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Kent seamer turned down contract extension but Tawanda Muyeye has agreed new deal

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jul-2025Nathan Gilchrist, the Zimbabwe-born English-qualified seamer, has turned down a contract extension at Kent and will move to Warwickshire at the end of the season.Kent have however received a boost with the news that highly rated batter Tawanda Muyeye has signed a new deal until the end of the 2027 season, with the option for a further year.Gilchrist, 25, came through Somerset’s academy before joining Kent in 2020. He initially broke into the red-ball team, and has since taken 107 first-class wickets for the club at an average of 32.40.In 2022, he was part of the Kent team that won the Royal London One-Day Cup, claiming 3 for 65 in the final. He only made his T20 debut last year, but has since taken 29 wickets at 18.93, albeit at an economy of over 10.”This was an extremely tough decision for me to make, but this is the best move for me, and for my career, at this point in time,” Gilchrist said.Related

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“I’d like to thank everyone at Kent for believing in me from day one when I arrived here as a 20-year-old looking to prove myself back in 2020. I hope that I have done just that and I’m extremely proud to have been a Kent cricketer.”I’ve made some lifelong friendships during my time at the club, and under Adam Hollioake, I can definitely see a bright future for Kent. I’d also like to give a big thank you to the Kent Members and supporters for all the support that they have given me during my time here.”It’s not quite goodbye just yet, and I’m fully focused on ending this season on a high note. Hopefully we can make some more great memories together to go with all of the others that we’ve made over the past five years.”Warwickshire subsequently confirmed that Gilchrist had agreed a three-year deal with the club. “Nathan is a proven performer at county level who has demonstrated real quality with the ball,” Ian Westwood, Warwickshire’s head coach, said.Kent’s director of cricket, Simon Cook, said: “We’re disappointed that Nathan has chosen to not sign a new contract here and move to Warwickshire, but we wish him all the very best for the future. He will always be welcome back at the Spitfire Ground.”The retention of Muyeye is a positive, with the 24-year-old having topped Kent’s run-scoring charts as they qualified for the quarter-finals of the Vitality Blast. As well as recording a maiden T20 hundred this season, he has made 570 runs at 35.62 in Division Two of the County Championship.Muyeye was also born in Zimbabwe but came to the UK as a refugee before attending Eastbourne College. He signed for Kent in 2021 and has since played more than 100 times for the county.”This club is now my home, and I’m delighted to commit my future to Kent,” Muyeye said. “Ever since I arrived here, I’ve been so grateful for the support that my team-mates, coaches and the Kent supporters have given me.”I’m determined to continue to develop as a player in a Kent shirt and put in more match-winning performances.”

Price signs for Sussex

Tom Price gets a hug from James Bracey•Getty Images

Another promising young player on the move is Gloucestershire allrounder Tom Price, who has agreed a three-year deal with Sussex. He will also move at the close of the 2025 season.Price, 25, made his Gloucestershire debut in a tour match against Australia in 2019. His most-memorable moment came in 2023, when he became the first player in history to score a century and take a hat-trick on the same day of a first-class match, against Worcestershire at New Road.Overall, he made 35 first-class appearances, taking 94 wickets at 31.11. His time at Gloucestershire was disrupted by injury, and he only featured sporadically in white-ball cricket – but he did feature in Gloucestershire’s T20 Blast win last season, playing in both games on Finals Day.”I’m really excited by and grateful for this amazing opportunity at Sussex Cricket,” Price said. “It’s a very impressive club, with a lot of ambition, a squad that’s going from strength to strength and a highly respected group of coaches and support staff – it was always going to be a hard decision for me to leave my home club but I’ve had some very positive conversations and really believe this is a great fit.”I’m really grateful the club are putting their faith in me for the next few years. I’m excited to continue developing my game, and will give everything I can to help the club win games and trophies. I look forward to meeting everyone when I join up in November.”Paul Farbrace, Sussex’s director of cricket, said: “We are all delighted that Tom has committed to joining us at Hove for the next stage of his career. He has been so impressive during the recruitment process, that involved our full coaching staff.”Tom is someone I have followed closely for a few years now, he is a genuine all round cricketer who will really enhance our talented squad, and I look forward to him being a central player for us in all forms of the game.”Price is the second Gloucestershire player to agree a switch to Hove for next season, after tall seamer Dom Goodman signed a three-year contract with Sussex earlier this month.

