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Clearer weather is expected on days three and four, but there is more rain forecast for day five

Karthik Krishnaswamy27-Dec-2021Persistent rain washed out day two at Centurion, with the umpires calling off play at 1.55pm local time. There had been overnight rain in the Centurion area, and intermittent showers through the morning and afternoon ensured there was no possibility of play.The weather relented twice, causing the umpires to announce inspections at 11.30am – with an early lunch taken – and 12.45pm, but rain returned on both occasions to dampen hopes of a resumption.Related

• Covid-19 after-effects, hamstring niggle forced Duanne Olivier to sit out Centurion Test

Clearer weather is expected on days three and four, but there is more rain forecast for day five, meaning there is likely to be further time lost and a diminished chance of a decisive result. Conditions so far have not been conducive to flurries of wickets, with the pitch playing flat apart from the occasional instance of inconsistent bounce.Given the state of the game, the washout has probably caused more frustration in India’s camp than South Africa’s. At stumps on day one, the visitors had laid a strong platform, moving to 272 for 3 with the centurion KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane at the crease, having already put on 73 for the fourth wicket.Rahul was also involved in stands of 117 for the first wicket with Mayank Agarwal, who made 60, and 82 for the third wicket with Virat Kohli. Lungi Ngidi was the only wicket-taker for South Africa, ending day one with figures of 3 for 45.As such, day two’s biggest development came off the field, with CSA confirming that Duanne Olivier had missed out on selection owing to the lingering effects of Covid-19, which he tested positive for a few weeks ago, and a hamstring niggle. The left-arm seamer Marco Jansen, chosen in Olivier’s place, endured a tough start to his Test career, ending day one with figures of 0 for 61 in 17 overs.

He will replace Kane Williamson, who was released by the franchise after the last season

Nagraj Gollapudi23-Feb-2023Aiden Markram has been named the Sunrisers Hyderabad captain for IPL 2023.Markram, 28, recently led Sunrisers Eastern Cape to the inaugural SA20 title, where he also finished as the tournament’s third leading run-maker.Related

• IPL 2023 to be played from March 31 to May 28

• Prasidh Krishna ruled out of IPL 2023 with stress fracture

• 'Fully fit' Chahar ready to make comeback at IPL 2023

Sunrisers had to fill the leadership role after releasing Kane Williamson ahead of the IPL auction last December. The first player retained by the franchises ahead of the mega auction in 2022, Williamson struggled for form as Sunrisers failed to make the playoffs last season finishing eighth. Williamson missed the final league match last season to return to New Zealand for the birth of his child following which Bhuvneshwar Kumar took over the reins.It is understood that Bhuvneshwar, who has been with the franchise since its inception in 2013, along with Mayank Agarwal (bought in the December auction) and Markram were among the contenders for the leadership position. Markram was chosen for the role by the Sunrisers team management, which is led by Brian Lara, who was appointed as head coach ahead of the auction.In SA20, Markram proved he could excel both as a captain and a batter while leading Eastern Cape. Alongside making 369 runs at a strike rate of 127 including a century, Markram also bagged 11 wickets at an economy of 6.19 with his part-time offspin – enough to earn 596.6 points and top the Total Impact charts calculated as per ESPNcricnfo’s Smart Stats tool.Sunrisers paid INR 2.6 crore to buy Markram at the 2022 auction. In that season, Markram scored 381 runs in 12 innings at a strike rate of 139.05 and an average of 47.62.

Aryansh’s 60 off 43 kept UAE in the hunt before they lost five wickets for 21 runs and fell short

Deivarayan Muthu17-Aug-2023
Tim Seifert’s explosive fifty and Tim Southee’s crafty five-wicket haul helped New Zealand scrap to victory in the T20I series opener against UAE in Dubai. Cameos from Rachin Ravindra and Cole McConchie were also vital to New Zealand’s win on a tricky, two-paced track.Returning to the scene of the T20 World Cup final in 2021, when Seifert filled in for the injured Devon Conway, Seifert staked his claim for regular selection with a 30-ball half-century. UAE’s offspin-bowling allrounders Basil Hameed and Mohammed Faraazuddin then triggered a middle-overs meltdown, but late blows from Ravindra and McConchie hauled New Zealand past 150.Eighteen-year-old Aryansh Sharma marked his T20I debut with a sparkling half-century and kept UAE in the hunt until Jimmy Neesham had him holing out in the 15th over. His dismissal left UAE needing 41 off 30 balls with four wickets in hand. But Southee and co put it beyond their reach and bowled them out for 136.

