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The battle for supremacy in Group C of the T20 World Cup heats up

Sreshth Shah07-Jun-20241:03

Is Kane Williamson’s lack of match practice a worry for NZ?

Match details

New Zealand vs Afghanistan
June 7, Providence, 7:30pm local

Big picture: NZ face a tricky start

Since 2015, no team has been more successful in making it to the knockout stages of a World Cup than New Zealand. They’ve made the semi-finals in each of the six white-ball events since – including three finals – and yet, the trophy cabinet is empty. But if they don’t hit the ground running right away in a group that also includes co-hosts West Indies, their current campaign could very well end early.They take the field for the first time on Friday and a challenge awaits them straightaway. Guyana has been the most spinner-friendly venue of T20 World Cup 2024 and Afghanistan are arguably the strongest spin-bowling outfit in the world. When you take into account New Zealand’s less-than-ideal prep with no official warm-up games played, one wonders if they will turn up undercooked against a unit that has Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammad Nabi and potentially Noor Ahmad.However, one of the reasons why New Zealand did not play a warm-up was because many of them were at the IPL, and those franchise regulars like Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner and Trent Boult could make a difference. They are also boosted by the return of Finn Allen and Devon Conway from injury, and their various right-left batting options gives them various batting strategies.New Zealand have a few spin weapons of their own too. The West Indies is Santner’s favourite place to bowl in, where he averages 16.83 with an economy of 5.50 in T20s. Across the last two T20 World Cups, no bowler has had a higher average release point (2.27m) than Santner. This uniqueness and his ability to vary his release speed and angle will keep all teams on their toes this World Cup.The left-arm spin of Ravindra and the offspin of Phillips gives them flexibility, allowing them to field a strong side without Ish Sodhi in the XI. Factor in the swing of Boult, the pace of Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson, and a string of other seam options, and New Zealand are still very much a threat. For Afghanistan’s batting, that remains the biggest challenge on Friday. They’ll look at the settled opening pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran to put up a strong platform in pursuit of a second win in two games.

Form guide

New Zealand LWWLL (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
Afghanistan WWWLW

In the spotlight – Williamson, Conway and Farooqi

Kane Williamson and Devon Conway are two of New Zealand’s top-three batters with next-to-zero game time recently. Conway missed the IPL with a finger injury that needed surgery while Williamson got only two games for Gujarat Titans. Neither have played a T20I game since January, but their experience is irreplaceable, especially if conditions are once again tricky for batting. Conway is proficient in scoring against all kinds of spin, however, Williamson could get bogged down by those who turn their stock ball away him, striking at only 106 since the T20 World Cup 2022.1:37

McClenaghan floored by Afghanistan bowling attack

Fazalhaq Farooqi showed against Uganda in Afghanistan’s first game that it’s not all about spinners in their team. In Providence, where this game will be played as well, he found significant deviation off the pitch and swung the ball nearly 2.5 degrees in the powerplay, more than twice that of the other bowlers. His 5 for 9 against Uganda was the fourth-best bowling figures in T20 World Cups, and Afghanistan will look for breakthroughs from him early so that the spinners could apply the squeeze sooner.Related

• Jimmy Neesham: 'I've embraced walking towards pressure in big moments'

• Williamson: 'Afghanistan have one of the better bowling attacks in the T20 World Cup'

• New Zealand battle rain and jetlag ahead of crunch World Cup opener

Team news: NZ assessing combinations

There are no injury concerns on either side. Afghanistan are likely to field the same XI while New Zealand will be considering their spin vs seam balance. Their resources are plenty: even if they keep out Mark Chapman, Michael Bracewell, Tim Southee and Sodhi, they still have eight bowling and eight batting options.New Zealand (probable): 1 Devon Conway, 2 Finn Allen (wk), 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 Mark Chapman/Rachin Ravindra, 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 James Neesham, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Trent Boult, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Lockie FergusonAfghanistan (probable): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Najibullah Zadran, 4 Mohammad Nabi, 5 Gulbadin Naib, 6 Azmatullah Omarzai, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Karim Janat, 9 Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman, 10 Naveen-ul-Haq, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Pitch and conditions: Spin and rain on the radar

The pitch in Guyana has been sluggish, making chasing the preferred way to go. Since 2022, teams chasing have won 19 of the 27 games and two of the three games in this World Cup. The average first-innings winning score is around 184, however, chances of a shortened game are high with some rain forecast through the evening in Providence.

