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

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

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

The legspinner saw a specialist in London and is set to return to Pakistan where he will undergo further tests

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Apr-2019Pakistan legspinner Shadab Khan has been given a two-week course of medication by doctors in England, along with a prescription of complete rest, in an attempt to cure the virus that ruled him out of their forthcoming series. He will now return home from London and undergo another round of blood tests in Lahore next month to determine his fitness for the World Cup.Shadab was originally named in both squads for the England series and World Cup only to be ruled out two days after the announcement after failing a blood test. He was subsequently replaced with fellow legspinner Yasir Shah, while the PCB arranged an appointment with a London-based gastroenterology and hepatology specialist.The possibility of being without Shadab, a key player over the last two years, would be major dent ahead of the World Cup, although the PCB is optimistic that he may still recover in time. The PCB can make changes to the squad without seeking ICC permission until May 23. After that date and through the tournament, the ICC’s technical committee will process any replacement requests.Shadab was the only frontline spinner named in Pakistan’s original 17-man squad to tour England, however, the presence of Mohammad Hafeez, back after a thumb injury, and Imad Wasim gives them options in the spin department for a one-off T20I and a five-match ODI series between May 5 and 19.Pakistan also have Mohammad Amir pushing for a World Cup spot, having been named alongside Asif Ali as the two men outside the World Cup 15. Amir’s form over the past 18 months hasn’t been good enough to win selection in the preliminary squad but he has the chance to restate his case in familiar conditions – the country where his last ODI high point occurred in the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy.

Ross Taylor, the New Zealand batsman, has signed to play as an overseas player for Nottinghamshire during the first half of the season

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2018Ross Taylor, the New Zealand batsman, has signed to play as an overseas player for Nottinghamshire during the first half of the season. Taylor injured himself during the course of his epic 181 not out in the fourth ODI against England, but is expected to be fit for a spell of eight Championship games and the Royal London Cup group stage at Trent Bridge.Taylor turned 34 on Thursday but had to put a birthday drink on hold after aggravating a quad problem in Dunedin, which makes him a doubt for the deciding ODI on Saturday, as well as forcing Notts to delay the announcement of his signing.One of New Zealand’s most prolific batsmen, he scored his 19th ODI ton – and second of the series – against England on Wednesday. As long as there is no reaction to his latest leg injury, Taylor will also be looking to add to his 6246 Test runs during the two-match series in late March.Taylor has been contracted until mid-June but could stay on for the Royal London Cup knockout stages, with Nottinghamshire looking to defend the trophy the won in 2017. He has previously played county cricket for Durham and Sussex.”I’m really excited about joining Nottinghamshire as they return to Division One of the Specsavers County Championship, and I hope I can play an important part in helping them become re-established at the higher level,” Taylor said. “It’s also great to be joining a team who are defending a white-ball trophy, with the club having won the Royal London One-Day Cup last summer, and hopefully the team can mount a strong challenge again.”I’ve enjoyed playing against England for New Zealand in the early part of this year, and I’m looking forward to testing myself in the early-season English conditions when I arrive at Trent Bridge for the start of the new season.”Taylor’s arrival will add significant red-ball experience to the middle order at Notts, after the retirements of Michael Lumb, Greg Smith and Chris Read, Brendan Taylor’s return to Zimbabwe and the request by Alex Hales to only play limited-overs cricket.Notts finished second in Division Two of the Championship last year, winning promotion after a season in the second tier, and also claimed a white-ball double by lifting the Royal London Cup and NatWest T20 Blast.Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket Mick Newell said: “Ross is a world-class performer who brings with him an excellent record at the highest level in both red- and white-ball cricket, as well as plenty of experience. He is just what we were looking for to strengthen the top order of our four-day batting line-up, where we have lost the likes of Michael Lumb and Brendan Taylor from last year, and his aggressive style suits the type of 50-over cricket we look to play.””With Ross suffering a recurrence of a previous quad injury in his century for New Zealand against England on Wednesday, we have been monitoring his fitness, which delayed the announcement of the signing by us. We will continue to check in with Ross and the New Zealand team’s medical staff, but he’s confident that he will be fully fit come the start of our season.”

