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McCullum told Crawley to “chase moments” before the start of the series and he duly delivered

Matt Roller01-Aug-2023Brendon McCullum believes that Zak Crawley’s success against Australia validated England’s approach to Test cricket since he took over as head coach, saying of his Ashes record this summer: “People don’t do that, you know?”Crawley is one of three players – along with Joe Root and Ben Stokes – to have featured in every one of England’s 18 Tests since McCullum’s appointment, and has consistently been backed publicly despite averaging 23 last summer, with a single half-century.McCullum told Crawley to “chase moments” before the start of the series and he duly delivered, thumping the first ball of the series for four through the covers off Pat Cummins on his way to an agenda-setting 61 off 73 at Edgbaston.After 48 and 3 at Lord’s, he made 44 and 33 in a low-scorer at Headingley, then thrashed 189 off 182 balls in Manchester as England dominated a rain-ruined fourth Test. He finished with 22 and 73 at The Oval, helping to set up England’s 49-run win and securing his status as their leading run-scorer for the series.Related

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“Coming into the series, he was under quite a lot of pressure,” McCullum said. “The great thing was he was able to block that out as much as possible… you hope that’s down to the environment the skipper’s trying to create, and the sincere messaging.”480 runs at a strike rate of 90 [88.72], against the best bowling attack in the world, against the Dukes ball, in an Ashes series: people don’t do that, you know? As the skipper said: you look at what people’s upsides are, what their best days are, what they’re capable of achieving rather than focusing on things that might not be there. He’s a case in point.”I think we’ve seen someone really grow and mature and really develop over the last six weeks or so. I’m sure he’ll be proud of the series he’s had and won’t get carried away, because that’s the type of personality he is. It’s great – not just for Zak, but also for other guys around the side and around county cricket. They know that when they get the opportunity, they’ll get support.”For the first time in a decade, there are no doubts about the identity of England’s best opening pair, with Ben Duckett averaging 35.66 for the series and 53.21 since he was recalled to the Test set-up for the tour to Pakistan last year.”Their contrasting skills – which we’ve talked a lot about leading into the series – is pretty evident and it helps one another,” McCullum said. “Ben Duckett’s turned into a really serious player at the top of the order for us. Away from home as well, his game in sub-continent conditions you’d expect to really flourish, too.”McCullum said that squaring the series from two-nil down – while doubling down on their attacking style with the bat – proved the point that the approach he and Stokes have implemented gets the most out of England’s players. “We have a certain style we try to exhibit every time we play,” he said.”I think for us, that is our best chance of winning. The skipper and I firmly believe that, and some of the performances we’ve seen… are testament to that. Look, you’re always trying to win, right? You just don’t want to be bogged down in key moments by the result.”What we are trying to do is allow ourselves to get in a space in our own minds where it allows your talent to come out. If you’re weighed down by fear of failure or by external noise, all you’re doing is suffocating that talent. It’s as simple as that. For us, entertainment is a big part of it and how we play is a big part of it. But for sure, we want to win.”From one win in 17 when Stokes and McCullum took over, England have won 13 of their 18 Tests under new leadership. “You look back to when the skipper took over and to come in as well,” McCullum reflected, “would we be able to take on a great Australian team – and they are a great Australian team – and go toe-to-toe with them?”I think the answer is yes – and that’s a tremendous confidence-booster for the group, but also testament to the investment to all the guys who have really gone quids-in with their belief in this side and the direction the skipper wants it to head. When you go two-nil down in a series and you’ve played some really good cricket, you know there’s going to be some challenges.”To come back from that and square the series two-two, both teams will be disappointed they don’t end up walking away with the scoreline, albeit Australia walk away with the urn. We stayed true to that under the fiercest of pressure.”

Across formats, New Zealand last beat Australia on their soil in 2011; can they break that spell to kick off their 2022 Men’s T20 World Cup despite not being at their best?

