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ECB to train teachers as coaches to boost cricket in secondary schools

admin — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 15:29:54 +0000

Secondary-school teachers will be trained to become cricket coaches, under plans unveiled by the ECB to reinvigorate the sport’s participation levels in state-sector education.

The initiative was announced at Lord’s on Wednesday as part of an update to the ECB’s Inspiring Generations strategy, following on from last year’s Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) report.

Although more than 93% of British children are educated in the state sector, the ICEC report found that privately educated pupils were 13 times more likely to play professional cricket, and that 58% of the England men’s team in 2021 had attended fee-paying schools.

After several years spent re-establishing links with primary-school education, principally through the Chance to Shine charity which has introduced more than 7 million children to cricket since it was launched in 2005, the ECB is now aiming to support cricket provision in 500 state secondary schools by 2030, with up to £26 million earmarked for the improvement of state facilities in 16 towns and cities.

The ECB also plans to reinforce that primary-school link by providing free cricket for 3.5 million pupils over the next six years, while further measures include restructuring cricket’s talent pathway to improve the flow of state-school players into county age-group programmes.

There is also a pledge to support 70 players per year at the South Asian Cricket Academy – the initiative set up by Dr Tom Brown in 2021 and which last month saw Jafer Chohan become its first graduate to reach an England senior squad – as well as 21,000 young people over the next three years at the African Caribbean Engagement (ACE) programme.

The strategy document is intended to cover planning up to the end of 2028, which includes the ECB’s hosting of the Women’s World Cup in 2026, as well as men’s and women’s home Ashes series in 2027, and the return of the sport to the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.

“Today’s announcements are the roadmap for where we will take cricket over the course of the next four years,” Richard Gould, chief executive of the ECB, said. “The delivery of our strategy and positive change in the sport is the responsibility of all of us, led by the ECB to set out how this change will happen.”

Many of the ECB’s measures have been accelerated by the criticisms laid out in the ICEC report, which castigated English cricket for its failings on the grounds of racism, classism and sexism. However, Clare Connor, the deputy chair, insisted that the overall aim, of becoming the most inclusive sport in the country, had been in train even before the commission’s findings had laid out the urgency of the work.

“The first iteration of Inspiring Generations [published in 2019] had inclusion at its heart,” Connor said. “We were always on the journey towards closing the gender gap and other equity gaps in the game, but I think the [ICEC] report has turbo-charged that work, and shone a mirror up to the whole game.

“It’s united everyone behind that vision, and it’s been great to be able to reflect on that progress one year on. We’ve delivered on about 60% of the recommendations after one year, and we’re heartened by some of the things that we’ve been able to change really quickly. It hasn’t always been easy or possible, but the ICEC report and the scrutiny across cricket has galvanised the game.”

Although the ECB pushed back on the ICEC’s recommendation that domestic pay should be equalised across the sexes by 2029 in domestic cricket and 2030 at international level, the board did announce equal match fees for men and women’s international matches in September last year, while last month it was confirmed that rookie contracts in domestic cricket from 2025 onwards would be worth £20,000 for both sexes – an initiative that will include the top two tiers of the relaunched women’s county competition.

“Thanks to the new [women’s] structure, there’ll be more opportunities through the talent pathway as well, so it’s about working out how that base can be as broad as possible,” Connor added. “We don’t know how long it will take us to get absolute parity at the top, and it almost certainly won’t be in the years that the ICEC suggested. But we are confident that that level of remuneration makes cricket a very attractive proposition for a sporty girl. Then, it’s about making sure that she can get the opportunity to find a way through to that top echelon.”

The ECB’s plans, however, could face a snag as they wait to see whether they will receive the £35 million investment into the sport’s grassroots that was last year promised by the former prime minister, Rishi Sunak, but is currently subject to the spending review being conducted by the recently elected Labour government.

ECB officials met with the sports minister, Lisa Nandy, in Barnsley next week, and remain hopeful that the prospect of the women’s World Cup in particular will encourage the government to carry through with that investment, which had been targeted at selected charities such as Chance to Shine, Lord’s Taverners and ACE.

“There’s lots that we won’t be able to do to the degree that we would have wanted, if we don’t get the money,” Connor added. “We’re hoping to build as much cricket affinity with the new government, and see where we get to, probably by the spring.”

Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket

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England add Jordan Cox and Rehan Ahmed to Caribbean tour

admin — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 08:24:27 +0000

England have added Jordan Cox and Rehan Ahmed to their white-ball squads for their upcoming Caribbean tour, which starts next Thursday.

Both players are with England’s Test team in Pakistan, with Cox due to fly home after the first day of the series decider in Rawalpindi ahead of the white-ball squad’s departure for Antigua on Monday. Rehan, who has been named in England’s XI for the third Test, will arrive late in the Caribbean and is unlikely to feature in Thursday’s first ODI against West Indies.

