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The board elections will be held on October 6 after plenty of controversy in the lead-up

Mohammad Isam05-Oct-2025BCB president Aminul Islam has said he operated within the board’s constitution in the election process last month. His statement was in reference to a letter he issued to the country’s sports secretary on September 18, in which he asked to cancel the previous councillor nomination forms and instructed them to submit new forms.A writ petition challenged the validity of Aminul’s letter, and on September 22, the country’s High Court had issued a ruling along with an interim order suspending the effectiveness of the letter.On Sunday, the chamber judge of the appellate division, Justice Farah Mahbub, ruled that the High Court’s suspension order would remain in force. It paves the way for the BCB election to be held on October 6 amid a cloud of controversy, including manipulation and interference.Aminul explained he had issued the letter as he had not received sufficient names of cricketers or organisers from the country’s districts and divisions.Related

• Dhaka cricket clubs officials call BCB elections 'illegal'

• Tamim withdraws from BCB elections: 'I cannot be a part of this'

• BCB elections on October 6; Tamim accuses board president of 'interference'

• Faruque Ahmed removed as BCB president

“I want to clarify one thing. There was a writ against my letter,” Aminul said. “The letters that were addressed to me as the BCB president had mentioned clearly the three important areas in the BCB election. The chairman of the district or divisional sports body, who is usually the district or divisional administrator, has to sign it. Since these sports bodies don’t exist now, there are ad-hoc committees which must have a cricketer and an organiser in the body.”When these lists reached me, I saw only three [districts/divisions] qualified [in the criteria]. Shariatpur and Jamalpur were among those that qualified. So we couldn’t do an election with three individuals. I was forced to send the letter [on September 18], based on the constitution. Thereafter, there was a writ against the letter. It was cleared today. This election is such that a lot of things came against my name. I want to defend myself [by saying] that I was always within the constitution.”Aminul also ruled out government influence or interference and said that the country’s sports adviser was trying to “ensure a fair election”.”I don’t remember exactly when I said that the sports adviser requested me [to participate in the elections]. The sports adviser always helped me during my tenure [as BCB president]. I want to thank him for it,” Aminul said. “He is a person at the ministerial level but I know that he spent night and day, going to different places so that we can have a fair election and we can form a good board.”I didn’t think there was any influence. I feel I need to continue for Bangladesh cricket. If anyone feels I am not good enough, I am ready to leave any time.”Aminul Islam was named BCB president in May•BCB

Aminul did not answer questions about Tamim Iqbal’s withdrawal from the election and Faruque Ahmed’s return to the BCB, after being ousted from the president’s position in May. Tamim had alleged interference in the election process, particularly referencing Aminul’s letter.Faruque’s return has come as a surprise, as he reportedly had a falling out with the country’s sports ministry. He then became a BCB councillor, which was also controversial as he had sent his nomination form a few hours after the deadline. Aminul said that if he gets re-elected as president on Monday, he will have zero tolerance against conflict of interest, a problem that has plagued the BCB for years.Aminul, at the start of his BCB presidency on May 30, had said his term was going to be a “quick T20 innings”. At the end of his tenure [on October 5], he used another cricketing term to describe his experience.”[On the field] there is a technique. You can’t bowl more than one or two bouncers in the over. You can’t bowl a no-ball. Here, there were plenty of no-balls. Beamers were not judged as no-balls.”

New Zealand produce their best batting performance of the series to offer a contest

