Four-wicket haul on second day keeps Robinson’s Test average below 20 and clinches first-innings lead

Vithushan Ehantharajah17-Feb-2023On the day James Anderson and Stuart Broad took their tandem wicket tally to 1,001, level with the great Australia duo of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, it was Ollie Robinson who ensured England retained their advantage in the first Test against New Zealand.Robinson is far from off-broadway, already on equal billing with two active legends as he showcased with 4 for 51 on day two at Bay Oval. It was a haul that takes him to 64 dismissals after just 28 innings, keeping his average under 20 (19.60) in his 16th Test. And more importantly, his efforts kept New Zealand behind after their first innings before England were able to extend their lead from 19 to 98 by stumps.It is clear Anderson and Broad see something special in Robinson. Beyond making their jobs a little easier, the speed with which he has become ingrained into their company and conversations speaks of a recognition that he is on their level.As such, Robinson carries the air of the anointed one, assume the roles of Anderson and Broad once they are done combining or adding to their individual tallies which sit at 679 and 567 wickets, respectively. And it speaks of his confidence in his ability that he is not daunted by the idea of inheriting their mantles.”They’ve been very open and honest with me since I’ve come into the environment, which has been amazing for me. Hopefully I can be a worthy bearer of the baton, if you like.”Robinson gets up close and personal with Daryl Mitchell•Phil Walter/Getty Images

The 29-year-old made inroads at crucial times: Tom Latham under lights on the first day after England declared on 325 for 9 before following up with Daryl Mitchell and lower-order hitters Scott Kuggeleijn and Tim Southee. Ever since his first cap at the start of the 2021 summer – against New Zealand, no less – he has earned a reputation of dismissing key batters, something which Brendon McCullum has urged him to carry forward.”Baz is always saying to me try and be that partnership-breaker,” he said. “When the game’s drifting along, try and be that guy to break the partnership so it was important for me to do that and kept the game in our favour.”The removal of Mitchell was the icing on the cake for a couple of reasons. Back in 2022, Mitchell averaged 107.60 in England thanks to hundreds in each of the three Tests. Here, he was sent on his way with a 10-ball duck – the first of his Test career – leaving a ball that jagged in and clipped him on the front pad. Mitchell opted against a review and replays showed a predicted impact right into the top of off stump. Since Robinson’s debut, he has dismissed seven batters through misjudged leaves on their part, more than any other bowler in the world.”It’s the one I’m trying to bowl, yeah,” he says of the ball that nips back into the right-hander off the straight. “It doesn’t always move. I learnt it off Jimmy a little bit, tilting the seam slightly differently to how you would hold a conventional outswinger. It’s a bit of luck though, really. I’m just trying to get any seam movement that I can, bowl some more wobbles and go from there really.”I’m trying to present it as an outswinger and get it to wobble back in or hold. I’ve naturally always brought the ball back in, I think I’ve just grown with it a little bit, got more accurate with it and more skilful with it.”Related

• Transitional New Zealand cherish Tom Blundell's latest vital contribution

• Tom Blundell bludgeons brilliant hundred to keep New Zealand in first Test hunt

• Late England wickets vindicate Stokes' funky declaration

• Brook's one-two punch encapsulates his real-time evolution

• England strike under lights after Brook, Duckett cut loose

As he says, it is a trick he has had in his armoury for some time, undoing batters in the County Championship while playing for Sussex long before the high profile occurrences, notably castling Pakistan’s Babar Azam in Multan in December.That he was able to translate that from the red to a less willing pink ball is a testament to his talent. There is, however, a new edge to it which he credits to England’s new four-figure double act.”I think a big thing for me is use of the crease that I’ve learnt from Jimmy and Broady, probably more than anything coming to England,” Robinson said. “In county cricket you sort of run up and bowl from mid-crease – it’s quite generic – whereas in international cricket, the batters are that much better you have to be more on it and use the crease and use your skills to get more out of it.”

