The Nottinghamshire pace bowler was the leading wicket-taker in last season’s T20 Blast

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Dec-2020England pace bowler Jake Ball has joined the Sydney Sixers as a replacement for Tom Curran, who withdrew from the competition due to bubble fatigue, after his credentials were pushed by Nottinghamshire team-mate Dan ChristianBall was a reserve in England’s squad for the South Africa tour which was cancelled earlier this week after the Covid-19 cases within the biosecure bubble and will fly to Australia with the other members of the team who still have BBL deals. They will all undergo 14 days quarantine on arrival which means being available shortly after Christmas.Ball has not played for England since 2018 but returned to the set-up for the South Africa trip following an impressive T20 Blast season for Nottinghamshire where he was the tournament’s leading wicket-taker with 19 at 13.63 and an economy rate of 7.58.Christian, who himself has joined the Sixers this season, played alongside Ball in Nottinghamshire’s title-winning campaign.Jake Ball appeals successfully for the wicket of Jason Roy•Getty Images

“Jake has been a mainstay of our Nottinghamshire attack in my time there over the last six seasons, leading us to the domestic T20 titles in 2017, and again this year in 2020,” he said.”I didn’t hesitate putting Jake’s name forward upon hearing that Tom Curran was unfortunately unavailable. As the leading wicket taker in the T20 Blast this year, I’ve got no doubt that he’ll help us win games here at the Sixers.”The Sixers will be without captain Moises Henriques for the start of the tournament. Initially that was due to his selection in the Australia A squad but he has been ruled out of the match against India at the SCG with a hamstring injury. He is aiming to be available for the Sixers’ match against the Strikers on December 20. Daniel Hughes will captain the side in his absence.They are in action on the opening day of the tournament when they face the Hobart Hurricanes on Thursday night.

Birmingham Phoenix retention is on tour to help her development as a fast bowler

Matt Roller03-Feb-2021England Women have trained for the first time since reaching New Zealand, which fast bowler Issy Wong described as “a big sigh of relief” after seven days of isolation at their hotel in Christchurch.England’s touring party arrived in the country last week ahead of a limited-overs series starting on February 23, and have been tested regularly for Covid, including in the weeks before their departure. They have been split into four bubbles, and were allowed to train in those groups on Wednesday at the high performance centre at Lincoln University.On Friday, they will merge into two bubbles as they draw closer to the end of their quarantine period, and if their final round of Covid tests come back negative, they will travel to Queenstown on Tuesday ahead of warm-up fixtures on February 14 and 16 against a New Zealand XI.”It was a real sense of freedom to be training and playing on grass,” Wong said. “It’s a big sigh of relief to get out and do something. We’d prepared for the worst [with quarantine] and been pleasantly surprised. We have an outside area where we go can on socially distanced walks, which has been really good to get out of the room, and I’ve got my PlayStation with me so I’ve been playing a bit of NBA 2K on that.”Related

• The Hundred – full 2021 squad lists

• Can Issy Wong hit 80 clicks?

• Return to 'normal life' a huge lure of NZ tour – Knight

• Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc released as the Hundred teams finalise retentions before draft

