India batsman’s rare twitter outburst adds to public criticism of the decision to omit him

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Apr-20190:19

Rayudu reacts to his omission from India’s World Cup squad

A not-so-cryptic tweet from Ambati Rayudu has added to the public criticism of the decision to drop him for the World Cup.Rayudu was left out in favour of Vijay Shankar, who, in the words of the chief selector, brings “three dimensions” to the side. A day after the said selection, Rayudu tweeted: “Just ordered a new set of 3d glasses to watch the World Cup.” It was followed by a winking and a smiling emoji.It is rare for an India-contracted player to openly question selections – Karun Nair was reportedly disciplined the last time he spoke about them – let alone take to Twitter to make a sharp comment that can be seen as mocking a selector’s comments.India’s chairman of selectors MSK Prasad had said the final spot had eventually come down to Rayudu and Vijay. “After the Champions Trophy [in 2017], we have tried quite a few middle-order batsmen, which also includes Dinesh Karthik at that order, and we also tried Shreyas Iyer and Manish Pandey,” he said. “We did give a few more chances to Rayudu but what Vijay Shankar offers is three dimensions: apart from his batting, he can bowl; if the conditions are suitable, overcast, which we might encounter in England, he might bowl a bit and he’s a fantastic fielder.”Not long ago, in October 2018, captain Virat Kohli had all but anointed Rayudu India’s No.4 for the World Cup. “With Rayudu coming in and playing well in the Asia Cup, it’s about giving him enough game time till the World Cup so that the particular slot [No. 4] will be sorted for us,” Kohli had said. “The team felt there — and I also watched him — that he is designed to play that middle-order batsman’s role.”We feel that our middle order is more or less balanced now. We believe he is the right person to capitalise on that spot. He is experienced, and has won many games for his state and also in the IPL. He has a great ODI record already for India. I think the batting order is sorted.”Associated Press

Since that comment, India have played 18 matches, out of which Rayudu has been involved in 15. He is India’s fourth-highest run-getter over that period, averaging 42.18, striking at 85.6 runs per 100 balls, and ending the New Zealand tour as the highest run-getter. Among players that have played a minimum of 50 ODIs over their careers, Rayudu holds the fourth-highest average for India. Narrow it down to eight big oppositions, and he still is seventh-highest.Rayudu is not the only one frustrated with this decision. Many cricket experts have questioned his exclusion. “I think there should be no debate about Rishabh Pant’s exclusion but more about Ambati Rayudu,” Gautam Gambhir told PTI. “It is very, very unfortunate that someone averaging 48 in white-ball cricket, and is only 33, has been left out. That for me is more heart-breaking than any other selection decision.”I feel sorry for him as I was in a similar position in 2007, when they didn’t pick me, and I know how difficult it is not being picked for the World Cup. Ultimately, for any young kid, it is a childhood dream to be a part of the big event. So, I feel more sorry for Rayudu than any other cricketer who hasn’t been picked.”Former India spinner Murali Kartik pointed to a recency and aesthetics bias. “We always look at performances very close to the selection, and as I am very happy for Vijay Shankar, I feel for Ambati Rayudu, because for a while he has been your No. 4, he has got runs for you,” Kartik told ESPNcricinfo. “Yes, he has missed out on a few occasions as have other batsmen. But when you look at his record, and – you guys might dissect it a lot more – just to the naked eye, for me, I’ll look at him purely as a cricketer, in my team he has done everything right as a No. 4.”In the sense that there will be swords against him about him playing genuine fast bowling – I don’t think that’s a big issue, there are lots of people who will struggle against genuine fast bowling. It’s not Ambati Rayudu alone. He’s a very good player of spin as well in the middle order.””Somebody like an Ambati Rayudu, it’s not a question of looking convincing, it’s a matter of getting runs, and that’s exactly what it is,” Kartik went on to add. “And KL Rahul, he looks pleasing, he looks a million dollars – don’t get me wrong there, I’m a huge, huge fan of KL Rahul – but if he was so crucial, why wasn’t he playing in the last few months?”Why wasn’t he given a chance in the last few months? So, for me, six months ago this team should have been ready, saying, ‘Okay, these are the guys who are going, you don’t have to watch over your shoulder, just go and play the way you want to play, your spot is secure.’ For somebody to endorse that ‘this guy’s is my No. 4’ and he plays there, he gets runs, yes he’s going to miss out as do others, and then suddenly he gets dropped.”On the same ESPNCricinfo show, Deep Dasgupta said he wouldn’t have picked Rayudu, but he was not happy with the process followed. “It’s difficult to understand it completely, the whole process, where the team management comes out and says ‘he is our No. 4’ and now he isn’t there,” Dasgupta said. “This is over a span of a month-and-a-half, two months. But I also understand why Vijay Shankar is there.”It is unfortunate that Rayudu is not there. But in my team, Rayudu wasn’t there, because as Kartik touched upon that point, that at times he doesn’t look too convincing. Again, if you look at the numbers, then Rayudu is far, far ahead of the other No. 4 players that have been tried out. No questions about that as far as numbers are concerned. But the convincing part of it, I’m not completely convinced when I see him bat.”

