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The Derbyshire captain made his second ton of the competition as part of an impressive all-round display

ECB Reporters Network01-Jun-2018
ScorecardBilly Godleman’s second hundred in this year’s Royal London Cup led Derbyshire to a 51-run win at Northamptonshire to keep them firmly in the hunt for a place in the knockout stage.It was an impressive all-round display from Derbyshire, led by Godleman, who made a career-best 137 in the opening game of the competition at Edgbaston and followed up with an unbeaten 125 from 142 balls to steer his side carefully to 265 for 2 on a slow wicket.The score was easily defended with all six bowlers taking wickets as Northants subsided for 214 to leave their chances of qualifying for the knockout stage hanging by a thread.Godleman steered Derbyshire, having won the toss, with typically nugetty effort with few memorable strokes but a most-determined innings. He got going with a flashing cover drive off Ben Sanderson, struck another boundary past mid-off and a fierce pull backward of square as Derbyshire finished the Powerplay on 37 without loss.Boundaries were at a premium but he swung Josh Cobb over midwicket before bursting the hands of short-fine leg for his ninth four to move to 98 and then raising his third List A century in 127 balls.His opening partnership of 182 with Ben Slater was the record first-wicket stand in this fixture.Slater, fresh from his century against Yorkshire on Wednesday, began his innings with two firm pulls but otherwise was content to run the bowling around and build the partnership. He swept Graeme White for four and pulled Cobb over midwicket.A leg-side flick off Nathan Buck raised his sixth List A fifty in 78 balls with five fours. He then switch-hit Rob Keogh to the backward-point fence but completely missed a full toss from the same bowler and was clean bowled for 94.Northants’ chase, as was the case in the previous match against Durham, was in early trouble. Rob Newton chipped Wayne Madsen to midwicket for just 2 and Josh Cobb clipped Ravi Rampaul to mid-on for 6 before Alex Wakely, after a stand of 51 for the third wicket, tried to reverse-sweep Matt Critchley and was plumb lbw for 19.Ben Duckett has endured a miserable season so far but here, got set by driving Wayne Madsen – who bowled a seven-over opening spell for just 21 runs – over extra-cover before reverse-sweeping Critchley’s legspin three times for boundaries in going to just a first half-century of the summer in 59 balls.Duckett and Adam Rossington shared a partnership of 53 for the fourth wicket before Duckett lifted Alex Hughes into the hands of long-on to fall for 57 and Rossington, having reached a fortuitous 40, swung at Duanne Olivier and lost his leg stump.Northants needed 107 from 11 overs but despite Rory Kleinvedlt striking two leg-side sixes they fell well short.

Canterbury clinched their third Plunket Shield title in four years despite suffering a seven-wicket loss to Wellington in Christchurch. The winners were decided after defending champions Auckland conceded a three-wicket defeat to Central Districts in Napi

