The loud booing appeared to be an expression of the Victorian crowd’s disapproval that Peter Handscomb was dropped

Melinda Farrell at the MCG26-Dec-20180:43

Behaviour of MCG crowd disappointing – Travis Head

Travis Head has labelled the behaviour of the MCG crowd as “poor” and “disappointing” after fans booed Mitchell Marsh on two occasions during the opening day of the third Test.The loud booing that followed the announcement of Marsh’s bowling spells appeared to be an expression of the Victorian crowd’s disapproval that Peter Handscomb was dropped for the Boxing Day Test in his home state, with Marsh taking his position.While it is more common to see a visiting player jeered by fans, it is rare to see an Australian player receive such a reception in a home Test.”I don’t think it’s great,” Head said. “Obviously we’ve seen it with Kohli as well but for Mitch, who worked his bum off today, I thought he bowled exceptionally well.”I thought he created pressure in tough conditions and fought really hard. I don’t think any Australian cricketer in Australia deserves to be booed.”I understand the Victorian crowd, Petey obviously missing out, but I think it’s pretty poor for Mitchy to cop that.A Facebook page was set up ahead of the Test which encouraged fans to boo Marsh, who was the most economical of Australia’s bowlers, conceding 23 runs off his 15 overs.Marsh’s bowling was cited by Tim Paine as a major factor for his inclusion and, on a flat pitch that yielded just two Indian wickets, his inclusion provided welcome relief for Australia’s pace attack.But while the crowd’s reaction was impossible to miss, Head said he didn’t believe Marsh was affected by it.”I think Mitch is a character to get on with it,” Head said. “As he showed., he did his business, he did his work, he bowled exceptionally well, did the job that was needed for the team and that’s what Mitch has always done.”He’s always been someone to get the energy around the group, lead from the front and I think he did that and in tough conditions to grab the ball and bowl the way he did was really good. He created a couple of chances as well.”I think the way he showed today, I think great team man, great fella, worked his backside off for the boys today and I think he did a wonderful job so yeah disappointing and hopefully that won’t be the case for the next couple of days.”

England’s new No.3 shows signs of seizing his route back into the side with hard-hitting 98

George Dobell at the 3Ws Oval18-Jan-2019England XI 379 (Bairstow 98, Burns 68) v WI President’s XI 233 for 11 (Ambris 94, Woakes 3-31)

