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Two catches and a stumping build on brilliant debut century as England keeper settles into primary role

George Dobell in Galle07-Nov-2018Ben Foakes produced another flawless performance on the second day on his Test debut at Galle, adding two catches and a sharp stumping to the maiden Test century that he completed in the morning session, to help cement England’s dominance of the first Test against Sri Lanka.After resuming on 87 not out overnight, Foakes made it through to three figures with just England’s No.11 James Anderson left for company, before combining with Anderson once again at the start of Sri Lanka’s reply, holding onto a second-ball catch to set the tone for a fine England performance with the ball.By the close, England led by 177 with ten wickets left in hand, and Foakes was able to reflect on a remarkable couple of days.”I was pretty calm this morning with Leachy [Jack Leach] there,” Foakes told Sky Sports, “then obviously I had about five [runs] to go when Jimmy came out, so I got a bit nervous. But he nicked one just short, so it was meant to be my day. It’s amazing to get it.”

A dismissal made in Somerset

Foakes’ glovework took the plaudits, but the most treasured catch of the day was Jos Buttler’s snaring of Dilruwan Perera in the covers, as it came off the bowling of his former Somerset team-mate, Jack Leach.
“I was running at him shouting ‘caught Buttler, bowled Leach.'” Leach said. “Those were my exact words. That was a nice moment for me and I hope for him, as well.
“To be out there with him is something very special for me. It’s brilliant. We started at U11s together. That would have been the first ‘ct Buttler, bowled Leach’.
“Obviously I was gutted when he had to leave Somerset. We’ve always had it as an aim for playing again together. Hopefully for England. Hopefully for Somerset. I’m working on that! To be in an England short together is very special. It makes us proud and a lot of people back home proud, as well.”

After thumping a pull through midwicket to move to 99, Foakes reached his hundred with a firm push down the ground off Suranga Lakmal that eluded Rangana Herath at mid-on to run away to the boundary.”I thought I had enough on it,” he said. “I saw Herath running around and he didn’t look like he going to get it, but I wasn’t sure if Jimmy was about stop running, so if it wasn’t going for four I might get run out. But it was such a relief and a great feeling.”Foakes’ efforts were witnessed by his brother, who arrived in Galle on Monday night, with his mother due to join them soon after the close of play. It has all made for a celebratory performance from a cricketer whose primary suit, his glovework, attracted plaudits as Sri Lanka were rolled aside for 203.”Obviously getting a few runs settled me down,” he said. “But getting in the game early as a keeper is awesome and obviously with Jimmy bowling you know you’re in the game. So to get the first one early was great.”While picking off an edge from the seam of Anderson was fairly routine, it was a different challenge to cope with England’s three-pronged spin attack, featuring an offspinner, left-arm spinner and, in particular, a legspinner in Adil Rashid.”it’s very different [to facing them in the nets], but the same principles,” Foakes said. “When I came out I was trying to cram it all in, especially with Rashid as he’s got some good variations. But you just have to keep clear in your head and do the basics, basically.”So far, Foakes added, the pitch hadn’t played quite to its reputation as a spinner’s paradise, but he reckoned could all change if the sun comes out for any length of time in the coming days.Ben Foakes completed the stumping of Dinesh Chandimal•Getty Images

“As it dries out it loses that tackiness, so it’s spinning quicker, and the odd one skids on,” he said. “When it’s wet it’s easier to keep as it’s consistent spin and spinning slow.”It depends what’s overhead, if it’s cloudy it won’t dry out as quickly but if it bakes for two days it will turn more and more throughout the game and be difficult for batting.”And if the sun does come out, then Foakes admitted he may need to change his own preparations to maintain his stamina.”I was speaking to Matt Prior before the day because I did my normal pre-game routine and I was knackered,” he said. “So it’s about limiting that. He was saying the second you feel good, get yourself in [to the pavilion]. That will be my plan going forward.”