Ace legspinner has two and a half days to recover before Lahore face Multan in the playoffs on Wednesday

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Mar-2023Having already qualified for the play-offs, Lahore Qalandars rested their captain Shaheen Shah Afridi and lost their final league game to Karachi Kings but that won’t worry them so much as the fact that Rashid Khan had to retire hurt, having been hit on the helmet. Qalandars are due to face the big-hitting Multan Sultans in the Qualifier on Wednesday and they’d really prefer going into that game with their ace legspinner in fighting form.Far removed from those concerns though, the Kings were able to celebrate just their third win of the tournament, which took them off the bottom of the points table. Muhammad Akhlaq, after a poor first two seasons in 2021 and 2022, struck his first PSL half-century. An innings of 51 off 36 balls that set the Kings up for the final flourish provided by the captain Imad Wasim (43 off 31) and Ben Cutting (33 off 14). They were able to put up a total of 196 for 7 after choosing to bat in Lahore, with Tayyab Tahir also contributing a sprightly 40 off 23 balls at No. 3.The Qalandars’ chase went nowhere as they lost their top order inside the powerplay and continued to collapse. They were 79 for 7 when Rashid had to retire hurt at the end of the 15th over. He’d got hit in the 14th, trying to pull a James Fuller bouncer, but continued batting after receiving medical attention. Things seemed okay, especially when Rashid was able to hit the first ball after taking the blow, for an emphatic boundary over square leg. But he couldn’t go on for much longer.The Kings’ bowlers enjoyed as good a time as their batters with Imad, Akif Javed, Mohammad Umar and Imran Tahir all picking up two wickets a piece.

Shakib bowled just six overs on day three even as Ireland kept accumulating runs

Mohammad Isam06-Apr-2023When Shakib Al Hasan sent down the first over on the third day in Mirpur, there was a palpable feeling that the end of the Dhaka Test was just a matter of time. He had bowled menacingly on the second evening, registering figures of 7-2-11-2 and pairing up with fellow left-arm spinner Taijul Islam to knock over Ireland’s first four wickets in 6.3 overs.On Thursday, Shakib got the fifth ball of the morning to rip across Harry Tector. He conceded just one run in his first three overs of the day but bowled only three more till stumps. Ireland had started the day trailing by 128; they finished with 131 ahead with two wickets still in hand.Shakib was captaining the side and was on the field for most of the time. Given he didn’t show any signs of a niggle, the decision to hardly bowl was puzzling. Even Allan Donald, the team’s fast-bowling coach, was clueless.Related

• Lorcan Tucker thinks on his feet in first red-ball foray

• Tector, Tucker and McBrine defy Bangladesh

• Nic Pothas named Bangladesh's assistant coach

“I must admit I have no idea why he didn’t bowl enough today,” Donald said. “He seems fit. He came off a couple of times for bathroom breaks. I think maybe he wanted to give the attack a chance to do the job. [He bowled] 13 overs, for 2 for 20-odd. I thought the second new ball is going to be a big factor. I thought it was a new-ball type of pitch. It didn’t spin as much as it did last night. You could score runs once you are in on this wicket. I will leave your question to Shakib .”What Shakib does amazingly well is shut one end down. He is such an experienced campaigner, varies his pace smartly, although there was no real turn all day long, I thought he would have been the guy that controlled one end.”I thought [Mehidy Hasan] Miraz, Taijul and the three seamers tried their guts out today. It didn’t quite happen. Tomorrow morning is going to be a big morning. They are 130 [131] runs ahead. We have to go bang, bang quickly, and get batting.”Lorcan Tucker, who became the second centurion for Ireland in Test cricket, said he was glad Shakib didn’t bowl much. “He bowled beautifully last night. I can’t say I am disappointed that he didn’t bowl so much today. I am not going to question their decision.”Donald, though, wasn’t disappointed with the overall performance of his bowlers but felt that they could have set a heavy leg-side field after lunch.”I thought at some stage after lunch, especially when Tucker was in, we could have set a field where we could have maybe shut off one side of the ground a little bit more, make him hit through the off side a little bit more. That brings the outside edge into play.”But I can’t fault the hard work that these guys did today. It was one of the flattest wickets I’ve seen. And there’s not a lot of life for the quicks in here, especially halfway down. And we’ve seen a couple of balls not carry to the keeper. But that’s Test cricket. No one said it is easy. So I thought they grinded out the day beautifully and yes, once again, one massive tick to Ireland. They fought hard today.”The lack of creativity was evident in how Taijul and Mehidy were expected to simply run through the Ireland line-up. They ended up bowling 57 overs without much actual success as Ireland built sizeable partnerships on the third day. Whether Shakib bowls on the fourth morning is anyone’s guess. But there will be questions asked within the team management and the BCB, which often likes to get involved in team matters.

