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Trapdoor opens on visitors after crushing defeat at Chester-le-Street

ECB Reporters Network12-Sep-2024Durham’s Matthew Potts took a career-best nine for 68 to help his side complete their innings and 63-run thrashing of Lancashire in the Vitality County Championship match at The Riverside.Resuming on 155 for four and needing another 190 runs to avoid their their fourth innings defeat of the season, Lancashire lost their last six wickets in less than a session and were bowled out for 282. The only shred of comfort for the visitors was offered by 20-year-old Matty Hurst, who made 67, his second fifty of the match and fifth half-century of the season.At one stage of his devastating spell from the Lumley End, Potts was on a hat-trick but he had to settle for three wickets in four balls when Tom Bailey nicked his second delivery to first slip Scott Borthwick.The Durham spearhead, who hadn’t featured in the Championship since June due to his England commitments, finished his first spell on this final morning with figures of 10-1-30-5 and ended the game when he had Anderson Phillip leg before wicket to complete a match return of 12 for 126.”That feels really good,” Potts said afterwards. “It was great to come back and deliver for the boys at the end of the season. I felt that was only right that we turned up to do the job.”Scott Borthwick told me after my sixth over that it was time to put my feet on ice but I got a wicket and he said: “Okay, I’ll leave you on,” and I said “Good luck taking me off,” but after my tenth over I was absolutely goosed. I’d thrown everything I could at them.”I took the second new ball and threw the old one as far as I could off the field. It’s a disgusting thing, I’ve got it in my pocket and it looks as though I’ve been throwing it for my dogs for the past hour.”Durham take 24 points from the game, effectively ending any lingering fears of relegation, whereas Lancashire take one point, a return which keeps them in ninth place in Division One and deepens their anxieties that they will be playing in the second tier next April.”Ours is a very quiet changing room at the moment,” Keaton Jennings, Lancashire’s captain, said. “The players are hurting. It’s tough to take, you don’t want to turn up every week and get spanked around, it’s not why we spent months and months working in the winter.”We now have to make sure we turn up next week. We have two really big games ahead of us and it could come down to eight days of cricket.”Lancashire’s collapse began with the ninth ball of the morning when George Balderson was leg before wicket to Potts for 16 but it really moved into top gear about half an hour later when Venkatesh Iyer played on to the Durham fast bowler and Tom Hartley immediately lost his off stump when not attempting a stroke.Bailey prevented the hat-trick but nicked his second ball from Potts to Borthwick to leave yet another Lancashire innings in tatters on 195 for eight.Hurst and Anderson Philip delayed Durham for a few overs but Borthwick’s bowlers were not to be denied. Having made a fine 67 off 125 balls, Hurst hooked Potts to long leg where Callum Parkinson took an excellent tumbling catch a few inches from the boundary rope.After an entertaining last-wicket stand of 61 in 12 overs between Anderson Philip and Tom Aspinwall, the game ended when Potts was recalled and dismissed Phillip for 41. Aspinwall finished unbeaten on 26.The bad news for Durham supporters ahead of their final two Championship games is that Potts will now join England’s squad for the one-day internationals and will not be available to the county for the rest of the season.

It was a contest between the sophistication of Pakistan’s bowling attack and the raw power of two New Zealand batsmen named Colin. And as with all other games on this tour, it was the home side who emerged victorious

The Report by Danyal Rasool16-Jan-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIt was a contest between the sophistication of Pakistan’s bowling attack and the raw power of two New Zealand batsmen named Colin. But as with all other games on this tour, it was the home side who emerged victorious, chasing down 263 with five wickets and four overs to spare.Colin Munro wreaked havoc at the top of the order, while Colin de Grandhomme outdid him towards the end, bludgeoning Pakistan into submission with 74 of 40 balls, just when it looked like they may finally get off the mark this series. Pakistan may take heart from the fact that this was, by some distance, the most competitive game thus far. Equally, however, they will be disappointed not to emerge with a win, having reduced New Zealand to 154 for 5, with just the lower order to bowl at.New Zealand began the chase in typically brash fashion. Munro attacked the opening bowlers, particularly Hasan Ali, the decision to open the bowling with him backfiring. He was often a touch too short and Munro was excellent punching off the back foot. An example of his front foot play was the six he struck off Mohammad Amir; the ball disappeared over cover.Colin de Grandhomme sent the ball to all parts•Getty Images

