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Florida, Morrisville, Dallas and New York among shortlisted venues inspected by ICC, with USA set to co-host tournament with West Indies

Nagraj Gollapudi28-Jul-2023

The 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup is scheduled to be played from June 4 to 30 next year in the Caribbean and the USA, across 10 venues, ESPNcricinfo has learned.It is understood that this week an ICC team inspected some shortlisted venues in the USA, which will be hosting an international global cricket event for the first time. These include Lauderhill in Florida, which has hosted international matches already (and is set to host West Indies vs India in the coming fortnight), Morrisville, Dallas and New York, for tournament matches and warm-ups.Morrisville and Dallas are currently hosting the inaugural edition of Major League Cricket in the USA. The grounds in Dallas (Grand Prairie Stadium), Morrisville (Church Street Park) and New York (Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx) are yet to get international venue status, which is mandatory as per ICC rules. A final decision on the venues will be taken by the ICC together with Cricket West Indies (CWI) and USA Cricket (USAC) in the next few months.This week Ireland, Scotland and Papua New Guinea qualified for the 20-team T20 World Cup via the regional qualifiers pathway put in place by the ICC. While PNG topped the East Asia-Pacific Qualifer, Ireland and Scotland finished in the top two positions in the Europe Region Qualifier. Qualifiers from the Americas (for one spot), Africa (two spots) and Asia (two spots) regions will be determined in the coming months.Construction workers put the finishing touches on Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas, ahead of this year’s MLC•Peter Della Penna

Twelve teams had already qualified for the tournament before the regional qualifiers, including hosts West Indies and USA, and the top eight teams at the 2022 T20 World Cup – Australia, England, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan and Bangladesh qualified by virtue of their spots in the T20I rankings, completing the 20-team roster.The format for the 2024 World Cup will be different to the last two editions (2020-21 in the UAE and 2022 in Australia), where the first round was followed by Super 12s. Next year, the 20 teams will be divided into four groups of five each for the first round, with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the Super 8s. The Super 8 teams will be split into two groups of four each, with the top two in each group reaching the semi-finals.The 2024 T20 World Cup is the first of the eight men’s global events in the ICC’s next commercial cycle from 2024-31, which was finalised in 2021. The decision to appoint the USA as a co-host was part of a strategic move by the ICC with twin goals in mind: one, the North American market was identified as a strong market for growth of the game. And two, the ICC’s ambition to have cricket feature in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games (LA28).The USA being pencilled in to co-host a major cricket event, the ICC felt, would only help in the push for cricket’s inclusion in LA28. The ICC made a presentation to the LA28 team, with a final decision to be taken by the International Olympics Committee later this year.

England have fired the first shots, or attempted to, in time-honoured fashion ahead of the men’s Ashes, now Issy Wong has joined in the salvo, saying it’s not a bad time to take on Australia Women with their multi-format series beginning next month.Wong made her debut in all three formats during South Africa’s tour of England last summer and is hoping to be part of the England side kicking off their Ashes campaign in a five-day Test at Trent Bridge from June 22.”I think it’s a pretty good time to play them, you know, just quietly,” Wong said. “They are undoubtably, in my opinion, one of the greatest sports teams in history, of any sport, of any gender. Their record over the last 10 years is absolutely outrageous.Related

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“But it feels like that kind of golden era they’ve had is… you’ve had Rach Haynes retiring, [Meg] Lanning stepping away, obviously coming back in ridiculous form, but there’s a lot of new faces in that group that are unbelievably talented but haven’t necessarily played the biggest part for them over the last couple of years. I think it’s a really good time to actually go at them and say, ‘right, you are the best team in history, but you’ve a couple of new faces in here and let’s see if you’re as good as you were five years ago.’ I think it’s great time to play.”I’ve never played them though,” she added, bursting into laughter. “I’ve watched them on the telly a lot, they look great.”Wong wasn’t part of England’s T20 World Cup squad which fell to hosts South Africa in the semi-finals before Australia won the title for the third time in a row, captained by the returning Lanning after five months away from the game last year. But Wong did return to action in the inaugural WPL, winning the trophy with Mumbai Indians and finishing as the third-highest wicket-taker with 15 at 14.00, which included a hat-trick in the eliminator against UP Warriorz.Part of her reasoning about the Australians relates to her experience in India, having played against a number of her potential Ashes foes there, believing that also playing with and against them at the WBBL and in the Hundred – where she will again represent Birmingham Phoenix when the 2023 edition commences in August – demystifies them somewhat.”I’ve never played them but I don’t view them as ‘the Australians,'” Wong said. “They’re going to have Beth Mooney and Alyssa Healy opening the batting, Meg Lanning’s going to bat at three, then in that middle order you’re going to have [Tahlia] McGrath, [Phoenix team-mate Ellyse] Perry, [Grace] Harris. You’ve played against these guys so much that you get to know them and, not necessarily even know their games, but they’re humans at the end of the day and humans do good things and humans do bad things.”That landscape changing, the more franchise stuff, is actually going to even out the playing field on an international level because people are playing against each other a lot more.”People say, ‘Oh, don’t you think it’s going to make international cricket less good if David Warner’s best mates with Jonny Bairstow because they open the batting for Sunrisers Hyderabad?’ I think that’s rubbish because actually it’s going to make the competition a lot better. You’ve got these guys playing against people that they know and those are the best battles because each person’s having to adapt their game and do things a little bit differently. When they’ve played against each other a lot, they’re working each other out and that’s how the game is evolving.”Wong celebrates after dismissing Alyssa Healy in the WPL eliminator•Getty Images

