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Seven’s move marks a major change from the formula used by Nine, which had preferred to restrict its on-air team to ex-cricketers rather than broadcasting professionals

Daniel Brettig10-Jul-2018Respected commentators Alison Mitchell and Tim Lane will join a Seven broadcasting team including Mel McLaughlin, James Brayshaw and Bruce McAvaney on the network’s roster for the forthcoming Australian summer, after Cricket Australia took free-to-air rights away from Channel Nine for the first time in 40 years.The additions of Mitchell, a longtime radio caller for the BBC and part of BT Sport’s Ashes coverage last summer, and the former ABC cricket caller Lane mark a major departure from the formula used by Nine, which had long preferred to restrict its on-air team to ex-cricketers rather than broadcasting professionals.”I’m tremendously excited to be joining Seven in a new era for Australian cricket coverage,” Mitchell said. “Test cricket holds a very special place in the hearts of the Australian public and it will be a privilege to take a lead role in bringing the action into people’s homes.”Seven had previously named Ricky Ponting, Damien Fleming and Glenn McGrath as experts, and on Tuesday also added Lisa Sthalekar, Jason Gillespie, Greg Blewett, Simon Katich and Brad Hodge to that group. McLaughlin, who had been a part of Ten’s successful Big Bash League coverage before moving to Seven in 2016, will co-host Test matches with Brayshaw, who was moved on from Nine’s commentary box in 2016 but found a new home calling AFL matches at Seven. The well-regarded Fox Sports host Abbey Gelmi will also be part of the team.McAvaney, considered the face and voice of Seven’s sporting coverage since he joined the network in 1990, will be part of Test match coverage by hosting a lunchtime interview show during the highly visible Melbourne and Sydney Test matches across the Boxing Day-New Year holiday period. He had recently explained why he did not think he was suited to a ball-by-ball commentary role on the coverage.”I don’t think I’m capable of calling Test cricket now,” McAvaney said when interviewed by Peter Donegan on SEN. “I reckon I might’ve been 35 years ago, because I don’t think my knowledge now is up to scratch. I could call Donegan [bowling] to McAvaney but if McAvaney hooked and got caught on the boundary line, I wouldn’t be able to recall that three years ago he did the same thing, and I reckon that’s important. I think that’s how well you’ve got to know the sport.”One of Seven’s earliest moves after winning the free-to-air rights to all home Test matches and a majority of BBL games in April was to hire Dave Barham as the network’s head of cricket. A former Seven executive producer, Barham had moved on to Ten and been instrumental in building a distinctive BBL coverage for the network.However, Ten and Nine lost out to Seven for free-to-air rights over the next six years. Fox Sports, owned by News Corp, paid the majority of the overall A$1.18 million deal with CA and in return will broadcast every ball of the summer, including exclusive access to Australian men’s ODIs and T20Is. It’s the first time any international matches played in the Australian summer have been hidden behind a paywall.”We are looking forward to the summer of cricket enormously,” Barham said. “Throughout the coverage, we will be showcasing the players, bringing out their character and personality with more than 30 player features and vignettes.”Heartland cricket will also be championed as Seven highlights stories at community level and local cricket. And we’ll do all of this while respecting the history of cricket, now that we are custodians of the sport.”Fox Sports had previously announced commentators including Adam Gilchrist, Mark Waugh, Shane Warne, Mike Hussey, Michael Vaughan, Mel Jones and Isa Guha. The network, which was desperate to gain access to stronger summertime sporting content after losing the rights to the English Premier League in 2016, is expected to unveil a cheaper, sports-only streaming service before the start of the summer in addition to its existing pay television packages.

On the day of the summer solstice, the reigning county champions have their first victory of summer. Yorkshire were not defeated so much as eviscerated

