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Batting feat follows five-wicket haul for 18-year-old allrounder

ECB Reporters Network29-Sep-2022Rehan Ahmed scored a superb maiden century to save Leicestershire from defeat in the LV=Insurance County Championship match against Derbyshire at Derby.The England Under-19 allrounder decorated the last day of the season at the Incora County Ground with a breathtaking 122 off 113 balls to provide a memorable finale to a miserable season for Division Two’s bottom club.It was also a record-breaking performance as he became the first Leicestershire player to score his first hundred and take his maiden five-wicket haul in the same match. The 18-year-old was well supported by Lewis Hill who scored 60 off 157 balls and shared a fourth wicket stand of 163 in 35 overs with Ahmed.Harry Swindells, with 48, and Tom Scriven, (30), added a further 70 and although Sam Conners celebrated his county cap by taking his 50th Championship wicket for the summer, Leicestershire were 86 ahead at 405 for 7 when rain consigned the game to a draw with 20 overs remaining.Derbyshire probably sensed the chance of an early finish when Ben Aitchison struck in the fourth over of the morning. Sam Evans had driven the fast bowler square to the boundary but the next ball drew him into playing and Wayne Madsen held a low catch at second slip.Leicestershire’s top order had collapsed in the first innings but Ahmed joined Hill to provide another impressive demonstration of his talent.After a frenetic start, Ahmed settled in to bat with controlled aggression, playing shots all around the wicket to reach a brilliant hundred. An upper-cut for six off Aitchison was one of the memorable shots in a maiden fifty which came off 60 balls and he needed only 39 more to reach three figures.There were no signs of nerves as he waltzed down the pitch after lunch to deposit Leus du Plooy’s left-arm spin over the long-off boundary and he dished out the same treatment to off-spinner Alex Thomson. Another six off Thomson took him to 99 and the next ball he drove through the covers for his 12th four to reach three figures in only his third first-class match.Ahmed is now in the distinguished company of former England allrounder Phillip DeFreitas who was the last Leicestershire player to score a century and take five wickets in an innings in the same game, in 2003 against Sussex at Grace Road.It was the first time it has been done in a first-class game between the two counties at Derby since Derbyshire’s Garnet Lee made an unbeaten 107 and took 5 for 31 in 1928.Ahmed drove Thomson for a fifth six but in the next over he skied a slog-sweep at du Plooy and Luis Reece ran in to take the catch at mid-on.Hill had played a valuable supporting role but he fell to the second new ball when he tried to cut Aitchison and was caught at first slip.Conners beat the bat numerous times before he struck twice in consecutive overs, having Scriven caught behind pulling before Swindells dabbed the fast bowler into the gloves of Brooke Guest. But the light was fading before rain swept in just after 4.30pm with Derbyshire finishing fifth in Division Two while Leicestershire end the season without a Championship victory.

Yadav has to undergo a fitness assessment before linking up with his team-mates

Shashank Kishore17-Feb-2021Umesh Yadav has been drafted into India’s Test squad for the Ahmedabad leg of the England series, replacing Shardul Thakur, who has been released to play for Mumbai in the domestic 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy. Yadav, who will undergo a fitness assessment at the NCA before linking up with the Virat Kohli-led squad, is returning to competitive cricket after recovering from the calf injury he picked up during the Boxing Day Test against Australia.If cleared, Yadav will join the fast-bowling group comprising Ishant Sharma, who is one short of 100 Test appearances, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Meanwhile, Shubman Gill’s presence in the squad might serve as an indication that the forearm injury that didn’t allow him to take the field on the fourth day of the second Test isn’t too serious. As such, India have a stand-by in the form of Mayank Agarwal, who is the third opener. And KL Rahul, who was drafted in for the second Test as a batting reserve, has retained his place.Two members in India’s squad – Bumrah and Axar Patel – could potentially feature in front of their home supporters at the revamped Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera. A third Gujarat cricketer, Priyank Panchal, who was part of the reserves, has been released to play in the domestic 50-over competition alongside fellow opener Abhimanyu Easwaran, left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem and Thakur. Quicks Sandeep Warrier, Avesh Khan and Ankit Rajpoot, and spin twins K Gowtham and Saurabh Kumar now complete the net-bowlers’ contingent, while wicketkeeper KS Bharat and legspinner Rahul Chahar are stand-bys.Hardik Pandya, who hasn’t played Tests since September 2018, is slowly progressing to bowling at full tilt after recovering from a shoulder surgery, which has forced him play much of his cricket in recent times as a specialist batsman.The four-Test series is currently tied at 1-1 after two games, both in Chennai. England won the first Test by 227 runs, and India bounced back to win the second by 317 runs.The result of the next two Tests are of great significance not just for the ongoing series, but the race to take on New Zealand in the final of the inaugural World Test Championship at Lord’s in June. Both the teams are trying to get past Australia’s points percentage of 69.17. India need to win the series, by any margin, so a win and a draw (or two wins) serve them fine. The loss in the second Test, meanwhile, has hurt England, because they can only make the final if they won both the remaining Tests. Australia are in with a shot too – they would be hoping England don’t win both the remaining Tests; a 1-1 or 2-2 draw or a 2-1 England win work great for them.The third Test of the ongoing series, a pink-ball affair, will start on February 24, and the final one on March 4.

