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Kent thwarted with the ball throughout as visitors rack up the partnerships at Canterbury

ECB Reporters Network07-Apr-2024Kent and Somerset look to be heading for a draw in the Vitality County Championship at Canterbury after the visitors reached 374 for 7 at stumps on day three.Tom Lammonby hit 90 and Matt Renshaw 66 as the visitors survived an early evening wobble to overhaul Kent’s first innings score of 284. Kent debutants Matt Parkinson and George Garrett took 2 for 116 and 2 for 61 respectively, but a stand of 101 between Kasey Aldridge and James Rew gave Somerset a potentially useful lead of 90.Aldridge was unbeaten on 50 while Rew made 57 before he was out in surreal circumstances following a delay caused by a rogue mobilty-scooter.The draw always looked the most likely outcome after 119 overs were lost to the elements on days one and two, but if Kent were going to force the issue they needed to exploit the new ball.They couldn’t. Sean Dickson was on four when he edged Wes Agar between second and third slip, but both Daniel Bell-Drummond and Jack Leaning went for the catch and neither managed to hang on.Dickson failed to cash in, edging Garrett to Leaning for 17, but that was the only bright moment for the hosts during an otherwise joyless morning session that ended with Somerset on 108 for 1.Lammonby played with restrained elegance, although he reached his fifty with a streakily edged four off Garrett.Renshaw was then dropped on 58 off Parkinson when Joe Denly couldn’t hang on to a diving chance at mid on. Parkinson, however, broke through in his next over, conjuring a ball that pitched outside off and spun viscously back into Renshaw’s middle stump.If that was the only wicket of the afternoon session, Parkinson’s unbroken 25-over spell at least offered home fans hope that this season might offer something more than the toil of the previous campaign.He lobbed in the occasional bad ball but always looked like making something happen and, in the second over after tea, he duped Lammonby into a swipe that was grabbed by Ben Compton at square leg.A mini-collapse ensued as Tom Banton smacked Garrett for six but was caught behind off the next ball for 28 and Lewis Goldsworthy fell to the new ball, driving Nathan Gilchrist to Joey Evison at extra cover for 35.Lewis Gregory made just one when he cut Wes Agar to Daniel Bell-Drummond and at that point Somerset were on 255 for 6. But Aldridge and Rew exploited some average fielding to push Somerset into the lead and give them their first score of over 300 in the first innings of a summer since 2014.The torpor of the late evening was summed up when a man on a mobility scooter dawdled in front of the sight screens and Rew fell to the very next ball, skying Leaning almost vertically before he was caught by Harry Finch.Aldridge then brought up his half-century when he took a single off the final ball of the day from Leaning.

Watson, who said he put too much pressure on himself as a player, believes Green has been handled very well

Alex Malcolm08-Jul-2022Very few players have experienced the burden of expectation that Cameron Green currently has on his broad shoulders, but former Australia allrounder Shane Watson has carried that load, and he is full of praise for how Green is maturing at such a rapid rate in Test match cricket at the age of just 23.Watson watched Green’s match-winning innings in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle and was awestruck by how well he adjusted his game to suit the extreme spinning conditions he faced.”He’s incredible,” Watson said, speaking at an event to mark 100 days until the men’s T20 World Cup. “He’s incredibly skillful and to see how he’s continued to upskill so quickly.”He’s got such a deep understanding of his game obviously. For him to be able to make the adjustments, little adjustments like he has to be able to just find his feet so quickly. That innings last week in the last Test match was something very special.Related

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“For someone to have such control over just changing his game plan, changing his game to be able to be very effective in extreme conditions. It’s special to be able to watch someone like him.”Watson, like Green, entered international cricket at 20 after dominating domestic cricket for two seasons. But he was blooded in ODI cricket playing 27 matches over a three-year period before finally breaking into the Test side in 2005. It took another four years before he became a mainstay in Australia’s Test side due to a multitude of injuries.Speaking after the first Test, Green referenced Watson’s record: “I had plenty of allrounders when I looked up to when younger,” he said. “There are not many allrounders who bat at No.3 and bowl as many overs as [Shane Watson] did. He has incredible stats.”Cameron Green played the defining innings of the first Test against Sri Lanka•Getty Images

