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Will Beer and Chris Nash took three wickets apiece as Sussex defended 199 to move top of CB40 Group C with an important victory over Warwickshire at Hove

15-Aug-2012
ScorecardWill Beer, seen here against Somerset, was preferred to Monty Panesar and took three wickets•Getty Images

Sussex moved into pole position to qualify for the CB40 semi-finals after leapfrogging Warwickshire at the top of Group C following a 17-run victory.The third-placed Bears were dismissed for 182 in the final over replying to a modest 199 for 9 to leave Sussex needing to beat Yorkshire and Kent to secure their place in the last four. Warwickshire and Kent, however, can still go through if the leaders slip up.Sussex’s spinners were the key to victory; they bowled 21 overs between them on a slow pitch. Mike Yardy set the tone by conceding just 23 runs in his eight overs, before leg spinner Will Beer took centre stage, claiming 3 for 27.Having run out Will Porterfield, Beer starred after being brought into the attack by having Tim Ambrose caught behind and Jim Troughton stumped. He completed his haul when he bowled Darren Maddy off an inside edge.Offspinner Chris Nash had the dangerous Rikki Clarke caught at extra cover and returned in the 38th over to end a threatening 52-run stand between Keith Barker and Steffan Piolet by bowling the former as he tried to clear the leg-side boundary.That left Warwickshire needing 34 off the last three overs, and Nash secured victory in the last when he castled Chris Wright to also finish with 3 for 27.Earlier, Sussex had been indebted to Yardy, who made the only half-century of the match.Wright took three wickets in nine balls – including that of namesake Luke for a golden duck – to reduce Sussex to 34 for 3 in the seventh over. Yardy and Murray Goodwin then put on 62, only for the latter to play on to Jeetan Patel’s quicker ball for 36; Patel also picked up Joe Gatting to finish with 2 for 29.At 125 for 6 in the 27th over, Sussex were in trouble. But Kirk Wernars counter-attacked before Yardy chipped a catch to mid-on, having hit five fours in his 61. Wernars finished unbeaten on 37 and a target of 200 proved beyond a Warwickshire side whose hopes of reaching the last four may have been fatally damaged by two defeats in the space of 48 hours.

“It’s possible that if we try to reduce his rate of scoring, the chances of him making a mistake are higher”

Andrew Fidel Fernando28-Apr-2021Try to get him lbw early. Try to get him out with offspin. And if none of that works, dry up the runs.This, according to captain Dimuth Karunaratne, is Sri Lanka’s plan to dismiss Tamim Iqbal – Bangladesh’s top scorer in the first Test. Although he didn’t score a century, Iqbal’s 90 off 101 helped set Bangladesh on track for their mammoth total, before his 74 not out off 98 in the second dig crushed any hope of a Sri Lanka victory, after the hosts had claimed two quick wickets.Related

• Russell Domingo: 'We have to play to win, and not merely be happy with draws'

• Mominul Haque's Bangladesh chase rare Test series win on the road

• Tamim seeks balance between caution and aggression

Iqbal, in general, has been effective in Sri Lanka. On the last tour, his 82 off 125 balls had seen Bangladesh chase down a tricky target in Colombo, leading to their only Test win over Sri Lanka.”We might have both Dhananjaya de Silva and Ramesh Mendis in the team, so we’d have two offspinners, and in the last few series Tamim hasn’t played offspinners that well,” Karunaratne said ahead of the second Test. “The first five or ten overs, Suranga Lakmal also has a good chance of getting him out. The way Tamim plays, there are lbw opportunities. So we’ve got plans like that. If that doesn’t work, we’ll try to get him into a defensive mode.”In addition to averaging 62.85 in Sri Lanka, Iqbal also has an excellent strike rate of 62.14 on the island. Sri Lanka believe tamping down his scoring rate may mean a lower average too.”Tamim scores quickly and really tries to unsettle the bowlers and put them under pressure. It’s possible that if we try to reduce his rate of scoring, the chances of him making a mistake are higher. In the first Test we tried very hard to get him out, and what happened was that we leaked a lot of runs. In this match we’re planning to close up his big scoring areas and get him to play more defensively. When he attacks more, we do give away a lot of runs, and it’s hard for us to recover.”In the absence of Lasith Embuldeniya (who is injured) and Dilruwan Perera (who failed to meet fitness requirements), however, Sri Lanka’s spin attack does not have substantial menace on paper. Karunaratne hopes his attack is nevertheless capable of taking 20 wickets.”These are the resources that I’ve got as captain. In the past we had Rangana Herath, and also Dilruwan Perera. You can’t expect the same performance you expect from a Herath from a spinner who’s only played a few matches. I think they’ll show what their got, though. As a captain I’m trying to figure out how to get them to perform. What Herath and Dilruwan Perera did – we can’t expect that. But if they can do 70% or 80% of that, that’ll be great. It’ll take the spinners some time.”

