England have confirmed two changes to their XI for the third Test, with Jonny Bairstow set to replace the injured Sam Curran and bat at No. 3

George Dobell in Colombo21-Nov-2018James Anderson is to be replaced by Stuart Broad in for the final Test of the series against Sri Lanka in Colombo, while England have also confirmed that Jonny Bairstow will come in for the injured Sam Curran.With England having taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in Pallekele, they are taking the opportunity to rest Anderson and give Broad a run with a view to matches later in the winter.”The thinking is that, with the series sewn up, it’s an opportunity to rotate,” Anderson said. “The management want Broady to get some Test cricket under his belt before we go to the West Indies.”With England’s next Test, in Barbados, more than two months away, it is debatable what benefit Broad will derive from the match, but it will not be the only change. After Curran suffered a side strain in the second Test, they have decided to alter the balance of the team by bringing back Bairstow to bat at No. 3.Although Bairstow has not given up on winning back the wicketkeeper’s gloves, which he lost to Ben Foakes after straining ankle ligaments during the one-day series, the possibility of a route back as a specialist batsman had been floated. He will become England’s fourth No. 3 of the series, after Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes and Keaton Jennings (due to the use of a nightwatchman).The confirmation of England’s XI also means no debut for fast bowler Olly Stone. While the pitch in Colombo would have been unlikely to offer much assistance to Stone, it may have been interesting to see how he handled the pressures of playing at the highest level ahead of selection for the Caribbean tour.In the end, strengthening the batting was the logical choice. The third seamer in Pallekele, Stokes, bowled only one over in the match, while Anderson was the only seamer to bowl in the second innings.The decision to bring in Broad ends a tour that Anderson described as “frustrating”. He has taken only one wicket – and that with his second ball of the series – and, despite his best efforts, found it hard to coax any life out of the pitches or the Kookaburra ball. He is, therefore, delighted to hear that the Duke’s ball is to be used in the Caribbean series.”It’s been a frustrating trip for me really because you want to contribute to the wins,” Anderson said. “But I feel like I’ve tried my best but it’s not really been a series for the seamers.”You go into the games with the best intentions and try and work hard in the nets and make sure you’ve got all the skills you need to get wickets out here. But the opportunities for me to bowl in games have been fairly limited. Bowling a seven-over spell in Kandy, which I thought I bowled pretty well with the second ball. Apart from that, the opportunities have been limited and it is frustrating in a way.”One thing that playing out here has really made me look forward to is getting a Duke’s back in my hand. Sometimes, when the conditions are more seamer friendly, you have to do a lot more bowling and you can take it for granted. Playing out here makes you appreciate it a bit more.”Despite his personal frustrations, Anderson has enjoyed being part of a series win and feels the side has taken a significant step forward.”I think the improvements we’ve made and continue to make have really shown this trip,” he said. “Ben Foakes and Rory Burns have come in and done really well. Keaton Jennings, too.”I certainly feel that, in the past, previous [England] teams might not have played as positively as we have with the bat. The message from Joe Root has been go out and play your way. Be confident. This win is right up there and a real big stepping stone for us as a team.”

William Somerville’s 4 for 75 helped restrict Pakistan’s lead to 74 but the hosts struck back with two quick wickets before stumps

