Melbourne Renegades hit by Liam Livingstone's England Test call-up

Any player who was in the original BBL draft and not picked up is eligible as a replacement

Andrew McGlashan13-Oct-2022Melbourne Renegades will have to adjust their plans for the start of the BBL after losing No.1 draft pick Liam Livingstone to his England Test call-up.Livingstone found a place in the squad for the Pakistan tour in December, but Renegades still expect the allrounder to appear for them after the series and before he heads to the SA20. However, he will now likely have a maximum of six games with the Test series ending on December 21 and the South Africa tournament starting January 10.There is a chance Livingstone could be available for the Christmas Eve game against Hobart Hurricanes followed by five more matches.Renegades, who had first pick in the draft after finishing bottom last season, will be able to sign a replacement player for Livingstone – something they already needed to do for the latter stages once he left for South Africa – with any player who was nominated in the draft and not originally picked eligible to be brought in.Related

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It is also understood that the league retains the ability to sanction a signing from outside the draft pool if they are viewed as being of the calibre that would be beneficial to the tournament.The loss of Livingstone, who was not considered a likely Test candidate when the BBL draft took place, for the beginning of the competition is a blow after the league went to huge lengths to get the draft off the ground in late August. The BBL is facing a considerable squeeze in January with the emergence of the SA20 and ILT20 which had seen a number of players only make themselves available for part of the BBL.The draft itself also threw up the outcome of a number of the platinum players – including Faf du Plessis and Andre Russell – being overlooked as clubs favoured availability over marketability, although the final result was still a reasonably strong list of overseas names.Players selected in the draft will be paid a flat-fee based on the category they came from, but with Livingstone’s availability having changed since he was selected his platinum figure of AU$340,000 will now be on a pro-rata basis for the number of games he remains available for, with Renegades able to use the difference to fund their replacement.”We’ve been aware of this possibility for a little while now and have been working through Liam’s availability and what’s best for the Renegades,” James Rosengarten, Renegades’ general manager, said.”We believe Liam can still have a big impact for us in BBL|12, and in our recent discussions, he’s still looking forward to being part of our team, being back in the BBL and playing as many games as he can for our club following his international commitments. We’ll continue to work with Liam over the coming weeks as to exactly how this looks.”At the same time, we have already been working behind the scenes on finding the best player for our needs when Liam is unavailable. There are several world-class players who are now available to us during this period, and we will leave no stone unturned to give our team the best chance of success this season.”A league statement said: “As is the case in all T20 competitions, changing player availabilities are not unprecedented or unexpected. We are well prepared to assist all clubs to navigate changing international commitments for overseas players.”Other teams are also working through the exact availability of some of their overseas signings as more international series get locked in for December and January. Pakistan have confirmed their home matches against New Zealand, although that was a known tour when the draft took place. There remains a chance Hobart Hurricanes could lose Faheem Ashraf to the Test squad and Shadab Khan is likely to be away for the ODI series in mid-January.However, the likely postponement of a brief Pakistan-West Indies series may provide extra availability of replacement players towards the latter end of the BBL.The tournament begins on December 13 and runs until February 4. Following the cancellation of the Australia-South Africa ODI series in January more of Australia’s multi-format players will be available after the Test matches finish although the main fast bowlers are not expected to take part while Steven Smith does not have a deal.

ESPNcricinfo's T20 World Cup XI: Suryakumar, Nortje, Raza, Phillips and Little make big impacts

The usual candidates like Virat Kohli and Jos Buttler also feature in our Team of the Tournament, put together using Smart Stats

S Rajesh14-Nov-2022

Jos Buttler (capt & wk)

Opened the batting, kept wicket, led his team and in general did much of the heavy lifting in England’s successful campaign. He started the tournament slowly, with 18 and 0 in his first two innings, but found his groove with a 47-ball 73 against New Zealand, and didn’t look back thereafter. Along with Alex Hales, he destroyed India in the semi-final, and though his contribution in the final wasn’t huge, he set the ball rolling for a tricky run-chase with a crisp 17-ball 26.

