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The MoU plans to achieve parity in various ways by October 1, 2027

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2024Cricket West Indies (CWI) and the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) have signed a “historic” four-year MoU to promote gender pay equity within West Indies cricket. A media release said that the MoU “outlines plans to achieve parity in international and regional match fees, international captain’s allowances, international team prize money and regional individual prize money for all West Indies cricketers by 1 October 2027.”The MoU aligns the performance grading criteria for international women’s and regional men’s contracts with the established standards for international men, ensuring a uniform evaluation process across domestic and international cricket from October 1, 2024. Calling it a “groundbreaking development,” the release further said CWI wishes to create a more equitable playing field and an environment where “talent is valued irrespective of gender”.The MoU is for the period between October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2027 and includes all agreements in respect of player remuneration, and updated terms and conditions across the West Indies system.Some of the important features agreed upon in the MoU are:

• Significantly increased team prize money and new individual player rewards
• Full match fees for players in the starting XI and 80% for reserves (effective 1 October 2024)
• All retainers on hold once an NOC is issued for an overseas domestic franchise tournament (effective October 1, 2024)
• The potential for CWI and franchises to award multi-year retainer contracts (up to three years);
• Increased international and regional match fees and ICC tournament fees for all women’s cricketers, to achieve parity by October 1, 2027
• Align international women’s contracts and regional men’s contracts with the performance grading that has been established for the international men

“This is a historic day for West Indies cricket,” Dr Kishore Shallow, president of CWI, said. “As we overhaul the compensation structures and align performance grading, we are taking a significant step towards creating a more inclusive and progressive cricket framework. This step reflects our unwavering commitment to gender equality and acknowledges the immense contributions of female players to West Indies cricket.”In the preceding year, we undertook substantial enhancements to our travel policy, mandating that the West Indies Senior Women’s team travel business-class on all extended international flights and are accommodated in single rooms during international assignments. This aligns seamlessly with the established policy for West Indies Senior Men’s tours. Today, with the signing of this MOU, we take another significant stride in narrowing the gender gap within our cricketing community.”The release further stated that the “MoU also introduces opportunities for compensation enhancement for both international and regional men, and new team and individual incentive bonuses for the top performers in the system. The top contract band values for men at international and regional level have also been increased, underscoring the commitment to fostering a culture of player growth, improvement and high performance.””Achieving gender parity and equity has always been a strategic objective of our players’ union, and we’ve certainly done so with our female members,” Wavell Hinds, president and CEO of WIPA said. “Without a doubt, this is a truly historic and exciting time for our membership as the MOU addresses most levels of our pay scale. As we operate within a very fluid cricketing landscape, we are duty bound to conscientiously reward our regional and international players within the constraints of CWI’s budget and agree on policies that will produce and promote world class performances.”

Tector rode his luck in style to make it 1-0 in Sharjah

Himanshu Agrawal16-Mar-2024Ahead of the T20I series opener between Afghanistan and Ireland, all the hype had been about Rashid Khan. He was to return to action after four months out due to a back injury and then surgery. Now, straightaway, Rashid was back in high spirits, almost as if no pain could take his impact away. Except that on the night his efforts of 3 for 19 from four overs were overshadowed by those of Harry Tector, with whom rested a bigger force – luck.Dropped on 19 when Ireland were 90 for 5 in the 15th over, Tector went on to smash an unbeaten 56 off 34 balls to propel Ireland to 149. The ball followed him around on the field too, as he took four catches – the most by an Ireland fielder in a T20I.Ireland’s bowling effort was led by legspinner Ben White, who took 4 for 20, as Afghanistan folded for 111. That gave them a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, even as the stadium in Sharjah seemed to empty only when Rashid fell as the ninth Afghanistan wicket.

