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Brendon McCullum moves past the World Cup with a very fine side still intact, the task is now to prove those heady seven weeks at home do not come to be viewed as their peak

Andrew McGlashan08-Jun-2015During one of the intervals of the Lord’s Test last month, there was a captaincy debate aired on between Shane Warne, Ian Smith and Michael Atherton. The conversation, naturally, included much reference to Brendon McCullum and at one point Smith became particularly impassioned, jabbing his finger in the air. The gist of his point, without wanting to misquote, was that McCullum would be remembered as a great captain because he had reinvented, and therefore helped revive, the 50-over format.There can be no doubting the legacy he and his team left during the World Cup, even though they were out-gunned by the equally aggressive Australians at the MCG. Packed slips cordons, the endless push for wickets, almost a refusal to look away from the strike-bowlers and an unbridled aggression with the bat led by McCullum (although that bubble was pricked by Mitchell Starc’s opening over at the MCG when McCullum’s duck led to a more inhibited display) ensured there was rarely a dull moment.Ricky Ponting could rightly argue that his Australian team that won the 2003 and 2007 World Cups played that style of cricket, but they were an established as a cricket powerhouse. With McCullum, and New Zealand, there remains – with no disrespect meant – the feel-good story of the little guys who (so nearly) ruled the world.The bounce that New Zealand were given by that tournament – and also the lead-up during which they forged the identity that has now become their trademark – was continued last week at Headingley when they showed their character in recovering from what could have been a debilitating loss at Lord’s.Shortly after victory at Headingley the news emerged that New Zealand Cricket were in discussions – which are likely to come to fruition – to remove one the scheduled three Tests they were due to host against Australia next February and replace it with a three-match Chappell-Hadlee one-day series. In a breath, there is the conundrum facing them: on one hand they have built arguably their greatest Test team that should be given as many opportunities as possible, yet on the other the 50-over format, which captured a nation earlier this year, remains their lifeblood.Two-and-a-half months on from the moment Grant Elliott wrote himself a place in New Zealand sporting history, with the six over long-on against Dale Steyn to win that extraordinary semi-final at Eden Park, they return to white-ball cricket for the five-match series against England.There are three enforced absentees from the World Cup squad. Daniel Vettori, a significant loss to the one-day side, has retired along with Kyle Mills, while Adam Milne, the fast bowler with a brittle body, has again been struck by injury. A full-strength XI would include just one change from the tournament, with a spinner needed to replace Vettori, although there is likely to be some rotation among the pace bowlers.

England did come out on top in the Champions Trophy fixture in Cardiff in the last 50-over meeting of these sides in the UK

Vettori has left big shoes to fill. He enjoyed a wonderful swansong, taking 15 wickets in the World Cup with an economy rate of 4.04, and pushed himself to breaking point to limp through the final. Who can forget the hang time on that catch at third man against West Indies? In the hierarchy, his place would go to Nathan McCullum, the offspinning allrounder, who has always proved a capable understudy – or partner – for Vettori. But at 34 he is not one for the future.Mitchell Santner, a left-handed batsman and left-arm spinner, is one of two uncapped players in the squad and may yet push McCullum. Not much should be written into his spell against a weakened Leicestershire team, but he did find purchase off a pitch not known for spin. “It’s nice to have a left-arm spinner who turns it,” is the tongue-in-cheek talk from the New Zealand camp. But currently Santner is viewed as a batsman who bowls and made 94 batting at No. 3 in New Zealand’s first-class warm-up for the Test series at Taunton.Elsewhere there will be plenty of familiarity about the New Zealand line-up. When Corey Anderson is fit, the top order will replicate that of the World Cup; the outright aggression of Brendon McCullum merged with accumulation of Kane Williamson and Elliott, then the later punch that Luke Ronchi, despite a lean World Cup, can provide. It will be interesting to see how they play should the ball nip around under lights or on a cloudy English day, but given they batted at a one-day tempo in the Headingley Test they are unlikely to move away from their script. But Williamson becomes key as an anchor.New Zealand have every right to start this series as considerable favourites, and not just because they reached the World Cup final and demolished England in Wellington on their way as Tim Southee dismantled them with 7 for 33. They have a commendable record on English soil: since the turn of the millennium they have won a triangular series in 2004, and the bilateral series in both 2008, which involved angry scenes at The Oval involving Elliott’s run out, and 2013. That latter series included Martin Guptill’s unbeaten 189 at the Ageas Bowl, which was New Zealand’s highest individual ODI score until Guptill broke his own record, with 237 not out, in the World Cup quarter-final against West Indies.But England did come out on top in the Champions Trophy fixture in Cardiff in the last 50-over meeting on home soil but the most recent clash, on February 20 at the Cake Tin, saw them thrashed in a match that lasted just 45 overs as McCullum slammed 77 off 25 balls to follow Southee’s haul. At 33, McCullum is highly unlikely be around for the next World Cup. The 2017 Champions Trophy in England is a potential finale for him if the body can last two more years, with perhaps Test cricket being shelved first.For McCullum and New Zealand, the challenge to prove that those heady seven weeks at home do not come to be viewed as the peak of a very fine team starts now.

