All the transfer and pre-season buzz from the Indian domestic season

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Aug-2019PunjabFast bowler Barinder Sran has finalised his transfer to Chandigarh after being left out of his home state Punjab’s Vijay Hazare Trophy squad. He obtained a no-objection certificate from Punjab on Thursday, saying he was not informed by the Punjab selectors why he was left out, and that he did not want to “waste the entire season” by not playing.”They didn’t even give me a valid reason [for dropping me],” Sran told the . “At least I deserved to know the reason why I was dropped. The selectors stopped taking my phone calls. I had no other option. I can’t waste my entire season. So, I decided to make a move and have no regrets.”The 26-year old, who has played six ODIs and two T20Is for India, made his debut for Punjab in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy in 2011. “I want to play for India again, but for that, I need to play. I am being let down by the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA). But it is a thing of the past. I am fit now and it’s time to look ahead.”In the Vijay Hazare Trophy last year, he bagged three wickets in as many games for Punjab despite going wicketless in two of them. He played in two Ranji Trophy before that, finishing with two wickets across three innings, and in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy that followed, he got just three wickets in five matches, going wicketless in four of those games.This season, Punjab, led by Mandeep Singh, also have Shubman Gill in the squad. Being named in the India Test squad that will be taking on South Africa from October 2, Gill is unlikely to play more than three matches in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy.Punjab are placed in Group B, alongside eight other teams, and will play their first match against Himachal Pradesh on September 25.Squad: Mandeep Singh (Captain), Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Shubman Gill, Anmolpreet Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, Abhishek Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, Sandeep Sharma, Mayank Markande, Karan Kaila, Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Akul Pandove, Anmol Malhotra, Abhijeet GargDelhiRishabh Pant and Navdeep Saini have been named in the 16-member Delhi squad, led by Dhruv Shorey, for the first four games of the Vijay Hazare Trophy, starting on September 24. Shikhar Dhawan has opted out of the squad for now due to personal reasons, according to .Pant is a part of the Indian team that will be assembling in Visakhapatnam for the opening Test against South Africa on October 2.
“Pant is expected to play at least first two to three games for Delhi as he will then report for the national team. Rishabh himself said that he wanted to play,” Delhi senior team’s chairman of selectors Atul Wassan told .”Shikhar needs to go back to Australia to attend to some family matters. He has said that he will join the squad at a later date.”
Former India Under-19 India captain Anuj Rawat has been named Pant’s back-up in the squad. Delhi will be starting their campaign against Vidarbha on the opening day of the tournament.Squad: Dhruv Shorey (captain), Nitish Rana, Rishabh Pant, Himmat Singh, Hiten Dalal, Kunal Chandela, Lalit Yadav, Pawan Negi, Navdeep Saini, Subodh Bhati, Kulwant Khejrolia, Manan Sharma, Kunwar Bhiduri, Vikas Tokas, Tejas Baroka, Anuj Rawat.Mumbai Left-arm spinner Atharva Ankolekar, who played a key role in India’s Under-19 Asia Cup win, has been named in the 17-member Mumbai squad, led by Shreyas Iyer, for the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy. Sarfaraz Khan, who was on a one-year cooling off period following his return to Mumbai last year after three seasons with Uttar Pradesh, has also been named in the squad.Ankolekar took a match-winning five-for on Saturday against Bangladesh U-19s in a low-scoring thriller and helped India defend their Asia Cup title. Ankolekar’s team-mate Yashasvi Jaiswal, who made his Mumbai debut in Ranji Trophy last year, has also been named in this squad.Ajinkya Rahane, who captained the team last year, will not be available this year due to international commitments. Prithvi Shaw, who is currently serving his suspension for a doping violation, also misses out.Defending champions Mumbai are in Group A and will be playing all their matches in Bengaluru.Squad: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Surya Kumar Yadav (vice captain), Jay Bista, Aditya Tare , Sarfaraz Khan, Shivam Dube, Shubham Ranjane, Eknath Kerkar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Tushar Deshpande, Shams Mulani, Atharva Ankolekar, Shardul Thakur, Siddhesh Lad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kruthik Hanagawadi, Shashank AttardeVidarbhaWasim Jaffer has been appointed Vidarbha’s interim captain for this season’s Vijay Hazare Trophy after Faiz Fazal sustained a hand injury. It is understood that Fazal is likely to return during the course of the tournament