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Briggs, whose last T20I came in 2014, joins Will Jacks and Tom Helm as non-travelling reserves

George Dobell17-Feb-2021Danny Briggs has moved a step closer to an international recall more than seven years after he last represented England.Briggs, the left-arm spinner, is the highest wicket-taker in the history of English domestic T20 cricket but played the last of his seven T20I in Australia in January 2014. He also played one ODI against Pakistan in the UAE in 2012.But on the back of a decent BBL season – he was part of the Adelaide Strikers side which made it to the Eliminator phase – he has been named as a non-travelling reserve for the limited-overs section of England’s tour of India. He was part of the England Lions tours to the UAE and India in the 2018-19 winter, and has recently signed a three-year contract with Warwickshire after leaving Sussex.Related

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• Briggs joins Warwickshire from Sussex on three-year deal

With Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid the two frontline spinners in the T20I squad and Matt Parkinson the only one among the travelling reserves, the naming of Briggs as a standby player suggests he is not far from a return.It currently appears England will include only two spinners in their T20I side but, if pitches prove helpful to that style of bowling, they may well be inclined to include an extra spinner or two when they return to India for the T20 World Cup later in the year.ESPNcricinfo understands that Tom Helm, the Middlesex seamer, and Will Jacks, the Surrey batsman, have also been put on standby as non-travelling reserves.Helm was also a reserve for the limited-overs series in South Africa, while Jacks, although aged only 22, has long been seen as one of the most exciting young batsmen in the English game. Both players are uncapped.Although encouraging news for the trio, it appears that the ECB have attempted not to name reserves who might have otherwise been in action in the PSL, which starts this weekend.

Moeen Ali returns to team hotel after aborted attempt to relocate him to Galle after Covid result

George Dobell06-Jan-2021England’s tour of Sri Lanka will continue – for now, at least – after the latest round of Covid-19 tests showed no new positive results.The squad will hold their first training session of the tour in Hambantota on Wednesday afternoon, where Moeen Ali has now returned to stay in separate accommodation, after an aborted plan to relocate him to Galle following his positive Covid test.There had been anxiety over the future of the tour after Ali’s test result upon arrival in Sri Lanka. Chris Woakes, who travelled from Birmingham to Heathrow airport in the same car as Ali, was also put in quarantine as he was considered a close contact and there were concerns that the virus may have spread through more of the tour party.News that the rest of the squad – including Woakes – tested negative after a new round of testing on Tuesday will be a significant relief both to the England camp and Sri Lankan authorities nervous over the prevalence of the virus in the UK.While it would be wrong to think the threat to the tour has passed completely – the entire tour party will be tested again on Thursday in the understanding that the virus sometimes takes several days to manifest itself – the news revives the prospect of the series getting underway as scheduled in Galle on January 14.Not all has gone smoothly, however. Although Ali was on Tuesday transferred to a hotel in Galle booked for just such an eventuality, upon arrival it was concluded by the ECB’s chief medical officer, Nick Peirce, that building work rendered it unsuitable.Related

• Joe Root hopeful best is yet to come ahead of 2021 that could define captaincy

• James Anderson: Sri Lanka have 'slight advantage' heading into England series

• Moeen Ali tests positive for Covid-19 as England arrive in Sri Lanka

• England touring party in Sri Lanka faces anxious wait on Covid-19 test results

As a result, he was transferred back to Hambantota – a round trip of over 250 kilometres – and, after an alternative option in the town was also rejected as “not up to standard as per the protocols” in the words of a team spokesperson, is now isolating in a separate wing of the team hotel. Woakes, too, remains in isolation but should be able to join the tour party next week if he continues to return negative tests.To round off a tough day for Ali, he is now experiencing mild symptoms of Covid-19. While nothing is confirmed at this stage, it is increasingly hard to see him playing in either of the Tests on the Sri Lankan leg of this tour, with some doubt as to his availability for the start of the series in India.

Allrounder’s batting performances have been more prominent lately, but bowling remains the priority