Green has not suffered a back injury since he started his Test career although there was a minor scare post the Pakistan series that saw him unavailable to bowl for the first two ODIs in Sri Lanka. But Watson has been impressed with how he has been handled by the Australian team.”They’re managing him very well already,” Watson said. “They’re looking after him when he has a few niggles or he’s got a little injury, which is a great thing to be able to continue to look after him. He’s a good enough batter alone to be able to play in the Aussie team just as a batter because he’s so highly skilled, but if they just continue to look after his bowling as they have already then that’s going to play a big part in his longevity.”Watson believes Green is well placed to handle the expectations that are already building around him. Watson said the pressure he put on himself to succeed was heavier than anything external, but he urged people to remain patient with Green.”I wanted to be the best allrounder that I possibly could be the best allrounder Australia had, and I probably let that be known as well when I should just kept that internal,” Watson said with a laugh. “So that’s a life lesson learned. But that was the expectation that I had on myself and when you put that much expectation on yourself, it’s hard to be able to chase it all the time.”It was a good learning experience for me and it seems like things are different with Cameron Green at the moment. People are just being more patient with him and letting him do his thing and he’s shown very quickly how good he is.”Watson, one of Australia’s best ever limited-overs players, believes Green has the capabilities to feature in all three formats despite his limited exposure to T20 cricket in particular. Green has played just one T20I and only 14 T20s in total, but Watson said he has the skills to succeed.”Seeing him in the Test matches and a little bit in one-day cricket but he’s got all the tools to be an incredible T20 player as well,” Watson said. “As a top-order batting allrounder, he’s someone who’s going to be exciting to watch.”

India put on a chasing masterclass in Ahmedabad after their bowlers – led by Deepti Sharma’s 3 for 39 – restricted New Zealand to 232

Ashish Pant29-Oct-20243:55

Mandhana: ‘Team still had half a mind on World Cup, series win will boost confidence’

After scores of 5 and 0 in the first two ODIs, Smriti Mandhana regained her touch in the series decider as she cracked her third ODI century of the year, helping India beat New Zealand by six wickets and take the three-match series 2-1. She was ably supported by first Yastika Bhatia (35) and then Harmanpreet Kaur (59 not out) as India put on a chasing masterclass in Ahmedabad.Batting first, New Zealand rode largely on Brooke Halliday’s career-best 86 off 96 balls as she lifted her side from the depths of 88 for 5 in the 24th over to 232 all out in 49.5 overs. Teams batting first won both ODIs in the series, but India were having none of it as the top order shone through in the chase as they romped home with 34 balls to spare.Mandhana had fallen to the outside-the-off-stump trap twice in two innings in this ODI series. In the first game, she carved Jess Kerr to backward point. Two days later, she did it again, chipping it straight to point for a duck. So, when Mandhana came out in pursuit of New Zealand’s target of 233, she was circumspect to the point that in the first three overs, she shouldered arms to at least five balls. She was ready to be patient and build her innings. The move paid dividends.Mandhana has had a good 2024 in ODIs, having scored two centuries and a half-century in six innings coming into this game. On Tuesday, she played the patient game. She was on 9 off 26 balls at one point, but did not throw it away. She had a slice of luck when she seemingly inside-edged a Lea Tahuhu full-length delivery on to her pad in the third over. Replays later suggested the ball had hit her pad first and had New Zealand reviewed, she would have been out. It was the luck Mandhana needed, and she did not look back.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

At the other end, Shafali, though, had no such luck. She got going with two crips fours, but was caught down the leg side after a faint nick in the fourth over.Mandhana was joined by Bhatia in the middle and the two kept their composure in the chase. Mandhana struck her first four in the ninth over, a swivel-pull against Sophie Devine, followed by a chip down the ground off Eden Carson. Bhatia also struck a few smart boundaries. They added 76 runs for the second wicket before Bhatia was caught and bowled by Devine.Harmanpreet walked out at No. 4 and with a platform set, the two went about their innings calmly. Mandhana brought up her half-century with a short-arm jab through midwicket and soon started finding the fence with more regularity. Harmanpreet, too, was wary initially but soon found the measure of the surface and the runs started flowing from both ends. They brought up the 50-run stand for the third wicket in the 31st over.Harmanpreet did go down with cramps not long after, but that was not going to stop her. She unleashed an array of drives and pulls with Mandhana also going after Devine. Harmanpreet reached her half-century off 54 balls while Mandhana got to her century, the eighth of her career, off 121 balls with a push down the ground. She fell without adding another run, cleaned up by Hannah Rowe, but the job was done by then.Jemimah Rodrigues walked out and immediately got four fours away as India could see the finishing line. She fell lbw to Fran Jonas with India needing a run, and Harmanpreet fittingly finished off the chase in the 45th over.Brooke Halliday hit three sixes despite tiring in the heat•BCCI

