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Somerset’s twins Craig and Jamie Overton both have hopes of a championship debut against Lancashire at Taunton on Thursday – but only one of them is likely to be celebrating.

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Apr-2012Somerset’s twins Craig and Jamie Overton both have hopes of a championship debut against Lancashire at Taunton on Thursday – but only one of them is likely to be celebrating.The Overton twins, who have recently returned from an England U19 one-day tour of Australia, are likely to be vying for only one place, which will bring mixed family emotions when Somerset’s final X1 is announced shortly before the start of play.Brian Rose, Somerset’s director of cricket, has given no clues as to whether it will be Craig or Jamie who is preferred. Both have been named in a 12-man squad and a final decision on the team will be made on the morning of the match.”We have had good reports about them from the England U19s’ recent trip and they are in contention,” Rose said. “We will make a decision on which of the twins plays shortly before the game when we have assessed conditions.”Jamie, a fast bowler, looks the probable starter with Craig, an allrounder, as 12th man.The twins play for North Devon CC which is best known as the Instow base of David Shepherd, a former Gloucestershire cricketer and international umpire, and arguably Devon’s most famous cricketing son.Both Overton twins helped North Devon win the Devon Cricket League last summer and they played in the Devon team who became minor counties champions. They made their senior North Devon league debut at 13.If they progress into the Somerset side, they will follow the twins Keith and Kevin Parsons, who represented the county together in the mid-1990s.North Devon flourished during the 2011 season, though they were hit by the death of former player and umpire Bill Shepherd. He was the elder brother of David, who died in 2009 as the club’s most renowned member.

Gloucestershire have suffered a huge blow after the city council rejected plans to develop their homeground of Nevil Road in Bristol.

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jan-2012The future of Gloucestershire has been thrown into doubt after plans to develop their Nevil Road home were rejected. The club could now leave Bristol, where they have played since their formation in 1870.Gloucestershire had hoped to undertake a £10 million project to raise the capacity of Nevil Road to meet ECB standards and keep international cricket but the city council rejected their plans. Gloucestershire are now looking at several options to secure their future, one of which is a move to another part of the county.The ground development was essential to maintaining a one-day international at Bristol, a match which brings £1 million to the city. The project was to be funded by building flats at one end of the ground but permission for this was rejected. Opponents thought the plan for a seven-story block of 147 flats was too big, didn’t comply with sustainability commitments and lacked contributions towards education and green spaces.Chief executive Tom Richardson said the club were angry at the decision to reject plans that were recommended for approval by the council’s planning officers and a move away from Bristol was now a serious possibility. “We’ve said all along if we don’t have international cricket at Bristol, and we’re staring down the barrel at that, then we’ll have to consider moving elsewhere,” said Richardson.Gloucester City Council have already been in touch with the club for early talks over a potential move to the Wagon Works Ground, a venue Gloucestershire used from 1923 to 1992.The club now have to decide whether to appeal the decision to reject planning permission or seek other options. Either way, time against them. “It’s a long term decision and can’t be taken lightly or quickly but the clock is ticking,” said Richardson. “The international in 2013 is now extremely dodgy or maybe already disappeared. With international cricket here we had a very good plan going forward. Now we have to have a serious rethink.”Another consequence on the rejected plans is the impact on the playing budget. A contract offer to Chris Taylor was conditional on the development going ahead. Taylor could now be the second senior player to leave Nevil Road, after Jon Lewis’ departure to Surrey at the end of the last season.

Uttar Pradesh’s Mohammad Kaif and Madhya Pradesh’ Naman Ojha rescued Central Zone from what was a poor start to their innings in response to East Zone’s 427

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jan-2011
ScorecardUttar Pradesh’s Mohammad Kaif and Madhya Pradesh’ Naman Ojha rescued Central Zone from what was a poor start to their innings in response to East Zone’s 427. Central lost both their openers with the score just four, and then their captain, Rajasthan’s Hrishikesh Kanitkar, was out, leaving them 55 for 3.Kaif and Ojha took their time, taking 37.5 overs for their 114-run unbeaten stand. Kaif, who was recently bought by IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore, scored 78, while Ojha reached his half-century by the end of play.Central had made a positive start to the day, taking two quick wickets, but wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha made sure East’s score went pass 400. Saha, who returned from South Africa after the Test series during which he was India’s reserve wicketkeeper, scored 69 and had useful partnerships with lower-order batsmen Ashok Dinda and Iresh Saxena to frustrate Central. Pankaj Singh, whose 43 wickets over the Ranji season were a major factor in Rajasthan winning the trophy, finished with figures of 4 for 126.