Alex Hales

Back in favour with the England management after a significant absence, Hales justified the show of faith with key contributions at the top of the order in must-win games. His best was the unbeaten 47-ball 86 which shut out India and got 107.5 impact points, the eighth-highest among all batting efforts in the tournament. He also scored a vital half-century against New Zealand and 47 against Sri Lanka. Hales and Buttler were without doubt the outstanding batting pair of the tournament, scoring 368 runs at a rate of 9.2 per over; no other pair managed even 230 runs.Jos Buttler and Alex Hales – England’s dynamic duo opens for ESPNcricinfo’s Team of the Tournament too•Getty Images

Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli turned into a run-machine, again, in this tournament. Back in his favourite Australia, he found the perfect tempo for most of his innings, while conditions suited his style of play as well. His stunning unbeaten 82 against Pakistan got India’s campaign off on an unbelievable high and was ranked sixth in terms of impact points for a batting performance. No batter scored as many runs (296) or fifties (four) as he did in the tournament, and the fact that he was dismissed just thrice meant he finished with a Bradmanesque average (98.66) as well.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Suryakumar Yadav

Among all the batters who scored at least 10 runs in the tournament (there were 144 of them), Suryakumar’s strike rate of 189.68 was the highest. In fact, only three others even touched 170 – they were Finn Allen (95 runs), Rashid Khan (57) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (22). The fact that Suryakumar finished with the third-highest aggregate, while also scoring at that phenomenal strike rate, illustrates the stratospheric heights at which he operated throughout the tournament. His average batting impact of 61.69 was the highest among all batters in the tournament.

Glenn Phillips

Glenn Phillips had the most impactful match performance of this World Cup: his 64-ball 104 against Sri Lanka fetched 182.6 impact points, primarily because of the context in which he scored those runs. Phillips came in at 7 for 2 which soon became 15 for 3 after four overs; while he was at the crease, the other batters made 42 from 43 balls; the next-highest score in the innings was 22, and in the entire match was 35. He also scored 62 off 36 in a losing cause against England.Glenn Phillips took off with bat and in the field this tournament•ICC/Getty Images

Sikandar Raza

Sikandar Raza was the only player to achieve the double of 200 runs and 10 wickets in the tournament (though admittedly he also benefited from playing extra matches in the qualifying first round). In those three first-round matches, Raza was outstanding with both bat and ball, scoring 136 runs in three innings at a strike rate of 172, and taking five wickets at an economy rate of 5.54. In the Super 12s the runs dried up a bit – 83 in five innings – but he starred with the ball in Zimbabwe’s brightest moment of the tournament, taking 3 for 25 as they beat Pakistan by one run. No batter hit as many sixes as Raza did (11) over the entire tournament.

Shadab Khan

He was at the heart of Pakistan’s revival. After losing two of their first three games, in a must-win match against South Africa, Pakistan had slumped to 95 for 5 when Shadab rescued them with a dynamic 22-ball 52. He then chipped in with two wickets as well – including the key one of Aiden Markram – and Pakistan were up and running in the tournament. Shadab the bowler was consistency personified: not once did he go for more than 33, while four out of seven times he went at under a run a ball. His 11 wickets in the middle overs was the highest aggregate by any bowler in that phase in the entire tournament.

How is Smart Stats’ Total Impact calculated?

Total Impact for a player in a match is a numerical value that is the sum of his Batting and Bowling Impacts. These Impacts are calculated based on the context of a batting/bowling performance.

The context is based on an algorithm that quantifies the pressure on the batter/bowler at every ball of an innings. The factors that go into calculating the pressure index include runs required, overs left, quality of batters at the crease and those to follow, quality of bowlers and number of overs left for each bowler, and pitch/conditions and how easy/tough it is for batters/bowlers.

