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‘Build pressure and try and get wickets that way,’ says the New Zealand left-arm spinner of his plan against England in the World Cup final

Nagraj Gollapudi at Lord's13-Jul-2019Mitchell Santner will be up against it at the World Cup final, where New Zealand will face the might of England; all England, really, as the stands at Lord’s are going to be rooting for Eoin Morgan’s men. And when it comes to Santner, England have hurt him in the past, and got away with it too.The left-arm spinner’s overall average against England’s top-six batsmen is 61, and his economy rate is 6. All of England’s batsmen have strong numbers against left-arm spin in the last four years, since the 2015 World Cup, and Lord’s can be unkind to spinners, especially finger spinners.But there are few players that can absorb pressure better than Santner. Two examples from the recent past. The first: on a sweltering April evening in Jaipur, on a day when even the coolest mind in cricket, MS Dhoni, lost his temper, Santner sealed victory for Chennai Super Kings with a last-ball six.ALSO READ: The serenity and resilience of being New ZealandThe second, last Wednesday, when Santner choked the Indian middle-order in a spectacular first spell. Making use of a two-paced pitch that was taking spin, Santner built pressure with his dot balls. Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya had slowly started rebuilding the innings after a series of early setbacks. His first over to Pandya was a maiden. In his second, he kept Pant rooted to his crease on the first four balls. Next delivery, Pant walked out, and slogged into the hands of deep midwicket. Pandya, too, would pay the price for impatience soon. Santner’s first spell read 6-2-7-2. It was match-wining spell that not just suffocated India, but also broke their confidence and momentum. Matt Henry won the match award, but Santner got a “world-class” badge from his captain Kane Williamson and head coach Gary Stead.Now, Santner has to do it all over again. Against the most feared batting line-up, one that, seemingly, never ends. Santner’s quota is key, and New Zealand would want to bowl all of it, as that will take some of the pressure off Jimmy Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme, whose medium-slow deliveries England might have identified as the weakest link.Of the 141 overs bowled at Lord’s this tournament, spinners have managed just 13 wickets, while bowling just two maidens. But Santner will gather confidence from the fact that the economy rate for spinners at Lord’s has been a good 4.97. It is closer to his own World Cup 2019 economy of 4.87 – his corresponding career number is 4.89 – which is only behind the Afghanistan pair of Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi for spinners in the tournament (minimum 40 overs).Mitchell Santner has an economy rate of 4.87 at the World Cup•Getty ImagesSantner is not a big tweaker of the ball. His strength is in his smart lengths. He judges the pitch, and the best pace for each surface, as he did against India, and varies his lengths accordingly. He has a good arm ball, and if he can float it at different speeds, he might make the English batsman think twice.”Over here, there is a not a lot of spin, especially for a finger spinner, so my role through the middle is to build pressure and try and get wickets that way,” Santner told ESPNcricinfo on Friday.But, as mentioned before, the English batsmen like Santner. His most expensive figures at the World Cup came against them during the group phase, when he finished with 1 for 65, having bowled the first over of the match in which he conceded five runs.He knows England might target him, but spots an opportunity there. “It can go one or two ways. That means you are always in the game rather them trying to block it out,” he said. “It is a going to be a tough test. The role of spinner is bring your length back, bowl in to the wicket, rather than overpitch. Spinners get hurt when they overpitched, especially to Jason Roy, who can hit it 30 rows back. On smallish grounds, you have got to be real, real tough with your length.”It is not just Roy. Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Morgan, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler all play spin well, and run well. When not trying to smash it, they would look to manoeuvre the ball into the gaps and rotate strike and build pressure.It’s a bit like T20 cricket, and Santner admitted that he would make use of the experience of bowling in the IPL recently, where the pressure is constant across the 24 deliveries. “If you can build pressure, build dots in those shorter formats… the way England play it is a bit like that,” he agreed. “So if you get a couple of dots and you are thinking, ‘Hey, what’s he gonna do? Is he going to charge? What’s my best to ball to get hit for one even, rather than going for a six or a four.'”It is this understanding of not just his own game but the game itself, how to be smart in different match situations, that Stead feels makes Santner stand out. “He is a special bowler for us,” Stead said on Friday. “He has got really good control of line and length. His ability in T20 cricket helps him in 50-overs cricket as well: being able to defend himself when people come after him.”On Sunday, at Lord’s, Santner and his team-mates will get live their schoolboy dream of playing the World Cup final. Santner is not nervous. He knows his role well – honest defence; keep it tight, build pressure.

