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David fireworks come too late as Brave come unstuck on slow deck at Ageas Bowl

Matthew Luddington19-Aug-2023Oval Invincibles 139 for 7 (T Curran 43*, Jordan 3-20) beat Southern Brave 131 for 7 (David 44*, T Curran 3-43) by 8 runs
Tom Curran smashed 43 off just 28 balls and took three wickets as Oval Invincibles beat Southern Brave by eight runs and all but secured top spot and their place in The Hundred final.Chris Jordan took three wickets, all clean bowled, in a devasting spell of bowling to leave the Invincibles 90 for seven before Curran rescued the innings in a vital 49-run partnership off just 22 balls with Nathan Sowter to propel the Invincibles to 139 for seven.Curran then took three wickets himself, and the Invincibles spinners dominated the middle sets to restrict the Brave to 131 for seven. Tim David top-scored with 44 and hit four of the last five balls of the match for six, but the Brave drop to fourth in the table, with a vital last-round clash against Manchester Originals next Wednesday.Sam Billings elected to bat first and Jason Roy edged his first ball from George Garton for four, then had an early life after he ramped Craig Overton straight to Tymal Mills at short fine leg, but Mills lost sight of the ball at the crucial moment.Will Jacks pulled an enormous six off Garton and sliced a wide full toss just over short third man for four, but was trapped lbw by Craig Overton.Roy hit three boundaries with a pull, a flick and a scoop off Overton’s final set of the powerplay as the Invincibles reached 38 for one.Thirteen deliveries without a boundary followed, and the pressure soon told as Roy was bowled advancing down the wicket to an 89mph Chris Jordan delivery, and Rehan Ahmed trapped Tawanda Muyeye plumb in front.Heinrich Klaasen struck three boundaries in four balls, including a glorious shot over extra cover, before Jordan sent his middle stump flying out of the ground with a beauty.Jordan then bowled Sam Billings second-ball for his third dismissal in a devastating spell of bowling.Mills plucked an incredible one-handed return catch out of the air to remove Sam Curran, and when Ross Whiteley was run out Invincibles had slumped to 90 for seven.Tom Curran rescued the innings with 43 off 28 in a partnership of 49 off just 22 balls with Sowter.He struck three consecutive boundaries from Mills, hoisted Jordan for an enormous six over midwicket in the penultimate set, and tonked Mills over long-on for a six in a final set that went for 17 runs to propel the Invincibles to 139 for seven.In response Finn Allen struck Spencer Johnson over mid-on, before ramping him past short fine leg. Devon Conway flicked Johnson for a boundary, before hoisting Sowter for six to long-on, and clubbing a four to mid-wicket.Tom Curran broke the opening stand with a disguised slower ball that Conway nicked behind.Spin duo Adam Zampa and Sowter dominated after the powerplay, bowling four sets in tandem as Brave failed muster a boundary for 26 deliveries.Allen then launched Tom Curran for a four and a six through square leg, but skied his next delivery and Roy charged in from long-on to take a tough catch on the second juggle.Soon after Jacks bowled Leus du Plooy with a jaffa and Zampa dismissed Vince who holed out to long-on.Colin Ackermann clubbed a Sam Curran slower ball straight to deep mid-wicket, before Garton top edged Tom Curran to Billings.David produced some late fireworks with five enormous sixes to cheer up the crowd, but the Brave fell to an eight-run defeat.