• Farrant to tour New Zealand, Shrubsole out injured

Wong, the 18-year-old fast bowler, is not part of England’s squad for the tour but has travelled with the group to help continue her development. She will continue to work closely with Tim Macdonald, the team’s assistant coach, and admitted that the prospect of being able to live normally after quarantine has been a major incentive.”I think Heather [Knight] described it as the carrot dangling in front of us, and that carrot is getting closer. We’re all going to be very excited when we can get out and be free.”This tour was a really last-minute thing for me, which hadn’t even been on my radar. It’s such an amazing opportunity to get outside first of all, but also to be around the squad and learn off this dressing room because there’s so much experience in there. I’m just thrilled to be here and be a part of it.”Wong was speaking to ESPNcricinfo after being retained by Birmingham Phoenix in the Hundred, having opted to roll her contract over to this year. Having played only three games in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy – part of the new domestic structure – for Central Sparks last summer after heading in and out of England bubbles, she is relishing the opportunity to have a longer run of games in the new competition.”How often do you get the opportunity to represent your home city in the first year of a major competition? It’s not escaped me how big it is, and I’m really looking forward to playing for all the people that have helped me get there.”Fundamentally I love cricket, so for me to go out and play and be able to express myself while doing something I love is massive. There’s a real structure to women’s cricket now and it’s really nice to have a similar group of girls playing in the two teams [Central Sparks and Birmingham Phoenix]. It feels like there’s a pathway – a way to progress.In particular, Wong is excited to get the chance to bowl on good, fast pitches, with all fixtures in the women’s competition due to be staged at Test match venues. She forms part of a strong squad which includes Amy Jones and Sophie Devine, and which will be finalised in June ahead of the tournament’s start date in late July.”I’ve played against [Jones] in the KSL and she whacked me round the park, so the prospect of having her and Sophie Devine on my side this time is very exciting,” she said. “Even just taking in your surrounding at the top of your mark is definitely special, especially at a ground like Edgbaston. I’ve been going there to watch cricket since I was eight or nine so to be bowling there is amazing.”The quality of pitches was something we noticed last year in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy. There’s been some criticism of women’s cricket that teams don’t score enough runs and bowlers don’t get enough bounce but actually when we get onto those Test grounds, teams were scoring 270 or 300 in 50 overs, and the ball was getting through a lot more.”There’s always half an eye on the speed gun for me but I want to bowl well. It’s always nice to be feeling quick but at the same time there are other things to focus on. Hopefully I’ll build on my experience from last year and work on my skills to make the most of it.”

Lack of familiarity with England T20 role plays part in underwhelming display

Matt Roller14-Mar-2021There can be no worse sound for a bowler than the blare of the no-ball klaxon, not least when you are under the pump, defending an under-par total with a set Virat Kohli on strike. For Ben Stokes, it was a brutal moment which summed up a frustrating night.Having foxed him with a slower ball only to find out he had overstepped by a fine margin, Stokes rushed Kohli for pace as he looked to swing him into the leg side, hitting the sort of length that had worked so well for England in the series opener. But the ball flew away off Kohli’s outside edge, travelling 61 metres to clear the fielder on the third-man boundary and fly into the lower tier. Stokes offered a wry smile in response.But an over later, that expression had turned to one of clear frustration. After Ishan Kishan had creamed him over square leg for six off the sixth ball of his first (and only) over – which cost 17 – Stokes had a straightforward chance to dismiss the same batsman at long-on off Adil Rashid. A wicket might have given England half a sniff, but he shelled the catch and the rest of the chase proved to be a cruise.Those ten minutes were the nadir on a night which lent credence to the theory that England are yet to work out how to get the most out of him in this format. Stokes’ overall record in T20Is says more about the infrequency of his appearances as his ability – this was only his 10th appearance since England’s last series in India, in early 2017 – but England will be desperate to get him as much experience in his roles with both bat and ball as possible ahead of the World Cup later this year.In particular, it was intriguing to see him coming in below Eoin Morgan at No. 6, with the two switching roles from the positions they had filled during England’s series in South Africa at the end of 2020. “It was primarily based on trying to get me into the game while the seamers were on and not necessarily the spinners,” Morgan explained. “It didn’t actually work out that well – they continued to bowl spin and one over of seam. My record against seam coming into that stage of the innings is better than against spin, so that was the call that we made.”The result was that Stokes failed to time the ball during his scratchy innings of 24 off 21 balls, which included only a solitary boundary down the ground off Bhuvneshwar Kumar. According to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data, Stokes was out of control for nine of the 21 balls he faced as he struggled against India’s seamers and their intelligent variations at the death. As a relatively slow starter who usually takes five balls to get set, it may be that Stokes would benefit from coming in ahead of Morgan in the future.Given the weight that England have rightly placed on IPL experience in their T20 strategy over the last five years, it is surprising that they use him in a significantly different role to the one Rajasthan Royals found for him last season, when he was promoted to open and made a success of the job. It seems unlikely that there will be a re-think for either team, which means England will be desperate for Stokes to get as much exposure as they can in the final three games of this series.Related

• India seek rapid response after England show how it's done

• Blazing fifties from Kishan, Kohli power India to 1-1

• Kohli: 'I tried to do what I can but Kishan took game away'

