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Maxwell signs with Washington Freedom to play alongside Steven Smith and Travis Head under coach Ricky Ponting

Alex Malcolm18-Apr-20244:18

Was Maxwell right in asking to be dropped?

Glenn Maxwell has joined Travis Head and Steve Smith in signing with Washington Freedom for the upcoming Major League Cricket season while clarifying that his form was the major reason for his self-omission from Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s side in the IPL rather than needing a mental break.Maxwell has become the latest Australian player to sign in MLC and will join his Australia teammates in Head and Smith, along with his former IPL coach Ricky Ponting, at Washington Freedom.He told ESPN’s that he was excited about the opportunity to play in the United States.Related

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• Travis Head joins Steven Smith at Washington Freedom for Major League Cricket 2024

• Steven Smith joins Washington Freedom ahead of Major League Cricket's second season

• Maxwell takes a break to refresh after asking to be rested by RCB

“It’s a tournament that I watched from afar last year and was extremely excited about hopefully playing this tournament one day and luckily enough the timings have aligned this year,” Maxwell said. “I’ve been speaking to Ricky Ponting and a few other players a fair bit over the last little period and certainly extremely excited to get stuck in.”Having Travis and Steve there and Ricky, three guys who I’m extremely familiar with, I think that sort of probably tipped me over the edge. You sort of um and ah about that time of the year about where you’re going to be and whether you take the time off, whether you play the Hundred or what you might do and I think just having those couple of Aussies there and I think the opportunity to be a part of something really big in MLC and grow something is really exciting as well.”Maxwell joins Head, Smith, Adam Zampa (Los Angeles Knight Riders), Spencer Johnson (Knight Riders), Tim David (MI New York), Matt Short (San Franciso Unicorns) and Jake Fraser-McGurk (San Franciso Unicorns) as confirmed Australian signings for the second season of MLC, with more expected to join for the tournament which starts immediately after the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies ends on June 29.Meanwhile, Maxwell has moved to clarify his decision to ask to be omitted from RCB’s line-up from the last IPL match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Maxwell explained that it had nothing to do with needing to take an extended break from the tournament. He simply felt like he was not in the best XI and wanted to take any tough conversations away from captain Faf du Plessis and coach Andy Flower by asking to be dropped.”I was pretty low on confidence,” Maxwell said. “I had a good couple of net sessions and just went out to the ground and felt really tentative. I wasn’t able to really commit to my game plans and just felt like if I had kept playing and playing that role, I don’t think the results would change too much.2:51

Glenn Maxwell to join Washington Freedom in MLC

“So I just went to Faf and said, look, I think we need to try someone else in my position and had the same conversation with Andy Flower, the coach, and to me it was a bit of a no-brainer. I think it sort of saves the tough conversation they might have to have about dropping me.”I felt really at peace with it. Obviously, I’m frustrated that I wasn’t able to get the results I would have liked but comfortable in the fact that I know I feel like I’ve made the right decision for the team and it’s certainly not like I’m taking an extended break away from the game.”I just think it’s a better opportunity for someone else to have a crack at my position. I know I’m an important part of this side but at the moment I’m not playing well enough to I suppose warrant a spot.”Maxwell revealed he is unlikely to come back in for the next game, against Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday, given he is battling a minor hip injury. He said he understands he has to bide his time to get another opportunity.”I’ve actually got a little bit of a hip strain so I’ve got a few more days off and during recovery,” Maxwell said. “So I’ve got a little period here where I’m still training, still trying to get myself right. If there is a spot that becomes available, I’ll obviously put my hand up and take it”It’s not one of those things where I’ve set a date that I’ll be out for three games then I’ll come back whenever I’m ready. That’s that’s not how it works. I haven’t been at a level that’s good enough to warrant a spot on the side this year.”

The fast bowler has tweaked a problematic action with inputs from coach Ottis Gibson and is ‘champing’ to work his way back

