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Arrogance has held England back – Swann

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Graeme Swann has blasted previous England regimes for their “arrogance” in sticking to outdated game plans in limited-overs cricket and suggested that they “massively cocked up” by not selecting Adil Rashid in the Test team for the series in the Caribbean

George Dobell19-Jun-2015Graeme Swann has blasted previous England regimes for their “arrogance” in sticking to outdated game plans in limited-overs cricket and suggested that they “massively cocked up” by not selecting Adil Rashid in the Test team for the series in the Caribbean.In a wide-ranging interview at a Chance to Shine school in Nottingham where he helped launch a new card game called “Switch Hits” for the charity, Swann celebrated the revival of England’s ODI side but suggested the team that he played in had been flattered by their rating as No. 1 in the world and claimed they had been “awful” since 1992.But despite his criticisms, Swann insisted that England are not the outsiders some suggest for the Ashes series and claimed Australia are not as good a Test side as New Zealand.While delighted by England’s improved performance in the Royal London ODI series against New Zealand, Swann remains frustrated that England persisted with what he believes was an “outdated” method for so long. “England were justifiably vilified in the World Cup,” he said. “They were so stuck in their ways. It was the most obvious thing in the world that we were playing an outmoded, outdated form of the game. But arrogance saw us stick to our guns and say ‘everyone is wrong’.”It is so refreshing that now they have said ‘yeah, tear up the old stats book, now we see what you mean we’re going to go for it’. The whole outlook has changed.”We were No. 1 in the world but if anyone says ‘that’s because you were the best team’ then that’s absolute bollocks. We were nowhere near the best one-day team in the world. We got extremely lucky. We had 18 home games, we had a series against India where, if we struggled, it rained. And it made people think what we were doing was right, hence the stifled approach up until three weeks ago.”It’s not Peter Moores’ or Paul Downton’s fault. It’s English one-day cricket from the year 1992 onwards when we were world leaders. Ian Botham opened the batting and we experimented and had exciting players. You can’t say they have been exciting ever since. They have been awful.”When Michael Vaughan was Test captain, he was nowhere near good enough to be in the one-day team. But he was captain of the Test team and that has always held that much sway in England. The Test captain is the be-all-and-end-all of English cricket.”Swann accepted there would be times when the new-found aggression would backfire and results would go against England. So he believes it is essential the team management show the resolve required to endure the fallow periods. He remains adamant the young players coming into the squad now have the quality to succeed.”We’re too afraid of failing in this country,” he said. “And we are a reactive public. So it will take courage to stick to the new approach. But they should take what New Zealand have done as a blueprint. There is no way on God’s green earth we have a worse talent pool than any other country. We’ve got these players who, if unleashed and given free rein, can be incredible one-day players. You’ve just got to stick with them.”Jason Roy will be brilliant opening the batting if given say, two years. He should be told: ‘it doesn’t matter if you keep failing, just keep going out there and whacking the ball’. Get James Vince in there, too. If they get given the same amount of time that the old England players used to get they will get the same results. They should be given more.”Swann, the top wicket-taker when England won the Ashes in 2013, believes Moeen Ali should start the series as England’s spin bowler. But he remains angry that Adil Rashid, the uncapped legspinner, was not given an opportunity to gain some exposure of Test cricket in the Caribbean.”England missed such a gilt-edged opportunity to see whether Adil could cut the mustard in the West Indies,” he said. “At the time we all said it was a joke, but it seems all the more a glaring klaxon moment now. It is laughable. I would love to have seen him play three Tests in the West Indies. There was, as Test cricket goes, as little pressure as an England player can play under at the moment. It was the ideal schooling ground and they massively cocked up there.”But the Ashes is a massive thing. Mentally it’s a step up from Test cricket, which is, in itself, a step up from county cricket. So, Moeen has to play in the first game. He has bags of ability. He just doesn’t have the 10 years of spin-bowling nous and experience he would have had had he been a spin bowler rather than a batsman who used to be thrown the ball a bit. Which in a weird way has put him ahead of the pack as he has avoided the coaching system that teaches spinners not to spin it in this country. He’s very natural. He rips it. I still think he’s the best option.”But I think the Ashes are going to be a lot closer than people think. I truly believe that Australia aren’t the best Test team in the world at the moment. New Zealand are. They’re a similar team to Australia. They’ve good seam bowling, aggressive batting and their spinner, although he takes wickets, is probably their weakest link.”They’re similar teams. And, when you see what England did to New Zealand at Lord’s, there’s no saying they couldn’t do that. If England fire – if Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler have good games – they’ll win a couple of Tests.”Chance to Shine Schools and Yorkshire Tea are giving young people the opportunity to play and learn through cricket. Download ‘Switch Hits’ for free at bit.ly/switchhits

