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Agarwal plays his part with a half-century before chase got tense; Warner’s unbeaten 70 in vain

The Report by Peter Della Penna08-Apr-20191:28

Restricted Warner’s scoring shots outside the off stump – Rajpoot

KL Rahul’s third fifty in four matches helped Kings XI Punjab over the line with a ball to spare, ensuring they maintained a perfect home record in IPL 2019 with a six-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad. The visiting bowling unit did well to stretch the match into the final over as a 114-run second-wicket stand between Rahul and Mayank Agarwal nearly went to waste due to a late stumble chasing a target of 151.With 19 off 18 balls required and nine wickets in hand, Sandeep Sharma and Siddharth Kaul suddenly dragged Sunrisers back into the contest with a superb pair of death overs that claimed Agarwal, David Miller and Mandeep Singh to leave Rahul and new man Sam Curran needing 11 to get off the final over bowled by Mohammad Nabi. But Sunrisers paid for sloppy fielding in the ensuing sequence as a pair of would-be singles by Curran turned into two twos, before a final fumble by David Warner at long-on on the penultimate ball allowed a single to become another two for the winning run.Power outageAfter R Ashwin won the toss and sent the visitors in to bat, the Kings XI bowling unit strangled Sunrisers top-order in the first half of the innings. Jonny Bairstow fell to Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s fourth ball in the second over as a leg stump line of attack that initially resulted in a pair of leg-side wides finally paid off with a catch flicked to Ashwin at midwicket.Warner survived a run-out chance by Miller at backward point on 4 in the fifth over as both he and Vijay Shankar struggled to get momentum going in the face of a disciplined display by the hosts, ending the Powerplay at 27 for 1. The pair reached 50 for 1 at the halfway mark, having gone 5.1 overs without a boundary. The pressure finally resulted in Shankar edging Ashwin behind in the 11th as his attempted late cut to third man went awry due to some extra bounce.2:45

Tait: Yusuf Pathan needs to be replaced

Warner shifts gearsEntering the 16th over, Warner was still striking at under a run a ball before taking Mujeeb on to give Sunrisers a late burst. Warner had earlier showed signs of getting unstuck by reverse sweeping Mujeeb over point for a boundary in the 13th and became aggressive once more against the Afghan by stepping outside leg stump to loft him over long-on for six, moving to 47 off 46 balls. He brought up a 49-ball half-century later in the over, the slowest of Warner’s T20 career.Warner survived another chance on the second ball of the final over. After Mohammed Shami had Manish Pandey caught at deep midwicket to start the over, Warner should have been out on 69 gloving an attempted scoop to the keeper but was given not out. A single next ball allowed Deepak Hooda on strike, who flicked four past the keeper before two straight drives accounted for another 10 runs to complete 100 off the final 10 overs for Sunrisers.Rashid nabs Gayle the whaleThe 20-year-old Afghan legspinner took a famous beating at the hands of the Universe Boss on the same ground last season when Gayle torched Rashid Khan for six sixes, including four in a row during one over, on the way to an unbeaten 104 off 63 balls. Rashid ended with 1 for 55 on that day in a Kings XI win.But on this occasion, their showdown was short and sweet in favour of Rashid who nabbed the biggest fish out there. Having already scored 16 of Kings XI’s first 18 runs, Gayle decided to take on the first delivery Rashid bowled after entering the attack in the fourth over and wound up driving a catch to Hooda at long-on, who charged in for a brilliant take.Rahul stays coolAfter Gayle fell, wickets were hard to come by for Rashid and everyone else in the Sunrisers bowling unit. Rahul continued his fine early season form by steering the rest of the Kings XI chase. He smacked Nabi for two boundaries in the 13th to bring up a 34-ball half-century.Victory looked assured before the late wobble of wickets. But after five runs by Curran to start the final over, Rahul’s dominance over Nabi continued with a straight driven four to take the equation down to two off two balls. Another flick by Rahul toward long-on was certain to level the scores but wound up becoming the winning shot after Warner couldn’t pick up the ball cleanly.