Andrew McGlashan21-Oct-20221:31

Williamson: Both Ferguson and Milne bring something different

When New Zealand came across the Tasman in late March 2015 for the ODI World Cup final they could not have been a more confident team, after surging through the tournament unbeaten on home soil, dreaming of the chance to topple their fellow hosts at the MCG to claim the title.However, as history shows, they were overwhelmed on that day by seven wickets. The moment Brendon McCullum charged and missed at Mitchell Starc in the first over was clearly huge, but it is often forgotten New Zealand had recovered to 150 for 3 before the major collapse set in.Related

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That defeat marked the beginning of a winless stretch in Australia that is now at 15 matches across formats following the recent 3-0 ODI series loss in Cairns and talk of psychological hurdles to overcome. Their last win in the country was in 2011, the Test match in Hobart where Trent Boult made his international debut, so it has been more than a decade since tasting success here. That record, at least, should end at some point over the next couple of weeks.But the fixture list has brought New Zealand and Australia back together, this time at the beginning of a global event, in a rematch of last year’s final in the UAE where Australia were again able to overpower their neighbours despite a magnificent innings from Kane Williamson.Williamson, as you would expect, was not taking any bait with regards New Zealand’s record in Australia. “We haven’t thought too much about that,” he said. “Nice to play against Australia first up, and it should be a good game.”They know the conditions well. They’re very clinical at home and in most places that they play, which is a reflection of where they stand in the game. So there is that respect. We know that we have a number of match-winners throughout, and the team’s looking forward to the [competition]. We’ve had a number of good clashes [with Australia] over the years and a number of good series as well, and I guess most recently probably the last World Cup.”Boult and Williamson are among four New Zealand players who appeared in the 2015 final who could feature at the SCG on Saturday (Australia are likely to have five) although the other two, Tim Southee and Martin Guptill, are not certain selections. If Guptill doesn’t make the starting XI it adds to the sense that there is a slow changing of the guard in the New Zealand side.The fortunes of Boult and Williamson, meanwhile, are also part of a wider theme about this New Zealand side and whether they have passed the peak that made them the form team in the world little more than a year ago.Boult’s future has nothing to do with form. He remains one of the finest left-arm quicks in the world and in those recent ODIs in Cairns was magnificent. But he has now walked away from his New Zealand Cricket contract and, while he is part of this event, what happens next is less certain. He has spoken of reaching next year’s ODI World Cup, but there is a difficult path to navigate.For Williamson the questions have been fitness and workload. Since that stunning innings in last year’s final he has spent considerable time sidelined with an elbow injury. When he returned, fluency was hard to come by, but there were promising signs in the recent tri-series final against Pakistan where he made 59 off 38 – his highest strike rate in a double-figure T20 innings since that knock against Australia in Dubai.”It was nice to spend some time in the middle,” he said. “It would have been nice to get on the right side of the result as a team. For me, it’s just continuing to try to improve and add value where I can, and try and make as big a contribution as I can to the team and my role.”However, over the last 12 months or so there have started to be regular questions asked about whether he is the right person to carry on as captain in all three formats. You would think that a successful tournament in Australia would put the ball firmly in his court as to whatever decisions he wants to make.Their lead-in to the opening match has not been ideal since arriving in Australia. They were bundled out for 98 by South Africa in their first warm-up match in Brisbane and the second, against India, was washed out. Their one training in Sydney was then impacted by the weather, although they did manage a brief spell outside. They are also selecting from 14 for the opening game at least, with Daryl Mitchell still recovering from his broken finger.”Preparation is always varied regardless of what happens, even if it’s perfectly planned,” Williamson said. “It was nice to get those [tri-series] games in back home, some really competitive cricket, and then nice to be over here in Australia and get into some preparation. It is a balance between doing more and trying to make sure guys are fresh, and I suppose you factor in some of the uncontrollables. We’ve had a bit of weather and all that.”Unlike their visit in 2015, or last year’s final in the UAE, a loss at the SCG wouldn’t be terminal to New Zealand’s hopes of adding to the 2000 ICC Knockout and 2021 Test Championship as their two pieces of global silverware. But ending the hoodoo would be the perfect start.

