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The Australia vice-captain is looking forward to partnering up with captain Alyssa Healy and wants to “take some of the pressure off her”

S Sudarshanan19-Dec-2023India is the place to be for Australia allrounder Tahlia McGrath. She was the interim vice-captain for the women’s T20I series in Mumbai last year and led Australia for the first time in internationals in the final game of the tour after Alyssa Healy was out injured. The pair was appointed to the roles on interim basis after Meg Lanning stepped aside for personal reasons following Australia’s gold medal win in the Commonwealth Games.Twelve months on, McGrath is again in India with the leadership mantle firmly in place. The multi-format series – starting with a one-off Test at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday – is the first for Healy and McGrath as full-time Australia captain and vice-captain respectively following Lanning’s retirement from international cricket earlier this year. Her India connection also strengthened this year when UP Warriorz got her at the inaugural WPL auction for INR 1.4crore – more than what Healy (INR 70 lakh) got.In 2020, Cricket Australia began a leadership pilot program in collaboration with the Australian Cricketers Association and former Australia captain Belinda Clark’s project, The Leadership Playground. It was with a view to nurture and mentor a few female leaders in the Australian cricket setup. McGrath, who was seen as a natural leader even through her sporadic appearances for Australia earlier in her career, was among the few selected for the program.Related

• India search for more Test glory as Healy's Australia look to hit the ground running

• Healy looks to 'reset and refresh' Australia for new era of success

• Healy gung-ho about leading Australia in 'hugely exciting' phase for women's cricket

• 'Matter of adapting on the run' – Australia ready to embrace the Indian spin challenge

McGrath, admittedly, was shy and did not have leadership on her radar growing up but the mentorship with Clark changed it all.”If you had asked me a few years ago, if I had leadership in my radar, it was not even close,” McGrath said on Tuesday after training. “I was the shy, quiet one that didn’t really have too much to say. A few coaches saw some qualities in myself that I perhaps didn’t. From there I got a few opportunities to lead sides.”I was really lucky to have a mentor programme with Belinda Clark and got so much out of that. How my leadership has come along in the last two year is rapid progression.”McGrath also made her captaincy debut in an ODI against Ireland after the women’s Ashes. She led Adelaide Strikers to WBBL finals in 2021, 2022 and 2023, winning the title twice in the last two seasons.”What I offer as a leader is a really calm person,” she said. “No matter what the situation is I keep a pretty calm head and a pretty good read of the game. I am a relationships person – getting around and connecting with different people in the group and making sure everyone’s connected and making sure we are all tracking alright.”My biggest thing at the moment is helping out Midge [Healy] wherever I can, because being captain of an international side is a massive role. Her being wicketkeeper I’ll probably help the bowlers out a fair bit just to save a bit of time. It is about throwing some ideas wherever I can and keeping the team up when we are potentially in the field for a bit. For me, it is just trying to take some of the pressure off her and be a sounding board and throw some ideas at her.”McGrath and Healy aside, Australia’s touring party has Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner, Beth Mooney, Jess Jonassen and Annabel Sutherland – all of whom have experience leading at the domestic level, be it the Women’s National Cricket League, the 50-overs competition, or the WBBL.”The biggest strength of this Australian side is that it is not just Midge and I that are leaders. There are so many leaders in the group, people that speak up when something needs to be said. People that take one for the team and lead that fielding [effort]. We are spoilt for choices that it doesn’t solely fall on us with so many people with leadership roles within the team.”It was only weeks ago that McGrath led Strikers to their second consecutive WBBL title after staving off threat from Jonassen-led Brisbane Heat. She scored 304 runs in the season at a strike rate over 120 and also returned 14 wickets with her medium pace.”I have loved the transition. T20 cricket is so hectic; when you are batting, you are trying to hit every ball for six, when you are bowling, they are trying to hit you for six every ball,” she said of adjusting to preparing for the Test in the Mumbai heat. “This has been very nice, just to take a step back, be really calm in our approach and always get down to work. It is a grind out there batting, and the bowlers have to put in the hard yards. Complete shift in mindset and preparation. Test matches don’t come around too often for us. We have been so excited to play them.”McGrath was part of Australia’s Test win at Trent Bridge earlier this year where she chipped in with both bat and ball. She struck her second half-century in the format, an 83-ball 61 in the first innings, which is her best score in Tests. With the ball, she returned three first-innings wickets and one in the second.”Test match cricket takes a lot out of you,” she said. “At Trent Bridge, I have never been so mentally and physically drained after that Test match. It takes everything out of you. It is such a pinnacle and a test mentally and physically. The preparations been the same – batting for long periods of time, getting in rhythm and bowling longer spells. Having more specific fielding training, so we have people under the lid, and in catching positions.”