Firdose Moonda08-Nov-2017Chris Morris’ search for speed caused the back injury that has sidelined him for the last four months. As a result, he has had to modify his action.Morris suffered a lower-back problem in England in August, which ruled him out of the fourth Test in Manchester and all action since. He expects to make a return midway through the Ram Slam, for the Titans, and when he does, it will not be at the expense of pace but with a smoother, better approach which the new coach Ottis Gibson has helped him with.”I’ve had a few tweaks in my action that Ottis has changed. I had to iron it out because it wasn’t good enough – simple as that,” Morris said at the Ram Slam launch in Johannesburg. “I think in striving for a bit of extra pace, there was some twisting in my action. I’ve got quite a bad kick-out with my left foot before I land. I was getting lazy and doing quite a lot of twisting, which caused a lot of pressure on my lower back and inevitably caused the injury.”A hallmark of Morris’ performances in England was his pace, particularly when Faf du Plessis gave him freedom to “be aggressive and bowl fast.” The directive paid off in the short term as Morris dismissed Joe Root and Alastair Cook in an impressive spell at Trent Bridge but caused a long-term concern.Though Morris did not break or tear anything, he suffered inflammation and strain in the muscles of the lower back. If left untreated, it could have caused a stress fracture. Part of the treatment was making the changes to his action that should keep Morris symptom-free, though he knows he may respond adversely at any time.”If I didn’t get injured I still would have had to change my action. In bowling, you like to work in straight lines, and I was working along the wrong lines. That’s where the injury came along,” he explained. “We can’t re-scan the same injury because we’d see the same thing the whole time. So we work on symptoms – if there is pain you stop, otherwise you play. I’ve got to trust the gym and rehab, all the things I’ve been doing behind the scenes since my injury happened.”Like Morris, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and Wayne Parnell have also been doing undergoing intensive rehabilitation. Philander also had a lower back problem and returned to action in the first-class competition, with good results – he took five wickets and scored 80 for the Cobras. Steyn, Morkel and Parnell will all be back at some stage of the Ram Slam, which means that when the time comes for choosing a Test squad – first to face Zimbabwe in the inaugural four-day Test on Boxing Day and then to play India – there will be competition.Gibson has already flung the door open for Steyn, saying as long as the premier pacer thinks he can make it through a match, he will play. Morris cannot expect the same hospitality, given his relative inexperience especially at Test level. But he was encouraged by Gibson’s approach and is confident he can work his way back.”It’s always good to know that the coach is backing the guys who aren’t playing, especially with injuries because that’s part of the game,” Morris said. “If a youngster is better than me he must play, it’s as simple as that, but I’m always going to be fighting for my spot because playing for South Africa is what I want to do. If I never play for South Africa again it’s cool, but I’m going to give it my best shot. I’m obviously champing at the bit. It hurt me quite a lot to see the guys running around this morning and playing soccer, so I’ve got quite a lot of motivation.”Morris is particularly looking forward to working more with Gibson, whose experience with England he is hoping to draw on.”I’ve only had a week and a half with him and he’s been excellent. In England, he had the fortune of working with the best new-ball attack in the world in my opinion. If they’ve rubbed off on him, as a South African bowling attack we’re going to be richer for it,” Morris said. “He’s been doing this for a long time and has a lot of experience. It’s quite clear what our plans are going forward as a team. We’re in a happy space, and it’s quite exciting.”

Salzmann took 4 for 48 while Macdonald made 81 to hand WA their first loss in the Marsh Cup since November 2021

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Nov-2023Four wickets from William Salzmann, and a vital 81 from Blake Macdonald helped New South Wales hand the all-conquering Western Australia their first Marsh Cup defeat in nearly two years as Blues edged home by two wickets with an over to spare in a rain-effected contest in Sydney.WA had not lost in the 50-over format since November 2021, but in the absence of Aaron Hardie, Lance Morris and Jhye Richardson, NSW took full advantage at Cricket Central, bowling WA out for 216 in 42.2 overs after the game had been reduced to a 43-over affair thanks to a short burst of rain.Macdonald then controlled the chase superbly in a Player-of-the-Match performance, but his dismissal almost caused the Blues to give away the game. They slumped from 206 for 4 to 217 for 8 with some poor shot selection. But Ollie Davies held firm before Salzmann struck two boundaries to end the match.Salzmann was the star with the ball in just his third List A game, taking 4 for 48. He removed D’Arcy Short for a duck – Short’s third of the season – and also picked up the wicket of the dangerous Josh Philippe, who top-scored with 61 to halt WA’s charge after they had rebuilt to 127 for 3 following two early wickets.Salzmann later picked up two more after WA’s much-vaunted middle order failed to capitalise on starts. Sam Whiteman made 41 while Ashton Turner made 25, but both fell to Chris Green. Nick Hobson was left with an inexperienced tail, and the innings collapsed as Salzmann got Charlie Stobo and debutant Hamish McKenzie in quick succession before Hobson miscued to midwicket for 36.Blues had the chase under control, as Macdonald and the top order scored freely against WA’s inexperienced attack. However, Macdonald was fortunate to survive an outside edge off McKenzie’s first over of left-arm wrist spin as it flew past a stunned Turner at slip.Matthew Gilkes made 43 in a 75-run stand with Macdonald before Moises Henriques also combined with him in a 53-run partnership. Henriques was horribly unlucky to fall for 19 when he drilled a drive off WA’s other debutant Mahli Beardman straight at Macdonald who tried to evade it, but the ball bounced off his back and into the hands of McKenzie at mid-on.Jason Behrendorff was the only WA bowler to cause the Blues top order some trouble, as he picked up both Hughes and Macdonald. McKenzie finally got some reward as he completely bamboozled Jason Sangha. That sparked the collapse as AJ Tye picked up Hayden Kerr, Green and Ben Dwarshuis in quick succession, leaving Blues needing five to win with two wickets in hand.Davies had watched it unfold helplessly at the other end having looked untroubled for his unbeaten 30, and Salzmann held his nerve to hit the winning runs.

