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As Chris Rogers made his first careful steps towards being passed fit for the Birmingham Test with some gentle walks around the Derby outfield, Michael Clarke sought to find his own path to batting form and confidence in the middle

Daniel Brettig in Derby25-Jul-2015
ScorecardMichael Clarke opened the batting in the Australians’ second innings•Getty Images

As Chris Rogers made his first careful steps towards being passed fit for the Birmingham Test with some gentle walks around the Derby outfield, Michael Clarke sought to find his own path to batting form and confidence in the middle.On the lowest key final day of a low key tour match against Derbyshire, Clarke’s innings went a small distance towards helping Australia’s captain find some touch ahead of what shapes as a pivotal third instalment of the Investec Ashes series.His feet appeared more inclined to movement than they have been for some time, particularly after he threw his hands at a delivery from Will Davis that was dropped by the wicketkeeper Harvey Hosein, denying the 19-year-old debutant the prize of taking Clarke’s wicket for the second time in the match.Then 19, Clarke went on to 44 before he and the Derbyshire captain Wayne Madsen agreed to call a halt to proceedings. Aside from centuries for Shaun Marsh and David Warner and more wickets for Mitchell Marsh, the most significant event of the match was Peter Nevill keeping wicket for all 82.3 overs of Derbyshire’s innings without Brad Haddin donning the gloves even once. That call appears to have been made.Derbyshire’s innings spluttered along while losing regular wickets to the touring attack. In another sign of his burgeoning development as a bowler it was Marsh who claimed the finest figures, moving the ball at decent pace to nip out four of the local batsmen. Three arrived in 19 balls during his first spell of the day.Fawad Ahmed claimed a trio of victims with his best bowling display of the tour, gaining sharp spin at times while also finding somewhat more dip than he managed against Kent in Canterbury. Nonetheless it was Fawad who bore the brunt of a bold lower-order attack by Tony Palladino, who clattered four sixes in his 82.Batting a second time for reasons of match practice even though the follow-on was available, the tourists did not let their opponents take a wicket before the early close arrived at 4.50pm. Marsh made another fluent 30 before retiring during the tea break, leaving Adam Voges the chance to spend some time batting alongside Clarke. Both men will be eager for significant runs in Birmingham, having failed thus far to have the kind of impact they would have expected.Rogers, meanwhile, ran drinks and gloves for his team-mates, and will hope that by Sunday morning in Birmingham he will feel ready for a return to something like full training. Edgbaston awaits.

Sunday’s final at the Narendra Modi Stadium is likely to be the most-attended cricket match in India

Shashank Kishore28-May-20222:19

What should be Titans’ bowling plan to Buttler?

Big picture

The stage is set for what is likely to be the most-attended cricket match in India. In white-ball cricket, perhaps only a World Cup final, or an India-Pakistan game at a World Cup, can come closer in terms of the hype and grandeur.Gujarat Titans will be playing in front of their home crowd for the first time in Ahmedabad. Rajasthan Royals, for whom Motera has been a home venue earlier, will be playing their second final. If they can win – or even just play fearlessly as they have so far to make it a spectacle – it would be the perfect tribute to Shane Warne, their first captain, or as they say, “forever the first Royal”, who defied conventional wisdom and cricketing logic to lead them to glory in 2008.The fascinating subplot to this is a contest between two young captains. Sanju Samson is only in his second season into the job; Hardik Pandya is in his first. Where Samson has been an advocate of the firebrand approach he brings, Hardik has shouldered more responsibility with the bat, deviating from his natural style of play for the team’s sake.Related

• A Royals campaign built on the Warne way of playing cricket

• Tactics Board: the powerplay approach, and the toss impact

• Solanki: 'Hardik has a poise that is typical of winners'

