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Peirson lauds impact of Labuschagne and Khawaja for Queensland

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The wicketkeeper revealed Matt Renshaw’s return to opening was with an eye on Australia’s future needs

AAP09-Oct-2022Chicago’s Bulls had Michael Jordan lifting the standard and Jimmy Peirson says there’s two men doing the same for Queensland’s Bulls.The in-form wicketkeeper has also revealed the strategic shift designed to catapult team-mate Matt Renshaw back into a baggy green as he continues his own push for a Test debut.Peirson powered to a fifth first-class century in the last two years as the Bulls beat Tasmania by an innings and 172 runs on Saturday to open the Sheffield Shield season.His bright innings on the tricky, newly-laid Allan Border Field square followed an unbeaten 128 for Australia A in a successful chase of 367 in Sri Lanka in June. He scored 67 not out in the first innings of that game, only called into the squad as a late replacement.The state’s youngest-ever Sheffield Shield winning captain when Queensland won the competition in 2018, Peirson is enjoying the presence of Test pair Marnus Labuschagne and regular captain Usman Khawaja to begin their season.Related

  • Jimmy Peirson's unbeaten tour: 'I'm not even meant to be here'

  • Labuschagne starts his Shield season with classy century

  • Sandhu and Peirson star as Queensland thrash Tasmania by an innings

“It’s great having Marnie [Labuschagne] around; you see the problem-solving that goes on while he’s batting, [it] is something I’ve learned from,” he said.Peirson reserved high praise for Test opener Khawaja and Australia’s No.3 Labuschagne, who scored 72 and 127 respectively in Brisbane last week.”It just sets good standards, you see how they go about their business and see that’s the level you need to be at to play Test cricket,” he said. “As team-mates we want to be rising to that level. I know when [Michael] Jordan played basketball he spoke about bringing guys along with him, and those guys do that for us.”While Peirson has been piling on the runs Alex Carey has been making the Test spot his own.”There’s a lot of keepers doing the job at the moment in Australia; all you can do is worry about your own backyard,” Peirson said of the fight for higher honours. “Kez [Carey] has done a really good job, especially in the subcontinent. He’s earned his position, but there’s no doubt everyone wants that position.”Peirson isn’t the only Queensland player pushing his case with former Test opener Renshaw and fast bowler Mark Steketee, who had a hat-trick ball dropped in the slips on Saturday, making claims.Khawaja had pushed long-term opener Renshaw into the middle order when the veteran forced his way back into the Test fold. Now cemented at the top of Australia’s order, Khawaja slid himself back down to No. 4 for Queensland’s season opener so Renshaw could face the new ball.”Matty has earned his way back up into the opening role with national selectors hopefully looking at him as a future opener for Australia,” Peirson said of the surprise move. “We’re fortunate [to have top-order depth] and Uz is at the point in his career where he scores runs wherever he bats.”

More strife for Essex as new chair Azeem Akhtar resigns after three days

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Steps down to allow independent investigation into alleged anti-semitic social media posts

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Dec-2022Azeem Akhtar, the new chair of Essex, has stepped down after just three days in the role, ahead of an independent review into his social media activity.The appointment of Akhtar, Essex’s first minority-ethnic chair, was this week hailed by the club as a “new beginning”, 12 months on from the controversial departure of the former chair, John Faragher, who continues to deny that he used racist language in a board meeting in 2017.Instead, however, the club has been plunged back into turmoil, following revelations in the Jewish Chronicle that Akhtar had ‘liked’ anti-Semitic posts on Twitter, including one that compared Israel to Nazi Germany.He had been due to take over from John Stephenson, the chief executive who has been interim chair since Faragher’s departure last November. However, Sir Stephen O’Brien, Akhtar’s deputy, will now stand in as interim.”I have taken the decision today to voluntarily step aside as chair of Essex County Cricket Club while an independent review takes place into recent matters that have been raised,” Akhtar said in a club statement.”I have made the decision to initiate this review because it is important that I as Chair and Essex County Cricket Club more widely hold ourselves to the highest standards of governance and accountability. By stepping aside, I want to show leadership and ensure the club can focus on the ongoing challenges it is tackling.”I am resolutely committed to ensuring that Essex County Cricket Club is an inclusive and welcoming environment for people of all backgrounds.”It’s a further embarrassment for Essex, who were fined £50,000 by the Cricket Discipline Commission last summer following Faragher’s departure, and were further found to have fallen “significantly short” of the diversity targets set by the ECB, which stipulated that county boards needed to feature 30% female representation and “locally representative ethnicity” by the end of April 2022. Akhtar’s departure exacerbates that shortfall.In the wake of Azeem Rafiq’s whistleblowing testimony about his treatment at Yorkshire, Essex had also been implicated in separate racism allegations, with former players Maurice Chambers, Zoheb Sharif and Jahid Ahmed all stating that they were victims of abuse during their playing days. A report on those claims is expected after the club appointed an independent QC to investigate.