Wong’s comments come within a week of Stuart Broad’s contention that Australia’s 4-0 victory over England Men in their ill-fated Ashes tour of 2021-22 didn’t count as “a real Ashes”, with the Covid-19 restrictions it was played under making it a “void series” in his view, and six weeks after Ollie Robinson said the side which has reinvented itself under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes since could “give Australia a good hiding” this time around. But they are no less bold against an Australia Women’s side which lost just one match – to India in a Super Over – in 2022, also holds the ODI World Cup and has not lost an Ashes series since 2013-14.Asked whether now was a good time for her to play against the Australians in the Ashes personally, Wong responded: “My opinion, yeah. I also think it’s a great time for me to play up front for Liverpool. Does Jurgen Klopp share that opinion? No. There’s some things that you’ve got power over there’s some things that you don’t. I’m always going to be up for it, that’s my personality, but I’ve got to control those things that are in my control. I’m in control of if I’m up for it. I’m up for it. But you never know I guess.”Wong earned her first England cap in the drawn Test against South Africa in Taunton last June. She ended the match with three wickets, including two in two overs on a rain-affected penultimate day. She also featured in the white-ball section of South Africa’s tour before playing all of England’s matches at the Commonwealth Games, where the hosts finished a disappointing fourth.She sat out the most recent WBBL with a minor back complaint and amid ECB concerns over workload management before a quadriceps injury forced her to miss England’s tour of the Caribbean and therefore a chance to press for T20 World Cup selection in front of new coach Jon Lewis. In terms of the WPL providing a platform to prove a point after her omission, Wong agreed that it did, although not in the way one might expect.”They picked their squad and unfortunately for me this time I wasn’t in those plans,” Wong said. “I probably had a half-hour of sulking, or not sulking but feeling sorry for myself, licking my wounds, then I had to get up and go to training. So there’s not a whole lot I can do about it now and that period before the WPL I had probably three weeks at home where I could put in some good yards, come on a bit in training hopefully and then fly out to India.”I was keen to show the progress I’d made, not necessarily that I should have been out there because if I’d picked the squad, I’d have been out there and probably my 14 best mates would have been because that’s just how I’d pick the squad, isn’t it? But it was very much show the progress that I’d made over the last four months and hopefully the potential of progress that I’ve got for the future.”

Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy also likely to be retained by last season’s IPL finalists

Nagraj Gollapudi16-Oct-2024South Africa power-hitter Heinrich Klaasen is set to be the top retention for Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of IPL 2025. ESPNcricinfo has learned that Klaasen will get INR 23 crore (US$2.74 million approx.) as the first retained player. The franchise has also finalised two other retention deals: Australian allrounder Pat Cummins, who was Sunrisers captain in 2024, at INR 18 crore (US$2.14 million approx.), and India allrounder Abhishek Sharma at INR 14 crore (US$1.67 million approx).It is understood that Sunrisers are also likely to firm up the retentions of Travis Head and Nitish Kumar Reddy soon. The IPL set October 31 as the deadline for retentions ahead of the mega auction that will be held later this year.Cummins, who had captained Sunrisers to the final last season, will continue as captain in 2025.Related

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Recently the IPL decided that a franchise can retain up to six players – including a maximum of five capped players (Indian or overseas) and two uncapped Indians – from their 2024 squads. Franchises can hold on to their players via any combination of retention deals and right-to-match (RTM) cards at the auction.The purse for the 2025 auction is INR 120 crore. The IPL also set various retention slabs – INR 18 crore, INR 14 crore, and INR 11 crore for the first three capped retentions, and INR 18 crore and INR 14 crore for the next two, with uncapped Indians fetching a maximum of INR 4 crore – but franchises are allowed to divide the capped retention pot of INR 75 crore among five capped players as they wish.ESPNcricinfo LtdSuccessful units have always looked to retain their core, and hence it is no surprise that Sunrisers have decided to go down this route. Cummins, who was the second-most expensive buy at the 2024 mini-auction (INR 20.50 crore or US$2.47 million approx.), made use of his leadership experience in international cricket and combined well with Sunrisers coach Daniel Vettori to help steer Sunrisers to the playoffs after three disappointing seasons. In monetary terms, Cummins gets a 12.2% reduction on his 2024 price.The freedom the Cummins-Vettori leadership group allowed youngsters like Abhishek and Reddy helped them to flourish in the company of Head and Klaasen. Head and Abhishek formed arguably the most dangerous opening pair ever seen at the IPL, with both consistently hitting 200-plus strike rates. Head finished the season fourth on the overall run-getters list, with 567 runs in 15 innings at a strike rate of 191.55.Klaasen provided equally robust finishing touches, with his six count behind only that of Abhishek’s. While Abhishek made 484 runs at a strike rate of 204.21, Klaasen scored 479 runs at a strike rate of 171.07.Klaasen’s burgeoning reputation as one of the best T20 batters going around is reflected in a 338% increase from the INR 5.25 crore Sunrisers paid for him at the mini-auction ahead of IPL 2023. He has aggregated 927 runs in 26 innings at a strike rate of 174 in his two seasons at Sunrisers so far.Abhishek’s successful year in T20 cricket sees him rewarded with a value hike of 115%. He earned an India T20I call-up on the back of his IPL 2024 exploits, and will earn more than twice of what Sunrisers paid for him at the mega auction ahead of the 2022 season (INR 6.5 crore).Abhishek has a T20 strike rate of 194.84 to date in 2024, which is the highest for any batter who has faced more than 200 balls in the format this year. At IPL 2024, too, he had the highest scoring rate among the tournament’s top-ten run-getters.Twenty-one-year-old seam-bowling allrounder Reddy – who debuted for India in the recently concluded T20I series against Bangladesh, smashing 74 off 34 in his second game – had proven a reliable support act for Sunrisers in 2024, with 303 runs at a strike rate of 142.92 and three wickets.If Sunrisers firm up all five of these retentions, and do not add a sixth to their list before deadline day, they will have one RTM card at the auction, which can only be used for an uncapped Indian.