Tom Banton’s 81 goes in vain as visiting bowlers get the job done at the death

ECB Reporters Network11-Aug-2023Sam Curran asserted his influence with bat and ball as in -form Jordan Cox led Oval Invincibles to victory in their top-of-the-table Men’s Hundred clash, holding off a thrilling Northern Superchargers fightback by nine runs.Curran hit 24 off 12 balls late on as the league-leading Invincibles posted a commanding 185 for 5 before taking a superb catch and a wicket as the Superchargers slipped to 23 for 2. Superchargers opener Tom Banton crashed a brilliant 81 off 43 balls to recover them – and at 146 for 3 after 75 balls, they were favourites needing 40.But left-arm seamer Curran returned to have Banton caught at deep midwicket by a diving Ross Whiteley and finish with 2 for 31 from 20 balls with Gus Atkinson defending 19 off the last set of five balls.Superchargers finished on 176 for 8, losing their first game in four. The Invicibles, for whom unbeaten Jordan Cox top-scored with 73 off 38, won their third game in four to strengthen top spot on seven points.South Africa international Heinrich Klaasen hit six sixes in an entertaining 46 off 22 for the Invincibles.Australian quick Spencer Johnson had conceded only one off an incredible 20-ball spell in their home win over Manchester Originals on Tuesday but conceded five off his first ball here, including a wide, at the start of the visiting defence. He finished with 1 for 36.Jason Roy flicked the contest’s first ball – a Reece Topley full toss – down deep backward square-leg’s throat.Opening partner Will Jacks got things moving with a crisp 40, but he was then caught off Callum Parkinson, bringing Klaasen in at 69 for 2 after 44 balls.Klaasen hit a blistering 60 against the Originals and was similarly destructive here despite not hitting a four.Pacer Brydon Carse bore the brunt, conceding three sixes in five balls as the score moved from 85 for 2 after 60 to 104 for 2 after 65. One went arrow straight and the other two high over backward square-leg.Like Jacks, Klaasen then miscued to long-on. This time, Adil Rashid struck. But the Invincibles were on course for an imposing total at 124 for 3 after 74.Even though Cox reached 50 off 30 balls, he played second fiddle throughout much of this innings. He rotated the strike well before taking on the lead role at the end.Captain Wayne Parnell was the pick of the Superchargers bowling with 2 for 29, narrowly missing out on a late hat-trick having removed Curran and Ross Whiteley caught and lbw.Curran then took a brilliant catch back-peddling from mid-on to help Atkinson remove Matt Short before getting a England white-ball team-mate Harry Brook caught behind cutting for just four as the hosts slipped.But Banton and Adam Hose started the turnaround with a 57-stand to take the score to 82 for 2 after 50 balls.Hose drilled Nathan Sowter’s leg-spin to long-on almost immediately to fall for 45, though Banton ploughed on. He reached 50 off 30 balls and reverse hit his next ball for six over cover off Sowter.With that, the Superchargers were on course. But Johnson removed Saif Zaib, Curran returned to strike and squeeze and Atkinson struck twice in the last five to have Carse and Rashid caught.