Victoria’s openers added 104 on a surface that is proving tough work for bowlers

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff18-Oct-2022Victoria openers Marcus Harris and Will Pucovski have shared a century stand in a robust reply to a D’Arcy Short propelled Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield.The pair put on 104 for the first wicket before Pucovski, who struck four boundaries and a six from 117 balls, was caught behind when fending a short leg-side ball just before stumps. He had earlier looked to be trapped in front during Jhye Richardson’s second over but the umpire’s finger stayed down.Harris’ mini-milestone continues his solid early Shield form – he scored 85 and 42 in a draw against South Australia last week.The left-hander hit 11 fours and dominated his union with Pucovski, who was continuing his first-class comeback after ongoing concussion issues.Earlier, Western Australia’s batting tail wagged as Short whacked a career-best 87 and Hilton Cartwright made 70.WA resumed on Tuesday at 5 for 290 and Cartwright soon posted his 19th first-class half-century. He found support from Corey Rocchiccioli, who struck three fours and a six in his 27, and the pair put on a handy 56-run stand for the sixth wicket.Short, batting at No. 8, cashed in with a late flurry – his career-high knock included seven fours and three sixes as WA set an imposing total.Spinner Todd Murphy (3-104) led the wicket-takers for Victoria with Mitchell Perry taking 2 for 59 and legspinning debutant Ruwantha Kellapotha claiming 2 for 122.

A list of players and support staff who tested positive for Covid-19 at various camps ahead of the 2021 edition

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Apr-2021Daniel Sams (Royal Challengers Bangalore allrounder)Sams tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday, two days ahead of his team’s opening game against the Mumbai Indians in Chennai. The Australian arrived in Chennai on April 3 and had returned a negative test at that time, according to a statement issued by the franchise. But a second test result on April 7 came out positive. He has since gone into isolation at a designated medical facility and is reportedly asymptomatic.Kiran More (Mumbai Indians wicketkeeping consultant and scout)More, the former India wicketkeeper and chief selector, tested positive on April 6. More has isolated himself in an appropriate facility in Chennai, where the team is based, and is asymptomatic. To ensure maximum safety for everyone around him, the team had cancelled its training session on April 6. Members of the squad, who were in contact with More before his positive test, all underwent tests and returned negative results.Devdutt Padikkal (Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman)Padikkal linked up with the squad on Wednesday in Chennai after recovering from Covid-19. Padikkal had been in home quarantine after testing positive on March 22, and after driving down to Chennai, he trained with the rest of the team on Wednesday, suggesting that he would be available for selection for the team’s opener against the Mumbai Indians on April 9.Members of the groundstaff at Mumbai’s Wankhede StadiumA few members of the groundstaff at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium tested positive for Covid-19 in the first week of April. The Mumbai Cricket Association, though, has expressed confidence that the matches – a total of ten, between April 10 and 25 – would not need to be moved out because they are being played in a biosecure environment. The staff on-site, meanwhile, is being tested every two days. Two of those who tested positive have already returned negative results, according to reports. The entire staff has been housed in the Garware Pavilion clubhouse, which is part of the stadium. Those who tested positive have been sent into isolation, and are expected to return into the bubble only after testing negative.Axar Patel (Delhi Capitals allrounder)Patel, one of the heroes of India’s recent 3-1 Test series win over England at home, tested positive on April 3. He had checked into the team hotel in Mumbai on March 28 with a negative report but things changed after the second test. He is currently in isolation at a designated medical facility. The Capitals take on the Chennai Super Kings in the second match of the tournament, on April 10 in Mumbai.Nitish Rana (Kolkata Knight Riders batsman)Rana tested positive on April 3 after arriving in Mumbai, but has since recovered. Rana joined the Knight Riders camp on March 21 after returning a negative test. However, he tested positive on March 22. Rana’s reports came out negative on April 1 after he was in isolation in accordance with the IPL protocols.

If the tournament is impacted, it could affect the ICC’s revenue distributions to its member boards

