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A round-up of the action from day 3 of the Sheffield Shield match between Western Australia and Queensland at Perth

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2016
ScorecardFile photo – Jonathan Wells led Western Australia’s chase as he finished not out on 85•Getty Images

Queensland lost their advantage of a first innings lead after Simon Mackin’s six wickets – his best first-class bowling figures – saw them fold for 138 and set Western Australia a target of 227 to chase. In reply, Western Australia put on 2 for 170 before stumps, putting them 57 runs away from a come-from-behind victory.Mackin combined with David Moody (2-16) and Hilton Cartwright (2-38) to dismiss Queensland within 41 overs of the day that they had begun on 0 for 3. Openers Matt Renshaw and Joe Burns were both out within the day’s first five overs as Queensland fell to 3 for 34 before a 60-run partnership between Usman Khawaja – who scored 157 in the first innings – and Sam Heazlett (29) took them to 94. Queensland then lost their last seven wickets for 44 runs as Mackin tore through the middle and lower order to dismiss them for 138.Chasing 227, Western Australia started strong with opener Cameron Bancroft (23) putting on 58 runs for the first wicket with Jonathan Wells. Bancroft fell in the 21st over and followed by Michael Klinger in the 22nd. But Wells scored an unbeaten 85, and combined with the returning Adam Voges (51*) to add 111 runs in an unbroken stand that took Western Australia close to an improbable victory.

High praise from team-mates and opponents for the 17-year-old, after she spearheads India’s win in the third T20I

Annesha Ghosh23-Mar-2021Shafali Verma, the No. 1-ranked T20I batter in the world, said she took her non-selection in India’s ODI squad for the recently concluded home series against South Africa in her stride, but at the same time felt driven to iron out any potential shortcoming in her batting that may have kept her out of the reckoning.The youngest player to have represented India in T20Is, Verma, 17, opened up on her plans for the 50-over format, in which she is still uncapped, after her blistering 30-ball 60 in the third and final match of the T20I leg of South Africa’s tour of India. Following up on her 22-ball 23 and 31-ball 47 in the first two matches, Verma made short work of a 113 chase on Tuesday as India romped to a nine-wicket victory and averted a 3-0 sweep in Lucknow.Related

• Shafali Verma: 'I played 150 bouncers at a time, practising the same thing over and over again'

