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Being part of CWG 2022 “can only leave us in a good position as we look for ambitions moving forward,” says Geoff Allardice

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jul-2022Being a “star attraction” at the 2022 Commonwealth Games will give a fillip to the ICC’s ambitions of being included in “all other types of multi-sport games”, mainly the Olympic Games, Geoff Allardice, the ICC chief executive, said in Birmingham on Wednesday.”The idea of being here in Birmingham for the annual [ICC] conference is to celebrate cricket’s involvement in the Commonwealth Games for the first time in 24 years [when a men’s 50-over event was held, in Kuala Lumpur] with the women’s T20 event,” Allardice said. “Judging on the reaction of the players, they all are very excited and enjoying the experience of being around the top athletes from other sports.”We have declared our ambition to be involved in the Olympic Games. We are assisting the LA 2028 organisers and providing any information will help their assessment of different sports with regards to addition to the Olympic programme. But, at this stage, a decision is due next year.”Related

• It will be a surprise if Australia don't take home the gold

• Cricket at the 2022 CWG – all you need to know

• CWG 2022 – India are medal contenders, but the gold seems reserved for Australia

Women’s T20 cricket, between eight teams, including Barbados as the West Indies representatives, is being played in this edition of the Commonwealth Games, in Birmingham. In fact, all matches will be played at Edgbaston. This, after the ICC and the ECB lobbied successfully for its inclusion.Supporters of the ICC’s stated objective of having cricket included in the Olympics – possibly in Los Angeles in 2028, though the sport hasn’t made the provisional list – are likely to keep their eyes peeled on how things go in Birmingham. A good show can only help the big plans.”Being in multi-sport games, whether it is the Commonwealth Games or the Asian Games or the African Games, putting cricket into these multisport events is good for the growth of our game,” Allardice said. “One, it gives a lot of our member countries a seat at the top table for sporting organisations within their country. Two, the coverage of these games reaches new audiences that may not be traditional cricket audiences.”And that is one of opportunities with the Commonwealth Games, that we can reach new audiences. I’m sure you have seen in the last five years or so, the quality of our women’s events is outstanding. The players are great ambassadors for our sport. We heard from a number of the [women’s team] captains last night at a panel session, and they are very excited and I’m sure, cricket a star attraction at the Commonwealth Games, which can only leave us in a good position as we look for ambitions moving forward in all other types of multi-sport games.”At the time of announcing cricket’s inclusion for Birmingham 2022, the Commonwealth Games Federation had said that it was “likely to be popular not only with spectators locally in Birmingham, but also for fans across competing nations, with 90% of the sport’s one billion fans worldwide thought to reside in the Commonwealth”.That is different from the Olympic Games, of course, where most of the participating nations are not traditional cricket-playing, or cricket-watching centres. Still, good competition, especially in the format perceived to be the most useful for reaching new audiences, could only help cricket’s ambitions of being a truly global sport.

Rassie van der Dussen and Quinton de Kock also chip in with vital half-centuries in big batting effort

