All posts by n8rngtd.top

Allrounder becomes first Hampshire player since 1901 to score a century and take 10 wickets in a match

ECB Reporters Network27-Jun-2023Liam Dawson completed the greatest LV= Insurance County Championship performance of his career by becoming only the fourth Hampshire player to score a century and take 10 wickets in a match
.
Dawson had scored 141 in Hampshire’s only innings before taking six for 40 and six for 90 in an extraordinary outing, as the hosts thrashed Middlesex by an innings and 61 runs inside three days.His career-best match figures of 12 for 130 enters him into an exclusive Hampshire club of 19th-century players Arthur Ridley and Francis Lacey, and Charlie Llewellyn in 1901. Worcestershire’s Jack Shantry was the last to achieve the feat in the Championship nine years ago.The victory, which saw Hampshire bowl Middlesex out for 150 and 208, keeps them hanging on in the title race, and further boosts Dawson’s Ashes credentials. It was Hampshire’s fourth victory of the season, as they took 21 points away, while Middlesex looked destined to drop into the relegation zone with their solitary point.Kyle Abbott rattled through the Middlesex tail to finish the first innings, with two outstanding wickets falling inside five overs. Tom Helm shouldered his arms to a delivery which swung then seamed into his off stump before Josh de Caires was the victim of more inwards movement as the ball thudded into his pads.Middlesex, bowled out 269 behind, were asked to follow on, and are still without a Championship centurion this year.Second time around they survived almost 13 overs before collapsing.Dawson ended the first innings with 6 for 40, his best at the Ageas Bowl, bettering the 6 for 61 he had taken against Northamptonshire in the previous Championship match at home. Having been introduced in the 12th over in the first innings, James Vince threw him the ball in the 11th this time around before striking in his second to start a 21-ball avalanche of wickets.Dawson bookended the spell with Sam Robson edging to second slip and Mark Stoneman popping a reverse sweep off his glove to first slip.In between, Keith Barker had Pieter Malan failing to go through with a shot and toeing to mid-off and Max Holden brashly advancing and edging to first slip. There had also been time for Stoneman to be dropped at short leg as the visitors sagged from 40 without loss to 51 for 4.Ryan Higgins was proactive in dragging his side out of their malaise with regular advances at the spin bowlers and reverse sweeps on his way to eight boundaries. He reached a 59-ball fifty in a 78-run stand with John Simpson but fell for 54 when he reversed Dawson to first slip.Dawson brought up his 10th wicket in the match when Luke Hollman was well caught at wide mid-off by Mohammad Abbas. It was only the second 10-wicket haul of Dawson’s career, after his 10 for 139 against Essex last season. His 20 wickets this season have come at 17.75, half his career average.Simpson and de Caires had frustrated Hampshire for just over an hour either side of tea but the unlikely legspin of Nick Gubbins produced a delivery Shane Warne would have been proud of to castle de Caires – giving Gubbins a maiden Championship wicket.After Simpson fell for 49 when he strangled Fuller behind, that man Dawson rounded things off when Roland-Jones was struck on the pads and Helm was stumped. The six-for was his third in a row at the Ageas Bowl, having never previously taken more than five wickets in an innings on his home ground.

Middlesex remain in command after first-innings rout but weather holds up progress

