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Carlson half-century resists but huge deficit remains on cards

ECB Reporters Network11-Sep-2023Glamorgan 150 for 6 (Carlson 53*) trail Yorkshire 500 (Masood 192, Bean 93, Hill 71) by 350 runsYorkshire skipper Shan Masood extended his highest score for the county to 192 as he led his side to maximum batting points against Glamorgan on the second day of their LV= County Championship clash at Sophia Gardens.The Pakistani Test star dominated the day once again as he built on his overnight tally of 113. That had led his side to an overnight score of 330 for 3, which then grew to 500 before their first innings ended with a run out in the 122nd over.Yorkshire then tightened their grip on the game by dismissing six home batsmen before the end of the second day to leave the Welsh county reeling at 150 for 6, still trailing by 350 runs and potentially facing the follow-on. A battling, unbeaten half-century from Kiran Carlson kept Glamorgan’s hopes aliveMasood was at the heart of his side’s third score of 500 this summer and he brought up his 150 off 191 balls with 15 fours. He was finally beaten eight runs short of what would have been his third championship double century – he scored two for Derbyshire in 2022 – when he was caught by Sam Northeast off the bowling of James Harris.He enjoyed two century partnerships – 127 with Finlay Bean and 132 with George Hill – and
put on 53 for the sixth wicket with Matthew Revis as the Yorkshire batsmen dominated the home bowling.Yorkshire lost George Hill for 71, Jonny Tattersall for six and Revis for 28 in the morning session as they went into lunch have secured their five batting points by reaching 448 for 6 from 107 overs.No sooner had Masmood departed, than Jordan Thompson went the very next ball from Harris, and it only took Glamorgan a further five overs to mop up the tail. It was still not enough, though, to earn them the three bowling points they needed to keep alive their outside hopes of staying in the promotion race.Midway through the day the news came through that Durham had gained promotion to Division One due to Leicestershire’s failure to earn any batting bonus points against Sussex. The north-east county need a maximum of five points from their last two games to seal the Division Two title.After suffering defeat at Worcester last week, the target for Glamorgan was to win the game with a full set of bonus points, but set the tall order of chasing 500 they then got off to a poor start with the bat.Zain ul Hassan was bowled by the last ball of the fifth over from Ben Coad for eight and when the experienced Colin Ingram had his bails sent flying in the air by Jordan Thompson for five three overs later, Glamorgan were struggling at 19 for 2.By the end of play they had were reduced to six down after Dom Bess had clean bowled Sam Northeast for 16, Revis had ended his first over by removing Eddie Byrom for 40 and then had Billy Root caught behind for four.The Yorkshire pace man ended the day for 3 for 20 from his five overs.

