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Australia’s vice-captain says his side are always chasing the game against an England team that is setting the benchmark in ODI cricket

George Dobell at Chester-le-Street22-Jun-2018Australia have been left with “nowhere to hide” in their ODI series against England, according to their vice-captain, Aaron Finch.Another defeat, this time in Durham, left Australia four-down with one to play in the Royal London series, and Finch admitted it felt as if his side was “always chasing the game”.And although Finch scored a century in the match, he accepted that his failure to build on that platform cost Australia, while the inexperience in his side’s attack resulted in them making “the same mistakes”.”I probably left a heap of runs out there,” Finch said as he reflected on his dismissal one ball after becoming the first man to register six ODI centuries against England. “I had a good partnership with Shaun Marsh but for me to get out just past 100 was disappointing.”It would have been nice to cash in and get 140 or 150 and put the pressure on them to take risks in the middle overs. We could have really kicked on and put foot the foot down in that last 12-13 overs. I take full responsibility for us not getting 330-340.”Finch also admitted he “could have been more aggressive” against the bowling of Joe Root. Root, a part-time off-spinner, came on in the first Powerplay and bowled his entire allocation of overs – only the second time he has done so in a 112-match ODI career – straight through with Finch and co. only managing two boundaries against him. In all, Root conceded just 44 runs.”We could have been more aggressive, no doubt,” Finch said. “But the way we wanted to structure things is to be a bit more conservative with wickets in hand.”The way the wind was blowing, even if you took him on and hit it in the middle, I still couldn’t get the ball over the ropes. He was bowling round the wicket, angling the ball across, using the breeze and getting a bit of spin. So sweeping was high-risk, and trying to hit over the top was ultra high-risk. He bowled very well.”I struggled with the timing for the first 10, 12, 15 overs and couldn’t get them away as I like.”Despite his own regrets, Finch felt Australia’s final total of 310 was “probably around the mark”. But he also suggested the inexperience of Australia’s attack – and the excellence of England’s batting – was rendering it hard to defend even apparently high totals. This was, after all, England’s second-highest successful ODI run-chase.”The bowlers are still learning,” Finch said. “They are a young and inexperienced attack and in the past few games we’ve made the same mistakes. That’s something we need to look at. We need to commit to our plans for longer.”But the way England are playing with the bat is putting a lot of pressure on our young attack. They’re coming hard. And it’s showing a little with our bowlers being a bit too wide or a bit too full at different times. And not hanging in there and making them hit really good shots off really good balls for long enough.”We are always chasing the game at the moment and it is tough for them. There’s nowhere to hide in this game. We are playing the best in the world.”The tone England are setting in one-day cricket is the benchmark in the world. They’re playing like the No.1 side in the world for a reason. They’re full of confidence and have a lot of depth in their batting. They have confidence to know that their Nos. 6, 7, 8 or 9 can get the job done even if things don’t go well at the top of the order. They’ve a pretty good blueprint.”We have to stick to our strengths and find a way to stick in contests for longer. Once we find the formula I think it’ll turn for us pretty quickly. These lessons will be valuable going forward.”

The visitors need to bulk up their middle order and tighten fielding if they are to avoid losing their first T20I series to India in Rajkot

