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England’s old stage-seizer sparks anarchic scenes on thrilling fourth day at Edgbaston

Vithushan Ehantharajah19-Jun-2023The devil on Joe Root’s shoulder just before 11am. The demon terrorising Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith just before 7pm. A day in the life of Stuart Broad is rich and varied.On Monday, Broad added a new entry to his roller-dex of Ashes moments. A vital top-order dual hit on Labuschagne and Smith in the space of 12 deliveries means we enter the final day of a compelling first Test with victory as likely for England as Australia.Removing the No.1 and No.2-ranked batters in the world is worthy of dedicating a thousand words to Broad, particularly at a time when England were desperate for something to take with them into Tuesday. Most of those words might as well be Broad’s own from back in April, when he claimed he’d invented a mystery outswinger in order to get Labuschagne and Smith uncertain outside off stump … which is exactly what they proved to be when they came into his sights this evening.But we know the 36-year-old Broad does not simply bowl ‘top-of off wobble-seam, top-of-off wobble-seam, surprise outswinger’. He is a rambunctious spirit possessing an inner light that is less soothing and more strobe – and evidently infectious, as Root found out before walking out to play a reverse-ramp to the first ball of the morning, delivered by Australia’s skipper Pat Cummins”I sit next to Rooty in the changing room, and he just went, ‘I fancy a reverse-scoop for six, first ball’,” Broad revealed. “I said, ‘If it’s in your gut, you’ve got to go for it – that’s what we’re about.’ And he goes, ‘I’ll decide when I’m walking out’. Obviously he didn’t change his mind.”Root missed with that initial gambit. But the statement had been made. The dressing-room and crowd were immediately dialled up to 11. For that agenda-setting first half-hour, he remained a batter possessed, going on to successfully scoop Scott Boland for six and four in successive deliveries, until – with the field now dancing to his beat – he reverted briefly to more typical accumulative nudges. But then, on 46, he skipped down the track to Nathan Lyon and was stumped for the first time in his career.Stuart Broad wheels away in delight after dismissing Steve Smith during an inspired spell•AFP/Getty Images

It was from that point on England began losing their grip on the game, having had a fist-full of it at 129 for three – a lead of 136 – with Root and Harry Brook at ease and scoring freely. Were it not for important late-order runs, this game might be skewed much further Australia’s way. Broad finished unbeaten on 10 but ensured that 44 more were added during his time at the crease, alongside Ollie Robinson and James Anderson.”Today’s just been one of those days that sums up Ashes cricket really,” Broad said. “You’re getting ahead of the game, then you lose a wicket, you think you’re getting ahead of the game, then you lose a wicket again.”As for those key dismissals, Broad was asked if he has a mental edge over both, particularly after handing Labuschagne a first golden duck of his career in the first innings, as part of a haul of three for 68 that included bagging David Warner for a 15th time. “Be nice, wouldn’t it?” he said with a smile. “I’ve had a lot great battles, and they’ve probably won most of them.” He’s certainly winning this one.Related

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“One thing we know as a bowling group, you’ve got to try and put them under pressure early,” he added. “They’re the sort of guys, if they get to 30, 40, they don’t give it away cheaply. We know as a group we want to try and make them play as much as we possibly can early. They’ve scored a lot of runs against us as a group, so to see the back of them twice in this Test match without too much damage is awesome.”For Broad to have had the match he has so far is a testament to Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. As much for the rejuvenation in the quick’s career under their tenure as for the decision to select him in this fixture. Smith’s demise – the ball seaming away after angling in to catch an edge through to Jonny Bairstow – was Broad’s 50th wicket under the new regime, taking him to 587 overall.There is one more day for Broad to impose himself on this game, then plenty more beyond that, with four Tests to come. And as much as his own individual plans to the likes of Usman Khawaja and Travis Head will determine who ends up on top, there is a more collective approach to be adopted around striking a balance between attack and defence with unconventional fields, bordering on rascal.”When you’ve got a set target to defend, you’ve got to keep one eye on the boundaries as well,” Broad said. “And actually, on a pitch like this, where it’s quite slow and hard to create a mistake from a batter, you don’t want to leak too many runs easily waiting for that ball to break through. I think we’ll be smart with the fields we use. We need to protect the boundaries in certain players’ strengths. But ultimately our No.1 focus is to take wickets, and how do we do that? From creating pressure.”You’ll probably see more fielders scattered around, almost like in-out fields. You know how Warnie used to bowl?” he added. “He’d have four people around the bat and three people on the boundary. Three an over is not hurting you, then you get the wicket and you can apply some pressure.”Joe Root was egged on by Broad to deploy his ramp shot to the first ball of the day•Getty Images

