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Tamil Nadu remain unbeaten and will take on the winner of Baroda vs Punjab in the final

Varun Shetty29-Jan-2021Tamil Nadu beat Rajasthan in the semi-finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for the second season in a row and continued to remain unbeaten this year. In a game of six dropped catches, the runners-up of last year’s edition differentiated themselves with their assured and clinical batting as their experience shone through in a chase of 155. Arun Karthik led the way with an expertly-crafted and unbeaten 89, and sealed the seven-wicket win in the company of captain Dinesh Karthik.Rajasthan start off strong

Rajasthan’s decision to bat against a TN side that has won each of their last six games chasing seemed like a decent one when the game began. Despite losing a wicket in the first over to R Sai Kishore’s left-arm spin, Rajasthan kept the scoring rate high in the powerplay as captain Ashok Menaria and opener Aditya Garhwal picked the right bowlers to target. Those happened to be seamer Aswin Crist, who replaced Sandeep Warrier after the fast bowler was called up to the national team’s nets, and offspinner B Aparajith who came on during the powerplay.But on a slow-ish pitch, Aparajith had the last laugh against Garhwal, who couldn’t get enough power on a slog sweep and holed out to long-on. At the other end, however, Menaria kept the attack going against Crist, whose jitteriness would translate to three fours and a six in four consecutive balls at the hands of Menaria to end the powerplay.No. 4 Arjit Gupta also kept the pressure on Aparajith as TN began to wither under pressure. Shahrukh Khan had dropped a catch in the second over, and there would be two more dropped at long-on by Crist. Rajasthan were 120 for 2 at the end of the 13th over, with Menaria past 50.The comeback
Sai Kishore didn’t come back on till the 12th over, having bowled the first one, and his return was the catalyst for a big comeback in the second half for TN. Having first dried up the boundary options from his end, Sai Kishore managed to get one to rise on Menaria’s pull. Arun Karthik ended a streak of dropped catches by plucking one low after running in from deep midwicket, and it was the signal for a squeeze.Medium-pacer M Mohammed had Mahipal Lomror pick out long-off in the next over, and the scoring rate collapsed from there as Sai Kishore got through his spell. Gupta had held one end up for his 45, but when he fell to M Ashwin in the 18th over, Rajasthan’s innings was already on a rapid decline. No one after No. 4 managed to score at more than run a ball and the innings sputtered and stopped at 154 for 9: a collapse of 7 for 34 in the last seven overs. Mohammed dug into the lower order and finished with 4 for 24.Tamil Nadu’s experts combine
Starting off wasn’t easy for TN as Rajasthan’s trio of left-arm seamers kept it tight. Tanveer Ul-Haq made the first breakthrough, getting C Hari Nishanth lbw with one slanted into him in the third over. Next over, Aniket Choudhary pushed one across after swinging a few in, and Aparajith was taken sharply at first slip by Rajesh Bishnoi with a lunge to his left. At the end of the powerplay, even the then chart-topping batsman N Jagadeesan seemed to be stuck, with the score 35 for 2.But Arun looked in control at the other end, as he looked to deflect and nudge on a sluggish and gripping track with the odd chip, and one stylish pull for six. That kept the score going until Jagadeesan swept Ravi Bishnoi to deep midwicket.At 70 for 3 at the halfway stage, TN still seemed in control with their two most experienced batsmen in the middle. Dinesh was his industrious self and the two started to chip away at the required run rate with expert manoeuvring and calculated boundaries.Arun banked on going inside-out, showed an ability to play the field with reverse-ramps and lap-sweeps, and added another sumptuous front-foot pull for six to his score. As their equation eased, so did Rajasthan’s concentration. By the time the target was breached, they would drop three catches – all off Khaleel Ahmed’s bowling – and miss a run-out chance as well as the two Karthiks saw TN home with an unbroken 89-run stand.

