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Westley hit on head by Olivier ball, goes on to reach 77 as Essex trail by 138 runs after three days

David Hopps05-Jun-2019Duanne Olivier has struck ten batsmen on the head in English first-class cricket this season – and the county season has barely entered June. Tom Westley, an Essex batsman of England pedigree, was the latest casualty on Wednesday as Olivier advanced his reputation as the most malevolent fast bowler in the county game.When Olivier abandoned his international career in February in favour of a three-year deal at Yorkshire, Cricket South Africa understandably termed it bad news for the global game. It was certainly bad news for county batsmen. Concussion checks have become a regular sight of the Yorkshire season.Out-and-out fast bowlers are allowed to hit batsmen, and they are even allowed to relish the benefits that accrue as a result, but with that sort of record you can’t help but look on with a certain amount of trepidation.Westley responded in style, striking 77 out of 252 for 9, his highest Championship score of the season, and looking polished while he did so. Essex remain 138 behind but the follow-on was averted in a contentious finish to the third day at Emerald Headingley which had Olivier at its heart – or more accurately not at its heart – as he failed to bowl in what became a guessing game about what the umpires might allow in supposedly indifferent light.The ball that struck Westley did not get up as much as he anticipated – “It was a bit of indifferent bounce, I would duck it one hundred times out of a hundred,” he said. He did not believe there is anything particularly difficult in Olivier’s action that makes his bouncer hard to pick up. So we must put it down to the fact that he bowls rather a lot of them, at close to 90mph.Essex were 19 runs short of avoiding the follow-on with eight down and 22 overs remaining when umpires Steve O’Shaughnessy and Neil Mallender took the sides off for bad light to protestations from several Yorkshire players and a more acrimonious reaction from the crowd.Yorkshire had delayed the second new ball as long as they dared, and Ben Coad bowled the first over with it, but as they sensed a quick kill the umpires then suspended play. Umpires can brandish light meters and quote readings for all they are worth, but the sight of Olivier at the end of his mark must have influenced their decision to withdraw.Surprisingly, they returned 50 minutes later, but this time there was no Olivier. Yorkshire’s skipper, Steve Patterson, about 15mph slower, took the new ball instead. “Tactical,” he insisted, somewhat forcefully, although “pragmatic” might have been a better word for it. He quickly had Jamie Porter caught at slip with Essex still 18 runs short of safety. But they escaped in bullish fashion when Peter Siddle (who had been dropped on nought) lofted him straight for six.Yorkshire, apparently, are keeping count of Olivier’s helmet blows in the dressing room. Some supporters, though, are not that easily impressed, grumbling that he would be better trying to hit the top of off stump. There as a time earlier in the season when they also reckoned he had struck more batsmen than taking wickets, although with 21 at roughly 30 runs apiece, wickets now have a clear lead.Thirty apiece is no proof of outright domination. But batsmen rarely feel comfortable when Olivier is bearing down. Senses work overtime. A short ball is a constant possibility. His run-up does not advertise his 90mph capability, but a strong front-on action and snap of shoulder and wrist can produce something special, especially if there is bounce in the pitch.In his last international series, Pakistan were troubled by a constant barrage of short balls. He took 24 wickets in three Tests over Christmas and New Year. South Africa imagined that, at 27, he would give them years of service. In the week that Dale Steyn passed Shaun Pollock’s record number of Test wickets for South Africa, his eyes narrowed at what havoc Olivier might wreak.Instead he became the 43rd Kolpak to enter county cricket since the regulation came into force in 2004 (South Africans calculate these things, sometimes resentfully), the collapse of the Rand enabling him to earn three times as much.On a pre-season tour of South Africa, Durham’s Cameron Steel was hit and needed 10 days out with concussion; his season has still to take root. Alex Blake and Ollie Robinson, the Kent batsmen, both needed concussion checks at Canterbury. Against Hampshire, wicketkeeper Lewis McManus was hit twice and automatically ruled out of the game. It would have been no surprise to learn that bowls of raw meat had been left for Olivier outside the Yorkshire dressing room.Essex’s first innings was nevertheless in good order when the loss of Westley, who edged to the wicketkeeper as David Willey shaded one away from around the wicket, was followed by a little gem from Ravi Bopara. But the match winked at Yorkshire in mid-afternoon when they took three wickets for one run in 22 balls to leave Essex 191 for 6, still 50 short of the follow-on.Olivier was the instigator, ending Dan Lawrence’s ponderous resistance when he overbalanced on a clip to midwicket, a sharp diving catch by Will Fraine, and Bopara on 44, dragged on as he tried to pull from wide of off stump.Dom Bess’ offspin was rewarded in between when he had Ryan ten Doeschate caught at slip for a fourth-ball duck. Bess found little turn but he bowled with decent flight and change of pace on a day when he also had Nick Browne lbw and Simon Harmer caught to his left at slip by Adam Lyth, a catch that might have taken a slight deflection of the keeper’s gloves. Even when Westley hit him straight for six, the ball came back damaged enough, according to Willey, for a hint of reverse swing. Yorkshire are lucky to have a loan player of such promise.Yorkshire’s discipline in the second half of the day was admirable and along the way, Essex’s debutant, fourth-choice wicketkeeper, Will Buttleman, endured a 37-ball duck. On the first day, he told the that he was thrilled to travel to the game in Sir Alastair Cook’s car. Two days later, he couldn’t get his innings into gear. He stuck it out until Willey had him caught at the wicket, slamming it into fourth. In a fairer world, he’d at least have nicked a single somewhere.

