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Ace spinner hopes the Covid-19 situation improves fast, and Afghanistan get a packed all-format calendar in place

Umar Farooq01-Mar-20212:02

Rashid Khan: ‘Bubble life makes you mentally weak’

Afghanistan have reached a stage where they are taken seriously by top-drawer oppositions in ODI and T20I because they have played those formats a lot, and therefore learnt and improved, Rashid Khan feels, adding that similar exposure in days’ cricket can make the side more competitive in Tests. Afghanistan played their first Test in June 2018, but have played just three Tests after that one, the last in November 2019 – “more than three-to-four Tests a year,” is what Khan wants.”Everyone talks about Test cricket in Afghanistan now. If we play the longer formats, like Tests and ODIs, that is what makes you a better cricketer,” Khan told ESPNcricinfo recently, while with Lahore Qalandars in the PSL. “In a shorter format, you don’t have much time to reflect on your game, or try to improve, and you don’t really understand where and how everything works. In T20s, you hardly get to know yourself.Related

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“When we played in the 2019 World Cup in England, we were struggling with the bat, we didn’t know how to do things. But later on, the more we played against the big sides, we started realising what to do and the right shot-selection. That gave us an idea how should we start and build the innings. Latter part of the tournament, we started scoring runs properly, and scored 250-plus in every game.”That is something the boys are learning, and working on. So if we start playing longer formats, more than three-to-four Tests a year, which is really important for us, it will help the team and the players improve their cricket, especially the youngsters.”Khan is one of the more recognisable around the cricket world because of his exploits in T20 cricket. He became Afghanistan’s first IPL millionaire when the Sunrisers Hyderabad used their Right to Match card for him in the January 2018 auction. He is one of the busiest T20 cricketers in the world, and has played for practically every major league there is. Overall, in 249 games, Khan has 344 wickets – the seventh-highest in the world – and in T20 Internationals, 89 from 48 games, only behind Lasith Malinga, Shahid Afridi, Shakib Al Hasan and Tim Southee.Khan’s Test career hasn’t gone too badly either, as he has 23 wickets from four games, including three five-fors – one against Ireland in Dehradun and two in one Test against Bangladesh in Chattogram.Rashid Khan throws the ball back from the outfield•BCCI

“Just imagine, if a youngster is playing a Test against a bigger team, only then he will realise what he needs to do and where he needs to improve,” Khan explained. “In T20 cricket, you are just there to swing your bat, and you don’t understand much. You either hit it or miss it, and it really doesn’t matter if you get out because it’s T20 cricket.”But in Tests, you have to spend time (in the middle), you will be tested thoroughly. It’s a test of technique, how mentally strong you are, and even how much passion you have in you, whether you are capable enough to survive and can rescue your team. Test cricket is what makes you a better cricketer and this is where we can get to improve our skills and our cricket in the long run.”Afghanistan will play a two-Test series – their first series of more than one game – against Zimbabwe in Abu Dhabi starting Tuesday. There has been a long gap between Tests for them, but it hasn’t really been in their control because of the Covid-19 situation.”All the countries have been affected by this pandemic. We had so many series [scheduled] in this period, and most importantly, we missed the T20 World Cup in Australia [scheduled for late 2020], which we were looking forward to playing,” Khan said. “It was huge for the youngsters, and they were very keen for it, because we were well prepared for it and it could have changed the image of Afghanistan.”But it didn’t happen because of Covid and also a few of our series were called off, including the big Test against Australia. The Test in Perth was huge for us, and everyone back home was waiting for it. It could have been a historic Test. It is like a dream that comes true for any player to be a part of it. I would have considered myself so lucky to play in Australia against Australia, but this pandemic has really affected us. Hopefully, things are better, and this year is a huge year for us as a team, as a nation, and as players, and we will try our best to deliver.”