Salvi is currently part of the KKR support staff and takes over from Amol Muzumdar

PTI08-May-2023Omkar Salvi, currently an assistant bowling coach with the IPL side Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), was on Monday appointed as the head coach of the domestic Mumbai senior men’s side for the upcoming season.Former Mumbai batter Vinit Indulkar was appointed as the batting coach of the Mumbai senior men’s team while former wicketkeeper-batter Onkar Gurav was named the fielding coach.The appointments were made by the Cricket Improvement Committee (CIC), headed by former India batter Lalchand Rajput with Sahil Kukreja and Preeti Dimri as the other members.Salvi replaced Amol Muzumdar at the helm of the 41-time Ranji Trophy winners. Salvi has previously worked as the bowling coach of the Mumbai team before joining KKR. He is the brother of former India bowler Aavishkar Salvi.Among other appointments, Rajesh Pawar was named the Under-23 men’s head coach while current India captain Rohit Sharma’s coach Dinesh Lad was named the head coach of the Under-19 team.Sandesh Kawle was given charge of the Under-16 boys side while Nilesh Masurkar was appointed as the head coach of the Under-14 boys team.Former India women’s cricketer Sunetra Paranjpe, who played three Tests and 28 ODIs, was named the head coach of the Mumbai women’s senior team. Jayesh Dadarkar will be the Under-23 coach while Ajay Kadam and Aparna Kambli were appointed as the head coaches of the Under-19 and Under-15 girls sides.Along with the appointment of Sameer Dighe as the MCA Academy in-charge, Vinayak Mane was made the batting coach while Pradeep Sunderam and Mandar Sane were named the bowling coaches. Sunil Lingayat was appointed the fielding coach.

Batter to have injury reassessed after second Test but was never in doubt to play

Andrew McGlashan28-Jun-2023David Warner battled through the pain of a badly bruised hand at Lord’s and will have the injury reassessed after the match although was never in doubt to play this game.Warner has taken multiple blows on his hands in recent weeks, including from Mohammed Shami in the World Test Championship and more recently against throwdowns from batting coach Michael Di Venuto in the nets, while he is also carrying a bruised palm from catching.However, his 66 off 88 balls was vital in setting Australia a strong platform after being sent in at Lord’s on an overcast day although he did survive a chance to slip when Ollie Pope spilled him on 20 off Stuart Broad.Related

• Warner eyes the perfect exit and a shot at a serious all-format legacy

• Just Stop Oil protesters disrupt Lord's Ashes Test

• Smith, Head and Warner give Australia opening-day honours

• Travis Head defines another day of Ashes cricket

“It’s copped a battering the last two games, and in the nets, so it’s little bit sore at the moment, bit of a bruise but I’ll just see how we go after the game and I think we’ll examine it then,” Warner said. “At the moment it’s quite tender.”[I was] never in doubt, [but] it was quite sore. Initially it was more in the palm, I’ve got a hotspot where my thumb is and every time the ball hits the bat it just jars. Then today I got hit back in the knuckle which I think Mohammed Shami hit me [on] in that World Test Championship.”I’ve had my hand in an ice bucket all afternoon, so we’ll play it by ear and assess it after the game.”Warner’s half-century continued an encouraging first half of the England tour for him even though a major score continues to prove elusive. He made 43 in the first innings against India and 36 in the second innings at Edgbaston last week.Barring his hand injury being more serious than thought he is now certain to see out the Ashes tour and looks likely to get the Sydney farewell against Pakistan early next year that he mapped out when he arrived in the UK.David Warner acknowledges his half-century•Getty Images

