All posts by n8rngtd.top

ACB has also announced a set of four new governing board members

Umar Farooq11-Jun-2019The Afghanistan Cricket Board has reshuffled its senior selection committee in the middle of the World Cup, inducting former head coach Andy Moles and Mujahid Zadran, an ACB coach who has been involved with the national team as well as the Afghanistan A and emerging teams, into the panel. The current chief selector, Dawlat Ahmadzai, will lead the junior selection committee.Moles has served as coach of the Afghanistan senior team as well as the country’s Under-19 team in the past. His stint with the senior team ran from 2014 to 2015, during which the side played their maiden World Cup, in Australia and New Zealand in 2015. More recently, Moles has been involved with Afghanistan’s junior teams, coaching the Under-19 and Under-23 sides.The changes to the selection panel came a couple of months after the decision to remove Asghar Afghan as captain. Gulbadin Naib was appointed captain of the ODI team and is leading the side in the ongoing World Cup, whereas Rahmat Shah and Rashid Khan were named captains of the Test and T20I teams respectively. Two of the most prominent Afghanistan players, Mohammad Nabi and Rashid, were vocal about their opposition to the move, criticising the timing of the change, just weeks before the World Cup. While Nabi tweeted in support of Afghan, saying the team had “gelled really well” under the veteran, Rashid called the decision “irresponsible and biased”.In other news concerning the ACB, Mohammad Shahzad, whose World Cup has been cut short because of an injury, has claimed that he was incorrectly declared unfit and omitted from the squad, although the board has insisted that Shahzad was indeed unfit.Apart from their decision on the selection committee, ACB has bought in four new governing board members to replace Hikmat Khalil Karzai (deputy minister of foreign affairs), Aklil Hakimi (minister of finance), Sayed Mansoor Saadat Naderi (minister of urban development and housing), and Ahmad Shah Sangdil (university chancellor), since they no longer hold public offices.As per the presidential decree, they have been replaced by Zia ul Haq Amarkhi (senior advisor to the country’s president), Gulalai Noor (senator), and Jawad Paikar (minister of urban development and housing), while Atif Mashal – ACB’s former president, now ambassador to Pakistan – has also joined the group.

Opener’s 143 sets up Durham for second-innings declaration before Chris Rushworth nips out 3 for 11