Lizelle Lee loses top spot in ODI batters’ list but moves up to No. 11 in the shortest format

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Mar-2021Scores of 23 in 22 balls and 47 in 31 balls against South Africa have taken Shafali Verma back past Beth Mooney to the No. 1 position in the T20I batter’s rankings for women in the latest update, released on the day of the final game of the three-match series, which South Africa have already won 2-0.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Verma had reached the top spot after scoring 163 in five innings at a strike rate of 158.25 at the 2020 T20 World Cup. Mooney was the top-scorer then, with 259 runs in six outings, and moved to the top after the home series against New Zealand in September – she scored only 37 runs in three innings then, but with India not playing any international cricket till this series, Mooney went past Verma on the table.Lizelle Lee, meanwhile, had a mixed run in the rankings. She slipped from the perch in the ODI rankings within a week of going past Tammy Beaumont because she missed the last game of the series against India, but her 45-ball 70 in the second T20I took her up three spots to No. 11 in the rankings for the shortest format.Related

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Laura Wolvaardt has had two unbeaten innings in the T20I series so far – both from the middle order – scoring 9 and 53, and that took her up to 24th place, while Sune Luus (up five places to 38th) and Nadine de Klerk (up three places to 74th) were the other South Africans to gain.Lower in the table, scores of 52 and 31 from Harleen Deol made her zoom 262 places to No. 85.There were some movements in the bowlers’ chart too. For South Africa, de Klerk has moved up five places to 68th, Ayabonga Khaka has gone up two places to 35th and Nonkululeko Mlaba has shot up 14 places to 75th. For India, Rajeshwari Gayakwad has risen from No. 34 to No. 25.In ODIs, apart from Lee losing the top spot among batters, Marizanne Kapp has moved from fourth to second among bowlers and overtaken Stafanie Taylor to No. 2 in the list of allrounders, which is led by Elysse Perry. Mignon du Preez has gained four slots to reach 16th position after her knock of 57 in the last ODI, and Anneke Bosch has progressed in both the batting and bowling lists – 58 slots to 70th among batters and five places to 85th among bowlers. Tumi Sekhukhune has advanced eight places and is 37th in the bowlers’ list.India lost the ODI series 4-1 – which took South Africa up to No. 2 in the team rankings, while India stayed at No. 4 – but their captain Mithali Raj moved up one place to eighth after hitting an unbeaten 79.

Somerset concede first-innings deficit of 89 but hit back to dismiss visitors cheaply

ECB Reporters' Network01-May-2021Craig Overton and Josh Davey sparked a dramatic Somerset resurgence on the third day of the LV= County Championship match with Middlesex at the Cooper Associates County Ground.When the home side could add only 90 to their overnight score of 178 for 4, Steve Finn finishing with 5 for 77, they conceded a first-innings lead of 89 runs. But Overton, with 5 for 34, and Davey, 3 for 28, skittled Middlesex for just 117 in their second innings, leaving a victory target of 207. By the close, the hosts had posted 104 for 4, with skipper Tom Abell unbeaten on 43.Related

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At the start of the day, Somerset were forced to call Jack Brooks into their team as a Covid replacement for Lewis Gregory.Bartlett and Lewis Goldsworthy extended their fifth-wicket stand in Somerset’s first innings to 90 before Tom Helm had Goldsworthy caught behind for 39. Bartlett went to fifty, off 107 balls, with 10 fours, but fell to Helm on 55, nicking a drive to wicketkeeper John Simpson.Steve Davies was caught at backward point off Finn, who struck again when Davey clipped a leg-side delivery to fine leg where Helm took the catch.Overton played sensibly for his unbeaten 38, receiving good support from Jack Leach in a ninth-wicket stand of 39. But Finn forced Leach, on 16, to fend a catch to short leg and Brooks quickly fell to the second new ball, taken by Tim Murtagh.The afternoon session began with Middlesex 11 without loss. Sam Robson and Max Holden took the score to 44 before a brilliant Tom Banton catch at backward point in Davey’s first over saw Robson depart for 18. Nick Gubbins was dropped by James Hildreth at first slip in the same over. But soon it was 48 for 2 as Holden edged Overton through to Steve Davies.The Somerset wicketkeeper held another catch when Peter Handscombe feathered an Abell outswinger and notched his 600th first class victim when Gubbins chased a wide ball from Davey.The probing Davey then had Simpson taken at third slip by Abell before Martin Andersson was caught and bowled off a leading edge by Overton. When Robbie White was pinned lbw on the back foot by Overton, the visitors had lost seven wickets for 38 runs. At tea, they were 85 for 7 and led by 174.Overton struck twice more in the final session for well-deserved match figures of 8 for 94 and Somerset looked favourites.An absorbing match took another twist when Murtagh bowled Banton with the first ball of Somerset’s second innings and then trapped Tom Lammonby lbw for 9. But Abell and Hildreth prospered in the early evening sunshine, Hildreth looking in prime form until falling to Andersson for 43 after a stand of 78, before nightwatchman Leach departed to the final ball of the day.

