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Afghanistan spinner joins Rizwan, Head as overseas signings in his fourth stint with club

Matt Roller17-Dec-2021Rashid Khan will return to Sussex for a fourth spell with the county in the 2022 T20 Blast.Rashid first signed for Sussex in 2018 and returned in 2019 and 2021. His stint last summer comprised only three games due to the rearranged Pakistan Super League, but included a match-winning performance in the quarter-finals against Yorkshire when he took 1 for 25 from four overs then hit 27 not out off nine balls to seal a five-wicket win.He becomes Sussex’s second major signing in as many days after Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan was unveiled as an overseas player on Thursday. Sussex will register Rashid, Rizwan and Championship captain Travis Head as their three overseas players for the Blast, with a maximum of two playing at any one time.The club said in a press release that the move would “maximise availability in the event of international call-ups or Covid-19 related disruption” with the majority of counties struggling to tie players down due to the ever-changing nature of the Future Tours Programme.Related

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Rizwan, for example, was due to play for Sussex from April until mid-July, but barely 90 minutes after his signing was announced, Pakistan confirmed that their ODI series against West Indies had been moved to June, compromising his availability.Rashid is likely to miss the first handful of games of the Blast season due to his likely involvement in the IPL. Afghanistan are also due to play three T20Is against Australia, ending in early June, though fixtures are yet to be confirmed. The Blast is expected to start on May 25, with Finals Day on July 16.He will be one of three legspinners in the Sussex squad along with Will Beer – who has moved to a T20-only contract – and the teenager Archie Lenham. James Kirtley, their T20 head coach, said that Rashid’s influence as a role model was a major positive for the squad.”Rash is an outstanding person and his positive effect on our environment was so obvious last summer,” Kirtley said. “The immediate care and mentoring he showed Archie showed the real class of the person.”He’s the best in the business and we are truly lucky to have him. It is great to know we have developed a long-standing relationship with the best T20 spinner in the world – not to forget his dynamic batting which we witnessed against Yorkshire in last year’s quarter-final.”It will be amazing to have his services for the majority of the T20 Blast along with our two other overseas players. This puts us in an enviable position of being able to react to the ever-changing landscape of international cricket.”Rashid, who is currently in Australia playing for Adelaide Strikers under Sussex’s former coach Jason Gillespie, said that despite the loss of two key players in Chris Jordan and Phil Salt, he was “more determined that ever to try and help bring the T20 Blast title back to Hove”.”The squad will look a little different this season with some key players having moved on,” he said, “but the youngsters coming through impressed me greatly in recent seasons and combined with some new faces I think it is a really exciting time to be a Sharks fan.”