ScorecardBy the time, seven balls into the morning, the President’s XI second wicket fell, it was hard not to fear for the final day of England’s warm-up period in Barbados.For it would be easy to look at the scores from these four days at Cave Hill and presume the home side were not up to much. They lost 19
wickets on Wednesday, after all, while conceding nearly 400 runs on Thursday. On Friday both Stuart Broad and Sam Curran struck with their first deliveries. It was hard not to wonder whether there was much point in such encounters.But England will have left the 3Ws Oval more than satisfied with their progress over these four days. Of course, in an ideal world, England might have had time for a couple of first-class games going into the Test series. But the schedules don’t allow such luxuries these days and, by bending the regulations to breaking point, they probably gained the maximum amount of benefit from the minimum amount of time. It’s not pretty or entertaining, but training isn’t always meant to be and this was much more an open training session than a pair of cricket matches. They were, literally, games that couldn’t be won.So, most of England’s bowlers found some rhythm; most of their batsmen found some form; their slip catching was excellent and, most of all,
they demonstrated a ruthlessness that has not always been apparent in such warm-up encounters. Any side that can leave out a cricketer
playing as well as Chris Woakes – and there is every indication he is not among the 12 men being considered for the first Test – must be
in pretty fine shape.This President’s XI squad is probably some way better than the scoreboard suggests, too. It contains six men who have played Test cricket and one more who will have done so by this time next week. And if they, at times, looked less than enthused by their task this week, it is not hard to see why. Cricket West Indies made several requests to the ECB to make this a four-day, first-class game. But once those requests were declined, most of these players would have preferred to represent their regions in Championship cricket this week rather than provide glorified net practice for the tourists. Sometimes it showed.Sunil Ambris, at least, took the opportunity to show his ability. His Test record to date – he averages 15.09 after six Tests and was dismissed hit-wicket from his first ball at that level – is not pretty, but here he resisted admirably and put away the poor ball sweetly. He had well earned a century before he attempted to swing one from Woakes through the leg side and fell for 94. Nobody else in his team passed 22.While Woakes – with three wickets – was perhaps the most impressive of England’s seamers, Stuart Broad’s performance was perhaps the most relevant. With every spell he has bowled, he has looked more comfortable with his slightly shorter run-up. And whether it is due to some minor technical tweaks or the Duke’s ball in use here – a Duke’s ball that has been specially made to withstand the more abrasive pitches anticipated here – he is gaining more swing than for some time. After claiming a wicket with the first ball of the day – a slower-ball yorker surprising Devon Thomas – he later had Chandrapaul Hemraj (named after Shivnarine but spelt differently) fending to slip.The other bowlers enjoyed their moments, too. Curran also struck with his first ball – the luckless Jermaine Blackwood trapped by an
inswinger – but was then taken for three fours in an over, while Ben Stokes would have claimed a second wicket – Vishaul Singh – had he not overstepped and conceded a no-ball.In general, however, this was a highly satisfactory performance from England’s bowlers. While the surfaces in the Test series are expected
to be much quicker, England looked very comfortable with the Duke’s ball and could feel well satisfied in claiming 30 wickets in two days
in the field. Just as importantly, every edge that went to hand was caught.Partly as a result, they will take the entire weekend off. It is a decision that may have one or two shaking their heads in disapproval – especially if they go one-down in Barbados – but probably reflects a fit squad that is confident, relaxed and doesn’t feel the need to
train to win the approval of on-lookers. Instead they will spend time with their families and enjoy a catamaran ride together. Modern
schedules allow little time for such moments. It may prove every bit as helpful as another net session.Perhaps, in a perfect world, England would have liked better surfaces on which to play these games. Especially the first match. But they
have not breathed a word of complaint. And, if the ECB – or any of the other ‘big three’ cricketing nations – really want to see facilities
improve in the Caribbean, they might reflect on a more equitable distribution of ICC funds. The ECB, for example, are expecting a windfall of around $US50m from ticket sales for the men’s World Cup this year. Cricket West Indies might well be able to fund better surfaces if they were to receive a fraction of such revenues.

Captain reflects on improved balance to team, after stand-out performances from Wood and Stokes in St Lucia

