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The pay dispute between Cricket Australia and its players is set to continue after the Australian Cricketers’ Association rejected CA’s latest pay proposal

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Apr-2017The pay dispute between Cricket Australia and its players is set to continue after the Australian Cricketers’ Association rejected CA’s latest pay proposal. At the core of the ACA’s opposition is CA’s desire to scrap the revenue-sharing model that for nearly 20 years has linked player payments to the amount of income generated by the game.This, in the words of the ACA, would end a partnership “that allows players to share in the ups and downs of the games and its revenue, and allows for fluctuations in media rights cycles”. CA has argued that the revenue-sharing system has served its original purpose of making cricketers some of the highest-paid sportspeople in the country.Under CA’s proposal, only international players would have the chance to share in any surplus revenue: CA has proposed a $20 million pool to be split with $16m for international men and $4m for international women. Other players – domestic male and female players – would have to settle for fixed amounts that would not fluctuate according to the game’s income.However, the ACA on Friday argued that the proposal “disrespects the value of domestic cricketers and the role they play in Australian cricket”, and that it would create inequity within playing groups. The ACA also said that while CA’s response for gender equity had largely been positive, this plan “denies female cricketers the opportunity to share in the game’s revenue.””I’ve gone round every state player group, male and female, national and domestic, and they’re absolutely committed behind the revenue-sharing model because that’s something that they believe works, and it’s important that that continues on for the next MoU and the generations going forward,” Alistair Nicholson, the ACA chief executive, said.”In the proposal that we reviewed, and then in our discussions with key players on the board, we weren’t able to see where the model that has worked well, why it is being called out-of-date or unviable. They’re proposing a change in the model, we’re saying, the players are saying, we don’t want to change the model but we’re happy to talk about what sits underneath that, to get the best agreement for the game.”The ACA has offered its own proposal for what it calls a “modernised” revenue-sharing model, with a 55% share for CA, a 22.5% share for grassroots cricket, and a 22.5% share for male and female players. Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said he was disappointed with the ACA’s decision to reject the tabled offer, but he remained confident of achieving a resolution by the end of June deadline.”They appear to have spent nearly six weeks talking with everyone but the organisation that can provide them with the right information, and with whom they need to conclude an agreement on behalf of their members,” Sutherland said. “They will find, when they sit down with us and understand the detail, that this really is a ground-breaking offer and a fair deal for all players.”In particular, it offers higher guaranteed payments at a time of uncertainty, while continuing to provide a share of cricket’s financial surpluses to players at the pinnacle of the game. It also allows CA to address the disparity between pay for men and women and the urgent need to invest more in the grassroots of the game, particularly junior cricket. We make no apology for investing in priorities that will secure cricket’s sustainable future.”I must make it clear that the analysis presented by the ACA today contains many errors. We have offered to provide them with realistic financial scenarios, an opportunity they have not taken up. I also reject any suggestion that we would hide money from the players. They receive full audited accounts, and we have always been fair and honest with our players.”We understand their commitment to the existing model, but the fact is that the world has changed, and it needs to be updated to take that into account. It has to include women, it has to support our juniors and community cricket clubs, and it has to provide greater financial certainty for all players, at every level.”CA said its proposal would lead to increased pay for all players, with female players receiving an immediate average pay increase of more than 125%, and the average wage for international women’s players increasing from $79,000 to $179,000. According to CA’s figures, domestic male cricketers would earn an average of $235,000 by 2021-22, up from $199,000 last summer.”We have placed the emphasis on increasing the guaranteed amount that the men will receive, rather than rely on any projected increase in revenue,” Sutherland said. “We understand that the ACA prefers the status quo, but CA believes that the model devised in the 1990s, which is based on a fixed percentage of revenue, has served its intended purpose – to make Australia’s cricketers some of the best paid sportspeople in the country.”

Australia are likely to tour Bangladesh in 2017 to play a two-Test series that had been postponed last year due to security concerns.

Mohammad Isam27-Apr-2016Australia are likely to tour Bangladesh in 2017 to play the two-Test series that had been postponed last year due to security concerns.The teams were set to play in Dhaka in October 2015, but Cricket Australia received a government advisory about threats to Australian interest in Bangladesh two days before the players’ departure. The BCB promised VVIP security in an effort to salvage the tour, but were unsuccessful. The Australian Under-19s had also withdrawn from the World Cup that was held in Bangladesh at the start of 2016.On Tuesday, Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland, who had made the pull out public last year, said they were keen to resume ties. “We’ve had discussions offline with the Bangladesh Cricket Board. They know and understand that we’re absolutely committed to playing that [postponed] tour, obviously subject to security matters that we need to go through in preparation for that tour. But we’re very much looking forward to getting back to Bangladesh and playing cricket over there.”BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury also told ESPNcricinfo that, “after discussions with Cricket Australia, we are at the final stages of finalising the commitment for their tour to Bangladesh next year, and we will announce the tour dates once everything is confirmed.”It is understood that the two Tests could be held immediately after the 2017 Champions Trophy in England, which runs from June 1 to 18, although cricket in Bangladesh is not usually played in the months between May and October.

