All posts by n8rngtd.top

She quits the sport as the most prolific wicketkeeper in women’s ODI history

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Mar-2023South Africa wicketkeeper Trisha Chetty has retired from all cricket, bringing the curtains down on a 21-year domestic and 16-year international career. Chetty retires because of a recurring back injury which also made her miss last month’s T20 World Cup at home.She finishes with a record 182 dismissals with the gloves in women’s ODIs, 46 more than the second woman on the list, Sarah Taylor.Chetty, 34, last played for South Africa in an ODI against England in July 2022. Having not represented the country in almost eight months, it was also unlikely that Chetty would have received a national contract that is set to be announced later this month.Related

• Dane van Niekerk confirms her international retirement

She made her international debut in 2007 and was among the generation of players who rose as women’s cricket transitioned from amateur to professional in South Africa. She finishes with 134 ODI caps, 82 T20I appearances and two Test outings. Chetty and Dane van Niekerk, who also retired recently but only from internationals, join Mignon du Preez and Lizelle Lee from the first generation of South African professional women’s players to retire.Chetty initially impressed in her early teenage years from 2002 after a stint with Kwa-Zulu Natal Cricket Union and Dolphins. She then broke into the national team as an 18-year-old wicketkeeper-batter, taking over from Daleen Terblanche. She struck 20 half-centuries in internationals with a high score of 95 against Ireland in an ODI in 2016.”I can still remember the incredible feeling I had back in 2007 as I walked over the boundary rope, dressed in green and gold for the first time,” Chetty said in a CSA statement. “For the past 16 years, it has been a privilege to represent my country and play for the Proteas, and that feeling has never gone away – each time I pulled on my South African kit I felt honoured to be doing so.”But now, due to a recurring back injury for the past 5 years, the time has come for me to hang up my boots and let the gloves catch dust. I have tried everything to keep playing and have pushed as hard as I can but my body is signalling that it has no more to give and it is time to retire from all forms of cricket.”This was not an easy decision for me, and even now, I can’t quite believe my career is over. However, my cricket career has been a life-changing experience and I look back with no regrets and a full heart.”I am extremely grateful to my mum and dad, family, and friends for being there for me through all the ups and downs, the successes, and the losses. Without my support system, I would never have been able to take this journey.”Cricket has taught me about life, being disciplined, what it means to be professional and how to be a team player. For this, I will always be grateful. And I choose to continue to be grateful for cricket as I retire and transition into the next chapter of my life. Lastly, thank you to the fans for all your undying support over the years. I will never forget it.”Chetty represented South Africa in four ODI World Cups (2009, 2013, 2017 and 2022) and all the T20 World Cups from 2009 to 2020, barring the one in 2018. She reached four semi-finals at the World Cup events across the two formats.She also holds the wicketkeeping records for most dismissals (23) in an ODI series, most catches and stumpings (joint record) in ODIs, a unique record of scoring a half-century and claiming five dismissals in an ODI, and with the second-most catches in T20Is, after Alyssa Healy.CSA director of cricket Enoch Nkwe hailed Chetty as “one of the greatest wicketkeepers to ever play the game.””Chetty’s commitment and dedication to the sport and towards the rise of women’s cricket throughout the years has been exemplary, and her legacy will be revered for many years to come as the next generation aspire to follow in her footsteps,” he said. “I trust Trisha will experience another fruitful voyage in her future endeavours as her impact and presence, on and off the field, will live long amongst the cricket fraternity.News of Chetty’s retirement comes one day after van Niekerk confirmed her own retirement. Unlike van Niekerk, though, Chetty is not expected to continue appearing in franchise competitions.