Pakistani fast bowler echoes Azeem Rafiq’s experiences during time at club

Umar Farooq and George Dobell15-Sep-2020Rana Naved-ul-Hasan has echoed Azeem Rafiq’s complaints about racism at Yorkshire, claiming he witnessed “systematic taunting” while playing for the club.Rana, who represented the club in 2008 and 2009, alleges he was the victim of “hooting” from home supporters, “a clear case of discrimination” from the club and that Rafiq confided in him about his concerns during the period they played together.Rafiq had previously revealed to ESPNcricinfo that he had considered suicide after experiencing racism at Yorkshire. As a result, the club appointed a legal firm to conduct an investigation into the specific allegations and the wider issue of race relations at the club.”I fully support what Azeem said and this has been the case with me as well,” Rana told ESPNcricinfo. “I never spoke about it because, as foreigners, we were temporary and somehow I managed to accept the way it is. So I just focussed on playing cricket. I never wanted to jeopardise my contracts.”There was systematic taunting and it’s tough to do much about it. To us as overseas players from Asia, when you are not able to perform, the home crowd which should be supporting us, instead they started hooting and would taunt us with racist slurs like ‘Paki’.”If you are performing then you get all the space but, in case I am not taking wickets, the attitude suddenly started to change. They started to give us a tough time, giving me a smaller hotel room and there used to be a clear case of discrimination. They would do some strange things to annoy us and make you feel lesser. It wasn’t abusive but their attitude wasn’t friendly towards Asians.”At time I used to feel bad, but I decided to ignore it because I knew I was not going to live there permanently. But I know what Azeem went through. He did share his frustration in my playing days. The way he was released by the club wasn’t ideal and says a lot about them, but I had been advising him to stay strong and take it as a challenge.”Rana, who also represented Sussex and Derbyshire, specified that Yorkshire was the only club he experienced such treatment. However, he also claimed that other Asian players had had negative experiences during their times at the club as overseas players.”This only happens in Yorkshire,” he said. “I played several years for Sussex and they were tremendous; they treated me like their own family. Those two years were absolutely great.”Even my first year in Yorkshire was okay but the trouble started in the second year.ALSO READ: Yorkshire appoint sub-committee to investigate racism allegationsTino Best, who also had a spell as an overseas player at Yorkshire in 2010, confirmed he had overheard several players of Asian descent complaining of discrimination during his time at the club. He also expressed his “surprise and disappointment” that he had not been contacted by the firm conducting the investigation.”My number hasn’t changed,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “If they really want to get to the bottom of these things, you would think they’d have given me a call.”In response, Yorkshire released a statement to ESPNcricinfo in which they described the allegations as “very concerning” and reiterated their commitment to an investigation into the issue.”Mr Naveed’s comments in relation to his and Mr Rafiq’s experiences playing for Yorkshire in 2009 are very concerning and we take them very seriously,” the statement reads.”We have recently engaged an independent law firm, Squire Patton Boggs, to conduct a thorough investigation into this matter and they will report their findings in due course. In addition, we have also appointed a sub-committee, led by Dr Samir Pathak and supported by NACC Chairman, Mr Gulfraz Riaz, to review the findings of the investigation and provide advice on any further steps the club needs to take.”We have committed to sharing recommendations which result from the investigation but as it is now underway are unable to comment on specific matters. There is no place for racism in cricket and we take these matters very seriously.”It is understood that Rafiq spoke to the investigating panel on Tuesday.Meanwhile, The Times has revealed that the ECB has launched an investigation into allegations that one of its employees used a racial slur against a cricketer of Pakistani heritage.The accused player, who has worked as an ECB regional development officer, is alleged to have called an opposition player “Paki” during a match in the South Yorkshire Cricket League. The match was consequently abandoned when one side refused to continue to play.The allegation is denied.

