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Jess Jonassen’s 63 not-out off 29 balls extended Brisbane Heat’s lead at the top of the WBBL table

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Nov-2019Adelaide Strikers‘ Sophie Devine continued her scintillating form in the WBBL with an unbeaten 63, her third straight unbeaten half-century, fifth in a row and sixth this season, to make short work of the modest 113 chase against Sydney Thunder in Wollongong. With 475 runs, Devine is second on the run-scorers’ list, behind Brisbane Heat’s Beth Mooney. After opting to bat, Thunder saw only one of their batters strike at over 100 – captain Rachael Haynes struck 33 off 27 – as their top order could only take them to 2 for 72 after 15 overs. They managed only two more fours after that but relied on singles, doubles and a few extras to score 40 in the last five overs and post 4 for 112. Megan Schutt finished with an economical 4-0-15-0 and Devine struck once to end with 4-0-21-1. Devine then opened the batting with Suzie Bates for a stand of 53 in under 10 overs to set the tone for the chase. Thunder took three quick wickets – two of those by Nida Dar – but Devine’s blows and the modest total meant the Strikers were home with five balls to spare.Nicola Carey’s unbeaten 55 and Belinda Vakarewa’s four-for helped Hobart Hurricanes to their first win in eight games, and their third win this season, as Sydney Sixers lost by five wickets with 10 balls to spare at the North Sydney Oval. Having elected to bat first, Sixers had their top four batters dismissed cheaply within the first six overs by Vakarewa. Tayla Vlaeminck then dismissed Maddy Darke for a duck to leave Sixers reeling at 5 for 30. Marizanne Kapp fought back with an unbeaten 40-ball 55, helping the hosts past 100, making a 56-run stand with Lauren Smith (23 off 31 balls) and a 35-run stand with Dane Van Niekerk (17 off 9 balls). In the 134-run chase, Hurricanes’ top three batters fell early to Kapp and Stella Campbell. But Carey then took charge, playing cautiously as she brought up her half-century off 45 balls. Chloe Tryon joined Carey for a 48-run sixth-wicket stand, and with the requirement reduced to eight runs off 12 balls, Tryon hit two sixes in the 19th over to seal the chase for Hurricanes.Half-centuries from openers Amy Jones (70) and Meg Lanning (68*) headlined Perth Scorchers‘ 150 chase and helped them seal victory with nine wickets and five balls in hand against the Melbourne Stars at the Junction Oval. Scorchers are now placed fourth with 12 points, ahead of Melbourne Renegades who lost to Brisbane Heat in the first match of the day. Jones and Lanning nearly earned a 10-wicket win but their stand of 147 came to an end when Jones edged one to wicketkeeper Elyse Villani for her 70 off 55 balls with nine fours. Natalie Sciver hit the winning runs on the next ball, with Lanning unbeaten on 68 off 59. Earlier, the Stars saw a half-century opening partnership between Villani (59) and Lizelle Lee (24). No. 3 Mignon du Preez also chipped in with 38 off 22 to take them past 100 but their middle order couldn’t capitalise on the start to help them past 150. Medium-pacer Samantha Betts dismissed Lee, du Preez and Annabel Sutherland to finish with 3 for 21.Getty Images

Jess Jonassen’s sparkling 63 not-out off 29 balls extended Brisbane Heat‘s lead at the top of the WBBL table with a six-run win against the Melbourne Renegades at the Junction Oval. Renegades gave the visitors a scare as they needed 21 from 12 balls, and later 15 off the last over, but they lost three wickets in the last four balls, including two run-outs, and fell short to remain on ten points. Heat got a stable start courtesy of opener Maddy Green’s 32 off 31 before Jonassen walked out at the halfway mark, at 57 for 2. Wickets fell around her but Jonassen propelled the run rate from under six to over 7.5 per over by smashing six fours and three sixes. Heat collected 42 off the last three overs, with five fours and two sixes from Jonassen alone to post a strong 5 for 153. Renegades got a promising start with Danni Wyatt’s 40 off 18, but once she holed out to deep midwicket off Amelia Kerr in the eighth over, the hosts found it tough to stay on top of the chase, with only two more batters able to score at more than run a ball. Jonassen finished with 1 for 27 from her four overs to be named the Player of the Match.