“I’ve felt in total control the last six to eight months with where my game is. I’m moving into the ball, my feet are moving, not just playing with my hands,” he said.”I felt like I was onto something special in the World Test Championship final. And then last game, same thing. I feel like everything I’m putting in in the nets is actually coming out there in the middle.”I’m excited by it and I think if I can keep getting myself in and keep that momentum going with my feet, a big one could be around the corner.”Warner even twice attempted to sweep Broad from outside off stump, something he has been working on in the nets. “With the white ball I play it quite a bit,” he said. “Always said in the back of my mind if they set a field where the guy was squarer and they try to hit their lengths then I’d play it. It is risky, but in the back of my mind I’m trying to put them off their line and length.”

His 4 for 6 rolls Rapids for 100 before defending champions splutter to target

ECB Reporters Network07-Jul-2023Defending champions Hampshire Hawks will face Essex in the Vitality Blast semi-final on Finals Day after Nathan Ellis razed Worcestershire Rapids with his career best.Ellis claimed 4 for 6, with Chris Wood and John Turner both picking up two scalps each in a supreme bowling performance.The Rapids had an enterprising 70-run stand between Usama Mir and Ed Pollock – but it was bookended by slumping to 29 for 6 and then losing the last four wickets for one run as they were rolled for 100.The Hawks spluttered to the target to win by five wickets and reach their 10th Finals Day and maintain their hopes of being the first team to win the Blast back-to-back.The Rapids had never played a Blast match at the Ageas Bowl, and had only faced the Hawks once in the format. On that occasion, in 2015, James Vince blitzed an unbeaten century as Hampshire totted up 196 before Worcestershire reached 58 for 2, then the floodlight-less New Road got too dark.The Rapids would have dreamed of a total eclipse of the hot evening sun and a power failure amid their first collapse, which began with a wicket in each of the first four overs.Jack Haynes lasted until the fourth ball of the innings before a leading edge was well caught and bowled by Chris Wood.The Blast’s breakthrough fast bowler John Turner added Brett D’Oliveira as his 19th victim by cartwheeling his leg stump after an attempted scoop.Mitchell Santner and Adam Hose both picked out fielders – a brilliant long on catch from Vince and spliced to square leg respectively.Two wicketless overs were a mere interlude before James Fuller’s wicket maiden accounted for Kashif Ali and Ben Cox chipped to midwicket.But Mir and Pollock salvaged things with a 70-run stand, which included 16 runs off a Liam Dawson over, with the fifty-partnership coming off 45 balls with a six over long on.The second collapse was as ugly as the first as four wickets fell in eight balls for a single run to end a sorry innings.Mir’s thick outside edge off Benny Howell was easily caught at short third before Ellis splayed the tail with three wickets in four balls – Adam Finch yorked, Dillon Pennington caught at cover and Pat Brown leg before.Aneurin Donald replaced Ben McDermott – who had a back spasm – with the gloves and at the top of the order, and crunched the first ball of the reply through the leg side but edged behind soon after.Vince was caught at cover but is now 20 runs away from equalling his 678 runs from last season – reaching that would give him the best three Blast seasons. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that he could better his annus mirabilis of 710 runs in 2015.Tom Prest hit three fours and a six in a happy-go-lucky 25 before he was well caught playing the reverse sweep, with Dawson falling in similar style.Joe Weatherley got the run chase within five before skying but the Hawks stayed on track for a third Blast title and condemned the Rapids to their sixth quarter-final defeat in eight attempts.