India offspinner also breaks down Kuhnemann’s bowling action and explains why it was easier to play him in Ahmedabad

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Mar-2023R Ashwin said that Australia’s offspinner Todd Murphy was “10 to 50 times better” than Nathan Lyon was when he first came to India in 2013.Murphy, with 14 wickets from four Tests, was only behind Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Lyon in the wicket-takers’ list in his maiden Test series.”Nathan Lyon did pick up 20 wickets in this series. However, the pressure was built by other spinners too. Todd Murphy had a sensational debut series,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel. “You might wonder what is there to talk about Todd Murphy. This is his first tour to India. I remember many spinners’ first tour to India.Related

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“Nathan Lyon came here first in 2013. He went to Sri Lanka before that. Todd Murphy came here 10 to 50 times better than how Nathan Lyon came here on his first Test tour,” Ashwin said. “I am not saying that he is a better bowler in terms of quality, skill, or performance. I am talking about his capacity and composure to be able to bowl around the stumps and over the stumps.”Lyon, in 2013, had taken 15 wickets in three Tests and, like Murphy, had registered a seven-wicket haul.”In the Ahmedabad Test, he [Murphy] bowled most of his overs from over the stumps,” Ashwin said. “Until then, he was bowling around the stumps. But from both around and over, he looked equally comfortable. He was able to attack the stumps while bowling from around the wicket as well as over the wicket.”Nathan Lyon’s strongest feature is that he uses Mitchell Starc’s footmark really well. He bowls the sixth-stump and seventh-stump line really well. That has been his bread and butter. That’s how he has built his ten-year career.Matthew Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy took 23 wickets between them in the series•Getty Images

“Because in a country like Australia, there won’t be much happening for the spinners from the centre of the surface. He has to make things happen from the footholes only. His bowling, his pace, his trajectory and his body position are all attuned to that.”Whereas Todd Murphy, being the current-generation spinner that he is, is attacking the stumps from over the stumps. He is also bowling from wide of the stumps. He is going from around the wicket and attacking the stumps. And he is also taking the odd ball away. He is not only bowling the fast back-of-the-length delivery but also has an odd slower one. That flight is definitely catching the batter by surprise. It’s not that easy to go on the back foot and play him. So a lot of credit to Todd Murphy.”Ashwin also praised Matthew Kuhnemann, who made his debut in the Test match in Delhi.”There were Mitchell Swepson and Ashton Agar in the squad but he [Matthew Kuhnemann] flew down as a replacement once Swepson went to Australia after his wife gave birth to a baby,” Ashwin said. “Matthew Kuhnemann took a five-for [in Indore] and broke the game open for Australia.”An interesting feature of his action is his loading. For Kuhnemann, his wrist breaks during his loading. So sometimes it will look like there is an elbow extension. But there is nothing like that in his action. But there is wrist involvement, for sure.”Because of this wrist involvement, the ball will come down faster. Since there is extra involvement of his wrists, the disadvantage is that since the wrist is coming down, and since there is not enough wrist and finger behind the ball, sometimes the ball comes down slowly.”And if the wicket is slow, you can adjust and play him easily. I am saying this because I have also done this wrist-breaking in my career. However, he is getting that drop. He is a left-arm spinner on his first tour. He bowled really well in Delhi and Indore. Of course, the wicket in Ahmedabad was a bit tough to bowl. Even on that hard surface, he bowled really well.”

