The 68-year old is said to be experiencing mild symptoms

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Mar-2021Pakistan Prime Minister and former cricket captain Imran Khan has tested positive for Covid-19. The news was confirmed by Dr Faisal Sultan, an infectious diseases expert and special advisor to the PM on health. Khan, 68, is understood to be experiencing mild symptoms, with Sultan confirming he would be self-isolating at home.Khan was given his first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine two days earlier, and his advisors were keen to point out, immunity takes time to kick in after a shot and the vaccine itself does not infect people with the virus. A number of doctors and government officials hastened to add this wasn’t a reason for people not to get vaccinated, a crucial message in a country where vaccine take-up has been low.Khan became prime minister in August 2018 after his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (Movement for Justice) won the largest number of seats. Since the start of the pandemic, he has resisted the imposition of a complete lockdown, with the government implementing what they have called “smart lockdowns”, targeting specific regions that have seen outbreaks spike. Over the past few days, Khan has been making public appearances, inaugurating projects and meeting people, with the government urging anyone who has been in close contact with him to get themselves tested.Pakistan has been spared the worst effects of the virus over the duration of the pandemic. There have been, to date, around 625,000 cases and under 14,000 deaths since the first case was recorded in February 2020.But that has changed recently, with a clear rise in cases and hospital admissions over the past month indicating a third wave of the pandemic. Just last week, the government announced all restaurants in Punjab, the largest province, would be closed temporarily. With social distancing measures and mask-wearing relatively low, there have been warnings Pakistan might have to close all non-essential businesses and implement a complete lockdown to get the virus under control.

Hosts recover to post competitive 246 on opening day at Chester-le-Street

ECB Reporters Network13-May-2021Worcestershire 6 for 0 trail Durham 246 (Lees 99, Tongue 5-39) by 240 runsWorcestershire’s Josh Tongue claimed a five-wicket haul to bowl Durham out for 246 on the opening day of their LV= Insurance County Championship clash at Emirates Riverside.Tongue was on the mark for the visitors to tear through the Durham middle and lower order with figures of 5 for 39 in his second appearance of the campaign. Alex Lees continued his fine form for the hosts with the bat, falling just short of a deserved century with an innings of 99.Through Lees’ exploits and an unbeaten 38 from Brydon Carse, the home side worked their way to a competitive total. The Worcestershire openers were faced with a tough three-over spell before bad light brought a premature end to the day with the visitors six without loss.Worcestershire’s bowlers found their rhythm after inserting the home side. The Durham openers found life tricky against the new ball and Joe Leach, who was rewarded for a fine opening spell when he pinned Will Young lbw with an inswinger. Charlie Morris maintained the pressure for the visitors and removed Scott Borthwick, who edged to Tom Fell at third slip.Lees and David Bedingham stemmed the tide and saw the home side through to the lunch interval without further damage at 80 for 2. The two players put on fifty for the third wicket, but a loose Bedingham drive allowed Morris to break the stand. Lees was the only batsman that seemed comfortable, and he manoeuvred his way to his third fifty of the season from 145 balls.Tongue turned the day in favour of the visitors as he ended a promising partnership between Lees and Jack Burnham, removing the latter lbw for 23 before using a well-aimed bouncer to force Ned Eckersley to play on to his stumps.Lees accelerated the rate of his innings amid the clatter of wickets at the opposite end. He surged his way into the nineties with a fine array of strokes, but was agonisingly caught behind from a wide ball from Leach on 99 on the stroke of tea.Carse and Mark Wood added valuable runs for the ninth wicket to take Durham past the 200-run mark and their first batting point. However, Tongue wrapped up the innings with two excellent deliveries to skittle Wood and Chris Rushworth to claim his first five-wicket haul of the term.

