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Bangladesh still trail by 42 runs after their batting struggled again

Associated Press27-Jun-20223:41

Holding lauds Roach’s ‘great achievement’ of 250 Test wickets

Kemar Roach reached the landmark of 250 Test wickets as West Indies dominated the third day of the second test with Bangladesh fighting to avoid an innings defeat.Bangladesh was reduced to 132 for 6 in its second innings at stumps on Sunday and still trailed the hosts by 42 runs at Daren Sammy Stadium.Roach took the first three wickets to finish the day on 3 for 32 in 10 overs and move to 252 wickets in his 73rd test for West Indies. Bangladesh opener
Tamim Iqbal was caught behind to give Roach his 250th wicket.Roach is now the sixth-highest test wicket-taker for West Indies. Another quick, Courtney Walsh, tops that list with 519 wickets in 132 matches.Roach went on to dismiss opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Anamul Haque to leave Bangladesh struggling on 32 for 3.Najmul Hossain Shanto is the top scorer so far for Bangladesh in its innings with a 91-ball 42. He was also caught behind off Alzarri Joseph.West Indies earlier resumed on 340 for 5 – thanks to a chanceless and unbeaten 126 from allrounder Kyle Mayers – and extended its overnight lead of 106 to 174 after being dismissed for 408 in the first innings.Mayers was dismissed by Khaled Ahmed after moving on to 146, caught by Shoriful Islam. Mayers’ innings included 18 fours and two sixes. Khaled took 5 for 106.Play was called off for the day at 5.30 p.m. local time after heavy rain.Bangladesh scored a sub-par 234 in the first innings. West Indies won the first test in Antigua in just over three days, by seven wickets.

