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Sri Lanka allrounder says they had a really good chance to win after reducing Bangladesh to 92 for 4

Andrew Fidel Fernando13-Mar-2024Sri Lanka had Bangladesh at 92 for 4, chasing 256 in the first ODI. But then dew set in, and the bowlers struggled to be penetrative. This was what allrounder Janith Liyanage felt, having bowled five overs himself.Through the back-end of the game, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim put on a match-winning 165-run fifth-wicket stand, as Shanto finished with 122 not out and Musfhiqur 73 not out.Towards the end of the match, though, the outfield was essentially sodden. Sri Lanka did not take a wicket after the 16th over. Their bowlers were visibly struggling with the amount of moisture on the ball.”We were on top at that moment when it was 92 for 4,” Liyanage said after the match. “We thought we had a really good chance of winning the game. But when the dew came into play it was really hard for the bowlers to grip the ball. But they batted really well.”Credit to the Bangladesh team the way they batted. Shanto played extremely well and, of course, Mushfiqur also played really well.”Sri Lanka had, however, won the toss and chosen to bat, despite the T20Is in Sylhet having been affected by dew. “We never expected there to be so much dew,” was the reason Liyanage gave for his team’s batting first.It is also understood that the dew was a surprise to almost everyone. There was no discernible dew over the last few evenings in Chattogram, nor was there much dew during the BPL.It is possible there has been a shift in the weather in the last few days across Bangladesh, with the storm season possibly close by.Although the dew made Sri Lanka’s 255 difficult to defend, Liyanage did admit that it was too light a total, particularly after their openers had sped to 71 inside 10 overs.”We got a really good start. Our opening batsmen played really well. But after that Bangladesh took three quick wickets. Then we had to rebuild.”With the start we got we could have got 300 runs today. We were a bit disappointed about that.”

Fast bowler made history with career-best 8 for 15 while bowling from that End in 2015 Ashes

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Sep-2023The Pavilion End at Trent Bridge is to be renamed The Stuart Broad End, in recognition of the former Nottinghamshire and England seamer who retired from professional cricket after this summer’s Ashes.Broad, 37, bowed out in style at The Oval this summer, claiming the 604th and final wicket of his 16-year Test career to square the Ashes 2-2 with a 49-run victory over Australia.And, having confirmed on the penultimate evening of the match that he would be retiring from all cricket, Nottinghamshire have chosen to commemorate Broad with the same honour that Lancashire chose for his longstanding England team-mate, James Anderson, when they renamed Old Trafford’s Pavilion End in his honour in 2017.Though Broad began his professional career at Leicestershire, his ties to Trent Bridge were strong long before he joined the county for the first of his 16 seasons in 2007, thanks to his father Chris, who opened the batting for Nottinghamshire from 1984 to 1992, and is currently the club president.Many of Broad’s finest hours in Test cricket also came while bowling from the End that will now bear his name. In 2011, he turned the course of that summer’s second Test against India with the first of his two Test hat-tricks (and still the only one to have been completed at the ground).And then, in 2015, he produced his career-best spell of 8 for 15 to bowl Australia out for 60 on the opening morning of the fourth Test, in so doing all but sealing England’s reclaiming of the Ashes.”When I first visited Trent Bridge, as a kid with dreams of pulling on the Nottinghamshire and England jerseys, I could never have imagined I’d be fortunate enough to enjoy so many memorable moments in the game,” Broad said.”It’s a bit surreal to think that part of the ground where I fell in love with cricket will now bear my name.
“Playing for Notts has meant so much to me, and I’ve been so grateful that, wherever my career has taken me, I’ve always been able to come home to Trent Bridge.”As someone who is Nottingham born and bred, this is an incredibly proud moment for myself and my family.”In the course of his career, Broad claimed 190 wickets in 43 appearances for county and country at Trent Bridge. He played roles in their 2010 County Championship victory, their Division Two title in 2022, and also featured in two one-day finals, helping to win the first of those, against Glamorgan in 2013, with figures of 3 for 29.Nottinghamshire Chairman Andy Hunt said: “Stuart’s achievements at the highest level are quite remarkable – it’s highly unlikely we’ll ever see another English bowler match his record over the past 15 years, let alone one from within our county’s borders.”Throughout that time, Stuart has been the perfect ambassador for Nottinghamshire – not just through his deeds with the ball, but also through his unstinting commitment to the cause for his county and his continued championing of Trent Bridge on the world stage.”It feels only fitting that the end of his home ground where he recorded some of his greatest achievements will now serve as a permanent honour to his cricketing career.”