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Apr-2017The winners of the Plunket Shield were decided in the last hour of the last round of matches as Auckland, who needed a win to lift the trophy, went down to Central Districts by three wickets and Canterbury clinched their third title in four years. Canterbury were leading the table with 101 points before the last round, followed by Auckland with 93 points. While Canterbury went down to Wellington by seven wickets, taking four points to finish on 105, Auckland’s loss meant they finished third with 98 points after being overtaken by Northern Districts, who beat Otago by three wickets.Auckland had a sniff of victory and the title by reducing Central Districts to 281 for 7 in the chase of 301 before an unbeaten 43 from Tom Bruce steered Central Districts home, in Napier. The chase was led by George Worker’s 130 off 144, his sixth first-class hundred, but they stuttered from 192 for 2 to 213 for 5, and soon 281 for 7, before Bruce’s rescue act earned them 16 points. Earlier, Auckland were restricted to 200 for 9, thanks to a five-for from Navin Patel, after a rain-affected first day. But they fought back by dismissing Central Districts for 181 as Colin Munro (3 for 22) and Tarun Nethula (4 for 49) disturbed the opposition’s top and middle order. With a slender lead, Auckland had a shot at victory by declaring on 281 for 7 after fifites from Michael Guptill-Bounce (52), Munro (56) and Mark Chapman (55) but Central Districts overhauled the 301 target in under 70 overs by scoring at 4.37 runs per over.In Christchurch, Canterbury began the final day leading Wellington by 59 runs with only four wickets in hand. Troubled by the Wellington quicks, none of Canterbury’s top five could score in excess of 15 in the second innings. Captain Andrew Ellis, however, stretched his overnight score of 34 to 110 – his ninth first-class century – while No. 9 Logan van Beek added an unbeaten 54 to his first-innings score of 66, pushing the lead past 200, prompting Canterbury to declare on 293 for 8.Chasing 227, Wellington secured the victory for the loss of only three wickets, piloted by an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 170 between Hamish Marshall (105* off 94) and Tom Blundell (63*). It was the second win in ten matches for Wellington, whose tally of 86 points earned them a fourth-place finish.Blundell had earlier anchored Wellington’s reply to Canterbury’s first-innings tally of 197 with a 113. He added 184 runs for the sixth wicket with Peter Younghusband, who fell three short of a maiden first-class century. The duo helped their side take a 67-run lead, before Canterbury medium-pacer Will Williams rolled them over over with a career best 4 for 37.Northern Districts, meanwhile, stole a three-wicket win against Otago, with heroic centuries from Daryl Mitchell (106) and Tim Seifert (151) in the fourth innings in Dunedin. Like Central Districts, Northern Districts were set a stiff target – of 347 – but the twin centuries meant three wickets from each of Michael Rae and Rhys Phillips went in vain.Northern Districts’ fourth win of the tournament was set up by 11 wickets from Ish Sodhi. Otago had earlier secured a first-innings lead of 157 after a double-century from Anaru Kitchen (207) helped them score 432 for 8. Northern Distrcits were bowled out for 275 in reply, only Dean Brownlie scoring a half-century, with Nathan Smith and Rae striking thrice each. However, Sodhi’s 7 for 59 in the third innings meant Otago declared at 189 for 8, despite strong contributions from the top order, and Northern Districts aced the daunting chase by losing no more than seven wickets.

On pitches where Australia are playing no specialist spinners, and where the India spinners have been moderately effective, captain MS Dhoni feels the only way Rishi can play is if a specialist batsman is dropped

Sidharth Monga15-Jan-20164:56

Always believed Rahane is a good opener – Dhoni

