All posts by csb10.top

Led by their spinners and a vital pair of inroads from Shivam Dube, India impressively defended what had initially seemed a slightly light total to take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the T20I series on a Gold Coast surface that both sides agreed had shades of the subcontinent about it.From 121 for 2 after 14 overs, India were only able to post 167 largely due to the key breakthroughs provided by Adam Zampa, back in the side after the birth of his second child, and late-overs brilliance of Nathan Ellis.But Australia shed wickets at regular intervals in the first stage of their chase before collapsing in a heap to lose 7 for 28. Axar Patel conceded just 20 off his four overs, including 12 dot balls, while Dube claimed the key wicket of Tim David. Varun Chakravarthy’s final delivery of the evening all but sealed the contest when Glenn Maxwell, returning from his broken wrist, completely failed to pick a googly.The result left a large proportion of the 20,470 crowd delighted and meant that the best Australia could hope for is a share of the series in the final game at the Gabba on Saturday.Shivam Dube took over with his seemingly magical wicket-taking ability•Cricket Australia/Getty Images

Axar ties up Australia

Axar only had a limited role with the ball in the first three matches of the series; India didn’t bowl in Canberra, he wasn’t used at the MCG, then he returned 0 for 35 in Hobart. Here, however, he came to the fore, as his darting left-arm spin proved very difficult to combat.Matthew Short, back in his favoured opening role but one he has conceded is probably not realistic to have at the T20 World Cup, had dominated the early stages of the chase before falling lbw sweeping at Axar when India successfully reviewed the not out decision. Axar then defeated Josh Inglis, a player who looked rusty after a period on the sidelines, when he charged down the pitch.

Dube at the double

As in the previous match, Mitchell Marsh had not had a huge amount of strike early in the chase but was starting to move through the gears. Dube dropped a slower delivery in short, it was very much in Marsh’s wheelhouse, and the pull went flat towards deep square leg where Arshdeep Singh took an excellent running catch around the boundary. However, Dube’s big moment was to come.David launched him for a huge six over long-on – it wasn’t far from striking the overhanging roof – but Dube’s revenge only took one delivery. Banging the ball in short, David was hurried into a pull and top edged into the covers.When Josh Philippe spliced to short midwicket two overs later it was another game that needed Maxwell to salvage it but having not batted in the middle since mid-September, that was always a tall order. The dominance of the visiting spinners was perhaps a little warning to Australia ahead of the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka early next year where the types of surfaces on offer could vary.Josh Inglis claims a catch off Tilak Varma•Getty Images

Zampa back with a bang

Abhishek Sharma had been dropped second ball of the match by Xavier Bartlett, a running chance at deep point where he may have been distracted by another fielder, and when Abhishek deposited Zampa’s second ball of the series straight down the ground for six India were a healthy 56 for 0 in the seventh over. However, two balls later Zampa evened the ledger when Abhishek tried to repeat the stroke against a googly and was safely held at long-on by David.Zampa was then held back until the second half of the innings and it threatened to be a rough night. In the 13th over Suryakumar took him for two sixes over deep midwicket as the India captain looked set to kick start a late surge for his team. However, Suryakumar picked out David in the deep – who held on his with fingertips – and when Zampa returned for his final over in the 17th of the innings he had an impact.Tilak Varma gloved a sweep which popped up for Inglis to gather, then three balls later Australia successfully reviewed for an lbw against Jitesh Sharma when he missed a sweep.

Ellis shines again

It is nothing unusual for Ellis to impress in this format, but this was another outstanding display of his T20 skills. The final figures of 4-0-21-3 were made even more noteworthy by the fact his first four deliveries cost 10 as Shubman Gill took him on the powerplay. That meant his 21 deliveries cost just 11, and he bowled three of the last nine overs.His first wicket ended Dube’s experimental innings at No. 3 when he played across a slightly slower delivery. Then at the start of the 15th over he finished Gill’s rather laboured stay, although which grew in value as the night wore on, with a back-of-the-hand slower ball. He closed out with the 19th over, homing in outside off with wide yorkers and changes of pace. Occasionally he got a little too wide and was called, but none of the batters could get him away. In the end, however, as the pitch continued to slow up, India still had more than enough.

