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Tim Bresnan and Jonny Tattersall resurrected Yorkshire, who scrambled a bye from the final ball for a share of the spoils

ECB Reporters Network19-Apr-2019A wonderful match came down to the final ball with former Warwickshire spinner Josh Poysden needing to find two runs to secure a Yorkshire victory. He swished and missed – but the batsmen scrambled a bye to bring the scores level.It was a pulsating match in which Warwickshire amassed 270 for 8, a solid total but one which appeared no more than par on a good batting pitch. Tim Ambrose provided their backbone with a well-worked 77 but without Adam Hose (absent with a hand injury sustained in the nets the day before the game) and Ian Bell (foot injury) in the top order, too many others got in then got out.It looked a very good total after Henry Brookes and Chris Woakes reduced Yorkshire to 33 for 4. A superb sixth-wicket partnership of 138 in 24 overs between Tim Bresnan and Jonny Tattersall then kept their side alive before a game which fluctuated fascinatingly all day – a tribute to the format – finished all square. Fifty-over cricket was the winner.Warwickshire, put in, lost Ed Pollock to the 11th ball when Bresnan rattled his off stump. Bresnan then removed the other opener Dom Sibley, caught by wicketkeeper Tattersall.A fine spell of 7-0-17-0 from captain Steve Patterson kept a brake on the scoring before Adil Rashid removed Sam Hain, stumped by Tattersall. While Ambrose settled, Will Rhodes moved fluently to 43 against his former county before tickling a leg-side offering from Mathew Pillans to the wicketkeeper.Liam Banks, on his List A debut, made a punchy 31 off 28 balls but when he and Woakes hoisted Poysden to long-off in quick succession, the innings lost momentum when it needed to be gathering it. Ambrose’s 24th List A half-century was ended by a catch at deep midwicket and Yorkshire, who had piled up 379 in their North Group opener two days earlier, could reflect on a decent job done.They were less happy when four down in the 11th over. Brookes hit the stumps of Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Adam Lyth and Woakes had Harry Brook caught in the gully and the in-form Gary Ballance taken at cover. David Willey and Tattersall added 56 in 11 overs before Willey spliced a pull at young seamer George Panayi to mid-on.That was 89 for 5 but Tattersall and Bresnan both advanced to 56-ball half-centuries to take their side into the last ten overs with 80 required. The sixth-wicket pair brought the chase down to 44 needed from five when both fell in three balls, Tattersall bowled by Jeetan Patel and Bresnan caught by Patel at cover off Woakes.It came down to 10 needed from the last over, delivered by Brookes and when Patterson swiped the second ball for four, suddenly the Vikings were favourites again. With three needed from three balls, Pillans holed out to mid-off, but the batsmen crossed, leaving Patterson on strike. A single brought Poysden down to face his first ball against his former club – and a bye meant a fine match concluded in a tie.

Return to county cricket after successful Yorkshire stint, but ball-tampering fall-out means speculation is rife

