Bumrah and Harshal return to India squad for T20 World Cup

Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Hooda and Axar Patel part of the squad going to Australia in October

Alagappan Muthu12-Sep-20226:27

Uthappa: Shami is a handful with the new ball and has experience

India will have a full-strength fast-bowling attack to take to Australia for the T20 World Cup with the return of Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel.They’ve also placed a considerable amount of trust in young Arshdeep Singh, who only made his India debut in July 2022, but has been picked ahead of the likes of Deepak Chahar and Mohammed Shami, who only find a place in the reserves.India have, over the past few months, been investing heavily in super specialists. Arshdeep fits into this category having displayed exceptional skills as a death bowler in the IPL. In fact, last season, with a minimum of 40 balls bowled between overs 17 and 20, only Bumrah managed a better economy rate than the 23-year-old left-arm quick. And that too by a mere 0.2 points: 7.38 vs 7.58.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

A lot of the squad picked themselves, including the top four of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav. India then turned to their allrounders with Deepak Hooda’s ability to provide a few overs of offspin pushing him into the main squad ahead of other contenders like Shreyas Iyer, who only found a place among the stand-bys.

India’s standby players for T20 World Cup

Mohammed Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar.

Hooda is another of the bolters in the squad. He too played his first game for India in 2022, following a breakout season with Lucknow Super Giants for whom he made 451 runs at a strike rate of 136.66. Although his sample size is smaller – nine innings as opposed to 14 in the last IPL – in international cricket, he has pushed that strike rate up to 155.85.Hooda’s presence may also have become necessary with India losing Ravindra Jadeja to a knee injury. Axar Patel takes over the role of lead left-arm spinner in the squad but it remains to be seen if that means he gets a place in the India XI. At the Asia Cup, where Jadeja picked up the injury, the team management preferred Hooda’s batting ability over Axar’s.0:23

Karthik, Hooda in Uthappa’s likely India XI for T20 World Cup

Dinesh Karthik, meanwhile, has forced the selectors to make his “dream come true” by taking his game as a finisher to a whole new level. At IPL 2022, where he first began to make his case for inclusion, he had a death-overs strike rate of 220. Among batters who faced at least 50 balls between overs 17 and 20, only Jos Buttler (236.53) fared better.Karthik has shown sparks of the same ability in India colours as well, notably against West Indies in July when he came in to bat in the 15th over, with the score only 127 for 5, and took it up to 190 for 6. The 37-year-old who hadn’t played any T20Is between February 2019 and June 2022 will now turn up for his third T20 World Cup, and is among a handful of survivors who played the inaugural edition way back in 2007. Rohit is part of this group as well.Yuzvendra Chahal, the top wicket-taker from the last IPL, will lead India’s spin attack with support from R Ashwin. Ravi Bishnoi is among the reserves. All teams can make changes to their T20 World Cup squads until the first match they play, which in India’s case is on October 23.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Shami returns for home T20Is against Australia and SA

While most of India’s players have recent cricket to back them up, one of their reserves seems to have been picked based on reputation (and a solid one at that). Shami has not played anything since the end of the white-ball series against England in mid-July, but has been called up for the home T20Is against both Australia and South Africa that start on September 20 and has been placed on standby for the T20 World Cup.In IPL 2022, Shami was central to Gujarat Titans winning the title in their first season, claiming 20 wickets in 16 matches. Among Indian fast bowlers only Umran Malik (22), who played for Sunrisers Hyderabad, had more.Allrounder Hardik Pandya and seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar are part of the squad for the T20Is against Australia, but have been rested for the following series against South Africa. Arshdeep, meanwhile, has been rested for the Australia T20Is, but has been picked for the South Africa T20I series – India’s last before the T20 World Cup. Chahar was picked for both bilateral series.”Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be reporting to the NCA for conditioning-related work during the course of the home series against Australia and South Africa,” a BCCI media release said.India squad for Australia T20Is: Rohit Sharma (capt), KL Rahul (vice-capt), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit BumrahIndia squad for South Africa T20Is: Rohit Sharma (capt), KL Rahul (vice-capt), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Shami, Harshal Patel, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah

Quad injury ends Umesh's stint with Middlesex

He has returned to begin his treatment and rehabilitation at the NCA in Bengaluru