Paul Edwards at Hove26-Jun-2019
It was only three summers ago that Alex Lees was praised to the heavens by both Geoffrey Boycott and Dickie Bird yet still seemed certain to play for England. He carried accolades easily and batted as if it were his calling. So when Lees drove Chris Jordan for successive boundaries on this third morning, he disturbed memories of those days when cricket’s table was laid out before him. But when he thick-edged Delray Rawlins to the third man boundary in mid-afternoon to bring up his century it was also salutary to note he had reached three figures for only the second time since September 2017.Lees’ batting at a Hove of sun and sea breezes recalled his early years with Yorkshire when the runs flowed from his bat and an England call did indeed seem a matter of time. But time passed and with it went Lees’ consistency and application. He would play himself in, only to find a way to get himself out. Before long his place in the Yorkshire side was in jeopardy and his move to Durham last August appeared to make good sense after an early season in which he had scored only 50 runs in four Championship matches for the White Rose.The geographical cure did not work at once. Lees managed only 256 runs in 11 Championship innings for Durham last season, meaning that his tally in the format that matters most to professionals had more or less halved in each of the two seasons following 2016, when he made 1165 runs. No one with a feeling for the game could take any pleasure in such a decline, so Lees’ revival this summer has been greeted with satisfaction far beyond the County Palatine.That said, the recovery has been relatively modest. Lees had made only 309 runs before this game against Sussex but that total included 63 and 107 in the win against Derbyshire, Durham’s only four-day victory of the season, and his 143 this afternoon may well set up a second triumph. Cameron Bancroft’s declaration on 284 for 3 challenged Sussex to score 437 in a minimum of 126 overs and by the close they had reached 59 for 3 after 30 wonderfully tense overs.Sussex’s pursuit began atrociously when Chris Rushworth’s fifth ball of the innings hit Luke Wells high up on the right pad and the opener was caught by Jack Burnham at third slip. Most people at the1st Central County Ground, including, to judge from his non-involvement in the appeal, Rushworth, thought the ball had hit nothing but the batsman’s leg. Umpire Ben Debenham took a different view of matters. Wells was aghast and Rushworth made a mental note to buy an extra couple of lottery tickets.Four overs later there was a far less controversial dismissal when the wretchedly out-of-form Harry Finch drove a catch back to Rushworth, thereby collecting a pair. But Will Beer and Stiaan van Zyl prevented Durham making further breakthroughs until Beer was leg before wicket to Rushworth when only six balls remained of a long evening session in which Hove was at its glorious best. The sunlight was sharp crystal and the slips’ flannels fluttered in the breeze like Eric Morecambe’s plus fours. The only thing spoiling home supporters’ satisfaction was their team’s travails. Even a draw would be a very significant achievement and victory cannot be contemplated. Sussex’s batsmen are in the foothills of Shishapangma.Yet the current plight of the third-placed team in Division Two this season reflects very well on the bottom side, Durham, whose cricketers have dominated this game since midway through the second day. With the second ball of this morning’s play the admirable Brydon Carse collected his maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket when he bowled Rawlins. Reasonably enough on a good pitch but one taking some turn, Bancroft opted not to enforce the follow-on, and naturally enough, Durham’s innings began badly when the skipper played forward to a ball outside his off stump but only edged a catch to Finch at second slip. Not since April 8 have Durham’s openers put on more than 14 for the first wicket in a Championship and they have had 11 attempts at it.The rest of the innings was controlled by Lees and to a lesser degree by Gareth Harte. The pair put on 215 for the second wicket with Harte making 77 before he drove Wells to Rawlins at short cover. The pitch was flat and the bowling unthreatening but Lees maintained his focus on the task of piling up runs. There were times late in his Yorkshire career when he seemed capable of getting out to the Brownies on the beach. This afternoon he batted as if the crease might once again become his kingdom.

Setting a steady platform has been a successful model for India in one-day cricket, but they were so shackled by England’s new-ball bowling that it left them way behind the rate

Nagraj Gollapudi at Edgbaston30-Jun-20191:38

Why did Dhoni not show more intent?

Chasing a total as steep as 338, India made just 28 runs in the first Powerplay. Then in the final five overs of the innings MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav managed to hit just three fours and a six while picking up 20 singles and playing out six dots. It might be difficult to prove that India lost the match in these two crucial segments of play, but what can be definitively said is India lacked intent upfront and at the death.Let us first look at the slow beginning in the first Powerplay. Indian openers, especially Rohit Sharma, believe in following the routine of settling down without taking any undue risk. However, 28 for 1 is the slowest start in the World Cup after the first Powerplay.Partly that pressure was built after KL Rahul rushed into a premeditated shot – a flick – off a straight delivery from Chris Woakes, who took a lovely return catch. This after Woakes had bowled a maiden to Rahul in the first over of the innings.WATCH on Hotstar (India only) – Rohit Sharma’s centuryEven Rohit was lucky to get away with an error after Joe Root dropped a regulation catch at second slip in the second over. Against a fuller ball on the fourth stump that was moving away Rohit attempted a flamboyant cover drive away from his body. The thick outside edge flew to the right of Root who failed to pouch it neatly, leaving Jofra Archer disgruntled.Woakes bowled three consecutive maidens. The England fast bowlers were highly disciplined as they kept mixing up the deliveries on a pitch that was flat, but slow. Rohit played and missed on several occasions. Virat Kohli was playing much more fluently. However, England’s bowlers cleverly controlled the pace of play, never giving India’s best two batsmen freedom.There were 42 dot balls in the first 10 overs with just five fours.MS Dhoni struggled to accelerate during a steep chase•Getty Images