Valkerie Baynes03-Jul-2024Nat Sciver-Brunt’s unbeaten 76 and Lauren Bell’s five-wicket haul ensured England’s 3-0 sweep of the ODI series against New Zealand despite a vastly more spirited performance by the White Ferns.Amelia Kerr led the tourists with her half-century and England’s batting depth was called upon for the first time in the series as Hannah Rowe and Molly Penfold made early inroads in Bristol. The hosts had lost three wickets across the first two matches but today were 33 for 3 inside the powerplay, reduced to eight overs when rain delayed the start by 95 minutes and cut the match to 42 overs per side.Player of the series Maia Bouchier couldn’t push on from her unbeaten century in Worcester on Sunday but Sciver-Brunt, who had facilitated that milestone, produced a typically cool-headed innings to lead England out of danger and ultimately to victory. She and Amy Jones rescued England from 72 for 4 with a fifth-wicket stand worth 90 off 86 balls, Jones posting a run-a-ball fifty as the duo lifted their side 50 runs shy of the 212 target.Tammy Beaumont was put down by wicketkeeper Izzy Gaze off the first ball of the run-chase, a full delivery from Rowe, which swung away and caught the edge of Beaumont’s attempted drive. But then fortune swung New Zealand’s way just four balls later when Beaumont was given out lbw and declined to review with replays showing that the ball would have missed leg stump.When Heather Knight sent a leading edge straight back to the same bowler, England were 29 for 2 and Bouchier fell on the penultimate ball of the powerplay with an aborted pull shot off Penfold that ballooned to the keeper.Her dismissal brought Sophia Dunkley to the crease, back in the starting XI for the first time since a disappointing tour of New Zealand earlier this year as England shook up their team for this dead rubber. It was a nervy start for Dunkley, who faced six balls to get off the mark then overturned an lbw decision off Kerr’s fourth ball of the innings, a wrong’un which brushed her back leg high up as she lunged forward and was ultimately shown to be going over the stumps.Heather Knight lifts the series trophy after England’s 3-0 win over New Zealand•Getty Images

Two balls later, Dunkley managed to steer Kerr for four past short third and, settling into a rhythm, she then punched down the ground for another, more authoritative, boundary off Kerr’s next over when Sciver-Brunt also chimed in through midwicket. But Kerr curtailed Dunkley’s comeback via an inside edge as the batter shaped to cut and was caught behind for 15 off 24 balls.Sciver-Brunt brought up her 21st ODI fifty with a glorious drive down the ground for four off Rowe and Jones raised hers with a chipped single off Kerr towards point. Moments after Jones fell edging Brooke Halliday behind, Sciver-Brunt was dropped on 63 by Georgia Plimmer at cover. By that stage, England needed 49 from 69 balls and Sciver-Brunt and Alice Capsey eased their way home.Earlier, Bell’s five-wicket haul and Kerr’s fighting half-century gave a more even complexion to the contest than in the first two games, when New Zealand had struggled to string significant partnerships together and batters made starts without converting them to impactful innings.Kerr struck 59 and shared partnerships with Sophie Devine and Halliday worth 68 and 65 runs respectively to push the White Ferns to a good total, by far New Zealand’s best of the tour after they had been bowled out for 156 and 141 previously. But Bell’s 5 for 35 from nine overs kept the target manageable, especially in light of England’s current batting form, or so it seemed before the top-order collapse.In New Zealand’s innings, a sublime throw by Charlie Dean, firing the ball in from backward point, removed Plimmer and, though Kate Cross was expensive early, she made it 46 for 2 when Jones took an excellent catch off Suzie Bates.With Sophie Ecclestone rested for this match, Devine stepped up the rate against the home side’s other two spinners. She struck Sarah Glenn for two fours in three balls, through the covers to bring up the fifty stand with Kerr and to deep midwicket, then crunched Dean through the covers for another boundary in the next over.But Devine’s reaction said it all when Bell returned to the attack and struck with her second ball back, one that angled in from a full length as Devine shaped to cut and chopped onto her stumps, dropping her bat and throwing her head back in exasperation as a promising innings ended on 43.With Maddy Green having fallen to a marginal lbw decision to Cross while the DRS was unavailable, Kerr forged another partnership with Halliday, who made 51 in the series opener and 31 here.But Kerr and Halliday both fell within three balls of one Bell over, Kerr pinned lbw and Halliday caught behind down the leg side as the White Ferns went from 181 for 4 to 182 for 6. Bell and Sciver-Brunt then teamed up twice to remove Gaze and Lauren Down, Sciver-Brunt’s safe hands helping Bell to her maiden international five-for.Encouragingly for England, Sciver-Brunt sent down eight overs and, even though she went wicketless, it was her heaviest workload so far this series, having been restricted to spells of four and five overs in the previous two games as she manages her recovery from a knee problem.

