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Gudakesh Motie, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford and Romario Shepherd have been rested for the Nepal series, while Shimron Hetmyer had made himself unavailable

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Sep-2025The West Indies team management is looking to expand the bowlers’ pool ahead of the T20 World Cup early next year in India and Sri Lanka.Their next T20I assignment is against Nepal at the end of this month for which the selectors have picked five uncapped players, including legspinner Zishan Motara, left-arm quick Ramon Simmonds and legspin-bowling allrounder Navin Bidaisee, apart from batters Ackeem Auguste and Karima Gore, who played international cricket for USA until 2021 but is yet to get his West Indies cap.They have also picked a support staff heavily stacked with former bowlers to accompany the 15-man squad to Sharjah, with Rayon Griffith as the head coach, Ottis Gibson as fast-bowling consultant, and Nikita Miller and Jerome Taylor as assistant coaches.Related

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“The tour of Nepal is quite strategic for us,” CWI director of cricket Miles Bascombe said in a press meet. “We have recognised that probably over the last few years, our bowling has been a little bit of the Achilles’ heel in our white-ball team. So we have tried to bolster the support for the bowling group.”After touring the UAE, West Indies will tour Bangladesh for six white-ball matches in October and then fly to New Zealand for five T20Is and three ODIs.Full-time head coach Daren Sammy explained that some of the first-choice players like Gudakesh Motie, the second-highest wicket-taker in the ongoing CPL, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford and Romario Shepherd had been rested for the games in Nepal to manage their workloads. Except Shimron Hetmyer, who blew hot and blew cold this CPL and was unavailable for the tour.Ottis Gibson’s presence raises the profile of the West Indies support staff•Getty Images

“If you look at the workload of these guys, Rovman for sure, he has been battling a wrist injury that prevented him from playing in the Pakistan series,” Sammy said. “I mean, he pushed it through this CPL. He requested a time off for him to further look at it. Motie and Shepherd, because of their workload over the last few months, we gave them a time off for that. Sherfane was also [rested] because of his workload.”Hetmyer also requested that he was unavailable for that Nepal trip. So again, like I said, it’s not always a bed of roses. Some things we don’t see, but it’s always a challenge. I’ve said that when I call somebody and tell them, ‘you’ve been selected for some of the series’, and I have to ask to everyone, do you accept the selection to play for West Indies? It’s something that I must do because we don’t own the players. We could only select from what’s available to us. Hettie has been one of our promising, talented players from the Under-19 level. However, the scope of things that now… we could only select and hope guys accept this selection. But he’s always available for selection from our side.”Sammy further said that the selectors and coaches also looked at the performers from the inaugural Breakout League – a new T20 league launched earlier this year to spot talent from across the Caribbean – and the CPL to pick fresh players for the upcoming T20Is.Nathan Edward is a rare left-arm quick in West Indies cricket•ICC/Getty Images

“You look at the Breakout [League] and again, I will emphasise the need for continued avenues for us to showcase and unearth talent,” he said. “And the Breakout, maybe some people were against it because it was a T20 format, but if you see this year, the amount of players that came through – Bidaisee was one of them that came through and show his skillset in the Breakout. And, he reminds me of Samuel Badree, who probably could bowl in the powerplay, bowl in the middle, very consistent around that good-length area that brings challenges to batsmen.”And two areas that I’ve spoken about in our bowling department in T20s is the need for a wristspinner. And every single team I could remember in World Cup T20 cricket, has had a left-arm seamer. Just the angle they bring and the difficulty, especially in the back-end of an innings, or whether the ability to swing. I don’t think in the history of West Indies cricket we’ve actually even had two left-arm seamers playing together, much less three. And we also, from the Breakout, you see a young Nathan Edward, who’s been quite quality as well. So again, you put that and you’re hoping that one or two will graduate so quickly that they could be into the senior team.”We gave Jediah [Blades] the exposure, but the way Ramon Simmonds has been bowling in all phases of the game gives me, and I’m pretty sure the selection group, confidence. It makes us excited about the prospects, the promise he’s shown. And then to top that, having somebody like an Ottis Gibson working with them, it’s a win-win situation for us. And hopefully that experience that they will gain or learn from getting the skillsets and the technical aspects of fast bowling or seam bowling from Ottis on that short trip could be a step…”Matthew Forde was still not fit to be considered for selection after he dislocated his shoulder in August, which made him miss the ODIs against Pakistan. CWI is, however, hoping he will be “up and running again” by the Bangladesh series.