ECB Reporters Network 26-Jul-2023Middlesex’s first-day charge towards victory over Warwickshire was slowed first by stubborn batting and then by bad weather on the second day of their LV=Insurance County Championship match at Edgbaston.After chaos came calm as the frenetic opening day of 312 runs for 23 wickets was followed by a soporific second which delivered 136 for three from 56.3 overs before rain wiped out the last session.Warwickshire, having been bowled out for 60 on the first morning, closed the second day on 189 for four in their second innings, leading by 50, after Sam Hain (66 not out, 174 balls) and Dan Mousley (58, 151) dug in to add 110 in 45 overs.Middlesex remain very strongly placed but the home side have clawed their way back into the game. If Warwickshire can bat deep and set a target of around 250 they will scent a remarkable victory, though the absence of injured leading wicket-taker Chris Rushworth (42 wickets at 18.26 this season) means the pendulum is still massively in Middlesex’s favour.After Warwickshire resumed on 53 for two, 86 behind, it was immediately clear that the pitch is no minefield. Their implosion for 60 first time round was due partly to good bowling in helpful conditions but also to careless batting.There was nothing careless about Hain’s work as he knuckled down diligently much as he did as an 18-year-old debutant against Middlesex at Edgbaston in 2014 when he scored 42 in 137 minutes.Nine years on, he lost only one partner in the morning session when Rob Yates (30, 62 balls) edged a lovely away-cutter from Ethan Bamber to wicketkeeper John Simpson. That was the 872nd victim of Simpson’s excellent career but he was kept waiting for number 873 as Hain and Mousley displayed the discipline that Warwickshire’s batters had lacked the previous day.Defending resolutely and leaving astutely, they reached their half-centuries (Hain 131 balls, Mousley 122) in successive overs and it was a surprise when they were parted. Mousley pulled a short ball from Tom Helm straight into the hands of Ryan Higgins at deep mid-wicket and thumped his bat hard into his pad in frustration as he headed towards the pavilion instead of towards the maiden century that beckoned.Jake Bethell joined the implacable Hain for seven overs until bad light intervened and then rained arrived to end play with 39.3 overs unbowled, nine seagulls on the covers and Simpson still thirsting for his 873rd victim which will put him just 350 behind Middlesex’s all-time record snaffler John Murray (1,223).

Allrounder happy to have spent time in middle in Cardiff as he aims to cement World Cup spot

Matt Roller09-Sep-2023Liam Livingstone is a man for a good time, not a long time. His 52 off 40 balls in an eight-wicket defeat to New Zealand on Friday was the second-longest innings of his 47-match England career, three balls behind the whirlwind 103 against Pakistan that marked his international breakthrough two years ago.It was a timely re-statement of his credentials in 50-over cricket after a quiet summer, with England due to finalise their World Cup squad in the next couple of weeks. Before his innings in Cardiff, Livingstone had not scored a half-century in any form of the game since the IPL in May and said that spending some time in the middle had done him “the world of good”.”This is my role: I’m somebody that comes in towards the end of the innings,” Livingstone said, having walked out at No. 6 in the 38th over. “I’m not going to be someone who bats at No. 3 for England in ODI cricket.”Livingstone rushed back from an ankle injury last year in order to feature in England’s T20 World Cup win in Australia and the issue flared up again earlier this year, delaying his arrival at the IPL. He also suffered a knee injury on Test debut in Pakistan in December, and said that he had been playing while “half-cooked” in the T20 Blast.Related

• Conway, Mitchell centuries power New Zealand to crushing eight-wicket win

• Andrew Flintoff makes first appearance since Top Gear crash after joining England back-room staff

