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Chadd Sayers, the medium pacer who was picked for Australia’s tour of New Zealand next month, believes he was chosen because of the seamer-friendly conditions in the country

Brydon Coverdale20-Jan-2016Australia’s selectors have made no secret of their desire to pick fast bowlers for the national team. Fast, not medium-fast. That is one of the reasons Jackson Bird’s Test career stalled after three appearances, despite the fact that he was Man of the Match in one of those. It is also one of the factors that has gone against Chadd Sayers in his bid for national selection. Until now.Sayers is a classic swing bowler whose weapons are all based on moving the ball sideways, not on how quickly it reaches the batsman. His style has been good enough to bring him 145 first-class wickets at 24.82, but at the age of 28, it was starting to look like he would never get a chance at the higher level. But Sayers and Bird are both in Australia’s Test squad for the tour of New Zealand.It is all about the conditions, the selectors argue. In New Zealand speed is less important than movement. There is no point being fast if you’re doing nothing with the ball, and serving up half-volleys at 150kph does not help the team. Whether either Sayers or Bird get the chance to wear the baggy green on the two-Test tour remains to be seen, but they are encouraged by their selections.”I’m never going to bowl 140, so if that was their criteria, I wasn’t going to fit that,” Sayers told reporters in Adelaide on Wednesday. “But they’ve picked for conditions, with Jackson Bird getting picked as well, same sort of bowler as me. They’ve picked for the New Zealand conditions … I think a good ball to any batsman is a good ball.”I watched the last series [of Tests in New Zealand] on TV and it looked like it swung around and nipped around a bit, which will suit my bowling for sure.”The selectors were forced to look beyond the usual suspects due to injuries – Mitchell Starc is recovering from ankle surgery, Pat Cummins has yet another stress fracture of the back, and Nathan Coulter-Nile – a previous Test squad member though yet to win a baggy green – has a shoulder problem. Sayers knows about unfortunate injury timing, having been unavailable for consideration for the 2015 Ashes due to an ankle injury.”All the hard work in the gym … has paid off in the pre-season,” Sayers said. “To come back from that was one big step and then to perform in the four Shield games I’ve played this year was another big step. Really excited and can’t wait to get over there.”This summer Sayers has collected 16 Sheffield Shield wickets at 25.81, still a solid tally at the halfway point of the season, though down on his remarkable 2012-13, a season in which he topped the Shield wicket list with 48 at 18.52. Another strong season followed in 2013-14, when he picked up 36 wickets and was South Australia’s leading pace bowler.”When you’re in form and don’t get picked, then you think maybe the time has passed,” Sayers said. “But obviously if you keep taking wickets and knocking the door down then a chance could come eventually – and luckily enough for me it has come.”

James Vince struck an unbeaten 99 to move Hampshire ahead of Kent at the top of South Group on a foggy night at Canterbury

ECB/PA13-Jun-2015
ScorecardJames Vince finished a ball short of his hundred was Hampshire went top•Getty Images

Hampshire’s James Vince hit an unbeaten 99 and made light of a double-digit asking rate to fire Hampshire to the top of South Group with a six-wicket win over previous leaders Kent Spitfires.In pursuit of 184 at a required rate of 10.22 in a game reduced to 18 overs per side by an early evening thunderstorm, Vince, the tall England Lions right-hander, clattered a season’s competition best 99 not out from 57 balls to see Hampshire home at a misty Canterbury with one delivery to spare.The visitors had made a poor start to their reply when Michael Carberry fenced at the fourth ball of the reply from Matt Coles to edge to Spitfires’ keeper Ryan Davies, making his T20 debut behind the stumps.Davies was in the action again in Coles’ next over, tumbling to his right to take a bottom-edged catch that dismissed Jimmy Adams for 16 as Hampshire reached 46 for 2 after their Powerplay.