The five-wicket win was set up by some excellent bowling from Shreyas Gopal and Jofra Archer

The Report by Vishal Dikshit20-Apr-20198:16

Post-match show – Royals v Mumbai

Rajasthan Royals announced a change of captain just over an hour before the game against Mumbai Indians and, three-and-a-half hours later, saw new captain Steven Smith lead the team home in a tricky chase with an unbeaten half-century.The five-wicket win was set up mainly by some strangling bowling from Shreyas Gopal and Jofra Archer, after Mumbai Indians had looked set for a much bigger total than 161 for 5, having reached 81 for 1 at the halfway mark.Archer and Jaydev Unadkat bowled five of the last six overs that saw Mumbai score only 52 runs. Legspinner Rahul Chahar gave Royals a scare early on in the chase, again bagging three wickets, but Smith’s unbeaten 59 off 48 balls took them home after he had brought the equation down to 25 required from 24 balls along with Riyan Parag.
Royals now have six points from nine matches, still placed seventh, while Mumbai are at No. 2 with 12 points from ten games.Steven Smith cracks one to the off side•BCCI

Aggressive openers and contrasting No. 3s
On a strange Jaipur pitch that had scattered patches of grass, both Powerplays were driven by the more attacking openers – Quinton de Kock for Mumbai and Sanju Samson for Royals. Put in to bat, de Kock used the middle- and leg-stump lines of the Royals pace bowlers and the ball turning into him from Shreyas to pepper the leg-side boundary, scoring 42 of his first 50 runs there. Jofra Archer put him down at long-on when he was on 4 in the third over, and that helped, as de Kock cashed in to hammer three fours and a six on the trot off Dhawal Kulkarni in the next over.Mumbai, however, lost steam after de Kock’s 34-ball half-century. Their No. 3 Suryakumar Yadav scratched his way to 34 off 33, with only one boundary (a six) in his first 30 balls. His slow scoring added pressure on de Kock, and both fell within a space of five balls, and Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard were left with too much to do at the end.Royals’ chase started with Samson hitting two consecutive fours off Hardik in the first over, followed by three off Krunal Pandya in the next to race to 21 off his first seven deliveries. Ajinkya Rahane handed a catch to cover in the fourth over before Royals’ No. 3, Smith, played the role Suryakumar could not earlier in the day, to help the hosts race to 60 for 1 in the Powerplay.After Chahar had Samson hole out to long-on for 35 off 19 and Ben Stokes chop on a legbreak for a duck, Smith changed gears to anchor the chase as Royals unveiled a new No. 5.Jofra Archer spilled three catches in the deep•BCCI

The 17-year-old Royals enforcer
Mumbai have been known to unleash unknown youngsters in the past, but were on the receiving end this time when 17-year-old Parag walked out at 77 for 3 after eight overs. With a healthy run rate going, Parag used audacious strokes to attack whichever the Mumbai bowlers erred with their lines or lengths, sometimes even when there was nothing wrong with the delivery. He first scooped Hardik to fine leg, then scythed him to third man, and later smashed Chahar for six down the ground. He even took on Malinga when he sent down an inaccurate yorker by drilling a drive over the covers.Parag’s 43 off 29 made sure Smith could afford to slow down and chaperone the chase as the senior batsman. From 29 off 18, Smith went without a boundary for 18 deliveries to avoid a stutter despite late wickets that included Parag’s run-out and another first-ball duck for Ashton Turner.Archer’s mixed day
Apart from dropping de Kock early on, Archer put down two more chances – both of Hardik, both off Unadkat – but he made up for them with his bowling. Smith saved three of his overs for the death and Archer was accurate with a variety of deliveries: yorkers, bouncers, tight lines. That strangled Mumbai in the end despite having Hardik and Pollard in the middle when the 16th over started.Before that, Shreyas used his wrong’uns to good effect yet again to get the big wickets. He took a return catch off Rohit Sharma with his third delivery and returned seven overs later to concede only singles and doubles in his remaining three overs. He nearly had de Kock stumped with a googly in the 13th over but got him in his next over with another wrong’un, a top-edge going to long-on.The result means that Mumbai are now winless against Royals in Jaipur since 2012.

