All posts by n8rngtd.top

A round-up of North Zone matches in the Inter State T20 tournament on January 31, 2017

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jan-2017Jammu & Kashmir seamer Umar Nazir’s 4 for 15 helped his side to a 26-run win over Punjab as they defended a total of 127 in Dharamsala. Nazir, along with his new-ball partner Ram Dayal (3-18), took four wickets inside four overs to wreck Punjab and leave them at 26 for 4. They were eventually bowled out for 101. Earlier, an unbeaten 47-ball 52 from Pranav Gupta helped J&K tide over a batting slump and post 127 for 7. The team had been struggling at 58 for 5 in the 11th over before Gupta pulled them past 100. Offspinner Nikhil Chaudhary took 3 for 36 for Punjab. This was J&K’s first win of the tournament.A late surge from Himachal Pradesh in the slog overs, crafted by Rishi Dhawan and Bipul Sharma, and a four-for from medium-pacer Pankaj Jaiswal set the base for a 48-run win over Delhi in Nadaun. Put in to bat by Delhi, Himachal were struggling at 93 for 5 in the 15th over before Dhawan (37 not out off 18) and Bipul (32 not out off 19) smashed an unbroken stand of 70 for the sixth wicket in 34 balls to lift them to 163 for 5. Between them, the pair hit a total of nine fours and three sixes. Delhi’s innings was once again marred by a top-order slump – they were struggling at 28 for 5 by the fifth over. The lower order, led by contributions from Milind Kumar (31) and Pradeep Sangwan (24) helped take the score past 100, as Delhi finished at 115 for 9. Jaiswal accounted for Gautam Gambhir in his 4 for 22 and also struck twice in the 18th over to ascertain Himachal’s win.Rahul Tewatia’s late strikes were enough for Haryana to cross 160.•Shailesh Bhatnagar

In Dharamsala, Haryana completed a 17-run win after Rahul Tewatia struck 40 runs off 17 balls with five sixes to take his team to 166 for 7. In response, Services opener Rahul Singh (38) and Amit Pachhara (37*) played useful hands but economical spells from seamer Mohit Sharma (1-23) and offspinner Jayant Yadav (1-21) meant Haryana’s target was out of their reach. Their victory did not seem entirely likely when Haryana were 95 for 5 in the 15th over, with medium pacer Nishan Singh taking three wickets. But Tewatia led a phenomenal charge in the slog overs, as he helped his team rack up 72 runs off the final 33 runs.

A round-up of the Group B matches of the Vijay Hazare trophy held on February 26, 2017