The Preview by Deivarayan Muthu03-Nov-20172:00

Dasgupta: India should continue with a similar team combination

Big picture

Imagine running into a brick wall again and again and again. It’s perhaps T20 cricket’s equivalent of dropping three catches, and in addition New Zealand’s ground fielding in Delhi featured uncharacteristic fumbles. The cost of such indiscipline was 154 runs, the match and their No.1 ranking. Kane Williamson is not a captain who would give excuses, but deep down this defeat would have stung. The visitors now need a strong response to force the series into the decider in Thiruvananthapuram.For all the skill Tom Latham and Williamson displayed in the ODI series, they lacked the muscle to have a proper crack at a target of 203. New Zealand are also struggling to identify a finisher. Henry Nicholls’ audition for the role in the ODIs gave the side hope, but Colin de Grandhomme has had an underwhelming stint both with the A team and the senior team, managing 91 runs in five innings at a strike-rate of 81.98. He has fared worse with the ball, taking a solitary wicket at an average of 203 and economy rate of 6.76. New Zealand need to work out a way to fit Ross Taylor, who hasn’t played T20Is since the World Cup last year, in the middle order.India’s batsmen ran away with the chances offered to them, but the management would have been more pleased with the bowlers. Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled Colin Munro with a pinpoint yorker; and dew or not, Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel continued being remarkably accurate.

Form guide

India: WLWWL (completed matches, most recent first)
New Zealand: LLWWW

In the spotlight

Since his debut in 2014, Shreyas Iyer has been such a prolific scorer in domestic cricket that some feel he should have been given an international cap much earlier. The Mumbai batsman did not even get to bat on Wednesday, and will be eager to announce himself to the world, and possibly even throw his hat in the ring for the rolling No. 4 slot in ODIs.It seems hard to believe that Ish Sodhi wasn’t even part of the ODI squad for the India tour. From a fill-in for the injured Todd Astle, he led the attack in Delhi, showing excellent control over both the legbreak and the wrong’un. He had the second-best economy rate on a night when 351 runs were scored.

Team news

With Ashish Nehra now retired from all cricket, there is one spot up for grabs in Rajkot. India might consider handing a debut to Hyderabad quick Mohammed Siraj or beef up their middle order by including Manish Pandey or Dinesh Karthik.India (probable): 1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli (capt.), 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar 9 Jasprit Bumrah, 10 Mohammed Siraj/Manish Pandey/Dinesh Karthik 11 Yuzvendra ChahalNot so long ago, Taylor’s T20 future was uncertain, but this middle order now needs his experience. He could come in place of fellow Central Districts batsman Tom Bruce.New Zealand (probable): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Kane Williamson (capt.), 3 Colin Munro, 4 Ross Taylor/Tom Bruce, 5 Tom Latham (wk), 6 Henry Nicholls, 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Trent Boult, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Ish Sodhi

Pitch and conditions

The pitch to be used on Saturday looked completely devoid of grass in the middle of a lush green outfield. The track is known to favour batsmen and more runs could be expected for the second T20 too. Rajkot, like Delhi and Kanpur, will continue to provide the teams with pleasant, early winter conditions.

Stats and trivia

• Virat Kohli needs 12 runs to surpass Tillakaratne Dilshan’s tally of 1889 and become the second-highest scorer in T20Is. Brendon McCullum leads the list with 2140 runs.
• Yuzvendra Chahal needs three wickets to become the joint-highest wicket-taker in T20Is this year along with West Indies’ Kesrick Williams and Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan.
• New Zealand need to win the remaining matches in the series to reclaim the top spot in T20Is and establish a three-point lead over Pakistan.
• The average first-innings score at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in the last two IPL seasons is 169. Only one T20I has been played at this venue, in 2013 when India chased down 202 against Australia.

Quotes

“It’s my home ground so I know what to expect from the wicket. I’m looking to bowl the way I did in the IPL because you don’t get much turn, it’s skiddy and there’s not much bounce.”
India left-arm spinner “Taking the conditions into account, especially in T20s, is really important because you have to try and get something out of the wicket or conditions because batsmen are constantly trying to get after the spinners. “
New Zealand legspinner

The first player to take the honour will be announced in late January

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Dec-2022Australia’s men’s Test Player of the Year award will be named in honour of Shane Warne. CA and ACA made the joint announcement at the Boxing Day Test between Australia and South Africa where both sides have honoured Warne in the first Test match to be played at his home ground of the MCG since his passing in March this year.Australia’s Test Player of the Year award is handed out each year at CA’s Awards ceremony alongside the Allan Border medal for the best men’s international cricketer across all three forms and the Belinda Clark medal for the women’s game.Related

