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Gloucestershire scored 350 in reply to Derbyshire’s 291 to gain the upper hand on day three

ECB Reporters Network13-Apr-2019
In-form Gareth Roderick narrowly missed out on a century as Gloucestershire scored 350 in reply to Derbyshire’s 291 to gain the upper hand on day three of the Specsavers County Championship match at Bristol.Following hard on the heels of his 115 in the opening fixture against Oxford MCCU a week earlier, the 27-year-old posted 98, adding 118 with Ryan Higgins for the sixth wicket, as Gloucestershire established a useful first-innings lead of 59.Roderick then took two catches behind the stumps as Derbyshire subsided to 18-2, before Wayne Madsen (41 not out) and Tom Lace (48 not out) ushered them to 97-2 at stumps, 38 ahead with eight second innings wickets in hand.Derbyshire will almost certainly have to bat for a further two sessions on the final day if they are to secure a draw and much will depend upon the experienced Madsen when he resumes his innings in the morning.Demonstrating the tenacity and patience required to score runs on a characteristically slow Bristol pitch, Roderick batted for five-and-a-half hours, faced 238 balls and accrued nine fours, in the process helping Gloucestershire bank three batting bonus points on another cold day at the County Ground.All-rounder Higgins also played his part, raising a forthright 74 from 104 balls and striking 12 fours on a day when the hosts made most of the running.Derbyshire’s bowlers stuck manfully to their task, Luis Reece claiming 3 for 60 and Logan van Beek 3 for 75 to keep their Second Division opponents in check.Resuming on 202 for 5, Gloucestershire had the better of the morning session, adding 88 runs for the loss of Higgins. The more aggressive of the two batsmen, Higgins was first to raise 50, attaining that landmark from 68 balls with his eighth four, a gloriously-timed cover drive at the expense of Ravi Rampaul.Content to wait for the bad ball and altogether more cirumspect in his approach, the more cautious Roderick attained the same milestone via 163 balls, driving Reece to the long-on boundary for his seventh four.Reece afforded Derbyshire temporary respite when bowling Higgins, but Graeme van Buuren and Roderick ensured Gloucestershire were just one run behind at lunch.Rampaul made a double breakthrough in the afternoon session, pinning van Buuren lbw for 15 and then inducing Josh Shaw to chip to mid-wicket for six as the home side slipped to 325 for 8.Dutch international van Beek claimed the key wicket of Roderick, who edged a catch behind, and then removed last man Harry Hankins to wrap-up the innings.Gloucestershire immediately applied new-ball pressure, Reece falling to the second ball of the innings, nicking a catch behind off Matt Taylor without scoring.Billy Godleman succumbed to Higgins in similar fashion, pursuing a ball that pitched outside off stump and offering up a routine catch behind for 6.But the watchful Madsen and Lace shut the door on Gloucestershire ambition thereafter, displaying impressive discipline to stage an unbroken alliance of 79.

Somerset win thriller as Glamorgan come from 21 for 5 down to within three runs of victory