Opening batsman to be assessed once more before being passed fit to play at Headingley

George Dobell at Headingley21-Aug-2019Jason Roy has come through a concussion test following a blow to the head while batting in the nets on Tuesday, but will be assessed once more before he is cleared to play in the third Ashes Test at Headingley.Roy sustained a blow directly on the stem guard when facing throwdowns from Marcus Trescothick. He was assessed both at the time – he was cleared to carry on batting – and again on Wednesday morning before training but will undergo one more test on Thursday morning before he is deemed eligible for selection.Jason Roy receives treatment after copping a blow in the nets•Getty Images

While he is thought highly likely to be declared fit to play, England will have Ollie Pope on standby should Roy display any symptoms of delayed concussion. If that happens, and Roy misses out, Joe Denly would be promoted to open the batting alongside Rory Burns and Pope would slot into the middle-order. Pope and Dominic Sibley were on unofficial standby during the second Test at Lord’s in the understanding that Sibley would come in for a top-order batsman and Pope for a middle-order batsman.In years gone by, it is probable the blow sustained by Roy would have gone largely unnoticed. But with concussions very much in the news and a growing awareness of the seriousness of the condition, the cautious approach taken by England here is likely to become the norm. Roy batted in training without any apparent discomfort on Wednesday.”I’m pretty confident Jason’s going to be fit,” Joe Root said. “He’s been monitored quite closely as you’d expect; there is a huge
amount of attention around concussion at the minute. He’s undergone a couple of concussion tests so far and scored really well. So as it stands I fully expect him to be fit and ready to go.”You can only make a change if it happens within a Test match not if it happens prior to it so, with that in mind, we will have to be absolutely sure Jason is fit and ready to go, but we are fully confident he will be.”

Ireland international shares third-wicket stand of 186 with Fran Wilson, 48 hours after joining new team

