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The first edition of the tournament will take place from October 1 to 15 this year

Umar Farooq29-Apr-2022The inaugural Pakistan Junior League will be played from October 1 to 15, featuring six teams and 19 games, at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium. It is also understood that, after the PCB invited corporate entities to be a part of the tournament, there were as many as 24 companies that came forward with a desire to be involved in different capacities. And at least three of the six existing PSL franchises are also believed to be interested in buying teams.The PCB feels there is enough interest to attract commercial partners, and is hopeful of roping in Pakistani legends as mentors and coaches.”I am delighted, encouraged and motivated by the response we have received to the Pakistan Junior League’s Request for Expressions of Interest,” Ramiz Raja, the PCB chairman, said in a statement on Friday. “This feedback has strengthened my belief and confidence that we have a huge appetite for cricket and a strong commercial market, which is keen, eager and happy to partner with the PCB on its projects of introducing new properties so that we can strengthen ourselves financially and commercially, and the return on investments are shared with all cricketers.”Following the success of the Pakistan Super League and the ever-improving reputation of the PCB, the potential sponsors have shown excitement and expressed their interest in the city-based Pakistan Junior League in their endeavour to play an important role in helping the PCB to create an environment of brilliance by providing a clear pathway to the talented youngsters, which, in turn, will fortify our bench-strength and produce new national stars and heroes.”The plan for a franchise-based T20 league for junior cricketers – locals with a smattering of overseas players – was communicated by the PCB two weeks ago. The aim is to pick players from the 15-19 age group through a draft process. The PCB has confirmed that all overseas cricketers will be allowed to have a parent accompany them, with the cost to be footed either by the organisers or the franchises.The domestic cricket structure in Pakistan has been subject to a lot of rejigging over the years but the pathway for age-group players has mostly been structured, featuring levels between the Under-15s and the Under-19s. Historically, the age-group players have been nurtured through longer-format games, playing two- or three-day games alongside one-dayers.They have not really been exposed to the T20 format during their development phase in accordance with PCB regulations. The exception has been the PSL, where each franchise is required to field at least one emerging player in every game. That has led to quite a few new faces coming to the fore over the years.

A round-up of the Vijay Hazare Trophy Group A matches played on December 11, 2015

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Dec-2015Akhil Herwadkar’s maiden List A hundred went in vain as Tamil Nadu beat Mumbai by 26 runs in a high-scoring match at the Gymkhana Ground. Herwadkar got Mumbai off to a flying start in their chase of 313, putting on 127 with his opening partner Jay Bista in 116 balls, before falling with Mumbai 141 for 2 in the 23rd over of their innings. Herwadkar had made 107 off 86 balls, with 16 fours and a six.Mumbai lost another wicket soon after, but Shreyas Iyer (44 off 32) and Aditya Tare (21 off 21) kept the momentum going with a 52-run fourth-wicket stand. They both fell in quick succession, though, and Mumbai lost their way, losing their last seven wickets for 81 runs as their chase spluttered to a close with 28 balls still remaining. The spinners were the most successful bowlers for Tamil Nadu, with List A debutant M Ashwin picking up three wickets with his legbreaks.Sent in to bat, Tamil Nadu lost their openers early, but B Aparajith (77 off 112 balls), M Vijay (55 off 59), B Indrajith (60* off 52) and R Sathish (52 off 30) all made half-centuries in powering the team to a total of 312 for 7.Rajat Bhatia’s unbeaten 68 steered Rajasthan to a one-wicket win over Assam in a thriller at the Railways Recreation Club. It was the culmination of a stupendous all-round display from Bhatia, who also picked up five wickets with his medium-pace in bowling Assam out inside 45 overs.Chasing 149, Rajasthan kept losing wickets, but Bhatia – who came in at 38 for 4 – kept them in the hunt, scoring at a strike rate of over 80 through the course of his 82-ball innings, hitting six fours and a six. Bhatia put on 58 for the eighth wicket with Rajesh Bishnoi (17), before Pritam Das took two wickets in five balls to leave them on the brink, needing nine to win with just one wicket in hand. They just about sneaked home, with three balls remaining, with No. 11 Nathu Singh not out on 1 off 5 balls.A five-wicket haul from Siddarth Kaul helped Punjab defend 238 and beat Hyderabad by 56 runs at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Hyderabad’s chase never got going, as Kaul and Barinder Sran struck regularly to leave them 79 for 6. K Sumanth (63) and Pagadala Naidu (35) helped them recover somewhat, but not enough to get close to their target. Their innings folded with 7.2 overs still remaining, with Sumanth unable to bat again after retiring hurt.Seamers M Ravi Kiran and Chama Milind picked up seven wickets between them, justifying Hyderabad’s decision to field first, but thirties from Manan Vohra, Yuvraj Singh, Gurkeerat Singh and Gitansh Khera and a more substantial 66-ball 64 from Mayank Sidhana helped Punjab post a total of 238, their innings ending with two balls still to go.