Ollie Robinson made a big entry too, his seven wickets at Lord’s taking him to 69th among bowlers

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jun-2021Devon Conway has made a big entry in the ICC rankings for batters in men’s Test cricket, his 200 in his maiden innings – against England at Lord’s – taking him to No. 77 with a record 447 rating points, the highest for a New Zealand batter on debut and the third-highest ever on debut.Conway, also ranked fourth in the T20I batters’ rankings, became only the seventh batter to make a double-century on Test debut, and two of the men who had reached the milestone before him, Tip Foster and Kyle Mayers, are the only ones to enter the rankings with more points: Foster, whose 287 at Sydney in 1903 remains the highest Test score by a debutant, had 449 (retrospectively), and Mayers 448.Related

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Another debutant, England’s Ollie Robinson, also had a good game, returning 4 for 75 and 3 for 26, and that helped him enter the bowlers’ table at 69th place. He was more than handy with the bat too, scoring 42 in the first innings, and that put him in 91st position in the batters’ rankings. Robinson, however, will not be able to add to the good work right away, as he is currently serving a suspension pending an ECB disciplinary hearing into some of his historic tweets.New Zealand, riding on Conway’s double, put up 378 in that first Test against England, and their position was further strengthened by a six-wicket haul from Tim Southee in England’s first dig, which ended at 275. With no play possible on the third day because of rain, England managed to hold on for a draw, but Southee’s haul – his second six-for at Lord’s – pushed him to a career-best No. 3 in the bowlers’ rankings.England’s first innings was headlined by Rory Burns, who scored 132 in close to eight hours, and that moved him up 21 places to 22nd position.

“I have to make sure I am fit to be able to bowl and if I bowl, that brings balance to the Indian side”

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jun-2021Hardik Pandya is upbeat about returning to full swing with the ball for the T20 World Cup in October and wants to make sure “I bowl in all the games.” Battling with a lower-back issue since the 2019 Asia Cup, Pandya has not been bowling regularly for a while now.”I started bowling in the IPL and my focus is on the World Cup,” Pandya told . “I want to make sure that I will be able to bowl in all the games at the [T20] World Cup. I am just trying to be smart and make sure that I don’t miss that. On the bowling front, what matters is how fit I am. Even after my surgery, I didn’t drop my pace. I was not able to drop my control. My bowling is related to my fitness. The fitter I get, the better it comes out. As a fast-bowling allrounder, I tend to get injuries. It is bound to happen and I am okay with it.”With a shoulder niggle as well during this year’s IPL, Pandya didn’t bowl at all in the seven matches he played for the Mumbai Indians. However, he bowled a nine-over burst in the third and final ODI against England in March. In the five T20Is, he bowled a total of 17 overs with an economy rate of under seven runs per over. Even during the last IPL, he played solely as a specialist batter.Related

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“For India, I have realised that my bowling brings a lot of difference because the balance changes,” Pandya said. “In IPL, I am lucky to have a franchise where there is so much love that I was able to pick my batting there and make sure that for India, I am able to be at my best. I have to make sure I am fit to be able to bowl and if I bowl, that brings balance to the side.”His workload management has been in focus in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup with the Indian team preserving Pandya the bowler for the world event. Though he was dropped for the final of the World Test Championship against New Zealand starting June 18 and the subsequent five-Test series against England, Pandya was included in the second-string India squad for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka. The Indian team will be playing three ODIs and as many T20Is beginning July 13.Pandya reiterated that the emphasis is on getting ready for the limited-over tour next month and eventually, the World Cup. He said that he decided to rest for three weeks to spend time with the family and “not think about the body” before the Sri Lanka tour.”Whenever I play, I don’t want to play at 50%. [When] I play, I will play at 100%,” he said. “When I heard that we are going to Sri Lanka, I was planning to take rest for 3-4 weeks and just not do anything. I was on the road for seven to eight months and for those months, I was preparing myself for one-and-a-half years. Just before the lockdown, I made a comeback in the DY Patil (T20s in February) and then Covid hit. Then I had to remain fit because I wasn’t at my best at that time.”For the Sri Lanka tour, I will start my preparation from tomorrow (Saturday). Focus is on getting ready for Sri Lanka and then obviously, the World Cup.”

