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Most of the players who have nominated for the draft are unlikely to be involved in Pakistan’s international commitments

Umar Farooq22-Aug-2022The PCB has given no-objection certificates (NOCs) to 43 of its players, to be listed in the BBL’s overseas draft, just a few weeks after rejecting an initial list of players.When the first list of 98 overseas players, who had nominated themselves for the BBL draft, came out last month, no Pakistani players were in it. In the new batch of nominations, Trent Boult, Shadab Khan, Andre Russell and Jason Roy were among the big names confirmed as platinum players. Shadab, in fact, headed a sizeable contingent of Pakistan names, including the likes of Mohammad Amir, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal and Wahab Riaz.Related

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None of the multi-format stalwarts – such as Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi – are in; they will be a central part of Pakistan’s home season with Tests against England and white-ball series against New Zealand and West Indies, all between December and February, before the PSL starts in mid-February.Most of the players who have nominated for the draft are unlikely to be involved in Pakistan’s international commitments, or even in domestic first-class tournaments – the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy clashes with the start of the BBL.Asif Ali, a certain pick in Pakistan’s T20I squad, was part of the earlier list, which was denied NOCs, but is in this batch. Asif, Shadab and Shahnawaz Dahani are most likely to be available – if picked at all – only partially in the BBL because of their involvement in Pakistan’s short-format sides. Azam Khan is also in the nominated list, having signed on as the first Pakistani player in the UAE-based ILT20 recently. He is, however, awaiting an NOC to play in that league.The process of issuing NOCs for participation in overseas T20 leagues was one of the issues raised by a group of players before signing their central contracts with the PCB recently; in particular, the timeframe between a request and a response from the board.NOC-related issues led to a near-strike in November 2019, which eventually helped put in place a policy [available on the board website] that the PCB formalised in issuing NOCs: that allows players to seek NOCs for three overseas leagues excluding the PSL.There has been some frustration among players who feel they will miss out on the big-money leagues in the UAE, and CSA’s upcoming league, to add to their absence from the IPL.There was a suggestion at one stage that the PCB might compensate players for not playing in other leagues, but the contract offered made no mention of it. Players eventually signed the contract on the basis that discussions, including around NOCs, will resume after the Asia Cup.

His Afghanistan team-mate Mujeeb ur Rahman will join Barbados Royals

Deivarayan Muthu11-Sep-2022Afghanistan legspinner Rashid Khan is set to return to the CPL with the defending champions St Kitts & Nevis Patriots signing him as a like-for-like replacement for Wanindu Hasaranga.It is understood that Hasaranga, who is currently with the Sri Lanka side in the UAE for the Asia Cup final, is unavailable for the entire CPL season. Meanwhile, Maheesh Theekshana, who was picked up by Trinbago Knight Riders to play for them in this year’s tournament, is still awaiting an NOC from Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).Rashid returns to the CPL after having missed the last season owing to national commitments. Patriots will be the third team that he represents, after Guyana Amazon Warriors and Barbados Royals (then Tridents). Rashid has had success with both franchises – he was the highest wicket-taker for Tridents in CPL 2020, with 11 strikes in ten games at an economy rate of 6.85. Earlier in 2017, he bagged the first-ever CPL hat-trick, for Amazon Warriors, to knock out Jamaica Tallawahs.Malolan Rangarajan, Patriots’ assistant coach and strategy coach, was happy with Rashid’s inclusion which he expressed via Twitter, “Missing Wanindu, [but] can’t complain about the replacement.”Related

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Patriots could really use a player as accomplished as Rashid. They have only one win in five games, and even that came in unlikely circumstances, where they had to make history by becoming the first CPL team to score more than 20 runs in the last over to get across the lineRashid will now lead a spin attack that includes Sri Lanka’s Akila Dananjaya, Afghanistan’s Izharulhaq Naveed and local boys Jaden Carmichael and Jon-Russ Jaggesar.Rashid was recently in action at the Asia Cup, where he was Afghanistan’s second-highest wicket-taker, with six scalps in five matches at an economy rate of 6.55. Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who took one more wicket than Rashid at the Asia Cup, will link up with the table-topping Barbados Royals this CPL.Adam Hose has earned his maiden CPL gig•Getty Images

Hose to replace David at St Lucia Kings
St Lucia Kings have roped in English batter Adam Hose as a replacement for Tim David, who is set to make his T20I debut for Australia in India later this month, in the lead-up to the World Cup.Hose, 29, made 557 runs at 55.70 and a strike rate of 160.98 in this year’s T20 Blast and also had a strong Hundred season for Northern Superchargers. He was also snapped up by Adelaide Strikers in the BBL draft last month.