Andrew Miller at Hove29-Mar-2018Jason Gillespie never thought he’d be returning to county cricket quite so soon after bringing his trophy-laden tenure at Yorkshire to an end in 2016, but he’s adamant that his new role at Sussex is a long-term commitment, despite inevitable speculation linking him to the Australia head coach role in the wake of the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal.Speaking at Hove during his belated unveiling, after visa issues had delayed his arrival earlier in the month, Gillespie was tight-lipped about the events in South Africa that had led to the sacking of Australia’s captain Steve Smith, and left the future of their incumbent coach Darren Lehmann in serious jeopardy.However, Gillespie insisted that his excitement at taking up the reins at Hove was the only thing on his mind for the foreseeable future.”I’ve signed a three-year deal, and I have every intention of honouring that commitment,” Gillespie said. “I also have a couple more years on my contract with the Adelaide Strikers, and I enjoy and cherish that job.”I have only been here since Saturday, so it is a bit early to think about other jobs! It is a really good opportunity here. I am excited about the role. It is fantastic. I have a great group of kids coming through, with some good experienced cricketers, and strong support staff. I am really looking forward to it.”The allure of Hove wasn’t abundantly apparent on Sussex’s pre-season media day, with torrential rain flooding the square and forcing the entire squad to take shelter in the pavilion.However, Gillespie’s enthusiasm for getting stuck into his new role was far more obvious. He spoke with passion about the challenge of reviving the fortunes of a club that has hit a fallow period after rising to become the dominant Championship team of the early and mid-2000s.”You always ask yourself when an opportunity comes up, do you feel you can help, and make a difference,” he said. “I genuinely feel that with Sussex.”I’ve been very clear on this, I’m not talking to the team about wins and losses,” he added. “Trophies are end results. We need to put in place how we are going to go about playing the game. We want to entertain our crowds and show the pride and passion of representing Sussex.”What I can guarantee is that the lads that represent our county are going to have a smile on their face, have great body language and be enjoying themselves.”Such a stated focus on cultural values will surely have caused some jealous glances from Cricket Australia towards the South Coast, as they set about reframing their priorities in the wake of the Cape Town Test.For the time being, Lehmann – Gillespie’s former Australia team-mate – retains the support of the board, after it was decided that he had no prior knowledge of the decision to use sandpaper on the match ball during the third day at Newlands.However, Lehmann’s role in fostering a team culture in which such actions were deemed acceptable may well come under scrutiny at the end of what has been an acrimonious series against South Africa.Gillespie himself, writing in his Guardian column earlier this week, described Australia’s predicament as a “train-wreck”, and cast doubt on Lehmann’s claim that he had been ignorant of his players’ intentions.”I would be amazed if this was not the case,” he wrote, “and that the moves he made when it all unravelled on the field were not done on instinct to protect his players.”Sussex chief executive Rob Andrew, the man who lured Gillespie back to the English game, admitted that he was keeping his fingers crossed that there would be no change of heart from his new head coach, given what a state of flux world cricket has been in since the events of Saturday afternoon.”Sadly nothing surprises me in the world of sport,” Andrew said. “Dizzy says he’s committed to Sussex and I hope he is. Cricket Australia have not come knocking so everything’s hypothetical. We will deal with situations when they are real.”

Despite getting past 30 nine times in 14 ODI innings, Travis Head has only managed a highest score of 57. With the axing of George Bailey, Head could be in line for a top-four slot against Pakistan, and with it a chance for bigger scores

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jan-2017The No. 4 slot in Australia’s ODI side has opened up with the selectors leaving George Bailey out of the squad for the five-match series against Pakistan. Travis Head could well be the batsman promoted up the order at the Gabba on Friday, though the uncapped Chris Lynn and the returning Glenn Maxwell, who hasn’t played an ODI since June, are also in contention.”Yeah, there’s great opportunity at the minute,” Head said after Australia’s training session on Wednesday, when asked if the dropping of Bailey and the opener Aaron Finch represented a changing of guard in the ODI team. “I guess they rewarded me a little bit [after] some okay performances in South Africa. I was able to get some back-to-back scores but probably wasn’t able to get that big score that I was looking for, so yeah, given an opportunity in this series, I’ll be looking to do that.”Head passed 30 three times in five innings on the tour of South Africa, but only made one half-century. He did better in the home series against New Zealand in December, though, with scores of 52, 57 (off 32 balls) and 37 in the three ODIs. The failure to stretch those scores into something even more substantial, though, rankles with Head. In all, he has passed 30 nine times in 14 ODI innings but has only managed a highest score of 57.”Little bit satisfied, little bit disappointed I wasn’t able to go on and get a bigger score [against New Zealand],” he said. “I think I had the opportunity to do that in a few games and wasn’t able to do that, so if I get my opportunity come couple of days’ time I’ll be definitely looking forward to it. I’m in good form and I feel really good, batting really well in the nets and, yeah, looking forward to getting back out there.”In recent times, Head’s offspin has become a useful second string. He has bowled in 11 of his 15 ODIs, picking up six wickets, and has taken wickets in each of his last three Big Bash League matches with the Adelaide Strikers.”Yeah, I guess it’s something that I’ve worked really hard on,” Head said. “I’ve got some results this year, which has been satisfying. I guess, looking into the Big Bash, I probably haven’t got the runs I would have liked, I feel I’ve been batting really well but haven’t contributed to the wins with the bat, but I’ve been able to do a job with the ball.”So I think, coming out of the Big Bash, I feel confident, with the bat and with the ball, but it’s nice to get some results with the ball, because it’s been a lot of hard work over the last few months.”In 2016, Australia passed 300 six times in eight ODIs at home, and scored 296 in one of the other two matches. This sort of run-scoring, Head felt, had something to do with Twenty20 cricket redefining the possibilities of 50-overs cricket. With the middle-order addition of Chris Lynn, who comes into the ODI squad with 309 runs – at an average of 154.50 and a strike rate of 177.58 – and 26 sixes in five BBL matches, Head said it was “scary” what a power-packed Australian line-up could achieve.”I think it’s scary now what you can get in the last 20 overs of a one-dayer if you set a great platform, which is what we’ve done against New Zealand,” he said. “We were able to set good platforms and give 25 overs to playing like T20. Yeah, it definitely brings in guys into it, a lot more than [before]. Lynny’s batting fantastic, yeah, he can clear the fence with ease, so if we build a good platform and if he’s in that middle order, it’s scary what we can get.”Asked about the possibility of a Test-match call-up ahead of the upcoming tour of India, Head stressed the importance of scoring runs “at the right time” to be in contention.”You’re going to do what you can do in Shield cricket, I guess, get runs and wickets, and if you’re performing, then I guess the next couple of one-day games, if you’re in the team and getting runs at the right time – we’ve seen with a lot of guys, runs at the right time helps, but looking forward to the next five games and trying to do my job in the side, stay in the side, and see what happens.”