The Report by Danyal Rasool05-Dec-2018Stumps
William Somerville, who had looked at best inoffensive and at worst simply not good enough for the best part of the day, is at the moment the difference between a dead series and one that could yet go either way. His four wickets ensured Pakistan failed to put up any significant resistance following the Azhar Ali-Asad Shafiq stand, losing their last seven wickets for 62 runs. Some fell in a freaky manner, like Babar Azam dragging it on off his bat and both legs onto the stumps. Others were so comical as to channel memories of Basil Fawlty and Del Boy, notably Yasir Shah, who lost his shoe turning around for a second run, and just couldn’t send his captain back. Yasir never stood a chance of completing the run hopping on one foot, leaving Sarfraz Ahmed hopping mad at the other end. He could make little difference with the tail, as Somerville and Ajaz Patel wrapped up the last three wickets for just two runs. It gave Pakistan a 74-run lead, and if that sounds familiar, it should.Make no mistake, Pakistan are still in the driving seat in this Test match, but just the fact they haven’t already put this out of New Zealand’s hands will be frustrating. The visitors may still be 48 runs behind and already down two wickets, thanks to an impressive start by Shaheen Afridi. To further press home the advantage, Yasir had Tom Latham caught in the deep off his penultimate over of the day, putting himself one away from becoming the fastest to 200 Test wickets. But Pakistan will almost certainly be forced into a fourth-innings chase here, with all the psychological baggage that entails, and from the position they were in half an hour before tea, that will disappoint them.If yesterday’s talk of couples had revolved around Trent Boult and Tim Southee, today was all about Azhar and Shafiq. A 201-run partnership that spanned the bulk of the day between Pakistan’s most dependable batsmen had put the hosts in firm control of the deciding Test in Abu Dhabi, beyond New Zealand’s total. Before lunch Azhar had reached his first Test hundred since Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan’s retirements, while Shafiq got to his shortly before tea.For much of the session, the duo carried on the solid work they had done since the start of the day, but they were challenged by better bowling, particularly in a probing spell by Tim Southee, who kept finding the outside edge of the right-handers without a wicket to show for it. However, the absence of an enforcer like Neil Wagner was telling, with Pakistan always confident of a pressure release from any end Southee or Trent Boult weren’t operating from.It was those two quicks who regained a measure of control with the second new ball after Pakistan had got off to a lightning start. Boult, in particular, gave Shafiq a number of nervy moments, exploiting movement and angle both ways. The seamer was judicious in the use of well-directed short balls too. But Shafiq overcame the habit of giving his wicket away after a good start to ensure Pakistan finished the first session with no wickets lost.For much of the day, Somerville remained one of New Zealand’s most economical bowlers, but manifestly lacked the bite required to take advantage of a pitch that rewarded both Yasir Shah and Bilal Asif on the first two days. The surface offered less turn than it had earlier, but one couldn’t help wonder if Pakistan’s spinners would have found a way to be far more troublesome to the batsmen; it is the one facet of the game where the visitors found themselves clearly outclassed. Even Patel from the other end was largely subdued for much of the day.But it was those same spinners who allowed their side a glimmer of hope just before tea, with Somerville removing Azhar for his first Test wicket, and Patel trapping Shafiq in front, allowing their team a crack at an out-of-form Sarfraz Ahmed and subsequently, the lower order. Azhar was on 134 when he fell in the softest fashion, edging a sweep off an absolutely harmless delivery from Somerville, carrying straight to Patel at short fine leg. It got rid of a pair that had frustrated New Zealand for 72 overs, and at that stage, looked like it had killed off Williamson’s hopes of walking away with a series win.The lower-middle-order collapse, alongside with the capitulation of the tail, exposed Pakistan’s weaknesses that have been festering over the past couple of years, and explained their fragility in the time since they became the world’s best Test side. New Zealand were offered the smallest of windows back into the match after tea, and fittingly enough, it was Somerville, an accountant in a previous life, who ensured the wickets column continued to tick over while maintaining immaculately economical figures. The balance sheet isn’t quite a perfect match yet, but New Zealand have bought some time to ensure amends can be made over the next 48 hours.

England’s senior bowler claims 200th overseas wicket as late breakthroughs redress balance