Taking captaincy decisions after consulting the weather forecast is not normally recommended practice but Paul Collingwood will need to keep the forecast in mind on day three

Jon Culley at Chester-le-Street04-Sep-2013
ScorecardPhil Mustard’s half-century took the match away from Sussex•Getty Images

Taking captaincy decisions after consulting the weather forecast is not normally recommended practice but should Paul Collingwood, the Durham skipper, find himself staring out at a covered square on Friday with Sussex clinging on, eight wickets down, he will be cursing this match as a missed opportunity.The win that would see Durham leapfrog Yorkshire at the top of the Championship table, with an advantage of 14 and a half points with three matches to play, is theirs for the taking, with a lead that would already require Sussex to make the largest fourth-innings score to win a match on this ground.The dilemma for Collingwood is that, with two full days left, he would not want a repeat of what happened here in April, in Durham’s only defeat at home, when he declared at 275 for 4, leaving Yorkshire to chase an unlikely 335 to win, only for Andrew Gale’s side to pull it off, with four wickets in hand.Whether that could have happened had Joe Root not been in the Yorkshire side to make 182 is a matter for conjecture. On a wicket that has for the most part not yielded runs easily, however, no one in a depleted Sussex line-up has hinted at achieving anything remotely of that magnitude. Given Friday’s wet forecast, Collingwood would be wise not to old his bowlers back for too long on day three.Collingwood’s record of 11 wins in 18 Championship matches since he succeeded Phil Mustard as captain ought, in any case, to have given him confidence in his decision-making. The calmness and authority he brings to his leadership were qualities that served him well in steering Durham to their position of strength in this game. It was his partnership of 93 with Mustard for the sixth Durham wicket that put him in control.It came on a day in which Sussex, 60 for 3 overnight, were bowled out for 112 before lunch, a fairly abject performance, even taking into account their long list of absentees, that handed Durham first-innings lead of 133.This looked like a match-winning advantage on a ground where low scoring is usual but there was less certainty about it after none of their top five batsmen scored more than 22 in their second innings, leaving them 90 for 5. There was no Chris Jordan in their seam attack, compounding the effects of Luke Wright, Ed Joyce and Matt Machan being absent from their batting line-up — all due to international call-ups — but Steve Magoffin was as impressive as ever, and well backed up, too by Lewis Hatchett and James Anyon.Magoffin struck first as Keaton Jennings, still to find consistency with the bat, fell to a diving catch by Chris Nash at third slip, then Mark Stoneman, having unleashed a couple of handsome boundaries through the covers, was leg before to Anyon, who then made the ball bounce and leave Scott Borthwick, who was caught behind.Will Smith, for the second time in the match, paid the price for a loose drive outside off stump, and when Michael Richardson was caught behind, Durham’s lead was 223. A couple more wickets lost at that point and Sussex might have sensed an opportunity to put themselves back in the race.Instead, they came up against Collingwood in obdurate mood, setting the tone for Mustard to adopt a similarly measured approach and while the next 35 overs did not contain many moment that will readily bring the passage of play to mind, the end result was a stand of 93, in which Collingwood scored most of his runs behind square, with a nudge here and a dab there, and he had made 45 before he played back to a ball from offspinner Chris Nash. Mustard is 57 not out overnight.Earlier, Sussex had capitulated within the first 22.5 overs of the morning session. Graham Onions added two more wickets on his return from injury to the couple he picked up on Tuesday evening, taking his tally for the season to 48. There is something in this pitch for the bowlers to work with and no one exploits it better than Onions, even on days such as this when he was not at his most niggardly, struggling to find his rhythm.In any event, Luke Wells and Rory Hamilton-Brown helped him out by chasing balls outside off stump, falling in turn to catches behind the wicket. Usman Arshad, a 20-year-old right-arm seamer making only his second Championship appearance, took three wickets in seven balls. Yet Chris Rushworth, who bowled better than any among Durham’s seam quartet, somehow ended wicketless.