Batting coach Graham Thorpe admits Mark Wood could be deployed alongside Jofra Archer to target opposition batting

George Dobell in Nottingham01-Jun-2019Bowlers from both sides could be forgiven for letting out a little groan, or perhaps even clasping an imaginary hamstring strain, after news that Monday’s match between England and Pakistan is to be played on a surface renowned for vast scores.Yes, England’s second World Cup game will be played on the same pitch on which they have twice broken the record for highest ODI score, amassing 481 for 6 against Australia last year and 444 for 3 against Pakistan in 2016. It is two away from the strip used on Friday, when Pakistan were bounced out for 105, and, in short, probably the best batting surface in the world for ODI cricket at present.This tournament may prove just a little different, though. Early indications suggest the early starts – most matches begin at 10.30am to maximise the peak hours for an Asian TV audience – may have shifted the balance in such encounters just a little bit back towards the bowlers. Vast scores are still likely, but talk of reaching 500 may prove premature if the sides batting first have to adopt a slightly more circumspect start to their innings.Perhaps the hostility of the bowlers may be a factor, too. Certainly, in the opening few games we have seen the short ball used a little more than was expected, and with some success. Not only were Pakistan blown away by West Indies, but Jofra Archer troubled several South Africa batsmen with his short ball. While bowling short is hardly revolutionary, it could a tactic that increases in prevalence again during this World Cup just as delivering wide yorkers or slower balls became features of previous tournaments. It is remarkable to think that some of the best seamers in the first three World Cups – Joel Garner, for example – rarely bowled a slower ball.Given how Pakistan played – or didn’t play – the short ball on Friday, there is sure to be some temptation for England to add Mark Wood to the attack that fared so well the previous day. Wood, who at his best is every bit as quick as Archer, bowled at full pace in training in Nottingham on Saturday and is said to be fit and available for selection. But Liam Plunkett, who would be the most likely candidate to make way for him, enjoyed a fine all-round game on Thursday and would be unfortunate to miss out. Neither Chris Woakes (five overs) nor Archer (seven) bowled their full allocation, so are expected to be fit and fresh to play again.”I think playing Wood will be discussed,” Graham Thorpe, the England batting coach, said. “We’re aware of what went on here on Friday. We saw West Indies go pretty hard at Pakistan. The captain will make a call on it.”There is every chance England will be on the receiving end of some hostile fast bowling at some stage, too. While West Indies and Australia look especially capable of adopting such a tactic, there is plenty of pace in the Pakistan, squad. To that end, the England batsmen have faced a fair bit of Archer and Wood in the nets and appreciate that it is a tactic – like opponents opening the bowling with spin – for which they must be prepared.”Wood and Archer let it go at our guys, too,” Thorpe said. “It’s good preparation for them. We talk about what you have to be good at and, generally, playing pace and spin is high on the agenda. We had spoken about the possibility of teams starting with spin. So sometimes in training, our players will start against spin and sometimes they’ll start against pace. They have to be prepared for everything.”Despite the pre-tournament talk about huge totals, Thorpe was actually most impressed by the manner in which England adapted to a slightly more demanding surface in their first match. It is not a skill they have they have always shown, so to have managed it under pressure in such a high-profile game has given the side confidence.”We’ve come a cropper a couple of times in the last year or two,” Thorpe said. “And we’ve spoken about it. But you can talk about it all the time, you’ve got to put it into action as well. So it was pleasing we managed to adapt and the guys are really proud of that.”We didn’t quite unlock the door in terms of our batting at The Oval. We couldn’t really let go, because we kept losing wickets at crucial times. We had to keep trying to put on those mini-partnerships and that was really good of us to do that.”But this [Trent Bridge] has generally been a good ground to play at over the years. It has generally always been a good pitch. So the guys are excited. They are looking forward to it.”Well, the batsmen anyway. Despite the early starts and prevalence of the short ball, it still promises to be a tough game for bowlers.

The selectors added the opener to the squad after he was given a medical clearance to play following post-viral fatigue issues

Alex Malcolm03-Jul-2019Joe Burns will get a chance to press his case for the Ashes after being added to Australia A’s squad for the four-day leg of the England tour.Burns was not initially part of the squad that was named in April, with Australia’s selectors content for him to remain on a scheduled 10-game stint with Lancashire in Division Two of the County Championship.But Burns’ stint with Lancashire ended after just one match in May when he was forced home to recover from post-viral fatigue issues and he was replaced as Lancashire’s overseas player by Jake Lehmann.After an enforced rest period, he resumed training on June 17 and was cleared to play again on Monday. The selectors decided to add Burns to the squad for the three four-day games that begin from Sunday against Sussex at Arundel.”I’m looking forward to it,” Burns said. “The last few weeks there was probably a little bit of uncertainty. It’s nice now to have a medical clearance and have some cricket laid out in front of me and all systems go. Just looking forward to getting back to the UK and getting stuck in.”The hardest thing is the uncertainty. When I got diagnosed, I knew I had symptoms for a long time, so I knew that something wasn’t right, but to get the diagnosis and then work with some specialists and get the support from Cricket Australia to get myself right, get back into training, as soon as you have certainty it makes it a lot easier.”Marcus Harris was originally the only specialist opener picked in the four-day squad but Australia’s chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns said they needed to give Burns the opportunity to press his case for the Ashes.”It’s good news that Joe is back to full fitness, and given that he’s had the okay to resume playing and has been training at full tilt with Queensland, we’ve decided to add him to the squad for the upcoming four-day games to give him the opportunity to press for selection in the Ashes squad,” Hohns said.Burns flew out of Brisbane on Wednesday morning and will join the squad in Brighton on Thursday. He did have a training session with former Australia coach and current Brisbane Heat coach Darren Lehmann before flying out.”I always keep in contact with him and I’ve got a really good relationship with him,” Burns said. “Obviously he was my first Queensland coach and first Australia coach. We did some really simple stuff to try and prepare for England. I’m really thankful for his time.”Australia A play two four-day games against Sussex and the England Lions before at least 22 players will be involved in an Australia versus Australia A fixture in Hampshire on July 23. That game will feature members of the World Cup squad and will be the final hit out before the Ashes squad is picked on July 27.Australia A have remained undefeated in the five-match, 50-over portion of the tour after beating Gloucestershire at Bristol on Tuesday.Will Pucovski and Travis Head both scored centuries as Australia A piled up 3 for 353. Pucovski made 137 from 135 balls in his maiden List A century while Head smashed 11 fours and four sixes in his 138 from 120 balls.Gloucestershire gave Australia A a scare in the chase, falling just seven runs short. Sean Abbott starred with the ball taking 4 for 52 from his 10 overs. He took 2 for 8 in his last two overs at the death to seal the game.

