“Happy to nudge my way there,” the batsman says on being stuck in the 90s before getting his century

Daniel Brettig27-Dec-2019Between getting publicly roasted by Ricky Ponting for his first-innings dismissal in Perth after being set, widely discussed as a possible omission from the Boxing Day Test should Australia play a fifth bowler, and then corralled by New Zealand over the course of a grinding stand with Steven Smith that looked like it was digging a hole as much as building a platform, Travis Head was due for a helping hand of some sort.Fortunately for him, it arrived in the shape of his captain Tim Paine’s enterprising 79, an innings that provided the 25-year-old with enough breathing room to forge a second Test century in front of a big December 27 crowd at the MCG, and go some way towards demonstrating that he is adding the ruthless side to his batting that Ponting had implored him to think about after driving a catch to cover when the visitors had appeared to be at his mercy in the west.Travis Head plays through the off side•Getty Images

Head’s attitude to Perth had been that of a realist, combining annoyance at his dismissal with more constructive thoughts about how well he had been able to start the innings. Looking better balanced at the crease in Melbourne, and also bolstered by some calm counsel from coach Justin Langer, Head was able to deliver the sort of score needed by both himself and the team, even if he spent more than 40 balls in the 90s to get there.”Disappointment at not getting a big score but also the positivity of getting a good start,” Head said of the Perth experience. “I’ve been really happy with how I’ve been starting innings over the last few months, especially this season, so it was about making sure I go on. I was more disappointed getting out in the second innings and looking back to how my week panned out – probably even more frustrated after my second innings about the first innings. But it was nice to go out last night, get us into stumps and then start my innings how I’d like and how I have been. Going on with it was nice.”I think it helped that Tim came out and struck the ball as well as he did. Definitely took a lot of pressure off me, I don’t think I changed the way I went about it, especially to [Neil] Wagner, Tim took him on and played exceptionally well and was very positive, plays the pull and hook shots extremely well. That was his game plan and at the other end left-hand/right-hand definitely helped with the momentum and putting pressure back on their bowlers. Exceptional day for Tim as well and he took a lot of pressure off me in the partnership.”The angles of attack chosen by New Zealand were in some ways helpful to Head. Relatively few of their deliveries were actually hitting the stumps, something that was welcome to a batsman who averages a little more than 26 in Tests against balls on line to hit the wickets. “They were exceptional, they had some really good plans to tie me down, the wicket probably plays a factor as well,” Head said. “Probably on the slower side and I found it very difficult to drive.Travis Head celebrates his century•Getty Images

“I took experience from Adelaide’s drop-in (pitch), with the thatchiness of the grass and the ball that holds up and over the years they’ve been difficult to drive, so I can’t really recall many cover drives for me over my innings. It was about making sure I was really tight in defence and waiting for a cut shot or one off my pads. A very refined blueprint for me today and credit to New Zealand, at times it was difficult, they stemmed the scoreboard, and it was important for me, like last week, when those periods are difficult, soak it up and then there’ll be periods where it breaks open.”As for the long time in the 90s, and the perception that he has often been a player who “looks good but gets out”, Head said that both were elements that were evolving with his own, growing maturity in the game. “Over the last couple of years, as I’ve matured I’ve been able to get more hundreds,” he said. “It was pretty lean early days in my career and I think over the last two or three years I’ve been able to get big scores and go on with that.”As I was younger, I think I tried to get through those 90s a bit quicker than I should have, and over time you get more mature and you can relax, and I was happy to do it in ones. Happy to nudge my way there, it probably took a bit longer than I thought, but New Zealand bowled some really good spells where it was very difficult to score, so pretty proud of the fact I was able to keep them out there.”I think you see the way I bat I can get into some pretty awful positions and I can hit the ball in some pretty weird spots. Come down and see me hit in the nets and it’s even worse. Absolutely no care with that, I’ve had some of my worst net sessions leading into Test matches or games for South Australia (and) then I’ve come out and played really well. So different guys hit the ball and move in different ways, I’m a little bit unconventional and happy to do that, as long as I have a really sound game plan around what I need to do.”

