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James Anderson insists he will be fit to play a role in England’s Test tour of India next month, even though he is unlikely to start bowling again for another three weeks

Andrew Miller04-Oct-2016James Anderson insists he will be fit to play a role in England’s Test tour of India next month, even though he is unlikely to start bowling again for another three weeks as he continues his recovery from a long-term shoulder injury.Speaking at Lord’s ahead of the NatWest OSCAs, Anderson admitted his frustration at missing out on the Bangladesh leg of England’s campaign, following a stress fracture of his left shoulder blade that caused him to miss the first Test against Pakistan in July.However, he took umbrage at the suggestion that – at the age of 34 and with 463 Test wickets to his name in a 14-year England career – his body is beginning to struggle with the intensity of his international workload.”I feel fine,” Anderson told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s a frustrating injury where everything feels good, the rest of my body feels great, but as soon as I try to bowl I’ve got a bit of pain there. It’s something that’s going to take a few more weeks to rest and recover. I’ve got another scan in three weeks to see if it’s healed enough for me to start bowling.”I’m not going to miss the entire trip, no,” he said. “I’m very confident I’m going to be involved in the India series, it is a frustrating injury, something I want to get right, but it does happen in cricket, in sport, you get injured, you’ve just got to deal with it, and hopefully I can get as fit as possible as soon as possible.”Despite Anderson’s optimism, the timescale is a concern, with England facing five Tests against India in the space of six weeks, starting in Rajkot on November 9, one week after the conclusion of the Bangladesh tour.James Anderson at the NatWest OSCAs at Lord’s•ECB

Anderson has not bowled in a competitive fixture since the fourth Test against Pakistan at The Oval in August, and with no warm-up games scheduled for the early weeks of the India leg, there will be scant opportunity for him to regain his match fitness ahead of one of the toughest assignments in Test cricket.What is more, having not missed an England Test through injury since the Sri Lanka series in 2011 (at Edgbaston in 2012, he was rested alongside Stuart Broad for a dead-rubber against West Indies) Anderson has now had to sit out four of England’s last 16 Tests – two against Australia in the 2015 Ashes, and one each against South Africa and Pakistan.His situation is such that Andrew Strauss, the director of England cricket, admitted after the squad’s arrival in Bangladesh earlier this week that he “didn’t know” whether to expect Anderson’s return at any stage of the tour, adding that he may require careful management over the next 12 months if he is to survive a hectic schedule that culminates in next year’s Ashes tour of Australia.Anderson, however, disagreed vehemently with that assessment – much as he had done during the Pakistan series, when his protestations of fitness ahead of the Lord’s Test were over-ruled by England’s selectors and medical staff.”No, I don’t think like that at all,” he said. “I’ve had a couple of injuries here and there in the last 18 months, which is pretty much all I’ve had in my career. I don’t think that’s going to deter me from wanting to play in every single game that I possibly can.”I love playing the game, I love playing for England and I don’t want to miss any cricket. I’m sure that the management and medical team will have different opinions to me, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it down the line.”I don’t think my body has let me down in any shape or form,” he added. “I feel as fit as I ever have, I feel very strong, the rest of my body I’ve been working hard on, I’ve done a lot of running, and I’m confident that I can come back fit.”There’s little doubt that England would dearly love to have Anderson back for what promises to be an intense contest, as India – the newly-crowned No.1 Test team – seek to avenge their home-and-away defeats in their last two series against England.In spite of those who maintain that Anderson loses his impact away from England’s green seamers, his record in India stands up to scrutiny – 22 wickets in seven Tests at 29.81, including matchwinning spells in Mumbai in 2006 and Kolkata in 2012. He knows that his experience with the new ball could be crucial in helping to guide the fortunes of a talented but largely untested attack.”Do I have to prove myself?” he said. “I’ve enjoyed bowling out there, it’s a huge challenge as a seam bowler, and I think that gives you more fulfilment and satisfaction if you do do well.”Certainly myself and Stuart [Broad], having been there before, we’ll need that experience when it comes to playing in that series, as we’ll have plenty bowlers who won’t have been there before, so we’ll have to help the guys settle into that environment as quickly as possible.”Recent contests between England and India have been understandably feisty affairs, and Anderson – who became embroiled in an ugly row with Ravi Jadeja during the last series in 2014 – expects this next campaign to be little different.”We are two teams that play with great passion,” he said. “I watched the India-New Zealand series recently and you could see the passion the India side has got, led by Virat Kohli.”We are a very similar team in that respect. We go out there wanting to win and we play with a lot of passion. And when two teams play like that, then inevitably you are going to get some fieriness on the field.”As for the Jadeja row, he added: “That’s in the past. We shook hands at the end of the series and, for me, that was the end of it. And I think for him as well too. I’m sure there will be battles between individuals when we are out there, but hopefully it will be with bat and ball.”In the meantime, however, the focus will be on England’s fortunes in Bangladesh, and in Anderson’s absence, it may fall to the breakthrough star of the English summer, Chris Woakes, to exploit what little movement may be on offer on what are expected to be slow and low wickets at Chittagong and Dhaka.”What he brings with bat and ball is crucial to the balance of our team,” said Anderson. “He’s an amazing talent, he can swing the ball both ways, he can reverse the ball, and he’s got pace so he’s got everything you need to be successful.”And he’s been working on subtle variations – offcutters, legcutters – that you need out there. He is crucial to the balance of our team, he brings depth, and I’m sure he’ll go from strength to strength in the next few years.”James Anderson was speaking at the NatWest Outstanding Service to Cricket Awards (OSCAs), which recognise the contribution that volunteers make to the game. To find out more, visit natwest.com/cricket

