The allrounder does not expect similar pitches for the T20 World Cup despite the volume of cricket in the UAE

Andrew McGlashan08-Aug-2021Dan Christian has seen most things that T20 cricket can throw up, so when he says conditions in Dhaka have been unlike anything else he has played in it stands up to scrutiny.With one match remaining, the Bangladesh-Australia series has a run rate of 5.86 – the slowest in a series of three matches or more. In the fourth match, 104 was nearly defendable and looked like it would be when Australia were 65 for 6 despite Christian having monstered 39 off 15 balls, including five sixes in an over against Shakib Al Hasan, in one of the shrewder moves Australia have made on tour when promoting him to No. 3.”They don’t compare to anything I’ve faced in my career,” Christian said. “These are as difficult conditions as I’ve seen for T20 cricket – 120 is like 190, it’s an extremely difficult place to try and bat. We’ve seen all the spinners and even the seamers, as soon as they start bowling slower balls it’s really, really hard work. It’s holding in the surface, gripping and turning and it’s a big ground as well. It’s certainly been different cricket but in terms of getting into rhythm or any kind of flow it’s been pretty hard.”There’s certainly been things we can take out of these games from a batting perspective. You have to be so precise in your plans in these conditions. It probably doesn’t get more difficult than that at any level around the world than facing that kind of bowling here.”Related

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He did not believe that conditions at the T20 World Cup in the UAE will come close to this despite the volume of cricket that will be played across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah with the IPL taking place in the month before the tournament.”I don’t think they’ll be anything like it, ” he said. “Say, somewhere like Sharjah where you get a bit of dew at night time and it’s a small ground, so 220 can be a winning score. Maybe at Dubai or Abu Dhabi they’ll be a bit slower but they are still 170-180 wickets normally…there’s an IPL before the World Cup, so there might be some worn tracks but think they are pretty used to getting them back up.”Australia bowled 12 overs of spin during the fourth match with Ashton Turner completing his full allotment alongside Ashton Agar and the recalled Mitchell Swepson. There is an argument to say it could be even more, although Josh Hazlewood and Andrew Tye were also effective with a lot of cutters and changes of pace.While admitting he has a vested interest, Swepson, who took 3 for 12 in his first outing of the tour, certainly sees scope for Australia having three frontline spinners at their disposal.”I definitely think it’s something that should be considered, especially somewhere like here,” he said. “We’ve seen them play three spinners. I might be a little bit biased here, but certainly something that I think could work for us as well. Fingers crossed that might eventual but we’ll have to wait and see.”Both Christian and Swepson are pushing to make the final World Cup squad, so their performances last night were timely. Christian, recalled for this tour after a gap of four years due to the various opt-outs from the squad, has played six of the nine T20Is so far across the West Indies and Bangladesh. Though he was unable to get Australia home in chases in the first match against West Indies and the third game against Bangladesh, on two occasions he has played his part in victory: an unbeaten 22 in St Lucia and then the firecracker 39 on Saturday.”It has been a little stop-start for me but that’s the nature of the format and role that I play, generally coming in towards the end and bowling some overs in the middle,” he said. “I’ve loved being back in the team, representing my country again, it’s been awesome, and from a cricket perspective I’ve just got to keep training well and preparing as well as I can. When that opportunity arrives hopefully I can grab it.”Swepson has had even less opportunity to shine and, after an expensive outing in West Indies, he took advantage of tailor-made conditions to cause Bangladesh’s middle order plenty of problems.”It can be difficult to gauge sometimes where you are at when you are just bowling in the nets, so last night was a good confirmation of where my bowling is at,” he said. “I got that one game in St Lucia and it didn’t quite pan out how I wanted it to so last night was that reassurance that the ball is still coming out well.”