She will be the third Indian in the Hundred, joining Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jul-2023Richa Ghosh, the 19-year-old wicketkeeper-batter, has become the third Indian player to sign a contract in the Hundred for 2023, replacing the injured Georgia Redmayne at London Spirit.Ghosh will join Smriti Mandhana (Southern Brave) and Harmanpreet Kaur (Trent Rockets) in the competition next month, who were retained from last year’s squad and signed in March’s draft, respectively.Active male Indian players are not permitted to play in overseas short-form leagues by the BCCI but female players have regularly appeared in the Hundred and the Women’s Big Bash League, among others.Ghosh’s salary in the Hundred is understood to be £12,500 (INR 13 lakh approx.), which pales in comparison to the INR 1.9 crore (£180,000 approx.) that she was paid by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the inaugural Women’s Premier League earlier this year.But the tournament will provide her with an opportunity to further her development as a player, having recently missed out on selection for India’s tour to Bangladesh. Her captain at Spirit will be Heather Knight, while other team-mates will include Grace Harris, Amelia Kerr and Sarah Glenn.Ghosh’s replacement deal was announced by the ECB on Thursday morning along with a number of other signings in the women’s competition, with Spirit also signing the recent England Test debutant Lauren Filer in the open-market process that followed March’s draft.Emily Windsor, who hit the winning runs in the 2022 final for Oval Invincibles, has moved to Welsh Fire for this summer while Trent Rockets have signed the former England middle-order batter Fran Wilson.ESPNcricinfo revealed last week the results of the domestic wildcard draft, which have now been confirmed by the ECB, along with replacement contracts for Matthew Short (replacing Michael Bracewell at Northern Superchargers) and Usama Mir (replacing Wanindu Hasaranga at Manchester Originals).Spirit have also found short-notice replacements for Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh, after they were pulled out of the tournament by Cricket Australia. Matthew Wade, the Australian wicketkeeper-batter, and New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell will come in instead.Adam Zampa will also return to the Hundred in the second half of the season, replacing Sunil Narine at Oval Invincibles when Narine leaves for the Caribbean Premier League after August 13.

Women’s Hundred signings:

Birmingham Phoenix: Davina Perrin, Abbey Freeborn, Charis Pavely
London Spirit: Richa Ghosh (replacing Georgia Redmayne), Lauren Filer, Chloe Hill, Alice Monaghan
Manchester Originals: Ami Campbell, Amara Carr, Mahika Gaur, Laura Jackson
Northern Superchargers: Georgie Boyce, Lucy Higham, Grace Ballinger, Grace Hall, Leah Dobson (replacing Phoebe Franklin)
Oval Invincibles: Sophia Smale, Beth Langston, Cordelia Griffith, Claudie Cooper, Lizzie Scott (replacing Tash Farrant)
Southern Brave: Kalea Moore, Seren Smale, Ellie Anderson, Mary Taylor
Trent Rockets: Jo Gardner, Fran Wilson, Nat Wraith, Cassidy McCarthy (replacing Emma Jones)
Welsh Fire: Emily Windsor, Ella McCaughan, Georgia Davis, Kate Coppack

Men’s Hundred replacements:

London Spirit: Matthew Wade (replacing Glenn Maxwell), Daryl Mitchell (replacing Mitchell Marsh)
Manchester Originals: Usama Mir (replacing Wanindu Hasaranga)
Northern Superchargers: Matthew Short (replacing Michael Bracewell)
Oval Invincibles: Tom Lawes (replacing Saqib Mahmood), Adam Zampa (partially replacing Sunil Narine)

Legspinner showed his steely side after tough start to must-win group game, says captain

Andrew Miller25-Aug-2023It was business as usual in the final analysis for Rehan Ahmed on Wednesday, as Southern Brave overcame Manchester Originals in their crucial final group-stage encounter at Emirates Old Trafford, to book themselves a rematch in Saturday’s Men’s Hundred Eliminator.There they were on the score-sheet: game-turning figures of 2 for 26 in 20 balls for Rehan, including the critical scalp of England’s captain Jos Buttler, who was suckered into a launch down long-on’s throat for 45 from 42 balls, just when it seemed he was primed to unleash at the death.But, as Brave’s captain, James Vince, admitted on the eve of the Eliminator, Rehan’s performance on Wednesday night had been one of two distinct halves. He opened his account with consecutive full-tosses from balls 26 and 27, then served up another at the start of his second set that was launched for six by Wayne Madsen.Rehan Ahmed has made key breakthroughs for Southern Brave throughout the Hundred•PA Photos/Getty Images