By this stage of an English summer, Marcus Trescothick customarily has scored around 1500 runs at a rather superior average than any other batsman in the country

Ivo Tennant at Taunton21-Aug-2012
ScorecardBy this stage of an English summer, Marcus Trescothick customarily has scored around 1500 runs at a rather superior average than any other batsman in the country and hence there is highly optimistic talk of a call-up for the final international match. It is axiomatic that he remains the best opener in the County Championship. For no fault of his own, the scenario has been altogether different this year.If Trescothick was going to be severely injured, as he was at Trent Bridge in May, it was best that this should happen this sodden summer. He was out of action for three months. In seven championship innings, which has been all he has managed owing to his ankle problem, he had not made a half century. He had not looked especially out of touch, but his had been a long lay-off and there was an instantaneous requirement to pick up his game, however late in the season and however bowler-friendly the conditions.Such encumbrance fell away now. In making an unbeaten 89, Trescothick rocked backwards and forwards and propelled the ball through to the cover boundary. There were the customary flicks off his legs, dabs to third man, which was not always tenanted, and, since he has managed to keep pretty fit, some good running between the wickets. A couple of winters ago he was offered £1m by his then bat sponsor if he cleared the pavilion at Lord’s. You would not have bet against him in this touch.Statistics can appear skewed and none more so than when the realisation dawned that Trescothick was approaching the 50th first-class century of his career. Graeme Hick and Mark Ramprakash are more or less contemporaries, are not nearly such successful international batsmen, and yet each has more than double that tally.Anyway, he will be pleased with this innings, for not only did it signal a return to form, but it was not scored on the kind of flat Taunton surface of old.There was appreciable turn before lunch for Monty Panesar, who thought he had had Trescothick caught at short leg on 60, following through as if he was a fast bowler. Umpire Nick Cook had a word with him at the end of the over. That was the one discordant note on a day when the ball constantly seemed to be hitting the sweet spot of his bat and go pinging off towards the boundary.The other Somerset batsmen did not fare so well. Arul Suppiah was soon bowled by Steve Magoffin, playing an indeterminate pushed drive; Chris Jones was caught at cover, not to the pitch of a rare ball that Panesar did not push through; and James Hildreth, going back to the same bowler and trying to square cut, was taken by Ben Brown. That was
131 for 3.Just before 3pm torrential rain began, preventing any further play. Sussex had not looked like dismissing Trescothick, surely still the best opening batsman in England, but they are in need of wickets, lying as they are 11 points behind Warwickshire, the Division One leaders. Last season Trescothick scored 1,673 first-class runs at an average of 79.66. Before his eighth innings of this season, he had mustered just 94 at 13.42. This innings will have brought about a significant improvement on those figures. He has hit 16 fours thus far.

National selector Alistair Campbell believes Zimbabwe’s preparations for their return to Test cricket will stand them in good stead, but admitted that mental strength remained the team’s greatest challenge

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jul-2011National selector Alistair Campbell believes Zimbabwe’s preparations for their return to Test cricket will stand them in good stead, but admitted that mental strength remained the team’s greatest challenge. Zimbabwe are due to return to Tests with a one-off match against Bangladesh, starting on August 4.”Obviously there will be nerves flying around on our side because everyone will be watching how we are going to perform,” Campbell said. “But the players realise the expectations and they would need to give a good account of themselves. Of course, there is going to be pressure on the boys as they may push too hard to impress.”But in any professional sport you need to apply the mental strength and be able to play under pressure. In our case we have to improve on that part. I believe the more we play at the highest level the more we will be able to improve.”Bangladesh’s tour of Zimbabwe is due to start with a three-day warm-up match against a Zimbabwe XI in Harare, starting on Saturday. The match will provide valuable practice in long format cricket for Bangladesh, as they haven’t have played a Test since the Old Trafford match almost 14 months ago.While a few members of the Test squad – such as offspinner Nasir Hossain, national regular Junaid Siddique and the recalled Mohammad Ashraful – played a couple of unofficial Tests for Bangladesh A against South Africa A in April, Bangladesh’s preparations have been limited to a long fitness camp and some two-day games against the Academy side before the tour. Still, captain Shakib Al Hasan believes that they go into the series as favourites.The Zimbabweans have sought to test themselves against A sides from South Africa and Australia. While team success has been lacking, there have been good individual performances from both batsmen and bowlers and coach Alan Butcher argued that Zimbabwe would click if both groups performed well during the course of a match.”The boys have shown improvement in their performance. Of course in the end people look at results, but we need to appreciate their efforts and see where they went wrong and work on that for future matches,” he said. “On a day our batting performs well the bowling will not be very good and when our bowlers do well then our batting line up crumbles hopelessly. So we need to work on having both departments standing up strong.”Campbell reinforced Butcher’s statements, saying Zimbabwe needed more exposure in order to develop as a team. He stressed, however, that there was no question of Zimbabwe’s readiness to face Bangladesh.”We are really excited that we have more commitments coming up in the next two to three months. Facing opposition that includes players like Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus should help raise our confidence,” said Campbell.”We are very ready for it because we have our experienced players like Tatenda Taibu, Vusi Sibanda, Hamilton Masakadza, Brendan Taylor and Elton Chigumbura all showing signs of good form. These are the people who should carry us through and again we have seen younger players like Brian Vitori doing well. I’m sure this young man has a lot to offer and we will consider him for Test cricket in the future.”But there are few things that need to be ironed out to be able to play competitively at Test level. We have some of our players like Craig Ervine who has been short on runs and this is a cause for concern.”Tino Mawoyo has also showed great promise facing some of the quality bowlers from Australia,” he added. “Probably Craig and Tino would need to get more time in the middle of the crease in the warm up game against Bangladesh at the weekend.”Both players will be in the squad to play the warm-up match against the Bangladeshis. Taibu, who missed the four-day games against Australia and has been out of action for several weeks after injuring his thumb during pre-season training, has also been included, and the match will also give one final chance for a clutch of promising young seamers to push for Test selection.”Obviously it’s good that Taibu is back to full fitness and he’ll be looking forward to getting a run,” said Campbell. “We have deliberately rested some of the players as we feel it’s an opportunity for some of the guys to make an impression before the final squad is named.”