ECB Reporters Network29-Apr-2023Orla Prendergast scored a magnificent century on debut to propel Western Storm to a convincing six-wicket Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy victory over Thunder at Sophia Gardens.Having joined the staff only 48 hours previously, the Irish international made the best possible first impression, posting a career-best 115 and sharing in a mammoth third-wicket stand of 186 with Fran Wilson, who finished unbeaten on 74 from 100 balls.Prendergast’s superb innings comprised 115 balls and included 11 fours and a six as Storm chased down a victory target of 215 with 51 balls to spare. The pick of Thunder’s bowlers, Mahika Gaur claimed 3 for 39 from her allotted overs.Opener Emma Lamb top-scored with 74 and Deandra Dottin contributed a hard-hitting 41 after Thunder had won the toss and elected to bat.But Storm’s bowlers stuck to their task, Chloe Skelton accounting for Lamb and Dottin in an incisive return of 3 for 36, while Dani Gibson and Lauren Filer claimed two wickets apiece. Thunder’s middle and lower order came up short and they were bowled out for an inadequate 214 in 44.4 overs.Heavily defeated by reigning champions Northern Diamonds at Headingley in their opening fixture, Storm summoned the perfect response, but Thunder are still seeking their first win.Eager to stake a claim for a place in the England team for this summer’s upcoming Ashes series against Australia, Thunder opener Lamb was determined to make a good impression at a venue in which she posted a notable half-century in a T20 match against Storm two seasons ago.But the early going was predictably tough against the new ball pair of Gibson and Filer, who made the England international play and miss on several occasions. Fellow opener Naomi Dattani never looked comfortable and was beaten by movement off the seam, caught at the wicket off Gibson, while former Storm player Fi Morris was comprehensively bowled by a superbly-executed in-swinging yorker from Filer as Thunder slipped to 19 for 2 inside six overs.Unfazed by what was happening at the other end, the meticulous Lamb continued to cut and drive with confidence, collecting seven boundaries on her way to a chanceless 50 from 59 balls. She was afforded valuable support from her captain, Eleanor Threlkeld happily playing second fiddle in an innings of 27 which helped steady the ship. These two added 72 in 13.5 overs for the third wicket to put the visitors in credit, and Storm breathed a collective sigh of relief when Threlkeld inadvertently fluffed her lines, caught and bowled by slow left armer Sophia Smale in the act of driving.Any respite afforded the home team proved short-lived as former West Indies international Dottin picked up the cudgels in progressive partnership with Lamb, the fourth-wicket pair staging a quickfire alliance of 69 in 61 balls, in the process putting a young Storm side under intense pressure.Dottin seized the initiative when harvesting a quartet of boundaries in one over from Filer, this a prelude to launching off spinner Claire Nicholas over long-on for the first maximum of the innings and then cover driving the Wales international for four later in the same over.Desperate to effect a breakthrough and stem the flow of runs, skipper Gibson called upon Skelton’s off breaks with immediate results. The 22-year-old Gloucestershire bowler struck twice in the space of nine deliveries to claim the key wickets of Lamb and Dottin and altogether alter the complexion of the game.Lamb had plundered 74 from 85 balls with eight fours and no doubt had three figures in her sights when she miss-timed a pull shot straight to Wilson at deep mid-wicket, while the aggressive Dottin, having raised 41 from 40 balls and struck seven fours and a six, holed out to Gibson at deep long-on.Sitting pretty at 160 for 3 in the 29th over, Thunder went into freefall thereafter, their last seven wickets falling inside 14 overs for the addition of just 54 runs.Encouraged by their double breakthrough, resilient Storm turned the screw, Filer accounting for Liberty Heap and Nat Wraith adroitly stumping Tara Norris off the bowling of the excellent Gibson. Thunder were by now dependent upon Danielle Collins, but she was bowled by Skelton for 23, after which Alex Griffiths knocked back Gaur’s off stump and then completed a run out to dismiss Alex Hartley and terminate the innings with 5.2 overs unused.Defending a modest total, Thunder required the reassurance of early wickets. Sure enough, Gaur obliged in a new-ball burst of 2 for 8 in five overs, the tall left-arm seamer pinning Griffiths lbw for one and then persuading Emma Corney to edge behind for two as Storm stuttered to 11 for 2, their new-look opening partnership failing to fire for a second successive match.Having only recently arrived from Ireland and still getting to know her new team-mates, Prendergast found herself between a rock and a hard place, charged with the task of rebuilding under extreme pressure in unfamiliar surroundings. She could not have wished for a better partner than Wilson, the former England international bringing all of her vast experience to bear on a tricky situation.Especially impressive in the circumstances, Prendergast played an innings full of calculated risk, punishing anything short of a length to score ostensibly in boundaries while the fielding restrictions were in place and then demonstrating a willingness to take the aerial route when confronted by spin. Warming to her task, the 20-year-old went to 50 in the grand manner, hoisting Morris over square leg for six, attaining that landmark via 49 balls with seven fours.Prepared to play a supporting role and aware of the additional responsibility placed upon her by the injury-enforced absence of Sophie Luff, Wilson batted with a degree of caution, compiling steadily rather than succumbing to any urge to take unwarranted risks. Her 50 comprised 71 balls and included a modest two fours, at which point the unbroken third-wicket stand was already worth 144.Threlkeld tried a final roll of the dice, recalling Gaur, but the young Emirates bowler was not nearly as effective with a soft ball, and Prendergast and Wilson began to relax as the required rate dropped to below four an over.Nevertheless, Prendergast maintained her concentration and poise to register three figures for the first time in senior women’s cricket, turning Hartley down to deep fine leg and running three to bring home supporters to their feet in appreciation. Her second 50 spanned 49 balls in an even-paced innings. By the time she was out, bowled by Dattani in the 38th over, Storm were almost home and dry.

Lancashire have been relegated to Specsavers County Championship Division Two after they failed to secure a third batting bonus point against Hampshire

