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Fast bowler prioritised “good vibes” at the teams and leagues he chose this year

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Mar-2021Dale Steyn said he turned his back on the world’s most lucrative T20 league, the Indian Premier League, because he found the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and the Sri Lankan Premier League (LPL) were “slightly more rewarding”.The South African fast bowler, who is currently in Pakistan with the Quetta Gladiators franchise, said he believed the excessive emphasis on the financial aspect of the IPL meant “the cricket gets forgotten”. Talking to , he also revealed that the length of the IPL was a factor that further informed his decision to opt out this year, saying he wanted “a bit more time off”.”I wanted to take a bit more time off. I found that playing in those other leagues was slightly more rewarding as a player. I think when you go to the IPL there are such big squads and so many big names and so much emphasis on the amount of money that the players earn that somewhere along the line the cricket kind of gets forgotten. When you come to the PSL or the LPL, there’s an importance on the cricket.”I’ve only been here a couple of days and I’ve had people coming to my room asking where I played and how I went about it. In the IPL, that kind of gets forgotten and the main topic is how much money you went for this IPL. And that’s just me being brutally honest. I just wanted to stay away from that this year and put more emphasis on bringing good vibes to teams and tournaments I feel are worth it.”Steyn, whose career trajectory has coincided with the rise of the IPL, has often seen himself become one of the more prized assets for any IPL franchise, and has consistently seen heavy competition for his signature. The highest auction price for the fast bowler came in consecutive seasons in 2014 and 2015, when Sunrisers Hyderabad snapped him up for INR 9.5 crore (approx. USD 1.3 million today). He has taken 97 IPL wickets at 6.91, making him, by some distance, the most economical fast bowler among players with over 50 wickets in the league. His influence has diminished somewhat of late, playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore as a replacement player in 2019, and a full time player last year.Steyn’s words will come as a shot in the arm for a league trying to maximise its burgeoning potential after years of playing away from Pakistan in the UAE. Last year, Steyn was one of the Platinum Category players when he made himself available for the league, though the side finished bottom of the table. While his only game with Quetta was a disappointing outing, where he conceded 20 runs off a decisive penultimate over, Steyn remains confident there is time enough to turn things around.”I’m not too perturbed but it would have been nice to get over the line against Peshawar Zalmi. Hopefully we can make a comeback in the upcoming games. Chris Gayle’s absence will hurt because he’s a T20 God, and a bit of a freak. But when you look at his replacement and the guys we have in the shed, they are incredible players. Faf du Plessis has flown in, Tom Banton has been around the past two years and has done well. I don’t think it comes down to one player to win you cricket games. Everyone has to pull their weight.”He paid rich tribute to the “breeding machine” of fast bowlers Pakistan had, as well as praising Babar Azam as “a wonderful player”. “There is a breeding machine of fast bowlers here in Pakistan, which is great to see because the wickets are not conducive to fast bowlers,” Steyn said. “I had a chat with Shaheen [Afridi] last year – I think he broke his thumb. He was down but he was amazing. At Melbourne Stars, I had Haris Rauf with me, and I was really impressed by him. Not long after that, he played for Pakistan.”Babar is a great player and it would be a great opportunity to get him out or bowl against him. But you never know, I might not get to bowl against him because it’s only four overs or he might get out for a duck. But he’s been fantastic the last couple of years.”