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jan-2019James Anderson admitted he was relieved to return to wicket-taking ways in the first Test in Barbados, but added that the tour of Sri Lanka before Christmas – in which he claimed a solitary wicket in England’s 3-0 series win – made him appreciate it all the more when conditions are even remotely in his favour.Anderson produced a superb sustained performance with new ball and old on the first day against West Indies, conceding just 14 runs in his first 14 wicketless overs, before striking hard in his latter spells to finish with 4 for 33 in 24 overs all told, as West Indies slipped from 240 for 4 to 264 for 8 at the close.In the process, he claimed his 200th wicket in overseas Tests, and also went past the combined tally of 1000 wickets with his long-term new-ball partner, Stuart Broad, who was not selected for this match as England opted for the all-round option of Sam Curran.”I’ve always enjoyed the challenge but it’s often been difficult for me to get to grips with conditions away from home,” Anderson said. “I guess it’s getting to know my game and getting my skills and confidence up. Now I feel I can bowl on most pitches – though you could probably take Sri Lanka out of that.”Tours like that make you appreciate when there’s a bit of something for you. There was a bit of swing even though the wicket was pretty flat. You’re always encouraged with that movement through the air. I say I’ve enjoyed it – I’ve not enjoyed the times I’ve bowled rubbish, but in recent years as I’ve improved overseas, I’ve really enjoyed that challenge.”Of the 1000-wicket feat, Anderson said: “It makes you feel old. [Broad and I have] played for a long time together. I think it’s amazing to think we’ve taken that many wickets together. It’s a shame that he wasn’t out there today but hopefully he’ll get a go at some stage on this tour.”The decision to leave out Broad – and his personal haul of 433 wickets – was one of the main talking points of the day, and Anderson said he completely understood why.”Of course it causes conversation, it’s a massive decision. A guy who has played 124 Tests but then you have a really talented allrounder [in Curran]. In that respect it shows how strong our squad is. There will be difficult decisions as this team improves. I thought it was harsh on Jack Leach to miss out after Sri Lanka.”It’s tough for Joe [Root, the captain] but that’s why he gets paid the big bucks. It’s Joe and Trevor [Bayliss]’s job. As players we just turn up and prepare to perform. We know there will be tough calls.”England looked like ruing Broad’s absence in the early part of the day, as Curran in particular endured a tough time, conceding 54 runs in 12 wicketless overs. But with Ben Stokes chiming in with three wickets of his own, England finished the day with their noses fractionally in front.”We really weren’t sure how [the wicket] was going to play,” he said. “It was scruffy-looking so it was difficult to tell what we were going to get. We thought it might have a little more pace in it. The odd ball kissed through nicely but on the whole it was a slow wicket.”Kraigg Brathwaite left really well early on because we were getting some swing. So we’ve got to take a lift from how they played early on, because that new ball is tricky on there with the movement through the air. When we bat, that’s what we have to negate.””That last session with the second new ball got us right back in the game,” he added. “It was a good wicket to bat on today. There’s wasn’t too much off the wicket and it was a bit slow, but there was a bit of swing for most of the day.”All in all, it was a day where we had to sit in and I thought we did that really well. We didn’t really let them get away from us at any stage and we know in cricket if you stay in the game, the second new ball can bring two or three wickets. We bowled really well with that second new ball and got our rewards.”

Scotland steal a march on rivals after Mark Watt ends burgeoning stand in Al Amerat

Peter Della Penna in Al Amerat 15-Feb-20192:22

‘We put the past in the past and came out on top’ – Mark Watt

Scotland 181 for 4 (Coetzer 74, Munsey 50) beat Ireland 180 for 7 (O’Brien 65, Stirling 56) by six wickets