Danyal Rasool02-Feb-2021Faheem Ashraf has had a strange Test career. When he was first included in the side in 2018, he promptly scored 83 against Ireland, and a productive series against England with the bat raised hopes Pakistan finally possessed that most valuable of players – a seam bowling allrounder. Six months on from that series, however, then-head coach Mickey Arthur publicly told reporters in Cape Town, after a miserable day of Test cricket against South Africa, that he did not consider Faheem to be an allrounder: just a bowler. He would play the following Test in Johannesburg and take six wickets, though he only scored 15 runs. Perhaps Arthur had a point after all.But after that, he wouldn’t play red-ball international cricket for nearly two years, included almost as an afterthought for Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand, apparently only getting a shot in the playing XI because of Shadab Khan’s injury. And while he didn’t carry the sort of threat with the ball Pakistan might have hoped, he struck a delightful counter-attacking 91 in the first Test that saved the follow-on, followed by 76 runs in Christchurch. Against South Africa in Karachi last week, his 64 was equally priceless in getting Pakistan a big lead, even though he has managed just three wickets since his return.Faheem, however insists he hasn’t shifted focus away from bowling. “I have always viewed myself as a bowling allrounder. I try and give my all with the ball, and help the specialist bowlers,” he said, talking to the media over video conference. “I’m having a good run with the bat but when I have the ball in hand, I want to play like a bowler, not an allrounder. I’m focusing on bowling just as much as I did before, even if my performances are more apparent with the bat. But that shouldn’t mean I’m focusing on my bowling any less.”Work off the field is a theme he often returned to. “My improvement hasn’t happened overnight, there’s a lot of hard work behind it that nobody sees,” he said. “I had been working hard on my batting ever since I broke into the side. County cricket teaches you a lot, but coaches in Pakistan help you, too, and if you take their advice on board in the right spirit, you are bound to learn a lot.”Since I came into the white-ball team, people believed I was a white-ball player. But if you look at my career in domestic cricket, I was performing better in red-ball cricket than white-ball cricket before being called up.”The surface at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium might afford him a better chance of embellishing his bowling numbers. Over the past five years, pacers have had much more joy in the city, picking up 498 wickets at 21.40 in first-class cricket, while spinners have accounted for just 72 wickets at 34 in the same time. That means Faheem may have a bigger role to play with the ball in the second Test against South Africa than he did in Karachi, though he did say the wicket in Rawalpindi was different to what it had been a few years ago.”The pitches that are being made at home in international and domestic cricket are much different to what they used to be a couple of years prior. I played a first-class match here four years ago, and you wouldn’t see a pitch like this then. At the time, it was full of grass. The Rawalpindi wicket is usually quite good for fast bowlers because it’s hard and the weather is mild. We practiced much better today and I felt a lot better batting and bowling today compared to yesterday because the weather was a little warmer, and I’m looking forward to the Test.”It already feels like a long and winding career Faheem has had in Test cricket, but the second Test will just be Faheem’s eighth overall. In each of the previous seven, he has found a way of contributing with either bat or ball, but wound up facing scrutiny for the discipline he hadn’t performed in. He’s been dismissed as both bowler and batsman at various stages in the short while he’s been with the Test side, and yet Pakistan continue to turn to him. The second Test in Rawalpindi is yet another chance to show why.

Somerset’s Brian Rose said it was “frustrating” to lose star batsman Nick Compton to England Lions for a key Champions clash

Alex Winter at Taunton07-Aug-2012
ScorecardThe man who wasn’t there: Nick Compton in action for England Lions, rather than Somerset•Getty Images

The County Championship has been marginalised by many things this summer, not least the weather, with the “reserve Ashes” between England Lions and Australia A at Old Trafford the latest event to take the limelight away from the competition just as it moves towards the business end.Two of the best sides in England are at Taunton in a crucial match that could have significant impact on the title. But country before club has long been the emphasis in English cricket and clearly the ECB sees more value in the second-best players in the land playing an unofficial Test than helping their counties try to win the Championship.Somerset are most disadvantaged. Nick Compton has made 1,036 Championship runs at 86.33 this season – outperforming by a distance every other player – and helped Somerset maintain their push for a first title. But with such a historic milestone within reach, England have put their needs above Somerset’s.”We’re where we are in the table mainly because Nick Compton has played so well in adverse conditions,” Brian Rose, Somerset’s director of cricket, told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s frustrating to get towards the end of the season and have a clash of fixtures. It’s coming to a crucial time in the Championship, we’re just a win behind the two leaders and if we have a good game here it will set up an exciting time for the club.”But I’m a great supporter of England Lions games because it’s a precursor to Test cricket. Nick deserves to play and all credit to him, he’s played tremendously well. Don’t forget you put so much into development you want players to play for England, that’s part of our job to get players into the England team so there’s no way Somerset or Nottinghamshire are going to be complaining about that.”So perhaps the counties are now more inclined to measure success by their contribution to the England team than to their trophy cabinets? Maybe that can be understood given the level of financial support now offered by the ECB to promote young players in the county game. But an entire west country XI for England could not usurp a first Championship title for Somerset.Victory for them here would see Somerset join Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire and Sussex on four wins but Rose was philosophical about the impact of losing players to the Lions. “At the end of the day, the sides that are going to win the Championship are going to be good enough to stay at the top,” he said. “The weather has been the biggest factor this year, which has compressed the competition, but I think at the end of the day the best team should still win it.”Weather certainly owned day one. All credit was due to the umpires for refusing to call off play with showers falling in the early afternoon. The weather cleared long enough for Somerset to win the toss and ask Notts to bat at 4.40pm. But eight overs in and the heavens gathered again. One more ball was possible and Peter Trego found the outside edge of Riki Wessels’ bat. It was entirely expected on a very green wicket that offered plenty to Trego and Steve Kirby.So far in this match, it hasn’t particularly mattered who is playing. “Swings and roundabouts” was Rose’s summing up of the situation. Notts are without Samit Patel – 329 runs and 14 wickets in nine matches this season – and would have been without James Taylor too had he not earned a last-minute call-up for the second Test at Headingley. Somerset are also missing wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter. Jos Buttler is behind the stumps in this match.”I’ve mentioned to the ECB that these fixtures don’t clash so players can play at both ends,” Rose said, who was keen on the idea of a window for Lions’ games if space could be found. “The best thing if you’re coming towards the end of the Championship would be to have the fixture list represented in a slightly better fashion. But it all depends on future tours and how the Championship and T20s are composed as well. The authorities are looking at it.”

