Left-arm spinner Sharafuddin Ashraf returns to the 17-man squad for the first time in six months

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Sep-2018Afghanistan have picked three specialist spinners – a legspinner, a mystery spinner and a left-arm spinner – in their squad of 17 for the Asia Cup to be held in the UAE later this month.Sharafuddin Ashraf, the left-arm spinner, is among just two new additions – uncapped wicketkeeper Munir Ahmad being the other – to the squad that beat Ireland in the ODI series last week. Fast bowler Dawlat Zadran misses out.Sharafuddin has featured in 14 ODIs so far, the last of which came at the World Cup Qualifiers in March this year. He has also played six T20Is. In all, he has 17 top-flight international wickets.This is a maiden call-up for Munir Ahmad, who has been picked as a second wicketkeeper, an understudy to Mohammad Shahzad, the hard-hitting opening batsman.Ashraf aside, Afghanistan’s spin arsenal boasts of Rashid and Mujeeb, who have emerged richer in experience through county stints in England earlier this year apart from featuring in the IPL. Both of them also featured in the country’s maiden Test in India. They can also call upon a fourth option in offspinner allrounder Mohammad Nabi if needed.The squad is captained by Asghar Afghan, who along with Shahzad, Javed Ahmadi, Ihshanullah Jannat, Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi makes up the top order. In addition to Nabi, they have a second allrounder in Gulbadin Naib, capable of bowling handy seam-ups. Aftab Alam, Sayed Shirzad and Wafadar constitute their pace attack.Squad for Asia Cup: Mohammad Shahzad, Javed Ahmadi, Asghar Afghan(c), Rahmat Shah, Samiullah Shenwari, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Aftab Alam, Ihsanullah Janat, Sayed Shirzad, Wafadar, Munir Ahmad Kakar

But the West Indies captain was confident that Gayle would be part of the team’s World Cup plans next year

Alagappan Muthu in Hyderabad10-Oct-2018It was odd to see a player as massive as Chris Gayle opting out of West Indies duty to play in T20 – and this time even T10 – leagues. Even odder considering the 2019 World Cup is only eight months away. But Jason Holder didn’t find this turn of events surprising. The West Indies captain felt the opener was “tapering off” and hoped that in his absence, some of the younger players seized the opportunity.”Chris is an all-star and I think it’s clear he’s probably at the back end of his career now. He’s probably tapering off a bit. I just saw him play his last List-A game for Jamaica, scoring a hundred against my home team, which is great to see. I enjoy having Chris around. I think he’s one of the most entertaining players in the world but his absence gives another player opportunity.”We have a limited time leading up to the World Cup and it’s a good option to see what we have in the tank, in terms of our pool of players, when one door closes another one opens and hopefully it’s an opportunity to see another young guy coming through.”West Indies currently have 13 ODIs between now and the end of May when the World Cup begins. Holder was completely confident that Gayle will be part of the squad heading to England and Wales, and brought up the point that the 39-year old had made himself available to play the qualifying tournament in March “really only because he wanted to play the World Cup” and that he would be “welcomed into the team”.”He’s definitely going to play the World Cup once his body holds up and he’s fit,” Holder said. “We’d welcome him into the team. If you go back to the beginning of the year, Chris made himself available for the World Cup Qualifiers. He only did that really because he wants to play the World Cup, he wants to play well for West Indies and he wants to do well.”When he does that – he has plenty of options around the world to make money – it says something about the individual, says something about what he wants and I really admire that. He was obviously a pivotal part in us qualifying to the World Cup. Guys like him, Marlon Samuels, who really made themselves available in that instance, credit must go to them and not only them, to each and every individual who has come up to represent West Indies.”They knew the significance and importance of that tournament; we played against teams we probably weren’t accustomed to playing against. It was difficult. But as the series went on, we rallied well and we achieved the objective.”ESPNcricinfo understands Courtney Browne’s selection panel told Gayle that he would not be picked for the T20 series in India and Bangladesh as they were building a squad keeping in mind the 2020 World T20 in Australia. Gayle is understood to have told the selectors that, in that case, it would be better for him to step aside for the ODI series in both countries to allow the selectors to look at some younger players. Gayle told the selection panel that he would play a few matches for Jamaica in the Super50 followed by the Afghanistan Premier League and the T10 League in the UAE.According to a CWI official, Gayle was “aware of the risks” because his position could go to any player that performs well on the tours of India and Bangladesh, but the former captain wanted to “manage” his workload to keep himself ready for the World Cup.

