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Old-fashioned method fuels de Kock's century spree

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

The power of South Africa’s lower middle order has allowed de Kock to take his time early on, and the results have been spectacular

Sidharth Monga01-Nov-20232:13

Harmison: Should SA have gone harder with the bat?

When he knew it was all over, Tony Montana pulled out the machine gun and said the legendary line, “Say hello to my little friend.”It is almost impossible to imagine Quinton de Kock getting so expressive, but in his last World Cup, right at the end of an international career in which he has perhaps felt trapped like Montana at times, he has brought out his own, actual little friend: a desire and a method to bat long.Not that he didn’t always have it. When de Kock first announced himself with three centuries in a week against India late in 2013, back when he was almost the Simba the senior players loved to hold aloft, he was – despite his methods and scoring areas – an old-fashioned ODI opener, who would start off watchfully and look to play deep into the innings.Related

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In the middle chunk of his ODI career, though, de Kock became more of an enforcer and less of a long-innings player. From 2018 to 2022, he didn’t have a single year with more than one ODI century, but his strike-rate over that period (98.78) was higher than it had been before (94.62).And then came 2023. South Africa have developed a strategy where they want to give their power-hitting lower middle order not much more than 20 overs to cause havoc in. It has allowed de Kock to perhaps go back to his original style. When batting first this year, he has struck at just 4.61 an over in the first powerplay, having gone at 6.09 and 5.44 in the same phase in 2021 and 2022.Quinton de Kock is all smiles after bringing up his fourth hundred of this World Cup•Associated PressThe desire to bat longer is clear, and the method is to somehow get past the early movement. Thanks to South Africa’s consistently firing lower middle order, de Kock knows it is okay to start off slowly. So slow that South Africa have gone even slower than Pakistan in the first powerplay in this World Cup.There is good reason for South Africa’s leadership to be fine with de Kock starting off slowly. In 32 innings in Asia, de Kock has gone past 50 on 10 occasions; eight of them have been centuries. In innings where de Kock has gone past 30, he has achieved better control figures in Asia than in any other continent. It clearly suggests an expertise in these conditions. His IPL experience no doubt helps.Even without these figures, if you went just by feel, you can well imagine what nightmare it would be for bowlers if de Kock decides to, and finds a way to, bat deep. For he is not the kind of batter whom fields can restrict. As the numbers suggest, he has a grip on the conditions in Asia. He will always catch up.A good example was this slow start in Pune against New Zealand. He was on 13 off 25 after 10 overs. His reaction was not to do anything dramatic. He sweated on his favourite pick-up pull against Tim Southee. That shot is a hard-length neutraliser like no other. Now de Kock is no surprise package, and Southee is a wily bowler. He kept denying de Kock the shot, mostly by going wide and across him. De Kock waited for just the right ball, and when he got the right line, out it came, at the start of the 16th over.Quinton de Kock waited patiently until he got a chance to play his favourite pick-up pull•ICC/Getty ImagesWith that shot came the fluency although there was never perhaps a time when either he or Rassie van der Dussen got entirely comfortable on what looked like a slightly tricky surface to begin with.There was gradual acceleration until the 30th over, after which he began to manufacture shots, moving inside the line and targeting the long-leg area. It was consistent with how he has gone through this World Cup: watchful at the start, pick up in the middle overs, and then start hitting after the 30th. If it comes off, we are in for Montana-like fireworks; if it doesn’t, South Africa don’t lose out on much because the batters coming in are better off using those deliveries.The result of this change in approach for de Kock is that this was his fourth hundred already in this World Cup with at least three – and possibly four – innings to go. There is a joy to watching him wind down his ODI career with the freedom to bat the way he did when he started out.At 152 innings right now, it is all too brief a career, but this little friend of de Kock has helped him take his frequency of hitting hundreds to bang between the gold standards of ODI batting in his era. Virat Kohli scores one every six innings, approximately, and Rohit Sharma once every eight digs; de Kock is slightly slower than a century every seven innings. It will take a brave person to bet against him improving that rate.

Green's red-ball rhythm proves he is the real deal

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

While some struggled to switch between formats and others continued their lean patch, Green continued his red-ball form from the Sheffield Shield

Alex Malcolm29-Feb-20241:59

Malcolm: Green century a vindication of his move to No. 4

While three of Australia’s top six were preparing for Australia’s T20I series in Wellington last week, in between golf rounds at nearby Royal Wellington and Paraparaumu Beach, Cameron Green was peeling off an unbeaten Sheffield Shield century for Western Australia in Hobart.Just 10 days later, in similar climes to Hobart, at a similar ground to Bellerive, Green peeled off another to hold Australia’s increasingly fragile Test batting line-up together with the finest Test knock of his career and prove beyond any doubt that he is the real deal at international level.While the likes of Steven Smith, Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh had come and gone having had just three days to adjust from T20I batting to the Test-match challenge, and Marnus Labuschagne continued his lean run, Green dug in to continue to red-ball rhythm he had found in Hobart.Related