Citing Shane Warne felt like a deliberate nod to the 2005 fixture here, which England secured by two runs on a pulsating final day. The similarity between the targets – 282 then, 281 now – and the fact Tuesday is also sold out adds to the sense that this Ashes series will recreate that great spectacle of 2005.”I’m quite conscious I don’t want to build up too much hype of that ’05 Edgbaston because I’m not sure we want that going to two runs tomorrow from our point of view, do we?” Broad said.But a veteran whose success has fundamentally come from his unrivalled feel of the game is all too aware of how the cards are lining up, on the field and off it. Four days in, it’s not hard to imagine that day five will be every bit as gripping as what’s gone before.”It does feel like the same energy as ’05,” Broad said. “And if we have a series like that we’re going to inspire a lot of kids to play the game, aren’t we?”

Fast bowling coach will have his work cut out this week as he prepares one of Bangladesh’s least experienced pace attacks

Mohammad Isam12-May-2022Allan Donald will have his work cut out this week as he prepares one of Bangladesh’s least experienced pace attacks for the Chattogram Test against Sri Lanka. The home side are missing their important spin duo in Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, apart from Taskin Ahmed, their most in-form fast bowler.The South African great, who joined Bangladesh’s coaching staff as the fast bowling coach in March, is focused on what is in front of him in his first home series. Ebadot Hossain is his most experienced fast bowler with 14 Tests, while Khaled Ahmed and Shoriful Islam have played eight between them. Rejaur Rahman Raja and Shohidul Islam are uncapped.Bangladesh have been training at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium since May 8. As a result, Donald knows about the resources he has got and is banking on the young pace attack’s ability to bowl reverse swing. Shorfiul, Khaled and Ebadot have already displayed their ability to work with the old ball in New Zealand and South Africa, so with a bit of time in hand, Donald expects things to fall into place.”The biggest thing here is old-ball bowling,” Donald said. “Today (May 12) was all about the old ball. Every training session, I have emphasised a lot on getting the ball to reverse, and be really patient and creative with the old ball. I don’t have to tell these lads about bowling on their conditions. They know what to expect. But the overall patience, and persistence, and creativity that we bring is going to be testing.”Donald is also mindful of an early impact, so he wants the bowlers to understand what they will be expected to do with the new ball. Regardless of the attack for the first Test, the gradual build-up of the fast bowlers’ spells will ultimately dictate how Bangladesh attacks Sri Lanka.”I have realised this week that your length needs to be a bit fuller with the new ball,” he said. “We have to get the best out of it in the first 30 overs. Getting Sri Lanka 40 for 3. The other thing is ball-conditioning. It is very sweaty and humid. Typical sub-continental conditions.”After 30 overs, how much patience and discipline we can show by building that pressure (will be crucial). When the ball gets old, the reverse swing issue needs to come in. So it is a step by step process. It is going to be testing. Discipline, mental and creativity is going to be huge.”Shoriful Islam has impressed Bangladesh fast bowling coach Allan Donald•Getty Images

