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The pace bowler joins New South Wales while McDermott returns to Queensland

ESPNcricinfo staff04-May-2023Jackson Bird and Ben McDermott will both return to their home states in significant off-season departures from Tasmania.Bird, the 36-year-old pace bowler who played nine Tests for Australia, has joined New South Wales on a two-year deal while top-order batter McDermott heads back to Queensland where he made his first-class and one-day debuts in 2014.Bird, who was born in Sydney but has played his entire Australian first-class career with Tasmania, joins a NSW side looking rebuild after a horror season which saw them finish bottom of the Sheffield Shield. He brings with him a first-class record of 455 wickets at 24.89. During the 2020-21 campaign, Bird took his career-best 7 for 18 against New South Wales as they were skittled for 32.Related

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Bird is the most prolific active bowler in the Sheffield Shieldwith 350 competition wickets having overtaken the now-retired Trent Copeland during last season.”I played all my junior cricket in NSW and like any other aspiring professional in the state I wanted to pull on a Baggy Blue,” he said. “My career took a different path and I am very grateful to Cricket Tasmania and everyone that I have played with and worked with down there for what has been an amazing experience, both professionally and personally.”Now it’s a fresh start in a place I am familiar with, and I am looking forward to being able to contribute on the field and also around the playing group. The Blues have some very talented young bowlers and I hope I can offer them some guidance if they need it.”Meanwhile, McDermott returns to the state where the family name is part of cricket folklore after the career of his father, Craig.Ben McDermott struggled last season after a promising tour of Pakistan•AFP/Getty Images

He will be looking to rebound from a poor 2022-23 season where he lost his place in the Shield side having averaged 18.30 and managed two fifties at 25.14 in the Marsh Cup.Those numbers have stymied his international ambitions after a promising series against Pakistan in early 2022 which brought a maiden ODI hundred. Overall he has played five ODIs and 23 T20Is.”We’re very keen to work with Ben to help him realise his playing goals and no doubt his experience and skills will be welcomed by the playing group,” Bennett King, Queensland Cricket’s general manager of high performance, said. “He’s a seasoned player who has performed in all formats for Tasmania and Australia, and so it will be exciting to see him progress in the future.”McDermott joins what is a strong Queensland top-order when at full-strength although they are often hit by international call-ups. With the ODI World Cup in October and November they are unlikely to see much of Marnus Labuschagne although should get good service from Usman Khawaja and Matt Renshaw who are not in Australia’s white-ball set-up.

Ireland captain disappointed but phlegmatic about decision to host key contest in Chelmsford

Andrew Miller08-May-2023Andrew Balbirnie, Ireland’s captain, says that the return of Josh Little from IPL duty is a good indicator of the importance of their three-match World Cup Super League clash with Bangladesh, which gets underway in Chelmsford on Tuesday.Little, Ireland’s outstanding left-arm seamer, has been a mainstay of Gujarat Titans’ table-topping outfit in the ongoing IPL, claiming six wickets in the tournament to date including a Player-of-the-Match-winning haul of 2 for 25 against Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens last week.But, with Ireland needing a clean-sweep of their three-match series to have any chance of displacing South Africa in eighth place in the World Cup Super League standings, and thereby secure automatic qualification for the main event in India this year, Little has linked back up with his Ireland team-mates for the first time since the tour of Zimbabwe in January.Related

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“It’s a huge boost,” Balbirnie said on the eve of the first ODI. “He has become a world-class operator, and we’re very grateful to have him back into the squad for these games. He’s obviously had a really good time of it at the IPL, so to have him throughout this week for these games is a great boost for us as a group, and obviously for the bowlers as well, and the learnings that they take from him. Hopefully, from our point of view, he can have a good week performance-wise and have an impact for us.”There’s a lot of talk, and plenty being written and said about it,” Balbirnie added, referencing the ongoing debate about the future of international cricket amid the proliferation of T20 leagues. “But we’re just happy that [Josh] is playing for us. He’s very close with the group, and grew up with a lot of us, and there’s no angst about him not playing for us in certain games. We’re just delighted with the progress he’s made.”He’s on the world stage and performing, and that’s something that has proven to a lot of the group that it can be done, with hard work and discipline. Having only bowled four-over spells over a period of time, to come in and bowl ten overs will maybe be a bit taxing on him. But he’s a pretty fit guy and he’s just a really good player for us now. We’re just very lucky to have him for the week.”The challenge of the making the switch from a spin-friendly surface in Jaipur, the scene of his most recent IPL outing on Friday, to an overcast Chelmsford will be a tough one for Little. However, several of his team-mates – Balbirnie included – are faced with a similar adjustment, following their most recent Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, in which they lost by an innings despite posting an impressive 492 in their first innings.Josh Little claimed a hat-trick for Ireland against New Zealand in the recent T20 World Cup•AFP/Getty Images