Tector drives Ireland’s innings

Tector arrived at No. 4, and pulled his second ball for four to welcome Mohammad Nabi into the attack in the ninth over. But what was 54 for 1 in the eighth over soon became 72 for 5 in the 12th while he was stuck at one end. Rashid and his spin partner, debutant Nangeyalia Kharote, ran through the middle order after both of Ireland’s openers gave away starts.But Tector remained calm and patient. He gave a hint of the fun that was to come by crashing Kharote for his first six to start the 14th over. When Tector decided to go after Rashid, Fazalhaq Farooqi dropped a manageable catch moving to his left from short fine leg. That rang a warning bell, and Tector saw off Rashid before opening up the floodgates in the last three overs.Naveen-ul-Haq suffered the most. Tector drove a yorker and slashed another near-yorker for four, before chipping a slower ball over Naveen’s head to round off the 18th over with 14 runs. Naveen also bowled the last over, which went for 19, Tector clubbing the last four balls for 6, 4, 4, 4: over deep square, to deep extra cover, to deep point and to deep third. Tector’s last 11 balls fetched 30 runs.

Rashid turns it on

Rashid turned the ball both ways on what was a slow and used pitch, applying the brakes after Ireland hit 48 in the powerplay. He bowled one over for five, and brought himself back for the 11th. A full and flat ball had Paul Stirling mistime a slog to long-on, while a googly turning in to hit middle and leg from outside off cleaned Curtis Campher up next ball. The Afghanistan fans, scattered throughout the stands, jumped at their hero’s skill.Rashid Khan celebrations were a feature on return•ACB

Rashid missed the hat-trick – the ball turned into left-hander Neil Rock, beating him, the wicketkeeper and first slip – but later dismissed Gareth Delany, who scored a useful 16 from No. 7, while adding 35 with Tector.

White’s four-for punctures Afghanistan

Three bowlers stood a chance to take a hat-trick on Friday evening. After Rashid, it was Josh Little, who had Sediqullah Atal chipping to mid-off and had Azmatullah Omarzai bowled in the second over of Afghanistan’s chase. The third of those was White, a bit later on.Little’s early blows – and one from Mark Adair – had reduced Afghanistan to 4 for 3, after which Mohammad Ishaq and Ibrahim Zadran staged a recovery. Ishaq had by far been the aggressor, but holed out to fine leg when he swept a full delivery dipping to a middle-stump line in the seventh over. That wicket punctured Afghanistan’s car.Then some controversy followed. White dismissed Nabi off a no-ball on what was to be the fourth ball of the 13th over. However, replays indicated that White’s heel had landed just behind the line, seeing which Stirling had a word with the umpire. But the decision stood, and Nabi got a life.With two balls left in the over, though, White had debutant Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai pulling a short ball to deep square leg and then Kharote, who he knocked over first ball, by tossing one up and getting it to dip, while drifting away to hit off stump. White finished with four, and took all attention away from the man whom the crowd had turned up to see.

Thunder bundled out for 165 to set up dominant win for home side

ECB Reporters Network20-Apr-2024Northern Diamonds cruised their way to an opening-day nine-wicket victory over Thunder at Chester-le-Street thanks to commanding performances from three of their most experienced players.Veteran legspinner Katie Levick claimed 4 for 38 as the visitors were bowled out for 165 off 43.1 overs before England internationals Lauren Winfield-Hill and Hollie Armitage both hit unbeaten half-centuries as the hosts reached the modest target from 34.3 overs.Only opening batter Seren Smale showed any real opposition with the bat for Thunder with a knock of 32 at the top of the order on a disappointing day for Ellie Threlkeld’s side who were a distant second best in all areas of the game.Thunder never really recovered from the early blow of losing Emma Lamb, bowled by Jessica Woolston without scoring, with her fellow opener Smale subsequently struggling to find any partners of substance.Australian debutant Katie Mack threatened to do the job with a breezy 19 before she was trapped in front by Abi Glenn who then bowled Fi Morris first ball to leave Thunder 40 for 3.It was a busy day for the umpires with both Threlkeld and then Smale departing leg-before with the latter’s 32 the top score of the innings only matched by the same number of extras.Threlkeld was Levick’s first victim as the legspinner turned the screw effectively with the runs drying up for Thunder despite some defiance from Namoi Dattani, Danielle Collins and Tara Norris as the visitors squeezed their way above 150.It was Levick’s day though and last season’s leading wicket-taker for Diamonds took the last three wickets to fall to close with typically strong figures of 4 for 38 from 9.1 overs as Thunder were bowled out for a below-par 165.Winfield-Hill and Sterre Kalis attacked from the start of the Diamonds innings and although both Phoebe Graham and Mahika Gaur bowled tightly they were unable to make a crucial early breakthrough for Thunder.It was not until the 14th over when Diamonds had reached 59 and seen off the opening bowlers that the wicket finally came and when it did it was something of gimme: Kalis somehow scooping a full toss from slow-left armer Hannah Jones into the hands of Dattini at midwicket for 28.Despite Threlkeld shuffling her pack, a second wicket failed to materialise with Armitage joining Winfield-Hill at the crease and the pair attacking Norris and Morris, in particular, with some powerful hitting.Winfield-Hill eased past her half-century as the second-wicket partnership turned into a match-winning one with the only real drama concerning if Armitage would join her in reaching the landmark, which she did in the 34th over.The century partnership came up shortly before the winning runs were hit leaving Winfield-Hill and Armitage both not out at the close of a very satisfying day for Northern Diamonds who claimed the bonus-point victory.