If all goes well for Usman Khawaja, he could be on a plane to England in July to face the country of his birth in a Test series. What’s more he could fly the plane himself

Brydon Coverdale24-May-2010If all goes well for Usman Khawaja, he could be on a plane to England in July to face the country of his birth in a Test series. What’s more he could the plane himself. At 23, Khawaja is a qualified pilot, a batsman of rare class and he could soon be the first Pakistani-born player to represent Australia.But first things first: Khawaja has been chosen for Australia A’s series against Sri Lanka A in Brisbane in June. The selection was no surprise, for Khawaja posted three Sheffield Shield centuries and averaged 63.45 for New South Wales last summer. But the timing, as with so many of Khawaja’s strokes, has been exquisite.The Australian selectors have delayed naming the squad for the two Tests against Pakistan until they see how the A-team performs and thanks to Phillip Hughes’ busted shoulder there is a backup batting spot available. Khawaja’s stiffest competition is likely to come from the Australia A captain George Bailey and the No. 3 Michael Klinger.Khawaja’s youth means he is more of a long-term prospect than Klinger, who will be 30 by the first Test, and his first-class average of a touch under 50 dwarfs Bailey’s mark of 38. He’s not thinking of Test tours just yet, although the baggy green has been Khawaja’s primary objective ever since he was introduced to the sport by his cricket-mad father.”There is a Test spot but there’s still a few games in the A tournament and I’ve just got to keep scoring runs,” Khawaja told Cricinfo. “Aussie A is really exciting. I used to watch the Aussie A guys on TV back in the day when they were in the one-day series. I’m pretty excited, representing Australia in anything is really, really exciting. It’s another step up – I can’t wait.”When the family moved from Islamabad to Sydney, Khawaja was three. His father Tariq continued to support Pakistan but gradually switched allegiances to Australia as his son moved through the ranks. There have been semi-regular trips back to Pakistan, but Khawaja never considered playing for the country of his birth.”Even if they [Pakistan] came calling, there was never a chance of me going there anyway,” he said. “Ever since I was young I’ve been loyal to Australia and all I’ve ever wanted to do is represent Australia and get that baggy green. The thought never even crossed my mind. Australia feels like home, so I don’t think it would be right.”He reckons his dad was “pretty stoked” to hear of the A-team call-up, although Khawaja has shown such poise since making his state debut two years ago that it was only a matter of time. His cricketing success means that his second passion, aviation, has been put aside and he hasn’t taken to the cockpit for 18 months.”Piloting was the thing I was doing, pretty much as a fall back plan for cricket,” he said. “I love cricket to death, and all I ever wanted to do was play cricket. When you’re about 18 and nothing’s certain, I didn’t have any contract and had just made the NSW U-19s team, it was all uncertain. I just felt like I had to do a degree, get it under my belt and I didn’t have to worry about that part of my life.”There’s nothing like a great landing – it’s a great feeling. But I don’t think there’s anything in the world like scoring a hundred or winning a big title for your team. Cricket has always taken that mantle.”Perhaps having not piloted for a while he’d better not fly that plane to London after all. But if he performs against Sri Lanka A, he might just earn a passenger’s ticket.

Surrey break 126-year record for their highest total after opener extends marathon innings to 305