The 22-year old has been ruled out of the second and third T20I against West Indies

Danyal Rasool31-Jul-2021Pakistan batter Azam Khan was taken to hospital after suffering a blow to the head during training on Friday in Guyana, and has been ruled out of the second and third T20I against West Indies. The 22-year old, who made his debut earlier this month against England, is learnt to have been struck by a fast bowler.According to a PCB release, a neurosurgeon has recommended an observation period of 24 hours following which he will be reassessed on Monday. His availability for the fourth and final T20I will depend on the reassessment. ESPNcricinfo has learnt that Khan did not lose consciousness and was wearing a helmet at the time he was hit.Pakistan and West Indies took part in a rained-out first T20I in Barbados on Wednesday, with only nine overs possible.Since being called up to the national side, Khan hasn’t yet had the chance to nail down a fiercely-contested middle-order slot ahead of the T20 World Cup squad announcement, with this series the last T20I engagement before Pakistan name their squad. He came in to bat in the last over on debut, and got out cheaply in the game that followed, only to be dropped for the decider against England.All three remaining games will take place in Guyana, with Saturday’s contest the first of back-to-back weekend games, before the final match on Tuesday. The T20Is will be followed by two Tests starting August 12 and 20, and both will be played in Kingston.

Left-arm seamer earns back deal she lost in 2019 after landmark 2021 season

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Nov-2021Tash Farrant has signed an England Women’s central contract for the 2022 season, almost three years on from losing her international deal.After a landmark season in 2021, Farrant, the 25-year-old left-arm seamer, has come full circle, regaining the international contract she held from 2014 until early 2019.Farrant began her road back to the international fold when she was selected for England’s tour of New Zealand at the start of this year on the back of an impressive performance in the 2020 Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy. She was awarded one of 41 new domestic women’s contracts in October 2020 with South East Stars, helping them in this year’s victorious Charlotte Edwards Cup campaign.”I’m really pleased to have been awarded a central contract,” Farrant said. “This now means I’m in a position to work and train even harder with the team as we head into an Ashes and World Cup year.”Lisa Keightley, England Women’s head coach, said Farrant’s return was testament to her “incredible hard work and commitment”.”It was naturally a very difficult time for her in 2019 and the fact that she’s earned her way back to this level says everything about her ability, her work ethic and her desire to improve,” Keightley said.”We should also take our hats off to South East Stars, who’ve nurtured and supported her across those two years. We can’t say enough how vital it is that there’s now a professional domestic structure in place that allows players like Tash to carry on making strides forward even when they’re not in an England kit.”Farrant is one of 17 players on central contracts for 2022, alongside 51 regional contracts. South East Stars will identify a sixth player to progress to professional terms, replacing Farrant.Having played two ODIs and one T20I on the tour of New Zealand, Farrant was the leading wicket-taker in the inaugural Women’s Hundred competition, with 18 wickets at an average of 10.27 and an economy rate of 6.20. She was instrumental in securing a place in the final with her 4 for 10 from 19 balls in the eliminator for Oval Invincibles, who went on to win the title.Farrant was part of England’s Test, ODI and T20 squads for the multi-format series with India in June and July without playing a game. She returned to international action for two of England’s five ODIs against New Zealand and all three of their T20Is later in the summer.In 24 matches in 2021, Farrant took 42 wickets at an average of 14.11, including 5 for 33 for South East Stars against Sunrisers in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.Richard Bedbrook, South East Stars director of regional women’s cricket, said: “In the two years of being with the Stars, Tash has influenced the environment significantly with her competitive spirit, high standards and genuine care for her team-mates and support staff.”We felt it was only a matter of time before international honours resumed for Tash and being that she has been a part of each England series in 2021, we are proud for her now to move back into an England contract and continue to make an impact on the England team and performances in the future.”