Laurie Evans, who missed last season after a provisional doping suspension, has also put his name in

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Aug-20234:28

WATCH – Pooran’s magnificent 137* takes MI NY to inaugural MLC title

Nicholas Pooran, the West Indies left hander, could return to the BBL after he was announced among six batters who have nominated for the overseas draft next month.Pooran’s one previous stint in the BBL came in the 2020-21 season where he made six appearances for Melbourne Stars, smashing 65 off 26 balls with eight sixes in his second outing against Sydney Sixers although Stars lost a thriller by one wicket.His is an eye-catching inclusion on the draft list given his recent form where he hammered 137 off 55 balls in the MLC final to carry MI New York to the title which has been followed by runs in the T20I series against India.Related

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English batter Laurie Evans could also head back to the league after he was forced to miss last season with Perth Scorchers after being provisionally suspended following a positive doping test.The suspension was lifted in March and Evans is currently playing in the Hundred for Manchester Originals having also been part of the T20 Blast for Surrey. However, he still faces a hearing later this year.Nicholas Pooran played one spectacular innings during his previous BBL stint•Getty Images

Having been on Scorchers’ original list last season he will be eligible for retention, whereby a club has one opportunity to prevent another team signing a player who was in their squad the previous season. Evans played a starring role in their 2021-22 title success with 76 off 41 balls in the final.Other names heading into the draft, which will take place on September 3 following the inaugural WBBL overseas draft, are Alex Hales, Rilee Rossouw, Faf du Plessis and Colin Munro.Hales, who recently announced his retirement from international cricket, is eligible for retention by Sydney Thunder as is Rossouw. Du Plessis was originally an unpicked platinum player in last year’s draft before getting a replacement deal with Scorchers so he could also be retained.Munro, the New Zealand left hander, was part of Brisbane Heat last season where he made 278 runs at a strike-rate of 150.27, so they would have the option of bringing him back.This year’s BBL, which will start on December 7, has been shortened to a 43-game season although there is still likely to be an overlap with the ILT20 in the UAE and the SA20 which may affect player availability.Overseas players can nominate in three categories for the draft – gold (AUD$300,000), silver (AUD$200,000) and bronze (AUD$100,000) – with the BBL then selecting a group of the biggest names to the platinum picks on AUD$420,000 if they are available for the whole tournament.How retention picks work

• Have been in a Big Bash squad for a minimum of two seasons and haven’t been contracted to another team since
• Have been in a Big Bash squad the previous season
• Was in a team squad last season but did not play in the starting 13 and have been approved by the Big Bash Technical Committee
• Is otherwise approved by the Big Bash Technical Committee due to exceptional circumstances

Shardul Thakur throws spotlight on crammed Ranji Trophy schedule after hitting game-changing ton against Tamil Nadu in semi-final