The left-armer joins legspinner Georgia Wareham on the sidelines leaving the hosts needing further reinforcements

AAP07-Dec-2021Australia have suffered yet another blow ahead of this summer’s Women’s Ashes series after star spinner Sophie Molineux was struck down by a stress fracture in her right foot.Molineux suffered the injury during the last week of the WBBL, and has been ruled out of the entire multi-format series.Australian team doctor Pip Inge said Molineux is currently in a moon boot, but it’s hopeful the 23-year-old will be able to play in March’s ODI World Cup in New Zealand.”Sophie’s focus now shifts to her rehabilitation plan which means she’ll be unavailable for any upcoming domestic matches as well as the Ashes in January,” Inge said. “At this stage we are aiming to have Sophie available for the ICC Women’s World Cup in New Zealand in March.”Related

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The injury to Molineux comes less than two months after legspinner Georgia Wareham ruptured the ACL in her left knee, ruling her out of the World Cup, Ashes, and Commonwealth Games campaigns.This summer’s Ashes series comprises of one Test, three one-dayers, and three T20s. The Test match starts on January 27 at Manuka Oval in Canberra.Molineux has excelled in her two Tests, nine ODIs, and 27 T20s for Australia, and her absence combined with that of Wareham is a big blow to the team’s spin stocks. But Australia still have Jess Jonassen, Amanda Jade-Wellington, and the uncapped Alana King to call upon in the spin department. Offspinner Molly Strano has also been part of recent squads.Molineux carried her injury into Melbourne Renegades’ Challenger final loss to the Adelaide Strikers late last month. She didn’t bat despite her team’s early collapse, and returned expensive figures of 0 for 22 from two overs with the ball. It was revealed during the match that Molineux had been in a moon boot in the lead-up to the clash.

Bowlers, Al-Amin shine as Central beat South by six wickets after bowling them out for 163

Mohammad Isam15-Jan-2022Central Zone completed a domestic double after they beat South Zone by six wickets in the BCL One-Day final held at the Sylhet International Stadium on Saturday. Central Zone took 42.3 overs to chase down 164 in the low-scoring tournament.Asked to bat first, South Zone were bowled out for 163 runs in 48.5 overs. They gave away a good start as they slipped to 99 for four after Anamul Haque and Pinak Ghosh added 51 for the opening stand. Nahidul Islam’s 31 took them past the 150-mark.Mossadek Hossain, Nazmul Islam, Soumya Sarkar, Hasan Murad and Mrittunjoy Chowdhury took two wickets each for Central Zone. Soumya had the most economical figures, with 2 for 19 from his 6.5 overs.In reply, Soumya and Mizanur Rahman helped Central Zone get off to a brisk start. The duo added 65 for the opening stand in 12.1 overs. Al-Amin Hossain followed it up with an unbeaten 53, adding 88 runs for the unbroken fifth-wicket stand with Mosaddek, who remained unbeaten on 33.Captain Mosaddek was later adjudged the Player-of-the-Match and the Player-of-the-Series for scoring 148 runs and taking six wickets in the tournament. Imrul Kayes was the only batter to score more than 150 runs in the competition while Soumya was one of the four bowlers to take seven wickets.Earlier this month, Central Zone had won the BCL first-class competition after they beat South Zone by four wickets in a tense final day.

He played 13 Tests, scoring his only century during the home series against India in 1961-62