Insights

These two sides served up a cracker once more and it was the same men – Sam Northeast, Alex Blake and James Vince – dominating with the bat. The two teams went about their batting very differently, however. In the first 16, Kent didn’t take more than 11 from a Hampshire over before Blake and Adam Ball pilfered 21 from each of the final two. Hampshire were far steadier. They notched boundaries in all but three and, prior to the last, took 12 or more from six (only three cost less than eight, too) to stay ahead of the rate and not require a blockbuster finish from Vince. – Will Macpherson

As fog descended on the Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, Hampshire had 75 on the scoreboard when Owais Shah walked across his stumps aiming for the short, mid-wicket boundary only to miss out and go lbw to Darren Stevens.But with first-choice bowlers David Griffiths and Calum Haggett out injured, Kent’s threadbare attack struggled in the middle overs as Hampshire’s Sean Ervine and Vince raised their side’s hundred after 10.2 overs to maintain the asking rate.Vince reached a 36-ball 50 and celebrated by clubbing his third six of the night over mid-wicket off deposed England spinner James Tredwell, but Ervine’s stay ended for 36 when he clipped Adam Ball to long off to conclude a stand that added 58 in 5.1 overs.Vince ploughed on however, plundering a fourth six off Ball that endangered the staff in a mobile burger bar positioned near the Old Dover Road as Hampshire edged home for a fourth win in six starts.Batting first after winning their fourth successive T20 toss, Kent’s Joe Denly opened his boundary account with an on-drive to the ropes against Fidel Edwards, who responded next ball with a yorker that pegged back Denly’s leg stump and sent the right-hander packing for six.Sam Northeast, the competition’s leading run-scorer going into the game, found his range with consecutive fours off left-arm spinner Danny Briggs to take Kent to 47 for 1 after their shortened, five-over Powerplay but, without addition to the score, Daniel Bell-Drummond missed a leg-side clip to be bowled by Yasir Arafat’s first ball of the night.Fabian Cowdrey moved to 13 with a rasping cover drive for four against Danny Briggs but, he missed an attempted cut to the left-arm spinner’s next ball to be bowled and leave Spitfires on 77 for 3 at the mid-point of their innings.Northeast launched a six over extra cover on his way to a 29-ball half-century – his fourth time past 50 in seven south group starts this season – but, four balls later, he holed out to long on to give Edwards a second scalp.Alex Blake and Stevens upped the tempo with a brace of sixes, the second of which took an out-of-sorts Stevens to 23 – his highest score in this season’s Blast event – but two runs later Stevens skied to long-off.Blake, who hit an unbeaten 71 off 30 balls in last month’s reverse fixture at the Ageas Bowl, took 21 off Arafat’s final over and a further two boundaries against Edwards took him to an unbeaten 49 from 25 balls and his side to 183 for 5.

Richard Levi crashed 70 from 43 balls as Northamptonshire edged closer to a Friends Life t20 quarter-final spot after beating Worcestershire by five runs at New Road.

21-Jul-2013
ScorecardRichard Levi blasted six sixes in his 70•Getty Images

Richard Levi crashed 70 from 43 balls as Northamptonshire edged closer to a Friends Life t20 quarter-final spot after beating Worcestershire by five runs at New Road.Levi, the big-hitting South African opener, smashed six sixes and five fours while monopolising partnerships of 46 with Kyle Coetzer and 56 with Cameron White. A lower order slump then pegged Northamptonshire back to 137 for 6 but that proved enough for the group leaders to complete a quick turnaround from Saturday’s defeat by Warwickshire.Although Worcestershire dragged themselves into contention with Andre Russell’s 44 from 31 deliveries, they had too much to do after David Willey’s match-clinching return of 3 for 13 in four overs. Willey crucially had Russell well caught on the long-off boundary by Alex Wakely and despite Daryl Mitchell’s unbeaten 38, the home side could not get close to the 21 required from the last over.Joe Leach managed a four and six off Lee Daggett and in making 14 from the six balls faced the young batsman at No. 8 – fresh from a maiden championship century against Gloucestershire – made a case out for a higher position in the next match.Ultimately the result was all about Levi’s ability to dominate, as he did last Tuesday in blasting an unbeaten 110 from 62 balls against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham. Worcestershire were blown away when he launched another onslaught with three consecutive sixes off Leach when taking 22 off the fifth over.Three other bowlers were targeted for further sixes and Worcestershire only found a way to stem the carnage when turning to Gareth Andrew for the 15th over. The eighth bowler to be used, Andrew made the breakthrough when Levi powered his first delivery to deep square leg where Russell was almost knocked off his feet in hanging on to the chance.There was little else to come from Northants as wickets fell to the spinners, Shaaiq Choudhry with 2 for 21 and Moeen Ali, 1 for 17. The last five overs produced only 30 in a disappointingly flat finish to the innings, but it did not prove costly in the end.

