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Mohammad Rizwan fell five runs short of a maiden hundred before Australia’s quicks wrapped up victory

The Report by Andrew McGlashan24-Nov-2019Australia were made to work harder than appeared likely in securing an innings-and-five-run victory on the fourth day at the Gabba as Babar Azam scored a magnificently classy second Test hundred and Mohammad Rizwan fell five runs short of his first before the tail went down swinging.When Pakistan were reduced to 5 for 94 in the morning session – the same position they found themselves in the first innings – the prospect of Australia needing the second new ball or coming close to batting again seemed far-fetched. However, Azam and Rizwan added 132 for the sixth wicket then Rizwan was joined by Yasir Shah to put on 79 for the seventh.The loss of Rizwan for 95, moments before the second new ball was taken, ended the resistance and the Pakistan fast bowlers were in for a good time, not a long time. Josh Hazlewood finished with 4 for 63 in what was Australia’s 13th straight victory at home against Pakistan.Azam played an outstanding knock, a fine response to the poor stroke in the first innings which left Pakistan in trouble. He barely put a foot wrong this time, scoring freely around the wicket, with the driving standing out as so often in a typical Azam innings. There were no nervous nineties for him as he pulled Pat Cummins through midwicket before driving wide of mid-off to bring up his first overseas hundred off 160 balls.Nathan Lyon brought his innings to a halt when a quicker delivery found the edge and Tim Paine took a sharp catch, but that was not a prelude to a swift conclusion as Rizwan matched Azam stroke for stroke only to upper cut Hazlewood to third man moments before the second new ball.Significant damage had been done to Pakistan’s top order on the third evening and they resumed on 3 for 64. There were promising signs in the first hour as Azam and Shan Masood repelled the Australia quicks, although Masood was challenged by considerable seam movement Cummins extracted from the fourth-day wicket.It was Cummins who struck first when Masood got a thin top edge on a hook and in the next over Hazlewood produced a peach to take a nick from Iftikhar Ahmed. Pakistan have had no contribution from two of their top six in this match – Ahmed and Haris Sohail – and it will give them plenty to ponder ahead of the Adelaide Test on Friday.Babar Azam celebrates his century•AFP

Australia sensed an early wrap-up but then hit the roadblock. A sweetly-timed drive off Mitchell Starc took Azam to his half-century; his judgement of length against pace and spin was a standout feature of the innings. There was moment of mild concern on 75 when Australia reviewed an lbw shout from Hazlewood which was umpire’s call on trimming the bails.Azam’s Test career has been on an upward curve over the last 12 months and he tuned up stylishly with a hundred against Australia A, but this could yet be a crucial moment in the career of a batsman who is earmarked as one who can join the elite.Rizwan, in his second Test, had shown his feisty qualities in the first innings before edging a Cummins delivery which was a borderline no-ball that many felt should have been called. He played second fiddle to Azam for the first part of his innings but became more aggressive during the afternoon and evening session. His duel with Lyon – whom he slog-swept to bring up his maiden Test fifty from 86 balls – was especially absorbing. The offspinner targeted the footmarks created by Starc and Rizwan was keen to use his feet, highlighted by a wonderful drive through the covers that almost brought applause from the bowler himself.On 92 it appeared he may have fallen to one of the great short leg catches when Marnus Labuschagne moved with a paddle sweep, the ball lobbing behind square with Labuschagne flinging himself full length to get the ball in his fingertips but the third umpire ruled it had been grounded. Subsequent replays suggested it hadn’t hit the bat in any event.Perhaps keen to reach three figures before the new ball, Rizwan’s eyes lit up when Hazlewood’s first ball back was short outside off and he sent it straight to Lyon at third man. The only question then was whether the final three wickets would make Australia’s openers pad up. Yasir – whose batting was encouraging for Pakistan in both innings – missed a maiden Test fifty when he got a leading edge to mid-off and three overs later Matthew Wade’s catch at long-on was the final act in another comprehensive Gabba victory for Australia.

