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It would be a sad end to England’s campaign if West Indies spring a surprise against Australia on Wednesday

Abhishek Purohit in Mumbai12-Feb-2013The finalists of the 2009 Women’s World Cup, England and New Zealand, could have their last chance to qualify for the final of the 2013 edition snatched from them before they step onto the field at Brabourne Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. If West Indies manage to surprise confirmed finalists Australia at the MIG Club ground in the suburb of Bandra in a morning start, the final on Sunday will be between the same sides.Though England left-arm spinner Holly Colvin said all that was in her side’s control was to go out and beat New Zealand under lights, there is no doubt that Charlotte Edwards and Co will be keeping a close eye on developments at MIG Club. The West Indies-Australia game will not be televised, though, and England and New Zealand will have to rely on score updates.West Indies have not beaten Australia in three previous ODIs, but those matches were back in the 1993, 2005 and 2009 World Cups. If Australia are shocked, and there has been no shortage of shocks in this tournament – courtesy Sri Lanka and West Indies – it will be an unfortunate way for defending champions England to exit.Apart from Australia, England are the only side who haven’t had a bad game in the tournament. Unlike Australia, who are undefeated, England lost twice, but they could have won those matches. Their one-wicket loss to Sri Lanka came off the last ball of the game. Their own last-wicket pair of Colvin and Anya Shrubsole took them within one stroke of ending Australia’s streak, only to fall short by two runs.Edwards’ side has showed character by roaring back from both the defeats, something the captain had said after the Sri Lanka match would not be hard for them to do. India were quelled by 32 runs, and West Indies were routed for 101 in a six-wicket win. Then, at the start of the Super Six stage, arrived the shattering defeat to old rivals Australia, as England failed to close the game after dismissing their opponents for 147.Edwards looked spent after that match. England had been in Mumbai all the while and she said getting away to Cuttack to play South Africa would be helpful. More than a thousand miles away from Mumbai, England bulldozed South Africa, who managed 77.Twice, England have had to regroup, and twice, they have done it. In 2009, they had hardly been tested on their way to the title. In 2013, the rest of the world has shown it’s catching up, and England have shown that champions will withstand blows and come back stronger.Tomorrow will be a big day personally for Edwards as well. She’s 33, the elder statesman of the game with most ODI runs, most ODI appearances and second-most as captain, and this might be her final World Cup. She has made no secret of what a successful defence of the title will mean, calling it a crowning glory in a 17-year long career. If Australia go down to West Indies, it will be a heartbreaking end to Edwards’ ambition.England have lost just three of their previous 15 ODIs to New Zealand, but will go into the game hoping Australia are able to avoid the West Indies banana peel. If they don’t, the last Super Six match will cease to be anything more than a practice game for the third-place playoff on Friday.

Australia’s wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has said he feels like he has been dropped from the ODI side rather than rested

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jan-2012Australia’s wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has said he feels like he has been dropped from the ODI side rather than rested. And Haddin believes that he could find it hard to force his way back into the one-day squad if his replacement Matthew Wade performs strongly in the first few games of the tri-series with India and Sri Lanka.Australia’s national selector John Inverarity said on Monday that Haddin deserved to put his feet up after a gruelling schedule of Tests over the past few months. However, he also said the selection panel had an open mind about who would keep wicket for the remainder of the one-day series, the squad having only been named for the first three matches.”I think anytime you’re out of the Australian Cricket team you’re dropped,” Haddin said on the Sydney radio station . “You give another guy an opportunity to take your spot. If they do well you could find it hard to get back in the team but that’s the way it is and I’ve just got to deal with that.”We need to see how young Matty Wade goes at this level. It’s seen as a good opportunity to play him and from my point of view, if he does well there’s no guarantee you’ll get your spot. Once you’ve given it up you give someone an opportunity and you might not play again … If you give your spot up, you’ve got no right to walk straight back in.”Haddin, 34, last year retired from Twenty20 internationals but remained part of Australia’s Test and one-day setup. However, a summer in which he failed to have a major impact with the bat and initially made some errors behind the stumps has left Haddin under pressure to hold his place, although he is expected to be one of the two keepers who will take part in the Test tour of the West Indies in April.He will captain the Prime Minister’s XI in a one-day game against Sri Lanka in Canberra on Friday. Wade, 24, will make his ODI debut against India at the MCG on Sunday.