ECB Reporters Network25-Sep-2018
ScorecardLancashire have been relegated to Specsavers County Championship Division Two after they failed to secure a third batting bonus point against Hampshire, although they remain on course for victory.Lancashire needed to reach a minimum of 300 and beat Hampshire, while elsewhere requiring Nottinghamshire to fall short 200 – which they did – and then lose to Somerset at Trent Bridge. But after Fidel Edwards blasted through the tail with the second new ball they fell 27 runs short of the 300 mark and their demotion to the second tier was confirmed.Next season will therefore be the first time since 2015 that Lancashire will play their cricket in Division Two. On that occasion they only spent one year in the second before they were immediately promoted back to Division One.They join Worcestershire in dropping down this season, although they remain on top of their clash at the Ageas Bowl, restricting Hampshire to 178 for 8 – a lead of just 92.Rob Jones had brilliantly batted Lancashire in the right direction to stay up with a morning half-century. Jones, who had come into the game with an average of less than 10 in seven Championship innings this season, added 84 runs with Dane Villas for the sixth wicket, after Liam Livingstone had been yorked by Edwards, his 50th scalp of the season, in the second over of the day.But after a classy, attacking fifty, Jones departed two overs after lunch when Ian Holland had him lbw – the Australian’s third wicket in figures of 3 for 48.That left Lancashire needing 59 from the last three wickets, and Josh Bohannon and Tom Bailey kept the score ticking until the second new ball. But on 273, Kyle Abbott and Edwards reconvened and took three wickets between them to send the visitors down.Abbott needed just three deliveries to find Bohannon’s outside edge, with Joe Weatherley taking a good catch at third slip. Former West Indies fast bowler Edwards then sealed Lancashire’s fate by bowling Bailey with a fierce full ball before Saqib Mahmood was lbw two balls later.The difficulties of batting on a bowler-friendly pitch, despite blue skies above, were proven by Hampshire’s upper order. With a first-innings deficit of 86, Hampshire lost Oli Soames to a fine head-high catch by Vilas at second slip, before Joe Weatherley was caught behind – both off the bowling off Richard Gleeson.That brought Jimmy Adams to the crease for his final innings in first-class cricket, accompanied by warm applause from the crowd and away team players. He rode his luck when he was dropped by Jones at second slip on 2, before departing lbw for 13, and ending on 14,145 first-class runs.Adams was given a guard of honour by his Hampshire team-mates before hugging his father on his way to the dressing room for the last time as a professional batsman.Bohannon then took three wickets to leave the hosts 88 for 6. The bowler had Sam Northeast lbw to the fifth ball after tea, James Vince caught behind and then, a ball later, Holland bowled.Liam Dawson and Lewis McManus added 43 for the seventh wicket to start a recovery, before the former was strangled down the leg side.
Gareth Berg was caught at second slip but Kyle Abbott and McManus guided Hampshire to the close eight down.

Mominul’s 84 the lone bright spot for Bangladesh after hosts chose to bat at the toss

Hemant Brar22-Dec-20222:34

Jaffer: In the end, choosing Unadkat over Kuldeep proved justified

Umesh Yadav and R Ashwin picked up four wickets each to put India on top despite Mominul Haque’s 84 on return. Batting first in the second Test in Mirpur, Bangladesh were 213 for 5 at one stage after tea but lost their last five wickets inside the next 14 runs to be all out for 227.Each of Bangladesh’s top seven batters reached 15 but apart from Mominul, no one could cross 26. Whenever a partnership seemed to be brewing, they lost a wicket. Five of the first six wickets featured a stand of 39 or more but the highest of them was only 48.India were left with 14 overs to face in the evening. The play went into the extra half hour but bad light allowed only eight of those to be bowled. In that short passage, KL Rahul looked circumspect against Taskin Ahmed and Shakib Al Hasan, and finished the day on 3 not out off 30 balls. Shubman Gill was keeping him company, his unbeaten 14 off 20 comprising a six and a four.In the morning, India went in with three seamers and two spinners on a grassy pitch, replacing Kuldeep Yadav, the Player of the Match in the last game, with Jaydev Unadkat. This was Unadkat’s first Test in 12 years and only his second overall. Between his two appearances India played 118 Tests, the second-most missed games for any Test cricketer.Umesh and Mohammed Siraj found movement with the new ball but neither really pitched it up to fully exploit the conditions. That resulted in a lot of plays-and-misses but the Bangladesh openers, Zakir Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto, survived their spells.Bowling first change, Unadkat, the slowest of the Indian seamers, didn’t find as much movement but his higher release point fetched him extra bounce. Soon, he was bowling with four slips, a gully and a short leg, and hitting batters on the gloves regularly.With Bangladesh on 39, Zakir decided to cut a short-of-length delivery from Unadkat, only to be done in by the extra bounce. The ball hit him on the glove and lobbed to fourth slip, giving Unadkat his maiden wicket in Test cricket.3:01