Alex Carey made 99 for South Australia but his was the only innings of note for the home side

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Mar-2021David Warner made a stylish return to action with a thumping 87 off 74 balls in his first outing since the Test series against India in mid-January as New South Wales cantered to victory with more than 20 overs to spare.Having been sidelined by a groin injury which he has said will continue to affect him for some time to come he pummeled the South Australia attack at Adelaide Oval after the home side had been rolled for a significantly under-par total with only Alex Carey’s 99 giving them something to bowl at.Warner was soon into his work as New South Wales raced ahead of the asking rate and brought up his half-century from 46 deliveries. As he and Ollie Davies charged towards the winning post it looked as though it would be a race between the target and Warner’s hundred before he spliced high into the on side looking for another boundary.Related

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Davies, who made a half-century on debut against Victoria last month, unfurled his strokeplay again including three fours in a row off Spencer Johnson in another entertaining innings.South Australia, who collapsed to lose a high-scoring match at the WACA two days ago, made a poor start after batting first with both openers gone inside four overs. The in-form Travis Head started a recovery but when he missed a big drive at Sean Abbott the innings fell away to 6 for 137.Carey played superbly and alongside Corey Kelly carried the Redbacks towards a position where they might have had a late push in the closing overs, but when he edged Liam Hatcher behind one short of his century the last four wickets fell for 14 with 3.3 overs unused.The two sides will meet in the Sheffield Shield starting on Saturday when New South Wales will have Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood available.

Scans revealed a rare stress fracture in his C6 vertebrae meaning an extended period on the sidelines for the legspinner

Alex Malcolm24-Feb-2021Queensland and Australia legspinner Mitchell Swepson looks set to miss the remainder of Australia’s domestic summer after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his neck.Swepson missed Queensland’s Sheffield Shield and Marsh Cup matches against Tasmania after developing neck pain in the back end of the BBL season. Scans revealed he had stress fracture in the C6 vertebrae.Martin Love, former Australia Test batsman and now Queensland’s Sport Science and Medicine Manager, said the injury was extremely rare and would require a very cautious approach in terms of treatment and recovery.”It is certainly not a common injury with spinners for instance, and so while Australian Cricket has a great deal of information about managing stress fractures in fast bowlers, it is not quite as clear cut in Mitch’s case,” Love said.Related

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“We will work closely with Mitch and Cricket Australia to manage his recovery. We are encouraged by the successful returns of many bowlers who have had to deal with back stress fractures during their careers so hopefully, this case proves relatively straightforward.”Fast bowlers have their bowling loads carefully monitored within the Cricket Australia system due to a high prevalence of stress fractures but spinners aren’t monitored as vigilantly.Swepson has delivered over 260 overs in games for Queensland, Brisbane Heat, and Australia this season, which was 30 more than the previous season but nowhere near the 340 he bowled across all three formats in 2018-19.Mitchell Swepson had been enjoying an impressive season•Getty Images

However, he will have bowled a large amount of overs in the nets that went uncounted while with the Australian Test squad for the four-match series against India. He was due to go to South Africa with the Test squad before the tour was postponed.Swepson was shattered to be sidelined, particularly after playing such a huge part in their early-season wins where he took 23 wickets in three games, including three five-wicket hauls to put Queensland on top of the table.”I’m obviously extremely disappointed that I can’t be out there playing for Queensland right now but I’m trying to remain positive and will be doing everything that I can to get some games in towards the end of the season,” he said.Queensland are also set to be without pace bowler Michael Neser for their Sheffield Shield match against Western Australia next week. Neser is still recovering from a hamstring strain but the Bulls are confident he will be ready to face Victoria on March 15.

The ECB is not in a position to provide venues for the games keeping in mind Covid-19 restrictions

Matt Roller09-Apr-2021Ireland’s planned two-match T20I series against Pakistan in England in June has been postponed, with scheduling issues the main reason for the decision.The series was initially pencilled in for 2020, but was postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic, which wiped out all of Ireland’s home fixtures for the season. ESPNcricinfo reported in January that Cricket Ireland was in talks to stage the games in England, with one of Ireland’s international grounds, in Clontarf, still unavailable after the square was relaid.Talks reached an advanced stage, but with Pakistan players due to be involved in both the rescheduled PSL, and then with the World Test Championship final and England women’s international fixtures also due to start in June, there were too many variables for the ECB to confirm the fixtures.Related

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Richard Holdsworth, Cricket Ireland’s performance director, told ESPNcricinfo: “We had agreements drawn up with two grounds but the ECB came back to us and said that they had so many international teams coming into the country already, and that the logistics around bubbles and Covid protocols are such a significant operation that having another two countries in at that time was just too much.”It is a shame, especially in a T20 World Cup year, but we still have three [T20Is] lined up against South Africa in July and against Zimbabwe in August. We’re trying to reschedule the Pakistan ones for a future date at some stage down the line.”Holdsworth also confirmed that Ireland’s away Test in Sri Lanka had been postponed once again, after being pencilled in for December, meaning their period without playing a Test would extend to at least two-and-a-half years.”[The Future Tours Programme] is a real mess now that everyone is trying to reschedule stuff. There’s a stack of overlaps,” Holdsworth said. “When you add in quarantine times, the whole scheduling issue has become a nightmare for everybody. SLC are committed to us still playing that Test before the end of the FTP cycle, but not in December.”