Eoin Morgan has been ruled out of Middlesex’s final County Championship fixture of the season after failing to recover sufficiently from a blow to the head

Andrew Miller21-Sep-2015Eoin Morgan has been ruled out of Middlesex’s final County Championship fixture of the season against Worcestershire at New Road tomorrow after failing to recover sufficiently from the blow to the head he took while batting against Mitchell Starc in last week’s fifth ODI against Australia.Morgan, England’s limited-overs captain, was forced to retire hurt on 1 during the seventh over of the series decider at Old Trafford on September 13, when he took his eyes off the ball from Starc that struck him a fierce blow on the side of the helmet.After a lengthy period of treatment on the field Morgan was forced to retire hurt, and he did not return either to complete his innings as England were bowled out for 138, or lead the team in the field during Australia’s series-sealing eight-wicket win.Angus Fraser, the Middlesex director of cricket, confirmed that the club were following the current advice from the ECB medical team, which recommends that players who have shown signs of concussion need to be symptom-free for a full week prior to their next fixture.Morgan, who was described by Trevor Bayliss, the England head coach, as “having a lump on his head and a headache” after reportedly taking an hour to come fully to his senses in the dressing room, was apparently still worse for wear last Tuesday morning, a full 48 hours after the incident.”To be eligible to play in the next game after suffering concussion, the ECB advice is that a player has to show no symptoms for a week,” Fraser told ESPNcricinfo. “Unfortunately Eoin was still a bit groggy and fuzzy when we assessed him last week. He is absolutely fine now and I’m sure he would be available to play if there was another fixture next week.”The management of head injuries in cricket came sharply into focus last November following the death of Phillip Hughes following a blow to the head during a Sheffield Shield fixture between South Australia and New South Wales at the Sydney Cricket Ground. That incident was clearly on the minds of several of the Australian players at Old Trafford, not least Starc, who had been fielding for NSW when Hughes was struck, and was visibly shaken by this latest incident as he was comforted by his coach, Darren Lehmann.In common with many other sports, such as Australian Rules Football and America’s NFL, the ECB this season introduced new guidelines for counties when dealing with concussed players, a move that has become imperative for all sports administrators following a study into Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive degenerative disease of the brain that was recently found to be present in 96% of a study of ex-NFL players.This season has involved several high-profile head injuries, not least the on-field collision between the Surrey fielders Rory Burns and Moises Henriques at Arundel in June. Burns, who suffered cuts above his left eye as Henriques sustained a broken jaw, was back playing for Surrey within a fortnight.An ECB spokesman confirmed that Middlesex took the decision to rest Morgan last week, having followed the current advice and guidelines from the ECB medical team.This article was amended at 2130 on September 21, 2015 with additional information.