Tim Wigmore at Lord's21-Jun-2017
ScorecardOn the day of the summer solstice, the reigning county champions have their first victory of summer. Yorkshire were not defeated so much as eviscerated and did not even have the small solace of an early return home, thanks to a sponsors’ dinner.For Middlesex this was vindication for the depth of their squad. The club has taken great delight in this week’s inclusion, for England Lions or the senior team, of Nick Gubbins, Dawid Malan and Tom Helm. Thrashing Yorkshire while short of these players is testament to their sturdiness. And it hinted at a growing trend: how leading Division One counties are stockpiling talent in a manner reminiscent of Premier League football clubs.Middlesex’s second-choice bowling attack when everyone is available – Helm or Murtagh, James Harris, James Fuller and Harry Podmore, alongside the left-arm spinner Ravi Patel – is formidable. Their batting depth is equally impressive: this victory was secured in spite of three of their normal top five being absent – Adam Voges as well as Gubbins and Malan – not even mentioning Eoin Morgan, who seems unlikely to ever play first-class cricket again for the county.Max Holden, a 19-year-old opener on loan at Northants, scored a high-class Championship century at Chester-le-Street earlier this month too. So it is no exaggeration to say that, at full strength, Middlesex’s second-choice XI would be better than many – perhaps even most – Division Two counties.Two months ago, Middlesex were denied a victory against Essex at Lord’s by a combination of a cautious decision not to enforce the follow-on and fourth-day showers. James Franklin considered it a “no-brainer” to decide differently after Steve Finn’s 500th first-class wicket secured a 238-run first-innings lead. There was the threat of showers on the final day; there was also a palpable sense of uncertainty in Yorkshire’s batting line-up to exploit.And there was, in Tim Murtagh, a bowler just shy of 250 wickets at the ground. The unthreatening shuffle in was familiar; so was pace of the sort that would seldom alarm a motorway speed camera. But so was the late wobble, the relentless harassing of the off stump and unerring accuracy. Murtagh’s exemplary opening spell amounted to 2 for 2 in six overs, accounting for Adam Lyth to a ball angled across him, and then Harry Brook, who reacted to the worst ball Murtagh bowled by slashing it behind. And when Toby Roland-Jones promptly dismissed Alex Lees prodding to second slip, Yorkshire were suddenly 16 for 3.Brook’s dismissal meant that, 37 minutes after he walked off 69 not out at the termination of Yorkshire’s first innings, Gary Ballance returned to bat in their second. Ballance vigils have been the cornerstone of Yorkshire’s season; this time, though, he had only been at the crease an hour before feathering the second ball after lunch, a sharp delivery from Roland-Jones, which angled across him and kept low, behind. And, with that, Ballance’s Championship average in 2017 plunged to a mere 101.87. As stupendous as the figure is, it does not reflect well on Yorkshire’s team-mates that Ballance has contributed 24.6% of the team’s runs this season.In the last round at Taunton, Ballance’s team-mates supplied only two half-centuries in the match between them. Here, they did not contribute a single one – and nor, after Peter Handscomb succumbed cutting Finn to Nick Compton at point, did they really threaten to. Ollie Rayner whisked in with four wickets, aided by some distinctly obliging batting, and the victory was sealed a little after tea, when Ryan Sidebottom bottom-edged an attempted reverse sweep onto his toe to short leg. Somehow, it rather summed Yorkshire’s limp batting display up.”To be bowled out twice like we have is poor,” said Andrew Gale, Yorkshire’s coach. “We had a long chat and some strong words about the batting at Taunton and some more strong words in this game. We expect a response.”We changed things up slightly by leaving Jack Leaning out, and there’s lads in the second team banging on the door. We’ll have to see where that takes us.” Selecting Tom Kohler-Cadmore, the new recruit from Worcestershire, is an increasingly attractive option.Franklin could reflect not only on a terrific team display but also on more assistance from a Lord’s wicket that has not always been Middlesex’s friend.”There’s been a conscious decision to leave more grass on it. Visually it looks different,” he said. “After day one, Sam came in after scoring 150 not out and said it was a tricky wicket, and all the boys laughed at him. He was right. When bowlers got it in the right areas it was a tough wicket to bat on. Our bowlers asked serious questions of their batsmen.”And so, while Middlesex’s wickets in the game were shared among six bowlers, none of whom claimed more than five wickets, Yorkshire were inordinately dependent on just two batsmen – Ballance and Handscomb – to make their runs.The return of Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow next week, as well as probably Tim Bresnan, will provide a welcome palliative. But without substantive improvements in the top order – above all Lyth and Alex Lees, who are averaging only 26.13 between them in the Championship – Yorkshire’s problems threaten to be reoccurring, especially if Ballance’s gluttony is rewarded by an England recall.

Dawid Malan helped Middlesex to a first innings lead against Hampshire with an attacking century on the third day at the Ageas Bowl

ECB Reporters Network03-May-2016
ScorecardDawid Malan’s hundred helped Middlesex to a small lead•Getty Images

Dawid Malan helped Middlesex to a first innings lead against Hampshire with an attacking century on the third day at the Ageas Bowl.Malan, who was 40 not out overnight, quickly moved to a 64-ball fifty once the session got underway under mainly blue skies.He found his progress with eased by some erratic fast bowling from Hampshire seamers Tino Best, Chris Wood and Ryan McLaren.
Malan looked in little trouble, after being dropped the day before by Will Smith, punishing the bad balls, while John Simpson held up the other end.The pair put on 182 for the fifth wicket with a typical defender and aggressor partnership, getting through the morning session without losing a wicket.Malan reached 121, his three figures came in 134 balls, before he looped legspinner Mason Crane’s long hop to extra cover – the teenage bowler embarrassed by his first wicket of the season.Watchful Simpson, whose 50 came off two balls fewer than Malan’s century, departed ten balls later as he edged James Tomlinson behind to Adam Wheater.The hosts’ bowling found their rhythm in the afternoon, with McLaren and Tomlinson in particular finding their form – although they were rocked by a knee injury to Chris Wood which forced him off the field mid over.McLaren looked fired up, and twice knocked the off stump out the ground with brisk deliveries – Paul Stirling done by one which angled in and Toby Ronald-Jones missing a pull shot.Tomlinson was rewarded for his persistence by taking his season tally to 12, after taking just 18 scalps in 2015. He removed James Harris for 57 and ended the Middlesex innings when Steven Finn skied to Best at mid-off. Middlesex, who batted a man light due to Adam Voges’ concussion injury, led by 25 runs.Hampshire started their second innings spritely, with Michael Carberry – the scorer of a ton in the first innings – twice slapping Tim Murtagh to the boundary in the first over. But he fell lbw to a full ball from Murtagh for 15 in the seventh over, which may have hit him outside the line.Leg-before appeals were a common cry throughout the evening as Jimmy Adams and James Vince, who supplied some jaw dropping cover drives, battled through to close. Hampshire led by 51 but a draw remained the most probable result on the final day.

