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In-form opener will face Surrey in upcoming round after injury to Scott Borthwick

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Sep-2024Emilio Gay will join Durham on loan for their County Championship clash with table-topping Surrey at the Kia Oval on Tuesday, after the club captain Scott Borthwick was ruled out for the rest of the season with an elbow injury.Gay, 24, has enjoyed a prolific season at the top of Northamptonshire’s order, scoring 919 runs at 57.43 in ten matches, including a career-best 261 against Middlesex in April.However, he was out of contract at the end of the season, and having agreed to join Durham on a two-year deal from 2025, he has now brought forward his time at the club to include their final two Championship matches, against Surrey and Kent.Alex Lees will take over as Durham’s captain for the remainder of the season.Gay’s arrival is a boost for Durham, who are currently fifth in Division One in their first season back in the top flight for eight years, and who will face a Surrey side still smarting from their shock defeat against title challengers Somerset at Taunton last week. Surrey currently lead Somerset by eight points, and have still to face Essex in their final match at Chelmsford, starting September 26.Surrey’s morale took a further dent on Saturday when Somerset also ended their hopes of a domestic double in the T20 Blast semi-final at Edgbaston.With England’s ongoing white-ball series against Australia limiting player availability, Surrey were shorn of four key players in that contest. They now face missing more personnel for the last rounds of the Championship, with Gus Atkinson already ruled out with injury, and Ollie Pope rested for the final two rounds with England due to fly out for their Test series against Pakistan in just over two weeks’ time.

Sri Lanka take chase down to final over as England middle order unravels after fast start

Vithushan Ehantharajah05-Nov-2022England are through to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup, knocking Australia out in the process, thanks to a four-wicket win over Sri Lanka.It was an anxiety-riddled chase in the final match in Group 1, despite a target of 142 looking well within reach after openers Jos Buttler and Alex Hales posted 75 for the first wicket inside eight overs. But a series of unforced errors saw six wickets fall in the space of 65 deliveries, for the addition of just 54. The trio of Wanindu Hasaranga, Dhananjaya de Silva and Lahiru Kumara split those dismissals evenly between them and for a moment an upset looked well and truly on the cards.But Ben Stokes – as ever – saw England over the line with 42 from 36 that only contained two fours but constantly worked the scoreboard and Sri Lanka’s outfielders before Chris Woakes’ cut for four confirmed victory with two balls left. Stokes came in at No. 3 after Dawid Malan injured his groin fielding and showed typical poise under immense pressure.It was a far closer than it should have been, England having fought back strongly to limit Sri Lanka to a modest total after opener Pathum Nissanka (67 off 45) got them off to a flyer. For Australia, now officially done as defending champions, they will wonder what might have been having relinquished the opportunity to surpass England’s net run rate with their own modest win over Afghanistan on Friday.But for Nissanka’s blitz, which had Sri Lanka 65 for 1 after seven overs, there was little around him as England’s collective attack served up cutters and slower deliveries that were responding well to a worn surface at the SCG. Adil Rashid’s 1 for 16 from his four overs led the retort, though Mark Wood collected the more eye-catching figures of 3 for 26, two of them coming in the 20th over, which also featured a run out, as Sri Lanka crept to 141 for 8 – the lowest total posted first at this ground in the competition. England also became the first to win at the SCG when chasing.Buttler’s charges now head to Adelaide for their semi-final. They will play whoever finishes first in Group 2, which culminates on Sunday.Stokes. Again
Make no mistake, there was always going to be a space for Stokes, even if the pre-tournament conversations over whether he is in England’s best T20 team were merited. In many ways, it is his bowling that has been as close to a revelation as you can get for a multifaceted cricketer admired the world over, and yet again he opened up, finishing with 1 for 24 from three overs. Batting, however, was where the real question remained and it took until England were in the doldrums in Sydney to truly appreciate how valuable he is.Yes, his best spot is as an opener, but the way he gauged the conditions around him – both the tangible challenge of the pitch and intangible stress of having to be the saviour once more – was a reminder of his unparalleled worth to England. He only hit two fours, picking up the majority of his runs with his feet, as that problematic left knee worked more overtime. He is still yet to register a fifty in T20Is, and this score was only the third time he has passed 40 in 35 innings, not that he or his team-mates will care.If Malan’s injury is as feared, a batting replacement will have to be drafted in, and there is no guarantee Stokes will reprise his first-drop role in the semi-final. Whatever position he comes in at, there can be no doubt England’s best XI is one with him in it.Rashid dulls with class
Four games played, 16 overs bowled and, finally, a wicket. It has been a peculiar tournament for Rashid, one which has seen the legspinner operate as a dampener rather than a disruptor. Even though the former is a role of immense value in this format, the fear was the shoulder injury that has limited his usual zip off the pitch was cutting into his incisiveness. Of course, the reality may be closer to the fact batters are more watchful against him, willing to play his overs out before making hay at the other end.Here, he wedded both sides: stopping Sri Lanka in their tracks – he did not concede a boundary in his four overs – and dismissing Nissanka. Had he failed at either task, things would have ended very differently. As it happens, he now has 90 T20I wickets – the joint most for an Englishman, level with Chris Jordan.Change of pace
In a tournament where those topping the speed gun have stolen the headlines, here was a fixture that rewarded shifting down a few gears. The spinners were always likely to shine on this used pitch, but the quicks got in on the act with variations of their own. England’s attack sussed this halfway through and by the halfway stage, pace-off deliveries were going at 4.87 runs per over, while pace-on checked in at 8.46. The most notable element of this in the second innings came in the 18th over, when Sri Lanka’s own speedster Lahiru Kumara bowled six balls – almost entirely reserved and into the pitch – that yielded just two runs and the wicket of Sam Curran, leaving England needing over a run a ball for the last two overs.