Albie Morkel, whose international career is probably over, is set for leadership and mentorship roles in domestic cricket

Firdose Moonda02-Sep-2015Albie Morkel has played for his country, played for his franchise, played for three IPL teams, three counties, and a CPL team. He has played a Test, played more than 100 limited-overs internationals and over 500 representative matches. Until 22 games ago, he had played more T20s than any other player, a title which now belongs to Kieron Pollard, but that does not take away from Morkel’s myriad achievements.”He has done everything in the game, except lead,” Mark Charlton, the coach of provincial side Northerns, told ESPNcricinfo. But this Saturday, that will change.Morkel will captain Northerns in the Africa Cup, the new T20 tournament being played by South Africa’s provincial team as well as invited teams from Zimbabwe, Namibia and Kenya, as a precursor to taking over the leadership of the Titans franchise in limited-overs formats. Morkel’s accepting of the armband is an admission of what most already knew: his international career is probably over and he is looking at other ways to play a part. Mentorship has emerged as one of them.”He is a very calm, assured, respected player and he is a guy everybody can take something from,” Charlton said. “He has already been spending a lot of time with the young bowlers and guys are seeing that they can lean on his experience. We’re hoping he’ll have the same kind of effect Jacques Rudolph had at the Titans.”In the last two seasons, Rudolph had provided stability to a Titans’ team in transition. He provided experience both in batting terms and behind the scenes as the squad went through retirements of some of their senior-most men like Martin van Jaarsveld and Paul Harris besides change in coaches. Rudolph has decided to finish his career in England and it is hoped that Morkel will take over from where he left off.Titans, the franchise team which both Northerns and Easterns feed into, are still experimenting with a mix of players as they filter through a talented younger pool. Twenty-two year-old-opening batsman Theunis de Bruyn is one of them, while last year’s Under-19 World Cup winners Corbin Bosch and Aiden Markram are two others. All three of those players will turn out for Northerns in the Africa Cup and Charlton hopes they will blossom under Morkel, with Markram in particular identified as someone who can feed off Morkel.”Aiden is someone we have earmarked as a potential future leader, although we haven’t quite decided in what capacity,” Charlton said. Markram, who captained the national Under-19 side to World Cup glory last year, could end up as part of the leadership group of provincial team, for example.Markram was awarded a semi-professional, provincial contact for the 2015-16 season after solid performances for Northerns last season. He played 10 first-class matches, scoring 424 runs at 30.28, including three fifties. He has not yet pushed on to franchise cricket but Charlton thinks that could change soon.”He has been steadily going about his work and learning his game,” Charlton said. “Quietly, he has been building his career and I think big things could come for him. He has a good base and a competition like this, the Africa Cup, is a chance for a player like Aiden to show he can compete with franchise players and to learn from them with guys like Albie also involved.”