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2022Easton McMorris, the former Jamaica captain and West Indies batter, has died at the age of 86. A right-hand opening batter, McMorris played 13 Tests between 1958 and 1966, scoring 564 runs at an average of 26.85.McMorris scored 13 and 16 on debut against Pakistan in 1957-58, lining up alongside Everton Weekes, Garry Sobers and Conrad Hunte. In his next match, against England in Bridgetown, he was run out at the non-striker’s end without facing a ball. He had to withdraw from the next Test after picking up an injury, but returned for the third and scored 73 in front of his home supporters.After missing out on West Indies’ tour of Australia in 1960-61, McMorris was recalled for the home series against India in 1961-62, where he hit the only Test century of his career, at Sabina Park. He followed that up with back-to-back fifties at Port of Spain.McMorris toured England in 1963 and 1966 but averaged just 13.38 in his four Test appearances, struggling to come to terms with the slower, greener pitches. He, however, continued to score heavily for Jamaica in the Shell Shield, in latter years as their captain, and ended his first-class career with 5906 runs from 95 matches, including 18 centuries.”I had the privilege to engage with Mr McMorris on a few occasions over the years. I found him to be an encouraging and selfless gentleman,” CWI president Ricky Skerritt said. “Easton was a true stalwart of the game and contributed significantly at all levels, on and off the field.”He was a leader at the Lucas Cricket Club, carrying on the legacy established by the great George Headley. After retirement from playing, he gave yeoman service as a board member of the Jamaica Cricket Association and manager of the Jamaica cricket team.”

Target too stiff for Australia as Ostwal, Sindhu and Ravi lead India’s bowling effort

Sreshth Shah02-Feb-2022For the fourth edition in a row, India are in an U-19 World Cup final. Yash Dhull’s team flattened Australia to complete a fifth straight comprehensive win, with the captain leading from the front with 110. He was assisted by his vice-captain Shaik Rasheed (94), and their 204-run partnership helped India recover from 37 for 2 to an eventual total of 290 for 5.It was then time for India’s spinners to steal the spotlight. Angkrish Raghuvanshi broke a promising second-wicket stand between Campbell Kellaway (30) and Corey Miller (38), and left-arm spinners Vicky Ostwal and Nishant Sindhu did the rest. The spinners knuckled Australia down from 71 for 1 to 125 for 7 in the chase, and despite some late resistance, the end was a mere formality. India knocked Australia out for the third U-19 World Cup in a row, and in the process, have confirmed their place alongside England in the final.But it was not all rosy for India, who lost both openers cheaply in the first innings. William Salzmann rattled Raghuvanshi’s stumps early, and soon Harnoor Singh followed when he gloved Jack Nisbet to the keeper. It was at 37 for 2 that Rasheed and Dhull, both playing only their third game of the competition, got together. And they were in no rush to get the runs.From the 13th over to the 28th, Rasheed and Dhull hit just three fours altogether, and made it clear early that they were setting anchor. They relied on picking the gaps and taking singles to get 4-5 runs per over, up until the team total reached 100.Dhull started the charge in the 29th over, and reached his 64-ball fifty in the 31st with a pull through midwicket for four. The boundaries lifted his strike-rate and India raced to 150 in the 36th over. Rasheed, though, was the one who looked to be playing the longer game while Dhull changed gears. He reached his fifty in 78 balls after surviving a run-out chance.After Rasheed’s fifty, though, he was a changed player. Runs started to flow from both ends when Rasheed hit two boundaries down the ground and a swivel to fine leg, matching Dhull shot for shot. Rasheed was particularly hard on Salzmann, hitting the seamer for a hat-trick of fours in the 41st over.With Rasheed getting into the nineties before him, Dhull again brought out the big shots. In one Tom Whitney over, he cut behind point twice in a row to move from 90 to 98, he then knocked a two to reach his century, and hit a six over his head to move to 108. However, he was run out on 110 in anti-climactic manner when a straight drive from Rasheed took something off bowler Nisbet’s hand, leaving Dhull stranded outside the crease. Rasheed’s agony multiplied the very next ball, when he was out on 94 after hitting to point, that also went to the TV umpire for a referral.The two wickets in two balls weren’t going to dampen India’s scoring though. Despite a maiden 47th over, the incoming batters smacked 48 in the last 18 balls to take India to 290. Dinesh Bana (four-ball 20*) and Sindhu hammered 27 off the last six balls.Australia’s in-form batter Teague Wyllie was out early in Australia’s chase, lbw after missing a Ravi Kumar delivery. Kellaway and Miller looked to rebuild, but they fell in quick succession after a 68-run stand for the second wicket. Raghuvanshi had Miller lbw in the 17th over and next over it was Kellaway who was out, a soft dismissal to short midwicket, off Ostwal.That was the start of the collapse. Sindhu – back into the XI after missing the quarter-final due to Covid-19 – and Ostwal quickly reduced Australia to 125 for 7. Their controlled left-arm spin offered few boundary shots, with Ostwal impressing once again with his variations in release speed and lines that earned him a three-for.Lachlan Shaw did offer a short-lived fightback, but with the target so far away, Australia needed more from him and the three remaining others. Kaushal Tambe then had Jack Sinfield stumped for 20, Shaw fell for 51, and Australia’s innings was over on 194 when Whitney was run out.India, unbeaten in all five games, will play Saturday’s final against England, who are also unbeaten. While India will be chasing their fifth title on Saturday, England will be aiming for their first title in 24 years.

