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England captain proud of team’s attempts to force pace, targets squared series at The Oval

Matt Roller23-Jul-2023Australia have retained the Ashes after escaping a fourth Test dominated by England with a rain-ruined draw. They will leave Manchester on Monday morning with a 2-1 lead, and have the opportunity to clinch a first series win in England since 2001 at The Oval next week.After only 30 overs of play were possible between showers on Saturday, Australia trailed by 61 runs in their second innings with five wickets remaining heading into the fifth day at Emirates Old Trafford. But persistent showers meant that Sunday’s play was abandoned without a ball bowled, with the draw finally confirmed at 5.24pm.Heavy overnight rain delayed the start on the fifth day at Emirates Old Trafford, and planned inspections were then pushed back by persistent showers which swept across the ground. A start time of 1pm was announced during an early lunch break, but the rain returned almost immediately and then set in for the rest of the afternoon.Related

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England’s players kicked a football around on the outfield, as if to signal their willingness to play, but eventually returned to the dressing room after being drenched. The rain only became heavier, with a substantial volume of standing water on the covers and puddles forming on the outfield.By the time the umpires decided to call play off for the day, the vast majority of the sold-out crowd had gone home – with the Party Stand utterly deserted. Pat Cummins shook hands with Joel Wilson and Nitin Menon, before telling his team-mates that they could celebrate retaining the urn.Heavy rain left standing water on the outfield•AFP/Getty Images

Ben Stokes spoke in the build-up to the Test about the prospect of the weather forecast forcing England to “push the game on even more” than usual and there was not much more they could have done. They scored at 5.49 runs per over in their only innings, and took 15 wickets in 161.2 overs in the field.But the rain – and sluggish over-rates from both teams – limited the Test match to 269 overs, which proved insufficient for a result on either side. This was England’s first draw in the 17 matches they have played since Stokes’ appointment as captain last year, after 12 wins and four defeats.For Australia, the result means that they cannot lose the series despite being on the back foot for the last two Tests. Four years ago, they left Manchester 2-1 up but lost at The Oval, missing the opportunity to win outright; they will be desperate to make amends next week.

The left-arm spinner remains suspended from bowling

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Nov-2020The bowling action of Nisarg Patel, the USA allrounder, has once again been deemed to be illegal. Patel, who bowls left-arm spin, had been suspended from bowling since February and has undergone reassessment on his action. Once again, the flex in his action was found to be beyond the permitted 15-degree limit, and so he remains suspended, the ICC said.Patel was reported after USA’s ODI against Oman on February 11 in Kirtipur, Nepal. He bowled seven overs in the game, returning figures of 0 for 37.As per the ICC’s statement, “Patel can apply for a reassessment after modifying his bowling action in accordance with … the regulations.”While he remains suspended from international and domestic cricket organised by the ICC’s recognised National Cricket Federations, the ICC statement said that “with the consent of USA Cricket, Patel may be able to bowl in domestic cricket events played under the auspices of USA Cricket”.

