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The allrounder secured victory and reached her century with the final hit of the match

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-2018Ellyse Perry thumped a 59-ball hundred on the ground where she struck a Test double-century a year ago in a fantastic display of striking for Sydney Sixers in the WBBL at North Sydney Oval.After a wide from Heather Graham brought the scores level, Perry crunched the next delivery straight down the ground to bring up three figures.Perry had been moved down Australia’s T20 batting order at the recent World T20 in the Caribbean amid concerns about her strike-rate and the fact the team had so many top-order options.But given the chance to open the innings in the WBBL, alongside Alyssa Healy who was bowled for 2, Perry grabbed her opportunity with a display of wonderful clean hitting that included 14 fours and two sixes.Perry’s hundred was the second of this season’s WBBL following Lizelle Lee’s on the opening weekend of the competition.

The match provides Malan a chance to find some form ahead of the Test series while Sam Curran also leaves the one-day squad to face India A at New Road

Andrew McGlashan15-Jul-2018James Vince has been called up to England’s one-day squad for the deciding match against India at Headingley with Dawid Malan released to take up his place in the Lions side, to face India A in a four-day match at New Road, ahead of the Test series against India next month.Sam Curran, the Surrey allrounder, has also been let go from the one-day side to face India A which he was originally selected for. He made his debut against Pakistan at Headingley and further opportunity could arise when Ben Stokes is unavailable because of his trial in Bristol which starts the day after the first Test is due to finish.Malan is likely to feature in the middle order although he is under some pressure after two lean Tests against Pakistan where he made 46 runs in three innings. Since that series finished in early June, Malan has only played five matches – all for Middlesex – and his last four innings across various formats have been 0, 0, 2 and 0 including a pair in the pink-ball Championship match against Kent.He had been called into the one-day squad on the day of the first match after Alex Hales injured his side. After the England Lions game he has a Championship fixture against Warwickshire – there is a round of matches shoe-horned in amid the ongoing T20 Blast – before the Test series against India begins on August 1.

England Lions team to face India A

Rory Burns (capt), Alastair Cook, Nick Gubbins, Dawid Malan, Ollie Pope, Chris Woakes, Sam Curran, Dom Bess, Matt Fisher, Jack Leach, Jamie Porter

As was the case with Malan, Vince won’t feature unless there is an injury to one of England’s top order ahead of the match on Tuesday but his call-up is acknowledgment for an impressive Royal London Cup campaign where he made 527 runs and captained Hampshire to the title.Vince, who lost his Test place at the start of the season, played the last of his five ODIs back in 2016 on the tour of Bangladesh when Hales and Eoin Morgan both opted out of the trip due to security concerns.He has been selected ahead of Sam Billings, who has been a regular part of the one-day squad but made precious few appearances. He was left out after the series against Australia and said there had been discussions between him and national selector Ed Smith that it was better to get a run of matches for Kent rather than carry the drinks for England. Billings has since found some form with 75 in the Royal London final and a T20 career-best of 95 not out, both against Vince’s Hampshire.There remains the possibility that there is one batting berth up for grabs in England’s World Cup squad next year with Billings, Vince and Malan perhaps in a three-way tussle.Surrey’s Rory Burns will captain England Lions against India A – a side that will also feature Alastair Cook and Chris Woakes – with a chance to further press his claims for Test selection. He is the leading run-scorer across all Championship cricket with 722 runs at 65.63 and could be the next man in line for a chance at the top of the order if another change is needed.Keaton Jennings was recalled in place of Mark Stoneman for the second Test against Pakistan, so will likely start the series against India, but Burns is breathing down his neck along with Nick Gubbins who is also part of the Lions side.

