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Australia are hopeful that key fast bowler Mitchell Starc will be fit for the start of the home summer despite suffering a deep laceration to his left shin during a training mishap on Thursday

Brydon Coverdale15-Sep-2016Australia are hopeful that key fast bowler Mitchell Starc will be fit for the start of the home summer despite suffering a deep laceration to his left shin during a training mishap on Thursday. Starc collided with some training equipment during Australia’s practice session at Hurstville Oval in Sydney on Thursday and was taken by ambulance to St George Hospital, where he underwent surgery and received approximately 30 stitches.He will remain in hospital for the next few days and will use an extension brace in the coming weeks until his stitches are removed. However, Cricket Australia’s chief medical officer, Dr John Orchard, who was at the ground and accompanied Starc to hospital, said that unless Starc suffered any complications he would hopefully remain on track to play Australia’s first Test of the summer.Australia’s selectors had already announced that Starc would be rested from the ODI tour of South Africa, which starts later this month, in an effort to ensure he was fresh for the home Tests against South Africa and Pakistan. The first Test, against South Africa at the WACA, is still seven weeks away.”Mitchell was taken to St George hospital in an ambulance this afternoon suffering a deep laceration to his left shin after colliding with some training equipment,” Dr Orchard said. “Fortunately there were no bone fractures or tendon damage to his leg and he underwent surgery this afternoon to clean the wound and received approximately 30 stitches.”He will remain in hospital for the next few days to minimise movement to his leg and will use an extension brace for the next two to three weeks until his stitches are removed. At this stage, barring any complications, we are hopeful he is on track to play at the start of the Australian summer.”

Kane Williamson’s sixth straight 50-plus score in ODIs lifted New Zealand to 273 for 6, but legspinner Graeme Cremer and offspinner John Nyumbu took 5 for 96 between them to prevent the visitors from making so much more

The Report by Arun Venugopal07-Aug-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
1:38

Williamson’s 90 leads NZ to series win

New Zealand’s total of 273 appeared to be inadequate on a few occasions, particularly when Hamilton Masakadza was raining powerful blows, but the visitors eventually whipped up sufficient bowling ammo to snuff out Zimbabwe’s challenge and win their first ODI series after the World Cup. Sean Williams, with 63 off 62, took the game deep but once he holed out to deep midwicket in the 46th over, Zimbabwe were effectively down for the count.After captain Kane Williamson had made 90 off 109 balls – his sixth consecutive fifty-plus score – to guide New Zealand’s innings, Zimbabwe’s fairly placid chase was scuppered by wickets at inopportune moments. It was Mitchell McClenaghan, who finished with three wickets, who triggered the first slide by dismissing Chamu Chibhabha after the batsman put on 97 runs for the opening wicket along with Masakadza.Masakadza’s dismissal in the next over set Zimbabwe back further. The nature of his exit would particularly rankle the opener: he deposited a long hop from Williamson straight into deep midwicket’s palms. Zimbabwe continued to lose their wickets softly, as captain Elton Chigumbura drove legspinner Ish Sodhi straight to covers.The home side’s hopes lifted again when Williams and Craig Ervine put on 45 runs for the fourth wicket. But, Ervine’s dismissal in the 33rd over when he backed up too far only for bowler Ben Wheeler to effect a direct hit sent Zimbabwe towards a freefall. Apart from some persistent hustling from McClenaghan and Wheeler, the spinners, Nathan McCullum and Sodhi, played a part in suffocating Zimbabwe.After being inserted in the morning, New Zealand betrayed caution in the beginning – the tempo not dissimilar to that in the first ODI which was played on the same surface – rather than any attempt at smash-mouth stuff. Their first fifty runs, in fact, came off 76 balls – their second slowest in ODIs against Zimbabwe since 2001.Guptill, who played out a maiden in the first over, ensured he accounted for Tinashe Panyangara’s difficult angles. Panyangara, like he has often done this series, bowled from wide of the crease, and was either getting the ball to stay the course or shape away. The breakthrough for Zimbabwe, however, came through offspinner John Nyumbu, playing his first game of the series, in the 10th over.Williamson, though, came in and weaved substantial partnerships with Martin Guptill and Grant Elliott. Williamson had spoken at the toss about the difficulty of identifying a “good total”, and he ensured nothing was left to chance. Between the 11th and 41st overs, Williamson’s presence was the only constant even as the way he batted kept changing over the course of the innings.During the early part of his 56-run association with Guptill, Williamson played a risk-averse game, not giving in to twitchy urges to score. But even then, he did not miss out on bashing loose deliveries, like in the 17th over when he carted Chibhabha over wide long on for six, and then, after three dot balls, slapped a back-foot punch uppishly between long off and sweeper cover.Williamson was equally efficient against the spinners, using his feet to drill Nyumbu on the on side whenever the ball was tossed up. On other occasions, he shuffled across off stump to get inside the line of Nyumbu’s deliveries, most of which turned appreciably from outside off to middle or leg. Williamson, on 53, also enjoyed a reprieve in the 26th over when Regis Chakabva missed a stumping off Sikandar Raza’s bowling. It was at this point that Williamson was cranking up his scoring rate.Legspinner Graeme Cremer, though, kept Williamson and Guptill guessing by melding slow flight with sharp turn. Guptill was excised by one such delivery that took his edge and was pouched at slip. Soon after, Colin Munro played across the line only for the leg-break to fizz through a big bat-pad gap.Williamson, along with Grant Elliott, then added 70 runs in 13.1 overs to set New Zealand up for a strong finish, but their dismissals in successive overs nearly derailed the visitors. While Elliott was out sweeping to Cremer, his leading edge going only as far as short fine leg, Williamson was subdued in the 90s for the fourth time in his last six innings at long on where Ervine showed incredible presence of mind. Cremer and Nyumbu finished with 5 for 96 between them and stunted the visitors’ progress in the middle stages.New Zealand’s scoring, however, received a leg-up through some late hitting from James Neesham, replacing an injured Ross Taylor in the XI, and Nathan McCullum, who raised 50 runs in 4.1 overs for an unbroken seventh-wicket stand. They pushed the visitors’ score beyond 260, as New Zealand muscled 54 runs in the last five overs. Those strikes proved decisive in the end.