Pride and points to play for as Tammy Beaumont looks to end season with a better taste

Valkerie Baynes23-Sep-2022A Lord’s finale to mark the end of India’s tour of England on Saturday will serve up plenty of nostalgia with a big helping of the future thrown in.Jhulan Goswami’s international swansong, Tammy Beaumont’s 100th ODI and the first time either side has played at Lord’s since their memorable 2017 World Cup final have the history covered. But, considering the number of new faces in England’s squad in particular, there is a strong transitional flavour.”You’ve got to remember that the team is really young,” Beaumont said. “We always do a team photo and the front row is the people that have played the most caps and Charlie Dean [18 ODIs] is on the front row this year and she made her debut last year. That shows the youth of this squad.”I feel incredibly old at 31. But that, for me, is exciting. I believe a couple of years ago, before the Hundred, before the KSL really got going, that if you’d picked that many people that had less than 10, 15 caps between them, you wouldn’t necessarily compete with the opposition.”I know at times we’ve not played well. But at the same time, you look at the T20 squad, how they went about things, the amount that the young players are coming in and performing straight away. When I started it took us 20 games to actually put in a performance for England and really kind of announce yourself on the on the world stage.”Related

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Beaumont found herself on the wrong end of England’s youth policy this summer when she was overlooked for the T20 squads to contest series against South Africa, India and the Commonwealth Games, leaving her stranded on 99 T20I appearances – for now. England’s abandonment of their planned tour to Pakistan and a rain-hit leg of the Ashes series didn’t help.”I think it’s one of those things that just doesn’t seem like it’s meant to happen at the moment,” Beaumont said. “I haven’t retired from T20 cricket or anything like that and hopefully I’ll come back and maybe play one more game but the girls did really well this summer. They played really good cricket. So there’s not a lot you can do about it.”England won the T20 leg of India’s tour 2-1 but are 2-0 down heading into the final ODI, meaning they have only ICC Women’s Championship points and pride to play for.But there is also a huge sense of occasion returning to Lord’s for the first time in five years – too lengthy an absence in Beaumont’s opinion. With her 2017 team-mates Heather Knight (hip injury), Nat Sciver (mental health break) and Katherine Brunt (rested) all out, Beaumont is one of only two players in England’s squad, alongside Danni Wyatt (in 2011 and 2012), to have played an international game at the ground.”I think it’s far too long,” Beaumont said. “For some of the girls that were involved in that [World Cup final] game to have never got to come back in the last few years it’s been a real shame.”I’ve got a lot of nostalgia coming here. I’ve been coming to Lord’s, training here, since I was about 13 years old. I have a lot of memories walking in the place, a real good feel about it.”Even at the beginning of my career, we used to get at least one game a year here… so I think it is a sign of the times that we’re getting a bigger crowd here. But I think it’s something that potentially should have happened a bit sooner and it is somewhere that we should be able to come and play more often. It’s great to see that it’s starting to happen and hopefully it will keep happening more regularly.”The balance will be redressed further next year when Lord’s hosts the third T20 of a Women’s Ashes series that will see matches played at Test venues around the country, including a five-day Test at Trent Bridge, giving Beaumont plenty to look forward to.”It’s been a tough year and I don’t think there’s probably that many highlights, to be honest,” she said. “The World Cup was very difficult after a very tough Ashes. Being part of that Test match in Canberra is a highlight for me, even though it ended in a draw.”It showed that women’s Test match cricket is very much alive and kicking. I think you when you play a Test match you always kind of doubt whether people will ever want to see another one with women’s Test cricket but that one in particular to me shows that my value in Test match cricket is warranted and is worth continuing.”The ODI series against South Africa was obviously another good one, but other than that, it’s been really very tough for me, missing out on the T20s and also not performing to the way that I would have wanted for most of the year.”Victory over India on Saturday, however, has the potential to end the season with, as Beaumont put it, “a better taste”. But they will be up against it with their opponents determined to send Goswami out on a high.”It’s not just what she does on the pitch,” Beaumont said. “She’s an absolutely lovely human. She’s been great for the game and she’ll be a very big loss but I think it’s great that she gets to have a good send off at Lord’s and hopefully something special, but not too special,” she added with a laugh.