Joe Root has become the top run-scorer in international matches in a calendar year in England, going past Graham Gooch’s 1277 runs in 1990

S Rajesh24-Sep-2017Off the fourth ball of the tenth over of England’s innings, Joe Root worked a pretty uneventful single off Jason Holder, for the 20th run of his 79-ball 84. The run was mundane, but it had much significance: it was his 1278th international run of the home season, making him the most prolific run-getter in international matches in an English summer.Root, in having scored that single, went past Graham Gooch, who played only 15 innings in 10 matches in 1990, when he scored 1277, compared to Root’s 24 this season. Gooch’s body of work that season included the mammoth 333 against India at Lord’s, which remains the third-highest Test score in England.The top ten on the list of most runs in England during an international season consists entirely of England batsmen, with the only overseas player in the top 17 being Sir Viv Richards, who scored 1045 runs from only 10 innings in a sensational 1976 season.The top ten is also made up almost entirely of specialist batsmen; the only exception being Andrew Flintoff, in fifth place. Flintoff had a terrific year in 2004, scoring 1115 runs from only 20 innings, including 512 in nine ODIs.

Player Mat Inns Runs Ave 100s/ 50s Season JE Root 20 24 1342 61.00 3/ 9 2017GA Gooch 10 15 1277 91.21 5/ 4 1990AN Cook 17 20 1205 66.94 4/ 5 2011ME Trescothick 18 23 1196 59.8 4/ 4 2005A Flintoff 16 20 1115 65.58 4/ 7 2004KP Pietersen 19 25 1097 47.69 4/ 3 2007AJ Strauss 19 23 1086 49.36 2/ 8 2010JE Root 18 21 1069 59.38 4/ 3 2014JE Root 18 22 1050 52.5 1/ 8 2016IR Bell 17 19 1046 69.73 4/ 3 2011IVA Richards 7 10 1045 116.11 4/ 3 1976Root’s strength this home season has been his consistency in both Tests and ODIs. In 12 innings in Tests, he averages 60.75, with seven 50-plus scores, while in ODIs he has done even better, averaging 66.22 in 11 innings, with five 50-plus knocks. Root’s 12 fifty-plus scores is also a record in England, bettering Flintoff’s 11 in 2004.Joe Root averages more than 60 in both Tests and ODIs in 2017•ESPNcricinfo LtdRoot has also become only the second player, after Marcus Trescothick, to go past 1000 international runs three times in an English season. Root had previously scored 1069 runs in 2014, and 1050 runs in 2016. Trescothick went past 1000 in each of the three years from 2003 to 2005. Given Root’s age, form, consistency, and the packed cricket calendar these days, expect him to achieve this feat many more times through the remainder of his international career.

Plays of the day from Sunrisers Hyderabad’s thumping win over Kings XI Punjab in Hyderabad