RoI are still trailing Mumbai’s first-innings total of 537 by 248 runs

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Oct-2024Abhimanyu Easwaran’s unbeaten 151 took Rest of India (RoI) to 289 for 4 at the end of day three of the Irani Cup in Lucknow. But with Mumbai posting 537 in their first innings, RoI still have a mountain to climb.In the morning, Mumbai could add only one to their overnight 536 for 9. In the third over of the day, Mukesh Kumar knocked out Mohammad Juned Khan’s off stump for his fifth wicket of the innings, leaving Sarfaraz Khan unbeaten on 222.RoI had a somewhat nervy start but with Shardul Thakur unwell, Mumbai were forced to bring spin as early as in the sixth over. Juned provided the breakthrough by having RoI captain Ruturaj Gaikwad caught at second slip. RoI had only 40 runs on the board at that point but Easwaran and Sai Sudharsan stabilised them with an 87-run stand for the second wicket.Sudharsan, though, failed to convert his start and was lbw for 32 off Tanush Kotian after lunch. Devdutt Padikkal didn’t last long either and was caught behind for 16 off the bowling of Mohit Avasthi. It was a similar story for Ishan Kishan. He scored 38 before edging Avasthi to the wicketkeeper.By contrast, Easwaran was looking comfortable. He eased to his hundred off just 117 balls, even though only 38 runs had come in boundaries. He slowed down a bit after his hundred but Dhruv Jurel kept the scoreboard moving with an unbeaten 30 off 41 balls.In the penultimate over of the day, Easwaran brought up his 150, which was followed by Jurel hitting Kotian for a four and a six off successive balls. By stumps, the two had added 61 in an unbroken stand for the fifth wicket.

Eight regional sides put out to tender with first-class counties, MCC invited to bid for 2025-28

Valkerie Baynes01-Feb-2024″Show us your vision.” That’s the challenge the ECB has sent down to the 18 first-class counties in a second major overhaul of its professional women’s playing structure in five years.Invitations to tender for one of eight women’s professional “Tier 1 Clubs” are being sent to the counties and the MCC on Thursday. It is a move away from the current regional structure which began in 2020, whereby teams contesting the 20-over Charlotte Edwards Cup and 50-over Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy fall under central ECB control and largely encompass more than one county.By aligning teams more closely with existing counties – and their men’s teams – from the beginning of the 2025 season, the ECB is seeking to address an identity crisis that has afflicted some of the regional teams. The expanded marketing of the domestic women’s game will shift ownership, responsibility and governance to the clubs.The eight teams will compete in the top level of an expanded three-tier women’s domestic structure and while it is expected that they could still compete for trophies bearing the same names, one possible scenario is for those matches to be played as part of the Vitality T20 Blast and Metro Bank One Day Cup – which are currently men’s competitions – with the scope for some fixtures being played as double-headers.In October 2019, the ECB announced its ‘Inspiring Generations’ strategy for 2020-2024, aimed at making cricket a gender-balanced sport. That included introducing full-time professional contracts for women playing domestic cricket, the eight regional teams and the domestic 20-over and 50-over women’s competitions. It came after England had been soundly defeated 12-4 in a home Women’s Ashes series in 2019 and the ECB vowed to do better in the wake of Australia’s then-superior domestic structure.Related

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But last summer’s report by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket concluded that there was still much work to be done to correct deep-seated discrimination within the game, particularly on the grounds of race, class and gender.Beth Barrett-Wild, ECB Director of Women’s Professional Game, said that while the initial revamp was aimed at professionalising women’s cricket on-field, the next phase had more of a commercial focus. It was hoped that aligning with the counties would help grow audiences, boost teams’ visibility and offer the women’s teams a sense of stability and inclusion, which would in turn attract sponsors to the counties themselves.”The regional model was launched in 2020 with a very clear remit to professionalise women’s cricket domestically on the field as quickly as possible and I think it’s done a brilliant job at that,” she said. “We are now up at around 88 professional female cricketers across those eight teams, over 100 coaching support staff, 102 fixtures this year and they’ve gone up year-on-year.”I spent a lot of time speaking with the players. I think there is an element at the moment with the way the women’s and men’s professional games are set up, they are slightly separate, and there is this sense of otherness around women’s teams. It will give us a better platform to commercialise the women’s game.”I also truly believe that it allows us to protect and enhance revenue streams for the first-class counties themselves. We’re increasingly seeing brands and commercial partners are no longer prepared just to invest in male-only sports properties. Being able to co-present men and women together is crucially important.”The existing regions – South East Stars, Thunder, Sunrisers, Central Sparks, Western Storm, The Blaze, Northern Diamonds and Southern Vipers – will remain for the 2024 season.There is an underlying sense that some of the teams for 2025 and beyond are foregone conclusions (South East Stars, which currently draws players from Surrey and Kent, is expected to become Surrey Stars, while Thunder are likely to become Lancashire Thunder), Richard Gould, the ECB chief executive, warned against counties assuming that would be the case.”We need to make sure that we use the right partners,” Gould said. “People that have got the best facilities, who will show the most love, have got the biggest fan base, are going to be at an advantage, but it’s going to be a mix between the financial and the feeling… who really is going to make their best efforts to try and drive this forward. So you may get a very large club that doesn’t treat the tender process as seriously as they think they should. Well, that will be a mistake.”Surrey chair Oli Slipper recently told members the club intended to bid for the Stars and was exploring opportunities to develop a second ground to address “space and pitch capacity limitations we have at The Kia Oval, particularly as the women’s game develops and its audiences grow”. Essex, who along with Middlesex are represented by the Sunrisers, have impressed during early talks on facilities.Meanwhile, Southern Vipers is a strong existing brand, based at Hampshire and built via the Kia Super League, which could mount a strong argument for retaining its identity. Barrett-Wild said team names would be decided on a case-by-case basis once the successful tenders were known.”We are looking at the three key objectives,” she said. “How are they going to deliver quality cricket? How are they going to grow their fan base? And how are they going to return on that investment from a commercial lens? But for me, actually, the bigger point – and this is the fourth, overarching point – is around show us your vision, show us your ambition, show us how much you care about this. What impact will this have on your organisation?”Because I think that depth of feeling and that sense of belonging, along with cash investment – clearly money matters, money is needed – but it’s that depth of feeling and that ambition, which is the bit that I’m most excited to see.”Southern Vipers are a successful brand•Getty Images

