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Alastair Cook, England’s one-day international captain, believes he could adapt to a return to the Twenty20 international side if he was named captain for the two matches against West Indies

Andrew McGlashan13-Sep-2011Alastair Cook, England’s one-day international captain, believes he could adapt to the Twenty20 format were he to return to the international side as captain for the two matches against West Indies next week after Stuart Broad was ruled out.Broad suffered a shoulder injury during the fourth ODI against India at Lord’s, and will also miss the one-day leg of the India tour although there is hope we will be fit to resume his Twenty20 captaincy for the one-off game in Kolkata on October 29. However, before then, England are left with a tricky decision as to how to fill his vacancy because Eoin Morgan, Broad’s vice-captain, is out of action until January with his own shoulder problem.There are a couple of left-field options England could consider, such as Graeme Swann or Kevin Pietersen, which would make it five captains in a season, or they could extend Cook’s remit from his ODI role where he has had a successful summer with series victories against Sri Lanka and India.Cook’s only T20 captaincy experience came against South Africa, in Centurion, in 2009, which was his first match in charge of England. He looked lost in the field as Graeme Smith and Loots Bosman added 170 for the first wicket to set up a crushing 84-run victory for the hosts. However, Cook has had the chance to expand his leadership skills in the last 18 months, firstly captaining the tour to Bangladesh then being named the one-day captain.There have also been signs during the season that Cook has expanded his game in 50-over cricket, suggesting that he could have another crack at Twenty20 where he currently has four international caps.”It’s another step out of my comfort zone, a lot more hard work,” Cook said after being named the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year on Monday evening. “But I’ve scored runs for Essex in Twenty20, and if I get the chance to play Twenty20 [for England] I hope I can show that again. I’ve always said I want to play all three formats of the game.”Test cricket obviously comes a bit more naturally to me, and suits my style of game. In the last two years I’ve really worked hard to develop my range of shots, and it’s worked – and I think there’s huge potential still to come as those shots become more and more natural.”The problem with handing Cook the role is that it would be disruptive to the top order. Against India, at Old Trafford, England opened with Craig Kieswetter and Alex Hales so Cook would have to take the position of one of those players. Andy Flower had hoped to use the matches against West Indies – a late addition to the schedule due to TV commitments – as the first stage in planning the defence of the World Twenty20 title, in Sri Lanka next September, but without Morgan and Broad he is missing two key elements.”Obviously it’s very disappointing for Stuart to miss out,” Cook added. “It’s gutting for him, but it gives another person a chance to captain England. The selectors will make that decision. It’s not whether you’d like the job, it’s whether you’re honoured enough to be given it.”

Round-up of the thirteenth day’s action in the Karnataka Premier League

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-2010Bangalore Provident (Rural) eased to a seven-wicket win against Belagavi Panthers at the Chinnaswamy Stadium to book their place in the KPL semi-final. The Panthers, asked to bat, could only muster 113 as left-arm spinner Arjun Shetty grabbed four wickets to make Provident’s task easier. Wicketkeeper Vinayak Uthappa made a run-a-ball 27 and offspinner Akshay chipped in with 20 but their effort was inadequate. Provident, in their reply, lost a couple of early wickets but Amit Verma (34) and Sunil Kumar Jain (51*) steadied the ship in a 82-run stand and victory was achieved with 3.2 overs to spare.Bangalore Brigadiers (Urban) earned a consolation win against Bijapur Bulls at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, beating them by 49 runs. Openers Syed Ibrez and Deepak Chougule added 91 for the first wicket in just 10.3 overs, laying a strong platform. Nikhil Kashyap then stepped up at the death, smashing 34 off 14 balls to propel Brigadiers to 184. The Bulls faltered at the start of their chase, losing their openers early. Stuart Binny tried hard to keep them in the hunt with a quickfire 44 which included four fours and three sixes. But once he fell in the 13th over with the score on 120, the innings fell apart. The Bulls were bowled out for 135. Left-arm medium-pacer TK Ananth and left-arm spinner Narayanan Vinu Prasad grabbed three wickets each.Shamanoor Davangere Diamonds topped the KPL table with a six-wicket win over Mysore Maharajas at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Chethan William, the Mysore captain, top scored with 37 but was short of support from the rest. The Diamonds bowlers, in a collective effort, managed to restrict Mysore to 122. In their reply, the Diamonds were boosted by a strong start by the openers. Mayank Agarwal made 27 in a first-wicket stand of 49 and Pavan Deshpande anchored the chase with a run-a-bal 51 to see his team through with eight balls to spare.

