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Spirited batting closes gap to eighth place with one round of matches to come

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay18-Sep-2025Durham 450 for 6 (Gay 161, Rhodes , Bedingham 58) drew with Worcestershire 591 for 9 dec (Roderick 151, Brookes 100, D’Oliveira 84, Taylor 66*, Edavalath 61)Centuries from Emilio Gay and Will Rhodes helped Durham pick up five crucial batting bonus points as they drew their Rothesay County Championship clash with already relegated Worcestershire.In the morning the Pears picked up a couple of Durham scalps to halt their quest for batting bonus points, but Gay and David Bedingham (58) combined for a partnership worth 122 to help Durham’s cause.Gay then reached three figures, while Rhodes scored his maiden first-class hundred for Durham to get them to 450 for six, securing the maximum number of batting points available ahead of a potential relegation decider against Yorkshire next week.Worcestershire declared overnight on 591 for nine, leaving Durham with the task of getting batting bonus points to boost their chances of staying in Division One.Opener Alex Lees carved a Tom Taylor delivery through the covers to the boundary, but Taylor got Lees next ball as he was caught behind for eight.The Pears were testing Durham in the early stages, but Gay relieved the pressure as he produced a great straight drive off Taylor which went for four.Durham’s pursuit stalled as Ben McKinney then departed for 16 at the hands of Matthew Waite as he edged one to Ben Gibbon at slip.That brought David Bedingham to the crease and the batter managed to find the boundary with ease in the early stages of his innings.Pears skipper Brett D’Oliveira came into the attack, but on his follow through he went over on his right ankle, which prompted concerns from the dressing room given they have the Metro Bank One Day Cup final on Saturday.Gay continued to tick along nicely and got his fifty from 71 balls, while taking his side to 100 before lunch.Bedingham continued to attack the bowlers after the lunch interval as he clipped one on the onside for four and he played another excellent shot, this time carving a Taylor delivery through the covers for four.Gay was almost heading back to the pavilion on 72, as he edged an Allison delivery but Gibbon couldn’t cling on to it with an outstretched hand.Bedingham then brought up his second fifty of the season from 79 balls and smashed a six off the bowling of Waite next ball. However, he went for one hit too many as Waite got him for 58 after he didn’t get enough on a pull shot, which Allison caught on the boundary.Gay continued to motor, now alongside Will Rhodes, and he picked up his fourth century of the season from 127 balls.The opener continued to play fluently after reaching the milestone, picking up three boundaries in a Brookes over, and Durham reached their first batting point in the 53rd over.Gay passed the milestone of 150 for the third time this campaign after tea and Rhodes, who has struggled for First Class runs this season, played nicely and found the boundary with a tidy glance off the legs from a Gibbon ball.Rhodes then reached fifty for the first time in Durham whites from 72 deliveries and he picked up another boundary straight after. Gay then went for an excellent 161, his highest Durham score, as he chopped a Gibbon delivery onto his leg stump.Rhodes continued Durham’s swashbuckling approach as he heaved a Dan Lategan to the boundary, but Ollie Robinson fell soon after for four as he was bowled by the part-time off spin of Jake Libby.Rhodes continued his charge as he smashed Lategan for a six down the ground and then reached three figures for the first time this season, coming from 121 balls.Graham Clark produced a quick 29 to speed things up, but Libby got his second of the day as he got the Durham man caught and bowled.Rhodes then got his 150 and guided his side to 450, the magic number for five batting points, and the two sides shook hands just after 5pm.

The MCA has promised improved access to water for the fans from day two onwards

Deivarayan Muthu24-Oct-2024No access to drinking water for spectators at the MCA Stadium on a hot and humid day in Pune led to chaos and complaints of sickness among the fans who came to watch the first day of the second Test between India and New Zealand.During the lunch break, hundreds of spectators queued up near the North Stand for water, which was unavailable at the time. Police intervention was needed to manage that crowd. Around 20 people complained of dehydration and giddiness and needed attention at the first-aid kiosk at the North Stand. With temperatures over 30 degrees celsius, a member of the staff at that kiosk suggested that there were more cases of dehydration in other stands.The MCA stadium, located in the outskirts of Pune near the expressway to Mumbai, has a capacity of 37,000, and almost 18,000 spectators turned up for the third Test match at the venue and first since 2019. More than half of those spectators had to brave the heat and humidity as only six stands at the MCA stadium have a roof.The MCA had promised free water during this game, but amid the chaos, a number of fans ended up buying water from vendors at high prices. One fan said he had spent more on water bottles than his ticket for the entire Test match.Once water was made available to the spectators the MCA secretary Kamlesh Pisal apologised to the fans and said that more water booths would be set up across the stands from Friday.”We can only apologise to the fans for inconvenience caused,” Pisal told reporters. “But we want to assure them, through MCA, that this won’t be repeated, and everything will be taken care of.”Considering the scorching heat, we had decided to provide cold water. In our previous experience, the fans had complained about us providing warm water or boiling water. We, as management, thought we would provide them with cold water, so we had kept cool cages. Once the water in cool cages finished, we tried to refill it with the same cold water, and in that process, it got delayed. We have done a recce of the entire water in stands and will make sure everything is refilled properly tonight to avoid such situations.”