Andrew Miller12-Feb-2019Joe Root admitted it was a relief for England to finish a tough Test series on a high, following England’s 232-run victory in St Lucia, but admitted that his side would have to reflect on “some important lessons” going into a “very important summer”.”I think it was a really important week for this group, to play in the manner we have,” Root said. In particular, he cited the performances of Mark Wood with the ball and Ben Stokes with the bat, as well as a more disciplined batting display from a top three that may not have made compelling cases for future selection, but who played their parts in blunting the new ball and freeing up England’s middle order to play with less pressure.Root himself led from the front with his 16th Test century, as he bounced back from a tally of 55 runs in his first five innings of the series, but with Test cricket now on hold until July 24, when Ireland arrive at Lord’s as a curtain-raiser to the Ashes, many of the team’s unresolved issues will be put on the back-burner until after the World Cup.Nevertheless, by responding to their heavy defeats in Barbados and Antigua with a hefty win of their own, England showed an ability to knuckle down and bat for time, rather than just the pursuit of quick runs that had been their downfall in the early exchanges of the series.”I think at times, individually, in our approaches to managing different conditions and situations in the game, we can manage those periods a lot better,” Root said. “This week was a great example of that. We got a decent start in challenging conditions, and managed to build on that, get to a very good score and managed to hammer it home in the second innings.”We feel like we are improving as a team and we’ve got some important lessons to learn, and plenty to think about ahead of a very important summer.”The manner of England’s win appeared also to answer the call from their coach, Trevor Bayliss, who has been stinging in his criticism of the team’s “lack of mental discipline” in the first two Tests, and had called for a greater show of “guts and determination”.”I think that depends on your definition of gutsing it out,” Root said. “The guys have worked really hard on this trip, it’s not down to a lack of effort. At times, maybe, we’ve been thinking the wrong things, and not quite getting the gameplans right or executing them. It’s about learning and improving on this trip.”One clear lesson that England were taught was the importance of selection – with Wood’s stunningly quick spell in the third Test making the pace-light line-up in Barbados (where Sam Curran and Adil Rashid were preferred to Stuart Broad and a fourth frontline quick) look especially wrong-headed in hindsight.”We found something [here] that’s worked throughout this series,” Root said. “It’s a shame we didn’t come across it a little bit earlier. But credit to the Windies, they played really well in those first two Test matches and outperformed us. Perhaps we could have gone in with a slightly different balance but we’ve got that knowledge if we come here again in the future.”Wood bowled beautifully,” Root added. “I don’t think I’ve ever stood as far back as that before. I’m trying to nurse a hole in my hand from that first [catch] I managed to cling on to. It’s a great story. To go away, work how he has with the Lions and find really good form. To produce what he has done this week he should be really proud of that.”Ben Stokes pulls through the leg side•Getty Images

Asked if Wood should have been selected sooner in the series, Root said: “It’s easy to say that now when you see him unleash himself and bowl with that pace and freedom. The enjoyment too, you always feel you’re getting the best out of Woody when he enjoys himself on the field. Hopefully he can harness that and take it forward.”Given Wood’s long history of injury problems, Root admitted that he would need careful management to retain his edge as a fast bowler, and conceded he had a lot to learn about such things after Wood himself said his spell in the first innings had been “two overs too long”.”When there is a bit more pace in the wicket we might have be smart about how we use him,” Root said. “And how we go about things at the other end. It is a learning curve for me, I am by no means the finished article as captain. I’m always looking to improve, but to have another option to go to, to have variation, is so important.”Another man who seemed back to his free-flowing best was Stokes, whose vital first-innings fifty had been triggered by a return to an off-stump guard that had served him well against New Zealand in 2015, but who was also aided by a change to the balance of England’s team. He didn’t bowl a single ball in the first innings, having been over-relied upon in Barbados and Antigua, and seemed liberated to be the player England needed in a given situation, rather than constrained by too much responsibility.”Ben’s approach this game is more of what he’s about,” Root said. “He’ll openly admit that, in the last year or so, he’s found things difficult and maybe gone too far the other way when wickets have been quite challenging.”It’s great to see him come and play in the manner that he did in this game. When he’s firing and playing in that manner, it puts pressure on the opposition and gets the best out of himself, and he’s great for the team to bat around as well.”The one player who appeared to lose out in St Lucia was Keaton Jennings, whose return to the top of the order ended with a bizarre dismissal off his thigh pad, a moment which seemed to signal that the end of the line had finally come.Root, however, insisted that nothing can be taken for granted, especially with more than five months between now and the Ireland match for all the Test specialists to make good runs in the County Championship.”He can come again,” Root said. “There’s a few things he’ll want to work on and improve, but you don’t become a bad player overnight, he’s got two Test hundreds. He’ll go away and look to consistently get better. He’s got a very good attitude, he’ll go to Lancashire and keep working at his game.”

