All posts by n8rngtd.top

Kent remain winless after being skittled for only 158 at Chelmsford

ECB Reporters' Network01-Aug-2021Tom Westley eased to his third half-century of the Royal London Cup and Alastair Cook scored a classy 77 not out as Essex Eagles thrashed Kent Spitfires by eight wickets.Eagles captain Westley struck 69 off 77 balls, having previously clocked 69 and 87 not out, during a 127 run stand with Cook. Essex were only chasing 158, after an all-around bowling performance, and knocked them off with 19 overs to spare.It got the Eagles back to winning ways, after losing their 100% record against Worcestershire, while Kent remain winless.The Spitfires, who had won the toss and batted, were without 11 first-choice players due to the Hundred, injuries and – in the case of Essex seamer Matt Quinn – loan agreements. None of their batters past 40 on a slow wicket, with only Tawanda Muyeye’s strike rate getting into three figures.After Ollie Robinson had clipped to square leg, Muyeye showed strong wrists to reach 25 from 23 balls, which included four boundaries and a wonderfully picked up six over midwicket – although succumbed when he carved to backward point.Simon Harmer entered the attack and within two balls had Harry Finch lbw for a 17-ball duck, before Darren Stevens flicked Ben Allisson to Ryan ten Doeschate on the deep square boundary. Scotland international George Munsey lived by the reverse sweep and eventually died by it when he picked out fine leg for 39.Like Harmer, ten Doeschate struck with his second delivery, as Grant Stewart loosely edged behind and then Marcus O’Riordan was bowled. Matt Milnes was caught behind, James Logan chipped a caught and bowled back at Aron Nijjar and Nathan Gilchrist holed out to long-on to conclude the innings.Cook, on the back of tallies of an unbeaten 92 and a 42, continued his brilliant form with a cover drive in the first over and an extravagant square drive. Opening partner Will Buttleman fell for 11 when Milnes pinned back his leg stump but Westley arrived to take control of the chase.England legend Cook reached his fifty in 51 balls, with the 100 partnership with Westley taking 124 balls – as the runs were ticked off in officious style. Westley joined the half-century club for the 30th time in his career in 64 balls, with six boundaries eventually coming in his 69.It was Cook who tipped and ran the winning single though, as the rain came down at the Cloudfm County Ground, Chelmsford, to boost the Eagles’ chances of progressing to the knockout stage.

The update means that Lamichhane will be able to play the CWC League 2 tri-series matches against Namibia and Scotland this month

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Feb-2023The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) has revoked the suspension on Sandeep Lamichhane, paving the way for him to play in Nepal’s upcoming Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-series at home against Namibia and Scotland.Britant Khanal, the CAN general manager, told ESPNcricinfo that the decision to remove the suspension and allow Lamichhane to play in the tri-series was with the condition that he would “respect the limitation prescribed” by the court that granted him bail in January this year. And if Nepal were to go on tour, Lamichhane’s participation would depend on whether the court gave him permission for it or not.Lamichhane, who was suspended in September last year after an arrest warrant was issued against him in Kathmandu over an alleged case of coercion of another person. He was granted bail for the equivalent of around USD 15,300 but was barred from leaving the country until the final verdict.The news of Lamichhane’s arrest warrant was made public on September 8, when he was in the West Indies as part of the Jamaica Tallawahs squad at the CPL. He returned to Nepal after that saying he would face the “baseless allegations” and was taken into custody by police in Kathmandu on October 6.A statement from CAN acting secretary Prashant Vikram Malla said at the time that the suspension would remain in place pending a complete investigation. For his part, Lamichhane had said he would “fully cooperate in all stages of the investigation and will fight a legal battle to prove my innocence”.Lamichhane, 22, is by far Nepal’s most high-profile cricketer, and the only one to have played in T20 leagues in most parts of the world, including in the IPL, the BBL, the PSL, the BPL, and the CPL.He is also the world’s second-fastest bowler to 50 ODI wickets and third-fastest to 50 T20I wickets, and last played international cricket in August 2022, in the T20I series against Kenya. He was also Nepal’s captain at the time of the arrest warrant, a position he lost following his suspension.