Nikhil Kalro23-Apr-2016Arithmetic progression – Part IDavid Miller and Glenn Maxwell’s dip in form this season has left Kings XI Punjab with a void in the middle overs. In their tournament opener against Gujarat Lions, they were dismissed by Dwayne Bravo in the space of three balls. In their next game against Delhi Daredevils, both fell within the space of four deliveries to Amit Mishra. On Saturday, they fell five deliveries apart to Moises Henriques. Kings XI lost all three matches.Arithmetic progression – Part IIMustafizur Rahman has been Sunrisers’ go-to bowler. He proved why against Kings XI. In his first over – the sixth of the innings – he produced a maiden, in which they had a wicket courtesy a run-out. He was reintroduced in the 14th over and brought out his variations of slow cutters and yorkers to concede just one. In his next over, he allowed just two singles. Mustafizur, then, conceded six off the last over to finish with figures of 2 for 9, the most economical spell of the season so far.The runs that weren’tIn the sixth over of Kings XI’s innings, Manan Vohra set off for a single after punching a length ball to cover. Marsh, at the non-striker’s end, realised there wasn’t a run on offer and sent Vohra back. Shikhar Dhawan picked the ball up cleanly and threw down the stumps at the batsman’s end. Vohra scurried back and would have made his ground had his bat not bounced up after a full-length dive.Immediately after David Warner’s blitz in the chase, Aditya Tare drove to mid-off and set off for his first IPL run for Sunrisers. The single wasn’t on, though, and Dhawan was in action again. Tare made a desperate lunge, but was well short even with a dive.With five to win, Moises Henriques jammed a yorker to midwicket. Deepak Hooda set off for a single before being turned down by his partner. Miller was quick on the opportunity and hit the stumps from close range at short midwicket in a single motion to find Hooda short.Warner’s straight batWarner’s exemplary form was on display in the third over of the chase. Sandeep Sharma’s first ball on a full length was lofted with a straight bat over wide long-off. On the fourth ball, Sandeep bowled a good-length delivery on off, and faced similar fate as Warner presented the full face of his bat to punch him over long-off.

They won the game. They found some form. If you’re judging England on the scoreboard, it was above par, but still well below par

