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Green was the Sheffield Shield player of the season having only made his debut in December

ESPNcricinfo staff08-May-2023Allrounder Daniel Sams has opted not to take a state contract with New South Wales to explore further opportunities in the T20 franchise world.Sams, who plays for Sydney Thunder in the BBL, has had 10 T20Is for Australia, the most against England shortly before last year’s World Cup, and is currently with Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL where he has yet to make an appearance. He will join Essex for the T20 Blast and return to Trent Rockets for the Hundred.He made five Marsh Cup one-day appearances for NSW last season but has not played first-class cricket since 2018. Sams’ decision follows Kane Richardson’s omission from Queensland’s contract list.”When he’s in the state he will still be invited to train and participate on our white-ball program,” new head coach Greg Shipperd said. “The door is never shut for anyone in his position and with his talent.”Related

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A player going in the opposite direction is allrounder Chris Green who has previously been considered a T20 specialist but was named NSW’s Sheffield Shield player of the season for 2022-23. He claimed 20 wickets and scored 290 runs in six matches including nine wickets on his first-class debut.As previously announced, Jackson Bird has signed for the state from Tasmania while top-order batter Blake MacDonald and pace bowler Ross Pawson have earned their first contracts.MacDonald scored a half-century on his Shield debut in the final game of last season against South Australia having earlier made an unbeaten 177 against West Indies for a combined NSW and ACT XI.Joel Davies, who was Australia’s Under-19 captain last season, has been handed a rookie contract and joins his brother Ollie at the state.”With the additions of Jackson and Chris we get some experience from guys with well documented credentials,” Greg Mail, NSW’s chief of cricket performance, said. “Both Blake and Ross have deserved their contracts through sheer weight of runs and wickets at Premier Cricket and Second Xl level. Their contracts show that when players consistently perform at that level, we will look at those performances positively.”Joel Davies is a very talented young player with a high ceiling in the game. He is a genuine allrounder who is also a brilliant fielder and leader and someone we are very excited to see develop further.”Trent Copeland (retired) and Mickey Edwards (moved to the UK) drop off the list while Sean Abbott is added to those with a CA deal. Batter Lachlan Hearne was not offered a contract, while rookie Liam Doddrell also missed out with the number of contracts available reduced under the new MOU.It was confirmed on Sunday that Greg Shipperd would be the new coach of the NSW men’s set-up.New South Wales men’s contracts 2023-24 Sean Abbott (CA), Jackson Bird, Pat Cummins (CA), Joel Davies (R), Oliver Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Ryan Hackney, Ryan Hadley, Liam Hatcher, Josh Hazlewood (CA), Moises Henriques, Baxter Holt, Daniel Hughes, Hayden Kerr, Nathan Lyon (CA), Blake Macdonald, Blake Nikitaras, Jack Nisbet (R), Kurtis Patterson, Ross Pawson, Will Salzmann (R), Jason Sangha, Tanveer Sangha, Lachlan Shaw (R), Steven Smith (CA), Mitchell Starc (CA), Chris Tremain, Hunar Verma (R), David Warner (CA), Adam Zampa (CA) CA = Cricket Australia, R = Rookie contract

Afghanistan’s batting comes up short in the final, rain-affected, T20I in Sylhet

Mohammad Isam16-Jul-2023
(DLS method)
Some stylish T20I cricket from Bangladesh helped them to their first bilateral T20I series win against Afghanistan, with a six-wicket win in the rain-hit second game in Sylhet. A combination of fine new-ball bowling from Taskin Ahmed and a quickfire batting powerplay display by Litton Das and Afif Hossain did the trick, Bangladesh eventually knocking off a revised target of 119 from 17 overs with five balls to spare.Against Afghanistan, Bangladesh had previously lost a T20I series in 2018 in Dehradun and tied a two-match series at home last year. Along with setting this record straight, they have also maintained their perfect 2023 in T20Is: they have won all three bilateral series they’ve played in the shortest format this year, having beaten England 3-0 and Ireland 2-1 in March.Today, it was Taskin who got them off to a fiery start.Taskin Ahmed struck two early blows•Walton

Taskin’s red-hot start

In the first over, Rahmanullah Gurbaz top edged a short one from Taskin Ahmed for six, but Taskin hurried him once again with a short ball the very next delivery, and this time took the skier on offer himself. The wicket was Taskin’s 50th in T20Is, making him the third to reach this mark from Bangladesh after Shakib Al Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman. Gurbaz’s opening partner Hazratullah Zazai followed him in the third over after Taskin had him caught behind for four, an attempted steer through deep third not coming off.