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay30-Jun-2025Durham 59 for 1 trail Surrey 820 for 9 dec (Sibley 305, Lawrence 178, Jacks 119) by 761 runsDom Sibley’s ten-hour 305, plus quickfire hundreds from both Dan Lawrence and Will Jacks, propelled Surrey to 820 for 9 declared at the Kia Oval, the biggest first-class total in the club’s long history.Resuming on 407 for 3, they broke their 126-year-old county record after batting on until just after tea on day two and prolonging Durham’s suffering in scorching sunshine and sweltering temperatures above 30 degrees.And in 28 overs before the close, Surrey then held Durham to 59 for 1 in reply with some testing bowling and will look to put the visitors under further pressure on days three and four of this Rothesay County Championship Division One fixture.Matt Fisher struck at the start of his second over with the new ball to bowl Emilio Gay behind his legs for 7, and it could have been better for Surrey if they had clung on to catches offered by Alex Lees, on 11, and Will Rhodes on 12.Lees, who reached stumps on 33, cut Tom Lawes’ first ball to cover where Jordan Clark could not hold a low diving chance and Rhodes, unbeaten on 16 at the close, was put down by Sibley at second slip off Clark.Sibley, on 169 overnight, eventually added 334 in 53 overs with Lawrence, a fourth-wicket record for Surrey against Durham. Lawrence cruised from 58 at the start of the day to 178 – as with Sibley, his first-class career best – before slicing Daniel Hogg to point.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Lawrence struck four sixes and 19 fours in an eye-catching 149-ball effort, while Jacks was just as effortlessly brutal in his own 119 from 94 balls – also hitting four sixes. Sibley and Jacks put on a further 133 in 21 overs for the fifth wicket.The declaration came when Jacks skied Hogg to deep mid-off looking to hit a third successive six, after Surrey had opted to bat on after tea for what proved to be another 12 balls and 17 runs.But the first post-tea Jacks blow off Hogg, swung high and far over a short mid-wicket boundary, took Surrey past their previous highest total in first-class matches – the 811 scored against Somerset at the Oval in May 1899.Sibley’s 475-ball epic, featuring two sixes and 29 fours but for the main part a relentless display of risk-free accumulation, was the eighth first-class individual score of 300 or more by a Surrey batter, and the seventh highest.The former England Test opener joins an illustrious list topped by Bobby Abel and also including Kevin Pietersen, Walter Read, Sir Jack Hobbs, Tom Hayward, Andy Ducat and Mark Ramprakash. Two more Surrey players, John Edrich and Andy Sandham, scored triple-hundreds for England.Surrey’s total, meanwhile, was also the highest first-class total made against Durham, beating the 810 for 4 declared reached by Warwickshire at Edgbaston in 1994. That was when Brian Lara hit his famous 501 not out, with Sibley joining Lara, Graeme Hick and Darren Lehmann as the fourth man to top 300 against Durham.When Sibley fell, to leave Surrey 745 for 5 in the 152nd over, he was only 24 runs short of becoming the first batsman to complete 1000 first-class runs this season and thoroughly deserved a standing ovation from a sizeable crowd boosted by the enthusiastic presence of more than 5000 schoolchildren.Clark, who contributed 24 in 16 balls, Josh Blake and Lawes all departed cheaply while Jacks continued to pile on the agony for a Durham attack missing Ben Raine, nursing an injury after bowling ten overs on day one.George Drissell, the offspinner, hit by Lawrence for 6, 6, 4 in successive balls at one stage, bore the brunt of Surrey’s hunger for runs. His 45 overs cost 247, the most runs conceded by a bowler in the County Championship, and he finished with just one wicket to show for his labours.