Danyal Rasool04-Apr-2021South Africa survived an astonishing onslaught from Fakhar Zaman to secure a series-levelling 17-run win against Pakistan in Johannesburg.Zaman’s 155-ball 193 was heroic, a one-man show in the truest sense of the word because no other Pakistani managed more than 31 in a chase of 342. It is the highest score in a chase in ODI cricket history, and the second highest ever in a losing cause. Zaman also surpassed Herchelle Gibbs’ 175 to record the highest individual score at this venue.After several stutters, South Africa did manage to get over the line, thanks to a commanding batting performance spearheaded by the top order. Captain Temba Bavuma top-scored with 92, while Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen and David Miller each brought up half-centuries, allowing South Africa to post 341 in the face of a listless bowling effort from the visitors.Pakistan were never really in the chase right until the final 15 overs; once Zaman brought up his first ODI hundred in two years, he would run riot. Despite finishing with the highest score by a Pakistani in ODI cricket in South Africa, it always looked like an unassailable task, and in truth, proved so by some distance in the end.Pakistan have never chased a total of this magnitude in ODI cricket, and a daunting challenge became even tougher when Imam-ul-Haq, one of the protagonists for the side at SuperSport Park, fell in the second over. For a brief while, Pakistan looked to have course-corrected with a 63-run partnership that exuded easy elegance from the bats of both Azam and Zaman. But Pakistan’s bane on Friday, Nortje, would return to haunt them once more, exploiting a vulnerability against the short ball that brought about the seismic wicket of Azam in his first over. Two balls later, he would dismiss Mohammad Rizwan, and just like that, Pakistan’s most in-form batsmen had been taken out of the equation.It was an uncharacteristic innings through the middle from Zaman, as he reined in his belligerent instincts while the middle order crumbled around him. Danish Aziz was no match for Nortje’s short lengths, while Shadab Khan and Asif Ali had little to contribute. Around that time, Zaman decided to go hell for leather once more, bringing up a 70-ball half-century with a colossal six over square leg.That point on, the shackles were off, and even as wickets fell and the asking rate rose, runs off Zaman’s bat came freely. In what seemed like a flash, he had brought up a hundred, and farmed the strike while plundering South Africa’s bowlers, particularly the spinner Tabraiz Shamsi. Temba Bavuma persisted with him for an over too many even as Zaman singled him out and at one point struck five sixes in six balls off the spinner, bringing a ballooning asking rate back under control.The central problem at this point for Pakistan was there were three number 11s at the other end, with Shaheen, and then Rauf, unable to turn the strike over reliably enough. Zaman was forced to take on ever increasing responsibility, turning down singles in a contest where every run was priceless. Thirteen runs off the 48th over brought the equation down to 38 off 12, and individual records were tumbling. By now, Zaman had overtaken Herschelle Gibbs’ 175 in that famous chase of 434, 15 years ago, posting the highest individual score at the Wanderers. In the present, a disciplined penultimate over from Andile Phehlukwayo only allowed seven. A direct hit from long off from the first ball of the final over finally put an end to Zaman’s resistance, and South Africa were home and dry at last.Conditions here were quite similar to the one at Centurion two days ago. Azam called correctly again and elected to field on a belter. But this time, there was no sedate start from Aiden Markram, who set the tone with a classy cameo in the first powerplay, his 34-ball 39 ensuring Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Hasnain were unable to build much pressure early on. Once he fell, driving on the up off Faheem Ashraf, de Kock took more of a leadership role.Haris Rauf was smashed for a six over fine leg and a boundary in the same over, while neither he nor Bavuma allowed Shadab, whose nosediving form shows little sign of recovering, to settle. Even Afridi, brought back a little earlier than Pakistan might have planned owing to the lack of wickets that fell, suffered punishment in his second spell, with de Kock taking 18 runs off his two overs.There was little incision at the top from Pakistan, and while the rawness of Hasnain means there will be ups and downs, he was especially indifferent on Sunday. While Bavuma and the irrepressible van der Dussen were in full flow, Pakistan looked like they had reverted to going through the motions; discussions between captain and bowler were few and far between, and slot balls and full tosses abounded.Van der Dussen brought up his half-century with a sweep to midwicket, following it up with another six and four off the hapless Hasnain. But with the South African going after just about every ball by this stage, he would hole out in the same over to long on, his 37-ball 60 having pushed what looked like a 300 total past 330. Bavuma was unselfish at the other end, continuing to go for high-risk shots even as a first hundred as captain beckoned, and found deep midwicket just eight short of the milestone.By this time, Pakistan’s sloppiness was infectious, as Ashraf leaked 13 off one ball when a no-ball and the free hit were dispatched for six by David Miller whose 27-ball 50 further damaged the visitors. Rauf did manage to pick up a couple of late wickets that slowed South Africa in the final few overs, but Miller would compensate for it by plundering 19 off Afridi’s final over. In a game that ultimately only ended in a 17-run win, it turned out every one of those late blows would come in handy.

Southee and Henry strike early to turn the screw after disciplined batting display

The Report by Andrew Miller30-Nov-2019England 39 for 2 (Burns 24*, Root 6*) trail New Zealand 375 (Latham 105, Mitchell 73, Watling 55, Broad 4-73) by 336 runsEngland’s dicey fortunes took another turn for the precarious on the second day at Hamilton, as New Zealand’s seamers found movement and energy with the new ball in a torrid final hour, to consolidate their grip on the series after another four-and-a-half sessions of hard graft from their batsmen had visibly drained their visitors’ resolve.By the close, England were clinging on through their under-pressure captain, Joe Root – who has rarely felt more desperate for a score – and Rory Burns, who survived two dropped catches and an under-edged drive past the off stump in scratching his way to an unbeaten 24. Ugly runs will do just fine, of course, but the hounding that England endured in their 18 evening-session overs merely compounded the difference in confidence between the two camps.Though a late flurry of wickets (and runs) in New Zealand’s own innings had hinted at a pitch that had quickened up from the slightly spurious greentop of the first morning, the contest came alive from the moment that Tim Southee and Matt Henry were handed New Zealand’s new ball.Dom Sibley had barely found his bearing when he was thumped a savage blow on the helmet by Southee – sconed on the badge just as he had been in England’s warm-up in Whangarei – and four overs later he swished loosely across the line to be pinned lbw for 4.Daryl Mitchell plays a shot•Getty Images