ESPNcricinfo staff and PTI17-Sep-2022Umesh Yadav, who suffered an injury during a game for Middlesex against Gloucestershire in the Royal London One-Day Cup last month, has returned to India for rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.Umesh injured his quad muscles (the group of muscles at the front of the thigh) on August 21. As a result, he will not be available for Middlesex’s last two matches of the County Championship this month, the club said in an official statement.Related

  • Mohammed Shami tests positive for Covid-19, Umesh Yadav named as replacement

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“Middlesex Cricket regrets to announce that we have been made aware that Umesh Yadav will not be returning to London to finish the season with the Club and will play no further part in Middlesex’s County Championship run in due to an ongoing injury to his quad muscle,” the club statement said. “With two red-ball games remaining in the season, away to Leicestershire next week and away to Worcestershire the following week, Middlesex were hopeful that the Indian international would be returning to the Club to play a part in the push for promotion to the top flight of the Championship structure.”Soon after news of Umesh’s departure from Middlesex, however, came the news that he had been named in India’s squad for their T20I series against Australia, as a replacement for Mohammed Shami, who has tested positive for Covid-19.The extent of Umesh’s injury isn’t clear, and his selection for the Australia series suggests he may be fit to take on the workload of T20 games but not that of four-day Championship matches.Middlesex said Umesh had been assessed by the BCCI medical team and had begun treatment as well as a “bowling programme”.”After sustaining the injury, the right-arm quick travelled back to India for an assessment with the BCCI’s medical team, where he began treatment and rehabilitation on the injury whilst beginning a back to bowling programme under the watchful eye of the Indian national medical team.”Umesh, who has taken 158 wickets in 52 Tests and 106 wickets in 75 ODIs, was scheduled to return to London on Saturday ahead of next week’s trip to Leicester but that has changed.He had joined Middlesex in July to play for the club in both first-class and List-A formats. He picked up four wickets in six bowling innings in the County Championships, at an average of 71.50, but did much better in the Royal London One-Day Cup, picking up 16 wickets – the highest for his team – in seven innings at an average of 20.25.September 18, GMT 0530 The story was updated with news of Umesh’s selection in India’s T20I squad.

Western Australia survive Murphy scare after Handscomb declines chance of 300

Handscomb declared with him unbeaten on 281 after a record stand of 338 alongside Sam Harper

AAP20-Oct-2022Western Australia 466 (Bancroft 100, Short 87, Whiteman 82) and 5 for 185 (Cartwright 76*, Murphy 3-42) drew with Victoria 4 for 616 dec (Handscomb 281*, Harper 132, Harris 111)Peter Handscomb’s selfless declaration spiced up the final day of Victoria’s Sheffield Shield clash with Western Australia before Hilton Cartwright piloted Western Australia to a draw.The Victoria captain declared at 4 for 616 at lunch on day four at Junction Oval, leaving him unbeaten on 281 and his side with a 150-run lead and two sessions to concoct an unlikely victory.His call had an instant impact with WA falling to 3 for 19 in 50 dramatic deliveries as the visitors tried to bat out the final two sessions for a draw.Cartwright and Josh Philippe took them to tea without further loss to allay some fears, before two more wickets to begin the final session again breathed life into the contest.But D’Arcy Short joined Cartwright after Todd Murphy’s third wicket came courtesy of a dubious lbw call on Aaron Hardie to push the visitors past Victoria’s first-innings total and prompt an early finish.Murphy took six wickets for the match and found something in an otherwise lifeless pitch, while Cameron McClure had success with the short ball on the final day.Todd Murphy gave Victoria a chance of victory•Getty Images