The wicketkeeper-batter played 96 Tests and was then hugely influential as a coach

AAP04-Mar-2022At the peak of his powers, Rod Marsh was the best wicketkeeper in the world. He was also a more-than-handy batter, a villain, a rebel, irreverent, insubordinate – and loved and admired as one half of an Australian cricket partnership of uncanny proportions.Marsh, who died Friday aged 74, was also a coach, mentor and administrator who guided the game’s youth through national and international cricket academies.Born in Armadale, Western Australia, on November 4, 1947, Rodney William Marsh had his introduction to cricket in the backyard of his family home, along with his elder brother, Graham, who went on to become a successful professional golfer.The Marsh brothers represented their state in cricket at schoolboy level before pursuing their chosen sports. By the age of eight he was playing competitively with the Armadale under-16 side.”I kept wicket right from the start, but batting was my main strength,” he recalled.The balance between batting and keeping wicket eventually tipped in favour of the latter, although it was probably the former that ensured his selection in the Australian team for the first Test of the 1970-71 series against England at the Gabba.His Sheffield Shield form for WA had put Marsh in contention for the wicketkeeper’s job after the retirement of Brian Taber, although Queensland’s John McLean also had selection claims.
Marsh got the job because he was considered the better batter and quickly rewarded the selectors’ faith with an innings of 44 in the drawn second Test and an unbeaten 92 in the fifth. Australia’s new keeper also justified his place behind the stumps holding 10 catches and making three stumpings for the series.But it was a routine entry in the scorebook of the seventh, and final, Test of that series in Sydney that was to prove portentous. On the first morning, Dennis Lillee, who had made his debut for Australia in the previous Test in Adelaide, had English batsman John Hampshire caught behind the wicket.As a result, a simple notation entered the scorebook and the Test cricket lexicon for the first time: c Marsh b Lillee. The same detail was to appear on Test match scorecards a further 94 times, its regularity prompting Marsh to explain an almost psychic relationship with Lillee.”I’ve played with him so much now that most of the time I know what he is going to do before he has bowled. I know from the way he runs up; the angle, the speed, where he hits the crease, where the ball is going to be,” Marsh said.Rod Marsh takes a brilliant catch to remove Tony Greig•PA Photos/Getty Images

