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The New Zealander scored 95 and then bagged five wickets in a superb display against Melbourne Stars

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Dec-2018New Zealand allrounder Sophie Devine produced a stunning all-round display as she became the first player in WBBL to score a half-century and take five wickets in the same match.She only came up five runs short of a century, clubbing 95 off 60 balls for Adelaide Strikers – an innings that included five sixes – adding 131 for the third with Bridget Patterson before falling to the last ball of the penultimate over.That was far from the end of her day, however, as she then cut off a brisk start from Melbourne Stars in their chase by removing the dangerous Lizelle Lee. The five-wicket bag was completed in her final over when Nicola Hancock was caught behind.Devine’s figures of 5 for 41 were the fourth best in the WBBL. Two years ago she scored an unbeaten 103 against the Hurricanes.In 2015 Grace Harris scored 103 off 55 balls opening for Brisbane Heat before taking 4 for 15 in two overs.

After his fighting first-innings 80, Raza picked up his maiden Test five-for and said he was both proud and humbled by the achievement

Liam Brickhill in Bulawayo31-Oct-2017Sikandar Raza was Zimbabwe’s unlikely bowling hero on the third day at Queens Sports Club. After his fighting first-innings 80, Raza picked up his maiden Test five-for and said he was both proud and humbled by the achievement.

‘We’ll put more miles on their legs’ – Powell

West Indies opener Kieran Powell believes it is “definitely advantage Windies” after they ended the third day with a lead of 48 runs in Bulawayo.
“If we could stretch this to a 100-150 run lead, that would be massive,” Powell said. “We’re only 48 runs ahead now, but we’ve put lots of miles on their legs. We’re going to come back tomorrow with two set guys as well, put some more miles on their legs and stretch out that lead as much as possible. Any lead is a good lead on this pitch. Tomorrow we don’t know if the pitch is going to start going up and down, so we’ve got to get as big a lead as possible that will help us push for a result.”
Powell played a significant role in pushing West Indies ahead. With Kraigg Brathwaite for company, he ground Zimbabwe down on Monday afternoon before upping the tempo on day three.
“It was just the flow of the day’s play,” Powell said. “Obviously, yesterday they bowled a bit tighter, and they bowled better lines. Today they gave us more scoring opportunities, and as the day progressed we had guys lower down the order to push the score along as well.”

“It’s quite a humbling and proud feeling, especially seeing your team do well as you take five,” Raza said. “It’s one of the roles you have as an allrounder. We always knew that missing [Kyle] Jarvis and Sean [Williams] would be tough. The way that [Graeme] Cremer bowled it could have been him as well.”I still like to think that I’m a batter who can bowl, but being an allrounder it becomes a responsibility that you need to step up whenever you are given an opportunity. We are spending a lot more time as a spinning unit working on our bowling compared to six months ago, so to see the rewards like this is certainly humbling.”Raza finished the day with 5 for 82 from 43 overs. He might easily have had a sixth wicket when he trapped Jason Holder in front of the stumps when he had scored just 11, but Umpire Kumar Dharmasena disagreed with the appeal and Zimbabwe had already used up all of their reviews. Indeed, it was Raza who had used their last review attempting to dislodge Kieran Powell.”It is what it is,” Raza said. “I said to the captain that I think I deserved it because we went for a review on Powell when we shouldn’t have. Kumar said he heard an inside edge. We didn’t. But a few go your way and a few don’t. The [Roston] Chase decision could have gone either way. You win some you lose some.”Holder went on to strike an unbeaten 71, putting on 144 for the eighth wicket with Shane Dowrich and extending West Indies lead to 48 at the close. “We wanted to be 48 ahead,” Raza said. “If the decision against Holder had gone our way then that could have happened. But we tried everything, we bowled well, we fielded well, our energies were up. Sometimes you’re going to have to raise your hand and say that we tried everything and it didn’t work because the opposition have batted well. Credit to them for batting that well.”A natural optimist, Raza reminded the press corp that Zimbabwe were just a few overs away from the new ball on Wednesday morning. Only half joking, he also said he would be willing to open the bowling in West Indies’ second innings.”The last hour was easier [for West Indies] because there wasn’t much turn and what turn there was, was slow,” Raza said. “But we’re 10 overs away from a third new ball, so that’s a positive. I think if Cremer refuses then I’ll pick up the ball and take the first over [in the second innings]. But the way the body is feeling right now, I might make sure he uses all the utilities before he comes to me.”With two more full days to go in the second Test, Raza suggested that Zimbabwe would be happy defending 270 to 300 runs on a pitch likely to break up in the next two days.”Hopefully, we come back fresh tomorrow with all three spinners and two seamers and have a plan how we’re going to go about our business,” he said. “First we have to look at how we get these three wickets and then how we bat second time around. Depending on the time, I think 270 to 300 would be a good total to defend.”