Cricket Australia and Hampshire Cricket have announced a partnership which will see some of Australia’s most talented young cricketers spend the next English summer at the newly-formed Ageas Bowl International Cricket Academy

David Hopps17-Jan-2013Cricket Australia and Hampshire Cricket have announced a partnership which will see some of Australia’s most talented young cricketers spend the next English summer at the newly-formed Ageas Bowl International Cricket Academy.The deal confirms Hampshire’s status as the host of one of the best-equipped cricket academies in the world and left Rod Bransgrove, the county’s cricket chairman and long-time driving force, purring with delight at another sign of progress for the project that has long been his life’s obsession.”Cricket Australia has been an admirer of the Ageas Bowl for some time and we are delighted that they are sending six high-performing young players to the Academy in its inaugural year,” Bransgrove said. “We are one of the few professional grounds in the world with two full-sized cricket pitches immediately adjacent to each other which means our outdoor facilities are available even when there is a match on. That is a great advantage. We are a genuine international cricket academy.”Lord’s will always have its tradition and a presence second to none, but our ambition is simply to create the finest ground in the country.”English players have long had the advantages of winter stints in Australia, South Africa and India as part of their overall development and now Hampshire’s academy offers an opportunity in reverse which Cricket Australia has been quick to grasp. Hampshire promise access to world-class coaching, sports science and medical staff.As part of the programme the Australian players will play in the Southern Electric Premier League for the duration of the English domestic cricket season. “That’s an extra benefit – that six league clubs get an overseas player free of charge for the whole of the season,” said Bransgrove. “I’m not in favour of clubs using their hard-earned funds for recreational players even if they commit to regular coaching and have the club at heart.”Bransgrove has reason to be satisfied. The launch of the academy follows Hampshire’s achievement in winning the Friends Life Twenty20 and CB40 tournaments last season and the securing of a £45m investment from Eastleigh Borough Council to secure the final stage in the development of the Ageas Bowl which will include the construction of a 4-star hotel, additional conferencing and hospitality facilities and a state-of-the-art media centre.Although he has handed over the chief executive role to David Mann after ceaselessly driving Hampshire forward for 12 years, Bransgrove is not the sort for for semi-retirement. “I have taken a back seat in the day-to-day running of the business,” he said. “After 12 years the club needed new energy. But I’ve got so much emotion – and money – wrapped up in it I can’t run away.”The partnership will form part of the 2013 Australian Institute of Sport men’s cricket programme and The Kerry Packer Foundation will provide scholarships to the selected players.Pat Howard, Cricket Australia’s team performance manager, said: “CA is very excited about this partnership and opportunity for our very best young players. The opportunity to experience cricket in a different country will grow them as players and as people. For those chosen it will be an important part of their development.”English counties have occasionally faced criticism for employing Australian players on short-term contracts ahead of Ashes series but Bransgrove is confident that within the cricket community at least the presence of some of Australia’s top young cricketers in Hampshire will be universally seen as a success story. Discussions are also underway with India and Sri Lanka for similar tie-ups.”The ECB fully recognises that we have a responsibility to maximise our income,” he said. “We are talking about the development of young players. Every country seeking to develop players wants to use the facilities of other countries in the off season. For England players not to have the chance to go abroad would be disastrous and it is only right that we reciprocate. I would like to think that cricket can be more high-minded about the development of young cricketers.”