Defending champions and hosts Bangladesh eliminated after their final league game was washed out

Sreshth Shah11-Oct-2022Thailand have confirmed their place in the semi-finals of the Women’s Asia Cup for the first time, after Bangladesh’s last league game against UAE on Tuesday morning was washed out. Bangladesh – the defending champions and hosts – needed two points to finish fourth and take the last available semi-final spot, but they got only one point from the abandoned game and ended in fifth place.While Bangladesh won only two out of six games, Thailand won three: they defeated UAE, Malaysia, and most significantly Pakistan by four wickets to finish on six points.Thailand’s success at the Asia Cup has been powered by their openers Nannapat Koncharoenkai and Natthakan Chantham, and the captain Naruemol Chaiwai who usually make up the top three in their batting line-up. With the ball, left-arm spinner Thipatcha Putthawong is among the top five wicket-takers with eight scalps.Until 48 hours ago, Bangladesh looked set for a semi-final place to try and defend their Asia Cup title. They needed two points from their last two matches, but they lost to Sri Lanka in a rain-shortened match, where they failed to chase 41 in seven overs. With two overs left in the chase, Bangladesh were 27 for 2, needing 14 to win off 12 balls, but they lost four wickets in the penultimate over bowled by Inoka Ranaweera and eventually suffered a four-run defeat. On Tuesday against UAE, Bangladesh had the opportunity to bounce back and earn two points but rain ruined their chances.Thailand will now play table-toppers India in the first semi-final on Thursday morning, while the second semi-final will be played between Pakistan and Sri Lanka on Thursday afternoon.

Hardik and Natasa got married in May 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, and had a larger celebration in February 2023

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jul-2024India allrounder Hardik Pandya and actor Natasa Stankovic have announced their separation, after being married for four years.”After four years of being together, Natasa and I have decided to mutually part ways,” they said via an Instagram post. “We tried our best together and gave it our all, and we believe this is in the best interest for both of us. This was a tough decision for us to make, given the joy, mutual respect and companionship we enjoyed together and as we grew as a family.”We are blessed with Agastya, who will continue to be at the centre of both our lives and we will co-parent to ensure that we give him everything that we can for his happiness.”Hardik and Natasa got married in May 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, and had a larger celebration in February 2023.They made the announcement of their separation on the same day that India’s limited-overs squads for the tour of Sri Lanka were announced, with Suryakumar Yadav appointed the T20I captain instead of Hardik. Hardik was part of the T20I squad as a player and rested from the ODI series.

Shamim Hossain’s enterprising half-century gave Bangladesh a chance in the dead rubber, but they fell well short in the end

Mohammad Isam31-Mar-2023Ireland finally notched a win on their tour of Bangladesh by scoring a seven-wicket win in the final T20I in Chattogram on Friday. Mark Adair led the bowling charge with three wickets as Bangladesh were bowled out for 124, and Paul Stirling, later named Player of the Match, was at his inventive best as he struck a 41-ball 77 to headline the chase. It was Ireland’s first T20I win over Bangladesh since 2009 and their first win in any format in the country.Bangladesh had already taken the series after winning the first two games earlier in the week, and made two changes, perhaps to try out alternatives. Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Mustafizur Rahman went out; Rishad Hossain was handed a debut and Shoriful Islam made a comeback. It was the batting that came unstuck, though.After opting to bat, Bangladesh were 61 for 7 in nine-and-a-half overs. Shamim Hossain, however, scored his first international half-century, making 51 off 42 balls with five fours and two sixes to give them a competitive 124. One of those sixes was a particularly eye-catching shot, when he reverse-whipped Curtis Campher hit over backward point for six.But with Stirling in blistering form, and playing a few inventive shots of his own, the chase was done and dusted in 14 overs.Big hitting gone awry
Bangladesh’s slide started in the second over. Litton Das’ slash towards deep point against a wide Adair delivery landed in George Dockrell’s lap. It was the first time Bangladesh had lost a wicket in the powerplay after three matches.Najmul Hossain Shanto was next to go, hitting a slog-sweep off Harry Tector straight to deep midwicket. Campher juggled the catch but clung on. In the next over, Campher himself got a wicket, when Rony Talukdar holed out at deep midwicket.Towhid Hridoy and Shakib Al Hasan, however, went for their shots in keeping with Bangladesh’s new approach, and hit a couple of big ones, but both were gone in the space of three balls. Shakib was caught at short midwicket mistiming a pull off Adair, while Hridoy holed out off Ben White in the seventh over.Humphreys starts with a bang
Matthew Humphreys had two wicketless ODIs in Sylhet, but the left-arm spinner had a better start to his T20I career. He took a wicket off his first ball when he yorked Rishad for 8.That made him the first Ireland bowler to take a wicket with his first ball in T20Is. This was, however, not the first time a debutant had done this against Bangladesh. Previously, Rory Kleinveldt, Pragyan Ojha, Lockie Ferguson and Cole McConchie have all achieved the feat.Humphreys added his second off his third ball, when Taskin Ahmed was caught at deep midwicket for a duck.Shamim and Nasum Ahmed added 33 runs for the eighth wicket before Nasum was caught in the covers off Gareth Delany’s legspin. Adair took his third when he removed Shoriful, before Fionn Hand took Shamim’s wicket in the final over.Stirling turns chase into a canter
Stirling didn’t get going at the start, as there were two early wickets, of Ross Adair and Lorcan Tucker, but once he was set, there was no stopping him. He cut and swept Shakib for fours to kickstart the chase, and then deposited Hasan Mahmud’s half-tracker for his first six next over. No bowler escaped his wrath, or his inventiveness, as he hit ten fours and four sixes in his 41-ball innings.Many of those came in one Shoriful over, the 11th of the innings, when he pulled a six and hit three fours to take 20 runs. Rishad put an end to the mayhem when he had Stirling caught at long-on in the 13th over – it was Stirling’s 22nd half-century in T20Is and Rishad’s first international wicket – but Campher closed out the chase with a four and a six off Taskin.