Double-century stand with Luke Procter defies Lancashire attack at Old Trafford

Paul Edwards25-Jul-2023Sporting fashion is so contagious that every time a county has departed from cricket’s orthodoxy this season or sought to force the pace in a match, local commentators have sought to label it some variety of England’s current tactics. Lancashire have not been immune from this piffle – Chazball is a current favourite, even though Glen Chapple, their head coach, is about as funky as a saint’s sock-drawer. Nevertheless, even on a day when Northamptonshire enjoyed one of their best days of the Championship season, it should be noted that Jack Morley and Tom Hartley were bowling in tandem at 2.10pm this afternoon.It is rare enough for Lancashire to select two spinners for a first-class game but no one can remember the last time two twisters were operating together half an hour after lunch on the first day, certainly not at Old Trafford. That it should have been so was partly testament to the quality of a Test match wicket that was going to help the twirlers if anyone but today showed little deterioration on its fifth day of use and no ill-effects from 48 hours under cover. Principally, however, it showed how Lancashire’s marquee seamers, Tom Bailey and Will Williams, had been tamed by a slim opener from Bedford, Emilio Gay, whose classically correct strokeplay was to make our day memorable.By the time he was dismissed six overs before the close when attempting a tired drive at a ball from the excellent George Balderson, Gay had made 144, his fourth first-class century and one run short of his career-best. His languid drives between point and mid-on, mixed with secure defence, had also offered some confirmation of a talent that was blighted by a knee injury at the start of the season and then cursed by the worms of uncertainty that can slither into any cricketer’s head when he wonders if and when the next big innings is coming.So the impressive thing about Gay’s hundred today was that his batting reflected none of this self-doubt. Yes, he was to offer one chance, to Keaton Jennings at slip off Jack Morley when he’d made 60, but he took boundaries off both the new-ball bowlers and Balderson early in his innings and came into lunch unbeaten on 35 having played with the sort of care that threw the dismissals of his colleagues into shaming relief. Indeed, Gay had watched as Ricardo Vasconcelos and Justin Broad had both fallen to Balderson when they failed to execute well-chosen attacking strokes. Steven Croft at backward point and Morley at midwicket had gobbled up smart catches and Northamptonshire were 29 for 2. Ten overs later Sam Whiteman was stumped by Phil Salt off Morley when he came down the wicket to a ball that turned inside his drive. That left the visitors on 59 for 3 and we thought a familiar story was about to be told to travelling supporters tired of hearing the bloody tale.Instead, though, Gay was joined by his skipper, Luke Procter, who once plied his trade in these parts and has often reminded his old muckers of a talent they probably underestimated.True, Procter’s crouching stance at the wicket still recalls that of the ancient Private Godfrey in “The Test”, a cricket-themed episode of , and of course, Northamptonshire’s 35-year-old captain is becoming something of a veteran himself. Yet when his moons align, he remains a mightily effective cricketer, coming down the wicket to the spinners and transforming himself from an arthritic pensioner into a model of orthodoxyPerhaps more significantly here, however, he gave Gay precisely the sort of encouragement the 23-year-old needed as he progressed beyond fifty towards the century he would eventually dedicate to his recently deceased and much beloved Uncle Gladstone. The pair had put on 207 by the time Procter was pinned on the back foot for 75 by Will Williams, whose aggression and economy have been one of the features of a Lancashire season that has not been whelmed in triumph.All the same, elements of Gay and Procter’s achievement are unlikely to have prompted street parties in Wellingborough or Brackley. For example, this was only Northamptonshire’s third century partnership of the season and the pair’s achievement in batting through from lunch till tea gave the county their first wicketless session since May 2022. Jennings’ bowlers, meanwhile, can reflect that they allowed Northamptonshire to collect only their second and third batting bonus points of their year. But at least one more venerable and certainly more respectable landmark was reached. Gay and Procter’s 207-run stand is their county’s highest for the fourth wicket against Lancashire, beating the unbroken 158 put on by Mushtaq Mohammed and Jim Watts at Liverpool in 1972.But if this was an indifferent day for Lancashire’s cricketers, even less could be said for the county club or “Lancashire cricket” as some officials crassly like to compress it. All gates near the Metro station on Brian Statham Way were closed this morning, parking was limited and non-members were expected to sit square of the wicket, although this resulted in a group of splendidly stubborn souls invading A Stand and letting the devil take the consequences. Not for the first time, Lancashire’s arrangements for a first-class match at Emirates Old Trafford had been made with the Operations Team thinking what they could get away with rather than what supporters might reasonably require. An Ashes Test is a prized honour west of the Pennines but if the consequence of holding one is not giving a toss about the faithful folk who turn up through fat years and lean ones, loyal Lancastrians are entitled to be a tad thankful Australia will not play here again until 2031.

Captain hints at changes after blaming batters for decisive failure on first day of Test

Firdose Moonda27-Aug-2022Dean Elgar has indicated South Africa will have to make “a few tough decisions” about their batting line-up ahead of the series-deciding third Test against England, after two sub-200 totals cost them dearly at Old Trafford.South Africa were shot out for 151 and 179 to lose by an innings and 85 runs, and Elgar laid the blame squarely on his batters, after he won the toss and chose to bat first in overcast, seamer-friendly conditions.”First-innings runs stabilise your game,” Elgar said. “If you score 300-plus, you are giving yourself the best chance to compete and get a result in your favour. We were half of that. I really didn’t think we batted particularly well. Sure, the ball went around but this is Test cricket, man, you need to to deal with it.South Africa were reduced to 77 for 5 by lunch on the first day and lost two wickets in three overs before the break, which Elgar believes started the spiral from which they could not recover.”If we were three-down at lunch – 80-odd for three – we’d have been in a pretty good position and I think I would have bitten my arm off for that result,” he said. “But we were five-down and you are always going to be playing catch-up cricket with regards to that. The wicket did deteriorate like we thought it would. The first innings let us down quite a bit.”The last two wickets of that collapse were Aiden Markram, who top-edged a pull off Ben Stokes, and Rassie van der Dussen, who was out lbw despite a big stride to defend a delivery that nipped back in.Both batters were under scrutiny going into this match, with averages of 12.6 and 25.9 respectively since the start of last year’s tour to West Indies, and both are likely to be replaced for the next Test. Van der Dussen is out of that match after fracturing his finger at Old Trafford, while Ryan Rickelton and Khaya Zondo are in reserve and allrounder Wiaan Mulder has been called up to the squad.Related