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Feb-2017Prashant Chopra’s career-best List A score of 159 helped Himachal Pradesh thrash Delhi by 185 runs in Bhubaneshwar. Chopra, whose third List A century included 24 fours and three sixes, took HP to 339 for 8 before their bowlers, led by debutant spinner Dheeraj Kumar (5-24), bowled Delhi out for 154.Chopra had scored 159 of HP’s 233 before he was dismissed, putting up partnerships of 81 for the first wicket with Ankush Bains (21) and 115 for the third wicket with Paras Dogra (77 off 65). After Chopra fell in the 39th over, before HP scored 106 runs off the remaining 71 deliveries. While Navdeep Saini and Kulwant Khejroliya took three wickets each, all seven Delhi bowlers went in excess of six runs per over.Chasing 340, Delhi lost opener Gautam Gambhir (0) and captain Rishabh Pant (2) early. By the 14th over, they were struggling at 53 for 4 with Pankaj Jaiswal collecting three early wickets. A fifth-wicket partnership between opener Sarthak Ranjan (37) and Milind Kumar (29) took Delhi past the 100-run mark, but Dheeraj struck regularly to bowl out Delhi 185 runs short of HP’s total.Tamil Nadu completed a seven-wicket win in Cuttack after their bowlers dismissed Uttar Pradesh for 159. Half-centuries from Dinesh Karthik (56*) and Vijay Shankar (58*) took them past the target in the 28th over.UP’s innings was made up of two batting collapses sandwiched between a 59-run fifth wicket partnership between Sarfaraz Khan (31) and Rinku Singh (37) that took their team past the 100-run mark. They lost their first four wickets for 66 runs while the last five fell for 34 as they were bowled out inside 36 overs. While M Mohammed (2-34) troubled UP’s top order, Aswin Crist (2-38) and Rahil Shah (2-25) chipped in with crucial lower-order wickets.TN lost three early wickets in their chase, but an unbroken 101-run fourth-wicket partnership between Karthik and Shankar meant their team crossed the line with 22 overs to spare and complete their second win in as many days.Half-centuries from Ruturaj Gaikwad (79), Naushad Shaikh (57) and captain Kedar Jadhav (71) helped Maharashtra defeat Kerala by 122 runs in Cuttack. Defending 312, Maharashtra’s Pradeep Dadhe (4-33) and Shamshuzama Kazi (3-25) took regular wickets to bowl Kerala out for 189 in the 40th over.Kerala’s openers gave their team a strong start to the chase, but constant dismissals, including three top-order wickets from Dadhe, saw them collapse from 49 for no loss to 61 for 5 in the space of eight overs. Mohammed Azharuddeen (50) and Iqbal Abdulla (60) added 109 runs for the seventh wicket, but it was all in vain as Kazi ran through the lower-order to skittle Kerala out for 189.Earlier in the day, Maharashtra overcame an early wobble to post 311 in 50 overs. Gaikwad and Jadhav put together 104 runs for the third wicket, while a late surge from Shaikh, Shrikant Mundhe (31) and Kazi (27) ensured a strong finish to their innings. Jalaj Saxena took wickets in the latter half to finish with figures of 4 for 51 off nine overs.

Jason Ratcliffe, formerly second in command at the Professional Cricketers Association, has warned of “the huge gamble” English cricket is taking with the introduction of a new-team T20 competition

George Dobell22-Mar-2017Jason Ratcliffe, formerly second in command at the Professional Cricketers Association, has warned of “the huge gamble” English cricket is taking with the introduction of a new-team T20 competition.Ratcliffe was on the steering group in the developmental stages of the proposed competition in 2015 before stepping down as assistant chief executive of the PCA at the end of last year after 14 years with the organisation.He feels there has been a lack of discussion “outside inner cricketing circles” ahead of an important vote that “will forever change the landscape of English cricket.””I care very much about our game,” Ratcliffe told ESPNcricinfo. “And, having sat on numerous ECB committees and structure reviews, as well as having played county cricket for 15 years, I feel I’ve a deep understanding of the issues.”The situation is that attendances at our existing T20 competition, the NatWest Blast, have grown 63 per cent in the last four years, where the ‘appointment to view’ principle has been proven to have worked and where our domestic competitions produced a good enough side for us to reach the final of the most recent World T20.”But we seem to be turning our back on that success and embracing a high-risk strategy that involves new teams and new identities. If the same money went into marketing the existing competition and brands as we are expecting to be invested in the new one, we could make something special and inclusive.”Ratcliffe fears for the future of county cricket if the gamble goes awry.”There is no halfway house with the strategy. We risk throwing away 130 years of history and alienating our core supporters while cannibalising our existing competitions. If we get this wrong, it could mean the death of county cricket.”Intriguingly, Ratcliffe also suggested it was the ECB’s intention to introduce an eight-team competition at the start of the T20 review process.”One of the things that has become clear to me is that there was an agenda right from the start of this process, back in 2015, to introduce an eight-team competition,” he said.”In the first CIRG [County and International Review Group] meeting, several of us asked if this was the plan. We were assured it was not but, after several days of strategy and modelling it became clear that it was.”The projected value of broadcast figures came out as early as July 2015 and non-disclosure agreements were put in place last year to prevent information leaking out. Looking back, I believe there was an agenda from the start.”While Ratcliffe hopes his comments will be viewed “in the constructive manner they are intended,” his concern is the counties are close to committing to the new-team competition before many key questions have been answered.
“I read the ECB chief executive Tom Harrison’s recent interview,” Ratcliffe said. “And while he clearly makes an exciting, compelling case, there was one phrase that stuck in my mind. He talked about “a moment where there’s a leap of faith” and suggested we are ‘very close to that.’ It feels like a high stakes gamble.”There are so many unanswered questions: how much influence does free to air broadcasting have? Who will host the matches? Will fans embrace new identities and travel to the matches? What will happen to Test cricket if the new-team T20 competition is being run at the same time and marketed so aggressively? How will county memberships, sponsorships and existing competitions be affected? Where is the compelling research to show that the new competition is desirable? How can our 50-over cricket develop if our best white-ball players are all involved in the new T20 tournament?”My concern is that Welsh Rugby Union went down a similar route in 2003 and it’s taken a generation to find out that attendances haven’t improved.”I’m not against change. I think we probably should have modelled a T20 competition with promotion and relegation and our existing 18 sides. But I’m concerned that, if the ECB’s strategy fails, the game in this country could shrink, not grow, as a result of the new competition.”There’s a potential game-changing vote about to take place over the future of domestic cricket and there’s been almost no open discussion. It’s happening before existing supporters have come to understand the full ramifications.”The only guaranteed winners in the short term, will be players with more money coming in at every level. County futures, however, are potentially far less uncertain.”There’s no doubt that cricket is resilient – 130 years of history has proved this. But while change is inevitable, we can’t take anything for granted. If the plans progress next week, county cricket as we know it, will change forever and we’ll be left with our fingers crossed that ECB have got this right.”

