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Nottinghamshire’s season has been transformed since Peter Moores joined the coaching staff and trust in homegrown pace bowlers has played a large part in that

Jon Culley at Trent Bridge23-Aug-2015
ScorecardJake Ball – proof that Nottinghamshire can produce their own•Getty Images

With a third of the third day lost to rain and a forecast for more interruptions on day four, Nottinghamshire may be thwarted in their attempt to secure a fourth win in five in the Championship. Nonetheless, the transformation in their fortunes since late June has been notable.Since they were thrashed by an innings by Yorkshire at Headingley in June, Nottinghamshire have recorded a remarkable 11 wins from 14 completed matches across the three formats. Talk of relegation was in the air in the aftermath of the Leeds defeat; now there is a reasonable prospect of finishing second in the Championship, while a home quarter-final in the Royal London Cup on Tuesday offers the chance to move within one step of a second Lord’s final in three years.Much will be made of the improvement coinciding with the addition of Peter Moores to the coaching staff as a consultant. The future of the former England head coach beyond next month has yet to be determined. There will be a clamour, no doubt, among the members for him to stay.There are other factors at play, though, one of which is the emergence of a youthfully enthusiastic bowling attack, who are rising to the challenge presented by the two gaping holes left behind by Andre Adams and, latterly, Peter Siddle, and threatening finally to quieten the constant snipe that Nottinghamshire cannot produce their own players.Jake Ball, Brett Hutton and Luke Wood, who have shared seven wickets in this match so far and 74 between them for the Championship season, are all local boys. Ball is from Mansfield, while Hutton and Wood, although born in Doncaster and Sheffield respectively, played their club cricket in Nottinghamshire and developed through the county’s academy system.Although Wood is a relative newcomer, Ball and Hutton have had to wait several years for the opportunity to be regulars in the four-day side. Now they have made the breakthrough, they are finding that taking the field with trust behind them makes all the difference.”It is massive to have that,” Ball said after finishing with 3 for 35 after going for under two runs per over. “It is hard as a bowler when you go out there under pressure, thinking you must take wickets, because then you can strive too hard, bowl a bit fuller and go for a lot of runs.”It is nice to have that confidence, so you can just settle into a spell knowing you have a period of time in the team and that if you persevere with bowling the ball in the right areas then wickets will come.”There have been situations in the year when they could have left people out but they have stuck with us and it has given us the confidence to go out there are express ourselves and be positive.”Ball puts his own strides forward down both to that sense of security and a winter spent in the gym, working on his strength and fitness.”I was established in the one-day and Twenty20 teams but I wanted this to be a breakthrough season in the Championship,” he said.”I was meant to go to Sydney last winter but I took a decision to spend the winter working in the gym with the aim of getting stronger and it has paid off in that I’ve probably added a yard of pace.”I’ve only missed a couple of four-day games and the experience of playing at this level regularly has helped me improve.”I think we are all learning as a unit. Over the last couple of years we have lost some really experienced bowlers in Andre Adams and Darren Pattinson and last year Peter Siddle. This year we have had people coming in and out and found ourselves in situations where the youngsters have needed to play.”But we have come in and done a good job. I feel the younger bowlers are in on merit and that’s good to see. We would like to think we can develop as the Notts bowling attack for the future.”Ball’s bowling of Laurie Evans off an inside edge was an important early breakthrough after Warwickshire resumed on 100 for four, after which two wickets for Hutton and a second of the innings for Harry Gurney reduced Warwickshire to 171 for 8, Keith Barker and Chris Wright shoring things up with a stand of 65 before Barker perished reverse sweeping Samit Patel for an entertaining 71.