The ECB will invest a minimum of £1.3 million per year into each of the eight Tier 1 teams, a proportion of which will be ring-fenced for player salaries, sports science and medicine and talent pathways. There will be no mandated minimum financial commitment sought from the counties, who will be expected to outline their projected investment as part of the tender process.The deadline for submitting bids for Tier 1 teams is March 10. First-class counties not awarded Tier 1 status, plus all National Counties, will then be invited to take part in a process to determine the make-up of Tiers 2 and 3, which is expected to be finalised by September. Tier 2 is expected to comprise 10-14 teams and Tier 3 16-20 teams.Between the start of 2025 and end of 2028 those tiers will remain “closed” with no promotion or relegation. Counties awarded Tier 1 teams will also be expected to work with Tier 2 and 3 teams in their area to develop effective talent pathways.

The visitors recovered from 2 for 2 in the first over to post a formidable 197 for 6

Valkerie Baynes06-Dec-2023Nat Sciver-Brunt and Danni Wyatt pulled England from the peril of 2 for 2 to give their side a 1-0 lead in the T20I series against India.Both scored rapid half-centuries in a 138-run stand from just 87 balls after Renuka Singh had reduced the visitors to 2 for 2 in the first over of the contest at Wankhede Stadium, ultimately leading England to their second-highest T20I score against India which, despite a 42-ball 52 from Shafali Verma, proved too lofty a target.Wyatt, playing her 150th T20I, made a seamless return after seven weeks off, having withdrawn from the WBBL citing the onset of fatigue at the end of the English summer. Her 75 from 47 balls contained two sixes and eight fours. Sciver-Brunt reinforced what England had been missing when she sat out their surprise 2-1 T20I series loss to Sri Lanka in September, with a 53-ball 77 which was equally crucial in the visitors’ recovery. Having bowled sparingly in the white-ball portion of the Ashes after picking up a knee injury in the Test against Australia in June, Sciver-Brunt also picked up a wicket with her second ball, bowling Smriti Mandhana for just 6.Related

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Left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone – playing for the first time since undergoing surgery on a dislocated right shoulder in August – produced her best T20I spell against India with 3 for 15 from four overs. Freya Kemp, the teenage allrounder who had been playing purely as a batter since injuring her back on England’s tour of the Caribbean a year ago, chimed in with the wicket of Jemimah Rodrigues, also for single figures, as her side shook off the doubts that had pervaded their short-form game just three months ago.

Dream start for Renuka

Renuka snared two wickets in as many balls – the fourth and fifth of the match, no less – to put England in terrible trouble at 2 for 2 as Sophia Dunkley’s batting woes continued. Having missed England’s white-ball series against Sri Lanka following a lean Ashes campaign and managed just one half-century amid a string of single-figure scores at the WBBL, Dunkley returned to the starting XI at the expense of Maia Bouchier, who had held the openers’ position in her absence.But when Dunkley pressed down on the second ball she faced from Renuka, she founder herself in a tangle as the ball ricocheted off her elbow and onto the stumps. Renuka then removed Alice Capsey for a first-ball duck with a gem of a delivery that zeroed in on off stump as Capesy played inside it, only to hear the definitive clatter behind her. Sciver-Brunt survived the hat-trick ball but Renuka’s early inroads had India looking buoyant and marked a welcome return for their pace spearhead, playing her first international match since February after overcoming a stress injury.Sophie Ecclestone struck a timely blow to send back Harmanpreet Kaur•BCCI