and also retain his captaincy.The 15-member squad also includes India fast bowler Umesh Yadav.Fazal, one of Vidarbha’s batting mainstays in their consecutive Ranji Trophy wins in 2017-18 and 2018-19, suffered the injury while representing India Green in the recently-concluded Duleep Trophy.”Faiz is still undergoing treatment for the injury,” VCA president Anand Jaiswal told . “We are still looking into it. Once he is cleared, he will join the side. As of today, since he hasn’t recovered, we have announced Wasim as the captain. But the injury is a minor one, not very serious.”Vidarbha are in Elite Group B of the Vijay Hazare Trophy draw, alongside Delhi, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Odisha, Baroda, Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh, and will begin their campaign against Delhi on September 24.Vidarbha Squad: Wasim Jaffer (captain), R. Sanjay, Atharva Taide, Ganesh Satish, Rushabh Rathod, Apoorva Wankhede, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Akshay Wadkar (wicketkeeper), Akshay Wakhare, Akshay Karnewar, Aditya Sarvate, Umesh Yadav, Yash Thakur, Darshan Nalkande, Shrikant Wagh.Tamil NaduOpening batsman C Hari Nishanth and left-arm spinner M Siddharth have been named in Tamil Nadu’s Vijay Hazare Trophy squad, which will be led by Dinesh Karthik. While R Ashwin, who was named in the probables squad, has been ruled out due to international commitments, M Vijay, who is currently playing in the county championships for Somerset, will join the team after the first two matches.Allrounder Vijay Shankar, who is recovering from a finger injury, has been included in the 16-member squad but a call on his selection will only be taken before the side’s opening game against Rajasthan on September 24. M Shahrukh Khan has been named M Vijay’s replacement for the first two matches.Hari Nishanth made his T20 debut for Tamil Nadu in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy earlier this year, and has represented the Dindigul Dragons in the Tamil Nadu Premier League. He finished among the top run scorers in the tournament this year with 322 runs in 10 matches. Siddharth played for champions Chennai Super Gillies this season, where he picked five wickets in eight games.Squad: Dinesh Karthik (capt), Vijay Shankar (vice-capt), Abhinav Mukund, M Vijay, Baba Aparajith, M Ashwin, Washington Sundar, R Sai Kishore, N Jagadeesan, T Natarajan, K Vignesh, M Mohammed, M Siddharth, Abhishek Tanwar, C Hari Nishaanth, J Kousik. Reserve: M Shahrukh KhanArunachal PradeshFormer India pace bowler Sanjeev Sharma has been appointed coach of the Arunachal Pradesh team for the upcoming domestic season. Sanjeev had been coach of the Sikkim team last season and has coached Delhi in the past.According to , the Arunachal Pradesh Cricket Association had initially decided to give an extension to Gursharan Singh, who coached them last season. However, Gursharan was recently named coach of Uttarakhand.”We apprised the BCCI about the issue and sought its help in getting a replacement. There is not much time in hand and we are glad to welcome Sharma on board,” ACA secretary, Kabak Geda, told .Arunachal will be hoping to improve on their performance from the debut season. They were winless in the Ranji Trophy, won two games in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and one in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament.Under Sanjeev’s tenure, Sikkim went winless in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy but performed better in the Ranji Trophy, securing four wins in eight matches in the plate group.Uttar Pradesh
Former India spinner Sunil Joshi has been appointed coach of the Uttar Pradesh Ranji Trophy team for one year, according to . He is set to join the training camp on September 20 before the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which is scheduled to begin on September 24Joshi, who served as Bangladesh’s spin-bowling coach till the World Cup, had applied for the position of India’s bowling coach but was not shortlisted.”We have appointed Sunil Joshi as coach of our team for one year. He will join the camp before the Vijay Hazare Trophy,” Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association secretary Yudhvir Singh told .Former Karnataka fast bowler Mansur Ali Khan had coached the side last season. UP won their maiden, and only, Ranji Trophy title in 2005-06 and have been runners-up five times. They made the quarter-finals last season where they were beaten by Saurashtra.UttarakhandGursharan Singh has been named the coach of Uttarakhand for the upcoming domestic season, replacing KP Bhaskar, who has returned to take charge of the Delhi team.Gursharan, 56, who turned out for Delhi and Punjab in domestic cricket and played one Test and one ODI in 1990, is a prominent coach in Delhi, and has been involved with various state teams since 2007, when he coached Punjab. He has since worked with Assam and, more recently, Arunachal Pradesh.”I am excited to take my new job,” he was quoted as saying by the . “I know Uttarakhand has a lot of young talent and the team did well last year under Bhaskar’s guidance. The team has a wonderful captain in Unmukt [Chand, who shifted this year]. He has a good cricket brain and I am looking forward to work with him.”Last season, their maiden one in the domestic circuit, Uttarakhand topped the Plate Group of the Ranji Trophy, but then lost by an innings and 115 runs to Vidarbha, the eventual champions, in the quarter-finals. They had some decent results in the Vijay Hazare (one-day) Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali (T20) Trophy too. In the 50-over tournament, they came second in the Plate Group with seven wins and a loss, while in the T20s, they had four wins in seven matches.Delhi