The Himachal Pradesh allrounder Rishi Dhawan is likely to accumulate a lot of frequent flyer points and bowl a lot in the nets, but the India cap looks as far as it did before he was selected for the Australia tour. On pitches where Australia are playing no specialist spinners, and where the India spinners have been moderately effective, captain MS Dhoni feels the only way Rishi can play is if a specialist batsman is dropped, and if that happens, Dhoni said, India will be playing with “six bowlers”.Despite going for 239 in 37 overs for three wickets to outfield catches, spinners R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are being considered better on hopelessly unhelpful tracks than Rishi on tracks with good bounce. This should come as a strong message to the selectors.Dhoni was asked if he had given a thought to going horses for courses as opposed to playing his best bowlers on paper. He responded: “If you see what is important is to see that we played the first game with our best bowling attack. In this game, too, Ishant [Sharma] was fit and we thought he will get good bounce. We feel it is important to play with a proper bowling set-up. And at the same time you cannot neglect the batting.”When it comes to whether we can play the extra seamer, if your frontline three seamers are going for runs, it is slightly difficult for somebody like a Rishi to come in. He may bowl well, but I am saying it will be slightly difficult for him to be successful with the fielding restrictions. He is not someone who bowls very quick. At the same time in the middle overs you need to bowl a lot of dot balls. That’s where you have to decide whether you are better off playing with the two spinners.”The only option you have is, you will have to sit out Ashwin because Jadeja gives you that cushion of batting. It is a difficult one. I still feel 3-2 (seamer-spinner) is the best combination. If somebody was there who could bowl a bit of seam-up, that obviously helps. As of now we don’t really have [one]. We can’t really look at Rishi because to play him we will have to get rid of a proper batsman. Then we will have to play six bowlers. Six bowlers is a bit of luxury to have in cricket nowadays.”Australia, on the other hand, have handed out debuts to two fast bowlers and have stuck with them. They have rotated two other quicks, but have been blessed with the presence of a proper allrounder in James Faulkner and a batsman who can bowl in Glenn Maxwell. The only “allrounder” in the Indian squad is not being considered much of a bowler. In the absence of any evidence against proper batsmen, Dhoni’s assessment of Rishi is the only considered one we have even though it goes against the view of the selectors.At any rate Dhoni seems to have stopped asking for better from his bowlers. After India lost defending 309 in Perth, there was a clear change in the way they batted in the middle over in Brisbane. They had now set themselves up for 340, but lost their way in the end, and the bowlers gave up the defence of 308 just as easily in Brisbane as they did in Perth. Now Dhoni says there are only two choices left: either score in excess of 330 or just choose to chase. And he said that while answering a question about the extras – 11 wides and a no-ball.”In both the games we have given a fair amount of extras,” Dhoni said. “That takes that number of runs off the total. On good wickets it does matter. As far as Ishant is concerned, I think the breeze was flowing in circular motions. I felt that made it slightly difficult for him. I feel even if we cut down the extras we will have to score more runs. There are two options: either put pressure on [our] batsmen and score 330 or chase down the score, give them the batting first. These are the only two options we have got. We will have a look and decide what suits us the best.”If India are to score those extra 30 runs a quick start from Shikhar Dhawan can go a long way, but he has thrown his wicket away twice. Even if Dhoni wanted to drop him, he wouldn’t be able to because the selectors have given him only five established specialist batsmen. The only way for that to happen would be for Ajinkya Rahane to open, the idea of which Dhoni likes; he is not entirely convinced with the idea of Rahane the middle-order batsman.”Jinx has improved a lot in his batting,” Dhoni said. “But also the wickets are good here. What is important is to see him when the wickets slow down and he is pushed to play the big shots. When ball comes on he loves it, and plays very good strokes. I feel he has improved a lot. We will wait and watch and see what the best position for him is. I have personally believed he is very good opener because he plays proper cricketing shots. He cuts and pulls, but he plays proper shots. He can accelerate whenever he wants to. Also once he starts with the new ball, he is quite good by the time the middle overs start. So far it is good he has done well in both the positions. We will see how it goes.”For now, though, Shikhar has the captain’s confidence. “Shikhar is someone who loves to play his shots,” Dhoni said. “If somebody plays shots from the very start, there will be periods when he won’t score runs. You can say it was a rash shot, but that’s the time you are supposed to back your stroke-players.”

