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The two Midlands counties have punched above their weight in the Vitality Blast this season and will be keen to carry the form into warm-ups

Matt Roller30-Jun-2022While one Indian men’s team is playing England at Edgbaston in the rescheduled fifth Test, another will be involved in two warm-up matches ahead of July’s T20I series against the same opponents, on the back of their 2-0 series win against Ireland in Malahide.For the England series, Rohit Sharma is back as India captain, with the first match starting at the Ageas Bowl on July 7.Related

• Rohit returns to lead white-ball squads for England series; Hardik back for ODIs

• Balbirnie 'bitterly disappointed' as Ireland fall agonisingly short in 226 chase

• Deepak Hooda shows his range in India top-order audition

• Derbyshire bring in Hilton Cartwright as Shan Masood cover

Fourteen of the 17-man squad that travelled to Ireland made an appearance in one of the two T20Is, with Rahul Tripathi, Venkatesh Iyer and Arshdeep Singh the three men to miss out. Hardik Pandya captained the side, with Deepak Hooda and Sanju Samson putting in stand-out performances in the second T20I.Their opponents this week will be Derbyshire and Northamptonshire, two Midlands counties who have punched above their weight in the Vitality Blast this season. Heading into the final rounds of games, they sit third and fifth respectively in the nine-team North Group, with the top four qualifying for the quarter-finals.Derbyshire’s historic T20 record is poor: they have reached the knockout stages three times in 19 previous seasons and have only once reached Finals Day, back in 2019 when they lost to eventual champions Essex in the semi-finals. But they have been transformed this season since Mickey Arthur’s arrival as a coach, and a win against Durham on Sunday would guarantee a quarter-final place.They have used a core of 13 players in the Blast this season, with Shan Masood, one of their overseas players, leading from the front with 516 runs as captain, averaging 46.90 with a strike rate of 142.14. Wayne Madsen and Leus du Plooy, both local players despite their South African heritage, have contributed heavily in the middle order.With the ball, Scotland’s Mark Watt and the legspinner Mattie McKiernan have been the keys in the middle overs, while Hayden Kerr – the Australian allrounder who was a net bowler for Lucknow Super Giants at IPL 2022 – and the tall seamer George Scrimshaw have been prolific, if occasionally expensive.Derbyshire have named three overseas players in their 16-man squad for Friday night’s fixture, with Hilton Cartwright, the Australian batter, arriving as cover for Masood, but they are only expected to field three in their playing XI. Ticket sales have been strong, with fewer than 1000 remaining on Thursday evening.”They’re the benchmark of international cricket in pretty much all formats,” Cartwright told Derbyshire’s YouTube channel. “If you can perform well against them, your game is in a good place. It’s a real challenge to see how far you can test them.”For Northants, the atmosphere around Sunday’s game will depend heavily on their result against Leicestershire on Friday night. A defeat will see them eliminated but if they win, they will be relying on results elsewhere on Sunday to help them into the quarter-finals. They have a proud T20 history, lifting the trophy in 2013 and 2016, but have struggled in the last five seasons.Chris Lynn and James Neesham, their overseas players, have been their main stars this year but are not expected to take part in Sunday’s fixture, which has been sold out for the last week. Josh Cobb, their captain, has had an excellent Blast season with bat and ball while young players Saif Zaib, Ben Curran – the middle brother, between Tom and Sam – and left-arm wristspinner Freddie Heldreich have all shown glimpses of their talent.Fixtures: July 1 – Derbyshire vs India, The Incora County Ground (7pm), July 3 – Northamptonshire vs India, Wantage Road (2.30pm)

Aston Villa reportedly have their eyes on a free transfer in 2025, however, Newcastle United are in talks to seal a deal of their own.

Aston Villa transfer rumours

NSWE and Monchi were extremely productive over the summer, signing eight players in the transfer window. Amadou Onana, Ian Maatsen, Jaden Philogene, and Ross Barkley all sealed permanent moves to Villa Park and have featured under Unai Emery during the current Premier League campaign.