Acting captain says Sam Curran will learn a lot from unbeaten 95 in losing cause

Andrew Miller28-Mar-2021Jos Buttler, England’s stand-in captain, says he is proud of the manner in which his side stayed true to the values that won them the 50-over World Cup at Lord’s two years ago, despite succumbing to a thrilling seven-run defeat in the ODI series decider against India in Pune.Faced with a stiff target of 330, England had slumped to 168 for 6 shortly after the halfway mark of their innings, but kept throwing their punches to the bitter end. Sam Curran belied a previous ODI highest score of 15 to finish with 95 not out from 83 balls, but a lack of batting partners undermined his attempts to seal the chase, as he was forced to turn down singles in the frantic closing overs.And with Dawid Malan producing a run-a-ball 50 after his promotion to the full squad as an injury replacement for Eoin Morgan, and Liam Livingstone playing his second free-spirited innings in as many ODIs after stepping into Sam Billings’ role in the middle order, Buttler believes that England have made strides on this white-ball leg of their India tour, despite losing the decider in both the 20-over and 50-over rubbers.”You play the game to win matches and to win series, and in the must-win games, we haven’t quite managed to do that, so of course, we’re disappointed with that,” Buttler said. “But there’ll be some great learnings taken from the tour, and some great exposure to players playing in this part of the world for the first time.””Once again, we’ve expanded the talent pool available to us in one-day cricket, building ahead to the T20 World Cup in a few months’ time and, of course, the 2023 World Cup later on down the line as well.”So anytime we expand that player pool, that creates competition, that creates better performances, and that’s the upward trajectory that we’re always after as a side, that continuous improvement.”Related

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Despite the disappointment of defeat, England’s efforts in the final ODI were a significant improvement on their somewhat flaky demise in the first ODI, when a 135-run opening stand between Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy had reduced the requirement to less than a run a ball, only for all ten England wickets to tumble for 116 inside the next 28 overs.This time, with Curran reprising the big-game mentality that has set him apart as a star of Chennai Super Kings’ IPL line-up, England took the contest right to the wire, with India’s anxieties revealed by a series of lapses in the field, most notably a trio of simple dropped catches from Hardik Pandya and Shardul Thakur.”A huge part of our success as a side has been that never-say-die attitude to take games deep,” Buttler said. “A lot of our bowlers are very accomplished batsman, and Sam played an outstanding innings there. He will take a lot from that moving forward, even though there’s the disappointment of losing the game.””I haven’t really done something like that for a while, especially for England, so it was really pleasing,” Curran said of his innings. “I had a few messages from the dug-out, just to try and take the majority of the balls and take the game as deep as possible, so it was a massive learning curve for me. But in the end we lost the game, so I’m a little bit disappointed.”Jos Buttler and Virat Kohli at the toss•Getty Images

Despite the valiance at the back-end of their innings, England effectively lost the contest after losing too many experienced batsman in the first half of their chase. Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s new-ball burst accounted for both Roy and Bairstow before they could get going, while Ben Stokes fell to a miscued full toss off Thakur, just when he seemed set to build on his start of 35 from 39 balls. Buttler himself never got going in an off-colour 15 from 18, and was left to watch the denouement from the sidelines.”There was always genuine belief that run-rate was never an issue,” Buttler said, as England kept consistent tabs with a requirement that, while Adil Rashid was on hand to keep knocking the singles and rotate the strike, rarely got above seven an over.”Adil and Sam played brilliantly well and were whittling down the score,” Buttler said, “and then it was great for Sam to take ownership, and to take us all the way down to the wire.”Anytime a game starts to come within reach, that’s when it starts to get harder,” he added. “Everyone on the ground started to get a bit tense, and the guys in the dug-out as well, but we’re all very proud of the way Sam played. He showed all the traits that we know he has, an abundance of character, and the skill level he has embodies what we’re about as a team.”At the age of 22, and with batting at this stage of his career the second string to his bow, Buttler welcomed the huge strides that such a performance could make to Curran’s developing career.”Sam’s a young guy, and many guys are never really exposed to that kind of situation in their whole career, so he’ll take a great learning from that,” Buttler said. “I can’t think of many times myself that I’ve been in those situations, so there’s always a bit of suck-it-and-see about how to make the right decisions and take the game forward.”So he’ll be much better equipped if he’s ever in that situation again, and I’m looking at it as well, as a fellow player and the other guys in the team, if we were in Sam’s situation, how would we take that game forward. So all of us in the team, and the squad, will have taken great learning from watching him, and trying to think through how we would take that situation down individually as well.”