ScorecardPaul Stirling and Kevin O’Brien each notched half-centuries as part of a 115-run opening stand, an Ireland T20I record for any wicket. But left-arm spinner Mark Watt nabbed both sandwiched around No. 3 Andy Balbirnie in a game-changing spell of left-arm spin to restrict Ireland to a well-under par 180 before Kyle Coetzer and George Munsey produced a Scotland T20I record opening stand of 109 in a six-wicket win.After a morning display in which Oman scored 120 off their last 10 overs after being sent in, Ireland appeared destined for 200 or more given the platform that was laid by Stirling and O’Brien. But the innings stuttered after Watt intervened, paired with some sharp catching on the boundary by Michael Leask and Munsey. O’Brien drove to Leask at long-off before Balbirnie skied a sweep to Munsey at deep square leg. Leask made his presence felt again at long-off to nab Stirling as Ireland lost 3 for 15 to slip to 130 for 3.Richie Berrington was an unsung hero on the day, returning 0 for 26 in a spell that built on Watt’s breakthroughs to put the brakes on Ireland’s batting once the top order was removed. Safyaan Sharif was then responsible for two wickets in the 17th, knocking back Lorcan Tucker’s off-stump before running out Simi Singh with an underhand flick in his follow-through on the next ball to make it 138 for 5.Ireland fought back in the final three overs as Alasdair Evans’ short-ball plan failed to the tune of 35 runs conceded off the 18th and 20th. George Dockrell’s cameo of 15 not out off 7 balls propped up the total but Ireland’s lull in the middle of the innings came back to bite them, as did an uncharacteristically poor fielding display.Coetzer was named Man of the Match for his 74 off 38 balls to pace the Scotland chase. But he benefitted greatly from three dropped chances – the first on his second ball when he was yet to score – as well as being caught off a no-ball when Peter Chase overstepped with Coetzer driving to Shane Getkate at long-off on 39.At the other end, there was no doubt about the crispness of Munsey’s knock. He scored Scotland’s first 18 runs across the opening two overs of the chase, driving Singh back down the ground for four and six. He brought up his half-century off 26 balls, two slower than Coetzer, before a false drive against Getkate resulted in an edge behind to Stuart Poynter in the ninth.Coetzer smashed back-to-back sixes over long-on in the same over to bring up his fifty, then followed it with two drives through mid-off against Boyd Rankin in the following over for another pair of boundaries. He took one more off Rankin through mid-off again in the 13th before he was beaten driving on the next ball to fall for 74, the seventh half-century of the day on the pitch.By that stage, the required run-rate had come down to less than a run a ball. Despite Berrington and Matthew Cross both falling for ducks to complete a mini-collapse of 3 for 3, Calum MacLeod and Craig Wallace added an unbeaten 37 together to see Scotland home. MacLeod ended the match with a straight six off Peter Chase to clinch victory with nine balls to spare.For Scotland, it’s their second ever T20I victory over a Full Member following a win over Bangladesh at the Hague in 2012. It also kept them alive for a shot at the T20I Quadrangular Series title. A win over Oman on Sunday would take them to 2-1. Ireland also has a chance to end with the crown if they can beat 2-0 Netherlands on Sunday, which would create a three-way tie to bring the net-run-rate tiebreaker into play.

Cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan had put the matches in Lahore and Karachi in doubt

Umar Farooq28-Feb-2019Following a resumption in political tensions between India and Pakistan, the PCB has assured fans that the Pakistan leg of the PSL will take place as scheduled, with Lahore and Karachi hosting a total of eight games. Ehsan Mani, the PCB chairman, made the announcement after a meeting with all six franchises and other stakeholders at Dubai Cricket Stadium.Over the last few days, in the aftermath of the militant attack in Pulwama in the northern Indian state of Kashmir, India and Pakistan have exchanged hostilities. These events had thrown a question mark over the PSL’s Pakistan leg. The UAE leg of the tournament is set to finish on March 5, after which the action will move to Pakistan, with Lahore set to host three games and Karachi five, including the final on March 17.”We want to reconfirm that the PSL matches will all be played in Pakistan as scheduled,” Mani told a press conference with five of the six franchise owners by his sid. “I would like to thank my colleagues sitting alongside me for their support. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that PSL will continue with business as usual as we planned and this is a unanimous decision from all of us.”I am also very grateful to our overseas players who are ready to come to Pakistan. All those who had given their commitment from the start are still with us. I am also grateful to all support staff who are working at the ground. We have a few challenges as you know on the production side, with one of our production partners pulling out overnight. But then the team we got together, they made sure that we had seamless transition and now I am absolutely confident that we will be in Pakistan as we had planned.”In the immediate wake of the Pulwama attack, the Indian company IMG-Reliance opted out of its deal to produce television coverage of the PSL worldwide. Techfront, owners of the Cricketgateway website, had also pulled out of its deal to stream matches in India, and , the television channel showing the PSL in India, also stopped its coverage.A consortium of Blitz and Trans Group have since stepped in to fill the void.The new production company, however, is comprised largely of the same staff, including Indian nationals working as freelancers based in Dubai. There is still uncertainty over who will travel to Pakistan from the production team in case of problems with logistics for Indian nationals.PCB chairman Ehsan Mani speaks at the PSL 2019 draft•Getty Images/AFP