Bengal seek turnaround from new leadership

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ESPNcricinfo looks ahead to the prospects of Bengal in the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy season

06-Oct-2015

Bengal

Manoj Tiwary is back as Bengal captain•PTI

Where they finished last season
Second from the bottom in Group A with no wins. Bengal barely managed to avoid relegation, thanks to Wriddhiman Saha’s resolute 92 in their final game of the season against Madhya Pradesh.Big Picture
The last time Bengal secured the Ranji title was when Sourav Ganguly made his first-class debut in the final in 1989-90. In the silver-jubilee year of the landmark, has taken charge of the Cricket Association of Bengal.The previous season, which came after a creditable semi-final finish in 2013-14, was a big low. Manoj Tiwary, who has been entrusted with captaincy again, will be keen to spark a turnaround. Bengal have been bolstered by the arrival of Pragyan Ojha, who had impressed in the A games against Australia after having remodeled his action.”Murali sir [Muttiah Muralitharan] told me to keep things simple and keep bowling. He is as an inspiration… he just told me to keep bowling to improve myself. It is a simple message, yet very powerful,” Ojha told ESPNcricinfo.He will head up a revamped spin department, which includes former U-19 offspinner Aamir Gani with usual suspects Ashok Dinda and Veer Pratap Singh manning the pace attack.Naved Ahmed, who has played club cricket in West Bengal for close to a decade, gets a break. He is among the four uncapped players in the squad at first-class level.After making two half-centuries in the first two Tests in Sri Lanka, Saha missed the third because of a hamstring injury. But he has recovered and with Naman Ojha breathing down his neck, Saha will look to sharpen both his fitness and form ahead of the home Test series against South Africa.Players to watch
Pragyan Ojha
One of the most high-profile transfers of the season. Ojha, who has moved from Hyderabad, lends experience and variety to an attack, which looks well-rounded now, at least on paper.Coaching staff
Former India legspinner Sairaj Bahutule has replaced Ashok Malhotra as head coach. There had been reports of friction in the side during the pre-season tour to Sri Lanka, after which Laxmi Shukla decided to step down from the captaincy. It will be interesting to see how Bahutule builds the team.Sairaj Bahutule (head coach), Kamalesh Jain (physio), Goutam Deb (trainer), Gautam Sarkar (video analyst), Ranadeb Bose (bowling coach), Joydeep Mukherjee (fielding coach), VVS Laxman (batting consultant), Muttiah Muralitharan (spin consultant)Preparation
The Bengal set-up toured Sri Lanka for a fortnight, where they played against the Sri Lanka development and academy squads.Team news
Saurasish Lahiri, who captained Bengal in the Buchi Babu tournament in August, is a notable absentee. An offspinner who can bat a bit lower down the order, Lahiri had sealed Bengal’s passage to the Ranji knockouts in 2013-14 with a seven-for against Tamil Nadu.Squad
Manoj Tiwary (capt), Parthasarathi Bhattacharjee, Abhishek Das, Aamir Gani, Naved Ahmed, Veer Pratap Singh, Sourav Sarkar, Laxmi Shukla, Mukesh Kumar, Sudip Chatterjee, Ashok Dinda, Pragyan Ojha, Shreevats Goswami, Wriddhiman Saha, Pankaj ShawIn their own words
“We want to have a positive mindset and take it one game at a time. Ojha has been bowling well, he is working really hard, and that helps our bowling attack.”

Gujarat

Gujarat’s Jasprit Bumrah last played a first-class match in July 2014•Getty Images

