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Players found picking up ball against white seats “tricky” in warm-up game

Matt Roller24-Jul-2020Ireland have flagged an unusual problem with playing behind closed doors ahead of their three-match ODI series against England next week, after their fielders struggled to pick up the white ball against the backdrop of empty cream-coloured seats in an intra-squad practice match.All three games in the series will be played at the Ageas Bowl, where Ireland and England have been staying since last week. While empty stands did not cause major issues for fielders in England’s Test against West Indies at the ground last month, Ireland’s players found it difficult to see the white ball against the light seats.”The thing that’s a little bit of a concern is the background,” Graham Ford, Ireland’s head coach, said in a virtual press conference on Friday. “The seating is either cream or white, and you’ve got a white ball and an empty stadium, so that background for fielders might be a challenge.”Andy Balbirnie, Ireland’s captain, said that he hoped extra sessions will prepare his fielders for the challenge. “It does take a bit of getting used to, but we’ve got a week of prep and we can make sure that we hone that, and make sure that guys are comfortable and almost getting their eyes in while fielding,” he said. “It can be tricky: a white ball on cream and white seats will be tricky, but we’ve got enough time to make sure we can’t use that as an excuse.”All three games are day-night matches, meaning it will likely only be a problem in the first innings. ESPNcricinfo understands that the ECB has no plans to add dark covers to the seats, and will instead rely on fielders being able to adapt. Hampshire have played a number of one-day games at the ground with only a limited number of fans present.Meanwhile, Ford has laid down a marker for Ireland in saying that it is not enough for them to simply give England a scare. “We’ve certainly shown in the previous ODI at Malahide and in the Test match [last year] that we can give them a fright,” he said. “But that’s not what we want to do: we want to be winners.”There are a few little elements we may have to work on – a few things we might to able to see in terms of the psychological side of it and the pressure they’ve got. It’s a potential banana-skin game for them: they can’t afford to lose to us, and they’ll take a lot of flak if they do.”There’s a few little issues of, perhaps, egos, and things that we can work on, but I wouldn’t want to talk about the things we want to exploit in the media. The most important thing is that we put good basics in place.”Getty Images

Balbirnie admitted that there was “no doubt” that Ireland were “going in as underdogs”, but said that with key players like Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes absent on Test duty, England could be vulnerable if they lost early wickets.”Those two in the middle order have been standout players for England over a number of years,” he said. “They’ve got a really strong top order, and against these big teams early wickets are vital, no matter who you’re playing.”In the first game of the series, it’s a statement if we can take early wickets and really set the ball rolling, but they’ve got a really strong squad here. They’ve played as many games as we have this summer, so we’re going in with a clean slate, and hopefully we’re building momentum nicely towards that first game.”Balbirnie said that he was confident Ireland would be able to cope with the challenge posed by England’s two main spinners, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid, on a relatively slow wicket with big square boundaries. Balbirnie said he had been doing his homework, checking the type of player who has been successful in Hampshire’s one-day games at the ground, and thought that taking pace off the ball would be crucial.”One of the benefits of playing Afghanistan so often [is] you get the opportunity to play against world-class spinners on a regular basis. You learn different things, and learn how to play them in different scenarios. As a squad, we tend to play spin pretty well.”One bowler who may prove crucial to Ireland’s hopes in the series is Josh Little, the 20-year-old left-arm seamer who took 4 for 45 on ODI debut against England last year. England’s batsmen have generally struggled against left-arm seamers in recent years, and Ford said that Little would “certainly be very close” to inclusion for the first ODI.”It’s no good just picking somebody because the opposition have a perceived weakness against that type of bowling,” Ford said, “[but] he’s gone quite nicely. I’d like to see him just step it up a little bit, but it’s nice to know we’ve got that sort of variation to our attack. He’s a really exciting prospect.”Ireland have one more warm-up game to prepare ahead of the first ODI on July 30, against an England Lions XI that will include Eoin Morgan, who was rested for England’s intra-squad warm-up on Friday. They are set to be without Mark Adair for the series, who is yet to bowl at full intensity in training, but Ford is hopeful that Paul Stirling will be fit after missing the intra-squad game with a calf niggle.