His century stand with Mayers keeps Sri Lanka’s bowlers at bay on unresponsive deck

Andrew Fidel Fernando25-Mar-2021Nkrumah Bonner blunted the Sri Lanka seamers all day, defused the spin of Lasith Embuldeniya, and batted out 274 balls, as he provided the spine to West Indies’ tenacious resistance on day five. He was unbeaten at the close on 113, with only three West Indies wickets having fallen, thanks to excellent supporting innings from Kyle Mayers, Kraigg Brathwaite and Jason Holder.Sri Lanka’s bowlers were doughty and disciplined through long, difficult periods, but the Antigua surface had not deteriorated substantially enough to make them menacing. Only towards the very end of the day did Embuldeniya get deliveries to turn and bounce drastically. The seamers still got a little movement off the deck, but the pitch had slowed, and even the balls that did beat the bat generally died before they reached the wicketkeeper. Only Vishwa Fernando, who claimed two wickets in the innings and bowled the most aggressive lengths, went at more than three an over. Embuldeniya claimed the two other wickets to fall.Despite their heroics chasing 395 in Chattogram last month, at no point did West Indies attempt the target of 375 here. This must have been at least partly because the pitch had slowed to such an extent that rapid run-scoring was difficult. When Dimuth Karunaratne decided that no result was possible and called off the rest of the match, West Indies had 236 for four. Mayers was the only other batsman to pass fifty, but Brathwaite had batted out 124 balls in the innings.Bonner’s maiden Test century was a feat of self-denial. Early in the day, Bonner had collected a couple of streaky boundaries (a top edge over the keeper, and an edge through vacant third slip) but largely, he settled into a slow, unambitious rhythm, leaving the balls wide of the stumps, defending plenty, and picking up singles, generally square of the wicket. It wasn’t until the 16th over of the day that he struck his first intentional boundary, drilling a Dushmantha Chameera full toss straight of midwicket. He got to his half-century just before the lunch break, and then took his sweet time getting back into run-scoring mode after the break. During that period he was given out caught behind off Embuldeniya, but Bonner reviewed immediately and was shown not to have edged that delivery.His progress through the rest of the day was measured and steady, but confident. He once slog swept Embuldeniya for six, and later in the wicketless middle session that he shared with Mayers, hit the spinner again for two legside fours in three balls. These were brief moments of excitement in an otherwise obstinate innings. There was one nervy moment in the 90s, when he was struck on the pad by Vishwa Fernando and Sri Lanka reviewed that decision. The ball, though, was shown to only be grazing the top of the stumps, and because it was deemed an “umpire’s call” the original decision stood.Bonner reached his century with a four through point midway through the third session, off the 243rd ball he faced. This was only Bonner’s third first-class ton in 134 innings, and yet, his Test career has begun in spectacular fashion – this hundred following a Player-of-the-series winning, tour of Bangladesh, where he scored a 86 and 90.Mayers, the only other batsman to pass 50 in this inning, was more adventurous than Bonner without being especially attacking himself. Untroubled by the strong lbw review Sri Lanka raised against him (a review that was ultimately unsuccessful), he creamed Lakmal through the covers, struck Embuldeniya past slip, and had soon settled inot a diet of singles alongside Bonner. He got to his 50 off his 109th delivery and was out soon after tea, when he edged Embuldeniya to slip. He and Bonner had batted out the middle session without a dismissal, and put on 105 together.Sri Lanka struck twice in relatively quick succession after tea, with Vishwa bowling Jermaine Blackwood for 4, but with six wickets still to get, West Indies always seemed likely to play out the draw. Jason Holder batted out 48 balls to ensure there were no further incidents.
Although several of Sri Lanka’s bowlers were miserly, Lakmal deserves an especial mention for his accuracy through out the match. In this innings, he delivered 25 overs, and conceded only 33, bowling 10 maidens. In the first innings, his 25 overs had brought him 5 for 47.

The visiting side have been impressive in Test cricket, and Zimbabwe will need to summon a collective performance