Wasim Khan has questioned whether the game in England and Wales can do more to encourage coaches and administrators from South Asian and Afro-Caribbean backgrounds

George Dobell28-Feb-2018Wasim Khan, the chief executive of Leicestershire, has questioned whether the game in England and Wales can do more to encourage coaches and administrators from South Asian and Afro-Caribbean backgrounds.While Wasim has welcomed the appointment of Vikram Solanki and Dimitri Mascarenhas as assistant head coaches at Surrey and Essex respectively, he raised the possibility of “unconscious bias” inhibiting the progress of more non-white coaches and suggested a concerted effort should be made to improve the situation.His comments follow those of Roland Butcher, who recently described himself as “surprised” and “saddened” by the small number of coaching opportunities provided to non-white people despite there being “so many managerial positions available in the first-class game in England”. Butcher, the first man of Afro-Caribbean heritage to represent England at Test level, told the BBC “it appears as if Black and Asian coaches are not trusted to do a job”.While the ECB has certainly made an increased effort to engage with the Asian community in recent times – Lord Patel of Bradford has joined the ECB board as an independent director and has been preparing a report on the issue, while Vikram Banerjee, the former Gloucestershire spinner, has been appointed as the ECB’s head of strategy – Wasim, at least, feels there is a great deal more to do.”My concern is we’ve been talking about this for 20 years,” Wasim told ESPNcricinfo, “and we’re not seeing the progress we had anticipated. I think, as a game, we know we need to do better. We have started exploring the issue of unconscious bias. And that’s a welcome first step.”I know the game has prided itself on the number of Asian players in the men’s side, but let’s now look beyond that: let’s look at what might be causing that blockage in the system and let’s see if we can provide more opportunities.”You would have thought that having more coaches of South Asian heritage might prove helpful in reaching the players from those communities we are trying to attract into mainstream cricket. So let’s have an honest conversation now about what is stopping non-white coaches from taking the next step and graduating to those key positions at first-class counties. And let’s see if we can extend the fantastic progress made in the women’s game and try to involve more non-white players and coaches.”Wasim’s words, while measured, are likely to have some impact. As well as having been the first British-born Muslim to play county cricket, he is also believed to be the only chief executive of BAME (black, Asian or minority ethnic) heritage at a professional sport’s club in the country and was recently named in the Muslim 100 Powerlist. He feels he owes his success to opportunities offered first by Mervyn King, the former governor of the Bank of England, who recommended him to the Cricket Foundation as CEO and then ECB president, Giles Clarke, who recommended him for the position of CEO at Leicestershire.”I owe Mervyn and Giles greatly,” Wasim said. “They spotted some talent within me and helped me gain the opportunities to develop those skills. That’s the sort of belief I’d like to see shown in more people of BAME heritage.”As things stand at present, some potentially really good coaches are telling me there’s ‘no point’ in them applying for such jobs as they don’t think the system will provide them with a fair chance. So let’s look into that. Let’s see if we can provide shadowing and mentoring opportunities with academy or head coaches and see if we can up-skill these guys so they are better prepared to seize opportunities in the future.”Nobody is asking for tokenism. Meritocracy is vital. But let’s ask ourselves if we are really getting the best out of all the talent at our disposal at present and ensure there are opportunities for people of all backgrounds. Because if we don’t provide opportunities, we’ll never give benefit from all the available talent that is out there.”Current figures suggest the percentage of cricketers of South Asian heritage on first-class staff – about 5% – roughly reflects the percentage of South Asian people in British society. When compared to the figures in recreational cricket, however, those figures start to look far less healthy.Around 33% of recreational cricketers are of South Asian heritage, according to analysis by sports marketing agency Two Circles and the ECB, with 42% of them expressing a belief that there are no opportunities for the most talented players from their communities to progress in the game. And, despite the obvious enthusiasm for the sport, only 3% of ticket sales across county and international cricket in England and Wales comes from the South Asian community.

Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn have been named in South Africa’s T20 squad for the two-match series against Pakistan in the UAE next month

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Oct-2013Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn have been named in South Africa’s T20 squad for the two-match series against Pakistan in the UAE next month. Batsman Farhaan Behardien and the seamer Rory Kleinveldt were the two players left out of the T20 squad that toured Sri Lanka in July.Amla last played a T20 in December 2012. He relinquished the limited-overs vice-captaincy in February when South Africa announced separate captains for all three formats. He had asked not to be picked for T20s in 2013, but it appears as if he is willing to commit to the shortest format. He is the third opening batsman in the squad, with Henry Davids and Quinton de Kock in the mix.”Hashim is a world-class player across all the formats,” said Cricket South Africa (CSA) selection convener Andrew Hudson. “His experience and stability at the top of the order are qualities that we believe will strengthen the squad in a key area.”Steyn last played in the World T20 in Sri Lanka in 2012. With the next edition of the tournament in March-April in Bangladesh, the coach Russell Domingo had made it clear that players had to be part of the squad regularly if they wanted to be picked for tournaments. Steyn took part in the Champions League in India for Sunrisers Hyderabad.”It is great to have Dale back as it means we now have all our senior players available again,” Hudson said. “There was also some encouraging form shown at the Champions League T20, notably by Henry Davids, who was unquestionably the batsman of the tournament until the Titans were knocked out.”The allrounder Chris Morris was not named in any of the limited-overs squads for the tour. South Africa play the two T20s in Dubai after the two Tests and five ODIs.Squad: Faf du Plessis (capt), Hashim Amla, Henry Davids, Quinton de Kock, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, David Wiese

Lasith Malinga, the Sri Lanka fast bowler, has made himself unavailable for Test selection because of a long-standing degenerative condition in his right knee

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Apr-2011Lasith Malinga, the Sri Lankan fast bowler, has given up Test cricket because of a “long-standing degenerative condition in the right knee”. He intends to continue playing the shorter formats, though, and hopes to play in the 2012 World Twenty20 and the 2015 World Cup.Malinga, 27, made himself unavailable for the upcoming Test tour of England citing his fitness problems, but has been playing for Mumbai Indians in the IPL. Sri Lanka Cricket asked him to return home and undergo a rehabilitation programme, but Malinga has now clarified that his condition stops him from playing only the longest format.”Although I am sufficiently fit to play both ODI and T20 cricket, I have a long-standing degenerative condition in my right knee that needs to be carefully managed,” Malinga’s statement read. “The condition relates directly to the chronic knee injury I sustained playing for Sri Lanka in Australia back in February 2008, an injury that prevented me from playing ODI cricket for 16 months.”The injury was a career-threatening injury and my orthopaedic surgeon was of the opinion that given his experience with other professional athletes in Australia I was very fortunate to play again. I have since been advised by the national team physiotherapist and my orthopaedic consultant that my condition will deteriorate when fielding or bowling for prolonged periods.”I did try to return to Test cricket after a three-year absence last year [against India] following requests from the team management and the selectors, but it left me unfit nursing severe knee pain for two months.”I have realised that the heavy workload of Test cricket, which requires a fast bowler to be able to bowl more than 15 overs, sometimes on consecutive days, could lead to permanent injury. I have carefully considered my options and have decided that not playing Test cricket will help me achieve my goal of representing Sri Lanka in the 2012 World Twenty20 and the 2015 World Cup.”Malinga said he was available for all limited-overs internationals, and planned to travel to Sri Lanka soon to discuss his plans with the selectors.Since his debut in July 2004, Malinga has played only 30 Tests and 84 ODIs. His slingshot round-arm action and focus on pace put a lot of strain on his body, and he was forced to miss several games. His career seemed to have stalled after the Galle Test against England in December 2007, but he returned for the series against India mid-2010. It was, however, a false dawn on his stop-start Test career.