The Delhi and Districts Cricket Association has re-signed former Delhi batsman KP Bhaskar as head coach of the senior team for the 2019-20 season. Bhaskar, a veteran of 95 first-class matches, helmed debutants Uttarakhand to the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals last season. Rajkumar Sharma, meanwhile, has been named the bowling coach. Sharma, an offspinning allrounder, played nine first-class matches for Delhi but is famously remembered for being Virat Kohli’s childhood coach.Bhaskar had left Delhi in controversial circumstances in 2018 after then captain Gautam Gambhir criticised him for “creating an atmosphere of uncertainty” in the dressing room. Incidentally, it was a season where they finished runners-up to Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy.With just one win in eight games, Delhi finished bottom of Group B in 2018-19 Ranji Trophy under Mithun Mahnas. They, however, finished runners-up to Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the 50-overs competition. Atul Wassan, the former India bowler, has been named the selection committee chief of the senior team.ALSO READ: ‘Exceptional work ethic’ sets new Bengal captain Easwaran apartMumbai
Earlier in the week, after months of speculation, Mumbai named Vinayak Samant, the former wicketkeeper, as head coach under controversial circumstances after Sulakshan Kulkarni alleged he wasn’t given a fair contract. Under the initial agreement, the Mumbai Cricket Association was to pay Kulkarni a fee of INR 24 lakh for the season. This was later whittled to INR 14 lakh, which Kulkarni rejected.Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu have appointed former allrounder D Vasu as their head coach, with former captain R Prasanna as his assistant. Dinesh Karthik, meanwhile, has been appointed captain for the upcoming 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy.Vasu replaced Hrishikesh Kanitkar, the former India allrounder who has moved on to a coaching role at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. Vasu scored 3001 runs and picked up 240 wickets during the course of his 15-year first-class career.ALSO READ: New Kerala captain Robin Uthappa wants to give players ‘more security’Puducherry
Former Karnataka captain R Vinay Kumar has ended his 15-year career with his home state and will instead turn out for Puducherry in a player-cum-mentor role in the 2019-20 season. Vinay will link up with his old friend J Arunkumar at Puducherry.Vinay and Arunkumar formed Karnataka’s leadership group when they won successive Ranji titles in 2013-14 and 2014-15. They also led Karnataka to the Vijay Hazare and Irani titles, establishing the side as a domestic powerhouse.Having reportedly turned down an offer from his home state Tamil Nadu and moved from Kerala, wicketkeeper-batsman Arun Karthik will join Vinay at Puducherry.Former India Under-19 captain Unmukt Chand has parted ways with Delhi after making his first-class debut for them in November 2010. Chand has now signed with Uttarakhand and will captain them in the upcoming domestic season. Meanwhile, offspin-bowling allrounder Malolan Rangarajan, who helped Uttarakhand to the knockouts in the previous season, is set to move back to his home state Tamil Nadu.Assam
Former India wicketkeeper-batsman Ajay Ratra has been appointed Assam’s coach for the 2019-20 domestic season. Ratra has had coaching stints with Punjab, Assam Under-19s and NCA in the past.Ratra, who made his international debut in 2002, played six Tests and 12 ODIs for India. His maiden Test century against West Indies in Trinidad – an unbeaten 115 – made him the fifth-youngest Indian player and the youngest wicketkeeper to score a Test hundred. He played 99 first-class matches, scoring 4029 runs at an average of 30.29, which included eight hundreds and a double-century.Other movements
Allrounder Stuart Binny and wicketkeeper-batsman CM Gautam, who were part of Karnataka’s core along with Vinay when they secured the double-treble, have also opted to move out of their home state this season. Binny will join his former Karnataka team-mate Rongsen Jonathan at Nagaland, while Gautam has switched to Goa.Among prominent coaches, Sairaj Bahutule has ended his stint with Bengal, and will coach Gujarat, while Sanath Kumar moved from Meghalaya to Baroda.