Franchise owners keen to allow newly appointed head coach Mike Hesson to build his own support staff and strategy

Nagraj Gollapudi03-Nov-2018Virender Sehwag’s innings at Kings XI Punjab has come to an end. Having played for the franchise for two seasons, Sehwag served initially as Kings XI mentor in 2016 before taking up the additional role of head of cricket operations and strategy last January. However, having roped in former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson as the head coach, the Kings XI owners felt that retaining Sehwag could lead to complications at a later stage.The parting seems to have been cordial as Sehwag himself made the decision public on his Twitter feed, saying: “All good things must come to an end and I’ve had a wonderful time at Kings 11 Punjab, for 2 seasons as a player and 3 as a mentor. My association with Kings 11 comes to an end and I am thankful for the time I have had here and wish the team all the very best for the times ahead.”Incidentally, Sehwag’s contract was up for renewal, but ESPNcricinfo understands the owners were keen to allow Hesson the freedom to take decisions and build his own strategy and support staff. Retaining Sehwag would have meant there would be two people in charge of the team, which could have created confusion among both players and team management.During Sehwag’s tenure, Kings XI won 17 matches and lost 23. In 2017, when he was just the mentor, they came within one match of qualifying for the playoffs, but lost to Rising Pune Supergiants in a key game. They would end up fifth on the points table that season, their best under Sehwag.Hesson, who replaced Brad Hodge as the Kings XI coach, met the franchise’s leadership group this week to start planning which players will need to be released and to formulate the strategy for the IPL auction in December. In IPL 2018, Kings XI were led by R Ashwin, and finished second from bottom, having been joint leaders on the points table at the halfway stage.

PCB and CA mulling pushing ODI series from March to April, with World Cup in mind, even while Pakistan push for games in Pakistan

Daniel Brettig19-Nov-2018Steven Smith and David Warner may return to international cricket as soon as a matter of hours after their bans are lifted at the end of March, after it was revealed that Pakistan’s board is open to the concept of shifting its ODI series with Australia into April ahead of next year’s World Cup.As Cricket Australia’s (CA) Board deliberates on whether to make any alterations to the bans imposed on Smith, Warner and Cameron Bancroft, possibly freeing them up to play Sheffield Shield matches ahead of the time originally stipulated in their suspensions, ESPNcricinfo has learned that the PCB would be eager to see the ODI series played in April, rather than the late March dates currently pencilled in.Such a shift would aid both teams in terms of World-Cup preparation, with squads due to be finalised and submitted to the ICC by April 23. But it would also allow Smith and Warner to play under the terms of their penalty.A clue as to the possibility was raised last week when CA’s interim team-performance manager Belinda Clark released the governing body’s position on player availability for the IPL, which stated “Players who are participating in the One Day International series versus Pakistan will not be released until its conclusion”.Earlier discussions between the two boards are believed to have taken place against a backdrop of CA concern over interfering with the IPL “window”, but this now appears to have changed. The PCB, with none of its players considered for the IPL due to political tensions between Pakistan and India, will have a full ODI complement available to play in April.One of the other factors in discussion is the PCB’s eagerness for more teams to break the nearly decade-long dearth of international matches in Pakistan. There is hope on the PCB side that CA would consider playing at least part of this five-match series in Pakistan, before the remainder of the fixtures take place in the UAE. The PCB’s new chairman Ehsan Mani made his feelings clear during Australia’s recent Test series against Pakistan.”Obviously they rely on the [Australian] High Commission’s advice, but a lot of it is a matter of perception,” Mani said. “I am yet to meet people who, once they’ve been to Pakistan, have any concerns about going there. On the sidelines, we’ve certainly raised this with them, that they should consider this.”It will certainly happen sooner or later. It’s a matter of comfort levels. We are getting PSL matches played in Pakistan, foreign players are coming for that. We’ve had a couple of other teams come and play, but I really want Australia, New Zealand, England to come. One thing we need to explain to Cricket Australia properly is that where we are planning to host the matches is away from troubled areas.”The bans on Smith, Warner and Bancroft have polarised views for some months, and the Australian Cricketers Association submission to CA about reducing their terms has forced the Board, its interim chairman Earl Eddings and new chief executive Kevin Roberts to consider the state of play.Should Smith and Warner be given dispensation to return to Shield ranks for the final four rounds of the season, ahead of the expiry of their 12-month bans, there is a sense that Bancroft, too, should be afforded similar treatment. To do so would require him to be made available for the next two rounds of Shield matches, meaning a decision either way would need to be reached this week.Nathan Lyon expressed hope that the trio would be allowed to return to domestic ranks before the end of the home summer. “Always want to see them playing Shield cricket, I think the whole of Australia would like to see them playing Shield cricket,” Lyon said in Canberra. “It’s up to the powers that be to make that decision, and no matter what decision they make, we’ll respect that.”I actually think the way Steve and Davey are going about it, they’ve been absolutely incredible and what they’re doing for grade cricket in Sydney has been exceptional. I actually take my hat off to them.”Should they be allowed to play in the Shield, Smith and Warner in particular would be able to build a legitimate case for inclusion in the ODI team to face Pakistan via their performances. In turn, participation in the ODI series would also mean the selectors and coach Justin Langer could see them in action, and observe their behaviour in the context of a touring team, before making a final call as to the composition of the World-Cup squad.

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.