• Shafali Verma goes past Beth Mooney to top spot among T20I batters

• Squad analysis: No place for Verma in ODIs

“When I didn’t get a call-up for the one-dayers, I thought there might still be some inadequacy that I need to address. But I didn’t ask anybody – neither the captain nor the coach – about my non-selection,” Verma said after the match when asked if she had spoken to any senior player or the head coach to identify the areas she could improve in to strengthen her case for an ODI call-up.”I made up my mind I will work more on my fitness and make sure to play according to the balls whenever I get an opportunity in the format,” she said. “When my name didn’t come up for the one-dayers, I tried to keep my confidence up and motivated myself to play better so I can make it to the 50-over team as well. I wasn’t much disappointed; I just made sure I focused on working harder.”Since making her international debut in the T20I series against South Africa at home in September 2019, Verma has emerged the frontline choice for Smriti Mandhana’s opening partner. In her 22 innings in the format, she has made 617 runs at an average of 29.38, her strike of 149.31 the key to India’s brisk starts.In last year’s T20 World Cup, she topped the run-chart for India, and was arguably the foremost reason for their run to the final given she found little support from other top-order batters. However, as India prepared to return to international cricket after a 364-day spell of almost complete inactivity, the absence of her name from the ODI squad for the South Africa series raised eyebrows.Verma said when an ODI debut does come by, she would aim to make the most of the preparations she is putting in now.”The focus would be on spending as much time on the wicket as possible and score as many runs as I can, ” she said, “so I can create a good report of myself.”No matter what position I get to play in, I will try to extend my innings for as long as possible and score well.”Whenever I go to my hometown, [while training] I try to choose balls that I think I should hit and pay attention to rotating the strike by taking singles and doubles. For one-dayers, too, I think shot-selection based on the merit of the balls has been my focus.”In the opening over of India’s chase on Tuesday, she cracked three fours and a six off Shabnim Ismail, the No. 2-ranked bowler in women’s T20Is, and helped propel India to 71 for 0 in the powerplay. Her fifty came off just 26 balls, the fourth-fastest in the format by an Indian woman, and by the time she fell, in the 10th over, India, requiring just 17 runs, were poised to seal a comfortable victory.”When I went in to bat, I wanted to make sure I bat well because this is the last match for me,” she said. “There is some time before the next series, so I wanted to do my best and do well for the team and score well.””Whenever we [she and Mandhana] go out to at together, we try to hit the loose balls well and convert them into boundaries and play as long as possible, so we can maximise our scoring opportunities,” Verma said.Sinalo Jafta, the South Africa wicketkeeper-batter, also heaped praise on Verma’s attacking style of play.”Firstly, you took the word out of my mind: fearless. T20 cricket is about expressing oneself and the way she expresses herself, I have to commend her. She is just 100% fearless. That’s the one word.”Mandhana, too, commended Verma’s performance as well as her bowlers’.”Being the winning captain, I think it was a good show over all. Our bowlers did extremely well to restrict them to 112 in the first innings,” Mandhana told host broadcaster Star Sports after the match. “And then Shafali just stole the show. She was brilliant. But I think this victory definitely goes to the bowlers.”Mandhana also said the series-deciding final-ball defeat on Sunday was a demotivating blow for the hosts to overcome but their head coach WV Raman enthused them to take the field on Tuesday with a professional approach.”After losing the series in the second match it needs a lot of motivation to come out there for the third match,” she said. “We all came as a group. Raman sir told us, ‘Nevertheless, this is an international match and we have to go out there and win the match.’ We are going to go back home with a positive mind and then we will be in a positive frame of mind whenever we play the next series, so this match in that context is really important for us.”

The Pakistan Cricket Board has increased the number of women’s central contracts from 21 to 22, and retained Sana Mir, Bismah Maroof, Javeria Khan and Asmavia Iqbal in the top category

Umar Farooq04-May-2016The PCB has increased the number of women’s central contracts from 21 to 22, and retained Sana Mir, Bismah Maroof, Javeria Khan and Asmavia Iqbal in the top category. Fast bowler Kainat Imtiaz was moved from category C to D while opener Marina Iqbal has been dropped from B to C.

The contract list

Category A (PKR 1,00,500, USD 960)
Sana Mir, Bismah Maroof, Javeria Khan, Asmavia Iqbal
Category B (PKR 85,000, USD 810)
Nida Dar, Anam Amin, Nain Abidi
Category C (PKR 65,000, USD 620)
Sadia Yousuf, Sidra Nawaz, Rabiya Shah, Sidra Ameen, Nahida Khan, Aliya Riaz, Iram Javed, Marina Iqbal, Sania Khan
Category D (PKR 30,000, USD 285)
Muneeba Ali, Almas Akram, Aiman Anwer, Diana Baig, Ayesha Zafar, Kainat Imtiaz

Muneeba Ali, Almas Akram, Aiman Anwer, Diana Baig, Ayesha Zafar are the new inclusions in the contract list. Uncapped players Fareeha Mehmood and Maham Tariq, along with fast bowler Sumaiya Siddiqi, who played nine limited-overs games in 2015, were not awarded a contract.Left-arm spinner Anam Amin, who took 33 wickets in 17 limited-overs matches in 2015, has been promoted to category B from C. Sania Khan, who last played for Pakistan in November 2015, has been demoted from from B to C.”These contracts have been given to women cricketers for their outstanding performance and progress they have shown in domestic and international events throughout the year 2015,” the PCB said in a release. “The one-year contract is effective from January 1, 2016, and is divided into four categories (A, B, C and D).”Despite lacking an organised international calendar, Pakistan Women have put in impressive performances at global events. They beat India and Bangladesh in the group stage of the recently-concluded World T20 in India, but failed to make the semi-final after losing to West Indies and England.

