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On Monday, he became only the second Bengal batsman to score a first class triple-hundred

Shashank Kishore21-Jan-2020On Monday, Manoj Tiwary became only the second Bengal batsman, after Devang Gandhi’s 323 in 1998-99, to make a first class triple-hundred, against Hyderabad. It allowed his side to charge to a bonus-point victory that puts them in a good position five games into the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy season.Three times previously this season, Tiwary failed to convert his starts into substantial scores. He started the season with 51 against Kerala on a rank turner in Thiruvananthapuram. Then, on a green-top at Eden Gardens against Andhra, he made 46 – a knock he felt needed him to work as hard as he would to make 150 elsewhere.Last week, in a game that barely lasted two days, Tiwary made 48 as Bengal were handed a thrashing by defending champions Vidarbha on a dusty track. Coming back to home comforts, in Kalyani, he knew while the form hadn’t deserted him, he had to make a big one for the team’s sake to put them back in a good position building towards the knockouts.On the first morning, he walked in to bat at 32 for 2. It soon became 60 for 3 when he joined hands with Anustup Majumdar to rebuild the innings. “Initially I counterattacked to just throw them off their plans,” Tiwary told ESPNcricinfo after Bengal’s innings and 303-run victory. “After I raced past a half-century, I knew I had to slow down just a bit. But as the day progressed the pitch eased out, so run-scoring became easy.”The team needed it badly. In the game against Kerala, I kind of felt some pain in my back while evading a short-ball, and lost my focus after getting to a half-century. I could have come off, but I didn’t want a new batsman to come in. So I carried on, but somehow couldn’t get a big one. So I was determined to make this one count once set. In the other two games, as a batsman, you were never in because the conditions were really challenging. So when I saw this wicket, I knew if you spend time, the first hour or so, it will get easier and I was able to make it count.”Tiwary’s return to big run-making mode bodes well for the team heading into the second half of the tournament. They will soon be without Abhimanyu Easwaran, the designated captain, who is set to fly out to New Zealand for the India A tour early next month. There are murmurs that Tiwary could once again be handed the captaincy. For the moment, Tiwary has only a simple request: “Those judging us need to watch our matches before looking at stats, else numbers won’t give you a true picture.”The way I’ve been batting, I would say the season has gone well. Some of the scores have come in challenging conditions, so I’m happy deep down. It’s not always about the big knocks, you have to appreciate and value scores on rank turners or green tops. Every team is looking to maximise their home advantage because the competition in Groups A and B combined is stifling, and I see nothing wrong with that.”Playing on tough wickets adds to the charm of the Ranji Trophy and when you make tough runs, it’s pleasing. But my only request is for the selectors to actually start factoring in surfaces on which runs have come before forming their opinion, instead of just looking at score-books.”On the team front, he is particularly pleased to see Bengal back to winning ways, reserving special praise for Akash Deep, the 23-year old fast bowler, who has so far picked up 16 wickets in four matches. With Ishan Porel away with India A in New Zealand, Akash Deep and left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed, who picked up a hat-trick in the first innings and ended with match figures of 6 for 77, have become key components of their bowling attack.”Akash Deep is someone who should be looked after immediately. If India want another genuine quick who has promise, they should give him a try,” he said. “He bowls 140 and above, has an excellent bouncer, bowls consistently. He should be taken into the fast bowling talent pool at the NCA immediately and given chances. I think he’s India A material already. He deserves a proper road map, he could go great things going forward.”Tiwary had told ESPNcricinfo prior to the season that his aim was to play as long as possible, even maybe for another 10 years. He has had time to reflect on those words, but the commitment still remains.”Oh yes, without doubt. I’m ready to do what it takes,” he said. “I’m working hard on my fitness, I know I have to keep scoring runs consistently. I’ve always had to work hard, so that is nothing new. I want my son to see what his dad does on the cricket field, so that remains a motivating factor.”He’s just two, I’ve just started under-arming rubber balls to him at the park. When he’s seven or eight, hopefully he can watch his dad still playing.”

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.