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Warne, who won the Test Player of the Year award in 2006, is widely regarded as Australia’s greatest-ever Test match bowler having taken 708 wickets in 145 Tests.Warne was honoured during the pre-match ceremony ahead of the Boxing Day Test with both sets of players wearing white floppy hats when walking out for the anthems as a tribute to his trademark look in the field during his Test career. Fans had also been encouraged to wear floppy hats and zinc cream in tribute to Warne.”The happiness outweighs the sadness tenfold,” Warne’s son Jackson said on . “To see all the zinc cream on everyone’s faces, to see everyone with the floppy hats is unbelievable. To be also in front of the greatest man ever – in front of the Shane Warne stand – is just awesome.”It is the first time a Test has been played in front of the newly named Shane Warne stand at the MCG, which was renamed earlier this year. A highlights package of Warne’s career was played on the big screen just prior to the anthems. His name and Australian Test cap number of 350 has been painted on the MCG outfield for the duration of the Test match.At 3.50pm – to match Warne’s number – the game briefly paused to celebrate his life the crowd rising and doffing their floppy hats with chants of ‘Warnie, Warnie’ ringing around the ground and the players watched in the middle.CA chief executive Nick Hockley said it was a fitting honour to rename the award the Shane Warne Men’s Test Player of the Year.”As one of Australia’s all-time greats, it is fitting we acknowledge Shane’s extraordinary contribution to Test cricket by naming this award in his honour in perpetuity,” he said.

Tim David signs £50,000 Southern Brave deal as teams finalise retentions

Matt Roller16-Feb-2022Tom Banton, Joe Clarke, Liam Dawson and Laurie Evans are among the English players set to be available in the Hundred draft on March 30 after failing to agree retentions with their respective teams, ESPNcricinfo understands.Tim David, who was signed by Mumbai Indians for INR 8.25 crore (£810,000 approx.) at last weekend’s IPL auction, has been retained for just £50,000 by Southern Brave, while Andre Russell and Kagiso Rabada are among the biggest overseas names set to be available in the draft.Men’s teams have been negotiating with players and their representatives since December 1 and had the option to retain up to 10 players who held contracts at any stage for the inaugural season in 2021. The retention window closes on Wednesday and signings will be confirmed officially by the ECB next week.Men’s wages have increased by 25% across each salary band, but coaches and general managers struggled to fit every player they wanted to retain into their draft grid, which sees a maximum of two players paid the same wage in any given squad.Related

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Many of the players who have been released were offered contracts by teams but turned them down. Some are looking for a new team after a lack of opportunities last season, while others will hope to earn a higher salary, taking advantage of the uncertainty around overseas players’ availability and the resulting demand for domestic players.Each team will be allowed to use one right-to-match (RTM) card at the draft, which can be used to re-sign a player from their 2021 squad, so long as they can match the salary for which another team has tried to sign them. Picks will be made in reverse order of finishing position, with London Spirit picking first and Southern Brave last.The availability of overseas players has been a major stumbling block, with continued uncertainty over the Future Tours Programme. India’s tour to West Indies, Afghanistan’s to Ireland, Pakistan’s to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh’s to Zimbabwe are all due to overlap in part while South Africa’s Test series in England is due to start halfway through. The Hundred runs from August 3 to September 3 with the women’s competition starting on August 11.Australia are also due to play a limited-overs series against Zimbabwe at the end of August – though they may well field a weakened side – while the Caribbean Premier League and the Asia Cup could clash with the knockout stages. As a result, most teams have released several overseas players. Teams are allowed three overseas players in both their squad and their playing XI.Changes to England’s central contracts list have opened up free spots for some teams, with Mark Wood, Jonny Bairstow, Zak Crawley and Dawid Malan among the players who will be allocated centrally by the ECB rather than paid directly through the draft mechanism. The four players on white-ball-only contracts – Moeen Ali, Eoin Morgan, Adil Rashid and Jason Roy – will still be paid through the draft and have all been retained.