Assistant coach says it will take time for the young group to succeed as Bangladesh rebuild

Mohammad Isam29-Mar-2024Bangladesh’s young batters are in the early stages of their Test careers and those watching them will need to be patient, says assistant coach Nic Pothas who is standing infor the team’s head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Chattogram.Bangladesh were thrashed by 328 runs in the first Test in Sylhet earlier this week. Only Mominul Haque made a half-century as the hosts were bowled out for under 200 in both innings for the second successive Test.”We have a very young and inexperienced group (of batters),” Pothas said. “There was a very elite group before this. Now we have to rebuild. The only thing that we request is that people are patient. These are very good young players, but they are young and they are playing against an experienced team and it will take time to learn lessons.Related

• What's ailing Bangladesh Test team, and what's the way forward?

• Kamindu Mendis' 92* drags Sri Lanka to 531

• Dhananjaya de Silva pleased with three-pacers' plan paying off in Sylhet

• Pothas in charge of Bangladesh for second SL Test as Hathurusinghe goes on leave

• Shakib boost for Bangladesh in spin-friendly Chattogram against buoyant Sri Lanka

“We wouldn’t expect any different from our children when we put them into new environments. We don’t expect our kids to suddenly be experts. That’s why they go to school. So they’re a fantastic group and let’s judge them in two years’ time rather than now.”Pothas said Bangladesh’s young players have the foundation in place for growth. They have created a happy dressing-room environment where everyone trusts each other.”From a hunger point of view, they want to do really well in the Test. They always really want to do well. They are a fantastic group. They get on very, very well. You can just see by smiles on their faces.”I think the important thing for us as a management group is to manage the mood of the group. As long as we are level[-headed], then we will learn, but we certainly aren’t an emotional group. It is not an emotional change room. The change room is very, very helpful.”Bangladesh were without Mushfiqur Rahim’s experience in Sylhet, and so the return of Shakib Al Hasan is a huge boost to the home side. He is recovering from an eye condition that had kept him out of the T20Is and ODIs earlier this month, but he did play the Bangladesh Premier League and also in three matches in the ongoing Dhaka Premier League.”I think any team that has Shakib in it is very fortunate,” Pothas said. “We welcome him back. It is always great to have him in the change room. His energy is very infectious. He has a lot of experience for the guys to learn from and whenever Shakib is back, he’s a giver. So we really enjoy having him around the group.”When Shakib comes into the group, it creates calmness. You know, it also supplies [captain Najmul Hossain] Shanto with an extra person he can get advice from. A very, very experienced person on the field. He just brings calm. He is a world-class cricketer.”Bangladesh will also hope for Litton Das to improve his form. His second-innings dismissal in Sylhet, a first-ball charge that resulted in a catch when Bangladesh were 37 for 4, was heavily criticised.”We have had conversations. Litton is in a good space,” Pothas said. “The trouble that we generally have is that the pressure on Litton comes from the outside. If we just leave Litton to be Litton, I think he’ll show you the best of him.”If we keep jumping on his back in the media and on social media, we forget that just because these guys are very able cricketers and they appear on television, at the root they’re still human beings. If we treat them like human beings and allow him to do what’s best for him, I promise you he’ll show you results.”