The mini-auction is expected to be held in the third week of December

Nagraj Gollapudi16-Oct-2022The IPL has started the process for the upcoming mini-auction by asking the ten franchises to submit their list of retained players by November 15. While a date for the auction has not yet been finalised, it is expected to be held in the third week of December.Unlike the mega auction last year, when two new franchises were added and the old teams could retain a maximum of four players, there is no such cap for the mini-auction ahead of IPL 2023. In addition to the money left over from the previous auction, each team will have an additional INR 5 crore (approx. US $607,000) to spend, making the overall auction purse INR 95 crore (approx. US $11.5 million).Punjab Kings had the largest purse left – INR 3.45 crore (approx. US $425,000) – after last year’s auction, while Lucknow Super Giants had exhausted their entire purse. Chennai Super Kings had INR 2.95 crore (approx. US $358,000) remaining, followed by Royal Challengers Bangalore (INR 1.55 crore, or approx. US $188,000), Rajasthan Royals (INR 0.95 crore or approx. US $115,000) and Kolkata Knight Riders (INR 0.45 crore, or approx. US $55,000). Defending champions Gujarat Titans were left with INR 0.15 crore (approx. US $18,000) while three teams – Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals – had INR 0.10 crore (approx. US $12,000).Despite franchises having smaller purses, mini-auctions have produced some of the most expensive buys in the past. At the 2021 auction, South Africa fast bowler Chris Morris became the most expensive player after Royals bought him for INR 16.25 crore (then approx. US $2.2 million), which was INR 25 lakhs more than Delhi’s winning bid for India allrounder Yuvraj Singh in 2015.Overseas players have often been big earners at mini-auctions with Pat Cummins getting INR 15.5 crore from Knight Riders in 2020, while Ben Stokes’ first IPL pay cheque was INR 14.50 crore from Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017.Stokes along with his England team-mate Sam Curran and Australia allrounder Cameron Green are some of the overseas players franchises expect to attract the biggest bids if they enter the auction.Three teams – Kings, Capitals and Super Giants – bought only seven overseas players at the previous auction, so they could be on the lookout to fill up the last spot. Other teams could release one or more of their overseas players to create vacancies and increase their purses.Also, six franchises had brought in injury replacements during IPL 2022. These franchises will have to decide whether to retain the replacement player or the original player, or both provided the player limit allows. Following is the list of players originally bought and their replacements:

• Adam Milne, replaced by Matheesha Pathirana (Super Kings)
• Tymal Mills, replaced by Tristan Stubbs (Mumbai)
• Nathan Coulter-Nile, replaced by Corbin Bosch (Royals)
• Mark Wood, replaced by Andrew Tye (Super Giants)
• Alex Hales, replaced by Aaron Finch (Knight Riders)
• Jason Roy, replaced by Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Titans)

Tagenarine Chanderpaul made more runs and the visitors had a chance of victory on the final day

AAP26-Nov-2022Incapacitated Raymon Reifer and gritty Joshua Da Silva declined to chance their arm at notching the West Indies’ first first-class win on Australian soil in more than 25 years, instead defending grimly to fight out a draw in the pink-ball tour match against the Prime Minister’s XI at Manuka Oval.Chasing 309 for victory after the PM XI’s sporting declaration at 221 for 4 late on day three, the tourists shut up shop at the fall of the eighth wicket with eight overs to go.Da Silva started aggressively before putting up the shutters in the last hour, while Reifer remained unbeaten off 26 scoreless balls. Not expected to bat due to a groin injury, Reifer did not even look to score, declining even the easiest singles hit to the outfield.Related