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.

Australia’s decision to rest Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood might have contributed to their being thrashed 5-0 in the one-day series in South Africa, but Hazlewood is confident that he will be better for the break this Test summer

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Oct-2016Australia’s decision to rest Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood might have contributed to their being thrashed 5-0 in the one-day series in South Africa, but Hazlewood is confident that he will be better for the break this Test summer.While Steven Smith and his men fly home from their disappointing tour of South Africa, Hazlewood is in Sydney preparing to play in the later stages of the Matador Cup for New South Wales. Friday’s game against Victoria will be his first competitive outing since Australia’s one-day series in Sri Lanka in late August.Australia used three previously uncapped fast men during the South Africa campaign – Chris Tremain, Joe Mennie and Daniel Worrall – and although they all showed promise at times, overall it was a major step up for the trio. But despite the 5-0 result in the ODIs, Australia must now hope the decision to rest Hazlewood and Starc pays off in next month’s Test series against South Africa.”Sri Lanka was a long tour physically and mentally,” Hazlewood told reporters in Sydney on Thursday. “And with a lot of cricket coming up I think the rest was valid.”However, the absence of Starc and Hazlewood did not help Australia’s cause in the ODI series, during which Scott Boland and John Hastings were the senior fast bowlers in the side. Tremain finished as Australia’s leading wicket taker with seven at 36.42, Mennie had a poor debut but bounced back with 3 for 49 in the final game, and Worrall went wicketless in his two ODIs against South Africa.”It is an opportunity to see some younger guys,” Smith said after the final game in Cape Town. “I think with the schedule these days and the amount we play, it’s impossible particularly for fast bowlers to sustain bowling at good pace for long periods of time.”We’ve chosen to give Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood a rest for this series. It’s given an opportunity for a few younger guys to come in and try and impress. It’s been a very tough series for everyone, but I’m sure they’ll learn a lot out of it.””I’ve never played in a one-day series where we’ve lost all five games. It’s been a difficult task. We’ve been outplayed. But the group has stuck together well. We’re always looking at ways we can improve … We just haven’t been able to go out there and do the business. We’ve had a pretty inexperienced side, to be fair.”Smith also highlighted the lack of runs from the batting order, aside from David Warner, as a key reason Australia were unable to win a match. Warner finished as the leading run scorer from either side, with 386 at 77.20 including two centuries, and he is comfortably top of the ODI run list from all countries for the 2016 calendar year, in which he has made five hundreds.”We just haven’t been able to put enough partnerships together,” Smith said. “We’ve had guys who have had starts and not been able to go on with it. Having said that, Davey was magnificent today. To score 170 out of our 290 was remarkable. The rest of us weren’t good enough.”