Allrounder steps in to oversee clean sweep after hamstring injury rules Knight out of last game

Valkerie Baynes07-Mar-2021Natalie Sciver thoroughly enjoyed a first taste of international captaincy, saying her side made the job easy as she oversaw England’s 3-0 sweep of the T20I series against New Zealand.When Anya Shrubsole was ruled out with a knee injury, Sciver was handed the role of vice-captain for the tour, to glowing approval from regular captain Heather Knight, who said at the time: “There’s no doubt Nat is a huge leader in the group for us.” When Knight was ruled out of the final fixture because of a hamstring problem, Sciver had to bring her leadership skills to the fore and she relished the opportunity as England sealed a 32-run victory over New Zealand with 12 balls to spare on Sunday.”Sign me up for some more games,” Sciver beamed. “It’s been brilliant. With everyone contributing like that, it’s an easy game.Related

• Return to 'normal life' a huge lure of New Zealand tour – Heather Knight

• Dunkley seeks the power to break into England's closed-shop top six

• England complete 3-0 sweep as New Zealand crumble for 96

“Yesterday, Heather pulled up not so well after the last game, so I found out yesterday [that I would be leading the team today]. I had a maybe a sleepless hour when I was trying to get sleep but as soon as the warm-up was done I was all right.”Having gone 2-0 up in the preceding ODI series, England were disappointed to have dropped the third game, which New Zealand won by seven wickets, and the tourists set their sights on sweeping the T20s.Tammy Beaumont carried on her excellent form from the ODIs, where she was the leading run-scorer, to be named Player of the Series for the T20s, again topping the run-scoring charts with 102 at an average of 34.00 and strike rate of 100.99. But when she, fellow opener Danni Wyatt and Sciver all fell cheaply on Sunday, two players trying to establish themselves as regulars in the team shone with the bat.Fran Wilson, playing her first match of the series, top-scored with an unbeaten 31 off 23 and Sophia Dunkley, coming in a No.4 where Knight would normally be, added a valuable 26 off 29 deliveries. Dunkley did not bat in the first match as England won by seven wickets and was not out on nought when they won the second by six wickets.”As soon as she heard the news, she was a bit shocked,” Sciver said of the moment Dunkley learned she had been promoted up the order from No. 6. “But then I think she managed to get her head around it.”It does get harder in T20 when you go in at five, six and seven, where you might only have two balls or ten balls or whatever it is. So, yes, it’s great for her to get a chance and really show us that she can do it.”It’s so hard to go through a tour when you’re not sure if you’re going to play and then you don’t really get the opportunity to bat in the game… Fran was really key, to be in at the end was was brilliant, so she took on her role really well.”England Women pose with the trophy•AFP/Getty Images

But it was England’s bowling contingent who were most impressive in the final match, with six different bowlers among the wickets as New Zealand were bowled out for 96 in 18 overs in reply to England’s 128 for 9. Young offspinner Mady Villiers claimed career-best figures of 3 for 10 from two overs, but Katherine Brunt was named Player of the Match after dismissing both openers, Sophie Devine and Hayley Jensen, for ducks in the first over of New Zealand’s chase before finishing with figures of 2 for 19 from four overs.Sophie Ecclestone ended with identical match figures to Brunt, while Freya Davies, Sarah Glenn and Sciver all chimed in with a wicket each.Sciver said Brunt, her fiancee who returned after missing the second match with a head cold and ended the series with four wickets at an economy rate of 4.17, had been bowling as well as she had done for some time.”She has been brilliant,” Sciver said. “She’s been terrorising people in the nets. You don’t want to sign up to face her at training sessions, so it’s great for her to get some reward out there on the pitch.”Sometimes she doesn’t quite have the luck go with her, or the decisions, so I’m really pleased that she managed to, throughout the tour, pick up wickets where she can and today was really important for us and she did the job.”Villiers had only bowled four overs across the first two matches for one wicket, so Sciver was happy about her return as she continues to forge a three-pronged spin attack with Glenn and Ecclestone.”It’s so good, just to have a legspinner, a left-arm spinner and an offspinner who all have got amazing talent and can come in and do a job for us at any point,” Sciver said. “Mady’s had to wait her turn a little bit but she did brilliantly today.”