Seifert goes bam

Seifert’s ability to club the ball had earned him a nickname – Bam Bam – inspired, of all things, . Seifert has drifted away from New Zealand’s first-choice XI in the recent past, but he has now put himself back in the spotlight with runs around the world.Last month, he finished the Zim Afro T10 league as the tournament’s second-highest scorer. He then hit three fifties in the LPL and added another to his CV in Dubai on Thursday. He was responsible for 47 of the 51 runs New Zealand had scored in the powerplay on a challenging pitch.He pumped Junaid Siddique and Aayan Khan over mid-off and then whipped Ali Naseer over square leg. UAE’s bowlers kept bowling slower balls into the pitch, but Seifert kept manufacturing enough pace for himself. Hameed cut his innings short at 55 when he had him splicing a reverse-sweep to point. He then cleaned up Mitchell Santner in the same over to drag UAE back into the game.

McConchie, Ravindra put NZ back on track

After the powerplay, New Zealand went seven overs without a boundary. Neesham then struck back-to-back fours against Hameed and when he went for another one against Siddique, he was caught at deep square leg.McConchie and Ravindra then forged an unbroken 46-run seven-wicket partnership off just 28 balls to give the innings a leg-up. Ravindra lined up Zahoor, taking him for 11 off six balls, including a drilled four down the ground. Hitting across the line was particularly difficult on this track, so the pair focussed on finding boundaries in the ‘V’.Aryansh Sharma score 60 off 43 balls•Emirates Cricket Board

Aryansh shows promise

That UAE made a decent fist of the chase was down to Aryansh’s knock. He scored ten boundaries during his 60 off 43 balls. Overall, New Zealand had scored only ten boundaries during their entire innings, but they still found a way to win.Until recently Aryansh was only Vriitya Aravind’s understudy, but in the first T20I against New Zealand, he was their main man, punching and driving with panache. He smashed left-arm quick Ben Lister for three successive fours before treating Kyle Jamieson in similar fashion. Neesham then snagged him to wrestle back the momentum for New Zealand.

Santner and Southee stifle UAE

Santner had given up ten runs in his first over in the powerplay, but he bounced back to concede only 12 from his remaining three while also picking up the wickets of Asif Khan and Ali Naseer.When Asif lobbed one in the air, it seemed destined to fall safely until Santner threw himself to his right and pulled off a stunning one-handed catch, in front of the non-striker. Then, in the 17th over, he trapped Naseer in front to hasten New Zealand’s victory.After making early inroads with the new ball, Southee was just as effective with the old, regularly digging cutters into the pitch. He took care of the UAE lower order along with Santner and Jamieson. Southee is now just two wickets away from surpassing Shakib Al Hasan as the highest wicket-taker in T20Is.

Renuka Singh, Alyssa Healy set to return to action in what will be the first international at the New Chandigarh stadium

Sruthi Ravindranath13-Sep-20251:11

Healy: ‘India a sleeping giant for a long time now’

Big Picture: A dry run for the ODI World Cup

Can either team get better preparation than this in the lead-up to the ODI World Cup? India get to face the defending champions, while Australia get to play one of the tournament hosts and have a chance to acclimatise to the conditions well before other competing teams.Having won nine of the 11 ODIs they have played this year and having beaten England in their backyard in July, India will carry a lot of confidence into this series. However, Australia can be a formidable opponent: they have beaten India in 12 out of the 13 ODIs since Harmanpreet Kaur’s epic knock in the 2017 ODI World Cup semi-finals.India were whitewashed 3-0 in the last two series they had played against Australia. Four out of the last five times they’ve met in an ICC tournament, India have lost, including the semi-final of last year’s T20 World Cup. India will want to use this series not just as a dry run to get their team combination right but also to come up with plans to get past the Australia hurdle. If India win this series, they will enter the World Cup as favourites.Australia, meanwhile, haven’t played ODIs this year since January, when they wiped England out 3-0 in the Women’s Ashes. The last tournament they played was the T20I series against New Zealand in March. But they have ten players who were also part of the 2022 ODI World Cup side in this squad, and have lost just three out of 28 matches they played since that tournament. So, they will back themselves to shake off the rust and hit the ground running. They will be playing in New Chandigarh, a non-World Cup venue, but they will benefit from some quality practice, specifically against spin in the middle overs, which is expected to play a big role in the ODI World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.Related

