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Australia are likely to name the in-form top-order batter in Fraser-McGurk and a batting all-rounder in Short rather than any spare bowlers

Alex Malcolm20-May-20242:05

How Jacks, Fraser-McGurk have set the IPL alight

Australia are set to take two travelling reserves to the T20 World Cup with Jake Fraser-McGurk and Matthew Short likely to be named as the 16th and 17th squad members who will join as cover in case of a tournament-ending injury to one of the first-choice 15.Australia’s chair of selectors George Bailey had suggested that Australia would carry just one reserve to the Caribbean when the provisional squad was announced, but they are likely to add a second with the in-form Fraser-McGurk set to be named alongside Short.Related

• Fraser-McGurk did 'turn heads' in T20 World Cup selection debate

• McDonald confident Marsh will be fit to bowl for start of the World Cup

• Takeaways: Why Fraser-McGurk and Smith missed out on T20 World Cup selection

• Stead leaning on 'experience' of NZ squad in absence of official warm-ups ahead of World Cup

• Fraser-McGurk and Smith left out of Australia's T20 World Cup squad, Marsh to captain

They have elected not to add a third frontline spinner as a travelling reserve. Legspinner Tanveer Sangha was with the squad as a reserve at the ODI World Cup last year when Australia had just one specialist spinner but this time Ashton Agar is included in the 15. Sangha is also understood to be managing a hip flexor issue and therefore wasn’t in contention. Left-arm orthodox Matthew Kuhnemann trained with Australia’s non-IPL players in Brisbane in the two camps held over the past fortnight but is yet to play a T20I for Australia despite playing Test and ODI cricket over the past two years.Fraser-McGurk’s omission from the main squad caused a stir given his stunning IPL form with many in Australia and overseas believing he should have been included. He has yet to make his T20I debut and has only played two ODIs. He was not selected in the main squad on the basis that Australia have an established top three in David Warner, Travis Head and captain Mitchell Marsh and that the selectors needed players with more versatility to fill roles outside the first-choice XI. Fraser-McGurk will likely provide cover if one of the top three gets injured during the tournament.Jake Fraser-McGurk made a stunning entrance to the IPL•Associated Press

Short was also unlucky to miss out on a spot in the final 15 having appeared in nine of Australia’s last 14 T20Is and also played in multiple batting roles. He opened in five games having been BBL player of the tournament in back-to-back seasons as an opener but batted at No. 3 once and No. 6 twice as Australia looked to build some middle-order depth. He only bowled his part-time offspin in four of those matches including an over in the powerplay in three of them. He is likely to provide cover for a number of different roles in the squad.Australia have opted not to carry another fast bowler in their reserves as there may be times in the tournament they only play two of the four they selected in the squad. They have the capability of playing two spinners or the extra all-rounder in Cameron Green to lengthen the batting line-up down to No. 8.Spencer Johnson, Xavier Bartlett and Sean Abbott will all be in the UK playing in the T20 Blast during the World Cup and can be flown into the Caribbean more easily than anyone remaining in Australia.Australia’s squad members not involved in the IPL finals will fly to the Caribbean on Thursday for a training camp in Trinidad that will include two practice matches against Namibia and West Indies on May 28 and 30 respectively. There is a potential that Australia will have limited numbers available for those matches with Head, Green, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Glenn Maxwell set for a delayed arrival due to the IPL playoffs not being completed until May 26.But while New Zealand opted not to play any practice matches due to the logistical challenge of having chunks of their squad arrive at different times into the Caribbean, Australia are prepared to play the warm-up games with limited numbers to choose from.A number of their players including, Marsh, Warner, Agar, Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa, Matthew Wade, Nathan Ellis and Josh Inglis have either played no cricket since the end of the Australian domestic summer in March or have played very little cricket in the IPL. Under ICC rules, only players named in the 15-man squad can play in the warm-up fixtures.Marsh, Hazlewood, Inglis, Zampa and Agar have all trained in Brisbane over the past fortnight along with Short. Marsh is understood to have recovered from his hamstring injury but he is still yet to bowl.