Jarrod Kimber in Christchurch23-Feb-20152:04

Trott: England need to utilise Powerplays better

Six men walked the streets of Christchurch on Sunday morning. They walked through the Cricket World Cup Zone. Past the cricket memories exhibition. Beyond the Le French Cricket field. And then right past a sign that said, “Go the BLACKCAPS, Smash ’em for 6.”They looked athletic, dressed in nice Sunday bar casual attire, and wore their caps low. They had that I’m-not-going-to-work-today facial hair. They walked in a tight pack, through wrecked buildings and fenced-off zones. They could have been any six mates looking for a Sunday feed.These were six mates looking for a feed, and they were also six mates who’d been smashed for six, or seven, by New Zealand just a few days before. More than a third of the squad, who, within a week of the tournament, were below Bangladesh, Scotland and Afghanistan on the points table.One look at any of the six faces and you knew that. It was as if England’s net run rate of -3.952 was etched on their faces.Exactly 24 hours later the team is batting against Scotland. A team that has a few decent bowlers, a spin bowler slower than an ECB explanation and a bunch of medium-pacers they try to squish into ten overs. Moeen Ali is stylish, even as he almost finds cover, he makes batting look easy and pretty. Ian Bell is less style and more struggling graft, he was lucky to survive an lbw. When Scotland aren’t bowling wides he plays and misses regularly. Against the slow, steady and really slow bowling of Majid Haq, he scores at less than a run every two balls.At one stage, as Bell faces Haq, there are four dot balls. Time actually stands still. The game of ODI cricket has an out-of-body experience and watches itself in a coma.Would Dhawan, Rohit, Warner, Finch, McCullum and Guptill have been so comatose?But, England did score. They scored well. Well enough. While carrying Bell, Moeen manages to keep England’s scoring rate at 5.73 after 30 overs. They are 172. They have 20 overs and ten wickets and five overs of Powerplay to come.They have blown off the cobwebs, now is the time to take the shackles off as well. They didn’t. Their run rate went from 5.7 to 6.Bell’s wicket brings Gary Ballance in. There are times when his batting seems to have been prepared by Southern African cricket scientists to work in all conditions. But there would be almost no situations when you want Ballance to come in after the 30th over of an ODI. England refused to change their order. Their batting order has seemingly been passed to them by supernatural beings. They’d rather face persecution here on earth, than change it and offend their guardians.Bell’s wicket begat Ballance. Moeen’s wicket Joe Root. Ballance’s wicket begat Eoin Morgan, Root’s begat James Taylor. It was written.In Eoin Morgan’s first 21 balls, he made 11 runs, that was when he was missed at deep midwicket by Freddie Coleman•Getty ImagesWhen Moeen was out, he had made 128 out of their first 200 runs. He was batting like most of the other batsmen fantasise about. When he went out, England had a mini-collapse. It wasn’t a Tim Southee-like experience, but it was a misstep. That can happen. The Scottish bowling was disciplined and made you hit it. And Matthew Cross pulled off a stumping so good that wicketkeeping purists lost their collective continence.It was the bit afterwards that was a worry. With no pace, gentle reverse swing and a spinner whose only weapon was float, Morgan and Taylor really struggled. This is England’s third game of the tournament. A tournament they don’t look like winning, and may not qualify for the second round of. It may be too harsh to even rate them poorly for making over 300, when 13 of their last 19 innings they hadn’t even completed.But they still limped, rather than strutted to 300. They can say it was a par score, they can say they got some form back, they can be happy with Moeen’s batting, but they can’t be honestly happy with their last 20 overs. They can’t be happy that Moeen scored 42% of their total runs but went out in the 35th over.In Morgan’s first 21 balls, he made 11 runs, that was when he was missed at deep midwicket by Freddie Coleman. Taylor made 17, from 26 balls, as Jos Buttler watched on waiting for his number in the queue to be called.Buttler’s first ball was a boundary. It looked like the ball had been waiting for him to come out. It was the last ball of the 45th over. Buttler and Morgan put on 45 in 23 balls. Buttler was out just before the last over.England’s last over had them starting at a score of 299. Josh Davey started with a wide. Morgan hit the second ball straight up and was caught. Chris Woakes did the same. Stuart Broad walked across his stumps on the hat-trick ball and took a leg bye. Steven Finn flicked a ball out to the midwicket sweeper. Broad missed the next one. Broad missed the one after that. Finn stole a bye.In the last over of an innings, with their captain set and now in form and two allrounders yet to come in, England got a wide, took a bye and leg bye, and their number ten made a single. That was the sum total of their output against an Associate nation.In their last 20 overs, England failed to score six runs in an over 10 times. They lost eight wickets. They kept their batting order. And moved their run rate up from 5.7 to 6.They won the game. They found some form. If you’re judging them on the recent England scoreboard, it was above par, but still well below par. But the cobwebs and shackles are still on. And today they looked self-imposed.

ESPNcricinfo’s brief profile of the Chennai Super Kings official now in police custody

Sidharth Monga25-May-2013Until two days ago, the impression Gurunath Meiyappan gave was that of one of the few IPL team owners who behaved normally and in a dignified manner. Now he is not the team owner anymore and, it can be surmised given his current location, lacks some of that dignity. After Mumbai Police sent him summons to appear for interrogation for his alleged involvement in illegal cricket betting, his franchise, Chennai Super Kings, was quick to wash its hands off him; he is no longer the team principal nor does he have to do anything with India Cements, the company that owns Super Kings.This controversy might have brought Gurunath to the national headlines but in Chennai circles he didn’t need any extra push. Even before he married Srinivasan’s daughter Rupa about 10 years ago, Gurunath was well known as the son of AVM Balasubramanian and grandson of AV Meiyappan, the founder of AVM Productions, arguably the oldest TV and film production house in south India. In Chennai, where the film industry transcends commercial status, that is among the most powerful calling cards. His marriage to Srinivasan’s daughter was the coming together of two of the richest families in Chennai.Known as “prince Gurunath” in Chennai, he is active on the city’s golfing circuit – which is where he met Rupa, who is also an avid golfer (as is his father-in-law). Golf plays a large role in his make-up: he has been reported as saying he learnt about possessing strong values while playing golf. “In a day’s golf, you can discover much about a man’s character — how he is as a person, and how he would do business. Everything.” He has also been an ardent motor-racing fan.Gurunath has been the owners’ representative in the Super Kings dugout. He is seen taking pictures, sharing the trophy, and some of the players have referred to him as “team principal” and at times “boss”. He also lifted the paddle at the IPL auctions and has talked on record in detail about the team and his involvement with it, including the auction strategy.Gurunath is the son of the flashier of the brothers who were heir to Meiyappan’s considerable fortune. He is not known to have played an active role in his family business. His promotion to “team principal”, which Super Kings now deny, was initially seen as Srinivasan’s move to mask his alleged conflict of interest as BCCI president and part-owner of the company that owns Super Kings. After the arrest, though, that debate no longer exists.