• Harmanpreet says India believe they can beat Australia 'any day'

• Australia ready to embrace 'little bit of unknowns' at ODI World Cup

• Healy hopes wicketkeeping 'tinkering' avoids recurrence of injury

• She gets knocked down but she gets up again: Sneh Rana's journey

Form Guide

India WLWWW (last five matches, most recent first)
Australia WWWWW

In the spotlight: Alyssa Healy and Sneh Rana

A ruptured plantar fascia at the 2024 T20 World Cup, a knee injury during the WBBL, and a stress fracture in the right foot during the Women’s Ashes. Australia captain Alyssa Healy has been dealing with recurring injuries since late last year which also affected her wicketkeeping. But she made a strong comeback for Australia A in the recent white-ball series against India A, making scores of 91 and 137 not out in the last two one-dayers and also keeping wicket, saying she made a few wicketkeeping ‘tinkering’ to avoid such injuries. A force for Australia in World Cups, she will hope to remain injury-free as she gears up for her first ODI World Cup as captain.Offspinner Sneh Rana has been on a roll ever since her comeback into India’s white-ball sides. A superb WPL season resulted in an ODI call-up, and she impressed immediately with 15 wickets in five games in the tri-series in Colombo in May. She followed that up with three wickets in the ODIs against England. With India expected to go spin-heavy for this series, and the World Cup that follows, Harmanpreet indicated during the squad announcement press conference that Rana will continue to be crucial in the middle overs.Alyssa Healy is set to return to action from injury•Getty Images

Team news: Renuka Singh returns from injury

With Renuka Singh back for the series from injury, she is expected to start ahead of Arundhati Reddy, who had played the ODIs against England, with Kranti Goud as the other fast bowler. India are also likely to go in with Rana, N Sree Charani and Deepti Sharma as spin options.India (probable): 1 Pratika Rawal, 2 Smriti Mandhana, 3 Harleen Deol, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Jemimah Rodrigues, 6 Richa Ghosh (wk), 7 Deepti Sharma, 8 Sneh Rana, 9 N Shree Charani, 10 Kranti Goud, 11 Renuka SinghWill Australia tinker with the XI that last played against England in January? Though left-arm spinner Sophie Molineux is back in the side after a lengthy injury lay-off, she has not been given the green light to play. Healy said Molineux wasn’t “quite ready for the ODI format” and that Australia are “ready to have her back when she’s ready to go” at the press conference on the eve of the first ODI.Australia (probable): 1 Alyssa Healy (capt, wk), 2 Phoebe Litchfield, 3 Ellyse Perry, 4 Beth Mooney, 5 Annabel Sutherland, 6 Ash Gardner, 7 Tahlia McGrath, 8 Georgia Wareham, 9 Alana King, 10 Kim Garth, 11 Megan Schutt

Pitch and conditions

This will be the first international fixture at the New Chandigarh stadium, which has hosted 11 IPL matches in the last two years, so the conditions are a bit of an unknown for both sides. The weather is expected to be a bit cloudy on Sunday, with the possibility of showers in the afternoon, and clear for the rest of the day.Georgia Voll and Ash Gardner at the nets•PTI

Stats and Trivia

• India last beat Australia in an ODI at home in February 2007. They have lost all ten encounters since.
• Harmanpreet is set to become the third Indian to feature in 150 Women’s ODIs.
• Megan Schutt is set to become the ninth Australian to feature in 100 Women’s ODIs.
• Since June 2024, Smriti Mandhana has scored 1346 runs in 23 ODI innings, 581 runs more than the next best batter. She has scored six hundreds in this period, three more than any other batter.