Southern Brave

The defending champions have retained most of the squad that took them to the title last year. Tymal Mills, Jake Lintott, George Garton and Alex Davies have all earned pay rises while Chris Jordan rejected the promise of a lucrative offer in the draft from elsewhere in order to stay put.James Vince will continue as captain but Liam Dawson, Danny Briggs and Delray Rawlins have all been released. With Jofra Archer unlikely to play much Test cricket this summer as the ECB manage his return from a long-term elbow injury, he could be available for most of the season.David only played twice in 2021, scoring 15 off 6 balls and running Liam Livingstone out in the final, but has been retained on the cheap after his remarkable form around the world. Marcus Stoinis, who missed the inaugural season, has also been retained and while Quinton de Kock has been released, multiple sources suggested Brave, who have the last first-round pick, will use their RTM card if another team tries to sign him ahead of them in the first round of the draft.Tim David won the Hundred with Southern Brave•Getty Images

Birmingham Phoenix

Phoenix topped the group-stage table in 2021, thanks in no small part to their decision to pick Liam Livingstone in the first round of the inaugural draft in 2019. He has been retained for next season, along with the core of last season’s squad which included Moeen Ali, Will Smeed and Benny Howell.Shaheen Shah Afridi was unavailable in 2021 and may be again this season but could be retained if Phoenix look to secure him for future seasons, while Tom Helm, Adam Hose and Dillon Pennington have been released. Tom Abell’s future is unclear but he has attracted interest from other teams and was disappointed to be left out of the side for last season’s final.

Trent Rockets

Lewis Gregory struggled with the bat and had his bowling contributions limited by a back injury last season but has been retained and is likely to continue as captain. The majority of Rockets’ Nottinghamshire core – including Alex Hales, Steven Mullaney, Tom Moores and Matthew Carter – have been retained, while Rashid Khan will be retained as an overseas player despite uncertainty over his availability.Luke Wood has been retained and Marchant de Lange will return as an overseas player, but Timm van der Gugten, Luke Wright, D’Arcy Short and Ben Cox are all expected to leave. Multiple sources suggested that Rockets will aim to sign Joe Clarke early on in the draft if he is available but he could be taken before their first pick.

Oval Invincibles

They missed out on the knockout stages by a single point last year and the feeling among players and staff was that they had underperformed given the strength of their squad. As a result, the majority have been retained and the main focus at the draft will be securing cheaper overseas players who are available for the full season. Sunil Narine could be released but would likely be bought back in the draft if he is.Will Jacks was initially expected to re-enter the draft but now looks set to be retained, while Laurie Evans – who was offered an improved deal after impressing in the Big Bash – is due to be released. Jordan Cox, a wildcard last season, has been retained after starring in the Blast for Kent while Tom Curran, Saqib Mahmood and Reece Topley are all staying put.Laurie Evans will be back in the draft•Getty Images

Northern Superchargers

James Foster was appointed as coach only last week and has been at the PSL as Peshawar Zalmi’s head coach. As a result, general manager Andy Dawson and head of cricket Marcus North have been handling retentions over the winter and were involved in last-minute talks this week.Harry Brook, Adil Rashid, Matthew Potts and Callum Parkinson have all been retained but several others including Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Ben Raine and Matthew Fisher are likely to be available in the draft. Olly Stone, who missed last season with a stress fracture, is set to be released while Jordan Thompson, Adam Lyth and David Willey were still weighing up their options as the deadline approached.Hassan Cheema, who has joined as analyst, has built ultra-attacking batting line-ups at Islamabad United and Team Abu Dhabi and may look to replicate that formula at Superchargers. Faf du Plessis, who was ruled out of the first season due to concussion symptoms, could return as captain.