• Tagenarine Chanderpaul boosts Test hopes with Canberra century

• 'I try and be myself, I can't be him' – meet Tagenarine Chanderpaul

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West Indies’ most recent first-class win in Australia came in the fifth Test of the 1996-97 battle for the Frank Worrell Trophy.Courtney Walsh’s tourists – piloted by Brian Lara’s century and Curtly Ambrose’s seven wickets – thumped Mark Taylor’s side inside three days at the WACA.”It was just the right time,” PM XI captain Josh Inglis said of his generous declaration late on Friday which paved the way for the nail-biting finish. “We wanted to set up the game, which made today really exciting.”It’s a great occasion. Every time you’re gearing up for international cricket, it’s a great challenge. And to play against an international side is great. I think our boys had a really good week.”All results were possible when the West Indies entered the dinner break at 221 for 5, requiring a further 88 runs for victory off a minimum of 31 overs.The last session started horribly for them when Roston Chase succumbed after just three balls, beaten in flight by Ashton Agar, miscuing and lofting a catch to Joel Paris at mid-off.West Indies batted out the final few overs•Getty Images

The pendulum swung the tourists’ way when Da Silva and Alzarri Joseph combined for an enterprising 48-run seventh-wicket stand.Joseph, who swung lustily and impressively, was grassed on 24 by Aaron Hardie in the slips before guiding Mark Steketee to Michael Neser at gully four overs later.When Steketee had Kemar Roach gloving a short ball to Peter Handscomb at slip, the West Indies fell to 273 for 8 and duly parked the bus.Tagenarine Chanderpaul was named player of the match for his fine double innings (119, 56), which should surely earn him a Test debut against Australia at Optus Stadium, starting on November 30.”It was nice to get some runs,” the softly spoken Chanderpaul said. “I knew it was going to be tough…just happy to get some runs.”Matthew Renshaw (81, 101 not out) and Handscomb (55, 75) hurtled themselves into contention for international recalls with their contributions for the home side.

Players have not been paid their monthly retainers or even match fees, despite the season having started on August 30

Umar Farooq14-Dec-2022Nearly 200 of Pakistan’s domestic cricketers are still awaiting payments for participating in a domestic season that is less than a month from its conclusion. ESPNcricinfo understands that 192 players who have taken part in a number of domestic tournaments – including the National T20 Cup and the Quaid-e-Azam trophy – have not been paid their monthly retainers or even match fees, despite the season having started on August 30. Thus far, players have only been paid their daily expenses.Several players as well as sources within the PCB confirmed a delay in the distribution of the payments, which is understood to be a result of the volume of cricket this season at home; that includes a brand new tournament in the Pakistan Junior League which diverted much administrative energy towards its staging.Related

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The delay is also said to be partly because of administrative issues arising from the approval by the PCB’s Board of Governors of an increment in its domestic players’ monthly retainers and match fees. Nevertheless, for an administration headed by a former cricketer in Ramiz Raja, the excessive delay has caused unnecessary hardships for a vast majority of domestic cricketers who rely solely on cricket to make a living. This delay in payment also comes at a time in which the Pakistan economy is in deep turmoil, the value of the rupee plummeting and soaring inflation that, in November, was above 20%.In 2019, the PCB revamped the domestic structure, abolishing traditional regional and department teams and narrowing down the national pipeline into six associations representing all six provinces in the country. Before that, a significant amount of domestic cricketers were on contracts with departments they played for such as Sui Gas Northern Pipelines (SNGPL) or Habib Bank (HBL). The remaining regional players were paid by the PCB. In the new model, the entire cost of close to Rs 2 billion is borne by the PCB.Players’ domestic contacts normally span August to July but PCB only awarded the contracts mid-season in November this year. And players, ESPNcricinfo understands, only received their contracts in the first week of December after the completion of the Quaid-e-Azam trophy. Nearly 80% of players have signed the contracts and returned them and are hoping to get paid this monthAll 33 centrally contracted national players have been paid their retainers regularly, though match fees are paid in blocks after the series or tournament they participate in. Earlier this year, national cricketers did push back against the standard practice of the PCB to offer contracts and push players to sign it immediately, without consultation. A group of players did reach out to their own lawyers for advice before signing the contracts just before the tour to Netherlands. But, after extensive discussions, the PCB agreed to amend several clauses and contracts were signed.Historically, the PCB hasn’t formally negotiated with players on contracts, and players have rarely disputed any clauses, beyond ensuring satisfactory annual pay rises. But the current crop of players is increasingly aware of their commercial value and how that should be represented in a contract. Similarly, domestic contracts are usually signed by players without much discussion.Several players confirmed that the PCB has promised it will start distributing the National T20 Cup match fee this week, followed by the Quaid-e-Azam trophy. However, retainer payments will only be cleared by next month.The PCB had offered players contacts across five categories. Fifteen players will be in category A+, 35 in category A, 48 in category B, 70 in category C and 24 in category D. As per the new financial model, a player who played in the QeA Trophy receives a match fee of PKR 100,000. Those playing the white-ball tournaments – the Pakistan Cup and the National T20 – now earn PKR 60,000 per game. The non-playing members of a squad get PKR 40,000 and PKR 20,000 per match in red and white-ball cricket respectively.