Covid-19 causes drastic cuts in pay, contracts only till end of 2020

Peter Della Penna11-Aug-2020Opening batsman Xavier Marshall is the highest profile casualty from USA Cricket’s newly announced list of central contracts, which are only guaranteed through the end of 2020 instead of a 12-month basis as part of a number of severe cost-cutting measures resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. According to multiple sources, the remaining eight players have all been given a flat $1800 a month salary, which is a 60-75% pay cut for most players compared to their original contracts from July 2019.”The USA Cricket Board identified that the restructuring of the contracting model around the men’s national team was an important exercise given the unprecedented events of 2020,” said USA Cricket board chairman Paraag Marathe on Monday in a release announcing the new contract list. “We have not played any international cricket since February and we are currently uncertain as to when our next fixtures will be, whilst at the same time we are forecasting a decline in our current and future year revenues as a result of the pandemic.”USA’s players had been the highest paid in the Associate world in the previous contracts list, with the highest tier contracts being “in excess of USD 90,000” as per a press release from USA cricket, while the lowest were believed to have been in the $60,000 range according to multiple sources. However, USA’s squad struggled at times to justify the pay. Despite being heavily favoured, they lost all four matches to Canada and Bermuda at the ICC Americas Regional T20 Qualifier in August 2019 to fall short of advancing to the T20 World Cup Qualifier in Dubai. Most recently, they were swept in four straight ODIs in February by Nepal and Oman before the pandemic disrupted their fixture list.USA has had a home ODI series against Scotland and UAE postponed from April, while another ODI tri-series tour to Namibia to face the hosts and Papua New Guinea in September has also been postponed. USA’s opening round of qualifying due to take place in Canada this August for the next T20 World Cup has also been shelved after the tournament was pushed back to 2022. The Covid-19 infection rate in the country has also contributed to the postponement of the planned launch of the Minor League Cricket T20 franchise competition this summer, and it is unknown when the national team will be able to resume training activities ahead of their next scheduled series for early 2021 in Oman.Marshall had been one of USA’s key performers at 2019 WCL Division Two in Namibia, scoring a century against Hong Kong in a win that clinched ODI status for USA. But his form was inconsistent upon receiving a central contract. He scored 55 runs in five innings at the ICC Americas Regional T20 Qualifier at Bermuda in August 2019. The last straw was USA’s win-less ODI tour of Kathmandu in February where he scored 54 runs in four innings. In all, he averaged just 17.00 in 13 ODIs for USA.Also cut from the contracts list were Timil Patel and Elmore Hutchinson, USA’s two highest wicket-takers in 50-over cricket. Both have played 68 matches in 50-over cricket for USA since their debuts in 2012 with Timil claiming 81 wickets at 21.96 and Hutchinson 68 at 23.34. However, both have had their spots taken by younger men. Karima Gore, 22, has been the lead spinner ahead of the 36-year-old Patel, while Cameron Stevenson, 27, has replaced Hutchinson, who turned 38 on Tuesday.Jessy Singh and Jaskaran Malhotra were the other two players slashed from the list. Singh has since been drafted by Guyana Amazon Warriors to take part in CPL 2020.Though USA captain Saurabh Netravalkar was announced as a member of the pared down list of contracted players to nine, multiple sources have confirmed he is technically not included among the contracted players being compensated by USA Cricket and ACE. Netravalkar works full-time as a software developer for Oracle in San Francisco, California. His work visa status does not allow him to take official employment with other organisations outside of Oracle.USA central contract list: Aaron Jones, Monank Patel, Steven Taylor, Karima Gore, Akshay Homraj, Nosthush Kenjige, Nisarg Patel and Rusty Theron.

The ACA president has defended the chairman, praising his role in ensuring domestic competitions were not cut