After six years as a fringe international player, Adam Voges hopes he can finally earn an extended run in the ODI side after being named in Australia’s Champions Trophy squad

Brydon Coverdale02-May-2013Last November, Adam Voges didn’t know where his next run would come from. His first 12 innings in the domestic season failed to bring a single half-century and not only did an international recall appear far-fetched, even his grasp on a spot in the Western Australia team was becoming tenuous. For a 33-year-old, that’s a scary position to be in. But fast-forward five months and Voges has not only held his state job, he is part of the Australia squad that will defend the Champions Trophy in England.”If you’d asked me if I’d be in a Champions Trophy squad back then I probably would have laughed at you,” Voges told ESPNcricinfo. “But it’s amazing how quickly things can turn around. Having a good Big Bash was a real catalyst for that and I’ve been able to kick on since then.”Another factor in his change of fortunes was the arrival of Justin Langer as the new Western Australia coach, which coincided with Voges being appointed state captain after the resignation of Marcus North. Voges became the sixth-leading run scorer in the BBL and earned a recall to the one-day international side for the series against West Indies in February, and an unbeaten 112 in the last ODI in Melbourne completed a remarkable turnaround.”I started last season really poorly. Myself personally and Western Australia as a team, we really had a horror start to last season,” he said. “I was always playing catch-up in terms of the number of runs that I scored. I’d finished the county season for Nottinghamshire not very well, and then to not start the season with WA well, my confidence was down a fair bit.”I was going through one of those patches where I wasn’t really sure where my next run was coming from. If I didn’t score some runs [being dropped by WA] was a real possibility. But then a lot of things changed with Marcus resigning, [coach] Lachie Stevens resigning and Justin Langer coming in. It gave me a breath of fresh air and I think it gave a lot of people the same thing. It certainly helped turn my season around.”Not that everything went swimmingly for Voges, whose Sheffield Shield run tally for the summer was 388 at 25.86, hardly the kind of season he wanted in a year when Ashes spots were up for grabs. His limited-overs form was good but even so, that February recall, two years after he had last played for Australia, loomed as the last chance for a man who had been on the fringes of Australian international cricket for six years without ever holding down a permanent place.Voges earned central contracts with Cricket Australia in 2007, 2008 and 2010, without ever being more than a backup. He has played 17 ODIs of a possible 164 since his debut, and has never held his position for more than three in a row. He is one of only four men in this Champions Trophy squad that was part of the group that won the tournament in 2009, but again he was no more than a reserve and did not play a game.”I’ve been away on tours and probably got opportunities at the back end of series, perhaps when the result has already occurred, so I’d love to be part of it and get a decent, long run in the team,” Voges said. “Obviously my performances will determine that and the next time I do get that opportunity I certainly have to make the most of it. But I can get those runs.”In the past, while I don’t think I’ve ever let myself down whenever I’ve got the opportunity, I maybe haven’t quite nailed it as well as I would have liked. That’s probably the reason I haven’t been able to play more than two or three games in a row. I realise that at this stage of my career that I’ve really got to make the most of every opportunity because there’s plenty of young guys knocking down the door.”The way Voges finished the international summer – he made 28 and 112 not out in his two ODIs and then 51 in the T20 against West Indies in Brisbane – gives him a good chance of being part of Australia’s line-up for their first Champions Trophy match. After the tournament, he will stay on in England to play T20 cricket with Middlesex and perhaps some first-class cricket as well, given the county’s other Australian signing, Chris Rogers, now has Ashes duties.And if Australia find themselves in need of another experienced batsman to cover for injuries mid-Ashes, Voges wants to make sure he is nearby and scoring heavily. His Shield performances last summer might have been disappointing, but his overall first-class record is solid: 7821 runs at 40.10.”With Chris Rogers being picked in the Ashes squad there could be an opportunity for me to stay on and play a bit of Championship and one-day cricket with Middlesex [after the T20s],” Voges said. “It would be terrific to be over there while the Ashes is on.”You just never know. You never wish injury or anything like that on anybody. But if opportunity arises I’ll certainly be there and hopefully scoring runs. It’s probably a long shot, but I’ll be there and ready to go if need be.”