The more desperate Rohit Sharma got for a Test cap, the further it slipped from his grasp. But when he did get his chance, Rohit showed no anxiety, working hard for his runs and playing astutely against the West Indies bowlers

Sidharth Monga at Eden Gardens07-Nov-2013Rohit Sharma got his first taste of Test cricket’s quirks two days before his debut. He didn’t even know back then that he would be debuting at Eden Gardens – he merely wanted to look at the pitch on which he could be batting in two days’ time. It’s something you don’t do in ODIs or T20s; only in Tests do you start thinking about the pitch so much in advance. Eden’s eccentric chief groundsman, Prabir Mukherjee, intercepted Rohit, told him off and, when Rohit protested, pointed to an old sign – dangling at 90 degrees – that said only captains and coaches were allowed to inspect the pitch.You can see how Test cricket’s traditions and rituals, and the recently heightened stature because of the threat from shorter formats, can make it feel like a monster to some of the youngsters. While succeeding in Test cricket is no longer necessary to make a lavish living out of the game, it has in a way become even more important for youngsters to succeed in Tests, as if to prove their love for cricket.Especially for someone like Rohit. He holds the record for the most ODIs before Test debut. And, in Rohit’s case, the more desperate he got, the further the Test cap receded from his grasp. He was injured minutes before what was to be his Test debut against South Africa in February 2010, then travelled the world with the squad before eventually losing his place because of his ODI form. He was unfairly ridiculed and dropped based on his ODI form, although he averaged much higher in first-class cricket than he did in the domestic limited-overs formats. Ironically, he had put in his third Man-of-the-Series performance in ODIs to get this chance.So here he was, two days after hitting seven sixes in 18 balls in his ODI double-century, being put in his place by a veteran groundsman. He would redefine his place soon.The debut came about just in time for him to come face to face with what has been the reality of Test cricket in India. He walked out to the deafening collective silence of over 30,000 spectators because Tendulkar had just been dismissed. The opposition was at its most charged up, another wicket soon fell, and India were 151 behind with five wickets down and due to bat last.The pressure had mounted, there was no release shot available, and Shane Shillingford, who had taken four wickets, was pretty accurate. Fine leg, deep midwicket, deepish mid-on, short midwicket and two short legs complemented the turn Shillingford was getting into the pads. He left third man and point open, asking Rohit to take the risk of cutting bouncing offbreaks if he so wished.Even getting desperate for a single would have involved some risk. For the first 12 balls he faced, he didn’t get a delivery that would give him a free single. The previous 12 balls he had faced, at that ODI in Bangalore, had yielded four sixes and 35 runs. He might even have felt that Test cricket was really a monster. Ever since he found success at the top of the ODI order, he has been insisting that it was just the start. He was in the right frame of mind to play cricket, any cricket.There was no anxiety over scoring, no itching to find release; and he waited for the loose ball, which, when it arrived on the hip, he glanced it to fine-leg for four. It was not an easy pitch, he said, and it was imperative that Shillingford be played off. Rohit’s partners – MS Dhoni and R Ashwin – were great help. Unlike the West Indies batsmen on day one, they kept working the singles, not letting the bowler build pressure on just the one batsman. As time passed, the bowlers tired, the field eased, the deficit decreased. All gradually, and at its own pace.Rohit said he knew Test runs won’t come easy. “Runs don’t come so easily in Tests,” he said after the day’s play. “You must have seen, I only played 150 balls to get a 200 in that ODI, but here I’ve played 220-something balls to get 127. So this shows Test cricket is not easy, you’ve got to work your way around and score your runs.”He was prepared to work hard. If along the way a ball presented itself to be hit, he would play some of his special shots, like the flick past midwicket off Darren Sammy, which flew away in no time to the boundary. The first time he lofted the ball he had already reached 72, India were already in the lead, and the ball was 80 overs old and not bouncing alarmingly. The joy on his face when he reached the fifty, followed by an elaborate acknowledgement to every gallery of the ground, told you how much it meant to him when the Test chance finally arrived. Something also seemed to be saying, “This is just the start.”Rohit might have brought up the hundred through an edge, but it brought massive relief. You could see he almost wanted to remove the gloves and sit down in the middle and just savour the moment. And nobody can stop him from looking at that pitch now, because he is still batting on it. Maybe Test cricket is not such a monster after all.