Bangladesh batsmen Junaid Siddique and Nazimuddin have been dropped from the preliminary squad of 25 for the forthcoming tour of Sri Lanka

Mohammad Isam18-Feb-2013Bangladesh batsmen Junaid Siddique and Nazimuddin, who opened in a Test each against West Indies and scored 31 runs together, have been dropped from the preliminary squad of 25 for the forthcoming tour of Sri Lanka. A few recent performers like Marshall Ayub and Shamsur Rahman were named in the squad.Bangladesh chief selector Akram Khan doesn’t anticipate making too many changes to the Test side, but he admitted to the scarce choices for opening batsmen and pace bowlers.”We don’t have too many options [for the openers], and not many have done well in the recent past,” Akram said. “We are also on a blind spot with pace bowling, unfortunately. We cannot consider them by what we have seen of them so far. It is very difficult to ascertain a fast bowler’s performance by just seeing four overs in the BPL.”Tamim Iqbal hasn’t had a regular opening partner in Tests for the last two years. Nazimuddin and Imrul Kayes have played three Tests each while Junaid played just one against West Indies earlier this season. Anamul Haque could get a chance after playing all five ODIs against West Indies, in which he scored a century. The selectors have also kept Shamsur in the mix.

Shakib to tour SL after treatment for injury

Shakib Al Hasan will only be touring Sri Lanka after he has received treatment on a shin injury in Australia, said chief selector Akram Khan.
Shakib has been a regular with the Dhaka Gladiators in the BPL, though he was last week diagnosed with exertional compartment syndrome on his shin bone, a condition that can be caused by frequent running, which leads to pain and swelling.
There was concern about his availability for the Test series in Sri Lanka, and as a result the board has decided to send him to Australia and consult a specialist. He is likely to leave just after the BPL final where he will be appearing for the Gladiators on Tuesday.
“Shakib is going to Australia and based on the report, we will decide whether he will go to Sri Lanka or not,” Akram said. “The sort of player he is, we have to take two players to replace him. We have picked the 25-man squad keeping his situation in mind.”

Among the pace bowlers, Rubel Hossain’s new-ball partner could be any one out of Shafiul Islam, Abul Hasan, Shahadat Hossain, Nazmul Hossain and Rabiul Islam. Shafiul got back to international cricket recently after a lengthy injury break, while Abul and Shahadat got only a wicket between themselves in the Tests against West Indies.The Bangladesh middle order has been a settled one for quite a long time with Naeem Islam likely to continue at No. 4 followed by Shakib Al Hasan (pending recovery from shin injury), Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah and Nasir Hossain.As a result, Akram has all but ruled out any new faces and either one or two of Marshall, Anamul and Mominul Haque are strong cases for inclusion. Marshall has averaged 81.38 in ten first-class matches this season, scoring 1058 runs with four centuries including his highest score of 289 for Central Zone in the Bangladesh Cricket League.”We haven’t thought about new faces because Bangladesh have done well against West Indies recently. I don’t have too many options too, except for some competition among the left-arm spinners.”Marshall has been doing well and is in good form, so this is the right time to pick him. In case of [Anamul Haque] Bijoy and Mominul [Haque], we are keeping them in our mind but we have several players in a few positions,” Akram said.The Test squad is set to be named on either February 22 or 23 for the two-match series which will begin on March 8 in Galle.Bangladesh preliminary squad: Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), Mahmudullah, Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Nasir Hossain, Elias Sunny, Ziaur Rahman, Mashrafe Mortaza, Abul Hasan, Jahurul Islam, Shafiul Islam, Anamul Haque, Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain, Mominul Haque, Shahriar Nafees, Shahadat Hossain, Nazmul Hossain, Robiul Islam, Sohag Gazi, Naeem Islam, Enamul Haque jnr, Shamsur Rahman, Sabbir Rahman, Marshall Ayub.

