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A round-up of the latest action from the Logan Cup, Zimbabwe’s domestic first-class competition

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jan-2011Former South Africa allrounder Andrew Hall sizzled with both bat and ball to lead a recovery for Mashonaland Eagles who ended with first-innings points against Mid West Rhinos in Harare. The Eagles’ top order collapsed in both innings, more dramatically in the second, but each time Hall was around to guide them to safety. He also led the bowling in the crucial first innings, picking up three wickets as Eagles took a narrow 33-run lead.The Eagles were rattled on the opening morning by Ian Nicolson, who removed the openers in his third and fourth overs. The wobble continued for Eagles, and they were struggling at 106 for 5 soon. Hall (70) started the rescue effort in the company of Ryan Butterworth (61), and then consolidated along with Mark Mbofana (68). The tail hung around long enough to see Eagles through to 319.Rhinos began promisingly despite the early loss of Brendan Taylor, and young Gary Ballance – nephew of former Zimbabwe captain Dave Houghton – anchored the innings with his third century in his ninth first-class game. At 261 for 5, they were on their way to taking the lead, but Hall brought Eagles back in the game, trapping Ballance leg-before for 125. Rhinos caved in after that to be dismissed for 286.They came back strongly at Eagles though, and the new-ball pair of Nicolson and Ed Rainsford scythed through the top order to leave Eagles tottering at 38 for 5, a lead of only 71. Hall rose to the occasion with an unbeaten hundred, carrying his side to safety along with Regis Chakabva (60) and Chad Keegan (45). Hall’s busy innings allowed Eagle to declare on 274 for 9, setting Rhinos a target of 308. Taylor made 67 as Rhinos replied with 137 for 3 before the match was called off.There were runs aplenty for both Matabeleland Tuskers and Southern Rocks, who played out a high-scoring draw at the Masvingo Sports Club. Neither side was bowled out in the match, with the Tuskers picking up the solitary point for gaining the first-innings lead, although that came courtesy of a declaration from bottom-of-the-table Rocks.Matabeleland piled up 583 for 7 declared in their first innings on the back of a mammoth 342-run partnershp between Paul Horton and Gavin Ewing for the second wicket. The pair came together after legspinner Tafadzwa Kamungozi had removed Terry Duffin for 27, and proceeded to bat out the remainder of the day. Horton eventually fell to the hard-working Kamungozi, but not before the Tuskers had gone past 400, and he had racked up his highest first-class score of 209. Kamungozi, who bowled 41 overs in the inning, then had Ewing caught nine short of his own double-century. Charles Covernty then chipped in with an entertaining 72 that included seven fours and six.Rocks began shakily, losing two wickets for 42 but Chamu Chibhabha and Craig Ervine steadied the ship with a century-partnership, before Chibhabha was bowled by Keegan Meth for 74. Ervine continued on untroubled, and finding a willing partner in Richmond Mutumbhani, took Rocks past the 300-mark.With the game already heading for draw, the Rocks declardedon 342 for 5, with Irvine on 167 and Mutumbhani on 54. The Tuskers then threw their bats around, racing to 76 for 2 from 13.3 overs before declaring, giving the Rocks 10 overs to bat, in which they made 36 for no loss.

Pakistan’s cricket community lost a great personality, a person who was known as the encyclopedia of Pakistan cricket and someone who most importantly ushered in a new era of sports journalism in the country