MS Dhoni struck 16 runs off the last three balls of the match with No. 11 for company to give India the title

The Report by Sidharth Monga11-Jul-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Moments before mayhem: This ball was headed for the stands•AFP

Leave it to me, he says. I want to take this to the last over. Me against one man. One on one. I know I am better than the last man the other team can put up against me. Once again, MS Dhoni reduced a lost match into a one-on-one contest with an opposition bowler, and knocked off the 15 required in just three hits. You could see the bowler – Shaminda Eranga, 9-2-34-2 until then, wickets of Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli to his name – was intimidated the moment he saw the first one fly into the top of the top tier.Bear in mind that this was a treacherous pitch with seam, spin and uneven bounce. Dhoni was injured, and had come back only for this match. He wasn’t running as hard as he does, and wickets were falling at the other end. When Dhoni came in, the asking-rate was 3.35, but with falling wickets and turned-down singles, it hit the improbable towards the end. Dhoni, though, kept refusing singles, kept admonishing the last man Ishant Sharma for taking off for panic-stricken singles.Ishant couldn’t be blamed. The game had unravelled fast for India. They were cruising when Rohit Sharma had braved for yet another fifty despite another painful blow to his body (which makes it atleast four in two innings against Sri Lanka), despite many balls that seamed past his edge, despite the slow start. When India were 139 for 3 in the 32nd over, though, Rangana Herath delivered a grubber, and it squeezed under Rohit’s bat. Things were about to change.The pitch was still difficult to bat on as Suresh Raina soon found out. He thought he had a half-volley from Suranga Lakmal when he went for the drive, but even after pitching that full the ball seamed away appreciably and took his edge. The accurate and wily Herath saw an opening now. And burst through it. In the 38th over, his last, Herath trapped Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin – whose combined figures had been 17.5-1-65-6 – in successive deliveries. India 152 for 7.The drama had begun. Only a few minutes earlier, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara had gone on and on – for overs it seemed – about an obstructing-the-field appeal against Dhoni. He had taken two steps down the wicket, and then realised he would have hit the other batsman if he ran straight. So he ran, nay hared on a bad hamstring, at an angle, but didn’t change his direction for the remaining 20 yards. The throw hit him, and the two senior Sri Lankans would not leave the umpire’s side. They knew they needed this man out as soon as possible.For the next half hour, though, Sri Lanka would have thought they didn’t need to get Dhoni out. Dhoni tried to intimidate Lakmal once during the Powerplay, but after that he began playing the percentage game. Sri Lanka knew Dhoni couldn’t manipulate the strike with that hamstring, and controlled the game well. Lasith Malinga – seven overs for 54 runs until then – finally got his radar right, and got Bhuvneshwar Kumar toe before wicket with his dipping slower yorker. In the tense overs that followed, R Vinay Kumar lost his cool, and slogged and got out. India 182 for 9 after 46.2 overs.With any other batsman than Dhoni, you would expect panic. Dhoni, though, wanted to corner just one man. He wanted to bring it down to that one man. He was also daring Sri Lanka to keep back Malinga, who had one over left, for the last. Sri Lanka didn’t. Malinga bowled the 48th. Dhoni faced the whole over, looking unhurried, for just a scrambled couple.The only man hurried was Ishant, who tried a suicidal single off the last ball of Malinga’s over to keep Dhoni on strike. The ball, though, had gone straight to the fielder, and Dhoni was miffed Ishant tried such desperation. It was not becoming of someone batting with the coolest and the best batsman in ODI cricket. Ishant would do that again off the first ball of the next over. Twice Dhoni let Ishant know what he did was not right. Ishant faced another dot. Then another dot. Seventeen off nine. Dhoni was cool at the other end. He had marked out his man. He knew it wouldn’t be an experienced bowler in the last over.Two runs came off the last three balls of the 49th over, but Ishant was made to feel under no pressure. He had been told to leave it to the man who knew his way around these lanes. Then began the great show. As soon as Ishant left alone – yes, left alone – the last ball of the 49th over, Dhoni signalled to the dressing room for a new, heavier bat.As Angelo Mathews psyched Shaminda Eranga up for the last over, Dhoni practised a few swings with two bats held together. Calculatedly he picked out one. Eranga went to his mark. This match should not have been on, but in Dhoni’s book this was even odds. Eranga bowled a nervous first ball: a wide length ball, which Dhoni swung hard at. That was a nervous ball, and would have been out of the ground had Dhoni connected. Dhoni didn’t.The second ball, though, was closer to Dhoni – swing, and met that hunk on the up. And up it went. And far. And kept going. Over the top of the stands. You could see it in Eranga’s eyes now. It was now going to be nigh impossible for Eranga to execute his skill. In one hit, Dhoni had brought it down to just luck for Sri Lanka. The luck was not with them. Eranga bowled length again, Dhoni went hard again, and the ball flew off the outside half of the bat, and over point.It was over already. Eranga just ran up for the formalities, delivered another length ball, and was dispatched over extra cover. The iceman had done it again, but he hadn’t had a great first half of the day as a keeper and a captain. Apart from not having been at his best with the gloves, Dhoni had also let Sri Lanka off the hook with his choice of part-time bowlers ahead of the specialist spinners, who would eventually go on to cut Sri Lanka’s effort short.Bhuvneshwar had given India his customary breakthroughs in the first spell, the scoring was difficult, but Virat Kohli and Raina provided Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne relief with their odd long hop or big wides. Their partnership took Sri Lanka to 171 for 2, but then Thirimanne made a mistake, and almost every batsman that followed. In over-aiming during that Powerplay, Sri Lanka had lost their last eight wickets for 30 runs, letting Dhoni off the hook now.You will be justified to think of Dhoni’s choice of bowlers as odd. As you would have been with his persistence against all logic with Ishant in the Champions Trophy final. Just that the results were drastically different.

Alastair Cook described the five-match ODI series against Australia as the ideal preparation for the Champions Trophy and 2015 World Cup