WA quick will play in Australia’s 50-over domestic competition to start the summer but is waiting to be cleared to play red-ball cricket after a slow recovery from a back injury

Tristan Lavalette10-Sep-2024Emerging quick Lance Morris admits it’s been “frustrating” working his way through another rehab from a back injury, but hopes a cautious approach will prove beneficial as he earmarks playing in the Sheffield Shield ahead of Australia’s Test series against India this summer.The 26-year-old has not played since the ODI series against West Indies in February. After making his international debut in the series opener, Morris claimed two early wickets in the third match in Canberra before suffering a side strain which ended his season.Morris had been due to line-up for Seattle Orcas in Major League Cricket before post-season scans showed a hot spot in his back and he wasn’t considered for Australia’s current tour of Scotland and England. It was a recurrence of the injury that ruled the West Australian paceman out of the Ashes tour in 2023.Related

• Morris ruled out for up to 12 months after opting for back surgery

• Lance Morris sidelined by quad strain but hoping for short layoff

• 'Feels like we're in rarified air' – WA face their toughest test in pursuit of history

• Sheffield Shield preview: Western Australia chase history, Test stars to play early rounds

• Lance Morris and Jhye Richardson set for domestic returns with WA

“It’s been a bit frustrating,” Morris told ESPNcricinfo. “I guess you call it a stress fracture, but when we scan it, it doesn’t have the natural characteristics of a usual stress fracture. So there was some confusion at first around exactly what it was.”The tricky one for me was I didn’t actually have any back pain when I was bowling. I get monthly check-ins with an MRI on my back to make sure things are heading in the right direction. And it’s been clearing up… healing, so that’s a positive.”While he maintained his fitness levels through running and regular gym, Morris was unable to do any skills work for around eight weeks.”Frustrating to have to stop for a couple of months. I’m at that stage in my career with a Cricket Australia contract….it’s a transition into a 12-month cricketer,” he said.”I was continually preparing to go [to MLC], but never managed to get over there.”But the silver lining is I’ve stayed fit and I feel stronger than ever. Whereas if I ignored it and cracked on with things, there’s every likelihood that I would spend 12 months on the sidelines.”Lance Morris suffered a left side strain in his second ODI in February•Getty Images

Dubbed ‘The Wild Thing’ – in a nod to former tearaway Shaun Tait – Morris garnered considerable attention for his ability to bowl over 150kph. Regarded as arguably the fastest bowler in Australia, he became an enforcer for Western Australia on bouncy WACA decks and rose to the fringes of Australia’s Test team over the past couple of seasons.Having slowly built up his bowling loads, Morris had been left wondering whether he could reach maximum speed again until going “full tilt” in recent weeks restored his confidence.”The tricky thing with loading up really slowly is that you have restrictions on the pace you can bowl at different intervals,” he said. “You sort of wonder how you’re going to get back up to top speed.”But over the last couple of weeks, it’s been basically shackles off. It’s been nice to let the ball go.”Morris is set to make his return through Australia’s domestic 50-over competition starting later this month before eyeing a red-ball comeback in the Sheffield Shield. Three-time defending champions Western Australia start their Shield season against Queensland at the WACA on October 8.”Conversations so far… basically it’s ok to start playing one-day cricket, so [I might play] one of the first two white-ball games,” Morris said with WA opening the One-Day competition against New South Wales on September 22 before playing South Australia two days later.”There will be a little bit of a process in building up and getting ready for Shield cricket. But I think all going well, I should be available for round one or round two. I’m not too sure exactly yet, but we’re not far off.”There are four rounds of the Shield before the first Test in Perth. A solid base of competitive cricket might propel Morris into the mix with concerns over Australia’s depth behind incumbent pace trio Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.”I have no expectations at all. But if the opportunity does arise, hopefully I can jump on it with both hands,” Morris said of his Test prospects. “Fingers crossed I can stay on the park this season because I think there could be a few opportunities that arise.”Liam Haskett will miss the first half of WA’s season with a back injury•Getty Images

Meanwhile, WA left-arm quick Liam Haskett is set to miss the first half of the Sheffield Shield season as he recovers from a stress fracture in his back.Post-season scans confirmed a recurrence of an injury Haskett suffered a few years ago. The towering six-foot seven-inch paceman emerged during a breakout debut season when he claimed 20 wickets at 24.75 from six Shield matches. Haskett, 23, starred in the final round with six wickets against Victoria at the Junction Oval, but missed the Shield final against Tasmania due to a heel injury.”A rough timeline would be getting back towards the end of November-early December, but that could change with a scan result,” Haskett told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s frustrating coming off the season I had, but we’ll keep working towards getting back on the field around the middle part of the season.”

