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Former Australian batsman Leah Poulton will take over the role of High Performance Coach for Cricket Australia’s Female Program from Cathryn Fitzpatrick

ESPNcricinfo staff24-May-2017Former Australian batsman Leah Poulton has been appointed the High Performance Coach for Cricket Australia’s Female Program to oversee the development of the country’s up-and-coming female cricketers. She will take over from former Australia fast bowler and coach Cathryn Fitzpatrick in July.Poulton, 33, will also oversee the Australia A women’s squad, the Under-15 and Under-18 programmes, and the inaugural female National Performance Squad. She said the growth of the women’s game has led to the demand of additional coaching resources at a youth level.”Cathryn Fitzpatrick was in this role before me on a part-time basis and I think it was inevitable that it would turn full-time, because it is such an important space and there are so many great things happening in the female pathway,” Poulton said. “Australia’s had such a great history and that doesn’t happen by accident, we have to put a lot of work into our pathway to help cultivate those emerging players. It’s not a case of creating them, the talent is there and it’s about creating the right environments where they can thrive.”Following her retirement at the end of the 2014-15 season, Poulton made her foray into coaching as Cricket NSW Female Pathway Manager before she stepped into the role of assistant coach with the NSW Breakers and the Sydney Thunder in the Women’s BBL. Recently, she returned from a study trip to the USA with fellow state and WBBL coaches Julia Price, Lisa Keightley and Shelley Nitschke and said she was looking forward to passing on some of her learnings.”We went over there and explored a lot of high performance environments, looking at the way they did things. It’s always great to learn from different areas, there’s lots of synergies between sport and business,” she said. “It was excellent to hear their take on things and to see if they’re doing things a little bit differently and what we can learn from them.”Poulton captained the Australia Under-19 side before featuring in two Tests, 48 ODIs and 40 T20Is, and played more than 100 domestic matches for New South Wales.

Jhye and Kane Richardson have been added to the ODI squad

AAP and ESPNcricinfo09-Jun-2022 • Updated on 10-Jun-2022Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc has been ruled out of the third T20I against Sri Lanka and is in doubt for the early part of the five-match ODI series after requiring six stitches in his left index finger following a bizarre laceration in game one in Colombo on Tuesday.Jhye Richardson, who replaced Starc in Australia’s T20I side and took 3 for 26 in the three-wicket win in game two on Wednesday, and Kane Richardson* have been called into Australia’s ODI squad as cover.Kane Richardson was added to the group on Friday and, initially, will be with the squad for the first two matches in Pallekele to provide an extra pace-bowling option alongside Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. It is expected Australia will rotate their quicks during the ODIs with five matches in quick succession.Starc lacerated the index finger on his bowling hand in the opening over of the first T20I on Tuesday. He reached so far down in his follow-through with his bowling arm that he ended up spiking his own finger with the bottom of his bowling shoes. He was able to bowl his remaining three overs and picked up 3 for 26.He will remain with the squad and will continue to train but he will need a minimum of seven days, and possibly longer, for the wound to heal. That likely rules him out of the first ODI in Pallekele next Tuesday. Australia will likely be cautious with Starc as he will be a key cog in the Test attack later in the month after starring on his last Test tour of Sri Lanka.Jhye Richardson was initially left out of the ODI squad despite being in the original T20I squad. He was set to play in the two Australia A four-day games in Hambantota that run concurrently with the ODI series in Sri Lanka. South Australia quick Nathan McAndrew has been called in from Warwickshire as Richardson’s replacement for Australia A.Australia to persist with Smith in T20I squadMeanwhile, Australia assistant coach Michael Di Venuto is confident Steven Smith will find form to consolidate his spot in the middle-order of the T20I side.Australia will persist with Smith in the T20I squad, believing they can unlock the Test star’s true potential in the shortest format of the game.The 33-year-old’s position in the middle-order has come into question after a prolonged slump in T20Is. Smith’s last T20I half-century for Australia came back in November 2019 and he was barely needed during the run to last year’s drought-breaking World Cup title as Mitchell Marsh and Matthew Wade were the batting heroes.The former Australia captain averages 25.45 at a strike-rate of 125.31 from 56 matches in T20Is. Since the start of 2020 his strike-rate has dropped to 119.39 across 16 innings and he has only struck above 130 in five innings in that period.Josh Inglis performed exceptionally well when called up for Australia’s home series against Sri Lanka in February, averaging 35.80 and striking at 145.52 in six matches, but he’s been squeezed out for Smith in this three-match series. Tim David is also knocking on the door of the Australia squad for a middle-order/finishing role as he continues to dominate in T20 leagues following another stunning showing for Lancashire on Wednesday.Nuwan Thushara appeals successfully for an LBW to pick up Steve Smith•Getty Images