Umar Farooq06-May-2021

Big picture

Test cricket is perhaps the format where Pakistan’s progress is most discernible. There is a stability about the side which is lacking in the other formats, with the results beginning to show something of an uptick of late. Performances against Zimbabwe may not appease the critics but remain vital, because an upset would undo much of the good work of recent times, something that should be front and centre across the visitors’ minds especially after the last time Pakistan played a series in Zimbabwe.Having won the first match convincingly, they succumbed to a chastening 24-run loss in the second in 2013. They will need to ensure this series doesn’t follow a similar pattern, especially after a disappointing T20I leg, where they scraped to two victories sandwiched by an embarrassing defeat in which they were skittled out for 99.Zimbabwe are severely handicapped this time around by the loss of several experienced middle order hands due to various reasons, with Craig Ervine, Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza all ruled out. The batters did put up some resistance in the first Test, albeit not nearly enough. Roy Kaia and Milton Shumba had a spirited 59-run fifth-wicket stand after Zimbabwe found themselves in trouble early, and a useful opening stand between Kevin Kasuza and Tarisai Musakanda saw off the new ball in the second innings. The bowlers took wickets at regular intervals to prevent Pakistan getting away too far.Pakistan carry a big bench and are in a position to hand out another debut after Sajid Khan played his first match in the previous Test, with Tabish Khan the likely beneficiary. That will see Faheem Ashraf sit out, depriving the side of a player who offered the best chance of a balance between batters and bowlers, especially with his runs lower down the order. But every performance here will matter for future Test series; Pakistan’s next engagement is in the West Indies in August, and individual performances here will go a long way towards selection then. Both openers – Imran Butt and Abid Ali – were on shaky ground, but runs in the opening Test look to have bought them some time.Zimbabwe, meanwhile, cannot afford the luxury of looking ahead too far, but they do have a calendar that sees activity beyond this second Test. Bangladesh will be arriving for a full series shortly, and any momentum gleaned here will be useful if carried through to that series. For that, they will have to summon the spirit and quality from the T20Is, and put the first Test behind them.

Form guide

Pakistan WWWLL
Zimbabwe LLWLDRoy Kaia made 48 on his Test debut in the first match, and added 59 with Milton Shumba•Zimbabwe Cricket

In the spotlight

Blessing Muzarabani continues to look the home side’s most potent strike bowler, backing up his credentials with a respectable performance in an otherwise disappointing show for his side. It was his wickets towards the end of the second day and on the morning of the third that guaranteed Pakistan would be bowled out instead of having the luxury of declaring, even finding himself on a hat-trick at one point. His figures of 4 for 73 represent a continuing ascent in the lanky fast bowler’s career, but what his side will need are strikes with the new ball as well as the old one. Should he be able to put two openers still struggling for form under pressure, Zimbabwe might have a chance of making a contest out of this.Babar Azam missed out against what at times appeared to be a Zimbabwe attack bereft of ideas, registering the only golden duck of his Test career in the first game. With the Pakistan captain in the form of his life, lightning is unlikely to strike twice this series. The first Test was an aberration in that respect, and the home side may find they have one additional problem to worry about in the second game.

Team news

Prince Masvaure is unlikely to feature following the hand injury he sustained in the first Test, while Sean Williams and Craig Ervine remain ruled out. Wesley Madhevere looks set to play after missing out in the first Test.Zimbabwe (possible): 1 Roy Kaia, 2 Kevin Kasuza, 3 Brendan Taylor (capt), 4 Tarisai Musakanda, 5Wesley Madhevere, 6 Regis Chakabva (wk), 7 Luke Jongwe, 8 Wellington Masakadza, 9 Donald Tiripano, 10 Blessing Muzarabani, 11 Victor NyauchiNo significant changes are expected for Pakistan, with Sajid likely to play despite an indifferent debut. Tabish appears to be in the mix, and should he play, Ashraf would be the man to sit out.Pakistan (probable): 1 Imran Butt, 2 Abid Ali, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Babar Azam (capt), 5 Fawad Alam, 6 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 7 Hasan Ali, 8 Tabish Khan, 9 Sajid Khan, 10 Nauman Ali, 11 Shaheen Shah Afridi

Pitch and conditions

The weather for the next seven days will be cool with plenty of sunshine. The surface in the first Test played slow, and this one is expected to be no different.

Stats that matter

• Fawad Alam has converted each of his first four half centuries into triple figures, one of only six players in Tests to have done so.
• Zimbabwe have only three players with more than ten Test matches under their belt: Brendan Taylor, Regis Chakabva and Donald Tiripano.
• Azam is the first Pakistan captain to lead his side to victory in his first three Tests.