Ecclestone’s 33 off 19 helped UPW tie the scores by smashing 41 runs off the last 17 balls before delivering a stunning Super Over

Shashank Kishore24-Feb-2025
Super Over An extraordinary night of drama delivered a thriller, with UP Warriorz sending a crowd in excess of 28,000 into stunned silence after RCB failed to knock off the nine runs they needed in the Super Over.In a game that seemed to be headed RCB’s way until the last two overs in regulation time, Sophie Ecclestone’s incredible final-over hitting against Renuka Singh, which went for 17, forced the game into a Super Over. But the showstopper for the night was a sensational final over Ecclestone delivered to deny Smriti Mandhana and Richa Ghosh as Warriorz sprung their campaign back to life with a second straight win.Related

• Ecclestone carries UP Warriorz with her big-game mentality

• Stats – Perry overtakes Lanning, WPL gets its first ever Super Over

The high-octane end

Forty-two needed off 18, with two wickets in hand. Ecclestone had pottered to 3 off eight balls, and had no option but to go for broke, especially with Chinelle Henry, seemingly the last hope for Warriorz, gone.Ecclestone got stuck into Georgia Wareham by muscling two sixes in a 13-run over. But when Saima Thakor was run out a ball after swinging one out of the ground in the 19th over, it was all on Ecclestone to knock off much of the 18 runs they needed off the last six.She hit 17 in an extraordinary sequence of 6, 6, 4, 1, taking Renuka to the cleaners as she repeatedly missed her lengths. But Ecclestone’s single off the fifth ball that left Warriorz needing one off the last ball, brought rookie Kranti Goud on strike.When Goud missed and the batters ran, Richa Ghosh did an MS Dhoni, choosing to sprint to the stumps and knock the bails off rather than risk an underarm throw. And just like that, the WPL had its first Super Over.Sophie Ecclestone’s sixes took the game into a Super Over•BCCI

Ecclestone’s dream night continues

When Kim Garth bowled Henry, who had muscled an incredible eight sixes in her 23-ball 62 against Delhi Capitals, with a slower delivery with Warriorz needing 47 off 22, she wouldn’t have envisaged having to bowl the Super Over.Yet, when she did, and conceded just 8 while dismissing Henry again, she wouldn’t have imagined finishing on the wrong side of the result. But, five minutes later, she watched in agony as Mandhana and Ghosh failed to find their hitting range on the face of some nerveless bowling from Ecclestone.It was a performance straight out of fantasy for the world’s No. 1 T20I and ODI bowler, who had also quite extraordinarily just conceded six runs off the final over in RCB’s innings. Three of those deliveries were pinpoint yorkers that denied Ellyse Perry a final charge towards what would have been an extraordinary century.

Perry, Wyatt-Hodge set RCB up

Perry offset Mandhana’s early loss – against offspin for the 11th time in the WPL – by welcoming Ecclestone with back-to-back fours, her step-out to bisect cover and mid-off being the standout. Perry’s intent-laden approach brought her a first six when she launched Thakor down the ground. At 42 for 1 at the end of the powerplay, RCB had a base.All through her innings, Perry was bubbling with flair. She became the first player to hit the 200-run mark in each of the first three WPLs. She also overtook Meg Lanning to become the highest run-getter in the tournament’s short history, during the course of a 94-run second-wicket stand with Danni Wyatt-Hodge.The five-over period between seven and 11 brought RCB just 33, but the pair was able to flick the switch. Goud, who hustled Wyatt-Hodge with an excellent bumper early on, was picked away for three back-to-back fours in the 13th.In doing so, Wyatt-Hodge exhibited her range of shots – a cut when offered width, a swat back past the bowler when it was dug in short, and a pummel over extra cover when the bowler went full. Wyatt-Hodge brought up her maiden WPL half-century off 36 balls against the side that had traded her out. But her dismissal brought Warriorz two more wickets – of Ghosh and Kanika Ahuja.Ellyse Perry brought out her glorious drives from the start•BCCI