The spiritual connection continued to the end with the pair who began their Test careers in the same 1970-71 series announcing their retirement during the same match against Pakistan in Sydney in 1984, Marsh finishing his career with a then world record 355 dismissals and Lillee with the same number of wickets, also then a world record.Marsh began his Test career immediately following Australia’s 4-0 drubbing by South Africa in 1969-70 and was joined in the subsequent home series against England by fellow debutants Lillee and Greg Chappell, a triumvirate that was instrumental in Australia’s resurgence.Little more than a year later, Australia drew the 1972 series in England 2-2 and then won all three Test matches against Pakistan in 1972-73 before a 2-0 away defeat of the West Indies and successive Ashes series wins over England.Australia’s run ended in England in 1977, in a series played against a backdrop of rumblings about World Series Cricket. The home team’s 2-0 success heralded a tumultuous period in which Marsh, Lillee and Chappell, who been the cornerstone of success, were now leaders of the WSC defection. With the disbanding of World Series Cricket the three returned in 1979-80 for home series against the West Indies and England, but hostility accompanied them. An on-again-off-again captaincy imbroglio involving Kim Hughes and Chappell was fuelled by Lillee’s view that Marsh should have been made captain, a belief with which the latter concurred.Marsh never backed away from accusations he and Lillee disapproved of Hughes, insisting later it was a matter of his fellow West Australian not being ready for the job.The names Marsh and Lillee were again mentioned on the same line when the pair bet, at 500-1, that England would come from a seemingly impossible position to win the third Test at Headingley in 1981. Marsh had £5 and Lillee £10 on their rivals who duly blasted their way to victory on the back of Ian Botham’s second innings of 149 not out.On his retirement in 1984, Marsh had played in 96 Tests, taken a record 355 dismissals and scored 3633 runs with a top score of 132 at an average of 26.5. He was also the first Australian wicketkeeper to make a Test century, and played in the first one-day international, against England in Melbourne in 1971.Marsh later headed the cricket academies of Australia and England, and was inaugural head of an ICC world coaching academy in Dubai. He also became Australian chairman of selectors. Although a tough competitor and mentor, he was respected worldwide for his fairness and knowledge of the game.His sportsmanship was exemplified when Greg Chappell directed his brother Trevor to bowl an underarm delivery against New Zealand in a one-day international in 1981 – Marsh shook his head in disapproval, trying to dissuade his captain.”Respect,” said Marsh “is part of my non-negotiables.”Marsh became a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1982 and was elected to the Sport Australia Hall Of Fame in 1985 and the Cricket Hall Of Fame in 2005.Marsh leaves his wife Ros and sons Dan, who captained Tasmania to their first Sheffield Shield win, Paul, a former CEO of the Australian Cricketers’ Association, and Jamie.

Late drop cannot detract from Gloucestershire talisman’s fine all-round performance

ECB Reporters Network10-Apr-2022Ryan Higgins missed a caught-and-bowled chance in the final over as a thrilling LV=Insurance County Championship clash between Gloucestershire and Northamptonshire ended in a draw.Higgins, who had earlier made 139 as Gloucestershire set the hosts 299 to win, struck in successive balls to remove first Lewis McManus and then Gareth Berg as a nail-biting chase came down to the final over.Prior to his double strike Gloucestershire had six fielders on the boundary in the wake of an onslaught led by Rob Keogh’s 74 and Josh Cobb’s 36, but they finished with five slips in a late quest for victory.However, Higgins spilt a drive by Tom Taylor with four balls left and Northamptonshire hung on to deny the visitors on their return to Division One for the first time since 2005.Northamptonshire must also wait for their first win at this level since 2004, despite Saif Zaib’s 65 and Keogh’s heroics for the second time in the match having left them 66 off as many balls ahead of the breathless finish.Earlier, Ben Sanderson took three wickets including that of Higgins, returning 5 for 66 to set up the thrilling run chase.Gloucestershire began on 326 for 6 with centurion Higgins still at the crease, but perhaps conscious they would be a bowler light due to Naseem Shah’s shoulder injury, they showed precious little sign of wanting to press on towards a declaration.Higgins struck one early boundary but was otherwise becalmed by Sanderson who trapped the allrounder lbw for 139, before having Taylor caught behind.Zafar Gohar struck a glorious on-drive to go to 50, but Nathan Buck pinned him in front and Sanderson had Naseem caught in the deep to complete his fifer.Northamptonshire skipper Ricardo Vasconcelos got the chase off to a flyer with a couple of glorious drives and it wasn’t long before Gloucestershire turned to Gohar in search of inspiration. Bowling into the rough outside left-hander Emilio Gay’s off stump, Gohar unsettled the academy graduate.Taylor then struck on the stroke of lunch finding the edge of Vasconcelos’s bat to give James Bracey his sixth catch of the game. On the resumption, Gohar and Taylor cranked up the pressure with 36 dot balls, Gay top-edging an attempted sweep off the spinner just beyond the clutches of a fielder in a bid to break the shackles.Pressure told when Gay nicked one through to give Bracey, while Curran took 22 balls to get of the mark, making a skittish 18 before Gohar trapped him lbw.Gloucestershire couldn’t seize the moment, Keogh’s presence bringing a new calmness to Zaib as the pair regrouped before unfurling a string of boundaries immediately after tea which brought 40 runs in six overs as they began to sense an unlikely win.An eighth four took Zaib to a seventh first-class 50, but Miles Hammond interrupted the carnage somehow clinging onto a skier to end the allrounder’s innings on 65.Keogh kept up the charge hoisting Gohar over square leg for six to reach a second 50 of the match before the spinner gave him a life on 57 failing to hold on to a sharp caught and bowled opportunity.The reprieve appeared decisive as he and Cobb rattled up a 50-stand, but with victory in sight Gohar got Keogh to play too soon and chip a catch to mid-off.Cobb assumed the mantle, clubbing Gohar over long-on, only to perish trying to repeat the shot before the dramatic finale unfolded.

