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Chase got tricky as WI stuttered in the afternoon, but an experienced Da Silva took the visitors home

Mohammad Isam27-May-2023Kevin Sinclair’s match-haul of 7 for 123, backed up by important runs in both innings from Joshua Da Silva helped West Indies A win the second unofficial Test against Bangladesh A by three wickets in Sylhet. They now have a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.Chasing 190 on the fourth and final day, it was the captain Da Silva who shepherded the chase after the visitors slipped to 70 for 5 in the afternoon. He added 76 with Brandon King, and then a 41-run unbroken eighth-wicket stand with Akeem Jordan. Da Silva was unbeaten on 47, with seven fours and a six.King struck six fours and two sixes in his 54 off 78 balls, but when he popped a catch to Shahadat Hossain at silly mid-off, the Bangladesh A side got hope. The hosts were truly back in the game when Tanvir Islam then removed Sinclair in the same over. Da Silva and Akeem, however, kept their calm, scoring the remaining 41 runs in the following 6.5 overs.Offspinner Sinclair was Player of the Match for his seven wickets, which included a five-wicket haul in the second innings. He took two wickets in the first innings, which Akeem dominated with his 5 for 45.Sent into bat, Bangladesh A were bowled out for 237 runs in 65.3 overs in their first innings, with Shahadat top scoring with 73, his innings laced with ten fours and two sixes. While he was the ninth man out, the rest of the batters hardly supported him. The captain Afif Hossain cracked seven fours in his 37. Akeem’s five wickets apart, Anderson Philip and Sinclair took two each, while Jair McAllister picked up one.Kirk McKenzie top scored in West Indies A’s first-innings response, making 91 with nine fours and three sixes. He added 116 runs for the second wicket with Raymon Reifer. Keacy Carty made 68 – the second highest score in West Indies A’s first innings – and added 79 runs with Alick Athanaze. Then then put on another 48 runs with Da Silva for the sixth wicket as the visitors claimed a 108-run lead.Fast bowler Tanzim Hasan Sakib took four wickets while Saif Hassan took two wickets.The hosts put up a better batting effort second time around. Shadman Islam struck 74 with ten fours, but it was Irfan Sukkur’s 72 which gave Bangladesh A an important boost. He struck 12 fours in his 106-ball stay. Alongside Sinclair, Akeem and McAllister were among the wickets in the second innings.It set up the visitors for a 190-run fourth innings chase on the final day. King, Da Silva and Akeem got them home in the final session.

Australia captain survives close call to rack up vital fifty, and give her side the edge in tense tussle

Andrew Miller25-Jun-2023In a parallel universe, Alyssa Healy would currently be nursing her fourth consecutive duck in Ashes Tests and England, in all probability, would be favourites to seal a compelling contest at Trent Bridge and steal a march in their bid to win back the trophy for the first time since 2015.Instead, Healy – Australia’s stand-in captain in the absence of Meg Lanning – survived a near-unplayable first delivery from Kate Cross, one that took a low edge and deflected off the tip of Amy Jones’ gloves, to halt Australia’s dramatic post-lunch collapse with a typically gutsy knock of 50 from 62 balls.On her watch, Australia inflated their total from a ropey 198 for 7 to a daunting 257, for an overall lead of 267, and after the capture of five England wickets in a feisty evening onslaught led by the offspin of Ashleigh Gardner, they reached the close of day four with their dominance restored.Related