Australia do not have any T20s on their schedule until next August

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-20223:40

Glenn Maxwell: Every time we were one wicket too many down to go hard

Aaron Finch won’t rush into a decision over his international future following Australia’s exit from the T20 World Cup, instead giving himself a chance to see how this season’s BBL goes.Having retired from ODIs in September, there are no international commitments for Finch until next August when Australia have T20s in South Africa. The next T20 World Cup is in West Indies and the USA in mid-2024 when Finch will be 37.”No, I’m not going to retire. Not just yet,” Finch told as he arrived back at Melbourne airport on Sunday. “I’ll play Big Bash and see where we sit after that, but I’m still enjoying playing cricket, playing T20.”It still feels unlikely that Finch will pad up again for Australia and if that’s the case he will finish with 3120 T20I runs at 34.28 and a strike-rate of 142.53 including a top score 172. He continued to struggle for form at the World Cup with a painful innings against Sri Lanka, but rebounded somewhat with 63 off 44 balls against Ireland in what may have been his last international innings after a hamstring injury keeping him out of the Afghanistan game.Related

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“There’s not another international T20 until August, so there’s quite a long break,” he said. “Still plenty of time to be able to weigh all that up. It’s been a pretty good ride regardless of what happens.”Finch’s BBL season with Melbourne Renegades will start on December 15 against Brisbane Heat.Speaking earlier in the day, head coach Andrew McDonald did not preempt any decision from Finch but noted that once conversations about retirement start that’s often the way they play out.”Any time that you, I suppose, start to think about it then the end will be one day closer, there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “I think the Big Bash will probably determine his future – how he goes there, his performances, how his body is holding up.Is it the end? Aaron Finch won’t be making that call just yet•ICC via Getty Images

“His body has failed him here in terms of a hamstring strain that put him out of the World Cup…the next game is not until August next year so that gives him a lot of time to repair if he is willing to go on.”If not, then I am sure that over the next couple of weeks he will have a think about that and call it a little bit similarly to what he did in the one-day international scene.”McDonald, who took over as head coach from Justin Langer earlier this year, offered no excuses for Australia’s Super 12s exit of their home tournament.”We have only got ourselves to really blame,” he said, while forecasting personnel changes ahead of the next T20 World Cup. “We will go through what that looks like in terms of building towards the next World Cup”There will be some natural turnover because of the gap and space and also the age profile of the team. So there will be some people that get some opportunities, albeit next August when we play T20 again.”Australia’s next international action is a three-match ODI series against England which starts four days after the World Cup final. McDonald hinted that the early end to their tournament could mean a stronger-than-expected squad will be named. Pat Cummins was announced as the new ODI captain last month although he is not expected to feature in every series.