Also, everything you needed to know about venues, reserve days, and… checks notes … boundary countbacks

Karthik Krishnaswamy29-Sep-2023A World Cup! That glorious celebration of a truly global sport, with 32 teams representing every region on the pla…
Er, no. Not that one. This is the men’s World Cup, featuring ten teams.Ah, right. That one. So ten teams, then? No room for the… what do you call them… Associates?
Well, no. Not entirely. There was, you see, a Qualifier, featuring a bunch of Associates plus the teams that finished outside the top eight of the World Cup Super League…The what?
It’s too complicated to explain here, but this should give you an idea. Anyway, it’s been scrapped now, or maybe not, but to get back to your previous question…Related

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Which was?
I’m not entirely sure, but I vaguely remember talking about the Qualifier? So it involved six Associate teams plus Sri Lanka, West Indies, Zimbabwe and Ireland. Ten teams in all, fighting for two World Cup spots.So who made it?
Sri Lanka and Netherlands.Netherlands?
Indeed. A weakened Netherlands team, that too, who did this to West Indies and this to Scotland in a gloriously improbable turn of events.And that means West Indies, two-time champions, are…
Yup, not at the World Cup for the first time ever.Brutal, eh? So where is this World Cup happening?
India. They have co-hosted it before, in 1987, 1996 and 2011. Now they are hosting the entire thing themselves.Netherlands grabbed a World Cup spot at the expense of two-time champions West Indies•ICC/Getty ImagesAll part of their grand plan to win it themselves, no doubt?
True, it has become a thing for host teams to win World Cups. India beat co-hosts Sri Lanka to win the 2011 final, then Australia beat co-hosts New Zealand in 2015, and four years later it was England’s turn to win by virtue of being hosts.Hey, that’s not fair. They also won by virtue of … *checks notes* … boundary count-back. Is that going to be a thing again?
Ah, no. Super Overs will decide tied games throughout the tournament, and if the Super Over is tied, they will just play another, and another, until they get an actual winner.Cue the final that never ends. Anyway, before we get that far, what’s the format of the tournament?
Just like 2019. Each of the ten teams plays every other team once in the league stage, and the top four go through to the semi-finals.Super Overs will decide tied games in the knockout stage, and if the Super Over is tied, they will just play another•Tom Jenkins/Getty ImagesWho are the favourites to get there?
India are hosts, and they are also the No. 1 ODI side in the ICC rankings. They have a team with almost every base covered, particularly in their home conditions. England may not have the same aura they went into the 2019 World Cup with, but they are defending champions, won a T20 World Cup last year, and remain the deepest and fastest-scoring batting line-up in ODIs. Then there is Pakistan, who held the No. 1 ranking until India took it from them – their top order and fast bowling are serious strengths, though they have weaknesses elsewhere.New Zealand were losing finalists at the last two ODI World Cups as well as the 2021 T20 World Cup. They have a core group of highly experienced, skilful players who will want to go one better this time. And you can expect Australia and South Africa, who recently tussled in an incredibly high-scoring five-match series, to be fiercely competitive at a world event.Won’t the conditions negate non-Asian teams’ strengths somewhat?
Possibly. Even though pitches at ICC white-ball events tend to be flat, spin could be hugely influential at least at some of the venues. Australia might find themselves seriously tested by Sri Lanka in Lucknow, for instance, and New Zealand by both Bangladesh and Afghanistan in Chennai. Afghanistan may also pose a big threat to Pakistan, who don’t really have a gun wicket-taking spinner, when they meet in Chennai.Where and when will the really high-profile contests take place?
Well, mostly in Ahmedabad. The biggest, highest-capacity, and most self-congratulatory venue in the world can’t stop hosting big games. The opening game on October 5, pitting 2019 finalists England and New Zealand, will be in Ahmedabad. So will Australia-England on November 4. And the final, of course, on November 19.Not to mention the small matter of India-Pakistan on October 14.Ahmedabad will host several big-ticket games, including the final on November 19•AFP/Getty ImagesIndia-Pakistan! I to be in Ahmedabad for it.
Lol.Okay, what other big games should I call in sick for?
India and Australia have played some cracking games in Chennai, including a thriller during the 1987 World Cup. They meet again in Chennai, on October 8, to open their respective campaigns. England and South Africa are among the most power-packed batting line-ups in the tournament, and their meeting at the Wankhede Stadium on October 21 should be full of runs. There could be a bit of help for fast bowlers in Dharamsala, where Australia meet New Zealand on October 28. The two best ODI teams of the last two World Cup cycles, India and England, face off in Lucknow on October 29, and then there is the rivalry to end all rivalries, the derby, on November 6 in Delhi.Right. So at what time do these matches begin?
There will be six day games, starting 10.30am IST (0500 GMT), but every other match will be day-night contests, starting at 2pm IST (0830 GMT).Are there reserve days in case of rain?
Yup, there will be reserve days for both semi-finals – which are scheduled to take place in Mumbai and Kolkata on November 15 and 16 – and the final.