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And speaking after play, Gardner, whose figures of 3 for 33 mark her out as Australia’s likeliest matchwinner as the contest moves into the uncharted territory of a fifth day, acknowledged that Healy’s knock had been a “huge” factor in reasserting her Australia’s position. And it had been especially important on a personal level too, given that Healy’s first-innings duck – bowled by England’s ten-wicket star Sophie Ecclestone – had followed on from her pair in the last Ashes, a thrilling draw in Canberra in January 2022.”We spoke at tea about how crucial those last few runs were,” Gardner told Sky Sports. “To see her stand up and have a captain’s knock in our own right was fantastic, and a bit of a monkey off the back for her as well. But for her, it was leading from the front and then taking a bit of that confidence into her keeping as well. I think she’s kept fantastically this whole Test match and, as bowlers and fielders, we just need to back that up as well.”Beth Mooney’s Test-best 85 was another critical factor in Australia’s overnight dominance, after she and Phoebe Litchfield had added 99 for the first wicket prior to England’s mid-innings fightback.”That’s Alyssa to a tee,” Mooney said at the close. “She loves being in the contest. She’s a competitor. And there’s been no doubt in our changing-room that her luck was going to change a little bit in this format, and she showed everyone the class that she is out there today with her innings.”I think that will be the difference for us, in terms of getting over 200, so I think she played beautifully and showed really good intent in really trying conditions.”Healy’s response to her own struggles with the bat had been to drop herself down to No. 8 in the order, and trust Australia’s formidable lower-middle-order to ride the confidence they had shown in their first-innings performances. Gardner’s first-innings 40 from No. 7 had been a vital factor in rescuing Australia from a dicey 238 for 6 in the first innings, while Annabel Sutherland’s maiden Test hundred had taken the attack back to England on the second morning.Ashleigh Gardner made vital inroads•Getty Images

When, however, both players were undone in consecutive overs, with Kate Cross and Ecclestone combining to instigate a collapse of 3 for 3 in 12 balls, Healy’s formidable resolve was just what Australia needed to get their innings back on track.”To Midge’s credit, she’s always trying to do the right thing by the team, and get a few different people into the game,” Mooney said about her demotion. “So I wasn’t surprised at all. I think she’s one of the most selfless players I’ve played with so, absolutely, she was trying to get the team in the best position possible. But there’s not going too No. 8s floating around world cricket with her credentials, so I don’t think she was too unhappy about it.”As for the overall match situation, Mooney acknowledged it was still very much in the balance, even though Australia’s capture of five late wickets, following a composed opening stand of 55 between Tammy Beaumont and Emma Lamb, has left them with the momentum going into a final day that the authorities at Trent Bridge have confirmed will be free entry.”I think it is teetering a little bit,” Mooney said. “I think the first hour tomorrow will go a long way to finding out who’s going to come out on top. We’ve still got to bowl really well on that wicket, and try to extract as much as we can out of it.”I back our bowlers to take five wickets,” she added. “There’s a lot of time left in the game and not that many wickets for us, compared to what we had an hour and a half ago. So I’m really excited to see what’s to unfold tomorrow, but certainly, we feel like we’re probably the happier team walking off this afternoon, for sure.”Ecclestone, whose ten-wicket haul reaffirmed her long-held status as the premier spinner in women’s international cricket, was phlegmatic about England’s overnight position – not least because her prowess with the bat will doubtless be a factor in the contest’s denouement. She is likely to bat at No. 9 in England’s order for this run-chase, following the promotion of Cross as nightwatcher shortly before the close.”We’re definitely winning tomorrow,” she said. “We’ve put ourselves into a lot of practice games, a lot of pressure situations. So, tomorrow, I’m backing our team all the way.”[Hitting the winning runs] would top it all off,” she added. “Hopefully [Danni] Wyatt can keep batting, and Crossy [Kate Cross] looked lovely those last few balls…I mean, I wasn’t watching to be honest. I was sat in the physio room, just waiting for the balls to be over, to be honest.”It’s just the beauty of Test cricket, it’s mad how things change,” she added. “It’s such a great form of the game that things happen so fast and things change so fast. So hopefully we can put them under a little bit of pressure tomorrow morning, and go back at them.”