Daniel Vettori could miss nearly a month due to the injury to his left hamstring that ruled him out of the second Test against Australia in Hobart

Brydon Coverdale at the Bellerive Oval09-Dec-2011Daniel Vettori could miss nearly a month due to the injury to his left hamstring that ruled him out of the second Test against Australia in Hobart. Vettori arrived at Bellerive Oval with tightness in the muscle and aggravated the problem during New Zealand’s warm-up, forcing him out of the side and allowing fast bowler Trent Boult to make his debut.Fortunately for New Zealand, their next international appointment is not until the end of January, when they take on Zimbabwe in a one-off Test. That means he should only miss out on Twenty20 cricket, with both New Zealand’s HRV Cup and Australia’s Big Bash League – Vettori has signed with the Brisbane Heat – to be played in late December and early January.”Unfortunately Dan sustained a recurrence of his left hamstring injury that’s been problematic for him over the last few years,” the New Zealand physio Paul Close said. “We expect him to be rehabbing the injury and back to full fitness within three to four weeks. We are confident he will be back to play some HRV Cup cricket at some stage in the new year.”The loss of Vettori was a major blow for New Zealand in Hobart, after he again proved himself one of their most reliable batsmen in the first Test at the Gabba. He also sent down 37 overs and collected two wickets, keeping things tight in Australia’s first innings, and in his absence New Zealand might need to find extra overs of part-time spin from Kane Williamson and Martin Guptill.”He started to warm up and realised that it wasn’t good enough and decided to pull the pin,” the batsman Dean Brownlie said after play. “With it seaming, hopefully our four seamers can do the job. Hopefully it doesn’t prove any price [cost] really.”

Playing a single Twenty20 between a Test and ODI series makes it hard for the players to adjust to the format

Sidharth Monga in Durban08-Jan-2011is ironic that, from a cricketing point of view at least, the game that will draw the biggest crowd of the season is the least anticipated. Although, on second thought, it is perhaps unfair to ask a Twenty20 game to match up to what was a thrilling Test series, and that too, a Twenty20 game played in a football stadium, on a pitch expected to stay low, with short square boundaries.Still, 50,000 are expected to sell out the Moses Mabhida Stadium and they will have plenty to watch: Makhaya Ntini playing his last international match, Johan Botha continuing his audition as potentially South Africa’s next ODI captain, some flashy Indian youngsters trying to hit balls into the streets, and some song and dance from Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Anil Kapoor.For the players, though, it will be difficult to adjust. They first have to get over the hangover from the Test series, which should take some time, and then prepare for the ODI series, which will be the real deal going into the World Cup. “Of course it is a difficult one, because more often than not whenever there is a Twenty20 game, you play just one-off game,” MS Dhoni said. “It’s very difficult to get into that groove, and then come out of that groove and play ODIs. Of course we will give it our best shot. We have got players who are part of the ODI squad, but along with that there are T20 specialists also. That will help.”Forget the change of ball and change of kits, there is a change of stadium too. Both the teams seek to draw on their experience of playing cricket in New Zealand, where some of the grounds double up as rugby stadiums. At times in New Zealand, even as the post-match presentation is going on, the groundstaff start starts removing the drop-in pitch to get the ground ready for a rugby game to be played the same week.”You may say the experience we have of paying in New Zealand will come into effect,” Dhoni said. “Of course the sides will be pretty small compared to the long front boundaries. We haven’t seen the ground yet, but after the practice session that we are having right now, we are planning to go to the stadium. Before starting cricket, play a bit of football there. And then a fielding session. And exactly see what it looks like. It looks really different from the outside, but very similar to a football stadium.”Johan Botha, who will be captaining South Africa in Graeme Smith’s absence, concurred. “I haven’t been to the ground yet. We will be going after this to do a bit of fielding there, just see what the different dimensions of the ground are. But both teams have to bat and bowl on it. Hopefully, we can play well on the ground with the specific distances. It’s almost like a New Zealand ground.”The game feels like a transit airport in a long journey right now. You don’t know much about it, you don’t expect much out of it, you don’t have a proper sense of time and space either. It will pass in a blur, but both teams will look to find better bargains at duty-free shops.