Michael Carberry has signed a two-year deal with Leicestershire, while Clint McKay has been released as overseas player after three seasons at the club

George Dobell22-Sep-2017Michael Carberry has signed a two-year deal with Leicestershire.Carberry, the former England opener, joined the club from Hampshire on loan in August, with a brief return to the Hampshire side on T20 Finals Day.While he has not enjoyed an especially prolific start to life with Leicestershire – he has scored 42 runs in six innings with five single-figures scores and a high of 18 – he is seen as the experienced figure the side requires at the top of the order as they once again seek to rebuild after a disappointing season.”We have been looking to add an experienced opener to our squad and Michael fits the bill for us,” Wasim Khan, the Leicestershire chief executive, said. “Michael’s first-class record speaks for itself and this, coupled with his international experience and hunger to perform, will add significant value to the development of our younger players both on and off the field. It is great to have Michael with us for the next two seasons.”Carberry, who will be 37 at the end of this month, is far from the first experienced player signed by Leicestershire in recent times. The likes of Mark Pettini, Neil Dexter, Mark Cosgrove, Paul Horton, Colin Ackerman and Arun Harinath (on loan) have also featured in the Leicestershire top-order this season. All of which raises questions about how much opportunity is actually available to those younger players.The move brings to an end a Hampshire career that stretches back to 2006. During that time the club won four trophies – two in List A cricket, two in T20 – with Carberry featuring prominently.He also won England caps in all three formats during that period, most memorably opening on the Ashes tour of 2013-14 when he stood up to the hostility of Mitchell Johnson as well as anyone. He has previously had spells at Kent and Surrey and missed the second half of the 2016 season as he received treatment for cancer.”Michael has been an outstanding professional for Hampshire,” Hampshire’s director of cricket, Giles White, said. “He has been an integral part of many successful campaigns and has always been a very popular figure at the club. We all wish him well with the exciting challenge at Leicestershire and look forward to seeing him back at the Ageas Bowl in the future.”Leicestershire have also announced that Clint McKay will not be returning as overseas player in 2017. He has spent the last three seasons with the club but will finish 2017 supporting the coaching staff as Leicestershire look to the future. He claimed 136 first-class wickets for the club at an average of 25.79 apiece, including a best of 6 for 54 against Kent in 2015. He also contributed 1,099 first-class runs at an average of 21.54.”Clint has been a model overseas player and has made a brilliant contribution both on and off the field,” Wasim Khan said. “On behalf of the club, I’d like to thank Clint for all of his efforts and endeavours.”

Chadwick Walton slammed 97 as Jamaica Tallawahs beat Barbados Tridents by 36 runs in a rain-affected fixture in Kingston and qualified for the final of CPL 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jul-2016Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsChadwick Walton hit nine fours and five sixes in his 54-ball 97•Getty Images

Chadwick Walton slammed 97 as Jamaica Tallawahs beat Barbados Tridents by 36 runs in a rain-affected fixture in Kingston to qualify for the final of CPL 2016.After rain lashed down on Kingston for over an hour to reduce the match to an 18-overs-a-side affair, Tallawahs amassed 195 for 5, largely thanks to a second-wicket stand of 127 between Walton and Kumar Sangakkara, who made a 31-ball 50.In reply, Tridents slipped to 55 for 4 in the eighth over, before Nicholas Pooran mounted a spirited fightback, bringing up the fastest half-century this season, off 23 balls. But as the asking rate crept up to over 15 runs an over less than halfway into the chase, Tridents were left with no option but to go for broke. They were bowled out for 159 in the final over.”Winning the toss was a good decision, but we didn’t bowl well, and so we deserve to be on the losing side,” Tridents captain Kieron Pollard said after the match. “You can’t bowl contrary to what your plans are and still end up winning. We have had a few guys injured, but we can’t use that as an excuse. Guys who get an opportunity should show why they deserve to be in the XI. We can’t slip up going into the business end. Hopefully this is another learning experience for us and we’ll look to fight another day.”Tridents had an early boost when Ravi Rampaul removed Chris Gayle in the third over of the match. For the next hour, though, they came under Walton’s wheel. The opener, who had topped 20 just once this season, struck nine fours and five sixes over the course of his 54-ball knock, before being caught at long-on in an attempt to clear the ropes and bring up his maiden T20 century.Andre Russell, promoted to No. 4, was out first ball to David Wiese, but Rovman Powell lent the finishing touches with one four and four sixes in his unbeaten 14-ball 34 as Tallawahs smashed 44 off the last three overs.Tridents came out swinging and lost their openers – Shai Hope and Ahmed Shehzad – inside five overs as Dale Steyn and Andre Russell got among the wickets. Pacer Timroy Allen then struck twin blows, including that of Shoaib Malik, to leave Tridents in tatters at 55 for 4.Pooran and Pollard kept the innings ticking along, before the pressure of bringing out the big shots resulted in Pollard falling into the short-ball trap set by Steyn. Two balls later, Steyn had his 200th T20 wicket when fellow South African David Wiese chipped one to Gayle at midwicket to leave Tridents at 90 for 6.Pooran then muscled his way to six meaty sixes before his run-out deflated Tridents’ chase. Steyn finished with 4 for 27 as Tallawahs secured a final berth in front of adoring home fans. The visitors, meanwhile, slipped to their third loss in seven matches.

