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Matt Short also makes his return from injury ahead of Australia’s T20I tour of New Zealand

Alex Malcolm16-Sep-2025Despite retiring from ODIs earlier this year Glenn Maxwell will play 50-over cricket for his state side Victoria in the first two Dean Jones Trophy matches of the new summer to help prepare for the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand.Maxwell, 36, has been named in Victoria’s 14-player squad for their first two matches against Queensland and Tasmania at Allan Border Field on Wednesday and Friday respectively. Maxwell has played just one List A match for Victoria since March 2022, and that was against New South Wales in October last year.Fellow Australian T20I squad member Matt Short has also been named for his first game of cricket in any form since the MLC in July, after he was ruled out of the five-match T20I tour of the Caribbean then both the T20I and ODI series against South Africa at home in August due to a side injury. Like Maxwell, he has not played a 50-over fixture since the Champions Trophy.Related

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Captain Will Sutherland will only play in game one before departing to India to join the Australia A tour ahead of the second four-day game in Lucknow. Peter Handscomb will captain in game two.Young batter Oliver Peake, who is yet to make his Victoria 50-over debut despite making his List A debut for Australia A in July against Sri Lanka A, is unavailable as he is already in Lucknow playing in the first four-day match against India A. Todd Murphy is also playing for Australia A in India.Harry Dixon and Sam Elliott will play both games for Victoria before departing for India to play for Australia A in the 50-over matches in Kanpur that start on September 30.Meanwhile, Marnus Labuschagne will captain Queensland against Victoria on Wednesday and Western Australia on Sunday, also at Allan Border Field. Xavier Bartlett is unavailable due to Australia A duty while Mark Steketee (minor hamstring) and Callum Vidler (stress fracture) are also absent. Test opener Usman Khawaja won’t play either of Queensland’s 50-over matches this week as he continues his preparation for the start of the Sheffield Shield summer ahead of the Ashes.Former New South Wales allrounder Hayden Kerr is in line for a Queensland debut as is former Australian Under-19 World Cup winning captain Hugh Weibgen.Tom Straker and Lachlan Hearne will play both matches against Victoria and WA before departing to India to join the Australia A 50-over squad.Hearne has been called up to his first Australia A squad as an injury replacement for Aaron Hardie. Hearne has only played eight List A matches but the left-hander made an impressive 107 off 91 balls against his former state New South Wales in February.Victoria squad: Will Sutherland, Peter Handscomb, Blake Macdonald, Callum Stow, Cam McClure, David Moody, Glenn Maxwell, Harry Dixon, Marcus Harris, Matt Short, Mitch Perry, Sam Elliott, Sam Harper, Tom RogersQueensland squad: Marnus Labuschagne (capt), Jack Clayton, Benji Floros, Lachlan Hearne, Hayden Kerr, Michael Neser, Jimmy Peirson, Matthew Renshaw, Gurinder Sandhu, Tom Straker, Mitchell Swepson, Hugh Weibgen, Jack Wildermuth

BCCI to replicate guidelines issued by Indian Health Ministry and distribute to all stakeholders