West Indies’ spirits would have been lifted when a verdant green surface was unveiled at Bellerive Oval and although the nature of the pitch is expected to change as the Test nears, Kemar Roach was encouraged by it

Daniel Brettig07-Dec-2015What better to lift the sagging spirits of a West Indies touring team after their hiding at the hands of a modest Cricket Australia XI than the unveiling of a verdant green surface at Bellerive Oval?While the pitch’s appearance four days out from the Thursday start of the first Test for the Frank Worrell Trophy is likely to be deceiving, as warm temperatures will affect its colour and moisture content, there was an unmistakable spring in the step of the pacer Kemar Roach as he contemplated a kind of strip seldom seen in the Caribbean.For all their recent woes, West Indies have a strong enough bowling unit to cause Australia’s transitional batting line-up some problems, given the right conditions and circumstances. Plenty of members of Steven Smith’s team can remember Jerome Taylor’s piercing spells in Jamaica earlier this year, and many will also recall the duel Roach fought with Ricky Ponting at the WACA Ground in 2009 – his pace causing an uncertainty hitherto unseen in the then captain.”Of course, there aren’t many wickets in the world like that, so it’s good to see that for a change. I’m pretty excited to get a go on Thursday,” Roach said of the pitch. “Yeah I think so [it will still be green on Thursday]. I know Australians play very hard cricket and they believe in what they do, so that’s what they give us, and that’s what we’re going to take.”There’s some very good fast bowlers in our group, our job is to go out there and give it our best shot. Jerome Taylor has been leading the attack very well, he’s in good form, one of the fastest bowlers in the world Shannon Gabriel, and then myself. And Jason Holder the captain has been good as well. I think we can give the Australians some trouble.”A grassy pitch is West Indies’ best chance to get into the contest, as their batsmen have commonly lacked the application and technique required to build the more substantial innings required by flatter wickets. This much was confirmed by a glance at their morning net session, where edges abounded, and the young right-hander Shane Dowrich was at one point clean bowled, by a ball the coach Phil Simmons delivered with a “dog thrower”.Roach’s speed and skiddy bounce had been similarly disconcerting for Ponting six years ago. He was struck a painful blow near the elbow, its effects on tendons and muscles described by the team physio Alex Kountouris as similar to a cut of meat being tenderised by a mallet. Years and injuries have dulled Roach’s speed, but he is a useful man to have on tour for his experience and effervescence.”It was good memories, Ricky Ponting was a great batsman for Australia, and to go out there and give him a hard time at the crease was a good thing for me at a young age,” he said. “My role has changed since 2009, I’ve had a lot of injuries the last couple of years and that’s set me back a bit.”But I’m here and there’s a reason I’m here, the selectors have put their faith in me to come down here and do the job. I believe in myself as well, so given a go on Thursday I’ll go out there and give it my best shot. Consistency, hitting the areas as much as possible has always been the way in Australia. I watched Australia and New Zealand and it’s simple, just keep the ball in good areas and just do something with the ball as well, then you should be on top.”West Indies’ troubles have been many and varied, with several of their best players now skipping Test duty to play in the Big Bash League, and more recently Simmons being suspended from his role for disputing the choices made by a selection panel of which he was a part. Roach said Simmons’ return had a positive effect, while also welcoming the “underdog” tag that is indisputably theirs this week.”I think Phil Simmons is a great coach,” Roach said. “I like him around, he has been working with the guys very well, he has a comfortable dressing room, and that’s what most guys need to perform, once they’re comfortable then there’s no other reason you can’t perform.”I love being the underdogs. If we can come out on top then it’s going to be a whole different story, they will change their mouths, I think we’ve got to go out there, do the best that we can and give Australia a good run.”