In front of a sold out crowd in Dambulla, Sri Lanka edged a rollercoaster first T20I against Afghanistan, winning by four runs

Madushka Balasuriya17-Feb-2024In front of a sold out crowd in Dambulla, Sri Lanka edged a rollercoaster first T20I against Afghanistan, winning by four runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.Binura Fernando – who had been taken for 38 runs in three overs up until then – came up trump in the end, defending 11 runs in the final over. At the other end was Ibrahim Zadran – having batted through the innings – unbeaten on a 55-ball 67, but having fallen agonisingly short.But it was Matheesha Pathirana who turned the game in the hosts favour, bowling an exceptional penultimate over where he grabbed two wickets for just three runs, as he ended with figures of 4 for 24.Sri Lanka had earlier been put into bat, and had been bowled out for 160 – much of which was down to Wanindu Hasaranga’s outstanding counterpunch innings of 67 off 32. Afghanistan though had picked up a cluster of wickets either side of Hasaranga’s knock to keep Sri Lanka to a par total.For much of Afghanistan’s chase the game had looked in hand, particularly with Ibrahim at the crease, but Sri Lanka’s bowlers led by Pathirana did well to grab wickets at crucial junctures and nip in at the death.

Action packed powerplay

All the talk across the ODIs had been the nature of the wickets, with the batting friendly tracks delivered in Pallekele widely lauded. The question then was, would Dambulla – hosting its first men’s international in five years – follow suit? Well, while Afghanistan opted to bowl, choosing to first see how to wicket played before taking a crack, Sri Lanka were tasked with gauging it on the fly.The question didn’t take long to answer as Sri Lanka got off to a flyer, crashing a healthy 51 runs in the powerplay. The only hitch was they lost three wickets in the process, as Afghanistan had expertly preyed on Sri Lanka’s newfound aggression. Pathum Nissanka edged through flaying at a wide one, Kusal Mendis got a leading edge on an attempted scoop down to third man and Dhananjaya de Silva pulled one straight to deep square leg.Three became four shortly after when Asalanka sought to pull a long hop down leg, but only managed to feather an edge to the keeper. Midway through the eighth over Sri Lanka were suddenly 55 for 4.

Wow-nindu’s floating counter

With Sri Lanka at very real risk of throwing away a promising start, skipper Hasaranga took it upon himself to promote himself up the order ahead of both Angelo Mathews and Dasun Shanaka.The role of Hasaranga as a floating pinch-hitter had first been explored in last year’s LPL with devastating results, but the question now was could he translate it to the international stage? An injury prior to last year’s World Cup meant the answer to that had to wait a little a longer, but here he was finally able to showcase his batting chops.In a blitzkrieg knock, Hasaranga ransacked 67 off just 32 deliveries. His partnership with Sadeera Samarawickrama worth 72 came off 40 balls, with the latter accounting for just 18 of those. By the time Hasaranga was dismissed in the 16th over, he had taken Sri Lanka to 146 for 6.Matheesha Pathirana celebrates one of his four wickets•AFP/Getty Images

Afghanistan strike back and start fast

Fazalhaq Farooqi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Naveen-Ul-Haq and Karim Janat, each with their variations in pace and length proved too good for the Lankan lower order and tail to get away.Despite both Angelo Mathews and Dasun Shanaka around to launch at the death, Afghanistan made sure that Sri Lanka didn’t even complete their 20 overs in the end. The final four wickets added just 14 runs – Mathews and Shanaka accounting for 12 of those – as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 160.Then with the bat they began with a bang. The trick often to completing middling chases is in making use of the powerplay, and in this respect Afghanistan followed the script to a tee. Aside from the first over, the remaining five in the powerplay saw at least one boundary scored.With Ibrahim taking the lead they eventually razed 57 runs in the opening six overs for the loss of just one wicket.

Sri Lanka chip away

Hasaranga had spoken before the game about Sri Lanka’s impressive bowling stocks and here he utilised them to their fullest extent. Having initially brought himself on inside the powerplay – an uncharacteristic move but one warranted owing to Afghanistan’s fast start – he struck in his second over, sneaking a googly through Gulbadin Naib’s leg side hack.Pathirana’s introduction in the next over saw another fall, before Dasun Shanaka and his clever variations in pace grabbed two in the space of three balls two overs later. Just like that Afghanistan were 86 for 5

Pathirana comes through clutch

But in keeping with the theme of the game, the drama wasn’t done yet. Ibrahim and Karim Janat’s stand of 39 off 28 took the game down to the wire, and with 36 need from 24 with five wickets in hand, the game was conceivably Afghanistan’s to lose.Pathirana however had other ideas. Janat had no answer to a searing length ball that kept lower than expected owing to Pathirana’s slingy action, and trapped him in front. The 21 year-old saved the best for last though, producing two exceptionally quick fuller ones two overs later to get rid of Noor Ahmad and Naveen-Ul-Haq, as Afghanistan were reduced to 150 for 9 heading into the final over.There, Binura redeemed himself with a series of well directed wide yorkers that Ibrahim was unable to get away, as Sri Lanka secured a nervy victory.