Manchester Originals

Joe Clarke is set to return to the draft and seems likely to earn a top-bracket deal with several teams interested in signing him. Phil Salt, their other explosive young top-order batter, is expected to stay put while Jos Buttler is likely to be available for the whole season, barring a Test recall.Jamie Overton and Wayne Madsen both missed last season through injury but have been retained. Matt Parkinson was surprisingly linked with a move away early in the retention window but has signed a new deal while Steven Finn and Sam Hain have both been released.Matt Parkinson is staying at Emirates Old Trafford•Getty Images

Welsh Fire

Ben Duckett captained the side for most of last season after Jonny Bairstow’s Test recall and has been convinced to stay put, with Jake Ball, David Payne, Leus du Plooy, Ryan Higgins and Matt Critchley also set to be retained.Bairstow moves into the centrally-contracted category again, freeing up a top-bracket spot for the draft, while Tom Banton, Ian Cockbain, Luke Fletcher, Graeme White and Matt Milnes have been released. Fire are expected to start from scratch with their overseas signings and will have the second pick in the draft.

London Spirit

Spirit finished rock bottom in the first season and have unsurprisingly had a clear-out of their squad as a result. Eoin Morgan stays on as captain while Brad Wheal, Blake Cullen, Adam Rossington and Mason Crane are all retained but the majority of their team-mates – including Chris Wood, Luis Reece and Joe Denly – have been released.Shane Warne raised the possibility of recruiting both Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green while commentating for Fox during the Ashes but Andre Russell is likely to be their first pick of the draft if he puts his name forward.

Only fully vaccinated spectators will be permitted to enter the stadiums

PTI02-Mar-2022The Maharashtra government has approved full-vaccinated spectators at 25% of stadium capacity for IPL 2022, which is set to be held in Mumbai and Pune from March 26.In an official statement issued on Wednesday, the state government said considering that the Covid-19 cases have been on the decline, the crowd limit has been capped at 25% and only fully vaccinated spectators will be permitted to enter the stadiums.This, after the Maharashtra government conducted a meeting with BCCI and Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) for the smooth conduct of the IPL, which is now a ten-team tournament.Ministers of the state government – Aaditya Thackeray and Eknath Shinde – along with MCA chief Vijay Patil and apex council members Ajinkya Naik and Abhay Hadap, treasurer Jagdish Achrekar, were present at the meeting.Post the meeting, in a series of tweets, Aaditya Thackeray said, “To ensure the smooth flow of the @IPL, Minister @mieknathshinde ji and I conducted a joint meeting of IPL, @BCCI with officers of Police and Municipal Corporations of Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai.” He also said that the state’s deputy Chief Minister would soon conduct a similar meeting for Pune, the other venue for IPL.”For Pune, the meeting will be held soon, proposed to be chaired by DCM sir to ensure that the tournament is successfully carried out in all our city venues,” said Aaditya, who is the son of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.It is understood that the MCA ground in suburban Bandra Kurla Complex, MCA ground in Thane, the Dr DY Patil University ground and a football pitch along with the CCI (Cricket Club of India) and the Reliance Corporate Park ground in Ghansoli have been identified by the authorities as practice venues for the tournament.Players are likely to start coming into the city from March 8. It is also understood that all the participants will have to undergo RT-PCR tests 48 hours prior to their arrival in Mumbai.Players will also have to undergo three-five days of quarantine before entering their respective bubbles.In isolation, the participants will undergo in-room RT-PCR testing three times – first on day one, second on day three and the final one on day five.In case of a three-day quarantine, the participants will get tested every day and if all the three results are negative, they will be permitted to exit quarantine and commence team activities.It is also understood that all the participants/personnel associated with the conduct of IPL (bubble/non-bubble) will undergo RT-PCR testing every three to five days during the entire length of the tournament.While ten hotels have been identified in Mumbai, two hotels have been zeroed in for Pune. It is also learnt that the teams would be reaching the venues for practice or the match venues through a special “green corridor” and will be allowed to use the Eastern Freeway to go to Navi Mumbai or Thane from south Mumbai.