After leaking 86 runs in 13 overs, Pakistan finally turned to Shadab Khan and things started happening. He deceived Munro in the flight in his first over, and the left-hander was caught at deep midwicket. A googly took care of Martin Guptill, and for the first time, Zealand began to look a little unsure. Rumman Raees exploited that superbly when he trapped Ross Taylor, playing his 200th ODI today, lbw for 1. Tom Latham was caught at slip off Shadab, a victim of extra bounce, and New Zealand were reeling from the loss of four wickets for 11 runs.The only one thinking clearly in the mayhem was the unflappable Williamson, who set about restoring the innings with Henry Nicholls. The pair bided their time, rotating the strike when they could, and quietly built up a 55-run partnership.But Haris Sohail struck just as New Zealand crossed 150, snaring Williamson in the most unexpected fashion. Having looked comfortable all innings, a sudden rush of blood prompted him to launch the left-arm spinner into the air. It was agonisingly close to being a six, but Raees positioned himself inches from the boundary, leaned back with both hands over his head and took one of the coolest catches. At the time, it looked the decisive moment.But out came de Grandhomme, playing his first match since returning from Zimbabwe following the death of his father. Any notions of rust were brushed aside as they took the sledgehammer to a Pakistan attack that had looked impregnable for the previous hour. Haris was the first to feel the allrounder’s might, consecutive sixes setting the stage for the astonishing assault that was incoming.De Grandhomme lifted Amir majestically over midwicket to clear the rope, then Shadab was dispatched over extra cover with an even classier shot. This was no feat of pinch-hitting, it was an extraordinary display of power combined with technique that belied his batting position, reputation and match fitness as he took New Zealand towards their target in delightfully uncomplicated fashion.Pakistan were shellshocked; there simply wasn’t a response coming from them. The errors in the field mounted and the shoulders began to sag. Henry Nicholls brought up an understated but fully-deserved half-century to level the scores, and just like that, Pakistan found themselves 4-0 down.Shadab Khan led Pakistan’s fightback with a flurry of wickets•Getty Images

They might now think back to those familiar problems at the top, which showed no signs of abating on Tuesday. It took fifties from Fakhar Zaman and Haris Sohail, and a late onslaught to spare their blushes. From 130 for 5, a 98-run partnership between Mohammad Hafeez and captain Sarfraz Ahmed prevented their innings from falling apart in the middle overs as they finished with 262. New Zealand put in a disciplined bowling performance and the pick of their bowlers was, surprisingly, Williamson himself, taking two wickets in his 10 overs.The allrounder Faheem Ashraf, who was sent in to open the batting, fell in the third over, and Babar Azam followed suit. That, though, was when Pakistan’s resistance began. Haris – who looked so good one wondered why he wasn’t playing the previous three ODIs – and Zaman took the attack to the bowlers. They rode their luck somewhat; Fakhar was dropped early and a top edge carried for six, but the pair applied themselves well, bringing up the fifty partnership in 47 balls.Santner broke through with a carrom ball Zaman failed to read, and with that partnership ending, normal service seemed to resume. Haris had played beautifully to reach a half-century in his first ODI in three years, but threw it away next ball, driving Williamson straight into deep extra cover’s hands.At 130 for 5, it looked bleak for Pakistan again, but for the second time in the innings, the batsmen dug in. Sarfraz and Hafeez went about rebuilding the innings once more, pacing their fightback quite well, but the pitch began to slow down towards the end, making it difficult to hit the ball cleanly.New Zealand used seven bowlers during their innings, which meant they had plenty of overs left from their frontline seamers. Trent Boult wasn’t quite on the money, and Pakistan cashed in on that, Hafeez picking him up beautifully and, on four occasions, sending him into the stands. Pakistan scored 62 runs in the last five overs – and 22 off Boult’s final over – as Hafeez finished with a vital 81 off 80 balls.It might have been the decisive knock of the game, had de Grandhomme not had other ideas.