Another command performance from England’s talisman will be lost amid Newlands’ scorecard details

George Dobell at Newlands07-Jan-2020We live in an age when analysts believe almost everything can be measured. Win-rates, strike-rates, heart-rates, economy-rates… you name it, someone can put a figure on it.And there’s no doubt such statistics can provide insight and illumination. But not everything that counts can be counted.So it is with Ben Stokes. He finished the Cape Town Test with the unremarkable figures of 3 for 69 with the ball and 119 runs between his two innings with the bat. Decent, for sure. But unremarkable.But anyone who was lucky enough to be at Newlands in recent days – and on Tuesday, in particular – will know they saw a special performance by a special cricketer at the peak of his powers. And they will know, too, that figures don’t just mislead: they lie and cheat and try to sell you double-glazing.The point is this: Stokes was magnificent in Cape Town. With bat and ball and in the field, he produced performances that contributed heavily to England’s first win at this ground since 1957. And while our sport can sometimes seem unhealthily preoccupied with personal statistics, it should never be forgotten that this is a team game. So while some players – quite a lot of players, really – always have an eye on their average or personal milestones, Stokes is interested only in the team dynamic and the result.Consider his second innings here. Stokes thrashed a half-century in 34 balls. That means Ian Botham is the only man to have hit one in fewer deliveries for England (albeit with the caveat that the number of deliveries was not always counted). More importantly, it meant England were able to build on Dom Sibley’s foundations and set up a position whereby they could declare. Bearing in mind that they achieved this victory with just 50 balls left in the match and Stokes’ input seems more important than ever.You can’t play that sort of innings if you are worried about your average. You can’t think of reverse-sweeping seamers and spinners alike if you have any thought in your head other than accelerating your side’s innings. You don’t get caught at long-on if you are eking out the runs required to bring up a century.He was no less impressive with the ball. You could make a strong case to argue that Stokes is, at this stage, one of the best swing bowlers available to England. Just consider his performance at Trent Bridge in 2015 when, with James Anderson absent, it fell to him to fulfil the role of swing bowler. He responded by moving the ball in and out at pace for figures of 6 for 36.Equally, you could make a case to argue that he is England’s most hostile bowler. True, he has never quite generated the pace of Mark Wood in St Lucia or Jofra Archer at Lord’s. But, day in, day out, when those two are either injured or struggling to find their mojo, it is Stokes who responds to his captain’s call to ensure the batsmen aren’t too comfortable at the crease. Take his performance in Colombo in 2018, when he complemented the spinners by bowling long, fast spells (all four of his wickets in that match came from short balls) that ignored the risk of leaking runs. Not all bowlers are prepared to embrace that equation.Ben Stokes drives over the on-side•AFP

In the second innings here, Stokes did not come on until the 40th over. By then, the pitch had died and the ball offered nothing. He was England’s seventh-choice bowler. And yet he bowled as fast as anyone in the match (regularly over 90mph) and somehow found some life – and not a peaceful life, but a hellish, hate-filled life full of searing pace and rearing bouncers – to discomfort everyone who faced him.It will be his final spell, the spell that clinched the match, which draws attention. But his spell on the fourth evening – seven overs of wonderfully hostile bowling which brought no personal reward – really stood out. At a time when the batsmen had started to look ominously settled, he offered threat and peril. And who can measure whether his unsettling spell led, in part at least, to Zubayr Hamza’s tentative prod at Anderson shortly afterwards?And then there’s that final spell. The stats tell us it can be measured in terms of its three wickets for the cost of one run in 28 balls. What they don’t tell us is that, by then, Anderson was broken, Stuart Broad and Sam Curran were looking impotent and that the spinners were required at the other end. They don’t tell us, either, that Stokes had decided that he wasn’t going to relinquish the ball until the job was done. That, when the pressure was at its greatest, he was the man who wanted to be in the thick of the action.This was a spell that brought back memories of that Leeds game. In that match, Stokes had second-innings figures of 24.2-7-56-3. Which again look decent but unremarkable. Until you realise it was achieved in a single spell split only by stumps on one night and four balls from Archer before he suffered an attack of cramp.There was a revealing moment in that match. In the fourth innings, he reached his century with 37 runs still needed for victory. “I didn’t really care,” he said afterwards. “Personal milestones mean nothing.” And you believed him. Because he didn’t celebrate at the time or give it all away immediately afterwards. He had his eyes set only on the win. Only after that was achieved did he celebrate.ALSO READ: ‘Stokes is a golden nugget’ – Joe RootThe great disadvantage Stokes has as a bowler is that he does not have himself as a catcher in the slips. Here, in the first innings, he claimed a record five catches; no England player (other than a keeper) has held as many in an innings; no player from any country (other than a keeper) has held more. Truly, Stokes could catch Moriarty, Blofeld and Lord Lucan.Nobody should be surprised by any of this. When the World Cup was slipping away, it was Stokes who delivered. When the series against Australia was all but lost at Leeds, it was Stokes who delivered. And when Root had nowhere to turn in Cape Town, it was Stokes he trusted and Stokes who delivered. There are, basically, two types of cricket lovers: those who appreciate what a fine player Stokes is. And idiots. It speaks volumes for the worthlessness of the ICC rankings that he is placed third in their Test allrounder rankings.As Stokes was the first to point out after the match, the most pleasing aspect of this performance, from an England perspective, was that the whole team contributed. Yes, some players – Dom Sibley and Anderson – registered personal milestones which will jump out from scorecards when people review them in a hundred years. And yes, shortly after that, the inputs of Ollie Pope, with his first-innings half-century, Root, with his second-innings runs, may gain a nod of appreciation.But then there’s the likes of Zak Crawley, who held a couple of vital catches, Broad, who moved Anderson to leg slip and trapped Rassie van der Dussen there with his next delivery, Joe Denly, who claimed the two left-handers, Dean Elgar and Quinton de Kock, with his legspin aimed into the foot-holes, Dom Bess, who allowed England’s bowlers to rotate and recover in the first innings and Curran, who took a couple of key wickets from nowhere. There were countless other cameos, too. All contributed.But most of all there was Ben Stokes. And what the analysts won’t be able to measure is the way he makes the man next to him want to perform better; the way he makes the man next to him retain belief when logic suggests it should be waning; the way he inspires and leads and keeps going when others are wearied and broken.Forget the stats. You can’t measure love or loyalty or most of the things that really matter. It’s more that their veracity becomes apparent to us at times of need. Ben Stokes is a great team player. There’s no higher praise than that.