Sunrisers unable to get on the board despite fifties for Noami Dattani, Kelly Castle

ECB Reporters' Network12-Jun-2021A half-century by Michaela Kirk and four wickets for Teresa Graves helped Lightning to a second victory in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy as bottom-of-the-table Sunrisers slumped to a fourth defeat from four matches.Naomi Dattani hit 65 and Kelly Castle 52 as Sunrisers posted 206 for 9 after opting to bat first at Loughborough University’s Haslegrave Ground, seamer Graves taking 4 for 39. But Lightning chased down their target with almost 10 overs to spare with South African-born batter Kirk hitting nine boundaries, sharing partnerships of 57 with Sarah Bryce and 47 with Kathryn Bryce.Abbey Freeborn then struck seven fours in a 48-ball 44, her partnership of 51 with Sonia Odedra effectively sealing the win. Freeborn was caught at midwicket with just two still needed before Graves hit the winning boundary.Always ahead of the required rate, Lightning were 47 without loss in the Powerplay. Sarah Bryce was caught at backward point off Castle’s medium pace but she was Lightning’s only casualty in scoring 100 from the first 20 overs.They suffered a double setback when Kirk and Kathryn Bryce fell in consecutive overs to offspinners Katie Midwood and Alice Macleod, Kirk trapped leg before sweeping before Bryce was bowled. But Freeborn and Lucy Higham added 48 for the fourth wicket, bringing the requirement down to 52 from 20 overs, before Higham was lbw to Castle sweeping.Sunrisers were 31 for 3 after their Powerplay overs. Seamer Sophie Munro bowled Grace Scrivens off an inside edge and had Amara Carr well caught by Freeborn at slip, before left-arm spinner Kirstie Gordon took her ninth wicket of the competition so far, trapping Alice Macleod leg before.Lightning captain Kathryn Bryce conceded only seven runs in her first six overs. Once she took a rest, however, runs came more easily as Dattani and Cordelia Griffith added 60 for the fourth wicket before the latter hit straight to mid-on as Graves made the breakthrough.Dattani and Castle put on 87 in 17 overs for the fifth wicket, Dattani completing her half-century off 82 balls with five fours before clearing the rope off Lucy Higham’s offspin for the only six of the innings. But Dattani was bowled attempting to sweep Yvonne Graves’s offspin, sparking a late collapse as Sunrisers lost five wickets for 18 runs in six overs, three of them to Graves.She dismissed Jo Gardner and had Gayatri Gole in the space of three balls before Castle played round one to be leg before, and Bryce picked up a deserved wicket when Freeborn held a good low catch at mid-on to remove Katherine Speed.