Their best chance could be to target Pakistan’s shaky middle order that is heavily reliant on top-order contributions from Babar and Hafeez

The Preview by Danyal Rasool27-Oct-2018

Big Picture

Australia need to salvage some pride on this UAE tour, and they’ve almost run out of chances. Sunday represents their last chance to do that, and with the visitors guaranteed to return home without any silverware, it is only pride they can fight for. They haven’t really been competitive in the Tests as well as T20Is. The 1-0 defeat in the Tests was , if anything, flattering for Australia, while the apparently narrow margin of the defeat in the second T20I concealed how comfortable Pakistan had been for all but two overs in the entire game. There’s little evidence any of that can change in Dubai on Sunday, but with Pakistan perhaps looking to experiment with their line-up and the pressure off Australia now the series is over, it isn’t unthinkable they could come away with the whitewash avoided.It’s been a slightly strange series for Pakistan, in which they haven’t hit the spectacular heights you’d expect of the No.1 side. The batting has never quite come together, and the two-mid-ranging totals they compiled might have proved significantly harder to defend against a better side than the one they’re playing against now. Babar Azam and Mohammad Hafeez have been responsible for the bulk of the runs; no other batsman in either T20I scored more than 17 runs. Alternately, it might be a horses-for-courses approach, with Pakistan confident the bowlers can defend any total in excess of 140. This would mean Pakistan haven’t felt the need to take greater risks in search of higher totals.It is unlikely Pakistan will ease up on their intensity, though. There’s barely time between the end of this series and the beginning of the next; Pakistan take on New Zealand in the first T20I three days after this game ends. They will look to maintain the momentum and sustain their winning habits that will be necessary against the tougher challenge New Zealand will likely pose, with a whitewash being the perfect way to go into that leg of the home winter.

Form guide

Australia LLWLW
Pakistan WWWWW

In the spotlight

Pakistan’s middle order may be choc-a-bloc with all-round talent, but at the moment, it looks like a gaping hole as far as the batting order is concerned. The players coming in from No. 4 onwards haven’t provided Pakistan with the reliability a top-class side needs from its batsmen, and so far they have had to rely heavily on Babar and Hafeez Should Australia find a way to snare a couple of quick wickets tomorrow, that misfiring middle order will find itself thrust into a role it hasn’t fulfilled this series so far. It may well be the key battleground in Dubai tomorrow, as well as the best route to victory Australia have.Andrew Tye has been a regular for Australia in this format for the past 18 months or so, missing only one of his side’s 19 T20Is. Highly rated in Australia as a wicket-taker with plenty of variations – like any modern T20 fast bowler – he was perhaps the visitors’ best bowler in the first T20I, conceding just 24 runs while taking three wickets.However, his second T20I , where he went for 40 off four overs, was more representative of his overall international career. With an economy rate of 8.69, Tye is in the top ten for worst economy rates in T20I cricket; only thrice in his 21 matches has he gone for under seven runs per over. It means the batsmen have to chase higher totals, and if there’s one thing we know about this Australian side, the batting lacks confidence. If he can put in a performance closer to the one he enjoyed in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, he will increase Australia’s chances of avoiding a whitewash here.

Team news

Pakistan could experiment, having already sealed the series. But everyone in the squad is more than up to the challenge, and competition for places is fierce. Opener Sahibzada Farhan may be given the chance to add to his solitary international cap, while Waqas Maqsood, included in the squad place of Mohammad Amir, could make his debut.Pakistan (possible): 1 Babar Azam, 2 Fakhar Zaman/Sahibzada Farhan, 3 Mohammad Hafeez , 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Asif Ali, 6 Sarfraz Ahmed (capt & wk), 7 Faheem Ashraf, 8 Imad Wasim, 9 Shadab Khan, 10 Hasan Ali, 11 Shaheen Afridi/Waqas MaqsoodIt’s hard to see Australia making a raft of changes. It is improved performances that will get them results; there’s no X-factor sitting on the bench. Mitchell Starc is unlikely to be risked so soon after injury, given the series is gone. Ashton Agar may come back to the side, with Ben McDermott the likeliest to make way.Australia (possible): 1 Aaron Finch (capt), 2 D’Arcy Short, 3 Chris Lynn, 4 Mitchell Marsh/, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Ashton Agar, 8 Andrew Tye, 9 Adam Zampa, 10 Nathan Coulter-Nile, 11 Billy Stanlake

Pitch and conditions

Conditions are much they same as they were on Friday. Australia will be keen to give batting first a try, though, after their unsuccessful chasing efforts.