Balbirnie himself made scores of 95 and 46 in the Test, with Paul Stirling and Curtis Campher both posting centuries, and despite the disappointment in the final result, Ireland’s captain was happy to take the positives from the performance.”Going from Galle to Chelmsford, it’s certainly two different ends of the spectrum, but when you’re just looking at it as a bat-versus-ball contest, it is nice to know that you’ve got a bit of form in the bank over the last couple of weeks. So hopefully, us as batters can take that forward into this week”I can only speak for myself, but batting is batting, no matter what the format is. You’re going to be confident because you’ve got runs, albeit on a very, very good wicket, it gives confidence that you can do it for a long period of time against good bowling.”Given the importance of the series, and the potential reward if Ireland can achieve their aim of a 3-0 clean-sweep, Balbirnie admitted it was a disappointment not to be playing their home series on home soil. However, he added that he accepted the logistical constraints – a combination of poor weather prospects and Cricket Ireland’s costly overheads for setting up temporary facilities – and backed his players to put their best foot forward regardless.”I’m not going to sit here and say that we want to be here necessarily,” he said. “Essex have been really good at facilitating us, they’ve made us feel as home as possible, but certainly as an Irish cricketer, you want to play your home games in Ireland and you want to play in front of your crowd that are really passionate about the game, and friends and family and stuff.”So it’s slightly disappointing but, at the same time, we’ve got to just get on with it. We don’t make those decisions, and I don’t want to dwell too much on it, because we are here and it’s not going to change. We try to win games of cricket for Ireland and hopefully some people make the trip over this week.”The likelihood, however, is that Bangladesh’s wealth of UK-based support – not least the communities in East London for whom Chelmsford is a half-hour commute – will flock to the three games to create an atmosphere that rather favours the visitors.”To be honest, I think no matter where we play in the world, there’ll probably be more Bangladeshi people there than Irish. Even if we’re playing in Dublin, there’d be a big Bangladeshi crowd here. We want to play in front of a lot of people, we want to showcase our skills and make our game bigger. So if we can put in performances against a hostile Bangladesh crowd, then great. But I do hope to see a bit of Irish colour in the crowd as well. Naturally, we want to play in front of our people and hopefully put on a good show.”

Former ICC umpire says “hypocrisy and lack of consistency from some people and groups is quite interesting”

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jul-20232:08

Has the Bairstow dismissal been blown out of proportion?

Simon Taufel, the former ICC elite umpire who is presently a member of the MCC laws sub-committee, has suggested Australia had not breached the Spirit of Cricket when Alex Carey stumped Jonny Bairstow on the fifth day of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s.”Was Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal at Lords a breach of the Spirit of Cricket?” Taufel wrote in a post on LinkedIn. “This is a question I have been inundated with, so I thought it best to share my thoughts publicly by asking everyone a question or eight to consider …

• “Have you seen any umpire tell a fielding side that the keeper standing back is not allowed to attempt a stumping?
• “Was there a complaint from anyone when Bairstow tried to stump Marnus exactly the same way in the first innings?
• “What has Jonny Bairstow said about his dismissal? He has been very quiet. Why?
• “My experience is when people don’t like a dismissal under the Laws of Cricket, they cite the Spirit of Cricket to support their view.
• “Which part of the codified Preamble (the Spirit of Cricket) was breached by the fielding side?
• “What did the fielding side do in effecting a legitimate dismissal that unfairly impacted the ability of the batter in their attempt not to be dismissed? (Did they run into him or distract him or prevent him making good his ground?)
• “Should a batter be immune from dismissal as per the Laws by simply being negligent (and leaving his ground too early)?
• “Did England retire Ben Duckett when they disagreed with the Starc catch decision as per the Laws and umpires’ decision?

“The hypocrisy and lack of consistency from some people and groups is quite interesting and concerning for the future of our game. Maybe I am the odd one out here? The good news is that we are actively engaged with Test cricket, the best form of the game,” he ended.

Preamble to the Laws: Spirit of Cricket

Cricket owes much of its appeal and enjoyment to the fact that it should be played not only according to the Laws, but also within the Spirit of Cricket. The major responsibility for ensuring fair play rests with the captains, but extends to all players, match officials and, especially in junior cricket, teachers, coaches and parents.
Respect is central to the Spirit of Cricket.
Respect your captain, team-mates, opponents and the authority of the umpires.
Play hard and play fair.
Accept the umpire’s decision.
Create a positive atmosphere by your own conduct, and encourage others to do likewise.
Show self-discipline, even when things go against you.
Congratulate the opposition on their successes, and enjoy those of your own team.
Thank the officials and your opposition at the end of the match, whatever the result.
Cricket is an exciting game that encourages leadership, friendship and teamwork, which brings together people from different nationalities, cultures and religions, especially when played within the Spirit of Cricket.