England tour might still go ahead if logistical challenges are met

ESPNcricinfo staff14-May-2020Ireland’s men will not play a full international fixture this home summer, after Pakistan and New Zealand’s scheduled tours were postponed at a virtual board meeting on Wednesday.Warren Deutrom, Cricket Ireland’s chief executive, remains hopeful that the three scheduled ODIs against England can go ahead in some form, but said that “numerous challenges [still] have to be resolved” which “will take a little while to work through”. This will be the first Irish summer since 2005 not to feature a full international.New Zealand’s entire European tour has now been postponed, with the scheduled fixtures against Scotland – an ODI and a T20I – also canned following the recent postponement of the planned matches in the Netherlands.”We deeply regret that we can’t provide any international cricket at home to our fans this year, but we were always up against it with our entire home international programme coming in the first half of the season,” Deutrom said.”It had become fairly obvious following the recent series of Government announcements in the Republic and UK that the New Zealand series was not feasible. While of course it’s disappointing for the fans in Northern Ireland who I know were looking forward to the visit of the World Cup runners-up, given the circumstances we entirely understand NZC was left with no choice but to stay at home.”David White, NZC’s CEO, said: “These are extremely difficult times for international cricket and we feel deeply for our friends in the northern hemisphere, whose season has been so badly disrupted. Hopefully, in brighter and less dangerous times, we can return and play the games that have been postponed.”Gus Mackay, Cricket Scotland’s CEO, said: “We are obviously disappointed that New Zealand’s European tour has been postponed, however, it was to be expected under the current circumstances. We will work closely with New Zealand Cricket and look at opportunities in the future when they are next touring Europe.”Pakistan’s two T20Is in Ireland, scheduled for mid-July, were due to take place immediately before their tour to England. Deutrom said that complications regarding government timelines, bio-security, quarantining players and finding a window to fit in around the England series meant that it “just hasn’t been possible to find a way to get the matches played”.ALSO READ: Cautious PCB open to possibility of summer tour of EnglandWasim Khan, the PCB’s CEO, said: “We fully respect and endorse Cricket Ireland’s decision at this difficult time. As we have all reiterated, the safety and security of players, officials and fans comes first. The PCB stands firmly with CI in these difficult times and we look forward to revisiting Ireland again as soon as normal services resume.”Regarding the three-match ODI series in England, initially scheduled for mid-September, Deutrom said that Ireland would “try to be as flexible as possible”, but admitted “numerous challenges have to be resolved” regarding dates, bio-secure venues, and quarantine requirements. “We will continue to work with the ECB on trying to make these fixtures happen, but the issues involved will take a little while to work through.”Deutrom also confirmed that no firm decision has been made regarding the Euro T20 Slam, which was due to start this year after its inaugural season was postponed in 2019. A final call will be taken next month, but with all cricketing activity in Ireland suspended until June and the game feeling the financial strain of the pandemic, it appears unlikely that the competition will be able to go ahead.

But the opener believes spinners from both sides will also have a vital role to play in the Test series