Cox, the Essex wicketkeeper-batter, is set to make his Test debut at some stage on England’s tour to New Zealand which closely follows the West Indies tour and may leave the Caribbean early. He is likely to miss the five-match T20I series, and will arrive in New Zealand in time for England’s warm-up match in Queenstown on the weekend of November 23, ahead of the first Test on November 27.

Cox made his international debut in England’s T20I series against Australia last month, and is likely to win his first ODI cap in the Caribbean with Jos Buttler ruled out of the 50-over leg of the tour due to a recent setback in his rehabilitation from a calf injury. He will also deputise as England’s keeper at some stage in the New Zealand series, with Jamie Smith set to miss at least one Test – and potentially all three – on paternity leave.

Rehan’s involvement in the third Test in Pakistan is likely to rule him out of at least the first ODI, and he may not be considered until the T20Is. He is one of three wristspinners in England’s squads along with Adil Rashid, the mainstay of their white-ball sides, and the uncapped Yorkshire leggie Jafer Chohan.

England said when they announced their squads that two Test players would be added and always planned to take Cox and Rehan to the Caribbean. They announced this week that Liam Livingstone will captain them in their three ODIs in the Caribbean, with Buttler missing that leg of the tour, and also added Essex’s Michael Pepper to their squads as cover.

West Indies are 2-0 down in an ODI series in Sri Lanka ahead of the final match on Saturday, having lost the T20Is 2-1, and are yet to announce their squads for the series. The first ODI takes place in Antigua on October 31, with the tour running until the fifth T20I in St Lucia on November 18.

England ODI and T20I squads: Jos Buttler (captain, T20Is only), Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Jafer Chohan, Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone (ODI captain), Saqib Mahmood, Dan Mousley, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, John Turner.

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Harry Brook seeks emphatic response after rare fallow outing in Pakistan

admin — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 12:07:28 +0000

Pakistan’s national bureau of statistics hosted its inaugural ‘Data-Fest’ conference this week, 10 minutes away from England’s hotel in Islamabad. Under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes, this England set-up has shown minimal interest in numbers but there is one figure that stands out ahead of their series decider in nearby Rawalpindi: 101.25, Harry Brook’s batting average in Pakistan.

Two years have passed since Brook announced himself as a Test cricketer with an outrageous maiden hundred in Rawalpindi. He was England’s fourth centurion as they racked up 506 for 4 on the opening day of their series against Pakistan, eventually falling for 153 off 116 balls on the second morning after looting 27 off an over from Zahid Mahmood.

He followed that innings with subsequent hundreds in England’s victories in Multan and Karachi, an extension of a stunning run of form in Pakistan that had started with a century in the 2022 PSL and continued with a breakthrough T20I series. Not since Kevin Pietersen had an England batter made such a compelling start to their Test career.

Brook started the series with 317 in Multan on his return this month, a mammoth innings that was England’s highest in 34 years. But more than 500km away in Peshawar, Sajid Khan was watching closely on TV, and noticed Brook hanging back against spin. When he was called up for the second Test, Sajid hatched a plan to turn the ball sharply out of the rough.

“There was a small patch outside off stump,” Sajid explained. “When he faced his first ball, I told Rizi bhai [Mohammad Rizwan] that if he plays like this again, I will get him out.” Brook stayed back as Sajid predicted, looking to punch through cover, but was beaten on his inside edge by a ball that kept low and had his leg stump knocked back.

Brook was out playing off the back foot again in England’s second innings, too, this time to the left-armer Noman Ali. He sat deep in his crease to a fullish ball, looking to swing it over midwicket, but was deceived by the low bounce and trapped lbw. With scores of 9 and 16, this was Brook’s least successful Test in Pakistan: his first without a hundred, and his first defeat.

Brendon McCullum, England’s coach, smirked after the second Test when he heard Sajid had been revealing his plans to Brook. “Did he? Well bowled,” McCullum said. “He is such an exciting cricketer, and such a big player for us as well, and he’s trying to put pressure on the opposition… Sometimes, when you’re doing that, you make mistakes and you get out.”

One quiet Test immediately after a triple-hundred is not enough to prompt any long-term concerns, but Brook said on Tuesday that he has been discussing gameplans against Sajid and Noman ahead of this week’s decider. “They’re obviously both going to play a massive part in their team,” he said. “Hopefully, it pays off and I play a big part in the game.”

Brook agreed with Sajid’s assessment about his preference to play spin off the back foot. “I do like to,” he said. “It gives you a lot more time to play the spinning ball. It gives you different areas to play in. I’m not saying I’m not going to do that: I’m going to look to play off the back foot, and I’m going to look to put him under pressure.”

