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Ricky Ponting has revealed Shaun Marsh’s elevation to No. 3 in the Australian Test batting order was a “long-term plan” of the captain Michael Clarke

Daniel Brettig10-Oct-2011Ricky Ponting has revealed Shaun Marsh’s elevation to No. 3 in the Australian Test batting order was a “long-term plan” of the captain Michael Clarke. Ponting said he was happy to move down to No. 4 for as long as he keeps on playing.As he prepared for a rare Sheffield Shield appearance with Tasmania against Western Australia at the WACA, Ponting spoke frankly of the Test batting order, which has been shuffled to accommodate Marsh at three while Ponting, Clarke and Michael Hussey all slip one spot.Clarke’s vision for the team has so far been made clear, as he is equally adamant that the vice-captain Shane Watson will not be moving down the order from his demanding position as an opening batsman and allrounder.”It was a long-term plan of Michael’s to have Shaun move to No. 3 and me move to No.4 and Michael move to five and Huss to six,” Ponting told reporters in Perth. “So that wasn’t just something I don’t think as a one-off for that game. Michael sees that in the best interests of the team going forward for a period of time. So I’ll be three this week, probably three in the one-dayers in South Africa and then probably drop back to four for the Test matches.”When I first came into the Australian side, batting at six was hard. Waiting that amount of time to bat for me was something that was very foreign to me. But three to four I don’t think is as big a change as three to six, or it certainly wasn’t in the last Test because I was in pretty early both times. Slight adjustment. It just gives me a little bit more time once our fielding’s over to get my head around what I have to do to bat.”Ponting also spoke of the state of flux the team is presently in while Cricket Australia decides on a range of appointments recommended by the Argus review. The position of team performance manager must be finalised first, allowing the appointee to have a say in the choices of coach, national selector and part-time selectors.This means that Clarke will go to South Africa with plenty of weight on his shoulders regarding decision-making, for the interim coach Troy Cooley has flagged his lack of experience as a selector and also an unwillingness to make any lasting changes to the set-up run with mixed results by the departed head coach Tim Nielsen over the past four years.”Unfortunately at the moment the way things are working out a lot more of the responsibility is going to come back on the captain for this next tour,” Ponting said. “So it’s important that the captain, the vice-captain and probably the senior players do as much as we can around the group on this trip.”Troy’s been around the group for a long time and understands everyone really well, but he’s sort of been thrust into that selection role at the moment as well which is something very foreign to him. We’ll make do with the best we can. It’s probably not an ideal situation, but we knew that a long way out and the boys have been playing that way so everything should work out fine.”Ponting said many of the changes wrought by the Argus review were designed to lessen the load on the captain, but reckoned the short-term would be difficult for Clarke while the new positions were filled and settled into.”Having been there and done that in the past you want to be able to focus on your cricket and the team’s demands and probably not much outside of that if you can,” Ponting said. “That’s why a lot of these roles are changing, to take a bit of that strain if you like off the captain. It’s hard enough work when you’re just out there being the captain and worrying about your own game rather than everything else that goes with it. We’ll see how it goes, but he [Clarke] understands he’s got great support from all his team-mates around him.”Ponting’s appearances for Tasmania, who won the Shield in his absence last summer, would not be quite so rare if the schedule was balanced to ensure the strongest domestic competitions possible, something the Argus review also recommended.”With the Australian summer as packed as it is internationally-wise, it just makes it too hard for the international players to play state cricket,” Ponting said. “We’d all like the chance to be able to do that a bit more. I know the states and even our clubs would probably appreciate it if we can get back and spend more time around the next crop of potential international players.”While Hussey is missing the match after his time at the Champions League Twenty20, Ponting said he was never in any doubt for the fixture, and flatly rejected all reports to the contrary.”Some confusion’s probably happened as a result of our leave dates being changed, the coach at the time of the Australian team in Sri Lanka had ruled us out because the leave date was different than it is at the moment,” Ponting said. “As it turns out I only found out on Thursday that I was playing the game but I’ve been excited about the chance to play the game.”