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“A few tough decisions will be coming our way,” Elgar said. “With Rassie ruled out, we have to replace him. That’s a definite. Whether that’s the only one we will make … we’ve got a few days. We’ve got nearly two weeks. We’ll go away and get our options and try and get better combinations.”The bottom line is we need runs from that middle order and that is letting us down quite a bit, to be frank and bold and honest. That’s the truth. As much as guys don’t want to hear it, they know that already. But for now, Rassie’s position has to be filled. Whether that’s the only spot, we are not sure just yet.”Selection is a hot-button topic in the South African team after they picked two specialist spinners for Old Trafford, despite their quartet of quicks bowling England out twice for under 200 at Lord’s.In anticipation of a dry pitch, South Africa picked Simon Harmer, who has had success on the county circuit with Essex and against Bangladesh earlier in the year, and left out their only left-armer, Marco Jansen.Elgar explained the decision was based on experience. “Marco is the least experienced player or bowler in the four-pronged pace attack. Lungi [Ngidi] gives us the control and stability, Anrich [Nortje] has got raw pace and he has got a few of the English batters’ numbers and KG [Rabada] is the full package. We thought Jansen was the obvious choice. It was just on inexperience.”That was the same reason he gave pre-series for starting with Markram and van der Dussen, selections which were in keeping with his approach of delivering consistent messages. Elgar said that messaging, unlike the starting XI, won’t change.”I won’t change my way or my approach, that has been pretty sound and unique,” he said. “If I do that now, I will be doing myself an injustice and I will be letting the team down. The guys enjoy the honesty. They understand where they stand with me and it creates an honest platform among the other players.”I will have a few days off now and go back to the drawing board and dissect and have a look at where we could have been better. We’ll sit down and have those chats again. It’s an adult environment. I don’t want to treat a guy like a school kid. That’s not my way. I wouldn’t have liked that when I was a younger player but we will definitely have a few chats.”The teams have an 11-day gap between Tests, and South Africa have not yet revealed their plans. With the Oval Test beginning on September 8, they had a pre-planned break between these matches, which will still go ahead, but Elgar also wants to use the opportunity to remind the squad of their greater purpose, without adding any pressure on them.”Sometimes you can go into panic mode when things like this happen,” he said. “Myself and the coach are not guys to panic. We are still a good side. Sometimes time away from the game is not a bad thing. We will use that period for a bit of connection again within the group.”Let’s pull ourselves towards ourselves and don’t forget why we are here: we are here to win a Test series and we are in a great position to still win a Test series. We’ll clear our minds, let the dust settle and focus on the third Test. It’s set up to be a serious series. I can’t wait for that third Test to start.”

Ngidi took 5 for 42 as Australia were bowled out for 193, with Inglis making 87 after South Africa were set up by half-centuries from Breetzke and Stubbs

Firdose Moonda22-Aug-2025

Lungi Ngidi added to his excellent record against Australia with 5 for 42•Getty Images

South Africa completed a fifth successive bilateral ODI series win over Australia, dating back to 2016, and this one, with a game to spare. Their 84-run victory in the second match followed a similar pattern to their triumph on Tuesday which was set up by a strong batting effort that was well defended under lights.Half-centuries from Matthew Breetzke and Tristan Stubbs, who also shared in an 89-run fourth wicket stand, took South Africa to a competitive total on 277, with Breetzke becoming the first player in men’s ODI history to pass 50 in his first four ODI matches. Nandre Burger and Lungi Ngidi then led the way in defence. Ngidi was player of the match with 5 for 42, his second five-for in ODIs and second against Australia.Australia have now lost their last three bilateral ODI series and will be concerned about a lack of contributions from their line-up. As was the case in match one, there was only one individual score of note, this time Josh Inglis’ 87.Related