Ben Foakes followed up a List A career-best with a match-winning partnership with Rory Burns as Surrey silenced their metropolitan rivals London

ECB Reporters Network05-May-2017
ScorecardBen Foakes continued his run-making streak•Getty Images

An unbroken fourth wicket stand of 117 in 19 overs between Rory Burns and Ben Foakes took Surrey to victory by seven wickets in their Royal London One-Day Cup match against Middlesex at the Oval. Middlesex, with just one victory in four matches, are now facing an uphill struggle to progress.Surrey were chasing a slightly under-par Middlesex total of 243 for 9. Middlesex made the urgent breakthrough they needed when Toby Roland-Jones bowled Mark Stoneman for ten in the fifth over.But Surrey responded well, as Scott Borthwick flicked Tom Helm over square-leg for six. And Kumar Sangakkara got into his stride when he hit Helm for successive fours, on-driving and then lofting over mid-on.This pair put Surrey firmly in control with a second wicket partnership of 91. But Borthwick then chipped Dawid Malan to long-off and Sangakkara, who had been untroubled throughout his innings, suddenly drove Malan straight to cover for a 68-ball 59 to leave the game in the balance at 127 for 3. But then Burns and Foakes took charge.When Middlesex batted they only looked capable of a formidable total when first Nick Gubbins and then John Simpson were at the wicket, but neither player survived to play the much-needed major innings.They were already depleted without their England and Ireland representatives, and then they decided to play Nick Compton ahead of the impressively in form Stevie Eskinazi.Tom Curran broke through for Surrey with the last ball of the ninth over when Malan pulled to Stoneman at deep square-leg for just 14.That brought Compton to the wicket but the former England batsman’s innings lasted just five deliveries. He was caught behind nibbling outside his off stump, and that meant Middlesex were 42 for 2 after ten overs.Gubbins kept swashbuckling away at one end but at the other Adam Voges soon perished when he was caught down the leg-side for nine. Gubbins, it seemed, would need to make a century, and he looked well capable of it until he swiped Ravi Rampaul to Stuart Meaker for an 86-ball 65.Simpson then took responsibility for the Middlesex innings. He was almost caught at long leg when he had made 51 but the missed half-chance didn’t cost Surrey too dearly because he was lbw to Gareth Batty for 75, attempting to shovel the ball to leg. Batty’s ten overs cost just 38 runs, while Rampaul took 4 for 40After Gubbins and Simpson the highest Middlesex scorer was James Franklin, with 35, and they needed ten wides from the Surrey bowlers to get as many as they did.