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jun-2020Shane Watson, the president of the Australian Cricketer’s Association, has labelled suggestions that the position of the union’s chairman, Greg Dyer, is under threat as “absurd reactionary whispers”.In the wake of Kevin Roberts’ sacking as Cricket Australia’s CEO there had been reports that Dyer was under pressure to move aside as CA and ACA attempt to mend their relationship and prevent an all-out pay dispute.Prior to Roberts’ departure, the ACA had reacted strongly to CA’s financial outlook which suggested a 48% reduction in revenue due to Covid-19 despite the increasingly strong prospects of the India tour taking place later this year.ALSO READ: Knowledge, power – inside the fall of Kevin RobertsThose figures are now set to be amended in light of an improving situation and Watson offered a full endorsement of Dyer’s position, highlighting the success in protecting the domestic competitions from cuts, the growth of the women’s game, securing the revenue-sharing model and the gender equity pay model that was brought in during the acrimonious 2017 pay talks.”There were some absurd reactionary whispers this week and picked up in the media that just as CA’s CEO has resigned, so should Greg move on from the ACA. What nonsense,” Watson wrote on the ACA’s website.”Over the last eight years working with him on the ACA Board, I have observed a super impressive guy with an incredible business knowledge and a huge focus on good corporate governance. His perspective is always on point and with the players’ wellbeing and the health of the game of cricket at heart.”So, in an odd week for cricket, perhaps the most bizarre suggestion was that someone so selfless, forward thinking and consistently proven to be correct, time and time again, should consider their position. I look forward to working with him as we look to cricket’s next challenges.”In the article, Watson also focused specifically on the importance of retaining the full senior domestic programmes after they had been threatened with cuts. Dyer had previously come out very strongly in opposition of any such moves, criticising CA for not understanding the value of the competitions, and Watson hoped any notion of cutting back had “gone for good.””For the last five years, the creeping suggestion has been that the Shield and WNCL were ‘cost bases’ to be reduced rather than investments to be nurtured and that money should instead be spent on new or other pathways,” Watson wrote. “To be polite, it is wrong to think that facing a ball machine at 150kph is the same as facing James Pattinson or Tayla Vlaeminck out in the middle.”It was a trend built on the dangerous idea that performance matters less than potential. It is an idea that is hopefully now gone for good.”The ACA also welcomes the reconsideration of CA’s planned cuts to state grants and cricket revenue forecasts. As expressed by the ACA… the cuts and reforecasts were premature. They needed to be rethought and it is good that they are.”

Captain Rashid Khan said a World Cup victory over Australia was something they had missed in the last two years

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jun-2024

Gulbadin Naib is carried on his shoulders by Afghanistan’s bowling coach Hamid Hassan•ICC/Getty Images

Gulbadin Naib, who orchestrated Afghanistan’s historic win against Australia, was a figure of relief when he collected his Player-of-the-Match award for his spell of 4 for 20. Drenched in sweat while sporting a beaming smile, he held the award while soaking in the feeling of “at last” beating Australia.”We were waiting [for this] for a long time. It’s a great moment not just for me but for my nation and my people,” Naib said at the presentation. “[It is a] big achievement for our cricket. I have no words to say but thanks to the fans for supporting our career and cricket journey. It’s a great teamwork, we worked hard for the last two months and the result is in front of you.”Thank god we at last beat Australia. It’s a great achievement for our cricket in Afghanistan. If you look at history of our cricket, it is not much. Last 10 years, we achieved a lot of goals. This is a big achievement.”Related

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Australia’s fourth-wicket pair of Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell were threatening to take the match away from Afghanistan in the 149 chase, when captain Rashid Khan turned to Naib for his eighth bowling option. Naib picked a wicket off his third delivery, removing Stoinis for 11. Bowling four overs straight, he then dismissed Tim David in this next over and then got the prized wicket of Maxwell, for 59, in the 14th to all but end Australia’s hopes.Naib thanked Rashid for trusting him in the crunch moments of the game and further said Afghanistan’s “journey starts now”.The win was sweeter for Afghanistan, who dealt with a heartbreak against the same opponents at the ODI World Cup last year. With Australia on 91 for 7, a one-legged Maxwell, battling severe cramps, took them to a stunning win with an unbeaten double-century.Naib expressed relief at the result in Kingstown that opened up Super Eight Group 1 standings.”We played very good cricket and in the first round we beat New Zealand,” he said. “Then [to beat] Australia is not easy. They are a world champion team and it is a big achievement for our cricket. We can carry this to the next level.”Our journey starts now. We are very lucky to have such a staff and management.”

Rashid Khan: ‘It’s something we missed in last two years’

After being asked to bat, Afghanistan were given a strong platform with an opening stand of 118 between Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran before they lost 6 for 23 with Pat Cummins picking up yet another hat-trick. Afghanistan were only able to post 148 for 6.Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran put on another strong opening stand•AFP/Getty Images