He was hit on the gloves by Mitchell Starc during New Zealand’s first innings at MCG

Daniel Brettig28-Dec-2019New Zealand’s sorry Australian tour took another turn for the worse as Trent Boult was ruled out of the third and final Test in Sydney with a fracture on his right hand, sustained while batting.Boult had been struck on the gloves by Mitchell Starc at the back-end of New Zealand’s first innings at the MCG, and went to hospital for x-rays during the tea break. The results confirmed a fracture, meaning Boult will fly home after the Melbourne Test and be out for at least four weeks, although he did return to bowl towards the end of the day.”Trent Boult suffered a fracture to the second-metacarpal of his right hand after being struck while batting on day three of the second Test against Australia in Melbourne,” a New Zealand Cricket spokesperson said. “An X-ray during the tea break confirmed the undisplaced fracture which will require around four weeks of rehabilitation, meaning Boult will return home to New Zealand at the end of the Test. A replacement player will be confirmed in due course.”Boult had missed the first Test of the series, in Perth, because of a side injury, but recovered in time to play the Boxing Day Test.Opening batsman Tom Latham said that Boult’s recent run had been “gutting” for the left-armer and the team as a whole.”It’s obviously gutting news for Trent and also for our group to have someone like that ruled out with his injuries,” Latham said. “We’ll have to wait and see who the replacement is over the next few days, but I’m sure whoever will come in will be up for the task.”Boult is the second New Zealand bowler to fly home from the tour following the injury sustained by Lockie Ferguson in Perth. Their next cricket after the Sydney Test is the T20I series against India which begins in late January and is followed by ODIs and two Tests in February.

Senior batsman says South Africa must “find a combination and stick with it” as new World Cup cycle begins

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Feb-2020Quinton de Kock will bring calmness and “a great understanding of the game” to the role of South Africa ODI captain, according to team-mate David Miller. De Kock will take charge during the upcoming series against England, and has been tipped as the long-term successor to Faf du Plessis.South Africa’s players have convened this weekend to prepare for the three ODIs, starting in Cape Town on Tuesday. Five members of the 14-man squad are uncapped, with regular captain du Plessis and senior quick Kagiso Rabada rested, but Miller said he expected de Kock to set a positive example for the rest to follow.”Quinny and I have come a long way. I’d never met him before playing for South Africa, and our relationship has got stronger and stronger,” Miller said.”As everyone knows, Quinny is Quinny. He’s an unbelievable performer, thinks about things very simply, but at the same time, I genuinely think as he’s got older – he’s 27 now, he’s not a young whipper-snapper, he’s actually a mature, proper senior player, and I really feel he’s got a great feel on the ground, during the game he’s got a great understanding of the game. There’s a calmness to him that comes with that. He oozes enjoying the game and I think that’s a great asset that he has.”At 30, Miller is one of the oldest players in the group – and the most experienced, having played 126 ODIs. He has just returned from a stint in the Big Bash League with Hobart Hurricanes, and said he was keen to get involved after the revamp of South Africa’s coaching structure, which now features several faces that Miller played alongside at the start of his international career.”It’s very exciting,” he said. “I saw the squad come out and it was not the normal squad that everyone’s used to seeing. It’s refreshing, seeing it from Australia, and thinking it’s a new start. Teams go up and down … I personally don’t enjoy the fact we’re just building for something. At the end of the day, international cricket you need to perform, regardless of going through youngsters, and so on. Guys need to come in and learn as quick as possible.”I mentioned it before, when we played the T20s in India, we’re here to win. We’re not here to see how things go. It’s an exciting time to be in South African cricket, there’s a lot going on, but the guys have got a lot of energy, they’re willing to learn, and having the management we do, that have played a lot of cricket, it’s a good combination.”In keeping with South Africa’s disappointing 2019 World Cup, Miller had a middling run in England last year, batting four times and making scores of 38, 31, 36 and 31. However, as a senior batsman who made his ODI debut a decade ago, he is keen to carve out a central role for himself in the run up to the 2023 tournament in India.”The first World Cup [in 2015], for me, I came into a side where there were experienced senior players, and I felt like I was there and I had to do my job, fitting into the experienced players; and the last World Cup was much of the same. This build to the next World Cup is a different one for me, in the sense that there’s new players. It’s just a fresh crop. So it’s a very different experience compared to the last seven-eight years.”That’s why I’m really excited. We have to take responsibility for our performances but it’s about winning now, as well as building, about trying to find the best combination as early as possible and sticking with that.”England, too, have an experimental look about them, with World Cup winners such as Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler rested ahead of the T20Is – which have assumed greater importance in a T20 World Cup year – and Miller said South Africa would be out to cause an upset.”We are playing the world champions at the end of the day,” he said. “But cricket is cricket and everyone’s beatable. If we come with the right approach and mindset, and we nail down what we need to do – which is take wickets and score runs – I think it’s going to be a really good competition.”