Victoria have made 14 of the last 18 state finals. Now they face the challenge of bouncing back after their first disappointing summer in years

Brydon Coverdale13-Jul-2011Victoria is an AFL state. Even in summer, its theoretical off season, Aussie Rules Football, with all its scandals and speculation, robs cricket of headlines. And when the Australian team has to fight for a place on the back page, you can imagine how deep into the sports section readers must delve before a story about the Victorian Bushrangers appears.That’s a shame, because over the past six years the Bushrangers have been one of the most dominant teams in Australian sport. They have reached 14 of the past 18 state finals and have raised seven trophies. In that time they have groomed six Test debutants, second only to New South Wales, and they are the only state to have kept the same captain and coach (Cameron White and Greg Shipperd).But now, in AFL terminology, their premiership window is threatening to close. Although they won the Ryobi One-Day Cup last summer, for the first time in a decade they finished in the bottom two on the Sheffield Shield table. Something just didn’t click, and Shipperd is desperate to make sure that, to borrow another AFL-ism, they don’t bottom out.”We don’t want to be yo-yoing as a group,” Shipperd told ESPNcricinfo. “With 14 finals out of the last 18, we’ve been, in terms of consistency, a benchmark team. We really want to push on and maintain our standards. It will be challenging, though.”One of the major tasks will be to build a match-winning attack. Last summer, only two of the Sheffield Shield’s top 20 wicket-takers were Victorians. And neither will play much for Victoria next season: Damien Wright has retired and Peter Siddle should spend most of his time on international duty.Also gone from the attack are three of Victoria’s oldest heads: the 39-year-old legspinner Bryce McGain, and fast bowlers Dirk Nannes, 35, and Shane Harwood, 37. Of those three, only McGain played in the Shield last season, but the combined experience from the trio, who lost their Cricket Victoria contracts last month, will be hard to replace.Victorian fans can expect Clint McKay and James Pattinson to be key men in the bowling group this season. There will also be some aggression from the newly contracted pace bowler Jayde Herrick, whose bald head, black headband and tattooed arms could well become a fixture of Victoria’s side this summer. There’s plenty of other young talent in the rest of the squad as well.”We’ve released four senior match-winners from our squad last season who provided us with fantastic cricket over a long period of time,” Shipperd said. “We’ll miss them for sure, but we’re equally excited by the young players we’re developing, and Ryan Carters, Aaron Finch, Matthew Wade, Glenn Maxwell and Jon Holland are just some of the names that are going to lead Victoria in the years to come.”Our board certainly wanted in the previous five years to find that balance between winning titles and producing Australian players. Across that period of time I think we’ve generated about 12 Australian players in the three forms of the game, so we’ve actually been ticking both boxes there. But given Australia’s situation in the longer form of the game, there’s been an even greater importance put on developing Test players of the future. We’ve probably gone a fraction younger a bit earlier than we might normally have done. We’re looking forward to seeing that process unfold.”Not that the older members of the squad have nothing to offer. Chris Rogers, 33, is keen to have a productive season after missing much of 2010-11 with a knee injury, and David Hussey, also 33, wants to prove he is good enough to earn a baggy green, after surprisingly winning a Cricket Australia contract this year.And the allrounder Andrew McDonald, 30, has a point to prove, having slipped off CA’s contract list. McDonald had an injury-interrupted season last summer, but when he was in the side he was unstoppable. In his six Sheffield Shield appearances, he made three centuries – no other player in the competition made that many in a tough season for batsmen – and averaged 76.33.Victoria factfile