Only some sharp fielding and poor shot selection prevented what Vince described as “probably 10 of [Rehan’s] worst balls” proving more costly than their eventual 17 runs. However, the fact that he then bounced back with ten of his best at the back-end of the innings was, Vince added, further evidence of his legspinner’s uncanny maturity.”Rehan has bowled brilliantly all competition,” Vince said. “He came back really strongly in the last game after a couple of average sets first-up, so it was great to see the way he bounced back and he’s been really reliable all tournament.”To be honest, you kind of forget his age,” Vince added, with Rehan having turned 19 earlier this month. “That’s down to the way he is around the group, the way he is on the field. He’s certainly above his years, and if you didn’t know his age, you would easily say from the way he carries himself and the way he performs that he’s in his mid-20s. So I think he’s going to grow and grow.”It’s easy to get carried away with Rehan’s self-assurance. His back-story is by now well known – from being a net bowler with England at the age of 11, ahead of the 2016 Lord’s Test against Pakistan, to his Test debut against the same opponents in Karachi last winter, when he overtook Brian Close as the youngest men’s player in England’s history, and celebrated with a matchwinning five-wicket haul.Related

• How Charlotte Edwards steered Southern Brave to a third straight Hundred final

• 'I'm always ready' – Rehan Ahmed is on the move, and has a World Cup trophy in his sights

• Rehan Ahmed, Tymal Mills set up emphatic victory for Southern Brave

• Could Sam Curran be England's next white-ball captain?

• Tymal Mills cracks the code to drive Southern Brave's Hundred title challenge

And, if the sense is growing that this is a player who relishes the big stage, then the closing weekend of the Men’s Hundred – including the prospect of a Lord’s final on Sunday – offers another key staging post in Rehan’s fast-tracked development.”[It’s great] that he can have these experiences and to have played international cricket already,” Vince added. “With the responsibilities as legspinner, there’s no-one else that can really pick up those overs in a game. It’s not like a batter who, if they don’t perform, someone else can come in and pick up their role. His role is specific and there’s only one or two of those in the team, so he’s certainly very mature for his age.”With that in mind, and with Southern Brave’s qualification hopes hinging on victory on Wednesday night, Vince admitted he had no qualms about trusting Rehan to raise his game at the crunch. First he returned for a tidy four-run set between balls 61 and 65, and then produced his decisive final burst from balls 81 to 85, which began with Paul Walter miscuing a googly into the covers before Buttler’s fateful hack off his penultimate delivery.”As a captain, there’s only so much you can say out there to get behind the guys,” Vince said. “He doesn’t need much maintenance. He knows what he’s doing. He’s got a big backing of himself, which is massively important. He didn’t shy away, or fear going for more runs. He still felt like he could have an impact on the game, and he got two crucial wickets in his last set of five, which really halted them at the end.”He wanted the ball – he wanted to bowl 10 in a row at one stage – so massive credit to him to have the confidence in his own ability to be able to turn it around. He realised that he didn’t get it quite right first-up, but that’s the first time in the whole tournament that that’s been the case. So the fact that he was still eager to bowl is great to have as a captain.”Buttler concurred: “He doesn’t lack confidence. He certainly seems to warm to these occasions, and to want the ball all the time, which is great to see in such a young guy. And this is what the Hundred is all about, for someone like Rehan to be exposed to big nights like this at that age, in our own domestic competition. I know he has already travelled the world a bit in T20 and franchise cricket, but everyone in England cricket, with whatever colour ball, is excited for his potential in the future.”