India will need to pull off the highest successful chase at the MCG to win the Boxing Day Test

Alagappan Muthu29-Dec-20243:36

Labuschagne on state of MCG pitch: diminishing bounce making batting harder

A see-sawing Boxing Day Test at the MCG is heading into territory rarely seen these days. A fifth-day finish and all results possible, with varying degrees of probability.Australia have earned a handsome lead – 333 with one wicket standing – after recovering from a wobble early in their second innings. India had looked in a promising position on Sunday – they had the hosts 91 for 6 – but they struggled to get through the tail and will have to break the record for the highest successful chase at the MCG to win the Test.Marnus Labuschagne, who top-scored for Australia with 70 off 139 balls, believed his team had always been ahead in the game. They took a first-innings lead of 105 and were able to build on it with crowd favourites Scott Boland and Nathan Lyon putting up a 55-run partnership for the last wicket.Related

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“I felt like we were probably ahead of the game just the whole way,” Labuschagne said. “I was sitting up at the top with our batting coach Michael Di Venuto and I was just watching every ball. We’re scrapping for runs, there was overthrows, leg byes, running twos, that last bit had everything. I mean we even had the game finished with a no-ball wicket into a last ball four, so I mean people that say Test cricket isn’t exciting, I mean I’m a player and I was watching and I was excited.”The natural wear and tear of the pitch as a Test match goes into the fifth day has brought a new challenge for the batters for the first time in this series.”As the game’s gone on the bounce has got less and more inconsistent,” Labuschagne said, wearing a bandage on his right arm from where an Akash Deep ball kicked up and hit him. “So we’re getting more balls hitting the stumps, more balls skidding through and we’re getting that coming through on the data. And that’s probably the major difference. The seam movement’s probably been the same [throughout the game] but just the amount of bounce is significantly lower so that makes for pretty tricky batting there. More balls are hitting the stumps from a shorter length, balls are skidding through, few balls shot up today.”India understand the challenge but prefer keeping that in the back of their mind as they look to correct the mistakes they made in the first innings, when they lost many wickets in a heap and needed to be rescued from 191 for 6 by a maiden Test century from Nitish Kumar Reddy.”About the pitch, I feel like you need to get one or two good partnerships, I feel like from the first day the movement was there off the pitch,” Reddy said. “The pitch is doing something and we can see later on the fourth day it was doing a little bit more, but we don’t need to put more pressure like the pitch is doing this or that, we need to go instantly according to the situation.”Does it help that India have a century-maker in their ranks as they prepare for a big chase? “Obviously when I come to the second-innings batting, it’s a fresh innings, I can’t start my innings from 100,” Reddy said. “So it’s a fresh innings, I have to start from starting, how I approached in the first innings, I have to be the same thing, and let’s see what the team plan, and according to that we’ll plan, and I think I have to leave the 100 behind and start the fresh innings.”We’ll come back strong in batting order, what we have done in the first innings, we’ll rectify the mistakes … we have to first take the last wicket and then we’ll plan accordingly.”

Former Australia captain says next game which was at opener’s home ground SCG would have been the time to go out on a high

Andrew McGlashan05-Mar-2023Ricky Ponting believes David Warner missed the ideal time to retire from Test cricket after his double-century against South Africa at the MCG and suggested the World Test Championship final might be a one-off chance for him to prove he should play the Ashes.Warner left Australia’s current tour of India after the second Test in Delhi where he was subbed out of the match with concussion and also picked up a hairline fracture in his elbow.His double hundred in his 100th Test at the MCG came amid ongoing talk about his form and Ponting is of the view that the next game which was at the SCG would have been the time to go out on a high.Related

• Ghosts of 2019: Warner's Ashes fate remains uncertain

• Australia's WTC final squad – Will David Warner keep his place?