Ireland were once the leading Associate team but their results over the last two years have been poor. They return to the UAE – a place of happy memories – hopeful of success

Peter Della Penna in Abu Dhabi14-Jan-20172:28

UAE conditions not foreign to us – Dockrell

Once the undisputed leaders of the Associate world, Ireland arrive in the UAE for the Desert T20 challenge playing more like paupers than princes over the last two years in Twenty20 cricket. Entering the tournament as the lowest-seeded side in part due to their winless performance at the 2016 World T20, Ireland are hoping that a return to the site of some of their most memorable Associate triumphs will spark a return to form.”The UAE has always been a nice place for us,” Ireland left-arm spinner George Dockrell told ESPNcricinfo at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium on the eve of their first match against Afghanistan. “We’ve won a lot of competitions out here and we’ve played so much cricket, which always helps that we do know the grounds, and we know the conditions and the cricket that’s played here.”Ireland lost their first match of the 2012 World T20 Qualifier to Namibia in Dubai before going on to win ten straight games – including four playoff matches in three days – on their way to the tournament title and a spot at the World T20 in Sri Lanka. They came back to the UAE the following year and went undefeated, beating Afghanistan in the final for the second time, to clinch another place at the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh.Those twin titles were part of a streak of 21 straight wins at the World T20 Qualifier that was finally undone by Papua New Guinea in Belfast in 2015. Since then Ireland have struggled in the format, with that loss to PNG beginning a run of eight losses in their last 11 T20Is.”As a team, we know that our performances haven’t been where they should be in the past,” Dockrell said. “That’s not something that’s going over our heads. We know that we’ve been underperforming in the past and it’s something that we’re trying to address and it’s not through a lack of effort from the guys.”In the search for answers, the squad has gone through a shake-up, one which Dockrell is acutely aware of. Despite being one of Ireland’s most experienced players, the 24-year-old was dropped ahead of their shock loss to Oman at the World T20 in India. In the eight home ODIs that Ireland had this summer against Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Afghanistan, he made the starting XI just once – offspinner Andy McBrine became coach John Bracewell’s preferred slow-bowling specialist – and was also left out for the home T20I series against Hong Kong.George Dockrell’s recent form has taken a dip, much like Ireland’s results, and he hopes to improve both•Getty Images/Sportsfile

Dockrell was picked for the ODI tour to South Africa in September, but went wicketless in the defeats to Australia and South Africa. He is back in the T20 squad for this tour, but faces competition from fellow spinners McBrine and Jacob Mulder, who made his debut in that Hong Kong match at Bready. Once an automatic selection, Dockrell has been working hard on his game to regain his status as Ireland’s first-choice spinner and says the competition within the squad is something that will hopefully bring out the best in everyone’s game.”It’s always good to have competition in the squad and in the team,” Dockrell said. “It’s good that we now have the option in the squad of having a left-arm spinner, a right-armer in Andy and Jacob as well, a legspinner. We didn’t have that depth a number of years ago. We have guys who are home, the likes of Peter Chase and Tim Murtagh, who aren’t playing but would be able to step in and do a great role if they were required.”You have to look at ways that maybe you’re deficient, or ways that you can get better to keep fighting for that spot in the team, so I think it’s definitely a good thing for Irish cricket that we’re developing that depth in the bowlers and in the batters too, so that we don’t just have a squad of 12 or 13 to pick from, that you know there’s seven other guys to pick from, whether there’s an injury or drop in form. It just pushes you on to keep improving.”After the conclusion of the ODI tour to South Africa in September, Dockrell travelled to Brisbane, where he has been playing club cricket in the local grade competition to keep himself sharp during the Irish winter. He also got the chance to train with Queensland’s first-class side and Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League.”It’s been fantastic, having the opportunity to go over to Brisbane to play some club cricket and train with Queensland and Brisbane Heat,” Dockrell said. “Obviously Dan Vettori is the coach there as well so he’s a great guy to draw a bit of knowledge from and talk to about a few things. Even just being in that environment and bowling to the likes of Chris Lynn and Brendon McCullum, it’s something that’s always going to make you better.”For now, though, Dockrell’s focus is on trying to help Ireland get back on the right track, beginning with Group A’s primetime showdown against Afghanistan on day one of the tournament in Abu Dhabi.”We’ll be playing Afghanistan in a couple of months, but other than that there won’t be a huge amount of T20 cricket until maybe the T20 Qualifiers, which have yet to be announced so for us it’s a great competition, a great chance to put things right where we’ve been deficient in the last couple years.””We played Afghanistan during the summer and it was four really contested games. It’ll be great cricket from both teams, so I suppose for this competition it’ll be great to start with a win and that’s what we’ll be thinking before we go into that game.”

