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When he dived and fell short of his ground, it was hard for the mind to go anywhere else. But then, the Neesham of 2023 is not focusing on the result “as much anymore”

Sidharth Monga28-Oct-20231:27

Pujara: No major concerns for New Zealand despite loss to Australia

Even when he was walking back, James Neesham knew it was going to look a lot like 2019. Neesham had built on the century of Rachin Ravindra and half-century of Daryl Mitchell to bring New Zealand to within a shot of tying a chase of 389 against Australia.On 57 off 38, punishing any error in length until then and now needing seven off two, this time Neesham couldn’t send a thigh-high full toss into the stands. It just got too close to him; he was probably setting himself up to punish an error on the shorter side. He ended up hitting straight to deep midwicket, and went back for a desperate second because he had a No. 10 for company.The throw came in a little slow, making Josh Inglis move off his mark to collect. Still Neesham needed a dive and a prayer. He ended up diving in pure desperation, even as Inglis dived simultaneously towards the stumps and caught him short. Neesham had to go through the agony of watching the replay on the big screen as the third umpire decided on it.Josh Inglis ran out James Neesham to leave New Zealand needing six runs off the last ball•ICC/Getty Images

It was enough to remind Neesham of the 2019 World Cup final when Martin Guptill went for a similar second to try to win it but ended up run-out, tying the game but losing the final on boundary countback. Does the game really have to be that cruel?”Actually, that [2019 final] was the first thing I thought of when I was coming off, that it’s going to look very, very similar,” Neesham said. “I mean that’s the nature isn’t it? You want to be desperate, I suppose, in those situations and you’d much rather get run out on your stomach than on your feet.”For Neesham this would have meant all the more in a game where the sides remained neck and neck for a long time. After overs 40, 42 and 44, both sides had scored the same number of runs. Then it was in the 48th over, bowled by Neesham, that Australia pulled away.Related

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Neesham came on to bowl for the first time only in the 45th over, covering for the injured Lockie Ferguson. He looked to bowl into the pitch and take the pace off, taking out Glenn Maxwell immediately.In the next over, Neesham nearly had Josh Inglis caught but Rachin Ravindra dropped him in the deep. Instead of a new batter, Neesham now had Pat Cummins on strike, and he hit him for three sixes. The over went for 27. All the while, as New Zealand stayed abreast with Australia, the question was: who would make up for the Neesham over?It is tempting to look at it as Ravindra nearly making up for that catch drop with a century and Neesham nearly making up for it with the chase with tail for company. Four years ago, Neesham had been on the other side of such a close finish, in Manchester against West Indies, when he bowled a superb 49th over to a marauding Carlos Brathwaite to help New Zealand win by, well, five runs.James Neesham reflects on another run-out New Zealand fans will remember for a long time•AFP/Getty Images

Not long before that World Cup, Neesham had nearly given up on the sport partly because of the vagaries of it. In his recovery, Neesham worked at a start-up that made cow collars. In that job, he could see tangible results for the work he put in, something you don’t often do in cricket. He used to struggle to come to terms with putting in all the hard work but not always getting the results. Living outside the bubble of high-performance teams, and working with a mental skills coach, helped.Reminded now of that night when he denied Brathwaite, and asked whether this night was difficult to reconcile with, Neesham could now joke: “Well, I’m not 6’6” and bowling 145, so it’s probably more impressive when I get out of it.”Now, Neesham can be philosophical about it. “You worked for six and a half hours during the day, and it comes down to potentially two deliveries,” Neesham said. “And four years ago, we worked for two months, and it came down to one delivery. It’s just the nature of the game.”I can think of one reason that I don’t focus on the result as much anymore, but look, I think that’s one of the things you learn as you get a little bit older. Obviously I’m probably closer towards the back-end of my career than I am to the front. So yeah, it doesn’t pay to stress too much on the results. I think everyone wants to win and everyone’s desperate to win, especially in world tournaments, but that can’t dictate how you want to play the game.”It’s just about trying to stick to your process and stick to what you’re good at, which for me is standing still and looking to hit straight. On another day, one ball is different, the result’s different, but we’ll move on to Pune in a couple of days’ time and hopefully get a different result there.”Parts of this match were so unlike New Zealand: Matt Henry bowling successive no-balls, Neesham bowling that over, catches going down, but then again the way they came back was typical New Zealand. In hanging in there and giving themselves a chance, in refusing to go away, they have at least made sure their net run rate hasn’t plummeted. This could eventually be the difference between facing India and not facing India in a home semi-final. That’s the best they can do really: keep sticking to their processes, keep hanging in there, and hope some day that the cricketing gods smile on them.For now, though, Neesham is not asking kids to not take up cricket.