Team owner said the former Zimbabwe captain was chosen because of his “professionalism” as a player and coach

Nagraj Gollapudi17-Dec-2021Former Zimbabwe captain Andy Flower has been appointed the head coach of the yet-to-be-named Lucknow IPL franchise. Flower is the first appointment on the coaching staff by the Lucknow franchise, which was bought by Indian business conglomerate RP Sanjiv Goenka Group (RPSG) in August for nearly USD 1 billion.Sanjiv Goenka, RPSG’s owner, told ESPNcricinfo that Flower’s contract is “longer”, although he didn’t specify the exact duration. In a media release, Goenka said Flower was chosen because of his “professionalism” and that he had “left an indelible mark” on the game as both a player and coach.Flower said he would “relish the challenge to build something meaningful and successful” with the Lucknow franchise, one of the two new IPL teams, along with the Ahmedabad franchise, who will debut in 2022.Related

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Flower is no newcomer to the IPL. He served as the assistant coach for two seasons at Punjab Kings from 2020. Flower’s high pedigree as a coach across formats is well-known: he was at the helm when England dominated Test cricket and were No.1 on the rankings about a decade ago as well as when Paul Collingwood’s team won the 2010 World T20, England’s maiden ICC trophy.After serving in various coaching roles for 12 years with the ECB, Flower took the plunge into franchise cricket in 2019 where he has had a successful run so far. He was head coach at Multan Sultans who won their maiden PSL title earlier this year. He also led St Lucia Kings to two CPL finals in 2020 and 2021. Flower’s latest international assignment was as a consultant with Afghanistan at the T20 World Cup.Flower might have cut his teeth as an international coach using techniques from the last century, but he has kept an open mind and adapted quickly to the new age. In a recent interview with ESPNcricinfo, Flower acknowledged the importance of data in cricket, but stressed that “looking after the person” still remained his primary job.”When I was with England, we wanted to approach the game differently, and help us as coaches to understand the game to a different depth and breadth, and also help players challenge their understanding of the game,” he said. “In this last period, it’s an important part of it. But you can never forget that you’re dealing with human beings. One of the most important things I’ve learned in my years of coaching is that looking after the person is more important than developing the player. It’s a really important thing to learn as a coach because it drives how you interact with people, and how you care for them.”

Gladiators hold the psychological edge having beaten Kings three times this season, including in the first Qualifier

Madushka Balasuriya22-Dec-2021

Big picture

So, after 20 group-stage matches, an Eliminator and two Qualifiers, we’ve finally arrived at the culmination of this year’s Lanka Premier League. And it’s once again those two, Galle Gladiators and Jaffna Kings, vying for top spot, in a repeat of last year’s final.En route, Kings have pretty much trounced every team they’ve played, while Gladiators have been less polished, but are crucially the only team to have beaten Kings – three times all up, including in the first Qualifier.Suffice to say, there might be a slight psychological edge in Gladiators’ favour going into this final, but if you’re the Kings you got to be feeling that the law of averages is about to come down hard in your favour.So, if there are any clues as to how this match might go, a brief analysis of their three encounters might help.The first was game one itself, the tournament curtain raiser. On a fresh pitch, Gladiators utilised the best of the batting conditions to put up what was deemed at the time a par score of 164, before their spinners throttled the Kings batters.Kings would proceed to overcome this early setback by their batters going on a tear; over their next few games, they would maul Kandy Warriors for 181 in 14 overs and then Colombo Stars for 207 in 18 overs in rain-truncated affairs. At other times, they simply bundled teams out for below par totals and hared to the finish. Gladiators in the meantime never quite reached the dominance they had in that first match, losing a couple of games, while even the wins were close-run affairs.So, when the two sides met for a second time, in game 19, while both had qualified for the playoffs, there was only one team in the ascendency. And at the halfway stage of that game with Gladiators limping to 129 for 8, that statement still held true. However, Kings would quite preposterously stall in the chase; the batters that had laid waste in games past seemed to have lost all their bearings, as Kings fell short by 20 runs.That game though had a caveat; while the top six were still their primary options, there was still a fair bit of rotation, with Wanindu Hasaranga in particular a big miss. The pitch too was unpleasant for the batters.There were no such excuses for their last meeting, though, in the first Qualifier. With a place in the final on the line, and away from the spin-havens of Colombo, Gladiators’ top order at long last clicked into place. Kusal Mendis to be fair had been doing the business throughout the tournament, but this time he was joined by Danushka Gunathilaka as the opening pair laid the platform for an imposing 188.The bowlers, particularly the slingy Nuwan Thushara, then ran roughshod over the Kings batters, with only Rahmanullah Gurbaz showing any fight. And so, for the third time in as many matches against Gladiators, Kings’ batters failed to turn up.Yet, as we head into the final, it’s hard to look back at these games as anything other than blips; Kings have been by far the most impressive side this LPL, in the field, and with bat and ball. They will rightly head in as favourites, but against Gladiators, a side that has shown they have the weapons to hurt them, they have been found conspicuously wanting time and again. As they say, something’s gotta give.

