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Mitchell Starc returns for Australia who look to build on after retaining the Ashes in a drawn series

The Preview by Andrew McGlashan20-Nov-20192:38

From Lower Dir to top tier, the Naseem Shah story

Big Picture

After two one-sided T20I series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, the opening Test of Australia’s home season promises much. Fingers crossed it delivers. Australia are looking to build on after retaining the Ashes in a drawn series while for Pakistan, it is their first assignment of the World Test Championship – in a country where they have never won a series and have not won a Test since 1995.With that record, it’s tempting to suggest it should be a walkover for the home side – and it may yet turn out that way – but it’s the more competitive possibilities that are mouthwatering. Pakistan have brought three teenage quicks, with 16-year-old Naseem Shah set to debut on Thursday, and there has been no shortage of talking them up. The batting also looks strong with new captain Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq having good personal memories of the last tour here in 2016-17 and Babar Azam appearing primed to kick on his Test career.From Australia’s point of view, it’s a summer with most things back to normal compared to the fraught atmosphere of 12 months ago. Steven Smith and David Warner are back, one looking to continue Bradman-esque form and the other hoping to re-establish his Test credentials having been dominated by Stuart Broad in England.However, it has not been a seamless build-up for Australia. The bat-off in Perth turned into more of a collapse-off, the end result is Cameron Bancroft – with a first-class average of 11 this season – is back in the Test squad. Then there was James Pattinson and his obscene language meaning he is out of this match. But quick bowlers is one thing Australia are not short of. In home conditions, the trio of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc could be the deciding factor.It is an important match for the ground itself, too, with the Gabba coming under increasing pressure for its status as one of the premier Test venues in the country. It has been guaranteed the opening Test of the 2021-22 Ashes but didn’t host India last year and it is yet to be confirmed if it will host a Test next year. There is an investment on the way, but there will be interest in the crowd figures over the next few days.

Form guide

Australia LWLDW (last five completed matches, most recent first)Pakistan LLLLW

In the spotlight

David Warner had an Ashes series to forget – 95 runs in ten innings – but there was never really any doubt that he would retain his place in the side. However, that rope cannot last forever (although the last thing the Australia selectors need at the moment is to find another opening batsman). Warner started the series with a Sheffield Shield century at the Gabba which bodes well and his T20I form was prolific. He enjoys batting in Brisbane and, 21 months after his last Test on home soil, it will be fascinating to see whether he can throw off the shackles.Babar Azam struggled on the 2016-17 tour with 68 runs in six innings but two years on, he returns to Australia carrying the expectation of a batsman on the cusp of greatness. The limited-overs game has gone supremely well, and he showed his class in the T20Is, and now it is time he takes his game up a level in Test cricket and lifts his current average of 35.28. The hundred against Australia A was full of his best shots and promises much for the next couple of weeks.Pakistan haven’t won a Test in Australia since 1995•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Team news

It was pretty simple for Australia after the loss of Pattinson. Michael Neser will hope his chance comes with the pink ball.Australia 1 David Warner, 2 Joe Burns, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Travis Head, 6 Matthew Wade, 7 Tim Paine (capt & wk), 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh HazlewoodIftikhar Ahmed could slot in at No. 6 with the final decision in the pace attack likely to come down to Mohammad Abbas or Imran Khan, the latter took a five-wicket haul against Australia A.Pakistan (probable) 1 Shan Masood, 2 Azhar Ali (capt), 3 Haris Sohail, 4 Babar Azam, 5 Asad Shafiq, 6 Iftikhar Ahmed, 7 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 8 Yasir Shah, 9 Shaheen Afridi, 10 Mohammad Abbas, 11 Naseem Shah

Pitch and conditions

The Gabba is back in its traditional slot of hosting the opening Test of the season – after being pushed down the pecking order last season – and it should be a typical surface which is one of the better ones for Test cricket in the world: pace and carry for quicks, trueness the batsmen can trust and maybe some spin if the game goes deep. There was a tinge of green on match-eve, but that was enhanced by rolling in grass clippings. “I had never heard it described like this before from the curator,” Justin Langer said. “He said that ‘today we’ve got the makeup on’ and I think he meant grass clippings, and tomorrow it will probably look a bit greener than it does today. So a fascinating art and science to producing these great wickets.” The weather is set fair with temperatures in the high 20s throughout.

