All posts by n8rngtd.top

Lead fast bowler also opens up on England’s rotation policy

Matt Roller21-Feb-202110:31

Mute Me: Are England being too rigid about their rotation policy?

Reverse-swing was a key factor in England’s victory in the first Test of their series in India, but James Anderson does not expect it to play much of a role under the Ahmedabad floodlights in Wednesday’s third Test.Anderson missed England’s 317-run defeat in the second Test, with the team’s management opting to rotate him to keep him fresh for the day-night match at the new Motera stadium, and as such has had plenty of time to examine the pink SG ball in the nets over the past two weeks.He suggested on Sunday that there was little discernible difference between the pink SG and the Dukes and Kookaburra equivalents that he has used previously in Tests, and that the extra lacquer on the ball means it is likely to stay hard for a longer period of time.”It doesn’t feel a lot different [to other brands of pink ball],” Anderson said. “What we have found with all the pink balls, it seems like they have an extra bit of lacquer on them so it feels a bit more plastic, the coating, rather than on the red ball where you can feel the leather. It feels very similar to the Dukes in the hand.Related

• Anatomy of Motera: How the Sardar Patel Stadium became cricket's largest ever

• Pink ball in hand, India and England prepare for series-defining battle

• India's pink-ball conundrum: Kuldeep, Hardik, Siraj or Sundar?

• Stats – How Anderson has become better with age

• Anderson's magic spell conjures memories of Flintoff in 2005

“I think we will be unlikely to see reverse. It depends on the pitch – if the pitch is really abrasive you might see a bit of reverse, but from how we’ve bowled it in the nets I would be very surprised if it does reverse. It may well stay a bit harder for longer. We’ll have to wait and see how it reacts after 40-50 overs.”England have been using various pink balls in training – including some that are “really old” – to tune up for their first day-night Test in nearly three years, but Anderson suggested that their initial plans will be similar to their standard new-ball approach with the red ball.”I don’t think we’ll bowl any differently to how we normally bowl with the red ball,” he said. “We’ll be assessing conditions as we do and bowl accordingly. If it’s swinging around we’ll be more attacking, bowl a fuller length, have extra catchers in. If not, we’ll go a little bit more defensive.”It’s all about assessing the conditions. We’ve got a couple of balls that are really old we’ve been practising with that are doing absolutely nothing and I think it’s important we do that because you still need the option of taking wickets when it’s not swinging around.”We’re trying to cover all bases and know what we’re going to do if it doesn’t swing. If it does swing, yes, potentially we’ll bowl those slightly more attacking lines and lengths.”James Anderson tunes up for the pink-ball Test in Ahmedabad•ECB

England’s decision to keep Anderson fresh for the third Test was doubtless informed by his impressive record in his three day-night appearances to date, in which he has taken 14 wickets at 17.85. As per the global trend, he has enjoyed bowling in twilight, when batsmen have to re-adjust their eyes, and said that he was relishing the chance to play a game under floodlights, given how little one-day cricket he now plays.”For us old guys who don’t have the chance to play white-ball cricket any more it’s a chance to play under lights again. I just feel it’s something a little bit different – it’s quite special playing cricket under lights.”There is not a difference in how it [the ball] behaves as such. The difficulty will be adjusting the eyes to different lights. Twilight, the guys have said has been a bit tricky. We’ve found that in all the [day-night] Tests we have played, whether in England, Australia or New Zealand. It does take that bit of time to get used to as the light fades and the floodlights take over from the natural light.”I saw the pitch over the last couple of days and it’s got a lot of grass on it but I can see a lot of red soil underneath which says to me it could well spin if they take a bit of grass off. All the seam bowlers want really is a bit of carry, which we haven’t really had throughout the series. We’re keeping our fingers crossed there’s a bit more in it for the seamers.”Anderson also admitted that he did find it “frustrating” to have been rested for the second Test after his impressive performance in the first, but said that he could “see the bigger picture” given England’s packed schedule in 2021.”The idea was if I missed that one, that would give me the best chance of being fit and firing for the pink-ball Test,” he said. “So that’s where I am at, at the minute: I am feeling good and fresh and ready to go again if called upon. It’s hopefully going to keep me going for longer, and Stuart [Broad] has said the same too.”I’ve seen the last couple of years – 2019, when I missed the Ashes, and the start of 2020, when I got an injury in South Africa – [that] when the workload goes up – and it’s the same for all bowlers not just me – those injuries do happen.”We’ve got 17 Test matches this year and the best way of getting your best players firing for as many of those as possible is to take little rests every now and then it’s just a case of trying to make sure you’re not wearing someone out until they completely break in half.”

