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Notts toil after opting to bowl before late fightback gives them foothold

ECB Reporters Network12-Jun-2022Leicestershire (Ackermann 116, Hill 104, Patterson-White 3-37) vs NottinghamshireCenturies by Lewis Hill and Colin Ackermann enabled winless Leicestershire to enjoy their most productive opening day of the season so far as they returned to LV= County Championship action at the Uptonsteel County Ground.Despite being asked to bat first on a well-grassed pitch, the Foxes closed on 340 for 8 against Division Two promotion favourites Nottinghamshire, who came into the match-up with their East Midlands neighbours looking for a fifth win of the campaign.Hill – only the second Leicestershire batter to reach three figures this summer – made 104, sharing a stand of 141 for the third wicket with Ackermann, who became the third as his 116 guided his side to their highest total of the campaign. It is only the second time the Foxes have picked up three batting bonus points.Nottinghamshire claimed four wickets in the final session, but it was not the day they would have anticipated when skipper Steven Mullaney won the toss and opted to give his bowlers first use of a surface that had good pace and carry and gave the ball a chance for much of the day.Related

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• Steven Croft anchors Lancashire reply in tense encounter

• Toby Pettman, Mark Watt underline value of opportunity that the county game affords

• Oli Carter's maiden hundred holds Sussex together

• Hain's 130 leads Warwickshire resistance against relentless Lancs

James Pattinson, back on the ground where he took a match-winning 5 for 29 on his Nottinghamshire debut in 2017, was celebrating after only his fourth delivery as Hassan Azad edged to third slip.Pattinson, who went close several more times, should have had a second, Rishi Patel surviving on 15 when wicketkeeper Tom Moores palmed away what was probably a chance for first slip. Patel was caught at first slip as Dane Paterson struck in his second over at first change but Hill and Ackermann wasted few opportunities as Nottinghamshire bowlers stuck to their attacking tactics, putting on 66 in almost 15 overs at the break to be 129 for 2.The afternoon followed a similar pattern, at least until the captain, Mullaney, decided deep into the session that his frontline bowlers were beginning to toil and allowed himself a bowl. That brought a breakthrough as Hill’s fine innings ended after 15 fours, most of them cut or driven through the off side.Lewis Hill latches on to cut•Getty Images

Mullaney, who had bowled only a couple of overs of his wobbly medium pace before lunch, took over from James at the Pavilion End, his fifth ball did just enough to pass the outside edge and clip Hill’s off stump. Tea arrived at 233 for 4 after Wiaan Mulder had thin-edged Pattinson to be caught behind.Louis Kimber, thankfully unscathed after taking a blow on the helmet facing Pattinson just before the break, played nicely for 33 as he and Ackermann added 69 for the fifth wicket, Ackermann gathering nine boundaries before turning a leg-side delivery from Lyndon James into a couple of runs to complete his hundred, a first for the former skipper in more than a year.Liam Patterson-White, the left-arm spinner, found some turn to bowl Kimber and Harry Swindells was quickly seen off by a swinging delivery from Brett Hutton after Nottinghamshire took the second new ball.Ackermann departed in the third last over of the day, a tentative prod ending in the hands of slip as Patterson-White tried his luck at the Bennett End for the first time, the spinner adding another by the same route as Callum Parkinson fell to the last ball of the day.

“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'

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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.”

The New Zealander will join the team on their ongoing tour of Australia

Umar Farooq10-Jan-2023Mark Coles is back as head coach of the Pakistan women’s team, and will join the squad on their ongoing tour of Australia. The New Zealander takes over the responsibility from interim head coach Saleem Jaffar, who was originally working as the team’s bowling coach with fellow former Pakistan men’s international Taufeeq Umar as batting coach.The PCB, under a new management committee headed by Najam Sethi, has roped Coles in on a one-year contract. He previously served as head coach from 2017 to 2019, when he resigned from the role citing family commitments.Related

• PCB review could limit Babar's all-format influence

• Mark Coles resigns as Pakistan women's head coach

• Diana Baig returns as Pakistan name squads for women's T20 World Cup and Australia tour