They have secured five wins on the trot against Chennai Super Kings and will be very keen to better that as the IPL moves to Dharamsala for the first time this season

Hemant Brar04-May-20242:38

CSK should go pace-heavy, not spin-heavy, in Dharamsala – Dasgupta

Match details

Punjab Kings (seventh) vs Chennai Super Kings (fifth)
Dharamsala, 1530 IST (1000 GMT)

Big picture – Can PBKS make it six in a row?

In IPL history, only two teams have beaten CSK in five consecutive meetings. One is, predictably, Mumbai Indians. The other is PBKS, who started their streak in 2021 and equalled MI’s on Wednesday with a seven-wicket win at Chepauk.On Sunday, they will be looking to make it six in a row as they take on CSK in Dharamsala, their second home ground. Playing at home, though, has not been fruitful for PBKS this season; they won just one out of five games in Mullanpur, their main home ground. They will be hoping that a change in the venue brings a change in fortunes and they can stay properly in the playoffs race.CSK are much more comfortably placed, but as the tournament has progressed, their form has tapered off. They started the season with wins over Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans. But in their last four games, including three at home, they have just one win.Ruturaj Gaikwad’s wretched luck with the toss has not helped them either. He has lost nine out of ten tosses so far, and five on the trot. But CSK fans will have happy memories of Dharamsala. In 2010, CSK needed 16 in the final over against Kings XI Punjab, as they were known then, and MS Dhoni hit Irfan Pathan for back-to-back sixes to win the match with two balls to spare. In a rare show of emotions, he punched his helmet in celebration, thus giving the tournament one of its iconic moments.

Form guide

Punjab Kings WWLLL (last five matches, most recent first)
Chennai Super Kings LWLLW

Previous meeting

After opting to bowl, PBKS restricted CSK to 162 for 7, with Kagiso Rabada, Harpreet Brar and Rahul Chahar going at less than run a ball. Jonny Bairstow and Rilee Rossouw led the chase and took PBKS home with 2.1 overs to spare.

Team news and impact player strategy

Punjab Kings
Shikhar Dhawan is not fully fit yet. PBKS spin-bowling coach Sunil Joshi hoped he would be ready for the last two games. Joshi also said that they wanted to retain the winning combination. Prabhsimran Singh and Arshdeep Singh are expected to be their Impact Player options once again.Probable XII 1 , 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 Rilee Rossouw, 4 Shashank Singh, 5 Sam Curran (capt), 6 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 Ashutosh Sharma, 8 Harpreet Brar, 9 Harshal Patel, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 , 12 Rahul ChaharShivam Dube is one of only two CSK batters with more than 200 runs this season•AFP/Getty Images

Chennai Super Kings
Tushar Deshpande, who missed the previous game with flu, is expected to be available, but with Deepak Chahar injured and Mustafizur Rahaman having gone back to Bangladesh for national duty, CSK will have to rejig their bowling combination. One of Maheesh Theekshana and Mitchell Santner is likely to come in, while Mukesh Choudhary could get his second game of the season. Ajinkya Rahane and Choudhary could be their options for Impact Player.Probable XII 1 , 2 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 3 Daryl Mitchell, 4 Shivam Dube, 5 Moeen Ali, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 MS Dhoni (wk), 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Tushar Deshpande, 10 Maheesh Theekshana, 11 Matheesha Pathirana, 12

In the spotlight – Harpreet Brar and Shivam Dube

Harpreet Brar has only six wickets in ten games, but his economy rate has been an excellent 7.21. Among those who have bowled at least 100 balls this season, only Jasprit Bumrah (6.25), Sunil Narine (6.72) and Krunal Pandya (7.20) have better economy rates. When PBKS faced CSK earlier in the week, Brar was the Player of the Match for his figures of 2 for 17, which included dismissing Shivam Dube for a first-ball duck.That Shivam Dube wicket was crucial because he has been CSK’s engine room in the middle overs. In all, he has 350 runs at an average of 50.00 and a strike rate of 171.56 this season; Gaikwad is the only other CSK batter to cross 200. Given both PBKS spinners – Brar and Rahul Chahar – turn the ball into Dube, if gets set, it may not be easy to stop him.

