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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.

Duo put on 311 together in only 53 overs as Sussex, following on, forge ahead without loss

ECB Reporters Network28-Sep-2022Captain Tom Haines completed two unbeaten hundreds in the same day and opening partner Ali Orr thrashed a magnificent 185 not out to transform Sussex’s fortunes and end Glamorgan’s promotion hopes in the LV= County Championship.Haines, who had resumed on 34, became the first Sussex batsman since 2014 to carry his bat with 108 but Sussex were still bowled out for 258 in their first innings and followed on 275 behind at the 1st Central County Ground.At that stage of the third day Glamorgan were firmly on course for the victory that would have kept their hopes of climbing out of Division Two alive.But as it emerged that rivals Middlesex were getting themselves into an unbeatable position against Worcestershire to claim second spot, Glamorgan spirits seemed to sag and after tea and Orr and Haines took full advantage.By stumps they had put on a magnificent 311 together in only 53 overs, with 190 of their runs coming in boundaries. Orr finished 185 not out (163 balls, 18 fours, nine sixes) and Haines will resume on 121 (157 balls, 16 fours) with Sussex now 37 runs in front after a remarkable day produced 481 runs.Earlier, Haines and 18-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Charlie Tear had provided the only resistance as Sussex twice collapsed, losing three wickets for 18 runs in the first hour before their last four went for six runs in just four overs.James Harris sparked the first collapse when he picked up two wickets in four balls when Tom Clark was caught behind off a flat-footed waft and Dan Ibrahim unwisely tried to pull a ball outside off stump which cannoned into his stumps. Fynn Hudson-Prentice was also guilty of a poor shot as he gave Ajaz Patel an easy return catch before Haines and Tear came together.They added 95 for the seventh wicket with Haines reaching his second hundred of the season, having made 234 against Derbyshire back in April.Tear caught the eye too, and at one stage he hit six successive balls from New Zealand Test spinner Patel to the boundary as he made his maiden half-century in only his second appearance.But when Tear played back to Tim van der Gugten Sussex folded again with the last three batters all out for ducks. Haines, who offered one sharp chance to David Lloyd at slip, walked off to a standing ovation having faced 169 balls and hit 14 fours.Ten minutes later he was walking out to bat again and soon he and Orr were hurtling along at seven runs an over as Glamorgan’s five-man attack toiled for a breakthrough.Orr reached his fifty by hoisting Patel out of the ground for six and he needed just 38 more balls to get to his century, hitting Patel for three successive sixes at one stage. Just 41 deliveries were needed for his next 50 runs and the next milestone ticked off was his career-best 141 which he passed with a reverse sweep to the boundary off Patel, whose eight overs so far have gone for 78.He wasn’t the only bowler to suffer on a pitch offering little assistance. Orr passed 1,000 runs for the season when he got to 153 and shortly afterwards Haines was raising his bat for the second time in the day to acknowledge a standing ovation after reaching his century. He is the first Sussex batter to score two hundreds in the same match since Mike Yardy against Yorkshire in 2011.At stumps the two left-handers had set a record partnership for any wicket against Glamorgan after passing Luke Wells and Ben Brown’s 294 at Hove in 2016 while there have only been three bigger opening stands in the county’s history.

Should Hong Kong chase the target down, it would be their highest successful T20I chase