Muzumdar takes over from Powar who is now the head coach of India Women

Shashank Kishore01-Jun-2021Getting Mumbai “back on track in the red-ball format” is at the front of Amol Muzumdar’s mind as he takes over as the team’s head coach ahead of the yet-to-be-announced domestic season. Mumbai, the 41-time Ranji Trophy champions, haven’t tasted red-ball success since beating Saurashtra in the 2015-16 final. In fact, they’ve only made the finals once since then.”To get back on track as far as red-ball cricket is immediate priority because we haven’t won since 2015-16,” Muzumdar, a veteran of 171 first-class games, told ESPNcricinfo. “I think we’re in a good space as far as white-ball cricket goes. I’d like to impress upon the need to be multi-dimensional, it’s key for players at a personal level in today’s environment. So, these two areas are important.”Muzumdar’s appointment was made official on Friday after the Mumbai Cricket Association’s Cricket Advisory Committee, comprising former players Jatin Paranjape, Nilesh Kulkarni and Vinod Kambli, conducted a series of interviews over the past week. A new coach had to be named after the position was laying vacant following Ramesh Powar’s appointment as head coach of the India women’s team.Under Powar, Mumbai won India’s most-recent domestic tournament, the Vijay Hazare Trophy, where they beat Uttar Pradesh in a high-scoring final. Powar himself was a late appointment after the MCA decided to not extend Vinayak Samant’s contract.Wasim Jaffer and Sairaj Bahutule, Muzumdar’s former Mumbai team-mates, Sulakshan Kulkarni, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Pradeep Sunderram, Nandan Phadnis, Umesh Patwal and Vinod Raghvan were among the contenders for the job.”I threw my hat into the ring purely on instincts,” Muzumdar said. “I think this is as good a time as any, when there’s a great blend of highly-skilled youngsters and experienced players there to guide them. We say Mumbai’s talent pool isn’t quite the same as yesteryears, but we’ve still got as many as seven players in the Indian team, which is still phenomenal. So, to work with this bunch is going to be quite exciting.”Muzumdar has spent the last three years as a batting consultant with the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL. He’s currently head of their training and development wing at their academy in Nagpur. In 2019, Muzumdar also had a stint with South Africa as their batting coach for the Test series in India. Apart from that, he has been an active commentator in the domestic circuit since his retirement in 2014.Muzumdar says being already familiar with the role of a mentor during the fag end of his playing career helped him tune up. “For about four or five years, towards the end of my career, I played the role of a player-cum-coach both at Andhra and Assam. Even when I went over to the Netherlands, it was a similar role. So, in terms of approach, it’s something I’m tuned to.”The difference, though, is during those stints, you’re still in control of situations as a player-cum-mentor. Whereas as head coach, you don’t have that control of things in the middle, Even if you may have an indirect control, that touch is missing. But it’s the about the experience and the excitement of working with a great bunch of players that I’m most looking forward to.”

Joey Evison, the successor to “Stevo”, also impresses as Leicestershire fall well short

David Hopps26-Aug-2022Put those Darren Stevens retirement stories away for a moment because he is not quite finished yet. A return to Leicestershire, the county where his career began, felt like a fairytale ending – only he has no intention to end. Influential contributions with bat and ball helped give Kent an 82-run win in this Royal London Cup play-off and now takes them to a semi-final tie against Hampshire at the Ageas Bowl on Tuesday.If Stevens’ intervention with the bat felt entirely predictable – 41 from 24 balls with The Meet Café & Bar at deep midwicket fearing partial demolition from his wrecking ball – his bowling spell was a bonus. Ten overs in mid-innings for 37 runs felt as if Leicestershire had taken their largesse too far as he was met conservatively throughout. It was canny stuff but perhaps not that canny. He had a towel down before his final over, as if determined to see the job through, and suitably somebody should have brought him out a little stool to sit on while they did it.Grace Road is one of the quieter grounds on the circuit, even in their first home knockout tie for 11 years, but sporadic cries of “Stevo” punctuated the day, often for no specific reason. Perhaps some of them came from Leicestershire supporters who would like him to return for a final year. Coincidentally that knockout tie was also against Kent when Paul Nixon, now their head coach, made 31 in a three-wicket win. Considering the ECB’s machinations, it’s a toss-up who is most likely still to be around another 11 years from now – Leicestershire or Stevens.His last ball should have been the perfect finish. Scott Steel, who fulfilled the anchor role for Leicestershire much as Ben Compton had done previously for Kent, risked a leg-side pick-up, but it fell to the 12th man, James Logan, on the half volley and trundled for four. By the time Logan left the field, his duties complete, Stevens’ hands were still on hips in mild-mannered exasperation, but his job had been done.Leicestershire still needed 196 from 21 at 9.33 an over at that point and even though they had seven wickets left they never really made contact with it. A flurry of runs and then Steel swung rather mindlessly at a short ball from Nathan Gilchrist to sky one straight up in the air and fall for 65 from 94 balls.The batter who might have turned the tie for Leicestershire was Wiaan Mulder, their South African allrounder, one of the driving forces behind their play-offs place. Mulder made 81 from 71, his innings ending when he was bowled by a delivery that jagged back substantially, and low, from Joey Evison, who suitably is the young allrounder positioned to fill Stevens’ shoes. Nobody sang “Joey” in homage, even though he had earlier made an excellent half-century, but as Stevens has already recognised, he is a player of considerable promise and can write his own tunes.Related