Handscomb, who scored a century in the season opener, crushed WA’s spirits before breaking a long-standing record held by the late Dean Jones. It was the highest score by a Victorian against WA, bettering the previous record of 243 held by Jones (1984-85) and Will Pucovski (2018-19).The 338-run stand between Handscomb and Sam Harper was Victoria’s highest fifth-wicket partnership, bettering the previous mark of 316 set by Grant Gardiner and Laurie Harper in 1997.Handscomb – dropped twice on Wednesday – started the day on 174 and brought up his double century by flicking Lance Morris to fine leg. He reached 250 just 35 balls later.It followed a century in the season opener from the man who scored the most Shield runs in 2021, but played the last of his 16 Tests in 2019.It presents a compelling argument for a recall during the home Test summer, while a tour of India early next year also looms as a target – not that Handscomb is thinking about it.”I’m feeling good, but that’s always one of the things you’ve got to be careful of with Mother Cricket,” he said. “As soon as you do (feel good), things go the other way. So I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing and hopefully continue to score as many runs as possible this season.”WA had the ball reversing for a bulk of the innings, Cartwright applauding the record stand between Handscomb and wicketkeeper Harper”That’s right up there; he negated everything we threw at him, made us think outside the box,” he said. “It was a masterclass how they batted in those conditions. [We’re] happy not to lose the game…they got on a run and thankfully we were able to stop that.”

Ryan ten Doeschate appointed KKR fielding coach for IPL 2023

He takes over from James Foster, who has been elevated to the post of assistant coach

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Nov-2022Kolkata Knight Riders have appointed Ryan ten Doeschate as fielding coach for the upcoming edition of the IPL.The former Netherlands captain, who was part of Knight Riders’ title-winning sides in 2012 and 2014, takes over from Englishman James Foster, who has been elevated to the post of assistant coach. Ten Doeschate and Foster will work alongside head coach Chandrakant Pandit, who took over the mantle from Brendon McCullum in August.Related

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“We are delighted that James Foster has taken on more responsibility in his new role as assistant coach and he will be a great resource for the head coach, Chandu Pandit, along with Abhishek Nayar (assistant coach), Bharat Arun (bowling coach) and Omkar Salvi assistant bowling coach,” Venky Mysore, the CEO of Knight Riders, said in a press release.”In addition, we are very happy to welcome Tendo back to the KKR family in his role as fielding coach. Tendo played an important role as a player from 2011-14 and in the two championships KKR won in 2012 and 2014, and has been a genuine supporter of KKR all these years.”These two appointments strengthen the support staff under the leadership of Head Coach Chandu Pandit.”Ten Doeschate featured in 29 matches in the IPL, all for Knight Riders between 2011 and 2015. In all, he has played 382 T20s, in which he scored 7597 runs, took 114 wickets and held 134 catches.Following his retirement from professional cricket, after the 2021 T20 World Cup, he has been Kent’s batting coach.

Latham backs NZ fringe bowlers to fill 'massive hole' in Southee and Boult's absence

He backs the group to suss out Indian conditions with the World Cup around the corner

Deivarayan Muthu17-Jan-20231:52

Latham says NZ have done their homework on Chahal and Kuldeep

Trent Boult is currently in action for MI Emirates in the ILT20 in the UAE, having turned down his New Zealand central contract. And Tim Southee has been wrapped in cotton wool ahead of the home Test series against England in February. The last time New Zealand played an ODI without both Boult and Southee against a top-ranked team was back in 2016 against Australia in Hamilton.Ish Sodhi’s ankle injury, sustained during the third ODI in Karachi, has depleted New Zealand’s attack even further. In the absence of a number of seniors, including regular white-ball captain Kane Williamson, who has also been rested for this India tour, New Zealand are looking to give some of their fringe players a run and find out if they could fit into their ODI World Cup plans.Related

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“Anytime that Tim, Trent and Kane aren’t in the side or aren’t with us, it obviously leaves a massive hole for us,” New Zealand captain Tom Latham said ahead of the first ODI in Hyderabad. “On the other hand, it presents opportunities for the other guys that have been around the squad for a while. I think we’re lucky that pretty much everyone has played international cricket in this side, which is a bonus and over Covid, it presented opportunities to other guys. When guys like that have a break, it’s the other guys’ turn to step up and have an opportunity and we’re lucky enough to have someone like Lockie Ferguson who has played a lot of cricket here in India and I’m sure the guys will be leaning on his experiences as best as possible.”On Tuesday, it was Ferguson, who has had IPL stints with Rising Pune Supergiant, Kolkata Knight Riders and reigning champions Gujarat Titans, who led the bowlers’ meeting. He opened the bowling for New Zealand in their last series – a 2-1 win over Pakistan – and is likely to do so again with two out of Doug Bracewell, Henry Shipley and Jacob Duffy supporting him. This series is an opportunity for them and the rest of the group to suss out the Indian conditions before New Zealand return for the ODI World Cup later this year.