George Dobell28-Jun-2012Whatever the hype and hysteria over the next couple of weeks, there be will no World Cups or Ashes urns won as England and Australia resume hostilities in the NatWest ODI series. Instead, these five games represent not a destination, but a step on the journey for both teams.That does not render this series worthless. It will act as a barometer of each side’s true position and provide an idea of how they must improve. It might also provide a vague guide to next year’s ICC Champions Trophy. The fact that Lord’s is expecting a capacity crowd of 30,000 underlines not only the draw that encounters between these two sides still has, but the draw of a wonderful, well-run ground. To regularly fill a stadium of this size in the current economic climate is a fine effort.That England go into this series with an outside chance of becoming the No. 1-ranked ODI side – they will need to win 5-0 to do so – speaks volumes not just for their progress in recent times, but also for some anomalies within the ranking system. A team that has lost so comprehensively in both India (5-0 at the end of 2011) and Australia (6-1 after the 2010-11 Ashes series) will surely have to win a major global trophy to convince that they are more than a very good side in their own conditions.That remains a key aim of this England side. Indeed, this series has been scheduled very much with a view to the World Cup, to be played in Australia and New Zealand in 2015, and the Champions Trophy, to be played in England next year. In return for this five-match series, England will have the chance to acclimatise with a five-match ODI series in Australia ahead of the World Cup, while these games should help both sides prepare for the Champions Trophy.It was a point made by England captain, Alastair Cook, as he looked forward to the games. “The reason this series is in is because of the 2015 World Cup,” Cook said. “We really want to have some warm-ups in Australia to get used to those conditions just before that World Cup. That makes sense for our preparation then, so obviously as a reciprocal thing they have to come here. As players we don’t mind. It’s going to be a brilliant, hopefully, ten days.”We haven’t won an ICC [one-day] trophy and we have a good chance next summer in our home conditions. That would suit us well. Clearly in a four year cycle you build to the World Cup but on the way you have to win as many games as you can. The Champions Trophy next year is half way to the World Cup and a good stepping stone.”England have a dismal record in the last five World Cups and, despite the recent success in the UAE, they also have a modest ODI record away from home. But, in their own conditions, they are dangerous and recent performances suggest they are heading in the right direction.No other side is playing ODI cricket with the same methodology as England. While all other major sides have at least one explosive batsman at the top of the batting order, England have opted for batsmen of more solid, traditional style and a line-up that increasingly resembles their Test side. One of the few concessions they have made to ‘specialist’ limited-overs players comes with the selection of Craig Kieswetter as wicketkeeper. And it is his place that is, arguably, most at risk.But just because no-one else is doing it does not make England’s method wrong. Indeed, against two new white balls and a No. 1-rated ODI side boasting at least two high-quality fast bowlers, England may well be grateful for batsmen of the class of Ian Bell, Cook and Jonathan Trott at the top of the order.It is worth remembering that England, too, would be playing quite differently had Kevin Pietersen not departed. But, just as Andy Flower and Andrew Strauss only came to form the captain/coach partnership that revived England’s fortunes through the successful calamity that was the sacking of Pietersen and Peter Moores, so we may come to reflect in time that Pietersen’s retirement proved to be a blessing in disguise. Bell, in particular, has been given a fresh chance to fulfil his undoubted potential in this format.Cook said he was not surprised how quickly England had moved on from Pietersen. “It’s a great sign of strength,” he said. “It’s an encouraging sign as a captain that we have a good squad of players, that if someone is no longer here we have got people who can come in and perform straight away.”We are very much a developing one-day side and we’re desperate to keep going up the rankings,” Cook said. “I think we are progressing as a team. People are starting to feel comfortable in their roles in the set-up, but that doesn’t count for anything when you walk out on the pitch.”We’ve got a really good test of ourselves now. They’ve proven they are going to be a really tough and dangerous one-day side and a tough side to beat. We’re got to have to be at our absolute best.”Each international side has a couple of guys who can get it up to 90mph and these guys are now in a similar position to us in that they have eight or nine guys who can play in their fast bowling slots. They’re in a position of strength just like we are.”

Suresh Raina, who is India’s captain for the limited-overs leg of the tour of West Indies, admitted there will be huge expectations from his team despite the absence of some big names, and has said he was looking forward to the challenge

