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Allrounder opts to focus on his own game after disappointing first season leading red-ball team

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Mar-2025Derbyshire allrounder David Lloyd has stood down as club captain ahead of the 2025 season. Lloyd, who joined from Glamorgan in 2023, led the club in the County Championship last year, but could not prevent Derbyshire from receiving the wooden spoon after finishing bottom of Division Two.In his first full summer at the club, Lloyd, 32, averaged 23.47 with the bat and 31.00 with the ball in the Championship, and has opted to stand down from the captaincy in search of better returns.”David has given his all to the captaincy and he has been a fantastic leader for us, but the mental pressures of trying to lead a team, especially while you are trying to rediscover your own form, coupled with having a young family mean it’s best for all parties if we take some of that weight off his shoulders,” Derbyshire’s head of cricket, Mickey Arthur, said.”David has been honest with me, he is determined to contribute to the team and his experience and leadership will still be invaluable for us, both on the field and in the dressing room, and I’m looking forward to seeing the best of him this summer.”Derbyshire underwent a revamp ahead of the 2024 season, with Lloyd taking the captaincy after the departure of Leus du Plooy and several new players coming in. But progress was limited – having been winless in 2023, they managed one victory to go with six defeats and a last-placed finish.That one win, however, did see them end a barren five-year run in Championship cricket at their Derby headquarters.Lloyd said: “This has not been an easy decision for me, but I have had a good group of friends, family and team-mates to confide in over this winter, and I believe this is what will allow me to focus on my game.”It has been an honour for me to captain Derbyshire, and I’m now looking forward to playing with less pressure on my shoulders, continuing to learn from the experience of Mickey and our coaching team, and showing our members and supporters what I can do.”We want to get back to competing across all formats, I am excited to play my part and hopefully helping our new club captain any way I can.”

Opener makes 85 as visitors give themselves hope of securing first-innings lead

ECB Reporters Network13-Apr-2024Keaton Jennings put behind his disappointment at missing out on England’s Test tour to India by beginning his Vitality County Championship campaign with a half-century.Opening batter Jennings impressed as part of the England Lions squad acting as support for the Test squad in the sub-continent this winter, but was not considered for the main event, with Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley remaining Ben Stokes’ and Brendon McCullum’s preferred opening pair.He totted up 85 with only one dropped catch as a blemish in an otherwise authoritative innings, with his opening partner Luke Wells reaching 55.Lancashire ended the day on 233 for four, 134 runs behind Hampshire’s first innings total on a placid Utilita Bowl pitch.Having bowled the hosts out for what felt like an about-par 367, Wells and Jennings made hay in good batting conditions.Mohammad Abbas’ battle with Wells was intriguing, with the Pakistan fast bowler sending down 16 challenging dot-balls before the batter could manoeuvre himself off strike.And from that point, the former Sussex opener slowly put himself on top of the home side’s bowling attack to rush towards his first half-century of the season.He found straight driving particularly profitable as he needed just 65 balls to reach the milestone – the 68th fifty of his career.Wells fell to end an 87-run partnership, of which he had notched up 55 when he clipped Abbas to Tom Prest at short midwicket – in doing so becoming the fifth batter to 50 but not 100.Jennings was far less aggressive in his approach but never looked in too much danger as the Kookaburra ball quickly went soft.His main approach to the lack of pace in the pitch was to bat further and further out of his crease, with Lancashire’s general tactic of hitting down the ground in opposition to Hampshire’s square domination.Jennings was dropped at point on 36 by Nick Gubbins, who lost his trousers in the process, before slowly closing in on 57th first-class half-century – which eventually arrived in 122 balls.Josh Bohannon made 30 out of 38 with Bohannon before chopping James Fuller onto his own stumps, after a big build-up of pressure from the Pavilion End – started by Kyle Abbott and continued by Fuller.Jennings then teamed up with George Balderson in an 86-run stand which appeared to be never-ending until Balderson recklessly slogged to deep midwicket for 38, before Tom Bruce was brilliantly caught at first slip by Liam Dawson to give Holland two wickets in two balls to turn the momentum.George Bell narrowly avoided edging the hat-trick ball before surviving to the close with Jennings.Earlier, Hampshire added 62 runs to their overnight score as they extended their first innings by an hour and a half, with three batting points pocketed.Dawson had gone to bed on 61 having begun his season in the sort of form that 2023 was remembered for, and continued to tick along with Ian Holland and James Fuller in 38 and 45-run partnerships.Barring a little scamper to reach 350 in plenty of time – which included Dawson pulling Will Williams for six – there was hardly any deviation from a placid tempo.Holland fell leg before to Williams before Fuller edged a drive off Wells to a helmeted Jennings at first slip, while Dawson fell for an innings-high 86 by a smart catch behind off Tom Bailey. It meant none of Hampshire’s four fifty-makers were able to convert to three figures.Nathan Lyon completed the innings when Kyle Abbott was caught at long-on by Jennings – the Australian ending with three for 110 from a backbreaking 38.1 overs.From then on in, Lancashire bedded in and made the most of a pitch and ball that was suited for patient long-form batting.

