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The Australia side that India beat in 2018-19 was without Steven Smith and David Warner

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Dec-2019Last year, India completed a historic 2-1 triumph in Australia, their first-ever Test series victory in the country. BCCI president Sourav Ganguly believes India will face an even bigger challenge when they go back down under in 2020-21 for a four-Test series against a “full-strength” Australia side.Back in 2018-19, the hosts were without two key batsmen in Steven Smith and David Warner, who were serving year-long bans for their role in the Newlands ball-tampering scandal. With both Smith and Warner back in action, a “different Australia”, according to Ganguly, awaits India next year.Following the end of the 2019-21 World Test Championship cycle, India are also set to tour England (2021) and South Africa (2021-22). Ganguly wants India to win Test series on those tours as well.”They beat Australia in 2018. But I will still expect to win in South Africa and England,” Ganguly told . “And I think, they are going back to Australia next year. That’s going to be a bigger challenge and I am sure with the standards that Virat [Kohli] sets for himself and the others, he will know at the back of his mind that the 2018 Australia team was not the best Australian team of this generation. And what he is going to face next year, which is not very far away, is going to be a different Australia.”The enormity of the challenge notwithstanding, Ganguly was confident Indian have the ability to beat Australia in their backyard once more.”The full-strength Australia are a strong Australia,” Ganguly said. “They (India) have the team to beat them. They will just have to believe and get everything right to beat them. That’s what I am looking for.”When I became a captain, one of our aims was to compete with the best. And I remember, 2003 in Australia against that Australia, we were outstanding. And this team has the potential to do it. They have proper fast bowlers, they have spinners, they have a champion in Virat Kohli as a batsman.”Members of the Indian team celebrate after winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy•Getty Images

As for the shorter formats, Ganguly said he would discuss with Kohli, head coach Ravi Shastri, and the other players, the potential causes – mental or otherwise – for India’s defeats in crunch matches of world tournaments in the recent past. Under Kohli, India’s defeat to Pakistan in the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy was bookended by eliminations in the semi-finals of the 2016 T20 World Cup and the 2019 ODI World Cup.”As I said, it’s a very strong team. But then you have to get past the semi-final,” Ganguly said. “Like in this World Cup, they played so well but lost to New Zealand one day. This is something that they will have to address. At some stage, we will speak to Virat, Ravi and then the players. You need to find a way to get past that hurdle in the big game. Whether it’s a mental hurdle or whatever, they will do that. I still expect them to win in England and South Africa in Test matches, which they need to do to be a good side.”Ganguly rated Kohli’s leadership skills highly, but wasn’t willing to compare him with past India captains.”Very good (Kohli’s captaincy is),” Ganguly said. “But I don’t think you can judge captains because the teams were different, the strengths were different. I don’t think you can compare captains of any era with the captains of other eras. He is a fantastic cricketer, a fantastic person. Yes, he may make mistakes, he may say something, everybody does.”I believe, as a human being, you carry what you do off the field to the field. He is a very solid person off the field. A lot of things rest on his shoulders in India.”When India travel to Australia, it won’t be easy. It will not be as easy as in 2018. I don’t know whether I will still be board president then but I will be looking forward to Virat beating this Australian team in 2020 when they get there after the T20 World Cup.”

The Hurricanes were hindered by rarely being able to have their first-choice XI on the park together