Stats that matter

• Spinners have an economy of 5.28 in Guyana at this World Cup and have taken 17 wickets, averaging 17.82 apiece. No other venue has seen more than seven wickets to spinners.
• Boult has only three T20I wickets in 13 innings across 26 powerplay overs since 2022, averaging a surprising 67.33 in the phase.
• In matches between Full Members since the last T20 World Cup, Afghanistan’s spinners have the best average (19.45) and economy (6.72).

Quotes

“I think we saw in the 50-over World Cup we’re able to compete with any side in the world. And that’s our philosophy here. So, every game that we play, we expect to put ourselves in a winning position. Or fight to win every single game. So tomorrow that’s no different.”
“We’ve been predominantly training in the day and there are some large differences between day and night in terms of conditions. But from the couple of matches that have been played, it looks like a reasonable wicket, a good wicket, a fair wicket at the same time. Bit there for the bowlers but equally decent for the batters.”

Glamorgan batsman digs in to rescue team from prospect of follow-on

ECB Reporters Network10-Aug-2020Centurion Billy Root was the inspiration behind a stirring Glamorgan fightback after Worcestershire captain Joe Leach had plunged them into deep trouble with an early burst with the ball in the Bob Willis Trophy encounter at Blackfinch New Road.Root, unbeaten on 53 overnight, had seen his side nosedive from 185 for 2 to 203 for 6 after Leach’s spell brought the remarkable figures of 7-5-3-4.At that juncture, the visitors were still 53 runs away from avoiding the possibility of being asked to follow on. But Root showed great application and determination in enabling his side to recover to the extent that their first-innings deficit was only 81 as they totalled 374 all out from 116.3 overs.He went onto make 118 and it needed a stunning catch from Worcestershire keeper Ben Cox to bring his fine knock, containing 12 fours and spanning 258 balls, to an end.Worcestershire openers Daryl Mitchell (48 not out) and Jake Libby (44) then extended their side’s advantage in solid fashion during an opening stand of 97 before the latter and Leach (0) departed shortly before the close.Root had received excellent support from Graham Wagg (54) in a seventh wicket partnership of 118 in 34 overs. The former Nottinghamshire batsman gave only one sharp chance when on 74 – to slip off spinner Brett D’Oliveira.Then a last wicket stand of 41 between Timm van der Gugten (23 not out) and Michael Hogan (17) further helped Glamorgan’s cause before they were dismissed on the stroke of tea.Leach’s initial spell wreaked havoc to the Glamorgan batting line-up. Kiran Carlson added only three runs to his overnight 76 when he pushed forward to a delivery which left him and Daryl Mitchell held a sharp low catch at second slip.It ended a partnership of 141 in 47 overs with Root, and Leach struck again in his next over when Glamorgan captain Chris Cooke (0) went for a square drive and picked out Ed Barnard who excelled in clinging onto a low chance at pointTom Cullen (1) was next to perish to a ball which moved away just enough to find the edge as he pushed forward – and Mitchell made no mistake with a chest high catch.It became 203 for 6 with the last ball of the same over as Dan Douthwaite hooked at Leach and succumbed to a tumbling catch by Brett D’Oliveira running in from the mid-wicket boundary.Only when Wagg joined Root did some much needed solidity return to the batting. A square cut for four off Leach – his 12th boundary – took Root to three figures from 258 balls.Wagg’s half century came up soon afterwards from 79 deliveries with seven fours before Root’s spectacular dismissal. He nicked a delivery from Charlie Morris and saw Cox take a stunning one-handed catch in mid air away to his left.The same combination accounted for Kieran Butt (7) in more straightforward fashion and then Wagg (54) top edged Ed Barnard to provide a simple catch to the keeper.Dillon Pennington finally received some tangible reward to end the innings when Hogan was pouched by Barnard in another fine catch at point, as Leach finished with 4 for 67 from 26 overs, Barnard 3 for 54 and Morris 2 for 86.Mitchell and first-innings century-maker Libby were initially watchful against some accurate Glamorgan new ball bowling from Hogan and van der Gugten.But they gradually flourished with the 50 partnership coming up in 23 overs after successive boundaries by Libby off van der Gugten on his return to the attack.Libby also hit Douthwaite for a trio of boundaries in one over but fell to the same bowler – caught behind – shortly before the close. Leach promoted himself but the move backfired when he was caught at slip by Charlie Hemphrey off spinner Kieran Bull.