• 'Changed mindset against spin' to credit for Miller's IPL success

If Royals possess two of India’s best spinners currently in R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, Titans have legspinning maverick and global superstar Rashid Khan. Royals have six-hitters right through – a marauding Jos Buttler up till Shimron Hetmyer as finisher, with Samson thrown in between.Titans have the ferocity of David Miller, the brazen aggression of Matthew Wade, the calmness of Shubman Gill and the fearlessness of Wriddhiman Saha, for whom this is an opportunity to do one better than in 2014, where his hundred went in vain.Titans have picked the most wickets in the powerplay, one where Royals have tended to go hard. This will make for fascinating viewing. Titans have also been the best death-bowling unit this season. How Royals formulate their batting plans around this could form the crux of the contest.Where Royals have had to come here the hard way, having taken a detour to Qualifier 2, Titans have had the advantage of three days of rest in the build-up to the game. At times, this can be a massive advantage. Royals, who have had a short turnaround time, will be banking on adrenaline to carry them.Over to Narendra Modi Stadium then for one final time after what seems like ages since the season began on March 26. One team playing for their first captain, another playing to make history like their opponents did in their very first season all those years ago. This one should be a cracker.3:36

Aakash Chopra deciphers David Miller’s technique against spin

Previous Meetings

Hardik’s unbeaten 87 and 1 for 18 helped Titans beat Royals in their first meeting. It was a game where Hardik and Miller combined to give them the finishing kick. Royals faltered despite Buttler’s blistering half-century, with none of the others managing a score of 20-plus. They eventually lost by 37 runs.Four nights ago, Titans made it 2-0 when Miller went 6, 6, 6 in the final over to smash the 16 runs they needed. Until then, it had been a close contest that see-sawed. Royals’ 188 was once again set up by Buttler, whose 89 was a knock of two halves. He started well, then came a slowdown against spin before he smashed 50 off 18 balls to give them the finishing kick. Titans once again rode on Hardik and Miller’s knocks to seal a tense win.

Live in the USA

If you’re in the USA, you can watch the match live on ESPN+

Likely XIs

Rajasthan Royals: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Jos Buttler, 3 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 4 Devdutt Padikkal, 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Riyan Parag, 7 R Ashwin, 8 Trent Boult, 9 Obed McCoy, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Prasidh KrishnaGujarat Titans: 1 Shubman Gill, 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 Matthew Wade, 4 Hardik Pandya (capt), 5 David Miller, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 R Sai Kishore, 9 Yash Dayal, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Mohammed Shami4:04

Vikram Solanki: ‘We have an opportunity to do something special’

Strategy punt

• No bowler has dismissed Buttler more than Rashid in T20s – four times overall, three times in the IPL. In eight innings, Buttler has managed just 25 runs at a strike rate of below 60. Buttler’s starts have been contrasting. While batting first, he has struck at 81 in his first ten deliveries. While chasing, his strike rate shoots up to 169 in the same period. It could be worth a gamble bringing Rashid early on against Buttler. In any case, R Sai Kishore’s addition has given them control in the middle. Since his introduction, they have conceded at less than seven in the middle overs. Without him, that rate stood at 8.7.
• One of the reasons for Miller’s success has been his improved spin game. His average of 96 and strike rate of 144 is by far his best. All said, he has been out three times to Ashwin. This could make it a tantalising prospect for Samson to bring Ashwin on immediately with Miller at the crease. While Miller has struck his 85 runs off Ashwin at 116, Royals won’t mind going for those many if it means Ashwin dismisses him again quickly.

Stats that matter

• No batter below No. 3 has scored more than Miller’s 449 runs this season. He has struck them at 142.
• Shami’s 11 wickets are the joint-most by a fast bowler in the powerplay this season. Titans have won 11 out of the 12 games where he has picked up a wicket. Incidentally, the three losses have come when he has gone wicketless.
• Buttler needs 25 runs to surpass David Warner’s tally of 848 runs during Sunrisers Hyderabad’s title-winning season in 2016. Virat Kohli’s record of 973 runs in the same season is likely to remain untouched. Buttler has struck his runs at a strike rate of 153, while averaging 58.9.
• Chahal needs one more wicket to surpass Wanindu Hasaranga’s tally of 26 to win back the purple cap.

Quotes

“At the auction table, we spent 90-95% of our purse on putting together our first XI. We worked hard on data to work on the players we wanted. We put emphasis on experience at the moment. We have a smattering of youngsters who will become stars later, but our first XI has a strong share of seasoned internationals… Wins don’t just happen. It takes a lot of planning, hard work, execution on the field.”
“We have an opportunity to do something special. But, to some extent, what we have achieved so far is something special. I would congratulate everybody that’s been involved in this franchise for what we have achieved so far. There is more for us to achieve – not only this year but as a group going forward as well. This is just the next step for us.”