England and Sussex allrounder Luke Wright will play for the Melbourne Stars in this year’s Big Bash League

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jul-2011England and Sussex allrounder Luke Wright will play for the Melbourne Stars in this year’s Big Bash League.Wright is the first overseas player to be added to the Stars squad and joins David Hussey, Cameron White and Adam Voges in the Melbourne ranks, while Victorian bowling trio James Pattinson, John Hastings and Clint McKay have also been signed.Wright, 26, part of England’s successful World Twenty20 team in the Caribbean last year and was also a member of their squad for the World Cup in the subcontinent. He also has plenty of Twenty20 experience with Sussex, having scored 1,139 runs – including one century – and taken 41 wickets for them.”Wright is an impressive young man who can open the batting or bowling,” said Melbourne coach Greg Shipperd. “He provides options for the team as he can play any role through the middle to finishing overs. We are extremely pleased to have him as one of our foundation players.”

Anil Kumble has said that a spruced-up Chinnaswamy Stadium is ready to host the World Cup after undergoing several facelifts

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Feb-2011Anil Kumble has said that a spruced-up Chinnaswamy Stadium is ready to host the World Cup after undergoing several facelifts, including a new-look dressing room which is being modified with inputs from Rahul Dravid. A revamp, including enhanced capacity, is also on the cards for the stadium after the IPL.”In all terms of preparation we are match-ready. In a couple of days, the Indian team will be arriving here, and in every functional aspect, we will be ready by February 9,” Kumble, the Karnataka State Cricket Association president, said. “The practice match (against Australia) is on February 13, and we are treating it as a World Cup game, from the administrative point of view.”Speaking about the players’ facilities, Kumble said that every detail a player requires had been looked into. “We have changed the look of the dressing room, although the layout is the same. Be it seating or keeping bags or the showers and toilets, we have worked on every little detail. It needs a lift on where the photographs need to be put up, and I have entrusted that job on Rahul. He will take care of that and by the teams arrive everything will be ready.”There has not been much time since the new administration led by Kumble took charge in November, but he said that they had tried to do their best. “Whether it was the players’ room, commentary box or the media centre, given the space restrictions because of various design constraints of the stadium, I think we have done whatever we could. And I’m glad that every committee member and people working in the KSCA have responded to the challenge.”There is a lot on Kumble’s plate, especially after the ICC decided to shift the India-England tie from an unready Eden Gardens to Bangalore. Logistics and the ICC’s hospitality requirements are being thrashed out, and Kumble admitted it would take some effort. “The ICC needed extra media space, hospitality and overflow area. Whatever is possible, we have been able to address that. It won’t be an ideal scenario.”Tickets are another major issue, and Kumble said that it was being resolved with the ICC. “At the moment the numbers are not clear, but it can come up to anywhere around 7,000 to 10,000 tickets they want. And all those are prime ones, so we will have to manage those logistics. The tickets are pre-sold, so we will only have to sell one-third of what we can to the public. It will be clear in a day. We are also looking at combos and discounts to push the tickets for non-India matches.”At the same time, Kumble hoped that the crowds would turn up for the India-Australia warm-up match. “Both are good teams and in best of form. It’s on Sunday and a day-night game.”Saying that a master plan for the stadium was being prepared, Kumble said that an increased capacity of 65,000 to 70,000 was planned, as also was reserved seating. “The ground requires a revamp, it probably is tired. We need at least three or four months of non-cricket, and we will take it up after the IPL.”We want to ensure that every spectator having a valid seat will have a permanent seat, not first-come first-serve basis. We want to create something where even if you come two overs late, the spectator will have his seat reserved.”We will certainly ensure that catering will be top class. In the India-New Zealand game, people were happy with the catering and also the price. We will provide the same facilities this time.Kumble felt that he had lived up to expectations till now. “We have put together some kind of a quarterly plan. One thing was painting the stadium, dressing room and others. Hopefully on the 13th, we will get a stamp of approval.”