West Indies have the fire; the opening batter provides the ice they need to bat their 50 overs in ODIs

Shashank Kishore25-Jul-2022Shai Hope’s 100th ODI, against India in Port of Spain on Sunday, brought him his 13th ODI century, and only his second at home. But just one look at his face, and it was clear that this wasn’t the most enjoyable of them, even if all the factors that make him a top-order mainstay for West Indies were in evidence. Here, their hopes – pardon the pun – had been crushed. For the second game in a row, West Indies had lost a game they could have won.But, even in defeat, there were positives West Indies would gladly take as they build towards next year’s ODI World Cup. For two ODIs in a row now, that West Indies have batted their full quota of overs – something Nicholas Pooran had stressed as a priority – counts as one.Related

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Hope has been central to those larger plans, with a game built on the virtues of playing correctly: play straight, in the V, elbow nice and high as ball meets bat while punching down the ground, hitting along the ground… you get the drift. And playing patiently.Doing this day-in-and-day-out hasn’t been the West Indian way for a while now. There are very few of that quality left. Perhaps Roston Chase, Shamarh Brooks and Test-specialist Kraigg Brathwaite fit the bill in the current era, even as many of their mates hop from one T20 league to another, playing every other day, leaving you little or no time for self-reflection.You would not be human if you don’t, at times, aspire for the big bucks and worldwide acclaim that comes with being a T20 star for hire. Hope is different. He hasn’t sought validation for his style. He makes no bones of the fact that he wants to be a long-form player. T20 isn’t his game. Sure, he’s unlikely to pass up an opportunity to play in a T20I if picked, but he isn’t going to beat himself up for a mistimed hoick or a scoop, because he knows the skillsets he brings are tuned to the longer formats.In today’s day and age of stats and analytics, Hope may often be under the scanner for his batting tempo, which at times can be hard to fathom from the outside. Especially because the same batter who plays aesthetically pleasing shots all around the dial when the field restrictions are in place, goes into his shell in his quest to build longer innings once the field spreads. An initial surge is often followed by a dip in strike rate, before he plays catch-up again.

“I don’t play names, it’s about doing the job on the day. Those who may not be so-called recognised bowlers aren’t necessarily bad. You have to respect their game, the players, the deliveries they bowl at you and the situation”Shai Hope

Since Hope’s ODI debut in 2015, 22 batters have made 3000 runs or more. No one has scored them slower than Hope, with a strike rate of 75. But, perhaps, that is what this West Indies team needs. They have the six-hitters in Kyle Mayers up top and Rovman Powell for the death overs. Then there’s Shimron Hetmyer, when he is fit and in favour, in the middle. There’s Brandon King, a transformed batter whose seamless switch to power-hitting has given his career a new lease of life after a false start three years ago. And there’s Nicholas Pooran, who scored 74 in 77 last night, all of it in Hope’s company.In the second ODI, Hope quickly slipped into the role of the second fiddle as Mayers started with a flurry of boundaries, seemingly intent on throwing the quicks off their lengths, and then falling first ball to spin. An excellent player of spin, Hope was reading Axar Patel’s lengths to either get fully forward driving, or rock right back to nudge or cut. He doesn’t binge on premeditation – he simply reacts to what is coming at him. Maybe, at times, his propensity to get caught up with his methods shackles him from cutting loose.That said, the shot he brought his fifty off was exactly that. A mighty slog sweep against the line off Yuzvendra Chahal. Maybe this was the switch he needed to flick on to play an un-Hope-like innings. West Indies were coasting at 127 for 1 in 21 overs at that stage. Then they lost two in two overs, and Hope had to fall back into rebuild mode. Where most other West Indies batters struggle to come to grips with building, or rebuilding, an ODI innings, it’s almost Hope’s second nature. To know when to back off. It can only come through an understanding of his limitations and making the most of what he has.It helped that Pooran came out looking busy, and tried to take the bowling on. He was feasting on the balls in his arc. Chahal tossed them up and saw them disappear. Axar looped it up and got clattered. Even as Pooran was amping up his intensity, Hope was on cruise mode. It meant he could go back to his tried-and-tested methods. Their century stand was a perfect fire-and-ice combination that threatened to give West Indies a total higher than perhaps they had expected.Shai Hope played the ice to Nicholas Pooran’s fire during their century stand•Randy Brooks/AFP via Getty Images”My desire is to bat as long as I can,” Hope said after the match. “I always love batting. I love to set the tempo and do whatever I can for the team’s benefit. Just the desire and hunger to stay in the middle is my biggest takeaway [from his experience of 100 ODIs]. My advice to self is to keep learning and get as best as I can. You never know it all. However, I will continue doing things that I’m doing well.”Batting big, batting long and grinding bowlers – things Hope has done wonderfully well. You don’t rack up 4193 runs in 95 innings at an average of 49.33 otherwise. The secret to that is not playing the bowler, but the bowling. Of course, Hope makes it sound simple when it isn’t. But he is nothing if not earnest.”I don’t play names, it’s about doing the job on the day,” he said. “Those who may not be so-called recognised bowlers aren’t necessarily bad. You have to respect their game, the players, the deliveries they bowl at you and the situation.”Playing against the best brings out the best in me. It’s something I’ve looked forward to growing up, while playing regional cricket. It’s just one of those challenges I try to grab with both hands. Hopefully I can continue that. I never feel too pleased with these so-called accolades when the team doesn’t get over the line. I always try to score, and contribute. But if we don’t win, it doesn’t feel the same.”In this Bazball era, where even 400 might not be enough sometimes, there will be the occasional hubbub about Hope’s strike rate and his old-school methods. But, as long as it helps West Indies achieve their stated objective – bat 50 overs consistently – it helps tick a big box. And it allows the box-office stars to do their own thing.