Shashank Kishore03-Mar-2024India allrounder Shardul Thakur has called for longer breaks between Ranji Trophy games to facilitate better recovery and preparation for players, keeping in mind the lengthy nature of the competition. Mumbai, for example, would’ve played 10 first-class games in under 10 weeks should they reach the final.Shardul termed the current schedule – where teams have had just three days between games – as “difficult” with schedules getting “tighter and tighter.””If boys keep playing like this for two more seasons, there will be a lot of injuries across the country,” he said after hitting a maiden first-class century to rescue Mumbai from 106 for 6, as they went on to open up a 207-run lead with one wicket remaining.”Next year, they [the BCCI] have to re-look at it, and give more [of a] break. When I remember playing Ranji Trophy back in the day, good seven to eight years back, [the] first three games used to have [a] three-day break, and then it was [a] four-day break, and knockouts were played [with] five-day breaks.”With the IPL window only getting bigger, the BCCI has had to force-fit all senior men’s competitions over a smaller window than usual. This has led to several prominent first-class cricketers lamenting privately about the relevance of tournaments such as the Duleep Trophy and Deodhar Trophy, the zonal first-class and one-day competitions, which open the domestic season.Injuries aside, teams have also had to grapple with travel fatigue because of this short window. Gujarat, for example, had their flight to New Delhi cancelled the following day after their home fixture against Karnataka in Ahmedabad.Then on the second day, their onward flight to Delhi was delayed, and when they finally arrived in the capital, they were stranded in the airport overnight. It meant driving amid heavy fog to Chandigarh on the third morning which left them with no net sessions prior to the game, which was eventually fogged out.”Now this year, we have seen that all the games have been played [with a] three-day gap. It is extremely tough on domestic players to expect them to play ten games in a row with just three-day gap if [a] team makes it to the finals.”Also, when nine teams were in the group [in the old format], one team would get a break in [the] round-robin system. Now with only eight teams being in one group, everyone plays each other, so that [extra] break has gone now.”Thakur cited Mumbai’s example, while explaining how it was particularly gruelling on fast bowlers. “Yeah, 100% because Mohit [Avasthi] also had an injury in the sixth game.” Avasthi was rested by Mumbai from the league stage contest against Chhattisgarh, believed to have developed a hamstring-related issue.”He played five games in a row. He had a huge workload because Tushar [Deshpande] was also selected for India A,” Thakur said. “He was not available. Dhawal [Kulkarni] was playing alternate games looking at his age and workload. Royston [Dias] is fairly new.”He [Mohit] operated a lot in those first five games, and then he had an injury so he had to miss a game. I think that is because there is not enough spacing between the games.”Tamil Nadu captain and left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore, who has led his side into Ranji Trophy knockouts for the first time in seven years while also crossing the 50-wicket mark this season, agreed with Thakur.”A few players feel the same thing,” Sai Kishore said. “Fast bowlers are extra tired because you travel on one day. For me, I don’t train much because of the three-day thing. I bowl directly match-to-match, so the load on my body is fine. I don’t strain myself in training pre-match. I am managing myself that way, but it should be harder for the fast bowlers.”

A scorching spell from Starc restricted the visitors to 203, but Rauf nearly stole the game away

Alex Malcolm04-Nov-2024It was the full Pakistan experience at the MCG, a ground where they have so much great history. They were hopeless, then thrilling, then hopeless, then thrilling. And then Australia won, without much conviction. But they did what they do thanks to a sizzling spell from Mitchell Starc and yet another nerveless chasing masterclass from the ice-cool captain Pat Cummins in the face of what looked like a match-winning three-wicket haul from Haris Rauf, heroics with bat and ball from Naseem Shah and some crafty captaincy from new skipper Mohammad Rizwan.The 25,831-strong crowd looked sparse in the gargantuan MCG. But it sounded like 100,000, and it felt like it was in Lahore, as Pakistan fans drowned out the locals to help keep their side in the game. But there was only so much they could do, as Pakistan found a way to lose despite being on the brink of one of the great ODI heists.Chasing just 204 after Starc took 3 for 33 from 10 overs, including three maidens, Australia slumped from 139 for 3, after Steven Smith and Josh Inglis were in control, to 155 for 7 on the back of Rauf’s raucous burst. That became 185 for 8 when Sean Abbott was run out, after he had nearly run out Cummins. But skipper held firm, as he had at Edgbaston, Mumbai, Kolkata and Christchurch over the past 18 months.Related

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His 32 not out won’t go down as his most memorable, but it was the equal of any of his best innings in Australian colours. It was vindication too for his decision to have laser eye surgery in the winter to fix his vision, and some extensive batting work in Sydney with Australian batting consultant and well renown coach Trent Woodhill.Australia’s chase began poorly with the new opening duo of Matt Short and Jake Fraser-McGurk both falling inside the first four overs.Fraser-McGurk’s 16 was particularly frantic. But Smith was calm and settled into a stereotypical groove. Any fears on his Test form could well be allayed given how well he handled some excellent fast bowling on a quick pitch.Australia could have been 55 for 3 when Inglis was dropped by Irfan Khan at gully. Naseem got one to rear from a length and catch the edge but Irfan could not hang on flying high to his right.That looked like it might have been the last chance. Barring an edge between the keeper and wide slip trying to glide a ball, Inglis was imperious. Coach Jason Gillespie’s four years coaching against Inglis in Australian domestic cricket had not translated to his four-pronged pace attack avoiding dropping short to the West Australian. It cost them three sixes and two fours.Haris Rauf burst through Australia’s middle order•AFP