Against New Zealand, Upul Tharanga gave another demonstration of why he remains integral to Sri Lanka’s World Cup plans

Siddarth Ravindran in Dambulla13-Aug-2010In a top-order studded with some of the finest batsmen of today, Upul Tharanga tends to get overlooked. Against New Zealand, however, he gave another demonstration of why he remains integral to Sri Lanka’s World Cup plans. His batting doesn’t have either the flash of Tillakaratne Dilshan or the smooth adaptability of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, but his gutsy 70 on a challenging track was pivotal to the victory.It was a grab bag of an innings, which included inept wafts outside off, classy cover drives, his favourite cuts past point and an unintended tap to the off side as he was withdrawing his bat from a pull. The initial period was particularly patchy, a mix of getting beaten by a big margin outside off and some sparkling boundaries.Though 193 was a tiny target, batting under lights in Dambulla is never easy, as India had found out in the tournament’s opening match. “There was a bit of movement early on, there’s not a lot of swing but a bit of uneven bounce, and a bit of seam movement.” Sangakkara said. “Actually the slower bowlers like [Scott] Styris and the spinners were a bit harder to score off than the fast bowlers, the ball kept holding on the wicket, there were pieces coming off the wicket as well.”However, New Zealand’s hopes evaporated after Tharanga’s 84-run stand with Sangakkara, who after some starting trouble played some of the most eye-catching strokes of the match. “I thought Upul batted really well. I struggled to get to grips with the wicket early on,” Sangakkara said. “I was watching how Upul batted, and whenever he played a shot it was as if the wicket was absolutely flat, so I kept trying to watch him and see what he was doing and bat accordingly.”The partnership entertained the home fans, who came in decent numbers to create a lively atmosphere around the ground, unlike in the first match where hardly any spectators turned up. There were men on stilts twirling rings of fire, adding to the party mood, which wasn’t dampened even by the fall of Sangakkara and Jayawardene.Capitalising on a Styris drop at first slip, Tharanga scored his fourth half-century in seven innings, cleverly working the slower bowlers around to keep Sri Lanka on course for a bonus point. With 60 runs needed off six overs for the extra point, Sri Lanka opted for the batting Powerplay. Thilan Samaraweera showed off some innovative footwork, but Tharanga perished attempting a big hit.Angelo Mathews followed for a golden duck, and there was a bit of drama towards the end as Sri Lanka promoted Nuwan Kulasekara and Rangana Herath ahead of Chamara Kapugedera in an attempt to quickly score the runs needed for the bonus. Both didn’t succeed, and it was a cool Samaraweera who led them to a three-wicket victory, a final margin which hides the one-sidedness of the contest.Sangakkara said that it might have been a better tactic to send in the bowlers ahead of Mathews, and was disappointed to have missed the icing to the victory. “When you get an opportunity like this to get a bonus point, in Dambulla that might be a really important factor later on, unfortunately we weren’t good enough to get the bonus point.”He was happy though that the team had won chasing under lights in Dambulla. “It’s tough out there but it does our confidence a world of good.” For that, he’ll have to thank his opener. Tharanga spent plenty of time yo-yoing in and out of the side after his debut in 2005, but displaced Sanath Jayasuriya from the opening slot after last year’s Champions Trophy and has since kept out the 41-year-old, who still harbours ambitions of playing a sixth World Cup. More performances like this, and Jayasuriya could well be confined to the television studios when the global tournament comes around next year.