South Africa were struggling at 64 for 4 before her knock lifted the team to a competitive 136 for 6

The Report by Andrew McGlashan01-Mar-2020Laura Wolvaardt produced one of the innings of the tournament as South Africa rebounded from a tricky start against Pakistan to book their spot in the semi-finals. Wolvaardt struck a 36-ball half-century which lifted a stuttering innings into a total that proved too much for Pakistan who were missing captain Bismah Maroof after she was ruled out of the tournament with a finger injury.Pakistan had made the early running through another impressive new-ball spell from Diana Baig and for much of the innings it appeared South Africa would struggle to make 120 but Wolvaardt, batting for the first time in the tournament, changed all that as she struck 33 off her last 15 deliveries with 29 runs coming off the last two overs.South Africa defended the total without the services of Marizanne Kapp, who missed the Thailand match with a respiratory infection and struggled after her innings on a warm day, as the remaining bowlers, led by Shabnim Ismail, applied consistent pressure to Pakistan’s top order which proved too much to handle.Baig does it againBaig set the tone for Pakistan’s victory against West Indies and she produced a similarly demanding spell here. The dangerous Lizelle Lee, who scored a century against Thailand, fell in the opening over when she edged an outswinger and in her third over – which became a wicket maiden – Baig had Dane van Niekerk dragging on. She thought she had removed van Niekerk in her previous over when the South Africa captain was given lbw, but the DRS showed the ball just missing leg stump. Not than van Niekerk had been especially confident of it being overturned – she was halfway off the ground before the ball-tracking confirmed her reprieve. Not that it lasted long. Baig’s opening spell finished with 3-1-13-2.Wolvaardt lights up South AfricaWolvaardt’s T20I career has not taken off in the way her ODI form has – where she averages 45 – and she has been handed a new role in the middle order for this tournament. Today’s innings may come to be viewed as a breakout moment for her. South Africa were 54 for 3 at the halfway mark when she walked in, and soon 64 for 4 when Kapp departed, and in desperate need of a strong second half. Woolvaardt produced a wonderfully measured innings, running hard – something not always seen in this tournament – and then finishing with a blaze of boundaries as she struck five of her last six deliveries for four. The crispness and power of her driving was outstanding, strong wrists enabling her to find gaps between and over fielders.Ismail’s differenceWithout Kapp, even more onus fell on Ismail and she responded with a two-over new-ball spell that put Pakistan on the back foot. She conceded just two runs off the bat and her second over was a wicket maiden when she induced Muneeba Ali to splicing a pull to mid-on. Pakistan did not help themselves with some poor running which brought the wicket of Umaima Sohail who hit the ball straight to cover and set off immediately, on for Javeria Khan to not move an inch.Bad luck ends Pakistan’s challengeThough Pakistan were behind the required rate, Javeria started to play some strong drives to suggest that South Africa may struggle in the absence of Kapp. Wanting a sixth bowler, van Niekerk turned to Chloe Tryon, who is a rarely used option these days, and her first delivery was dispatched down the ground. However, four balls later came the moment that all-but decided the game when Aliya Riaz drove a delivery firmly back down the pitch, it clipped Tyron’s fingers and ricocheted into the non-striker’s stumps with Javeria forlornly short of her crease.South Africa celebrated their moment of fortune, Javeria walked off with her team’s chances done although brave hitting from Riaz and Iram Javed hinted at what might have been. Pakistan have shown improvement this tournament but barring a mathematical miracle will again exit in the group stage.

Bradburn, until now the national side’s fielding coach, will take over as head of high-performance coaching

