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Andrew Strauss has saluted his bowlers after England’s clinical seven-wicket victory over South Africa, just two days after a 112-run mauling in Cape Town

Cricinfo staff30-Nov-2009Andrew Strauss has saluted his bowlers after England’s clinical seven-wicket victory over South Africa, just two days after a 112-run mauling in Cape Town. The architect of the turnaround was James Anderson, who took a career-best 5 for 23 to rip through South Africa.Anderson, who played with a likely broken toe after stubbing it on a chair, started with a wild delivery down the leg side, and had figures of 3-0-15-0 before turning in two devastating spells of fast bowling. “Jimmy was outstanding with how he built pressure but also bowled wicket-taking deliveries,” Strauss said, “but today was a day for the bowling unit as a whole and they complemented each other very well.”Anderson’s performance eased concerns over his troublesome knee, which has required strapping during the early weeks of the tour, and he is confident it won’t be a further problem although his toe required a local anaesthetic.”If it’s getting better while I’m playing I’m pretty confident it will just continue to do so,” he said of the knee. “It’s not a concern at all once I’ve started bowling. “It seems to be getting better. The practice sessions, I’m taking reasonably lightly – and I’m getting it strapped up in a game as well. The way we are managing it, it is gradually getting better – and I hope it can continue.”The win gives England an unbeatable 2-1 lead heading into the final ODI and came on the back of a remarkable effort from the bowlers, who had leaked 354 runs in Friday’s ODI.”The key was to start well and it was a good toss to lose if I’m honest. But I was pleased with how the bowlers reacted to the conditions,” Strauss said. “You have got to adapt quickly and make sure that if there’s anything in your favour then you use it. I think we did that today.”After being smashed for 55 runs in seven overs in the third ODI, Anderson was thrilled with his Man-of-the-Match performance. “We had a chat after the last game because we didn’t bowl as well as we could have done,” Anderson said. “We wanted to come here and bowl a lot better and, luckily, we got a wicket that helped us with our plans.”England have had an excellent run against South Africa since last year, winning seven out of the last eight completed games. Victory in the fifth ODI in Durban on December 4 will hand them the series.

Duckett scored 149 after Yashasvi Jaiswal dropped him on 97, the latter’s third drop of the match

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jun-2025Tea Shardul Thakur blew the first Test back open with two wickets in two balls to keep India’s hopes alive after Ben Duckett set England on their way to another famous Headingley run chase. Thakur had been a passenger for the first four-and-a-half days of the Test but was thrown the ball by Shubman Gill, and dismissed Duckett and Harry Brook off consecutive deliveries.Duckett and Zak Crawley added another 71 in quick time after batting through the morning session, with Duckett racing to his hundred – his sixth in Tests, and his first in England’s second innings – off 121 balls. He was reprieved on 97 by Yashasvi Jaiswal, who dropped his third catch of the match – this time on the square-leg boundary – as Duckett punched the air on reaching three figures.After a brief interruption for rain, Crawley pulled Prasidh Krishna through wide mid-on for four but fell to his next ball, edging to slip for 65. England’s first-innings centurion Ollie Pope followed soon after, chopping Prasidh on to his own stumps, but Duckett continued to cruise; his most outrageous shot was a reverse slap for six over cover off Ravindra Jadeja.But Thakur’s reintroduction gave India a foothold, as he struck with two innocuous balls. Duckett slapped the first, a wide half volley, straight to substitute fielder Nitish Kumar Reddy at extra cover; Harry Brook strangled the second, a freebie angling a long way past leg stump, through to Rishabh Pant behind the stumps, becoming only the fifth man out for 99 and 0 in the same Test.Ben Stokes started scratchily against Jadeja, missing a pair of reverse sweeps – the first of which Shubman Gill unsuccessfully reviewed for a catch at short leg, only for replays to confirm the ball had hit him on the biceps. Stokes and Joe Root will resume with 102 more runs required after the tea interval, which arrived early due to another rain shower.