Sri Lanka’s fast bowling coach Chaminda Vaas has criticised the emerging group of seamers in the country’s pace academy for being “soft” and wanting in drive for self-improvement

Sa'adi Thawfeeq06-Oct-2013Sri Lanka’s fast bowling coach Chaminda Vaas has criticised the emerging group of seamers in the country’s pace academy for being “soft” and wanting in drive for self-improvement.Having begun his coaching term in February, Vaas, said the bowlers coming through had a long way to go before they can compete at an international standard.”They don’t know how to plan their future,” Vaas said of Sri Lanka’s young bowlers. “Those days when we bowled at the nets we learned something from each net session. We asked the batsman if there was anything wrong with our bowling or if we had made any mistakes, in order to improve our skills.”But nowadays fast bowlers don’t ask such questions. Either they are afraid to ask, or they are soft or their thinking pattern is different. So we have to keep telling them all the time what to do. It will take a long time for them to learn, but the only way to do it is by pushing them because they are not pushing themselves on their own.”Vaas had also worked with the New Zealand fast bowling unit on their tour of Sri Lanka last year, and suggested foreign bowlers had a greater aptitude for fast bowling strategy than Sri Lanka’s young bowlers.”The problem is they don’t want learn,” he said. “Only a few of them are keen others don’t even want to watch a match to at least analyse their performance what their mistakes are. They’ve got to think like professionals. Bowlers from other countries know exactly what to do. You don’t have to push them. That’s what we have to learn from them and instill in our fast bowlers.”Sri Lanka’s notoriously unsporting surfaces have been the bane of fast bowlers for years, but Vaas took a dim view of blaming pitches for seam bowlers’ poor returns in domestic matches, and instead prescribed consistency in line and length, and self-confidence as a route to success.”What I have advised these youngsters is being fast bowlers they should be prepared to bowl on any kind of surface. Whether it’s a wicket suiting spin or batting, they have to bend their backs and bowl. At all the sessions I’ve been talking to them and training their mind as well as their fitness. The guys are a bit soft – some don’t have the fast bowler’s killer instinct.”However, Vaas identified Vishwa Fernando, Kanishka Alvitigala, Kasun Rajitha and Rukmal Fernando as a “few guys who have been identified as future fast bowlers” among the group currently training at the academy.”We have about 10 good fast bowlers from a squad of 20,” he said. It will take at least another three years for them to get into the side.”

Danni Wyatt top scored for England Women as completed a second comfortable victory over Pakistan in as many days with an 81-run win at Loughborough.

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Sep-2012
ScorecardDanni Wyatt struck five fours as she top scored for England•Getty Images

Danni Wyatt top scored for England Women as completed a second comfortable victory over Pakistan in as many days with an 81-run win at Loughborough. Wyatt’s 41 from 29 balls helped England to 162 for 7, which proved well out of range for Pakistan.Wyatt’s innings followed 35 from just 17 balls from Sarah Taylor, the knock contained six fours as England got off to a bright start having won the toss. Wyatt kept up the momentum with five fours of her own before Susie Rose slugged two sixes and two fours in her 15-ball 29.In reply, Pakistan lost Nain Abidi in the first over and never gained any momentum, largely thanks to 2 for 15 from Laura Marsh.”It was another good team performance today,” player of the match Wyatt. “We got the runs on the board and put them under pressure with the ball. I was pleased to contribute and it was very satisfying to set a new highest score. We’ll take momentum from these matches into the series against the West Indies.”England will play West Indies Women in a five-match NatWest Women’s International T20 Series commencing at Durham on Saturday September 8.

The Michael Clarke era might not match the Ricky Ponting years for sheer victory numbers, but Clarke has at least started his tenure as Australia’s full-time Test captain the same way as his predecessor – with a comfortable win over Sri Lanka in Galle

The Report by Brydon Coverdale03-Sep-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMahela Jayawardene made 105•Associated Press

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