Usain Bolt expects the T20 World Cup in June to go a long way in raising the status of cricket in the USA

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Apr-2024Usain Bolt, the fastest man on earth and a cricketer in his youth, has been unveiled as the ambassador of the 2024 men’s T20 World Cup, to be played in the West Indies and the USA in June.”Coming from the Caribbean where cricket is a part of life, the sport has always held a special place in my heart, and I am honoured to be part of such a prestigious tournament,” Bolt, who grew up playing cricket in his native Jamaica, said in an ICC statement. “I look forward to bringing my energy and enthusiasm to the World Cup and contributing to the growth of cricket globally.”Bolt said he expects “dancing, music and high energy” in the matches in the Caribbean, and also for the World Cup to go a long way towards making the USA a bigger cricket centre than it currently is.”America believes a lot in sport and high intensity and for me to get into that market is big,” Bolt said. “When they follow a sport, they follow a sport properly and they go all in and I feel like if they can crack into it, they will get into it the right way. If we bring energy like I know we will for the T20 [World Cup] it is going to be wonderful.”The T20 World Cup won’t be the end, of course. In 2028, cricket will make a comeback to the Olympic Games – it last featured in 1900 in Paris – in Los Angeles, with men’s and women’s T20Is.”If you listen to NBA players and the way they talk about winning a gold medal, they have won NBA titles, they have their rings, but they are like ‘we went to the Olympics’,” Bolt said. “That is how big getting a gold medal is. Every sport tries to get into the Olympics because it is such a big thing and it is such a great feeling to be on a podium winning that gold medal.”

Skipper had passed fifty five times this season without converting any of those into hundreds

ECB Reporters Network25-May-2024Northamptonshire captain Luke Procter marshalled his side’s fightback in their Vitality County Championship game against Yorkshire with a tenacious unbeaten century – his first in almost two years.Procter, who had already passed fifty five times this season without converting any of those knocks into hundreds, remedied that as he sparked Northamptonshire’s recovery from 181 for 7 on day two at Wantage Road.The skipper finished 116 not out, sharing stands of 50 and 58 respectively with tailenders Ben Sanderson and Jack White to ensure the home side totalled 301, a deficit of 61 on Yorkshire’s first-innings 362.Sri Lankan left-armer Vishwa Fernando took 4 for 48 on his debut for the visitors, who lost nightwatchman Dom Leech to the final ball of the day without extending their lead any further.Related

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Yorkshire began the day on 312 for 7 and, despite a scare when Jordan Thompson edged onto his pad and just wide of the slips, they launched an early assault to secure another batting bonus point.Thompson thumped Sanderson over extra cover for six, following it with another boundary to bring up his first half-century of the season as he and Matthew Revis plundered 42 from the first five overs.The partnership reached 80 before the last three White Rose wickets went down in the space of nine balls, with Sanderson removing both Revis and Thompson leg-before and Leech castled by Rob Keogh for a second-ball duck.Fernando almost made a dream start to his three-match stint with Yorkshire, his second delivery finding the edge of Ricardo Vasconcelos’ bat but the ball whizzed past George Hill at first slip.Vasconcelos settled down to share a lively opening stand of 56 with Emilio Gay, who struck a series of sweet off-side boundaries and caressed Hill’s first delivery through midwicket for four more.Two balls later, Gay was out for 32, prodding to second slip but – after a brief but bizarre stoppage when a swarm of wasps descended, prompting several fielders to fling themselves full-length on the turf – Northamptonshire reached lunch at 84 for 1.However, Vasconcelos fell soon after the interval, with wicketkeeper Jonny Tattersall taking a skier to give Fernando his 300th first-class wicket and Yorkshire looked very much in the ascendancy when Revis claimed his first and second wickets of the season in quick succession.Karun Nair, who never looked settled at the crease, was neatly taken at first slip off a rising delivery and George Bartlett departed for a duck, hanging the bat out to the jubilant Revis just four balls later.Rob Keogh threatened to redress the balance with a bristling knock of 28 but, when he flicked Leech tamely into the hands of deep square leg, Northamptonshire’s reliance on their skipper intensified.Having lost both Lewis McManus and Justin Broad before tea, Procter needed Sanderson’s shrewd display with the bat to shepherd his side past the follow-on target.The 35-year-old looked accomplished for his 25 until he was trapped in his crease by Fernando, who also dismissed Siddharth Kaul to leave Northamptonshire nine down.But last man White proved obdurate, blocking 14 deliveries before emerging from his shell to bludgeon Thompson for three quick fours as Procter progressed to his ton from 183 balls by shovelling Hill to the midwicket boundary.The pair steered their side to a third batting bonus point before White holed out to long leg for 21, leaving Yorkshire to negotiate a single over in which Sanderson had Leech caught at fourth slip.