The batter has a grade one strain and will look to return to action next week

ESPNcricinfo staff03-May-2021Ross Taylor has been diagnosed with a grade one calf strain after he limped out of New Zealand’s first training session ahead of their departure for England with a calf injury.*He was batting in the marquee that has been built at the high performance centre in Lincoln to enable the squad to train over the next couple of weeks. An update from NZC on Tuesday said he would remain with the squad for his rehab.”Taylor will to return to batting and running next week before linking up with the Test squad ahead of their departure for England next weekend,” a statement said.Taylor said he had felt the tightness last week as he continued the rehab from the hamstring injury which disrupted the end of his home season but was confident he had time to get right before the England Tests.”Pretty happy with where it is, timing has been really good,” he said. “Would like to be injury free, obviously, but timing-wise it’s not too bad.”New Zealand coach Gary Stead admitted any injuries this close to a tour were a concern. “You are always worried when any injuries happen but someone of Ross’s standing and calibre as a Test player you always have a little bit of a concern,” he told reporters on Monday. “Fingers crossed everything is good and we still have time on our side, but we’ll just have to wait and see what the medical team say.”Related

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The New Zealand squad are due to depart for England in the middle of May ahead of the two-Test series that begins on June 2 to be followed by the World Test Championship final against India in Southampton.Stead hinted that even if there was some doubt over Taylor’s immediate fitness he would likely make the trip. “Ross has a great Test record behind and we want him in our team,” he said.New Zealand are likely to be without their IPL-based Test players – Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson and Mitchell Santner – for at least the first match against England and potentially both given the strict quarantine rules now in place for arrivals from India that require 10 days isolation.They have named an expanded squad of 20 for the two England Tests which will be trimmed to 15 ahead of the WTC final.Devon Conway is in line for a Test debut while the uncapped Rachin Ravindra has also been included. All the players in New Zealand have had their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine and will have their second before leaving.Monday was the start of two training camps they will have prior to departure with conditions created to as closely resemble what they’ll encounter in England as possible.”We’ve got two open wickets, the groundstaff have done an amazing job in getting the facilities up pretty close to what I think English conditions would be like then we have the marquee as well,” Stead said. “We are still a month away from playing England so there’s still four weeks of good, solid preparation so today is the start of that for us.”11.52pm GMT, April 3 – the story was updated with details of Taylor’s injury

Visitors avoid follow-on by one run, then decline chance to chase 150 in 21 overs

ECB Reporters' Network22-May-2021Rain quashed Hampshire’s push for victory against Leicestershire as a match dominated by the weather finished in a draw at the Ageas Bowl.After the start of play was delayed by three hours due to a wet outfield, Leicestershire avoided the follow-on by one run after a last-wicket stand of 30 from Ed Barnes and Alex Evans helped their side limp to 84 all out in response to Hampshire’s first innings score of 233.With 22 overs of the day remaining, James Vince opted during the tea break to forfeit his side’s second innings and dangle the carrot of a 150-run victory target in front of Foxes skipper Colin Ackermann.But the Group Two cellar-dwellers refused to take the bait, blocking out 17 overs for 26 runs, losing only opener Sam Evans, who became Kyle Abbott’s seventh wicket of the match in what was a typically wholehearted and high-class bowling performance.The players shook hands at 6pm with four overs of the day remaining, shortly after a moment of mild controversy when Australia opener Marcus Harris looked to have edged Keith Barker to Liam Dawson at slip, but much to the chagrin of the allrounder it was adjudged not to have carried.Just 80.5 overs were bowled across the first three days before play finally got underway at 2pm with the Foxes resuming on 28 for 5 and needing another 55 runs to make Hampshire bat again.Hampshire, chasing their fourth win of the season, struck in the third over of the day when Abbott had Harry Swindells caught superbly by Dawson for eight. Two further rain delays accounted for 11 more overs but Abbot and Mohammad Abbas, who took 3 for 19, continued to run amok in perfect bowling conditions as the visitors slumped to 54 for 9 when the South African quick ended the admirable resistance of Rishi Patel for 27.Abbott bowled superbly for his 6 for 47 – his third successive five-wicket haul after the 11 he picked in the victory over Middlesex last week.However, the young fast bowling duo of Barnes and Evans dug in manfully as Leicestershire nudged their way past the follow-on target before Lewis McManus took a simple catch when Brad Wheal located the edge of Evans’ bat.