But Perry didn’t pass up an opportunity to go all out in the death overs. She took a liking for Deepti Sharma’s predictable lengths and bowling into the surface by picking her for a sequence of 4, 6, 4, 2 in the penultimate over – hitting the ball to different areas, from deep cover to long-on to deep midwicket.Perry’s use of angles to try and get inside the line and sweep the bowlers off their lengths was particularly noteworthy. She finished unbeaten on 90 off 56, with RCB hitting 105 off the last nine overs.

Navgire sparks life into chase

With Chamari Athapaththu again on the bench, Warriorz needed some firepower up top, and when Kiran Navgire smashed a 27-ball 51 four nights ago against Capitals, it seemed like they had found an answer.Navgire tantalised yet again, her uncomplicated stand-and-deliver mantra bringing her 24 off just 12 balls, as she swung at anything remotely in her zone before she was bowled attempting to hoick Renuka. Vrinda Dinesh’s run of low scores stretched into a fourth game as she picked out mid-off for 14 as Warriorz lost two early.

Warriorz rise after slide

An injury to Shreyanka Patil opened up a spot for Sneh Rana as a replacement, and she inflicted more agony for Warriorz when she struck twice in two overs. This put Warriorz in freefall mode, even though Shweta Sehrawat sparked life into the innings with a sprightly 31. But at 125 for 7 in 15, only a freak Henry innings would have silenced the crowd. But when she chopped on to Garth in the 17th, Warriorz needed a miracle, and Ecclestone scripted one.

Brunt was also mum on international future, saying she needs ‘to reflect on that bit and see where I’m at’

Valkerie Baynes07-Aug-2022A tearful Katherine Brunt exited the Commonwealth Games without a medal to show for what had been – until their semi-final loss to India – an excellent tournament for England… and without knowing whether she will play international cricket again.Brunt, England’s 37-year-old seamer, had seen this event as her “one and only shot” at standing on a Games medal podium, but when India ended their hopes of contesting the gold-medal match, it seemed the host nation never recovered and they were thrashed by New Zealand in the bronze-medal playoff.Brunt had also said in the lead-up to the Games in Birmingham that she would see how she felt after the tournament before deciding whether to call time on her international career or play on to next year’s T20 World Cup in South Africa.Speaking immediately after Sunday’s loss to New Zealand at Edgbaston, tears rolling down her cheeks and her voice wavering, the emotions were too raw for Brunt to make any announcement on her future.Related

• Brunt: 'If I break after the Commonwealth Games, so be it'

• Brunt: 'I've considered retirement constantly' over 'most challenging year of my career'

• Brunt continues to marvel as her end-game looms

• Hayley Jensen, Sophie Devine help New Zealand bag bronze medal

“I don’t know,” Brunt said when asked if she had played her last game for England. “I need to reflect.”I’ve got to get up in two days and play the Hundred, which is savage, but that’s life, that’s sport, and I will. But yeah, I need to reflect on that bit and see where I’m at, what my next goal is.”Brunt described Sunday’s defeat, built on an excellent all-round bowling performance from New Zealand – led by Hayley Jensen and 18-year-old Fran Jonas – and an unbeaten half-century from captain Sophie Devine as one of the toughest of her career, which has been going for as long as Jonas has been alive.”Everything is heightened when you get to the end of your career,” Brunt said. “Everyone will experience it. Things seem to mean a bit more, other things seem to slip away a little bit further. As long as I can hold my head up high and know I gave it everything I’ve got.”Despite her vast experience – perhaps because of it – England’s Commonwealth Games campaign on home soil meant a huge amount to Brunt, who said the team wanted to win a medal for the host nation.”It felt like a lot,” she said. “You’re doing it for your country. Normally, playing international cricket, I play for England, it shouldn’t be any different but it did feel different. It felt like the actual whole country was behind us and we’re just sad we let them down.”We couldn’t quite do it. On a personal level, it was my one and only shot at that so obviously I’m taking it quite bad. I’m exhausted. I’ve given it everything I’ve got and I can live with that.”England fielded a side featuring two 17-year-olds in Alice Capsey and Freya Kemp plus 20-year-old Issy Wong and all three newcomers performed admirably. In fact, England enjoyed a strong campaign despite losing captain Heather Knight to a hip injury before the start.They went undefeated through the group stage, including a thumping seven-wicket win with 50 balls remaining against New Zealand, before the latter turned the tables to win by eight wickets with 49 balls to spare when the bronze medal was on the line.Heather Knight consoles Katherine Brunt after the defeat•Getty Images