PNG will be playing their second T20 World Cup, after a winless campaign in 2021

ESPNcricinfo staff08-May-2024Batter Assad Vala will lead Papua New Guinea (PNG) at the upcoming T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA. This is the second time Vala will be their captain at the competition after also leading them in 2021. Vala will have allrounder Charles Amini as his vice-captain.Ten of the 15 players chosen for the 2024 event were also part of the squad in 2021, with Jack Gardner, who was a reserve three years ago, now picked in the squad proper. Those who missed out were Simon Atai, Jason Kila, Gaudi Toka, Nosaina Pokana and Damien Ravu, in whose place came in Gardner, Alei Nao, Hila Vare, John Kariko and Sema Kamea.In 2021, PNG had lost to Oman, Scotland and Bangladesh in the first round of the tournament, and failed to make it to the Super 12s.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“The energy has been great within the team,” Vala said. “For some of the boys who went to the last T20 World Cup, it’s a different feeling now with a lot of the training, because the last time was during Covid and the preparation wasn’t as good as what we’re going through now. I am looking forward to this event because I know we are going to do well.”PNG qualified for this year’s T20 World Cup by topping the East Asia-Pacific Qualifier in 2023, where they won all six of their matches against Japan, Vanuatu and Philippines. They enter the T20 World Cup on the back of a 2-0 series win against Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, which came immediately after they won a T20I tri-series also featuring Nepal and Hong Kong.PNG start their World Cup campaign against co-hosts West Indies in Guyana on June 2. They are part of Group C, which also includes Afghanistan, New Zealand and Uganda.

PNG squad for T20 World Cup

Assad Vala (capt), Charles Amini (vice-capt), Alei Nao, Chad Soper, Hila Vare, Hiri Hiri, Jack Gardner, John Kariko, Kabua Morea, Kipling Doriga, Lega Siaka, Norman Vanua, Sema Kamea, Sese Bau, Tony Ura

India will play England in the second semi-final in Guyana after winning all three of their Super Eight games

Alagappan Muthu24-Jun-20241:14

Manjrekar: ‘Rohit’s selflessness the most appealing thing about him’

Rohit Sharma is the reason India are in the T20 World Cup 2024 semi-finals. He was sublime. But then again he has been for a long time, simply with his commitment to an attacking game at personal cost. It deserves credit but until now it’s come in intangible form. Perhaps in five days’ time, it will take the shape of an ICC trophy.On a sunny morning in St Lucia, India’s captain scored 76 of his 92 runs in boundaries and left Australia with nowhere to hide. He even prompted them into mistakes. A total of 205 built on a series of broken records proved too much. It even offered insulation against Travis Head and that, in recent times, has been so rare it’s almost unheard of. Australia may yet make the final four, but they need Bangladesh to do them a favour and beat Afghanistan (by non-colossal margins) in St Vincent later on Monday.

Rohit’s rampage

On November 19, he was supposed to lead his team to glory but instead walked away with tears in his eyes. On June 24, he had reason to believe all that hurt might rise up again when his opening partner and world-beating bestie Virat Kohli fell for a duck. Some might have taken a backward step. Rohit took Mitchell Starc for 29 runs in an over instead. He was 50 off 19 in the fifth over. The other end had contributed 2 off 13. India’s 52 was the lowest score at which an individual player had brought up a half-century in T20Is where ball-by-ball data is available. Rohit was not playing.Related

• Rohit transformation steers India towards date with destiny

• Australia 'hoping that Bangladesh can get the job done' for them

• Rohit had to 'open up all sides of the field' to counter St Lucia breeze

• Ball-by-ball: Rohit takes Starc down in 29-run over

• Stats – Rohit rewrites record books with whirlwind 41-ball 92

Pitch it up and get punished

Australia, though, played right into Rohit’s hands. Starc, for example, kept going full. It’s his one job. Try to find swing. Try to break stumps. But at the Daren Sammy Stadium, that was the wrong length. Josh Hazlewood showed the way there. He pitched up only two times in his entire spell and those were yorkers. Every other ball was on a length or just short of it and he came away with figures of 1 for 14. Rohit was invited to play his front-foot shots 24 times and he scored 71 runs, including seven of his eight sixes and five of his seven fours.