Brendan Doggett says he’s been waiting on an Ashes call for a long time and believes he is ready to go if Australia’s selectors add him to the first Test squad which is likely to be announced on Wednesday.Doggett, 31, appears all but certain to be included in Australia’s first Ashes Test squad after a successful return to Sheffield Shield cricket following a minor hamstring injury, but even with Pat Cummins ruled out of the first Test, Doggett is unlikely to make his Test debut in Perth as he is set to be a reserve for Test incumbents Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland.Speaking in Adelaide on Tuesday, Doggett said he had yet to hear from the national selectors but said he was waiting by the phone having been part of Australia’s Test squad for the WTC final and the West Indies tour in the winter before being withdrawn because of a hip injury.Related

• Ashes tracker: Key questions remain around Australia's squad

• Doggett, Bancroft share limelight after Green's duck

• Ironman Doggett has Shield glory in sights after career resurgence

“Absolutely. [I’ve] been waiting for this for a long time,” Doggett said. “I feel like if I do get a call to join that squad, I’ll be ready. And then we’ll see what happens.”Doggett took 6 for 48 and 1 for 38 in his first Shield game of the season for South Australia, against Western Australia at the WACA ground in Perth last week. It was his first first-class game since May and only his second game of any form in that period. He had missed the opening two Shield rounds after suffering a minor hamstring injury while batting in South Australia’s opening One-Day Cup match of the season on September 20, and both South Australia and Cricket Australia’s medical staffs, in conjunction with the national selectors, were ultra cautious with his return given his importance to Australia’s pace-bowling depth for the upcoming Ashes series.”To get injured batting is unlike me,” Doggett said. “It was unfortunate. There’s not much I can control in that. So it was just about getting my rehab right and trying to get back as soon as I could to play for South Australia”I guess the timing is perfect to take a six-for but obviously I was just really happy to get back on the park and contribute.”Doggett has risen in the ranks to be Australia’s next fast bowler in line behind the big four, particularly on flatter Test surfaces, given his ability to swing the new ball in combination with his extra pace and height.Brendan Doggett celebrates a wicket•Getty Images

He starred in last year’s Shield final on a flat surface at Karen Rolton Oval and took 11 wickets for the match to help South Australia to their first title in 29 years. He played three County Championship matches for Durham immediately following that in April and early May and took nine wickets in his first two before a minor injury saw him withdrawn, with Australia’s selectors wanting him fit and on standby for the WTC final and the West Indies tour.”I really enjoyed my time in Durham,” Doggett said. Unfortunately, I got injured halfway through my stint. I had probably a bigger finish to our domestic season, obviously with the Shield final, I got through 50-odd overs [46.5] in that I think, so it was big finish for me to head straight over and play over there.”But I really enjoyed it. The conditions are so different, and it was just a really good learning curve for me. And the whole purpose of that was to sort of try being in and around that World Test Championship squad, which I was fortunate enough to be included in. I really enjoyed it, and I’d probably love to go back if I had the opportunity.”Doggett has long been regarded as a possible Test option having first been picked in an Australia Test squad back in 2018 after starring in the 2017-18 Shield final when he was playing for Queensland. But injuries and a move to South Australia had seen him drop down the pecking order as the likes of Jhye Richardson, Michael Neser and Boland all made their debuts in the years immediately after that. Australia have not had a new fast bowler debut in a Test match since Boland was picked for the third Ashes Test on Boxing Day in 2021.Doggett returned to the Test squad for the first time in six years for the second Test of last summer’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy series following his 6 for 15 for Australia A against India A in Mackay. That was the first of four six-wicket hauls he has taken in his last 12 first-class matches along with two other five-wicket bags. He has 57 wickets at 20.40 in that time at a staggering strike-rate of 39.5.Doggett’s rise has coincided with former Australia Ashes hero Ryan Harris taking over as South Australia coach.”Rhino has had a big impact for me, especially, probably in the last 12 months,” Doggett said. “More than anything, he sort of just given me a lot of confidence and just passed down his knowledge and the way he goes about coaching, he’s really passionate and he just wants the best for us as his players.”It’s probably just nailing my strengths. Being able to go out and feel backed and feel confident to try and swing that new ball, or bowl aggressively and try and bowl quick and just probably do whatever the team needs.”