• 'I've got the next 12 months' – Warner defiant over Test future

“Look, I was on radio a couple of days ago, back here in Australia, and I thought the absolute best time for Davey to retire, if he was thinking about it at all, was after the Sydney Test match here in Australia,” Ponting told the podcast.”He’d just played his 100th Test in Melbourne, and obviously got 200 in the first innings down there. And to bow out in front of his home crowd is obviously the way that every player would like to finish their careers.”Who knows now that opportunity might not come around again for Davey, you know. That’s nearly another 12 months away.”Ponting expects Warner to feature in the WTC final at The Oval in June, which will be against either India or Sri Lanka, but sees it as a crucial outing to determine whether he features in the Ashes. Warner has an underwhelming record in England with an average of 26.04 from 13 Tests.”I think they’ll definitely want to play him in the World Test Championship match,” he said. “They have got some really big decisions to make, leading into the Ashes as well. A bit like some of the selection issues they had coming to India.”They’re probably going to have similar things to think about when they get to the UK because David’s record in the UK is not as strong as it is in some other places around the world.”However, Ponting added that Warner deserved to finish his Test career on his terms.”I think his career deserves to finish the way he wants it to,” he said. “Sort of not to be dropped or tapped on the shoulder in the middle of an overseas tour and have his career end in that way. That’s why I just hope he can find it within himself to score a lot of runs between now and next summer.”Travis Head was promoted to open in Warner’s place for the second innings in Delhi and continued the role in Indore with success. However, he is not viewed as a permanent successor given his influence in the middle order although may do the role again on the subcontinent.”We’ll see where that lands in terms of the future but I see him [Head] as an incredible middle order player as well,” coach Andrew McDonald said. “He can shift the momentum of the game in the middle order and I don’t think we want to take that away from this team. I think he can get on the back of others’ work at the top of the order in different conditions.”Cameron Bancroft has enjoyed a prolific domestic season for Western Australia and will be in the frame for a spot in the WTC final and Ashes squads.Marcus Harris is another contender should an opening vacancy arrive.

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

• Liam Dawson: 'I don't want to be running drinks for England at my age'

• Chris Woakes 'at ease' with India Test omission despite Ashes heroics

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• Cricket Australia chief: Context vital for bilateral ODIs

• Liam Dawson: 'You still get nervous watching the 2022 final'

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.”

Sussex stumble to 203 all out despite Fynn Hudson-Prentice’s fifty

ECB Reporters Network 26-Jun-2023Glamorgan’s bowlers fought their way back into this game, dismissing Sussex for 203 as the home side finished with a lead of 85 and 10 second-innings wickets standingA first-innings lead of 39 could be crucial in a low-scoring contest. Australian leg spinner Mitch Swepson took the last two wickets in two balls to wrap things up, finishing with 3 for 52, while seamer James Harris returned figures of 3 for 38.Sussex had started the day in a strong position on 65 for 1, but lost both not-out batters before a run had been added, with Fynn Hudson-Prentice then holding the innings together in scoring only the second half century of the match.When he went for 59, the rest of the Sussex innings folded. Glamorgan openers Zain-ul-Hassan and Andrew Salter went about patiently increasing that lead, as the home side finished the day on 46 without loss.The Australian Kookaburra ball is being used for this match, with Glamorgan’s bowlers using it to good effect to stem the runs for long periods as well as taking regular wickets. Sussex scored at just over two runs an over as they struggled to evade the fielders with their few attacking shots, as the home bowlers maintained a stranglehold.It was the 30th ball of the morning before Sussex added to their overnight score, by which time Timm van der Gugten had added his second wicket of the innings by bowling Tom Alsop for 27, while Jamie McIlroy dismissed Tom Clark lbw for 32.Then it was the turn of Harris to get in on the act, getting the wicket of James Coles with his first ball and then adding that of Danial Ibrahim to leave Sussex struggling on 95 for 5.Hudson-Prentice and Oli Carter were patient in their efforts to rebuild the innings before the wicketkeeper fell caught behind off the bowling of McIlroy. Nathan McAndrew was caught and bowled by fellow Australian Swepson.Offspinner Jack Carson then provided valuable support in a partnership of 61 with Hudson-Prentice which edged their team ever closer to Glamorgan’s first-innings total of 242. Carson was given a life when dropped by Billy Root off Zain, however, the end came suddenly as Glamorgan wrapped the innings up with three wickets in four balls.First Hudson-Prentice’s watchful innings was undone when he skied a short ball from Harris, then Carson fell lbw and Aristides Karvelas caught behind by Chris Cooke, both to Swepson who will be on a hat-trick ball when he next bowls.Zain and Salter found getting runs equally difficult in the early stages of Glamorgan’s second innings, before scoring a little more freely in the last few overs of the day. They will look to build a match-winning lead, while Sussex will take confidence from the way Glamorgan were able to keep taking wickets as the Kookaburra ball got older.