The batsman hasn’t played a 50-over game for India in over a year, and has been overlooked for their last series before the World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Feb-2019Ajinkya Rahane has asked for more and consistent chances in limited-overs internationals for India. Rahane, India’s vice-captain in Tests, last played an ODI in February 2018, when captain Virat Kohli said the team management was looking at him as a prospective No. 4, but has been out of favour since that tour of South Africa.”As a batsman, I am aggressive but, by nature, I am quite shy,” Rahane told the . “I prefer to let my bat speak but sometimes it’s important to speak the truth. I have always believed the team comes first and respected the management and the selectors’ decision. I will continue to do that.”The point is that if as a player I have always played for the team, then I deserve chances more consistently. That’s the least I am asking.”Rahane said that confidence from the management and a consistent run were important for a player to think of the team and not securing his own place for the next game. He pointed to his moving down the order to suit the needs of the team. “Frankly, I have never thought about my personal achievements. I did well as an opener against West Indies and Australia but in South Africa, the management thought I would be suitable at No. 4. I said ‘whatever you prefer’ because the team wanted it.”But every individual needs confidence and positive vibes like ‘yes, you are there and you are doing it for the team’. I think everyone knows that if someone is backing you, the player gets the confidence to play fearless and positive cricket.”Rahane has played 90 ODIs, averaging 35.26 and striking at 78.63 runs per 100 balls. On his ODI comeback in South Africa in early 2018, when India won 5-1, he played all the matches, averaging 35 with a strike rate of 76.92. He scored a 79 and an unbeaten 34 in two of the matches, where he batted at No. 4 because India’s first-choice openers, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, were both available.Since then, with much of the planning centred on the World Cup in 2019, India have tried out various other options for the middle order. The impression from the days of MS Dhoni as captain has been that Rahane is good against the hard new ball, but struggles to maintain a high strike rate when the ball goes soft in the middle overs.”If I feel let down, my mindset will turn negative and so, I don’t really think that way,” Rahane said of his approach. “I leave that decision to the selectors because they are the best judges. I also believe that my performances were really good. If you see the last three-four series, my average was around 45 to 50. After I was dropped, I went back to domestic cricket and feel I have done reasonably well.”Rahane has averaged 41.38 in the last three years, higher than his career average. He has batted at different positions in this period, even opening the innings in the Caribbean in mid-2017 and scoring 62, 103, 72, 60 and 39 as India won 3-1.According to chief selector MSK Prasad, Rahane isn’t out of the running for a spot in the World Cup squad, but his name doesn’t figure in the squads for the last ODI series India play before the IPL, which will be followed immediately by the World Cup.”It feels good that I am being considered. But at the same time, you need to get a chance,” Rahane said. “Playing the World Cup is a dream every cricketer cherishes. I do respect the selectors and team management’s performances, and I think I deserve a chance.”I am very much hopeful. I keep negative thoughts away and you never know, things can change any time. It’s important to believe in yourself and keep good people around you rather than those who will say ‘ [Why is this happening only to me?’] I keep my distance from such people and am comfortable with a closed group of four or five people who have believed in me all along.”