England spinner starred at Lord’s last week, but reveals she ‘wasn’t sure’ she’d return from mental-health break

Valkerie Baynes22-Jul-2025Sophie Ecclestone has revealed she considered quitting cricket in the aftermath of the off-field drama surrounding England Women’s T20 World Cup and Ashes failures.Ecclestone missed the start of the international summer when England hosted West Indies, instead playing for Lancashire during the T20I series while she managed her comeback from a knee injury. She was then ruled out of the ODI series, citing the need to prioritise her wellbeing.Having returned for both white-ball series against India, Ecclestone spoke about the reasons surrounding her absence in a pre-match interview ahead of the third and final ODI at Chester-le-Street.She had come under fire during the Ashes in Australia, where England lost the points series 16-0, after Alex Hartley, the former England spinner turned broadcaster, said Ecclestone had refused to be interviewed by her on TV. Hartley also said she had been “given the cold shoulder” by England players since criticising their fitness following their group-stage exit from the T20 World Cup last October.”It was a tough time for me personally,” Ecclestone told Sky Sports in a pitch-side interview before play on Tuesday. “I tore my meniscus and I had a very sore knee, but I feel like personally I was so tired and so drained from the last few months.Related

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“As a cricketer, we don’t stop, we don’t get much time off and we go from franchise tournaments to England tournaments and it takes it out of you. I feel like during the West Indies series I wasn’t actually sure if I was going to come back and play cricket.”I was away from cricket and I cried to a few people, I cried to my dad, I get emotional now, but it was it was a tough time. But I feel like I’ve come out the other side now and I’m back playing cricket.”Ecclestone credited team-mates Lauren Bell and Alice Capsey, along with her family and friends for helping her return to the cricket field with “a smile on my face again”. That culminated in a Player-of-the-Match award for her 3 for 37 at Lord’s on Saturday, which helped England to an ODI series-levelling victory.Ecclestone disputed the use of the word “refusal” when it came to the infamous interview with Hartley, and appeared to take issue with the timing of the request to talk, suggesting that she wanted to concentrate on her warm-up.”It was a weird time,” Ecclestone said. “I feel like obviously that went down the wrong way, and a few things were said, and I was just concentrating on cricket at that moment.”A lot of things were being said which wasn’t ideal for me and it affected me quite a lot to be honest. It took a lot out of me. There were a lot of words being thrown around about me that I thought were untrue and it wasn’t very nice to hear.”I kind of had to put that to one side, and I did go off social media for a couple of weeks actually during the Ashes, just because it was affecting me quite a lot, what was being said. It wasn’t very nice but we’ve all learnt from that now and there’s a lot of feelings involved but we’re all over that now, and ready to move on.”Ecclestone went on to say that she believed misconceptions had emerged about her in the fallout from the incident.”I feel like a lot of words were being thrown around about me that weren’t true,” she said. “Just that I was really arrogant maybe, and that’s just not me as a person.”The word refusal was getting thrown around and that just wasn’t really true and some of the things people were saying about the team I didn’t really agree with, so it was hard to take for me and hard to take for the team.”Immediately after the Ashes, Clare Connor, managing director of England women’s cricket, described the interview situation as “an unfortunate incident that won’t happen again”.”Our players in general… embrace their media obligations,” Connor said. “It matters to them to be good role models for women’s cricket and the England women’s cricket team. As professional women’s cricket has developed at the rate that it has over recent years, that scrutiny is something that we will all have to embrace and accept.”Ecclestone acknowledged that women’s cricket being in the spotlight more than when she made her debut as a 17-year-old in 2016 was a positive thing and said she had learned from the experience, including the public’s reaction.”I was so surprised,” she said. “I feel like it got slightly blown out of proportion but it was no-one’s fault. It was hard at the time because I feel like I came out to my phone and had about 25,000 messages about something that had happened in the media and I was like, ‘well what’s happened?’ Then I came out and I saw it all, and I was just like, ‘wow like that’s mega.'”