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Kent’s early incursions came through Harry Podmore, whose career has been so curtailed by injury that a decade after his county debut for Middlesex he was playing only his 99th match across all formats. That he was fit and firing after recovering from severe side and knee injuries was a considerable bonus. His first wicket was a bit of a gimme as Nicky Welch slapped him to point, but he bowled Rishi Patel and Lous Kimber with excellent deliveries that seamed back through the gate. Grant Stewart made short shrift of the tail to finish with 4 for 42. Kent had been helped a little by the fact that the surface died a little as the game progressed, but as Nixon agreed, Leicestershire did not lift their game when most needed.Stevens’ innings had been marked by a succession of flat bats with Ed Barnes conceding three of his four sixes, enough for Barnes to finish with undistinguished figures of 2 for 75 in eight overs, his mood uplifted by two good wickets. Leicestershire set two short thirds to him and appeared to have a theory, but it didn’t come off. Predictably, he eventually fell short at deep midwicket and a repair bill for The Meet was avoided after all. It was another South African who carried Leicestershire’s fight with the ball, Beuran Hendricks, a lithe left-armer who is more slippery than he looks, was the bwler who silenced Stevens and he was the pick of their attack with 2 for 35.Half-centuries from Evison and Compton in an opening stand of 95 in 18 overs handed Kent an initiative that they never relinquished. Evison drove Kimber from the attack with three sixes in two overs between straight and long-on before he was dismissed trying to sweep Steel; Compton, his off stump clipped by Mulder as he played defensively, made 56 from 80 balls with only four boundaries and was probably out at a perfect time, although he loves batting so might not think so. A third Kent half-century, this time from Joe Denly, kept Leicestershire at bay.

The Queensland quick is the current leading wicket-taker in the Sheffield Shield

AAP14-Nov-2021Queensland skipper Usman Khawaja has likened team-mate Mark Steketee to South Africa great Dale Steyn, labelling the quick’s current form as career-best.Steketee is among a host of fast bowlers fighting for advantage in the pecking order behind Australia’s Test trio Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins.Although Queensland went down in the Sheffield Shield to Western Australia by seven wickets on Saturday at the Gabba, Steketee again performed strongly with 4 for 74 and 2 for 21.The 27-year-old, who picked up career-best figures of 7 for 44 against South Australia last month, tops the Shield wicket-taker list this season with 18 at 15.72.Related

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“[He] has been around the Aussie thinking [and] the next fast bowling crop for a while now,” Khawaja told reporters. “This year, the way he’s been bowling is as good as I’ve seen him bowl. He’s got gears too, you can tell he’s experienced now. He can read the conditions.”When he was younger he just used to try and bowl 100 percent. He’s got the skills and the gears now to take it back a bit and then ramp it up, much like Dale Steyn used to and learnt throughout his career.”Australia is expected to soon name an extended Ashes squad, with an intrasquad practice game early next month looming as a key shootout ahead of the first Test against England on December 8.Steketee, Queensland team-mate Michael Neser, experienced Victorian Scott Boland, WA quick Jhye Richardson and New South Wales allrounder Sean Abbott are among the next crop of quicks.Richardson, who has two Tests to his name, starred against the Bulls with 3 for 38 and 5 for 23 and hit a valuable 35 with the bat. Neser picked up a hamstring injury in his side’s loss but is expected to be fit by the start of the Ashes. National selectors could opt for a rotation policy with the five-Test series being squeezed into six weeks.Khawaja, himself in top touch with the bat and pushing for a return to the Test side, indicated Steketee should be at the top of the pack.”He’s bowling beautifully right now. He’s been the pick of our bowlers all season,” he said. “The bounce and the kiss he’s getting off the wicket, we feel in the game every ball.”