Sciver-Brunt, Wyatt steady things

Sciver-Brunt and Wyatt brought the home side back down to earth with their third-wicket stand to build England’s recovery to 140 for 3 by the time Wyatt advanced to debutant left-arm spinner Saika Ishaque and was stumped by Richa Ghosh. Wyatt should have been out moments after bringing up her half-century, but Pooja Vastrakar dropped a sitter at long-on off India’s other debutant, offspinner Shreyanka Patil. Two balls earlier, Shreyanka put down a low return catch off Sciver-Brunt, on 45 at the time. Both chances bookended Wyatt’s thundering six over long-off, her second maximum. Shreyanka eventually grabbed her first wicket, deceiving England captain Heather Knight with a full, straight delivery that crashed into off stump.Sciver-Brunt and Wyatt had raised the tempo right after the halfway point of the innings and Sciver-Brunt rammed home the advantage as she plundered four fours off one Vastrakar over, which went for 19 in all. It took Renuka’s return to the attack to remove Sciver-Brunt in the penultimate over, enticing an edge which Ghosh collected via an excellent dive to her right, ending an excellent knock which included 13 fours. Harmanpreet Kaur kept faith with Shreyanka to deliver the last over and she conceded 16 from it before Jemimah Rodrigues took a catch just inside the deep midwicket boundary to remove Amy Jones after a neat nine-ball cameo worth 23 on the final ball with England falling just shy of the 200-mark which had looked so out of reach in the opening stage of the match.

She’s baaaaack

England had been understandably non-committal about the chances of Ecclestone playing this match, with captain Heather Knight and legspinner Sarah Glenn giving away nothing in their pre-match press conferences other than that they were keeping a close eye on her. It was hard to take your eyes off the world’s leading spin bowler in a devastating comeback from the injury to her non-bowling shoulder, suffered while warming up for a Hundred match. Just as Sciver-Brunt and Wyatt had increased the pressure on the hosts after the mid-innings drinks break, so too did Ecclestone, removing Harmanpreet with the second ball after the pause, a length delivery right on the stumps which Harmanpreet shaped to cut but managed only to chop on.Shafali was assertive, particularly early in her innings, and she hit three of her nine boundaries off one Sciver-Brunt over. But she didn’t have support from her team-mates and, when Ecclestone and Glenn combined to remover her, swinging wildly at one Ecclestone tossed up on off stump and picking out Glenn at backward point, the home crowd went quiet. Another one tossed up on off did for Kanika Ahuja as Sciver-Brunt took the catch in the 19th over. Glenn chimed in with 1 for 25 from her four overs and, while India were left to rue a ragged fielding performance, England’s victory was nothing short of clinical after their early stutter.

He expects to send down a few overs in the next Sheffield Shield match as part of a “slow build” to the Test series

Tristan Lavalette16-Oct-20241:26

How much will Australia miss Cameron Green?

Allrounder Mitchell Marsh will bowl in the upcoming Sheffield Shield round as he prepares to help cover Cameron Green’s absence during the India Test series.Marsh’s fitness and whether he can return to bowling have grown in significance for Australia since it emerged that Green will miss the entire season due to a stress fracture of his back.Green was heading to Christchurch on Wednesday for surgery and in an Instagram post said: “Heartbroken but let’s get a new back.”Related

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There has been uncertainty if Marsh, who turns 33 on Sunday, can physically handle the rigours of bowling. Since tearing his hamstring during the IPL, Marsh has bowled just four overs – all of which were in the fourth ODI against England at Lord’s last month.Marsh made 13 and 94 as a specialist batter for Western Australia in their drawn Shield opener last week against Queensland at the WACA. While in the field he was mostly based in the slips and and occasionally helped carry the drinks.But Marsh said he felt “really good” physically as he builds up his bowling loads against Tasmania in the Shield fixture starting on Sunday at the WACA.”I won’t bowl too much for WA, it’s all part of the building process to get ready for that first Test,” Marsh told reporters in Perth at the launch of the 2025-26 Ashes fixtures. “It’s been a slow build. I’ve been really well looked after by Cricket Australia, Ronnie [Australia coach Andrew McDonald] and Patty [Pat Cummins], with our planning and when I bowl.”I love bowling, so I’m looking forward to bowling for Western Australia this week and build from there.”Mitchell Marsh’s overs could be vital this summer•Getty Images