Monty Desai joins Nepal as head coach

Monty Desai, until recently the assistant coach with the West Indies men’s team, is set to take charge as Nepal head coach. Khanal said that CAN had recommended Desai’s name to the Nepal Sports Council, whose ratification is mandatory for all such appointments.Nepal’s next assignment is the ODI tri-series, to be played in Kirtipur from February 14 to 21.

Gloucestershire trail by 117 overnight after ex-England opener posts 195, his Durham best

ECB Reporters Network11-Jul-2023Durham 433 for 8 (Lees 195, Clark 82) lead Gloucestershire 316 by 117 runsAlex Lees gave the England selectors a gentle nudge after scoring his third century in as many innings to guide Durham into a strong position against Gloucestershire in their LV= Insurance County Championship clash.Lees anchored the innings with a flawless knock of 195, posting his highest score as a Durham player since his move to Seat Unique Riverside in 2018. Graham Clark provided the perfect complement with 82 as the two shared a stand worth 195 after the hosts were reduced to 109 for four in reply to Gloucestershire’s 316.The two batters rebuilt the innings and propelled Durham ahead in the game, having skittled the visitors’ tail within the first half-hour of day two. It allowed Brydon Carse to tee off late in the day to push the hosts into a 117-run lead at the close with two first-innings wickets remaining.Resuming on 280 for six, Gloucestershire put their foot down before the arrival of the new ball. Zafar Gohar smashed three boundaries off Carse’s first over, while Josh Shaw cleared the rope with a huge strike over long-on against Parkinson to earn a second batting bonus point.Durham answered fire with fire as Carse responded with a hostile spell to make the breakthrough. Shaw could only glove behind to Robinson down the leg-side and the next ball was too good for Matt Taylor. Zaman Akhter survived the hat-trick ball and another barrage from Carse before the arrival of the new ball.Ben Raine then wrapped up the innings within three deliveries with the new Kookaburra in hand by bowling Gohar and pinning Dominic Goodman lbw, securing maximum bowling points for the hosts.Shaw made quick inroads for the visitors to remove Michael Jones, but Lees responded by taking the attack to the Gloucestershire bowlers. The left-hander shared a stand worth 67 with Scott Borthwick before the Durham captain picked out substitute fielder Jack Taylor as he aimed to clear the short boundary, presenting Shaw with his second wicket.Lees worked his way to his fifty from only 56 balls, but Durham had issues at the other end when David Bedingham emulated his captain’s dismissal falling three balls before the lunch break. Ollie Robinson continued the procession after the interval as fell caught and bowled to Goodman, leaving Durham in trouble at 109 for four after losing three wickets for 32.The home side required patience at the crease and Lees duly delivered without taking any risks on his march to three figures. He showed composure in a slow grind through the nineties before bringing up his third hundred of the term after striking Gohar straight down the ground to the fence.Clark offered a useful foil at the other end to support the former England opener. After a period of consolidation, the two batters upped the ante and cranked up the pressure on the Gloucestershire bowlers.James Bracey turned to a variety of options, but could not stop the onslaught from the fifth-wicket stand, especially from Lees who powered his way to his highest score of the season by passing 150 with three-straight pulls to the boundary against Akhter.Ben Charlesworth took the ball in the 70th over and finally broke the stand for 195 when Clark drilled the ball straight to Chris Dent at short mid-wicket, falling narrowly short of a deserved century. Carse and Lees guided the hosts to their third batting bonus point before the new ball.Matt Taylor found his rhythm from the off with the new ball to end Lees’ brilliant knock for 195 and then Raine first ball to give the visitors hope of skittling the hosts late in the day. But, Carse stamped his authority in the final hour, reaching fifty from 45 balls and smashing three sixes in the process, ensuring Durham ended the evening in command closing in on maximum batting points.