Chamari Atapattu made her fifth ODI hundred but it wasn’t enough to challenge Australia

The Report by Andrew McGlashan09-Oct-2019Alyssa Healy continued her prolific run-scoring form by plundering a 71-ball hundred on her way to an unbeaten 76-ball 112 as Australia surged to a record-breaking 18th ODI victory in a row with a nine-wicket hammering of Sri Lanka.Chamari Atapattu’s 103, her fifth ODI hundred and her second century of the tour following her T20I ton in Sydney, anchored Sri Lanka’s effort but the next-best score was 24 and they could still only post 8 for 195, which proved way short of giving Australia a challenge. A 3-0 series result was nothing less than expected, but Australia’s ruthlessness was impressive.Healy and Rachael Haynes, who backed up her maiden ODI century with 63 to take her tally to 237 runs in the series, cruised towards the target – although both were dropped in the same over off Achini Kulasuriya – before Haynes was out sweeping with 37 runs needed.Healy raced off the blocks in the chase and Australia’s fifty came up in the sixth over. She should have been dismissed on 68 but the chance was spilled at deep midwicket and Haynes was then given a life on 39, but even if held it’s unlikely the result would have differed.Healy’s third ODI hundred, which have all come in the last two years during which time she has averaged 57.15, came with captain Meg Lanning alongside her and a match-winning six was a fitting way for Australia to set their new record, surpassing the 17 wins in a row they managed between 1997 and 1999 under the captaincy of Belinda Clark.For the first time in the series, Sri Lanka were able to set a target and there was a promising foundation at 1 for 68 before Harshitha Madavi was smartly run out by Healy’s direct hit as she ran around from behind the stumps after a badly misjudged single. They slumped to 5 for 87 as Georgia Wareham struck twice, but Atapattu held firm.She added 49 with Ama Kanchana and 47 with Oshadi Ranasinghe, bringing up an impressive hundred off 120 deliveries, to put a seal on a tour where she has been head and shoulders above the rest of Sri Lanka’s batting.

Despite Head’s century New South Wales ended the second day on top at Adelaide Oval