With Australia’s frontline pace attack unchanged last summer, and with Tests played on bowler-friendly surfaces, Marsh wasn’t greatly needed with the ball but still did produce several handy spells.There has been an expectation that the five-Test series against India will be more gruelling, magnifying the importance of Marsh being able to provide support.With Steven Smith to move back to No. 4, Australia’s selectors will likely call in an opener rather than a like-for like replacement for Green. Marsh moving to the top of the order, following in the footsteps of his father Geoff and brother Shaun, has some support, including from legendary Australia batter Greg Chappell.But Marsh dispelled the notion with his focus firmly on contributing as an allrounder and he did not put a cap on how many overs he could bowl in the Tests. “Once you’re in the field of battle, you bowl as many overs as the captain needs you to bowl,” he said.
“I see the allrounder role as being really important, especially for when our bowlers need a bit of a break. I think if you look back at the last few seasons, our allrounders have bowled maybe 10 to 13 overs a game, which is not really a lot.”But those 10 to 13 overs can be really important. So for me, it’s about preparing to bowl as much as I can, as much as Patty needs me to.”Marsh said he was “shattered” for Green who is expected to be sidelined for six months.”From all reports he’s pretty good, initially there is always a shock. It all happened pretty quickly,” he said. “Certainly with stress fractures they can be quite a gradual thing, but this one came pretty quickly.”Someone like Cam with his attitude towards the game, he loves it. The thought of missing that much cricket is probably a little daunting for him, but he’s accepted it now and as an athlete you go through these things.”It’s an opportunity for him to come back better and I have no doubt that he will.”

Smith is brand ambassador for Washington Freedom, who have a high-performance partnership with New South Wales, his state team in Australia

Matt Roller12-Jul-2023Steven Smith could play Major League Cricket (MLC) for Washington Freedom after the 2024 T20 World Cup, having agreed a deal to become a brand ambassador for the franchise.New South Wales (NSW), Smith’s state team in Australia, have a high-performance partnership with Freedom, who are owned by the entrepreneur Sanjay Govil. Michael Klinger and Greg Shipperd, NSW’s head of male cricket and head coach respectively, hold parallel roles with Freedom.Smith, who turned 34 last month, has regularly spent time in New York City and proposed to his wife Dani there in 2017. He has previously floated the possibility of playing in MLC, telling the that finishing his career in the USA “would be pretty cool”.Related

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“As a New South Wales boy, the partnership the Freedom has with my home state means a lot to me,” Smith said in a promotional video. “Cricket in Australia has a rich history and I look forward to being part of taking cricket to the United States of America.”Australia don’t have any fixtures in their Future Tours Programme commitments during MLC’s July window next year, with an away T20I series against Afghanistan at the end of August their first scheduled tour after the men’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA in June 2024.Smith declined to comment on his long-term career plans at the start of Australia’s ongoing tour of England, ahead of the World Test Championship final against India, but would be able to play in MLC while continuing to play for Australia as a centrally contracted all-format international.”Steve has a close relationship with New South Wales and Sydney Sixers,” Klinger told ESPNcricinfo. “He obviously had five fantastic games in the last BBL, and to have him on board as an ambassador to promote the team is great. He’s going to really lift the profile of the Washington Freedom.”Some of his best mates, the New South Wales guys, are playing in the team, like [captain] Moises Henriques, and to be able to promote the Freedom with someone of Steve’s stature is going to be great for us. We certainly hope it’s a long-term relationship and we’ll see how that goes down the track.”Henriques, Ben Dwarshuis, Josh Philippe and Tanveer Sangha are the NSW players due to appear for Freedom in the inaugural season of MLC, which runs from July 13 to 30. A number of Australia’s most high-profile players are products of the NSW system and Klinger hopes to convince some of them to appear in MLC’s second season.”We’ve got a few very strong New South Wales players who we’d certainly be interested in chatting to,” Klinger said. “Some of the fast bowlers often want to take breaks, especially straight after a World Cup, but in saying that, they’ll be in the America and West Indies area, so hopefully they’ll be keen to come and play for us.”You’ve got [Mitchell] Starc, you’ve got [Pat] Cummins, you’ve got [Josh] Hazlewood. Sean Abbott is involved in that group now as well. We have some really good options next year plus our current high-profile overseas we’ve got this year – hopefully we can retain some of them as well.”Especially coming off the back of the World Cup when they’re already over here anyway, hopefully their schedule allows them to take seven to ten days off on holiday somewhere around this area and then they can join up and be involved next year.”Freedom are due to play their first MLC fixture on Friday night, against Seattle Orcas in Dallas.

