Abdul Razzaq moves from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Central Punjab in PCB coaching shake-up

Four of the six provincial teams will have new coaches for the 2021-22 domestic season

Umar Farooq20-Aug-2021In a major shake-up in Pakistan’s domestic cricket, the PCB has juggled four head coaches ahead of the 2021-22 season. Abdul Razzaq, whose Khyber Pakhtunkhwa side won trophies in all three formats last season, will now coach Central Punjab.In turn, Shahid Anwar will move from Central Punjab to Southern Punjab, and Abdur Rehman from Southern Punjab – where he spent two seasons – to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The former WAPDA batter Rafatullah Mohmand will be Rehman’s assistant.Ijaz Ahmed Jnr, who was sacked last season despite winning the 2019-20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy with Central Punjab, will now take over at Northern, who had been without a head coach since Mohammad Wasim became the men’s national team’s chief selector.Basit Ali and Faisal Iqbal are the only two head coaches who will remain with their old teams, Sindh and Balochistan respectively, for the new season.There has been a drastic tweak of coaching appointments in the Second XI circuit as well.The change is meant to aid the development of Pakistani coaches, allowing them to work in diverse environments and conditions, though the flip side could be that the rotation might have an adverse impact on player development. Razzaq, for example, will not be able to build on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa squad that won three trophies last season, and will instead have to start afresh with an entirely new set of players.”This will not only help us in boosting our pool of Pakistan coaching candidates, but also develop strong self-reliant players by learning from multiple coaches who are ready to take on different challenges from the early stages of their careers,” said Grant Bradburn, the PCB’s head of high-performance coaching. “In Pakistan, we get very few opportunities for our coaches to experience different assignments and learning opportunities. Particularly, in Covid-19 times, it has been difficult to provide outside learning experiences for our leading coaches.”Therefore, we are openly creating a variety of challenges for our coaches to grow. This gives the background to some of the changes and rotations you will see we have made this season. All of our domestic coaches and city coaches are supported and challenged with two clear tasks – put your team into contention to win, and develop players. Our job is also to challenge and develop our coaches and we do this in a number of ways: 360-degree reviews, individual coach profile, coach learning groups, in-season workshops, coaching courses, one-on-one mentoring, and international camp/tour assignments.”Grant Bradburn, the PCB’s head of high-performance coaching, says the shake-up will enable coaches to ‘experience different assignments and learning opportunities’•Peter Della Penna

The coaches for all six associations have been appointed by the high-performance unit, ranging from youth (U-13 to U-19) to the senior level. The National T20 Cup set to begin on September 25, kicking off a 266-match domestic season.This is the third season in a row with the same domestic structure, which was put in place by the Ehsan Mani-led board that dismantled the earlier mix of departmental and regional cricket and adopted a provincial-team model at the insistence of Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is the PCB’s patron. The new model is solely controlled and regulated by the PCB even though each of the six associations has an independent board.The change in domestic structure sparked a country-wide outrage with the new system costing several players, especially those employed by departmental teams, their livelihoods. Eventually, the PCB created jobs for the veteran cricketers at the association level, inviting them to take up positions in various fields such as coaching, administration and umpiring. The new appointment saw dozens of retired players making their way into the coaching profession. Notable names from the circuit, including Shoaib Khan, Humayun Farhat, Aamir Sajjad, Aizaz Cheema, Saeed Bin Nasir, Mansoor Amjad have been given roles in various team managements as assistant coaches. Other than the national setup, the PCB has also appointed coaches for the 93 city cricket associations.”Our primary objective is to develop coaches who are capable of providing the support for our players and teams to be the best in the world,” said Bradburn. “Ideally, we would prefer our national coaches of the future to come from a strong pool of Pakistan coaches who have proven coach performance at the highest level. Together we have set some ambitious goals over the next five years to be in the top three in all formats. We are working hard with our coaches and players to clarify that pathway, what is needed in every aspect of achieving those ambitions.”