Firdose Moonda in Durban27-Feb-20181:22

Wessels: South Africa will target Smith and Warner

Dean Elgar wants South Africa to unleash all four of their frontline quicks against Australia. The opening batsman has also stressed the need for a slower bowler to change the pace in the upcoming four-Test series.”I’d like to see all the [fast] bowlers play and the spinner,” Elgar said. “I think against Australia you potentially need to slow the game down, which they probably aren’t used to. So a guy like Keshav [Maharaj] has played well against them in the past, so he’ll play a big part in the series. Whether we play more quicks than what we usually do or less is up to the captain, coach and selectors.”The South African squad includes four quicks – Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi – and young allrounder Willem Mulder. While Elgar played down the possibility of a debutant, saying the starting XI for the first Test would likely be “stock standard”. he would like the quartet of quicks to play, thereby continuing the strategy Ottis Gibson has employed since the India series.Gibson is a fast-bowling-minded coach and has changed South Africa’s team composition to a 6-5 balance, with only half-a-dozen specialist batsmen including the wicketkeeper. Previously, during the Gary Kirsten and Russell Domingo eras, South Africa regularly fielded seven specialist batsmen, but towards the end of Domingo’s days shifted slightly to six batsmen, an allrounder, three quicks and a spinner. Gibson also tried the allrounder against Bangladesh but then opted for four out-and-out quicks for the first two Tests against India. The third Test, at the Wanderers in late January, saw four quicks and an allrounder with Maharaj sitting out, further emphasising his penchant for pace power.Given that the Australia series is being talked up as a battle between the two bowling attacks, it might be tempting for South Africa to go in all guns blazing and field five quicks. But on coastal wickets at the end of the summer, which should be slightly slower than usual, Maharaj is almost certain to be included and Elgar believes both he and Nathan Lyon will play a big part in the series.”I think either way they (spinners) are going to have an influence in the Tests, even if it’s holding up an end or trying to be attacking, which some surfaces might allow,” he said. “It is a bit of a battle of the seamers, but there is a world-class spinner in both sides, so it’s going to be exciting Test cricket.”BCCI

The real selection question then is whether South Africa play four quicks alongside Maharaj or if they feel they need to strengthen the batting against an Australian attack even Elgar is talking up. “They’re a vastly developed bowling attack,” Elgar said. “[Mitchell] Starc and [Josh] Hazlewood have been there for many a year and have honed their skills in different formats. Then there’s a guy like [Pat] Cummins who is good for the game because every time he has risen up he got injured. It’s good to see him staying in the game longer than usual.”South Africa have three reserve batsmen in the squad – Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn and Heinrich Klaasen – all of whom have proven themselves. While Bavuma has been injured this year, he played two of his most noteworthy and nuggety innings against Australia in Perth and Hobart on South Africa’s tour in 2016-17, de Bruyn is coming off two big scores – 190 and 83 – in three first-class games earlier this month and Klaasen came to the fore in the limited-overs series against India. Any of the three could slot into the middle order.Bavuma and de Bruyn are probably ahead of Klaasen in the queue but Klaasen’s presence is of particular interest because he is also the reserve wicketkeeper and Quinton de Kock has been out of form and injured. De Kock’s highest score in eight innings across all formats against India was 43 and he was dismissed in single figures four times in six Test innings. He has not scored a Test fifty in 14 innings since July last year and though both coach and captain have given him a vote of confidence, de Kock knows he now has a challenger. But that person, Klaasen, is unlikely to play as soon as the first Test, where South Africa will back their big names to come good.Elgar, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis will form the spine of the line-up and young opener Aiden Markram will have a chance to test himself against a strong attack again. After two hundreds in his first three Tests against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, Makram had one significant score against India in six innings, 94 at SuperSport Park. He was then thrust into ODI leadership and under his watch, South Africa lost the series 5-1, with Markram unable to get past 32 in the series.Gibson has admitted something was amiss with Markram and he was batting unlike the player he had first seen earlier in the summer. Now, he will hope Markram has dealt with the disappointment of his first taste of international captaincy and the dip in his own form and is ready to partner Elgar in giving South Africa strong starts in what is set to be a big series.”It’s very important for him to clear his mind,” Elgar said. “He’s had seven to 10 days off which is potentially good for him given what happened in the ODIs. But Aiden has got a strong head and he will take in a lot of information. It’s important for him to use what info is going to strengthen his game. It’s always tough to see a guy go through that but Aiden is massively talented and is a cricketer for SA’s future. He’ll bounce back. He’s putting in a lot of hard yards. I think he realises he can’t take his talent for granted. It’s almost like you have to overprepare at this level.”