Short-ball plans trigger Australia collapse but visitors closing in on 2-0

Andrew McGlashan01-Jul-2023Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins put Australia within touching distance of a 2-0 Ashes lead as they cut through England’s top order during the final session of a day that had earlier been marked by the home side’s unprecedented short-ball plan, which reached reaped rewards but ultimately looked to have no bearing on the outcome.For periods of the fourth day the game almost game to a standstill as Australia ducked and swayed away from bouncer after bouncer, but overall they lost 8 for 92 which, given England’s recent history of chases, including one of 378 against India last summer, offered them a glimmer with a target of 371 in four sessions.However, those hopes were blown away by the brilliance of Starc and Cummins which left them 45 for 4 and the absence of Nathan Lyon, who had astonishingly appeared to bat at No. 11, likely not proving a factor. It appeared they were five down shortly before the close when Starc superbly caught Ben Duckett’s attempted upper cut at fine leg, but the third umpire ruled the catch wasn’t clean as the ball scraped along the outfield, much to Australia’s amazement and frustration.The first wicket of England’s innings was not among the memorable ones as Zak Crawley tickled Starc down the leg side. But Starc was finding movement with the new ball and produced a wonderful delivery which came back sharply into Ollie Pope and clattered middle stump.Cummins, who is no stranger to creating viral Ashes moments, then produced what may go down as the over of the series as he roughed up Joe Root with a delivery which struck his forearm before having him fending to slip. He then produced a ball to take Harry Brook’s off stump which matched the one Root received at Old Trafford in 2019.Australia were two wickets away from England’s bowlers and there was a chance the game could hurtle to a conclusion but Duckett, with his second half-century of the match, and Ben Stokes – who had earlier put his knee on the line with a 12-over bouncer-laden spell – forged a stand of 69 to ensure that there would be room for a few further mentions of Headingley, even though the task of 257 more runs remained huge with a long tail.After briefly trying to find the outside edge when play began, England soon resorted to short-pitched bowling and basically did not shift from it until Australia were all out. The two sessions on the fourth day record the highest number of short deliveries in ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball database going back to 2015. TV graphics showed that 98% of the deliveries England bowled in the second session pitched eight metres or shorter.It was a slow burn of a tactic and created much debate, particularly after England’s previous proclamations of entertainment, but wickets did start to fall. It began when Usman Khawaja’s fine innings, which took him to 300 runs for the series, ended with a top edge to long leg.Mitchell Starc roars after dismissing Ollie Pope•Getty Images

In what then became a frenetic period, Travis Head was dropped at backward point before he had scored by James Anderson – his second miss of the game – then next ball Steven Smith top-edged to deep square leg. Head soon fended a catch to short leg which was superbly caught by Root as Australia lost 3 for 10 to spark some life into England.Cameron Green and Alex Carey played carefully until lunch then the afternoon session was when the game hit a virtual stalemate, although Australia held a strong advantage the whole time. By and large the pair did not have huge trouble avoiding the short deliveries, although Green was struck on the badge of the helmet by Stokes and a few moments later pulled Robinson to deep square leg after a 13-over post-lunch period which brought 17 runs.Stokes was into one of those marathon spells which have dotted through his Test career – the most famous being at Headingley in 2019 before his batting heroics. Whether this time, with the state of his knee, it was a sensible approach remains to seen and he was clearly grimacing at the crease when he later batted.But he certainly played a role for England as wickets fell at the other end. Carey was another to bunt a catch to short leg – Robinson then ending with a spell of 9-6-7-2 – and Cummins fended to gully after being given a life when Stokes had overstepped.Stokes finally earned a wicket when Josh Hazlewood turned the ball to short leg but the innings was not yet done with its bizarreness. Lyon, unable to use a runner under ICC playing conditions, limped down the steps of the pavilion and hobbled to the middle with his badly damaged calf, which will surely rule him out of the rest of the series. Barely able to stand and unable to walk he helped Starc add 15 runs and managed one pulled boundary himself.Australia may have felt they needed every run available, but the new-ball bursts from their opening pair have meant it will take another extraordinary turn of events for this match to come down to such fine margins.

The change might necessitate a rejig of the batting order, since Reifer batted at No. 3 in the first Test, in Roseau

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jul-20236:45

Will a pace-friendly pitch work better for West Indies vs India?