New Zealand Cricket has confirmed that Ross Taylor will have a more senior role with the national team, naming him as a ‘stand-by’ captain for the upcoming Bangladesh and Australia series

Cricinfo staff29-Jan-2010Ross Taylor has been named as ‘stand-by’ captain for the upcoming Bangladesh and Australia series, giving him a more senior role with the national team. A statement by New Zealand Cricket said Taylor was not vice-captain but will take over as leader if Daniel Vettori is unavailable for any match over the home summer.Brendon McCullum was Vettori’s deputy till last October but was relieved of his duties soon after Andy Moles stepped down as national coach. Geoff Allott, NZC’s general manager of cricket, said both McCullum and Taylor were potential captains and that the latest move was an effort to polish Taylor’s leadership skills.”The Black Caps have deliberately not named a vice-captain in recent times as we wish to allow development of a broader leadership group,” Allott said. “We are fortunate to currently have two outstanding individuals in Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum, who could both assume the captaincy in the event Daniel Vettori was not available.”The elevation marks a rapid rise for Taylor, who made his international debut less than four years ago. “Brendon has recently fulfilled the role of stand-by captain, and Ross now gets his opportunity this summer,” Allott said. “Both players have offered on-field support and assistance to Dan during recent tours and it is anticipated that this will continue.”Taylor’s appointment should not be seen as a demotion for McCullum, said Justin Vaughan, the NZC chief executive. “This by no means is saying the Ross is number two and Brendon is number three – that isn’t the case,” he said. “Brendon will play the stand-by captain’s role in future series.”New Zealand’s next international assignment is the Bangladesh series, which starts with a Twenty20 on Wednesday in Hamilton.

Fast bowler missed much of the season after knee surgery but could be in contention for Australia role

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Sep-2025Olly Stone has signed for Middlesex on loan in a last-ditch attempt to force his way into England’s plans for the Ashes.Stone, whose England central contract expires at the end of the season, has taken 17 wickets at 23.52 in his five Tests and was part of their squad for tours to Pakistan and New Zealand last winter. But his career has been plagued by injuries, and knee surgery in April ruled him out of the home Test summer.He has played six matches since completing his rehabilitation, four for Nottinghamshire in the Blast and two for London Spirit in the Hundred, and has now agreed a short-term loan move to Middlesex for the next two rounds of County Championship fixtures. He is set to make his debut for the county against Derbyshire at Lord’s on Monday.Stone is an outside bet for England’s Ashes squad, though could compete for a spot as a back-up fast bowler after Jamie Overton’s surprise decision to put his red-ball career on pause. Matthew Potts has been stood down from the upcoming T20I series in Ireland so that he can push his case for selection, while Sonny Baker’s chances dipped after an expensive ODI debut.”This is a great opportunity for Olly to get some competitive overs under his belt with the red ball for the first time since the back end of last summer,” Peter Moores, Notts’ coach, said. “A fit and firing Olly Stone is an asset for any side, and we’re sure he’ll be well served by this short spell at Middlesex.Related

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“We’re fortunate to have a number of seam bowlers to choose from for our next couple of games, and we want to make sure Olly has the best possible chance to get some miles back in the legs after some impressive spells in white-ball cricket so far this summer.”Alan Coleman, Middlesex’s director of cricket, said: “As we reach the end of the season, the rigours of the season inevitably take their toll on the fast-bowling unit, so to be able to bring someone in of Olly’s proven international quality to freshen things up ahead of the County Championship run-in is a huge bonus for us.”He will add not only quality, but vast amounts of experience too at the highest level, which the younger players in our group can really benefit from as we look to finish the season strong. We are really looking forward to welcoming Olly to the club and are excited to see what he will bring over the next fortnight.”