19-year-old quick has big future, says captain, after three-wicket debut

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Jun-2021Despite slumping to an innings defeat before lunch on the third day of the first Test in St Lucia, West Indies had one undoubted silver lining in the form of their debutant fast bowler, Jayden Seales, whose fiery performance in a losing cause hinted at a hugely promising future in the sport.Seales, 19, had played just one first-class game before he was thrust into the Test team against South Africa – and that came last winter on West Indies’ tour of New Zealand – but Kraigg Brathwaite, the captain, said he saw enough in that display to know he was ready for higher honours.”The first time I saw him was in New Zealand, and I just knew he had a natural length,” Brathwaite said. “Not all bowlers have that natural length, and he obviously swings the ball. So I was not surprised by his performance in this game, or for the future.”Seales finished South Africa’s only innings of the first Test with figures of 3 for 75 in 21 overs, having bagged his maiden wicket in his first over of the game, as Keegan Petersen spliced an edge to Jason Holder at second slip. He followed up with two more in consecutive overs at the end of the first day, before Quinton de Kock took the match away with a superb 141 not out.”I think he’s something special and obviously he’s quite young, he’s only played one first-class game,” Brathwaite said. “That says a lot. Even at practice, there are different little things that he does with the ball, and what he says to back it up, is quite phenomenal. For sure, he’s one for the future, big time.Related

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“Fast bowling is hard work. In this game, he bowled over 20 overs and he never once complained. Obviously he’s young, but he was strong, his pace was up throughout, and I really think he’s something special for sure.”With his strong approach to the crease and powerful shoulders though his action, Seales drew some mid-match comparison with West Indies’ star of the second innings, Kagiso Rabada, who mopped up the resistance with figures of 5 for 34, his first five-wicket haul since March 2018.”He is a great prospect for West Indies,” Rabada said. “They have always produced those who can bowl really well, right from the 1980s. They are continuing the prestigious lineage of producing fast bowlers.”He has come to the fore,” he added. “I don’t know how much he tried to copy me. I think he is just natural. I don’t see a huge similarity, maybe a small similarity between our bowling. He is a good bowler and he showed that. I wish him all the best.”Reflecting on West Indies’ failings in the first Test, Brathwaite rued their collapse to 97 all out on the first day of the match, after which their defeat was only ever a matter of time. However, he denied he had erred in choosing to bat first.”We saw today some variable bounce, the pitch was a little dry, but we didn’t bat well in the first innings so we were under pressure from the start.,” he said. “We were always on the back foot.””[South Africa] are quality bowlers but even batting second we thought they would be quality. In the second Test, we’ve got to bat better. As a group we bowled well, and Seales in his first Test was magnificent. [Roston] Chase showed fight today, but that first innings hampered us a lot.””We’ll take a little break and come back stronger,” he added. “For me it’s about getting your mind in the right place. It’s more mental than technical.”

Harmer takes four for Essex but bad weather has final say in local rivalry

ECB Reporters' Network25-Jun-2021Daniel Bell-Drummond hammered 50 off 29 balls as Kent Spitfires beat Essex Eagles by 18 runs on DLS – after lightning and then rain brought an early end to the Vitality Blast match.Bell-Drummond clubbed his third fifty of the competition during an 89-run stand for the first wicket with Zak Crawley.The Spitfires endured two collapses to slump to 167 for 9 as Simon Harmer claimed 4 for 26, including his 50th Blast wicket for Essex, and Dan Lawrence a county T20 record of four catches in the innings.But 31 for 4, including two scalps for Matt Milnes, in five overs meant the Eagles were short of the DLS target of 59 – handing Kent their sixth victory of the campaign.Bell-Drummond and Crawley got the Spitfires off to a flyer having been stuck in by Harmer on a used hybrid track.Crawley received two lives, dropped on 1 and 14, as Bell-Drummond slapped Jamie Porter for two sixes – the visitors pummelling 82 off the Powerplay.But after two miserly overs, Kent collapsed in sensational style with five wickets lost for 22 runs in 25 balls, as spin took over.Nijjar, who eventually took 1 for 13 in an ungenerous spell, celebrated with Cristiano Ronaldo’s iconic ‘Sii’ leap after bowling Crawley for 43, before Joe Denly was caught by Lawrence at deep midwicket trying to replicate the six he had struck the previous ball and Jack Leaning was stumped off Harmer.Lawrence turned snarer when Bell Drummond – who had reached a 28-ball half-century – spliced to a sprawling Harmer and Alex Blake was caught behind.Newly-contracted Darren Stevens and Jordan Cox resuscitated the innings with a 44-run stand, with Stevens clubbing a pair of sixes, but another wicket furry ended the innings – this time four wickets falling in 16 balls.Stevens, Cox and Qais Ahmed were all caught by Lawrence and Matt Milnes was bowled by Jimmy Neesham with the last ball.Unlike the Spitfires, the Eagles did not pump runs early on. Will Buttleman was beaten by Milnes’ pace and bounce to be caught behind and Adam Wheater was leg-before attempting to sweep Joe Denly.Michael Pepper chipped a Milnes slower ball to mid-off and former Spitfire Jimmy Neesham edged Fred Klaassen thickly to gully.With lightning striking behind the Hayes Close End and then rain the game was called off after the fifth over – the minimum needed to create a result.