Quotes

“No doubt, they [Australia] have been very dominating. They have played well all over the world and dominated. But we are also at a stage where, as a captain, we have the belief we can beat them on any day. The processes in the last one and a half years has been good, we have improved quite a lot. Even in England, we beat one of their best sides. These show that we are on the right track.”
“This is the most stable Indian team I’ve seen and I think they’re in a really good place heading into this World Cup, so I’m looking forward to that challenge. The rivalry continues to grow. I know how much they love beating Australia and I know how good they are in their home conditions and that’s really a challenge for us. I think it’s going to be a really enjoyable, hard-fought series.”

Devine’s fifty, Tahuhu’s three-for in vain; New Zealand to compete with England for bronze

Valkerie Baynes06-Aug-2022Megan Schutt’s three wickets and another steadfast display from their batters saw Australia to victory against New Zealand in the second semi-final of the Commonwealth Games.New Zealand were left to rue several missed chances after taking the contest to the reigning T20I and ODI world champions. But, after Schutt made early inroads, Australia’s batting depth withstood the pressure through a fifty stand from Beth Mooney and Tahlia McGrath and a signature cool-headed knock from Ashleigh Gardner to win by five wickets.Australia will play India, who defeated England by four runs in Saturday’s earlier semi-final, for the gold and silver-medal places while New Zealand will play for bronze against the host nation.Schutt-ing star(t)Schutt made an immediate impact when she had Suzie Bates, second behind only India’s Smriti Mandhana on the tournament’s run-scoring list, out for a first-ball duck playing onto her stumps.Georgia Plimmer, 18 years of age and making her international debut, came in at No. 3 ahead of Amelia Kerr and managed to overturn an lbw decision off Schutt’s next ball, full and darting in from outside off to rap the front pad, when replays showed it was missing leg stump.Plimmer managed to add 17 runs before Schutt struck again with a brilliant legcutter which enticed her forward then clattered into off stump. At the end of the powerplay, New Zealand were 39 for 2 and, after 10 overs, they had stretched that to 63 for 2. Schutt later had Brooke Halliday caught at deep midwicket by Mooney – who also ran out Maddy Green with a blistering direct hit from mid-off on the last ball of the New Zealand innings – to end with 3 for 20 from her four overs.Simply DevineShortly after the halfway point, Sophie Devine survived an Australia review for lbw on umpire’s call on impact when McGrath beat her attempt to slog. Devine batted well for her 48-ball 53, passing a half-century with back-to-back pulls for four and a thunderous six. Devine’s business-like, brief raising of her bat in acknowledgement of the Edgbaston crowd’s applause suggested there was more work to do.It would have to be done by someone else though after she fell two balls later, attempting a similar shot but, without the same power behind it, Mooney swallowed the catch at deep backward square. Kerr reached 40 from 36 balls before she became the first of McGrath’s two wickets, skying a catch to Darcie Brown at backward point. McGrath also bowled Lea Tahuhu with an excellent yorker to help contain New Zealand to what looked like a below-par 144 for 7.Lea Tahuhu bowled with vigour, returning three wickets•Associated Press

Tahuhu good to leave outAustralia’s run-chase was off to a shaky start when Tahuhu had Alyssa Healy caught down the leg side by young wicketkeeper Isabella Gaze for just 14, continuing a lean run with the bat dating back to her ODI World Cup-winning knock in April. Tahuhu then bowled Meg Lanning with a full, slower ball that ricocheted off the front pad and onto the stumps in the perfect riposte to being clubbed over the deep midwicket rope, not to mention seeing Lanning dropped by Kerr at backward point off the first ball she faced.McGrath and Mooney – the latter dropped on 6 by Gaze off Tahuhu’s bowling – steadied Australia. The pair had lifted their side with an unbroken third-wicket partnership of 141 after a similarly precarious start in their final group game against Pakistan, and this time put on 56 together. McGrath received a second life on 14 when Hannah Rowe put down an easy catch at mid-off from the bowling of Kerr, and when she was run-out by an excellent throw from Kerr at backward point to Gaze, Australia needed 61 off 56 balls.When Mooney holed out to Rowe at deep cover, Tahuhu had her third wicket. Having been left off New Zealand’s central contracts list and only called up to the Commonwealth Games squad after Jess Kerr and Lauren Down pulled for injury and wellbeing reasons respectively, the 31-year-old Tahuhu showed she still has plenty to offer.Tried and trueAustralia’s considerable batting depth came to the fore once more to see them home. With five overs remaining, they needed 34 runs and when Devine had Rachael Haynes brilliantly caught by a diving Bates at long-on it went down to Gardner and Grace Harris to see them home.Gardner, whose only previous knock at the Games had been an unbeaten 52 against India, and Harris, who struck an impressive 37 off 20 from No. 7 in the same match, finished unbeaten on 19 and 8 respectively to reach the target with three balls to spare.