Though his batting is yet to come good, the left-arm fingerspinning allounder has picked up four wickets in two T20Is

Deivarayan Muthu04-Sep-2021Rachin Ravindra had fairly a low-key return to the scene of his first Under-19 World Cup from more than five years ago, falling for a golden duck in New Zealand’s drubbing in the first T20I against Bangladesh. Two days later, Ravindra claimed 3 for 22 – his best T20 figures – to stall Bangladesh’s progress after their openers had struck up a 59-run stand.At first, Liton Das unleashed a slog-swept six to unsettle Ravindra, but the left-arm fingerspinner responded by shortening his length, finding some turn and having the batter playing on for 33 off 29 balls. Next ball, he tricked Mushfiqur Rahim to such an extent that a master of these conditions was stumped for a duck. The hat-trick ball was darted into the surface, stopping on it so much that Shakib Al Hasan almost spooned a return catch.Ravindra had success bowling at the death too, sliding one away from Mohammad Naim’s swinging arc and having him dragging a catch to long-on. “Yeah, it was nice,” the up-and-coming allrounder said as he recalled the spell. “I think it was good to be able to break up partnerships a little bit and contribute a bit; ultimately lead to a few poles and a couple of dots. It was good to have those comms, especially Tommy [Latham]; just discussing with them [about] how to go about it and I think that sort of helped me a lot in being able to bounce off those senior guys.”Ravindra said that pushing the ball quicker through the air and bowling into the pitch is his default mode of operation in T20 cricket. The other left-arm fingerspinner, Ajaz Patel, reaped 1 for 7 in his four overs in the first match with a similar bowling style.”That’s usually how I look to bowl in T20s – trying to bowl a little bit back of a length that sticks hard and in these conditions. It works quite well [here] because the odd ball can skid or turn and it’s quite hard to hit down the ground using that pace.”Related

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Adapting to Dhaka’s pitches as a batter though is an entirely different proposition. Ravindra has made only 10 runs in two innings. It had been a similar struggle at the 2016 Under-19 World Cup, where he managed 58 runs in five innings at strike rate of 54.20.Ravindra understands he needs to do more. “It’ll be nice to bat a little bit longer and hopefully contribute a few more runs towards a win,” he said. “I think it’s about hitting good cricket shots on these sort of wickets. You play good cricket shots, you’re going to get that boundary eventually. You don’t necessarily need to manufacture too much, but seeing the way he [Latham] played to his strengths and hit his sweeps, [it] looks like he was well-prepared.”Despite suffering back-to-back losses and facing a must-win situation so early in the series, Ravindra said the mood in the camp was upbeat and that New Zealand weren’t too far away from clicking in unison.”As I said, the improvement between game one and game two is incredible, maybe on a slightly better surface, but it showed in our batting, especially the way we were able to adapt. I think that’s great signs coming up for our next three games. We can look to take learnings from here and we are still not firing on all cylinders. Hopefully, we can get it right next game and get our combinations right and hopefully [get] a win.”