Meanwhile, Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea joined in a deal that saw Douglas Luiz head to Juventus, however, the pair have been sent out on loan to Bologna and Valencia respectively. Meanwhile, Lewis Dobbin also joined and left on loan, whereas Cameron Archer was brought back to the club from Sheffield United, only to then be sold to Southampton.

Aston Villa eyeing move to sign 6 ft 1 colossus who Leon Bailey knows well

Three more clubs are keen, though.

1 ByCharlie Smith Sep 26, 2024

It was a busy few months in the Midlands, and earlier this month, Monchi admitted that Villa shouldn’t be scared to sell as well as buy if they want to compete at the very top. “If we want to be in the top we need to sell, 100 per cent. Because of our revenue – we cannot raise more revenue because of our stadium. We need to consider the profit as revenue.

“We need to consider in future that to sell a player is revenue. Because we cannot have more revenue. When Damian worked in Valencia and I worked in Sevilla it was OK to increase the level by selling players. The most important thing in my opinion is not selling players – the most important thing is to buy good [players].

“We were not afraid to sell players but we had to do it within a plan. In my opinion we need to sell players because City sell players, Arsenal sell players, Real Madrid and Barcelona sell players. We are not afraid to sell players – the most important thing is to have, one – a buyer, and two – buy a player to replace this one.”

Despite potentially needing to sell in 2025, there have been rumours of further incomings. Recently, defender Richard King has been linked with a Villa Park move, whereas Besiktas winger Semih Kilicsoy and Brazil U20 international striker Rayan Rocha are also on the radar.

Another mooted target has been Lille striker Jonathan David. Reports earlier this month said that Villa were one of the sides in the running to sign the Canada international, and a further update has now emerged.

Aston Villa in contact over Jonathan David move

According to The Boot Room and journalist Graeme Bailey, Newcastle United are in talks with David over a potential pre-contract agreement in January.

However, the Magpies aren’t the only Premier League side David’s representatives are talking to, with the report adding that Aston Villa, alongside Arsenal, Chelsea, Brighton & Hove Albion and West Ham United have also been in contact, asking to be kept informed of the situation.

The possibility of signing the “mind-blowing” striker appears to have alerted a lot of English suitors, so Villa may have to act fast if they are to win the race for the 24-year-old.

Indian Test wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha has opted out of Bengal’s Ranji Trophy squad for “personal reasons”. A Cricket Association of Bengal official confirmed this development to ESPNcricinfo but did not elaborate on what the exact reason might be.It could not be verified whether the Indian selectors or team management have had a word with Saha recently about his future and whether that prompted the 37-year old to skip the league phase of Ranji.With Rishabh Pant firmly in place as India’s first-choice wicketkeeper, Saha has been the back-up in India’s Test squads. However, given his age, and KS Bharat exhibiting excellent glove-work when he came on as a substitute during India’s home Test series against New Zealand in November-December 2021, the selectors have two keepers in their 20s to call on. Bharat, who is 28, has been a regular with India A for the past few years.Related

• Saha parts ways with Bengal after obtaining NOC from CAB

• Saha, Shami picked in Bengal Ranji squad for quarter-final

• Wriddhiman Saha: 'Being indirectly told to retire'