India’s premier first-class competition returns – in two phases, split by the IPL – after a year’s gap, and features Pujara and Rahane on the first day itself

Himanshu Agrawal15-Feb-2022When does the tournament begin? And why is it in two phases?
The 2021-22 Ranji Trophy will be held in two phases, with the IPL in between. The first phase, which consists of league matches and one pre-quarter-final, starts on February 17 and ends on March 15. The IPL is expected to start on March 27. Before the Ranji pre-quarter-final, there will be three rounds of matches held: the first from February 17 to 20, then February 24 to 27, and finally, from March 3 to 6. The second phase, of the knockouts, is likely to begin on May 30 – after the IPL has concluded – and run up to June 26.Related

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Who are the big-ticket players in the mix? And who are missing?
Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane will turn out for Saurashtra and Mumbai, respectively. In fact, they will be up against each other on the very first day of the tournament, in Ahmedabad.Also available for their respective sides will be Hanuma Vihari (Hyderabad), Navdeep Saini and Nitish Rana (Delhi), Mayank Agarwal and Prasidh Krishna (Karnataka), Sreesanth (Kerala), Prithvi Shaw (Mumbai), Jaydev Unadkat (Saurashtra), Krunal Pandya (Baroda), Umesh Yadav (Vidarbha) and Vijay Shankar (Tamil Nadu).Among players who are expected to be free and available in that window, Hardik Pandya, Ishant Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha have all opted out. Hardik will be continuing his rehabilitation for a long-standing back injury and focus on his comeback in white-ball cricket, Saha and Ishant have made themselves unavailable.Kerala’s Robin Uthappa and Sanju Samson will also be absent. Uthappa is recovering from a hamstring injury, while Samson is undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.Are any of India’s Under-19 World Cup winners in the Ranji squads?
Yes. Batter Yash Dhull, who led India to their fifth Under-19 world title, is a part of Delhi’s squad. Quick bowler Ravi Kumar has been named in the Bengal side. Batter Harnoor Singh and allrounder Raj Angad Bawa are in the Chandigarh squad. Wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Bana and allrounder Nishant Sindhu have been picked by Haryana. And offspinners Vicky Ostwal and Kaushal Tambe will play for Maharashtra.What happened in the last Ranji Trophy?
The last time the tournament was conducted was during the 2019-20 season, when Saurashtra won the final against Bengal. But the Ranji Trophy had to be shelved during the following season because of pandemic. It was the first time the tournament, India’s premier first-class competition, had not featured in the calendar since its inception in the 1934-35 season.Saurashtra are the defending Ranji Trophy champions•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

How many teams are participating? And what’s the format for the league phase?
A total of 38 teams will be participating this season, and they have been divided into nine groups: eight Elite and one Plate. While the Elite groups have four teams each, the Plate Group has six sides in it.A total of 57 matches will be played in the league phase, as each team plays three matches. While the Elite teams face all other sides in their group once, the Plate teams will play only against three sides in their group. That will be followed by the pre-quarter-final and the knockouts: the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the final. That’s a total of 65 matches.What is the points structure?
The ranking order of the teams will be decided by points. Should teams be level on points, then the number of outright wins becomes the deciding factor. If it’s still not conclusive, the quotient rule comes into play. This will be determined by dividing the team’s batting average by their bowling average.How will the pre-quarter-final and quarter-finals play out?
Of the eight Elite-Group toppers, the seven with the best numbers qualify directly for the quarter-finals. For the final quarter-finalist, the Elite-group topper with the fewest points gets into a pre-quarter-final with the Plate-group topper. The pre-quarter-final will be played just after the league phase, and will end before the start of the IPL.Where will the Ranji matches be played?
The Elite matches will all be held across eight states, all neutral to the teams in action. Rajkot, Cuttack, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Thumba, Delhi, Rohtak, Gurugram, Sultanpur and Guwahati will be the cities where matches will be played. All the Plate matches will be conducted in Kolkata. The venue for the pre-quarter-final and the knockouts will be decided later.What happens if a player tests positive for Covid-19?
In case a player tests positive for Covid-19 or shows symptoms which prevents his participation in a match as per public health guidance norms, the match referee can allow his team to field a Covid-19 replacement after getting the necessary confirmations. However, the player coming in should only be a like-for-like replacement so as to prevent the side from getting any undue advantage.

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.