Although Kohli and Rohit played cautiously to cobble an alliance, you could see the strain on their faces as they constantly monitored the scoreboard with the asking rate mounting. As soon as Kohli left ESPNcricinfo’s Forecaster had dropped from 32.62% to 25.93%. By the time Jadhav joined Dhoni, India needed 71 runs from 31 balls. By the time Woakes lined up to bowl the final over of the match, India needed an impossible 44 runs. In the previous 25 deliveries, Dhoni and Kedar had played out five dots, 18 singles and just two fours.This lack of intent from the lower-order pair was highly intriguing. The hopelessness of the situation had dawned upon the Indian fans who swiftly emptied the stadium with a couple of overs to go. Those remaining even booed to exercise their frustration and annoyance.Kohli and Rohit analysed the lack of intent differently. Kohli was clear a good beginning might have set the tone. “We should have been more clinical with the bat I suppose because the wicket was flat,” Kohli told the host broadcaster. “Even we could have accelerated and got closer to the score, but their bowlers bowled well and executed their plans. Three-hundred-and-thirty-odd, we were very happy at the halfway stage that the wicket’s flat and if we get off to a good start then we are pretty much in the chase which didn’t happen.”WATCH on Hotstar (US only) – Full highlightsRohit disagreed about the start, saying India had to be cautious. “Losing an early wicket always puts you under pressure,” he said. “We lost KL [Rahul] right at the start and they bowled pretty well in the first 10 overs, good channels.”According to Rohit, for India to stay in the reckoning, the key was a big partnership with Kohli. “We knew the longer we batted the closer we will get to the target. That was the idea, we took our time, yes. But the conditions were such that it didn’t allow us to just come and bat and put pressure on the bowlers. They bowled in the right channel.”As for the Dhoni-Jadhav combination failing to make a statement, Rohit felt the slowness of the pitch together with the England bowlers denying the batsmen any space to make use of the short 59-metre boundary were the key factors. “When Mahi [Dhoni] and Kedar were batting they were trying to hit, but they were not able to because of the slowness of pitch. Towards the end it got pretty slow. And, yes, you have got to give credit to the English team because they used the conditions really well, they used the longer boundary really well, they mixed up their variations quite nicely all through the game.”Kohli agreed with Rohit this time, but said there would be conversations over how the batting played out. “It is up to discussions with the two guys that were in there. I think MS was trying really hard, trying to get that boundary. It was just not coming off because they were bowling good areas and it wasn’t easy to get those boundaries away when it got to 15 an over. Yeah, we will have to sit down and assess and improve on things in the next game.”

Hohns conceded that the fatigue, which forced Burns home after just one match in county cricket, played heavily against him