Total of £37,500 in fines includes £8000 plus eight-week ban for Gary Ballance

ESPNcricinfo staff03-May-2023The ECB has recommended an eight-week ban and £8000 fine for Gary Ballance for bringing the game into disrepute through the use of racist language against Azeem Rafiq while the pair were at Yorkshire. The board also recommended a combination of fines and suspensions for five other former players at a Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) sanction hearing on Wednesday.The players were found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute by using racist language by the independent three-person CDC panel at the end of March, after a five-day hearing conducted at the start of that month. The charges laid against them, as well as Yorkshire, came from claims originally made by Rafiq and covered a period of nearly a decade from 2008. The panel cleared former England captain Michael Vaughan of having made a racist remark before a T20 game in June 2009.As well as Ballance, the ECB asked for a combination of fines, suspensions, reprimands and education courses for Matthew Hoggard, Tim Bresnan, Andrew Gale, Richard Pyrah and John Blain – all of whom either played at Yorkshire, or worked as coaches while Rafiq was there. The ECB asked for Hoggard and Pyrah to be fined £7500 each, Bresnan and Blain £5000 and Pyrah £4500 and asked for all six to receive reprimands from the CDC and to take part in a racism and discrimination course. They have also recommended a four-week suspension for Gale, should he return to coaching in cricket run by the ECB.Related

• Michael Vaughan cleared of racism charge by ECB disciplinary committee

• Cricket Discipline Committee racism hearings: The verdicts

• Gary Ballance retires from all cricket after brief Zimbabwe comeback

Vaughan was the only one of those charged who appeared to defend himself at the hearings. While Ballance had admitted to using the term “P***” among other racist phrases, Bresnan, Gale, Pyrah and Blain have denied all charges against them. The four were found guilty of using racist slurs that ranged from terms such as “you lot” to “P****” on multiple occasions.As well as Ballance, Hoggard made a qualified admission to similar charges, denying that he used the language with any racist intent. Those admissions led to the ECB asking for reduced fines in both cases. “We understand there has been a significant impact on Mr Ballance’s mental health, and that, in April 2023, Mr Ballance announced his retirement from professional cricket,” Jane Mulcahy KC, legal counsel for the ECB, told the panel. “So the ECB therefore suggests there be a reprimand, Mr Ballance be fined £8,000, reduced from £12,500, to take in effect his admissions. And also an eight-week suspension, reduced from 10 weeks, if Mr Ballance ever returns to ECB-regulated cricket as a player.”Ballance retired recently from all cricket, having first left Yorkshire late last year and then switched to play for his native Zimbabwe. He played one Test for them scoring a hundred, and eight internationals overall before he announced his retirement.The CDC panel will now deliberate over the recommendations before returning final sanctions on the players which could take several more weeks yet.Yorkshire were also found guilty by the CDC panel last month, having admitted to four charges laid against them. Their sanctions will be discussed at another hearing on 27 June.

Diana Edulji has said the creation of a players’ association, one of several recommendations of the Lodha committee that was approved by the Supreme Court, will empower women cricketers in the country

Arun Venugopal20-Jul-2016Former India Women captain Diana Edulji has said the creation of a players’ association – one of several recommendations of the Lodha committee that was approved by the Supreme Court in a watershed verdict – will empower women cricketers in the country. Edulji is a part of the four-member steering committee, led by former union home secretary GK Pillai, that has been tasked with the responsibility of setting up a players’ association.Edulji said women players now had an outlet to express their grievances and offer suggestions. “I don’t know about the men’s side, at least from the women’s side some of the players are scared to speak,” Edulji told ESPNcricinfo. “Maybe with me there, they can come to me, speak to me and I can put forward their views to the authorities and see how best they can be benefited.”Edulji felt a women’s representative of the players’ association in the Apex Council, which will replace the working committee, would ensure greater accountability. “People will be more answerable. That will also help because we need somebody to listen to us,” she said. “There is a women’s committee in the BCCI but most of them are not players. Women’s cricket needs a little push and I think this is the right time for it.”Edulji said the players’ association shouldn’t be viewed as an anti-establishment body, and that there was a more positive attitude towards women’s cricket with initiatives like the introduction of central contracts for players. “We don’t want to antagonise BCCI. We don’t want a confrontation, and we want to work together. It is just two parties working together, the players get a little voice in a proper way. [It is] not striking or union types,” she said.”The current lot – I have been with the MCA as well in the cricket advisory committee as well – is favourable towards improving women’s cricket. Even in BCCI, I have had a word with Anurag Thakur and they are quite positive.”Edulji, however, was unsure of when the steering committee was going to meet to discuss the formation of the association. “We haven’t officially got any information. We have to wait because only the day before [yesterday] have we got the verdict,” she said. “We haven’t even been sounded out [by the BCCI] yet.”