Bairstow’s dismissal took place when England were five down and needed a further 178 runs to win at Lord’s. He ducked underneath a short ball from Cameron Green, scratched the crease with his boot and walked down the pitch towards his partner Ben Stokes at the non-striker’s end.Before Bairstow had begun to leave his ground, wicketkeeper Carey had gathered the ball on the bounce and, in one motion, under-armed a throw at stumps at the striker’s end. The on-field umpires referred the decision to TV umpire Marais Erasmus, who gave the batter out – and the dismissal was recorded as stumped. Bairstow glared at the Australian huddle as he walked off and boos rang out around Lord’s. The crowd – who were largely subdued throughout the first four days of this Test – then chanted repeatedly: “Same old Aussies, always cheating.” And as the Australian players walked through the Lord’s Long Room at the lunch interval, they were booed and abused by some MCC members.Australia went on to win the Lord’s Test by 43 runs and took a 2-0 lead in the Ashes, but the furore over Bairstow’s dismissal has only snowballed as the series moves to Headingley on Thursday.While Australia captain Pat Cummins defended his decision to appeal for the wicket, his England counterpart Ben Stokes said he wouldn’t want to win that way. England’s coach Brendon McCullum said the teams wouldn’t be sharing a beer any time soon, and that the nature of the dismissal would galvanise England for the rest of the series.The prime ministers of the two countries – Rishi Sunak and Anthony Albanese – have also got involved, taking their teams’ sides.

Australia star misses out on third Test century after entertaining duel with debutant Filer

Andrew Miller22-Jun-2023Ellyse Perry conceded that getting out for 99 was “a bit of a bummer”, but she wasn’t about to let that dent her enjoyment of a compelling first day of the Women’s Ashes at Trent Bridge.Perry’s dismissal, caught in the gully off the high-octane debutant Lauren Filer, was the key moment of the contest so far, as England battled back from a daunting post-lunch scoreline of 202 for 2 to reduce Australia to 238 for 6, following a lengthy rain delay.Ashleigh Gardner and Annabel Sutherland then demonstrated Australia’s formidable batting depth in a seventh-wicket stand of 77, but when Lauren Bell’s first delivery with the new ball prised out Gardner for 40, the teams went to the close evenly matched on 328 for 7.”It was just a great tussle,” Perry said at the close. “Importantly, it was a nice way for us to finish at the end there, after a pretty tricky session after the rain delay.”If both teams look at it, I think they’d be pretty happy with today in different areas, and then there’s probably other areas where one team got the upper hand over the other. So yeah, I think that’s a great day of Test cricket, if it looks like that.”For much of her 153-ball stay, it was business as usual in Ashes Tests for Perry, who compiled a career-best 213 not out against England at Sydney in November 2017, before bossing their most recent Test in England, at Taunton in 2019, with twin scores of 116 and 76 not out.One player, however, caused her more bother than the rest of England’s attack. Filer touched speeds in excess of 75mph on debut after her coach, Jon Lewis, had said before the match that she was bowling “with more pace than probably anyone else in the country”. And she seemed to have snagged a fairytale first-ball wicket when Perry, on 10, was pinned on the pads and given out lbw, only for Perry’s review to confirm a big inside-edge.Related

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She wouldn’t be denied that maiden wicket for long, however, inducing a slash to gully from Beth Mooney at the end of her third over. And when she returned in the afternoon for her third spell, Filer landed the big fish. Perry, looking for her hundred, was lured into the drive and hurried by some extra lift and bounce. Nat Sciver-Brunt at gully made no mistake.Asked if the landmark had been playing on her mind, Perry insisted that she’d been thinking about “nothing in particular”.”Like every other ball, it’s just an opportunity at a particular moment in time, and I’d had a really great tussle with Filer the whole time. I thought she was extremely impressive today on debut and brought the game alive at different points.”So that ball just had my measure, which is totally fine. It’s a number, and one that we talk about a lot in cricket, but the whole experience out there today was so much fun. I’ve loved every opportunity. Sometimes things just go that way. It’s hard to be disappointed.””It was nice to contribute,” she added. “It was nice to be a part of a few really good partnerships, particularly that one with TMac [McGrath]. It’s just like any other time to get out. It’s a bit of a bummer, but gosh, the game definitely goes on, and life goes on for sure.”With the contest coming hot on the heels of the epic final day of the opening Men’s Ashes Test at Edgbaston, a healthy crowd of 5,545 turned out at Trent Bridge as the Women’s Test returned to a major venue for the first time since 2001, with Hove, Worcester, Wormsley, Canterbury and Taunton having hosted Ashes contests in the intervening two decades.”I really enjoyed today, to be out there and to be a part of it,” Perry said. “To have a great atmosphere with the crowd, which just shows how much the game’s come along, and how much quality there was in the game today, with bat and ball, was just awesome.”Much of that quality was provided by England’s Sophie Ecclestone, who bowled 28 consecutive overs either side of the rain break, to claim the day’s best figures of 3 for 71 in 31 overs. That included the crucial wicket of McGrath, bowled by a beauty for 61 to end her daunting century stand with Perry, then two more in three balls as Jess Jonassen and Alyssa Healy joined a mini-collapse.”It’s probably quite unique, if I think about the Tests that I played in over the years, to just have one frontline spinner in the bowling attack, and that probably just speaks volumes of how incredibly good Sophie Ecclestone is,” Perry said. “She’s the pre-eminent spinner in the world, really.”