• Injured Milne ruled out of England series; New Zealand call up Lister

“It’s not always ideal to play when you’re injured and get yourself out of form,” he said. “That sort of stuck with me through the Hundred and the T20s [against New Zealand] so I’ve been crying out for a bit of time in the middle. I had a bit more time in the middle today and, as it went on, I felt like I was moving better, I was seeing the ball better.”He briefly held his back while bowling and could be rested in Sunday’s second ODI at the Ageas Bowl – though is not thought to be a serious fitness doubt for the rest of the series.”I’ve not played 50-over cricket for 18 [14] months,” he said. “I’ve had two pretty big injuries… I feel like I’m finally getting back to my best. Hopefully these games will help me get closer to that. Fifty-over cricket is a different animal [to T20] on your body.”When he enjoyed his golden 2021 summer, which included that T20 century against Pakistan, a dominant run of form in the Hundred and a straight six off Haris Rauf that cleared the football stand at Headingley, Livingstone exuded a self-assured confidence that he has found difficult to recapture in the last two years.But there were glimpses of it on Friday, not least when he hit Kyle Jamieson for three consecutive sixes, two over the leg side and one back over his head, towards the River Taff. Livingstone has been playing golf with Jos Buttler of late, the pair styling themselves as Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka respectively; they translated their power-hitting into a partnership worth 77 off 59 balls.”Sometimes, without the volume in the middle, it can be pretty difficult to just walk in and smack the ball out of the park without a lot of confidence in the middle behind you,” Livingstone said.”I really pride myself on being someone that can change a game; the more I can do it like I did today, over an extended period, the bigger asset I’ll be to this one-day team… I know that when I’m at my best, I can be a massive asset to this team.”But it is Livingstone’s bowling that makes him “a key part” of England’s set-up heading into the World Cup, according to Eoin Morgan. Speaking on Sky Sports, Morgan said: “It’s his all-round ability: in the field, he’s unbelievably good, but also his ability to bowl wristspin and fingerspin makes him almost a dead-cert to play every game.”His versatlity ensures that England will retain their balance even with Ben Stokes playing as a specialist batter, with a frontline bowling option in their top six on top of Joe Root’s offbreaks.Livingstone conceded 47 in 7.4 wicketless overs on Friday, with his figures dented by a late flurry from Daryl Mitchell. He said he is still in “a development phase” having made a minor technical tweak in his action – “trying to hold my front side as long as I can” – while working with Jeetan Patel at Birmingham Phoenix in the Hundred.”I work on my bowling to become a genuine allrounder,” he said. “It doesn’t come as naturally to me as batting, but it was nice that the first few overs came out really well. [I’m trying to] be more of a threat rather than just someone who bowls really quick. I only made the change about three weeks ago.”It’s a technical thing I’ve been working on to try and get a bit more shape on the ball, to ultimately try and get more wickets and become a bigger threat. I was just fed up of being someone who bowls flat into the pitch and gets milked… I’m just trying to evolve as a bowler, which will ultimately make me a better cricketer.”

Sam Conners, Zak Chappell share eight wickets to skittle visitors for 100

ECB Reporters Network21-Sep-2023Brooke Guest had a day to remember as Derbyshire ran through Sussex in the LV=Insurance Division Two County Championship match at Derby.After the first two days were washed out by rain, Guest marked his 100th appearance for the county as a wicketkeeper by taking seven catches to equal the record number of dismissals in an innings for Derbyshire. Sam Conners and Zak Chappell both took four wickets to skittle Sussex for 100 and in reply, Derbyshire closed on 94 for 1 with Luis Reece unbeaten on 50.Only three players made double figures in a flimsy Sussex batting display after Derbyshire took full advantage of winning the toss.After several days under the covers, the pitch offered some assistance although it was an undistinguished performance by Sussex whose promotion hopes were slim at best even before this collapse.The tone was set in the fifth over by Ali Orr who aimed a big drive at Chappell without moving his feet and gave Guest his first victim.Tom Alsop, leading the side in place of the suspended Cheteshwar Pujara, was also guilty of a loose drive at Conners three overs later and when James Coles threw his bat at a wide ball from Anuj Dal, Sussex were 40 for 3.Tom Clark pulled a short ball from Pat Brown for six but when Dal found some late movement to have him caught behind, the innings went into freefall.Dan Ibrahim was drawn into playing at a ball that left him to give Guest his fifth catch, the first time a Derbyshire wicketkeeper had achieved the feat before lunch since Bernie Maher on Royal Wedding Day in July 1981.Oli Carter was cleaned up playing back to a full-length ball from Conners and after Chappell struck twice in successive overs, Sussex went into lunch on 77 for 8.Only three overs were bowled after the interval before heavy rain delayed the game until 4.30pm but the second ball after the restart, Wayne Madsen damaged a finger trying to take a catch at second slip and left the field in obvious distress.Former Derbyshire allrounder Fynn Hudson-Prentice took Sussex to three figures before Jaydev Unadkat pulled Conners to midwicket, and the innings ended in the next over. Hudson-Prentice skied a pull at Chappell to give Guest his seventh catch, which equalled the record set by former England great Bob Taylor in 1966 who then matched it in 1975 before Harvey Hosein achieved the feat in 2014.It was the first time this season a wicketkeeper has completed seven dismissals in an innings in first-class cricket and his assured glovework consigned Sussex to the lowest total by a visiting team at Derby for 25 years.The Sussex bowlers failed to match the consistent lines of Derbyshire’s attack which allowed Reece and Harry Came to add 65 in 18 overs before Came miscued a pull at Sean Hunt to midwicket.That brought Guest back out to the middle and at stumps he had helped Reece take Derbyshire to within six runs of Sussex’s meagre total.