Pathum Nissanka, Dilshan Madushanka and Kusal Perera have been left out

Andrew Fidel Fernando31-Jan-2024Uncapped right-arm seamers Chamika Gunasekara and Milan Rathnayake have been named in Sri Lanka’s squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan, starting on Friday. Also in the mix are opener Lahiru Udara, and batting allrounder Kamindu Mendis.Omitted, meanwhile, is Pathum Nissanka, who was part of Sri Lanka’s last Test squad, though he has not played a Test since the middle of 2022. Dilshan Madushanka, who is currently in the UAE playing in the ILT20, is not in this squad either. The same goes for Kusal Perera.This is the first Test squad named by Sri Lanka’s new selection committee, headed by Upul Tharanga. The match, which starts on Friday, will also be Dhananjaya de Silva’s first as captain.Related

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Elsewhere, there are no major surprises. Dimuth Karunaratne and Nishan Madushka are likely to open the batting, as they did against Pakistan last year, with Kusal Mendis likely at No. 3, and Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, and de Silva coming in lower down. Sadeera Samarawickrama may take the gloves again.On the bowling front, Sri Lanka are likely to go with Ramesh Mendis and Prabath Jayasuriya as their primary spin options, with the likes of Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha and Asitha Fernando to choose from on the seam-bowling front. Left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama, who had taken 11 wickets on debut in 2021 but has had less impressive outings since then, has not been named in the squad.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Gunasekara has been selected partly on the back of good form in the ongoing National Super League (NSL) four-day competition. In two matches over the last two weeks, Gunasekara has taken eight wickets at an average of 16.5. Rathnayake, meanwhile, has been chosen based on a larger body of work – he has in the past been impressive in the Sri Lanka A side. This is the second Test squad Rathnayake has been selected in, though he is yet to represent Sri Lanka.Udara, who has also not played a Test, gets into the squad having also impressed at the NSL recently. He had hit 100 and 72 against a Galle attack featuring Ramesh Mendis and Rathnayake, in the last fortnight.Afghanistan are without Rashid Khan for this Test. This is the first time these teams will play a Test against each other.

Sri Lanka squad for Test against Afghanistan

Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), Kusal Mendis, Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ramesh Mendis, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Lahiru Udara, Chamika Gunasekara, Milan Rathnayake

Chameera and Vandersay’s ninth wicket-stand took Sri Lanka home after Ngrava’s five-for