The Zimbabwe batsmen gave a good account of themselves on the second day at Harry Barker Reserve, taking a 56-run lead

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jan-2012
ScorecardFile photo: Malcolm Waller and Regis Chakabva got good batting practice with half-centuries•AFP

The Zimbabwe batsmen gave a good account of themselves on the second day at Harry Barker Reserve, taking a 56-run lead. The tourists were carried by half-centuries by Tatenda Taibu, Malcolm Waller and Regis Chakabva, who remained unbeaten on 87 with the No.11 Ray Price for company.Resuming on 38, the Zimbabweans lost the early wicket of Tino Mawoyo for 26. There was further trouble for them as they lost Foster Mutizwa and Hamilton Masakadza in quick succession. At 55 for 3, Taibu and Waller weathered the storm with a stand of 119 for the fourth wicket. Neil Wagner, the left-arm fast bowler, removed them both, as well as Elton Chigumbura first ball to leave the tourists in need of another recovery at 186 for 6.Both Taibu and Waller spent valuable time at the crease, hitting 11 and eight fours respectively. The tail rallied around Chakabva as he went on the attack, hitting 12 fours and two sixes. Shingirai Masakadza put on 46 for the ninth wicket with Chakabva, before Price helped add 72, off 83 balls, for the final wicket to frustrate the hosts. Chakabva was slow to begin with but later dictated terms with his aggression.Wagner picked up three wickets but was a tad expensive, going at 4.52 runs per over. Andy McKay and Chris Martin picked up two wickets each. Daniel Vettori, however, bowlerd just six overs.

England were kept waiting for their moment of sweet release – an hour and 53 minutes in fact – until Chris Tremlett kicked a length ball off the inside edge and into the stumps of Australia’s No. 11, Michael Beer