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It was a win for the selectors. They had resisted the urge to add Green to the T20I squad, even when both Marcus Stoinis and Aaron Hardie were ruled out, insisting that they wanted to keep him focussed on red-ball cricket knowing that he could find his T20 touch at the IPL.It was a win for Green too, who had become a target for an unhappy section of Australian fans who did not think he was worthy of being promoted to the coveted No. 4 position, while one of Test cricket’s best-ever No.4s in Smith was exposed to the new ball.Green spoke of the value of that Shield game after the day’s play.”I think it’s really important,” Green said. “I probably struggled to have the red ball practice leading into Tests [recently].”I think it’s been always one or two net sessions then thrown in the deep end a little bit. But that’s what international cricket is like at the moment. Unfortunately, it’s been a pretty busy 18 months and there’s not much practice in between changing formats. It’s just a bit of a work in progress for myself. I’m trying to obviously learn off guys that do it quite regularly like Steve and Mitch Marsh, Dave Warner. I think they stay true to their technique. And it’s something that I need to work on. I’m not trying to be changing so much in between formats.”He did need some luck. There were plenty of plays and misses on a surface that produced swing, seam and excessive bounce after New Zealand inserted Australia under overcast skies.But there was plenty of quality too. Fabulous, brave drives down the ground. Powerful pull shots. A muscled slap past deep cover to get to 99 with nine men on the fence in the last over of the day. And then a deft late cut to bring up his century. The emotion poured out of him just as it did when he scored his first Test century in Ahmedabad last year.Cameron Green stuck his second straight first-class century•AFP/Getty ImagesGreen, 24, has put so much pressure on himself to perform at Test level. The weight of expectation from the Australian cricketing public is nothing compared to the burden he carries in his own mind about scoring centuries for his country. It should be joyous for a player to reach such a milestone, but the first words Green used to describe his century in the aftermath were revealing.”Equally as relieving as my first one,” Green said.Australia were relieved that he pulled them out of a jam.Green did not have to bat at all in the opening session after Smith, Usman Khawaja and Labuschagne had ground their way to 62 for 1 in 27 overs, with Smith the only one to fall to an excellent delivery from Matt Henry.But you could make a case that batting got a little more difficult after lunch when the sun peaked through the clouds and the pitch hardened up. Smith and Khawaja had played pretty comfortably earlier in the day when there was moisture in the surface and the bounce was true and a fraction slow.Green noted after play that some divots had hardened in the surface and made batting tricky. He copped a ball on the elbow that reared back at him from wide of off stump from Will O’Rourke.But he rode the waves. He absorbed pressure and was aided by Marsh’s counter-attacking 40 after Australia had slumped to 89 for 4. Henry prised out the patient Khawaja with a cracking late inswinger through the gate.The form of Labuschagne remains an ongoing concern. He nicked off for a torturous 27-ball 1. The manner of the dismissal was more concerning than the score. He was caught on the crease, squared up again to a Scott Kuggeleijn outswinger that angled in and straightened. In isolation, it was a good delivery that could be written off as such. But it is the 10th time he has nicked to the cordon in his last 23 Test innings, and while no dismissal is ever the same, all 10 bear alarming similarities.Head too looks a shadow of the player who smashed a stunning century in Adelaide three Tests ago. He has since been dismissed three times in eight balls across three Test innings for one run. In between times, he has played some bizarre and erratic white-ball knocks while also needing a rest.It only serves to further highlight the importance of the decision to keep Green in red-ball mode. While the minds of his team-mates raced, he was calm throughout. He deliberately held up the bowler several times during the day to ensure he was not hurried through his mental process, and it paid dividends.”I think that’s probably the beauty of getting another red-ball game,” Green said. “You got a really good chance to lock into your own bubble and would be able to basically practice switching on and switching off in between deliveries and going through your methods.”Green was quick to note that this century did not guarantee his position at No. 4 was safe for the long term. But it does underline why he has been rated so highly. His record under pressure and in tricky batting conditions is also better than he is given credit for with this innings sitting alongside the vital 77 he scored on a raging turner in Galle and his 74 on a green monster in Hobart against England.It hasn’t always been easy being Cameron Green. But he lived up to the expectation at the Basin.

Hometown boy Adair thrilled as Northern Ireland prepares to host its first men's Test

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Stormont, in Belfast, will become the 123rd venue to host men’s Test cricket

