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Agarwal chips in with half-century as well as visitors take control of the Boxing Day Test

Sidharth Monga26-Dec-2021With his fifth Test century outside Asia, KL Rahul led India to a position of dominance in the first Test of the series. On an uncharacteristically flat track, South Africa’s attack, for some reason missing Duanne Olivier, lacked the menace or the discipline to create indecision from the batters. A lot of the questions India’s batting had over them coming into the series were questions posed by extremely tough conditions they almost always play in. The moment they got a good batting pitch, they ended the day at 272 for 3.Rahul and Mayank Agarwal – Boxing Day buddies from Bangalore – put together India’s first century opening stand in South Africa since 2010 before Rahul added two stands worth 82 each with Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane. South Africa managed to draw just the 60 false responses in the whole day. You expect at least one an over from a good attack on a decent Test surface.Rahul made a forgettable debut on Boxing Day in 2014, but lost his spot to his friend and Karnataka team-mate Agarwal in the 2018 Boxing Day Test. Three years later, they found themselves opening together in this Boxing Day Test, and their captain won the toss to allow them first use of a pitch that tends to be at its most challenging in the first and the fourth innings.Rahul will be the first one to concede Agarwal’s was the more fluent innings, but he also got a few more loose balls to get going. Even as the signs of a flat track were apparent in the early exchanges, left-arm Marco Jansen debuted with a set of half-volleys, going for three boundaries in the 10th over and giving Agarwal a head start.Rahul might not have had the fluency of Agarwal, but he did most things expert batters do in scoring Test hundreds: leave well, defend with soft hands, wasn’t pushed back by short balls, took toll of half-volleys and had some luck. The highlight of the innings was the leave, which if you are not looking closely might lead you to believe he has been beaten. When the ball was new and bowled in good areas, Rahul kept playing well inside the line. He only actually played when the bowlers moved to the line under his head.2:31

Did South Africa make the right choice in Marco Jansen over Duanne Olivier?

In the post-lunch session, Lungi Ngidi provided South Africa a look-in with two wickets in two balls. The first one nipped back from short of a length, and took a review that neither the on-field umpires nor the batter could believe. Having sent Agarwal back, though, South Africa looked like they had a plan for the first time since the early few overs. They had a backward short leg and a short square leg for Cheteshwar Pujara, who got out bat-pad for only his second golden duck in Test cricket, the first being a run-out to Ngidi at the same ground.This was the period when uneven bounce began to trouble Rahul. One short ball stopped on him, and climbed for a top edge to long leg, but fell just short of the fielder. Another jumped up, and sailed over the cordon. Even so, Rahul showed no adventure against the short ball, choosing to wait for the loose ones, which he kept getting. With two quick wickets and Virat Kohli at the wicket, South Africa chose to bowl Kagiso Rabada for only four overs in the middle session.Kohli looked in excellent touch too. He trusted the pitch enough to pull out the cover drive away from his body, crashing Rabada through the off side in the final session. This was a spell where Rabada went flat out and asked questions of Rahul with short-pitched bowling. Rahul, who had identified tennis-ball bounce as the main threat before the Test, refused to hook and was okay wearing a few if needed. In the 63rd over, when Rabada tried the full ball after two searing bouncers, Rahul was forward, playing a crunchy drive through the covers to reach 78.Rahul got to 90 with a four and a six off Keshav Maharaj in the 66th over of the innings, forcing a double change with Rabada, too, done with his post-tea spell. With the double change came two maiden overs, and then Kohli drove at a really wide delivery. It was so wide he actually did well to edge Ngidi to first slip.In the final exchanges, Rahul calmly spent 12 overs in the 90s, taking singles to get to 99, and then square-driving Maharaj to bring up a hundred in a sixth different country. Under-pressure Rahane found a few Christmas gifts early in the innings, hitting six boundaries in the first 35 balls he faced. The new ball brought no new threat as the two saw India through to stumps.