The WICB has increased the prize money for the Caribbean T20 tournament to US$62,500 for the winning team, a raise of US$37,500 from what reigning champions Guyana took home last year

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jan-2011The WICB has increased the prize money for the Caribbean T20 tournament to US$62,500 for the winning team, a raise of US$37,500 from what reigning champions Guyana took home last year. The total prize money for the event is US$125,000, more than double the amount in the tournament’s inaugural edition.The decision comes amid criticism from the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA), the players’ representative body in the Caribbean, of overspending by the board for the competition which includes two county teams, Hampshire and Somerset. The board has defended its spending on investment, claiming it has taken the rights steps to ensure a long-term return.”An increase from 8 to 10 teams and 16 to 24 matches from the CT20 2010 necessarily increase match operating and logistics costs, accommodation and travel expenses and television production costs,” the board had said. “Caribbean T20 is not yet a profit-making venture and is still in the investment phase. WICB has put the necessary plans in place to ensure that the tournament shows a long term return on investment.”The Caribbean T20 got underway on January 10 in Antigua.

Dirk Nannes has decided to become a limited-overs specialist and has retired from the first-class game

Cricinfo staff19-Feb-2010Dirk Nannes, the left-arm fast bowler, has decided to become a limited-overs specialist and has retired from the first-class game. Nannes has completed only one Sheffield Shield match for Victoria this season due to injury, but has remained a threat in the one-day and Twenty20 arena, including being part of Australia’s plans.”This decision will allow me to concentrate on 50-over and Twenty20 cricket and extend my career with Victoria and Australia,” he said. “Hopefully I can continue to make a strong contribution in the shorter forms of the game for a number of seasons to come.”Nannes struggled with a hamstring tendon injury at the start of the summer but returned to help Victoria win the domestic Twenty20 tournament and gain a spot in the Champions League. He will also link up with Delhi in the IPL next month and is in contention for a spot in Australia’s side for the World Twenty20.Now 33, Nannes focussed on skiing and snowboarding in his early 20s and didn’t debut for Victoria until 2006. In 23 first-class games he took 93 wickets at 25.02.”Dirk has been an important player for us across all forms of cricket in recent years but has struggled to get on the field in four-day games this season,” Cricket Victoria’s chief executive Tony Dodemaide said. “In light of this and taking into account his age and desire to play the shorter formats for as long as possible, we’ve accepted his position and look forward to him helping Victoria achieve even more success in the future.”

The former Australia fast bowler is all set to coach a Test team for the first time

Danyal Rasool29-Apr-2024Jason Gillespie’s resume makes him a strong contender for most coaching jobs, but there’s little doubt that in Pakistan, his nationality also carries weight. Pakistan’s admiration for, and in some cases obsession over, the Australian style of play has made them look to that country for roles as diverse as dressing-room mentors to pitch curators. Just weeks earlier, they made Shane Watson their primary candidate for the white-ball coaching role but he pulled out. Ever since, Gillespie has been first choice for Test coach and an agreement with him and Gary Kirsten – who takes over as white ball coach – is believed to have been agreed weeks ago.But Gillespie hasn’t become a respected coach by telling sides what they want to hear, and in his first remarks since his appointment, he warned that Pakistan shouldn’t simply look to emulate Australia or any other side. “My philosophy is – don’t try to be something that you’re not,” he told the PCB’s in-house media channel on a podcast. “I simply want the Pakistan cricket team to play the style of cricket that’s going to suit them; for me, that’s important.”You’ve got to be authentic in how you go about it. I will go out there and say: just be positive, aggressive, entertaining. Play with a smile on your faces and entertain our fans. There are going to be times when you have to grind it out, and that’s what Test cricket is. It’s a test of your skills, mental capacity, and patience. There are times to attack and times to soak up some periods of cricket from the opposition. If we can be as consistent as we can, then hopefully, the scoreboard will look after itself, and we can pick up some wins.”The former Australian fast bowler has had several coaches roles since he last played international cricket in 2006. Most successfully, Gillespie was Yorkshire’s head coach from 2011-16, overseeing their promotion from the second division in his first season, and won back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015. He has also taken up T20 coaching roles with Punjab Kings and Adelaide Strikers, as well as Sussex and South Australia.Related

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“The opportunity to be the head coach of Pakistan’s Test side is fantastic,” he said. “It’s an honour. I’ve been coaching for quite a while now in various roles around the world, but one thing I haven’t done is coach an international Test side. When this opportunity presented itself, I jumped at it.”Just how Pakistan plays, and the talented and skillful players Pakistan has, it’s great to be part of the team, and hopefully, I can help the team progress, improve, and play some entertaining cricket.”Gary Kirsten has three ICC events in the next two years as Pakistan’s white-ball coach•Getty Images