Jaffer on Shakib dismissal: If you are captain, you have to lead from the front

In the next over, Ashwin trapped Shanto lbw. The batter, playing for the turn, shouldered arms to a length ball that went with the arm from around the wicket and struck him on the pad. He was given out lbw on the field, and a review returned an umpire’s call verdict with ball-tracking showing the ball tickling off stump.Coming in at No. 4, Shakib took the aerial route against Ashwin even before he had reached double digits. He first hit Ashwin inside-out over extra cover before dancing down the track later in the work to deposit him beyond deep-midwicket boundary.Mominul and Shakib enjoyed slices of luck too. Mominul’s cut against Ashwin flew between the wicketkeeper and slip, and then in the last over before lunch, Rishabh Pant missed a difficult leg-side stumping when Shakib charged at Ashwin and the ball sneaked through his legs.The reprieve, though, didn’t prove costly as Umesh sent Shakib back on the first ball after the break. The Bangladesh captain tried to loft him over mid-off but didn’t get the timing right and ended up offering the simplest of chances.Mominul and Mushfiqur, starting slowly before hitting six fours in the space of ten balls, stitched together 48 for the fourth wicket before Unadkat broke the stand. Bowling around the wicket, he once again found the extra bounce, the ball taking the outside edge of Mushfiqur’s bat before settling into Pant’s gloves.Litton Das started positively, punching Siraj for four and following it with a pulled six on the next ball. He quickly moved to 25 but failed to keep a flick off Ashwin down and was taken at short midwicket.Mominul, meanwhile, kept pressing on and ramped two more fours off Unadkat to bring up his half-century. He and Mehidy Hasan Miraz ensured Bangladesh didn’t lose another wicket before tea despite some close calls.The pair added 41 for the sixth wicket but post tea, Mehidy felt unwell. The physio came out to check in on him, and the batter decided to continue. Umesh, though, removed him soon after, Mehidy trying to cut a ball that was too close to him and nicking it behind.Mehidy’s wicket triggered the collapse. In his next over, Umesh got one to reverse in to trap Nurul Hasan lbw. The on-field umpire deemed it not out but India got the decision changed on review. Taskin didn’t last long either, slicing one to Siraj at point who held onto the chance after a bit of juggling. Earlier, Siraj had put down Shanto off Umesh on the first ball of the second over of the day.All this while, Mominul was firm at one end. But he found himself in two minds against an Ashwin carrom ball. He looked to drive at it first before shouldering arms. It was too late as the ball brushed his gloves and Pant latched onto it. Ashwin wrapped up the innings two balls later when Khaled Ahmed hit a full toss straight to Unadkat at deep midwicket.

The 10-point agenda for the meeting included discussions on player contracts, issues relating to the ICC, and the impasse between the BCCI and the PCB over bilateral series

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jun-2018The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) overseeing the functioning of the BCCI has barred the board from conducting a Special General Meeting (SGM), scheduled for June 22.On Thursday, Amitabh Choudhary, the acting secretary of the BCCI, had issued a notice calling for the SGM, listing a 10-point agenda for the board’s member associations to discuss. On Friday the CoA wrote a letter to the BCCI and its member units saying Choudhary’s notice was in violation of the CoA’s directions to the board since he had not sought the two-member panel’s approval before calling for the SGM. The approval, the CoA said, was “neither sought nor provided”.”Till further instructions from the COA, it is directed that no BCCI employee/ consultant/ retainer/ service provider shall prepare and/or circulate any papers in respect of the said SGM or in any way act further to or in aid of the notice (including without limitation incurring any costs or expenses towards the said SGM by way of bookings, etc.),” the CoA stated in its letter.The top issue on the agenda related to the enhanced player contracts and the doubling of match fees to match officials. Choudhary had alleged that the CoA had left him and the two other main office bearers out of the loop before finalising the list of contracted players for 2017-18.Another was “matters pertaining to the ICC including but not limited to revenues and the Members Participation Agreement”. Following last year’s ICC Board meeting, in which the BCCI was outvoted on changes to the world body’s finance model – which effectively ended the Big Three era – a section of the Indian board had come close to sending a legal notice to the ICC and threatening to pull out of the Champions Trophy, only for the CoA to step in and put the brakes on any such move. It is understood that one of the steps the BCCI had mulled was to revoke the Members Participation Agreement (MPA), which would have meant India pulling out of all ICC tournaments for the remainder of the rights cycle that stretches to 2023.One more key point on the SGM agenda was: “Update on and to consider and decide on the matter relating to dispute raised by PCB in the ICC DRC.” In April, the ICC had constituted a three-member dispute panel to attempt to resolve the impasse between the BCCI and the Pakistan Cricket Board over two unplayed bilateral series between India and Pakistan.