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“This is our last opportunity to play in these conditions before the World Cup in October and November, which you know, isn’t too far away,” Latham said. “So, I guess for us it’s [about] taking as many learnings as we can from these conditions and I said we’re lucky enough that most of the guys have played in these Indian conditions before. I don’t think we’ve played a one-dayer at any of the venues we have been playing at, so for us, it’s getting used to the conditions and familiarising ourselves with different surfaces that we may be faced with during the World Cup.”Latham also drew confidence from New Zealand’s ODI success in Karachi, where they bounced back from being 0-1 down to secure the three-match series. The pitches in Pakistan were slow and grippy, but the ones in India could be much better for batting, as was the case during the recent series against Sri Lanka, where the home side put up two scores of 370-plus in three games.Doug Bracewell is one of three NZ quicks in the running to partner Lockie Ferguson in Hyderabad•Associated Press

“The cricket we played in Pakistan was really good,” Latham said. “It was somewhere we have never toured before for a long time and to come up with a series win where it is difficult to play was really nice. I guess for us coming here, it’s about trying to adapt to conditions the best we can. The surfaces here will potentially be better than what we had in Pakistan; so just trying to stick to our plans as best as we can and I’m sure it’ll be a competitive series. Every time we play India, it’s always a competitive series and we’re looking forward to what’s coming up.”While New Zealand’s bowling attack appears light, they have some excellent players of spin in their batting line-up. During the Test series in Pakistan, Latham and Devon Conway had their eyes locked on mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed’s hand – both from the striker’s end and the non-striker’s end. New Zealand will now come up against Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav though the chances of both the wristspinners playing together are slim. Washington Sundar’s offspin is more likely to be matched up with New Zealand’s left-hander heavy line-up.”As I said before, we’re lucky enough we’ve played these guys and we’ve played India a lot – whether it would be here or back home in recent years,” Latham said. “So, as I said we plan for these guys with our scouting as best as possible and talking to the guys that have played here before – whether it’s in the IPL or different series in terms of trying to read their different deliveries. We will certainly be doing our best to try and negate them [Chahal and Kuldeep]. Obviously spin is quite a big thing over here in India, and we’re really excited about the three games coming up in the one-day series.”

Tayyab Tahir marks PSL debut with match-winning 65 for Karachi Kings

Multan Sultans folded for 101 in the 168 chase, as Tabraiz Shamsi and Shoaib Malik grabbed three wickets each

Abhimanyu Bose26-Feb-2023Karachi Kings’ see-saw ride in this season’s PSL continued, as the pattern of tight finishes and rather one-sided wins alternated for the fourth match in a row. The latest addition in the list was when they thumped Multan Sultans by 66 runs on Sunday, just days after falling short by three runs against the same team.Kings had made three changes against table-toppers Sultans, as Tayyab Tahir, who came in for Haider Ali, scored an impressive half-century on PSL debut to help Kings to 167. Tabraiz Shamsi, replacing Imran Tahir in the side, then claimed three crucial middle-order wickets to help skittle Sultans out for a mere 101.Put in to bat James Vince got off to a rapid start for Kings. First over onwards, he took on Akeal Hosein and Anwar Ali – both of whom had come into Sultans’ XI – and had raced to 27 off 11 deliveries, before skying a catch to mid-on off Anwar in the fourth over.But Tayyab ensured that the wicket did not halt their momentum, flicking the first delivery he faced for a boundary through midwicket. He dominated a 109-run partnership with Matthew Wade, scoring quickly and keeping the pressure off the Australian, who struggled his way to 46 from 47 balls.Tayyab attacked the off side and leg side with equal ease, and hit eight fours as he brought up his half-century off 33 deliveries. With his fifty up in the 14th over, he hit Abbas Afridi for his only six in the next, but slowed down after that as Sultans bowled 31 deliveries without conceding a boundary.Tayyab was finally trapped lbw by Ihsanullah in the 17th over, by which time the runs had dried up for Kings. Ihsanullah also castled Wade in the penultimate over of the innings, but Imad’s finishing kick of 14 from six deliveries helped Kings finish strong.Sultans’ chase started with Shan Masood getting off to a rapid start – he finished with 25 from 16 balls – before an inside edge to wicketkeeper Wade off Akif Javed brought an end to his innings. But Masood’s opening partner Mohammad Rizwan, who had scored a dazzling century in the last meeting between the two teams, soldiered on even as Shoaib Malik and Shamsi dismissed Rilee Rossouw and David Miller, respectively.And soon after in the 11th over, Tayyab’s fantastic day continued when he took a superb diving catch at point off Rizwan’s leading edge to give Malik his second wicket. Shamsi then struck in each of his next two overs, castling Khushdil Shah and getting Usama Mir to hole out at long-off to finish with figures of 3 for 18 that earned him the Player-of-the-Match award.Sultans’ innings seemed to head towards a hurried conclusion, as Imad then removed Carlos Brathwaite and Hosein in the 15th over, before Akif Raja also claimed his second wicket when Anwar Ali sliced a catch to deep point.Malik then trapped Afridi lbw to seal victory for Kings, who although they earned two points, sat on the third spot in the points table only due to a better net run rate over both Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi, with all three sides on four points each.