Yorkshire overwhelmed by ten wickets as rivals claim 21st county title

Vithushan Ehantharajah22-Sep-2022Surrey County Cricket Club, County Champions once more. A second title in four years, a fourth in the 2000s, a 21st in their long and storied history, was claimed in emphatic fashion with victory over Yorkshire by ten wickets.This eighth victory out of 13 in the 2022 season was in parts a microcosm of their overall campaign: everyone pulling their weight with runs and wickets shared around, and the odd sizeable contribution from the likes of Ollie Pope with 136, and Tom Lawes and Dan Worrall, who led the way with four wickets in the first and second innings respectively.Victory by an innings looked on the cards when Yorkshire resumed day three on 89 for two in their follow-on innings, but the wait for victory, confirmed at 2.35pm, only served to underline the professional nature of an outfit who, in a schedule like no other, have called on 22 players this season without looking poorer for it. For a head coach in his maiden season, Gareth Batty deserves immense credit for ensuring all were able to fit in and excel without losing their sense of selves.Winning titles at home is always preferable, though doing so a round early – with a day to spare – meant the Division One trophy was still locked away at Lord’s. It will be back in their possession at the end of their final fixture against Lancashire up at Emirates Old Trafford, and will be presented by their former chair Richard Thompson, no less, in his new role at the ECB.That game may no longer have any consequence, but don’t call it a dead rubber. Surrey still have an unbeaten record to preserve.Yet, as odd as it may sound, no one seemed to miss the golden goblet here.This last home game of the summer was already a week of celebration. The ground was renamed The Micky Stewart Oval to honour the legend following his 90th birthday, and he was awarded the keys to the ground at tea on day two. During the innings break, before the winning runs were sought, news of Hampshire’s 77-run defeat to Kent filtered through to draw more through the gates, some of whom only arrived after Burns, fittingly, had smashed the final runs through midwicket to end the chase in 16 minutes and leave him with a rather spectacular 30 not out off 16. Why the rush, Rory? “I was getting thirsty,” he joked.By 2.49pm, Surrey players and coaching staff had re-emerged onto the ground, beers in hand, to salute the crowd. There’s a small matter of the team’s end-of-season dinner tonight, too. Trophy or not, they’ll be just fine.Jordan Clark was a key contributor to Surrey’s title•Getty Images for Surrey CCC

This was always going to be more Surrey’s day than Yorkshire’s as the latter returned in their second innings on 89 for two, still trailing by 65. Quite how emphatically so was dependent on the goings-on at The Ageas Bowl, where second-place Hampshire, already four-down in their chase, had 269 remaining to secure an unlikely win over Kent. Nevertheless, the best of starts came here when a clerical bowling change brought the first of the final eight wickets needed.Cameron Steel opened proceedings from the Vauxhall End in order to switch Worrall to the Pavilion End after the seamer had bowled the final over of day two. Steel’s final delivery – a googly – snuck through Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s gate, just as it did for Ben Mike’s in the first innings. The only difference was the lack of bounce which drastically reduced Kohler-Cadmore’s chances of keeping it out.With that we returned to the usual opening duo of Kemar Roach and Worrall, and the former should have had Adam Lyth for 37 only for Ryan Patel to fail to scoop up a low chance diving to his right from third slip. Roach channeled his anger to maintain a probing line to the left-hander and, 36 deliveries later, removed him with arguably the best ball of the morning: forcing the left-hander to play in front of middle-and-leg, then nipping the ball off the seam to give Patel a far simpler chance with which to make amends.It was the second breakthrough in three balls, after Clark finished the over before by removing Will Fraine with a bit of extra lift that surprised the right-hander into playing onto his own stumps. With that, Clark’s season tally moved to 30 which, along with his 467 runs at 51.88, underlines how invaluable he has been to the balance of this XI since his arrival from Lancashire in 2018. Fittingly, he was awarded his county cap at the lunch interval.Clark might have ticked over to 31 by then. With Yorkshire trailing by 30, skipper Jonny Tattersall, top-scorer in the first innings with an unbeaten 45, was put down on three off Clark. Again, Patel was the slip fielder though the legitimacy of the catch would have probably been called into question given how low it arrived.Tattersall went on to a dogged 21 but had the misfortune of being caught down the leg side off a delivery from Jamie Overton that looked like being too wide for any trouble. He’d at least got his team within four runs of Surrey’s total, a deficit which was wiped with singles before Jordan Thompson square-drove Overton gloriously through backward point to put Yorkshire four ahead.That lead was 17 (for six) by the end of the first session, at which point the more cynical sorts began fearing a tricky fourth-innings chase, even as an eighth-wicket stand of 63 between James Vince and James Fuller began to chip away at the 169 still needed for victory further down south.Two overs after the restart, Thompson had a bruise and a new helmet after Overton cranked one up from the Pavilion End to strike him on the grille via his right forearm. And, to add insult to injury, he was off four deliveries later when one from Worrall kept low to pin him on the shin in front of off stump. At the same time, Vince holed out to deep midwicket for 73. With that, those in the stands could refocus their attention on what was in front of them.A brisk 22 from five overs was nipped in the bud when Dom Bess was caught down the leg side off Roach for a diligent 43, before Mike’s brisk 14 was ended by a nip-backer from Worrall with the lead at 52. And when Worrall bowled the ever-retreating Ben Coad to give himself four for 61, Surrey’s task was simple – 55 for the win. And then, when Kent took the last Hampshire wicket to confirm a 77-run win during the innings break, confirmation this 55 would be for the Championship.The first over brought 16 of them: Burns guiding two fours to third man between second and third slip, before an imperious clip off the hips through square leg. A botched charge led to four byes in between. A carnival atmosphere ensued in south London.Among the cheers for boundaries was the odd chuckle, notably when Tattersall, having given up keeping duties to Kohler-Cadmore, started with a head-high full toss that Patel trimmed for four of his own (six with the no-ball). A heartier whoop followed when Burns pulled out a perfect reverse sweep for boundary No.5, before the sixth confirmed the inevitable.