• Super sub KS Bharat underscores Indian cricket's incredible depth

• BCCI unveils two-phased plan for Ranji Trophy

In Saha’s absence, Bengal have picked Sakir Habib Gandhi and Abishek Porel as their wicketkeeping options.Meanwhile, there was another senior player missing from his team for the Ranji Trophy, with Robin Uthappa not part of the Kerala squad. It is understood that Uthappa is recovering from a hamstring injury he suffered during the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s in December. He is expected be back to full fitness soon, but is likely to miss the league phase of the Ranji Trophy, which ends before IPL 2022 starts in late March.Uthappa, who hit match-turning knocks in the semi-final and final of IPL 2021 for defending champions Chennai Super Kings, has listed his base price at the maximum – INR 2 crore – for the IPL 2022 auction that will take place on February 12 and 13.Sanju Samson was also not named in the Kerala squad, but that is because he is undergoing rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore. The Kerala Cricket Association said in a statement that Samson was expected to join the team once his fitness was cleared.Bengal are in Elite Group B of the Ranji Trophy, with Baroda, Hyderabad and Chandigarh. They will play their matches in Cuttack.Kerala are in Elite Group A, alongside Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya. Their matches will take place in Rajkot.The Ranji Trophy was not played last season because of the Covid-19 pandemic and will be held in two phases this time, before and after the IPL. It was originally scheduled to begin on January 13 but was postponed because of the third wave of infections across the country due to the covid-19 pandemic.Bengal squad: Abhimanyu Easwaran (capt), Manoj Tiwary, Sudip Chatterjee, Anustup Majumdar, Abhishek Kumar Raman, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Abishek Das, Writtick Chatterjee, Ritwik Roy Chowdhury, Abishek Porel (wk), Shahbaz Ahamed, Sayan Sekhar Mondal, Akash Deep, Ishan Porel, Mukesh Kumar, Kazi Junaid Saifi, Sakir Habib Gandhi (wk), Pradipta Pramanik, Geet Puri, Nilkantha Das, Karan Lal, Ravi KumarKerela squad: Sachin Baby (capt), Vishnu Vinod (vice-capt, wk), Anand Krishnan, Rohan Kunnumel, Vatsal Govind, Rahul P, Salman Nizar, Jalaj Saxena, Sijomon Jopseph, Akshay K C, Mithun S, Basil N P, Nideesh M D, Manu Krishnan, Basil Thampi, Fanoos F, S Sreeshanth, Varun Nayanar (wk), Vinoop Manoharan, Eden Apple Tom.

كشف أحمد مرتضى منصور، عضو مجلس إدارة نادي الزمالك السابق، عن كواليس انسحاب الفريق الأبيض من مباراة القمة الشهيرة أمام الأهلي، مؤكدًا أن القرار لم يكن وليد اللحظة، بل جاء بعد نقاشات ومقترحات داخل مجلس الإدارة في تلك الفترة.

وقال أحمد مرتضى في تصريحات عبر “بودكاست جول كاست”: “انسحبنا من مباراة القمة أمام الأهلي مرة واحدة فقط، وهي المرة التي لم يتحرك فيها الأتوبيس، وكانت الفكرة نابعة من الدكتور مدحت العدل وأحمد عفيفي، حيث اقترحا أن نلعب المباراة بالناشئين، لكن رئيس النادي حينها، مرتضى منصور، نظر إلى الأمر من زاوية مختلفة، فقد رأى أنه من الممكن أن تُسجل في التاريخ نتيجة قاسية ضد الزمالك، ربما تصل إلى 9 أهداف، ولهذا قررنا عدم التوجه إلى الملعب”.

وأضاف: “القرار كان صحيحًا من وجهة نظري، فقد كنت قد حققت بطولتين، والجماهير كانت سعيدة، وكان لدينا مباراة مهمة جدًا بعد يومين فقط أمام الترجي التونسي، طلبت من حسام الزناتي وعمرو الجنايني أن يتم تأجيل المباراة ليوم واحد فقط، خاصة وأن هناك حالة من الاحتقان، بعد مشكلة إمام عاشور مع وليد سليمان، التي وصلت إلى اشتباك، فهل كان من المنطقي أن تُقام المباراة في ظل هذا التوتر؟”. 

وتابع: “الأهلي وقتها كان يريد أن يخوض المباراة حتى يفوز ويزيد من الضغط علينا، بينما كنا نحن نستعد لمواجهة الترجي، ولم يكن هناك ضرر في تأجيل اللقاء يومًا أو يومين، التأجيلات وقتها كانت تحدث بالهوى، وكل شيء كان يسير بالهوى، بالطبع الأهلي يستفيد من هذا الوضع، لكنه لا يحتاج إلى مثل هذه الاستفادة لأنه نادٍ قوي على كل حال”.