Bryce Jackson claimed four wickets as the home side collapsed when they had a chance of reaching the final

AAP23-Feb-2025Queensland crashed out of the One-Day Cup title race in humbling fashion, suffering a six-wicket loss to wooden spooners Western Australia at the Gabba.WA paceman Bryce Jackson snared 4 for 39 in a player-of-the-match performance as Queensland were skittled for 131 in 29.2 overs.In reply, a WA side featuring mostly emerging players reached the victory target in just 26 overs, with Hilton Cartwright, Sam Fanning and Jayden Goodwin all chipping in.Queensland entered their last match of the regular season in third spot and well in the hunt to claim a spot in the March 1 final. They needed to beat WA and for Victoria to beat second-placed NSW to lock away a spot in the decider.Even if NSW beat Victoria, Queensland could have still made the final by posting a bonus-point win over WA. But things went awry for the Bulls from the outset.Star trio Ben McDermott, Jimmy Peirson and Matt Renshaw all fell cheaply as Queensland slumped to 17 for 3 in the fifth over.Lachlan Hearne and Angus Lovell briefly steadied the ship, but those knocks were only a temporary reprieve as WA’s youth-laden attack continued to wreak havoc.Queensland were 102 for 9 before No. 10 Mitchell Swepson whacked 45 off 35 balls to at least give Queensland some sort of chance to pull off a miracle win.Jackson, playing just his fifth List A match, was the star of the show with four wickets, while Brody Couch and Mahli Beardman were also influential.The pace trio have just 15 List A appearances between them, and spinner Corey Rocchiccioli was playing just his second List A match.But despite their youth and inexperience, the WA attack ripped through Queensland’s talented line-up with ease.  Swepson whacked three sixes and three fours in the sole real resistance Queensland were able to put up.WA made light work of the run chase, with teenage paceman Callum Vidler the only Queensland bowler to make any true inroads.The win was only WA’s second of the season, with their hopes of winning four straight titles derailed by injuries and poor form across the campaign.

He followed up an unbeaten half-century with two key outfield catches

AAP09-Jan-2025Glenn Maxwell’s heroics inspired the Melbourne Stars to a crucial 16-run upset of the ladder-leading Sydney Sixers at the MCG, keeping their slim BBL finals chances alive.On the same day his Test ambitions likely ended for good, Maxwell belted a game-high unbeaten 58 and took two important catches in the deep.Related

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Marcus Stoinis was out cheaply, but Stars’ captain claimed 2 for 30 in a valuable contribution with the ball.Ben Duckett appeared to have cost Stars dearly when he dropped countryman James Vince on 36. It was only two weeks ago Vince smashed an unbeaten century in a thumping Sixers win against Stars at the SCG on Boxing Day.But Maxwell made no mistake when he hung on to a high catch in the deep, leading to Vince departing for 53. The 36-year-old almost spilled the chance, too, and stayed on the ground for a long time in pure relief.Just two balls later, Maxwell was in the action again when he took a catch to dismiss Sixers captain Moises Henriques, sparking passionate, animated celebrations with Stoinis and other Stars players.James Vince scored a half-century but the Sixers fell away after his dismissal•Getty Images

Maxwell was overlooked for Australia’s Test tour of Sri Lanka on Thursday, with selectors preferring younger options in the squad.Numerous replays were needed to decide on a return catch to Stars spinner Usama Mir, with Sixers allrounder Jack Edwards eventually given out by the TV umpire.Stuck in a deep hole at 64 for 4 at the halfway mark of their innings, Stars were rescued by an 88-run stand between Maxwell and Test hero Beau Webster.After a fairytale debut for Australia, Webster’s golden run continued when he was out off a no-ball and was called back, then was dropped by Vince.During Maxwell’s blazing 32-ball knock, he became the fifth player in BBL history to reach 3000 career runs, joining Chris Lynn, Aaron Finch, D’Arcy Short and Henriques.Play was stopped for about two minutes after a seagull was taken down by a powerful shot from Vince.After starting the season 0-5, Stars can still qualify for finals if they beat the Melbourne Renegades and Hobart Hurricanes in their remaining two games and other results go their way.Sixers (4-2, one no-result) missed a golden opportunity to consolidate their position on top of the table ahead of a clash at the SCG on Saturday against Perth Scorchers.