With Kuldeep Yadav and Dhruv Jurel missing, Central Zone will rely on Rajat Patidar’s experience to challenge West Zone

Ashish Pant03-Sep-2025

Big picture: Iyer, Jaiswal, Thakur in action

A strong West Zone side led by Shardul Thakur will take on Central Zone in the semi-final of the 2025-26 Duleep Trophy at Ground B of BCCI’s Centre of Excellence, on the outskirts of Bengaluru.While Central qualified on the basis of a first-innings lead in the quarter-final against North East Zone, they are up against a much stronger West Zone side, which includes Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Tushar Deshpande.Related

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West will be without Sarfaraz Khan, though, after he suffered a quadriceps injury in the pre-season Buchi Babu tournament in Chennai. On the bowling front, Thakur and Deshpande will lead the fast-bowling attack, while Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian are the premier spinners.Central, meanwhile, will be without Kuldeep Yadav, who has been named in India’s Asia Cup squad. They will also be without their captain, Dhruv Jurel, who had also missed the quarter-final with a groin niggle. Vidarbha wicketkeeper-batter Akshay Wadkar has been added to the squad in Jurel’s absence, while Rajat Patidar is expected to lead the side.The Central batters had a decent outing against North East Zone, with Patidar and Shubham Sharma cracking centuries, while Danish Malewar scored a double-ton. Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar and Harsh Dubey will be key in restricting the West batters.West made a direct entry to the semi-final by virtue of playing the Duleep Trophy final the last time the tournament was played in the zonal format in the 2023-24 season. The semi-final will not be televised.

In the spotlight: Shreyas Iyer and Rajat Patidar

The Duleep Trophy semi-final will be Shreyas Iyer first competitive game since the IPL 2025 final. He didn’t find a place in India’s Asia Cup squad despite a superb batting performance for Punjab Kings. Now, with a busy domestic and international season ahead, he will want some red-ball runs to strengthen his case for a return to India’s international squads.Rajat Patidar began his 2025-26 domestic season with a 96-ball 125 in the first innings of the Duleep quarter-final and followed up with a 72-ball 66 in the second. Against a more challenging West Zone bowling unit, Patidar will be one of Central’s most important batters.

Team news

Baroda’s Shivalik Sharma replaced Sarfaraz in the West Zone squad. He is likely to bat in the middle order, with Jaiswal, Gaikwad, Iyer and Harvik Desai in the top four.West Zone (probable): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Harvik Desai (wk), 3 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 Shivalik Sharma, 6 Jaymeet Patel, 7 Shardul Thakur (capt), 8 Shams Mulani, 9 Tanush Kotian, 10 Tushar Deshpande, 11 Dharmendrasinh Jadeja/Arzan NagwaswalaAryan Juyal retired hurt after scoring 60 in the first innings of Central’s quarter-final and didn’t return to the field for the rest of the match, with Railways wicketkeeper-batter Upendra Yadav filling in for him. If Juyal doesn’t get fit in time, one of Upendra or Wadkar could get a chance. Rajasthan left-arm spinner Manav Suthar is also expected to come in for Kuldeep.Central Zone (probable): 1 Aayush Pandey, 2 Danish Malewar, 3 Shubham Sharma, 4 Rajat Patidar (capt), 5 Upendra Yadav/Akshay Wadkar (wk), 6 Yash Rathod, 7 Deepak Chahar, 8 Harsh Dubey, 9 Manav Suthar, 10 Aditya Thakare, 11 Khaleel Ahmed

Pitch and conditions

The pitch at Ground B of the BCCI’s CoE was excellent for batting for the quarter-finals, and a similar surface could be expected for the semi-final too. There has been rain in and around Bengaluru for the last few weeks, and while rain isn’t forecast for the opening day, it is expected to be cloudy, which could aid fast bowlers.