Where they finished last season
Fourth in Group BBig picture
Last season, mere decimal points separated Gujarat from a place in the knockouts. Vidarbha, who qualified in third place from Group B, finished with 24 points and a quotient of 1.468. Gujarat finished with 24 points and a quotient of 0.965.For Gujarat, it was a reflection of all the missed opportunities over the course of a season that was equally encouraging and frustrating – Rajasthan held on for a draw against them, with two wickets remaining; Punjab and Maharashtra escaped with draws despite being made to follow-on; Vidarbha beat them after conceding a first-innings lead.As a new season begins, Gujarat will have the same question to answer: do they have the quality, individually and as a collective, to make those crunch moments count and step up from mid-table to challenge for knockout spots?Perhaps it was this question that prompted them to sign-up RP Singh, who will lead a pace attack that looks potent on paper with Rush Kalaria and Jasprit Bumrah. Axar Patel will miss the beginning of the season while he is away with India’s limited-overs side, but the team will not lack in the spin department, with coach Hitesh Majumdar indicating that Hardik Patel is a capable like-for-like option as a left-arm spinner. The squad also contains the veteran offspinner Ramesh Powar.”We’ve got a very good bowling side,” Majumdar says. “Teams will think twice about preparing bowling-friendly wickets against us.”On the batting front, Gujarat might need someone to step up and have a genuinely outstanding season, unlike last season. Six of their batsmen scored one century each, and only one of them went on to make 150. Majumdar recognises the issue, and says he wants his batsmen to show a greater appetite for runs. “Those who are getting 400-500 runs in a season, we need them to stretch it to 700 or 800.”Players to watch
After two stellar Ranji Trophy seasons, Manpreet Juneja found a place in the India A side, and showed he belonged with scores of 193, 84 and 70 against New Zealand A and West Indies A in September 2013. Just when he should have been pushing on for bigger things, his domestic form plummeted – he made 100 runs in nine innings, at an average of 11.11, in the 2013-14 Ranji season, and played only four matches in 2014-15, scoring 137 runs at 27.40. Despite that, he averages over 50 in first-class cricket, and Gujarat will hope he has rediscovered his best form ahead of the new season.Having missed out on the whole of the 2014-15 Ranji season with a knee injury, Jasprit Bumrah will be raring to return to long-form cricket for the first time since July 2014, when he was part of the India A side touring Australia. Bumrah is tall and asks questions with his angle, bounce and awkward action. If he’s fit and firing alongside RP Singh and Kalaria, Gujarat might have a more-than-handy pace attack this season.Coaching staff
Hitesh Majumdar (coach), Soham Desai (trainer), Parthav Patel (physio), Vijay Patel (coach in charge of overseeing senior and age-group teams).Preparation
In the pre-season, Gujarat sent teams to the KSCA tournament in Karnataka, the Buchi Babu tournament in Chennai and the Bhausaheb Nimbalkar tournament in Pune. Coach Hitesh Majumdar says rotating their squad gave the selectors a chance to test out a number of players.Squad
Parthiv Patel (capt & wk), Mehul Patel, Rohit Dahiya, Priyank Panchal, Rujul Bhatt, Jasprit Bumrah, Samit Gohel, Manpreet Juneja, Rush Kalaria, Bhargav Merai, Hardik Patel, Niraj Patel, Smit Patel, Ramesh Powar, RP Singh, Venugopal Rao.In their own words
“We have been playing with the same group of players for the last three years, and they have gelled well. This time we are expecting results. We just need to cross that line.”

Another Rohit ton, another Australia win

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Australia took a 2-0 lead in the five-match ODI series against India after chasing down 309 for victory in the second ODI in Brisbane.

The Report by Brydon Coverdale15-Jan-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:00

Chappell: India’s bowling far too wayward

In the first ODI in Perth, India batted first, Rohit Sharma scored a century, and Australia were set 310 for victory. In the second ODI in Brisbane, India batted first, Rohit Sharma scored a century, and Australia were set 309 for victory. In Perth, Australia won with four balls to spare. In Brisbane, Australia won with six balls to spare. In both cases, and both chases, George Bailey was key. It was expected that the Gabba would serve up something similar to the WACA, but not similar.The end result was that Australia have a 2-0 lead and in Melbourne on Sunday they have the chance to wrap a series win with two to play. Perhaps at the MCG the teams will mix things up a bit. Not that everything in Brisbane was the same as Perth. Australia were 2 for 21 in the first game after their openers both fell cheaply; in the second game, Aaron Finch and Shaun Marsh put on 145 for the opening stand to set up the chase.

Hastings retained in squad for third ODI

John Hastings has been retained in the Australia squad for the third ODI against India, after the selectors decided to rest fast bowler Josh Hazlewood for the remainder of the home summer. Hazlewood will miss the rest of the ODI series and the T20s against India.
Australia selector Trevor Hohns had indicated before the start of the series that Hazlewood would be rested after the first two games of the series, with the intention of managing the 25-year-old’s workload.
Hastings had been called up to the squad for the second ODI as cover for Mitchell Marsh, who was rested after the match in Perth. Hastings bowled eight overs in the match and took one wicket for 46.
Hazlewood, who was recently named the ICC’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year, played all six Tests of the Australian home summer, against New Zealand and West Indies. He took 21 wickets across the two Test series, including a match haul of 9 for 136 against New Zealand in Adelaide.