Danyal Rasool28-May-2020The PCB has brought in significant changes including three new appointments at its High Performance Centre (HPC). Grant Bradburn, until now fielding coach of the Pakistan national side, will take over as head of high-performance coaching, while Saqlain Mushtaq has been appointed head of international player development. In addition, Asser Malik, a managing director of a player-management agency and franchise owner in the amateur league Last Man Stands, takes charge as high-performance operations Manager. He will, upon assuming his role at the PCB, relinquish involvement in the player-management agency.Appointments at the National Cricket Academy, the venue for the HPC, had been expected since the PCB released director of domestic cricket Haroon Rasheed and chief curator Agha Zahid six weeks ago to begin a restructuring process. Chief executive officer Wasim Khan had hinted towards fresh, younger hires at the HPC, telling ESPNcricinfo last year that Pakistan needed “people who were relevant, hungry, and committed to making a difference”.David Parsons, a former director of the ECB’s High Performance Centre, visited Pakistan in 2019 to present a detailed report to the PCB with recommendations for how to go about revamping the National Cricket Academy. Wasim, who has been most vocal in championing an overhaul of the work culture at the PCB and the operations at the National Cricket Academy, has spent most of his career working in England, with the PCB looking to adapt the workings of the ECB’s high-performance culture at the NCA.”The High Performance Centre is the heart of Pakistan cricket, which will ultimately set the direction of Pakistan cricket’s future,” Wasim said. “The unique skills and understanding that each of these individuals have of their specific areas will help create alignment to International standards and best practices.”I am confident the team of [high-performance director] Nadeem Khan, Grant Bradburn and Saqlain Mushtaq will create greater alignment between domestic and International cricket, make our high-performance programs relevant in the modern world and will drive the standards and levels of professionalism required within our system.”Bradburn’s move to the HPC means the position of fielding coach with the international side becomes vacant. The PCB said it would be filled in due course, at head coach Misbah-ul-Haq’s discretion. A Level 3 coach, Bradburn is understood to have applied for the role at the NCA, with the PCB praising “his strong reputation of creating united and successful environments”.”I am honoured that my association and relationship with Pakistan cricket continues,” Bradburn said. “I consider it a privilege to work here in Pakistan among highly skilled players and coaches, while I have realised there is incredible talent and passion for the game in this country.”I now aim to support our best players by enabling our current and future coaches with the skills they need to create world’s best players and winning environments. In turn, this proud cricket nation will aim to become self-reliant on cricket coaching resources that are both world leading and uniquely Pakistan.”I have attended meetings with other members of the High Performance Centre and have been impressed with their approach, vision and strategy. I am looking forward to making a meaningful contribution during my time at the High Performance Centre and I plan to succeed in creating an environment which all coaches will find challenging, productive and rewarding.”Saqlain, also a Level 3 coach, has extensive experience as a spin-bowling coach and consultant, having worked in at least one of those roles previously for West Indies, England, Australia, New Zealand and Pakistan. “It is an honour and a privilege to represent Pakistan,” he said. “In this background, I am delighted to have been offered this exciting opportunity to work on skillful and exciting young cricketers and help them grow in their careers.”Before agreeing to the role, I had a look at a number of things, including the cricketing environment and people I will be working with. I think the vision, aspirations and strategy of the PCB is heading in the right direction and, as such, it is the right time to join the high performance team in Lahore and try to take Pakistan cricket back to its glory days.”

He is the third cricketer from Pakistan – and the second international – to have contracted the virus

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jun-2020Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has tested positive for Covid-19. Afridi, 40, revealed on Twitter on Saturday that he had been experiencing severe body ache for a few days, and that the tests had come out positive. Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan chief selector and head coach, sent across his best wishes to his former team-mate, suggesting that he had contracted the virus while he was conducting his charitable work.”My prayers are with him,” Misbah said. “All well wishes are with him that he gets out of this soon.”I think he was doing a lot of work in the area of Balochistan and the northern areas just to help the people. Throughout the Covid situation he was helping the poor and doing a very good job. Well wishes are with him to get well soon.”Since the Covid-19 outbreak, Afridi has travelled extensively to remote parts of the country to provide essentials to the underprivileged as part of his charity, the Shahid Afridi Foundation. Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were broadly the areas of focus for his relief work, and that involved delivering ration from house to house. During the work, Afridi came in close contact with the beneficiaries, who often showed their gratitude by hugging and kissing the former allrounder.Afridi had earlier also bought the bat put up for auction by Bangladesh’s Mushfiqur Rahim, to raise funds in the fight against the pandemic.Afridi became the third cricketer from Pakistan, and the second international after former opener Taufeeq Umar, to have contracted the virus. Zafar Sarfraz, the former first-class cricketer who died of the disease, was the first.Afridi, who quit international cricket in 2017, continues to ply his trade in domestic T20 leagues.

