Andrew McGlashan18-Aug-2024The Gabba in Brisbane has played host to plenty of iconic Test moments – the 1960 tie, Ian Botham’s last great Test innings, Shane Warne’s career best, Peter Siddle’s birthday hat-trick, India’s famous 2021 heist and Shamar Joseph’s heroics to pick out a few – but there are now major questions over its future as an international venue.On Sunday it was confirmed that the Queensland government had only signed a two-year hosting agreement with Cricket Australia which means beyond the upcoming India Test and next year’s men’s Ashes fixture there is great uncertainty when, or if, the famous ground will be back on the schedule.The Ashes encounter in 2025-26 will be the 49th consecutive season of Test cricket at the Gabba, but there will be no half-century with it not having one of the four New Zealand Tests the following year. There are, however, discussions ongoing about white-ball internationals with England due to visit that summer for ODIs and T20Is.Related

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The Gabba is coming towards the end of its viable working life in 2030. Brisbane will host the 2032 Olympics and initially, there had been plans to completely rebuild the venue, but that was ditched by the Queensland government due to costs and instead, there is expected to be a renovation along with other stadiums in the city.While a complete rebuild would have taken the stadium out of commission for a number of years, there is still uncertainty over whether it will be usable during a renovation.In an open letter, the chair of Queensland Cricket Kirsten Pike and chief executive Terry Svenson outlined the organisation’s frustrations and concerns for cricket in the state.”The State Government’s decision to not progress with its commitment to rebuild the Gabba and downgrade its proposed Olympic role has resulted in direct and indirect changes to how we proceed with our business,” they wrote.”It is deeply disappointing that the 2026-27 Gabba Test has become a casualty of the uncertainty around the infrastructure planning and development ahead of the 2032 Olympic preparations, specifically around the Gabba.”…and while not being unduly alarmist, the potential outcome of this continuing uncertainty could have a significant impact on participation statewide and fan engagement across men’s and women’s cricket.”The future of the Gabba is under threat by new stadiums around the country, including a proposed indoor venue in Hobart•Tasmania Government

Speaking last week, former Australia and Queensland captain Allan Border called for a new multipurpose venue to be built in the city.”It’s sad, but they [Cricket Australia] have got to have some certainty, probably over the next four years, if they can use the Gabba or not,” he told the . “I’d be knocking down the Gabba and building a new venue from scratch at Victoria Park. A brand new 60,000-seat stadium suits rugby, cricket, Aussie rules and the Olympics, and the Gabba becomes housing.”Whatever the future of a major cricket venue in Brisbane, there could be a potential challenger on the horizon with Tasmania having ambitions to host indoor Test cricket in the proposed new Hobart stadium which is set to be ready in 2029. However, Cricket Australia chair Mike Baird said it was hard to envisage a future where Brisbane was not part of the regular Test schedule.”That’s hard to imagine, but we have to have the facilities and a ground that supports it,” he said. “We want the fans to have the best experience as they come and see the world’s best players.”What we do know is the Gabba has a use for life that ends in 2030. We need a solution, and are working with the AFL as well on a long-term solution. We want a great venue in Brisbane, that can support Queensland Cricket and Australian cricket for years to come.”The Queensland Cricket letter added: “We remain hopeful that Test cricket will return to the Gabba after the summer of 2026-27 despite the current lack of detail and uncertainty surrounding the upgrades to the Gabba.”Queensland does have other smaller international venues. Allan Border Field in Brisbane regularly hosts the women’s team and Australia A and the Gold Coast hosted a T20I against West Indies in 2022. In regional Queensland, Mackay is used while Townsville and Cairns hosted the T20I and ODI series respectively against Zimbabwe and New Zealand in 2022.The men’s Future Tours Programme has some winter home cricket on Australia’s schedule in the coming years which could open the door for venues such as Cairns and Townsville. South Africa are due to visit for ODIs and T20Is in August 2025 while Afghanistan have a Test and three T20Is allocated in July 2026 although those would appear unlikely to happen given Cricket Australia’s current stance on bilateral series with Afghanistan.

England Test coach says boards must “work with leagues” so best players remain available for international cricket

Vithushan Ehantharajah12-May-2023England Test head coach Brendon McCullum believes international boards, including the ECB, would be “completely naive” to assume their stars would turn down longterm franchise contracts.Recent reports have suggested that IPL teams are in talks with a number of English cricketers to sign annual deals. Given their investments across other tournaments such as the CPL, SA20, ILT20, Abu Dhabi T10 and the upcoming Major League Cricket in the United States, franchise owners have been working towards a situation where they can extend control over their most valuable assets beyond three months of the year.At the time of writing, it is understood no formal offers have been made to English players. However, Test nations such as South Africa and West Indies have long been at the mercy of franchise competitions when it comes to controlling the movement of their own players, and it seems only a matter of time before the likes of Australia and England must face a similar reality.Related

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In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, England men’s managing director Rob Key spoke of boards needing to work with players regarding franchise competitions for their own good: “You’re never going to compete financially with these competitions. So you’ve got to try and find a way to actually make sure that you do retain control of those players.”Speaking to SENZ Radio in New Zealand, McCullum echoed those sentiments, urging professional empathy in a fast-changing landscape.”The last few years, there’s been a shifting of the sand somewhat around international cricket,” McCullum said.”We’d be completely naive to think that players would turn down huge amounts of money on longterm contracts for a lot less work in these T20 leagues because they should be playing international cricket. Those days are fast approaching to be over. It’s definitely a shifting landscape and you’ve just got to be fluid.”What you’ve got to do is you’ve got to work with these players, you got to work with these leagues and try and allow, ideally, players to have their cake and eat it too because you want your best players playing.”The ECB’s more open approach when it comes to the IPL is reflective of the fact it sees no gain in maintaining England’s early antagonism to the competition. This year’s edition has seen a record 17 Englishman contracted, most notably Test skipper Ben Stokes, Sam Curran and Harry Brook, who all signed on seven-figure deals.Brook, who has taken Test cricket by storm, is currently on an incremental contract with the ECB, earning around £60,000 (US$75,000) for representing England. That his deal with Sunrisers Hyderabad is £1.3 million (US$1.6 million) speaks of the disparity. While it is due to be rectified in the next round of central contract handouts at the end of the summer, particularly given Brook’s role as a multi-format batter, it is unlikely to be more than the eye-catching figure of his first IPL season.McCullum, however, does not anticipate a situation where he will not be able to call upon his best Test players in the near future. Indeed, he feels making international cricket a more enjoyable and meaningful experience can be an easy remedy as opposed to adopting a hardline stance on those who want to indulge in franchise cricket.”How much fun they’ve had, how much those experiences which they’ve been able to get in an England shirt is so great that they are prepared to continue to put their yards [in] even though it might not be as financially viable as some of the other leagues,” McCullum said.”I think we are a little bit lucky, too, because the amount of money that we can pay players is better than some of the other boards around the world. It’s not good enough to say ‘You know what, if they don’t want to play international cricket for us, then bugger them, we’ll move on and find someone different’.”As a spectator, you want to see the best players in the world representing their countries.”

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.”

ESPNcricinfo’s updates from the 54th match of IPL 2020

Matt Roller01-Nov-2020