Nagraj Gollapudi05-Mar-2020Even as COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) continues to cripple all walks of life across the world, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has said the IPL is “on” and that the board is taking all necessary precautions for the smooth conduct of cricket’s most lucrative tournament, which begins on March 29. Some of those precautionary measures are likely to involve asking players to avoid physical contact as far as possible including shaking hands with fans, considering the coronavirus is highly contagious.”It’s on…and BCCI will take all protection (against coronavirus),” Ganguly told ESPNcricinfo when asked how the board was dealing with the outbreak that is threatening to bring daily life to a standstill. Spectator sport is seen as particularly vulnerable, given it brings a large crowd together in a confined space. The IPL has an added complication: its global profile, with players, support staff and vast administrative and broadcast services being drawn from across the world.The novel coronavirus is a respiratory illness, which originated in China, and, has no cure yet, forcing the shutting down of towns, cities, schools across the world. Global medical experts have been anxious about how India, the world’s second-most populous nation, would respond to the outbreak. The official figures released by the Indian Ministry of Health so far has put the count of those infected closer to 30.The outbreak has already begun affecting sporting events. In Italy, one of the worst affected countries, the government ordered all Serie A matches to be played behind closed doors with no fans allowed at any football ground until April 3. The March 14 Six Nations rugby game between Italy and England, scheduled in Rome, has been postponed. It was the second game involving Italy to be postponed after the contest against Ireland in Dublin scheduled for Saturday. The Premier League in England is also talking to the clubs to have matches played behind closed doors as the UK government’s chief medical officer today said the country was moving from containment to delaying the spread of the coronavirus, which claimed its first victim on Thursday.ALSO READ: Coronavirus impact on Indian sportsAlthough there has been no official update put out by the BCCI or the IPL on the respective websites (a norm followed by global sporting organisations), ESPNcricinfo understands that the top officials have been internally discussing the outbreak and its potential impact on the T20 tournament. It is believed that the BCCI has been following the guidelines and updates put out by the Health Ministry on coronavirus.A senior BCCI official confirmed that the board would replicate the precautionary guidelines recommended by the Health Ministry and send them to all the stakeholders: players, franchises, airlines, team hotels, broadcast crews and everyone else involved in the running of the tournament.As far as the players go, the BCCI would ask them to be proactive and report to the concerned medical authority in case they detect any of the symptoms associated with the coronavirus, which include cough, fever or difficulty in breathing. Also if the person has travelled in or via high-risk areas across the world, he/she would need to report that.It is understood that the BCCI would also advise the players not to shake hands with fans or even possibly take pictures with devices that are not their own. All these measures are already being followed globally by athletes. Recently England captain Joe Root said that England players would not be shaking hands with one another on their tour of Sri Lanka to ensure germs and bacteria are not spread. The England players would instead resort to fist bumps, something even the National Basketball League (NBA) in the USA advised its players to use instead of the high-fives. The NBA also asked the players not to use the pens/markers fans provide them to sign autographs.The BCCI has not yet discussed whether it would recommend fist bumps over handshakes, but the official said that as things evolve, the board would be open to take all measures that would keep everyone safe.Many top sporting events including the Tokyo Olympics have come under threat with countries warning against mass congregations in light of how contagious the virus is.Cricket, too, has been affected with a women’s quadrangular in Thailand being the first tournament to be postponed last week. On Thursday, the Everest Premier League, a domestic T20 tournament scheduled to start from March 14 in Nepal, was postponed indefinitely even though the country has reported just one case of the outbreak yet. The ICC World Cup Challenge League due to be hosted by Malaysia on March 16 has also been postponed

The fast bowler talks about the work he has put in to evolve into the white-ball bowler that he is today

Shashank Kishore17-Dec-2019Deepak Chahar has come a long way since the memorable 8 for 10 on Ranji Trophy debut for Rajasthan in 2010-11. For all his first-class experience, it was the IPL and his powerplay spells during Chennai Super Kings’ victory title-winning run in 2018 that shot him into the limelight. His ability to swing the new ball made him MS Dhoni’s calling card in the powerplay.A year on, after becoming a T20I regular, Chahar is eyeing a regular berth in India’s ODI squad. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah out injured, Chahar is likely to get a long run too. But he isn’t thinking about that just yet and wants to just keep doing well whenever he gets a chance.”The next six months are obviously very important,” Chahar said ahead of Wednesday’s second ODI against West Indies in Visakhapatnam. “All of us dream of playing for India in all formats. I was only playing T20s, and now I am playing one-dayers too, so it’s great. The main focus is on fitness, I need to stay fit and play all the matches, and be available for selection for all games. I have had injuries in the past, so I’ll be careful about that. That’s the main focus.”When Chahar first broke through, he was largely an outswing bowler to the right-handers. Once the new ball lost its shine, he would mostly be used as a defensive option by captains. An obsession to improve his pace left him injured and effectively out of the selection radar for “four-five years” in between. He eventually took the long road up a tricky hill after stints at the MRF Pace Academy.In 2016, Rising Pune Supergiant first signed him up when their coach Stephen Fleming was impressed with his swing bowling and lower-order hitting. While an opportunity in the starting XI didn’t come, he was part of the team’s plans for the future. These plans materialised when the same team management, headed by Fleming and Dhoni, signed him at Chennai Super Kings.Chahar has only played a dozen matches for India, but he understands that to become a long-term prospect he has to work on various aspects of his bowling, which he is doing one at a time: from swing at 125kph to increased pace (high 130s), to adding new variations, to bowling to different fields. His understanding of his own game gives a peek into his mindset and to how he has evolved into a thinking cricketer, not just someone who swings the new ball and delivers overs in the powerplay.”When I played Ranji Trophy, I focused on line and length and swing,” Chahar explained. “But I struggled in between, so from there to the Indian team is a tough road. If you want to go from Ranji Trophy to the Indian team, you have to play a lot. More fitness. You have to play Duleep Trophy. It’s a longer road. But since I could do well by performing in the IPL, so somewhere in between, my focus shifted to the white ball.”So how has he turned into the bowler that he is aiming to be? It’s simple: by bowling at 140kph with with swing to boot. These aspects have been married to variations that he has honed over time in the nets.”You need pace,” he said. “It’s tougher to swing the white ball, unlike the red ball. So many bowlers swing the ball both ways in Ranji Trophy. But it’s tougher with the white ball. It’s not just the shine, you need to swing the ball with your action. So I worked on that and increased my pace.”Now I bowl the slower bouncer, and I have been working on my yorker, which has actually helped my bowling. I am confident that if someone hits me for a couple of sixes, I can york the batsman. Last year, in an IPL game in Chennai, I prepared a lot. I knew it wouldn’t swing much there, so I worked on my variations. I bowl three overs in the powerplay for CSK, so you have to bowl yorkers. But you need to keep improving in cricket. Yorker, wide yorker. I try everything.”BCCI