Young batter impresses former captain after composed debut at No.3 in Christchurch

Andrew Miller05-Dec-2024Alastair Cook, England’s former Test captain, believes Jacob Bethell’s temperament can make up for his lack of red-ball experience, after he came through a challenging maiden Test in Christchurch with his reputation enhanced.Bethell was thrust in at No.3 for the first Test against New Zealand, after a hand injury prevented Jordan Cox from making his own Test debut, with Ollie Pope moving down to No. 6 as a makeshift wicketkeeper.Bethell responded with scores of 10 and 50 not out in England’s eight-wicket win, despite having played just 20 previous first-class matches in his professional career, and never having made a century in any senior format.Cook, like Bethell, was also 21 when he made a century on Test debut against India in March 2006, and went on to miss just one subsequent match through illness while compiling a then-record tally of 161 appearances.However, by the time of his call-up, Cook had completed a breakthrough home season in 2005, featuring five County Championship hundreds and a memorable double-century against the touring Australians. And speaking on the eve of the second Test in Wellington, for which he will provide studio analysis for TNT Sports, he warned against expecting too much, too soon from Bethell.”There’s a long way to go, but it’s been an encouraging start,” Cook said. “He’s probably a year or two years behind as a player, in terms of knowing his red-ball game. But all of us who’ve watched cricket and played cricket, have seen something about him.”It’s hard to always pinpoint what it is about certain players that makes you think they’ve got a really good chance of making it to the next level. But I saw Jonny Bairstow bat as a youngster for Yorkshire, and I saw Jos Butler bat for Somerset … it’s not easy to put into words, because it isn’t about words. It’s about something you see.”For some, it’s the time they have at the crease, for some it’s how cleanly they hit the ball. But Bethell’s a seriously talented player, and he’s looked at home in international cricket straightaway. He’s plays the situation in front of him, and he’s not overawed by what is going on.”Related

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That was apparent even in the adversity of England’s first innings at Christchurch. Bethell arrived in overcast, swinging conditions, after Zak Crawley had been dismissed for a duck, and ground his way to 10 from 34 balls before receiving a brute of a delivery from Nathan Smith, in the final over before the lunch break.”I was impressed,” Cook said. “Particularly the way that he gutsed it out in the first innings. His strike-rate in red-ball cricket is actually under 50, so it’s clear he likes to build an innings [even though] his array of shots is why he got picked for the white-ball team. There’s a huge amount of growth to be had there, without a doubt, even though he’s nowhere near the finished article.”Cook himself had been sceptical about Bethell’s selection when addressing his call-up in the build-up to the first Test, but admitted that the manner in which he had handled such doubts was further proof of his potential.”When he got called up, there was some question why [you’d pick] a guy averaging 25 with no hundreds, and that does bring some pressure onto you as a player. To handle that like he’s done, it’s as if he’s doing all the other stuff first, rather than score the actual volume of runs that might have been required [for selection] in the more traditional way.”A lot of Test cricket is played in the mind,” Cook added. “You do need a decent technique, but the power of the mind can overcome a hell of a lot. I don’t want to get carried away, but he’s obviously made of the right stuff, and you are trusting the judgment of people in that leadership group who have played Test cricket, and wouldn’t have taken this risk without thinking that he could cope.”Bethell’s calm arrival now increases the scrutiny on Ollie Pope, especially with Jamie Smith due to reclaim the wicketkeeper’s duties when he returns from paternity leave in the new year. But Cook acknowledged that Pope’s glovework in the first Test had been faultless, while his calm 77 from No.6 turned out to be a vital contribution to England’s eventual victory.”I was pleasantly surprised at how well he kept in that game,” he said. “I don’t think you should ever get to a case where you’ve got a fourth-choice county keeper [doing the job for England], but, actually, maybe I’ve misjudged that situation. He hasn’t really made many mistakes, if any, in his four Test matches as keeper.”So, does that start to be a a viable option down the line as well? Two weeks ago, the XI that played last week wouldn’t have been on anyone’s list of teams, but things change very quickly in sport, because it is a results-driven business. Pope just looks more suited batting at five and six, while Bethell, in that first innings, had more chance of getting through that swinging, nipping ball.”Watch every ball of the New Zealand vs England second Test, live on TNT Sports and discovery+ from 9.30pm on Thursday, December 5

