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Chelmsford is the birthplace of artists and magicians. Simon Harmer, making a home for himself there, could be both after another extraordinary display stretched Essex’s lead to 29 points

Paul Edwards at Chelmsford29-Jun-2017
ScorecardChelmsford is the birthplace of the artist Grayson Perry and was also the town where the 16th century magician, John Dee, was educated. It is therefore well-used to astonishing transformations. However, whether credulous or sceptical, residents will have seen little to compare with the latter stages of this match, when Simon Harmer engraved his name in folk memory of Essex cricket-lovers on one the greatest day’s sport seen on this ground.In November 2015 Harmer was playing for South Africa in a Test match at Nagpur. Since then he has seen his stock fall in his home country and in the winter he committed himself to a career as a county cricketer with Essex.Last week he took 14 wickets against Warwickshire and on this wonderful last day against the champions he collected a career-best 9 for 95 finishing the match with figures of 14-172. By doing so he sent a thousand or so hardy souls at the County Ground into floodlit ecstasy, for they had seen their side complete their third victory in succession and this with a maximum of eight balls remaining in the game.When they descend from their rare euphoria, Essex supporters may realise that their team is now 29 points clear at the top of the Division One table. What they will also understand is that they have witnessed a victory the unlikelihood of which made it all the more worthy of celebration.With six overs left to be bowled Essex still needed four wickets and doubts began to creep in among spectators, even if the hesitancy of the later Middlesex batsmen encouraged hope among Ryan ten Doeschate’s players. That belief was fuelled by the fact that the pink Duke’s ball was retaining its bounce more than the red variety, a fact which the 6ft 2ins Harmer had been able to exploit throughout the match. And the problems of the Middlesex batsmen were increased by Harmer’s ability to use the footholes left by Mohammed Amir and Paul Walter. For all that time was running out, one never felt that Dawid Malan’s batsmen were comfortable. Certainly they never looked like clearing the 296-run deficit established by Essex’s dynamic batting on the third day of this game.In the 108th over of the innings Ryan Higgins played inside what looked like an arm ball and was caught at slip by Alastair Cook, for whom this match was the pleasantest of temporary farewells before the Test series. Three balls later Ollie Rayner collected a pair when he was leg before on the front foot. Harmer had now taken all eight wickets to fall in the innings but his chances of taking all ten disappeared three overs later when Dan Lawrence trapped Toby Roland-Jones lbw for a single although there was a case the ball pitched outside leg. Nobody minded, least of all Harmer who brushed away Lawrence apologies in the joy of shared achievement. Three balls of Harmer’s subsequent over passed and it seemed clear that Lawrence or possibly Amir would be bowling the last over of the game.Simon Harmer wheels away with his Essex team-mates after his match-sealing wicket•Getty Images

That over was never delivered. Perhaps scared of commitment, Steven Finn plunged forward but played no shot to Harmer’s third last ball of the game. An appeal followed that could be heard in either of the Baddows. There was a raised finger from David Millns. Harmer began the first Essex bowler since Mark Ilott in 1995 to take nine wickets in an innings and ten Doeschate’s men are hot favourites for the title now. This will be Harmer’s match but so was last week’s.”It’s not going to get too much better than this,” said Harmer. “You just need to ride the wave – they don’t come around that often. We will enjoy tonight and have a few beers. It’s an incredible win for the club. It puts us in phenomenal position going into the last six games of the season. We’ve done a lot of hard work, a lot of hard graft and been on top of our game. We’ve come out on top in the last 10 minutes of the day today. These are the moments you play cricket for. It makes all the hard graft worth it.”And yet it takes two teams to make a contest as noble as this one and in the joy of Harmer’s achievement, even the Essex supporters spared applause for Nick Compton, whose innings of 120 looked likely to frustrate Essex. And the Middlesex opener’s tale shares a very rough parallel with that of Harmer.Just over a year ago Compton’s name was blazoned in headlines. He was an England batsman. Yet within a few weeks some who had advocated his selection were vehement that he should never have been picked in the first place. No one, of course, has mentioned his name in connection with the England side for next week’s Test at Lord’s. Yet as we watched Compton make his century and bat in vain to save the game it was plain that he still retains the skill to play this game at a high level and the temperament to defy opponents in full cry.Harmer v Compton. Given a couple of different turns on the wheels of fortune and circumstance, it was a battle which might have been seen in next week’s Test match. And on the evidence of this quite wonderful last day at Chelmsford it would not have disgraced the stage at St John’s Wood.Compton arrived at New Writtle Street having scored 81 championship runs in four innings; injury and indifferent form have kept him out of the Middlesex team. Those factors by themselves were enough to make his effort at Chelmsford admirable. Yet the virtues of his batting were magnified by the intensity of the contest and the fact that his principal adversary, Harmer, is in the form of his life.So much was proved in the first half hour of play when Harmer dismissed Nick Gubbins, Stevie Eskinazi and Dawid Malan in five overs from the River End, reducing Middlesex to 51 for 3 and encouraging the hopes of home supporters that they were about to see ten Doeschate’s team achieve a facile innings victory and their fifth Division One triumph of the season.Yet this early clatter was misleading; instead of offering a strong clue to the narrative of the day, it merely set up the terrific duel of Thursday’s cricket: Both our principals had considerable help, of course. The main assistance to Harmer probably came from Dan Lawrence, whose high action gave his off-spinners every chance to bounce uncomfortably.Nick Compton dug in to defy the home attack•Getty Images