The Australia fast bowler is set to play his first international match on home soil in nearly four years this Sunday, against South Africa

Alex Malcolm01-Nov-2018In a bid to avoid yet another stress fracture in his lower back, Australia quick Nathan Coulter-Nile has taken up regular yoga classes led by banned Western Australian team-mate Cameron Bancroft.Coulter-Nile’s smooth rhythmical action has been anything but kind on his lower spine, with stress fractures ruining his last two home summers to the point where Sunday’s first ODI against South Africa in Perth looms as his first international match on home soil in nearly four years.Now he has taken a different approach to his recovery and preparation, opting for less net bowling and more pilates and yoga in order to remain on the park more regularly.”We always do a little bit but I’ve just tried to really rush into it head on this year and do it two to three times a week when I can,” Coulter-Nile said. “Obviously, when I’m away it’s a little bit harder. Just trying to do everything I can.”I’ve got a really good management programme in place. I don’t bowl too much. I don’t do too much. Just really when I can, just play, rest up and play, give my back as much time as it can to recover.”Bancroft, who is currently serving a nine-month suspension in the wake of the Newlands ball-tampering scandal, undertook a yoga teaching course during the Australian winter and has become the instructor for Coulter-Nile and some of his team-mates.”He was good. I think he’s just done a course in Melbourne for the last two or three months,” Coulter-Nile said. “He was really good, really brought us down to earth.”Asked his opinion on whether Bancroft, Steven Smith and David Warner should have their bans overturned, Coulter-Nile gave a typically pragmatic response.”I’ve got an opinion on everything. It doesn’t matter what my opinion is,” Coulter-Nile said. “They’re banned. They’re not here. Of course, we’d like them to play. I’d like everyone to play, but it is what it is.”He did have a blunt opinion on Australia’s batsmen. Following the struggles in the T20I series in the UAE, where Coulter-Nile did more batting than he normally bargains for, he gave an honest appraisal of the net form of team-mates Aaron Finch and Chris Lynn.”Everyone always says it when you’re having a bit of a bad trot they say you’re hitting them well in the nets. I feel they haven’t been,” Coulter-Nile said. “I feel they’ve been struggling in the nets. But then they’ve got here and, I don’t know what it is, but in Australia they seem to fire.”I can personally say I hate bowling to Lynny and Finchy; I hate it, it’s scary in the games. And they should take that confidence into these games. If Hoff [Josh Hazlewood] and Starcy [Mitchell Starc] are scared bowling to them, I’m sure the South Africans are as well.”Both sides enter the series with indifferent form, although Australia’s long-term situation is more dire. South Africa lost their only warm-up match against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra on Wednesday. Australia have won just two of their last 17 completed ODIs since February 2017, including just one of 10 against England in this calendar year.

Their success in the two Tests against Ireland has pushed Sri Lanka’s Prabath Jayasuriya and Ramesh Mendis up in the bowlers’ rankings

ESPNcricinfo staff03-May-2023Pakistan have a one-two at the top of the ICC ODI batting rankings, with opener Fakhar Zaman moving eight places up to achieve a career-best second spot, only behind his captain Babar Azam. Fakhar has scored back-to-back centuries in Rawalpindi in the ongoing five-match series against New Zealand, while Babar has hit 49 and 65 in the two matches.Fakhar made 117 in the chase of 289 in the first ODI and followed it up with 180 not out in the second as Pakistan chased down 337, taking them 2-0 up in the five-series. His previous best ranking in the format was No. 7, which he reached in April 2021.With Fakhar moving up, South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen has slipped one place down to No. 3, while India’s Shubman Gill is at No. 4.