Further setback for England seamer as time runs out to press his Test case

Andrew Miller26-May-2022Ollie Robinson’s hopes of an imminent Test recall have hit another setback, after he was forced to withdraw from the County Select XI to face the touring New Zealanders at Chelmsford on Thursday, having reported stiffness in his back during the pre-match warm-up.Robinson, one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year, made his Test debut almost exactly 12 months ago, against New Zealand at Lord’s, where he overcame an off-field furore surrounding his historical offensive tweets to claim seven wickets in the match and cement his status as one of the best English-style seamers in the game.He went on to claim 28 wickets at 19.60 in his maiden home season, and proved that his style could be effective overseas as well with 11 more at 25.54 in England’s Ashes campaign. However, doubts about his fitness began to surface on that tour, and having sat out the Sydney Test, he bowled just 19 overs across two innings in the series finale at Hobart after succumbing to a back spasm.Jon Lewis, England’s bowling coach, called him out following his first-innings breakdown, stating that “we’ve been pretty frank with him. And now it’s up to him to go and do the work.”But, having been selected for England’s three-Test tour of the Caribbean – nominally as the attack leader following the controversial omissions of James Anderson and Stuart Broad – Robinson suffered a recurrence of his back spasm during England’s solitary warm-up in Antigua, and did not play any part in the series.Upon his return to England, the start to Robinson’s county season with Sussex suffered numerous disruptions, including a tooth infection that delayed his first appearance until the visit of Middlesex in early May. Although he impressed with five first-innings wickets, a bout of food poisoning then disrupted his next appearance against Leicestershire at Grace Road.He bowled one over in the first innings, and just seven on the third day, including four overs of offspin. He had a better workout for New Zealand’s subsequent tour game at Hove, bowling 18 economical – albeit wicketless – overs in a rain-affected contest.But, having already been omitted from England’s squad for the first two Tests of the New Zealand tour, and with the Vitality Blast now dominating the county schedules, Robinson now has a solitary Championship game, against Glamorgan in Cardiff from June 12, to press his case for inclusion for the third Test at Headingley, which begins on June 23.”Ollie felt a bit of stiffness in his back while he was warming up this morning before the game,” Richard Dawson, the ECB’s pathways coach who is overseeing this match. “We had a chat and felt as a precaution that it was sensible for him to sit out this match. We’ll assess him and move forward from there.”In his absence, Middlesex’s Ethan Bamber was called into the Select XI squad as cover, and made an appearance in the afternoon session, with the match’s non-first-class status permitting both teams to rotate their players.