Travis Head is close to a return which will lead to a reshuffled top order for Australia, while New Zealand are likely to be unchanged

Tristan Lavalette27-Oct-20232:21

What has made Zampa effective?

Big picture: Semi-final almost a lock for Trans-Tasman winner

Attention in New Zealand might currently be focused on another World Cup, with their beloved All Blacks on the cusp of regaining the Webb Ellis Cup.But the cricketers have started this tournament particularly strongly with only another Virat Kohli chasing masterclass denting their unbeaten campaign.Despite that, New Zealand can almost lock in a semi-final berth – defying predictions of many pundits – with a victory over Australia in another intriguing Trans-Tasman contest. But it won’t be easy with a rejuvenated Australia finally looking like the serious title contender expected of them after a shaky start to the tournament.Related

• Tea for two with Tim and Trent

• 'I'm very aware of them' – Maxwell knew he had the fastest World Cup hundred

Australia have progressively got better since turning things around against Sri Lanka culminating in their record thrashing over an out-classed Netherlands. But those early defeats to South Africa and India mean Australia still have to be careful of slippage with much at stake for this day fixture at Dharamsala, the picturesque ground they’ve never played an ODI at before.Australia’s batting has started to click with opener David Warner back to his imposing best at the top of the order and their middle-order struggles were alleviated at least temporarily when Glenn Maxwell went wild against Netherlands.But Australia may reshuffle their line-up by shoehorning returning opener Travis Head. It could be risky against New Zealand’s strong bowling attack with conditions in Dharamshala usually helpful for swing bowling making Trent Boult and Matt Henry particularly dangerous.Australia, of course, have a formidable pace attack of their own but encouragingly for them has been the improved form of frontline spinner Adam Zampa, whose early woes mirrored the team’s struggles.Australia’s bowlers will face a litmus test against New Zealand with Daryl Mitchell, Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra among the standout batters in the tournament.This match looms as a gauge of where both teams stand among the title race with some scepticism still surrounding them. While top four spots for Australia and New Zealand are entirely possible regardless of the result, there does seem to be a lot riding on this Trans-Tasman clash in a rivalry that usually delivers.

Form guide

Australia WWWLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)

New Zealand LWWWWGlenn Maxwell will be a huge threat in the middle order•Associated Press

In the spotlight: Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Santner

Glenn Maxwell played one of the most extraordinary knocks in World Cup history with his blistering century against Netherlands. He broke a slew of records in a reminder of his devastating power hitting at the death. Maxwell has also been effectively Australia’s second spinner and performed credibly so far although faces a major test against New Zealand’s in-form batters.Spinner Mitchell Santner has been a standout bowler in this tournament with 12 wickets at an economy of 4.25 and an average of 16.92. He has a good record against Australia, taking 17 wickets in 13 ODIs. His average of 26.41 and economy of 4.56 against them are better than his overall career marks. Santner will again be crucial in the middle overs and be relied upon to curb Australia’s big-hitting middle-order.

Team news: Head and Stoinis could return, New Zealand unchanged

Travis Head has had a few more days to recover from his hand injury and will be pushing for a return which would force a reshuffle of the top-order. He is set to open when he does come back – a position he had relished for some time before his injury – and replace Mitchell Marsh, who will shift down to number three. That forces Steven Smith, who has occupied No. 3 for the best part of a decade, to No. 4 with Marnus Labuschagne set to be omitted. Allrounder Marcus Stoinis might return after missing the match against Netherlands due to a calf niggle.Australia (probable): 1 David Warner, 2 Travis Head, 3 Mitchell Marsh, 4 Steve Smith, 5 Josh Inglis (wk), 6 Glenn Maxwell, 7 Marcus Stoinis/Cameron Green, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh HazlewoodDaryl Mitchell has been a mainstay for New Zealand•Getty Images