Several insiders have said that CSA asking Russell Domingo to reapply for the South African coaching job is an administrative formality

Firdose Moonda31-Jan-2017After overseeing South Africa through one of their toughest transitions, Russell Domingo will have to reapply for the coaching job if he hopes to continue beyond August this year. Does that really mean, however, that his position is on the line? No, according to several insiders who say the application process is an administrative formality and not a judgment on Domingo’s work.”I don’t think there is anything sinister about it,” one official told ESPNcricinfo. “Cricket South Africa is just making sure that if Russell’s contract is going to be renewed, it comes out of a proper process.”The reason lies in the number of extensions Domingo has been granted in his tenure. His contract has already been extended three times, and because he is on a fixed-term deal CSA cannot risk creating a reasonable expectation that his contract will be renewed in perpetuity, because that will put them at risk of legal action should a termination occur.Domingo was initially contracted as head coach on a two-year deal from May 2013 – after the Champions Trophy that year when Gary Kirsten stepped down – until the end of April 2015. In September 2014, however, he was given a year’s extension until April 2016 to guarantee him his position irrespective of the result of the 2015 World Cup.In June 2015, Domingo was given another year to take to him to April 2017 and then in October 2016, despite a string of poor results that included South Africa failing to reach the final of a triangular series in the Caribbean, Domingo’s deal was topped up by four months to last until the end of the England tour in August 2017. At that point, Domingo was informed that there would be no further extensions in order to follow protocol.”With contracts like this, a decision also has to be made depending on certain tours or when the most logical time to put out a call for applications might be,” one official said. “The timing can get a bit awkward because you can’t have uncertainty over the coaching position before a major tournament or series but at the same time, the contract has an expiration date. It’s important that CSA does not create the expectation that the contract will just roll over. They are trying to avoid that reasonable expectation by making sure that if they choose to appoint Domingo again, it will be through a procedure that involves other applicants.”CSA has already confirmed that Domingo can apply if he wishes but he has not given indication of whether he intends to. The last time Domingo addressed the media was at the conclusion of South Africa’s T20 series defeat against Sri Lanka, when he discussed plans for the Champions Trophy this year.Prior to that, Domingo had spoken after South Africa’s Test series win over Sri Lanka and admitted there were times during the slump in 2015 and 2016 – when South Africa lost five out of eight Tests, were booted out of the World T20 in the first round, and failed to reach the final of the of a triangular series in the Caribbean – when he thought he would lose his job despite having the support of the players.”I could go tomorrow. Nothing is certain. I by no means look too far ahead in my coaching career. I take it one series at a time,” Domingo said in mid-January. “You never know what’s around the corner in coaching. I’ve always felt that the support that I’ve got from the players is the most important thing.”Domingo continues to enjoy that backing. When the South African team found out about the need for him to reapply for his job, they were playing Sri Lanka in the first ODI in Port Elizabeth. Afterwards, ODI captain AB de Villiers said it was a “bitter pill to swallow” because Domingo was “like family” to the players.De Villiers’ contract with CSA will also come up for discussion soon. He is currently on a two-year deal but after announcing that he has made himself unavailable for Test cricket for most of 2017, it is understood CSA’s top brass is tempted to revisit the terms of the deal. However, South Africa players are contracted on a rankings system which means that their value, rather than the frequency with which they appear, determines the value of their contracts.”The selectors decide the player rankings and it depends on how they view that players’ contribution, be it in one format or in many,” one official said. “So it is possible that de Villiers could be viewed as the most important player even though he won’t be playing Test cricket but it is also possible that could affect his ranking. At the end of the day, that could make a difference to his salary.”Despite his Test hiatus, de Villiers remains South Africa’s one-day captain and has made it his priority to take them to the 2019 World Cup.

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.