Rashid said they were confident of defending anything over 130, adding the importance of having many allrounders in the team.”The thought was although we didn’t finish as well as we would have liked to, but this is how this wicket is,” Rashid said at the presentation. “The more important thing was that the opening partnership gave us the best start. That let us get to a total we had in mind. We all watched two games before, and on this wicket anything 130-plus we said we were capable of defending. We keep calm and have that belief.”The beauty of this team is having too many allrounders gives you options. As a captain, it makes it easy.”Beating Australia is a “great feeling” and will make Afghanistan fans “proud”, Rashid said.”It’s a massive win for us as a team and as a nation,” he said. “In the World Cup, beating champions is a great feeling. It’s something we missed in last two years – in 2023 World Cup and also in 2022 in Australia where we lacked some runs.”It is so much important for people at home and for everyone all over the world where Afghans are there. They were badly missing this win. I am sure they would be proud of this and would have enjoyed the game. It is just the beginning for us, big game next and we have all the chances of making the semis.”

The Adelaide Strikers star needs to undergo a minor surgery

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Nov-2023Afghanistan allrounder Rashid Khan will not turn up for Adelaide Strikers in the upcoming edition of the Big Bash League (BBL) after suffering a back injury, which requires him to undergo a surgery.Rashid has “withdrawn from the upcoming KFC BBL 13 due to a back injury which requires a minor operation,” Strikers said in a statement.”Rashid is a beloved member of the Strikers and a fan favourite who has been with us for seven years, so he will be extremely missed this summer,” Strikers General Manager of cricket Tim Nielsen said.Related

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“Rashid loves Adelaide and the Strikers, and we know how much he loves playing in the BBL, and we support him as he has treatment for this injury to ensure his long-term involvement in the game.”Rashid last played for Afghanistan in the ODI World Cup earlier this month, where Afghanistan were in contention for a semi-final spot till their last league game against South Africa. He finished the tournament with 11 wickets, the most for Afghanistan in the 2023 World Cup.Strikers have not yet announced a replacement for Rashid but Nielsen said management and staff will look at the options and make a decision. The team has said they will maintain Rashid’s retention rights for future seasons.Having made his BBL debut in December 2017, Rashid has picked 98 wickets in 69 matches at an average of 17.51 and economy of 6.44.Rashid became the second overseas player to pull out of the upcoming BBL season, with Melbourne Stars’ English recruit Harry Brook withdrawing to manage his workload earlier this month.