He was seen facing throwdowns as he resumed training after hurting both his hamstrings in the IPL

PTI18-Nov-2020India’s Test wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha was back at the team’s nets in Sydney on Wednesday. Saha showed signs of recovery from his hamstring injury with four weeks still left for the much-anticipated December 17-21 Test series opener against Australia in Adelaide.Saha had injured both his hamstrings during a short but successful IPL campaign for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, in which he scored two match-winning half-centuries that took them to the playoffs.ALSO READ: Ishant Sharma ‘looking good’ after long spells in front of Rahul Dravid, Sunil JoshiBecause of the injury, the 36-year-old wicketkeeper missed the eliminator as well as the second qualifier of the IPL.On Wednesday, Saha was seen facing throwdowns at the nets from the Sri Lankan left-arm specialist Nuwan Seneviratne and Indian right-arm bowler Dayananda Garani for a considerable period of time. He didn’t keep wickets though and the extent of recovery couldn’t be ascertained from the video uploaded by the BCCI media.There wasn’t any pronounced forward press or footwork involved while driving the half-volleys. However, Saha, who has so far played 37 Tests and scored 1238 runs, didn’t look uncomfortable during his time at the nets. From the video it seemed that both the throwdown specialists didn’t go full tilt at the batsman, who is trying to gradually get into the groove after the injury.BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had recently expressed confidence that Saha would be fully fit before the first Test with physio Nitin Patel and strength and conditioning coach Nick Webb working on his injury management.During the last Test series in New Zealand, Saha was confined to the sidelines with Rishabh Pant getting an opportunity for his superior batting skills. However, this time Pant’s patchy batting form in the IPL has not helped his cause. Pant was left out of the ODI and T20I squads – with Sanju Samson preferred over him – but was picked in the Test squad along with Saha.

Just as the remarkable buildings that rise out of the desert in the UAE rely on solid foundations, so England have had cause to be thankful for the opening partnership between Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook in recent years.