Matt Roller24-Jul-2024After a six-year wait, Ireland will finally play their second home men’s Test this week – but it will be staged in a different country to the first. Stormont, in Belfast, will become the 123rd venue to host a men’s Test; Northern Ireland will become the 23rd nation to do so, after the Republic of Ireland became the 22nd back when Pakistan played at Malahide in 2018.Cricket, like rugby union, is played on an all-Ireland basis: there is a single national team which plays as ‘Ireland’ and has representation from both sides of the border. Football stands in clear contrast, with two separate national teams. At the Olympics, some Northern Irish athletes represent Team GB and others represent Team Ireland.Northern Ireland has a strong record of producing cricketers, including several members of Ireland’s ‘golden generation’ in William Porterfield, Gary Wilson and Boyd Rankin. Six of the 14-man squad picked to face Zimbabwe this week are from north of the border: Mark Adair, Matthew Humphreys, Andy McBrine, James McCollum, Paul Stirling and Craig Young.”I’d be a very proud Northern Irishman,” Adair, who will lead the seam attack, tells ESPNcricinfo. National identity and politics are rarely discussed in the dressing room, he explains: “Much like rugby, it’s something that is obviously respected, but not really talked about. There’s no need to talk about it, which is a good thing. But I think it adds to the pride of it for me.”It’s obviously tricky, because you’ve got a small part of the emerald isle in the UK and the rest of it isn’t. If you start off in Belfast and drive an hour, the next thing you know, the speed limits are in kilometres per hour not miles, and the money is in euros instead of pounds. It’s something we’re all aware of, but it doesn’t really come into play.”Mark Adair: I’ve probably played more games on this ground than anyone else in the squad. It means the world to me•Getty ImagesAdair grew up in Holywood, a town just outside Belfast, and lives 10 minutes’ drive from Stormont. “The team hotel is further away than my house,” he says. After recovering from a minor hamstring injury, he could bowl the first ball in the ground’s Test match history on Thursday: “It’s really special for me. It’s something that I grew up never thinking I’d be able to do or have the chance to do… I’d struggle to talk about the significance.”After getting into cricket watching the 2005 Ashes on Channel 4, Adair can remember watching Marcus Trescothick score a century for England in an ODI at Stormont in 2006. “But the next few times I saw Ireland play there, I’d have been helping out with the groundstaff, lending a pair of hands and helping to get the covers on.”Phil McCormick, the head groundsman at Stormont, would ask a teenaged Adair for help, having captained him in club cricket. “There would be times when he’d need me to do something and I was too busy getting autographs of the England or Pakistan players,” Adair laughs. “There’s a couple of photos out there of me asking Gary Wilson to sign something for me.”It’s gone from that, to him preparing a Test match pitch that I’m hopefully going to be playing on… I’ve asked him not to cut it for the last month! He’s put a lot of work in, and fingers crossed, it’s a belter. I’ve probably played more games on this ground than anyone else in the squad… it means the world to me.”

I haven’t yet, but I’m sure I’ll get a text from my dad saying, ‘I need 27 tickets, could you sort that?Mark Adair is expecting family to come along for the start of the Zimbabwe Test on Thursday

Adair took six wickets on Test debut in 2019, including 3 for 32 as Ireland bowled England out for 85 at Lord’s. “I remember sitting in the changing room thinking, ‘it doesn’t get better than this’ and that we were going to play loads of Test cricket,” he recalls. “But then it sort of disappeared, and went onto the back-burner. I didn’t even own a pair of white pads for a few years.”Ireland’s precarious financial position meant they went four years without playing a Test, though they have now played five in the last 15 months. Their most recent fixture came in March, when Adair’s eight-wicket match haul proved instrumental in their first-ever Test win over Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi – and won him the match award.”I love Test cricket and multi-day cricket, and I really hope it’s something that comes back to Irish cricket more regularly,” he says. “Any time that guys don’t try and whack me from ball one, I’m delighted… the skillset that I have is pretty similar [across formats] and I love the idea of being able to bowl longer spells and read batsmen, and try to work them out.”At 28, he will have the opportunity to play his first home Test in front of his family this week, against a Zimbabwe side who have not played in the format for 17 months. “Our record against them over the last few years is close,” Adair says. “Zimbabwe are a great team for us to play against: they’re well-balanced and will be a good marker of where we’re at.”I haven’t yet, but I’m sure I’ll get a text from my dad saying, ‘I need 27 tickets, could you sort that?’ But I’m sure there’ll be a full quota of Adairs on the Saturday, and my other half will be down for most of the week… it’s just mad that I’ll be one of the guys on the field, rather than the little kid who’s having to pull the covers on.”

DPL week 5: Abahani lift 22nd DPL title with two matches in hand

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Second-placed Mohammedan are assured of their best season in 11 years

Mohammad Isam30-Apr-2024

Key takeaways



After thirteen consecutive wins, Abahani Limited were finally pushed in a Dhaka Premier League game this season. Still, they beat Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club by four wickets with a ball to spare in their Super League clash at the BKSP-4 ground. Before Tuesday’s win, they had an average of 144 balls remaining when they won chasing, and by 123 runs on average when batting first. Abahani defended their DPL title having won it last year, to take their tally to 22 trophies in this competition.Abahani were bereft of most of their main players as ten of them are in Chattogram with the Bangladesh squad, for the T20I series against Zimbabwe. BCB’s cricket operations released Tanzim Hasan, Tanvir Islam and Afif Hossain for Abahain’s April 30 game, after their coach Khaled Mahmud claimed that he was struggling to form a playing XI due to the ten absentees and injuries to Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Khaled Ahmed.Abahani’s long-standing arch-rivals Mohammedan Sporting Club had their best season since 2013 after they completed their tenth win. They beat Prime Bank and Shinepukur Cricket Club in the Super League phase so far.