Somerset have announced the signing of seamer Jack Brooks on a three-year contract from Yorkshire

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Aug-2018Somerset have announced the signing of seamer Jack Brooks on a three-year contract from Yorkshire. The 34-year-old will move to Taunton at the end of the season.Brooks’ impending departure, first reported by ESPNcricinfo, is a blow to Yorkshire, who face a rebuilding job over the winter. England quick Liam Plunkett has already signed for Surrey – with Mathew Pillans moving in the opposite direction – while opener Alex Lees was granted a switch to Durham.Although Brooks has never quite done enough to win England selection, he is a vastly experienced bowler at county level. A later-starter with Northamptonshire, he soon became a distinctive figure on the circuit, with his long hair, trademark headband and impassioned celebrations. He moved to Yorkshire in 2012, helping the club to win back-to-back Championships in 2014 and 2015. He has also played for England Lions.”I’m extremely excited to be joining Somerset at a time when they are building a special team capable of challenging for trophies,” Brooks said, “I truly believe this Somerset team can create something special.”When I met Andy Hurry, Jason Kerr, Tom Abell and Andrew Cornish I was impressed straightaway with their vision for the team and club. Their togetherness and desire reminded me a lot of Yorkshire when I joined them.”I look forward to continuing my cricketing journey and to the fresh challenges that await. My mum and her family are from Bath and I’ll be nearer to my family in Oxfordshire, so it feels a little bit like I’m coming home. Somerset have a fantastic reputation as a strong family club which I look forward to being a part of.”Although in his mid-30s, Brooks has fine record in red-ball cricket, in particular, taking 291 wickets at 26.56 in six years at Headingley. He claimed 68 wickets to help Yorkshire to their first Championship title since 2001, and was their leading wicket-taker for three seasons in a row between 2014 and 2016.However, while Yorkshire now find themselves battling at the wrong end of the Division One table, Somerset, in their pursuit of a first-ever Championship, have emerged as Surrey’s closest challengers. They also secured a spot in Vitality Blast Finals Day with victory over the holders, Nottinghamshire, on Monday.As well as being closer to home, the prospect of being involved in all three formats was perhaps a factor in Brooks moving to Taunton – he only played in 12 List A and 23 T20 fixtures for Yorkshire.Somerset’s director of cricket, Andy Hurry, said: “We are delighted that we have secured a player of Jack’s proven quality, experience and character to add to one of the most exciting bowling attacks in the country. It’s a great reflection of our ambition, and the progress that the club has made, that a player of his quality sees his ambitions of winning silverware with Somerset CCC.”Alongside his experience of winning silverware, which will add to our ability to achieve our aspirations of winning trophies, he is incredibly competitive, driven and will be a great fit in the changing room. I have no doubt he will become a big favourite with the Somerset membership”.

Ponting’s advice followed time-honoured lines of Perth – leaving the ball on length, being selective on balls to drive and cashing in on the cut and the pull

Daniel Brettig in Perth13-Dec-2018Australian cricket’s fundamentals will be on trial at the new Perth Stadium over the next five days, as an undermanned team led by Tim Paine will seek to level the series with an Indian side traditionally all at sea in fast and bouncy conditions but now increasingly sure of themselves on days when the red ball flies.Searing first day temperatures, in excess of 35C, will complicate the decision for either captain at the toss, but Paine was clear that whichever way it fell, his team would need to start as strongly as they did in Adelaide before sustaining their efforts more coherently thereafter. To that end, former captain Ricky Ponting joined the team for their final training session, offering advice to the batsmen that followed the time-honoured lines of Perth – leaving the ball on length, being selective on balls to drive and cashing in on the cut and the pull.”I know he’s always in and around our group, I know he has been for the last six to eight months to be fair, and he’s working with Channel Seven so he’s around the venues. And one of the things we’re trying to do is get our ex-players back, so he’s just another one when he’s around we try to tap into,” Paine said of Ponting. “Him in particular i think, he makes our batting group walk a bit taller and fills them with confidence, so I’m sure they were all speaking to him today at certain periods.”You want to be judging the length of balls well but we know in Perth traditionally, and even at this venue, in the short amount of time it’s quite quick and bouncy, so it’s one of the things we’ve spoken about, something you speak to all the time when you come to Perth, it’s just about adjusting to different conditions. All our guys have had experience doing it at first-class level so this week will be no different.”In declaring that Australia’s batting lineup would be unchanged in addition to the playing XI itself, Paine delivered a strong vote of confidence in both Aaron Finch and Mitchell Starc, the opening batsman and pace bowler who both had indifferent matches in Adelaide, the former against the moving ball and the latter struggling to control the sort of swing he had been trying to regain for some time. As an aggressive batsman and a piercing fast bowler, Finch and Starc are the sort of players who could quickly swing a match on a pacy pitch.Aaron Finch was left with one stump standing•Getty Images