“[His best role] is in the middle order,” Morgan said. “We saw in South Africa how well he played. I don’t think it’s an easy role: I’ve done it my whole career and it treats you like crap the majority of the time. You need guys that really play the situation of the game and aren’t that bothered about taking risks when the team needs it. Ben is a guy that has that attitude and definitely has the skill to do it.”Stokes’ bowling is also a relevant consideration, not least given the balance that he has provided England with since the start of 2020. In that period, he has bowled 18 overs in eight matches, taking seven wickets at an economy rate of 8.72, and while those numbers are hardly eye-catching, they have offered Morgan a crucial sixth option in the middle overs when things have not gone to plan for one of his five main bowlers.With Moeen Ali likely to come into the side in Tuesday’s third T20I – which is due to be played on a red-soil pitch that England are expecting to be conducive to spin – Stokes will again be required to play a supporting role with the ball, and if India bring Axar Patel back into the side as a third spinner, he will be tasked with hitting with the spin to take him and Yuzrendra Chahal down in the middle overs.England see Stokes as an automatic pick in their T20 side, and their problems replacing him in the home series against Pakistan and Australia last summer – when they were unsure whether to bring in an extra batsman or a bowling allrounder in his place – demonstrate why. But with a World Cup looming, lingering doubts remain as to whether he can transform his pedigree in Test and ODI cricket into the shortest format on a more regular basis.

Both teams suffered collapses, but South Africa’s 145 target proved insufficient in fourth T20I

Firdose Moonda16-Apr-2021Pakistan have pulled off back-to-back T20I series wins over South Africa, albeit not a team with their first-choice personnel at their disposal, and capped off their tour with a 3-1 win thanks to a strong bowling performance and despite a batting wobble. Pakistan made heavy work of chasing 145, and after coasting on 92 for 1 lost 6 for 37 to put South Africa on the brink of a series-levelling coup.That might have been more than what South Africa deserved after an under-par batting effort. Only three times in the 77 T20Is in which South Africa have batted first, have they been bowled out for fewer runs as the middle-order collapsed. Shaheen Shah Afridi had his best performance of the series, with a return of 1 for 19 in his four overs, after conceding at more than ten for the first three matches while Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf took three apiece to stall any acceleration attempts.After Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman put Pakistan on track for a comfortable win, Lizaad Williams removed them both and Tabraiz Shamsi and Andile Phehlukwayo squeezed Pakistan but South Africa could not hold their nerve at the end. It’s an age-old problem which they will want to confront as they slumped to a fifth successive series T20I defeat.Safe hands, finally
Neither team had a fielding effort worthy of this series’ highlights reels with four dropped catches on each side but Pakistan pulled off a flawless display in this match and took all eight chances they got in this match.It started when Fakhar Zaman intercepted Janneman Malan’s aerial drive at head height to take the catch to his right and put the brakes on a South African innings that was ticking along at eight an over. That was the most difficult of the opportunities Pakistan got with the others fairly straightforward skied chances, though they still took some judgement. Zaman took another good catch at sweeper cover, and avoided a collision with Ashraf to end Sisanda Magala’s knock and Mohammad Rizwan dived full-length to his left to hold on to an Andile Phehlukwayo outside edge.South Africa didn’t do too badly either and held on to six chances. Their best effort was Shamsi’s running catch at deep third to get rid of Azam and put South Africa in a position to push for a win.Middle-over blues
South Africa went into this match a batter short after opting to bench Pite van Biljon in favour of a third allrounder and it backfired badly. After the openers were dismissed, they needed at least one of Klaasen or van der Dussen to bat through to avoid exposing a soft middle, but exactly the opposite happened. Klaasen and van der Dussen were dismissed in the space of five balls, failing to make proper contact on attempted big strokes, which sparked a collapse of 5 for 13 in 19 balls. Linde and Mulder both looked as though they were batting a position too high and Phehlukwayo’s death-hitting amounted to one attempted to drive on the up. After scoring 100 runs in the first 12 overs, South Africa managed just 44 runs in their last 8, to finish well under-par.Rizwan’s run ends
After Mohammad Rizwan stalked them all summer, South Africa would have been thrilled to see the back of him for a second duck in the series. Given his form, you can hardly blame Rizwan for stepping out of his crease to take on Bjorn Fortuin in the first over, but he overbalanced and missed his flick, allowing Heinrich Klaasen to pull off a stumping down the leg side. The last time South Africa dismissed Rizwan early, they cantered to victory but, with a low total to defend, they could not repeat that feat.Batting beyond Babar
Pakistan’s middle order have been largely untested on this tour and proved more fragile than they would like. After Zaman and Azam were dismissed in the same over by Williams, Pakistan had to rely on their most experienced batter Mohammad Hafeez and promising youngster Haidar Ali to take them through the second half of the innings. Haidar flicked a full Phehlukwayo delivery to deep square leg and Hafeez slog-swept Shamsi to long-on, to leave it up to the lower-order. Then Asif Ali was hurried by a Magala bouncer and popped him a simple return chance. Pakistan lost 4 for 17 in 37 balls which made what should have been a straightforward chase much more complicated. They needed 25 runs off the final 18 balls and six off the last over and got there with a ball to spare.

