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If RCB win both their remaining matches and other results work out well for them, they can still make the last four

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Apr-2019Though Royal Challengers Bangalore are at the bottom of the table with just eight points, there are still a couple of ways by which they can reach the playoffs.The first condition, of course, is that they win their remaining two games, which gives them 12 points. That would obviously mean a loss each for Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad, which will mean Royals reach a maximum of 12 points, that if they beat Delhi Capitals.The second condition is that Sunrisers must lose to Mumbai Indians on May 2, and stay on 12 points.Whoever wins the Kings XI Punjab v Kolkata Knight Riders match must then lose their final game. Kings XI play theirs at home against Chennai Super Kings, while Knight Riders play theirs away, in Mumbai.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The winners of the Kings XI v Knight Riders game will then have 12 points, while the losers will have either 10 or 12 points depending on the result of their final game.So, basically, if Royal Challengers win their final two games, Sunrisers lose theirs, Royals beat Capitals, the Kings XI v Knight Riders winners lose their final game and the losers win theirs, then five teams – Royals, Royal Challengers, Kings XI, Sunrisers and Knight Riders – will be on 12 points, leaving net run-rate to decide who qualify for the playoffs.The best-case scenario for Royal Challengers is (a) Royals lose to Capitals, and (b) Kings XI and Knight Riders both lose their final games. That will leave just three teams on 12 points: Sunrisers, Royal Challengers and the winners of Kings XI v Knight Riders, while the other two teams will be on 10.The other part, though, is that Royal Challengers need to get their net run-rate up. It’s currently the lowest (-0.694), so they need to win their remaining two games by big margins and hope the teams around them lose by big margins too. Sunrisers’ net run-rate of +0.709 is a big problem for them. They not only have to beat Sunrisers by a big margin but hope Mumbai do too, so that net run-rate slides. Knight Riders also have a positive net run-rate (+0.1), so ideally Royal Challengers would want Kings XI to beat them and stop them getting to 12 points. If Royal Challengers, Kings XI and Sunrisers are the teams to finish on 12 points, then there’s some hope for Royal Challengers, but again, only if Sunrisers lose their last two emphatically.

There were fifties from Fakhar Zaman and Harris Sohail to go with Imad Wasim’s 117 not out as Pakistan notched a 100-run win

ECB Reporters Network27-Apr-2019Allrounder Imad Wasim hit a career-best List A score of 117 not out to help ease Pakistan to a comfortable 100-run win over Kent in their opening tour match in blustery Beckenham.In his 101st List A appearance and facing up to single-digit temperatures, the 30-year-old clattered 13 fours and four sixes at a strike-rate of 150 to see the visitors to a commanding 50-over total of 358 for 7. In reply, a makeshift Kent side stumbled to 258 all out to lose with more than five overs remaining with only Alex Blake and Ollie Robinson offering sustained resistance.Kent lost openers Sean Dickson and Zak Crawley within seven overs, both to Faheem Ashraf. Dickson miscued to mid-on while Crawley edged an expansive drive to the keeper.With nine of his side donning beanie hats to stave off the cold, Yasir Shah, Kent’s overseas professional for 2017, sent down a first-over long-hop that Adam Rouse obliging pulled straight to deep midwicket.Playing on his home-town ground, Blake formed a useful fourth-wicket stand in tandem with Robinson that added 132 in 17 overs. Blake muscled a season’s first 50 off 31 balls with three fours and as many sixes and was only 11 shy of a century and had six sixes when he skied a return catch to Hasan Ali.Robinson followed soon after, caught behind off Hasan for 49, then two more woeful half-trackers from Yasir led to the demise of Shane Snater and James Harris with consecutive deliveries as the Kent tail capitulated.Due to their lengthy injury list Kent had been granted ECB permission to field loan players Harris, the Middlesex seamer, and Essex paceman, Snater. Kent also gave a first-team debut to teenage academy graduate, Jordan Cox.Batting first after winning the toss Pakistan’s opening pair of Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq made up for a five-minute rain delay by cantering to a 50 stand in only 6.4 overs.Imam was gifted a life with his score on 21 when keeper Rouse, Kent’s acting captain, downed a diving, leg-side chance off the bowling of Fred Klaassen as the batsman aimed to glance.At the other end, Fakhar posted a chanceless fifty from 39 balls with six fours and a six but, after another rain interruption, Imam went after edging an attempted cut against Snater to Rouse, stood up to the stumps.Left-arm spinner Imran Qayyum made good use of the wind to strike with only his fifth delivery from the Beckenham End. Drifting the ball in from outside off stump, he bowled Babar Azam off his pads to make it 123 for 2.Qayyum removed Fakhar for 76 when, in attempting a reverse sweep, he was well caught overhead at short third man by Snater, then touring captain Sarfaraz Ahmed departed for 10 when he chipped a dipping delivery into the hands of mid-off.Shoaib Malik followed suit in Qayyum’s next over when the 25-year-old spinner pitched one on middle stump to beat the defensive prod and hit the top of off stump.Haris Sohail and Imad restored Pakistan’s superiority thereafter with a sixth-wicket stand worth 139 in 19 overs. Haris reached his fifty from 51 balls with three fours and a six, while Imad passed the milestone at a run-a-ball with five fours and a six as Qayyum finished with 4 for 45 – his best in List A cricket in England.Kent then gifted Haris a further chance on 72 when Robinson downed a skier at deep cover off Snater, but Haris went three runs later after clipping a drive to long-on.Klaassen got a deserved late scalp having Faheem caught in the deep by Cox off a sliced drive, leaving Imad to plough on to a 73-ball century with 11 fours and three sixes that set the hosts a mammoth pursuit at a run-rate of 7.18 an over – a chase that proved well beyond them