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South Africa’s performance, while trophy-winning, was far from flawless. After a good start, they faded away with the bat and lost 5 for 44 in the last 10 overs and dropped three catches, to add to a growing tour tally. Stubbs, who scored his first fifty 16 international innings across all formats, put down two and has grassed six across the five matches in Australia so far.Still, South Africa will be pleased with their performance in the field which came with regular captain Temba Bavuma being rested for workload management and senior seamer Kagiso Rabada out of the series with an ankle injury. In Rabada’s absence, Burger and particularly Ngidi stepped up.Burger bowled with good pace to start proceedings and had early success. In the third over the chase, Travis Head tried to loft him over mid-on and was caught by a backpedalling Aiden Markram. Seven balls later, Ngidi offered Marnus Labuschagne some width, Labuschagne drove hard and edged to Ryan Rickelton. Australia were 7 for 2 in the fourth over, and things could have got a lot worse.Lungi Ngidi had Marnus Labuschagne caught behind•Getty Images

Cameron Green edged Ngidi’s next ball to Stubbs at second slip but he could not keep his hands on the ball. Three overs after that, Mitchell Marsh, on 13, drove Burger to Stubbs in the covers and he dropped another. Luckily for Stubbs only the first would prove somewhat costly. Marsh added five more runs before he pulled Wiaan Mulder to Corbin Bosch at mid-on and left Australia 39 for 3 after the first 10 overs.Markram brought himself on in the 18th over and Inglis took a liking to him. He reverse-swept the second ball over backward point, and then played one of the shots of the match when he danced down the track to lift Markram over cover for six. Markram took himself off and brought Mulder back and the move should have paid off when Inglis, on 42, chipped Mulder to cover where Tony de Zorzi spilled the chance.There was some relief for South Africa when Green was caught by Senuran Muthusamy in his follow-through to end Australia’s best partnership on 67 but Inglis continued to pose a threat. He top-edged Mulder short of deep third and then pulled and cut him for back-to-back fours and his fifty came off 46 balls. What Inglis lacked was someone to stay with him.Alex Carey flayed Burger to backward point where Dewald Brevis took a good catch. Inglis responded by taking 19 runs off Keshav Maharaj’s next two overs to enter the 18s. But it was all Ngidi from there.He deceived Aaron Hardie into popping a slower ball back to him and then took a low return catch. He also accounted for Inglis, who made room for himself on the drive but bottom-edged to Rickelton, and then had Xavier Bartlett caught at mid-on. Ngidi’s fifth came in the 38th over when Adam Zampa skied him to mid-on and Australia were bowled out with more than 12 overs remaining in their innings.Matthew Breetzke pulls behind square•AFP/Getty Images

That made South Africa’s batting effort, which Breetzke initially thought was 20 runs short, appear far above-par against a well-resourced Australian attack. Australia made use of seven bowlers, including three spinners. Between them, Zampa, Head and Labuschagne bowled 17 overs for 94 runs and took five wickets. Nathan Ellis was the standout seamer, with 2 for 46, and Xavier Bartlett did a good job upfront in the absence of Ben Dwarshuis, who was rested.Playing in his third ODI, Bartlett opened the bowling and enjoyed early success. Markram chipped him to midwicket for a fourth-ball duck before Rickelton was caught behind in his third over.Breetzke announced himself when he took on Hardie, with a four down the ground and two sixes flicked over fine leg in a signature show of his strength on the leg side. At the other end, de Zorzi also showed off his stroke-play with clean straight hits and a couple of cracking square drives.Breetzke and de Zorzi demonstrated some excellent, proactive run-scoring but also rode their luck. Breetzke charged Bartlett and top-edged a bouncer over Inglis while de Zorzi pulled a half-volley just short of midwicket. Their partnership had grown to 67 when de Zorzi gifted Zampa a simple return catch off a leading edge.Breetzke and Stubbs went five overs without scoring a boundary, during which time Breetzke brought up a 46-ball fifty, and it allowed Stubbs to settle. His confidence grew when flicked a Zampa googly over midwicket for six as South Africa targeted spin. Breetzke swept and pulled Zampa for successive fours and Stubbs reverse-swept Head.Xavier Bartlett made early inroads on his return to the side•Getty Images