The CL T20 rolls on to its third venue, Durban, where two teams that won their first games in Group A will play the opening match of Wednesday’s double-header

The Preview by George Binoy16-Oct-2012

Match facts

October 17, 2012
Start time 1330 local (1130 GMT)Azhar Mahmood has been exceptional with bat and ball for Auckland•Associated Press

Big picture

The Champions League T20 rolls on to its fourth venue, Kingsmead in Durban, where two teams that won their first games in Group A will play the opening match of Wednesday’s double-header. Titans beat the Big Bash League runners-up, Perth Scorchers, while Auckland Aces handed IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders their second defeat. Both victories were comprehensive. The winner of this contest will move to the top of their group.Auckland already have the scalps of three domestic T20 champions – from Pakistan, England and India. They’ll be gunning for South Africa’s.There’s been a pattern to Auckland’s victories – two in the qualifying round and one in the main draw. They bowl first, restrict the opposition to a middling total, and their top order mows it down. The most they’ve conceded is 137, the most wickets they’ve lost during a chase is four, and the longest they’ve taken to complete a chase is 17.4 overs.While all of Auckland’s bowlers have contributed either in terms of economy or wickets, Kyle Mills and Azhar Mahmood have stood out, exploiting the seam and bounce that was on offer in Johannesburg and Cape Town. If conditions are similar in Durban, they will enjoy it. Auckland’s top order – Lou Vincent, Martin Guptill and Mahmood – have got most of the job done in the three games so far, and the middle has been needed only to polish off a chase. Their performances have made the competition sit up and take notice.Titans openers, Jacques Rudolph and Henry Davids, did most of the run-making against Scorchers, scoring half-centuries before a poor finish gave them a total less imposing than what seemed probable. Their bowling, however, was most impressive, containing and cutting through an experienced and power-packed batting line-up. In Alfonso Thomas and Roelof van de Merwe, they have two seasoned T20 professionals, while fast bowler CJ de Villiers gives the attack bite. If they can get through the Auckland top order, that could be half the battle.

Watch out for…

CJ de Villiers was impressive during the first Champions League T20 in 2009, taking six wickets at 12.16 apiece with an economy rate of 6.63 on run-filled pitches in India. He was playing for Eagles then. Now with Titans, de Villiers began the 2012 tournament by taking 3 for 16 in four overs against Scorchers. His wickets came off consecutive deliveries in his first over and were of Shaun Marsh and Marcus North. A tall quick who bowls with high bounce at brisk pace, de Villiers might have had an international cap by now had South Africa’s national team not been awash with bowlers of his kind.Auckland’s top three batsmen have fired in all their games so far so Anaru Kitchen, who bats at No. 4, has only been required to finish off a chase that was already going well. He scored 33 against Sialkot Stallions and 24 against Kolkata and showed a penchant for aggression in those innings. Kitchen is yet to be tested with more responsibility in this tournament and he could be faced with such a situation if Titans get through Auckland’s top order early.

Pitch and conditions

The weather, unfortunately, could spoil this contest. It’s been raining in Durban in the lead-up to this game and more of forecast for Wednesday. Should there be a dry window, however, the pitch could be spicy.

Quotes

“It does swing and seam around a bit in New Zealand as it does here in South Africa and that made the acclimatising easier for us. I’m getting the team off to a good start but hope to do better in the coming games by playing right through the innings.”
“I think this year the competition is much more even. And it is going to be tough getting through to the play-offs; we had a good start in the first game so we hope to get the momentum and finish off well.”

Defending champions CP need another 216 runs to win the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jan-2021Central Punjab made a decent start to the target of 356 as they need another 216 runs to win the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final. Usman Salahuddin and Mohammad Saad were unbeaten at the crease having scored 51 and 27 respectively as CP head into the final day with eight wickets in their hands.The day started with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa resuming from their overnight score of 243 for 5 with a lead of 286 runs. Kamran Ghulam, managed to add 11 more runs to his 104 before departing while Khalid Usman, who was unbeaten on 14, smacked 53 off 73 balls to propel the innings. KP folded for 312 as Waqas Maqsood ripped through the tail, ending with figures of 4 for 77 to add to his 3 for 59 in the first innings.Central Punjab, the defending champions, were off to a cautious start in the chase. The opening partnership was broken in 22nd over by offspinner Sajid Khan – the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 64 scalps – as he sent back Ali Zaryab. Muhammad Akhlaq and Salahuddin then put up a 54-run stand before Arshad Iqbal dismissed the former for 48. Saad then joined Salahuddin at the crease as the duo batted through the final session to take CP to 140 for 2 on day four.

