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CSK captain also admits lack of wickets in the powerplay has been an area of concern for his side this season

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Apr-2024Chennai Super Kings suffered their third loss in seven games going down to Lucknow Super Giants by eight wickets at the Ekana Stadium on Friday, their total of 176 not stretching the opposition. Speaking after the game, CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad agreed they were short on runs – by about 10-15, he said – and put it down to their middle-overs slowdown.”I know we finished off really well – couldn’t have asked for more – but I think after the powerplay, we couldn’t just kick off from the start we got until the 14th or 15th over,” Gaikwad said. “We kept losing wickets at regular intervals. I think [we were] 10-15 runs short.”After getting to 51 for 2 in the powerplay, CSK managed only 62 runs in the ten overs after that, losing four wickets along the way. That included a period where they went 34 balls without hitting a boundary, with one in the tenth over followed by another only in the 16th. Five out of the ten middle overs were bowled by LSG’s spinners Ravi Bishnoi and Krunal Pandya. Those went for only 29 runs, and Pandya bowled a well-set Ajinkya Rahane for 36 off 24 balls and had CSK’S Impact Sub Sameer Rizvi stumped for 1.Related

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LSG captain KL Rahul said that it was a pre-planned strategy from his side to use a mix of pace and spin in the middle overs to not allow the opposition batters to get set against “one type of bowling”.”It depends on the kind of wicket we are playing on, and the kind of batters there are [in the opposition],” Rahul said. “Obviously, there’s a bit of time we spend on doing homework, [and] talking about tactics and strategies against the opposition. And yeah, that was one of our strategies: to use pace, use spin, and make sure that they don’t get settled into playing one type of bowling. So [I] tried to mix it around.”And I think credit goes to the bowlers: I can do all the changing, but if they don’t execute, then all of us look stupid as a team. They executed really well. We work really hard at training, and it’s good to see that the team is sticking to the plans.”Despite MS Dhoni thumping 28 not out off only nine balls and Moeen Ali hitting 30 from 20 including three successive sixes in the 18th to raise the tempo at the death, and Ravindra Jadeja playing anchor to hit 57 not out off 40, CSK’s total of 176 was chased down with an over to spare. Gaikwad felt that the pitch was “slightly difficult” to score on in the first innings, and that the presence of the Impact Player meant teams need to have “maybe 20 runs extra”.”Even on these kind of pitches – I felt it was a sluggish one to start off with, with dew coming later [and the pitch] getting better – I still feel 180-190 would have been a good score,” he said.Gaikwad also said that CSK needed to strike more with the ball in the powerplay. Tonight, LSG’s openers Rahul and Quinton de Kock did not let them do that, putting on 134 in 15 overs. Overall this season, CSK have taken just seven wickets in the first six overs, which is the second-least by any side behind RCB. Their bowling average of 56.85 in that phase is also the second-worst.”[That] is the one area where we would like to improve going forward,” Gaikwad said. “It really puts the opposition on the back foot if we get wickets in the powerplay – especially when we are about ten runs short – and definitely that is one area we need to work on.”CSK play LSG again on Tuesday, but this time back home in Chennai.

Unbeaten centuries in hefty fifth-wicket stand thwart Derbyshire’s bid for control