Compton was assisted deep into the heart of the day and beyond by Paul Stirling, who batted with commendable coolness and against his attacking instincts to make 55 in 202 minutes. While Compton and Stirling were adding 153 in 55 overs the five points for a draw were plainly secure. Then, five minutes before tea, Stirling, who had been dropped three times, was safely caught by Ravi Bopara at backward short leg. John Simpson resisted for 50 minutes but was beaten by Harmer’s turn and taken by Cook. Then Compton having faced 303 balls, 59 more than in his entire season before this innings, was leg before playing no shot to Harmer. The door was open and the Essex cricketers plunged through it. “Harmer’s a proper bowler,” said Essex’s Keith Fletcher, who faced a few and has seen countless more. No one anywhere in Essex doubts that judgement this glorious June evening.

Tom Westley’s century, assisted by a final spurt from James Foster, helped Essex to chase down a seemingly impregnable Hampshire total

ECB Reporters Network05-Jun-2016
ScorecardTom Westley led the way as Hampshire scored 300 and lost for the first time [file picture]•Getty Images

James Foster used his incredible experience to edge Essex over the line to get the Eagles off to the perfect Royal London One-Day Cup start – beating Hampshire by three wickets at the Ageas Bowl.Veteran Foster scored a cool unbeaten 36 to help Essex score 29 from the last three overs – after Tom Westley had scored his third List A century.Given 311 to chase after electing to bowl first, Essex attacked their reply, needing less than nine overs to reach fifty – but soon after lost Browne when he gave Ryan Stevenson his first List A wicket, caught by Adams at mid-wicket.Westley and Jessie Ryder kept the score ticking over at exactly a run a ball – the former collecting a watchful half century from 66 balls, reaching the landmark with back-to-back leg-side clips. Ryder reached his fifty in a quicker 53 balls, before Westley was dropped on 69 by Liam Dawson at mid-on.The duo were otherwise untroubled before Ryder was stumped by Wheater after a nice tempter by Mason Crane – the partnership ending on 143, the New Zealander scoring 71.Bopara, run out by Crane, Lawrence and ten Doeschate, both caught behind, all fell within six runs to stunt Essex’s progress and swing the game back towards the hosts.Westley reach three figures with a brilliant on-drive down the ground, his third format ton, before he skied Andrew straight up, to return to the dressing room just one short of his best score.Ashar Zaidi added another twist to the game, who along with Foster, swung hard in a 18 ball 30 stand but the former Sussex man’s wicket, for 41.But Foster and Masters ran and hit hard, along with some wayward death bowling to win with two balls to spare with a boundary over midwicket.Earlier, Wheater’s peerless 90 against his old county helped Hampshire to 310 for 4 – a seemingly winning score, the county never having failed to defend 300.The wicket keeper put on a club record second wicket stand of 176 with Tom Alsop, who was forced to retire ill for 83.Jimmy Adams had lasted until just the second over before he feathered an attempted pull shot through to Nick Browne at first slip.Alsop and Wheater’s stand proved relatively chanceless bar a couple of uppish strikes by both batsmen but safe from red shirted hands – and a six from Alsop which Dan Lawrence parried over the rope.Both reached classy half centuries, Wheater from 71 balls before Alsop met him at the milestone little more five minutes later but in a speedier 57 deliveries.Alsop in particular looked effortless at the crease, with the ball gliding off his bat beautifully on the back of his maiden first class fifty against Nottinghamshire a fortnight ago.Wheater, a former Essex academy player, was faultless getting to 90 – summed up with a confident thrash through the leg side to the boundary – but he departed to end the stand 176 run stand miss-timing to Ravi Bopara at mid-off.Skipper Sean Ervine and Liam Dawson then upped the run rate, with a 74 run partnership – the former eventually bowled by Ryan ten Doeschate.Dawson did move to fifty, although lost Gareth Andrew to a boundary catch in the process, from 45 balls. Dawson ending his unbeaten 70 with a flurry of a delightful four and clubbed six, but it was not to be enough.