Daniel Brettig26-Jul-2019In the cruellest cut to Australia’s Ashes squad, the selection chairman Trevor Hohns has conceded that Joe Burns’ bout of post-viral fatigue, forcing him home after just one match of a contracted stint with Lancashire in county cricket, played heavily against him in the final deliberations for choosing the 17 players to launch a defence of the urn.Where logic could be found for the omissions of most other players, whether a poor recent run of form for Kurtis Patterson, Alex Carey’s continuing presence via a Twenty20 deal with Sussex, or the conclusion that Jon Holland would simply be unlikely to be needed given Nathan Lyon’s excellent record of avoiding injury, it was harder to rationalise Burns’ omission.Recalled as more or less Australia’s last resort against Sri Lanka earlier this year, Burns responded by making 180 on day one of the Canberra Test, helping Travis Head to rescue the innings from 3 for 28 to form the platform for a resounding victory.Burns has, with the exception of the Sri Lanka series in 2016, virtually always delivered for Australia when called upon, even though he seems at times to suffer in the eyes of the selectors for lacking the outward fanaticism of a Cameron Bancroft, Marnus Labuschagne or Head. Even in the supportive words of the coach Justin Langer during that Canberra century could be found a twist: by being told to make the most of his opportunity, Burns might have been able to intuit that, even if they make the required runs, the returns of Steven Smith, David Warner and Bancroft would push him out.Nevertheless, it was illness more than anything that left the selectors with just enough arguing room to omit Burns from the 17, while Labuschagne and Bancroft were rewarded for a combination of runs in county cricket and a demonstration in the Southampton tour game that they had learned plenty of lessons from their time over here, in compiling two of the three highest scores of the match on an often devilish pitch. Marcus Harris, too, was fortunate, having done rather less with his Test chances so far than Burns has.”It probably didn’t help his cause, going home,” Hohns admitted. “It would have been ideal for good preparation to put the best case forward for himself to stay and play county cricket. However, there was an issue there for him and no one can blame him for going home. He came over here, scored a hundred as did Marcus Harris, so it was a tough call that one as to which one would suit us best over here, and in the end Marcus has got the nod.”No one has done anything wrong at all. It’s just a judgement call on how people are playing at the time and what we think the requirements are. He hasn’t done anything wrong and we ask all of our players these days if they are left to just go back and bang the door down, a little bit like Matthew Wade has done. He’s really made a good case for himself by scoring runs and that’s all we can ask them to do.”ALSO READ: How Matthew Wade became too good for Australia to ignoreElsewhere, the silken technique of Patterson was deemed surplus to requirements, with a dip in run-making at just the wrong time as Labuschagne, in particular, was churning it out for Glamorgan. A top score of 38 in eight innings on the Australia A tour contrasted with the hot streak that vaulted Patterson into the Test team in the first place. At 26, with many a lesson learned over the past year, his time will surely come around again.”Desperately unlucky those two fellows but of course with the three we’ve just spoken about coming back in there was always going to be a squeeze on,” Hohns said. “We’re very comfortable with the form of Marcus Harris, very much so. He had a wonderful season back home, he’s been in good form since he’s been here. So he probably got the nod over Burns in that area.”And the same can be said about the middle-order area where Kurtis Patterson operates. We have people like Travis Head who is averaging 50 in Test cricket and then of course Marnus gives us the option of A his batting and B his legspin bowling. We thought it was very important to include him.”As for the theatre of paring down 25 players to 17 with a series of individual meetings, whereupon players were sent a text message to inform them it was time to visit with Hohns and the head coach Justin Langer, the chairman agreed there were more than a few anguished reactions to events.”Very hard for some of them because they were disappointed, but they also knew that with 25 here we couldn’t pick them all,” Hohns said. “Some probably knew or felt they were on the line ball, others thought they were a good chance of being included.”So yes there were some disappointments and all we can say to those fellows is desperately unlucky, but go back, keep doing what you’re doing, try to improve your game and belt the door down. We can’t say much more to them, it’s just the way the selection has gone, and desperately bad luck.”None more desperate than Burns, who must now wonder whether he will ever gain another chance.

South Africa skipper replaces Mohammad Nabi for remainder of the competition

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Aug-2019Kent have announced the signing of Faf du Plessis for the run-in of the Vitality Blast.Du Plessis had been expecting to play in the Euro T20 Slam, but after the tournament’s inaugural season was cancelled, has signed for Kent instead.He replaces Mohammad Nabi in Kent’s squad, who is on international duty for Afghanistan’s tri-series against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.”I really look forward to joining up with Kent for the last part of the Vitality Blast,” said du Plessis. “I will do my best to contribute to the already successful team and hopefully help them to lift a trophy.”I’ve played with some of the squad members in the past and look forward to joining up with all the guys again.”Du Plessis has some experience of county cricket, having spent two seasons with Lancashire on a Kolpak deal in 2008 and 2009. He will go straight into the squad to play Gloucestershire on Thursday night and then Essex on Friday, as Kent look to secure qualification to the quarter-finals.Kent sit third in the South Group, though have stuttered after a strong start, with two abandonments and three defeats in their last five games.They have recently welcomed captain Sam Billings back into their squad after a serious injury, who shares a dressing room with du Plessis at Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. Last season, Billings spoke about taking previous overseas signings Marcus Stoinis and Adam Milne out for breakfast or coffee when on international duty to try and convince them to join the club, and it is entirely possible that he had a similar influence on this deal.”We’re really excited to be able to bring in a world class player such as Faf for the rest of the Vitality Blast,” said director of cricket Paul Downton.”He is a world-class batsman and, along with his leadership skills, he will be a major asset to our young side, as we seek to progress to the quarter-finals and beyond in this year’s competition.”