Stats and Trivia

• Australia have not lost at the Gabba since 1988.
• On the 2016-17 tour, Pakistan came within 40 runs of chasing down 490 as Shafiq scored a fourth-innings 137.
• Smith needs 27 runs for 7000 in Test cricket – he has six innings in hand to break Wally Hammond’s record for the fastest to the mark.

Quotes

“We are very respectful of the Pakistan team. I watched them bat at Optus Stadium last week and they have some very technically correct batsman. I’m not going to single out one; they are a very good batting side.”
“We have come here with a lot of confidence. We have the talent and potential to do well here. We have done well in patches in previous series but we come with a few fresh faces and we are very confident we have huge potential to beat Australia. To do that we have to keep believing, and play with no fear.”

Five members of Bangladesh’s coaching staff will not be going to the first leg of Bangladesh’s tour of Pakistan later this month

Mohammad Isam17-Jan-2020Five members of Bangladesh’s coaching staff will not be going to the first leg of Bangladesh’s tour of Pakistan later this month. According to BCB’s cricket operations chairman Akram Khan, Neil McKenzie, the white-ball batting coach, is among those who have withdrawn alongside fielding coach Ryan Cook.The BCB preferred not to use Daniel Vettori, who is contracted to them as spin consultant, for such a short series. They didn’t consider team analyst Shrinivaas Chandrasekaran either on account of his being an Indian citizen. The BCB didn’t apply for visas for the two women’s team coaches during their tour last year because they were Indian citizens as well, although, during the recently concluded series between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, several Indian nationals were part of the TV production that brought live pictures from the games in Lahore and Karachi.”[Strength and conditioning coach] Mario [Villavarayan] broke his hand recently while team analyst [Chandrasekaran] will be working with the team over Skype. McKenzie and fielding coach [Cook] will also not be going, while we haven’t yet confirmed on our new bowling coach,” Akram said.Russell Domingo will therefore only have physio Julian Calefato among the regular staff while Sohel Islam (fielding coach) and Tushar Kanti Howlader (strength and conditioning coach) will act as support.The BCB is in the middle of discussions with Ottis Gibson but if they cannot get him on board as bowling coach ahead of the Pakistan tour, they are likely to send Champaka Ramanayake who is already working for the BCB’s development programmes.

South Africa coach admits the management are still searching for their best XI in T20

Firdose Moonda21-Feb-2020South Africa players who want to be considered for the T20 World Cup have the chance to stake a claim in the next week, with several spots in need of filling, according to coach Mark Boucher. Despite the disappointment of his team’s biggest T20 defeat in the opening match against Australia, Boucher sought to “take the emotion out of the whole scenario” and look at the bigger picture, with seven months to go before a major tournament.”There are certain places up for grabs and with guys getting opportunities, it’s important that they take them now,” Boucher said. “A month or so before the World Cup we want to have our minds on who we want to take as a 15-man squad but it’s difficult for players to make a name for themselves a month before the tournament. Now is the time that players need to put their hands up and stake a claim for positions and there are still position up for grabs. We don’t quite know what our combinations are going to be and we are waiting for guys to step up.”After their performance on Friday night, which included their lowest T20I score, and Boucher’s criticism of the bowling as “poor”, it would appear that South Africa have plenty of positions to fill but the man in charge did not want to be overly dramatic. “It’s not the end of the world – losing one game of T20 cricket,” Boucher said. “Yes, we are going to have to shape up quite a bit in the next week but there is also a plan going through to the next World Cup.”ALSO READ: Jadeja-inspired Agar felt ‘horrible’ in trainingPart of that plan was trialing Temba Bavuma in the opening role, which was a success against England before he got injured, using Heinrich Klaasen – who was also forced out with a niggle – in the middle order and experimenting with Rassie van der Dussen and Jon-Jon Smuts. All those options paid off during the England series and are likely to do so again.A bigger concern is the inconsistency of the attack, who had the experience of Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada but still conceded heavily. Steyn, Lungi Ngidi, Rabada and Andile Phehlulwayo, who have 107 T20 caps between them, gave away 70 runs in the first six overs and failed to pitch the ball up, something bowling coach Charl Langeveldt discussed in the lead-up to the match. Both Boucher and Langeveldt have spoken about the importance of specialised skills training, but stressed that during a series, South Africa don’t have the time to do that.Boucher made the same point after the Wanderers defeat. “It’s not something we can change overnight. We’ve tried to work on things like yorkers but our lines and length were really bad,” Boucher said. “It’s not like they were running down the wicket and taking us on. We were giving them boundary options.”Rabada, South Africa’s “poster boy”, as acting director of cricket Graeme Smith called him, was the most guilty and had six fours and two sixes scored off him to finish as the most expensive bowler on the night. Boucher put Rabada’s showing down to a lack of game time, presenting an interesting conundrum between getting the balance between overbowling and keeping him fresh. “KG has come back from a long rest so it’s no use making an emotional decision and saying we are going to leave him out for the next game,” Boucher said. “We need guys like him and Anrich [Nortje] to come back but we also needed to rest them and that was the right decision because we want them fresh.”But how long does it take players to find their groove again? The answer might come on Sunday, when South Africa face a must-win situation to stay in the series or face further scrutiny over their progress in what has been a lean summer. As he done since he took over in December, Boucher pleaded for patience, even as he admitted that progress needs to come.”We are working really hard off the field. We understand the areas we need to work on. We’ve got to get back on the horse,” he said. “If we rock up and play 40% cricket we are going to get beaten and beaten badly, like we were today.”