Stats and trivia

• If Pakistan win tomorrow, it will be the first time they have whitewashed Australia in a limited-overs series longer than two games
• For Australians with five or more wickets, no one has a better T20I economy rate than Adam Zampa’s 6.05.
  

Lancashire kept their NatWest T20 Blast quarter-final hopes alive by brushing Worcestershire aside in their penultimate North Group game at Emirates Old Trafford

ECB Reporters Network16-Aug-2017Jos Buttler guided the chase with an unbeaten fifty•Getty Images

Lancashire kept their NatWest T20 Blast quarter-final hopes alive by brushing Worcestershire aside in their penultimate North Group game at Emirates Old Trafford, winning by seven wickets with 15 balls to spare.The lowly Rapids were stifled by spin as they posted only 127 for 8 on a pitch used for a Women’s Super League game earlier in the day. Lancashire’s quartet of spinners returned 4 for 66 from 13 overs combined, with in-form leggie Matt Parkinson the pick of them with 1 for 14 from four.Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone then shared a third-wicket stand of 76 in eleven overs. Livingstone hit 36 off 37 balls without a boundary, while Buttler finished unbeaten on 52 off 40 with four fours and two sixes. Offspinner Arron Lilley struck twice and later hit a brisk 31.The Lightning move up a place to sixth with their fifth win. They have 13 points from as many games and host Birmingham Bears on Friday. They must win and hope other results go their way to qualify.Parkinson’s economy rate was much-talked about even before this game having returned 4 for 23 in defeat to Yorkshire last Friday. Here, he bowled Daryl Mitchell with a big-spinning leg break in his latest miserly spell.Of all bowlers who have bowled more than three overs in this season’s Blast, the 20-year-old’s economy rate of 5.78 runs per over is the best. He has 13 wickets from eight appearances.Left-armer Stephen Parry opened the bowling and struck in the seventh over to get Mitchell Santner caught at deep midwicket. Pakistan overseas seamer Junaid Khan also claimed two-for.Only captain and opener Joe Leach, who fell to a brilliant one-handed diving catch by Buttler off Ryan McLaren, and Brett D’Oliveira made it into the twenties for the Rapids, with 24 off 17 balls and 30 off 33 respectively.Josh Tongue got rid of Jordan Clark courtesy of a fine tumbling catch at short fine-leg by debutant Patrick Brown four balls into the Lightning chase.Lilley then hit three fours in a row off Tongue at the start of the fifth over to take his side to 34 for 1 and ahead on Duckworth Lewis Stern with rain threatening the Manchester area. He had hit five fours by the time he was trapped lbw by legspinner D’Oliveira as the score fell to 47 for 2 in the seventh.Livingstone and Buttler took the score to 68 for 2 after 10, and when the latter hit Alex Hepburn’s medium-pacers for six over long-on to take the score to 90 for 2 in the 14th, it was the first boundary in almost eight overs. The half-century stand came up off 45 balls in the next over before, with net run-rate in mind, the last 30 runs came in double quick time for the loss of only Livingstone.

Glenn Maxwell has said his offspin will remain crucial if he is to nail down a long-term place in Australia’s Test-match plans