Australia’s assistant coach also talks of Maxwell’s batting position and the Khawaja conundrum

Melinda Farrell18-Jun-2019Australia’s search for their best starting XI this World Cup continues, according to assistant coach Brad Haddin. Australia are comfortably placed with four wins and a loss to India, but there’s a sense that a few of the wins haven’t been entirely convincing. Then, there’s also the absence of Marcus Stoinis – injured – that hasn’t helped team balance.”At the moment we’re still trying to find that best XI,” Haddin said. “Marcus has thrown a spanner into everything there with his injury and how important an allrounder he is. We’re still trying to find what best works for us. Come later in the tournament, we’ll start to understand what the conditions are like a lot better and what is our best XI.”Haddin also admitted while it wasn’t yet a matter of concern, they’ve spoken about the need to be flexible at all times if they are to win a sixth World Cup. “The players understand that and we’re training them accordingly,” he said. “I think one of the luxuries at the moment is we’re still winning, and we still haven’t found the perfect rhythm for our game, which is a dangerous sign moving forward.”It’s not just about the healthy headaches. There’s also an issue surrounding the lack of certainty around batting roles. Usman Khawaja, for example, has mostly alternated with Steven Smith at No. 3 and No. 4. He also dropped to No. 6 against Pakistan. All this despite establishing himself with runs at the top of the order while David Warner was serving his one-year ban for ball-tampering.Australia have generally relied on a right-left combination to follow the openers, but Khawaja has struggled for rhythm lower down the order; his effectiveness not at the same level as it was while he was opening. Haddin, though, insisted the team management is happy at where he’s at.”He’s playing a different role. It’s not that he’s not having success, he’s been in a role where he’s had limited opportunities,” Haddin explained. “Before, he could go out and set the pace of the innings and now the innings is dictating the role he needs to play.”He’s been okay with it – he’s a class act. We’re pretty happy with where he’s at – he’s just got to bat the situation, and No.3 is not uncommon to him. He’s played most of his career at No.3 in state cricket and Test cricket.”Australia are also posed with the question of just when is the right time to send in Glenn Maxwell. He was promoted to No. 4 against Pakistan but has batted a position lower in the other games. An undefeated 48 against Sri Lanka has so far been his best score in the tournament.”The one thing we’ve found with Glenn is he’s an explosive player and as you’ve seen [against Sri Lanka] he can turn a game very quickly by himself, but he’s also got to fit into what’s best for the team at that time,” Haddin said. We’ve moved him up and down, and that might look like nervous decisions that we’re making, but we’ve spoken about them a lot before.”It’s not a shock that he’s moving up and down the order, and all the players understand that. He’s pretty confident as well. I don’t think it’ll worry him.”Australia will be encouraged that despite these issues, they have still been able to win. But they don’t want to have unanswered questions into the next phase of the tournament.”What we’re doing at the moment is some really good signs in tournament play,” said Haddin. “There’s some signs out there we’re doing some things really well, and some signs that we need to work on things.””It’s important we get to these bigger games and see where we really are leading into the back-end of the tournament. It’s sort of panning out how we expected in tournament play.””Now is a really exciting time in the tournament – a run against some of the top nations that are playing some really good cricket. It’s exciting to see where we’re at and hopefully as we get deeper into the tournament we’ll know which is our best XI.”

Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Harry Brook scored centuries before the Yorkshire attack made early inroads

David Hopps at Headingley14-Jul-2019If this proves to be the day that Somerset’s Championship challenge first showed signs of weakening at least they can console themselves that not everybody will have noticed. But the diehards will know, those with their mind set more on Headingley than England’s presence in a World Cup final, and what they witnessed was a contender for Somerset’s worst day of the season.Somerset have a 15-point buffer over Essex, in second place, but that would be wiped out if they lose against Yorkshire at Headingley while Essex overcome Warwickshire at Chelmsford. They are in quite a pickle – 76 for 4 was no sort of response at all to Yorkshire’s 520, a total that owed much to Gary Ballance’s settling hundred on the opening day, a mood extended on the second day because of hundreds for Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Harry Brook, only the second of his Championship career, and a maverick and highly-effective 72 from 81 balls from Keshav Maharaj.Yorkshire had not made 500 in a Championship innings at Headingley for three years when Adam Lyth, Jonny Bairstow and Liam Plunkett hit hundreds against Hampshire. Two of that trio were playing in a World Cup final; Lyth spent the latter part of the day at slip wondering what the score was.Somerset started their reply immediately after tea and were soon under significantly more pressure at 49 for 4 in the 19th over with all four batsmen failing to reach double figures.Matt Fisher swung the ball to have Somerset’s captain Tom Abell caught at third slip by Brook before Duanne Olivier, denied the new ball for the third innings in succession, rid Yorkshire of Azhar Ali at second slip and then had George Bartlett caught at mid-on, pulling. Sandwiched in between Olivier’s wickets, fellow South African Maharaj struck with only his fourth ball when he had Tom Banton caught behind.Brook is playing only his second game back in Yorkshire’s team having been dropped for four games following a poor start to the summer at the top of their order in the Championship. He indicated that he preferred to bat in the middle order, but found himself in the 2nd XI as Yorkshire drafted in Will Fraine rather than promote Kohler-Cadmore to the top of the order, a decision that has been vindicated by Fraine’s promising start to his career.Here, on a good batting pitch, he came in at No. 6 behind the nightwatchman Josh Shaw and reached his century off 127 balls with 11 fours shortly before being last man out on the cusp of tea as he holed out to long-off against Abell’s medium pacers.He played the subordinate role in an eighth-wicket stand of 105 in 20 overs with Maharaj. Then with only the last man, Olivier, for company, he spent nearly 10 overs shunning singles before he finally worked Abell through point for his hundred.

Opener has failed to reach double figures in the Ashes so far but Tim Paine thinks Smith absence can be the ‘poke and prod he needs’ to rediscover his form

Daniel Brettig in Leeds21-Aug-2019David Warner shapes to defend Mitchell Starc, misses, and the plastic stumps in the Headingley nets go flying. All manner of dismissals take place in the nets, real or imagined depending on the fields “set” by the bowler or throw-downer, but few quite so dramatic.The moment rather summed up Warner’s Ashes tour thus far, in which he is yet to reach double figures across four knocks. Married up with his closing three innings in South Africa prior to the Newlands scandal ban, Warner is in the second longest streak without a half century of his career – his worst run was eight innings in New Zealand and Sri Lanka in 2016.At Edgbaston and Lord’s, Warner’s rapid exits were somewhat less of an issue for Australia, bolstered as they were by the genius of Steven Smith. But with Smith out of action in Leeds due to concussion, the tourists’ batting stocks have been made to look exceedingly thin. More than ever, Australia need Warner to find something. The captain Tim Paine is hopeful that Warner will do so this week, referring to Smith’s absence as the “poke and prod” the opener needs.”David, I’ve spoken a lot about the fact he averages close to 50 in Test cricket and he’s done that over a long period of time,” Paine said. “I think with Steve missing this game, it might be the little poke and prod Davey needs. He likes that responsibility and my experience with Davey is when people doubt him and his back is against the wall he comes out swinging. I’m expecting the very best David Warner this week.”How Warner finds his best is somewhat complicated by the way he has approached this tour. For so long a combative, aggressive batsman, his stated goal in England this time around was to calm himself, slow his tempo, and find a balanced rhythm at the crease more sustainable over long innings. During the World Cup, the method worked to a reasonable extent, as he peeled off centuries against Pakistan, Bangladesh and South Africa.But in the semi-final against England he was swiftly beaten by a sharply rising delivery from Chris Woakes, and so far during the Ashes has been found wanting in terms of defensive tightness and decisiveness at the hands of Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer, both pursuing a rigorous line at him from around the wicket. It is a method seldom seen against Warner – Broad has admitted he had previously thought primarily about finding Warner’s edge rather than constraining him by targeting the stumps – but it is proving fiendishly effective.One close observer of Warner has been England’s captain Joe Root, who has marshalled the plans against the left-hander while also mired in his own poor run of batting form. How does Root think a player struggling for runs can find rhythm and confidence again? It starts with honest self-assessment.”You need to be realistic about how you are getting out. And be fair,” Root said. “Sometimes as hard as it might be you have to give credit to the opposition when they’ve bowled some good balls. You don’t want to be over-critical when you don’t need to be. But there are times as well when you got to understand when you got it wrong. And then work it back from there. You don’t become a bad player overnight.”You don’t lose the runs you’ve scored already. And you know you’ve got it in the bank and you’ve proven it before. From my point of view, I have got Ashes hundreds in there in the bank and I know and I know what it takes to win games of cricket. Of course from Dave’s point of view, we’ll be trying to keep him to single figures for as long as possible because he’s a proven performer for Australian cricket.”David Warner’s struggles against Stuart Broad continued•Getty Images