It will come as a blow for Netherlands, who were scheduled to get three T20Is against a Full Member in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup

Danyal Rasool22-Nov-2023Pakistan’s tour of the Netherlands in 2024 has been postponed indefinitely at the PCB’s request.Pakistan were scheduled to play three T20Is against Netherlands in early May 2024 as part of a tour of Europe that also included three T20Is against Ireland, and four against England. All those games were scheduled in the build-up to the T20 World Cup which starts in June 2024, to be held in the West Indies and USA.Koninklijke Nederlandse Cricket Board (KNCB)’s high-performance manager Roland Lefebvre confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that the tour had been put off, with the PCB citing scheduling clashes, and concerns about player workload.”The KNCB understands the predicament the PCB are in, given the busy playing schedules and at the same time keeping the well-being of players in mind,” Lefebvre said. “We value the good relationship we have with the PCB, and look forward to rescheduling this series to a later date.”The postponement will come as a blow for Netherlands, who were scheduled to get three T20Is against a Full-Member side in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup, for which they have already qualified. That also means Netherlands and Pakistan are yet to face each other in a bilateral T20I fixture, with their only two meetings in the format having come at the T20 World Cup.In fact, there was significant on-field bonhomie between the Pakistan and Netherlands players after their fates were tied together at last year’s T20 World Cup, with each side doing the other a favour. Netherlands beat South Africa to keep Pakistan alive in a tournament that saw them go on to reach the final, while Pakistan defeated Bangladesh in the following game to ensure direct qualification to the 2024 T20 World Cup for Netherlands.Last year, Netherlands had hosted Pakistan for three ODIs as part of the Super League. Pakistan went on to win the series 3-0, but two of those matches were decided by margins of only 16 runs and nine runs.The PCB acknowledged to ESPNcricinfo that next year’s series had been postponed at their request, and said they were actively working on finding an alternate window.

Johnson Charles also returns; Yannic Cariah preferred over Hayden Walsh

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Sep-2022West Indies have recalled Evin Lewis and Johnson Charles to their squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia, and have made a surprise pick by including the uncapped legspin-bowling allrounder Yannic Cariah, who last played a T20 in 2016. The selectors left out the experienced duo of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine.Lewis last played international cricket at last year’s T20 World Cup in the UAE, and had since missed out on West Indies’ squads for fitness reasons. Over recent months, CWI lead selector Desmond Haynes and director of cricket Jimmy Adams had been critical of West Indies’ players – Lewis in particular – for failing to meet fitness standards, but Haynes has now welcomed Lewis back to the team.”Someone like Evin Lewis, we all agree that he’s our best one-day cricketer, he’s done so well for us over the years,” Haynes told Ian Bishop in an interview on the sidelines of Wednesday’s CPL game between Jamaica Tallawahs and St Kitts & Nevis Patriots. “We had a meeting with him, and he’s committed to West Indies cricket, and I believe he should be given the opportunity.”Sometimes we have to move on and appreciate when people come to us and explain their position to us, and if we agree, we give them a chance,” Haynes later said in a press conference.The 15-man squad that will represent West Indies at the 2022 T20 World Cup•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Russell also last featured for West Indies during last year’s T20 World Cup. He has had a quiet time in CPL 2022 so far with Trinbago Knight Riders, particularly with the bat, managing a top score of just 17.Cariah, 30, made his West Indies debut during last month’s ODI series against New Zealand and his experience in the T20 format is limited to four games, the last of which came during the 2016 CPL. Cariah is not contracted to a CPL team this season.The selectors picked Cariah ahead of Hayden Walsh, who had been the preferred wristspin option over recent months.”When we look at consistency, we don’t feel that Hayden is consistent enough,” Haynes said. “We don’t write off anybody, because Hayden is somebody we have invested in, and we believe that he still stands a chance of playing for the West Indies, and we hope again that he is another one that will continue to do well in the CPL and give himself a chance to be selected.”Haynes was confident Cariah could do a job in T20 cricket despite his limited experience of the format.”I think Yannic has impressed us from the time we picked him for the A team,” Haynes said. “And then we gave him the opportunity to play against New Zealand in the 50-overs competition, and I think going to Australia, I know we’ve got a lot of confidence in him, we think that he’s bowling well enough that [he] can play in the T20 format. It’s a bit unfortunate that he’s not in the CPL, we have no control over that, but we think that he is a guy who we feel can do a job for us. I don’t think you can underrate his batting either.”Fabian Allen, who recently announced his availability for selection after taking a break for family reasons, was absent from the squad. Haynes said Allen was unfortunate to miss out with the squad having room for only one left-arm spinner in Akeal Hosein.Apart from Cariah, the squad includes one other uncapped T20I player in Raymon Reifer, the left-arm seam-bowling allrounder who has played three Tests and five ODIs. Reifer has been in excellent form for Jamaica Tallawahs in the ongoing CPL, scoring 171 runs in four innings at an average of 57 and a strike rate of 143.69.Among other seam-bowling allrounders, there was no room for Romario Shepherd – Haynes termed his exclusion “another close call” – while Dominic Drakes was unavailable due to a knee injury.”His bowling has gone off a little bit and he is very good in the backend with six-hitting. It was a close thing, but because of the composition of the side, he missed out on this occasion,” Haynes said of Shepherd’s exclusion.CPL form has also led to a recall for Charles, who last played a T20I in December 2016. Charles is presently the second-highest run-getter in CPL 2022, with 227 runs in six innings at an average of 45.40 and a strike rate of 136.74.Charles, Haynes said, would fill the role of reserve wicketkeeper in West Indies’ squad behind Pooran.”Judging from his performances in the CPL, he [Charles] is experienced as well, he had a tour of Australia, he’s done well down there, and also we are looking at someone who can be the second keeper,” Haynes said.