Hughes fifty guides Sixers to win

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One of the Sydney sides had to break their losing streak tonight, but both teams did their best to keep it alive in a bizarrely entertaining match at ANZ Stadium

Alex Malcolm30-Dec-2012
ScorecardDaniel Hughes kept his cool in what was a sloppy game of cricket•Getty Images

One of the Sydney sides had to break their losing streak tonight, but both teams did their best to keep it alive in a bizarrely entertaining match at ANZ Stadium.In a game that was morose at times, and resembled a black comedy at others, the Sixers eventually claimed their second win of the tournament, and consigned the Thunder to their eleventh consecutive loss as a T20 franchise.Chasing 133 to win the Sixers never really looked in complete control with the exception of Daniel Hughes who made his first T20 fifty, a match winning 51 not out from 36 balls. But even Hughes rode his luck courtesy of a dropped catch and several misfields.Hughes, the 23-year-old New South Welshman, was promoted to No. 3 in just his second game. He watched early as Michael Lumb struck two powerful blows straight before lofting one straight down the throat of deep square-leg.Hughes then watched a procession of team-mates come and go to some very soft dismissals. Brad Haddin looked in good touch before he lost his focus on the chase and lost a personal argument with Chris Gayle. Haddin felt Gayle was not living up to his paycheque so far, yet he holed out unnecessarily to his darts for 18.Steve Smith then nicked Dirk Nannes, having clubbed him over the long-on the previous delivery, before Moises Henriques played around a straight-break from Gayle to leave the Sixers needing 44 from 34 balls with just five wickets in hand.Hughes took that as a cue to swing hard for the rope. He struck two boundaries and two sixes, all over the leg side, in the next two overs to take the requirement under a run-a-ball.Nannes returned to skittle Steve O’Keefe’s stumps via his pad to make things interesting. But a misfield from Gayle, and a simple dropped catch from Scott Coyte at mid-on, gifted Hughes four runs in two deliveries to reach his half-century and all but bury the Thunder.Brett Lee’s winning strike, a top edge over the wicketkeeper, seemed an appropriate ending to a bizarre match.Earlier, the game appeared as if it would not last the distance in front of a crowd of nearly 21,000. It was a staggering attendance given the poor recent crowds at ANZ and even poorer recent records of the two teams on display.Gayle again failed to fire, bowled by a cracking yorker from Josh Lalor, having seen his captain Chris Rogers depart the previous over. Matt Prior fell five balls later, in the identical fashion to his previous dismissal, failing to clear mid-off with a lofted drive. When Sean Abbott hit a full toss straight to point the 4 for 27 flashing on the scoreboard had an all too familiar feel to it.Thankfully Usman Khawaja found some much needed touch to put some respectability to the Thunder’s total. At one stage they were 5 for 75 with five overs to go but Khawaja, with help of Simon Keen and Coyte, managed to score 57 from the last 30 balls to help set a target 132.Khawaja’s unbeaten 66 from 47 balls featured 11 crisply struck boundaries, which in itself speaks volumes about the left-hander’s class given the slow outfield and two-paced nature of the drop-in wicket.However, Khawaja’s innings was to no avail. The Thunder have not won a match since Gayle scored a match-winning century against the Adelaide Strikers on December 23, 2011.

Sutton retires following depression

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Luke Sutton, the Derbyshire captain, has retired from first-class cricket after seeking treatment for depression and anxiety.