Joe Denly barely endured any longer: Henry had already been denied Burns’ scalp when Ross Taylor shelled a diving chance at first slip, but Denly couldn’t escape his clutches, grazing an edge for BJ Watling to cling on low behind the stumps. Burns, his balance all over the place, was lucky to survive again when Jeet Raval flung himself at an airy clip at midwicket, and England could well have lost a third to the final ball of the day when New Zealand’s master of chaos, Neil Wagner, forced Root to flinch a lifter just wide of leg gully.The intent New Zealand displayed with the ball made light of a surface that England’s own bowlers (with the honourable exception of Stuart Broad) had at times made to look like a featherbed. But moreover it was a tribute to the tactics employed by New Zealand’s batsmen – particularly their first-day centurion Tom Latham, and today’s sixth-wicket mainstays, Watling and the debutant Daryl Mitchell.Between them, that trio marshalled a first-innings total of 375 that spanned a hefty 129.1 overs. It ended up being some way shy of the 201 overs they had ground out at Mount Maunganui last week, largely thanks to Broad, whose cross-seaming screamer from the final ball before tea dislodged the steadfast Watling for 55 from 192 balls and set in motion a frantic race through the tail as the final five wickets fell for 60 inside 13 overs.Up until that finale, England had gone through their motions with as much energy as they could muster. Chris Woakes was line-and-length personified in another economical display, while Jofra Archer occasionally touched 140kph in another barrel-scraping display from a hard-worked thoroughbred who desperately looks in need of a rest. His fortunes were best summed up in a lively joust with Mitchell Santner, who twice in an over hoicked his short balls over fine leg for six, on the second occasion taking out a luckless security guard who had been looking the other way behind the rope.But ultimately it was the sight of Ben Stokes, his dodgy knee already causing him so much discomfort, charging in time and again in a bid to be his side’s game-changer once again, that was the clearest indication of the direction in which this contest is currently headed. After limping out of the attack after two overs on the first day, he defied logic by returning for a further 11 today. Lion-hearted and loyal to his captain, maybe, but wicketless and futile at the same time, especially with four Tests in South Africa looming within the month.Stokes’ involvement was at least an indication that England believed the contest was not out of reach. And at 191 for 5 in the first hour of the morning, it had indeed looked rather promising, after Broad had induced a rare misjudgement from Tom Latham to peg back his off stump for 105, before Henry Nicholls’ flapped a Sam Curran bouncer down Broad’s throat at backward square leg.

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But then again, England had thought they were in the contest in Mount Maunganui as well, where New Zealand had been tottering at 197 for 5 before Watling and co cranked their innings up to a monstrous 615 for 9 declared. And while such riches proved to be out of reach here, their runs on the board felt mightily significant by the close.The bulk of those were mined from Watling’s sixth-wicket stand of 124 with the new boy Mitchell, whose handful of cameos in the T20 series were scant preparation for the emotion and pressure of a Test debut innings, but who proved very much up to the challenge. He took his time to get going, digging deep for eight scoreless deliveries (with his mum filming them all on her phone) before lumping a rare Woakes long-hop through midwicket for a very cathartic first boundary.And thereafter he was away – not in the sense of a free-flowing rampage, but in the “block, block, cash in” sense of a man who trusted his technique, the pitch, his team-mate and his team’s tactics, to force England to dig deep, exhaust themselves, and offer up the odd ball that had to be put away – such as the monstrous golf-swing of a straight drive with which Mitchell climbed into an otherwise perfectly serviceable legbreak from Denly that travelled the best part of 110m back over the bowler’s head.There wasn’t much of that ilk to be seen from either batsman throughout their alliance. Watling had one significant let-off, on 1, when the stand-in keeper Ollie Pope was unable to stay low enough to scoop a low edge off Curran, and New Zealand were able to add just 24 runs in the first hour after lunch – a-nip-and-tuck period in which two quick wickets at 280-odd for 7 could well have dragged their innings quickly back into the mire.But that just never looked like happening. The new ball came and went with the minimum of alarm, and as the second hour wore on, so the scoring opportunities became more frequent. Mitchell motored to his maiden Test fifty with a brace of boundaries in a tired over from Stokes, the latter a sweetly timed pull through midwicket that earned a wave from a very proud mum, and Watling passed his own landmark soon afterwards – crunching a Curran half-volley through the covers.But then came the one that misbehaved from Broad – a snorter that fizzed off a startled splice to Burrns in the gully, and suddenly the door was open once more. Broad kicked his way through it after the resumption, persuading Mitchell to top-edge a bouncer to Archer on the square leg boundary for 73 before Woakes found Southee’s edge to give Pope that overdue maiden keeper’s catch. Archer added his first wicket of the match, and only his second of an arduous series, when Santner chanced his arm once too often, and one ball later Wagner chipped a Curran full-toss to midwicket.But that rush of breakthroughs proved a double-edged omen for England. By the close, with their innings in serious jeopardy, they might even have missed the ennui of New Zealand’s mid-innings go-slow.