With a nonchalant flick to midwicket that could not help but evoke the Pietersen flamingo, Jason Roy secured Surrey a three-wicket win

Tim Wigmore at Beckenham27-May-2015
ScorecardJason Roy flicks to leg in a manner reminiscent of Kevin Pietersen during his match-winning 60 not out•Getty Images

Twenty20 cricket has allowed Jason Roy to short-circuit the traditional route to international cricket. Anointed Kevin Pietersen’s heir, most vocally by Pietersen himself, Roy’s belligerent hitting has become a definitive feature of the Friday night T20 thrills at The Oval.Five years ago, Roy announced himself with a startling T20 century at Beckenham. On his return to the ground, he proved once again that he demands a bigger stage for his talent than T20 alone. With a nonchalant flick to midwicket that could not help but evoke the Pietersen flamingo, Roy secured Surrey a three-wicket win.

Pietersen set for Surrey return

Kevin Pietersen has declared on Twitter that he will return to play in Surrey’s next Championship match, starting on Sunday. After Surrey wrapped up victory over Kent, Pietersen responded to a question from another Twitter user, saying: “I’m playing on Sunday v Lancs at the Oval…”
Surrey have not officially confirmed his availability but Alec Stewart, the director of cricket, had previously expressed the hope that Pietersen would play in Championship games against Lancashire and Leicestershire before flying out to the Caribbean Premier League.
Pietersen has not played since making 355 not out against Leicestershire at The Oval, which coincided with England’s new director of cricket, Andrew Strauss, telling him he would not be considered for selection. He subsequently pulled out of a spell in the IPL with calf and Achilles injuries.

It was the latest in the growing body of evidence to suggest that Roy, still only 24, has quietly developed into a formidable first-class cricketer. It is only two years since his first-class season comprised 49 runs at 8.16 apiece, and copious frustration in second-team cricket. His record since – 1449 runs at 51.75 – shows a man finding first-class fulfillment.The transformation has been driven not by diverging from his T20 ebullience, but staying truer to it. So when Gary Wilson was the seventh Surrey batsman dismissed with 19 runs still needed, Roy’s response was to reverse sweep his next delivery. The next was bludgeoned through the covers for four to bring up a 41-ball half-century.How Surrey needed it. Remarkably, no other Surrey batsman reached 50 in the match. While the wicket was on the slow side, there was nothing devilish about the pitch at Beckenham, enjoying its first Championship game for six years. Gareth Batty put it best when he said that both sides had been guilty of “less than strong” dismissals. Wilson and Steven Davies both fell to loose drives on the final day, though Davies had fused his usual panache with grit in a critical 54-run partnership with Roy for the sixth wicket.Kent could certainly reflect on some shoddy dismissals of their own but their final-day bowling performance, even in sumptuous weather that provided the best batting conditions of the match, was brimming with tenacity and verve. They seemed to benefit from the combination of Rob Key’s nous and Sam Northeast’s vitality. While Key remains the club captain, he has relinquished matchday duties to Northeast in the last month. The two fielded at mid-off and mid-on, plotting after nearly every ball. And they almost had an unlikely heist to celebrate.As is par for the course against Surrey, Darren Stevens began the day immaculately with his wicket-to-wicket seam bowling. A pair of early scalps – Rory Burns, whose backfoot defensive could only roll on to the stumps; and nightwatchman Matt Dunn, who skied tamely to mid-on – took his career tally against them to 35 wickets. No other county has been more generous to him.Matt Coles, faster, more muscular and more aggressive, has very different qualities. The delivery to dismiss Kumar Sangakkara, lbw to a yorker and seeming a little beaten by extra pace, highlighted his talent. When Ivan Thomas claimed Dominic Sibley, flashing to slip, Surrey were 108 for 5 and fearing a repeat of their final-day capitulation against Kent last year.With the pitch displaying signs of low turn, and Zafar Ansari and Batty sharing seven wickets the previous day, Kent turned expectantly to Adam Riley, who had been touted for an England call-up last year. But he bowled too short, too often, offering neither great wicket-taking threat nor control.So it fell to Coles to try and engineer a victory. A ferocious late burst accounted for Wilson, and Roy survived a fierce lbw shout with ten runs still needed. But a couple of balls later Roy flayed Coles through mid-on, flicking the ball as if playing a topspin forehand. If he was flashy at first, Roy had played the game’s decisive innings – and given Kent good reason to fear a repeat of that T20 century when the two sides meet on Friday night in the shortest format.