It is hardly an issue that has plagued him across his Test career: to date, Brook averages more against spin (67.81) than seam (57.70). But the reason that his twin failures were notable was that, having missed England’s tour to India on compassionate leave, this was the first time he had played on a pitch weighted firmly in the spinners’ favour.

England staged a six-hitting competition ahead of their final training session in Rawalpindi on Wednesday morning, with Brook finishing a close second to Rehan Ahmed. Stokes said the aim was to “get the good vibes going” after three weeks largely confined to two hotels and two stadiums, but it also served as a reminder of Brook’s devastating power.

It is easily forgotten that Brook has still only played 20 Tests, such was the speed with which he became an all-format regular for England. He has a stellar record, averaging a shade below 60, but remains a work in progress. “He’s a baby in the greater scheme of things,” Jason Gillespie, Pakistan’s coach, said. “He’ll work things out in all conditions: the good players tend to do that.”

This has been a long season for Brook: since the start of April, he has played more or less non-stop, with 35 matches across formats including eight Tests, five ODIs as a stand-in captain, and a T20 World Cup. Thursday’s Rawalpindi Test will finally bring it to a close, even if he will only have a short break before England travel to New Zealand.

As a three-format player, Brook is growing accustomed to the relentlessness of the international schedule and will soon become used to opponents targeting what they perceive to be potential weaknesses. If he can overcome both pitfalls and maintain his remarkable three-figure average in Pakistan, it will go a long way towards England clinching this series.

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England stay on the front foot as Pakistan crank up the spin settings again

admin — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 10:27:03 +0000

Big picture: Rawalpindi? Rawalspindi…

Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.

Has a team ever taken Mike Tyson’s famous aphorism more literally than Ben Stokes’ England? Their jutted-jaw attitude to risk and reward has served up a glut of remarkable Test matches in recent years, but in Multan last week, their fifth defeat out of seven in the subcontinent was a stone-cold knock-out.

At 73 for 0 and 211 for 2 in the first innings, England’s fists were whirling – most particularly those of Ben Duckett, whose fourth Test century featured another preposterous array of sweeps. Thereafter, however, England mustered 224 for 18 wickets in the remainder of the match, as they ran smack into a pinpoint one-two combo from Pakistan’s spinners, Sajid Khan and Noman Ali.

Ordinarily, forewarned would be forearmed for the rematch, especially with the series now very much on the line. But that’s not how this England team roll. They see a clear logic in taking the aggressive approach in bowler-friendly conditions, to get their runs on the board before that ball with their name on it arrives. For, as England showed in going into their shell at the back end of their India tour earlier this year, dying in a hole isn’t really a better option either.

And, as England famously showed at this very venue two years ago, they don’t hang around if the going is good either. Pakistan’s dead-deck policy was in full force back in 2022, when the visitors surged onto the offensive on an extraordinary opening day, racking up 506 for 4 in 75 overs, with centuries for Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Harry Brook, all four of whom will be back for a second helping in the coming days.

And that’s the sort of punch in the mouth that Pakistan themselves will be hoping to avoid, as they carry their own cunning plan forward from Multan.

There could yet be a significant difference between last week’s reused surface, one that had already seen five days of hard-fought Test action in England’s extraordinary victory in the series opener, and this one, which has undergone an emergency de-laying in the four days between matches.

For all the work that the groundstaff have put in, with industrial fans and commercial heaters at either end creating a wind-tunnel of deconstruction, they may still struggle to open up any cracks in the surface if there were none there in the first place. England certainly aren’t preparing as if it’s going to a first-day minefield. Instead, they lined up before practice for a six-hitting competition, with Rehan Ahmed beating Brook in the final, and Brendon McCullum pipping Stokes for the day’s longest hit.

They are, however, planning for a lack of reverse-swing on a relatively lush outfield, and have mitigated their omission of a second frontline seamer with the inclusion of Rehan – whose legspin is as likely to conjure a wicket from nowhere when the going gets tough, as was the case with the long-hop to Babar Azam that ignited his debut five-for, as run through a line-up when the going is in his favour.

Back comes Gus Atkinson too, a very handy man to be able to bring off the bench, although the absence of Brydon Carse will be a tough gap to fill. He claimed nine wickets at 24.33 in his first two Tests, which is an admirable return by the standards of any debutant. To achieve such figures in the heat and dust of Multan, however – and in the shadow of England’s epochal 823 for 7 declared – was truly exceptional.

Either way, we’re braced for the sort of grandstand finish that hadn’t looked remotely on the cards after England had flexed their muscles in their first-Test innings win. Pakistan haven’t won a series on home soil since February 2021, but there’s a confidence back in their cricket now. That is best epitomised by the complementary but contrasting spinning styles of Noman and Sajid, but it’s visible too in Kamran Ghulam‘s composed arrival in the side, and the doughty lower-order resistance that Salman Agha oversaw in their pivotal second innings in Multan. For all the flaws that remain in their set-up, they’ve got a puncher’s chance now.