With Kane Williamson still working his way back from injury, New Zealand will likely go unchanged which means veteran seamer Tim Southee is set to again miss out having recently recovered from a thumb injury.New Zealand (probable): 1 Devon Conway, 2 Will Young, 3 Rachin Ravindra, 4 Tom Latham (capt & wk), 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 Mark Chapman, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Trent Boult

Pitch and conditions

Dharamsala has so far offered the fast bowlers the most amount of swing in the first 10 overs of each innings. In each of the four previous World Cup matches at the ground, the team winning the toss has elected to bowl. Sunny conditions are expected on Saturday with a maximum temperature of 21 degrees Celsius forecast in what should be pleasant conditions for the day fixture.

Stats and trivia

• New Zealand have lost their last five ODIs against Australia and have never beaten them in India from eight ODIs.
• Australia have won eight of 11 matches between the teams in men’s ODI World Cup history
• Adam Zampa is two away from surpassing Brad Hogg’s tally of 156 wickets and entering Australia’s top 10 ODI wicket-takers.
• Tom Latham is 77 away from 4000 ODI runs

Quotes

“I’ll do whatever the team wants. I’ve got a pretty good record at three, so I was a bit shocked in a way, but I’ll do what I need to for the team.”

“If we had won one or two more matches, we would have been in a nice position”

Mohammad Isam06-Nov-20232:24

Harmison: ‘When you have a go at Shakib it brings the best out of him’

Bangladesh teamed up on one rare occasion in this World Cup, against Sri Lanka on Monday in Delhi. They kept Sri Lanka down to 279. They chased down the target in 41.1 overs. They did enough to jump up two places on the points table, and got the net run-rate boost that they were looking for.It all added up to the overall sense of regret about Bangladesh’s World Cup campaign.Shakib Al Hasan, adjudged Player of the Match for his 2 for 57 and 65-ball 82, in a 169-run third-wicket stand with Najmul Hossain Shanto, who scored 90, expressed disappointment at not achieving what Bangladesh had set out to achieve at the World Cup. Though they are well-placed now to qualify directly for the 2025 Champions Trophy.Related

• Mathews on timed-out dismissal: 'Never seen a team or a player stoop so low'

• Shakib on Mathews dismissal: 'Felt like I was at war, did what I had to for my team to win'

“If we had done that [played like this] in earlier matches, that would have been better,” Shakib said after the match against Sri Lanka. “If we had won one or two more matches, we would have been in a nice position. We had a lot of expectations. I thought we let ourselves down. I thought the target we set within the team, what we thought we are capable of doing, we couldn’t do it. So that’s the disappointment we all have.”The Shakib and Shanto stand, Bangladesh’s highest for any wicket against Sri Lanka – after they were 41 for 2 in the seventh over – won the match for Bangladesh.”It was a very important partnership,” Shakib said. “We talk about it constantly in the dressing room – we always need these partnerships to win games, especially in the top order. Otherwise, we are always repairing damage in the lower order. Today’s partnership won us the game.”Bangladesh have lost early wickets in most of their World Cup matches. For a change, Shanto and Shakib started carefully before changing gears. Shakib said that they knew the dew in Delhi would also help, so they needed to stick around for long enough.”When we lost two wickets, we had to rebuild. We know the wicket is good. We had to bat deep, make a partnership and that will ease a lot of pressure,” he said. “That’s exactly what we did and when we had an opportunity, we capitalised, we counter-attacked, put a lot of pressure back on them because it wasn’t an easy pitch to bat on. But the dew was helping us a lot.2:00

Shakib: ‘In a battle, I’ll do whatever is needed to win’