Defending champions drill co-hosts with aggressive top-order batting in Gros Islet, winning with 15 balls to spare

Vithushan Ehantharajah20-Jun-20243:45

Badree: ‘Adil Rashid is such a skillful bowler’

A devastating 87 not out from Phil Salt, supplemented by an unbeaten 48 from Jonny Bairstow, saw England thrash West Indies by eight wickets in St Lucia. It was the kind of performance that set down a marker for the rest of the teams in the Super Eight of the T20 World Cup 2024.The defending champions made light work of their target of 181, with a clinical 97-run stand between Salt and Bairstow earning victory with 15 deliveries to spare.Played out on a fine batting deck at the Daren Sammy National Stadium, Jos Buttler opted to chase at the toss. Things looked precarious after eight overs, with West Indies getting 72 on the board for the loss of just Brandon King, who collapsed with a side strain early in the fifth over, having scored 23 off his previous 12 deliveries.Related

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A diet of spin restricted West Indies’ batters thanks to Adil Rashid – the pick of the bowlers with 1 for 21 from his four overs – and Moeen Ali, who would go on to remove Johnson Charles.Rovman Powell, promoting himself to No. 4, took 20 from the 15th over, striking Liam Livingstone for three sixes down the ground in four deliveries. But an attempt at a fourth off Livingstone’s final ball brought his downfall, caught low at short third by Mark Wood, returning to the XI in place of Chris Jordan.It was the first of three wickets to fall in the space of 12 deliveries for just six runs. Jofra Archer removed Nicholas Pooran caught behind in the next over, before Andre Russell nailed a Rashid googly straight to wide long on.Rovman Powell hit five sixes in his innings•ICC/Getty Images

That West Indies were able to reach 180 without any further loss from a position of 143 for 4 with three overs to go owes as much to Sherfane Rutherford as it does to Wood. The former was able to find 28 from 15 deliveries, 13 of them off the latter as the 18th over was taken for 19.England’s pursuit began steadily enough, reaching 58 for no loss after six overs. Roston Chase’s flat delivery eventually ended the opening stand on 67, trapping Buttler in front, before Moeen came and went, batting at No. 3 for the first time since March 2023.Salt remained, and though he did end up slowing down, Bairstow was on hand to pick up the slack, striking 46 off 21 up to the 16th over. It was then that Salt tagged back in, and unfurled a brutal attack on Romario Shepherd, striking the seamer for 30 with three fours and three sixes – the joint-most expensive over by a West Indian in a T20 World Cup.The first of those boundaries brought up Salt’s half-century from 38 deliveries, before he skewered any remaining jeopardy. It left West Indies to rue a half chance to remove Salt on seven in the third over, when he toed a hack across the line through to Pooran, who could not hold on.

Bairstow clicks himself, and Salt, into gear

Salt deserved the Player-of-the-Match award. But without Bairstow’s help, he – and maybe even England – might not have had something to celebrate.Salt had emerged from the powerplay with a respectable 35 off 20. But with the field spread, twirlers working in tandem and less of the strike, he had stalled. Going into the 14th over, he had scored just 12 more from 15 deliveries.That was when Bairstow set about a jump-start. For some reason, Powell returned to Alzarri Joseph instead of persisting with the frugal Chase. Bairstow used the pace on the ball to send the first delivery over the deep midwicket fence – the longer side, no less – before ramping the next delivery for four.Adil Rashid delivered the big wicket of Andre Russell•Getty Images

Powell attempted to correct his error by bringing Akeal Hosein back on for his final over. Bairstow, though, was in an unforgiving mood. An attempted reverse sweep brought a subdued lbw appeal before a conventional sweep, a 76-metre six heaved into the stands at midwicket, and a fortuitous inside edge brought 14 from three deliveries. The 16 from the over outright made it Hosein’s most expensive of this World Cup.It was at that point, with 40 needed from 30, that Salt set about his assault on Shepherd. Bairstow watched on from the other end, settling into the role of cheerleader as his partner went ballistic. He eventually had the honour of striking the winning run, raising his personal best at T20 World Cups to 48 not out.”Once Jos got out, I had to be the better to bat through,” explained Salt. “For Jonny to come out and take the pressure off me by taking calculated risks. I couldn’t be happier about that as a teammate.”