Uttarakhand bowled out in fewer than 28 overs on fourth morning in crushing 725-run defeat

Himanshu Agrawal09-Jun-2022Mumbai 647 for 8 dec (Parkar 252, Sarfaraz 153, Dhapola 3-89) and 261 for 3 dec (Jaiswal 103, Shaw 72) beat Uttarakhand 114 (Kamal 40, Mulani 5-39) and 69 (Khurana 25*, Kulkarni 3-11, Kotian 3-13, Mulani 3-15) by 725 runsMumbai registered the world record for the biggest ever first-class win in terms of runs by crushing Uttarakhand by 725 runs on their way to the Ranji Trophy 2021-22 semi-final. They went past the previous record of 685 runs, held by New South Wales when they beat Queensland in the Sheffield Shield way back in 1929-30.Uttarakhand lost all ten wickets on the fourth morning after Mumbai declared their second innings overnight on 261. Uttarakhand were bowled out short of 28 overs the second time around, crumbling for 69. Dhawal Kulkarni, Tanush Kotian and Shams Mulani bagged three wickets each. The win was set up much earlier though, by debutant double-centurion Suved Parkar and Sarfaraz Khan, who cracked 153 in the first innings.Parkar’s 252 was the second-highest score by a Mumbai batter on first-class debut – he fell just eight short of his coach Amol Muzumdar’s record – as they raked up 647, before cleaning Uttarakhand up for 114. Mulani pocketed 5 for 39 to continue his dream run in domestic cricket this season; he leads the Ranji wickets charts with 37 thus far.Mumbai opted to bat again despite obtaining a mammoth first-innings lead of 533, allowing openers Prithvi Shaw and Yashasvi Jaiswal the opportunity to get a good score under their belts. Both capitalised on the chance: Shaw hit an entertaining 72 off 80 balls, while Jaiswal cracked 103, his maiden first-class century in his second match after he debuted in January 2019.Uttarakhand reduced Mumbai to 64 for 2 on the first morning, but were never in the game thereafter as Parkar, Sarfaraz and Armaan Jaffer steadied the ship. Mumbai now meet Uttar Pradesh in the semi-final, after their come-from-behind win against Karnataka.

A day earlier, Naseem had to visit the hospital after being diagnosed with pneumonia

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-2022Pakistan fast bowler Naseem Shah has tested positive for Covid-19, one day after it was announced he had contracted pneumonia. He has, however, been released from hospital, and the PCB said he was “feeling better.”Naseem is the second person in the Pakistan camp during the current series against England to have contracted Covid-19, a week after an unnamed member of the support staff tested positive. On that occasion, the individual did not travel with the squad to the National Stadium Karachi for the second T20I, and there were no delays to the game.Naseem spent Wednesday night in hospital after the pneumonia diagnosis, and the PCB announced their in-house medical panel was monitoring him. That, followed by the positive Covid-19 test, rules him out of the final two games of the ongoing series against England. However, the PCB said Nadeem would isolate at home for two days and then be available for the forthcoming tour of New Zealand*, which is due to get underway in Christchurch on October 7 as preparation for the World Cup.The Pakistan squad leaves for New Zealand on October 3 to play a T20I tri-series also featuring Bangladesh, with the final on October 14. They then depart for Australia for the World Cup, where, after a pair of warm-ups – including one against England – they play their first group game in Melbourne on October 23 against India.Naseem featured in the first match of the current series against England, and also played a full part in the recently concluded Asia Cup. In the absence of Shaheen Shah Afridi, who is also currently ruled out with injury, he had taken over the left-armer’s responsibility up top as Pakistan’s premier new-ball bowler.Afridi, who has been undergoing treatment in London for a knee injury, is expected to be available for Pakistan for the World Cup.*2100 GMT – This story was updated with information from a PCB statement

Harry Brook the unlikely inspiration with the ball as home side lose 5 for 28 during evening session

Alan Gardner27-Feb-2023After the marathon, get ready for a sprint. England shot off in now-familiar style in pursuit of a series-sealing victory at Basin Reserve after New Zealand’s rearguard, underpinned by a doughty 26th Test hundred from Kane Williamson, had ended in a calamitous collapse on the fourth evening.Williamson’s efforts during an innings that spanned more than seven hours at the crease had put New Zealand in a position where they could hope to set England a target well in excess of 300 – all the more remarkable given they had been made to follow on 226 runs in arrears. But Harry Brook proved an unlikely inspiration with the ball and Jack Leach mopped up the tail as New Zealand’s last five wickets went down for the addition of 28 runs.Set 258 to win on a pitch which had become increasingly placid through the course of days three and four, England reached 48 for 1 at the close. Zak Crawley was the man to fall, having played another attacking cameo, madly hacking five boundaries in his 24 off 30 before having his stumps disturbed by a pinpoint offcutter from Tim Southee.Related