Sridhar comes with the experience of a long stint as India’s fielding coach

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Aug-2024The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has signed up R Sridhar as assistant coach for Afghanistan’s upcoming series against New Zealand and South Africa. Sridhar had served as India’s fielding coach from 2014-21, working as a part of Ravi Shastri’s support staff.Afghanistan, coached by former England batter Jonathan Trott, have a one-off Test against New Zealand in Noida from September 9, followed by three ODIs against South Africa in Sharjah from September 18.Related

• Rashid Khan not in Afghanistan's preliminary squad for one-off Test against NZ

• 'Fitter fielders mean faster fielders. That means saving runs' (2019)

• Jonathan Trott to take over as head coach of Pretoria Capitals

Sridhar, 54, is a former left-arm spinner who played for Hyderabad in the Indian domestic circuit in the 1990s. He began his coaching career in 2001, and went on to work at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, with the India Under-19s at the 2014 World Cup, and with Kings XI Punjab at the IPL, leading up to his long stint with India’s senior side. Sridhar is a Level-3 certified coach.The ACB said in a statement that Sridhar’s role with Afghanistan comes with the possibility of a longer-term contract in the future.

England captain confirms absence of senior spinner but confident that rookie can step up

Vithushan Ehantharajah31-Jan-2024Ben Stokes has confirmed that Jack Leach will not be available for the second Test in Visakhapatnam after failing to recover from a knee injury sustained during the first Test.Leach hurt his knee fielding on the first day of the Test in Hyderabad, before exacerbating the issue on the second morning. Though restricted to short spells for the rest of the match, Leach managed to bowl 10 overs in the second innings and dismissed Shreyas Iyer as England sealed a famous 28-run win.It was hoped the issue – a deep bruise – would settle down, but constant swelling meant Leach was unable to take part in the training session on Wednesday at the ACA-VDCA cricket ground. Wearing compression tights, he was still laboured in his movements.Stokes will wait until Thursday to name his XI, with a decision to make on whether England go with an extra seamer after one final look at the pitch. On Wednesday, however, he confirmed Leach, having just returned from a lay-off due to a back stress fracture, would miss out.”He’s ruled out of the second Test,” Stokes said. “Unfortunately, the knock he took resulted in a haematoma in his leg. It’s a big shame for us, a big shame for Jack, obviously after a long time out of the game with his back.”To sustain that injury, first game back, obviously it’s frustrating. But it’s something we’re assessing every day. The medical team have taken over that, and hopefully, it’s not something that’s too serious and keeps him out for longer in the series.”Waiting in the wings is Leach’s Somerset team-mate, Shoaib Bashir. The uncapped offspinner arrived in India during the first Test after a delay in his entry visa. Now back among the group and training, Stokes urged Bashir to seize the opportunity, in what would be only his seventh first-class match.”If he was to play on this tour, then the great thing he has on his side is, what is there to lose?” Stokes said. “That is how I will be thinking about it, if he gets the chance to play: just to make sure I can give him the best experience I possibly can. Because you only play your first Test match once. If he does play, then I will be trying to make it as enjoyable and fun for him as I can.Bashir looks on from the England corner after his late arrival in India•AFP/Getty Images