Alistair Nicholson, the chief executive of the Australian Cricketers Association, is expecting Cricket Australia to respond to the players’ request for independent mediation of pay talks by the time he reaches London on Friday to meet Steven Smith’s team

Daniel Brettig24-May-2017Independent mediation to break Australia’s player payment deadlock is being reconsidered by Cricket Australia (CA). The board chairman David Peever had rebuffed the offer by the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) in correspondence to the ACA president Greg Dyer last Wednesday.But Alistair Nicholson, the ACA chief executive, is now expecting CA to respond to the request for mediation by the time he touches down in London on Friday to meet Steven Smith’s national team. CA’s chief executive James Sutherland and Pat Howard, the team performance manager, will be in London at the same time as Nicholson, raising the possibility of a meeting away from official negotiations.After the offer was first turned down, Dyer replied to Peever and addressed several areas of contention, particularly the claim that negotiations had not yet commenced. Nicholson last spoke to Kevin Roberts, CA’s lead negotiator, on Thursday and has gone ahead with plans to travel to England to keep the players informed of developments.The ACA has unveiled detailed plans for a landscape after the expiry of the current MOU on June 30, and CA’s threat to discontinue players’ employment. These include the foundation of a contingency fund for female and domestic players placed in financial difficulty by the impasse, and now the announcement of a new company to deal with the players’ commercial rights to broadcasters, sponsors and media.At the same time, the possibility of Australia’s top players and many more besides being out of contract at the end of next month has raised the interest of numerous Twenty20 leagues, from the Caribbean Premier League and the English T20 Blast, to South Africa’s recently announced T20 tournament that clashes with next summer’s Ashes series. Nicholson said he awaited CA’s response.”We’ve called for a third party to come into the MOU negotiation. We’re waiting for a second response on that from CA. There’s obviously operational things that are going on day to day, but we’re keen to get through this impasse. We’ve got to be optimistic about it. I’m updating the male playing group when I see them gathered in the UK and get them up to speed on everything there.”We’re expecting (a response) to come potentially this week. We need to respect their response. We exchanged phone calls and emails in regard to timings on that. There’s contact on operational issues, but we need to respect their negotiation position, and we’ll wait until we see that.”Smith was due to speak in London later on Wednesday, and Nicholson said Australia’s players, male and female, international and domestic, were united in their position. “The players are really galvanised and aligned on what they’re looking for,” he said. “We’ve talked about the revenue sharing model as the way we think the game should go forward.”The players aren’t saying ‘revenue share and nothing else’, it’s this revenue sharing model with flexibility underneath. We weren’t able to progress that as far as we could in negotiation, hence we’ve called for a third party to come in.”All parties are conscious of the damage a protracted dispute could inflict. This is particularly true at a time when CA are chasing a suite of new sponsorship deals and entering the final year of their current domestic broadcast deals with Channel Nine for international cricket and the Ten Network for the Big Bash League.The longer the standoff continues, the more it risks damaging fan interest in the game.”We’ve got a very clear model with some flexibility underneath that, so we think we’re coming from a very reasonable and responsible position,” Nicholson said. “But there’s no doubt the sooner we can resolve this and get on with preparing for a really important summer, the better.”The key thing is the players aren’t asking for anything more that they haven’t had, and so most Australians can understand that’s a fair request and the game’s going quite well. We feel we’ve got a very responsible position, but we do need to get it done and get some stability in the sport to then help commercial partners do what they need to.”

