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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Matt Roller26-Oct-20232:23

Bond: England showing no willingness to adapt

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

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

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

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

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

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

Afghanistan have nine wickets left as they seek to wipe out the 42 runs remaining in their deficit

Andrew Fidel Fernando04-Feb-2024Afghanistan came surging back into the Test on day three, first polishing off the Sri Lanka tail quickly, before Ibrahim Zadran put up big stands with Noor Ali Zadran and Rahmat Shah, as he completed a valiant maiden Test century.Ibrahim and Shah remained unbeaten at the close, which means Afghanistan have nine wickets left as they seek to wipe out the 42 runs remaining in their deficit, and establish a lead that will test Sri Lanka. The surface had not yet begun to take ripping turn, and remained excellent for batting. But Afghanistan do have two spinners in their attack – albeit very inexperienced – who may be able to exploit what assistance there is.Sri Lanka will rue their missed chances. Ibrahim had been on 39 when he came down the pitch to smash a Prabath Jayasuriya delivery straight back to the bowler, who let it burst through his fingers and on to the boundary for four. The easier of the chances came to Nishan Madushka at short mid on when Ibrahim was on 63. This was again struck hard, but at a catchable height near his head. He got his hands up, but couldn’t quite wrap his fingers around the ball.Related

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Sri Lanka’s bowlers were largely disciplined, even if they could not coax life out of a pitch that had become good for batting. Asitha Fernando was the best of them, delivering some excellent bursts of short-pitched bowling, as well as some outstanding fuller deliveries, one of which yielded the only Afghanistan wicket to fall – that of Noor, for 47.But the day belonged to Ibrahim. He had his outside edge occasionally beaten with the new ball and was scoreless for 14 deliveries, but once he got moving, he kept a steady tempo. His first runs were via a glance to the fine leg boundary, but early in his innings he was mostly strong in the arc between cover and mid off. Between the boundaries, which came principally off full and slightly wide deliveries, there was a substantial diet of singles all around the wicket. Ibrahim took 84 balls to get into his 30s. During his 106-run partnership with Noor, the primary goal seemed to be to bat time.The half-century came off the last over before tea, and in the evening Ibrahim consolidated. He was hitting boundaries through long on and midwicket now. Sri Lanka attempted all sorts of catching men to try and lure a mistake, but aside from that dropped chance on 63, Ibrahim found ways to progress without taking risks. He was mostly only trying to hit fours off the bad deliveries – usually ones that were overpitched. He got to his hundred – the fourth ever for Afghanistan – off the last over of the day.Asitha Fernando removed Noor Ali Zadran•AFP/Getty Images

Noor’s innings, in contrast to Ibrahim’s was troubled, but he nevertheless stuck it out for 136 deliveries and fell only three runs short of what would have been a maiden fifty on debut. He was particularly uncomfortable against Asitha’s burst of bouncers soon after lunch, but he survived it narrowly, and it would only be in the third session that Asitha would get him out, pinging him in front of leg stump with a fast, full delivery. Noor made the majority of his runs behind the wicket – a reflection, partly, of how short Sri Lanka bowled to him.Rahmat, who got to 46 off 98 before stumps, and was part of a 93-run unbeaten partnership with Ibrahim, made all but 11 of his runs on the offside. He was strong down the ground, especially, finding thre of his five boundaries there.Sri Lanka’s attack was upset by a blow to Chamika Gunasekara, who in the morning was hit on the head, seemed to suffer the effects a few overs after he was hit, and was taken off the field and to further tests in hospital. Kasun Rajitha, who replaced him as concussion substitute, was the most expensive of Sri Lanka’s bowlers on Sunday, going at 4.30 across his 10 overs.The others were more disciplined, even if only Asitha seriously threatened to take wickets through much of the day. Jayasuriya will be especially disappointed he has nothing in the wickets column after delivering 32 overs, though nine of those were maidens.Early in the day, Afghanistan had claimed three wickets for 39 to close out Sri Lanka’s first innings at 439. The most important wicket of the morning was the first – that of Sri Lanka’s last recognised batter Sadeera Smarawickrama, who edged Naveed Zadran to gully.The two next wickets were not long in falling. Naveed hit the top of Jayasuriya’s off stump before, next over, Nijat Masood bowled Asitha Fernando first ball, with Asitha having come in after Gunasekara retired hurt.Naveed’s take for the innings was 4 for 83. Masood and Qais Ahmed claimed two wickets apiece.