Michael Vaughan believes it is time to replace Moeen Ali with Adil Rashid in the England Test side and for Gary Ballance and Ian Bell to swap the places in the batting order as England prepare for the start of the Investec Ashes

George Dobell30-Jun-20151:00

‘England should throw Rashid in for something different’ – Vaughan

Michael Vaughan believes it is time to replace Moeen Ali with Adil Rashid in the England Test side and for Gary Ballance and Ian Bell to swap the places in the batting order as England prepare for the start of the Investec Ashes.Vaughan, England captain when they won the 2005 Ashes, feels that Rashid’s legspin can help England cut through Australia’s tail and fears Moeen is not bowling with the confidence required to withstand the likely assault he will face. While Vaughan accepted that Australia would also target Rashid, he feels he is bowling with such confidence following the ODI series against New Zealand that he can come through such a challenge.”I certainly would have Rashid in the squad and I’d be looking to play him,” Vaughan said. “I just think it would be something that Australia wouldn’t expect. I think they’re expecting to face Moeen. “If England can surprise them and play just a little bit above the level they did against New Zealand, I think it will surprise Australia.”I just look at Rashid the other day flicking them out at Durham. If he does well in the four-day game at Durham as well, I’d just throw him straight in as a young chap who’s confident. He is on the crest of that one-day wave, so I’d just play him.”With the way that he bowls and the way England have really struggled to get rid of tails, it is something different that England might surprise Australia with.”Moeen Ali is the incumbent spinner in England’s Test side•Getty Images

Vaughan admitted that Rashid is not the finished article, though. He cautioned against too much expectation in him and suggested that Alastair Cook, as captain, would have to find a way to assist him, in first innings especially.”I wouldn’t expect him to whip through the Smiths and Clarkes in the first innings,” Vaughan said. “Any top-order player will probably attack him. And in the first innings, on good pitches, you would have to manage him very well. But with careful management and careful field settings he certainly can play a big part.”Vaughan suggested Moeen can still perform an important role for England in the future. “I think Moeen is terrific, I really do,” Vaughan said. “I think he’s going to have years and years with the England side. But he has had a difficult time of it of late. He has not quite been as consistent and he has not been having the long spells as he has not been taking wickets.”When you go into an Ashes series you have to be so confident in your own ability and you have to be on top of that confidence level to compete. I just don’t know if he’s got the confidence level. He’s not bowling enough overs for me to suggest that he’s bowling with that fizz like he did last year.”He bowled great against India. But you don’t pick someone for what was happening last year. And if they go one-nil down it’s going be a long series.”Vaughan believes Bell would benefit from the demonstration of confidence a promotion to No. 3 in the batting order would provide. Bell currently bats at No. 4, with Vaughan suggesting he could swap places with Ballance.”The way Ballance played against New Zealand was a concern but he’s tough,” Vaughan said. “He got good balls, but his feet weren’t moving as well as he can. So I’d make the change. I’d put Gary at No. 4 and Bell at No. 3. I just think that every now and again Bell needs a prod and a poke. He should gain a lot of confidence by someone telling him he’s No. 3.”That could knock Gary’s confidence, but I just think he’s better suited at four. I look at the whole order and you can have left hand, right hand down the order. At the moment, we have three lefties at the top of the order. If you have three of one suit in any position of the order, you can get used to captaining against it.”Hardys of Australia are proud sponsors of England cricket. Show your support this summer with #HardysENG or #HardysAUS to win prizes

An unbeaten century by Suzie Bates led New Zealand Women to a comfortable eight wicket win against Australia Women in the first match of the Rose Bowl