Disciplinary hearing decides no wilful intent on part of player after unauthorised home trip

George Dobell18-Jul-2020Jofra Archer has been cleared to play in the final Test of the series against West Indies despite breaching biosecurity protocols after the first Test.Archer was dropped from the squad for the second Test in Manchester after it emerged he had made an unauthorised visit to his home in Brighton after leaving Southampton. Ashley Giles, the managing director of England men’s cricket said the breach “could have been a disaster” which cost English cricket “tens of millions of pounds”.But a disciplinary hearing chaired by Giles ended with Archer being given a fine – which is understood to be around £15,000, the value of his match fee for the second Test – and an official written warning.ALSO READ: Ben Stokes calls on England to rally round Jofra ArcherThe relatively lenient penalty reflects Archer’s previous good record, his remorse and an acceptance his actions were foolish rather than a wilful breach of protocol. The hearing was also attended remotely by Archer’s agent, Tom Harwood, a representative from the Professional Cricketers’ Association, and John Carr, the director of England Cricket Operations at the ECB.Archer has been obliged to isolate in his hotel room at Emirates Old Trafford since the details of his trip came to light. He has already undergone one Covid-19 Test – which was negative – and will undergo another on Monday. If that, too, is negative, he will be reintegrated to the squad on Tuesday. The individual whom he saw in Brighton has also tested negative for the virus since the incident. ESPNcricinfo understands that individual was not Archer’s neighbour and Sussex teammate, Chris Jordan.The England squad have been keen to rally round Archer in recent days. While he has not had any face-to-face contact, they have kept in touch by WhatsApp in the evenings – the players are not allowed access to their phones during the day in accordance with anti-corruption protocols – and several of the team have played computer games with him.The team management is understood to be looking at the possibility of Archer exercising on the outfield at Emirates Old Trafford after the close of play to ensure he is able to retain his fitness.

Young England batsman talks about his unique drag-flick six-hitting technique

Sreshth Shah27-Aug-2020When Tom Banton first played the outrageous reverse-flick off his toes last year, many wondered how his wrists were so supple for him to pull that shot off. You look at the video below on repeat, and slowly realise it is reminiscent of Eoin Morgan, only right-handed, and there’s a reason for that.While Morgan spent his teenage years playing the Irish sport of hurling, Banton grew up playing field hockey, where flexible yet powerful wrists are vital for success. And his ability to play those 360-degree shots are part of some of the skills he transferred when he began taking cricket seriously.ALSO READ: McCullum: Gill will be ‘part of leadership group’ at KKR“I guess it probably comes from playing hockey,” Banton told . I was a drag-flicker and used to play reverse there quite often. My dad used to play hockey and I kind of followed his footsteps. I played hockey from three till about 17. I was 16 years old, when things were getting more serious and I had to pick one sport and that’s when I chose cricket.”
Morgan’s shadow continues to follow Banton in the IPL as they’ll be team-mates at Knight Riders, and the youngster only has praises for the man under whose captaincy he made his England debut. Although Morgan will not be his captain at Knight Riders, Banton knows Morgan will be the perfect team man for the two-time champions. Morgan returns for a second stint at Knight Riders, having been bought at the 2011 auction too.”He is an extremely positive person, no matter what,” Banton said of England’s ODI World Cup-winning captain. “It’s nice to have him in the team, as he bats for his team. I remember my first match for England, I got out playing a shot. He came up to me and said ‘you don’t need to change what you are currently doing.’ It was really nice to hear that.”ALSO READ: Banton among 20 players to watch out for in 2020sMorgan, though, is far from being only familiar face he will see at Knight Riders. While playing for Brisbane Heat at the 2019-20 BBL, he caught up with Knight Riders’ head coach Brendon McCullum on the day after the IPL auction where he was bought for INR 1 crore. Having one of his childhood idols is ‘cool’, according to Banton, as is the prospect of playing with three Indians he played a lot against at the Under-19 level.”I actually went out on dinner with him during the BBL, and also with Chris Lynn, our former KKR player, just the day after the auction,” Banton said. “Growing up, McCullum was someone I looked up to.”I am particularly excited to play alongside Andre Russell and Pat Cummins. I watched Andre last year, and he played really well. Learning from someone like him will be really cool. There are a few guys of my age – Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shubman Gill – whom I have played against when I was younger.”Looking back, I remember the Indians were a lot better than all of us in the [2018 Under-19] World Cup. I look up to those guys even now, and I am still good friends with some of them. Playing alongside Shubman at KKR will be pretty nice and I am really looking forward to it.”Banton has usually been a wicketkeeper-batsman at the county level but now he sees himself switching into a batmsan-wicketkeeper in the long term instead. It’s a decision that makes sense as Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow perform that role for the national side and his Knight Riders captain Dinesh Karthik takes up the keeping duties in the IPL.”I would like to be reckoned as a batsman who has the wicketkeeping abilities as a second option,” Banton said. “I think this year, I wanted to focus a lot more on my batting. At the same time, I want to continue working on my keeping skills. It’s been tricky this year. This winter has been hectic and I didn’t really have the time to stop and think about what I really wanted to do.”Banton is a self-confessed IPL fanatic, having watched the tournament right from its early years, and it’s now time to live what he’s been “dreaming of since a very young age.” His game is built for the IPL, and with Knight Riders dropping Lynn from their squad, there might just be a spot in the top order for him.