Ayub 57, Nawaz three-for extend West Indies' horror run

Pakistan’s spinners were the difference between the two sides as they derailed the West Indies chase of 179

Danyal Rasool01-Aug-2025In a game which wasn’t as close as the final scorecard would suggest, Pakistan’s spinners were the difference between the two sides as they derailed the West Indies chase of 179 in the middle overs to ease to a 14-run victory in the first T20I in Lauderhill.That target was put up thanks to a brisk half-century from Saim Ayub up top and contributions through the order. West Indies’ bowling had the discipline to never truly let the batters cut loose on a surface that rewarded pace off the ball, but the flow of runs remained steady, if not explosive. Pakistan backloading some of their power hitters would come in handy when Jason Holder trapped Ayub in front for 57; cameos from Hasan Nawaz and Faheem Ashraf, as well as a six off the only ball Mohammad Haris faced helped Pakistan fetch 58 off their last 31 balls.West Indies knew it was chaseable and batted like it up front. But there was an uneasy fragility to that line-up in the face of a multitude of Pakistan spinners, as well as a standout bowling performance from Shaheen Shah Afridi, the standout Pakistan seamer on the day. It left the hosts with too few overs to target as the asking rate climbed, and too few wickets to play with as Mohammad Nawaz, Sufiyan Muqeem and Ayub wreaked havoc.WI last 19 T20Is•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Holder reminded his side how easy big hitting can sometimes be with a blistering late attack as he helped himself to an unbeaten 30 off 12 with four sixes. It ensured West Indies finished strongly with 38 runs in the final two overs, but of all the things it threatened to do, changing the outcome at that stage wasn’t one of them.

Ayub sets himself apart

Asked to bat first, each of Pakistan’s top-order batters chipped in, but the runs never came at the dynamic strike rate Pakistan have repeatedly promised they would. Sahibzada Farhan was trapped in front early by Shamar Joseph, who would also account for Fakhar Zaman after a stodgy 24-ball 28. Five of the top six saw their innings conclude with strike rates between 110 and 133.33. And this would have been a problem, but for Ayub.For the first 25 balls of his innings, he found himself ambling along at the same pace as his team-mates. However, Ayub burst into life with a boundary off the final ball of the ninth over, and for a tiny, match-turning window, the fog lifted for him. Romario Shepherd was smashed for four in the following over, before two sixes in a 20-run Jediah Blades over flew Ayub past 50. His last 28 runs came in 13 balls, and by this time, Pakistan’s run rate was well above nine.That, when thrown the ball for a couple of overs, picking up a wicket in each was merely the icing on the cake.Saim Ayub scored a quick half-century•Associated Press

The platform, and its dismantling

For all of Pakistan’s late surge, a chase of 179 wasn’t near insurmountable, and West Indies would set about demonstrating that in a mature powerplay that balanced intent with calculated risk-taking. The hosts showed deference to Afridi, content to see off his two powerplay overs for five runs, but pounced on the others. Pakistan tried to sneak in a cheeky second over of the innings from Nawaz, only to watch it go for 11, while Johnson Charles took another ten off Haris Rauf’s first.But even without wickets falling, Pakistan began to rein West Indies in. Before the powerplay had ended, Rauf sneaked in an over for just seven, and as the field spread out, West Indies’ scoring ability nosedived in the face of some superbly accurate lines from Nawaz and Muqeem. The eight overs following the end of the powerplay produced just 37 runs and yielded four wickets, gutting West Indies before the final launch.

Nawaz’s triple strike guts the hosts

West Indies had begun to fall behind the asking rate following the powerplay, and that pressure brought a glut of wickets in dramatic fashion in Nawaz’s final over. Accurate without being menacing, until then, Nawaz provided Pakistan their first breakthrough by breaking West Indies’ 72-run opening stand when debutant Jewel Andrew holed out to long-off. Johnson Charles appeared to have cleared cow corner two balls later with an on-side heave, only for a brilliant effort on the boundary from Shaheen Afridi to parry it back and save his side four runs.Things got better for Pakistan when Charles top-edged the very next ball to the wicketkeeper, before West Indies slid further into the mire as Gudakesh Motie biffed one to deep midwicket. Nawaz, once famously termed a “match-winner” by Babar Azam, had indeed lived up to Babar’s estimation on this occasion.