Taskin also returned to the ODI side after having missed the Ireland series in Chelmsford last month

Mohammad Isam17-Jun-2023Mohammad Naim and Afif Hossain have been recalled to Bangladesh’s squad for their three-match ODI series against Afghanistan next month. Taskin Ahmed also returned to the side after missing the Ireland ODIs in Chelmsford last month, but there was no room for Yasir Ali, Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, Rony Talukdar.Taskin, who took four wickets in the second innings of the one-off Test against Afghanistan, has recovered from side strain. As for Naim, he returned to the ODI squad after a gap of two years. He has was the leading run-getter in the Dhaka Premier League, with 932 runs in 16 innings at an average of 71.69 and strike rate of 91.64. It is likely that the selectors as looking at Naim as a back-up opening option for Rony for the World Cup in India later this year.Afif, who was dropped during the home ODI series against Ireland, returned after some impressive showings in the DPL that ended last month. He had also led the Bangladesh A side in two of the three unofficial Tests against West Indies A recently before missing the last game, citing fatigue.Yasir is among three players who have been left out from the ODI squad that played last month. Yasir didn’t get a game in Chelmsford, but played two matches against Ireland in Sylhet in March. Mrittunjoy, who made his ODI debut in Chelmsford, made way for Taskin.Afghanistan will leave Dhaka after the one-off Test that ended on Saturday. They will return to Bangladesh on July 1 to play the three ODIs on July 5, 8 and 11 in Chattogram, and two T20Is on July 12 and 14, in Sylhet.Squad: Tamim Iqbal (capt), Litton Das, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Towhid Hridoy, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam, Afif Hossain, Mohammad NaimIn: Mohammad Naim, Afif Hossain, Taskin AhmedOut: Yasir Ali, Mrittunjoy Chowdhury, Rony Talukdar

Lamchhane had been cleared because of “a lack of evidence”.

ESPNcricinfo staff15-May-2024 Sandeep Lamichhane has been acquitted of rape by the Patan High Court in Nepal, allowing him to resume playing cricket with immediate effect, including, possibly, at the upcoming T20 World Cup.Soon after the court’s verdict, Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that Lamichhane would be considered for Nepal’s T20 World Cup squad subject to clearance from the ICC. The ICC has given all 20 participating teams until May 25 to submit their final 15-man squads for the World Cup, which will be played in the West Indies and the USA between June 1 and 29.”Since the high court has cleared Sandeep Lamichhane from all the allegations, he is now cleared to play all forms of cricket,” a CAN spokesperson said.Related