All the stats, analysis and colour from the title bout of the inaugural World Test Championship

Sidharth Monga21-Jun-2021
Those in the US can watch in English or Hindi here3pm

That’s it for day 4 then

ICC/Getty Images

They have taken the call to end it here. We now have a maximum of 196 overs to get a result out of this otherwise the trophy and the award money will be shared. I leave you with this yarn from Nagraj Gollapudi:

Gopi walks from behind as I stare at the empty expanse of the wet and soggy Hampshire Bowl. We are standing at the mouth of one of the alleyways in the bowels the Shane Warne stand. “I need to decide whether to stay back or head back,” Gopi says.Gopi is from a small village in Madurai in southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He is in London for a short duration on an assignment with an IT company. His working hours are synched with the US timezone and hence he is desperate to know whether the fourth day of the WTC final will start at all or should he head back. Gopi has to start work at 1500 hours UK time (1930 IST) but reckons he can still pull it off in case he leaves for London by 1600 hours.Monday is a very special day in his life: it is the first time Gopi has come to a cricket ground. After a work colleague cancelled his visit, Gopi bought the ticket, a gold category one, for 150 pounds (about INR 15000). Gopi paid an extra 49 pounds to get his return train ticket on Monday from London and spent another 10 quid for the bus journey to the ground.Why did he want to come to the ground when the rain had been forecast for the virtually the entire day? “I just hoped there would play,” Gopi says, mouth covered by the mask, but with twinkling eyes and a gold ear stud shimmering in the gloomy light. “It is a big day for me. I come from a middle-class family froma village near Madurai. In India I could never think of buying a ticket and going to a match while I was growing up. But now I got the opportunity so I took it up.”While at the ground Gopi went closer to the on-site team hotel to wave at some Indian players including Rohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and even spotted Virat Kohli and his family holed up in their room. Will he disappointed if there is no play? “No. I came the ground and it is an experience I will not forget. I still got to watch some players and feel happy that I come.”Even if there is no play on Monday Gopi says he will be back on Wednesday when the ticket prices will be halved. He has already asked his friends to buy him one.As the drizzle carries on I leave Gopi to wrestle with the vital question: stay back or go?

2.40pm

Kohli’s non-centuries

Virat Kohli hasn’t scored a century since November 2019, but he has played some gems nonetheless. Which one do you think is the best?

Hosts join Hundred front runners with six-wicket victory over Invincibles in Edgbaston run-fest