Trott, Omarzai fined

Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott and allrounder Azmatullah Omarzai were fined 15 per cent of their match fees for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct.

Trott was found guilty of breaching Article 2.8, which relates to “showing dissent at an Umpire’s decision during an International Match.” Trott had shown displeasure at the umpires’ decision to further delay play instead of resuming during one of the wet-outfield inspections.

Omarzai was penalised for his send-off to Towhid Hridoy.

Afghanistan slip after the rain

Soon after, rain forced a long break of 98 minutes and the game was reduced to 17 overs a side. It gave Afghanistan, who had already batted 7.2 overs, less than ten overs to post a decent total. Mohammad Nabi, who made a fifty in the first T20I, however looked anxious at the crease and couldn’t get going. He was lucky too, when Shakib at cover and wicketkeeper Litton dropped him off consecutive balls in the ninth over, when he was on 15. Nasum Ahmed was the unlucky bowler.Mustafizur removed Nabi in the next over for 16, before Shakib had Ibrahim Zadran caught at long-on for 22 and Najibullah Zadran bowled for five in the same over. Allrounders Azmatullah Omarzai and Karim Janat got away three fours and two sixes during their sixth-wicket stand of 42 and looked like their might provide Afghanistan with the surge they very much needed, but the Bangladesh bowlers fought back beautifully. They conceded just one boundary (a six) in the last three overs, while accounting for both the allrounders – Omarzai fell to Mustafizur and Janat to Taskin.Litton Das and Afif Hossain put on a 67-run opening stand•Walton

Quick start powers Bangladesh

Litton welcomed Fazalhaq Farooqi with a straight drive and a swivel pull in the first over of their 119-run chase. It was a rare burst against Farooqi, who has mostly bossed powerplays in the white-ball formats.Litton then laid into debutant Wafadar Momand, hitting him for three consecutive fours in the next over: he started off with a splendid square cut, followed by an outside edge over the slips, and then a stunning backfoot punch through the covers. Momand went for 19 runs in his first over in T20I cricket.Litton dished out harsh treatment to Mujeeb Ur Rahman as well, clipping him first ball for four through fine-leg, before Afif lofted him for six over mid-off in his next over. They became the first Bangladeshi opening pair to add 50 runs in T20Is against Afghanistan, as Bangladesh rocketed along, getting to 61 for no loss in seven overs.

Afghanistan hit back with three wickets

A tight over from Rashid Khan and a one-run effort from Omarzai followed. Litton played out five dots in that eighth over and took a single last ball, only to fall to Mujeeb first ball of the ninth, caught brilliantly in the covers by Rashid. Afif followed Litton just two balls later, holing out at deep midwicket.Mujeeb Ur Rahman struck twice in one over•Walton

Omarzai then yorked Najmul Hossain Shanto in the next over. At that point Bangladesh needed only a further 43 runs from 36 balls but they had lost three wickets for nine runs in two overs. Towhid Hridoy and Shakib were the new batters, and as they took a bit of time to get their eye in, suddenly Bangladesh needed eight per over in the last five overs.

Shakib ensures comfortable win

The in-form Hridoy hit Mujeeb for a four over cover next over. It was Bangladesh’s first boundary since the seventh over, a gap of 30 balls. Shakib edged Mujeeb for a four, and 12 runs came off the over. Shakib launched Rashid for a six in the next over and it was down to a run a ball needed.When Hridoy slammed Omarzai for a first six, over deep square, Bangladesh needed 12 off 16. But he threw it away next ball, toe-ending a catch to mid-off for 19. Shakib and Shamim Hossain ensured no more damage, Shamim pulling Wafadar for four to tick off the winning runs first ball of the final over.