“I have worked with Mark and he is a perfect coach for a women’s team – gentle but firm, friendly but strict,” Sethi, told ESPNcricinfo. “He is a well-respected coach and in his previous stint with Pakistan he worked incredibly hard for the team’s progress. Players only had good words to say about him, hence we have decided to bring him back and he will be joining the team in Australia with immediate effect.”The PCB has been functioning under Sethi ever since the government removed ex-chair Ramiz Raja and his board by revoking the 2019 constitution the PCB was operating under and giving the Sethi-led 14-member committee full executive powers to work on reviving the constitution of 2014.Pakistan are presently in Australia for a series of three ODIs starting January 16, which are part of the 2022-25 Women’s Championship. It will be followed by a series of three T20Is, following which the team will travel to South Africa for the Women’s T20 World Cup – where Pakistan are in Group 2 along with England, India, Ireland and West Indies. Pakistan play their opening game against India on February 12 in Cape Town. Pakistan have never gone past the group stage of the T20 World Cup; in the 2020 edition, they won only one game, against West Indies, and lost to England and South Africa; their fixture against Thailand was washed out.Coles was first appointed in 2017, on a trial basis, ahead of a series against New Zealand in the UAE, as part of the PCB’s efforts to revamp women’s cricket and bring in a professional structure. Until then, the PCB had brought in coaches on a series-by-series basis and had even gone into their previous 50-over World Cup, earlier that year, with Sabih Azhar only a few weeks into his job. Coles was offered a long-term contract but Sethi resigned in 2018, and a year later Coles resigned to focus on his family responsibilities.Months later he joined the Japan Cricket Association as a high-performance manager in 2020, and he has since worked with the Vanuatu Cricket Association and been a high-performance manager with the women’s teams of Western Australia and Wellington. He won a domestic T20 title in 2013 with Wellington Blaze. His last coaching job was with the Scotland women’s team, from February 2021 to February 2022.In his term with Pakistan, Coles led the women’s team to seven wins in 16 ODIs, including a first-ever series victory over West Indies in 2019, and 12 wins in 30 T20Is. Between Coles’ resignation and return, the core of the team hasn’t changed drastically, with captain Bismah Maroof set to welcome back her former coach.Pakistan have already named their squads for the Australia tour and the Women World Cup, with fast bowler Diana Baig leading Pakistan’s bowling pack in both ODIs and T20Is. Left-arm spinner Sadia Iqbal, who emerged during Coles’ previous term, has developed to become an automatic choice in both formats. Pakistan reached the semi-finals of the T20 Asia Cup in Bangladesh this October, and beat their arch-rivals India in a thriller after they lost to Thailand earlier in the tournament.

India fast bowler has been missing in action since the final of the ODI World Cup in November 2023

Nagraj Gollapudi23-Feb-2024India fast bowler Mohammed Shami is a doubtful starter for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2024. ESPNcricinfo has learnt that Shami is likely to undergo ankle surgery, potentially just before the tournament, which would rule him out of most if not all of it. The IPL will be played between March 22 and May 26 this year.Shami has not played any cricket since India’s defeat in the World Cup final against Australia on November 19. He had been nursing his ankle throughout that tournament, but still finished as its highest wicket-taker with 24 strikes.Should he be ruled out for any length of time, Titans will be going into the new campaign without two key players, having already seen Hardik Pandya move to Mumbai Indians. Shami was their highest wicket-taker in their title winning 2022 season, with 20 strikes in 16 matches, and he was the overall highest wicket-taker last year with 28 strikes in 17 matches.Shami had been taking injections to treat his ankle during the World Cup and continued to do so even after the tournament. While he was not named in India’s white-ball squads for the tour of South Africa that followed, Shami was expected to return for the two-match Test series. But, on December 16, in the only medical update provided on the senior fast bowler, the BCCI said Shami’s “participation” in the South Africa Test series had been “subject to fitness” and since he “has not been cleared” by the BCCI medical staff, he was ruled out of contention.Early in January, Shami said he had “stiffness” in the ankle but he was hoping he would be ready for selection for the home Tests against England. “My rehabilitation is well on track and the medical experts at NCA are happy with my progress,” he told the . “There is slight stiffness in my ankle but that’s fine. I have started my training sessions and I believe I will be able to make a comeback in the England series.”However, Shami did not feature in either of the India squads put out by the Ajit Agarkar-led panel, initially for the first two Tests against England and recently for the final three Tests of the series.On January 22, Shami was in Hyderabad at the BCCI awards following which he reportedly travelled overseas to consult specialists about his ankle. It is understood that he will be visiting a surgeon next week before taking a final call on the matter.While the BCCI’s medical team has been monitoring Shami, he has not been at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru, which is where contracted cricketers normally do their rehab. It could not be confirmed whether the BCCI or Shami had kept Titans in the loop on his recovery timeline. Neither the BCCI nor Titans have made any public statements about him recently.

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.”