Travis Dowlin, who has captained West Indies A, has been dropped from Guyana’s 14-member squad for the WICB one-day championship in Jamaica starting next week

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Oct-2010Travis Dowlin has been dropped from Guyana’s squad for the WICB one-day championship in Jamaica starting next week. Sewnarine Chattergoon and wicketkeeper Derwin Christian have also been left out from the 14-member squad.Dowlin, who has captained West Indies A, was not offered a central contract by the West Indies board in August, as the WICB felt his performances in the preceding year were “less than favourable”. This came after his axing from the West Indies side for the third Test in Barbados against South Africa in June.Dowlin scored 26 runs from four games for Guyana in the recent Champions League Twenty20 in South Africa. Chattergoon and Christian also had a poor tournament, managing 23 and 14 runs respectively from three innings.Guyana will be led by Ramnaresh Sarwan and the squad includes new players for the 50-over format in Jonathan Foo, Keon Joseph and Richard Ramdeen.Foo impressed with his batting performance in the Caribbean Twenty20 in July. Joseph, the 18-year-old fast bowler, has played one first-class game for Guyana earlier this year, and has also represented West Indies Under-19. Ramdeen played for Guyana in the Champions League against South Australia.Guyana will play in Group B alongside Barbados, Leeward Islands and the Sagicor High Performance Centre XI in the tournament to be played from October 14 to 24.Guyana squad:
Ramnaresh Sarwan (capt), Chris Barnwell, Devendra Bishoo, Anthony Bramble, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Esuan Crandon, Royston Crandon, Narsingh Deonarine, Jonathan Foo, Assad Fudadin, Steven Jacobs, Leon Johnson, Keon Joseph, Richard Ramdeen

Zaheer Khan is expected to be back for India, but it’s the fast bowlers that will throw up a debate when the Indian selectors meet to pick the squad for the three Test against Sri Lanka

Cricinfo staff09-Nov-2009Zaheer Khan has recovered well from his shoulder injury and, having featured in Twenty20 matches during the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament and a Ranji Trophy fixture, is expected to be back for India when the selectors meet on Tuesday to pick the Test squad to play Sri Lanka. VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid will duly take their places in the middle order, while Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra are likely to retain their spinning roles. Yuvraj Singh is also expected to feature at No. 6 in the batting line-up, but it’s the fast bowlers that will throw up a debate.Including Ashish Nehra in the Test side is going to be tempting. It is also a risk. Nehra has done well after making his ODI return, but do the selectors want to risk his fitness in the longest format of the game? If Nehra does make the transition, he will replace one of the two back-up fast bowlers that went to New Zealand: Dhawal Kulkarni and L Balaji. India will not need a 16-member squad, so just one reserve fast bowler should do. But even if Nehra is not picked, somebody like Sudeep Tyagi might stand a better chance than Balaji and Kulkarni. Going by how Ishant Sharma was persisted with in the ODIs, he is likely to keep his Test place, along with Munaf Patel.Dinesh Karthik was the substitute middle-order batsman in New Zealand, where he doubled up as a reserve wicketkeeper. Here in India, Dhoni might not need back-up behind the stumps. There is another decision for the selectors to make: whether to retain Karthik in a role similar to the one in New Zealand, or draft in a specialist middle-order batsman like S Badrinath.Probable squad: MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthik/S Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Amit Mishra, Ashish Nehra/one back-up fast bowler.

Williams and Ervine ended the prospects of an Afghanisttan win by batting solidly after a rain break

Himanshu Agrawal30-Dec-2024There were three Boxing Day Tests going on simultaneously. The one in Bulawayo, between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan, didn’t have the appeal of Melbourne. But for a brief while on the final evening, it did have some of the thrill from Centurion. Zimbabwe suffered a collapse of 4 for 15 in the second innings, and were still 25 runs behind Afghanistan, who had gone 113 ahead in the first.However, the prospect of any dramatic finish quickly vanished as Sean Williams and Craig Ervine not only wiped the deficit out, but also ensured no further damage. The game inevitably ended in a draw, but provided plenty of opportunities for players to fill their boots. Hashmatullah Shahidi scored a career-best 246, while Afsar Zazai hit his maiden Test hundred as Afghanistan piled up 699, their highest total in the format.Related

• Ervine urges Zimbabwe to improve their fielding: 'The outcome could've been different had we taken our chances'

