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The left-arm seamer was sidelined from the Test series against Bangladesh after sustaining a groin injury during the third ODI

Liam Brickhill28-Oct-2018Left-arm seamer Richard Ngarava has been ruled out of Zimbabwe’s two-Test series against Bangladesh after he sustained a groin injury during the third one-day international on Friday. Ngarava, 20, was in line to make his Test debut, but his injury means that Chris Mpofu has been called up as a replacement.

Zimbabwe Test squad

Hamilton Masakadza (capt), Brian Chari, Craig Ervine, Brendan Taylor, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Peter Moor, Regis Chakabva, Donald Tiripano, Kyle Jarvis, Brandon Mavuta, John Nyumbu, Wellington Masakadza, Ryan Burl, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu

“Ngarava sustained a groin injury and also complained of pain in the gluteal region after our last ODI,” said Zimbabwe national team physiotherapist Anesu Mupotaringa. “Even with aggressive treatment, he will not recover in time for the Test series.””Ngarava is part of our plan to deliberately inject youth into the team and he has worked hard on this tour, on the sidelines, readying himself for an opportunity to play,” said Zimbabwe convener of selectors, Walter Chawaguta.”We had plans to possibly rotate our seamers and rest those who have played all matches since the tour of South Africa and this would have presented an opportunity for Ngarava.”As part of their preparations for the Test series, the Zimbabweans will take on Bangladesh A in a three-day practice match starting on Monday at Chittagong’s Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. The first Test begins on 3 November in Sylhet, while the second starts on 11 November in Dhaka.Chawaguta is confident Mpofu’s experience will prove useful in the series. The 32-year-old seamer has played 15 Test matches since making his debut against Bangladesh in Chittagong in January 2005. He has been on three further tours to Bangladesh since then.”Mpofu was with the team in the build-up to South Africa and, having toured Bangladesh before, he would know how to quickly adjust to conditions here,” said Chawaguta. “He is very experienced and would give us an opportunity to continue with our set plan of rotating our pace bowling department.”Zimbabwe suffered a 3-0 whitewash in the ODI series against Bangladesh, and Chawaguta said that they would look to make amends in the Tests with the senior players expected to lead the way.”The team was obviously saddened by our performance in the ODI series and we are looking to make amends during the Test matches,” he said.”It’s a different ball game demanding a specific set of skills. We have decent Test experience in the squad and are calling on our experienced players to carry the team and show the younger players how to play Test cricket.”

The BCCI’s plans to stage India’s first-ever day-night Test in October is mired in a power struggle between the two power centres that currently run the board