“We knew that that ball was coming on to the bat, we had to just bat deep. When we were in the 17th-18th over, we were just saying that if we bat to the 30th over, we can take the game close to the finishing line. If one of us stays, we can finish it early.”Shakib said that Bangladesh’s plan was to win soon enough to boost their net run-rate – not for the World Cup, but for the Champions Trophy. Shakib, in fact, was the first to point out that Champions Trophy qualification was linked to the World Cup standings, so they worked towards that.”When we lost a couple of quick wickets, myself and Shanto were still looking to chase it in 41.2 overs or something that would put us ahead of, I think, a couple of the teams,” Shakib said. “That’s what we were looking to do. Trying to do that cost us some wickets. But, in the end, we are very happy with the way we played.”The match will be remembered for Angelo Mathews becoming the first to be dismissed timed out in international cricket. Mathews has called Shakib’s conduct “obviously disgraceful”, and much of the reaction so far has been against Bangladesh. But the Bangladesh team will be happy to have done at least something right despite their World Cup campaign going nowhere.

The left-arm seamer took Thunder’s first five-wicket haul but they failed to chase down 173

AAP27-Dec-2023
Brisbane Heat defied a horror collapse and a historic Daniel Sams spell to beat the Sydney Thunder by 15 runs and stay unbeaten in the Big Bash League.The hosts were flying on Wednesday at the Gabba on the back of Nathan McSweeney’s (73 off 52) delightful innings, before they lost 7 for 16 to be all out for 172. Sams took four wickets in his final over and finished with a career-best 5 for 30 to claim Thunder’s first five-wicket haul.Cameron Bancroft (46 off 39) was engineering the Thunder’s chase nicely but came undone in a decisive 14th over.Calling for the power surge at 97 for 2, the opener was immediately dismissed as Xavier Bartlett (3-29) went for just three runs off the bat and a leg bye.Ollie Davies, who would have been out second ball if Mitchell Swepson had reviewed an lbw shout, then threatened to play the decisive hand.But Matthew Kuhnemann (2 for 25) outfoxed his man, sprinting for a sharp caught-and-bowled, and Sams was out in the next over. A direct hit from Michael Neser then caught Nathan McAndrew just short to kill off any hope of a successful chase, the Thunder finishing the innings on 157 for 9.Victory put the Heat clear on top of the ladder with four wins and a washed-out no result ahead of Perth, while the Thunder slipped to 1-3.
Earlier the Heat were on track for an imposing total, McSweeney and Josh Brown (39 off 29) putting on 106 after Colin Munro was caught at deep square leg for a golden duck.Big-hitter Brown unusually took the back seat as McSweeney powered the innings with pure stroke-making and clever placement. Cameos from Matt Renshaw and Sam Billings moved them to 156 for 3 before the rot set in, Sams’ changes of pace making the Heat’s lower order look foolish.He had McSweeney caught at cover before Bartlett, Spencer Johnson and Mitchell Swepson were undone by slower balls. The allrounder was unlucky not to jag a hat-trick with Swepson’s mistimed slog falling just short of the bowler’s feet.Thunder fell into the same trap though, Brisbane’s spinners triggering a 29-ball period without a boundary before the wickets tumbled.

The Delhi cricket association said the decision was taken to help Dhull focus on his batting

PTI08-Jan-2024Delhi have removed Yash Dhull as their captain, the update coming not long after they suffered a heavy – and shock – defeat to Puducherry in their opening Ranji Trophy 2023-24 match at home at the Feroz Shah Kotla.Himmat Singh will now lead the side that takes on Jammu and Kashmir in an away game from January 12.”Yash is a talented player but is out of form. We wanted him to do well as a batter, that is why we have relieved him of captaincy duties. Himmat is our senior player and has done very well for us. He will captain the side,” Delhi and District Cricket Association joint secretary Rajan Manchanda told after Puducherry bowled Delhi out for 148 and 145 on their way to a nine-wicket win. Dhull scored 2 and 23 in the match.Related

• Ranji round three: Mumbai continue to march on; issues intensify for Delhi

• Ranji round one: Pujara, Padikkal, Dube sparkle; Puducherry stun Delhi

• A 12-year-old makes his first-class debut as two Bihar squads are named for Ranji game in crumbling stadium

• Everything you need to know about Ranji Trophy 2023-24

• Padikkal looks to bounce back by 'staying stable'

