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Ian Bell had a disastrous 2017, resigning from the Warwickshire captaincy and overlooked by England for the Ashes, but he began a new season in seductive fashion

George Dobell14-Apr-2018
ScorecardIt is centuries, not 70s, that grab the attention of selectors.But on a day when only one other man could reach 30, Ian Bell provided a reminder of his considerable qualities with an innings of charm and substance to help his side to the brink of a third batting point in testing conditions. For a side that managed only 19 such points in the 2017 season – the fewest in either division – it represents a decent effort.It is, you would have thought, too late for Bell to make a return to England’s Test side. He is 36 now and, while it is probably true that he has never been satisfactorily replaced, selectors tend to look to younger men for solutions. Whoever the new head selector turns out to be – it is understood Mick Newell is in the final two and a decision will be announced in the next few days – it will probably require a barrage of three-figure scores from Bell if he is to convince them to look beyond the likes of Joe Clarke and Liam Livingstone.But context is important. And, in conditions where the ball moved in the air and off the pitch, Bell demonstrated the technique and temperament to flourish against an attack containing India’s Ishant Sharma. Tim Ambrose, who was badly missed in the slips when he had five, was the only other man to pass 25.It is easy to be seduced by Bell in such form. The cover drives he unfurled off Stuart Whittingham, a fast bowler with a hint of Dale Steyn about him, and the on drives he pushed off Ollie Robinson were the sort to have spectators purring with pleasure. And while it is true he did not hit any of his 14 boundaries off Sharma (he took six off Robinson and five off Whittingham), Bell played him off relatively comfortably. As David Wiese put it: “He looked as if he was batting on a completely different wicket.”The selectors would have loved Bell to have given them an excuse to pick him for the Ashes tour. But a campaign that produced just 596 runs (at an average of 25.91), without a century, gave them little opportunity. He did look more fluent than at any time last year, however, and will have noted the struggles of James Vince to cement a position. It might also be noted that he started the first-class season with a century – albeit against Durham MCCU – which is more than he managed last year.Ian Bell steers through the covers•Getty Images

Perhaps more pertinently, he also gave Warwickshire a strong platform in a game that, weather permitting, could yet prove intriguing. Despite all the talk of a new era at Edgbaston, it was notable that it was two men in their mid-30s who provide the bulk of the runs. Ambrose, out of form at the end of the season, also produced an innings of character against his old club, but was honest enough to admit afterwards that Bell’s innings was “a class above” anything else on show.But for Ambrose and Bell, Warwickshire would surely have struggled to register even a single bonus point. With Sharma bowling beautifully – hitting a nagging line and length and nipping the ball around – and Wiese jumping wide of the crease, angling the ball in and gaining sharp movement away, batting was desperately tough for the first half of the day. Will Rhodes shaped up nicely but edge to slip, Dominic Sibley was caught behind trying to withdraw the bat and Jonathan Trott was beaten by a beauty that drew the stroke and left him sharply. With Adam Hose playing across one, Sam Hain leaving another and Bell finally undone by one that drew the stroke but nipped away to take the edge, Warwickshire were 147 for six and in some trouble.But Sussex will kick themselves for their errors. Not only did the dropped chance – it was Harry Finch, at slip, who put down Ambrose off Wiese – prove crucial, but they donated 16 runs from no-balls and 12 from wides. In a low-scoring contest, that could prove defining. Both Chris Jordan, who helped bowl Warwickshire out for 87 here four years ago in similar conditions, and Jofra Archer, who are currently non-playing members of their IPL sides, were sorely missed.As it was, Ambrose led the way as Warwickshire added an unbroken 62 for the tenth-wicket with the obdurate Chris Wright. Now aged 35 and one of many Warwickshire men to find himself out of contract at the end of the season, this is a big year for Ambrose. But he has shown, again and again, that he relishes such situations and whoever Warwickshire bring in as his successor – they are sure to be in the market for another keeper – may face a year or two on the sidelines yet.