Surrey needed just nine overs to chase their target of 108

ECB Reporters Network21-Jun-2024South Group leaders Surrey crushed Glamorgan by nine wickets after a superb bowling performance, spearheaded by the pace of Gus Atkinson, Sean Abbott and Spencer Johnson, restricted the Welsh county to just 107 for nine from their 20 overs.Atkinson took wickets with his first and fourth balls early on and finished with 3 for 19, Abbott followed up his 5 for 18 against Middlesex 24 hours earlier by taking 3 for 25 and his fellow Australian, left-arm quick Johnson, picked up 1 for 16 from his four overs.Marnus Labuschagne was top-scorer with 20 and tailender Chris Sole made the next highest score with 15 not out, and Glamorgan’s total was put into context as Surrey rushed to 108 for 1 in reply in only nine overs.Dan Lawrence and Dom Sibley launched Surrey’s chase with a fusillade of boundaries as the opening pair added 53 inside a 62-run powerplay. Sibley went on to 44 not out from 26 balls after Lawrence holed out to deep square leg on 27 from 16 balls, and Laurie Evans then arrived to play some wonderful shots of his own in a 13-ball unbeaten 31.It was Surrey’s sixth win from eight Vitality Blast group games while, for Glamorgan, it was a sorry fifth defeat from their first eight matches in the competition.Lawrence took three fours from the third over, bowled by Chris Sole, and Sibley smashed left-arm seamer Jamie McIroy long on for six before driving the next ball gloriously wide of mid off for four.Evans, meanwhile, hit Dan Douthwaite’s fast-medium over cover for a remarkable six, following it up later in the over with a more orthodox strike high over long on for another maximum. And there was just time for Sibley to sweep Marnus Labuschagne’s leg spin for six and thump him to extra cover for four before also hitting the winning run.Glamorgan’s innings began badly, and never really recovered. Openers Kiran Carlson and Sam Northeast both fell in the second over, with Atkinson having Carlson caught at short extra cover for 1 with his first ball and Northeast (4) beaten by pace three balls later as he flapped at a short one and spooned up to slip.Australian Test batsman Labuschagne did scoop a Jordan Clark full toss high over the keeper for six but Abbott’s introduction for the sixth over brought an immediate reward when Colin Ingram swung at his first ball and was bowled for 8.Glamorgan were only 34 for 3 at the end of the powerplay and the struggle continued against spin as Lawrence snared Labuschagne for 20 and Cameron Steel also bowled his leg breaks accurately.Ben Kellaway reached 11 before Johnson’s return accounted for him, caught at midwicket in the 11th over, and Douthwaite (7) was beaten by a sharply-rising leg-cutter from Abbott and nicked behind.Clark saw Chris Cooke miscue to cover to go for 13 and Glamorgan’s demise continued when Andy Gorvin (5) edged Abbott behind.Mason Crane made only six before nicking a pacy lifter from Atkinson to the keeper and Glamorgan only made it to three figures because, in the final over, Sole carved Abbott high and beyond the ropes at fine third man for six and last man McIlroy produced perhaps the best shot of a forgettable innings by delicately ramping a full-pitched ball to the fine leg boundary.

While RCB’s bowling woes continue, Maxwell has “no injury concerns” as of now

Abhimanyu Bose14-Apr-20242:54

What’s gone wrong with Siraj this season?

Match details

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (10th; P6 W1 L5) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (5th; P5 W3 L2)
Bengaluru, 7.30pm IST (2pm GMT)

Big picture – Can RCB withstand SRH’s power at the Chinnaswamy?

After making the playoffs for three seasons in a row and then narrowly missing out last year, RCB are having a horror campaign, having slumped to five defeats in their first six games. Their bowling has been a major area of concern, with captain Faf du Plessis admitting they “don’t have as many weapons” with the ball. In RCB’s last game, they saw Mumbai Indians chase 199 inside 16 overs. And on Monday, they will be up against another batting juggernaut in Sunrisers Hyderabad.With Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma at the top, Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen in the middle and the power of Abdul Samad and Pat Cummins, Sunrisers have a batting line-up that’s not just explosive, but also runs deep. Earlier in the season, they posted the highest total in IPL history (277), beating RCB’s 263, and are the second-quickest scoring team in IPL 2024. Sunrisers’ big-hitters will be licking their lips at the prospect of playing against RCB at the Chinnaswamy, where the boundaries are short and the ball flies a long way.In contrast, RCB have the third-worst economy rate this season with the ball. With Mohammed Siraj having a below-par season, and a spin attack that has failed to be a threat to opposition batters, RCB know they have a huge challenge on their hands when they go up against Klaasen and co.Du Plessis has already said that the onus is on their batters to do the heavy lifting, and the positives RCB can take is that their skipper and Rajat Patidar found some form in the last game, and Dinesh Karthik continued to be impactful as a finisher.Virat Kohli, who is the leading run-scorer in the IPL, also has an excellent record against Sunrisers, scoring quicker against them than any other team in the competition.

Form guide

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: LLLLW (most recent matches first)
Sunrisers Hyderabad: WWLWL

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Royal Challengers Bengaluru
RCB have chopped and changed, using as many as 19 players this season – only Delhi Capitals have used more (20) – and they have been forced to tweak their combinations due to in-season injuries. RCB had an injury scare when Glenn Maxwell suffered a blow to his thumb and went for scans. But RCB’s director of cricket Mo Bobat said on Sunday Maxwell is “okay at the minute” and “there’s no injury concerns”. Just in case Maxwell is unfit, Cameron Green could return to the XI, having been replaced by Will Jacks in their last game. Saurav Chauhan or Anuj Rawat will likely come in as the Impact Player if RCB are chasing, or go out for a bowler if batting first.Probable XII: 1 Faf du Plessis (capt), 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Will Jacks, 4 Glenn Maxwell/Cameron Green, 5 Rajat Patidar, 6 Mahipal Lomror, 7 Dinesh Karthik, 8 , 9 Akash Deep, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Reece Topley, 12 2:39

Is it time for Sunrisers to unleash Umran Malik?