Kirsten also spoke to the PCB, calling it a “wonderful privilege” to be offered the job of Pakistan white-ball coach. “I think Pakistan sits as one of the top four to five coaching jobs in the world internationally,” he said. “What is important is that I have the opportunity to work with some of the best cricketers in the world and that excites me.”Kirsten had arguably the highest profile coaching job in the world when he was appointed coach of India in 2008, famously ending his tenure on the shoulders of Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina, who hoisted him up for a lap of honour after India won the 2011 ODI World Cup. If he sees out his current two-year contract, he will oversee Pakistan in three white-ball ICC events: two T20 World Cups and a home Champions Trophy in 2025.”The important thing for me is to understand where the team is at and where we want to go to – whether that is winning World Cup events, which, by the way, is not easy. Often some people think you just pitch in and you’re going to win the championship.”But if you can win one of those three ICC Events, that will be an amazing achievement on its own, whether it’s the upcoming event or it’s two years from now. My job is to make sure that the team operates at its best, it’s as simple as that. And if the team is operating at its best, we will always have a good chance of winning a trophy.”So for me, it is important to understand where is the team now and where its need to go to be able to compete right at the top of the pile, and that’s winning ICC events. You can’t guarantee a trophy, but what you can do is put the steps in place to give yourself the best chance of winning a trophy. And that’s really what I’ll tend to do.”

Gudakesh Motie, the star of West Indies’ win in the second Test in Zimbabwe, rises 77 places in the bowlers’ rankings

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Feb-2023R Ashwin moved to within 21 rating points of Pat Cummins at the top of the ICC Test bowlers’ rankings following his five-wicket haul in the second innings of the Nagpur Test between India and Australia. Ashwin is currently second on that table, while Ravindra Jadeja, who picked up a five-for in the first innings of the Test, is at No. 16.The two spinners played key roles in India’s three-day win over Australia, by an innings and 132 runs. After Australia batted first, Jadeja led the way with 5 for 47 as the visitors were bowled out for 177. India then put up 400, with Rohit Sharma hitting a century and Jadeja and Axar Patel scoring half-centuries, before Ashwin came into his own on the third day, running through the opposition with returns of 5 for 37, with Jadeja returning 2 for 34.

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Rohit’s 120, by far the most impressive batting effort on a tricky pitch, helped him move up from No. 10 to No. 8 on the batters’ table.David Warner and Usman Khawaja, the Australia openers, however, had a torrid time of it, scoring 1 and 10, and 1 and 5 respectively. As a result, Warner fell six spots to 20th and Khawaja went down two spots to tenth.Axar didn’t have much success with the ball in Nagpur, picking up just the solitary wicket in 13 overs across the two innings, but his 84, at a crucial time in the game, helped him move up in the allrounders’ rankings, up to seventh, a rise of six places.

Gudakesh Motie soars after 13-wicket match haul

The other Test series on in the past week featured Zimbabwe and West Indies, who drew their first game in Bulawayo before West Indies won inside three days in the second, also in Bulawayo. Gudakesh Motie was the star of the show, picking up 19 wickets in the two Tests, including 13 in the second, and that took him up 77 places to 46th place after playing just three Tests.In the first Test, Kraigg Brathwaite and Tagenarine Chanderpaul, the West Indies openers, put up a 336-run stand, with Brathwaite scoring 182 and Chanderpaul an unbeaten 207. It was the highest opening stand for West Indies in Tests, and the performance took Brathwaite up four spots to 21st and Chanderpaul up 28 spots to 58th.