Fast bowler Mohammed Shami has been named in Bengal’s squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, after recovering from the knee injury he had picked up during the Australia tour last December

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Dec-2015Fast bowler Mohammed Shami has been named in Bengal’s squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, after recovering from the knee injury he had picked up during the Australia tour last December. He had felt some discomfort in his left knee as early as the first Test in Adelaide but bowled through pain in the 2015 World Cup, where he was India’s second-highest wicket-taker, taking 17 scalps at 17.29.Shami, who has been sidelined from all competitive cricket since March, underwent surgery after returning from the World Cup and spent his rehabilitation period at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. He was then picked among 30 players to be part of a preparatory camp ahead of the South Africa series in September. However, Shami had not regained full fitness then and was not included in either limited-overs or Test squads against South Africa.Shami, who had also missed the league phase of the Ranji Trophy, though, hoped that the Vijay Hazare trophy would help him shake off the rust and return to the Indian team, whose next assignment is a five-match ODI series in Australia, starting January 12.”I am back after eight months, so I am taking it slow and easy… I am gearing up to play in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. It will be a good preparation going into the limited overs series against Australia,” Shami told .Bengal, who start their campaign against Goa on December 10, will also be boosted by the return of Wriddhiman Saha from national duty. They have been placed in Group D with Goa, Himachal Pradesh, UP, Madhya Pradesh, and Saurashtra.Squad: Manoj Tiwary (captain), Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Wriddhiman Saha, Sudip Chatterjee, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sayan Sekhar Mondal, Sreevats Goswami, Pankaj Shaw, Debabrata Das, Aamir Gani, Pragyan Ojha, Mohammed Shami, Ashok Dinda, Mukesh Kumar, Sayan Ghosh, Pradipta Pramanik, Alok Pratap Singh

Australia face a must-win against New Zealand in order to keep their tournament hopes alive in this trans-Tasman clash

The Preview by Brydon Coverdale11-Jun-2013

Match facts

Wednesday, June 12, Edgbaston
Start time 1030 (0930 GMT)