Perfect day at perfect ground, as Madsen seals chase after Masood makes 98

Paul Edwards14-Jun-2022
You really should come to Queen’s Park, you know. I can’t promise you a game such as we have enjoyed over these three days; a game which saw Derbyshire inflict a first Championship defeat on Middlesex and move themselves up to third place in Division Two; a game that ended with a guttural, flat-vowelled roar from the pavilion as Luis Reece completed a win that will always look more facile than it was.But the outgrounds always seem to conjure something precious and you might think it’s a reward for the volunteer labour expended in putting the matches on in the first place. Nor can I promise you a contest as enthralling as this, whose outcome only became clear on this third evening when Shan Masood made 98 and Wayne Madsen’s unbeaten 49 ensured that Derbyshire would suffer no jitters en route to their first victory over Middlesex at Chesterfield since 1965, when Brian Jackson took eight wickets and the home side were five down when chasing a paltry 34.No, I can guarantee none of these things should you come to Chesterfield…But there are beeches and copper beeches, there are oaks and weeping ash and liquidambar and ancient yews; there is an old mulberry tree near one of the two bandstands, and there is a lake, and across the road there is Parkside Café, which rivals Wickets in Taunton as the best nosebag on the circuit.And while you are eating your cobs and drinking your coffee, you can look again at the sweet chestnut and the sycamores and marvel at the trees’ fellowship and think of the consolation offered by conifers that stay green when the rest of their world is grey and the cricket ground is sleeping. And when you look beyond or above the trees, you will see buildings that have summat about them, like the six-columned town hall or the Church of St Mary and All Saints; yes, the one with the spire that’s gone in the fetlock. You see, you know the place already. Look up the route, now, before the magic fades.There is cricket, too, and there are times, like today, when it becomes the sole focus for those sitting in this greatly blessed world. Only when Derbyshire needed fewer than ten to win did the spectators began to drift slowly away and very few left properly until the game was done. They recalled their team had collapsed in a heap on Monday and they knew it was less than seven hours since the match was utterly in the hazard..Middlesex began the morning with a lead of 117 and seven wickets in hand as they sought a target beyond Derbyshire’s capabilities. Mark Stoneman and Ethan Bamber added another 23 runs in half an hour before Stoneman gloved a lifter from Anuj Dal to Brooke Guest and trooped off through the warm, dandelion-seeded air. Bamber fell to Dal as well but not before he had got on one knee and swept Mark Watt into the avenue of limes, where a fellow gave not a fig for his years and reached up to stop the ball.The lead was 179 when Bamber drove fatally to Sam Conners at point and it had been extended by only 13 more where John Simpson called Max Holden for a single and seemed to receive a tentative ‘yes’, followed by a mighty ‘no’. Simpson was run out by 20 yards; indeed when the bails were removed, he was near enough to give Holden a mighty kick up the arse, which is a course of action he may have contemplated. Unembarrassed, Holden hit Alex Thomson for a six over long on but was brilliantly caught by Billy Godleman running from mid-off to cover when he attempted to repeat the trick.We had lunch with Middlesex on 189 for 7. I walked out to the middle and wondered if this was how Fanshawe felt in M R James’ “A View from a Hill” when he sees the glorious spire of Fulnaker Abbey through Baxter’s binoculars, only to find it was a vision from the past. Reassurance was provided by an unlikely source: “From the Lake End, Mark Watt” boomed the chap on the public address.I drifted uncertainly back to the present and, almost on the instant, Luke Hollman was caught by Masood off Reece. The lead was 212 and no one thought it enough against a batting side that included the Pakistani. Give or take, it would have to do, though. Only six more runs had been added by the time Middlesex were bowled out and one admired the medium-pace bowling of Reece and Dal, each of whom took three wickets.Derbyshire’s pursuit of 219 began disastrously but could have been bum-numbingly awful. In the fourth over, Godleman was sent back when he called Masood for a mirage-single and Holden’s throw beat the Derbyshire skipper by around 11 yards. Next over, Masood nicked Roland-Jones to first slip where Stevie Eskinazi, possibly put off by Simpson, shelled the thing. The game settled again and the folk under the limes lost themselves in the struggle.Derbyshire got to tea on 89 for 2, the second batter dismissed being Guest, who was caught behind off Murtagh for 10. On the resumption, Masood got inside the line and drove Roland-Jones wide of mid-on; two overs later he nodded appreciatively when utterly beaten but resumed more normal service by cover-driving Hollman twice in the same over. The ball was changed at the end of the 30th over, which is normally a sign the shape of the game does not suit the fielding side. Ten minutes later, Masood cut Roland-Jones hard to gully where Sam Robson dropped the chance. Had not the Derbyshire’s supporters recalled their side’s first innings hours previously, they would have begun to believe this great thing was possible.Masood had batted beautifully but not faultlessly. Nevertheless, he was two short of a century and nine shy of his thousand first-class runs for the season when he cut Bamber to gully, where Robson clutched the thing. Derbyshire still needed 74 at this point but Leus du Plooy chose the fast lane to glory, whacking Bamber and Roland-Jones for sixes before nicking Tim Murtagh to Robbie White at slip.If Reece felt any nerves, he concealed them perfectly. The Middlesex cricketers, who had hardly celebrated their late successes with much joy, became reconciled to defeat. A few minutes later, players and spectators were shaking hands, saying their farewells and looking ruefully at their sunburn. One day, I hope you will be able to join them. Indeed, I hope beyond dreaming that you will get the chance, not least because if you do, it will probably mean that Chesterfield and so much else that is precious about our game has been saved. Evenings like this encourage the hope it might be so.