“What this season has done is give us real momentum into the future and we see incredible untapped upside in the WBBL”

Andrew McGlashan28-Nov-2022More home matches and playing at bigger stadiums are on the cards for the WBBL, as the rapidly expanding women’s game puts pressure on the tournament to retain its standing as the premier event.The latest edition of the WBBL came to a conclusion in front of a crowd of 6478 at North Sydney Oval on Saturday as Adelaide Strikers claimed their first title by overcoming favourites Sydney Sixers who had secured a record 11 wins in the regular season.After two seasons of Covid-19 disruptions, which included the Melbourne teams not playing at their home grounds for two years and the two Sydney sides being locked out last season, the tournament returned to all the states in this edition.However, it was competing in a congested sporting calendar across October and November which included the men’s T20 World Cup, albeit a clash that won’t be repeated for some time, and also the AFL Women’s league, which had its grand final the day after the WBBL.Related

• Smriti Mandhana: 'I'll be thinking about pulling out of WBBL'

• Retiring Rachael Haynes sees more change ahead

There is confidence that the tournament held up well alongside the various competitions and it continues to rate well on television, but the head of the Big Bash Leagues Alistair Dobson believes now that Covid has been navigated it’s time to be “bold and ambitious.”That could mean a reduction of the festival weekends of fixtures which have seen teams play neutral games, and also the use of iconic stadiums such as the SCG and MCG for marquee matches such as local derbies and the finals. Last year’s Eliminator and Challenger were held at Adelaide Oval and the final at Perth Stadium, but such venues have not been used since the competition went standalone in 2019.”The WBBL is definitely suited to the grounds we’ve played in, such as North Sydney Oval and Citipower [Junction Oval] in Melbourne, but equally the scale of the WBBL means that we need to be bold and ambitious enough to look at playing the bigger games in bigger stadiums,” Dobson told ESPNcricinfo. “While it wouldn’t be on a regular basis I’d love for us to be bold enough for us to start playing some of those games in bigger stadiums because that’s where it deserves to be.”It’s also about the schedule and how we make sure we bring matches to each team’s home market on a regular basis. This year, for example, we didn’t have too many games in Melbourne until quite late, equally in Sydney, and that showed that once you start bringing matches into those markets the interest takes off.”There are also the wider developments taking place in the women’s game with more leagues and more international cricket on the calendar. This season’s WBBL saw a handful leading players, including India’s Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana, withdraw and next year there will likely be a Women’s PSL and Women’s IPL added to the schedule.Already some players, including the recently retired Rachael Haynes, have started to warn that the WBBL can’t be complacent as the leading names start to weigh up which competitions to put their name forward into.”Our primary objective is making sure the WBBL remains the best league in the world,” Dobson said. “It’s fantastic that players have such opportunity around the world, but that does mean there’s a lot of cricket happening and it does require us to be mindful of that. Whether that’s the workload on our internationals or Australian players that now play more cricket than ever before.”At the same there are so many amazing local players who underpin the strength of the WBBL so it’s a balance of all those factors. We are absolutely mindful of what the players are telling us, they are at the heart of the strength of the WBBL. Ultimately the WBBL’s goal is to be a visible pathway for women and girls in cricket so we need to make sure are delivering on that as well.”The Women’s Hundred in the UK recently introduced a draft as part of their process for building squads for the 2023 season. The BBL had its first overseas player draft earlier this year and while Dobson did not commit to whether there was scope for it in the WBBL he said all aspects of the competition are constantly put under the microscope.”It’s always a point of review and with a new MoU on the horizon there’s certainly an opportunity to explore different models and looking at other competitions around the world [which] is always a helpful point of comparison,” he said. “What [this season] has done is give us real momentum into the future and we just see incredible untapped upside in the WBBL.”