Big Picture

At the last Champions Trophy, Australia beat New Zealand in the final to secure their second consecutive title. This year, the two teams meet with Australia’s tournament all but on the line. A loss in their opening match against England has left the Australians vulnerable and should they lose to New Zealand, they would not only have to beat Sri Lanka next Monday but they would also need England to lose their remaining two matches to have any hope of scraping through to the semi-finals. Even then, it would come down to net run-rate. Should New Zealand win their progression is not certain, although it would take a similarly intricate series of results for them to miss out to England and Sri Lanka on net run-rate. An Australian victory would keep things fairly even throughout the group.However, the Australians will need to overcome New Zealand without their captain Michael Clarke, who has been ruled out due to a back injury that has plagued him since he arrived in England. The more significant long-term worry will be his availability for the Ashes which follow after. David Warner is a real concern as well, having scored ducks in the two warm-up matches, followed by 9 against England. New Zealand’s cordon will be well advised to be on high alert early in Warner’s innings, given the way he has been slashing and edging of late.New Zealand also have an injury concern around a senior player, with Daniel Vettori likely to miss out having had a saline injection in his troublesome left Achilles tendon. “You only have to look at him. He’s limping and is a bit ginger walking around the field,” the New Zealand fast bowler, Kyle Mills, said on Monday. “He’s been doing it since his teenage years at this level and his body is tired. He shows tremendous toughness and hopefully he can rise to the occasion for these next games to get us over the line. He looked jovial getting his toast and cereal at breakfast this morning, but there’s obviously a lot of discomfort.”

Form guide

(most recent first, last five completed games)
New Zealand: WLWWL
Australia: LWWWW

Watch out for…

Less than five years ago, Luke Ronchi made his debut for Australia against West Indies. During that series he scored a 22-ball half-century, the fourth fastest ODI fifty by an Australia player. Now he is about to line up against his former country for the first time, having qualified for his birth nation of New Zealand earlier this year. Ronchi’s initial forays into the New Zealand side have brought few runs, but against familiar Australian bowlers, he will be keen to prove that he can be a long-term force at the top of the order.Since George Bailey made his ODI debut in March last year, only Ian Bell and Tillakaratne Dilshan have scored more one-day international runs than his 819 at an average of 45.50. During the one-day series in England last year, Bailey was the one shining light in Australia’s batting order and again during their loss to Alastair Cook’s men on Saturday he was the top scorer with 55. Bailey is a capable stand-in captain and a reliable presence in the middle order, but he needs significantly greater support if Australia are to progress to the next stage of this tournament.

Team news

If Vettori is put on ice, New Zealand would likely bring in Colin Munro or Grant Elliott, although Elliott’s availability would also depend on how well he has recovered from a calf injury.New Zealand (possible) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Luke Ronchi (wk), 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 James Franklin, 6 Brendon McCullum (capt), 7 Colin Munro / Grant Elliott, 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Mitchell McClenaghan.
Clarke will again miss out, but Australia have a few backup options in the batting department, unless they want to give Glenn Maxwell a go in place of fellow allrounder Mitchell Marsh. Xavier Doherty might also come under consideration, although the potential for rain on Wednesday could discourage the selectors from bringing him in.Australia (possible) 1 Shane Watson, 2 David Warner, 3 Phillip Hughes, 4 George Bailey (capt), 5 Adam Voges, 6 Mitchell Marsh / Glenn Maxwell, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 James Faulkner, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Mitchell Starc / Xavier Doherty, 11 Clint McKay.

Pitch and conditions

Both matches at Edgbaston so far have been won with relative comfort by the team batting first, for scoring appears to become tougher as the matches wear on. There is some rain expected around the Birmingham region on Wednesday and the forecast is for a high of 17°C.

Stats and trivia

• Kyle Mills will be the outright leading wicket-taker in Champions Trophy history if he claims one more victim. Prior to this match, he stands equal with Muttiah Muralitharan on 24 wickets
• New Zealand and Australia have not met in a one-day international since the 2011 World Cup
• Australia have not lost to New Zealand in a world tournament since the 1999 World Cup

Quotes

“All their top order will be feeling the heat a little bit to not only win the game but also hold their spot in the team. If we can take advantage of that I’m sure it will bode well for us in those pressure situations.”

“If it continues to be dry, we need to consider a spinner. We need to get the balance right. We need to get partnerships going.”