Alex Malcolm31-Jan-2020Season in nutshellThe Hurricanes had an up and down season with the team affected heavily by absences through injury and international duty. They traded wins and losses in the first six games before two key bowlers in Riley Meredith and James Faulkner suffered significant injuries. Meredith was ruled out for the season with a side strain while Faulkner would only return from a calf injury late in the tournament. The team went on a four-game winless stretch in the middle of the tournament to put finals in jeopardy. The dynamic opening pair of Matthew Wade and D’Arcy Short that had dominated the last two seasons was broken up by international duty. The pair only batted together in the last three games of the season and combined for a stunning 203-run stand in the final home and away game against the Adelaide Strikers to sneak into the finals. But they lost the Eliminator against Sydney Thunder at home to be bundled out of the tournament.What went right? Individually, a number of their batsman had excellent seasons on numbers alone. Wade and Short both scored centuries and passed 50 four times each. Wade was exceptional in his eight innings scoring 351 runs, averaging 50.14 and striking at an incredible 171.21. Short was not as prolific as previous editions but still scored 357 runs in nine innings. Unfortunately, the pair didn’t get to play together enough and both men missed six games each.What went wrong? Their bowling really struggled without Faulkner and Meredith for large parts of the season. They also weren’t able to cover the loss of Jofra Archer who was so important in the last two seasons. Faulkner, Meredith, and Nathan Ellis were the only bowlers to concede less than eight runs per over across the tournament. While spin was such a key component to the success of teams like the Melbourne Stars and Sydney Sixers, the Hurricanes spinners were extremely expensive. Qais Ahmad went at 8.14 runs per over bowling predominantly in the middle overs, while Clive Rose and Short both conceded more than nine runs per over.Performance of the seasonThe win over the Strikers was their best of the year. They had to win to play in the finals and Wade and Short put on 203 at Adelaide Oval, the second-highest partnership in BBL history, and the Hurricanes made 1 for 217, the highest score ever at Adelaide Oval in the BBL. Wade made a career-best 130 not out from just 61 balls. He faced just five dot balls and struck 11 fours and seven sixes. The Hurricanes then held their nerve with the ball with a very even performance to defend the total on a superb batting surface.Player of the seasonEllis was outstanding in his first BBL season becoming their go-to bowler, consistently bowling the four toughest overs of the innings, overs 4, 6, 18, and 20. He was able to take 12 wickets at an economy rate of 7.94, which is outstanding in what are traditionally the highest-scoring overs of any T20 innings. His mix of yorkers at close to 140kph and slower balls made him exceptionally hard to hit and his execution got better and better through the tournament. He closed out the game against the Melbourne Renegades defending 11 off the last over against Beau Webster and Dan Christian. He then bowled one of the spells of the tournament in the Eliminator against Sydney Thunder taking 1 for 18 from four overs when the rest of the Hurricanes bowlers went at more than 9.75 per over.Key stat (Gaurav Sundararaman)The Hurricanes were heavily dependent on Wade and Short. Both of them were not available through the tournament and that showed in their performances. Last year Wade and Short carried them to the semis while this year they did not have that luxury. The Hurricanes averaged 17.87 for positions 3 to 11 – the lowest in the tournament .

The grand final is expected to be one of the seminal events in the history of sport in Australia, and of women’s sport around the globe

The Preview by Daniel Brettig07-Mar-20201:24

How India made it to their maiden T20 World Cup final

Big Picture

Tournament organisers have been handed their dream final, between the world’s No. 1 team and hosts Australia, and the world’s mightiest and most populous cricket nation, India. An enormous crowd is expected at the MCG, with the ICC releasing extra standing room tickets on Saturday to cope with demand. With Katy Perry performing either side of a contest on International Women’s Day, it shapes as one of the seminal events in the history of sport in Australia, and of women’s sport around the globe.But what about the cricket? Australia, grappling with tournament favouritism and a pair of ruinous injuries to Tayla Vlaeminck before the event and Ellyse Perry in the middle of it, have had the rockiest possible road to the final. They have not played their best cricket, but instead shown forbearance, determination and big-match temperament to forge through what have effectively been four successive elimination matches after they lost the opening game of the tournament to India.In Meg Lanning, they have a captain and top-order bat of the highest possible quality, while in the field they have shown discipline and athleticism to defend middling targets against New Zealand and South Africa. Fatigue, both physical and mental, will be an obstacle.India, meanwhile, have more or less ridden the wave they caught in defeating Australia at the Sydney Showgrounds on opening night, neither beaten nor particularly troubled at any point in their next three group matches, then enjoying the benefit of a free pass to the final over England due to their higher better qualifying position. Shafali Verma has been the tournament’s undisputed batting star, consistently rocketing her team to rapid starts, while Harmanpreet Kaur has marshalled her spin bowlers and the mediums of Shikha Pandey adroitly.ALSO READ: How Australia and India made their way to the MCG finalIf there are any question marks over India, they are matters of belief, having never played in a T20 World Cup final before, let alone won one, and also sharpness: in a tightly scheduled tournament, their draw and the Sydney rain has meant that they have not played a match in more than a week. Australia, in the meantime, have played twice.