“Finchy’s been successful at international cricket, I think he played really well in the UAE, he’s like any other player, he just needs that one score to get that little bit more self-belief at Test level that we know he’s got at international T20 and one-day cricket,” Paine said. “Finchy’s no different to any other player. You’re not going to succeed at international cricket unless you stick to your strengths, and Finchy knows the best way he goes about his batting. We’ve just got to keep him on track and make sure he keeps trying to do that. If he does, he’ll come good for us.”I think [Starc] will swing it out there, the conditions are going to suit him down to the ground and one thing I know about Starcy is when he cops a bit of criticism normally he takes it pretty personally and that sometimes gets the best out of him. So pretty pumped to see him go tomorrow or the next day and see what he can produce. We know his best is the best, so really excited to have him in our team and we realise how lucky we are to have him.”We’ve got a really settled and experienced bowling attack, so I don’t think we’ll have to say too much. They know what works at Test cricket, they’ve done it before and played on all types of surfaces and adapted really quickly. So this wicket might play really well, we don’t know, it’ll just be about having a look in that first half an hour and whatever team can settle and adjust to the conditions better are going to get well ahead of the game.”Paine conceded he had been in a state of some emotional anguish at the end of the Adelaide Test when he questioned the accuracy of ball-tracking, leading to the Virtual Eye operator Ian Taylor to reiterate his open invitation to the players to see how the technology worked, based on picking up the ball at numerous fixed positions on its way down the pitch. But he was also hopeful for better policing of no-balls in Perth, after Ishant Sharma’s transgressions for one wicket and another lbw appeal were shown to be only two of many by the broadcasters.”No I haven’t [taken up the offer] but I have thought about it,” Paine said. “It was at the end of a pretty close Test match and I was probably a little bit emotional or upset that a couple of things didn’t go our way, but I certainly understand how it works and understand the technology. It was more a bit of frustration coming out that we got a few wrong and we thought a couple might’ve been hitting the stumps that weren’t. Can it get better? Yep. Do I have the answer? No.”I spoke to them [the umpires] on one of the days really quickly [about no-balls], because I was watching the telecast in the change room, so just to get an idea of whether they were communicating to the umpires in the middle which they said they were. What I do know is, it’s not an easy job, they’re standing two or three metres away and the guys are running in fast and it all happens pretty quickly. As long as we’re aware of it and looking at solutions that can help that process then I’m all for it. But I hope this Test match it is done a little better.”ALSO READ: Under-scanner Ishant works hard to rectify no-ball problemAs for his battered finger, Paine again insisted he was “fine”, but reflected on what may unfold in terms of the vice-captain Josh Hazlewood taking over in the event of a further injury. In addition to Hazlewood, the likes of Finch, Travis Head and Usman Khawaja all have extensive captaincy experience, either in domestic or limited overs international matches. “I’m sure he’d sneak himself up to mid off or mid on there somewhere, but no I don’t think it would change a great deal,” Paine said. “Josh is certainly a very level and experienced cricketer and highly respected in our group. We’ve got a number of guys who’ve captained a lot of teams in Australian domestic, BBL, that sort of stuff, so I’m sure we’d be fine if something did happen.”We’ve got an inexperienced group in terms of Test matches played, but quite an experienced group in terms of age and first-class games and captains. There’s a number of guys you can go to and our bowling attack is really experienced. There’s certain periods where I’m bouncing things off a lot of the guys to be fair. One of the things we’re trying to do is develop a lot of leaders. It doesn’t happen overnight, but the more responsibility and the more you can involve other people, the more they’re going to develop and the quicker they’re going to develop.”