The ECB has won its battle to get Mervyn Westfield, the former Essex seamer, to testify at Danish Kaneria’s appeal against his life ban for corruption

George Dobell22-Apr-2013Mervyn Westfield has attacked English cricket for failing to protect him after the ECB won its legal battle to force him to testify at Danish Kaneria’s appeal hearing against a life ban for corruption.Westfield, in a statement made through his legal team as Kaneria’s appeal began on Monday morning, sought to shift blame onto Essex, the ECB and the Professional Cricketers Association for not intervening earlier to stop the spot-fixing scam which led to him serving a jail sentence and being banned from first-class cricket for five years.”I have heard that Essex County Cricket Club, together with the English Cricket Board and the Professional Cricketers Association were fully aware of the situation I was falling into but stood back until my involvement reached the point of my guilty conviction,” he said. “No-one wished to protect me at any stage. Where was their duty of care to me as a member of their staff?”Neither Westfield not his lawyers have offered evidence for his contention that the authorities could have intervened earlier to prevent the scam in which he agreed to underperform in a one-day match for Essex against Durham in September 2009.Angus Porter, chief executive of the PCA, rejected the suggestion that the authorities had prior notice of the spot-fixing plot, calling Westfield “bitter” and “confused” and expressing regret that he had refused to take part in a proposed rehabilitation process.Westfield claimed the ECB had taken a “hostile route” which has included gaining a High Court order for his appearance at the hearing, which is being held in private at the London Court of International Arbitration and it is expected to last until Thursday. Westfield is giving evidence today and that part of the hearing could extend into Tuesday.”I am here today not because of the summons, nor because of any other party,” Westfield said in a statement issued through his lawyer, Yasin Patel, who also represented Salman Butt. “My family have stood by me throughout the torture I have been made to live with this.”No one else has given me any support despite all the promises a year ago. I am here to bring to an end the pain and suffering that I am forced to continuously suffer and in the hope that after today my family and I will never be subjected to the humiliation and hurt we have gone through in the last three years.”The ECB feared that without Westfield’s testimony the case against Kaneria – the most successful spinner in Pakistan’s Test history – would collapse. Kaneria’s legal team had argued that unless Westfield appeared at the tribunal, and was subjected to cross examination, his evidence would be inadmissible. That would have increased the possibility that Kaneria would be cleared and free to return to cricket only one year after being banned.Kaneria spoke to ESPNcricinfo during a break in proceedings at the International Disputes Resolution Centre in Fleet Street. He said of the original case: “The evidence was not strong, it’s one man’s word against another man’s word and you can’t cut a man’s hands off with that as evidence. How can they take my livelihood with one man’s word against another? Only almighty God can judge me and Inshallah he will look after me, I have faith. I would be happy to bowl for Pakistan again. I would love to do it.”Westfield remains angry with the ECB and the PCA. He feels that his penalty was a harsh one – he spent two months in prison and was banned from the first-class game for five years and the recreational game for three – and that it does not reflect that he cooperated with the investigating authorities, pleaded guilty and gave evidence against Kaneria.Porter, whose leadership of the PCA has coincided with a growing commitment to educate players about the danger of betting-related corruption, told ESPNcricinfo. “He is a terribly bitter young man who feels he has been let down. I hope he reflects he’s in this position because he got himself into this position.”We have made efforts to made to help him with his rehabilitation but ultimately they have been unsuccessful. He has refused our attempts to have a full and open discussion with him. We were prepared to use him for some filming as part of our anti-corruption training and we could have helped with the cost of retraining.”I understand why the ECB did what they did. I think all of us feel strongly that Danish Kaneria should face the consequences of his actions.”On the claim that others knew about what was happening, Porter said: “Hand on heart, the first any of us at the PCA knew about this was when the players came forward. It does pre-date my arrival at the PCA but I have never, at any stage, heard any suggestion that anyone knew what was going on until it was reported.”His language is confused in the statement and I’m honestly not sure exactly what he means, but it strikes me as a very strange thing to say at this stage.”Nigel Hilliard, the Essex chairman, had no comment when contacted.Kaneria, the Pakistan legspinner, was banned from the game for life and charged £100,000 in costs by an ECB panel in June 2012 for his part in the spot-fixing case involving Westfield.
He had been found guilty of inducing his former Essex team-mate to underperform in a limited-overs game in 2009 and of bringing the game into disrepute. Westfield pleaded guilty at the trial and did not face cross-examination.As all boards under the governance of the ICC have an agreement to mirror bans imposed in such circumstances, Kaneria’s ban has been effective worldwide.