Smith was not required to bat in game one against Sri Lanka but he unsuccessfully challenged an lbw decision on Wednesday night and was out for 5 off 4 deliveries.”Recent history, we’ve used (Smith) in a different way throughout our middle order, where people have batted around him,” Di Venuto said. “We know his skill level, we know his talent so we’re pretty keen to unlock him as a T20 cricketer and just let him go about his business and show us how good he is.”If he was playing BBL cricket, he would dominate that competition. Unfortunately, a lot of our best players don’t play that competition because they play Test matches. Steven’s had good success in the IPL in years gone past.”The skill level is exceptionally high, we’re hoping to unlock him during this period. We’ve got plenty of games leading into the World Cup so hopefully we see the best of Steve Smith.”Di Venuto said Inglis could not be working harder to earn a recall but will have to bide his time for now.”We’ve got very good players in our batting order and it’s a hard order to break into,” Di Venuto said. “He’s doing all the work behind the scenes, he’s a very valued member of this squad and waiting for his next chance.”

Lizaad Williams has been added as part of the travelling reserves

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Oct-2022Left-arm quick Marco Jansen has been called up to replace the injured Dwaine Pretorius in South Africa’s 15-member 2022 T20 World Cup squad. In place of Jansen, who was initially part of the travelling reserves, fast bowler Lizaad Williams has been added.Pretorius had fractured his left thumb in the third T20I against India, which was South Africa’s only win in the three-match series. Jansen, 22, who was only part of the T20I squad for the tour, then replaced Pretorius for the ODI leg before being named for the T20 World Cup, which starts on October 16 in Australia.Jansen made his T20I debut in South Africa’s tour to India in June earlier this year. He trapped Shreyas Iyer lbw for his maiden wicket and was taken for 38 runs off his four overs. That’s the only T20I he has played so far. He has also played seven Tests and three ODIs for South Africa.Wayne Parnell, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi are the other seam-bowling options in the South Africa side for the tournament apart from Jansen.South Africa open their campaign on October 24 against one of the qualifying sides from the first round.Updated squad: Temba Bavuma (capt), Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs: Bjorn Fortuin, Andile Phehlukwayo, Lizaad Williams

Asad Shafiq’s fighting 112 was not enough as Sri Lanka picked up the last five wickets in the first 90 minutes of the final day

The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando10-Oct-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:23