وحول إمكانية عودته هو والمستشار مرتضى منصور إلى إدارة نادي الزمالك مجددًا، قال: “يمكن أن نعود، لكن الأمر أصبح صعبًا جدًا بعد الفوضى التي حدثت، الوضع حاليًا يحتاج إلى معجزة، وبالمناسبة، كل ما يُقال عن ديون الزمالك غير دقيق، على سبيل المثال، يقال إن ضرائب النادي بلغت مليار ونصف، وهذا غير صحيح، الضرائب تحصل على 25% من دخل النادي، ولو كانت ميزانية النادي مليار جنيه سنويًا، فالضريبة تكون 250 مليون، وليس مليار ونصف”.

أحمد مرتضى منصور يوضح أصعب صفقة أبرمها لـ الزمالك.. ورأيه في لقب “أكبر قلعة رياضية في مصر”

وأردف: “هم يريدون تضخيم المبلغ بإضافة كل الإيرادات التي لم تُحصَّل بعد من الأعضاء، بل حتى العضويات التي لا تُفرض عليها ضرائب أُدرجت ضمن الحسابات، الهدف من كل هذا هو تحميل مرتضى منصور المسؤولية، رغم أنه مجرد رئيس نادٍ تنفيذي، وسوف يرحل في النهاية، لكن ما يحدث يضر النادي نفسه، وزير المالية قال في فيديو عام 2019 إن الزمالك هو النادي الوحيد الذي سدد كل الضرائب المستحقة، وكان هذا في عهد مرتضى منصور”.

واختتم أحمد مرتضى تصريحاته بالتأكيد على قوة والده الانتخابية داخل النادي قائلًا: “مرتضى منصور هو القوة الانتخابية الوحيدة داخل نادي الزمالك، هو الوحيد الذي يمتلك كتلة حقيقية، وإذا قرر خوض الانتخابات في أي وقت، فسيفوز بها دون شك”.

Tottenham chiefs are "determined" to sell striker Richarlison this summer, despite him finishing last season as their second top goalscorer in all competitions, and it is believed one forward in particular is keen on replacing him.

Richarlison linked with Spurs exit amid interest from Saudi Arabia

The former Everton star endured an underwhelming debut campaign at Spurs under former boss Antonio Conte, scoring just once in 27 league appearances, after making the move from Goodison Park in a deal worth £60 million.

Tottenham consider swap move for £162k-a-week forward with Ange "obsessed"

The Australian is desperate for a new attacker.

1

By
Emilio Galantini

Aug 1, 2024

Richarlison, in comments to the Brazilian press late last year, opened up about his struggles with mental health issues off the field, which could've been a key reason behind some of his performances, but then backed himself to come back stronger under Ange Postecoglou.

“On the field I’m a happy team player, I try to help as much as possible," said Richarlison on his psychological challenges.

"Sometimes, things don’t go the way we want. I think this part is a bit of the off-field side that ended up getting in my way. Even though you want to do things right, it ends up going wrong. I will continue to focus on the club, the storm has passed.

“I went through a turbulent time in the last five months off the field. Now things are right at home. People who only had an eye on my money walked away from me. Now things will start to flow, I’m sure I’ll get a good run at Tottenham and make things happen again.”

The 27-year-old proved himself correct, as things did start to flow for him in a Lilywhites jersey.

A phenomenal mid-season purple patch saw Richarlison bag nine goals in eight Premier League appearances from mid-December through to early February, finishing 23/24 as Tottenham's second top scorer behind Son Heung-min with 12 goals and four assists in all competitions.

However, it has been reported this summer window that Spurs are willing to sell the South American regardless. Technical director Johan Lange, chairman Daniel Levy and the wider recruitment team are fully aware of interest from the Middle East, with clubs in Saudi Arabia keen on signing Richarlison.

Lange is prepared to green-light Richarlison's exit for £60 million, according to some reports, and GiveMeSport have now gone one step further.

Tottenham "determined" to sell Richarlison with Ivan Toney keen to join

According to the news outlet, Tottenham are determined to sell Richarlison in the coming weeks, and it is believed that Brentford striker Ivan Toney likes the idea of joining Spurs as his potential replacement.