Form guide

Pakistan WLLLL (last five Tests, most recent first)
England LWLWW

In the spotlight – Kamran Ghulam and Rehan Ahmed

It was one of the great debuts in Multan, as Kamran Ghulam came in from the cold, after a decade of service on Pakistan’s domestic circuit, and in place of one of their modern greats in Babar Azam. His resolute and measured century proved to be ideally paced for the conditions, as he absorbed the pressure from England’s attack, hit back when the opportunity arose, and drove his side towards a first-innings total of 366 that proved decisive as the pitch began to heat up over the final three days of the match. The challenge, of course, is to back that effort up, especially if Pakistan lose the toss this time around and find themselves chasing the game on a wearing surface. But one advantage of his years in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy is that he’s seen all these surfaces before, and as that debut showed, he’s unfazed by the step up to Test level.

Second-season syndrome is a familiar challenge for many young cricketers, but young England spinners have it tougher than most. Rehan Ahmed was the toast of England cricket after his fairytale debut in Karachi two years ago, but he has since had to wait eight months between international opportunities, having made an underwhelming impression on the tour of India in February, with 11 wickets at 44.00 in three losing appearances. He’s been mothballed by the white-ball set-up too, with Adil Rashid showing no sign of relinquishing his crown, and at the age of 20, Rehan has also had to contend with the sense that he’s no longer the most acclaimed cricketer in his family, with his offspinning younger brother Farhan, 16, making a splash in the County Championship for Nottinghamshire after his impressive displays for England Under-19s. But if Rehan’s Pakistan counterpart Zahid Mahmood felt like a spare part during the second Test in Multan, there’s little danger that England’s captain Stokes will be as unaccommodating in his captaincy. Expect him to be trusted for key breakthroughs with attacking fields, and he’ll be itching to repay the faith.

Team news: Rehan returns, Pakistan unchanged

Why change a winning formula? Pakistan didn’t look perfectly balanced in the second Test, with Sajid and Noman bowling more than 87% of their overs across two innings, but it worked a treat, and if the Pindi pitch behaves as intended, a repeat performance will more than suffice. Aamer Jamal’s batting provided important balance in the lower-middle order, even if his six overs of seam were an afterthought, while Zahid the legspinner is returning to the scene of his debut in 2022, where he claimed the eyewatering figures of 4 for 235 in 33 overs.

Pakistan: 1 Saim Ayub, 2 Abdullah Shafique, 3 Shan Masood (capt), 4 Kamran Ghulam, 5 Saud Shakeel, 6 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 7 Salman Agha, 8 Aamer Jamal, 9 Sajid Khan, 10 Noman Ali, 11 Zahid Mehmood

England have rolled the dice on a surface that has clearly been tailored towards spin, and recalled Rehan as part of a three-spin attack. It’s an echo of their approach in the third Test of their last tour of Pakistan, when he was again called up for the series finale and stole the show with a second-innings five-for. On the seam-bowling front, Atkinson returns after sitting out the second Test, in place of both Carse – the outstanding quick on either side in this series – and Matthew Potts, and ahead of Olly Stone, back in the country after his wedding and maybe wishing he’d gone on honeymoon after all. Stokes, who bowled just five overs after returning to the team last week following a hamstring tear, may need to up his workloads if there’s any assistance off the pitch or, more likely, through the air.

England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Rehan Ahmed, 10 Jack Leach, 11 Shoaib Bashir.

Pitch and conditions: Rake and ruin?

Pakistan’s cunning plan worked a treat in Multan, so out come the industrial fans once more, in another bold gambit to inject life into one of the flattest, most run-laden surfaces in existence. Brook was talking about the pitch having been “raked” as well, as the groundstaff attempt to exacerbate whatever rough may exist on a pitch that clearly suited England’s Bazballers just fine on their last visit two years ago. The relatively lush outfield may not aid reverse-swing to the same degree as was evident in last week’s second Multan Test. The more northerly venue, allied to the onset of winter, means that a few early finishes for bad light may be in prospect.

Stats and trivia

Pakistan have won five of their previous 15 Tests in Rawalpindi, though none since 2021, when they beat South Africa by 95 runs. Since then, they’ve lost three out of four – including a draw against Australia – with England’s win in 2022 being followed by Bangladesh’s two in two for a historic series win.

Despite twin scores of 9 and 16 in the second Test, Harry Brook still averages 101.25 in five Tests in Pakistan. If he makes another 100 runs in the third Test, in fewer than 146 balls, he’ll break Ben Duckett’s new record for the fastest batter to 2000 Test runs (2293 balls).

Abdullah Shafique and Saim Ayub achieved their first double-figure opening partnership of 15 in the second Test at Multan, but their average of 4.70 after ten innings remains by a distance the lowest for any regular partnership in that role.