But on neither occasion did India truly make the most of the chance to bat first in good conditions. Harsh as it is to criticise 300-plus scores, in both matches they had such strong platforms that totals in the 350 range seemed feasible. Instead, Rohit’s hundreds have both gone in vain. And India’s streak of completed games against Australia in Australia without a win now stretches to 10, across all formats.Once again Australia paced their pursuit to perfection. Never did their required run rate get near eight an over, and for much of the innings it hovered around six. A run a ball is very gettable for a team that can keep wickets in hand, and India’s bowlers were unable to create enough chances to prevent Australia from doing that. Not that they grabbed every opportunity; Ishant Sharma dropped a sitter when Marsh was on 19, and a straightforward run-out chance also went begging.Marsh and Finch continued their strong association at the top of the order, albeit only temporary for the time being while David Warner is on paternity leave. With a five-innings minimum, no Australian ODI opening partnership has a better average than the 75.42 that Marsh and Finch average for their stands. It took a magnificent catch to end the partnership, when Finch on 71 lifted Ravindra Jadeja to long-off and Ajinkya Rahane snared it low to the ground.Five overs later, Marsh also fell for 71 when his leading edge lobbed up and was caught by Virat Kohli at cover, giving Ishant his first ODI wicket since 2014. But Bailey and Steven Smith had taken the match out of India’s hands in Perth, and again they did so in Brisbane. Their 78-run stand steadied Australia’s chase and although Smith was bowled by Umesh Yadav for 46, with nearly ten overs remaining, Bailey steered the chase home.Glenn Maxwell finished on 26 and hit the winning runs, but Bailey’s 76 not out from 58 balls was the difference. He lifted his tempo just when Australia needed him to, and brought up his fifty from his 41st delivery by crunching Barinder Sran over long-off for his only six. Bailey’s record against India only continues to improve: with a 500-run minimum, nobody in ODI history has a better average against India than Bailey’s 95.85.Rohit holds the same record against Australia: with a 500-run minimum, nobody in ODI history has a better average against Australia than Rohit’s 71.93. In his past five innings against Australia, Rohit has scored 209, 138, 34, 171* and now 124. Australia were fortunate that the one failure amongst those innings came in the World Cup semi-final, when he was bowled by Mitchell Johnson.There is no Johnson now, and an inexperienced attack featuring Joel Paris, Scott Boland, Kane Richardson, John Hastings and James Faulkner struggled to contain Rohit at the Gabba. It was a stroke of luck for Australia that finally ended Rohit’s innings, when Rahane’s straight drive clipped the fingers of the bowler Faulkner and ricocheted back onto the stumps with Rohit out of his crease, backing up.The Australians would argue they should have had Rohit on 89, when he the umpire failed to detect an edge behind off Paris, but by then he had already set India’s innings up nicely. But this was not simply the Rohit show. As in Perth, Kohli provided strong support with a half-century after opener Shikhar Dhawan fell in single figures, but this time Rahane, who had not been required to bat at the WACA, was the other key man.Rahane joined Rohit in the 24th over and they combined for a 121-run third-wicket stand that only ended with Rohit’s run-out. Rahane fell short of a century himself, caught for 89 off 80 deliveries when he skied a Faulkner slower ball to deep midwicket in the 49th over. It was one of four wickets that fell in the last two overs: Manish Pandey also skied a catch off a Faulkner legcutter for 6, then R Ashwin was caught trying to ramp Hastings in the last over for 1, and Jadeja was run out last ball.It was a disappointing finish for India, and the last ten overs had brought just 75 runs for the loss of six wickets. It was a period that arguably lost India the match after their strong start. As in the first game, Dhawan fell cheaply – this time he edged behind for 6 to give Paris his first ODI wicket – but again Kohli and Rohit put on an excellent display of rebuilding. Their 125-run stand ticked the score along with ease and little risk; Kohli cruised to his half-century from 60 deliveries.Australia’s bowlers looked about as likely to strike as lightning, and it took an electric throw from Richardson at deep fine leg to break the partnership when Kohli was run out for 59. Rahane proved a more than adequate replacement, and another century stand again was ended by a run out. Rohit struck 11 fours and only two came in front of the wicket, although he also cleared the boundary three times with ease.His century came up from his 112th delivery – as in Perth, it came in the 37th over of the innings – and India looked well set with 10 overs to go, at 2 for 233. But Rohit was run out, MS Dhoni was caught in the deep for 11 to give Boland his first ODI wicket, and Australia’s bowlers used their variations well. By the end of India’s innings it looked like Perth all over again, and by the end of Australia’s the similarities were even more striking.

Miles Hammond gives Gloucestershire hope as Cheltenham factor kicks in at last

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Hosts still need a miracle, but battling innings sets the stage for a possible escape