Royal Challengers Bangalore were without their talisman Chris Gayle, who had an injured groin, but four other overseas players performed roles expected of them to give the campaign a successful start

The Report by George Binoy07-Apr-2012Royal Challengers Bangalore 157 for 8 (de Villiers 64*, Bracewell 3-32) beat Delhi Daredevils 137 for 7 (Murali 3-25) by 20 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAB de Villiers scored a well-paced half-century that contained a mix of the orthodox and the unconventional•Associated Press

Royal Challengers Bangalore were without their talisman Chris Gayle, who had an injured groin, but four other overseas players performed roles expected of them to give the campaign a successful start in front of a packed Chinnaswamy Stadium. AB de Villiers prevented Royal Challengers from finishing on a below-par score with a well paced half-century that contained a mix of the orthodox and the unconventional, while Muttiah Muralitharan, in his first game in these colours, confounded Delhi Daredevils’ batsmen during an incisive, economical and match-turning spell.Delhi Daredevils’ major Indian stars also failed, with Irfan Pathan leaking 47 runs in a wicketless spell and Virender Sehwag making a duck in the chase. The visitors were competitive due to Doug Bracewell’s performance with the ball and in the field, Morne Morkel’s pace and bounce, and a cameo from Naman Ojha. That collective effort, however, was no match for the wealth of talent and experience of Royal Challengers’ overseas performers.De Villiers began his innings with Royal Challengers on 46 for 2 in six overs, and watched that platform erode because of regular wickets at the other end. That start had been given by Andrew McDonald, who targeted Irfan and the straight boundary to take 19 runs off the third over. McDonald’s flurry ended when Bracewell sprinted back and to his right from mid-on, watching the ball over his head, and lunged full length to hold stupendous catch with one hand.De Villiers scored at a run a ball for his first 22 deliveries, losing three partners on the way, and then launched Bracewell over extra cover to bring up the team’s 100 in the 14th over. And then he began to turn it on, mixing deft glances and sweeps to the fine-leg boundary with audacious reverse-hits to third man. He hit Irfan for two such boundaries, getting into position early and reverse-swatting full tosses, one over the rope and the other short of it. De Villiers crashed another straight drive past the bowler, Bracewell, in the final over but could not get on strike for the final three deliveries, and so Royal Challengers could not get past 160. Bracewell finished the innings clinically for Daredevils, taking wickets with the final two balls to end on 3 for 32.It was a heartening performance from Daredevils, considering they had lost Umesh Yadav to an injury after he bowled two overs for eight runs.The start of Daredevils’ chase was promising as well, with Aaron Finch threading the first three balls from Zaheer Khan to the boundary between point and cover. Sehwag, however, slapped his first ball to cover point and was caught. McDonald was economical at first change for Royal Challengers but Finch and Ojha steadied the chase, reaching 46 for 1 after six overs.It was at this point that Daniel Vettori and Murali began to bowl in tandem, and peg Daredevils back. Finch was dropped at short third man in Vettori’s first over, and Ojha by wicketkeeper de Villiers off Murali’s first ball. Two balls later, however, Murali had Ojha edging to slip. And in his next over, he had Finch lbw, reducing Daredevils to 68 for 3 after ten overs. Vettori and Murali were so effective that, after scoring 12 runs off his first three balls, Finch was dismissed for 24 off 25.The pressure created by Murali’s first spell of 3-0-11-3 was so much that Daredevils struggled to rediscover their momentum. Irfan struck a few big blows towards the end to spoil some bowling analyses but it had been Royal Challengers’ game since the 13th over of the chase, when the asking-rate inched over 10 while the spinners were being parsimonious.