Saudi sides are still keeping a watchful eye on Richarlison, while Spurs have "emerged" as Toney's "most likely landing spot". The Bees forward, who is reportedly valued at around £50 million, wants to join a club with regular European football prospects and Tottenham fit the bill.

GMS sources close to the situation claim a move for Toney could go right down to the wire, meaning it may not be completed till nearer the end of the window, so it will be interesting to see how this develops.

The Ireland coach says he has had ‘a few good chats’ with IPL coaches to understand the conditions better

Matt Roller21-Oct-2021Graham Ford has been speaking to coaches involved in the IPL to get a better idea about conditions in Sharjah, ahead of his Ireland side’s winner-takes-all fixture against Namibia in the T20 World Cup.Sharjah played host to a series of high-scoring games during the 2020 IPL, but the pitches were re-laid earlier this year and were generally slow and low after the resumption of the 2021 season, with average scoring rates down to 7.00 runs per over from 8.87 the year before.Related

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Virtual knockout awaits Ireland and Namibia with Super 12s spot on the line

IPL lessons – how will the UAE pitches play out at the T20 WC?

Balbirnie backs Ireland's batters to adjust with WC dream on knife edge

Conditions were particularly difficult during the three matches played during the day in IPL 2021, with several players struggling to cope with the combination of heat and humidity: when Friday afternoon’s game starts at 2 pm local time, forecasts suggest the temperature of 35 degrees celsius will ‘feel like’ 41 degrees. Ireland have been in the UAE for several weeks now, but the heat remains a significant challenge in contrast to the weather their players are used to at home.”I’ve had a few good chats with some of the IPL coaches, but we’ll keep that to ourselves for now,” Ford said after Ireland’s heavy defeat to Sri Lanka, which leaves them needing a result in Friday’s fixture if they are to progress to the Super 12s. “Win or lose, we are gaining and we are learning, but quite obviously we’re desperate to go through to the next phase of the tournament.”You’re always greedy as a coach: you want to win everything and you want to have a nice easy last fixture and say ‘we’re already through’. But realistically, we’d have taken it. We’re still alive, we’re still in the competition, and that’s the most important thing.”Ireland played the evening game in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday night and will be unable to train as a whole squad ahead of Friday’s fixture due to the time it will take to travel to Sharjah and the need for their bowlers in particular to recover. They have been frustrated by their schedule in the tournament, not least with the other first-round group staged in its entirety in the same venue, and Ford admitted it was “very difficult” to make improvements between games when playing three fixtures in the space of five days.

“It’s more about what have we learnt from the matches that we’ve played and how can we improve tactically.”Ireland head coach Graham Ford

“There’s no doubt it’s very difficult because of the distances that you have to travel to get to training venues,” he said. “Making improvements in terms of actually just getting in the nets and training is quite difficult [but] we can get to the ground a little bit earlier on matchdays and a couple of guys can sharpen their skills that way.”A lot of the work needed to be done in the preparation phase, which we had a pretty good block through that period, and now it’s not so much getting in the nets and trying to work on anything – it’s more about what have we learnt from the matches that we’ve played and how can we improve tactically and just really try to look sharper and see where we can improve in the game situation.”Ireland arrived at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in time to see the final stages of Namibia’s win against the Netherlands on Wednesday but are well aware of their ability as a side. They squeezed past them in the third-place play-off of the qualifying tournament in 2019, defending 135 in a low-scoring game, and the sides have played each other in a number of qualifiers over the last 15 years.”We had a long bus journey then caught the end of the game and they did hit the ball extremely well at the end,” Ford said. “We know that they’ve got some very dangerous players and David Wiese, who put on a show – we caught the end of that show. He’s played for South Africa in the T20 World Cup before and I’ve seen him in South Africa and on the county circuit. He can be absolutely devastating, which he was today.”They’ve got some dangerous players. They’ve got some very hard-working cricketers. Quite a few of them have learnt quite a lot of their cricket in South Africa and they pushed us close in the last game of the qualifiers. We know that they’re going to be tough – if we’re slightly off our best, we will struggle.”