“Even if some parts of my body are not responding, I can really keep going,” says Ashwin about injury fears

Varun Shetty08-Feb-20212:35

R Ashwin: ‘I want to keep bowling as long as I’m bowling well’

The Indian team seems fairly confident about what they’re dealing with on the last day of this Test: they need 381 to win with nine wickets in hand, and going by the reflections of R Ashwin and Ishant Sharma at the end of day four, the possibility of victory is not something they have discounted. Ishant suggested that India’s batting line up could easily scale down the daunting target, while Ashwin – who batted nearly 30 overs in an 80-run stand with Wahsington Sundar – suggested that the pitch would play nicely on the last day.”I think it all depends how we start up tomorrow,” Ishant said in a chat right after the day’s play with Star Sports. “If we get a good start, then I’m sure we can chase this down, because we have a batting line-up who are very fearless. So we are obviously very positive about this, so it’s just about the start, and then we look how we go through the innings.”India have had to play catch-up on all four days of this Test so far, having lost the toss and conceded 578 before they were bowled out for 337 on Monday. Heading into day five on a pitch that has shown some signs of the ball keeping low, Ashwin suggested that India aren’t worried too much about it, particularly about how it might assist James Anderson and Jofra Archer.”I think even in the first innings Jassi [Bumrah] got a couple of lbws,” Ashwin said when it was pointed out that Bumrah got a few deliveries to stay low on Monday. “There are a few things we need to understand when it comes to Jassi’s bowling. The arm path is different to what Anderson and Archer have. And these two [Bumrah and Ishant] are exponents of subcontinent conditions, they’ve been playing cricket in India. So I think it’s a facet of the game that goes unnoticed or unobserved from the outside, which I think might not necessarily happen. We think the wicket will play nicely.”The game seemed to be headed towards trial-by-spin territory by the fourth afternoon•BCCI

India’s famous returns in the recently concluded Australia series included a chase of 407 in Sydney on the last day, which they pursued until injuries forced them to shut shop at 334 for 5, and a successful chase of 328 in the last session in Brisbane. Some of the central figures of those final-day efforts are part of the XI currently taking on England, including Ashwin himself. Whether that fact had anything to do with England’s conservative batting towards the end of their second innings, Ashwin said he wasn’t sure about.”I think the approach was something we probably expected, that they’ll try and put up 430-440 on the board, so we were also trying to manage our roles accordingly,” he said.”I think they had two options in front of them in the morning. They could have asked us to follow on…the only reason I can see [for not doing that], is they wanted to give a bit of a rest to their bowlers, which is a part of the game that sometimes is not very well understood from the outside. So that could have been the thinking in wanting to bat again and give the bowlers rest, because sometimes fresh bowlers can do the trick more than tiring bowlers.”The option to enforce a follow on, with a lead of 241, is something Ashwin and Sundar briefly believed they could completely take out of England’s hands, he said. The two Tamil Nadu batsmen, both playing on their home ground, were well placed to understand this pitch, he said. In what could be a nod to Ishant’s beliefs about this batting line-up, Ashwin also said Sundar is a special batsman.”We actually did believe that we can wipe out the follow on and go on big, because we’ve played on pitches here, both Washi and I, and we sort of understand how it can be slow and we can pick our shots and pick our battles properly. In fact, we had got nicely settled, but I thought the ball bounced a little too much on that particular delivery [the one that dismissed him]. But having grown up playing club cricket in Chennai, playing spin, it’s one facet of the game that anyone coming from this part will do really well.”Washi’s a fantastic batsman. I feel a lot of people going by the T20 format, where he plays No. 7, don’t recognise the batting talent. He’s quite a special batsman.”Ashwin ended the day with his 28th five-wicket haul in Tests, with figures of 6 for 61, and a total of nine wickets in a Test where he has had to bowl 72.4 overs and bat 91 balls so far. Ashwin had missed India’s last Test through an aggravated back injury, but said the mammoth spell in Chennai’s heat and its effects on his body, didn’t occur to him. Bowling all day was a joy, he said.”I’ve seen a few interesting observations on what people think might happen and might not happen,” he said on being asked about his back. “But as a cricketer, that’s the last thing that’ll go through my head. For me, part and parcel of my club cricket days was bowling 35-40 overs in a day and probably going back again to the nets and bowl. When it comes to bowling, it’s the joy I have.”Even if some parts of my body are not responding, I can really keep going. That’s really how much I really love my art. I wouldn’t even go that route and think. My body today morning was pretty fresh and I wanted to come out and bat, so I just want to keep bowling as long as I’m doing it.”