Zak Crawley will be playing his 50th Test for England. His average of 32.36 isn’t much to write home about, but his penchant for going big when set certainly is. He made a century on his last appearance in Rawalpindi, and needs 184 to reach 3000 in Tests.

England have lost seven tosses in a row, dating back to the second Test against West Indies in July.

Quotes

“Adding Rehan’s free spirit and desperation to change the game every time he’s got the ball in his hand is a massive bonus for us this week. Legspinners have an amazing ability to break a game open… You’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.”
Ben Stokes, England’s captain, is ready to back Rehan Ahmed despite a quiet season for Leicestershire.

Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket

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Steyn to work with England Lions on short-term basis

admin — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 06:25:53 +0000

Dale Steyn will work with some of England’s most promising young fast bowlers in South Africa next month, ESPNcricinfo can reveal. Steyn will be part of Andrew Flintoff’s coaching staff in his first tour as England Lions head coach, along with his former international team-mate Neil McKenzie.

Steyn, who took 439 wickets in his stellar Test career for South Africa, will work with the Lions on a short-term basis. The ECB named a 19-man training squad at the start of the month, with the tour due to run from November 20 until December 14. It will largely consist of a training camp but will conclude with a four-day match against South Africa A in Western Province.

The squad is packed with ten seamers, including two players with full international caps in Pat Brown and Josh Hull, and two others who were unused squad members this summer in Dillon Pennington and John Turner. The other six fast bowlers are Zaman Akhtar, Kasey Aldridge, Henry Crocombe, Tom Lawes, Harry Moore and Mitchell Stanley.

Ed Barney, who replaced Mo Bobat as the ECB’s performance director earlier this year, said the seam-dominated squad reflected “England’s short and long-term needs” across formats. “Over half the squad consists of seamers, reflecting our continued focus on supporting these players to achieve their potential,” Barney said.

McKenzie, the former South Africa batter, will oversee a group of batters which three recent members of the England Under-19s set-up in Freddie McCann, Ben McKinney and Hamza Sheikh. Dan Mousley will join the Lions tour after travelling to the Caribbean for England’s white-ball series, while James Coles, Matty Hurst and James Rew also feature.

McKenzie was part of Flintoff’s coaching staff in his first role as head coach earlier this year, when he took charge of Northern Superchargers in the Hundred. He has also worked with South Africa’s national team and Desert Vipers, and was recently replaced as Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s batting coach by Dinesh Karthik.

Karthik was another coach briefly brought into the Lions set-up on a short-term basis in India earlier this year, with the ECB seeking to harness local knowledge on development tours. It is understood that Jacques Kallis was also scoped out as an option for the South Africa camp, though is not expected to feature when a full list of coaching staff is announced later this week.

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Stokes and England braced for Pindi spin-quisition

admin — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 16:39:54 +0000

England’s men do not play another Test in Asia for more than two years after Rawalpindi. It will therefore act as a decider in more ways than one, not only dictating the result of a gripping three-match series in Pakistan, but also informing long-lasting judgement on just how well equipped, or otherwise, Ben Stokes and his team are to compete in the subcontinent.

It is a quirk of the schedule that after 17 Tests in Asia over the last four years, England are not due to return in the next two. Their white-ball sides will be back regularly, including for next year’s Champions Trophy and the T20 World Cup in 2026, but their next Test tour is not until February 2027, in the form of a two-match series in Bangladesh.

Since Stokes took over as captain two-and-a-half years ago, England’s record in Asia is an even one: five wins and five defeats, with one of those victories coming under Ollie Pope’s leadership. They are not the only team to have struggled in India over the last decade, losing 4-1 earlier this year, but a second successive win in Pakistan would put the shine on their subcontinent record.

Rawalpindi was the scene of one of England’s greatest wins two years ago, when their batters racked up 506 for 4 in 75 overs on the first day of the series, before their bowlers’ skill and Stokes’ ingenuity enabled them to take 20 wickets on a lifeless surface. They are braced for a significantly different challenge this time around, which is reflected in their selection.

“It looks like it will be a pretty decent wicket for the first couple of days,” Stokes said. “There’s not too much grass on it to hold it together, so the reasoning behind three spinners was, as the game progresses, that will probably come into the game… It was just weighing up who we think will be effective as the game goes on.

“It’s pretty obvious there’s been a few rakes put across it… I’ve never been a groundsman, but you’d think a rake would assist the spin. You look down it, and we can have a good guess which ends the Pakistan spinners will operate from.” When asked if only one end had been raked, Stokes clarified: “No, both have – but there are certain areas.”

While the grass was cut short on the strips either side of the playing surface in the second Test in Multan, there are only three pitches cut across the square in Rawalpindi this week. “With the outfield being like it was, lush and green, and not too much [on the] square to work with, we’ll probably struggle to get reverse-swing,” Stokes conceded.