Nagraj Gollapudi23-Feb-2018The BCCI’s plans to stage India’s first-ever day-night Test in October is mired in a power struggle between the two power centres that currently run the board. A sharply worded mail from Vinod Rai, chief of the Committee of Administrators, to Amitabh Choudhury, the board’s acting secretary, placed the proposal on hold and criticised what Rai called the “cavalier way of taking policy decisions”.In his mail, Rai said that discussions on the issue needed to go beyond India coach Ravi Shastri, who had been consulted, and should include the players, the administration and the fans, “your greatest stakeholder”. It laid down several conditions that needed to be met before the plan could be discussed again.India is the only major cricket-playing country to have not hosted or played a day-night Test. This, despite apparent openness to the idea from India captain Virat Kohli, who had called the inaugural day-night Test between Australia and New Zealand in 2015 a “landmark” moment. The game’s administrators, including the ICC, have urged member countries to support day-night cricket as a means of boosting audience figures across the Test world.The issue had its origins last week, when Choudhury emailed Shastri, asking for his help in “finding remedies to the ever diminishing” interest of fans in Test cricket. In his email, dated February 17, Choudhury said that even popular venues like Kolkata could not reverse the “alarmingly poor figures of attendance”. He said that to counter such a challenge, the BCCI needed to apply “innovative” thinking, and the day-night Test – provided the dew factor was managed – was a “natural” option.In his response, Shastri said that another option to attract a big audience was to play Test matches against “tier 2” opponents “like West Indies” in tier-two cities. “As far as day-night cricket goes, it can be tried out as an experiment with a game starting at 12 and where the last session is played under lights. It will be interesting to see how much part dew will play.”Against a team like West Indies, it has to be played in a tier 2 city without a doubt. To get in the crowds it doesn’t matter if it’s a day game or day-night game. What’s important is a tier 2 city.”Choudhury then placed Shastri’s suggestions at a discussion table at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai, in a meeting with the board’s management team led by Rahul Johri (the BCCI’s chief executive officer) and Saba Karim (general manager, operations), and the national selectors.The following day, February 21, Choudhury emailed details of that meeting, along with the discussions he had with Shastri, to the BCCI’s two other office bearers – CK Khanna (acting president) and Anirudh Chaudhry (treasurer). “Under the circumstances, we will go ahead with the proposal [of] choosing one of the two Windies Test matches for the first ever day-night game on Indian soil,” Choudhury said.The email was forwarded to Rai, whose reply leaves the plan in limbo. Rai told Choudhury that if he felt taking the views of “four persons sitting in cricket centre [the BCCI headquarters]” constituted “all stakeholders”, then it was a “very misplaced viewpoint”.According to Rai, the “greatest stakeholder” was the public, and they needed to be factored in too. “This issue is placed on hold,” Rai told Choudhury in an email, copying in the rest of the board’s office bearers along with Johri and Karim.He said the idea could not be taken forward till the specifics of the proposed day-night Test were worked out, including the venue, timings, security arrangements and costs to the BCCI. He also said the visiting team would have to be consulted to “factor in their viewpoints”.”Ravi may have been consulted, but I would like to consult the players whose body clock over five consecutive days [and] will have to get accustomed to a new timing,” Rai said.Once all these things were looked into, Rai said the BCCI would put forth the view in the media for a “consultative process”.Choudhury responded to Rai on February 23, saying “the effort was only to impede the fast disappearing spectator support for Test cricket.”

Luke Wright and Ben Brown had put Sussex in a solid position but their hard work was undone

ECB Reporters Network20-Apr-2018
ScorecardBen Raine took two wickets in two balls in the final session to wrest the initiative back for Leicestershire at the end of an absorbing first day of their Specsavers County Championship match against Sussex at the Fischer County Ground.Raine produced fine seaming deliveries to bowl first Luke Wright, who had looked set for a century, and then Ollie Robinson after Sussex had recovered strongly from being 52 for 3 at lunch.Pakistan seamer Muhammad Abbas, making his debut for the Foxes, bowled an outstanding opening spell, conceding just four runs from seven overs and taking one of the three wickets to fall during the opening session after Sussex skipper Ben Brown had won the toss and chosen to bat.Openers Luke Wells and Phillip Salt received very few bad balls as they battled through the first hour. Wells faced 25 balls in scoring two runs, and had been hit on the shoulder by Abbas before he edged Raine to wicketkeeper Lewis Hill.If that was a straightforward take for Hill, the catch he took to dismiss Salt off Abbas in the following over was anything but, a thick edge flying towards first slip, but the wicketkeeper took it beautifully two-handed to his right.In the final over before lunch Harry Finch drove loosely at a Neil Dexter out-swinger, failed to keep the ball down, and saw Colin Ackermann take a smart catch at gully.Wright and Stiaan Van Zyl dug in and began to prosper against a seam attack which, while accurate, was understandably less penetrative with the older ball on a pitch flattening under unbroken sunshine.The batsmen had extended their partnership to 63 when Leicestershire captain Michael Carberry turned to spinner Callum Parkinson, and the left-armer was successful with just his second ball as Van Zyl’s uncertain push resulted in an edge to Colin Ackermann at slip.Wright reached his 50 off 92 balls, which included nine fours, shortly before tea, and he and Brown had brought up a century partnership before Abbas made the breakthrough with the new ball, having , on 64, caught at slip off an out-swinger.Raine then struck twice to give Leicestershire a slight advantage to take into the second day.