“Myself, Baz [Brendon McCullum] and Popey [vice-captain Ollie Pope] will probably have a longer think about it. We looked at the wicket; I gave it a tap, and a play-around to make it look like I knew what I was doing. Bash is in the squad, we haven’t brought him here to have an experience. If we feel we want to turn to him, we will.”Having returned to London from the UAE to get his visa resolved, Bashir landed in Hyderabad at 8.25am last Sunday – day four of the first Test – before showering and heading straight to the ground. Stokes was buoyed by his enthusiasm to get back among the squad.”I mentioned to Wayne [Bentley, the England team manager] that Bash doesn’t have to stay here if he doesn’t want to. But he was like, ‘no, no, I’m staying for this.'” Bashir was rewarded with a thrilling finale, as fellow newbie spinner Tom Hartley took 7 for 62 to bowl India out for 202 in pursuit of a target of 231.Related

• India's battle is with themselves

• Miller: Bazball doubters, beware – England's truth is the only truth

• Who should replace Leach?

• McCullum floats possibility of all-spin England attack

• Ben Foakes embraces wicketkeeping's 'hardest challenge' on Indian pitches

“It was great for him to see that on his first day back in the camp and to see what Test cricket can bring out, and what it is like,” said Stokes. “He would have seen it on TV before but to be in the dressing room and see the emotion as well I think was great for him. He knows what it is like and hopefully it wants to make him do it even more.”Stokes also revealed his first exposure to Bashir came about through social media, bowling an impressive spell to Alastair Cook on his first-class debut for Somerset against Essex. Though Bashir would only take one wicket across 49 overs in the match, Stokes was already hooked, and sent it on to McCullum and managing director Rob Key.Jack Leach and Ben Stokes take a breather•Getty Images

“To be perfectly honest, Abu Dhabi was the first real live look I got at Bash,” Stokes said. “The first time I saw him was on Twitter. I think the County Championship [account] put a little clip together of him bowling against Sir Alastair.”I’m in a WhatsApp group with Keysy and Baz. I actually did forward the clip on and said, ‘have a look at this, this could be something we could work with on our India tour’ and it just progressed from there. He got selected on the Lions tour and obviously the coaches on that tour fed back everything to us.”Should Bashir make the XI, it would be an even bolder call than Hartley’s inclusion for the series opener considering the Lancashire spinner had 14 more first-class matches under his belt before receiving his maiden cap. Bashir’s overall record is a modest 10 wickets at 67 from six appearances.But Stokes, having led his third debutant spinner to a five-wicket haul, after Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed’s hauls in Pakistan last winter, believes Bashir has the tools to achieve similar success in these conditions.”I just saw something,” he said. “The height he bowled from, it was very obvious that he put a lot of action, a lot of revolutions on the ball. It was something I looked at and thought, this could be pretty good for India. I’ve played a lot of games out here. As a batter you know what is hard to face, especially from a spin point of view.”When it came to selection, there wasn’t too much thought around him to be honest, because everyone was very, very impressed with what Bash showed. And everything we wanted in our spin group was answered by Bashir.”

But title ambitions set the tone for batter’s World Cup performances

Matt Roller14-Oct-20230:41

Root on Stokes’ injury

Joe Root has slipped back into the rhythms of ODI cricket during the last 10 days. A month ago, he finished a series against New Zealand with 39 runs in four innings but has started this tournament with scores of 77 and 82, becoming England’s leading World Cup run-scorer in the process.Root looked badly out of form at the end of the home season. He was so desperate for time in the middle that he cut short a brief period of rest to train with England’s second-string squad before their series against Ireland, and would have played in the first ODI at Headingley but for rain.Yet he remained quietly confident that he would be fine when it mattered – in no small part due to his previous success on the subcontinent. He has now made five half-centuries in eight ODI innings in India, as well as averaging over 50 in both Tests and T20Is in the country.Related

• England found themselves en route to Delhi but won't take Afghanistan lightly

• Malan slams 140 as England roar back with Bangladesh demolition

• Trott hopes Rashid & Co bring 'joy and happiness' to post-earthquake Afghanistan

• What's holding back Rashid Khan, the ODI bowler?