Jofra Archer and Jack Leach’s selections rely on the hope, rather than conviction, that England can turn this Ashes series around

Andrew Miller13-Aug-2019It’s a been a fair few years now since Australia’s formidable Test record at Lord’s has been factored into the Ashes build-up – consecutive thumpings in 2009 and 2013 rather punctured their proud boast of not having lost at the ground since 1934. But on their last visit here in 2015, they atoned for those setbacks with a brutal 405-run victory – with a certain Steven Smith leading the line with 215 from 346 balls.And now they are back at their favourite home from home, with Smith exuding an invincibility on English soil not seen since Graeme Smith’s extraordinary awakening in the summer of 2003, and England – for all the hype and expectation surrounding Jofra Archer – looking as vulnerable in a home Ashes campaign as they have been in a generation.It’s not simply that England are 1-0 down in the series – that’s nothing new for this set of players, as Root was happy to point out on the eve of the contest. They’ve been behind on home soil three times in the last six years, and recovered on each occasion, to beat India in 2014, and draw with Pakistan twice in 2016 and 2018.But this time, the concern is the gulf between hope and expectation that appears to be opening up between the two teams, for all that Root was setting out to be bullish on the eve of the contest.”We’re in English conditions, we really back ourselves to come back strong after last week,” Root said, after it had been pointed out that England have now lost six of their last seven Tests against Australia dating back to 2015, with only a bore-draw in Melbourne for respite.
“I’m expecting a big response from the boys. We’ve proven that we do that, time and time again, when we’ve been defeated, especially at home. Last week will have hurt everyone and everyone will be absolutely desperate to go and win this week. And I expect nothing less.”That’s a lot of expectation to shoehorn into one answer. But does Root really expect England to perform better than they did in the crunch moments at Edgbaston, or he is merely hoping that they will? Does he expect their misfiring middle-order to find renewed resolve with the series in the balance, or is he simply hoping that that is the case?Or, to flip the sentiment on its head: Do England really expect Archer – and to a lesser extent, Jack Leach – to add a sting to their attack that Smith in particular so expertly drew in the first Test? Of course they don’t … though they fervently hope that they might. “He’s got a good bouncer and bowls at a good pace consistently, so I’m sure he’ll cause problems on most surfaces,” said Root of Archer. “Hopefully, he can exploit this one.”ALSO READ: ‘More ready than I’ve ever been’ – Archer primed for Test debutInstead, it is Australia who really expects … and that has tended to be a deadly mindset when these two sides have clashed in the past. Whereas England tend to be a danger to themselves whenever they try to be frontrunners in a series, getting on top and staying on top is far more in tune with the Australian psyche, especially one that has been rebooted by a brains trust including both Justin Langer and Steve Waugh.In fact, Australia’s plans are falling so serenely into place that, in resting James Pattinson while tantalising both Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood with the carrot of a Lord’s comeback, the management have been able to cast one eye towards next week’s third Test at Headingley, even while ensuring their chosen 12 keep their thoughts firmly fixed in the present.”It’s always nice from a captaincy and a leadership point of view when you’ve got two senior players who are world-class left out and they cop it on the chin, run drinks, and train their backsides off in the lunch hours and tea breaks,” said Australia’s captain, Tim Paine. “It sets a really good example for the rest of our team.”ALSO READ: Pattinson rested, Hazlewood likely to play Lord’s TestIt’s certainly not a policy that guarantees success, but as a mitigation against failure, it seems light-years removed from England’s current suck-it-and-see approach – one which, in the penultimate month of this most exhausting of summers, seems now to be relying more on a Pakistani-style quest for Haal than any actual long-term planning.Jofra Archer is expected to play an impact role based on short spells•Getty Images