Captain Cameron White
Coach Greg Shipperd
Where they’ve finished in the Sheffield Shield since 2001-02 fifth, third, first, fourth, second, fourth, second, first, first, fifth
Australia Test debutants since 2001 Brad Hodge, Cameron White, Peter Siddle, Andrew McDonald, Bryce McGain, Clint McKay
Slipped through the cracks
Andrew McDonald Played four Tests in 2008-09 and acquitted himself reasonably well, but there was not room in the Test team for both him and Shane Watson. Will find it hard to break back into Australia’s side.
Jon Holland The left-arm spinner went on an ODI tour of India with Australia in late 2009 as a project player, but still hasn’t quite found his feet at state level. At 24 he has time on his side but must stand up soon.
Future Fund
Glenn Maxwell A spin-bowling allrounder who last summer burst on to the scene with the fastest fifty in Australia’s domestic one-day history. He also posted a century in his second first-class game.
Ryan Carters An exciting young wicketkeeper-batsman, Carters made his first-class debut against the touring England side last season, opened the batting and scored a gutsy 68.
James Pattinson Although he has already played one-day cricket for Australia, Pattinson still has only six first-class games to his name. If he can develop the red-ball skills expected of him, he will be a key player for Victoria over the next decade.

Even more impressive was the way he scored his runs. At Test level, McDonald looked rigid at the crease and was hesitant to play his shots. For Victoria last year, he loosened up and scored at a strike rate of 84.97 in the longer format. McDonald was the one batsman who might have managed a thousand-run season were it not for his injuries, and Shipperd expects him to have a big summer again.”Every good judge in Australia would certainly agree that Andrew McDonald is still a worthy international-quality player, and but for injury last season, he would have just knocked the door down that strongly that he could not be ignored,” Shipperd said. “I expect that he’s in the prime in terms of his cricketing powers right now. His next couple of years, I’m sure he’s going to perform some deeds that would have him beautifully placed to take the place of someone like Watson, should he be injured, for the Australian team.”That McDonald was able to thrive in such a difficult season for batsmen was not enough to help Victoria reach the final of the Sheffield Shield. They did, however, get to the decider in the Ryobi Cup, for the fifth straight season. And after being runners-up four years in a row, the Bushrangers finally won the title summer.When the team huddled around for the traditional celebratory photo with the trophy, Shipperd was at the back, while his assistant coach, Simon Helmot, was front and centre. Helmot had taken over the coaching of the one-day team for that campaign, with Shipperd as his helper – the roles reversed from the Sheffield Shield. It’s an arrangement that will continue next season. Shipperd likens it to the AFL team, Collingwood, whose premiership coach, Mick Malthouse, will eventually be replaced by his assistant, Nathan Buckley, by mutual agreement.”That was the proposal we came up with last year to allow him to spread his wings as a coach, and it was just the natural thing for Cricket Victoria to do, in terms of down the track finding a succession plan for me and a development plan for Simon that worked really well. He’s a terrific young coach. I assisted him in the Ryobi Cup and he assisted me in the Shield, but we both took responsibility for the whole Bushrangers programme.”Adding to the complex relationship between Shipperd and Helmot are their roles in the Big Bash League, where they will coach against each other. Helmot has taken charge of the Docklands-based Melbourne Renegades, while Shipperd has control of the Stars, who will play at the MCG. The state’s players have also split into two camps, and Shipperd said it would be hard, for the younger players especially, to find the balance between being Twenty20 opponents and team-mates in the longer forms.”It will be mentally challenging for them, because one of the strengths of our squad has been its closeness, and the success that they’ve had over this last five to eight years is because of the quality of the team and the way they’ve interacted as a group. That essentially has been split in two. The more senior players are not totally unfamiliar with that environment, having played against each other. We had 11 players in the IPL last year, so a lot of them played against each other and have been through those emotions before.”A few of the older players also know the feeling of failure – from 1991 to 2003, Victoria didn’t win a Sheffield Shield title. Mastering the switch between formats will be one of many key factors if they are to keep their premiership window open. The grand era of Shipperd’s Bushrangers might earn a few more column inches yet.