“We are monitoring the logistics very closely and we are in contact with our appropriate authorities on a day-by-day, minute-by-minute basis,” Mani said. “By the time we are ready to move out there won’t be any hiccups, and even if it comes through, we will adapt.”At the most we have to readjust a bit but we have a solid commitment that it will be played in Pakistan. There are logistical challenges but we will deal with them and unless anything significant happens there is nothing changing. At a working level, we are in contact with all agencies, but as per our policy, it is our commitment to go back to Pakistan.”If we decide to change it for some reason then I could speak about it. But for now, we are going on with business as usual. There are one or two players who we know had already said no [to going to Pakistan] for other reasons, but those who had confirmed with all franchises have reassured us about their commitments being intact.”A few of the overseas players are understood to have raised concerns over growing tensions in Pakistan, but all franchises have said they have the consent of their players. ESPNcrininfo understands the Quetta Gladiators opener Shane Watson didn’t make a commitment to go to Pakistan at the very start. Karachi Kings’ Aaron Summers, another Australian player, is mostly likely to travel, while one of the biggest names in the tournament, former South Africa batsman AB de Villiers, will play two matches in Lahore for Lahore Qalandars.”Whatever is happening in Pakistan it’s the same in India as well,” Mani said. “But we have no doubt on our side that we cannot do this. So far we don’t see anything that will make us change our decision. Cricket is happening all over the subcontinent and it will go on as usual. Also, I don’t think I will need to talk to the [PCB] patron (Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan) about taking this decision because whatever was in our plan, we are just abiding by it. (The) Patron just has a wish that we should get as many matches as quickly as possible, in Pakistan.”

“When I come here I don’t expect to play straight away,” he said on the eve of Sunrisers’ first home game of the season, against Rajasthan Royals

Hemant Brar in Hyderabad28-Mar-2019Imagine being one of the biggest names in world cricket, but still unable to find a place in the playing XI when it comes to the IPL. Dale Steyn is a prime example. Given that an IPL team can field a maximum of four overseas players each game, Steyn – arguably the greatest fast bowler of this era – has been left cheering his side from the dugout on many occasions in the past.Martin Guptill may not hold the same cult status as Steyn, but his T20I record is right up there with the very best. While he didn’t get any bids during the auction ahead of the 2017 season, Guptill, the second-highest run-getter in T20Is, was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for his base price of INR 1 crore (USD 140,000) this time around. Guptill, though, knows he might have to wait to make his Sunrisers debut.”It’s funny. When I come here I don’t expect to play straight away,” Guptill said on the eve of Sunrisers’ first home game of the season, against Rajasthan Royals. “It was the same when I was with Kings XI [Punjab in 2017]; I didn’t play straightaway. Just sit back and watch, and try to do as much as I can to help the guys who are playing.”I got an opportunity to play with Mumbai a couple of years ago and Kings XI the next year. I had the year off last year, and coming here this year, I am looking to forward to hopefully getting an opportunity when the time comes but it’s one of those things; you bide your time until you get selected.”However, Guptill doesn’t get too worried about what happens during auctions.”I have been up in the auction a few times and I have been picked up but when I go into the auction, I go in with reasonably low expectations. If I get picked up, that’s great and if I don’t get picked up, then I am not too disappointed.”Of late, Guptill’s form has been a bit up and down. During the ODI series against India at home, he managed just 47 runs in four innings. A disc injury then kept him out of the T20I series, before he regained fitness and struck form with back-to-back ODI hundreds against Bangladesh.Guptill revealed that a couple of flaws had crept into his batting which he ironed out with the help of his Auckland coach Mark O’Donnell.”I had a few issues with something in my game during the India series at home. There were a couple of balance issues. I wasn’t loading up properly in my sit up and that was causing me to play different lines than what I would have liked to. But I watched a lot of footage of what I was doing at that time and what I was doing previously that was working for me.”I managed to work on those hard and come on the other side and got a couple of centuries against Bangladesh. I am just looking to carry on that sort of rhythm and form that I had there and if I get an opportunity to play, hopefully I can translate that in the middle.”While he may or may not get a chance to play for Sunrisers soon, Guptill is looking forward to facing the likes of Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi at the nets, which he believes will help him firm his plans for the World Cup.”I haven’t faced Rashid yet but I have played with him in the CPL a couple of years ago. He’s an amazing bowler, very hard to face because he bowls so quick. I am looking forward to batting against him in the nets and figuring out how to play him because we got them [Afghanistan] second [third] game at the World Cup this year. So I will be trying to face him in the nets so that I can put some plans in place before I face him at the World Cup.”