South Africa's June tour of Sri Lanka postponed

Results from the ODI series were supposed to count towards points in the ICC’s new one-day league

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Apr-2020South Africa’s limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka, which was scheduled for the first half of June, has been postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The teams were set to play three ODIs and three T20Is during the tour, with results from the former counting towards points in the ICC’s new one-day league.”It is very sad that we have been forced to take this step and we will re-schedule the tour as soon as cricket returns to a sense of normality and our international fixture list allows,” Cricket South Africa acting chief executive Jacques Faul said in a statement.”Our Proteas would not have been able to prepare properly taking our own lockdown situation into account and, more importantly, health considerations for our players, which are always paramount, were the over-riding factor.”Graeme Smith, CSA’s director of cricket, had also earlier indicated that players would need six weeks of preparation time before embarking on a tour, given the ongoing global lockdowns.South Africa’s next assignment is a two-Test, five T20I tour to West Indies in July-August. A decision on that tour is expected mid-May.The inaugural ODI league was due to run from May 2020 to March 2022, featuring the 12 Test-playing teams and Netherlands – the 13th ranked ODI side, which qualified for the league from the World Cricket League Championship. The top eight sides from the league will qualify automatically for the 2023 World Cup.”[This series] would have been a particularly important tour for us with the three ODIs counting for the new ICC one-day league and the T20 programme being part of our preparation for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup scheduled for Australia later this year,” Faul said. “It is very frustrating for the players who want to build on the good form they showed at the back-end of our home summer against Australia.”This is the second one-day series with ODI league points at stake to be postponed, after Ireland v Bangladesh. The ICC is yet to officially comment on how the schedule will be rejigged to accommodate series that are part of the ODI league and the Test Championship, but more is expected on this following high-level meetings on Thursday.Two series that count towards the Test Championship – Sri Lanka v England and Bangladesh v Australia – have also been postponed due to the pandemic. The men’s T20 World Cup is scheduled to be played in Australia in October-November, another tournament that is in doubt in current circumstances.

Injury concerns for India: Virat Kohli has stiff back, Ajinkya Rahane swollen hamstring

Both senior players are expected to be available for the Test series opener against England

Nagraj Gollapudi20-Jul-2021India’s Test captain Virat Kohli and his deputy Ajinkya Rahane missed the three-day warm-up against County Select XI in Chester-le-Street because of a stiff back and swelling in the left hamstring respectively.The niggles are unlikely to hamper the availability of the senior pair for the first Test against England, which starts at Trent Bridge from August 4.In Kohli’s absence, Rohit Sharma led the Indians in the warm-up match, which has been classified as a first-class game. BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in the media release that Kohli, who was at the ground, “felt some stiffness in his back late Monday evening” and consequently was prescribed rest by the board’s medical team. However, the Indian team management would be more concerned by Rahane’s fitness, considering the first Test is about two weeks away.According to Shah, Rahane, too, was being “monitored” after he reported “mild swelling around his left upper hamstring” which “has been addressed by an injection.” Shah, however, said that Rahane “is expected to fully recover well in time” for the first Test.Related

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There would be further concerns in the Indian camp after fast bowler Avesh Khan was sent for a scan after hurting his left thumb in the afternoon session. Khan, along with allrounder Washington Sundar, had been allowed by the Indian team management to turn up for the County Select XI after the pair of James Bracey and Zak Chappell were not available for different reasons. Bracey, as reported on Monday, was identified as contact of a Covid-19 positive case and had to be pulled out of the squad while Chappell suffered an injury on Tuesday morning.Khan, who was picked for the tour as a reserve bowler, hurt his thumb after successfully intercepting a punchy straight drive from Hanuma Vihari. Immediately he signaled to the Indian dressing room left the field wincing in pain, alongside the physio, with a strapped thumb.