• Stats – Zimbabwe (586), Afghanistan (699) reach record highs in Bulawayo run-fest

Afghanistan had themselves lost 6 for 20 to close their innings in search of quick runs. But on what was otherwise a lifeless pitch, Zimbabwe’s spinners Brian Bennett and Williams did get some turn. Bennett bagged five of the six wickets to fall – that followed a knock of 110* – and the fun began when he had Shahidi lbw.On the fifth ball of the 193rd over, Shahid went across the stumps to try and lap sweep, but was struck in front. Next ball, Azmatullah Omarzai skied one back to Bennett, who was left on a hat-trick. Bennett bowled the hat-trick ball to Shahidullah to start the 195th over, but the batter drove it to deep point.But Williams had Zia-ur-Rehman caught for 5 next over, as substitute fielder Tadiwanashe Marumani took a great catch while running forward from long-on. AM Ghazanfar then bashed Bennett for six, only for Bennett to be on a hat-trick again. Ghazanfar swung one to long-on, while Naveed Zadran bottom-edged on to the stumps. But Bennett was denied again, as Zahir Khan blocked one safely. Next ball, though, Bennett completed his five-for when he trapped Zahir to wrap the Afghanistan innings up.Zimbabwe’s second innings began in the afternoon session, when enough time was left for a surprise result. Perhaps seeing the Zimbabwe spinners get help from the surface, Afghanistan asked Ghazanfar to share the new ball with Naveed Zadran. But Ben Curran led Zimbabwe’s counterpunch, as they smashed 32 runs in the first five overs.That included four boundaries, including three off Ghazanfar. Curran slashed, swept and swung the offspinner for four each, even as Joylord Gumbie also hit a boundary in a much more patient start. Naveen, Zia-ur-Rehman, Omarzai and Zahir Khan checked Zimbabwe’s momentum thereafter, although Zimbabwe still went wicketless to tea.Zia and Zahir did find turn, though, and after multiple lbw appeals against Gumbie were turned down, Zahir finally had Gumbie edge one to slip. A length ball around sixth stump hinted to turn in, and Gumbie pushed forward only to get an outside edge. The opening partnership of 73 was broken, but just one ball later, the players were off due to rain.The break lasted nearly 40 minutes, but that didn’t affect Afghanistan. Third ball into the resumption, Curran was run out for 41 when he tapped Zia towards midwicket and set for a single. But his partner Takudzwanashe Kaitano seemed to have refused the single a little too late, and the throw from Shahidullah found Curran well short at the wicketkeeper’s end.Next over, Kaitano looked to paddle sweep Zahir, who was bowling from around the wicket. The ball landed on a full length on middle, and didn’t seem to turn, as Kaitano missed his attempted sweep, for which the length seemed a bit too full. But the most aesthetically pleasing dismissal came when Ghazanfar cleaned Dion Myers up in the 25th over.He drifted one in, and pitched it full on middle and off to draw the batter forward. Myers looked to defend the line of the ball, but it turned away to uproot the off stump. Zimbabwe were 88 for 4 at that stage, and still behind Afghanistan, who smelled a miracle. But the experienced Williams and Ervine took their side to safety by adding 54 in less than ten overs.They took Zimbabwe past Afghanistan at the start of the 30th over, as Ervine drilled Zahir through the covers, and the batters ran four. There were plenty of footmarks for the Afghanistan spinners to work with, but they couldn’t strike any further, as the game ended in a draw, and the two-match series remained locked at 0-0.

South Africa’s tight finish at odds with team’s fluency when batting first, as captain admits ‘conversations’ are needed