Arnold: Chandimal has taken captaincy challenge with both hands

Like waves breaking upon a cliff, Sri Lanka’s bowlers kept coming at Pakistan, until eventually, the hosts fractured and tumbled into the sea. So tantalisingly had the match been poised overnight, perhaps the ending was even a little anticlimactic. Sri Lanka’s margin of victory was 68 runs – a comfortable win by most standards. Though Sarfraz Ahmed and Asad Shafiq had begun confidently, the visitors needed only 5.5 overs to break that partnership, and about 90 minutes in all to wipe out the lower half of the Pakistan innings. The series had been swept, completely unexpectedly, 2-0.Dilruwan Perera was Sri Lanka’s primary bowling figure on day five, as he had been throughout the innings, claiming two further wickets to complete a fourth career five-wicket haul. He also took that vital wicket of Sarfraz to break the mighty resistance Pakistan’s sixth-wicket partnership had mounted.Rangana Herath, who had had an uncharacteristically quiet fourth-innings until then, took two wickets of his own, and Suranga Lakmal had Shafiq caught at slip. After the battering Sri Lanka had received at home, at India’s hands, this series victory must surely rank among the most surprising results of their Test history. On the Sri Lankan balcony, support staff were ecstatic, while on the field Dinesh Chandimal led elated celebrations. The joy was justified: not counting the win in a one-off Test against Zimbabwe, this was Sri Lanka’s first Test series victory in almost a year.Pakistan, meanwhile, have had a disappointing start to life post Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan. Sarfraz and Shafiq needed to see out seven overs before the second new ball became available, but Sarfraz’s wicket exposed the tail prematurely. That Shafiq progressed to an outstanding 11th Test hundred was almost forgotten in the final wash-up. He finished on 112 off 176 balls. The partnership with Sarfraz was worth 173. For the first time, Pakistan have lost a Test series since moving base to the UAE.The previous four sessions of this match were practically dripping with drama, and day five also began with a little excitement. Shafiq glanced the second ball of the day to the fine leg fence to move into the 90s, before Sarfraz cracked a four behind point next over. Then, Sri Lanka had three near misses. Kaushal Silva swooped on the ball from point, but could not effect the direct hit that might have seen a diving Shafiq run-out for 95.A few balls later, Sarfraz had dragged his back foot out of the crease while attempting a sweep, but wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella could not quite get the bails off in time. Finally, after Shafiq had completed a century off the 151st delivery he faced, Dimuth Karunaratne dropped him at slip off the bowling of Dilruwan. Hands began to go to Sri Lankan heads. Sarfraz and Shafiq had progressed so faultlessly on day four, that it seemed unlikely many more chances would come.Then, suddenly: the breakthrough. Dilruwan got a ball to drift in towards the batsman, and Sarfraz – aiming a hard, flat sweep – managed only to get a thick top-edge to the ball. The man at long leg, Nuwan Pradeep, almost got tangled up in his own legs, but did well enough to take the catch cleanly. With only seven deliveries to be bowled before the second new ball was due, Sri Lanka had struck.The remaining batsmen fell without notable resistance. Mohammad Amir was out to a Dilruwan slider off the ninth ball. Yasir Shah was stumped off Herath, attempting a giant heave. Lakmal shaped a ball away from Shafiq – who had not quite looked himself after getting to triple figures – and Kusal Mendis took another excellent tumbling catch at slip.The final batting act of the series belonged to Wahab Riaz. Attempting to wallop Herath out of the ground, he wound up only sending a catch high in the air, to Chandimal at cover. On Sri Lanka’s balcony, cricket manager Asanka Gurusinha broke into an uncharacteristically wide grin, and wrapped interim coach Nic Pothas up in a bear hug.For Sarfraz, it was a return to earth, after his captaincy had begun so successfully with the victory at the Champions Trophy. For Chandimal, a victory in the first full series he has captained – the Zimbabwe match was a one-off, and he had not played the first match against India – has helped put some belief in his team, a quality that had previously been lacking. A series that was enlivened by a litany of twists has thrown up a startling result.

It might have been back to the 1930s as a batsman called Hammond cheered the national mood by striking a century at Cheltenham