Sam Billings '90 minutes' away from catching a flight home before Ashes call-up

Back-up keeper-batter arrives in Sydney after making mercy dash from Brisbane by car

Andrew Miller08-Jan-2022Sam Billings was “90 minutes” away from catching a flight back to the UK prior to his call-up to England’s Ashes squad, according to the team management, as he undertook a nine-hour drive from Brisbane to Sydney to provide wicketkeeping cover ahead of next week’s fifth Test in Hobart.Billings, who has just completed a Big Bash spell with Sydney Thunder, had been set to return home to prepare for England’s T20I tour of the Caribbean later this month. But, with Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow both being sent for X-rays after sustaining hand injuries during the fourth Test, Billings has now joined the touring party in Sydney, where he will undergo a period of isolation in the team hotel, subject to returning a negative Covid test result.”Just an observation… Australia is a reallyyyyy big place!” Billings wrote in a post on Twitter, while taking a break from his journey at a resting place near Newcastle in New South Wales. Billings is yet to make his Test debut, but he has spoken previously of his ambitions to break into the red-ball side. He has played 58 limited-overs matches for England and averages 34.29 in first-class cricket with six centuries.He now looks set to become England’s 700th Test cricketer at Hobart next week, despite an impressive stand-in display from Ollie Pope on day four, who equalled the dismissals record for a substitute player with four catches behind the stumps.”It’s a bit like the goalkeeper, if you don’t really notice them, that means that they’ve done very well,” Graham Thorpe, England’s assistant coach, said. “After a while I realised that it was Ollie Pope back out there again, keeping wicket, so I thought he did fantastically well.”Given the extent of England’s injuries, however, Pope may well be required as a specialist batter at Hobart, but Thorpe said that Billings’ call-up would give the squad options going into the fifth Test.Buttler’s battle for form with the bat was compounded on the third day when he was dismissed for an eight-ball duck to take his tally for the series to 96 runs at 16.00 from seven innings. He reportedly struggled to grip the bat properly during his stay after sustaining a hand injury while keeping on the second day.Bairstow meanwhile compiled a gutsy century in England’s first innings – eventually falling for 113 on the fourth morning – despite being left in agony by a savage blow to the right thumb from Pat Cummins”I was hurting,” Bairstow said. “But, look, you’re playing in a New Year’s Test match in Sydney on the pink day, it is going to take a heck of a lot to get you off the field. In some ways, it frees you up, in some ways it doesn’t. But at the end of the day, you’ve still got a job to do. Yes, it will be sore, but at the end of the day you’re playing cricket for England and I’m very, very proud to do that.”Related

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Asked about potentially taking the wicketkeeping gloves in Hobart, Bairstow said: “I don’t know as yet, to be really honest with you. I’ll know some more information tomorrow. I’m not sure about the keeping side of things anyway. But from a batting point of view, I’ll be out there in the morning.”England’s issues deepened with the side strain that Ben Stokes sustained while bowling on the second afternoon. He too was sent for a scan on Saturday, and though he returned to the field he has not bowled since. The ECB subsequently stated that they would “evaluate the extent of the injury and update at the end of the Test match”.Thorpe, however, hinted that Stokes might yet play at Hobart as a specialist batter, having compiled a vital 66 in his first-innings partnership with Bairstow.”It’s possible,” Thorpe said. “Obviously Stokes’ injury is not a great one, being an allrounder. So we’ll have to see generally what we can do with that situation once the game is finished.”Sometimes the adrenaline running through the body, when you’re out there, can actually assist you. And then there are times when you have to assess the whole injury going into a fresh game as well.”Obviously, Sam Billings has been called into the group, as you’re aware, so that’s a good indicator of some of the concerns with the injuries.”