Zimbabwe Cricket has offered to forfeit the Intercontinental Cup match against Scotland after the Scottish board reversed its decision to send a team to Zimbabwe

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Sep-2010Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) has offered to forfeit Zimbabwe XI’s ICC Intercontinental Cup match against Scotland, and consequently the chance for a place in the final, after Cricket Scotland reversed its decision to send a team to Zimbabwe in October following advice from the Scottish government against visiting the country. The proposal, if approved by the ICC, will result in Scotland gaining full points from the match and qualifying for the final.Zimbabwe XI are currently second in the league, with 72 points, while Scotland are third with 69. They are the only two teams with a chance of sealing a spot in the final against Afghanistan, who are first with 77 points, in Dubai.The match was initially scheduled to be held at a neutral African venue before the Scottish board agreed to a proposal to play in Zimbabwe, but a change in the British government’s policy led to the decision not to tour. ZC refused to shift their home match to a neutral venue, pointing out that they had not pushed for the match to be held in Zimbabwe, and the venue was decided by the ICC.”While Scotland’s decision not to tour has been attributed to political considerations, we as Zimbabwe Cricket are not qualified to comment on matters political of any country, nor would we want to base the future of the game of cricket on political directives,” Ozias Bvute, ZC’s managing director, said in a statement. “As such Zimbabwe has no dispute with either Cricket Scotland or the ICC. Instead, we seek only a solution that will ultimately allow for fair participation by all.”The Associate Member countries use this and other competitions to benchmark and track their progress, which is important to them,” he said. “To this end we feel that the Intercontinental Cup is a significant competition in Scotland’s development and therefore important that it gets the full benefits associated with playing in it.”ZC said that it had informed the ICC’s Events Technical Committee of its position and a decision would be taken on September 27.

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.

The world’s most prolific run-scorer in women’s cricket joins the Ahmedabad-based franchise for the inaugural season of WPL

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jan-2023Former India captain Mithali Raj has been roped in as mentor and advisor at Gujarat Giants, one of the five franchises set to take part in the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL). Raj – the most prolific run-scorer in the history of women’s cricket – has been one of the strongest advocates of an IPL-style women’s franchise league in India, and as mentor and advisor at Giants, will also promote women’s cricket at the grassroots level in their home state of Gujarat.”Women’s cricket is growing steadily, and this kind of impetus will undoubtedly encourage young women to consider taking up cricket
professionally,” Raj said in a media release. “I believe that the high-impact participation of corporates will help hasten the process of eventually bringing more glory to India. This level of influence can help strengthen the sporting ecosystem, and enhance opportunities for women athletes.”Related

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Pranav Adani, Director of Adani Enterprises, which manages Giants’ owners Adani Sportsline, said on hiring Mithali: “Mithali Raj is a role model for the young generation, and we are delighted to have such an inspirational athlete on board to mentor our women’s cricket team.”We believe that the presence of international sporting heroes like Mithali will attract new talent not just into cricket but also into every other sport.”On January 25, Adani Sportsline – the sports development wing of the Adani Group – purchased the rights to own an Ahmedabad-based team for INR 1289 crore (USD 158 million approx.), the most expensive team that will take part in the competition. In all, INR 4669.99 crore (USD 572.78 million approx.) was spent by Adani Group, Capri Global – who bought the Lucknow team – and the owners of Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore to acquire the rights for the five WPL franchises.The WPL is likely to be played between March 4 and March 24, a tight window squeezed out between the Women’s T20 World Cup that ends in late February and the men’s IPL that is set to start one week after the women’s competition. The WPL auction, set for early February, will have auction purses of INR 12 crore (USD 1.46 million approx) per team.Each team can buy a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 18 players, including seven overseas ones, of which one must be from an Associate country. Unlike in the men’s IPL, WPL teams will have the option of fielding up to five overseas players in the XI, provided, again that one is from an Associate team.A total of 22 matches will be played in WPL 2023, with each team playing the other twice to make it a total of eight games per team. The top-ranked team will enter the final directly, while the second and third-placed teams will face off in a Qualifier to determine the second finalist.

All the latest news from the Vitality Blast, including over-rate penalties, Durham’s death-bowling duo, and Worcestershire’s unlikely pinch-hitter

Matt Roller05-Aug-2019Somerset have set the gold standard among counties for streaming their games, and have had to find a way to manage an influx of traffic after the signing of Babar Azam.Ben Warren, Somerset’s digital marketing executive, had to upgrade the club website’s server capacity after their first game of the Blast, a win at Glamorgan that was not streamed live, as fans in Pakistan were so desperate to follow their star batsman’s progress.But the change appears to have been worthwhile: their home defeat against Sussex last weekend, in which Babar made 83, attracted over 1.5 million views on YouTube.It remains a source of frustration for several clubs that due to the technicalities within the broadcast deal between the ECB and Sky, streams on YouTube have to remain ‘unlisted’ – meaning they do not show up in the search bar, and have to be found via hyperlinks.It may seem like a minor difference, but counties are convinced they are missing out on substantial traffic because of it, and hope that after consultation with the governing body, a change will be implemented ahead of next season.***James Faulkner and Glenn Maxwell celebrate a wicket•Getty Images