Sam Curran

Almost half the total deliveries Sam Curran bowled in this campaign were at the death (64 out of his 136 balls were bowled between overs 17 and 20). England trusted him with a difficult job, and he more than justified their faith in him, returning exceptional figures of 9 for 70 in those 64 balls: an average of 7.77, and an economy rate of 6.56. His 5 for 10 against Afghanistan was the best bowling figures of the tournament in terms of raw numbers, but in terms of impact that was easily bettered by what he did in the final: 3 for 12 from four, including only seven from overs 17 and 19. In terms of bowling impact it fetched 100.1 points, the third-highest for any bowling performance in the tournament.

Mark Wood

Wood played only four matches before being sidelined, but with his hostile pace he made an impact in every game, taking three-wicket hauls in two of the four games. He finished with nine wickets at a strike rate of 9.3 balls per wicket, the best among all bowlers who sent down at least 10 overs in the tournament. Eight of those wickets were of batters in the top six, which meant those wickets invariably put the skids on the scoring rate. His economy rate was slightly high, but given his striking abilities, that was a worthy trade-off.

Josh Little

Josh Little had a remarkable tournament. Not only did he take a hat-trick against New Zealand – one of only two in the tournament – he also held his own against the big boys in the Super 12s. In the qualifying first round, his four wickets came at an average of 21.25 and an economy rate of 7.08; in the Super 12s, he improved them both, taking seven wickets at an average of 14.85 and an economy rate of 6.93. Figures of 2 for 16 in that famous win against England when he dismissed both openers, 2 for 21 against Australia and 3 for 22 against New Zealand were ample proof of just how effective he can be against the top teams.Josh Little (centre) showed a big gun or two how it’s done•PA Photos/Getty Images

Anrich Nortje

South Africa’s tournament turned into one to forget, but one player who stood out for them was Anrich Nortje. His stats do justice to the way he bowled: 11 wickets at 8.54, an economy rate of 5.37 and a strike rate of 9.5 balls per wicket. Among the 50 bowlers who bowled more than 12 overs in the tournament, his economy rate was the best while his strike rate was only marginally bettered by Mark Wood (9.3). In a tournament where Kagiso Rabada flopped badly, Nortje gave his captain both control and incisiveness. Not surprisingly, Nortje’s bowling impact rating of 51.84 was way better than anyone else’s (with a four-match cut-off); the next-best was Curran at 46.58.

Hardik Pandya (12th man)

Hardik Pandya’s bowling was an asset throughout the tournament (except in India’s last game against England), while his batting shone in India’s first and last games.

Brathwaite, Brooks and Holder find early form for West Indies

A number of the top order spent useful time in the middle at the start of the Test build-up

AAP17-Nov-20222:48

Brathwaite gung-ho about playing ‘ten, solid days of Test cricket’ in Australia

West Indies openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Shamarh Brooks made half-centuries in a total of 297 for 5 at stumps on day one of their tour match against Combined NSW and ACT.The duo added 133 with captain Brathwaite and Brooks getting on top of a young attack at Canberra’s Manuka Oval which included recent Australian Under-19 representatives Liam Doddrell and Jack Nisbet.Left-arm orthodox spinner Riley Ayre made inroads to have the tourists 207 for 5 before allrounder Jason Holder and Jermaine Blackwood took their side safely to the close of play.Related

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West Indies have two tour matches before the Test series begins in Perth on November 30 and will be keen to get their batters in form before taking on Australia’s pace bowling attack.Brathwaite, Holder and Blackwood are mainstays of the West Indies side and their early tour success will be a boost to the visitors’ hopes of challenging Australia.Brathwaite is the most experienced of the West Indies batters and is 13th on the all-time Test list for his country with 4893 runs at an average of 34.45.The 34-year-old Brooks did not make his Test debut until the age of 30 and has been in and out of the team in his short 11-Test career that includes a maiden century against Afghanistan in 2019.Brooks is yet to open in a Test match for West Indies where he has batted at No.3 or in the middle order.