Paul Edwards21-Jul-2022
“We’ll be all right when we get to Cheltenham.” For generations of Gloucestershire cricketers these words have come as a comfort and a reassurance. However grim their season had been, a fortnight in the south Cotswolds would always improve matters. Some of the former players attending the PCA reunion at the College Ground today will have travelled to this élite outground with their confidence battered by defeats, only to leave it with fresh hope.Well, surely not this year, or not this week at any rate. Graeme van Buuren’s team have yet to win a first-class game in 2022 and, barring a miracle that would strain the powers of Ben Stokes, Merlin and the Blessed Virgin combined, they are not going to win this one.But somehow, Cheltenham never quite lets Gloucestershire’s cricketers down, nor indeed the spectators for whom this fortnight includes eight days of obligation. So much was plain just before five past seven when Miles Hammond edged Keith Barker to third man and thus reached his first century in 38 first-class matches, a sequence that stretches back to September 2018.Earlier in that distant summer, the stylish left-hander had made his maiden century on the College Ground, against Sussex, on an afternoon when inevitable comparisons were made with his namesake. Since then, Hammond has batted well at times but never properly realised his rich promise. Today, though, the majority of his 16 fours, especially the cover-drives, were cleanly struck and his two sixes off Dawson were calculated blows.Yet it will require a colossal effort for Gloucestershire to save this game. Earlier in the afternoon they had been bowled out for 201 and there seemed every chance they would suffer an innings defeat when they followed on. This was a little more likely on a day when 109.2 overs were bowled as the umpires sought to compensate for excessive heat on the first day and rain on the second. However, after seeming in danger of losing 18 wickets in three session when they were 111 for four in their second innings, Gloucestershire ended another long evening session just 65 behind and with six wickets in hand. It must seem like riches and when Hampshire’s coach, Giles White gathered his players on the outfield after close of play, he was probably reminding them they were still winning the match. Hammond’s achievement was to make such a meeting necessary.The first hour or so of this extraordinary day had also gone dreamily well for Gloucestershire. Instead of seeing wickets falling in an unseemly clatter, as some had predicted, we watched Hammond hit five boundaries and Ollie Price play a fine supporting role. When Kyle Abbott overpitched, Hammond drove him through the covers three times in two overs. “Shot!” exclaimed someone in The Pig and Pallett who had started early. It should be noted that the P&P is a gazebo’d affair that serves as the Festival’s pub. There are certainly plenty of pallets under the beige canvas but the porcine presence is thankfully less evident.Anyway, Hammond was looking secure, illusorily so, as it turned out. James Vince brought on Dawson from the Chapel End and the left-hander at once whipped him to the midwicket boundary. Three balls later he came down the pitch to repeat the trick and was smartly stumped by Ben Brown for 38. At that point in the day’s cricket, Hammond had made five fifties this season yet his top score was 75 not out. Dismissals when well set had scaffolded his recent summersAlmost at once, things got worse for Gloucestershire. James Bracey completely misread Dawson’s niggardly flight and drove his second ball back to the bowler. Now the home side were 93 for four and some gloomy fears were being realised. So the crowd’s applause for Price’s fifty, which he reached with successive fours off Abbott, might have been thought a little excessive had one not understood the local warmth that always informs this precious Festival.But Hampshire were not to be resisted. They are finding ways to win games and ways to take wickets this summer. Having made a career-best 59, Price looked to work Felix Organ behind square on the leg side. It was a decent option and would have brought him a couple of runs had not Nick Gubbins anticipated the shot and dived to his right to take a brilliant one-handed catch. Twenty-one-year old Price stayed at the crease awhile as if unable to believe how his green world had mistreated him. Ryan Higgins came out and made 11 in 14 balls before losing his off pole on the stroke of lunch when playing a quite horrendous swipe across the line to a good length ball from James Fuller. Van Buuren, the Gloucestershire skipper, watched this dismissal from the other end and one doubts Higgins sat near him during the break in play. Abergavenny might not have been far enough away.Undaunted, though, van Buuren went on to reach his own half-century after the break. His unbeaten 58 was full of the small man’s stock-in-trade: pulls, sweeps, cuts and wristy punches. At the other end, Gloucestershire lost their last four wickets in 11 overs to concede a 256-run deficit. No one fainted when Vince enforced the follow-on. Dawson finished with 4 for 44 but he was merely the best of a very good and varied bunch of bowlers.In their first innings Marcus Harris and Chris Dent had survived 5.4 overs; they managed to face five balls fewer in the second dig. In the third over Harris drove a little far from his body at a ball from Barker and nicked a catch to Brown. Two overs later the same bowler sent Dent’s off stick flipping towards the dressing rooms. 17 for 2 and 14 for 2, the ball still very new in both innings; a side does pretty well if it can cope with starts like that.And by now, of course, the game had rewound to 11.00 this morning when Price and Hammond were reconstructing their side’s first innings. They managed well enough some five hours later, too, adding a stand of 63 to their previous 76 before Price pulled the first ball of a new spell from Barker straight to Vince at midwicket. Bracey then batted uneasily for 45 minutes before edging Abbott to Dawson at second slip but van Buuren offered Hammond reassuringly steadfast company in light that remained remarkably playable. On the adjoining College Lawn, somehow inflated a hot-air balloon with a Glos. Cricket logo on its side. Meanwhile, on the cricket ground, more or less everyone applauded Hammond home. And to think that some of us had doubted Cheltenham.