His first major task will be to oversee the upcoming edition of the PSL

Danyal Rasool06-Feb-2024The PCB has finally held elections and appointed a full-time chairman, with Mohsin Naqvi elected for a three-year term. The PCB announced the appointment on Tuesday without providing any other details, simply saying he had been elected unopposed as the 37th PCB chairman.”I am deeply honoured and humbled to have been unanimously elected as the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board,” Naqvi said. “I am thankful for the trust and confidence reposed in me. I am fully committed to upgrading the standard of the game in the country and bringing professionalism in the administration of cricket in Pakistan.”Naqvi’s appointment was widely expected after Zaka Ashraf, who served as de facto chairman while officially the head of the interim management committee, quit last month. He also resigned from his position on the PCB’s board of governors, a vacancy which was filled by Naqvi, with Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister Anwar Kakar appointing Punjab’s caretaker chief minister – Naqvi – to the cricket board.Related

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Naqvi will continue to serve as Punjab’s caretaker chief minister alongside his role at the helm of the PCB. This had raised eyebrows last week when the PCB election commissioner, Khawar Shah, briefly took over the chairmanship when Ashraf resigned. But Khawar defended Naqvi holding both roles, saying the PCB rules forbade a chairman from holding an “office of profit” concurrently, and argued – somewhat incongruously – that Naqvi did not.Naqvi’s term as caretaker chief minister has already extended well beyond its constitutional realm. According to Pakistani law, a caretaker government can serve in that capacity for only three months while preparations for upcoming elections take place. Naqvi, however, was appointed over a year ago, in January 2023, with Pakistan’s elections pushed back by several months. His time as chief minister of Pakistan’s largest province will finally end later this week, when Pakistan go to the polls for general elections on February 8.While Naqvi does not have any known cricketing experience or a background in cricketing administration, that is not unusual for most PCB chairmen, especially over the past decade. Neither Najam Sethi nor Zaka Ashraf, the two men who held that position for the best part of the last ten years, had such experience before being first appointed, with Ehsan Mani and Ramiz Raja exceptions rather than the rule.Naqvi’s first major task will be to oversee the upcoming edition of the Pakistan Super League, which begins on February 17. While much of the logistical work of the tournament, including the draft, decisions on venues and ticket sales, has already happened, the league is arguably the most financially significant event for Pakistan cricket every year.The other pressing issue for the new chairmen will concern the hosting of the only ICC event Pakistan has been awarded this decade. The 2025 ICC Champions Trophy is scheduled to take place in the country, which requires significant logistical and administrative preparedness, including the construction of appropriate facilities to host as many as eight teams simultaneously. Pakistan have not played host to an event of that size since the 1996 World Cup.He will also have to find a way to deal with the potential fallout if India, as historical precedence suggests, decide against making the trip to Pakistan. When a similar situation arose ahead of the Asia Cup last year, then-PCB chairman Sethi agreed to a “hybrid” model, which saw a handful of initial games in Pakistan, with the bulk of the later games taking place in Sri Lanka. Several members of the management committee later expressed dissatisfaction with that arrangement, attributing it to the fatigue that caused injuries to a number of players. The PCB has implied they will not agree to such an arrangement this time.

Only once before has a bowler bowled four maiden overs in a men’s T20I, Saad Bin Zafar of Canada, but never at the World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jun-2024New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson has become the second bowler in T20Is and the first at a men’s T20 World Cup to bowl four maiden overs in a spell.On Monday, he finished with magical figures of 4-4-0-3 against Papua New Guinea in New Zealand’s last group-stage match in the T20 World Cup 2024. It’s also New Zealand’s last match in the tournament, as they were knocked out following losses to Afghanistan and West Indies.The only other bowler to have achieved the feat is Canada’s Saad Bin Zafar, who finished with 4-4-0-2 against Panama in a T20 World Cup Americas Region Qualifier match in Coolidge in 2021.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Coming on to bowl in the fifth over after New Zealand opted to field in Tarouba after a rain delay, Ferguson had PNG captain Assad Vala caught at first slip off the very first ball he bowled. He kept the new batter, Sese Bau, quiet for the rest of the over, and came back in the seventh over to do the same, bowling six dots to Bau.He returned to bowl the 12th over and struck on the second ball, pinning Charles Amini in front for 17 with a length ball that stayed low – it was given not out, but was confirmed to be hitting the stumps after a review. Ferguson then got his third and final wicket off the second ball of his last over, the 14th of the innings, getting Chad Soper to edge one on to his stumps for 1. PNG got two runs off that over but those were leg-byes.”Obviously a tough wicket to bat on, so nice from my point of view to get on a wicket like that,” Ferguson, the Player of the Match, said on the official broadcast after the game. “There was some swing, which was nice today too.”The match started after a spell of rain, following which New Zealand restricted PNG to 78 in 19.4 overs.