The person identified in an Al Jazeera investigation as a “groundsman” who curated Test pitches in Galle to suit bettors, is not a curator, according to SLC

Andrew Fidel Fernando27-May-2018The person identified in an Al Jazeera investigation as a “groundsman” who may have twice curated Test pitches in Galle to suit bettors, is not in fact a curator, according to SLC. As such, he did not have powers to alter the state of either pitch, board officials said.In the investigative documentary, “Cricket’s match-fixers,” the person Al Jazeera says is Tharanga Indika is seen in conversation with an undercover journalist posing as a prospective bettor. Two other men, who are also identified as fixers, are present in the room. Through the course of this conversation, Indika claims to have doctored the Test pitches for the 2016 match against Australia and 2017 match against India, according to Al Jazeera. The investigation describes Indika’s actions as “unlawful”, the implication being, the doctoring was for the benefit of bettors.The documentary identifies Indika as someone “who oversees the pitch at Galle, where Sri Lanka play international matches”. But SLC denied Indika had control over how any pitch will turn out.

SLC takes steps

• SLC to complain to the Criminal Investigations Department against persons allegedly involved in “pitch fixing” as reported by Al Jazeera.

• The alleged individuals being investigated by ICC for involvement in the said incident suspended by SLC.

• SLC appointed a committee comprising Mohan de Silva, Air Commodore Roshan Biyanwila and Channa Weerakkody to make recommendations on existing protocols for management and staff of every venue to prevent such incidents in the future.

While the board pledged its support to the ICC’s investigation into the matter, “[Indika] is not a curator,” board CEO Ashley de Silva told ESPNcricinfo. “He was only the assistant manager. He was working on the administrative side and overlooking the staff at the venue.”SLC did not deny that Indika was in a position to direct staff who were working at the venue. However, all work on the pitch was overseen by SLC’s certified curators, said Godfrey Dabrera, the board’s international venues and facilities manager – effectively the head SLC curator. Dabrera was the man in charge of both the Test pitches Al Jazeera drew into question.”Anyone who works at the ground has access to the pitch, but without my permission, he can’t direct staff to work on the surface,” Dabrera told ESPNcricinfo. “All he can do is supply the labour that we need. Sometimes he directs the temporary staff we have hired to pull the covers on and off the field, but when it comes to making the wickets, he has no rights there. He has no connection to the cricket side of things. If I am not at the pitch, then my assistant Asitha, who generally works at Pallekele, is at the pitch.”While the SLC curators are present during pitch preparation before the match begins, the Al Jazeera investigation itself suggests ICC officials are present after the game has begun.And although Indika had begun training to become a curator, he was some way from completing that qualification, and was not regarded by the board as a curator, Dabrera said. “He has attended a curators’ workshop, but he hasn’t completed that course. Even though he has done some of the theory, there is a practical component. If you pass that only you get a certificate. He’s not a curator in any case.”Where someone who works inside the venue might be of use to bettors, however, is when it comes to providing pitch information before the game begins. Dabrera said: “People like assistant managers don’t have the power to make the pitches they want. What is possible is that they can watch what we are doing. They can talk to the staff who have been working on the pitch. They can listen to conversations.””I wasn’t aware anything like this was going on. Now I will have to cover everything up during the preparation of a pitch to stop [that information from getting out]. But someone who has no control over how the pitch will turn out can’t say anything like this.”The two Test surfaces in question, meanwhile, had not raised the officials’ eyebrows at the time. In fact, ESPNcricinfo can confirm the Sri Lanka team had requested a spin-friendly surface for the Australia match in 2016, and a batting friendly surface against India in 2017. Immediately after that 2017 game, the captain Rangana Herath had said: “I think we made this pitch because we had a plan. I said before the match that it will be a track that’s good for batting. We should take the main responsibility for the nature of the pitch.” The ICC had rated that pitch as “very good”.*The 2016 pitch for the Australia match had been rated “below average”, just about escaping serious ICC censure. It was very spin friendly, and had been described by Sri Lanka’s then-captain Angelo Mathews as an “extreme pitch”. Australia slumped to 106 and 183 all out in that game, Sri Lanka ad made 281 and 237 in their innings.”There are standards for every pitch that we have to follow,” Dabrera said. “The ball can’t skid along the ground. It can’t jump up at batsmen. It can’t have inconsistent bounce. Those things are regulated by the ICC.”This is the second time in a few years the surfaces in Galle have been part of corruption investigations, however. In early 2016, the venue’s curator Jayananda Warnaweera was suspended for three years by the ICC, for failing to attend scheduled ACU interviews on two separate occasions.*This story was updated with the pitch rating information.