‘It’s a brilliant landmark for me but I’ve definitely got a lot of unfinished business,’ new vice-captain says

Valkerie Baynes01-Apr-2021When he travels to Northamptonshire for next week’s County Championship season opener, Daniel Bell-Drummond will be just over a month shy of marking a decade as a Kent player.Bell-Drummond, the opening batsman who was recently appointed vice-captain of the club where he made his debut as a 17-year-old, believes he has plenty left to achieve.”It’s absolutely flown,” Bell-Drummond said from Canterbury. “I can remember it very clearly, my debut game here against Loughborough Uni in 2011, taking a bit of time off school to come and play.”Some of the guys get stuck into me about how long I’ve been playing, even [Kent batting coach] Michael Yardy says, ‘it makes me feel young,’ because he’s played against me a fair bit.”I still feel quite young. I’m 28 this year so there’s still a lot of time left hopefully and I’m looking forward to the season. It marks 10 years but I’ve still got so much to learn. It’s a brilliant landmark for me but I’ve definitely got a lot of unfinished business and I know I can be a lot better.”Related

• Ollie Robinson senses Test cap is close

• Daniel Bell-Drummond appointed Kent vice-captain

• 'Pitches need to produce good cricket' – Angus Fraser on boosting England's Test fortunes

• County game expected to report £100 million losses due to Covid-19 – Neil Snowball

A productive winter in which he played for Colombo Kings in the Lanka Premier League – he scored 70 in a losing cause in the final – came after he ended last year’s T20 Blast as the leading run-scorer with 423 runs at an average of 42.30 and strike rate of 154.94. In the Bob Willis Trophy he managed 185 runs at an average of 23.12 with a highest score of 45.Following the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on the domestic schedule last year, the prospect of a full season, which will include juggling his Kent duties with those at Birmingham Phoenix after he was picked up in the Hundred draft, is enticing.”I’ve had the least cricket in the last 12 months that I’ve ever had since being a professional cricketer so I should be ready,” Bell-Drummond said. “I’ve had enough time sitting on the sofa. I’m really looking forward to the summer ahead, being involved in the Hundred as well. My main priority at the moment is for our set of Championship games and doing well for Kent.”On that front, Bell-Drumond has started promisingly, scoring a century against Essex and a fifty against Middlesex in their pre-season friendlies.A second-place finish in the South Group behind eventual champions Essex in last season’s Bob Willis Trophy has Kent feeling they are headed in the right direction.They have recruited players at both ends of the experience spectrum, securing the services of West Indies fast bowler Miguel Cummins for the first eight games and on Wednesday announced the signing of 20-year-old Tawanda Muyeye on a three-year contract. Zimbabwe-born Muyeye, an attacking batsman who can also bowl handy off-spin, was the Wisden Schools Cricketer of the Year in 2020, an honour previously won by the Likes of Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler and Bell-Drummond himself.With captain Sam Billings having linked up with IPL side Delhi Capitals as he continues his recovery from a collarbone injury sustained while playing for England in their ODI series in India, Bell-Drummond is preparing to lead Kent for the early part of the Championship, as planned.”Having done the role a little bit before while Sam’s been away, I know what to expect and I’ve got some good coaches and senior players around me and keeping in contact with Sam from abroad so we’ve got a plan in place and I’m looking forward to playing my role in that for sure,” Bell-Drummond said.”It’s really exciting times, there’s a great balance within the squad, quite a few young players coming through who are very hungry to stake their claims, so I’m really looking forward to the year, not just from a personal perspective but from a team point of view.”