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Sep-2025Sediqullah Atal and Azmatullah Omarzai struck half-centuries each to carry Afghanistan to 188 for 6 in the opening match of the men’s T20 Asia Cup. Hong Kong had their moments, their spinners in particular harnessing slow conditions well enough to frustrate their more pedigreed opponents. But the gulf in class eventually showed as Yasin Murtaza’s side dropped catches and committed misfields to hurt their own chances.Sediqullah has brought up each of this three T20I fifties in his last four innings, and as well as he looked out in the middle, standing tall at the crease and largely coping with the lack of pace, he benefited from three missed chances. A man who could’ve been dismissed in the very first over in the end batted through to finish on 73 off 52.Murtaza was involved in all three lives Sediqullah got – twice dropping the catch himself and once having to watch it go down off his own bowling. He did the best he could to make up for it, the three Hong Kong spinners giving the ball such little pace but so much air that this game looked straight out of the 90s. As such, the more modern day T20 batter wasn’t able to adjust. Murtaza, Ehsan Khan and Kinchit Shah picked up 3 for 75 in 11 overs.However, the arrival of pace in the 17th over changed the game with Atal and Omarzai targeting Ayush Shukla. Afghanistan scored 69 runs in the last four overs with Omarzai raising his first T20I half-century. From the simple clear-the-front-leg slog to the cheeky ramp past the keeper, the Afghanistan allrounder has shown impressive range on a difficult batting pitch and finished with a strike rate of 252.38.Should Hong Kong chase the target down, it would be their highest successful T20I chase.

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.

The defending champions are in a race to secure a spot in Qualifier final after defeat against Adelaide Strikers

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jan-2022Test star Nathan Lyon looms as the final puzzle piece in the Sydney Sixers’ historic bid for a third successive BBL crown.Lyon’s international commitments have concluded following Australia’s 4-0 Ashes triumph over England. He has indicated his desire to be part of the Sixers’ finals tilt and has been included in the squad to face Brisbane Heat as they aim to secure a spot in the Qualifier final.Lyon was among a group of Australia Test squad players who took a chartered flight to Melbourne on Tuesday to link up with their BBL clubs. Scott Boland will be back in action with Hobart Hurricanes on Wednesday along with Marnus Labuschagne for the already eliminated Heat.Adelaide Strikers will have the big boost of Travis Head, the Player of the Series in the Ashes, and Alex Carey being available for their Eliminator final while Jhye Richardson will link up with Perth Scorchers and Usman Khawaja will be back to captain Sydney Thunder.The players joining from the Test squad will have to remain separate from the rest of their BBL squads during a reintegration period as part of the tournament’s Covid-19 protocols as the Ashes bubble ended when the Hobart match finished. It will involve the same rules that Andre Russell had to operate under when he arrived which included separate changing areas and sitting away from team-mates.”He’s pretty keen to come back and always says he loves playing for us,” Sixers captain Moises Henriques said of Lyon, who captured 16 wickets at 23.56 against England. “I’m pretty sure he’ll be available for our next game in Brisbane [on Wednesday] or the finals.Related

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“He’s just played five Test matches pretty close together and he’s been in the bubble, so he might want three or four days to chill out and relax before he comes back, but we’ll manage that with him.”Lyon’s likely inclusion, coupled with the sizzling form of fellow veteran tweaker Steve O’Keefe, could pave the way for the Sixers to make their charge for the silverware behind a surge of spin.Despite capturing 10 wickets at 12.90 and a miserly economy rate of 5.86 this campaign, O’Keefe has indicated his desire to retire after the finals, describing his body as “old, fat, slow and sore”. Henriques is doing his best to convince O’Keefe to change his mind.”Absolutely I am,” he said. “I’ve been trying to do that every day so far. I face him in the nets every day, have done for 20 years, and I still can’t hit him. You can imagine how hard I want him to keep playing on.”Henriques believes the Sixers missed a trick by resting O’Keefe in Monday’s eight-wicket loss to the Adelaide Strikers. O’Keefe, 37 and still not fully recovered from a finger injury, was always going to miss either the Adelaide Oval clash or the upcoming meeting with Heat.”We took a risk with him playing the last game [against the Sydney Thunder last Saturday],” Henriques said. “We would have had four games in four different cities in six days, so it’s a pretty high risk.”He was always going to have this game or Brisbane off. Maybe if we had our time again we might have looked at two [spinners in Adelaide]…the spinners had a bit of success on that wicket.”