The PCB Women’s Wing head said the decision “was quite disappointing” but hopes the league takes off soon with stability returning to the board

Danyal Rasool09-Feb-2024The PCB has pushed back a commitment they made over three years ago to launch a women’s T20 league and shelved women’s exhibition matches on the eve of the start of the ninth season of the PSL.In 2023, three women’s exhibition matches featuring players from countries including South Africa, England and New Zealand were held, but this time around, it’s not on the agenda. Tania Mallick, head of the PCB women’s wing since 2021, attributed this to the uncertainty around the PCB chairman, saying the interim management committee led by Zaka Ashraf until last month did not wish to financially commit to a women’s league.”The impression I got was they did not feel they were in a position to make such big financial decisions,” Mallick told ESPNcricinfo. “What was conveyed to us was the next committee and administration would do this, ‘we don’t want to’. The obstacle is not within our management or the financial officers within the PCB. It was the interim management committee that was not willing to commit. I don’t feel frustrated with my management because they all agree [we need a league]. Even the PSL department, we had planned everything but it was taken off the board at the last minute. This was towards the tail-end of the Zaka regime. It was quite disappointing for all of us and I told the girls that repeatedly.”Related

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There was little to no public communication from the PCB regarding its plans or intentions for women’s cricket for the best part of 2023. Much of the year was a difficult period for Pakistan women’s cricket, though it ended on a note of optimism as the side whitewashed South Africa 3-0 in a home T20I series, before becoming the first Asian side to beat New Zealand in New Zealand, stunning them 2-1 in the T20Is.After that series, Fatima Sana spoke to ESPNcricinfo, and said that the three exhibition matches had “opened up the minds of our girls” and that “all the players want” to have their own league. The PCB has toyed with the idea of various leagues besides the PSL across three different chairs, with the Pakistan Junior League taking place in 2022. Last year, a local T10 league was also mooted, which Mallick said would have potentially included women’s games.But for a board that once spoke about getting Asia’s first women’s T20 league off the ground, things have changed significantly.”Every new administration who comes in also doesn’t necessarily have the same kind of interest in women’s cricket,” Mallick said. “I still feel Pakistan is at the emerging stage of women’s cricket and needs to go a long way. So [the administrative turnover] has a huge impact. We always wonder if we’ll have a women’s league or exhibition matches now, but if we had one chairman these question marks would not have been there. A couple of chairmen announced it’ll definitely happen but because every chairman had such a short span of time, they spent most of their time firefighting and couldn’t have a strategic policy.””There was talk about a T10, and women were a part of that but unfortunately that couldn’t take place and women’s exhibition matches have also been pushed back. But all the chairmen that have come in, it’s not as if they’re unwilling to support us. They’ve imposed no financial cap on us to prevent us from holding camps or sending our Under-19 team to Bangladesh. But the problem is that normally with a chairman we can plan for a three-year period. There was a restriction there because we were only able to plan for a few months here and there.For Mallick, there is a possible reason for optimism, as there are signs of stability returning to the PCB. Mohsin Naqvi was elected as PCB chairman on a three-year term earlier this week, and barring significant unforeseen events, should be in the role for the foreseeable future.The Pakistan women’s team celebrate a historic series victory in New Zealand•Getty Images

“With the new chairman coming in hopefully we can plan for a longer period,” Mallick said. “Higher management have told us repeatedly that it’s not that we are not supporting it, we definitely support it but as soon as we have firmer footing, it will be in place. We are hopeful we don’t have to go back on that one because I felt the exhibition matches had a very good impact in terms of exposure.”Mallick was unwilling to commit to a firm date for a women’s league. While she hopes it will happen “earlier than 2025”, that would mean a league happening independent of the PSL, as well as the PCB carving out a window that does not clash with other stakeholders, a scenario that is optimistic to the point of being unrealistic.But having been in the job for more than two years, Mallick admitted that having had just three exhibition matches to show by way of a league has been “frustrating”. She feels attracting top talent from around the world will not be an issue, pointing to the players that made the trip over for those exhibition matches, and adding Pakistan have received expressions of interest from players around the world.She also warned against the dangers of a league rushed through, though. “We don’t want to compromise on the quality of the league we put up. If you saw the exhibition matches, the broadcast, everything was at par with the men’s league,” she said. “It has to be of that quality, anything below that is not acceptable. The new chairman has only just come in, so you really can’t say how it’ll be taken up in the future with the Champions Trophy taking place in 2025 as well, but we’re very hopeful.”Pakistani women cricketers don’t get called up to many leagues. Fatima Sana was a one-off because she gave such an exceptional performance in New Zealand and she was asked to stay back. They don’t get that exposure, and I think that’s really holding us back. As the landscape in women’s cricket is changing, the style of women’s cricket is changing. Our girls only play against each other, and when they play, they play against international teams.”Playing a league is very liberating because you don’t have the pressure of international matches. When you play in a league, you can bring out your personality and play the way you want to. You play against senior players, you learn their style and learn from those coaches. But our girls don’t get that.”