Waheed Khan05-Feb-2010Pakistan’s cricket community lost a great personality, a person who was known as the encyclopedia of Pakistan cricket and someone who most importantly ushered in a new era of sports journalism in the country.For someone who had worked closely with him and under his guidance at , the genial and colourful personality of Gul Hameed Bhatti will be missed sorely because he set new standards in sports journalism and in encouraging young talent; his passion for cricket rubbed off on anyone who came in to contact with him.Born in Lahore in September, 1947, Bhatti dabbled as a pilot in the national airlines and worked in the public relations department in PTDC before turning to his twin passion of journalism and cricket. In 1973-74, he entered the world of the sports media.He served as the editor of the popular (Pakistan) magazine, which was known as the bible of Pakistan cricket internationally and played a big part in making the careers of several outstanding cricketers.He also combined with Abid Ali Kazi and the late Noman Badar to launch the cricket statisticians association of Pakistan and the annual Pakistan cricket book. It is difficult to really underline here the tremendous contribution Bhatti made to Pakistan cricket but suffice to say if anyone wanted to find out details of some obscure record or details of a particular domestic match played in the ’50s or in the ’90s, Bhatti Sahib was the final word.After joining the in 1990 as its sports editor, he succeeded in changing the trend of sports journalism in the country by making it investigative, colourful and informative while moving away from the existing trend of drab and dull lengthy analyses and the heavy dependence on agency stories.He was an editor who backed his reporters completely. was his usual question and once a reporter convinced him his story was factual and correct he had nothing to worry about.Bhatti had the capacity to absorb all the pressures and dissent that came from the top or from angry officials and players and his message to them was clear: “I will back my reporters all the way.”He was promoted as the editor of the newspaper but his first love remained sports, a position to which he returned after a few years.Bhatti remained jovial even after the death of his wife, Razia Bhatti, in 1996, herself a fearless journalist and editor of the magazine who later launched . But the loss of his wife affected him and his health began to deteriorate and after overcoming a bout of throat cancer, he suffered a brain stroke last year and was bed ridden. He passed away on Thursday night after another brain stroke and due to the failure of his vital organs. Even after his death, the contribution and position of Gul Hameed Bhatti in Pakistan journalism and cricket will remain at the top. We will all miss you Bhatti Sahib.

“We just weren’t able to really get those partnerships. We needed to emulate what their top four batters did”

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Mar-20251:31

Is Bavuma still the best bet to lead South Africa in ODIs?

Temba Bavuma expressed disappointment at his “soft dismissal” and at failing to set up a foundation for the middle order as South Africa went down by 50 runs against New Zealand in the second semi-final of the Champions Trophy in Lahore.Chasing a mammoth 363, South Africa got off to a good start, reaching 125 for 1 in the 23rd over. With Rassie van der Dussen and Bavuma having added 105 for the second wicket, South Africa could have harboured hopes of chasing the target down, but both batters fell in quick succession to disrupt their plans.”Ideally, you would’ve wanted the both of us to keep going – at least till the 30th over. We know how destructive our middle order can be when they’re coming in that last 20 overs,” Bavuma said at the post-match presentation. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to set that foundation for them. Little bit of a soft dismissal, at least from my side. I think that just left too much for our middle order.”Related

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Bavuma admitted 363 was always going to be a tough chase, and South Africa needed all of their batters to stand up and string partnerships. David Miller hammered an unbeaten 67-ball century but didn’t get much support from the others as South Africa were kept to 312 for 9.For New Zealand, both Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson smashed hundreds, and Bavuma felt either he or van der Dussen needed to match those efforts and stay right till the end.”Yeah, look, I do think it [target] was above par. I think as well as they bat, we felt that if [the target was] anything around 350 – not over 350 – we’d back ourselves to chase the score with the wicket hopefully getting better,” Bavuma said. “From a batting point of view, we just weren’t able to really get those partnerships. There were one or two partnerships there, but I think you probably needed either myself or Rassie van der Dussen to go on and emulate what their top four batters did.”But yeah, 360 was always going to be tough. It was always going to require someone to play well. We had David who did that, but we probably needed someone else as well.”Bavuma also heaped praise on the New Zealand batters. While Ravindra scored 108 and Williamson 102, Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips contributed a quick 49 each to put the target beyond South Africa.David Miller hit a 67-ball hundred, but New Zealand had both Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson score centuries•AFP/Getty Images

“They really put us under pressure from the get-go, [with] the way they were able to pierce the off side, and I think even in the middle [overs], how they were able to just keep scoring boundaries,” Bavuma said. “Normally, we pride ourselves in our ability to take wickets – especially in that middle period – but we weren’t able to. Obviously, if you go into the death phase with wickets in hand, it always becomes difficult to contain them, especially on these type of wickets. So yeah, kudos to them.”Credit to their betters, Kane Williamson, Rachin, and even the guys who came in as well – Mitchell, as well as Phillips. They put us under pressure with the bat.”New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner was also effusive in his praise for Williamson, who scored his century at more than a run a ball.”Yeah, he keeps doing it,” Santner said. “I think that partnership [with Ravindra] was massive for us. It looked like he might’ve been frustrated at times but he was able to keep going and get through little periods where South Africa had challenged us. I think they decided to flip the switch a little bit earlier and were able to kind of cash in, and then the boys to back that up and the finish to get us up to 360, where probably 320 may not have been enough.”New Zealand meet India in the Champions Trophy final in Dubai on Sunday, in a replay of the title match from 25 years ago.