Ryan Burl led the way with 3 for 29 as Ireland were bowled out for 114, a total Zimbabwe chased down in 18 overs

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jan-2023Zimbabwe 118 for 5 (Williams 34*, Ballance 30, Tector 2-17) beat Ireland 114 (Delany 24, Burl 3-29, Masakadza 2-13) by five wicketsGary Ballance, playing his first game – and first ever T20I – for his country of birth, marked his Zimbabwe debut with a five-wicket victory against Ireland. Ballance, who had previously played 39 international matches for England, scored 30 off 29 balls, as the hosts chased down 115 with two overs to spare to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.Part-time offspinner Harry Tector surprisingly opened the bowling in Ireland’s defence, having Craig Ervine dropped first ball as Gareth Delany put down a sitter at cover. But Ervine fell only five deliveries later, when he miscued a loft over mid-off to give Tector his first wicket. Two balls later, Mark Adair trapped Tadiwanashe Marumani to leave Zimbabwe on 8 for 2, before Ballance and Wessly Madhevere steadied the innings.They calmly added 35, with Tector cleaning Madhevere up with one that turned in very slightly in the eighth over. By then, Ballance had settled down to go at an easy pace, adding another 28 with Sean Williams, who remained unbeaten on 34. Williams saw the chase through along with Clive Madande, who smashed a quickfire 18.Earlier, only three Ireland batters managed to get into double figures, with Delany’s 24 from No. 8 being the highest contribution in their total of 114. They were 74 for 8 the 15th over, when Delany added 31 – the most for any wicket on the day for the visitors – with Fionn Hand. There were combined contributions from all of Zimbabwe’s bowlers, as Player of the Match Ryan Burl led the way with 3 for 29.Debutant wicketkeeper-batter Stephen Doheny briefly sparkled with 15 from 13 balls, as Burl and Wellington Masakadza, who finished with 2 for 13, ran through Ireland’s middle order. Tendai Chatara and Richard Ngarava also bagged two wickets each, as the Ireland innings ended when Ervine pouched a spectacular catch leaping at extra cover.

The third Test in Melbourne continued despite cases in the wider England squad

AAP27-Dec-2021The New South Wales Government has declared they will do all they can to ensure the SCG’s Ashes Test goes ahead, guaranteeing players won’t be sidelined for a week as close contacts.Cricket Australia were able to breathe a sigh of relief on Tuesday, when all players from Australia and England returned negative PCR tests to COVID-19.That has at least in the short-term put pay to fears of a large outbreak in the England camp, after four non-playing members of their touring party tested positive to the virus.But bigger questions still await Cricket Australia. There had been fears that NSW’s close contact rules would force players into a week of isolation if they were near an infected person in a state that is averaging more than 6000 cases a day.That, in effect, had the potential to immediately kill off the Test if several players were close contacts and asked to isolate for a week under previous rules.However NSW Health’s claims on Tuesday mean that players would be treated the same as they were in Melbourne, and able to play on if they were close contacts.Likewise, NSW health minister Brad Hazzard promised that the Test would be able to go on with minimal issues if a player or further support staff contracted the virus.”The SCG Test is sacred, an important date at the start of the third year of our life with Covid-19,” Hazzard said. “I want to assure the cricket loving public, under our rules any players with exposure to a known case of Covid-19 would be asked to test and isolate only until a negative result was received.”If there are any cases within the teams, their support staff, or families, we will work with the people involved to ensure they are safe, and there is as little disruption to others as possible.”Cricket Australia are also confident they will be able to work with the Tasmanian government to ensure the fifth Test in Hobart goes ahead.Tasmania has had minimal cases of the virus and the threat of players and broadcasters becoming close contacts in Sydney could be an issue.However Tasmania’s willingness to host their first Ashes Test is key, after the state government helped fund a big-money bid to secure the match.Meanwhile the incubation period of Covid-19 means officials still have a nervous wait ahead in coming days to ensure the virus doesn’t spread further in England’s camp.No players had reported any symptoms before their PCR tests on Monday night, and play was able to start uninterrupted on day three in Melbourne.”Players from the Australian and England teams all had PCR Covid-19 Tests after play yesterday and all results have come back negative,” Cricket Australia said in a statement.”The families of both sets of players also had PCR tests yesterday and all returned a negative test. The England team’s support staff and their family members who tested positive after PCR tests yesterday are in isolation.”Australia have so far managed to get almost all matches played on home soil since the start of Covid-19 through its protocols.Only one Test has been postponed – against Afghanistan last summer. A one-day series against New Zealand was also called off when the pandemic first surfaced mid-series.Otherwise the BBL, WBBL and women’s internationals have got through unscathed, with crowds able to attend all major events bar the first closed-door sports event in Australia with an ODI against New Zealand in March 2020.”We’ve seen through the last 18 months [we can get games on],” CA boss Nick Hockley said. “I have to say I am so proud of the work of everybody involved, in particular thank the players but also the governments and health departments across the country. We’re having to learn to live with this.”