Paul Edwards at Cheltenham17-Jul-2018
ScorecardIn the 1930s, an era of a National Government and the hated Means Test, a Hammond century at Cheltenham engendered pleasure but little surprise. In the age of Brexit and very different uncertainties a maiden hundred by a different Hammond was greeted with a mighty roar of joyous acclamation on the College Ground. Deep in the second afternoon of this game Miles Hammond square cut David Wiese to the pavilion boundary and suddenly shared more than his surname and a loyalty to Gloucestershire with Wally.Some of history’s more seductive comparisons should be resisted. Unlike Wally Hammond, his namesake’s cover-drives do not suggest he is playing a game with which the rest of humanity is unfamiliar; he has now made one first-class century whereas his predecessor managed 167, nine of them on the College Ground.But most of young Hammond’s shots were fluent enough, not least the majority of his 20 boundaries. His driving square of the wicket and through the covers was wonderfully assertive and particularly fine given the Sussex bowlers did all they could to rough him up before applauding his achievement. The Cheltenham-born Hammond did not look like a batsman playing his first Championship match for three years as he put on 182 with his fellow opener, Chris Dent, thus setting a new first-wicket for Gloucestershire on the ground. And three overs after his captain had been caught at short fine leg for 65 when scooping Danny Briggs, Hammond reached his hundred. Two balls later he edged a catch to Ben Brown when aiming a euphoric flash at David Wiese.And all this was watched by over a hundred former professionals who were attending the PCA’s annual reunion at the College Lawn End. Charged glasses in hand, the old boys watched the 38th over of the innings, during which Hammond avoided Jofra Archer’s malevolent bouncer, played and missed twice and square drove the offended bowler to the Sandford Road boundary. One hoped John Snow, a Sussex and England fast bowler from the last century, appreciated the duel. The former players stood and chatted in their small groups, “recalling the glory they knew in their prime, all batsmen and bowlers of note, who terrified parishes.” Thus Frank Mansell’s “The Old Cricketer”, one of his Cotswold Ballads, written by a poet who played his club cricket for Sheepscombe, which lies some eight miles from Cheltenham.The bowling of Archer and Ollie Robinson on a College Ground pitch which offered a little variable bounce would indeed have petrified some batsmen on this second morning but it did not deter Hammond, not even after he had taken a blow on his helmet from Robinson in the fifth over of the day. A huge leg before appeal went in his favour three balls later and soon he was edging inquisitively forward and looking to drive again. It remains a puzzle why Brown did not post a short-leg.Yet almost all of the cricket on this second day was of a high standard and keenly contested. Those who disparage the Second Division, often without seeing any matches, should be set down and made to watch it before they pontificate again. Errors were rare and properly punished. Phil Salt, who had dropped a snorter off Hammond on Monday evening, also put down a straightforward chance off Dent when the opener had 14. Those mistakes hardly looked to have been rectified by the wickets of James Bracey and Graeme van Buuren, both of whom were dismissed in the evening session as Sussex took the new ball and looked to limit Gloucestershire’s lead.Then a day which had been dominated by the batting of young Hammond ended with a reminder of Jofra Archer’s remarkable ability to change the course of game, even at a time when many spectators are packing up to go home. Inspired and enlivened by the arrival of George Drissell as nightwatchman, Archer demanded the ball and in the penultimate over of the evening session he bowled Drissell and Ryan Higgins with successive deliveries before having Kieran Noema-Barnett caught at the wicket before second ball.Archer’s triple-wicket maiden brought the game back into the hazard, a judgement confirmed when David Miles was leg before to Robinson in the final over. Gloucestershire had lost four wickets for five runs in ten balls and their lead is now a mere 17. One imagines this chaos gave the former players even more to talk about but one hopes they remembered Gloucestershire’s next Hammond.

Kirsten was beaten to the role by the under-fire Chris Silverwood in 2019

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Dec-2021Gary Kirsten has declared his interest in becoming head coach of England’s Test team, with Chris Silverwood likely to pay for their Ashes debacle with his job.Kirsten, the former South Africa and India coach, has applied for the role twice previously, in 2015 and 2019. He has not coached an international team since 2013, citing family commitments, but has held roles with various T20 teams including Royal Challengers Bangalore, Hobart Hurricanes and Durban Heat.He was the frontrunner to succeed Trevor Bayliss in 2019 but was beaten to the role by Silverwood after underwhelming at interview. He later revealed that he had believed he was attending a “token interview” and that the ECB had already decided to offer him the job.Kirsten is already on the ECB’s payroll in his role as Welsh Fire’s head coach in the men’s Hundred, and said on Thursday that he would be keen to take over as England’s coach on the proviso that the roles were split between red- and white-ball formats.Related

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“Listen, it [the England job] is always a consideration because it’s a tremendous honour,” Kirsten told the newspaper. “I’ve walked this journey twice now and I’ve always made it clear that I would never commit to doing all formats. And when international cricket boards get their head around the fact that they need to split coaching roles, then it becomes a consideration.”Working with a Test side, or working with an ODI side is great. Listen, the England ODI side is set-up, you’re the best ODI side in the world at the moment. It’s a project that has been well-thought-out. You’ve got consistency in the players that have been picked.”Your Test side has battled for a while but it would be a really lovely project to get that going. I think it’s a great project for someone to come in and take that Test side on. There’s a lot that needs to be put in place to build this Test team out.”Two years ago, Ashley Giles, the ECB’s managing director of men’s cricket, opted to appoint a single head coach across formats rather than splitting the role in order to ensure “consistency of communication”, with his own experiences as one-day head coach in 2012-14 playing a part in his decision.But Silverwood has regularly been given leave during limited-overs series due to England’s packed schedule, with assistant coaches Paul Collingwood and Graham Thorpe filling in for him, and the ECB are certain to consider whether it is reasonable to expect one individual to have responsibility for both set-ups.