Andrew Fidel Fernando08-Jan-2024Sri Lanka’s ninth-wicket partnership snuck their team home in the Colombo rain, battling off a spirited Zimbabwe bowling and fielding performance led by Richard Ngarava. Defending only 209, Ngarava took early wickets, and finished with 5 for 32 from his 10 overs, as the likes of Sikandar Raza and Blessing Muzarabani produced menacing spells of their own.And together they had repeatedly had Sri Lanka on the ropes in their chase, particularly when No. 9 Dushmantha Chameera and No. 10 Jeffrey Vandersay came together with Sri Lanka needing 37 to win off 45 balls. But the pair batted sensibly. Ngarava had already been bowled out at this stage, and Muzarabani was the last remaining threat – Craig Ervine having used his most-threatening bowlers up early in his quest for wickets.Together Chameera and Vandersay whittled down the requirement, before in the penultimate over, Vandersay scooped Faraz Akram over his shoulder, and then drove him through the covers for four next ball, in what were the final dramatic moments in a match that had swung in either direction repeatedly.That these last blows came in the rain, which had earlier caused a significant delay, only added to the theatre. That this partnership had been forged after the departure of Janith Liyanage, who hit 95 off 127 balls, thus providing the most substance to this innings, made the finish even more riveting.Of all the regrets Zimbabwe will have from this match, however, none will be greater than their collapse from the 37th over onwards. Having been 182 for 4, and headed towards a score of around 250, they lost their last six wickets for 26 runs. Captain Ervine, who had made 82 off 102, was the first to depart in that sequence, having been caught athletically by Sadeera Samarawickrama at backward point.It was Liyanage’s innings that ended up defining the match however, and he who was most responsible for pushing the game deep as the other batters fell around him. (The next-highest score on the Sri Lankan card was 21.) Although he too struggled against Ngarava’s new-ball bowling, he was patient until the hittable balls came, crashing Ngarava to the cover boundary to start the seventh over, before pulling him neatly behind square several balls later, when Ngarava bowled short.Janith Liyanage helped steady Sri Lanka after early losses•AFP/Getty Images

With the surface somewhat tacky, his innings was mostly a slow grind. He’d hit only three boundaries after 82 balls, although he was forced to enter a more aggressive mode when the tail came in. He hit two sixes, both off spin and both on the legside, and forged an important 46-run seventh-wicket stand with Maheesh Theekshana, who contributed 18.Having earlier completed his half-century off the 85th ball he faced, Liyanage seemed headed for a maiden ODI ton in only his second game. But with rain coming down in the 43rd over, and Sri Lanka behind the DLS rate, Liyanage attempted to thump Muzarabani over long off for four, and wound up only miscuing it to the fielder. Zimbabwe smelled victory and employed attacking fields with both Vandersay and Chameera yet to get off the mark. But those two tailenders’ cool heads would defy Zimbabwe.But it had been Ngarava’s tenacity in his first spell that set the tone for what became an intense defence of their modest total. He claimed Avishka Fernando’s wicket fifth ball with a back-of-a-length delivery just outside off stump, which Fernando inside-edged through to the keeper.In Ngarava’s next over – another edge. Sadeera Samarawickrama flashed at a fullish wide ball, and sent it to Ervine at second slip. Zimbabwe would get only these two wickets in the first powerplay, but having been 16 for 2, Sri Lanka were forced to bat with more caution. In his next spell, he also dismissed Kusal Mendis and Charith Asalanka, having built further pressure with more back-of-a-length bowling.And though there were mistakes in the field, and with the ball (Muzarabani bowled Kusal Mendis off a no-ball, for example), it was their nosedive with the bat that prevented Zimbabwe from posting a competitive score. Ervine had driven beautifully through the course of his innings, and had struck up half-century partnerships with Joylord Gumbie, and Ryan Burl.But when he cut a Chameera ball too close to Samarawickrama, who flung himself explosively at the ball to intercept it, Ervine left the lower middle-order exposed, and they succumbed rapidly to the spin of Theekshana and Vandersay. Theekshana picked up 4 for 31 in the innings. Vandersay and Chameera took two wickets apiece.

Normal service resumed in the West Indies as the hosts’ batsmen failed again – this time on a much better batting surface – and India chased 206 down with relative ease to seal the series 3-1

The Report by Sidharth Monga06-Jul-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
1:24