Former Pakistan U-19 batter Shayan Jahangir in line for USA debut on the tour

Peter Della Penna02-Nov-2022Just over a year after creating history as the fourth man to hit six sixes in an over in international cricket, batter Jaskaran Malhotra has been dropped from USA’s 14-member ODI squad for the four-match tour of Namibia later this month.Malhotra set numerous records with his 173 not out against Papua New Guinea in Oman in September 2021. But he has struggled to replicate those exploits since then, scoring just one half-century in 11 ODIs. That came in September against PNG when he made 53 off 44 balls as the match ended in a tie. His last significant contribution came against Scotland at Aberdeen in August when he made 36 not out off 25 balls, including 15 runs off the final over bowled by Safyaan Sharif, to help USA chase down a target of 250 in a dramatic two-wicket win.Called up in his place as one of five changes in the squad is former Pakistan U-19 batter Shayan Jahangir, who played as part of a representative side captained by Sami Aslam on a tour of England in 2013. Jahangir migrated to Texas in 2017 and was spotted in the club cricket scene by the then-owner of the Barbados Tridents (now Royals) franchise, leading to him being drafted in the CPL. He appeared in one match in 2020. He has since been playing for the Lone Star Athletics in the Minor League Cricket T20 competition. Jahangir finished 10th overall – but first among USA-eligible players – in 2022 with 507 runs at an average of 42.25 and a strike rate of 134.48 with four half-centuries.Among the other changes, the teenage batting duo of Rahul Jariwala and Saiteja Mukkamalla have been dropped along with fast bowler Kyle Philip and legspinner Yasir Mohammad. Sushant Modani, who missed the September tour to PNG due to visa issues, has been recalled along with Ian Holland who was unavailable in September due to his county commitments at Hampshire.Along with Jahangir, the other player who could possibly debut for USA is batter Saideep Ganesh. The 21-year-old had represented the Karnataka U-16 side in the Vijay Merchant Trophy in December 2016. Ganesh scored 402 runs at an average of 30.92 and a strike rate of 136.27 with three half-centuries and a best of 56 for the East Bay Blazers in the 2022 MiLC.Offspinner Usman Rafiq, who last represented USA in February 2018, has also been recalled. Rafiq finished sixth overall with 23 wickets as captain of Houston Hurricanes in the 2022 MiLC.USA’s first ODI on the tour is on November 20 against the hosts. They play two games against PNG before finishing the last ODI against Namibia on November 26. The tour completes USA’s full 36-match slate as part of Cricket World Cup League Two, the Associate qualifying competition on the pathway to the 2023 ODI World Cup.USA is currently third on the seven-team table with 29 points from 32 matches. The top three teams automatically advance to the 10-team World Cup Qualifier.USA squad: Monank Patel (capt & wk), Ian Holland, Saideep Ganesh, Shayan Jahangir, Aaron Jones, Nosthush Kenjige, Sushant Modani, Saurabh Netravalkar, Nisarg Patel, Usman Rafiq, Gajanand Singh, Jessy Singh, Cameron Stevenson, Steven Taylor.

The 19-year-old fast bowler is one of 31 players called up to the camp ahead of a two-Test, three-ODI and three-T20I tour of the West Indies

Mohammad Isam08-May-2018The Bangladesh selectors have called up the 19-year-old pace bowler Yeasin Arafat to a 31-man preliminary squad for the senior team’s tour of the West Indies next month. Yeasin shot to attention when he took an eight-wicket haul in a domestic one-day game in March, and he followed it up with a strong showing in the first-class competition last month.Yeasin is a tall fast bowler who has shown the potential to produce pace and bounce even on unhelpful pitches in Bangladesh.Apart from the players who were part of Bangladesh’s international squads in the 2017-18 season, the selectors have also included Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Shadman Islam and Abul Hasan.Veteran left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak also remains in the selectors’ plans after his encouraging comeback to the Test team in February.The players have been asked to report to strength and conditioning coach Mario Villavarayan on May 13, the first day of the camp, with the initial focus being on fitness.Bangladesh are scheduled to fly out to the West Indies on June 26. Their tour will include two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is. There have also been reports of Bangladesh playing a three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in late May or the first week of June, in India. If confirmed, this preliminary camp will cover that series as well.Bangladesh’s 31-member preliminary squad: Tamim Iqbal, Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Imrul Kayes, Rubel Hossain, Soumya Sarkar, Nurul Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mosaddek Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan, Anamul Haque, Sabbir Rahman, Abu Jayed Chowdhury, Mashrafe Mortaza, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Mahmudullah, Nazmul Islam, Liton Das, Mohammad Mithun, Mominul Haque, Ariful Haque, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Shafiul Islam, Taijul Islam, Shadman Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Yeasin Arafat, Taskin Ahmed, Abul Hasan, Naeem Hasan, Abdur Razzak, Abu Hider

Just how much did it mean for South Africa’s superstar to score his first Test century in three years?