Reports suggest prosecutors in South Africa will re-examine the circumstances of Peter Roebuck’s supposed suicide in 2011

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Oct-2018South African prosecutors are reportedly set to reopen the inquest into the death of Peter Roebuck, the former Somerset captain turned journalist who died in 2011. Roebuck fell to his death from a hotel room in Cape Town, with local police saying he had committed suicide.Roebuck’s family have previously expressed concern that they were not invited to be present at a closed hearing in 2013. Roebuck, who was in South Africa covering Australia’s Test tour, had been confronted by police while staying at the Southern Sun Hotel over allegations of sexual assault.South Africa’s Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Western Province, has been reviewing the case for a number of years. In 2016, the original inquest “docket” on the incident, which was believed to have been lost, was discovered and passed on to the DPP.Now, the has reported that the case will be re-examined “in the interests of justice”, although no date has been set for the inquest.David Hood, an English barrister representing the Roebuck family, said in a statement to the newspaper: “From the outset, the family and supporters of the late Peter Roebuck have put their faith in the legal system of South Africa. It is important to all internationally recognised systems of justice that justice is not only done, but is seen to be done.”That could never have been with the death of Peter Roebuck, unless and until the circumstances of his death were examined at a legally convened hearing held in public with witnesses called and questioned under oath.”The inquest is expected to examine a number of questions around Roebuck’s death, including the nature of the injuries he sustained after falling from the sixth floor and how he was able to jump through a window while a police office was supposedly present in the room.

Sussex go to Finals Day in the Vitality Blast with their Championship promotion hopes hanging by a thread after a thumping at Chester-le-Street

ECB Reporters Network and ESPNcricinfo staff12-Sep-2018
ScorecardDurham secured their fourth victory of the Specsavers County Championship Division Two season, hammering Sussex by 186 runs at Emirates Riverside thanks to a fine performance with the ball by Chris Rushworth.They appeared to be in trouble after their first innings after being bowled out for 103. However, Rushworth dug his team out of trouble with an outstanding spell of 8 for 51 before a brilliant hundred from Cameron Steel put Durham in command on day two.They never looked back. Sussex, set a daunting chase of 322, never raised a threat as Rushworth dominated with the ball, claiming another four wickets to take his tally to 12 for the match. India left-arm spinner Axar Patel wrapped up the tail on his final match for Durham, allowing the home side to ease to the victory.Sussex now head for the Blast Finals Day at Edgbaston with their Championship promotion hopes looking much tattier than they did a few days ago. They now trail second-placed Kent by 21 points and must now beat Warwickshire, the leaders, at Hove next week to stay in the hunt. Jason Gillespie, their coach, faces a tough task to regain the momentum at Hove next week.It was a far cry from their triumph on the same ground last month when they beat Durham in the Blast quarter-finals.Gillespie responded: “Sussex coach Jason Gillespie: “It was a couple of days to forget overall, if we’re perfectly honest. I think Durham outbatted and outbowled us. It’s something that we have to learn from.”I’ve just spoken to the boys, it’s about individual self-reflection what they can take away from this game and what they’ve learned. I thought Cameron Steel played very well, and Chris Rushworth bowled wonderfully well. It’s up to us to learn as much as we can from this game. It hurts to lose a cricket game in that manner. We must take something away from it and hopefully be better for the experience.”Jason Gillespie must lift his side for a vital week•Getty Images