Vernon Philander said South Africa have got used to AB de Villiers’ absence from the Test side, winning their last four series without him

Firdose Moonda04-Jul-2017AB de Villiers left the South Africa camp 10 days ago but that does not mean he is far from the opposition minds. With the Test series looming, English crowds will have to do without among one of the world’s most entertaining batsmen but they can be reassured South Africa have learned to cope without him.Asked whether South Africa had “moved on” from de Villiers, Vernon Philander referred to recent results as evidence that they have found a way to do just that. “We’ve made adjustments in order to move on,” Philander said. “I think that’s a personal decision. It’s entirely up to him what he wants to play. We’re a settled unit now. The boys have moved on, the boys have obviously done well over the last 12 months. Our focus is not on one particular player. Our focus is on the team and getting the team to do well.”Since de Villiers’ elbow injury and subsequent sabbatical from the longest format, South Africa have played four Test series and won them all, including away series in Australia and New Zealand. The Test captaincy has been taken over by Faf du Plessis but South Africa will also be without him for the series opener.Du Plessis has remained in South Africa following the birth of his daughter and opening bat Dean Elgar will lead in his absence. Although that leaves South Africa with a fairly inexperienced top order – Heino Kuhn will debut while Theunis de Bruyn has only one Test cap – South Africa still have a fair amount of experience in the ranks, Philander among them. He confirmed their support for Elgar.”It’s an opportunity for someone else to step up and lead the country,” Philander said. “We’ve got all the faith in Dean. If you have the support of the other ten guys on the field, his job will be easier. It’s a big miss losing Faf but we understand his circumstances.”And among their younger crop, South Africa are excited by the potential they possess. Philander’s new-ball partner Kagiso Rabada will play his first Test series in England and expectation is high that he will prove tough to face.”He is just a phenomenal talent. Every time he gets the ball in hand he seems to want to run in and bowl faster and get wickets,” Philander said. “He has got a never-say-die attitude about him which is exciting to have. He is not shy of bowling the overs and giving it to the batters as well. Hopefully he will have a good Test series.”

Broadcaster cites “multiple quality and standards breaches, CA “astonished” by the action

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jun-2022Cricket Australia’s free-to-air television broadcaster Channel Seven has filed proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia to terminate their A$82 million-a-year broadcasting agreement which has two years to run citing “multiple quality and standards breaches.”The move by the network continues a long-running battle between Seven and CA that began in 2020 following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.Seven West Media, the owner of Channel Seven, released a statement on Thursday confirming they had escalated their position against CA.”Seven West Media Limited through its subsidiary Seven Network (Operations) Limited (Seven) has filed court proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia against Cricket Australia (CA) in relation to multiple quality and standard breaches by CA of Seven’s Media Rights Agreement with CA (MRA),” the statement said.Related

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“The SWM proceedings will seek both: a court declaration that Seven is entitled to terminate the MRA on the basis of material
contract breaches by CA which were not remedied; and damages arising out of past breaches. Seven previously obtained preliminary discovery proceedings in the Federal Court relating to the claims.”Seven’s intention is to terminate the MRA, conditional on the Federal Court granting a declaration that Seven is entitled to do so. Seven has the right to waive this condition. The damages action is not conditional. Seven will continue to perform its obligations under the MRA (in terms of telecasting Tests and BBL etc.) until terminated.”Seven has pursued the informal dispute resolution procedure under the MRA but the procedure failed to resolve the dispute.”Cricket Australia responded saying they would fight the action, stating they were “astonished” by Seven’s position after two seasons were delivered amid the challenges of the pandemic.”Cricket Australia (CA) is aware of reports that our broadcast partner, the Seven Network, has commenced legal proceedings against CA in relation to recent COVID-impacted cricket seasons,” the statement said.”CA delivered two very successful cricket seasons in 2020-21 and 2021-22, including every WBBL and BBL game (a total of 240 games over two seasons) and highly acclaimed international schedules, despite the enormous challenges presented by the global pandemic.”In the circumstances, CA is astonished that Seven has brought this unwarranted action which will be strenuously defended.”Seven signed a six-year deal in 2018 to be the free-to-air broadcast partner of CA alongside subscription provider Foxtel, but have been keen to terminate the deal in recent years. In late 2020, Seven took CA to an independent arbitrator seeking massive cuts to their A$82 million-a-year share of the A$1.18 billion deal signed alongside Foxtel in April 2018.The arbitrator, Justin Jameson of Venture Consulting, concluded that Seven should get only a A$5 million discount of the A$70 million reduction the network had been chasing.The “quality and standards breaches” are believed to be surrounding the BBL which has declined in popularity since Seven began broadcasting it in 2018-19 although ratings have remained relatively good compared to other Australian sports leagues.Part of CA’s push to revive the BBL this year, via initiatives such as the overseas draft, is with the next TV rights cycle in mind when the current deal with Seven and Foxtel ends in 2024.