Kevin Pietersen may have complained that “it isn’t easy being me” in the England dressing room, but sometimes it looks preposterously easy to be him on the pitch.

George Dobell in Ahmedabad08-Nov-2012
ScorecardKevin Pietersen was in familiar, imperious form against a weak Haryana attack•Getty Images

Kevin Pietersen may have complained that “it isn’t easy being me” in the England dressing room, but sometimes it looks preposterously easy to be him on the pitch. Pietersen took another step in his “rehabilitation” by plundering a century of dominance and disdain on the first day of England’s warm-up match against Haryana.In truth, there were never many doubts about Pietersen’s on-field contributions to the England cause. He was dropped, after all, having just scored one of the best centuries of his Test career. The problems were more off the pitch. But this innings, as facile as it was, at least showed that Pietersen is in the form and, perhaps more importantly, the frame of mind, to flourish in the Test series ahead. Only time will tell if the cracks in the dressing room are to reappear.Yet, like preparing to wrestle a tiger by feeding a kitten, the first day of this warm-up match may prove of little value to England ahead of the Test series against India. On a green pitch and against an unusually modest attack, England’s top-order – Pietersen in particular – plundered runs with ease. Suffice it to say, the most uncomfortable moment any England batsman experienced was when Ian Bell’s chair broke as he was waiting to bat.But these runs will have brought hollow pleasure to England. While the team management thought they had ensured adequate preparation in agreeing three warm-up games ahead of the first Test, India had other ideas. By providing England with surfaces quite different to those anticipated in the Test series and with opposition some way below international standard, they are, arguably, denying their opposition any meaningful practice. It is a tactic that bears the hallmark of Duncan Fletcher.While some may bridle at such an approach, it will remain legitimate until the precise details of these warm-up games – the nature of pitches and the quality of opposition – is contractually agreed in advance. At present, while the hospitality and facilities extended to England have been faultless, there is a faint echo of Cambridge United under John Beck, master of gamesmanship, in the Indian approach. It is not meant as a criticism.The Sardar Patel B Ground in Motera is not a classically beautiful venue. Faintly reminiscent of Garon Park in Southend, but with red kites instead of seagulls, it is a venue most unlikely to be painted by Jocelyn Galsworthy. For much of the day, it seemed the circling kites looked as if they wanted to feast on the bowling, too.Still, the day was not completely wasted. Pietersen proved his form and frame of mind, Alastair Cook fell three short of what would have been the softest century of his first-class career and Nick Compton compiled a sound half-century that has cemented his position in the team for the first Test. Bell and Jonathan Trott also enjoyed decent time at the crease. All will, at least, go into the Test series having enjoyed match practise in the heat. It is, after all, surely better to score runs against modest opposition than fail to score them.There was, perhaps, just one warning sign for England. Amit Mishra, the one quality spinner England have faced on the tour to date, only introduced himself into the attack in the 51st over of the innings and struck almost immediately. He beat Nick Compton, prodding forward, with his seventh delivery and, in his sixth over trapped the previously untroubled Trott leg before as he missed a sweep. All rather familiar.Mishra apart, there was little here to worry England. One of the opening bowlers, Sanjay Budhwar, is a left arm seamer who has not played a first-class game for two years, while the other, Amit Karamvir, was playing just his fourth first-class match. Neither are likely to follow in the footsteps of Haryana’s most famous son, Kapil Dev, and go on to represent India. England will not face many bowlers like Chanderpal Saini, a seamer with the physical presence of Janette Krankie, in international cricket, either.Cook, in particular, stood out. Usually content to pick up his runs from nudges and nurdles, here he struck 18 fours, most of them from glorious drives between extra cover and mid-off. It perhaps says more about the bowling than Cook’s form that there were times in this innings when he bore passing resemblance to David Gower. Only a waft off a wide delivery denied him the 40th first-class century of his career.Compton was less eye-catching but admirably sound. Quick to skip down the pitch to the spinners, he defended positively but showed a willingness to attack when appropriate and brought up his half-century from 88 balls with a pleasing lofted drive for six off Jayant Yadav’s off spin. He survived one edge, on 33, but generally looked to have the technique and temperament to prosper in Test cricket. But much sterner tests await.Bell was, perhaps, the one established batsman in the line-up under just a little bit of pressure. While his first scoring shot, an attempted loft over mid-on, was not completely convincing, he soon found form. Twice he danced down the wicket and drove Mishra for straight sixes and, though he struggled to find his most fluent timing, he became the third man of the day to bring up his half-century with a six over mid-off.And then there was Pietersen. Asking him to bat against this attack was like asking Noam Chomsky to recite his two-times table. While he was, in theory, dropped on 42 to a sharp caught and bowled chance, Yadav may consider himself fortunate to still have his hand. Pietersen drove, swept, ramped and cut with ease and power that suggests his form and motivation are strong. He looked bored some time before reaching his century, from 86 balls with 14 fours and three sixes, with his second 50 occupying just 32 balls. He was badly missed on 85 by Sachin Rana on the mid-wicket boundary and retired, rehabilitated and ready for the struggle ahead.