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-2011Luke Sutton, the Derbyshire captain, has retired from first-class cricket after revealing that he has been having treatment for depression and anxiety.Sutton captained Derbyshire for three of his six years with the club and guided them from the bottom of Division Two of the County Championship in 2010 to fifth place last season.”I have been aware for some time that I have problems with certain aspects of my mental health,” said Sutton. “I have always pushed myself to the limit but I reached a point that it was having an adverse effect on my relationships with my family and colleagues, and my health in general.”Although as a professional sportsman it is extremely embarrassing to admit to a weakness, I’m proud to have found the strength of character to seek treatment, enabling me now to feel extremely positive about my future.”Sutton, 35, also has business interests and got married in 2008. He now has a young family. “A number of other important reasons have led me to decide to retire,” he said. “In addition to concerns about my own health, my two-year-old daughter has recently been diagnosed with diabetes and the growing success and, therefore, pressure of my business has forced me to take a long look at my future.”I’ve recently undergone hand surgery which has also played its part in this decision. Upon reflection, and although a difficult decision, it is the right time to move on.”Having started his career at Somerset in 1997, Sutton played for Derbyshire from 1999 to 2005, unexpectedly becoming captain in 2004. He left for Lancashire in 2006 before returning to captain Derbyshire again last season.”I’ve had a brilliant time over my 14 years in the game,” said Sutton, who scored 7,353 first-class runs. “I have made some incredible friends. I thank each and every one of them for making it a genuinely amazing experience. In particular I’d like to thank the squad and members at Derbyshire for their great support and encouragement during my time at the club.”I have thought long and hard about this decision, and I know it is for the best of the club. I genuinely don’t feel I would be able to fulfil my position at the club to the level that I know is required. I have great affection for Derbyshire and I wish the club every success for the future.”Sutton is one a number of cricketers that have sought help for depression. Former England batsman Marcus Trescothick retired from international cricket in 2006 having experienced problems when touring abroad. Michael Yardy, the Sussex captain, took a break from cricket having flown home during the World Cup in March.Derbyshire chairman Chris Grant thanked Sutton for his efforts with the club. “Luke’s retirement was unexpected but we respect his decision. With the changes that were made at the club during the 2011 season, we appreciate it was a testing year for Luke and on a personal level I would like to thank him for his loyal support.”I speak for everybody connected with the club in saying that I wish Luke all the very best in his continued recovery and in his future endeavours,” he added. “We will be announcing Luke’s successor as club captain in the next few days and preparations for the 2012 season continue as planned.”

Sohail takes Karachi Whites to third place

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Round-up of the fourth day of the sixth round of Division Two of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Dec-2010Sohail Khan led Karachi Whites to a big win over Lahore Shalimar at the Southend Club Cricket Stadium in Karachi. Sohail took 6 for 58, and Atif Maqbool took 3 for 40. None of the Lahore batsmen were able to make even a half-century, as they were bowled out for 164, with Ali Haider top-scoring with 46. Karachi are now third in the table, 12 points behind State Bank of Pakistan.Peshawar won their first game of the season, beating Quetta by 220 runs at the Arbaz Niaz Stadium in Peshawar. Starting the day on 216 for 4, the vistiors lost Ata-ur-Rehman quickly – he could only add 8 runs to his overnight 60 – and though Arun Lal made a valiant half-century, the other batsmen did not offer much resistance. Quetta remains rooted to the bottom of the table, having lost five of their six matches, and have earned no points so far in the competition.Lahore Ravi wrapped up a 10-wicket win over Hyderabad at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground, with only 17.4 overs needed in the day. Shabir Ahmad and Asif Ashfaq shared eight wickets between them, with the former taking 4 for 54 and the latter 4 for 49, as Hyderabad folded for 188. Lahore then needed 4.5 overs to knock off the 15 runs required for victory.Pakistan Television declared their second innings on 215 for 7, giving them a lead of 326 and a chance to bowl Khan Research Laboratories out, but there just wasn’t enough time to force a result at the Khan Research Laboratory Ground in Rawalpindi, despite Mohammad Ali’s second five-for of the match. Ali removed both openers with just 36 on the board to raise PT’s hopes, but Bazid Khan dropped anchor, taking two and a quarter hours to make 20, and blunt the visitor’s hopes. Ali finished with 5 for 32 from 22 overs, and 10 for 137 for the match. Zaheer Elahi was 31 not out, having faced 98 balls, as KRL ended the day on 138 for 5.Adnan Raees made a whirlwind half-century to ensure State Bank of Pakistan drew with Abbottabad, but the division leaders picked up no points, narrowing the gap between them and the hosts to 9 points at the top of the table. In an innings more suitable to Twenty20 cricket, Raees hit an unbeaten 65 from just 43 deliveries, with 10 fours. In a bid to chase a win, SBP scored at almost 7 runs an over (6.96), leaving them short of their target by just 20 runs.