Wright and Doran made half-centuries as Tasmania lost 6 for 54 to trail by 71

Alex Malcolm19-Feb-2022A five-wicket haul from Chris Tremain has put New South Wales in the ascendency on a rain-affected second day of their Sheffield Shield clash with Tasmania at the SCG.Tremain tore through the Tigers’ top order claiming four of the top five before returning to clean bowl tailender Sam Rainbird to complete his ninth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket and just his second for his home state of New South Wales.Promising legspinner Tanveer Sangha also picked up three wickets while Hayden Kerr added one to go with his 88 with the bat to bowl Tasmania out for 213 and hand New South Wales a first-innings lead of 63.Tremain was on a hat-trick in the fourth over of the innings after Tim Ward and Eamonn Vines fell caught behind although Vines was dismayed at the decision having felt he missed it.Mac Wright and Jake Doran both ground out patient half-centuries on a tricky surface to resurrect the innings. But Wright was trapped lbw by Tremain to one that kept a touch low and darted back off the seam. That triggered a collapse of 6 for 54 but Doran held firm throughout. After Rainbird fell for a duck with the score at 9 for 174 he was left with Peter Siddle and the pair scratched out another 39 runs with Siddle smashing 31 of them in just 21 balls, to keep the lead in check.New South Wales openers Matthew Gilkes and Ryan Hackney had to face one over from Jackson Bird prior to stumps and Gilkes scored 8 unbeaten off 6 balls.Earlier, Bird claimed the last two wickets of the Blues’ first innings to finish with 3 for 38 as the home side was bowled out for 276. He clean bowled Kerr for 88 with a peach off the fifth ball of the day to deny Kerr a maiden Sheffield Shield century. Sangha fell hooking two overs later.

The appointment has been made only for the upcoming three-match series against Zimbabwe