The lawyer of former Pakistan captain Salman Butt argued there is no reliable evidence for a jury to hand down a criminal conviction

Richard Sydenham at Southwark Crown Court24-Oct-2011The lawyer of former Pakistan captain Salman Butt argued there is no reliable evidence for a jury to hand down a criminal conviction against his client, and accused the prosecution of “working backwards from an assumption of guilt”, a London court heard on Monday.On day 14 of the trial, Butt sat listening intently in the dock throughout the closing speech by his representative Ali Bajwa QC, as the jury heard why he should not be handed a guilty verdict. This followed a three and a half hour speech from prosecutor Aftab Jafferjee QC, who highlighted Butt’s “corrupt relationship” with agent Mazhar Majeed.Butt and fast bowler Mohammad Asif face charges of conspiracy to cheat, and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, following the Lord’s test in August last year when they allegedly conspired with Majeed, teenage paceman Mohammad Amir and other people unknown to bowl pre-planned no-balls. Butt and Asif deny the charges.Bajwa played on the conscience of the jury and asked them to consider if they had really heard enough genuine evidence that links Butt to the no-balls in question. He referred to a great, British tradition of justice and also sought to undermine the credibility of Majeed, as he has done consistently throughout the trial.”Every phone call he makes, every text he receives, every pound he earns has been presented to you as suspicious,” Bajwa said to the jury, after apologising for sounding indignant following on from Jafferjee’s speech. “But what I suggest to you is going on is that Mr Jafferjee has been working backwards from an assumption of guilt.”Salman Butt’s life has been torn apart to the point of analysing his bank records, his every move and even anything his mother does or planned. If I worked backwards from any of your lives (the jury) I could find or twist things about what you have or might not have done.”What we are asking you here is to stand back from this case and uphold that strong tradition of justice and say we are not going to presume that there is no smoke without fire. That is no basis for justice.”When you came into this court room for the first time you all took an oath to say you will give a verdict according to the evidence and nothing but the evidence. In the case of Salman Butt there simply isn’t enough evidence to find Salman Butt guilty. There seems to be a fix between Mazhar Majeed and Mohammad Amir and you must decide if that fix involved Mohammad Asif. What reliable evidence does the prosecution have that Salman Butt was involved in the fix of the Lord’s no-balls?”When all is said and done and after I remove the sand that has been thrown in your eyes suggesting the claims that have been thrown at you (from the prosecution), it all comes down to August 26 and 27 and the News of the World journalist and the words of Mazhar Majeed at the Copthorne Tara Hotel on August 25.”There was £2,500 of marked News of the World money discovered in Butt’s room during a police raid, though Butt claims that money was handed to him by Majeed as a half payment towards a fee for opening an ice cream parlour in tooting, London. Bajwa reminded the jury how they had been told that Butt had confirmed earnings of £548,000 between mid-2007 to 2010 and how that was hardly “peanuts” by British or Pakistani standards but it “suited Majeed” to say as much.Bajwa, who told the jury that Majeed will not be cross-examined, added: “Is it right that we can condemn someone on the words of a man without his evidence being tested in court? You are being asked to give a criminal conviction on the strength of Majeed’s evidence. Majeed was £704,000 overdrawn and on the verge of bankruptcy.”This is a man who claimed be good friends with Brad Pitt, Roger Federer and former England players like Mike Gatting, Geoff Boycott and Phil Tufnell – who won ‘I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here’. Well I say Majeed is the celebrity and we need to get him out of here.”The case continues.

