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New Zealand took the lead after bowling the visitors out for their lowest total batting first since 1932

Firdose Moonda16-Feb-2022Matt Henry recorded the joint-third-best figures by a New Zealand bowler with a career-best 7 for 23, including three wickets in the same over, to dismiss South Africa for their lowest total against New Zealand and lowest in 23 Tests. On a seamer-friendly Christchurch surface, Henry made use of the movement and bounce and almost single-handedly bowled South Africa out for 95, their lowest total batting first since 1932. In so doing, Henry registered the best bowling figures against South Africa since 1915. And if the historical data is not enough to underline New Zealand’s dominance of the opening day, their top four wiped out the deficit inside 34 overs, and took the lead by the close of play.The Test match got underway at midnight South African time and anyone who stayed up might have wondered if it was the team, and not them, who were sleep deprived. Not only did no-one score more than Zubayr Hamza’s 25 but they also dropped four chances in the field in an underwhelming showing, especially coming off their series win against India. South Africa are notorious slow starters and were made to look even slower by a clinical and energetic New Zealand side.Henry, who did not play in New Zealand’s last five Tests and was a replacement for paternity leave absentee Trent Boult, set the tone when he nipped out three of the top four in the morning session. He returned after lunch to claim four more and leave South Africa shell-shocked.His first incision was a big one, when he got rid of Dean Elgar in the 10th over of the morning. The South African captain reached away from his body to drive an outswinger and got a thick edge to third slip. Tim Southee, who had opened the bowling at the other end, took a diving catch to his left to dismiss Elgar for 1.That left debutant Sarel Erwee, who was in because Keegan Petersen could not make the trip after contracting Covid-19, with Aiden Markram, the out-of-form opener now moved to No. 3. Erwee left well to start but grew more tentative and was eventually sent back when Kyle Jamieson, bowling first change, forced him to play at a short of a length delivery that he edged to Daryl Mitchell at first slip.South Africa were 22 for 2 after 10 overs and New Zealand continued to pile on the pressure. Only five runs were scored in the next six overs and Markram seemed particularly vulnerable. He survived a tight lbw shout but soon enough, in trying to punch Henry off the back foot, he underestimated the movement on offer and was caught behind. Markram has not scored more than 16 runs in his last nine Test innings, dating back to June 2021.Rassie van der Dussen was dismissed in the same over, squared up by a good length delivery that straightened on him and edged to third slip where Southee took another good catch. At 37 for 4, South Africa would have been pleased that they included an extra specialist batter in their XI. Hamza made a comeback after last playing Test cricket two years ago and even looked convincing for a while, pulling and driving Southee, but then Henry had him prodding at a back of a length ball without moving his feet and was caught behind.That was Henry’s second session warm-up wicket. His main act came two overs later when he struck Kyle Verreynne on the knee roll with a full ball and New Zealand reviewed. Hawkeye showed the ball would go on to hit leg stump and Henry had his first Test five-for. Four balls later, Henry had Kagiso Rabada caught behind. Debutant Glenton Stuurman went the same way. South Africa were 88 for 8 and then 88 for 9 with Henry on a hat-trick. He didn’t get there and it was Wagner who ended the innings, with Duanne Olivier caught at second slip.New Zealand began their reply positively but South Africa had an early opportunity to dent them when Stuurman, sharing the new ball in his first Test, induced a leading edge from Tom Latham but Marco Jansen, at gully, could not hold on.Jansen made up for his mistake by dismissing Will Young in his first over and South Africa wrested back some control when Olivier bowled Latham with a scrambled seam delivery that hit the top of off stump. But then they let another chance go begging when Hamza dropped Henry Nicholls at third slip. The day kept drifting away from South Africa, a feeling amplified by Temba Bavuma shelling another chance when Nicholls cut Rabada to him at point.Nicholls and Devon Conway put on a stand of 75 and take New Zealand into the lead but Olivier separated them when he bowled Conway off the inside-edge. That could have given South Africa some cheer at the end of a long day but van der Dussen dropped a late chance when nightwatchman Neil Wagner turned an Oliver delivery to him at short leg. Van der Dussen was not anticipating the chance and had to react quickly, but the ball hit him on the body and fell to the floor. A metaphor for South Africa’s day.