Kevin Sinclair, the offspin-bowling allrounder, has received his first Test call-up, for the second Test against India, with West Indies looking to bounce back after a crushing loss inside three days in the first Test against India.He replaces Raymon Reifer, the batting allrounder, in the 13-member squad in the only change from the opening Test.Reifer, however, will remain with the squad in Trinidad as an injury cover.Related

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Sinclair, the 23-year-old Guyana player, has a decent first-class record, where he has snapped up 54 wickets in 18 games at an average of 23.98, with a best of 6 for 33. He has also scored 756 runs at 29.07, which includes six half-centuries.He gave a good account of himself in the four-dayers against Bangladesh A earlier this year, finishing as the leading wicket-taker in a three-match series with 13 wickets at 25.69, as West Indies A won 1-0. He also scored 149 runs at 49.66 with a best of 60.Sinclair has played seven ODIs and six T20Is for West Indies so far, picking 11 and four wickets in the two formats, respectively. He was most recently part of the ODI World Cup qualifier in Zimbabwe, where he picked up two wickets in three outings as West Indies failed to make it to the main draw of the ODI World Cup for the first time.The rest of the squad was unchanged, with Kemar Roach, Alzarri Joseph, Shannon Gabriel and Jason Holder forming the fast-bowling department. Rahkeem Cornwall, who was off the field for a while in the first Test because of a chest infection, has been retained, and so has left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican.On the batting front, without Reifer, who batted at No. 3, the rest of the batters could move up one place each, with Sinclair possibly slotting in below Holder at seven. Unless there is a Test debut planned for Kirk McKenzie.The second Test will run from July 20 to 24 in Port of Spain, and will mark the 100th Test between West Indies and India. The two teams first met in a Test match in 1948 in Delhi.West Indies squad for the second Test: Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), Jermaine Blackwood (vice-capt), Alick Athanaze, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Rahkeem Cornwall, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kirk McKenzie, Kevin Sinclair, Kemar Roach, Jomel Warrican

High-scoring thriller comes down to final-ball scramble as Durham seal gripping victory

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Aug-2023Durham ended Warwickshire’s 100 percent record in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup with an exhilarating one-run win from a wonderful, run-soaked game at Edgbaston.The match featured two brilliant centuries. David Bedingham’s 152 (108 balls), supported by Alex Lees’ 66 (77 balls) and Tomas Mackintosh (53, 47 balls) lifted Durham to an imposing 338 for eight. Oliver Hannon-Dalby took three for 54 and now has 23 wickets at 10.43 apiece in this year’s One-Day Cup.Bedingham batted beautifully but his innings was then matched by Ed Barnard who struck his maiden List A century (161, 152 balls) as Warwickshire replied with 337 for eight. Will Rhodes (66, 93) and Ethan Brookes (31, 26) helped Barnard take the Bears close but Durham’s bowlers dug deep, led by Migael Pretorius (four for 50) and Jonathan Bushnell (three for 56) who bowled the last two overs with high composure and skill.Their ice-cool nerve earned Durham’s third win of the group. Warwickshire, meanwhile, already through to the knockout phase, can still book a home semi-final if they beat Sussex at Hove on Tuesday.Put in, Durham lost Michael Jones to the fifth ball when he inside-edged Hannon-Dalby to wicketkeeper Michael Burgess. Lees then gave the innings a solid platform with stands of 55 with Scott Borthwick and 67 with Bedingham.Lees departed furious with himself when, having taken ten from successive balls from Henry Brookes, he lifted the next to mid-off. Bushnell fell first ball, to a fine leg-side catch by Burgess, and when Liam Trevaskis edged Hannon-Dalby to the keeper, Durham were wobbling at 156 for five.Bedingham and Mackintosh played with freedom and verve to add 116 in 92 balls. Mackintosh struck four fours and two sixes in his maiden List A half-century while Bedingham passed his previous best in the format (104) with a six crunched over long on off Hannon-Dalby and then hit overdrive. He crashed 40 from his last ten balls, including three successive sixes off Craig Miles.Warwickshire soon lost Rob Yates when he top-edged Pretorius to mid-off but Barnard and Rhodes added 148 in 23 overs to keep the big home crowd interested.Barnard posted his first List A ton from 106 balls but after Rhodes lifted George Drissell to long off, a cluster of wickets cranked up the pressure. Alex Davies spooned Pretorius to long on and Jake Bethell top-edged a slog at a good-length ball from Bushnell who then had Burgess caught at short third man.Barnard needed help and Ethan Brookes supplied it perfectly with intelligent, skilful batting which no doubt had a few watching home fans wondering why on earth Warwickshire are allowing such a highly talented player leave for Worcestershire at the end of the season.Barnard and Brookes added 85 in 53 balls and the latter departed caught at deep mid-wicket, with his team back in control. Forty needed from six overs came down to 20 from three.When Barnard was caught at extra cover, 15 were needed from 13 balls. Pretorius bowled Jake Lintott in an excellent over which left Warwickshire needing nine from the last. Bushnell bowled a fine last over of full length which denied the Bears the two boundaries they needed and closed out a truly memorable victory