Tector, Tucker and McBrine defy Bangladesh

Ireland came back from 27 for 4 to take their lead past 100 on the third day

Mohammad Isam06-Apr-2023Lorcan Tucker led Ireland’s resistance against Bangladesh in the Dhaka Test, batting out the third day after starting it on 27 for 4. Tucker became the second Irishman to score a century on Test debut, and the sixth wicketkeeper to do so, as his 108 involved two sizeable partnerships to keep them in the hunt. Ireland ended on 286 for 8, when everyone thought that Test would end early on the third day.The visitors’ 131-run lead may not look impressive but they have done enough to put questions in Bangladesh’s mind. The home side doesn’t have a great chasing record at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, where they haven’t won since 2020. Taijul Islam was the pick of the bowlers again, taking his tally to nine wickets in the match, but Shakib bowling just six overs in the day was a peculiar decision given that he looked fit and fielded all day.Tucker defied the Bangladesh spinners superbly. His celebration after reaching the hundred got cheers from the tiny crowd who appreciated the young batter’s century. His 111-run stand with Andy McBrine for the seventh wicket frustrated Bangladesh for 28.3 overs, as Ireland put together a string of partnerships.The visitors had started the day on 27 for 4 after their top order crumbled in 6.5 overs on the second evening. Shakib and Taijul shared those four wickets and looked menacing. But PJ Moor and Tector negated them for 10.1 overs late on the second day, before continuing in the same vein on the third morning.Litton dropped Tector on nine in the second over of the day, but that was the only chance that went down. Tector and Moor lasted 25.4 overs for the fifth wicket and though they added only 38, it served as the foundation for the rest of the day. Moor fell to the one shot he played away from his body, edging Shoriful Islam at the end of the first hour.Tector and Tucker picked up the tempo with some fine shots. Tucker started with a reverse-swept four off Mehidy Hasan Miraz, before Tector cracked a cover drive off Shoriful. Tucker then played two pulls against Ebadot Hossain, before launching Khaled over midwicket with a flick. Tector’s last boundary was a straight drive before he fell for 56, having struck seven fours and a six in his 159-ball innings.Bangladesh celebrate Peter Moor’s wicket•Walton

Their partnership had lasted 24 overs, and they added 72 at three runs per over. It was the boost that Ireland needed, and McBrine and Tucker took that momentum forward.Ireland scored 106 in the middle session, during which Tucker reached his hundred with a cover drive off Taijul. Tucker finally got out when he drove Ebadot waywardly to cover, where Shoriful let out a huge roar after taking the catch. But Ireland weren’t done yet. McBrine reached his maiden fifty, adding another 31 runs for the eighth wicket with Mark Adair.Even the way the day ended – the ninth-wicket pair of McBrine and Graham Hume batting out the remaining 8.3 overs – will encourage Ireland to have a go at Bangladesh on the fourth day.