Alastair Cook, Tom Westley add century stand in reply to dominate day one

ECB Reporters Network11-Jul-2022Essex 127 for 1 (Cook 61*, Westley 50*) trail Gloucestershire 136 (Harmer 5-44) by nine runsSimon Harmer, with figures of 5 for 44, was the architect of Gloucestershire’s batting woes as they were bowled out for a meagre 136 having won the toss.After Harmer had tortured the visitors on a scorching hot day at Chelmsford, Alastair Cook and Tom Westley carried Essex to 127 for 1 at the close with Cook posting a 126-balls half-century completed with the 8th boundary of his innings.Only Graeme van Buuren and Zafar Gohar emerged with any credit from the lamentable Gloucestershire first innings, which concluded 40 minutes after lunch.Then Cook and Westley demonstrated the value of disciplined graft with a century stand spanning 256 balls with Westley completing a 146-ball fifty shortly before the close.By lunch the visitors, who are still seeking their first LV=County Championship win of the summer, had lost their top-five runs getters in red-ball cricket this season as they stumbled to 104 for 6 at the break.Although new ball bowler Sam Cook was away on England Lions duty, Jamie Porter ensured a flying start for the home side striking twice in his first four overs to remove the opening pair of Marcus Harris and Chris Dent for single figure scores before the sight of Essex maestro Harmer striding in to start his bowling spell from his customary River End served to increase Gloucestershire’s concerns.The match was only 40 minutes old when the South African off-spinner took the ball for the tenth over of the innings. After two overs, his concerns regarding the shape of the ball were acknowledged by the umpires. Harmer himself jogged to the boundary, retrieved the bag of alternative replacements and after handing it to the officials, was handed a replacement cherry.Finding it immediately to his liking, he took the first of his five wickets when Ryan Higgins slapped him straight to long-on. Without addition Miles Hammond, who had just moved into double figures, offered no stroke to an Aaron Beard delivery that clipped off bail to leave the visitors 37 for 4.James Bracey and Graeme van Buuren doubled the score but the threat of Harmer’s canny variations of flight and length were always looming large.Having scored 12, Bracey was pushed onto the back foot and edged to wicket-keeper Adam Rossington and the same Essex combination teamed up to dismiss Ollie Price who was stumped.Seven balls after lunch, the visitors troubles continued when van Buuren, who had been functionally effective in advancing to 34 from 37 balls set off for a single and was stranded at the non-striker’s end where he found Tom Price a stationary onlooker.Gohar drove effectively for an unbeaten 29 but Harmer rounded of the innings with two of the last three wickets taking his tally to 340 first-class victims for Essex. It was the 27th time he has returned 5 wickets or more in an innings for the county since joining them in 2017.Although the visiting attack – missing David Payne and Benny Howell both with England Lions – were given a boost with the early dismissal of Nick Browne, Cook will resume on 61 and Westley 50 in the morning

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.

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.