Kohli king of the chase as India win series

Normal service resumed in the West Indies as the hosts’ batsmen failed again – this time on a much better batting surface – and India chased 206 down with relative ease to seal the series 3-1. Just like India seem wired to score around 300 no matter the situation or conditions, the number seems to be 200 for them. They got away with 189 in the last match, but on a pitch that the ball came on to the bat, their inability to score freely off the spinners – 76 runs in 24 overs – consigned them to defeat.In the chase, Virat Kohli overcame his recent short-ball trouble by choosing to tide over the barrage as opposed to hooking everything. He now has more hundreds in ODI chases than anybody else – 18.The unsung heroes for India, though, were their spinners even though the scoreboard shows just one under the wickets column for them, that too for part-timer Kedar Jadhav. The fast bowlers, who took eight wickets between them, will, however, argue that they cleaned up after themselves after a profligate start. Umesh Yadav in particular struggled with the new ball, bowling either short and wide or full on the pads. Kyle Hope cashed in as he and Evin Lewis added 39 for the first wicket in 8.2 overs. Then he joined brother Shai to add a further 37.At 3-0-22-0, Umesh was taken out of the attack, and was brought back soon after the fielding restrictions were taken off. He bowled two overs for four runs, then Kyle Hope attacked him with two boundaries and fell while going for a third. The ball was short enough, but the batsman failed to clear short midwicket. Umesh swooped in on that break with a full and straight delivery to send Roston Chase back first ball.The stage was now for spinners to cut off the oxygen supply. Ravindra Jadeja found turn, Kuldeep Yadav remained difficult to negotiate, and Jadhav’s low, round-arm, non-turning, slow offbreaks sent back a frustrated Jason Mohammed.Walking in at 115 for 4 in the 31st over, Jason Holder used his long reach to put the spinners off their rhythm. He hit four fours, and a six off Hardik Pandya, but when he went to hit Shami straight down the ground he found an agile Shikhar Dhawan at long-on. The going was tough for West Indies after that.And before that. There had been an 11-over spell without boundaries before Holder, and after Holder they managed only three boundaries, which incredibly were the first ones they had hit past the 40th over all series. Two of those were sixes in the last two overs from Rovman Powell that pushed West Indies past 200. Still they knew they needed lightning to strike twice if they were to defend this.For a moment it seemed lightning might indeed strike twice when Dhawan went back in the first over of the chase, again driving on the up and failing to keep the ball down. In the fourth over, it should have become two down but Devendra Bishoo dropped Ajinkya Rahane at point. Rahane didn’t go on to take his streak of 50 or more to five, but he added 79 with Kohli to set India on their way.More importantly, Rahane’s urgency and early boundaries meant Kohli could take his time dealing with the short ball. In the previous matches, his eagerness to score, a dominating batsman’s ego if you will, had got the better of him, but here Kohli was prepared to wait it out. He kept ducking, weaving and leaving bouncers before he finally hooked in the ninth over, at least the eighth bouncer bowled at him. This was smoked clean in front of square for four with the wrists managing to keep it down.The bouncers now came down to the occasional ones. Rahane reached his slowdown period now with the ball getting older, but slowly – and a little gingerly – Kohli began to dominate. It helped that there were quite a few loose balls on offer, especially from West Indies’ legspinning talisman Bishoo.As Kohli got more and more comfortable at the wicket, he began to put away even the good balls, as he did with a late cut off an Ashley Nurse length ball to move to 68 off 80. He moved to hundred in another 28 balls, unleashing an emotional celebration. Dinesh Karthik, playing only his second ODI in three years, provided Kohli good support, scoring a fifty of his own.

Both players were due to be released from hospital in Perth on Saturday afternoon