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Nov-2019South Australia 7 for 222 (Head 109) trail New South Wales 289 (Solway 133*, Nevill 53, Sayers 8-64)With the decision looming on Australia’s Test batting line-up, Travis Head made a timely century against a strong New South Wales attack to shore up South Australia’s first innings at Adelaide Oval although the visitors ended the second day with the advantage.Head, who was left out of the final Ashes Test when Australia rebalanced their side with Mitchell Marsh, had made an unconvincing start to the first-class season with a scratchy half-century on a flat pitch at Junction Oval before scores of 0 and 12 against Queensland.However, he was named in the Australia A side to face Pakistan in Perth later this month in what is billed as a showdown for probably two batting spots with Head vying for a middle-order role. He will now enter that game with confidence having brought up his 11th first-class hundred from 200 deliveries with a boundary off Australia team-mate Josh Hazlewood, but he could not reach the close as Hazlewood hit back during an impressive spell with the second new ball.There was less from the rest of the batting order than he would have liked. Trent Copeland struck early to trap Jake Weatherald lbw although the batsman indicated he got an inside edge and Callum Ferguson edged to gully. Copeland struck again when a Henry Hunt got into a tangle against a short ball to leave South Australia 3 for 68.Tom Cooper helped Head added 73 for the fourth wicket only to send a top edge to fine leg where Hazlewood took a well-judged catch. Another 50-run partnership followed before Nathan Lyon earned reward for a probing spell by having Harry Nielsen caught at slip, the batsman happy to take the word of Copeland that the ball had carried.When Tom Andrews was caught behind off Moises Henriques shortly before the second new ball New South Wales were firmly on top and the removal of Head left them sensing a handy lead.The day had started with New South Wales seven down in their first innings and Chadd Sayers claimed two of the remaining wickets to finish with a career-best 8 for 64. Debutant Daniel Solway, who marked the opening day with a century, finished unbeaten on 133.

Heino Kuhn’s 58 in vain as Rocks overtake Giants to confirm top spot

The Report by Firdose Moonda08-Dec-2019The Paarl Rocks secured a home final in this year’s edition of the Mzansi Super League by defending 168 against the Nelson Mandela Bay Giants at Boland Park. The win puts the Rocks on 27 points, the same number as the Giants, but they qualify automatically for the final by virtue of their head-to-head record against the Giants. The Rocks beat the Giants in both pool matches defending similar totals.The Rocks scored 166 for 7 and beat the Giants by 31 runs in Port Elizabeth 10 days ago. It was tighter today, as the Rocks scored 168 for 5 and won by 12 runs today.Team news and a good change Ferisco Adams was brought into the Rocks XI because Hardus Viljoen was unavailable for this match and had early success when he bowled Matthew Breetzke with his first ball. But Adams’ immediate impact paled in comparison to Viljoen’s reason for not playing which his captain Faf du Plessis revealed a little too much about.Adams also defended 23 runs off the final over, after his first three balls went for nine runs including a massive six from Marco Marais. The Giants’ middle-order man has impressed with his death hitting in this competition and almost took the game away from the Rocks despite being struck on the arm twice by his batting partner Heino Kuhn, who was trying to get the ball past the non-striker in a bid to push for victory. Adams had a memorable finish to the game, taking two wickets in two balls to dismiss Marais and Kuhn in successive balls and seal the Rocks’ spot in the final.Bjorn’s Fortune Bjorn Fortuin lived up to his last name with a run-out that may be called fortunate to dismiss Giants’ captain Jon-Jon Smuts, who is also their second-highest run-scorer in the tournament. Smuts was at the non-strikers’ end when Kuhn his the ball back to Fortuin. Smuts had ventured a few feet out of his crease, anticipating a run, but Fortuin reacted quickly to get down, and deflect the ball onto the stumps. Smuts saw him and tried to get back but Fortuin was a fraction quicker and Smuts was short of his ground. The Giants were 62 for 3 at that stage and needed to score at 9.6 runs an over to win, something Fortuin played his part in preventing. He finished with 0 for 19 in his four overs, and conceded no boundaries in a stellar effort to strangle the Giants.Shamsi’s stoke of luck Fortuin’s built pressure and Tabraiz Shamsi cashed in with a crucial, and lucky breakthrough, the over after Fortuin’s spell ended. Ryan ten Doeschate played across the line to a Shamsi delivery that struck him on the back pad and was given out. Shamsi took off in celebration sans any shoe-phone or magic tricks while ten Doeschate looked on in disbelief. Replays showed the ball was missing leg stump by some distance but with no DRS in operation, ten Doeschate had no recourse and the Rocks had a key wicket.Delport digs in With a home final on the cards, Cameron Delport and Henry Davids got their team off to a strong start with 51 runs in the first five overs. Delport led the charge scoring 35 runs off the 20 balls he faced, including eight fours. Three of them came in successive balls off Chris Morris, all in the ‘V’ down the ground. Delport hit one more boundary before he was caught off a top edge but his innings put him into the top five run-scorers in the competition. He has 246 runs at 27.33 so far, behind AB de Villiers, Reeza Hendricks, Ben Dunk and Janneman Malan.Better than SteynAfter a match-winning 2 for 22 against the Cape Town Blitz on Friday night, Imran Tahir put on another authoritative performance which took to the top of the wicket-charts for the tournament. His two wickets came in two balls. First, he uprooted James Vince’s off stump and then deceived Sibonelo Makhanya with a googly that Makhanya chipped straight back to a short mid-on, put in place specifically for that dismissal. Tahir now has 16 wickets, one more than Dale Steyn, and also the best economy rate of any bowler who has bowled more than six overs at this competition. Tahir has conceded at less than six runs an over – 5.68 – in the 38 overs he has bowled in his 10 group games.