Best batters



Saif Hassan’s century and fifty in the Super League phase has helped him climb close to Parvez Hossain Emon, who at 623 runs, remains the league’s leading run-scorer. But Saif reduced the gap by eleven runs while Mahidul Islam became the third batter to reach 600 runs this season.Mohammedan’s Rony Talukdar struck 141 against Prime Bank, his first big knock in this season’s DPL. It probably came a little too late for the veteran opener as he seems to be out of the picture from Bangladesh’s T20I World Cup plans despite being a regular face last year.Najmul Hossain Shanto was among those who got centuries in the Super League. He would take confidence from his 101 off 84 balls against Gazi Group Cricketers. Meanwhile, Shamsur Rahman’s 101 helped Rupganj Tigers stave off relegation.

Best bowlers



Abu Hider overtook fellow left-arm quick Ruyel Miah as the leading wicket-taker with a four-wicket haul against Shinepukur. Hider now has 28 wickets at 18.43 bowling average, while Ruyel has 27 scalps at 18.74.Legspinner Rishad Hossain is the leader among spinners with his 23 wickets at 12.74. He took his third four-wicket haul in this season’s DPL, against Gazi Group during the Super League. Left-arm spinners Nazmul Hossain, Nasum Ahmed and Tanvir Islam are trailing Rishad with each taking at least 20 wickets.

Best match



Sheikh Jamal knew that Abahani were not at full strength in their Super League clash on April 30, but still they couldn’t take full advantage. They slipped to 15 for three, before Shakib Al Hasan helped them recover somewhat in the middle overs. Still at 152 for seven, it looked like yet another Abahani cakewalk.No 9 Ziaur Rahman smacked eight sixes and six fours in his 58-ball 85, helping Sheikh Jamal to 267-9 in 50 overs. Anamul Haque Bijoy and Afif Hossain struck fifties to keep Abahani afloat after they lost two wickets within 16 overs. They added 103 runs for the third wicket, before captain Mosaddek Hossain guided the chase till the 50th over.

Points to ponder



At the other end of the DPL points table was the relegation battle. With all three teams in four points, one of them needed to win both games in the playoffs. Rupganj Tigers did that, beating City Club and Gazi Tyres Cricket Academy, who are now relegated to the Dhaka First Division Cricket League this season.

Players to watch



Only Parvez Hossain Emon got a Bangladesh call-up for the Zimbabwe T20Is among the DPL’s top five scorers. Rishad among the top five wicket-takers is in the squad too, but he was there before this season’s DPL. The best the rest can hope for is Bangladesh A places in the upcoming matches against Pakistan A and New Zealand A. U19 players Jishan Alam, Ashiqur Rahman Shibli and Maruf Mridha could also be in consideration for High Performance or Bangladesh A teams this season.

Powerplay podcast: An unexpected final

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Laura Wolvaardt, Ayabonga Khaka, Eden Carson and Fran Jonas join the podcast after two remarkable semi-finals

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Oct-2024Valkerie Baynes and Firdose Moonda reflect on two remarkable T20 World Cup semi-finals, and catch up with some of the star performers, including South Africa’s captain Laura Wolvaardt and seamer Ayabonga Khaka, a key member of the “bomb-squad” that out-Australia-ed Australia in Dubai to give the 2023 finalists another shot at glory.On the other side of the draw, New Zealand held their nerve in a tense finish against West Indies, to cap their own remarkable revival after a group-stage elimination last time out. Eden Carson and Fran Jonas represent the coming generation that has been instrumental in the turnaround.

Race to IPL 2025 playoffs: SRH become third team to get knocked out

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

The competition is heating up in the top half of the points table

S Rajesh01-May-2025 • Updated on 05-May-20251:37

Chawla: Bethell’s batting reflects RCB’s own good form

RCB are back on top of the points table with the win against CSK. But with the other top teams notching up wins as well, it’s still possible for five teams to finish on 18 points. That means to be absolutely sure of qualification, RCB need two more wins. However, if other results go their way, they can qualify even with 16 points, without depending on NRR.RCB will also be happy with two home wins in a row, given that they have two more games to go at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. One obvious area of improvement is with the toss: they have lost five in a row in Bengaluru, and they will be hoping for better luck with the coin in their last two home games.1:30

Is Prabhsimran finally living up to his promise?

Punjab Kings

PBKS’ win against Lucknow Super Giants took them to second place with 15 points, consolidating their place in the top four with three games to go. While 17 points may not be enough to guarantee qualification without other results going their way, two more wins will take them into the playoffs. If they lose all their three remaining games, PBKS will be heavily reliant on other results to avoid elimination.3:31

‘Gill is conventional and measured, but not conservative’

Gujarat Titans

Fourteen points with four games to go and a net run rate second only to that of Mumbai Indians – GT have everything going in their favour to not only qualify, but also look for a top-two finish. To make things even better, two of their three remaining games are at home – where they already have a 4-1 win-loss record – against cellar-dwellers CSK and another team struggling for momentum, LSG.1:43

Chopra: No apparent weaknesses in this MI side

Mumbai Indians

With six wins in a row, the latest being a 100-run thumping that eliminated RR, MI are on course to finish in the top four, and possibly even the top two. Not only do they have momentum on their side, they also have the best NRR among all teams. MI could be among five teams with 18 or more, which is where their net run rate could help them provided they stay ahead on that parameter. They also have two home games in hand, which could be crucial given that they have won four out of five at home so far, the most by any team.3:53

DC’s bowling a concern at Kotla?