Jos Buttler, meanwhile, says England’s players are “very saddened” by the situation in Afghanistan

Danyal Rasool25-Feb-20251:56

Shahidi and Buttler discuss women’s rights situation in Afghanistan

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi has voiced his support for Afghanistan’s women to play cricket, but reiterated that the situation was something “we cannot control”. Speaking ahead of Afghanistan’s training session before they face England in Lahore in the Champions Trophy on Wednesday, Shahidi said the focus for his side remained on what happened “inside the ground”.”Everyone likes to see everyone play,” Shahidi said. “When it comes to politics and those things which we cannot control, we are only cricket players, we can control things in the ground.”The issue was thrust into sharper focus because of who Afghanistan are playing. In the weeks building up to this game, more than 160 politicians in the UK called on the ECB to boycott the fixture against Afghanistan in protest against the Taliban government refusing to allow women to play cricket in the country. The UK prime minister Keir Starmer called on the ICC to “enforce their own rules”, but the ECB ultimately rejected calls to boycott the fixture.Related

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Shahidi, though, stressed that his focus, and that of the men’s team, remained on their upcoming fixture. “We are sportspersons. We control what we can do inside the ground and we can’t worry about what’s happening out of the ground. We play hard, we work hard, we have good net sessions. So that’s what we’re thinking of.”His somewhat guarded statement of support lined up with other high-profile Afghan cricketers who have spoken up in support of women’s rights in Afghanistan. Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi were most outspoken late last year when they reacted to women being banned from training as doctors.Jos Buttler, England’s captain, said that his team was “very saddened” by the situation faced by women and girls in Afghanistan, which the ECB has described as “gender apartheid” when confirming earlier this month that the game will go ahead .”I’ve taken a lot of advice from lots of experts,” Buttler said. “Credit to Rob Key and the ECB. They have been very good at supporting me and all the players, and giving us information and education around this, and making it an ECB decision.”We’re very saddened at the plight of women and girls in Afghanistan at the moment, and the struggles they are facing. But we hope that the game tomorrow can be a source of hope and enjoyment in what is obviously a tough time at the moment. We’re very excited about the match. Sport has a great power to unite people and give hope, and that’s what we hope this game will do.”Shahidi: “We play hard, we work hard, we have good net sessions. So that’s what we’re thinking of”•ICC/Getty Images

Earlier on Tuesday, Afghanistan head coach and former England batter Jonathan Trott told the BBC that the men’s cricketers knew what was happening was “not correct”.”These guys are brave,” he said. “They know the difference between right and wrong. It is a real tricky situation for them. They know who they are playing for and representing. We work hard to bring joy to the country and the guys are passionate, brave and proud of being able to do that, but knowing full well that there are things that are not correct.”The game between Afghanistan and England is virtually a knockout game, with defeat for either side leaving them on the brink of exit. Afghanistan lost their opening game to South Africa, while England were defeated by Australia. Shahidi acknowledged chasing totals was not Afghanistan’s most obvious route to victory, but also suggested the pitch in Karachi did not assist spin bowling at all.”When we bat first, that gives us more of a chance,” he said. “But at the same time, we beat teams in the last World Cup also, batting second. But in the South Africa game, I think that the wicket was little bit more supportive for fast bowling and when our spinners were bowling, there was no support for them. I didn’t even see one ball turning.”We didn’t play well, especially in batting we didn’t start well. At the same time, it’s not an excuse but the world knows that we have good spinners. I didn’t see any support there, but hopefully we have some support in tomorrow’s game for our spinners.”The last time these two sides played in an ODI, Afghanistan beat England by 69 runs in Delhi at the 2023 World Cup, when their spinners shared eight wickets.2.15pm GMT – This story was updated to include Jos Buttler’s quotes.

India are unlikely to bring the allrounder back until the final group game against Netherlands on November 12

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Nov-2023India allrounder Hardik Pandya is set to miss two more matches at the World Cup, against Sri Lanka and South Africa, as he continues to recover from an ankle injury he suffered against Bangladesh. Pandya has not played a match since October 19, and ESPNcricinfo understands that India are unlikely to rush him back till at least the final game of the league stages, against Netherlands on November 12.”Whatever procedure he went through after the injury, it was very positive,” Rohit Sharma said on Wednesday. “He is obviously not available for tomorrow’s match. But it is an injury that we have to see every day how much percent he has recovered, how much he is bowling, how much he is batting. So we are monitoring it on a day-to-day basis. The way it’s going, hopefully we’ll get to see him as soon as possible. That’s all I can say for now.”Pandya had injured himself when he appeared to twist his left ankle while trying to stop a shot in his follow-through. He played no further part in that match, and was taken for scans. The injury ruled Pandya out of India’s next match, against New Zealand in Dharamsala, and though the allrounder was expected to join the team directly in Lucknow in time for the October 29 game against England, he was forced to sit that game out as well due to a ligament injury.Pandya has since been undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, and is expected to take his time with the recovery. To make up for his all-round skills, India played Suryakumar Yadav, and replaced Shardul Thakur with Mohammed Shami against New Zealand. Suryakumar was run-out for 2, but Shami, playing his first match of this World Cup, picked up a five-for to help India restrict New Zealand to under 300.India then had little trouble seeing off England as well, eventually cruising to a 100-run win. After the England match, India’s bowling coach Paras Mhambrey had said that the medical team was in constant touch with Pandya and the NCA, and that they were hoping to get an update on his fitness in the “next couple of days”.India are currently on top of the points table, and the only unbeaten side in the tournament, with six wins from as many matches. They are next to play Sri Lanka, in Mumbai on November 2, before heading to Kolkata for the game against South Africa. India will then round off the league stages by taking on Netherlands in Bengaluru.