The tournament’s chief operating officer on his plans for expansion, including a women’s league

Matt Roller20-Apr-2020A new franchise in the USA, a fully-fledged women’s league and maintaining distinctive local flavour are among the keys to ensuring the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is the second-best T20 league in the world, after the IPL, according to chief operations officer Pete Russell.Seven seasons in, the 2020 CPL is shaping up to be the most difficult yet, with the Covid-19 pandemic and its knock-on effects meaning there is every chance the league will have to be played without overseas players, behind closed doors, or across only a handful of venues as organisers draw up contingency plans.But in an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Russell said he was confident that the CPL was well-placed to meet that challenge, having learnt from the mistakes it has made to date.”Private enterprise is interesting when you bring it into sport. It definitely has value to it, but you do have a lot of hurdles and obstacles you’ve got to overcome,” Russell said. “I think the tournament has now overcome a lot of those hurdles. It’s very well established in the Caribbean – even including carnival, it’s without doubt the number one entertainment product there.

CPL ‘shut down corruption quickly’

Russell says that the CPL dealt with things quickly last year when officials from the St Kitts and Nevis franchise were pulled up by anti-corruption officers, as reported by ESPNcricinfo. “I think there was naivety involved on the part of the owners – we responded incredibly quickly to that situation and shut it down quickly, and actually it did very little damage to us both in terms of making sure that the team could continue to play in the league but also in terms of its integrity,” he said. “We’d beefed up our anti-corruption that year and took on a lot more responsibility ourselves, and actually got to the root of it very quickly.”

“The challenge it has from a commercial perspective is its home audience is only seven million [people]. If you compare that to India and other parts of the world, you’ll see that the economics of getting a large home media deal aren’t there, so you have to be a lot more creative in how you build your revenue profile.”We’ve been able to do that. It broke even – or a little bit better than that – last year. This year will be a challenge, but we’ve put it in a place where we can see how to make money going forward. It’s on a stable footing – we’ve got owners now who are good, we think. It’s always difficult when you’re selling franchises when you don’t know what you’re going to get, but I think now we know our owners very well and vice versa – that relationship is very strong.”St Lucia Zouks finished fifth in the 2019 CPL•Ashley Allen – CPL T20 / Getty

Things have not always been straightforward regarding the franchise owners. Vijay Mallya was removed as Barbados Tridents owner after failing to pay his players and fighting extradition, officials from St Kitts and Nevis Patriots were pulled up by anti-corruption officers last season, and the St Lucia franchise has changed hands three times in as many years – it was most recently purchased by Kings XI Punjab’s parent company, KPH Dream Cricket Private Limited in February.As things stand, two of the teams are owned by the parent companies of IPL franchises – Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel were re-branded as Trinbago Knight Riders after they were bought by Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment in 2015. And though Russell admits it would “make sense” for St Lucia’s new owners to change the team’s name from Zouks to Kings XI, he doesn’t think the CPL would lose its local flavour and turn into a mini-IPL. Indeed, in the immediate term, the fact that IPL owners have a stake in the league may help avoid a clash between the two tournaments this year.”I talk to Venky Mysore [Red Chillies CEO] a reasonable amount because he has a huge amount of knowledge: what he’s learned in the IPL is only going to help us, not just in terms of the audience that they bring in terms of the Indian market, but also the learnings and professionalism. It’s no coincidence that they’ve won the number of titles that they have. All ships rise in that scenario: other owners know that the tide mark has gone up.”Similarly with Kings XI, I’m excited to be working with some great people. If you’ve got owners like that, it’s not as if there’s any threat – at the end of the day, CPL still runs and manages the league. We’re very open-minded about the way we operate. We’ve probably got a lot more wrong than we’ve got right over the years, but we learn from our mistakes and the league is in a very strong position.”Expansion is a balancing act, and Russell thinks it unlikely that a new Caribbean-based franchise will be created any time soon. Instead, the target is breaking into the US. That is easier said than done – players were frustrated by small crowds and the loss of home advantage when games were played there in 2018, and having an American CPL franchise would present a clash with USA’s own plans for franchise cricket in the next two years – but setting up an American franchise within the next five years remains an ambition.The Barbados Tridents players celebrate with the CPL trophy•Getty Images