South Africa squared their Test series against England with a 67-run victory in Paarl on another hard-fought day

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2013
ScorecardSouth Africa squared their Test series against England with a 67-run victory in Paarl on another hard-fought day. The home side’s spinners played a key role on a wearing surface after England had set a platform for at least a draw on 143 for 1.Victory came deep into the final session after the last four wickets fell for 10 runs. Kagiso Rababa, the quick bowler, wrapped up the innings with two wickets.England had started the day on 31 without loss needing another 287 to take the series and made strong early progress as Jonathan Tattersall and Dominic Sibley took their opening stand to 63. After Sibley fell to Vincent Moore another productive stand of 90 followed between Tattersall and Harry Finch (46).However, when Finch fell to the legspinner Diego Rosier, who bowled 25 overs in the day, the innings began to subside as England slipped to 191 for 6 before tea. Ed Barnard and Miles Hammond slowed South Africa’s momentum by adding 49, but when Michael Fasson had Barnard lbw the final collapse decided the match.David Bedingham, whose hundred set up South Africa’s matchwinning lead, was named Man of the Match and Oli Stone, the England captain, took the Man of the Series award for taking 17 wickets at 9.88.Stone’s match figures of 11 for 79 were the best by an England bowler in a Youth Test surpassing the record of 11 for 213 held Richard Pearson, the former Northamptonshire, Surrey and Essex spinner, set against Australia’s Young Cricketers in 1991.

While there were murmurs from former players and members of the media questioning the legality of Saeed Ajmal’s action, Matt Prior said the England players were not talking about it

George Dobell in Dubai 17-Jan-2012It was as inevitable as it was regrettable that another absorbing day’s cricket between Pakistan and England should be tarnished by more controversy.At a time when Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal should have been talking about the career-best bowling spell that had earned his side the initiative in the first Test, he was instead forced to defend the legality of his bowling action in the post-play media conference. It appears that games between these sides will always be plagued by one issue or another.Ajmal, utilising all his skill and variation, claimed 7 for 55 as England were dismissed for just 192. Though Ajmal gained little turn from a sluggish surface, there was just enough movement in each direction to send confusion through the English ranks. It was a masterful performance from a fine cricketer.There were no complaints from the England dressing-room. Matt Prior, the England wicketkeeper, could not have made it clearer. “It’s not something we’re concerned about,” he replied when asked what the England team thought of Ajmal’s action. “It’s not something we talk about. It’s nothing to do with us.”But there were murmurs from former players and members of the media that suggested the issue could well dominate the headlines in the coming days. A waft of sour grapes, perhaps?The debate was sparked by the former England captain turned pundit, Bob Willis. Willis made the point, a quite legitimate point in context, that England are putting themselves at a disadvantage by not encouraging their young cricketers to bowl the doosra, a delivery that is harder to bowl while maintaining the legal margin of 15 degrees of arm straightening.There’s some truth in Willis’ complaint. Very few English coaches encourage the doosra and one of the very few county players who could bowl it with any degree of control and bite, Maurice Holmes, was recently suspended from bowling and released by his county after doubts about his action were raised.”The delivery that I have a problem with is the doosra,” Willis said. “The ICC have accommodated this delivery; they changed the rules to allow these bowlers to bend their elbow 15 degrees, which is what makes it so difficult for the batsmen.”The authorities are now allowing these mystery spinners, unorthodox offspinners to bend their elbow to a degree. If they are going to be allowed to do that then England have to address this and decide whether we should be teaching our young spinners to bowl like that as well.”Prior, whose performance stood head and shoulders above his team-mates, refused to encourage talk about Ajmal’s action. Instead he thought his side had to take responsibility for a poor display with the bat, while acknowledging that any bowler with the ability to turn the ball both ways always presented extra difficulties. Neither did he think that Ajmal’s talk of a mystery new delivery – the teesra – had proved to be a successful mind game.”We have to hold our hands up,” Prior said. “We had a bad day at the office. It was a pretty good batting surface and the ball wasn’t really turning. We just played a few cross-batted shots when we should have played straight.”I don’t think Saaed got in our heads at all. Any spin bowler who spins it both ways is tricky. His wrist is pretty quick when he delivers the ball so it’s pretty difficult to pick him at times and that obviously plays on a batsman’s minds, but we have to deal with him a lot better than we did today.Ajmal also chose to rise above questions on the issue. “I’m just going to concentrate on my bowling,” he said. “Umpires and referees are responsible for judging my action. Such questions were raised with Saqlain Mushtaq [the former Pakistan offspinner], too, but we both played county cricket and there were no problems. It’s no problem for me that someone in England has questioned my action.”This was the best performance of my life. I just bowled wicket to wicket and, while I had a good day, England had a bad one. They are all good players and it would be wrong to say that England doesn’t play spin well. Andrew Strauss should have played off the front foot rather than the back, but I’ve worked hard on my bowling against left-handers and I’m very happy to have dismissed four left-handers today.”