Andrew Symonds went fishing when he should have been at a team meeting, leaving the Australian management in a rage and getting the media talking

02-Sep-2008

Is he still committed to Australia? © Getty Images
“It’s so hard to play for this team. In my opinion we are the greatest sporting team in the world, and we have standards. They may be higher than other teams, but if you don’t fulfil those standards, unfortunately, you’re not going to be a part of our squad… The main concern for us as a leadership group and a team is commitment to the team. That isn’t just about on the field – that’s off the field, that’s attitude. There are a number of things we believe he wasn’t fulfilling.”
“Andrew’s going to take some time to reflect on what’s happened. He’s still committed to playing cricket at the highest level. How he goes about doing that and how it plays out I don’t know. Whether it means India I don’t know.”
“I have been asked to think about what is important to me and I will take this time to do that. I would ask that during this time, people respect my privacy and that of my friends and family. I would like to say thanks for the many messages of support I have received over the past day or so.”
“He’s not going to be built up with pressure with the spinners where it’s dot ball after dot ball, which is going to be important when we get to India. [During the Bangladesh game] I thought, gee it would be great to have Symmo here to come in and smack a few to put the pressure back on the Bangladeshi bowlers a bit. But it’s the way it is.”
“It was a surprise, but there were issues last summer that have been well documented. Our role is, obviously, we’re here to support Andrew. We’ve been in discussion with his manager and look to put in place the best possible support for him… We just need to get to the bottom of things and work out what’s the best way to move forward.”
“They’ve done the right thing by sending him home. There’s got to be consistency in the group and you’ve got to stand for something. You can’t have players doing that sort of stuff. He’s got to have a good look at what he’s doing for sure. He’s got to re-assess where he’s at if he’s doing these things. It’s not the first time.”
“Missing a team meeting is not a hanging offence. We have focused on a duty of care for Andrew and we are concerned about his mental welfare. He had a long and demanding summer.”
“He wasn’t organised enough to understand his commitments that day. That to me raises concerns about how and what sort of space he is in, in his own mind and that’s the discussion we had with him… But how long is a piece of string? I don’t know if Roy [Symonds] would understand or know how long it’s going to take. I certainly don’t.”
Tim Nielsen, Australia’s coach, is ready for the India tour without Symonds

Offspinner Ashmini Munisar and wicketkeeper Shunelle Sawh also earn maiden call-ups

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jun-2023

West Indies have named fit-again Chinelle Henry in their 16-member provisional squad for the first two ODIs of their three-match series against Ireland. The allrounder has fully recovered from the injury that kept her out of the recent Super50 Cup and T20 Blaze.Offspinner Ashmini Munisar and wicketkeeper Shunelle Sawh have also earned their maiden call-ups. Munisar, West Indies’ captain at the Under-19 T20 World Cup earlier this year, was the joint-third highest wicket-taker in the T20 Blaze with six scalps from five games. Her economy of 3.31 was the best among those who bowled at least ten overs in the tournament.Hayley Matthews will continue to lead the squad; Shemaine Campbelle will be her deputy. The official squad of 13 players will be named ahead of each match.Related