Hasty World Cup prep begins as England embark on first white-ball campaign since March

Alan Gardner29-Aug-2023

Big picture: Back to the 20-over format

Roll up, roll up! We’ve had rollercoaster men’s and women’s Ashes, the Hundred has enjoyed its month in the spotlight… but there’s still room in the sardine can for a bilateral white-ball series or three! Astute followers of the game will be aware that New Zealand arrived in the country a few days ago, but the rest of you are forgiven if you missed it between 100-ball shenanigans and World Cup squad headlines.The tour begins with four – yes, four – T20Is, starting at Chester-le-Street on Wednesday, before four – yes, four – ODIs that will set England on the runway towards their 50-over World Cup defence. As such, the T20Is provide more of an opportunity to test the hosts’ depth, ahead of another global event in the US and Caribbean next year – although plans to blood a trio of young pace bowlers have already taken a turn after injuries ruled out John Turner and Josh Tongue.Gus Atkinson, one of the breakout stars of the season and a man capable of bowling 95mph/152kph, should, however, win an England debut over the next few days. Atkinson helped Oval Invincibles to the Hundred title at the weekend, having caught Jos Buttler’s eye during a head-to-head contest earlier in the campaign, and the Surrey man has shot up the pecking order to the extent that he is also in the provisional World Cup squad – despite having only played two List A games in his career.There should also be chances for the likes of Rehan Ahmed, Luke Wood and Will Jacks, while Jonny Bairstow is set to play his first T20I in over a year, having missed England’s victorious T20 World Cup campaign in Australia. Bairstow may be the immediate beneficiary of Alex Hales’ recent retirement, having only opened sporadically over the course of his international T20 career.Gus Atkinson is expected to make his England debut against New Zealand•Getty Images

Such is the sense of dislocation around the schedule, England haven’t actually played a limited-overs international since mid-March, when their world champion status was knocked by a 3-0 T20I defeat in Bangladesh. But Buttler, coming in off the back of a tournament-leading run haul in the Hundred, and Matthew Mott now have an intensive programme with which to fine-tune preparations for the subcontinent.As it happens, the tournament opener on October 5 will pit England against, yes, New Zealand, in a rematch of the 2019 final (with Player of the Match at Lord’s, Ben Stokes, back out of retirement, although he won’t be involved in the T20Is). Tim Southee, New Zealand’s T20I captain, acknowledged that all roads currently lead to Ahmedabad, and there is plenty for the tourists to get straightened out over while in England.They arrived on the back of a 2-1 win in the UAE with an experimental side – but saw a remarkable record of 39 games without defeat against non-Test nations ended in the second match of the series. The squad to face England will be significantly stronger, however, with several already in rhythm after plying their trade in the Hundred.For New Zealand’s World Cup hopes, the most-important element of this tour might be how Kane Williamson goes in his rehabilitation from a serious knee injury. Williamson is not expected to be involved against England, while Trent Boult will only play the ODIs as he returns to the fold after opting out of a central contract last year – but after several months in which the global T20 franchise circuit has dominated conversations, a different narrative is starting to build.Kyle Jamieson made his comeback to international cricket in the UAE last week•Emirates Cricket Board

Form guide

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In the spotlight: Harry Brook and Kyle Jamieson

Jos Buttler last week described Harry Brook as unfortunate to miss out on selection for the World Cup, sentiments which he repeated before the game at Chester-le-Street. Brook is a T20 World Cup winner who averages 62.15 with a strike rate of 91.76 in Tests – and therefore perfectly suited to the 50-over game – but Stokes’ return has nixed his hopes of being in India (at least for now). Having responded to his omission by scoring the fastest century in the short history of the Hundred, off 41 balls, he will doubtless be keen to nudge the selectors again.Kyle Jamieson suffered a back injury on New Zealand’s tour of England in 2022 that subsequently ruled him out of action for much of the next 14 months. His phenomenal start to life as a Test cricketer led to a US$2.5m IPL deal in 2021, although life has not always run smoothly as he attempted to juggle his workload across formats. Jamieson has only featured eight ODIs and 11 T20Is for New Zealand but played his first cricket since February in the UAE and could yet be a key weapon at the 50-over World Cup, with his imposing height and ability as a lower-order hitter.