The Preview by Mohammad Isam20-May-2017

Match facts

Sunday, May 21, 2017
Start time 10.45am local (0945 GMT)1:04

‘You always miss playing internationals’ – Milne

Big picture

A win over Ireland will confirm New Zealand as the victors of the tri-series with one game in hand. Not only will they maintain the status quo over the lower-ranked teams in this tournament, their players will be better poised moving ahead to the Champions Trophy.George Worker, Ross Taylor, Neil Broom, Scott Kuggeleijn and Mitchell Santner, who picked up five wickets, were the stars of New Zealand’s first win. Then it was the turn of Tom Latham, Hamish Bennett and James Neesham, whose 48-ball 52 decided the game even as Bangladesh threatened with some late wickets.Neesham is one of seven players from the original New Zealand squad for this series who will go on to the Champions Trophy starting June 1. But even for Bennett, Kuggeleijn and Worker, there is the motivation of being the best of the rest, just in case there are injury issues to the first-choice picks.For Ireland, this will be a good opportunity to bounce back after their eight-wicket drubbing at the hands of Bangladesh on Friday. Among the batsmen, only Ed Joyce and Niall O’Brien gave creditable accounts of themselves, and it was O’Brien’s century that had given Ireland a whiff of a chance in their first game against New Zealand. Bad as they have been at run-scoring, the bowlers have been worse at run-saving.

Form guide

Ireland: LLLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)New Zealand: WWLWLNew Zealand’s reserves, like George Worker, have made a good account of themselves in Ireland•Getty Images/Sportsfile

In the spotlight

Paul Stirling is due after making 14 and a duck in his last two innings. A robust top-order batsman, he often gets Ireland to good starts and they would definitely need that against New Zealand.Ross Taylor made only 25 in his last innings, but his team-mates won’t be worried. They will however enjoy getting the chance to see him in full flow, as he was against South Africa in February earlier this year.

Team news

This could be the last opportunity this series for Ireland to field right-arm seamer Craig Young. He played the last of his 12 ODIs in March and has 25 wickets in the format.Ireland: (probable) 1 William Porterfield (capt), 2 Paul Stirling, 3 Ed Joyce, 4 Andy Balbirnie, 5 Niall O’Brien (wk), 6 Gary Wilson, 7 Kevin O’Brien, 8 George Dockrell, 9 Barry McCarthy, 10 Tim Murtagh, 11 Peter ChaseFast bowler Adam Milne has joined the tour after the conclusion of his IPL season and will take his place in the XI.* He is part of New Zealand’s Champions Trophy squad and this will be his first international outing since the World T20 due to injury. Neil Wagner is playing for Essex and not in consideration.New Zealand: (probable) 1 Tom Latham (capt), 2 Luke Ronchi (wk), 3 George Worker, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Neil Broom, 6 James Neesham, 7 Colin Munro, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Adam Milne, 10 Ish Sodhi, 11 Hamish Bennett

Pitch and conditions

The pitch in Malahide has been providing balance between bat and ball during this tournament, though the forecast of early morning rain could leave both teams wary.

Stats and trivia

• There has been three totals of 300 or more in 11 matches in Malahide. Ireland’s best is the 269 for 7 they made against England in September 2013.
• Ross Taylor has made 111 runs in 84 balls against Ireland, having been dismissed only once

*May 20, 6.20pm: this story was updated to reflect Adam Milne’s availability

South African left arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi will join the Northamptonshire Steelbacks for the NatWest T20 Blast.

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jun-2017South African left arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi will join the Northamptonshire Steelbacks for the start of their defence of the NatWest T20 Blast.The 27-year-old will be available for the first three games of the campaign, and will then be replaced by Seekkuge Prasanna, who will join up with the Squad after his Sri Lanka commitments.The Sri Lankan leg spinner has worked his way back into the Sri Lanka one-day squad in recent months and will miss the start of the NatWest T20 Blast Campaign to represent his country against Zimbabwe.The series between the two nations begins on June 30, with a total of five one-day internationals to be played, with the final fixture taking place on July 10.Shamsi has represented South Africa 8 times across all three formats and played in both the Caribbean and the Indian Premier League T20
tournaments.The Johannesburg-born spinner has taken 60 wickets in T20 cricket at a strike rate of 21.7 and an economy rate of 7.21.The new signing said: “I’m delighted to be joining Northamptonshire Steelbacks this summer for the NatWest T20 Blast. “I look forward to entertaining the crowds at The County Ground and contributing to wins for the team.”Head coach David Ripley said: “We’re delighted to welcome Tabraiz to our NatWest T20 Blast squad. “He is an experienced T20 player, having played both in the CPL and IPL. He is a very effective leg spinner, something I believe crucial in modern T20 cricket.