Mohammad Isam22-Jul-2022Wicketkeeper-batter Nurul Hasan has been made Bangladesh’s T20I captain only for the upcoming three-match series against Zimbabwe in Harare. He replaces Mahmudullah, who had been the captain in the shortest format since 2019, but lost out on the leadership role due to a lack of performance and results.The BCB held a meeting with Mahmudullah on Friday to inform him of the decision.The BCB has made several changes in the T20I squad for Zimbabwe, resting Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan, who had earlier taken leave from the entire white-ball tour. Mushfiqur skipped the West Indies tour to perform Hajj.ESPNcricinfo understands that the appointment of Nurul is a stopgap arrangement until Shakib, who is also Bangladesh’s Test captain, takes over the captaincy full-time when he returns to the side for the Asia Cup, which is scheduled to begin at the end of August.Parvez Hossain Emon, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Hasan Mahmud have been included in the squad. Mehidy is a Test and ODI regular, while Shanto played all three matches in the ODI series against West Indies. The uncapped Emon is a left-handed opener while Mahmud, who has played three ODIs and a T20I, is a seamer recovering from a long-term injury.Mahmud also returned to the ODI side which continues to miss Yasir Ali and Mohammad Saifuddin due to injuries. Ebadot Hossain has been dropped from the side.”We have been discussing our performances in Tests and T20Is which have not been up to the mark recently,” Jalal Yunus, BCB’s cricket operations chairman, said. “We have made a change in the captaincy. Nurul Hasan will lead the side in Zimbabwe. We have informed the decision to Mahmudullah in this meeting. We have made several changes in the team, and have rested Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan to try out a few young players.”Mahmudullah led the side in 43 T20Is – the most of any Bangladesh captain in the format – winning 16 and losing 26 matches. His most significant results were the series wins over Australia and New Zealand at home last year. But it is argued that winning these two series, which were played on raging turners at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka, was detrimental to Bangladesh’s progress in the T20 World Cup where they scraped through the qualification phase, and lost all their Super 12 matches.A change of captaincy was in the offing at the time, but due to a Pakistan series coming up in November 2021, the BCB was gun-shy. Bangladesh lost the T20I series 3-0, and have gone on to win one game out of eight since the World Cup. Mahmudullah made 103 runs in these eight matches, at an average of 12.87 and a strike rate of 101.98, and his captaincy once again came into question during the West Indies tour earlier this month.Nurul has a fairly unremarkable record over 33 T20Is, scoring 271 runs at an average of 12.90 and a strike rate of 111.98. It is understood that the BCB has been impressed by his leadership skills in domestic cricket, where he has also shown excellent form with the bat of late. He was one of Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club’s best performers during their run to the Dhaka Premier League (50-overs) title earlier this year, scoring 483 runs at 96.60 including a hundred and four fifties.Bangladesh T20I squad: Nurul Hasan (capt & wk), Munim Shahriar, Anamul Haque, Litton Das, Afif Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Mosaddek Hossain, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Parvez Hossain Emon
In: Parvez Hossain Emon, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Hasan Mahmud
Out: Mahmudullah, Shakib Al HasanBangladesh ODI squad: Tamim Iqbal (capt), Litton Das, Anamul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Afif Hossain, Nurul Hasan (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, Hasan Mahmud, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mosaddek Hossain, Taijul Islam
IN: Mushfiqur Rahim, Hasan Mahmud
OUT: Ebadot Hossain

Hamish Rutherford top-scored with 75 for the New Zealanders in Worcester but they were largely kept in check by the hosts

George Dobell at New Road15-May-2015
Scorecard2:35

IPL costing NZ players valuable preparation

From a certain angle, you might convince yourself that things are as they always have been at New Road. The horse chestnut trees still bloom, they still queue for tea in the Ladies’ Pavilion and they haven’t as much as added a conservatory to the cathedral.But this is a much-changed game. Whereas on New Zealand’s first Test tour of England in 1931, they played 32 first-class matches in all – even as late as 1999, they played 12 – this time, their premier players will go into the first Test having not played a red-ball match for five months.Instead, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson will meet up with the New Zealand squad as little as two days before the start of the series against England. After their spells in the IPL, they will go into the first Test reliant upon the practice they have gained from taking some Dukes balls to India to use in net sessions when possible. It is far from ideal preparation.To underline the new balance of power, Corey Anderson, who has joined up with the squad in Worcester, is awaiting clearance from Mumbai Indians before he can take part in this warm-up game. Not so long ago, it was national boards who granted clearance and domestic teams who waited. But money changes everything and not always for the better.It is nobody’s fault. The players, with a finite career in which to maximise their earnings, are understandably keen to take advantage of the opportunity the IPL provides and argue that the experience improves them as cricketers. New Zealand Cricket cannot compete with the money on offer. The compromise solution is not unreasonable.None of this means New Zealand will be a pushover in the Test series. There is too much talent, experience and professionalism in this squad to expect that. But it does mean that an England side who, once again, seem to be at the start of a new era, are not likely to come up against a side quite as well-prepared to exploit their weaknesses as might have been the case.Certainly there was no obvious disparity between the tourists and the county side at New Road on Friday. While the New Zealand seamers possessed more pace, the ability of the Worcestershire attack to harness the conditions exposed some fragility among the New Zealand batting against the moving ball. For a side that is about to face James Anderson on an early season wicket, that must be a concern.New Zealand’s opening combination will come under examination and Tom Latham fell cheaply, pushing at one outside off stump, before a stand of 68 between the two other candidates, Martin Guptill and Hamish Rutherford. Latham’s Test average of 40.23 and the fact he has played nine consecutive Tests since debut might make him feel secure of his place – he also made a half-century at the start of the tour in Taunton – but while Rutherford is the other incumbent, Guptill’s one-day form has pushed him back into contention.Rutherford resisted stoutly here, going into lunch unbeaten on 40, and Guptill appeared to have done the hard work before mistiming one that seemed to stop in the pitch and gifting a catch to mid-on. While Rutherford was rarely fluent – he reached his half-century with just his third boundary, an edge through the slip cordon off the deserving Charlie Morris – he generally left with sound judgement and demonstrated the patience required to prosper in such bowler-friendly conditions.Until he came up against Moeen Ali, anyway. Moeen, knowing he was some way below his best, asked to play in this game and soon drew Rutherford down the pitch with a ball that dipped sharply and spun to beat his outside edge. A little later, he also had Mark Craig beaten in the flight and caught at extra cover.After a couple of modest bowling performances – in Barbados for England and at Edgbaston for Worcestershire – this was a more encouraging display from Moeen. He still looks short of bowling – one full toss was thrashed for six by Craig – but there were fewer short balls and he also looked in fluent form with the bat in the evening. Perfectly straight drives for four and six were probably the strokes of the day.The same could not be said of Ross Taylor. After his brief innings was ended by an edge as he reached for a ball well outside off stump, he trudged off to the nets for another long practice session. He has been caught behind in all three of his innings on tour to date and looks less compact than in his prime.BJ Watling edged a good one that appeared to bounce and take the outside edge, while Luke Ronchi was caught at second slip as he attempted to leave a short. Only a ninth-wicket stand of 70 took New Zealand above 250.Nobody, surely, would be unwise enough to call New Zealand “mediocre” or suggest that there should be “some enquiries” if they win the series, but with much media focus currently on the fresh bout of chaos and bickering within England cricket, this was a reminder that life for their opposition is also far from perfect.