Theekshana likely to be fit in time for Sri Lanka’s opening game

Andrew Fidel Fernando and Madushka Balasuriya24-Sep-2023Sri Lanka allrounder Wanindu Hasaranga may be out of the World Cup completely, and may even require surgery, after aggravating his hamstring tear over the past few days.There is a big question mark over Dushmantha Chameera’s participation as well. The fast bowler is recovering from a pectoral injury and is unable to bowl ten overs without discomfort at the moment.Meanwhile, spinner Maheesh Theekshana, who strained his hamstring in the Asia Cup match against Pakistan, is expected to be fit in time for Sri Lanka’s opening game at the World Cup, against South Africa on October 7.The chair of SLC’s medical committee, Arjuna de Silva, told ESPNcricinfo that “medically it seems unlikely that Wanindu will be fit” for much of the World Cup’s duration. “He picked up a grade 2 tear in the LPL, but he re-aggravated it during rehab. It’s now a grade 3 tear. What also complicates the matter is that it is also a T-junction hamstring injury.”Related

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Prior to his injury, Hasaranga had topped both batting and bowling charts in the LPL. He was seen as key to Sri Lanka’s World Cup hopes, and crucial in terms of the balance of the side, but after the latest setback, he is likely to be out for 4-6 weeks minimum.The selectors may still pick him in the hope that he will be available towards the end of the round-robin stage. But medical advice is that such a move will be a significant risk.Chameera has started bowling in the nets, but de Silva said picking him would also be a risk. Chameera had first picked up the injury ahead of the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, but after recovering from that, he re-injured himself in the LPL in August. He had also missed the T20 World Cup in Australia last year with an ankle injury.Theekshana is currently in rehab. His is also a grade 3 tear, but as it does not involve the T-junction, de Silva is confident he should be fit for the start of the World Cup.Quicks Lahiru Kumara and Dilshan Madushanka, who missed the Asia Cup through injury, are now essentially back to full fitness, de Silva said. Kumara had been contending with a recurring side strain, while Madushanka had torn his oblique muscle.Sri Lanka are yet to name their World Cup squad but are due to depart for India on September 26.

Harry Brook, Joe Root and Mark Wood have all signed three-year deals, and a further 15 players signed two-year deals

Matt Roller24-Oct-2023Rob Key, the ECB’s managing director, has played down Ben Stokes’ decision to turn down a three-year central contract with the ECB in favour of a one-year deal, saying: “By no means does it mean that Ben Stokes doesn’t want to play for England.”The ECB announced a list of 26 men who have signed central contracts on Tuesday, of which 18 have signed the first multi-year England contracts. The board felt compelled to act since players’ earning potential in franchise leagues is higher than ever after the launch of the UAE’s ILT20 and the SA20 in South Africa, both of which are supported by significant investment from IPL teams.But while Harry Brook, Joe Root and Mark Wood have all signed three-year deals, Stokes’ contract only covers the next 12 months. Stokes has been under contract with the ECB for the last nine years while lucrative commercial deals and IPL contracts – he was signed for INR 16.25 crore (£1.6 million approx.) by Chennai Super Kings in last year’s auction – have ensured his financial security.Related