England’s new No. 3 has not looked out of his depth early in his Test career and is determined to maintain a relaxed approach to the pressure

Alan Gardner23-Aug-20172:21

‘I just desperately want to score runs for England’ – Westley

Almost three years ago, Tom Westley was standing round the back of the pavilion at Chelmsford, wiping the sweat from his brow after Essex had completed their final match of the season and talking softly, almost hesitantly, about his “ultimate goal” of playing for England. Westley had been selected – for the first time at the age of 25 – for the England Performance Programme, on the back of his impressive white-ball form that summer.That winter, he went to Sri Lanka, playing a few games for the Bloomfield club in Colombo while also working on his spin bowling; the following summer saw his best first-class return, 926 runs at 44.09, followed by an even more prolific season in 2016, when he averaged more than 50 and broke the 1000-run barrier for the first time. Now, at 28, he is England’s incumbent at No. 3 in the Test side.All of which is to say that Westley has worked long and hard to get to where he wants to be – he made his first-class debut for Essex more than a decade ago – and is intent on enjoying the experience. Called up for the Oval Test against South Africa, after Gary Ballance suffered a broken finger, he became only the second England debutant to score a fifty batting at No. 3 this century and, despite failing to match that contribution since, has so far featured in three consecutive Test victories.Westley is already getting used to the extra attention that comes with being an England cricketer – at least from the media, if not the general public, as a trip into Birmingham last week with Alastair Cook brought home. When an England fan stopped and asked for a selfie with Cook, Westley was not required. “The guy was like ‘no, no, it’s just his mate’. So I was just stood there.”Opposition analysts, you can be certain, will not make the same oversight, focusing on his strong leg-side game and a habit of occasionally letting his bottom hand take over, closing the bat face when he drives down the ground. Having spent many years forging a technique he trusts to bring him runs, Westley is not about to start making changes now and his conversations with those who know his batting best – including the gnomic Gnome of Essex cricket, and former England captain, Keith Fletcher – have centred on sticking to what works.”I score consistently through the leg side so that’s not something I’m too concerned about,” Westley says. “That’s the way I play. But I just thinking making that step up, and Cooky and Rooty showed it in the last game, that’s when you get in you have to make it count. I’ve got a start in a few of my innings and that’s the difference between county cricket, where you can get to 30 or 60 and hope a score comes along, but in Test cricket the scrutiny is on you because you have to go on there and then.”It’s my role to score hundreds. That’s what I’m there to do at three and make match-winning contributions but I’m confident in my ability and my game plan. It’s worked for me for a number of years at Essex and hopefully I can implement it at Test level.”I spoke to Fletch yesterday. I speak to him a lot. It’s the same advice. Keep it simple. Try to implement what you’ve done at Essex. I spoke to him briefly yesterday about a few things I try to tick off. I’ve done it from a young age. For instance a big thing for me is my balance so I was disappointed to be lbw in the last game because the leg side is a massive strength of mine and it was disappointing to get out that way. I may get out lb several times a year but generally I score a large volume of runs through the leg side. Everybody has their check list before a Test and a big thing for me is my balance. Then everything takes care of itself.”Westley’s dismissal at Edgbaston, trapped in front for 8 by Miguel Cummins, saw his opportunity extinguished before the pink ball had lost its first blush – and such was the scale of their dominance, England did not need to bat again. While he could have been forgiven for stewing in the dressing room while Cook and Joe Root each proceeded serenely to three figures during a stand of 248, Westley has been around long enough not to let such frustrations bite too deeply.”Some would say I missed the boat, but I just looked at it as them laying a platform for England to win which is the most important thing,” he says. “Maybe when you’re a bit younger, 19 or 20, you look sideways at what other people are doing and you wish you are scoring those runs, but I’m a bit older than that, although I don’t look it, and I just enjoy other people’s success.Tom Westley focuses during training•Getty Images