Team news: England test bench, NZ welcome big guns

England’s intention for this series had been to blood their next tier of white-ball quicks, ahead of next year’s defence of their T20 World Cup title, but two of those uncapped prospects, John Turner and Josh Tongue, have already been withdrawn through injury, with Brydon Carse and the old-stager Chris Jordan slotting in in their stead. The third of that trio of new boys, Atkinson, is sure to play at some stage as England seek to fast-track his international experience ahead of his prospective World Cup call-up, although having featured in Oval Invincibles’ victory in the men’s Hundred final on Sunday night, his involvement may yet be deferred. On the batting side, Brook is the squad’s cause celebre, although Ben Duckett and Jacks have plenty of incentive to impress as well, with Buttler having admitted last week that nothing is yet set in stone for the World Cup.England: 1 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Harry Brook, 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 Chris Jordan/Brydon Carse, 10 Luke Wood, 11 Gus AtkinsonMatthew Mott and Jos Buttler were reunited after a long break in the white-ball schedule•Getty Images

New Zealand’s squad is assembling Avengers-style from myriad corners of the cricketing universe. A scratch squad contested a brace of warm-up games against Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, but now a host of Hundred combatants are returning to the fray – among them Southee, Daryl Mitchell and Adam Milne, who provided three touches of Kiwi class in an otherwise dead-rubber clash between Birmingham Phoenix and London Spirit last week. In a rather more high-profile outing, Devon Conway and Finn Allen formed a potent alliance for Southern Brave in Saturday’s Eliminator at The Oval, and will slot back in at the top of the NZ order, after Tim Seifert and Chad Bowes stood in against UAE. Jamieson made his comeback in that series after a long-standing back injury, and will continue his progress over the coming games. Jimmy Neesham, a hero of the Hundred final for Oval Invincibles, is heading home for the birth of his child.New Zealand: 1 Devon Conway (wk), 2 Finn Allen, 3 Mark Chapman/Tim Seifert, 4 Glenn Phillips, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Rachin Ravindra/Cole McConchie, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Kyle Jamieson, 9 Tim Southee (capt), 10 Lockie Ferguson/Adam Milne, 11 Ish Sodhi

Pitch and conditions

Chester-le-Street last hosted a T20 international in 2017, and is not known as a batter-friendly venue – in this year’s Vitality Blast, it was the third-lowest scoring of the major grounds, with runs coming at 8.27 an over. There is a chance of some rain to freshen conditions further on Wednesday, although the forecast for the evening is clear.

Stats and trivia

• New Zealand have won eight and lost 14 of their previous 22 completed T20Is against England, including a tie in Auckland in November 2019 that Chris Jordan duly sealed in the Super Over, to claim a 3-2 series win in the two teams’ most recent bilateral outing.
• Since then, England and New Zealand have played twice more, at consecutive T20 World Cups. At the former event in 2021, Daryl Mitchell propelled his side to the final where they fell short against Australia; then, 12 months later, England exacted revenge in the group stage, en route to their victory in the final.
• New Zealand’s four-match series is set to match their previous tally of T20I fixtures against England in England. They’ve won one and lost two of their previous three completed matches in 2008, 2013 and 2015, with a two-ball wash-out at The Oval in 2013 completing the set.

Quotes

“I don’t think he has a point to prove. We all know what a fantastic player he is. He’s unfortunate to miss out on selection at this stage. We’ve said it for a long time in English white-ball cricket we’ve got a lot of depth and talent, and young players coming through pushing [for selection] has been a hallmark of the team. It’s natural that good players miss out.”
“Any cricket now in the lead-up to the World Cup is good cricket. For the guys that go on to that tournament, you’re playing against quality white-ball opposition. I know it’s a different format but I think any cricket leading into the World Cup is good cricket.”

Hard-hitting century proves too much in spite of Scott Steel’s doughty 64 in reply