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.

He shared a record third-wicket stand of 127 with Gareth Roderick in six-wicket win

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay06-Jul-2025Kashif Ali struck a commanding 88 off just 46 balls, his highest T20 score, to help steer Worcestershire Rapids to a six-wicket victory over Northamptonshire Steelbacks at Wantage Road, and keep their qualification hopes alive.Kashif was in total control, smashing seven fours and six sixes during a third-wicket stand of 127 with Gareth Roderick (36) – the highest for Worcestershire against any opposition in T20 cricket, beating the previous best accumulated by Brett D’Oliveira and Adam Hose against Yorkshire at Worcester just last month.Ben Sanderson (2 for 24) removed both set batters in the 15th over, but by then Worcestershire were closing in on victory and sent Northamptonshire to their fourth straight defeat.Earlier Adam Finch ran through Northamptonshire’s middle order, claiming three for 28, including two wickets in two balls, as the hosts tried to kick on after a lacklustre start. It came after Tom Taylor snared 2 for 22 on his return to his old club as the Steelbacks lost three wickets for 11 in 15 balls in the powerplay, finishing the first six overs on just 34 for 3.Northamptonshire had Sanderson to thank for posting a near competitive total, his 27 off 16 balls helping to propel them to 152 for 9.In Northamptonshire’s powerplay, while Ricardo Vasconcelos scooped Khurram Shahzad for six, he failed to middle an attempted pull against Ben Dwarshuis, and instead top-edged, keeper Roderick having plenty of time to judge the catch.Taylor struck twice in the next over, his third, as first Robinson top-edged Taylor to mid-on as he went to turn one to leg, before the bowler hooped one back in to send Ravi Bopara’s off-stump flying. With Dwarshuis conceding just two off his next over, the Steelbacks were well behind the pace.Northamptonshire skipper David Willey (13) powered consecutive boundaries through extra cover off Khurram to bring up Northamptonshire’s 50 but his fightback ended next ball when he chopped onto his stumps, giving Pakistan international Khurram (2 for 40) his first wicket in Worcestershire colours.Justin Broad (19) played his shots, but he became the fifth wicket when he reached for a wide ball from Fateh Singh and dragged it onto his stumps.Finch then struck twice in the fifteenth over accounting for Lewis McManus and Saif Zaib in the space of four balls. First McManus was undone by a full ball which clattered into the base of the stumps. While Zaib then sent one flying through extra cover, he pulled Finch’s next delivery to deep backward square-leg where Isaac Mohammed held a stunning diving catch.George Bartlett scooped Khurram for six, but he became Finch’s third victim when he hit straight to cover.Sanderson pulled Dwarshuis for six before smashing 14 off the penultimate over bowled by Shahzad. First, he dispatched a free hit out of the ground, before inside edging for four and then dissecting two cover fielders. While he was bowled by Khurram’s final delivery, a George Scrimshaw boundary saw Northamptonshire pass 150.In the chase, Willey (2 for 22) struck twice in his opening overs, Mohammed who hit straight to mid-off, while Brett D’Oliveira was bowled stepping away.Kashif played positively from the get-go, garnering a handsome straight drive off Willey and a straight six off Sanderson. He targeted Broad, hitting consecutive boundaries before pulling over midwicket as the Rapids ended the powerplay on 44 for 2.Roderick, who started slowly, enjoyed Scrimshaw’s extra pace, a brace of boundaries bringing up Worcestershire 50 off 26 balls, before Kashif hit Scrimshaw for a massive six over deep midwicket. A similar shot in the pacer’s next over brought Kashif six more before he ran two to reach his half-century off 24 balls.Roderick finished the over by crunching another maximum, Scrimshaw conceding 31 off his first two overs.The runs kept coming for Kashif despite a blow on the foot by a perfect yorker from Willey. He attacked the spin of Pope too, coming down the wicket to smite him over deep midwicket.Sanderson then broke the partnership, Kashif falling to a well-judged catch in the deep by Broad, while Roderick spooned a catch around the corner, but some lusty blows from Ethan Brookes helped seal the win.