Former West Indies fast bowler Joel Garner, who is one of the directors on the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), has questioned the CARICOM cricket review panel’s suggestion of dissolving the WICB

Nagraj Gollapudi10-Apr-2016Former West Indies fast bowler Joel Garner, currently a director of the WICB, has questioned the CARICOM cricket review panel’s suggestion of dissolving the board and asking all its members to resign. Garner, who is also president of the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA), wondered how some members of the WICB could suddenly be called “illegal” when they were formed according to the individual constitutions of the region’s countries.”My questions are: is the BCA, which was constituted by an act of parliament in 1933, an illegal entity and my selection as president of the BCA an illegal act?” Garner asked while speaking at the association’s quarterly meeting on Thursday. “So I have to ask the question: is the GCB [Guyana Cricket Board] an illegal entity? Is the Jamaica Cricket [Association] an illegal entity? Is the Leeward Islands Cricket Association an illegal entity? Is the Windward Islands Cricket Board an illegal entity? Is the TTCB [Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board] an illegal entity?”If they are so, they have all been established in countries in which the prime ministers are making noise, and they have to tell the public of the region, if these entities are illegal, how they were able to remain vibrant for so long.”The five-member CARICOM panel, comprising V. Eudine Barriteau, Sir Dennis Byron, Dwain Gill, Deryck Murray and Warren Smith, was appointed by the Prime Ministerial Committee on the Governance of West Indies Cricket in response to the crisis that engulfed the WICB after the BCCI suspended bilateral ties and slapped $41.97 million as damages following the West Indies team’s decision to pull out midway through their India tour in 2014. The panel concluded its report in October last year.After extensive discussions and interviews with various stakeholders that included the management of the WICB , the CARICOM panel concluded that the governance structure of the board was obsolete. “There is an inherent and as yet unresolved tension between the evolution of the game of cricket into a powerful, professionally-driven entertainment and sporting industry and a system of governance predicated on an earlier, more simplified set of requirements,” the panel stated. “In this regard, the panel strongly recommends the immediate dissolution of the West Indies Cricket Board and the appointment of an Interim Board whose structure and composition will be radically different from the now proven obsolete governance framework. These two key measures are absolutely necessary in order to transform and modernize the governance, management, administration and the playing of the game.”In its response, the WICB rejected the CARICOM panel’s report in January. According to WICB president Dave Cameron, the panel had not consulted either the six territorial boards – Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana, Leeward Islands and Windward Islands – or its directors, clubs, representatives and, hence, the panel’s findings were not supported by facts.”This [lack of consultations] has caused or triggered findings and recommendations by the panel which are not supported by the facts. The panel made statements and conclusions related to the structure and governance of the WICB, while ignoring the sweeping structural and governance changes which have taken place at the WICB since 2002,” Cameron said.

Hong Kong legspinner Nizakat Khan has been suspended from bowling in international cricket after an ICC panel found his action to be illegal

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jul-2015Hong Kong legspinner Nizakat Khan has been suspended from bowling in international cricket after his action was found to be illegal by an ICC panel at the World T20 Qualifier.Umpires reported his action after Hong Kong’s match against Nepal on July 15. An event bowling action review panel analysis found his elbow to flex beyond the permitted 15 degrees.Nizakat bowled three overs in a five-wicket victory for his side in Stormont. He will now have to undergo an independent assessment at an ICC accredited testing facility and cannot bowl until he is cleared by the ICC.Nizakat, 23, made his Hong Kong debut in 2014 against Nepal. He has picked up four wickets from five T20Is at an average of 17.25 and an economy of 5.30.

