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ESPNcricinfo brings you the team news ahead of the third round of the NatWest T20 Blast

Freddie Wilde29-May-201513:33

The Blast: How to bowl a yorker

North Group

Worcestershire v Leicestershire, New Road, 5.30pm
Leicestershire appear to be striking some good form following comfortable back-to-back wins over Derbyshire and Durham. Worcestershire, who lost their first match of the season last week against Birmingham, have replaced Alex Gidman in their squad with overseas player Colin Munro, who has spent the last month in the Mumbai Indians dugout. Shaaiq Choudhry and Charlie Morris, who were not selected last week, have been left out of the 12-man squad. Leicestershire are sticking with the same 14 from Thursday.Northamptonshire v Birmingham, Northampton, 6.30pm
Northamptonshire have played just once this season, losing a rain-affected match against Durham. Birmingham, meanwhile, have played twice, winning once and losing once. The defending champions, Birmingham, who have won seven of the last ten encounters against Northants, have made one change to the 13-man squad that beat Worcestershire last week, leaving out Chris Wright and selecting Oliver Hannon-Dalby. Northamptonshire welcome Azharullah back into their squad. Shahid Afridi is set to make his home debut.Derbyshire v Lancashire, Derby, 7pm
Derbyshire and Lancashire are both looking to bounce back from defeats last week and welcome stellar overseas signings Tillakaratne Dilshan and James Faulkner respectively into their squads. Derbyshire, who have lost both their matches this season, have fast-tracked the arrival of Dilshan to replace the injured Nathan Rimmington as their second overseas player and he will likely open alongside Hashim Amla to form one of the most formidable opening partnerships in the North Group. Greg Cork and Mark Footitt have been left out after playing against Leicestershire, while Alex Hughes also misses out. Dilshan and Tony Palladino come into the 13-man squad. Lancashire, who have won their last three matches against Derbyshire, have named a 15-man squad, bringing in Faulkner, Paul Horton and Rob Jones. Tom Smith was initially included but, having played a four-day match for the 2nd XI, is rested and replaced by Nathan Buck.Durham v Yorkshire, Chester-le-Street, 7pm
A record crowd is expected at Chester-le-Street for the first match under the new floodlights. Durham were beaten convincingly by Leicestershire on Thursday and will hope the crowd can inspire them to a victory against a Yorkshire team who have won both their opening matches. Yorkshire have named a 13-man squad, leaving out Steve Patterson, who didn’t play in last week’s victory against Nottinghamshire. Durham have kept the same 16 men for consecutive fixtures.Chris Gayle has arrived from the IPL to don Somerset’s Blast colours•BCCI

South Group

Kent v Surrey, Beckenham, 5.30pm
Kent followed last week’s scintillating late heist against Hampshire with a tame defeat against Middlesex at Lord’s on Thursday. They return to less opulent surroundings in Beckenham – though the ground is newly developed – to face Surrey, looking to get their season back on track. Surrey have named Azhar Mahmood and Moises Henriques, both straight from the IPL, in their squad, leaving out Aneesh Kapil and Vikram Solanki. Kent, still without the injured James Tredwell, have named an unchanged 13-man squad for their back-to-back matches.Glamorgan v Hampshire, Cardiff, 6.30pm
Both Glamorgan and Hampshire have won one and lost one and this match represents an important early fixture in their seasons, given the strength of the South Group. Hampshire were stung by a late surge from Kent last week but have named an unchanged 13-man squad for the trip to Cardiff. Glamorgan have named overseas player Wayne Parnell in their squad for the first time this season now that he has recovered from injury. Other than the addition of Parnell, Glamorgan are unchanged.Essex v Somerset, Chelmsford, 7pm
Chris Gayle is set to make his highly anticipated Somerset debut against an Essex squad including Jesse Ryder, Ravi Bopara and Shaun Tait in front of what should be a big crowd at Chelmsford. Essex have already played four matches, while Somerset have played just one, but neither team has found the winning habit – Essex have lost three of their fixtures and Somerset were beaten by Sussex last Friday. Somerset have won their last two matches away to Essex, however. They have left out Craig Overton and Abdur Rehman and added Gayle, who will meet the squad for the first time when they arrive in Chelmsford. Essex, meanwhile, have added Tom Westley to last week’s 14-man squad.Sussex v Middlesex, Hove, 7pm
Sussex have won their last two matches and are second in the South Group and, although Middlesex are fresh off a huge victory against Kent at Lord’s, they have lost six of their last seven matches against Sussex. This is an intriguing match-up, with Sussex’s powerful top order of Chris Nash, Luke Wright and Mahela Jayawardene against Middlesex’s international pace trio of Kyle Abbott, Steven Finn and James Franklin. Middlesex have the same squad that defeated Kent while Sussex have made two changes to the squad that beat Somerset, leaving out Chris Jordan, who is in England’s Test squad, and Matthew Hobden, who wasn’t selected last week.