South Africa and Mumbai Indians batters up for selection in Thursday’s mini-draft

Matt Roller06-Jun-2022Dewald Brevis and Tristan Stubbs, the young South African batters who played for Mumbai Indians in IPL 2022, have registered their interest in becoming overseas players in the Hundred this summer.Brevis, 19, represented South Africa at the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year and showed glimpses of his ability in the IPL after he was signed for INR 3 crore at February’s auction, making 161 runs at a strike rate of 142.47 in his seven appearances for Mumbai.Stubbs, 21, was the standout batter in CSA’s T20 Challenge and while he made only two runs in his two innings for Mumbai after signing as a replacement, he has been included in South Africa’s T20I squad for their upcoming tour to India.The pair are among the 257 men’s players who have registered for the ‘wildcard’ draft for overseas players in the Hundred on Thursday, June 9, which will see each of the eight teams add a fourth overseas player to the squad they picked at April’s draft.Related

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The ‘wildcard’ overseas players will each be paid £50,000. Teams will still only be allowed to field three overseas players in their XI but the ECB hope that having a back-up player in each squad will minimise disruption when players are partially unavailable due to international commitments or injury.The majority of players who went unsold at the draft have put themselves forward for the wildcard draft, though some – including Babar Azam, Shadab Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and David Warner – have only made themselves available as replacement players. Teams were sent a longlist of names earlier this week, with Brevis, Stubbs and James Neesham the three players added since the draft.Players who were initially undrafted but are part of the wildcard draft include Qais Ahmad, Finn Allen, Shimron Hetmyer, Marnus Labuschagne, Evin Lewis and Imran Tahir, though some players will have their availability heavily limited by international commitments. Mohammad Hasnain, the Pakistan seamer, is also a notable inclusion despite his current suspension from bowling.Each team will also sign a domestic wildcard player for £30,000 in early July, after the group stages of the T20 Blast. Several teams are also recruiting replacement players due to injury: Tom Helm has been lined up as Matthew Fisher’s replacement at Birmingham Phoenix, while Oval Invincibles and London Spirit are recruiting replacements for the injured Saqib Mahmood and Blake Cullen respectively.Each women’s team will also sign a fourth overseas player as a wildcard, who will be paid £15,000. Kim Garth, the Ireland-born allrounder who is in the process of qualifying for Australia, is a notable inclusion on the women’s longlist.Men’s pick order: 1 Oval Invincibles, 2 Northern Superchargers, 3 London Spirit, 4 Manchester Originals, 5 Welsh Fire, 6 Birmingham Phoenix, 7 Trent Rockets, 8 Southern BraveWomen’s pick order: 1 Welsh Fire, 2 Trent Rockets, 3 Northern Superchargers, 4 Manchester Originals, 5 London Spirit, 6 Birmingham Phoenix, 7 Southern Brave, 8 Oval Invincibles

Duo fall in the 70s but England secure victory by six wickets with 29 balls to spare