Hartley and Morley share seven fourth-innings wickets in Lancashire’s 178-run victory

Paul Edwards09-Sep-2020
This was one of those days when watching first-class county cricket on an outground is just about the best thing on earth. Some of us have always maintained this to be true, of course, but when the sun first dappled and then enriched the Aigburth beeches and Derbyshire’s batsmen battled against perhaps the youngest attack Lancashire have ever fielded, our case was surely made nem. con.The afternoon offered us September’s gentle, generous warmth and it brought particular joy to the slow left-armers, Tom Hartley and Jack Morley, who eventually shared seven wickets in Derbyshire’s second innings to hand Lancashire a 178-run victory. Yet it was also heartening that Derbyshire’s last three batsmen made the home bowlers sweat for their spoils: there was less than half an hour left in the game when Mattie McKiernan’s 130-minute innings of 52 was ended by Steve O’Shaughnessy’s raised finger in answer to Danny Lamb’s appeal. It was McKiernan’s maiden half-century but you can be certain he would have swapped it for the draw.On Tuesday evening the headlines had been dominated by the possibility of the ECB changing the regulations for the Bob Willis Trophy should teams finish equal on points. What was allotted rather less attention was the argument that Derbyshire’s chances of winning this game and thereby achieving such parity were remote in the extreme. That prospect receded even further with Dane Vilas’s decision to bat on this morning and to extend Lancashire’s lead to 381 before declaring. Danny Lamb used the long handle to good effect, reaching his maiden first-class fifty off 49 balls and by the time Derbyshire’s openers came out to begin the game’s last innings the main discussion revolved around whether the visitors could avoid defeat and go through a first-class season unbeaten for the first time since 1874. It transpired they couldn’t.Derbyshire’s pursuit – if pursuit it ever was – got off to a woeful start. Lamb slanted one across Billy Godleman and the visiting captain departed much as he had done in the first innings: caught in the slips when pushing a little across the line. Four overs later Lamb brought one back to Wayne Madsen and Graham Lloyd decided it was not doing too much to miss leg stump.Luis Reece and Leus du Plooy shepherded the innings to 56 for 2 at lunch and batted with relative restraint for an hour on the resumption. Vilas brought on his spinners and du Plooy cover-drove Hartley for successive boundaries when he overpitched. The contest was never less than keen and one sensed that both young bowlers were gaining in knowledge with every over they bowled. It was an afternoon when a man might think himself young again and once more ‘prince of the apple towns’, the figures in white making the hours memorable even as the season slipped away.Then Derbyshire lost the match in little more than half an hour, their extraordinary decline beginning in an incident-crammed 41st over bowled by Morley. Off the first ball Reece, who was well set on 55, went down on one knee and clumped the ball over midwicket for six. The third and fifth balls were reverse-swept to the boundary but the opener then attempted an orthodox sweep to the final delivery and top edged a catch to Keaton Jennings at slip.For a while batsmen came and went like drivers collecting car park tickets. Du Plooy played all around a low full toss from Hartley and was leg before; Fynn Hudson-Prentice was beaten by a well-flighted delivery from the same bowler and nicked a catch to Jennings; Matt Critchley played down the soft fruit aisle only to find the spinning ball was in chocolate and biscuits. Morley thus collected his second wicket and later picked up his third when Harvey Hosein went back fatally. By then, Anuj Dal had also been leg before to Hartley, although there was a suspicion he’d hit it. Derbyshire had lost six wickets for 17 runs in little more than nine overs.All this drama lacked was the appreciation of a crowd. The live streams have been invaluable this season but they are one-way media. One notices the absence of loyal spectators, their smiles, their applause and, yes, their grumbles. There would have been joy from home supporters when Hartley and Morley were running through Derbyshire but also appreciation for the determination shown by McKiernan and Sam Conners in a 36-over stand which bridged the tea interval. McKiernan hit eight boundaries but eventually shut up shop; his partner, by contrast, had never been open for business.With forty minutes left in the game – Lancashire would have bowled something like 100 overs had the innings run its full length – Conners went back to Morley and thereby became his fourth victim of the innings. By then the trees on Beechwood Road, which had been dark and shadowed in the early morning, carried the sunlight of early evening. Lancashire’s players shouted in hope at almost every thick edge and traces of impatience were showing before McKiernan became Lamb’s third wicket of the innings, thus giving him match figures of seven for 72; they are the best of his career and it suddenly seemed a long time since he had completed that rapid fifty in the opening overs of the day. Having made certain they could not lose the game, Lancashire had duly succeeded in winning it and no one was asking about a late declaration when they interviewed the young spinners, their faces shining with the sweat of triumph.The cricketers are gone now and Aigburth has been made ready for other matches. Suddenly there is that soft melancholy that accompanies the final month of any cricket season. Yet the sight of Morley and Hartley and McKiernan playing with such passion and skill offered us portents of next spring and we are blessed in this of all summers that we have had so much to remember and enjoy afresh.