Big-match Pietersen has doubts to settle

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Kevin Pietersen’s performances against South Africa were always going to be analysed in great depth – it has been the story of his career – but his poor returns in Cape Town have turned the spotlight squarely on him ahead of the series decider at the Wand

Andrew McGlashan at the Wanderers13-Jan-2010Kevin Pietersen’s performances against South Africa were always going to be analysed in great depth – it has been the story of his career – but his poor returns in Cape Town have turned the spotlight squarely on him ahead of the series decider at the Wanderers.Pietersen bagged scores of 0 and 6 at Newlands and it was the manner of his dismissals that raised eyebrows. In both innings he was out-thought by Dale Steyn; in the first innings he punched a full delivery back to the bowler and in the second was trapped lbw whipping across a straight ball.”He won’t be happy with what happened in Cape Town,” Andrew Strauss said. “I suppose it was one of the performances that he will be least happy about so far in his career but I am not unhappy with the way he has been playing.”However, Pietersen has played an important innings in this series. Without his 81 at Centurion England would have lost that Test, although the effort was overshadowed by the run out mix-up with Jonathan Trott that brought his downfall. Then he was well-set on 31 at Durban before falling lbw to Paul Harris sweeping a very full delivery. But away from purely his dismissals, a spark has also been missing; that flash of brilliance that is the stand-out feature of his game.It may all have a simple explanation. He could just be out of form. Credit has to go to South Africa, especially the way they bowled at him in Cape Town, and they have followed the widely accepted view that full and straight is the way to attack Pietersen early on. However, that may also be too simple. There’s the impact of his time out of the game following surgery and a lingering suggestion that losing the captaincy still hurts him.Paul Collingwood suggested he was a victim of his own success in that people always expect match-winning displays, but if he aspires to greatness those will be the demands placed on him. This is by no a means a time to panic about Pietersen – both Strauss and Trott have also managed just a single half century each – but it will be fascinating to watch his response at the Wanderers. He is a big-game player, and games don’t come much bigger.”At Centurion I thought he batted exceptionally well and that’s only two Tests ago,” Strauss said. “He is a man for the big occasion, he has obvious class and quality and that does not change over course of two games.”Maybe people are reading too much into it,” he added. “If he had scored heavily in the Ashes and had a couple of quiet games here nothing would have been said but because he has been out quite a long time it is easy to focus on those quiet games.”I don’t think he is out of form by any means, I think his attitude and the way he has gone about his business has been exactly as it normally is. He will come back and score runs very soon, whether it will be here or not I don’t know but I have every confidence he will be putting in big performances for England in the near future.”Graeme Smith said he wasn’t losing any sleep over the prospect of a return to form by Pietersen, which suggests the South Africans feel they have a measure of him, but Jacques Kallis, a player who has achieved the rank of greatness, is well aware of his potential.”He’s a quality player so it’s only a matter of time before he comes right but hopefully it’s not in the next one,” Kallis said. “We’ve had a few plans against him which have worked and hopefully that will continue. We’ve done well to keep him quiet, but you don’t become a bad player overnight.”England have shown they can win, either with Pietersen not in the side, or not on top form, and if they secure a series victory at the Wanderers without a major contribution it will be a mark of the team’s strength. However, they would be a better team with Pietersen firing and until he captures the form that thrilled audiences the questions won’t go away.

Jamieson replaces Ferguson in New Zealand's Champions Trophy squad

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Matt Henry is the only senior seamer left standing in the squad

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Feb-2025New Zealand have lost their most experienced fast bowler to injury with Lockie Ferguson ruled out of the Champions Trophy 2025. Ferguson, who has played 65 ODIs, including the last two World Cups where his team reached the final four, suffered a hamstring injury while playing in the International League T20 (ILT20) tournament in the UAE earlier this month. Kyle Jamieson has taken his place in the 15-member squad who are slated to kick off the ICC event on Wednesday with a game against hosts Pakistan in Karachi.Ferguson picked up the injury at the start of February when he left the field without completing his full quota of four overs for the Desert Vipers. He did not play their two remaining matches of the season and was on the sidelines during the ODI tri-series that followed in Pakistan. Ferguson tested his hamstring out on Sunday, bowling three overs in a warm-up game against Afghanistan. On Tuesday, he was ruled out of the Champions Trophy.Related