Donald said that he is already impressed with the hunger of the Bangladesh fast bowling unit, particularly how they have stepped up in the last five months.”These kids want it, that’s the great thing. My way of coaching is mindset, mental, attitude and creativity. At this level, these things run (parallel). Every single training session is to buy into creating pressure.”Taskin has a heart of gold, he has a massive heart. Once he is back to lead the attack, we will see a lot more of the hunger. I am excited with what I have seen.”Donald remains confident that the likes of Shoriful, Ebadot and Khaled can repeat their impressive showing in overseas Tests,”I was really impressed with Shoriful especially in the one-dayers. I saw him in the U19 World Cup in South Africa. He was very impressive. He was already highly rated then when Bangladesh won the World Cup.I think the bigger surprise for me were Ebadot and Khaled. I was surprised by their engine capacity. Fast bowling is about huge guts and determination. I have never seen two spinners and two seamers in a Test match before, but the way they conducted themselves, especially in Durban where they were magnificent. Apart from one mad half hour that knocked us back, I thought by bowling South Africa out in both Tests was a fantastic effort.”I am delighted with what I have seen. I think the discussions that we had in every single training session, and the learning we get out of it, is substantial. I am pleased with where we are going,” he said.

Despite Ireland’s busy 2021 schedule, Test fixtures are conspicuous by their absence

Matt Roller05-Jan-2021Cricket Ireland is considering staging a home international series in England this summer, with a two-match T20I series against Pakistan the most likely option.Ireland have a packed home schedule in 2021 featuring 16 limited-overs fixtures. They will be unable to use one of their four home venues, with Clontarf unlikely to be ready to host international cricket after the square was re-laid, and while exploring their alternatives, they have been in talks with the ECB about hosting games on English soil.Ireland had intended to stage a T20I series against Bangladesh at four different county venues last summer before the Covid pandemic wiped out their home international season. They have home fixtures lined up against Pakistan (two T20Is), South Africa (three ODIs, three T20Is) and Zimbabwe (three ODIs, five T20Is) in 2021. The Pakistan fixtures – postponed from last summer – are due to be played before their tour of England in July, and are the most likely games to be moved.Related

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“Our international fixtures next summer are all quite compacted,” Richard Holdsworth, Cricket Ireland’s high performance director, said. “We’re going to use all our international strips at the other venues and we’re not going to have room on those grounds to play every single game at home, so we’re speaking to the ECB about the possibility of [staging games in England].”The only team of the three that is going on to play England as well is Pakistan, so that looks like the most obvious series to play over there. We’re still waiting to hear back about scheduling, availability of grounds, and whether it’s financially viable before our board and match allocation group sign off on it. There’s a bit of way to go, but it looks possible.”Cricket Ireland is yet to discuss the possibility with the PCB, which is expecting at least one warm-up fixture to be arranged against a county in early July. Pakistan will be involved in the Asia Cup in June, with dates yet to be finalised.After a fallow 2020 which saw the men’s international team involved in only 12 games, the most recent of them their seven-wicket win in England on August 4, Ireland’s schedule this year is significantly busier, with seven ODIs – four against UAE, three against Afghanistan – to be played in Abu Dhabi this month. The A team, the Ireland Wolves, will then travel to Bangladesh for a long tour starting in February and set to include a four-day game, five one-day fixtures and two T20s.The postponed tour of Zimbabwe is due to be staged in April, though that looks in some doubt after another national lockdown caused Zimbabwe Cricket to cease all cricket activity earlier this week. A three-match, World Cup Super League ODI series is then scheduled for late May-early June in the Netherlands, leading into the home summer.There is still a possibility that the ill-fated Euro T20 Slam will be resurrected. Cricket Ireland is still confident that the concept of a three-nation franchise tournament involving teams from Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands is viable, but after two postponements already, that may be wishful thinking. The T20 World Cup in India then follows after the end of the home season.While 2021 looks significantly busier in the white-ball formats, it remains unlikely that Ireland will play another Test until December, when they have pencilled in a rearranged one-off fixture in Sri Lanka. Ireland gave England a scare by bowling them out for 85 in their most recent Test, in July 2019, but they have not played in the format since. Cricket Ireland and the ECB have discussed the possibility of a Test in June, but at this stage, New Zealand are more likely to tour in that window.Andy Balbirnie has admitted his frustrations at Ireland’s lack of Test cricket•Getty Images