Full rankings tables

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• Click here for the full player rankings

Pakistan also have Fakhar’s opening partner Imam-ul-Haq rounding off the top five after scores of 60 and 25 in the two ODIs.In the men’s Test rankings, a number of Sri Lanka players have made moved up after their a 2-0 series win over Ireland in Galle.Left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, who picked up 17 wickets across the two Tests, including a ten-wicket match haul in the first Test, is up six places to No. 13 in the bowling rankings, while offspinner Ramesh Mendis is up ten places to 22nd after taking 11 wickets in the series.Angelo Mathews has also moved one place up to No. 22 in the batting rankings after scoring 100 not out in the second Test, where Sri Lanka put up 704 for 3 declared on their way to an innings win, while Kusal Mendis is up three places to 39th after making his career-best score of 245 in the same game.

South Africa captain seeks clarity on what is deemed permissible under new regulations ahead of Sri Lanka series

Andrew Fidel Fernando06-Jul-2018Faf du Plessis is pleased the penalty for ball tampering has increased, but is unhappy with the ambiguity about the definition. What, he asks, does the ICC actually deem to be tampering? Can a player chew gum before shining the ball? How about other sweets? Why can’t the playing conditions lay all this out in black and white?The ICC has ratcheted up the punishment for tampering, turning it from a level two offence for which players were rarely suspended, to a level three offence for which they could be suspended for up to six Tests. But Du Plessis, who has been twice found guilty of tampering, was critical of their failure to spell out what tampering actually entails.This has become an especially vital topic ahead of the Sri Lanka series. Not only has Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal just served a one-match suspension for a tampering offence of his own, after he was seen putting something in his mouth before shining the ball in the Caribbean, South Africa had themselves tampered with the ball last time they toured the island, when Vernon Philander was seen using his fingernails on the seam of the ball at the Test in Galle.”I think it’s important to say that I’m not clear yet on that matter [of tampering],” du Plessis said. “The ICC has made the penalties a lot more strict, but they still haven’t said what is allowed and what isn’t allowed. Is chewing gum allowed? Is it not? Are you allowed mints in your mouth? As Hashim Amla said, he likes putting sweets in his mouth when he spends a long time in the field, so there’s nothing wrong with it.”For me, I need clarity still. I’m looking forward to speaking to the umpires before the game to make sure there’s clarity. I’m sure that Dinesh would as well. We know now that the penalties are much harsher. So what we do with the ball now – as we’ve seen with Australia – things like that, the penalties are going to be much harsher. We expect that we will see less of that in the game.”The ramping-up of penalties for tampering offences, though, was understandable, du Plessis said. Previously, tampering had been punishable by a one-Test suspension at most. With the ICC having chosen to impose the sternest possible sanction on tamperers following the sandpaper incident involving Australia in Cape Town, Chandimal became the first cricketer to be suspended for a Test for tampering. Now that the playing conditions are due to be officially altered, ball-tamperers are likely to face much harsher punishments in future.”Ball tampering is a serious offence,” du Plessis said. “If you put something in your mouth and you shine the ball, it’s not as serious – that’s just my opinion. But at least there is that penalty now, so when someone has the opportunity to … has a decision to make on ‘am try and do something with the ball?’, the penalties that are there now are going to make them think twice. So hopefully we will see that part of the game move a little bit in a different way.”Chandimal has also backed du Plessis’ calls for clarity. He made the point that sweets can be helpful to maintaining a healthy blood-sugar level through tough Test-match days.”In the Abu Dhabi Test last year, the heat was more than 45 degrees, and I got 164 runs there,” Chandimal said. “After 120 runs, I had batted for more than a day, so at that time I had felt faint, so the physio came on and it was sweets that helped me to score the remainder of my runs. So at that kind of time, if we take things with sugar, it’s helps our energy levels.”