Madhya Pradesh lost both openers in the final session, ending 382 behind the visitors’ first-innings total

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Feb-2023Bengal’s later middle-order steel helped them build on hundreds from Anustup Majumdar and Sudeep Gharami, as they took control of the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy semi-final against defending champions MP in Indore. Resuming on 307 for 4, Bengal were bowled out for 438, but the twin hundreds during the course of a mammoth 241-run third-wicket stand helped them gain the overall advantage.In reply, MP were 56 for 2 before the close of play on the second day. Yash Dubey was out caught behind off Akash Deep, while Himanshu Mantri was caught in the slips off Ishan Porel. Saransh Jain and nightwatcher Anubhav Agarwal held fort in the dying moments of play to ensure the hosts had no further damage on a surface that was slowly beginning to wear down.Bengal’s innings stuttered early on day two as they lost Shahbaz Ahmed for 14. Manoj Tiwary, the captain, and Abishek Porel, the wicketkeeper, then put together 78 for the sixth wicket before Tiwary’s downfall brought about a lower-order collapse.Bengal lost their last five wickets for just 37 runs, with Kumar Kartikeya, MP’s left-arm spinner, picking up three of those wickets to turn an otherwise wicketless spell into figures of 3 for 95 in 36.3 overs. The fast-bowling pair of Anubhav Agarwal and Gaurav Yadav picked up four wickets between them, while Avesh Khan proved to be a tad expensive as well as ineffective, ending with figures of 1 for 111 in 31 overs.With the odd delivery jumping on the batters, especially off a length off spinners, batting is likely to get progressively tougher as the game progresses, with MP still 382 behind Bengal’s first-innings total.

Also, who’ll be the third specialist quick, and who are the back-ups to the first XI?

Andrew McGlashan14-Mar-20232:22

Ian Chappell: Australia didn’t learn a lot about their play in India series

In future Border-Gavaskar series there will be a fifth Test. However, in a way, we get one this time too. Australia and India will meet again in early June to decide the World Test Championship title.There will be precious little time for either side to prepare given the IPL runs until late May, but you can make the case that Australia have it better. A number of their players will have county cricket stints beforehand, including key batters Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith, while fringe players get the A tour of New Zealand and the potential of further training at home.By and large, selection for Australia’s best XI will not be an overly taxing affair provided injuries don’t play a major part. There are probably nine spots nailed down already. But those final two are ticklish decisions.

What next for David Warner?

David Warner will return to Australia colours this week in the three-match ODI series in India, having recovered from the fractured elbow he suffered in Delhi. But his Test future is as clouded as at any time, barring the immediate aftermath of the ball tampering.He has an underwhelming record in the UK where he averages 26.04 from 13 Tests without a century. The double-century he forged in his 100th Test against South Africa – a remarkable innings – is threatening to look like an outlier in the closing stages of his career.David Warner did not have a memorable tour of India•Associated Press

He appears likely to feature in the WTC final, but beyond that there feels less certainty. Ricky Ponting recently suggested that it could become a selection playoff for Warner to decide whether he at least starts the Ashes that follow in the English summer.After Ahmedabad, head coach Andrew McDonald was reasonably firm on the final but left the rest more open-ended. Warner’s endpoint in Test cricket may not be in his own hands. It is not beyond the realms that he starts the Ashes but does not finish it should England’s quicks reprise their round-the-wicket success of 2019.Related