Andrew Miller at the SCG07-Jan-2011England were kept waiting for their moment of sweet release – an hour and 53 minutes in fact – until Chris Tremlett kicked a length ball off the inside edge and into the stumps of Australia’s No. 11, Michael Beer. But far from being a frustration, their leisurely saunter to victory was an opportunity to soak in a day that will live with these players until they are buried as far into history as Douglas Jardine, Len Hutton, Ray Illingworth, and every other England cricketer who has played a part in winning an Ashes series in Australia.”It’s going to be a dressing room full of pride this afternoon,” said England’s victorious captain, Andrew Strauss. “And probably a bit of alcohol I would have thought.” Some six hours after the final wicket had fallen, Strauss was true to his word, as he and his unsteady team-mates staggered out to the precise spot where Beer had been bowled, and sat in a circle to crack open some stubbies and suck in that winning feeling.A crowd of 19,274 rolled through the turnstiles free of charge on the final day of the series, and some 17,000 of those were ecstatic England fans, parked down at third man at the Randwick End and rattling through a repertoire of Barmy Army songs – “Swann will tear you apart”, “That Mitchell Johnson …” – that are sure to appear in these players’ dreams, for better (and in many Australians’ cases for worse), for months and years to come.It was a day punctuated by showers, and maybe even by tears, as Paul Collingwood – a self-proclaimed “softie” – was given the honour of leading the players down the pavilion steps and onto the field for his final day as a Test cricketer. It was also punctuated by a handful of meaty blows, as Steven Smith took the opportunity to snaffle his first Ashes half-century, a futile gesture that used to be England’s stock-in-trade in situations such as this. But as each of England’s players in turn responded to their fans’ request for “a wave”, it was clear that this was no ordinary morning of Ashes cricket. Not for a generation has an Australian defeat been so inevitable.”It feels pretty special if I’m honest,” said Strauss. “Until an Ashes series is finally over you’ve got half an eye on what’s to come, so even in Melbourne we were still very conscious that we wanted to finish on a high and show people that we deserved to win this series. Now we’ve done that I think we can have a big sigh of relief and be very proud of what we’ve achieved, because not many sides have come out here and won, certainly not many that [have won] as emphatically as we did in the end.”England’s triumph has been staggeringly conclusive, not merely because of the sizes of their victories or the magnitude of their statistical achievements, but for the breadth and depth of the contributors along the way. Alastair Cook’s gargantuan tally of 766 runs in seven innings was the stand-out performance – maybe even of the decade, let alone the series – but as Michael Vaughan would testify, after racking up 633 in England’s 4-1 defeat eight years ago, it would have counted for nothing without support from the other end.It wasn’t just support, but solidarity that Cook received along the way, as England turned the statistical tables after their peculiar triumph in 2009, and outscored Australia by nine centuries to three. Their final innings of the series, 644, was their highest of all time in Australia, and only their third 600-plus total in Ashes cricket since the second world war – the second of which, 5 for 620 declared, came three Tests ago in Adelaide. With 513 at Melbourne and that unforgettable 1 for 517 in the second innings at the Gabba, England even outstripped the Wally Hammond-powered campaign of 1928-29 in passing 500 on an unprecedented four separate occasions.”It’s not often you get as many people in great form as we’ve had on this tour, but when you do it’s a pretty hard force to stop,” said Strauss. “You’ve seen what our side’s all about, it’s about discipline and patience and building pressure, and relying on performances from all 11 people. What happens over the course of a series – and we found in 2006-07 – that once one side gets on top and wins emphatically once or twice, then it’s very hard to come back at them. I think that’s maybe where we got to in this Test match, because we were as confident as I’ve ever seen an England team.”The bowling, in its own way, was every bit as remarkable. With the exception of the second innings at the Gabba, where England were limited to 26 overs on a surface better suited to the Timeless Test of 1928-29, they claimed every single Australian wicket bar the injured Ryan Harris at Melbourne, and did so with a repertoire of seam, spin, swing and thrift that few imagined could come to them so easily in conditions that were thought to be so alien.James Anderson is an unlikely name to bracket alongside Harold Larwood, Frank Tyson and John Snow – the out-and-out pacemen whose names are synonymous with the triumphs of 1932-33, 1954-55 and 1970-71. However, with 24 wickets at 26.04, and no more than four in any given innings, his claim to a place in that pantheon is immense. They said he would not be able to make the Kookaburra dance to his tune, and he demonstrated a mastery of every weapon a modern fast bowler could require; new-ball swing at Adelaide, conventional seam at Melbourne, and old-ball reverse at Sydney, as Australia’s batting crumbled for the final time on another blameless surface.More than anything, however, it was the frugality of England’s methods that pushed Australia to the brink. As Strauss admitted in the aftermath of the Melbourne win, the greatest lesson of the 2006-07 whitewash had been the power of suffocation – never more aptly demonstrated than at Adelaide in that fateful second Test, when England’s collapse was set in motion by a run-rate that never exceeded two an over.So England adopted the technique, and adapted it to their own purposes. Stuart Broad may have claimed just two wickets at 80.50 in the series before succumbing to his stomach injury, but he set the benchmark for attrition by conceding his runs at just 2.30 an over, a policy that was adopted with staggering success by Tim Bresnan when his own turn came to front up in the festive finale. But above all there was Anderson, whom Australians recall for a four-ball an over four years ago, diligently buzzing along the party line, and following the exhortation of his bowling coach David Saker, that a cuttable delivery was the work of the devil.”I certainly had a feeling after the last Ashes out here that the best way to compete out here is to strangle the opposition, especially Australia, I suppose,” said Strauss. “In order to do that you need very accurate bowlers, and fortunately very accurate bowlers turned up at the right time for us. We knew pretty much what we were going to get out of them. We’re very fortunate that those guys were able to deliver so the plan was able to work.”Little of what transpired, however, would have been possible without the holy ghost of England’s Ashes-winning trinity, a set of fielders who, as a unit, can scarcely have been bettered in the team’s entire Test history. Leading the line in that department – as he has done throughout his international career – was Paul Collingwood, whose nine catches were the most by any outfield player, and included the outstanding pluck of Ricky Ponting in the first innings at Perth. Meanwhile Jonathan Trott, a potential weak link, turned himself into a dead-eyed stalker at midwicket, from where he pinged down the stumps at Adelaide to run out Simon Katich without facing a ball, and set the standard for England’s “perfect” Test.”I think we have proved it is possible for English sides to win out here, and proved you don’t need a mystery spinner or a guy that bowls at 95mph to do it,” said Strauss. “You just need a lot of guys performing well and consistently. Australia will regenerate and come back strong, because that is the way Australian sport is, but I think we have overcome a barrier. But if we just turn up next time expecting to win we will get the treatment we have had for the last 24 years.”Whether Strauss returns in four years’ time remains to be seen – the likelihood is that, at the age of 37, he will already have passed the reins to his deputy, Alastair Cook, whose formidable performance on this trip ensures he will be treated with nothing but reverence when he next sets foot on these shores. But as was the case in 2009, the time for proper reflection will have to wait until he’s settled back in an armchair with his pipe and slippers,and no doubt replaying in his mind the images he accrued on a memorable final morning.”I think at the end of my career I will sit back and think it is one of the most special times in my career definitely,” he said. “But while I am captaining the side I am not doing my job properly if I am not looking forward to what is to come, and trying to get the guys to keep improving and going forward as a side. I can’t pat myself on the back too much at this stage and even if I did I don’t think my team-mates would let me.”

Dennis Amiss, the former England and Warwickshire batsman, has been formally retained as deputy chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Cricinfo staff13-Jan-2010Dennis Amiss, the former England and Warwickshire batsman, has been formally retained as deputy chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board. This will be Amiss’ third year in the position, for which he stood unopposed.”Dennis brings a wealth of cricketing knowledge and opinion to the boardroom table and is respected throughout the cricketing world,” said Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman. “He has also served the game as ECB chairman of the cricket committee as well as in his current position as deputy chairman.”Amiss, 66, scored 11 centuries in 50 Tests for England, and was also the scorer of England’s first ODI century.

“He’s pretty calm and measured when he speaks, but on the field, he’s got a bit of fight about him”

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jun-2025Shubman Gill’s leadership will combine the “intensity” of Virat Kohli and the “more laid-back” leadership of Rohit Sharma in his first series as India’s Test captain against England, according to Jos Buttler.Buttler played under Gill’s captaincy in the IPL this year, with his Gujarat Titans (GT) side qualifying for the playoffs and both men scoring more than 500 runs each in the campaign. Speaking on , his new podcast with Stuart Broad, Buttler said that Gill will be “his own man” while combining the best traits of his two predecessors.”He’s a really impressive player and an impressive young man,” Buttler said. “He’s pretty calm and measured when he speaks, but [it’s] interesting, I feel like on the field he’s got a bit of fight about him; a bit of intensity, quite passionate. I think he’ll be a mix of Kohli and Rohit.Related

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“Kohli [was] that sort of real aggressive [character], really transformed the Indian team, in your face, up for the contest. Rohit [was] a bit on the other side, a bit more laid back, very cool, calm, collected customer, but with that sort of fight. I feel like, from my time knowing Shubman so far, he’ll be a bit in the middle. He’s obviously learned from those two guys… but he’ll be very much his own man.”Buttler has spent more time in India than any other England player of his era, and said it is hard for English fans to comprehend the “stardom” of India’s best players. He predicted that one of Gill’s biggest challenges will be to ensure that he does not let the captaincy affect his batting – as happened with Buttler towards the end of his England’s white-ball captaincy.”He talked about compartmentalising batting and captaining; so when he’s batting he just wants to be a batter, and then he will try and work on his captaincy and try and separate the two roles,” Butler said. “When you’re doing such a big job as being captain of the Indian cricket team, he’ll have to try and do that well and have some good people supporting him.”I don’t think we can quite understand the level of interest and the stardom that these guys have. You see it around the IPL, you’re aware of it, but actually living that yourself… I think they say the Indian Test captain is like the third or fourth-most influential person in India, behind the Prime Minister etc. – so you really are put up on that pedestal.”It’s going to be a huge job for him. He’s obviously captained two seasons of IPL cricket, which is a big, pressurised job and he’s sort of the prince. Kohli is the king, Shubman is the prince: that’s the narrative that they spin out there, and I feel that he’s the coming man… Stepping into that No. 4, it’s big shoes, isn’t it? Coming behind Virat, and Sachin Tendulkar before that as well. That’s obviously a huge role.”India’s tour of England will begin with the first Test in Leeds from June 20.

Andre Russell concedes 24 from last five balls as tourists keep series alive in thrilling fashion

Alan Gardner16-Dec-2023Nicholas Pooran produced a T20I career-best as West Indies showcased their six-hitting chops once again in Grenada’s National Stadium. Phil Salt then did the same on the way to a maiden T20 hundred as England rediscovered their batting mojo. And at the end, an explosive assault from Harry Brook was the clincher, as England burgled the 21 runs required from final over to bring themselves kicking and screaming back into the series at 2-1 down with two to play.Brook finished unbeaten on 31 from seven balls, having taken Andre Russell for 4-6-6-2-6 to seal a record chase on the ground with a ball to spare. Salt was the man watching on from the other end, having himself hit nine sixes in 109 from 56 to set up England’s third-highest successful chase in T20Is. The final sixes count, after Brook’s ice-cool finish: West Indies 16-18 England.As in the second match, England opted to bowl first and managed to inflict early damage only for West Indies’ power to leave them bruised in the final analysis. Pooran weathered the loss of both openers in the first two overs and batted astutely through the gears to make 82 from 45 balls, with a series of muscular cameos – most notably Rovman Powell’s 39 off 21 – helping to raise a formidable Manhattan through the back end of the West Indies innings.Having limped home short of a target of 177 two days earlier, England found a spark of their own in a valiant attempt to keep the series alive. Salt and Jos Buttler, who made 51 from 34, put on a century stand as the runs flowed from the outset, only for West Indies – notably through the efforts of left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie – to keep a lid on the scoring at a crucial juncture. After Motie had finished his allocation, England were left staring down a requirement of 102 from the last seven overs.But Liam Livingstone helped add 70 from 34 for the third wicket, Salt bringing up his century from 51 balls moments after hitting Jason Holder for back-to-back sixes. Livingstone holed out but Brook signalled his intent by launching his first ball for six to leave England needing 31 from 12. Alzarri Joseph conceded 10 from the 19th, nudging the odds in Russell’s favour – only for Brook to leave West Indies’ talismanic allrounder flat out on the canvas after a delirious finale.Jos Buttler rediscovered his touch with 51•Associated Press