Self-belief is coursing through an England side which has come a long way since 2019

Valkerie Baynes14-Jul-2023″We don’t want to be pushovers any more,” declared Tammy Beaumont when explaining the importance of self-belief to her England side’s remarkable Ashes push from 6-0 down to all square with two matches to play.And it was another declaration, back in July 2019, that started it all. Back then with the Ashes lost again Clare Connor, then the ECB’s managing director, announced that there would be a complete revamp of domestic women’s cricket in England to avoid another chastening defeat at the hands of Australia, whom she recognised had set the standard for how things should be done. With England 12-2 down in that series, it felt like a seminal moment, and it was.England secured a consolation win in the final match of the series but, much more than that, the ECB followed up Connor’s announcement with action, introducing a new regional structure, a new head coach – which has since changed again – and greater investment in the women’s game. All this we know but, even though it has taken four years, there is a strong sense now that the sea-change is complete.On Friday, ahead of the penultimate match in the series, Beaumont drew parallels with the revival of England’s men’s team following their 4-0 Ashes defeat in Australia in 2021-22. Now both teams stand on the cusp of extraordinary achievements. England Women must win their remaining two ODIs if they are to win back the Ashes held by Australia since 2015, while their male counterparts trail Australia 1-2 and must win the last two Tests to win do likewise.”It’s really important,” Beaumont said of her team’s never-say-die attitude, which has come to the fore in this series. “You’re seeing that with the men’s Ashes as well, they’ve gone two-nil down, but we don’t want to be pushovers anymore.”That’s probably why this series has been so captivating to everyone. I am a massive cricket badger, but I feel like Ashes fever is everywhere for both the men and the women and it’s great to see. British culture has always loved an underdog so I think it’s probably helped that we’re taking on such a great team in Australia. I personally love that feeling of trying to overcome a bit of difficulty.”Related

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Beaumont, the opener whose record innings of 208 gave her side a strong chance in the Test which opened the series and was ultimately won by Australia, was overlooked for the T20I leg of the series, having lost her place in the squad for the shortest format last summer. England won the second two T20Is with Danni Wyatt and Sophia Dunkley at the top of the order to turn the series and so she admits she “can’t be too hard done by” despite making no secret of the fact she’s “desperate” to try and break back into the T20I side.Beaumont did, however, return for the first ODI in Bristol, in which she set up England’s highest ever 50-over run chase with 47 from 42 balls before Heather Knight’s unbeaten 75 and Kate Cross’s priceless 19 not out from No. 10 saw them home.”I just feel like there’s such great trust in everyone at every situation,” Beaumont said. “At Bristol the other day, there was no doubt in my mind that Kate Cross could bat like that. Every single one of us on the sideline felt completely at ease knowing that Kate had the skills to do it. Everybody just backs each other’s abilities and their decision-making. It’s a great feeling to have.”That that wasn’t always the case, Beaumont says, especially against an opposition with as formidable a reputation as Australia, who went into Bristol unbeaten in 15 ODIs.”In the past, if we’d lost the first two Ashes games, maybe wouldn’t have had that belief as much,” she said. “So from our way of looking at it, externally to them, we have kind of got that belief and a little bit of taking that aura away.”For Australia, however, left-arm spinner Jess Jonassen said there was no sense of panic, given her team needs to win just one of the remaining two games to retain the Ashes.”Definitely not,” Jonassen said. “This side has won a lot of games of cricket over a number of years and the fact that the last three haven’t really gone our way is no cause to panic.”The scores are level. We haven’t played our best cricket, which is probably the thing that we’re focusing on the most. England still need to win two, but equally, we’re trying to win the last two as well. There’s two high-quality sides and if you’re not on on any given day, then the opposition is going to take the game away from you.”Even though the losses we’ve had have been really, really tight and really close, we feel that it’s been our own undoing in a way, that we’ve been a bit sloppy in certain areas and lacked a little bit of discipline at times in terms of extras, misfields and what have you. But the positive is that’s all in our control.”Whatever happens from this point, however, there is no denying now that the gap, identified so starkly four years ago, is closing.