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.

Sean Dickson, Heino Kuhn shine with the bat as task proves too great for Surrey’s bowlers

Daniel Norcross at Beckenham23-May-2019By the end of this fluctuating, frequently fascinating match, 22 players and a couple of physios will quite definitely have earned their sleep. Whether Surrey’s bowlers, who threw everything they had at a Kent side that showed exceptional character to survive a turbulent fourth day and force a draw, will be able to achieve the sanctuary of somnolence, is an altogether different matter.Kent began the day needing an additional, and highly improbable 380 runs to pull off victory with nine wickets in hand. Had they succeeded it would have been the 12th-highest successful run chase in County Championship history. The fact that scribes were rushing around, consulting scorers and
archivists in search of this arcane statistic tells you how well Kent’s middle order negotiated the bulk of a terrific day.Adam Riley, the nightwatchman, survived what in retrospect was a crucial 35 minutes before Sam Curran uprooted his leg stump with a yorker speared in from round the wicket. But in what proved perhaps the pivotal moment of the match shortly after, Curran was forced from the field, clutching
his hamstring. Surrey have had wretched luck with injuries this season, and being a bowler down on an unresponsive track under glorious blue skies put an ultimately impossible burden on the pace bowling trio of Morne Morkel, Rikki Clarke and Conor McKerr. Throughout this match the new ball has been a disproportionately powerful weapon. To be deprived of their chief exponent of swing was a cruel blow so early in the day.What followed was the day’s first flashpoint. Clarke, twice in two balls was convinced he had Daniel Bell-Drummond. The first was a superb piece of umpiring by Graham Lloyd who adjudged that the noise everyone heard was in fact the ball brushing the back of the batsman’s leg. The second decision was perhaps a little tighter. Bell-Drummond looked to be trapped bang in front on the knee roll. He might just about have jammed the ball into his pad. If he hadn’t, he was stone dead.Clarke took the latter view and expressed his displeasure. The umpires convened. Words were spoken. We will find out soon enough if there are ramifications. Surrey have been reprimanded before, and rather too often for their comfort. They really don’t need an appearance before the Cricket
Disciplinary Commission. The sound and fury was soon forgotten as Bell-Drummond was adjudged lbw in Clarke’s next over.Three down at lunch and the game was still very much Surrey’s for the winning. By tea, thoughts had flipped to an improbable and spectacular Kent run chase as Surrey’s bowlers laboured with the older ball. Once again Sean Dickson defied the attack with a compact and organised display. He fell nine runs short of what would have been his second century of the match, edging Clarke behind.Between now and late July many eyes will be on potential England openers for the Ashes. Dickson might just be one to keep an eye on. His wicket was the only one to fall in that middle session and Kent went to tea requiring a further 193 to win from 35 overs with six wickets in hand. Six and a half really given Riley’s nightwatchman status.Morkel inevitably was entrusted with the new ball as soon as it became available. Immediately he picked up Ollie Robinson, caught at midwicket to end a stand of 70 with Kent’s captain Heino Kuhn, who was threatening to reach the parts that other diminutive South African-born middle-order batsmen can’t reach.Robinson’s departure was followed soon after, though, by Kuhn, who was at the very least dismayed, incandescent with fury perhaps, when Lloyd decided that a ball that leaped from Morkel and seemed to take his shoulder was judged to have grazed his bat en route.At 263 for 6 and with another 26 overs to be bowled, fleeting thoughts of Kent’s highest fourth-innings run chase were abandoned. It was all about the draw now. Had Clarke, who bowled magnificently throughout this game, not overstepped when enticing an edge from Wiaan Mulder (again umpire Lloyd the adjudicator) into the momentarily gleeful hands of Dean Elgar at slip, that draw would most likely never have come. Instead Mulder hung on to the end to register an unbeaten half-century on his Kent debut to go with his five wickets.Alex Blake and Darren Stevens negotiated 70 balls between them and Harry Podmore managed to see out the last four overs to bring home ten points for the home side.Promoted teams often struggle in Division One. This year only one side will be relegated. In the last ten years, an average of eight points per match has been enough every year but one to guarantee finishing above the bottom club. Kent have so far managed 43 points in four matches. More importantly, they have stood toe to toe with the champions and despite a poor session at the end of day two, have come out with honours even.Their fans needn’t fear relegation. After a performance like this, they can entertain loftier ambitions.