They have suggested November 11, instead of November 12 which is also the date of the Hindu festival of Kali Puja

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Aug-2023The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has requested the BCCI to move the England vs Pakistan ODI World Cup game, scheduled to be played at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens on November 12, to another date, suggesting November 11 as an alternative. The development came after the city police informed CAB that they are expecting enhanced security for the game as Pakistan are one of the teams. November 12 is also the date for Kali Puja, one of the city’s, and the region’s, most important Hindu festivals.ESPNcricinfo has learnt that CAB officials had a meeting with city police authorities on Thursday, and were informed about the law-and-order concerns on the day of the festival. Following that, the association wrote to Jay Shah, the BCCI secretary, requesting the date change.This comes close on the heels of the Ahmedabad police expressing its inability to provide security for the India vs Pakistan game on October 15, since it clashed with the first day of the nine-day Hindu festival of Navaratri, one of the most important festivals in Gujarat, of which Ahmedabad is a part, and many other parts of northern India. The game – still in Ahmedabad – has since been moved to October 14, though the ICC or the BCCI is yet to make an official statement to that effect.Related

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Kolkata Police’s position is not ideal, managing a major religious event and a high-profile cricket match on the same day.The CAB’s position is an unenviable one. In 2011, when the ODI World Cup was last played in India, Kolkata, and the city’s iconic Eden Gardens, was deemed unfit to host the India vs England game. The venue did host three games, which did not involve India, in 2011.CAB, and cricket fans in Kolkata, wouldn’t want to be in a situation where the big-ticket England vs Pakistan game is moved to another city, and it is understood the association officials have also reached out to Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, to try and intervene.The original schedule of the World Cup had Eden Gardens marked to host five games: Bangladesh vs Netherlands on October 28, Bangladesh vs Pakistan on October 31, India vs South Africa on November 5, England vs Pakistan on November 12, and the second semi-final on November 16.The schedule of the World Cup was released after a long delay on June 27, just 100 days before the scheduled start of the tournament on October 5 in Ahmedabad, whereas the schedules for the last two editions of the tournament, in Australia and New Zealand (2015) and England and Wales (2019) were out more than 12 months in advance.The World Cup is scheduled to begin with reigning champions England taking on New Zealand and end on November 19, but there is still no update on when the tickets will go on sale.

Revamp of central contracts system comes as part of bid to prevent talent drain to global T20 franchise circuit

Vithushan Ehantharajah22-Sep-2023The ECB has offered unprecedented three-year contracts in a bid to quell the threat of franchise teams co-opting England’s best and brightest cricketers.The deals are a revamp of the pre-existing central contract structure which solely featured year-long deals, and come at a time when IPL ownership has spread into other T20 competitions around the world, allowing franchises to recruit players solely for their purposes all year round.It is understood 26 contracts have been offered, an increase from the 18 full and six incremental contracts handed out last October. Of the 26, around 20 are multi-year deals, with a group of top players including Ben Stokes, Harry Brook and Mark Wood in receipt of three-year packages.Jonny Bairstow is understood to be one of the majority offered two-year contracts. Single-year offers are on the table for those not featuring on the franchise circuit, such as Jack Leach, and others at the back end of their careers, like James Anderson, who recently turned 41.It is perhaps with regard to fast bowlers that the protection of assets is most evident. Young quicks like Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson, who made their international debuts this summer, are expected to sign multi-year contracts. Similarly, Jofra Archer, 28, could be in line for a three-year deal having reportedly been subject of much interest from Mumbai Indians looking to recruit him full time. Archer played for MI Cape Town in the SA20 at the start of the year ahead of his IPL season with Mumbai, which ended prematurely through injury.England’s players will now decide whether to accept the contracts. While the basic remuneration has been agreed upon, those offered multiple years may request 12-month deals to give themselves greater flexibility.These contracts, which will come into effect from the start of October, represent a significant step forward for the ECB after a month of back and forth with the England team. There will inevitably be kinks to iron out and disgruntled players who have narrowly missed out on the initial batch. But by and large, the situation is regarded as more beneficial, particularly for those who go on to sign lengthier contracts.”It’s certainly not negative, it kind of gives you a bit of security,” Ben Duckett, who is understood to have been offered a two-year contract, said ahead of England’s second ODI against Ireland. “I think it’s great that they’re offering these contracts.”The security of players wanting to keep playing for England is perfect. For me the main thing is walking out and representing my country, it’s not really a contract but that’s a bonus.”The number and size of the respective contracts are possible through an additional £3.4million added by the ECB to the collective pot, with the split among the 26 players decided by a performance rating points system. The system awards points relating to all three formats, ranging from whether a player is likely to feature in Test and white-ball squads to “recognition of extraordinary performance” in the previous 12-month cycle. These will be re-assessed annually.Finer points are still to be ironed out, notably insurance pay for injury and other such clauses.