Earlier, Halliday braved the scorching Ahmedabad heat as she strung important stands with Izabella Gaze and Rowe, before Tahuhu smashed an unbeaten 24 off 14 balls to get New Zealand past the 230-run mark.It was a much-improved Indian fielding show on display in the third ODI. They had dropped as many as six catches in the second ODI, to go with multiple misfields, as they went down heavily. But they came out as a unit on a mission on Tuesday, led by the two usual fielding stars, Radha Yadav and Rodrigues, as they frustrated the New Zealand openers, Suzie Bates and Georgia Plimmer, in the powerplay.Rodrigues was into the act in the third over as she almost effected a run-out after a stunning save at short extra-cover, with Bates having to dive full length to just about make her crease. Rodrigues’ brilliance came to the fore in the seventh over again when there was a spot of miscommunication between the two batters and this time Bates was caught well short of her crease despite the dive.Plimmer had, meanwhile, started to find the hang of the red-soil surface. She got her boundary-counter running with a solid on-drive off Renuka Thakur before piercing the gap between mid-off and cover off the same bowler. Saima Thakor was also driven for two fours in three balls in the sixth over, but she bounced back with the wicket of Lauren Down, removing her with a gentle length ball that tailed away late and caught her outside edge.Devine, the star of the second ODI, looked ominous from the get-go, striking two authoritative fours within her first seven balls. But she was undone by a stunning wrong’un from Priya Mishra as she went back to a delivery that she ideally should have been forward to, and the ball crashed into her middle stump.Deepti Sharma was named the Player of the Series•BCCI

Halliday, though, looked the part all the way. She got off the mark with an elegant off drive, but regular wickets at the other end pinned New Zealand down. Plimmer was removed by Mishra, who induced a thick outside edge, with Deepti Sharma taking a sharp catch at slip – she was guilty of dropping three catches in the second ODI.New Zealand then lost half their side when another miscommunication ensued between Maddy Green and Halliday, with the former stuck in the middle of the pitch. Rodrigues was again in the thick of things at point.Halliday had to do the repair job, and she found an ally in Gaze. Halliday struck her first six in the 38th over off Mishra, and soon reached her sixth ODI fifty with a flick in the 40th over.Gaze fell chipping a full toss meekly back to Deepti for her first wicket, but Halliday and Rowe carried on by adding 47 off 41 balls for the seventh wicket. Halliday, who was spent by that time, put her foot on the pedal, even showing off a few innovative reverse hits and paddles. She managed to generate enough power to clear the ropes twice – once off Harmanpreet Kaur and then off Deepti – but fell in the 46th over caught at deep midwicket.Rowe fell soon after but Tahuhu smashed two fours and a six to help New Zealand end on a high. Eventually, they were well below par.

Opener smashes 52 runs in boundaries as Leicestershire’s 196 for 5 toppled with ease

ECB Reporters Network14-Jun-2025Derbyshire 197 for 3 (Donald 60, Scriven 3-29) beat Leicestershire 196 for 5 (Budinger 49, Brown 3-51) by seven wicketsDerbyshire Falcons completed back-to-back Vitality Blast derby wins in 24 hours with a seven-wicket victory over Leicestershire Foxes at Edgbaston.The Foxes were lifted to a hefty 196 for five by an impressive collective effort headed by Sol Budinger 49 and Shan Masood’s 43. Pat Brown took 3 for 51.But the Falcons chased it down with ten balls to spare, reaching 197 for 3 as Aneurin Donald launched the chase with an explosive 60 from 25 balls and Samit Patel crowned it with an unbeaten 52 from 32. Having belatedly opened their Blast account at the sixth attempt against Notts Outlaws on Friday night, suddenly the Falcons are flying and right back in contention for quallification.After the Foxes chose to bat, Budinger tore into the Falcons for the second time in a month. When these teams met in the group opener at Leicester, the 25-year-old blasted a 15-ball half-century. This time he thundered to 49, with seven fours and two sixes, by the eighth over. When he skied Samit Patel to backward point, his two Blast innings against the Foxes this season and yielded 100 runs from 41 balls.Masood and Rehan Ahmed (29) maintained the momentum with a stand of 71 from 43 balls. At 136 for 2 in the 15th over with two batters well set, the Foxes were racing but the Falcons hit back with three wickets in five balls. Pat Brown removed Ahmed, who edged to wicketkeeper Brooke Guest, and Masood, caught at third man, in four balls before Louis Kimber missed a cut at Patel and was bowled.Wickets usually slow the scoring but not in this case. Sixth-wicket pair Ben Cox (28 not out) and Logan van Beek (26 not out) settled quickly to smash 55 from the last 29 balls of the innings to ensure an imposing total.Undaunted, Derbyshire openers Donald and Caleb Jewell galloped to 50 from just 23 balls. Donald took 22 from five balls from Matt Salisbury and thundered to 50, 48 of which came in fours and sixes, from 18 balls.The Falcons were 93 without loss in the eighth over when Tom Scriven was brought on and took out both openers in his first over. Jewell edged to wicketkeeper Cox and two balls later an excellent delivery hit Donald’s off-stump. Scriven followed his successful first over with another excellent one (2-0-7-2 at that stage) to further peg back the Falcons.Patel and Wayne Madsen (35) deployed their considerable experience to good effect in a stand of 60 in 42 balls before Scriven returned to have the latter caught at long leg. Needing 22 from three overs, the Falcons still had a bit to do but Patel smote Scriven for successive sixes in the first of those overs to settle matters.