Chahar is open about his fondness for white-ball cricket, and reveals that he finds the 50-over format the hardest to adjust to.”In T20s, the main thing is for you to save yourself,” he said. “You have to bowl four overs, and you have to make sure you don’t get hit. If you bowl four overs, give 24 runs and not get a wicket, that’s good bowling. In Tests, you have to attack. If you give runs but pick up wickets, it’s good for the team. But in one-dayers, you have to do a bit of both – pick up wickets and not give away runs.”You have to beat the situation – what does the team demand: stop runs or get a batsman out. So one-day is more difficult than Tests and T20s. I have played a lot of one-day cricket with India A side, so that’s helped. So I have an idea. I used to struggle a bit in the middle overs earlier.”In the powerplay, you know it’s two-three overs and then you have to contain the runs. And at the death, you know they will try to hit you. But in the middle overs, I couldn’t do well. But I am learning. I have just played two matches internationally, so I will keep learning.”Chahar also explained how he has improved as a bowler since he first broke through in 2010-11, helped along by the understanding that swinging the ball at 125kph might not take him places.”When I played my first season of Ranji Trophy, I used to bowl at around 125. So I struggled in between, for four-five years, I had injuries too, and that was because I was trying to increase my pace,” he explained. “I knew I couldn’t succeed at the top level at that pace.”I knew I had to get to 140. Since I was a child, I have tried to get to 140 – 135-137. That’s the deadliest ball. You can play 150 on a flat pitch, but if it swings at 140, it’s more difficult. In between, for four-five years, when I was injured and also out of my domestic side, I changed many things. In my diet, in my action, to get more speed. You need variations too. It’s become difficult too.”For the middle overs, you have four fielders out. But I am used to bowling with two fielders out. So I get the benefit of that. In the middle overs, variations are key, and you shouldn’t be predictable. You have to bowl according to your field. You need to bowl to the four fielders at the boundary. If they are trying to hit you for sixers, you want them to hit where your fielders are, so if they mistime one, you get the wicket.”