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England had shaved 39 off the target by that point, and then sent out Ollie Robinson as a quasi-nighthawk, who unsuccessfully attempted to slog-sweep Michael Bracewell’s offspin in the final over the day. The requirement of another 210 runs with nine wickets standing is unlikely to daunt a side that has made a speciality of rip-roaring fourth-innings chases while winning 10 of their last 11 Tests.For New Zealand, who showed tremendous fight through the efforts of Williamson, Tom Blundell and Daryl Mitchell, as well as Tom Latham and Devon Conway on day three, there remained the possibility of becoming only the fourth team in history to win a Test having been made to follow on.Having made steady progress through the first two sessions, losing just two wickets along the way, New Zealand’s innings was thrown off kilter by the appearance of Brook, English cricket’s golden boy, to bowl some wobbly seamers. He quickly proved to have a golden arm, as the final ball of his third over brought a maiden Test wicket – that of Williamson, for a seemingly ironclad 132.Brook’s gentle mediums succeeded where England’s two most-prolific Test wicket-takers had failed, as Williamson attempted to leg glance only for a review to pick up the faintest of tickles through to the keeper, Ben Foakes.Harry Brook appeals for the wicket of Kane Williamson•AFP/Getty Images

England picked up a second wicket out of nowhere shortly after, as Bracewell was guilty of failing to run his bat in coming back for a third. Ben Stokes, limping for much of his day in the field, had gamely given chase out to deep midwicket and fired in a throw, with Foakes demolishing the bails one-handed as Bracewell coasted through the crease.Southee was unable to repeat his first-innings heroics with the bat, top-edging a swipe at Leach to point, and Matt Henry fell in the same over via an edge to slip. Blundell, having become a bewildered onlooker following the end of his 158-run stand with Williamson, then attempted to throw the bat only to skew an outside edge to slip ten runs short of his hundred. After toiling for 61.3 overs, Leach suddenly had a five-for – the first by a spinner in a Test in New Zealand since Keshav Maharaj in 2017.The story of the day until then had been Williamson, who overtook Ross Taylor to become New Zealand’s leading Test run-scorer during an innings that showcased all of his minimalist qualities. He was given able support by Mitchell and Blundell, the latter helping to subject England to a second wicketless afternoon session in a row as New Zealand switched from looking to erase their deficit to remorselessly building a lead.Having flicked the fourth ball of the morning through midwicket to go past his longtime former team-mate Taylor, Williamson was content to bob along at his own pace, playing with soft hands and barely giving up anything resembling a chance. The closest England came to dislodging him was an attempted stumping off Leach, but although Williamson had dragged his back foot out of the crease, his reflexes were quick enough to get a toe over the line as Foakes whipped off the bails.The former captain was joined in the trenches by Blundell, who made his sixth 50-plus score in 11 innings against England. His innings, inevitably, was the more skittish, as England ran through a range of tactics to try to unsettle the pair – including James Anderson bowling round the wicket with the keeper up and four men catching in a leg-side ring.Nothing was successful until Stokes belatedly turned to Brook, although a short-ball ploy almost brought the wicket of Blundell on 30, but his firmly struck pull was grassed by Anderson at backward square leg.England began the day with a still-new ball to aid their efforts and Robinson struck early to remove Henry Nicholls, with New Zealand still two runs from parity. Mitchell then boshed his way to a run-a-ball 54, a frenetic innings that saw him target Anderson with a series of front-foot mows and reach his fifty by hoisting Leach into the stands at long-on, before top-edging an ungainly hack at Stuart Broad to end a 75-run stand with Williamson.Nicholls had flirted with danger throughout his innings, and was eventually held in the slips at the fourth attempt by the juggling Brook – from whom there turned out to be more magic to come.