Warwickshire sign up Mohammed Siraj for remainder of 2022 season

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The fast bowler is set to become the sixth India player to feature in county cricket this season

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Aug-2022Mohammed Siraj is set to play for Warwickshire over the remainder of the 2022 County Championship season. He becomes the sixth India player to be signed by a county team this season, after Cheteshwar Pujara (Sussex), Washington Sundar (Lancashire), Krunal Pandya (Warwickshire for Royal London Cup), Umesh Yadav (Middlesex) and Navdeep Saini (Kent).Siraj is currently part of the India squad that is in Zimbabwe for a three-match ODI series, which began on Thursday in Harare. After the conclusion of the Zimbabwe tour on August 22, Siraj is expected to arrive in Birmingham ahead of Warwickshire’s home game against Somerset, which begins on September 12.

Warwickshire are currently third from bottom on the Division One table, with just one win from their 11 games so far. After their match against Somerset, they are also due to play against Gloucestershire and Hampshire in their push to avoid relegation to Division Two. Siraj will be available for all three matches.The 28-year-old Siraj has established himself as a key member of India’s fast-bowling group in Test cricket since his debut on the 2020-21 tour of Australia, where he finished the series as the highest wicket-taker among the visitors’ injury-hit bowling group. He has played 13 Test matches so far, taking 40 wickets at an average of 30.77. He is also a regular member of India’s ODI attack.Siraj will hope that his county stint will help him in his bid to rediscover his best red-ball form, after a drop-off in his returns during his last two Test tours. After taking just three wickets in two Tests in South Africa at the turn of the year, at an average of 51.00, Siraj had a mixed Test match at Edgbaston – Warwickshire’s home ground – in July, picking up four first-innings wickets but conceding more than a run a ball across two innings as England pulled off a record chase.”I can’t wait to join up with the Bears squad,” Siraj said. “I have always enjoyed playing in England with India and I’m excited to experience County Cricket.”Edgbaston is [a] world-class stadium and the atmosphere it created this year for the Test was special. I’m really looking forward to making it my home in September and hopefully helping the Bears end the season well.”I would like to extend my gratitude to both Warwickshire County Cricket Club and BCCI for this opportunity.”Paul Farbrace, Warwickshire’s director of cricket said: “Siraj is a fantastic addition to the squad and we can’t wait to welcome him to Warwickshire. He is one of the best fast bowlers in the world right now and his knowledge and experience will help bring an added dimension to our line-up.”It’s been clear that we needed to strengthen our bowling attack for the crucial run-in period and I’m excited to see what Siraj can do in these three games.”

Mitchell backs up Leach five-for to put Worcestershire on top

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Daryl Mitchell hit an unbeaten 80 as Worcestershire consolidated an increasingly powerful position at the end of the second day at the Ageas Bowl

ECB/PA01-Jun-2015
ScorecardDaryll Mtichell led a strong reply•Getty Images

Daryl Mitchell hit an unbeaten 80 as Worcestershire consolidated an increasingly powerful position at the end of the second day at the Ageas Bowl. At the premature close caused by bad light, Worcestershire were a healthy 221 for 3, just one run behind Hampshire’s first innings total of 222.Hampshire began the day 119 for 4 but lost their remaining six wickets in the morning session for the addition of 103 runs, pace bowler Joe Leach doing a substantial portion of the damage with 5 for 63. This took Leach’s tally for the season to 23 and Worcestershire soon capitalised on his good work on a wicket that offered plenty of assistance to the pace bowlers throughout.Mitchell and Richard Oliver put on 62 for the first Worcestershire wicket, Mitchell and Ton Fell added a further 94 for the second and as Hampshire ran out of ideas, Alex Gidman helped add another 58 for the third.Hampshire struggled in the first session from the moment they lost James Vince to another disappointingly low score in what has so far been a poor season for the 24 year old about whom so much is expected. Vince had made 8 when he mistimed a pull against Leach and played on and apart from the obdurate Will Smith, newly capped by Hampshire, resistance was only spasmodic.Adam Wheater was sixth out at 170 to a catch at the wicket by Ben Cox – his second of four in total – before Smith edged into his own stumps after making 40 to provide New Zealander Colin Munro with a wicket in his first over in first-class cricket in England. Ed Barnard removed Sean Ervine to another Cox catch at 205 and Leach returned to dismiss Danny Briggs and last man Brad Wheal in five balls to wrap up a good morning for Worcestershire.In contrast Worcestershire found batting altogether easier when it was their turn, Hampshire having to wait until the 18th over before Gareth Berg induced an edge from Oliver that Smith pouched at slip.Fell hit six fours in his 48 before Berg found another edge which Liam Dawson snared in the slips and then Gidman fell at 214 to a tumbling catch by Vince as stand-in wicketkeeper following a knee injury sustained by Wheater.Mitchell’s innings has so far occupied 202 balls and included eight fours and it was he who earned the highest praise from bowling hero Leach. “We have got a very high regard for him,” Leach said. “He is the lynchpin of our batting and has not got as many runs this season as he would have liked. You could see by the reception he got when he came off the field how delighted we were for him.”At this level if you bowl out a side for 222 you have to be happy. It vindicated our decision to bowl first. It was a very disciplined performance by our bowling unit. We aimed to keep the run rate down and while the first wicket was a long time coming on the first day, four fell quickly and we were able to maintain the momentum.”Hampshire coach Dale Benkenstein said: “Over the past year we have not played as poorly as this all round. Credit to Worcestershire they have stuck to their game plan, particularly in the field.”We have been really poor and I am not used to that. They did not give us any runs, which was completely the opposite to us.”

