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An x-ray revealed that Lewis Hill’s arm was not broken after he was struck by Marchant de Lange, but that was about as far as the good news went for Leicestershire

ECB Reporters Network11-May-2018
ScorecardTim der Gugten was in the wickets•Getty Images

Glamorgan’s seamers ensured they ended the first day in control of their Specsavers County Championship match against Leicestershire at the Fischer County Ground.Timm van der Gugten picked up two wickets in two balls before Michael Hogan and Marchant de Lange each took three wickets after Leicestershire captain Michael Carberry won the toss and chose to bat first.It looked the right decision on a biscuit-coloured pitch – Glamorgan opted for a toss in the hope of batting first themselves – but Van Der Gugten and Hogan both found just enough movement through the air and off the seam to trouble the Foxes’ top order.Van der Gugten, who came into the match having picked up 12 championship wickets this season at an average of just 11, was first to strike, having Paul Horton leg before to a delivery which came back in to the right-hander.The Australian-born Dutch international then made it two in two, Colin Ackermann pushing hard at his first ball and lofting a simple catch to Hogan at wide mid-off.No further runs had been added when Hogan had Carberry caught behind, a thin edge off a ball he could have left, and it might have been 9 for 4 had Mark Cosgrove been run out before scoring: the left-hander had given up his attempt to complete an unlikely single when Aneurin Donald’s throw missed the stumps.Cosgrove was unable to make the most of his good fortune though: having gone to 14, he was trapped leg before by a full, inswinging delivery which umpire Mike Burns decided had hit pad before bat.Ateeq Javid battled his way into double figures, only to push at and edge behind a wide delivery from David Lloyd he could have safely left alone.There was more trouble for Leicestershire when Lewis Hill took his eyes off a short ball from de Lange that didn’t get up as much as he expected it to, and was hit above the elbow. With one ball remaining before lunch he left the field for treatment and the umpires took the players off early.The procession continued after the break, when Hogan bowled Ben Raine off the inside edge, before Neil Dexter led something of a recovery, reaching his second half-century of the season off 97 ballsDexter and Callum Parkinson added 80 for the seventh wicket, but Parkinson edged Hogan to third slip, and Hill – an x-ray having confirmed his arm to be unbroken – was unable to provide Dexter with extended support, de Lange bowling him with a quick delivery which came back in to the right-hander.Dexter was last to go, an attempt to loft the off-spin of Andrew Salter for a straight six ending in the hands of long-on.Glamorgan openers Nick Selman and Jack Murphy then put the Leicestershire innings in to some sort of context by putting on an unbroken partnership of 82 off 24 overs.

New Zealand will wait until the end of the Dunedin Test before making a call on Ross Taylor’s availability for the rest of the series

Firdose Moonda in Dunedin10-Mar-2017New Zealand will wait until the end of the Dunedin Test before making a call on Ross Taylor’s availability for the rest of the series. Taylor was diagnosed with a low grade tear in the right calf on Friday morning, after he underwent scans, but returned to bat, although he appeared restricted in his movements.Taylor was helped off the field when he was on 8 on the second day and received treatment overnight. New Zealand Cricket confirmed he would bat if required in this match and, with the hosts into the lead with nine wickets down, he returned to the crease to resume his innings but admitted he did not have high hopes for a long stint in the middle, because of his inability to run.”I wouldn’t say the confidence is that high. When I was walking out to the middle I was hoping I wouldn’t get timed out,” Taylor told New Zealand after the day’s play.Despite his injury, Taylor started with a single off Keshav Maharaj and then faced six more deliveries from Morne Morkel, the first of which he slogged over the leg side for a six. “It was more of a fluke than anything, I couldn’t put any weight on it so I had to get forward and Morne worked out that he just had to bowl short,” Taylor said.Taylor was not asked whether he hoped to play any further part in the series but the indications are that he will face at least some time out of the game. At the end of the second day’s play Trent Boult said Taylor did “not look good,” but the man himself is not giving anything away. “It’s just a small tear so it was nice to contribute in some sort of way and get a lead but I am obviously still frustrated.”Taylor is New Zealand’s second-highest Test century-maker on 16, one behind his mentor Martin Crowe. Earlier this season he became their leading century-maker in ODIs, but has lost his place in the T20 side.If this Test goes the duration, there are only three days before the second Test starts in Wellington on March 16, which gives New Zealand six days to name a replacement if necessary. One man they cannot turn to is Martin Guptill, who will need six weeks of rehabilitation on his hamstring ahead of the Champions Trophy. Colin Munro, Neil Broom and Dean Brownlie are believed to be in contention for a call-up if needed.