“Knight Riders have now moved towards a daily testing routine to identify any other possible cases”

Nagraj Gollapudi03-May-2021Monday’s IPL 2021 match between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Royal Challenges Bangalore in Ahmedabad has been rescheduled after the Knight Riders’ spinner Varun Chakravarthy and seam bowler Sandeep Warrier tested positive for Covid-19.This is the first instance of positive Covid-19 cases within an IPL team bubble since the 2021 season started.It is believed that Chakravarthy recently left the IPL’s biosecure bubble through the official green channel to get a scan on an injured shoulder and that is where he might have been exposed. An IPL statement on Monday said the two players had been “found to be positive in the third round of testing in the last four days”. Barring Chakravarthy and Warrier, the rest of the Knight Riders contingent’s latest tests came out clear.The IPL confirmed the developments, saying in a statement that “Knight Riders have now moved towards a daily testing routine to identify any other possible cases,” and that its “medical team is also determining the close and casual contacts of the two positive cases during the 48 hours” prior to testing. The entire Knight Riders’ contingent has been put in a five-day quarantine in their hotel rooms in Ahmedabad, starting yesterday. That will be over on May 6, two days before their next match, on May 8 against the Delhi Capitals.Related

• Prasidh Krishna tests positive for Covid-19

• Kolkata Knight Riders CEO: 'Sandeep fine; Varun a little under the weather'

• Covid-19 effect – Capitals players isolate, Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers skip practice

• IPL 2021 – Charter flight home for Australians? 'No suggestion at the moment,' says Cricket Australia chief

• T20 World Cup could move to UAE in 'worst-case scenario'

Under the IPL’s “green channel” protocol, a player requiring treatment – usually scans – is taken in a vehicle (which is in the bubble with a driver), clad in PPE, to the hospital. The testing/treatment is done by medical personnel with PPEs and masks and the player returns in the same bubble vehicle.The latest development came almost a week after Hemang Amin, BCCI’s interim chief executive officer, had reassured all teams that they were “totally safe” in the IPL bubble. The BCCI has also reassured all players and franchises that the 2021 IPL would carry on despite India being caught in the grip of a deadly second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.Amin had added that, “to be extra vigilant”, the IPL had “strengthened” the testing process, increasing its frequency from every five days initially to every two days for the second leg of the tournament, during which the teams shifted from Chennai and Mumbai to Ahmedabad and Delhi (matches began at the last two venues on April 26).The Knight Riders are currently seventh on the points table, having won only two of their first seven matches and go up against the high-flying Capitals next. The Capitals were also their opponents when they last played, on April 29. The Capitals, who played the Punjab Kings on Sunday evening, were tested a day after that Knight Riders contest, with everyone coming out clear.