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Stokes appears to have kept his options open ahead of the renewal of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Team England Player Partnership (TEPP) and the ECB next year, which aligns with a new cycle of broadcast rights. A representative for Stokes declined to comment on his decision.”In the simplest terms, we have done all of this stuff – multi-year deals – a year early,” Rob Key, England’s managing director, told the BBC in Bangalore. “The contracts system follows the broadcast cycle and the next broadcast cycle starts next year. In essence, to make any changes, really, you are meant to do that next year.”[For] Ben Stokes, like people do when they have an offer of a long-term contract, it is that trade of security over a stronger negotiating position. Ben, quite rightly, feels when the next MoU starts and the contract cycle changes, he will be in a stronger position. Other players have gone for that security.”The ECB’s contracting system considers both performances in the preceding year and the likelihood of players featuring in both red and white-ball cricket in the future. “It might be, next year, that there’s a different system,” Key told Sky Sports. “We’re going to work on that as soon as we’ve got this done, as it’s taken a little bit of a while.”Last week, Stokes spoke about “the landscape of cricket changing” when asked if he had considered whether he would play ODIs beyond the ongoing World Cup. “I want to play as much cricket as I possibly can for England,” he said. “That’s where it is for me. I love representing the badge and I want to do that as long as I possibly can and play as many games as I possibly can.”We’ll just see how things work out in terms of whether I do play [ODIs] after this. There’s obviously a few things to go into that: new MoUs coming up and all that sort of stuff… we’ll just see. I want to play as much cricket as I can for England until I can’t anymore.”Key clarified to Sky: “By no means does it mean that Ben Stokes doesn’t want to play for England. As captain of our Test team, all he ever talks about is how we can keep getting better and what we’re doing. We’re going to meet in a bit and start talking about the India tour that we’ve got after Christmas. I wouldn’t read into [the length of his contract] at all.”Last month, Stokes said that he was “very comfortable” with the idea of players turning down contracts to prioritise their long-term financial security.ESPNcricinfo understands that every player who was offered a deal has signed one, though some have agreed shorter terms than were initially presented. The announcement of contracts has been delayed while details were worked through, with deals backdated to run from October 1.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Brook, Root and Wood are the three players who have committed for three years, and Wood’s inclusion is particularly notable. In August, he signed a substantial deal with Dubai Capitals in the ILT20 and hinted that he could consider skipping England’s upcoming Test tour to India, depending on the details of his central contract.A further 15 players have signed two-year deals, while Stokes is one of eight who has signed a one-year deal. The others include the three oldest players who have agreed contracts: James Anderson, who is 41 and approaching the end of his career, and Moeen Ali and Dawid Malan who are both 36.Brook is among seven players who have signed their first central contracts, along with Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Matthew Potts and Josh Tongue, while Malan has returned to a full central contract – for a single year – after he was only offered an incremental deal last year.Ben Foakes has retained his central contract, suggesting that he remains in England’s plans despite being dropped from the Test team ahead of this summer’s Ashes series and could tour India next year.Notable absentees include Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Dan Lawrence, Phil Salt and David Willey. Jacks has played for England in all three formats across the past year and is expected to feature more prominently in their white-ball plans after this World Cup, while Willey is the only member of their World Cup squad without a contract for next year.Jason Roy, who was released from the final months of his incremental contract to play in Major League Cricket earlier this year, is another omission from the list, giving further indication that his international career is over, while Craig and Jamie Overton and Olly Stone have all lost their development contracts.Matthew Fisher, Saqib Mahmood and the uncapped John Turner are the three fast bowlers who have been awarded development contracts, which see the ECB provide a top-up of county salaries.