Josh Hazlewood will lead Australia’s attack in the Test series in New Zealand confident that he has learnt from the mistakes he made on last year’s Ashes tour

Brydon Coverdale in Wellington10-Feb-2016Josh Hazlewood will lead Australia’s attack in the Test series in New Zealand confident that he has learnt from the mistakes he made on last year’s Ashes tour. Hazlewood will join two of James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Jackson Bird and Chadd Sayers in Australia’s frontline pace attack for the first Test in Wellington and he will do so as the most consistent presence in a group that has changed significantly in the past few months.In England for the Ashes, which was Australia’s most recent overseas tour, Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc were the more established members of Australia’s pace line-up, but Johnson has retired since then and Starc is still recovering from ankle surgery. Hazlewood collected 16 wickets at 25.75 during that series, hardly figures to be concerned about, but he readily admits he was trying for too many wicket-taking deliveries.What the Australians want from Hazlewood in New Zealand, where there will again be swing on offer for the fast men, is consistent lines and lengths, rather than trying too many different things. Although Australia do not have a red-ball warm-up match ahead of the first Test, some have seen something of the local conditions during three ODIs, in which Hazlewood took seven wickets, and others during a Sheffield Shield game in Lincoln.”Three one-dayers, it’s not perfect but it’s pretty close I think,” Hazlewood said of Australia’s preparation. “The fact we’ve been playing in these conditions against their batting order, it’s pretty similar in Test cricket and one-dayers. And a few of the guys obviously played in that Shield game [near] Christchurch. I think the build-up has been really good and we’ll be ready to go.”The wickets will do a fair bit in New Zealand, so it’s a matter of putting the ball in the right area and not trying too hard. I was a victim of that in England, of trying to do too much, whereas you’ve still got to hit that line and length and let the ball do its work.”One area in which the Australians will need to improve is their tendency to overstep, which twice cost Pattinson the wicket of West Indian Carlos Brathwaite during the Boxing Day Test at the MCG. To that end, in the Basin Reserve nets on Wednesday they trialled a prototype of a new device that can sense where the front foot lands and determine when bowlers have delivered no-balls at training.The Australians know that there are several batsmen in the New Zealand line-up who could punish them if given such a reprieve, most notably Kane Williamson, who did not have significant impact in the recent ODI series but piled on the runs against them at the start of the summer. Williamson also has a strong record at the Basin Reserve, where he averages 85.50 from six Tests.”I still think he’s a better Test player than a one-day player,” Hazlewood said. “He’s great at both but we have to get him out in Test cricket and I think the way we bowled to him in these last three games has been pretty much spot on. We’ve tried to tie him down and get him driving so that’s going to be the key in these Test matches.”He showed in Australia how good a player he is and I think he’s got runs against every country in the world. So he knows these conditions well so we’ve got get on top of him and try and get him early. I think he’s that rock in their order that they feed off.”However, one man who performed well during the one-day series was Martin Guptill, who made two half-centuries from three matches, but they are hopeful that under the pressure of patient red-ball cricket Guptill might return to his struggles of the past against the Australians. During the Tests in Australia earlier in the summer he struggled to have any impact, with a top score of 23.”I think we did get the better of him in Australia,” Hazlewood said of Guptill. “He plays a lot differently in Tests compared to one-dayers. He’s quite confident in limited-overs games, he knows his game really well at the top of the order. But I think he’s still a bit uncertain in the Test arena so we’ll be looking to exploit that again and stay on top of him, as we’ve done in Australia.”

England have named an initial 18-strong squad for the innovative women’s Ashes Series which will be settled by points accumulated in all three formats of the game.