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 all but resigned to World Cup exit – Mott

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.

Williamson laments his team’s “soft” cricket as they saw another strong position slip away

Andrew McGlashan08-Sep-2022Adam Zampa shifted all the praise onto Australia’s pace bowlers for the pressure they applied in the second ODI, labelling his delivery to remove Kane Williamson “c***”, with the New Zealand captain left to lament his team’s “soft” cricket as they saw another strong position slip away.Australia were 117 for 8 before the last two wickets added 78, with Zampa playing an important role. New Zealand’s top order was then rendered virtually scoreless. They were left 14 for 3 after ten overs by the pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Sean Abbott – the latter bowling 28 dot balls, and taking two wickets, on his comeback before conceding a run.Zampa, who claimed his first wicket with a big full toss that Williamson missed, was especially delighted for Abbott. Zampa himself finished with a career-best 5 for 35 but reflected that he felt “a little bit off”.”To be honest, I haven’t seen a run [economy] rate like that in an ODI probably ever,” Zampa said. “Our guys showed some serious discipline. I mean Hazlewood and Starc were both excellent, but in particular Sean Abbott, who has been in and out of the team. Think over five, six, seven years, he has played five or six games. So to take his opportunity now – it’s tough when you are sitting on the pine [being left out] for four or five games, sometimes having only one opportunity to make your mark, it can get the better of you. But he bowled outstandingly today and super proud of Sean.”I bowled terribly. Well, I wouldn’t say terribly…but was one of those days where I felt a little bit off, probably wasn’t quite at my best but there was a lot happening. Sometimes when it’s like that and you are bowling to the tail you can go searching for wickets, which I did, [but] probably felt like we were in position to go searching for some wickets tonight. I think I reaped the rewards of the guys who bowled before me.”I had a bit of luck with the Kane dismissal, then got into my work a bit better from there. They say legspinners can bowl a bit of c*** and get wickets. When that c*** comes out and you see it go down, you start walking back to your mark knowing you’ve got an extra six runs against your name. But that happens.”Williamson, who threw his head back in anguish after missing the full toss and called for a review purely out of hope, said New Zealand’s batting needed to be better at adapting to the conditions – which he termed “very slow and hard to get rhythm” – something they had done successfully on the tour of the West Indies last month where they came from 1-0 down to take the series.”No doubt the conditions are tough but we have to be a little bit smarter,” Williamson said. “Today I thought we were too soft in terms of our dismissals, we did need to try and weather the storm a bit. It was going to be a challenge, but if you could try and stick together. There wasn’t a lot of scoreboard pressure so you try to reverse that momentum later in the game and get through the tough spells.”The new ball was quite challenging and Australia were just outstanding with the lengths they are able to hit, the pressure they built, and they got some early wickets as well. It is almost old-school one-day cricket where you are just trying to get through spells. As we saw, Australia were able to get two partnerships that were able to get them a competitive total, so certainly some lessons to learn.”However, he insisted that New Zealand did not have a psychological barrier to get over as they tried to beat Australia on their soil for the first time since 2011. “It’s cricket, they are a very good side, they’ve played well and adapted to conditions,” he said. “[But] we do need to be better than we were tonight.”The final ODI takes place on Sunday and the two teams will meet again in their opening match of the T20 World Cup at the SCG in October.