The pair made explosive half-centuries to lift Australia to 324, a total Pakistan never threatened to surpass

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Oct-2018Alyssa Healy plays a pull•Getty Images

Australia opened up a four-point gap at the top of the table after three rounds of the ICC Women’s World Championship after completing a 3-0 whitewash of Pakistan in the ODIs in Kuala Lumpur. There was some consolation for Pakistan, though, as they recorded their highest ODI score against Australia in making 235 for 7, chasing 325.Batting first, Australia were 225 for 5 after 40 overs, with Ashleigh Gardner new to the crease, having faced just three balls. She proceeded to smash 62 off a further 34 balls, with six fours and three sixes, as Australia made 99 in their last 10. Gardner found a solid ally in Sophie Molineux, the pair adding 87 for the seventh wicket in just 9.1 overs. They put the finishing touches to the an innings which had got its early boost from Alyssa Healy, who made a robust 75-ball 97.Ellyse Perry, playing in her 200th international for Australia, made a watchful 64-ball 32 while Rachael Haynes and Beth Mooney contributed 30 and 38 respectively. At one stage, Pakistan may have entertained thoughts of restricting Australia to under 250 when Sana Mir, the offspinner, dismissed Perry in the 29th over to leave Australia 151 for 4. However, Australia fought back and exhibited their lower-order might. Mir, who finished with three wickets, was also the most economical bowler, conceding 53 off her 10 overs.Having provided the fireworks with the bat, Gardner went on to make as much impact with the ball, snaring three wickets to dent Pakistan’s chase. Molineux, the left-arm spinner, displayed her craft to finish with magical figures of 1 for 16 off her 10 overs.None of the Pakistan batsmen barring Sidra Ameen and Aliya Riyaz managed to cross 40, when they needed at least two of them to bat through the innings. As it turned out, Pakistan at no stage threatened to chase down the runs, and opted to bat out the overs instead.

Cricket South Africa is understood to be mulling filling the Boxing-Day slot with a one-off Test against a different opponent

Nagraj Gollapudi19-Aug-2017Not only will India not feature in the Boxing Day Test against South Africa later this year, but even the New Year’s Test in Newlands is in danger of being pushed back. The Boxing Day Test is usually the highlight of South Africa’s international season while the iconic venue in Cape Town usually hosts the second Test of the South African summer from January 2.However, it is understood that India will only land in South Africa in the last week of 2017 and will want to acclimatise for at least a week before starting the tour comprising four Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals.According to a BCCI official, India cannot reach South Africa for the Boxing Day Test which starts on December 26 only because their home series against Sri Lanka is scheduled to finish on December 24. “We can’t make it make it in time. The Sri Lanka tour ends on December 24. After that we need to give the boys a few days’ rest,” the board official told ESPNcricinfo. “The South Africa tour is a big one, so they need to play two warm-up games, so it will take at least 10 days [before the first Test].The BCCI has already alerted Cricket South Africa on the scheduling difficulties, which both boards expect to sort out by next week. ESPNcricinfo understands CSA has accepted the fact that India will miss the Boxing Day Test, and, hence, have started looking for other options to stage a one-off Test. Pakistan and Afghanistan are reportedly the two possible options, but nothing concrete has emerged yet on that front.Tony Irish, the head of the South African Players Association, said that if the Newlands Test failed to start on January 2 or 3, it would be a “major blow” for CSA only because the match coincides with the holiday season. “I had been aware of the fact that they were unlikely to be there for Boxing Day, but for them not to be here for the New Year’s Day is a major blow to CSA and the fans,” Irish said. “To lose Boxing Day is a big thing, but to lose both of them would be massive hit for the fans.”Irish felt India could play a solitary two- or three-day game ahead of the first Test to facilitate things. But the BCCI official said that the Indian players could not be pushed.There are other repercussions of the India tour starting late. As soon India depart, South Africa are scheduled to host Australia for a four-Test series before the players arrived in India for the IPL. If CSA do manage to find an opponent for the Boxing Day Test, that would mean nine Tests crammed inside a two-month period.Irish felt such an “extremely gruelling” Test schedule combined with the limited-overs matches against India would exacerbate the workload on players. “If the India Test matches start much after January 2 or 3, there will be a lot of concern about the players’ workload,” Irish said. “You really compound the workload issue.” Irish has raised this concern with CSA, which has noted it.