• Lamichhane denied US visa for T20 World Cup

• T20 WC: Rohit Paudel to lead experienced Nepal squad

Nepal’s provisional squad is already in the Caribbean and has been training in St Vincent. They will travel to the USA closer to the start of the tournament – their first match in the main event is on June 4 against Netherlands in Dallas.Tirtharaj Bhattarai, spokesperson for the Patan High Court, told the that Lamchhane had been cleared because of “a lack of evidence”.A single-judge bench of the Kathmandu court had found Lamichhane guilty of raping an 18-year-old woman, and the sentence was announced on January 10.The bench had also fined Lamichhane approximately US$2255 and ordered him to pay approximately US$1500 in compensation to the victim. On January 11, following the verdict, Lamichhane was suspended by CAN.Earlier this month, Lamichhane had lodged an appeal against his prison sentence, and was granted permission to stay out of jail while the legal proceedings were ongoing.Rights groups had protested the Cricket Association of Nepal decision to revoke the suspension on Sandeep Lamichhane and include him in the national team last year•AFP/Getty Images

In early September 2022, Lamichhane, then the Nepal captain, was suspended by CAN for the first time after an arrest warrant was issued against him in Kathmandu over the matter. It followed the news that a complaint against Lamichhane had been lodged in a Kathmandu police station.At the time, Lamichhane was in the West Indies with Jamaica Tallawahs taking part in CPL 2022. The club announced that Lamichhane would be leaving the tournament with immediate effect. Upon landing at the airport in Kathmandu in early October, he had been taken into custody.He returned to the Nepal side in February last year – amid protests from rights groups at home – for a Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series at home, against Namibia and Scotland, during which opposition players did not greet him before or after the games.Subsequently, he was not considered for Nepal’s squad for the Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series in Dubai in early 2023, but joined the team later as an injury replacement. He has continued to turn out for Nepal since then, including at the ODI World Cup qualifier in Zimbabwe in June-July last year and the ODI Asia Cup in August-September.

The wicketkeeper-batter will join forces with Quinton de Kock at the top of the order

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Oct-2023Melbourne Renegades have pulled off a significant BBL signing by luring English wicketkeeper-batter Joe Clarke from cross-town rivals Stars.Clarke, who briefly played for Perth Scorchers in the 2020-21 season, has been an integral part of Stars over the last two seasons with 800 runs 30.76 and a strike-rate of 136.98.But he now becomes Renegades’ third overseas signing alongside Quinton de Kock and Mujeeb Ur Rahman having not been taken in the draft last month. A mechanism exists which allows clubs to sign their third name after the draft has taken place.Related

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Clarke is set to open the batting alongside de Kock, but it will be the South African who will initially take the gloves before handing them to Clarke when he returns home for the SA20.However, Renegades will need to secure another wicketkeeping option with Clarke due to leave for ILT20 towards the backend of the BBL. They lost Sam Harper when he was traded to Stars in return for Adam Zampa.”Joe was an active part of our overseas draft strategy this year,” Melbourne Renegades general manager James Rosengarten said. “While we were limited in how we could use our picks at the overseas player draft, we had a plan to secure Joe as quickly as we could and it came off which is great for our Club.”To have secured three overseas players that were listed in the platinum overseas player group is a super result for the Renegades and our members and fans.”Whilst Quinton will take the gloves as our primary wicketkeeper, Joe is also a strong keeper who will be able to keep when Quinton is unavailable, giving us greater flexibility with our overseas replacement player options.””We really like the way Joe plays the game,” he added. “He’s an attacking player from the top who can set up a game quickly and we think he’ll a perfect fit with our other top order batters.”Renegades will also lose Mujeeb late in the season as he, too, holds an ILT20 deal.Melbourne Renegades squad Nic Maddinson (capt), Joe Clarke, Quinton de Kock, Harry Dixon, Aaron Finch, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mackenzie Harvey, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Kane Richardson, Tom Rogers, Peter Siddle, Will Sutherland, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Jon Wells, Adam Zampa