Left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel, though, was omitted from the 20-man list

ESPNcricinfo staff13-May-2021Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell have been offered their first New Zealand central contracts, for the 2021-22 season. However, Ajaz Patel, who won his first deal last year, has been omitted from the 20-member list.BJ Watling, who had announced his decision to retire from all forms of cricket after the World Test Championship (WTC) final in June, dropped out of the list.Phillips had dislodged Ross Taylor to become a permanent member of the T20I side, slotting into the middle order and also pitching in with his quickish offbreaks. He even reeled off New Zealand’s fastest T20I century, off 46 balls, against West Indies, at the Bay Oval in November last year. In all, Phillips played 14 T20Is last summer, hitting 366 runs at an average of 40.66 and strike rate of just under 185.As for Mitchell, he stepped in for Colin de Grandhomme, who had been sidelined from the entire home summer with injury, and played key roles across formats. He struck his maiden Test and ODI centuries in addition to contributing with the ball.Related

• Versatile Glenn Phillips 'pretty dumbfounded' upon getting New Zealand contract

• Phillips signs Gloucestershire deal for Vitality T20 Blast

• Monga: BJ Watling, the quintessential New Zealander

• BJ Watling to retire after England tour

• Uncapped Ravindra in NZ Test squad

“I’d like to congratulate all the players offered agreements for the coming season and in particular newcomers Daryl and Glenn,” New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen said in a statement. “Receiving your first national contract is a great moment in any player’s career and both thoroughly deserve their elevation.”There’s no question Daryl and Glenn took their games to another level over the summer and have added to the growing depth of talent we now enjoy.”Patel, the left-arm fingerspinner, had missed the start of the last season with a calf injury and although he subsequently made a comeback in domestic cricket, New Zealand opted against rushing him back into Test action on pitches that largely favoured seamers.Patel, though, is back in the Test squad for the upcoming tour of England, and Larsen indicated that he was “very much” part of the side’s plans in overseas conditions. He is part of a strong spin attack that will also include two other left-arm fingerspinners – Mitchell Santner and the uncapped Rachin Ravindra.”After such a successful summer in which we used a variety of players across the three formats, there was always going to be a squeeze on for positions and, unfortunately, Ajaz has been a victim of that success,” Larsen said.”He missed the start of the Test season with his calf injury and was unable to make it back into the side during a summer in which seam and swing dominated. However, we are well aware of Ajaz’s value as a frontline spinner, particularly in overseas conditions and he’s therefore still very much in our thinking going forward.”Under the terms of NZC’s agreement with the NZCPA (the players’ union), the 20 men offered deals have until May 22 to accept or decline the contracts, which officially begin on August 1.NZ contracts list for 2021-22: Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor,Neil Wagner, Kane Williamson, Will YoungIn: Glenn Phillips, Daryl MitchellOut: Ajaz Patel, BJ Watling

Jade Dernbach, the England pace bowler, has been ruled out of the remainder of the NatWest Series against Australia with a side strain