Australia are closing in on a series-levelling victory at the WACA after ripping out five England wickets during the final session to back up Michael Hussey’s 116 which continued his phenomenal series

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan18-Dec-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJames Anderson can only look on as Ryan Harris celebrates Paul Collingwood’s last-ball dismissal•Getty Images

Australia are closing in on a series-levelling victory at the WACA after ripping out five England wickets during the final session to back up Michael Hussey’s 116 which continued his phenomenal series. Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris both struck in the final five minutes of play to finish with two apiece while other scalp, the key one of Kevin Pietersen for 3, went to the hardworking Ben Hilfenhaus as England lurched to stumps on 5 for 81.Those final few moments did huge damage to England who were already struggling. Jonathan Trott had played well for 31 before fencing at Johnson and, in a sign of how fortunes have changed, Ricky Ponting parried the ball at second slip only for Brad Haddin to snap up the chance. Ponting immediately left the field for treatment on a finger so missed the final-ball drama when the out-of-form Paul Collingwood edge Harris to third slip, the ball after nightwatchman James Anderson declined a single to take the strike off Collingwood.Hussey and Shane Watson, who fell five runs short of his hundred, were chiefly responsible for building Australia’s strong position as they extended their fourth-wicket stand to 113. After that, England staged a fightback with Chris Tremlett claiming his maiden five-wicket haul as the last six wickets fell for 55 but, despite the positive talk of a repeat of South Africa’s 414-run chase in 2008-09, history was always unlikely to repeat itself.Australia were mightily pumped up for the final session, knowing the quick bowlers could go full throttle. Ponting wasn’t afraid to switch the bowlers around and it was a change of ends for Harris that brought the first breakthrough when Alastair Cook was struck on the back leg. Cook asked Andrew Strauss if it was worth a review, but wasn’t supported by his captain. The ball would have clipped the bails.

Smart Stats

• Shane Watson’s 95 was the fourth time he has fallen in the nineties in his career. He has two centuries and 14 fifties.

• Michael Hussey’s century was his second of the series and the 13th of his career. He averages almost 61 in home Tests but just over 39 in away Tests.

• The 113 run partnership between Hussey and Watson was the third century stand for the fourth wicket for Australia against England in Test matches at Perth.

• In 11 innings since June 2010, Kevin Pietersen has scored 477 runs with one century and two fifties. He has scored less than 10 in five of these innings.

• Of the ten previous occasions that Australia have set a target over 300 at Perth, they have gone on to win on seven occasions and drawn twice. The only loss came against South Africa in 2008.