England became the first side to score 500 runs on day one of a Test

Valkerie Baynes01-Dec-2022A quartet of centuries helped England plunder a record 506 for 4 on the opening day to put the tourists in command of their first Test appearance in Pakistan for 17 years.Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, who put on a 233-run opening stand, were joined by Ollie Pope and Harry Brook – the latter playing just his second Test – in posting hundreds on a remarkable day in which England’s run rate scarcely dipped below a run a ball as they became the first side to score 500 runs on day one of a Test.No sooner had Brook brought up his maiden Test fifty, and he surged towards his century by whipping Saud Shakeel for six fours in one over to almost all quarters of the ground. Brook reached his ton off just 80 balls after he and Pope had added 176 runs for the fourth wicket and, when bad light ended play, he remained not out on 101 with Ben Stokes unbeaten on 34.Crawley had threatened to become the first Englishman to score a hundred before lunch on the first day of a Test as he and Duckett set a solid foundation for their side, which had been laid low by a sickness bug just 24 hours earlier.Stokes was among the worst affected but fronted up for, and won, an all-important toss after England were only able to confirm that they had a fit XI two-and-a-half hours before the start. They were forced into just one change to their intended team, handing Will Jacks his Test debut for a still-recovering Ben Foakes, with Pope to take the wicketkeeping gloves.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The last time Crawley had played against Pakistan, he struck 267 to deliver on the promise of three half-centuries in 11 previous innings. A tumultuous stretch followed that knock in August 2020, with just a brace of fifties in 21 innings which followed 10 single-figure scores and two ducks among them bringing his place under increasing scrutiny.That was until his century in the drawn first Test against West Indies in Antigua in March this year, which seemed to set him up for the English summer, only for another unspectacular spell to ensue until his rapid unbeaten 69 off just 57 balls in September’s third and final Test against South Africa.Crawley’s latest innings was next-level speed-wise, however, as he perfectly merged England’s assertive approach under Brendon McCullum with the need to make the most of his time in the middle while some of his team-mates regained their strength.One of only four players in England’s original XI named on Tuesday to take part in an optional training session on match eve, Crawley opened with three fours off Naseem Shah so that England were 14 without loss in the most expensive first over of a Test in two decades.Haris Rauf, making his Test debut after 57 T20Is and 15 ODIs, entered the attack in the eighth over, but Crawley continued to find the boundary with back-to-back fours either side of the pitch in Rauf’s second over and, after 10 overs, the tourists had motored to 63 for 0.The last time Duckett played a Test, he fell for 5 and 0 at the hands of a rampant R Ashwin as England suffered a heavy defeat to India in November 2016 and he admitted thinking his Test career was over.Making his return six years later after an excellent Championship season for Nottinghamshire, Duckett looked assured, his fortuitous slash through third to bring up England’s fifty notwithstanding, as he reverse-swept then ramped Zahid Mahmood to the fence.Crawley brought up his half-century off just 38 balls, sweeping Zahid through fine leg for four, while England brought up their 100 in 13.5 overs and Duckett reached a run-a-ball fifty in the second hour.Save for a hearty appeal for lbw, which looked to be high with no functioning DRS in the third over to test the on-field not-out decision, and a slash off Rauf which went just wide of a slow-moving Mohammad Ali at mid-on to move into the 90s, Crawley’s innings was domineering. He had scored 17 fours by the end of the morning session as he and Duckett took England to lunch unscathed with 174 runs on the board.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Pakistan, missing the injured Shaheen Shah Afridi and fielding three other debutants alongside Haris, in right-arm seamer Ali, legspinner Zahid and middle-order batter Shakeel, looked toothless and needed a breakthrough. They eventually got there through Zahid and Rauf in the space of nine balls.On 99, Crawley managed to overturn his lbw dismissal playing around Naseem’s full delivery which rapped him low on the front pad but was shown to be heading down the leg side. Two balls later, Crawley’s deft punch through the covers brought up an 86-ball century, the fastest by an England Test opener and joint fifth-fastest overall.Duckett brought up his maiden Test ton with a pulled four off Rauf, a beaming smile spreading across Duckett’s face as he soaked up the applause. His stay was shortlived thereafter when he missed his reverse sweep of Zahid and was struck on the pad in line with off stump, although Pakistan had to review Joel Wilson’s not-out decision.So ended England’s highest Test opening stand against Pakistan and they went from 233 without loss to 235 for 2 when Crawley followed a short time later, done by Rauf’s reverse swing as the ball slid through the gate and took a deflection on to middle stump.Joe Root fell lbw to Mahmood for just 23, burning a review in a bid to overturn his dismissal before Pope and Brook forged on.Brook, who had pulled Zahid for six on the stroke of tea, helped himself to another six in the evening session when he muscled Rauf over deep midwicket. He brought up his fifty with a single in the next over moments before Pope raised his century working Agha Salman off his toes for one to reach the mark in 90 balls.Even when Pope fell to Ali, lbw on review to give Pakistan something to smile faintly about in the fast-fading light, Brook surged ahead with England’s quickest Test hundred now in his sights. He fell short of Gilbert Jessop’s 76-ball mark set in 1902, but slotted in at No. 3 behind Jonny Bairstow when he struck Naseem for a gorgeous cover drive for four.The fact that England still have the firepower of Jacks and fellow debutant Liam Livingstone to come on a batter-friendly pitch gave the hosts ever more to worry about overnight.