Pakistan’s approach towards pitch preparation in the last two weeks has raised some eyebrows: the decision to recycle the same strip in Multan was unprecedented, and groundstaff have gone to great lengths to tailor the surface in Rawalpindi to suit Sajid Khan and Noman Ali. But Stokes has declined opportunities to complain, delivering a simple verdict on Tuesday: “It’s good, innit?”

Brendon McCullum believed that the toss skewed the second Test “65-35” in Pakistan’s favour, and it will be significant again this week. “The toss, out in the subcontinent, plays a bigger role than anywhere in the world,” Stokes said. “[But] I don’t think we’re going to have as extreme conditions as the game goes on: it will be a day-one wicket when we start, not day six.”

Historically, England tend to under-adjust to overseas conditions and find themselves wondering why their medium-pacers are ineffective on pitches without a blade of live grass on them. This year, they have been much more open-minded – as evidenced by Rehan’s inclusion as a wildcard third spin option, who they hope will create chances even if the pitch is flat.

“Adding Rehan’s free spirit and desperation to change the game every time he’s got the ball in his hand is a massive bonus for us this week,” Stokes said, while discarding the relevance of his quiet season for Leicestershire. “Legspinners have an amazing ability to break a game open… You’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.”

The decider also presents Stokes with a final chance for some time to shift perceptions around his batting in the subcontinent: his batting average in Asia is 27.22, his lowest on any continent, with his single century coming on a Rajkot road eight years ago. In eight innings in Pakistan, he is yet to score a fifty.

His farcical dismissal in Multan disguised the fact he top-scored in England’s second innings, and was the only batter to find a successful method by relying almost exclusively on his sweeps and reverses. For all his inspirational leadership, Stokes has not scored a Test century for 16 months: with the series on the line, he will be desperate to end that run.

The success of the McCullum-Stokes regime will ultimately be dictated by their results next year against India and Australia, but this week will go a long way towards determining their team’s reputation in Asia. When asked how important winning would be, Stokes gave a one-word answer: “Very.” For all that England want to entertain, they have a singular focus this week.

Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98

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Rehan Ahmed recalled as England brace for ‘raked’ pitch in Pakistan decider

admin — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 08:41:49 +0000

England will field a three-pronged spin attack on a Rawalpindi pitch that Harry Brook believes has been “raked” by local groundstaff in an attempt to bring Pakistan’s spinners into play. Rehan Ahmed has been recalled and will play alongside Shoaib Bashir and Jack Leach, with Gus Atkinson also coming into a side in which both Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts miss out.

Rehan played three Tests in India at the start of this year but has not featured for England in any format since February. But England believe they will need him as a third spin frontline option this week, with Pakistan going to extreme lengths in an attempt to dry out the pitch in Rawalpindi after their 152-run victory on a recycled strip in Multan.

“They’ve had the rakes out, the fans and the heaters on the pitch,” Brook said. “Everyone goes and looks at the wicket and says something different… Hopefully, it’s just like any other Pakistani pitch. It’s good to bat on for the first few days and then hopefully, we can get a bit of turn out of it at the back end of the game.”

“I think the conditions are going to be a little bit different,” Brook said. “We played on an extremely flat pitch here last time. It was awesome to bat on, and we scored a good rate of knots. This game’s probably going to be slightly different. It might turn earlier on: who knows? It might be a good pitch to start with and we get off to a flyer.”

The lush square at Rawalpindi may have informed England’s selection, with reverse-swing unlikely to be a major factor this week. In Multan, the strips either side of the Test pitch were cut short and were dry and abrasive by the second Test, enabling England’s seamers to reverse the old ball. This week, there are only three strips cut across the square: the Test pitch and two practice pitches.

Brook was out for 9 and 16 to Pakistan’s spinners in the second Test, and predicted Sajid Khan and Noman Ali will play “a massive part” in Rawalpindi. “I’ve spoken to a few of the lads about gameplans and how we’re going to go about it,” he said. “Hopefully, it pays off and I play a big part in the game.”

It was in Pakistan two years ago that Rehan made his international debut as an 18-year-old, taking 5 for 48 in the second innings in Karachi to set up England’s eight-wicket win, which clinched a 3-0 clean sweep. His progress has not been linear since and he was expensive in India earlier this year, taking 11 wickets at 44.00 across three appearances and conceding more than four runs per over.

This summer, Rehan was outperformed by his offspinning younger brother Farhan in the County Championship and his returns fell away in white-ball cricket: he was dropped by Southern Brave early in the Hundred after two expensive outings, and was then left out of England’s T20I and ODI squads against Australia in September.