Former Zimbabwe captain accepts ban and separately one charge of breaching doping code

Nagraj Gollapudi28-Jan-2022Former Zimbabwe captain Brendan Taylor has been banned from all cricket for three-and-a-half years by the ICC’s anti-corruption unit for failing to report an approach from alleged corruptors without delay. In a release on Friday, the ICC said Taylor has accepted the ban, which starts from January 28. Taylor has also accepted one charge of breaching the doping code – relating to a dope test he failed in his last international game last year. He tested positive for cocaine.The ICC release comes at the end of a week which began with Taylor’s confession on Twitter of the encounter he failed to report. Taylor revealed he had been filmed using cocaine during a meeting in India with an alleged businessmen that the ICC refers to as ‘Mr S’, who then used that video to allegedly blackmail Taylor into an agreement to spot-fix.Taylor, who will turn 36 next week, has also since admitted himself into a rehabilitation clinic.Taylor told the that he had “beaten a few” drugs tests in the past few years before eventually failing one in his final international match in September 2021. “I might have beaten a few tests in the past two-and-a-half years but it got me when I was heading for destruction,” Taylor said.Related

• Brendan Taylor set for ODI comeback in Zimbabwe's series against Sri Lanka

• Brendan Taylor's ban ends, added to second Test squad against NZ

• 'I didn't know how to do life anymore': Brendan Taylor's biggest battle

• How Brendan Taylor got into a fix

• Brendan Taylor says he faces ICC ban for delay in reporting approach

The ICC release said Taylor breached the ACU code on four counts, including failing to disclose not just the approach but also receiving gifts and cash, including hospitality, from the alleged corruptors. One of the approaches to spot-fix, the charge read, was made for Zimbabwe’s tours to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh: “Failing to disclose to the ACU (without unnecessary delay) full details of the approach received to engage in corrupt conduct under the Code including in relation to Zimbabwe’s then upcoming series against Sri Lanka and/or Bangladesh.”Taylor was also charged with “obstructing or delaying an ACU investigation,” because he first delayed reporting the approach and then deleted messages he had exchanged with Mr S. Though his first contact with Mr S took place “in or around September 2019” according to the ICC’s published details of the case, Taylor didn’t get in touch with the ACU until March 2020.By then, Taylor had flown out to meet Mr S in India in October 2019, a meeting in which he accepted USD$ 15,000 in lieu of future payments for carrying out spot-fixes. He was also gifted a new phone, some local currency to spend, as well as new clothes. Taylor did not carry out any spot-fixing; in fact, he called the ACU to report the approach when Mr S reached out to him again in March 2020 to push him to spot-fix as Zimbabwe were touringBangladesh. Taylor has yet to return the USD$ 15,000The ICC said Taylor “chose to admit the charges” and “agreed” the sanction instead of facing an anti-corruption tribunal hearing. That, as well as his previous disciplinary record and eventual cooperation during the four interviews he had with the ACU were seen as mitigating factors in the eventual punishment he received. The fact that he took payment, which is yet to be returned, and initially agreed to engage in corrupt activity, as well as his seniority as an international cricketer, were seen as aggravating factors in the length of his ban.Doping charge
The anti-doping charge, independent of the anti-corruption charges, “resulted” after Taylor had done the in-competition test on September 8, 2021 during a match between Ireland and Zimbabwe. Taylor tested positive for a stimulant Benzoylecognine, which the ICC said is a “cocaine metabolite” and is specified as a “substance of abuse” under the anti-doping code.”This one-month suspension will run concurrently with the suspension of three-and-a-half years under the ICC Anti-Corruption Code,” the ICC said. “Mr Taylor will be free to resume his involvement in the game on 28 July 2025.”Alex Marshall, the ICC’s ACU head, said it was “disappointing” that Taylor, who played for Zimbabwe for 17 years and attended at least 13 anti-corruption and anti-doping sessions had failed to report the approach in time.”It is disappointing that a player of his experience chose not to fulfil those obligations, however he has accepted all charges, which has been reflected in the sanction,” Marshall said. “I would echo Brendan’s message to other players to report approaches as soon as they happen, so any corrupt activity can be disrupted at the earliest possible opportunity. We wish Brendan well in his rehabilitation.”