After an 85-run stand, Smith made an uncharacteristic error. He slashed a cut off Rauf straight to backward point to be out for 44.Pakistan’s insistence on going short to Inglis paid off when he nailed another pull shot off Shaheen only to see Irfan run a long way to hang on to an outstanding catch in the deep.Rauf, a Melbourne Stars favourite, then had the Pakistan fans in raptures as he cranked up the speed and Australia lost 3 for 0. Labuschagne top edged to deep third, undone by extra bounce. Maxwell nicked the next ball to Rizwan and Australia were 139 for 6.Aaron Hardie and Abbott steadied briefly but it was fleeting. Hardie fell trying to back away and cut a ball from Mohammad Hasnain that hit the top of middle.Enter the skipper for another salvage job. It was unconventional as it always is. He was bombed with short balls. But he keep scoring and kept surviving. Abbott was run out when Cummins pushed for a third. But he was there at the end yet again when the winning runs were scored to break the hearts of all those who don’t bleed green and gold.Earlier, Australia set up the win with the ball. Most of Pakistan’s batters, with the exception of Babar Azam who made a classy 37 off 44, were exposed on a fast and bouncy MCG pitch after being sent in having come straight from the low spinning Test pitches of Multan and Rawalpindi last month. Rizwan top scored with 44 off 71 balls while Naseem made an outstanding 40 off 39 with four sixes from No. 9 to ensure Australia was at least chasing more than 200.Starc and Cummins, fresh and in rhythm ahead of a big summer, put on a show in front of a very pro-Pakistan crowd. Starc’s 140kph thunderbolts accounted for Saim Ayub on debut and Abdullah Shafique.The pair were opening the batting in ODI cricket for the first time after averaging just 8 as a pair in 12 Test innings together. Their international average dropped to 7.61 when Ayub chopped on trying to drive on the up.Shafique looked like he was batting in a Test match. He defended, ducked and weaved on his way to 12 from 26 before failing to get his bat out of the way of a rising delivery from Starc wide of off as he tried to sway inside it.Mitchell Starc removed Pakistan’s openers•Getty Images

Babar and Rizwan settled but never accelerated. Babar looked in fine touch but felt the pinch of the slow-moving scoreboard. He tried to create a scoring option off the back foot to Adam Zampa but picked the wrong length and lost his off stump.Cummins welcomed Kamran Ghulam to Australia with a brute of a delivery. The whites of his eyes popped as Cummins’ 142.7kph bouncer reared at his throat. He got his hands up in time but could only glove it to Inglis.Rizwan’s sluggish rearguard began to pick up steam when he hooked Starc into the stands at fine leg. But he fell to Labuschagne trying to sweep a wide legbreak only to get a top edge onto his helmet that popped up to Inglis.Some late hitting from Naseem, Shaheen Afridi, and Irfan Khan, in the mould of the man who had presented his debut cap in Wasim Akram, lifted Pakistan from a dire position at 117 for 6 to 203.Naseem and Shaheen showed the type of intent that Pakistan’s top order could have used, launching five sixes between them after the entire top seven had contributed one, before Shaheen was castled by Starc for 24 off 19.Naseem feasted on spin, launching Zampa into the stands twice and Maxwell once. But Naseem also launched Sean Abbott over deep midwicket. He holed out to mid-off to end the innings. Had he batted until the end, it might have been enough.