George Dobell in Dubai23-Jan-2012Just as the remarkable buildings that rise out of the desert in the UAE rely on solid foundations, so England have had cause to be thankful for the opening partnership between Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook in recent years.Like the foundations of those buildings, the Strauss/Cook partnership might not be the most attractive feature in the edifice of Team England. But take away those foundations and the whole structure crumbles.The pair will – all being well – open the batting together for the 100th time in Tests when Pakistan and England renew rivalries in Abu Dhabi from Wednesday. No previous England opening pair has done that. Indeed, the Marcus Tresocthick and Michael Vaughan pairing is the next most-common for England; they opened together 54 times in Tests. Only Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes – 148 Test innings as opening partners – Marvan Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya – 118 – and Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer – 113 – have opened together more in Test cricket than Strauss and Cook.The Strauss/Cook partnership has served England well. Since they first came together – in Nagpur in March 2006 – they have played key roles in winning the Ashes home and away and helping England to the top of the Test rankings. They have put on 4,163 runs together as an opening pair at an average of 42.91 with 11 hundreds and 15 half-century stands.Including the 14 times they have batted together in other positions, they have scored 4,651 Test runs together. Only five Test partnerships can better that, with Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid – 6,900 Test runs – leading the way.Strauss and Cook couldn’t claim to be England’s best opening pair. Between 1924 and 1930 Herbert Sutcliffe and Jack Hobbs opened together on 38 occasions in Test cricket and amassed 3,249 runs at the remarkable average of 87.81. It is also worth noting that Strauss and Marcus Trescothick made 2,670 runs together as openers at the impressive average of 52.35. A reminder, perhaps, of what might have been had Trescothick not been affected by illness.There have been some worrying signs of late, too. Nine of Strauss and Cook’s last 11 opening stands have failed to reach 25 – seven of them have failed to pass ten – while, on the evidence of watching them in the nets on Monday, neither looked in the best of form. Strauss, in particular, looked quite wretched.But they’ve experienced lean patches before. England have stuck with them and that loyalty has been rewarded. It would be foolish to write off the Strauss and Cook combination just yet.”We’ve had some great moments,” Cook said after England had finished training on Monday. “Probably the highlight for me would be Australia at Lord’s in 2009 when, after not batting so well in Cardiff, we came back and set a really good platform. Then there was Brisbane in 2010 as well. They’re the two that stand out for me.”It’s always nice to have stability at the top of the order. I hope we inspire some confidence in the rest of the team when we walk out together. We hope, for the 100th time, we can do something special.”It is the captain’s form that is causing most concern at present. While his position is not under any serious threat, his lack of runs at the top of the order – one century in 26 Tests and none since November 2010 – is an uncomfortable reality that England are hoping will be remedied soon.Cook, naturally, was keen to defend Strauss. “He’s got a great record proven over a number of years,” Cook said. “To have the experience at the top of the order has held us in good stead. We’re very similar in character and we do enjoy batting together.”It’s our job at the top of the order to lay that platform. We didn’t do that in Dubai, and that’s one of the reasons why we didn’t get a good total. It’s not the be-all and end-all but it’s certainly a major responsibility and always has been. Whenever you open the batting, you have to lay as good a platform as you can. We have done it in the past but we didn’t last week and it cost us.”Cook admitted that England’s confidence had taken a blow as a consequence of the defeat in Dubai. “When you lose – and lose so heavily – it does dent confidence,” he said. “But if you look at history, when we have produced a poor performance we’ve managed to bounce back well. We hope we can this time.”We said when we turned number one and everyone said what a good team we are, that there were going to be some rocky roads ahead at times. No matter how good a side you are, you will always lose some games of cricket against the very good sides we’re playing. But you don’t become bad players or a bad team overnight. Whatever you read, or people say about you, we know we’ve got some seriously world-class players in our team. This is a real test of our character. We’ve shown it in the past and hope we can show it again.”Strauss and Cook can take some comfort from the reputation of the Abu Dhabi surface. Both Tests played at the ground have been high-scoring draws and have four scores over 400 have been recorded.”It’s always nice when you turn up to a ground where history suggests you can score runs,” Cook said. “But that doesn’t really count for anything. We’ve got to go out and put our poor performance behind us. We held our hands up as a batting unit. The reason we didn’t get close in that last match was the top six. The beauty about another game coming so quickly is we can put that right. I know we’ve got the characters and the record to do that.”It may be relevant that the only opening pair to score more runs together in 2011 were Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq Umar. Taufeeq scored 236 against Sri Lanka in the last Test in Abu Dhabi.The pitch is expected to be slow, with England likely to remain unchanged. But Pakistan are considering bringing in Junaid Khan, who claimed five for 38 against Sri Lanka here in October, in place of Aizaz Cheema, and Umar Akmal in place of Asad Shafiq.

Glenn Maxwell has been suspended for disciplinary reasons for the second time in a year after Victoria sanctioned him for failing to appear at a recovery session following the Bushrangers’ victory against New South Wales on Sunday

Daniel Brettig19-Oct-2015World Cup-winning allrounder Glenn Maxwell has been suspended for disciplinary reasons for the second time in a year after Victoria sanctioned him for failing to appear at a recovery session following the Bushrangers’ victory against New South Wales on Sunday.Like other Cricket Australia-contracted players in Sydney for the Matador Cup, Maxwell was booked in for a day of media duty for rights holders on Monday, and said that he thought he was thus free of any commitments before then. However the Bushrangers’ new coach David Saker insisted Maxwell should have been at the recovery session and duly suspended him from the game against Tasmania on Tuesday. Maxwell will be available for the Elimination final on Friday if the Bushrangers qualify.”I understand that I broke team rules by missing recovery and I have accepted the consequences,” Maxwell said. “It was an oversight on my behalf where I thought I had a free morning before some Australia team commitments. I’m extremely disappointed to be missing a game, but I will continue to do everything possible to help the Bushrangers win the Matador Cup.”Saker said Maxwell’s standing as a senior player in the Bushrangers squad was a factor in his penalty. “We’re disappointed that Glenn let down his teammates and missed a recovery session this morning,” he said. “We have high expectations of all our players and as a senior player, Glenn should be taking a leadership role. As a result he will not be playing in tomorrow’s match against Tasmania.”In July, Maxwell was left out of the team for Yorkshire’s final Twenty20 fixture for behaviour the coach Jason Gillespie described as “unprofessional”. “It was just unprofessional behaviour and I don’t wish to add anything further,” Gillespie had said. “It has been dealt with and we have moved on and the slate is clean. As soon as the decision was made, we cracked on.”Maxwell was a part of the Australian Test squad for the postponed tour of Bangladesh and has hopes of breaking into the five-day team on a more regular basis this summer.