Mumbai have won a formidable 41 out of 45 Ranji finals, but this will be Gujarat’s best chance after waiting more than six decades to have a shot at the title

Shashank Kishore in Indore09-Jan-20172:26

Kishore: Gujarat used to batting big, batting long

India had not yet recorded their first Test win when Gujarat last had a shot at Indian domestic cricket’s biggest prize a lifetime ago, in 1950-51. Polly Umrigar was their captain then. Chandu Sarvate, Jamshed Bhaya, Madhavsinh Jagdale and Syed Mushtaq Ali, after whom stands are named at Indore’s Holkar Stadium, the venue of the 83rd Ranji Trophy final starting Tuesday, were in the opposition camp. Deepak Shodhan, who until May last year was India’s oldest living Test cricketer, played in the game which they lost to Holkar. Multiple generations of cricketers from Gujarat don’t know what it is to feature in a Ranji final.In comparison, Mumbai have converted 41 of their 45 finals appearances into championship wins. The last time they lost in the summit clash was to Haryana in 1990-91, a game where Dilip Vengsarkar was inconsolable after Mumbai lost by two runs. Since then, they have qualified for the finals on eleven occasions, and have won every single time, the last of which was against Saurashtra, who were crushed in little over two days last year in Pune.

Teams (likely)

Mumbai: Aditya Tare (capt, wk), Akhil Herwadkar, Prithvi Shaw, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Abhishek Nayar, Siddesh Lad, Tushar Deshpande/Akshay Girap, Vijay Gohil, Shardul Thakur, Balwinder Sandhu
Gujarat: Parthiv Patel (capt, wk), Samit Gohel, Priyank Panchal, Bharghav Merai, Manprit Juneja, Rujul Bhatt, Chirag Gandhi, Rush Kalaria, RP Singh, Mehul Patel/Chintan Gaja, Hardik Patel

Yet, this is Gujarat’s best possible chance at glory, for they have shown more than just glimpses of old Mumbai in the way they have set up games, by batting big, batting long and then using the scoreboard pressure to skittle opponents. It was this tactic that worked when the sides last met in Hubli in November. But Jasprit Bumrah, whose five-for snuffed out Mumbai’s quest for a lead there, will be missed; he has been named in India’s limited-overs squad for the England series.That puts the onus on RP Singh, fresh from a nine-for in the semi-final, to spearhead the young bowling attack.They will be buoyed by the return of Rush Kalaria, who didn’t bat or bowl in the second innings during the semi-final, because of a shoulder injury. One of Mehul Patel or Chintan Gaja is in line to replace Bumrah.It’s the batting, however, that is more formidable. Priyank Panchal is on the cusp of an all-time Ranji record – he needs 146 more to beat VVS Laxman’s record for most runs in a season, achieved in 1999-00. With 1270 runs, he’s miles ahead of other batsmen for runs this season.Among batsmen from in this match, Samit Gohel, his opening partner, comes a distant second with 889 runs. Parthiv Patel, the captain, can be a thorn to any bowling attack. The domestic veteran’s grind for more than a decade now cannot be understated. Manprit Juneja and Chirag Gandhi, both of whom played key roles in building a substantial second-innings lead in a crisis during the semi-final, have shown the ability to adapt at different times.Priyank Panchal and Gujarat are both in line to break records of high standing•Sunny Shinde