Form guide

Australia WWWWL (completed matches, most recent first)
India WWWWL

In the spotlight

Against South Africa, Jess Jonassen essentially took up the bowling role left vacant by Perry’s torn hamstring, sharing the new ball with Megan Schutt in the powerplay and then bowling at the death as Laura Wolvaardt threatened to perform a middle-order miracle for her side. It was Jonassen, too, who was the decisive force against India in the final of the triangular series that preceded the Cup proper, plucking five wickets in quick succession to deliver the Australians a narrow victory. How Jonassen fares in concert with the other spin bowlers at Lanning’s disposal will go a long way towards deciding the outcome.Shafali Verma gets ready to take strike•Getty Images

Scores of 29, 39, 46 and 47, all made at whip-crack pace, have made Shafali Verma the most feared top order bat in the tournament, capable of either setting up a big first innings or supercharging any pursuit of a target. Her danger to Australia is enhanced by the lack of any top pace or bounce bowlers to challenge Verma on the back foot, meaning that Lanning will be relying heavily on the likes of Schutt and Jonassen to nail their lines and lengths. The only thing Verma is yet to achieve in this event is a truly major score, leaving India to hope that the biggest innings will arrive on the biggest day.

Team news

Australia will be tempted to stick with the same formula that saw them through against South Africa, although Molly Strano’s offspin is a worthwhile option given India’s left-handers, and she did play in the opening match of the tournament. Georgia Wareham would be the bowler most likely to make way.Australia (possible): 1 Beth Mooney 2 Alyssa Healy (wk) 3 Meg Lanning (capt) 4 Ashleigh Gardner 5 Rachael Haynes 6 Jess Jonassen 7 Nicola Carey 8 Delissa Kimmince, 9 Georgia Wareham/Molly Strano 10 Sophie Molineux 11 Megan SchuttIndia have a very settled line-up after their smooth progression through the group stage and semi-final walkover against England.India (probable): 1 Shafali Verma 2 Smriti Mandhana 3 Jemimah Rodrigues 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt) 5 Deepti Sharma 6 Veda Krishnamurthy 7 Taniya Bhatiya (wk) 8 Shikha Pandey 9 Radha Yadav 10 Poonam Yadav 11 Rajeshwari GayakwadALSO READ: Factors that can influence the T20 World Cup final

Pitch and conditions

Melbourne’s forecast is mercifully fine for the final after Sydney’s weather travails knocked out England and nearly did likewise for Australia. The pitch itself should be hard and flat, although the ground itself has not hosted any cricket since Australia A’s meeting with England Lions more than two weeks ago.

Stats and trivia

• This would be India’s first-ever T20 World Cup final appearance
• The MCG has hosted one women’s World Cup final previously, the decider of the 1988 ODI tournament, won by Australia over England in front of a crowd of about 3,000 spectators
• Australia won all of the first seven T20I encounters between the teams, but India have won six of the past 12 and three of the past five.

Quotes

“This build-up to the game is something I’ve not experienced before and I’m quite glad that the final’s here tomorrow and we can say we’re involved in it. I always dreamed of being involved in this game, when I saw it was the MCG and they were hoping for a big crowd I just wanted to be involved.”
“We are going to have 90,000 in the stadium and it’s a great feeling. We just need to enjoy the moment because it’s a big moment for all of us.”

Foxes players train at Grace Road in preparation for county season start on August 1

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jul-2020Leicestershire’s players have been able to resume training at Grace Road despite a second lockdown in the city of Leicester.The club’s first-team players came off furlough on Wednesday to prepare for the return of county cricket next month amid Leicester’s period in lockdown being extended by at least two-weeks after a surge of Covid-19 cases in the area.While much of the UK is preparing for a further easing of restrictions this weekend, Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC that Leicester had seen “10 percent of all positive cases in the country over the past week”, prompting the extended lockdown there.The club confirmed that players were able to train in individual one-hour time slots with a coach at the Fischer County Ground following consultation with Leicester City Council and the ECB.”The Fischer County Ground has been extensively cleaned with the very latest regulations and procedures put in place to ensure the safety of players and staff whilst at the ground,” the statement said. “The Fischer County Ground will remain closed to the public and will only allow for a limited number of personnel to be on-site at any time.”Following the first day of training, head coach Paul Nixon said his players had “kept themselves superbly fit” over a difficult past few months at home.”We are all delighted to be able to return to cricket training to push the players’ skills back up to the elite standard level and prepare for a return to cricket on August 1,” Nixon said. “Our squad has technically, physically, and emotionally strengthened since last season.”I’d like to also say that the players, coaches and staff at our great club have all been outstanding through a very difficult time. I’d like to also thank the members and fans for continuing to support us during this time as well.”The delayed 2020 county season is due to begin on August 1, with details of the formats and fixture list to be revealed by the ECB in the coming weeks.Sean Jarvis, who started his role as the club’s new CEO on June 24, told ESPNcricinfo on Tuesday that Leicestershire would be happy to “go with the consensus” when the counties decide on which formats to play in the truncanted season, however their own preference would be for white-ball cricket.”In terms of expense and logistics, we would probably prefer a 50-over competition to start the season followed by a T20 Blast,” Jarvis said. “That way we could minimise hotels stays. But if the consensus is we start the season with a first-class competition, we are prepared for that, too.”Either way, Leicestershire will be keen to welcome spectators to their Grace Road home if T20 cricket resumes, as planned, at the end of August. The club has significant financial issues and would welcome the cash-flow such ticket sales could generate.