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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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.

Glamorgan lead by 58 overnight, with potential to set final-day run-chase

ECB Reporters Network26-May-2024Glamorgan take a lead of 58 with nine wickets in hand into the final day of their Vitality County Championship match against Leicestershire after the home side declared in arrears on a rain-restricted third day at the Uptonsteel County Ground.Having been 280 for five from 85 overs overnight, Leicestershire lost not out centurion Peter Handscomb in the second over after a delayed start, and then puzzled spectators by showing little inclination to chase more than one extra batting bonus point before declaring at 343 for nine in reply to Glamorgan’s 387 all out.Handscomb made 103, his second hundred of the season. Nightwatchman Scott Currie was out five short of following last week’s career-best 72 against Gloucestershire with the second first-class fifty of his career.Timm van der Gugten, in his first match of the season after injury, finished with five for 65.Glamorgan lost opener Billy Root for one and were 14 for one when a very heavy shower at around 4.30pm left parts of the playing area underwater, forcing the umpires to abandon play for the day.The morning session was limited to just eight overs after rain delayed the start until noon and then forced an early lunch, with a 10-minute stoppage along the way for some extra mopping up in parts of the field still wet from the earlier downpour.Australian Test batter Handscomb could add only one to his unbeaten 102 overnight before he was leg before to a ball from Van der Gugten that kept more than a touch low from the Bennett End.New batter Ben Cox picked up three boundaries off Zain-ul-Hassan and Leicestershire emerged from the interval needing exactly 50 to claim a third batting point and, with 17 overs left of the 110, the possibility even of going for a fourth, mindful of the value of a high-scoring draw in this summer’s points structure.Yet those 17 overs yielded just 26 runs, with scarcely a shot struck in anger by either Cox or the nightwatchman, Currie, who had proved on the second evening that he is no mug with bat in hand. Glamorgan’s bowling remained tight and tidy but the absence of aggression in Leicestershire’s approach was difficult to fathom.To make matters worse, Leicestershire then lost two wickets in the space of five deliveries as Van der Gugten executed a brilliant caught-and-bowled to remove Cox and followed it up by bowling Ben Mike off an inside-edge on to pad, the Australian-born Netherlands international celebrating the 14th first-class five-for of his career.The general sense of bafflement with what was happening then only increased.Currie, who had been joined by the injured Tom Scriven and his runner, was leg before to James Harris, and when Matt Salisbury walked out at No.11, one assumed his role was to give Scriven the chance to swing the bat, even on one leg.Yet after just eight more deliveries, only one of which Scriven actually faced, Leicestershire declared, conceding a lead of 44.Glamorgan lost Root early in the sixth over of their second innings when he was bowled by Matt Salisbury, another ball that kept low, before the heavens opened.