Total of 26 players picked up in open market ahead of August competition

ESPNcricinfo staff11-May-2023Grace Scrivens, England Under-19 captain, has been retained by London Spirit for this year’s Women’s Hundred, with several of the Under-19 team that recently reached the World Cup final in South Africa also signed for their maiden campaigns.A total of 26 players have been picked up in the open market, following the inaugural Women’s Draft, which took place in March.And Scrivens – who was one of the stand-out players in South Africa with 293 runs and nine wickets across England’s seven games – will once again be heading for Lord’s, where she’ll be captained by her senior counterpart, Heather Knight, when this year’s Hundred begins in August.”I’m delighted to be back,” Scrivens said. “Playing at Lord’s in front of such a big crowd was so exciting last season and I can’t wait to do it again.”Ryana MacDonald-Gay (Oval Invincibles), Liberty Heap (Manchester Originals), Josie Groves and Alexa Stonehouse (both Trent Rockets) are among the other Under-19 players to be picked up for the tournament.”I’m happy to see a lot of the Under-19 team being announced,” Scrivens added. “We really enjoyed the World Cup campaign and it’s great to see everyone continuing their professional progression in a world class competition like The Hundred.”Birmingham Phoenix have picked up a trio of non-England players, in Abtaha Maqsood (Scotland), Sterre Kalis (Netherlands) and Erin Burns (Australia).Other notable signings include the USA’s Tara Norris, a breakout star of the inaugural WPL, who has also joined London Spirit, while Georgia Adams Southern Vipers’ captain, returns to her original team, Southern Brave.

Full list of signings

Birmingham Phoenix: Abtaha Maqsood, Erin Burns, Chloe Brewer, Sterre Kalis

London Spirit: Grace Scrivens, Tara Norris, Niamh Holland

Manchester Originals: Liberty Heap, Phoebe Graham, Fi Morris
Northern Superchargers: Marie Kelly, Aylish Cranstone, Phoebe Franklin

Oval Invincibles: Eva Gray, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Kira Chathli

Southern Brave: Georgia Adams, Rhianna Southby, Danielle Gregory

Trent Rockets: Josie Groves, Emma Jones, Naomi Dattani, Alexa Stonehouse

Welsh Fire: Alex Griffiths, Claire Nicholas, Sarah Bryce

Durham opener stars on second day of tour game but CAXI openers made inroads in chase

ECB Reporters Network15-Jan-2025Cricket Australia XI 176 (Hearne 106, Cook 4-15) and 97 for 1 (Ward 39*, MacMillan 11*) need another 164 runs to beat England Lions 223 (Davies 54, Gannon 5-27) and 213 (McKinney 94) Durham’s Ben McKinney fell just short of a century for England Lions, as a Cricket Australia XI took control of their four-day encounter at the Ian Healy Oval in Brisbane.On a day when wickets continued to tumble, with 12 falling in all, the 20-year-old McKinney stood tallest to strike a composed 94 as the Lions were bowled out for 213 in their second innings.The home side reached 97 for one at the close, needing another 164 runs on day three to seal victory. Tim Ward was unbeaten at the close on 39 from 80 balls, having added 77 for the first wicket with Jayden Goodwin.Sonny Baker had earlier wrapped up the CAXI first innings without addition to their overnight 176. He dismissed centurion Lachlan Hearne with his first ball of the day to finish with four for 43, as the Lions took a 47-run lead. Sam Cook, who ran through the top-order yesterday, finished with four for 15.A youthful Lions batting line-up, featuring nine players aged 22 or under, were then unable to fully capitalise on their advantage aside from former Under-19s captain McKinney.The left-handed opener reached his half-century with a textbook cover drive to the rope but had been left with the tail when he pulled Gabe Bell and was caught on the boundary just short of his century. Last man Cook made a handy 23 from 19 balls as he and Baker added 28 for the last wicket. The CAXI wickets were shared around, with Bell and Charlie Anderson claiming three apiece.Bashir claimed the only wicket of the home side’s chase when Goodwin, son of former Zimbabwe and Sussex batter Murray, was trapped lbw on the back foot by Bashir for 35. Raf MacMillan was 11 not out at the close.

Hosts flounder in pursuit of 164 to finish 88 short – the largest margin of victory in the history of The Hundred