Pessimism abounds after early Lancashire wickets before Abell and Rew fashion prolonged resistance

Paul Edwards20-Apr-2023
Those readers familiar with the oeuvre of Chris Sandford might recall that one of his early hits, “Not too Little, Not too Much” reached No 17 in the charts nearly 60 years ago. The song’s publicity was enhanced by it being included in an episode of the soap in which Sandford played the part of the window-cleaner, Walter Potts. Throughout the history of cricket, however, the title might have stood as an axiom for bowlers of all stripes and persuasions: move the ball too little and most idiots can play it; move it too much and only the Gods nick off.James Anderson has delivered plenty of the latter and occasionally offered a wry smile when he did so. But given that he has bowled more than a thousand balls that strike a perfectly destructive compromise between the two extremes, he can afford to do so. The discouraging thing for Somerset’s batsmen on the first morning of this game – and what made their subsequent achievement all the more memorable – is that Anderson’s thirst for success shows no sign of being slaked.Rather like Derek Underwood, who celebrated every success, Burnley’s finest takes more wickets partly because he very much wants to. And so driven, he picked up two more inside the first 45 minutes at the County Ground as neither Sean Dickson, who was haplessly half-forward, nor Tom Lammonby, who failed to cover the movement off the seam, could deal with him. Nobody who watched those dismissals contemplated the likelihood of the day ending with just two more wickets falling and matters ending in a golden light with applause for two Somerset centurions.Instead, it got worse for the locals in the first session and people merely shrugged when it did. None of the home side’s specialist batsmen began this game with an aggregate of 100 runs from four innings and Somerset had lost one game and been on the wrong end of a draw in the other.Their coach, Jason Kerr, had sought refuge in metonymy: “The dressing room is hurting,” he said, and so one assumes the pain deepened when Cameron Bancroft edged Tom Bailey to George Bell and Tom Kohler-Cadmore, having made 38 runs in an hour, whipped Colin de Grandhomme off his hip and saw the ball sail into the hands of Bailey at long leg. In the context of Somerset’s current needs, Kohler-Cadmore’s innings resembled some of West Ham United’s football in the 1970s: it was attractive but ineffectual.Pleasingly, therefore, for most of the spectators who thronged the James Hildreth Stand and maybe also for the students whose singing enlivened the afternoon session, the home side’s fortunes improved rather dramatically in the remainder of the day. Unexpected, one or two dour locals might have called it but that adjective does little honour to the batting of Tom Abell and James Rew, whose unbroken 231-run stand was studded with fine strokes. For many, the second-best moment of the partnership arrived when Abell thick-edged de Grandhomme past slip to go to the 14th first-class century of his career. There should be no surprise at this reaction. Abell’s loyalties to his county go marrow-deep and that love is reciprocated by many in this ground’s four pavilions.But 19-year-old Rew also looks an exceptional prospect and appears to have more strokes around the wicket than his captain, whose gorgeous on-drive nevertheless signs his best innings. For his part, Lancashire’s skipper, Keaton Jennings, was left to rotate his bowlers to a degree he might not have envisaged. For example, at 3.20, left-arm spinner Tom Hartley was given his first bowl of the day, only to be driven through the covers by Rew before being whacked over midwicket, a stroke that took the lad past fifty for the third time in a first-class career that has spanned less than a year.Before long, the pair also set a new fifth-wicket record for Somerset against Lancashire, albeit that only vanquished the 145 set by Rew and Lewis Goldsworthy at Southport last July. More significantly, of course, the balance of the contest and the shape of their side’s early season changed as well. It is easy during the first month or so of a campaign for a county’s season to suffer the same fate as SpaceX and experience a “rapid, unscheduled disassembly”. Had Abell’s team being bundled out below 200 on this wonderful Thursday afternoon when leaves seemed to appear on the trees almost as quickly as Somerset’s day improved, there was a danger that their early season would have been plagued by self-doubt and lack of confidence.Nor have two sessions changed everything. But when Rew cover-drove de Grandhomme to the Ondaatje Pavilion boundary four overs before the close to reach his second first-class century in 18 innings and his first on this ground, one was reminded of the afternoon nearly eight years ago when Abell had made his maiden century and Marcus Trescothick, who had earlier also made a ton, admitted that he felt like a warm-up act for his young colleague. Trescothick and Abell were interviewed that day. This evening, it is Abell and Rew who are facing some kindly faces and appreciative questions.Trescothick and Abell…Abell and Rew. “Pass it on,” says Hector in Alan Bennett’s play “That’s the lesson I want you to learn.”