“We will take domestic cricket to that level too so that we can get international players from it”

Umar Farooq22-Dec-2022Najam Sethi has formally taken charge of the PCB, putting the revival of domestic cricket in the country at the top of his priorities. Following the removal of Ramiz Raja, as PCB chairman, and the current board, Sethi will head a 14-member management committee that will take interim charge of affairs. The committee will have 120 days in which they are expected to change the PCB’s constitution, bringing back the 2014 version to replace the current one (put in place in 2019).”I am back after four years and there is lots of work to do,” Sethi said upon arrival at Gaddafi Stadium, PCB’s HQ, on Thursday. “I am thankful to the Prime Minister because it was his wish to revive the 2014 constitution and revive departmental cricket; regions should be revived and encourage the private sector and take cricket forward. A lot has been done here over the last four years, which I don’t like to comment on. But the way we are seeing the cricket team and the problems of cricket players, we will try to solve them.”There’s been a famine for the last four years. Tell me how many cricketers have come through domestic cricket? It looks like only PSL is supplying players. PSL is a very big international brand and we will take domestic cricket to that level too so that we can get international players from it. My primary duty is to restore the spirit of the 2014 constitution. We will meet in a day or two and then we will discuss the major issues and let you know how we will move forward.”The change in PCB was brought in through a notification issued from the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office and a summary from the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC). The formal approval came in late on Wednesday night/Thursday morning. Sethi and his allies then arrived at PCB headquarters by noon.Related

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Ramiz was in office until Wednesday and he signed off by approving Pakistan’s squad for the upcoming home Test series against New Zealand.The government has now given Sethi’s committee full executive power to work on reviving the department structure, which was abolished in 2019. Departments were removed from domestic cricket during Imran Khan’s premiership – he had been a longtime advocate for Pakistan’s domestic scene to replicate that of Australia’s, with six teams made up of Pakistan’s provinces playing in all tournaments. The committee will be tasked with the responsibility of forming a board of governors and electing a chairman, with Sethi himself in the fray, as stipulated in the 2014 constitution.How well the plan goes for reviving departments is unclear. A number of department sides had shut down their sporting operations even before Imran’s change and, in the current economic climate, there might not be much appetite for such organisations to hire a squad of cricketers. Sharif had already issued a directive in October this year to all 18 government departments/institutes to restore the governance of their sport structure in Pakistan and restore the finance to sports departments. The pick-up on that has been slow – ESPNcricinfo understands that Ramiz Raja as chairman had written to private banks to ask about reviving their teams but they had shown little interest.”Our sports ordinance, according to which the PCB is operated, is completely dependant on the patron – and he has a lot of rights,” Sethi said of the change in the PCB. “They have exercised these rights previously and he will continue to do so in the future too. But I think performance is very important. If you do not perform well then it gives an opportunity to the people to make a change. If your performance is good then there’s no reason to make a change. I thought we did well [during the previous tenure].”We delivered a lot. When the government changed (in 2018) last time I was assured at the highest level that I will not be removed. But I felt it was not the right thing. It’s the right of the patron to bring a man of his own choice and try to implement his own vision. I personally felt Imran Khan’s vision will do more improvement and that’s why I didn’t want to stand in the way. I could have gone to the courts and fought, but I thought to go honorably. I don’t want to go into detail about what happened over the last four years and how much they succeed. I won’t go into details and we will see how we will take things forward.”According to the 2014 constitution, the composition of the BoG is based on ten members as the body will include four regional representations (top-four teams from the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy), four representatives of services organisations (top-four department teams) and two members to be nominated by the patron in his discretion. The federal secretary of the ministry of inter-provincial coordination or any other officer nominated by him shall be an ex-officio, non-voting 11th member. The term of each member of the BoG is three years – equivalent to one term of the chairman in a bid to promote continuity in the set-up.Imran’s model was also implemented by Ehsan Mani but it had drawn resentment in the cricketing circles in the country. A group of former board members and cricketers including Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Gul have been urging the government to revert to the previous domestic structure where departmental teams such as WAPDA, SNGPL and PIA were part of the first-class circuit. Imran’s orders to abolish departmental cricket, eventually stand revoked by Sharif, who succeeded him as premier.