After the day started with hosts’ plans thrown into chaos, it could not really have finished much better

Andrew McGlashan16-Dec-2021Things happened quickly before play started on the opening day in Adelaide. Australia needed a replacement captain and fast bowler. For large parts of the day the action in the middle unfolded at a more sedate pace but the hard work put in by David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne, allied with a helping hand from England, set the foundation for Australia’s early stranglehold on another floodlit Test.Whereas the decision at the toss in Brisbane was a tricky one, here there was no doubt what the right thing to do was and the coin fell Steven Smith’s way which was probably a relief after the drama of the preceding few hours. Stuart Broad bowled well to remove Marcus Harris cheaply and caused David Warner some uneasy moments from around the wicket, but from then on England were blunted by the same partnership that thwarted their attempts for early wickets at the Gabba.It took Warner 20 balls to get off the mark; from 25 overs at lunch Australia were 45 for 1; by the second drinks break they were 77 for 1 off 40 overs; Labuschagne’s half-century would take 156 deliveries and despite being on 94 when the new ball was taken he could not reach three figures by the close. But the value of today could be seen tomorrow.”Today felt like I was in the right zone, playing my areas, and creating a bit of length to cut and pull because we were getting nothing,” Warner said. “It was one of those hard, grinding days so I think it was a big tick for us.”Related

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As with four years ago, it felt as though England bowled too short, although assistant coach Graham Thorpe defended their tactics. More than 200 deliveries were logged by ESPNcricinfo as short-of-a-good-length and another 35 were short. The 76 deliveries they did bowl full went at nearly a run a ball – and England’s bowlers often speak about wanting to control the run rate – but by not going full more often they removed a wicket-taking threat.”I felt as a team we bowled well enough in the first hour and a half to pick up three wickets,” Broad said during a drinks-break interview with the host broadcaster.Warner and Labuschagne are forming a formidable partnership. They now average 101.83 per stand – the second-highest for any Australia pairing to have batted at least 10 times together – bolstered by the 361 they added in the day-night Test on this ground against Pakistan in 2019-2020.Warner has grafted for his runs at the start of the series with a strike-rate of 55.10 compared to his career figure of 72.34. He was batting with the pain of his badly bruised ribs and popped some painkillers during his stay having had a local anesthetic before play but came through his reunion with arch nemesis Broad.”I was pretty close [to not playing] but unless I’ve got no leg I’m not not going to walk on the field,” Warner said. “Probably showed that last year [against India]. If I can get out on the park, I’ll do everything I can to do that. I was in a bit of agony… it doesn’t feel great but had a Test to play. There’s a series on the line and wanted to commit to that.”His first delivery created some excitement as Warner shouldered arms and the ball thudded into the pads, but he later explained one of the key differences to facing Broad in Australia was being able to leave on length. He became more expansive as the innings progressed against the older ball but his dismissal, smashing a short delivery to cover, was out of character for the restraint he had shown. However, he felt the short-ball strategy played into Australia’s hands.”Once you get a couple of boundaries away and they start leaking you’ve got to change tactics, but they obviously didn’t do that so could have worked into our plan a little and the ball gets softer,” he said.Labuschagne made England pay for dropping him on 21 when Jos Buttler grassed a simpler chance from a gloved pull than the screamer to remove Harris. A second life came his way on 95 when Buttler shelled a regulation edge off James Anderson. Themes of Australia tours past are rearing their heads.Labuschagne had skipped into double figures off nine balls but then did not add to his tally for the next 37. In that period he, too, was tested by Broad who beat him on four consecutive occasions early in his innings. His scoreless spell was broken by a risky back-cut off Ben Stokes which flew just wide of slip.In the night session, England’s persistence with the short ball nearly worked when Labuschagne got an inside edge onto his shoulder against Stokes but it landed safely and he also took a couple of blows on the arm. He batted himself almost to a standstill as the day drew to a close, and he should not have survived until the end, but it was an exhibition in resilience.Australia know there will be a chance to increase the tempo on the second day, with the temperature set to hit 36 degrees. If things go well they could be in position to exploit the last session with the new ball. After the day started with their plans being thrown into chaos it could not really have finished much better.