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“I think you work through that conversation, and how each player finishes is always differently,” McDonald said. “Some want to go out in a certain way, and others are okay with potentially being dropped out of sides. But at the moment Dave’s fully in our plans for the World Test Championship, he’s coming back for the one-day series, he’s recovered from his injury there, so we’ll see Dave back in Australian colours on the 17th and we’ll go from there.”Even if Warner reaches the next home summer (where his home Test at the SCG will not be the final match of the season this time) there is little doubt that his Test career will end in the next 12 months, so there will need to be a replacement sooner rather than later.Matthew Renshaw batted in the middle order in India, and unconvincingly so, but is viewed as the leading candidate at the moment. By pure weight of domestic runs Cameron Bancroft is making a strong case although there may be other complexities involved. Marcus Harris could consider himself unfortunate to have been dropped in the 2021-22 Ashes when someone had to make way to keep Usman Khawaja in the side. Travis Head was excellent after being promoted to open in India but will remain a middle-order player outside the subcontinent.

Josh Hazlewood vs Scott Boland

The other big selection decision that will likely need to be made is who slots in as the third specialist quick behind Mitchell Starc and captain Pat Cummins. However, that is assuming that Josh Hazlewood can put an end to his run of injuries which, along with conditions-based selection in Asia, has limited him to four Tests in two years.Can Josh Hazlewood get fit for the WTC final?•Getty Images

Hazlewood left the India tour after not recovering from Achilles injury sustained in his comeback Test at the SCG against South Africa when he pounded in on soft turf caused by problems with the covers. He is a wonderful Test bowler but needs to stay on the park.”Injuries are unfortunate and it’s part of fast bowling,” McDonald said. “So two separate injuries, a side injury and an Achilles injury. When he does come back though, what we saw in Sydney is he’s still world-class. I think Scott Boland adds to depth there, we’ve got Lance Morris, unfortunately Jhye Richardson who is of great interest as well suffered a recent injury as well, but we feel as though those fast bowlers as a collective can help each other navigate through what the Future Tours Programme holds.”If Hazlewood is fit for the WTC final it will be a close-run thing between him and Boland, although before the SCG match against South Africa he stated his belief that the pace-bowling hierarchy was still in place – and he was, indeed, selected ahead of Boland. Either of them should be a handful in England during early June.Having said that Starc will be locked in, there may just be question posed as to whether he is the ideal type of fast bowler for early-season England. He only played once in the 2019 Ashes. However, since the start of 2021-22 season he has taken 51 wickets at 27.27 and he also has a role in creating rough for Nathan Lyon.

The reserves

There is unlikely to be much difference between Australia’s WTC squad and their Ashes group, but the ICC will put a limit of the number of players for the final. For the 2021 edition it was 15. So let’s assume there are four extra spots to fill.Will Josh Inglis be called upon as backup wicketkeeper?•Getty Images

Todd Murphy would appear locked in as the back-up spinner after his outstanding tour of India. One of Hazlewood or Boland will be a spare quick but there will be another as well. Uncapped Lance Morris has been around squads at home and abroad, but selectors may just ponder if he’ll quite be the right fit for June conditions. Michael Neser could well come into the frame.Will they want a specialist wicketkeeper in reserve? It’s long way to fly someone from Australia at short notice. In India, Peter Handscomb, who is very capable with the gloves, filled the role and would be an option again. He would obviously cover the spare batter position, too. If an out-and-out keeper was wanted, Josh Inglis would lead the way, although Jimmy Peirson should push him close.Australia’s possible WTC final squad (if 15 named): David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland, Todd Murphy, Peter Handscomb, Michael Neser/Lance Morris

NSW lead by 341 runs but a thrilling final day is in prospect thanks to a bold declaration from Lehmann following his unbeaten century