Tash Farrant puts seal on crushing win with five-wicket haul at Chelmsford

ECB Reporters Network29-May-2021South East Stars 324 for 7 (Dunkley 104*) beat Sunrisers 189 (Farrant 5-33) by 135 runs

Sophia Dunkley earned the applause of Lisa Keightley as her century set up a crushing 135-run bonus point victory for South East Stars over Sunrisers.All-rounder Dunkley smashed an unbeaten 104 off 93 balls to send the Stars to a record highest Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy total of 324 for 7.Dunkley, who has played 15 international T20s, is hoping to make her ODI debut this summer with India and New Zealand touring and will have impressed an on-looking England head coach Keightley.England fast bowler Tash Farrant took 5 for 33 as Sunrisers were bowled out for 189, with 65 balls to spare at the Cloudfm County Ground, Chelmsford.Bryony Smith and Alice Davidson-Richards got the Stars off to a flier by putting on 107 in 18 overs, having been asked to bat first on a belting wicket in flawless conditions.Smith was the more aggressive, pulling a six in just the second over and another to bring up a 53-ball fifty – comfortably bettering her best score of 8 in last year’s truncated competition.Davidson-Richards joined her at the milestone in 63 balls before Kelly Castle entered the attack and halted the visitors’ progress.Related

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The Essex-born seamer had Smith well caught at square leg with her first delivery before picking up Davidson-Richards and Alice Capsey in consecutive deliveries soon after – eventually returning 3 for 40.Dunkley rebuilt, initially steadily, but with Aylish Cranstone began to find her tempo while playing strongly in front of the wicket.Cranstone, Kirstie White and Farrant fell in quick succession but Dunkley went past her 51-ball half-century for the seventh time in her last eight List A innings.Partnerships of 53 and 44 with the destructive Grace Gibbs and Rhianna Southby pushed the Stars over 300 before Dunkley firmly swept through mid-on to wave her bat on her third 50-over hundred – with Keightley clapping the impressive knock.Left-armer Farrant made sure the chase was never really on for Sunrisers as she had Cordelia Griffin and Amara Carr caught within the first nine overs.The Stars captain then picked up Lissy MacLeod and Fran Wilson in her sixth over before Sunrisers retaliated in the shape of a 73-run stand between Mady Villiers and Naomi Dattani. Gibbs broke the stand by castling Villiers before Dattani was bowled for 47.The required run-rate continued to grow exponentially to leave the chase to fizzle out, with Farrant and Smith taking the last two wickets.

“Going forward, we will definitely keep an eye out for him,” India’s T20 captain says of Venkatesh Iyer

Sreshth Shah22-Nov-2021With the 2022 T20 World Cup just 11 months away, India’s captain for the format, Rohit Sharma, wants the new players who featured in the team’s 3-0 series win over New Zealand to be given a long run to express themselves.Speaking to the media after sealing the series sweep in Kolkata on Sunday, Rohit pointed to India’s huge pool of talented cricketers and said that with so many of them making a case for selection in the Indian T20 team, the onus was on him and head coach Rahul Dravid to create that sense of security among the players.”When you’re playing bilaterals, you need to tick certain boxes, and we are trying to do that,” Rohit said. “We are trying to create a healthy atmosphere, giving the younger players security so that players can go out and play fearlessly.Related

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“In the first meeting that we had, we spoke about this very clearly. Told them that ‘if you’re trying to do something for the team, that act will never get unnoticed; you will be noticed when you raise your hand and try to take pressure on yourself and try to do something for the team’. That’s the job of the captain and coach. To tell the players that ‘we do understand what you’re trying to do for the team’.”You tell them to take their chances, and if it doesn’t come off, you still back them because we know what they are trying to do for the team.”India fielded a fairly inexperienced squad for the series, with the previously uncapped Harshal Patel and Venkatesh Iyer making their international debuts, and Axar Patel – who had played just one T20I in four years coming into the series – getting a run in Ravindra Jadeja’s absence. However, there was no place for Ruturaj Gaikwad and Avesh Khan in any of the games.”Seeing the talent pool of India, it is not easy,” Rohit said. “Most of the guys sitting outside have also done very well. It’s not easy, only 11 can play, we know that. It’s always tough, but we will try our best that whenever our players step out, they do not have any baggage.”‘Batting down the order will be tough for Venkatesh Iyer’
Rohit was also clear on what role was being considered for Venkatesh Iyer, the breakout star from the UAE leg of the 2021 IPL. Although he has been opening for Kolkata Knight Riders, the management wants him to find a place between Nos. 5 and 7 for India.