“A great opportunity to maybe bring a New Zealand team into the Big Bash or use New Zealand players as local players”

Andrew McGlashan05-May-2020Brendon McCullum has called for greater New Zealand involvement in the Big Bash League later this year if the availability of overseas players – and international cricket overall – remains restricted by the Covid-19 pandemic.There are positive signs that the Australian season could take shape somewhat as scheduled – there even remains hope that the men’s T20 World Cup could be played in October – with every effort being made to enable to the lucrative series against India to survive. Cricket Australia has started conversations with the federal government about what protocols would need to be in place to allow international teams to visit later in the year.While there remain plenty of hurdles to cross before full-fledged international sport can take place, there has already been progress in links between Australia and New Zealand resuming with the Warriors rugby team arriving in Tamworth, New South Wales at the weekend to prepare for the resumption of the NRL later this month and there are talks at the government level about a travel “bubble” between the two countries.”If there is a shortage of international cricket what an opportunity for the Big Bash, which if we are being honest has probably just tailed off a little bit of late, what a great opportunity to really morph that back into Australia sporting fans’ eyes,” McCullum, who had eight seasons with the Brisbane Heat, told . “And I think what a great opportunity to maybe bring a New Zealand team into the Big Bash or use New Zealand players as local players because there may be a distinct lack of overseas players.”A little bit of creative thinking. It may be just for one season but we have to prepare for the long-term if you are going to grow the game there may be some value.”However, if New Zealand’s international players are not playing in December and January – they are due to have a visit by Pakistan – NZC would likely see it as a chance to have them available for the T20 Super Smash, which usually runs concurrently with the first part of the Big Bash from mid-December.One of the contingency plans in place should next season be disrupted is the potential for Australia and New Zealand to play each other if movement between those two countries is more feasible than broader international travel. There are two ODIs left to play from the curtailed series in March plus three T20Is that were due to be hosted in New Zealand.The Big Bash will mark its tenth anniversary in the 2020-21 season and, before the pandemic, had commissioned a review by David Barham, the television executive who was central to the BBL’s rise while at Channel 10, into what could be done to revitalise the competition. The most intriguing suggestion out of the review was the prospect of four-innings T20 matches in an attempt to ensure contests are alive for longer.

Mady Villiers returns to national squad as Lauren Winfield-Hill and Kate Cross miss out on selection

Matt Roller06-Jul-2021Danni Wyatt has been included in England Women’s T20I squad for their upcoming series against India, after being left out for both the one-off Test and the ODI series.Wyatt has not made an international half-century since December 2019 and struggled to make an impact during the winter tour to New Zealand, with a top score of 33 across six innings. But she has been in good form for the Southern Vipers in domestic cricket this season, making fifties in her first three innings of the summer in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and a quickfire 45 against Central Sparks in the opening game of the Charlotte Edwards Cup, and has been rewarded with an international recall.Wyatt is likely to open the batting alongside Tammy Beaumont, with Lauren Winfield-Hill omitted from the 14-player squad and made available for the Northern Diamonds’ Charlotte Edwards Cup fixture against the Western Storm this weekend.Kate Cross, who took seven wickets at 13.57 in the ODI series, has also been left out, while Mady Villiers returns after being cut from the initial 16-player squad for the ODIs. Emily Arlott and Issy Wong, the Sparks seamers, both miss out on selection, as does Georgia Elwiss, the Vipers allrounder.Lisa Keightley, England’s head coach, said: “We’ve played some good cricket across both the Test and the ODIs and we’ve named a strong squad for the T20I series. It’s 6-4 in the multi-format series and it’s a series we’re pushing hard to win.”We probably weren’t quite at our best in the third ODI so I’d like us to hit the ground running in the first T20I and be ruthless.”England squad: Heather Knight (captain), Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Freya Davies, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Tash Farrant, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Nat Sciver, Anya Shrubsole, Mady Villiers, Fran Wilson, Danni WyattFixtures: 1st T20I (Northampton) – July 9, 2nd T20I (Hove) – July 11, 3rd T20I (Chelmsford) – July 14

Ratnayake will be assisted by former first-class batter Ruwin Peiris, who will be with the team as interim batting coach

Andrew Fidel Fernando04-Jan-2022Former fast bowler Rumesh Ratnayake has been appointed the Sri Lanka men’s national side’s interim coach for their three-ODI series against Zimbabwe, later this month. Sri Lanka have been without a head coach since Mickey Arthur’s contract ended on December 4. Ratnayake will be assisted by former first-class batter Ruwin Peiris, who will be with the team as interim batting coach.Ratnayake has taken on the role of interim coach before, usually when the team was in between permanent appointments. He has also repeatedly served as the side’s bowling coach. His current permanent role with SLC is as fast bowling coach at the high-performance centre. Peiris, meanwhile, is also presently a coach attached to the high performance centre.Mahela Jayawardene, who was recently appointed as consultant coach to all the national sides, is unlikely to be part of the men’s senior side’s backroom during the Zimbabwe series, as he will be with the Sri Lanka men’s Under-19 side, for their World Cup campaign in the Caribbean.Zimbabwe’s tour of Sri Lanka runs from January 16 to January 21. Sri Lanka’s next major assignments are the T20I tour of Australia, in mid-February, closely followed by a two-Test tour of India. The board is expected to have named a permanent head coach by then.