Axar Patel moves to 18th among bowlers, while Harry Brook and Ben Duckett also move up in the batters’ list

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Sep-2022Suryakumar Yadav has returned to his career-best No. 2 spot, a rise of one position, in the latest ICC T20I batting rankings.Just one slot and two rating points below Suryakumar is Babar Azam. He also moved up by one position, thanks to his scores of 110*, 8 and 36 in the ongoing seven-match T20I series against England. Mohammad Rizwan, who scored 88*, 8 and 88 in those three games, continued to head the list with a comfortable 60-point lead over second-placed Suryakumar.

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After a first-ball duck in the second T20I against Australia, Suryakumar struck a 36-ball 69 in the third match in Hyderabad to help India win the series 2-1.Pakistan have three more T20Is to go in their seven-match series at home against England, while India now play a three-T20I series at home against South Africa, providing all those three batters a chance to strengthen their positions and, for Suryakumar and Babar, even move up the ladder.England’s Harry Brook and Ben Duckett also made significant progress in the latest update. Both of them struck a half-century and two other scores of over 30 each in their last three games. As a result, Brook has moved to the 29th position and Duckett to the 32nd.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

In the bowler’s rankings, Axar Patel was the big mover, climbing up from 33rd to 18th after his Player-of-the-Series performance against Australia. In a series dominated by the bat, Axar picked up eight wickets in three games while giving away only 6.30 runs per over.Josh Hazlewood is still at the top there, after picking up three wickets from three games, and is followed by five wristspinners – Tabraiz Shamsi, Adil Rashid, Rashid Khan, Wanindu Hasaranga and Adam Zampa, in that order. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, at tenth position, is the only other fast bowler in top ten, while Haris Rauf has moved to 14th, up by seven places after taking five wickets in the last three matches.In the ODI rankings that considered performances in five matches of the Cricket World Cup League 2 in Port Morseby, Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus has gained 38 places to be joint-49th after his 49 against Papua New Guinea.

Home side post first-innings 558 and lead Sussex by 201 heading into last day

Paul Edwards05-Jun-2021
To understand why most of the spectators at Headingley enjoyed today’s cricket in all its gourmet and gourmandising glory you probably need to have paid close attention to Yorkshire’s batting performances this season. They have often been bloody awful. Before this match Steve Patterson’s side had been bowled out for 230 or fewer in five of their seven first innings and the skipper acknowledged that last week’s defeat had been on its way for a while. The fact that it was inflicted by Lancashire merely gave the gladius an extra twist. A side rarely prospers if the average score at which its third wicket falls is 85. Watching roobish like that on the live stream may have prompted a few domestic traumas.Now it is three o’clock on this warm Saturday in early June. It is an afternoon out of J L Carr, an afternoon of long moments and great stillness, an afternoon for which to be newly grateful. And Yorkshire are 465 for 6. This is abundance without recent precedent. Having taken nine batting bonus points from their previous seven games – the lowest in the land – the home side have collected a maximum five from this innings. Their effort has been held together by Dawid Malan, who has filled his boots, wellies and slippers with runs. Ten of his 22 fours have been cut or worked backward of square on the off side.Not since Harry Lime had his clogs popped by Holly Martins in a Vienna sewer has the absence of a third man been so noticeable. The only severe disappointment of the day was suffered ten minutes ago: Malan was bowled by Jack Carson for 199 when his attempted angled deflection merely allowed a fine ball, bowled from over the wicket, to turn past the blade and hit the left-hander’s off stump. He needed that single to become the first batsman to score double hundreds in consecutive innings for Yorkshire.Malan’s innings was a triumph of technique, a near-perfect example of a batsman with discriminating knowledge of his particular game and in perfect command of its wristy cuts and gentle glides. Few people this dream-laden hour will recall that he was dropped on only 27 yesterday afternoon when Travis Head spilled a slip catch off Henry Crocombe.