Pooran, Moeen and Livingstone are other notable movers in the latest ICC rankings

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2022 Akeal Hosein and Jason Holder have achieved career-best positions in the latest ICC T20I rankings for bowlers, after guiding West Indies to victory in the fifth match against England in Bridgetown.Left-arm spinner Hosein has jumped 15 places to the 18th spot after picking up 4 for 30 in the final T20I. He finished with six wickets in three matches that were considered for the latest update to the rankings. Fast bowling allrounder Holder, who rattled England with four wickets in four balls to finish the series-decider with 5 for 27 and scalped nine in the last three T20Is, has moved up three spots to 23rd with a gain of 20 rating points.

Full rankings tables

• Click here for the full team rankings

• Click here for the full player rankings

The other notable movers in the T20I bowling rankings were Sheldon Cottrell (up 10 places to 31st), Moeen Ali (up three places to 32nd) and Liam Livingston (up 33 places to 68th).Among the batters, Nicholas Pooran has gained eight places to 18th after hitting a total of 113 runs in the three matches – which includes 70 in the third T20I. Brandon King and West Indies captain Kieron Pollard have also gained big in the rankings. King moved up 25 places to 58th, while Pollard jumped 15 places to 60th.Moeen, who scored a match-winning 63 and picked up 2 for 28 in the fourth T20I, has gone up 30 places to be 67th. He has also leapfrogged Glenn Maxwell and Wanindu Hasaranga to the third spot among allrounders.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison offers Warne’s family a state funeral

Alex Malcolm05-Mar-2022The Great Southern Stand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground is set to be renamed the SK Warne stand in perpetuity following the sudden death of Australian cricket legend Shane Warne at the age of 52.Warne died while on holiday in Thailand on Friday leading to a global outpouring of tributes and emotion.On a grey dreary Saturday in Melbourne, not dissimilar to the one where Warne claimed his 700th Test wicket in front of adoring fans in the Southern Stand at the MCG on Boxing Day 2006, Melburnians gathered around his statue outside the Members’ at the MCG to lay flowers, cricket balls, beers, pies and cigarettes as a tribute to Warne.Related

• Shane Warne, Australia's legendary legspinner, dies aged 52

• A magician and a match-winner

Victoria’s minister for tourism and sport, Martin Pakula, confirmed that he had consulted with Victoria premier Daniel Andrews, MCC Trust chairman Steve Bracks and MCC CEO Stuart Fox and they had resolved to honour Warne by renaming the Southern Stand in his honour.”We will be renaming the Great Southern Stand the S.K. Warne stand and we’ll be doing that as soon as we possibly can,” Pakula said. “I can think of no finer tribute to the greatest cricketer this state has produced than to rename the stand the S.K. Warne stand and no matter whatever happens to that stand in the future whether it’s rebuilt, refurbished, renovated, it will remain the S.K. Warne stand in perpetuity because his legend will live in perpetuity.”Cricket Victoria is also looking at ways it can honour Warne as there were already plans to potentially rename a stand at the Junction Oval in his name prior to his passing.Premier Andrews and Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison have also contacted the Warne family to offer a state funeral but the family has been given some time to work out what they would like to do.Cricket Australia chairman Dr Lachlan Henderson confirmed he had spoken to the Prime Minister directly on Saturday regarding Warne and believed renaming the Southern Stand at the MCG was a fitting tribute.”That would seem a very appropriate acknowledgement of Shane Warne,” Henderson said. “He’s been an icon of the game, obviously with St Kilda Cricket Club, Victoria, our Australian team for so many years. He also played cricket all around the world. So it’s a very fitting tribute.”Right here this morning, driving past a junior cricket ground in Victoria, I saw a young leg-spin bowler bowl a beautifully flighted ball that beat the bat and I’m sure someone was looking down on that young bowler as he embarks on his career.”The Australia women’s team wore two black armbands in memory of Warne, and Rod Marsh, who also passed away Friday, and observed a minute’s silence ahead of their Women’s World Cup opener against England in New Zealand. England also wore a black armband in tribute to both men.Henderson confirmed that Australia’s men’s team, who wore a black armband and observed a minute’s silence ahead of day one of the first Test with Pakistan in Rawalpindi on Friday in memory of Marsh, would do the same for Warne ahead of day two on Saturday.