Drama at MCG as Adam Zampa's run-out attempt against Tom Rogers is turned down

It was ruled not out because Zampa had turned his arm over before taking the bails off, but he says he wasn’t sure he would have withdrawn the appeal had it stood

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jan-2023There was an incident of a bowler – Adam Zampa – attempting to run the non-striker – Tom Rogers – out backing up during the Melbourne derby in the BBL on Tuesday. However, Stars bowler Zampa had turned his arm over before stopping and whipping the bails off, so even though Rogers was outside his crease, it wasn’t out. And though David Hussey, the Stars coach, said “we would have withdrawn the appeal” had it been given out, Zampa himself wasn’t too sure about it.Zampa, in fact, stressed that he “saw red a little bit” when Rogers rushed out before he had delivered the previous ball, the fourth of the final over of Renegades’ innings.

“Running out of the crease before I bowled it, to his advantage; I bowled a good ball to Mackenzie Harvey [the batter on strike], which probably should have been one if he [Rogers] hadn’t done that. So, I guess, he used that to his advantage. So I thought, that ball, if he doesn’t want to be on strike, then I’ll make it a little bit easier for him,” Zampa said on the official broadcast after the game, which Stars lost by 33 runs, with Rogers starring with the ball for Renegades with a five-wicket haul.Related

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He couldn’t, because he didn’t quite know the rule: once the bowler’s arm has passed the point at which he is normally expected to release the ball, or the highest point in the delivery action, the non-striker can leave the crease without worrying about being run-out.”If you haven’t let the ball go, then… I had assumed that the batter still has to be in the crease,” Zampa said. “But apparently if you finish your action and they can assume you have bowled the ball, then they are allowed to leave the crease. “I am not sure what decision I would have [gone] with once the ruling had been made, but basically, straightaway Gerard (Abood, the umpire) said, ‘you finish your action, I don’t think it’s out’. So it didn’t matter. As soon as Gerard said that I knew it wouldn’t be out, because I knew how far my arm had come over. Gerard said, ‘if your arm comes all the way over, and he can assume you have bowled the ball, then you can’t do that’. So straightaway, I was like, ‘yeah, that’s not out’.”The replays confirmed that Zampa’s bowling arm had reached the highest point, and crossed it, before he stopped, turned around, and took the bails off, with Rogers well outside the crease.”I was probably staying in my crease a little bit longer than I have in the past,” Rogers said. “So I thought I was going to be okay. But yeah, I am not too sure about it. But the umpires are doing a good job, and thankfully gave it not out.”It gets a bit murky, doesn’t it? Someone gets halfway down the wicket, everyone won’t be too happy about it. But not really. Hopefully it all settles down and washes away in the next couple of months, by the end of the cricket season here.”Asked about Hussey’s statement, where he said, “It was more of a warning for the batter not to leave too early”, Zampa said that he wasn’t sure he saw it the same way.”It’s not a warning. I’m a very competitive guy, so, yeah, I guess I saw red a little bit when, as I said, he used that to his advantage,” Zampa said. “I guess in that situation again, I’m not saying I won’t do it. It’s late in the innings, it’s like two balls left, I know even if I Mankad someone and run him out, then they still have three [two] wickets in hand, Mackenzie Harvey’s on strike, so it doesn’t make that much difference to the game.”Tenth over of the game, if they try to pinch ground, it’s probably more of a warning. Even if I had got my technique right, my Mankad technique right, and Gerard said that’s probably going to be out, I don’t know what decision I would have come to.”Whether the incident was the reason or not, Rogers was certainly pumped up when Stars began their chase of Renegades’ 141 for 7. By the end of the third over, he had sent Joe Clarke, his namesake Thomas Rogers, and Beau Webster back. Not long after, he had Hilton Cartwright’s number. And later in the chase, he got rid of Luke Wood to record 5 for 16, his best in T20s.”I don’t know if I fired him up, but he was the pick of the bowlers tonight,” Zampa conceded.He also “didn’t even notice” when the MCG crowd booed him, countering, “I think I was well within my right to do it. It’s in the rulebook. As you saw, I just got my technique wrong. He was always halfway down the wicket. It’s in the rulebook.”