With only two matches left and 11 miserable points from six matches, Delhi will attempt to bring all their powers of purpose down on Maharashtra from Saturday at the Roshanara Club in north Delhi

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Dec-2012As the winter in Delhi begins to bite, its Ranji Trophy team has decided it must do the same – with a bullet. With only two matches left and 11 miserable points from six matches, Delhi will attempt to bring all their powers of purpose down on Maharashtra from Saturday at the Roshanara Club in north Delhi. Those powers begin with the fortuitous occurrence of a home ground going into preparation lockdown for an international game against Pakistan. It is why Delhi must move groundstaff, supersopper, catering unit and everything else it needs to play yet another all-or-nothing match on the fastest wicket in the neighbourhood with the promise of a four-man pace attack and a 9:15 start time known usually for freezing fingers in Delhi’s Decembers.Even though the Kotla ODI between India and Pakistan is more than three weeks away, the logistical nightmare of moving from the Kotla to the private Roshanara Club, around 8 km away, will have to be undergone. The grumbling will be kept to the minimum if the move ends up being to Delhi’s eventual advantage, even though Ashish Nehra, their most experienced of quick men, is not on the team roster and Parvinder Awana, their quickest and most successful, finds himself in the Indian dressing room.Instead, said coach Vijay Dahiya, medium-pacer Vikas Tokas had been called into the 15. If he does indeed turn up in the XI, Tokas will make his debut for Delhi after having played two Ranji matches for Railways in 2010-11. He completes the quartet of Delhi quicks being promised to stomp all over the Roshanara Club alongside Pawan Suyal, Pradeep Sangwan and Sumit Narwal. Delhi may be tempted to play five bowlers, including left-arm spinner Vikas Mishra, according to Dahiya, given that they are trying to snatch two outright wins and sneak their way into the knock-outs.Against them will be a batting line-up that has rattled up totals of 764, 315, 333 and 540 and has six centuries, including a triple, from their batsmen in five matches. Yet, Maharashtra do not have a single outright win. Against Tamil Nadu, they were all out for 88 in their second innings in Chennai and beaten by 104 runs. Eight points and many tall totals have come from four draws, from first-innings leads against Vidarbha and Haryana. They may have three group games still left as compared to Delhi’s two, but at the tail-end of the Ranji Trophy, it is only strong and desperate opposition that lies in wait. First Delhi on what the day before the game looked like a green top, and then Baroda and Karnataka. In Group B, given Haryana’s unpredictability, Maharashtra must do all they can to ensure they do not end up hitting the bottom of the points table.

Jacqueline Hey, Cricket Australia’s first-ever female board director, has pledged to do a “damn good job” running the game