ICC anti-corruption officer Steve Richardson wants the Indian government to criminalise corruption in sport

Nagraj Gollapudi24-Jun-2020Making match-fixing a criminal offence will be a “game-changer” and the “single-most-effective thing” for sport in India. That is the strong belief of Steve Richardson, the coordinator of investigations at the ICC’s anti-corruption unit (ACU). Ajit Singh, the head of the BCCI’s ACU, concurs with that viewpoint, adding that India also needs a “very strong law” against betting, which is believes is the source of corruption in cricket in India.With India scheduled to host two global marquee men’s events in the next three years – the 2021 T20 World Cup followed by the ODI World Cup in 2023 – Richardson urged the Indian government to consider creating a match-fixing law for sport like its neighbour Sri Lanka.In 2019 Sri Lanka became the first major cricket-playing country in South Asia to criminalise match-fixing with punishments including a 10-year prison sentence. The ICC ACU had helped the then Sri Lanka government to draft the legislation in the wake of extensive investigations that found several Lankan cricketers including former captain Sanath Jayasuriya guilty of breaching the corruption code.”India has got two ICC global events coming up: the T20 World Cup [in 2021] and the World Cup in 2023,” Richardson said. “At the moment with no legislation in place, we’ll have good relations with Indian police, but they are operating with one hand tied behind their back. We will do everything we can to disrupt the corruptors. And we do, we make life very, very difficult for them as far and as much as we can to stop them from operating freely.”But the legislation would be a game-changer in India. We have currently just under 50 investigations. The majority of those have links back to corruptors in India. So it would be the single-most-effective thing to happen in terms of protecting sport if India introduces match-fixing legislation.”Both Richardson and Singh were participating in a panel discussion on the subject of ‘Does India need a match-fixing legislation?’ as part of the Sports Law & Policy Symposium held on June 20. The rest of the panel comprised Supreme Court lawyer Rebecca John, who represented Sreesanth in the IPL spot-fixing case, senior journalist Pradeep Magazine, and Suhrith Parthasarthy, a lawyer in the Madras High Court.More than the players, Richardson stressed the law would deter the corruptors, who he said were right now freely moving around. “I could actually deliver to the Indian police or the Indian government now at least eight names of people who are what I would term serial offenders, constantly approaching players to try and get them to fix matches,” Richardson said. “At the moment with the lack of legislative framework in India it is very limited what the police can do, and to that extent they have my great sympathy because they try as professionally and hard as they can to make the existing legislation work, but the reality is it wasn’t framed with sports corruption in mind.”So the reason that there is an imperative for legislation specific to match-fixing – yes, it is about the players, but more importantly it is about those outside the sport who actually corrupt the players and are organising and pulling the strings of these networks. Those are the people I would like to see dealt with under match-fixing law.”Mohammad Amir, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif were prosecuted under the 1906 Prevention of Corruption Act•Getty Images