The former Mumbai batter has suggested there seem to be “factions everywhere in the set-up”

Nagraj Gollapudi22-Apr-20221:31

Lynn on what has gone missing for Mumbai Indians

Former Australia batter Chris Lynn, who was with Mumbai Indians for two seasons, says he has begun noticing signs of “factions” within the Mumbai camp. Lynn, who played just one match during his stint, which spanned the 2020 and 2021 IPL seasons, said Mumbai were looking like “11 individuals” rather than a “team of 11”.Lynn, an expert analyst on ESPNcricinfo for IPL 2022, made these comments on Thursday, after the Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai became the first team in IPL history to lose their first seven matches in an IPL season.Related

• Winless Mumbai could turn to bench as they take on top-four aspirants Super Giants

• Dhoni the finisher rescues Chennai Super Kings in last-ball thriller

• Pretorius provides crucial prelude to Dhoni vs Unadkat

“When you are down at the bottom of the table, guys like your captain, but also Kieron Pollard – he will be normally running in from deep mid-on or mid-off, helping out, calming him down,” Lynn said on ESPNcricinfo’s T20 Time:Out show. “We haven’t seen that with Mumbai yet because they are starting to sort of break off into little groups and they just want to get off the field. And it’s not a great sign. And I think the change room right now wouldn’t be a great place to be in.”Despite not playing a single match, Lynn was part of the Mumbai squad that won the IPL in 2020. The environment then, Lynn said, was a complete contrast to what it appears to be now. “Flip side of that, when they won the tournament two years ago, there were conversations happening all the time – how can we get better, how can we get out of the over. All those little organic conversations were happening without coaching staff telling them to do that because blokes were up and about wanting to win. So we are not seeing that, we are seeing the complete opposite: it seems like instead of a team of 11, there’s 11 individuals out there.”Mumbai lost Thursday night’s match in a last-ball finish, with fellow strugglers Chennai Super Kings picking up their second win of the season.”Winning is a habit and losing is a habit,” Lynn said. “And we are seeing that with Chennai at the other end, they are playing some decent cricket. Mumbai on the other hand – they have got issues with the bat, with the ball, and in the field and mentally. It just seems like there are factions everywhere in the set-up. So hopefully they can sort that out soon because when Mumbai is playing good cricket it is good for IPL, it’s good for world cricket, and they are a very, very impressive side when they are doing well.”Mumbai Indians are the first team to lose their first seven matches of an IPL season•BCCI

Mumbai have remained at the bottom of the table through this IPL season, and with every defeat Rohit has struggled to explain why he and his players have failed not just in their primary skillsets but also in clinching crunch moments. Despite the failure of Jaydev Unadkat to defend 16 runs in the final over, Rohit praised his bowlers for keeping Mumbai in the game until the last ball. Both Rohit and Mumbai head coach Mahela Jayawardene blamed the top-order failure for the defeat.”You need to have the instinct to finish a game off,” Jayawardene said in his post-match press conference. “We were making mistakes even today. We knew the wicket was going to be tough for the first six overs. We just had to get through that period and set up a par score. I thought the bowlers bowled brilliantly, executed the plans. The experience of MS [Dhoni] at the end to close the game for them. These are the small margins we need to get over. Last few games as well we had our opportunities. We just need to keep fighting, that’s the message. Boys understand that, they have been working hard but they need to try to execute it out in the middle.”Tendulkar: ‘This format can be cruel’Former Mumbai captain Sachin Tendulkar, who is now part of the dugout as mentor, said the expectations borne by Mumbai, who have won five IPL titles, would always put pressure on Rohit’s team. Tendulkar agreed with Jayawardene that Mumbai needed to grab the “crunch” moments.”Let’s first understand that in this format there isn’t a team who has not experienced what Mumbai Indians have experienced this season,” Tendulkar told Matthew Hayden during an in-match chat with . “This format can be cruel. And those crucial moments in a match which don’t go in your favour then literally the margin is like… you lose a game by two or three runs or sometimes even the last ball.”And those smaller margins, we need to go out and conquer those moments, those crunch moments in the match are what we have to win. And they haven’t gone our way.”I would like to clarify one more point: in spite of having had a challenging season the boys have gone out and worked as hard as possibly they could during their practice sessions. This is a new team, a young team. It may take a little more time to settle down, but these phases are such where you have to ride through these phases, stick together as a team and find the solution.”