Andrew Miller27-Oct-20231:24

Pujara: South Africa seem to lack a clear game plan while chasing

South Africa are top of the World Cup standings, and firmly on course for a top-four finish, but their captain Temba Bavuma acknowledged that “conversations” would be had about their approach to run-chases, after they had an almighty scare in their one-wicket win over Pakistan in Chennai.South Africa have been a team of two distinct characters in the tournament to date. When batting first, they have been imperious – rattling off totals of 428, 311 and 399 and 382 in four imposing victories over Sri Lanka, Australia, England and Bangladesh.When chasing, however, it has been a different matter. They tripped up in embarrassing fashion against Netherlands in Dharamsala, losing by 38 runs after being bowled out for 207, and it was so nearly a similar tale in their pursuit of 271 against Pakistan. From a comfortable 206 for 4 with 17 overs remaining, they lost 5 for 54 in the next 12.3 overs, before the last pair of Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi dragged them over the line with an unbroken 11-run stand.”It was a nail-biting finish,” Bavuma said at the post-match presentations. “Obviously, if you are a South African fan, you’re a little bit happier at the outcome.”With the batting, there’s obviously been pressure with us chasing, and we haven’t done well to rectify that. We’ll obviously have conversations, but it will be easier now to have those conversations with the win. But it was due to our doing that we allowed the game to get to that point.”Given the ease with which South Africa have been blitzing the death overs when batting first, the manner of their collapse will have been noted by their rivals – not least their next two opponents, New Zealand and India, at least one of whom they are likely to encounter again in the knockouts.The wobble set in when David Miller, on 29 from 32, edged behind off Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was the pick of Pakistan’s seam attack with 3 for 45 in his ten overs. Marco Jansen then spooned a simple chance to backward point off Haris Rauf, one ball after driving a powerful straight six, to depart for 20 from 14.South Africa’s last pair – Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj – rejoices after sealing a one-wicket win•AFP/Getty Images

“The guys who were there in the pressure situations [would need to] truly speak out as to what they were thinking in terms of emotions, in terms of their game-plans,” Bavuma added. “It’s hard to say now, I’m still enjoying the victory myself, but those conversations will happen.””It’s something that we’ve spoken about, it’s obviously something that has been thrown about,” he added. “We obviously have a blueprint when batting first, and we’ve shown that in terms of the scores we have been able to post.”We can’t say with conviction that we do have the blueprint when we are chasing. We’re going to get into this situation again, that I do know, and we obviously want to show a lot more of a clinical display with the bat.”Even so, a win is a win, and Bavuma admitted that the scenes in the dressing-room were “chaos”, with “the guys picking up Shamsi” after his starring role as an unlikely allrounder. His four wickets in Pakistan’s innings included the key scalp of Babar Azam for 50 and looked to have broken open the contest. But in the end, his unbeaten four from six balls proved to be his critical intervention.”I’m ecstatic for Shamsi,” Bavuma said. “It started with the ball, he came on in conditions that were in his favour and he exploited them, and then with the bat … you’ll have seen Shamsi on social media gloating about his batting. We needed that today. Fortunately for us, he came through, but we are not going to stop hearing about for probably two weeks.”Shamsi, the Player of the Match, credited his team-mates for setting the game up for him with their early wickets, but admitted that his four runs were “probably all I’ve scored this whole year… they came at the right time.””Sometimes it goes for you, sometimes it doesn’t,” he added. “So while it’s going for me, I’m happy to be able to help the team win, but I didn’t think I’ll be able to it with my pads on.”In terms of soaking up the pressure of the chase, Shamsi showed the fight that his team required, and said that “it actually feels nicer” to have come through the match the hard way.Related

• Temba Bavuma hamstring injury gives South Africa cause for concern ahead of semi-final

• South Africa gear up for free hit, a World Cup final somewhere at the back of their minds

• Marco Jansen, South Africa's Magnificent No. 7

• Ghosts of Chepauk's past don't spook South Africa

• South Africa rise to the top by the barest of margins in thriller against Pakistan

“These are the type of moments that you train for, you want the big stage,” he said. “Kesh was unbelievable out there, and Lungi [Ngidi] as well before him. If I’d tried to play a big shot then and it didn’t come off, the boys wouldn’t welcome me back in the change-room. So there was never a doubt in my head that I’m not going to play a big shot.”For Pakistan, the emotions were rather more downcast. Despite an unprecedented fourth World Cup loss in a row, they are not yet out of the running for the top four, but Babar Azam, their captain, was resigned to the likelihood that their tournament challenge is over.”We were very close but we did not finish well, it’s very disappointing,” he said. “In the batting, we were 10-15 runs short. The way we were bowling, the fast bowlers and spinners, we fought very well. But unfortunately it was not our night. We had the opportunity to win this match and stay in the tournament, but I think we are missing [out].”Pakistan might well rue their luck in the closing overs, however, after an excruciatingly close lbw shout against Shamsi off Haris Rauf’s final ball of his spell. Umpire Alex Wharf turned down an appeal that was shown to be umpire’s call on leg stump, although it did arguably even things up after Rassie van der Dussen had himself been given out to a delivery that was shown to be clipping the top of the leg bail – and was briefly shown to be missing by an on-screen graphic that the ICC later confirmed had been shown in error.”DRS is part of the game,” Babar said. “If they [had given it] out, it’s in favour for us, but umpire’s call is part of the game.”