BCCI president Anurag Thakur has told reporters in Dharamsala that an announcement on India’s head coach will likely be made by Thursday evening

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jun-20160:25

Hopefully coach will be named today – Thakur

BCCI president Anurag Thakur has told reporters in Dharamsala that an announcement on India’s head coach will likely be made by Thursday evening.*”The name of the coach will be announced by 5 pm,” Thakur told the news channel , after the captains and coaches meeting in Dharamsala on Thursday. “I will be meeting [Ajay] Shirke and [Sourav] Ganguly now and [will] study their report. By 5pm today, we will name the new coach.” A BCCI press release in the afternoon stated that Thakur and board secretary Shirke would address a press conference at 5pm.The BCCI had earlier indicated that the Indian coach would be announced on Friday, after the three-member advisory committee – comprising Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman – asked for more time.On Tuesday evening, Ganguly had informed the media that they had finished interviewing the shortlisted candidates and would forward their pick to the board’s secretary Ajay Shirke on Wednesday.But Shirke said that the committee wanted to deliberate further on a few “finer points”, and hoped that the new India coach would be announced on Friday in Dharamsala, where the inaugural BCCI conclave concludes with the working committee meeting. The BCCI also issued a press release to this effect on Wednesday.It is learnt that Ganguly has been in favour of an Indian as coach and that he was appreciative of the work put in by the previous group of coaching staff led by Ravi Shastri.Shastri is one of the finalists for the position of India head coach along with former India captain Anil Kumble. The others in contention are Tom Moody, Stuart Law, Lalchand Rajput, Pravin Amre and Andy Moles.Ganguly was confident of selecting the right candidate and was thankful for the support he has received from the rest of the panel, which includes former India batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman and former BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale.”I once had an opportunity to select the coach,” Ganguly told the . “I thought I messed it up in 2005. I am given that opportunity again. To be honest, two-and-a-half years ago, I was thinking myself whether I would want this job. Now today, I am selecting one,” said Ganguly. “Hopefully, we will do it right this time. Luckily, I have got support from Sachin, VVS, the BCCI secretary and the president. Together, we will pick the right person.”There had been speculation in the media that the delay was the result of the committee being unable to contact India’s Test captain Virat Kohli for his inputs. But Shirke said the committee had not been given any instructions to talk to Kohli.* 0608 GMT, June 23. This article was amended to include the statement made by BCCI president Anurag Thakur on Thursday

By his own admission, Luke Wood has no pedigree as a batsman. When he made his debut at the end of last season his thoughts were that if he might achieve anything in cricket it would be through his ability with the ball. He might now have to revise that

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge01-Jun-2015
ScorecardLuke Wood made a fine century•Getty Images