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Ferguson is the second fast bowler that the Black Caps have lost in the last week with Ben Sears also down with a hamstring complaint. Although the Champions Trophy is expected to be played in conditions that might be hard work for the quick bowlers, New Zealand’s stocks now look very green. Jamieson joins Will O’Rourke, Jacob Duffy and Natham Smith as seamers with less than 15 ODIs’ under their belt, which places added focus on the only senior fast bowler left in the squad, Matt Henry.Jamieson, 30, has only just recovered from a back injury of his own, having spent 10 months out of the game. His hiatus from ODI cricket stretches back even longer – till September 2023. He has recent form going his way though. Jamieson proved his fitness during the Super Smash T20 competition, along with the talents that made him eye-catching in the first place, bowling full lengths and getting the ball to swing in. He picked up 14 wickets in 12 innings at an economy rate of 5.95. Helped by that performance, his domestic team, Canterbury, made it to the final. Jamieson has also earned a PSL deal and will play for Quetta Gladiators later this year.New Zealand are one of the pre-tournament favourites at the Champions Trophy. They won the tri-series final at the same venue where they will open their campaign, with their batting depth and their allrounders proving key at crucial moments. New Zealand are in group A and after the game against Pakistan, they play Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on February 24 and India in Dubai on March 2. The top two teams in each group go on to the semi-finals.

Jack Edwards shines but rain wrecks Sydney Sixers' chance at full points

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The players went off four overs into the chase – one over before the game constituted a completed match – with Sixers already ahead of their five-over DLS target

AAP30-Dec-2023
No resultSydney Sixers were denied a BBL win over cross-town rivals Sydney Thunder in dramatic fashion, after rain washed out the match at the Sydney Showground. With five overs needed to constitute a match, Sixers were 34 for 1 after four overs in pursuit of 152 for victory when persistent rain stopped play and did not let up in time for players to return.Sixers would only have needed to be on 33 at the end of the fifth over to win under the Duckworth Lewis Stern system, provided they did not lose another wicket.The decision prompted Sixers captain Moises Henriques to walk on to the ground with his bat in hand and helmet on in frustration, seemingly arguing that play should not have been stopped.”It started raining obviously, but just with one over to go, the position we’re in, obviously we wanted to compete the over to constitute a match,” Sixers batter James Vince said.”I can understand in their position why they’re obviously [keen to] get off, but you know it just started raining. It would have been nice if we could just get the six balls down and have a result in the match.”Adding to Sixers’ frustrations was the fact that Thunder were one over behind on the over rate, according to the ground’s clock.The stoppage came after Thunder captain Chris Green had been in discussions with umpire Greg Davidson between overs, before players were taken off.Vince quipped that it was “borderline intimidation” in a reference to Tom Curran’s recent ban for defying an umpire’s direction.Thunder batter Alex Ross admitted there had been some gamesmanship.”It was a little bit of gamesmanship,” said Ross, who top-scored for his side with 44 off 39 balls. “But we did see in the end it came down hard enough to be off, so I think the right decision was made.”The result keeps Sixers in third spot on the BBL ladder, while Thunder are stuck in second-to-last on points with one win from their opening five games.Earlier, Sixers allrounder Jack Edwards produced the best bowling figures of his BBL career to keep Thunder to 151 for 7.Edwards bowled superbly and took the key wickets of Alex Hales (26) and Daniel Sams (30) in figures of 3 for 24.It came as Thunder stumbled to 53 for 4 in the eighth over, before Sams and Ross helped bat the hosts towards a somewhat competitive score.But still, the innings belonged to 23-year-old Edwards with the ball. One of the few bright lights of New South Wales’ domestic season, Edwards stood tall on Saturday night. After Hales threatened to go large with a massive six over the leg side off Sean Abbott, Edwards had him caught in the deep in the next over.And when Ross and Sams looked as if they were setting up for a big finish, Edwards was the man to remove the latter at long-off.He also accounted for Nathan McAndrew courtesy a neat Jordan Silk boundary catch, in a superb 18th over that went for only three runs.