ECB central contracts, 2023-24

Three years: Harry Brook, Joe Root, Mark Wood
Two years: Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Liam Livingstone, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes
One year: Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley
Development contracts: Matthew Fisher, Saqib Mahmood, John Turner

Former England batter to work under Renegades head coach David Saker after previous BBL experience as a player at Perth Scorchers and an assistant at Hobart Hurricanes

Alex Malcolm23-Nov-2023Former England batter Ian Bell has joined Melbourne Renegades as an assistant coach for the upcoming BBL season under head coach David Saker.Bell has been expanding his coaching resume in recent years having previously worked in the BBL for Hobart Hurricanes in 2021-22 as an assistant under then-coach Adam Griffith.Related

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He has worked with New Zealand this year as a consultant prior to the ODI World Cup having also done stints with England Under-19s, Derbyshire, Birmingham Phoenix and Chennai Braves in the Abu Dhabi T10.Bell has got playing experience in the BBL having won a title with Perth Scorchers in the 2016-17 season. Bell and Saker have worked together previously when Bell was an England player and Saker was an England assistant coach.Bell will work with an experienced playing group including a lot of long-time opponents, with Renegades adding Bell’s former Ashes foes Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon to an already experienced squad that includes Aaron Finch, Shaun Marsh and Kane Richardson. He will also be familiar with Renegades’ overseas players Quinton de Kock, Joe Clarke and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

On the day, Chris Lynn became the first batter to hit 200 BBL career sixes, but his 34-ball 56 ended in a losing cause

AAP29-Dec-2023Jake Fraser-McGurk grabbed the headlines off record six-hitter Chris Lynn to help Melbourne Renegades to their first BBL win of the season. Chasing Adelaide Strikers’ 177 for 6, in which Lynn belted 56 off 34 balls, Renegades reached their target at Marvel Stadium with four wickets and eight balls to spare, with Fraser-McGurk blasting 70 off 37.Fraser-McGurk added 75 with Shaun Marsh (54 in 33 balls), with Renegades racing to 123 for 1 in the 12th over, before a late clutter of wickets. Joe Clarke (28* in 19) was there at the end after earlier retiring hurt with a quadriceps issue.Starting the match on 196 sixes, 33-year-old Lynn brought up No. 200 and also reached his fifty with a massive straight six off Renegades’ captain for the night, Will Sutherland. Lynn also became the first BBL player to reach 3500 runs before skying a delivery from Mujeeb Ur Rahman (3 for 20) to deep extra-cover in the first of the Power Surge overs.Lynn has moved an incredible 82 sixes ahead of the next in the list, Aaron Finch, but couldn’t prevent Strikers from suffering an eighth consecutive loss.But Fraser-McGurk, 21, continued his breakout campaign, which has included efforts of 55 in 23 balls against Brisbane Heat and 48 in 24 balls versus Sydney Sixers.Chris Lynn became the first batter to hit 200 sixes in the Big Bash League•Getty Images

He produced his biggest BBL score on the day, savaging the Strikers attack with his powerful hitting before being yorked by James Bazley.Marsh, who scored 59 in 36 balls in his only previous innings in the tournament, joined in the fun, taking 16 off the last three balls of Cameron Boyce’s second over.Renegades’ chase got off to a terrible start with Quinton de Kock out to his first ball and the second of the innings.All of Lynn’s sixes on Friday came off the quicks, with spinners Mujeeb and Adam Zampa proving harder to hit than their quicker colleagues.Opener D’Arcy Short (54 in 47) picked up the pace after struggling in the first half of the innings, though he benefited from two dropped return catches from Zampa on 12 and Sutherland on 40. Jamie Overton (29 in 15) and Harry Nielsen (17 in five) added more substance with brisk cameos in an unbroken seventh-wicket stand in the closing overs.Renegades made a big selection decision before the game, with regular captain and out-of-form batter Nic Maddinson left out of the side.