Firdose Moonda in Port Elizabeth11-Mar-2018AB de Villiers – yes, even AB de Villiers – feared for his place in the South African side. And maybe he had a point.After almost two years out of the Test team, first with an elbow injury and then on a self-imposed sabbatical, de Villiers did not think he could just walk straight back in, even though coach Ottis Gibson all but assured him he would. When he did, he walked back in as stand-in captain, in a four-day day-night Test against Zimbabwe because Faf du Plessis was injured, and then he walked back in as the game-changer at Newlands against India and the top run-scorer in that series, but he still didn’t feel properly back. Until now.De Villiers has scored his first hundred since his comeback and he truly feels like he belongs. “I came into this series and the previous one against India feeling like I need to play again, to make sure I keep my spot in the team. I haven’t played for a while and you’re always just a couple of innings away from people starting to say, ‘Is he still good enough?’ so those kind of things were on my mind,” de Villiers said. “I was very motivated to prove to people I could still play the game , even though I’ve been away for a while.”This was de Villiers’ first Test hundred since his century against West Indies in January 2015 at Newlands. In that time, he was inactive for almost two years and only scantly communicative about his cricketing plans so it was understandable people thought he was done. Even his closest confidantes, like former captain Graeme Smith and current captain Faf du Plessis, thought he would retire with du Plessis going as far as insisting the team had moved on, but de Villiers hadn’t. Not completely. “I never lost my love for the game,” he said. “I was just tired of playing. I was just flat, physically, mentally and quite a few other factors. There was just a lot that was going on in my life and I felt like I needed to breathe a little bit.”He used the time away to introspect, to play some white-ball cricket and “to reset my thoughts and all of that, and think about where i’m going with my career and the kind of things I still want to achieve.” He decided to step down as ODI captain and decided to focus his goals on “being part of a successful Test team” among other things like the 2019 World Cup.Even though his commitment to Test cricket has been questioned, he maintains it is still the pinnacle and today he proved it. “I’ve always seen it as the ultimate form of the game,” he said. “I love playing Test cricket. It’s so rewarding after five days of toil to come out on top. And even if you don’t come out on top, to know you’ve put everything out there.”Devoting himself completely to the task is something that has become synonymous with de Villiers and was evident at St George’s Park. While the rest struggled against reverse swing, de Villiers took the attack to the Australians and then enjoyed some personal glory. For the first time, he admitted he revelled in it.”It was ten on ten. It was right up there with the best feeling ever. I was so relieved, I was very nervous in the 90s, I don’t think it showed but I was telling Vern out there that I was struggling to breathe and my legs literally went numb. It’s funny when a guy who has played for 13 or 14 years says that, but it’s true,” de Villiers said. “It really meant a lot to me to get that hundred and I was constantly reminding myself throughout the 90s that it’s not about yourself. It’s about contributing to the team as much as possible, that made me feel a little bit better because the minute you focus too much on individual performance, you sort of forget about the team. But it’s difficult to forget about the team when you haven’t scored a hundred for three years. So it meant a lot to me today.”De Villiers quickly switched back to unselfish mode and credited his lower order for allowing him time at the crease to get to his century. “They were simply amazing out there today. They took a lot of pressure off me, they’re all run-scorers. They’re not tailenders who just hang around out there,” de Villiers said of Vernon Philander and Keshav Maharaj, with whom he shared stands of 84 and 58 respectively. “I could go out and focus on my technique, focus on what I was doing yesterday and try and get myself into the game. I never felt like I needed to score to get us somewhere.”Maharaj was particularly eager to score runs and early in his innings slogged a Nathan Lyon ball to straight to Usman Khawaja in the deep, exactly in the spot de Villiers had told him not to target. Khawaja caught the ball with his back foot outside the rope, which saved Maharaj. In the next over, Maharaj hit Lyon in the same area for a second six.De Villiers admitted his heart was in his mouth as that played out. “I told Keshav there are two fielders on the boundary and it’s the cow corner and the long-on so preferably don’t hit it there in the air. If you want to, you can hit it on the ground. The very next ball he goes for it. [David] Warner and a few of the guys were actually laughing,” de Villiers said. “Luckily he got away with it and a few balls later he did the same thing. He said ‘Sorry AB, sorry. But he’s coming over the wicket and I like it when he’s over the wicket.'”Maharaj found the rope three more times, and helped de Villiers push South Africa into a lead that could be match-winning. De Villiers did not want to touch the money too soon but hoped South Africa would not have to chase more than 150 on a wearing pitch. “I’d say no more than 150 but if it does go more than that, we can still chase it down. But in an ideal world, 150 or less would be nice,” he said.And if he can help South Africa pull off a series-levelling win, de Villiers will really be back.