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Rohit said the team acknowledged that changing batting positions so drastically could be tough on the newcomer, his skills as a medium-pace bowler made him a tempting option.”The plan is to keep Iyer in the mix as much as we can,” Rohit said. “At the same time, we need to give him a role to bat where he usually doesn’t bat for his franchise. It’s going to be slightly tough for him to bat down the order. We’ve given him a role to bat at No. 5, 6 or 7 and see if he can do the job for us.”Today, he looked composed, he was clear in his mindset, and he has a very good approach. And you saw his bowling skills, looks a very, very bright prospect for us. He can get the job done for us, it’s about giving him the confidence and making him play as much as he can. It’s still very early days – been just three games. He’s not had much of an opportunity to make an impact but going forward, we will definitely keep an eye out for him.”The more depth we have the better it is for us. But for now, the way our bowling is going, and the way we have bowled, you don’t need a sixth or seventh bowler if the five players bowl well. But as a captain, it’s a good cushion to have.”Rohit on Ashwin: “He is always an attacking option for the captain – when he is there, the captain has the opportunity to take wickets in the middle overs”•BCCI

‘Fielding, bowling biggest positives’
Looking back at the series win, Rohit said that there were two standout positives for India. First, the fielding, which saved them around 15 runs each in the first two games, and secondly, how they managed to restrict New Zealand in the first two games despite being put on the back foot early on.In Jaipur, India took five wickets for 68 runs in the last eight overs to keep New Zealand down to 164 and in Ranchi, New Zealand managed to score only 153 despite a 64-run powerplay. In Kolkata, too, New Zealand’s batters were stymied by a varied bowling attack that bowled them out for 111 batting second in dewy conditions.Much of the praise from Rohit went to the spin duo of Axar and R Ashwin. “I think it’s been a great comeback for Ashwin,” Rohit said. “He has proved himself with the red ball and even with the white ball, he doesn’t have a bad record. It shows the quality that he has. He is always an attacking option for the captain – when he is there, the captain has the opportunity to take wickets in the middle overs. And we know how important middle overs are – you need to take wickets there.”Along with Axar, both of these guys are wicket-taking options, and when they bowl, it’s never about surviving for them. It’s about ‘how I can get the batter out, or how I can put pressure on the batter’.”

Sri Lanka A fall 48 runs short despite Shehan Jayasuriya’s century in a shortened game

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jun-2019
Maharashtra batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad hit a career-best 187* (off 136 balls) to lead India A to a 48-run win against Sri Lanka A in the first unofficial ODI in Belgaum on Thursday.Put in to bat in a match reduced to 42-overs a side, Gaikwad led India A to 317 for 4. In reply, Sri Lanka A could only muster 269 for 6. Shehan Jayasuriya made 108 not out from No.4, but off 120 balls, with the visiting side never seriously threatening the target.Gaikwad stayed brisk from the start when he walked out to open the innings, and upped his scoring rate significantly once past three figures. He got to his half-century off 46 balls and took 94 to get to a century. His last 85 runs came off a mere 42 deliveries. He built good partnerships with Anmolpreet Singh and Ishan Kishan for the second and third wickets. Anmolpreet made a 67-ball 65 from No.3 and shared in a 163-run stand off 152 balls, while Kishan smacked 45 off 34 in a 99-run stand that came off just 65 balls.Gaikwad, who struck 26 fours and two sixes during his innings, had lost opening partner Shubman Gill cheaply in the third over, but the two partnerships that followed put India A on firm footing.For Sri Lanka A, Lahiru Kumara’s 3 for 62 in nine overs were the best figures.In the chase, Sri Lanka A plodded steadily, with the run rate hovering near five per over for beyond the Powerplay, even though they had started with an asking rate of 7.57. Opening bowlers Tushar Deshpande and Sandeep Warrier took out the openers within the first five overs, immediately putting Sri Lanka A on the back foot.Jayasuriya was involved in two half-century partnerships for the third and fourth wickets, but only captain Ashan Priyanjan showed urgency in the top order, hitting 29 off 15 balls. Dasun Shanaka also hit out, making a 31-ball 44, but he had walked in 145 for 5 in 25.3 overs, with the required rate already past 10 an over.Mayank Markande took 2 for 66 in seven overs, while Shivam Dube (1 for 35 in seven) and Deepak Hooda (1 for 24 in five) were the most economical.