And who’s to say, just like Pakistan on any given day – or like Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad on the final day of the Ireland Test last month – a combination of rich talent and faint desperation won’t propel this set of players to extraordinary and series-turning heights. There’s certainly little doubt that, pound for pound and irrespective of fatigue and motivation, a team containing world-class individuals such as Root, Archer, Ben Stokes and Jason Roy ought to be a match for any opponent.But, just as Australia couldn’t be any more at home at Lord’s – moseying around the pavilion as if to the manor born, and with their kids performing cartwheels on the square as they saunter back from the nets – so it is England who most resemble a put-upon touring team.One Test down out of five, and among their fast-bowling stocks, already Mark Wood, Olly Stone and James Anderson are sidelined, with only the latter a realistic chance of being fit before the end of the series. And while Joe Root’s promotion to No. 3 has applied a band-aid to their longstanding top-order flimsiness, the recent absence of Championship cricket makes the sourcing of battle-ready replacements as problematic as it would have been had the series been taking place Down Under.”A big responsibility comes on the players, making sure that they look after themselves and keep themselves as fit as possible,” said Root. “Throughout the rest of this campaign, there are certain things which you can’t control and sometimes you get thrown a bad hand and you have to deal with it. And we’ve certainly responded well to that in the past when that’s happened. And we’ve got to make sure that we do exactly the same this time. We’ve got some very talented players and bowlers that are fully capable of taking 20 wickets this week.”And yet, to riff on a recurring theme of the past month, England have already scaled their Everest for this summer, and in such glorious fashion too, on this very ground. Australia, by contrast, over-achieved in reaching the World Cup semi-finals, but only now are they really beginning to hit their stride. They’ve not won the Ashes in England for 18 years and counting, but much like England in the white-ball campaign just gone, they know they’ll rarely get a better chance to drive home their advantage.

Third umpires will adjudicate on overstepping calls in a number of limited-overs series over the next six months

Nagraj Gollapudi06-Aug-2019TV umpires may soon become the sole adjudicators of front-foot no-balls, if planned ICC trials prove successful.The ICC will identify a number of limited-overs series over the next six months for implementing a system where the TV umpire – and not the on-field umpires – will call no-balls for overstepping. The system has been trialled before, notably in the ODI series between England and Pakistan in 2016, but it will be rolled out on a much broader scale this time.”Broadly, yes [the same technology as 2016 will be used],” Geoff Allardice, the ICC’s general manager for cricket operations, told ESPNcricinfo. “The idea is the third umpire will be presented an image of the front-foot landing within a few seconds. He would communicate to the on-field umpire that a no-ball has been delivered, so every delivery on the field would be played as a fair delivery until called otherwise.”During the previous trial, a Hawkeye operator presented a still image to the third umpire independent of the normal broadcast.”The footage is shown on a slight delay, it goes to super slo-mo as the foot approaches the point of landing, and then it freezes,” Allardice explained. “The routine works well, with the third umpire judging the no-ball off a picture that is not always shown on the broadcast.”In 2016, it ended up taking on average eight seconds between the foot landing and a call being made by the TV umpire. The ICC was happy the decision was made quickly enough, though there were a couple of instances where a tighter call took longer. The hope is that the process will become quicker, the more TV umpires get used to it.The move has come from the ICC’s cricket committee, who want as many limited-overs matches as possible to use this system. But that, as Allardice explained, is not a straightforward task.”The cricket committee recommended that we do it in all ODIs and T20Is,” he said. “In 2018, there were about 84,000 balls delivered around the world in those formats in men’s international cricket. So to monitor the no-ball on each of those deliveries at all of the different venues is a big exercise. We just need to understand all the challenges before implementing this across all matches.”Can this technology be implemented consistently across the 80 venues that hosted ODIs and T20Is last year? There are different levels of television coverage across these matches, so it will be easier to implement at some matches than at others. We now have 104 members who play T20I cricket and many of their matches are not televised, so what do we do there? Thinking through all of the implications of introducing this is the exercise for us over the next six months.”Nigel Llong and Virat Kohli have an argument over the ‘no-ball’•BCCI

In the past, electronic line-calling systems – as used in tennis – have been discussed, but there were issues: creases get blurry, there is movement across the crease from the non-striker, and there are bowlers like Ravindra Jadeja, whose heel is usually behind the line but in the air when the foot lands.The highest-profile instance this year of a no-ball being missed occurred not in international cricket but in the IPL, where umpire S Ravi missed Lasith Malinga overstepping in a game between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Royal Challengers captain Virat Kohli was not happy about that call, especially since it was the last ball of the innings in a tight chase.The umpires missed a no-ball in Australia’s game against West Indies in the World Cup more recently, which accrued significance after the event as Chris Gayle was dismissed next ball: had the no-ball been called, the next ball would have been a free hit.As recently as last November, Ravi was at the centre of a more prolonged spell of missing no-balls. In England’s third Test in Sri Lanka, on the third morning in Colombo, Lakshan Sandakan bowled as many as 12 no-balls according to the broadcasters in a five-over spell; the only deliveries that were penalised by Ravi and the other umpires, however, were the ones that allowed Ben Stokes to continue his innings after being caught off them.