A round-up of the fourth day’s action of Group B matches in the Ranji Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Nov-2012
Scorecard
Odisha kept their cool and completed their first outright win in four years by defeating Haryana in Bhubaneswar. Haryana were expected to roll over after their first-innings implosion for 66, but they fought hard over the next three days to make sure it was not all one-way traffic for Odisha. Chasing 148 to win, Odisha were 60 for 3 overnight, and lost Abhilash Mallick early on. Their experienced wicketkeeper-batsman Halhadar Das followed soon after, and at 81 for 5, it was anybody’s game. No. 3 Govind Podder and Deepak Behera, however, put on 43 runs to take Odisha close to victory. Podder fell after a crucial half-century, but Behera and Lagnajit Samal made sure Odisha’s winless run didn’t extend any longer. The result puts Odisha on seven points after three matches, while Haryana are yet to get their first point having lost both their games so far.
Scorecard
Tamil Nadu completed a dramatic victory over Maharashtra in Chennai – their first outright win of the season. Needing only two more wickets to finish off a thrilling match, Tamil Nadu took only 8.5 overs to confirm six points. Their spinners Aushik Srinivas and Malolan Rangarajan took a wicket each as Maharashtra folded for 88 on a pitch that was providing plenty of help to both the quicks and the spinners. The win takes Tamil Nadu to eight points after three matches, and Maharashtra are still stuck on one point after two games.
ScorecardUP gave themselves 91 overs on the final day to bowl out Karnataka and were well on course but a dogged ninth-wicket stand between CM Gautam and KP Appanna that lasted more than 10 overs denied them six points. UP, however, floated to the top of the Group B table with ten points.Declaring the innings at their overnight 343 for 5, UP set Karnataka a target of 446 overs on the last day and then struck early to remove the openers within the first 10 overs. Manish Pandey and Ganesh Satish resisted for 30 overs with a 122-run stand and both completed half-centuries, but well-set Pandey’s run out opened the gates for the home side. UP’s bowlers – led by Bhuwaneshwar Kumar’s 4 for 67- kept chipping away with wickets at regular intervals and were close to finishing the job when they took the eighth wicket with ten overs to go. However, Gautam, who scored 26 off 109 balls, and No. 10 Appanna, who scored 4 off 26 balls, survived the last hour as the match ended in a frustrating draw for UP.
ScorecardAfter four centuries and six half-centuries and nearly 1100 runs in four days, all Delhi and Baroda could do was to get a point each from their third round Ranji Trophy encounter at the Kotla. Replying to Baroda’s 561, Delhi scored 505 for six, largely due to the twin centuries from Mithun Manhas and Rajat Bhatia along with an entertaining half-century by Sumit Narwal towards the end.

A round-up of the action from the fourth day of the second round of Division Two matches of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2011United Bank Limited eased to a nine-wicket win over Hyderabad at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad. Hyderabad were always up against it, following on after conceding a big lead, but their batsmen showed some promise the second time round in what was a more collective batting display. However, despite getting starts, they couldn’t push on and were all out for 197. Each of the top eight batsmen reached double-figures but the highest score among them was just 42, by Lal Kumar. Misbah Khan picked up five wickets with his off-spin and was supported by Kashif Bhatti, who took three. UBL needed just 12 to win and they achieved the win with the loss of one wicket.Fahad-ul-Haq could only do so much for Lahore Shalimar. He eventually fell for 194 after keeping the Khan Research Laboratories bowlers at bay in an epic innings, but it wasn’t enough to prevent his team’s defeat at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Lahore had been trailing by 253 runs in the first innings and managed 327 in the second thanks largely to Fahad’s century. Asif Raza made 40 down the order and Adnan Raza scored a half-century, but a lead of 54 is all Lahore could get. Rahat Ali and Junaid Ilyas split four wickets each and Lahore could only add 44 more to their overnight score. KRL reached their target in the 16th over after losing two wickets.Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited thrashed Multan by an innings and 153 runs at the Multan Cricket Stadium. Defeat seemed inevitable for Multan after they had been reduced to 132 for 6 at stumps on the third day; they were bowled out for 151 on the fourth. Bilawal Bhatti took 5 for 39 to hand his team a massive win.