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Dec-2012
Scorecard
Suzie Bates’s unbeaten 122 helped New Zealand complete the chase in the the 45th over•Getty Images

An unbeaten century by Suzie Bates led New Zealand to a comfortable eight-wicket win against Australia in the first match of the Rose Bowl at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Chasing 249, New Zealand lost opener Lucy Doolan in the seventh over, but Bates found solid support from Amy Satterthwaite as the two put on 168 runs for the second wicket at almost a run a ball. Satterthwaite fell for 98, but Bates carried on, got to her century with a boundary, and completed the chase in the 45th over in the company of Sara McGlashan.Australia had earlier chosen to bat and had slipped to 4 for 97 in the 20th over with Rachel Candy picking up two big wickets of Jess Cameron and Lisa Sthalekar. Opening batsman Meg Lanning, who was unbeaten at this stage, stabilised the innings with a half-century, but three more wickets fell for nine runs reducing Australia to 7 for 157. An 80-run recovery stand between Jodie Fields, who scored 51, and Erin Osborne took the team to relative safety and helped them set a competitive target. Candy was the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 35.The second ODI of the four match series will be played on December 14 in Sydney.

ESPNcricinfo previews the first Test between Australia and India in Melbourne

The Preview by Daniel Brettig24-Dec-2011

Match facts

Monday, December 26
Start time 1030 (2330 GMT)The state of Zaheer Khan’s 33-year-old body is critical to the outcome of the Test•Getty Images

Big Picture

Perhaps the biggest date on the Test cricket calendar, this year’s Boxing Day match is a meeting between two flawed but fascinating teams. The dimensions of the flaws – Australia’s brittle batting, India’s slim bowling – create for plenty of intrigue.Australia enter the match having lost a Test to New Zealand for the first time since 1993, and with the batsmen having been submitted for extra remedial work against the swinging ball. They are bolstered by the return of Shaun Marsh and the inclusion of the solid Ed Cowan, but will have to improve markedly in their resilience as a batting collective. Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey, the two thirty-somethings in the middle order, have the task ahead of them to prove they deserve to keep their spots after recent misadventures with the bat. They will hope for brighter days against India’s attack.Though Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma appear a formidable pace duo on the page, neither is at their peak due to ankle problems. Zaheer’s has been recovering after surgery, while Ishant may yet require surgical work once the tour is over. Behind them are the slippery but inexperienced Umesh Yadav and the spin of R Ashwin or Pragyan Ojha, none of whom have played a Test in Australia. Ashwin’s accuracy and variations have the chance of posing problems for the hosts, though the drop-in pitch at the MCG is not noted as for extremes of spin or deterioration.Better known is India’s batting, constructed as it is on the pillars of Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman. The latter trio are on a valedictory trip that is surely their last to this country, Dravid making it memorable already via his insightful Bradman Oration in Canberra. He has been India’s most accomplished batsman in 2011, having beaten the naysayers much as Tendulkar did when he emerged from a lean 2005-06. Sehwag’s destructive capabilities are self-evident, while Laxman’s penchant for Australian bowling is nothing short of legendary. Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli are able lieutenants, through Gambhir is overdue a century.Opposing them is an Australia bowling ensemble that could be extremely effective, but may also be taken for plenty of runs. James Pattinson’s fire and swing have given Michael Clarke the spearhead he needs, while Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus seem to be much improved on the versions of themselves that were milked around the MCG by England in last year’s corresponding match. Most curious of all, however, is the matter of Nathan Lyon’s fledgling spin. He is talented, and led adeptly by Clarke. But India have destroyed the world’s finest slow bowlers as a matter of course, and shall seek to do the same to Lyon to place maximum pressure on a quartet of bowlers lacking the allround element of Shane Watson or Daniel Christian.