By his own admission, Luke Wood has no pedigree as a batsman. The 19-year-old from Worksop is a left-arm seamer by trade and when he made his debut at the end of last season his thoughts were that if he might achieve anything in cricket it would be through his ability with the ball.He might now have to revise that view a little, having suddenly found himself with a first-class century to his name in only his eighth innings, rescuing Nottinghamshire from a familiar plight with a performance a man of no less experience and judgment than Mick Newell described as “the most remarkable hundred I’ve seen in first-class cricket”.It was certainly an extraordinary one, given what had gone before and indeed what followed. Put in on another green-tinged result pitch, Nottinghamshire slumped to 38 for 5, their top order blown away by the combined forces of Steve Magoffin and England’s Chris Jordan. Under glowering clouds, the Australian Magoffin seemed to have the ball on a string as he reached 30 wickets for the season, dismissing both Taylors – Brendan and James, the latter for a second-ball duck — and the in-form Riki Wessels.Jordan dismissed Steven Mullaney and Alex Hales in spectacular style, taking a brilliant diving catch off his own bowling to remove Mullaney and sending two stumps flying with a ball that Hales could only prod at in hope.Six down for 55 was hardly a recovery and although Will Gidman did a sterling job in taking up the finger-in-the-dyke role customarily performed by the currently injured Chris Read, at 98 for 7 Nottinghamshire’s position still looked as bleak as the weather.At this point emerged young Wood, fresh from a pair in his last match, a catastrophic defeat to Somerset on an even greener pitch, with no greater ambition than to support Gidman in doing what they could to salvage some respectability if nothing else. Yet 23.2 overs later, Nottinghamshire had two batting points and Wood a century from 105 balls with 10 fours and six sixes, an innings buzzing with youthful exuberance yet after a fairly wobbly start constructed with remarkable assuredness.For good measure, in the chill of the evening before a final burst of rain did for the day, with a third of the overs lost, Nottinghamshire added value to their unexpected success by reducing Sussex to 39 for 3, with Wood taking two of the wickets.He could have been out several times early on as he flailed the bat in hope, but once he began to feel he might just help the cause with a few meaty blows he began to target the short boundary on the Bridgford Road side of the ground and the bat began to connect rather nicely. A high cut off Matt Hobden from the Radcliffe Road End sailed into the New Stand, and then he went after Magoffin, bowling from the Pavilion End. Gidman fell to the first ball after tea, edging to first slip after a solid 57, after which Jake Ball decided he would join the fun, he too hitting Magoffin into the New Stand and then launching Jordan way over extra cover to clear the longer boundary before a top-edge off Magoffin saw him caught a third man.But Wood was not done. Remarkably, given that the adrenalin must have been pumping as never before, he managed to score his last 28 runs at nine wickets down and with Harry Gurney, what is known as a genuine No. 11, at the other end. Gurney was in for 25 minutes but did not face a ball as Wood took control, keeping the strike by running singles off the bat or byes to the last ball of every over.Two sixes in the same Magoffin over took him to 98, at which point Chris Nash, captain with Ed Joyce on Ireland duty, tried something different at last, turning to Luke Wells to bowl spin. It took only four balls to do the trick, but not before Wood had taken the chance to push his third delivery into an open space and scamper two runs, at which point he leaped into the air to celebrate, waving his bat above his head as the crowd stood, the Nottinghamshire team lined up on their balcony and every Sussex player on the field joined in the applause.Magoffin finished with six wickets but had gone for 109 runs by the time Wood had done with him, half of those scored by the teenager himself.”In first-class cricket it’s the most remarkable hundred I’ve ever seen,” Newell said. “For a kid who got a pair in the last match and when he first went in looked like getting out every ball, to hit it as cleanly as that is remarkable. To hit that many sixes against a high quality attack is incredible.”Wood himself certainly had no idea he was capable of such a feat. “I couldn’t see us getting 200 as a team, let alone me getting a hundred,” he said. “I’ve not done a massive amount with the bat before really. I work hard at it and I try to be positive but I’ve not done anything like that before.”I didn’t really think about the hundred until I was in the 80s and it’s been pretty phenomenal how it has turned out. The best feeling I’ve ever had on a cricket field and to get two wickets at the end has topped it off nicely.”Wood dismissed Mike Yardy and Matt Machan to catches in the slips after Ball had trapped Wells leg before, lifting Nottinghamshire’s spirits to unexpected heights. “It was looking pretty gloomy at lunch,” Newell said. “We lost a toss we wanted to win and were in danger of feeling sorry for ourselves. But it was a case of good bowling rather than poor batting that put us where we were and had a chat and picked ourselves up.”

Jacques Kallis was the only member of the South African squad who did not train on Tuesday ahead of the second Test in Adelaide