The Australian Cricketers’ Association believes a plan being considered by the ICC to use undercover agents posing as illegal bookmakers to “entrap” players is neither “reasonable” or “lawful”

Peter English20-Oct-2010The Australian Cricketers’ Association believes a plan being considered by the ICC to use undercover agents posing as illegal bookmakers to “entrap” players is neither “reasonable” or “lawful”. Paul Marsh, the ACA’s chief executive, said the idea, which could be employed to help the fight against anti-corruption, had not been discussed with the ACA or the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations.”At this stage it’s unclear to the ACA and FICA whether the proposal is designed to focus on catching and punishing players for not reporting approaches by illegal bookmakers or catching those directly involved in match-fixing,” Marsh said. “As such we are in the process of seeking clarity from the ICC as to their intentions. If the proposal is focused on the former, then we believe the ICC needs to improve its current reporting and confidentiality processes before players should be entrapped and sanctioned for not reporting approaches.”Marsh said the ACA had “significant concerns” that players who have told the relevant authorities about approaches from illegal bookmakers were named publicly. Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Shane Watson and Brad Haddin were targeted during the 2009 Ashes tour and their identities were revealed this year.”This has caused many of them to have concerns for their safety and wellbeing, as well as being a distraction to their cricket,” Marsh said. “In this way, the lack of confidentiality and trust in the process is actually a disincentive to report an approach.”The issue of match- and spot-fixing has re-emerged in the aftermath of the Lord’s Test between Pakistan and England in August. Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammed Amir are currently suspended pending their hearing in Dubai at the end of the month.Marsh said the ACA would be prepared to discuss reasonable proposals with the ICC and Cricket Australia if they were focused on catching match-fixers. “We all share the common goal of keeping corruption out of the game,” he said. “However in saying this we’re not convinced at this stage that a plan to effectively entrap players is either reasonable or lawful.”Marsh said it would be better if the ICC established player associations in India, Pakistan and Zimbabwe, which currently don’t have union representation. “This will provide greater education and specialist advice,” he said, “as well as help create a culture of accountability.”Other suggestions by Marsh included using player associations as a point of contact for reports, introducing an international agent accreditation scheme, and ensuring the game is administered by “skilled and respected professionals who are free of conflicts of interest”. Marsh said: “The ACA stands alongside FICA in urging the ICC to consider these recommendations as a more urgent priority than appointing undercover agents acting as illegal bookmakers.”

Cordel Jack and Pamela Lavine delivered England a surprise defeat as West Indies cruised to a 40-run win in the first ODI in St Kitts

Cricinfo staff05-Nov-2009
ScorecardCordel Jack and Pamela Lavine delivered England a surprise defeat as West Indies cruised to a 40-run win in the first ODI in St Kitts. Jack made an unbeaten 81 in West Indies’ 235 for 6 and was well supported by Lavine, who also picked up three wickets in England’s chase.The visitors battled to cover for the absence of Claire Taylor and Sarah Taylor and it was left to Charlotte Edwards to guide the chase. She top scored with 58 opening the innings and while Lydia Greenway (41) remained at the crease England had hope of a victory.But Lavine removed Greenway and then picked up two more wickets in her next two overs to expose the England middle order, before Chedean Nation chipped away at the lower order. Nation grabbed 3 for 22 as the visitors sunk into a hole as the required run-rate ballooned to 13, and they were all out for 195 in the 48th over.The strong West Indies performance had been set up by their top order. Lavine and Stefanie Taylor built a 75-run opening stand before Lavine and Jack continued to apply the pressure to England’s bowlers.Lavine’s 49 combined with her 3 for 26 made her a contender for the Player of the Match, but that prize went to Jack. She struck ten fours and one six in her unbeaten 81, which gave West Indies a formidable total.England’s coach Mark Lane said: “I’m bitterly disappointed with the result today. We were outplayed in all three disciplines and in all honesty we just weren’t good enough. We need to show plenty of character tomorrow, we’re a great team so we’ll dust ourselves down and I’m confident that we’ll perform far better tomorrow and play at the level we know are capable of.”Jack said winning against the best side in the game was a special moment she will always cherish. “This is the moment for which I have been waiting. I felt really good when I was batting, and I am so pleased that we were able to beat England.”I was not really nervous and I did not feel any pressure. We had a very good start, and I put my head down and decided to carry on the good work. We are back in the field again [on Thursday], and we will be looking to do our very best again. We want to win [on Thursday], and take
the series.”The teams return to Warner Park on Thursday for the second ODI before the third and final match on Saturday. Three Twenty20 internationals, also in St Kitts, follow the one-dayers.