ECB Reporters Network26-May-2024Gloucestershire’s James Bracey and Graeme van Buuren blasted their side out of trouble with swashbuckling centuries before rain took a hand on the third day of the Vitality County Championship Division Two match with Derbyshire at Bristol.The fifth-wicket pair launched a savage attack on the second new ball, producing a boundary blitz and adding 156 runs to their team’s overnight first innings total of 243 for four in just 21 overs before the heavens opened, with Bracey unbeaten on 137 and van Buuren having raced to 156 not out.No play was possible after lunch. At 399 for four, Gloucestershire were still 127 short of Derbyshire’s first innings total of 526, but on the most benign of batting surfaces, with two players in top form, they can feel optimistic of avoiding defeat on the final day.Bracey was on 87 and van Buuren 61 when play began, with 14 overs to bat before Derbyshire could take a second new ball both sides knew could be central to the outcome. Bracey moved comfortably to his second hundred of the season, reaching the milestone with his 15th four, a cut off Luis Reece, having faced 151 balls.Gloucestershire had just claimed a second batting bonus point when van Buuren elected to cut loose, moving from 88 to his 15th first class century with three fours off successive deliveries from off-spinner Alex Thomson in the over before the new ball became due.Derbyshire took it immediately, but suffered as a result when both Daryn Dupavillon and Sam Connors strayed in line and length, producing a plethora of short deliveries, while others were overpitched. The first five overs with the harder ball went for 65 runs.Bracey and van Buuren attacked at every opportunity, the latter pulling Connors over mid-wicket for six and clearing the ropes again off the same bowler with a sweetly-timed flick over fine leg. The diminutive Gloucestershire skipper needed only 28 deliveries to move from 100 to 150, sending the ball to all parts of the Seat Unique Stadium.From 318 for four when the new ball was taken, Gloucestershire had posted 383 for four by the end of the 85th over. Derbyshire captain David Lloyd had little option but to remove Dupavillon and Connors from the attack, bringing on Anuj Dal and Reece.Play had already been interrupted by a short shower when heavier rain arrived and lunch was taken. Bracey had faced 175 balls, striking 19 fours and a six, while the inspired van Buuren had clocked up 22 fours and 2 sixes in facing 172 deliveries.The partnership was worth 268 in 48.3 overs when the weather set in. Umpires Paul Pollard and Naeem Ashraf made a 3pm pitch inspection, ordered tea to be taken at 3.10pm, and looked again at 4pm, by which time more rain had fallen. They abandoned play for the day at 4.15pm.

Sussex coasting to title after rain-ruined contest at Hove

ECB Reporters Network28-Sep-2024Sam Robson’s superb 113 off 103 balls spearheaded Middlesex’s sprint to 271 all out from just 44.3 overs at Hove, with Sussex replying on a more sedate 112 for two in a Vitality County Championship match that lost its first seven sessions to bad weather.Tom Haines’ secure unbeaten 53 steered Sussex through 33 overs in the later stages of a day blessed at last by early autumn sunshine, leaving them with the prospect of clinching the Division Two title on the final day of the season.Fast bowler Tom Helm dismissed both Oli Carter for 15, caught and bowled top-edging an attempted pull, and Tom Clark, who snicked behind on 14, but Tom Alsop (11 not out) stayed with Haines until stumps.The game finally got under way at 12.40pm on day three, following two inspections and an early lunch, and Robson led from the front as Middlesex tried to make up for lost time in a valiant effort to reach a position from which to push for an unlikely victory.Middlesex had started the day still with an outside chance of promotion, needing to win in this final championship round while also requiring second-placed Yorkshire to lose against Northamptonshire. But Yorkshire’s three bowling and three batting bonus points at Headingley meant they go up alongside Division Two leaders Sussex – who now need just one batting point, or a draw in this game, to become second division champions.Picking up three bowling bonus points, with young spinners Jack Carson and James Coles sharing seven wickets, left Sussex at stumps just 138 runs away from reaching 250 and that first batting point. Sussex have announced that all spectators will receive free entry on the final day, plus a voucher for a free drink.Robson’s hundred, the 36th of the former England Test opener’s fine first-class career, was his fourth of an excellent season and a chanceless innings of controlled aggression. The 35-year-old reached three figures off 87 balls and hit 15 fours.With Ryan Higgins including three legside sixes in a 28-ball 40, Middlesex were at one stage 181 for three. But Higgins then swept slow left-armer Coles high to deep square leg, in the 29th over, and Middlesex’s first innings fell away despite every batsman attempting to maintain the attacking intent.Coles finished with four for 61 while off spinner Carson’s three for 46 took him to 50 championship wickets for the season, the first time a Sussex spinner has reached that landmark since Monty Panesar’s haul of 53 in 2012.Opening bowlers Ollie Robinson and Jaydev Unadkat claimed Middlesex’s first three wickets, with Robinson removing Mark Stoneman for 13 – courtesy of a diving low catch to his right at fourth slip by Haines – in his new ball spell of 7-0-21-1.Indian left-armer Unadkat then replaced Robinson for his second spell from the Cromwell Road End, almost immediately bowling Max Holden off stump for 24 and later having Leus du Plooy (6) held after a juggle at first slip by Alsop.By then Robson had completed a 51-ball fifty by straight driving Unadkat for four and Higgins’ arrival sparked a rollicking fourth wicket partnership of 78 from just 8.3 overs.Coles, though, followed up his dismissal of Higgins by having Josh de Caires (1) well-held by Carson at deep square leg, who in the previous over had bowled Jack Davies through an attempted big drive for four.After tea, taken at 208 for six from 36 overs, Robson swept Carson to deep backward square leg before Toby Roland-Jones (8) mishit Coles to mid off, Helm (7) was caught off Carson and Luke Hollman’s bright 34-ball 39 was ended when he was bowled swinging at Coles.With Sussex already guaranteed to be crowned as Division Two champions on Sunday, entry for the final day at Hove is half-price, plus a free drink voucher for all spectators.