Rain brought an early finish to the first Twenty20 and England edged home by one run so South Africa need a victory to level the short series

Preview by Andrew McGlashan14-Nov-2009

Match facts

Sunday, November 15, 2009
Start time 14.30 (12.30GMT)Plenty to smile about: Eoin Morgan has proved a revelation in England’s limited-overs batting line-up•Getty Images

Big picture

A highveld thunderstorm put paid to a potentially gripping finish to the opening Twenty20 but the action before the rain was still thoroughly entertaining in ideal conditions for quick scoring. With Albie Morkel and AB de Villiers in the middle, South Africa would still have fancied their chances of chasing down more than 10-an-over to win, while England’s bowlers were clawing back their figures are severe punishment from Loots Bosman.Not that England were short on boundaries. Eoin Morgan gave another display of his huge talent and Paul Collingwood showed there is plenty of life in the old(ish) dog yet. The tourists’ new-found freedom in limited-overs cricket is certainly the way forward. There will be days when it fails spectacularly, but as they learn how to adapt their aggression to conditions it will serve them well.So South Africa are left needing to win the second Twenty20 to square the series and finish the first phase of this long head-to-head on even terms. They will want to sharpen their bowling skills after they tended to feed Morgan’s leg-side strength, but Centurion should offer more high-scoring conditions. The main concern for England is the number of niggles the players are already picking up with James Anderson and Graeme Swann missing training along with Collingwood.With this being a day-game, it will hopefully mean that the full match is possible before any evening thunderstorms bubble up. However, it’s always worthwhile to keep the D-L sheets to hand.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
South Africa – LLWWW
England – WLWLW

Team news

If South Africa stick to their pre-series talk of giving all the squad a game it means some shuffling of the pack. Heino Kuhn is in line for a debut – Mark Boucher could be rested – while Jacques Kallis will return, although purely as a batsman, and Yusuf Abdulla, the left-arm seamer, is another pace option.South Africa (possible) 1 Graeme Smith (capt), 2 Loots Bosman, 3 Jacques Kallis, 4 JP Duminy, 5 Albie Morkel, 6 Heino Kuhn (wk), 7 Ryan McLaren, 8 Roelof van der Merwe, 9 Johan Botha, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Yusuf AbdullaEngland are carrying a number of players with minor niggles. Collingwood (back), Anderson (knee) and Swann (side) all missed training as a precaution and face morning fitness tests ahead of the game. With Stuart Broad still recovering from his shoulder injury, Kevin Pietersen not due to return until Tuesday and Andrew Strauss opting out of Twenty20 the squad could be stretched. Adil Rashid and Graham Onions are the two players who didn’t appear in the opening match.England (possible) 1 Joe Denly, 2 Alastair Cook, 3 Jonathan Trott, 4 Paul Collingwood (capt), 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Matt Prior (wk), 7 Luke Wright, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Graeme Swann, 10 Sajid Mahmood, 11 James Anderson

Watch out for

Dale Steyn took a bit of a hammering on Friday, firstly at the hands of Trott, who took him for four consecutive boundaries, then from Morgan’s onslaught. It is still early-season for Steyn, but he doesn’t appear quite on top of his game. However, it would be foolish to read too much into his form so far and it won’t take a lot for him to turn it around. He’ll want to make a mark ahead of the contests to come and his record shows a match-winning performance is not far away.England have found something a little special in Morgan – and he likes facing South Africa. His thrilling effort at the Wanderers followed on from his display at the Champions Trophy, when he helped knock out the hosts. England’s batsmen have been criticised for their lack of sixes, but Morgan is quickly putting that right and one blow in the first match landed comfortably outside the ground.

Stats and trivia

• Joe Denly has been dismissed first ball in both his Twenty20 international innings after being trapped leg before by Charl Langeveldt at the Wanderers to following his golden duck at the hands of Brett Lee at Old Trafford.
• England’s 202 for 6 was their highest Twenty20 total while Morgan’s 85 was also their best individual effort.

Quotes

“It was just that the wicket happened to be good and I didn’t think he bowled particularly well. We don’t target any bowlers at all.”
“From my perspective, it’s a realisation that it is going to be a tough series, it’s going to be good and exciting – England have come here to play.”