Smriti Mandhana’s half-century took India to 165 but it proved inadequate

Srinidhi Ramanujam28-Jul-2024 • Updated on 29-Jul-20242:58

Sri Lanka show they aren’t solely reliant on Athapaththu

Sri Lanka created history on Sunday, dethroning India to clinch their maiden Women’s T20 Asia Cup. Fighting half-centuries from top order batters Chamari Athapaththu and Harshitha Samarawickrama, and Kavisha Dilhari’s all-round heroics stood out as Sri Lanka cruised to an eight-wicket victory in front of a packed crowd in Dambulla.Samarawickrama and Dilhari’s valuable contributions in the final once again highlighted a crucial point that Sri Lanka are not just dependent on their captain to deliver. They have now won 14 of the 17 T20Is this year and go into the T20 World Cup slated in October with massive confidence and pride from their performances.Smriti Mandhana’s 60 and quickfire knocks from Richa Ghosh and Jemimah Rodrigues helped India post a competitive total of 165 for 6 but in the end, it proved inadequate.

Athapaththu vs left-arm spin

Things were quiet until the fifth over. Then, with Sri Lanka on 28 for 1, Athapaththu targeted the inexperienced left-arm spinner Tanuja Kanwar. After lofting a short ball to deep square leg for six, she punished two full length deliveries for a four and a six to score 16 runs off the over and end the powerplay on 44 for 1. Radha Yadav, another left-arm spinner, bowled the next over and conceded nine runs with six coming off Athapaththu’s bat. With only Deepti Sharma as the specialist offspinner, Harmanpreet had to use Radha and Kanwar against the two left-handers Athapaththu and Samarawickrama. In the end, 29 of the Sri Lanka captain’s 61 runs came against left-arm spinners, at a strike rate of 170.58.

Samarawickrama, Dilhari step up

Samarawickrama has been playing at the international level for six years now and her most important knock came in Dambulla. She had hit only four half-centuries in 61 matches prior and her career strike rate in T20Is is less 100. But on Sunday, Sri Lanka needed her to stay as long as possible and not think about those numbers.When Deepti bowled Athapaththu in the 12th over, the crowd was stunned to silence. Sri Lanka needed 72 runs from 48 balls and there was a chance of an Indian comeback. After getting set, scoring 29 off her first 27 balls, it was on Samarawickrama to take her side through and she did it in style. She brought out her A game with pull shots and slog sweeps to eventually top-score for Sri Lanka with an unbeaten 69. When 25 was required from the last three overs, Radha’s 17-run 18th over – where Samarawickrama smashed two fours and a six – blunted India.Smriti Mandhana’s half-century went in vain for India•ACC

Dilhari, a strong bottom-handed player, chipped in with an unbeaten 30 off 16 and sealed the victory with a six in the penultimate over. The duo shared a match-changing unbeaten 73 off 40 balls for the third wicket. Meanwhile, India endured misfields and two dropped catches and were also tactically tested as the game slipped away. This included a fumble from Harmanpreet when she dropped a simple catch in the 15th over when Samarawickrama was on 45.