Left-armer takes 4 for 27 to keep visitors in contention despite first-innings collape

ECB Reporters Network04-Sep-2023Left-armer Jamie McIlroy led a powerful Glamorgan fightback with the ball to loosen Worcestershire’s grip on the LV=Insurance County Championship encounter at New Road.McIlroy returned career best figures of 4 for 27 from 11 overs to revive his side’s hopes in the top three encounter in which 18 wickets fell on the second day.Worcestershire will resume with a lead of 241 on a wicket still offering assistance and encouragement to the seamers. But the game is much more in the balance than had appeared likely when they reached 81 for 1 before a spell of losing seven wickets for 40 runs.Worcestershire had obtained a first innings lead of 114 after bowling out unbeaten Glamorgan in just 48 overs. Dutch allrounder Logan van Beek followed up his half-century with 4 for 43 and Dillon Pennington continued his recent good form in red-ball cricket with another three wickets.Jake Libby and Azhar Ali consolidated Worcestershire’s position during the early part of their second innings against a Glamorgan attack handicapped by the absence of seamer Timm van der Gugten with a hamstring injury. But their depleted resources stuck to their task during a marathon 50-over final session and most notably McIlroy who picked up the first four wickets and ended the day with 12-3-27-4.Glamorgan resumed on three for nought on a blistering hot day and Worcestershire’s leading wicket-taker Joe Leach struck two early blows to take his first class tally for the season to 43.The second ball of the morning accounted for Ed Byrom who pushed forward and Adam Hose snaffled the opportunity away to his right at first slip. Former Worcestershire Academy player Zain-ul-Hassan departed after a similar stroke with keeper Gareth Roderick accepting the chance.Leach’s new ball partner Pennington got in on the act as nightwatchman James Harris went lbw to a delivery angled in to leave Glamorgan on 27 for 3. It was a similar scenario to the opening day when Worcestershire lost three wickets for 33 on a pitch still offering enough encouragement to the bowlers.Sam Northeast survived a straightforward chance at midwicket off van Beek but added only two more before he prodded at a delivery from Pennington and was pouched by Libby at third slip.Van Beek picked up his maiden Championship wicket for Worcestershire when Colin Ingram drove hard and Libby again made no mistake.Kiran Carlson experienced a difficult time, surviving two hard chances and being hit on the helmet by a short ball from Pennington. But the first over after lunch brought about his downfall as he took one hand off the bat and slapped on-loan Essex seamer Ben Allison to cover.Chris Cooke and Billy Root then featured in the only substantial partnership of the innings in adding 62 in 14 overs before the last four wickets fell for 21 runs. Van Beek ended their resistance when Cooke was caught behind off an away swinger and in his next over Ben Kellaway perished at second slip.Van der Gugten, who needed a runner, departed in the same manner off Pennington before McIlroy was yorked by van Beek to wrap up the innings.When Worcestershire batted, Roderick was caught by keeper Cooke off the first ball of the innings from McIlroy.Libby and Azhar then joined forces and saw off the new ball before their partnership flourished in relatively untroubled fashion. But McIlroy returned to the attack to pick up three wickets in the space of 13 balls to spark a substantial collapse.Azhar provided Cooke with another scalp after attempting to cut to end a stand of 81 with Libby. McIlroy had more joy when Libby was undone by a ball of extra bounce which he nicked to at first slip. Jack Haynes then drove at McIlroy and second slip did the rest.Hose shouldered arms and was bowled by Harris, Zain trapped Kashif Ali lbw and then castled van Beek after he also offered no stroke. Harris took the final wicket of the day when he beat the defensive push of Allison.

Focus is turning to the multi-format tour but they may first have to deal with the return of Hayley Matthews

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff11-Oct-2023Australia’s women cricketers have started training with pink balls during the ongoing ODI series with West Indies in preparation for the day-night Test against India in December, which is likely to be played in Mumbai.Even with the prospect of West Indies star Hayley Matthews returning from a quad injury for the second ODI at the Junction Oval in Melbourne after missing the first ODI loss in Brisbane, the hosts spent the lead-in to Thursday’s match in Melbourne training with pink ballsThe famed Wankhede Stadium is set to host a Test in December in what would be India’s first home women’s Test since 2014. Mumbai hosted Australia’s most recent women’s Test in India way back in February 1984. India and Australia played out a draw at Carrara on the Gold Coast in a day-night Test in October 2021.Related