“Would we set up another franchise in the Caribbean? I doubt it. Would I set one up in America or Canada? Probably, because that would make sense in terms of breaking into new markets and making the commercials a little more palatable.”We’ve got the largest professional [cricket] league on that side of the world, and it makes sense to collaborate and to build a powerful base there. Who knows: I could quite easily see how you would have a North and South conference in the future, once the infrastructure is in place.”The downside with any expansion is that the league risks becoming bloated: the last two Big Bash seasons, in which average attendances were down and interest waned due to an increase in the number of group games from 40 to 56 serves as a warning sign.Similarly, the CPL is determined to maintain its distinctiveness as a league. Last year, the number of overseas players per team was reduced from five to four, and there has been more of a collaborative effort with Cricket West Indies to enhance the opportunities afforded to young, local talent. Better pitches have helped the league’s entertainment value, too – scoring rates have climbed from 6.98 runs per over in 2013 to 8.30 last season.”I always look at these leagues and think less is more. I’m not one for playing 56 games, just because of the fatigue element. In my personal view, the Big Bash lost their momentum a little bit when they did that. The IPL is a different beast, but again – that’s a lot of games that they are playing.Chris Gayle celebrates his hundred•CPL T20 via Getty Images

“I think we are second [to the IPL] – I don’t think we necessarily get the credit we deserve sometimes. Everyone goes back to the Big Bash, or the Blast – and the PSL is doing a great job, the tournament they ran there was first-class – but if you just look at the engagement levels we get, we’re up there for sure. When people switch on a CPL game, they know where they are: sometimes with other leagues you switch on and go: where is this? Is this the Blast? Is it Big Bash? It’s not always the case, but they can sometimes be a bit samey.”As for a women’s league, the CPL has lagged behind most other competitions: last season, two T10 games were staged immediately before the second qualifier and the final, but only as exhibition matches.”It could be sooner than you’d think” Russell says, with regards the possibility of a fully-fledged competition. “In those T10 games, we played them in Trinidad, we didn’t move the boundaries in, and they were still clearing the ropes quite comfortably – there’s some really good players there.”If we can be the catalyst and give them the opportunity, not only does it motivate them, but it motivates a whole new generation of potential women’s cricketers to come through. Like all of these things, the economics have to play a part, but I think we can do it. If we can have the same attention to detail, then it can be very successful.”

She could require surgery on her hamstring next week

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Mar-2020Australia allrounder Ellyse Perry will be out of action for six months while recovering from the high-grade right hamstring injury she suffered during the T20 World Cup that ruled her out of the tournament before the semi-finals.The injury that she picked up during Australia’s must-win match against New Zealand could require a surgery sometime next week. It has now ruled her out of the tour of South Africa later this month, which includes three ODIs, which are part of the ICC Women’s Championship, and three T20Is starting March 22.Perry, who wasn’t replaced after her injury, called the setback a personal “challenge.” But she was glad the team management wanted her to stay with the squad as the team looked to defend their 2018 T20 World Cup title, in the final against India on Sunday.”Closer to six months,” Perry said when asked when she might be returning to play. “That’s something (surgery) that has been discussed and probably in the next week or so.””It’s something you go through over the course of time but from my perspective, I’ve had the most incredible run, been very, very fortunate with injury over a long period of time. First and foremost tomorrow (the final) is the most important thing, what it represents for the group and the sport, but on a personal note, it’s a challenge and looking forward to it in a roundabout way [even if] I wish it wasn’t the case.”Perry also said it will be difficult not being nervous watching the final at the MCG from the sidelines. She wants her team-mates to stay relaxed on the big day.”[At the final, I’ll] probably be trying to keep my nerves at bay,” she said. “Aside from that, I feel incredibly fortunate and really chuffed that Motty (Matthew Mott) and the group wanted to keep me around. So it is really nice to be here and take it all in.”I’m sure everyone is nervous, but in a roundabout way the way our tournament has gone, the challenges we’ve had along the way with really tough matches, early loss, a few injuries, it hasn’t been smooth sailing so tomorrow is a chance to just relax and make the most of it. You certainly want to be successful but in a lot of ways, the girls just deserve to enjoy it and take it all in. We are probably going to play the best cricket doing that.”Stepping foot into the ground today, having the chats has made it really real and it’s one of those opportunities for the squad to absolutely enjoy the occasion and make the most of it. It’s a very special time.”