Mandhana marches on to another fifty

Mandhana brought all her experience to the fore in the final. Sri Lanka dominated the first five overs of the powerplay, and Mandhana made a run-a-ball 14. But in the final over, she tried to up the ante by shuffling across to manufacture runs against left-arm seamer Udeshika Prabodhani. She hit three fours, and India ended the powerplay on 44 for 0. Soon after Shafali Verma and Uma Chetry were dismissed, Mandhana punished anything too short or too full, especially from Athapaththu as she raced to her 26th T20I fifty off 36 deliveries. She was dropped by Samarawickrama at cover on 10 off 10 in the fifth over.Mandhana also got a life when she hit one straight to Athapaththu, the bowler, in the 16th over, but the ball bounced twice before reaching the batter and so was declared a no-ball. However, in the following over, Athapaththu took an excellent running catch off Dilhari’s bowling to dismiss the India opener.

The Dilhari-Ghosh battle

Dilhari has been crucial to Sri Lanka’s recent success. Of her 16 T20Is this year, only thrice has she gone wicketless. She usually doesn’t concede many either. At the end of 17 overs, the legspinner’s had gone for 18 runs and picked up two wickets in her three overs. But her final over, the penultimate of the innings, against Ghosh, was bittersweet. The first ball was a legbreak which Ghosh looked to cut and probably got an edge to the wicketkeeper. There was a huge appeal from the bowler and the keeper, but the umpire was unmoved. Dilhari pleaded and kicked the turf in disappointment, but there was no DRS in this tournament. The next three deliveries saw Ghosh muscling away two fours and a six to take India past 150. Dilhari ended up conceding 18 runs off her final over. Ghosh eventually finished on a 14-ball 30

The left-arm spinner produced the most economical spell in WBBL history as the hosts put on a dominant display against the leaders

Tristan Lavalette18-Nov-2023In-form Chamari Athapaththu claimed two wickets before powering Sydney Thunder past Perth Scorchers at Cricket Central ground as the race for the WBBL’s top spot heats up.Athapaththu was part of Thunder’s disciplined spin brigade that restricted Scorchers to a lowly 116 for 8 in the day fixture.In reply, Athapaththu took over after a disastrous run out of Phoebe Litchfield, who had replaced Tahlia Wilson at the top of the order.Having not responded to Litchfield’s call at the non-striker’s end, Athapaththu made amends with her blistering 77 off 53 balls marked by a calculated assault on legspinner Alana King.She was well supported by captain Heather Knight as Thunder cruised to the target in the 17th over.Star allrounder Nat Sciver-Brunt bowled for the first time this season, but it was to no avail as Scorchers’ four-match winning streak was snapped.It was a vital victory for Thunder, who pulled within one point of league leaders Scorchers.Thunder elected to bowl first in what appeared a brave decision amid a flat surface and sunny conditions in Sydney. They had to confront a red-hot Scorchers batting order led by stars Beth Mooney and Sophie Devine, who have enjoyed rekindling their partnership at the top.Having started the season at No. 4, Devine has excelled alongside Mooney and they appeared to be once again powering Scorchers to a big total.After a cautious start warding off seam movement from the new ball, Devine made her move by clubbing seamer Marizanne Kapp down the ground for a belligerent boundary.It also ignited left-handed batter Mooney, who had earlier struggled to pierce a stacked off side field with Kapp angling the ball across her. She smashed Kapp for consecutive fours and hit four boundaries in the space of five balls.Mooney, who had scored 289 runs and only dismissed once in her last four innings, had a life on 25 when she was dropped at extra cover by Knight. It appeared Thunder would rue the missed chance, but two balls later Mooney was trapped lbw by offspinner Lauren Smith.It triggered a collapse with seamer Sammy-Jo Johnson in the next over claiming her 100th WBBL wicket after bowling Devine, who failed to connect on a delivery that didn’t bounce as high as she anticipated.Given the form of Devine and Mooney, Sciver-Brunt hadn’t been greatly required in her five matches this season. It loomed as a perfect scenario for her, but Sciver-Brunt’s stay at the crease was brief after being bowled by Smith on eight.Left-arm spinner Samantha Bates, who finished with the remarkable figures of 1 for 6 off four overs, strangled Scorchers in the middle overs. It was the most economical four-over spell in WBBL history. Young batter Maddy Darke was notably pinned down and inevitably succumbed on Knight’s second delivery.Scorchers kept losing wickets with Chloe Piparo clean bowled by Athapaththu in an ungainly dismissal that signified their plight. At 78 for 7 in the 17th over, Scorchers looked set for the ignominy of a score less than three figures before an aggressive Amy Jones slugged 37 from just 16 balls.Jones in the 19th over hit Scorchers’ first six of the innings and she added another, but their subpar total proved light work for Thunder who banked an invaluable victory.