Jamaica’s Pete Salmon also suspended after his first-class debut

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Feb-2020Cricket West Indies has suspended Jamiaca offspinners John Campbell (a part-time bowler who opened the batting for West Indies in all three formats last year) and Pete Salmon from bowling in domestic West Indies matches with immediate effect, for illegal bowling actions. CWI confirmed that opinion reports from independent assessors at Loughborough University found that the actions of the two bowlers exceeded the permissible limit of 15 degrees.Campbell and Salmon will remain suspended until their actions are found legal either by an opinion report from Loughborough University or by an independent analysis from an accredited testing centre, in accordance with the board’s regulations for dealing with suspect bowling actions.The duo will undergo remedial work supervised by Jamaica and they can apply for a reassessment after modifying their actions.Cambell was reported for a suspect bowling action during the first round match against Trinidad & Tobago early last month. He took figures of 1 from 54 in his 19 overs in the match.Salmon’s action was reported on his first-class debut, the fourth-round match between Jamaica and Guyana earlier this month in Guyana. Salmon’s figures were very impressive: he finished with a match haul of 8 for 110, which won him the Player-of-the-Match award in his team’s narrow win of seven runs.

Indian captain also talks about why he turned vegetarian in a chat with Kevin Pietersen

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Apr-2020One hundred thirty-four runs in five Tests.Stats that make Indian captain Virat Kohli cringe each time he thinks of the 2014 Test series in England.On Thursday, in an Instagram chat with former England captain Kevin Pietersen, Kohli said that tour was the lowest point in his career and it had come about because he was “too focused” on “doing well from a personal point” instead of putting the team first.”The lowest point in my career was the England tour in 2014 where that is one phase where I felt like, you know, when as a batsman you know you are going to get out in the morning when you wake up,” Kohli told Pietersen. “That was the time I felt like that: that there is no chance I am getting runs. And still to get out of bed and just get dressed for the game and to go out there and go through that, knowing that you will fail was something that ate me up. It just demolished me completely. And I promised myself I am never going to allow myself to feel like ever again in life.”Kohli now wants India’s young cricketers not to commit the same mistake. “And that happened, for all the younger guys listening, because I was too focused on doing well from a personal point of view. I wanted to get runs. I could never think of what does the team want me to do in this situation. I just got too engulfed with England tour – if I perform here, Test cricket, in my mind I’m going to feel established and all that crap on the outside, which is not important at all. It just ate me up. I just kept going into a downward spiral and I just couldn’t get out of it. Horrible.”Kohli said he was able to pick himself up and become the best all-format batsman in the world because he opened his mind and started focusing on what his team needed more than what he needed.Later, when Pietersen inquired about whether Kohli’s training routine ahead of a match day, he said it was just a mental thing and once again warned against being “self-centered.””With technique also, everything is mental. You have played in a time where you were walking and hitting fast bowlers. Coaches don’t teach you that. So it’s innovation. It’s staying one step ahead of the opponent. If you are thinking about how to win the game for your team, these things come to you.”If you are too personal in your approach, if you are too self-centered, you are just thinking about yourself, then you are just looking for ways to get out eventually because people are going to find you out. You are not getting out of your comfort zone because you don’t want to fail.”Kevin Pietersen and Virat Kohli catch up before the match•IDI via Getty Images