Australian left-armer defended eight of the final over after Yorkshire were coasting chasing 171

ECB Reporters Network21-Jun-2024Australian quick Ben Dwarshuis defended eight off the last over to complete a thrilling come-from-behind Durham victory to beat Yorkshire and leapfrog them into the North Group’s top four places.Yorkshire, chasing 171, were cruising at 113 for 2 in the 12th over before leg-spinner Nathan Sowter bowled buccaneering Will Luxton for 33 and had Jordan Thompson brilliantly caught and bowled on the run towards long-on.Left-armer Dwarshuis then claimed his first wicket for Durham in the last over and defended four off the last ball against George Hill. The Vikings, replying to 170 for 6, finished on 167 for 7, handing Durham a fourth win in eight games – this by three runs. Yorkshire lost their fourth in eight.Dwarshuis was the hero in only his third game. The overseas man had been dropped after the first two games. Opener Graham Clark top-scored with 49 off 35 balls for Durham, while Adam Lyth top-scored for Yorkshire with 54.Visiting left-arm spinner Dan Moriarty impressed with two for 26, a return matched by Durham’s excellent seamer Ben Raine. But Sowter, who also affected a run out, contributed massively to the comeback.Considering Durham, who elected to bat, took 10 off the first over – a boundary piece for Clark and Alex Lees – Yorkshire did well to limit them to 44 for 1 after six overs.Clark struck the ball sweetly, but David Bedingham struggled to get going amidst a run-a-ball 21, ended when he pulled Jafer Chohan’s leg-spin to deep midwicket – 59 for 2 in the ninth over.Clark took back-to-back boundaries off Jordan Thompson to take the score to 88 for two after 12 but fell agonisingly short of a fifty when he dragged Moriarty on in the next, Durham now 91 for 3.And they were struggling to get going.But that impetus did come in the final five overs, with Ollie Robinson, Bas de Leede and Michael Jones all finding or clearing the boundary, the former two contributing useful scores of 33 and 28 before falling to Thompson and Dom Bess.Thompson had Robinson caught behind and bowled Raine, but 64 came off the last five overs.Lyth continued the flow of runs at the start of Yorkshire’s chase with a couple of leg-side sixes before losing opening partner and captain for the night Dawid Malan.He was brilliantly caught at cover by a diving Lees off George Drissell’s off-spin, leaving Yorkshire at 35 for one in the fourth over.Malan, who scored only seven, was leading Yorkshire after Shan Masood was injured in the Roses win 24 hours earlier.That dismissal brought Joe Root to the crease for his last domestic appearance before England Test commitments, and he breezed to 20.But when he was caught behind off Raine’s seam – 60 for 2 in the seventh over – Durham’s hopes were raised.Luxton tried his best to dash them in only his fourth career T20 appearance and his first of 2024.He hit two leg-side sixes and a four down the ground as 19 came off Drissell in the 10th over, taking the Vikings to 100 for 2.It seemed as if they were, by now in an unassailable position. Not so!Sowter bowled him and had Thompson superbly caught and bowled running towards mid-on. Lyth reached 50 off 35 balls but was also lbw to Raine. With those three dismissals, Yorkshire were 130 for 5 in the 16th and the game in the balance again.Sowter brilliantly ran Donovan Ferreira out with a direct hit from deep midwicket before Dwarshuis had Dom Bess caught at long-on in the last, which ended by Hill missing an attempted ramp off the last ball.

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.