Wriddhiman Saha, who has been out of action since straining his left thigh during the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam, is set to make a first-class return in the Irani Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jan-2017India Test wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, who has been out of action since straining his left thigh during the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam, is set to make a first-class return in the Irani Cup. Saha has been named in the Rest of India side that will take on Ranji Trophy champions Gujarat at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai from January 20 to 24.Cheteshwar Pujara will lead the Rest of India squad, which also includes Saha and Karun Nair among players who featured in India’s most recent Test series. There is plenty of first-class experience in the squad, which includes the likes of Abhinav Mukund, Manoj Tiwary, Shardul Thakur, Pankaj Singh and Shahbaz Nadeem, as well as a sprinkling of young players such as the left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav, the wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan and the seamer K Vignesh, who enjoyed a breakthrough season with Tamil Nadu.The Rest of India squad was the first one picked by the three-man selection committee comprising MSK Prasad, Devang Gandhi and Sarandeep Singh, after Gagan Khoda and Jatin Paranjpe were removed in keeping with the Lodha Commitee’s recommendations.Rest of India squad: Abhinav Mukund (Tamil Nadu), Akhil Herwadkar (Mumbai), Cheteshwar Pujara (Saurashtra, captain), Karun Nair (Karnataka), Manoj Tiwary (Bengal), Wriddhiman Saha (Bengal, wk), Kuldeep Yadav (Uttar Pradesh), Shahbaz Nadeem (Jharkhand), Pankaj Singh (Rajasthan), K Vignesh (Tamil Nadu), Siddarth Kaul (Punjab), Shardul Thakur (Mumbai), Akshay Wakhare (Vidarbha), Ishan Kishan (Jharkhand, wk), Prashant Chopra (Himachal Pradesh).

Ireland will send a team to the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh, taking the place of Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jan-2016Ireland will send a team to the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh, taking the place of Australia. Cricket Ireland had indicated on Tuesday that it was likely to accept the ICC’s invitation to step in, although it now faces a challenge to arrange logistics with just three weeks until the start of the tournament.Australia withdrew from the World Cup due to concerns over security, with CA chief executive James Sutherland citing “reliable information suggesting there is a high threat to Australian interests in Bangladesh”. Australia’s Test team also pulled out of a tour of Bangladesh last year”Firstly, we are grateful to ICC for extending the invitation to us to participate in the tournament,” Cricket Ireland’s chief executive, Warren Deutrom, said. “Given the circumstances of the invitation, however, it was important that we used the brief time we had to investigate the safety and security situation in Bangladesh.”While we are fully aware of the heightened security risk in the country, all we can do is rely upon expert advice, which tells us that the tournament security plan appears very comprehensive – an estimation supported by the independent assessments we have seen. Of course, we shall continue to monitor events and maintain regular contact with ICC in case the situation changes.”Current advice from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office warns of a “high threat from terrorism in Bangladesh” and tells British tourists “to remain vigilant and take appropriate safety precautions”. Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade suggests visitors to Bangladesh “exercise caution”.Cricket Ireland has also been able to work in conjunction with the ECB and Cricket Scotland, both of which have teams participating in the tournament.It is not known if any Ireland players have expressed concern about travelling to Bangladesh but, speaking before the decision was made, Deutrom said that the make-up of the squad was yet to be determined and could be influenced by the short timeframe.”We’re dealing with a number of enquiries, from players, parents and staff members, all saying what’s happening,” he said. “There’s an awful lot to digest in a short period of time from a security perspective … We’ve been doing our own independent security assessments and we’ve got to speak to our insurers and that’s before we even look at things such as selection – are the players even available, provision of kit, visas.”Deutrom compared the situation with that of the 2014 World T20, which “went off without incident”, and said that Ireland had been reassured by security plans drawn up by the ICC and BCB that were of “the same level that would be applied to a senior World Cup”.He added: “As our men’s and women’s squads discovered during the World T20, Bangladeshi people are incredibly welcoming and passionate about their cricket, so I’m certain our Under-19’s will look forward enormously to playing there.”Ireland will replace Australia in Group D and play India in their first match, on January 28 in Mirpur. Nepal, who originally pipped Ireland to the final place at the tournament by winning the ICC Qualifier in October, and New Zealand are the other teams in the group.

Dirk Nannes, the former Australia fast bowler, has pulled out of a planned spell as one of Glamorgan’s overseas players for the Friends Life t20

ESPNcricinfo staff29-May-2013Dirk Nannes, the former Australia fast bowler, has pulled out of a planned spell as one of Glamorgan’s overseas players for the Friends Life t20 after suffering a stress fracture in his back while playing in the IPL.Nannes, 37 and a T20 specialist these days, is second only to Alfonso Thomas as one of the leading wicket-takers in the format. He was set to join Marcus North, also a former Australia international and Glamorgan’s limited-overs captain, at the Welsh county but was injured during his stint at the IPL with Chennai Super Kings, for whom he took four wickets in five appearances.”We were disappointed to hear that Dirk will not be able to join us this season – he is a quality bowler and would have been a valuable addition to our squad,” Glamorgan’s head of elite performance, Matthew Mott, said. “We are now considering different replacement options and have already spoken to a number of players.”Glamorgan would have been Nannes’ fourth county, after previously appearing in the T20 tournament for Middlesex, Nottinghamshire and Surrey.

Ellyse Perry, Australia’s dual international cricketer and footballer, has been told by Canberra United to quit cricket in order to devote herself completely to the W-League football club

Daniel Brettig29-May-2012Ellyse Perry, Australia’s dual international cricketer and footballer, has been told by Canberra United to quit cricket in order to devote herself completely to the W-League football club.Winners of the W-League last season, Canberra has since had a change of leadership. The new coach Jitka Klimkova has made it clear to Perry and club management that she does not want any Canberra players splitting their time between sports.Perry became the first woman to represent Australia in World Cups in two sports, and currently holds down a place in both the Southern Stars national cricket side and the equivalent Australian football team, the Matildas. Now 21, she has successfully split her time between national commitments since the age of 16.Perry is among the highest profile female athletes in Australia for her feat, and has shone a strong light on women’s sport in both cricket and football. However the Canberra chief executive, Heather Reid, has said that if Perry wishes to improve further she will either have to make a choice, or leave the club.”We have basically given Ellyse an ultimatum,” Reid told . “Ellyse needs to choose whether she wants to be a full-time Canberra United player and commit to training every day like everyone else does, or if she still wants to try and mix her cricket commitments with football. Then perhaps she will need to find another club.”So far, Perry has said she wants to go on playing for Canberra while also continuing to play cricket. However she is open to the possibility of leaving the club in order to find another that is more open to her carrying on in both sports.”I’ve been very fortunate to be involved with Canberra United for the last three W-League seasons but there are some changes at the club and the coach, Jitka Klimkova, has some different ideas about how the team needs to be run,” she told the .”I fully respect her philosophy, it’s certainly her prerogative to change [how things work]. But mixing my football and cricket commitments doesn’t work so well in her framework. It seems I’ll have to start looking for a new club.”It’s still a long time until the W-League season begins [in November] so I’ll weigh it up between now and then. I still want to play both [sports] and hopefully I can play for a club that allows me to do that.”Cricket Australia and Football Federation Australia are known to be supportive of Perry’s dual status and wish it to continue, as the Matildas coach Tom Sermanni and the Southern Stars chief selector Julie Savage have worked together to juggle Perry between their various fixtures. However, at least one member of the Matildas has spoken out, arguing in favour of Perry making a choice.”About time someone lifted the professional standards of women’s football. Having [a] name should [not] get you in a team,” fellow Matilda Lisa da Vanna said on Twitter. ”Players and teams deserve better. Hopefully these standards carry on to the national team and performance becomes all that matters!”

Australia will push for the right to enforce umpire decision reviews in its home matches, despite continued Indian opposition.

Daniel Brettig13-May-2011Australia will push for the right to enforce umpire decision reviews in its home matches at the ICC’s executive board meeting in June, despite continued Indian opposition to the system.India’s scheduled visit to Australia during the 2011-12 summer, their first tour down under since the contentious 2008 Sydney Test match that led indirectly to the adoption of the DRS, adds plenty of currency to an issue that remains divisive even after the system’s use during the World Cup.The ICC cricket committee recommended in its meeting at Lord’s that home boards be granted the right to choose whether to employ the system or not, a state of affairs that would prevent the repeat of a situation when India and hosts Sri Lanka disagreed over its use last year.James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, showed no public sign of deferring to India’s judgment following his board’s two-day meeting in Melbourne. “My personal view is strongly in support of DRS, as we know the current understanding is basically the DRS can be used by bilateral agreement of the two competing teams,” said Sutherland.”At this stage in spite of the recommendation of the cricket committee it does need to go through other bodies within the ICC in order for that to become an absolute requirement. I’m conscious of that, but certainly from a CA perspective we would be very keen for DRS to be in place for all international cricket.”An ICC plan to have BCCI officials observe the use of the DRS in Australia, during the Ashes last summer, fell through due to scheduling conflicts, but the World Cup provided a closer look for subcontinental administrators and players. There was consternation about the lbw reprieve won on a technicality by Ian Bell during India’s group match against England, but it must also be observed that Sachin Tendulkar was saved from an early dismissal in the semi-final against Pakistan by a similarly narrow DRS margin.”Obviously we all got a fair insight into that during the World Cup where the DRS system was in place for the World Cup, and that was in India,” said Sutherland.Tendulkar and the Indian captain MS Dhoni are thought to be the bulwark of Indian opposition to the system, a position that has been unchanged since Sri Lanka had much the better of the DRS during a series in Sri Lanka in late 2008.

Middlesex suffered their first defeat of the Clydesdale Bank 40 campaign after an error-strewn run chase against Group B rivals Gloucestershire under the floodlights at Lord’s saw them go down with 51 balls to spare

Cricinfo staff14-May-2010
Scorecard
Middlesex suffered their first defeat of the Clydesdale Bank 40 campaign after an error-strewn run chase against Group B rivals Gloucestershire under the floodlights at Lord’s saw them go down with 51 balls to spare. The Panthers never recovered from a miserable start to their pursuit of 247 and were quickly dismissed for 169 to lose by 77 runs as Anthony Ireland bagged 3 for 36 and Steve Kirby and Vikram Banerjee took two wickets apiece.Home openers Andrew Strauss (14) and Scott Newman (11) fell inside nine overs, the England Test captain pulling firmly into the hands of Hamish Marshall at deep square leg off Jon Lewis then, eight runs on, fellow left-hander Newman hooked an Ireland lifter to Banerjee at long leg. Owais Shah marched in to pull two sixes into the Tavern Stand off the front foot against Ireland and then drove wristily through extra cover against Kirby to post the Middlesex 50.In aiming for a third six, Shah (32 from 33 balls) heaved across the line at left-armer James Franklin only to pick out Lewis at deep fine-leg and make it 74 for 3. Neil Dexter (16), in trying to force a straight one through the covers, was stumped by Jonathan Batty off Banerjee, who then bowled Gareth Berg (17) as he aimed through mid on. Then, when Dawid Malan (42) was run out by Batty’s direct hit after being sent back by non-striker John Simpson, the Panthers’ victory chances went with him.Marshall’s six fours and a six during a 71-ball innings of 85 allowed the visitors to canter along at more than six runs an over after winning the toss. The stocky, mop-topped right-hander, who turned his back on international cricket at the end of 2007, featured in a third-wicket stand worth 74 in 11 overs with Batty (54) that helped Gloucestershire recover from a sticky start.Franklin (2) went in the third over to a low catch at cover by Malan and William Porterfield smeared across the line against Toby Roland-Jones to go leg before for 21. Marshall and Batty sparked the fightback taking 15 from Dexter’s sole over, then Batty reached his half-century from 74 balls by pulling his fifth boundary through midwicket off Tim Murtagh.Murtagh again dropped short, allowing Marshall to hook for six into the Tavern Stand and race to 50 from 43 balls, only for Batty to hole out at long off soon after against Shaun Udal. Udal chipped in with two wickets, Ireland (0) was yorked by Murtagh but crucially, Collins overstepped to concede a no ball and gift Jonathan Lewis a life after Berg took the catch at long on. Lewis cashed in by pulling the resultant free hit for six and repeated the dose two balls later. Some 19 runs came from Collins’ final over, as he finished with 3 for 46.

Leicestershire’s quarter-final hopes dented as Hose sets up Rapids win

ECB Reporters Network11-Jul-2024Worcestershire Rapids ended a run of seven successive defeats in the Vitality Blast and dealt a blow to Leicestershire’s hopes of reaching the knockout stages with a 16-run victory at New Road.Worcestershire achieved their highest score of the season thanks chiefly to Adam Hose’s 63 off just 39 balls, beating last weekend’s previous best of 181for four versus Lancashire Lightning at Emirates Old Trafford.The Leicestershire spinners, Lewis Goldworthy and Rehan Ahmed, both bowled excellent spells which gave them combined figures of 8-0-45-3 before Hose’s late onslaught.But their powerful batting top order line-up was blown away by Tom Taylor and youngster Harry Darley as they were reduced to 28 for 5.Louis Kimber revived Leicestershire’s hopes with their fastest-ever T20 fifty off 21 balls including five sixes in a two-over spell and he and Ben Cox added 85 in eight overs.But his dismissal for 53 ended their hopes of a remarkable win against the odds despite Ben going onto complete a fine 50 off 35 balls. Matthew Waite cleaned up the innings with a stream of late wickets including Cox in the final over for 55 to give him a career-best Blast return of 5 for 21.The injury-hit Rapids have lost several games by tight margins but this was a convincing performance whereas Leicestershire have now gone four games without a win courtesy of two defeats, a tie and a wash-out.Adam Hose top-scored for the Rapids•Getty Images

Leicestershire received a treble boost with captain Peter Handscomb (shoulder), Rehan (concussion) and leading wicket-taker Scott Currie (Injury niggle) all returning to the side.Hanscomb won the toss and put the Rapids into bat and Jimmy Neesham made the first breakthrough when Brett D’Oliveira sliced his shot into the hands of third man. Kashif Ali got into his stride with four and a massive six over backward square leg off successive balls from Josh Hull.Josh Cobb inside edged Mike for four but was then caught down the leg side by former Worcestershire keeper Cox off the same bowler. The Rapids reached 61 for 2 in the powerplay but then Gareth Roderick made room to hit Rehan through the off side and was bowled.Kashif, having hit Goldsworthy for a straight six, was given out lbw next ball aiming a blow to the legside. His 41 came off 25 balls with two sixes and three fours. Ethan Brookes also perished aiming to hit Goldsworthy to leg and was bowled but Hose looked in good form and kept the scoreboard moving at a decent rate for the Rapids.Ed Pollock fell to a good catch over his shoulder at long off by Kimber off Currie who next ball trapped Waite lbw as Worcestershire lost momentum. But Hose ensured a sizeable total with a series of big hits as he completed a 33-ball half-century before on 63 he was caught by Cox attempting to scoop Neesham.When Leicestershire replied Rishi Patel, the competition’s leading scorer with 400 runs, was bowled for a duck driving at Taylor. There was joy then for Darley with his first Blast wicket as Rehan sliced the ball to Brookes at wide third. Darley then bowled a wide but his second legitimate ball accounted for Handscomb who clipped straight to Pollock atmid wicket to leave the Foxes 9 for 3.There was no let-up for the visitors and Taylor struck again as Sol Budinger went for a big hit and was caught behind and Waite then disposed of Neesham in the same manner. Then came the remarkable hitting from Kimber to revive the Foxes; chances before he holed out to Cobb in the covers off Brookes.Two wickets in two balls from Waite ensured there would be no late heroics from Leicestershire as he got rid of Mike and Goldsworthy. He struck twice more in the final over in sending back Cox and Currie to complete his five-for.

The RCB batter and the LSG mentor got into an altercation at the end of a tight game in Lucknow

ESPNcricinfo staff02-May-2023Following a fractious end to Monday night’s IPL game, with Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir having to be separated from each other, the Royal Challengers Bangalore batter addressed the situation in a video published by his team on YouTube.Captured candidly as he was celebrating with the rest of the players, Kohli was seen saying, “That’s a sweet win boys. A sweet win. If you can give it, you got to take it. Otherwise don’t give it.”RCB came from behind to beat Lucknow Super Giants in a low-scoring tussle, which bore striking resemblance to a grudge match. The two teams had already been involved in previous game that also turned out to be an emotional roller-coaster when LSG secured a last-ball, one-wicket victory in Bengaluru.Related

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In celebrating that win, Gambhir was seen shushing the Chinnaswamy crowd, a gesture which Kohli reprised at Ekana stadium.Back in the dressing room, and speaking directly to the camera, Kohli added, “It was a really important win for us. The fact that we got more support from the home crowd is an unbelievable feeling. It tells you all about how much we are liked as a team and how people come out and back us. It’s a very sweet win. Feels very good for many reasons but most importantly for the kind of character we showed defending that total [126]. I think everyone had the belief that we could do it and we were on the winning side which is great.”The IPL took note of the altercation and fined both Kohli and Gambhir 100% of their match fees. They were found to be in breach of article 2.21 of the tournament’s code of conduct, which covers all type of conduct that brings the game into disrepute, including unruly public behaviour.While the players were shaking hands after the game, there seemed to be words exchanged between LSG bowler Naveen-ul-Haq and Kohli. Naveen was fined 50% of his match fees.RCB director of operations Mike Hesson admitted that some of the needle stemmed from the two teams’ first meeting at this IPL. “I guess after the last match at the Chinnaswamy, where we lost off the last ball, it always felt like we were really desperate to get this one. So I think you probably saw a little bit of that boil over tonight.”The RCB captain had no problems with the spectacle. “That’s the best version of Virat, isn’t it?” Faf du Plessis said. “To see him pumped up like that. That’s when he’s at his best. It’s really awesome to be a part of it. My job is to keep things calm on the field, which I thought we did really well.”

England’s captain says the team has grown stronger since losing the 2019 Ashes, with a ‘lot more leaders in the side’

Andrew McGlashan19-Jan-2022Heather Knight wants England to go toe-to-toe with Australia’s aggressive mindset during the T20Is which launch the multi-format Ashes in Adelaide and the captain expects the players to show themselves in a better light after the one-sided 2019 series.England have not held the Ashes since victory in Australia in 2013-14 and the previous series ended at 12-4, which brought the end of Mark Robinson’s tenure as head coach, although the last time they were held Down Under in 2017-18, their overall scoreline was tied 8-8 .Related

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Knight again called the build-up “quite average” with the range of Covid-related curveballs that had been thrown England’s way, but now that the teams are in Adelaide, she said the minds have been focused.”We are going to have to be positive and trust our game massively against them,” Knight said. “They are very aggressive, and we want to be the same and go right back at them.”I have made it no secret that the last Ashes [series] was tough, we massively underperformed, and didn’t play anywhere near our potential in 2019. Everything we’ve done has been about addressing that, and when you have a big loss like that, it leaves a bit of soul-searching and what you can do better. We definitely did that, we feel like we’ve built as a group, taken a lot more ownership and have a lot more leaders in the side.”As with many tours in the Covid-19 era, England have a larger-than-usual squad which is supplemented by further players in the A group which will have concurrent matches against Australia A. The depth of the home side is much talked about, but Knight believes England also now have a far wider group of players capable of performing at the international level. There was a glimpse of this when the main side was twice beaten in warm-up matches in Canberra.”There’s a bigger squad to pick from, I’ve certainly noticed that in the last year to 18 months,” Knight said. “The number of players we are talking about has grown all the time, which we feel is a huge strength for us. Having those selection headaches is really nice.”The initial schedule had this series starting with the Test match, but a reshuffling of fixtures to allow the teams more time to quarantine in New Zealand ahead of the ODI World Cup has meant a shift to begin with T20Is. While that has forced some quick tactical and preparation rethinking, Knight is backing her team’s T20 prowess.Since the heartbreak of seeing their T20 World Cup semi-final washed out in Sydney two years ago, England have won 12 of 14 matches and going back since the 2019 Ashes it’s 19 from 26 games.”T20 cricket is one of our strongest formats, so I think that will suit us quite nicely, we are really clear how we want to go about playing T20,” Knight said. “Think the last few series we’ve really looked to go hard in that first game, previously it’s been a weakness of ours. There will obviously be nerves around, that’s completely normal, but we are confident we can cope with that and punch first against Australia.”Knight said that England’s XI for the opening match had been decided but she would not be revealing it until the game.