But it was England’s semi-final defeat on Saturday to India, who were set to play Australia for the gold medal later on Sunday, that did the damage. That match was even more fraught for Brunt, who received an official reprimand and one demerit point for using an audible obscenity when she had a catch dropped off Deepti Sharma.Brunt admitted that England found it hard to recover from that defeat while conceding that New Zealand wouldn’t have had it easy trying to overcome their semi-final loss to Australia.As it happened, New Zealand were able to set aside their disappointment overnight and focus on the bronze medal as a major prize, rather than a consolation without feeling any pressure as hosts or title contenders.”We’re all gutted,” Brunt said. “We’re a lot better than that. Obviously we had a big knock with Heather – a huge head on her shoulders, loads of experience and plenty of runs in the bank. We took a big hit, but we tried our best for her and thought we’d done enough but that game against India was brutal, and in the end, they deserved it.”We’ve got lots of youth in our team and they won’t have been in games like that, against India or against New Zealand, and they won’t have experienced bowling or battling against the best players in the world. So there’s plenty of learnings to take from yesterday and today for them to grow and move forward.”

Offspinner Sajid Khan will play his first game of the series

Danyal Rasool02-Jan-2024Pakistan vice-captain Shaheen Shah Afridi has been rested for the third and final Test against Australia at the SCG to manage his workload. Saim Ayub will make his Test debut in place of opener Imam-ul-Haq, who struggled in the second Test at the MCG despite scoring a half-century in Perth.The decision that has been enforced upon the visitors is the continued unavailability of Abrar Ahmed. He bowled in the nets on Monday, but there are lingering doubts about his ability to remain fit over the course of five days, as well as concerns around how his body responds to being Pakistan’s lead spinner and potentially bowling over 50 overs across the Test. Having pulled up with discomfort in his right leg during the Prime Minister’s XI game in Canberra, Pakistan are aware that risking playing him means potentially going down to ten players early into the Test match.Abrar was subsequently ruled out of each of the Tests, and Sajid Khan, the man flown in as his replacement in Perth, will play his first game of the series. It is the first Test Sajid will play since Australia’s tour of Pakistan in 2022. He fell down the pecking order behind Abrar and Noman Ali since, but injuries to both, as well as Pakistan’s eagerness to play a spinner at the SCG, has seen him return to the side.Saim Ayub will make his Test debut•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Afridi’s absence is the big surprise, with captain Shan Masood praising him for being the leader of the attack just hours earlier. But his lack of pace since his return from injury last year has been the most talked-about aspect of his bowling, his pace rarely rising above the low 130s. In addition, he has had to shoulder greater responsibility in the absence of key frontline bowling partner Naseem Shah, with the absence of Pakistan’s first-choice spinner and an inexperienced fast bowling attack throwing an even greater burden his way. Consequently, he has bowled – by far – more deliveries than any other player across both sides this series, sending down four balls shy of 100 overs. The man in second place on that list is offspinner Nathan Lyon at 69.5 overs.Imam being dropped to the bench is less of a surprise, not so much for his struggles in Melbourne but how out of touch he looked while at the crease. Masood also stressed the importance of playing attacking cricket, with Imam’s strike rate of 31.22 not quite conducive to that philosophy. While Ayub has limited red-ball experience – the 21-year old has only played 14 first class games – his aggressive disposition is more likely to fall in tune with that brand of cricket.Australian captain Pat Cummins announced earlier on Tuesday that the hosts were going into the third Test with an unchanged side after having taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in this series.