Australia could consider playing three frontline spinners to try and close the margin to 3-2

Andrew McGlashan08-Aug-2021

Big Picture

It’s been a weird T20 series: 120 feels like a batting side has reached the stars, Australia have barely been able to lay a bat on the brilliant Mustafizur Rahman, a debutant has taken a hat-trick and there’s been a 30-run over with five sixes amid a lot of prodding and poking.Bangladesh have achieved what they set out to do – beat Australia – and the confidence gained from winning can never be discounted, but the true value of these performances may not be known until the T20 World Cup. Before then they face New Zealand at home and it will be very interesting to see the types of surfaces produced.Whether pitches were 100 is nearly defendable – Bangladesh were probably one breakthrough away from going 4-0 up – is good T20 is a decent debate, although the challenges of preparing surfaces for this series in terms of the weather and tight Covid protocols should be acknowledged. No one wants roads all the time, and the occasional low-scoring scrap is enjoyable, but when cutters are jumping off a length and batters have little confidence they can play their strokes it’s perhaps tilted a little too far the other way.For Australia this will likely be their last T20 before they select their World Cup squad. Mitchell Marsh will emerge as one of the standout performers, the bowling attack has held up very well and Dan Christian’s onslaught in the fourth match was a statement. But it’s difficult to say they will head home having really answered the pre-tour questions. Justin Langer will hope to have the absent players back – a lot rests on their shoulders.Related

• Bangladesh register historic series win against Australia

• Stats – Australia's fifth successive series defeat in T20Is

• Christian, bowlers help Australia pull one back

Form guide

(last five completed matches)
Bangladesh LWWWL
Australia WLLLWL

In the spotlight

This has been a tough series for batters to prosper, but Soumya Sarkar has had a particularly difficult time at the top of the order with scores of 2, 0, 2 and 8. Josh Hazlewood has caused him problems and taken his wicket twice. He had scored three half-centuries in the previous two series against New Zealand and Zimbabwe but may have now given the selectors something to ponder.Through these twin tours it has felt that Matthew Wade is locked in to be Australia’s keeper at the World Cup. He started this series in the middle order – based on his likely position in that tournament – then went back to the top with returns of 13, 4, 1 and 2. If you include the matches in West Indies his highest score is 33 in nine T20 innings and his average now sits under 20. There will be mitigation given for the conditions in Bangladesh, but coupled with the debate over where the keeper bats it remains one of Australia’s unanswered questions.

Team news

Bangladesh have been unchanged throughout the series. Will they make it five games in row or now that the whitewash is off the table have a look a few other players?Bangladesh (possible) 1 Mohammad Naim, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Mahedi Hasan, 5 Mahmudullah (capt), 6 Afif Hossain, 7 Shamim Hossain, 8 Nurul Hasan (wk), 9 Nasum Ahmed, 10 Mushtifzur Rahman, 11 Shoriful IslamAustralia have tried various combinations throughout the series. The only players not to get a game are quicks Jason Behrendorff and Wes Agar, who don’t appear in contention for the World Cup, and the injured Riley Meredith. Hazlewood has played the first four games so there is a chance he will be rested. It could also be an opportunity for Australia to try three frontline spinners.Australia (possible) 1 Matthew Wade (capt & wk), 2 Ben McDermott, 3 Mitchell Marsh, 4 Moises Henriques, 5 Alex Carey, 6 Ashton Turner, 7 Dan Christian, 8 Ashton Agar, 9 Andrew Tye, 10 Mitchell Swepson, 11 Josh Hazlewood/Mitchell Starc

Pitch and conditions

“They don’t compare to anything I’ve faced in my career. These are as difficult conditions as I’ve seen for T20 cricket – 120 is like 190,” Christian said after the fourth game. It would be a surprise if anything changed for the last match.