Suzie Bates was part of a strong opening stand and then picked up four wickets to help secure the win

ECB Reporters Network08-Aug-2018
ScorecardTammy Beaumont struck injury-plagued Southern Vipers’ second-highest individual Kia Super League score to hand her side a 16-run win over fellow strugglers Yorkshire Diamonds.Vipers have had their squad decimated with Danni Wyatt away for personal reasons, Katie George and Tash Farrant ruled out of the competition with injuries and Arran Brindle struggling with a finger problem.But Beaumont, who herself missed two and a half games through concussion earlier in the tournament, set up the team’s second win in 2018 with a fantastic 64, before Suzie Bates’ 4 for 26 bowled Diamonds out.Katherine Brunt, who was deputising the captaincy from food poisoning victim Lauren Winfield, won the toss and stuck Vipers into bat.Beaumont and Bates got the hosts off to a flying start with England opener Beaumont looking in particular good touch with a series of good looking flicks to the boundary.Bates also clubbed four boundaries but had luck on her side when Brunt missed a run out chance and then when she was dropped on 21 at cover.The opening pair reached 64 off the Powerplay, Vipers’ best of the campaign, but with only two further runs added, Bates finally ran out of lives when Brunt ran her out from mid-on with a direct hit.That wicket failed to disturb Beaumont, who powered a series of cuts off the pace bowlers and used her feet to good effect against the spinners.Beaumont’s 28-ball fifty, the second of her Super League career, was brought up using the latter tactic when she smashed Katie Levick over mid-off for the first maximum of the matchAmelia Kerr had been patiently keeping her company at the other end, having been elevated up the order in Wyatt’s absence, but was caught on the slog sweep at deep midwicket playing her first shot in anger.Beaumont then departed for 64, Vipers’ highest individual score of the season, when she was deceived by a slower ball and caught at wide mid-off.Having scored 105 in the opening 12 overs, Vipers only managed 52 from the last eight, with regular wickets and miserly bowling from Delissa Kimmince, Alice Davidson-Richards and Levick stunting the rocketing start.Sara McGlashan was run out after a mix-up with Mignon Du Preez, the South African was then bowled off her pads, Maia Bouchier was stumped and Fi Morris was bowled.But after a 43-ball wait between boundaries, Paige Scholfield struck a boundary through midwicket before back-to-back sixes off the final over took Vipers to 159 for 7.In the chase, Bates elected to open the bowling with a pair of 17-year-olds, fast bowler Lauren Bell on her debut and Kerr – who had Beth Mooney caught behind off her first ball. Bates kept the pressure on Diamonds when Chamari Athapaththu drilled the a full toss straight to Bouchier.Thea Brookes was flung up the order to bat at No. 4 and upped the tempo with 45 off 36 balls, including hitting Bates back over her head for six, before holing out to long-off. Davidson-Richards had glued the innings together with an unflashy 29, but Carla Rudd pulled off some quick glove-work to stump her.Brunt came out and continued along with the required rate, thwacking Charlie Dean for a six, but was stumped with three overs still to go, and then Kimmince was run out and Langston bowled by MorrisWith 21 needed from the last over, Bates held her nerve as she had Bess Heath and Levick caught and Gwenan Davies run out to bowled out Diamonds with a ball to spare.The two sides are now level on six points at the bottom of the Super League.