Rohit Sharma says they will only take a call after seeing The Oval pitch on day one

Osman Samiuddin06-Jun-20231:50

Have India finalised their combination? Nagraj Gollapudi reports from The Oval

India will take a decision on R Ashwin’s selection on the morning of the World Test Championship final against Australia once they have assessed conditions as they stand.While some rain is forecast from Saturday (fourth day) during the game, there has also been considerable interest in the nature of The Oval surface for the final, mostly because no Test cricket has ever been played at the ground as early as June. Traditionally, The Oval has been known to aid spin, as well as being conducive to reverse swing but that has been the case for Tests mostly towards the end of the summer. The pitch for the final isn’t exactly a fresh one. It has been used before, but not in a while.Ashwin’s selection has been a consistent theme through India’s recent Tests in England, or more accurately the fact that he has not been picked. He missed out entirely on the last Test series in England, of which four Tests were played in 2021 and one last summer. In India’s last Test at The Oval, in September 2021, they picked Ravindra Jadeja as the sole spinner, relying on a three-man pace attack and Shardul Thakur as the all-round option.Related

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The last Test Ashwin did play in England was the last WTC final, against New Zealand in Southampton in 2021. Asked on the eve of this final how difficult it is to leave out a player such as Ashwin, the India captain Rohit Sharma made sure to point out that a decision had not yet been made.”I’m not saying that Ashwin is not going to play,” Rohit said. “We’ll wait until tomorrow because one thing I have seen here, the pitch actually changes quite a bit day to day. Today it’s looking this way, tomorrow it might be slightly different, who knows? So, the message to the boys has been very clear. All 15 must be ready to play at any point in time.”There has been, as Rohit said, county cricket played at The Oval this year, three rounds of it, with the last game ending on May 20.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“We’ve been hearing not much of cricket is played here in June,” Rohit said. “The County season has been played here. We saw there was a game played a couple of weeks back here. It’s not like it’s the first game of the season happening on this ground. We are quite aware of what the conditions are, what is going to happen in the next five days. Weather forecast looks alright.”Going by the data from those county matches, some behavioural traits are clear, the clearest one that spin has barely had a role to play.Spinners have only bowled 32 overs in those games (average: 158), compared to 745 from pace bowlers. No spinner on either side has bowled more than seven overs in an innings. Surrey have not deployed a specialist spinner, relying instead on Will Jacks’ part-time offbreaks. That has been a deliberate ploy, the team playing to its strengths of a good crop of fast bowlers. The locals say that is why surfaces have been geared for both good pace and bounce with minimal help for spin as the game progresses.Bounce is likely at the WTC final too, at least going by the Surrey curator Lee Fortis’ – admittedly light-hearted – exchange on Ashwin’s YouTube channel: “It will be bouncy, that’s one thing, it will be bouncy.”First-innings scores at The Oval this season have not been big. Surrey have bowled first in every game, twice after winning the toss, bowling sides out for 278, 254 and 209, with some early swing and seam on offer. They have won each of those games, ultimately chasing down targets of 243, 70 and 58 for the total loss of two wickets.Bowling first may not be a bad option based on those numbers, but no side has crossed 400 in their first innings, the highest score Surrey’s 380 after Middlesex had been bowled out for 209.Over a bigger sample size of the last five years, across the 16 county matches played in or before June at The Oval, spin has played a bigger role, with around 58 overs per game. And Ashwin did make a fairly strong impression playing here in July 2021, picking up a six-for that helped bowl Somerset out for 69. The ground has been the joint-fastest scoring venue in those five seasons (in or before June), with runs at 3.41 per over.

Allrounder still nursing a sore hip; England could look to play Reece Topley against Bangladesh