Salt and Buttler stand tall

Asked to score at more than 11 runs an over, England needed a statement at the top of the order. It was provided, predictably enough, by Buttler. Never mind the patchy form of the last few months that had seen him pass 50 twice in 20 white-ball innings for his country – here he rocked back to launch his second ball, from Akeal Hosein, over long-on before leaning into the next and chipping it languidly for six more through long-off.Salt notched his first boundary in the following over, and the closest the openers came to being parted early on was when Holder struck his pads next ball – Nigel Duguid’s not-out decision supported by DRS returning umpire’s call on leg stump. Amid the confusion, Buttler might have been run out, stranded two-thirds of the way down the pitch with Salt unmoving.Salt cleared the ropes at the end of Holder’s over and then boxed Motie’s ears with sixes at the beginning and end of his first, as England raced away to 73 without loss at the end of the powerplay. The boundaries began to dry up with the field spread, though Salt mangled Hosein over long-off to bring up England’s 100 in the tenth – a first century stand for Salt and Buttler as an opening pair and England’s first since they had dismantled India at Adelaide in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final.

Motie turns it around

Motie had delivered his full allocation on this ground two nights ago at a cost of nine runs. This time that figure was surpassed in the space of four balls, as his first over went for 18; but when he switched ends shortly before the halfway mark, the left-arm spinner was able to exert a vital measure of control for his captain, Powell. Pushing his pace up above 100kph, he conceded just five runs from his second – the ninth of the innings – and then four more from the 11th.With the required rating rising, Buttler was then smartly caught at deep backward square leg off Russell – Hosein taking the catch comfortably inside the rope before tossing it to Joseph as he went out of bounds. In the next over, Motie’s last, he conceded just three runs to go with the wicket of Will Jacks, edging behind for a frustrated 1 off six balls. England at that stage needed to score at almost 15 runs an over – the rate would rise as high as 17.75 by the end of the 16th – but there was still a twist to come.

Salt shakes it up

Few batters in the English game possess the same level of native belligerence as Salt, but he has struggled to find the right balance between attacking intent and building an innings. This was only the second time in his T20I career that he had faced more than 35 balls, and yet he managed the closing stages of England’s chase superbly before giving way to Brook for the .With Salt on 81 from 47, and West Indies seemingly on the brink of shutting the game down, he struck three consecutive sixes off Joseph and Holder before a single took him to his second hundred in an England shirt – and his first significant score of a tour on which he will have hoped to reassert his credentials in both white-ball formats. There was one more six to come, lofting Joseph over long-off in the penultimate over to keep England just about in touch. But equally impressive in searing afternoon heat was his fitness, running 24 singles, six twos and a three to help England stay the course.Phil Salt takes a breather during his 51-ball century•Associated Press

Topley back on top

England made two changes to their XI, bringing in seamers Reece Topley and Gus Atkinson for Rehan Ahmed and Chris Woakes. After Mooen Ali found some grip to bowl Brandon King with his fifth ball, Topley set about demonstrating his value with the new ball. Playing for the first time since a finger injury ended his ODI World Cup back in mid-October, he was immediately back into the groove, finding swing and bounce with his third delivery to square up Kyle Mayers and nick the opener off for nought.West Indies were 8 for 2 and in danger of making an even worse start than they managed in the second match. They counterpunched through a half-century stand between Pooran and Shai Hope, but Topley was almost blemish-free during his opening three-over spell in the powerplay, conceding a single boundary for figures of 3-0-14-1.