Harry Brook, Matthew Waite star as Yorkshire leapfrog Northants in top-four pursuit

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Yorkshire recover from 11 for 3 before sealing convincing victory with ball

ECB Reporters Network24-Jun-2022Harry Brook’s blistering knock of 67 from 31 balls dug Yorkshire Vikings out of trouble and propelled them into the Vitality Blast North Group qualification places at Northamptonshire Steelbacks’ expense.Brook’s effort, which included four fours and four sixes, underpinned his partnership of 90 from 46 with skipper David Willey as Vikings fought back after a dreadful start to post 190 for 7 at Wantage Road. Yorkshire allrounder Matthew Waite registered a T20 career-best with both bat and ball, following an unbeaten 35 from 20 with figures of 3 for 18 as the home side crumpled to 128 all out in 16.2 overs.It was a third straight defeat for Northamptonshire, who have now dropped out of the top four and face a struggle to make the quarter-finals.Josh Cobb’s decision to send Yorkshire in after winning the toss was swiftly justified as the Steelbacks skipper opened proceedings with two tight overs and the wicket of Finn Allen, caught off a leading edge at short cover.With Adam Lyth and Tom Kohler-Cadmore both holing out to Ben Sanderson, the visitors slumped to a perilous 11 for 3 in the fourth over before Willey and Brook hauled them back into the game. Willey, who rejoins Northamptonshire at the end of the season, was required to play little more than a supporting role while his partner tore into the bowling, lifting Sanderson, Tom Taylor and Jimmy Neesham for a series of majestic leg-side sixes.Aside from a powerful drive straight back at Sanderson, who could only parry the ball, Brook offered no chances as he raced to his half-century from 21 deliveries and looked odds-on to convert that into a ton. However, he became one of three victims in five balls for Graeme White – and the only controversial one of those dismissals, given out caught behind after swinging across at the left-arm spinner.Any prospect of a renewed Yorkshire collapse was averted by Jordan Thompson and Waite, who crashed Sanderson for three boundaries off the final over as the visitors finished with a flourish.Northamptonshire made just as subdued a start to their innings, with Ben Curran chopping on to Willey and Shadab Khan’s tidy legspin provoking Cobb into a wild heave that saw his bat fly towards square leg, while the ball sailed away into the hands of backward point.But it was Waite who collected the prize scalp with his third delivery as big-hitting opener Chris Lynn speared it straight to Willey at mid-on to leave the Steelbacks teetering at 22 for 3.Neesham briefly revived his side’s hopes by hammering 26 from 13 but, having dispatched Shadab over the midwicket fence twice in an over, he picked out the point fielder next ball – and the procession gathered pace. Dom Bess struck twice in as many deliveries and, despite a late flurry of boundaries by Nathan Buck, the outcome was never in doubt.

England and India docked two WTC points apiece for slow over rate

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Both teams were also fined 40% of their match fee by match referee Chris Broad

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Aug-2021England and India have been fined two World Test Championship points each for their slow over-rates during the first Test in Nottingham, which ended as a rain-affected draw on Sunday. Both teams were also fined 40% of their match fee by match referee Chris Broad.The teams now take two points each out of the Test match, instead of the four they would normally get for a draw under the new points system for the 2021-23 WTC cycle.Related

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“As a team we were not pleased we lost two points because of factors that were definitely in our control,” India captain Virat Kohli said on Wednesday. “We were short by two overs, but we made up quite a few overs in that second innings. we basically have to keep up to speed with the pace of the game – small little things where we can save 10-15 seconds, that really matters, we practised that in the second innings and we were able to cover up three to four overs. You don’t want to be that far behind in the game that you are not able then to not to catch up and cover your overs in time, as the points are very, very crucial.”A major factor behind the slow over rates was both teams opting for pace-heavy attacks owing to the seam-and-swing-friendly pitch and overhead conditions at Trent Bridge. England picked four fast bowlers and no spinners, and India four fast bowlers and one spinner, Ravindra Jadeja. In the end, the quicks sent down all but 16 of the 250.2 overs bowled during the Test match.The match was also beset by frequent rain interruptions, while the completion of overs was also delayed by batters not being ready to face. As light worsened on the second afternoon, KL Rahul took his time to get into his position against James Anderson. England’s batters, meanwhile, also made Mohammed Siraj wait on more than one occasion.Over-rate-related points deductions could prove costly to teams during the WTC. In the inaugural 2019-21 cycle, Australia were docked four points for their slow over rate during the 2020 Boxing Day Test against India in Melbourne. It ultimately cost them a place in the final, which instead went to eventual champions New Zealand.