Sporting CP sensation Viktor Gyokeres dreams of playing for one of the biggest teams in Europe after becoming one of the best strikers this season.

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Gyokeres in red-hot form for club and countryWants to play for one of Europe's elite teamsHas been linked to Manchester UnitedFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres has addressed his future and acknowledged that playing for one of the biggest teams in Europe is one of his ambitions. His statement could be looked at as an eye wink to Premier League giants Manchester United, who have been heavily rumoured to be interested in the Sweden international's services after acquiring his former manager Ruben Amorim.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Gyokeres has become arguably the most sought-after forward in world football following his exploits with both Sporting CP and Sweden this season. The 26-year-old has scored an outrageous 34 goals in 27 games for club and country in the ongoing campaign, attracting attention from Manchester United, Barcelona, and Arsenal over a potential summer switch in 2025. The frontrunners are, however, the Red Devils. Amorim helped Gyokeres unlock his potential at Sporting CP, and the Man Utd boss will be licking his lips over a reunion with his former player as he aims to oversee a major overhaul at Old Trafford next summer.

WHAT VIKTOR GYOKERES SAID

"We will see. There are many rumours circulating, but we are in the middle of the season, there are still many months left," Gyokeres admitted when talking about his future to Sportbladet (h/t MARCA). "We will see when the time comes what will happen. Playing in one of the best teams in Europe, that is the objective."

GOAL/GettyWHAT NEXT FOR VIKTOR GYOKERES?

The Sporting CP striker will be aiming to help his club get out of their mixed run of form following Amorim's departure to England, as the Portuguese heavyweights have suffered four losses in six games under new manager Joao Pereira. They are at the top of the league with 36 points in 14 games, but have in-form Porto and Benfica breathing down their neck.

Scorchers remain at the top of the table despite the loss, while Thunder are now tied on points with second-placed Sydney Sixers

Tristan Lavalette06-Jan-2022Gurinder Sandhu claimed a BBL hat-trick as Sydney Thunder continued their stranglehold over league leaders Perth Scorchers with a six-wicket victory in a rain-affected match at Gold Coast.Sandhu claimed his third hat-trick in Australian domestic competitions to help restrict Scorchers to a modest 9 for 133 off 18 overs on a slow Metricon Stadium pitch. Needing a revised 135 runs off 18 overs, Thunder overcame a late wobble to prevail with six balls to spare.Thunder have inflicted Scorchers’ their only two losses in ten matches this season after a 34-run win in Canberra on December 28. And they have now pulled level with second-placed Sydney Sixers on 23 points after winning their fourth straight game.Sandhu’s three-card trick
Sandhu is the only cricketer to have taken two hat-tricks in Australia’s List A competition and achieved the feat this time in the BBL.It took a while to happen, though, with Sandhu’s first wicket, of Colin Munro, off the last ball of the 12th over, and then he returned to the attack only in the 16th, when he outfoxed Aaron Hardie with a slower ball and then got Laurie Evans when the batter attempted a slog. That made Sandhu the seventh bowler to claim a BBL hat-trick.His heroics ensured Thunder did not miss Pakistani quick Mohammad Hasnain, who was unavailable because of Queensland’s Covid-19 border restrictions. Thunder showcased their array of talent with a disciplined performance as English import Sadiq Mahmood bade farewell to the BBL with two wickets.Munro fails to get going
Even though there was a forecast of rain, Scorchers stuck with their preference of batting first, and opener Kurtis Patterson did his best to vindicate that decision with a couple of boundaries in the opening over. But a 25-minute rain break during the third over halted his momentum as Patterson fell giving a catch to extra cover shortly after resumption.The onus was then on the big hitting Munro, who has had a superb season but looked out of sorts in his last start against Sydney Sixers with a scratchy 36-ball 27. Once again, Munro was unable to find his usual belligerence with a subdued knock of 18 off 20 balls.Scorchers were rocked by Sandhu’s double-strike in the 16th over, but were given a nudge by Ashton Agar, who threw the bat around – quite literally in the last over – in a handy late cameo.Jason Sangha top-scored in the Thunder chase•Getty Images