South Africa are not focussing on their opponent and will play with freedom in their quarter-final tie against New Zealand, says Faf du Plessis

Firdose Moonda in Mirpur21-Mar-2011By finishing top of Group B, South Africa have set up a quarter-final clash with the fourth-placed team in Group A: New Zealand, a team who came into the World Cup having lost 11 out of the 12 games they had played in the subcontinent over the last year. South Africa, however, are not paying too much attention to who their opposition is, according to their allrounder Faf du Plessis.”We specifically said we don’t want to focus on who we are playing and have our minds distracted by our opposition,” du Plessis said at the team hotel in Dhaka. “If we prepare well and we are ready for the game and we play to our full ability, we are confident that we will win the quarter-final.”After winning five out of their six group-stage matches, South Africa have earned recognition as one of the strongest sides in the tournament, perhaps even the favourites now, a tag they did not have coming in to the competition. They’ve approached each game as an individual entity, not a stepping stone, or a rung on a ladder, but as unit on its own. Even though they have now reached the do-or-die stage of the tournament, du Plessis said their approach won’t change.”My experience of knockouts is not to do anything different. That will take all the pressure off. When you do the opposite and it gets more tense and there is more pressure, you don’t play to your full potential.”South Africa have played as a unit, with wickets spread among the seamers and the spinners, and runs coming from everyone in the line-up. It has meant that, on a day when one doesn’t perform, they are safe in knowing someone else will. du Plessis said the win against India played an important part in the team reaching this point. “The win against India gave us a lot of confidence because everyone chipped in.”It also served as a morale booster, after a demoralising loss to England in Chennai where the batting collapsed and South Africa were accused of crumbling under pressure. “We should have won the game against England,” du Plessis said. “But it gave us a sense of what to do when we are in that situation again.”Some called it getting the choke over and done with early, and while du Plessis didn’t say so in so many words, he indicated that the team had learnt their lesson from that outing. It also allowed them to focus on moving forward and remaining positive.”If you think about making mistakes, you’re not going to play your best game. Even when we were in tough situations, guys played with freedom and got us out of the hole,” he said, perhaps referring to the chase against India or the way the batting came back from being 117 for 5 against Ireland.South Africa put in a complete performance against Bangladesh, both with bat and ball and beat them by 206 runs in Mirpur. They will play New Zealand at the same venue, and du Plessis thinks the experience on the pitch at the Shere Bangla National Stadium will serve them in good stead.The pitch is a typical subcontinent wicket, although it doesn’t look that way. du Plessis admitted that the team were surprised by the colour of the surface. “I haven’t played on a wicket that looks charcoalish. It gets a bit slower the later you bat.” du Plessis doesn’t expect the toss to play a big role in the match, even though it is a day/night game.The conditions won’t be a concern because South Africa have played in them before, and the opposition is not an issue, because, as du Plessis reiterated, South Africa refuse to make them one. “We’ve seen them play a lot of cricket on television. They are a dangerous side, similar to West Indies in that they’ve got match winners as well. But we are not too worried about that.”

The ECB have confirmed that two Essex county cricketers are at the centre of a police investigation, following allegations of “match irregularities”

Andrew Miller at Chelmsford09-Apr-2010The ECB have confirmed that two Essex county cricketers are at the centre of a police investigation, following allegations of “match irregularities”. With the investigation still underway, the ECB added that they would be making no comment on the matter, but quoted a statement they had received from Essex Police:”Following allegations received about two Essex County Cricket players involved in match irregularities we have initiated an investigation,” read the statement, “and are working closely with Essex County Cricket Club and the English Cricket Board.”The Essex team was called into the dressing-room at the close of play on the opening day of their County Championship fixture against Hampshire at Chelmsford, where they were given a briefing from the county chief executive, David East. It is understood that the allegations first came to light a month ago, but Paul Grayson, the head coach, told reporters: “I am not allowed to comment on the matter.”Essex were at the centre of an investigation back in 1994, when their former seamer, Don Topley, alleged that collusion had taken place towards the end of the 1991 county season, when Essex were closing in on the Championship, and their opponents, Lancashire, were close to securing the Sunday League title.According to Topley, Lancashire agreed to bowl badly in their three-day fixture in exchange for a quid pro quo in the one-day match that took place midway through the longer game. While Essex’s subsequent win helped them to the County Championship, Lancashire’s one-day victory couldn’t prevent Nottinghamshire from claiming the Sunday League.The allegations were dismissed by the ECB as being without foundation, although they did resurface again six years later in 2000.A spokesman for Essex said there would be no official comment from the club until the investigation was concluded. Essex Police were not prepared to name the players involved at this stage, nor reveal the exact nature of the allegations.