Controversy as Clarke ton gets Worcestershire home

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Joe Clarke won a controversial umpiring reprieve and then struck a century to bring Worcestershire victory in an exciting run chase against Leicestershire

ECB Reporters Network06-Jul-2016
ScorecardJoe Claake made the most of his second chance•Getty Images

Joe Clarke scored his third Specsavers County Championship hundred of the season after benefiting from an umpires reprieve as Worcestershire gained a three wicket success over Leicestershire at New Road.The England Lions player went to three figures off 146 balls with 15 fours as Worcestershire chased down a 366 target in 75 overs after being 73 for 4 and triumphed with 10 balls to spare.The Foxes thought they dismissed the 20-year-old when he was given out lbw by Jeremy Lloyds on 31 with the total on 147 in pursuit of a 366 target in 75 overs.Clarke walked off, although he appeared unhappy at his dismissal, but after Jeremy Lloyds and square leg umpire Graham Lloyd conferred the England Lions player was recalled to the middle.Leicestershire skipper Mark Cosgrove was clearly unhappy and remonstrated with the umpires. But Clarke continued his innings and later went to his century with a cover drive for four off Neil Dexter.Worcestershire’s director of cricket Steve Rhodes said: “In many ways we got out of jail. Leicestershire were ahead of us for a period of time but what I was really impressed with was the spirit we showed when it really mattered.”Joe Clarke’s innings was a match winning innings. I have seen something like that before. George Sharp once gave Daryl Mitchell out and realised he’d made a mistake and reversed the decision and there have been other occasions it has been done.”I think you have to take that sort of thing on the chin. I know it is going to upset Leicestershire but if the umpire thinks he has made the wrong decision then he has a right to change his decision and you just get on with it.”Cosgrove did not protest too loudly after the match. “We played pretty well all game. We knew there wasn’t much in the game so with the declaration we had to leave a little bit of a carrot there and they batted really well. The umpire made his decision, he changed his mind and brought him back. It is just one of those things. You don’t see it very often.”Clarke shared in a fifth wicket stand of 142 in 34 overs with Ross Whiteley who survived three chances to equal his best score of the season – 71. Then Joe Leach accompanied Clarke in a sixth wicket partnership of 108 in 17 overs.Clarke was eventually run out for a chanceless 123 from 172 balls with 17 fours by Leicestershire keeper Ned Eckersley’s direct hit at the non-striker’s end after Leach had called his partner through for a quick single.But Leach’s second major contribution with the bat of the game – 64 not out from 51 balls – saw Worcestershire over the finishing line. It was their second Championship success of the campaign and rekindled their promotion challenge.Daryl Mitchell and Brett D’Oliveira safely negotiated eight overs before lunch when Worcestershire began their reply in a mattch rekindled by Leicestershiree’s declaration but then four wickets went down in the same period immediately after the interval.Clint McKay removed the openers, having Mitchell (32) caught behind and D’Oliveira (16) at gulley after he fended off a lifting delivery.Tom Fell (10) then nicked a Charlie Shreck through to the keeper and the same bowler held onto a return catch from Tom Kohler-Cadmore (5) to leave Worcestershire on 73-4 with 59 overs still remaining.Cosgrove and Paul Horton had earlier scored centuries and rewrote the record books as Leicestershire added 135 in 29 overs this morning before the declaration.The pair created a new third wicket record for Leicestershire in matches against Worcestershire by adding 264 in 57.3 overs before Cosgrove declared at 307-3 after his dismissal for 148.It surpassed the previous best stand of 194 by Chris Balderstone and Brian Davison at Grace Road in 1975.
Horton was the first to three figures off 198 balls with 11 fours after Leicestershire resumed on 172-2 and the former Lancashire player also completed 10,000 first class runs in his career.Cosgrove, who survived a chance on 66 off Joe Leach, went to his hundred off 165 deliveries with 16 boundaries and the Australian and ex Glamorgan batsman chalked up 12,000 first class runs.He cut loose after reaching three figures, clubbing 6-4-4 and 4-6-4 off successive balls in back to back overs from D’Oliveira and Jack Shantry.Cosgrove was eventually bowled by Jack Shantry and immediately declared to leave Horton unbeaten on 117.

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