Hameed has passed 50 twice in 33 innings over the past two Championship seasons

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Aug-2019Haseeb Hameed has been released by Lancashire, less than three years after making two fifties in six innings for England in India as a 19-year-old.Hameed made 31 and 82 on his Test debut in Rajkot in 2016, and immediately looked like the long-awaited replacement to Andrew Strauss at the top of the England order. He added an unbeaten 59 with a broken finger at Mohali, but his form fell away dramatically in county cricket. He averaged 26.10 in the 2017 season, and just 9.44 last year.An impressive 117 in an early season Championship game at Lord’s this year – having also scored 218 against Loughborough MCCU – looked as though it was the start of a return to form, but Hameed has only managed 341 runs overall, passing 50 just once since that innings.At the end of the 2018 season, Lancashire director of cricket Paul Allott said that Hameed’s struggles with the bat were a “complete and utter mystery”.”Haseeb Hameed is a dilemma for us – we gave him more opportunity, probably, than he deserved,” Allott said. “Far too many games, probably, but having said that I’ve not seen a more talented young opening batsman in my 40-odd years in the game.”The way he played here for us two years ago and then went to India and opened the batting for England – he was everybody’s choice as the next Alastair Cook basically. Where his form and function have gone and disappeared to is a complete and utter mystery to us.”The main theories behind his loss of form are that he lost his judgement outside off stump after being picked to play 50-over cricket, and that his father – who has been his main batting coach despite limited experience – has not necessarily been a positive influence on his game.At the start of the 2019 season, Allott told that Hameed was “hanging on by his fingertips” at the club.”He’s got six months left on a contract, and he’s not scored a run for two years,” he said. “Not only is he a million miles away from England, he’s hanging on by his fingertips at Lancashire.”A Lancashire statement read: “The club met with Haseeb on Friday and explained its decision, and the 22-year-old is now free to discuss opportunities with other counties. The club would like to thank Haseeb for all of his commitment and efforts since he made his first-class debut in the 2015 season, having come through the Academy.”

Australia recovered from 128 for 5 to post 326, and despite Devine’s best efforts, New Zealand could only make 237

Sruthi Ravindranath01-Oct-2025Two solo century acts lit up the Australia-New Zealand World Cup contest in Indore. It was Ashleigh Gardner’s which proved to be the match-winning one, while Sophie Devine’s effort went in vain, as defending champions Australia opened their campaign with an 89-run win.Gardner rescued Australia from a precarious position, helping them recover from 128 for 5 to post 326, by smashing 115 off 83 balls. It was a total that required a record chase, with the highest ever chase in women’s ODIs being 302. Devine was left to do the heavy-lifting after early wickets, but could not keep up with the scoreboard pressure. She finished with 111, her ninth century in ODIs, while New Zealand could only muster 237 in 43.2 overs.Alyssa Healy and Phoebe Litchfield started positively after Australia opted to bat. Litchfield was particularly adept at using her feet, as she came down the track often to play her big shots. Even after Healy departed in the fifth over, Litchfield continued to pile on the runs in the company of Ellyse Perry, targeting the off side for her big hits.Related

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Litchfield adjusted well to the lengths of the fast bowlers and began to place the ball in the gaps, looking on track for a big score after taking Australia to 81 for 1 at the end of the powerplay. But the introduction of Amelia Kerr in the ninth over turned the game. In the first ball of the over, she executed the perfect googly that pitched outside leg and turned into the left-handed Litchfield, who played down the wrong line and was bowled. The wicket was also Amelia’s 100th in ODIs.New Zealand put the squeeze on Australia after Litchfield’s wicket, conceding just 20 runs between the 11th and 17th overs. Kerr particularly made run-scoring a task for the Australia batters, mixing googlies, flight and control during her spell. The experienced Lea Tahuhu triggered a mini collapse, starting with Perry’s wicket in the 18th over. Annabel Sutherland was the next one to go in the following over, with Kerr having her caught at mid-on. Australia then lost their third wicket in the space of 24 balls, with Beth Mooney dismissed tamely for 12.The rearguard for Australia came in the form of Gardner. She was aggressive from the start, getting off the mark with a punch over extra cover. Gardner took on the spinners and fast bowlers alike, particularly punishing them through the covers and down the ground. She stamped her authority as she danced down the track to hit Kerr for a six to bring her half-century off 43 balls.Gardner did not take her foot off the gas even as wickets fell around her, hurrying to her century in the next 34 balls. She soaked in the applause of the 8900-strong crowd in Indore, hosting its first-ever women’s ODI, as she celebrated her game-changing innings.Sophie Devine’s knock of 111 went in vain•Getty Images