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jul-2013England have named an initial 18-strong squad for the innovative women’s Ashes Series which will be settled by points accumulated in all three formats of the game.Natasha Farrant, Natalie Sciver and Lauren Winfield, who made their international debuts against Pakistan last week, are all included.Katherine Brunt, Holly Colvin and Laura Marsh all make a return to the initial squad after missing out on the recent NatWest Women’s International matches due to continuing rehabilitation from injuries.The final squad for each format of the Women’s Ashes Series will be reduced to 15 players in early August ahead of a series which commences with the Test match at Wormsley Cricket Ground on August 11.The 2013 Women’s Ashes Series will comprise one Test match, three NatWest Women’s One-Day Internationals and three NatWest Women’s T20is.Points will be allocated to each format: the winners of the Test will be awarded six points and there will be two points for the winners of each limited-overs match.Clare Connor, the head of England women’s cricket, said: “It is pleasing to see such healthy competition for places ahead of the women’s Ashes series. Exciting young players from the England Women’s Academy have stepped up in to the England squad in the recent internationals against Pakistan and have made an outstanding contribution on and off the pitch. One highlight being Natalie Sciver’s 3-28 in just her second ODI.Two of the three T20 matches will serve as a warm-up for the men’s game to follow – in Southampton on August 29 and Chester-le-Street two days later.England women’s Ashes squad: Charlotte Edwards (Kent, capt), Tammy Beaumont (Kent), Arran Brindle (Sussex), Katherine Brunt (Yorkshire), Holly Colvin (Sussex), Georgia Elwiss (Sussex), Natasha Farrant (Kent), Lydia Greenway (Kent), Jenny Gunn (Nottinghamshire), Danielle Hazell (Yorkshire), Amy Jones (Warwickshire), Heather Knight (Berkshire), Laura Marsh (Kent), Natalie Sciver (Surrey), Anya Shrubsole (Somerset), Sarah Taylor (Sussex), Lauren Winfield (Yorkshire), Danielle Wyatt (Nottinghamshire).

Ernest Hilaire, the West Indies Cricket Board CEO, has said selectors should focus on selecting the ‘best XI’ for the West Indies team, one that was a strong collective unit rather than just comprising 11 star players

ESPNcricinfo staff06-May-2012Ernest Hilaire, the West Indies Cricket Board CEO, has said selectors should focus on selecting the ‘best XI’ for the West Indies team, one that was a strong collective unit rather than just comprising 11 star players.”For a decade or so the selectors were guided by a process which had them arriving at the eleven best players to take the field,” Hilaire said, during the Barbados Cricket Association Awards ceremony. “With the eleven best players on the park our results went from bad to worse and yet worse still.West Indies have been without the services of Chris Gayle since the 2011 World Cup, owing to his differences with the board, and Dwayne Bravo intermittently, due to his Twenty20 commitments elsewhere.”There has been a paradigm shift. The emphasis is on selecting, not necessarily the eleven best players but the ‘best eleven’. It is not dissimilar to asking whether we prefer a team of stars or a star team. They are decidedly different.”The best eleven may not include the most attractive players but is rather a combination of players who, as a group, are more likely to bring positive results and show a commitment to sustained development.”Hilaire said the West Indies team has been steadily improving and is on the right path. “Though the victories have not been tumbling in, there can be little doubt that West Indies cricket is showing the signs of learning the first characteristic of any successful enterprise – the determination to succeed.””We have seen a greater commitment to fight to the very end, we have seen what was once thumping three and four day defeats in Test cricket now turned into epic final-day battles.”This new approach is not far off from producing the results we all yearn for. Change does not happen overnight, it is a process, sometimes painful, always with mistakes and mis-steps but once on the right path the results are certain.”I implore you to recognise that from the days when our team seemed conditioned to losing we now have a team which is battling to win and believing that it can in fact achieve victories.”Australia toured West Indies recently and the hosts drew the ODI series but lost the Tests 0-2. West Indies are now in England for a full tour.

S Badrinath, Man of the Match in the only Twenty20 international of the tour, has said he is focussed on contributing consistently while playing for India

Sriram Veera in Port of Spain04-Jun-2011It was a dull opening game. It was also strange. Who plays a Twenty20 game at 10am?The shortest format is about sauntering in with your family and friends to the park in the evening and having some fun. The players as well as the home board didn’t wish for such an early start. “We tried our best to tell the broadcaster to push it later but they didn’t agree,” an official from the West Indies cricket board told ESPNcricinfo. “To play a T20 game at 10am is not ideal but we couldn’t do much about it.” It yet again proves TV is the boss. No one can afford to mess with its commerce. And in this case it was all about playing at a time that would be suitable to the Indian television audience. “Bahut ajeeb lagta hai 10 baje T20 khelne mey,” (it feels strange to play a T20 at 10am) said an Indian cricketer.The match was played under the constant threat of rain, with a steady drizzle in the early stages. Ironically, there might have been no game if not for the TV broadcasters’ keenness for an early start: the rain came down heavily after the match ended, and as a result, the Trinidad & Tobago v Sagicor HPC XI match had to be called off.In any case, the first match meandered along without much quality. The pitch – damp and slow- too played a big part in dictating the style of play. West Indies shouldn’t have let India reach 159 after such a middling start but they did. There wasn’t much fun for the crowd. But one man would be least worried about such demands. S Badrinath stitched together another steady, effective innings to prop up India. “It’s a nice feeling to be able to contribute to India’s win,” he said later. “I have been playing a lot of cricket, especially the T20 format, in the last one month or so, and it helped me to keep my game in balance.”S Badrinath helped India recover and post a match-winning total•Associated Press