Nottinghamshire trail by 420 runs after just 10.5 overs possible in second innings

ECB Reporters Network10-Sep-2024Michael Pepper continued a rich vein of form that has now brought him centuries in successive Vitality County Championship matches to sit alongside two T20 Blast centuries as he helped Essex tightened their stranglehold over Nottinghamshire.The wicketkeeper-batsman’s 115 from 147 balls eclipsed his previous best score against Worcestershire last week by three runs as he built on Tom Westley’s 122 to take Essex to a formidable 457 in their first innings.After putting on 69 with his captain, Pepper joined forces with Simon Harmer in a stand of 133 for the seventh wicket that threatened to pile further pressure on the relegation-haunted visitors. Pepper seasoned his innings with12 fours and a six while Harmer’s 51 was his highest score of the season.Nottinghamshire had reduced the deficit to 420 for the loss of captain Haseeb Hameed in the 10.5 overs possible before play on day two was curtailed by bad weather with the visitors on 37 for 1.At the start of the day, Rob Lord struck for his third wicket of the innings with the 19th delivery of the new-ball – but the Kookaburra was more than 30 overs old before the next wicket fell. The only success of the morning session was when the pace bowler got one to jump up at Westley who dragged on to his stumps to depart after more than five hours of patient accumulation in scoring 122 from 241 balls.Pepper continued to bat sensibly, a textbook straight-driven four a stand-out alongside an unorthodox forehand smash through mid-off. His alliance with Harmer saw off the new-ball and took Essex to a fourth batting point.Harmer had been struggling with the bat but reached his first fifty of the season – and only his second score above 19. A six over midwicket off Farhan Ahmed and a reverse-swept four off Liam Patterson-White had already indicated that confidence was returning.A quickly scampered single took Pepper to three-figures from 135 balls and earnt a warm embrace from a batting partner who would depart soon after. An attempt at another reverse sweep in Freddie McCann’s first over proved to be Harmer’s downfall as the misjudgement ended in him being bowled. His fifty included five fours and a six.Neither Shane Snater nor Sam Cook lasted long, both going down the wicket to Ahmed (3 for 102) and being bowled and stumped respectively before Pepper was bowled by Patterson-White. The last four wickets went down for 27 runs in six overs.Nottinghamshire lost Hameed in the fourth over of their reply when he slashed Cook to point. However, his opening partner Michael Slater refused to be tied down, flicking three of his four boundaries off his legs in a 36-ball 26 before rain added to the gloom to curtail the day with 36 overs remaining.

Saurabh Netravalkar and Hardik Tamore also set to be included in upcoming auction

Nagraj Gollapudi and Matt Roller21-Nov-2024England fast bowler Jofra Archer has been added back to the final auction list days after his name did not feature in shortlist sent by IPL recently to franchises last weekend. ESPNcricinfo has learned that Archer’s addition was informally confirmed to franchises on Thursday, three days before the two-day mega auction will start on November 24 in the in Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah.While the IPL is yet to make the news public, the franchises will be interested to see the set which features Archer. Along with his England team-mate Mark Wood, Archer was among the notable absentees in the 574-player shortlist the IPL had sent to franchises. Their absence raised eyebrows considering both England quicks were part of the original longlist sent by IPL. Archer had set the maximum base price of INR 2 crore.He will now be part of the first set of fast bowlers (Set 6) which currently has seven quicks and will come up for bidding on the first day.ESPNcricinfo understands Archer and his representatives have been in discussions with the ECB and the BCCI this week, seeking clarification on the repercussions in the event that he was not part of the shortlist. Archer has a central contract with the ECB which runs until the end of September, giving them an element of control over his workload.Related