Stats that matter

• Dhoni has a strike rate of 45.45 against Rabada (10 runs off 22 balls, one dismissal), 55.88 against Rahul Chahar (19 off 34, two dismissals) and 78.12 against Harshal Patel (25 off 32, two dismissals). He has fared much better against Sam Curran and Arshdeep Singh, taking 38 off 17 balls against Curran and 20 off 14 balls against Arshdeep. Neither bowler has been able to dismiss him yet.
• Daryl Mitchell has taken Arshdeep for 43 runs in 19 balls while getting out only once.
• Rabada has kept Gaikwad quiet: 63 runs off 59 balls, three dismissals. Arshdeep, too, has a good record against Gaikwad: 55 runs off 44 balls, three dismissals.
• Bairstow has a strike rate of 185.71 against Moeen Ali (39 runs off 21 balls, no dismissal) and 170.00 against Shardul Thakur (51 off 30, one dismissal). But he has found it difficult to score against Ravindra Jadeja: 36 off 31 at a strike rate of 116.12 (one dismissal).

Pitch and conditions

Dharamsala has hosted only two T20s in the last seven years and both have been high-scoring – well, as per pre-IPL 2024 standards. The last time PBKS played here, in 2023, Rossouw was in the opposition and scored 82 not out off 37 balls as Delhi Capitals posted 213 for 2 and won by 15 runs. It’s an afternoon game, and the temperature is expected to be around 27°C.

The pitches have come in for criticism after the surfaces used for the first two games were extremely hard to bat on

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jun-20242:03

Flower on New York pitch – ‘Bordering on dangerous’

The ICC has acknowledged that the two pitches used so far at the Nassau County International Cricket Ground in New York have been substandard and are striving to “remedy” the issue for the remaining T20 World Cup games at the venue.In a statement on Thursday, a day after India and Ireland played their group game on an extremely difficult wicket, the ICC said “the pitches used so far at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium have not played as consistently as we would have all wanted.”The world-class grounds team have been working hard since the conclusion of yesterday’s game to remedy the situation and deliver the best possible surfaces for the remaining matches.”The first match played at the new venue in New York – a pop-up cricket stadium built in park land in the span of five months, with drop-in pitches made in Florida and transported there – was between South Africa and Sri Lanka on June 3. Sri Lanka were dismissed for 77 on pitch no. 1, and South Africa achieved the target only in 16.2 overs.Related

• T20 World Cup 2024: New York, Tarouba pitches rated 'unsatisfactory' by ICC

• Explainer – what's wrong with the T20 World Cup pitches in New York?

• Rohit Sharma retires hurt in India's opening T20 World Cup game

• Klaasen on New York pitch: Batters need to suck it up

On June 5, India bowled Ireland out for 96 on pitch no. 4, and though they won by eight wickets two of their batters – Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant – suffered blows to the body. Rohit had to retire hurt after getting hit on his arm. Ireland’s Harry Tector was also struck on the finger by a sharp bouncer from Jasprit Bumrah.Following the India-Ireland game, the pitch came in for heavy criticism from several former cricketers, with Andy Flower, an expert on ESPNcricinfo’s Timeout show, saying it was “bordering on dangerous”.Pitch no. 2 and 3 have not yet been used for games and it was observed that grass had been shaved off one of those surfaces. The New York venue is scheduled to host six more group games, including India versus Pakistan on June 9.

South Africa have the weight of history to deal with, India’s brightest stars have resolutely reinvented their games because they really wanted to be here. Winning will mean so much to either side

Alagappan Muthu28-Jun-20241:28

What type of conditions will Barbados offer?

Match details

India vs South Africa, T20 World Cup 2024 final
Bridgetown, June 29, 10.30am local time, 2.30pm GMT

Big Picture – It’s just a cup… right?