GT, who are out of contention for the playoffs, might use this game to give opportunities to some of their fringe players

Vishal Dikshit15-May-20242:37

Aaron: Sai Sudharsan among the keys to GT’s rebuild

Match details

Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Gujarat Titans
Hyderabad, 7.30pm IST (2pm GMT)

Big picture: All eyes on Travishek once again

In the heated race for the playoffs in which five teams – CSK, SRH, DC, RCB and LSG – are still fighting it out for the remaining two spots, SRH are probably best placed to book a berth. One because they are the only team out of those five with two games in hand, and two, they will play both games in their own den. There’s also a third: the two remaining opponents for SRH are two of the bottom three teams on the points table – Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings – which tilts the odds further in favour of SRH.The first of those will be GT, who were knocked out of the playoffs race after a washout in Ahmedabad, where the captains waited for the duration of an entire T20 game to finally share points.SRH will return to the field after a good eight days, having smashed LSG by chasing down 166 even before the halfway mark. They will be high on confidence and spirits, re-energised after a break, and will hope GT haven’t saved their best for their last league game.A lot of the contrast between SRH and GT this season is shown by how they have gone about hitting their sixes so far. Compared to the 146 sixes by SRH this IPL, the most, GT rank at the bottom, with just 67, which is just one more than how many Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma have slammed put together. The story is similar across the three phases of the game, and it will come down to how much GT can restrict the SRH top order to in the powerplay.

Form guide

Sunrisers Hyderabad WLWLL (last five matches, most recent first)
Gujarat Titans WLLLW

Previous meeting

It was a month and a half ago when the tournament was only a week old that GT had restricted SRH to just 162 in Ahmedabad and chased it down rather easily, thanks to their top four. SRH’s batters have pretty much changed the definition of T20 batting since then.

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Sunrisers Hyderabad
Barring a collapse of sorts, like against Mumbai Indians when they had to bring in another batter in place of Abhishek Sharma, SRH are likely to swap a frontline batter for a bowler such as T Natarajan, Umran Malik or Jaydev Unadkat.Probable XII: 1 , 2 Travis Head, 3 Mayank Agarwal, 4 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 5 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 6 Marco Jansen/Glenn Phillips, 7 Abdul Samad, 8 Shahbaz Ahmed, 9 Pat Cummins (capt), 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 T Natarajan, 12 Gujarat Titans
GT have tried the most players (23) this season while trying to find their best combination and ended their campaign without possibly getting there. This could be a chance for them to give some of less-tried players more chances, such as Gurnoor Brar, Manav Suthar and BR Sharath.Likely XII: 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 , 4 M Shahrukh Khan, 5 David Miller, 6 Vijay Shankar, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Mohit Sharma, 10 Noor Ahmad, 11 Josh Little/Azmatullah Omarzai, 12 2:14

McClenaghan: Bhuvneshwar has increased his pace

In the spotlight: Vijayakanth Viyaskanth and Shubman Gill

SRH gave wristspinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth his first game last week in which he gave away just 27 runs in his four overs. He came into this season as Wanindu Hasaranga’s replacement and even though those are massive shoes to fill, another promising outing for Viyaskanth on Thursday will prove that his economy rate of 5.43 for MI Emirates in the ILT20 this year was not a one-off.Shubman Gill’s strike rate dipped from 157.80 in IPL 2023 to 147.40 this IPL in a season when more runs and more sixes are being hit than never before. He may have done that to shoulder more responsibility as captain, which often happens in the IPL, but with the T20 World Cup coming up, in which he is among the traveling reserves, Gill would want to sign off this IPL with a bang.