“Playing home Tests is just incredibly expensive without permanent infrastructure,” Holdsworth said. “We’ve had to look strategically at what we can do with the money that we’ve got and with three white-ball World Cups in the next three years, that’s what we’re focusing on.”We could spend half a million euros on staging a home Test, but what is the purpose? If we were pushing to get into the World Test Championship and there was an opportunity for promotion, there would be a very different rationale, but at the moment there is no context for our Test cricket.”Andy Balbirnie, Ireland’s captain in all formats, admitted that it was “disappointing” not to have had more opportunities since gaining Test status in 2017, having played only three fixtures in those three-and-a-half years.”My last first-class game was the Test at Lord’s, which is staggering,” Balbirnie told ESPNcricinfo in an interview to be published this week. “There’s nothing we can do as players. I’ll look back on my career and maybe be a bit disappointed that when I was close to my peak, I wasn’t getting the opportunity to play at the highest level.”It’d be very handy for touring teams going to England to come over and play a Test like Pakistan did. Stuff like that could be so great for Irish cricket [but] the fact that it costs so much to host is just the way it is. I’m an Irish Test cricketer – it’s the best thing in the world, and I’m very fortunate to be [one]. But once you get a taste for it, you certainly want more of it.”

The organisers also wanted a clear window so they could have all West Indies contracted players present

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Sep-2019The eighth edition of the Caribbean Premier League has been scheduled to be played between August 19 and September 26 in 2020. The window also meant that there would be no overlap with ECB’s new event The Hundred, slated for July next year.According to a CPL release, the organisers wanted a clear window for the tournament so they could have all West Indies contracted players present for the entire duration for a third successive year, and also so both the tournaments could have “the best possible players available”.”Having the best Caribbean cricketers and the world’s best overseas players is the foundation of our tournament and this period gives us that,” Pete Russell, COO of the CPL, said. “We may be just days away from the 2019 tournament, but we are already making plans for next year to ensure that we continue to see the phenomenal growth and economic impact that CPL has seen over the years.”Cricket West Indies chief executive Johnny Grave said that the tournament next year would serve as a tune-up for the men’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to be played in Australia next October.”We are pleased that we have once again found a window in our international calendar for the 2020 season to ensure that all the best West Indian cricketers can take part, as the tournament plays a crucial role in our preparations and planning for the ICC T20 World Cup in 2020,” Grave said.This year, the tournament was originally supposed to begin in late August but was rescheduled to September owing to the shifting of India’s tour.

Jos Buttler and Joe Root are set to go head to head in Friday night’s Vitality Blast Roses match, as well as Lancashire’s Championship match against Yorkshire starting on Sunday

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Jul-2018Jos Buttler and Joe Root are set to go head to head in Friday night’s Vitality Blast Roses match, as well as Lancashire’s Championship match against Yorkshire starting on Sunday, after the ECB confirmed the availability of England players at the conclusion of the ODI series with India.

England player availability

• Moeen Ali: available for everything

• Jake Ball: available from Friday

• Jonny Bairstow: available for Championship

• Jos Buttler: Friday Blast and Championship

• Sam Curran: available from Friday

• Tom Curran: playing 2nd XI as batsman

• Dawid Malan: available from Sunday

• Eoin Morgan: available from Friday

• Liam Plunkett: available for everything

• Adil Rashid: available for everything

• Joe Root: Friday Blast and Championship

• Jason Roy: available if fit

• Ben Stokes: Friday Blast and Championship

• David Willey: available for everything

• Mark Wood: available for Championship

Jonny Bairstow will only be available for the Championship match at Old Trafford, which could also feature James Anderson on his comeback from injury. Anderson and Stuart Broad, who has had a painkilling injection in his ankle, will be assessed by England’s medical staff but should be free to play for Lancashire and Nottinghamshire respectively.Durham’s Mark Wood, who recently spoke of his desire to be involved in the Test series against India, has been rested from the Blast but can turn out in the Championship against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham. Ben Stokes is available for both games.Among others who have featured in the ODIs, Eoin Morgan, Moeen Ali, Jason Roy, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid and David Willey will all return to their counties without any restrictions on their involvement.Dawid Malan, currently playing for England Lions against India A, will be unavailable for Middlesex’s two Blast games this week, but will continue to tune up for the India Tests in the Championship fixture against Warwickshire. The five-Test series begins at Edgbaston on August 1.

Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli summed up his side’s performance as reckless after they were bowled out for an IPL record low of 49 chasing a target of 132

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Apr-20174:23

Agarkar: Disgraceful batting performance from RCB

Virat Kohli has been part of many historic feats, but all those have given him a lot of joy. The latest one, registered on Sunday evening, was one he said he wants to forget quickly. Four years to the day after registering the highest total in IPL history, Royal Challengers Bangalore embarrassed themselves by hitting the opposite end of the spectrum as they posted an IPL record low total, 49 all out against Kolkata Knight Riders.”Our worst batting performance,” Kohli said summing up the defeat. “It really hurts. After the kind of half that we had, we thought we could capitalise and chase it down. Reckless batting, I can’t say anything at the moment. It was that bad. This is just not acceptable.”Nobody reached double-figures and there were three ducks recorded in the Royal Challengers’ batting. One of them was Kohli, the first wicket to fall when he edged to second slip just three balls into the chase. Kohli was visibly disgruntled walking back as he gestured to show he had been distracted by some movement above the sight screen. “The sightscreen is very small here. One guy got up as the bowler was loading up, that distracted me. Still it wasn’t a big deal. That was just one down. Nine guys could have done the job.”When asked if he would dwell on the nature of the defeat, Kohli said that the best thing for Royal Challengers is to focus on the next match rather than spend any significant time analysing how his side lost.”There’s nothing to review anything about the second half, it was that bad,” Kohli said. “We need to forget it and move forward. We’re a much better team. We got 200 plus in the last game. I’m sure everyone realizes what they’ve done wrong. You have to come out, show intent and back yourselves. I’m sure we won’t bat like that again in the tournament.”This was Royal Challengers’ fifth defeat as last year’s runner-up slipped to the bottom of the points table with half their games complete. After losing to Rising Pune Supergiant at home on April 16, their third straight defeat, Kohli had said the franchise could not be expected to repeat last season’s feat of winning their last four league matches to make the playoffs. However, they may require another hot run to end the season to have any chance of reaching the knockout stage based on the history of previous standings at the end of the league stage.No team has reached the IPL playoffs with fewer than seven wins, though the fourth playoff spot in each of the past two seasons went to teams finishing on 16 points. With just four points from two victories, Kohli’s team realistically needs to win at least five if not six of their remaining seven matches to make the playoffs this season but they haven’t given up hope yet.”We’re going back home for a couple of games,” Kohli said. “We’ve got back-to-back games, need to try and win those to get some momentum.”

Lancashire gained promotion and won the NatWest Blast in Ashley Giles’ first season as director of cricket, but safeguarding that Division One stataus will not be easy