When and why did Kohli turn vegetarian?By the time Kohli returned for his next Test series in England, in 2018, he had not only improved his skill levels, he also decided to become a vegetarian. Pietersen, who had seen Kohli enjoy meat when they were team-mates at Royal Challengers Bangalore, was curious to know about the transformation.”I wasn’t a vegetarian till 2018,” Kohli said. “When we actually came to England, I left eating meat just before the Test series started.”Kohli went to talk about a medical condition that prompted him to become vegetarian. “In 2018 when we went to South Africa I got a cervical spine issue, while playing a Test match at Centurion…one of the discs in my cervical spine bulged out and it compressed a nerve which was running straight till the little finger of my right hand. So it gave me a tingling sensation, I could barely feel my little finger on the right hand. It was hurting like mad, I could hardly sleep at night. And then I got my tests done.”My stomach was too acidic, my body was creating too much uric acid, my body was too acidic. What was happening was, even though I was taking calcium, magnesium everything, one tablet was not sufficient for my body to function properly. So my stomach started pulling calcium from my bones, and my bones got weaker. That’s why I got this issue. That’s why I stopped eating meat completely in the middle of the England tour to cut down the uric acid and the acidity in my body.”The biggest difference that has made, Kohli said, was that it made recovery between matches quicker. “I’ve never felt better in my life, it felt amazing, it’s been two years, and the best decision of my life. I have never felt better waking up. I have never felt better when I have to recover after a game. If you make me play three games a week, which are intense, I am at 120% every game. I can recover within a day after a Test match and go on another Test match.”It’s so much better than being on meat. Being vegetarian now made me feel, honestly I felt like why didn’t I do it before? I should have done it two-three years earlier, to be honest. It’s completely changed everything – you start feeling better, you start thinking better, your body is lighter, you are more positive, you have energy to do more, so, overall it’s just been an amazing, amazing change.”Kohli’s most “fun” batting performanceKohli has played perhaps the greatest innings by an Indian batsman in T20Is – a half-century against Australia in the 2016 World T20. That was right after he played a starring role in that same tournament against Pakistan with politicians, actors, everyone including his idol Sachin Tendulkar watching from the stands. But when asked what was his most “fun innings”, Kohli picked out a lesser known classic.”It was against Kings XI in the IPL. It was I think, a 13… 14 over game or a 15 over game and I got a hundred in 12 overs. That was one of the days where I felt like Jeez, I’m just connecting everything and I just felt like I couldn’t get out. And I’ve never felt like that before. Just to be able to hit and not have that fear of getting out. It was amazing. So that has been my most fun innings.”

Ryan Campbell fears being left “out in the cold” for the next four years

Peter Della Penna30-Apr-2020With cricket in a literal standstill, and uncertainty surrounding its return, the Netherlands team is fearing the worst.This year, they were supposed to be playing in the ODI Super League, the qualifying tournament for 2023 World Cup. But the Covid-19 pandemic has not only forced it to be deferred but also backed the ICC into a corner where it believes a review of the entire FTP may be necessary. In case one of those measures involves scrapping the Super League entirely, then, according to their head coach, Ryan Campbell, the Netherlands will be “out in the cold” for the next four years.Before the world was rocked by Covid-19, the Dutch were guaranteed 24 ODIs over the next two years following their success in the World Cricket League Championship in 2017, which confirmed their spot in the 13-team Super League. But that is now up in the air after a decision made at the ICC chief executives committee meeting last week to conduct and extensive review of the existing calendar.”We worked bloody hard to get it to become part of this 13-team competition,” Campbell told ESPNcricinfo. “If you think about it, the day that we won against Namibia [in December 2017] and became the 13th team, we had to wait for the Super League to be announced and when it was going to be. Then they announced what was going to happen to the World Cricket League and the World [League Two] has been started and they’ve played a lot of rounds and we’re still waiting to play ODI cricket for the Super League.”You can imagine all the frustration if, all of a sudden, all the countries who have all the money then turn around and say, ‘Oh no, we need to play our own home series and make more money and leave us out,’ because we literally would be out in the cold.”Campbell said it would be more than just a “mistake” to scrap the Super League and ask the Netherlands to wait possibly the length of a whole World Cup cycle (four years) to play ODIs again.”We can’t rejoin the World Cricket League because that’s already well in advance, and if we can’t play the Super League… Can you imagine leaving a country like us which has worked bloody hard and I think everyone would agree, we’re a good team, to play zero ODI cricket [sic, Netherlands played two ODIs each against Nepal and Zimbabwe in 2018 & 2019] for a period that would stretch to about four years? That’s not just a mistake. That’s almost criminal. So let’s hope that common sense prevails and we go, ‘We’re gonna stick to the Super League.’ It was brought up for a very good reason, to give credence to ODI cricket, and let’s work it out. I just hope people don’t forget about the Dutch.”Captain Pieter Seelaar celebrates after his first wicket of the day•Peter Della Penna