Sophie Ecclestone stars with bat and ball as Manchester Originals keep play-off hopes alive

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Birmingham Phoenix suffer second defeat after being dismissed for 104 chasing 123

Charlie Peters28-Aug-2022Manchester Originals 122 for 6 (Lamb 30, Arlott 2-17) beat Birmingham Phoenix 104 (Elwis 32, Ecclestone 3-8)Manchester Originals left Birmingham Phoenix shellshocked by masterminding an 18-run victory at Edgbaston, successfully defending a total of just 122 to claim their second victory of the season.England internationals Kate Cross and Sophie Ecclestone led the charge for the visitors, ripping through the home side’s star-studded top order to leave them spluttering at 22 for 5 after 34 deliveries. A plucky sixth-wicket partnership of 46 from Georgia Elwiss and Issy Wong kept Phoenix within touching distance of a stunning turnaround in front of a record attendance at Edgbaston, but it wasn’t to be as Originals held their nerve at the death.Wong, Emily Arlott and Kirstie Gordon had earlier bowled admirably to restrict the Originals to 122 for 6, a score that threatened to be some way under par until Phoenix found themselves rattled by an electrifying new-ball performance that put paid to their chances of moving up the table into second place for now.The Phoenix reply got off to a rocky start from the outset. First Eve Jones popped one into the hands of Lee off Kate Cross for none. Then Amy Jones was clean bowled attempting to cut a Hannah Jones delivery that looked far too straight for such a shot, leaving the home side 10 for 2 after just 13 balls.Captain Sophie Devine fell soon after for 4, then Ellyse Perry edged through to keeper Ellie Thelkeld a few sets later. When Ecclestone pinned Sophie Molineux in front, things went from bad to worse. Phoenix were now teetering on the brink at 22 for 5, still some 101 off the target.An enterprising partnership from Elwiss and Wong bought Phoenix within arm’s length of a tight finish. Elwiss in particular looked to accelerate, smashing three fours in the rebuilding period as the duo put on 46 to leave them requiring 54 from the last five sets. After a quiet period, the Edgbaston crowd were briefly back to their usual raucous self.But when Jones sent Wong’s bails flying after posting a valiant 24, it seemed a tall order. Elwiss soon followed back to the dugout for a fighting 32, and with her wicket the game was as good as sealed.Earlier, Originals had started their innings off at a decent rate, as openers Lizelle Lee and Emma Lamb racked up 41 between them inside the powerplay. But it was an injection of pace that saw the first breakthrough – rapid England seamer Wong caught Lee bang in front lbw for 20, after having greeted her with a fiery bouncer the previous delivery.Lamb fell not long after to Arlott for a streaky 30, driving uppishly into the hands of Elwiss. The new partnership of Erin Burns and Amy Satterthwaite struggled to find momentum, as Wong, Arlott and Gordon were able to dry up the visitors’ ability to find the boundary.Phoenix’s pair of slow left-armers continued to apply the pressure, and not long after Gordon had breached Satterthwaite’s defences and bowled her for 13, a mix-up off the bowling off Molineux saw new batter Ami Campbell run out for a duck.Only Ecclestone was able to bring some impetus to the death of Originals’ innings. A quickfire 20 off 14 balls, including a slog-sweep for six off Molineux, was just about enough to help her side post a competitive score

Jofra Archer to undergo surgery on hand, IPL participation uncertain

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Fast bowler suffered cut to hand in January that will now require an operation

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Mar-2021Jofra Archer is set to undergo a surgical procedure on his right hand next week, having also received another injection in his elbow after being ruled out of England’s ongoing ODI series in India.The news means Archer’s participation in the upcoming IPL hangs in the balance, although it is understood that Rajasthan Royals, the franchise he represents, have decided to wait until next week before deciding their next step. The Royals were already braced to be without their star fast bowler for the first half of the tournament after he returned home early from England’s tour of India.In a statement the ECB said that Archer had suffered a cut to his hand in January, which had been managed on tour, but specialist advice had now recommended surgery.Archer missed two of England’s four Tests in India due to an elbow problem and although he subsequently played all five of the T20Is, he was sent home to rest after the injury was deemed to have “deteriorated” further.Related

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Having returned to the UK earlier this week, Archer underwent a scan and a consultant review on his hand.”Jofra suffered a cut to his hand while cleaning at his home in January shortly before flying to India to prepare for the Test series,” the ECB statement said. “The injury was managed by the ECB’s medical team through the tour and it did not impact on his availability.”Further investigation and a specialist opinion was sought upon his return to the UK and, in conjunction with the ECB medical panel, it has been decided that surgery is the best option to manage his injury in the longer term.”Archer previously suffered a stress fracture of his right elbow in early 2020, ruling him out of the Sri Lanka tour that was subsequently called off due to Covid-19. His fitness is set to be carefully monitored by the ECB, with Archer central to the twin goals of a T20 World Cup and the Ashes in Australia later this year.