Australia A, India A and South Africa A would like to win the seven-match ODI tri-series but they might be just as content finding solutions to make their respective first XIs stronger

The Preview by Alagappan Muthu in Chennai04-Aug-2015’A’ team cricket is a strange world. Tickets are often free, but the crowd is invariably sparse. Outright fast bowlers dabble in spin. Premier batsmen are content with a couple of middling knocks. Gains for the self can almost be of greater importance than those for the team. And all of it is completely logical for there are no World Cups or Test championships to fight over. Just a pecking order.Australia A, India A and South Africa A might still like to win the seven-match one-day tri-series that kicks off in Chennai on Wednesday, but they might be just as content finding solutions to make their respective first XIs stronger.In 2013, Dean Elgar struck his highest score – 268 – in first-class cricket against Australia A. He is one of the first-choice openers for South Africa and is the current captain of the A team. In 2014, Naman Ojha slammed 219 and 101 in a four-day game, remained not out both times and was chosen to tour England with the Indian Test squad in July. Australia A’s response in that same match was led by Mitchell Marsh, who cracked a double-century of his own and went on to claim the allrounder’s spot in their Test XI. The three teams meet in the 50-over format from tomorrow, but the opportunity remains the same. A good showing against an international-quality side at home or away is great for the resume.”I think it’s something that every player will think about,” Elgar said. “They might not necessarily speak about it, but they will be thinking about it because that’s their common goal. I think every person that’s playing for their A side wants to play for the national side. So they are only human to want to think for higher honours.”More pertinently, South Africa, who are in transition, are due for their longest tour of India in October. Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Alviro Petersen have called time on their careers. With craters – let alone holes – to fill, players like Elgar, who is himself only 17 Tests old, Reeza Hendricks, who is among those discussed to take over the Test opener’s slot, Eddie Leie, a promising young legspinner and Wayne Parnell, who doesn’t get to play in the senior team too often, an ‘A’ tour has great significance.”This series is a big series for every player in the side just because of the changing of the guard, if you want to call it that, in various formats now in South African cricket,” Elgar said. “It’s big for the players to make a stamp, whether they get a game or two to try and make those one or two games count for them. It’s happened quite quickly back home, I don’t think anyone expected them to retire so quickly but it’s exciting as well. It just shows you the depth that we have and the hunger of the players is right up there.”A healthy bench strength is a luxury most teams would like, even if it costs the odd ‘A’ game. The scrutiny is less, and consequently so is the backlash. Only last week did Rahul Dravid term India A’s 0-1 loss to Australia A a “good lesson,” and that “the thing about this series. You have to keep learning and keep improving.”It is a policy that tends to hold good for everyone. Virat Kohli amassed over 700 runs in four Tests against Australia and is among the top-tier batsmen going around across formats. But he insisted on playing one of the ‘A’ games and used it as a chance to polish a shot he rarely plays: the sweep.”I feel as an international batsman on a personal level, you need to keep adding things that could make a difference in probably say the next 6-12 months in your game,” Kohli had said. “With bowlers bowling more attacking lines, it really comes into play, in case you want to accelerate the scoring rate. They might set fields that are difficult to pierce. If you master another shot, it just opens up dimensions in your game that will be helpful in future.”An ‘A’ team’s results don’t haunt their country’s fans and burn column inches. First-class and List A records aren’t as quickly flung back at a player’s face. The emphasis on their growth and redevelopment instead is what people are interested in.That presents as good an environment as any for someone struggling to get back in form, like Quinton de Kock. He was persisted with in the World Cup, but his rope got cut during the Bangladesh tour. He is expected to join the South Africa A squad ahead of their second one-dayer and will remain with them for the unofficial Tests as well. He would be disappointed at not being part of the ODIs against New Zealand, but it does give him some space to remedy problems that have crept in since his return from injury.The team’s needs, of course, are not altogether ignored and Australia’s Callum Ferguson said the ideal case was to balance both priorities: “Every A tour is important from an individual point of view. Guys playing in a winning side always do well. So it’s about creating a culture in which the team’s cause comes first and it’s the real focus for us.”Australia will be especially keen for some younger talent. Their one-day team is vibrant, the fast-bowling attack that helped them win the World Cup have several miles left in them. Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins are not even 25 yet. Throw James Pattinson in that mix as well, he is among the 15 men in Chennai trying to work his way back up. But their batting though is not quite as healthy, especially in Tests.More often than not their solutions have been to settle for a short-term solution by picking older, seasoned players. But say if the likes of Joe Burns, Peter Handscomb, Usman Khawaja enjoy a booming series here, options open up. And most captains like looking around a room and being able to have 14 men all capable of getting into an XI and staying there for a while.

Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad are the last two teams to join the action in IPL 2016

The Preview by Sirish Raghavan11-Apr-2016

Match facts

Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Start time 2000 local (14.30 GMT)4:00

Agarkar: Milne’s extra pace will help RCB

Big Picture

On Tuesday, the last two teams yet to join the action in IPL 2016 will battle in Bangalore.The hosts, Royal Challengers Bangalore, are packed with superstars, and, in Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, have a top three to kill for. They are among the pre-tournament favourites, as well as one of the fan favourites. But this was said of Royal Challengers even last year. And the year before that.Over the last eight years, Royal Challengers have flattered to deceive, and they will be desperate to set the record straight. Having tasted success as India’s Test captain, Kohli will no doubt be keen to prove his credentials as a short-form captain, too. If he can sustain his scintillating form with the bat, he will make the team’s task significantly simpler.Sunrisers Hyderabad, for their part, have been underwhelming over the last two seasons. Their batting has relied heavily on the openers, David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan, with the middle order failing to pull its weight. Perhaps with this in mind, Sunrisers splurged INR 7 crore on Yuvraj Singh in the February auction.Ultimately, the contest may well come down to Royal Challengers’ batsmen against Sunrisers’ bowlers. Sunrisers have an eye-catching line-up of fast bowlers – Mustafizur Rahman and Ashish Nehra join Trent Boult in the left-arm pace department, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Moises Henriques were the team’s most successful bowlers last season. Throw in the legspin of Karn Sharma and Sunrisers certainly have the arsenal to test Royal Challengers’ explosive line-up.

In the spotlight

Commanding a price tag of INR 9.5 crores, Shane Watson was the most expensive buy in this year’s auction. While that comes with its own pressure, Watson is experienced enough to deal with it. Having also just retired from international cricket, Watson may feel a weight off his broad shoulders and play with greater freedom and flair.Ashish Nehra was India’s standout bowler in the World T20, standing up when it counted match after match. As the most experienced seamer in the side, Nehra will also play an important mentoring role. Prior to India’s match against Bangladesh in the World T20, Nehra enthused about playing alongside Mustafizur in the IPL. Now, he will have a chance to pass on a few words of wisdom to the talented youngster.