Jamie Smith joins Ben Duckett in sitting out T20Is with World Cup just six months away

Matt Roller08-Sep-2025England will go into their T20I series against South Africa without both Ben Duckett and Jamie Smith this week, prompting head coach Brendon McCullum to concede they must learn how to cope better with their busy international schedule.Duckett, Smith and Harry Brook have been ever-present for England across their 15 international fixtures to date this summer, and all spent August playing in the Hundred. All three players will miss next week’s brief tour to Ireland, and McCullum has prescribed an additional week’s rest for his ODI openers so they can “freshen up” ahead of a busy winter away.It means that Duckett and Smith will miss consecutive T20I series less than six months out from a World Cup in the format, when better planning would have seen them skip the ODIs instead. In their absence, Phil Salt – who missed England’s most recent T20Is on paternity leave – looks set to open the batting alongside either Tom Banton or Will Jacks.Related

• South Africa beat England and the rain to leave Cardiff 1-0 up

• ECB chair says crammed Hundred schedule is 'short-term issue'

• Bethell admits he 'probably should have played more' this summer

• Bethell, Root tons, Archer four-for see England hand out record thrashing

England face a tight turnaround between the Ashes and the T20 World Cup this winter, interspersed with white-ball tours to New Zealand and Sri Lanka. Rob Key, England’s managing director, claimed last year that their upcoming schedule was “easing” when expanding McCullum’s role to cover white-ball cricket but it shows few signs of doing so.A one-day gap after the Hundred final meant that England’s players did not train together as a full squad ahead of Tuesday’s first ODI in Leeds, in which they were thrashed by seven wickets. ECB chair Richard Thompson acknowledged the crammed fixture list was an issue on Sunday, but admitted that it is unlikely to change significantly within the ongoing broadcast rights cycle.”The scheduling isn’t ideal,” McCullum said after England’s consolation win in Southampton. “That’s just the way it is and it’s not going to change, so we’re going to have to find ways to deal with it… We’re just going to have to find ways to be able to hit the ground running a bit quicker than what we did in this one.”I spoke to [Duckett] and I said, ‘I think you need to freshen up. You’ve played so much cricket and you’re such an influential player for us over the next few months.’ He’ll have a decent break at home, as will Jamie Smith… It gives the other guys opportunities, and it’s exciting, too. If we just rely on 11 players, then we’re not really going to be competitive.”One of those “other guys” is Sam Curran, who will bat in the top six against South Africa after winning a recall through his performances for Surrey and Oval Invincibles. McCullum has never previously picked Curran for one of his teams, and told him in an “honest conversation” over breakfast earlier this summer that he needed to “bang the door down” as a batter.”The message to Sam was that a lot’s come to you quickly and you’ve had a lot of success and a lot of fame, and a lot of things have fallen your way,” McCullum said, “but, of late, your performance had just tailed off a bit… With us resting both Jamie and Ben, it gives us the opportunity to bring Sam in and he’ll get his chance to bat in the top six.”England are expected to stick with the spin-heavy strategy they trialled against West Indies in June for this week’s series as they prepare for next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. Curran will likely be their third seamer, with Jacob Bethell and Jacks supplementing Adil Rashid and either Liam Dawson or Rehan Ahmed as spin options.Bethell and Jacks acted as England’s fifth bowler in the ODIs against South Africa but their combined 10 overs in a tight defeat at Lord’s were hammered for 112 runs. McCullum said it was “really hard” to balance the side without a genuine allrounder, but has already spoken to Brook about how to give his part-time options “slightly more in their favour”.”We’ve just got to be a bit smarter with it… Utilising the big side of the ground, or also trying to set slightly more defensive fields,” McCullum said. “They don’t need to take 3 for 30 off 10 overs. They’ve just got to find a way to be able to create pressure and hold for a period so that our attacking guys can come in.”We won’t always be married to that [balance] but at the moment, we want to make sure that we’ve got that familiarity within our batting group – particularly in the middle order, as they adjust to some new roles so that they get more and more comfortable with how each of them is going to play.”McCullum said that England’s record 342-run thrashing in Southampton had provided them with “an incredible blueprint” in ODIs during an “oscillating” series. “We got hammered in the first one, we were within one blow in the second, and we dished out a pretty good performance in the third… It shows that there’s not a huge gulf between the two teams.”