But England have been long-term admirers: Rehan was famously a net bowler at the age of 11 and has been in the national set-up throughout his professional career, starting at Under-19s level. He is heading into the second year of a two-year central contract, and has also worked on his batting this summer, with four Championship fifties, and will bolster England’s lower order from No. 9.

Carse and Potts are both officially rested, with Atkinson returning after taking match figures of 4 for 145 in England’s innings win in the first Test. Carse has been England’s outstanding bowler of the tour, taking nine wickets at 24.33 across his first two appearances, but has bowled 67 overs in the series and has played back-to-back Tests.

England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Rehan Ahmed, 10 Jack Leach, 11 Shoaib Bashir.

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Jos Buttler to miss ODI series in Caribbean after ‘setback’ in calf injury

admin — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 08:24:52 +0000

Jos Buttler‘s return as England white-ball captain has been delayed by at least three more matches, after he was ruled out of next week’s ODI leg of their tour of the Caribbean due to his long-standing calf injury.

Buttler, 34, has been plagued by the injury for four months, and has not played a competitive match since England’s elimination from the T20 World Cup, with their semi-final defeat to India in Guyana in June.

He missed the entirety of Manchester Originals’ Hundred campaign, and then withdrew from the T20I and ODI series against Australia in September as well. According to the ECB, he has now suffered a “slight setback” in his rehabilitation, and will consequently fly direct to Barbados ahead of the five-match T20I series, which begins on November 9.

In Buttler’s absence, Liam Livingstone has been named as England’s ODI captain. It will be his first opportunity in the role, with Harry Brook – Buttler’s stand-in in the ODIs against Australia – currently in Rawalpindi preparing for the third Test against Pakistan.

Michael Pepper, the Essex wicketkeeper-batter, has been added to the squad as cover, although the selectors had always intended to add two extra players to the tour, depending on the team selection for the third Test in Rawalpindi. Jordan Cox, England’s spare Test batter who made his white-ball debut against Australia, is one likely inclusion, while Olly Stone – back with the squad after his honeymoon but omitted from the match – could also feature.

Pepper has only played seven List A games but was third third-highest run-scorer in 2024 Vitality Blast and finished the season with Essex in good form, scoring his maiden first-class hundreds.

Buttler’s continued absence will raise speculation around his international future, despite the assurances from Brendon McCullum, England’s incoming white-ball coach, that he would remain front and centre of his plans, with McCullum pointedly saying that “he’s been a little bit miserable at times.”

“He’s an incredibly gifted player,” McCullum added at his unveiling. “He’s a fine leader. My job is to get the best out of him so that all those that sit in the dressing-room feel like they can be ten-feet tall and bulletproof when they walk out to play, and they know that the skipper is going to give them that extra pat on the back and and enjoy the ride with them.”

Buttler was a non-playing presence during the Australia series, with Marcus Trescothick, England’s interim white-ball coach who will be leading the Caribbean tour, insisting: “There’s no reason why Jos won’t fit back into that mould, score millions of runs, captain well and fit back into the team perfectly.”

“Let’s make it clear,” Trescothick said. “He will come straight back in. At what position, I don’t know. We’ll look at that for the Caribbean.”

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MI, KKR and SRH among IPL franchises bidding for stake in Hundred teams

admin — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 18:13:14 +0000

Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Lucknow Super Giants are among the IPL franchises that have submitted bids expressing interest to buy teams in the ECB-run Hundred.

ESPNcricinfo has learned that the GMR Group, recently unveiled as the new owner of Hampshire cricket, and Avram Glazer, co-owner of Manchester United Football Club, also submitted bids last week after the ECB set an October 18 deadline for potential investors to register their interest in buying stakes in the eight Hundred teams.

The bids submitted last week by potential investors is a one-time sum to buy a 49% stake, which the ECB holds in each of the eight teams. Expressions of interest could be for all eight teams, which would be culled to four in the next step which will start in November when the investors get to meet the host counties of each Hundred franchise. Following that, investors would need to prune their wishlist to four teams, as part of the second stage, which will then come down to two teams of which they would need to make their final choice.

While the ECB is keen to announce the final set of investors by early 2025, it has stressed that it won’t be rushed and risk “underselling” what it believes is a valuable product. Recently, ECB chairman Richard Thompson said the board would even be open to adopting a hybrid model next year. This would mean the ECB owning some teams and private players the others.

Still, not everyone rushed to bid as the October 18 deadline closed. While virtually all IPL teams had shown curiosity in the Hundred a few months ago, not all have submitted bids. Punjab Kings have opted out of bidding for Hundred teams, while there has been no confirmation on whether five-times IPL champions Chennai Super Kings and equity major CVC, which owns Gujarat Titans, have submitted bids. Pakistan Super League (PSL) winners Multan Sultans, and global sports investors INEOS, owned by Jim Ratcliffe, which owns over 27% stake in Manchester United and run the football club’s operations wing, have also opted out of bidding.