Australia looks set to welcome back Travis Head from injury while the Netherlands need some runs from their top-order

Alex Malcolm24-Oct-20232:12

Would Netherlands rather beat India or Australia at the World Cup? We asked Scott Edwards

Big picture: The shared history of Australia and Netherlands

There has long been a connection between Netherlands and Australian cricket. It is perhaps not quite as strong as South Africa’s connection to the current Dutch team. But their captain Scott Edwards is an Australian citizen, having grown up in Melbourne and played second XI cricket for Victoria. He has introduced a Netherlands team song that is a shameless rebrand of the song of his favourite Australian Football League club Richmond. From Edwards to former Dutch coach Ryan Campbell, to Tom Cooper, Timm van der Gugten, Michael Swart and Dirk Nannes, among others, plenty of Australian domestic players have had an impact on Netherlands cricket.But there will be no love lost in Delhi on Wednesday. Netherlands are gunning for another big scalp, having already taken down South Africa and potentially missed an opportunity against Sri Lanka. Australia are looking to continue their momentum. They will not be taking the Netherlands lightly, but they would love a statement win having been tested at times against Sri Lanka and Pakistan.For all the links between to the two nations as far as players and coaches are concerned, Australia and Netherlands have only met twice in ODI cricket. Both matches were at World Cups, in 2003 and 2007, and Australia were ruthless, claiming big wins while tinkering with their line-up. In fact, nobody could beat them in either of those tournaments.These two sides did meet in a rain-affected warm-up game in Thiruvananthapuram prior to this World Cup. Mitchell Starc claimed a hat-trick in a game Australia did not take seriously at all. Steven Smith and Josh Inglis opened the batting with Alex Carey at three and Mitchell Marsh did not bat but instead opened the bowling while Marnus Labuschagne also bowled four overs and picked up the wicket of Edwards.Australia won’t take this game as lightly with coach Andrew McDonald confirming on Monday that they would not be resting any of their players. They know the Dutch will be well planned and the dual spin threat of Aryan Dutt in the powerplay against possibly two left-handed openers in David Warner and Travis Head if he is passed fit, plus Roelof van der Merwe against Australia’s vulnerable middle-order could certainly cause problems. Netherlands’ biggest challenge will be getting top-order runs. But Australia’s new-ball bowlers have not taken a powerplay wicket in the last three games, and Delhi has been an excellent batting strip.