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jun-2011Suresh Raina, who is India’s captain for the limited-overs leg of the tour of West Indies, has admitted there will be huge expectations from his team despite the absence of some big names.”[Being captain] is a great challenge to me and I’m really looking forward to that,” Raina said on the team’s arrival in the Caribbean. “We have good players who want to do well in this series. They have done well in first-class cricket and the IPL or in the World Cup team.”For the ODIs, India will be without regular captain MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, and Zaheer Khan, who have been rested, while Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag miss out through injury or illness. Dhoni and Zaheer are set to return for the Tests, but the other seniors are set to miss the entire series. The tour will also be Duncan Fletcher’s first assignment with the Indian side.Raina said the senior players “deserved a break” and was hopeful the youngsters in the squad would make the most of the opportunity. “We have a young team here and they are focussed on doing well for India and I am excited to see how they perform over the next few weeks.”West Indies lost their recent ODI series to Pakistan and will once again be without opener Chris Gayle, who was the top run-getter in the IPL, but has been left out for the first two ODIs. When India last played ODIs in the West Indies in 2006, they lost 1-4. The two teams subsequently met in the World Cup earlier this year when India won by 80 runs in Chennai, en route to their tournament triumph. Raina, however, said India would not be complacent. “The West Indies team has been playing good cricket for the past few months and we are not going to take them lightly,” he said.The only Twenty20 game will be played on Saturday at Port of Spain, while the five-match ODI series begins at the same venue on June 6.Meanwhile West Indies beat the High Performance Centre (HPC) team by 11 runs in a practice Twenty20 game in Couva on Thursday. Batting first, West Indies were restricted to 145 in their 20 overs on what appeared to be a good batting pitch. Opener Lendl Simmons carried on his good form from the Pakistan series, top-scoring with a rapid 43, while Danza Hyatt made 22.Uncapped left-arm seamer Krishmar Santokie, who has been picked in the Twenty20 squad, and Christopher Barnwell shared two wickets apiece as HPC were restricted to 134 for 6. Wicketkeeper-batsman Shane Dowrich was their mainstay with 52 off 41 balls.

James Foster has replaced Mark Pettini as Essex captain for the Friends Provident t20 after Pettini struggled in Essex’s first three games of the campaign

Cricinfo staff12-Jun-2010James Foster has replaced Mark Pettini as Essex captain for the Friends Provident t20 after Pettini struggled in Essex’s first three games of the campaign.Pettini took over from Ronnie Irani as Essex captain in the middle of the 2007 season and will continue as club captain in the other formats of the game but Essex have lost two of their three matches so far in the FP t20, with Pettini contributing just four runs.Foster’s form has been more productive, averaging 37.00 after an unbeaten 54 against Glamorgan. His first game in charge will be against local-rivals Middlesex on June 13 at Lord’s.

“We are not ashamed of talking about it – there is nothing to hide and it is not a stigma,” Thorpe’s elder daughter Kitty says

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Aug-2024 • Updated on 13-Aug-2024Former England batter Graham Thorpe died after being struck by a train at Esher railway station, Surrey, the opening of an inquest into his death on Tuesday has heard. On Monday, Thorpe’s family had confirmed the 55-year-old took his own life following a battle with depression and anxiety.Speaking on Tuesday at Surrey Coroner’s Court in Woking, coroner Simon Wickens said Thorpe had suffered “traumatic injuries” after being struck by a train on the morning of August 4. Wickens offered “sincere condolences” to Thorpe’s family and to “all those touched by his life and career”. A date for Thorpe’s full inquest will be fixed at a later time.The coroner had received a referral regarding the incident from British Transport Police (BTP). On August 5, a spokesperson for BTP issued the following statement: “Officers were called to Esher railway station at 8.26 am on 4 August to reports of a casualty on the tracks. Paramedics also attended, however sadly a person was pronounced dead at the scene. The incident is not being treated as suspicious and a report will be prepared for the coroner.”The loss of Thorpe was felt by all throughout the world of cricket, with many former and current players paying their respects to the left-handed batter, who later went into coaching. The Surrey and England man represented his country 182 times, and scored 16 hundreds in 100 Test matches.Thorpe had not worked in cricket since he was removed from his role as one of England’s assistant coaches in the aftermath of their 4-0 defeat in the 2021-22 Ashes. He was due to take over as Afghanistan’s head coach but never did after a previous attempt on his own life in May 2022. At the time, he was described as being “seriously ill” in hospital.Related