The contracts of director of cricket More and a string of other assistant coaches were not renewed

Peter Della Penna16-Oct-2019James Pamment, the 51-year-old former Auckland batsman, has taken the role of USA head coach on an interim basis through to the end of 2019. This comes after the contracts of USA director of cricket Kiran More and a string of other assistant coaches were not renewed following an initial three-month period. Pamment’s appointment had been rumoured since the start of the month but has since been confirmed to ESPNcricinfo by multiple USA Cricket sources.More had been appointed in July by USA Cricket to oversee their quest to qualify for the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia, serving as a “senior operations consultant” according to a USA Cricket press release. But his arrival sparked a power struggle with USA head coach Pubudu Dassanayake, who had been in place since September 2016 and had led USA to ODI status in April at WCL Division Two. After mounting tension at a USA squad camp at Los Angeles in June, Dassanayake resigned, citing a “loss of freedom” in selection decisions.More did not to travel with the USA squad to Bermuda in August for the Americas Regional Final for the T20 World Cup Qualifier. Sunil Joshi was notified by email after the team arrived on tour that he would be the stand-in head coach in More’s place. Though USA headed into the four-team event as favourites after winning the sub-regional qualifier over Canada in North Carolina in September 2018, the team finished third after losing all four of their matches to Canada and Bermuda, who wound up advancing instead of USA to the T20 World Cup Qualifier in the UAE.A tentative plan had been discussed to extend More’s consultant contract through to the 2020 T20 World Cup had USA qualified, but once they failed in Bermuda, that became a non-starter. He oversaw USA’s ODI tri-series performances in Florida last month, where they went 3-1 in their opening round of Cricket World Cup League Two matches against Namibia and Papua New Guinea. Those were his last matches in charge. David Saker had left as fast bowling consultant coach to go back to Australia immediately after the Bermuda tour while batting consultant coaches Pravin Amre and Kieran Powell were not present in Bermuda nor Florida.Pamment had initially been contracted as fielding coach for USA when More came on board. However, he has been asked to remain to help oversee a transition period for USA’s next two tours – the CWI Super50 in Trinidad next month and a CWC League Two ODI tri-series against UAE and Scotland in Dubai in December – until a full-time appointment can be made in January 2020. Pamment is not expected to apply for the full-time role because, like More, he has a multi-year contract with Mumbai Indians in the IPL, having replaced Jonty Rhodes as their fielding coach in 2018.USA Cricket is seeking a full-time commitment after the failed strategy of hiring short-term consultants to replace Dassanayake for T20 World Cup Qualifier.Originally from Yorkshire, Pamment migrated to New Zealand early in his career and played 14 first-class and 33 List A games from 1993 to 1996. Aside from his stint with Mumbai Indians in the IPL, Pamment previously coached Northern Districts in New Zealand from 2013 to 2017.