ECB Reporters Network21-Apr-2019After collapsing to 21 for 5 in the sixth over, Glamorgan came within three runs of an astonishing victory against Somerset.In a pulsating finish, Roelof van der Merwe had Lukas Carey caught by Azhar at the second attempt at mid-off. Carey and Tim van der Gugten had added 57 for the final wicket, after David Lloyd and Graham Wagg had struck half centuries mid-innings.Craig Overton and Josh Davey shared the first five wickets, with both bowlers bowling a full, accurate length. Had it not been for a 99-run partnership between Lloyd and Wagg, complemented by the last pair, Glamorgan would have been further embarrassed.After top scoring with 68 apiece against Hampshire last Friday, Lloyd and Wagg again showed that with application and careful shot selection, there were no hidden terrors in the pitch, with Lloyd passing fifty from 63 balls. He added a further 24 runs before he was bowled by van der Merwe.While Wagg was at the crease, Glamorgan remained in contention, but once he was caught at mid- off, it became a tough ask, with 51 runs needed from the last 10 overs, and the last pair at the crease. But the Glamorgan’ tailenders had other ideas, and it appeared they had won the game until van der Merwe struck with the first ball of the penultimate over.Somerset chose to bat after winning the toss, and were restricted to 35 for 2 after the 10-over Powerplay. Marchant de Lange dismissed the openers in his first overs. Azhar Ali attempted to cut a rising delivery and the edge was parried by the wicketkeeper to slip, where Lloyd held on to a one -handed catch. The impressive Tom Banton, who had struck de Lange for six over square leg two balls earlier, then feathered one to Cooke, with Somerset relying on their experienced duo of Peter Trego and James Hildreth to rebuild the innings.They put on 48 for the third wicket, before Trego received a beauty from Somerset all-rounder Craig Meschede that pitched outside off stump then nipped back to remove the leg bail. Tom Abell also offered some resistance, helping Hildreth to add a further 57 before the introduction of Marnus Labuschagne brought about a mid-innings collapse.Australian Labuschagne, signed as a batsman, has also impressed with his leg-spin, and captured the next three wickets, as Abell ran past one to be stumped, Lewis Gregory was similarly deceived and Hildreth, who had played a composed innings of 67, was caught attempting to clear long-off.Somerset’s last two wickets then put on 83 with Overton leading the way with an unbeaten 41.

Shrubsole hits 32 off 16 balls, claims two wickets as England win rain-interrupted match

The Report by Valkerie Baynes09-Jun-2019
Anya Shrubsole shone with the bat and ball to help England to another comprehensive victory – and an unassailable 2-0 series lead – in a rain-affected second ODI against West Indies at Worcester.Player of the Match Shrubsole smashed two sixes and two fours on her way to 32 off just 16 deliveries, lifting England to a highly respectable 41-over total after they lost a cluster of wickets following the first of two rain delays. She then claimed two wickets to put West Indies under immense pressure as they initially chased 244 off 41 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method, which was later reduced to 209 off 28 following the second rain interruption.The gulf between the two sides was shown to be huge during the first match in Leicester, which England won by 208 runs. West Indies put in a greatly improved performance with the ball and in the field in Worcester but at no point during their innings did their batsmen look like threatening the target. Not helped by losing early wickets, they simply did not score anywhere near the run rate required.Shrubsole – who was disappointed to go wicket-less in Leicester, where she conceded 27 runs off six overs – and Kate Cross were the architects of West Indies’ batting demise. Shrubsole finished with 2 for 12 and Cross 2 for 4 to decimate the tourists’ chase before it even began.”It’s nice to come out here, whack a few at the end and then get a couple of wickets, hopefully to get my summer kick-started,” Shrubsole told Sky Sports. “My batting is something I’ve worked really hard on. I’ve probably frustrated many people, many coaches, over the years, not taking it seriously. But it’s something I really want to be able to contribute to the team, coming in down the order and having a bit of a swing, it’s always fun.”Laura Marsh, playing her 100th ODI, chimed in after the second rain delay with a clever ball that turned back in and bowled Chedean Nation through the gate. At that point West Indies were 42 for 5 and staring at another heavy defeat. Shemaine Campbelle showed flashes of the big hitting West Indies needed, but they were mere glimpses and when she fell on the last ball she was her side’s top scorer with just 29 runs off 49 balls.England opener Tammy Beaumont had built on the fine touch she showed for limited reward in reaching 32 at Leicester, this time making 61 off 83 balls.Tammy Beaumont raises her bat for a half-century•Getty Images