There are no fairytales in life, obviously, but sport does a great deal to make up for it, to the extent that it offers gifts like this Saturday, when, at the end of 40 overs – give or take a Super Over – 11 men will realise the difference between fantasy and reality is that fantasy was never quite as good as this.What would that feel like for South Africa? At the start, they couldn’t even play in these World Cups. Then, they changed some things that desperately needed changing and have since been specialising in the impossible. Jonty Rhodes switching gravity off in 1992. Twenty-two runs off 1 ball. Lance Klusener upending the natural order in 1999. Allan Donald run out without the bat even in his hand. There is no team with as rich a history in these tournaments, both good and bad, and there is probably no team that wants this more. The catharsis, should Aiden Markram find himself on that podium, will be seismic, because he will have with him an entire nation that at some point or other thought they might never see the day.Related

• Heartbreak or glory, India and South Africa are already winners

• Tactics Board: A plan to shackle Suryakumar, and Maharaj in the powerplay?

• India vs South Africa at the T20 World Cup final: all you need to know

• SA delayed in Trinidad because of runway closure in Barbados

There are those in India who might have felt similarly after November 19, 2023. Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid, for example. Their days are already numbered. The coach is set to depart and the captain may not have a lot of time on his hands as well. But, together, they are responsible for harassing a great team out of its comfort zone and into a place where anything seems possible. All of this – the acceptance that what they were doing in T20 cricket wasn’t working and the commitment to keep on this new path despite considerable personal lows – has been in search of silverware.For 40 overs – give or take a Super Over – nothing will matter as much as the ball and bat they will be holding in their hands. But after that, whether they win or lose, both India and South Africa should be reminded that they are excellent teams and exceptional people. They should both be able to share their love with family. Toast their time with colleagues. Chase after their children. Enjoy the compassion of their fans. If any of that is contingent on the colour of the medal around their necks, we’re doing something really wrong.

Form guide

India WWWWW (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
South Africa WWWWW

In the spotlight – Jasprit Bumrah and Heinrich Klaasen

At times, it feels unfair that Jasprit Bumrah gets to bowl four overs in a T20 game. Depending on allegiance, that is either too much or too few. For a sport that is built around pure spectacle, there can be no better ambassador than a man who detonates the wickets, leaves impact craters on the bat, the pad and even the mind of opposition batters, and does it all with a smile on his face.2:10

How do South Africa tackle Kuldeep and Bumrah?

Heinrich Klaasen is on similarly good terms with the forces that make simple human beings extraordinary. He shows the ball new places to go to and it takes flight all too willingly. This World Cup is yet to see him at his destructive best but the thing is, players of his quality rarely go too long without making a contribution.

Team news

India arrive in the final with seven wins from eight games (one rained out) and in almost all of them, they’ve been dominant. The only time they were really challenged was three weeks ago, on a treacherous New York pitch after posting 119 against Pakistan. South Africa arrive in the final with eight wins from eight and they’ve gone through the ringer. Except each time, with the game on the line, and the pressure at a peak, they coped. Given all this context, it is unlikely that either team will be making any changes (unless South Africa decide the conditions warrant an extra seamer).India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Rishabh Pant (wk), 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Axar Patel, 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Arshdeep Singh, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Jasprit Bumrah.South Africa (probable): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Reeza Hendricks, 3 Aiden Markram (capt), 4 David Miller, 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Heinrich Klaasen 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Keshav Maharaj, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Anrich Nortje, 11 Tabraiz Shamsi/Ottneil Baartman2:23

Morkel: Markram’s got the mix perfectly right to connect SA’s team environment

Pitch and conditions – Feisty conditions again

Outside of New York, Kensington Oval has offered the most wickets to fast bowlers in the T20 World Cup: 59 at an average of 20.22 and economy rate of 7.88. There’s been one total above 200 but the rest fit in a range between 109 and 181 (the latter made by India at the only game either of these finalists have played at the venue this World Cup).The final will be played on pitch No. 4, which was used for the games between Namibia and Oman, and Scotland and England. It’s the fourth pitch of eight on the square, so neither boundary should be significantly longer than the other.There is a threat of rain over this final but it does have a reserve day.