James Anderson says Ben Stokes is “good to go” as England ponder changes to XI

Matt Roller13-Oct-2024Pakistan are set to use the same pitch twice in a row in Multan as they look to respond to their innings defeat against England. Industrial-sized fans were set up at either end of the pitch as both teams held optional training sessions on Sunday after it was heavily watered by groundstaff in the aftermath of the first Test.Jason Gillespie and Shan Masood, Pakistan’s coach and captain, had a look at the pitch on Sunday morning, before Gillespie had a lengthy conversation with Tony Hemming, the PCB’s Australian head curator. The bowlers’ footmarks from the first Test looked dry and cracked, and were further dried by the fans and the harsh sun.Pakistan’s move is unusual, not least because it is rare for the same venue to stage consecutive Tests. But ICC’s pitch regulations only require the “best possible pitch and outfield conditions” with no stipulations that the surface must be fresh or unused, and after 11 consecutive home Tests without a win, Pakistan may feel the need to try something different.Related

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The decision to play the second Test on the same strip may empower England to pick Ben Stokes, with spin likely to play a bigger role. Stokes has ramped up his bowling workloads over the past week and bowled at full pace in the nets on Sunday morning, suggesting he should be fit to return and could play the role of a third seamer if required.James Anderson, who is overseeing England’s fast bowlers on this tour, told the BBC: “He looks great. He has worked really hard on his fitness and is looking as strong as I’ve ever seen him… Knowing Ben, once he gets into the game, there will be no stopping him. He’s just that sort of player. He’s good to go: we’ll just have to wait and see what he can do in the game.”England were braced for “result wickets” after taking a 1-0 lead with two Tests to play, and are anticipating a lower-scoring match when the second Test starts on Tuesday. The pitch offered nothing for bowlers in the first Test, with 1,599 runs scored for the loss of 26 wickets – an average of 61.5 runs per wicket.Ben Stokes goes full tilt at training•Getty Images

Anderson admitted he thought that Pakistan’s plans would have been blocked by ICC regulations, but said England were “not fussed” by the prospect of playing on the same strip again. “It’s their decision, their conditions, their home game,” he said. “They can do what they want. The fact that it’s the same pitch doesn’t determine the result.”He predicted that Pakistan’s plans will see spin play a greater role, which he suggested could suit England. “That’s a first for me in Test cricket,” Anderson said. “When we’re talking about Ben’s workloads and his bowling, it might play into our hands with that, with the spinners potentially playing more of a part… We don’t know what we’re going to get.”Going off the last game, we did see it go up and down – mainly down – towards the back end. The cracks started opening up. I’m no groundsman, but I don’t think you can make cracks go back together that easily, certainly in three days. You’d expect it to do something off the cracks and with it being dry and hot again, you’d expect the spinners to play more of a part.”There were some signs of variable bounce by the final day of the Test as England wrapped up their win, but Chris Woakes said it had offered “bugger all” for bowlers. Kevin Pietersen, the former England captain, described it as a “bowlers’ graveyard” on X/Twitter, and suggested that Pakistan should re-use it for the second Test.The second Test was initially scheduled for Karachi, but was moved to Multan at late notice due to ongoing renovations at the National Stadium. The PCB have pledged to give it a “major facelift” ahead of the Champions Trophy next year, and Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium was unavailable for the England series for the same reason.