Deivarayan Muthu24-Oct-20202:54

Gambhir: Kings XI’s attack seems to have all boxes ticked now

The Kings XI Punjab had no business winning this. They had managed all of two boundaries in their last 13 overs, and it could’ve been just one had David Warner not fumbled at wide long-off in the final over of the Kings XI’s innings. Rashid Khan, Jason Holder, and Sandeep Sharma all bowled skilfully to limit the Kings XI to 126 for 7.David Warner and Jonny Bairstow then dashed out of the blocks, and rattled off 56 together in 38 balls. The Sunrisers Hyderabad had no business losing this. However, they unravelled spectacularly in the face of smart bowling on a tiring Dubai track to be bundled out for 114, losing 10 for 58. Chris Jordan, picked in place of James Neesham, and Arshdeep Singh claimed five of those wickets in the last two overs as the Kings XI defended the lowest total this IPL.The Kings XI’s come-from-behind victory – their fourth win on the trot – moved them up to fifth on the points table, just behind the Kolkata Knight Riders who had retained their fourth spot after toppling the Delhi Capitals earlier in the day. As for the Sunrisers, they dropped to sixth, but they’re still in the hunt for the playoffs and are the only team outside the top three with a positive net run-rate.Rashid, and his ripping googlies
After perfectly judging a skier at deep-square leg to get rid of Mandeep Singh, who has been pushed up to the top in place of the injured Mayank Agarwal, for 17 off 14 balls, he tested KL Rahul and Chris Gayle with big-turning googlies.Gayle and his off stump were beaten in Khan’s first over, then in his second Rahul hastily stabbed a shorter googly towards midwicket. He made the incision in his third with a tossed-up googly that dipped sharply and bowled Rahul through the gate for a run-a-ball 27.The collapse, part one
At the other end, Holder kept hiding the ball away from Gayle’s swinging arc. Gayle duly tried to manufacture a boundary, but couldn’t clear long-off. Then, when Glenn Maxwell searched for a release, he holed out to long-on. He has now played out 100 balls this IPL without hitting a six.In the absence of Neesham, the Kings XI’s batting was lighter, and when Jordan flapped a catch to short-fine leg for 7, they were 105 for 6. However, in the last two overs, Nicholas Pooran struck two fours, the second of which slid under Warner, to drag his team to 126 for 7.The collapse, part two
Even though the pitch was slowing down in the second half, the total didn’t look enough. It certainly didn’t look enough when Warner and Bairstow dominated the Kings XI in the powerplay, sprinting to 52 for 0.Warner reverse-whipped legspinner Ravi Bishnoi’s first ball for four, and then when he attempted an encore off the second, he tickled a googly behind and was given out following a successful review from Rahul, who had caught the ball behind the stumps. In the next over, M Ashwin, the other legspinner drifted a legbreak in and bowled Bairstow around his legs.Rahul then punted on Mohammed Shami and brought him back, deciding to finish his quota by the ninth over. Abdul Samad, who was promoted to No. 4, took on Shami, but holed out to mid-off, where Jordan grabbed an excellent overhead catch.It probably still didn’t look enough when previous match-winners Manish Pandey and Vijay Shankar were tapping the ball into the gaps, adding 33 off 44 balls. However, it started to look enough once J Suchith, the substitute fielder, plucked one out of thin air to remove Pandey for 15 off 29 balls.After Arshdeep Singh had Shankar nicking off for 26 off 27 balls, the equation boiled down to 17 off 12 balls with five wickets in hand. The batsmen panicked, but Jordan and Singh didn’t, and it proved 13 runs too many for the Sunrisers.

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.