Johnson had been brought on in the sixth over and offered a couple of boundary balls, then tightened up to off stump and found Strauss’s edge which flew comfortably to Ponting at second slip. Whereas Hussey had given a lesson in what to leave, England’s batsmen were far less certain.Pietersen also chased a wide delivery that he poked to first slip to give Hilfenhaus his first wicket since the third ball of the series. Pietersen had escaped a pair with a pull to fine leg but hadn’t settled when he hung his bat out, although it was nothing less than Hilfenhaus deserved for a probing spell. For Pietersen it was his lowest contribution when he has batted twice in a Test. Like his team, it’s been quite a comedown from Adelaide.Throughout the match it has been tough for batsmen when they first come in, which emphasises the importance of the lone hundred so far from Hussey. His latest masterclass made him the first batsman to hit six consecutive fifty-plus scores in a Ashes Tests, a run dating back to his futile hundred at The Oval in 2009. He also became the leading run-scorer in the series, overtaking Cook, and made this the most prolific series of his career. Not bad for a player who nearly lost his place before it all started in Brisbane.He brought up his hundred with a crunching pull, the manner in which many of his boundaries arrived as England maintained the plan of feeding his strength. He was barely troubled by any of the short-pitched offerings, which although working against some of his team-mates were a futile and wasted effort to Hussey.Hussey has an impressive conversion rate of fifties to hundreds, but the same can’t yet be said of Watson. He’d barely put a foot wrong during his innings, unfurling some thumping drives against Steven Finn as he moved carefully to 95 and within sight of his third Test century. Tremlett then got one to hold its line on middle which Watson missed, but the batsman called for a review thinking he’d hit the ball.It was a small window for England, which looked to have become a little bigger when Steven Smith was given caught at slip off an inside edge by Billy Doctrove, but this time the UDRS worked in Australia’s favour when no nick was detected and the ball was also heading over the stumps. It was a skittish innings from Smith, who could also have been run out, before Tremlett’s move to round the wicket worked as Smith gloved down the leg sideHaddin began with a sweep for six over midwicket against Swann, who only bowled five overs in the day and struggled, but got an inside edge into the stumps to give Tremlett a fourth. The lower order couldn’t offer Hussey much support as Johnson drove to cover, Harris pulled to deep midwicket and Siddle edged to third to slip to hand Anderson his 200th Test wicket.Hussey finally departed to the pull, when he picked out deep square-leg to give Tremlett a deserved five-wicket haul, but his innings had set up victory that will arrive on Sunday. And from the position Australia were in on the first afternoon, that’s an astonishing turnaround.

Anjum Chopra anchored India Red Women’s innings with an unbeaten 34 to help her team complete a five-wicket victory against India Blue Women

Cricinfo staff02-Jan-2010
ScorecardAnjum Chopra anchored India Red Women’s innings with an unbeaten 34 to help her team complete a five-wicket victory against India Blue Women in the opening game of the Women’s Challenger Trophy in Ahmedabad. Chasing 118 for victory, India Red got home in the 20th over with four balls to spare.Chopra was supported by Thirush Kamini and Rumeli Dhar but India Red’s chase was jolted by three run outs. They lost wickets at regular intervals but Chopra ensured victory by remaining firm at one end. She struck two fours in her 39-ball innings.Earlier the India Blues’ innings had also suffered from a spate of run outs. Anagha Deshpande top-scored with 48 but she was one of three batsmen to be run out as her team was restricted to 117 for 4 in 20 overs. Mithali Raj chipped in with 41 and hers was the only wicket taken by a bowler.

Visitors were wobbling at 96 for 7, still in arrears, before eighth-wicket pair come to rescue