Sussex bring in Shadab Khan for Vitality Blast

Pakistan legspinner expected to be available for duration of the competition

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jan-2023Shadab Khan, the Pakistan allrounder, has signed to play for Sussex in this year’s Vitality T20 BlastAs previously reported by ESPNcricinfo, Sussex have been working to land a number of overseas signings, with Shadab expected to be available for the duration of the Blast. Sussex will be the 24-year-old’s second county, having turned out for Yorkshire in the competition last summer.He could be joined at Hove by Sean Abbott, with the club also eyeing a short-term Championship deal for Steven Smith.”Shadab will provide amazing experience in our middle order, he is someone who has played all around the world and has experienced many situations, which can only benefit our team,” Sussex bowling coach, James Kirtley, said.Related

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“He really does provide flexibility to our side as he can score runs and take wickets in crucial moments, but more than anything else he is an experienced head that Ravi [Bopara] can go to as captain to look for support when making crucial in-game decisions.”I know that he will have a massive impact on our team this year.”Shadab’s legspin has helped him to 258 wickets in 225 T20 appearances – 98 from 84 for his country – and a prominent role on the franchise league circuit. He captains Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League, and has also appeared in the Big Bash, Caribbean Premier League and Bangladesh Premier League.His signing looks set to end Rashid Khan’s association with Sussex, which stretches back to 2018. Rashid was recently made Afghanistan’s T20 captain, and his involvement in series against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe would have impacted no his availability.Shadab said: “I love playing in England. I know Mushtaq Ahmed is a legend at Sussex, and it is an honour to follow in his footsteps. Sussex has a proud history and I hope that my skillset will help the team achieve great things in the Blast this year.”

Litton, Tamim make light work of small chase after Mahmud's maiden five-for

Bangladesh quicks lead demolition job of Ireland to wrap up ODI series 2-0

Mohammad Isam23-Mar-2023Openers Litton Das and Tamim Iqbal made light work of a 102-run target as Bangladesh beat Ireland by ten wickets in the third ODI in Sylhet and completed a 2-0 series win. The visitors were bowled out for 101 in 28.1 overs after the Bangladesh fast bowlers took all ten wickets in an innings for the first time in the format.The short chase was enlivened by Tamim and Litton, who put on an exhibition of strokeplay, finishing the game in just 13.1 overs, Bangladesh’s second-shortest chase in ODIs. After Bangladesh beat Ireland by a record margin of runs in the first ODI, this was also their first ten-wicket win in ODIs.A small crowd turned up at the picturesque Sylhet venue on the eve of the holy month of Ramadan starting, and went home shortly after sunset. Ireland’s 101 broke a sequence of five successive 300-plus totals by the side batting first on this ground.Hasan Mahmud’s maiden five-wicket haul, Taskin Ahmed’s three-wicket burst and Ebadot Hossain’s two-for summed up the absolute dominance by the Bangladesh fast bowlers. The spinners were needed for only four overs in all with Shakib Al Hasan not getting a chance to bowl for only the third time in his ODI career. It was a day out for the quicks on the hard and bouncy Sylhet surface, a rarity among grounds in Bangladesh. The conditions prompted the team management to pick six bowlers including the three seamers.Hasan Mahmud leads his team off the field after picking up his maiden ODI five-for•BCB