Durham extend lead between showers as signs of low bounce warn of trials ahead

Paul Edwards30-Apr-2021Boiled cannabis or Viagra?These were the bizarre alternatives that came to mind as one watched Durham strengthen their grip on this match to a point close to invulnerability. It should be pointed out at once that one is not referring to the lunch menu offered to the media at the Riverside; understandably enough in these straitened times, that consists of nothing at all. Rather, one is alluding to two of the apparent stimuli to failure and success in this rich, wonderful and endlessly diverse part of England. For in his quite brilliant book Matthew Engel notes that a man appeared in Hartlepool magistrates court a few years ago accused of ill-treating his greyhounds by feeding them steaming ganja if he wanted them to lose and blue pills if he wanted them to win. The first had the desired effect and the second made them “run like mad”.It need hardly be stated in the strongest terms possible that the cricketers in this match were fuelled in entirely conventional fashion. Nevertheless, sport’s polarities of outcome were illustrated with extreme clarity when Alex Lees and Will Young were sharing an opening partnership of 208, thus setting a new first-wicket record for Durham against Warwickshire and thereby overtaking by six runs the mark set by Graeme Fowler and Wayne Larkins at Darlington in 1993, one of the summers in which the then-peripatetic county played on half-a-dozen grounds.The home side’s advantage was therefore over 100 before Warwickshire enjoyed their first success and it could be argued the portents were even worse for Will Rhodes’ team. The care with which the openers built their stand was quite fitting on a pitch that does not accommodate fast scoring and at least two of the wickets that fell suggested the surface’s eccentricities were becoming more marked. Given that the visitors may have to bat something like five sessions to save this game, signs of low bounce were hardly what they wished to see and one can understand why their celebrations at each success were hardly riotous.All of which makes Young and Lees’ patience in defying Warwickshire’s bowlers particularly praiseworthy. Young played the more attractive strokes and was slightly the more aggressive but the fact that he took exactly five hours to reach three figures perfectly reflects the New Zealander’s diligence in what may well be his final innings for Durham. Lees complemented his opening partner perfectly and batted through a greatly rain-shortened day for his unbeaten 126 with the care of a man who understands the self-denial required of a sheet-anchor. Gritting it out cannot have been easy against an attack which was led in determined fashion by Liam Norwell, who took two wickets, and Oliver Hannon-Dalby, who deserved better than a blank day. The one consolation for all the bowlers was that at least they were able to keep warm when called into the attack. The fielders had no such luck on a cold afternoon.The umpires, Michael Gough and Russell Warren, even wore black gloves, which made their fingers even more deathly when they had to raise them. As it was, Gough’s decision to send Young on his way for 124 was the first of three leg-before verdicts that went in the visitors’ favour during the afternoon. Scott Borthwick was lbw for 21 to a ball that kept low from Craig Miles and David Bedingham was bowled for 2 by an absolute shooter, thus giving Norwell his second success. However, since this reduced Bedingham’s average for the season to a shade over 113 and his team were hardly in dire need of his runs, one doubts he will argue the world is treating him cruelly.Next over Jack Burnham played inside Danny Briggs’ arm ball and the home side had thus lost three wickets for 13 runs in six overs. However, any further action was prevented by a prolonged heavy shower that delayed play for over two hours. The players returned for 9.3 overs late in the evening session and the calmness with which Lees and Ned Eckersley played the Warwickshire seamers boded well for Durham’s hopes of batting once in this gameBut readers may be wondering what happened to the miscreant mentioned at the start of this piece. He was banned for life from keeping greyhounds but a similar stricture was not applied to his ownership of 20 ferrets. One wonders what mood the poor animals were in as dinner-time approached? And what manner of man, unaware of their precise diet, would then follow the Northern custom of ferret-legging and risk putting one of them down his trousers?

The Bombay High Court set aside an arbitration order won by the former IPL franchise

Varun Shetty17-Jun-2021The BCCI has been relieved of paying up INR 4816 crore (USD 642 million approx) after the Bombay High Court set aside the arbitration award won by Deccan Chronicle Holdings (DCHL), the promoter of the former IPL franchise Deccan Chargers, on Wednesday.Justice GS Patel ruled that the award had “rewarded the party in unquestionable breach of its contractual obligations” and there wasn’t sufficient evidence that Deccan Chargers weren’t in breach of contract during termination.Deccan Chargers had won the award through an arbitration process initiated by the Bombay High Court after they challenged the termination of their contract in September 2012.Related

• Explainer: What is the fight really about?