New Zealand’s chase started chaotically, with Georgia Plimmer run out without facing a ball in the first over after a mix-up. Left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux, returning to ODIs for the first time since December 2024 after an injury layoff, was given the new ball with Kim Garth, and the move paid off. Molineux removed the experienced Suzie Bates for a duck in the second over to leave New Zealand in tatters.New Zealand were 24 for 2 at the end of nine overs, but Kerr broke the pressure with a flurry of boundaries in the tenth over off Darcie Brown. But with Sutherland and Alana King bowling in tandem, Kerr toiled for her runs while Devine occasionally found the gaps. From 28 off 30 balls, Kerr laboured to 33 off 55 before being dismissed by King next ball.The first six of New Zealand’s innings came when Devine walked down to Gardner to pump her into the sightscreen, and soon brought up a 69-ball half-century. Brooke Halliday hit the second one, off King, and followed it up with a boundary, but King had the last laugh, dismissing her for 28.The asking rate had ballooned to ten by then. With Australia’s spinners making New Zealand work hard for the runs, Devine feasted on some wayward bowling from Brown in the 36th over, hitting her for four consecutive boundaries to move into the 90s. Brown had come into the XI in place of premier pacer Megan Schutt.Despite New Zealand needing 107 off 54 balls and wickets falling around her, Devine kept a cool head and hit a six over deep midwicket to raise her century. But a triple-wicket 43rd over by Sutherland, in which she dismissed Devine, Jess Kerr and Eden Carson, all but quashed New Zealand’s slim hopes. Molineux wrapped up New Zealand’s innings in the following over to finish with 3 for 25 on her return.

He was one of the first black Zimbabweans to make his name in cricket, initially as a player and subsequently in administration

Liam Brickhill22-Aug-2019Former Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Peter Chingoka died on Thursday at the age of 65.Chingoka was one of the first black Zimbabweans to make his name in cricket, initially as a player and subsequently in administration. As a seamer and a useful lower-order batsman in his youth, Chingoka captained the South African XI that played in the Gillette Cup knockout competition in 1975-76 and 1976-77, counting Barry Richards among his dismissals.While his playing career never took off as expected, Chingoka became an increasingly important figure in cricket administration after Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980, and was appointed vice-president of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union in 1990. Two years later, Chingoka took over from David Ellman-Brown as president, overseeing the most successful period of Zimbabwe cricket in the 1990s, and holding the position for many years.ICC paid tribute to Chingoka’s achievements, drawing attention to his contribution to the game not only in Zimbabwe but “across Africa”. As well as holding the positions of ZCU president, and later chairman of Zimbabwe Cricket, Chingoka was a member of the ICC board.”The death of Mr Chingoka is sad news for the cricket world,” ICC chief executive Manu Sawhney said. “He was widely acknowledged as an important leader in cricket in Zimbabwe and was a respected member of the ICC Board. It was with great sadness that we learnt of his death. On behalf of the ICC, I would like to offer our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.”Chingoka’s time in charge was not without its difficulties, however, and his tenure increasingly mirrored the decline of Zimbabwe as a whole, with an exodus of talent, the collapse of established structures and allegations of mismanagement. He stepped down as chairman of ZC in July 2014 following a string of controversies regarding the board’s financial state and players’ salaries, but remained available as a consultant to the ZC leadership.”Though Peter had retired from the active administration of cricket, he still remained a vital cog and a repository of cricket knowledge in the country which could be called upon to give wise counsel at any time,” a statement by Zimbabwe’s Sports and Recreation Commission said. “The void that Peter has left will undoubtedly be very difficult to fill.”Expressing his grief at Chingoka’s passing, Tavengwa Mukuhlani, the ZC chief, called it a massive loss to the nation and the global cricket family. “Mr Chingoka was a wonderful and very modest man who was well-respected and admired for his immense contribution to cricket,” Mukuhlani said. “His dedication to the game of cricket is well-documented and he was well regarded internationally as an administrator.”The global cricket family is certainly honoured and fortunate to have benefitted from his visionary leadership and hard work. He will forever live on in our memories and in what all of us have become because of him.”On behalf of the ZC board, management, players and staff, I would like to pass our heartfelt condolences to Mr Chingoka’s loving wife, Shirley, the rest of his family, friends as well as the entire nation and the global cricket family on the loss of the great man. You are all in our thoughts and we pray that you find strength and courage to get through this difficult time.”