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Apr-2020Ehsan Mani, the PCB chairman, has warned of the financial fallout to world cricket if the T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held later this year, is impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic.The tournament is due to take place in Australia in October-November but with much of the world in lockdown currently, and for some time yet, it is difficult to say with certainty whether the tournament will go ahead as planned.”If the World T20 in Australia, if that gets disrupted then the financial fallout from that will be very big,” Mani said on a PCB podcast. “The distributions they [the ICC] give to members, many boards – including us – will feel the pinch of it.”Mani, who is also chairman of the ICC’s Finance and Commercial Affairs committee and a former ICC president, was referring to the revenue the ICC distributes to its members, payments coming in twice a year annually in January and July. Those payments are made regardless of whether there is an ICC tournament in the calendar year and are calculated on the financial model that was agreed upon in June 2017.The PCB, along with six other Full Members, was slated to receive USD 128 million for the eight-year cycle between 2015 and 2023. Though that figure has been projected downwards to USD 115 million, a payout of approximately USD 7-8 million twice a year is a critical part of the financial health of all boards outside the big three comprising the BCCI, the ECB and CA.There is still some time to go before October, but the cricket calendar, if it is up and running by then, will also have to figure out a way of rescheduling a number of postponed bilateral commitments, as well as, potentially, the IPL.The PCB has not been hit as hard as other boards by the pandemic; the ECB looks likely to be hardest hit at this stage, but even SLC and the BCB have lost out on hosting bilateral tours from England and Australia respectively, which usually are lucrative tours for the home board.Nevertheless, the PCB is planning for the worst-case scenario in which ICC distributions could be affected should the T20 World Cup be postponed .”Financial controls are tight, we are not spending over what we earn so in that sense, we will probably be all right in the short term,” Mani said. “But if it goes into next year and ICC distributions don’t come in… I can say the PCB is expecting USD 7-8 million in July from the ICC, that might not come. So obviously we have to plan as if that doesn’t come.”Going forward to [next] January, the ICC will again distribute a similar amount. So there’s a lot of money on the line for us. How we can make that up when short of playing cricket, there’s no other way? You only make money by playing cricket.”Mani was talking only about the PCB’s planning for a worst-case scenario if the distributions don’t arrive; concrete discussions about the impact, of the cricket calendar shutting down, on revenue distributions have not yet taken place.But contingency planning is dominating the thinking of those in the sport’s corridors of power. Depending on how severely hit some boards already are, some scenarios regarding the revenue distributions are not implausible; July’s distributions could be held back to be paid out further down the line (when some boards might need them more) or redistributed in a way that lesser-hit boards give up a cut of their share to harder-hit ones.And although the distributions are no longer linked to ICC events as such, if the T20 World Cup doesn’t go ahead, or is fitted into 2021, January’s distributions could also potentially be impacted.

Having won the two-match four-day series 1-0, Afghantsain A now lead the five-match one-day series 2-0 after their four-wicket win on Sunday

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jul-2019The method of Afghanistan A’s dominance of their hosts Bangladesh has surprised selector Habibul Bashar, who said that their brand of cricket has been more patient. Currently, Afghanistan lead the five-match one-day series 2-0 after their four-wicket win in Chattogram on Sunday, having already won the two-match four-day series 1-0.Bashar said that he was impressed by the way they played mostly cricketing shots during their tricky 279-run chase, which was anchored by Ibrahim Zadran’s 127 off 149 before Sharafuddin Ashraf and Fazal Niazai blasted 37 runs in three overs to complete the victory. Bashar also said that Afghanistan played by the book during the four-day matches, the first of which they won by seven wickets.”This Afghanistan side is playing a different brand of cricket, which has surprised me,” Bashar told , a Dhaka-based Bengali daily. “Their main team usually slogs the ball. They start going for big shots, but this team doesn’t play like that. They are playing in the traditional way, which is very different for them. Even when they went for big shots in this game, they didn’t just slog. They played good shots. They took 86 off the last eight overs against experienced bowlers like Shafiul [Islam] and [Abu Jayed] Rahi. This is a group of really committed cricketers.”On the flip side, however, Bashar said that he was worried about the home side’s performance in the series so far. There are thirteen Bangladesh capped players among the 14 who have played in the two one-dayers, including World Cup squad members Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahman, Rubel Hossain and Abu Jayed. From this squad, Anamul Haque and later Farhad Reza have been added to the senior side that is touring Sri Lanka currently.Most of these players, according to Bashar, were picked on the back of excellent domestic showings from the last season, but it hasn’t reflected in what is considered a step below international cricket.”I am also wondering where the problem is,” Bashar said. “This team is made up of proven performers at the domestic level. They have scored runs and taken plenty of wickets, but I can’t figure out why they have been unable to perform against Afghanistan A.”It is a matter of prestige, but also worrying, isn’t it? The batsmen who played in the four-day matches all have 150-plus innings under their belt. They are now playing at almost the highest level, just below the senior team. They are in the A team because they have done well in domestic cricket. If they can’t do well at this level, how will they do well at the next step.”Bangladesh A still have a chance to make a comeback in the three remaining one-day matches, to be held on July 24, 27 and 29.