An ICC plan is being organised to appoint a local advisory board in America to help the USA Cricket Association rectify numerous issues that resulted in suspension on Friday

Peter Della Penna26-Jun-20152:51

‘USACA suspended with immediate effect’ – Richardson

ICC chief executive David Richardson says a plan is being organised to appoint a local advisory board in America to help the USA Cricket Association rectify numerous issues that resulted in having its Associate membership suspended on Friday at the ICC annual conference. Richardson stated that USACA’s “conditions relating to governance, finance and its cricket activities” are of great concern and “must be addressed and remedied in full” before consideration will be given to lifting USACA’s suspension.”We will visit the USA,” Richardson told assembled media at a press conference on Friday in Barbados where USACA’s suspension was announced. “We will set to support the development of a meaningful strategy for USA cricket going forward including through the appointment of a locally based advisory group which we think will be well placed to put USA on track, put a strategy in place to be able to move forward.”Richardson stated that the “unification of stakeholders” was especially important for cricket to move forward in the USA, echoing statements made by ICC head of global development Tim Anderson in a recent interview with ESPNcricinfo. At the moment, Richardson says the rivalry between USACA and the American Cricket Federation has created a divide in the country which is further compounded by the ambivalence of players and leagues not interested in pledging allegiance to either group, choosing to organise activities on their own instead.”Cricket is played in upwards of 80 or 90 leagues in the USA but they are fragmented,” Richardson said. “Some of them are under the USA Cricket Association. Some are under another rival body called the American Cricket Federation. Some are on their own and there is no coordinated effort.”It’s going to be a challenging task but hopefully these efforts will be aimed at unifying everybody and then moving forward with a proper strategy and hopefully we’ll see USA cricket qualifying for major global events. If the UAE and countries like that can get to the events, there’s no reason with the number of cricketers in the US that USA cricket can’t do the same.”Richardson played down suggestions USACA’s problems are bad enough that it would result in expulsion from the ICC. A decision on expelling USACA as an ICC member would not be taken until the 2016 ICC annual conference at the earliest. However, Richardson was optimistic that things can improve with the assistance of the local advisory board – as well as oversight from himself and representatives from the BCCI, ECB, WICB and Cricket Australia – well before next June.”Hopefully we’ll make some significant progress by the October meetings,” Richardson said. “We aim to report back to the board by then. We would have visited the USA and put the advisory group in place and they will be getting on with putting together a strategy and plan that we will hopefully be able to report back by October.”

Second hundred of Blast for Australian, before Josh Cobb takes 5 for 25 with offbreaks

ECB Reporters Network09-Jun-2022Chris Lynn continued his purple patch with another unbeaten century as Northamptonshire Steelbacks cruised past Worcestershire Rapids by 73 runs to climb to second in the Vitality Blast North Group.The Steelbacks opener struck 113 not out from 57 balls, despite batting with a runner for part of his innings, to equal his highest score in T20 cricket and set up Northamptonshire’s third straight victory. It was a second Blast hundred for Lynn, who averages almost 95 in the tournament so far, and his second-wicket stand of 115 from 62 with skipper Josh Cobb laid the foundations for their side’s winning total of 220 for 3 at Wantage Road.Worcestershire, who have now lost six of their seven matches, never looked like getting close and subsided tamely to 147 all out, with Cobb claiming career-best figures of 5 for 25.Rapids handed a T20 debut to Jacques Banton – younger brother of Tom – and also entrusted the left-arm spinner with the new ball, a move that brought instant rewards as Ben Curran reverse-swept his third delivery into the hands of backward point.Aside from two isolated sixes off Dillon Pennington, Lynn looked relatively sedate at the other end and initially it was Cobb, hitting over the leg-side infield, who brought impetus to the Steelbacks’ innings. But Lynn began to get into his stride after the powerplay, with Pennington taking the brunt of the assault as the Australian dispatched two colossal maximums over midwicket to bring up his half-century from 25 balls.Cobb was just two deliveries slower to that landmark – his second successive 50 – but the captain got no further, drilling Dwayne Bravo to long-off, where Moeen Ali stretched to take the catch above his head.Despite being hampered by a niggle that meant Curran returned to act as his runner, Lynn continued unabated, clattering Ed Barnard for three consecutive sixes and advancing to his hundred. The shrewd Bravo, with figures of 2 for 15, was the only bowler to establish any kind of control as Saif Zaib and Jimmy Neesham, with an unbeaten 24 from 11 balls, steered Northamptonshire beyond 200.The visitors immediately sank into trouble when they replied, with Jake Libby patting the second delivery of the innings straight to square leg before Tom Taylor ripped out Moeen’s middle stump. Taylor had Colin Munro caught behind two balls later to leave Worcestershire teetering at 16 for 3, but Jack Haynes launched a brief bid to rescue the situation single-handedly, with some clean hitting producing a string of boundaries.Once Haynes had holed out to long-off for 33, Rapids continued to crumble, with Cobb’s offbreaks accounting for five wickets, including those of Ben Cox and Banton in successive balls.Barnard prolonged the visitors’ resistance with a defiant 42 from 29 before he was the last man to depart, caught by Freddie Heldreich at backward square with 20 balls unused.