Masood and Madsen show the way before Middlesex turn up the heat

Paul Edwards13-Jun-2022
“Hominem te memento” whispered the auriga in the ear of Roman generals during their triumphs. Remember that you are a man. Perhaps Mickey Arthur should detail a junior member of staff to say something similar to Shan Masood during these weeks in which he is making batting appear the simplest thing on the planet.Or perhaps not. Masood is enjoying a magnificent season partly because, having experienced failure, he understands the nature of success. The Pakistani opener will only need to recall his uncharacteristically wild slash to a ball from Ethan Bamber in the eighth over of this morning’s play to be freshly aware of his fallibility. Stevie Eskinazi took the catch at first slip and thus ended one of the finest 49s you could ever see. And this match in its tree-ringed paradise may yet hinge on how well Masood bats in the fourth inningsArthur’s achievement in the East Midlands has been rather different and more complex. Rather than remind Derbyshire’s cricketers of their vulnerability, he has encouraged them to make the most of their strengths. The result is that a team which lost half its 14 first-class matches in 2021 has so far been defeated just once this season. The side’s competitive edge, and thereby Arthur’s influence, was apparent in the first half of this day’s play, never more so than when Wayne Madsen and Brooke Guest were putting on 82 for the third wicket.But at that point, Arthur might have asked George Scrimshaw, one of Derbyshire’s 12th men, to go out and murmur words of caution in the batsmen’s lugholes. For once Guest had been gated for 40 by a ball angled in to him from Bamber, very little went well for Godleman’s team. Indeed, Middlesex’s bowlers seized control of the day, their efforts led by a man who needs no reminding of human frailty. For given even a regular helping of luck, Toby Roland-Jones would have gained many more than four England caps; instead, his recent career has been wrecked by injury and he must commit himself to Middlesex. Plainly he does not find it a hardship.Roland-Jones’ devotion to his county’s cause has always been very plain but his spell of 7-4-14-5 this afternoon was extraordinary even by his standards. Maintaining a tight line and using a recently changed ball, he exploited the Derbyshire players’ every weakness – and there was suddenly an abundance of those. The result was that having been well placed on 175 for two and 208 for three, the latter giving a deficit of 43, the home side collapsed like a detonated power station, losing their last seven wickets for 21 runs in exactly 11 overs.Declines of that magnitude and velocity often determine the outcomes of games. By close of play, Middlesex were 95 for 3, giving them a lead of 117 and the opportunity to bat a couple more sessions of the third day before leaving, or even setting, a target on a pitch which is offering the spinners plenty of encouragement. Mark Stoneman is unbeaten on 60 and has hit eight fours and a six, with all but one of his boundaries on the leg side. The visitors’ advantage is nothing like enough but it is difficult to see them subsiding like Derbyshire did and harder still to see the home side chasing more than 240 unless Masood plays an innings from the Gods. And come Wednesday, Thilan Walallawita and Luke Hollman should enjoy bowling on this Queen’s Park pitchBut it was not the twisters who caused havoc this afternoon. Rather, it was Roland-Jones loping in with those lovely long strides who persuaded Madsen to play a little too far from his body and thick-edge a catch to Sam Robson in the gully. For all that Masood is by five furlongs his side’s best batter, Madsen is still the player his colleagues look to when their ship’s listing in rough water. It was almost natural that his dismissal began the submersion.Next over, Leus du Plooy came half-forward to Tim Murtagh but merely edged Eskinazi the second of his three slip catches. Ten minutes later, Anuj Dal missed a straight one from Roland-Jones, who was to bowl similarly probing deliveries to Alex Thomson and Sam Conners before either had scored. The batsmen trusted their pads; it was not a wise move. At one stage, Roland-Jones had taken four wickets for absolutely spit in 21 balls. On the first day of this match the public address system had gone on the blink; this afternoon, some of the locals – flat vowels, warm hearts – probably wondered if someone could smash the bloody thing again. Derbyshire’s innings ended when Luis Reece hoisted Murtagh into the heavens and Max Holden took the catch at deep square leg.Middlesex’s lead was 22. It’s now 117 and feels much larger than that. Beyond a doubt, it does not seem 24 hours since Masood had hit five blissful fours off Murtagh’s new-ball bowlers, the skipper being among the sufferers. Four of those boundaries were conceded by Roland-Jones, though, the man who this afternoon ran through Derbyshire’s batsmen like ten pints of Hook Norton coursing through an Oxonian’s bowels.

England’s top-order issues could pave way for the returns of James Vince and Dawid Malan

Andrew Miller17-Aug-20214:59

Harmison: England made the mistake of bowling too short at tailenders and not having a set plan

Chris Silverwood, England’s head coach, has admitted that Mark Wood may end up joining a list of absentees including Ben Stokes, Stuart Broad, Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes for next week’s third Test against India, after bowling through the pain of an injured shoulder during England’s disastrous final-day capitulation at Lord’s.Wood, who landed heavily on his right shoulder while fielding on the fourth evening of the second Test, was still able to touch speeds of 94mph during a hostile but ineffective spell on the final morning. However, the effort caused him clear pain – not least when he jarred the same shoulder after tumbling in his followthrough – and Silverwood said he would be closely monitored by the England medical team ahead of the third Test, which gets underway at Headingley on August 25.”The medics are working on him, we’ll find out more in the next couple of days,” Silverwood said on the morning after England’s 151-run loss. “We will make a decision, along with him and our medics, closer to the time. But if he’s not right, he’s not right. I certainly won’t push him into playing if he tells me he’s not right. I will look after him.”The prospect of England losing yet another of their point-of-difference bowlers is a daunting one, given how shell-shocked the team was by the events of the fifth day at Lord’s. A winning position was ripped away by an unbeaten ninth-wicket stand of 89 between Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah, before the same pairing led the line in blasting England out for 120 in just 51.5 overs across the final two sessions.While Wood’s effort in the course of India’s decisive partnership could not be faulted, the tactics most certainly could – with Root accepting responsibility at the end of the match for what was interpreted as an over-emotional attempt to get back at Bumrah in particular, after his short-pitched assault on England’s No.11 James Anderson in the final moments of the third day’s play.”I saw Joe took that on himself in the interview afterwards, but it’s a collective and I’m part of that as well,” Silverwood said. “Emotions ran high, there’s no doubt about it. They obviously targeted Jimmy in that first innings, so we went back hard at them as well. We tried to go toe-to-toe with them, but what we could have done better is shift from that tactic back to Plan A, and hitting the top of off.Mark Wood did some damage to his shoulder while diving to field a ball•Getty Images