Hales, Vince, Topley, Potts, Carse, Parkinson, Gregory, Mills, Gleeson and Pope have also nominated themselves

Alex Malcolm27-Jul-2022Liam Livingstone looks likely to be a Platinum pick in the upcoming BBL overseas draft as the headline act of 70 Englishmen who have nominated themselves, but availability will be a key consideration for teams, with a number of players likely to head to other leagues halfway through the tournament.Livingstone is set to be the most sought-after English player among a group that includes Alex Hales, James Vince, Tymal Mills, Reece Topley, Matthew Potts, Brydon Carse, Lewis Gregory, Matt Parkinson, Richard Gleeson and Ollie Pope.The nominees who are also involved in England’s current white-ball set-up are notionally available for the whole tournament, given England do not have any international limited-overs games scheduled in either December 2022 or January 2023, with their first series of the new year set to be an ODI series in South Africa that is likely to be played in February after the new South Africa T20 league is completed.England have a Test series in Pakistan set for early December meaning that the likes of Pope, Potts and possibly Parkinson could be late arrivals to the BBL if all three tour Pakistan.But of greater concern for the BBL is the fact that a number of English players, including Livingstone and Hales, are likely to leave the BBL halfway through to play in the proposed UAE T20 league in January, given they are likely to earn substantially higher wages for a shorter commitment there.Related

• Jayasuriya and Chandimal hoping to turn Test form into BBL deals

• Kurtis Patterson returns to Sydney Sixers in BBL

• Buttler and Livingstone sign up for CSA's new T20 league

• The BBL overseas draft is here: how will it work?

• Melbourne Renegades get first pick in BBL overseas draft

The BBL is scheduled to run from December 13 to February 4, but South Africa and UAE leagues are set to start in January. The UAE league is proposed to run from January 6 to February 12. Both Ricky Ponting and Usman Khawaja raised concerns last week about overseas players only nominating for the first half of the BBL, leaving themselves open to joining the other leagues and leaving the BBL short on star overseas players.The BBL is offering AUD340,000 (roughly £196,000) to a select group of Platinum picks, while those who have nominated themselves in the Gold category are set to earn approximately AUD260,000 (roughly £150,000). Those are guaranteed wages no matter how many games the players have nominated themselves for.The challenge for BBL clubs is to evaluate if the likes of Livingstone and Hales are worth selecting in the draft at those prices if they are only available for the first half of the tournament, with a large portion of each wage to count in the AUD 1.9 million salary cap.Livingstone played in the BBL two seasons ago with Perth Scorchers and has expressed an interest in playing there again. Scorchers are also interested in having him back but they can’t use a retention pick because he did not play last year and they have pick No. 6 in the draft order, which means Livingstone could well be snapped up in the first five picks.Alex Hales could be a retention pick for Sydney Thunder•Getty Images