George Dobell in Whangarei14-Nov-2019Sam Curran seems all but certain to play as England’s third seamer in next week’s first Test against New Zealand, after being preferred to Chris Woakes in the England side to play New Zealand A in Whangerai.With the England management having made clear that the side named here will, fitness permitting, play in the first Test next week, it means
Curran can expect to play at Mount Maunganui, on November 21.Woakes’ overseas record will have done him few favours. He averages 61.77 in his 12 Tests away from home when using the Kookaburra or SG ball (he averages 23.45 in home Tests using a Duke’s ball) and finished wicketless in the tour match against a New Zealand XI earlier
in the week.Curran’s record is no better – he averages 105.50 with the ball in his four Tests away from home – but he is, aged 21, nine years younger than Woakes and offers some variation from the rest of the attack with his left-arm angle.While neither man gained much movement with the Kookaburra ball in that first warm-up game, Curran did take one wicket – that of Jakob
Bhula – when the batsman misjudged the line; a result, perhaps, of that variation.It would be premature to write off Woakes, but the decision does raise questions about his future at Test level. England hope to have Mark
Wood and James Anderson back by the time they go to South Africa in December, and there are unlikely to be many opportunities for seamers of Woakes’ style in Sri Lanka in April. He remains a potent force in England but as England start to look to the future, it is possible he may struggle to win a recall.The rest of the England side for the three-day match in Whangerai is as expected. Dom Sibley opens alongside Rory Burns, with Joe Denly
moved to No. 3 and Joe Root to No. 4. Ollie Pope will bat at No. 6 in between Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler. Jofra Archer and Stuart Broad
are expected to take the new ball, with Jack Leach playing as the only spinner.England XI 1 Rory Burns, 2 Dom Sibley, 3 Joe Denly, 4 Joe Root (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Ollie Pope, 7 Jos Buttler (wk), 8 Sam Curran, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 Jack Leach.

AB de Villiers will not lead the team at MSL 2019, with coach Mark Boucher saying the veteran doesn’t need that burden

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Nov-2019Heinrich Klaasen, appointed captain of Tshwane Spartans by head coach Mark Boucher, expects the contingent of home-grown players to give his squad an advantage at the upcoming Mzansi Super League.Klaasen, who turned out for Titans in the CSA’s 4-Day Franchise Series in late October after returning from India, where he made his Test debut, joked, “I had a conversation with Boucher, he said I got fired from the previous job (as Titans captain), so I can get a chance here. I’m looking forward to this, especially with guys who have heaps of experience around the world.

Tshwane Spartans squad

Heinrich Klaasen (capt), AB de Villiers, Tom Curran, Lungi Ngidi, Theunis de Bruyn, Lutho Sipamla, Tony de Zorzi, Morné Morkel, Heinrich Klaasen, Roelof van der Merwe, Pite van Biljon, Waqar Salamkheil, Dean Elgar, Wiaan Mulder, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, Corbin Bosch

“I’m quite a relaxed captain. I try to get everyone’s point of view. Everyone has different ideas, so it’s always been my way.”Klaasen captained Titans with some success, even winning the 4-Day title in 2017-18, but with South Africa using him in all three formats in recent times, Titans turned to Grant Thompson to lead them.Last year, Klaasen played for Durban Heat, but playing for the Spartans means playing with many players who have intimate knowledge of SuperSport Park.”There’s a lot of old Titans players like Roelof van der Merwe and Morne Morkel,” he pointed out. “The characters and quality of players we have is unbelievable. It’s going to be good fun and hard cricket.”AB de Villiers is part of the set up, as are current Titans players Lungi Ngidi, Dean Elgar and Tony de Zorzi. “There are a few warm-up games, for us to find our feet, to get to know each other, it’s a good and exciting season ahead,” Klaasen said.‘Don’t think AB needs that burden’De Villiers was the captain of the team last year, but Boucher explained that the team was happy to have him in their midst as just a player.”AB won’t be captain, we’ve discussed that,” Boucher was quoted as saying on the MSL website a day before announcing Klaasen as the team leader. “He’s a fantastic player but he must go out there and play and perform like he’s been performing in the last while.”I don’t think AB needs that burden, he’s in that stage of his life where he must enjoy his cricket and that’s probably when he plays his best.”