The state is seeking more clarity on the situation before agreeing to a funding reduction

Daniel Brettig26-May-2020Queensland’s chairman Chris Simpson has confirmed the state association remains allied with New South Wales and the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) in questioning Cricket Australia’s chosen remedy for the financial effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, as all three organisations continue to push the governing body for more information.While Queensland Cricket announced on Monday that it would be cutting 32 staff from its books in anticipation of a 25% funding cut from CA, Simpson said this move was necessary largely because his state was in a far weaker position than NSW, the other dissenter. Queensland’s most recent annual report listed reserves of A$7.6 million among total assets worth A$18.3 million, far less than NSW or Victoria, to name two states, can call upon.At the same time, Simpson outlined that, as reported by ESPNcricinfo, Queensland’s board was trying to ensure that its agreement would see any reduction in distribution for 2020-21 revised back upwards if the summer produced a more favourable financial result than CA is currently forecasting.ALSO READ: Players’ association casts doubt on Cricket Australia’s financial warnings“We have not signed the agreement,” Simpson told . “We are trying to learn how long their proposed cuts run for. It is a bit ambiguous how they have presented it. We want clarity on the term and we also want to make sure 25% is the ceiling.”We also want to make sure that should things be better than what they are modelling – and every day we are getting more positive about the prospect of serious cricket content this season – we don’t want to lock into something that is to the detriment of the states.”Simpson’s words are similar to those conveyed by the NSW chairman John Knox and his chief executive Lee Germon to staff and stakeholders earlier this month. “As a result of the Cricket Australia proposal, some states have already reduced their commitment to community cricket, potentially impacting the long-term future of the game,” they said in an email. “We believe that any decision to reduce the agreed state distributions should be delayed until there is a better understanding of whether international cricket will be played next season.”The ACA has contacted states and indicated a willingness to preserve community staffing and programs via financial assistance from the “grassroots fund” carved out of MoU cash and overseen by both the ACA and CA. The fund has dished out almost A$4.5 million in funding for equipment and facilities since 2017, and is expected to have about A$3 million available this year. CA is due to give its latest indicative forecast of Australian Cricket Revenue – from which the players’ fixed percentage of revenue is derived – by Friday.Queensland’s cuts have included a major downsizing of the Brisbane Heat’s operation and the exit of the long-serving selector, coach and manager Justin Sternes. They have also seen community cricket programs significantly affected, but Simpson said the state had been left with little option.”We have been told for a long time how big a deal the Indian tour is, so to hear that optimism brings the depth of the cuts into focus,” Simpson said. “Eighty percent of our funding comes from one source [CA] and they have said they potentially have solvency issues, so it is our duty to act on that information. We disagree with a lot of the information provided but we still had to act. NSW have a very big book and they can ride it out. We can’t.”The Australia and NSW fast bowler Mitchell Starc, meanwhile, has given his strong support to the state’s own decision to push back against CA. “In terms of NSW they’ve been pretty strong in holding their position and I think from the little updates I’ve read from NSW, it’s a big part of their plan – to be part of growing the game in the state,” he said”That’s obviously where we have all come from, as international and elite cricketers, we’ve come from the junior clubs to grade clubs all the way to international cricket. Full credit to the NSW board in trying to, at this stage, hang onto all of their staff and their grass roots at the moment.”Cricket hasn’t lost any games yet in this country, obviously the Bangladesh [tour] has been postponed but there hasn’t been any cricket lost yet. So it’s going to be an interesting few weeks with state contracting then us all returning to training – I guess we’re going to see what staff we’ve got.”