Stats and trivia

• This is only the seventh T20 World Cup match between India and South Africa. The first four squeeze into a five-year time-frame between 2007 and 2012.
• Never has this tournament yielded a champion who has remained unbeaten. That’s about to change.
• There isn’t a lot to separate India and South Africa on bowling metrics: 56 wickets at an average of 15.21 and economy rate of 6.42 vs 59 wickets at an average of 15.23 and economy rate of 5.95
• But the batting is a different story. India average 25.80 and strike at 132.13 with six fifty-plus scores. South Africa average 21.90 and strike at 106.14 with three fifty-plus scores

Quotes

“You know, I don’t really believe in this ‘Do it for somebody’. I love that quote about somebody asking somebody else, ‘Why do you want to climb Mount Everest?’ and he says ‘I want to climb Mount Everest because it’s there’. I want to win this World Cup because it’s there. It’s not for anyone, it’s not for anybody, it’s just there to win”
“It’s a game of cricket. Someone has to win, and someone has to lose ultimately. That’s the name of the game. You take it in your stride. You do get belief, though, from winning close games and potentially winning games that you thought you weren’t going to win. It does a lot for your changing room and the vibe in the changing room.”

Brooke Guest 85 in vain as Leaning, Grant Stewart halt Kent slide

ECB Reporters Network09-Aug-2024Jack Leaning’s unbeaten 81 from 117 balls guided Kent to a thrilling three wicket victory over Derbyshire in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup game at Derby.Kent were sliding to defeat at 106 for 6 chasing 207 with Samit Patel taking 3 for 30 but Leaning and Grant Stewart’s 48 from 39 balls revived them.Leaning and Matt Parkinson then added 33 from 43 balls to see Kent over the line with 28 balls to spare at 207 for 7.Brooke Guest made 85 from 117 balls, sharing an eighth wicket stand of 75 with Harry Moore who made a career-best 40 to take Derbyshire to 206 with Parkinson claiming 3 for 23.Kent bowled well on a used pitch with George Garrett finding late movement to have Harry Came caught behind.But there were some soft dismissals starting with Luis Reece who was run out by a direct hit from cover in the seventh over.David Lloyd drove back a low return catch to Grant Stewart but it was Parkinson’s spell which put Derbyshire on the back foot.Guest and Anuj Dal ran well, picking up quick singles and twos, but Parkinson tempted Dal into a big drive which landed in the hands of long on.Patel pulled Jas Singh for the only six of the innings but Parkinson snared him in the 25th over with a slower ball which he drove to cover.When Yousaf Bin Naeem was trapped lbw half forward, Derbyshire were 109 for 6 with Guest’s 77 ball 50 holding his side together.Garrett returned to bowl Zak Chappell with a late inswinger but Moore provided Guest with the support he deserved to give the hosts respectability.The pair kept the board ticking over without taking risks before Moore ramped and cut Jas Singh for three consecutive fours in the 44th over.Guest’s excellent innings ended when he pulled Charlie Stobo to mid-wicket and Moore went in the 47th over, run out at the non-striker’s end by a direct hit from cover.But they had given the bowlers something to defend and Moore struck when Marcus O’Riordan was caught behind down the leg side.Moore saw Joey Evison dropped at first slip before Leaning dispatched him for four boundaries in his next over.Derbyshire needed inspiration and Daryn Dupavillon provided it by taking a stunning one handed diving catch at mid on off Patel to remove Evison for 32.Patel struck again in his next over when Jaydn Denley was cramped for room trying to pull and holed out to long on leaving Kent 78 for 3.Derbyshire sensed there was an opening when Harry Finch played a loose drive at Pat Brown and this time David Lloyd made no mistake at slip.The pressure was now on Kent who started to unravel as two more wickets went down in four overs.Ekansh Singh clipped Chappell to mid-wicket and Stobo got a leading edge to slip trying to work Patel through the leg sideBut Leaning gave Kent hope, reaching 50 from 79 balls and with Stewart, he steered his side back into the contest.Stewart pulled Brown for two sixes and appeared to be winning the game until he lifted Chappell to fine leg where Moore managed to take a superb catch without carrying the ball over the rope.But Leaning hit Moore for three fours and with Parkinson, saw his team to a win that keeps their slender hopes of making the knock-out stages alive and dents Derbyshire’s chances of qualifying.