New Zealand left-arm quick retires after being told he would not be selected in the upcoming series against Australia

Alex Malcolm27-Feb-20241:16

Neil Wagner’s favourite Test memories

Neil Wagner has announced his retirement from international cricket effective immediately after the New Zealand selectors told him he would not be picked for the upcoming two-Test series against Australia starting on Thursday.Wagner, 37, made the emotional decision following a tough conversation with coach Gary Stead last week, where it was confirmed he was not in New Zealand’s best XI for the upcoming series against Australia. He announced his retirement at a press conference alongside Stead at Basin Reserve in Wellington on Tuesday, having been invited to be part of the squad for the first Test.He retires after 64 Tests for his adopted country having moved across from South Africa. He took 260 wickets at 27.57 with a strike rate of just 52.7. Only Sir Richard Hadlee has a better Test strike rate among New Zealand bowlers to have taken more than 100 wickets.Related

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Wagner will continue to play first-class cricket but felt like the time was right to step away from the Test arena.”I knew the time was coming near,” Wagner said. “They sometimes say when you think about retirement, you’re screwed in a way. I knew the time was going to come and it was going to come close. In the last week, reflecting and looking into the future, looking at the Test matches that are to come, I thought it was the right time to step down and let the other guys come in and do what we’ve been doing as a group for a number of years and obviously grow that attack.”It’s never easy. It’s an emotional road. It’s a big rollercoaster. But it’s something that I feel like the time [has] come to pass that baton on and leave that Black Cap in a good place for the rest to take it and hopefully grow their legacy forward.”Wagner and Stead held a conversation after New Zealand’s Test series win over South Africa in Hamilton – which has turned out to be Wagner’s final Test – about his future within the Test side. Wagner was initially not going to be part of the build-up to the Australia series at all, but the team invited their talismanic fast bowler down to be part of the first Test even though he wouldn’t play.”I wasn’t going to be down here,” Wagner said. “I think it’s a very nice way for the team… they invited me to come down here and spend this time with them to celebrate it but also help them prepare for the series to get stuck in against Australia and it was a really nice, kind gesture.”And I thought it’d be a nice way to bow out, doing what I’ve always been doing, to come here, be here with the team, do everything with a smile on my face and service the lads. That’s just who I am. And it’s a pretty nice gesture and I’m really, extremely grateful to be here and that the team and everyone and Gary has asked me to do this.”Stead said it had been difficult to tell Wagner that he was not part of New Zealand’s plans moving forward.”Very, very tough conversations to have,” Stead said. “Neil understood. As he said, he was very grateful for his time in the Black Cap which I think is enormously big of him as well. I think it’s taken a bit of time for Neil just to work out what this means for him as well and it’s not retiring from everything. He’s still available for domestic cricket, just retiring from international cricket. But they’re incredibly tough conversations. Especially with the calibre of the guy that’s next to me as well and everything he’s done for the team.”In a statement released by New Zealand Cricket, Test captain Tim Southee described Wagner as one of the great team men.”You always knew what you were going to get with Neil and that was 100% commitment to the cause,” Southee said. “He would do anything for the team and has earned nothing but respect and admiration within the dressing room. Personally, I’ve enjoyed a great relationship with Neil on and off the field and am sure our friendship will continue for years to come.”It’s going to be great to have him with us this week for the first Test and we’ll look forward to celebrating his incredible career at the end of the match.”Wagner cited his first Test win over India in 2014, New Zealand’s first series victory in the West Indies in 2014, the series win over England in 2018 where he batted for 107 minutes on the final day in Christchurch, the World Test Championship win over India and the one-run win last year against England as his favourite memories in Test cricket.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“I will never forget walking out to bat with Ish [Sodhi] in that draw at Hagley, it came up on the screen, they were talking about it,” Wagner said. “Mark Richardson mentioned something about 30-odd years and I thought gosh, that’s how old I am, since we last won a Test series against England. So that really sparked me up to try and go and do what I did out there. Myself and Ish found a way. That was a pretty special series to be a part of.”And then no doubt obviously the World Test Championship final was something you can never take away. It’s a pretty special moment to take in. And then that last Test here last year will definitely be one in the memory box to stick around for a long time.”Wagner broke down in tears as he thanked his family, his friends, coaches, and mentors who helped him along the journey. He said he hoped the New Zealand public would remember him as someone who gave his all for the cap.”I’ve said this in the past, I never saw myself as the most talented or most gifted bloke going around in cricket,” Wagner said. “I just saw myself as someone who loved this game and loved playing for this team, loved playing for my mates and for that Black Cap and I wear my heart on my sleeve. I know that I had to work extremely hard and find different ways and different methods.”