Sydney Thunder can use their retention pick to retain Hales given he did play for them last season. They have already lost one half of one of the most successful opening duos in BBL history with Khawaja joining Brisbane Heat. If Hales is only available for the first half of the tournament, Thunder will need to find not one but two openers to fill the gap.There are a number of other English players who are eligible for a retention pick. Evans and Mills could be retained by Scorchers. Vince could be a retention pick with Sydney Sixers having had a very successful relationship with that club in recent years. Topley (Melbourne Renegades), Joe Clarke (Melbourne Stars), Jordan Cox (Hobart Hurricanes), Iain Cockbain (Adelaide Strikers) and George Garton (Adelaide Strikers) could also be retention picks for clubs having all played last season. But clubs only get one retention pick, with Strikers likely to take Rashid Khan.Like Livingstone, Jake Ball (Sydney Sixers), Danny Briggs (Adelaide Strikers), Benny Howell (Melbourne Renegades), Gleeson (Melbourne Renegades) and Gregory (Brisbane Heat) have all played in the BBL previously but are ineligible for a retention pick because they did not play last season.There are 98 players in total who have nominated themselves for the draft so far. Livingstone looks set to join Faf du Plessis, Kieron Pollard and Rashid among the Platinum picks, which are to be decided by the BBL.There are likely to be a host of Pakistan players nominating themselves in the coming weeks although there is some doubt about the availability of some of them due to international commitments. Pakistan host a Test series against England in early December and then two Tests and three ODIs against New Zealand, which are likely to run into the third week in January and will also be part of the World Cup Super League. The PSL is set for February meaning it would be virtually impossible for Pakistan’s multi-format players to come to the BBL, although those not involved in the Test matches could be available for the first half of the tournament.

All current draft nominations

Afghanistan: Rashid Khan, Qais Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Waqarullah Ishaq, Izharulhaq Naveed, Naveen-ul-Haq, Hazratullah ZazaiEngland: Colin Ackermann (also Netherlands), Rehan Ahmed, Martin Andersson, Gus Atkinson, Josh Baker, Sonny Baker, Jake Ball, James Bracey, Danny Briggs, Henry Brookes, Brydon Carse, Matthew Carter, Jordan Clark, Joe Clarke, Josh Cobb, Ian Cockbain, Jordan Cox, Mason Crane, Matt Critchley, Liam Dawson, Brett D’Oliveira, Ben Duckett, Jacobus Leus Du Plooy, Stephen Eskinazi, Laurie Evans, Matt Fisher, James Fuller, George Garton, Richard Gleeson, Lewis Gregory, Sam Hain, Alex Hales, Miles Hammond, Tom Hartley, Jack Haynes, Freddie Heldreich, Tom Helm, Ryan Higgins, Max Holden, Benny Howell, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Danny Lamb, Jack Leaning, Jake Lintott, Liam Livingstone, Lewis McManus, Ben Mike, Tymal Mills, Daniel Mousley, Steven Mullaney, Callum Parkinson, Matt Parkinson, David Payne, Michael Pepper, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ben Raine, Adam Rossington, George Scrimshaw, John Simpson, Prem Sisodiya, Olly Stone, Tommy Taylor, Reece Topley, Liam Trevaskis, James Vince, Joe Weatherley, Ross Whiteley, Chris Wood, Luke Wood, Saif ZaibNew Zealand: Colin Munro, Todd AstleSouth Africa: Faf du Plessis, Marchant de Lange, Rilee Rossouw, David Wiese (also Namibia)West Indies: Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Sheldon Cottrell, Chemar Holder, Akeal Hosein, Evin Lewis, Anderson Phillip, Khary Pierre, Ravi Rampaul, Sherfane Rutherford, Jayden Seales, Kevin Sinclair, Tion Webster, Nyeem Young

Jimmy Neesham claimed a career-best haul while Matt Henry knocked over the top order with four wickets