Kian and Michael Blignaut, twins and sons of former Zimbabwe allrounder Andy Blignaut, also feature in the squad

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Dec-2025Simbarashe Mudzengerere has been named the captain of Zimbabwe’s 15-member squad for the men’s Under-19 World Cup, which takes place from January 15 to February 6.Mudzengerere, a right-hand batter and medium pacer, has captained the Under-19 national side since making his debut for them against Ireland, in Harare, on April 10 this year. He bowled a tidy spell of 1 for 28, before returning to make 37 from the middle order in a successful chase.Their squad also features Kian and Michael Blignaut, who are twins and the sons of former Zimbabwe allrounder Andy Blignaut.The U-19 coach, Elton Chigumbura, said: “We are going in with a winning mindset. This group can compete with, and beat, the best teams. Success will come from executing our processes, staying disciplined and sticking to our roles. If we do that consistently, we give ourselves a real chance to go all the way.”Zimbabwe are co-hosts of the tournament, alongside Namibia. Harare Sports Club and Takashinga Cricket Club in Bulwayo, and the Queens Sports Club in Harare, will be hosting matches played in the country. On the pressures of playing at familiar venues, Chigumbura said: “Playing at home is an advantage – we understand the conditions and we will have great support behind us.”The tournament features four groups, consisting of four teams each, with each side facing the three others as part of their group stage fixtures. Zimbabwe have been placed in Group C: they will be playing Scotland on 15 January, England on 18 January, and Pakistan on 22 January. After a Super Sixes stage, the top four teams then face off in the semi-finals on February 3 and 4, before the winners play in the final at Harare on February 6.Zimbabwe begin their preparation with warm-up matches against United States of America on January 10, followed by New Zealand at Masvingo Sports Club on January 12.Zimbabwe squad for U-19 World CupSimbarashe Mudzengerere (c), Kian Blignaut, Michael Blignaut, Leeroy Chiwaula, Tatenda Chimugoro, Brendon Senzere, Nathaniel Hlabangana, Takudzwa Makoni, Panashe Mazai, Webster Madhidhi, Shelton Mazvitorera, Kupakwashe Muradzi, Brandon Ndiweni, Dhruv Patel, Benny Zuze

The former coach had already been banned for 20 years for inappropriate behaviour towards a female player

AAP15-Nov-2024Cricket Australia has handed former Sri Lanka Test player Dulip Samaraweera with another ban after allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards a second player while coaching.Already suspended from any involvement in Australian cricket for 20 years after being found to have behaved inappropriately towards a female player, Samaraweera has since been accused of further misconduct.The second matter relates to his time when he worked as a private coach, while employed by Cricket Victoria. Samaraweera has denied the claim but chose not to participate in the investigation and has been banned for 10 years for breaching the sport’s code of conduct.The ban will be served concurrently with his initial 20-year suspension, meaning he is still not able to return to any coaching role with Australia or a state or territory body until 2044 when he will be 72.AAP understands neither complainant has so far opted to pursue criminal charges.The seven-time Test representative had been involved in Cricket Victoria’s women’s program for almost 16 years, including as a long-time assistant coach at the WBBL’s Melbourne Stars, before resigning in May.Cricket Victoria chief executive Nick Cummins had previously labelled Samaraweera’s conduct “utterly reprehensible” and “a betrayal of everything we stand for” after CA released the findings of its initial investigation in September.”The victim in this case has demonstrated incredible strength of character and courage in speaking up,” Cummins said after the initial charge.  “She will continue to receive our ongoing support to allow her to achieve her goals on and off the field.”From an organisation perspective, the safety and wellbeing of everyone at Cricket Victoria is paramount. We will not tolerate any behaviour which compromises that position, or our people, and will always support our culture of speaking up.”The Colombo-born Samaraweera opened the batting in seven Tests for Sri Lanka between 1993 and 1995, before later moving into coaching. He was an assistant coach with the Stars from the inaugural WBBL season in 2015, and even served as Victoria’s interim head coach for most of last summer.Samaraweera had been due to take over the role full-time, but resigned in May when Cricket Victoria’s conflict of interest policy prevented him from hiring his brother Thilan to the coaching staff.