Stats and trivia

• With a scoring rate of 5.86, this is the slowest T20I series of at least three matches in history
• Christian’s 39 off 15 balls was the second-fastest 30+ score by an Australia batter in T20Is
• No team has gone unchanged through a T20 series of more than three matches

Quotes

“As a batting unit I think we need to be a bit more cautious and a bit more sensible.”
“I might be a little bit biased here, but certainly something that I think could work for us as well. Fingers crossed that might eventuate but we’ll have to wait and see.”

Shahrukh Khan applies the finishing touches with an unbeaten 22 off nine balls

Sreshth Shah01-Oct-20214:13

Dale Steyn and Sanjay Manjrekar on the Rahul Tripathi ‘catch’

Punjab Kings kept their playoff hopes well and truly alive by punishing Kolkata Knight Riders for their off-colour fielding effort. Mayank Agarwal made a quickfire 40 after an early reprieve, KL Rahul anchored the 166 chase with a 55-ball 67 and Shahrukh Khan made an unbeaten 22 in nine balls.The result ensured that Knight Riders did not break away from the mid-table pack, with only two points separating the four teams between fourth and seventh. It also confirmed Delhi Capitals’ spot in the playoffs as they can no longer finish below fourth.That the Kings had to overcome only a par total of 165 on a batting-friendly surface was courtesy their death-overs bowling from Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh. After Venkatesh Iyer fell for a 49-ball 67 in the 15th over, Knight Riders could make only 45 runs in 5.2 overs, finishing well short of a total near 180 that they were on course to achieve. The lack of batting time for Knight Riders’ middle and lower-middle order came to the fore as Eoin Morgan and Dinesh Karthik could only make run-a-ball scores of 2 and 11 respectively when the side needed quick runs.

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Sign up for ESPN+ and catch all the action from the IPL live in the US. Match highlights of Kolkata Knight Riders vs Punjab Kings is available here in English, and here in Hindi (US only).

Kings seamers pull things back after Bishnoi burst
After being asked to bat, a 72-run partnership for the second wicket between Iyer and Rahul Tripathi helped the Knight Riders recover from the early Shubman Gill wicket.The Iyer-Tripathi combo hit 12 fours and two sixes. They took a particular liking to Fabian Allen’s left-arm spin and Nathan Ellis’ assortment of change-ups. Iyer’s power-hitting and Tripathi’s shots over midwicket and point kept Knight Riders’ run rate around eight per over up while they were around.But it was Ravi Bishnoi, the legspinner on paper with a penchant of bowling more googlies, who dismissed both men. A wrong’un in the 12th over had Tripathi slog-sweeping to deep midwicket and then another slog-sweep from Iyer in the 15th sent him back after his second IPL fifty and his highest score of the tournament.At the time, the score was 120 for 4 with 32 balls to go. With Nitish Rana in the middle, and Morgan, Karthik, Tim Seifert and Sunil Narine to follow, a minimum of ten runs per over was on. However, Morgan was lbw to a full Shami ball in the 16th over, which went only for four. Arshdeep dismissed the dangerous Rana for 31 in the 18th. Shami then frustrated Karthik and Seifert in the 19th, and Arshdeep’s boundaryless final over, which included his third wicket gave Kings the momentum.Rahul anchors successfully
With Agarwal back in the XI and finding the boundaries in the opening salvo of the chase, Rahul had the liberty of taking his time. It’s a template he has followed since IPL 2020 with equal doses of praise and criticism. This time, Agarwal’s runs at strike rate of almost 150 allowed Rahul’s scoring rate to briefly slip under the radar. What helped Agarwal to get a solid score on his return to the team was a first-over drop by Morgan when the batter had hit a full ball straight to cover.However, Rahul had made only 14 in 16 balls in the powerplay, and Agarwal’s dismissal soon after – off Varun Chakravarthy – started to bring back old memories. Nicholas Pooran and Aiden Markram failed to be the aggressive yin to Rahul’s sedate yang and were out for sub-20 scores.With Rahul running out of batting partners and his strike rate still in the 120s, it appeared like the Kings would miscalculate another chase. But with six overs to go, Rahul finally started looking for big shots. He hit Tim Southee for a six in the 15th over to bring the rate down and then struck two fours off the inexperienced Shivam Mavi in the 19th to bring the equation down to five off the last over.But Rahul could not see off the chase himself. He was out on the second ball of the final over when his big shot found long-off. A few balls earlier, he had survived a close call for caught after Tripathi slid along the ground in the deep to take a low catch. While the catch appeared fair in real time, the TV umpire adjudicated that the ball had hit the ground.SRK downs SRK’s team
While Rahul’s innings ensured that there never was a situation when two new batters were at the crease, the team needed a cameo from somewhere to make up for Rahul’s scoring rate.And it came from the man who was playing his first game of the UAE leg. Left out of the XI when the tournament restarted, Shahrukh replaced Harpreet Brar in the XI for this game and came in at No. 6 with the Kings needing 32 from 21 balls. His first shot was nearly four, cut off only by an acrobatic effort by Seifert at deep point. Then came a hook for six that had enough legs to just about beat Iyer’s effort on the boundary line. A cut in front of square off Southee soon followed, and his three boundary shots took him to 15 off seven balls.However, it is the final over that worries every Kings fan. After too many close defeats over the last two seasons, the game was still not in their bag entering the 20th, more so when Rahul was out with them still needing four from four balls.But Shahrukh was not going to take it down to the last ball. Mavi went length, Shahrukh slogged to deep midwicket, Tripathi failed to take the catch, the ball popped over the skirting for six, and the Kings took home the two points.