He acknowledges the pressure that comes with leading the side but is also confident of putting up a fight in New Zealand

Firdose Moonda19-Jan-2024While South Africa were preparing for Dean Elgar’s final Test, his replacement – as both opening batter and captain – was being called up. Literally.”It was the morning of the first day of the Test in Cape Town that Shuks (Shukri Conrad, Test coach) called me and said, ‘You are in the team and you are also going to be captain’,” Neil Brand said in Johannesburg ahead of the squad’s departure to New Zealand. “Obviously going over to New Zealand, making your debut and captaining is quite interesting and probably quite rare. I am obviously delighted.”Brand finds himself in this unique position both because the majority of South Africa’s first-choice players are unavailable as they fulfil obligations at the SA20 and because Elgar retired after the Newlands Test. Had he not retired, Elgar, who does not have commitments with any T20 franchise, could have led the team he captained 18 times between 2017 and 2024 in New Zealand and added much-needed experience to their ranks.Related

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Instead, Brand, his opening partner at Titans in the domestic circuit, will lead a squad that includes eight uncapped players, in New Zealand and will have to front up against the new ball as well.”Initially you are like – ‘Wow, is this actually happening,’ and then you realise it’s going to become a thing,” Brand said, when asked to describe how he felt. “This tour has been spoken about a lot in the media. People have written us off but we are still wearing the Proteas badge. We are desperate to come back with something.”Inexperience aside, South Africa’s touring party will also be facing New Zealand who have not lost a home Test series since March 2017.”There’s always pressure, but there’s also a lot of pride that comes with wearing this shirt. We don’t want to let our country down. We want to perform.”He pointed to the experience at the level in his group at domestic level as an example. “This team has 96 games per player as an average. That’s a lot of first-class cricket in the group,” he said. “There’s a lot of experience in terms of domestic cricket and that has to count for something. There’s not a lot of Test matches but you’ve still got to see it as a positive. I don’t think anyone has any baggage.”Also included in South Africa’s squad are seamer Dane Paterson and spinner Dane Piedt, who have played 271 first-class games and taken 990 wickets between them and Keegan Petersen, a 12-Test capped batter, who has played 130 first-class games and is 112 first-class runs away from 8000. Those are not numbers to scoff at, albeit they are not numbers at the highest level. Brand himself has played 51 first-class games, has almost 3000 runs and averages a shade under 40. In the last two seasons, he has been among the top-ten run-scorers in the domestic first-class competition and has learnt to score in difficult home conditions.”Playing at the (Centurion-based) Titans makes you tough, especially opening the batting,” he said. “Over the last few years batting with Dean, I have learnt how to constantly score runs in tough situations.”He has also consulted with Elgar on captaincy, but, with 18 matches under his belt as a first-class leader, wants to establish his own identity. “I have spoken to Dean and Albie Morkel but I don’t want to speak to too many people and change the way I captain,” he said. “I am not really someone that will ask questions. I am someone that will visualise and see how people are doing things. I have been in the Titans for five years now with some amazing captains and I am a very deep thinker about the game so I am always analysing their decision making.”Brand was in charge of the South African A side that beat West Indies A 2-1 in an unofficial Test series late last year, where he got to know most of the squad that he will take to New Zealand. “I have to give Shuks [Conrad] a lot of credit for planning that A series. I am the only player from the Titans, so going into that series, I was captain and I didn’t know anyone personally,” he said. “After those three games, our team cohesion was awesome. We are going to go out there and give it our best shot. It’s good going to New Zealand as underdogs. We are just using that as motivation.”There is also some personal incentive for Brand in New Zealand. While it’s likely Temba Bavuma will be back to lead the side later in the year, Elgar’s retirement means there will be a vacancy at the top of the order and Brand could use this series to make a case to fill it. “Deep down I do see it like that but there are a lot of good openers around the country at the moment,” he said. “Eddie Moore will also be desperate to stake a claim for the Test side. But this is the ultimate for me. Test cricket is the ultimate.”South Africa are giving themselves over two weeks to acclimatise in New Zealand before the first Test on February 4.