Batter returns from injury to rescue team with half-century after familiar top-order slump

ECB Reporters Network13-Jul-2021Middlesex 324 (Robson 154, Davis 5-66) and 176 for 7 (Eskinazi 53*) lead Leicestershire 228 (Ackermann 82, Inglis 49) by 272 runsStevie Eskinazi made an unexpected return from injury to score a vital half-century and strengthen Middlesex’s hopes of forcing a rare LV= Insurance County Championship victory against Leicestershire.Eskinazi, who had seemed unlikely to play any further part at Merchant Taylors’ School after he pulled up in pain while batting on day one, emerged with a runner to salvage Middlesex’s second innings after they crashed to 17 for 4.The 27-year-old blunted the Leicestershire attack and top-scored with a gritty 53 not out as he and James Harris shared a sixth-wicket partnership of 77, lifting Middlesex to 176 for 7 at stumps – a lead of 272.That leaves the Foxes, who were earlier dismissed for 228, with the prospect of chasing an awkward target on the final day.Resuming on 174 for 5, Leicestershire chipped away at the deficit until the introduction of Daryl Mitchell paid immediate dividends, with both Ben Mike and Callum Parkinson caught behind.Wicketkeeper Robbie White claimed his fourth catch of the innings when Ed Barnes, fuelled by the momentum of last week’s career-best 83 not out against Somerset, misjudged an ambitious pull shot against Harris.Foxes captain Colin Ackermann, having spent almost five and a half hours over his watchful 82, eventually fell to an Ethan Bamber delivery that swung away to hit off stump.The Middlesex seamer finished with 3 for 54 when the diving Joe Cracknell caught last man Will Davis low at first slip – but the home side’s lead of 96 was made to look flimsy as their top order crumbled second time around.Davis added another three wickets to his five from the first innings, while Ackermann completed a trio of slip catches, the best of them at shoulder height to remove Josh de Caires.However, Mitchell and White batted sensibly to repair the damage, adding 38 before the New Zealander was adjudged lbw to Mike despite the hint of an inside edge.White, dropped early on by Davis at third slip, went on to make 34 and looked on course for a potential match-winning knock until he chipped Parkinson to backward square leg just before tea.But Eskinazi, having taken almost half an hour to get off the mark, held firm and joined forces with Harris in a resolute stand that combined patience with good shot selection.Barnes eventually pinned Harris lbw for 26 with an inswinging yorker, but Eskinazi carved the last ball of the day for four to bring up his half-century.