Mark Davies dismissed Alastair Cook for 1 after Darren Stevens and Geraint Jones had rescued Kent’s first innings

Charles Randall at Chelmsford11-May-2012
ScorecardEngland’s opening pair, Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss, remain desperately short of runs ahead of the first Test against West Indies•AFP

The county bowling cohorts have done England’s opening partnership no favours in the build-up to the West Indies series. Alastair Cook was undone lbw for a single at Chelmsford today to follow innings of 9 and 5 at Cardiff last week — not much to build on before next Thursday’s Test at Lord’s.With Andrew Strauss having a torrid time at Middlesex, Kent’s new signing Mark Davies ensured Cook drew a near blank by straightening a lovely seamer into the left-hander’s pads. The next ball drew Tom Westley forward, kicked off the seam and found a thin edge safely pouched behind the wicket. With Essex faltering at 3 for 2, Kent were ready to cash in on Darren Stevens’s top-rate century, especially as there was no sign of Ravi Bopara, Cook’s England colleague.Bopara spent the afternoon resting his leg rather waiting for a go at the crease. He was due to visit Broomfield Hospital immediately after play for a precautionary scan on an apparently minor thigh strain suffered in his over before lunch when Essex were trying to break a long sixth-wicket stand between Stevens and Geraint Jones.Only after Davies had been rested — his first spell was 7-3-5-2 — did Essex begin to make progress through some dashing strokeplay by Mark Pettini. He cut and drove the ball so crisply over the lush outfield and scampered so well that it was hard to believe that his first class average was 32. His winter in Zimbabwe domestic cricket, based in the beautiful mountainous Mutare district, appeared to have refreshed his game. He batted well in Zimbabwe for the Mountaineers.Kent’s debutant Ivan Thomas, replacing Davies at the Hayes Close end, bowled steadily with an upright action, a languid build-up producing deceptive whip off the pitch, but Pettini and Billy Godleman stuck to their task. Godleman, never a thing of cricket beauty, scuffed and deflected 27 his way through Essex’s 39 overs, but at least he hung around until stumps. Cook would have loved such an extensive sight of the ball.Stevens and Jones performed wonders to dig Kent out of 9 for 5, putting on 194 together. Stevens finished with a high-quality 119 off only 170 balls and Jones made a worthy 88, no one else mustering more than six. Essex’s bowlers toiled, even the first-day destroyer Charl Willoughby, and the fielding substitutes were given a busy day rotating in the absence of Bopara and Alviro Petersen, who was still nursing a sore ankle.When Stevens top-edged Greg Smith for six over fine-leg to advance to 91, it was clear that Kent had regained the initiative. Their grip was eventually broken when Stevens sliced a drive to cover. Jones perished at long-off attempting to farm the bowling after off-spinner Westley had picked up three wickets in eight balls.After losing virtually two days to rain, this excellent fluctuating match deserves a finish.

ESPNcricinfo previews the IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Kochi Tuskers Kerala in Chennai

The Preview by Sriram Veera17-May-2011

Match facts

Wednesday, May 18, Chennai
Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)Brad Hodge has had a disappointing IPL. Will he come good against Chennai?•AFP

Big Picture

Chennai Super Kings’ strength is their batting; they have crossed a total of 175 four times and four batsmen have accumulated over 300 runs. They have done just about enough with the ball to keep rolling out the wins. Three bowlers are in the list of top ten wicket-takers this season and the team has gelled as a unit. You might be able to make a criticism of the table-toppers Bangalore that they are heavily dependent on Chris Gayle but you can’t pick too many holes in the Chennai campaign.This could well be the last IPL game of the season for Kochi Tuskers Kerala. They have a mathematical chance of making the top four but to topple Kolkata, the only team they can get ahead on points, they have to beat Chennai by a huge margin. They have to then hope Kolkata lose both their remaining games convincingly. In contrast to Chennai, they have only one batsman, Brendon McCullum, who has tallied over 300 runs. To make things worse, they will be without the services of Mahela Jayawardene; Parthiv Patel will lead the side.