ESPNcricinfo staff29-May-2016Glenn Maxwell has said his offspin will remain crucial if he is to nail down a long-term place in Australia’s Test-match plans. Batting is Maxwell’s primary skill, but he does not want to go down the path taken by Steven Smith, whose rapid rise since his comeback to the Test team in 2013, after two years out, followed a decision to focus more on his batting.”I don’t think I can rest on just being a batsman,” Maxwell told . “I know Steve Smith went that way when he lost his Test spot, not really bowling much at all. But I don’t think I can go that direction. I have to keep working on both parts of my game and make sure they’re good enough.”I’ve decided not to play in England for the first time in four years. It might be a good chance to get a pre-season under my belt and spend a bit of time working on my game.”Maxwell was part of the Test squad that was scheduled to tour Bangladesh last year, but did not do so owing to security concerns. But he has not found a place in the 15-man squad for Australia’s next subcontinental assignment, the Sri Lanka tour in July-August, with Moises Henriques, a seam-bowling allrounder, taking his place.Steve O’Keefe, who bowls left-arm orthodox, is the second spinner in the squad, and Maxwell has admitted it will be difficult for him to take that slot, given he turns the ball the same way as Nathan Lyon, Australia’s lead spinner.”Competing with Nathan Lyon is always going to be tough,” Maxwell said. “I’ve just got to improve my batting to the point where they can’t resist having me as an allrounder and a back-up to him.”With the bat, Maxwell has shown good red-ball form in the limited first-class opportunities he has had in recent months, amidst all his limited-overs commitments. In the six Sheffield Shield matches he played in the 2015-16 season, Maxwell made 392 runs at an average of 56.00, with four half-centuries and a highest score of 98. Still, he feels he will need to keep scoring runs, starting with the ODI triangular in the West Indies, to keep himself in the frame for Test selection.”If I can make some runs then and also hopefully in Sri Lanka for the one-day series, it still puts pressure on those guys in the squad,” Maxwell said. “I was obviously a bit disappointed initially but having a look at the squad they’ve picked for Sri Lanka, I can understand. They’ve got all bases covered. I think it’s a squad that is going to win the series. It’s a really strong squad and I fully understand why I’m not in it.”

Umar Amin’s 99 led Pakistan A to 244 for 5 on the first day of the first unofficial Test against Sri Lanka A in Colombo

ESPNcricinfo staff06-May-2015
ScorecardKhurram Manzoor hit 82 off 128•AFP

Umar Amin’s 99 led Pakistan A to 244 for 5 on the first day of the first unofficial Test against Sri Lanka A in Colombo. Amin and Khurram Manzoor provided the guts of the visitor’s effort, putting on 135 for the second wicket after Umar Siddiq had fallen early. Manzoor hit 82 off 128 balls before being given out lbw to offspinner Tharindu Kaushal.Amin was involved in a 51-run stand with Ali Asad after Manzoor’s departure, but was out on the brink of what would have been his 11th first-class ton. Kaushal claimed his wicket as well. There was little else of note in Pakistan’s batting card. Siddiq and Ali Asad made only minor contributions, and Ali Waqas was out for a duck.The two offspinners – Kaushal and Dhananjaya de Silva – took two wickets apiece. De Silva returned the day’s best figures of 2 for 28 from 13 overs.

Australia’s captain and selector Michael Clarke has flatly denied reports that Brad Haddin’s Test career has been terminated, opening the way for his younger rival Matthew Wade to take the gloves for the first Test of the summer