Seamer tested for Covid-19 and cleared to fly to England on Saturday

Matt Roller18-Jul-2020Ireland have added seamer Stuart Thompson to their expanded squad that will travel to England on Saturday ahead of their three-match ODI series.The ECB had arranged for four Hampshire academy players to make up the numbers for Ireland’s training camp at the Ageas Bowl and for their intra-squad warm-up game on July 22.ALSO READ: Campher, Garth the new faces in Ireland squadBut one of those four has been ruled out through injury, and due to Covid-19 protocols, Hampshire were unable to provide a replacement. As a result, Thompson, who was a surprise omission from the original 21-man group, has been tested and cleared to join the squad.The three Hampshire academy players who will take part in the camp are Harry Petrie, Ollie Southon and James Trodd. Thompson’s inclusion means that Shane Getkate is the only centrally-contracted men’s player not to be making the trip.The squad will leave Dublin on a charter flight on Saturday, before travelling by bus to the Ageas Bowl where they will stay for two-and-a-half weeks. They will play an intra-squad practice match on July 22 and a warm-up against England Lions on July 26, after which a 14-man squad for the ODI series will be finalised.Ireland squad for England ODIs: Mark Adair, Andy Balbirnie (captain), Curtis Campher, Peter Chase, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Jonathan Garth, Tyrone Kane, Josh Little, Andrew McBrine, Barry McCarthy, James McCollum, Kevin O’Brien, William Porterfield, Boyd Rankin, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Harry Tector, Stuart Thompson, Lorcan Tucker, Gary Wilson, Craig Young

Patriots’ hopes for semi-final qualification all but over after heavy defeat

Sreshth Shah02-Sep-2020Trinbago Knight Riders made it eight wins in eight matches while St Kitts and Nevis Patriots were all but knocked out of semi-final contention after the table toppers won by 59 runs in Tarouba.Knight Riders rested Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine, Fawad Ahmed and Jayden Seales as Dwayne Bravo captained the side on the day, but despite their stars missing, they rollicked to victory with Patriots never quite giving their 175-run target a chase. That Knight Riders made 174 for 4 was thanks to Lendl Simmons, who returned to form with an innings of 96 after a sedate CPL 2020 thus far. His highest score entering the contest this season was 32.Simmons shows his classThe CPL’s second-highest run-getter showed why he remains one of the tournament’s most prolific batsmen after cracking his second-highest score in the tournament. At first, Sheldon Cottrell and Alzarri Joseph kept Simmons and T20 debutant Amir Jangoo quiet. But after the left-handed Jangoo was run-out trying to pinch a single off Cottrell in the third over, Simmons and No. 3 Colin Munro changed gears, getting to 29 for 1 after four overs.A blow to the gloves in the fourth over forced Munro to retire hurt during the rain break that briefly paused proceedings, and Simmons then took charge in the company of Darren Bravo. Although Bravo had a bit of trouble playing Rayad Emrit and Jon-Russ Jaggesar, Simmons kept finding the occasional boundary, and his third six brought up his maiden fifty of CPL 2020. The duo eventually added 130 in 14.3 overs with Bravo contributing only 36 and when he fell, the Knight Riders were at 159 for 2 in the 19th over.With four balls to go in the innings, Simmons looked for a big shot of Dominic Drakes to reach his maiden CPL hundred, but he found Cottrell at deep midwicket, and left the ground with his head sunk, although the Knight Riders dug out stood up to applaud him for 63-ball 96 that included seven fours and six sixes.Lendl Simmons trudges off after falling four runs short of a second T20 century•Randy Brooks – CPL T20 / Getty

Patriots strangled by spinPatriots’ opening pair of Evin Lewis and Chris Lynn were welcomed by left-arm spinners Akeal Hosein and Khary Pierre, who both bowled three overs each in the Powerplay. Frustrated by the lack of runs in the first two overs, Lewis tried to cut Pierre over point but found 48-year old Pravin Tambe’s safe hands as the Indian dived to his left to hold on to a tough catch.Joshua Da Silva at No. 3 looked to give Lynn company for long enough for the Australian to begin his acceleration in the manner how Simmons did in the first innings. But when he continued to see Lynn hovering at a strike rate of around 75 after 12 overs, he looked to go big, and was out caught-and-bowled by Tambe, who deceived both batsmen with an assortment of legbreaks and googlies. That happened in the 13th over, and with the required rate hovering over 12, Lynn (34 off 46 balls), Ben Dunk, Denesh Ramdin and Drakes fell in the next four overs. The last three of them were dismissed by the offspin of Sikandar Raza as Patriots slumped from 83 for 3 to 94 for 6.Hosein then went full and wide to dismiss Joseph to get on the wickets tally, and with seven wickets gone and the target well and truly out of reach, Patriots captain Emrit and Imran Khan put on a short stand of 17 for a tiny bit of consolation. Tambe conceded just 12 in his four overs, while Hosein conceded only 15 in his four.