Colin Ingram has signed with the Hurricanes while Phil Salt has returned to the Strikers

Alex Malcolm and Daniel Brettig11-Nov-2020West Indian batsman Nicholas Pooran has joined the Melbourne Stars for the start of the BBL season as cover for new signing Jonny Bairstow.*Bairstow, along with a host of other England internationals are unavailable until after Christmas due to England’s limited-overs tour of South Africa which finishes on December 9. Australia’s international border security rules due to Covid-19 require travellers from overseas to quarantine for 14 days in a secure hotel upon arrival.But Australia has a travel bubble with New Zealand where West Indies will be touring at the end of November with the T20I series concluding on November 30. Pooran, who is not part of the Test squad, is likely to be allowed to travel to Australia from New Zealand without quarantining having already done so in New Zealand prior to the series following his arrival from the IPL.Pooran was courted by several BBL clubs last year but was unable to play in the tournament. He will be available for six matches.The Stars have also confirmed that Haris Rauf, the Pakistan fast bowler who was one of the breakout stars of last year’s BBL, will not be available for this edition due to international commitments.Meanwhile, Hobart Hurricanes have signed South African Colin Ingram as cover for Dawid Malan in the early part of the tournament. Ingram previously played for the Adelaide Strikers and was part of their tournament triumph in BBL07, but left the club in abrupt circumstances the following year after captaining the Strikers for part of the season.Adelaide Strikers have re-signed Sussex opener Phil Salt after he made an impressive BBL debut last year scoring four half-centuries at a blistering strike-rate of 164.09.Australia’s hard international border will affect a number of the BBL clubs with Bairstow, Malan, Sam Billings, Tom Curran, Lewis Gregory, Liam Livingstone, Jason Roy all touring South Africa. Malan may get to leave for Australia a week earlier than his countrymen as he is only part of England’s T20 squad.*November 12, 9.45am: the story was updated to reflect confirmation of Pooran’s signing

Somerset won a thrilling T20 Blast game for the second time at Taunton this season and in doing so sent Surrey tumbling to their second defeat of the campaign

ECB Reporters Network10-Jun-2016
ScorecardJohann Myburgh played the match-winning hand•Getty Images