Legspinner Amit Mishra has said he was very pleased with his showing on a difficult track in India’s warm-up game against West Indies Cricket Board President’s XI in Basseterre

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jul-2016Legspinner Amit Mishra has said he was very pleased with his showing on a difficult track in India’s warm-up game against West Indies Cricket Board President’s XI in Basseterre. Mishra, who took four wickets in the one innings India bowled in, said the pitch was very slow, making it easier for the batsmen to cope with whatever he threw at them, but he persevered with varying his deliveries and that worked for him.”I am happy with my performance as bowling on this track was very difficult,” Mishra told . “To get my bowling rhythm back on a slow batting track is a good sign. I was trying to vary my speed and was looking to confuse the batsmen. I didn’t want them to know at what speed I was bowling. I was also mixing up my deliveries, bowling straighter ones in between and turning the rest. I am very happy that on a slow wicket I could dismiss four batsmen.”Mishra’s 4 for 67 included the wickets of opener Rajendra Chandrika and No. 4 Jermaine Blackwood off consecutive deliveries after the pair had added 122. Mishra said working with India’s new coach, Anil Kumble, a legspinner himself, also helped him deal with the conditions. “Anil is with us and his experience is going to matter a lot. He has played here and he kept telling us about the conditions. We will utilise his experience and form a strategy together.”There were many things that he told me, like my bowling technique, landing and finishing. Looking at the wicket, he told me what are the areas where I can bowl, and the kind of fields that I could set on a slow wicket.”Mishra also had words of praise for the way captain Virat Kohli functions. “Virat Kohli is a positive person and he has created a similar positive environment within the team. He always supports me. There are no boundaries. Whenever I want to share something with him, I am free to express my opinion. He tells me, ‘You’re a wicket-taking bowler and that is what you must do. You stay positive and stick to your strengths. Do not think about anything else.'”India are scheduled to play one more warm-up match against the WICB President’s XI, a three-day game at the same venue, which starts on July 14. That will be followed by the first Test which begins on July 21 in Antigua.

Durham needed only 43 minutes to wrap up a six-wicket win over Worcestershire at New Road which takes them top of the Championship Division One table

ECB/PA27-May-2015
ScorecardMichael Richardson saw Durham home after Paul Collingwood’s 127 paved the way to victory•Getty Images

Durham needed only 43 minutes to wrap up a six-wicket win over Worcestershire at New Road which takes them top of the Championship Division One table. The result was largely influenced by Paul Collingwood’s highest Championship score for 10 years, and although the captain was out for 127 in the third over of the final day, Durham knocked off the remaining 48 runs with a minimum of fuss.Having been watched by his parents in reaching 111 not out on his 39th birthday, Collingwood was in celebratory mode when taking 13 runs off four balls from Joe Leach on the fourth morning. A cover drive for four completed a century partnership with Michael Richardson and this was followed by a six, which landed alongside the pavilion, and then another crisp off-side shot for three.However, Collingwood was caught behind in the next over from Charlie Morris, sparring at a lifting delivery outside the off stump.In a throwback to his best years, Collingwood brought authority and calmness to what could have become a tricky run-chase. In all he faced 183 balls, picking off 17 fours and two sixes while breaking the back of the task in stands of 108 with Keaton Jennings and 112 with Richardson.For Richardson, who took over the gloves from regular wicketkeeper Philip Mustard, it was a particularly good match, with seven catches and a third half-century of the summer after dropping one place in the order as a concession to the additional workload. Up until Collingwood’s departure he had not added even a single, but thereafter he comfortably assumed the leading role and moved up to an unbeaten 66 after scoring 25 of the last 32 runs with Gordon Muchall.Worcestershire’s fourth defeat in five games since winning promotion would have been a sobering experience and, not for the first time, they competed strongly for two-thirds of the match but failed to carry their performance through.Collingwood admitted Durham were looking “down and out” after losing nine wickets for 103 in the first innings, and to win from there made this one of the best victories of his time as captain. “We had to show a lot of spirit,” he said. “Full credit to Worcestershire, they pushed us really hard. I said in the dressing room that we needed some big performances. Thankfully the boys did that.”With his side now at the top of the table, having recovered from away defeats to Middlesex and Warwickshire, Collingwood added: “We are delighted with the position we are in but we need to continue improving. We are not really playing our best cricket but we are managing to get over the line.”Director of cricket Steve Rhodes was left to analyse another match that slipped away from Worcestershire. “Well, there have been a few this year,” he said. “Why is that? Is it because we are not recognising those key moments? I don’t think that is it because we talk about it a lot when we get chances in the breaks.”But ultimately some credit goes to Durham. That fightback for the 10th wicket [in the first innings] was crucial in that match. We missed a chance or two in that little period and then it became tough. This was possibly the best position we have been in to win a game apart from against Somerset.”