Highlights from Day 3 of the sixth round of Ranji Trophy matches

Shashank Kishore25-Jan-2025J&K beat Mumbai after 11 years
Eleven years after they first beat them in the Ranji Trophy, Jammu & Kashmir pulled off another heist against Mumbai to strengthen their knockouts hope. Chasing 205, they wobbled at different times with Shams Mulani picking up four wickets, but starts from each of the top five helped J&K win by five wickets. Opener Shubham Khajuria top-scored with 45, while Abid Mushtaq, who had minimal contribution with the ball, hitting a crucial 32 not out to seal victory.Gill century in vain as Karnataka stay aliveShubman Gill struck a combative 102, but couldn’t prevent Karnataka from running through Punjab for a second time in three days. After being bowled out for 55, Punjab batted out a little more time in the second dig to make 213, but still went down by an innings and 207 runs. Outside of Gill’s innings, the second highest from the top seven was Anmolpreet Singh’s 14. The bulk of the damage was done by young seam-bowling allrounder Yashovardhan Parantap, who picked up 3 for 37.Related

• Ranji round-up – TN close in on knockouts; Maharashtra stun Baroda

• Accuracy in, pressure off: How J&K took down mighty Mumbai

• Gill rediscovers red-ball gears in 'satisfying' century for Punjab

• Rahane lauds J&K seamers, admits he misread the conditions

Patidar, Venkatesh Iyer put Madhya Pradesh on topHaving conceded the first-innings lead, Madhya Pradesh responded strongly in the second innings, declaring on 369 for 8 to set Kerala a target of 363. Rajat Patidar top scored with 92, while Venkatesh Iyer hit an unbeaten 70-ball 80 at No. 8 as MP recovered from 247 for 6. MP picked up one wicket by stumps to keep themselves in line for an outright win.Vijay Shankar scored a century•PTI

Vijay Shankar century powers Tamil NaduIn Salem, Vijay Shankar’s 14th first-class century, his second of the season, helped Tamil Nadu put themselves in line for six points against Chandigarh. Having taken a 97-run lead, Vijay Shankar helped extend TN’s lead with an unbeaten 150 after N Jagadeesan set the foundation of the innings with 89. By stumps, Chandigarh had slumped to 113 for 5, still needing 290 with the left-arm spinning duo of S Ajith Ram and R Sai Kishore picking up two apiece.Gaikwad among the runsBatting at No. 4 with an eye on being a top-order batter, instead of just playing a specialist opener, Maharashtra captain Ruturaj Gaikwad hit 89 in a marathon Maharashtra innings – they were 464 for 7 in the second innings, extending their lead to 616 by stumps against Group C toppers Baroda. This is only the third game Gaikwad has featured in this season, as he was away during the first half of the tournament to play for India A in Australia. With them out of knockouts contention, it remains to be seen if Maharashtra declare overnight and try for an outright.Wadkar leads Vidarbha’s fightVidarbha captain Akshay Wadkar hit an unbeaten 102 to revive a floundering innings. Vidarbha, who conceded a lead of 100, went to stumps with a lead of 258 with three wickets still remaining. At one stage, they had effectively been reduced to 44 for 5, before Wadkar stood tall to play a typically gritty knock to help last year’s runners-up take the fight into the final day. Vidarbha are currently Group B toppers and are primed to Mae the knockouts.Haryana through to knockoutsA game that was fought on an even keel in the first innings turned decisively in Haryana’s favour thanks to a massive second-innings batting effort, led by half-centuries from Himanshu Rana and Nishant Sindhu as they opened up a 32-run lead into a 369-run target. Bengal, sans the injured Abhimanyu Easwaran, were bowled out for 85 in 21.4 overs, with Wriddhiman Saha, playing in his penultimate first-class match, unbeaten on 25. Anshul Kamboj, who earlier in the season picked up a perfect ten, finished with four wickets./

The selectors will name a new captain for the tour on Thursday

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Dec-2020Pakistan Women captain Bismah Maroof has withdrawn from next month’s tour of South Africa due to family reasons. Maroof was part of the training camp that started on December 20 in Karachi before she returned to Lahore to join her family on Wednesday.”Bismah approached us with a request to be exempted from next month’s tour to South Africa for family reasons, which we have accepted,” Urooj Mumtaz, head of the women’s wing and the chief selector, said in a PCB release. “She was obviously disappointed to miss the series, but family always has to come first.”When we’ll announce the 17-player squad on Thursday, we’ll name the stand-in captain as well for the South Africa tour, which comprises three ODIs and three T20Is.”Maroof, 29, is Pakistan’s second most-capped women’s player in ODIs and most capped among the current players. She has played 108 matches, with Sana Mir leading the list with 120. In the ODI run-scoring charts too, Maroof is second with her tally of 2602 runs, after Javeria Khan’s 2693.In T20Is, however, Maroof is the most capped (108 matches) as well as the top run-scorer with 2225 runs.The squad picked on Thursday will depart for Durban on January 11, and they can start training and play intra-squad matches from January 13. The tour will begin on January 20 with the first two ODIs in Durban, before moving to Pietermaritzburg for the third ODI and the first two T20Is and then returning to Durban again for the third T20I on February 3. The first ODI and the last T20I will be day-night games. The ODIs will be broadcast live by SuperSport in South Africa and the T20Is will be live-streamed.Twenty-seven players had started training for the tour in a biosecure environment in Karachi as Pakistan also prepare to participate in the Women’s World Cup Qualifier in July 2021 to try and make it to the main event in early 2022 in New Zealand. The players at the camp have been undergoing routine testing in line with the PCB Covid-19 protocols.The tour will also be the first official assignment of head coach David Hemp and bowling coach Arshad Khan.