Australia 'a little bit rattled' by Lanning's sudden Ashes withdrawal

Stand-in captain Alyssa Healy admitted it’s been ‘a rough couple of days’ amid mixed emotions

Alex Malcolm and Andrew McGlashan29-May-20231:39

Alyssa Healy: ‘Grappling with being excited and nervous about captaining in Ashes’

Australia were left rattled by the news of Meg Lanning’s sudden withdrawal from the Ashes tour, and stand-in captain Alyssa Healy admitted it had been an emotional few days, but there is a determination to ensure they do not let it derail their hopes of success in England.The squad gathered in Brisbane on Monday for their latest training camp ahead of their departure but will travel without captain Lanning, who has withdrawn from the series to remain at home to manage an undisclosed medical issue.”I’ve finally probably come to terms with it, it’s been a rough couple of days,” Healy told ESPNcricinfo. “Everyone is a little bit emotional about the whole Meg situation but at the same time I’m grappling with being really excited and nervous about the challenge of captaining an Ashes series.”Australia head coach Shelley Nitschke could not shed any light on what Lanning was dealing with – although it’s understood not to be related to her break from the game last year – but admitted her sudden absence from the tour had rocked the squad as they gathered together for the first time since the announcement was made on Saturday.”I’m sure they were a little bit rattled by the news,” Nitschke said. “But I think Meg is in our thoughts. We also know that she wants us to go over there and get the job done.”We’ve had some time to sort of get our head around it now and having the girls up here this week, it’s really nice to get them together.”Australia have dealt with Lanning’s absence previously during the successful T20I tour of India late last year when Lanning took a break from the game with Healy standing in as captain and vice-captain Tahlia McGrath taking one game when she was injured. Nitschke believes that Healy and the group will be able to handle Lanning’s absence again.Related

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“[Healy] had a big couple of days herself, to find out that she’s captaining for an Ashes series,” Nitschke said. “But I think the fact that she captained the team in India last year and did a fantastic job, the girls got around her, played some really good cricket, so I think she should take a lot of confidence out of that and I think she enjoyed it.”I think we’ve got some really good leaders in the group. We’ve got a lot of experience in the group. I think one thing that we’ve been really good at over the years is just being able to adapt and take some knocks as they come. I’ve got the utmost confidence in our group to head across and hopefully get the job done.”The India tour is an experience Healy is now even more grateful for as she embarks on the pressure and expectation of an Ashes.”I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and I’m kind of glad that happened over in India, that I was thrown amongst it and got to do it the way we wanted to,” she said. “It was new for Shell as well so we were both going there and leaving our mark on the group. Grateful to have that experience and hopefully we can carry on from where that left off and get amongst England.”Alyssa Healy is considering not opening in Tests•Getty Images

However, the void Lanning leaves in Australia’s top order might not be as easily covered in the Test match, given there are already holes to fill. Lanning and Healy have occupied a spot in the top three in two of the last three Tests Australia have played dating back to the 2019 Ashes. Healy opened in all three games while the recently retired Rachael Haynes opened in Australia’s last two Tests. Lanning batted at No. 5 in the last women’s Ashes Test in early 2022 in Canberra and made 93 in the first innings, her highest Test score.In Lanning’s absence, Healy is highly likely to step away from the opening role given the captaincy has been added to her wicketkeeping duties.”It’s a lot on her plate,” Nitschke said. “I think it’s a definite conversation that we’ll be having pretty soon to see how that might look for her in the batting order.”Australia did pair Beth Mooney and Phoebe Litchfield together with great success in the ODI series against Pakistan earlier this year when Healy was injured. Mooney has opened in three of her seven Test innings and batted at No.3 in the last Test against England in 2022 and looks set to replace Haynes, while Litchfield made 78 not out and 67 not out in her first two ODIs opening the batting and is well and truly in the frame to make her Test debut in Nottingham.”Phoebe is so talented…so she’s certainly got the attributes,” Nitschke said. “I think when we get over there in the English conditions, we’ve been training here with red balls and we had some overcast conditions in the first camp, but it’s just different again over there.”I think there’s a little bit to play out before we sort of work out who our best XI is for that Test match. But Phoebs is certainly putting her hand up. We’ll see where it lands.”Australia, who have been training with the red Dukes ball in Brisbane ahead of the Test, will play a two day intrasquad game this week involving players from the Australia A squad.