Windies given the run around

Intent comes in many different forms. England blitzed the six-count on the tournament’s truest batting pitch, but the difference between the running out in the middle told as true a story.West Indies, for all their might, set a new unwanted record of 51 dot balls – the most any team has registered in a T20 World Cup when posting a score of at least 180. They were also responsible for the previous highest – 50 – in the 2016 edition, albeit when they chased down 193 to take down India in the semi-final on their way to their second title.Moreover, they were second-best when making use of this ground’s lop-sided dimensions, failing to rotate the strike as much as they could, and running just nine twos across their 120 deliveries. Not only did England run three more in 15 fewer deliveries, but they even managed a three in the fourth over when Buttler could not quite time a cut to the cover point sponge. It brought Salt on strike for the final ball of the over, which he used to get going by charging at Russell and launching him back over his head and onto the roof for the first of five sixes.Jofra Archer was consistently around the 90mph mark•ICC/Getty Images

Archer glee

At the time, the purchasing of Powell’s wicket for 20 runs from Livingstone’s only over did not seem a smart deal. Powell was only averaging 16.25 coming into this match. Having cooled a partisan St Lucian crowd, watching their captain hoist three quick sixes was a surefire way to get them warmed up for the arrival of Russell to assist Pooran, who was set on 32.Both were back in the hut 11 deliveries later. And while Rashid’s snaring of Russell was the icing on the cake in this little stanza that shifted the match England’s way, it was Archer’s in the 17th over that vindicated Buttler’s investment.Over the wicket to Pooran, Archer hammered a tight line across the left-hander. Ranging from full and yorker length, barring one misstep – a full toss third ball which Pooran guided through point for four – Archer had it all his own way.He was too sharp – consistently around the 90mph mark – and too unwavering for a batter slowly falling into a funk, desperate for room to access his favoured hitting zones down the ground. The least full of all the deliveries was the one that took the edge through to Buttler, Pooran presenting the face of the bat in defeat rather than defiance.With six wickets, Archer is now England’s joint top wicket-taker alongside Rashid, boasting an economy rate of 6.58, which is lower than any of his teammates barring Reece Topley (5.50), who has played two fewer games and is still yet to register a dismissal.But the best stat of all is that Archer has now turned out five times for England in the last 15 days. The previous five caps came in the space of 448 days. After the nightmare run of elbow and back injuries over the last two years, the 29-year-old may finally be out the other end.

Patterson, Ward and Goodwin picked on recent Shield form despite all three not being in the first-choice XIs of their respective states early in the Shield summer

Alex Malcolm15-Jan-2025New South Wales allrounder Jack Edwards has been named captain of a youthful Australia A 12-man squad to face England Lions in the upcoming four-day game in Sydney from January 30, with the squad also featuring two other fast-bowling allrounders in Aaron Hardie and Will Sutherland.Kurtis Patterson, 31, has also been recalled to the Australia A fold for the first time since 2020 and is the oldest player in the squad.Australia’s selectors have pushed for youth and have only retained five players from the squad that faced India A in two four-day games in October and November, with Jordan Buckingham, Fergus O’Neill, Josh Philippe, Corey Rocchiccioli and Brendan Doggett all getting another opportunity, although Doggett was only drafted into that series as a late injury replacement.Related

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There was no room for Marcus Harris, Jimmy Peirson or Nathan McAndrew, who performed solidly in the second Australia A game in Melbourne. Former Test batters Matt Renshaw and Peter Handscomb were also not selected. The latter was very close to being selected for the Sri Lanka Test tour and is currently captaining the Cricket Australia XI against England Lions in the first match of the tour in Brisbane.Cameron Bancroft is unavailable through injury after fracturing his shoulder in the BBL. Veteran two-Test seamer Michael Neser, who injured his hamstring in the Australia A game at the MCG, has also not been selected.The selectors showed how much they valued performances in the Australia A matches during the Test series against India with Nathan McSweeney, Sam Konstas and Beau Webster all selected for their Test debuts after good performances against India A. Doggett was also called into the Test squad for the second and third Tests as fast-bowling cover following his stunning 6 for 15 against India A in Mackay.CA contracted fast bowler Xavier Bartlett gets an opportunity after missing the two Australia A matches with a side injury. He took 5 for 32 in his last first-class match for Queensland before the BBL break.Aaron Hardie is the only member of the Australia A squad who is also in the Champions Trophy squad•Getty Images