Sikandar Raza threatened with a cameo at the death, but it wasn’t enough for the hosts in Harare

Deivarayan Muthu12-Jun-2022
Afghanistan overcame a late dash from Sikandar Raza to successfully defend 170 and sew up the T20I series 2-0, with one game to go, in Harare. Rashid Khan, who had an off day until the final exchanges, dismissed the big-hitting Raza for 41 off 21 balls and Ryan Burl for a duck in a decisive 18th over that cost just seven runs.Zimbabwe were left needing 35 off the last 12 balls, which proved well beyond their reach. Left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi and Nijat Masood, who had impressed on debut on Saturday, coolly closed out the game for the visitors.Zimbabwe opener Innocent Kaia scored his first T20 fifty, but needed 52 balls for the landmark as he struggled to find a higher tempo through his innings.When Raza joined Kaia, Zimbabwe were 66 for 3 in the 11th over, with the asking rate ballooning towards 11. Raza briefly pricked it by launching four sixes – all in the arc between deep midwicket and wide long-on. The sequence even included a swiped maximum off Rashid.After managing a run-a-ball 2, Rashid dropped a fairly straightforward catch at deep midwicket to reprieve Tadiwanashe Marumani on 3. Marunami added 27 to his tally before Mohammad Nabi had him skying a return catch. Rashid then ended up leaking 17 runs in an action-packed 15th over that also contained two reprieves by Azmatullah Omarzai for Kaia.Returning to the attack in the 18th over, Rashid saw Kaia hoick him over midwicket for four. Three balls later, Rashid unleashed a fizzing wrong’un that castled an advancing Raza. When Burl holed out, the game was all but up for Zimbabwe.It was Farooqi who shut down the chase after Raza forged a 70-run partnership with Kaia. With a delightful cocktail of wide yorkers, stump yorkers and slower bouncers, Farooqi hiked the asking rate, forcing Raza and Kaia to take undue risks against Rashid. Farooqi came away with figures of 1 for 19 in his four overs. It could have been 2 for 19 had Najibullah Zadran held onto a catch offered by Regis Chakabva in the 19th over.Earlier, Farooqi had made the first breakthrough by pinning Wessley Madhevere in front with a slower cutter. Captain Nabi singled out Farooqi for special praise at the post-match presentation, calling him the “game-changer”. Farooqi’s Player-of-the-Match award enhances his T20 reputation: he has played only 11 T20s so far, but already has gigs in the IPL, BPL and the T10 league under his belt.Nabi himself had made a significant contribution to Afghanistan’s victory, following up his unbeaten 22-ball 43 with 1 for 18 in two overs.When Nabi had walked out to bat, Afghanistan were wobbling at 88 for 4 in the 13th over, with Darwish Rasooli also having retired hurt on 12. Nabi had a slow start – he was on 7 off 8 balls at one point – but cranked up the tempo to hit three sixes and a four off his next six balls to give Afghanistan’s innings the final push it needed.Nabi clubbed another six in the last over, bowled by Tendai Chatara, to drag Afghanistan up to 170 for 5. He struck up a 70-run stand with Najibullah off a mere 40 balls. Najibullah raised his second successive half-century and seventh overall in T20Is. Thirty-eight of his 57 came against spin.Despite the early loss of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Afghanistan were aggressive at the top, shellacking 51 runs in the powerplay. Hazratullah Zazai was responsible for 28 off those, which came a strike rate of 215.38.Chatara and Luke Jongwe made inroads into the line-up before Nabi and Najibullah took center stage. Legspin-bowling allrounder Burl was Zimbabwe’s most economical bowler, returning 1 for 15 from his three overs a day after he had claimed 3 for 14 in the last match. Zimbabwe, however, ultimately slid to their fourth consecutive defeat, which has put their prep for next month’s T20 qualifier in some disarray.

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.”

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.

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.

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

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

• England place attributes over averages to fill spinners' void for India tour

• 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.”

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.

For the second time in two days, an Associate team defeated a Full Member in Group A

Ashish Pant07-Jun-20243:24

Niall O’Brien: Ireland should have restricted Canada to 115-120

The Associate has struck twice in two days. Group C and D might have been the groups of death leading up to the T20 World Cup 2024 but for the moment the blockbuster results are coming out of Group A. After Pakistan shocked USA in Dallas on Thursday, it was Canada’s turn to stun a Full Member side on Friday as they beat Ireland by 12 runs in New York to record their first-ever T20 World Cup win.The focus was all on the surface in New York and while Canada found the going tough early on, Nicholas Kirton and Shreyas Movva steadied the ship to take them to 137 for 7 in their 20 overs. This was the first time in five innings that a team had managed to breach the 100-run mark in New York this World Cup. And it proved to be enough.The Canada bowlers were all over the Ireland batters in the chase. They did not let them get away in the powerplay before Junaid Siddiqui and Saad Bin Zafar applied the squeeze in the middle overs. When Ireland slipped to 59 for 6 in the 13th over, it seemed all but over for them. Mark Adair and George Dockrell resurrected the Irish innings and put on 62 for the seventh wicket, but Jeremy Gordon and Dilon Heyliger held their own at the death to deliver Canada a famous win. Ireland were restricted to 125 for 7 and have now lost two in two.