“I’ve seen it first hand with other people at Essex and with Cooky, there is not point competing with him, he is the leading run-scorer for England of all time, so it was more important that they laid a platform for England to win and that is what happened. If I play this next game and get a good start and kick on then my time will come as it will for other players in the changing room. That is my philosophy.”England will hope that he does kick on at some point over the next two Tests, with an Ashes series looming and questions hovering over the make-up of the top three. Having shown an impressive temperament in coming through his first test, against South Africa, Westley knows that a big innings is required to prove his belongs – never mind the quality of the opposition.”As far as I’m concerned runs are runs regardless of who they’re against. I know that the West Indies didn’t cover themselves in glory in the last Test but they are a very talented side. They’ve got some good bowlers, I know Shannon Gabriel didn’t play the last game, but they’ve got Kemar Roach and bowlers who have performed consistently in Test cricket.”For me, I just want to score runs for whoever I play for and for England against whoever. I think there is nothing else I can do. These are the Tests that are here in England at the moment so if I can score runs in them then it is only going to help.”So level-headed and thoughtful is Westley, that it is a surprise to hear that he recently made his mum cry. But then it is also a bit of surprise to hear university-educated Westley talk about his builder dad: “very vocal, covered in tattoos, very different to me.”. Should Tom ensure himself a place in England’s party for Australia, it will be a source of great pride for the whole family (he also has two sisters).”I spoke to my mum on the phone last night about hopefully getting selected for the third Test of this series at Lord’s and she just started crying, she couldn’t speak back to me. Growing up that’s what she envisaged for me as her son: playing at Lord’s. I can’t even bring up the Ashes to her. I was actually shocked on the phone because she couldn’t speak back to me, and I was like ‘signal gone?'”It was surprising to hear her well up. We were talking about tickets for Lord’s if I was selected and she couldn’t get a word in. I think getting selected on the Ashes would be times that by 10.”Before Australia, before Lord’s, even, comes the Headingley Test and the next stage on Westley’s journey. If he does well, he won’t be doing his interviews round the back of the pavilion; if he doesn’t, it seems fair to assume he will mop his brow and get his head down once again.”I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself because there is pressure as you’d expect playing for England,” he says. “I play cricket because I love playing cricket and the team, management and changing room has been unbelievable these last three games. I know there is a pressure to score runs but fundamentally I want to enjoy playing cricket for England, which I have, and hopefully in time the runs will follow.”Investec is the title sponsor of Test match cricket in England. For Out of the Ordinary thinking visit investec.com/cricket

The former India opener also said he only applied for the India coach job after being asked to by the BCCI secretary, the move was supported by Virat Kohli, and he did it because Ravi Shastri told him he would not apply for the position