Dhull, captain of India’s Under-19 World Cup-winning team in 2022, was made the state team captain in December 2022 and scored a century on captaincy debut. Since making his first-class debut in February 2022, Dhull has made 1185 runs at an average of 43.88 in 17 matches. But he averaged just 27 in the last Ranji Trophy season.Himmat, six years older than Dhull at 27, had led Delhi to a win over Mumbai in Dhull’s absence last season. In 22 first-class games, Himmat has scored 1174 runs at an average of 39.13, and averaged 45.25 last season.Navdeep Saini, who was named in the India A squad to face the visiting England Lions, and Ishant Sharma, both senior Delhi quicks, won’t be travelling with the team to Jammu for their next fixture. It has been learnt that veteran pacer Ishant will only be available for Delhi’s home games.Delhi, who have won the Ranji Trophy seven times, last lifted the trophy back in 2007-08.

The allrounder has produced an impressive WPL campaign for Delhi Capitals after losing her Australia spot

Andrew McGlashan14-Mar-2024Leaving Jess Jonassen out of Australia’s squad to tour Bangladesh was the toughest selection call head coach Shelley Nitschke had been a part of, but the allrounder’s subsequent success at the WPL has been exactly the type of response she expected.Jonassen’s omission for the upcoming tour was the first time she had been left out of a squad when fit since her debut in 2012. It came at the end of a season where she lost her place across formats and puts her in doubt for the T20 World Cup in October which will be staged in Bangladesh.Related

• WPL final: Of hope, inspiration and the prospect of a new champion

• Mature Mandhana rides the WPL storm in two contrasting seasons

• 'Want to play the 2024 T20 World Cup' – Vlaeminck ready to relaunch injury-hit career

• Jonassen omitted for Bangladesh tour, Vlaeminck recalled

However, since then Jonassen has claimed 11 wickets for Delhi Capitals to be joint-leading wicket-taker in the competition and help them into the final. She was Player of the Match in her second outing against Gujarat Giants where her 3 for 22 was made up of Australia team-mates Beth Mooney, Phoebe Litchfield and Ash Gardner. The following match against Mumbai Indians she removed Hayley Matthews whose record-breaking onslaught at North Sydney Oval in early October was the last T20I Jonassen featured in.”It was a tough decision and she was very disappointed. To see how she’s responded in the WPL, to me it’s no surprise she’s done that,” Nitschke told ESPNcricinfo. “She’s a real fighter. Certainly not surprised with how she’s going about that and making a statement which is exactly what we like to see.”It’s really tough to leave out a player like JJ who has been around for a long time. She has been a great servant for us. But she’s certainly not out of the mix. She’s showing exactly what she is capable of over in the WPL which has been fantastic to watch.”Stating her case: Jess Jonassen is trying to force her way back into Australia’s plans•BCCI

Australia’s spin options for the Bangladesh tour are Gardner, Georgia Wareham, Alana King and Sophie Molineux. King has not featured in T20Is since the last World Cup in South Africa so there may be one spin-bowling spot up for grabs depending on the balance of the final 15 later this year.”We’ve got a few things to look at and make decisions on, there’s a little bit of time to go between now and then,” Nitschke said.The Bangladesh tour, Australia’s first bilateral series against them, offers a valuable pre-World Cup scouting mission of conditions in Mirpur particularly when it comes to the three T20Is. Nitschke said there is a chance the team will try a few different combinations in those matches to ensure they have covered as many bases as possible.”We want to win every game we play,” Nitschke said, “but there’s an element that we are coming back to Bangladesh in six months for a World Cup so we need to get as much information from the conditions and about our team as well and how we play those conditions so when we get back over there for the World Cup we are really clear on what it looks like for us.”We probably need to use that opportunity to find a few things out. There could be some things we look at that aren’t Plan A. We aren’t going to turn the order upside down but feel like there could be a few things in there where we need to provide opportunities.”Australia have not played Bangladesh outside of world events•ICC/Getty Images