Marsh brought Ellis back at the halfway stage and it worked. Breetzke, who had pulled well throughout the innings, could not control one off Ellis that found Carey at deep square leg. Breetzke remains ODI cricket’s best performing batting newcomer scoring more runs than any other player in history across four matches from debut.Stubbs brought up his fifty with a single off Labuschagne and found a good finishing partner in Mulder, albeit he could have been out for 3. Mulder pulled Labuschagne to Marsh at midwicket but the captain put it down. In the next over, Labuschagne dropped Mulder on 5.Stubbs and Mulder put on 48 together and took South Africa to 233 for 5 with 10 overs to go but neither finished the job. Mulder was the first to go when he slog swept Labuschagne to Green at long-on. Muthusamy sent a full toss to Hardie at deep midwicket. Stubbs skied Zampa to midwicket and Burger holed out to long-off where Green completed his fourth catch of the innings, equalling the most outfield catches for Australia in ODIs.But that won’t be the statistic that grabs the headlines. For the first time since 2009, Australia had lost four consecutive ODIs at home, having been bowled out in four consecutive home ODIs for just the second time in history and for the first time without passing 200 in any of them. They have also lost seven of their last eight ODIs in total.

Ashleigh Gardner named new vice-captain after Rana’s elevation to captaincy

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2023Laura Wolvaardt has been signed up by Gujarat Giants as replacement for the injured Beth Mooney for the remainder of the Women’s Premier League. Wolvaardt, who was in Pakistan playing in the PCB’s Women’s League exhibition matches, has been released by her team Super Women, and her compatriot Sune Luus has replaced her for the tournament.As for the leadership at the Giants set-up in the WPL, original vice-captain Sneh Rana has been elevated to captain while Australia allrounder Ashleigh Gardner is the new vice-captain.Mooney, the designated captain at Giants, suffered a calf injury during their tournament opener against Mumbai Indians. Giants were chasing Mumbai’s 207 for 5, and in the first over of the chase, Mooney appeared to hurt her knee when stopping and turning around while trying to steal a run. She retired hurt straightaway, and Giants lost the match by a massive 143 runs after they were bowled out for 64. Mooney hasn’t played since, though she has been spotted with her colleagues at subsequent Giants matches. She later returned to training but was advised rest of 4-6 weeks.”I was really looking forward to the maiden WPL season with the Adani Gujarat Giants. But unfortunately, injuries are part and parcel of the sport and I am gutted to be missing the remainder of the season,” Mooney said via a statement. “I, however, will be keeping a close eye on the team’s performance from afar and will be rooting for them every single day. And though I will be away from the field of play for the rest of the season, I am looking forward to coming back stronger, fitter and I will definitely be hungrier next season. For now, I wish the Adani Gujarat Giants squad all the very best for the rest of the WPL season.”A first-time captain at a high level, Mooney was picked up at the WPL auction last month for INR 2 crore (US$ 244,000 approx.), in a side with many Australians. Ashleigh Gardner, Georgia Wareham and Annabel Sutherland are all part of the squad.Having come into the WPL after scoring 74 not out in 53 balls in Australia’s win over South Africa in the T20 World Cup final, Mooney was expected to be the frontperson of the Giants batting, a role Wolvaardt, who had gone unsold at the player auction, might well have to play now.At the Women’s League, Wolvaardt was in good form in her only appearance, scoring 53 not out in 36 balls as Super Women beat Amazons by eight wickets in the first game of the tournament.”I want to thank the PCB for this opportunity to play in the Women’s League exhibition matches. It has been an incredible short journey, but I have loved the experience. The team has been amazing and I have felt so welcoming,” Wolvaardt said in a statement released by the PCB on Wednesday. “I wish both sides the best of luck with rest of the series. I am sure both sides will strive hard and they will do well and learn a lot from the experience they will get from the matches.”I cannot wait to return to Pakistan in September with South Africa’s national women’s team and learning more about this amazing country.”Luus recently led South Africa to the final of the T20 World Cup after being appointed captain once Dane van Niekerk, the regular captain, failed a fitness test and was left out of the squad.