The Dutch government recently announced that all professional sport in the country was suspended until September 1. It means that Netherlands’ first series as part of the Super League, a three-match slate hosting Pakistan in July, has been shelved. Visits from New Zealand for a T20I as well as an ODI series against USA, Oman and Namibia have also been scrapped.”This year was supposed to be a very exciting year for Dutch cricket but now we don’t know anything,” Campbell said. “The first chance that we may be able to play is [the ODI tour to] Zimbabwe in September.”Netherlands will have to host four teams before the Super League ends in March 2022. Three of them – England, Ireland and West Indies – are all set to visit in 2021. That just leaves the postponed Pakistan series from this summer and Campbell wants to do all he can to make sure it happens. “If it means we have to go to Pakistan, then we’ll do it. We’re willing to go wherever we need to go.”The Netherlands were due to have a training camp in Spain in early March before heading to Namibia for a six-match ODI and T20I tour at the end of the month, both of which were cancelled as the pandemic spread. The Namibia tour was meant to kickstart their 2020 campaign culminating in a T20 World Cup appearance in October.Campbell is in contact with Namibia coach Pierre de Bruyn with a view to facilitate some cricket once border restrictions are lifted.”If that means we just jump on a plane and go somewhere to play… I’m talking to Pierre de Bruyn, I’m talking to my mates in Hong Kong,” Campbell said of the country he played for in the 2016 T20 World Cup. “They understand how to deal with issues. They’ve been through SARS and been through this. Going to Hong Kong might be an option for us. If the World Cup proceeds on time, then we’ll be ready. If it’s delayed, then we’ll proceed with other plans.”

The fast bowler will be 39 by then, but she is confident she can keep up her performance level

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Aug-2020Jhulan Goswami, the highest wicket-taker in women’s ODIs, wants to have another crack at cricket’s biggest prize – the World Cup – but the postponement by a year means she plans to re-assess her goals on a series-to-series basis.On Friday, the ICC announced the decision to postpone next year’s 50-over World Cup to February-March 2022 – after a number of teams raised concerns over lack of preparation time owing to Covid-19.”Yes, 2022 is the goal now but you have to be part of the process and play matches consistently and perform and then you can think about the World Cup because there is a lot of time left and it is not round the corner anymore,” she told .”We have got a lot of time for preparation, almost 18 months, but on the other hand, it would have been good if it happened next year as I was focused on that for long. Now you will need to think beyond that. At this time, I can only think about the next series and performing in it and start from zero. I can’t tell you what may happen between now and 2022 as it is still far way.”While the change in schedule could hamper her approach, Goswami was in agreement with ICC’s decision looking at the bigger picture. “With the current Covid-19 situation, the preparation was held up,” she said. “If you are going to the World Cup you have to be prepared. You have lot of things going in the mind, combinations and ideas and you need time to try them.”On that front, we will get enough time to prepare but if Covid-19 hadn’t happened, we would have played the World Cup timely and it would have been better for us.. Having said that, we respect the decision taken by the authorities. It would have not been easy to create a bio-bubble for eight teams, hopefully there will be a vaccine soon.”Goswami, who will be 39 by the time the 2022 World Cup comes around, has retired from T20Is. She last played an ODI in November 2019, and, like most others, has been forced to restrict her training to indoors over the last four or five months. With the T20 Challenge announced by the BCCI, to run alongside the IPL playoffs in November, Goswami is eager to start bowling again.”At this moment, it is about getting access to the ground, hopefully we will have a camp in September before the Women”s T20 Challenge, which is the next assignment we have,” she said. “I have not been bowling at all. It is difficult in my surroundings as I live in a colony. I have been regular with fitness. Plus, the monsoons are also here and the ground is not available.”