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara has injured his left hamstring and is fighting for fitness ahead of the tour of Australia which starts later this month

Sa'adi Thawfeeq07-Oct-2010Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara has injured his left hamstring and is fighting for fitness ahead of the tour of Australia which starts later this month.Sri Lanka team physio Tommy Simsek said that Sangakkara suffered the injury while training on a muddy track on Tuesday, but was confident he would be fit for the Australian tour. “It is a mild grade-one hamstring injury,” Simsek said. “He is currently under treatment and requires about two weeks to recover from the injury.”Sangakkara also suffered a hamstring injury during Sri Lanka’s last tour to Australia in 2007-08 and missed the first Test at Brisbane. The injury came a day after Sangakkara was named the CEAT-Sri Lanka Cricket cricketer of the year and most popular cricketer. He is also currently the number one ICC ranked Test batsman.Simsek said that Sri Lanka allrounder Angelo Mathews was also struggling to be fit for the tour with an injury to his left knee bone. “We are monitoring Angelo’s fitness daily,” Simsek said. “At the moment he cannot put much effort on his left knee and is unable to bowl. He has time until the team leaves for Australia on October 16 to show improvement otherwise we will have to replace him.” Batsman Thilina Kandamby has been put on standby for Mathews.Sri Lanka play a series of three one-day internationals and one Twenty20 international against Australia in addition to three warm-up games against state sides during the short tour.

Three controversial decisions go against hosts after CSA chooses not to pay for review technology

Firdose Moonda17-Dec-2024Heather Knight, England’s captain, says that the decision not to use the Decision Review System (DRS) during their historic women’s Test against South Africa in Bloemfontein was a “sign of the status of the game”, after England wrapped up a 286-run victory on the third afternoon to seal their first win in the format for a decade.The absence of DRS was not the deciding factor in England’s comprehensive victory, as South Africa collapsed to 64 all out in less than 20 overs in their fourth innings. However, the host board’s decision not to spend a minimum of US$48,500 (R880,000) on the technology arguably contributed to the final margin between the teams, with least three contentious umpiring calls all going against South Africa.The most interesting of those came in South Africa’s second innings, when Lauren Bell appealed for a catch off Annerie Dercksen that was taken by Tammy Beaumont at short leg.Dercksen was given not out on-field by umpire Kerrin Klaaste but, after consulting with her colleague, Klaaste called for an umpire review, a procedure that is typically used to determine whether a catch has carried. The ball, however, had carried to Beaumont at chest-height – and while it is possible Klaaste was unsighted and needed to double check – TV umpire Bongale Jele duly gave the decision as out, despite clear doubts that Dercksen had inside-edged the ball onto her pad.”We all thought she hit it and obviously the umpire delayed the decision,” Knight said. “I think the review was around whether it was a bump ball, but it was pretty clear it wasn’t, so I’m not really sure what happened there.”Mandla Mashimbyi, South Africa’s newly installed head coach, was similarly confused at the process that had led to the decision.”There was no communication and I didn’t understand why,” he said. “It was quite bizarre. But the umpires feel they made the right decision and we can’t go against that.”Related

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“We make do with what we have. Our job is to make sure we play good cricket. Those are things we can’t control. Obviously we will be disappointed with certain decisions but we can’t change what has happened. There are people that will be dealing with that, who are outside this room at the moment. If I leave it to myself, it might not be nice.”Klaaste was the umpire for two other contentious decisions, on days one and two. In the first instance, Marizanne Kapp appealed for an lbw against Beaumont , who was on 2 at the time, with the second ball of the match and it was given not out. It looked like a close call but Kapp could not review.Asked on day two if she felt hard done by, Kapp said: “We’re probably disappointed we were on the wrong side of it, but it goes both ways. That’s just the game. It’s never easy for the umpires out there. Even though you get upset when it doesn’t go your way, it’s still a hard job for them to be correct every single time.”The second incident took place on day two when Laura Wolvaardt, on 65, was given out lbw to Sophie Ecclestone. Her reaction, which included throwing her hands up in the air and walking off shaking her head, suggested she thought she’d hit the ball and earned her demerit point for dissent.According to Enoch Nkwe, South Africa’s director of national teams and high performance, the absence of DRS for the Test had been agreed upon by the two boards at the planning stage of the tour. However, Knight claimed the first she had known of it was on the eve of the contest, after the system had been in use throughout the six white-ball matches at the start of the tour.”I was pretty shocked when I found out in the umpire’s meeting the day before, that we weren’t going to have it,” she said. “I think it’s a real shame. You come to expect it as a player now, and I guess the reason is always money. But, particularly in Test cricket, where wickets are such a premium, it’s a really important thing to have. It’s probably a sign of the status of this game, maybe, that we didn’t have it, which is a bit frustrating.”In his pre-match explanation, Nkwe added that the white-ball contests had been prioritised because the matches had a bearing on the team’s rankings in T20I cricket and the ICC Women’s Championship (IWC), as well as “the overall CSA strategy for the senior women’s national team”.”It is worth noting that resources are currently being directed at the white-ball formats due to the significance of ODI and T20I cricket in the current women’s international cricket landscape,” he said.Speaking on the second evening, Kapp agreed that she preferred DRS in the shorter formats. “It’s a new thing that we have DRS available,” she said. “I don’t believe we’ve had it available for T20s and ODI cricket. So it’s really helped in the ODI and T20 series. And if I have to be completely honest, I’d probably prefer having it in those two formats.”But whether CSA needed to be penny wise could be debated after they recorded a profit of R815 million (US$45.6 million) for the 2023-24 financial year. The cost of DRS for this Test match amounts to just over 0.1% of that money.