Apart from Steven Smith and Glenn Maxwell, no other Australian batter in the top seven has faced Varun before

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Mar-20251:42

Kumble: Varun has been exceptional over the last year

India could field a four-pronged spin attack again in the Champions Trophy semi-final against Australia in Dubai on Tuesday, after Varun Chakravarthy “did everything that was asked for” in the last group game, according to Rohit Sharma.Playing only his second ODI, Varun took 5 for 42 in ten overs against New Zealand as India defended their total of 249 by 44 runs. He had not played the first two group games against Bangladesh and Pakistan, but replaced Harshit Rana for the third one.”He [Varun] just showed what he is capable of. So now it is up to us to think and see how we can get that combination right,” Rohit said. “He did everything that was asked for… he’s got something different about him. And when he gets it right, he knocks people over and he takes five wickets. So it is very tempting.”Related

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Varun’s variations and unusual action make it hard for batters to pick him, and of Australia’s likely top seven, only Steven Smith and Glenn Maxwell have faced him before. Smith also last faced Varun in 2021; he has reinvented himself as a bowler since then.”We just want to go back and think about what the Australian batting line-up will look like,” Rohit said. “And try and see what kind of bowling options will go against them.”After dismissing New Zealand opener Will Young, Varun ended any chance of a successful chase by dismissing Glenn Phillips and Michael Bracewell in the 35th and 38th overs. Four of his five wickets were bowled and lbw, a testament to his relentless attack on the stumps.”I think he has become more accurate now,” Rohit said, adding that there was “a little bit of inexperience” about Varun when he made his T20I debut for India in 2021. “But right now, in the last two or three years, he has played a lot of cricket. Whether it is domestic cricket, IPL and for India in the T20s. And now the ODIs as well.Varun Chakravarthy is pumped after taking a wicket•Associated Press

“He understands his bowling very well. There is definitely something about his bowling which he is using to his advantage. Some of our batters also couldn’t figure him out [in the nets], which is also nice.”Varun was a surprise and late inclusion in India’s Champions Trophy squad, having played just one ODI in the preceding home series against England. That selection came after an impressive performance for Tamil Nadu in the Vijay Hazare Trophy – 18 wickets in six innings with an average of 12.16 and an economy rate of 4.36.”You want to try and fast-track him as quickly as possible and give him a go,” Rohit said about the selection. “Certain formats require certain skillset. And I thought whenever we look at these kinds of players, if the talent is there, then you don’t want to shy away from Varun.”There will be questions asked, there will be a few eyebrows which will be raised. But I think as a team, you want to do certain things which can help you win games. As simple as that.”

PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi was originally meant to be part of the presentation after the final, but the host board said he was unwell and unable to travel to Dubai

Danyal Rasool10-Mar-2025The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has asked the ICC for an explanation after the Champions Trophy tournament director Sumair Ahmed was not included in the post-final presentation ceremony in Dubai on Sunday. Sumair, who is also the chief operating officer of the PCB, was in Dubai for the final in his capacity as tournament director and Pakistan’s representative at the final. Pakistan were official hosts of the Champions Trophy.After India beat New Zealand to secure the title, four officials were part of the presentation ceremony, including Jay Shah, the ICC chair, two from the BCCI, one from New Zealand Cricket but none from the PCB. Other than Shah, the officials present were BCCI president Roger Binny, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia and NZC director Roger Twose. It is not customary for representatives of nations playing the final to feature in post-tournament ICC ceremonies, unless the final involves the host country.ESPNcricinfo understands the PCB was puzzled by the presence of Saikia, given that one BCCI official – Binny – was on stage anyway. But it is the exclusion of the host representative that has most antagonised the board. Representatives of the host nation are generally part of trophy presentations. The PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi was originally meant to be part of the presentations but the PCB said he was unwell and unable to travel to Dubai. They expected Sumair to stand in as Pakistan’s representative.Related