‘Special’ feat by Sussex 16-year-old precedes Malan’s 103* to close gap for Yorkshire

Paul Edwards04-Jun-2021
“Youth is to all the glad season of life,” wrote Thomas Carlyle, thus presenting that fine Australian cricket writer, Ray Robinson, with the title of one of his best books. But rather less well-known are the qualifications that the grumpy 19th century polymath added to his aphorism: “but often only by what it hopes, not by what it attains, or what it escapes.” But then there are days like this at Headingley; the day when attainment matched hope; the day when Danial Ibrahim became the youngest cricketer to make a half-century in the 131-year history of the County Championship.It did not matter even one hoot that Ibrahim reached his fifty in slightly grubby fashion via an overthrow when Dom Bess failed to collect Jordan Thompson’s shy. Just over 24 hours earlier he had not even been a first-class cricketer; now here he was, the second youngest debutant in Sussex’s history with a half-century against his name and a record in a competition whose history stretches deep into the Golden Age. This is a glad season without caveat for Ibrahim; this is a golden age for him.But, of course, he did not know about the fact that he had eclipsed by 61 days the record set by Bilal Shafayat when he made 72 for Nottinghamshire against Middlesex at Trent Bridge in 2001. Ibrahim is a 16-year-old schoolboy who had no clue until last Sunday that he was about to make his Sussex debut. Now he knows what it is like to play on a Test ground against international bowlers. The record was “special” but so was everything else.Related

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“I was shocked on Sunday when I was told I was playing but I was so excited as well,” he said. “There are not many better grounds than Headingley on which to make a debut and it was just so special to be out there when Ben Brown made his century. It was really tough to bat against the new ball but Browny helped me though it and took the pressure off. I found it all tough but I just had to keep battling though and do the best I could. Ben Coad and Steve Patterson test your technique and you have to be switched on all the time you are facing them. But I enjoy a battle.”So, however, do Yorkshire’s cricketers and Ibrahim could add only five more runs to his half-century before his second ambitious drive of the day edged a catch to Harry Brook at third slip off Coad. Indeed, Ibrahim was one of five Sussex batters to be dismissed for the addition of only 46 runs on a day that was subsequently dominated by Yorkshire’s batters. The applause from the home members during an evening blessed by rich sunlight attested to that fact.Dawid Malan reached his hundred in the last over of the day•Getty Images

True, Yorkshire lost Tom Kohler-Cadmore for 25, leg before wicket to Ibrahim – yes, him again – when the opener played clumsily across the line. Then, just at the point when Adam Lyth had appeared set for another big score, the left-hander was bowled round his legs by Jamie Atkins for 48. That left Yorkshire on 95 for 2 and their supporters anxious that the batting was about to fail again. Imagine, then, the relief when Dawid Malan and Gary Ballance took heavy toll of Sussex’s young attack with an unbroken partnership of 177 for the third wicket and Yorkshire ended the day on 272 for 2 and therefore perfectly placed to build a large advantage tomorrow.In such a context of abundance there has been something rather moving about the return of crowds to Headingley over the past two days. They may have been unavoidably late on parade – there were spectators at some grounds a fortnight ago – but the presence of 2,000 supporters at a County Championship match in Leeds still represents another act of reclamation in these strange times.Spectators are getting their first proper sight of cricketers like Jordan Thompson, who made his debut nearly twelve months ago. They are also getting their first sight of Malan in a Yorkshire shirt and the former England Test batter has done nothing to disappoint them. He and Ballance batted fluently against a tiring Sussex attack in the evening session and Malan reached his century off 153 balls with a leg glance off Tom Haines in the final over of the day. Ibrahim watched it all and perhaps he wondered if one day this might be him.