The termination, according to the BCCI, was on account of the franchise failing to meet a 30-day deadline to clear up player dues and other irregularities in their running.The Chargers also failed a one-month deadline set by the Bombay High Court to put up a INR 100 crore guarantee to stay the termination and the Hyderabad franchise subsequently went to Sun Network, which owns the Sunrisers Hyderabad.The Bombay High Court then appointed retired Supreme Court Judge CK Thakkar as the sole arbitrator. He found the termination of the Chargers contract both illegal and premature, and awarded the damage based on – among other things – a projected loss in profits over the span of the IPL because of the termination.The BCCI, represented by India’s solicitor general Tushar Mehta, challenged the award in court, however, and Justice GS Patel found that “the Award proceeded in places without reasons, in others by ignoring evidence, in yet others by wandering far afield from the contract, and in taking views that were not even possible.””We did not agree with the arbitration penalty and welcome the verdict from the honourable court,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah was quoted as saying in . “This comes on the back of our legal win in the WSG case.”This order is likely going to be challenged by Deccan Chargers.”The high court has set aside the arbitral tribunal’s award which means that the BCCI will not be liable to pay INR 4800 crore,” said Ashish Pyasi, associate partner Dhir & Dhir Associates, who has represented Deccan Chargers in the past. “The order passed is appealable and can be challenged in the division bench (of the Bombay High Court) under section 37.”

The tournament is set to be taken to at least 11 venues around the country

Andrew McGlashan07-Jul-2021The final of next season’s WBBL will be played following the opening day of the Australia-Afghanistan Test on November 27 while there will be a further increase in televised matches.The tournament, which will start on October 14 at North Sydney Oval following Australia’s multi-format series against India, is also set to return to a country-wide fixture list with at least 11 venues being used after last year was played entirely in a Sydney-based hub due to the pandemic although contingencies will apply should Covid-19 continue to impact state borders as is currently the case.”Like all sporting leagues, we remain conscious of the need to be flexible in response to the challenges of the pandemic,” Alistair Dobson, the general manager of Big Bash leagues, said. “This schedule provides us with a number of options should we need to pivot, and the lessons of WBBL|06 and KFC BBL|10 stand us in good stead should we need to do so.”The Afghanistan Test will be played in Hobart which means if the Hurricanes were to earn hosting rights for the final – they have never previously gone beyond the semis – it would not be played at Blundstone Arena. There will also be hosting rights up for grabs for the two semi-finals on November 24 and 25.In total, 47 matches will be fully broadcast on television – a further increase in last season’s 36 – will all the games again being streamed.The competition is set to follow the ‘festival weekend’ model used in 2019-2020 when a group of matches are played at a particular venue. It means that while every team faces each other twice it is not a full home-and-away schedule and some games are at neutral venues.The WBBL has traditionally focused itself around the smaller, boutique venues in the various states and in previous seasons has taken the game to regional venues such as Mackay, Cairns, Burnie and Ballarat.Brisbane Heat will take WBBL matches to Metricon Stadium for the first time (it has previously hosted BBL) and also return to Mackay with Allan Border Field being redeveloped.The Sydney Thunder are the defending champions after they defeated Melbourne Stars at North Sydney Oval in what was the first night-time decider in the competition’s history. The Thunder’s opening game will be against Adelaide Strikers on October 16. The tournament became a standalone event for the first time in 2019-2020 having previously been run alongside the BBL.There is an expectation that a number of India players will be among the overseas names involved this year with ESPNcricinfo having previously reported Shafali Verma is heading to Sydney Sixers who have made room on their list by not re-signing Marizanne Kapp (who has joined Perth Scorchers) and Dane van Niekerk.Overseas players will again be required to undertake two weeks quarantine due to Australia’s closed borders although the Indians will already have served that period ahead of their international commitments. England’s internationals are unlikely to be available this season due to the tour of Pakistan in October, but South Africa, New Zealand and West Indies currently have clear schedules.For the Australian players the WBBL is part of a busy summer with the multi-format Ashes taking place from late January followed by the delayed ODI World Cup in New Zealand during March while domestically their will also be the Women’s National Cricket League.The story was updated upon confirmation of the fixtures