But a 90-minute rain delay when England were 73 for 1 after 16 overs seemed to upset their rhythm. Beaumont reached her half-century shortly after the re-start, but she soon became the second wicket to fall in as many balls from Afy Fletcher.Legspinner Fletcher had Sarah Taylor out lofting a ball on the off-side, where Stacy-Ann King took a juggled catch at the second grab. She then had Beaumont adjudged out lbw with a ball that rapped the batsman on the front pad and looked well in line in real time, although replays suggested there was a chance the ball could have been going a fraction down the leg side.Fletcher claimed her third wicket three overs later, when she bowled Heather Knight with a ball that was bang on target. When Dani Wyatt sent a thick outside edge to Hayley Matthews at point, England were 153 for 5.Shrubsole was not the only one to show off England’s batting depth. Katherine Brunt and Sophie Ecclestone joined in, Brunt contributing 23 off as many balls and Ecclestone 11 off six, including one six.It had been a better start for West Indies who bowled to a plan and were much sharper in the field, where captain Stafanie Taylor had described their efforts on Thursday as “atrocious”. Their tactic of bowling wide outside off stump to an off-side field resulted in some wickets – including the early dismisal of Amy Jones for just 18 – and stemmed the flow of runs initially. But it perhaps didn’t yield the number of wickets they would have hoped for, or as quickly.”Very pleased to see how the bowlers actually bowled today,” Taylor told Sky Sports. “For us to come out and bowl the way we did at the English was really good. I’m always impressed with Afy [Fletcher], she’s special. We love every minute when we give her the ball, she’s always delivering, she’s that kind of player.”The sides head to Chelmsford for the third and final match of the series on Thursday before three T20I matches starting the following week.

Afghanistan have beaten West Indies thrice in their last four completed matches. Can they add another win to their kitty?

The Preview by Shashank Kishore03-Jul-20194:30

Ganga: A bit surprised that WI didn’t invest in Pooran earlier

Big picture

Fifteen months ago, Afghanistan and West Indies faced off in the finals of the World Cup Qualifiers in Harare. It was a landmark day in Afghanistan’s young cricketing history as they toppled the two-time World Cup winners to make a statement that they deserved to be here.Unfortunately, the only statement that the world seems to remember from their 2019 campaign is Gulbadin Naib’s ” (we are already drowned darling, but we’ll take you with us) quip ahead of the match against Bangladesh.Beyond that, of course, there are those who would say they should have beaten India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. In each of those games, their lack of experience and poor tactics were exposed. However, the bigger question still stares at them: did they give themselves the best chance to compete? Should they have tinkered with their leadership?Then, there was also the controversy over Mohammad Shahzad’s injury even as the wicketkeeper-batsman claimed to be a victim of board politics. Public differences between the sacked selection committee chief and outgoing head coach Phil Simmons haven’t helped them either. Now in their final game, they would want to give Simmons a fitting farewell.For West Indies, this World Cup promised much more. Their battery of young players – Shai Hope, Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer – are being hailed as some of the best talent to emerge in recent times. Chris Gayle wanted it to be his swansong, Andre Russell brought with him the threat that made him IPL’s MVP. Shannon Gabriel’s fire, Oshane Thomas’ pace and Jason Holder’s bounce brought with it a fine fast-bowling cocktail.They had Australia tottering at 38 for 4, posted 300 plus against Bangladesh, came within one blow of victory against New Zealand and then squandered a winning position against Sri Lanka. How could it all go wrong? It’s a question they would do well to answer, although they will be the first to admit that they have underachieved. Ahead of their flight back for a home series against India, they’d want to carry back some happy memories.

Form guide

West Indies:LLLLL (Last five completed matches, most recent first)

Afghanistan:LLLLLGetty Images

In the spotlight

Not too many selection committees gamble on a batsman with just one ODI under his belt ahead of a World Cup. Yet, as they leave, Nicholas Pooran‘s batting has been among the biggest positives for West Indies. His 118 against Sri Lanka is the highest by a West Indies player this World Cup. He’s the only West Indies batsman to average above 40 this tournament. Against Sri Lanka, he fell with his side needing 31 in three overs. If he gets into a similar situation, he’d be itching to finish it off and prove it to be his next step of learning.Gulbadin Naib may have well replayed the 46th over against Pakistan many times over in his head. He’d perhaps do things differently if he could warp back in a time machine. Could he have bowled Samiullah Shinwari? Would that have left Pakistan needing 18 or 20 off the final over? Could they have won? Now, Naib has a final opportunity to leave his mark on the world stage.

Team news

Kemar Roach trained full-tilt, a hint that he could be back for West Indies. Hamid Hasan’s injury for Afghanistan could mean a debut for left-arm medium pacer Sayed Shirzad.West Indies (probable): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Sunil Ambris, 3 Shai Hope (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, 5 Nicholas Pooran, 6 Jason Holder (capt), 7 Carlos Brathwaite, 8 Fabian Allen, 9 Sheldon Cottrell, 10 Oshane Thomas, 11 Kemar RoachAfghanistan: (probable): 1 Rahmat Shah, 2 Gulbadin Naib (capt), 3 Hashmatullah Shahidi 4 Ikram Alikhil (wk), 5 Asghar Afghan, 6 Mohammad Nabi, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Najibullah Zadran, 8 Samiullah Shenwari, 10 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 11 Sayed Shirzad

Pitch and conditions

Forecast is for a bright start, with cloud cover and possibly some rain towards the evening. This could make the toss tricky. Do you then play for DLS or go with the tried-and-tested mantra of batting first, batting big and choking the opponents? As such, both sides have chased poorly. They may as well bat first when the surface is at its best.

Strategy punt

• Three matches at No. 5, five games at No. 6. Afghanistan haven’t maximised Mohammad Nabi’s utility. Branding him a finisher has meant he’s largely batted when games have all been decided, the India clash being an exception. They need to find a way to slot him a spot higher.
• Gayle isn’t comfortable against spin upfront. Not if the bowler at the other end is Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Remember the qualifier final last year? A googly that drew him forward, only to rip away and crash into the stumps. Since then, of course, Gayle and Mujeeb have been team-mates at the IPL. Can Afghanistan look to play on his ego once again?

Stats and trivia

• Sheldon Cottrell’s seven wickets are the most for a bowler inside the first 10 overs this World Cup
• Afghanistan have used five opening pairs, the most by any team this tournament
• West Indies average 11.1 for the first wicket, the lowest among all teams
• Mujeeb’s economy rate of 4.3 is the best among spinners who have bowled at least 20 overs

‘I always had people telling me how much potential I had … when you get told that from such a young age you just expect it to happen’

Valkerie Baynes30-Jun-2019Amy Jones was cruising. In and about the England team, playing the odd game, carrying drinks mostly, but she was just happy to be there. Then, before the 2017 Women’s World Cup, she was dropped.The realisation that potential was only going to take her so far was pivotal in moulding Jones into the in-form opener who is now poised to take her country into an Ashes series against Australia, starting with the first of three ODIs on Tuesday in Leicester.”Getting dropped for that World Cup was huge for me because I kind of expected to be a part of it so when I wasn’t it was a bit of a shock and a bit of a wake-up call,” Jones said.”I was 24, 25 and as a youngster, I always had people telling me how much potential I had and I think when you get told that from such a young age you just kind of expect it to happen. You’re like, ‘oh well, surely I’m going to get a game and I’m going to score runs and it’s just going to snowball from there.'”But it just didn’t really at that point and missing out on the World Cup at home it was really gutting.”Interestingly, it was via Australia that that realisation came. During a successful stint with Perth-based WNCL side Western Fury, Jones “just worked it out for myself” with the help of her coaches there and a fresh environment. She has since returned to Western Australia to play for Perth Scorchers in the 2018-19 WBBL season.The stop-start nature of Jones’ early career was not all down to her. Being a wicketkeeper she had to play second fiddle to the brilliant Sarah Taylor. But when Taylor took time off in early 2018 to deal with anxiety issues that had sidelined her two years earlier, Jones broke back into the England side. Touring India, Jones took the gloves but also had the chance to showcase her batting at No. 3 in a three-match ODI series.”In the first two I got ducks so going into the last one I was like ‘oh Christ,'” Jones said. “This was my first opportunity back and I’d got two ducks so it was a very scary moment and I had a lot of doubts at that point. But I’d say it was that third ODI that was the big turning point for me.”I got 94 and that’s my highest score and I think that’s just the moment when I knew. That was the moment when I realised I could do it and that it wasn’t just potential. I actually had the ability to go out and score big runs, and under a lot of pressure at that point as well.”ALSO READ: ‘You are good enough’ – simple words that saved Tammy Beaumont’s careerPromoted to opener for the subsequent home series against South Africa and New Zealand, Jones has held her place as a batsman ever since while Taylor has also made a comeback as first-choice keeper. In that time, Jones has formed a formidable opening partnership with Tammy Beaumont.”As a youngster I always opened and it was more in the past almost trying to reinvent myself in different positions to try and get a game because that spot was never really open,” Jones said. “Having been able to nail that down now is where I’m comfortable batting so it’s brilliant that I can just go out and do what’s natural to me and that I’ve taken the opportunity really.”Jones is the more “chilled” character yet she is the more expressive batsman. She likes to score runs quickly and is not afraid to go for the boundary early. Bubbly fellow right-hander Beaumont oozes class and is generally prepared to dig in for the long haul.England opening pair Amy Jones (L) and Tammy Beaumont (R)•Getty Images

“I love batting with Tam, she’s good fun and we’ve had quite a lot of success recently together with some good opening partnerships and I think we complement each other pretty well,” Jones said.Beaumont agreed: “She’s good to bat with because she always scores quickly so it takes the pressure off me and it’s exciting to play with someone who complements my game. We hit the ball in different areas, she’s a lot taller than me and we hopefully make it quite difficult for the opening bowlers to bowl at us as a partnership.”Beaumont posted scores of 32, 61 and 46 in the recent one-day series with West Indies, while Jones twice threatened to overhaul her career best with 91, 18 and 80. Jones seems to be withstanding the inevitable pressure to convert 80s and 90s to a maiden century but she admitted to do it in an Ashes series “would be incredible”.

The Australia coach has opened up on how the pressure got to him earlier this year and recounts an old story regarding James Anderson

Daniel Brettig28-Jul-2019At the lowest moment of a tumultuous first six months, mentoring a weakened Australian team through the troubled waters that followed the Newlands scandal, Justin Langer’s wife Sue broke down in tears at the toll the job was taking on their family.Over breakfast at the team hotel in Sydney, the Langer family was about to be separated again as the coach went to travel to the SCG for another day of being ground down by Virat Kohli’s relentless Indian touring team, and Sue and their four daughters travelled home to Perth after being together for Christmas and New Year.Still wrestling with the scrutiny of the job, a world away from what he experienced as coach of Western Australia and the Perth Scorchers for the preceding six years, Langer was confronted by a sight he could not recall in 23 years of marriage.”We got to day three or day four of the last Test in Sydney and my family had been over for Boxing Day and for the SCG Test match,” Langer told ESPNcricinfo. “I’ve known my wife since I was 14 years old, so she knows everything about me, and they were leaving. I had to get in the team car to go to the ground at 8.15am. They were leaving that day, and we were at breakfast at 8 o’clock and my wife started crying at the breakfast table in front of my daughters.”I said what’s going on, I had never see my wife cry – we know everything about each other. She said ‘I just don’t like what’s happening here, I don’t like what it’s doing to you, I don’t like what it’s doing to us, people are so mean, what people are saying about you and the team and Australian cricket’. That was a real eye opener for me, that it was affecting my family.”A few days later, ahead of the ODI series that began Australia’s run to the World Cup, Langer was confronted by some awkward questions about how Glenn Maxwell had been wrongly led to believe he would be playing long-from cricket for Australia the year before. The press conference exchange did not play well on camera, emphasising to Langer much of what Sue had told him. He now regards the period to be as critical to his coaching career as being dropped from the Test team in 1993 and 2001 was for his playing days.”I got, I’d say two out of 10 grumpy with the journalist in Sydney, and I was also amazed at the backlash of that as well,” Langer said. “I apologised straight after the event, that’s me, but I realised then and the way people said ‘he’s getting angry, he’s losing it’. I didn’t feel that but my wife was getting upset, that was a real moment. I’ve said privately and publicly a few times if I look back to my career, 1993 when I got dropped for the first time, really tough time, but pivotal in my life.The presence of former players such as Steve Waugh has helped share the burden on Justin Langer•Getty Images

“I got dropped in 2001, a really, really tough time, but pivotal in my life. I look to January 2019 in Sydney, really tough time, but I’ve got no doubt it’ll be a massive part of my evolution as a coach. I got a really nice email from Malcolm Conn [former journalist and now New South Wales communications manager], just after that press conference. He’d obviously watched me grow from a young player to a player who retired however many years later and he gave me some really good advice. He knows what it was, but when I’m getting that sort of feedback from my wife, that sort of feedback from the team, I knew I had to find ways to get better and hopefully I’ve done that.”Langer has subsequently been steadily surrounded with more and more trusted allies to help him in the job while also balancing him personally. Ricky Ponting was recruited as an assistant coach for the World Cup, Steve Waugh as a mentor for the early part of the Ashes series, and Ben Oliver has been formally installed as the new head of national teams – a similar role to the one he performed successfully alongside Langer with WA.In an interview with ESPNcricinfo to mark 10 years of coaching, Langer also reflected on the infamous 2009 “dossier” leak in which his frankest thoughts about English cricket and players such as James Anderson were splashed across the pages of the , an episode that happened a matter of months before he moved from playing retirement to an assistant role with the Australian team.Recalling what he had written about Anderson in what was originally intended as a personal email of advice to the then national team coach Tim Nielsen, Langer said that the evolution of the Englishman from youth to maturity and greatness mirrored how he had grown and changed so much, first as a cricketer and now a coach.”If we get specific, I said in that email, which caused great headlines, that James Anderson was a pussy,” Langer said. “Now that’s my way of just talking about his body language. When we played against James Anderson as a young man, we felt that if we got on top of him, hit anything loose he bowled, because his body language would drop a little bit. I’d take back the word I used, that wouldn’t be my style now, that’s for sure, but it was two Aussie blokes talking to each other about someone’s body language.”Do I think that now about James Anderson? Absolutely not, and I hope you write this in the article, James Anderson has turned into a brilliant, great English fast bowler. He will be the person we talk about most when we go through our plans for winning this Ashes. He’s a brilliant player. When he was a young man he was different than he is now, and that happens with most. When I was a young batsman, I was dour, I couldn’t hit the ball off the square, I probably didn’t smile much, and people would’ve said that about me when I was younger, to where I finished up playing.”That was my interpretation of him, having played against him, I didn’t know him at all, it’s not personal. Would I say that now? No way in the world, he is a great bowler and we respect him enormously, I personally respect him for his longevity, for his skill. The greatest compliment we can give James Anderson now, the same person who wrote that 10 years ago, me as young and naive, wasn’t expecting it to get into public hands, certainly wouldn’t say that about him now.”

Sussex batsman joins coach Jason Gillespie in signing with the Adelaide Strikers for the upcoming BBL season

Alex Malcolm10-Sep-2019Adelaide Strikers have signed Sussex opener Phil Salt for the upcoming BBL season.Salt, 23, joins Rashid Khan as the Strikers’ overseas players after South African Colin Ingram left the team at the end of last season.The right-handed opener has had an outstanding T20 Blast season for Sussex under the guidance of Jason Gillespie, the coach at Sussex and Strikers. He has scored 406 runs in 13 innings, including four half-centuries, at a phenomenal strike rate of 161.11.Salt has been playing alongside Strikers keeper Alex Carey at Sussex this year and has also played with Rashid.The Strikers’ top-order batting struggled big time last season after being the cornerstone of their title win in BBL 07, and Gillespie was delighted to add a dynamic right-hander to compliment the bevy of left-handers in the top order. “We are incredibly excited to have signed Phil who has showed real signs of promise and has performed well for the Sharks in the Blast,” Gillespie said.”He’s beyond excited to get started, obviously we have Carey over here in England and Phil has been chatting to him non-stop about how it’s going to work, when he can come out to Adelaide and meet everyone and get stuck in.”Salt has experience playing premier cricket in Adelaide with Adelaide University in 2017-18. He played nine matches across the summer while doing a stint at the Darren Lehmann Academy.”I had a stint in Adelaide playing for Adelaide University and loved it, I made some really good friends who I’m looking forward to seeing again,” he said. “I love working with Dizz (Gillespie), Rash and Alex, it’s so key when you’re trying to build a great environment to have guys who you know are going to put 100% in at all times and give everything they’ve got to the cause.”I’ve worked really well with Dizz over the course of my career so far and hope that we can be even more successful here at the Strikers.”The Strikers have also signed South Australia wicketkeeper Harry Nielsen to the roster. Nielsen played last season in Carey’s absence and will likely be required again when the Australia ODI side tours India for a week in January midway through the BBL.

There is no official word on the salaries for domestic cricketers yet

Mohammad Isam11-Oct-2019Each of the seven Bangladesh Premier League teams for the upcoming season of the T20 tournament must have an overseas quick bowler who bowls above 140kph and a legspinner, who has to bowl four overs in each game, the Bangladesh Cricket Board director Mahbubul Anam has announced.But he didn’t provide any clarity on how much the domestic cricketers would be paid. Khaled Mahmud, another BCB director, had recently said that the board, which has taken over the running of the BPL from the franchises, would try to match what the players receive as match fees for T20Is, but there has been no official confirmation of that. It’s important to remember that if a top domestic player takes part in all the BPL matches, the amount he makes will still be well short of what he would have made in the BPL previously.”The players shouldn’t be worried about money,” Anam said. “We are holding this tournament by keeping them in mind. Salary isn’t very important, but it will definitely be respectable.”Each team must also have an overseas coach, physiotherapist and trainer, while local coaches can only work as assistants to the head coaches. Anam also said that each team must appoint a BCB director as the team director.ESPNcricinfo understands that the order about the 140kph quick bowler and legspinner has come from the Bangladesh team management, which, Anam said, has been concerned about the side’s ability against the two kinds of bowlers when playing internationally.”BCB wants this BPL to be about improving Bangladesh’s cricketers in T20s, so we want to make sure that our batsmen and bowlers get enough opportunities [against quicks and legspinners], something that was not possible when it was a franchise-based BPL,” Anam said.The BCB has reportedly received 390-plus registrations from players to be included in the draft, and there have also been requests put in by several coaches. With the BCB stipulating a sponsor for each team, they can bring overseas players from outside the draft too. Paying foreigners high salaries, however, might not sit well with domestic players, especially as the BCB’s message for the 2019-20 BPL is to be fully focused on the local talent.As reported by ESPNcricinfo, the next edition of the BPL will not be a franchise-run affair and, instead, be owned by the BCB following a clash between the board and six of the seven existing team owners, Dhaka Dynamites the only exception.

Jones, who commentates around the world, has become the first woman appointed via one of the state associations