Thunder get home despite Hales’ struggle
Alex Hales has had a miserable BBL season, exacerbated by contracting Covid-19, which forced him to miss Thunder’s two matches against Adelaide Strikers. He returned, but his touch still deserted him as a frustrated Hales was completely overshadowed by Matthew Gilkes, who smashed Lance Morris for 14 runs in the opening over.Gilkes’ pyrotechnics eased the burden on Hales, who only scored one run off his first seven deliveries before finally smashing a boundary to end the four-over powerplay. He demonstrated his famed power with a six over long-on to bring up Thunder’s 50 in the seventh over.His partner departed soon after but Jason Sangha kept the momentum going with some blistering shots around the wicket to underline his burgeoning credentials.Hales couldn’t shake off his struggles and his 32-ball 26 ended when he holed out in the 13th over and Thunder still had work to do. When Sangha was bowled for 32 in the next over, Thunder appeared tense, needing 40 runs off the final four overs.But Oliver Davies and Sam Billings steadied the ship with the Englishman finishing his BBL stint in style with the winning boundary.Scorchers left to rue sloppiness on the field
Scorchers rested spearhead Jason Behrendorff for the second straight game, perhaps sensing it was a good opportunity to give him an extended breather with Tymal Mills playing his final match of the season.For much of Thunder’s chase, Scorchers seemed out of answers but in trademark style they slowly clawed back into the contest. Mills bowled tightly in the 11th over as Scorchers started turning the screws and they sensed another comeback when Matthew Kelly unleashed a superb yorker to knock over Sangha.But Scorchers were unusually sloppy under pressure, marked by a crucial drop by wicketkeeper Cameron Bancroft to reprieve Billings when Thunder needed 19 runs off 14 balls.Even though he struggled late, Mills will be an undeniable loss for Scorchers who will probably hope they don’t see their bogey team Thunder again this season.