Playing for the first time since the pandemic, the side will look to tune up for the 50-over World Cup qualifiers this December

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Aug-2021Thailand will get some much-needed match-time, ahead of the 50-overs World Cup qualifiers later in the year, when they tour Zimbabwe and South Africa for a spread of limited-overs games starting August 15.The Zimbabwe leg consists of four one-dayers and three T20Is against the national team, all in Harare, before they proceed to South Africa to play five one-dayers and three T20s against the Emerging XI in Potchefstroom.Thailand will have a first-time captain in Naruemol Chaiwai. The top-order batter takes over from Sornnarin Tippoch, who led Thailand to their maiden T20 World Cup in Australia in February-March 2020. Thailand is one of only two teams from that competition that hasn’t had international games since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.Nannapat Khoncharoenkrai, the wicketkeeper, will be Chaiwai’s deputy, replacing senior batter Nattaya Boochatham. As such, there are only two changes from the squad that featured in Australia 17 months ago: medium-pacer Aphisara Suwanchonrathi and offspinner Sunida Chaturongrattana replace wicketkeeper Suwanan Khiaoto and left-arm spinner Soraya Lateh.”It’s going to be our first tour to Africa and also our first after the World Cup, so it’s going to be interesting to see how we fare in a new continent and adapt to foreign conditions,” said Shan Kader, Thailand’s cricket development manager. “Everyone in the squad is quite excited and looks really good in training so let’s see how it translates on this tour.”The global qualifier will identify three teams that will join the top seven for next year’s 50-over World Cup in New Zealand. The qualifier was originally scheduled to be hosted by Sri Lanka in July 2020, but has now been pushed back to November-December 2021, with Zimbabwe, one of the participants, slated to host the event.Squad: Naruemol Chaiwai (captain), Nannapat Khoncharoenkrai (vice-captain), Nattaya Boochatham, Ratanaporn Padunglerd, Chanida Sutthiruang, Natthakan Chantham, Suleeporn Laomi, Sornnarin Tippoch, Rosenanee Kanoh, Wongpaka Liengprasert, Phannita Maya, Onnicha Kampchomphu, Thipatcha Putthawong, Aphisara Suwanchonrathi, Sunida Chaturongrattana

England could be without Broad and Anderson; Moeen set for his first Test of the summer

Valkerie Baynes11-Aug-202110:06

VVS Laxman: India should play Ashwin to add variety and strength

Big picture

England could, conceivably, have taken the nine wickets they needed to seal an unlikely victory had the weather not intervened most critically on the final day at Trent Bridge. India should have overhauled the remaining 157 runs they needed in that time to claim a deserved 1-0 lead in the series, despite requiring a record successful run-chase. And England would have, without doubt, been in a far better position had someone other than Joe Root done something with the bat. For all the beautiful scenarios that cricket – or sport for that matter – tends to throw up, here we are again with the series on a level footing after the drawn opener, but with both sides in possession of greater knowledge than they had a week ago, not to mention a few selection conundrums.England had rammed home what was more than an inkling during their series defeat to New Zealand that their batting line-up is out of touch, and in the absence of Ben Stokes, far too reliant on one man, Root. But England also learned that they can fight even after being considerably underdone after a lack of red-ball games. Just how sustainable that is as a strategy rather than as a fall-back in a crisis will be found out soon enough if their batters continue to fail.First-innings dismissals to excellent deliveries for Rory Burns and Jonny Bairstow aside, England’s batting left so much to be desired. No one besides Root even threatened the high-30s and Dom Sibley’s blockades of 18 off 70 and 28 off 133 bolstered his indomitable captain without providing any spark. Wholesale changes loom, some forced by injury, others by a pressing need to put runs on the board.Ollie Pope has had an extra week to recover from a quadriceps tear but may have to wait to make his return after a shake-up for the team’s balance, thanks to Stuart Broad’s calf muscle injury, a late niggle to James Anderson and the recall of an in-form Moeen Ali – England’s first sighting of spin this summer.India’s bowling attack, without R Ashwin, answered many questions; their pace attack was a highlight, led by Jasprit Bumrah’s nine wickets for the match. Ravindra Jadeja held his own with the bat, scoring fifty in the first innings while it was the middle order who struggled. Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane all failed to crack double figures but none of that senior trio is likely to make way at this stage.At Lord’s the weather is set fair, meaning what began as an enthralling contest between these sides offers a similarly gripping second chapter.Saqib Mahmood could earn a maiden Test cap at Lord’s•PA Photos/Getty Images