Lancashire have stormed to the top of the North Group thanks to Glenn Maxwell’s runs, Liam Livingstone’s all-round exploits, and a bowling attack which offers genuine pace and high-quality spin.They could be forgiven for looking forward to the quarter-finals already, but the knockouts pose a real conundrum for them. The quarter-finals are scheduled for the same week as the Old Trafford Ashes Test, which gives Lancashire a headache if they finish in the top two.As reported on Saturday, the club are in discussions with the ECB as to their potential options – Sky would struggle to show a game at any of their outground options, and they will be loath to give their opponents home advantage, so a neutral venue might be an avenue worth exploring.Further, it has emerged that Maxwell will be unavailable if they are to reach Finals Day, as he will be returning to Australia in time for the start of the domestic season, with James Faulkner likely in a similar position.Article 3.5 of the ECB’s regulations on player registration – commonly known as the “Bravo Rule”, since it was introduced after Dwayne Bravo’s ill-fated Finals Day appearance for Essex in 2010 – means that a potential replacement for the knockout stages would have to have played at least one group game, meaning Lancashire would likely go in without an overseas player.And while Jos Buttler is usually available for Finals Day, he may well be made unavailable by England this time around after a hectic summer. Lancashire are flying high, but could soon be in danger of suffering from vertigo.***Durham are set for a scrap to reach the quarter-finals for a second year running, a sentence which must have seemed improbable at the start of last season.What they lack in high-profile names – D’Arcy Short and Peter Handscomb are the only real stars – they more than make up for with wholehearted contributors, which is perhaps epitomised best by their unlikely death-bowling duo.Nathan Rimmington, the diminutive 36-year-old Australian seamer who plays on a British passport, has combined with 20-year-old Matty Potts to great effect so far, and the pair find themselves leading the way among regular death bowlers.Rimmington’s economy rate at the death is 7.01, and his 59 balls in overs 16-20 have brought only four boundaries, while Potts has an almost identical record to last year’s breakout star Pat Brown – both have conceded 65 runs in 48 balls at the death, though Brown has one wicket more.There is another improbable face just behind Rimmington, in Ravi Rampaul, who is quietly enjoying a stellar Blast for Derbyshire, while Tom Helm (12.22) and – surprisingly – Harry Gurney (11.00) find themselves at the wrong end of the rankings.***Wayne Parnell roars in celebration after seeing Worcestershire home•Getty Images

Wayne Parnell is best known for his left-arm seam and a feisty on-field attitude, though he is not completely without pedigree with the bat.He had regularly been deployed as a pinch-hitting opener by Cobras, his domestic team in South Africa, and before the start of last week, had batted in every position from Nos. 1 to 11 in T20, except one.As if to try him out in the only role he was yet to have a go at, Worcestershire promoted him to No. 4 for their run chase against Derbyshire. And the risk paid off in some style: he belted 81 not out off just 46 balls to see them home, before adding an 18-ball 27 in the win against Yorkshire two days later.***Michael Klinger questions an over-rate penalty with Umpire Ian Gould•Getty Images

Gloucestershire were left fuming on Sunday, as their attempts to defend 159 against Sussex were derailed by a six-run penalty applied due to their slow over-rate.The main sources of contention appeared to be the umpires taking some time to confirm Luke Wright was out, after a boundary-rope catch by AJ Tye, and a lost ball, with Michael Klinger convinced his side had not been given sufficient extra time in which to bowl their overs.It meant Sussex only needed eight from the final over rather than 14, which Delray Rawlins knocked off easily enough. Gloucestershire allrounder Benny Howell risked sanction from the ECB by tweeting afterwards: “Such an unfortunate end to a great day and exciting game. The umpires need to be held accountable for costing us a potential 2 points.”Even that controversy, though, could not take the shine away from a memorable occasion, as both teams wore specially-designed shirts to raise awareness for the charity Grief Encounter.Tom Smith, the Gloucestershire and ex-Sussex spinner, lost his wife to a rare form of liver cancer in 2018, and the charity has provided him and his daughters with support and counselling since. For further details, visit www.griefencounter.co.uk/about-us