Australia’s skipper calls the ODI World Cup win the pinnacle of his career and a moment he will remember for the rest of his life

Osman Samiuddin19-Nov-20231:39

Where does this rank among Australia’s World Cup wins?

What began as a daunting year for Pat Cummins and Australia has ended in ultimate glory, the kind of year that might sit alongside some of the best years any Australian side has had this century. It started with an honourable Test series defeat in India, and it ended with a spectacular World Cup triumph, also in India. Along the way they became, not inconsiderably, Test world champions and retained the Ashes in England.Cummins was in no doubt though that a sixth World Cup triumph, with the odds very much stacked against them in the final against hosts and arch-rivals India, represented the “pinnacle” of their achievements.”That’s huge, I think that’s the pinnacle of international cricket, winning a one-day World Cup,” Cummins reflected, an hour or so after Glenn Maxwell hit the winning runs to seal an emphatic six-wicket triumph in Ahmedabad.Related

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“Especially over here in India, in front of a crowd like this. Yeah, that’s huge. Yeah, it’s been a big year for everyone, but our cricket team has been here in India, Ashes, World Test Championship, and to top it off with this is just huge. These are the moments that you’ll remember for the rest of your life.”You only get a shot at it every four years. Even if you have a ten-year career, you might only get two chances at it. And yeah, it’s just the whole cricket world stops with this World Cup. So it doesn’t get any better.”Cummins had spoken before the match about silencing a big crowd and his side did just that throughout the day. The bowlers first put an end to the flurry of powerplay boundaries India hit, and then restricted them to a record low of just four across the last 40 overs of the innings. And when they batted, Travis Head alone hit three more boundaries than the entire Indian batting order, each one stifling the noise of over 90,000, the vast majority of whom were Indian fans.Cummins was, by his own admission, nervous as he waited for the game to start, clocking the sea of blue on his way to the ground as his team made their own way there. But he was nerveless when the game began, first in deciding to bowl first against the tournament’s most fearsome batting line-up, and then, with the ball himself.He’s had an indifferent tournament with the ball, only to save his best for when it mattered the most. In dismissing Virat Kohli in the 29th over, he produced the moment that did more than most to stun the crowd into silence.”Yeah, we did take a second in the huddle just to acknowledge the silence that was going around the crowd,” he said. “It just felt like it was one of those days where it was all made for him to score another hundred like he normally does, so yeah, that was satisfying.”He had a good day as captain, never allowing India to settle as he rotated his bowlers, quite often after one-over spells. By the 30-over mark of India’s innings, he had made 14 bowling changes, the joint most by any side in this World Cup. No leadership decisions will feel as vindicated as those to keep Head in the squad despite his broken hand not allowing him to play in their first five games, and to persist with Marnus Labuschagne in the XI. Head hit a match-winning 137 in the final and Labuschagne an unbeaten 58, together in a partnership of 192. Labuschagne played through the tournament, despite concerns about the impact it had on Australia’s scoring rate through the middle.Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne put together a 192-run stand to put Australia on the doorstep of victory•ICC/Getty Images

“We wanted to be pretty brave this World Cup, we didn’t want to kind of limp into the semi-finals, we wanted to be the team that could score 400 and you saw that the way we kind of shaped up with Trav, [David] Warner and then having [Mitchell] Marshy at No. 3,” Cummins said. “We wanted to be really aggressive and then a couple of our allrounders are obviously aggressive to finish up the innings so we would rather fail that way. But then Marnus just showed his class and in South Africa, you had to pick him – he was fantastic, and he was playing a different style to probably what he did for the first start of his ODI career. It was paying off and we know he’s a gun, so you had to try and find room for him.”And then the Trav Head one was, we thought his World Cup was over. It wasn’t until about the next night afterwards [the injury] where Ronnie [coach Andrew McDonald] came up to me. He’s like, ‘I haven’t slept all night, I think we’re going to keep him, we’re going to take the risk. He might be right for the Netherlands and then if we’re going to make the finals and we want to win the World Cup I think he needs to be there for the finals.'”Cummins had only played two ODIs since November 2022 (and eight since November 2020) when the World Cup began. But he said he had rediscovered the joys of the format during the World Cup, calling for more games that matter. The future of ODIs is likely to be discussed at the ICC Board meetings this week in Ahmedabad, though no concrete decision is expected.”Maybe because we won, but I did fall in love with ODI [cricket] again this World Cup,” he said. “I think the scenario where every game really matters, it does mean a bit different to just a bilateral. So yeah, I don’t know. I mean, the World Cup’s got such a rich history, I’m sure it’s going to be around for a long time. There’s so many wonderful games, so many wonderful stories within this last couple of months. So, I think there’s definitely a place.”