One side each from Pakistan, South Africa, Australia, Afghanistan and England, in addition to a team from the UAE, are set to play in the proposed tournament in October

Umar Farooq01-Jul-2018Abu Dhabi Cricket (ADC) is set to put itself on the growing list of boards with T20 tournaments, launching one of its own, which will feature six teams – one each from the domestic circuit of Pakistan, South Africa, Australia, Afghanistan and England, in addition to a team from the UAE. The three-day tournament, tagged the Abu Dhabi T20 Trophy, will comprise seven games played at Sheikh Zayed Stadium from October 4 to 6.If all goes to plan, this will be the third T20 tournament – the others being the proposed Afghanistan league and another run by the Emirates Cricket Board, plus the T10 League – to be played in the UAE within the space of three months.Lahore Qalandars from the Pakistan Super League, Yorkshire Vikings from the T20 Blast, Boost Defenders from the Shpageeza League in Afghanistan, Hobart Hurricanes from the Big Bash League and Titans from South Africa’s Ram Slam will join a team from the UAE in the competition. The tournament is sanctioned by the Emirates board and the ICC. It will be regulated by ADC, with the support of Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC), a major powerhouse in UAE sports.”Make no mistake, this a dynamic field of the best of the best,” Aref Al Awani, general secretary, Abu Dhabi Sports Council, said. “With this level of player power, the tournament allows Abu Dhabi to deliver on our mandate of ushering in an exciting new era of cricket in the Emirates. The tournament will certainly help cement Abu Dhabi’s international sporting credentials, reinforcing its major events hub reputation and expand awareness of our world-class facilities.”The ADC plans to hold the tournament on an annual basis for the next three years. The stadium has a seating capacity of a few thousand, but with the grass banks square of the wicket, is expected to comfortably accommodate 20,000 spectators. “All the ingredients are there,” ECB CEO David East said. “The ever-improving facilities, the fan base, the support of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and ADC’s proven organisational expertise in world-class events…”Abu Dhabi has long attempted to host prestigious cricketing events. The stadium has hosted several Pakistan home matches, and the ADC council has also been a major organiser of pre-season games for various English counties. The Sheikh Zayed Stadium, in 2009, had an agreement with the MCC which made them Associate Club partners. The first use of pink ball, in a game between MCC and Durham, also took place here in 2010.”We wanted to set ourselves apart from the rest of the world and offer a different product, without creating another franchise-led league,” Matthew Boucher, acting CEO of the ADC, said. “It’s an absolute honour to see the best of the best from around the world’s established teams gather in Abu Dhabi to offer fans an experience that does not currently exist anywhere else. We are very grateful to all the teams and their management for backing this initiative and getting on board.”