An intriguing returning presence around the Australian side will be Ricky Ponting, who commented during the Lord’s Test that Warner need to be showing more positive intent to score. Certainly, this is the view of Warner’s longtime batting coach and sounding board Trent Woodhill, who has always focused on the 32-year-old’s ability to put bowlers under pressure, leading to fewer deliveries challenging his defence, rather than trying to make him “tighter” or able to bat for longer periods.Most of Warner’s most memorable and impactful innings have been extraordinarily bold in their strokeplay, and it is difficult to see how, given his current struggles in defence, how he will be able to score runs without at least reverting to a more aggressive posture, eyeing off the smallest errors in line or length to pick off. Another window into Warner’s state of mind has been the fact that, at slip, he has struggled to hold catches so far – being a primary offender among the five chances put down at Lord’s. In a vote of faith, Paine reckoned Warner would be staying in the cordon.”I think Davey will probably stay in there, and Marnus – for people who haven’t seen him – he’s probably as good a slipper as there is going around,” he said. “And everywhere else in the field, so he’ll cover Steve with the fast bowling I think at second slip, and then we have Usman Khawaja who did pretty well in Australia last year for Lyno [Nathan Lyon].”So we’ve got a few options there, we’ve got Matthew Wade who’s a wicketkeeper and he can field anywhere. So we’ve got a number of options to go through that spot if we need to. But I expect Davey to go back there, he’s allowed to have a bad day.”That, as much as anything, will be key to Warner finding the runs Australia so dearly need from him at Headingley. Just as he responded to Starc’s stump rattler by calmly picking up the broken wicket and resetting for the next ball, Warner needs to put the Edgbaston and Birmingham dismissals out of his mind and strike a blow when battle is rejoined in Leeds. The incentive, to be a key player in the Test match that sees the Ashes retained by Australia, is enormous.

The Australian domestic season starts at the weekend with the new-look one-day competition which is a chance to catch to the selectors’ eye