Debutant thrashes half-century before Jake Lintott helps turn the screw in Northants chase

ECB Reporters' Network18-Jul-2021Birmingham Bears sealed their spot in the Vitality Blast’s quarter-finals by closing their group campaign with a 14-run victory over Northamptonshire Steelbacks.Their win turned the pressure on Worcestershire Rapids, who failed to defend 169 against Leicestershire Foxes later in the evening. Will Rhodes’s side faced a tense wait but were able to celebrate after Josh Inglis’ run-scoring form continued with his second Blast hundred of the season. It means the Bears will face Yorkshire at Chester-le-Street on August 24.

Vitality Blast quarter-finals

• Yorkshire vs Sussex (Aug 24)

• Nottinghamshire vs Hampshire (Aug 25)

• Somerset vs Lancashire (Aug 26)

• Kent vs Birmingham (Aug 27)

The Bears’ total of 191 for 5 owed much to a dazzling debut from Chris Benjamin. The 22-year-old struck an unbeaten 60 from 34 balls, with seven fours and two sixes, to lead a recovery from 68 for 4.The Steelbacks, qualification hopes long extinct, mustered 177 for 8 in reply. They threatened briefly through Ricardo Vasconcelos, who struck 39 off 33 balls, and Josh Cobb, and Rob Keogh bashed an unbeaten 55 from 33 balls when the cause was lost, but the chase fell away in the face of pressure built by superb spin bowling – 4-0-19-2 – from Jake Lintott.After choosing to bat, the Bears received a brisk start from Adam Hose. The opener was injured embarking on a quick single on 5, resumed with a runner and struck 37 from 28 before skying Graeme White to long-on. Three wickets fell in seven balls as Tom Taylor’s excellent throw punished Kyle Mayers for hesitating at the start of a second run and Freddie Heldreich trapped Sam Hain lbw.That was 68 for 4 but Benjamin, having already had a chance to acclimatise himself as a runner for Hose, started audaciously by reverse-sweeping his first ball for four. That launched a stand off 84 in 52 balls with skipper Will Rhodes, the debutant racing to a 27-ball half-century.Fourteen balls remained when Rhodes lifted Mohammad Nabi to deep midwicket. Those 14 balls produced 39 runs as Carlos Brathwaite celebrated his 33rd birthday with three sixes in a thunderous ten-ball 27.After the Steelbacks lost Ben Curran, lbw to Rob Yates, to the seventh ball, Vasconcelos and Cobb thrashed 65 in 34 balls before Cobb was brilliantly caught by Rhodes at mid-on off Craig Miles.Seven runs from Lintott’s first two overs cranked up the pressure, which told when Vasconcelos top-edged Rhodes to short third man. Lintott removed Taylor and White with successive balls and the Steelbacks’ Blast campaign was laid to rest while the Bears’ attention turned to Leicester.