Pakistan captain praises his opener for showing his “class and temperament” in “difficult conditions”

Umar Farooq20-Jul-2022Pakistan captain Babar Azam believes Abdullah Shafique is capable of becoming “one of the best” players in the world. Babar praised the opener for showing “class and temperament” in “difficult conditions” during the Galle Test. Babar also rated his own hundred in the first innings as “one of the best” because it came on a difficult surface.Shafique, playing just in his sixth Test, scored an unbeaten 160 in the fourth innings to help Pakistan chase down 342, the highest successful chase by any team in Galle, in the first Test against Sri Lanka. He batted for 542 minutes, the longest a player has during a successful chase in Tests. Having made his debut less than nine months ago, he has scored 720 runs in eleven innings at an average of 80.00, with two centuries and four half-centuries.Related

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“As a youngster, when you make your case, you have to perform in different and difficult conditions,” Babar said. “He [Shafique] showed his class, temperament, and how confident he is. Batting against quality bowling is going to boost his confidence. The way he plays is so clean, and how he remained focused makes it quite evident that there are many more [hundreds] to come. Though it’s just six matches and it’s too early to say that [he is the best opener in the world right now] but as a player, I think and hope that he can become one of the best.”The contest remained evenly poised for the first three days but Pakistan batters turned it around on day four, patiently getting through many moments of nervousness. Shafique and Babar’s strong stand left them with just 120 to get on the final day with seven wickets remaining, and the former stayed till the end to guide his team home.By doing so, Pakistan laid the ghosts of 2009, when they had lost their last eight wickets in 46 runs in a chase of 168 at this venue. Babar said Pakistan had prepared well ahead of this series to handle Galle’s spin-friendly conditions.”We basically planned and prepared to keep the pitch conditions in mind because at Galle, we know the spinner gets help,” Babar said. “With the game going deep in the later stage, when it gets rough, the ball carries more turns and bounces. So this is exactly what we had in mind while preparing. Hence, we have the result in our hands.”Pakistan were 112 for 8 at one stage in the first innings but Babar stitched crucial partnerships with Hasan Ali and Naseem Shah for the last two wickets to take the side within touching distance of Sri Lanka’s first-innings total. Babar called his knock of 119 a “special” innings and said it required “double concentration” to bat with the tail.”It’s kind of special, you can say, because the team needed me [at that point]. Scoring in difficult conditions, and achieving something from it, takes your confidence and satisfaction to a different level. One of the best, you can say, because it was different: wickets were down, batting with tailenders… you required double concentration with them at another end. You have to guide them and have to watch out for yourself as well. Then the field is open and you have to find scoring options. So in all this, you have had to plan and execute all around. So I am very happy with it.”While the Pakistan seamers, especially Shaheen Shah Afridi, found success in the first innings, it was the spinners who took control of Sri Lanka’s second innings, bowling 74 of the 100 overs. While Babar backed the fast-bowling unit, he did say the team management would decide the combination for the next Test, which starts on July 24 at the same venue, only after assessing the conditions.”Pakistan has produced fast bowlers and won games even on flats tracks but we will sit before the next match and decide what combination we should go with. Every match you play, it does have its good and bad [parts] and you obviously want to enhance the good ones, and work on your mistakes and improve [the bad ones].”

Ross Taylor had a mixed tournament and Colin de Grandhomme returned to action but didn’t bowl

Deivarayan Muthu14-Feb-2021The Super Smash, New Zealand’s premier T20 competition ended on Saturday, with Michael Bracewell’s Wellington Firebirds successfully defending their title against the Canterbury Kings in front of a packed home crowd at the Basin Reserve. ESPNcricinfo looks back at the major talking points from the tournament.Wellington’s near-flawless title run
After having scrapped to the title in 2019-20, the Firebirds thoroughly dominated this season, securing their fourth domestic T20 crown and second on the bounce at the Basin Reserve.They launched the season by hunting down 177 against the Auckland Aces on Christmas Eve and simply powered on, with the loss against the Kings in the league phase being the only blemish in their otherwise flawless run.Related

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The Firebirds ran into the Kings again in the final, but Devon Conway, who had watched the season opener from the grass banks after being rested, made a sublime 93 not out off 63 balls to close it out. After having topped the domestic run-scoring charts across formats last season, Conway finished second, behind his opening partner Finn Allen, in this season’s Super Smash.Seamers Hamish Bennett and Logan van Beek led the way with the ball for the Firebirds, claiming 13 wickets apiece at economy rates of under eight per over. Allrounder Jimmy Neesham underwent surgery midway through the season for a compound dislocation on his finger, but he returned with a triple-strike against the Aces in the lead-up to the final.Van Beek also torched the tournament with his scarcely believable one-handed outfield catch to dismiss the Northern Knights’ Brett Hampton.