'Honesty has revived England' – Strauss

Given the amount of rain that has fallen on Durban’s Kingsmead ground in the past week, Andrew Strauss would be forgiven for wishing that the heavens remain open for another day, so that his team can cement their 2-1 series lead

Cricinfo staff03-Dec-2009Given the amount of rain that has fallen on Durban’s Kingsmead ground in the past week, Andrew Strauss would be forgiven for wishing that the heavens remain open for another day, so that his team can cement their 2-1 series lead, and emerge victorious for the first time ever in an ODI series in South Africa. But such is the journey that Strauss and his charges have been on in recent months, such an anticlimactic conclusion would be far from fitting. The team has been accused of many things of late, but being boring is not one of them.For Strauss himself, the Durban contest marks a notable milestone. Weather permitting, it will be his 100th ODI cap, and seeing as he had been jettisoned from the set-up after the 2007 World Cup, and spent a full two years thinking he’d never play in that format again, it is an achievement of some note. “To come back in and be part of this side and feel like we’re going somewhere is quite motivating,” he told reporters at Kingsmead. “I’m really enjoying my one-day cricket.”Enjoyment has been central to England’s mini-revival. Back in September, when a listless and Ashes-sated squad were battered 6-1 in their home series against Australia, it didn’t seem possible to inject any urgency into their performances. But then came a relocation to South Africa for the Champions Trophy, and suddenly the results began to stack up – albeit with the odd hefty set-back, as inflicted by the Aussies once again in the semi-final of that tournament, and by South Africa in their record-breaking run-fest at Newlands last week.But Strauss’s England teams are becoming accustomed to fighting back from adversity – witness their spirited response to being bowled out for 51 in Jamaica in February, or the way they claimed the Ashes despite being routed in two-and-a-half days in the penultimate Test at Headingley in August. According to the captain, such bouncebackability requires a culture of honesty within the squad, and an absence of ego.”Players have probably opened their eyes to the fact we have a long way to go and we’ve all got to be prepared for hard work if we’re going to get somewhere,” said Strauss. “We want an environment where we all push each other very hard – and in order to do that, we need to be honest with each other first and foremost. The environment we’re trying to create is one everyone has kind of accepted.”South Africa’s captain, Graeme Smith, is not noted for his chumminess with his English opposite numbers – having sparred with Nasser Hussain, Michael Vaughan and Kevin Pietersen in recent times – but even he could not find much of a bone to pick with Strauss, despite the lingering issue of his refused runner during the Champions Trophy.”Andrew is an intelligent guy, with a lot of common sense,” said Strauss. “He’s provided a lot of stability for England and has gone about it the way we have expected. We’ve managed to keep a little hold on him in terms of his batting – he still hasn’t scored a fifty against South Africa in one-day cricket, but he’s the guy we expected him to be.”But, as Smith went on to point out, it doubtless helps England’s rebuilding efforts that the go-to men of recent times – most notably Andrew Flintoff and Pietersen – have been out of the limelight, which has allowed new stars such as Eoin Morgan and Jonathan Trott to find their feet without being overshadowed. “We don’t want three or four senior players running the show,” said Strauss. “We want everyone feeling comfortable enough to contribute, and also that it’s expected of them to contribute.”In the sport we play, there are always going to be people who are bigger characters than others or have bigger egos,” he added.”But a good environment is able to take that into account and still let people express themselves and get the best out of themselves.”One of those players with a larger-than-average ego is Pietersen, who has struggled to reassert himself since returning to the squad following his Achilles injury, and produced a particularly frenetic six-ball performance at Port Elizabeth on Sunday. And true to form, Smith cranked up the psychological pressure by reminding him of the reasons why he is not the most universally popular cricketer on this tour.”He’s obviously got a history through things that he’s done and said, and people are still getting over those emotions,” said Smith. “The crowds have been quite vocal again towards him. Ultimately, I think it’s just his job to get on with it and deal with that. It happens round the world these days.”