Jackson Bird and Gabe Bell combined to take seven wickets as Tasmania earned their second win of the season

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Nov-2018Tasmania overcame a superb rearguard hundred from Callum Ferguson and rain which threatened to scupper their hopes to secure a 189-run victory over South Australia.Ferguson had started the day at the crease and there was still there at tea, but South Australia were seven down after Jackson Bird and Gabe Bell went through the top order. However, rain delayed the resumption of the final session and when it relented 19 overs were left.Ferguson went to his century with the first ball he faced, his 219th delivery, after the break before Bird removed Nick Winter. Ferguson started to farm the strike with Kane Richardson for company but as the overs started to tick down he was pinned lbw by the impressive Bird.The match ended in the next over when Richardson was caught in the slips off Bell who finished with 3 for 44.Earlier in the day, wickets fell regularly as South Australia stumbled to 5 for 77. Debutant Alex Pyecroft continued his impressive start by having Jake Lehmann caught behind on the way to notable figures of 17-10-16-1.Ferguson and Alex Carey resisted in a stand of 55 in 13 overs, but when Carey and Joe Mennie fell in the space of two deliveries to Riley Meredith the end looked like coming swiftly. Ferguson had other ideas and nearly had a helping hand, but in the end it wasn’t quite enough.

Wayne Parnell takes four wickets as Superchargers win Leeds dead-rubber

ECB Reporters Network31-Aug-2022Northern Superchargers 135 for 8 beat Southern Brave 119 for 9 (Ahmed 33, Parnell 4-18) by 16 runsSouthern Brave’s disappointing title defence in the men’s Hundred ended with a whimper as they failed to chase 136 in a dead-rubber defeat against Northern Superchargers at Headingley.Both teams, out of finals contention before a ball was bowled here, should have performed better with the bat on a pitch which was tired but not disastrously so.England’s Harry Brook top-scored with 29 for Superchargers, who were inserted by the reigning champions and made 135 for 8. Fledgling legspinner Rehan Ahmed and seamer James Fuller each finished with 2 for 20.In reply, Brave slumped to 34 for 4 in 26 balls and failed to recover. In posting 119 for 9, they suffered a fifth defeat in eight – this one by 16 runs.Ahmed continued his impressive day with 33, but South African left-arm quick Wayne Parnell’s outstanding four for 16 ensured the Superchargers finish with a fourth win added to as many defeats.After a breezy start, Superchargers were checked by the varied spin of legspinner Ahmed, offie Paul Stirling and left-arm wristspinner Jake Lintott. The latter two struck once apiece. Three of their top four all reached 20 and failed to go on.After the early departure of captain Faf du Plessis to Ahmed, caught by mid-on running around towards mid-off, his opening partner Adam Lyth made 20, David Willey reached 22 and Brook with his aforementioned 29. But all holed out to catches in the deep as the score fell to 91 for 4 after 67 balls.Callum Parkinson celebrates the wicket of James Vince•Getty Images

Seamer Sonny Baker had Lyth caught at deep midwicket off a top-edge and Brook caught in the same position pulling before Ahmed struck again when Adam Hose found long-on.Michael Pepper, David Wiese and Parnell all made it into double figures and threatened late acceleration, though Brave were as clinical with the ball and in the field as they were so often last year and not enough this. Seamer Fuller removed Wiese and Rashid in the penultimate set of five – again to catches in the deep.In many ways, this Brave performance was a microcosm of this season’s campaign: inconsistent. After being polished with the ball and in the field, they were all over the place with the bat in the early stages of their reply, losing some serious firepower in the first 26 balls.Related

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Quinton de Kock was run out trying to take a suicidal single to short fine-leg before Parnell’s left-arm seam accounted for Stirling and Alex Davies. Left-arm spinner Callum Parkinson then bowled captain James Vince. From 34 for 4, Ahmed and Ross Whiteley steadied with a partnership of 27.However, when the latter miscued Adil Rashid’s legspin to long-on, leaving the score at 61 for 5 after 49 balls, it felt a decisive juncture. So it proved: big-hitting Singaporean Tim David drilled Wiese to long-off shortly afterwards.The feewheeling Ahmed continued his impressive day, and a turnaround was on the cards when he shared 28 in 16 balls with Fuller, both hitting strong shots down the ground. But when Ahmed miscued Parnell to long-on, leaving the score at 104 for 7 after 83 balls, 32 runs were still required.That target became 26 off 10, and it was all but game over when Parnell yorked Fuller for 25 to leave 22 still needed off six. Willey closed things out by bowling Baker, even celebrating with a forward roll.