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Sep-2017Former India batsman Virender Sehwag has revealed that he was “troubled” by the way Anil Kumble was forced to leave as India coach in June. Sehwag, who was one of the candidates interviewed to fill Kumble’s vacancy, said that he only applied for the India-coach job after being asked to by BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhary, the move was supported by India captain Virat Kohli, and he did it because Ravi Shastri told him he would not apply for the position.Immediately after the Champions Trophy, Kumble opted to step down a year after he was appointed coach by the BCCI. Kumble said his partnership with Kohli had become “untenable” and it was “best” for him to “move on”.Sehwag himself was present in England at the time as he was on the commentary panel for the official broadcaster of the Champions Trophy. Kumble, Sehwag said, was the “best and most capable coach” and hence he tried to speak with both him and Kohli to try and resolve the differences. “I was definitely troubled by the way Anil Kumble was made to exit,” Sehwag told . “If both of them stayed together and they could get along again it would be good. But probably the circumstances were not that he [Kumble] could stay.”Sehwag gave credit to Kumble for handling an uncomfortable situation admirably. “And the biggest thing was Anil Kumble resigned himself. Possibly it was not a good time for Anil Kumble and hence he had to go. Otherwise there was no better and capable coach than him,” he said.Sehwag said he had never thought about coaching till the duo of Choudhary and MV Sridhar (BCCI’s general manager, cricket operations) approached him to apply. Sehwag also spoke with Kohli, who supported the move he said. “I did not think [about applying for the job]. BCCI secretary Amitabh Choudhary and Dr Sridhar approached me and they requested me. I took my time. I also spoke with Virat Kohli and he also said he was in favour. That is when I applied. If you asked me if I had interest in coaching, I did not have any.”Sehwag said he made up his mind eventually to go ahead and apply once he had consulted with his family. “My fear always was I had played cricket for 15 years, stayed away from the family, so if I enter coaching I would again become busy for seven to eight months travelling with the Indian team. Hence I never thought about coaching and will not think [of it] anymore in the future.”Sehwag said he was not disappointed at not being chosen because eventually the “best” candidate was chosen by the BCCI’s cricket advisory committee (CAC). The panel comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman shortlisted Shastri from the half dozen applications, and its decision was ratified by the BCCI eventually.Sehwag said he had opted to apply for the job after Shastri told him during Champions Trophy that he was not going to apply for the coach position. According to Sewhag, Shastri said he would not make the “mistake” of reapplying for the position once the BCCI had opted to not extend his tenure as India team director after the 2016 World T20. Shastri, a favourite for the position even then, was pipped by Kumble who found favour from the CAC. Shastri had said then that he was “very disappointed” at missing out on the job.”When we were doing commentary in England, I asked him why he did not apply,” Sehwag said. “He told me I have made the mistake once. I will not repeat that mistake.” If he were aware that Shastri was applying, would he have gone ahead and applied too? “Then I would probably not have applied. Because he probably was the better choice. And the committee (CAC) also agreed.”Sehwag also rubbished media reports that said he had made a casual “two-line” presentation. According to Sehwag his presentation was about “eight-ten” pages long. Sehwag said he was asked what kind of relationship should a captain and coach share. “I only said captain and coach should be each other’s friends. If a captain finds himself in a difficult position unable to take a decision or takes a bad decision, me, as a coach, I should make him understand like an elder brother that this decision is not in the interest of the team.”

Michael Klinger, Shaun Marsh and an aggressive Cameron Bancroft maintained Western Australia’s unbeaten start to the domestic limited-overs competition by powering them to a total beyond Queensland’s reach in a rain-affected match at the Drummoyne Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Oct-2017
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Michael Klinger, Shaun Marsh and an aggressive Cameron Bancroft maintained Western Australia’s unbeaten start to the domestic limited-overs competition by powering them to a total beyond Queensland’s reach in a rain-affected match at the Drummoyne Oval in Sydney.The Warriors did so despite a startling innings by Michael Neser, who got the Bulls closer than they might reasonably have expected after slipping to 5 for 63, largely at the hands of Matthew Kelly. Neser played a willing ally to Queensland’s captain Usman Khawaja, who had appeared set to be stranded.After Khawaja fell, Neser took flight, clattering seven sixes at the harbor-side venue to take Queensland to within 12 runs of their Duckworth-Lewis-Stern-adjusted, 41-over target.Marsh and Klinger had given WA the ideal start, the latter going on to a century, but after rain interrupted the innings, it was the often obstinate Bancroft who provided the sort of acceleration required to make the most of a reduced allocation of overs. Like Peter Handscomb for Victoria, Bancroft is also keeping wicket in this tournament.