That Mumbai are a step away from the title without having a single batsman or bowler in the top 10 list this season is as much due to their typical ‘khadoos’ mentality symbolized by Abhishek Nayar. The veteran, who has been a part of five title-winning teams, has often rescued the sides with telling contributions lower down the order – none more important than at the semi-final in Rajkot, where he made 58 and struck vital partnerships with the tail to not just take the lead but also stretch it past 100, which proved decisive. In the quarter-final too, against Hyderabad, he picked nine wickets in a low-scoring game which Mumbai won by 30 runs.The emergence of a young 17-year old opener in Prithvi Shaw, a schoolboy wonder, who stroked an under-pressure century on debut in the semi-final, has given Mumbai a fresh look. He will be partnered by Akhil Herwadkar, who missed the previous four games because of a foot injury. That means Praful Waghela could miss out. Herwadkar, Mumbai’s second-highest run-getter last season, was given an extended workout at an optional net session on Sunday. Shreyas Iyer – Mumbai’s highest run-getter this season without being the intimidating batsman he has been in his first two seasons – Suryakumar Yadav, Aditya Tare, the captain, and Siddesh Lad complete a formidable batting set that has shown capability of rising to the big occasions in the past.On a red-soil surface that promises bounce and has a green cover, Mumbai could possibly have a healthy headache: do they go in with two frontline seamers in Shardul Thakur and Balwinder Sandhu alongside Nayar’s more-than-useful seam-ups, or do they play a third seamer? If they decide the latter, Tushar Deshpande is likely to come in. After the debut season he has had, there can’t be much doubt over the place of left-arm spinner Vijay Gohil, unless he is injured. That means the recalled Vishal Dabholkar, who has tweaked his action after being reported earlier in the season, could sit out.The numbers favour Mumbai – they have lost just two out of the 61 matches against Gujarat, the last of which was in 1977-78. But in a crunch game, where both sides have shown why they deserve to be here, both captains insist no one had the edge over the other. That can’t be a bad thing after all.

Pierre de Bruyn has warned his Leicestershire players that complacency will not be tolerated under his leadership

George Dobell09-Feb-2017Pierre de Bruyn has warned his Leicestershire players that complacency will not be tolerated under his leadership.De Bruyn has ruffled a few feathers at Grace Road since his appointment as the county’s new head coach following the departure of Andrew McDonald at the end of 2016 season. But he is unapologetic about challenging attitudes at a club he feels has been coasting for too long and said he is prepared to deal with some unhappy senior pros as a consequence of producing more opportunities for younger players.”The club has underperformed massively,” de Bruyn said. “The fact is, we’ve been at the bottom of the Championship for a few years and, though we showed some signs of improvement in red-ball cricket, we’ve been very poor in white-ball cricket. We can’t accept that. It’s time to take a look at ourselves. We owe the supporters better.”If we are serious about taking the club forward, we are going to have to have some tough conversations. If any of the senior players are complacent, I don’t mind challenging them and I don’t mind putting myself under pressure.”If you have a squad of 25 players, more than half will not be playing and that means that some of them will be unhappy. But I want to focus on this club producing England players again and, in the likes of Zak Chappell and Ned Eckersley, we have guys with the talent to do that. We can’t be accepting batsmen averaging in the mid-20s any more.”That would appear to be a reference to Angus Robson. He was the club’s highest Championship run-scorer in 2014 and second highest in 2015, but endured a tougher 2016, averaging 27.11 with a top score of 84. As a consequence, it seems he can no longer be assured of his place.”I don’t blame him if he feels his position is under threat,” de Bruyn said. “We have a big squad and competition is fierce. He has played more than 50 games and only made two centuries. He has had more than fair opportunity and there’s no doubt he had a poor season. Averaging 27 in Division Two is not getting us promoted. I told him to go away and focus on making hundreds. I hope it drives him to work harder. I hope he comes back motivated and ruthless.”But it’s not just him. Our top order – the likes of Paul Horton and Mark Pettini – failed to score the runs we needed in limited-overs cricket and we need to do better.”I am keen to create opportunities for younger players. Lewis Hill made a century at The Oval a couple of years ago [in his second first-class game], Harry Dearden is young and promising and we’ve signed Callum Parkinson, who is another who could go a long way in the game.”Senior players will be treated fairly and respectfully, but places are up for grabs and that’s exciting.”Leicestershire’s first-class performances actually improved in 2016. After three successive seasons in which they had finished bottom in Division Two, they rose to seventh (and, but for a late season slide, it could have been better), though they continued to struggled in the shorter formats. They were bottom of the North Group on the NatWest T20 Blast and second from bottom of the North Group in the Royal London Cup.