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

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• 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.”

Alex Doolan’s maiden first-class half-century is unlikely to save Tasmania from defeat at the Gabba, where Ben Cutting’s three wickets put Queensland within sight of victory at stumps on the third day

Cricinfo staff04-Nov-2009Queensland 382 beat Tasmania 156 and 219 (Doolan 59, Marsh 49, Cutting 6-37) by an innings and 7 runs

Scorecard
Ben Cutting picked up 6 for 37 and finished with eight wickets for the match•Getty Images

Ben Cutting scythed through Tasmania’s tail to deliver Queensland victory by an innings and seven runs within the first hour of the fourth day at the Gabba. Tasmania began the morning at 6 for 209, needing a miracle to avoid defeat, but the speed of their capitulation was surprising all the same.It took the Bulls 45 minutes to pick off the final four wickets and Cutting grabbed three of them to finish with his best first-class figures of 6 for 37. First he had Brett Geeves caught behind for 17, having added one to his overnight total, and then Cutting removed Brady Jones and Brendan Drew for ducks.Chris Swan finished the task when Daniel Marsh was caught behind for 49 and the Tasmania collapse was so sudden that they had only added 10 runs to their overnight score. It meant Queensland did not have to bat again and consigned the Tigers to their second defeat from their opening two matches.Queensland have one win and one draw, having taken first-innings points against Western Australia last month. The Bulls now travel to Adelaide to begin a match with South Australia on Sunday, while Tasmania have a fortnight off before their next game against New South Wales in Sydney.

The former batting star’s role with the state had been announced before the season

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff03-Nov-2023Australian ODI great Michael Bevan’s appointment as a coaching consultant for struggling New South Wales is over before it began.The former Blues great revealed he is yet to be brought into the state set-up this season as their winless Sheffield Shield streak extended to 15 with a thumping defeat to Victoria last Sunday.”It was announced pre season that I would be working with @CricketNSW as a batting consultant  – to date, this hasn’t happened,” Bevan posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday.Related

• Edwards praises work with 'childhood hero' Watson amid early-season surge

• Watson and Bevan called in to revive New South Wales

“Given the timing, I feel it is important that the current coaches are afforded every opportunity to stamp their quality and be allowed to guide cricket nsw back to a position of strength within @CricketAus.”Unfortunately this means, this year they won’t be receiving the magical bevo “finishing” methodolgy (sic). Maybe next year.”Cricket NSW trumpeted Bevan’s position in September following the embarrassment of the state’s first winless Sheffield Shield season since 1938-39.

New South Wales’ struggles

Victoria, MCG: lost by 205 runs
South Australia, Adelaide Oval: lost by 186 runs
Queensland, Cricket Central: match drawn
South Australia, Karen Rolton Oval: match drawn
Victoria, Albury: lost by 10 wickets
Queensland, Gabba: lost by five wickets
Tasmania, SCG: match drawn
Victoria, Junction Oval: lost by 69 runs
Western Australia, SCG: lost by 133 runs
Tasmania, Hobart: match drawn
South Australia, Wollongong: match drawn
Queensland, Drummoyne Oval: match drawn
Western Australia, WACA: lost by eight wickets
South Australia, Adelaide Oval: lost by five wickets
Western Australia, Bankstown: match drawn

The 53-year-old, and fellow Australia white-ball great Shane Watson, were announced as consultants to coach Greg Shipperd, who himself was rushed into the top job midway through last summer after the axing of Phil Jaques.Bevan was supposed to be acting as a batting coach, while Watson, who has been commentating in India during the World Cup, was given the role of mentoring and mindset coaching for players.In a statement, Cricket NSW said: “Earlier this year, Cricket NSW announced that former great Michael Bevan would begin work as a consultant, working as a batting coach with the NSW Blues squad.”Unfortunately, Cricket NSW and Bevan were unable to come to a timely agreement on commencing work with the Blues. Cricket NSW values and acknowledges the experience and skillset that Michael Bevan can bring and look forward to the potential of working with him in the future.”During a 50-over career for Australia spanning 10 years, Bevan averaged 53.58 – the seventh-highest ODI average in history – across 232 games. He scored 19,147 first-class runs, the majority of them for NSW.