Team news

Injuries to Mitchell Starc and Samuel Badree have dealt a heavy blow to Royal Challengers leaving them more reliant on Adam Milne and their Indian bowlers. With the release of last year’s wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik, it will be interesting to see who gets the gloves. De Villiers has shown some reluctance to keep wickets of late, which means that KL Rahul or Kedar Jadhav may get the job.Royal Challengers Bangalore (probable): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Virat Kohli (capt), 3 AB de Villiers, 4 Mandeep Singh, 5 Shane Watson, 6 Kedar Jadhav/KL Rahul (wk), 7 Stuart Binny, 8 Iqbal Abdulla, 9 Adam Milne, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 S AravindSunrisers are highly likely to pick both Kane Williamson and Henriques, in addition to the captain Warner. This will leave Mustafizur and Boult competing for the last overseas spot. The middle order will be reliant on local talent. Yuvraj will be out of action for two weeks following the foot injury he sustained during the World T20.Sunrisers Hyderabad (probable): 1 David Warner (capt), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Naman Ojha (wk), 5 T Suman, 6 Ashish Reddy, 7 Moises Henriques, 8 Karn Sharma, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Ashish Nehra

Pitch and conditions

The Chinnaswamy Stadium has small boundaries and has generally featured batting belters in the IPL. A high-scoring encounter can be expected, provided the batsmen oblige.

Stats and trivia

• Karn Sharma has bowled only four balls to Chris Gayle in the IPL, and has dismissed him twice
• David Warner won the Orange Cap in the last IPL, ending the tournament with 562 runs

Quotes

“I’ve batted all different places for Rajasthan as well. I opened for a period of time, also batted 3 and 4 as well. In the end, I’m very thrilled to be here and happy to fit in wherever required.”

Jordan Clark smashed an unbeaten 31 off 12 balls as Lancashire’s stuttering start to the defence of their Natwest T20 blast title got back on track with a rain-affected victory over Leicestershire at a sodden Old Trafford

ECB Reporters Network10-Jun-2016
ScorecardJordan Clark came out firing after the last rain delay to secure victory•PA Photos

Jordan Clark smashed an unbeaten 31 off 12 balls as Lancashire’s stuttering start to the defence of their Natwest T20 blast title got back on track with a rain-affected victory over Leicestershire at a sodden Old Trafford.Clark and Jos Buttler hit 35 runs off 11 balls to clinch the game with five deliveries to spare, after Lancashire were set a revised Duckworth Lewis target of 74 to win off seven overs in reply to Leicetershire’s 131 for 3 off 14 overs.Leicestershire openers Mark Cosgrove and Mark Pettini had initially put on 63 for the first wicket in just 6.5 overs after being put into bat by Steven Croft whose Lancashire side struggled with a wet ball and a soaking out field.On a humid night in Manchester, a heavy shower just as the players took the field caused a delay of 75 minutes before Cosgrove and Pettini took an instant liking for Neil Wagner’s bowling with the New Zealander going for 40 runs off his three overs.Pettini was the first to fall for 23 when he managed to scoop a delivery from Arron Lilley onto his helmet with Buttler diving athletically to catch the rebound.Umar Akmal joined Cosgrove at the crease and the Pakistani hit a quick fire 17 off 15 balls including a huge six off Lilley before he was bowled by Croft.Cosgrove, who finished unbeaten on 63, continued to lead a charmed life and he took full advantage of dropped catches by Croft, Karl Brown and Wagner to help take Leicestershire to a competitive total with Cameron Delport also unbeaten on six after Kevin O’Brien was caught in the deep by Lilley off Jordan Clark for 12.Only eight balls of the Lancashire reply were possible before the rain came again with the score 11 without loss and a further delay left the hosts requiring 63 more runs off 5.4 overs.Clark smashed Ben Raine’s first ball after the resumption for six and together with Alviro Petersen the opening pair put on 42 off 4.2 overs before the South African slapped a square cut straight to Tom Wells at point for 23.Two boundaries from Buttler left Lancashire requiring 23 to win off 12 balls before 20 runs off Clint McKay’s penultimate over saw the home side reach the target with five balls to spare as Clark hoisted a huge six over square leg to win the game and register Lancashire’s second win of the competition.