Rohit’s shots

Six of the 11 overs that Rohit was out there for went for double-digits. He was batting like he does in ODI cricket, when he’s 200 not out. Going down on one knee and slog sweeping Pat Cummins, who came into this game with back-to-back hat-tricks, for a six that thudded onto the roof of the stadium. Coming down the track like water flowing down a cliff – so devastatingly smooth – to smack Marcus Stoinis on the up over extra cover. Trying a version of the scoop but ending up with a version of the pull – new addition to the playlist. Bottom line was everything he was doing was working for him. Even a defensive push to cover had such an aura behind it that Australia ended up misfielding and giving up a second run.Travis Head gave India a lot of pain once again•ICC/Getty Images

Starc’s recovery

India scored 10 fours and 10 sixes while Rohit was at the crease. After he fell, they could manage only nine combined. Starc deserves credit for that. He came back in the 12th over, shifted his angle around the wicket to deny Rohit the freedom of his arms, and although he still went full, this time he took pace off and that made enough of a difference. The bat couldn’t touch ball and the stumps lay broken. Starc’s slower delivery took out Suryakumar Yadav too, right in the middle of a masterclass of his own, scoring his runs in a way that don’t always make sense. Cummins, once again, was the unlucky recipient as a ball that was close to the wide line ended up with a home on the square-leg boundary.India went 21 deliveries without a boundary between the 15th and 18th overs but they still managed a finishing kick as Hardik Pandya nailed three sixes in the final two overs to push the total past 200.Axar Patel’s sensational catch on the boundary was a turning point in Australia’s chase•AFP/Getty Images

Head start

David Warner fell in the first over of the chase and now there is risk that his 6 off 6 might be his last international outing. Australia still had batters capable of dictating terms out there though. Mitchell Marsh took the wicket-taker Arshdeep Singh for two fours and a six in an over and Head did even better by hitting Jasprit Bumrah off the length he likes to bowl with the new ball. That made the India quick turn to plan B – yorkers – and under pressure even he missed one and bowled a full toss. Australia finished the powerplay at 65 for 1, five runs better than India. Marsh’s power game and Head’s incredible skill at clearing his front leg and somehow opening vast swathes of the outfield on both sides had flipped the script.

Axar’s sensational catch

India needed something special and it arrived in the form of Axar Patel. He was a few yards off the fence at deep square leg, which seemed like an error considering it was Marsh on strike. The slog sweep flew off his bat. Flat. Hard. Destined to go for six. A support staff member was even ducking for cover fearing it would beat the fielder. But Axar didn’t let it. He leapt up, went for it with both hands, and got it with just his right. It was one of those that had to stick and it did. Every last one of his team-mates ran up to him to celebrate that wicket. Against the run of play, a partnership of 81 off 48 was broken.

Kuldeep’s intervention

Glenn Maxwell was busy negating the advantage India had thanks to the quality of their spinners. He saw that Ravindra Jadeja had no one on the boundary at third man and for that reason alone he went reverse sweep, which meant he was hitting with the turn, but against the wind, which when it was strong enough to basically carry Hardik away as he was running in to bowl, posed a significant problem. Maxwell’s wrists somehow overcame that. He was looking dangerous. Maybe enough to take on Kuldeep Yadav. So he charged at India’s wristspinner, and got bowled. That googly should be framed up on a wall somewhere. It messed with Maxwell on so many levels. It was slower than he wanted it to be. It was shorter than he needed it to be. It turned the exact opposite way. And it left his stumps a mess. The dip on that ball was everything.India struck twice in the three overs that followed, one of which was Bumrah foxing Head with his offcutter. Needing 53 from the last 18, the best Australia could do was reduce the margin of defeat.