Archer claims two wickets, Morgan scores half-century as England win by seven wickets in Cardiff

The Report by Valkerie Baynes05-May-2019
Jofra Archer took another step towards making himself at home in the England line-up while captain Eoin Morgan steered his side in typically cool fashion to a seven-wicket win over Pakistan in their T20I in Cardiff.Having made his long-awaited ODI debut against Ireland on Friday, Archer was playing his first T20I and did not disappoint, claiming 2 for 29 off his four overs to be the pick of the England bowlers as well as completing a sharp run-out as the hosts restricted No. 1-ranked Pakistan to 173 for 6.Morgan scored an unbeaten half-century and was well supported by Joe Root and a neat cameo from Joe Denly in taking England past the target with four balls to spare.Ben Duckett also made his T20I debut, opening alongside James Vince, the pair added to the England squad in the wake of Alex Hales’ axing. Duckett got his chance after Dawid Malan injured his groin while batting against Ireland but, after a bright start, he was dismissed for just 9, smacking Shaheen Afridi to Imad Wasim at mid-off.Vince looked nonplussed when he was given out, caught behind off Imad, having added a fluent 36 off 27 balls. He called for a review and, while Ultra Edge showed a small amount of noise, it was nigh on impossible to determine whether it came from the bat brushing the ball or the ground and the decision was upheld.With England 66 for 2, Root and Morgan found some scintillating white-ball touch, having managed scores of just 7 and 0 respectively against Ireland. By the time Root was caught behind for 47 off 42 balls, trying to ramp Hasan Ali, England were neck-and-neck with Pakistan, needing 43 off 27.Morgan held course and shared a 44-run partnership off 24 balls with Denly, to guide his side home, having scored 57 off 29 balls. With England needing five runs off the last five deliveries, Morgan smashed a six to seal the resultEarlier, after Pakistan chose to bat, Tom Curran struck in his first over, dismissing Fakhar Zaman to a superb one-handed catch from Morgan, who leapt high at cover to pluck the ball from the air.David Willey avoided what could have been a serious mishap on the next ball when he put his foot through the cover of an underground storage box as he was running in to bowl. Fortunately he was not hurt and a replacement cover was found.Archer entered the attack in the fifth over with devastating effect, a sharp bouncer catching debutant Imam-ul-Haq by surprise and hitting the glove on the way through to wicketkeeper Ben Foakes, also winning his first cap in T20Is.After a shaky start in which Pakistan fell to 31 for 2, Babar Azam and Haris Sohail provided just what their side needed, combining for a 103-run partnership to put a par score within sight.Archer had other ideas, however, accounting for both in a pivotal over. Having reached his half-century off 36 balls, Haris lofted Archer high towards deep midwicket where Willey was waiting to take a comfortable catch.Two balls later, Archer gathered off his own bowling to run out Babar. Having hit the ball on to his pad from where it dribbled into the on side, Babar called for a run only to see Archer deviate from his follow-through, collect the ball and turn to throw down the stumps at the non-striker’s end with the batsman trying in vain to make his ground.With England having taken the momentum back, Chris Jordan pounced. Jordan juggled what would have been a wonderful caught-and-bowled off Imad that popped out of his hand as he leapt high, but he turned and gathered off the ground to find Asif Ali backing up well out of his crease and hit the stumps directly.Jordan’s last over was a mixed bag containing the wicket of Faheem Ashraf, out to a regulation catch by Denly at deep cover but going for 16 runs as Pakistan closed on a better total than their start had indicated.

South Australia’s Peter George bowled himself into history with the best figures ever recorded at Bellerive Oval but the Redbacks still face a challenge to take first-innings points against Tasmania

Cricinfo staff25-Nov-2009
ScorecardPeter George collected 8 for 84•South Australian Cricket Association

South Australia’s Peter George bowled himself into history with the best figures ever recorded at Bellerive Oval but the Redbacks still face a challenge to take first-innings points against Tasmania. George finished with 8 for 84 in Tasmania’s innings of 389 and shared the star billing with the Tigers batsman Ed Cowan, who scored 225.George’s figures beat the previous best at Bellerive Oval, the 7 for 38 collected by Tom Moody for Western Australia during the 1995-96 season. It was the best analysis in the Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup competition since Stuart Clark grabbed 8 for 58 against Western Australia three summers ago.Adding to the impressive nature of the performance, it was the first five-wicket haul in first-class cricket for George, who was playing his tenth match. His victims included Cowan, who added 21 to his overnight score and finished with 57% of Tasmania’s total.In reply, South Australia had reached 4 for 220 at stumps with Cameron Borgas unbeaten on 34 and Graham Manou on 7. They had been well set up by the opener Daniel Harris, who scored 77, and Mark Cosgrove (49) but will need to rely on their lower middle-order to help them overtake Tasmania.