Form guide

(Most recent results first)
Jaffna Kings: WLLWW
Galle Gladiators: WWWLL
Avishka Fernando took Jaffa Kings into the final with a fine century•Ishara S.Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images

In the spotlight

It would be easy to pinpoint the likes of Avishka Fernando, who just plundered the first century of the LPL, or Kusal Mendis who lies second in the run-scoring charts. However, the shift to Hambantota for the playoffs and final, where the pitches have so far been truer, it’s safe to assume that both sides’ batters will continue to have the best of proceedings. This game, therefore, is likely to be decided by the respective bowling units.In Maheesh Theekshana and Jayden Seales, Kings have two bowlers who are among the top five wicket-takers in the tournament. Theekshana is tied at the top with 15, while Seales is one back on 14. Theekshana has been one of Kings’ trump cards, frequently providing breakthroughs in the powerplay, while Seales’ changes in pace have made him a difficult proposition for a lot of batters, especially on the sluggish Colombo pitches.Seales didn’t play in the first Qualifier but starred with 3 for 24 in the second. It’s hard to see him missing out on the final. Theekshana, meanwhile, will have a vital role to play in curbing the likes of Mendis and Gunathilaka at the top of the innings.As for Gladiators, their bowlers haven’t really lit up the tournament per se, though as a collective they have managed to get by. But in Nuwan Thushara they have a genuine, if inconsistent, match-winner. He’s picked up 11 wickets this tournament, but five came in their last game against the Kings. Yes, the comparisons to Lasith Malinga are inevitable, even if he’s got quite a way to before reaching that exalted level, but still, a bowler with low slingy action, a good slower ball, and able to surprise even set batters, is invaluable in this format.And then of course there’s Mohammad Amir, the jewel, the spearhead, who has been made to toil for much of the tournament on surfaces completely unhelpful to his skill set. Yet he’s picked up at least a wicket each game, while his economy rate of 7.29 has remained respectable. While the batters might have the better of it in Hambantota, it will also make Amir more of a threat.

Team news

Don’t expect to see too much by way of change. Ashan Randika got himself a game last time, but it’s likely the Kings will opt to bring back Ashen Bandara, due to his excellence in the field as much as his useful lower order hitting. There’s also the fitness of Gurbaz that could be of concern, after he looked to have strained his hamstring in the last game. Upul Tharanga is in with a shout of replacing him.Jaffna Kings (probable): 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz/Upul Tharanga, 2 Avishka Fernando, 3 Tom Kohler-Cadmore, 4 Ashen Bandara, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Thisara Perera, 7 Chaturanga de Silva, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Jayden Seales, 10 Suranga Lakmal, 11 Maheesh TheekshanaThe Gladiators will likely feel remiss to change a winning combination, so barring injuries expect the same team to take the field as last time out. Noor Ahmad will miss out though, after he was selected to join up with Afghanistan for the Under-19 Asia Cup.Galle Gladiators (probable): 1 Kusal Mendis, 2 Danushka Gunathilaka, 3 Anwar Ali, 4 Mohammad Hafeez, 5 Bhanuka Rajapaksa(c), 6 Samit Patel, 7 Sahan Arachchige, 8 Isuru Udana, 9 Pulina Tharanga, 10 Nuwan Thushara, 11 Mohammad Amir

Pitch and conditions

We’ve only had three games in Hambantota so far, and each has held very few demons for the batters. There has been bounce for bowlers willing to hit the deck, with the odd ball moving off the seam, but for the most part the ball has come on to the bat.