Lauren Bell, Mady Villiers restrict Originals to 95 for 8 before Laura Wolvaardt sees visitors home

ECB Reporters Network06-Aug-2025Southern Brave started life after Charlotte Edwards with a convincing win over Manchester Originals at Emirates Old Trafford.The damage was all done with the ball, as Lauren Bell took 3 for 28 and Mady Villiers 2 for 19 to limit the hosts to just 95 for 8 from their 100 balls.
Seren Smale fought a lone hand for Originals on a wicket that none of her team-mates ever looked at home on, making 40 from 34 balls to give her side the faintest hope at the halfway mark but no side has ever defended fewer than 109 in the Hundred women’s competition and their total never looked like enough.And while Brave were rarely fluent, they were always comfortable – easing to a six-wicket win with 11 balls to spare. Former Originals batter Laura Wolvaardt, a direct signing for Southern Brave this season, showed her old team what they were missing with an assured and unbeaten 42.She was supported by Danni Wyatt-Hodge, who made 32, as Brave’s batting line-up eased over the line in first gear. Having endured a surprising eighth-placed finish last summer, with just one win, Brave – and their new head coach Luke Williams in particular – will have been pleased to start the campaign with a victory.For Originals it was a disappointing start to the season and, Smale’s innings aside, a day of few positives – they’ll hope to demonstrate it was mere blip next time out at the Kia Oval on Saturday.Meerkat Match Hero Bell said: “It’s great to get our first win on the board. In tournament cricket it’s really important to get a good start, and it was a good team performance.”The girls stuck in. The wicket was a bit tricky but we’ve got a great line-up and the batters did the job. We’ve had a lot of really good chats about being really confident, backing our strengths, and having fun out there.”

The offspinner has signed for four Championship games in June and July

Alex Malcolm12-Jun-2025Offspinner Todd Murphy will become the third Australian Test player to play for Gloucestershire this season after signing a four-game County Championship stint through June and July.Murphy, 24, will play under Cameron Bancroft, following on from Cameron Green’s successful five-game stint before the T20 Blast break. Murphy was set to play for Australia A in a series of 50-over and four-day matches against Sri Lanka A in July but has prioritised taking a county offer to play for Gloucestershire with the blessing of Australia’s selectors.Murphy has not played in the County Championship before but has earned two of his seven Tests in England. He was set to play for Durham in 2023 ahead of the Ashes that year but was unable to fulfill the deal. He featured in the Headingley and Oval Tests in the Ashes series but has only played one Test since, as one of three spinners in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle earlier this year.Australia’s incumbent offspinner Nathan Lyon has vowed to play through until the 2027 Ashes but will be 39 when that series starts. Murphy is one of a handful of candidates alongside left-arm orthodox spinner Matthew Kuhnemann and Western Australian offspinner Corey Rocchiccioli to succeed Lyon as Australia’s No.1 spinner long-term and a four-game stint in England will do his development no harm although the four matches he will play will be with the Kookaburra ball.”I am really pleased to have signed with Gloucestershire,” Murphy said. “I’ve always wanted to play county cricket in England, and I am thankful that Gloucestershire has given me this opportunity.”Gloucestershire coach Mark Alleyne was pleased to sign a Test spinner for a four-game stint.”I’m really excited for the arrival of Todd, who will be joining a group in fine Championship fettle,” he said. “He is a spin bowler with brilliant pedigree and experience on the international stage and will complement our bowling group really well over the next four Championship games.”These matches will be played with a Kookaburra ball which he is really familiar with, and the fans will enjoy his tenacious offering.”

Chasing 345, Tahir scored a fighting 109 for Stallions but it was too steep a mountain to climb

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Sep-2024The trend of teams batting first winning continued into the ninth game of the Champions Cup as Panthers beat Stallions by 20 runs.Batting first after winning the toss, Panthers rode on Saim Ayub’s 156 off 130 balls, studded with 13 fours and seven sixes, to post a daunting 344 for 7. Ayub found good support from Azan Awais, with whom he added 138 for the first wicket.After Awais’ dismissal, Usman Khan joined Ayub and the two smashed 116 in just 79 balls. Usman fell for 75 off 47 balls but Ayub carried on and took the side past 300 in the 44th over. After that, however, Panthers lost quick wickets and could score only 30 in the last five.Stallions did not have a great start to their chase. Within the first seven overs, they had lost Mohammad Haris, Shan Masood and Babar Azam.Hussain Talat and Tayyab Tahir kept Stallions in the contest with a 157-run stand for the fourth wicket but the asking rate was continuously rising. When Mubasir Khan broke the stand in the 35th over, dismissing Talat for 63, the required rate was touching ten.Tahir brought up his hundred in the 39th over but fell soon after. Stallions needed 73 in the last four overs with just two wickets in hand when Zaman Khan threatened to pull off a miracle. He smashed 42 off 16 balls but Stallions eventually fell short by 20 runs.