Firdose Moonda in Adelaide20-Nov-2012Jacques Kallis was the only member of the South African squad who did not train on Tuesday ahead of the second Test in Adelaide. The tourists held a segmented session with AB de Villiers leaving early and Imran Tahir arriving late as they looked to spend minimal time in the 37-degree heat.”It is optional practice because we’ve had two really good sessions already and it’s very hot,” Mohammed Moosajee, the team manager, told ESPNcricinfo.The afternoon practice was the first conducted under coach Gary Kirsten in preparation for the second Test after he returned from a whistle-stop trip back to South Africa. While the squad dispersed on Wednesday to various destinations around Australia, Kirsten went home to spend some time with his wife and three children and was not present at the compulsory practices on Sunday or Monday.South Africa held four-hour and three-and-a-half-hour sessions respectively, both of which were full practices incorporating everything from their football warm-ups to extensive nets. Contrastingly, Australia’s only optional session will be the day before the Test, Wednesday, while they have been putting in at least three and half hours every other day.The difference in the amount of training is likely to lead to accusations of South Africa being undercooked, especially having had the worse of the Brisbane Test. But Alviro Petersen dismissed that suggestion bullishly. “We had a break in England as well, so it’s nothing new,” Petersen said. “We could start the Test tomorrow. We’re happy to have a few days to freshen our minds.”Although the team had significant gaps between the three Test matches in England and took occasional breaks, such as a day in Leeds to go to the Olympics, they did not ever split up for more than one day. They also played tour matches between each of the Tests and two before the test at The Oval. No practice match was scheduled for the eight-day break between Tests in Australia, though.The Kirsten way focuses on smart work instead of hard work and places the responsibility on players to decide how intensely they need to prepare for the next match. It is a method that the previous team he coached, India, said helped them thrive. The South Africans have also warmed to that approach, which newcomer Dean Elgar said allows them to “be treated as adults”.Elgar replaced JP Duminy in the squad after his tour was cut short with a ruptured Achilles tendon, but Elgar seems unlikely to play. Instead, Faf du Plessis, who was batting in the nets, appears destined to make his Test debut.The other likely change will be the straight swap of Tahir in for Rory Kleinveldt as South Africa look to include spin in their line-up. Thami Tsolekile, the specialist wicketkeeper, was also padded up and batted in the nets, although his inclusion to relieve de Villiers off the gloves will depend on whether South Africa continue to employ the seven batsmen strategy.Robin Peterson is one of the other options and he bowled a significant amount in Tuesday’s session. Dale Steyn, who was recovering from gastro, played a small part in practice, although he is certain to be in good health come the Test. Kallis choosing to rest instead of train is part of the continued process to manage the allrounder as South Africa look to get the best of his batting and bowling on match days.

England’s second tier of players will experience a busy winter after the Performance Programme squads and schedule up until Christmas was confirmed

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-2011England’s second tier of players will experience a busy winter after the Performance Programme schedule and squads up until Christmas were confirmed. The main 17-man squad, which includes call-ups for Surrey pair Jason Roy and Tom Maynard plus Lancashire’s left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan, will train in Loughborough during November before being split onto two trips depending on their roles.The batsmen, spinners and wicketkeepers will head to India while the fast bowlers will be based at Potchefstroom in South Africa. Meanwhile, another 13-man squad of players below the main EPP level will also train at the National Academy in Loughborough before heading to either Sri Lanka or India for more intensive development. There will then be a full Lions tour to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in 2012 with that party due to be named in December.The two squads emphasise the current depth in English cricket with seven of the main EPP squad having already played international cricket including Jonny Bairstow, Scott Borthwick and Chris Woakes who will head to India for the one-day series next week plus Alex Hales and Jos Buttler who have will join for the Twenty20.Of those who have yet to represent England, Maynard and Roy have been rewarded for their part in Surrey’s resurgence. Maynard scored 1022 runs in the Championship and was the club’s leading run-maker in the Friends Life t20, while Roy was Surrey’s most successful batsman in the CB40 with 585 runs. Meanwhile Kerrigan, who had a brief spell with the Lions earlier in the summer, played a key role in Lancashire’s Championship success including figures of 9 for 51 against Hampshire.There is also a strong crop of fast bowlers which includes Ajmal Shahzad despite his difficult season for Yorkshire where he took 25 wickets at 41 in the Championship. Boyd Rankin, the Ireland pace bowler rated as the finest on the county circuit by Marcus Trescothick, is also part of the squad as is Nathan Buck from Leicestershire.”The England Performance Programme provides an excellent opportunity for those players identified as having considerable talent to train together in an England environment throughout the winter and further develop as cricketers,” David Parsons, the performance director, said. “This is an exciting group of young cricketers with all but three players selected for the England Performance Programme this winter having represented England Lions or England this year.”We recognise the need to develop a pool of players who are all capable of playing key roles in international cricket when the need arises and this programme allows us to continue working with those identified as having the ability to perform at the highest level.The other 13-man squad – a third rung in English cricket – includes Tymal Mills, the Essex pace bowler, who is considered to have the potential of bowling very rapidly and Middlesex’s Toby Roland-Jones who has been on the selectors’ radar this season but has struggled with injury.”This programme allows us to work with a group of players who have shown considerable promise both in age group cricket and in county cricket,” Parsons said. “Batsmen and spin bowlers will have training blocks in both Loughborough and Sri Lanka as well as a seven week match play opportunity in Sri Lanka giving players a useful opportunity to develop their skills in sub-continent conditions.”The fast bowlers in the group will undertake a conditioning block in Loughborough before a training camp in India,” he added. “This has been a key stage in the development of a number of young fast bowlers who have gone to represent England Lions and England with Steven Finn, Stuart Meaker, Jade Dernbach and Chris Woakes all benefiting from this programme in recent years.”England Performance Programme Jonny Bairstow, Scott Borthwick, Danny Briggs, Nathan Buck, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, James Harris, Simon Kerrigan, Tom Maynard, Stuart Meaker, Boyd Rankin, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ajmal Shahzad, James Taylor, James Vince, Chris WoakesDevelopment squad Moeen Ali, Moin Ashraf, Karl Brown, Varun Chopra, Matthew Coles, Matthew Dunn, Tymal Mills, Jigar Naik, Stephen Parry, Toby Roland-Jones, Alex Wakely, Luke Wells, Adam Wheater