Damp spot on a length caused problems after rain washed out the opening session

Alex Malcolm23-Nov-2021Travis Head and Usman Khawaja’s audition for Australia’s last Test batting spot has been delayed, with day one of the Sheffield Shield match between South Australia and Queensland abandoned after 50 overs due to concerns over the Karen Rolton Oval pitch.The players left the field at 4.30pm after Queensland batter Marnus Labuschagne raised concerns with the umpires over balls rearing from a length. A damp spot had developed on a difficult length at the southern end while the pitch was under the covers in the morning after rain had washed out the opening session of play.Labuschagne copped a blow on the gloves and survived a ball ballooning off the shoulder of the bat. He even called for an arm guard to wear on his left forearm that was significantly larger than the normal sweatband he wears, which does have some protective padding.Labuschagne and Head spoke with the umpires while Khawaja spoke to match referee Steve Davis on the sidelines. The players then left the field before Davis, the two umpires, and head curator Trent Kelly convened in the middle to inspect the surface. After that meeting, it was decided that play would be suspended for the day with Kelly and his ground staff to do seven minutes of work to flatten the damp spot with a heavy tool and the roller before letting the sun dry it out in the afternoon. Play will resume at 10am on day two.”Ground staff began immediate remedial work and officials will inspect the wicket tomorrow morning ahead of a scheduled re-commencement,” a statement said.Labuschagne had come to the crease after Queensland had lost Joe Burns to a ball that exploded from that damp spot and ballooned off the shoulder of the bat to second slip. David Grant’s delivery caused a chunk of the pitch to come up, and Burns walked off in disbelief after facing 105 deliveries for 17.Bryce Street was 45 not out from 147 balls when play was called off. The left-hander, who is preparing for his first Australia A assignment, was not as affected by the damp spot, given it was outside his leg stump. Scoring was painstakingly slow for Queensland as South Australia’s attack made life difficult on the unusual surface.

No team has ever won at Emirates Old Trafford after choosing to bowl first

Matt Roller24-Jul-2020Kraigg Brathwaite has defended his captain Jason Holder’s decision to bowl first for the second match in a row, despite England putting themselves into a commanding position in the deciding Test in Manchester.No team has ever won at Emirates Old Trafford after choosing to bowl first, and the team that batted first in the last four Tests at the ground went on to win. With that in mind, and after his call to bowl first last week backfired, it was a surprise that Holder again opted to field on Friday, not least with offspinner Rahkeem Cornwall included ahead of seamer Alzarri Joseph.ALSO READ: Pope, Buttler stand shores up England effortHolder said at the toss that there was “a little moisture in the surface” and that the overhead conditions had played a part in his decision. The wicket of Dom Sibley, trapped lbw by Kemar Roach, in the first over of the day seemed to vindicate his call, but with England closing on 258 for 4 thanks to a unbroken 136-run stand between Ollie Pope and Jos Buttler, there are valid questions for Holder to answer.”It’s been a pretty even day,” said Brathwaite in a virtual press conference, defending Holder’s decision. “We had a plan to bowl first. There was moisture in the wicket, and we thought as a team we wanted to utilise it.”They got a good partnership, but I don’t think we’re out of it, to be honest. Once we come out tomorrow and control the scoring rate, build that pressure, then I think we can get some wickets in the morning.”With both Saturday and Monday’s play in doubt due to rain, West Indies may find themselves needing to bat well only once in order to save the game, but Brathwaite denied that the forecast had an influence in their plan to bowl first, and refuted the idea that Holder was playing it safe.”I wouldn’t say that: we saw some moisture in the pitch,” he said. “Our plan was to get wickets early and put them under pressure. I wouldn’t say it was because of the weather as such.”The inclusion of Cornwall in particular seemed to be at odds with the decision to bowl first. West Indies had relied on Roston Chase as their main spinner throughout the series, bowling tight lines and keeping things tight, but instead picked Cornwall, a more attacking bowler, but denied him the chance to bowl last on a wearing surface.And while he took an excellent reaction catch in the slips and bowled some dangerous balls, Cornwall struggled to tie England down, leaking 3.38 runs per over. “He was unfortunate not to get a wicket, but I thought he had a decent start,” was Brathwaite’s unenthusiastic analysis.Brathwaite suggested in particular that early wickets once play is able to resume would be crucial, with England leaving out Zak Crawley and changing the balance of their side in order to compensate for Ben Stokes’ quad muscle injury, which has left him playing as a specialist batsman.That means Chris Woakes, who has averaged just 12.6 with the bat since his hundred against India at Lord’s in 2018, finds himself due to bat at No. 7, perhaps giving West Indies encouragement that one wicket could bring a flurry.”Early wickets will be crucial with the new ball, the harder ball,” Brathwaite said. “But [even] if we don’t get early ones, if we stay in it, there’s one less specialist batsman – Woakes can still bat – but two or three wickets could happen.”We’ve got to be very disciplined when we start out in the first session. The harder ball on the surface is always good [so] I think the new ball’s crucial for us. Once we build that pressure with some tight overs, we’ll get some wickets early.”