The new batting coach believes Misbah-ul-Haq’s time with the batsmen would make his job easier

Danyal Rasool10-Jun-2020Younis Khan said he had been given a “great opportunity” in being offered the role of batting coach for the upcoming tour of England. Khan, who has not worked officially with the PCB since he retired in 2017, will find himself reunited with Misbah-ul-Haq, who retired alongside him after Pakistan completed a historic series victory against the West Indies. This means after almost a year without a batting coach, Pakistan’s batsmen will have Khan to turn to in England on their first tour since the Covid-19 pandemic shut all cricket down.It was that abiding memory of setting off into the sunset with Misbah that Khan chose to draw upon, saying he felt proud Misbah had chosen him for the role ahead of a tour he believed has always been challenging for Pakistan. “Misbah and I left cricket together, and what pleases me most is we left on a winning note by winning in the West Indies for the first time,” he said via a video press conference. “He was captain and I was acting captain in a way, by constantly being in the ear of the bowlers. I would love to start off [from] where we finished in the West Indies.”I’d love to share the dressing room with coaches who were my colleagues in cricket. I’ve played under bowling coach Waqar Younis’ captaincy, as well as under Misbah ul Haq’s captaincy and I was part of a team with Mushtaq Ahmed in the early 2000s. Those who learn from the past and move forward are successful. And we’d like to forget what happened in the past instead of resting on our achievements, and I feel proud to think Misbah chose me to be his partner in the coaching setup and be the side’s batting coach in England.”Misbah’s stratospheric rise at the PCB from retired player to head coach and chief selector after the 2019 World Cup raised concerns he had too much on his plate, particularly in the absence of a batting coach since Grant Flower’s contract was not renewed. That, it was believed, effectively added yet another role Misbah would have to undertake, and there were no signs until now the PCB was looking to appoint someone to fulfil that position. The appointment of Khan is a bespoke one for the England tour, with no word yet on whether a more permanent appointment is imminent.Misbah-ul-Haq is pulled into an embrace by team-mate Younis Khan after being dismissed in his final Test innings•AFP

Khan, however, felt the fact that a batsman of Misbah’s calibre had worked with the side for almost 12 months made his job all the easier. “What is important is I don’t want the players to become double minded or end up giving them conflicting instructions. In the Pakistan batting lineup, Azhar Ali or Asad Shafiq aside, you see a very young team. It wouldn’t help if we confused or over-coached them, and I wouldn’t want to contradict what Misbah has taught them; I’d rather work within what Misbah’s style is and work accordingly.”Currently, I have a great opportunity. Misbah ul Haq has worked with this side for a year. So the fact that a top batsman has worked with these guys for a year makes the job easier for me. A year or so ago, the PCB tried to give Misbah a big responsibility, and now they’ve started to bring in support staff like myself and Mushtaq Ahmed.”This isn’t the first time the PCB has tried to avail the services of Khan, who is the highest run-scorer in Test cricket in Pakistan’s history. Last year, the PCB were in talks with the former batsman that would have seen him take up a role in the Under-19 coaching setup, only for those plans to fall through following disagreements on both finances and job profile. ESPNcricinfo understands the PCB were only willing to give him a role as a coach, while Khan wanted more say in selection. Khan’s relationship with the PCB has been fairly tempestuous over his career, with several high-profile public bust-ups, but it appears, for now, as if the board and the former batsman see eye to eye.”Wasim Khan approached me in a very professional way,” he said. “And I told him whatever my remit was, I needed to know upfront, and I am clear about what my role is. That’s important because you need to know when to speak up and when to step aside. I left the Pakistan captaincy because I asked Ijaz Butt to appoint me captain for the 2011 World Cup. But when it looked like that wasn’t working out, I voluntarily resigned from the captaincy.Younis Khan and Babar Azam added 129 for the third wicket•AFP