By overlooking Harris, Renshaw and Handscomb, the selectors are looking to the future on the batting front with the exception of Patterson. Jayden Goodwin and Tim Ward, like Patterson, have been rewarded for outstanding recent Shield form despite all three not being in the first-choice XIs of their respective states early in the Shield summer.Ward, 26, played four matches for Australia A against New Zealand A in 2023 and made three half-centuries in eight innings but was dropped by Tasmania last season. However, he has bounced back strongly with scores of 51, 92, 96, 7 and 142 since being recalled by Tasmania in November.Goodwin, 23, is currently playing in the CA XI alongside Ward and is highly regarded by the national selectors despite only averaging 32.38 across 27 first-class innings. But he made scores of 94, 139 and 69 in Shield cricket in November with the latter two coming against South Australia in a pink-ball game, which featured Doggett and Australian white-ball pacer Spencer Johnson.Hardie is the only member of the Australia A squad who is also in Australia’s Champions Trophy squad. He has not been bowling recently due to an ongoing quad issue and has only played one first-class match this summer after a lean season with the bat last year in red-ball cricket. But he has scored a century for Australia A previously in New Zealand in 2023.Sutherland, 25, is the only full-time Shield captain in the squad, but Edwards captained NSW in three Shield games prior to the BBL break, standing in for the absent Moises Henriques, and is NSW’s permanent 50-over captain. It will be the first time Edwards has represented Australia A, having played all 37 of his first-class matches for NSW, averaging 28.21 with the bat and 26.69 with the ball.Australia A squad: Jack Edwards (capt), Xavier Bartlett, Brendan Doggett, Jordan Buckingham, Jayden Goodwin, Aaron Hardie, Fergus O’Neill, Kurtis Patterson, Josh Philippe (wk), Corey Rocchiccioli , Will Sutherland, Tim Ward

The Sri Lankan hit 69 from 40 balls while Hannah Darlington took 2 for 13

AAP04-Nov-2023Chamari Athapaththu bludgeoned Melbourne Stars’ attack to help lead Sydney Thunder to the top of the WBBL table with a nine-wicket win at Casey Fields.After Hannah Darlington was in everything with the ball for the Thunder to restrict the Stars to 123 for 5, Athapaththu blitzed 69 from 40 balls to chase down the target with 7.1 overs to spare.Wooden-spooners last season with one win in the entire season, Thunder now have a 4-1 record this summer and loom as genuine contenders. Darlington and Athapaththu continue to be big parts of that.After being overlooked in the overseas player draft and only scooped up by Thunder just before the tournament, Athapaththu has proved a point in the opening weeks. The Sri Lankan’s 69 on Saturday follows scores of 52 and 80 earlier in the tournament, to now be the competition’s second-leading run-scorer.Given a life when Rhys McKenna missed a chance on the long-on rope on 29, Athapaththu whacked 11 boundaries and two sixes in her knock. The most damage came when she helped take spinner Sasha Moloney for 28 off one over, with two sixes over the legside and three fours through the off. Tahlia Wilson also made 45 from 33 in the chase, forming part of a 119-run opening stand with Athapaththu.Earlier, Darlington backed up her 4 for 33 against the Renegades during the week with 2 for 13 from four overs on Saturday. The 21-year-old had an impact from the outset, going for just one in the opening over, before pulling off a direct-hit run-out moments later to remove Sophie Reid.With the ball Darlington was then able to build up enough pressure to have Meg Lanning dismissed for 17. Hit on the pad by Darlington and given not out, Australia’s captain took off for a quick single and was sent back before being run out by Claire Moore. In her next over, Darlington bowled Alice Capsey for 17 with one that stayed low, before trapping Maia Bouchier lbw next ball.Handed her Australian debut as a 19-year-old two years ago, Darlington is now showing that kind of form again for Thunder.While Thunder are flying, Stars have just two wins from their opening seven games and are in real trouble at the competition’s halfway mark.