The former Pakistan allrounder enjoyed his first taste of the IPL when he turned out for the Kings XI Punjab this year

Interview by Jack Wilson02-Jun-2012Your first IPL is over. A good one for you even though your side, Kings XI Punjab, just fell short of the playoffs. How did you find it?
I’m pleased with my performance in my first IPL, but I have been playing good cricket for the last few years now, in England, New Zealand and Bangladesh. You’re always learning as a player, and although I’m 37 now it doesn’t mean you just stop all of a sudden. You’re always finding stuff out about the game.The experience has been brilliant, unbelievable. The atmosphere was great, and everywhere you go – home and away – you’re playing in front of full houses. The crowd is always loud and the fans are very passionate. Playing cricket in India is always incredible as they love the game so much.I see playing as a bit like being an actor. As an actor you want people to come and see your film and that’s just what it’s like as a cricketer. The more people that come, the more it inspires me to do better and better. The packed houses gave me energy, which I thrived on. I play best in that kind of environment.Kings XI’s performances picked up once you got into the country after missing the first five games with your visa problems. Do you think about how well the team might have done if you had joined the side that little bit earlier?
We could have made the playoffs, but saying we would have if I’d arrived earlier is just ifs and buts – you can’t reflect on what might have been. It was frustrating to miss out on a few games and I was relieved when I took to the field in the first game. As a side we played some good cricket and I had a wonderful time playing under Gilly [Adam Gilchrist]. We all know what he can do on the field as he’s been a terrific player for many years, but off the field he’s a great human being too. He made it a happy team to be a part of and as a group we were very close, which helps when it comes to playing out on the field.You ended up as one of the IPL’s best allrounders, with 186 runs at an average of 23.25 and 14 wickets at 23.5. Your economy was under eight too. Your contract was for one year but are you hopeful of getting back out there in 2013?
[] Hopefully, yes. I signed a one-year contract and I think they might want to try and keep me. It depends when we can negotiate a deal but Kings XI have the first right to keep me in their squad. After having such a good tournament, people want me, and I want to go out there and play again as I loved every single minute of it. They seemed to love me too, and I enjoyed being a part of their side. Allrounders are so valuable to the balance of the team, so hopefully we can sort something out.I’m at the age now where I want to be playing cricket. I would much prefer to play and show what I can do than go somewhere and get paid the money and not play any games.

“I see playing as a bit like being an actor. As an actor you want people to come and see your film and that’s just what it’s like as a cricketer. The more people that come, the more it inspires me to do better and better”

Chris Gayle made headlines for his batting but you picked up his wicket when you played the Royal Challengers Bangalore. It’s the toughest question of all: how do you stop him?
He’s a remarkable player, and he’s shown that, but I know how to dry up his runs. I’ve bowled against him in the Bangladesh Premier League and in the IPL, and he’s hit me for just one four. It’s not easy but I know his strengths and I know his weaknesses, and when I bowl to his weaknesses, I know I can win the battle.He doesn’t try and hit every single ball. He picks the ones he wants to go for. He doesn’t go from ball one, like some of the other batsmen.How about solving one of the IPL’s other mysteries – picking Sunil Narine. You didn’t get to face him but what did you make of his performance for the Kolkata Knight Riders?
I don’t think anyone can argue that he’s a terrific talent. On a turning wicket he’s basically unplayable. I stood behind the nets and watched him and I couldn’t pick him at all. He can turn the ball both ways. I’m looking forward to seeing him in international cricket. There’s no doubt that he is some kind of special talent who can go a long way in the game. It will be interesting to see how he goes. Some people might think he will fade out like Ajantha Mendis, but I think he might be different.You went over to the IPL as an Englishman but there were relatively few of you out there. Owais Shah and Kevin Pietersen were the exceptions. Do you think more will follow as time goes by?
It’s a tough one. It’d be nice to see more English players out there but that might not happen because of the international schedule, which is a shame. KP was amazing out in India. He made a stunning hundred, but he’s been playing good cricket for a while now for England. The fans love him too.