They will join the support staff just before New Zealand’s six Tests in Asia over the next two months

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Sep-2024Rangana Herath and Vikram Rathour have linked up with the New Zealand Test squad, who are set to play six Tests in Asia over the next two months. Herath will be the spin-bowling coach for New Zealand’s next three Tests – one against Afghanistan and two in Sri Lanka – while Rathour will only be with the squad for the one-off Afghanistan Test in Greater Noida, India, starting September 9.”Both men are held in high regard in the world of cricket and I know our players are really looking forward to the opportunity to learn from them,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said.”For our three left-arm orthodox spinners in particular, Ajaz [Patel], Mitch [Santner] and Rachin [Ravindra], having the chance to work with Rangana across three Tests on the subcontinent will be hugely beneficial.Related

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“Rangana has taken over 100 Test wickets in Galle which is the venue of our two Tests against Sri Lanka and so his knowledge of that venue will be priceless.”After the Sri Lanka tour in the second half of this month, the New Zealand side will return to India for three Tests in Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai. Out of these six Tests, only the one against Afghanistan will not count for the World Test Championship (WTC).Apart from Ajaz, Santner and Ravindra, New Zealand will also have offbreak spin options in Michael Bracewell and Glenn Phillips for the Afghanistan and Sri Lanka Tests. They have not announced the squad for the India Tests yet.Herath, with 433 Test wickets to his name from 93 matches, replaces former Pakistan offspinner Saqlain Mushtaq who is now among the five mentors the PCB named to uplift their domestic cricket. Herath was a spin-bowling coach with the Bangladesh side until recently.Rathour, who played six Tests for India, was most recently India’s batting coach. His contract ended when India lifted the T20 World Cup in Barbados in June and he was also a national selector in 2012.

The move is to safeguard the mental health of individuals against content such as hate speech, harassment, and misogyny

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Oct-2024The ICC has launched a new software as part of a social media moderation programme for the Women’s T20 World Cup to help protect the cricket community from “toxic content” to safeguard the mental health of individuals and “ensure a safer, kinder and healthier online community for the sport.”An ICC release issued on the morning of the opening day of the T20 World Cup stated the programme was to “promote a more positive and inclusive online experience for teams and players” and that over 60 players had already opted for it.The ICC has engaged GoBubble, a software company from UK, to provide a combination of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and human resources to monitor and moderate comments on the ICC’s social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, as well as those of players who have signed up for this. “The cutting-edge technology is designed to identify and hide from public view toxic content such as hate speech, harassment, and misogyny, helping to create a safer and more welcoming space for fans to engage with the World Cup,” the ICC release said.Players who participate for this can have harmful comments hidden from social media accounts.”We are dedicated to fostering a positive and inclusive environment for all participants and fans of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, it’s been great to see so many of the players and teams embrace our new initiative,” ICC head of digital, Finn Bradshaw said.South Africa wicketkeeper Sinalo Jafta said players getting this kind of protection from social media was “very big”.”For me with social media protection I think it takes a lot of weight off players, especially at World Cup campaigns as that is the worst of it,” she was quoted saying in the release. “There is nothing worse than opening up your phone after a loss – or after a victory – and regardless of what side you find yourself there is always some degrading comment about your personality.”With the youngsters coming in you tell them ‘please don’t look’, but what are they going to do? It is literally their thing.”That protection for me is very big because players get to share their life with the world without the fear of being judged or criticised. I am looking forward to seeing the changes, people just being free and players can just show the world who they really are.”The 10-team tournament starts on Thursday in Sharjah at 2pm local time (10am GMT) with Bangladesh taking on Scotland before Pakistan face Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka in the evening game starting at 6pm local time, at the same venue. The final is slated in Dubai on October 20.