Rain threatens crucial RCB vs Gujarat Titans game in Bengaluru

In case there is no play, and Mumbai Indians beat SRH in the day’s first game, RCB will be eliminated

ESPNcricinfo staff21-May-2023The rain that had been forecast for Sunday evening in Bengaluru came down in torrents not long after the toss in Mumbai in the first game of the day, and with at least another shower forecast for later in the evening, around 7pm local time – toss time – the Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Gujarat Titans game could well be affected.The match, which is crucial for RCB, who are in a race with Mumbai Indians for the final spot in the IPL 2023 playoffs, is scheduled to start at 7.30pm, but the M Chinnaswamy Stadium was left drenched roughly three hours before the toss, though the rain did lose some intensity at around 4.30pm.At the time of writing this, the main square is under covers, but there are many large patches of the ground under water.Related

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The Chinnaswamy has the high-quality sub-air drainage system, which has in the past allowed matches to begin quickly after ran has stopped. Even on Saturday evening, teams trained not long after a shower.RCB started the day in fourth place, tied on 14 points with Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai, who are playing bottom-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium. As things stand, if Mumbai win, RCB, who have an edge over Mumbai and Royals on net run rate, have to beat Titans, the table-toppers.

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Here are the scenarios, starting with the possibility of the RCB vs Titans game being washed out.No result in the RCB-Titans game
In this event Mumbai will qualify if they win, otherwise RCB will go through to the playoffs.Mumbai Indians and RCB both win
Both Mumbai and RCB will move to 16 points, but this scenario will be stacked in favour of RCB who have the better NRR of the two. Even if RCB win by the barest margin of one run, Mumbai are required to thrash SRH by at least 79 runs to finish ahead of RCB. Even if Mumbai win by a margin bigger than 79 runs, RCB will have the advantage of knowing exactly what they would need to qualify because they are playing the last game.Only one of Mumbai or RCB win
Whichever team wins, moves to 16 points and makes it to the playoffs. RCB losing to Titans is the best-case scenario for Mumbai to qualify with a win.Both MI and RCB lose
This is the outcome Rajasthan Royals will be hoping for, for it would give them a realistic chance of qualifying. If this happens, all three teams – Mumbai, RCB and Royals – will be tied on 14 points. Mumbai will be knocked out on account of their poor NRR.It will come down to NRR between RCB and Royals and here’s what Royals would need from Titans. If RCB bat first and score 180, Royals need Titans to chase down the target in 19.3 overs or before. If RCB field first and concede 180, Royals need Titans to restrict RCB to 174 or less.If the margins of RCB’s loss are tighter than that, then they will go through with a better NRR.No result in the Mumbai-SRH game
In this event, RCB will qualify if they win, otherwise Mumbai will go through to the playoffs.No result in both matches
RCB will qualify on account of superior NRR.

Essex tighten grip on knock-out berth after overwhelming Middlesex

Lawrence stars after announcement of move to Surrey, alongside Pepper and Sams

ECB Reporters Network18-Jun-2023Three Essex players smashed their highest scores of this year’s Vitality Blast to strengthen the Eagles’ quarter-final prospects as they saw off Middlesex at Lord’s for a fifth consecutive victory.Dan Lawrence – making a first appearance since the announcement of his upcoming move to Surrey – struck 53 from 30 balls before Michael Pepper hit 64 from 34 and Daniel Sams weighed in with a savage 24-ball knock of 67.That enabled the visitors to post 237 for six, overhauling the record Lord’s T20 total set by Kent Spitfires just two days earlier, and they were well on course to defend that when rain brought the game to a premature close.Middlesex, who have now lost all 10 of their South Group fixtures, had reached 116 for two halfway through the 13th over – needing an unlikely 122 more from 45 deliveries.Despite a slow start after losing the toss and being inserted, Essex were into their stride once Lawrence – who dominated the strike in the powerplay – had pummelled successive Tom Helm deliveries for four and six.The 25-year-old was in ruthless mood, striking the ball powerfully and using his feet as he cracked spinner Nathan Fernandes into the pavilion en route to bringing up a half-century from 26 balls.However, Feroze Khushi holed out off Martin Andersson and his opening partner followed suit, steering the same bowler into the hands of point – but Pepper eagerly accepted the baton, unfurling the sweep to dispatch Middlesex’s spinners time and again.He punched Josh de Caires to the cover boundary to equal the scoring rate for Lawrence’s 50 and looked well-placed to convert that into a maiden T20 ton – only to become another Andersson victim when he speared to third man.Paul Walter took advantage of the short boundary on the grandstand side, clearing it twice in his first three balls and Sams proved even more destructive, smashing eight sixes as the pair added 62 from 27 for the fifth wicket.The Australian all-rounder butchered Middlesex’s bowling, taking 20 off four deliveries of the final over from Fernandes before departing to a return catch, but it looked as though the visitors already had more than enough in the bank.Stephen Eskinazi plundered two sixes from Sam Cook’s opening over to get his side’s reply up and running, yet a barren stretch of 28 balls without a boundary left them well behind the required run-rate.Sams uprooted the skipper’s leg stump for 28, but Ryan Higgins took a pugnacious approach by pulling Matt Critchley twice over the short boundary as he shared a second-wicket stand of 70 from 36 with Joe Cracknell.Lawrence came on to break the partnership by having Higgins caught in the deep for 32, with Cracknell undefeated on 36 from 33 when rain halted play midway through the next over.

'I'm used to it now' – Starc willing to take Ashes snubs in his stride

Australia played Scott Boland ahead of him at Edgbaston, but there’s a chance he could feature at Lord’s

Andrew McGlashan26-Jun-2023It’s a sign that a tour is running smoothly when there are very few unknowns about selection for the next match. As with last week, the only question for Australia to answer is around the final make-up of their pace attack with Mitchell Starc waiting in the wings should a change be made at Lord’s.The likeliest route would appear to be that Starc replaces Scott Boland whose treatment by England at Edgbaston was termed a “surprise” by coach Andrew McDonald. However, two days out from the second Test the pitch was reasonably green and, should it remain that way, such a surface could keep Boland in the frame. There is promise of more pace and bounce at Lord’s than what was seen in Birmingham, which wouldn’t disappoint either side.The other scenario that may play out is based on whether the selectors are confident in playing Josh Hazlewood in back-to-back Tests early into his latest comeback. His workload was reasonably light at Edgbaston where he sent down 25 overs and there has been a good gap (of eight days) between matches.Related

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  • Hazlewood looking to play 'at least three' Ashes Tests

  • Will Australia bring in Starc for Boland at Lord's?

There is a reasonable chance that Starc could know his fate by the end of Monday, but either way, it is not a new situation for him when it comes to Ashes tours of England having played just once in 2019.”I’m used to it now coming to England. It’s a squad mentality, much the same as last time,” Starc said. “Been around long enough, been dropped enough. Probably dropped the most in this squad. Not something new to me, won’t be the last time, either. It’s never fun, everyone wants to play.”Starc was part of the Australia side for the World Test Championship final against India earlier this month before missing the cut at Edgbaston, although McDonald acknowledged that with hindsight he could have had a role to play on what was a docile surface.Starc claimed four wickets in the WTC final, including a brute of a lifter to have Virat Kohli caught at slip, but later conceded he had not been able at his best.”I came into that game feeling pretty good, but then my rhythm wasn’t quite there,” Starc said. “It’s been a good couple of weeks of work to get back into that rhythm. We were all better for the run after that Test final at The Oval and I certainly feel less clunky than I did throughout the game.”Hopefully, that results in some good stuff if and when I play. It’s all in good order, it’s just about getting some time in the middle when the time comes.”A look at the green Lord’s pitch a couple of days before the Test•Getty Images

Starc’s Test experience at Lord’s amounts to one game in 2015, when he claimed two wickets in a big Australia win, but he was outstanding at the ground during the 2019 World Cup where he bagged nine scalps in two matches against England and New Zealand.Unlike some visiting bowlers, he has not found the slope that runs across the playing area to be a problem. “It’s probably more visual than anything, I didn’t find it too much of an adjustment because it’s got a slope,” he said.One other element that could come into play, should Starc make the cut for Lord’s, is whether he will take the new ball. In the second innings of the WTC final he was used behind Boland and Pat Cummins. It was only the 13th time in his career that he had not been among the first pair, the previous of which came in his lone appearance in the 2019 Ashes at Old Trafford.”There’s been a few discussions from a few of the guys playing county cricket and the way the Dukes ball is reacting this season, potentially the fact that you get eight to 15 overs into an innings and the ball actually starts to swing then, not when it’s brand new,” Starc said. “There was very little swing at Edgbaston for anyone because of the dryness of the wicket.”