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay11-Sep-2025A stoic rearguard action from Durham eighth-wicket pair of Ben Raine and Matthew Potts, coupled with an untimely heavy thunderstorm, essentially ended Essex hopes of pulling off a stunning last-day Rothesay County Championship victory.Raine and Potts came together at 96 for 7 with Durham still requiring 28 runs to make Essex bat again. When a bolt of lightning forced the players from the field 14 minutes before the scheduled tea interval, the deficit had been turned into a narrow 19-run advantage courtesy of the biggest partnership of an otherwise dismal batting performance. When the players came back for the remaining 9.5 overs in the evening, 4.1 actually being possible before the rain returned, Raine took advantage of spread-out fields to reach 42 not out.Before the rains came, it looked like the old firm of Jamie Porter and Simon Harmer were rolling back the years to pull off a win that had looked unlikely at the start of the day. The seam-and-spin double act combined to rip through Durham’s fragile batting with Porter ending on 3 for 36 and Harmer 3 for 64.Essex had thrown down the gauntlet by declaring on their overnight score of 457 for 8, which gave them a 124-run lead. Before Raine and Potts joined forces in an unbroken stand of 77 out of 173 for 7, it appeared a prescient decision.The 14 points Essex collected from the draw eased their relegation concerns while Durham’s dozen keeps them in serious danger with two games to play.In the end Essex were close to a third Championship win of an underwhelming season with an attack that was already without Sam Cook, nursing a broken thumb, and Shane Snater, who tweaked a calf while bowling during Durham’s first innings. It heaped a lot of responsibility on to the shoulders of Porter, but he responded immediately and emphatically.Porter needed just 14 balls to make the initial breakthrough, Alex Lees beaten for pace. Six balls later Emilio Gay followed, also lbw and also all at sea.Ben McKinney, who scored a well-judged century first time around, was another who struggled against Porter, taking 15 balls to get off the mark. He had only 11 to his name 49 balls later when he inexplicably left alone a ball from Harmer that went straight on and knocked back off stump.Durham tried to settle into full survival mode, but the pressure got to them. David Bedingham, for instance, faced 60 balls for 16 that included a six over long leg three balls before he top-edged a hook to deep fine leg off Noah Thain.Colin Ackermann, in turn, took 19 balls to score his first run. But three overs into the post-lunch session, and with a guard outside off stump, he went to give himself room to cut Harmer and ended up edging to Dean Elgar at slip.Durham were still 32 runs adrift of making Essex bat again when Porter snapped up his third wicket, rapping Graham Clark on his back pad. And four runs later, Ollie Robinson’s 21 from 55 balls ended when he attempted to slash Harmer past point and was caught behind.Raine and Potts then took Durham past Essex’s total 57 overs into their innings. And the pair had been together for exactly an hour when the players were taken off the pitch as the first flash of lightning lit up the darkening sky.The players came back nearly two hours later, having already lost 24 overs. Essex had seven men around the bat when Harmer wheeled in, but could only watch as Raine thrashed a couple of boundaries and a six over long-on. But it wasn’t long before handshakes were exchanged.

The Mumbai Indians fast bowler recorded 132.1 kph in the game against Delhi Capitals

Vishal Dikshit05-Mar-2024South African quick Shabnim Ismail has breached the 130kph barrier for the first time in women’s cricket since speeds have been recorded. Ismail bowled a delivery that the speed-gun on broadcast recorded at 132.1kph in the WPL game between her side Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals on Tuesday in Delhi.It was the second delivery of the third over in the game which Ismail bowled full to Capitals captain Meg Lanning, who missed the delivery and was hit on the front pad. Mumbai appealed for lbw but it was turned down. When asked at the end of the innings if she was aware of the fastest delivery she had bowled, Ismail said she doesn’t “look at the big screen when I am bowling.”Ismail had also recorded a delivery at 128.3kph in the opening game of the tournament, also against Capitals. She, however, missed a couple of games for Mumbai with an injury and returned to action on Tuesday.In international cricket too, the fastest delivery recorded is by Ismail, when she bowled one at 128kph against West Indies in 2016 and had breached the 127kph mark twice in the 2022 ODI World Cup.Ismail was far from her best on Tuesday though. She opened the bowling once Mumbai chose to field and was erratic with her full deliveries and bowled on the pads. After her first two overs went for 14 runs, Shafali Verma smacked her for consecutive sixes at the start of her third before Ismail had her caught behind for 28 and gave her an aggressive send-off. She finished with 1 for 46 from her four overs in the top-of-the-table clash.Ismail, 35, retired from international cricket in May 2023, months after the home T20 World Cup to end a 16-year career. She played 241 international games for 317 wickets across formats, which included 127 ODIs, 113 T20Is and a Test. She is now a regular in T20 leagues around the world.

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.