Left-arm spinner picked up 179 wickets in a 48-match first-class career in the 1970s and 80s

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jul-2020Ismail ‘Baboo’ Ebrahim, one of the most iconic South African spinners of the 1970s and 1980s, whose career coincided with his country’s ban from international cricket because of apartheid, has died in Durban at the age of 73.Ebrahim started his first-class career in the 1971-72 season, and played 48 matches at that level before retiring in 1984-85, mostly for Natal, picking up 179 wickets with his left-arm spin at an average of 21.33, with eight five-fors in an innings and two match ten-fors.A Cricket South Africa statement mourning Ebrahim’s passing mentioned the “only opportunity” he had to play on the international stage, playing “for a SA Invitation XI against the International Wanderers at Kingsmead in 1976”. “At the age of 29 he was in his prime and took a match-winning 6/66 in the second innings, his victims including international captains, Greg Chappell of Australia and Mike Denness of England,” the statement said. “It was a clear indication of what he could have achieved on grounds around the world at the highest level had he been given the opportunity. He was a master of flight and spin and had a good arm ball to back it up.ALSO READ: Baboo’s story“His ability to perform at this level had become apparent much earlier when he went to watch the Australians at practice before their Test match against South Africa in 1970. He persuaded the Australians to let him bowl to them and made an immediate impression, bowling experienced Test batsman Ian Redpath and impressing the likes of Ian Chappell and Ashley Mallett, the latter being Australia’s leading spinner of the 1970s.”He had one season for Radcliffe in the Lancashire Central League when he took 62 wickets at 14.62 apiece.””Baboo Ebrahim was one of the countless number of outstanding cricketers who was denied the opportunity to display his talents to the world and live his cricketing dreams,” CSA acting chief executive Jacques Faul said.

England Test captain hits 64 then takes two wickets in dominant performance

ECB Reporters Network30-Aug-2020Joe Root’s commanding 64 off 40 balls followed by two wickets with his offbreaks helped Yorkshire end their Vitality Blast hoodoo against Derbyshire with a thumping 99-run win at Emerald Headingley.England’s Test captain hit two leg-side sixes and seven fours as the Vikings posted 220 for 5 before easily defending it to end a run of six straight North Group defeats against the Falcons.Derbyshire, last season’s semi-finalists, had done the double over the White Rose county in each of the last three summers, but they rarely looked like extending their dominance as they crumbled to 19 for 4 in the fifth over of their reply and later finished on 121 for 9.ALSO READ: Root ‘realistic’ about 2021 T20 WC chancesNew ball quick Matthew Fisher’s 3 for 21 from four overs were the pick of the Yorkshire figures.Root, who also claimed two for seven from two overs, and Adam Lyth underpinned Yorkshire’s eighth score of 220 or more in T20 history.The second-wicket pair shared 84 inside nine overs to advance from 32 for one in the third after Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who fell for 16, had won the toss and elected to bat.Lyth, 61 off 36 balls, and Root hit five sixes between them, all leg-side, before Will Fraine matched that total on his own in a blistering 44 not out off 16 balls at the death. Fraine hit his sixes on both sides of an excellent Headingley pitch.Luis Reece took two wickets in the penultimate over with full tosses. But, largely, the Falcons bowlers – there were seven used to Yorkshire’s eight in the second half of the game – struggling for line and length proved to their detriment.Lyth made the early running for the hosts before Root serenely caught him up and posted his fifth career T20 fifty for Yorkshire, four of which have come in his last six innings dating back to 2015. Root struck the ball crisply, with the odd reverse-sweep and late cut to third man thrown in for good measure.He offered a sharp chance to Derby skipper Billy Godleman at cover on 43 off Matt Critchley’s legspin, though looked in little trouble besides in a clash between two sides who had their opening North Group fixture rained off on Thursday evening.Both Lyth and Root eventually fell caught at deep midwicket sweeping at debutant legspinner Mattie McKiernan. When Root departed early in the 16th over, Yorkshire were 160 for 3, with Fraine then taking on the lead role as he set about an early career best score.The former Nottinghamshire man took advantage of some loose bowling and smeared the the lion’s share of 22 off Fynn Hudson-Prentice in the last over of the innings.Derby were then in the mire early in their chase – 19 for four in the fifth over – two wickets apiece for new ball quick Matthew Fisher and Root’s offspin.Key men Reece, Wayne Madsen, Godleman and Leus du Plooy all departed without impacting the chase, with Root getting Godleman lbw and du Plooy caught at cover in the fifth over – his second. From there, it was game over.Legspinner Josh Poysden strengthened that theory by also striking twice – in his first appearance since last July having suffered and recovered from a fractured skull – as the score slipped to 70 for 6 after 13 overs.Critchley’s measured 26 was nothing more than a consolatory effort, and it was ended by Harry Brook’s medium pacers. Fisher and George Hill claimed further wickets.”The platform was set so well from Adam Lyth and Joe Root, and the pitch was really good,” said Fraine. “It came off for me today. I had a good game plan, and luckily they missed their yorkers and I managed to get a few away.”Rooty’s a joke – he’s a ridiculous cricketer. He was exceptional today. He was hitting balls halfway up the stumps off the back foot for four, and it was just like: ‘How can you do that?'”I would for sure have him in that [England T20] squad. I think he’s such an underrated T20 player. He has a bag of tricks with his bowling: offies, leggies, he can do anything with the ball. He’s very handy there, he’s handy in the field, and he showed today his calmness with the bat. You don’t need to bottom-hand slog it. He was hitting the ball as hard as anyone and looked so good doing it.”