Nails perfect yorkers as Strikers defend 12 off the final over to remain unbeaten

The Report by Shashank Kishore27-Dec-2019Peter Siddle experienced ecstasy and agony within the space of three deliveries. He’d just dismissed the rampaging Glenn Maxwell for a 25-ball 43. This was Adelaide Strikers’ game to lose now, but in the same over, he saw Nathan Coulter-Nile back away and put him into the stands to bring the game in the balance again, with Melbourne Stars needing 24 off 12 balls.Siddle would once again be called in to defend 12 off the final over with Ben Dunk and Coulter-Nile still at the crease. He responded by nailing three yorkers – five full deliveries in all – as Strikers squeezed home by five runs to remain unbeaten after three games. Siddle’s international career may or may not be over, his BBL career certainly isn’t, for there’s still enough fuel burning inside. Stars, meanwhile, registered their first loss in three matches.Peter Siddle’s experience has often come good in the BBL•Cricket Australia via Getty Images

Dale Steyn’s BBL initiationDale Steyn’s first four balls in his BBL career had people wondering briefly if they’d be able to see magic from him. Jake Weatherald thumped the first ball to mid-off, and then hit him for a sequence of 6,6,4,4. The method was simple: stand inside the crease, get under the length and go over the top. The third of those boundaries was off a slower ball. Weatherald 1-0 Steyn.In his previous T20 outing, on December 1 at the Mzansi Super League, he’d conceded 10 runs in four overs combined. Now, Steyn was properly under pressure now. Having seen the full deliveries disappear, he shortened his length and cramped Weatherald for room, and had his man when the batsman toe-ended another lofted hit off a thickish inside edge to Glenn Maxwell at mid-on. Weatherald 1-1 Steyn.Legspinning twins pull it backMaxwell immediately took Steyn off and introduced Adam Zampa, who struck off his second delivery with some drift and fizz off the pitch. Having watched Weatherald thump boundaries, Phil Salt tried to leave his mark too, and he may have erred in playing for turn as this one gathered pace after pitching to beat his slog and castle him. It could’ve been a double-strike had Marcus Stoinis not put down Matthew Short first ball at extra cover when he stepped out to drill a half-volley.However, Short’s stay was short-lived – no pun intended – as he was foxed two overs later by Nepal leg spinner Sandeep Lamichhane. Having seen Alex Carey caress the ball inside-out for six only two balls earlier, Short tried to do the same. Except, he didn’t pick the googly and didn’t have the length to get underneath it. Bowled. Strikers 53 for 3 after the Powerplay.Glenn Maxwell is very good at playing some unbelievable shots•Getty Images