Pooran and Powell punish England

Pooran walked out in the first over and, although he struck a six and two fours inside his first ten balls, was measured in his approach during the first half of the innings as he rebuilt with Hope, initially, and then Powell. He was on 32 from 23 at the halfway stage of the innings and, although he swatted Atkinson for a third six in the next over, it was Powell who provided most of the impetus during their fourth-wicket stand of 58 from 5.2 overs.Powell looked in the mood to better his 27-ball fifty on the same ground two days before, smashing Livingstone for back-to-back sixes, but was eventually defeated by a Sam Curran bouncer to be caught behind. England clawed back some ground, with Curran producing two tight overs after being dismantled by Powell in the first T20I, but Pooran was content to bide his time as he ticked along to a 37-ball half-century, reached via a delicate dab off a Rashid googly.The next over saw West Indies flex their six-hitting muscle again, as Tymal Mills was collared for 25 runs: Sherfane Rutherford hit him straight and over square leg for four and six, before Pooran regained the strike and went 4-6-4 – the pick being a flat thrash over cover. Two more sixes came off Rashid, and by the time he picked out long-on off the legspinner, Pooran had plundered 28 runs from his last seven balls.Nicholas Pooran rebuilt, then relaunched West Indies’ innings•Getty Images

Holder ices the cake

Rutherford, replacing the out-of-form Shimron Hetmyer, quickly caught the mood with a punchy 29 off 17 – although he became a second wicket for Curran, whose figures were dented during a 19th over that cost 21, and concluded with Russell creaming him for an almighty straight six from his third ball. That was six No. 14 for the innings, and although Topley started his final over well, Holder ensured that the ticker would keep spinning, battering two more hits over the ropes to finish with 18 from five balls and ensure West Indies would comfortably eclipse the previous highest score on this ground, Ireland’s 208 for 7 made in 2020.

Security tight as team lands in Karachi for start of seven-match T20I series

Matt Roller15-Sep-2022England’s men arrived in Karachi on Thursday morning for their first tour to Pakistan in 17 years and were immediately escorted off the upper deck of their Emirates flight from Dubai into bulletproof buses to take them to the team hotel.The team have been granted VVIP (very, very important person) status throughout their three-week tour, comprising seven T20Is – the first four in Karachi, the last three in Lahore. The Shahrah-e-Faisal Road between Jinnah International Airport and the Movenpick Hotel was closed to the public, with armed guards flanking the convoy throughout the journey.When England last came to Pakistan in 2005, only one member of this squad (Moeen Ali) had made a professional appearance. In the years since, they have played three ‘away’ series at neutral venues in the UAE and their return for this tour marks a significant moment ahead of a three-match Test series in December, after the T20 World Cup.Related

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Their arrival was unobtrusive as they were escorted through the back entrance, past the outdoor pool and through the lobby with minimal fuss, but their status was underlined by what was not obviously visible: snipers stationed on nearby buildings, more than 300 additional security guards at the hotel, and at least 5000 additional police officers on duty across the city.”Visually, it seems a lot,” Jos Buttler, who has travelled as captain despite a calf injury which will rule him out of at least the first half of the series, told the touring media. “It seems over the top, but of course it is there to make sure everything runs smoothly.”That’s the initial challenge as players, just visually, it being very different. After a day or two you get used to that, focus on the cricket and look forward to playing.” They will train for the first time on Friday night at the National Stadium, ahead of the first T20I on Tuesday.Off-field preparations for this tour started around eight months ago, with England’s last-minute withdrawal from their scheduled two-match series last year still fresh in the memory. An ECB delegation travelled in July to review arrangements and the touring party were given a detailed briefing last week, led by security advisor Reg Dickason and Rob Lynch, the Professional Cricketers’ Association chief executive.Both men are with the team for the start of the series along with Rob Key, who worked on Australia’s tour in March as a broadcaster before becoming the ECB’s managing director of men’s cricket, writing in an column that he had been “blown away” and had encountered “the kindest, most welcoming and gracious hosts I’ve ever experienced”.The players know what to expect. Exactly half of England’s 20-man squad have played cricket in Pakistan before thanks to the PSL – Dawid Malan, now a senior player in the T20I set-up, was among the first, flying into Lahore for the 2017 final – while others experienced similar high-security operations on England’s tour to Bangladesh in 2016.”A few guys had some questions but it is great to have someone like Reg who can answer them,” Buttler said. “We have a number of players who have played in the PSL and been here recently as well, and that allayed some concerns. When you know people have been here recently and played… that seems to make things feel okay.”At his arrival press conference, Buttler was greeted by around 25 television cameras and a ballroom – featuring three chandeliers – filled with local reporters. “It’s great to be back as an England cricket team after a long time,” he said. “We’re delighted to be here.” At this stage of the tour, he is filling a diplomatic role as much as a sporting one.Buttler announced a donation – understood to be a five-figure pound-sterling sum – from the players to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s appeal, which will be matched by the ECB, amid the floods that have devastated parts of Pakistan and left millions of people in need of urgent help. “It won’t be enough, but any small part we can play is important,” he said.He drew a parallel with the curtailed IPL season in 2021, which started while India was experiencing the brutal effects of a second Covid-19 wave. “I played in that IPL… whether it was right or wrong, the narrative was the pleasure it was giving to people, and it being a bit of an escape, watching an IPL game every night. Sport can do that.”Sport has a great power to unite people: it has a great power to give a distraction at times of need; it has a great way of bringing people together to show respect. As human beings, we’re all just as conscious of what’s going on around the world as anyone else. Just because we play cricket, that doesn’t mean we don’t watch the news.”We know the tough times that the people of Pakistan are facing at the moment. We hope that us being here can shed light on that, and people can see that people need help. Hopefully, some exciting games of cricket will be a small tonic to raise some spirits as well.”