After his devastating 9 for 67 on Thursday, Graham Onions will be have free rein to attack Nottinghamshire again on the final day after Durham established a commanding lead by the end of day three

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge17-Aug-2012
ScorecardMark Stoneman made a century to put Durham in charge at Trent Bridge•Getty Images

After his devastating 9 for 67 on Thursday, Graham Onions will be have free rein to attack Nottinghamshire again on the final day after Durham established a commanding lead by the end of day three, pushing for the win that will almost certainly preserve their place in Division One and make a substantial dent in Nottinghamshire’s chances of claiming a second County Championship title in three seasons.Durham, who were bottom of the table before Phil Mustard stepped down from the captaincy in favour of Paul Collingwood, have hauled themselves out of the relegation places with two wins in a row — during a run of five on the spin in all competitions — and now sense the chance of putting daylight between themselves and the other scrappers.They have a lead of 341 to take into the final day and will not need many more to feel they can declare securely and allow Onions off the leash again. Nottinghamshire, with two large holes in their run-scoring potential where Samit Patel and James Taylor would normally sit, will do well to escape with a draw.Durham built their position of strength on a fine century from their opening batsman, Mark Stoneman, whose six years with the county have not been blessed with enough such days. The left-hander has passed 50 some 19 times in first-class matches but this was only the fourth he has turned into a three-figure score.His career-best 128 against Sussex last August was his first century in the Championship for four years yet he batted in this innings as if it were a routine occurrence. He went to 50 off 90 balls with a four off Luke Fletcher and having proceeded unfussily into the 90s showed no sign of nerves. Indeed, at just the point at which you wondered if he might become a little jittery he produced five scoring shots in a row to move from 90 to 103 against the left-arm spin of Graeme White, the last two of which brought him his 13th and 14th boundaries.Having not given a chance, the sequence of shots that ended with his dismissal soon afterwards made a bizarre contrast. First sweeping White, he was horribly dropped at deep backward square by Alex Hales; then, having taken a single in between, he hooked Ben Phillips and was dropped again by Paul Franks, who let the ball slip through his hands on the rope at long leg, giving Stoneman six. The next ball then shot through at ankle height to have him out leg before.Stoneman lacked substantial support from Durham’s top order. Will Smith, the junior partner in a stand of 62 for the first wicket, edged Fletcher to the wicketkeeper for 15, and Phil Mustard, after a sound start, went for 21, feathering a catch behind in an attempted pull. Dale Benkenstein steered Fletcher straight to gully.Keaton Jennings looked comfortable until falling leg before to Phillips, contributing 31 to a second-wicket partnership of 74. Scott Borthwick was bowled by White for 4, at which point Nottinghamshire had hopes of keeping Durham’s lead below 300 with only four wickets still standing.But Collingwood’s alliance with an impressive Mark Wood late in the day added 61 for the seventh wicket before Wood was caught behind driving at Fletcher. Collingwood finished the day unbeaten on 51 and — unless Onions goes lame overnight — Nottinghamshire are effectively out of the game.As much as they will miss the batsmen on international duty, it is the absence of their injured talisman, Andre Adams, which has cost them heavily. His wicket-taking consistency has been at the centre of Nottinghamshire’s success over the last few seasons and they have no one else who poses a similar threat. At times, compared with the damage Onions was able to inflict, it seemed Fletcher, Phillips and company were bowling on a different strip.