Middle-order batter could also play two Championship games; James Harris joins Glamorgan on loan

Matt Roller21-Apr-2021Gloucestershire have announced the signing of Glenn Phillips, the New Zealand batter, for the duration of their T20 Blast campaign.Phillips, 24, dislodged Ross Taylor to become a member of New Zealand’s first-choice T20I side this season, playing all 14 of their home fixtures and hitting 108 off 51 balls against West Indies. He will provide a wicketkeeping option if James Bracey misses some of the Blast due to England duty, and can also bowl occasional offbreaks.A specialist middle-order batter, Phillips has improved his game against spin markedly during four seasons playing for the Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League, and is understood to have been discussed as a possible back-up option by IPL franchises ahead of February’s auction.He will add further firepower to a squad that reached Finals Day last summer for the first time since 2007, joining Ian Cockbain, Jack Taylor, Benny Howell and Ryan Higgins in the middle-order engine room. Phillips spent the 2016 summer in the UK playing for MCC Young Cricketers and for Brondesbury CC in club cricket, and this will be his first stint in county cricket.Related

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Phillips will also be available for the County Championship fixtures that take place during the Blast, specifically against Middlesex and Hampshire at Cheltenham, by which point Kraigg Brathwaite’s stint at the club will have ended. He has a solid first-class record, averaging 40.18, and made a half-century in his only Test to date – against Australia in early 2020. Having missed out on New Zealand’s squad for the tour of England, he will be available to play throughout the Blast, and could be an attractive option as a short-term replacement playing during the Hundred.Ian Harvey, Gloucestershire’s interim head coach, said: “Glenn is very exciting to watch and he’s going to add a massive amount to what is already a powerful T20 batting line-up. He can bat at the top of the order, in the middle and also add to our firepower at the end. He’s a bit of an allrounder because he bowls and keeps wicket as well so he will give us plenty of options.”To have someone in your side with the ability to do pretty much everything is a huge bonus and his experience of playing around the world in franchise cricket is going to be a massive benefit for our players. He’s played Test match cricket and can keep wicket so he gives us plenty of options if we want to bring him in for red-ball games.”James Harris has signed for Glamorgan on a two-week loan•Getty Images

Meanwhile, Glamorgan have announced the signing of James Harris, the Middlesex seamer, on loan for their next two Championship fixtures. Harris, who is president of the Professional Cricketers’ Association, came through the club’s academy system before joining Middlesex in 2012, and is returning to Wales on loan for the second time after a similar move in 2014.Harris has fallen down the pecking order at Middlesex and was not named in their squads for the first two Championship games of the season. Glamorgan are experiencing an availability crisis within their seam-bowling department with Ruaidhri Smith and Jamie McIlroy suffering injuries, Timm van der Gugten reporting muscle tightness and Michael Neser yet to arrive as an overseas player, giving Harris an opportunity to play in their matches against Northamptonshire and Kent.

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.”

Nottinghamshire’s rush of batting signings have been followed by Riki Wessels leaving the county for pastures new

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Oct-2018Worcestershire have completed their second signing in the space of two weeks with Riki Wessels moving from Nottinghamshire.Wessels, 32, has been released from his contract to take up a three-year deal after Nottinghamshire strengthened their batting resources with the signings of Ben Slater, Joe Clarke and Ben Duckett.He leaves after seven seasons at Trent Bridge and follows South African-born seamer Wayne Parnell, who also signed a three year deal, in strengthening the county’s ranks for next summer.It is another sign of Worcestershire’s intent to assemble a squad capable of making an instant return to Division One of the Specsavers County Championship as well as continue the limited-overs form which saw them win the Vitality Blast for the first time this season.Australian born Wessels, who obtained British citizenship in 2016, is particularly known as a destructive hitter in the white ball format.Worcestershire supporters know that only too well: he hit nine sixes in making 55 for Nottinghamshire in the Vitality Blast at Blackfinch New Road this summer.”Leaving Nottinghamshire was a difficult decision to make,” said Wessels. “I’ve spent eight years at Trent Bridge and enjoyed being part of successful teams that challenged for trophies but now is the right time for me to make a change.”Worcestershire will provide a new challenge and I’m really looking forward to starting another chapter of my career at a club that I have a lot of admiration for.”Notts’ director of cricket Mick Newell said: “Both parties feel that now is the right time for a change and for Riki to move on. We wish him luck for the future.”