A round-up of the second day of the opening round of matches in Division 1 of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Oct-2010Opener Ahmed Shehzad and Saleem Elahi made merry on the second day to put Habib Bank Limited in complete control against Faisalabad at the Iqbal Stadium. HBL lost an early wicket, that of Taufeeq Umar, but more than made up to build a first-innings lead of 180 with nine wickets still in hand. Shehzad smashed 24 fours and three sixes on his way to his maiden double-century in first-class cricket while Elahi, who, like his partner, has also played for the national team, played a patient hand to finish the day on 110. The pair added an unbeaten 307 for the second wicket and looks good for more as HBL aim to extend the lead to a margin that is large enough to enable them to force an innings win.Babar Ali stormed to his maiden first-class hundred as Multan posted 226 for 5 in reply to Sui Northern Gas Pipelines first innings total of 368 at the Multan Cricket Stadium . Babar struck 17 fours and a six in his 114, which came off 140 balls. He was dismissed by Adil Raza, who was the pick of the bowlers, with 3 for 42 from 14 overs. Kashif Naved on 44 and Ahmed Raza on 30 were at the crease when play ended, having added 42 for the sixth wicket.Adnan Akmal made 79 from 106, with 10 fours, and added 76 with Adil for the ninth wicket, to help push SNPL to 358. Left-arm spinner Ahmad Raza was the most successful bowler, taking 6 for 110 from 39 overs.The contest between Islamabad and National Bank of Pakistan was even at the end of the second day at the Diamond Club Ground. The overnight batsmen Imad Wasim and Rauf Akbar took the Islamabad score past 300 on the second morning, with Imad reaching his maiden first-class century. The 109-run eighth-wicket stand was broken by left-arm spinning allrounder Qaiser Abbas, who finished with four wickets. But NBP’s bowling lacked discipline; they bowled 24-no balls and the extras tally of 46 was the second-highest run-scorer for Islamabad, who were bowled out for 352. NBP looked in good shape in their response with opener Rashid Riaz (66) and Umar Amin, who played for Pakistan on the tour of England, adding 83 for the second wicket. But seamer Shehzad Azam rattled the line-up with three wickets with the score on 148 before Rehman Qadir and allrounder Hammad Azam steered their team to 201 for 5 at stumps, still 151 behind.Left-arm seamer Mohammad Khalil ensured Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited held the edge against Rawalpindi at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. He grabbed 3 for 12 in 8.4 overs to seize the initiative after the Rawalpindi openers had put together a partnership of 92 and seemed good to wipe out the 120-run lead ZTBL had managed to build. Rawalpindi finished the day on 117 for 4, still three runs behind, but have opener Shoaib Nasir still batting on 56. Earlier in the day, fast bowler Sadaf Hussain ran through the ZTBL line-up, finishing with 6 for 69, his best figures to date. ZTBL looked set for a substantial lead with three of their batsmen, led by Shahid Yousuf who top scored with 70, reaching half-centuries. But the last six wickets fell for just 12 runs and ZTBL folded for 235 before fighting back again with the ball.Water and Power Development Authority continued to dominate their contest against Sialkot at the Jinnah Stadium. They had bowled out Sialkot for 126 on the opening day and built a 213-run lead on the second, thanks to an unbeaten 112 from Ali Azmat. Azmat first supported opener Adil Nisar (93) in a 74-run stand for the fifth wicket. When Nisar fell, WAPDA were 180 for 5 and Sialkot had a chance to fight back. But wicketkeeper Ahmed Said, along with Azmat, who notched up his fourth first-class century, put their team firmly on top with an unbeaten 159-run stand and extending WAPDA’s score to 339 for 5 at stumps.