Gordon helps Canada take powerplay honours

On an uneven surface and a sluggish outfield, a chase of 138 was always going to be a tricky ask. Canada’s defence did not get off to the best of starts with Kaleem Sana unable to control the early movement. But Gordon understood the lengths to bowl on the surface from the get-go and the rest of the bowlers followed suit. Ireland could only manage two fours in the first six overs – one in the first over and one in the sixth. In between, there were plenty of swishes and misses from Paul Stirling and Andy Balbirnie and hardly any decent connections.Gordon’s relentless lengths got the better of Stirling in the final over of the powerplay when he could only manage a top edge on his attempted heave with the wicketkeeper taking a comfortable catch. He fell for an uncharacteristic 9 off 17 and Ireland’s innings went downhill thereon.3:09

Niall O’Brien: There is a bit of Lara about Kirton

Ireland slip, slide and stumble

It was complete Canadian domination in the next seven overs or so with Ireland unable to understand how to go about the chase. Saad and Siddiqui attacked the stumps, hardly giving the batters anything to work with: 33 of the 48 balls they bowled finished on a wicket-to-wicket line, according to ESPNcricinfo’s data. The surface seemed to slow up a touch in the second half and the two spinners made sure to take full toll.Balbirnie fell second ball after the powerplay, caught and bowled by Siddiqui. Saad struck next with a straight ball that breached Harry Tector’s defences. Lorcan Tucker inexplicably ran himself out in the 10th over before Heyliger sent back Curtis Campher with a little help from Aaron Johnson, who took a lovely catch at deep backward square leg diving to his left. And when Gareth Delany fell in the 13th over with the Ireland score on 59, an early finish was on the cards.

Adair, Dockrell give Ireland hope but Canada prevail

With the equation reading 64 off 30 after 15 overs and only four wickets in hand, Ireland needed nothing short of a miracle to pull this off. Dockrell gave Ireland a chance when he bashed Siddiqui for a four and six in the 16th over before Adair produced a similar result against Sana in the next. Heyliger, however, kept his cool to only concede eight runs in the 18th over.Sana’s 19th went for 11, which meant Gordon had 16 runs to defend in the final over. And he did it expertly. There were no full balls, only the hard-length stuff and there was nothing Adair could do. He played and missed the first ball and top-edged the next. Barry McCarthy came in and hacked across the line three times, but couldn’t get much out of it.And when Dockrell mistimed his heave to long-on off the final ball, celebrations began in the Canada dugout. This was just the third time Canada had beaten Ireland in T20Is. They are the only Full Member team they have beaten in the format.Shreyas Movva batted solidly after Canada slipped to 53 for 4•Getty Images

Ireland put Canada in early trouble

Earlier, it seemed like a good toss to win for Ireland with their bowlers finding movement and carry. Adair had Navneet Dhaliwal caught at backward point before Craig Young sent back Aaron Johnson, caught at deep backward square leg. Canada hit six fours in the powerplay but a lack of strike rotation meant they could only reach 37 for 2 after the first six.Young struck straight after the powerplay, too, sending back Pargat Singh, before Delany had Dilpreet Bajwa caught and bowled with Canada’s score after 8.1 overs reading 53 for 4.

Kirton and Movva make the move

Kirton has been in excellent T20I form of late. He had scored a fifty against Nepal in Canada’s warm-up game and another one against USA in the World Cup opener. And he started in a similar vein in New York. Alongside Movva, he first steadied the Canada innings and then went big in the final five.There was a distinct Caribbean flair to the Barbados-born Kirton’s strokeplay. He took on Young, Ireland’s most successful bowler up to the point, smashing him for two sixes and a four in the 16th over. Movva also kept chugging along with the duo adding 75 runs for the fifth wicket off 63 balls. Kirton fell one short of another half-century but Movva stayed right till the last ball and Canada posted the highest score in New York this T20 World Cup.