Carey lends control, Wells rides luckCarey had driven sublimely through covers and mid-off so far in the season. His drives had produced 44 runs (four fours and three sixes) off just 19 balls. And he showed those imperious driving skills by hitting Zampa and Maxwell with the spin to clear long-off and the extra cover boundary. It was evident why three IPL teams were in a frenetic bidding war for Carey.At the other end, Jonathan Wells struggled on the face of some tight spin bowling in the second half. And every time he looked for a release shot, he found fielders who reprieved him. First, Hilton Cartwright put down a simple chance at deep midwicket on 20. Then Zampa himself put one down on 25, running backwards from point. It didn’t help that Steyn kept the pressure on with a tight second over with four dots, including a 148.3kph thunderbolt that swung away late to beat the outside edge.Fortunately, Wells fought through and after pottering to 17 off his first 20 deliveries, he made 51 off his last 26 deliveries; his 13-ball stand of 32 with Rashid Khan, including the dismantling of Nathan Coulter-Nile for three successive fours in the final over. Suddenly, a 155-160 total had been lifted to 174 for 4.Stars’ contrasting powerplay approachWhere Strikers had a turbocharge in the powerplay, Stars seemed intent on taking the chase deep after losing two early wickets. They played out 29 dot balls in the first 10 overs; in comparison the Strikers’ innings had just 40 dots. This slow-steady-boom approach also brought with it the risk of having to negotiate Rashid Khan, who was held back until the ninth over – in the second half.Marcus Stoinis struggled for timing. He tried to back away and flick, back away and scoop, back away and slash – just about anything. But it just didn’t come off, barring the one hit into the top tier for six in the 10th over. But two balls later, he was out to an excellent reflex catch off his own bowling by medium pacer Cameron Valente. Enter Maxwell.Siddle pips Maxwell Wells will tell you why cricket is a great leveller. His unbeaten 46-ball 68 fired Strikers to a score far above what they looked like getting at one stage. But later in the evening, his reprieve off Maxwell with the Strikers seemingly in control could have been a massive moment on another night.On 5 off 9 with Stars needing 79 off 39, Maxwell swung a length ball over wide long-on, only to see Wells tip it over for six. From there on, he brought the chase within sniffing distance with some of the most audacious hitting to make 43 off just 25 balls. When he fell, looking to reverse hook a short ball, from Peter Siddle, Stars still needed 34 off 14 balls.Coulter-Nile, who leaked 17 off the final over, then came in and clobbered a clutch of sixes to bring the chase within sniffing distance, only to run into Siddle, who nailed yorkers at will to finish with 3 for 24 as Strikers stole victory under Stars’ noses.

South Africa batsman heads for Wantage Road on a three-month contract for the 2019 season.

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Nov-2018Temba Bavuma, the South Africa batsman, has been signed by Northamptonshire on a three-month contract for the 2019 season.Bavuma, 28, made headlines in January 2016 when he became the first black African cricketer to score a Test century for South Africa – hitting an unbeaten 102 against England at Newlands in Cape Town, his native city.In the course of 31 Test appearances for South Africa, Bavuma has scored 1,488 runs at 33.81, and has also represented his country in the ODI format. In all first-class cricket he’s made nearly 7,000 runs with a dozen hundreds. He was appointed captain of the Highveld Lions franchise for the current season.He will join Northamptonshire between May and July 2019, boosting the County’s batting line-up for eight Specsavers County Championship matches.”Signing a player of Temba’s international stature underlines our ambitions as a club,” said Northamptonshire’s chief executive Ray Payne.”We are keen to return to the Championship’s top division and hopefully his runs will help us achieve that. His Test experience will bring an added dimension to the team and we’re all looking forward to welcoming a cricketer who is admired and respected around the cricketing world.”

Northants are well on top in Cardiff and, if results fall their way, they might just be heading for a pivotal clash with leaders Nottinghamshire next week

ECB Reporters Network13-Sep-20171:36

The latest shifts of fortune encapsulated in our Specsavers Championship round-up

Richard Levi completed an important century on the second day in Cardiff to keep Northamptonshire on course for the win they need to maintain hopes of promotion in the Specsavers County Championship.But Glamorgan fought back in the second half of the day, taking seven wickets for 69 then reducing their deficit to 40 for the loss of a single second-innings wicket.Levi’s 101 from 97 balls included 15 fours and a six and was his first in the Championship in a season in which he missed several weeks because of concussion. He received useful support from Rob Newton and Rob Keogh.After 16 overs were lost to rain in the morning, Newton and Levi made rapid progress against a Glamorgan attack, Michael Hogan apart, that lacked direction and bowled far too many “four balls”.It was no surprise that Robert Croft, the Glamorgan head coach, had his bowlers out on the outfield practising for 10 minutes during the lunch interval, and they did improve as Hogan trapped Newton leg before for 67, made from 119 balls with eight fours.The third wicket pair had added 104 in 21 overs, and with Levi ready to play an attacking role, the South African reached his century from only 95 deliveries. He was then out in the following over when he chased a wide ball from Lukas Carey and was comfortably caught by wicketkeeper Chris Cooke.Richard Levi kept Northants’ ambitions high•Getty Images