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Archer has not played Test cricket since early 2021 but England remain hopeful that he will return to the format next year, when they face India at home and Australia away. “Everything is going exactly to plan for Jofra,” managing director Rob Key told the last week. “Can he play Tests next summer? With all my fingers crossed, yes.”Spending April and May at the IPL would make that significantly harder for Archer, ruling out the possibility of him playing for Sussex in the early stages of the County Championship season. The ECB blocked Archer from entering last year’s auction to avoid him rushing back from injury, but doing so this year would have left him unable to play in the tournament until 2027 at the earliest.The IPL has introduced new regulations for this auction cycle, stipulating that players who have previously appeared in the league but do not register for a mega-auction would be unable to register for the subsequent mini-auction. A separate regulation says that a player who is signed at an auction and then withdraws without a legitimate reason will face a two-year ban.Archer, 29, returned to action this summer following a long injury lay-off, featuring in England’s white-ball series against Pakistan, Australia and West Indies as well as the T20 World Cup. His workload was closely managed by medical staff throughout, but he was able to play all three ODIs in the Caribbean earlier this month.At the 2022 mega-auction, Mumbai Indians spent INR 8 crore (then USD 1.06m approx.) on Archer even though he had just undergone elbow surgery and was not fit to play that season. He played five games for MI in 2023, taking two wickets, before his season was ended prematurely by another elbow issue.Archer was named MVP in his most recent full IPL season, taking 20 wickets for Rajasthan Royals in the 2020 edition which was held in the UAE. In total, he has taken 48 wickets in 40 appearances in his IPL career.ESPNcricinfo has learned of two further additions to the auction shortlist: USA fast bowler Saurabh Netravalkar will be player No. 575 and Hardik Tamore, the Mumbai wicketkeeper-batter, will be player No. 576.

Sikandar Raza takes over as St Lucia Kings captain, with Colin Munro roped in to replace du Plessis

Deivarayan Muthu28-Aug-2023St Lucia Kings captain Faf du Plessis has been sidelined from the rest of CPL 2023 with a long-standing tennis-elbow injury, for which he will now undergo surgery. Zimbabwe allrounder Sikandar Raza, who made his debut for Kings only earlier this month, will take over as the captain of the side. Kings have also roped in Colin Munro, the highest run-getter among overseas players in CPL history, as du Plessis’ replacement.After powering Kings past Trinbago Knight Riders in Basseterre on Saturday, du Plessis said he would undergo surgery after reaching South Africa. And on Kings’ Instagram channel, he suggested that he could be out of action for about three months.”Happy with the result, but obviously sad [that] I’m leaving at a crucial stage in the tournament when you feel like the team can start doing some really good things in the tournament,” du Plessis told Ian Bishop at the post-match presentation. “For me, the challenge with the elbow is I’ve played with it (tennis elbow) for almost two years; I’ve had eight cortisone injections into my elbow.Related

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“So I’m at a stage where the cortisone is not good for my body anymore; so that’s why the operation is always the last resort. I didn’t want to do it, but [have] time off now. I’ve got to basically go from here to get off the plane into the hospital to get the surgery done.”Du Plessis admitted that the tennis elbow had limited his power-hitting in his most recent game against Knight Riders, but he still found a way to pump the ball over the top in the powerplay. He was responsible for 40 of the 48 runs Kings had made in the first six overs. Du Plessis extended his tally to 57 off 36 balls before Andre Russell had him holing out.”[During] the last while I did feel a little bit of loss of power – all because of the pain, which sometimes pulls the power back,” du Plessis said. “So you just have to play a game where you feel like maybe hitting at 80% power, and [on] fields like this [which are] a little bit smaller, you can just time the ball. But yeah, really happy with the innings today.”I think we needed that in the powerplay, especially in my experience playing here and against these guys [TKR] – they’re a very strong powerplay attack. Akeal Hosein always does well; he gets one or two wickets upfront, and then they bowled really well. The fact that we could counterpunch that and get 50 after six [overs] was a great way to play off the front foot.”Sikandar Raza has led in T20 franchise cricket only once•Zim Afro T10