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jul-2012Jade Dernbach, the England pace bowler, has been ruled out of the remainder of the NatWest Series against Australia with a side strain.Dernbach had already been withdrawn from the squad for the third match at Edgbaston on Wednesday – along with Surrey team-mate Stuart Meaker – on compassionate grounds as he will be attending Tom Maynard’s funeral.He had been recalled to the one-day side to replace the injured James Anderson, on his homeground at The Oval, and sent down 10 wicketless overs for 59 although had two catches dropped in the deep off him by Eoin Morgan during the final overFollowing England’s win which gave them a 2-0 lead, Alastair Cook praised Dernbach’s effort. “Jade came in and did really well,” he said. “It was obviously disappointing for Jimmy not to play – but that’s the reason why we have squads, and our strength in depth in seam bowling is really encouraging. For Jade to come in and perform as well as he did, bowling a lot of Powerplay overs, is really good.”Chris Woakes had already been added to the squad for the third one-dayer although the ECB have said a decision on further replacements will be made after the Edgbaston match. Meaker was brought in after Anderson’s groin strain and there will be a chance he will be included for the final two matches if England want further cover.

Kemar Roach has been fined 50% of his match fee for making deliberate physical contact with Brett Lee twice in the same over

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Mar-2012West Indies fast bowler Kemar Roach has been fined 50% of his match fee for making deliberate physical contact with Brett Lee twice in the same over, during the fifth one-dayer against Australia in St Lucia.The incident took place during the 39th over of Australia’s innings. Lee took a single off Roach and was approaching the other end when Roach first made contact with him. The two stared at each other before Roach nudged Lee again while walking back to his mark.Roach pleaded guilty to the Level 2 offence of the ICC Code of Conduct, which relates to “inappropriate and deliberate physical contact between players in the course of play”. There was no need for a formal hearing.”There is no doubt that Kemar deliberately made physical contact with Brett, not once but twice,” Andy Pycroft, the ICC match referee, said. “This is completely unacceptable as there is no place for physical contact in cricket.”It is not the sort of example that players should be setting at any time, least of all in a series as high-profile as this one. Kemar accepted his mistake and admitted that his behaviour was over aggressive and inappropriate. I am sure he has learnt his lesson and will be more careful in future.”Edited by Kanishkaa Balachandran

It’s a big series, especially for Kane Williamson’s side, when it comes to World Test Championship points

Sruthi Ravindranath02-Dec-2020

Big picture

It’s been exactly nine months since we last saw the New Zealand team in whites. In March earlier this year, Kane Williamson’s side lifted the trophy in Christchurch after beating the then No. 1 Indians 2-0 in the Test series. Now, in December, as the cricketing world adapts to the new normal, Test cricket is back in New Zealand after a round of T20Is last week, against West Indies.

Watch the cricket on ESPN+

New Zealand vs West Indies is available in the USA on ESPN+. Subscribe to ESPN+ and tune in to the series

The format switch shouldn’t be too big a deal for either team playing tomorrow – only three of the players from the New Zealand T20 group are part of the Test squad, while only two West Indies players feature in both the T20I and Test sides.Just six Tests have been played – across two series, involving three teams – in the last eight months, and West Indies have been part of three of those. That’s relatively good prep in these circumstances, although several New Zealand players featured in four rounds of the domestic Plunket Shield recently and both New Zealand and West Indies have played two warm-up games on the sidelines of the T20I series. West Indies were exceptional with the bat in both games – there were three half-centuries, one century, and a double-century against the second-string New Zealand side.In July, West Indies went 1-0 up for the first time in England since 2000. In the last 25 years – since February 1995 – they haven’t won a Test match in New Zealand, losing eight and drawing four. The last time they toured New Zealand, it was Trent Boult and Neil Wagner wreaking havoc, and it might not be too different this time around, at least in terms of pace calling the shots. West Indies have their enforcers too – Shannon Gabriel, who bowled a match-winning spell in Southampton, and Kemar Roach, who toiled endlessly throughout the England series, as the main men. They also have all the preparation they could have asked for – more time in the middle than their opponents, in-form batsmen, and a well-rounded bowling attack.From the point of view of the World Test Championship, the series is a big one for New Zealand, who are currently fourth in terms of percentage points won. A series win could see them displace England at No. 3, while West Indies, who are currently third from bottom, could move up if the results go their way.