Keogh made 45 from 98 balls although he had one escape when he was athletically caught by Craig Meschede off Andrew Salter’s off spin, but the umpire had called no ball for a delivery that was over waist high.Levi and Keogh had put on 88 for the fourth wicket, but Northants then lost four wickets for 19 runs on either side of the tea interval. After Keogh was leg before to Marchant De Lange, Alex Wakeley, the Northants captain, who batted at No. 7 after aggravating a finger injury, was bowled by Hogan without scoring.Rory Kleinveldt struck a breezy 23 before he was caught at cover, then Simon Kerrigan edged De Lange to Chris Cooke, and the innings ended when Richard Gleeson was bowled by Meschede. Hogan ended with four for 58 for Glamorgan, and de Lange three for 85.Glamorgan had 15 overs to face at the end of the day, and soon lost Nick Selman who was bowled by Gleeson’s ninth delivery – a sixth wicket in the match for the bowler. But Jacques Rudolph and Jack Murphy played out the remaining overs without any further alarms.

Warwickshire’s middle-order came to the rescue once again to help them gain the initiative on the second day of an engrossing match against Nottinghamshire

George Dobell at Edgbaston27-Jun-2016
ScorecardTim Ambrose made his highest score of the season (file photo)•Getty Images

Warwickshire’s middle-order came to the rescue once again to help them gain the initiative on the second day of an engrossing match against Nottinghamshire.Reeling at 48 for 4, with all three of their leading run-scorers dismissed, Warwickshire were grateful to half-centuries from Tim Ambrose and Rikki Clarke for helping them establish a significant first-innings lead (it is 131 with power to add) and a decent chance of at least three batting bonus points that looked beyond them at one stage.Warwickshire have been, at various times in the first innings of their Championship matches this season, 132 for 5 (against Hampshire), 173 for 6 (against Middlesex), 88 for 6 (against Somerset), 161 for 7 (against Nottinghamshire), 259 for 8 (against Durham) and 94 for 6 (against Lancashire) but, such is the depth of their batting, they have been able to register totals of 360, 468, 152, 373, 313 and 263 respectively.It was a similar story here. With the top-order folding against an impressive opening spell from Jake Ball – who had 3 for 12 at one stage – it was left to Ambrose and Clarke to claw their side a way back into the match. Aided by a drying surface and a tiring attack, both men registered their highest scores of the campaign so far with Ambrose punishing the seamers for any error of line or length and Clarke attacking the spinners.Clarke has been, with the bat at least, in horrid form of late. As well as ducks in his previous two Championship innings, he was also dismissed first ball in his latest T20 innings and has only once, in his last seven Championship innings, passed 12.But here, after surviving a chance to slip when he had 24, Matt Carter putting down the chance off Brett Hutton, he showed good discipline against the seamers – he scored just 8 in 48 balls from Hutton and Steven Mullaney combined – and punished Carter by taking him for 30 runs in 31 deliveries including a straight-driven six and three cuts for four.Ambrose took full toll of a loose spell from Dan Christian, who conceded five boundaries in his 17 balls, and also took an overpitching Hutton for four boundaries.Nottinghamshire were not helped by an injury to seamer Luke Fletcher. While Fletcher did not offer the threat of Ball, whose first few overs were outstanding, he ensured pressure was maintained on the batsmen. But when he was forced off with a groin strain, it left Notts over-reliant upon Ball and looking a seamer short.Indeed, so reliant were they on Ball that he was obliged to bowl 23 of the 79 overs delivered by his side – 10 more than fellow seamer Hutton and nine more than spinner Samit Patel – and saw his figures suffer as a consequence.His first spell had been excellent. Generating sharp bounce from a good length to take the edge of Varun Chopra’s bat, he followed it with an outswinger to account for Andrew Umeed, poking tentatively at a ball that demanded a stroke, before Ian Bell, feet going nowhere, followed one he could have left and edged to slip. By the time Jonathan Trott, playing across a straight one, it seemed Warwickshire may struggle to overhaul Nottinghamshire’s modest total.But first through Sam Hain, who registered his highest score of a disappointing Championship season, and then Ambrose and