Tristan Lavalette and Andrew McGlashan03-Jan-2025Cameron Bancroft is set to be ruled out of the remainder of the BBL with a broken nose and fractured shoulder while Daniel Sams faces at least 12 days out of action under concussion protocols following the scary on-field collision at Optus Stadium on Friday night.Both players were due to be released from hospital on Saturday afternoon following the results of CT scans which have not shown further significant injuries. They will remain in Perth, supported by members of Thunder’s backroom staff, while the rest of the squad travels to Brisbane.Being from Western Australia, Bancroft has family in Perth while Thunder have flown Sams’ wife across to be with him while he recovers. A decision on when Sams returns to Sydney will be made based on medical advice. There is a chance he does not feature again in the tournament.”Largely, the players are in good spirits,” Thunder general manager Trent Copeland told reporters at the SCG. “In the last hour, we’ve had confirmation that CT scans have come back largely pretty clear.”Cameron is with family in Perth, he had family with him at the hospital along with team staff. The likelihood is that he’s going to be out for the remainder of the BBL. Dan Sams doesn’t have that luxury, away from home, so we’ve flown his wife Dani over there today and we’ve had some team staff not go on the team flight to Brisbane for the Heat match tomorrow night. It’s a monitoring process from here. Hopefully through the next couple of days, we get some good news.”Ollie Davies and Hugh Weibgen were brought into the Thunder side as concussion substitutes with Weibgen going on to hit a crucial six in what became a final-ball victory. Davies was in the team hotel at the time of the accident with a virus and quickly made his way to the ground.”Sydney Thunder would like to thank medical and other staff on hand following the accident, including those from the Scorchers, Cricket Australia and our own staff,” a club statement added. “Cameron and Daniel have received the best care possible and we will support them and their families as they recover from their injuries.”The incident happen in the 16th over of Scorchers’ innings, when Cooper Connolly hit Lockie Ferguson aerially on the leg side. Sams sprinted from the infield with eyes on the ball. At the same time, Bancroft also ran in at full speed from the outfield. They crashed into each other, knocking their heads.The Thunder players quickly ran to the pair, who lay motionless on the ground, and frantically gestured for medical support, which came immediately.Sams was stretchered off in a mini-ambulance, while Bancroft managed to walk off the ground with a physio’s support with blood gushing from his nose.Play was halted for about 20 minutes as Thunder captain David Warner and the team’s coaches were involved in discussions with match officials.”I’m praying that they can come out soon and be back on the park,” said Sherfane Rutherford, who hit a boundary off the last ball to lift Thunder to a four-wicket victory. “I actually saw everything but when I saw the blood, I turned because I’m not a fan of blood. It was pretty tough. It was definitely motivation for us. We had a little chat before we went out to bat and it was just [do it] for them.”The collision took place close to where Hilton Cartwright was stretchered off after suffering a fielding mishap in the BBL season-opener.

Seamer received no assurances about selection before being named in New Zealand’s provisional World Cup squad

Matt Roller12-Sep-2023Trent Boult is “very happy” to be back playing international cricket ahead of the World Cup in India, but said that New Zealand Cricket (NZC) had never given him any guarantees about selection for the tournament when he negotiated a release from his central contract last year.Boult won his 100th ODI cap in New Zealand’s defeat to England at the Ageas Bowl on Sunday, taking 3 for 37 to mark his first international appearance since last year’s T20 World Cup semi-final against Pakistan. Hours later, his name was included in the provisional 15-man squad announced by New Zealand for next month’s 50-over World Cup.”It was great to be back in familiar surroundings,” Boult said ahead of Wednesday’s third ODI at The Oval. “It was a very good feeling, chucking back on the black ODI kit – and on the side, the individual milestone of 100 games added to that feeling as well.”When Boult stepped away from his central contract last year, he did not seek or expect assurances from NZC about selection for the World Cup but made his ambitions to play in the tournament clear, telling ESPNcricinfo earlier this year that he had “a big desire” to return to the ODI fold.Related

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“Your spot is never guaranteed, and the decision was made over a year ago,” Boult said. “I decided to step aside and fully appreciated that giving my contract back would open the door to other players to come through. Selections were prioritised for the contracted 20 [players] in New Zealand and I fully appreciated that.”The decision was solely made around time away… with a young family, I couldn’t travel as much. It just became too hard. I prioritised my time with them and gave myself a chance to play some cricket around to world, to see what I could learn.”Selection for the World Cup was never guaranteed and I was never expecting it to be. I had to work for it and I’m very happy to be here. I just hope I can add value and take the tournament very deep, like we have in the last couple of attempts. I feel like we can really push this tournament to the final stages and give it a good crack.”New Zealand were runners-up in the last two 50-over World Cups and Boult admitted he still finds it hard to let the tied 2019 final go. “What was probably a little bit hard was coming back, after a year, to play for New Zealand, and it’s a rain delay and it’s the only game playing on the big screens at the ground,” he joked. “That pushed me a little bit.”The ODI World Cup is that big tournament that everyone wants to be a part of. I’ve been part of a couple so far and although there seems to be a world event every year, this ODI World Cup has always got a special feeling around it… once we touch down in India, I’m sure the feelings will be pretty strong with a lot of excitement.”