Mahmud removed openers Stephen Doheny and Paul Stirling in a disciplined opening burst. Doheny was caught behind for 8 after scratching around for 20 balls before Stirling, dropped on 5, got to 7 before Mahmud trapped him lbw in the ninth over. The skiddy fast bowler soon picked up his third when he trapped Harry Tector lbw later in the same over. Taskin got captain Andy Balbirnie caught at first slip for just 6 as Ireland collapsed to 26 for 4 before the first powerplay was up.Then came their only partnership of note. Lorcan Tucker and Curtis Campher added 42 runs for the fifth wicket, which effectively helped Ireland reach the three-figure mark. Campher top-scored with 36, while Tucker made 28, the only two double-figure scores in the innings.But it was soon over. Ebadot’s in-dipper had Tucker lbw. Next ball, Ebadot clean-bowled George Dockrell for a golden duck as Ireland slipped to 68 for 6.Taskin then took a brace in his seventh over, first getting Andy McBrine to top-edge a quick bouncer before Adair inside-edged his second ball onto the stumps.Campher was the ninth wicket that fell, top-edging Mahmud towards fine leg. Taskin took a comfortable catch, celebrating the younger team-mate’s first four-wicket haul. It soon became five when Mahmud trapped Graham Hume lbw for 3.Tamim started the chase with a slashed four over point, before pasting the Ireland fast bowlers for boundaries through cover and square-leg. Most of Litton’s boundaries came through the covers, including a back-foot punch that looked scrumptious from every angle. Left-arm spinner Matthew Humphreys then went for two expensive overs, before the Bangladesh opening pair calmed down briefly.Tamim lofted Humphreys for a straight six in his third over, before Litton drove Campher through the covers. Then he struck two fours off Humphreys to reach his ninth ODI fifty, before Tamim hit the winning runs.

Litchfield, Garth and Graham earn Australia central contracts

Allrounder Nicola Carey declined the offer a deal and will instead focus on pre-season with Tasmania

Andrew McGlashan05-Apr-2023Phoebe Litchfield, Kim Garth and Heather Graham have been awarded Cricket Australia central contracts for the first time as part of a newly expanded list.Under the next MoU which was announced earlier this week, up to 18 contracts are now available and the selectors have opted to use 17 of them with the value of deals also significantly increasing.Fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck, who is set to make her return from a long-term injury on the Australia A tour of England in June, has retained her position. Grace Harris has also found a place on the list having been upgraded to a contract during the previous cycle.Related

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Opening batter Litchfield made her international debut late last year in the T20I series against India then impressed in the ODIs against Pakistan. Garth, the former Ireland allrounder, also made her Australia debut against India while Graham came back into the fold during 2022.”Kim Garth and Heather Graham have performed strongly at domestic level over the past 12 months, and both thoroughly deserve their spot on the list,” national selector Shawn Flegler said.”Phoebe Litchfield is a young talent who we believe has a big future, she’s built her game upon a very sound technique and we’re confident she can transfer those skills into international cricket.”We’ve had a core group of players performing well over the last 12 months which means some talented players have missed out, it’s certainly made selection tough but we’re in a fortunate position to have such depth across Australian Cricket.”Importantly, there is still the opportunity for players not offered contracts to earn upgrades through consistent performances, as we saw with Grace last year.”Allrounder Nicola Carey declined the offer of a contract with a preference to focus on pre-season with Tasmania having previously opted out of the Australia A tour of England. The retired Rachael Haynes is the other player to drop off the previous list.”Nicola expressed a desire to spend the winter in Tasmania to allow her to utilise a full preseason at home, focusing on using that time to develop skills in her game to push for international selection in the future,” Flegler said.”We offered Nic a contract because we believe she is a player of international quality, but we respect her decision to focus on a pre-season program with Tasmania and will continue to support her moving forward.”Australia’s next cricket is the multi-format Ashes tour which begins in mid-June. The players will have various camps in Brisbane during May to prepare.The next 12 months has three Tests in Australia’s calendar with away matches against England and India plus a home fixture against South Africa early next year.Australia women central contracts Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Heather Graham, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Meg Lanning, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Tayla Vlaeminck, Georgia Wareham