England seal series in Kuala Lumpur with big win powered by strong batting

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Dec-2019England 327 for 4 (Sciver 100*, Knight 86, Wilson 85*) beat Pakistan 200 (Maharoof 64) by 127 runsNat Sciver cracked an 85-ball century, and Fran Wilson added a quickfire 85 not out from 49 balls, as England eased to a series-sealing 127-run victory over Pakistan in the second women’s ODI in Kuala Lumpur.After winning the toss and batting first on a sweltering day, England suffered an early setback when Danni Wyatt fell to Nida Dar for 6 in the second over of the match.Heather Knight and Tammy Beaumont regrouped with a 61-run stand for the second wicket, before Beaumont was the second to go, caught by Diana Baig off Nashra Sandhu for 21.But thereafter, England took total control of the contest, as Sciver joined Knight in an 84-run stand for the third wicket, bringing up the 150 in the 29h over before Knight was run out for 86 from 100 balls.Amy Jones chipped in with 17 from 22 balls, but it was the arrival of Wilson that kicked the innings into another gear, as she and Sciver climbed into the final 14.1 overs of the innings with an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 146.Wilson struck eight fours and three sixes in a career-best innings, while Sciver reached her third ODI hundred from the penultimate ball of the innings, as England closed on 327 for 4.Chasing that total was never going to be a realistic prospect for Pakistan, who lost wickets at regular intervals before being bowled out for 200 in the 45th over.The captain Bismah Maroof made a brisk 64 from 65 balls, and Nahida Khan made 40 from 43. But England’s wickets were shared around, with Anya Shrubsole, Sarah Glenn, Sophie Ecclestone and Knight all claiming two apiece.”I was really happy to reach three figures, from a selfish point of view, but it was just nice to take the team to a big total,” said Sciver.”Fran batted so well when she came in and she really helped us accelerate towards 300 and beyond – it was a lot of fun batting with her and she played excellently.”It was a shame Heather didn’t get to her landmark because she batted so well and it would have been a lovely way for her to celebrate getting to 100 caps.”Pakistan have been quite testing, they were hard to get away at points today and they were solid with the bat so we’re happy to have gone 2-0 up and won the series.”

The Adelaide Strikers raced to their target of 101 with 55 deliveries to spare to avenge their defeat at the Gabba

Andrew McGlashan17-Jan-2020If you thought the Brisbane Heat’s victory over the Adelaide Strikers at the Gabba was a thrashing, think again. The roles were more than reversed at the Adelaide Oval as the home side romped to a 10-wicket win with a massive 55 deliveries remaining – the third most in BBL history – after dismantling an awful Heat for just 100.AB de Villiers fell in the fourth over but Heat had reached 2 for 53 in the eighth when it all started to go badly wrong. Liam O’Connor removed Chris Lynn to spark a collapse of 8 for 47 as he claimed a career-best 3 for 30. Only Matt Renshaw showed much composure with 43 and the Heat were bowled out with three overs unused. Michael Neser had a big impact, removing de Villiers and Renshaw in his 2 for 14.Liam O’Connor is pumped up after striking•Cricket Australia via Getty Images