Clarke, Warwickshire posted stands of 69, 64 and 55 for the fifth, sixth and seventh wickets. The highest stand in the match up to that point had been just 30.Warwickshire have persisted with Hain through a grim start to the season – he was averaging under 10 before this innings – in the knowledge that he is one of relatively few young players in the squad about whom they can have realistic hopes of one day replacing the likes of Bell and Trott.While Chopra has been consistent this season – he has scored five fifties and a hundred – it seems he is destined to leave at the end of the season, with Essex the most likely destination. He will prove hard to replace, with Warwickshire keen to back their own in principle. If they do decide to recruit, though, Scott Borthwick and Ben Duckett are possible targets.While Hain was caught behind, edging a well-flighted Carter delivery that invited the drive, Ambrose was lured into an attempted force that led to an edge and Clarke clipped one to deep square-leg, Keith Barker, Jeetan Patel and Mark Adair stretched the lead further and exploited the absence of Fletcher.This was a tough day for Fletcher. He had earlier taken a thumping blow on the head – the ball seemed to hit the badge of his helmet – when batting. Misjudging a back-of-a-length ball from the impressively hostile Boyd Rankin, bowling round the wicket with a short-leg and fly-slip, Fletcher required several minutes of treatment following the incident.To his immense credit, he was straight back in line when play restarted, but Samit Patel claimed the final two wickets of the Notts innings in his first over of the morning after Christian, edging a long-hop, and Hutton, edging a perfect out swinger, had earlier fallen to Clarke.This is an important match for both teams. If Warwickshire retain realistic hopes of challenging for the Championship title – and with their squad, they really should – they need to start winning more games; they have won just one of their first seven. But for Nottinghamshire, who have lost four of their last seven, another defeat would see them sink further into trouble and might condemn them to a late-season relegation scrap. The weather over the final two days of this match, which is not forecast to be great, may yet save them.

ESPNcricinfo previews the opening ODI between England and New Zealand

The Preview by Andrew McGlashan08-Jun-2015

Match facts

June 9, 2015
Start time 2.00pm local (1300GMT)3:29

New-look England begin latest rebuilding job

Big Picture

New Zealand and England could hardly be further apart in terms of their reputation as one-day teams. The visitors are viewed as trendsetters, the home side trying – for the umpteenth time – to move their game forward, having to catch up with the way 50-over cricket is now played.As you would expect then, given the starting points of both teams, the two squads highlight the contrasting fortunes. Apart from enforced changes through retirement or injury, New Zealand have retained the players who helped them to the World Cup final. England, meanwhile, will have at least five changes from the team which played their last match of the World Cup; the selectors did not have a full hand of players to select from for the rained-off match against Ireland, but that was an early glimpse into the future.New Zealand will not feel any need for reinvention although moving on from the retired Daniel Vettori will be a significant challenge; his ability to hold the innings allowed the pace bowlers even greater freedom to attack. But the batting order remains stable and all the players have shown form on the tour – some ODIs are played at a slower tempo than New Zealand batted in the second Test.Perhaps New Zealand’s biggest challenge is refocusing their aims. Although Brendon McCullum and Mike Hesson have consistently said they allowed the team to develop naturally into the World Cup it did provide a definite target to aim for. The next global 50-over tournament is the 2017 Champions Trophy in England.That gives the hosts a significant focal point, too, because although much talk in recent times has been about the World Cup in 2019 a four-year cycle is a vast amount of time. The next two years will give a good indication of how different, or otherwise, the fortunes of these two teams can be. But ultimately it’s about winning the next match, and the next series. As New Zealand have shown, a winning side generally finds things slotting into place.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
England WLLWL
New Zealand LWWWW