Jack Carson claims three, but late loss of wickets leave hosts with work to do

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay08-Sep-2025Hampshire were bowled out for 226 in just 71.3 overs after being asked to bat first on a challenging Hove pitch on the opening day of their championship match against Sussex. That left Sussex to face 22 overs and by the close they had reached 42 for three as Hampshire fought their way back into the match.Not for the first time the Hampshire innings was held together by their captain Ben Brown, once a very popular player in Sussex colours. But even Brown needed some good fortune on his way to a 129-ball 71, and he was dropped behind by opposite number John Simpson off the bowling of Sean Hunt when he had scored just 18.At the start of the day just 15 points separated the teams between fifth and ninth places. And both Hampshire, in fifth position, and Sussex, just two points behind, started the match in search of reassuring, anti-relegation points.Hampshire, who made four changes, bringing in Ali Orr, Toby Albert, Bjorn Fortuin and Keith Barker, reached a diffident 81 for three at lunch against a rejigged Sussex seam attack which welcomed back Olli Robinson, Jaydev Unadkat and Sean Hunt.Sussex, who had lost their two most recent championship games by an innings, broke through in the sixth over when Fletcha Middleton, driving at a wide delivery from Unadkat, edged behind. It was 47 for two in the 14th over when former Sussex opener Orr clipped Hunt to short leg where Oli Carter took a very sharp catch, low down. And Robinson picked up his first wicket in his livelier second spell when, bowling over the wicket to the left-handed Nick Gubbins, he straightened one to have the batsman lbw.After the break the Hampshire batsmen found the going no easier on a rather sticky surface. The pitch – being used for the first time this season for a championship match – did not encourage strokeplay. Albert pulled left-armer Hunt through midwicket to bring up the hundred in the 35th over but when he attempted a similar stroke against Robinson he gloved the ball to slip.Tom Prest also perished as he attempted to be positive, clipping Fynn Hudson-Prentice to Daniel Hughes at midwicket. Fortuin played himself in but when he jumped down the wicket to drive Jack Carson through the on-side he was through the stroke too soon and chipped it back to the bowler.Hampshire put all their eggs in Brown’s basket, and the batsman gathered his runs with sweeps and nudges, mostly on the leg-side. But when he swept Carson for a single to reach his half-century it had taken him 105 deliveries. From 119 for five Brown led his side to partial recovery, but once he was eighth out at 215, sweeping Carson to square-leg, Hampshire’s resistance was broken.Conditions were no easier when Sussex batted. Tom Haines edged Kyle Abbott waist-high to second slip and Carter was bowled by a nip-backer from Keith Barker. Shortly before the close, James Coles, driving loosely, dragged a delivery from James Fuller onto his stumps.

India captain says their three allrounders gives them a lot of options

Andrew Fidel Fernando19-Feb-20251:12

Harshit or Arshdeep in India’s XI?

So what if it’s overcast in Dubai? And so what if there’s dew, or a little spice in the deck, or some movement in the air? Whatever this venue throws at India, they have the bowling options to deal with it.So said captain Rohit Sharma, ahead of India’s first match of the Champions Trophy against Bangladesh. This is a venue to which India are well-accustomed, having played nine T20Is here since October 2021. They haven’t played an ODI in Dubai since 2018, but the versatility in their likely XI will put them in a good position to adjust on the fly, according to Rohit.”If it’s going to be overcast, we have the bowling arsenal to combat that,” he said. “If there are overhead conditions helping the bowlers, we have the bowlers to exploit that. And if we bat in those overhead conditions, the batters know exactly what to do.”Among the strengths in this India squad, are the presence of “multi-skilled” cricketers, Rohit said. Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, and Ravindra Jadeja could potentially all play in the same XI. Without spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who was ruled out through injury, these are bowlers Rohit may lean on through the course of the tournament.Related

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“Those three guys – Jadeja, Axar, and Washy – give us a different dimension to the game, our combination, and our squad, and add a lot of depth. That is why we tried to get players who have two skills rather than one.”One of India’s pure bowling options, however, is wristspinner Varun Chakravarthy. He’s played only one ODI so far, but has an impressive List A record, having claimed 60 wickets from 24 matches at a spectacular average of 14.80. He is a player who deals in subterfuge, Rohit said.”He doesn’t bowl too many variations to us in the nets. He bowls just one type of delivery. Maybe, he doesn’t want to show his variations even to us. But that is a good thing. He has got certain weapons which he wants to just put it out there, when it actually matters. I am more than happy if he wants to do that.”But, he has got something different which is why he is here with us. He has been impressive in the last eight to nine months. That is why we wanted to bring him here and see what he has and what he can do for India on the big stage.”Another player who Rohit will look to, is Mohammad Shami, who only returned to international cricket late last month, after undergoing ankle surgery in early 2024. He only bowled 15.5 overs across the two ODIs he played against England, claiming a wicket in each outing. With Bumrah out, Shami’s form may be especially important to India’s chances.”All we wanted with Shami was to get back to wearing India colours more than anything else. Whether he gets wickets or not was completely immaterial to us [in the England series].”When you talk about a bowler like Shami, who has done the job over the years so many times for us – for them it’s just about getting back into rhythm. Hopefully he can find some rhythm early on in this tournament.”