Haider Ali has also been withdrawn from the tours of England and West Indies, and replaced by Sohaib Maqsood

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jun-2021Peshawar Zalmi’s Haider Ali and Umaid Asif have been suspended from Thursday’s PSL final against the Multan Sultans in Abu Dhabi after the duo admitted to charges of violating the tournament’s health and safety protocols by meeting people from outside their biosecure bubbles. They also failed to maintain the prescribed social distancing.A release from the PCB said the incident occurred on Wednesday and the decision to withdraw the two players was taken on the morning of the final by the tournament’s Covid-19 management panel comprising Barrister Salman Naseer (PCB, chief operating officer) and Babar Hamid (director – commercial, and PSL head).”The two cricketers were found not to have interacted with any other squad members at any time after the incident and have been placed in room isolation,” the release said.For the same reason, Ali has also been withdrawn from the upcoming tours of England and the West Indies, and replaced by Sohaib Maqsood.Asif’s exclusion is a significant blow for the finalists, with the fast bowler a mainstay in the starting eleven. He had played every one of Zalmi’s games in Abu Dhabi up till now, with Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Irfan the only other available teammates to have taken more than his eight wickets this season. While Haider has struggled for form and was dropped from the side four games into the Abu Dhabi leg, he remained a potentially explosive option ahead of the final.Asif released a statement following the announcement, acknowledging the breach and expressing “immense remorse for my actions”. “I am bitterly disappointed at not only missing out on playing in the PSL final but more importantly for letting my Peshawar Zalmi teammates down,” he said.

Each win now worth 12 points, a draw worth four points and a tie worth six points

Nagraj Gollapudi29-Jun-2021The five-match Pataudi Trophy between England and India starting August 4 will kick off the second cycle of the World Test Championship. That series along with the Ashes, in December, will be the only two series comprising five Tests in the second WTC cycle, spanning August 2021 to June 2023.Australia’s tour of India, in 2022, is the only four-Test series in WTC 2. Beyond that, there are seven three-Test series and 17 series comprising two Tests. The ICC has not yet decided the schedule and the venue for the final.Like the first WTC cycle, played between 2019 and 2021, the second edition will see each of the nine Test teams playing a total of six series: three home and three away. These bilateral series were finalised by the Full Member Boards in 2018 before the ICC locked them into the 2019-23 Future Tours Programme. None of the series that were cut short of postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic in the first WTC cycle, will be carried forward into the second cycle.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The big-ticket series will once again be split among the Big Three of India, England and Australia. The rest of the six countries will lock horns in series comprising two or a maximum of three Tests each.England will play the most Tests (21) in WTC 2 followed by India (19), Australia (18) and South Africa (15). The inaugural WTC winners New Zealand will play only 13 matches, similar to that of West Indies, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Bangladesh are the only country among the nine contestants to play two matches in each of their six series in WTC 2.Points System – 12 for a win, 4 for draw, 6 for a tie
To ensure the discrepancy in matches does not hurt the teams’ WTC points tally, the ICC has decided to allot each match the same number of points. Under the proposed system, which is set to be ratified at the next chief executives’ committee meeting, each match in WTC 2 will be worth 12 points. A draw will be a third of that, four points. while a tie will earn each team six points. Teams will also be penalised for slow over rates – one point docked for every over they fall behind.Getty Images

In a chat with ESPNcricinfo recently, ICC’s acting chief executive officer Geoff Allardice had expanded on the change in the points system between the two cycles of the WTC.”Instead of each series being worth the same number of points, 120, irrespective of whether the series is played over two Tests or five Tests, the next cycle will see each match being worth the same number of points – a maximum of 12 per match. Teams will be ranked on the percentage of available points they won from the matches they have played. The aim was to try and simplify the points system and to allow teams to be meaningfully compared on the table at any point, though they may have played differing numbers of matches and series.”

Wicketkeeper Jess McFadyen and seamer Claudia Green called up for tour of three T20Is and five ODIs

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Aug-2021Allrounder Amelia Kerr has opted out of New Zealand Women’s tour of England for three T20Is and five ODIs in September, citing the need to prioritise her mental health and well-being. Kerr, who has played 41 ODIs and 41 T20Is, said she hadn’t taken the decision lightly, but that it was best for her at the current time.