Ben Stokes rested after stand-in role in ODIs, as Buttler returns alongside other senior players

Andrew Miller14-Jul-2021Saqib Mahmood and Lewis Gregory have been rewarded for their stellar performances in England’s 3-0 ODI series win over Pakistan with recalls to the T20I squad, as Eoin Morgan returns to lead the side alongside eight others who were required to self-isolate following a Covid-19 outbreak during the Sri Lanka series earlier this month.Mahmood was named Player of the Series in the Pakistan ODIs, after claiming nine wickets at 13.66 in the three matches. He impressed throughout with his pace, accuracy and hostility, particularly in the powerplay, and is in line to play his first T20I since Pakistan’s last visit to England in September last year.Gregory meanwhile was barely any less influential, with vital runs and wickets across all three matches, including a Player-of-the-Match display in the second game at Lord’s, and a crucial 77 from 69 balls at Edgbaston, as England chased a ground-record 332 to complete their series clean sweep. He too has not played T20Is since the Pakistan series last summer.Jos Buttler, England’s vice-captain, is also back in the reckoning after missing the Sri Lanka series with a calf tear that had, at one stage, seemed likely to keep him sidelined for the entire white-ball leg of the summer.There is, however, no place in the 16-player squad for England’s interim captain, Ben Stokes, who was recalled ahead of schedule to lead the makeshift squad, having initially been expected to continue working on his form and fitness with Durham, following the broken finger he sustained at the IPL in April.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Chris Silverwood, who had to cancel a family holiday when the Covid outbreak caused England’s squad upheaval, is set to go back on leave with Paul Collingwood returning to oversee the team’s fortunes as interim head coach.Notable absentees from England’s last T20I squad, against Sri Lanka in June, include Sam Curran, who was named player of the series in the 3-0 clean sweep, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes, all of whom are likely to feature in England’s Test plans for the series against India next month, as well as Sam Billings, who was also part of the Test squad against New Zealand last month.Tom Banton, who was unlucky not to feature in the Sri Lanka series, returns to the squad in place of Phil Salt, who impressed as an understudy with two forceful innings in the ODIs, but there is no immediate return for Sussex’s left-arm seamer, George Garton. Jake Ball, who featured in the rejigged squad for the ODIs but did not play a match, is also included in the squad, as is the legspinner Matt Parkinson, who impressed as Adil Rashid’s understudy with five wickets at 28.00.An ECB statement confirmed that all 16 players and support staff returned negative Covid-19 tests to clear them for the series, which gets underway at Trent Bridge on July 16.”The Royal London Series success against Pakistan showcased the exciting depth of talent we have developed in men’s white-ball cricket,” Silverwood said.Related

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• Ben Stokes says England players ready to 'make sacrifices' as bubble life looms once again

• James Vince trumps Babar Azam's 158 as England seal stunning 332 chase

• James Vince on his matchwinning century: 'I didn't know if this moment was ever going to come'

“We have selected a T20 squad that sees the return of many of our most experienced players after their period of isolation. Additionally, we have rewarded some of the players involved in the 50-over series win with selection which allows us to manage multi-format players as we prepare for the much-anticipated Test series against India.”I would like to express my thanks to Ben Stokes and the players for their efforts over the last week, and the counties for their support in getting this series on.”England Men’s T20I Squad: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Tom Banton, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Lewis Gregory, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Matt Parkinson, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, David Willey.

Tour set to go ahead with Cricket Ireland ‘monitoring’ coronavirus situation in northern India

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Feb-2020Ireland head coach Graham Ford will miss his side’s upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan in India after a “slip accident” at his home in Dublin led to a fractured vertebrae and three broken ribs.Ford had to travel home from the Ireland Wolves (the ‘A’ side) tour of South Africa last week, after a Durban doctor told him he would be unable to participate in physical training with the squad.Rob Cassell, who will leave the coaching staff to take up a bowling coach position with Rajasthan Royals immediately after the tour, will be acting head coach for the series, while another coach will be added to the staff in the interim.Cricket Ireland also confirmed that it will “continue to monitor the situation” with regards to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. The board said it was “concurrently taking advice from government, health and sporting bodies,” and that “while a duty of care approach to players’ health will be maintained, there is currently no advisory against travelling to northern India”.The series starts on March 6, with all three games being played in Greater Noida.