The duo will now travel to Pakistan for the three ODIs starting June 8 in Multan

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jun-2022Rovman Powell and Romario Shepherd will miss the ongoing three-match ODI series in the Netherlands because of visa delays, Cricket West Indies (CWI) said in a statement on Friday.Both Powell and Shepherd immediately travelled to London from India after their participation in the IPL, as their visa interviews could not have taken place in India due to the IPL bio-secure protocols. The CWI statement said that “despite having the interviews the day after their arrival, they are both still in London awaiting the appropriate visas to be able to travel to the Netherlands.”Powell played for Delhi Capitals and played his last game on May 21 in Mumbai, whereas Shepherd, who represented Sunrisers Hyderabad, played his last match in the IPL on May 22. Both teams did not qualify for the IPL playoffs which would have given the West Indies squad hope of the two players making it for the ODIs in Netherlands.Related

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The final match of the ongoing ODI series – which West Indies currently lead 2-0 – will take place on Saturday in Amstelveen, which means Powell and Shepherd will now directly fly to Pakistan for the ODI series starting June 8 in Multan. For the final game in Amstelveen, West Indies will again have only 13 players available for selection, like in the first two matches.The West Indies squad will travel from Amsterdam to Pakistan on Sunday for matches at the Multan Cricket Stadium on June 8, 10 and 12. The games were initially slotted for Rawalpindi but were moved to Multan in light of political uncertainty in Islamabad, the country’s capital, adjacent to Rawalpindi.ODI squad to Pakistan: Nicholas Pooran (capt), Shai Hope (vice-capt), Nkrumah Bonner, Shamarh Brooks, Keacy Carty, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Shermon Lewis, Kyle Mayers, Anderson Phillip, Rovman Powell, Jayden Seales, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh Jr.

Tom Westley, an England debutant last summer, has been a Championship struggler this, but all that changed at the start of the limited-overs season

ECB Reporters Network17-May-2018
ScorecardTom Westley struck his first century of the season to secure a winning start to Essex’s Royal London One-Day Cup campaign as they thrashed Middlesex by six wickets at Radlett.Westley, who has struggled for form in the County Championship, hit 134 and shared a second-wicket stand of 153 with Varun Chopra as last year’s semi-finalists cruised home with 7.2 overs to spare.Middlesex, who tasted defeat at Radlett for only the second time, were left to rue dropping Westley twice – the first of those when he had made only 12.Stand-in captain Steven Finn’s decision to bat after winning the toss looked a sound one, with Jamie Porter sending the first delivery of the innings for four wides and Nick Gubbins quickly getting into his stride.The in-form Gubbins (50) savaged Porter as he whipped three boundaries through the gully and guided the Middlesex total past 50 in only the eighth over.He and Stevie Eskinazi looked comfortable in their opening-wicket partnership of 79 – but the picture changed when Eskinazi miscued a hook off Neil Wagner to long-leg.Wagner induced Paul Stirling to chip to mid-wicket in his next over and, when Simon Harmer found a way through Gubbins’ defences, the hosts were on the slide at 86 for 3.Their hopes of posting a sizeable score rested largely on Eoin Morgan, who swept Dan Lawrence for the only six of the innings and kept the scoreboard ticking over as he added 57 for the fourth wicket with Hilton Cartwright.But, while of most of Middlesex’s batsmen got started, none were able to take the next step – with John Simpson looking well set before he perished to a smart midwicket catch by Chopra.Harmer trapped Morgan lbw for 45 soon afterwards and, although James Franklin and Tom Helm played sensibly to haul Middlesex to exactly 250, Ravi Bopara polished them off nine balls short of their allotted overs.Essex’s reply got off to an inauspicious start when Adam Wheater was caught behind in Helm’s first over – but Westley and Chopra soon got on top of the bowling.Westley had made just 12 when he flicked Finn to backward square, but Tom Barber put down the catch and the home side paid heavily for that let-off.With Chopra content to drop anchor, Westley pierced the gaps in the field and motored on to reach his half-century with a crashing cover drive off Cartwright.He was given his second life on 78 when Stirling failed to hang onto a chance at mid-wicket – but by then the visitors were well on their way to a resounding win.Chopra eventually departed for 59, stumped off Ravi Patel, who also claimed the late wickets of Westley and Dan Lawrence before Essex sealed victory.