Wicketkeeper effects four dismissals to keep Superchargers to 100 before batters clean up the total with 13 balls to spare

ECB Reporters Network06-Aug-2023Rhianna Southby put on a sensational wicketkeeping clinic as Southern Brave returned to winning ways with a thumping five-wicket victory over Northern Superchargers.Southby affected a record four dismissals – two catches and two stumpings – in her second Hundred game in front of a strong Ageas Bowl crowd of 9813.The retiring Anya Shrubsole starred with two wickets while Georgia Adams picked 3 for 21 as Superchargers were stifled to just 100.Maia Bouchier took control of the chase with 31 as Brave eased to the total to make it two wins from three, while Superchargers’ away day blues continued.Shrubsole won the toss, chose to bowl, and continued her farewell tour with her greatest hits to dismiss the overseas duo of Jemimah Rodrigues and Pheobe Litchfield. The former with a textbook extravagant inswinger, the latter brilliantly caught on the rise by Southby.Marie Kelly and Hollie Armitage collaborated with a 43-run stand before Southby stooped to affect a stumping off a low bouncing ball to see off Armitage before taking an under edge from Alice Davidson-Richards on review.Southby, who didn’t play in the Southern Vipers’ successful T20 Charlotte Edwards Cup campaign, continued her good work behind the stumps to stump Kelly – who top-scored with an anchoring 39.A sticky pitch assisted turn for Adams, Kalea Moore and Chloe Tryon, who bowled the bulk of the middle balls, but it was Lauren Bell and Shrubsole who went at under a run-a-ball at either end of the innings.Bess Heath chipped to mid-off, Leah Dobson was caught and bowled by Adams and Kate Cross was deceived by a cunning Bell slower ball.In reply, Danni Wyatt initially looked the freest flowing batter on display with five sweetly-struck boundaries but came unstuck when she drilled Cross to point. Smriti Mandhana ticked through the runs with a l’aise au fait style, while Bouchier accelerated after a slow start.Bouchier had been 8 off her first 14 balls but exploded with a pair of boundaries and a six in three successive balls. Mandhana and Adams swung to deep midwicket, while Bouchier rolled on with a stylish cut shot before she was caught and bowled by Linsey Smith’s full toss with 14 still required.Smith and Georgia Wareham had both taken two wickets for 11 and 15 respectively to scare the Brave, with Freya Kemp bowled by Wareham to put the hosts five down. But Tryon pulled a boundary and sent Brave to the top with 13 balls to spare, with Superchargers still only winning two games away from Headingley in their third season.