Du Plessis’ injury-enforced absence is a significant blow to Kings. He was their second-highest run-getter last season – behind Johnson Charles – and fourth-highest overall, with 332 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 169. Overall, his leadership has been central to Kings’ progress over the past two years.Raza has only had one stint as captain in recognised franchise T20 cricket – with Dambulla Aura in the LPL last year, when Dasun Shanaka was injured, but du Plessis backed Raza and the rest of Kings’ leadership group to build on their early success this season. They’re currently on top of the table, with six points in five games.”Always for me, it’s about pulling people in for the journey, and try and ask questions. And I feel that’s the best way, according to me, to run things,” du Plessis said. “You use the resources that you have. Roston Chase has been great. For me on the field, [it’s] just speaking to him about local players and asking questions. Johnson Charles is a great cricket brain. He’s not a guy who says a lot, but [is] a great thinker.Tom Curran comes in for TKR as a temporary replacement for Noor Ahmad•Getty Images

“Raza is someone who has played a lot of T20 and T10 cricket. So very much an experienced brain there; so it’s great to have those guys on the field and ask questions. Obviously, it’s a change, and probably you could say a big change because it’s someone stepping into the shoes for the first time with the St Lucia Kings. But luckily, we’ve got someone like Sammy there who will make sure for the first one or two games there will be some direction from his side. And then trust the guy on the field with the resources that he has at his disposal.”Du Plessis will turn 40 next July, but he could be in the fray to return to the South Africa side with the 2024 T20 World Cup in mind.

Tom Curran and Tim David to join TKR

England allrounder Tom Curran, who carried Oval Invincibles to the Men’s Hundred title on Sunday, will link up with Trinbago Knight Riders as a temporary replacement for left-arm wristspinner Noor Ahmad, who has been picked in Afghanistan’s ODI side for the Asia Cup, which clashes with the CPL.Australia’s Tim David will also join TKR as a replacement for Rilee Rossouw, who is no longer available for the CPL. However, David himself will not be around for Knight Riders’ first six league matches, so Ireland wicketkeeper-batter Lorcan Tucker has been brought in as a temporary replacement. David will reunite with Knight Riders captain Kieron Pollard, who was his batting coach at Mumbai Indians in IPL 2023.

Ellyse Perry, who recently suffered a hip injury, could be a doubtful starter for RCB

S Sudarshanan13-Feb-20254:05

Mandhana: WPL has taught me a lot, not just captaincy

Who’s playing

Gujarat Giants vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru
Kotambi Stadium, Vadodara, February 14, 2025, 7.30pm IST

What to expect: Mandhana vs Gardner

No bowler has dismissed Smriti Mandhana more often than Ashleigh Gardner in Women’s T20s or in ODIs. With Gardner assuming the captaincy of Giants, she could look to bring herself on early against the RCB captain. With Mandhana in sublime form, it could be an interesting contest.Two of Giants’ four wins across two seasons of the WPL have come against RCB, including their first-ever victory.Related

• RCB's title defence hit by player unavailability, injuries

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Team news and likely XIs: Mooney’s opening partner, Perry’s fitness in focus

The choice of Beth Mooney’s opening partner could pose a headache for Giants. Given Deandra Dottin commands a place in the XI, only one of Laura Wolvaardt and Phoebe Litchfield might find a place in the XI.Gujarat Giants (probable): 1 Beth Mooney (wk), 2 Laura Wolvaardt, 3 Harleen Deol, 4 Deandra Dottin, 5 Dayalan Hemalatha, 6 Ashleigh Gardner (capt), 7 Simran Shaikh, 8 Sayali Satghare, 8 Meghna Singh, 9 Tanuja Kanwar, 10 Kashvee Gautam, 11 Shabnam Shakil/Mannat Kashyap.Ellyse Perry is heading into WPL 2025 on the back of suffering a hip injury during the Women’s Ashes Test in Melbourne. She could take the No. 4 spot in the absence of Sophie Devine. If Perry does not pull up well for the opening game, RCB could go with Georgia Wareham at No. 4 and play Charlie Dean as well. The injury to Asha Sobhana, a sure-starter who has been ruled out of the tournament, adds to the selection complications for them.1:43

Gardner: We have fantastic youth in our set-up

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (probable): 1 Smriti Mandhana (capt), 2 Danni Wyatt-Hodge, 3 S Meghana, 4 Ellyse Perry, 5 Richa Ghosh, 6 Raghvi Bist, 7 Kanika Ahuja, 8 Georgia Wareham, 9 Jagravi Pawar, 10 Kim Garth, 11 Renuka Singh.