David Warner and Mitchell Marsh head home while Peter Handscomb signs off his county spell with victory

Andrew McGlashan23-May-20222:24

Vettori: David’s six-hitting is like Pollard’s in his heyday

IPL

Marcus Stoinis was involved in an over that summed up the madness of T20 and the fine line between being a hero or villain. With 21 to defend, he watched his first three deliveries against Rinku Singh disappear for four, six, six. That suddenly made Kolkata Knight Riders favourites as they aimed to keep their tournament alive and another brace left three needed off the last two balls. When Rinku connected the fifth delivery it looked as though that could be the game, but Evin Lewis pulled off one of the catches of the competition at deep cover. Stoinis then held his nerve with the last ball, getting a yorker just about on target which Umesh Yadav missed.”You start your over and you’re pretty clear. You play to the conditions and the long boundary and what you think the batter wants to do,” Stoinis said. “As things get worse, you go back more towards what you like to bowl and what works for you. So that’s probably a learning for me, to maybe take the conditions out of it in those sort of situations and do what you feel most confident with.”Mumbai Indians’ tournament had long been over, which gave Tim David even more chances to show how foolish it was he did not play throughout. He could not quite get Mumbai over the line against Sunrisers Hyderabad, run out when his 46 off 18 balls had turned the chase around. But in his final knock of the season, he produced the decisive display with 34 off just 11 deliveries after having a huge dose of fortune when Rishabh Pant did not review an outside edge first ball. He finished the season with 186 runs at a tournament-leading strike rate of 216.27.Related

• Big-hitting Tim David proves his worth

• 'Everyone in the circle was not convinced enough' – Pant on not reviewing caught-behind decision against David

• Jason Behrendorff, Chris Green join Middlesex as Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman bow out

• Handscomb to leave Middlesex with immediate effect

David’s final performance was cheered on by all those associated with Royal Challengers Bangalore who squeezed into the final qualifying spot and in turn meant an early exit for David Warner and Mitchell Marsh with Delhi Capitals. Marsh had continued his strong finish with a thumping 63 against Punjab King before falling for a duck against Mumbai when Jasprit Bumrah proved too good. It was a quiet end to the season for Warner, who finished with scores of 0 and 5, but it remained a very good campaign for him with 432 runs after last season’s difficulties.Glenn Maxwell produced one of his most impactful performances of the season as Royal Challengers got the win they needed against Gujarat Titans before having to sweat on the Capitals result. Maxwell claimed 1 for 28 which included a maiden and 14 dots balls, dismissing his Australian team-mate Matthew Wade (more on that below). He then crunched 40 off 18 balls from No. 3 to get the chase done and dusted.Nathan Ellis has barely been used by Kings but got his second outing of the season in the dead game that ended the group stage and bagged 3 for 40. He found himself on a hat-trick in the final over and though he did not complete it himself, the team did when Bhuvneshwar Kumar was run out off what was also called a no-ball.Glenn Maxwell dismissed Matthew Wade, who wasn’t happy with the lbw decision•BCCI

Who is involved in playoffs?

So, we now know the final four – Titans, Royals, Super Giants and Royal Challengers – which means the following Australians remain for the last week of the tournament: Matthew Wade (Titans), Marcus Stoinis (Giants), Glenn Maxwell (Royal Challengers), Josh Hazlewood (Royal Challengers), Jason Behrendorff (Royal Challengers) and AJ Tye (Giants).

County

James Pattinson played his part in Nottinghamshire’s 10-wicket victory against Derbyshire as he claimed five wickets in the match which left them second in Division Two as the Championship takes a break.However, it was Victoria team-mate Peter Handscomb who finished the first part of the Championship season in pole position with Middlesex completing a six-wicket victory against Durham to sit top. Handscomb was unbeaten on 39 in the chase in what proved to be his final act for the club. He will now head to Sri Lanka with Australia A and it was announced that he won’t return to Middlesex afterwards and instead head home to spend time with his family.Peter Siddle claimed a four-wicket haul but could do little to prevent Somerset crashing to a 10-wicket defeat against Hampshire. Matt Renshaw made 27 and 11, the second coming as Somerset were bundled out for 69.