He was also effusive in praise for left-arm spinner Kuhnemann

Andrew Fidel Fernando01-Feb-20252:48

Steven Smith: ‘A near-flawless performance’

It was the length Australian spinners bowled that helped them take 20 Sri Lanka wickets so easily. This is what the stand-in captain Steven Smith felt after his team inflicted a record innings-and-242-run victory on Sri Lanka in the first Test.The Sri Lanka batters struggled substantially against the spinners, losing 17 wickets to them in Galle. Left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann took 9 for 149 in the match, to top the wicket-chart for the series so far.”I just think he bowls nice balls consistently,” Smith said of Kuhnemann. “Left-arm spinners to right-hand batters – it just works in the subcontinent.Related

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“He did a wonderful job when he bowled in India [where he took nine wickets across five innings in early 2023], and he bowled beautifully again in this game. It’s a pretty good effort.”Australia, unusually, played only one frontline seam bowler. Mitchell Starc has an outstanding record in Sri Lanka, but spin nevertheless claimed a bulk of the Sri Lanka wickets to fall in this Test, leaving just three for Starc.”I thought all the spinners worked really well together, and that’s the beauty of having three frontline spin bowlers,” Smith said. “You can sort of chop and change them, and as soon as one’s not looking quite as effective, and the batter gets a bit of a read on them or they get a little bit tired, you put the next one on and wait to see what’s happening.”But, while Australia’s spinners took 17 wickets in the Test, Sri Lanka’s spinners managed only the six.”For me, for [the] spinners it’s more length than pace,” Smith said. “If you can consistently hit a good length, then regardless of what’s going on, you’re going to be in play. If you can get the ball to skid or one to rag – the length where they’re lunging forward and can’t get back to it or they can’t drive at that length. If you’re hitting that consistently, your pace is kind of irrelevant, I think.”Australia scored 654 for 6 declared in the first innings. This is generally a position from which teams tend not to lose, and Australia felt especially confident, considering how quickly the pitch was deteriorating.”I think they lost 7 for 17 [7 for 15] across the day today at one point. It was one of those where it was really tough to start on, and as soon as we got a breakthrough, we always felt we could get another one quickly.”

Imam-ul-Haq notches fifty as Yorkshire wrap up comfortable win in Scarborough

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay05-Aug-2025Ben Cliff’s maiden five-wicket haul in first-team cricket – a superb 5 for 46 from 8.3 overs – set Yorkshire up for an opening day Metro Bank One-Day Cup win over last year’s semi-finalists Warwickshire at Scarborough, by five wickets chasing 138.New-ball quick Cliff, aged 22, was playing his first first-team game since the summer’s opening week following a side injury, and he was the chief tormenter as the Bears were bowled out for 137 inside 37 overs at the start of Group B.Cliff struck four times in a devastating opening spell, with Warwickshire slipping to 38 for 7 before Vaansh Jani’s brilliant 82 off 92 balls. It was the 20-year-old’s maiden first-team fifty in his second game.Yorkshire, for whom Adam Lyth took four catches in the slips – equalling a club record for outfield catches in a List A innings – didn’t chase with ease on a tricky pitch. But Pakistani international opener Imam-ul-Haq held things together with 55 off 83 balls.Cliff struck twice in three balls in his opening over and four times in all as the Bears crumbled to 24 for 5 in the 10th having been inserted. He had both Rob Yates and Zen Malik caught at cover by James Wharton in the second over, the former via a leading edge as he looked to play to leg and the latter off a miscued drive.Cliff’s new-ball partner Jack White clipped Warwickshire captain Ed Barnard’s off bail with a beauty before Cliff struck again to get a driving Hamza Shaikh caught at second slip by Lyth. And when extra bounce forced Kai Smith to loop a catch to backward point, the Bears were five down and in serious strife.Things got worse before getting better. Alex Davies fell to Matthew Revis’s first ball for 15, the seam-bowling allrounder getting him and Jake Lintott caught by Lyth at slip. When Lintott fell to the third ball of the 14th over, Warwickshire were 38 for 7.Batting at No. 7, Jani’s first of six boundaries was a lovely on-drive against George Hill as Warwickshire strove for respectability.Hill’s seam accounted for Michael Booth caught at slip by Lyth – 63 for 8 in the 21st. Hill added a second wicket when Ethan Bamber drilled to mid-off, though Jani counterattacked.He hoisted Hill over long-on and scooped White over fine-leg for his first two of five sixes, reaching a 67-ball fifty, by which time the visitors were 101 for 9 in the 31st over.Right-handed Jani smashed Revis out of the ground over long-on before miscuing Cliff to mid-on to end the innings.Jani and Oliver Hannon-Dalby added 64, a Warwickshire List A record stand for the 10th wicket and comfortably the best of the innings. Last man Hannon-Dalby contributed one run.Yorkshire were cautious in reply. They lost Lyth and Will Luxton, the latter for 25, to the seam of Hannon-Dalby and Bamber – 47 for 2 in the 14th over.Booth’s pace then accounted for James Wharton and Revis in successive deliveries, caught behind off the inside-edge and caught low down at second slip, as the score fell to 72 for four in the 21st.But left-handed Imam anchored things. His first five scoring shots were boundaries, strong on the pull and drive, and he shared a calming fifth-wicket stand of 56 with Hill, 20 not out. Imam fell caught at deep square-leg with 10 to win, but it was a consolatory third wicket for Booth. Yorkshire won with 17.1 overs remaining.