Azam’s rise has also been accompanied by constant talk around his fitness levels and weight

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jun-2021Pakistan’s long, ongoing search for power-hitting options in their middle order has now landed on Quetta Gladiators’ Azam Khan. Pakistan have struggled for firepower in their middle order, in part because the top-order form of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Hafeez has meant those following have had little opportunity but also because the likes of Asif Ali and Khushdil Shah have had lean runs on the international stage.But Azam’s selection for Pakistan’s T20Is in the Caribbean later this summer has not come without criticism. As the son of former Pakistan wicketkeeper and captain as well as Gladiators coach Moin Khan, the usual charges of nepotism have been thrown around. But Azam’s rise over the last couple of years has also been accompanied by constant talk around his fitness levels and weight.Azam’s boundary-hitting ability is what has brought him to national attention – he hits a boundary around every four balls he faces in T20s, and has a strike rate of 157.41. With his Pakistan call-up, he will now be under further scrutiny when the PSL starts on June 9, as much for the runs he scores as the fitness he brings. But, his Gladiators’ team-mate and one of cricket’s fittest athletes, Faf du Plessis was keen to point out that six-packs do not equal guaranteed success.”When it comes to fitness, every guy has a responsibility to try and improve every day,” du Plessis said at a virtual press conference. “That looks different for every single person. For me, at an older age, I don’t stop thinking about how I can improve myself as a cricketer, how I can improve my fitness, how I can improve my body, how I can improve my mind.”The difference between guys who do it for a very short period and guys who do it for longer, it’s just improving, it’s smaller gains right throughout your career. For someone like him [Azam], no, he doesn’t have to look like me to be successful. It would just be small improvements every day. Right now, it might be something like fielding he could focus on, getting quicker to the ball, making sure [the] hands are good, taking all the catches and gradually putting in the work to become a better version of himself, or myself, or someone.”Azam Khan’s selection has been a talking point•PCB/PSL

Talk around fitness in Pakistan is especially relevant given the return of Sharjeel Khan to the Pakistan line-up for the recent tours to South Africa and Zimbabwe. Sharjeel’s return to the squad was a point of contention between the team management and chief selector Mohammad Wasim; the former unwilling to compromise on basic fitness standards for those who make it to the national squad, the latter suggesting that, in some cases, skill may allow for less stringency on fitness. Ultimately, a compromise was worked out whereby Sharjeel was assigned a personal trainer on tour and given unofficial targets to meet before selection.What will be important, du Plessis said, was that Azam gives himself the best physical base from which to perform the role he is required to perform.”It’s unfair to compare different people, we’re comparing two different players. He’s a guy who will always come and be a power hitter and hit it a long way. What he will need to work on obviously is how can I make sure I’m fit enough to run between wickets, to get twos and threes for longer periods, when it gets hot out there, or how to make sure I don’t get tired at 20-30, but stay till I get 70, 80, 90. So it looks different for every single guy.”I’m certainly not a believer that every guy has to have a six-pack to be a successful cricketer. You work with what you have. You look at the greats in the game before, there’s been guys long before me and after me and him, who will all look different but had the skillsets to perform.”The immediate task ahead of both du Plessis and Azam will be to turn around Quetta’s poor start to this disrupted season. Five games in, Quetta have a solitary win and sit at the bottom of the table. Given the interruption in the season, however, a total reset is very much possible.”We find ourselves in a position we wouldn’t like to be,” du Plessis said. “Towards the end [earlier in the season] I felt we started playing our best cricket. Also, all of the teams have changed a lot. Even a lot of the teams looking strong at the top of the table would have a lot of changes in their teams because of Covid and the availability of a lot of overseas players. It’s almost like a new tournament and that’s starting on the 9th. Unfortunately we can’t start slow. We have to start in a winning way where we hit the ground running in the first game.”In the first half of the tournament we either batted really well, or we bowled really well. Only in the last game we put it together and put in a complete performance.”