A round-up of the first day of the opening round of matches in Division 2 of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2010An unbroken 123-run partnership between Lal Kumar and Kashif Bhatti lifted Hyderabad to 293 after they had collapsed to 170 for 7 on the first day against Quetta at the Niaz Stadium. Kumar hammered 12 fours and two sixes to reach his maiden first-class century. He found support in left-arm spinner Bhatti who remained unbeaten on 54, his maiden first-class half-century. Their fightback brought Hyderabad back into the game after Quetta’s opening bowlers Gauhar Faiz and Arun Lal had rattled the top order with three quick wickets. Rizwan Ahmed and captain Nasrullah Memon tried to rebuild the innings but fell in their thirties before Kumar came to Hyderabad’s rescue.Armaghan Elahi, the left-arm fast bowler, put Abbottabad on top on the opening day of their Division 2 encounter against Pakistan Television at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. Pakistan Television had a poor start to their debut season in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, as Elahi removed their openers cheaply. Yasim Murtaza and Awais Zia staged a mini-recovery to take the score to 90 for 3, but both fell within two runs of each other. The lower order could not resist for long, and Elahi returned to take two more, finishing with 4 for 32. Left-arm seamer Saad Altaf had Abbottabad in some trouble at 16 for 2, but opener Ghulam Mohammad and captain Wajid Ali ensured no further damage was done, ending the day only 88 runs in arrears.Ashraf Ali made a patient half-century as Lahore Ravi crawled to 198 for 6 at the end of the first day of their game against State Bank of Pakistan at the Lahore Cricket Association Ground. Ashraf’s unbeaten 55 came off 163 deliveries, as he played the anchor role for Lahore to perfection. Mohammad Naved and Mohammad Rameez, the opening bowlers for State Bank, took two wickets each, as did fellow fast bowler Bilawal Bhatti.Lahore Shalimar held the advantage at the end of the first day against Peshawar at the Sports Complex in Mardan. Peshwar were asked to bat and they looked set for a formidable first-innings total after their top order delivered a solid start. Opener Mohammad Fayyaz (50) and Naved Khan (47) added 73 for the second wicket while Sajjad Ahmed top scored, remaining unbeaten on 78 at stumps. However, the middle and the lower orders failed to build on the platform as the Lahore bowlers struck back. Left-arm seamer Emmad Ali led the way with three wickets as Sajjad could only watch his partners return to the pavilion one after another in relatively quick succession. Emmad was well supported by the rest of the bowling line-up. At one stage, Peshawar lost five wickets for 20, and it seemed they would get bowled out for under 200. But Sajjad was helped by No.10 batsman Waqar Ahmed, who made 25, and Peshawar finished the day on 263 for 9.

The second day saw 15 wickets fall on a pitch aiding the quicks as Australia’s Test opening debate continued to rage

Alex Malcolm21-Oct-2024Australia’s next Test opener is yet to announce himself after Sam Konstas and Marcus Harris both missed out on an action-packed second day at the MCG where Steven Smith also fell cheaply as Fergus O’Neill and Mitchell Starc ran riot with the ball but Victoria claimed a significant lead over New South Wales.As two of Australia’s selectors, coach Andrew McDonald and Tony Dodemaide, watched from the stands Konstas and Harris failed to elevate their case while Smith also fell for 3 for 29 balls as O’Neill, who is in the Australia A squad, bagged four wickets in a skillful display of seam bowling in friendly conditions. Starc then tore through Victoria’s top order late in the day with a blistering spell that claimed three scalps, including Harris caught down the leg side for the second time in the match.Related

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It came on a day where openers around the country struggled with Matt Renshaw (2) and Cameron Bancroft (8) also falling cheaply.After Victoria were bowled out for 272, all eyes were on the battle between Konstas and Australia’s back-up Test quick Scott Boland in the morning and the latter held sway, albeit with some help from umpire Sam Nogajski. Boland delivered 10 balls at Konstas who scarcely laid bat on him. The 19-year-old was nearly bowled first ball, hit on the inner thigh pad and got a thick inside edge on one that flew in the air past the diving short leg for his only two runs.Boland then nipped one back from a fuller length to hit Konstas below the knee roll and Nogajski adjudged him lbw. Replays suggested it may have been doing too much to hit leg stump.O’Neill and Will Sutherland then tightened the screws with some frugal bowling as the prodigious movement in the MCG surface never abated at any stage throughout the day.O’Neill was a little fortunate to claim Smith, who tickled a glance down the leg side to Sam Harper. But it was reward for outstanding control as Smith scored just three runs from 29 deliveries.Josh Philippe took a brilliant leg-side catch to remove Marcus Harris•Getty Images