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“I think the coaches thought it could be a good chance just to have a try with the pink balls,” emerging allrounder Annabel Sutherland said on Wednesday.”We had a Test on the Gold Coast and weren’t able to get a lot of preparation for that just because of the short notice for the series and with Covid [restrictions].”You look at the men, they often swap between red and white balls within close windows of time, so if we can get comfortable with the pink ball, red ball, white ball, whatever it is, it’ll certainly make the lead-up Test matches [easier].”Any chance you get to play in India is one that you look forward to.”Sutherland, who turns 22 on Thursday, is eager for more time in the middle but will continue biding her time down the order. Already with a Test and ODI century to her name, Sutherland has been down to bat at No.7 in the matches against the Windies so far this summer.Australia have such depth with bat and ball that players who can open for their state and in franchise cricket regularly get relegated to the lower order.”I’m always up for more time in the middle,” Sutherland said on Wednesday. “I’m in the coach’s ear all the time, I’m sure I’m annoying [coach Shelley Nitschke] just as much as a few others who are pretty keen for a hit.”The girls up top are doing a pretty good job as always. I’m happy to be patient at the moment and watch the girls do their work up top.”Sutherland said Australia were expecting Matthews to return from a quad injury after the superstar was sorely missed by the West Indies during a heavy defeat on Sunday.Matthews blitzed 310 runs from 178 balls across the T20 component of the tour, lifting West Indies to a world record run-chase and offering hope in the two T20I losses.Australia will be without Darcie Brown after she was ruled out of the remainder of the ODI series with a hamstring injury. Heather Graham has been called into Australia’s squad as cover.

Cummins happy in the knowledge that Australia “don’t have to be at our absolute best to challenge any team, we can find a way through”

Shashank Kishore18-Nov-2023When Yuvraj Singh walloped Brett Lee through the covers to hit the winning runs in the 2011 World Cup quarter-final in Ahmedabad, it brought an end to an era of domination that had spanned nearly 12 years and delivered three back-to-back World Cup wins. Now, 12 years later, Australia return to Ahmedabad to try and cement a legacy of a different kind.They have been T20 World Cup champions, in 2021, and became Test world champions this year, during which they have also won a Test match in India and retained the Ashes in England. And now, they are on the cusp of an unprecedented sixth World Cup title – no one else has won more than two.Pat Cummins is thrilled to be in a position to achieve “something special”. Ahead of Sunday’s final against India, he stressed on how winning the World Cup would make it a “career-defining year” for many.Related

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“It’s been a huge year. There are four marquee events. If you have one of those in an off-season, it’s a big off-season. We’ve got four of them,” Cummins said in his press interaction ahead of the final. “So being really proud of all those things [the wins], not only the wins but the guys have spent… for some of the guys, probably spent less than a couple of weeks in their own bed since the end of the Aussie summer.”One thing that’s stayed consistent has been the morale in the group. The guys have been awesome. They’re so up for every game they play. And to put ourselves in a position [like] this, it would just top off an incredible year and probably a career-defining year that a lot of us will look back on in years to come and be pretty proud of.”It looked so different six weeks ago when Australia began their World Cup campaign with losses to India and South Africa. In their third, they lost the toss on a slow Lucknow surface and saw Sri Lanka race away to 125 without loss. At that point, Cummins briefly thought they wouldn’t make it too far.”Absolutely! Yeah! The proposition at that stage was basically we had to be flawless to make it through to the semis,” he said. “And fortunately, we were. But yeah, absolutely, we knew we came up against two very good sides to start off with, but we were off the pace so we knew that we had to change pretty drastically and yeah, glad we did.What have we got here? Members of the Australia set-up investigate the pitch•AFP/Getty Images

“I think one of the pleasing things is I still don’t feel like we’ve played the complete game. Maybe against Netherlands, but outside of that, we probably haven’t. There have been no huge wins. We’ve had to fight for every win, but we’ve found a way to win. And different players have stood up at different times.”So I think, by taking that confidence, knowing that we don’t have to be at our absolute best to challenge any team, we can find a way through it. Yeah, I’m sure we’ll draw a lot of confidence, all the boys draw a lot of confidence from that going into tomorrow.”India are on a bull run, undefeated and not pushed too far during the course of the past seven weeks. It’s reminiscent of Australia’s own campaign from 2003, where they beat India in a one-sided final. Cummins isn’t one to live on past glory, though.”Yeah, I mean, neither player from both sides were there in 2003, so it feels a long time ago,” he said. “But we know it’s going to be a packed house. There’s going to be 130,000 fans here supporting India. So it’s going to be awesome. They’ve been playing really well, undefeated in this tournament. But we know at our best we can give them a good shake. We’ve played them quite a lot over the last couple of years with success, so it’s all building up for a nice final.”Playing in front of big crowds isn’t that big a deal for most from the current Australian side. From this group, Steven Smith, David Warner, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Glenn Maxwell were all part of the 2015 final (and Cummins and Mitchell Marsh were in the squad) when Australia beat New Zealand at the MCG in front of over 80,000 fans. And many of them are IPL-experienced too.Seven of the current Australians were around when they won the 2015 World Cup final in front of over 80,000 people at MCG•ICC