ECB Media17-Aug-2025London Spirit 164 for 6 (Chathli 69, Harris 34, Arlott 3-25) beat Birmingham Phoenix 76 (Lamb 23, Gray 2-13, Dean 2-16) by 88 runsA cracking partnership of 47 from just 21 balls between Spirit’s breakout opener Kira Chathli and the megastar Grace Harris took the game away from Phoenix, who floundered badly in pursuit of 164, losing three wickets inside the first 33 balls to eventually finish 88 short – the largest margin of victory in the history of The Hundred.The result propels Spirit to joint-top of the table with a slightly superior run rate to Southern Brave, and leaves the Phoenix down and virtually out, on just four points from five matches.The hosts will be disappointed with their campaign. Just a single tournament half-century, to Emma Lamb, and little to show for the efforts of their Australian pair, the great Ellyse Perry and the national team’s new star opener, Georgia Voll.Both made single-figure scores here as Phoenix stuttered up top against some disciplined new-ball bowling from Spirit’s left-arm spinner Bex Tyson and the rejuvenated Issy Wong, who yet again burnished her credentials as one of the best young seamers in the English game.Reigning champions Spirit, under Charlie Dean, who bowled beautifully to pick up two wickets including that of England team-mate Amy Jones, are again building at just the right time.Chathli in particular has been a revelation. Her 35-ball 69, containing 13 fours, is her most impressive knock to date in the tournament, while Harris is the heartbeat of their middle order, a woman in the form of her life who’s now plundered 199 tournament runs this term at a ferocious strike rate of 180. Her knock today may have occupied just 15 balls, but she still planted four of them over the rope.They needed it too, after losing Georgia Redmayne and Cordelia Griffith in the powerplay and then Charli Knott soon after, the impressive Phoenix seamer Em Arlott picking up three more wickets to draw level, on 10, with Lauren Bell as the most prolific wicket-taker of the tournament so far.Chathli, named the Meerkat Match Hero, said: “In The Hundred that’s definitely my best performance to date. They bowled really well up top – as did our bowlers as well – but the key is to give yourself a few balls, and after that it got a little easier.”We just focus on what do really well as a team, which is to play positive cricket and there’s no doubt in my mind that every member of our team backs each other to deliver their skill.”

Salt admits disappointment to slipping down pecking order but keen to seize opportunity

Matt Roller21-Sep-2023A sodden Headingley outfield delayed its arrival by three days, but England’s latest white-ball opening partnership will stride out to the middle together at Trent Bridge on Saturday with an opportunity to show that they are not just a stop-gap, but a viable long-term option at the top of the order.Phil Salt and Will Jacks were due to open the batting against Ireland before Wednesday’s ODI was abandoned without a ball bowled and both men know that this series is about much more than results. Instead, it represents a chance for them to show that they should be part of a regenerated England side after this World Cup.Salt and Jacks have batted together before, though only six times and all in T20s, rather than 50-over games. They opened together in one of England’s seven T20Is in Pakistan this time last year, and were also opening partners for Pretoria Capitals in the SA20 in January. That they were due to open, with Zak Crawley in the middle order, confirms their status as the next men in.In style, they are similar to the Jason Roy-Alex Hales prototype, the opening pair that launched England’s white-ball revolution. Jacks, like Hales, is the taller of the two, and particularly strong through the covers; Salt, like Roy, is slightly shorter, but a powerful, leg-side dominant player. Unlike Roy and Hales, they both offer secondary skills: Jacks bowls useful offbreaks, while Salt can keep wicket.After England’s humiliating group-stage exit at the 2015 World Cup and ahead of their next full series against New Zealand, Roy and Hales were given an extended run at the top of the order, given licence to fail as long as they played in the team’s new attacking style. Salt and Jacks could be in a similar position – even if England’s white-ball teams are now in a very different place.There is healthy competition between Salt and Jacks. Salt turned 27 last month, Jacks’ 25th birthday is in November, while Salt has 30 international caps and a T20 World Cup winners’ medal to Jacks’ 10. But Jacks was picked ahead of Salt to open the batting in last month’s T20I series against New Zealand, with England keen to give him a run of games.”I was disappointed, I can’t lie to you,” Salt said. “I had a good IPL, but I didn’t do myself justice when I came back for the Blast. Playing for England is where I want to be… if anything, it’s given me motivation to get back in the team and reclaim my place.” He sought feedback from Matthew Mott and Jos Buttler, who explained there had been “a little shift around in the pecking order.”With Hales now retired from international cricket and Roy’s World Cup omission likely to draw a line under his England career, there will soon be spots up for grabs. “I’d like to think so, yeah,” Salt said when asked if he saw himself taking one of them. “There’s a lot of guys in my position also thinking the same thing.”Will Jacks made his T20I debut as Salt’s opening partner•Getty Images