Lahore Qalandars lost their third game in a row, as their much-trumpeted pace attack failed to defend yet again

Associated Press22-Feb-2024Multan Sultans continued their dream start by handing defending champions Lahore Qalandars their third straight loss in the Pakistan Super League on Wednesday. Iftikhar Ahmed smashed 24 runs in the penultimate over, and earned Sultans a five-wicket win over defending champions Qalandars in a rematch of last season’s final.Qalandars’ much-trumpeted pace attack, led by Shaheen Shah Afridi, has now failed to defend in three successive games, as Haris Rauf continued to struggle and Zaman Khan also proving expensive (2-52).Sultans now sit pretty on top of the table with six points from three straight home wins, while Qalandars are yet to get first win under their belt.Skipper Mohammad Rizwan, who was dropped on 40 by Afridi, went on to compile this season’s top-score of 82 off 59 balls before Ifthikar charged against Zaman’s pace in the 19th over, smacking two sixes and three fours, and guided the home team to 170 for 5.Iftikhar wiped the hopes of Qalandars for its first win with a robust knock of unbeaten 34 off 11 balls after the home team needed 21 off the last two overs.The inclusion of left-arm spinner George Linde (1 for 26) of South Africa seemed to have beefed up Qalandars’ bowling in the absence of injured Rashid Khan when he bowled brilliantly in the middle overs after Qalandars posted 166 for 5, but Iftikhar’s onslaught against Zaman sealed the game.Earlier, Rassie van der Dussen (54) scored his second half-century in three games and Fakhar Zaman made 41 as they put on 94 runs for the second-wicket stand and pushed for a daunting total before Sultans pulled back despite dropping four catches.Khushdil Shah, who dropped two catches in the last game against Islamabad United, floored two more chances on Wednesday, but fast bowler Mohammad Ali (2 for 28) continued to impress with his swing and variations which restricted Qalandars in the end.

But Colin Ingram heads Glamorgan fightback with unbeaten 69 off 110 balls on even day

ECB Reporters Network19-Apr-2024Evergreen Northamptonshire seamer Ben Sanderson led the charge with three wickets as Northamptonshire’s attack made the most of having a new Dukes ball back in their hands on the opening day of this Vitality County Championship clash at Wantage Road.But despite slumping to 27 for 4 after 10.4 overs, Colin Ingram led Glamorgan’s fightback with an unbeaten 69 off 110 balls. He steered the visitors to 203 for 7 at the close, with honours just about even on the first evening.Looking solid in defence, Ingram played some crisp attacking shots, as he rebuilt, first in a partnership of 69 in 18.3 overs with Chris Cooke (28). Despite losing Cooke after tea, the in-form Ingram pushed on, passing a second consecutive half-century of the season to go with a century in his opening game. He found another willing partner in Dan Douthwaite, whose bustling 50 came off just 63 balls in a sixth wicket stand worth 74 off 102 balls.Earlier Northamptonshire won the toss and decided to bowl after overnight heavy rain washed out the morning session. The atmospherics aided movement through the air and off the seam as Northamptonshire’s bowlers stuck rigidly to a controlled, probing line around off-stump.Sanderson, in particular, proved unplayable at times. He was well supported by Australian international Chris Tremain, while England Under-19 Raphy Weatherall also bowled impressively, taking two wickets. It stood in stark contrast to the run fest last weekend against the Kookaburra ball.It was Tremain who struck first when he got a fuller delivery to swing in and then seam away to take the edge of Zain-ul-Hassan’s bat, keeper Lewis McManus taking the catch.Sanderson challenged Billy Root outside off-stump, the batter repeatedly playing and missing before the bowler got one to come back in and trap him leg before wicket.Colin Ingram’s unbeaten 69 was vital for the visitors•Getty Images

Glamorgan skipper Sam Northeast (13) drove Sanderson down the ground for four but survived a tight lbw decision against Sanderson, while Tremain beat his bat. His brief innings ended when he flashed needlessly at a Sanderson delivery which lifted slightly, Ricardo Vasconcelos holding onto the edge at third slip.Kiran Carlson drove fluently through extra cover for four off Tremain, but when he got stuck in his crease facing a delivery from Weatherall, he was bowled by a ball which knocked back his off-stump.Cooke lived a charmed life early on against Weatherall, the bowler angling one back in and enticing an edge which fell just short of the slip cordon.Ingram meanwhile got off the mark by squeezing Tremain behind square for four but took on Weatherall when he went round the wicket, punching him away off the back foot for four and then pulling his next delivery high over square leg and out of the ground as Glamorgan reached 50 for four after 17 overs.Cooke drove Luke Procter off the back foot for four, but the Northamptonshire captain maintained a tight line to keep the pressure firmly on the batting side as he rotated his attack.Cooke punched Sanderson away for four to bring up the 50 partnership but the bowler had a strong shout for lbw turned down shortly before the rain returned and the players went off for an early tea.After the resumption, Sanderson finally got his man with his first delivery of the evening session, when Cooke drove loosely away from his body and was well caught by Emilio Gay at second slip.Ingram tucked into a floaty, full delivery from Tremain, driving it to the cover boundary and tucked Procter off his hips to bring up his half-century off 78 balls.Douthwaite saw off Sanderson’s post-tea spell, playing him through the covers for four and took the attacking option. He clipped Procter off his legs through midwicket and drove Weatherall down the pitch, striking seven boundaries in all before he was trapped leg before wicket to give Weatherall a second wicket. Procter then picked up James Harris, also lbw, without scoring to leave Glamorgan 171 for 7.Mason Crane though kept Ingram company until the close, scoring 17 to ensure no more scares for the visiting team.Before play started, the players and officials stood for a minute’s silence in memory of former Northamptonshire captain Raman Subba Row CBE who passed away on Wednesday at the age of 92.