Form guide

Australia WWLLW (last five ODIs, most recent first)Netherlands LWLLL1:48

Does Smith have a weakness against the ball coming in?

In the spotlight: Smith and O’Dowd

Steven Smith was considered vital to Australia’s chances in this World Cup given his experience in India and his prowess against spin. But Australia’s long-time No. 3, who is set to play his 150th ODI against Netherlands, is battling for form in ODI cricket this year and now may well find himself pushed to No.4 with the return of Head. Smith is averaging just 23.22 in ODIs this year from nine innings, including three ducks, and striking at just 81.64. His move to No. 4 may not help his search to find some form. He has only batted there once since the 2019 World Cup and that was against Pakistan in the last match, having slid one spot due to the promotion of Glenn Maxwell because of the game situation. He has batted No. 3 in his previous 29 ODI innings. He averages just 34.31 across 24 career innings at No. 4 compared to 52.60 at No. 3. His strike-rate is slightly higher at No. 4, but nonetheless, it is not his favoured spot.In a World Cup where the openers have dominated across the board to this point, Netherlands’ top two have simply not got going. Max O’Dowd has really struggled, making just 55 runs in four innings at a strike-rate of just 57.89. He has battled to get off strike facing 72 dot balls out of 95 in total, with 38 of his 55 runs coming in boundaries and just 11 singles. He did not play any List A cricket between the World Cup qualifiers in July and the World Cup itself, with his only match practice coming in Netherlands club cricket, some of which was played on artificial pitches. It is a huge ask to jump from that to facing some of the incredible new ball pairings he has so far this tournament and the task only gets tougher against Starc and Josh Hazlewood on Wednesday. But the Netherlands need some runs from their openers if they are to put pressure on Australia.

Team news: Will Head play?

Head arrived in Delhi on Saturday having been at home in Adelaide for Australia’s first four matches of the tournament, nursing his broken hand. He was optimistic he could play on Wednesday after a net session on Saturday. He faced bowlers for the first time on Monday and got through the session. If he plays he is set to open alongside Warner which will break up the in-form Warner-Marsh pairing. Labuschagne would be the likely batter to make way.Australia (probable): 1 David Warner, 2 Travis Head, 3 Mitchell Marsh, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Josh Inglis (wk), 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Marcus Stoinis, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Adam ZampaTravis Head is back with the Australia squad•Getty Images

The Netherlands look set to stick with the same combination that beat South Africa and tested Sri Lanka.Netherlands (probable): 1 Vikramjit Singh, 2 Max O’Dowd, 3 Colin Ackermann, 4 Bas de Leede, 5 Teja Nidamanuru, 6 Scott Edwards (capt & wk), 7 Sybrand Engelbrecht, 8 Roelof van der Merwe, 9 Logan van Beek, 10 Aryan Dutt, 11 Paul van Meekeren

Pitch and conditions: Another sweltering day

The three games in Delhi thus far in this World Cup have produced two very different results, although the common thread is that the side batting first has won easily. South Africa piled up 428 against Sri Lanka and won although Sri Lanka made 326 in reply. India galloped to their 273-run against Afghanistan, who then defended 286 easily against England on the back of a masterful bowling performance by their spinners. It will be warm in Delhi and the air quality will be poor.

Stats and trivia: Starc on the prowl

• Starc (55) needs two wickets to go past Lasith Malinga (56) to third all-time on the ODI World Cup wicket-takers list. Glenn McGrath leads with 71 and Muttiah Muralidaran is second with 68.
• Australia are the only team to have gone wicketless three times in the first powerplay in this World Cup.
• Only Bangladesh (38.90%) have had a higher percentage of runs scored by Nos. 5,6 and 7 in this World Cup than the Netherlands (35.82%)

Cricket West Indies also approved a new committee to work towards achieving equality for women’s players

ESPNcricinfo staff19-May-2023West Indies women will now fly business class for long-haul international flights and stay in single rooms for international games, bringing them level with the travel policy for the men’s teams, according to Cricket West Indies (CWI).These decisions were made at the first CWI board of directors meeting following the election of new president Kishore Shallow in March.”The women’s game in international cricket continues to evolve, and CWI must keep apace and, where possible, lead,” Shallow said. “Introducing these policies and adding a second female to the board as an independent director are monumental strides in the right direction.”CWI also approved a new committee – the Women’s Cricket Transformation Committee – to work towards achieving equality for women’s players.”The committee’s remit will include but not be limited to recommending strategies geared towards increasing the interest and participation of women and girls in the sport, as well as proposing cricket competitions, events, and pathways that foster competitive women’s and girls’ cricket,” CWI said in a statement.”We welcome this move by CWI in the quest to achieve greater equality within our work environment among our cricketers,” Wavell Hinds, the president and CEO of the West Indies Players Association, said. “We look forward to achieving similar goals in our ongoing negotiations on the renewal of our MOU for another four-year period.”West Indies women play Ireland in June and July, followed by a tour of Australia in October, where they will play three ODIs and three T20Is.

Sandy Dharamsala outfield rated “average” for four out of five World Cup games

Shashank Kishore08-Dec-2023The ICC has given the Ahmedabad pitch used for the 2023 World Cup final between India and Australia an “average” rating. The ICC updated its list of pitch and outfield ratings this week, and surfaces for as many as eight World Cup matches across five Indian venues were rated average overall. This included five games involving hosts India.The World Cup final on November 19 was played on the same pitch that hosted the India-Pakistan fixture five weeks earlier, on the recommendation of the ICC’s pitch consultant Andy Atkinson, and the track received an average rating for both games. The surface at Eden Gardens used for the second semi-final between Australia and South Africa was also rated average. Eden Gardens received the most average ratings – five in all.The surface for the first semi-final, between India and New Zealand at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, was rated “good”. The track was in focus after the pitch was changed in the lead-up to the match from a fresh surface to a used track, but fears that it would be slow did not play out with the teams aggregating 724 runs, three centuries across both innings included, with just the lone wicket falling to spin.The ICC rates pitches, and separately outfields, for all international games as one of six ratings: very good, good, average, below average, poor, unfit.During the tournament, India head coach Rahul Dravid had expressed his disagreement with two “average” pitch ratings handed out for India’s league matches in Chennai (vs Australia) and Ahmedabad (vs Pakistan). At the time, he called for greater diversity in the kinds of surfaces that are considered “good” or “very good”.

Games for which the pitch was rated “average”

• India v Australia, Chennai, Oct 8

• India v Pakistan, Ahmedabad, Oct 14

• India v England, Lucknow, Oct 29

• Pakistan v Bangladesh, Kolkata, Oct 31

• India v South Africa, Kolkata, Nov 5

• Australia v Bangladesh, Pune, Nov 11

• Australia v South Africa, Kolkata, 2nd semi-final, Nov 15

• India v Australia, Ahmedabad, final, Nov 19

“If you want to only see 350-run matches and rate only those pitches as good, then I disagree with that,” Dravid had said before India’s game against New Zealand in Dharamsala on October 22. “You have to see different skills on display as well. If you wanted to only see fours and sixes being hit, then we have T20 for that. Why do we need anything else?”There are skills on display on 350 wickets also. That’s fine on that particular day. But in the first few games when it spins a little bit or something happens that brings the bowlers into the game, and you start rating pitches as average, where does it leave the bowlers? Why are they coming then? Play two T20 matches then. We need to have a better way of deciding what is good or average.”

Dharamsala outfield rated “average”

The ICC was largely satisfied with the nature of outfields, except the one in Dharamsala which was rated “average” for four out of the five games it hosted. During the tournament, a number of players had criticised the outfield. The main issue centred around the venue’s patchy grass and sandy base, which prevented players from diving freely, posing an injury threat if they did attempt it.Earlier in the year, an India vs Australia Test match was moved out of Dharamsala at short notice owing to the outfield’s condition.The outfield for the last of Dharamsala’s five World Cup games, between Australia and New Zealand on October 28, received a “very good” rating.The only other venue to receive an “average” outfield rating was the MCA Stadium in Pune, for the India vs Bangladesh fixture on October 19.

England captain says team won’t veer from aggressive style despite chastening defeat at Wankhede

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2025

Abhishek Sharma launches one down the ground•Getty Images

Jos Buttler, England’s captain, hailed Abhishek Sharma for producing some of the “cleanest ball-striking I’ve ever seen”, but insisted his team would not veer from the aggressive strategies they’ve brought to bear in their first series since Brendon McCullum took over as white-ball head coach.Abhishek’s stunning innings of 135 from 54 balls, the highest score ever made by an Indian batter in T20Is, proved to be 38 more runs than England’s entire line-up could muster in reply, as they were routed for 97 in 10.3 overs, to succumb to a 4-1 series loss.England’s eventual 150-run defeat was their biggest in the format, and a crushing end to an intermittently competitive series. Though Buttler acknowledged his team had had their chances to turn the campaign in their favour, he was happy to bow down to one of the mightiest batting displays imaginable.”We’re obviously disappointed,” Buttler said. “I’ve played quite a lot of cricket, and credit to Abhishek Sharma. That’s as clean a ball-striking as I’ve seen. He played fantastically well. We always sit down and think what more could we have done. But some days, you have to give a lot of credit to the opposition. I thought he played brilliantly well.”Buttler said that Abhishek’s display was a continuation of the full-blooded form he showed alongside Travis Head for Sunrisers Hyderabad in last year’s IPL. In such run-laden displays, he added, contests tend to go one of two ways.”I’ve played in a few games like this,” he said. “You either get somewhere near, or you fall in a heap, and today was that day. It can be difficult when a player gets on a roll, and plays as well as he did. Credit to us for sticking in there and fighting back, and keeping them down to 240, after the start they got.”England’s reply got off to a misleadingly flying start, with Phil Salt cracking 17 runs off Mohammad Shami’s first over, en route to a 21-ball fifty. But his was a lone hand as wickets continued to tumble at the other end, with the entire team being bowled out just after the halfway mark of their chase.”The way Phil Salt went out there and struck the ball, it was obviously a really good wicket,” Buttler said. “He needed someone to go with him, and for one or two guys to catch fire. That’s the way you’re going to chase that down. You either get quite close in games like this and surprise yourselves, or it doesn’t work.Related

• 'In the zone' Abhishek salutes seniors for guiding him to century

• Abhishek, rattle and roll at the Wankhede

• Compromise may be needed with concussion subs to ensure player safety

• Abhishek shatters records and England in Mumbai

• Gambhir on India's approach: 'We want to try and get to 250-260 regularly'

“But we certainly won’t change the way we want to play. We need to keep backing that, and be even more committed.”The final match got underway just 48 hours after the controversy at Pune, where fast bowler Harshit Rana stepped in as a concussion sub after a blow to the helmet for Shivam Dube. Dube declared himself “good to go” before the toss in Mumbai, despite the ICC’s protocols stating that a seven-day lay-off should be mandatory in such situations, and Buttler hinted at his continued annoyance by describing his four non-selected players as “impact subs”.Speaking after the defeat, however, he struck a more conciliatory tone. “He’s pulled up pretty well from a nasty blow on the head, hopefully he’s okay,” Buttler said, after Dube had scored 30 from 13 balls and claimed 2 for 11 in his two overs. “I’m sure he must have been happy with the risk he took or their medical staff were. Maybe a question for them.”Legspinner Varun Chakravarthy also played a key role in derailing England’s chase with figures of 2 for 25, and was named player of the series for his 14 wickets at 9.85. England’s struggles against spin have been a feature of all five matches, but Buttler said his players would be stronger for the experience.”Playing against India, you know you’re going to be faced with a lot of spin, but I’m not worried,” Buttler said. “There’s some really good players there and some guys having their first experiences in these conditions. Every day, you’re learning, improving, working things out as you go along and gaining more experience and trying to accelerate that process.”We certainly won’t change the way we want to play, we need to keep backing that, be even more committed and be desperate to do well and execute that,” he added. “If we’re going to fall, I’d rather fall on the proactive side. Hopefully, over time you get more comfortable with that and play better.”