Sharmila Tagore, the widow of Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, asked the BCCI to name India-England series as the Pataudi trophy but the board said the series is already played for the Anthony de Mello Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-2012Sharmila Tagore, the widow of former India captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, has written to the BCCI asking for the upcoming series between India and England to be recognised as the Pataudi Trophy. The Indian board has responded saying that England’s Test series in India are contested for the Anthony de Mello Trophy.Pataudi, who died in September 2011, played 46 Tests for India, captaining in 40, and scored 2793 runs at an average of 34.91. Pataudi’s father, Iftikhar Ali Khan, represented both England and India in Tests. De Mello was an administrator who was instrumental in the formation of the BCCI, the Cricket Club of India and other cricketing institutions.In Tagore’s letter, written on November 2, to BCCI President N Srinivasan, she said she was disappointed that the board had not instituted a Pataudi lecture and the Pataudi Trophy.
“As you are aware, next week the India-England Test series begins,” Tagore said. “I am given to understand ECB has already written to BCCI requesting to make the trophy official.”The BCCI responded in a press release saying it couldn’t name the series after Pataudi. “India-England Test Series in India is played for the Anthony De Mello trophy instituted in 1951 in the name of the first secretary of the BCCI, recognising his contribution to Indian cricket.”The MCC had commissioned the Pataudi Trophy in 2007, to be presented to the winning captain at the end of future England-India Test series. It was conceived to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the first-ever India-England Test series that took place in 1932, named after the Pataudi family for their contribution to Anglo-Indian cricket. The BCCI, though, didn’t give its official stamp of approval to the naming of the trophy.”In 2007, when MCC proposed the institution of Pataudi Trophy for England-India series, the BCCI had clarified that the trophy is already named after Anthony De Mello.”November 6, 2.15pm GMT This story has been updated with the BCCI’s response

Mazhar Majeed, the agent of several Pakistan players, was offered US$1 million by an Indian bookmaker to ensure the team lost the third Test at The Oval against England

Richard Sydenham at Southwark Crown Court11-Oct-2011Mazhar Majeed, the agent of several Pakistan players, was offered US$1 million by an Indian bookmaker to ensure the team lost the third Test at The Oval against England, which they eventually won, a court heard in London on Tuesday.On the fifth morning of the alleged spot-fixing trial involving former Pakistan captain Salman Butt and fast bowler Mohammad Asif, the jury was played recordings captured by undercover journalist and the prosecution’s key witness Mazhar Mahmood, who stood behind a screen in the witness box at Southwark Crown Court.It was Mahmood’s covert sting operation, while working then for the , which that sparked one of cricket’s biggest controversies. Butt and Asif are facing charges of conspiracy to cheat, and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, following that Lord’s Test in August last year when they allegedly conspired with agent Mazhar Majeed, teenage fast bowler Amir and other people unknown to bowl pre-determined no-balls. Butt and Asif deny the charges.One of the recordings related to the match at The Oval and was actually taken before the fourth day of that match started, when England were 221 for 9 overnight in their second innings. On that Saturday morning they subsequently lost their tenth wicket and Pakistan went on to reach their target of 148 with six wickets down to secure victory.But that result might have been different had Majeed taken up the huge offer from his unnamed contact in India. The undercover journalist was sitting in the lounge of Majeed’s luxurious house in Croydon, while watching footage of Pakistan matches, Majeed was explaining how ‘brackets’ – a fixed segment in a match – work. Then Majeed called a number in India.The conversation proceeded as follows, according to the transcript that was played to the court from an audio visual recording:(Majeed): “Boss, you know what we spoke about last night, what offer can you give me for today’s game? Tell me, just give me a figure now, we haven’t got long.(an Asian male) “For the game?(Majeed) “Yeah exactly.(Asian) “If you tell me what you want.(Majeed) “Okay there’s a possibility, I’m just telling you now yeah?(Asian) “Yeah(Majeed) “But they’re talking, they’re talking at least 1.2, at least.(Asian) “1.2, that’s 1.2 dollars.(Majeed) “In dollars yeah.(Asian) inaudible(Majeed) “Boss you know how many we’ve got, you know that they do it, so of course that’s not a problem. But you just give me the figure and I’m gonna get back to you. Then I, we haven’t got much time.(Asian) “I give you one.(Majeed) “One million yeah?(Asian) “One, one I give you, but has to be a definite game score.(Majeed) “Okay, okay fine, okay boss I’ll call you back. Let me get, give me ten minutes and I’ll call you back?(Asian) “Okay, okay.”After the phone rings off, Majeed said to the undercover journalist: “See what I mean?” He added: “There’s big, big money in results boss I tell you. You can see that.”The journalist went on to quiz Majeed at how he would collect his million dollars, to which Majeed explained that he would be given the money in cash from Pakistan, and “some in Dubai”…”some in England”.Journalist Mahmood asked Majeed how he moved the money for the players and he said, ‘the only reason I bought the football club (Croydon Athletic) was to move the money’. Majeed had earlier boasted in that conversation, relating to general fixing, that “the three boys who are very, very clever at this (were)…Salman (Butt), Kamran (Akmal) and xxx (a name that was blanked out from transcript).”Majeed added, when the journalist pointed at the replays on television, that they were investigated for the defeats in Australia in 2010: “Boss they get bloody investigated, they have been talking about investigating the players for the last 50 years.”Within the recording played to the court, Mahmood urged Majeed to phone Kamran Akmal, though why he was calling him was not made clear from the transcript. Majeed did, though, call Akmal first on his mobile, getting his voicemail and then tried him unsuccessfully at the team hotel room at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington.The case continues.