Matt Roller09-Oct-2023Ben Stokes is highly unlikely to play England’s second World Cup game, against Bangladesh, in Dharamsala on Tuesday as he continues to nurse a sore left hip.Stokes came out of ODI retirement to make himself available as a specialist batter for the World Cup, despite his chronic left-knee injury. But he missed their heavy defeat to New Zealand in Ahmedabad last week and has not played a competitive game since hitting 182 – England’s highest ODI score – against New Zealand, nearly a month ago.He has batted in the nets twice since England arrived in Dharamsala, moving much more freely when he faced spinners on Monday morning than he did when batting against sidearm throws on Sunday afternoon. But he is a major doubt for Tuesday’s game, with England’s fixture against Afghanistan in Delhi on Sunday framing as a potential comeback.Jos Buttler, England’s captain, told the BBC that Stokes was “progressing well… he is doing more and more each day and seems to be improving, so it is good signs.” But he clarified at his pre-match press conference: “It’s good to see him back in the nets and building back towards full fitness, but he’s probably unlikely for tomorrow.”Stokes had initially planned to spend these two months resting his knee but confirmed in August that he had changed his mind. “The words ‘World Cup’ are pretty inspiring,” he said. “The idea of going in and potentially being able to win back-to-back World Cups was one of the big things.”In Stokes’ absence, Harry Brook filled in at No. 4 against New Zealand, scoring 25 off 15 balls before holing out to deep midwicket as he attempted to hit Rachin Ravindra for a fourth successive boundary. He is likely to continue in the same role on Tuesday, and will be tested by Bangladesh’s spinners.Tuesday’s match will be played on a fresh pitch, two strips over from the unusually slow surface on which Bangladesh beat Afghanistan on Saturday. England will consider bringing an extra seamer into their side, with Reece Topley the most likely candidate, potentially at the expense of Moeen Ali.”It’s definitely an option,” Buttler said, when asked about the possibility of picking an extra seamer. “I played here in the IPL just gone, and there can be some good pace and bounce in the wicket. So certainly, we’ll have those discussions and we’ve got fantastic options within the squad to pick different line-ups with a different balance. It’s something we’ll consider.”

Ben Compton, Jordan Cox score half-centuries but Kent fail to get out of jail on final day

ECB Reporters Network24-Apr-2022Hampshire routed Kent by an innings and 51 runs in their LV= Insurance County Championship match at Canterbury, after dismissing the hosts for 296 in their second innings on day four. Kyle Abbott took 5 for 29, mopping up Kent’s tail with three wickets from four balls, while Felix Organ spun his way to 3 for 63 as the visitors secured a maximum 24 points, while Kent managed just four.Ben Compton and Jordan Cox had given Kent hope of a draw after batting through the morning session on day four, but they were out for 89 and 64 respectively after lunch. Cox’s dismissal was particularly contentious as he was given caught off a delivery that seemed to hit his thigh, but having been outplayed for most of the match Kent could have few complaints about the final result.Home hopes of avoiding a second consecutive defeat seemed to hinge largely on Division One’s leading run scorer Compton, who had come within maybe 40 minutes of getting them out of a far tighter situation against Lancashire the previous Sunday.He had scored 37 of the hosts’ overnight tally of 78 for 3, but they were still 269 behind when play resumed. Mohammad Abbas found his edge when he was on 49, but the chance didn’t carry and he took a single from the next ball to reach his half-century.Cox, on 3 overnight, played and missed at Barker when on 13 and a googly from Mason Crane somehow eluded his stumps and went for four byes, but otherwise he offered few chances and at lunch Kent were 161 for 3, with the visiting bowlers getting increasingly frustrated.Keith Barker broke through 15 minutes into the afternoon session when Compton was given out caught behind to a leg side delivery. Whether it was out of disappointment or anger, Compton was shaking his head as he trudged back to the pavilion and Ollie Robinson was out for 9 in the next over. The skipper hit Organ for boundaries off the first two balls but edged the third to Ben Brown.By now Organ was extracting some serious turn, but Darren Stevens brought up 200 for Kent when he swiped him for six and Cox hit Abbas through cow corner to pass fifty for the second time in the match.Stevens should have been out when he hit a rank full toss from Mason Crane straight to Liam Dawson, but the fielder spilled the catch. The game’s most controversial moment came when Cox was given out, caught at short leg by Joe Weatherley off Organ, to a ball that replays showed had initially hit him halfway up the thigh. Abbas then accounted for Matt Milnes, who misjudged a pull shot and was caught by Weatherley for 13.Hamid Qadri joined Stevens and survived till tea, at which point Kent were 287 for 7, but he fell to the third ball after the restart, edging Abbott behind for 11. Abbott’s next ball removed Nathan Gilchrist for a golden duck, caught by Weatherley at short leg. Jackson Bird hit Abbott’s hat-trick ball for four but he was lbw to the next delivery, leaving Stevens unbeaten on 41 as Hampshire celebrated raucously on the pitch.