Best-known for his dedication to collating and preserving the records of players who were otherwise unrecognised in segregated South Africa

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2022Krish Reddy, the pre-eminent record-keeper of black and non-racial cricket in South Africa, has died. Reddy was involved in the game as a player, administrator, selector and historian, and was best-known for his dedication to collating and preserving the records of players who were otherwise unrecognised in segregated South Africa, and for telling their stories. Reddy succumbed to heart failure. He was 77.In 1999, Reddy published a book, , an anthology of black cricket in Natal. He also co-authored , a book published in 2002 on the struggles of cricketers of colour in KwaZulu-Natal. His numbers on Basil D’Oliveira in black cricket in South Africa were included in the appendix to Peter Oborne’s book, . He was also part of the panel of 100 players, writers, umpires, historians and other watchers of the game from around the world who selected Wisden’s five cricketers of the century.Reddy also served on the executive board of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Cricket Union, and worked as a selector in the region.KZN Cricket president, Yunus Bobat, paid tribute to Reddy, saying: “This is a great loss for KZN and a sad day for the South Africa cricket fraternity. We will always appreciate and honour the unwavering passion Krish showed to uplift our beautiful game.”

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.

Alex Lees, Michael Jones score half-centuries while Graham Clark hits six sixes in 47 off 52

ECB Reporters Network06-Apr-2023New coach Ryan Campbell has pledged that his Durham team would adopt a front-foot approach in the LV= Insurance County Championship and there was early evidence of their intent against Sussex. On a placid pitch at the 1st Central County Ground in Hove, they rattled along at five throughout an absorbing day after being put into bat, closing on 352 for 7 from 70 overs.Michael Jones and Alex Lees laid the foundations with 142 for the first wicket when play began at 1.30pm after morning rain. And although Sussex fought back with seven wickets after tea, Durham maintained their aggressive approach, not least when Ollie Robinson, on his debut following his winter move from Kent, and Graham Clark smashed 61 in eight overs for the fifth wicket.How Sussex could have done with their own Ollie Robinson leading the attack. Instead, Sean Hunt and Henry Crocombe, who took 33 wickets between them last season, shared the new ball and neither they nor the other four bowlers new captain Cheteshwar Pujara had employed by the 22nd over could make much headway against Lees and Jones.Lees may realise that his only way back into the England Test team will be through a more aggressive approach and he needed just 55 balls to bring up his half-century with a pull off Crocombe that brought him a ninth boundary. Jones was a bit more cautious, taking 90 balls for his fifty.So it was a surprise when left-armer George Garton, in his first Championship appearance since last May, found a gap between bat and pad to bowl Lees for 79 in the 29th over. There was little respite for the Sussex attack though, as 6ft 7in Championship debutant Ben McKinney shaped up well. The 18-year-old left-hander, who captained England Under-19s during the winter, found the boundary with his first three scoring shots before hoisting Hunt over long-on for six to bring up the 200 in the 40th over.McKinney (35) was foxed by Crocombe’s slower ball, which he drove to mid-off, and Durham lost their third wicket when David Bedingham was beaten by a lovely away-swinger from Australian Nathan McAndrew, who was making his Sussex debut.Jones had provided the ballast in the innings until he mistimed a pull off Crocombe and spliced a catch to Jack Carson, running round from midwicket, having hit 14 fours in a shade under four hours.Sussex tails were up, but Robinson and Clark counter-attacked with some eye-catching blows. Clark got off the mark by hooking Garton for six before depositing him onto the pavilion roof two balls later. Robinson uppercut Crocombe for six in the next over before Clark took two more sixes off Garton in his next over.Garton, still finding his way back with the red ball after two injury-ravaged seasons, was withdrawn and it proved a shrewd move by Pujara. Offspinner Carson did not get a lot of turn, but he did offer control and broke the stand with a low return catch off Robinson’s firmly-struck on drive.No one epitomised Durham’s approach more than Clark, who hit six sixes in his 47 before McAndrew, Sussex’s most effective seamer, returned down the slope and found enough late inswing to pin him lbw and then had Jonathan Bushnell caught on the boundary to claim his third wicket.Even Brydon Carse, who has only hit ten sixes in his first-class career, cleared the ropes before close, one of ten sixes in the innings so far.