“I don’t mind the aggressive approach,” he added. “One thing we have to become good at is removing lower-order batsmen. But equally I’d like to give some credit to the Indian batsmen as well. I thought they handled the situation really well. They navigated their way through it and put their team in a really strong position. They have to take some credit but equally we have to look at our tactics.”However, Silverwood had nothing but praise for the manner in which Wood himself had interpreted those tactics, especially given that his fierce extraction of India’s top three earlier in the innings – including Rohit Sharma on the hook and Cheteshwar Pujara with a lifter late on the fourth evening – had been instrumental in setting up England’s victory chance.”What he did for the team, and the effort to bowl at 90mph with a sore shoulder, it just shows how much he cares about the team and how much he cares about playing for England, and how passionate he is,” Silverwood said.”It was a superb effort. I’m very proud of him for what he did there. He’ll be trying his best to get ready for Leeds, and I will give him every chance to be fit, but at the same time, it is massively important that we look after Woody. He is a prized asset. We have found ourselves in the position, when you lose Archer and [Olly] Stone, we have got one guy left that can bowl that fast.”Silverwood also warned that there was little prospect of seeing the return of Stokes next week at Headingley, the venue where he etched his name into Ashes folklore in 2019 with his epic match-winning century. Stokes withdrew his availability before the start of the India series due to burn-out, allied to the complications caused by a badly broken finger, and despite the apparent desperation of England’s series situation, Silverwood said there would be no SOS from the England camp.Chris Sliverwood will not be pushing Ben Stokes to come out of his self-imposed break•Getty Images

“There’s still no time limit on it, to be honest,” he said. “The important thing is that Ben is okay, his family are okay, and that he comes back strong, and when he when re-enters the frame, he’s ready in his mindset to come back to perform for England, like we know he can.”I’m certainly not pushing him for an answer. I don’t think that would be the right thing to do. There’s people around him, supporting him, and when he’s ready to come back in, obviously we’ll welcome him back with open arms.”But until then he’ll get all the support he needs. There’s no pushing from my point of view, I don’t think you can push these issues. I’ll wait.”Woakes also remains a doubt for Headingley after sustaining a foot injury prior to the series, with Silverwood admitting he “didn’t have an answer” about his prospects of a return. England’s problems, however, extend far beyond their fast-bowling stocks, given that their top three of Rory Burns, Dom Sibley and Haseeb Hameed each made ducks at Lord’s, with only Burns contributing a score of any note with his first-innings 49.The current lack of red-ball cricket in the county schedule is an added complication, and Silverwood admitted that England’s selectors would “have to think of everything” when they meet on Tuesday evening to decide on the squad for Headingley – including a prospective break for Sibley, and recalls for two men whose last extended runs in the side came on the 2017-18 Ashes tour, James Vince and Dawid Malan.6:25