However, they won’t be taking Bangladesh lightly. At the 2022 ODI World Cup, Australia were 41 for 4 chasing 136 with Salma Khatun threatening a huge upset before Mooney got them over the line. This year Bangladesh have beaten India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and South Africa to mark themselves down as a rapidly developing team.”We are going in knowing they’ll be a real good challenge,” Nitschke said. “We certainly know they are going to present some different sorts of challenges for us in conditions they are familiar with. We’ll have to adapt to the wickets and the way they play.”The tour caps a busy season for Australia who faced West Indies and South Africa at home with a visit to India in the middle. Several players have also gone to the WPL and will travel straight to Bangladesh.”It’s the end of what’s been a long season. That will be our challenge, and at some point, people will have to dig a little bit deeper,” Nitschke said. “They’ll have to help out their mates as well. If we can do that it puts us in really good stead for the future, to find something else when you feel like you are on empty.”Australia fly out to Bangladesh on Saturday with the ODIs taking place on March 21, 24 and 27 followed by the T20Is on March 31, April 2 and April 4.

Bangladesh captain Shanto has also asked Tamim to reconsider his decision to retire from T20Is

Mohammad Isam16-Apr-2024Najmul Hossain Shanto, the Bangladesh captain, has become the first major voice in months to ask for Tamim Iqbal’s presence in the national set-up, saying “if he is fit, I want him available for all formats”.Shanto and Tamim, whose appearances for Bangladesh have been sporadic of late, spoke after the Dhaka Premier League match between Abahani Limited and Prime Bank Cricket Club at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka on Monday. They had initially sat down to talk in the viewing area in one of the dressing rooms, but seeing too many cameras hovering around, they stepped out of view.”I had a nice, long [chat] with Tamim . We generally spoke about cricket. I asked about his well-being. We spoke about how we think about captaincy,” Shanto said on Tuesday after refusing to open up on Monday. “He has asked for a bit of time. He will think it over. We are in the middle of the Dhaka Premier League, so once the tournament is over, there will be more clarity. I can’t really tell you exactly what’s going on, since it is now a matter of biding our time.”Related

• Tamim opts out of BCB central contract list; Shanto and Shoriful get all-format deals

• Tamim Iqbal to 'wait till January' before deciding on his international future

• How Bangladesh became a shadow of themselves at the World Cup

Shanto was emphatic when he spoke of wanting Tamim in his team, even suggesting that Tamim unretire from T20Is, which he did in 2022.”[Tamim] retired from T20Is but if he is fit, I want him available for all formats,” Shanto said. “I think everyone in this country wants that. This is what I want but before everything, we have to see what he wants. Then the rest of the process. I spoke to him about what I want as a captain.”Tamim’s international future has been unclear since he fell out with the BCB ahead of the 2023 ODI World Cup. He had initially retired from international cricket on July 6 last year, but reversed the decision the following day after intervention from the country’s prime minister. He resigned from the ODI captaincy in August. He briefly returned to the Bangladesh team in September, but then had a scrap with a senior BCB official, following which Shakib Al Hasan questioned his commitment to Bangladesh cricket during an interview.Since then, Tamim has led Fortune Barishal to their first BPL title as he returned to competitive cricket. Two BCB directors have spoken to him, but there is no final word on the matter.Tamim’s thoughts on the matter weren’t immediately known. But he will have time till the end of the T20 World Cup to think about his future. His fitness, of course, will be a point of discussion.

Shanto: ‘We don’t have any T20 specialists’

The big one next up is the T20 World Cup, in the Caribbean and the USA, and Shanto has urged Bangladesh’s fans and media not to have too many expectations of the team. He said the upcoming five-match T20I series at home against Zimbabwe will help them figure out their plans going into the tournament.”The team is doing well, having won many of the recent T20I series. We definitely want to play on better wickets, especially those that were used in the T20I series against Sri Lanka,” Shanto said. “We will obviously try to replicate the wickets we will get in America. Although I don’t think it will be easy. We definitely want to finish well at home, so this series [against Zimbabwe] is very important.”We don’t have any T20 specialists so we play as a team. When we do that, we usually win. Overall, our pace-bowling unit has improved a lot. We have strength in spin and batting too. We win when everyone contributes.”