Somerset won a thrilling T20 Blast game for the second time at Taunton this season and in doing so sent Surrey tumbling to their second defeat of the campaign.Although Chris Gayle provided one or two fireworks during his 13-ball cameo at the top end of the innings, it was Johann Myburgh and Roelof van der Merwe who led the way as Somerset overhauled Surrey’s 186 for 4 with four balls to spare.Having won the toss, Surrey lost their first wicket in the fifth over when Jason Roy, who was dropped on 10 by Jamie Overton off the bowling of brother Craig, was caught by van der Merwe off Craig Overton for 28.Somerset’s fielding was certainly not up to scratch and both Kumar Sangakkara and Dominic Sibley benefitted before the former well caught by Gayle, at extra cover, off Yasir Arafat for 37 off 19 balls. The Sri Lankan struck seven boundaries in his short stay at the crease and was understandably miffed when Gayle stuck out a hand and held on to a smart catch.In the very next over, Rory Burns departed for a single, caught by Craig Overton at deep midwicket at 96 for 3. At that stage, Surrey needed a partnership of real substance. Thanks to Sibley and Dwayne Bravo they got it.The pair added 69 off 42 balls with Bravo helping himself to 15 before van der Merwe held on to a wonderful catch on the deep midwicket boundary.Sibley continued to lead the way for Surrey and though Somerset bowled well at the death, the 20-year-old bolstered the visitors’ total to 186 for 4 with an unbeaten 74 off 55 balls. The youngster, who hurt his back in trying to hit Jamie Overton out of the ground, struck six fours and three sixes.Somerset’s reply was only eight balls old when captain Jim Allenby top edged a Ravi Rampaul delivery to wicketkeeper Ben Foakes, at 10 for 1.Normal order was restored, for the Somerset supporters, off the final three balls of Rampaul’s first over. Gayle, looking to improve on the 49 he scored against Essex at the ground seven days previous, struck all three deliveries for six.
Another six, off Tom Curran, followed before the West Indian star was caught by countryman Bravo on the square leg boundary for 31 at 37 for 2. Bravo was celebrating again three balls later when Peter Trego gloved a short ball to Foakes, for 2, at 39 for 3.With two of the big hitters having departed, it was left to Myburgh and Gregory to pick up the pieces. Myburgh, who batted so well against Gloucestershire in the Royal London Cup last Sunday, struck successive sixes off Tom Curran to help Somerset to 57 for 3 after five overs.Myburgh, who continued to punish anything over-pitched, took his side to 100 in the 10th over, but lost fourth wicket partner Gregory at 102, caught by Foakes off Sam Curran for 21.The disappointment was only temporary as Myburgh brought up his 50 off 28 balls in the 12th over and laid the platform for Somerset’s second victory of the season.Myburgh and van der Merwe put on an unbeaten 87 for the fifth wicket with the former finishing 86 not out and van der Merwe unbeaten on 39.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar named vice-captain, Chetan Sakariya and Nitish Rana among new faces in the mix

Nagraj Gollapudi10-Jun-20218:17

Sanjay Manjrekar: Dhawan rewarded with captaincy after longevity in white-ball cricket

Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Nitish Rana, K Gowtham and Chetan Sakariya have all received maiden call-ups to the national team, figuring in the 20-man India squad for the white-ball series in Sri Lanka, scheduled for July. The second-string squad – the main team will be in England at the time – will be captained by opening batter Shikhar Dhawan, who has never led India previously, and have fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the vice-captain.India’s Sri Lanka tour comprises six matches: three ODIs (on July 13, 16 and 18), followed by three T20Is (July 21, 23, 25). Former India captain Rahul Dravid has been confirmed as the head coach for the tour, although the BCCI did not announce the entire roster of support staff on Thursday when it made public details of the squad, which will have five reserve bowlers.India will have to field a team in Sri Lanka shorn of its premier players because the main squad, captained by Virat Kohli, is currently in England getting ready for the inaugural World Test Championship final against New Zealand (June 18 onwards), followed by a five-Test series against England starting in August. That makes this the first instance of two senior Indian men’s teams operating simultaneously in bilateral series.It is no surprise that four of the five uncapped players – Gowtham the exception – all made strong impressions in the last two seasons of the IPL. Padikkal and Gaikwad have been successful as openers at the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Chennai Super Kings respectively, while Rana has been a regular in the top order at the Kolkata Knight Riders for a few seasons, and pacer Sakariya made an impressive start to his stint with the Rajasthan Royals in the truncated 2021 edition.Padikkal became the first Indian to hit four consecutive List A centuries, while opening for Karnataka during the Indian domestic Vijay Hazare 50-over tournament this year. Padikkal, who made his IPL debut with the Royal Challengers in IPL 2020, has 668 runs in 21 IPL matches at an average of 33.40 and a strike rate of 131.75.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Gaikwad, who has a healthy average of 47.87 in List A cricket, has scored five half-centuries in 13 IPL matches. As for Rana, the Knight Riders’ regular, he has 13 fifties in the IPL and a total of 1638 runs. He also has three centuries in List A cricket for Delhi in the domestic circuit.Probably the biggest surprise in the squad, though, is Sakariya. The left-arm fast bowler from Saurashtra was bought by the Royals in the auction before the 2021 IPL for INR 1.2 crore (USD 164,000 approx.), which proved to be an inspired investment. Sakariya, 23, has picked up seven wickets in seven IPL matches so far, and his victims include MS Dhoni, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu and Rana.The India call-up is bound to be a bittersweet moment for Sakariya, who lost his father to Covid-19 immediately after he returned home once the IPL had been suspended indefinitely in early May.For 32-year-old Gowtham, too, the India call-up means a step up from the fringes. He was included as a reserve bowler during the four-match home Test series against England recently and, during that series, he captured the headlines when he became the most expensive uncapped Indian player in the IPL when the Super Kings paid INR 9.25 crore (US$ 1,273,000 approx.) for him, beating bids from the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Knight Riders. In the 2020 IPL, too, Gowtham had bagged a massive sum from the Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab), who released him after the season after fielding him in just two matches. Gowtham has 57 wickets in 35 List A matches for Karnataka and has a batting strike rate of 141.26 in List A and 159.24 in T20s respectively.The squad also features spinner Varun Chakravarthy, who has been picked for the third time by the selectors since the 2020 IPL. Chakravarthy, who plays for the Knight Riders, had been selected for the T20I series in Australia last year but did not travel because of a shoulder injury, and was again picked for the home T20I series against England earlier this year, but failed to clear the mandatory fitness test.The pair of Shreyas Iyer and T Natarajan were not considered for selection as they are both still recovering from surgeries. Iyer had hurt his shoulder during the ODI series against England and had undergone surgery in April, which had ruled him out of the IPL. Natarajan, who made a fairy-tale debut in Australia in all three formats at the turn of the year, had to abandon the IPL to undergo knee surgery.Squad: Shikhar Dhawan (capt), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (vice-capt), Prithvi Shaw, Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Suryakumar Yadav, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Nitish Rana, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, K Gowtham, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini, Chetan SakariyaNet bowlers: Ishan Porel, Sandeep Warrier, Arshdeep Singh, R Sai Kishore, Simarjeet Singh

Ben Stokes has received his second ICC reprimand in the last month, giving him two demerit points under the new code of conduct – halfway to being banned for a Test match

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Nov-2016Ben Stokes has received his second ICC reprimand in the last month, giving him two demerit points under the new code of conduct – halfway to being banned for a Test match. Stokes admitted a Level One offence after being dismissed on the first day of the Mohali Test against India.Stokes was found to have used “language or a gesture that is obscene, offensive or insulting”, in breach of Article 2.1.4 of the ICC Code of Conduct. Having been stumped for 29 during the afternoon session, he reacted to the India players celebrating – exchanging words with Virat Kohli – and his comments were heard by the on-field umpires.In Dhaka last month, Stokes was fined 15% of his match fee and given a demerit point for “verbally engaging” with Bangladesh batsman Sabbir Rahman. If he reaches four demerit points within a two-year period, he faces suspension for one Test or two limited-overs internationals.The charge in Mohali was laid by the umpiring team of Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney and Kumar Dharmasena. Because Stokes accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Ranjan Madugalle, there was no need for a formal hearing.