The Impact Player concept is set to offer teams greater tactical flexibility than the BBL’s X-Factor rule

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Sep-2022The BCCI is set to introduce tactical substitutes in the upcoming season of its domestic men’s T20 tournament, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which will begin on October 11. In an email sent to its state associations, the BCCI has elaborated on the concept of its Impact Player rule, which will allow teams to use one tactical substitute in each match.ESPNcricinfo has learned that the BCCI has been keen to introduce the tactical substitute in the IPL for the past few years, but has decided it would be prudent to implement it in the SMAT first. If it works smoothly, the Impact Player substitute will feature in IPL 2023.”With the ever-growing popularity of T20 cricket, it is imperative that we look at introducing new dimensions which will make this format more attractive and interesting not only for our viewers but also the participating teams from a strategic viewpoint,” the BCCI’s email said. “The BCCI would like to introduce the concept of ‘IMPACT PLAYER’ wherein participating teams could replace one member of its playing XI during a T20 match based on the context of the game.”Related

• Hrithik Shokeen becomes first Impact Player to be used in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

• Introducing the BBL Power Surge, X-Factor and Bash Boost

• Explainer – The ODI Supersub

How will it work? Read on.What is the scope of the substitute’s role?
Along with the starting XI, teams will name four substitutes in their team sheet at the toss, and use one of the four during the match.The player can replace any member of the starting XI at any point before the end of the 14th over of either innings, and will be able to bat and bowl his full allotment of overs. The tactical scope of the Impact Player rule is vast, with no real restriction on the role he can play. For example, the Impact Player can replace a batter who has already been dismissed, and still get to bat – as long as the team only uses 11 batters. Or he could replace a bowler who has already sent down a few overs and still get to bowl his full four-over quota.How is this different from the X-Factor rule in the BBL?
The Impact Player rule allows for greater tactical flexibility than other tactical-substitute systems that have been trialled elsewhere. In the Supersub system that was in place in ODIs in 2005 and 2006, the Supersub’s role coincided with that of the player he replaced, which meant he could not bat if the original player was already dismissed, and could only bowl the remaining overs from the replaced player’s quota.The X-Factor rule, which is in place in the BBL in Australia, allows teams to substitute a member of their starting XI at the halfway point [the ten-over mark in a full T20 game] of the first innings, and the player replaced cannot have already batted, or bowled more than one over.What are the likely scenarios where the tactical sub will come into play?
The rule has the potential to reduce the impact of the toss. For example, if a team loses the toss and has to bowl second when the dew sets in, it has the opportunity to strengthen its bowling attack for that challenge. Similarly, on a pitch that is turning square, the team batting second could bolster its batting with an extra batter. The ruling will also help teams offset the impact of a player picking up an injury during the game.Will teams be allowed an Impact Player in shortened games?
Yes, but not if a delayed start shortens the match to fewer than ten overs per side. If the scheduled number of overs per innings is more than ten, the Impact Player can be introduced, with a sliding cut-off point. For example, in a 17-overs-a-side game, the Impact Player can come on before the end of the 13th over of either innings. In an 11-overs-a-side game, he can enter before the end of the ninth over.If the match begins as a full T20 game, and if the side batting first has faced at least ten overs when there is an interruption in play, both teams will be able to use an Impact Player regardless of the extent of reduction of overs.If the match is reduced such that one team has already used its Impact Player, but the second innings is reduced to less than ten overs, the second team can still use its Impact Player – before the end of the seventh over in a nine-over innings, for example, or before the end of the third over in a five-over innings.What else do I need to know?
The Impact Player can only be introduced at the end of an over, and not during it, with two exceptions: if a batting team sends in the Impact Player at the fall of a wicket, or if the fielding team replaces an injured fielder with the Impact Player in the middle of an over.The substituted player can take no further part in the game – not even as a substitute fielder.In a scenario where a bowler is suspended, having bowled two beamers in an over, he can be replaced by the Impact Player, but that player cannot bowl.