Allrounder’s 64* and two wickets keep hosts on top in tight contest with Northants

ECB Reporters Network11-Jul-2023Northamptonshire 219 and 55 for 2 (Vasconcelos 22, Higgins 2-11) trail Middlesex 277 (Higgins 64*, Stoneman 51, Keogh 3-52) by 3 runsRyan Higgins displayed his all-round prowess on day two of Middlesex’s LV= Insurance County Championship Division One basement battle with visitors Northamptonshire at Merchant Taylors’ School.Higgins, in his second spell with the tenants of Lord’s, made 64 not out, his sixth half-century of the season, to steer the hosts from the perils of 127-5 to only their second batting bonus point of the campaign and a total of 277 – a first innings lead of 58. Mark Stoneman was Middlesex’s other half-centurion with 51, while Max Holden made 41. Rob Keogh impressed with his off-spin for Northamptonshire, returning three for 53, while Ben Sanderson took three for 76.Not content with his batting efforts, Harare-born Higgins then removed both Ricardo Vasconcelos and Justin Broad when Northamptonshire batted again, the visitors almost achieving parity by the close on 55-2, three runs behind.While Northamptonshire relied on stoic defence for their score on day one, Middlesex adopted more of a risk-and-reward approach, playing more shots, rotating the strike and, wherever possible, turning ones into twos to put pressure on the fielders. In the end, it brought some reward, though on a pitch of already variable bounce it remains to be seen whether a 58-run lead will be sufficient for a side who have to bat last.Stoneman signalled Middlesex’s more aggressive intent with two fours from one Jack White over before striking the seamer back over his head for six.Nightwatchman Ethan Bamber kept Stoneman company through the first seven overs, taking a little more of the shine off the Kookaburra ball before Sanderson uprooted his middle stump.Rob Keogh picked up three wickets•Getty Images

It would be the visitors’ last success for some time as Stoneman and fellow former England opener Sam Robson forged a half-century stand at not far shy of a run a ball. Stoneman twice savagely cut Sanderson to the fence at point while Robson found the cover boundary twice with dreamy drives.However, the right-handed Robson, like many in the match before him, never looked set and it was no surprise when White found the edge of his bat to give wicketkeeper McManus the first of his four victims behind the stumps.Stoneman became the first batter in the match to reach 50 only to fall in White’s next over when a shortish ball didn’t get up high enough for his attempted pull shot and instead picked out the left-hander’s middle stump. And when Pieter Malan and John Simpson departed to Sanderson and Tom Taylor, respectively, either side of the lunch interval Middlesex looked set for the batting equivalent of ‘Groundhog Day.’It was now Higgins made his entrance, promptly pulling his first ball through square leg for four, but thereafter it was Max Holden who made the running in their stand of 64, cutting and driving the seamers before greeting spinner Keogh with a reverse sweep for another boundary. Again though, just as the former England U19 skipper appeared set, Keogh got one through his defences to trap him on the crease.Josh De Caires didn’t stay long and when Stephen Eskinazi, batting at nine because of the finger injury sustained on day one, edged into the hands of Gay in the gully, Middlesex’s lead was a mere 11.Higgins, though, went through to a controlled 50 from 85 balls with six fours and, with the help of skipper Toby Roland-Jones, steered the hosts to that second batting point of the campaign, a landmark greeted with loud, if a little ironic applause from the Middlesex faithful.The eventual lead of 58, while not massive, looked useful, and Higgins struck in his first over to cut short a blossoming Ricardo Vasconcelos effort on 22.Broad soon followed when he edged through to Simpson, who stood up to the stumps to stop the batter standing out of his crease to negate the prospect of being leg before.

The incident took place during the third over of the Nepal innings in their game against Bangladesh on June 16

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jun-2024Bangladesh fast bowler Tanzim Hasan Sakib has been fined 15% of his match fee for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct after an altercation with Nepal captain Rohit Paudel during the teams’ meeting in Kingstown on June 16.The incident took place just after the end of the third over of Nepal’s innings, when Tanzim, after bowling a delivery, “walked towards Nepal batter Rohit Paudel in an aggressive manner and made inappropriate physical contact”, according to an ICC release.There were a few words exchanged between the two players followed by plenty of hand gesturing, with the on-field umpire Sam Nogajski having to separate the two. The umpires were also seen having a word with Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto after the incident.Tanzim was found to have breached Article 2.12 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “inappropriate physical contact with a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee or any other person (including a spectator) during an International Match”.