Hosts effectively secure top-flight status after latest spirited display

ECB Reporters Network12-Sep-2024Will Rhodes struck his third century of the season to steer Warwickshire to safety in their hard-fought Vitality County Championship draw with local rivals Worcestershire at Visit Worcestershire New Road.The result leaves Worcestershire and Warwickshire 40 and 36 points respectively ahead of second-from-bottom Lancashire and both are strongly placed to ensure another campaign of top-flight cricket.Former Warwickshire captain Rhodes is ending a seven-season association with the Bears at the end of the campaign to join Durham on a three-year contract.He showed his quality in defying the home side’s push for victory after Warwickshire had followed on and were still eight runs in arrears with three second wickets down at the start of the final day.Rhodes cover drove Logan van Beek for his 15th four to reach three figures off 198 balls.When a heavy downpour post lunch ended play, the 29-year-old was unbeaten on 121 and needing just 46 more runs to complete 1,000 in a first-class season for the first time.Rhodes was given excellent support by 18-year-old Hamza Shaikh (33 not out) in only his second Championship match.Shaikh clearly enjoys batting at New Road as last month he scored 91 for England Lions against Sri Lanka in the tourists’ only warm-up match before the Test series against England.He helped Rhodes add an unbroken 83 as Warwickshire went through the play possible on the fourth day without losing a wicket.But Worcestershire can reflect on plenty of positives after defying their lengthiest injury list in living memory in virtually guaranteeing another season of Division One cricket after last summer’s promotion.Away triumphs over Durham and Essex, after being firmly behind the eight-ball in both games, were evidence of their fighting spirit and belief.Warwickshire resumed on 171 for 3 after being asked to follow on, still eight runs in arrears, with Will Rhodes unbeaten on 72.Tom Taylor, who yesterday had achieved career best figures of 6 for 28, and Matthew Waite settled into a steady rhythm and beat the bat on several occasions.Rhodes leg glanced Taylor for four to steer Warwickshire into the lead and then on drove Waite to the boundary.There was no nervous 90s for Rhodes who straight drove and cut Waite to the ropes and brought up three figures off 198 balls with a cover drive for his 15th four off Logan van Beek.The fourth-wicket pair were relatively untroubled although the second new ball brought a moral victory for Taylor when Rhodes on 119 edged just short of Brookes at second slip.But Rhodes and Shaikh safely negotiated the morning session without being parted and added 75 runs in 31.4 overs.There was only time for six more runs to be added at the start of the afternoon session before the heavens opened and play was abandoned at 2.20pm.

Four wickets in wake of century sets up prospect of big first-innings lead

ECB Reporters Network30-Aug-2024A superb display by all-rounder Liam Dawson has left Hampshire in a dominant position after two days of their Vitality County Championship match against Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford.After making an unbeaten 104, his second century of the season, and putting on 71 for the last wicket with Mohammad Abbas, Dawson bowled 28 overs unchanged from the James Anderson End, taking four for 46 as the home side replied to Hampshire’s 389 with 193 for eightThe opening 75 minutes of the day were filled with frustration for Lancashire’s cricketers as they watched Dawson and Abbas add a further 59 runs in 18 overs, thereby extending their last-wicket stand and changing the balance of the contest.Dawson reached his fifty in the second over of the morning and went on to reach his century off 125 balls, having hit eight fours and five sixes, four of the maximums being struck during a session in which he had farmed the bowling shrewdly and tormented Lancashire in the process.Having made one run off 32 balls in 89 minutes, Abbas was eventually caught at backward point by George Balderson off Luke Wells, leaving Dawson undefeated on an outstanding 104.Lancashire then lost Wells, bowled off the inside edge by Kyle Abbott for six, in the half hour’s play that was possible prior to lunch but Keaton Jennings and Josh Bohannon survived until the break and prospered in the afternoon session, putting on 90 for the second wicket before Jennings was leg before wicket to Dawson for 56.Four overs later, the slow left-armer struck again when Rocky Flintoff tried to mow the spinner across the line but only skied a catch to substitute fielder Felix Organ at midwicket and departed for a ten-ball nought.Lancashire came into tea on 108 for three and their decline accelerated on the resumption. In the second over of the evening session, Matt Hurst became Dawson’s third wicket when he was caught off inside edge and pad by Fletcha Middleton for four.In the next over, Bohannon, having made 43 in 167 minutes chipped John Turner straight to Tom Prest, who had been precisely placed at short midwicket. And Turner had more success in his next over when George Balderson groped at a swinging delivery and nicked a catch to second slip where Toby Albert completed a fine diving catch.Bell and Iyer prevented complete collapse with a stand of 48 but James Fuller’s diving catch to his right at cover off Abbott’s bowling removed Iyer for 27. Tom Hartley then became Dawson’s fourth victim when he holed out to James Vince at mid-off for two but George Bell ended the day unbeaten on 33 after two hours in which his judgement and shot-selection had perhaps been an example to some of his colleagues.