Clayton Lambert speaks exclusively to Wisden Cricinfo

25-Feb-2019

I haven’t seen much top-level cricket lately, not even the current West Indies tour, because where I live in Atlanta, there aren’t many satellite dishes available. I’ve been living in USA permanently since 1999, when I retired from international cricket after the South Africa tour.I’m looking forward to the Champions Trophy, but I guess I don’t have as much of a buzz as the other guys, because I’ve done it all before with West Indies. Still, there’s no doubt that representative cricket lifts the spirits, and it’s sure to be one of my biggest challenges. I’m looking forward to giving something back to a game that’s been very good to me.Cricket in the USA is mostly played at league level, and occasionally there’s the chance to play regional cricket, which is the highest form of the game over here. So all in all, it’s a bit less of a challenge, and it’s nice to get out and do some serious stuff from time to time.During my international career, I earned a reputation as a hard hitter of a cricket ball, although I was also capable of nice long innings as well. Admittedly, in our three-day Intercontinental Cup games, I’ve fared pretty badly, although that’s largely been down to the indifferent wickets – they haven’t been up to the standard that I’m used to.The bowlers have dominated in the Intercontinental Cup, but in the one-day game I’ve done better. American audiences are used to more hustle and bustle in their sports – if a fan wants to see a baseball game, he’ll give over one afternoon to do so – but three-day cricket is too time-consuming for this audience.I was a bit stunned that USA missed out on hosting any matches in the World Cup – if cricket hopes to make inroads over here, it has to stick its neck out and have a feel of the market. There’s not even any real need for the game to compete with the established sports, such as baseball and football, because there’s a place for everything in America. There are a lot of dollars over here.Besides, cricket is a very Commonwealth-orientated sport, so there is a huge immigrant population in the USA who are all yearning for the sport. League cricket is really exploding at the moment – last year in Atlanta, seven or eight new teams were formed, and you’d be astonished just how popular the game is in New York at present. All the more reason why the World Cup should be coming here.There was a good atmosphere down in Florida for our Intercontinental Cup match against Canada last month, although sadly the pitch left a bit to be desired, and it wasn’t a fair assessment of our skills. The Champions Trophy next month will a more relevant assessment of where we have reached as a team.Basically, we are just a bunch of league players – amateurs taking on professionals – so we are going to be up against it in the competition. But we are sure to learn a hell of a lot while we are here. And next year, we’ll be competing in a World-Cup qualifying tournament in Ireland, where the conditions are likely to be similar. So for us it is a win-win situation.

Central Districts won five of the eight matches they played in 2018-19 with their captain Greg Hay finishing second on the top-scorer’s list

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Mar-2019Central Districts are Plunket Shield champions once again, making it the first time in over fifty years that they’ve won back-to-back first-class titles. The New Zealand domestic season came to a close on Wednesday with Greg Hay’s side 21 points clear of their closest rivals, Canterbury, on top of the points table.”It’s a pretty special moment to do it in my first year as captain,” Hay said. “But I think a lot of the work had been done over the last few years to get us in this position. And coming in to take over from Will Young, to take over a successful side already, with a lot of the foundation already laid, but it’s obviously still very special to win it in my first year.”Central Districts won five of the eight matches they played in 2018-19 with Hay finishing second on the top-scorer’s list with 633 runs, including a career-best 226 in December. “The beauty of four-day cricket is that it doesn’t change a lot, especially as an opening batter. You just go out and be consistent about your routine, doing the same things day in, day out and that’s how I go about at. Managed to be reasonably consistent over the last two years which sets the platform for the team in terms of batting and obviously we’ve got a talented bunch behind me to come in and play a few shots.”It was 1968 when Central Districts last won back-to-back first-class trophies, and this was their second of the year. They won the Super Smash T20 tournament, beating Northern Districts thanks to their superior bowling strength. In fact, Hay highlighted that as one of the team’s key strengths in long-form cricket as well, with Ryan McCone (24), Doug Bracewell (22) and Seth Rance (22) among the top-10 wicket-takers.”Ryan’s had some injury problems over the last couple of years but this year he’s managed to stay fit and he showed his class. He’s probably one of the less heralded of our bowlers. You almost think when we’re at full-strength we have all internationals playing and he probably might not even be in the starting line-up. But for him, obviously, with how the season turned out, with all the guys away, he carried a big load for us at the start of the season and ran in to some red-hot form in the back end. He was, really, the go-to guy for me. I knew I could throw him the ball and he’d be straight on the spot and manage to do something with the old ball.”Dougie, another one, obviously phenomenal. Runs in all day. And then we’ve got Seth who’s had another good season with the red-ball, swinging it at the top. We’ve got Tips who’s a bit different again and obviously Ajaz Patel. We’ve had quite a few that have contributed to the group this year, so it’s been good. Obvilusy Milny when he’s fit he’s been there as well . It’s a pretty potent bowling attack but to have some of that glue that holds it together like Ryan or Dougie, that’s key.”It was also the perfect send-off for coach Heinrich Malan who ends his six-year stay at Central Districts by helping win their 11th title in domestic cricket.