Daniel Brettig25-Oct-2012Jacquie Hey, Cricket Australia’s first-ever female board director, has pledged to do a “damn good job” running the game, stating her desire to smooth the path for other women to follow her into what had for 107 years been a pale, stale and male world of cricket governance.Formally sworn in as part of CA’s streamlined board at the AGM on Thursday, Hey joined the Rio Tinto Australia managing director David Peever and the former Colorado Group chief executive Kevin Roberts as fresh sets of eyes in the boardroom. Hey’s background is with Sony Ericsson, while she is currently a director on the boards of Bendigo Bank and SBS.The trio form part of a board that is the result of the Crawford/Carter review of Australian cricket governance, which pushed CA to abandon the tired federal model of a 14-man board that had remained more or less unchanged since 1905.Irrespective of compelling business credentials, it was Hey’s admission as the first female board member that felt most significant, and she acknowledged with some pride that another avenue had now been opened for women.”I’m so proud and privileged and honoured to be given this role,” Hey said. “It’s deep inside me that I really feel how important this is, and how important that I do a damn good job, because I want to make sure that I’m not the first and only, but I’m the first of many women that are involved in administration and board roles in cricket.”There are some at the state level already, which is fantastic. So I’m here, I’m on show and I will do a good job and make sure there are many more women following me.”Hey’s love for the game is deep, fostered by a childhood spent playing beach cricket with her father and brother on the Victorian coast south of Geelong. An avowed lover of Test cricket, she confessed to clearing her schedule at times in order to watch five days of the game’s enduring form, and winced at the memory of Australia’s 2005 Ashes loss when she was working with Ericsson in England – and copping a predictable level of banter.”I think it is important to have the three [formats],” she said. “If I look at myself, I’ve grown up with Test cricket, day one of a Test match, if I’m not at the ground it’s like ‘don’t disturb me, because I’m sitting on my couch and I’m watching’. But I have a son who’s nearly nine, and he doesn’t have the attention span to sit for five days and watch it, but he will love to get involved in T20, the colours and the music and so on. So I think it is really important that we continue to maintain that balance, because there are different cricketing sectors out there who do appreciate different types of the game, and some who appreciate all of them.”The new, nine-person board begins its tenure at a time when CA are negotiating a new round of local media rights. While the incumbent – and cash-strapped – Nine Network has the luxury of an exclusive negotiating period, other suitors may well be found for the Twenty20 Big Bash League. Hey’s background with Ericsson and more recent experience with SBS gives her an insight into the rights issue, especially those in the burgeoning digital field. Previously CA’s digital content was made available through 3 Mobile and Vodafone, but with their sponsorship agreement coming to an end it may be time for a new approach.”I think with sport generally these days, and you can go back a long way, the content has always been the key thing in a digital environment,” Hey said. “So clever companies develop all sorts of websites and all sorts of interactions for ways to deal with customers, but the content has always been at the centre of that.”So I think for CA the challenge, looking at it from the outside in as a technology person, is you own a fabulous amount of content there, so what does CA do with it. They have a large number of options open to them, which I know is something they’re thinking about. They have a fantastic website today which is really engaging, bright and colourful and informative and that’s a good start … there’s a lot more they could do.”As for CA’s stated desire to grow the game’s audience to better reflect the diversity of 21st century Australia, Hey can see enough evidence of strong words being backed by action. Her ascension to the board is but one example, the BBL’s push away from traditional team identities and logos another.”In doing things like voting me onto the board today, they’re not just talking about it, they’re actually doing things about it,” she said. “That’s a fantastic step for females, and they’re also embracing multicultural Australia and recognising there are a lot of people coming to Australia from overseas who come from both cricketing backgrounds, for example Indians, or non-cricketing backgrounds with a lot of the African nations coming in.”But sport has always been that thing that has united people, across different cultures and different boundaries. I think it is fantastic that CA is both strategically and practically making sure they’re part of that embrace of different cultures.”

A 201-run partnership helped England Women to a 14th consecutive victory and a 3-0 series whitewash over New Zealand Women in Lincoln.

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Mar-2012
ScorecardSarah Taylor made her fourth ODI century as England’s unbeaten run continued•Getty Images

A 201-run partnership helped England Women to a 14th consecutive victory and a 3-0 series whitewash over New Zealand Women in Lincoln. Sarah Taylor’s unbeaten 109 was the mainstay of the stand as England chased 221 inside 43 overs to win by six wickets.It was Taylor’s fourth ODI century and came in with England at 15 for 2, having lost captain Charlotte Edwards and Tamsin Beaumont both lbw to Rachel Candy for single-figure scores. Taylor, who became the youngest female to 2,000 international runs in the second ODI, struck nine fours in her 113-ball innings. Her partnership with Lydia Greenway came in 36.3 overs and guided England to another easy victory.Greenway also faced 113 balls, making 84 with six fours before being stumped with her side within a stroke of the target. It was left to Taylor to score the winning runs and keep England’s unbeaten run going, which stretches back to July 2011.New Zealand had looked on course to set a competitive total but having been 202 for 5, their innings collapsed for 18 more runs. After a solid start, Laura Marsh struck to remove Katey Martin for 38, then picked up wickets in successive overs, removing Suzie Bates and Anna Peterson on her way to 3 for 28.Amy Satterthwaite tried to rebuild the innings with a 69-ball 58 but after she fell to Arran Brindle, Danni Wyatt’s 3 for 36 ran through the lower order and England were faced with only a modest chase.”It was a fantastic team performance today,” Sarah Taylor said. “The bowlers bowled well to restrict New Zealand and I was delighted to contribute and get a big score. I think that was one of my best innings.”Lydia batted really well. It was great to share a partnership with her on such a fantastic wicket. Once we got in we just looked accumulate and build the runs. We knew that if we just batted the runs would come.”