The England opener scored only 52 runs in six innings in New Zealand, falling to Matt Henry each time

Vithushan Ehantharajah16-Dec-2024

If there were loyalty cards in Test cricket, Matt Henry would be in line for a free Zak Crawley.Henry bagged Crawley for the sixth time this series – and eighth overall – late on day three in Hamilton, as England went to stumps on 18 for 2, chasing a ridiculous 658.An earlier lbw dismissal off the fifth ball of England’s second innings was overturned successfully on height, after Crawley had made strides down the ground. Henry then pinned Crawley in front with his last delivery of the day. Umpire Adrian Holdstock’s finger went up again and Crawley called for DRS once more, only this time umpire’s call had leg stump clipped by a whisker.Crawley’s walk back was perhaps the first time the torment endured over the last few weeks spilled over on the field. There were a few choice words for Holdstock and a meeting with match referee David Boon could round off what has been a dispiriting tour for the opener.Related

Williamson ton has England staring down prospect of heavy defeat

Kane Williamson's fabulous five at Seddon Park

His series ends with just 52 runs from six innings at an average of 8.66. No England opener has batted as many times in a single series and averaged so little. Factor in 139 runs at 27.80 on the tour of Pakistan and it has been an unhelpful winter for Crawley’s career average. Having moved past 33 after the first West Indies Test in the summer, following strong showings in the 2023 Ashes (480 runs at 53.33) and away series in India at the start of 2024 (407 at 40), it has dropped to 30.51.England’s management has long insulated Crawley from criticism, citing steadfast belief he is capable of other worldly innings against the best teams in the world. His output against Australia last year, along with striking the first ball of the series for four off Pat Cummins, and a domineering 189 in the fourth Test as one of three fifty-plus scores, vindicated their stance.It is a stance that remains, particularly with India and Australia on the schedule for 2025. Assistant coach Marcus Trescothick reiterated their support of Crawley, while also empathising with his struggles as a former opening batter.”It’s always tough when someone gets something over you, and you find it really challenging and you’ve got to come up with plans,” Trescothick said. “I had similar situations in my time when I was playing against other oppositions.”You go away when you’ve got the opportunity, which he has now, to try and think about it before next time they come up against each other.”I think the important part of this is to remember we’re very much focussed on him being the opening batter for a good period to come. We’ve seen the damage that he does and how he goes about it.”I don’t want to give you too much about how he goes about it in the changing room because it’s the private area of what we have… but he’s a strong character. Although it’s challenging when it’s like this, when someone gets you under the pump, it’s tough, but he’ll find a way. And we’ll help him find a way to get back to that point.”Trescothick also confirmed Crawley’s poor form had nothing to do with the fractured finger sustained in the third Test against West Indies which ruled him out of the Sri Lanka series at the end of the summer. Nevertheless, he has scored just 191 runs across 11 innings since.England do not play Test cricket again until May, with a one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge, in which time they believe Crawley will emerge from his slump. He will return home after this tour and then head out to South Africa for a stint with Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the SA20, which begins on January 9. Free spirited white-ball cricket may be what he needs to emerge out of his funk.

England indebted to rookie as Sri Lanka’s bowlers probe away on rain-truncated day