Governing body say they are aware of unverified footage on social media and are ‘comfortable that there was no attempt to change the condition of the ball’

ESPNcricinfo staff12-May-2019The ICC are satisfied England did not tamper with the ball in their second ODI against Pakistan amid a swirl of social media speculation.Unverified footage from Saturday’s match, which England won by 12 runs having scored 373 for 3 and managed to contain Pakistan to 361 for 7, highlighted England pace bowler Liam Plunkett moving fingers over the ball whilst preparing to run in and vision of the ball with one side looking extremely rough.The ICC is believed to have seen the video and spoken to Plunkett, who alerted them to the footage, and are not concerned that anything untoward occurred.”The ICC is aware of the unverified video that is currently circulating on social media,” the ICC said in a statement on Sunday. “The match officials are comfortable that there was no attempt to change the condition of the ball or any evidence of this on the over by over examinations of the ball throughout the game.”The video does not show any evidence of wrongdoing by Plunkett or any other player and the condition of the ball, if accurately depicted, would appear to be consistent with one bashed around during such a high-scoring game. The ball used in the Royal London Cup semi-final between Hampshire and Lancashire on the same Ageas Bowl pitch the following day did not look dis-similar after 44 overs and 230 runs being scored.

Jamie Smith and Jordan Thompson both shine on their Championship debuts before Yorkshire captain strikes