Focus turns to the T20 Blast

The county season now switches into T20 Blast mode (although there remains some four-day cricket sprinkled in) and a number of Australians will be involved. Dan Christian will captain Nottinghamshire and Ashton Turner will lead Durham. Middlesex announced the signings of Behrendorff and Chris Green with availability issues causing late changes to their overseas spots. Ben McDermott, who missed out on a place in the Sri Lanka tour squads, will play for Hampshire who also have Ellis. Josh Philippe will link up with Sussex after the Australia A tour. David has a deal with Lancashire in what will be one of the must-watch signings.

Did you see?

Matthew Wade will be involved in the IPL playoffs although it’s been a rather frustrating season with the bat. That came to a head in the final group match when he was given lbw against Maxwell but was convinced he had hit the ball. There was a tiny mark on Ultra Edge but the third umpire ruled it was not conclusive evidence to overturn. On returning to the dressing room, Wade threw his bat and helmet around the dressing room. It earned him a slap on the wrist with a reprimand.

Performance of the week

Another excellent few days for Tim David who, when he was selected consistently, showed why he fetched such a hefty price tag at the IPL auction. David has yet to feature for Australia but they have a lot of T20Is in the lead-up to the World Cup. He will be very hard to ignore.

Solitary change to XI as Stokes returns to training after illness

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jun-2022
Jamie Overton will make his Test debut against New Zealand at Headingley on Thursday, in place of James Anderson, as England’s captain Ben Stokes confirmed a solitary change to the team that sealed the series with their five-wicket victory at Trent Bridge last week.Stokes, who had himself been a concern after missing training through illness on Tuesday, came through a training session on Wednesday morning after linking up with the squad, and will lead out the side in search of a 3-0 series win after a brace of uplifting performances at Lord’s and Trent Bridge.Anderson, who claimed 11 wickets at 18.63 in the first two Tests to reaffirm his status as England’s attack leader, will sit the match out with an ankle niggle – partly with a view to next week’s delayed fifth Test against India at Edgbaston, which gets underway three days after the conclusion of the Headingley match, and which England need to win to secure a share of the series that was postponed last year due to Covid scare.Related

• New and improved Jamie Overton tipped to be 'one of the best allrounders in the world'

• Overtons eye history at Headingley

• Boult backs NZ to regroup after Bairstow's blitz

• England play down Covid concerns

• Foakes: 'It has changed the way I look at Test cricket'

“Unfortunately Jimmy’s not pulled up as much as we’d like to so Jamie Overton is going to make his debut this week,” Stokes confirmed during his pre-match press conference.That solitary change means that England will not, after all, field twins in the same Test for the first time in their history, with Jamie’s brother Craig remaining an unused member of the squad.Under the previous regime, Stuart Broad might have been considered for a rest after back-to-back fixtures, but in keeping with England’s new policy of picking their best available XI for each game, he will continue as the seam attack’s senior presence.Jamie Overton’s debut comes four-and-a-half years after his brother Craig made his first England Test appearance, and comes as reward for a fine start to the season with Surrey, for whom he has claimed 21 wickets at 21, and consistently bowled in excess of 90mph/145kph.England 1 Alex Lees, 2 Zak Crawley, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Ben Foakes (wk), 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Matt Potts, 11 Jack Leach.

R Ashwin and Dinesh Karthik may join the league after the UK tour

Deivarayan Muthu23-Jun-2022M Vijay will return to action after almost two years, in the 20-overs Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) which kicks off on June 23.Vijay’s last competitive game was for Chennai Super Kings, against Delhi Capitals, in IPL 2020 in Dubai. He has since not played the two IPL editions, the TNPL 2021, or any domestic tournament for his state side, Tamil Nadu.Related

• Ashwin links up with India Test squad in Leicester

• TNPL, strong leadership mould Tamil Nadu into dominant T20 force

• Shahrukh: 'Even if I only play five balls, there's a process to it'