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While it is understood the PCB did not reach out to the ICC to inform it that Sumair would take Naqvi’s place on the podium, the Pakistan board believes the onus was on the ICC to contact it about Naqvi’s replacement. The PCB is aggrieved no ICC representative reached out to the board at any stage during the final to discuss plans for a Pakistani presence on the podium post-match.A PCB official said the ICC was yet to respond to the PCB with any explanation. ESPNcricinfo has also reached out to the ICC for a comment.The final was held in Dubai as part of a deal struck between the PCB and the BCCI. Naqvi was initially adamant the entirety of the tournament – the first ICC event Pakistan has hosted since 1996 – would be held in Pakistan. However, the BCCI said the Indian government had refused permission to their cricket team to travel to Pakistan. As such, the two boards reached an arrangement that saw India play all their games in Dubai, with all ICC events the two nations host over the next three years seeing the other side play their games at a separate neutral venue.This is the third time this tournament the PCB has approached the ICC for explanation following incidents they feel have undermined Pakistan as official hosts of the Champions Trophy. During the second game of the tournament, when India played Bangladesh in Dubai, Pakistan’s name was omitted from the logo on the official broadcast.The following day, when Australia played England at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, the Indian national anthem briefly began to play instead of the Australian anthem. The PCB squarely held the ICC responsible, saying the anthem playlist was produced and distributed by the governing body, with the ICC in charge of playing the anthems before the matches. The ICC put the absence of the logo down to error, while, according to the PCB, the global governing body offered its regrets for the anthem mix-up and put it down to a DJ error.

David Warner, Steven Smith and Travis Head are included but the all-format quicks and allrounders will prepare for the Test summer back home

Andrew McGlashan28-Oct-20234:06

Moody: Wade’s captaincy and experience important for Australia

Matthew Wade will captain Australia in the five-match T20I series against India after the 2023 ODI World Cup. The multiformat fast bowlers and allrounders have been left out ahead of the Test summer, but David Warner, Steven Smith and Travis Head are included.Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood will return home after the World Cup along with Cameron Green and Mitchell Marsh, who captained Australia’s previous T20I series against South Africa, to prepare for the home Test season which begins on December 14 against Pakistan in Perth.Related

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That could open up the opportunity for them to play the final round of Sheffield Shield matches before the BBL break, which begin on November 28, although previously the big three quicks have been comfortable not playing a four-day match before a home Test series.Marsh and Green are vying for the No. 6 spot with Marsh the incumbent after playing the final Ashes Test at The Oval. The selectors will need to decide whether to make Green available for Western Australia’s Shield match against Queensland in Brisbane or give him a break. The inclusion of Warner, Smith and Head in the T20 squad means they are unlikely to get any red-ball cricket before the first Test in Perth.With Marsh heading home it meant a new stand-in captain was needed with Wade, who has previously done the role on seven occasions including the final game of last year’s T20 World Cup when Aaron Finch was injured, taking on the duties. It marks a significant change in his career trajectory after previously indicating last year’s tournament in Australia could be his swansong.Wade was initially overlooked for the tour of South Africa as the selectors blooded some new names but was later called up as a replacement and chair of selectors George Bailey had previously said he was in the running for this tour.It is expected a permanent appointment as Australia’s T20 captain will be made during the home season with Marsh the frontrunner to take the role ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup.Matthew Wade has previously led Australia in seven T20Is•BCCI

The remainder of the squad is made up of players who featured in the 3-0 victory over South Africa with left-arm quick Spencer Johnson given another chance to impress along with legspinner Tanveer Sangha and allrounder Matt Short.”It’s an experienced squad with a mixture of players who have had their first opportunity on the international stage and that we hope will continue to develop into important players in our T20 group,” Bailey said. “Matthew has captained the team previously, is a leader in the group and we look forward to him taking the reins for this series. Like Mitch Marsh in the South Africa series, this is another great opportunity to further deepen our international leadership experience and depth.”Western Australia allrounder Aaron Hardie is the one player who featured in that series to miss out. Left-arm spinner Ashton Agar was not considered due a recurrence of his calf injury.Once the ODI World Cup is complete attention will turn to preparations for the next T20 edition in the West Indies and USA in June 2024. After the five games in India, Australia have a three-match series against West Indies and New Zealand in February as their other confirmed fixtures before that tournament.Starc and Cummins are expected to be among the players to put their names into the hat for a return to the IPL with a view to using that competition as preparation for the T20 World Cup.The matches against India take place on November 23, 26, 28 and December 1 and 3.Australia’s T20I squad: Matthew Wade (capt), David Warner, Travis Head, Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Josh Inglis, Jason Behrendorff, Sean Abbott, Nathan Ellis, Spencer Johnson, Adam Zampa, Tanveer Sangha