He will be involved with decisions around the future of players he has shared a dressing room up to this season

Alex Malcolm28-Nov-2019Australia’s newest selector George Bailey won’t shy away from difficult selection conversations with players he shares close relationships with, including Tasmania team-mates Tim Paine and Matthew Wade.Bailey won’t begin his role alongside Justin Langer and Trevor Hohns until early February and will instead be an unofficial national teams advisor in the interim while he finishes his playing career with Tasmania and the Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL.Bailey’s appointment has been met with universal approval, but as a current player who has played with and against almost every player involved in the national teams he will have some unique issues to manage. He captained a number of the players involved in the current teams at T20I and ODI level and has also played his entire domestic career alongside Test captain Paine, whose international career will almost certainly end during Bailey’s time on the panel, although there is no suggestion that would be imminent. He has also played alongside Wade for many years with both Tasmania and Australia.ALSO READ: ‘I haven’t heard anyone even doubt the decision’ – Finch on Bailey being named selector“I’m certainly going in with eyes wide open to the fact that there are difficult conversations that will be had,” Bailey said. “Those two, in particular, I think it’s all just about being honest. It certainly won’t be my decision and my decision alone and like any player, you work through those things, hopefully together, but at the appropriate times.”I feel like I’m a servant to the players and every player, or certainly the majority of the players playing first-class cricket, their dream is to play cricket for Australia. My job is to select the lucky few that get the opportunity to do that.”But you’re also trying to help those that are not quite in the mix, giving them some help and advice as to how you think they can get there and also the guys that have had the opportunity and then find themselves back out of the team, you’re trying to help them out to get them back into that team.”Bailey also said he had thick skin as far as any criticism that might be levelled at him in the role.”Have you seen the way I stand to face up to face a cricket ball?” Bailey said. “I’m happy to cop a little bit of criticism. That won’t be any concern. Who should and shouldn’t be in the Australian cricket team is always a hot topic of conversation, which is great. There will be a lot of people whose advice I think is important, and there’ll be a lot that won’t.”Bailey has been named in Tasmania’s Sheffield Shield squad to face Queensland in Hobart starting on Friday, and he will also be available for Tasmania’s last match before the BBL break against South Australia, but he is adamant he does not want a farewell game if he is not in Tasmania’s best XI. He will play in the BBL for the Hurricanes but will retire from all forms at the end of the tournament.He plans to use his last two months as a player to do some reconnaissance on the role.”I’ll use that time to talk to coaches and players and high performance staff about what that might look like and what players’ expectations are, what coaches’ expectations are,” Bailey said. “My perspective has been one of player for many, many years and I’ve got some clear thoughts on what that’s been like and what players feel like but learning what it looks like from the other side of the fence will be important.”It seems to be that communication pops up a lot, which I think is one that can be easily fixed or understood. How much players want, how much stakeholders want, coaches, whether there’s an expectation that players who aren’t necessarily in and around the team still want a little bit more feedback.”He said performances will count for a lot but he shares the same values as Langer as far as character is concerned.”Runs and wickets are always going to be important, it’s a pretty good currency isn’t it, if you’re scoring them and taking them you’re always going to be in the mix but there’s so many other things that are important to being part of a team and part of a successful team. Some of those things I think Justin and Tim have been really strong on and Aaron [Finch] in the white-ball teams for Australia have been really strong on. Being a good person, being able to help your mates when you’re not doing so well, being able to celebrate others success are also important as well as obviously being able to perform.”