Among the biggest reservations, at least as far as the IPL franchises were concerned, was whether they would be happy being passive investors.

Recently, Lalit Modi, the architect of the IPL, rebuked the ECB’s financial projections for the Hundred’s growth beyond 2026, as listed in the prospectus distributed to potential investors, calling them “overly optimistic and disconnected from reality.” However, the ECB brushed off the criticism, saying over 100 potential investors from not just india but also the USA had sought information on the privatisation. “The investment base is way broader and bigger than they expected,” ECB CEO Richard Gould said recently.

Additional reporting by Matt Roller

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Leach comes back stronger for England after feeling the love

admin — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 15:05:00 +0000

Jack Leach believes that being dropped by England during their home summer enabled him to fall back in love with cricket, aided by an unexpected phone call from Ben Stokes in the aftermath of a Test win.

Leach is the leading wicket-taker in England’s series in Pakistan with 14, but had only played two Tests in the 18 months before the tour and failed to complete either due to back and knee injuries. He had returned to full fitness after knee surgery by the time England picked their first Test of the summer in June, but they selected his Somerset team-mate Shoaib Bashir instead.

Bashir earned widespread praise after his match-winning five-wicket haul against West Indies at Trent Bridge, and was preferred throughout the rest of the summer. But when England returned to their Nottingham hotel after that win, Stokes called Leach to tell him that Bashir’s success did not mean he had been forgotten.

“I felt really happy and proud,” Leach recalled on Monday, speaking at England’s hotel in Islamabad. “He just wanted to tell me how great I was, basically, in the way that he does, and just recognise how I’ve dealt with the situation. That gave me a chance to say some nice things back to him about what he’d given me, probably going back to 2019 at Headingley.

“There’s just a mutual respect there, so it was a nice conversation to have for sure. It just reminded me that I was going about things in the right way, and gave me confidence I still had something to offer the team and I was a part of it, in a small way. That gave me good motivation for the remainder of the summer… a nice reminder that there was still a chance to play.”

Leach admitted that he briefly feared that his England career would be over when he initially learned of his omission. “You always do,” he said. “After a long time out with injury, I maybe felt that might be it… I really understood the situation. If you’re not able to stay fit, then other people come in and do well, and Bash certainly did that.”

But he was happy with the level of communication from England’s management throughout, and received a similar call from Brendon McCullum the day after speaking to Stokes in July. “I was really happy with that – and in a way, not surprised, because of what I’d experienced when I was there [in the squad],” he said. “I’m very thankful for that, and my relationship with those guys.”

After a slow start to the season which saw him take nine wickets at 50.44 in his first four appearances for Somerset, Leach thrived at the end of the year with 36 at 15.86 in five matches. He said that the secret was as simple as “remembering what I’m about, and being happy with that” rather than worrying too much about making minor technical changes.

“This summer actually provided a really good opportunity to go back to play for Somerset and simplify everything; just do what I was good at, and build the confidence that that was good enough”

“I just felt like I needed to rediscover that kid-like mentality of why you play the game,” Leach said. “You have that on the journey up to playing for England, that nothing-to-lose mentality. Then it’s like, ‘I’m here now, I want to keep that’. That’s tiring, it’s stressful, it’s not enjoyable… You forget what your main strengths are.

“This summer actually provided a really good opportunity to go back to play for Somerset – which is what I always wanted to do as a young boy – and to just simplify everything; just do what I was good at, and build the confidence that actually, that was good enough… I’ve discovered that again: just being myself, and actually really enjoying that.”

Leach has outbowled Bashir in England’s first two Tests in Pakistan, but said that reclaiming his status as first-choice spinner is “not important” to him. “That’s not really in my thoughts,” he said. “I just want to keep building on what I’ve done in the summer and what I’m doing out here… For me, it’s all about the team. Maybe I’m at an age where that’s all that really matters to me.”

The pair have worked closely together in Pakistan. “He’s just done so well,” Leach said of Bashir. “He’ll just be learning so much, so quickly. He’s quality. We have a good relationship, good fun, and try to work together. I try to help where I can. I don’t want to overload him with stuff: I feel like he’s just learning through playing, and it’s all going to come quite naturally.”

The series decider starts on Thursday in Rawalpindi, with another turning pitch in prospect after Pakistan’s 152-run win last week. Two years ago, it was the scene of a famous England win: they racked up 657 in 101 overs in their first innings, and Leach applied the finishing touches when trapping Naseem Shah lbw on the final evening to seal the victory.

“That’s probably my favourite wicket: just the pictures of the appeal, and then just after of everyone celebrating,” Leach said. “It was just such a good game to be part of.” England will hope for something similar this week, in their bid for a 2-1 series win.

Matt Roller is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98

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