“It feels good to know that we can see him, talk to him and spend time with him,” says T20 captain Mahmudullah

Mohammad Isam28-Oct-2020Bangladesh cricket is eager to welcome Shakib Al Hasan back into the dressing room with open arms. That is the belief of Mahmudullah, who took over as the team’s T20I captain soon after Shakib was handed a 12-month ban.Shakib, whose ban ends on October 29, is currently in the USA with his family, but could return to the Bangladesh fold as early as next month.”Our boy is coming back home, which makes me very happy,” Mahmudullah told ESPNcricinfo. “We know that Shakib has been the best player for so many years, for the Bangladesh cricket team. We are all eagerly waiting for his return to the dressing room. It feels good to know that we can see him, talk to him and spend time with him.”Shakib had completed a four-week training camp with his mentors Mohammad Salahuddin and Nazmul Abedeen Fahim at the BKSP in September. The training, which was mostly conducted behind closed doors, was geared towards his return to the Bangladesh team during their (then scheduled) tour of Sri Lanka. He was slated to play the second Test, but the tour got postponed for a second time last month.Since the ban, Shakib has mostly stayed away from the public eye, besides the odd interview or social media post. He is likely to make his comeback at the five-team T20 tournament which the BCB has orgnaised from mid-November.Mahmudullah, who has spent all of his 13-year international career playing alongside Shakib, feels the allrounder will fit right back in without any rust.”Shakib is a champion player. I think it won’t take him long to get back to rhythm. I believe that he will get it back as soon as he enters the cricket field.”The biggest thing is that we can fill up the gap that his absence had created. He always makes important contributions with the bat and ball.”Replacing Shakib has been a major headache for Bangladesh during this period, with the team already in transition after the 2019 World Cup. Shakib was leading the side in Tests and T20Is. After his suspension, Bangladesh struggled to make any mark during tours to India and Pakistan, and only salvaged some pride by beating Zimbabwe comprehensively at home across all three formats earlier this year.Minhajul Abedin, the BCB chief selector, echoed the views of Mahmudulla, predicting Shakib to ease back into competitive cricket through upcoming domestic tournaments.”Our best player is coming back to the field,” he said. “He now has to prepare himself for domestic tournaments since we don’t have any international series for the time being. We have to monitor his physical condition. Let him start in domestic cricket. We should give him time but he is a very experienced player. He won’t take long to get back into rhythm.”He may have been injured before a series. He has missed a few Tests recently too, so we have to choose whoever is available in the present condition. We definitely missed him. He is one of the best allrounders in the world, and there are so few of them these days. We were lucky to have a batting allrounder like him, which gave us a lot of advantage.”Bangladesh’s next international assignment is likely to be a home series against West Indies in January 2021. Bangladesh have so far had eight Tests as well as a handful of ODIs and T20Is postponed, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.