“The runs I scored and what I did in my career is over. If I can serve this team well, then that will be a fresh achievement. What’s important is to create a bond with these players. When I got into the side, I was warmly welcomed by a host of great players like Rashid Latif, Saeed Anwar, Inzamam ul Haq, and I want to serve these players and make them feel valuable just as I was made to feel valuable all those years ago. I don’t want there to be an environment where a young player feels there’s a big difference in status between me and them. I’d like to be their guide and role model. That’s the mentality with which I’m approaching this job.”Khan was cognisant of the limited time he had to work with the players, in addition to the extra challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, with social distancing and restrictions on players could meet in person potentially serving as further impediments to full preparation ahead of the England tour.”All sports are struggling and new standard operating procedures are being created. It will be difficult for players, for example, who have got used to shining the ball using saliva and other SOPs that they are not used to. Players at times act instinctively, but as supporting staff, we have an important role. It’s a challenge for me too, because we don’t have much time between now and the England series. Touring England is a challenge for all Pakistan teams, and more so now given we all know the quality England have of late.”I don’t want to make excuses by saying I don’t have enough time, but these are unusual times. Even if you are to engage with players, you need to keep your distance from them and continue to follow SOPs. We couldn’t even conduct our training camp as normal, and even when we travel we will have to keep our distance from other players. I want to try and get my experience across to the players and for them to be able to benefit from it in the short time we have between now and the England tour. Where there’s a will, a lot can be achieved in a very short span of time.”

The KSL has done its job, and the new competition can only make the women’s game stronger, feels Katherine Brunt

Annesha Ghosh in Mumbai28-Feb-20190:33

‘Exciting time for English cricket’ – Taylor

Sarah Taylor and Katherine Brunt, two of England’s most experienced women’s players, have given the thumbs-up to the ECB’s new 100-ball tournament, saying it will only help improve the health of women’s cricket in the country, the scrapping of the Kia Super League (KSL) from 2020 notwithstanding.”I am happy to play any tournament whatsoever,” Taylor told ESPNcricinfo in Mumbai during England’s ODI series against India. “I am not too fussed either way. I think The Hundred’s going to be a brilliant tournament. The amount of work and effort the ECB have put into The Hundred, I think it will be an absolute success.”It will be a lot of fun for us as well. We’ve had some warm-up games played around with it, and we all love it. We think it’s brilliant. We just think it’s going to be an exciting time for English cricket, and we get to have a little bit of fun as well.”Fast bowler Brunt – at 33, the oldest player in the England squad and second only to Taylor in terms of ODI caps – echoed her team-mate’s views on The Hundred. Brunt also emphasised that the format itself would be a good opportunity for female cricketers to hone their skills further after the platform offered by the KSL, where the domestic players rub shoulders with some of the top-drawer internationals.”The KSL has done its job,” Brunt said. “It’s set the platform for T20 cricket in England. It’s had a lot of good exposure. It’s gotten better, year on year. The overseas [players] take it more seriously now. It’s taken as a really good competition to be part of in terms of their development but also learning from the best in the world and playing cricket has been really good.”The Hundred will be a whole new ball game, obviously keeping some of the same traditions. But sounds like I’m going to be pretty tired bowling ten balls! But that’s exciting too.Katherine Brunt celebrates with her team-mates after a wicket•AFP