Trent Boult has been ruled out of the second Test against South Africa in Wellington with the leg injury he sustained in Dunedin

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Mar-2017Trent Boult has been ruled out of the second Test against South Africa in Wellington with the leg injury he sustained in Dunedin.Boult did not bowl after tea on the fourth day of the opening Test – when he was one of just two frontline seamers alongside Neil Wagner – and even with the final day’s play being washed out there has not been enough time for him to recover.Tim Southee, who was left out in Dunedin to allow New Zealand to accommodate two spinners, will replace Boult although the final XI will not be named until the morning. A twin-spin attack would appear unlikely – the last time New Zealand did that at the Basin Reserve was in 2000 – which leaves Mitchell Santner vulnerable to either Colin de Grandhomnme, who would be a straight swap at No. 8, or Matt Henry who lengthen the tail.”Injuries are part and parcel of cricket,” Southee said. “He has had a big workload with five one-dayers and a big four days in the Test match in Dunedin. Trent being one of the fittest guys in the side does everything he possibly can to keep himself fit, so it’s unfortunate that it has come but I am sure he will be right come Hamilton.”It is the second Test Boult has missed this season after he sat out the Hamilton match against Pakistan with a knee injury.Boult’s absence means New Zealand have lost two of their most experienced players with Ross Taylor having also been ruled out with his calf injury. Neil Broom will make his debut at No. 5. “There’s still a couple of question marks over a couple of players,” Southee said.Faf du Plessis said: “He’s a fantastic bowler and a huge loss for them. But anyone who plays international cricket is dangerous so I assume someone like Matt Henry [will come in] and Tim Southee didn’t play the previous game is a high quality bowler. They’ve still got enough resources. This wicket won’t take as much spin as the last one so I’m expecting they’ll play one spinner.”

The middle-order batsman has prescribed that Bangladesh take inspiration from their performances in away Tests earlier this year before they go into the Bloemfontein Test

Mohammad Isam03-Oct-2017Bangladesh’s batsmen should take inspiration from their performances in away Tests earlier this year before they go into the Bloemfontein Test against South Africa. This is Mahmudullah’s prescription for his team to bounce back after their 333-run defeat in the first Test in Potchefstroom, where they were bowled out for 90 in the second innings.Mahmudullah was one of Bangladesh’s few bright spots with the bat, marking his comeback with a first-innings half-century. He said their collapse in the second innings was down to a number of “silly mistakes”.”We are disappointed,” Mahmudullah said.”The pitch was good but we couldn’t bat the way we wanted to. We made a lot of silly mistakes. But I am very confident that we will bat better in the second Test, whatever the wicket is. I am sure we can make a comeback.”It is only natural that conditions will be in the home side’s favour. We are here after a long time. But if we look at the New Zealand tour. where Shakib [Al Hasan] got the double-hundred and Mushfiqur [Rahim] made 150-plus, we should get confidence from it. We believe that our skills are good enough if we can execute it.”Mahmudullah, who played on to South Africa’s fast bowlers in both innings, defended the approach of Bangladesh’s batsmen, even the ones who went for their shots early in their innings, but said their application had to improve in Bloemfontein.”Everyone has a different batting approach,” he said. “Some feel that by playing some strokes early, they can settle down. Some feel comfortable by middling a defensive push. At the end of the day, application is everything.”It is not wrong to play shots. Why not hit bad balls for boundaries, if it gives a batsman confidence? He should play his own game. Conditions should be considered but it was good batting conditions. We couldn’t execute our skills. We were very poor.”Rain arrived in Potchefstroom a few hours after Bangladesh were bowled out on the fifth day, but Mahmudullah said their batsmen hadn’t made any specific plans with an eye on the weather.”We were thinking of saving the match,” he said. “We weren’t really thinking about the rain. Our target was to draw out the game. But we couldn’t cope in the first session.”