Neither side has been able to train much due to the weather in Hobart, with more rains expected on Monday

Mohammad Isam23-Oct-2022

Big picture

It has been eight years since Netherlands have qualified for the main round of the T20 World Cup, but even longer since Bangladesh last won a match at this stage of the competition – 15 years to be precise. Long enough for the notion to spread that Bangladesh are miles behind most T20 teams at this level.But as keen as both sides will be to get points in their name, they could end up splitting the game as there’s a lot of rain in the forecast in Hobart. As such, neither side had been able to train much at the venue.Bangladesh have come into this tournament with the lowest of expectations from their fans, who are mostly hoping that the team comes out of the competition with their reputation intact. Bangladesh have had an ordinary year, having won just four T20Is, including two against the UAE in a hastily arranged series last month.Related

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Bangladesh then lost all four of their tri-series matches in Christchurch, at times looking like a side only there to make up the numbers. One might argue that experimentation was the goal in New Zealand, but even so, this is a side low on confidence.Regular changes in their top order, leadership instability and injuries have really done a number on Bangladesh in the last three months. All that means is that the onus is on Shakib Al Hasan to present a united front, and bring out the best in his team. Most Bangladesh coaches have figured out that individual performances, particularly in T20Is, haven’t helped them win games.What has been missing is a complete team effort, and although the fast bowlers have been in form this year, and there have been pockets of good performances from Afif Hossain and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Bangladesh need improvement from their batters and fielders to bring them some respite in T20Is.Netherlands should be smart enough to take advantage of Bangladesh’s situation. They have one of the more successful fast-bowling attacks from the first round. Fred Klaasen, Bas de Leede and Paul van Meekeren have been quick and accurate, although Timm van der Gugten hasn’t quite hit his stride.Their spinners have surprised everyone, producing the second-most economical attack, at 5.65 runs per over, in the first round. They have a left-arm spin pairing of Tim Pringle, a vastly improved bowler, and the veteran Roelof van der Merwe, who has held his own.But Netherlands’ batting hasn’t yet reached its full potential, with Max O’Dowd scoring their only half-century and generally being a threat at the top. The likes of de Leede, captain Scott Edwards and Tom Cooper are short of runs. There, however, couldn’t be a better occasion for these batters to finally come to the party.

Form guide

(Last five completed matches; most recent first)
Netherlands LWWLL
Bangladesh WWLLL

In the spotlight

Paul van Meekeren is the in-form fast bowler in the Netherlands side, having bowled three top spells in the first round. The culmination was Meekeren’s burst against Sri Lanka that nearly derailed the Asia Cup champions. Meekeren will bowl fast, at times short but mostly full, to test the Bangladesh batters who are often found wanting against fast, short bowling.There will be a lot of expectations surrounding Litton Das, recognised as the team’s most reliable batter in 2022. Litton has made runs in all three formats, but some more in the T20Is will certainly help the team in this World Cup. Litton is likely to return as an opener, as Bangladesh have seriously struggled to get one pair to work this year.Netherlands have made it to the main round of the T20 World Cup for the first time since 2014•AFP/Getty Images

Team news

Netherlands are likely to go with the same line-up that took on Sri Lanka in their last group game from the first round.Netherlands (probable): 1 Max O’Dowd, 2 Vikramjit Singh. 3 Bas de Leede, 4 Colin Ackermann, 5 Tom Cooper, 6 Scott Edwards (capt & wk), 7 Tim Pringle, 8 Timm van der Gugten, 9 Fred Klaassen 10 Paul van Meekeren, 11 Roelof van der MerweBangladesh’s experiments with the opening combination haven’t really worked, so reverting to the Soumya Sarkar-Litton duo is likely. They will bank on a three-man pace attack with Shakib and Mehidy providing the spin specialty.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Soumya Sarkar, 2 Litton Das, 3 Shakib Al Hasan, 4 Afif Hossain, 5 Yasir Ali, 6 Nurul Hasan (wk), 7 Mosaddek Hossain, 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Shoriful Islam, 11 Hasan Mahmud

Pitch and conditions

Teams have averaged 156 runs batting first at the Bellerive Oval, but the teams may not be able to play a full match. There’s a lot of rain in the forecast from around the time the match starts on Monday.