Ishant Sharma reveals secret to his red-hot form

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“Earlier I used to put pressure on myself about performing. Now I don’t think too much about those things”

Varun Shetty in Kolkata22-Nov-20192:09

I am enjoying my cricket right now – Ishant

A renewed approach to life has helped Ishant Sharma grow as a bowler, he said after taking a five-wicket haul in India’s first day-night Test. It was his first five-for in India since his first home match in 2007 against Pakistan.Ishant has more or less become a permanent member of this Indian team over the last two years, and is central to the pace attack that has progressively improved as India firmly established themselves in the No. 1 spot in Tests. This permanence and the recent bursts of improvement have not been enough to make Ishant consistently challenge for a limited-overs spot. But 12 years and 96 Tests later, he is not wasting time feeling sorry for himself.”In some sense [it hurts], yes. But I’m at a stage of my life where I’ve stopped worrying about these kind of things. I’m 31 now, I can’t keep worrying now about which format my name has been picked for.” Ishant said at the press conference in Kolkata. “Whether I play for India, whether I play Ranji Trophy – I just want to be playing at this point. It’s a simple thing. If you desire to keep playing, you’ll do well. Cricket’s given us everything. If we keep cribbing about small things like these, we will never improve.”Ishant Sharma’s two five-wicket hauls in home Tests•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Just before Sri Lanka’s tour of India almost exactly two years ago, Ishant had taken 212 wickets at 36.93 in 77 Tests. Since the start of that series, he has taken 76 wickets in 19 games. His career average has gone up by a dramatic four runs per wicket and is presently at 32.94. That is precisely the average at which Zaheer Khan finished his career. If he plays in four more Tests, Ishant will be first frontline fast bowler since Kapil Dev to go past 100 Tests for India. These are all feats that were improbable some five years ago. What changed?”I think I’m enjoying my cricket now,” Ishant said. “Earlier I used to put pressure on myself about performing – that I need to take wickets, that I’m only beating the batsman…a lot of things used to run on my mind. Now I don’t think too much about those things, just how to take wickets. Obviously I’m experienced so I can assess conditions and adjust my lengths quickly, that makes it easy.”Ishant Sharma interview on The Cricket Monthly: ‘If I don’t take wickets even in one innings, I think my career for India is over’Another feat Ishant achieved on Friday was that he bowled India’s first delivery in a day-night Test. Bowling with the pink ball, he said, was not the same.”It was very different. In the start you must have seen that when we bowled a normal length, it wasn’t swinging that much. After that we realised what lengths we need to be hitting in order to get some more help. So the three of us [fast bowlers] communicated about hitting the right length,” Ishant said.Regardless of that rustiness, India managed to be consistent enough to have Bangladesh six down by lunch. The fall of those wickets began with Ishant trapping Imrul Kayes lbw. And it came with a ball he only started developing during the second day in the previous Test.Ishant Sharma picked up the first wicket for India on their pink-ball Test debut•BCCI

“You must have seen that normally I used to swing it away from the left-hander,” Ishant said, talking of his new incoming delivery. “So I needed to add a variation. Your game only improves when you bring variety to it, and build confidence to bowl those in the match. So I was trying to bowl more of that in practice. In this match, the first wicket that I got – Imrul Kayes lbw – I got him with that ball. The two bowled wickets I got were also that ball. The ball lands and stays straight, it doesn’t go away from the batsman.”On the flip side of this contest, Bangladesh have struggled to show any resistance, in any innings, against this Indian attack. While neither of the pitches have particularly difficult to bat on, Bangladesh’s top-order has crumbled in the face of relentless pressure. At the same time, their bowlers haven’t come as close to troubling India. But even as they face a grueling period, head coach Russell Domingo was optimistic, citing Ishant’s steep rise as a potential inspiration for his own bowlers.”I don’t want to keep comparing the two sides but if you think of the number of Tests their pacers have played, and compare that with Ebadot’s fourth Test match, we have a very inexperienced bowling line-up.,” he said.”Look at the way Ishant started, and the way his career is now. It takes a bit of time for these young fast bowlers to find the length and the discipline it takes to bowl to guys like Rohit, Virat or Pujara. It is a steep learning curve at the moment.”