Allrounder points to throwaway comments on skin colour and a lack of cultural training for professional cricketers

Daniel Brettig08-Sep-2020Casual racism within Australian cricket has been allowed to fester through a lack of adequate cultural awareness education for players, support staff and officialdom over the past two decades, leaving many to consider their past behaviour through the prism of the Black Lives Matter movement.This is one of many uncomfortable conclusions to be drawn from Cricket Australia’s first attempt to reckon with its past and present mistakes in dealing with Indigenous players and issues of race more generally. It takes the form of a series of discussion panels under the banner of Cricket Connecting Country that will air on the governing body’s digital platforms on Wednesday night, hosted by the CA board director Mel Jones.In a discussion featuring two noted experts on race and culture in Nyadol Nyuon, a commercial litigator with the Melbourne law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler, and Janine Mohamed, chief executive of the Lowitja Institute dedicated to Aboriginal health, the Indigenous Australian cricketer Dan Christian catalogued the extent of casual racism he had experienced, largely around ignorant critiques of his Aboriginality based on his appearance.”I think it is an issue in Australian cricket, I don’t think it’s as ‘in your face’ as you might see around the world or even elsewhere in Australian culture,” Christian told the panel. “I think it’s definitely there, it’s more of a casual racism, just little throwaway lines here and there, made to be jokes and a lot of that for me personally has been around the colour of my skin and the fact that I don’t look Aboriginal or whatever that means. That’s the most noticeable thing for me.”It’s just something that comes with a lack of education and an ignorance. I don’t think a lot of people say it with any kind of malice, it’s just that they don’t understand and don’t know. When all the BLM stuff came out in the last couple of months, one of the things I related to the most was Meyne Wyatt’s monologue on QandA, which I thought was absolutely brilliant. There’s one little section of that where he talks about being asked that question and his comment back to whoever asked it was ‘well what part am I, is it my foot, is it my arm, is it my leg’. I’ve had those kinds of questions a lot and it was a pretty good way to look at it.”However I’ve received a lot of messages over the past few months from people I’ve played with and against that have said ‘sorry if I’ve ever said anything to you that you’ve been offended by, please help, I’d love to know more about your personal story, your family story, things that I can do in the community to try and help out’ and so from that perspective I think it’s been a wonderful thing to have happened to be able to have that conversation and for people to want to make change.”Christian noted, somewhat ruefully, that he had received more education about cultural awareness and understanding of the many and varied racial backgrounds in Australian life during a brief stint in a public service job prior to his professional cricket career, than in any of the many seasons since.”Before I started playing cricket I was working for the government in the Indigenous employment branch in the department of employment and workplace relations in the early 2000s, and one of the first things I did when I had that job, and the whole department had to go through it, was cross-cultural awareness training,” he said. “So you learned all sorts of things about our own culture and other cultures and how to integrate, and all that stuff.”It was all really interesting, fantastic, relevant stuff. That was in the early 2000s. I’ve been playing cricket ever since, and not once have I ever been through any kind of training or heard about any kind of training like that throughout cricket. So that’s one thing we could at least do to raise some awareness and to educate people within our sport. I just don’t think that’s something we’ve ever looked at in the past, and I think, particularly now is a great chance to do something like that.”Australia’s cricketers are still on their own journey to a better understanding of the game’s rich Aboriginal history, including the 1868 tour of England by an Indigenous team that was the first ever overseas visit by any representative sporting team from this country. In many ways the women’s team has been able to progress more fully on the path towards proper understanding and connection than their male equivalents.Dan Christian in his follow-through•Getty Images