Australia captain admits to “strange” feeling but targets series win at The Oval

Andrew McGlashan23-Jul-2023In contrast to four years ago, there won’t be any big celebrations from Australia on retaining the Ashes with Pat Cummins aware the Manchester rain helped them escape with a draw after being dominated by England.Cummins was part of the side in 2019 when they eventually shared the series 2-2 having also retained the urn at Old Trafford, albeit with a convincing victory on that occasion, and those who featured that year have often spoken about it leaving unfinished business.There was a flatness all-round at the end of this game with England knowing their chance of regaining the Ashes had gone while the visitors were aware they’d put in one of their worst performances under the Cummins-Andrew McDonald era. However, Cummins did make reference to their earlier success in the series which put them 2-0 up.Related

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“It’s a bit of a strange one,” Cummins said. “As a group [we’re] proud that we’ve retained the Ashes but it’s off the back of not our greatest week. It feels like it’s good to retain the Ashes, but we know we’ve got a fair bit of work to do for next week.”I don’t think there will be huge celebrations. Maybe a bit of a pat on the back for retaining the [Ashes]. There’s been a lot of work gone into putting us into a position where a draw does make us retain the Ashes. But there’s a Test match starting in three days so that’s going to be our full focus.”It’s a pretty similar group to 2019 when we retained it and we all came away feeling okay but we felt like we’d just missed what we’d come over to achieve. In some regards whatever happened today wouldn’t really change how we look at next week. We want to win it to make sure we win it outright.”Barring Marnus Labuschagne, who had an excellent Test with scores of 51 and 111, there wasn’t a part of Australia’s performance that functioned close to their top level. But one of the main areas that came in for focus was Cummins’ captaincy during England’s rampaging innings of 592 which came at more than five an over.Cummins insisted he had not felt overwhelmed as a captain and instead turned the focus on his own bowling which fell significantly below his usual high standards.”As a bowler it’s frustrating that I didn’t bowl very well at all, not up to the standards I try and keep myself to,” he said. “I let through more boundaries than I normally do. Probably just one or two bad balls an over. I don’t know [why] really. [My] rhythm felt pretty good, I felt like I was pretty clear in my own mind with plans.”In terms of captaincy I think there has been a few of those moments where the [England] batters have played well, the game moves very quickly.”We knew coming into this series they were probably going to have a couple of days where it went their way and the game moves really quickly, so it was one of those days. It’s tough, frustrating, but that’s cricket. We’ve been on the other side of it plenty of times.”The game most dramatically ran away from Australia in the middle session of the second day where Zak Crawley, Moeen Ali and Joe Root racked up 178 in 25 overs with the visitors unable to find a response. The innings then ended in chaotic fashion as well with Jonny Bairstow and Jimmy Anderson added 66 for the last wicket.”That two-hour block in the middle session wasn’t our best,” Cummins said. “We tried to throw a few different plans at them and maybe on another day they work, a couple of the edges carry through or some of the catches go to hand, but I thought they batted well. I was pretty proud of the end of that day. We were able to wrestle back some of that control.”You definitely look at what you can try and do differently for next time,” he added. “That will be part of this week for sure. I think there are some obvious things we could do a little bit differently. Maybe some plans, the way we executed our bowling.”However, Cummins picked out Australia’s first innings when they left themselves on the back foot with a total of 317 where numerous starts from the top order weren’t converted as five of the top six reached 32.”We probably left a few runs out there in the first innings,” he said. “That was a really good wicket to bat on day one. But historically we have been really good [at] that so it’s not something I’m super worried about, but it’s a good time to look back at all our games and have a think about what we could do differently and put that into action for next week.”

Alsop reaches century, Orr falls agonisingly short in 204-run stand for second wicket