Delhi Capitals

The win against RR has kept KKR in contention for a top-four finish. With 11 points from 11 games, however, the maximum they can finish on is 17. It’s possible for five teams to finish on 18 or more points, which means a spot in the playoffs isn’t guaranteed even if KKR win their remaining three games. As with PBKS, 15 points will give KKR a chance, but 13 will eliminate them.2:48

Kumble: Pant needs to get rid of the confusion in his head

Lucknow Super Giants

With their third successive defeat – against PBKS on Sunday – LSG are in seventh place; their chances of finishing in the top four are slim and dependent on other results. Even if they win their remaining three matches – two of which are against teams in the top four – LSG can only get to 16 points, while RCB have already got that many. Their net run rate is also the worst among the seven teams that remain in contention for the playoffs.

India, Pakistan training overlap spikes Asia Cup interest in Dubai

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

The players from both teams stuck to their own routines, but the buzz is expected to grow when they face each other

Shashank Kishore06-Sep-202513:47

Runorder: What is India’s best XI for the Asia Cup?

Shortly after 7pm, all eyes at the ICC Academy turned towards the nets area of the Pakistan team. They’d just arrived for their final training session ahead of Sunday’s tri-series final against Afghanistan in Sharjah.Would there be a cross-over with India, who were already in the middle of their own preparations? Would players exchange pleasantries or keep their distance? Those hoping for a moment worth filming were left disappointed as both teams stuck to their routines.India’s session spanned nearly three hours in which each of their specialist batters spent more than an hour in the middle, before the allrounders padded up and whacked the ball into all corners to bring down what turned out to be more range-hitting than a net session aimed at players finding touch.Related

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Pakistan batted at the nets area tucked away in a quiet corner, away from the prying eyes. They prepped on surfaces that offered turn, bite and uneven bounce, perhaps simulating what’s in store against Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar and Noor Ahmad come Sunday. Away from the nets, Shaheen Shah Afridi took a few catches and did a light warm-up, while Haris Rauf ran laps.The assortment of surfaces at the ICC Academy, as many as 40 of them – largely Asian but also some that replicate bouncy conditions like at the WACA, Gabba and some that offer swing and seam – were put to good use by as many as 60 players over the last few days, including those from Oman and Hong Kong.By the time training wrapped up on Saturday, the organisers breathed a sigh of relief. Pakistan had a game to play on Sunday, and India announced a rest day.The evening began with India doing a bronco drill with cones placed at 20, 40 and 60 metres distances. The squad split into three groups of five. Trainer Adrian Le Roux called the shots, Sitanshu Kotak kept score, while head coach Gautam Gambhir turned cheerleader. The exercise wasn’t about results as much as it was about simulating match-day conditions in the event that India field first in the heat.Once the lights took full effect, the players shifted into full-fledged centre-wicket nets. Friday had been about easing in, but Saturday had a sharper edge, perhaps even giving us a peek into combinations that are slowly beginning to emerge.Purely on evidence of the first two days, it seems as if Jitesh Sharma may have a slight edge over Sanju Samson as India’s first-choice wicketkeeper. He underwent extended batting stints on Saturday, with Gambhir watching closely from behind the nets. At one point, he appeared to advise Jitesh about some of his premeditated attempts at scoops and pick-up shots.The Indian team during their first training session ahead of Asia Cup 2025•Shashank Kishore/ESPNcricinfo LtdSamson, meanwhile, only took throwdowns to begin with and sat watching the other batters go through their paces. Just before the session wound down, though, he padded up and hit the ball far and long. Out came the pulls, flat-bats and some heaves that had him occasionally grimace at losing his shape.All told, there was little to suggest anything was off. His timing was crisp and the sound it made off the sweet spot had those patrolling the boundaries and beyond repeatedly running distances to fetch the ball hit into the outer periphery of the ICC Academy Ovals, some even into Pakistan’s training area.Long before Samson took guard, Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Tilak Varma were the first to stride out, followed by Suryakumar Yadav, Rinku Singh, and Jitesh. For the next 90 minutes, they faced a mix of Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya.Then came a battery of local net bowlers that included three wristspinners and two left-arm seamers, all instructed to go flat out. India’s two throwdown specialists jumped in periodically, cranking up the pace whenever the session needed a jolt. India completed a four-hour-long training session close to 9pm.Sunday is rest day, with the Indian team lined up to have two more sessions in the lead-up to their Asia Cup opening game against UAE on September 10.