Pakistan spinner will join club on pay-as-you-play deal from April

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Dec-2021Zafar Gohar, the Pakistan left-arm spinner, will return to Gloucestershire for the 2022 season, as the club prepare for their first Division One campaign since 2005.Gohar collected 20 wickets at a cost of 14.35 in four Championship games earlier this year – including a match haul of 11 for 101 against Durham – as Gloucestershire finished second in Division Two.He will be available on a pay-as-you-play basis from next April, before moving on to a full contract for August and September, with Will Brown, Gloucestershire’s chief executive, suggesting the club were “on the cusp of something really special” after bringing in Gohar alongside Australia opener Marcus Harris to fill their overseas spots.”The signing of Zafar is another great moment for the club,” Brown said. “We feel like we’re on the cusp of something really special with the squad we’re assembling and we’re confident of being able to challenge for silverware in 2022.”Zafar was a big hit with supporters at the back end of last season and we’re confident that he’ll be able to make important contributions for The Shire once again next season across all formats, including the County Championship, where we’ll be playing against the best cricketers in the country in Division One.”Related

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Gohar, who has played one Test and one ODI for Pakistan, is Gloucestershire’s first signing since confirmation of Dale Benkenstein’s appointment as head coach earlier in the week.”Playing county cricket this year and making my debut for Gloucestershire was the realisation of an ambition I’ve had for some time,” Gohar said. “Getting the opportunity to pull on a Gloucestershire shirt and contribute to a winning team was a great start to my career in England, and I’m very pleased to be returning for a longer stint next year.”We have a team capable of challenging anyone, and some great momentum from 2021 to build on. I can’t wait to get back and hopefully pick up where I left off.”Steve Snell, performance director at Gloucestershire Cricket, added: “We’re thrilled to have Zafar back onboard for next season, he’s already proven just how much quality he has and we’re really excited to see him in action again next year.”It’s a real bonus that Zafar is available for selection right from day one, he provides the squad with depth and makes selection even more difficult for our new head coach Dale Benkenstein, which is a positive problem to have.”

Sri Lanka never recovered from Renuka’s early blows and couldn’t take a single wicket in India’s dominating chase

Ashish Pant04-Jul-2022A career-best four-wicket burst from Renuka Singh followed by clinical half-centuries from Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma helped India dominate the second ODI for a 10-wicket win and gain an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.Chasing 174, India made sure they learnt their lessons from their first outing when they scrapped home to a four-wicket victory chasing 172. Mandhana and Shafali looked much assured with their strokes as the duo piled on an unbeaten 174-run stand to see India through with 24.2 overs to spare. While Mandhana finished on 94 not out off 83 balls, Shafali remained unbeaten on career-best and run-a-ball 71.India’s chase was also the highest target successfully chased by a team without losing a wicket in women’s ODIs.It had rained heavily in Palleleke on the eve of the game but the weather cleared for an on-time start. Expecting the surface to offer something for the quick bowlers early, Harmanpreet Kaur’s decision to bowl was vindicated with Renuka finding her lengths from the get-go. She rattled the Sri Lanka top order with three quick strikes and eventually finished with a career-best 4 for 28, improving on her three-wicket haul from the opening ODI.She started by breaching Hasini Perera’s defences off just the fourth ball of the innings, to remove her for a duck. The fast bowler then sent back 16-year-old debutant Vishmi Gunaratne, who took 14 balls for her three runs, before trapping Harshitha Samarawickrama lbw for a three-ball duck as Sri Lanka were reduced to 11 for 3 inside seven overs.Chamari Athapaththu, who for a change came in at No. 3, then provided some solidity to the innings. She had a slice of luck when on 3 she edged a full delivery to slip. There was a bit of confusion about whether or not it was a bump ball, and eventually, the third umpire upheld the on-field umpire’s soft signal of not out.Renuka Singh picked up three early wickets to put Sri Lanka on the back foot•Sri Lanka Cricket