A look at how the Australians have fared in the county circuit as the ‘A’ tour and the Ashes edge closer

Alex Malcolm21-May-2019#AsheswatchJoe Burns’ stint with Lancashire lasted just one game – in which he made 10 – as he flew home for personal reasons. No date has been set for his return. He was signed for 10 games. Queensland Cricket has asked for his privacy at this time in a statement. “He has advised his goal is to be back playing cricket as soon as possible.” Cricket Australia has also been kept in the loop with Burns’ situation.South Australia’s Jake Lehmann has replaced Burns in the Lancashire squad for their clash against Worcestershire. Lehmann had been playing for the club in the Royal London Cup as Glenn Maxwell’s replacement. He made just 8 on Monday as the bowlers dominated in Manchester, with England’s spearhead James Anderson taking 5 for 25.Marnus Labuschagne found some form after a lean spell at the start of the Royal London Cup. He made 54 in Glamorgan’s last one-day game before peeling off a second century for the season in Division Two of the County Championship. Labuschagne and Nicholas Selman both scored centuries and shared a 231-run stand to give Glamorgan a chance to win the game, after being made to follow-on. However, it ultimately ended in a draw. He fell for 14 in the next game against Derbyshire after taking 1 for 46 with the ball.Cameron Bancroft led from the front in Durham’s loss to Worcestershire. Batting at No.3, he made a patient 70 in the first innings after Durham slumped to 3 for 14, but only managed 25 in the second innings. Durham were again 4 for 17 after being sent in by Gloucestershire on Monday, with Bancroft falling for a duck.Matt Renshaw’s early season stint with Kent came to end last week with scores of 16 and 13 in a loss to Yorkshire. Outside of a century in the Royal London Cup against Sussex, Renshaw was nowhere near as prolific as he was last season with Somerset, although early season weather did not aid his cause.Peter Siddle was back to his miserly best in Essex’s win over Nottinghamshire. Coming in fresh after two weeks without playing, Siddle sent down 32.3 overs for the match, taking 3 for 65.James Pattinson bowls•Getty Images

Injury listJames Pattinson missed Nottinghamshire’s last three fixtures due to a niggling side strain. He missed the semi-final loss to Somerset in the Royal London One-Day Cup and then missed the next championship fixture against Essex. It was expected he would return for the match against Hampshire which began on Monday but he didn’t take the field. Pattinson is part of both Australia A squads, but those who are currently in the UK do not need to join the squad until June 15, meaning he could be available for Nottinghamshire’s next two fixtures if he is fit. Daniel Worrall’s county season with Gloucestershire is already over after he was diagnosed with stress fractures in his lower back.Performance of the weekLabuschagne’s second century of the English summer will certainly have pleased Justin Langer and the selectors. He had to play in Glamorgan’s second XI during the Royal London Cup to find some touch but he has bounced back in great style. The manner of the century, coming under pressure after his team followed on, would also please the selectors. He is not in the Australia A four-day squad but the selectors were firm in stating that those playing county cricket would still be heavily considered for the Ashes.