• Joe Root dedicates record-equalling 33rd Test century to Graham Thorpe

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“For the past couple of years, Graham had been suffering from major depression and anxiety,” Amanda, Thorpe’s wife, told the . “This led him to make a serious attempt on his life in May 2022, which resulted in a prolonged stay in an intensive care unit. Despite glimpses of hope and of the old Graham, he continued to suffer from depression and anxiety, which at times got very severe. We supported him as a family and he tried many, many treatments but unfortunately none of them really seemed to work.”Graham was renowned as someone who was very mentally strong on the field and he was in good physical health. But mental illness is a real disease and can affect anyone. Despite having a wife and two daughters whom he loved and who loved him, he did not get better. He was so unwell in recent times and he really did believe that we would be better off without him and we are devastated that he acted on that and took his own life.”She described Thorpe as “a free spirit” and said that he had been well enough to attend a dinner at The Oval in late 2022. “He had his own mind and his own way of going about things,” Amanda said. “My favourite memory of him is in Barbados, which he loved, enjoying a rum punch and listening to his favourite reggae after a swim… He was funny and he made us all laugh so much.”Thorpe’s elder daughter, Kitty, said, “We are not ashamed of talking about it. There is nothing to hide and it is not a stigma. We were trying to help him get better before and trying to protect him, which is why we said nothing. This is the time now to share the news, however horrible it is. We’ve wanted to be able to talk and share and we’d now like to raise awareness, too.”He had loved life and he loved us but he just couldn’t see a way out. It was heartbreaking to see how withdrawn he had become. He was not the same person. It was strange to see this person trapped in the body of dad. That’s why we’ve been so happy that the many reflections have been about his life before this illness took over. I’m glad that’s how everyone does remember him, rightly so, as the complete character he was.”

Surrey go back to the top of Division One after Middlesex fail to put up a fight on day four

Vithushan Ehantharajah14-May-2023Surrey 380 (Smith 97, Burns 88) and 73 for 1 beat Middlesex 209 (Robson 76, Malan 66, Worrall 5-48) and 240 (Holden 43, Clark 4-25) by nine wicketsIt bodes well for Surrey and not for the rest of Division One that while they did not perform to their best against Middlesex, they still won convincingly. Not just by nine wickets in the end, but with 46 overs to spare on day four. Considering the amount of time lost to rain, that last number reinforces the difference between them and their London rivals.From 128 for 3 overnight, Middlesex were rolled for 240, with three to Jordan Clark who finished with 4 for 25 from his nine overs. That he came on third change says all you need to know of the depth of talent at the 2022 champions’ disposal. A target of 70 took just 16.4 overs to polish off, with Ryan Patel taking charge at the end with a flurry of boundaries to pocket some decent red ink.Could there have been more tension? No doubt. Certainly, if Rory Burns’ dismissal had been followed up by that of Dom Sibley four deliveries later. The opener edged Toby Roland-Jones just wide of third slip after Tim Murtagh had forced Burns to find first. Perhaps at 17 for 2, panic might have ensued. In the end, Sibley and Patel made light work of the remaining runs, a half-century stand coming up in 60 balls, before Patel heaved the part-time offspin of Mark Stoneman to the midwicket fence to confirm victory by 3.05pm .A day that offered Middlesex the opportunity of pulling off something special or frustrating Surrey fell away quickly. The morning loss of three middle-order batters for just 55 runs dented hopes of the remarkable and the defiant.Make no mistake, the visitors conceded this match on day one, certainly hopes of winning it, with their last nine first-innings wickets falling for just 43 runs. A position of 166 for 1 relinquished would always be hard to make up. That they made Surrey bat again was a small, small victory.Even so, Thursday’s capitulation did mean the prospect of losing seven second-innings wickets before making up 43 runs felt very plausible. Three runs and 3.3 overs into the day, Kemar Roach got the first. The quick kill, perhaps even an innings victory, was on.A big one, too, in Max Holden. A patchy start to the summer punctuated by a half-century in the successful chase against Nottinghamshire looked like being joined by a second.Patience had got him to 42 overnight, but he could only add a single when Roach did what he does to left-handers: around the wicket, tempting a push, leaving them for dead. Surrey (and Roach) had gone to bed cursing Holden’s presence after Will Jacks dropped an easy catch at second slip when he had just 18.The second to fall was via a spectacular bit of work from Ben Foakes. Sean Abbott rasped one across John Simpson around the wicket, who helped the ball on its way down the leg side. Even before contact, Foakes was on his way, and a dive got him all the way across to pouch the ball with his right hand.Poetic, in a way, considering Simpson’s own exemplary keeping on day three had started with the wicket of Foakes while stood up to the stumps. Though it’ll probably take a bit of time before the Middlesex gloveman appreciates it as such.Out walked Pieter Malan, pushed down the order after suffering with some unspecified stiffness, accompanied by Mark Stoneman as his runner. His movements were clearly inhibited, though the trio of boundaries struck by Ryan Higgins to bring the scores level were simply the allrounder being his usually punchy self rather than shouldering extra burden.A lead of 10 was established before Gus Atkinson struck with his third legitimate delivery, getting Malan to push a little too far forward for a catch to Patel at backward point.Just eight deliveries later, Clark served up a passable Roach impression with a worldie from around the wicket that left Hollman driving at thin air – all but the edge – as Foakes leapt across first slept to take another smart catch.It should have in fact been three wickets in 11 deliveries, but Sibley palmed up a firm edge from Higgins, on 28, off Atkinson, and not even Foakes in this form could nab the rebound.Sibley would get the chance to make amends, albeit for Clark’s benefit, when Roland-Jones advanced and flinched at a delivery pulled back of a length for a bread-basket grab at first slip.With two wickets remaining and the lead only 27, Higgins decided now was the time to pick his team up over his shoulder and carry them once more. Middlesex’s leading runscorer possess the kind of attitude and skill to suggest you’d not go too badly with XI of him. Unspectacular yet effective, average height with above-average demeanour, particularly in this world of cruiserweight-boxer shaped allrounders.One of the latter – Clark – struck him on the arm, snarling at Higgins as he returned to the umpire to retrieve his cap. Having ascertained Higgins was not in great strife, Clark walked away satisfied he had inflicted pain. Out came the Middlesex physio to tend to his left wrist, which had worn a bouncer as he attempted to advance down the track for a second boundary of the over.The physio was back on again the next over, tending to Ethan Bamber’s top hand after the bowler failed to hook a well-directed bouncer from Atkinson. Bamber had better luck as Dan Worrall took over from Clark at the Pavilion End. A well-executed swish to deep square leg got him off the mark, even forcing Burns to move the fielder back to the fence.A second boundary came at the end of the over, gloved just beyond the reach of a diving Foakes. Another half-chance from Bamber came with the lead on 52, as Jamie Smith failed to reach a pop-up at short leg.By lunchtime, Bamber was looking steady on 20, walking off to the break after keeping out a yorker from Worrall. Higgins had grown to trust his junior partner, and even with the hosts managing five wickets in the session, a lead of 63 was a handy jumping-off point for a dart at some quick runs on a glorious Sunday afternoon.That’s certainly what Higgins was about. The eighth ball after lunch, he pulled Clark to the square leg fence – but Roach was lurking, moving to his right to take a catch a couple of feet in from the boundary. Out Tim Murtagh came and soon back he went, bowled by Abbott, though not before Bamber had struck another boundary.It would never be enough, and a run of consecutive victories now ends for Middlesex. At the very least, they leave this game having showcased some positives from the victories over Nottinghamshire and Kent, even if errors and the opposition’s superiority overhwelmed them.For Surrey, this third victory out of five – they remain unbeaten – lifted them back to the top of Division One after Warwickshire held the position for 24 hours. Surrey are home again next week for the visit of Kent, with a great opportunity to go into the international break well set to defend their crown.