Andrew McGlashan25-Mar-2021It doesn’t get much more convincing. Devon Conway’s seamless transition to international cricket continued with a maiden century on his home ground and Daryl Mitchell made a late surge to his first ODI hundred before Bangladesh’s batting did not offer much as they went down a series clean sweep in the third ODI in Wellington.Briefly, when New Zealand were 57 for 3, the visitors had a foothold but they couldn’t sustain it as Conway led the recovery which was capped off by Mitchell. The pair added 159 in 24 overs for the fifth wicket, while New Zealand as a whole got 107 off the last ten.In reply, Matt Henry knocked off the Bangladesh top order – with the aid of a spectacular catch at third man by Trent Boult – and the rest of the batting was insipid with the exception of Mahmudullah, as James Neesham filled his boots with a career-best haul by claiming the last two wickets in four balls.For Conway, this was his fifth fifty-plus score in 12 international innings – including the 99 not out in a T20I against Australia – and he converted into a century from 95 balls with a lofted square cut for this 13th boundary. He got his chance in this series because Kane Williamson is missing, but surely there will be no dislodging him.Mitchell’s century needed a last-ditch sprint off the final ball of the innings and he should have been run out but Mushfiqur Rahim fumbled the return. With eight balls remaining, he had been on 83 before a six off Rubel Hossain followed by three consecutive boundaries at the start of the last over brought the hundred in sight.The early progress had been steady before Henry Nicholls was given a life when Rahim couldn’t hold an edge, but two balls later the left hander nicked to second slip where Liton Das held on to the relief of the often-luckless Taskin Ahmed. Next over, Martin Guptill gave away another start when he toe-ended a pull to mid-on, while Ross Taylor’s return after injury was a brief stay when he edged a cut off Hossain after being dropped on 3.Conway and Tom Latham rebuilt steadily with the innings given impetus in the 19th over when Conway took three consecutive boundaries off Mustafizur Rahman: a controlled guide to third man, a genuine nick and then a perfect on-drive.In conditions offering some assistance for the seamers, Tamim Iqbal turned to the medium pace of Soumya Sarkar and he struck first ball with Latham superbly caught at point by Mehidy Hasan. Sarkar would do a good job for his captain with eight overs for 37. Bangladesh managed to hold the innings for a period after that as Mitchell played himself in and briefly dominated the strike, but the ball after Conway went to fifty from 52 balls, Mitchell launched Mehidy over midwicket for six.Conway did not hit a boundary between the 23rd and 37th overs, but the partnership got built at a good tempo. Having come up fractionally short of a century earlier in the season, he sent Ahmed through point and then cut loose in the closing stages of the innings with four more boundaries in 12 balls before picking out deep-midwicket.Daryl Mitchell reached his maiden ODI hundred off the last ball of the innings•Getty Images

Mitchell, who had been promoted above Neesham when New Zealand were four down with more than half the innings remaining, could have been run out on 24 but the fielder from cover couldn’t pick up cleanly and he was also dropped on 63. That would prove costly for Bangladesh who had just about managed to keep a lid on the late overs until Mitchell’s final dip.A big full toss went over deep-square leg before he took advantage of Rahman missing his length – and bowling a no-ball – while Mitchell Santner helped with some desperate scampering. Mitchell lost the strike with two balls remaining, but Santner was able to take three to deep-cover to give him the final delivery. It should have just been a single, but Mitchell was able to walk off with the ovation for a century.Iqbal, one of Bangladesh’s best hopes of making a dent on the chase, departed in the second over when he nicked a gem of a delivery from Henry. In Henry’s next over, Sarkar top-edged to fine leg and there was already a sense the innings would not be much of a contest.A moment for the highlights reel arrived in the seventh over when Das, aiming to the leg side, sent a top edge flying to third man where Boult sprinted to his left, dived and held the catch one-handed while having avoided losing his grip.The excitement levels dipped after that as Bangladesh opted for a largely defensive approach against some testing bowling, having a particular challenge against the bounce of Kyle Jamieson whose first six-over spell cost just 12. Neesham was a beneficiary of the pressure created with a bag of middle-order wickets as various attempts at some counterattacking didn’t come off.Madmudullah, who has previously enjoyed success in New Zealand, fought to a 64-ball half-century and brought some belated aggression to a lost cause but it was merely a footnote.

The board said it intends to ensure the primacy of the QeA Trophy which clashes with the T10

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2019The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has revoked conditional No Objection Certificates (NOCs) given to its players to feature in the Abu Dhabi T10 league, which is due to start from November 15.In a statement, the PCB said that the decision had been taken “to manage the players’ workload, continued work on their fitness levels [and] to ensure primacy and participation of its player in its premier Quaid-e-Azam Trophy”.The tournament is set to clash with a fitness and medical assessment camp at the National Cricket Academy, as well as several round of the QeA Trophy.The PCB added: “The decision has been made in the best interest of the players as well as to continue to enhance the credibility and reputation of the new domestic structure, which has been widely covered and reported across all media outlets.”The news is a significant blow to the T10 tournament, which was set to feature several Pakistan players. The majority of the Qalandars squad is Pakistani – including Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf and Imran Nazir – while other players who could be affected include Mohammad Irfan, Shoaib Malik and Sohail Tanvir. Afridi and Imran Nazir, however, will not be affected by the revokation of NOCs, given they have retired from Pakistan cricket.The PCB operate an informal “PSL plus one league” policy with regards to issuing NOCs to it players for leagues around the world. Beyond one other league, permission is viewed on a case-by-case basis, depending on the player’s fitness and Pakistan’s domestic and international commitments at the time. Mohammad Amir, Shadab Khan and Shaheen Afridi, for example, were recently included in the draft for The Hundred – which would constitute a league above and beyond the “PSL plus one” policy, but as things stand, ESPNcricinfo understands the PCB are expected to issue NOCs to the trio.