Alex Malcolm19-Sep-2019Will Pucovski (Victoria)The defending champions are flush with Australian stars including the ODI and T20I captain Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, and they will be led by Peter Handscomb who also played in the World Cup semi-final. But the Victorian hierarchy are keen to give Pucovski an extended run in the top order in white-ball cricket after proving his incredible talent at Shield level. He only played three one-day games for Victoria in 2017 for scores of 15, 0 and 5, and didn’t play in Victoria’s triumph last season, but he got an opportunity to open in two games for Australia A on the recent white-ball portion of the tour of England. Batting alongside Matthew Wade in two matches against Gloucestershire he scored 51 and 137. He will get the chance to settle in among a very experienced top order with the opportunity to add ball-striking and tempo skills to his ability to bat long periods and absorb pressure, which he has already displayed at Shield level.Ben McDermott (Tasmania)There will be plenty of attention and excitement on young quick Riley Meredith after his displays in the BBL for the Hobart Hurricanes last season, but there is some excitement around McDermott’s progression as a white-ball player. He played eight T20Is for Australia late last year on the back of a standout domestic 50-over tournament where he made two centuries and a 76 to help Tasmania reach the final. He remains earmarked as a player of national interest after touring with the National Performance Squad to India in August. He will bat in the top order for Tasmania and will also keep wicket in the first couple of games while Wade is rested following an arduous Ashes campaign. McDermott was a wicketkeeper as a junior in Queensland but has never kept for Tasmania. He did some keeping on the NPS tour recently.Matt Renshaw (Queensland)There is a perception of Renshaw, rightly or wrongly, that he is a long-form specialist. But he is slowly starting to shed that tag and there is palpable interest and intrigue from up north as to what he could do in the Marsh Cup. His one-day numbers don’t jump off the page, with an average of 36.47 and a strike-rate of 86.06, but he made his first one-day hundred for Kent during his brief stint in England in the early part of the winter. Last season, at the back end of the BBL, he produced a stunning innings in the middle order for Brisbane Heat, smashing 90 not out off 50 balls against Adelaide Strikers. He struck nine fours and four sixes displaying tremendous power and inventiveness to completely overshadow Brendon McCullum in a 122-run stand that helped the Heat pull off a remarkable win. The tournament looms as a good opportunity to showcase his versatility.Sean Abbott celebrates a wicket•Getty Images

Ashton Turner (Western Australia)There were a lot of people wondering why he wasn’t part of Australia’s World Cup campaign following his heroics in Mohali earlier this year. What wasn’t widely known was the extent of his right shoulder problems. Turner took the brave decision to forego the Australia A white-ball tour of England, and a chance to get called into the World Cup squad as both Handscomb and Matthew Wade did after injuries to Shaun Marsh and Usman Khawaja, in order to have yet another shoulder operation. This time he had a Latarjet procedure, more common for Australia Rules footballers, which involves a bone graft to avoid ongoing dislocations and stabilise the shoulder better than other procedures he has had. He has recovered and is ready to play and has even begun bowling some offspin again in training. He won’t bowl in games yet, and he will field in the inner ring as his throwing and diving ability still needs to progress. But his freakish power-hitting and brilliant running between the wickets hasn’t diminished and he will be looking to stake a claim for a middle order slot in Australia’s white-ball teams with a good tournament.Sean Abbott (New South Wales)He last played for Australia in T20s and a lone ODI way back in 2014 but the need for specialist middle-over and death bowling in Australia’s short-form teams should open the door for a player with his skill set. He was NSW’s leading wicket-taker in last year’s JLT Cup which included two five-wicket hauls and was the second leading wicket-taker in the BBL. He had an excellent Shield season as well and got picked the Australia A tour of England where he took eight wickets in four one-day matches, including 4 for 52 against Gloucestershire, at an economy rate of 4.79. He is an excellent fielder and can provide handy late innings runs when required. He will certainly play in New South Wales’ early fixtures in the Marsh Cup and given the workload restrictions placed on the likes of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood ahead of Australia’s Test summer, he should get the chance to impress throughout the tournament.Jake Weatherald (South Australia)There was a lot of excitement around the left-hander last season following a prolific summer in all forms in 2017-18. He started last year’s JLT Cup with a bang making a superb unbeaten century against NSW. He made two more half-centuries in the remainder of the tournament but had a fairly inconsistent season thereafter with a couple of major peaks but quite a few troughs, as can often be the case for opening batsmen. His overall one-day record is outstanding: in 20 matches he averages 46.42 with a phenomenal strike-rate of 102.20 and four centuries. Just shy of his 25th birthday, he is closing in on the period where young batsmen often mature and develop some real consistency in their techniques and methods. South Australia will be hoping he takes that step this season.