In the spotlight

How Alex Hales has only played 10 one-day internationals is a mystery which sums up the mess of England’s limited-overs cricket. Because the Indian seamers nipped a few deliveries through his defence the selectors appeared spooked that he had been “found out” and he was back on the sidelines. He has not been afraid of expressing his frustration but, importantly, at the start of this season has scored runs, too. Individually, and in his likely partnership with Jason Roy, success won’t always come his way but he needs backing for the long run.It might seem odd, given all the talk of attack, but Kane Williamson remains a vital element in the New Zealand’s one-day team. His match-winning six against Australia at Eden Park reverberated around the game, but he got to that position by being able to absorb pressure amid mayhem. There remains a place for the orthodox in a one-day team, especially when surrounded by so much aggression. In the absence of Vettori his remodelled offspin may see greater service, too.

Teams news

Three players who made their ODI debuts in Dublin, on what became a day overshadowed by the news of Peter Moores’ sacking, could appear at Edgbaston. Roy should form an attacking opening pairing with Hales, David Willey will be given a chance to fill the left-armer’s role picked out by Paul Farbrace as an area England must fill and Mark Wood has impressed in the early days of his international career although his workload may be a concern and Liam Plunkett could be preferred. A new-look batting order is likely to see Ben Stokes at No. 4 and Jos Buttler at No. 6. James Taylor and Sam Billings are expected to miss out.England (possible): 1 Alex Hales, 2 Jason Roy, 3 Joe Root, 4 Ben Stokes, 5 Eoin Morgan (capt), 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 David Willey 8 Adil Rashid, 9 Chris Jordan, 10 Liam Plunkett, 11 Steven FinnTim Southee is likely to sit out this opening match after his workload in the Test series while Corey Anderson, who missed the second Test with a back problem, may also struggle but is expected to be fit soon. His absence could open the way for Mitchell Santner, a left-handed batsman and left-arm spinner, to make his ODI debut. Ben Wheeler, another left-arm seamer, is an option for the pace attack while Mitchell McClenaghan took four wickets in the warm-up against Leicestershire.New Zealand (possible): 1 Brendon McCullum (capt), 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Grant Elliott, 6 Mitchell Santner, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Ben Wheeler, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Mitchell McClenaghan

Pitch and conditions

England twice struggled to post totals in ODIs on this ground last year, falling to defeats against Sri Lanka and India, with spin playing a key role in keeping them quiet. But under lights the ball can also zip around. The forecast is set fair, if not exactly warm.

Stats and trivia

• Last season on this ground, against Sri Lanka, Jos Buttler was Mankaded by Sachithra Senanayake
• Eoin Morgan needs 62 runs to reach 4000 in ODIs, but in the last year has passed fifty just twice in 25 innings (scores of 62 against Sri Lanka in Colombo and 121 against Australia in Sydney). His average of 19.60 is the second-lowest of anyone since May 1, 2014 to have batted at least 20 times in ODIs.
• At the World Cup, five of New Zealand’s top seven had strike-rates over 100; Williamson was 78.00 and Taylor 61.55. Only two batsmen – Buttler and Moeen Ali – passed that mark for England.
• The two teams have not played a completed ODI at Edgbaston since 1994. The 2008 meeting was controversially abandoned one-over short of a match. New Zealand will field at least three survivors from that match – McCullum, Taylor and Elliott (Southee also played). England have none, although Dimitri Mascarenhas is now the New Zealand bowling coach.

Quotes

“For a long time now, we’ve been behind the eight-ball in one-day cricket. We’ve fallen behind by a long way and it’s time for a catch-up.”
“We have an eye to those but you have to deal with the here and now, we aren’t good enough to look too far ahead. There are some guys introduced with a view to those tournaments but we just need to keep playing how we have been.”