Stats and trivia

He departs as Australia’s leading men’s run-scorer in the format and led them to the 2021 T20 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2023Aaron Finch has announced his retirement from T20Is, bringing an end to his Australia career, meaning there will be a new captain when the team next take the field later this year.The move had been expected following Finch’s decision to quit ODIs late last year and a significant gap until Australia’s next T20Is following the home World Cup where they failed to make the semi-finals.After that tournament, where Finch missed the final game against Afghanistan due to injury, he said he would take to assess his future during the BBL. He enjoyed a successful tournament for Melbourne Renegades, where he made 428 runs at 38.90, but has decided he won’t push through to August when Australia next play T20Is in South Africa.Finch captained the team to their first T20 World Cup title when they defeated New Zealand in Dubai during 2021.Related

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“Realising that I won’t be playing on until the next T20 World Cup in 2024, now is the right moment step down and give the team time to plan and build towards that event,” Finch said.”I’d like to thank my family, especially my wife Amy, my team-mates, Cricket Victoria, Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association for their support to allow me to play the game I love at the highest level. I also want to say a huge thank you to all the fans who have supported me throughout my international career.”Team success is what you play the game for and the maiden T20 World Cup win in 2021 and lifting the ODI World Cup on home soil in 2015 will be the two memories I cherish the most.”To be able to represent Australia for 12 years and play with and against some of the greatest players of all time has been an incredible honour.”Finch leaves as Australia’s leading men’s run-scorer in the format with 3120 at 34.28 and a strike-rate of 142.53. His high score of 172, made against Zimbabwe in 2018, is the highest T20I innings of all-time – a record he also held with his 156 against England in 2013.Aaron Finch led Australia to the 2021 T20 World Cup•AFP/Getty Images

Although Finch was not the force of old by last year’s World Cup his T20I form did not slide away in the same way as his ODI returns although there was a notable reduction in his strike-rate over the final two years of his career.He will continue to play with Renegades and said he would take up other domestic T20 opportunities if they were offered.”As one of only four men’s players to captain Australia to a World Cup victory, Aaron will always have a special place in Australian Cricket’s history,” Cricket Australia chair, Dr Lachlan Henderson, said. “Playing at the highest level for over a decade requires incredible determination and dedication, so we thank Aaron for his enormous contribution and wish him all the best in the next phase of his career.”There is no rush for Australia to appoint a new T20I captain with the men’s team next in action on a tour to South Africa in late August. There is no obvious standout candidate with Pat Cummins unlikely to be considered for all three roles. Matthew Wade led the side in the final World Cup game against Afghanistan when Finch was injured but his career may also have finished if Australia opt to look to the future.Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa, two of the leading white-ball bowlers in the world, offer intriguing options while Steven Smith, whose recent BBL form showed he should still command a place in the team, could be in the frame.A further left-field candidate could be Ashton Turner, the hugely successful Perth Scorchers captain, who had an outstanding BBL with bat and as a leader this season albeit his stop-start international career is underwhelming.

Middle-order batter had missed a chunk of IPL and 2021-22 Ranji Trophy knockouts for Mumbai due to a hamstring injury

Deivarayan Muthu07-Sep-2022Having recovered from the hamstring injury he had sustained during IPL 2022, Ajinkya Rahane is feeling refreshed and ready to start from scratch in India’s domestic season, which kicks off with the zonal-format Duleep Trophy from Thursday.Rahane, who had missed a chunk of the IPL and then the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy knockouts for Mumbai, is set to mark his return by leading West Zone in the Duleep Trophy.”The recovery has been good,” Rahane said on the eve of their Duleep Trophy opener in Chennai. “I was in NCA for a couple of months. The NCA staff and BCCI looked after me really well. I’m completely fit, and this is my first game after injury.Related

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• North-East show fight on Duleep Trophy debut, get time with Rahane as reward