Robert Samuels appointed head coach of WI Women for Ireland series

Business-class flights and single rooms for West Indies women

“The ODI series against Ireland gives a good opportunity for batters to focus and to stay longer at the crease and build an innings,” Ann Browne-John, CWI’s lead selector for women’s cricket, said. “A number of the younger players would be transitioning from the shorter format to the 50-over format. They definitely have the potential, and it is important that the policy of identifying young players and developing the talent pool is continued.”The ODI series is part of the Women’s Championship, where West Indies and Ireland are the bottom-most teams. Both teams have played six games each so far; West Indies have one win while Ireland are yet to open their account.”The squad shows a great balance of batting coupled with a variety of bowling styles, which is something that has been lacking in the recent past,” Browne-John said. “Victory here will provide valuable points as the team attempts to move up in the rankings and qualify for the World Cup.”The ODI series from June 26, West Indies’ first ODI cricket since December 2022, will be followed by three T20Is. All six matches will be played at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia, and for the first time, a full West Indies Women’s bilateral home series will be broadcast live on television.These are West Indies’ only home fixtures this year.Provisional squad for first two ODIs: Hayley Matthews (capt), Shemaine Campbelle (vice-capt), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shamilia Connell, Chinelle Henry, Afy Fletcher, Cherry-Ann Fraser, Shabika Gajnabi, Zaida James, Djenaba Joseph, Qiana Joseph, Ashmini Munisar, Karishma Ramharack, Shunelle Sawh, Stafanie Taylor, Rashada Williams

Erik ten Hag’s spell at Bayer Leverkusen has cost the club almost €6 million in severance after he was sacked after just two Bundesliga games.

• Ten Hag sacked by Leverkusen after just two months
• Managed only two Bundesliga games before dismissal
• Exit has cost the club almost €6m in total

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Ten Hag’s turbulent stint at Leverkusen has already come to an end, with the Dutch coach sacked after just two months in charge. According to , the former Manchester United boss reportedly cost the club close to €6m in total between his salary – just under €5m – and severance packages, which works out to around €100,000 per day during his short reign. 

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The Black and Reds hierarchy lost patience quickly after the team dropped five points in their opening two Bundesliga matches against Hoffenheim and Werder Bremen. It became clear that the 55-year-old was not the right fit for the club’s long-term project, with sporting director Simon Rolfes openly admitting that his appointment had been a mistake. His track record at United had already been under scrutiny, and this latest setback further damages his standing among Europe’s elite coaches.

• TELL ME MORE…

  Behind the scenes, tensions escalated as Ten Hag clashed with the board over recruitment and squad decisions. He attempted to block Granit Xhaka’s proposed departure, which breached internal agreements, and was reportedly excluded from discussions over Lucas Vazquez’s arrival from Real Madrid. His management style is also said to have alienated several players and staff members, further isolating him within the dressing room.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR LEVERKUSEN AND TEN HAG?

  Die Werkself have acted swiftly in moving on, eager to stabilise their season and refocus on their domestic ambitions. For Ten Hag, however, this marks another damaging episode after his struggles at United, and serious doubts now linger over his ability to manage at the top level again.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Flamengo bateu Fluminense e é atualmente bicampeão estadual. Você sabe quem são os maiores campeões da história do Campeonato Carioca? O Lance! te conta logo abaixo.

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LISTA DE MAIORES CAMPEÕES DO CAMPEONATO CARIOCA

Flamengo – 39 títulos
(1914, 1915, 1920, 1921, 1925, 1927, 1939, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1963, 1965, 1972, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1979*, 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024 e 2025)

Fluminense – 33 títulos
(1906, 1907*, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1924*, 1936*, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1946, 1951, 1959, 1964, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1995, 2002, 2005, 2012, 2022 e 2023)

Vasco – 24 títulos
(1923, 1924*, 1929, 1934*, 1936*, 1945, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1956, 1958, 1970, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2003, 2015 e 2016)

Botafogo – 21 títulos
(1907*, 1910, 1912*, 1930, 1932, 1933*, 1934*, 1935*, 1948, 1957, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1968, 1989, 1990, 1997, 2006, 2010, 2013 e 2018)

América-RJ – 7títulos
(1913, 1916, 1922, 1928, 1931, 1935* e 1960)

Bangu – 2títulos
(1933* e 1966)

São Cristóvão – 1título
(1926)

Paissandu – 1título
(1912*)

OBSERVAÇÕES:

*1907: Botafogo e Fluminense terminaram empatados e foram, posteriormente, declarados campeões.

*1912, 1924, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936 e 1979: foram disputadas duas competições.

continua após a publicidadeQUAL É O CLUBE COM MAIS VICES DO CAMPEONATO CARIOCA?