The offspinner has been recovering from a shoulder problem that has lingered since the Ashes

Andrew McGlashan29-Nov-2023Todd Murphy is still getting used to the extra workload his body has been put through this year during his emergence as a Test bowler, but is hopeful he will be fit for the Prime Minister’s XI game against Pakistan in Canberra next week.Offspinner Murphy has missed Victoria’s last two Sheffield Shield matches due to shoulder soreness but returned to bowling on Wednesday with a view to fulfilling his selection in what is effectively an Australia A side for Pakistan’s pre-Test warm-up.Murphy made his Test debut against India in Nagpur in February where he claimed 7 for 124 on the back of just seven first-class matches – one of which was last year’s PM’s XI against West Indies – and went on to play all four matches in that series before somewhat unexpectedly being needed in the Ashes after Nathan Lyon’s calf injury at Lord’s.Related

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He had already shelved a county deal before the Ashes to manage his workloads, but he returned from the UK with some niggles which flared again after four Sheffield Shield outings this season – the last of which saw him bowl 45 overs against Tasmania.”It’s been a pretty big 12 months and something I hadn’t been exposed to, so it’s just been about trying to manage myself through that,” Murphy said. “There have been challenges with a few little niggles and think the shoulder is just another one of that.”It was a bit flared up after the UK series then a few Shield games with a high workload and some one-day cricket, it sort of fatigued a bit. So used the opportunity to try and give it a chance to settle down and strengthen it back up for what will hopefully be a pretty busy summer across the board then also some Shield cricket to finish the year. Had in mind it’s a long summer and don’t want to burn myself too early.”Murphy hopes to play the BBL with Sydney Sixers through December and January then the last four rounds of Sheffield Shield although that will depend on whether he is selected as back-up in the squad for the New Zealand Test tour.With Lyon having successfully returned from his calf injury he is likely to have to wait a considerable time for his next Test – unless the SCG offers conditions conducive for two spinners – but his experience of the Ashes tour means he always wants to be ready to go.”It’s one of those ones that you always want to make sure you are ready, but Nath’s been so durable so even going over to England I probably didn’t have it my mind that there would be an opportunity arise that means I would get a game,” Murphy said.”Obviously it was really disappointing to see him go down with an injury, but it probably reinforces the importance of having a squad that is ready to perform. For me it’s really important to be in a position that if that unfortunately does happen again – fingers crossed it doesn’t – but if something does arise that I’m in a place that I can take it.”With the two Tests in New Zealand unlikely to require extra frontline spin resources, Murphy’s next opportunity may not come until the tour of Sri Lanka in early 2025, but whenever he next gets his chance he feels this year will hold him in good stead.”Looking forward it’s about putting myself in the best place I can for any opportunities that arise down the track,” he said. “The intensity of both tours [India and the Ashes] was something I hadn’t experienced before. So being exposed to that early on is going to set me up going forward and it was great to be a part of. Hopefully in a home summer I can build off that and if there is an opportunity I’m set up to go well.”

Incident occurred during a Legends League T20 match in Surat

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2023Former India fast bowler S Sreesanth has accused his former team-mate Gautam Gambhir of calling him a “fixer” during a Legends League match in Surat. Gambhir is the captain of India Capitals while Sreesanth is playing for Gujarat Giants in the T20 tournament.After the match, which Capitals won by 12 runs, Sreesanth posted on Instagram a video that was shot on the sidelines of the post-match presentation ceremony. “Without any provocation, he kept on calling me something which was very rude and shouldn’t have been said by Mr Gautam Gambhir,” Sreesanth claimed. “I am not at all at fault, I wanted to clear the air straight away. The things he said on a cricket field live is not acceptable.”While Sreesanth did not immediately mention what was allegedly said to him by Gambhir, he revealed more details in a second video posted on Instagram on Thursday, the day after the match.