AAP and ESPNCricinfo staff16-Mar-2023An audacious declaration from South Australia’s Jake Lehmann and a career-best score for New South Wales opener Ryan Hackney has brought the final-round Sheffield Shield match at Karen Rolton Oval to life on day three.On a docile pitch that had produced just 16 wickets in eight sessions, Lehmann declared South Australia’s first innings closed at 309 for 7, 138 runs in arrears of the visitors, just after posting his ninth first-class century.The Blues took up the baton in the final session thumping 203 for 2 off just 42 overs for a lead of 341. Hackney led the way in his fifth Shield match, ending the day unbeaten on 98 not out. After also scoring a half-century in the first innings, he struck 13 boundaries and a six in his 115-ball knock. Debutant opener Blake MacDonald also made 61 as the inexperienced pair added 143 for the first wicket.Ollie Davies helped the scoring along in the final half-hour with a whirlwind 31 off just 24 balls.Earlier, South Australia scored at just over three runs an over before declaring when their 100-over bonus point period ended.Lehmann impressed with an unbeaten 101, clocking up 13 boundaries in his 178-ball stay at the crease. Daniel Drew was more sedate during his four-and-half-hour innings of 85.Experienced paceman Chris Tremain and first-gamer Ryan Hadley both picked up 3 for 75 for the Blues. The inexperienced NSW side must collect victory in Adelaide to avoid a winless campaign for the first time in a 10-match season, while South Australia are seeking to hold off Tasmania and finish fourth.

Senior batter helped repair a top-order wobble to put the hosts in a strong position in Dhaka against Ireland

Mohammad Isam05-Apr-2023Mushfiqur Rahim’s penchant for getting hundreds when Bangladesh are in trouble came to the fore again, against Ireland in the Dhaka Test. The home side made 369 but they had to be rescued from 40 for 3 at the start of the second day. The rest of the batters played around Mushfiqur to get them to a competitive total.Bangladesh are leading by 128 runs after Ireland crashed to 27 for 4 at stumps, but it wouldn’t have come together so well without Mushfiqur. He has now scored ten Test centuries, equaling Tamim Iqbal at second place on the all-time list for Bangladesh. This was also his fourth century at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, the most at this venue.”(Mushfiqur Rahim’s century) was amazing,” batting coach Jamie Siddons said at the end of play. “We were in a little bit of a trouble with him at the other end. Mushy generally comes good when the chips are down. He sticks in there and makes sure to get the score for us. He got the score going nicely. Again he was aggressive when it was required. When the ball was there, he put it away. He was very disciplined around his defence and his leaving game. We need to have that in Test cricket.”Bangladesh got their runs at a rate of 4.58 per over. They were similarly rapid in the white-ball leg of the tour as well, with Siddons saying that this is all part of a plan. “I think we have been building to that for a while now. Of course, we are playing against Ireland, so we were confident to go aggressively against them. Our challenge was to go big against Ireland. To make sure we got quick runs in the ODIs.Related

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“We can’t afford to make 230-250 in the World Cup. We have to make 300-plus. We have to get 200-plus against good teams as well. It is a good time. We batted really well.”Siddons had praise for Shakib Al Hasan, who made 87 off 94 balls, as well but felt that he could have done a little more with the ball that got him out – he tried to sweep a very wide offbreak from Andy McBrine against the angle and the turn and ended up top-edging to the wicketkeeper.”He scored quickly but he didn’t hit the ball in the air a lot,” Siddons said. “He was the pick of the batsmen today. He was very disciplined. We lost three early wickets today, but he held up really well. Put a big partnership together to put us in a really good position in the end of the day.”I guess he kept playing the way he wanted to play. He played the sweep shot quite well throughout the innings. It was probably the wrong shot with that tactic employed. You make one mistake and you get out.”I don’t think it has anything to do with getting towards a hundred. He was only 80-odd. He was a little bit closer in the ODIs. I am sure he’d love to score a hundred but we are happy with his contribution in the team.”Shakib, Mushfiqur and Litton Das scoring quickly also meant that Mehidy Hasan Miraz had time to get a fifty for himself. Siddons enjoyed his innings as well. “I think Mehidy is a batsman now. He has proven that in ODIs and Tests. His fifty today was really well timed. He was aggressive but still working the ones and holding up the end. He protected the bowler at the other end. He is seen as one of our key batters as far his hitting abilities are concerned. He is batting beautifully at No 7. What’s happening under him is a little bit thin.”