Daniel Brettig15-Oct-2012Australia’s captain and selector Michael Clarke has flatly denied reports that Brad Haddin’s Test career has been terminated, opening the way for his younger rival Matthew Wade to take the gloves for the first Test of the summer against South Africa in Brisbane.Clarke and the rest of the selection panel, comprising the national selector John Inverarity, the coach Mickey Arthur, Rod Marsh and Andy Bichel, met in Sydney on Monday afternoon following Cricket Australia’s season launch for a planning meeting. However Clarke was adamant that no decision had been made on whether Haddin would reclaim the Test place he gave up for personal reasons in the West Indies earlier this year.”I’m one of five selectors and if you’re asking me as a selector that’s completely false, it hasn’t been discussed,” Clarke said. “It obviously is a topic for discussion and will be spoken about over the next couple of weeks that’s for sure. It’s probably one of the most important decisions that needs to be made leading up to the first Test match, and whoever gets left out it is going to be tough on them.”Not only have they both performed at the highest level, Hadds has a lot of experience and has been successful over a long period of time, Wadey’s done every single thing in his power to make the most of his opportunity – he got a hundred in his last Test match. So it’s going to be a tough decision. I know the selectors and I will be discussing that over the next couple of weeks.”We need to talk about it, the selection panel need to talk about it. We need to see both sides, and we’ll pick the best XI for that game, that opposition, those conditions. That’s the only way you can do it. It’s not personal, it’s about what we think is the best team for that first Test.”It has been a tough time for Hadds – any single one of us would’ve made the exact same decision that Brad did in regards to going home and making sure he was there to support his family. He certainly knows how I feel about that and I have openly supported him on that.”The other side is Matthew Wade cannot do anything more to be selected for that first Test. He has performed as well as any player, he has made the most of his opportunities, he’s an amazing talent, and he’s going to be a big player for Australian cricket over a long period of time.”Since his early exit from the Caribbean, Haddin has undergone a full pre-season with New South Wales and made a century for the Blues in their Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania at Bankstown Oval before flying to South Africa to lead the Sydney Sixers in the Twenty20 Champions League. Wade, meanwhile, had his struggles on the ODI tour of England and had limited batting opportunities in the UAE and Sri Lanka, though he kept soundly throughout.However a match-turning innings of 89 for Victoria against Queensland on a lively Gabba pitch last week may prove pivotal in the duel for the keeping spot, as Wade demonstrated his capacity for making runs in the sort of pace-friendly environment likely to be relished by South Africa’s vaunted trio of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander next month.Ricky Ponting, having watched Haddin’s entire Test career from up close, said the 35-year-old still had plenty to offer, but acknowledged the difficulty of the decision. “There are arguments for both at the moment, Hadds is a great mate of mine and we’ve got lots of off-field memories,” Ponting said. “I saw him up close and personal a couple of weeks ago in the Shield game in Bankstown and he played beautifully, hit the ball really well and kept very, very well.”So I know his game’s in really good shape. Then you look at Matty Wade, he has really grabbed his opportunity, made a brilliant hundred in the Caribbean, he has had a great game up in Brisbane last week, so there are two great arguments to be put there as far as selection is concerned. Every Australian side that’s picked, there are always a few guys who think they’re unlucky or hard done by, and one of those two guys is going to miss selection for Brisbane.”I’ve got no doubt in my mind that Hadds has a lot to offer, and I saw it up close in that Shield game. I don’t think anyone will be writing Brad off, he’s a great character to have around the team, and he’s an unbelievable talent with bat and gloves.”The most influential voice at the selection table may well be that of Marsh, the former gloveman who has worked extensively with Haddin in the past. More recently Marsh was a tour mentor for Wade, spending plenty of time with the younger man on the West Indies tour as he fought an ultimately successful battle to adapt to extremely unfamiliar and challenging conditions for both wicketkeeping and batting.

Former Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons has come out in support of Shakib Al Hasan, the recently-sacked national captain

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Sep-2011Former Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons has come out in support of Shakib Al Hasan, the recently-sacked national captain. Shakib, Siddons said, has the ‘perfect credentials’ for a captain, but lacked the support required to lead the team.”He [Shakib] is the only person to lead the side,” Siddons, who now coaches Wellington in New Zealand, told Bangladesh newspaper, the . “A captain must be consulted on everything regarding the team and must be listened to when he speaks or raises an issue. This does not happen with Shakib or any other captain at present. He is a great thinker, and is also the team’s best and most-respected player, perfect credentials for a captain.”Shakib and his deputy Tamim Iqbal were axed earlier this week following Bangladesh’s poor performance during last month’s tour of Zimbabwe, with indiscipline being cited as one of the reasons for their removal. Shakib has always had strained relations with the board, having questioned team-selection more than once. Current Bangladesh coach Stuart Law had expressed surprise at Shakib’s removal and said he had the respect of his players.Siddons had coached Bangladesh between October 2007 and April 2010, and moved to the Wellington job after his contract was not renewed following a disappointing World Cup and home series against Australia. Siddons and Shakib worked together in the capacity of coach and captain for close to two years, barring brief spells when Mashrafe Mortaza took charge.The selectors have not named a new captain, triggering speculation about who could be ready to take over. Mushfiqur Rahim, who has played 24 Tests and 98 ODIs, and is one of the few players who is a regular part of the national XI, is tipped as a frontrunner for the job. Siddons, though, said he did not think the players were eager for the post. “Not one other player in the side apart from maybe Ash [Mohammad Ashraful] is willing to take it [captaincy] on. They know there is no support around them and they will be blamed for any results.”Siddons also said he did not understand the need to have a selector or observer in the dressing-room during matches. During the tour of Zimbabwe, Siddon’s successor Stuart Law had reportedly expressed displeasure over selector Habibul Bashar and ‘tour observer’ Shafiqur Rahman Munna’s presence in the dressing room.”I believe a selector should be allowed to visit the dressing-room and sit in there to discuss or chat at times, but should not make it his home during a game,” Siddons said. “I have never understood the reasoning behind having an observer with the team, and especially not in the [dressing] room. This is a blatant mistrust of the coach and players, and is never a positive.”