Harmison: England openers have reached an all-time low

“I’ve got to keep my eyes and ears open, and my mind open to all suggestions, and it’s certainly something that we’ll be talking about this evening in selection, when we all get together,” Silverwood said. “It’s not like I’m not in touch with these guys.I’ve seen them over the various formats and my relationship with these guys is very good. I’m quite close to them so I wouldn’t say you can’t do it.”I don’t think there is any ideal process out there. We have to make the best of what we’ve got,” he added. “It’s difficult to bring people in from, say, the Hundred or the Royal London Cup. To throw them into Test cricket, we’ve seen that the pressure is huge in this series. It’s being played with a lot of passion, which is great to see, but it is a difficult transition.”You’ve got to do what’s best for the team, ultimately, and find the best way of progressing England to a place where big first-innings runs – and second-innings runs – come in on a consistent basis.”For the time being, however, Silverwood urged his players to use their week off wisely before reconvening at Headingley with fresh minds, safe in the knowledge that they have battled back from 1-0 deficits before, both in the 2019 Ashes, and in their 3-1 victory in South Africa the following winter.”We’ve got a little bit space now, so they can go home, spend a bit of time with their families, calm down a little bit, and clear their minds and come back fresh.”It’s not a position that we’re not used to. We’ve been in this position before, so I’ve made sure that we remember those feelings, remember those times, and how we did it. They’ve got the belief that they can do it, because they have done it before.”

Superchargers’ prospects of qualifying increase substantially after inflicting Spirit’s second defeat of the season

ECB Media20-Aug-2025Northern Superchargers 93 for 2 (Litchfield 55*, Sutherland 29*) beat London Spirit 90 for 8 (Redmayne 29, Sutherland 3-20) by eight wicketsNorthern Superchargers earned a crucial win at Lord’s to leapfrog hosts London Spirit and take themselves to second in the table in the Hundred women’s competition.It wasn’t quite a must-win game for Hollie Armitage’s side but, having lost to Manchester Originals last time out, their prospects of qualifying have increased substantially after inflicting upon Spirit their second defeat of the season.Superchargers started well with the ball, with both Grace Ballinger and Kate Cross bowling their first 10 deliveries through to take a wicket apiece. When Nicola Carey dismissed Grace Harris and Dani Gibson in consecutive balls, all the wind was taken out of Spirit’s sails and they never threatened to post an overly imposing total.As it was the team in purple made light work of the chase, knocking it off two wickets down with 34 balls to spare.Spirit will want to prove that they’re not reliant on Grace Harris’s runs for success, while for Superchargers they’ll be heartened by the up-turn in form of Phoebe Litchfield – awarded Meerkat Match Hero here for her 38-ball 55 with her customary array of switch-hits dotted throughout.On a day that Southern Brave secured their qualification with their sixth successive win, the fight for the next two qualification spots – and a place in at least the Eliminator – looks set to go down to the wire between today’s two combatants and Manchester Originals (all tied on 16 points), who take on Trent Rockets tomorrow.Litchfield said: “I think losing to Manchester Originals stung for our group. I think we got ourselves in a winning position and it was heartbreaking to not come over the other side. We made a conscious effort to rectify that situation and come out here and win.”We weren’t far off in that last game. We were in a winning position. We’ve just got be ruthless in that moment, and I think we did that today with the ball. The way the girls set it up with the ball, pretty much won us the game in that first innings and then made it really easy for us batters to go out and play with freedom.”The switch hits are fully premeditated, and then I just have to adjust on the length and the line when I switch, but also I have to know how to bail out. So that’s probably the most important thing that I learnt is to bail out, but then if it’s in the area, swing.”

Stokes faces both offspinners in floodlit nets session as England consider change to all-pace strategy

Vithushan Ehantharajah01-Dec-2025Around 20 punters watched England’s first evening net at the Gabba ahead of the day-night Ashes Test starting on Thursday.The outdoor facilities at this historic but ageing colosseum are the most amenable in the world for observers, offering a behind-the-batter view of what it’s like to face the fiercest bowlers going. There were plenty of eyes on the lane closest to Main Street, as Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse and Gus Atkinson steamed in with the pink Kookaburra ball.But it was the net furthest away that had the most immediate interest ahead of the second Test. Both Shoaib Bashir and Will Jacks were bowling their offspin to England captain Ben Stokes, duking it out for what seems, at this juncture, the last available spot in the XI.Related