“That’s why you pay big money to big-game players,” Tom Moody says of Starc’s second-ball wicket of Travis Head

ESPNcricinfo staff21-May-20241:33

‘That’s why you pay big money for big-game players’

Mitchell Starc has had a patchy IPL 2024, but he brought his experience and nous of playing in “some big games and big occasions” when it mattered by running through the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) top order in Qualifier 1 in Ahmedabad.Starc bowled three overs in the powerplay and sent back Travis Head off the second ball of the game, and Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shahbaz Ahmed, the last two off consecutive balls in the fifth over.”I guess I have played a fair bit of cricket so I have been fortunate enough to play in some big games and some big occasions,” Starc said between innings on the official broadcast after Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) had stopped SRH for 159. “Nine months ago [in the ODI World Cup final] we were here in front of a full stadium. It was nice to get the team off to a good start that we needed [today].Related

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“We know the powerplay wickets are very important. The way Sunrisers take on the powerplay, they have sort of matched us throughout the season in terms of getting off to good starts. It was great to get powerplay wickets and I think our bowling group was fantastic throughout.”Starc got the ball to seam from the outset and struck with his second ball, castling his Australia team-mate Head with one that shaped back in sharply. Vaibhav Arora then sent back Abhishek Sharma for 3 as SRH lost their big-hitting openers inside two overs. Starc bowled his third over inside the powerplay and first removed Reddy with a short-of-a-length ball that the batter skied with an attempted pull, and then hit Shahbaz’s middle pole off the inside edge.But Head’s wicket was one that Starc enjoyed the most, and one he wants to keep in his “back pocket”.”I might keep that one in the back pocket for when he starts to give me some niggle and I have to pull it out on him,” Starc said. “He’s been phenomenal through the tournament. But we knew he was going to be a big wicket.”Obviously Abhishek for them at the top as well. That partnership has been key for them, so to get both of them pretty cheap was great and we got set on our way today.”After the match, and after Starc had won the Player-of-the-Match award, Ravi Shastri brought up the fact that Starc had pulled his length back a bit in the early overs. “Yeah, spot on. Particularly with the way Trav and Abhishek have been playing throughout the series, they like the width [and to] free their arms,” Starc said. “So if we can get that ball swinging and keep it in line with the stumps and bowl a really hard length, which we really did in the powerplay, and that really got into their middle order…”Starc’s delivery to remove Head left Tom Moody impressed as well. “Class from Starc. We know that he has had a difficult three-quarters of the tournament, but that’s why you pay big money to big-game players,” he said on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut show.On asked about the conditions, Starc conceded there was dew, which started to appear about halfway through the SRH innings. He said he expected the surface to get better to bat on in the second innings.”There is certainly dew now. It started to pick up through probably halfway through our innings. The wicket has got a bit skiddier. There is some swing. Our spinners found a way to be effective and take wickets,” Starc said. “The wicket is going to get a little bit better just with the dew and the bit of skid but in turn, it is also going to swing a little bit.”