Doug Bollinger insists he and Michael Hussey will be prepared for the first Test against India starting on Friday, despite having only just joined the squad

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-2010Doug Bollinger insists he and Michael Hussey will be prepared for the first Test against India starting on Friday, despite having only just joined the squad. The pair flew in to Chandigarh on Tuesday, having helped Chennai Super Kings to a Champions League triumph on Sunday in Johannesburg.Their Australian team-mates have adjusted to the conditions with a warm-up game but Bollinger and Hussey have only two days of net sessions to get themselves up to speed. However, India are in a similar situation, with MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and M Vijay also having made the last-minute dash to Chandigarh from South Africa.”We’ll be right to go, we’ve got a good couple of days of training coming up and we’ll look after ourselves and we’ll be fine,” Bollinger told AAP. “We’re a little bit tired, it’s been a long flight, but we’re good and we’ll just chill out for a couple of days and make sure we’re right to go.”Australia’s vice-captain Michael Clarke spoke of players putting their country before other competitions, but said it was a positive that the two men had been playing tough cricket in South Africa. Hussey is a well-travelled cricketer and he believes it is possible for him and Bollinger to be in good shape for the Test.”It’s not ideal, but it’s the best we can do, we’ll just make sure we’re really smart the next couple of days and get ourselves prepared as best we can,” Hussey said. “I’m sure we’ve got good background staff and they’ll get us in the best possible shape to get going for Friday.”We’ve been playing cricket and training every other day, so it’s not like we’re coming in underdone or anything like that, we’ve got plenty of cricket behind us, obviously it’s a totally different format but it’s a mental adjustment as much as anything. The next couple of days we’ve got to get the head right and get thinking more Test match cricket.”Bollinger is likely to form part of a three-man pace attack with Mitchell Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus for the first Test. Hussey will slot back into the No. 5 position he occupied during the Test series against Pakistan in July, when Clarke was promoted to No. 4.

Wood from bats used by the two players have been made into the new trophy

Vithushan Ehantharajah26-Nov-2024New Zealand and England will compete for The Crowe-Thorpe Trophy, honoring the legacies of the late Martin Crowe and Graham Thorpe.The trophy, made from wood sourced from a bat from each player, in collaboration with NZC, ECB and the families of each player, will be unveiled on Thursday morning in Christchurch ahead of the start of the three-match series. The trophy was designed by David Ngawati of Mahu Creative, who also designed the Tangiwai Shield for New Zealand’s Test series with South Africa.Both Crowe and Thorpe enjoyed hugely successful Test careers. Crowe, regarded as New Zealand’s finest batter, averaged 45.36 with 17 centuries. Thorpe, who tragically passed in August, averaged 44.66 with 16 hundreds.The bats gifted by the two families to create the trophy carry special meaning for these two sides. Crowe’s was the Gunn and Moore with which he scored his century at Lord’s 1994. Thorpe’s Kookaburra was the one used for back-to-back hundreds against New Zealand in 1997.Crowe and Thorpe went on to become mentors for latter generations, including members of both squad who will compete for this three-match series.”It is absolutely an honour,” said Joe Root, who worked closely with Thorpe during his time as a batting coach with the ECB. “What a great man. For me personally, to have someone who you watched growing up and took a lot from, then to get the opportunity to work with him as a coach. The amount he put into to my game, to have the opportunity to play for something with his name on it is really quite special and a nice way to remember his legacy and a player.”It’s a side that he had a lot of success against, a brilliant double hundred. He told us many times about that innings here in Christchurch [an unbeaten 200 in 2002], normally over a glass of sauvignon blanc.”It’s a really fitting way to remember two of England and New Zealand’s great players. How both sides play represents how they played the game pretty well. I expect a really exciting series, like the previous one was. It will be a really fitting way to remember two brilliant players.”In a statement released on Tuesday, NZC CEO Scott Weenink added: “Today’s generation of players are standing on the shoulders of those who went before them, players like Graham and Martin. It’s good that we recognise this and respect their legacy. Both those players were seriously good batsmen who understood the game intimately – they commanded respect wherever they went.”ECB chief executive Richard Gould said: “Martin and Graham are two legends of the game, and it is fitting that Test series between our two men’s sides will now be contested in their name.”It’s heart-breaking to have lost both men so early, but by honouring them in this way I hope we can help ensure the memories and legacies of two of our nations’ finest cricketers live on long into the future.”The Crowe-Thorpe Trophy will be unveiled by Deb Crowe (Martin’s sister) and former England Test captain Michael Atherton at the Hagley Oval ahead on the national anthems on Thursday.