Players to watch: Deandra Dottin and Richa Ghosh

With their acrimonious equation from WPL 2023 behind them, Deandra Dottin could be key to Giants’ success. She made a successful return to internationals just ahead of the Women’s T20 World Cup last year, where she was West Indies’ leading run-scorer while picking up five wickets at an economy rate of 5.42. In the home T20Is against Bangladesh, Dottin scored 110 in three games at a strike rate of 203.70. Having played ODIs against India at the Kotambi Stadium, Dottin would have an idea of what to expect, and Giants would want her to step up with the ball too, especially at the death.4:32

RCB will have it tough against well-rounded Giants

Very few Indian players in the WPL can do what Richa Ghosh can – finish matches as a power-hitter. With RCB battling player-unavailability and fitness issues, Ghosh will be a vital cog in that middle order. She showed good hitting form in the home season against West Indies and Ireland. RCB relied on her prowess last year to win the title. She is third in the list of most sixes in the WPL; expect her to move up as the season progresses. How she does could well decide how the defending champions start their campaign.

Key stats

• Ashleigh Gardner is Giants’ leading run-scorer (324) as well as wicket-taker (17)
• Giants have had eight opening pairs in the two years, the most in the WPL.
• Giants have hit 43 sixes in the WPL, the fewest among all teams.
• RCB have two bowlers in their squad with T20I hat-tricks – Ekta Bisht and Heather Graham.

Stellar summer for Hampshire makes him India tour shoo-in but clash could take priority

Vithushan Ehantharajah03-Oct-2023Liam Dawson says that accepting a call-up for England’s Test tour of India at the start of 2024 would not be straightforward, due to his lucrative deal in the SA20, which clashes with the five-match series.Dawson made his Test debut on the 2016 tour of India, adding just two further appearances against South Africa in 2017, but is likely to be considered by selectors in the new year following his stellar displays with bat and ball for Hampshire this summer. His left-arm spin took 49 Division One wickets at an average of 20.00 with four five-wicket hauls, while he cemented his all-round credentials with 840 first-class runs at 40.00, including three centuries – the last of which, in the penultimate round at Chelmsford, set up a thrilling win over Essex that all but ended the title race in Surrey’s favour.With Moeen Ali’s retirement and Adil Rashid exclusively playing white-ball cricket, England are short of spinning options to accompany Jack Leach, who is currently recovering from a back stress fracture. And while Dawson is a prime candidate to fill one of those spots, a pre-signed deal with Sunrisers Eastern Cape complicates matters.His contract with the franchise is understood to be in the region of £150,000, more than he would earn for playing all five Test matches, which would net him approximately £100,000. The dates of the SA20 – January 10 to February 10 – clash with the first two Tests in Hyderabad and Vizag.It is a situation of which the ECB is aware, having offered around 20 multi-year contracts among 26 sent out to players last month in a bid to tie them down and stave off the looming threat of franchise competitions co-opting their talent. Dawson, however, was not one of the 26, and is also part of a group of players who turned down the white-ball tour of Bangladesh at the start of 2023, to honour his PSL commitments with Lahore Qalandars.Dawson is still part of England’s limited-overs plans, though has only made 17 appearances to date. He was a non-playing member of the 2019 World Cup-winning squad, and is one of the non-travelling reserves for the upcoming 50-over tournament, which begins on Thursday against New Zealand in Ahmedabad.Speaking at the Professional Cricketers’ Association Awards in London on Monday night, where he was presented with the men’s Domestic Overall MVP award, Dawson was non-committal on whether or not he would join Ben Stokes’ touring party, if selected.Asked if accepting a Test call-up would be a straightforward decision, he replied: “To be honest, probably no. I am 33 now. I am very realistic that I am not always going to play for England. At the minute I am going to South Africa, but if things change I will have to make a decision.”The game is changing massively and everybody that is involved in the game understands that. Financially it is something at my age that I will have to consider, that will be a big decision.”I have no idea if I’m in the mix for it. I have already signed in South Africa for the SA20, so that is my plan at the minute. If something changes, that is a decision I am going to have to think about.”Related