Valkerie Baynes19-Jun-2022It wasn’t exactly “Fireworks Friday” but half-centuries to Phil Salt and Jason Roy saw England to victory by six wickets and an unassailable 2-0 series lead against Netherlands at Amstelveen.Set 236 to win a match reduced to 41 overs per side after a wet outfield delayed the start by nearly three hours, England overhauled the target with 29 balls to spare ahead of the final fixture on Wednesday.Scott Edwards, standing in as captain for Pieter Seelaar – who announced his retirement while sitting out the match with a persistent back injury – led Netherlands to 235 for 7 with an excellent 78 off 73 balls.England’s response wasn’t without its hiccups, losing captain Eoin Morgan and Liam Livingstone cheaply and with Jos Buttler, the star of their world record-breaking victory in Friday’s series opener, sitting out for the chase.Roy, playing his 100th ODI after he had missed out on England’s charge when he was dismissed in the second over of the first match, helped himself to 13 runs off the first over of their reply on Sunday, including three fours off Logan van Beek, and he smashed two more off Vivian Kingma in the next.After the eight-over powerplay, the visitors were 47 without loss, compared to 33 for 1 for Netherlands, and by early in the 11th over England had already surpassed the 11 fours Netherlands scored for their entire innings.Roy brought up the team hundred with a deft cut off Aryan Dutt through backward point for four and two balls later he crunched Dutt for six over the longest boundary at deep midwicket.Two fours in three balls off Bas de Leede brought Salt to his fifty and he drove and swept three consecutive fours off Dutt before Roy chimed in, advancing and crashing Dutt over mid-off to the boundary. Having shared a 139-run opening stand with Salt, Roy got carried away next ball however, and gifted a catch to Shane Snater at short third man, clearly angry with himself to be gone for 73 off 60.Salt, too, left with a sense of promise unfulfilled but that was only by the lofty measure of his century in the first match. Eyeing back-to-back tons, he followed Roy out a short time later for a still-admirable 77 off just 54 balls, beautifully bowled by Dutt as he tried to step down to the spinner.Related

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England were 168 for 2 before Morgan made his second duck in as many innings, top-edging Tom Cooper to Snater at backward point. It extended a lean run for Morgan who has been troubled by injuries this year and managed just one international half-century in 18 months.Livingstone, who had shrugged off the calf muscle tightness which took him from the field during Netherlands’ futile chase in the first game, came in ahead of Buttler.His quick-fire 66 in the previous match suggested England were still on track to romp to victory but his stay was brief on this occasion when he provided Tim Pringle with his maiden wicket on international debut. Left-arm spinner Pringle, the son of former New Zealand and Netherlands medium-pacer Chris Pringle, sent down a gem that enticed Livingstone forward, beat the outside edge and pinged to top of off stump.There was still no sign of Buttler when Moeen Ali came to the crease and there were hearts in mouths when Dawid Malan, another centurion from the first fixture, was given out lbw to Dutt but he survived on review with Hawk-Eye showing the ball was headed over the stumps.Moeen levelled the scores with six then four off Pringle and after a plucky maiden from van Beek, Moeen clubbed the winning runs with a four off Snater through square leg.Earlier, David Willey had dismissed Vikramjit Singh cheaply for the second time in the series before Adil Rashid entered the attack in the ninth over and struck almost immediately, tempting Max O’Dowd into a slog-sweep with Malan leaping a long way to his left at square leg to pouch a sharp catch.Brydon Carse, in the England side for Sam Curran who is managing his return from a back stress fracture, then struck with his second ball to remove Cooper, pinned lbw by a nip-backer that struck in line with middle and leg stumps and looked to be clipping the top of leg.With just one run to his name, Edwards overturned his lbw dismissal to a Rashid delivery which was shown on review to be spinning past off stump by just enough to earn him a reprieve. He shared a 61-run stand with de Leede, whose enterprising 34 included whacking Rashid over cow corner into commentary box window.Edwards moved to 47 by slogging Livingstone over the fence – the ball dropped short of the commentators’ perch this time – and he brought up his fifty with a mow down the ground for six off Carse.With the crowd finding their voices following a subdued start given the earlier delay to proceedings, they roared to life when Willey beat Teja Nidamanuru’s attempted straight drive with one that shaped in a little to peg back his middle and off stumps, ending a 73-run stand with Edwards.Edwards prompted more cheers as he reverse-scooped Willey over third man for six to move past his unbeaten 72 scored in the first match. He was eventually run out by an excellent direct hit by Willey running in from deep midwicket and throwing down the stumps at the striker’s end as Edwards, returning for a second, dived in vain.Pringle was out for a second-ball duck, outdone by an excellent googly from Rashid, and it fell to Snater and van Beek to bump up the Netherlands’ total, Snater snatching 17 off 10 while van Beek managed 30 off 36.