After a rapid opening stand the home side’s chase fell away then collapsed after Nic Maddinson’s run out

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Feb-2022Sam Truloff enjoyed a memorable one-day debut as he top-scored for Queensland and produced a brilliant run out in a convincing 92-run victory over Victoria in the Marsh Cup.Truloff’s 80 helped lift Queensland from an uncertain 4 for 126 in the 28th over in a 102-run stand with captain Jimmy Peirson who struck three sixes in his 56 off 47 balls.Victoria raced out of the blocks in the chase as MacKenzie Harvey and Jake Fraser-McGurk added 58 in less than nine overs but from there things fell away.Glenn Maxwell, playing his first game for Victoria since October 2019, was bowled by a superb delivery from Gurinder Sandhu which nipped back between bat and pad then he had Jonathan Merlo caught behind two balls later.The in-form Nic Maddinson became key to Victoria’s hopes and he added 55 in 10 overs alongside Sam Harper before a final collapse decided the game. It started when Maddinson was caught short by Truloff’s direct hit from backward point and three wickets would fall with the score on 157 before Sandhu went on to finish with four.The day had not started well for Queensland when Max Bryant was caught behind in the first over. Matt Renshaw, who is a standby player for the upcoming Pakistan tour, anchored the early part of the innings with 57 off 76 balls before he was caught behind off Henry Thornton.Truloff and Peirson initially took their time before accelerating. Truloff’s fifty came from 63 balls while Peirson skipped to his from 45. James Bazley’s rapid 28 helped add the finishing touches as the final ten overs brought 95 runs.