Bangladesh have added an extra batter to their ODI side for the three-match series against West Indies starting on Saturday. Batters Soumya Sarkar and Mahidul Islam Ankon have been included, replacing Mohammad Naim, also a top-order batter, and fast bowler Nahid Rana.Naim and Rana played in the third ODI in the bilateral series against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi, which Bangladesh lost by 200 runs to concede the series 3-0. Naim edged to slip after scratching around for 23 balls, while Rana didn’t pick up a wicket, and also didn’t complete his last over, raising fears of an injury.Soumya spent a frustrating couple of weeks after missing the T20I series against Afghanistan since his UAE visa couldn’t be processed in time, which prevented him from linking up with the squad. Soumya now returns to the ODI side after last playing in the format in February this year.Wicketkeeper-batter Mahidul is uncapped in ODIs – his only international appearance was the Chattogram Test against South Africa last year. Mahidul has been in good form in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League, the country’s main List A competition, in the last two years. He averages 46.86 with the bat, with a century and ten fifties.The national selectors have continued to keep faith in the likes of Najmul Hossain Shanto, Jaker Ali and Shamim Hossain, despite their poor recent form. They have also kept the same spin attack, led by captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Rishad Hossain, and much of the fast bowlers from the Afghanistan series, headlined by Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed.After the ODI series opener on Saturday, the second and third matches will be played on October 21 and 23.

Bangladesh ODI squad for series against West Indies

Mehidy Hassan Miraz (capt), Tanzid Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Saif Hassan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, Towhid Hridoy, Mahidul Islam (wk), Jaker Ali (wk), Shamim Hossain, Nurul Hasan (wk), Rishad Hossain, Tanvir Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan, Hasan Mahmud

Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim have signed contracts with Northern Superchargers, assuaging concerns that Pakistani players would be locked out of the Hundred under new Indian owners.The ECB insisted earlier this year that the identity of new investors – four out of eight are based in India, and a further two are Indian-American – would have no effect on the involvement of Pakistani players in the Hundred. “We’re aware of that in other regions,” Richard Gould, the ECB’s chief executive, said in February, “but that won’t be happening here.”Eyebrows were raised when no men’s players were signed at March’s draft, in contrast to previous seasons. But the snub could also be explained by the unavailability of Pakistan’s white-ball squads (due to a tour of West Indies and a tri-series in the UAE), their recent struggles in T20Is, and the late pullouts of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah last year.Related

• Pakistani paranoia fuelled by Hundred snub, but reasons may be closer to home

• Gould: Hundred IPL links won't affect Pakistan player involvement

Then, on Monday, Amir and Imad became the first two Pakistan players to sign deals for the 2025 season, as late replacements at the Superchargers for Ben Dwarshuis (full season) and Mitchell Santner (two games) due to international duty. The Superchargers’ incoming owners are Indian media tycoons the Sun Group, who will assume operational control on October 1.Amir and Imad will link up with Ben Stokes in the Hundred, who revealed on Monday that he will play an informal, mentoring role at the Superchargers as he starts his rehabilitation from the shoulder injury that ruled him out of England’s fifth Test with India. Stokes opted out of the Hundred earlier this year, but will support Andrew Flintoff and Harry Brook.”You will see me knocking about the Hundred, not in a playing way,” Stokes said. “I had to make a decision in January if I would participate in the comp, but that was after my hamstring surgery. I said I’d still like to be a part of it, so I will be milling about. I won’t have a notebook and pen. I said I would come and give my time to the team. I will be cracking on with my rehab.”Most of England’s Test batters will be available throughout the Hundred, though most of their fast bowlers will be resting. London Spirit have roped in John Simpson as their wicketkeeping to face Oval Invincibles in Tuesday’s curtain-raiser, with Ollie Pope and Jamie Smith both rested, while Glamorgan allrounder Dan Douthwaite has also signed a short-term deal.Mark Chapman and Farhan Ahmed have replaced Rachin Ravindra (international duty, four games) and Marchant de Lange (injury, full tournament) at Manchester Originals, while West Indies allrounder Akeal Hosein will deputise for South Africa’s George Linde at Trent Rockets for two matches.

The Hundred replacements:

London Spirit: John Simpson and Dan Douthwaite to replace Jamie Smith and Ollie Pope for August 5
Manchester Originals: Mark Chapman to replace Rachin Ravindra (August 6-13), Farhan Ahmed to replace Marchant de Lange; Amuruthaa Surenkumar to replace Ella McCaughan
Northern Superchargers: Imad Wasim to replace Mitchell Santner (August 7-10); Mohammad Amir to replace Ben Dwarshuis
Trent Rockets: Akeal Hosein to replace George Linde (August 10-14)