A specialist batter – Renshaw or Handscomb – is expected to be the replacement, with Australia fielding just four specialist bowlers

Alex Malcolm07-Feb-20231:11

Steve O’Keefe: Todd Murphy will be a superstar

Cameron Green is very unlikely to play in the first Test against India, to be played in Nagpur from Thursday, with the fractured finger he suffered during the Boxing Day Test requiring more time to heal.Green did not bat during Australia’s first training session at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. He did do some fitness work and light centre-wicket bowling, but Australia have opted for a cautious approach to his recovery given he had surgery to insert pins in his finger only five weeks ago.He jarred his finger while batting during the training camp in Bengaluru, before travelling to Nagpur, and while it did not cause any damage, it was enough to make the team management cautious.Related

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Australia vice-captain Steven Smith felt Green was unlikely to play given he hasn’t faced fast bowling in the nets. “I don’t think he is [going to play],” Smith said. “I don’t think he’s even faced fast bowlers yet. So I dare say he won’t be playing but who knows. I’m not entirely sure. We’ll wait and see.”But it’s unlikely, I think.”This would mean that Australia pick a specialist batter at No. 6 and just four bowlers for the first Test.Matt Renshaw played in place of Green in the Sydney Test against South Africa at No. 6 but Peter Handscomb is also in the frame, with Australia’s selectors considering the balance of the top six in terms of left and right-hand batters. If Renshaw were to play, Australia would have five left-handers in the top seven.

Matt Renshaw or Peter Handscomb?

Handscomb has also done a lot of short-leg training in the lead-up to the Test both in Bengaluru and in Nagpur, although Renshaw has also done some close-in fielding work, at silly mid-off. Both men are good close catchers but Handscomb is the more experienced of the two in those roles.Scott Boland is a lock to replace the injured Josh Hazlewood. Lance Morris is the only other quick available but he only did some centre-wicket bowling in Nagpur alongside Green.Australia look set to play two spinners and two quicks with the surface looking extremely dry two days out from the start of the Test.”It’s pretty dry,” Smith said. “Particularly one end that I think will take a bit of spin, particularly the left-arm spinner spinning it back into our left-handers. There’s a section there that’s quite dry. Other than that, I can’t really get a good gauge on it.”I don’t think there will be a heap of bounce in the wicket. I think for the seamers it will be quite skiddy and maybe a bit of up-and-down movement as the game goes on. The cracks felt quite loose. We’ll wait and see when we get out there.”But no decision has been made on who the second spinner would be. If the surface looks like a raging turner, then Ashton Agar could be preferred over Todd Murphy to give Australia a left-arm orthodox option. But Murphy remained a chance to make his Test debut with Australia still considering the option of playing two specialist offspinners, with Nathan Lyon the primary choice.If the surface does look like it will spin big from ball one, Australia might have considered three spinners, but with Green set to be unavailable, that option appeared off the table.”I think if Green was fit it definitely be more of an option,” Smith said. “Without him, maybe. I’m not entirely sure. I think we’ve got a strategy meeting this afternoon where we’ll have a talk about what we think but ultimately it’s down to the selectors to pick the team they think is best for the surface.”