Paul Edwards11-Jun-2019
A day’s cricket many doubted would take place eventually featured two players who had, until last weekend, scant reason to think they would be taking any part in the match. Had not family reasons prevented David Willey representing Yorkshire Jordan Thompson may not even have travelled to Guildford; and had not a back problem confined Rory Burns to the treatment table, Jamie Smith may have been turning out for Surrey’s second team at Polo Farm, near Canterbury.Yet instead of looking forward to Pudsey St Lawrence’s match against Townville on Saturday, Thompson marked his first-class debut by taking the wickets of Mark Stoneman and Scott Borthwick. And instead of watching the groundsmen mopping up in Kent, Smith responded by making a polished 56 on his first appearance in the County Championship. “World is suddener than we fancy it,” wrote Louis MacNeice in “Snow”, “World is crazier and more of it than we think, / Incorrigibly plural.”By close of play Thompson could look back on three sessions in which he had not looked out of place. Smith, meanwhile, had helped Ben Foakes add 118 for Surrey’s fifth wicket and seemed to have given his side a sniff of building a total which would allow them to control this three-day game. Yet even as an appreciative crowd at Woodbridge Road was assessing the contributions of two cricketers taking their first steps in the competition by which their careers will be judged, a 35-year-old playing his 146th first-class match made off with their thunder.For just as it seemed this day’s honours would belong to Surrey, Steven Patterson castled Foakes, Will Jacks and Smith in the same over. Without bowling at any great pace – Jonny Tattersall stood up to him – Patterson nipped one in to defeat Foakes’s skew-whiff shot off the back foot; next ball he made Jacks looks as foolish as a batsmen will when he lets an inswinger go; and he then bowled a ball of fuller length which Smith played both over and around. The virtues of aiming at the stumps have rarely been better illustrated.But even when the spectacular intervention of one of the most unspectacular cricketers on the circuit have been considered the most remarkable feature of this day’s play may have been that it took place at all. “Try praying” suggests a poster outside St Saviour’s at the top of Wooodbridge Road and some folk may indeed have believed only divine involvement could have caused play to start on time after the deluge that soaked Guildford on Monday afternoon. The truth was more prosaic: efficient drainage through sandy soil, a few hours without rain and the fine efforts of the club’s groundsmen were quite sufficient.All the same, there was a sense of unexpected bounty among the spectators who turned up early and it was noticeable how many more Surrey supporters arrived once they realised there would actually be something to watch. They probably enjoyed what they saw as well for the first 90 minutes were dominated by their side’s openers. Dean Elgar, compact and vigilant as a man might be when he has scored 43 runs in his last seven innings, batted as if fate was likely to hoodwink him at any moment; Stoneman, more confident and assertive, drove Ben Coad’s overpitched balls through the off side and then rocked back to punch Yorkshire’s spearhead past cover.Dom Bess replaced the seamer at the Railway End for the 13th over but Yorkshire did not make their first breakthrough until 45 minutes later. Even then the bowlers had their opponents’ help as Elgar contrived to reach a wide ball from Patterson and squirted a catch to Bess at point. Ten minutes later Stoneman reached his fifty but having served a hard master, he then became Thompson’s first victim in Championship cricket.The late golf-commentator Henry Longhurst might have described Thompson as “a well set-up young fellow”; in our own rather less lyrical age we settle for “a big unit”. Either way he bowls at a fair lick and gained his reward when he speared one across Stoneman, who thin-edged a catch to Tattersall and threw his head back in anger.That left Surrey on a respectable 117 for 2 at lunch but it changed the temper of the contest. On the resumption Coad bowled seven overs for 11 runs and picked up the wicket of Ryan Patel when the Surrey batsman played clumsily across the line. At the other end, Patterson bowled with his typical parsimony; every run was begrudged as if it was an insult to his home town of Beverley. When Thompson finally replaced Coad, Borthwick drove at his first ball but was betrayed by a lack of foot movement. Adam Lyth took the catch at second slip and Surrey were 147 for 4.The next couple of hours were Surrey’s best of the day. Smith’s cover driving of both seam and spin bowlers was a delight while Foakes advanced down the pitch to Bess and hit him safely over mid-on. Surrey were 250 for 4 when Yorkshire took the new ball and had the home side survived the next hour there was every chance they would have had to bat only once in this shortened game.But when Yorkshire calls, Patterson rarely fails to answer and the skipper’s intervention has already done much to shape this match. When bad light ended pay nine overs early folk who had thought this might be another lost day could reflect on some rich entertainment. They had arrived telling tales of flooded gardens, sodden clothes and hazardous drives home amid stair-rod rain. But visiting supporters left the ground talking about a 22-year-old Loiner who looked a little as though he hadn’t taken his coat-hanger out of his shirt. Home loyalists, meanwhile, were understandably excited by the talent of Smith, an 18-year-old who was taking his A-Levels a mere 12 months ago. Further examinations await him but it is safe to say he cannot wait to sit them

It was a World Cup final to beat all World Cup finishes, and even at the end of it, there was almost no winner