Stoinis and David shine light on future of Australia's contracts system

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

CA’s current model has been in place for a considerable time but it may need to evolve to keep pace with a changing landscape

Alex Malcolm30-Sep-2025Marcus Stoinis was all smiles when he fronted the media at Bay Oval in Tauranga on Monday, proudly back in Australia colours for the first time since last November.His return to the Australian squad, without a national or state contract and having missed the previous two Australia T20I series to play in the Hundred, shines a light on an issue that has been bubbling away within Australian cricket for some time.There is a growing consensus across many of those involved in the game spoken to by ESPNcricinfo that Cricket Australia’s (CA) current men’s contracting system is no longer fit for purpose.Related

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It is a thought that has been discussed at length at various CA meetings around the country over the past 12 months with the current contracting system that was inked in 2023 set to remain in place between CA and the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) until 2028.Stoinis and Tim David, another who will feature this week in the three-match series, are two key examples that have highlighted the limitations of Australia’s current men’s contracting system and why change is being discussed.Stoinis’ absence from the five-match T20I tour of the West Indies in July and the three-match T20I home series against South Africa was notable. He wasn’t injured and there was never any official statement that he had been dropped. All of which was a curiosity given he was one of Australia’s most sought-after players at the IPL auction last year and remains in high demand as a franchise player around the world.Instead, it was later revealed that an agreement had been struck with Australia’s coach Andrew McDonald and chairman of selectors George Bailey to allow him to fulfil a lucrative AUD$409,000 contract to play in the Hundred, despite in Bailey’s words still being “firmly in the mix” for next year’s T20 World Cup.It is not unusual for high profile Australian players to miss white-ball series throughout any calendar year. But it is always three-format players who are given time to rest ahead of Test series that are seen as a higher priority.But for the single format or white-ball only players, the series against West Indies and South Africa were key parts of Australia’s build towards the T20 World Cup as they attempt to bed a new playing style following the retirements of David Warner and Matthew Wade last year.Stoinis’ case is rare in that he is an uncontracted one-format player who does not play domestic state cricket, however he does play in the BBL.The selectors are keen to have Tim David in their ODI set-up towards the 2027 World Cup•Getty ImagesWhile New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has been a global leader in managing casual playing contracts with senior players to allow them to miss international series to take up franchise opportunities, CA is only now starting to dip its toes into a rapidly rising tide.CA contracted 23 male players this financial year, as they did last year. Australia’s men played nine Test matches, 13 ODIs and eight T20Is in the 2024-25 contract period and used 34 players across all formats.The 2025-26 contract list was heavily weighted towards Test-only players but Australia play only seven Tests in the financial year, with two against West Indies (the first of the series came under the previous year) and five against England. They will only play nine ODIs but are currently scheduled to play 19 T20Is plus the T20 World Cup.Stoinis and David were not centrally or state contracted either last financial year or this one. However, both played the minimum number of white-ball internationals – six – to qualify for a CA upgraded contract which in 2024-25 was AUD$346,641 (not including match payments) and in 2025-26 is AUD$353,574. David has already played six matches this financial year. If Stoinis plays in six of the next eight T20Is against New Zealand and India, or by June 30, 2026, he will qualify again.The upgrade system has been CA’s longstanding way of rewarding those from outside the initial list after they earned selection to play for their country. But it may be past its use-by date for several reasons.Firstly, players can now earn more than the CA minimum contract by playing for one month in a franchise league overseas as Stoinis did in the Hundred. But that requires an NOC from CA, or the players’ state if they are contracted, and as was the case with Adam Zampa recently ahead of the T20 Blast finals in England, contracted players can be denied NOCs for franchise leagues because of domestic cricket commitments in Australia.The MOU only allows a maximum of 24 to be contracted initially but there are no limits on the number of upgrades.Seven players including Stoinis, David, Cooper Connolly, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Spencer Johnson, Nathan McSweeney and Beau Webster all qualified for an upgrade through playing enough games in the 2024-25 cycle. Three Tests, six white-ball matches or a combination of the two are enough to trigger an upgrade. Eight players were upgraded in 2023-24 which was a white-ball World Cup year.If a state contracted player gets upgraded, which five of last year’s seven were, they only get a pro rata pay increase from their original state deal for the remainder of the contract period.The likes of Mitchell Owen won’t be short of franchise offers•MLCThe maximum state deal for this year was AUD$205,153, excluding match payments, although that is usually only given to a player who played both Sheffield Shield and one-day domestic cricket. BBL deals are signed separately outside of both CA and state contracts, but again the maximum BBL deal for an Australian players is only around AUD$200,000 and most are well under that while some overseas players are earning more than twice that much.Stoinis and David have not pursued state deals in recent years. Stepping away from that system comes at a cost in terms of not having access to coaches and training facilities and full-time medical and strength conditioning support. Superannuation and insurance are other serious considerations for those leaving the system.But it also means a player doesn’t have to train on a state team’s schedule and potentially be restricted from playing in overseas franchise leagues either during the pre-season or during the domestic season.Those two players have bet on themselves and there should be no criticism of them for that. They have a set of skills which are highly valued in the franchise open market. But integrating them into longer-term plans for Australia now comes with allowing them to play franchise cricket elsewhere to maximise their income. That is where the limitations of the upgrade model are exposed.There is a desire for David to be part of Australia’s ODI build towards the 2027 World Cup in the finishing role vacated by the retired Glenn Maxwell. But the contracting system doesn’t incentivize David to play domestic one-day cricket or even make himself available for the recent ODI series against South Africa, at the cost of playing in the CPL which banks him more than a state contract or ODI match payments ever would for one month’s work.Lance Morris has remained centrally contracted through injury problems•Getty ImagesIt also doesn’t incentivize him to rest for key white-ball series to get his body right, as he needed to do after the IPL this year. CA uses contracts to pay fast bowlers like Lance Morris and Jhye Richardson as long-term investments despite both having perennial injury issues. But not having a higher number of initial contracts means long-term management can’t apply to someone like Johnson, who is currently sidelined and missed last year’s white-ball tour the UK because he got injured in the lead in while pursuing franchise opportunities.The reality is that even for a board with CA’s wealth, there may come to a point sooner rather than later where they can’t afford to pay all their top players what the market says they are worth. New Zealand has already found this out. Kane Williamson, one of their all-time greats, missed the recent T20 tri-series and Test tour in Zimbabwe to play for Middlesex and the London Spirit instead. He will also miss this series against Australia to rest after a winter in England.There has been a bullishness in Australian cricket down the years that players will always commit to playing for the country above all else and there is still a widely held belief that dynamic won’t shift any time soon.Perhaps the recent example of Quinton de Kock returning to the South Africa fold is a sign that the franchise life isn’t always fulfilling enough, although at the same time they won’t have Heinrich Klaasen for next year’s World Cup after he retired from international cricket to become a full-time freelancer.Australia’s domestic players have always been well looked after by global standards, but they did not miss the eye-watering sums offered in the recent SA20 draft. The timing of the current discussions around privatizing the BBL isn’t a coincidence.More contracts, higher retainers, more flexibility, and different structures are all being discussed. But the money has to come from somewhere. And if it doesn’t, there is a chance, albeit a very small one at the moment, that Australia will join those nations battling to keep their players for international duty.