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Dawson revealed he had no contact with England over the summer following the injury that Leach sustained during the Ireland Test, which resulted in Moeen reversing his retirement from 2021 to play in the Ashes. Despite his outstanding county form, Dawson had not expected to be in the reckoning given the six-year absence from the format, and believes his success for Hampshire is linked to not worrying about international honours.”I don’t think about playing for England at all now,” Dawson said. “I think that does help and that’s how I’ll continue to play my cricket.”You know, that’s the ambition isn’t it? To go and play for England. When you’re young and you’re desperate to do that, that’s rightly so. But for me, now I’m older, more experienced, [there are] a lot of franchise leagues and just by playing cricket, I know that if you’re always striving to do as best as you can and then play for England, sometimes that isn’t the best for your game. I’m very at peace with where I am and, yeah, I enjoy it.”If is to be three caps and done, Dawson harbours no resentment at how they played out. The final two at the start of the 2017 season against South Africa came in unusual circumstances. He was thrust into the side as the lead spinner, ostensibly to take the pressure off Moeen, who then responded with 87 runs and a ten-wicket haul in an emphatic win at Lord’s. Dawson himself claimed four wickets (and a pair) in the same game, then a further 18 runs and a single wicket in the second at Trent Bridge.Those performances, while far from an accurate reflection of Dawson’s talents, are not ones he takes to heart.”I see myself as a genuine allrounder. In T20 I am more of a bowler, but in red-ball I am a genuine allrounder. Not sure if pigeonholed is the right word – if you play for England, you have to take your opportunities.”When I played those Tests a few years ago, I probably wasn’t ready as No. 1 spinner, and didn’t take the opportunity. That is professional sport.”

With injuries constantly assailing the squad, there may yet be room for the middle-order batter even though he hasn’t featured since March

Mohammad Isam04-Sep-2023Mahmudullah remains in contention for the World Cup, according to BCB president Nazmul Hassan, even though he has not played an ODI since March. Hassan has suggested that the experienced middle-order batter will be among the group that plays in the ODI series against New Zealand later this month.Bangladesh have played 11 ODIs since Mahmudullah’s last appearance. At the time he was first left out, the selectors said he had been “rested”, but they continued to leave him out of subsequent squads, including the one for the ongoing Asia Cup.He averaged 43.8 in 13 innings in the 12 months leading up to his exclusion, but scored his runs at a strike rate of 70.75, well below his career figure of 76.17.Related

• Shakib wants World Cup-bound players to be rested for New Zealand ODIs

• Nazmul Hassan suggests there may still be room for Mahmudullah in World Cup squad

• Bangladesh rest Mahmudullah for Ireland ODIs

Towhid Hridoy is recognised as the batter who has effectively taken Mahmudullah’s place, although Bangladesh are still unsure over whom to play at No. 7. The presence of two allrounders in Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz allows them to pick either an extra batter or an extra bowler, and they have gone back and forth between those two options. In their most recent Asia Cup game against Afghanistan, they promoted Mehidy to open – he scored a century before retiring hurt – and picked two frontline batters – Shamim Hossain and Afif Hossain – at Nos. 7 and 8.In May, Hassan had said Mahmudullah remained in Bangladesh’s plans, but the selectors have continued to ignore him so far.”I think he is [in the selectors’ thoughts],” Hassan said on Monday. “I don’t see why not. Our players are injury-prone like [Najmul Hossain] Shanto and Miraz yesterday. Mustafizur [Rahman] suffered in the first game. We need continuous replacements. We won’t be able to cover the World Cup with eleven players. There’s no need to take the standby players lightly.”Hassan said Bangladesh have had to veer from their initial plan of naming the same squads for the Asia Cup and World Cup due to injuries. “The Asia Cup squad was supposed to be the World Cup squad,” he said. “But we have had to make several changes. Ebadot [Hossain] would have been in the squad if he was fit. Tamim [Iqbal] and Litton [Das] would have also been in the squad.”Hassan said Bangladesh would announce their World Cup squad after the New Zealand series, which ends on September 26. September 5 is the deadline for teams to name their squads, but they have some leeway to make changes thereafter.”We have to give them [the ICC] a squad for logistical reasons,” Hassan said. “I think the main squad has to be submitted on September 27. You will all know after we see them in the New Zealand series. I think those who are in Dhaka will get to play against New Zealand.”We haven’t been able to implement our plan. Tamim Iqbal and Litton Das were supposed to open in the Asia Cup but they are not in the team. I don’t know if they have been declared fit. We can’t make a team without them, can we? You have to understand our challenges. We have 17 players in the Asia Cup squad.”The six in Dhaka are also capable players. Tamim and Litton will enter the fray, which makes it 25 players. We have to leave out ten players. Who to leave out? It won’t be easy. Can we leave out those who are performing? We don’t have to leave out anyone now.”