To support his stance, Richardson provided the example of the Bribery Act in the UK, which was used to prosecute former Pakistan batsman Nasir Jamshed, who pleaded guilty to charges of bribery in the PSL. Jamshed was handed a 17-month sentence in February by a Manchester court. In 2010, the Pakistan trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were prosecuted under the 1906 Prevention of Corruption Act which was repealed by the Bribery Act.”I see this from a slightly different perspective inasmuch as I do not see the players as the main problem when it comes to match-fixing,” Richardon said. “The players are the final link in the chain who actually would go out on to the pitch and perform any act if they had agreed to do so. The problem that I see is further upstream and it’s in the people who are organising the corruption, people who are paying the players the money, and most of those sit outside of the sport.”‘No adequate law to cover match-fixing’As far Singh was concerned, he said the BCCI’s ACU could do “little” as far as the “non-participants” were concerned. But Singh, a former Indian Police Service officer, who served as DGP Rajasthan before taking charge at the BCCI in 2018, agreed that there had been “no adequate law to cover match-fixing”, which both the federal government as well as the courts have recognised previously.In 2013, the then Indian government even presented a draft bill for the prevention of sporting fraud, but it has not been acted on subsequently. The draft bill covers the definition of sporting fraud, the perpetrators, and the punishment – which can extend to five years of imprisonment, a fine of INR 10 lakh or five times the benefit derived from the sporting fraud.In 2016, the RM Lodha Committee, which drew up the framework that paved way for the structural reform of the BCCI, told the Supreme Court that the Law Commission of India (LCI) should look into criminalising match-fixing in sport. Two years later, the LCI agreed that match-fixing of any kind in sport, including cricket, should be a criminal offence carrying significant punishment. Calling gambling and betting two sides of the same coin, the LCI also recommended to the Indian government that it consider regulating betting and gambling activities as against imposing complete prohibition.”So definitely there is a requirement for a law which criminalises match-fixing,” Singh said. According to Singh, the roots of match-fixing lie in betting, which he described as a “malaise” in India.”Just to make windfall gains illegally in an illegal way through betting they [corruptors] approach the participants – it could be a player, it could be a curator, it could be a match official, whoever. And the amounts of the money involved are unimaginable.”Betting law – ‘totally archaic and the punishments are laughable’Singh said unverified accounts indicate annual turnover from betting in India is in the range of INR 30-40,000 crores. Singh pointed out that the corrupters were not just operating in international sport, but were also busy influencing players and matches in domestic cricket with some even posing as “godfathers” to young playersSingh said the BCCI’s ACU had used data agencies like Sportradar to examine the extent of betting in some T20 matches in Indian domestic cricket. “It’s not the IPL, but it’s the state leagues. It (betting) comes to the tune of maybe [up to 20 million] euros or pounds. So the amount of betting even in small matches is so much that the temptation to fall prey to the demands or requests of these people is very high. And it is more so with people who don’t see much of a future for themselves.”Cricket is played in rural areas and mofussil towns and there are certain godfathers have come to finance them. They see a promising player, finance the player, become his patron, and ultimately what happens is when he is at a level where his games are televised, where he has made it to a certain league, then they extract the pound of flesh. So it needs to be curbed heavily, both at the match-fixing and betting level.”As it happens betting is illegal in India, but Singh pointed out it was governed by a law that was “laughable” in its current form. The law is the 1867 Public Gambling Act. Those breaching it barely blink an eye, Singh said, with only a cursory monetary penalty to pay. “We need to make a very strong law against betting. Right now the law that exists is totally archaic and the punishments in it are laughable. You impose a fine of INR 200 or 500 and that’s the end of it.”Both John and Richardson agreed that the Gambling Act ought to be replaced as soon as possible. “Its quite an anomaly that you can bet INR 500 on the outcome of a match for a side to win/lose in India and that would be illegal,” Richardson said. “However, if you offer USD 30,000 to a player to underperform in that match then there is nothing illegal in that.”Richardson pointed out that betting and corruption should been seen as separate only because betting was legal in many countries. “We have to be very, very clear here that betting itself is not corruption. So what is corruption is people who are trying to get to players to corrupt them in order to make money from betting.”Singh said part of the proposed law against sports corruption should comprise a “specialised” investigating agency, “which keeps a proper database, which can join the dots, which when it sees an alert raised on its screen so it could investigate. Also the law is to facilitate better investigation and better appreciation of what evidence can be collected and what evidence is available.”