Athapaththu soon opened up her shoulders, thrashing Pooja Vastrakar along the ground through the covers and then lofting Renuka over the same region. However, her luck soon ran out when she flicked a harmless Meghna Singh half-volley on the pads straight to Shafali at deep fine leg for 27.Vastrakar and Co adopted the short-ball policy and had the batters ducking and swaying for cover. Anushka Sanjeewani and Nilakshi de Silva held fort for a bit before Sanjeewani squeezed out a full-length delivery from Deepti Sharma to the on side and went about wandering carelessly. Wicketkeeper Yastika Bhatia was quick to spot the opportunity and sprung across to flick the ball back onto the stumps, catching the batter short with the bat in the air.Another needless run out sent back Kavisha Dilhari as Sri Lanka slipped to 81 for 6 in the 25th over. Ama Kanchana and de Silva did stage some sort of a comeback adding 42 runs for the seventh wicket but they still found run-scoring tough. Deepti’s two wickets off the last two balls of the innings made sure the hosts were bowled out.Kanchana finished as Sri Lanka’s top-scorer with an unbeaten 47 off 83 balls while de Silva scored 32 off 62. In all, Sri Lanka hit just 11 fours and faced 191 dot balls. Two run outs too, did not help their cause.India, in stark contrast, faced just 55 dot balls and hit 15 fours and two sixes. Both Mandhana and Shafali were watchful initially but made sure they rotated the strike while collecting the odd boundaries. Mandhana got going with a couple of fours off Inoka Ranaweera before Shafali too got into the act by thumping Achini Kulasuriya over her head.The duo reached the 50-run mark in the ninth over and thereon collected a boundary nearly every over. In between, Sri Lanka gave two lives each to both openers. Shafali was dropped on 39 when she chipped a simple chance to long-on, and then again on 55 at deep midwicket. Mandhana was given a chance soon after she raised her 23rd ODI fifty by Ranaweera off her own bowling and then again on 77.Once both batters reached their fifties, they took the Sri Lanka attack to the cleaners. Mandhana even had a shot at completing her century when she smashed a six to go to 94 with India needing three to win. But a wide down the leg side from Kanchana spoiled her hopes of reaching the landmark. It was Shafali who sealed the win with a single to cover.Renuka was named the Player of the Match. The win also saw India move up on the Women’s Championship points table to second place with four points, behind South Africa, while Sri Lanka are on fourth position with just two points from five games.

Alex Davies, Rob Yates fire chase of 147 before Ben Raine gives Durham a glimmer

ECB Reporters Network20-Jun-2023Jacob Bethell held his nerve under pressure in the final over to guide Birmingham Bears to a two-wicket victory over Durham in a thriller at Seat Unique Riverside, keeping the visitors on top of the Vitality Blast North Group.The Bears were miserly with the ball after winning the toss. Hasan Ali was excellent at the top of the order and collected figures of 2-15 from his four overs, while Danny Briggs also claimed two strikes. Ollie Robinson and Ashton Turner notched fifties, but Durham’s total of 146 for 5 looked short of par at the interval.Alex Davies and Rob Yates led an explosive start to the Bears’ chase, sharing an opening stand of 80 to put the visitors ahead of the rate. But, Nathan Sowter continued his impressive campaign with two wickets to halt the Birmingham charge. Ben Raine then set nerves jangling with two in two in the 17th over and he performed heroics again with the same feat in the 19th.The game turned again when Bethell held his composure from the final over to smash a six and a four in back-to-back balls to steer Birmingham over the one with three balls to spare, edging them closer to a quarter-final berth.After Graham Clark scored three early boundaries, Durham’s momentum was halted by losing both openers within three balls. Chris Woakes made the breakthrough on his return as Alex Lees was undone by a slower delivery before Clark was bowled by Hasan.Hasan produced a brilliant spell with the new ball, bowling three overs for the cost of just seven runs, limiting the hosts to 29 from the powerplay.The Bears continued to restrict the Durham batting ranks as the run rate hovered at just below six an over. The pressure to score allowed Briggs to strike in successive deliveries. Michael Jones was caught on the fence by Jake Lintott, who produced a clever catch on the rope to prevent a maximum, while Brydon Carse fell first ball.At 60 for 4, the hosts could ill afford to lose further wickets. Robinson and Turner duly responded with an excellent partnership worth 86 to allow Durham to post a competitive total. Turner found his timing against the Birmingham spinners and raced to his half-century from only 29 balls with seven fours and slog-sweep six against Lintott.Robinson was more sedate compared to his team-mate, but still brought up his fourth fifty of the season with a massive strike over the rope against Woakes. He tried to add another off the final ball from Hasan, only to be caught on the relay by Lintott and Ed Barnard.Birmingham had no difficulty adjusting to the pitch in the powerplay and made the chase seem straightforward. Davies and Yates found the boundary with ease without taking risks, racing to fifty after 4.2 overs. The Bears were a staggering 37 runs ahead of the home side at the end of the powerplay, ending the opening six overs 66 without loss.Davies and Yates both fell for 40 as Liam Trevaskis and Wayne Parnell prevented the visitors from racing away with the chase. On his 400th T20 appearance, Glenn Maxwell’s attempt to reverse-sweep Sowter to the rope ended his knock for 14 and the legspinner sent Dan Mousley on his way to put the pressure on.Raine set up a tense finale by matching Briggs’ exploits removing Chris Benjamin and Ed Barnard in successive deliveries. The right-armer then performed similar heroics to dismiss Woakes and Hasan with two in two in the 19th. But, Bethell dispatched Trevaskis for a six and four to guide his team to victory in the final over.