Broadcaster seeks to capitalise on ‘once-in-a-generation’ opportunity to spread the sport to wider UK audience

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jul-2019The World Cup final on July 14 could become the first men’s international fixture to be televised on free-to-air TV in the UK since the 2005 Ashes, after Sky Sports reneged on its previous stance and announced that it would be lowering its paywall in the event of England making it through next week’s semi-final at Edgbaston.England’s victory over New Zealand at Chester-le-Street last week guaranteed Eoin Morgan’s men a place in the World Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1992, when they beat South Africa at Sydney but went on to lose in the final against Pakistan at Melbourne.England have not contested a final on home soil since 1979, when they lost to West Indies at Lord’s, and Sky’s executives have recognised the historic opportunity that this contest could represent, to spread the sport to as broad an audience as possible.Sky UK and Ireland Chief Executive Stephen van Rooyen said: “We are proud to be the broadcaster for a home Cricket World Cup – one of the world’s biggest and most exciting sporting events.”Our aim has always been to celebrate what could be a ‘once in a generation’ moment of a home team in a big final on home soil. So, if England reach the final, we will make the match available to everyone so the whole country can be part of a rare and special big sporting moment.”Sky’s decision comes after their coverage of the tournament had been overshadowed in the UK by the women’s football World Cup, which has been broadcast throughout by the BBC. England’s semi-final against the USA on Tuesday drew 11.7 million viewers, the BBC’s biggest television audience of the year. England’s World Cup cricket fixtures, by contrast, have drawn an average of 450,000.The contrast was addressed earlier this week by the England fast bowler, Liam Plunkett, who was asked on BBC 5 Live whether he would support calls for the final to be made more accessible to the English public.”I’m not sure they’re going to do it, but it would great for everybody to be able to watch that,” Plunkett said. “Playing for England, you’re the pride of the country and you want people to be able to access that and watch that. I’m not sure it’s going to happen but for the guys, you want as many people to watch it as possible.”It’s always nice to be on a bigger platform,” Plunkett added. “Hopefully people tune in to watch that game. It would obviously be great to have as many people watching as possible, we feel like we’ve built something special here as a team. It would be nice to go all the way and to have big numbers watching that final if we get through and win, that would be huge.”A proportion of free-to-air cricket access was already set to be reinstated from next year onwards, with the advent of the ECB’s new 100-ball competition, after Sky agreed to cede some of its exclusivity to the BBC as part of a new £1.1billion rights deal from 2020-2024.Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive who brokered the deal, recently described Sky as “cricket’s best friend” – the broadcaster has been involved in cricket since 1990 and has been the exclusive partner for home internationals since 2006 – and Plunkett later tweeted to clarify his remarks.”Sky Cricket are an incredible partner for the game and have been for the past 20+ years,” he wrote. “I was asked a question & I never said that it should be on FTA. My words have been twisted & the headline is misleading. The whole country is behind us. Keep believing.”There are no details yet as to where the match would be broadcast if England did make it through. The BBC and Channel 4, the last two free-to-air channels to broadcast international cricket, would be options, although Sky might also consider making the match available via YouTube, which was the approach taken by BT Sport for the all-English Champions League final between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur last month.