Opener Reece bats all day for unbeaten on 123 while Madsen ends 147 not out, having passed 1,000 runs for summer

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay24-Sep-2025Derbyshire 389 for 2 (Madsen 147*, Reece 123*, Donald 55) vs Kent Wayne Madsen and Luis Reece both made centuries as Derbyshire piled on the runs in their Rothesay County Championship match with Kent at Canterbury, reaching 389 for 2 at the end of day one.Opener Reece batted all day and was unbeaten on 123 while Madsen was 147 not out, having passed 1,000 runs for the summer. By stumps their partnership was 231, a Derbyshire record for the third wicket against Kent.Reece’s fellow opener Aneurin Donald chipped in with 55 as the home bowlers struggled to make any impact.It says something about the way Kent’s season has gone that the loudest applause of the day came midway through the afternoon session, when it was announced the coffee machine in the Lime Tree cafe had been fixed.Third-placed Derbyshire chose to bat against a side guaranteed to finish bottom of Division Two and the morning session went to form, with the visitors reaching 108 for 1 at lunch.The sole victim was Donald, who was bowled leg-stump by Michael Cohen, shortly after he’d driven him through the covers to bring up his 50.When play resumed Reece tickled a Grant Stewart delivery down the leg side for four to reach his half-century and although Matt Parkinson had Harry Came stumped by Harry Finch for 35 at the start of the next over, Madsen joined Reece and reached four figures for the first-class season, the eighth time he’s reached that milestone.Kent were docked six points for a slow over rate in their last game with Leicestershire but despite, or perhaps because of this, there was widespread incredulity when the tea interval was taken on time, for the first time it what seemed like an eon, with the visitors on 238 for 2.Madsen took a single off Cohen to reach 50 and then dumped Jaydn Denly over cow corner for six.Reece scampered a single off Parkinson to reach his century, before he played a dreadful shot to the very next delivery, skying Parkinson straight to Ben Dawkins, who somehow dropped him.Madsen took two from a Stewart no ball to get to three figures, then overtook his partner before hitting a six off Corey Flintoff that broke Derbyshire’s record stand for the third wicket, the 202 put on by Chris Adams and Dean Jones at this venue in 1997.Madsen nearly perished in the final over when he hit Parkinson to long on, but Stewart couldn’t pick the flight of the ball and the chance went begging.