The ODIs will be played in Bengaluru first, followed by the Test and T20Is in Chennai

ESPNcricinfo staff14-May-2024South Africa’s all-format women’s tour of India will begin with a three-match ODI series, then move to the one-off Test, and end with the three T20Is. The ODIs, as well as a one-day warm-up game for the visiting side against a Board President’s XI side, will be played in Bengaluru, while the rest of the games will take place in Chennai.As reported by ESPNcricinfo earlier, the sequence – the T20Is being played at the end – is with a view to ensure continuity in formats ahead of the T20 World Cup, to be held in Bangladesh in September-October.After the warm-up game on June 13, the ODIs will be played on June 16, 19 and 23; the Test will run from June 28 to July 1; the T20Is will be played on July 5, 7 and 9.

South Africa tour of India

June 13: tour game vs Board President’s XI, Bengaluru
June 16: 1st ODI, Bengaluru
June 19: 2nd ODI, Bengaluru
June 23: 3rd ODI, Bengaluru
June 28 – July 1: One-off Test, Chennai
July 5: 1st T20I, Chennai
July 7: 2nd T20I, Chennai
July 9: 3rd T20I, Chennai

The one-off Test wasn’t part of the ICC’s FTP originally. It was added since BCCI and CSA have both been trying to promote women’s Tests of late. This will be India’s third Test in seven months, having played against England and Australia in December last year, both at home.South Africa, meanwhile, ended their eight-year hiatus from the format in England in June 2022 and subsequently played Australia in February in Perth.More recently, the BCCI also reintroduced a red-ball tournament in the women’s domestic calendar, hosting an inter-zonal competition – of five matches in total. The last time the BCCI had a red-ball tournament for its women cricketers was back in 2018.

A landing failure of a small aircraft in Barbados has resulted in the South African team, along with ICC officials, being delayed by nearly six hours

Sidharth Monga27-Jun-2024The final of the T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and the West Indies, a tournament already affected by logistical challenges and ambitiously short turnarounds between matches, has not been spared from operational issues.A landing failure of a small private aircraft at the Grantley Adams airport in Barbados has resulted in the South Africa team, their families, commentators, match officials and ICC officials being stranded at the Trinidad airport. The Barbados airport was closed for inspections by the Civil Aviation Authority and the Barbados Police Service.Moments before they were about to take off from Trinidad, the pilots received the information of the runway closure in Bridgetown.”It appeared that the landing gear of the private aircraft did not deploy, but it is currently on the runway at GAIA [Grantley Adams International Airport] safely,” Sharleen Brown, Corporate Communication Specialist with GAIA, said in a statement. She confirmed that all three individuals on board – two passengers and a pilot – were unharmed.Related

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Passengers on the flight from Trinidad to Barbados were told the tentative rescheduled time was 4.30pm, which would amount to nearly six hours of delay. All the boarded passengers had to return to the terminal, merely the latest addition to the many delays endured by teams at the tournament.The worst was when Sri Lanka, South Africa and Ireland had to spend a whole night at the airport when travelling from Florida to New York. Even Afghanistan, who finished their last Super Eight match in the wee hours of Tuesday, had their flight delayed before playing their first T20 World Cup semi-final on Wednesday night.This is the first time South Africa have made a final of a men’s World Cup. The final will be played on Saturday morning, as opposed to the usual tradition of playing on Sundays. That change meant the second semi-final, currently delayed because of inclement weather in Guyana, could not have a reserve day. Despite giving the two semi-finals the same amount of extra time to get a game in, the ICC has used different playing conditions if the matches needed to be shortened.