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• Steven Smith bats with 'eye blacks' ahead of pink-ball challenge

• Wood set to miss second Test after long road back from injury

Mark Wood has been ruled out – England are optimistic his heavily strapped left knee will get adequate rest to ensure he is back in the mix for Adelaide – but the other 10 starters from the defeat in Perth are likely to be rolled out again.Josh Tongue is the most like-for-like replacement if the tourists want to repeat their all-pace attack from Perth. But they are understood to be trending more towards spin in their bid to come back from 1-0 down, with the expectation that the pink Kookaburra will soften earlier than the red one.The pair have had very different routes to these Ashes. Bashir has been the captain’s go-to spinner since a shock call-up to the India tour at the start of 2024, with 68 wickets in 19 caps to date. His traits – a high release-point, revs coming from over the top of the ball – were deemed better suited to Test pitches (particularly Australian ones) compared to traditional English, doorknob-turning finger spinners.Jacks, an allrounder, was the first conventional offspinner picked by Stokes, drafted on the tour of Pakistan in the winter of 2022 for his only two Test caps after developing as Surrey’s primary spin option. He took 6 for 161 in his first go on debut – the first Test at Rawalpindi – and showed his dexterity as a batter by slotting in at No. 3 in the second innings of the next Test in Multan to give Ollie Pope extra rest after keeping. That he is on this tour owes as much to his batting – destructive qualities, and comfort filling in any top six position – and his tall action and ambition with the ball.Bashir is understood to be the one in pole position, though it was Jacks who seemed to have the better of it on Monday night, before padding up. Nets can only tell you so much, of course. Stokes and the rest of England’s batters were focused on getting attuned to the shift from day to night, and then how the floodlights transformed the grass beneath their feet. They will have one more hit in similar conditions on Wednesday before they get going in their attempts to square the series.Visiting spinners have had very little success with the pink ball over here, collectively managing just 28 wickets at 64.03. Joe Root’s three in the Adelaide Test on the 2021-22 tour has him joint-second on that list (with Yasir Shah); Dawid Malan is joint-fourth with two picked up from that same game. R Ashwin sits top with six at 20.66.England would not be wrong to look at Nathan Lyon’s impressive record of 43 dismissals at 25.62 from his 13 day-night home Tests and surmise spin is a must. But they may take more meaningful notes from Kevin Sinclair’s cameo in Australia’s one and only pink ball defeat.That came here at the Gabba last year. Sinclair – also an offspinner – struck a vital 50 and then 14 not out, both from No. 7, in a tight eight-run win. He bowled just eight overs, all in Australia’s first innings which sandwiched his batting efforts, but was able to snare Usman Khawaja for 75. Replicating Sinclair’s impact rather than Lyon’s is a far easier task and would favour Jacks.It will be these cues from day-night affairs in Australia, and England’s own learnings from the seven they have played, that will continue to be disseminated among the group over the coming days. The entire top five played in England’s last pink-ball Test – against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui in 2023 – but Jamie Smith, for instance, will be playing his first of any kind.”We’ve spoken with the guys who have played some pink-ball games, and had a look at some of the pink-ball games that have been played in Australia in the past four or five years,” Carse said. His only day-night match happened to be in this country for England Lions against Australia A at Melbourne in January 2020.”On an evening, it does seem to do a little bit more, especially if you have a slightly newer ball, which I’m sure we’ll take into consideration throughout the game. It’s going to be exciting. I’m expecting a massive crowd, a hostile crowd. The guys are really looking forward to it.”I think looking back at a couple of highlights of previous games played in Australia, it’s certainly very admirable how their new-ball bowling goes. You know, they strike early and I think that’s going to be important, whether that’s certain lines we’ll be bowling or maybe bowling a touch fuller to let it swing. They’ve played some really good cricket with a pink ball. So, yeah, I’d like to say that we’ve had a look at some of the stuff that they’ve done over the previous years.”