Schedule:

Sep 1: 1st T20I, Chelmsford
Sep 4: 2nd T20I, Hove
Sep 9: 3rd T20I, Taunton
Sep 16: 1st ODI, Bristol
Sep 19: 2nd ODI, Worcester
Sep 21: 3rd ODI, Leicester
Sep 23: 4th ODI, Derby
Sep 26: 5th ODI, Canterbury

The New Zealand selectors called up the uncapped duo of Jess McFadyen (wicketkeeper) and Claudia Green (seamer) in a 16-member squad that will be captained by Sophie Devine. The tour starts with the first T20I on September 1, and concludes with the fifth ODI on September 26.”I love representing New Zealand and playing for the White Ferns,” Kerr said in an NZC release. “However, after plenty of consultation with my support network, putting my mental health and well-being first is my number one priority. I’ve not taken this decision lightly – I feel this is best for me at the current time.”Devine and coach Bob Carter both lent their support to Kerr’s decision.”We’re obviously going to miss Melie in England,” Devine said. “As a cricketer she offers plenty in all three aspects of the game and is great fun to have around off the park. Every individual knows how tough the environment is at the moment with Covid-19; time away from family, living in a bio-bubble or quarantine periods.”We’re really fortunate we have great support around us from both New Zealand Cricket and the CPA. It’s important we talk openly about it because it can get tough and we need to ensure our players, teammates and friends are looked after. We’re all wrapping around Melie and know she’ll make a comeback when she’s ready.”Carter said Kerr had shown “a lot of courage” in making her decision.”Player welfare is paramount, particularly in today’s environment,” Carter said. “It’s important to respect the needs of the athletes. Amelia has shown a lot of courage in making this decision and I look forward to her return to the White Ferns when the time is right.”The new entrants, Green and McFadyen, come on the back of good performances. Green caught the selectors’ eyes when she took 5 for 56 for a New Zealand XI against England in a Queenstown warm-up fixture. McFadyen, who received her maiden contract for the 2021-22 season after impressive domestic form for Wellington Blaze, will be the back-up wicketkeeper to Katey Martin.”This is a really exciting time for both Jess and Claudia,” Carter said. “Both have impressed at domestic cricket and thoroughly deserve their chance at the next level.”Jess has an outstanding work ethic and we want cricketers who are determined and willing to work hard. If she gets her chance over in England I know she’ll be ready. Claudia showed what she can do against England last summer for the New Zealand XI against a quality English batting lineup. She swings the ball and can cause trouble at the top of an innings. This tour represents a chance to work on her game and experience new conditions, and I know she’ll be pushing hard for a spot in the eleven.”The team will depart for the UK on August 13.Squad: Sophie Devine (capt), Amy Satterthwaite (vice-capt), Suzie Bates, Lauren Down, Claudia Green, Maddy Green, Brooke Halliday, Hayley Jensen, Jess Kerr, Katey Martin (wk), Leigh Kasperek, Rosemary Mair, Jess McFadyen (wk), Thamsyn Newton, Hannah Rowe, Lea Tahuhu.

Spinner says the hosts’ bowlers failed to form partnerships as Pakistan put on 161 for 2 on day one in Dhaka