Senior figures from UK Sport, FA and Manchester City also invited to give input

ESPNcricinfo staff25-May-2022Andrew Strauss says that England’s ambition is to become the “best in the world at all formats of the men’s game within the next five years”, after announcing a panel of experts for the ECB’s high-performance review that includes Sir Dave Brailsford, the former head of the British Cycling team that topped the medal tables at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.Writing in a blog post on the ECB’s website, Strauss reiterated his intention to be “bold” in assessing the failings that have left England’s Test team with one victory in 17 matches since March 2021, and with their lowest ICC ranking since 1995. His aim, he added, is to have solid proposals for the game to vote on by September, in order for the restructuring to begin in time for the 2023 season.”Over the past 42 years, England’s Men have been the number one ranked Test team in the world for a total of 12 months, and 50-over number one for 64 months,” Strauss wrote. “In T20 cricket, we have held the top spot for 748 days since the inception of those rankings in 2011.”At the moment, we aren’t top in any format. So we want to set an ambitious and clear goal – to become the best in the world at all formats of the men’s game within the next five years.”It’s extremely ambitious because we’ve never done it before. But why can’t it be achievable? What’s stopping us – and what else could help us get there? That’s what I want our high-performance review to consider.”From within cricket, the ECB’s panel includes Rob Key, England men’s director of cricket, and Durham’s Marcus North, alongside Daryl Mitchell from the PCA and Mo Bobat, the ECB’s performance director.From outside the game, Strauss has also secured the expert input of Kate Baker, director of performance at UK Sport; Simon Timson, Manchester City’s performance director; Dan Ashworth, the former FA director of elite development, and Penny Hughes, the ex-chair of Aston Martin.However, Brailsford – who is currently the director of the professional cycling team Ineos Grenadiers – is arguably the most prominent name on the panel. Strauss has long been an admirer of his “marginal gains” philosophy, and adopted many of those principles on England’s victorious Ashes tour of 2010-11.Brailsford’s reputation within cycling was recently tarnished, however, when his ex-colleague, Dr Richard Freeman – the former doctor at British Cycling and Team Sky – was found by a medical tribunal to have ordered testosterone “knowing or believing” it was to be used to improve the performance of one of the team’s riders.”I wanted to find experts in high performance whatever that field, some who’ve been in the spotlight, others who’ve been in the background generating high-performance programmes or systems,” Strauss added. “Some with cricket knowledge and expertise, others from a wider sporting background. People with different experiences, who have undergone different journeys, but all of whom we can learn from. And people who are all keen to help cricket.”Strauss added that views would also be sought from cricket’s supporters, and that the whole process would have oversight from a group of first-class county chairs. The remit of the review will not, however, take in the international schedule, nor will it tackle the specifics of the domestic calendar until the remodelled structures have been put in place.”I read a lot of speculation about the domestic competition structure. Of course, this is an important part of the picture, but it’s not the only part,” Strauss added. “The review is designed to look at the high-performance system in its entirely, including the England men’s pathway and our high performance set-up.”And let’s be clear – we have no pre-built solution. At this stage the project is only just starting. There are no hidden agendas. I wouldn’t be bothering to carry out a review if I was already sitting here with specific proposals for change.”

The founders of Laver Cup and Betfair, and the CEO of British Telecom among fresh funders

Nagraj Gollapudi15-Jan-2021The creator of the Laver Cup in tennis, the CEO of British Telecom, the founder of Betfair are among the global entrepreneurs who have invested in the Rajasthan Royals in a fresh funding drive. The investors injected the funds via the franchise’s lead stakeholder Emerging Media IPL Limited (EMIPL), which is owned by UK-based businessman Manoj Badale.The franchise has not disclosed the value of the funding exercise, but the development means EMIPL is now the leading investor in the Royal with over 50% stake, further establishing Badale as the lead owner. The Royals, one of the eight original IPL franchises, won the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2008. Their fortunes have swung differently since then as the Royals finished last in IPL 2020, which was held in the UAE.”Funds were raised from a small number of new individual investors, including Ian McKinnon, one of the founding partners of TEAM8, a leading sports and entertainment company and the creator of the Laver Cup, UK business leaders including BT CEO Phil Jansen, FutureLearn and Network International Chairman Ron Kalifa and Betfair founder Ed Wray have invested, as well as Arizona-based tech entrepreneurs Kal Somani, Simer Mayo and Mihir Patel,” the franchise said in a media release on Friday.Despite being billed as an Indian domestic T20 franchise tournament, the IPL has grown into the most lucrative cricket event in the world. In 2017, Star India bought the five-year global media rights for a record sum of US$ 2.55 billion (INR 16,347.5 crore). Recently, the BCCI approved to make the IPL a ten-team event from the 2022 edition.While Somani said the IPL’s “huge potential” could not be ignored, Badale said the growing appeal of the IPL globally – the tournament has its own free window for nearly two months in the Indian summer – was what investors recognised. “Investors are now recognising the value of sports franchises,” Badale said. “EMIPL’s increased ownership of the franchise and expanded network of US-based, value-add investors presents an exciting opportunity to drive the growth of both the Rajasthan Royals and the IPL.”Mike Fordham, new Royals CEO
The Royals have also announced Mike Fordham as the Group CEO. Fordham was part of the International Management Group (IMG) team that helped the IPL take off in 2008. According to the Royals’ release, Fordham also helped the ECB in “development” of The Hundred, which is scheduled to start this summer in England after its launch was postponed in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.