Andrew Miller22-Aug-2024England 259 for 6 (Smith 72*) lead Sri Lanka 236 by 23 runsAsitha Fernando produced a compelling display of all-purpose seam and swing bowling, while Prabath Jayasuriya chipped in with two bewilderingly brilliant deliveries in an otherwise steady display of left-arm spin, as Sri Lanka fought gamely to stay in touch on a gloomy second day of the first Test at Emirates Old Trafford.By the close, England were indebted to their rookie keeper, Jamie Smith, who justified his promotion to No. 6 with a hard-earned 72 not out, his third half-century in five innings since taking over from his Surrey team-mate Ben Foakes at the start of the summer. Harry Brook added another fifty of his own as England recovered from a dicey 125 for 4 to close on 259 for 6, with a slender lead of 23 in the bank.As had been the case throughout the West Indies series earlier in the summer, the impression after two days of action is that England should yet close out this contest with some ease, but the quality and spirit of the visitors’ bowling has forced them to graft with rather more diligence than might have been the case in previous incarnations of the Bazball era. Asitha in particular was superb throughout his 14 overs, spread across three key spells, including an incisive mid-innings bout of reverse-swing that belied the dank conditions.After sweating under the covers for several hour during a rainy morning in Manchester, the Old Trafford pitch was ripe for seam bowling when play finally got underway at 1.15pm, and Asitha was primed to cash in. With his bustling approach and a commitment to a full length, he posed problems from the outset, under still-dense cloud cover and with the floodlights in full beam.His performance went into overdrive from the first ball of his second over, when Dan Lawrence was pinned on the pad and given out lbw by umpire Paul Reiffel. Although that decision was successfully overturned, with the ball shown to be skimming over the bails, the information was stored away and perfectly processed by the bowler.Two balls later, and now with Ben Duckett on strike, Asitha fired the ball in a good two feet fuller, and was this time the successful reviewee, with the ball shown to be both pitching on and hitting leg stump as Duckett was turned inside-out on his attempted flick across the line.And in his very next over, Asitha served up the piece de resistance of his new-ball spell, an exceptional wobble-seam delivery, pitching half a foot fuller than the Lawrence ball, and straightening off the pitch to smash into the top of Ollie Pope’s off stump. England’s captain was gone for 6, and at 40 for 2 in the ninth over, England had a bit of a rebuild to undertake.Root is no stranger to skinny top-order scorelines, of course, and as he bedded in for the long haul, it was Lawrence who initiated England’s counterattack, with a brace of forceful whips through the leg side as Asitha strayed in length. But, having scored just four of his 30 runs through the off side, his vulnerability in the channel was superbly exploited by Vishwa Fernando, who nicked him off after a change of ends, using the breeze from the James Anderson End to push a lifter across his bows from his left-arm angle.Jamie Smith gets on top of a pull•Getty ImagesDespite the conditions, Sri Lanka were able to find some appreciable reverse-swing off a typically abrasive Old Trafford pitch, meaning that Root and Brook had to be on their mettle even as their 58-run stand clipped along at more than five an over. Milan Rathnayake, Sri Lanka’s first-day hero, was picked off for three fours in an over as he strained for that swinging full length, but it was Asitha’s return to the attack that would prise the most vital wicket of the day.Root had reached 42 from 56 balls in another understated display of touch and timing when he was undone in expert fashion, climbing into a wider line from Asitha while still playing for the inswing that had been the feature of his over to that point. This ball, however, held its line and skidded straight on, and Dinesh Chandimal scooped up the low edge to leave England wobbling at 125 for 4.Brook, however, kept the foot down in his familiarly forceful manner, driving with heavy timing whenever the ball was over-pitched, and working the gaps well, with Sri Lanka’s field still veering towards the defensive given England’s reputation for boundary-hunting. He duly rattled along to a 59-ball half-century, his 14th in just 25 Test innings, and if it was beginning to feel as though something special would be needed to dislodge him, then Jayasuriya obliged shortly after tea.Sri Lanka’s left-arm spinner had been diligent without being threatening for much of his day’s work, when out of the blue, he served up something unplayable: a perfectly pitched ripper that gripped and bounced on middle and leg to clip the top of off. Brook could only blink in astonishment – as, indeed, would Chris Woakes, some 18 overs later, when he fell in near-identical fashion, to almost the only other spinning delivery to deviate from the straight all day.Between those two moments, however, there was Smith, with the third fifty of his fledgling career, and unquestionably the hardest-earned yet. He was forced to graft against the swinging ball early in his innings, although one massive straight six off Jayasuriya signalled his refusal to be cowed, but it was the mid-point of his innings that displayed his savvy – in particular a relative grind through the 40s, after Rathnayake had induced two inside-edges in the space of three deliveries with his probing fourth-stump line outside the rookie’s eyeline.Woakes was the ideal ally for a defensively minded rebuild, as England – a batter light in Ben Stokes’ absence – focused on batting long, rather than rushing into a lead. Sri Lanka’s tactics arguably failed to adapt to the dominance that their bowlers were exerting in this period, although in reducing the pair to a run-rate of less than three an over in their 52-run stand, they succeeded in keeping themselves in the game.And when the light began to fail, only minutes after Woakes’ extraction, there was never any thought of Sri Lanka bowling spin in the gloom for the sake of filling out the overs, as had been England’s approach at the same stage on day one. Dhananjaya de Silva marched his players straight off for the pavilion, with six wickets in the bank, and the prospect of a night’s rest for his quicks before they continue their quest to stay in touch with a quietly engrossing contest.

Essex make the running in final fixture but champions close out with pride before lifting trophy