Mohammad Isam04-Dec-2021Bangladesh rarely pick five specialist bowlers at home, so when they did so against Pakistan in the Dhaka Test, there were more expectations of them. But as Mehidy Hasan Miraz put it, even during a truncated first day’s play, the home team’s bowlers couldn’t combine well to keep the visitors from asserting their authority.
Taijul Islam continued to thrive in this Test series, picking up both wickets that fell on Saturday. He took eight wickets in the first Test in Chattogram, including 7 for 116 in the first innings that allowed Bangladesh to take a slim lead.Bangladesh had Shakib Al Hasan back in the attack for the Dhaka fixture, and included Khaled Ahmed in the XI. But with only Shakib and Taijul showing any rhythm, all the resources they had just didn’t seem enough. Bangladesh’s best chance to dent the opposition came during the second hour of play, when they took 2 for 24 in 16 overs. But it slipped away because the rest of their bowling attack couldn’t keep the pressure.”Taijul started well,” Miraz said. “He was in great shape in the last Test. He took more wickets [than anyone else today]. He was bowling very well from one end. Partnership bowling is important in Tests. If both pacers applied pressure from both ends, we could have taken one or two wickets in the first hour. Shakib and Taijul bowled tight from both ends, which created two wickets. It always gives us the opportunity. Myself and the others couldn’t really apply similar pressure in the second session, which allowed them to dominate.”Miraz, in particular, pointed out the fast bowlers’ inability to provide early wickets as one of the reasons why Bangladesh couldn’t dominate on the first day.”Things would have been better for us if the pacers took out a few more wickets. Everyone has to contribute with the ball, and today it was just Taijul and Shakib . Early wickets are important in Tests. If that doesn’t happen, we should contain the runs. It wasn’t happening for us.”Ebadot [Hossain] bowled well, almost wicket-taking. I think we were in a decent position in the first session. If we had taken a few more wickets in the second session, it would have been easier for us,” he said.Miraz also received a bit of flak in Chattogram for picking up only two wickets. He has often copped criticism for what some believe is a one-dimensional style of bowling, without any mystery deliveries or a major variation. Miraz, however, defended his bowling by saying that it is important to be accurate and consistent in Tests, rather than trying too much and leaking runs.”Line and length is more important than variation. You must have good line and length to get your variation in order. You can try variations in shorter formats. Test cricket requires patience, so you have to bowl in the same spot repeatedly.”You have to wait for the batters to make mistakes. I cannot be expected to take wickets every over in a Test match. I have to bowl well for five or seven overs, before I can try a variation. I think this patience brings success in Tests,” he said.

Late wickets even out day one after a century stand between Conway and Will Young

Mohammad Isam31-Dec-2021Devon Conway returned from injury and promptly struck his second century in Test cricket, on his home debut in the format. New Zealand, as a result, finished ahead of Bangladesh on the first day in Mount Maunganui, going to stumps 258 for 5 on New Year’s Day. The visitors however would still be happy with the way they did not let the hosts get further away from them, fighting back with late wickets after New Zealand had two decent partnerships in the first and second sessions.Conway made 122 off 227 balls with 16 fours and a six over midwicket, which brought up his fifty after lunch. He favoured the on-side and remained strong square of the wicket, only hitting straight drives when fed something absolutely full. He steadied New Zealand after an early wicket with a 138-run second wicket stand with Will Young, who made 52. Conway added a further 50 with Ross Taylor, who looked to attack Bangladesh after tea.The limelight however remained on Conway who was nearing his maiden Test hundred at home. He struck Ebadot Hossain through the covers to reach the nineties, before reaching the milestone with a single down to fine leg.In the following over however, Shoriful Islam had Taylor – who will be retiring from Tests at the end of this series – caught at cover for 31. Conway looked well settled at the other end, but he too fell just before the second new ball was due. Part-timer Mominul Haque, bowling his floaty left-arm spin to fill in the overs, had Conway caught down the leg side for 122, sparking vigourous from his team-mates.Ebadot also got a reward at the end of the day when he had Tom Blundell bowled off the inside edge, giving Bangladesh something to be pleased about as they trudged off the ground. Much of the day had belonged to the hosts, though.Shoriful removed New Zealand’s stand-in captain Tom Latham in the fourth over of the morning – the left-arm quick got one to nip back into Latham, who inside edged the ball on to his pad and it lobbed behind where wicketkeeper Liton Das dived in front of the first slip to complete the catch. It was a big wicket given Latham was averaging 90-plus against Bangladesh before this game.The early wicket meant that Young and Conway had to build from scratch almost. They left a lot of balls in the first hour, which allowed them to get the measure of the lengths they would want to attack. Bangladesh’s fast bowlers, particularly Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful, did bowl impressively in the first hour. But the pressure was off shortly after the first hour, when Conway and Young struck seven fours between them to given the home side some breathing space.Both batters reached their respective fifties early in the second session, but Young escaped a chance when he was on 27. Shoriful got Young’s outside edge with a beautiful delivery in the first over after lunch, but neither the bowler nor wicketkeeper appealed.Conway reached his fifty with a six off Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who he then smashed for two more fours later in the over. Young fell on 52, though, run out through a slight miscommunication with Conway. It was a waste of a wicket as Young, like Conway, seemed to have sized up the Bangladesh attack and looked on course for a big one. Conway went on to do the joy, batting steadily for much of the rest of the day to prop New Zealand up.