Australia’s top four all made fifties to lift the team to 352, and despite half-centuries from Kohli and Rohit, India fell well short in the chase

Ashish Pant27-Sep-20231:00

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Attacking fifties from the top four, backed up by Glenn Maxwell’s frugal four-for on return helped Australia avoid a clean sweep as they got the better of India by 66 runs in the third and final ODI in Rajkot. India still took the series 2-1 having won the opening two games convincingly.Both sides made a host of changes – Australia five and India six – from the second ODI. Batting first on what looked like a placid Rajkot surface, Mitchell Marsh, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith and David Warner all scored fifties to propel Australia to 352 for 7.Related

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In reply, Rohit Sharma bashed a 57-ball 81 while Virat Kohli scored a more sedate fifty, but the lower middle order failed to get going as India were bowled out for 286 in 49.4 overs.Australia, playing a near full-strength side, took charged up from the get-go. They raced to 90 for 1, with India conceding 11 fours and five sixes in the first ten overs. And it was Jasprit Bumrah they targeted, who had a game of two halves. He conceded 0 for 51 off his first five overs and 3 for 30 off his last five but seemed off the boil with his lengths overall.Marsh creamed the first ball he received from the fast bowler through covers before pummeling him for two fours and six in his second over. Warner took 16 runs off Mohammed Siraj’s second over before thumping Prasidh Krishna was for 19 off his first as Australia galloped to 50 in 6.1 overs.Warner soon notched up a half-century of his own, his third of the series, off 32 balls but failed to carry on. Trying to be a bit too adventurous, Warner pre-meditated a scoop to a Prasidh length ball on the stumps but could only get a bit of a glove and a top edge through to the wicketkeeper.Smith, coming on the back of a duck, was in his elements right away. He started off with a typical across-the-line wristy clip before dishing out a stunning cover drive against Prasidh.David Warner and Mitchell Marsh show some glove-love after giving Australia a rollicking start•BCCI

Spin was introduced in the tenth over but did not make much of a difference with both Marsh and Smith collecting boundaries at regular intervals. Marsh brought up his fifty off 45 balls before the heat started to take its toll even as Australia breached the 150-mark in the 22nd over.Bumrah’s second spell also proved expensive with Marsh laying into him. He hoicked the quick over deep backward square leg before crashing him for three successive fours. Smith and Marsh added 137 off 119 balls for the second wicket and when Australia screamed past 200 in 26.2 overs, 400 was on the cards.But India managed to pull things back well. Marsh, absolutely knackered by the heat, patted a Kuldeep wrong’un to cover to fall for 96. Soon after, Siraj pinned Smith right in front with a length ball that skidded through and missed his attempted flick. Bumrah returned to deceive Alex Carey with a slower offcutter and then rattled Maxwell’s off pole with a pinpoint yorker. And, when Cameron Green holed out to long-on, Australia had lost four wickets for 57 in 11 overs between the 32nd and 43rd.Labuschagne, however, kept his composure to keep Australia going. He smashed 72 off 58 balls with nine fours as Australia crossed 350 in the final over. Despite the tall score, India did manage to pull things back in the last part, conceding 122 runs in the last 20 overs and just 66 off the last ten.Rohit had a new opening partner in Washington Sundar and India’s chase got off to a flying start largely due to Rohit. The duo added 74 for the opening wicket in 65 balls, with Rohit’s contribution being 55 off 35.The pull worked the magic for the India captain on the day with the shot earning him 35 runs off just ten balls. Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood were all dispatched to various locations over the on-side boundaries while the extra cover fence was also peppered more than once.Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli added 70 for the second wicket•AFP/Getty Images

Rohit raced to his fifty off 31 balls with the help of three fours and five sixes. Ironically, it was a mistimed pull that got him to the landmark. Green purchased some extra bounce outside off with Rohit managing a top edge on a pull that ballooned straight up. But Starc running back from short third, failed to latch on to a tough catch.Washington was dismissed for a 30-ball 18 with Labuschagne taking a wonderful catch at wide long-off. Kohli then joined forces with Rohit and the duo added 70 off 61 balls to keep the chase on track.A stunning piece of reflex catch, however, sent Rohit back and Australia applied the choke thereafter. Rohit absolutely slapped a quickish length ball by backing away towards the bowler, who tried to take evasive action but also held out his right hand with the ball sticking.Post Rohit’s dismissal in the 21st over, Australia conceded just two fours and a six in the next ten overs. Kohli reached his 65th half-century in the format, but became Maxwell’s third victim when he top-edged a short-of-a-length ball to Smith at midwicket.Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul failed to find the boundaries as the required rate continued to creep up. Rahul was sent back by Starc while Suryakumar Yadav failed to repeat his second ODI heroics. And when Iyer was castled by Maxwell, the end was nigh.Ravindra Jadeja managed to get some batting practice enroute a 36-ball 35 before Green ended proceedings by taking out Siraj off the penultimate ball of the game. For Australia, each of the six bowlers picked up a wicket.