ECB Reporters Network29-Sep-2024

Dom Sibley batted for more than four hours for his third century of the season to ensure there was no last-day embarrassment before Surrey lifted aloft the Vitality County Championship trophy following an attritional draw at Chelmsford.Surrey savoured the traditional champagne-spraying celebrations for the third successive year after a season in which they won eight of their 14 matches. However, apart from Sibley’s 189-ball 125, they were comprehensively second best against Essex as underlined by the fact they only collected two bonus points from the game.Sibley’s innings was a mixture of forcefulness, chiefly through the covers, and watchfulness as he dominated half-century stands with Dan Lawrence and Josh Blake before he was sixth man out with Surrey still nominally 143 runs shy of making Essex bat again.The finale to the Championship season petered out in comedy as Essex bowlers changed bowling styles before handshakes were exchanged at 4.10pm with Surrey 267 for 7.Essex, bowling sensibly at the time, had taken three wickets in 10 overs in the morning to introduce a little frisson to proceedings, but the game meandered towards the draw that had been inevitable since rain washed out all but 111 minutes’ play on the first two days. The draw meant Essex finished fourth, two points behind one-time title contenders Somerset.Yousef Majid extended his nightwatchman duties by just over half-an-hour on a cold, grey morning before he tried to play Harmer to leg but popped up a catch in the opposite direction to short extra cover.Jamie Porter’s sequence of four successful maidens was broken when Sibley drove him straight back so fiercely it almost cut the bowler in half on its way to the boundary. He was equally aggressive against Harmer, coming down the wicket and swiping him past midwicket for another of his 17 fours.Ryan Patel had already been missed at slip by Ben Allison, fielding in place of the injured Dean Elgar, before he was unbalanced by Porter and departed lbw. Ben Geddes did not last long, beaten by one from Harmer that turned and jagged back his off-stump.Sibley dominated the first fifty of the fifth-wicket stand with Dan Lawrence amid a flurry of pushed and well-placed boundaries. Lawrence contributed just 14 of them, and 27 of the 75 runs they eventually put on before Shane Snater trapped him lbw.Runs dried up at that point: seven came off 43 balls and 10 overs passed without a boundary before Sibley stroked back Sam Cook for his 14th four to reach three figures from 168 balls. He celebrated by going down on one knee and launching Matt Critchley out of the ground over long leg for only the second six of the match.However, Critchley gained a measure of revenge when Sibley drove uppishly towards mid-off where Cook took the catch. Harmer was eventually rested and his replacement, Tom Westley, struck with his sixth ball as Ollie Sykes’s debut lasted two balls.With little enthusiasm from the participants, the first over after tea, bowled by Westley, took eight minutes to complete – and 16 minutes for three overs of spin – with questions about changing the ball and sundry other time-wasting manoeuvres.To enforce the sense of farce pace bowler Cook came in off three paces to send down six balls of spin and spinners Critchley and Harmer took the new-ball with a variety of medium-paced dibbly-dobblies to an equally unfamiliar slip cordon of Cook, Porter and Allison.

Tottenham Hotspur were beaten on home soil (again) to conclude their 2024/25 campaign, with Brighton & Hove Albion winning 4-1 to consign Ange Postecoglou to a 17th-place Premier League finish in his second season.

His second season will be remembered for something different, of course, for the Australian tactician made good on his brazen claim earlier in the year, ending Spurs’ 17-year trophy drought after beating Manchester United in the Europa League final on Wednesday night in Bilbao.

But the league form simply hasn’t been good enough, and the manager’s future is up in the air. He’s failed to get a tune out of these players, domestically, at least, and while defensively the squad have been shoddy, there’s been a lot to desire up top too.

That’s why Spurs are gearing up to sign a new forward this summer, with Ipswich Town’s Liam Delap at the top of the shopping list.

Spurs chasing new forward

Dominic Solanke scored from the spot on Sunday afternoon to seal his 16th goal of the season across all competitions, having also laid on eight assists for his teammates.

However, injuries have prevented him from quite living up to the initial £55m fee, which could rise to a club-record £65m with add-ons, and he needs more frontal support, especially with Heung-min Son entering the twilight of his Premier League career.

That’s why there may be substance to rumours the Lilywhites are preparing to bid for Delap, with GIVEMESPORT reporting earlier in May that Postecoglou’s side are in the race for the English goalscorer, who was relegated with Ipswich this term but impressed throughout, scoring 12 goals across 37 outings.

If Spurs are to make their move, they may need to part ways with one or two, not least because this squad needs a shake-up.

Richarlison may well be at the top of that list.

Levy must sell Richarlison this summer

If Richarlison leaves this summer, he will do so as a Europa League winner, part of the squad whose names are immortal having triumphed on a stage so many before them failed to reach.

However, the versatile star has fallen by the wayside, all in all, especially when considering he cost Daniel Levy a whopping £60m figure when joining from Everton in 2022.

Having overcome a woeful debut campaign, the 28-year-old has enjoyed more clinical results over the past two terms, but it’s not enough to turn the tide.

24/25

24 (11)

5

2

23/24

31 (21)

12

4

22/23

35 (17)

3

4

And against Brighton this weekend, Richarlison failed to leave a positive mark when called into play, albeit he was likely nursing a hangover with the rest of the squad after the midweek merriment.

The Brazilian forward was introduced with less than an hour still on the clock but was still criticised by football.london’s Alasdair Gold for failing to influence the game, branded with a 4/10 match rating.

As per Sofascore, the £90k-per-week star only completed two passes after replacing Solanke, Tottenham trailing by just one goal. He also failed with his one attempted dribble and lost five of six duels.

As per transfer insider Graeme Bailey, Richarlison is now considering his Tottenham future, with Everton and Flamengo back in his homeland both interested. The robust player wishes to enhance his prospects of playing for Brazil at the 2026 World Cup over the pond.

Tottenham need reform this summer, and Richarlison is a big part of the struggling crew who need to be shipped out, creating space for a new era which could take the success of this season and build something special. Something fit to last.

Spurs hit gold on "sensational" monster who's becoming their new Dembele

The impressive international could be a star for Spurs.

1 ByJack Salveson Holmes May 24, 2025