The pitch played a touch slow when Badrinath came in and there was scoreboard pressure. Badrinath did what he does best: he worked the angles, rotated the strike and freed his mind and arms near the end of his innings. His story has been well documented. Badrinath’s fans reckon he is one of the unluckiest Indian cricketers and that he should have had more chances to represent India. He has put behind him that anger-suffused disappointment and is now focussed on his future. Does he see himself as a senior cricketer in a team of youngsters? “I have played with lot of these guys in domestic cricket and on A tours. I am not seeing myself as a senior or junior. The fact is that I am new to international cricket but I use my experience and back myself. “Badrinath has a few goals but he didn’t want to share it and put more pressure on himself. “I don’t want to say what exactly what I want to do. The first thing is that I need to cement a spot in the Indian team. I am just focussed on contributing consistently.”He said he is aware of the need to constantly work on his game and has been seeking the help of coaches in honing his skills to suit all forms of cricket. “I have been working with the coaches. The IPL experience has helped me a great deal. It’s been lot of hard work but I enjoy improving my game and want to play for India for as long as possible.”

Worcestershire’s hopes of forcing victory over Sussex were frustrated by a combination of rain and an unbeaten half-century from Robin Martin-Jenkins at Hove

26-May-2010
ScorecardWorcestershire’s hopes of forcing victory over Sussex were frustrated by a combination of rain and an unbeaten half-century from Robin Martin-Jenkins at Hove. The visitors still closed the third day of their County Championship Division Two game in a strong position on 76 for 2 in their second innings, a lead of 212.They might have been even better placed having reduced Sussex to 221 for 8 during the morning session. Instead, Martin-Jenkins, on the day he announced he would be retiring after 15 years in the game to become a schoolteacher, and Pakistani Yasir Arafat plundered 106 in just 77 minutes for the ninth wicket.The effort came either side of a rain delay which took 37 overs off the day’s allocation, to at least make sure the hosts avoided the follow-on. Martin-Jenkins cracked 10 boundaries in an unbeaten 66 from 70 balls, his fifth half-century of the season, although he was dropped in the gully on 15 by Phil Jacques – who grassed a difficult chance diving to his left. Arafat contributed 40 before he was taken by Jacques off Gareth Andrew.Richard Jones finished things off when Corey Collymore was caught behind to
give the outswing bowler career-best figures of 7 for 115 runs in front of England’s chief selector Geoff Miller. Sussex had resumed on 188 for 4 but were soon in trouble as overcast skies helped Jones get the ball to swing during the morning.He took three wickets in 11 balls with skipper Mike Yardy miscuing to mid-on in the second over of the day. Murray Goodwin, who had added only two to his overnight 109, and Ben Brown both fell to outswingers, Brown for a fourth-ball duck in his maiden Championship innings. When Luke Wright failed to pick Alan Richardson’s slower ball Sussex still needed 95 to avoid the follow-on but Martin-Jenkins and Arafat adopted an attacking strategy from the off.Sussex’s hopes of saving the game were aided by the loss of 37 overs during the afternoon to rain and when they resumed Worcestershire’s bowling was wayward with Andrew conceding 16 byes in his first three overs before he took the new ball and immediately removed Arafat, who sliced a drive to gully.When Worcestershire batted again they lost both openers with Daryl Mitchell caught at short leg in Monty Panesar’s second over before Martin-Jenkins ended the day on a high when Phil Jacques dragged onto his off-stump. But the allrounder’s final day of Championship cricket at Hove still looks like it will involve a battle to help his side avoid a third successive Championship defeat.

The men’s and women’s domestic lists for the upcoming season

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jul-2024 CA = Cricket Australia contract | R = Rookie contract