Form guide (most recent first)

Chennai: WWLWW (second in points table)
Kochi: WLLWW (sixth in points table)

Team talk

It will be interesting to see if Chennai continue with Wriddhiman Saha or get in S Anirudha, who can at least belt the ball lower down the order. In Jayawardene’s absence, Muttiah Muralitharan might get a game.Predict the playing XIs for this match. Play ESPNcricinfo Team Selector.

In the spotlight

Brad Hodge, who made 33 in the last game against Rajasthan Royals, hasn’t had a great IPL season, tallying 234 runs. Much was expected from the man who had the most number of runs in the Twenty20 format but he hasn’t sparkled. Will he leave his imprint against Chennai?
Dwayne Bravo has just played two IPL games and has done the job with the ball. With fellow West Indian Gayle firing in style for Bangalore, it will be interesting to track Bravo’s progress in the remainder of the tournament. He will slip in the slower yorkers and cutters, and be restrictive with the ball; will he get a chance to showcase his prowess with the bat?

Prime numbers

• With three ducks this season, Kochi’s Raiphi Gomez is second on that inglorious list, behind Mithun Manhas’ four zeroes. Kochi have three more men on that list: Brendon McCullum, Parthiv Patel and RP Singh have two ducks.
• With 16 sixes, McCullum is sixth on list of batsmen with most sixes. Chennai’s MS Dhoni is seventh on that list with 14.

The chatter

“We are still disappointed. Every team wants to get to the final four. We had our chances but didn’t grab on to them. Like I said we lacked consistency in the tournament.”

“To be honest, Twenty20 is a game of luck. There is a lot of luck in it because the risk is more for a batsman, for a bowler or for that matter, even for a fielder. And when the risk is more, you need luck.”

Sulieman Benn has riled opponents and match referees in the past, but he has hit a new low after being asked to leave the field by his captain Chris Gayle

Cricinfo staff31-May-2010Sulieman Benn has riled opponents and match referees in the past, but he has hit a new low after being ordered off the field by his captain Chris Gayle. During West Indies’ seven-wicket loss to South Africa in Dominica, Benn upset Gayle so much by failing to follow instructions that he was told he was no longer required.”I actually asked him to leave the field,’ Gayle told reporters after the game. “As a captain, it was a situation like you ask a particular bowler to do it and he said he had never done certain things before. That’s why you have practice sessions, to practise. I asked him to simply bowl over the wicket. I don’t see why it should be a problem.”He wasn’t up for it and if you’re not up for it, why give that particular bowler the ball. I just see it that he [Benn] doesn’t want to take part. It was my call to actually ask him to leave and tell him that he is not needed anymore.”Benn’s behavioural issues came to a head during the Perth Test in December, when he was suspended for two ODIs following a clash with Mitchell Johnson and Brad Haddin. He had previously been fined and forced to have counselling after what was labelled “insubordinate” behaviour during a West Indies A tour of England in 2002.His fiery nature has also been on display at club level, when he was fined after an altercation with an opponent while batting for his Barbados club Spartan. It is unclear whether Benn will play any part in the fifth and final ODI against South Africa in Trinidad on Thursday.The fourth ODI had a dramatic finish with Dwayne Bravo bowling three consecutive dot balls in the final over, leaving South Africa with one to get off the last delivery. AB de Villiers then played the ball to midwicket and sprinted the single as Darren Sammy fumbled. Gayle praised Bravo for his bowling effort but said that, despite making 303, West Indies should have scored a lot more.”Credit must go to Bravo for the way he bowled the final over,” Gayle said. “But to get 300 runs, and lose was not good. We should have scored at least 30 or 40 more runs based on the start that Dale [Richards] and I gave the team, but we were very disappointing in the middle overs again, too many dot balls. We also missed a few catches, and this is the inconsistency. At times, we do well with the bat, and then turn up and do something completely different with the ball.”