Sunrisers Hyderabad
Sunrisers are unlikely to make any changes to their team as they continue to build momentum around the halfway stage of the tournament. T Natarajan will likely come in as the Impact Player if they have to defend a target, and they can get Rahul Tripathi in as an extra batter if they are chasing.Probable XII: 1 Travis Head, 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Aiden Markram, 4 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 5 , 6 Heinrich Klaasen, 7 Abdul Samad, 8 Shahbaz Ahmed, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Jaydev Unadkat, 12

In the spotlight – Will Jacks and Travis Head

RCB made a big call to bench Green, who they bought in a cash trade for INR 17.5 crore, in the last game and brought on the highly-rated Will Jacks. Jacks showed glimpses of what he can do before chipping a catch for 8, but there are high expectations from him. With a T20 strike rate of 158.60, Jacks can help take the pressure off an under-fire RCB batting line-up.Travis Head is up against the team he made his IPL debut for, and he will be looking for a big score. After a 62 against Mumbai, Head has not really made a significant score and will be looking to make another big impact. He will also be fed plenty of pace, which suits him just fine. The Chinnaswamy may just be the best venue for him to go big again.

Stats that matter

• Sunrisers have won just two of their eight matches at the Chinnaswamy Stadium and have the worst win percentage among all IPL teams at the venue.
• The battle of the finishers: Dinesh Karthik (243.90) and Heinrich Klaasen (263.15) are among the quickest scorers in the death overs this season.
• RCB’s bowling average in the powerplay this year is 91.75 – by far the worst for any team in any season. Kolkata Knight Riders in 2018 had the previous worst powerplay bowling average in a season (68.38)

Pitch and conditions

The Chinnaswamy pitch has not been as batter-friendly as in the previous years. It’s been slightly two-paced, and the average first-innings score has dropped to 180 this season, as compared to 190.8 from IPL 2021 onwards.

Quotes

“So I think you have to keep challenging yourself to try to take wickets because any team can score that 60-70 at the back-end, in the last four or five overs. So I think no score is safe. And you always feel you’re in the game, particularly when you’re chasing. I think most teams will come here and try to chase because they feel it’s easier to navigate the innings when you know what’s in front of you.”

Poor fielding display condemns holders to third straight loss in round-robin stage

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Mar-2022Lisa Keightley, England’s head coach, says that she shoulders the blame for the collapse in form that has left her team’s defence of the World Cup hanging by a thread, following their third straight loss of the tournament, and their sixth ODI defeat in a row.After opening their campaign with narrow defeats to Australia and West Indies, England batted first in Mount Maunganui and posted 235 for 9 in their 50 overs, with half-centuries from Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones and five wickets for South Africa’s Marizanne Kapp.In reply, however, England missed a number of key opportunities in the field – most notably against Laura Wolvaardt, who anchored South Africa’s chase with 77 from 101 balls. Sune Luus and Kapp backed up their earlier efforts with the ball with a pair of important 30s, before Shabnim Ismail and Trisha Chetty sealed a three-wicket win with four balls to spare.England, who beat South Africa by two wickets in a similarly tense semi-final of the 2017 World Cup, now face four must-win contests in a row, starting with Wednesday’s clash with India in Mount Maunganui. Even that, however, might not now be enough for qualification with Australia, New Zealand and West Indies already better placed to push for a spot for the semi-final berths.”As a coach, I take a huge amount of responsibility,” Keightley said. “It’s up to me to drive the team and get the wins on the board, that’s the job of the coach. And we’re trying really hard, the coaching staff and myself, to get the players up and about and we don’t have to do too much.”The players are pretty gutted,” she added. “They were pretty gutted after the last match and they wanted to bounce back. They were unable to do it, so the responsibility and the buck lies with me and I’m happy to cop that.”Moving forward, do I feel the pressure? I don’t feel any more pressure than what the players feel and I’m no more disappointed than the players. We came into this World Cup wanting to play better than we have and we haven’t, and it’s been frustrating.”After an arduous winter campaign, which featured the disappointment of England’s Ashes defeat in Australia, the weariness of England’s fielding performance will raise inevitable questions about the fitness levels of the squad, with the veteran new-ball pairing of Anya Shrubsole and Katherine Brunt likely to come under particular scrutiny.Keightley, however, hinted that England would once again be relying on their experience of their proven matchwinners in the India game, rather than rotate them out, despite the likes of Freya Davies and Tash Farrant waiting in the wings as new-ball options.”We will have to have a look, see how they pull up, and make those decisions,” Keightley said. “They’ve done a great job for England over a number of years and they’re working really hard to do their job for the team. I think we’re on a new [pitch for the India match]. So it probably makes sense to play some senior bowlers.”Related