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)England DLDLL
India DLWWW

In the spotlight

It is 356 days since Zak Crawley’s double-century against Pakistan in Southampton. His only innings of note in the 14 he has played since has been 53, albeit in incredibly challenging batting conditions during the day-night Test against India at Ahmedabad in February. There is a sense that Crawley showed he has what it takes to make it during his knock at the Ageas Bowl nearly a year ago, and that he is a player worth persisting with for the future. However, England’s need to strengthen their batting is pressing. Dan Lawrence will make way as Jos Buttler moves up to No.6 to accommodate Ali, most likely at No. 7, but Crawley isn’t safe either. Haseeb Hameed has impressed in the nets, not to mention with his hundred against the Indians in a warm-up for this series, which hasn’t gone unnoticed given the current line-up’s struggles to support Root. Should Hameed make his first Test appearance since touring India in 2016-17, it could be at the expense of Crawley or Sibley. Crawley needs a strong showing, his time isn’t already up.Cheteshwar Pujara has gone nine Test innings without reaching fifty. His score of just 4 first-up in Nottingham didn’t help, although being 12 not out in the second innings buys time in the sense of what might have been had India had the chance to pursue their target on the fifth day. With KL Rahul finding some touch as opener, having been initially included in the touring party as a middle-order option, Pujara could be on unstable ground should Rahul drop down at any point to make way for the regular openers.

Team news

Broad faces a wait to play his 150th Test after his injury, with Mark Wood set to replace him for his first Test of the summer. Saqib Mahmood, drafted into the squad as cover, could yet make a surprise debut after Anderson missed training due to his tight quad. He impressed in the white-ball series against Pakistan, and looks set to compete with Craig Overton for the final place in the XI. Ali should slot straight in for his first home Test in two years after his impressive form in the Hundred and is likely to bat at No. 7 with England retaining Sam Curran at No. 8 in a four-man pace attack.England (possible): 1 Rory Burns, 2 Dom Sibley, 3 Zak Crawley/Haseeb Hameed, 4 Joe Root (capt.), 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Sam Curran, 9 Ollie Robinson, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Craig Overton/Saqib MahmoodWith Shardul Thakur sidelined with a left hamstring injury, Ashwin looks like an automatic selection, especially in warm (by this English summer’s standards) and dry conditions. However, with some cloud cover expected, India could seek to exploit their reverse-swing options in Ishant Sharma and/or Umesh Yadav. Mohammed Siraj is expected to play, so it will likely come down to a choice between Ashwin, if India opt for two spinners, or Sharma if they want a four-pronged pace attack. Mayank Agarwal, a late withdrawal after he was concussed by a Siraj bouncer two days before the first Test, has recovered and batted in the nets this week but Rahul has snatched the opening position for the moment with 84 and 26 at Trent Bridge.India (possible): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Cheteshwar Pujuara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Rishabh Pant (wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin/Ishant Sharma, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Mohammed Siraj

Pitch and conditions

What they say about death and taxes also applies to rain playing a part in England home series, as we saw in the first Test. But the good news is the elusive summer of 2021 appears to be emerging with warmer, drier weather expected for the duration at Lord’s but with some cloud. The pitch looked set to be a typical bat-first proposition on match eve.

Stats and trivia

• For only the second time this century, England have failed to register a win in their first three matches of a home season – their first win of the 2014 home season came in their fifth game.
• Joe Root is 14 runs away from going past Graham Gooch’s 8900 Test runs and moving to second among the highest run-getters in Test cricket for England. He is also 113 runs short of reaching 9000 Test runs.
• If neither Broad nor Anderson play, this will be only England’s second home Test to feature neither bowler since 2007 (after the 2012 Test against West Indies in Birmingham)

Quotes

“They’ve got 1000 wickets between them, so it’s going to be potentially a bit of a loss, but with that comes opportunity for other people. We’ve seen previously in the summer, look at the Pakistan series, the opportunity arose for other people coming in to rise to those challenges”
“The good thing is Jadeja has got runs in the first game already, so he will go into the second game confident. That already makes our batting a bit deeper, the lower order contributed with the bat as well”