A debate over the selection of Vernon Philander ahead of Kyle Abbott had cropped up after their semi-final exit in 2015

Liam Brickhill05-Apr-2019South Africa is working to avoid a repeat of the complex situation that cropped up after their semi-final exit from the 2015 World Cup – and the debate around transformation that followed – with Cricket South Africa confirming that those targets are not going to apply at the upcoming World Cup.CSA’s transformation policy requires that the national team has an average of 55% (or six) players of colour in each game across formats. But chief executive Thabang Moroe has said that this would not be the case when the selectors consider the squad or the playing XIs at the tournament in England and Wales and that players would not be picked in order to “push a certain agenda”.”No targets have been given,” Moroe said. “It’s up to the convener of selectors and the coach to decide what the final 15 will look like.”I would like to think that they will have that sort of (transformation) picture in mind but most importantly they will choose the final 15 that is the best that we have in the country. One would like to have comfort in knowing that we’re going out there with our absolute best, and we’re going out there to win.”At the last World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2015, Vernon Philander, who had just recovered from injury, was picked ahead of Kyle Abbott for the semi-final against New Zealand in Auckland, which led to suggestions that the selection had been politically motivated. CSA, captain AB de Villiers, and coach Russell Domingo, however, insisted that Philander was picked on merit.Across 28 completed internationals this season, South Africa’s men’s team has not quite hit its representation targets, with an average of 52% players of colour across formats over the course of the season. Certain injuries have contributed to that too, with regulars such as JP Duminy and Lungi Ngidi missing large parts of the season.n’t know what the playing conditions will be like on a given match day,” Moroe said. “So the final XI will follow an agreement between the convener of selectors together with the coach and captain on a particular day for a specific match.Dale Steyn looks at an emotional AB de Villiers•Getty Images

“Irrespective of what the XI looks like, at the end of the day they’ll be representing us as South Africans and we would like to think they would be picking a team that’s suitable to win that specific match and not to push a certain agenda.”South Africa’s Institute of Race Relations (IRR), a liberal advocacy organisation, issued a press statement after Moroe’s statement, welcoming the move and saying that most South Africans want all selections to be made on merit.”A new IRR poll, which is to be released later this year, shows that 83% of South Africans (and 82% of black South Africans) believe that the only criteria for selecting national sports teams should be merit,” said IRR’s statement, which went on to suggest that a bottom-up approach to transformation and access to sporting opportunities at government schools would be more effective than strict targets for the national senior sides in achieving transformation goals.While the latest update may simplify the jobs of Ottis Gibson, the coach, and selection panel convener Linda Zondi, Gibson will still be under significant contractual pressure to succeed at the World Cup.Moroe explained that while a World Cup win was not a specific term of Gibson’s contract, the CSA board had identified World Cup success as a key indicator of Gibson’s performance as coach.”Ottis was hired to win the World Cup but at the very least, the chairperson of the board said we must qualify for the final as that could augur very well for us as CSA,” Moroe said. “The coach is a board appointment. The support staff is aligned to the coach’s contract.”It is for the board to evaluate his performances, his KPIs with what he’s achieved for us thus far, what changes they would like to see, what are those changes, and they will obviously communicate that to (CSA) management and then management will sit with the coach. It is also up to the coach to look at the terms of any new contract put in front of him and if he’s agreeable to those.”I’ve been very happy with his results and how he’s handled himself as head coach. I’ve been very impressed. He’s been a breath of fresh air. But it’s a decision for the board to make.”

Australia’s vice-captain is one demerit point away from a ban after he accepted a level two charge from the ICC for his part in the stairwell confrontation with Quinton de Kock

Daniel Brettig and Firdose Moonda07-Mar-2018Australia’s vice-captain David Warner is one demerit point away from a ban after he accepted a level two charge from the ICC for his part in the stairwell confrontation with Quinton de Kock in Durban.De Kock, however, has contested the level one charge against him and will attend a hearing – along with South Africa captain Faf du Plessis and manager Mohammed Moosajee – in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday evening. Match Referee Jeff Crowe will adjudicate on the matter.Warner was hit with three demerit points for the offence and also fined 75% of his match fee, about A$13,500, after meetings between the match referee Jeff Crowe and Australian team management on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Warner joined Kagiso Rabada and Faf du Plessis on the South African side in this series, as players who will be suspended if they are found guilty of one more disciplinary infraction.CCTV footage from the fourth day of the Durban Test showed Warner walking up the stairs to the players’ dressing room, engaged in heated conversation with someone else. As the clip rolled on, it emerged that he was talking to de Kock, and at several points had to be restrained by his team-mates until the Australia captain Steven Smith came out to pull his vice-captain away from the scene.