Quotes

“We won our last game, and everyone is in a good frame of mind. We are not putting a lot of pressure on ourselves. If we perform our roles, we can emerge victorious. Our shortcomings against Galle were that we failed to push the singles and twos, along with hitting the boundaries. We saw that happening in our last game (against Dambulla Giants) though. So what we discussed, we executed in the middle, and that’s why we won.”
“It’s like playing a series against a normal national side, we played three games and won three out of three. The boys are pretty much confident. As we have beaten them thrice it’s a matter of another game. We can’t underestimate them because we know how good they are, and they are the reigning champions. The preparations have been good, and we are looking forward to playing another match.”

Chairman hits out at predecessor following cancellation of EGM to determine Test viability

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Feb-2022Lord Kamlesh Patel has accused a group of Yorkshire members of attempting to “delay and derail” Headingley’s reinstatement as an international venue, because they believe the club is being “sacrificed on the altar of Black Lives Matter”.Yorkshire’s hopes of meeting the ECB’s conditions for hosting fixtures against New Zealand and South Africa this summer suffered a setback this week, after the club was forced to delay a proposed Emergency General Meeting (EGM), which had been expected to confirm governance changes in the wake of the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal.The EGM had been due to take place on Wednesday evening, but was cancelled after Yorkshire admitted it “had not been properly called under club rules”. The news was followed by claims from former chairman Robin Smith that the process to appoint Patel as the new chairman last year was “invalid”.In a statement to the PA news agency, Patel said: “It is plain that, when I joined the club in November, it had a wealth of legacy problems inherited from previous leadership, of which former chairman Robin Smith was a part.”I made a conscious decision that we would focus on a positive future for Yorkshire and remediate the inherited issues. For me and others at the club, this was part of a positive programme for change as there is no benefit to Yorkshire CCC in arguing about the past. That is a block to reform.”There is emerging, however, a clear agenda to undermine the club, driven by opposition to our progress and a desire to maintain an outdated status quo. It is disheartening and pernicious in equal manner.”We have become aware of a small group of individuals who have indicated a belief that, by looking to make progress and change for the better, ‘the lamb that is Yorkshire Cricket Club is to be sacrificed on the altar of Black Lives Matter’. This is unacceptable in every possible way.”This group is actively seeking to delay and derail the essential reforms and consequently the return of international cricket by litigating process issues, without presenting any positive alternative.”Patel has been the driving force behind Yorkshire’s response to being stripped of the right to host international matches by the ECB, following their mishandling of a report into Rafiq’s claims of institutional racism. Patel was brought in as chair in November, shortly after the incumbent, Roger Hutton, resigned.He said last month the club had made “significant progress” but warned that they could not remain “financially viable” without the restoration of major match status, with Headingley otherwise set to lose out on hosting a Test on New Zealand’s tour and an ODI featuring South Africa.Related

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However, the reported on Thursday that Yorkshire’s failure to register a rule change, which had been voted on at last year’s Annual General Meeting, with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), meant that Patel’s authority had been called into question.In a written statement, Smith responded: “Lord Patel’s comments seek to damage me for drawing attention to his own failures.”The members will in due course have an opportunity to pass judgement on Lord Patel’s actions since November last year and their enormous financial consequences for the club (currently rumoured to be more than GBP 3million).”In the meantime he should focus on getting the club’s legal position corrected in timely fashion.”As to the majority of members wanting his reforms, we shall see in due course. The reality, though, is that all Yorkshire members wish to see Test cricket returned to Headingley and have been threatened that that will not happen unless they support the reforms.”That is no way to ascertain members’ true views. Yorkshire members are true lovers of the game and are entitled to more respect than Lord Patel is showing them.”Among Patel’s first actions taken as chair was settling an employment tribunal with Rafiq, and overseeing the removal of Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s long-serving director of cricket, and Andrew Gale, the head coach, as part of a cull of 16 staff members.Yorkshire had been hoping to push through changes to the structure of their board, which reportedly included the ECB being given a seat on the club’s nominations committee, this week – with the outcome expected to influence the possible return of international cricket to Headingley.Martin Darlow, the ECB’s deputy chair, said during an appearance before the Department of Culture, Media and Sport select committee last week that the governing body “will be making a decision and considering their options” following the EGM. Rafiq himself said last month that the “time is right” for Yorkshire to regain its hosting rights.Yorkshire released a statement saying that it had cancelled the EGM after taking “specialist legal advice”, suggesting that the failure to notify the FCA of changes to its rules was “a legacy issue” attributable to the previous leadership. The club also said that it hoped to rearrange the EGM before the end of the month.