Injury-ravaged WA hope to overcome the loss of Cameron Bancroft while a settled Tasmania side are buoyed by their recent results at the WACA

Tristan Lavalette20-Mar-20241:21

Inglis: Finding it easier now to move between formats

As Western Australia captain Sam Whiteman stepped up for the media conference on Wednesday ahead of the Sheffield Shield final, he undoubtedly knew the barrage of questions headed his way.A bombshell broke late on Tuesday that WA opener Cameron Bancroft was ruled out of the final against Tasmania after a bike accident left him concussed. It continued a season of adversity for WA, who are striving for their first hat-trick of titles since the late 1980s.Not even the iconic WA team of the 1990s, filled with a slew of players who ended up being Test greats, managed the feat. Only Victoria from 2015-17 have won three in a row during the past 20 years.Related

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• Wade to retire from first-class cricket after Sheffield Shield final

It’s obviously something rare and very difficult to achieve as WA can attest to in an injury-hit season. Frontline quicks Jhye Richardson, Lance Morris and Matt Kelly have only played five Shield matches between them and none of them will be available for the final.Having rejuvenated his red-ball career with a century in last season’s final, Ashton Turner has not been available since knee surgery in December.Cameron Green played only two matches, while Mitchell Marsh did not feature in domestic cricket at all this season given his heavy international workload across the formats.WA have often looked worn down and below their best – echoes of Perth Scorchers’ disappointing BBL season – but they found a way to overcome the obstacles and finished the season in peak form with a mishmash of players, unexpectedly clinching a home final with a victory over Victoria at the Junction Oval last week.Jordan Silk and Sam Whiteman pose with the Sheffield Shield trophy at King’s Park in Perth•Getty Images

“It’s been a challenge to get to this year’s final. Last year was pretty much in a straight line, but this year it’s been do or die the last three weeks,” Whiteman said on Wednesday.There’s a gag going around social media that a WA second XI might be the next-best team in the Shield. Of course, that can never be proven, but WA’s depth of talent and their fringe players stepping in seamlessly have them on the cusp of another title.”We’ve used 22 players this year, and I think every one of those players has done their role for the team,” Whiteman said. “You need to get a whole squad to win a Shield. I think that’s the strength of this group.”While WA broke a 23-year title drought in 2022, a triumph here would be the “most satisfying” for Whiteman, who is on the brink of becoming a three-time Shield-winning captain. WA would also become the first team to win a hat-trick of titles in the Shield and Marsh Cup concurrently.”If we get the job done this week, it’s something we can look back on and be really proud of, ” he said. “Leaves a really strong legacy for this group.”Before the media conference started at King’s Park, a popular place for tourists to take photos of Perth’s picturesque surroundings, the burly Shield trophy was already in position for the cameras. Those walking by barely gave it a second glance apart from a person purportedly the relative of a former Test player, who wandered by to take a photo of the trophy.Amid a cool morning breeze, a nod to the changing of seasons in Perth, it was a reminder that the final will be played in relative anonymity in the AFL-mad city.But in Tasmania interest in the match should be high as the Tigers look to end an 11-year drought. George Bailey and Ricky Ponting were their talismen the last time they lifted the trophy, but their star with the bat was Jordan Silk, who as a 20-year-old frustrated Queensland with 108 off 358 balls as Tasmania secured the draw needed at home to clinch their third title.James Faulkner, George Bailey and Ricky Ponting were playing the last time Tasmania won the Sheffield Shield•Getty Images