Form guide

New Zealand: WWLLL
West Indies: LLWWL

In the spotlight

Will Young, who has been the back-up batsman for a while in the New Zealand side, is all set for his Test debut. The 28-year-old was primed to be part of the Christchurch Test against Bangladesh last year in place of the injured Williamson, but the match was cancelled after the terror attack. He made 64 and 133 against the West Indies A side in the two warm-up matches in Queenstown before scoring a century in the last Plunket Shield round for Central Districts. It’s been quite a long wait for him and he would be looking to make the most of this opportunity.Will Young will make his Test debut in Hamilton•Getty Images

Internet searches for Jermaine Blackwood would have probably spiked after his 95 in the first Test against England in July. He returned to the West Indies side last year on the weight of his first-class performances, after falling out of favour in 2017, and might not have featured in the England series at all had Shimron Hetmyer and Darren Bravo not opted out. Before the pandemic curtailed the West Indies domestic season, he was the tournament’s top scorer with 768 runs in 15 innings for Jamaica. After playing for Jamaica Tallawahs in the CPL, he switched to red-ball mode in no time, slamming a half-century in the second tour game in Queenstown.Kraigg Brathwaite has been unstoppable. Prior to the 246 and 47 he made in the two-warm up matches, he was good in the two Tests against England in June as well, hitting two fifties in four innings. That follows a good run of form in the past year, where he also made 468 runs in eight innings for Barbados in the domestic first-class season.

Team news

Williamson has confirmed that Young would be replacing the injured BJ Watling in the New Zealand line-up. He will open with Tom Latham, while Tom Blundell will take the wicketkeeping gloves and move down the order. Daryl Mitchell, who was named replacement for Colin de Grandhomme could also get a game here. To work around the pace-bowling quartet, New Zealand could bring in left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner – named cover for the injured Ajaz Patel – as head coach Gary Stead earlier said it would be “unusual not to play a spinner in Hamilton”.New Zealand (possible): 1 Tom Latham, 2 Will Young, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Kyle Jamieson, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Neil Wagner, 11 Trent BoultThe return of Bravo and Hetmyer, who had opted out of the England tour, would add some solidity in the West Indies’ batting order. The absence of Shai Hope, who was omitted after a poor run in the format, could mean Blackwood could still be part of the side after displaying good form prior to this series.West Indies (possible): 1 John Campbell, 2 Kraigg Brathwaite, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Shamarh Brooks, 5 Roston Chase, 6 Jermaine Blackwood/ Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Shane Dowrich (wk), 8 Jason Holder (capt), 9 Alzarri Joseph, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Shannon Gabriel

Pitch and Conditions

The forecast is for a cloudy morning with occasional spells of rain in Hamilton tomorrow.

Stats and trivia

• New Zealand have a 4-0 win-loss record in their last six Tests in Hamilton: they have beaten Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies and Bangladesh, and drawn against South Africa and England. Their last defeat here was in 2012, against South Africa.

TN batsmen aced the chase after Siddharth’s 4-20 limited Baroda to 120 for 9

Deivarayan Muthu31-Jan-2021
No R Ashwin (India duty). No M Vijay (personal reasons). No Washington Sundar (India duty). No T Natarajan (on a break after Australia tour). No Varun Chakravarthy (rehab at NCA). No Vijay Shankar (injured during the league phase and opted to skip the knockouts for his wedding). No Sandeep Warrier (India nets). No K Vignesh (Covid-positive). No problem for Dinesh Karthik’s Tamil Nadu as they still had so much depth and experience that their unbeaten run in the 2020-21 Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament culminated in their second domestic T20 title.It was the ageless Karthik who had led them to their first Syed Mushtaq Ali crown way back in 2006-07, in the pre-IPL era, as well. R Prasanna, the current side’s assistant coach, had returned the best figures for TN in the 2006-07 final.