Sachin Tendulkar was disappointed with the way India’s batting collapsed after he got out

Sidharth Monga at the Chinnaswamy Stadium12-Oct-2010Sachin Tendulkar wasn’t in his usual cheerful press conference mood, his slightly sombre interaction standing out on a day when he joined Virender Sehwag as the Indian with most double-centuries.When the day began, Tendulkar was a stroll away from his sixth double, and many hoped for what would have been a maiden triple. Missing out on that elusive landmark, though, was not playing on his mind. “As far as scoring runs is concerned, you try to score as many as you can,” he said. “Sometimes you manage them, sometimes you don’t. The effort is in my hands, not the result. I have always tried my best to contribute. It is about what I want to do for my team. And I will not compromise on that.”Perhaps his mood had to do with the way the rest of the batting collapsed, not slamming the door on the Australians. The four wickets after him added just nine runs against pretty unspectacular bowling. As a result, India can’t be assured of the series win after nine days of gruelling Test cricket during which they have won most of the crucial moments.”Disappointed to lose five wickets in the span of 45 to 50 runs in the morning but such is the game,” Tendulkar said. “I think we have come back very well. Bowlers did a fantastic job. It’s going to be a big day for us tomorrow. The Test match is at a critical stage. It’s all about how we deal with pressure and apply ourselves.”A special moment during his double-century didn’t have much to do with Tendulkar. It was when M Vijay reached his maiden century. Tendulkar looked the happier of the two as he hugged the youngster and had a long chat with him. It was reminiscent of his reaction when Suresh Raina reached his first hundred alongside him against Sri Lanka in July. Being with them reminds Tendulkar of the time he scored his first century. It is a feeling not many know, and Tendulkar of course has gone on to score 48 more. There cannot be a better person to share that feeling with if you are a young upcoming batsman.”Scoring the first hundred is always special and I am sure the players will never forget that moment,” Tendulkar said. “However many more hundreds you score after that, but the first hundred is always special. All these guys have been really working hard, it is wonderful to see the guys working hard in the nets and applying themselves in the big games, and also becoming successful. It is wonderful to our cricket and they deserve it.”Along the way, 11 of those 49 hundreds have come against a side that has dominated world cricket for most of Tendulkar’s playing days. “I just got to know that I have got 11 hundreds against Australia,” Tendulkar said. “I don’t believe in counting. It feels nice. To score runs against a top side is obviously satisfying and it has been a great challenge playing against them.”Tendulkar’s focus, though, remains on the final day’s play of another Test that has swung this way and that, and neither team holds clear ascendency going into the finale. “We know that if our opposition has scored 470 and it is there on the board, you have to chase it to stay in the game and then at one stage also on the top of the game,” Tendulkar said. “These challenges are something we all look forward to, we don’t want to take anything for granted. It’s going to be exciting and that’s what I can say. It’s going to be a wonderful day.”

Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, and a dead Ahmedabad pitch (21 wickets and seven centuries in five days) put paid to Sri Lanka’s dream of a first Test win in India

The Bulletin by Sidharth Monga20-Nov-2009
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outSachin Tendulkar crossed 30,000 international runs, and reached his 88th international century•AFP

Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, and a dead Ahmedabad pitch (21 wickets and seven centuries in five days) put paid to Sri Lanka’s dream of a first Test win in India. Gambhir played out 110 deliveries for 40 runs, and Tendulkar 211 for 100 runs; both of them looked entirely at home in the role of saving a Test, not letting dot balls affect their minds.By the time the final session of the match arrived, the only question left unanswered was whether Tendulkar would get to his 88th international century. Kumar Sangakkara didn’t seem pleased with being kept on the field in the mandatory overs while Tendulkar moved towards the ton. The bowlers started bowling way outside off stump, and Tendulkar retorted in his own inimitable manner. He walked across to a delivery so wide it would have been called in an ODI, and flicked it to the square-leg boundary to get into the 90s. He had to work similarly hard for the rest of the runs too. As soon as he got there, the captains agreed to call off the match with six overs still to go.Sri Lanka started the day 144 ahead, and needed eight Indian wickets to force a result, but met a docile pitch and determined batting. The only break in concentration came in the second session when Gambhir stepped out to launch Rangana Herath out of the ground, and ended up losing his wicket. That was not before he had reached his seventh century: four of them, including his last three, have come in the second innings, two of them in match-saving scenarios. He now averages 59.55 in the second innings, against 54.22 overall.Sri Lanka were not helped by the hamstring injury to Dammika Prasad, who didn’t bowl in the first session, and Muttiah Muralitharan’s ineffectiveness: he didn’t take a wicket in 38 second-innings overs. Previously Murali had gone wicketless in the second innings of a match only six times; the most he had bowled in such scenarios was 17 overs. Their problems on the unhelpful pitch were summed up by how Amit Mishra, nightwatchman from yesterday, got to his personal best score and frustrated them for 26 deliveries on the fifth morning.

Smart Stats

• Gautam Gambhir’s 114 was his fourth century in the second innings; he averages 59.55 in the second innings, significantly higher than his overall average of 54.22.

• Sachin Tendulkar’s 43rd Test century was 11th in the second innings; he averages 54.79 overall but it dips to 42.40 in the second innings.

• A total of 1598 runs were scored in the Test, the second-highest aggregate for Tests in India.

• The Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad ranks fourth in the list of Indian venues with the highest average runs per wicket. Each wicket averages 34.88 at the venue, but the list is headed by the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi with 35.88.

• Muttiah Muralitharan was played cautiously but was kept at bay by each of the batsmen. Gambhir took him for 31 off 73, Amit Mishra made 2 off 22, Tendulkar scored 32 off 50 and Laxman 25 off 50.
  

Gambhir, at the other end, was in his Napier-like mode from earlier this year, when he batted 643 minutes for 137 runs to save the Test. Even today, he was not interested in scoring, or in other words he didn’t let being stuck at one end bother him much. Angelo Mathews bowled well in Prasad’s absence, hitting good lengths consistently, getting some of them to stay low and getting the odd one to seam away off the rare crack on the pitch. But Gambhir took most of the strike to him, playing 30 consecutive balls from Mathews for no run in the first hour, certain in his judgement outside off, and coming forward to straighter deliveries to negate the odd shooter.Against spinners, Gambhir preferred to stay back, or jump out of the track and get close enough to the delivery. He did pull out the big hits in the 90s, as he is used to doing because he prefers to get the 90s done with quickly. He took 61 deliveries to move from overnight 74 to 90, but then hit three boundaries in six balls to reach his century quickly. And then scored two runs in 25 deliveries. The approach in the 90s was similar to that in Napier, when he stepped out and lofted Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel for fours in consecutive overs.Post lunch, when Gambhir played his only rash shot, he left the saunter towards safety in Tendulkar’s hands. Tendulkar had started off fluently, driving Murali against the spin for two boundaries, and punching Mathews for one, and once he got comfortable in the middle he too opted to play for time. Between them Gambhir and Tendulkar played out 24 overs. The latter had reached 32 off 75 deliveries, and slowed down even more after that.Sri Lanka tried one of the last rolls of the dice, taking the new ball and getting Prasad to bowl despite the injury. But neither Prasad nor Chanaka Welegedara could find enough from the pitch to disturb Tendulkar or VVS Laxman. For a while Tendulkar shut shop completely, scoring three runs in 26 deliveries. By that time he had reached 30,000 international runs, and it seemed torturous to make the fast bowlers keep bowling on this pitch.The spinners came back on, the match started moving towards a slow draw again. By tea Tendulkar had crossed 50, India had erased the deficit, and Tendulkar and Laxman had played out another 24 overs. Post the interval, both Tendulkar and Laxman batted with more intent, in the knowledge that the game had been saved. Sri Lankan bowlers tried various angles of attack, but there was little left to play for, and both the batsmen duly reached personal milestones.