Nadine de Klerk backs up last weekend’s bowling exploits for The Blaze with top score of 43

ECB Reporters Network10-May-2023England captain Heather Knight saw her return to domestic action curtailed by the weather as Western Storm’s Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy match against The Blaze at Leicester was abandoned just beyond the halfway stage, both sides taking two points each.Knight, preparing to lead England in this summer’s home Ashes series against Australia, was just five overs into her first bat on home soil since July last year when showers gave way to heavy rain.Knight missed a large part of last season because of a hip injury for which she later had surgery and played in this year’s inaugural Women’s Premier League in India following a return to international action in the winter.She did not bowl as The Blaze posted 209 for 9 from their 50 overs but opened the batting for Storm alongside Alex Griffiths and was 5 not out with her side 23 without loss when bad weather arrived.The multi-format Ashes series begins with a Test match at Trent Bridge on June 22, preceded by a red-ball match between England and Australia A in Derby a week earlier.Today’s abandonment meant both The Blaze and Storm have suffered two no-results in their first five matches in the women’s regional 50-over competition, although The Blaze have won all three completed matches to lead the early season table.Storm would have fancied ending that run after restricting the home side to what was probably a sub-par score, even though conditions favoured the bowlers with the ball swinging under the cloud cover.South Africa’s Nadine de Klerk, their star with the ball in a career-best 7 for 33 against Northern Diamonds last weekend, top-scored with 43 for The Blaze, Georgie Boyce making 34. Danielle Gibson, Chloe Skelton and Griffths took two wickets each for Western Storm.The Blaze made a terrible start after being put in, losing leading-scorer Tammy Beaumont in the third over and opening partner Marie Kelly in the fourth, each contributing only a single.Beaumont would not have enjoyed watching her dismissal, bowled shouldering arms to an inswinging Gibson delivery that jagged back off the pitch. Kelly, pushing forward, edged Lauren Filer behind.The third-wicket pairing of Boyce and Kathryn Bryce repaired the damage by adding 51 for the second wicket, helped by a generous number of wides, but after a half-hour stoppage for rain lost Bryce to a catch at slip off the medium pace of Mollie Robbins.Sarah Bryce helped Boyce keep the scoreboard moving but from 93 for 3 in the 22nd over, The Blaze lost three wickets in as many overs to slip to 99 for 6.Boyce was unlucky, jamming the bat down on a yorker-length delivery from Griffiths only for the ball to somehow squirm back onto the stumps. Then Sarah Glenn feathered a catch behind off Skelton’s off-spin, and Bryce dragged one on to hand Griffiths a second success.The Blaze looked in danger of going down cheaply at 110 for 7 when Lucy Higham chopped straight to backward point but a combination of de Klerk’s quality and a strong showing from the tail almost doubled the total in the remaining 23 overs.Sophie Munro punched a valuable 24 off 40 balls including a pulled six off Filer and after de Klerk had been bowled attempting to slog-sweep Gibson, skipper Kirstie Gordon and Grace Ballinger added 21 off the last 21 balls to take the total beyond 200.

“I don’t know the schedule exactly – but I’ve enjoyed it, I look forward to being back next year,” he says of the IPL

ESPNcricinfo staff27-May-20243:38

Will Starc quit ODIs to play more franchise cricket?

Mitchell Starc stayed away from the IPL for the best part of his peak years, but after winning the title with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), will consider dropping one format from his life, and that might be ODI cricket.”The last nine years, I’ve prioritised Australian cricket. I have given myself a chance to give my body a break and spend some time away from cricket with my wife as well, so that’s certainly been where my head’s been for the last nine years,” Starc said at a press conference after the IPL 2024 final in Chennai, where KKR steamrolled Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to win their third title, with Starc playing a starring role.”Moving forward… look, I am certainly closer to the end of my career than the start. One format may drop off. There is long time before the next one-day World Cup and whether that format continues for me or not… it may open doors for more franchise cricket.”Related

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And franchise cricket could mean two months of the IPL, a tournament he had played just twice in the past, for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2014 and 2015, but usually skipped to be fit and fresh for international cricket.In fact, in all these years of playing top-level cricket – he made his international debut in 2009 – Starc has only played 137 T20s.”I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this season,” he said. “It’s been great, it leads into the World Cup, that’s the other side of the benefit of being here against some amazing players in an amazing tournament. It’s a great lead-up to a World Cup.”Next year – I don’t know the schedule exactly – but I’ve enjoyed it, I look forward to being back next year and hopefully be seen in purple and gold [KKR’s colours] again.”Starc, the most expensive IPL auction buy ever when KKR splurged INR 24.75 crore (US$2,982,000 approx.) had a terrible time of it to start with, going wicketless in his eight overs in the first two games while conceding 100 runs. He took time to get it right, picking up a three-for against Lucknow Super Giants and a four-for against Mumbai Indians, but really came into his own in the playoffs, with 3 for 34 and 2 for 14 against SRH in Qualifier 1 and the final.”I’ve played a lot of cricket, so I know how to manage myself,” Starc said. “I haven’t played a lot of T20 cricket in the last few years, so for me, it was trying to find that rhythm of [the] T20 format, and trying to stay ahead of batters.”