Rohit: Wanted to 'make full use of the powerplay'

Mumbai’s captain made his first IPL fifty since 2021 to set up his side’s first win of the season

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Apr-2023Rohit Sharma’s match-winning 65 against Delhi Capitals on Tuesday night was an innings of two phases. He raced to 37 off 17 balls in the powerplay as Mumbai made a blazing start to their chase of 173, and slowed down thereafter, his last 28 runs coming at exactly a run a ball.Speaking at the post-match presentation, Rohit said the two phases had worked out just as planned: he went out with the intention of maximising Mumbai’s run-scoring in the powerplay, keeping in mind the threat of Capitals’ spin trio of Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Lalit Yadav.Mumbai brought up their first win of IPL 2023, but it didn’t come easy. Rohit’s first fifty-plus score in the IPL since 2021 left them cruising towards victory, needing 34 runs off 27 balls, but they lost three wickets in six balls to bring Capitals back into the game. Mumbai eventually prevailed by six wickets in what turned out to be a last-ball thriller.Related

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“When I went to bat, I thought I need to make full use of the powerplay because as the game went on, I thought it is going to be tough with the couple of quality spinners they [Capitals] have,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation. “So it was there in my mind to keep attacking, take my chances in the first six overs, and then just see where the game is heading, try and knock the ball in the gap, try and create that partnership.”While Rohit finding form was a major positive for Mumbai, their headaches haven’t disappeared. Their campaign has been marred by injury, which has left them relying on a number of inexperienced players including Arshad Khan and Nehal Wadhera, who hadn’t played any T20 cricket before this IPL season.”We’ve got a lot of young guys, [some] haven’t played IPL before as well,” Rohit said. “But it’s all about giving them that confidence, showing them enough trust because they will get hit for runs, they will keep getting out, but it is important to keep backing those abilities and keep telling them, ‘it’s okay, you are the guys who are eventually going to do the job for us.'”So that’s exactly what the team talk is and that is what we are trying to create in our dressing room as well. We don’t want to make drastic changes looking at how the results come, but it’s important to stick to it and follow that process which I think we are doing really well.”

Hazlewood included in Australia's WTC final squad amid fitness race

Mitchell Marsh and Matt Renshaw are the two players to miss out from the Ashes group

ESPNcricinfo staff28-May-2023Josh Hazlewood remains in contention to play the World Test Championship final against India after being included in Australia’s 15-man squad.Australia have pushed Mitchell Marsh and Matt Renshaw into their reserves from the 17 players that have been selected for the Ashes.Hazlewood returned early from the IPL with some side soreness but scans revealed no damage and he has since returned to bowling. However, speaking last week coach Andrew McDonald said everything would need to go perfectly for him to make the WTC final.He is one of four specialist quicks in the squad alongside captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland. Michael Neser and Sean Abbott will train with the team in the lead-up, with Neser a strong contender to replace Hazlewood in the main squad if required. Any changes from now on will require approval of the ICC’s technical committee.Josh Inglis, who is yet to play a Test, has found a place in the squad, as has Todd Murphy, who made his Test debut in India earlier this year.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

As for India, there were no late changes apart from Yashasvi Jaiswal, as reported earlier in the day, replacing Ruturaj Gaikwad in the list of stand-by players.Both the uncapped Ishan Kishan and Jaydev Unadkat, who had injured his left shoulder during the IPL and was ruled out of the tournament, figure in the squad of 15. Kishan, who came in after the injury to KL Rahul during the IPL, is likely to be back-up for KS Bharat, India’s first-choice Test wicketkeeper in Rishabh Pant’s absence.Related

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Also a part of the India squad is Shardul Thakur, who had missed three games in the IPL because of a niggle, and was not fit to bowl in a few games.India’s reserves are Mukesh Kumar, Suryakumar Yadav and Jaiswal.The match will be played at The Oval from June 7 to 11, with June 12 pencilled in as the reserve day. The winners will earn US$ 1.6 million, while the runners-up will earn $800,000.Australia squad: Pat Cummins (capt), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Steven Smith (vice-capt), Mitchell Starc, David Warner.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Ishan Kishan (wk).