Tendulkar and Laxman’s contributions helped India save the Test and will rank among their more significant

Cricinfo staff13-Oct-2008
Between them, Tendulkar and Laxman scored only 91 runs but they blunted Australia’s attack for 268 balls and spent nearly six hours at the crease © Getty Images
In time, the innings played by Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman today will be forgotten among their more glamorous conquests. It shouldn’t be so; their contributions, though humble in purely numerical terms, are immense when seen in context – they helped India save the Test – and will rank among their more significant.Tendulkar is the elephant in the fourth-innings room. His repeated failures in the final leg of a Test have forced admirers to look towards Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag for a saviour. He averages 33.60 in the final innings with three half-centuries. His hundreds are so rare that they are easily recalled: Old Trafford 1990, Chennai 1999.Tendulkar had started the tour of Sri Lanka needing 172 runs to break Brian Lara’s record but after six innings he was still 77 short. He wasn’t clueless against Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan, like some of his team-mates, for he often began confidently only to get out in unorthodox ways or to soft shots. It was the same in the first innings in Bangalore, when a spooned drive to short cover off a slower ball brought about his dismissal.The situation when he walked out this morning hinted at India’s bugbear: a calamitous final-day collapse. Sehwag and Dravid had been dismissed and 74.3 overs remained. Tendulkar received his routine rousing welcome from the crowd but the half-empty ground, on a day when he needed only 64 runs to become Test cricket’s leading run-scorer, was perhaps a sign of the times. If this was 1998, the Chinnaswamy Stadium would have been packed, irrespective of it being a Monday.Tendulkar did not face Stuart Clark in the first innings. When he did in the second, Clark had Haddin stand up to the stumps, a tactic he used successfully in Sydney. Tendulkar was immediately bowled on that occasion while coming forward but today he negotiated Clark primarily from his crease, using his wrists to open the face and steer the ball through point for his first boundary.Mitchell Johnson operated with the first-innings trap in place: a slip, two men at short cover and a point waiting for the lofted drive or the outside edge. Tendulkar was able to slip right through it, square-driving his first ball from Johnson through point for four. He then fended a couple of short balls awkwardly towards leg gully but, when Ponting moved himself into that position, Tendulkar found other ways to counter that line of attack.Apart from one ambitious appeal from Michael Clarke, the bowlers barely had a chance against him. His three-hour vigil spanned the decisive passage of play – the post-lunch session – and included partnerships with Gautam Gambhir and Laxman that virtually ensured India’s safety.The Australians don’t sledge Tendulkar because they think it fires him up. Watson, though, had a go at Laxman after bowling several short balls. Laxman didn’t respond but Tendulkar walked towards Watson and had a word. He was in a mood for battle.Tendulkar’s well-knit innings began to fray as the light deteriorated during the final session. He played out 11 balls on 48 and talked with umpires, presumably about the conditions. His concentration lapsed moments later and a lofted drive to cover gave the debutant Cameron White his first wicket. His contribution was immense but he had left the job of saving the Test, and the quest for the world record, incomplete.Until then Laxman had batted in Tendulkar’s shadow but now he was critical to India’s chances. He had found scoring opportunities difficult against a strong leg-side field in the first innings. They remained hard to come by in the second for Ponting had two men at short midwicket, a leg gully, a silly mid-on, a conventional mid-on, and a square leg at various times but patience underlined Laxman’s approach.He wore down the fast bowlers with terrific defence and, once the fading light ensured only the spinners could operate, Laxman was at ease. Four men hovered around the bat – leg slip, first slip, silly point and short leg – for Clarke and White but Laxman’s supple wrists and swift footwork nullified the threat.Between them, Tendulkar and Laxman scored only 91 runs but they blunted Australia’s attack for 268 balls and spent nearly six hours at the crease. Their gritty, unfashionably restrained efforts are the reason why the series is still level.