“The Vitality Blast is a completely different format. We’re really excited about that. The overall feel around the squad is excellent. The whole club is buzzing about Finals Day, we’re really looking forward to that. We’ll put this game to bed quickly. As I said to the lads in the dressing room as soon as we walk out of here, we’ll hold our heads held high and move forward.”Durham began the day 201 runs ahead of the visitors, although they lost Patel almost immediately as he played a loose shot against Danny Briggs that landed in the grasp of David Wiese. Steel maintained his form, notching his highest score at Emirates Riverside on his way to 150.He produced a stand with Paul Collingwood to edge Durham’s lead towards the 300-run mark, although Steel was to fall to Tom Haines for 160, becoming the 19-year-old’s maiden first-class wicket. The home side collapsed after lunch losing their final four wickets for four runs to be bowled out for 340, despite a season-best knock from Collingwood of 47.Sussex lost Phil Salt in the first over of their reply, chasing down 322 for the win. Rushworth burst through his defences to clean bowl the opener for a duck, while Matt Salisbury notched the scalp of Luke Wells in his first over. Harry Finch came and went leaving a straight delivery from Rushworth (two disastrous leaves in the match), which reduced the visitors to 11 for 3 and allowed the seamer to claim his 10th wicket of the match.Haines and Michael Burgess battled for a while. However, Rushworth’s persistence paid off as he bowled Burgess for 22 before trapping Haines lbw for 40. The home side seized the initiative to close in on the victory as Patel removed Ben Brown, while Salisbury claimed his second wicket of the innings tearing one through the gate of David Wiese.Jofra Archer endured a miserable time at the crease at Chester-le-Street. He was bowled for a golden duck in the first innings, while his second attempt proved to be just as unsuccessful – a pair as he was run out before he got off the mark by Michael Richardson after surviving an lbw shout. Patel pinned Chris Jordan lbw before Ollie Robinson clipped the left-arm spinner straight to Steel to allow the home side to secure the win by a comfortable margin.

Mandhana overtook Ellyse Perry and Meg Lanning while Amy Satterthwaite displaced Mithali Raj from fourth place

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2019India opener Smriti Mandhana has topped the ICC’s women’s ODI rankings for batsmen after scoring 196 runs in three ODIs against New Zealand women recently. Mandhana moved up three places and displaced Ellyse Perry from the top, who is now second, followed by her team-mate and captain Meg Lanning. New Zealand captain Amy Satterthwaite jumped up 10 spots to be ranked fourth, followed by India ODI captain Mithali Raj, who was earlier in fourth place.Mandhana struck her fourth ODI century in Napier before scoring an unbeaten 90 in Mount Maunganui when India won the ODI series 2-1 as part of the ICC Women’s Championship. It extended Mandhana’s stellar run in ODIs which has seen her as the highest run-scorer since the beginning of 2018. In 15 innings during these 13 months, she has scored 865 runs with two centuries and eight half-centuries at an average of 72.08 and strike rate of 93.11. She has relied heavily on boundaries in this time, scoring 57% of her total runs with 102 fours and 14 sixes – both also the highest during the above time frame.Mandhana had also been named the ODI Player of the Year when the ICC announced its awards for 2018 recently. In June last year, she was named the best international cricketer among Indian women when the BCCI announced its awards for 2017-18.Satterthwaite struck four half-centuries in this time, two of those against India recently. Allrounder Suzie Bates, who stepped down from captaincy for Satterthwaite to take over, rose up a spot to sixth place after an unbeaten half-century against India in Hamilton. Jemimah Rodrigues, who has played only seven ODIs, broke into the top 100 by climbing 64 places to reach 61st spot after an unbeaten 81 in the first ODI.Among the bowlers, Jhulan Goswami went up one place to No. 4 and spinners Poonam Yadav and Deepti Sharma broke into the top 10 to reach eighth and ninth places respectively after jumping five places each. Left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht reached No. 13 after going up nine spots.