Sam Robson overhauls Durham with 169 not out

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Opener’s career best helps Middlesex reel in 388 target – the highest successful List A run chase in England as Alex Lees, David Bedingham tons go in vain

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay13-Aug-2025Opener Sam Robson’s stunning career best 169 not out off 139 balls helped Middlesex chase 388 – the highest ever successful List A run chase in England – to beat Durham by five wickets in a thrilling Metro Bank One Day Cup clash at the Banks Homes Riverside.Durham pair Alex Lees and David Bedingham hit contrasting centuries in their imposing 387 for 4. Having been inserted, it was the county’s highest ever home total in this format.Captain and opener Lees batted through for 138 not out off 132 balls and South African Bedingham blazed 107 off 67 with eight sixes. But it wasn’t enough to prevent a second defeat in four Group B matches.Robson, like Lees, batted with controlled aggression and was the cornerstone of a remarkable chase in perfect batting conditions, achieved in 48 overs. Middlesex won their second game in three to boost hopes of a top-three finish.A handful of counties have posted higher second-innings totals in List A matches, but no one had bettered Worcestershire’s successful pursuit of 377 to beat Leicestershire at New Road in 2018. Until today.Both teams lost a wicket in their first over.New-ball seamer Toby Roland-Jones bowled Emilio Gay for a golden duck with a beauty two balls into a sun-soaked contest. He was the day’s standout bowler with 1 for 43 from 10 overs.Much to the bemusement of representatives from both counties, India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal sat in Durham’s fan zone prior to the game.Leg-side dominant, Lees hit his two sixes over midwicket and wide long-on and shared 141 for the second wicket with in-form Will Rhodes from 1 for 1 in the opening over. Rhodes contributed a well-paced 63.While Lees became the first Durham player to score centuries in the County Championship, T20 Blast and One Day Cup in the same season, Bedingham was much more aggressive – vicious on the pull and down the ground.Lees was on 71 when Bedingham came to the crease, and there was a brief moment when the South African could have reached his hundred first. However, Lees got there off 106 balls, followed by Bedingham’s off 65.Luke Hollman took a superb catch at long-on to help teenaged seamer Jamie Feldman remove Bedingham at 289 for 3 in the 42nd over, though both sides were loose in the field.Colin Ackermann crashed 53 off 27 balls to give Durham the advantage at halfway.However, Middlesex responded in kind en-route to their highest List A total.Joe Cracknell was caught behind down leg pulling at Ben Raine.But, from 2 for 1, Robson and Josh De Caires advanced in dynamic fashion by sharing 120 inside 16 overs. The latter had contributed 63 off 48 balls when he was caught behind reverse sweeping against George Drissell’s off-spin.Middlesex reached 200 for 3 after 28 overs, by which time Durham’s new fast-bowling signing Archie Bailey had uprooted the middle stump of captain Ben Geddes for 24.Former England Test opener Robson, aged 36, was strong on both sides of the wicket without hitting a six until his side neared 300.The right-hander reached his fourth career century off 89 balls, by which time Middlesex were 237 for 3 in the 33rd over. Robson was in the midst of a 114 partnership with Jack Davies. Bailey bowled Davies for 61 off 42, at 280 for 4 in the 37th over, but Robson ploughed on.With 10 overs left, Middlesex needed 78, with Hollman now a helping hand. He contributed 47 to a near match-sealing partnership of 103 with Robson, who hit 19 fours and two sixes to record his county’s second-highest List A individual score.