• Shaw 'back on track' with much-awaited hundred

• Newsfile: India's 2022-23 domestic cricket season

• Duleep Trophy, Irani Cup return in India's 2022-23 domestic calendar

“It [a full-fledged domestic season] is really important. I’m looking forward to start from zero again. For me, I don’t want to think about my past or future; it’s about being in the moment, and that’s why I said I want to start from zero again. You always get goosebumps when you go on the field, and I always like that feeling.”When you get that goosebumps, you get the motivation – whichever game you’re playing, whether it is a domestic game or international game. That feeling should be there. That feeling is still there [for me], and I’m really excited about this season, starting with Duleep Trophy.”Rahane refused to view the upcoming domestic season as a path back to the national side – he has not played for India since the Cape Town Test against South Africa this January – and instead said that his focus was to just stay fit throughout the season.”We will see what happens in the future, but I believe it’s important to be in the moment and focus on what’s in hand right now rather than focus on your future,” he said. “[It] took me two months to get fit. I had to follow a strict diet and routine for these two months, but it was really good, and the [NCA] staff were really positive. I’m out of that now. [I] just want to be fit throughout the season, and keep scoring runs.”This [at Chepauk] was just my second session outdoors. I was just batting indoors in Mumbai, so I’m not thinking too far ahead or thinking too much about my batting. I [have] got the experience, but it is important to be in the moment and respect the opponents and respect the conditions wherever we are playing, and then take it from there.”Rahane captains West Zone against first-timers North East Zone in the Duleep Trophy starting Thursday in Chennai, while East Zone simultaneously play North Zone in Puducherry on the opening day of India’s 2022-23 domestic season.

England allrounder can still be a role model for the sport, says ECB boss, in spite of Bristol incident

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Dec-2018Ben Stokes remains “a leader in the England team”, according to the ECB’s chief executive, Tom Harrison, who believes it is time to “forgive and move on” after the player’s involvement in a fight outside a Bristol nightclub last year.Speaking to BBC Sport at the end of an eventful 2018, in which Stokes’s exploits generated numerous headlines on and off the field, Harrison conceded that the Bristol incident had been an “incredibly negative episode”.However, he added that he was “giddy with excitement” about the possibilities that await England in 2019, with the twin peaks of a home World Cup and an Ashes campaign – two competitions in which a fit and focused Stokes could be central to his team’s success.Earlier this month, Stokes was fined £30,000 by the Cricket Disciplinary Commission for his part in the events outside Mbargo nightclub in September 2017. He was retrospectively banned for eight games as well – a punishment that he had already served in missing five months of cricket, including last winter’s Ashes.In August, he was found not guilty of affray after appearing at Bristol Crown Court, but since the end of the court proceedings, Stokes has appeared to redouble his commitment to his England career – he was singled out for particular praise by his coach, Trevor Bayliss, after playing a vital role in England’s 3-0 Test series win in Sri Lanka last month.All of which is music to the ears of the ECB hierarchy, who have gone out of their way since the day of Stokes’ arrest last year to ensure that, as far as possible, his rehabilitation takes place on the field. Harrison, for one, is sure that he can be a role model for the sport going forward.”Ben is a leader in the England team,” Harrison said. “I do think he can [be a role model] – he’s been through a year that will serve as a constant reminder of how quickly things can go wrong if you allow them.”He’s got great people around him, he’s got good support structures and I’m sure he’s learnt a lesson.”Ben Stokes suckered Angelo Mathews with the short ball•Associated Press

Stokes’ punishment included being stripped of the England vice-captaincy, while his absence from last winter’s Ashes tour is the sort of career highlight that any sportsman would regret missing.But Harrison defended the timing of the CDC judgement on Stokes, as well as the independence of the panel that had been assembled to rule over both his misdemeanours, and those of his team-mate, Alex Hales, whose role in the fight did not lead to a court appearance.”We have an independent body making these judgements, they are qualified people and this has been a proper process,” Harrison said. “The sanctions handed down are serious, this is not something that’s been brushed under the carpet.”Ben is a key part of the Test and ODI team but I don’t think that’s got anything to do with the sanctions which have been handed down – the processes have been separate and deliberately so.”Hales was fined £17,500 for his role in the Bristol incident, £10,000 of which was suspended for 12 months. He was also banned for six white-ball matches, two of which he missed in the immediate aftermath of Stokes’ arrest, and the remaining four are suspended.All of which means that both players have been cleared to play a full part in the tour of the Caribbean in the new year, and after that the World Cup, which England will enter as favourites, with a golden opportunity to end a 44-year wait for a global ODI trophy.”We’ve got huge plans for making sure the Cricket World Cup is a platform on which we grow the game in England and Wales,” Harrison said.”It is an unbelievable opportunity for English cricket, it’s up to us to make sure we take advantage of that. And for the first time you sense we have this gilt-edged opportunity to take people from the white-ball game directly into the Ashes series which immediately follows the World Cup.”It’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity. I’m giddy with excitement about 2019.”