The newly appointed captain struck an unbeaten 51 off 42 balls after Zahir Khan, George Worker and Ramaal Lewis choked Tridents

The Report by Hemant Brar15-Sep-2019An unbeaten half-century by newly appointed captain Chadwick Walton and a strong show by their spinners gave Jamaica Tallawahs their first win in five matches in CPL 2019.Chasing 141 for victory, Walton, who became Tallawahs’ third captain this season after Chris Gayle and Rovman Powell, saw wickets tumble around him but kept his calm and struck five sixes and a four in his 42-ball 51 not out and took his side over the line with nine balls to spare.Earlier, Barbados Tridents could manage only 140 for 9 after being put in as the Tallawahs spinners kept the batsmen on a tight leash. George Worker started by dismissing Alex Hales and Johnson Charles, Ramaal Lewis restricted the middle order and Zahir Khan’s variations proved too much for the lower order as the three combined to return 7 for 59 from ten overs. It would have been even worse had Ashley Nurse not scored an 18-ball 37 from No. 7.Tallawahs spinners weave a webOpening the bowling with two left-arm spinners seemed to be backfiring when Hales smashed Worker for two sixes in the second over. But Worker had his man in the same over when Hales cut him straight to Lewis. Charles, the other opener, too fell in the same way in Worker’s next over. A short and wide delivery was asking to be cut but extra bounce did Charles in as Lewis took his second catch at backward point.Lewis then accounted for Leniko Boucher as the batsman handed him a simple return catch. Jason Holder failed to read a wrong’un from left-arm wristspinner Zahir and was caught at slip, and Jonathan Carter became Lewis’ second victim when he ended up slicing a lofted hit to long-off.Nurse tries to stop the bleedingDespite coming in at 70 for 5, Nurse straightaway took to attack, hitting Christopher Lamont for a sequence of 6, 4 and 4. Two overs later, he muscled Zahir for back-to-back sixes as he and JP Duminy added 49 in just 27 balls for the sixth wicket. Derval Green broke the stand with Duminy’s wicket after 31 off 35 off the last ball of the 16th over. On the first ball of the next, Nurse was dismissed by a slower one from Jade Dernbach, leaving the side 119 for 7. The lower order had no answer to Zahir’s googlies and as a result, Tridents could muster only 23 from the last four overs.Holder, Walsh peg Tridents backGayle teed off with a couple of sixes off Nurse in the second over of the chase, the first of which took him to 13,000 T20 runs. At the other end, Glenn Phillips got stuck in to Josh Lalor and took Tallawahs to 48 in just 5.1 overs. But Holder pegged them by getting rid of the duo in the same over. But it wasn’t until Hayden Walsh dismissed Worker and Dwayne Smith off successive balls that Tridents had any real hope of victory.Walton, Glen lead the wayJavelle Glen then joined Walton and hit Sandeep Lamichhane for two sixes to relieve some pressure. In the next over, Walton too smashed Walsh over long-on for a six. Lamichhane created a stumping chance against Walton in the 13th over but Boucher failed to collect the ball. To add insult to the injury, Walton and Glen belted a six each in the bowler’s next three balls. The two brought down the equation to 28 needed from 44 balls before Glen fell to Lamichhane while attempting another six.Tridents though didn’t help their cause with fielding lapses. With 18 required from 23 balls, substitute fielder Raymon Reifer put down Green off Walsh. For the second time in the match, Walton hit the next ball after a reprieve for six and eventually saw his side home with yet another six, off Carter.

Josie Dooley steered the Renegades home after an enterprising partnership from Tammy Beaumont and Dani Wyatt set the chase up

Alex Malcolm at the Junction Oval23-Oct-2019The Melbourne Renegades held their nerve to scrape past the Perth Scorchers in an error-riddled chase at the Junction Oval that was briefly halted when the fire alarm was triggered by some burnt toast.The Scorchers dropped four catches and missed two clear cut run out opportunities to all but hand the Renegades the game as Josie Dooley guided her side home, making 17 not out off 17 balls, with four wickets and five balls to spare.Following Nat Sciver’s half-century in an under par total of 5 for 132, the Scorchers gave Sophie Molineux and Danielle Wyatt three lives in the first two overs of the chase. Molineux was finally held for 24 before Wyatt and Tammy Beaumont took control with a 48-run stand.They appeared on course for an easy victory having cruised to 1 for 85 in the 11th over. Beaumont was particularly impressive reaching 25 off 17, finding the boundary with some incredible scoops and lap sweeps.However, the game swung on a superb return catch from Nicole Bolton to remove Beaumont. Bolton should have run out Claire Koski next ball, only to gather the ball at the bowler’s end and inexplicably throw to the striker’s with Koski miles out of her ground.The Renegades kept the Scorchers in it though losing 4 for 29 but Dooley kept her head by finding the gaps without taking too many risks to reach the target with five balls to spare.Earlier, the Scorchers struggled to take advantage in the powerplay due a terrific spell from Lea Tahuhu as the New Zealand quick removed Australia captain Meg Lanning in a wicket maiden.The game was delayed by 15 minutes after a fire alarm went off inside the Junction Oval’s administration facility. The building was evacuated without incident with some burnt toast to blame.Sciver and Amy Jones did struggle for fluency on return. Jones was 8 off 15 when she was dropped by Molly Strano at midwicket off Tahuhu. She found the boundary twice in her next four balls to get her innings moving.Sciver was also given a life on 24 when Maitlan Brown spilled a pretty straight forward chance at long-on off Georgia Wareham. Jones hammered two sixes off Wareham to take the partnership to 77 before holing out off Strano in the 12th over.But the Scorchers only managed one boundary in the next 28 balls. The Renegades used their spinners well through that period. Sciver was 42 off 41 after 18 overs before she finally broke the shackles with a boundary in each of the last two overs to finish on 55 not out from 47, but the total was well under par in the end.

Lahore Qalandars will release the South African from their roster ahead of the December 5 Draft

Firdose Moonda and Umar Farooq11-Nov-2019AB de Villiers will be released from the Lahore Qalandars roster ahead of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) Draft, with ESPNcricinfo learning that “managing workload” is the reason for the South African superstar reconsidering his plans.De Villiers hasn’t played representative cricket since turning out for Middlesex in England’s Vitality Blast T20 tournament in September, and is expected to play in the Big Bash League for Brisbane Heat and then in the IPL, where he is on Royal Challengers Bangalore’s rolls. For the Heat, de Villiers will be available for the second half of the tournament, after Christmas.When asked about opting out of the PSL – the PCB is pushing for the entire season to be played in Pakistan this time – de Villiers said, “Just managing workload. On-off as much as possible.”The PSL Draft will be held on December 6, with the six franchises given until December 1 to finalise their retentions (up to eight players) and trade picks.De Villiers was picked up by the Qalandars last season for seven games in the UAE and two in Pakistan, but he didn’t turn up for the Pakistan leg because of a back injury.His presence at the PSL last season, at a time when the PCB has been trying its best to attract big players and top teams to their neck of the woods, was hugely celebrated, and he responded well, scoring 218 runs at an average of 54.50 and strike rate of 128.99 from seven games. Qalandars, however, finished bottom of the table; they have been among the bottom two on each of the four seasons so far.Curiously, Qalandars have a history of picking big names, sometimes the biggest on offer, but it hasn’t quiet reflected in their results. They have been unfortunate too. If Chris Gayle had a poor run with them in the first season, in 2016, Yasir Shah was banned for testing positive for a banned substance the same year.At various points, players of the calibre of Mustafizur Rahman, Chris Lynn, Shaun Tait, Dwayne Bravo and Anton Devcich have opted out because of injuries, and last season, their captain Mohammad Hafeez injured his hand in the second game, leaving them in a crisis they couldn’t get out of, despite de Villiers’ efforts.

New era launched by dispiriting innings defeat as same old failings resurface against New Zealand

George Dobell at Mount Maunganui25-Nov-2019There are so many contenders for England’s most abject batting display in recent years – they’ve been bowled out in a session several times – that this performance may scarcely gain a podium place among them.But as Joe Root steered a wide one to gully, as Ben Stokes chopped on to his stumps, as Jos Buttler left one that hit his off stump and Ollie Pope somehow stretched to reach a wide full toss and hit it to cover – truly, a contender for worst Test stroke since Shannon Gabriel’s “why did he do that?” dismissal against Pakistan in 2017 – the poverty of England’s batting was revealed anew. This was, by any standards, a museum-quality display of dim-witted batting.Let’s be clear on the context. Going into this Test, the England management – including the captain and coach – made it clear that England side was going to adopt a different approach. This side, they said, was going to pride itself in batting time. They were going to shelve the aggression they had demonstrated under Trevor Bayliss and show they had the ruthlessness to grind out match-defining scores.But like a smoker craving that cigarette, like a junkie needing a fix, those old habits couldn’t be resisted. So instead of leaving the wide ball, instead of offering only the straightest of bats and the most determined of defence, England were seduced into flirts and forcing and failure. Yes, the day-five surface offered some variable bounce and yes, with the foot holes outside the off stump, batting was tough for left-handers. But for right-handers there was, in Stuart Broad’s words to the BBC ahead of play “nothing to worry about” from the surface. “There’s nothing in that pitch that should frighten us,” he said. “Nothing to stress us out too much.” He was probably right.’Ahh, but you have to play your natural game’ they will cry. But if your natural game isn’t good enough, if it keeps seeing you fail, you have to improve it. That’s part of the discipline – or should be – inherent in the life of an international athlete. BJ Watling’s resistance should prove an inspiration to England’s batsmen. There is no individual stroke he can play that Root, for example, cannot. But he seems to be prepared to concentrate harder and work for longer. Put simply, England weren’t greedy enough with the bat.Let’s be fair: this is, we’re told, the start of a new era for England. And as such, perhaps we have to be patient to allow the words and methods of the new coach to bed in. It will, they say, take time for the team to implement the new, more patient approach expected of them.But it was no aberration, either. It’s not just that it was New Zealand’s third victory in four Tests over England. It was also England’s fourth innings defeat in 14 overseas Tests under Root’s captaincy. When you add to that two 10-wicket defeats and losses of 381 runs (against West Indies) and 120 (against Australia), a pretty clear – if grim – picture emerges: England are very poor away from home. It was last winter’s victory over a Sri Lanka side in transition that was the aberration.Perhaps only Joe Denly, of the top order, can be exonerated in this innings. Having resisted for 142 balls, he attempted to leave one – a sensible choice – from Neil Wagner only to see the ball rear and clip his glove as it scudded through to the keeper. It was, from Denly’s point of view, unfortunate. But it is the sort of dismissal that occurs on fifth-day pitches. Had England taken advantage of winning the toss and recorded the sort of commanding first-innings score they should have done, Denly might never have found himself in such a position.One of the crucial moments in this Test came when Stokes, supremely well set on 91 in the first innings, advanced down the pitch and attempted to thrash a delivery from Tim Southee into the Pacific. It was an impetuous, impatient shot and it opened the door to New Zealand. England subsequently lost 4 for 18 and the chance to set that commanding first-innings total was gone. Broad subsequently told the BBC England were anything up to “150 short on a pitch like this” and they had been “disappointed not to get 500 in the first innings.” Stokes’ dropping of Watling on 31 was key, too.All of this will only increase the volume of voices questioning Root’s continued position as captain. The main issue is simply his lack of runs: after this, his worst Test (in games where he has, as captain, batted in both innings), he is now averaging 27.40 in 10 Tests this calendar year and 39.70 in 34 Tests as captain. Those are not small sample sizes and they compare to his average of 52.80 in 53 Tests when not captain. Increasingly, the burden of captaincy appears to be compromising his ability to deliver his key skill: run-scoring.But there are also question marks over his leadership. He wasn’t able to lead by example by making a success of the No. 3 position and he wasn’t able to stamp his character on the team by successfully enforcing the positive style of play that was preached for a couple of years.ALSO READ: Missed opportunity in first innings cost England, admits RootRoot’s use – or over-use – of Jofra Archer is a worry and there is little evidence that he has the tactical nous to conjure wickets on tough days. Most of all, he has – perhaps unfairly – never completely been able to shake the image of the little boy who, if he is really good, will be allowed to stay up late and watch . This England environment looks just a little soft; just a little safe and there have been several times when it wasn’t clear who was leading it: Bayliss? Ed Smith? Ashley Giles? Or Broad and James Anderson? Root is 34 Tests into his career as captain – more than David Gower, Mike Brearley and Ray Illingworth, to name but three – and still the talk is of learning.But Root is, despite recent struggles, probably still England’s best batsman. And he is, despite the obvious unflattering comparison with Eoin Morgan as England’s white-ball leader, still hugely respected and popular within the dressing room. And with a new head coach having just started, the England management will argue this is a new start to his period as leader. There is every indication Root will be allowed to continue to learn in the role.Besides, there isn’t an obvious alternative. Although you could probably make a case for Broad, Stokes, Buttler, Rory Burns or, at a push, even Morgan, there isn’t any compelling evidence to suggest they would perform any better.And that’s because they would still have to wrestle with the same issues: the county schedule and knock-on consequences to county pitches; the disparity between the Duke’s and Kookaburra balls; the emphasis on white-ball cricket for several years and the problems with the development of fast bowlers and spinners. It might help, too, if counties stopped promoting their overseas or Kolpak players into the captaincy and instead invested in developing leadership skills in young, England-qualified players.With those factors in mind, Root probably deserves time to improve this team. But this was a deeply disappointing performance. At some stage soon, Root really does need to start repaying the huge amount of faith invested in him.