Sciver wins as stand-in captain as bowlers share New Zealand wickets around

Valkerie Baynes01-Sep-2021A batting showpiece by Tammy Beaumont led England to an emphatic 46-run victory over New Zealand in their opening T20I at Chelmsford.Beaumont scored 97 off 65 balls and, assisted by a neat cameo from Amy Jones, pummelled an apparently undercooked New Zealand into submission as England reached a lofty 184 for 4. The hosts capitalised on some ordinary fielding by New Zealand, who haven’t played for five months and who never really got going in the run-chase as Katherine Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone and Sarah Glenn claimed two wickets apiece.With regular captain England Heather Knight ruled out by a hamstring injury she picked up during training on Monday, Emma Lamb made her international debut just four days after being drafted into the England squad when uncapped duo Maia Bouchier and Charlie Dean were ruled out of the first match as possible Covid contacts. Lamb made it to the crease when Beaumont fell on the penultimate delivery but did not face a ball.Tash Farrant, match-sharpened after an excellent Hundred campaign where she was the tournament’s leading wicket-taker and a key member of the winning Oval Invincibles side, struck with her fourth ball – the 10th of the run-chase – to remove Sophie Devine. And when Brunt dismissed Suzie Bates in the next over, the reformation of New Zealand’s powerful top order was short-lived and the target looked close to insurmountable. Amy Satterthwaite did her best to keep New Zealand afloat with a fighting 43 off 31 but when Brunt had her caught by Mady Villiers in the deep, they were six wickets down and still more than 100 runs adrift.Beaumont bosses it
Beaumont looked in fine touch from the start, clipping the second ball she faced through midwicket for four, followed by another through the covers. Danni Wyatt had sealed her place in the side with a match-winning 89 not out at the same ground in England’s previous match – the third T20I against India in mid-July. But, after hitting Leigh Kasperek for three consecutive fours in the third over, Wyatt’s innings ended on 14 when she charged at Kasperek and was stumped by Katey Martin.Nat Sciver, England’s stand-in captain, fell for 14, having struck a glorious six off Hayley Jensen over long-off only to see the same bowler peg back her middle stump. Beaumont carried on though. She unfurled 13 fours in total, all round the ground, bringing up her fifty with a lofted drive through the covers off Kasperek and immediately helping herself to three more through point, backward square and again clearing the covers.Beaumont was let off on 26 when Devine missed a caught-and-bowled chance and again on 64 when she hit a Satterthwaite delivery straight to mid-on where Devine shelled the chance. She brought up England’s 150 with a six off Kasperek that split deep midwicket and long-on. Devine dropped another off Satterthwaite when Sophia Dunkley, on 10, skied the ball to cover but it popped out of Devine’s hands as she went to ground.Devine brought herself back into the attack in the 19th over, only to see Beaumont cart her to the rope twice in a row, over cover and mid-off. Beaumont finally fell in the last over, caught by Brooke Halliday at short third attempting to bring up her hundred with a reverse scoop off Jensen.Jones, Dunkley chime in
Jones set off smartly with five fours in the space of nine deliveries, four of them coming off one Satterthwaite over with the first beating two scrambling fielders as she pierced midwicket and the last through the same region to bring up England’s 100. Her sixth four also came off Satterthwaite, glancing through deep third before she finally fell advancing to the same bowler and was stumped by Martin.On the eve of the match, Dunkley had stated her ambition to break into England’s top four, having spent 18 months on the edges of selection just hoping to get back into the side this time last year. Knight’s absence meant Dunkley, third highest run-scorer in the Women’s Hundred, shuffled up to No.5 and she joined in Beaumont’s clinical display, scoring an unbeaten 23 off 17 balls and hitting the last ball for four.Rusty Kiwis
It was a tough return for Devine, the New Zealand captain back in the side after stepping away for a break in March. Her comeback, along with that of Suzie Bates, playing her first match since last November after undergoing shoulder surgery, meant that New Zealand’s vaunted top three were back together. But when they were both out in single figures within the first three overs, it fell to Satterthwaite to salvage what she could. It was understandable that there would be some, in Devine’s words after the match, “rust” given that New Zealand’s last match was in April. And so there was, in the field and with the bat. Their challenge is to turn a lack of match play around ahead of Saturday’s second T20I at Hove, with one more at Taunton before both sides ramp up their preparations for next year’s 50-over World Cup in New Zealand with five ODIs.Maddy Green combined well at No. 4 with Satterthwaite for a time before falling for 19 to a spectacular catch by Farrant at deep backward square off Ecclestone. It was reminiscent of Farrant’s brilliant effort for the Invincibles in the Hundred eliminator, where she also took four wickets to propel her side into the final.

Batter free to resume career in wake of incident in Powys in 2020

George Dobell15-Jul-2021Joe Clarke will be free to resume his career after a charge of affray was dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.Clarke, the Nottinghamshire top-order batter, appeared at Welshpool Magistrates’ Court in June charged with affray following an incident in Powys last year.He maintained his innocence throughout, however and, after a review of the evidence conducted by the Crown Prosecution Service, the charges against him have been dropped.Clarke is arguably England’s best uncapped T20 player. He is averaging more than 35 with a strike rate of almost 200 in this year’s Vitality Blast and would surely, had the case not been hanging over him, have been pressing for inclusion in England’s limited-overs squad. Aged only 25, there is no reason to think he cannot now push on to play international cricket.”A number of media outlets reported that, following an incident in July last year, Joe Clarke had been charged with affray,” a statement released by Phoenix, the management company that look after his interests, said. “Joe maintained his innocence throughout and cooperated fully with police in providing an account of the incident. Appearing before Welshpool Magistrates Court in June, Joe entered a not-guilty plea.”We are pleased to advise that after a review of the evidence conducted by the Crown Prosecution Service following Joe’s first appearance, they have concluded that there was insufficient evidence and the case against Joe has been formally discontinued.”