It may frustrate supporters, but Surrey enter this season at the start of another rebuilding process.

George Dobell04-Apr-2013Last year 7th, CC Div 1; Group stages, T20; 2nd Group B, CB402012 in a nutshell: A season overshadowed by tragedy. While it would be an exaggeration to suggest all was progressing well before the death of Tom Maynard – Surrey’s form had been modest – the club faced a desperate struggle to retain equilibrium afterwards. That they retained their Division One status and missed out on a CB40 semi-final by the skin of their teeth might be considered admirable. Amid the shock, few individuals progressed. Surrey utilised 24 players in the Championship alone, seeming unsure who was best at the top of the order and rarely batting with assurance. The bowling of Stuart Meaker, who was not flattered by his figures, was a bright spot but Jacques Rudolph was a disappointment, Steven Davies and Chris Jordan were dropped and Jon Lewis, Jade Dernbach and Chris Tremlett either rarely played or struggled to make an impact. All have strong mitigating factors, but there is no avoiding the fact that 2012 was a dark year in the history of the club.2013 prospects: Surrey look a very different team in 2013. Gone is the old captain, Rory Hamilton-Brown, gone is the mainstay of the batting for a generation, Mark Ramprakash, and gone are several of the bright young things (Maynard, Chris Jordan and Matt Spriegel) who it was hoped would form the spine of the team for years to come. Recognising that more maturity was required in the dressing room, the club brought in Vikram Solanki (37 on April 1) and Gary Keedy (38) to join the likes of Zander de Bruyn (37), Jon Lewis (37) and Gareth Batty (35) as well as big name overseas signings Graeme Smith (32) and Ricky Ponting (38). Some good young players remain: George Edwards and Matt Dunn are among the most promising fast bowlers; Jason Roy and Rory Burns are talented young batsmen and all can be seen as products of the club’s youth system. But the balance between youth and experience has swung sharply. A trophy seems unlikely – the batting looks a bit fragile for that – but decent limited-overs form and the comfortable retention of Division One status should not be beyond them.Key player: While Surrey have other wicketkeeping options in Gary Wilson, Steve Davies could be seen as a barometer of this side. He typifies the Chris Adams regime: recruited on a large salary and amid much expectation, his career has not progressed as some predicted. His talent remains undoubted but Surrey – and their director of cricket, Adams – could do with him producing more to justify the investment they made.Bright young thing: George Edwards, 20, is a strong fast bowler with some ability with the bat. Given sustained fitness and opportunity, he could develop into a top-quality player for club and country.Captain/coach: It was always going to take time to turn things around at The Oval. Just as things were, at long last, improving, the club were thrown into turmoil by the death of Maynard and the team required rebuilding. This is Plan B for Chris Adams. How much time he will be given to get things right this time remains uncertain but the club have backed him to the hilt by bringing in Smith as captain. Such investment is likely to demand a return.Cricinfo’s verdict: It may frustrate supporters, but Surrey enter this season at the start of another rebuilding process. Having lost several of those seen as the future of the club, it may take time for others to settle in their place. How much patience will be shown towards Adams and co. remains to be seen but the squad is deep and experienced and, led by Smith, they will surely prove tougher, more obdurate opposition.

“It will be difficult to win by playing normal cricket with set plans, because of the resources we have”