Ryan Patel's ton takes Surrey into the knockout stages

David hammers 52 not out off 38 balls as Surrey overhaul Derbyshire with 13 overs to spare

ECB Reporters Network12-Aug-2021Surrey 219 for 2 (Patel 111*, David 52*) beat Derbyshire 215 (McKiernan 38, Wagstaff 36, McKerr 3-43, Moriarty 3-44) by eight wicketsRyan Patel’s century took Surrey to the knockout stages of the Royal London Cup with a crushing eight wicket victory over Derbyshire at the Incora County Ground.Patel led the way with an unbeaten 111 from 116 balls and Tim David hammered 52 not out off 38 balls as Surrey chased down a modest target of 216 with 13 overs to spare.Derbyshire could only muster 215 with Mattie McKiernan scoring 38 off 30 balls and Mitch Wagstaff contributing 36.Conor McKerr took 3 for 43 and Daniel Moriarty 3 for 44 to put Surrey in control before Patel and David eased Surrey to 219 for 2.Derbyshire’s chances of ending a disappointing tournament on a high suffered a blow when all-rounder Fynn Hudson-Prentice was ruled out following a positive Covid test while wicketkeeper Daryn Smit came in for his first List A game in three years.Tom Wood got Derbyshire off to a good start but the innings stalled and it needed some lower-order resistance to get the score above 200.Wood drove and cut Matt Dunn for three fours in the ninth over but his attempt to pull a fourth ended in the hands of midwicket.Alex Hughes was caught behind down the leg side off McKerr and when Anuj Dal miscued a pull, three wickets had fallen in five overs.Wagstaff uppercut McKerr for six but then sliced a drive to cover and when McKiernan was lbw to Rikki Clarke and Alex Thomson was stumped charging Tim David, Derbyshire had slipped to 136 for 6.Smit and Connor Marshall regrouped by adding 38 in 10 overs before Marshall missed a sweep at Moriarty and Ravi Rampaul’s attempt to clear the ropes ended in the hands of Clarke at long on.Smith was also lbw sweeping at Moriarty but Ben Aitchison and George Scrimshaw added 28 for the last wicket to at least give themselves a total to defend.Derbyshire needed early wickets to put Surrey under pressure but Patel and Mark Stoneman put on 92 to have the visitors well on course for victory.Stoneman dispatched Rampaul over the long on boundary and Patel launched Thomson for six as Surrey cruised along at five an over.Derbyshire broke the stand when Stoneman pulled Wood to long on where McKiernan took a good catch just inside the rope and although Ollie Pope drove a low return back to McKiernan, it was not enough to change the course of the game.Patel and David dished out some dismissive treatment with David securing victory in style with his third six off the last ball of the 37th over.

'It's just such a big thing to get my head around' – Cross on being signed by Superchargers

Lancashire and England seamer says it will be “weird” not playing for Manchester Originals

Matt Roller25-Mar-2023Kate Cross, the England seamer, has revealed her shock at being signed by Northern Superchargers in Thursday’s Hundred draft, having captained Manchester Originals in the competition’s first two seasons.Cross had spoken to the Originals ahead of the draft, who gave her a verbal guarantee that they would sign her for £25,000 with their second pick if she was still available. But the Superchargers gazumped them by using their first pick to sign her for £31,250.Related