In the lead-up to TNPL 2022, Vijay, 38, said that he had taken a break for personal reasons and that he now wants to relish whatever cricket he plays.”I want to play as long as possible. Just took a personal break,” Vijay said at a TNPL event in Chennai earlier this week. “I have a young family and wanted to take care of them. I’m enjoying my cricket now and I’m feeling fit, hopefully, I can do my bit for my team and TNPL.”It was difficult for me personally because I wanted to play but I had injuries and my personal life was going at a fast pace. I wanted to slow it down and see where I was standing as an individual. I wanted to reflect on myself and that’s why I felt that [a] break was required and needed for me at that particular time. TNCA has understood that and they’ve given me this beautiful platform to come back and play the game.”Vijay last represented India in the 2018 Perth Test and Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy in December 2019. Vijay emphasised that he hasn’t set any personal goals and wants to “enjoy” his return.”The two-year break was to reflect on the exact point you are saying [India comeback],” Vijay said. “At the end of the day, you have to be realistic with your targets. I pretty much don’t have any aim at the moment. I just want to play cricket and enjoy this phase of my life at this point and see where it takes me, with the help of TNCA.”Vijay will turn out for Ruby Trichy Warriors, led by Rahil Shah, in this TNPL. In the previous season, a bunch of youngsters carried the side to the final, where they lost to Chepauk Super Gillies. Vijay sees himself playing some sort of a mentorship role at Trichy.”Just go out there and perform and make use of the opportunity. How many ever youngsters I can help out and be with them – that’s going to be my role in this team in TNPL,” Vijay said. “That’s what I’m looking forward for – to rub shoulders with the youngsters and talk the way they can understand and see where they are and contribute to TNPL.”Vijay credited the TNPL for transforming Tamil Nadu into a dominant force in white-ball cricket. The league’s most recent breakout star B Sai Sudharsan made his IPL debut for Gujarat Titans earlier this year and won the title with them.”Definitely, yes. T20 format… started it in 2006 or 2007, we [Tamil Nadu] were the champions that edition and from thereon, we never looked back in T20s,” Vijay said. “We constantly performed well. TNPL, as I’ve told before, it’s a gift for Tamil Nadu cricketers. It’s about how we use it and express ourselves in the middle. It has definitely helped all youngsters I feel; six-seven of them are playing in IPL right now and India through the TNPL. The way they’ve played got them high attention, so this is an amazing tournament and I hope the efforts are being used by the boys and go climb it, man. Go big from Tamil Nadu.”This season’s TNPL will be held in Tirunelveli, Dindigul, Coimbatore, and Salem, with the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai currently undergoing renovation, ahead of a potential homecoming for MS Dhoni’s Super Kings in the next IPL.Varun Chakravarthy will also return to action in TNPL 2022•TNPL

Ashwin, Karthik may play second half of TNPL
R Ashwin, who is currently in England with the India Test squad, and Dinesh Karthik will not be available for the start of the league but could potentially feature in the second half of the tournament after finishing their India commitments in the UK. Left-arm seamer T Natarajan, too, is unlikely to start the tournament, for Lyca Kovai Kings, as he is currently undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.M Shahrukh Khan, who was recently part of India’s white-ball squad as a reserve batter, however, is available for Kovai Kings.Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who recently had a horror IPL stint with Kolkata Knight Riders, will look to prove his form and fitness for Madurai Panthers, under coach Sriram Krishnamurthy, who is also the assistant coach at Northern Districts in New Zealand domestic cricket.Another mystery spinner who could grab eyeballs this season is Kovai Kings’ B Surya who had bowled in the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s nets in IPL 2022.