Ethan Bamber five-for, Ryan Higgins fifty help visitors take grip in tricky conditions

ECB Reporters Network 25-Jul-2023Middlesex took ruthless advantage of winning a valuable toss by bowling Warwickshire out for 60 on the opening day of their LV=Insurance County Championship match at Edgbaston.Warwickshire were skittled for their lowest championship total since 1982 – when they made 43 versus Sussex at Edgbaston – as Ethan Bamber took 5 for 20 and skipper Toby Roland-Jones 3 for 27. The seamers skilfully exploited helpful conditions but were abetted by some flawed defensive shots.Middlesex then replied with 199, with Ryan Higgins making 53 from 72 balls, for a first innings lead of 139 – and there was still time on a chaotic day for the home side to lose two wickets second time round, reaching 53 for 2 by the close.When Roland-Jones won the toss, he hoped his seam attack would make early inroads – to have the home side 17 for 5 after 23 minutes did that job.It all started swimmingly for Warwickshire as both openers struck their first ball for four, but Roland-Jones launched the clatter with a lifter which Alex Davies gloved to the wicketkeeper. Two balls later, the skipper sent a full-length ball into Will Rhodes’ stumps.Bamber then found Sam Hain’s edge and Sam Robson took a slick catch at second slip. A simpler chance, offered by Rob Yates off Roland-Jones, was also accepted by Robson before Bamber bowled the entire middle order in 44 balls. Dan Mousley and Jake Bethell were bowled through the gate, Michael Burgess was castled by one that kept low and Ed Barnard’s off stump was clipped by a peach of an outswinger.When Henry Brookes edged Higgins to third slip, No. 11 Mir Hamza found himself striding in at 12.20pm. He was soon making the return journey after nicking a pull at Higgins.In ten minutes’ batting before lunch, Middlesex lost Robson who edged Olly Hannon-Dalby to first slip. Soon after the interval, Steve Eskinazi edged Hannon-Dalby behind and Mark Stoneman fell lbw to Hamza who then bowled Max Holden through another open gate.After diligent innings of 18 from Jack Davies and Jon Simpson were ended by fatal edges, Higgins and Josh de Caires counterattacked. For the first time the pressure was turned on the bowlers as the seventh-wicket pair added 71 in 18 overs.Higgins has damaged Warwickshire in the past with the ball, notably with 11 for 96 for Gloucestershire in the Bob Willis Trophy at Bristol in 2020. This time he biffed seven fours and a six on his way to his 18th first-class fifty before becoming the first of three wickets for Barnard. Higgins was bowled, de Caires skied a slog and Roland-Jones struck the ball into the crowd at long-on but clipped off a bail with his after-stroke and departed hit wicket.When Bamber fell lbw to Hannon-Dalby, Middlesex had a chunky lead of 139 and, remarkably, Warwickshire were in again for 13 overs. Their traumas continued as Davies sliced Bamber into the cordon to add a first-baller to his morning second-baller and Rhodes nicked an indiscrete waft at Tom Helm. That was careless from the captain but it was Warwickshire’s morning of mayhem that has left them in a cavernous hole.

Chaturvedi’s 404 not out leads Karnataka past Mumbai and to the title in Shivamogga

Shashank Kishore15-Jan-2024Prakhar Chaturvedi etched his name into the record books by scoring the first quadruple century in the final of the Under-19 Cooch Behar Trophy, against Mumbai in Shimoga on Sunday.Along the way, he surpassed Yuvraj Singh’s 24-year-old record of 358, the previous highest individual score in the tournament final. Overall, he slotted in at No. 2 on the list of highest individual scores in the tournament, after Vijay Zol’s 451 not out for Maharashtra against Assam in the 2011-12 season.Opening the innings, Chaturvedi made 404 not out as Karnataka batted Mumbai out of the game and won on the basis of a first-innings lead. Karnataka posted 890 for 8 after 223 overs of batting in response to Mumbai’s 380 all out on the second day. Chaturvedi faced 638 balls in all, hitting 46 fours and three sixes in his knock.It marked a spectacular turnaround in fortunes for Chaturvedi, who wasn’t picked in the Under-19 squad for the season to begin with, but now elicits the prospect of making his senior team debut for Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy, in the same season where he also missed the India Under-19 World Cup bus.