Free-spirited innings in tough conditions reaffirms sense that Essex batter is a coming man

Vithushan Ehantharajah06-Apr-2023Essex 162 for 3 (Lawrence 74*) vs MiddlesexIt took until around 4.45pm on the opening day of the 2023 County Championship at Lord’s to see it.All the talk leading into the start of the summer was of influence from above. Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes want you to blow the roof off – what say you, county men? Your country needs you (well, not all of you) – do your bit by taking the silencer off and entertaining. After all, it’s your only way in.Yet, even with intermittent rain interrupting play on the first day of Middlesex’s return to Division One since 2017, and Essex’s plans to reassert their first-class dominance, there was nothing to suggest the message had been heeded. The game moved at a familiar pace, humming familiar tunes. Until midway through the 53rd over when Toby Roland-Jones delivered a regulation top-of-off-stump ball and Dan Lawrence advanced and created room to inside-out check-drive it over extra cover for the first six of the match.It’s easy to get over-excited at the beginning of a new season, but there’s every chance those committed enough to stick through the earlier showers have already witnessed the shot of the season. Essex had been put in under overcast skies, and, having lost Alastair Cook and Nick Browne in consecutive deliveries with just 48 on the board, Lawrence and his captain Tom Westley were primarily focussed on weathering storms. But this was no evidence of a broader sea-change, even if it was immediately followed by another charge and pummel over wide mid-off for four. This was simply Lawrence being his own man, doing things his own way for his own team.A first half-century of the season had come up in 113 deliveries and you wonder how quickly he might have chased three figures if the looming threat of an early close of play did not ask for watchfulness. The 25-year-old rests on 74, Essex already a handy 162 for three against a Middlesex attack looking understandably ring-rusty.No batter straddles the conundrum of positivity preached and the responsibility required to bat for your team in nibbly conditions quite like Lawrence. Few carry such natural audacity and ability while being a vital cog in an established red-ball side. Long before the national team urged the county game to sup their Kool-Aid, Lawrence has been managing the friction of personal expression and professional duty.Dan Lawrence hasn’t featured for England since a lively display in the Caribbean last spring•Getty Images

Being on the periphery of the Test squad gives Lawrence more reason than most to over-indulge. That he kept himself in check to compile a handy 121-run stand for the third wicket before Westley skewed a drive off Roland-Jones to backward point, speaks of a refrain that remains valuable.Lawrence has not yet earned a cap under Stokes and McCullum, his closest involvement coming as an unused squad member on February’s tour of New Zealand. The barrier to adding to his 11 Tests has been space rather than doubts from selectors. The rise of Harry Brook and the expected return of Jonny Bairstow means Lawrence is likely to adopt a similar position on the outside looking in this summer, barring misfortune for the others.By all accounts, he is their type of player. A couple of weeks into the New Zealand tour, Stuart Broad noted this England environment “suits” Lawrence as “an attacking player who plays incredible shots and likes to take the game forward”. Of those trying to break into the team, he has the least to prove.”Dan’s naturally attacking,” Essex head coach Anthony McGrath reiterated. “He’s a top batsman and if he fancies it, he’ll take it on. I don’t think he’ll stop playing like that, wherever the game is going.”Lawrence does have the Middlesex slip cordon to thank for allowing him a shot at first-class hundred No.13. Prior to Westley’s dismissal and after Browne’s misjudged attempt at a backfoot punch, Lawrence had his own miscalculation outside off stump when on 32. But Sam Robson’s dive to his left from second slip in front of Stephen Eskinazi’s to his right from first meant the edge found by Tim Murtagh came to nothing.The wisdom of Murtagh was carried in his reaction: rueful, knowing Lawrence and Essex aren’t the types to ignore gifts. Officially into his 24th season, his standing as Middlesex’s bowling coach gives him more understanding as to why his attack could not create further opportunities.A wet pre-season meant the four seamers were tuning up on the job at the start. Roland-Jones gradually found the right line to Essex’s left-handed openers but did snare Cook with one down the leg side. Browne’s brisk start – at one point 20 off 18 with four fours – was primarily down to being allowed to cut early on before the necessary recalibrations.Easter Friday will bring with it a greater crowd and better weather, and in turn, a good deal more eyes for Lawrence to entertain. Whatever the messages from above, it is in Middlesex’s best interests to stop him.