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One bowler who did once again emerge with credit was the spinner Sophie Ecclestone, whose ten overs went for just 23 runs, including the key wicket of Mignon du Preez for 8.”Sophie has been amazing,” Keightley said. “She bowled well again today, and in the last games she has been fantastic. If we’d taken our chances in the Powerplay, we would have put pressure through the middle with Charlie [Dean] coming infor her first World Cup game. We tried really hard and created chances, we’re just not taking them.”We haven’t really put our finger on it really, we have fielded pretty well throughout the Ashes and took a lot more chances than we have today,” Keightley added. “The last two days, we’ve trained really well and the girls have been up and about and putting a lot of effort in.
“We just haven’t got the rewards in the games that matter, so it is something that we’ll have to think about when we review after this World Cup.”Despite England’s bleak standing on the World Cup table – only Pakistan, with four defeats out of four, sit below them – Keightley is adamant that the round-robin format can still get them back into the qualification mix.”We’re trying hard to get those wins and once I think we win a close one, we’ll get a bit of momentum and finish strong,” she said. “We’ve just got to dust ourselves off, come back out in two days’ time and play the way we want to play.”

Australia slumped to 45 for 6 with Akeal Hosein taking three quick wickets

Andrew McGlashan22-Jul-2021 • Updated on 25-Jul-2021Nicholas Pooran and Jason Holder rescued West Indies from more top-order troubles to level the ODI series in Barbados in the match that was delayed by 48 hours after the Covid-19 scare in the home side’s camp.In the end it was Australia’s collapse that proved decisive when they crumbled to 45 for 6 as left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein claimed three wickets in six balls. The last four wickets turned the innings around by adding 142, which included a 59-run ninth-wicket stand between Adam Zampa and Wes Agar, then when West Indies slipped to 72 for 5 – with Mitchell Starc again brilliant – there was the chance of a remarkable resurgence.However, Pooran and Holder played with excellent composure knowing that the required rate was never an issue. Pooran was given lives on 26 and 49, the first when Moises Henriques spilled a simple chance at mid-off, and Holder was reprieved by the DRS but it was a well-constructed stand during which Holder brought up his first ODI fifty since the 2019 World Cup while Pooran was unbeaten to finish things off.Even though the toss remained from two days ago, West Indies had given permission for Australia to make a change to their XI with Agar replacing Josh Hazlewood who had been managing a calf niggle and hadn’t been able to get the usual treatment due to two days of isolation while everyone in the bubble was retested.West Indies struck in the opening over when Ben McDermott nicked a wide delivery from Sheldon Cottrell’s second ball and after Josh Philippe had briefly shone he picked out deep square leg with a pull.Cottrell’s first spell had been just two overs as he left the field but his replacement, Holder, made a significant inroad when he produced an excellent delivery to take Mitchell Marsh’s outside edge.Then it was over to Hosein. There was no captain’s innings from Alex Carey this time as he was comprehensively beaten through the gate by a fantastic delivery that spun sharply from quite wide. Henriques’ disappointing tour continued when he edged a drive to slip, a reward for Hosein throwing his line a touch wider to entice the shot.Two balls later, he produced another gem, dropping a delivery on the middle and leg which then ripped past Ashton Turner’s edge to take middle stump. At that point, a very early finish was a possibility.Starc and Matthew Wade started a rebuild with a stand of 51 which was broken by Hayden Walsh Jr who had Starc lbw sweeping, via the DRS, having survived the same mode of dismissal on 7 when the review system overturned the decision. On both occasions, the umpire was Joel Wilson on a day he had four decisions overturned.Wade never found fluency but had little choice but to try and bat through the innings. However, the revival then came from the unlikely pairing of Zampa and Agar in a stand of 59 in seven overs which included Agar twice clearing the rope as West Indies became a little ragged in the closing stages until things ended in consecutive deliveries.It did not take long for a target of 188 to look much more challenging on a challenging surface. Starc was again on-song in his first spell as he pinned Evin Lewis lbw – having seen the opener saved from a caught behind in the opening over – and produced another pearler for his collection to extract Darren Bravo’s off stump.Spin then made an impact as Zampa caused plenty of problems with his googly, firstly removing Jason Mohammed with some help from the pad and then going right through Kieron Pollard. Between those wickets, Turner, a part-time offspinner, struck with his second delivery in ODIs when Shai Hope, who had played superbly against Starc, ran past one that slid on to take off stump.While that was a smart piece of captaincy by Carey, it also highlighted one of Australia’s problems as they lacked the second frontline spinner which West Indies possessed. Alongside the absence of Hazlewood, it left a lot on the shoulders of Starc and Zampa who couldn’t conjure another breakthrough in time – although Zampa should have done when Pooran was shelled with 65 still needed.In the over following that miss, Holder pulled debutant Riley Meredith for six over deep square leg which saw McDermott clatter into the boundary borders as he tried to reach the catch and hobble away.The rest of the chase was not without the occasional nervy moments particularly when Starc had Holder lbw with 23 needed. Pooran, who earlier became the third-fastest West Indies men’s batter to 1000 ODI runs, went to 49 with a six off Turner and brought up fifty when Wade could not hold a top edge at slip which he was moving the wrong way for. There was then a sigh of relief when Starc finished his 10 overs.

Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman find form in intra-squad match

ECB Reporters Network20-Jul-2020Pakistan captain Azhar Ali scored a century that guided his Team Green to a six-wicket victory in the first intra-squad match at the Incora County Ground in Derby.Azhar anchored a fourth-day run chase with a composed 120 from 225 balls after Team White, led by Babar Azam, had set a target of 353 in 89 overs.Fakhar Zaman provided the initial thrust by smashing six sixes in a 128-ball 99 and Azhar paced his innings shrewdly before retiring with the finishing line in sight.ALSO READ: Amir available to join squad in EnglandAsad Shafiq made 67 from 95 balls before he also retired leaving Iftikhar Ahmed and Sarfaraz Ahmed to complete victory in the evening sunshine with five balls to spare.Despite the relaxed conclusion, the first of two warm-up matches has been a worthwhile exercise for a number of key players ahead of the first Test against England in just over two weeks with Azhar’s innings particularly encouraging after his modest County Championship season with Somerset in 2019.Babar, another of the tourists’ key batsmen, also scored runs while Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi bowled with pace and accuracy and Yasir Shah twirled away for 31 overs in the match.It was a memorable game for wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan who followed an unbeaten half-century in the first innings by completing a century before Team White declared to set up a competitive final day.ALSO READ: Khushdil, Abid face injury scaresRizwan looked assured in both innings and two boundaries off Faheem Ashraf eased him through the nineties before a tuck off his hip against Naseem took him to three figures and prompted Babar to declare.Team Green’s chase threatened to stall immediately when Mohammad Hafeez, in for Abid Ali who was struck on the head fielding at forward short leg on day three, was out to the third ball off the innings from Afridi which he edged to Rizwan.But that was the last wicket to fall for nearly 43 overs as Fakhar and Azhar first saw off the new ball and then eased through the gears with Fakhar moving into overdrive against the leg-spin of Shadab Khan.The left-hander plundered six sixes between long-on and long-off, one bouncing off the pavilion roof with another clearing the main stand at the City End of Derbyshire’s headquarters.He also hit 10 fours but Shadab denied him a century by grabbing a head-high catch at third slip from a sliced drive off Mohammad Musa.
Azhar had been a spectator during the onslaught but with the exit of Fakhar, he took the initiative to reach his hundred off 199 balls while Shafiq drove the left-arm spin of Kashif Bhatti for six on his way to an 81-ball 50.Both made way to give Iftikhar and Sarfraz time in the middle. The tourists have one more intra-squad game at Derby starting on Friday before the real business begins at Emirates Old Trafford on August 5.