Jones strikes 55 off 37 balls to rescue England from 45 for 3 as hosts eye series sweep

Valkerie Baynes28-Sep-2020A quick-fire half-century from Amy Jones drove England to within one victory of a 5-0 series sweep in the penultimate T20I against West Indies.Jones struck 55 off 37 balls to drag England from 45 for 3 to 166 for 6 in the fourth fixture in Derby, their highest score of the series so far, as Heather Knight’s 42 and Katherine Brunt’s unbeaten 25 helped to set West Indies an imposing target.Another disciplined performance from England’s bowlers compounded West Indies’ struggles to find depth in their batting, with Brunt and Sarah Glenn claiming two wickets each as the tourists fell well short at 122 for 9 from their 20 overs, Chedean Nation top-scoring for them with just 30.Windies of ChangeWith the series already lost, West Indies rang in the changes, bringing in Aaliyah Alleyne, Karishma Ramharack and Shabika Gajnabi for Afy Fletcher, Chinelle Henry and Shakera Selman as captain Stafanie Taylor explained before the match: “There’s no point having young players here and not showcasing them.” Alleyne and Ramharack are both 25 but had played just 12 T20Is between them going into the match, while the 20-year-old Gajnabi had played the last of her five T20Is against India nearly a year ago.Alleyne played the first two matches of this series – although she didn’t bowl in the second and conceded 25 runs from two wicketless overs in the first. Her return to the fold looked inspired when she struck with her sixth ball, the 12th of the match, to remove Danni Wyatt, whose attempted cut sent an edge through to wicketkeeper Shemaine Campbelle. The resulting duck continued a lean series for England opener Wyatt with scores of 17, 14 and 11 from the first three matches. Alleyne then lured Nat Sciver, star of the third match with 82, into an edge behind and England were 22 for 2.Ramharack snared a wicket with her first ball of the series, trapping Tammy Beaumont lbw as she tried to reverse-sweep and removing another dangerous England batsman for 27. Gajnabi’s only over went for 17 as Knight let fly, thrashing a six and picking off two beautifully timed fours to give England a timely boost.Ramharack came in for similar punishment soon after, also going for 17 off an over as Jones joined in on the act with a sublime reverse-swept four followed immediately by the most nonchalant six over long-off as she and Knight brought up their 50-partnership off just 30 balls.Jones steps upKnight looked to be in fine touch as she raced to 42 from 30 deliveries and, more importantly joined Jones in lifting England out of trouble. But when she edged Shamilia Connell to Campbelle for a caught behind and then Sophia Dunkley – playing her first T20I in 18 months after replacing Fran Wilson – fell to a sharp caught-and-bowled by Hayley Matthews moments later without scoring, England were 112 for 5 and in need of revival again.Jones filled the role to perfection, making West Indies pay after she had struck a Taylor delivery straight to midwicket where Lee-Ann Kirby shelled the chance with England 48 for 2 and Jones on just 2 at the time. Jones smashed Connell for another glorious six over cow corner to bring up England’s 100 and raced to her own 50 off just 30 balls.She was joined by Brunt, who produced an excellent cameo of 25 not out from 17 balls, although Jones was run out after Brunt was caught ball-watching and missed her calls for a single as Ramharack fired the ball in at the non-striker’s end and Jones was caught in no-man’s land.It was another step in Jones’ establishment in the middle order, after she was moved down from opener late in England’s T20 World Cup campaign, producing some handy innings in the 20s without being required to do much more. And while she had a fraught evening behind the stumps, dropping two simple skied catches, she could be proud of her contribution with the bat.No reply from West IndiesSet their highest chase of the series, West Indies’ reliance on Deandra Dottin and Taylor brought them undone when both fell cheaply. Dottin, who had registered two half-centuries and again top-scored for her side with 38 in the second match, managed just 4 before she was brilliantly bowled by Brunt in the first over of this encounter. Looking to pull, the ball skidded on and decimated the stumps.Taylor reached 13 before she was bowled by Glenn and, while Nation contributed a much-needed 30 from 25 balls before she was run out by Sciver to top-score for West Indies. But it wasn’t nearly enough and the tourists were left with a familiar problem of missing a really big score from the top order and lacking the depth to make up for it.