In Ahmedabad on Sunday, there are likely to be well over 100,000 fans in, mostly in India’s blue. It can be an intimidating prospect at the best of times. Is this Australia team equipped mentally to be immune to a partisan crowd of this size?”I mean, potentially. We play over here in India a lot, so the noise is not something new,” Cummins said. “Yeah, I think, on this scale it’s probably bigger than we would have experienced before, but it’s not something totally foreign to what we’ve had before. Everyone deals with it slightly differently. You see Davey [Warner] probably dancing and winning the crowd over [and] other guys just staying in their own bubble – yeah, it should be good.”I think you’ve got to embrace it. The crowd’s obviously going to be very one-sided but, in sport there’s nothing more satisfying than hearing a big crowd go silent and that’s the aim for us tomorrow. Yeah, you’ve just got to embrace every part of it, every part of a final – even in the lead-up, there’s going to be noise and more people and interest, and you just can’t get overwhelmed.”You’ve got to be up for it, you’ve got to love it, and just know whatever happens it’s fine, but you just want to finish the day with no regrets.”

With a match against runaway leaders India looming, perhaps the worst is yet to come for England

Matt Roller26-Oct-20232:23

Bond: England showing no willingness to adapt

The light at the end of the tunnel was a train. England have spent the last four weeks travelling around India talking about responding to setbacks and awaiting the statement performance that has never arrived. If their defeats to New Zealand, Afghanistan and South Africa were bad, this might have been the worst of the lot.The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru was a venue that should have suited England perfectly. In the first of five effective must-win games, they chose to bat first on a flat pitch with short boundaries, rattled along to 44 for 0 after six overs and could finally afford to dream big: would 350 be enough to flatten Sri Lanka, or should they eye 400?They managed 156 all out in 33.2 overs, the lowest score recorded in a completed innings in this ground’s rich history. For all the skill of Sri Lanka’s bowlers and their vibrancy in the field, England got themselves out. The man who struck the first blow, Angelo Mathews, is 36; he had not taken an international wicket since he turned 33.Related

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England were 146 for 8 by the time of Maheesh Theekshana’s leg-side wide to David Willey in the 32nd over of their innings, yet what followed encapsulated their World Cup so far. Kusal Mendis shuffled across, took the ball cleanly and was pulling off his right glove when he spotted that Adil Rashid was out of his ground at the non-striker’s end.Mendis’ dead-eye throw found Rashid short of his ground and as Adrian Holdstock sent the decision upstairs, everyone involved knew exactly what had happened. It was a moment of ingenuity, skill and, above all, self-confidence – three traits that England have sorely lacked over the last three weeks.The game was long gone when Rashid dozed off, yet it was part of a string of dismissals that sprung from scrambled minds. Joe Root slapped Theekshana straight to point and ran himself out; Jonny Bairstow picked out mid-on with a cross-batted hack; Jos Buttler flashed with hard hands and flat feet; Liam Livingstone was pinned in front looking to flamingo-flick into the leg side.Once, England were masters of rotating the strike and milking spin through the middle overs. Now, they seem to lurch between attack and defence, and have lost more wickets to spin (20) than any other team in this tournament; their batters have managed five 50-plus scores between them, the fewest of any team.Moeen Ali’s own innings fitted the damning assessment of his team-mates that he had delivered barely 24 hours earlier. He built a 37-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Ben Stokes, lacing one boundary through the covers. On 15, he was gifted a wide, 75mph long-hop by Mathews; with a half-committed cut shot, he chipped it straight to backward point. For all Moeen’s assets, this was familiarly tame.Stokes briefly threatened to play the sort of saviour innings that England anticipated when he declared himself available for the World Cup two months ago. He was given out lbw while reverse-sweeping Theekshana after eking out 13 off his first 36 balls, but when a thin bottom edge saved him on review he started to grind through the gears.He cracked Dilshan Madushanka for three pulled fours through midwicket, and dragged Dhananjaya de Silva’s offspin into the same direction. But as he gradually ran out of partners, Stokes decided it was time to take matters into his own hands: he lined up the upper tier when swinging hard at Kumara’s sharp bouncer, and picked out substitute fielder Dushan Hemantha, just off the rope.With England on the brink of elimination, Stokes total contribution for the tournament reads 48 runs off 81 balls and two catches. His return from injury – while only fit enough to play as a specialist batter – meant they picked an imbalanced side in Mumbai, then dropped their best young player in Harry Brook in Bengaluru. His retirement U-turn was meant to solve problems for England, but has only created them.Angelo Mathews and Kusal Mendis combined to run out Joe Root•Getty Images