England Women’s captain flexed in the chase to inflict just a second home defeat on Southern Brave

ECB Media24-Jul-2024
Heather Knight produced a batting masterclass as London Spirit shocked reigning champions Southern Brave in a thrilling contest in The Hundred at Utilita Bowl.Chasing 152 for victory, the England captain made an unbeaten 65 from 31 balls to steer her team to a six-wicket victory with three deliveries to spare, inflicting only a second-ever home defeat on Brave.The hosts looked on course for victory after Danni Wyatt had struck 59 from 35 balls, in the process surpassing Sophia Dunkley to become The Hundred’s all-time leading run-scorer.Fellow England opener Maia Bouchier made 35 from 21 deliveries before she was run out after a mix-up with Wyatt, ending a rapid opening stand of 57.Wyatt took the attack to Spirit, registering her seventh half-century in The Hundred before she edged behind off Erin Burns.Georgia Adams (21 from 14) and Chloe Tryon (20 from 13) propelled Brave to 151 for 6 and Spirit made a slow start in reply, Meg Lanning dismissed caught-and-bowled by 16-year-old spinner Tilly Corteen-Coleman on her Hundred debut.Georgia Redmayne gave the innings some momentum, making 45 from 31 before being bowled by Charli Knott, who conceded three consecutive boundaries to Knight as Spirit fought their way back into the game.Knott’s direct hit from mid-off sent the dangerous Dani Gibson on her way, but Knight held her nerve and dispatched Adams to the boundary to seal an impressive victory.Meerkat Match Hero Heather Knight said: “I tried to get in and then flicked the switch at the back end. Beating the Brave here is really tough to do so I’m really chuffed with how we went today.”We knew it was a good wicket. They probably got 10 or 15 too many, we dropped a few catches. Danni Wyatt played a remarkable innings, she’s so hard to set fields to. But I knew if we had a set batter, with a quick outfield, we could catch up quickly.”You can try and overhit early in your innings. It’s about being really clear on the ball you’re trying to hit for four. I didn’t have many at the start but once I was in it felt like I could really put my foot down. The scoreboard sometimes gives you no choice but to do that. It paid off today.”

South Africa and Zimbabwe did not send full strength sides to the Africa Games and did not want their matches to have full international status

Firdose Moonda25-Mar-2024An oversight in communication has resulted in some matches at the recently concluded Africa Games being given T20I status while others were not.The ICC confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that fixtures involving South Africa’s men’s and women’s teams as well as Zimbabwe’s men’s team were not considered T20Is but games between the other six men’s teams and seven women’s teams were regarded as T20Is.Clarity over the official standing of the matches was required after Cricket South Africa wrote to the ICC over confusion around whether all the matches at the tournament were classified as internationals. In 2022, an ICC document titled “Classification of Official Cricket” recognised all T20 matches that are “played in accordance with the ICC Standard Men’s and Women’s Twenty20 International Playing Conditions and other ICC regulations pertaining to Twenty20 International Matches,” as internationals apart from matches involving A teams or age-group sides.With that in mind, South Africa opted to send an emerging women’s team and a university men’s team to the Africa Games, as they were unable to field full-strength sides due to player commitments elsewhere including at the IPL. Zimbabwe selected an under-25 men’s side but sent a first-choice women’s squad. They won gold in both events.The other participating countries, who are all Associate nations, sent their strongest available sides and understood themselves to be playing internationals, creating the confusion. It is not clear whether the onus lay with the African Games, the Africa Cricket Association (the continental body which successfully lobbied for cricket to be played at the Africa Games) or individual board to check on the status of the games or where the miscommunication occurred.However, when the uncertainty came to the attention of South Africa and Zimbabwe, who are both Full Members, they had queries over whether the results would impact their T20I rankings. South Africa also had a particular issue over one of their players: 16-year old wicketkeeper Karabo Meso, who played at the Africa Games and was then named in their senior squad to play Sri Lanka in a home series starting this week. CSA wanted to ensure that Meso, if capped, would get her debut with the full-strength national women’s team and not with an emerging side at the Africa Games which they did not consider a full international team.ESPNcricinfo understands that had the games been full internationals, South Africa would not have participated in the event.A separate concern was also raised about the infrastructure in Accra, especially for cricket. CSA was worried about the suitability of the venues and on the intervention of the Africa Cricket Association, a ground consultant from Zimbabwe traveled to Ghana to assist with readying the pitch and outfield.The cricket facilities were not the only ones which had questions over their readiness. The Africa Games were initially due to be held in August last year but postponed for seven months because not all facilities were completed in time. The event usually takes place every four years, in the year preceding an Olympic Games, and this was its 13th edition. This is the first time cricket has been played at the tournament.The Africa Games organisers were contacted for comment but had not responded at the time of writing.