Fast bowler played full part with bat and ball on historic third day despite overnight bereavement

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2019Jason Holder dedicated West Indies’ stunning victory in the second Test in Antigua to Alzarri Joseph and his family, after the young fast bowler played on despite the overnight death of his mother, Sharon, to help deliver a 10-wicket victory over England, and with it, an unassailable 2-0 series lead.Holder once again led from the front with figures of 4 for 43, including the first-ball wicket of opener Rory Burns, as England shipped all ten of their second-innings wickets for 97 runs to leave West Indies to knock off a desultory target of 14 in the space of 13 balls.But, speaking at the end of a hugely emotional day, Holder admitted that the death of Joseph’s mother, who had been ill for some time with a brain tumour, had forced his team to come together and put on a show in support of their bereaved team-mate.”It’s difficult to describe the feelings,” said Holder. “We started the day with a daunting task, trying to push on our lead, and then we got the news about Alzarri’s mum so we all wanted to rally around one another and we wanted to do it for her.”Joseph, who had claimed the wicket of Joe Denly in the first innings with the first ball he had ever bowled in a Test on his home island, took a full part in the team’s warm-ups, and was then given a long and sympathetic ovation by the crowd when he came out to bat at No.10 in West Indies’ first innings. He scored 7 from 20 balls to help stretch their lead to a precious 119, with players from both sides wearing black armbands as a mark of respect.Joseph then delivered a searing seven-over spell to help devastate England’s prospects of a fightback, bowling Joe Denly with an inducker before having Joe Root caught behind on review, and also having Ben Stokes dropped at slip for what would have been a second-ball duck.”Alzarri was exceptional. It took a lot of heart for him to be on the field today, I think a lot of people wouldn’t have been able to, but credit to him,” said Holder. “The way he ran in this afternoon was exceptional and with a bit more luck he could have got three or four more wickets and could have put in a man-of-the-match performance.”I just want to say condolences to him and his family, it is a tough loss. I came here two or three years ago and visited his mum, she wasn’t doing well at that stage but fought through, so I felt it personally this morning when I got the news that she had passed away.”To see him in tears this morning was even harder, and we came together in the huddle and we just wanted to do it for him and we dedicate this day to him, his mum and his family.”It was up to him if he played. I didn’t want to deprive him of the opportunity to take the field. If he felt he could manage and take the field for the West Indies and perform then I wasn’t going to deprive him of that.”For sure I knew he wanted to do something special for his mum and credit to him, he held his hand up high and did an exceptional job for us.”Although the off-field news helped to galvanise West Indies on a crucial day of the series, the scale of their victory had been hard-earned by their efforts throughout the first two days of the Antigua Test and all throughout their win in Barbados.And Holder, who rose to become the No.1 allrounder in Test cricket on the back of his double-century in the first Test, said that a triumph of this magnitude was richly deserved after the manner in which the team had grown together under his leadership.”I think were hungry for success,” he said. “We’ve been together for a year and a half, two years, and we’ve done some exceptional things, so credit to the boys for sticking to the task.”I wasn’t in Bangladesh [where West Indies lost 2-0 before Christmas] but the boys had a really long hard talk in the dressing room, and it was really needed. We wanted some honesty and to touch on a few areas where we’ve probably shied away in the past.”It’s been an up and down journey, but one I’ve thoroughly enjoyed,” he added. “It’s been challenging but I’m not one to shy away from challenges, I’m proud of myself for the way I’ve stuck it through, because there’ve been some very, very tough days, but credit to my team-mates for helping me get through it. I can’t be here without them. They deserve the credit, and hopefully we can stay together in the years to come.”