Four defeats in a row for 2019 champions in absence of England stars

ECB Reporters Network26-Jun-2021Sunrisers 133 for 3 (Scrivens 34*) beat Western Storm 129 for 6 (Wraith 36*) by seven wicketsGrace Scrivens top-scored with an unbeaten 34 to guide Sunrisers to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Western Storm in Group B of the Charlotte Edwards Cup at Taunton.Set 130 to win in 20 overs, the visitors reached their target with 14 deliveries to spare to register their first success since their formation in 2019.Put into bat, Storm never fully recovered from the loss of early wickets and had to settle for a below-par 129 for 6, Nat Wraith and Sophie Luff making 36 and 31 respectively. The pick of the Sunrisers bowlers, Sonali Patel claimed 2 for 26, while Katie Wolfe, Kelly Castle and Scrivens all weighed in with a wicket apiece.Defeat was a chastening experience for a Storm side deprived of England stars Heather Knight and Anya Shrubsole, and the 2019 champions have now suffered four straight defeats in all competitions.Former Storm players Naomi Dattani and Alice Macleod gave Sunrisers’ reply the perfect start, adding 39 inside six overs. Both were out driving, Dattani for a 21-ball 22 and Macleod for 13. Building upon the solid foundations afforded them by the openers, the third wicket pair of Scrivens and Mady Villers combined deft placement and quick running between the wickets to stage a crucial stand of 45 in eight overs.Danielle Gibson clean bowled Villiers for 36 with an in-swinging yorker to make Sunrisers think again, but Scrivens then set the tempo in an unbeaten alliance of 38 with Amara Carr, who struck the winning boundary in making 18 not out. Demonstrating a maturity beyond her years, Scrivens made 34 from 35 balls and helped herself to a brace of fours and a six.Storm opened their innings brightly enough, but then succumbed to a clatter of wickets as they were reduced to 49-5 inside 12 overs. Patel was rewarded for bowling a full length when removing Fi Morris and Gibson with successive deliveries in the fifth over. Panic appeared to have set in when Georgia Hennessy was run out in a mix-up with Luff, who sent her back and watched her depart for 18.George and Alex Griffiths then came and went with indecent haste, both dismissed in single figures attempting to play across the line, as Sunrisers took control. Relief for the hosts came in the form of a restorative stand of 42 in 5.2 overs between Luff and Wraith, who found the gaps regularly enough to apply pressure for the first time.Lured onto the front foot, Luff was stumped by Carr when going well, after which Wraith struck a two sixes and shared in an unbroken alliance of 36 with Lauren Parfitt, who contributed 15 not out. Storm finished strongly, but it proved too little too late.

Rest of squad take PCR tests ahead of Thursday’s game against Manchester Originals

Matt Roller09-Aug-2021Two players in Northern Superchargers men’s squad in the Hundred have returned positive lateral flow tests, casting doubts on the viability of their fixture against Manchester Originals on Thursday.The Superchargers squad took PCR tests on Monday after the two unnamed players returned positive lateral flow tests, with results expected to come back late on Monday night.ESPNcricinfo understands that the Superchargers believe they have followed the Hundred’s Covid-19 regulations and are hopeful that they will be able to field a side on Thursday evening, though the team is not expected to comment publicly until Tuesday morning.There were fears that the Hundred would be significantly affected by positive Covid tests after several county cricketers were forced to self-isolate in early July, but only one player – Steven Mullaney – has had to isolate in the competition to date.Three members of Trent Rockets coaching staff, including men’s coach Andy Flower, tested positive in the first week of fixtures, while Shane Warne, London Spirit men’s coach, has also been self-isolating after testing positive.Players and support staff in the tournament have not been subjected to a strict bio-bubble but have been asked to minimise social contact and, for example, to avoid eating indoors at pubs and restaurants.According to the tournament’s playing conditions, if any group game is cancelled, the final table will be decided on a points-per-game basis. The Superchargers are sixth after two wins, three losses and a no-result in their first six games and unlikely to qualify for the knockout stages. The Originals, their opponents on Thursday, are fourth, two points off leaders Trent Rockets with a game in hand.

Seven no-balls from Southern Punjab highlighted the ill-discipline in a bowling attack that never seriously threatened to defend 174

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Oct-2021
An ill-disciplined bowling performance from Southern Punjab saw Balochistan take full advantage, romping home by eight wickets to condemn Sohaib Maqsood’s side to their fifth straight defeat.Southern Punjab got off to the worst possible start, losing three wickets in the first four overs while managing little over a run a ball in that period. A quickfire half-century from Maqsood steadied the innings somewhat, but Umaid Asif and Junaid Khan continued to plug away, removing Hassan Khan and Khushdil Shah, among others, just when they began to look dangerous. Cameos from those two, however, and 25 off 12 from Aamer Yamin at the death helped take Southern Punjab to 174, something that appeared unlikely after the start SP had endured.However, it needed a bowling performance to match if SP were to hold Balochistan off for their first win, and they expressly didn’t get that. Among general sloppiness, there were seven no-balls – five from Dilbar Hussain in two overs that went for 35, and unlike SP’s struggles, Balochistan flew to 57 inside four overs. Abdul Bangalzai and Abdullah Shafique put on 84 for the first wicket, and, in effect, broke the back of the chase there and then. Bangalzai went on to score a half-century, while an unbeaten 35-ball 47 from Haris Sohail ensured SP were frozen out altogether. In the end, Balochistan’s ruthless batting display got them home with eight balls and eight wickets to spare, leaving SP staring elimination in the face.