Owen impressed on his T20I debut, taking a key wicket before clubbing 50 off 27 which included six sixes

Alex Malcolm20-Jul-2025A dream debut for Mitchell Owen with bat and ball alongside a stunning half-century from Cameron Green guided Australia to a three-wicket win over West Indies after a masterful death bowling display from Ben Dwarshuis and Nathan Ellis set the game up at Sabina Park.Owen took a key wicket before clubbing 50 off 27 to become the third Australian behind Ricky Ponting and David Warner to make a half-century on T20I debut and bag the Player-of-the-Match award. He smashed six sixes while Green thumped five and two boundaries in a 26-ball 51. The pair added 80 from 40 to rescue Australia from 78 for 4 and gun down the target of 190. Australia out-hit West Indies, smashing 17 sixes to just nine overall.Earlier, Dwarshuis took 4 for 36 including three in an over, as he and Ellis combined to take four wickets for just seven runs in the last 16 balls of West Indies innings to restrict them to 189 for 8 after half-centuries from Roston Chase and Shai Hope had threatened to set-up a huge total. Chase made 60 off 32 at No.3 while Hope made 55 from 39. Shimron Hetmyer also clubbed 38 from 19 but West Indies’ lower-order combined for 11 between them as they lost 6 for 30 in the final five overs.Chase-ing Hope earlyIn the absence of the injured Evin Lewis, West Indies new-look top three laid a superb platform. Brandon King made the switch from Test cricket to T20 mode look easy, thumping four boundaries in the first three overs as Australia’s quicks missed wide. The early introduction of spin halted momentum with Cooper Connolly bagging his first T20I wicket as King ran past one. Hope picked up the baton launching Connolly inside out over cover off the back foot.Roston Chase launches down the ground•Getty Images

Chase’s first 10 balls were very sluggish but he found his groove outside the powerplay. He launched Connolly and Adam Zampa in back-to-back overs before playing four superb strokes off Sean Abbott in the 10th to find the boundary four times. He first paddle-scooped fine, before showing power and touch to thread the same gap between short third and backward point before again paddling a predictable full and straight ball fine again. West Indies looked set for a huge score at 123 for 1 in the 13th over.Dwarshuis and Ellis death bowling masterclassDwarshuis started a West Indies collapse as Chase holed out to long-on trying to clear the rope again. Hope slowed down significantly before Owen made his first impact in T20I cricket with the ball, forcing a miscue from Hope with a wide slower ball. Either side of that though he conceded two sixes to Hetmyer.Ellis and Dwarshuis then put on a clinic. Hetmyer was threatening to push West Indies well over 200, smoking Ellis’ first two balls of the 18th over to the rope. But thereafter West Indies lost 4 for 7 off the last 16 balls of the innings. Ellis’ last four balls of the 18th over were a mixture of brilliant slower balls and yorkers. Dwarshuis took three wickets for one run in the 19th with three mishits caught in the deep. Ellis closed out the last thanks to some help from Green who denied Hetmyer a certain six at long-off with a stunning catch that no other Australian fielder could have caught at full stretch on the rope.Ben Dwarshuis bagged four wickets•Getty Images