Nic Maddinson had earlier nicked one trying to punch Sutherland forcefully off the back foot before O’Neill found the outside edge of Moises Henriques to leave NSW reeling at 28 for 4.Ollie Davies and Josh Philippe shared a steadying partnership and both looked comfortable at various stages driving impressively down the ground whenever a rare overpitched delivery was offered.But Davies got sucked into a short ball plan from Sutherland and holed out hooking to deep square for 37. Sean Abbott fell in exactly the same way two overs later to leave the Blues 83 for 6. Philippe tried to shepherd the tail with an unbeaten 45 and did get a contribution of 17 from Nathan Lyon but O’Neill and Todd Murphy cleaned up the last four to bowl NSW out for 136 and hand the home side a significant 136-run lead.Starc ensured that Victoria did not build on that advantage easily with a sparkling spell of fast bowling. Backing up after some excellent work on day one he tore through Victoria’s top order. The second ball of the innings was a vicious off-cutter that leapt at Ash Chandrasinghe and ricocheted off his back elbow onto the stumps. In the third over he pinned Campbell Kellaway lbw with a delivery that was full and too fast for the left-hander.Peter Handscomb fell edging Jackson Bird to second slip before Starc claimed Harris again in his fifth over of the spell. Just like the first innings, a quick rising delivery at the hip caused Harris to glance without control, it came off glove onto thigh pad and ballooned behind for Philippe to pouch at full stretch in the right glove.It left Harris with scores of 26 and 16 for the match and Victoria struggling at 32 for 4. But Harper and Tom Rogers steadied late in the day to help reclaim control for the home side extend the lead beyond 200.

21-year-old registers maiden five-wicket haul as Yorkshire to enforce the follow-on

ECB Reporters Network12-Sep-2023Glamorgan 273 (Carlson 64, Revis 5-50) and 120 for 2 fo (Byrom 52*, Northeast 45*) trail Yorkshire 500 (Masood 192, Bean 93, Hill 71) by 107 runsMatthew Revis delivered career-best bowling figures of 5-50 to force Glamorgan to follow on at Sophia Gardens as he helped Yorkshire move into a winning position on day three of their LV= County Championship clash.Chasing back-to-back wins after their recent triumph against Derbyshire, Yorkshire dismissed the Welsh county for 273 in their first innings as they chased a total of 500. That left them trailing by 227, forcing them to bat again.When play ended five overs short due to bad light, Eddie Byrom and Sam Northeast had put on 90 for the third wicket to take the home side to 120-2.The 21-year-old Revis had picked up three wickets the previous evening and was quickly into action again at the start of a rain-affected morning session. He had Kiran Carlson caught at short leg by James Wharton for 64 to end a promising sixth wicket stand of 73 with Dan Douthwaite.He then clean bowled the home side’s second-highest scorer, Andy Gorvin (47), who had been joined by No.11 Jamie McIlroy in a tail waging session that plundered 56 very welcome runs.Glamorgan reached 213 for 7 by lunch, but seven balls into the afternoon session Ben Coad trapped dangerman Douthwaite lbw for 37 and followed that up by clean bowling James Harris with his next ball. McIlroy denied him a hat-trick and went on to score an unbeaten 30.Yorkshire skipper Shan Masood had no hesitation in asking Glamorgan to follow on and Coad struck with only his second ball of the innings to remove Zain ul-Hassan. It was the second time in the match the opener had fallen to the Yorkshire paceman, this time caught at first slip by George Hill.Colin Ingram then fell to a catch at first slip off Dom Bess to make it 30 for 2 in the 13th over and the second innings slide seemed to be on. It was 35 for 2 at the tea interval before openerEddie Byrom and Sam Northeast finally got to grips with the bowling. Byrom scored 40 in the first innings and this time around successfully reached his half-century with a streaky two between the wicketkeeper and slip off Adam Lyth in the 36th over.By the end of play, their third wicket stand – Northeast is unbeaten on 45 – had been worth 90 and carried Glamorgan to within 107 runs of avoiding an innings defeat.