Of course, there is no guarantee that there will be dual vacancies at the top of the order. Buttler recently cautioned against what he sees as an English obsession with age, saying: “We are always looking for the next thing… If people are still performing, age is irrelevant.” After all, England will likely head into next year’s T20 World Cup with Buttler and Jonny Bairstow as their openers.But in ODIs, England will start building towards the 2027 World Cup – and the 2025 Champions Trophy – when they travel to the Caribbean in December. Their fringe players have lined up that tour for further potential opportunities and will make themselves available even if it means limiting their time for franchise cricket; both Salt and Jacks are in demand worldwide, and are likely to be retained for next year’s IPL.”Playing for England is a priority,” Salt said. “There’s a lot of franchise opportunities out there, but every game I can get in an England shirt, I want to take the opportunity with both hands. Some people are at the stage of their career where they are prioritising earning money… [but] right now, I just want to play as many games as I can for England.”After those three fixtures against West Indies, which are followed by five T20Is, England will not play another ODI until September 2024, when they host Australia at the end of the summer. With the country’s leading white-ball cricketers involved in the Hundred rather than the One-Day Cup, the ongoing Ireland series provides rare exposure to 50-over cricket.”It is slightly strange: you’ve got to remember the rules,” Jacks joked on Wednesday. “I’ve barely played [50-over cricket]: I’ve played two games in the last five years.” Salt believes that most players are able to adapt: “The fundamentals and the basics are very, very similar. It’s just spread out over a bigger period of time.”More immediately, they will just hope to get on the pitch: mercifully, Saturday’s forecast for Nottingham suggests they should at least manage that.

Being overlooked for central contract left retiring bowler feeling like “a third wheel” on tournament eve

Matt Roller11-Nov-20233:29

Harmison: England squad for WI will have fresh faces

David Willey signed off from his international career by taking his 100th ODI wicket in England’s win over Pakistan in Kolkata – then revealed he had considered pulling out of the World Cup as late as the day that the team flew to India at the end of September.Willey announced before England’s defeat to Australia in Ahmedabad last week that he would quit international cricket after this tournament at the age of 33. He was told in September that he had not been offered a central contract for 2023-24, then learned that he was the only member of the World Cup squad without an offer.He was incensed, and soon decided that he was no longer interested in feeling like “a third wheel” as a fringe player. He said that constant uncertainty over his schedule had taken its toll on him, his wife and their two children, and has therefore opted to “take control”.Related

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Willey started the World Cup running the drinks for England but replaced Sam Curran for their fourth match, a 229-run loss to South Africa in Mumbai, and has played every game since. He finished the tournament with 11 wickets at 23.54, second only to Adil Rashid in England’s squad, and signed off with 3 for 56 in his 10 overs.”It was mixed emotions,” Willey said. “My time is done… but it’s with deep regret. Anybody looking in has probably looked at the way I’ve gone about my business and [seen that I am] probably playing the best cricket of my career. I’m 33, as fit as I’ve ever been.”One of the reasons that I wasn’t offered a contract was them going in a different direction after the World Cup – I don’t know why [they are]. It’s been a period for some time now… not knowing quite where I stand with England and it’s just taken its toll, and becomes very tiring.”David Willey was Player of the Match in his international swansong•AFP/Getty Images

Willey believes he would have been able to play a valuable role for England at the T20 World Cup next June, had he been offered a contract. “[If there is] an injury or two, they’re going to be calling on someone with very little to no experience in World Cups,” he said.”Never say never, but right now, I’m very confident [in] my decision that today was my last game of cricket for England. Do I want to go to the Caribbean and run drinks, and not know where I stand, and just feel like a third wheel again – which is very much what I felt like when I turned up at Lord’s, being the only one without a contract? Probably not, so I’m done.”Willey said he had doubts over whether he should travel to India after learning that he was the only squad member without a central contract: “I wasn’t sure whether I was going to come to the World Cup, even to the 11th hour. The morning that we were joining up at Lord’s, I still wasn’t sure whether I’d make the trip or not.”He added: “From then on, it [retirement] was something that was on my mind. It’s not just that I haven’t been offered a contract; it’s how I feel valued as an England player, when I look down that list of other guys that have got contracts… I came to the decision that the time was right for me to call it a day.”Willey removed both Pakistan openers – Abdullah Shafique and Fakhar Zaman – in his new-ball spell on Saturday, then returned to have Agha Salman caught at mid-on to become the 15th Englishman to reach 100 ODI wickets. He also became the second England men’s player after Alastair Cook to win the Player of the Match award in his final international appearance.”On the phone to my wife this morning, she said, ‘Go on – just get to 100 wickets. It’d be a nice way to finish,'” he said. “To do that was a nice way for me personally [to sign off].”He said he wanted to leave international cricket on his own terms, and hoped that he had proved Rob Key – who, as managing director, was ultimately responsible for central contract offers – wrong. “Keysy said to me, ‘I hope you can prove me wrong.’ Maybe I’ve done it over the last few games,” Willey said.”The timing [of his retirement announcement], people may have looked at it and frowned upon my timing there. But for me personally, there’s not many opportunities you get to walk away from [international] cricket on your terms, and I wanted to really enjoy my last three games of cricket [for England] and play without looking over my shoulder, thinking, ‘One bad performance and I’m out of the side.'”Willey will continue to play domestic and franchise cricket. He captains Northamptonshire in the T20 Blast and has a contract with Abu Dhabi Knight Riders for the ILT20 in January-February. He is also likely to be retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, and by Welsh Fire in the Hundred.