Abbott follows first-innings 9-40 with 8-46 to deliver Hampshire a 136-run win over Somerset

Matt Roller at the Ageas Bowl18-Sep-2019Hampshire 196 (Dawson 103) and 226 (Vince 142) beat Somerset 142 (Abbott 9-40) and 144 (Davies 51, Abbott 8-46) by 136 runsFor the second day in a row, Kyle Abbott caused a major dent in Somerset’s title ambitions by running through their top, middle, and lower order to finish with 17 wickets in the match.Abbott’s 17 for 86 amounted to the best first-class match figures since Jim Laker’s 19 for 90 against Australia in the fourth Test of the 1956 Ashes.After a wicketless five-over opening burst, Abbott ripped the heart out of Somerset’s side in his second spell, getting the ball to reverse as he took six wickets in as many overs, pegging them back from 86 without loss to 100 for 7 in pursuit of 281. He returned to take two more wickets in his third spell, finishing the game by rearranging last man Josh Davey’s stumps to end with the fourth-best analysis in County Championship history, and the best-ever by a Hampshire bowler in any game.For Somerset, it means that with Essex winning at Chelmsford against Surrey, they must beat the division’s new leaders at Taunton next week if they are to seal a maiden Championship title.Also read: Surrey can’t stay out of Harmer’s wayClutching as many bottles of beer as he could fit in his hands, Abbott sat out in the middle with his team-mates as the sun set over the Ageas Bowl and tweeted: “@EssexCricket You Welcome….”Abbott had suggested on the game’s second evening that the chance to “spoil Somerset’s party” had acted as a source of motivation, and that much was evident in his fiery spells.”Especially once the captain and Hildreth went, we put a lot of pressure on that middle order,” he told ESPNcricinfo today. “There were a couple of youngsters in there, and even a couple of the senior players – we let them know that if they mess up, it’s gone. There’s a lot of pressure on winning this Championship.”And if he needed a further carrot, it was clear that the sight of them lifting the Royal London Cup at Lord’s in May had offered one. “They celebrated against us at that final,” he said, “so we wanted to give them some hard work for next week against Essex.”There are one or two teams around the country that set up for the way I like to bowl. I suppose they’re one.” It was quite the understatement; Abbott now has 35 wickets in his past six innings against Somerset, with a staggering average of 8.51. His career average in first-class cricket has dipped under 21 after his latest effort.Kyle Abbott celebrates the wicket of Craig Overton•Getty Images

Signing a Kolpak deal in 2017 made plenty of sense for him and his family, but it should be a source of regret for the wider cricketing community that this great bowler will never again play internationally.”From the first innings, with the new ball nipping, to now when it got flat – it was two different skillsets, with the reverse-swinging ball. I’m pretty happy to know that my skills are up to scratch, and whatever the conditions, I can take some wickets,” he reflected.It had briefly seemed as though Somerset had a reasonable chance of chasing their target, with the pitch flattening out and drying under the baking sun, and their 86 was comfortably the highest opening partnership of the match.But the procession started in tame fashion after lunch, as Murali Vijay skewed a pull shot to wide mid-on. As the ball began to reverse, their middle-order’s shortcomings were exposed. Tom Abell was taken by surprise by a ball that got up well off the pitch, before Tom Banton and George Bartlett were lbw playing across the line to successive inswingers.Steven Davies – who held the key after starting brightly on his way to 51 – edged behind to one that nipped away, before Dom Bess was trapped leg-before to effectively finish the game as a contest.Craig Overton summoned the spirit of Old Trafford to hang around as Lewis Gregory’s partner for a gritty stand of 40 in 14.2 overs, but fended a catch to slip from a back-of-a-length ball, before Davey was bowled to seal the game.All told, 10 of Abbott’s 17 wickets were bowled or lbw, with four caught behind, and one held at slip, short leg and mid-on respectively. It was a relentless performance, and one that proved too good for Somerset.Kyle Abbott walks off after taking nine wickets•Getty Images

Picking his players up from this disappointment will be the biggest test of Abell’s captaincy to date, but it is a task that he thinks he is up to.”It’s a balance,” he said. “Obviously it’s not good enough, how we’ve performed, and today in particular. I think it was a relatively good wicket, and we haven’t put up enough of a fight.”Equally, we want to be in as positive a frame of mind as we can be for next week. We all know we need to be better. I don’t think we’ll need too much picking up – there’s so much on the line and we’re all aware of what’s at stake. Ultimately, we’ve got to perform, and we’ve got to beat Essex.”The elephant in the room for the Championship decider is that the forecast is poor for the first few days of the game, meaning that Somerset may have to force a result in double-quick time.Outgoing groundsman Simon Lee – who ironically takes over at the Ageas Bowl next season – has always been willing to sacrifice his own reputation for the good of the side when necessary. While they will be conscious of the fact Essex have Simon Harmer in their ranks, the return of Jack Leach from England duty may tempt them to prepare a turning track.”We’ll look at our squad and try and produce a wicket that best fits that,” said Abell. “Leachy’s had a fantastic summer, and he’s a world-class spin bowler, so hopefully he’ll have a big role to play.”For the time being, though, it will feel like a long bus ride home to Taunton, with the lingering memories of Abbott’s remarkable haul to consider.