The CA Green vs CA Gold match had been organised to provide more red-ball cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Mar-2024Alana King and Heather Graham nearly bowled CA Green to victory over CA Gold in the red-ball fixture in Adelaide as the bowlers had a say on the final day in a match that had previously been dominated by the bat, including a double century for Georgia Voll.The game, aimed at providing more red-ball exposure, ended in a draw with CA Gold having been set 265 after dismissing Green for 259. They were 173 for 7 with Emma de Broughe, who scored a century in the first innings, unbeaten on 86 after King and Graham had shared seven wickets to run through the middle order.The first two days at Karen Rolton Oval had been heavily in favour of the batters as Voll hit an unbeaten 200 from 238 balls for CA Green which was followed by centuries for de Broughe, who was named Young Player of the Year at this year’s CA awards, and Nicole Faltum.”I haven’t faced a red ball since I was 12,” Voll, who averaged 41.72 in this season’s WNCL, said after the opening day. “It was nice to get the opportunity to face a red ball and face the girls for a long period of time and test my skills.”I didn’t want to change the way I play too much because I’ve been pretty happy with the way I’ve been playing in the WNCL in the back end of the year. So I wanted to play the same style but just do it for longer.”Late on the second day, Gabby Sutcliffe claimed three wickets to open up the contest and on the final morning Darcie Brown made further inroads including Voll for 56. When Brown removed Maddy Darke for a duck three balls later, Green were 104 for 5 and only ahead by 109. King and Chloe Piparo, who scored a half-century in each innings, extended the advantage with King eventually being last out for 81.King, who will head to Bangladesh on Saturday with the Australia squad, was then among the wickets in the second innings while Graham helped give CA Green a chance of victory when she removed Sianna Ginger and Amanda-Jade Wellington.

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Além da confusão no entorno do Mangueirão, onde dois torcedores do Corinthians foram atingidos por rojões, a organização para a entrada dos visitantes para o jogo contra o Remo, realizado na cidade de Belém, no Pará, também registrou problemas. A capacidade total foi ocupada e impediu até mesmo que corintianos com ingressos em mãos entrassem no local da partida. Cerca de 40 mil pessoas estiveram por lá.

De acordo com informações levantadas pela reportagem, essa confusão era prevista por conta do movimento contrário à divisão do estádio, como aconteceu em encontros entre o Remo e outros clubes da elite do futebol nacional em outros anos. Apenas 10% da carga foi disponibilizada para a Fiel.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasCorinthiansTorcedores do Corinthians são feridos com rojões antes do jogo contra o Remo pela Copa do BrasilCorinthians13/04/2023CorinthiansCássio reconhece jogo ruim do Corinthians, mas afirma: ‘Temos condições de reverter’Corinthians12/04/2023CorinthiansATUAÇÕES: Lázaro erra nas escolhas, Corinthians sofre pane coletiva e se complica na Copa do BrasilCorinthians12/04/2023

+Lázaro erra nas escolhas, Corinthians sofre pane coletiva e se complica na Copa do Brasil

Outro problema foram os altos valores cobrados inicialmente aos visitantes, que foram impedidos pelos órgãos regulamentadores. Por fim, as mudanças de preço causaram confusões e a quantia cobrada, mesmo assim, foi considerada alta: R$ 200.

Em contato com o LANCE!, o presidente do Remo, Fábio Bentes, garantiu que a carga de ingressos vendida foi abaixo da lotação do estádio. O mandatário disse que o clube sempre foi contrário a decisão de barrar os torcedores e confirmou que a instituição abriu um Boletim de Ocorrência para que a Polícia Civil apure o ocorrido.

– Temos tranquilidade em afirmar que a carga vendida para o jogo hoje foi abaixo da lotação do estádio. Tinham espaços, principalmente nas cadeiras, dos dois lados, também nas arquibancadas. Tivemos a preocupação de fazer os espaços ao receber as informações que os portões tinham sido fechados. A decisão não partiu do clube e somos contra essa decisão. Registramos um boletim de ocorrência e pedimos que a Polícia Civil apure o ocorrido – disse Fábio Bentes em pronunciamento.

O presidente do Leão também alega que a torcida corintiana ocupou parte da arquibancadaque não estava prevista.