Form guide

Australia: LWWLD
India: DWWLL

Players to watch out for…

Shaun Marsh batted with enormous assurance in his first three Tests, until a back complaint rendered him lame for the second innings of the Cape Town Test against South Africa and kept him out of three further encounters. His combination of patience, sound judgement and firm stroke-play elevated him to No. 3 ahead of Ponting, and gave Australia a sense of calm at the fall of the first wicket. How much Marsh was missed became painfully clear in Hobart against New Zealand, necessitating his return for the MCG. Having shown he is striking the ball well enough in a Twenty20 appearance for the Perth Scorchers, Marsh must now push his back through the rigours of five days. A relapse would be disastrous.Two previous tours of Australia have proven too taxing for Zaheer Khan, as injuries cruelled his progress each time. Smart, aggressive and skilful, Zaheer has all the toys required to unseat the best batsmen, and in India has ripped through Australia more than once, using swing and cagey variations in pace. But it is in Australia where the injuries have struck, and after an ankle surgery Zaheer must hold his body together if he is to make a critical contribution to this match, and this tour.

Team news

Cowan and Marsh replaced Phillip Hughes and Usman Khawaja, while Ben Hilfenhaus offers steady swing and long spells – two things Mitchell Starc struggled to provide either in consistent doses despite his undoubted promise.Australia: 1 David Warner, 2 Ed Cowan, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Ricky Ponting, 5 Michael Clarke (capt), 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Peter Siddle, 9 James Pattinson, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Ben Hilfenhaus.Ishant and Zaheer are fit to play, and India’s batting appears settled. Ashwin is expected to claim the spin spot ahead of Ojha.India(probable): 1 Virender Sehwag, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Virat Kohli, 6 VVS Laxman, 7 MS Dhoni (capt, wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Umesh Yadav.

Pitch and conditions

As on Boxing Day last year, the MCG pitch will likely offer plenty of early life before simmering down later. On a surface not given to breaking up once the early life recedes, the first innings will be important to the outcome of the match.

Stats and trivia

• Sachin Tendulkar needs a century to reach his 100th in international matches.
• India have not won a Test series in Australia in nine attempts since their first visit in 1947-48. Three series, 1980-81, 1985-86 and 2003-04, have been drawn.
• Ed Cowan is Australia’s 10th Test debutant in 2011. This is the most since 1977, the year of defections to Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket.

Quotes

“I make no bones about it, we’ve had extra time as a batting unit because we know we’ve got to get better at facing the new ball if there’s a bit in the wicket. We want to improve. We want to get better in that department of our game as batters. We’ve done the work though. That’s all I can ask any of the boys for.”
“Last time we had one side game against Victoria team but it was rained out, so we directly went to a Test match without preparation. So we are quite happy with the way we have prepared. Also we are able to spend a lot of time together, especially with the one-day boys who have recovered from the tough schedule they had.

Allrounder Sarah Tsukigawa has replaced Maria Fahey for the first two Twenty20 international matches of the Rose Bowl series

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2010Allrounder Sarah Tsukigawa has returned to the New Zealand women’s squad in place of Maria Fahey for the first two Twenty20 international matches of the Rose Bowl series that will be played in Hamilton and Nelson on December 28 and December 30. Aimee Watkins will captain the team.The squad was selected after three trial Twenty20 games that were played last weekend. The remaining six matches of the eight-match series will be played from February 18 to 28, when Australia will return to New Zealand. The team will be reselected at that point.The selections of Rachel Priest and Erin Bermingham are conditional on their passing a fitness test on December 15.New Zealand squad: Aimee Watkins (capt), Suzie Bates, Erin Bermingham, Kate Broadmore, Nicola Browne, Sophie Devine, Natalie Dodd, Lucy Doolan, Sara McGlashan, Liz Perry, Rachel Priest, Sian Ruck, Amy Satterthwaite, Sarah Tsukigawa

Lalit Modi denied the IPL franchise owners were unhappy over the delay in compensation for the extra expenditure incurred during the 2009 tournament

Cricinfo staff27-Nov-2009Lalit Modi, the Indian Premier League commissioner, has denied that the franchise owners were unhappy about not being compensated for the extra expenditure incurred during the 2009 tournament in South Africa.”It’s absolute hogwash and there’s no truth or merit in the reports that have appeared. Our franchise owners are not like that,” Modi said. “It’s an ongoing process. Part-payments were done. It has to go to the IPL Governing Council for approval.”The first edition of the IPL was held in India in 2008. The second was shifted to South Africa because the tournament was scheduled to be held at the same time as the general elections in India, and the government could not guarantee adequate security. The shift in venue involved extra costs for all the franchises, who were promised compensation by the IPL. The tournament will return to India for the third edition next year.

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.”