Tim Southee takes two on final Test outing as New Zealand wrap up consolation win

Alan Gardner16-Dec-2024 • Updated on 17-Dec-2024England produced their second ignominious collapse of the match as New Zealand marked Tim Southee’s Test retirement by equalling their biggest Test victory by the margin of runs. Jacob Bethell and Joe Root put on a century stand but the innings unravelled in a flurry of shots thereafter, New Zealand barely detained beyond lunch on day four.With Ben Stokes opting not to bat after injuring his hamstring, New Zealand only needed to take seven wickets to seal a crushing win. Mitchell Santner pocketed four of them, while Southee dismissed England’s top-scorer, Bethell, to finish with 2 for 34 on his final outing. He led New Zealand from the field at Seddon Park, his home ground, to bring down the curtain on a storied Test career – England’s rapid demise meaning extra time to toast his departure.It continued New Zealand’s remarkable recent record in Hamilton, where they have won eight of their last 10 Tests going back to 2012, and put a stop to a run of four consecutive home defeats stretching back to Australia’s visit in February.England had already claimed the series – their first in New Zealand since 2007-08, when Southee made his debut – but ended a bumpy 12 months in Tests on a low note. Defeat by 423 runs was only their second-heaviest this year, after a similar thrashing in Rajkot, and meant they ended 2024 with a record of P17 W9 L8.The performances of Bethell at No. 3 were a bright spot throughout, and he added a third half-century in as many Tests. His partnership with Root suggested England were keen to make New Zealand work hard for the win, but both were dismissed before lunch and there was scant resistance from the rest of the batting order beyond Gus Atkinson thumping eight boundaries in 43 off 41. The wicket of Ollie Pope, bowled by Matt Henry while attempting to reverse-ramp in the fourth over after lunch, suggested they had little appetite to hang around.England had resumed in the morning on 18 for 2, notionally chasing 658 to win. If that was an unlikely target, then so too was batting out two days for a draw – but Root and Bethell made positive progress, bringing up a 50 partnership inside the first nine overs.Both rode their luck at times. Root was badly dropped at second slip by Tom Latham off Southee when he had made 20, while Bethell chopped Henry past his stumps attempting to drive. Will O’Rourke gave Bethell, in particular, a torrid time from round the wicket, pushing his pace up to 153kph/93mph in his second spell.After setting off at a run a ball, Bethell slowed down as he approached a 60-ball fifty. He brought up the mark with a single off Santner, who was then repeatedly picked off by Root to raise his own half-century a few overs later, their partnership reaching 100 at the same time.But it was Santner who made the breakthrough, Root missing the ball as he looked to sweep to be trapped in front. It was given not out by Ahsan Raza, but New Zealand’s review was shown to be an astute one, with the ball dipping under the bat before straightening down the line of middle and off stumps.O’Rourke then bagged the reward his bowling had deserved when he dismissed Harry Brook cheaply for the second time in the match. Brook, who made a golden duck in the first innings, had attempted to charge his fourth ball and then was dispatched by his sixth, a snorting short delivery that he could only fend to slip.Ollie Pope was struck on the arm in the same over as he ducked into a bouncer, but Bethell continued to attack, taking three fours off O’Rourke in the space of five balls. However, having earlier smacked Southee’s first ball of the day over the head of mid-on for four, he fell trying to repeat the trick in the retiring seamer’s second spell, as he sliced a drive out to Glenn Phillips at deep backward point.The fall of the fifth wicket brought Atkinson to the crease, with Stokes still in his training kit, and he hit four of his first nine balls for four to hint at England’s mindset going into lunch. He resumed in the same vein, hitting Santner for 6-4-4 the over before Pope’s ugly swipe, before eventually trying one slog too many. Santner then wrapped up the innings in the space of five balls as New Zealand matched their margin of victory over Sri Lanka at Christchurch in 2018.