Kiran Carlson adds 65 from 52 as Glamorgan chase down 299 target with 17 balls to spare

ECB Reporters Network06-Aug-2023A century from Colin Ingram guided Glamorgan to a seven-wicket win over Derbyshire in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup match at Derby.Ingram scored an unbeaten 115 off 108 balls and Kiran Carlson 65 from 52 as Glamorgan chased down Derbyshire’s 298 for 8 with 17 balls to spare.Billy Root helped seal victory with an unbeaten 34 from 31 balls in a stand of 82 from 76 balls with Ingram who ended the match with a six off Luis Reece.The home side were on course for a more imposing total after Harry Came with 73 and Reece 69 shared an opening stand of 134.But Haider Ali’s dismissal for 63 from 50 balls sparked a collapse that saw Derbyshire lose five wickets for 26 runs in six overs and the visitors were always favourites once Ingram and Carlson took control.It had promised to be a better day for Derbyshire when Reece and Came began to accelerate with Came pulling a free hit from Ben Morris for the first six of the innings in the 11th over.A scoop over the wicketkeeper took Reece to his 50 from 52 balls but after he was hit on his right elbow by a throw, he scored only four more runs before he came down the pitch and was stumped to give Ben Kellaway his first List A wicket.Kellaway was involved again when his direct hit from backward point ran out Came and then struck Alex Horton a painful blow on the ankle which left the wicketkeeper requiring treatment before he could continue.By then, Ali was starting to bruise the bowler’s figures, pulling and driving two big sixes on his way to a 42 ball fifty.Kellaway was hoisted onto the pavilion roof but after cutting the off-spinner for his fifth four, Ali sliced a big drive and was caught at point.From then on the innings went into decline with Matt Lamb missing an expansive drive and Tom Wood lbw trying to shovel Kiran Carlson through mid-wicket.Brooke Guest was well caught on the run at mid-wicket and Anuj Dal was bowled attempting to scoop Andy Gorvin.Derbyshire had fallen well short of what looked likely six overs earlier but some improvisation from Sam Conners and a six by Alex Thomson off the final ball of the innings took them to their highest Lisa A score against Glamorgan.The visitors established a solid base but after Tom Bevan drove a Nick Potts no ball for four and pulled the free hit for six, both openers went in consecutive overs.Bevan skied Dal to deep mid-wicket and Eddie Byrom was caught behind trying to steer Potts to third man.But Ingram and Carlson kept Glamorgan ahead of the required rate and after a short rain break, Ingram carved Conners over cover for six to take his side to 142 for 2 at the halfway point.Carlson pulled Wood for six to reach 50 from 40 balls but when he tried to sweep Thomson, he got a top edge and was caught at short fine leg.But Ingram made sure there was no late drama as he and Root secured Glamorgan’s first victory in the competition to send Derbyshire sliding to a second defeat.

The start of the second session on the third day was held up in unusual circumstances

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff28-Dec-2023Play was held up in bizarre circumstances during the second Australia-Pakistan Test at the MCG because the third umpire Richard Illingworth got stuck in a lift.Players returned to the middle after the lunch break on Thursday, in time for the scheduled 1.25pm start to the second session. But in unusual scenes, the two central umpires wouldn’t allow a ball to be bowled because Illingworth was unable to return to his post in the grandstand.It left Australian batters David Warner and Steven Smith waiting to resume, with the hosts stuck on 6 for 2 in their second innings with an overall lead of 60.After a few minutes the fourth umpire, Phil Gillespie, ran from the boundary into the third umpire’s box so that play could resume and Illingworth made his way a few moments later, giving a light-hearted wave as he sat down. Cricket Australia and the MCG both produced light-hearted responses to the peculiar delay, which lasted seven minutes.”The game is delayed because the third umpire…is stuck in the lift,” Cricket Australia’s social media arm posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.The MCG was quick to reply: “Sorry.”Channel Seven host Mel McLaughlin was also in the lift that became stuck and said that it took about 10 minutes for them to be left out.Meanwhile, a busy afternoon for fourth umpire Gillespie continued later in the session when he was briefly called on to stand in the middle alongside Michael Gough when Joel Wilson needed to leave the field for an over.