The bowlers shared the wickets around and kept Zimbabwe to 152 for 7, before the opening pair made light work of the target

Shashank Kishore13-Jul-2024
Zimbabwe’s most-assured batting effort wasn’t enough to mount a challenge against India’s young IPL stars. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill made light work of a 153-run target, sauntering home in just 15.2 overs in a sensational exhibition of intent-laden batting of the kind we hadn’t seen in the series so far.Where Zimbabwe hit all of 10 fours in their 20 overs, Jaiswal and Gill smashed as many in their first four overs en route a ten-wicket thumping that delivered an unassailable 3-1 lead for India with one more game to play on on Sunday.

India’s fifth-bowlers shine after Zimbabwe’s solid foundation

Zimbabwe had lost at least two wickets in the powerplay in each of the three T20Is in the series before this game. Today, though, Wessly Madhevere and Tadiwanashe Marumani rode their luck to add 63 in 8.4 overs to give them a platform.A determined Wessly Madhevere did the job in the powerplay•Associated Press

In the third over, Marumani was dropped by Shivam Dube at mid-on while on 3. He also benefited from an overthrow that went to the boundary in the same over, and Marumani appeared to change gears after the reprieve by going after debutant Tushar Deshpande, who conceded 21 off his first two overs. Gill quickly turned to spin inside the powerplay and they managed to rein in the scoring; eventually an effort to up the ante against India’s part-time bowlers, who needed to fill the fifth-bowler’s quota, got Marumani.Off Abhishek Sharma’s fourth ball, he looked to pull and ended up hitting it towards the longest part of the boundary where Rinku Singh was waiting at deep midwicket. This allowed Gill to bring on Dube from the other end in a bid to get the fifth-bowler’s quota out of the way, but he too struck – in his first over, he had the other set batter, Madhevere, pulling a short ball to Rinku at deep square leg.Abhishek could have had a second wicket in T20Is, but for Ruturaj Gaikwad shelving a dolly at extra cover to reprieve Brian Bennett. The missed opportunity didn’t cost India much though.

Raza to Zimbabwe’s rescue

Raza needed to rescue Zimbabwe as they had suddenly lost 4 for 33 after the solid opening. Having been guilty of running out Jonathan Campbell, Raza’s industry kept the runs ticking until he flicked the switch with five overs remaining.Tushar Deshpande claimed Sikandar Raza for his first international wicket•Associated Press

On 21 off 17 at that point, he launched Washington Sundar over deep midwicket for a 90-metre six, and then went after Khaleel Ahmed in his next over, hitting a four and a six. Overs 16 and 17 produced 31 as Zimbabwe charged towards 160. That they fell eight short was thanks to two excellent overs from Deshpande, who dismissed Raza for his maiden international wicket, and Khaleel. Zimbabwe had a competitive, if not match-winning, total.

Jaiswal and Gill make merry

India’s chase was kickstarted with Jaiswal hitting three fours off left-arm seamer Richard Ngavara in the first over. Jaiswal was in no mood to stop there, hitting Tendai Chatara for four more fours off his first over, the third of the innings. The seamers kept giving him width and he kept crashing them away through point, alternating between hitting them along the ground and playing the full-blooded cuts. India raised their fifty in just 3.5 overs with Jaiswal contributing 39.Jaiswal got to his half-century off 29 balls, and then unfurled one of the shots of the day when he sent Raza inside-out over extra cover. Having been beaten in flight, he quickly adjusted to loft him through the line and bisect the tiny gap between deep cover and wide long-off.Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill put on 156 runs for the first wicket to finish the job themselves•Associated Press

Gill then took over, helping himself against Faraz Akram’s gentle seam-ups in a exquisite display of hitting-on-the-up. Gill’s second straight half-century, off 35 balls, was mellow in comparison to Jaiswal but effective nonetheless.As the match raced towards the finish line, the only point of interest was if Jaiswal could get the 17 of the 18 remaining runs needed to get to a hundred. He couldn’t; ended up 93 not out, having displayed his full range in an exhilarating display reflecting the type of intent that won India the T20 World Cup last month after 17 years.

He says Nepal will be on the right side of results if they get more exposure against the best sides in the world

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jun-20243:06

Morkel: Nepal’s bowling made life difficult for SA

After his team came agonisingly close to a historic win and what would have been their first against a Full-Member side, Nepal captain Rohit Paudel has asked for more exposure against top teams. Nepal were on top of their modest chase of 116 against South Africa until Tabraiz Shamsi returned to claim two wickets in the 18th over, which began with Nepal needing 18 from 18. Anrich Nortje then conceded eight off the 19th and Ottneil Baartman defended seven in the last over, which included the tense situation of Nepal needing two from the last ball, but they couldn’t get even one, which would have taken the game to a Super Over.”I am very proud of the unit, especially the way we bowled and batted, I’m very proud of that,” Paudel said at the presentation. “We were very close but a little far. In crunch moments we did well, but the way we fought was very good. If we get more exposure regularly then next games we will be on the other side [of the result].”Nepal’s stunning performance was scripted by spinners Dipendra Singh Airee and Kushal Bhurtel, who claimed seven wickets between them for just 40 runs in their eight overs. Sandeep Lamichhane, who was playing his first game of the T20 World Cup 2024 after missing the USA leg, bowled four frugal overs for just 18 runs, giving away only one boundary. In all, the Nepal spinners bowled 14 overs for 75 runs.Related

• Shamsi: 'We've been put under pressure every game and stood up to it'

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When asked if Nepal had expected the spinners to get so much assistance from the pitch, Paudel said: “Yeah, when we saw the wicket yesterday, we thought it would be on the slower side. Eventually when we were bowling I thought the wicket was helping the spinners and then we introduced Bhurtel and we carried on with the spinners.” Bhurtel claimed 4 for 19, which included the big scalps of Aiden Markram and Henrich Klaasen as well as those of Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada.South Africa played just the one frontline spinner – Shamsi came into the XI for Keshav Maharaj – and bowled six overs of spin overall, with two from Markram. Shamsi came into the attack after seven overs, by which time Nepal were 34 for no loss. Markram later admitted South Africa should have picked another spinner on a track on which the ball was stopping, turning and bouncing. Markram brought himself on after the 13th over.2:22

Morkel: SA could play two spinners on slower pitches

“We have a good pace attack and you want to back that,” Markram said at the presentation. “I thought if we got the ball in the right areas, there could be something in the wicket and I felt like it was challenging for the batters. Looking back in hindsight, we should have probably picked an extra spinner on this wicket. I didn’t think it’d spin that much. But the pacers kept us in the game and a lot of credit has to go to them tonight.”South Africa’s start wasn’t promising either, after they were put in to bat. They managed just 38 for 1 in the powerplay and struck only two sixes in their innings. Only one batter – Tristan Stubbs – scored at over a run a ball and had it not been for his unbeaten 27 off 18, South Africa might have finished well below 115. While acknowledging the tough conditions, Markram also praised the Nepal bowlers.”I think it’s two things: first and foremost, the way [Nepal] bowled it made it really tough for us throughout the game,” he said. “You have to give them a lot of credit. They put us under a lot of pressure, and it shows the quality they have in their change room. If you mix that with maybe not enough conviction in our plans and a slight lack in intensity, you can get stuck, and that’s what happened tonight. Like I said, there’ll be a lot of learnings and we’d assume Caribbean conditions might be a little similar moving forward so it’s about backing plans that we develop and pretty much be at ease with whatever comes after having solid plans.”South Africa finished on top of Group D with four wins out of four and will be in Group 2 in the Super Eight, along with USA, West Indies and one out of England and Scotland from Group B.

The issue is not money, but that youngsters want to play on the big stage, Russell argues

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Aug-2024It’s not the money. According to Andre Russell, premier West Indian cricketers are “just not interested in playing Tests.”The issue has been simmering forever, with cricketers popular with T20 leagues around the world – like Russell – often staying away from West Indies cricket, particularly the longest format. Sometimes, they have been called mercenaries. Most recently, in December 2023, Jason Holder, Nicholas Pooran and Kyle Mayers turned down West Indies central contracts, but made themselves available for T20Is. Holder, though, has since played Tests.Even though observers say that is due to the lack of money in West Indian cricket, Russell disagrees. “I don’t think it’s the money, I don’t think money is the issue,” he told recently. “Based on the amount of T20 and leagues around the world, I think a lot of players are just not interested in playing Tests.”Russell’s remarks came after West Indies – placed bottom of the nine-team World Test Championship table at the moment – were swept 3-0 in England. They have since drawn the first Test in Port of Spain against South Africa, a Test they were behind in for the most part but, following rain and an attacking South Africa declaration, got to a competitive position when time ran out.Related

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Russell, Shimron Hetmyer, Pooran, Rovman Powell and Kieron Pollard were among the West Indians playing in The Hundred when the last Test against England was being played in late July. Among the highest-paid players in the league, they are still playing The Hundred while the Test series against South Africa is on. Pollard, Powell and Pooran have never played Test cricket. Russell played one, in 2010. Hetmyer has played 16, the last of them in 2019.”I’m always excited watching the other West Indian batters, especially when they’re hitting boundary after boundary,” Russell said. “As long as you can do well from contracts outside your nation I think they are going to grab that opportunity but everyone wants to play on the big stage.”So, if the big stage comes in Test cricket, I know youngsters will be happy to play. I just don’t think it’s about money or anything like that.”Russell, now 36, has managed to stay at the top of his game in short-format cricket despite a succession of injuries over the years, especially in the legs. A knee injury forced him out of the 2019 ODI World Cup after a few games. Test cricket, he said, was not on the table for him.”Red-ball cricket is not my cookie, I don’t think my body will keep up with Test cricket,” he said. “But those in the team at the moment are fit enough and taking on the challenge. They had a few moments in the Test series [against England] where they could have turned things around. Playing England at home is always going to be hard for the West Indies.”

India Under-19 collapsed after a 133-run stand between Malhotra and Mhatre

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay22-Jul-2025Ralphie Albert sparked not one collapse but two in taking 6 for 53 as England Under-19 edged ahead in the rain-affected 2nd ‘Test’ against India at Chelmsford.The 17-year-old left-arm spinner reduced India from 170 for 1 to 181 for 4 before helping to secure the last six wickets for 37 as India were bowled out for 279 to trail by 30.This looked unlikely when Ayush Mhatre and Vihaan Malhotra were compiling a dominant stand of 133 for the second wicket. Malhotra would go on to make 120 at nearly a-run-a-ball, but aside from this pair, only Harvansh Pangalia (28) and Kanishk Chouhan (23) reached double-figures, with five batters making ducks.England openers Ben Dawkins and Adam Thomas survived the odd scare to stretch that lead to 123 before bad light ended play 12 overs before the scheduled close.Rain delayed the start until 12.15pm before Malhotra and Mhatre dominated the pre-lunch session.Mhatre, dropped at cover on the second afternoon, was reprieved a second time when Alex Green failed to take a tough caught-and-bowled chance, but soon made the most of his good fortune, two sumptuous fours off the back foot and a huge six from the bowling of day-two centurion Ekansh Singh among the pick of his shots.Malhotra survived a big shout for lbw and being struck midships by James Minto. His cover drive off Green was a thing of beauty, and he raised the 100 of the innings with six over square leg. Another six took him to 50 as India scored 108 in the 75 minutes of play. England looked to be searching for wickets, and the result was too many four balls in a tardy effort.[File photo] Ralphie Albert triggered twin Indian collapses•Getty Images

Whether it was harsh words from the coaches or an inspired lunch choice, England emerged a different side. Tighter bowling brought a breakthrough when Mhatre missed one from Alex French, which angled in and spreadeagled his stumps. He scored 80.Door ajar, Albert produced some spin wizardry to strike twice in as many overs, wicketkeeper Abhigyan Kundu bunting back a caught and bowled before Rahul Kumar edged low to Thomas at slip.India’s response was to counter-attack, Pangalia dispatching a long-hop over the longest boundary before driving and cutting for successive fours.At the other end, Malhotra’s 16th four took him to his hundred in 101 balls and at 242 for 4 the visitors were back in the ascendancy.However, Pangalia top-edged a cross-bat slog into the deep and RS Ambrish became the third duck on the Indian card when he drove to cover in Albert’s next over.The Surrey youngster was on a roll, Malhotra becoming his biggest prize when perishing to a catch by Ben Mayes on the midwicket fence. Albert wasn’t finished there, Henil Patel his fourth wicket in 13 balls courtesy of Thomas’ second smart slip catch of the afternoon.Thereafter, only Chouhan held up the hosts for a while, Albert’s fellow spinner Mayes (2 for 17) picking up the last two wickets – a due reward for a tight spell.Dawkins and Thomas were both on a pair and began nervously, the former given a life when dropped at first slip off Aditya Rawat on 7.Rawat’s searching examination survived, the pair prospered, Dawkins clearing the ropes at midwicket, while Thomas drove and cut well to reach 50 with seven fours in the last over before the light closed in.

The left hander comes in as a replacement player with the defending champions losing key overseas names

Andrew McGlashan and Alex Malcolm14-Jan-2024Marcus Harris, who recently missed out on a Test recall, has been signed as a replacement player by defending champions Perth Scorchers for the closing stages of the BBL.Scorchers have lost Zak Crawley to England Test duty and will also be without Laurie Evans for the finals as he has an ILT20 deal. Stephen Eskinazi returned to the line-up against Brisbane Heat but Scorchers have bolstered their options by bringing in Harris, who did not have a BBL deal, as a replacement for the injured Jhye Richardson.Related

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Harris’ previous BBL outing came for Melbourne Renegades last season. He also played 14 matches for Scorchers between 2014 and 2016. Overall he has 981 runs in T20s at 20.43 and a strike-rate of 121.71.”We saw the need to add to our batting options with Laurie Evans and Zak Crawley unavailable for finals, and Marcus fits the bill nicely,” Perth Scorchers general manager, Kade Harvey, said. “He has plenty of domestic and international experience playing on a variety of surfaces, and he knows WA well having started his career in Perth. We’re pleased he’s on board for the remainder of the season.”Scorchers secured a place in the finals with victory over Brisbane Heat on Saturday, but face a key game against Sydney Sixers on Tuesday to earn a spot in the Qualifier, also against Heat, which would allow them the crucial second chance to reach the decider on January 24 as they aim to become the first team to complete a hat-trick of BBL titles.Harris would be able to play in finals even if he does not face Sixers. Overseas signings have to make a regular-season appearance in order to be eligible, but that does not apply to local replacement players.Harris was overlooked for a Test comeback last week when the selectors opted for Matt Renshaw as the spare batter in the squad to face West Indies after deciding to promote Steven Smith to open and recall Cameron Green at No. 4.

An Afghanistan women’s cricket team, consisting of refugees who now live in Australia, will play a T20 match at the Junction Oval on Thursday

Alex Malcolm27-Jan-20252:01

Amiri: If Afghan women can play sports, they can study as well

Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley has described Thursday’s exhibition match featuring an Afghanistan Women’s XI in Melbourne as the first small step towards playing international cricket saying it is a ‘real beacon of hope’ that should spark conversations globally.An Afghanistan women’s cricket team, consisting of refugees who now live in Australia, will play a T20 match between against a Cricket Without Borders XI at the Junction Oval in Melbourne on Thursday morning ahead of the opening day of the day-night Women’s Ashes Test at the MCG that starts in the afternoon.It is the first time they have been able to come together as a group since leaving their country following the Taliban takeover, with half of the group settling in Canberra while the other half settled in Melbourne.Related

• ICC to formally support Afghan women cricketers

• Powerplay: More than just a match for Afghanistan Women's XI

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• Exiled Afghanistan women players to men's team: 'Please be the voice of the girls'

Hockley spoke alongside two of the Afghanistan XI players, Nahida Sapan and Firooza Amiri, on Monday at the Junction Oval, with Sapan announced as the captain for the match. Cricket Without Borders Chair Clare Cannon, Director Ken Jacobs and Australia’s Federal Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Tim Watts were also present as the organisation of the match has been a joint effort between, CA, Cricket Without Borders and the Australian government.Hockley was hopeful that this match will be the first of many playing opportunities for the Afghanistan women in the future and indicated that the England and Wales Cricket Board were keen to help promote their cause after captain Heather Knight met the exiled Afghanistan female players in Melbourne earlier this month.”I think this is a first step,” Hockley said. “We’ve got colleagues from the ECB coming out for the women’s Ashes, and there are conversations happening to support from England as well as from Australia. So I think the first piece is awareness. But I think it’s going to be such an exciting day on Thursday, and my hope is that promotes lots of conversations, that this becomes an annual thing and then ultimately, that this team were able to compete on the international stage as is their want.”I don’t think any of us can comprehend what they’ve been through moving to a new country in such difficult circumstances, not speaking the language. I’m just inspired by their resilience, their love for the game and hopefully this game just raises awareness, a real beacon of hope.Nahida Sapan and Firooza Amiri speak to the media ahead of the Afghanistan XI match in Melbourne•Getty Images

“I was privy to a moment where they got to see their playing shirts for the first time with their names and numbers on the back, and you can just see how much it means to them. So I really hope this is kind of the first step of a really successful journey for this group, but also that this match shines a light on the fact that in places around the world not every woman and girl has a chance to play.”Sapan has been playing club cricket in Melbourne for Carnegie while Amiri has been playing for Dandenong. But both players were overjoyed at the opportunity to play in an Afghanistan Women’s XI.”It’s really special for us, especially for Afghan women because this is a very historic moment for all Afghan women,” Sapan said. “We have a big hopes for this match, because this match can open doors for Afghan women, for education, sport and future. We don’t want this to be our first and last match. We want more matches. We want more support.”Amiri, who has been a prominent voice for the Afghanistan female cricketers, was thrilled that the team can come together for the first time.”We are going to represent millions of Afghan women that they are in Afghanistan and denied for their rights,” she said. “And also it’s very special for all of us to get back together after three years, leaving everything and losing everything back home in Afghanistan”It’s going to be very exciting for all of us to play together. We had couple of camps together, but it’s going to be our first match. We’re looking for a win.”Australia currently do not play Afghanistan in bilateral fixtures but continue to face them in ICC events and are in the same group for next month’s Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the UAE.

RCB batter says it hasn’t been a conscious decision to bat at a higher tempo this IPL season

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Apr-20241:01

Kohli’s form ‘never in doubt’ – Wasim Jaffer

Virat Kohli is scoring at a strike rate of 146 in this year’s IPL. Only once has he ever scored quicker and that was in 2016 when he was the kind of form where he was threatening the 1000-run mark. Is this a conscious effort? Is he trying to bat differently, more aggressively?”Look I’m not coming with any premeditation,” Kohli said after making the first century of the 2024 season that took Royal Challengers Bangalore to a total of 183 on a Jaipur pitch that was on the slower side. “Whatever the surface allows me to do, I do that. Today I wasn’t 20 off 9. I was 12 off 10.”Kohli has seemed more willing to take risks, particularly looking to hit over the top to find boundaries. He is lofting more balls per innings this year than in any of the last 10. But he is putting that down to his usual process of assessing the game in front of him and knowing that if the need arises he can go big whenever he wants.”So I knew I can’t go over-aggressive. I don’t want to be predictable. I know I can step up at any point because I’m hitting the ball well. But I want to keep the bowler guessing as to what I’m going to do. They probably want me to come hard at them so they can get me out or have an early breakthrough. But I feel like if I’m set and if I bat beyond six overs, then our chance of getting good totals becomes that much better. So I guess it is just experience and maturity over the years and understanding the conditions that you’re playing. I basically play the conditions and I have the game ready to play in two or three different ways.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Kohli’s century on Saturday night was the eighth of his IPL career, two clear of any other batter in the history of the tournament. He needed 67 balls to get there though, which makes it the joint-slowest. Kohli explained that it was not easy to hit the shots that he wanted to hit because of the lack of pace and bounce, which the Rajasthan Royals spinners used to their advantage to finish with combined figures of 8-0-62-2.”Nothing really came onto the bat. Even a few shots that I tried to play against Yuzvendra Chahal, just trying to slog him, they kept going under the bat. Even R Ashwin, it just felt like you couldn’t get under the carrom ball to hit over midwicket. All you could target was straight if they missed their length. So if you’re consistent enough, the batters were finding it difficult out there.”The wicket feels like its flat but as soon as you see the ball holding up in the pitch, that’s when you realise the pace is changing pretty quickly and then the big dimensions of the ground come into play. Our target initially was 190, 195, to be honest. But then assessing the pitch and how it was slowing down, we decided if one of Faf [du Plessis] or me get out, then the other had to bat till the end so that we can get that boost closer to 180-185, which we did, which I feel is a very effective total on this pitch.”Kohli has contributed 38% of all of RCB’s runs this season. He holds the Orange Cap with a tally of 316 from five innings and has now crossed 7500 runs in the IPL,