“I just reflected on it myself. It was really special,” said Silk, who is the only member of that XI playing in this final. “I was really only in the team for a couple of weeks and found myself winning.”So it certainly means a lot more if we win this week because of the journey that I’ve been on and also for a lot of our guys who have been around for quite a while.”With few international players in their squad, Tasmania have enjoyed continuity and were in the box seat of a home final until a final-round slip-up against South Australia at Bellerive Oval.It seemed a costly defeat, with Tasmania faced with the daunting task of the long journey to Perth and confronting WA, who have only lost three matches at the WACA since the start of 2021-22.But one of those defeats was to Tasmania, who also drew a high-scoring match earlier this season on an uncharacteristically flat WACA surface. The pitch in the final is expected to be bowler-friendly although perhaps not as spicy as seen at the WACA since that Tasmania match in October.”We’re really confident in our ability at the moment. I think we’ve strung together a really solid first-class season. The guys should take belief out of that,” Silk said. “We’ve beaten teams on the road this year, and we’ve got a good record in Perth, so we take a lot of confidence from that.”Tasmania will also have the added motivation of Matthew Wade’s red-ball retirement, while they might be able to ride the wave of a sports frenzy bubbling away in the island state. The JackJumpers, their basketball team, are in the NBL grand final while Tasmania’s first AFL team was launched earlier in the week.”It’s been a really good week for Tassie sports,” Silk said. “Hopefully we can add a little bit to that this week. That will be really special.”

“Just the ability to be together, the connections that you make with your older child, it’s amazing.”

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Mar-20242:11

Moody: Kohli showed all his gears

Virat Kohli, after his match-winning 77 against Punjab Kings at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, opened up about his two-month break when his wife Anushka Sharma gave birth to their second child. Kohli missed India’s home Test series against England as he and his family spent time away from the country.”We were not in the country. We were at a place where people were not recognising us. Just time together as a family, just to feel normal for two months,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony. “For me, for us as a family, it was a surreal experience.”Of course, having two kids, things become totally different from a family perspective. So just the ability to be together, the connections that you make with your older child, it’s amazing.”I mean, I couldn’t have been more grateful to God for the opportunity that I got to spend time with my family.”Kohli spoke about how he enjoyed not being treated like a celebrity.”And yeah, just the place that we were in, I was telling the guys that when we came back, the voices back home felt that much louder,” he said. “I couldn’t look up because I was just not used to being called my name for two months. And then immediately you hear these loud noises and then you’re back in it all again.”But it was beautiful. It’s an amazing experience to just be another person on the road and not be recognised and just carry on about life that normally people would on a daily basis,” he said.Kohli also spoke about the love he gets from the RCB fans, especially in Bengaluru, having played for the franchise since the inception of the IPL.”It’s been going on for years and you know, people talk about a lot of other things when you play sport. The achievements, the stats, the numbers. Look at the end of the day when you look back you’re not going to think of the numbers and the stats. It’s the memories that you create,” Kohli said, before citing the Indian team head coach Rahul Dravid. “Famously Rahul in the change room nowadays says exactly the same to us. When you play, you play your heart out because you’re going to miss these times when you’re with your friends in the change room playing in front of fans.”So the relationship that’s happened organically over so many years it’s something that I can never ever forget. Just the love and the appreciation and the backing I’ve received for so many years that’s been amazing.”Kohli, however, knows that he has to make changes to his game to keep up with the ever-evolving nature of T20 cricket.”Well I mean you have to [make additions to your game],” he said while speaking about stepping out to fast bowlers and hitting them over cover, as opposed to playing the grounded cover drive that he is so famous for.”People know I play the cover drive pretty well so they’re not going to allow me to hit gaps and with guys like KG [Kagiso Rabada] and Arshdeep [Singh] as well, he’s tall. So, I mean, if they’re hitting length, you have to create some momentum in the ball.”And once you’re closer to the ball, you kind of negate the bounce that’s going to happen. You meet it earlier.”So, I mean, you have to come up with a game plan here and there and try to keep improving your game,” Kohli said, before issuing a friendly reminder.”I know my name is nowadays quite attached to just promoting the game in many parts of the world when it comes to T20 cricket. But, I’ve still got it, I guess.”