Daniel Brettig06-Nov-2019Mel Jones has been commissioned to walk the tightrope that ultimately proved too much for Mark Taylor, marrying broadcast commentary with a place on the Cricket Australia board as Cricket Victoria’s nominee for a director. It’s the first instance of a woman being appointed via one of the state associations.Joining Jacqui Hey and Michelle Tredenick as female CA directors, Jones will add a wealth of playing experience for Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and Surrey to the board, while also bringing further media savvy in addition to the guidance now provided by the former Foxtel chief executive Richard Freudenstein, who replaced Taylor as the Cricket NSW nominee earlier this year.Having played five Tests and 61 ODIs for Australia between 1997 and 2005, Jones went on to work in player management with TLA – a key partner of CA – before switching full-time to commentary in 2016, where she has worked with Nine, the ABC and on broadcasts for ICC events plus the IPL, PSL and CPL T20 tournaments. Last year Jones signed on with Fox Cricket as the subscription network became the major partner in CA’s six-year, A$1.2 billion broadcast deal that also features the free-to-air Seven network.When resigning from the board last year, amid the fallout from a cultural review into CA that led to the removal of the previous chairman David Peever, Taylor explained how difficult it was to work as both a commentator and a CA director, though he was able to hold the post from 2004 to 2018, with a brief break in 2012-13. Things became still more complex for Taylor when Nine lost the cricket rights to Fox and Seven, while he remained a pundit for his employer.”I sit in sometimes an interesting position as a former player, board director and also a broadcaster,” Taylor said. “It can be a very tricky position, and often very hard to get the balance right between saying too much or saying not enough. Balancing those positions is tough, and it takes it out of you.”Earl Eddings, the CA chairman, said Jones’ strong record as an advocate for women’s sport, including terms as a board director of Bowls Australia from 2014 to 2017, as a member of the Victorian State Government Women in Sport and Recreation Taskforce in 2014 and 2015 and a former board member and now ambassador for Red Dust, an organisation promoting health in indigenous communities, gave her a range of experiences and skills that the CA board required.”Mel has been an active and inspiring part of the cricket fabric for many years and we are privileged to have her join the board,” Eddings said. “Australian Cricket has been undergoing significant change over the past two years and I’ve no doubt Mel’s experience on and off the field will be an asset to the team as we move into our next phase.”Mel’s commitment to the game and her advocacy, particularly for women in sport, will only bolster our continued focus on advancing cricket to be the number one sport for women and girls. Her understanding of the pressures and privilege of play, in addition to the challenges and opportunities of administration are a welcome complement to an already-strong team. A trailblazer in cricket, it is only fitting that Mel is also the first female elected to the CA board as a state nominee.”Jones, who spent her first five years out of the international game as pathways, schools and female cricket development manager at Cricket Victoria, is also a qualified secondary school teacher, adding further to her potential insights for CA.”I’m excited to have this opportunity to work with the board to strengthen cricket’s bond with the community and ensure a healthy and sustainable future for the next generations,” Jones said. “I have much admiration for the work that has been undertaken over the past 18 months in particular, an incredibly challenging time for cricket, and testament to its place in the hearts of Australians.”

Talented allrounder becomes the latest Australian cricketer to step away from the game citing mental health concerns

Alex Malcolm22-Nov-2019Australia and Melbourne Renegades women’s allrounder Sophie Molineux has become the latest cricketer to step away from the game for mental health issues.Molineux has played all 10 of the Renegades WBBL games so far this season, as she was pushing to return to the national side ahead of the T20 World Cup. But she has withdrawn from Saturday’s Melbourne derby against the Stars at Eastern Oval in Ballarat in order to focus on her mental health and wellbeing.This follows on from Victorian male trio Glenn Maxwell, Nic Maddinson and Will Pucovski all withdrawing from Australia and Australia A commitments for mental health reasons, although it is understood all three men were suffering from different mental health challenges.Australia and Perth Scorchers women’s batter Nicole Bolton stepped away from cricket last summer due to mental health issues.Renegades WBBL Head Coach Tim Coyle said they will give Molineux as much time as she needs away from the game.”Sophie knows her teammates and the Renegades coaches and support staff are always there for her,” Coyle said. “We’ll give Sophie the time, space and any support she needs.”Pip Inge, Australia Women’s Team Doctor, said that Cricket Australia will monitor Molineux closely.”Sophie has made the decision to take a break from cricket and we are providing her with the support she needs,” Inge said. “The welfare of our players is a priority and we are proud of the brave decision by Sophie to step away from the game.”CA’s head of national teams Ben Oliver told ESPNCricinfo earlier this month that CA is working hard with both the men’s and women’s national squads to gain a better understanding of mental health issues.Australia’s male players spoke on the eve of first Test against Pakistan about the importance of monitoring their own wellbeing.Makinley Blows has been brought into the Renegades squad.