Sri Lanka legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay said that his side’s ability to pick wickets in clusters made the difference in the tri-series final against Zimbabwe

Liam Brickhill in Bulawayo27-Nov-2016Sri Lanka legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay picked up three wickets to help to set up Sri Lanka’s six-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the tri-series final, and his dismissals of Craig Ervine and debutant Tarisai Musakanda proved to be the turning point in the match. Vandersay, who last played an ODI series for Sri Lanka in January, said that his side’s ability to pick wickets in clusters made the difference against Zimbabwe.Vandersay snapped the 53-run stand between Ervine and Musakanda when he had the former caught and bowled, and two overs later he had Musakanda caught at slip for a run-a-ball 36 as Sri Lanka asserted their dominance. “It was not only [the two early wickets I took], but the quick sessions we bowled where wickets were falling regularly,” Vandersay said. “We kept it going, kept building up the dot balls, and that built pressure.”Under low cloud, on a tacky track, Vandersay finished with three scalps, while Sachith Pathirana took two of his own and Asela Gunaratne’s slow-medium off-cutters helped to wrap up the tail. It was as much as Sri Lanka might have hoped for after losing the toss – though had they won it, they would also have batted first.”We wanted to bowl second, mainly because we thought it was going to spin in the second innings,” Vandersay said. “That’s what we were thinking. So I’m not surprised Zimbabwe took that decision, batting first.”Vandersay had been picked to play in Sri Lanka’s last match against Zimbabwe, but inclement weather meant the game was washed out. Given another chance today, he made the most of helpful conditions to add his name to the list of young Sri Lankans who have excelled on this tour.”Even the first game that I got with Zimbabwe, when it was rained off, it looked like a turning wicket,” he said. “Today, of course we saw so much turn, so it was definitely the right track for me to play on. I’m really happy that we won the series, first of all. Personally, I’m happy that I was able to play today and get a few wickets. It’s been a good series.”Players like Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, even Asela Gunaratne, they’ve been performing consistently. The younger guys have shown some maturity, and done really well in the series. It is quite a satisfactory feeling for us as a team. We lost Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal before this series, and they’re consistent performers. To see our guys putting their hands up and performing well for the team, without some of the seniors being here, is quite satisfying.”

Sunil Narine, the West Indies offspinner, has been reported for bowling with a suspect action during the third ODI against Sri Lanka in Pallekele

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-2015Sunil Narine, the West Indies offspinner, has been reported for bowling with a suspect action during the third ODI against Sri Lanka in Pallekele.Narine finished with figures of 0 for 24 in the Pallekele ODI, which Sri Lanka won by 19 runs based on the Duckworth-Lewis method. The match officials’ report, handed to the West Indies team management after the game, cited concerns about the legality of Narine’s deliveries.Narine will need to undergo testing on his action within 14 days, and will be permitted to continue bowling until the results of his testing are known.This is the first time Narine has been reported in an international game, though he has undergone scrutiny of his action during the IPL and the Champions League T20. He was reported twice in two matches during the 2014 edition of the CLT20, forcing him to miss Kolkata Knight Riders’ final against Chennai Super Kings.Though he was free to bowl in international cricket, West Indies withdrew Narine from their tour of India to allow him “the opportunity to have his action assessed and plan his return to cricket”. West Indies left him out of all their subsequent international assignments until they picked him for the 2015 World Cup. Though he had remodeled his action in the interim, Narine pulled out of the tournament, saying the return would be “a little too much too soon”.Narine endured further trouble with his action during the 2015 IPL – he was first cleared to bowl in the tournament, reported and sent for a re-test, banned from bowling his offbreaks, and then cleared again, with a “final warning”.The Sri Lanka tour was Narine’s first international tournament since August 2014. He picked up four wickets at an average of 18.00 in the three ODIs, while conceding 3.34 runs per over.