Fraser-McGurk misfires yet againEyebrows were raised when Australia’s selectors recalled Fraser-McGurk in place of the injured Spencer Johnson as a reserve wicketkeeper for Josh Inglis, and they remained raised when he was selected in the XI to open in place of the injured Matt Short. But there was very little surprise when he struggled to 2 off 7 before miscuing Jason Holder to mid-off.Mitchell Marsh was in an all-or-nothing mood, mixing three monstrous sixes with seven dots in the powerplay before he got a thin edge to the extra pace of Alzarri Joseph. Green fought fire with fire. He got away with a top edge that flew for six over fine third before being pinned on the shoulder. He then deposited Joseph over fine leg twice to finish the powerplay.Australia looked in all sorts of trouble when Josh Inglis top-edged Akeal Hosein to short fine and Glenn Maxwell skied Motie straight up to end an indifferent innings of 11 off 10.Green and Owen power Australia home, justNeither man had much experience as middle-order finishers coming into the game but the pair showed extraordinary composure and power to rip the game away from West Indies. Owen was fearless, getting off the mark with a six off Andre Russell and launching another later in the over for good measure. He then deposited Hosein three times in the 12th over to dispel any concerns over his ability against spin in the middle overs. Green played really smartly at the other end knocking three twos to keep the board moving without risk after his fast start. He then took Holder and Motie down to blaze to 50 off 25 balls and get the target to just 32 off 31 balls. But he fell trying to hit Motie out of the ground again.Owen kept going, pounding Joseph into the stands to reach 50 off 26 but he too fell next ball trying to go again with Australia still needing 15 off 21. But Connolly, Dwarshuis and Abbott did just enough to steer the visitors home, but not without help from West Indies’ fielders. Substitute fielder Jewel Andrew dropped Abbott at fine leg off Holder with seven to win. He was almost run out too but they nurdled their way home with seven balls to spare.

The allrounder offers Australia the priceless balance that South Africa are searching for

Andrew McGlashan16-Dec-20220:57

South Africa looking to grow Jansen’s all-round ability

Pat Cummins has indicated a greater bowling workload for Cameron Green against South Africa and the allrounder may be given an opportunity to get into the attack early.Green largely had a bit-part role to play against West Indies, bowling 29 overs across the two Tests, despite Cummins not being available for half the Perth Test due to injury, and only being required to bat in Adelaide. While there were no workload restrictions on him with the ball Cummins did reveal there had been an effort not to overload him after he was managed for a hamstring niggle in the ODIs against England.The Gabba was the venue where Green opened his account as a Test bowler against England last season having gone through his first series against India without a wicket. He bounced out Ollie Pope in the first innings before claiming Joe Root with a lifting outswinger on the fourth day.Related

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“Somewhere like here I’ll probably rotate the bowlers around to get him a shot with a swinging ball,” Cummins said. “He bowled beautifully here last year, got the big wicket of Joe Root. Coming into the [West Indies] series he wasn’t under any restrictions but he’s still coming off a hamstring injury. We don’t really want to burn him in the first couple of games. So any overs he kind of didn’t bowl in the first two tests hopefully means he can bowl a few more here.”Green went through the rare experience of not being needed with the bat in Perth – having been used to heavily promote the Test in his home city – when Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith feasted themselves with double centuries. He was then unconvincing when he finally got to the crease in Adelaide with Australia 428 for 4, scratching around for 9 off 42 balls then falling in search of quick runs in the second innings.Cameron Green can expect more work against South Africa•Getty Images

In last season’s Ashes, Green made a slow start with the bat as he worked through some technical issues before making half-centuries in Sydney and Hobart. Although he has had a quiet start to the season he offers Australia the priceless balance that is one of the advantages they have over South Africa.It allows the home side to naturally play a five-pronged attack whereas South Africa, who are expected to go with a similar make-up, are asking a lot of the inexperienced Marco Jansen to fill an allrounder’s role at No. 7. However, captain Dean Elgar was confident he would be the long-term solution.”He’s someone who has really won us Test matches in the past with the bat, I refer back to Lord’s [against England] where he put in a massive performance,” Elgar said. “He’s still so raw when it comes to Test cricket and it’s pretty exciting for us. His talent is huge. If he does everything well reckon he’s going to be an allrounder for the next 10 years for us.”For Australia, David Warner is the only other member of the top order whose form is under the microscope with a Test average of 28.12 over the last two years. Tours to India and England loom next year, both where Warner has an underwhelming record, and a lean series against South Africa would increase the scrutiny.”His record is amazing here in Australia,” Cummins said. “He’s a huge part of our team. Opening the batting’s not easy so I’m backing him for big series. He’s hitting the ball beautifully. It’s only two weeks ago he got a 100 [against England] at the MCG. A different format, obviously, but it was a tough wicket so he’s looking good. I’m sure runs will follow.”