-Houve situação de ocupação de parte da arquibancada pela torcida do Corinthians que não estava prevista. Queremos entender como isso foi autorizado. Até então, os 10% mínimos do visitante estavam previstos para ficarem na cadeira B, e foram direcionados para a arquibancada sem a nossa concordância – explicou Fábio Santos

Em campo, o Remo dominou o Corinthians e venceu por 2 a 0, com gols marcados por Richard Franco e Muriqui. O confronto de volta acontecerá no próximo dia 26 de abril, na Neo Química Arena, em São Paulo. O Leão pode perder por até um gol de diferença para ficar com a classificação às oitavas de final da Copa do Brasil. Em caso de triunfo por dois gols do Timão, a decisão irá para os pênaltis.

اتخذ نادي نيس الفرنسي قرارًا بشأن المحترف المصري محمد عبد المنعم، فيما يخص قائمة الفريق في بطولة الدوري الأوروبي، موسم 2025/26، مرحلة الدوري.

وأجرى الاتحاد الأوروبي لكرة القدم، يويفا، مراسم قرعة مرحلة الدوري من بطولة الدوري الأوروبي، الموسم الجديد، يوم الجمعة الماضي.

وأسفرت القرعة عن 8 متنافسين لـ نيس في تلك المرحلة من البطولة، وهم: “روما، بورتو، براجا، فناربخشة، فرايبورج، لودوجورتس، جو أهيد إيجلز، سيلتا فيجو”.

وأرسل نيس قائمة الفريق المستدعاة للمشاركة في مرحلة الدوري من الدوري الأوروبي، لـ يويفا، حيث شهدت استبعاد محمد عبد المنعم.

اقرأ أيضًا.. هل يعود محمد عبد المنعم إلى الأهلي بعد إصابة الصليبي؟

وتعرض محمد عبد المنعم لإصابة بقطع في الرباط الصليبي في أبريل الماضي، ولم تُحدد مدة غيابه حيث يتوقف الأمر على تعافيه التام، ولكن يبدو أن نيس شعر أنه لن يكون لائقًا حتى نهاية مرحلة الدوري من البطولة، ليقرر استبعاده.

وفي حال تأهل نيس إلى دور الـ16، يمكن للنادي تحديث قائمته بإضافة 3 لاعبين كحد أقصى، حسب قواعد يويفا، ومن ثم يمكنه إدراج محمد عبد المنعم في ذلك الوقت إذا كان جاهزًا للمشاركة.

وانضم محمد عبد المنعم إلى نيس قادمًا من الأهلي، في أغسطس 2024، وشارك في 18 مباريات في مختلف المسابقات مع الفريق الفرنسي.

Glamorgan 370 for 3 (Northeast 186*, Carlson 77, Root 67) vs MiddlesexIn a dank start to the year, few would be able to state with any confidence that they’ve yet heard their first cuckoo of spring. But cock an ear to the shires on this cold grey day in April, and you’d hear loud and clear the mocking laugh of the Kookaburra – an invasive species in these parts, and one that’s been flown in direct from the Antipodes to disrupt the habitat of county cricket’s native seamers.By the close, Glamorgan’s own man from the south east, Sam Northeast, was laughing longest and loudest. Ashford in Kent is not quite so far flung as the Eucalypt forests of Queensland, but for Middlesex’s toiling bowlers, Northeast might as well have been Ricky Ponting at the Gabba in 2002-03, for all the effortless dominance he exerted after being handed first use of a characteristically flat Lord’s deck.For it was a case of four washouts and one wipeout on the opening day of the 2024 County Championship. The legendary status of the Lord’s drainage meant that London’s morning downpours were never likely to cause the issues encountered at Derby or Old Trafford, but when Toby Roland-Jones won the toss for Middlesex and chose to bowl first, he could not have envisaged a first-day scoreline of 370 for 3 grinning back at him, or that his incorrectly calling counterpart would be sitting pretty on 186 not out from 266 balls.Perhaps, like Nasser Hussain in that fateful Brisbane Test 20 years ago, TRJ’s was an instinctively defensive decision, borne of his team’s memories – almost exactly a year ago to the day – of being reduced to 4 for 4 by Essex’s Jamie Porter and Sam Cook. More likely, though, it was an unthinking assumption that the ball, any ball, would do enough talking to fast-track Middlesex’s bid for an instant return to the top flight.Not so fast. Although the impact was more apparent at Lord’s than elsewhere, if you squinted through the clouds that enveloped this first day of county action, a common theme emerged, with many of the contests reflecting precisely the type of clear-skied Ashes scoreline that this ball-switching experiment has been designed to do away with – a smattering of breakthroughs within the first 15 or so overs, including Ethan Bamber’s snicking-off of Zain-ul-Hassan for this year’s maiden Championship wicket, then scant reward and a lot of hard yakka thereafter.Billy Root notched a fifty after moving up to open the batting•PA Photos/Getty Images

Both Billy Root and Kiran Carlson might have had designs on centuries of their own when each fell to a glaring misjudgement – with Root’s waft across the line to a decent deck-hitting delivery from Henry Brookes giving Middlesex’s new signing his first and only scalp in 12 energetic but under-threatening overs.Northeast did had a moment of luck on 11, when Max Holden spilled him at backward point off Bamber, but he could hardly have made it count with more aplomb. With a short boundary down the hill to the Mound Stand, he peppered his drives as the shine went off the ball and the Kookaburra’s more slender seam resolutely refused to grip.Notwithstanding a schoolboy hundred for Harrow versus Eton in 2007 (when Gary Ballance, no less, had been a team-mate), in three previous Championship matches at Lord’s, dating back to his first-ball duck for Kent as a 21-year-old in 2011, Northeast had mustered a total of 50 runs at 10.00. Now, en route to what he later described as a “bucket-list” century, he rushed past that total from just 51 balls in a joyous spring offensive. At the other end, Root was scarcely any more sluggish in getting to his fifty from 63 balls, in a second-wicket stand of 129.And, in a direct rebuttal of one of the most pervasive pre-season narratives, by mid-afternoon, the home attack was being carried by the unlikely spin twins of Josh De Caires and Leus du Plooy, a man who might already be feeling a touch of buyer’s remorse after his high-profile move from Derbyshire. Du Plooy even found some purchase in his six exploratory overs, including a snorter that bit past the outside edge to clip the back pad, but it wasn’t enough to dislodge a free-flowing Glamorgan captain.By the time he’d flicked the under-used Ryan Higgins off his toes for the 26th and final four, Northeast had romped along to 179 from 241 balls, and with almost an hour of the day still remaining, he seemed odds-on to rack up a remarkable first-day double-hundred.Instead, with the second Kookaburra offering perhaps just a fraction more assistance than the first, he took his foot off the throttle as the close approached – as is the wont of a man who, two seasons ago, racked up the Championship’s most recent quadruple-century. At the rate this innings has progressed, and with the new ball already primed for its mid-life crisis at the age of 16 overs, there’ll be plenty more where those have already come from.”I plan to be very greedy on day two,” Northeast said at the close. “It’s been a fantastic day and I’m not sure we could have dreamt of it this morning. I want to lead from the front, so it is a nice way to start that, but I’d like to be walking away from here with a victory, that’s the most important thing.”It’s been a good toss to lose at the minute. I would have had a bowl as well, but that’s the way things go. We’ll see what it’s like when our bowlers get on it. We were expecting the wicket to do a little bit more, maybe that is the Kookaburra ball. We may have to get a bit imaginative with how we go about things.”Brookes added: “The Kookaburra is different. You don’t get as much movement and the ball doesn’t stay as hard for as long, but it’s here to stay for a few games this year so we have to work hard with it, see what movement we can get and do things a little bit differently.”

Upul Tharanga, the former Sri Lankan opener, has been appointed as the new chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) selection committee, the board has confirmed. He will head a five-member committee which includes Ajantha Mendis, Indika de Saram, Tharanga Paranavitana and Dilruwan Perera.The move comes in the wake of Sri Lanka’s underwhelming 2023 World Cup campaign, which had them win only two out of nine games and subsequently miss out on qualification for the 2025 Champions Trophy.Their first assignment will be picking the squad for Sri Lanka’s home series against Zimbabwe in January, which will be followed by a series against Afghanistan. In the medium term they will be keeping a keen eye on the T20 World Cup in June.The new committee, which will be in place for a two-year term, is among the youngest ever appointed to such a post at SLC. While de Saram at 50 is the oldest of the lot, Paranavitana and Dilruwan are both 41, with Tharanga and Mendis younger still at 38.Tharanga, Dilruwan and de Saram also turned out to play first-class cricket as recently as this year. Paranavitana meanwhile last played domestically in 2020, having retired from international cricket that same year, while Mendis has followed up his 2019 retirement by frequenting the legends circuit.The decision over the new committee was taken after SLC had nominated a list of names to Sri Lanka’s newly appointed sports minister Harin Fernando. Under Sri Lanka’s sports law, the sports minister is solely vested with the power to appoint selection committees. It is understood that SLC was in favour of the outgoing committee, headed by Pramodya Wickramasinghe, carrying on in the lead up to next year’s T20 World Cup, however Fernando decided fresh faces were in order.During his tenure, Wickramasinghe had overseen a youth-driven overhaul with several senior players eschewed in favour of a core of younger players. Results of the move were mixed, with Sri Lanka unexpectedly lifting the 2022 T20 Asia Cup, to go alongside home series wins against Australia, South Africa and India. But this was juxtaposed by abject showings in the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups, as well as the 2023 ODI World Cup.As such, much of the discourse surrounding Sri Lanka’s recent form has been striking the right balance between youth and experience, and so this will likely be among the foremost areas set to be addressed by the new committee in picking their first squad.

Dawid Malan says team have “hell of a lot to play for” in remaining group games

Matt Roller31-Oct-2023

England have arrived in Ahmedabad knowing that they must win at least one of their next three games – not only to restore pride but to ensure that they are spared the ignominy of missing the cut for the next global men’s 50-over event in 2025. Failing to mount a challenge for the World Cup is one thing; failing to qualify for the Champions Trophy would be quite another.The England set-up were blindsided when the ICC confirmed on Sunday that a change in the qualification process had been ratified – but not announced publicly – in November 2021. Pakistan, the hosts, will be joined by the other seven highest finishers at the World Cup, with England dead last after five defeats in six matches.There has been significant institutional change at the ECB in the two years since, with a new chief executive, chair and managing director in place. But realistically, after a seven-year era of unprecedented white-ball success since 2015, the prospect of finishing outside the top eight would not have registered with England’s management.Related

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England play Australia on Saturday before fixtures against Netherlands and Pakistan on November 8 and 11 respectively, and the Netherlands game in Pune already looks like a potential qualification decider. The Dutch have a proud history against England, beating them in the 2009 and 2014 World T20s, and will be desperate to turn them over once more.It is not lost on England’s players that they need to finish this World Cup strongly – even if, with 11 out of 15 squad members aged 30-plus, many of them will not be involved in two years’ time. “People’s jobs are being scrutinised and players’ careers are being scrutinised,” Dawid Malan said on Tuesday. “We have a hell of a lot to play for in the last three.”The last thing you want – if the decision gets made to move on from players – is that we haven’t done well enough to give other players the opportunity in future to play in big tournaments. That’s what you play the game for: you want to be in the Champions Trophy and the World Cup, things like that.”Dawid Malan is England’s leading run-scorer at the World Cup•Getty Images

England are not mathematically out of the World Cup, but their players are realistic about their semi-final prospects. “It’s definitely not going to be a situation where we just go through the motions because we’re potentially out of this World Cup,” Malan said. “We have a lot at stake and a lot of pride for England to be in that Champions Trophy in two years’ time.”Malan told the BBC that, at 36, he is “pretty sure I’ll be done” as an England player before the 2025 Champions Trophy. “It feels a long way away,” he said. “Two years feels a long way away. I am playing as well as I’ve played, but whether that decision is mine or someone else’s, we’ll find out.”Criticism of England has grown with every defeat and Malan found himself playing down various perceived issues: he denied that central contracts had been a major distraction, said that it was “fair” for Eoin Morgan to lay into their underperformance, and suggested it was up to the players to take the heat off head coach Matthew Mott.Malan is England’s leading run-scorer at this tournament with 236 at 39.33, 140 of which came in their only win, against Bangladesh in Dharamshala. “I feel like I am playing well, but just finding ways of getting out,” he said. “We just can’t get anything going with the bat and get a score on the board. I can’t put my finger on it.”He also confirmed recent reports that he will not play in the County Championship for Yorkshire next year. “I’ll probably try and play as much white-ball cricket as I can for the rest of my career,” Malan said. “It’s prioritising spending a bit more time at home because my winters are so busy with internationals or franchise tournaments.”