Former club captain was axed as head coach after Azeem Rafiq’s racism allegations

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Sep-2023Andrew Gale has been appointed to his first job in professional cricket since his sacking by Yorkshire and will move to Australia to become the head of Cricket Tasmania’s male performance pathway.Gale captained Yorkshire to the Championship title in both 2014 and 2015 before coaching them from 2016-21. He was among 16 members of staff sacked by the club in December 2021 in light of Azeem Rafiq’s allegations of institutional racism, and his appearance at a DCMS hearing.Gale was accused by Rafiq of bullying and using racist language towards him. He refused to defend himself against charges that he had brought the game into disrepute, describing the Cricket Discipline Commission’s investigation as a “tainted process”. In a lengthy Facebook statement, Gale claimed he had moved on from cricket and was starting a joinery business in Yorkshire with his cousin.He was later handed a four-week ban from coaching, and a fine of £6,000.Last year, he agreed compensation with Yorkshire after winning a case for unfair dismissal. The reported that his settlement was worth a six-figure sum.Gale has previously worked as an assistant coach at Hobart Hurricanes, the BBL side run by Cricket Tasmania, and posted on his LinkedIn page: “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Male High Performance Pathway, Head Coach @ Cricket Tasmania.”Dominic Baker, the chief executive of Cricket Tasmania, said that the organisation was proud to “give Andrew a second chance” and that it has “done a whole load of due diligence on the whole situation”.Baker told : “There is absolutely no doubt that Andrew wouldn’t be here unless there was an acknowledgment that the type of behaviour which he has been censored for is not acceptable to Tasmanian cricket and there’s a full acknowledgment of that.”It was Cricket Tasmania’s decision… we pride ourselves on the fact we are able to give Andrew a second chance in cricket. We’re really confident he’ll be 100 per cent behind the code of conduct that the whole of Cricket Australia should be living to.”

Perry’s all-round efforts were not enough and Sixers perished in the chase after she was run-out

AAP16-Nov-2023Perth Scorchers 189 for 6 (Mooney 91*, Jones 28, Perry 2-26) beat Sydney Sixers 128 (Perry 40, Ainsworth 2-12, Edgar 2-23) by 61 runsEllyse Perry was left cursing her decision to take a sneaky single as Sydney Sixers crashed to a 61-run WBBL loss to the Perth Scorchers at North Sydney Oval.Prolific Scorchers opener Beth Mooney scored an unbeaten 91 off 57 balls in Thursday’s clash to lift her team to a formidable 189 for 6.Perry snared 2 for 26 with the ball, took two catches in the field and pulled off a direct-hit run out. She then made a strong start with the bat, cracking five fours and two sixes to get Sixers’ run-chase off to a positive start.But her decision to take a quick single after playing a shot to mid-off proved disastrous, with Piepa Cleary gathering the ball on the run and throwing down the stumps in the same action to find Perry metres short of her crease.Maitlan Brown’s reaction says it all after Erin Burns pulled off a stunning catch•Getty Images

Perry’s dismissal for 40 off 29 balls sparked a collapse of 6 for 37 as Sixers crashed to defeat, bringing an end to their four-match winning run.The result lifted Scorchers (8-3) two points clear on top of the ladder, while Sixers (5-6) are fifth and face a battle to make the finals with just three matches remaining.Perry sent the dangerous Sophie Devine packing for 12 with a run out as Scorchers stumbled to 24 for 2 early in their innings.But it was the Mooney show from that point on as the 29-year-old thumped nine fours and four sixes to dismantle the Sixers’ attack. Mooney has now scored 509 runs this season to lead the race for the Golden Bat.”I’m happy with how I’m going, but it only counts if we get to those finals,” Mooney told Fox Cricket after the match. “Hopefully we keep on a roll and humming along nicely. It was an all-round Scorchers performance today. I thought our bowlers did an amazing job.”Erin Burns provided the highlight of the match when she dived at full length while running at pace to take a spectacular catch to dismiss Amy Jones for 28.