Redfern will become first woman to stand in a Vitality Blast fixture when Gloucestershire host Middlesex

Valkerie Baynes04-Jun-2023When Sue Redfern walks onto the field in Bristol on Sunday as the first woman to stand as an umpire in a Vitality Blast match, she will do so hoping to make more than another significant step in her groundbreaking career. She wants to make way for women in cricket, including herself, to break free of stereotypes.Redfern’s role standing alongside fellow umpire Ian Blackwell at Seat Unique Stadium as Gloucestershire host Middlesex represents a chance to ensure that she and other female umpires aren’t pigeonholed as officials for women’s cricket.”This Blast debut is important because a lot of people know me as a female umpire in women’s cricket and yes, whilst that is really important and I hold that dear to my heart and I’m very lucky to be given the opportunity to umpire in World Cups and international women’s cricket, it’s so important that people see women in different roles throughout, in men’s cricket as well,” Redfern told ESPNcricinfo.”It’s about providing female umpires with steps in where they want to progress, not just in women’s cricket but in men’s cricket, like myself. I want to umpire for women’s and men’s games. One isn’t better than the other. It’s about different challenges, it’s about different opportunities across those pathways.”Myself and other female colleagues have had the opportunity to umpire at high levels in international women’s cricket. Through the ICC development panel of umpires a number of us have had the opportunity to umpire Associate Nations international men’s cricket. I think the next genuine step is if a female umpire has the ambition that she wants to progress in a male playing pathway, there’s recognition that actually it doesn’t matter what gender you are, as long as you have the skills associated with high performance for umpiring in those environments.”Related

• Redfern to add another first by standing in County Championship fixture

• Two women to stand as umpires in ECB Premier League match

• Anna Harris is flying the flag for women umpires everywhere

• Umpire Sue Redfern to become first woman to officiate in an England men's home international

• ECB restructures umpiring panel

Redfern’s appointment also points to another equally important factor, as she sees it, visibility. It’s a theme prominent amid the seemingly explosive growth in publicity around women in cricket, and other sports, in England and beyond.”We know that when you look at how women’s cricket has accelerated, it’s had more exposure, so if people see women umpiring, women will say, ‘hang on a minute’, the visibility is the key thing there,” said Redfern, a regular umpire on the women’s international circuit. “Once we’ve got that visibility it’s making sure it’s clear what you can do to become an umpire – the courses, the training, employment – where can you go and the support you get.”My experience is I’ve worked hard across various platforms in men’s and women’s cricket to progress my way up to be a professional umpire and there’s no reason why other women can’t do that. What is really important is that they are being given the opportunity to do that and that continues and then if they’re good enough they should have exactly the same chances as any other candidate.”Sue Redfern (l) and Jacqueline Williams (r) served as standing and third umpire respectively, the first time two women officiated in a men’s ICC tournament match•Peter Della Penna

In a blog for the ECB about her upcoming experience in the Blast, Redfern, 45, spoke of feeling fortunate to work in a field she loves and reminding herself that she has reached this point through hard work and on merit. But does she see a time when she doesn’t feel the need to remind herself that she deserves to be where she is, when her job is just something she does and enjoys?”Every umpire that progresses has to work hard,” she said. “Your performances will dictate the next opportunity which you get and the key thing here is making sure that there’s no bias in selection and there are opportunities whether you’re male or female and it is based on performance.”We shouldn’t be stereotyping women into women’s cricket, men into men’s cricket. It should be about what skill sets are needed for this game of cricket, who has got those skill sets, and we need to remove any bias that there might be across the pathways.”Redfern, a former England player and now a regular official on the international women’s circuit, was an on-field umpire in a World Cricket League Division Five match between Oman and Nigeria in 2016. With West Indies-based umpire Jacqueline Williams acting as third umpire in the same match, it was the first time two women had officiated in a men’s ICC tournament fixture. Last year, Redfern became the first woman to officiate in an England men’s home international as fourth umpire during the first T20I against Sri Lanka in Cardiff.In 2021, Australian Claire Polosak became the first woman to officiate in a men’s Test when she was the fourth umpire for the third Test between Australia and India at the SCG. Polosak had also been a standing umpire in a one-day match between Associate Nations Oman and Namibia in 2019. In April this year, New Zealander Kim Cotton became the first female umpire to stand in a men’s international between two ICC full-member countries in a T20I between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Dunedin.Domestically in the women’s game, the inaugural season of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy in 2020 saw ten women work as standing umpires during the tournament. So there has been progress in developing female umpiring talent and providing opportunities in both women’s and men’s cricket. But Redfern believes there is more to be done. During the English winter she will work with the ICC to help male and female officials in Europe develop their skills.During her preparations for Sunday, Redfern was also the TV umpire in Thursday’s Blast fixture between Lancashire and Yorkshire, and there’s more on her to-do list.”The Blast game coming up is another step in terms of my ambition and then following that would be a first-class debut in the men’s County Championship, that would be an aspiration,” she said. “Then moving on and upwards to the highest level I can officiate in. Obviously that would include men’s international cricket. But a lot of people have got aspirations to umpire in that environment as well. The key thing is I keep learning, I keep developing and I keep improving as an official.”

Zimbabwe’s loss on Tuesday and their poor net run rate has knocked them out of contention

S Rajesh04-Jul-2023Zimbabwe’s 31-run defeat to Scotland means they can no longer qualify for the ODI World Cup in India later this year. That’s because their net run rate has fallen to -0.099, largely due to their heavy defeat against Sri Lanka, when they lost with almost 17 overs to spare.Zimbabwe were on six points with two games to spare, but they failed to get those two points which would have ensured qualification. If Netherlands beat Scotland on Thursday, then all three teams – Zimbabwe, Scotland and Netherlands – will finish on six points.Related

• Spotlight on Bulawayo as Netherlands, Scotland battle for World Cup jackpot

• Scotland's Sole-stirring bowling display knocks Zimbabwe out of World Cup

With Netherlands’ net run rate in the negative but already above Zimbabwe’s, any win for them will only improve that further, thus ensuring that Zimbabwe cannot finish in the top two.Thus, the focus now shifts to the Netherlands-Scotland game, and the result margins for those two teams to qualify. A win for Scotland will obviously take them through, but even if they lose, they could qualify if the margin of defeat is relatively small.If Netherlands score 250, Scotland can afford to lose by up to 31 runs to stay ahead on run rate. A win by 32 or more runs for Netherlands will lift their NRR above Scotland’s. If Scotland bat first and score 250, they will stay ahead on NRR if Netherlands chase it down in around 44.1 overs (depending on how they get their winning runs). If they chase it down any sooner, then Netherlands will trump Scotland’s run rate and take the second qualification spot.

Australia Test quick is battling plantar fasciitis and has been ruled out of Durham’s clash against Worcestershire after undergoing a scan

Matt Roller and Alex Malcolm18-Apr-2024Scott Boland’s first spell in county cricket could be under threat from a heel injury that resurfaced on his debut for Durham, and has since required him to undergo a scan.Boland bowled 13 wicketless overs for Durham in the first innings of their high-scoring draw against Warwickshire at Edgbaston but did not bowl after the first day of the match. Scott Borthwick, their captain, initially suggested Boland’s absence was precautionary but his injury has since been revealed as , a common heel injury among fast bowlers.Boland’s plantar fasciitis issue had been the reason for his delayed arrival in England which saw him miss Durham’s first game. He has been omitted from Durham’s 13-man squad for their third-round fixture against Worcestershire which starts at Kidderminster on Friday.”Having had a scan, [Boland] is being assessed by the Durham Cricket medical team and Cricket Australia,” the club said in a statement. “A further update will follow on this in due course.” Early enquiries have been made over possible replacements in the event that he is ruled out for a significant period of time.Related