It is yet to be confirmed though whether family members of the India squad will join the tour

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Oct-2020The schedule for India’s tour to Australia has been rubberstamped with Adelaide to host a day-night Test as part of the four-match series. Melbourne is also set for the traditional Boxing Day Test with a crowd of up to 25,000, although it is yet to be confirmed whether families of the Indian players will join the tour.The ODIs will start on November 27 – just two days after the players complete quarantine – followed by matches on November 29 and December 2, with the T20Is on December 4, 6 and 8. The first Test in Adelaide will begin on December 17. Ahead of the Test series, India A will play Australia A at the Drummoyne Oval from December 6-8, followed by India playing Australia A in a day-night warm-up match at the SCG from December 11-13.The Australia A sides may feature a number of members of the Test side to give them a chance of red and pink-ball practice ahead of the series. For David Warner, Steven Smith, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood returning from the IPL, it would be their only chance of preparation. The first batch of Sheffield Shield matches in Adelaide conclude on November 11.Last week, the New South Wales government signed off on allowing the India squad – and Australia players returning from the IPL – to quarantine and train in Sydney after Queensland had raised issues. Capacity for some family members to join the tour has been built into the plan by the NSW government, but it will be decided between Cricket Australia and the BCCI how those spots are filled. Earlier this week, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly indicated he expected families to be able to travel.”We are working that through at the moment with BCCI and the Australia government,” Nick Hockley, the Cricket Australia CEO said. “It would have to be a compelling case for families to come but that’s something we are working through.”

Tour schedule

1st ODI, November 27 – SCG (D-N)

2nd ODI, November 29 – SCG (D-N)

3rd ODI: December 2 – Canberra (D-N)

1st T20I: December 4 – Canberra (Night)

Practice match: December 6-8 – Drummoyne Oval

2nd T20I: December 6 – SCG (Night)

3rd T20I: December 8 – SCG (Night)

Practice match: December 11-13 – SCG (D-N)

1st Test: December 17-21 – Adelaide Oval (D-N)

2nd Test: December 26-30 – MCG

3rd Test: January 7-11 – SCG

4th Test: January 15-19 – Brisbane

Stuart Ayres, the NSW Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism, said: “We’ve built provision for some family members to be in the bubble, they have to follow all the same requirements that are placed on other internationals or Australians returning home. The amount of people who fit into that will be a discussion between CA and the BCCI. How they make those selections by those two, but they have to pick within the Covid-safe plan that the NSW government has approved.”This week, the Victoria Premier, Daniel Andrews, said he was confident of having a crowd at the Boxing Day Test as Melbourne emerged from a four-month lockdown on Wednesday and the figure being worked towards currently is 25,000 spectators – a quarter of capacity.Contrasting emotions for the two captains•Getty Images

“The Victorian Government, MCC and Cricket Australia will develop a rigorous Covid-safe plan based on the most up-to-date public health advice to enable a limited number of fans to safely attend the Test this year,” Victorian Minister for Sport Martin Pakula said. “Crowd numbers will be confirmed closer to the match but will be capped at around 25,000 spectators.”The schedule announced on Wednesday will require the border between New South Wales and Victoria to be open by the end of the year to allow teams to travel between the second and third Tests.”We were really encouraged by comments coming out from national cabinet last week around borders opening before Christmas so that will allow us to deliver the schedule,” Hockley said. “As we do for any series we have contingencies but we are planning full steam ahead and hopefully we won’t have to use them.””Across all three formats, Australia and India represents one of the great rivalries in world sport and we are delighted to welcome Virat Kohli’s outstanding squad to Australian shores this summer,” Hockley added in an earlier statement. “We have worked closely with the BCCI for many months to bring this tour to life, and I cannot speak more highly of the professional, thorough and collaborative manner with which they have approached this tour in these extraordinary and complex times.”I would like to express my gratitude to everyone at the BCCI for the faith and support they have shown in the plan we have developed, which we believe will result in a safe and successful summer for all involved.”We would also like to especially thank the NSW Government for allowing players from both teams to safely prepare during quarantine, as well as other governments and health authorities who have worked with us to host a series which, I have no doubt, will live long in the memories of all who experience it.”India announced their Test squad as well as limited-overs squads earlier this week with the small group of players and coaches not involved at the IPL heading to Dubai shortly from where they will all travel to Sydney on a charter flight with the Australian players after the tournament finishes on November 10. The players will have exclusive use of a hotel at the Sydney Olympic Park and will train at Blacktown.