He made 77 off 86 balls against New Zealand in Ahmedabad, anchoring the innings from No. 3 as England lost regular wickets, then had the platform to play more expansively against Bangladesh in Dharamsala. He made 82 off 68, adding 151 with Dawid Malan; his first boundary was a reverse-scooped six, but he was particularly dominant down the ground.”I do enjoy playing cricket in India,” Root said on Saturday night, ahead of England’s fixture against Afghanistan in Delhi. “It suits my game quite nicely… It’s something that’s nice to have in the bank when you come to a tournament like this: knowing you’ve done well previously gives you a little bit of confidence.”Root has always thrived against spin, scoring at a run a ball against spinners in this World Cup to date. “The way people bowl spin out here, [it’s about] finding different ways of manoeuvring the field and trying to rotate strike… finding your boundary options, and weighing up whether there’s a little less bounce or whatever.”He found the series against New Zealand “frustrating” but, at 32, Root has experienced enough quiet passages that he retained his belief: “You want to have a lot of runs going into it… but it’s about turning up when it matters. In the crux of the tournament, that’s when you need to really deliver.”When you get here and you’re in that tournament mentality – ‘this is what it’s about, this is where you stand up and deliver’ – it’s a different frame of mind. That’s really helped me coming out here, giving real focus to what we’re doing. It’s been nice to contribute in the first couple of games.”When you play for a long period of time, you’re always going to have passages of games when you don’t perform and have a little bit of a lull. Can you be good enough to make that a really short period of time? That’s the mentality you’ve got to have if you want to be around for a long time.”And Root wants to be around for a while yet. England’s golden generation of white-ball players are now in their early-to-mid 30s, and they are expected to make sweeping changes after this tournament as they build towards the 2025 Champions Trophy and the 2027 World Cup beyond.Joe Root notched up another quick half-century against Bangladesh•Getty Images

Root will be 36 by the time that World Cup is staged in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, but said: “I’d like to go on a safari; it would be nice to tie that in. I’d love to still be playing in four years’ time. The cricket landscape is forever changing, isn’t it? But I can’t see myself not being there unless I’m not good enough and guys have gone past me… I’ll get pushed before [I retire].”If he does play for another four years, Root will surpass Eoin Morgan as England’s all-time leading run-scorer in this format; with up to nine matches left in this World Cup, it is just about feasible that he could score the 553 runs he needs to overtake him during this tournament.That status is unlikely to mean much to him. Root went past Graham Gooch as England’s leading World Cup run-scorer during his innings against Bangladesh, but said the achievement would mean nothing without another trophy.”It’d be nice if we win a World Cup at the end of it, because we’d have had two World Cups and I’d be the leading run-scorer,” Root said. “But it’s got to stand for something: the only way it does is if we go on and win this thing, which we know we can.”

The match will be played on a different pitch to the one that hosted SRH vs Mumbai, but don’t bet against another run-fest

Shashank Kishore04-Apr-20241:29

Can Klaasen take down CSK’s bowlers in Hyderabad?

Match details

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) vs Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
Hyderabad, 1930 IST (1400 GMT)

Big picture

The euphoria of watching their bat may have taken the sting out of their defeat to Delhi Capitals in Vizag three nights ago, but Chennai Super Kings will be the first to admit morale wins only count for so much. In Hyderabad, they will be up against one of the most explosive batting sides in the competition, in conditions where 277 didn’t seem safe enough, just over a week ago.They’ll potentially be without one of their gun bowlers, Mustafizur Rahman, who knows a thing or two about bowling on these tracks. In 2016, Mustafizur starred in Sunrisers’ march to their maiden IPL crown, picking up 17 wickets in his maiden IPL season. Eight years on, he continues to be just as effective despite a few run-ins with injuries.Related

• Mustafizur a doubt for CSK's game against Sunrisers on Friday

• How CSK put opposites together to become an IPL batting behemoth

However, if there’s a batting line-up capable of combating anything that is thrown at them, it’s the Sunrisers. Abhishek Sharma has set the tempo at the top and Travis Head has already shown how dangerous he can be in that game against Mumbai Indians. Then there’s Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen in unbelievable six-hitting form.CSK too have a prolific six-hitter in Shivam Dube, who has struck at 177.09 against spin since last year’s IPL while they also see Daryl Mitchell warming up to a similar role, one of the reasons why they broke the bank for him at the auction.One team likes data and match-ups, the other believes in gut feel and vibe. It’s a contest of contrasts in that sense, but what unites them is the thrill their power-hitters can generate.Can Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen set Hyderabad alight once more?•BCCI

Form guide

Sunrisers LWL (most recent match first)
CSK LWW

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Sunrisers Hyderabad
There’s no Wanindu Hasaranga yet for the Sunrisers. The legspinning allrounder has consulted a podiatrist in Dubai for a heel problem that appears more severe than earlier thought to be. Sunrisers have largely based their Impact Player strategy on conditions with three different pairs engaged in the first three games.Head coach Daniel Vettori expects Friday to be high-scoring even though it’s a different surface to the one that hosted Sunrisers vs Mumbai Indians. Dube’s floating presence may just tempt Sunrisers to bring in Umran Malik’s pace to try and rough him up. If this happens, one of Mayank Agarwal or Abhishek Sharma could be subbed out when the team bowls.Likely XII: 1 Mayank Agarwal, 2 Travis Head, 3 Abhishek Sharma, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 6 Shahbaz Ahmed/Washington Sundar, 7 Abdul Samad, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Mayank Markande, 11 Jaydev Unadkat, 12 Umran Malik.Chennai Super Kings
There’s a likelihood of Mustafizur arriving in Hyderabad on Friday afternoon after a quick trip home to sort out his USA visa issues. If he doesn’t play straight off a flight, CSK will likely bring in Mahesh Theekshana. If they bat first, expect them to play Shivam Dube and swap him out for Matheesha Pathirana in the second innings.Likely XII: 1 Rachin Ravindra, 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Sameer Rivzi, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 MS Dhoni (wk), 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Tushar Deshpande, 11 Mustafizur Rahman/Maheesh Theekshana, 12 Matheesha Pathirana.Shivam Dube has struck at 177.09 against spin since the start of IPL 2023•Associated Press

In the spotlight

For two straight games now, Mayank Agarwal has struggled to force the pace in the powerplay, scoring a total of 27 off 30 balls. There has also been a pattern to his dismissals in each of Sunrisers’ three games so far, with bowlers digging the ball into the pitch on a length or short of a length to tuck him up. In a batting line-up bursting at its seams with firepower, Agarwal needs to come good soon to ward off any imminent threat to his spot.Ravindra Jadeja won CSK last year’s final alright, but his overall batting returns have diminished since IPL 2022, with a strike rate of 133.90 and a highest score of 26* in 25 innings in the tournament. His numbers against spin have been particularly worrying, with 77 balls bringing him just 83 runs. His struggle against Capitals in Visakhapatnam, and Dhoni’s late fireworks, have raised the prospect of a batting-order shuffle, but CSK aren’t known to change things drastically. Can Jadeja repay their faith?

Stats that matter

• Klaasen’s strike rate of 200.00 against spin is the highest among those who have made 200 or more runs against spin since the start of IPL 2023.
• Ajinkya Rahane has been dismissed six times in 16 T20 innings by Bhuvneshwar Kumar while scoring 90 off 103 balls.
• Bhuvneshwar vs Dhoni has gone the batter’s way, though: 94 runs of 57 balls without being dismissed.
• Since the start of IPL 2023, Klaasen has ransacked left-arm orthodox spinners for 104 runs off 49 balls without being dismissed. Will this change CSK’s use of Jadeja in any way?

Pitch and conditions

A fresh pitch will be used for Friday’s fixture. It’s a black-soil pitch that Daniel Vettori, the Sunrisers head coach, believes will behave far differently to the red-soil pitch on which Sunrisers and Mumbai Indians played out a record run-fest. Michael Hussey, CSK’s batting coach, believes it looks “slightly dry” but expects it to be full of runs nonetheless.

Quotes

“Because scoring rates are so high, you can’t be timid. We understand we have to be aggressive. That’s been the messaging from Pat and me. To take on the bowlers, not be reckless but understand what sort of bowlers you can take down.”
“He’s still exactly the same person. That’s what I’ve been looking for, to see if it’s changed him as a person or character.”

Harper set to join Stars as clubs exchange a “non-binding correspondence” for the trade to go ahead once the window opens for next season

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Feb-2023Legspinner Adam Zampa is on the verge of being traded from Melbourne Stars, the franchise he captained this Big Bash League season, to crosstown rivals Renegades.Renegades, on Thursday, confirmed that Zampa had requested a trade to the club. Still seeking an elusive title, with Hobart Hurricanes the only other franchise who have never lifted a BBL trophy, Stars are set for a major revamp with Zampa poised to be traded for Renegades wicketkeeper-batter Sam Harper.”This trade would allow us to target several other quality players, and we look forward to making a number of announcements regarding new signings once the contracting window re-opens,” Stars general manager Blair Crouch said.No trade can be processed, and binding agreements between clubs cannot be made, during Cricket Australia’s contracting embargo period. According to a Renegades statement, the clubs have exchanged a non-binding correspondence for the trade to go ahead once the window opens for next season.Zampa, Australia’s frontline white ball spinner, took the leadership reins after regular captain Glenn Maxwell missed the entire season due to a serious knee injury.The Zampa-led Stars endured another disappointing campaign to finish last on the BBL ladder.Having initially played with Sydney Thunder and Adelaide Strikers, Zampa joined Stars in 2015 and the move elevated his career leading to being a regular in Australia’s white ball teams.The 30-year-old Zampa ended a three-year first-class drought in December when he appeared for New South Wales against Victoria, but was subsequently overlooked for Australia’s tour of India.Renegades are hoping the recruitment of Zampa can help build on a bounce-back season, where they qualified for the finals series after three consecutive bottom-placed finishes.While their attack is set to regenerate, Stars’ batting will be strengthened by the inclusion of hard-hitting Harper who will return to his initial BBL franchise.Harper was part of Renegades’ title-winning team in 2018-19, where they thrillingly defeated Stars in an epic final.The 26-year-old Harper endured patchy form this past season although he did reel off three consecutive half-centuries to underline his destructive capabilities.

After nearly 39 years, three batters from the same team have occupied the top three places in the Test rankings

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jun-2023Australia have a one-two-three at the top of the ICC Test rankings for batters, with Travis Head moving three places to third spot, behind Marnus Labuschagne at No. 1 and the second-placed Steven Smith. The last time three batters from the same team occupied the top three places in the Test rankings was in December 1984, when Gordon Greenidge (810), Clive Lloyd (787), and Larry Gomes (773) from West Indies were at the top.Head top-scored with a match-defining 163 against India in the World Test Championship final at The Oval. He came in at 76 for 3 on the first day and lifted Australia to 469. Smith, who also scored a hundred in the first innings, and Head put on a 285-run stand for the fourth wicket to give Australia a strong total. India eventually fell short by 209 runs as Australia clinched their maiden WTC title.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey, who scored a valuable 48 and 66 not out down the order, gained 11 places to occupy the 36th position. India’s top-ranked batters from the current lot are Rohit Sharma at 12th and Virat Kohli at 13th, while Rishabh Pant is 10th.Among bowlers, offspinner Nathan Lyon’s five wickets in the match helped him move two places to joint-sixth, with England quick Ollie Robinson. Though Lyon bowled only four overs and picked up a wicket in the first innings, his 4 for 41 in the second innings helped bowl India out for 234. His team-mate Scott Boland moved up five places to 36th, four spots ahead of India’s Mohammed Siraj, who picked up five wickets in the final.R Ashwin, despite being left out of the XI, remains the No. 1 Test bowler. There were no changes in the top 10 of allrounder rankings where Ravindra Jadeja is on top and Ashwin second. The only other Indian in the top 10 is Axar Patel (fourth) and the two Australians in the top lot are Mitchell Starc (eighth) and Pat Cummins (10th).