If it’s possible, the chase was even more one-sided as Phil Salt, who has had a tricky tournament, carted the bowling to all parts as he and Jake Weatherald got the job done in under 11 overs. It handed the Strikers a handy net run-rate boost and did the opposite to the Heat. There might be another Darren Lehmann spray coming.De Villiers in – and out – earlyThere was much excitement, even from some the Strikers players as shown by Weatherald who was on the TV mic, when de Villiers walked in during the third over following another poor shot from Max Bryant who clubbed to mid-off. A chance for him to bat nearly 18 overs…oh, the possibilities. It was all over after three balls when he pulled Michael Neser to deep square leg where Weatherald took a well-judged catch above his head. Speaking on the coverage later, de Villiers said he had perhaps been over-eager on a surface that looked full of runs. Two early wickets meant Lynn had to play it a little safe, but just when he had got himself set the wheels fell off.Falling in a heapLynn tried to clear the off side against O’Connor’s second delivery but could only skew the ball over cover where Rashid Khan turned, ran back and took a superb catch over his shoulder. In the next over Travis Head brought himself on and it worked a treat second ball when Joe Burns swung straight down deep midwicket, a poor piece of judgement for an experienced player with a key batsman having fallen the over before. O’Connor, who had never previously taken more than two wickets in a BBL innings and has largely been Khan’s understudy, twice found the top edge as Ben Cutting and Jimmy Peirson played cut shots, with Harry Nielsen claiming two excellent catches. The Heat’s only hope of even a half-decent total lay with Renshaw who had again played very well, but amid the clatter of wickets he top-edged a pull off Neser. In the end they barely got into three figures as Wes Agar closed things out with a brace of excellent yorkers.Rubbing Salt into the woundThere are generally two ways to knock off a small total – steady, or brutally quick. The Strikers took the latter route with 13 coming from the second over from Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Salt played out a maiden from Josh Lalor, but it was a momentary pause as the Strikers finished the Powerplay on 0 for 45. At that stage Weatherald was 26 and Salt 15; things soon changed. In a fierce display of striking Salt went from 18 off 23 balls to 67 off 38 hitting eight of his next 15 deliveries for either four or six, finishing the (non) contest with consecutive sixes off Mujeeb.

The former South Africa captain will join Darren Sammy in a mentoring capacity for the upcoming season of the PSL

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jan-2020Peshawar Zalmi have roped in Hashim Amla as a batting mentor for the upcoming edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The acquisition was announced on Twitter by the owner of the franchise, Javed Afridi. “His gracious presence in the PSL 5 festivity will not only adorn the Zalmi dugout but also inspire and craft the cricket skills of the emerging players in the squad,” Afridi said. Amla never played in the PSL, but brings vast T20 experience to the Zalmi side. The South African played 44 T20Is for his country, including three T20 World Cups. He has played in several T20 leagues around the world, most notably for the Kings XI Punjab, with whom he enjoyed a particularly prolific season in 2017, smashing two hundreds and finishing as the franchise’s top scorer for the season.Amla joins former West Indies international Darren Sammy in a mentoring capacity, with the former Zalmi captain moving into a mentoring role, starting this season. Head coach Mohammad Akram, manager Arshad Khan and spin-bowling coach Saqlain Mushtaq are also part of the backroom staff for the side. Zalmi, who reached the last three PSL finals, will look to go one better on the runners-up result they managed last season, ultimately falling short to Sarfaraz Ahmed’s Quetta Gladiators.