Mohammad Isam21-Nov-2020Tamim Iqbal says he will have to have “out of the box” plans for Fortune Barishal to do well in the forthcoming Bangabandhu T20 Cup. Head coach Sohel Islam and manager Hasibul Hossain, who were at Barishal’s table during last week’s players draft, started off well by picking Iqbal with their first call but then went on to take a lot of young cricketers who lack T20 credentials.As a result, Barishal, who take on the tournament favourites Gemcon Khulna on November 24, look the weakest as of now. They don’t have enough forceful middle-order batsmen and allrounders; Irfan Sukkur and young Towhid Hridoy have to take care of the middle-order while offspinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz and young legspinner Aminul Islam make up a long-ish tail.Iqbal said they didn’t have a good players’ draft but hoped some of the youngsters will step up in the tournament.”There’s no doubt we have made some mistakes in the draft but cricket is a game of uncertainty,” he said. “Maybe we are not counting some of the players in this team but they can all have a great tournament. Those who are not in the limelight may have to end up doing more for this team. In the President’s Cup, we ended up talking about a couple of players we didn’t think would do well.”To be successful with this squad, we have to play out of the box, by surprising the opponent. It will be difficult to win by playing normal cricket with set plans, because of the resources we have. I believe that anything can happen if one or two of our players can perform really well.”Iqbal, who recently played in the PSL playoffs for the Lahore Qalandars, hinted that he may even have to bat down the order to plug the gaps in the Barishal line-up.”My performance is going to be very important,” he said. “If I lead from the front, if you leave aside my captaincy and I just score runs, it will definitely motivate the team. I may have to play different roles in the tournament. As I said, depending on resources, you have to think differently and act according to the situation.”I am in good touch. I would like to score some more runs. We may not have played a lot of cricket but many of us have been in regular training over the last six months. It is going to be important to start the tournament well. It will give me confidence.”Given the lop-sided experience within the squad, Iqbal said he was relying on the likes of Sukkur, Towhid and Afif Hossain. But at the same time, he is also expecting others to take responsibility.”Irfan had a very good tournament. I am waiting to see how Towhid Hridoy performs in the T20 format but he is a quality player. Afif, Irfan and Towhid will have to play out of their skins. They have to take responsibility, like all the others in the team, to make this a success.”We don’t have any seniors or juniors in this team. I am the only experienced player in the team, but to make it a successful team, everyone has to take responsibility. It doesn’t matter if I have played for 13 years or they have been playing for two years.”

The match had been due to take place in Perth during November

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Sep-2020Cricket Australia has announced the postponement of the inaugural Test against Afghanistan which was originally scheduled to take place in Perth in November due to the complexities of scheduling amid the Covid-19 pandemic.The confirmation that the Test has not survived the restructuring of the season came a few hours after New Zealand Cricket said they would not be touring for the short limited-overs trip at the end of January.Staging cricket in Perth this season has been given an additional challenge by the hard border imposed by the Western Australian government and very strict quarantine restrictions that do not allow training while in isolation.It leaves the visit of India as the single men’s touring team to Australia the coming summer with CA confirming they will play four Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is although the order of the white-ball cricket remains to be confirmed. The Test series is expected to start in Adelaide on December 17.CA said it will look to reschedule both the Afghanistan Test, which was hopeful of finding a home in early December, and the New Zealand visit before the end of the current FTP cycle in 2023. Earlier, the NZC CEO David White said he was hopeful their tour could take place next season.”Cricket Australia looks forward to working with our good friends at the Afghanistan Cricket Board and New Zealand Cricket to deliver the matches at a time when, hopefully, the restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have eased,” Nick Hockley, the Cricket Australia CEO, said.”We all worked incredibly hard to make the series happen this summer, but the challenges around international travel and quarantine restrictions ultimately convinced all parties that the series would need to be played at a later date.”CA looks forward to welcoming the Indian men’s team for a full schedule of matches this summer in what promises to be an incredible contest across all three formats.”CA would also like to take this opportunity to thank our wonderful partners for their understanding and support as we have navigated the complexities of hosting international sport during a pandemic to deliver a thrilling summer across men’s and women’s cricket at international and domestic level.”The WACA said it understood the decision and would continue to work to stage cricket in Perth this season with the hope of getting one of the travelling BBL hubs.”We understand we need to remain agile in this current climate and this decision will not waiver our efforts to bring live cricket to Perth this summer as we continue to work closely with Cricket Australia and both the Australian and WA Government,” WACA CEO Christina Matthews said.”With world-class facilities and the opportunity for cricket fans to attend matches we maintain that WA is well-positioned to host cricket content, including a BBL hub.”