Gill was run out for his first score past 20 and under 100 since arriving in England

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jul-2025Shubman Gill has been the man all through this tour and once again he was able to tick off a record – most runs by an India captain in a Test series – but his poor luck with the toss continued. And just as he was helping get his team past that disadvantage he was run out for his first score past 20 and under 100 since arriving in England, meaning he had gotten a start and, against the odds, gave it away. Ten balls later, the rain came and swept everyone back into the dressing room. It was as untimely as a wicket could ever be, leaving India at 85 for 3.B Sai Sudharsan was the batter at the other end, and although he took a step forward, there was no way he was going to make it across for a single. Of all the ways to get out on a pitch with 8mm of grass and consistent sideways movement – both swing and seam. India were negotiating all that well for the most part. Gus Atkinson, returning to the fold after just a second XIs game to judge his fitness, was the single biggest threat from England. He took down Yashasvi Jaiswal in the fourth over and had a part to play in the Gill run-out as well – quick to spot the opportunity in his follow-through and nailing a direct hit at the keeper’s end.England went into the Oval Test with a vastly changed bowling attack, Chris Woakes the unlikely survivor despite playing all five matches. Ben Stokes was out with injury. Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse were rested and the replacements didn’t seem quite up for it. Josh Tongue gave away 11 runs in wides in his first over and Jamie Overton’s first three overs cost more than five runs apiece. Atkinson was keeping them in it, his first spell a wonderful example of how to keep it simple and reap the rewards on offer. He pitched the ball up, kept a tight line around off stump and walked away with figures of 6-1-7-1.India, though, were recovering from that. Sai Sudharsan was leaving the ball well – a marked improvement from the last Test where he was out for a duck leaving the ball to second slip – and seemed better equipped to handle balls aimed at his body as well. He is 28 off 84, having played some gorgeous drives down the ground. There were only six overs bowled in the middle session due to rain interruptions but that was still enough to cause a significant dent to India, whose hopes now lie with one batter who made his debut on this tour and another on the comeback trail which might not have a lot of trail left. Karun Nair, brought back in place of Shardul Thakur, was unbeaten on 0 off 8 at tea.

Takes over from predecessor Will Rhodes after signing contract extension

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2024Alex Davies has been named as the new captain of Warwickshire, following Will Rhodes’ decision to step down after four years in the role.Davies, 29, has played more than 50 senior matches for the club across formats since joining from Lancashire in 2021, and in last season’s Vitality Blast, he led the side to ten wins out of ten after stepping into the job following Moeen Ali’s unexpected Ashes recall.His promotion comes alongside a new contract that will keep him at Edgbaston at least until the end of 2026, and he’s vowed to “give absolutely everything” to the club’s pursuit of silverware.”My overriding feeling is pride, It’s an honour captaining any club at any level, but to captain a club as big as Warwickshire is a huge privilege, “he said. “Edgbaston has become home to me. I won’t be leaving anything out there on the pitch, I’ll give it my all.”Taking the T20 reins last year has helped prepare me for the role, to really get to know the lads, their different characters and how they like to be dealt with on and off the field. That experience should stand me in good stead.”Warwickshire’s Performance Director Gavin Larsen added: “I’m delighted that Al accepted the captaincy role. We’ve had a good preview of how he operates after he captained for most of the T20 last year. Al was successful, popular with players, communicated superbly, and worked collaboratively with the coaches.”Al was always a strong candidate for captain given his vice-captain experience last year. He certainly displayed all the right attributes to take over should the opportunity arise.”The captain, ultimately, will only be as good as his team. What a good captain can do is bring out the best in his players and Al demonstrated that last summer in the Blast. He’s a people person, and will now be plotting how he can help to take this great club forward.”A decision will be made on the T20 captaincy once Moeen Ali’s Indian Premier League and England commitments are finalised.