Josh Tongue: 'I needed a change at this stage of my career'

Fast bowler says no single reason for mass Worcestershire exodus after signing Notts deal

Matt Roller22-Jul-2023Josh Tongue says he is leaving Worcestershire at the end of the season because he needs “a new challenge” but does not believe there is a smoking gun that explains the exodus of a number of homegrown players from the club.Tongue, who made his England debut this summer, will join Nottinghamshire at the end of his contract, with Dillon Pennington making the same move. Pat Brown, who has struggled with injury after playing four T20Is in 2019, is leaving for Derbyshire, while Moeen Ali and Ed Barnard joined Warwickshire last winter.A number of other Worcestershire players are also out of contract at the end of the season, with Ashley Giles taking charge of negotiations after starting his job as chief executive earlier this month. Giles made Rob Jones, the Lancashire batter, his first signing earlier this week, but Jack Haynes and Ben Cox are both expected to leave the club.Tongue held talks with a number of counties before settling on Nottinghamshire, who beat off strong interest from Lancashire to secure his signature on an initial three-year deal. He said that the opportunity to work with Notts bowling coach Kevin Shine again was a major factor in his decision, having previously been coached by him as part of the ECB’s pace programme.”I’ve been at the club since I was six years old and I’ve grown up playing for Worcester through the age groups and the academy and obviously signed my first pro deal there,” Tongue said, speaking at a #Funds4Runs session organised by LV= Insurance at Stockport Georgians Cricket Club. “I’ve got a massive heart for the club but I just feel like I’m at a time in my career when I need a new challenge and a new place to play.”I had a few meetings with a different number of clubs and Notts just really excited me with the way they play their cricket and obviously the squad is very strong. Peter Moores, the coach, and Kevin Shine, the bowling coach, really attracted me.”I’ve had stuff to do with Shiney in the past, growing up. I feel that’s going to benefit me, to have a different set of eyes on me to see how I can get better. If that’s more pace, or getting me in a better position at contact, we’ll see.”Josh Tongue at a #Funds4Runs session at Stockport Georgians Cricket Club•LV= Insurance/#Funds4Runs

Asked if there was a single reason behind players leaving, Tongue said: “I don’t think so. I’m not sure about the other lads leaving, but at my stage of my career now, I just felt like I needed a change and to work with some different coaches and different players. Obviously that is hopefully going to benefit me in the future.”Moeen, whose brother Kadir is Worcestershire’s assistant coach, suggested that money was a motivating factor for some departures. “I think it could be financial – it probably is financial with a couple of players,” he said. “But I think some players probably feel like they want to play at a bigger venue or a bigger club. It doesn’t always work out, but good luck to them.”I love Worcester, I still love Worcester. Obviously my brother’s there and the coach, Richo [Alan Richardson], so I still follow their progress and stuff. It’s a shame, but it’s always been a club or a county that’s produced good players and I’m sure they always will.”Tongue and Pennington shared 12 wickets between them in Worcestershire’s win against Leicestershire at Oakham this week, leaving them third in Division Two of the County Championship and only two points off a promotion spot. Richardson admitted some mixed emotions, but said they would continue to be selected for the rest of the summer.”Obviously I’m disappointed that they are leaving,” Richardson said, “but at the same time they are still our players and they still want to perform for us for the rest of the season, to help us achieve our goals. Having them in the team makes us better. We aren’t going to change our opinion on that just because they are leaving at the end of the season.”Josh Tongue was speaking on behalf of LV= Insurance, title sponsors of this summer’s LV= Insurance Ashes Series. Head to https://www.lv.com/gi/cricket to find out more.

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