England opener on the rise after sensational hundred against South Africa

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jul-2022England opener Tammy Beaumont has jumped three places and made a return to the top 10 of the ICC Women’s ODI rankings for batters, following her 107-ball 119 in the third ODI against South Africa. She is now in eighth place, ahead of Chamari Athapaththu, Smriti Mandhana and Ellyse Perry.Having been “gutted” at being dropped from England’s T20I squad for the Commonwealth Games, Beaumont scored 178 runs at an average of 59.33 in the three ODIs against South Africa.England batter Emma Lamb also rose considerably – jumping 35 spots to 66th place – in the rankings, after making scores of 102, 67 and 65 to finish as the leading run-getter in the series.Related

• Tammy Beaumont banishes pain of Commonwealth Games omission with statement century

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Nat Sciver, who sat out of the final ODI with England already having won the series, lost one spot on the table. She moved to third place behind Beth Mooney, while Alyssa Healy continues to lead the ODI rankings.South Africa lost the series 3-0 to England, but Marizanne Kapp rose six places to 18th in the rankings, after scoring half-centuries in the second and third ODIs. Chloe Tryon also had a good series with the bat and rose two spots to 20th position.Kapp also jumped to third place in the allrounder rankings, but her bowling colleagues did not fare well. Fast bowler Shabnim Ismail, who took just two wickets in the ODI series, lost her second spot to Australia’s Jess Jonassen and moved down to third place in the rankings for bowlers. Ayabonga Khaka dropped one place to sixth, while Kapp herself lost three places to move to 10th position on the list.

Gloucestershire up against it despite Zafar Gohar’s five-for

ECB Reporters Network27-Jul-2022 Gloucestershire 317 and 135 for 5 (Harris 62) trail Northamptonshire 479 (Rickelton 95, Procter 78, Sales 71, Young 61, Gohar 5-134) by 27 runsJames Sales hit a career-best 71 to help Northamptonshire build a winning position on the third day of the LV= Insurance County Championship match with Gloucestershire at Cheltenham College.Unbeaten on 21 overnight, the 19-year-old shared a key ninth-wicket stand of 78 with Ben Sanderson as the visitors extended their first innings score from an overnight 353 for seven to 479 all out, a lead of 162.Left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar finished with 5 for 134. But his efforts looked to be in vain as Gloucestershire slipped to 135 for five in their second innings, still 27 behind, by the time bad light ended play 15 overs early.Despite a defiant 62 from Marcus Harris, the hosts were relieved when the action was curtailed, Tom Taylor having claimed two of the wickets on a wearing pitch.Trailing by 36 runs at the start of the day, Gloucestershire needed to back their bowlers with tight fielding to restrict the deficit to a manageable level.Instead, they dropped Sales twice when he had added only a single to his overnight score, David Payne the unlucky bowler on both occasions. First Harris spilled a chance two-handed to his right at gully. Then Ollie Price failed to capitalise on an edge to second slip.Despite Zafar’s four wickets on day two, Gloucestershire bowled seam for the first 11 overs, only introducing their specialist spinner after 30 runs had been added. Three runs later he made the breakthrough, Simon Kerrigan, on 14, driving a catch to extra cover.Sales moved to fifty with a pulled four off Zafar, having faced 121 balls and hit 6 fours. Sanderson then extended the lead to three figures before the pair took 12 off the only over of the innings bowled by Gloucestershire captain Graeme van Buuren.By lunch, Northants had reached 454 for eight, having added 101 in the morning session. Sales’ vital contribution ended when he was unlucky to edge a leg side delivery from Zak Chappell through to James Bracey, whose wicketkeeping throughout the innings was exemplary.A couple of sixes by last man Jack White off Zafar added to Gloucestershire’s frustration and Sanderson was only four short of his career best score when spooning a catch to cover off Chappell.The home side had progressed their second innings to 37 when Chris Dent departed for 16 in careless fashion, chipping a catch to short mid-wicket off Taylor.Ollie Price was caught behind off White for a seven-ball duck and at 42 for two, Gloucestershire trailed by 116.Harris went on the counter-attack, lofting Kerrigan for two sixes over wide long-on as he and Miles Hammond took the total to 82 for 2 by tea in poor light.With only a run added, Taylor beat Hammond’s defensive shot and trapped him lbw. Harris was beaten by successive balls from Sanderson, but then took a single off him to reach a 67-ball half-century, with two sixes and five fours.Gloucestershire’s hopes of saving the game were dealt a severe blow when Harris advanced down the pitch to Kerrigan and was bowled between bat and pad.James Bracey followed for 23, bowled by offspinner Rob Keogh’s first delivery of the innings, a full one which crept under the bat, and the hosts were in dire trouble at 132 for five.