This was underlined by how, after the men’s limited-overs team captain Aaron Finch stated that the team would not be “taking a knee” in recognition of the BLM movement before their first T20I in England last week, the Australian women’s team vice-captain Rachael Haynes stated that a deeper understanding of Indigenous culture and its connection to cricket had made numerous observances, both last year and in planning for the season to come, so much more meaningful.”The great thing about being involved with it was that it wasn’t a superficial event,” Haynes said of the team donning Indigenous-inspired uniforms for the Reconcilitation match played against England last summer. “Quite often when we do things on the field, you walk out as a player and you’re just part of that one moment and then you move on and you play the game. One of the things I really enjoyed about being involved in it was it started perhaps six months before that moment.”CA came and presented to us on the whole concept and then spoke about the jersey that was going to get produced and we did some activities leading into it as well to get an appreciation of indigenous culture and for me as a player that was much more valuable than just stepping out onto the field and going through the ceremony and not perhaps understanding different moments you were part of.”I think that’s something sport has a responsibility to do, is just because the lights and cameras are out and flashing, that’s not just the moment you’re looking to capture. If you want to be impactful long-term, you’ve actually got to take the opportunity leading in to educate the players on what they’re doing and why they’re doing it and what the opportunity is as well. Rather than just getting them to step out onto the field and be part of a ceremony which is really symbolic and great to be part of, but that shouldn’t be where it stops and starts.”Nevertheless, Haynes acknowledged the fact that instances of racist language and behaviour were still far more frequent in Australian cricket than anyone should condone, citing a recent example she had witnessed personally.”When I did hear it I was really taken aback in the moment and the situation, because it came from a place where it didn’t come from a teammate or the team environment, it came from a place surrounding that, and in a moment where I didn’t envisage that would happen,” Haynes said. “I did say something to call it out, but it really hit home to me that much of the points that are being raised around casual racism, even how its ingrained in some younger children, not even really knowing that’s what they’re being taught.”There’s lots of things we need to do to overcome that, how we talk in the media, how we call out behaviour. I think there’s a huge role for sport to play in that. We’ve started to see that as well even with other codes, people are really starting to call out poor behaviour, we’ve seen that a lot on social media. So sport has a huge role to play in trying to make people accountable for some of the things they’re saying.”Nyuon and Mohamed concluded their own many insights by noting that any “allies” to the cause of Black and Aboriginal justice needed to be well stocked with resilience and willingness to struggle. This first episode of Cricket Connecting Country, to be followed by two others, helps CA to enter into the many difficult conversations that will entail.

South Australia’s captain gave them hope of a draw after Victoria’s monumental opening stand

Andrew McGlashan01-Nov-2020For the second match running, captain Travis Head led South Australia’s quest to salvage a draw after the record-breaking feats of Marcus Harris and Will Pucovski where the Victoria openers added a record Sheffield Shield partnership of 486.Pucovski might have managed a triple hundred, but instead was unbeaten on a career-best 255 – his second double century at the age of just 22 – when Peter Handscomb declared the moment Nic Maddinson fell to the first ball after lunch.Having chased leather for 139 overs, South Australia were soon 2 for 10 as Scott Boland struck twice in his second over with the new ball and a three-day finish look a possibility, but Head set about restoring some Redbacks pride with his second century in consecutive innings. There is no shortage of in-form Australian batsmen.As he did against Tasmania, where he made an unbeaten 171, Head took a positive approach and though he slowed up close to three figures the mark still came from a healthy 155 deliveries.The ball after, Henry Hunt brought up his half-century as he provided a solid foil for Head and absorbed 207 deliveries during a partnership that stood at 162 by stumps. Having enjoyed a bit of early life in the surface on the opening day, Victoria’s young pacemen found it much harder work while there was not much on offer for the spinners.Having spent such a long, dispiriting, innings in the field it was a commendable show of character from Head and Hunt to repel the bowlers for the rest of the day even on a surface now friendly for batting.Victoria will still hope to press for victory, but at the start of the day it was all about the record books. Their opening pair resumed on 0 for 418 with Pucovski on 199 and he reached double off the first ball of the day as he and Harris moved briskly up the charts.Harris was dropped at slip by Callum Ferguson with the score on 436 and it was his cover drive which took the stand to 465, surpassing the Mark Waugh-Steve Waugh landmark which was made against Western Australia at the WACA in 1990-91.As attention turned to the all-time first-class partnership lists and a 500-stand loomed, South Australia finally ended the stand when Harris gloved a short ball from Wes Agar to the keeper. After 123 overs with the pads on, Handscomb finally walked in at No. 3.