South Africa captain backs calls for minimum wage as he concedes Kolpak and T20 deals remain “dangling carrots”

George Dobell05-Jul-2019South Africa captain Faf du Plessis believes it would be “amazing” if the ICC was to act on Jason Holder’s suggestion of introducing a minimum wage into international cricket. However, du Plessis also conceded it was “a long way from happening”, and said that he would be taking time after the World Cup to weigh up his own future as a South Africa player.Holder, the West Indies captain, made the suggestion in February following Duanne Olivier’s decision to sign a Kolpak deal with Yorkshire. He warned that unless “something is properly done to keep players a bit more grounded financially” it could become hard to maintain the quality of international cricket, and he revealed he had held discussions with the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) on the subject.Du Plessis was positive about the possibility of such an initiative, with the issue of losing players to the T20 circuit or Kolpak deals remaining an “area of big concern” for CSA. But in accepting that South Africa could lose more players once the tournament has ended, he admitted he had not yet come to a decision about his own career. JP Duminy and Imran Tahir have already announced plans to retire from international cricket following South Africa’s final World Cup game on Saturday.”There are almost two groups of players when it comes to South African cricketers,” he said. “There’s your Test players – and for them the Kolpak option is the dangling carrot – and there are your white-ball specialists, where the T20 circuit around the world [is the carrot]. Both of those areas are a big concern for cricketers in South Africa.”Looking at the one-day side, your players that will move on from the Proteas would potentially move on to the T20 circuit, maybe bar one or two, but that is generally where the opportunities lie for the white-ball players. I think, naturally, with some of the guys finishing, they’ll do that. That will become the biggest issue for us to try and stay away from for all players. And that’s including myself.”My plan was to commit fully to the World Cup and not even think of anything else further than the World Cup because I didn’t want my mind to start drifting into the future. I wanted to be completely present in this World Cup.”Right now is possibly not the best time to be making decisions because you are disappointed – I won’t say emotional – but you don’t want to be in this mode when you are making career decisions. So, for me, it will be a case of taking some time off and reflecting on what the future looks like for me; what’s my purpose going forward; is it still playing all three formats for South Africa? Those are the things that I would need to consider.Faf Du Plessis drives it through the offside•Getty Images

“I feel in terms of my own game, the last year is certainly the best I have ever played. I still believe I’m on top of my own game, so performance-wise there is no question marks there.”It’s just making sure that there’s a lot of purpose to what I’m doing. I’ve had a huge belief the last year and it’s been very easy for me to not even consider anything else because my purpose in captaining this team has been so strong. I didn’t even think of anything else.”So, in the two or three weeks after this tournament, I will have a real look and see what the future holds for me.”The route of South Africa’s problems are economic. The cricket board is simply unable to match the money on offer in T20 leagues or county cricket and has seen a steady stream of departures in recent years. And while du Plessis acknowledged that South Africa are not alone in suffering with such issues – he referred to all nations other than England, India and Australia as “second-tier nations” – he did not feel any further distribution of wealth is likely.”It would be great for the rest of the teams if you could do that,” du Plessis replied when asked if he would welcome the ICC subsidising international salaries where appropriate. “If I had that much power to say that to the ICC I think I would have said it a long time ago. That is the perfect world, but we don’t live in a perfect world.”Sri Lanka, New Zealand, West Indies and Pakistan: I think all of us fall into the same category, like maybe your second-tier nations and then you get your top tier which is a little bit different. West Indies are a great example. They probably are the worst off and that is why they have lost so many players to the circuit.”I think England, Australia, India will always be the higher-paid nations. It is easier for the guys who are playing for England or Australia or India to remain in their countries and just play their cricket there. Obviously the currency is very strong but also the packages that they get paid are obviously a lot different to your smaller nations.”If that changes, it will be amazing for the rest of the world, but I think it’s a long, long way from happening.”