ECB Reporters Network01-Jun-2022Northamptonshire 227 for 1 (Lynn 106*, Neesham 75*) beat Leicestershire 185 for 9 (Steel 64) by 42 runsChris Lynn played another destructive, big-hitting innings for Northamptonshire Steelbacks, posting the third T20 century of his career as he put Leicestershire Foxes bowlers to the sword in this Vitality Blast clash.Amid an onslaught of boundaries at Wantage Road, Lynn bludgeoned 106 from just 66 balls with 12 fours and three huge sixes as Northamptonshire closed on 227 for one.Lynn picked up where he left off against Durham on this ground last Friday, sharing another century opening stand with Ben Curran (31). He was then joined by New Zealand international Jimmy Neesham who made a blistering 75 off just 30 deliveries featuring six enormous maximums on Steelbacks debut. The pair put on 118 in just 53 balls of mayhem in front of a near-capacity crowd who gave both batters a standing ovation.In reply, Foxes opener Scott Steel hit 64 from 45 deliveries. His stand of 65 in seven overs with skipper Colin Ackerman offered a glimpse of hope, before young left-arm wrist spinner Freddie Helreich came back from an early mauling to take three wickets for the second time in a week.The Steelbacks’ total was all the more notable given some sharp Foxes bowling and fielding restricted them to 48 in the powerplay. Naveen-ul-Haq was particularly impressive, beating the bat on several occasions.But Lynn soon found his stride targeting all the Foxes bowlers, clubbing them straight down the ground and over deep midwicket. He also found plenty of runs through the covers and past backward point.Not to be outdone, Neesham, fresh from a stint in the IPL, was soon into the fun, adding five fours to go with his six-hitting.The Steelbacks struck early when Ben Sanderson removed Hamish Rutherford. The bowler followed that by taking a running catch off Tom Taylor when Arron Lilley could not quite clear the infield.It left the Foxes in real trouble at 8 for two, but Ackerman led a fightback, cutting Neesham for successive boundaries and then swinging Sanderson over midwicket for another. He took four boundaries off Heldreich’s first over to take the Foxes to 50 for two at the end of the powerplay.Heldreich finally got his man when Ackerman hit straight to Graeme White on the long-leg boundary. Rishi Patel then fell to a stunning one-handed leaping catch by Rob Keogh on the deep midwicket boundary to give Heldreich his second scalp and leave the Foxes at 87 for four.Steel was joined by Ben Mike who struck some lusty blows off the slower bowlers but despite that, the Foxes were left needing 94 off the final five overs. When Mike offered a tame catch in the ring and departed for 30, the end was nigh.Steel continued his aggression, surviving one dropped catch off Heldreich before falling to an excellent catch from Curran at point off Neesham who finished with two wickets.The Foxes went down in a flurry of wickets, Sanderson also collecting three scalps in the process as the visitors closed on 185 for nine.

“The wicket was not offering anything for the fast bowlers but he was still moving the ball.”

Andrew Fidel Fernando20-Jan-202111 of Stuart Broad’s 17 overs in the second innings in Galle were maidens. Angelo Mathews, who faced 37 Broad deliveries in that innings, managed only one scoring shot against him. At times, Mathews said, it felt like he was facing Broad in England.On a pitch that has historically been unkind to quicks, Broad was not only phenomenally accurate, he also attacked the stumps more than he might at home, bowled leg-cutters that almost spat off the dusty Galle surface, and changed up his pace. He’d also taken three wickets for 20 in the first innings, sparking the collapse that essentially won England the match.Mathews went on to make 71 in the second innings, but thanks in part to Broad’s miserly bowling, Mathews’ strike rate was down at 32.”We all know what kind of a bowler Broad is – he’s taken over 500 Test wickets and he’s one of the best fast bowlers going around,” Mathews said. “On any kind of surface, the wicket was not offering anything for the fast bowlers, but he was moving the ball. One spell I felt like I was playing in England against him because he was moving the ball. That’s very difficult for a fast bowler to do in these conditions in Galle.”England spinners were not far behind on the accuracy front, according to Mathews. Dom Bess and Jack Leach bowled 74.5 overs between them in the second innings, going at less than three an over between them. Leach claimed a five-wicket haul, and Bess took three wickets. They took 14 of the 20 Sri Lanka wickets to fall in the match.”Even the spinners didn’t give anything away,” Mathews said. “They didn’t give loose deliveries at all. Even though the wicket was turning, and they were trying to take wickets. It was pure Test cricket where they held on to a line and length and we actually made a lot of mistakes by trying to go for too many shots too early off good balls, where we couldn’t score off.”Stuart Broad claimed the big wicket of Angelo Mathews•SLC

Despite the England attack’s accuracy, and although many Sri Lanka batsmen got out playing attacking shots, Mathews does not think a more conservative batting approach represents Sri Lanka’s best hope of levelling the series in the second Test. Generally, the thinking at Galle has been to score your runs briskly, before the inevitable unplayable delivery comes your way.”The way I play is different to a Dinesh Chandimal or a Kusal Perera or a Niroshan Dickwella,” Mathews said. “We’ve got to find our scoring options rather than try to copy some other batsman. Joe Root played a magnificent innings and we can learn a lot from the way he batted, but sometimes the shots he played, we can’t play. We need to be able to understand what we can and what we can’t do on these wickets against their bowlers.”It’s not about being conservative. You always have to look to score runs. But you need to understand how you can score runs off these bowlers and in these conditions.”