As they did in the T20 series, India have taken an early lead on the back of some magic from Kuldeep Yadav and will be confident of inflicting a rare home series defeat on England

The Preview by Andrew McGlashan13-Jul-20182:13

Dasgupta: Buttler must bat higher up the order

Big Picture

Is this looming as a summer of torment by spin for England? The signs are heading that way. The weather continues to be hot, the pitches are dry and there are some masterful tweakers in the opposition. Eoin Morgan was putting on a brave face after his side succumbed to Kuldeep Yadav for the second time in a couple of weeks – and there is an element of truth in his comments that England won’t see many of his style – but they need a swift response at Lord’s.They showed it was possible during the T20 series, winning Cardiff after Kuldeep’s matchwinning haul at Old Trafford, with such effectiveness that Kuldeep didn’t play the deciding match in Bristol. How India manage their new wunderkind will be fascinating; he has the potential to cause all manner of problems.But it wasn’t only the impact of Kuldeep that was a concern for England. Their formidable record over the last few years has been built on the immense batting that can either set a huge target or chase one down. Now they are facing an opposition who can do the same. Chasing 268 there posed no scoreboard pressure on India, but the way they cantered to victory suggested that another 100 runs would have been well within grasp as well. There has been a challenge laid down to England’s bowlers as well as their batsmen.England will hope that the venues for the next two matches – Lord’s and Headingley – will provide conditions more conducive to them, but they are facing a side who appear to have most bases covered.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
England LWWWW
India WWWLW

In the spotlight

Ben Stokes has rarely had to work harder for his runs than in Nottingham. His 102-ball fifty was the second slowest by an England player in ODIs since 2001 and by 39 balls Stokes’ slowest in ODIs. Until his reverse sweep against Kuldeep – just as England wanted a late push – he was at least able to survive, even if not always convincingly but could not put the pressure back on India’s bowlers. Some rustiness is to be expected after a lengthy lay-off but England need him to move through the gears quickly.Virat Kohli is a man on a mission this tour – and he’s starting to tick with the bat. His 75 at Trent Bridge included some supreme shots, it was a surprise when he was beaten by a neat legbreak from Adil Rashid and stumped for just the third time in his career. Kohli has only played two previous matches at Lord’s – an ODI in 2011 and a Test 2014 – making 41 runs in three innings. His chance of a defining moment will come in August during the Test series, but do not be surprised if he graces the famous ground with something special this weekend.

Teams news

England tend not to overreact to a defeat so they could easily go with the same XI. Dawid Malan is now a permanent member of the squad after Alex Hales’ injury while Sam Curran and Jake Ball are there if they want to freshen up the pace attack.England (probable) 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 David Willey, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Liam Plunkett, 11 Mark WoodThe only change India are likely to consider is bringing back Bhuvneshwar Kumar if he has recovered from his back niggle. He would replace Siddarth Kaul.India (probable) 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 KL Rahul, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Siddarth Kaul, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Umesh Yadav

Pitch and conditions

Lord’s generally produces true pitches for one-day cricket although the bowlers can be in the game. England’s last outing there, albeit on a grassy surface that is unlikely to be seen this time, saw then 20 for 6 against South Africa. There was turn on offer in the recent Royal London Cup final. The forecast is for another warm, sunny day.

Stats and trivia

• MS Dhoni remains 33 runs short of 10,000 in ODIs.
• Kuldeep Yadav needs five wickets to reach 50 in ODIs. If he does it with another five-wicket bag at Lord’s he would become the second fastest man to the milestone (22 matches) after Ajantha Mendis
• The last time England lost two consecutive ODIs was 35 matches ago in January 2017 when they faced India in Pune and Cuttack; their last ODI series defeat at home was against Australia in 2015

Quotes

“You have to give credit where it is due, he did bowl well and we need to clarify our plans and commit to them and just be better.”
Eoin Morgan on the Kuldeep factor