Valkerie Baynes05-May-2022A century to Tom Alsop and a near-miss by Ali Orr gave Sussex the edge on an intriguing opening day against Middlesex at Hove.Things were looking up for Sussex as they sought their first win of the season after heavy defeats to Worcestershire and Nottinghamshire plus draws against Durham and Derbyshire left them seventh in Division Two, ahead of only Leicestershire.From the sight of Jofra Archer practising running and fielding drills during the lunch break amid news that he is targeting a return from elbow surgery at the start of their T20 Blast campaign later this month, to the return of England seamers Ollie Robinson and George Garton, both playing for the first time this season, the hosts were in clover.But it was Alsop and Orr who shone on the perfect spring day at Hove where bright sunshine occasionally gave way to innocuous cloud cover, staging a second-wicket partnership worth 204 after their captain, Tom Haines, won the toss and chose to bat on an accommodating pitch.All that said, Sussex have breached the 500-mark three times so far this season without winning a match as debate gurgles about whether the pitches for this edition of the Championship have been prepared too heavily in favour of the batters.And by the close, Orr had fallen one run shy of his century, Sussex’s two-time double-centurion Cheteshwar Pujara was back in the pavillion with just 16 to his name and Middlesex had snatched four wickets in the evening session to put the contest on a more even footing.Orr rode his luck, having been dropped on the second ball of the match, a Shaheen Shah Afridi delivery which he struck straight to square leg where Mark Stoneman put down a regulation chance.Afridi produced an impeccable opening spell in which he steamed down the hill from the Cromwell Road end and repeatedly beat Haines outside off. He was duly rewarded when he took the top of Haines’ off stump with a gem of a delivery to leave Sussex 21 for 1 inside nine overs.Orr was patient, punching Afridi through midwicket for four to bring up his fifty from 124 balls. He survived two more chances, on 57 and 58, before pulling Blake Cullen for six over deep midwicket.Alsop, meanwhile, was compact and showed off some excellent strokeplay in a chanceless innings, finding the boundary six times en route to his half-century, which came from 80 balls.Ali Orr rues falling for 99•Getty Images

The pair upped the tempo after lunch and 10 minutes before tea were both in the 90s, Alsop having surged slightly ahead. On a season-long loan from Hampshire, Alsop brought up his first ton for Sussex – and fifth in first-class cricket overall – by driving Afridi down the ground, celebrating with a gleeful skip down the pitch and punch of the air.Orr, on the other hand, looked decidedly nervous as three figures approached and Middlesex captain Peter Handscomb forced him to call on the same sort of patience he had used earlier in his innings by crowding him with fielders who kept cutting off singles.Orr’s resolve wore out on the stroke of tea when he spooned Luke Hollman to Handscomb at first slip and was left to trudge off, fuming and with his hand covering his face having seen off 204 balls for his 99.His dismissal brought Pujara to the crease after the interval and the India batter struck Hollman for consecutive fours off his first two balls. Pujara’s six off Hollman in his subsequent over went missing out of the ground over the short boundary at deep square leg. But Pujara then chased a wide half-volley outside off stump from Ethan Bamber which went to Max Holden at backward point to make it 246 for 3.Sussex then lost two wickets in the space of four balls, Martin Andersson uprooting two of Tom Clark’s poles when the batter played on and Stoneman ending Alsop’s knock on 113, caught by Handscomb at square leg and the home side were suddenly 273 for 5.It fell to Mohammad Rizwan, who had shared a 154-run partnership with Pujara in the previous match, and Garton, playing his first first-class match since the corresponding fixture at Hove last September, to steady the Sussex innings against the second new ball.They did for a time with a 64-run stand, Rizwan’s six dropping to one knee as he lifted Stoneman over mid-on particularly eye-catching. But when Cullen had Rizwan caught by Handscomb leaping smartly at first slip for 31, all Sussex eyes were on Garton and Robinson to see out the day.Garton, who had shaken off the effects of long Covid sufficiently to win selection, looked solid in reaching 37 from 61 balls while Robinson, making his long-awaited return after back spasms which troubled him during the Ashes and England’s Caribbean tour and more recently a tooth infection, remained unbeaten on 11 at the close.

Head of the Big Bash, Alistair Dobson, reflects on the season which brought strong viewing figures and what comes next

Andrew McGlashan07-Feb-2021The players were centrestage at the SCG on Saturday evening, with Sydney Sixers the side celebrating at the end of night, but there were many behind the scenes for who it was a triumph as well.A 61-game season, traversing across Australia amid Covid-19 outbreaks and ever-changing border restrictions, came to a conclusion in front of more than 25,000 people which took the overall ground attendances for the season to over half a million. And even the rain stayed away.Right up until the final few days, there were hurdles to the overcome, the last of them the snap lockdown in Perth which forced the Challenger final to be switched hastily to Canberra and denied Perth Scorchers home advantage in the west. They overcame that against Brisbane Heat, but the Sixers were too good in the final.After months in hubs and bubbles, more quarantine was awaiting the Scorchers players heading back to Perth on Sunday. Two weeks in managed isolation was next on the list for those in Australia’s T20 squad flying to New Zealand.Related