Young wicketkeeper-batsman Tom Banton scored his maiden Somerset ton to set up a 264-run thrashing

ECB Reporters Network19-Apr-2019Tom Banton scored a superb maiden hundred as Somerset thrashed Kent by 264 runs in a one-sided Royal London Cup contest at the Cooper Associates Ground.Making only his eighth appearance in the competition, the youngster raised a career-best 107 to help the hosts register an imposing 358 for 9 after being put in. Craig Overton posted a blistering unbeaten half century and then took 5 for 18 as last season’s finalists were bowled out for 94 in just 27 overs.Selected on the strength of a notable white-ball innings of 150 in a recent 2nd XI match against a Middlesex attack that included James Harris and Toby Roland-Jones, former England Under-19 international Banton was preferred to seasoned campaigner Steve Davis.Promoted to open for the first time in a List-A fixture, the 20-year-old made the most of his opportunity, playing with a confidence and panache that suggested he is at last ready to realise a potential that went largely unfulfilled during teenage years spent in Warwickshire’s Academy.Forthright from the outset, Banton produced some sumptuous drives in dominating stands of 78 and 82 with Peter Trego and James Hildreth for the second and third wickets respectively. Eclipsing his previous best score of 40, Banton raised 50 from 44 balls before accelerating. He moved to his hundred via a further 37 deliveries, at which point a sun-drenched Bank Holiday crowd of more than 5000 rose to acclaim a new favourite.Just when a really substantial score appeared to be his for the asking, he suffered an unexpected lapse in composure, miscuing a pull shot to mid-off to reward Harry Podmore’s persistence. Adorned with 11 fours and a trio of sixes, Banton’s 81-ball innings provided Somerset with a crucial foundation.This was built upon by Tom Abell and Lewis Gregory, who combined quick running and clever placement in a fifth-wicket alliance of 73, illuminated by the latter’s free-flowing knock of 51 from 45 balls.Although both fell to startling catches by Alex Blake at short extra cover, there was no respite for Kent as Overton picked up the cudgels in a blistering innings of 66 not out from 36 balls, his highest in List-A cricket. Opening his shoulders, he treated Somerset fans to an almighty straight-hit six at the expense of Podmore, the ball clearing the roof of the Sir Ian Botham Stand and landing in the River Tone.Deprived of the services of key batsmen Joe Denly, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Heino Kuhn and Sam Billings, Kent’s top-six appeared denuded of much of it’s potency. And so it proved when the ubiquitous Overton went to work, the England paceman accounting for Sean Dickson, Ollie Robinson and danger-man Matt Renshaw in a devastating burst of 3 for 6 in 21 balls to effectively strangle Kent’s reply in its infancy.Josh Davey had Zak Crawley held in the slips, Tim Groenewald defused the potentially explosive Blake, accounted for Adam Rouse and then ran out Darren Stevens, while Overton returned to mop up tailenders Matt Milnes and Imran Qayyum.Deployed behind the stumps, Banton added further gloss to his performance, weighing in with three catches on a day to remember for the youngster.

Yuvraj Singh and Manan Vohra also contributed significantly as Punjab chased down Mumbai’s target of 199 with three wickets in hand

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2018Shreyas Iyer’s unbeaten 44-ball 79 was trumped by Punjab‘s collective assault as they chased down Mumbai‘s target of 199 with three wickets and four balls in hand in Kolkata. Yuvraj Singh struck a 34-ball 40, while Gurkeerat Singh (43 off 18 balls) and Manan Vohra (42 off 31 balls) produced quicker cameos.Iyer, who made his international debut last season, has been retained by Delhi Daredevils for INR 7 crore ahead of the IPL auction. The likes of Yuvraj – who has set his base price at the highest bracket of INR 2 crore – Vohra (INR 20 lakh) and Gurkeerat (INR 50 lakh) are likely to receive a few bids at the auction. Yuvraj has had a decent run lately, having produced scores of 50* and 35* during the zonal phase of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament.Earlier, Mumbai, having been put in to bat, began in rousing fashion with Akhil Herwadkar and Jay Bista scoring 45 runs in 5.2 overs before the latter was removed by Mayank Markande. Iyer and Herwadkar then put on 73 runs for the second wicket. After Herwadkar’s dismissal in the 14th over, there weren’t many big partnerships but Shivam Dubey’s 22 off 12 balls and captain Aditya Tare’s unbeaten 13 included a few big hits. Punjab captain Harbhajan Singh went wicketless in his three overs and conceded 27 runs.Punjab’s chase barely had a hiccup after Vohra and Mandeep Singh set things up with a 42-run stand in 3.5 overs. With Harbhajan continuing to bat at No. 3, Yuvraj, Gurkeerat and Sharad Lumba (21 off 10 balls) provided the middle-order muscle.