These changes in the rankings come following Australia’s stellar performances against Sri Lanka in the recently-concluded three-match ODI series

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Oct-2019Australia left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen is back at the top of the ODI bowling rankings, replacing her team-mate Megan Schutt, while opener Alyssa Healy has moved one place up to achieve her career-best ranking of No. 3 among the batters. These changes in the ICC rankings come following Australia’s stellar performances against Sri Lanka in the recently-concluded three-match ODI series.Australia’s dominance in ODIs continued with them having won a record 18 consecutive matches as well as 17 of their 18 games in the ICC women’s championship, where they are 10 points ahead of the second-placed England.ALSO READ: Australia’s record streak: Meg Lanning basks in glow of ‘very special’ achievementBoth Jonassen and Healy played an important role in Australia’s whitewash of Sri Lanka in Brisbane. Jonassen picked up six wickets in the series, including a four-wicket haul in the second ODI, which had helped achieve her career-best rating of 758 points. Healy, who scored 189 runs in the series, including an unbeaten 112 in the third ODI also reached a career-best tally of 738 points, having reached the top three for the first time. Rachael Haynes, who scored her maiden ODI century in the series, jumped seven places up to 21st.Sri Lanka’s Chamari Atapattu moved two spots up to No. 12 after her 124-ball 103, which went in vain in the third ODI.

Sledging gave batsman ‘extra personal motivation’ in heroic series-squaring innings

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Nov-2019Ben Stokes says that the extraordinary unbeaten hundred with which he carried England to a one-wicket win over Australia at Headingley this summer was inspired by David Warner’s incessant goading from the slip cordon.In a new book, On Fire, which chronicles his remarkable performances throughout the 2019 season, Stokes recalls how Warner set out to distract him during his unbeaten 135 in the third Test, particularly in the early part of the innings on the third evening of the match, when his only objective was to reach stumps with his wicket intact.With England 1-0 down in the series after their opening defeat at Edgbaston, their hopes of regaining the Ashes appeared to be over when they were bowled out for 67 in their first innings at Headingley, before eventually being set a target of 359 to square the series with two to play.And after arriving at the crease in the final hour of the third day, Stokes ground his way to the close on 2 not out from 50 balls in partnership with Joe Root, as England sought to keep their hopes alive.In a book extract published in the Daily Mirror, Stokes noted how Warner had given the impression of being a reformed character after completing his year-long ban for ball-tampering.However, with Warner in the midst of a terrible run of form that would result in him making 95 runs in ten innings, the lowest return by any opener in a five-Test series, Stokes also suggested that he had reverted to type in a bid to bring out the best in himself.”I had extra personal motivation due to some things that were said to me out on the field on the evening of day three when I was trying to get through to stumps,” Stokes wrote. “A few of the Aussies were being quite chirpy, but in particular David Warner seemed to have his heart set on disrupting me.”He just wouldn’t shut up for most of my time out there. I could accept it from just about any other opponent. Truly. Not from him, though.”The changed man he was adamant he’d become, the one that hardly said boo to a goose and even went as far as claiming he had been re-nicknamed ‘Humble’ by his Australia teammates, had disappeared. Maybe his lack of form in his new guise had persuaded him that he needed to get the bull back?”Warner’s solitary Ashes half-century came in the first innings at Headingley, but second-time around, he was trapped lbw by Stuart Broad for a second-ball duck, one of a record-equalling seven dismissals by Broad in the course of the series.”Although he’d enjoyed a prolific World Cup campaign, he had struggled with the bat at the start of the Ashes and was perhaps turning to his old ways to try to get the best out of himself,” Stokes wrote. “The nice-guy act had done nothing for his runs column.”I muttered ‘Bloody Warner’ a few times as I was getting changed. The more time passed, the more it spurred me on. All kinds of ideas of what I might say to him at the end of the game went through my head. In the end, I vowed to do nothing other than shake his hand and say ‘Well done’ if I could manufacture the situation.”You always shake the hands of every member of the opposing team at the end of a match. But this one would give me the greatest sense of satisfaction.”Stokes went on to square the series in remarkable fashion, adding 76 runs for England’s tenth wicket with Jack Leach, who finished on 1 not out. Australia then won the subsequent Test at Old Trafford to retain the Ashes, but England’s win in the final Test at The Oval ensured the first drawn Ashes series since 1972.