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“No doubt as borders closed and players got caught up different situations, there are moments when you do hold your breath but it comes down to a little bit of look and enormous commitment from everyone,” Alistair Dobson, the head of the Big Bash, told ESPNcricinfo.”It’s huge credit to not only all the players but the staff. To commit to hubs and over Christmas then when the goalposts would shift at very short notice for everyone to continue to roll with it.”And 500,000 people were able to attend Big Bash matches which when you look around the world that’s an incredible number.”The reward for all the efforts was the most-watched BBL in the 10-year history when streaming numbers were added to the television figures which included an audience of 1.31 million for the final – up 12% on last year’s figure.With a competition that has expanded significantly, the overall viewership had to increase – there remains evidence that the audience is spread more thinly across the 61-games – but more than five million tuned in for the final series which began late last month. The delayed start to the Australia Open tennis worked in the BBL’s favour.The viewership numbers come against the backdrop of the ongoing battle between Cricket Australia and Channel Seven which is still due to head to court in March. The metro free-to-air audience for the final was the second-highest for Seven under the current deal.”That shows not only we were able to deliver the games…that people love having it on every night over the holidays,” Dobson said.Dobson suggested that some of new timeslots tried for this season out of necessity – morning games before the day-night Test in Adelaide, matches ending very late on the east coast of Australia and a triple-header to finish the group stage – could be continued with next summer.Like this season with the India series, there is also the prospect of the Ashes running much later into January than would traditionally be the case, but Dobson believes that can be a benefit to the BBL.”Think overall it’s positive in the sense that the more cricket there is in the public narrative then the more interest in the BBL we see, a spike in our TV audience comes off the back of a day’s play in Test cricket,” he said. “It doesn’t present any real issues when a test series goes later into the season, the broad view is it’s helpful.”Two key elements on the agenda in the off-season will be bringing DRS into the tournament after an edition where a number of poor decisions were obvious and an overseas player draft. Some version of a review system seems certain, although Dobson said there remained work to do.On the draft, which was due to happen before this season but had to be held back to do Covid-19, one of the elements being worked through is how to allow clubs to show loyalty to overseas players, such as Rashid Khan who is a household name at Adelaide Strikers and James Vince who said he hopes to return to the Sixers.”Think it’s important that clubs are able to maintain that loyalty,” Dobson said. “A key part of the model is how we allow clubs to do that while at the same time not taking away what we are trying to achieve in the draft which is a bit of uncertainty of who is going where.”There won’t be, though, any further increase in the number of overseas players allowed in an XI following the move to three for this season.Planning for the 2021-22 edition will begin soon on the basis that things will be more normal than this season, but with the knowledge of what was possible to achieve. “It’s a really important question that we are spending a lot of time contemplating because there’s still uncertainty around what we’ll be dealing with come next season,” Dobson said. “Think we’ll assume it’s business as usual knowing that we can adjust and we have confidence to move quickly if required.”

Allrounder moves on after four seasons with Middlesex

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2019George Scott will join Gloucestershire on a three-year deal after turning down a contract extension with Middlesex.The 23-year-old allrounder spent four years with Middlesex, and was a regular in both white-ball teams this season.”I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for me cricket-wise and I know Bristol is a lovely place,” Scott said.”It seems like there is an incredibly family feel here. I’ve met a few of the guys and I know Higgo [Ryan Higgins] well and it feels like a really nice atmosphere at the Club so I’m absolutely delighted to be joining.”Scott’s move closely mirrors the one that Higgins made two years ago. Both moves involved a young, seam-bowling allrounder who had grown frustrated at a lack of opportunities in the Championship side, and Gloucestershire will hope that Scott can follow Higgins’ lead in developing into a fine three-format player.Scott played nine of Middlesex’s games in the Blast this season, though faced only 70 balls and didn’t bowl, and played seven times in the Championship, taking three wickets and making 204 runs. He was an ever-present in the One-Day Cup as Middlesex reached the quarter-finals, and hit a 30-ball 63 in the season opener against Essex at Chelmsford.Angus Fraser, Middlesex’s managing director, said: “”It is always disappointing to lose a player that you have invested a lot into, but we have to respect George’s reasons for declining the offer of a contract extension. [He] is a cracking young man and we wish him well at Gloucestershire.”Gloucestershire head coach Richard Dawson said: “It’s great to have George joining us. He’s got huge potential as both a batter and bowler in all formats of the game. All the players and coaching staff are looking forward to him starting with us and we hope we can help him realise his potential in the years to come.”