They helped chase 158 against Asia Lions in less than 13 overs, with Uthappa’s innings taking only 39 deliveries

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Mar-2023India Maharajas openers Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir put on a spectacular display of boundary-hitting to help their side cruise to a ten-wicket win against Asia Lions on Tuesday. Chasing 158, Uthappa crashed 88 from only 39 balls, and Gambhir smashed 61 off 36 deliveries – his third successive fifty of the tournament – as they helped Maharajas to their first win in three games.Uthappa and Gambhir played beautifully from the outset of the chase. Former Pakistan bowler Mohammad Amir, until recently competing in the PSL, was hit for two boundaries by Uthappa in the second over, while Gambhir smashed Sohail Tanvir for three consecutive fours in the third. Gambhir, the leading run-scorer in the tournament, punched the first of those fours through cover. He then lofted one over mid-off, and later punished the third ball outside off with a drive through extra cover.There was no respite for the power-packed Lions bowling line-up. Shoaib Akhtar tried to take pace off the ball, but Uthappa latched on with four through square leg. Later, Gambhir sliced the final delivery of Akhtar’s only over towards backward point to collect another boundary.The former Kolkata Knight Riders opening partners made the game so difficult for Lions that captain Misbah-ul-Haq had to call for Isuru Udana as the Impact Player; but Udana too was struck for 26 runs in his two overs. Eventually, Maharajas cruised to the win with 45 balls to spare.Earlier, Lions’ openers Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan had laid the foundation for their side with a solid opening partnership of 73 in 52 balls. On a hard pitch in Doha, the duo paced their innings cautiously while only occasionally finding the boundary. Dilshan struggled to execute his traditional Dilscoop too, surviving two close calls early.Maharajas medium-pacer Stuart Binny was targeted by both batters. In the fifth over, Tharanga dispatched a short ball for four while Dilshan found the gap through square leg off the final ball of the over. Their partnership climbed to 56 after the powerplay.Binny eventually dismissed Dilshan as he picked out Irfan Pathan at short third, where Pathan took a sharp low catch. While Tharanga struggled for timing, he kept the score moving along with a spirited 69, which included seven fours and two sixes.Abdul Razzaq helped bring some late impetus to the innings with 27 from 17 balls that included two fours and sixes each, carrying Lions to 157, but that proved to be significantly short in the end.

Melbourne Stars appear destined for the wooden spoon in another poor season

AAP16-Jan-2023Matt Renshaw’s brilliant boundary off the final ball secured Brisbane Heat a crucial three-wicket win over Melbourne Stars to help keep their BBL finals dream alive.Chasing 160 for victory, the visitors stuttered and surged several times before reaching their target in a dramatic finish at the MCG on Monday night.Renshaw was the matchwinner, top-scoring with an unbeaten 90 from 56 deliveries.Needing nine off the last over, the Heat were helped by Stars being limited to four men outside the circle because of a slow over rate. Beau Webster further helped their cause when he began the 20th over with a wide.Related

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But Heat still needed four off the last ball and Renshaw delivered, scooping Webster’s final delivery over the in-field to the rope.Renshaw was given a lifeline on 47 when he was dropped by Clint Hinchliffe, who misjudged the flight of the ball in the deep.Stars also failed to run out Renshaw on 63 when Adam Zampa couldn’t gather Nathan Coulter-Nile’s throw with the batter well short of his ground after a mix-up with Jimmy Peirson.The 83-run partnership between Renshaw and Peirson (22 from 18) was vital before the former steered his side home with the tailenders. Renshaw’s innings included six fours and four sixes.
Earlier, Nick Larkin top-scored for Stars with 58 from 36 deliveries. Michael Neser was outstanding for the Heat during the powerplay and power surge, taking 3-11 from his three overs with fielding restrictions in place.But Larkin took 14 runs from the first four balls of Neser’s final over – the last of the innings – before the Test quick finally got his revenge by dismissing the Stars batter.Webster (36 off 34) and Tom Rogers (26 off 23) did some damage for the Stars, as did James Seymour (13 off 6), whose brief innings included two sixes.Neser claimed the wickets of Webster and Coulter-Nile in consecutive deliveries during the 16th over but missed out on what would have been his second hat-trick of the season.Stars were without high-profile allrounder Marcus Stoinis for a fourth consecutive match because of a hamstring injury. He was named in the extended squad but was not included in the final team after pulling up sore following a fitness test.