“Like anything, a lot of it is about taking it head-on, do the best we can and learn from that. I feel it can only improve your cricket: the better you can be in the shorter [format]. It takes a lot of skills to be good at that. And you can take that forward into longer competitions. I’m loving it. I can’t wait for it to start and see what happens with it.”Taylor and Brunt’s views come at a time when the ECB has been firming up plans to implement a new women’s domestic structure from 2020. This would mean that the women would have a 20-over league and a 50-over tournament, in addition to The Hundred.The new competition has been held partly responsible for the extra money set to come into the English game, through the £1.1 billion broadcast deal announced in 2017, and that is likely to be reflected in a much increased pool of professional women. The Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) has been involved in negotiating with the ECB and David Leatherdale, the PCA chief executive, said England’s senior women players were supportive of efforts to spread the wealth.”We’ll obviously see salaries in women’s cricket grow substantially, but they’ve been very open to say it’s not just about them, and if we don’t have a domestic structure that develops who is the next Charlotte Edwards, Heather Knight, etc – they’ve been totally understanding that the structure is key,” he said.While several observers have criticised the ECB’s move to scrap the KSL, which has only recently gained full momentum after coming into existence in 2016-17, Taylor and Brunt’s views align them squarely with that of ECB chief executive Tom Harrison. Last week, he told BBC TMS that the 100-ball tournament, “an optimised short-form cricket”, is a “success already” given the purported interest it has generated among those outside the “traditional cricket bubble”.As with Brunt, who said the biggest contribution of the KSL had been “the exposure it gave our youngsters”, Anya Shrubsole, the England vice-captain, emphasised the KSL’s legacy would be the pool of young talent it created.According to Shrubsole, not only did it improve the health of domestic cricket in the country but it also benefited the national side, as was evident through the influx of players like Sophia Dunkley, the batting allrounder, and left-arm spinner Kirstie Gordon in the World T20 side last November, via the KSL route.”Kirstie came in and performed really well,” Shrubsole said. “She, like many others, will go on to play many games for England. That’s the most important part of the [KSL’s] legacy.”Yes, it will change slightly with the Hundred, but it’s about slowly professionalising the women’s game – not just at the international level but also in England. The KSL started to do that, and I’m sure that’ll be carried forward into the Hundred.”England captain Heather Knight added that The Hundred would ring in “an exciting time” for the women’s game in the country, especially for up-and-coming women’s cricketers aspiring to make it to the England side.”The opportunity for the women’s game is to be put alongside the men’s game and be marketed at the same,” Knight said, “and hopefully it’s going to put the women’s game out there and give it an opportunity to shine.”

This season’s final will be played from December 29, running into the new year

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Dec-2017Indore’s Holkar Stadium will host the Ranji Trophy final for the second year in a row. Last season, it was the venue of Gujarat’s title-winning bout against Mumbai. This season’s final will be played December 29 onwards.

Ranji Trophy knockouts

• 1st semi-final: Bengal v Delhi in Pune

• 2nd semi-final: Karnataka v Vidarbha in Kolkata

• Final: December 29 onwards in Indore

The two semi-finals will be played from December 17 to 21 with Pune playing host to Bengal and Delhi in a televised game, while Karnataka and Vidarbha will face off at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, with the match being available via a live stream.Defending champions Gujarat were knocked out in the quarter-finals this time by Bengal, who took a first-innings lead in the draw in Jaipur. The other three semi-finalists proceeded with the help of wins in the quarter-finals. Delhi beat Madhya Pradesh by seven wickets in Vijayawada, Vidarbha romped past Kerala by a massive 412 runs and Karnataka handed 41-time champions Mumbai an innings defeat in Nagpur.

Queensland were made to work hard by the Cricket Australia XI before emerging with a three-wicket victory in the opening match of the Matador Cup at Allan Border Field

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Oct-2016
ScorecardMatt Renshaw anchored Queensland’s chase with 88 off 109•Getty Images

Queensland were made to work hard by the Cricket Australia XI before emerging with a three-wicket victory in the opening match of the Matador Cup at Allan Border Field.Led by a century from Ryan Gibson, the CA XI posted 5 for 274 after Will Bosisto won the toss and chose to bat first.Bosisto and Gibson added 172 after the loss of two early wickets to underpin the CA XI total. Luke Feldman and Peter George combined for five wickets to prevent the visitors from pushing on to 300.The Bulls’ chase was sustained by Matt Renshaw, who made 88 in a series of partnerships including 80 with Joe Burns. After Renshaw fell to the young NSW spinner Arjun Nair, the new Queensland captain Jason Floros played a commanding hand to settle the contest.He was helped by Michael Neser, ultimately allowing the Bulls to sneak home with three overs to spare.