A Pakistan A side with no specialist spinners was made to toil on the third day as the Australians went 216 ahead on the back of Mitchell Marsh’s 162 and nineties from Shaun Marsh and Travis Head

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Oct-2018Mitchell Marsh plays off the front foot•Getty Images

Mitchell Marsh made his second century in as many four-day games as the Australians built on a strong start to dominate Pakistan A on the third day of their warm-up match in Dubai. In all, the Australians added 287 runs on the third day and lost only two wickets – those of the Marsh brothers – and with Travis Head’s unbeaten 90, went 216 runs ahead.Mitchell and Shaun Marsh, who already added 103 overnight, went on to add a further 104 on the third day as they took Australia into the lead. Against a Pakistan A side that picked no specialist spinners, the pair batted for more than 70 overs before Shaun fell six short of a century.But Mitchell, newly named vice-captain of Australia’s Test squad, and perhaps batting at No. 4 because of Matt Renshaw’s absence at the top of the order, pushed another step ahead in what has been a good return from being on the sidelines for five months with an ankle injury. He batted quicker than he had on the second day, taking a liking to the part-time offspin of Asad Shafiq whom he took for 51 off 53 balls.Giving company towards the end of his innings was the left-handed Head, whose recent form suggests a Test debut is drawing closer and closer. Head made scores of 87, 68 and 47 in his last three innings against India A in spin-friendly conditions and added to that run by finishing the third day unbeaten on 90. Head hasn’t scored a first-class century since March 2017 and batted for 200 balls on the third day. He was also the fourth Australian batsman to make a 50-plus score in the match.Unbeaten alongside him, on 39, was Queensland’s Marnus Labuschagne, who hit three fours and a six in a fifth-wicket stand worth 87.Pakistan A spinners Ifthikar Ahmed and Shafiq bowled 54 overs between themselves for a wicket, while left-arm seamer Waqas Maqsood took the only other wicket to fall on the day. Fast bowlers Rahat Ali and Wahab Riaz, the only other bowlers in the team with Test experience, went wicketless on the third day as well.

New Zealand players called up to replace David Miller and Lasith Malinga for CPL 2017

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jul-2017St Lucia Stars have named New Zealand’s Jesse Ryder and Mitchell McClenaghan as replacements for David Miller and Lasith Malinga respectively, for the upcoming edition of the Caribbean Premier League, which begins on August 4. While Miller is likely to join South Africa A for their two four-day matches against India A, Malinga, who has been having injury troubles lately, might feature in the limited-overs series against India.Ryder played his last competitive game in March, scoring an unbeaten 109 in the second innings to take Central Districts to a win against Canterbury. The all-rounder, whose international career has been regularly interrupted by a spate of alcohol-related issues, last appeared for New Zealand in 2014. He has, however, been named in New Zealand’s 12-man squad for the Indoor Cricket World Cup in Dubai, which begins in September this year. He averages 26.13 in 133 T20s and strikes at 147.02.McClenaghan, the left-arm fast bowler, played a key role in Mumbai Indians’ successful IPL campaign this year, taking 19 wickets to finish as the team’s second-highest wicket-taker. McClenaghan has made 28 T20I appearances, taking 30 wickets at an average of 25.26.Speaking about the new signings, Manan Pandya of the St Lucia Stars franchise said: “Both Jesse and Mitchell are world-class players who will bring firepower to the squad in terms of both batting and bowling. We are sure that these new Stars will shine as we work on bringing home our first Hero CPL title.”