David Hopps01-Apr-2016Director of cricket: Ashley Giles
Captain: Steven Croft
Last season
In:
Out: Ashwell Prince (retired), Paul Horton (Leicestershire)
Overseas: Neil Wagner2015 in a nutshell
Things could not have gone much better for Ashley Giles in his first season as director of cricket. Lancashire won the NatWest Twenty20 and bounced back into the First Division at the first attempt with a squad with a strong north-west flavour and there was a sense, too, of sound organisation and togetherness at all levels about which Giles could take much satisfaction.2016 prospects
Having regained First Division status can Lancashire stay there? Just to avoid the bottom two might be seen as an achievement. The retirement of Ashwell Prince removes 1,478 Championship runs in Division Two, and will make heavy demands on Alviro Petersen, another South African playing out his career on a Kolpak deal. Haseeb Hameed has rich promise, too, as a top-order batsman, although Division One attacks will present a steep learning curve. Lancashire’s pace attack is in transition so they will hope James Anderson can contribute to a flying start and to see Kyle Jarvis make a further impact. Limited-overs cricket should be less daunting. Strong finances will be the envy of many.Key player
Much attention was given last season to Lancashire’s highly-effective T20 spinners, Stephen Parry and Aaron Lilley, but if they are to hang in there in four-day cricket then left-arm spinner Simon Kerrigan (41 wickets at 31.22 in Division Two last season) needs to transfer those statistics to Division One.Bright young thing
Saqib Mahmood, a powerful quick bowler of considerable promise, was one of England’s outstanding players at the Under-19 World Cup, finishing with 13 wickets at just 12.69, and he was as effective with the old ball as the new cherry. Born in Birmingham but raised in Rochdale, he has already played three Twenty20 matches.ESPNcricinfo verdict
Lancashire look well equipped for limited-overs cricket, which should pull in the T20 crowds at Old Trafford, but their First Division status will not be easily maintained.Bet365 odds: Specsavers Championship, Div 1: 12/1; NatWest Blast n/a; Royal London Cup 14/1

West Indies High Performance Centre (HPC) head coach Graeme West said the centre will concentrate on the four-day format of the game for the second semester, with the regional tournaments approaching at the turn of 2014

Renaldo Matadeen03-Sep-2013West Indies High Performance Centre (HPC) head coach Graeme West said the centre will concentrate on the four-day format of the game for the second semester, with the regional tournaments approaching at the turn of 2014.West was delighted with the first term that passed and was keenly anticipating the start of the next, which runs from September to December. “This term is about honing our skills in the longer format of the game. We’d like to travel around the Caribbean and play some four-day cricket,” he said. “The intake this year has been playing in the Barbados domestic three-day league and they’ve benefited greatly but it’s time to take the next step. We’ll then look at adjusting to perfect our basics in the ODIs to give our players the platforms to play in the Regional Super50 in the new year.”West identified the pitches in Barbados as the toughest in the region and believed the conditions they faced would help them learn how to adapt on difficult pitches, especially in the international arena.”The Barbados league gives a benchmark to see how our games develop,” he said. “The players who weren’t from Barbados found it tricky sometimes. Batters had to settle as the pitches weren’t what they expected. They had to blend new methods and tactics in the crease with slightly foreign conditions. They took some time to get off.”West lauded his bowlers and singled out left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein as most impressive so far in the HPC. “Bowlers got off faster because these pitches were conducive to taking wickets and it showed with Akeal, who took over 30 wickets in four games, with his left-arm orthodox,” he said. “These are the best kinds of pitches for young bowlers to refine their trades.”Among the current crop, right-arm seamer Ronsford Beaton and right-hand batsman Kraigg Brathwaite are on West Indies A duty this month, and Adrian Barath due for the Champions League. West was optimistic his players would be contributing for their countries when regional cricket gets under way in early 2014.”We’ve broadened and expanded the learning opportunities for the players in the classroom,” he said. “We balance the cricketing and non-cricketing aspects of education well here. In the first term, we did IT (Information Technology) but now, we’re introducing video assessment and analysis to keep things cricket-oriented. We need to look at the game sharper and much more closely to be competitive.”High Performance Centre squad: Adrian Barath (Trinidad & Tobago), Ronsford Beaton (Guyana), Quinton Boatswain (Leeward Islands), Kraigg Brathwaite (Barbados), John Campbell (Jamaica), Chanderpaul Hemraj (Guyana), Shai Hope (Barbados), Akeal Hosein (Trinidad & Tobago), Stephen Katwaroo (Trinidad & Tobago), Kyle Mayers (Barbados), Dalton Polius (St Lucia), Raymon Reifer (Barbados), Tyrone Theophile (Windward Islands), Hayden Walsh Jr (Leeward Islands)