Worcestershire bring in Netherlands allrounder Logan van Beek

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Aug-2023Somerset have signed New Zealand bowler Neil Wagner for the final three rounds of the LV= Insurance County Championship.Wagner had been due to play for Yorkshire this summer but suffered a torn hamstring and a bulging disc in his back while playing a Test against Sri Lanka in March. He has previously turned out for Essex, Lancashire and Northamptonshire in county cricket.Somerset had enjoyed the services of Matt Henry and Peter Siddle as overseas players during the first half of the season but both have now finished their spells at the club.”We have been working extremely hard to secure the services of a quality international bowler for the last three red-ball fixtures of the season,” Somerset’s director of cricket, Andy Hurry, said. “Neil is a proven performer at the very highest level and has vast experience as well as a thorough understanding of Championship cricket.”He is a real competitor, and alongside our other highly rated bowlers, we believe we have the capability to consistently take 20 wickets as we enter the final phase of the Championship season.”Somerset are currently fifth in Division One of the Championship, with Wagner set to be available for their trip to Southampton on September 3.Wagner said: “I’m looking forward to joining up with Somerset and hopefully I can help them finish the season strongly. I’ve played English county cricket before and it’s something that I really enjoy. Division One is very competitive again this year and there are no easy games, but I’ll be doing everything that I can to make sure that Somerset finish as close to the top of the table as possible.”Elsewhere, Worcestershire have signed Netherlands allrounder Logan van Beek for the rest of the Metro Bank Cup campaign, as well as two rounds of the Championship.Van Beek, who spent three seasons at Derbyshire between 2019 and 2021, will be involved in five One-Day Cup games, starting with Gloucestershire’s visit to New Road, and Championship fixtures against Glamorgan and Durham before joining up with Netherlands for their World Cup preparations.Worcestershire have also announced that Ethan Brookes, 22, will join them on a two-year contract. The Warwickshire allrounder, brother of Henry, has played three first-class games and 18 List A games after coming through the Edgbaston academy.

“It’s just getting back that confidence to sidestep and run as hard as I can and dive around again”

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Feb-2021David Warner has said he may feel the effects of the groin injury that has interrupted his season for up to nine months but has confirmed he hopes to return for New South Wales early next month*.Warner suffered the injury during the second ODI against India at the end of November and missed the final ODI, the T20Is that followed and the first two Tests. He returned to the side for the Sydney and Brisbane matches when far from fully fit after Australia had patched up their opening pair with an out-of-form Joe Burns and out-of-position Matthew Wade.He scored 5, 13, 1 and 48 in his four innings before being named in the squad for the now-postponed tour of South Africa, a format where he believes the tempo makes the injury more manageable. His comeback is now set to be the Marsh Cup match against South Australia in Adelaide on March 4 before he heads to the IPL to join Sunrisers Hyderabad for which he’ll need an NOC from Cricket Australia.”I am almost back to full 100% sprinting in a straight line. This next week is getting back to fielding, picking up, throwing, very difficult that was [in the] last couple of weeks, even trying to throw,” Warner said during Fox Cricket’s coverage of the first T20I in Christchurch.Related

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“Now it’s all about lateral, running between wickets, building that up. It’s just the tendon that has got that slight tear in it now. It’s going to aggravate me for the next six to nine months but I am sure the medicos will help me out there.