The tournament is scheduled to begin on October 17 with the final on November 29

Andrew McGlashan15-Jul-2020The WBBL will feature a three-week hub in Sydney and won’t be played in Melbourne until late November as the tournament builds in contingencies to deal with the ongoing challenges posed by Covid-19.The sixth season of the tournament is scheduled to begin on the weekend of October 17 and 18 at Allan Border Field in Brisbane and in Perth before a weekend of matches in Adelaide and Tasmania ahead of the lengthy stint in Sydney which begins on October 28 and lasts through to November 15. The venues in Sydney will be Blacktown International Sports Park, Hurstville Oval and North Sydney Oval.Melbourne is then set to host the last period of group matches from November 19-22 ahead of the finals which will be played November 27-29. Melbourne is going through its second Covid-19 lockdown following a spike in cases, with the restrictions currently set to last until at least August 19, while there has also been an increase in cases in New South Wales.”The League is pleased to have delivered a fixture that includes matches in each club’s home market while also reducing the overall travel burden on clubs,” Alistair Dobson, the head of Big Bash Leagues, said. “By focusing parts of the competition in a central location (Sydney), it also provides optionality should the COVID-19 situation affect the flow of the season and we remain vigilant in all aspects of our planning to provide a safe environment for players and staff.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“As with all sporting competitions around the world, we must remain vigilant and agile in responding to the Covid-19 situation as it develops and we will continue to work with all relevant federal and state government agencies, biosecurity experts, venues, clubs, players, broadcast partners and our own internal teams to ensure a safe and successful summer.”There will be an increase in televised matches from the tournament, 26 in total, three more than last season with the remaining 33 games available via streaming.”Our clubs should be commended for their determination and commitment to delivering a full 59-game season for the rebel WBBL06,” Dobson said, “along with the commitment shown to the WBBL from our broadcast partners Seven and Foxtel to bring more of the WBBL action live to TV screens across the country than any of the previous five seasons of the competition.”The Brisbane Heat will be aiming to make it a hat-trick of titles in the 2020-21 season.

Wants to “become a better option for the skipper in the middle overs” with the ball

Andrew McGlashan19-Aug-2020Marnus Labuschagne hasn’t been idling away his time since the Covid-19 enforced hiatus in cricket began, instead focusing on how he can improve on what was a spectacular 2019-2020 season.From the moment he was parachuted into the second Ashes Test at Lord’s as Steven Smith’s concussion substitute, Labuschagne barely put a foot wrong, piling up 1249 Test runs at 83.26. That included a home summer against Pakistan and New Zealand which brought four centuries, the last of which was a career-best 215 at the SCG.Shortly before sport came to a grinding halt, Labuschagne earned his first call-up to the ODI side and, unsurprisingly, tasted early success with an emotional maiden century against South Africa in front of extended family in Potchefstroom. His last innings before lockdown was another half-century against New Zealand in Sydney.It will probably be in the ODI format where he resumes action unless he earns a first call-up to the T20I side for the initial part of the England series. While he has been working on all areas of his game, it is elements of one-day cricket where he is eyeing strides, notably his legspin and being able to hit strongly late in an innings.”It doesn’t matter what the format is; you want to get better,” he told reporters in Brisbane. “There are some areas in one-day cricket where I’m continuing to develop: my bowling and making sure I get a bit more consistent, so I become a better option for the skipper in the middle overs and, with my batting at the death – I want to keep working on that. So it’s been nice to have five months to be able to work on those skills, where if I’d been playing cricket you might not have had the opportunity. It’s all about using the time wisely. Hopefully that’s the way it comes across.”Labuschagne, who under normal circumstances would have been in county cricket for Glamorgan during the English season, is the only Queensland player in the 21-man squad for the England tour. He has been able to take advantage of more favourable circumstances in the state to prepare, both from the situation of fewer Covid-19 restrictions and the warm winter climate that allows for outdoor training and practice which included an inter-squad game to the rules of the Hundred.”There have been so many areas that I’ve found I can keep working on in the nets or at home, finding cricket in different ways,” he said. “The lack of games is definitely something I’ve missed but there’s been plenty of other areas and we’ve been lucky here that we’ve been able to train outdoors on turf.”That’s what this pre-season has been about, making sure I prepare, improving those areas I needed to to take my game to the next level. I had a really good summer but you want to be better than that, I want to go one better, so making sure you are using this time wisely.”

Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney rampant in chase after spinners restrict New Zealand

Daniel Brettig27-Sep-2020A combined 0 for 43 for Jess Jonassen and Megan Schutt, while Ellyse Perry continued her rehabilitation at the boundary’s edge, merely allowed Australia to showcase their formidable bowling depth as New Zealand were outclassed for the second time in as many days to surrender the T20I series at Allan Border Field.Delissa Kimmince, Georgia Wareham and Sophie Molineux all shone in exploiting the vagaries of a slow and at times sharply spinning surface in Brisbane to round up the visitors for 128, before Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney added a rapid 51 to leave a comfortable equation for Rachael Haynes and Meg Lanning to complete.New Zealand were again on the wrong end of a couple of marginal decisions, Amy Satterthwaite given out stumped by a millimetre when she was just getting into a position to hurt Australia, but overall the gulf between the sides was enormous. Australia have now won 10 bilateral T20I series in succession against all comers, and will be particularly gratified to have closed this one out without major contributions from their three most seasoned bowlers.Spinning into early troubleA used surface and the prospect of assistance for slow bowlers had Sophie Devine showing little hesitation in batting first upon winning the toss. Lanning responded in kind by giving Jonassen the first over, from which she conceded a frugal five. But after Schutt went for 11 in the second, Lanning adjusted by loading up on spin and bringing Molineux, Ash Garnder and then Wareham all into the attack.Molineux dropped on the ideal length quickly enough to coax a return catch from Devine with her very first ball, and with her sixth she turned one a vast distance to beat Maddie Green. It was the sort of over to swing momentum, and in the next over Green was run out trying to force a second run – replays showing she had failed to ground her bat over the line in a desperate dive for safety. So from a promising first couple of overs, New Zealand were already starting to flounder.Line calls to Australia againFor the second time in as many days, the Australians were given a good deal of assistance by the close calls going their way. First, Satterthwaite was given out stumped off the bowling of Wareham, just as she appeared to be in a position to accelerate. There were millimetres in the question of whether or not Satterthwaite had grounded her foot back over the crease line, and a deliberation time of nearly five minutes for third umpire Donavan Koch suggested more than enough doubt to rule in New Zealand’s favour. Nevertheless, the red light eventually flashed.Later, as Wareham and Molineux had spun their web further, Lauren Down trying to swing a ball away to leg and being given out after a jumble of ball, pads and possibly bat or glove. Neither Wareham nor Healy – who appeared more interested in the stumping – appealed with any conviction, but the finger was once again raised. In all, spin combined for figures of 5 for 74 from 13 overs, backed up nicely by the seam variations of Kimmince and Nicola Carey.Powerplayers set the paceAt best, New Zealand needed a repeat of their tidy early overs in game one if they were to pressure the Australians into a scenario from where the visitors could win. Instead, Healy and Mooney recognised the chance to take the initiative and were into stride almost before Devine or her bowlers could do much at all about it. Mooney, out cheaply on Saturday, found a couple of sweetly timed drives against the new ball, before Healy launched herself at Suzie Bates to crunch 22 from a single over.ALSO SEE: Australia women v New Zealand women live score 27 September 2020These blows meant that the hosts were able to march past 50 in the space of 4.1 overs, meaning that whatever happened next, the run rate was never likely to be an issue. So when Healy and Mooney both fell relatively soon after the milestone was passed, the seasoned pair of Lanning and Haynes had plenty of time to get themselves set before relaunching.Haynes, Lanning mop up operationSixty-five were required from 75 balls when Haynes joined Lanning, meaning that a calm union would likely be more than enough. Australia’s Nos. 3 and 4 were duly able to absorb some tight bowling before gradually accelerating, doing so in a manner that allowed the target to be reeled in with an ample 20 balls to spare.In two days, each member of the Australian top five has contributed at least one score of note, making for a truly daunting combination against New Zealand or indeed any opponent. All this with Perry watching from the sidelines – there appears absolutely no need to rush her back from the hamstring injury that had compelled Australia to so memorably win the T20 World Cup without her earlier this year.

“If he gets hot tonight, who knows what could happen in the coming games if we’re to progress” – Brendon McCullum