Livingstone shows there's more to him than hitting sixes

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We knew he could strike the ball 100m relentlessly. What we hadn’t seen was the prodding before the power

Cameron Ponsonby03-Nov-2024Liam Livingstone asked for more responsibility. Got it. And delivered.Six weeks ago, Livingstone got a call saying he was dropped. The conversation was 30 seconds long, but preceded a chat with managing director Rob Key where cards were laid on the table. Livingstone understood why he had been left out. His returns over the past two years, by his own admission, weren’t good enough.But something rankled. His one complaint was that he felt that time that he hadn’t been given the chance to dictate games. He had been the bit-part player England called when they wanted him, but never when they needed him. In 30 ODIs, he had batted above No. 6 twice, and bowled his full allocation only twice as well.Related

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One Jos Buttler calf setback later, though, and he got another call saying they wanted him back for the Australia series, and they needed him back for the West Indies series. As captain.”It’s a bit like a relationship,” Livingstone had joked before the first ODI against West Indies.Across his last five ODI innings, Livingstone averages 133.50 with a strike rate of 145. A dramatic surge in form that he dates back to a single ball he faced in the Hundred against Luke Wood. Facing a hat-trick ball, Livingstone told himself to relax and just react to whatever comes. The ball is bowled into his ribs, and he tucks it away for one. Watching it back, it is entirely unremarkable.”Jesus,” Livingstone remembers recalling to himself at the time. “I think I’m back here.”Livingstone further said after the second ODI against West Indies, “It’s really weird because it’s one ball in the middle of the summer,” when he smashed an unbeaten 124 off just 85 balls in a successful chase of 329. “But I spent two years trying so hard to work it all out.”Livingstone is one of few players on this tour playing with real jeopardy. Interim head coach Marcus Trescothick had said after the first ODI that the message being framed to the group was to enjoy their “free-hit” opportunity with a mountain of players to come back in. But Livingstone isn’t in that boat. His ultimatum with Key had been agreed, and these matches were his opportunity “to not only say what I thought, but [also] for me to show people I mean what I say”.When he arrived at the crease in the second ODI, England needed another 222 runs in 29.5 overs. A required run rate of 7.50 that climbed all the way to ten an over the moment the 39th over came to an end. England required exactly 100 runs off the final 60 balls. They did it in 45.Of Livingstone’s nine sixes, eight came in the final 25 balls of his innings. His second 50 arrived in just 17 deliveries. He hit consecutive sixes on three occasions, and took two overs for north of 20.Combining the clubspeed of Byson DeChambeau with the biceps of Mike Tyson, Livingstone peppered all sides of the ground. Gudakesh Motie was bludgeoned out to the leg side, Jayden Seales was slapped over extra cover, and Shamar Joseph was lucky to survive when a straight drive flew back past his face.”I see my ability as being able to hit more than a couple of sixes”•Getty ImagesIt wasn’t a one-man effort, with all of Phil Salt, Jacob Bethell and Sam Curran contributing with half-centuries of their own, but it was a one-man show. After the 35th over, every England boundary was off the bat of Livingstone.Counterintuitively, despite the fireworks that got England over the line. The first 50 of his runs arguably proved the point Livingstone was trying to make more than the final 74.We knew he could strike the ball 100m relentlessly. He hit the ball over the football stand at Headingley, which was the type of shot that you only hear about from the 1800s when Sir.What’sHisChops apparently cleared the pavilion at Lord’s using a toothpick. That is to say, when people are lying. But Livingstone actually did it. We saw it.What we hadn’t seen was the prodding that came before the power. His 50 off 60 balls took the game deep, and put it on his shoulders. He had struck only three boundaries. England’s team selection, swapping Jamie Overton for Saqib Mahmood, meant that the tail was long, and Adil Rashid was at No. 8, just two wickets away.”People see me as this guy who can go in and smack a few sixes in a T20 innings,” Livingstone said. “But I see my ability as being able to hit more than a couple of sixes – being able to do things like I’ve done today.”Liam Livingstone reaches a maiden ODI century•Getty ImagesIt was a remarkable innings that more than saved what had otherwise threatened to be an ordinary day for the new captain. For the second time in history, England used nine bowlers across an ODI innings, with the only time before coming in 1987 when all of Bill Athey, Allan Lamb and Chris Broad bowled the only over of their ODI careers in a dead run chase.It encapsulated the other end of Livingstone’s desperation to do well on this tour. Muddled thinking in the guise of proactiveness, that resulted in Jofra Archer having an over left in the tank when Will Jacks, Dan Mousley and Bethell had sent down seven between them.”No,” Livingstone said. “It wasn’t the plan.”But where clarity was absent in the field, it was present in abundance with the bat. Livingstone admitted himself that despite his showing, “I don’t think I’m ever going to bat [at No.] 5 for England when we’ve got a full squad”.But regardless of the tangible long-term results of his performance, the intangible can matter just as much. He had proved to himself, and others, that he was capable of something he had always believed he could do, but until Saturday never had.”It’s amazing,” he concluded. “The last time I was here, I lost my grandad. I’m looking forward to speaking to some family back home. He’ll be looking down pretty proud.”

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