Stats that matter

• The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad has seen the joint-most sixes struck off spinners (61) this IPL.
• Abhishek Sharma has never been dismissed by Umesh Yadav, just once by Mohit Sharma and has a dominant record against Rashid Khan: 63 off 30 balls with just one dismissal.
• Mayank Agarwal doesn’t enjoy a great head to head against Umesh: 42 runs off 41 balls with two dismissals
• The hard-hitting David Miller has been kept quiet in T20s by Pat Cummins with a record of 38 runs off 46 balls with two dismissals.
• It will be interesting to see how Shubman Gill takes on the experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar, having been dismissed three times by him 10 innings to score just 57 runs off 56 balls
• Wriddhiman Saha needs 67 and Miller another 76 runs to reach 3000 IPL runs each.
• Bhuvneshwar is just one scalp away from 300 wickets in T20s. He will be the first Indian fast bowler to get there as the only Indians ahead of him are Yuzvendra Chahal, Piyush Chawla and R Ashwin.

Pitch and conditions

Barring the last game, in which it looked like SRH could have even chased down 300, according to KL Rahul, there has been just one game in Hyderabad where neither team scored 200. It means another run-fest awaits us on Thursday evening, especially if SRH bat first, because it has been the most high-scoring ground this season. It will be hot, humid and cloudy and there could be some rain too, but not enough to spoil the party again.

A win will leave both teams with a chance of sneaking into the playoffs if other results go their way

Shashank Kishore18-Mar-20234:15

Devine: It’s really cool to open the batting with Mandhana

Gujarat Giants vs Royal Challengers Bangalore in must-win contest

Remember when Royal Challengers Bangalore cheered wildly for a Mumbai Indians win over Delhi Capitals during the final group game of IPL 2022? Royal Challengers could end up doing something similar at the WPL if they beat Gujarat Giants on Saturday, because it will leave them with a chance of sneaking into the playoffs if other results go their way.They would want UP Warriorz to lose their remaining games and stay on four points. Then, if Royal Challengers win their last two, they can get to six points and take the third place ahead of Giants on NRR, since their current NRR of -1.55 is better than that of Giants. They would have to hope Giants knock over Warriorz on Monday.But a win against Royal Challengers and Warriorz will strengthen Giants’ chances.And as much as Giants haven’t helped their cause with by constantly chopping and changing, they showed there’s enough in the tank when they overcame Delhi Capitals. But they have not utilised their resources properly. For example: Mansi Joshi, an India international, has bowled all of one over in two games.Royal Challengers, too, have struggled with the ball. Renuka Singh, their spearhead, has been taken to the cleaners match after match. But Sophie Devine being able to bowl again after a niggle has lent some balance with her seam-ups. They would also be pleased to see some of their uncapped players – Asha Shobana and Kanika Ahuja, especially – pull their weight.All set then for a compelling contest between two misfiring teams with playoff spots on the line.

Players to watch

Kanika Ahuja showed her 360-degree game in the previous outing, helping turn a potentially challenging chase against Warriorz into a canter. She made 46 off 30 balls, exhibiting the virtues of being fearless. What more can she do?Adjusting to Indian conditions, especially Mumbai’s sapping humidity, can take a toll at the best of times, but three games in, Laura Wolvaardt has had time to soak it all in. Now for the opportunity to deliver that one blockbuster performance at the fag end of what has been a challenging season.3:01

Ash Gardner: ‘We’ve been inconsistent, but tonight was clinical’

Likely XIs

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Smriti Mandhana (capt), 2 Sophie Devine, 3 Ellyse Perry, 4 Heather Knight, 5 Richa Ghosh (wk), 6 Kanika Ahuja, 7 Disha Kasat, 8 Shreyanka Patil, 9 Megan Schutt, 10 Shobana Asha, 10 Renuka Singh/Komal ZanzadGujarat Giants: 1 Sophia Dunkley, 2 Laura Wolvaardt, 3 Harleen Deol, 4 Ash Gardner, 5 D Hemalatha, 6 Ashwani Kumari, 7 Sushma Verma (wk), 8 Sneh Rana (capt), 9 Tanuja Kanwar, 10 Kim Garth, 11 Hurley Gala/Mansi Joshi

Quotes

“Always think about the opportunity that you have rather than how bad it is right now. There is always a flip side to it, and it could always be worse than this.”
“Gujarat have multi-fold problems. How can a team having Rachael Haynes and Mithali Raj have such poor thinking? It just seems cluttered. Sophia Dunkley was in good form, she was the Player of the Match, and you dropped her. You play Laura Wolvaardt with confidence in the next match, you feel she will do good, but you drop her when she gets out and bring back Sophia. Will you change in the next match again?”