Australian opener joins Heather Knight, Sophia Dunkley and Paige Scholfield in top £65,000 salary bracket

Valkerie Baynes12-Mar-2025Georgia Voll has capped a remarkable week by securing a lucrative deal with Birmingham Phoenix in the Women’s Hundred draft.Young Australian opener Voll will make her debut in the tournament after Oval Invincibles, Welsh Fire and London Spirit were forced to use their right-to-match to thwart the Birmingham franchise’s bids for Paige Scholfield, Sophia Dunkley and Heather Knight respectively. All four were retained in the top women’s salary bracket of £65,000.Voll made an impressive international debut in December standing in for Alyssa Healy in Australia’s home series against India. In the past seven days, Voll has scored 55 and 99 not out as a late call-up to WPL side UP Warriorz after Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu departed for international duty.Related

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• Voll's 99* sets up dramatic win as UP Warriorz survive late Rana scare

Healy, the Australia captain who has been battling foot and knee injuries since late last year and was forced to miss the WPL to manage her recovery, went unclaimed after entering the draft with a reserve price of £50,000.Voll is one of three Australians making up Phoenix’s overseas allocation alongside allrounder Ellyse Perry, who was retained, and bowler Megan Schutt, a direct signing prior to the draft.Departing Birmingham for London Spirit, however, is fast bowler Issy Wong, who has endured a difficult time since making her international debut as a 20-year-old in 2022. She represented Phoenix, her home franchise, for the first four editions of the tournament, although issues with her run-up led her to be dropped in 2023, when she made just five appearances, and she played for them only four times last year, taking one wicket in each of those seasons.The poster girl for the 2023 Ashes despite not playing in the series as she battled for form, Wong made the last of her 17 appearances for England to date on the tour of Ireland last September which featured a number of fringe international players while the majority of the senior squad was preparing for their ill-fated T20 World Cup campaign. Spirit picked up Wong for £16,000, the third-lowest price bracket in the women’s competition.Southern Brave, the 2023 champions and last year’s wooden-spooners, used their first draft pick at £36,000 to secure Sophie Devine, who opted out of this year’s WPL and New Zealand’s current home series against Sri Lanka to take a wellbeing break. Devine last played a competitive match on January 24 for Wellington in the Women’s Super Smash. Joining her at Southern Brave will be South Africa allrounder Chloe Tryon, who returned to the franchise for £20,000.How they stack up: The women’s Hundred squads for 2025•ECB

West Indies star Deandra Dottin will be back at Manchester Originals on £50,000 having played for the team in 2022 and 2023 after an initial stint with London Spirit in 2021. Young wicketkeeper-batter Seren Smale joins her from Birmingham Phoenix for £36,000.Scholfield’s bumper deal to stay at Oval Invicibles could signal an upturn after her international career stalled shortly after it began. Scholfield was selected for England’s tour of South Africa late last year but returned home without playing a game after she injured her ankle in training.Called up to add firepower to England’s middle order after making her international debut on the Ireland tour, Scholfield scored 190 runs in the Hundred last year, striking at 137.68 with a highest score of 71 off 40 balls. She was also the fifth-highest run-scorer in the domestic T20 competition with 259 runs at an average of 43.16 and strike rate of 140.00.Invincibles’ overseas contingent of Marizanne Kapp, Meg Lanning and Amanda-Jade Wellington was already settled before the draft. Leaving the Oval side this year after four seasons is off-spinning allrounder Mady Villiers, who was drafted by Southern Brave for £16,000.After two seasons each with Northern Superchargers and Birmingham Phoenix, legspinner Katie Levick heads to Welsh Fire after being snapped up in the £12,500 bracket.Richa Ghosh, the India wicketkeeper-batter, went undrafted after entering with a reserve price of £65,000.In all, 110 overseas and 120 domestic players entered the women’s draft for 29 places on offer, including four overseas spots and 25 for domestic players.Each of the eight teams have two places remaining to be filled by wildcards nearer to the start of the competition on August 5. Those places will be in the lowest salary bracket of £10,000.