Northern Districts had given themselves a chance of pushing for victory but rain ended their hopes

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Mar-2024Wellington have been crowned Plunket Shield champions after the final day against Northern Districts in Hamilton was washed out.The match at Seddon Park was effectively a final with Wellington and Northern Districts the only two sides in with a chance of claiming the title in the final round.Wellington had entered the game with a small lead at the top of the table and were able to accrue enough bonus points over the first two innings to stay ahead.Northern Districts had given themselves a chance of claiming the title after Tim Seifert’s century had earned them a small lead of 88 then they had Wellington 127 for 4 in their second innings but they were unable to get into the field on the final day.Wellington’s Nathan Smith was the leading wicket-taker of the season•Getty Images

“Ideally, you want to see the game go the distance, but it’s a competition [where] you work hard throughout the season, we’re unbeaten the whole season, so I think for me, we are the deserving winners,” Wellington captain Tom Blundell said.”It’s a pretty special day. For me the Plunket Shield is probably the most rewarding trophy in domestic cricket, you play a whole season, and to come away with the Plunket Shield is pretty special memory.”Blundell had earlier played a key role with a century in Wellington’s first innings to lift them 323 in a final-wicket stand of 77 with Ben Sears which earned vital bonus points.Otago’s Dale Phillips ended as the leading run-scorer for the season with 686 at 49.00 having hit two centuries in the final two rounds.Central Districts’ Greg Hay, who finished third with 643 runs at 49.46, announced his retirement from the game at the end of the season. He signed off with 179 off 434 balls against Otago.Wellington’s Nathan Smith was the top wicket-taker with 33 at 17.18 including two five-wicket hauls.

Taskin, who suffered a side strain during the recent series against Zimbabwe, will receive treatment for the next few weeks

Mohammad Isam14-May-2024Taskin Ahmed has been named in Bangladesh’s 15-member squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup despite his injury. Taskin, who has also been named vice-captain, suffered a side strain during the recent series against Zimbabwe and will receive treatment for the next few weeks to get fit before the tournament starts next month.Taskin suffered the injury before the fifth T20I against Zimbabwe on May 12 and missed the match as a result. He was named Player of the Series for his eight wickets in four games. Bangladesh chief selector Gazi Ashraf said the BCB’s medical team is confident of Taskin’s recovery before the start of the tournament.Najmul Hossain Shanto will lead the team that also includes Shakib Al Hasan, who has played every T20 World Cup since the inaugural edition in 2007. Litton Das has also found a place in the squad despite his poor form in white-ball cricket this year.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Bangladesh have also picked young right-arm pacer Tanzim Hasan over Mohammad Saifuddin, with Ashraf saying that the call was taken after assessing the duo’s performances in the Zimbabwe series. Saifuddin had taken 15 wickets in the BPL and eight against Zimbabwe, while Tanzim has 12 wickets in these two competitions. Ashraf said that Saifuddin’s lack of yorkers in the death overs against Zimbabwe was one of the reasons he was left out.”We kept Saifuddin in the squad that we submitted to the ICC on April 30,” Ashraf said. “We wanted to observe and analyse Saifuddin’s performance in the Zimbabwe series. But when we considered what the team needs at the moment, Tanzim was ahead of Saifuddin. It was a close call between the two.”We saw Tanzim against Sri Lanka. His dedication and hunger kept him ahead. He is also a good fielder. We didn’t see enough yorkers in the death overs from Saifuddin. He did it in domestic cricket but didn’t do it in against Zimbabwe. Some of his short-pitched balls went over the batters’ head. He was the only player who got changed from the squad we submitted to ICC on April 30.”Ashraf also backed Litton to return to form after he had scored just 79 runs in six T20Is against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.”We needed a wicketkeeper-batter to replace Litton,” Ashraf said. “We need two wicketkeepers in the squad, also considering the concussion sub situation. We discussed Anamul Haque Bijoy in this equation. But despite his poor form, we put our trust in Litton. He has been working on his batting.”Bangladesh are set to tour USA for a three-match T20I series in May to prepare for the big tournament. Taskin will not be part of the series.Bangladesh open their T20 World Cup campaign against Sri Lanka on June 8 in Dallas.

Bangladesh squad:

Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Taskin Ahmed (vice-capt), Litton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan, Shakib Al Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Mahmudullah, Jaker Ali, Tanvir Islam, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Tanzim Hasan
Traveling reserves: Hasan Mahmud, Afif Hossain