Dawid Malan – In his own words

• On being more fearless in first-class cricket since his last Test in 2018:

• “In international stuff, it was slightly different when you’re playing against good bowlers and your place is under threat all of the time. But I’ve tried to learn from my failures at Test cricket and put that into practice in four-day cricket. Since 2019, I think my record speaks for itself just having that fearless approach in four-day cricket and backing my technique and way of playing.

• On a possible Test return:

• “I wouldn’t be here playing four-day cricket if I didn’t want to play Test cricket again. I still feel like I’ve got a hell of a lot to give. Whether I’m good enough, that’s not my decision. I just have to keep scoring runs. Hopefully, if I keep getting big scores like this, I can put pressure on the people who make decisions.”

• On previous Ashes (2017-18):

• “I think I played well in that Ashes series. I now know my game better. Being back in the T20s and the odd ODI, I’ve learnt what I need to do to perform at that level. But Test cricket is a different mentality and there’s more scrutiny. In my last five Tests, I probably didn’t handle that as well as I could have. Hopefully I’d be in a better position now.”

Carson deserved his wicket, though. Four overs before his dismissal, Malan had produced his most atypical shot against the spinner, a gorgeous extra-cover drive for six, but the Ulsterman was the pick of Ben Brown’s attack throughout the innings. Very few young spinners have his ability to adjust their length when they see a batsman advancing down the pitch and there have been times in this innings when Carson has been the only bowler Brown could trust to throttle the run rate. His extra bounce accounted for Gary Ballance, who was caught behind for 77 in the fourth over of the day. Malan received a standing ovation, of course. It was the loudest applause heard here since 12.08, when news reached Leeds, probably at lightning speed, that Lancashire had lost at Cardiff. That was more like it.For yes, there is certainly evidence that folk in these parts are getting worried. At the junction of North Lane and Bennett Road, just a couple of good hits from the cricket ground, the simple graffito “Gooch!” is daubed on a white wall. It is not known whether the exclamation mark was added after Yorkshire’s defeat in last week’s Roses Match; whether, in other words, a polite suggestion had turned into a frantic demand that Martyn Moxon signs a 67-year-old former England opener who last played a County Championship match in 1997. But then losing to that lot across the way can do alarming things to people round this way; they fear a run on their building societies.Malan calmed such worries and Harry Duke’s accomplished fifty reinforced his reputation as a fine player. Yorkshire were bowled out for 558 seven overs after tea; it is their highest score since 2016. Having had Harry Brook strangled for 49 in the morning, Jamie Atkins picked up three quick wickets and finished with 5 for 98, the first five-wicket haul of his three-match career. They are nice figures if you can get ’em. Carson caught and bowled Patterson, who was probably disoriented by having to bat when the scoreboard didn’t read something like130 for 7.Related

• Callum Parkinson crushes Gloucestershire with second five-wicket haul

• Marnus Labuschagne sees Glamorgan home with unbeaten fifty

• Oliver Hannon-Dalby bowls Warwickshire to crushing 191-run win over Derbyshire

Rather suddenly, though, there was fresh tension in our cricket as Tom Haines and Ali Orr began Sussex’s task of batting most of eight hours to secure the draw. Yet to the surprise of many at Headingley and to the disappointment of even more, the openers batted so coolly for 23 overs that a wicket did not look like falling. Patterson used his five main bowlers but Orr played as diligently as he had when facing the new ball on Thursday morning. This is his first-class debut and he looks a proper batsman.Haines, of course, is in the season of his life but only because he has grafted fresh responsibility onto the rich talent that gave him a century against Durham at Arundel just three summers and many years ago. Between them the openers seemed to tranquilise the home attack. And though there is still so much to do to deny Yorkshire the win they need, we should recall that seven of this Sussex team are 23 years old or under. They will be learning so much, even from four hard days such as these. This is a glad season for them, too. For us all, mayhap, for us all.