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jul-2019
England innings
0.1: Boult to Stokes, 3 runs, full slower one on off stump, clears his front leg and slogs but doesn’t get hold of it. Loops in the air between short third man and backward point, and lands out of reach of both. They can run three, but it leaves Stokes winded.0.2: Boult to Buttler, 1 run, full on middle stump, swiped away along the ground to deep square leg. Didn’t look like a particularly threatening ball, neither fast nor an obvious change of pace. Still, just a single.0.3: Boult to Stokes, FOUR runs, full again, a bit of late inswing towards middle and leg, and that’s a super shot from Stokes! Gets down low and sweeps with a roll of his wrists to beat deep midwicket throwing himself to his left on the boundary.0.4: Boult to Stokes, 1 run, full-toss wide of off, was looking for the wide yorker. Sliced to the fielder at backward point, Ferguson.0.5: Boult to Buttler, 2 runs, in the blockhole on off stump, makes a bit of room and jabs it away towards sweeper cover, where Nicholls sees it late and is slow coming in to attack the ball. That means they can run two.Looks like Archer will bowl England’s over. He’s sitting by the edge of the boundary, ball in hand.0.6: Boult to Buttler, FOUR runs, Buttler finishes with a boundary, and England end their Super Over with 15. Looks for the yorker again, but it’s a low full-toss, and he whips it away firmly to the left of deep square legNew Zealand innings
0.1 (wide): Archer to Neesham, 1 wide, looks for the wide yorker, ends up bowling a wide. Marginal, just beyond the tramline, but beyond it is, and Neesham doesn’t even play at it.0.1: Archer to Neesham, 2 runs, in the blockhole close to off stump, stabbed down towards long-off, rolls slowly through the outfield and they can take two.0.2: Archer to Neesham, SIX runs, JIMMY NEESHAM, JIMMY NEESHAM, JIMMY NEESHAM! Full, but this time he doesn’t nail the yorker. Clears his front leg and whips it over the deep midwicket boundary, over the shorter boundary.New Zealand require 7 runs off 4 balls.0.3: Archer to Neesham, 2 runs, fullish outside off, swiped away to the left of deep midwicket, and Jason Roy, swooping down on the ball, gets up too early to throw, and ends up fumbling, allowing an easy second. New Zealand need five off three!New Zealand require 5 runs off 3 balls.0.4: Archer to Neesham, 2 runs, full, pretty close to the blockhole, clipped to the right of deep midwicket this time, and they run two again! The throw at the non-striker’s end is good, but Guptill beats it easy.Williamson’s padded up. Of course he is.New Zealand require 3 runs off 2 balls.0.5: Archer to Neesham, 1 run, digs it in short, gets it up to Neesham’s front shoulder. Swings too early through the pull, and he only manages an inside-edge into his body. They sneak the single. Guptill is on strike.Two to win off one ball. If it’s tied, England win it. They’re ahead on the boundary count: 26 to 17.Two of one ball. Guptill gets just the one ball. What a final. What a crazy, beautiful final.0.6: Archer to Guptill, 1 run, OUT, full, angling into the pads, and he clips it towards deep midwicket, who has to run in off the rope, but not too far. It’s a risky second, but they have to take it to win it. A tie isn’t good enough, given the boundary count. The throw’s at the keeper’s end, and Buttler has to take it in front of the stumps. Guptill dives, Buttler dives to break the wicket. It isn’t a photo finish. Guptill is well short. England have won the 2019 World Cup. Can’t say New Zealand have lost, though.

The South African batsman scored 134, his second hundred in consecutive games, as the visitors recovered from 126 for 4 to reach 342

ECB Reporters Network14-Jul-2019A superb century from Temba Bavuma put Northamptonshire in a strong position on the first day of the match against Derbyshire at Chesterfield.The South African Test batsman scored 134, his second hundred in consecutive games, as the visitors recovered from 126 for 4 to reach 342.Matt Critchley took 4 for 107 but Northants scored 189 in 35 overs in the afternoon and then removed Luis Reece as Derbyshire closed on 34 for 1.It was a day of contrasts with Derbyshire’s bowlers turning the screw in the morning before the batsmen dominated between lunch and tea.A dry looking pitch prompted Adam Rossington to bat first and variable bounce combined with tight lines made it hard going for the visitors who scored only 66 runs in 29 overs in the first session.Ravi Rampaul found lift to have Rob Newton caught at second slip but after Luke Proctor edged Fynn Hudson-Prentice low to first slip, Ricardo Vasconcelos was undone by a ball from Reece that kept low.Bavuma and Rob Keogh, who was dropped on 6, scored only four runs in eight overs before the interval but it was a different game after lunch as Northants moved into overdrive. Keogh faced 81 balls for his 28 out of 81 added with Bavuma in 27 overs but the next 76 came from only 12 with Bavuma and Rossington plundering the spinners.Bavuma was missed at slip off Matt Critchley on 70 but it was a rare false stroke in an impressive display of concentration and sound judgement punctuated with delightful drives that brought him the majority of his 16 fours.Rossington was less complicated in taking 38 from 34 balls and with Bavuma dispatching two Critchley full tosses over the ropes, the initiative was now with Northants.Josh Cobb opened his shoulders to take the visitors to a second batting point before he dragged Critchley to long on but Queen’s Park had again lived up to its reputation as a ground where the game can quickly race away.Critchley was driven into the sight-screen at the Lake End but a quicker ball finally beat Bavuma who was lbw pushing forward with his team one short of a third point.Hamidullah Qadri found prodigious turn to bowl Zaib but Matt Coles had spectators ducking for cover with 26 from nine balls before he reverse-swept Critchley to point.Reece was bowled by Ben Hutton in the second over of Derbyshire’s reply and although Billy Godleman and Wayne Madsen prevented further setbacks, it was very much Northants day.

The BCCI has called for applications for the team’s coaching staff, with Ravi Shastri and his assistants’ contracts set to end after India’s tour of West Indies

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Aug-2019Sourav Ganguly is “definitely interested” in becoming India’s coach, but not right now. The former captain said that his plate was full with current commitments, but once those were done, he would certainly put forward his candidature for the post.”Definitely, I’m interested but not at this point of time. Let one more phase go then I will throw my name into the fray,” Ganguly told . “Currently, I’m associated with too many things — IPL, CAB [Cricket Association of Bengal, where he’s president], TV commentary. Let me complete this. But I will definitely put my hat at some stage. Provided I get selected. But definitely I’m interested. Not now, but in the future.”The BCCI has called for applications for the team’s coaching staff, with the current incumbents’ contracts set to end after India’s tour of West Indies. All of Ravi Shastri, Sanjay Bangar, B Arun and R Sridhar have had their names automatically entered into the selection process, which will be conducted by the reconstituted Cricket Advisory Committee of Kapil Dev, Anshuman Gaekwad and Shantha Rangaswamy.Ganguly was part of the original CAC, alongside Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, when the current coaching staff were appointed, and he felt that among the current applicants, there wasn’t any ‘heavyweight’ name.”Going by the applicants, I don’t see any heavyweight names,” he said. “I heard Mahela (Jayawardene) would apply but ultimately he didn’t… There are not many big names who have applied for the coach’s job. Ultimately I don’t know what the panel will decide. They have been around for a while.”We will see how big the term they will give. Not many names who have applied. Whoever they feel is good they should do it.”Ganguly steered clear of evaluating Shastri’s term as the coach, saying: “I will hold my opinion on that. I don’t think it’s right for me to say about that. I’m too far from the system that decides the coach.”Virat Kohli was asked who his choice of coach would be at the Indian team’s press conference before their departure for the tour of West Indies, and he had indicated his preference for continuing with the current set-up, saying the team had prospered under Shastri and the players liked and respected him.Kohli also said that the CAC hadn’t asked for his input yet, and he would offer his opinion if asked. Subsequently, Kapil Dev said Kohli’s opinion should be given due consideration. “That’s his opinion. We have to respect everybody’s opinion,” Kapil said.The interviews for the new support staff are expected to take place on August 14 and 15.