  • Hundred Draft 2023 – The picks as they happened

  • The Hundred 2023 – Women's draft picks

Since the Originals had already used their first pick to sign South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt, they were unable to use their Right-To-Match (RTM) card to bring Cross back – much to her surprise, as she watched on from her regional team Thunder’s pre-season tour to Mumbai.”I didn’t look at the money at all,” Cross said on , her BBC podcast with Alex Hartley. “I wasn’t bothered about that. But I knew I wasn’t playing for Manchester, and I’d been picked up by their rivals, the Superchargers, who are based in Yorkshire. For a Lancashire girl, it’s quite a big move…”Cross has spent her whole career playing for Lancashire or teams affiliated with them, like Thunder and the Originals. “It’s just such a big thing to get my head around, the fact that I won’t be playing in the environment that I’ve grown up playing in,” she said. “For a long time, all my cricket has been in one environment, one club, one place.”And then I’m just over the Pennines! It’s going to be weird playing against Manchester; it’s going to be so weird not playing Manchester.”Thursday’s draft was the first time that a recruitment process in the women’s Hundred has been broadcast publicly, and Cross said it had been difficult to deal with hearing about a surprise move at the same time as the rest of the world.”It’s so strange to find out information at the same time as everyone else,” she said. “Whenever we normally get this information, we find out two weeks before it goes out to the public: selections, all that kind of stuff.”It comes out in public and you’ve dealt with it, you’ve processed it, whereas we found out when everyone else found out, which is the thing I’m struggling with the most.”To watch yourself literally get sold live on TV, and for a price that someone values you at… I can’t even describe that feeling.”Each women’s team in the Hundred has eight confirmed players after Thursday’s draft. They will now fill their squads over the coming months, with their remaining contracts agreed mutually on the open market.

Kusal Mendis' intensity the key as Sri Lanka's hitman turns the corner

Batsman’s 56 from 33 balls was not the most substantial knock in Sri Lanka’s innings, but it was the most eye-catching

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo23-Oct-2018He had gone 24 innings without a fifty, His four most recent innings featured three ducks and a score of 5. But it was the intensity that Kusal Mendis brought to his fielding that tipped the team management off that a good innings might be around the corner. That was the reason why they refused to drop him for the fifth ODI.This was what captain Dinesh Chandimal revealed following Sri Lanka’s 219-run DLS victory over England in Colombo. Sri Lanka could have brought the experienced Upul Tharanga back into the side, after Mendis had registered scores of 0 and 5 in his other two outings of the series – never looking like the kind of player the likes of Kumar Sangakkara had predicted would go on to score 10,000 runs in ODIs and Tests.But suddenly, in this match, a fire reignited in Mendis’ game. His 56 from 33 balls was not the most substantial knock in Sri Lanka’s innings, but it was the most eye-catching. He struck at a run-rate of 170 and hit six sweet sixes, the most attractive of them an imperious lofted off-drive off Tom Curan, in the 38th over.”We looked at Mendis’ fielding, and that was the No. 1 reason we trusted him,” Chandimal said of giving Mendis another opportunity despite the lean run of scores. “His attitude on the field was great. We know that when you have a player like that, he can get into form very quickly. We know how good a batsman he is. Kusal Mendis is our future. He took that responsibility on and played well for the team.”Fielding, in general, has been something Chandimal has emphasised since taking the captaincy from Angelo Mathews, and in this series, Sri Lanka have seemed to raise their game on that front. Where in previous months, including in September’s Asia Cup, Sri Lanka were perhaps the worst fielding side on show in any trophy they happened to be playing for, they arguably out-fielded England through the course of this series. At the very least, Sri Lanka were the more proficient side in Tuesday’s game.”The main thing for us is fielding,” Chandimal said. “If you can keep that energy and good attitude when you are fielding, other things fall into place. That’s what we did as a team.”Much as Sri Lanka would have loved Mendis to hit this kind of form earlier in the series, that he has done so with the Tests on the horizon will be an especial fillip to the hosts, who often look to him for top-order runs on turning tracks. Two other key Test batsmen were also among the runs in this game. Chandimal himself struck 80 off 73 balls – the first occasion since 2016 in which he scored more than fifty at better than a run-a-ball. Wicketkeeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella, who opens the innings in ODIs, and bats in the lower middle order in Tests, made the highest score of the series, hitting 95 off 97 deliveries.”We had lost the series when we got here, but we were intent on regaining form ahead of the T20 and Tests,” Chandimal said. “I’m glad three of our Test batsmen made runs today. We’re hopeful we can take that confidence in to those next two series.”