Batsman available for both white-ball competitions and first three Championship games

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Mar-2020Leicestershire have announced the signing of Janneman Malan as their main overseas player for the 2020 season.Malan, who was the leading domestic run-scorer in this season’s Mzansi Super League, became the first player to score a duck on ODI debut and follow it up with a century in his second match this week, leading South Africa to a series win over Australia.He is available for the duration of the white-ball competitions as well as the club’s first three County Championship games, subject to international commitments.ALSO READ: County ins and outs 2019-20Leicestershire’s financial position rendered them unable to sign an overseas player for their T20 campaign last season, while most other counties fielded two, and their Championship overseas player Mohammad Abbas has been snapped up by Nottinghamshire.But after securing a £1.75m loan from Leicester City Council in December, the club found themselves in a position to recruit, and have secured the signing of Malan with time to spare before the start of the season.Paul Nixon, the club’s head coach, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have Janneman on board with us, primarily for white-ball cricket but also with the opportunity to slot into our red ball side too.”Securing a high-class opening batsman in T20 and the Royal London Cup has been a major priority and Janneman fits the bill for us. His record across all formats his outstanding and we have watched his progress and development with interest.”Janneman strikes the ball very cleanly and will be an asset to us. He fits the profile of our squad; young, hungry and adaptable, and we know he is highly thought of in South Africa with his recent international call-ups.”Malan said: “I am looking forward to working with Paul Nixon who is busy getting the boys prepared for pre-season and I will be following their progress closely from afar.”

Five years after making his first-class debut at 27, Richard Gleeson is closing in on an England cap

Matt Roller04-Jun-2020At the age of 27, Richard Gleeson had all but given up on his dream of playing cricket for a living.After a series of odd jobs for a boiler firm, at a fishing tackle shop and as a landscape gardener, he landed a coaching job at the Lancashire Cricket Board, which he combined with his minor counties career for Cumberland. He was at peace with the fact a professional career had passed him by.Five years on, he is back in training at Emirates Old Trafford, after being named in England’s 55-man training group for this summer’s internationals, with the possibility of a full debut in sight.”To go from a club cricketer at 26 to an England international at 32, it would be amazing,” he says on a Zoom call. “I probably had thought ‘I’m not going to get any opportunities, so I’ll enjoy what I’m doing’.”I had my career path with the coaching… that’s the direction that I was going down. Like any club cricketer, I was enjoying it – I’d always try to play to the top standard I could in minor counties. And then James Middlebrook came to me and said there was an opportunity to maybe play some cricket at Northants. I said: ‘I’ll take it’.”That led to a first-class debut against the touring Australians in 2015, and the wickets of the Marsh brothers on debut. He impressed head coach David Ripley enough to win a pay-as-you-play deal for the following year, and a starring role in Northants’ title-winning T20 Blast season earned him a gig in the Bangladesh Premier League.ALSO READ: Northants unknown is fit for England, says Ripley (2017)He was soon wearing an England shirt, representing the Lions in early 2018 after his ability to hit speeds of 90mph/145kph caught the eye, and signed with Lancashire later that year to be closer to his girlfriend (now fiancée) Laura and their new-born baby. Last season saw him take 56 wickets despite injury setbacks, and earn contracts in the Hundred, Big Bash and Abu Dhabi T10. After touring Australia with the Lions over the winter he now finds himself in contention for a full debut later this summer.”It’s just a great story to never give up, keep following your dream and keep pursuing things, because you never know what could happen and when. It’s a great advert for minor counties cricket as well. I think they’ll enjoy the story – if it [a debut] happens, and hopefully it does, it will make a nice read.”Gleeson has been bowling with both red and white balls since returning to training, but is more likely to be in contention for an ODI cap than a Test one. He had a chastening time in Melbourne Renegades colours over the winter, leaking more than 10 runs per over, but feels better equipped to reach his top speeds and use ground dimensions to his advantage after working closely with the team’s bowling coach Shaun Tait.The combination of a packed schedule and the prospect of running two squads in parallel this summer means that rotation among fast bowlers is highly likely, and Gleeson can reasonably hope that a chance to impress the selectors might be forthcoming.While his inclusion at the age of 32 might come as a surprise – not least with 35-year-old Liam Plunkett’s age the main factor in his omission – Gleeson thinks that his relative inexperience and physical fitness means his body is that of a man several years younger.