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Nov-2020Andre Russell remains optimistic that he will be fit to bowl in the IPL playoffs should the Kolkata Knight Riders make it there, after returning from a “grade two, grade three” hamstring tear in two weeks to hit 25 off 11 balls in a crucial win against the Rajasthan Royals.Russell had missed the Knight Riders’ last four games because of the injury, which he said should have kept him out for up to eight weeks, but returned to play his part in a 60-run victory, which left his side with a shot to reach the playoffs.”I have a grade two, grade three hamstring tear and I’m just privileged to actually be back running around,” Russell told Star Sports, the official broadcaster. “When I looked at the scan, it was very ugly: that type of result, normally, would be six to eight weeks out.”But with my therapist, the KKR physio and doctor and everyone rallying around me, doing all the rehab and strengthening, I’m happy to be back tonight.”Brendon McCullum, the Knight Riders’ head coach, said in a pitchside interview during the first innings of the Sunday game that Russell was “nowhere near” fully fit, but he was selected despite the fact that he was unable to bowl because of how important the game was.”With the danger that he possesses and the presence that he’s got, in a must-win game, he’s a big player for us,” McCullum said. “He was desperate to get out there: he’s nowhere near 100% fit, but if he gets hot for half an hour then we’re going to post a really big score. Your best players, you try to get [them] out there to win you the most important games.”He is a proven, world-class international T20 player. By his own admission, he hasn’t set the tournament on fire this season, but look: if he gets hot tonight, then who knows what could happen in the coming games if we’re to progress?”While Russell, the IPL’s most valuable player in 2019, has made only 117 runs in nine innings this season, he has chipped in with some important contributions with the ball – in particular at the death, where his yorkers have proved particularly useful. Russell said that he had bowled a few “walk up and bowl” deliveries before Sunday night’s match, but was reluctant to aggravate the injury.”It felt good [before the game] but sometimes with hamstring injuries – I’ve had them a few times now – when it’s feeling good, that’s when it’s healing, and I don’t really want to disturb the healing process,” he said. “We have a good bowling thing going on right now. I think with my yorkers at the back end, the team will definitely benefit from that, but for now, I’m just going to keep taking it one day at a time.”

“I suppose when you look at the gap between Test cricket that we’ve had, that’s a nice thing”

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Dec-2020Kane Williamson recorded his highest Test score of 251 on the second day of the first Test against West Indies, but said that it hadn’t been easy getting there. The bowlers were “making life really difficult” for him, he said after the day’s play, and “trying to stick to my plans for long periods of time” did the trick for him.”Certainly, West Indies’ bowlers kept coming back and bowling heavy into the surface and making life really difficult,” Williamson said at a press interaction. “We couldn’t get much momentum with the bat, but we managed to fight our way through some of those tough periods, which was really pleasing. I suppose when you look at the gap between Test cricket that we’ve had, that’s a nice thing.”

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The gap Williamson referred to was as huge as nine months. New Zealand’s last Test, against India in Christchurch, had ended on March 2 before Covid-19 ensured a long hiatus. That, plus shifting from T20s – he was last in action for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL – to Tests, and the fact that the West Indies bowlers got decent movement couldn’t have been easy to deal with. But the New Zealand captain made it work.Kane Williamson moved past Ross Taylor as the highest-run scorer in Tests at Seddon Park•ESPNcricinfo

“I suppose when it’s looking like that [green pitch], you are going to expect some movement – and there was [movement] – and you can’t control the surface,” Williamson said. “For me, it was just trying to stick to my plans for long periods of time and hope that when you get good balls, you might miss them or they might perhaps go down rather than to the slips.”I think that was sort of the large part of that [innings] and towards the end of my innings, [I was] playing and missing a little bit. There was a little bit [of movement] there, but the surface was certainly getting a bit better [to bat on] coming into today. But I was just trying to stay disciplined and stick to my plan for as long as I could.”ALSO READ: Stats – Williamson doubles his ten-hour tallyOne of the particularly impressive aspects of Williamson’s innings was how well he executed the pull shot, which he put down to dealing well with “steep bounce and a really thick layer of grass [on the pitch]”.”And also with the movement that was there, I still felt that the ball that brings the pads, the stumps and the slip cordon [into play] is still perhaps the most dangerous,” he said. “So [I was] trying to negate that a little bit. It was nice to build partnerships throughout, especially on a surface like that [where] it was quite difficult to start because of the steep nature of the bounce and with the little bit of movement that was there.”The job with the bat has been done, with 519 for 7 declared on the board, and now it’s over to the bowlers from New Zealand’s point of view. By the end of the second day, West Indies had reached 49 without loss with Kraigg Brathwaite and John Campbell in the middle.”The heavy roller went on it and flattened the grass a little bit more, but I think there’s still enough bounce there and swing as well if we can make sure we build pressure,” Williamson said. “I think there’s enough there, but we know West Indies have come off some Test cricket and they’ve got some number of experienced batters in their side. So it’s not going to easy, but it’s important we focus on what we can control and make sure we bring a lot of energy coming into tomorrow.”