Khushi produced a chanceless ton while Browne is 94 not out with Essex just 44 runs behind

ECB Reporters Network27-Apr-2024Essex 314 for 3 (Khushi 107, Browne 94*) trail Durham 358 by 44 runsA century by Feroze Khushi and Nick Browne’s unbeaten 94 enabled Essex to take control of their Vitality County Championship match against Durham at the Seat Unique Riverside.Replying to the home side’s 358, the First Division leaders were 314 for 3 at the close, leaving their side just 44 runs in arrears and perhaps laying the foundations for Essex’s third victory in four matches this season.Durham’s batters will have something to say about that, of course, on top of which this Riverside pitch is still good for batting and the weather forecast for Sunday is grim. But nothing should detract from the quality of Khushi’s chanceless century, the second of his career and his first since he reached three figures at Canterbury in 2022.And even when the 24-year-old had been dismissed by Callum Parkinson for 107, Browne shared an unbroken stand of 54 with Jordan Cox to leave his side well placed to take a first-innings lead.Related

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The first wicket to fall in the morning session was that of the nightwatcher, Sam Cook, who was bowled by Paul Coughlin for 25 in the 19th over of the innings. By then, however, the stand-in Essex skipper had helped Dean Elgar put on 64 for the first wicket, a partnership which removed much of the shine from the new ball.Five minutes before lunch, however, Durham took the wicket they most wanted when Elgar’s loose drive outside the off stump to a ball from Matthew Potts edged a catch to Ollie Robinson. The opener’s dismissal for 46 left his side on 97 for 2 at lunch but Potts could reflect that he had been unfortunate not to get an lbw decision against the South African in the first half-hour of play, a period in which Ben Raine had also had two confident leg before appeals against Elgar turned down.In the afternoon session, Khushi and Browne carefully consolidated their side’s position with Khushi being especially quick to seize on anything loose, driving and pulling Brydon Carse to the boundary in the space of three balls. He reached his fifty off 102 balls when he off-drove Parkinson to the boundary and celebrated the achievement two deliveries later with a straight drive for four.The hundred partnership was put up in less than two hours and perhaps the most noticeable feature of the afternoon session was the ease with which the pair dealt with Durham’s six-man attack on a good batting pitch. Off-spinner Colin Ackermann bowled the last over before tea, at which point Essex were 220 for 2, with Khushi on 88 and Browne unbeaten on 46.The evening session continued much like the afternoon’s. Carse overpitched in the first over after the resumption and Khushi clipped him through midwicket for four to get into the nineties. A glance to fine leg two overs later and then a punch through midwicket off Ackermann took him to his hundred off 156 balls. He had batted 203 minutes and hit 16 fours.Ten minutes later, Browne reached his fifty off 143 balls via a slice of good fortune when an attempted off-drive to a ball from Ackermann only produced an edge between Robinson and first slip Coughlin. Liberated by that achievement, Browne took two successive fours off Ackermann but three overs later, Khushi drove Parkinson straight to Graham Clark at shortish extra cover and departed.Browne and new partner Cox soon had to face the challenge of the new ball but they did so with little fuss.