Cutting arrested a middle-order slide to take his team home comfortably

The Report by Tristan Lavalette09-Jan-2020Ben Cutting and Jimmy Peirson calmly steered Brisbane Heat past a gallant Hobart Hurricanes in a low-scoring contest at the Gabba.Chasing just 127, the Heat were cruising at 1 for 52 before losing four quick wickets triggered by inspired bowling from Hurricanes quick Scott Boland.Cutting and Pierson, however, came to the rescue in a match-winning 60-run partnership, as the Heat won in the penultimate over.
A disciplined Heat attack had earlier shackled the D’Arcy Short-less Hurricanes lineup that struggled after winning the toss.Matthew Wade played a lone hand in his return to the BBL with a fluent half-century but lacked support. The in-form Heat (4-3) have won three in a row, including twice over the Hurricanes (3-4) in the past week.Hurricanes crumble around WadeThere were question marks over whether Hurricanes’ top-order could function without BBL dynamo Short, who was a late call-up for Australia’s ODI tour of India. The pain of losing their talisman was at least alleviated by the return of Matthew Wade from Test duty, but the Hurricanes’ batting fell apart.They suffered an early blow when opener Caleb Jewell fell in just the second over to Matt Renshaw, whose part-time spin has proved surprisingly effective this season.The Heat took advantage of a rattled Hurricanes top-order with George Bailey trapped lbw by a relentlessly accurate Zahir Khan. It was the first time the veteran endured a golden duck in his 72-game BBL career, as the Hurricanes botched the Powerplay and things turned worse when out of form David Miller chopped on to Ben Laughlin.Wade had no trouble adjusting formats as he sweetly timed the ball to make a mockery of his teammates’ struggles. Captain Ben McDermott surprisingly came out at No.6 but the horror show continued when he was run out after Wade bewilderingly ran for a kamikaze single, leaving the Hurricanes in ruins at 5 for 59 near the midpoint.Wade falls in confusing fashionWith Zahir bowled out, Mitchell Swepson continued to strangle the Hurricanes with probing googlies but Wade finally found a willing ally in Tom Rogers, whose primary aim was to rotate the strike.Wade reached fifty in the 14th over when he clubbed Swepson for six and then smashed another boundary to signal his intent. The left-hander then fell in confusing fashion when he skied to long-on where Renshaw took the catch inside the rope, tossed it up as he stepped out of bounds and knocked it mid-air to Tom Banton inside the boundary.Third umpire Simon Lightbody initially gave it not out on the broadcast before reversing his decision, which was correct under Law 19.5.2. Previously, before the rule change, Wade would have been awarded a six because Renshaw tapped it over the boundary without stepping back in.Wade’s dismissal triggered a swift Hurricanes demise highlighted by Laughlin dismissing Clive Rose with a superb return catch to cap off an almost flawless display from the Heat.Heat wobble after Boland’s strikesAll eyes were on Banton, who was fresh off the second fastest ever BBL half-century during his 19-ball 56 against the Sydney Thunder. Banton, instead, maturely shelved the big shots and smartly worked the ball around in a sedate opening stand.
He made his move in the fifth over by whacking Qais Ahmad for a straight six only to hole out on the next delivery much to the chagrin of the Heat faithful.Max Bryant took over the pyrotechnics but was shaken after being hit in the helmet by a short delivery from Boland, before falling next over to a brilliant outfield catch from Clive Rose, who narrowly avoided a collision with Jewell.Boland then turned the match in the ninth over when he claimed a loose Renshaw and Joe Burns, who was playing his first BBL match of the season, in quick succession to leave the Heat stuttering at 4 for 63 after nine overs.Ben Cutting goes big•Getty Images

Cutting powers Heat to victoryThe Heat’s slide continued in the 11th over when skipper Chris Lynn was run out in a horrible mix up with Peirson, as the Hurricanes suddenly held the edge. The pressure was on Peirson and Cutting, the Heat’s last two main hopes, and the pair were intent to stop the bleeding.They batted watchfully until Cutting changed the momentum with consecutive sixes off Rogers in the 16th over. He was well supported by Peirson, who made amends for his part in Lynn’s wicket, and Cutting had a reprieve when he was dropped by Miller in the 18th over with the Heat still needing 11 runs.Cutting made him pay and sealed the deal shortly after in style with a six.