‘He is tactically very knowledgeable. We all know what qualities he has as a man as well’

Firdose Moonda14-Dec-2019Graeme Smith, South Africa’s acting director of cricket, has chosen “hardened, experienced” former team-mate Mark Boucher as coach of the men’s national side until the 2023 World Cup. Enoch Nkwe, the interim team director (a term that has now been scrapped), has been appointed Boucher’s assistant for the same period while former convenor of selectors Linda Zondi has been brought back until April 2020 and Ashwell Prince will coach the South African A side.Boucher, Zondi, Nkwe and Test captain Faf du Plessis make up the selection panel for now, whose first task is to choose the squad that will face England in a home series starting on Boxing Day. The squad for the first two Tests will be announced on Monday, before the Mzansi Super League final. A batting and bowling consultant will also be finalised in the coming week.The radical changes to the South African national structure were made in the last four days after Smith accepted the director of cricket position in a temporary capacity on Wednesday. Smith has signed a three-month contract after which he has a commentary stint at the Indian Premier League and confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that he would then consider a more permanent deal with CSA.Smith’s appointment comes after more than three months of negotiation, during which time he withdrew his interest before being re-engaged following the suspension of CSA CEO Thabang Moroe. While Smith confirmed he still has “no relationship,” with the under-pressure CSA Board, he explained that the changes in the CSA executive administration played a major part in his accepting the role.”I didn’t have a lot of confidence in the leadership of CSA,” Smith said. “With such an extensive job description, I didn’t feel I could achieve in the role with the leadership that was there at the time. You need a robust CSA to be able to challenge each other, you need trust and you need to have an environment that was ready for that, and I didn’t feel the environment was ready before I took this job.”If I am going to come in, I want to be able to do the best that I can do. I feel that is slightly better now. The opportunity is there. I have got a lot of confidence in Jacques [Faul] as the CEO.”Faul has also been appointed in an interim capacity for the next six months while Moroe undergoes a disciplinary process. With Smith making clear his allegiance, it would appear his future involvement with CSA is tied to Faul’s and will be decided as the summer ends. Similarly, the position of Zondi, whose short-term contract was a result of what Smith called “a budget thing”, will also be up for discussion when the 2019-20 season is over.However, the positions of Boucher and Nkwe are confirmed until after the 2023 World Cup, a decision that aims to provide both expertise and continuity for the national side. “I felt at this stage, the Proteas needed a really hardened, experienced international guy,” Smith said. “I feel that Mark, from a cricket perspective, is very knowledgeable. He is tactically very knowledgeable. We all know what qualities he has as a man as well. I felt those were the decisions best needed for the current Proteas set up.”Smith indicated the long-term plan would be to prepare Nkwe to take over from Boucher in the future. “We have had a couple of chats with Enoch in terms of his pathway going forward and developing him as a high-standing international coach. We feel he has got a lot of qualities that will be very useful to Mark and that will help him progress in international cricket.”Asked whether the demotion of Nkwe, South Africa’s first black African coach, and the appointment of Boucher above him could be seen as a whitewash, Smith disagreed. “My job is to create cricket excellence. I feel I have made the right decision for the Proteas. I think for Enoch’s future as well it is the right appointment. We need to think about managing people sometimes and not just a number,” Smith said. “I am very aware of transformation. I led my the country for 11 years and I had to be very much a part of managing those processes. A number of discussions need to happen behind the scenes but I disagree with the statement [that it’s a whitewash].”Ashwell Prince ‘is full of opinions which we love’ – Graeme Smith•Getty Images

Smith is also still in discussions with CSA around the transformation targets and the policy going forward but for now wants to focus on getting the South Africa team back on stable ground following a rocky 2019. South Africa lost five successive Tests, including a home series in Sri Lanka and a 0-3 defeat in India, where Smith indicated off-field problems appeared to bleed onto the field. “The disappointing thing has been how South African cricket has been run of late. That has been the most challenging aspect. That’s filtered into the environment and made life difficult for the guys that have been in that position. Hopefully in the short term we can turn it around.”For Smith, it is key to “bring leadership back into the game”, which can be provided by former internationals. Smith singled out Prince’s involvement with the A side as particularly important. “I am very happy that we have Ashwell involved. He has got a lot of international experience, he is a hardened international cricketer. He is full of opinions which we love,” Smith said. “The A side needs to be the second-best men’s team in the country.”If Smith takes on the role post the IPL next year, his job will include developing a strategy that will include the A side, looking at the domestic structures, the Under-19 side, the women’s game, and even cricket at grassroots level. For now, Smith’s sole focus is the national men’s team and the England series and creating the blueprint that will put South Africa on a path to success.”We want the Proteas to play well and start winning again. Faf is happy that there is a bit of leadership around. Both him and Enoch have had very frustrating times over the last period. There has been almost no communication with them [from CSA] for a lengthy period of time. I’m glad we were able to come in and provide some direction for them,” Smith said. “Hopefully we can take away some of the drama from them and Faf and the team that is selected can focus on playing cricket and doing the job well. That’s what’s expected of them. It’s going to be our responsibility to clean up the rest.”