• Peter Siddle signs for Durham as Scott Boland succumbs to heel injury

• Xavier Bartlett confirmed for Vitality Blast stint with Kent

• CA revoke Xavier Bartlett's NOC for County Championship stint with Kent

• 'Doesn't make sense' – Clarke questions CA capping Lyon's county stint

• Cricket Australia cut Lyon's Lancashire stint short

Boland is due to play for Durham until the end of July and his contract covers both the County Championship and the T20 Blast. But he is centrally contracted to Cricket Australia – despite not playing a Test since last year’s Ashes – and they will monitor his workload throughout his time in England. It is understood CA’s medical staff will continue to work with Durham on Boland’s recovery after this latest issue as they are keen for him to play as much cricket as he can.He was rested at the start of the Sheffield Shield season in the expectation that Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc would be rested at some stage during Australia’s series against Pakistan, West Indies and New Zealand. But that trio ended up playing all seven matches, leaving Boland with a relatively quiet summer of six Shield games, plus four Marsh Cup appearances and three BBL matches.CA continues to manage their centrally contracted bowlers with newly elevated Queensland quick Xavier Bartlett withdrawn from a stint in the Championship with Kent just prior to the season starting, although it is understood they were happy for him to play in the Blast.There has also been consternation over the shortening of Nathan Lyon’s stint with Lancashire after he initially signed to play a full season across all three formats before that was halved and then cut to seven red-ball matches only, following a conversation between Lyon and Australia’s selectors about his workload over the next 18 months.Ben Stokes spent two days with the Durham squad during their draw at Edgbaston, continuing to build up his bowling loads as he continues his return to full fitness following knee surgery in November. “Good couple of days at Edgbaston last week,” he wrote on Instagram. “Weather been that bad had to make the trip up so I could bowl out doors [sic].”

With two defeats in New York and Dallas, Sri Lanka now arrive in Florida to take on Nepal in a game they cannot afford to lose

Madushka Balasuriya11-Jun-2024Sri Lanka haven’t been great as of late. They know that, and anyone watching them at the T20 World Cup 2024 knows that. But there have also been some mitigating circumstances which become glaringly obvious when you start comparing Sri Lanka’s batting to some of the other sides in their group.South Africa and Bangladesh just played out a low-scoring thriller, which followed South Africa’s low-scoring thriller against Netherlands, which followed Sri Lanka’s low-scoring thriller against Bangladesh, which followed yet another low-scoring affair between Netherlands and Nepal, which itself followed another low scorer between Sri Lanka and South Africa.In fact, in Group D so far, no team has managed to score more than Sri Lanka’s 124 batting first, which isn’t saying much but it does put their performances and results into context.”Now people are realizing how unpredictable the pitches are,” stated Sri Lankan fast bowling coach Aqib Javed ahead of their game against Nepal. “We were the first ones who’d gone through this process. Because I mean, look, as a player, you cannot expect anything like that, which we played the first time in New York on a new pitch. Now the people are realizing what total to place, and what they’re expecting when they’re choosing even a small total.”Even though the Dallas pitch we played was I think one of the best in the country to bat on, still these new conditions are surprising, not just us, but many teams. The batters especially, they’ve gone through a lot. This is not the normal behaviour of the pitches and the conditions. So, I think now the teams will change their strategies, and there will be a little bit of change in the homework as well.”The surprising nature of the wickets has also meant that results have conspired in such a way that despite Sri Lanka’s two defeats to start the tournament, they’re still in with a chance of qualifying for the next stage – provided they win their next two games and Bangladesh and Netherlands both lose at least one of their next two. But Javed is acutely aware that the performance of Sri Lanka’s batters have nevertheless not been up to scratch.”The beauty of this World Cup is that you cannot take easy to anything. We have seen some outstanding results from the associate teams. I think honestly if you look at the pitch, you have to be very careful, especially as a batter. How to adapt, what to leave out, and I think the best plan is to go out there and assess the situation and conditions.”If you ask me, what happened in New York, nobody knew what was going to be the wicket behaviour. [Score of] 77 was never enough. Even in the second game, we could have scored 150 to 160 because if you look at the batting card, we scored like 24 in the last six overs, we didn’t capitalise.”One area Javed doesn’t have any qualms with is in the bowling, with Sri Lanka’s varied attack giving their side a fighting chance in both matches they’ve played so far. Against South Africa, defending a measly 77 they did their best to stifle a strong batting lineup, while against Bangladesh they nearly nipped in at the death to steal it with a late flurry of wickets.”I’m really happy and enjoying the role as a bowling coach because this is one of the bowling sides which can challenge anyone. The ideal combo for any international team. You have the best legspinner in the world, you have a mystery bowler, and you have slingers which is very unique and very effective in T20 cricket.”It’s not easy all the time to defend the low totals, but so far, I think it’s good to see the captain leading from the front and you can see that energy in the field as well. And still, I think we have very good bowling options. I’m really satisfied so far.”