In the field, England were on a hiding to nothing with such a low total to defend. It was cruelly fitting that the only bowler to have any real impact, Willey, was not deemed good enough to feature four years ago and is the only member of this squad who was not offered one of the lucrative central contracts that were announced two days before this defeat.England placed their faith in their golden generation, bringing them back together for one last tilt at an ICC event after a period of unprecedented success which means they are – still – the holders of both white-ball World Cups. After the triumphs of 2019 on home soil and 2022 in Australia, 2023 in India has proved one tournament too far.The youngest player they picked on Thursday was Livingstone, who turned 30 in August and has managed 31 runs across four innings: England banked on the value of experience, but their players have looked old and jaded. In the finest tradition of England’s great sporting teams, they have fallen apart gradually, then suddenly.This was England’s fifth straight World Cup defeat to Sri Lanka and ranks among the very worst of those – even if there have been plenty of grisly drubbings along the way. Sri Lanka were missing their captain, their best fast bowler and their first-choice spinner – and even at full strength, this is not a side to rival the 2007 or 2011 vintages.Yet it proved more than good enough to comfortably outplay a once-great England team, to the extent that Pathum Nissanka’s lofted straight six to clinch the points came in just the 26th over. It was such an early finish – wrapped up by half past seven – that a long night of soul-searching awaits.There is not even the consolation of an early return home: England still have four internal flights to catch, four hotels to check into, four games to play. Next up? The runaway leaders, India, in Lucknow on Sunday. Perhaps the worst is still to come.

Decision taken by the ECB’s disciplinary body, in view of Vincent “demonstrating the very highest levels of contrition and remorse” in the decade after being caught up in corruption

Nagraj Gollapudi08-Dec-2023Former New Zealand batter Lou Vincent can resume being involved in domestic cricket or any level below that with immediate effect, after the ECB revised the life ban imposed on him in 2014 for corruption.In a media statement on Friday, the ECB’s Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) said it was revoking the life ban having received from Vincent “compelling evidence demonstrating the very highest levels of contrition and remorse and the very best efforts to make amends wherever possible”.The CDC’s decision comes in response to a “clemency” appeal by Vincent. In 2014, the ECB had imposed a life ban on Vincent barring him from playing cricket at any level, entering any cricket ground, or coaching the game in a professional capacity after he admitted in an open letter that he was a “cheat”. Vincent had been handed 11 life-bans relating to events that occurred during his time at Sussex in 2008 and seven offences committed at the 2011 Champions League Twenty20.Related

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Gerard Elias, representing the CDC, said that it had heard not just Vincent before it’s decision to revise the ban but also the ICC, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) and the ECB. Elias said that “cogent and compelling” reasons were needed for the life ban to be downgraded, something Vincent provided. “In particular, this decision was taken in the light of Mr Vincent’s conduct following his sanction,” Elias said, “Namely: full and frank admissions and the fullest disclosures; immediate and total co-operation with cricket and civil authorities in various parts of the world; and, participation in anti-corruption education programmes for NZC and the ECB. I am satisfied that these factors justify an amelioration of the original sanction at this time.”In his first reaction to the relaxation of the life ban, Vincent, who’s now 45, said he was “very fortunate” to be able to return to cricket. “I made a terrible mistake many years ago, which I’ll deeply regret for the rest of my life, and I remain very sorry for the harm I caused,” Vincent said in a statement issued by NZC. “Being able to return to the cricket environment means the world to me and I feel very fortunate to again have that opportunity.”In the years after being banned, Vincent, who last played for New Zealand in 2007, started a new life as a builder in the small town of Raglan, a surfing destination in the Waikato region of New Zealand. Now, one of the things Vincent said he will look forward to is attending cricket matches with his family, something he was barred from during the life ban.Vincent thanked NZC and the New Zealand Players Association (NZPA), as well as his lawyer Chris Morris, for providing support and paving the way for his return. Heath Mills, the NZPA CEO, said Vincent had played a big hand in educating players in all sports about the evils of match-fixing, something the CDC had recognised. “The penalties have been particularly hard on Lou and he’s shown a lot of humility in owning his mistakes and setting about making amends,” Mills said. “I’m pleased the authorities have recognised his contribution to the fight against match-fixing and, also, his ongoing efforts to educate players and administrators around the world on anti-corruption.”NZC CEO Scott Weenink said though Vincent had “made a mistake… he’s given a lot to the game, not least in helping spread the anti-corruption message over the past decade, and it’s good and right that he can be more involved again.”