CA’s medical staff will look into Khawaja’s back spasm and the coach says the batting order will be discussed leading into the Brisbane Test after Head’s heroics

Alex Malcolm24-Nov-2025Australia coach Andrew McDonald has said there will be further investigation into Usman Khawaja’s back issue in the lead-up to the Brisbane Test and admitted the selectors have “a lot to consider” around the batting order after Travis Head’s match-winning performance as a stand-in opener.Australia’s players and staff flew to their home cities on Sunday after the first Ashes Test finished inside two days in Perth.Khawaja’s back spasms have become a major talking point, with the 38-year-old unable to open in both innings and only able to bat once in the game. He also dropped a catch at slip before leaving the field in England’s second innings.Related

• The Khawaja debate: for and against his Test career continuing

• Inglis hammers rapid ton amid Australia batting order debate

• Head adds to career catalogue of mind-blowing knocks on the biggest stage

• Smith stalls talk on Head's permanent role as Ashes opener

• Head: 'It's not going to get much bigger than this'

McDonald confirmed that the medical staff would look into the injury further as Khawaja has never suffered a back spasm of that nature in his lengthy career.”There was discussions around further investigation to whether it was more serious than what we sort of first anticipated,” McDonald said on Monday. “So we’ll work through that. We’ll get a squad together. We’ll step through everything that we normally step through.”We get to camp in six days’ time. It’s a long way out, a lot of information to gather between now and then, and hopefully Usman is fit and available for selection.”I think anytime you spasm, it’s a result of something going on in your back. So I think that further investigation is just due diligence around that. You spasm for a reason. He hasn’t had it before, so that’s what will probably entail a bit more further investigation.”My gut feel is that it should be okay, but as I said, we’ll wait for that information to present.”McDonald dismissed Khawaja’s age as a reason for the back issue flaring up. Khawaja did play 18 holes of golf on each of three days leading into the Test match (54 holes in total), something he had done previously leading into a Test without issue. But McDonald, like CA chief executive Todd Greenberg, reiterated that it had never caused a problem before.”These things can happen,” McDonald said. “And I don’t think you can join the dots to something around his age. I think it’s just one of those things that’s happened.”Travis Head smashed his way to an extraordinary 69-ball century•Getty Images

McDonald was asked whether Head’s extraordinary performance in the second innings, where he made 123 off 83 balls to win the Test match, would cause a rethink about a permanent change at the top of the order.”We’ve got a lot to consider,” McDonald said. “Batting orders are always debated heavily over a period of time. Middle order players haven’t been sort of the ones that have been the popular ones to open the batting. So we’ll discuss and work through what it looks like.”I think it gave us a little bit of a lens potentially to the future in terms of adjusting batting orders in second innings, which is something that we have discussed. To be able to put different people in different positions with the scenario that was presented. So this one happened probably through a bit more chance and obviously the unfortunate injury to Usman. But I think it really probably opens up that discussion more than, more than anything else for us.”Australia’s selectors do not have a history of making a change off a sample size of one innings. Steven Smith made 91 not out in an unsuccessful fourth innings chase in his fourth innings as an opener but the experiment was shelved after he averaged 28 across eight Test innings in the role.The impact Head had on the pink-ball Test in Adelaide last year, where he made a match-winning century at No. 5 in Australia’s first innings having been shielded from batting in a difficult period under lights on the first night, will also be a key factor in any decision to move him permanently to the top for Brisbane. Head had looked reasonably good in the first innings in Perth when he entered in the 16th over before shovelling a pull shot to mid-on.The potential to be flexible with Head looks more appealing to the coach.”We’ve sort of hypothesized around a middle order player going up to the top order if the second innings happened to flatten out,” McDonald said. “In particular, if we needed quick runs, and the wicket was going to deteriorate. So in our strategy and our planning, we have tabled that from time to time.”We’ve had a conversation around Travis opening the batting for a long period of time, and Trav’s has been on the record this week and previously around that also. I suppose, now that it’s out there, yeah, happy to talk about it. Will we do it? If it presents at the right time, potentially.”