Australia pick two spinners as Agar returns from injury to partner Zampa. Green to bat at No.4 and Inglis to play as a specialist batter

Alex Malcolm07-Sep-2023Australia have confirmed that David Warner and Travis Head will open in the first ODI against South Africa in Bloemfontein. Mitchell Marsh will bat at No. 3 and Cameron Green at No. 4 in the absence of Steven Smith in a side featuring two spinners in Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar.Australia have named their XI for the first of five matches in South Africa with Marsh to captain in an ODI for the first time while Pat Cummins is still unavailable due to his wrist injury. Marsh made a triumphant debut as Australia’s interim T20I captain with a 3-0 series sweep of South Africa last week.One of the debates surrounding Australia’s ODI side heading towards the World Cup was whether or not Warner and Head would remain together at the top of the order after Marsh’s phenomenal series against India earlier this year when he opened in all three games. Marsh only opened because Warner was recovering from a fractured elbow and missed the first two matches. When Warner returned for game three he was forced to bat at No. 4 for the first time in his ODI career, and not open for just the second time, as Australia stuck with the combination of Head and Marsh who had dominated the series to that point.Related

• Tim David's ODI call-up is not just about filling a gap

• 'Probably got to be a bit smarter' – Maxwell's ankle adds World Cup uncertainty

• Agar excited by return to India amid rollercoaster year

But Australia have returned to their trusted pairing of Head and Warner. The duo have only opened together in seven ODIs, three coming after the retirement of long-time captain Aaron Finch late last year, but have compiled three partnerships of 284, 147, and 269 across those seven games. They also have another century fifth-wicket stand and average 85.07 as a pair in the format overall.Marsh will instead bat at No. 3 where has been dominant in T20Is over the last couple of years but he may slide further when Smith returns for the India series and the World Cup that follows the tour of South Africa, although Australia are hoping to be fluid with their top order depending on their needs with Marsh’s power in the 10-over powerplay keen to be utilised at times if the surfaces require it.”There’ll be potentially a few moving parts with our squad throughout these five games, I’m guessing it’ll be the same as South Africa,” Marsh said on Wednesday. “It’s a heavy schedule, building to the World Cup. So we’ll have certain guys batting in different areas, but I’ll start at three.”Green has been named to bat at No. 4 for the first time in his ODI career in a sign ahead of the World Cup that he could move higher up the order having batted at Nos. 6-8 in 11 of his 12 ODI innings to date. Four is by far his best position in List A cricket having made two centuries in seven innings there including one for Australia A against Sri Lanka A in Colombo last year.There is no room for Tim David in game one despite Australia being keen to use him at some stage in this series with concerns remaining over Glenn Maxwell’s fitness ahead of the World Cup. Josh Inglis is named to bat at No. 5 and could play as a specialist bat at times in the World Cup after being named in the 15-man squad even though Alex Carey is the first-choice wicketkeeper.Australia will play seven batters and four bowlers, including two spinners in Bloemfontein. It is one of three combinations they are likely to use in the World Cup and likely to be the one they need on spinning pitches like Chennai where they will play their opening match against India on October 8. It is the structure they used with success against India in Chennai back in March to close out their last ODI series. Agar is returning from a calf injury but will leave the touring squad at the back end of the South Africa series to return home for the birth of his first child, hence the selectors’ keenness to play the two spinners in combination in game one in Bloemfontein in preparation for the World Cup.Sean Abbott and Josh Hazlewood will play as the lone specialist quicks in the absence of Cummins and Mitchell Starc (groin). Abbott edged out Nathan Ellis for the final spot in the provisional 15-man World Cup squad on the back of some outstanding recent form.Australia’s other team combinations likely include playing seven batters, three quicks and one spinner, or playing eight batters and just three specialist bowlers, with four allrounders batting in the top eight provided Marsh, Green, Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis are all fit to bowl to make up at least 20 overs of bowling.Australia XI for first ODI vs South Africa: David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, Alex Carey (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood