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NSW captain and two-Test batter has returned to Sydney Sixers in the BBL after leaving Perth Scorchers.

AAP02-Aug-2022Kurtis Patterson’s desire to spend Christmas at home with his newborn son has prompted the opening bat to leave Perth and return to the Sydney Sixers.Patterson was unveiled as the Sixers’ new signing on Tuesday, inking a fresh three-year deal with the club he played a sole match for on debut in 2012.Born again in T20 cricket with his best Big Bash League season last summer when opening for the Scorchers, Patterson is the only local player to leave the champions ahead of the coming season.The 29-year-old revealed he wrestled with the decision after first speaking with the Sixers at the end of last summer, before his mind was made up after the birth of son Hayden in April.”That changes things, it makes you think about where your priorities are,” Patterson told AAP. “Even if we’re playing away over Christmas, it’s just being around over that period. That was most important for me.”I feel really lucky that I have been able to come from the Scorchers and join the Sixers.  I think it is really well known that they are the two most respected clubs in the Big Bash. But also their cultures and their on-field success speaks for itself.”Patterson is hopeful of opening for the Sixers this summer with the team’s first match against the Scorchers on December 14.The NSW captain’s return comes as east coast clubs aim to return to big crowds this summer out of Covid, with Sixers memberships relaunched this week.This month’s overseas draft is expected to draw more attention to the competition, with more than 170 players having registered.Patterson is also hopeful a return to more normal travel conditions can help boost his red-ball form. He has not given up hope of adding to his tally of two Tests against Sri Lanka in 2019, boasting an average of 144 for Australia.Told by national selectors two years ago he just needed to produce runs, Patterson has since endured two summers of inconsistent opportunities due to state border closures.But with six Sheffield Shield matches scheduled before the BBL and Test summer this year, Patterson is hopeful that can make life easier.”Having six games and a bunch of one-day games leading into the summer and BBL, it allows you to find your rhythm a bit more,” Patterson said. “It has felt like it has been really rushed [in recent years] to try and get three games in before Big Bash [last summer].”But this allows you to work your way into the season and build up so everyone in the country is playing their best cricket by the time the first Test comes. Nationwide everyone will benefit.”

India began with a bang, with Kohli looking close to his best, but kept losing wickets, scoring only 88 in their last 10 overs

Sidharth Monga04-Sep-20222:56

Uthappa: Kohli looked ominous from the first boundary he hit

Mohammad Nawaz stunned India with the bat after helping restrict them with the ball after a rampant start to give Pakistan a thrilling win in their Super 4 match against India. A week after India chased successfully in a thrilling group-stage finish, Paksitan returned the favour, asking India to bat and getting home with with just one ball to spare.Aware of the historical advantage for chasing sides in Dubai, India batted ultra-aggressively in the first half of their innings, but kept losing wickets, which meant Virat Kohli, who made significant moves towards his best with a 44-ball 60, had to play a little cautiously in the second half. On a belter, despite the good start, Pakistan conceded just 88 in the last 10 overs.Mohammad Rizwan anchored the chase with 71 off 51, but it was Nawaz who provided the desperately needed impetus. Promoted to No. 4, he smashed 42 off 20 balls to put Pakistan back on track. Asif Ali and Khushdil Shah then saw them home, but not without a flutter.Mohammad Rizwan anchored Pakistan’s chase with 71 off 51 balls•AFP/Getty Images

India on the attack
Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, both under the scanner a little bit for being a bit conservative at the top, were anything but conservative. In the first over itself, Rohit gave Naseem Shah the charge and hit him over mid-off for four. Then he stayed back and pulled him for a six. Rahul responded with some intent of his own, hitting Naseem for two sixes in the third over. The two brought up India’s second-quickest fifty batting first in T20 internationals, in just 4.2 overs.Action all around
India were in no mood to consolidate. What followed will provide a stern test of their belief in their method. Haris Rauf bowled a slower ball at the start of the sixth over, and Rohit ended up skying it. Rahul tried to hit the first ball after the powerplay for a six, and picked the wrong’un too, but ended up hitting Shadab Khan straight to long-on.The intent still didn’t ebb. Suryakumar Yadav hit the first ball he faced for a boundary, the seventh time he has done so in 24 T20I innings. However, Nawaz and Shadab made it difficult for India to keep hitting boundaries. Eventually Suryakumar looked to sweep in the air, but was done in by the length and holed out. Rishabh Pant, stifled at the start, fell to a reverse-sweep. Hardik Pandya fell to a chip to midwicket, and it became 131 for 5 in the 15th over.Virat Kohli raises his bat after reaching yet another fifty•AFP/Getty Images

Pakistan close out superbly
The spinners went for just 56 runs in their eight overs, taking three wickets too. The fast bowlers were not having a great day, and Kohli was around at the death, where his strike-rate is exceptional, especially when he has got himself in.However, Kohli was now batting with the last recognised batter, Deepak Hooda, with no six-hitters to follow. So Kohli possibly had to tone down his aggression. The fast bowlers bowled superbly too, giving Hooda few opportunities to hit. Then a slower ball went straight to long-on, leaving Kohli to farm the strike in the end.Only two misfields off the last two balls took India to 181.India shackle Pakistan
India may not have the pace of the Pakistan bowlers, but their accuracy frustrated the Pakistan top three at the start. Babar Azam chipped Ravi Bishnoi to midwicket much like Pandya had done earlier against Mohammad Hasnain. Fakhar Zaman, who had conceded seven extra runs in the field, was denied any freedom by the accuracy of the bowlers, and he was eventually left with no option but to take risks. When Fakhar was out for 15 off 18, Pakistan needed 119 off 68 balls.Mohammad Nawaz, promoted up the order, played a blinder of an innings•AFP/Getty Images

Nawaz the disruptor
It is not as though Pakistan didn’t have a specialist left-hand batter in the middle order, but they still promoted Nawaz. Perhaps because the asking rate was high, they felt the need for a low-cost hitter to keep it in check. Also Nawaz is no stranger to big hits; he has pulled them off in domestic cricket and in the PSL.Quite possibly Nawaz would have been in good hitting form in the nets because he came out and started middling everything, taking pressure off Rizwan. The next six overs went for 9, 10, 10, 11, 12, 16.Nawaz steered the second ball he faced for four. The third ball he faced went for a huge six off Pandya. Now errors started to creep in. Yuzvendra Chahal offered Rizwan a full-toss, which went for six. The quicks missed their lengths a bit. And the cameo went on for long enough to bring Pakistan within 46 of the win, with 27 balls left.The nervy finish
Pandya got Rizwan out with persistent wide lines. Bishnoi, who had an over left, bowled a superb 18th over, conceding just eight, bringing the equation down to 26 off the last two overs. India were right back in with a chance, but they had also made a mistake. Arshdeep Singh had dropped a sitter from Asif before he had scored a run.Asif and Khushdil proceeded to cancel out Fakhar’s fielding errors by taking 19 off Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s 19th over, his second-costliest at the death in T20 internationals. Then Asif hit Arshdeep for a four in the 20th to leave Pakistan needing two off four balls. Arshdeep came back to trap him lbw, but with two required off the last two, Iftikhar Ahmed found the winning runs off a low full-toss.

Cricket South Africa hopes the slashed prices will result in strong crowds during the tournament

Firdose Moonda14-Oct-2022Cricket South Africa is hoping to put bums on seats by throwing open doors to the CSA T20 Challenge, their domestic T20 competition, for free – almost. Tickets for the tournament – which features the eight Division 1 provincial sides, and will include 31 matches from October 17 to November 6 – have gone on for sale for as little as R1 (approx. 5.5 cents in USD) with a maximum price of R50 (approx. $2.75 US).”We want to have fans in the stadium to create a vibe, and we really want students to attend the games,” Pholetsi Moseki, CSA CEO told ESPNcricinfo.All matches will take place in Potchefstroom, a university town situated 120kms from Johannesburg. With all Covid-19 restrictions lifted in South Africa, stadiums can be filled to capacity, which means that up to 18,000 people could attend the every match in the tournament – a far cry from numbers seen last season.Fans were allowed back into sports venues when South Africa hosted Bangladesh in March and April this year, with numbers limited to 2000 for the first Test in Durban and increasing to 7500 for the second in Gqeberha.But neither venue had maximum attendance on any day, and during some periods of play crowds were only a few hundred. While that reflects a historical tendency for crowds at Test matches to dwindle, the South African Cricketers Association (SACA) believes it is also a consequence of pandemic-altered behaviour patterns.”When Covid happened, we changed how we watched sport, and now it’s our task to change that mindset again,” Andrew Breetzke, SACA CEO told ESPNcricinfo. “Maybe one of the ways is to go down to R1 a ticket to get people to come to the grounds – especially students.”While cash-strapped cricket fans will be celebrating the opportunity to watch some games, there are some concerns that CSA could be undervaluing an important asset – essentially the country’s premier domestic T20 competition until the SA20 kicks off next year. However, there are reasons for their price slash.”We might have passed that point with domestic cricket. And ultimately, this will become the secondary T20 competition in South Africa,” Breetzke said. “We’ve also got the T20 World Cup happening at the same time.”There is an overlap with the T20 World Cup in Australia, but the time difference may work in CSA’s favour to attract people to the domestic T20 competition. T20 World Cup matches will take place in the morning as per South Africa time, while the domestic tournament matches are scheduled to start at 2.30pm and 6pm.The matches will also be televised, and though the tournament won’t have South Africa’s biggest names, it will feature players who have either represented the national side recently, or are on its fringes. They include the Malan brothers Janneman and Pieter; Wiaan Mulder, who played last year’s T20 World Cup; George Linde, who was a reserve there; Test captain Dean Elgar; Kyle Verreynne, who mostly plays the longest format; Test specialists Kyle Verreynne, Keegan Petersen, Khaya Zondo and Glenton Stuurman; and U-19 sensation Dewald Brevis.

Amelia Kerr’s 3 for 16 and Hannah Rowe’s cameo with bat go in vain

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-2022A spirited bowling show helped West Indies edge New Zealand out by a run in the first of five T20Is in North Sound. In a low-scoring match, it was Chinelle Henry’s new-ball spell that proved decisive as the hosts staved off the Hannah Rowe threat in the final over.Chasing a mere 116, New Zealand needed an unlikely 20 from the last over with just one wicket left. Rowe attacked Aaliyah Alleyne with a four off the first ball but with 12 needed from the final two deliveries, she could manage only a four and six.Sophie Devine and Suzie Bates had started New Zealand’s chase with a four each in the opening over, bowled by Alleyne. But in the third over, Henry trapped Bates lbw for 5. Devine then lofted the seamer over wide long-on for a six but Henry had her caught at mid-on in her next over. In between, Hayley Matthews had Georgia Plimmer holing out to long-on.Aaliyah Alleyne scored 49 off 37 balls after coming in at No. 3•Cricket West Indies

Henry was in the thick of it again when she brilliantly caught Amelia Kerr off her own bowling and then saw Maddy Green run out two balls later. After being reduced to 46 for 5 in seven overs, New Zealand could not recover as spinners Matthews, Karishma Ramharack and Afy Fletcher further applied the squeeze.Earlier, New Zealand won the toss and put West Indies in, in their first T20I since Deandra Dottin’s shock retirement last month. Matthews walked out to open with wicketkeeper-batter Natasha McLean, who was playing a T20I after two years. However, it was a short stay for McLean, with left-arm spinner Fran Jonas dismissing her for a first-ball duck. Batting at No. 3, Alleyne then stitched a 66-run stand in 55 balls with Matthews in. The pair was happy to see off Jonas with minimum fuss and attack the seamers, Rowe and Lea Tahuhu.Kerr’s, though, hampered West Indies’ progress by sending back Matthews and Alleyne in back-to-back overs. West Indies lost their last six wickets in 31 runs – three of those wickets came in the form of run-outs – as they were bowled out for 115.Their bowlers, though, ensured it was just enough to register a win.”The coaches told us to go out there and be fearless,” Henry said after the game. “We wanted more than 115 but that didn’t happen, so we went out there as a bowling unit to get the job done. Going into the second game, we’re obviously looking to improve in both batting and bowling. To see Aaliyah going out at No. 3 and almost getting her maiden T20I half-century showed that we have a lot of depth in the squad, so it’s just for us to keep up that team performance.”

Schutt took three wickets before Wolvaardt and Patterson played crucial knocks in a tense chase

Tristan Lavalette24-Nov-2022Bridget Patterson’s late hitting under pressure powered Adelaide Strikers to a tense six-wicket victory over a sloppy Brisbane Heat and into a second straight WBBL final.The Challenger was a see-saw of a contest with Strikers riding their luck in a nervy chase, with Patterson and Madeline Penna the heroes to spark jubilant scenes at Adelaide’s Karen Rolton Oval.Related

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Heat had their chances but rued four dropped catches as Strikers eye redemption for last season’s final heartbreak when they meet Sydney Sixers on Saturday at North Sydney Oval.Patterson steps up at the death
Strikers gambled and held off taking the power surge until the 18th over with 33 runs still needed. It proved a masterstroke after they scored 24 runs culminating in a huge six over deep square leg from Patterson, who was unruffled by the situation.It meant nine runs were needed off the last over with Heat skipper Jess Jonassen backing legspinner Amelia Kerr with the season on the line. But it was Penna who swatted consecutive boundaries to get Strikers over the line with two balls to spare in redemption for her after enduring heartbreak during last season’s WBBL final against Perth Scorchers.Heat’s poor fielding proves costly
Perhaps they were tired after having to back up from last night’s victory in the Eliminator over Hobart Hurricanes, but Heat had only themselves to blame.After grabbing the early wickets of Katie Mack and skipper Tahlia McGrath, dropped catches in the outfield from Courtney Grace Sippel proved costly.Deandra Dottin, particularly, relished her second chance as she piled more misery on Sippel with a six amid a scoring spree to get Strikers in a decent position at the halfway point.Dottin’s cameo ended when she fell to the spin of Jonassen and was brilliantly caught by wicketkeeper Georgia Redmayne. But disaster struck when Redmayne injured her left calf after celebrating the dismissal. She hobbled off the ground and was substituted out of the game, as Heat had to regroup quickly.But their poor fielding, which spilt over from a sloppy effort against Hurricanes, haunted them as they fell agonizingly short.A pumped up Megan Schutt led the way with the ball for Strikers•Getty Images

Strikers crash through Heat’s strong top-order
At the beginning of the do-or-die match, it loomed as a contest between Strikers’ brilliant attack and the dynamic batting of Heat.Opener Danni Wyatt had top-scored with 52 against Hurricanes, but fell in the second over to in-form quick Megan Schutt.Seamer Darcie Brown menaced with inswing to trouble Redmayne, who had looked rusty against Hurricanes in her return from a hamstring injury.Redmayne continued to look a shadow of the player who had dominated earlier in the season, before a confidence boosting boundary through square leg. But she was bowled by Brown on the next delivery attempting the same shot, as Heat slumped to 13 for 2 in the third over.Grace Harris consolidated and hit a beautiful cut to the boundary off legspinner Amanda-Jade Wellington, who was looking for a statement after her shock omission from Australia’s T20I tour of India next month.But Grace fell in the eighth over leaving Heat shakily placed at 43-3.Laura Harris provides the fireworks again
After Amelia helped steady the ship, Heat needed a lift from Laura Harris who again obliged with power-hitting.She turned the game against Hurricanes with 44 off 14 balls and almost replicated that here with a 14-ball 33, mixing belligerence with finesse after coming to the crease at 88-4 after 14 overs. She smashed Brown for four boundaries in the 17th over, but her best shot might have been an outrageous switch hit off Schutt that rocketed to the deep third boundary.Schutt exacted revenge on the next ball, but Laura’s pyrotechnics helped lift Heat to a competitive total. But in the end it proved not enough.

New captain says India selection will take care of itself if he can score loads of Ranji Trophy runs like he did in 2017-18

Shashank Kishore12-Dec-20221:47

Big Ranji season for Sarfaraz, Malik, Kuldeep and Dhull

Mayank Agarwal isn’t focusing as much on a Test comeback as he is on emulating the kind of Ranji Trophy season he had in 2017-18, when he topped the charts with 1160 runs in 13 innings.Agarwal isn’t part of India’s Test tour of Bangladesh, having endured a slump in form over the past six months. This has coincided with Shubman Gill and Abhimanyu Easwaran doing everything they can to impress the selectors. Added to that is the fact that he’s also been released by his IPL franchise, Punjab Kings, whom he captained earlier this year.Related

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It’s in the midst of all this that Agarwal has been handed Karnataka’s captaincy. The team reached the knockouts of both T20 and 50-overs competition. Now, he’s set to lead them in the Ranji Trophy, replacing his contemporary Manish Pandey, who was removed from the top job following a mediocre 2021-22 first-class season where Karnataka lost out in the quarter-finals.”I’ve been working on emulating what I did in 2017-18, when I had that good season,” Agarwal said in Bengaluru, ahead of Karnataka’s Ranji opener against Services on Tuesday. “I’ve gone back a little bit, looked at those videos, gone through those game plans and worked around that.”For me, that result or the end goal [India selection] will take care of itself. I want to look at my processes, areas I need to improve on and what I need to do to keep performing the way I was doing. And I back myself to deliver those performances.”Agarwal has a strong batting line-up to lean on, with all of R Samarth, Devdutt Padikkal and Pandey in the mix. The only notable absentee is Karun Nair, who has fallen out of favour with the selectors following a bad run of form that stretches back three seasons. However, there were times during the last campaign that he seemed to be rediscovering his touch again.Mayank Agarwal: There are no two ways about it. We want to win trophies for Karnataka•BCCI

The selectors have rewarded 22-year old Nikin Jose for his Vijay Hazare Trophy form – he was Karnataka’s leading run-getter, and Vishal Onat, who has had a stellar run in age-group cricket. One of them could well be handed a debut cap on Tuesday.As he takes over a young team in a transition, Agarwal is mindful of creating an environment similar to the one in 2013-14, when he broke through to make his first-class debut after years of being pigeon-holed as a white-ball player.”We have to keep encouraging them, create a good environment for them to flourish,” Agarwal said. “They’re in the team because of the performances they have put in age-group cricket. Nikin did very well in the Vijay Hazare as well. We want him to continue that form. As a team, we want to have an atmosphere where they can come, learn, execute and flourish, put up match-winning performances for Karnataka and play for the country.”I want to encourage them [youngsters], because they’ve put in performances. They’re skilled, they have the temperament and talent. We want to back them and help them learn. The environment we want to create in the team is one of wanting to win trophies, and we’re hungry for it.”The more we win and the more we enjoy each other’s success, that will come. Each of us has to be part of this environment, it’s not about one or two players coming in and creating that. If 20-25 of us create that, it will all stack up together. And when things stack up, results will take care of itself.”Karnataka last won the Ranji Trophy in 2014-15 and have stumbled in the knockouts for three seasons in a row. In 2018-19 and 2019-20, they lost in the semi-finals, to Saurashtra and Bengal respectively. Last season, they were upset in the quarter-final by Uttar Pradesh. Agarwal doesn’t want the team to be weighed down the baggage of being nearly men.”We’ve spoken of the legacy [of Karnataka cricket] and realised if we keep thinking off winning, winning, winning all the time, it’s not going to happen. That said, we’ve spoken of how hungry we are, but we also have to make a plan and be adaptable. Be disciplined. If we can do that, with the skillsets we have, the results will take care of itself. We are determined to win, there are no two ways about it. We want to win trophies for Karnataka.”

Clayton and Street defy Victoria’s pace attack late on day three, but Queensland still need 285 runs for victory

Tristan Lavalette11-Feb-2023Jack Clayton and Bryce Street defied Victoria’s emerging pace attack late on day three, but Queensland still faced an uphill battle to escape defeat in a pivotal Sheffield Shield clash at the MCG.Chasing a tough 350 runs in four sessions, Queensland lost opener Joe Burns and Sam Truloff early before reaching stumps at 2 for 65 in their second innings.Street and Clayton then thwarted Victoria’s late charge with a gritty half-century partnership to revive Queensland’s hopes.Victoria, however, remain in the box seat in what has been a low-scoring contest, but their bid for victory could be impacted by possible inclement weather in Melbourne on Sunday.As the Shield season resumes after a two-month break, with four of ten rounds left, Victoria can leapfrog second-placed Queensland with an outright win. They gained a stranglehold with early strikes starting with Burns being cleaned bowled by quick Fergus O’Neill for 6.It capped a disappointing comeback for Burns, who made only two runs in Queensland’s first innings after returning from a hamstring injury sustained in the BBL season opener.Queensland slumped further when Truloff fell lbw to towering seamer Cameron McClure although the ball appeared to be missing the leg stump. The Bulls’ luck appeared to change when Clayton was given not out on 2 after being hit on the pads by a good length delivery from quick Mitchell Perry.Clayton made the most of his good fortune to combine with Street, who faced 102 balls for his 16 runs. Scoring was difficult against a disciplined Victoria attack, but they eventually reduced Queensland’s target on the final day to 285 runs.Queensland slowly clawed back into the contest after being on the back foot for most of the match, having trailed in the first innings by 132 runs.Victoria started day three on 2 for 21 in their second innings and lost the early wickets of opener Travis Dean and Campbell Kellaway.But nightwatcher Perry made a career-best 75 and combined in a century partnership with Matthew Short, who struck a measured half-century in a contrast to his belligerent batting during the BBL.Left-handed Perry has a liking for the nightwatcher role, having played several indefatigable knocks previously, including 74 against WA last season.He eyed a maiden century before slicing to backward point off quick Mark Steketee, who was finally rewarded for his toil.Victoria lost a slew of wickets in an attempt for quick runs and were bowled out for 217 on the stroke of tea. Emerging allrounder Xavier Bartlett claimed the spoils for the Queensland attack with 4 for 32 from 14 overs.With five players backing up from Brisbane Heat’s barnstorming BBL campaign, which ended in a painful final’s defeat to Perth Scorchers a week ago, Queensland have looked lethargic at times but will need to summon a mighty batting effort on the final day to avoid defeat.

He will be attending a memorial service on Wednesday following the death of his grandmother Joan Williamson-Orr

Deivarayan Muthu07-Mar-2023New Zealand batter Kane Williamson will join their squad late for the Test series opener against Sri Lanka in Christchurch following the death of his grandmother Joan Williamson-Orr, a former mayor of Taupo. Williamson will link up with the side after attending a memorial service on Wednesday.Two days out from the first Test at the Hagley Oval, captain Tim Southee said that Williamson has trained with his domestic side Northern Districts in the meantime and that he will be “ready to go” against Sri Lanka.”On behalf of the team, I think everyone is feeling for Kane at the moment, and he is in the best place he can be,” Southee said. “And that is with, in and around, his family. It is a sad time for the Williamson family, and we look forward to Kane joining up. He’s been able to train with the ND guys in Tauranga, so I am sure he will be hitting plenty of balls and making sure he is ready to go come Thursday.”Related

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Williamson was one of the architects of New Zealand’s epic one-run win against England after they were asked to follow on at the Basin Reserve last week. During his 132 off 282 balls, he surpassed Ross Taylor to become New Zealand’s highest run-getter in Test cricket.

Southee: ‘Guys still see Test cricket as the pinnacle’

Southee was pleased to have been part of history – New Zealand became only the fourth team to win a Test after following on, and just the second to win by one run – but insisted that they have now reset their focus to the Sri Lanka series.”It has been great to have the amount of people who have been talking about Test cricket; to see the Basin Reserve filled for five days was great to be a part of,” Southee said. “I think, just in general, the guys are pleased to see people talking about Test cricket, and Test cricket being exciting. England have played their part in that over the last year or so.Tim Southee tunes up for the first Test against Sri Lanka•AFP/Getty Images

“The guys still see Test cricket as the pinnacle of the game, and to have the amount of people who come up and talk about Test cricket is pleasing to see. It is a match that will be talked about for a long time, but they are a very humble group. Now our focus will shift to Sri Lanka.”

Southee wary of WTC final contenders Sri Lanka

New Zealand, the winners of the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC), are already out of the race for the final of this cycle of the WTC, but Sri Lanka are still in the running – along with India – to face Australia. If Sri Lanka sweep New Zealand away from home, they will get to 61.11% points. In that case, they would need India to not win the fourth – and final – Test of the Border-Gavaskar series in Ahmedabad.”Sri Lanka are still in the hunt to make the final of the World Test Championship,” Southee said. “They’ve played some great cricket over the last two years to be in that position. So, for us, we know that Sri Lanka are a very good side, and they’ve shown that in the last couple of years – to be sitting near that top of the table in the Test Championship.”So, we respect every opposition and that’s the challenge we’re looking forward to. They still have plenty to play for, and we’re obviously out of the Test Championship.”

A win for UP Warriorz will take them level with Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals at the top of the points table

Shashank Kishore12-Mar-20233:00

Sthalekar: ‘Milestones are not important for Healy’

Mumbai Indians vs UP Warriorz

Mumbai Indians are in cruise control with three wins in three games, each one of them superbly dominant. This game, therefore, could be the perfect opportunity to bring some of their other overseas players, like Chloe Tryon, into the mix, to give them game time when the sailing is smooth. They might also be better off playing a specialist bowler in place of Amanjot Kaur, who hasn’t been needed with either bat or ball so far.But next in their way are UP Warriorz. Warriorz have empowered their young Indian talents: Kiran Navgire, Shweta Sehrawat, Devika Vaidya, Simran Shaikh to name a few. In Alyssa Healy, they have a captain who has already delivered outstanding returns on investment with her strong leadership style and bruising batting up front.They have undone some of their net run-rate issues by beating Royals Challengers Bangalore with seven overs in hand, and a win over Mumbai will bring them level on points with Mumbai and Delhi Capitals, which will make the fight for the playoffs all the more engaging.

Players to watch

Saika Ishaque is 27 but has toiled in domestic cricket without much reward or recognition for years. But here, she’s hardly shown nerves and has displayed confidence in her abilities, which has helped her surge to the top of the wicket-takers’ chart with her left-arm spin. Batters have failed to pick her lengths, the clever deceptions in the air, and fizz off the pitch. She has shown the ability to also bowl across phases in a T20 innings. It makes you wonder if she might leapfrog the incumbents in the national team.Devika Vaidya‘s batting wasn’t utilised to full potential until the previous game, when Warriorz found out that she could be the perfect foil to the destructive Healy. Vaidya can lend the calmness they lacked in the first two games, when their youngsters struggled to adjust to the pace and bounce of the DY Patil surface. Vaidya has had a second wind of sorts in her career, having made a comeback after three years, and would want to make a big impact.6:22

Are Mumbai Indians making the WPL boring?

Likely XIs

Mumbai Indians: 1 Yastika Bhatia (wk), 2 Hayley Matthews, 3 Nat Sciver-Brunt, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Amelia Kerr/Chloe Tryon, 6 Pooja Vastrakar, 7 Issy Wong, 8 Amanjot Kaur, 9 Humaira Kazi, 10 Jintimani Kalita, 11 Saika IshaqueUP Warriorz: 1 Alyssa Healy (capt, wk), 2 Devika Vaidya, 3 Shweta Sehrawat, 4 Kiran Navgire, 5 Deepti Sharma, 6 Tahlia McGrath, 7 Grace Harris, 8 Simran Shaikh, 9 Sophie Ecclestone, 9 Rajeshwari Gayakwad, 11 Anjali Sarvani

Quotes

“They’re making my job easier. Whoever comes in is eager to bowl. When you have so many options, your job is so easy.”
“I think trust is the most important thing in building a successful environment. Over here at the UP Warriorz, I think we have finally got that trust and I am here trying to do the best for the franchise and the Indian players as well.”

For the second year running, this fixture prompted a revision of the record books

ECB Reporters Network29-Apr-2023For the second year running, this fixture prompted a revision of the record books as Glamorgan mounted an impressive fightback against Leicestershire on the third day of their LV= Insurance County Championship match.It may not have been quite in the same league as last July, when Sam Northeast made his historic unbeaten 410 and combined with Chris Cooke to add an unbroken 461 in the highest sixth-wicket partnership in English first-class cricket, but it was impressive nonetheless.Cooke, who backed up Northeast with an unbeaten 191 on that occasion, was again at the heart of it, sharing a stand of 211 with Australian pace bowler Michael Neser that enters the record as the highest for the eighth wicket for Glamorgan against any opponent.Neser, seeking a third first-class career hundred to go with his 330 wickets, didn’t quite make it, dismissed on 90, but Cooke was still there on 121 not out as Glamorgan closed on 446 for 8, giving them a first-innings lead of 39 to take into the final day, although it is difficult to see the match producing a positive result.Leicestershire were handicapped by an injury to Ed Barnes, one of their five seam bowlers, who reported for duty with a swollen ankle, ruling him out of bowling for the remainder of the match.Nonetheless, Glamorgan knew it would need to be “a fighting day”, as opening bat Eddie Byrom described it on Friday evening, if they were to force a way back into the contest after closing the second day five wickets down and still 243 runs behind. In the event, they met the requirement.Nightwatchman Timm van der Gugten was a casualty within the first half-hour, caught off Chris Wright when he pulled in the air to midwicket, where Rishi Patel ultimately dived to take a good catch after covering some ground to get under it.The dismissal brought together Northeast and Cooke. With Northeast in scratchy form so far this season, another record-breaking alliance between these two was never really on the cards, but in adding 39 from 21 overs of head-down application they began to draw the sting from a Leicestershire attack faced with a pitch that was growing increasingly benign.Northeast fell caught behind, slashing at a widish ball from Mikey Finan. His 40, from 134 balls, is his highest score in nine innings since his 410. That left Cooke to be joined by Neser, whose instincts are generally to play positively.Finan, the Leicestershire bowler most likely to offer scoring opportunities, too often gave Neser width and the batter rarely missed out as Glamorgan reached lunch with the follow-on all but avoided.The afternoon session was the first in the match with no wickets to fall, which confirmed how much the playing surface had settled down after a couple of drying days. Lewis Hill, the Leicestershire captain, rotated his bowlers regularly in the hope something might happen, but there was little in the way of obvious help for either of his spinners.Cooke and Neser were able to add 120 runs, growing their partnership to 151 from 376 for 7 at tea, just 31 short of parity. Wright posed problems at times but not enough to induce a fatal error as both batters went past fifty, Cooke’s coming off 118 balls with four boundaries, Neser reaching the milestone from 94 deliveries when he pulled Wright for his seventh four.The pair continued in much the same untroubled vein into another elongated final session, setting an eighth-wicket partnership record for Glamorgan against Leicestershire when they passed the 166 achieved by Gwyn Richards and Malcolm Nash at Swansea, going ahead of Leicestershire’s 407 in the 140th over, before Cooke completed the 11th hundred of his first-class career with a scrambled single off leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, having hit five fours from 220 balls faced.The arrival of some heavy cloud prompted the floodlights to be fired up, after which the ball began to do more through the air. Neser perished to a superb delivery from Wright that he could only really admire as his middle stump lay on the ground behind him before bad light took more time out of the game, ending a scheduled 104-over day 13 overs early.