ECB Reporters Network04-Aug-2021Birmingham Phoenix jumped right among the Hundred front runners with a thrilling six-wicket victory over Oval Invincibles in a runfest at Edgbaston.A powerhouse innings from Colin Ingram – 81 from 43 balls – lifted the Invincibles to 172 for 3 – the second-highest total in the Hundred.The 36-year-old built on a fast start from Jason Roy (38, 22 balls) and hit eight fours and four sixes, many coming in a third-wicket stand of 72 in 39 balls with captain Sam Billings (24, 17 balls).But the Phoenix reeled in the tall target, reaching 174 for 4 with six balls to spare thanks to Moeen Ali’s 49 off 26 balls, Will Smeed’s 45 from 28 and a dazzling cameo by Chris Benjamin, whose unbeaten 37 from 16 balls tilted a knife-edge contest his side’s way.After choosing to bowl, the Phoenix started well with Adam Milne and Imran Tahir each conceding just a single from their first over. The Invincibles then hit their stride, though, Roy batting with characteristic power, hitting five fours and a six before he was bowled by a slower ball from Benny Howell.Ingram and Billings accelerated in a violent partnership which ended when the latter lifted Pat Brown to long off where Howell took a fine catch. Ingram cleared the ropes in each of the last two overs to provide late impetus and round off a perfectly paced innings from the South African.Finn Allen’s 23 off 13 balls gave the Phoenix reply a fiery start with five fours in eight balls but he fell in strange fashion when he played back to Sunil Narine’s first ball and trod on his wicket.Liam Livingstone heaved one huge six but was denied another when Laurie Evans took a stinging catch on the mid-wicket rope to give Tabraiz Shamsi his first wicket.Sneed stepped it up after a watchful start but skied Saqib Mahmood to extra cover. With such a big target, the pressure on the Phoenix batters was high but Ali responded with a furious attack which included successive sixes off Tom Curran. The skipper was within one run of a half-century when Curran got his revenge, taking a superb catch at deep mid-wicket.That left the Phoenix needing 34 from 25 balls. Benjamin got to grips with the task straight away, trimming the target to ten fom ten and then striking the winning four to continue his fairy-tale rise.

Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland and Mpumalanga have been eliminated from Pool B of the CSA domestic T20 competition

Firdose Moonda01-Oct-2021The biggest surprise in Pool B of the Provincial T20 Cup, the CSA’s domestic T20 competition, came from the skies as rain washed out one match entirely and severely reduced another to put a damper on proceedings in usually dry Bloemfontein. The Knights and the Titans, both first-division teams, will proceed to the quarterfinals, with Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland and Mpumalanga eliminated.The Knights were the strongest of the four teams and announced themselves with a six-wicket win over the Titans before a convincing win over the Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland side. They would have fancied full points in their finale against Mpumalanga, but the match got abandoned on Thursday afternoon.The Titans, on the other hand, wobbled, but successfully defended 66 in a seven-over affair against Mpumalanga, who lost both matches they played. A plucky Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland side could not match up to the Knights or the Titans but comprehensively beat Mpumalanga.Related

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Runs for Rilee Rossouw
As one of the players who left, leaving a bitter taste in South African cricket’s mouth (remember the time he sent the then national coach Russell Domingo an email when he signed a Kolpak deal, and spelt Russell incorrectly?), Rilee Rossouw is already catching eyes on his return. He scored an unbeaten 73 off 51 balls to anchor the Knights’ chase of 144 against the Titans and then scored 67 off 47 balls to help the Knights post a match-winning 154 for 5 against Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland. His two half-centuries put him second on the run-scorers’ charts, behind Zubayr Hamza, and potentially back on the national radar.Delport does the business
Another returnee is Cameron Delport , who played for South Africa before becoming something of a journeyman. Delport has an impressive array of teams to his name including franchises in the PSL, CPL and Afghanistan’s Shpageeza Cricket League and has now signed on for Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland. He made an instant statement with his 39-ball 72 not out in their successful chase of 113 against Mpumalanga and though it may be too late for him to continue pushing for an international career, he is guaranteed to entertain.Dean dropped?
Test captain Dean Elgar is one of very few nationally contracted players in this competition – those who are not at the IPL are in a camp ahead of the T20 World Cup – but even his appearances were limited. Elgar captained the Titans in their first two matches, where he scored 41 in a losing cause against the Knights and 7 in their victory over Mpumalanga but sat out the must-win third game against Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland. Aaron Phangiso led the Titans in Elgar’s absence, while Jandre Pretorius opened the batting in his first appearance for the province and scored 40 runs off 39 balls to help the Titans post a winning target.Matheson’s Mpumalanga won’t take this lying down
Their twin defeats and the fact that they are one of two teams (Limpopo being the other) whose red-ball matches will not count as first-class fixtures, Mpumalanga have a lot of pride and a reputation to make. So little known are they that they were incorrectly called Limpopo by the broadcasters, and their coach Gordon Matheson was quick to point it out at the first chance he got. They may be little-known, but Mpumalanga have a few potential headliners. Wicketkeeper-batter Rubin Hermann was their top-scorer with 32 off 31 balls against Kwa-Zulu Natal Inland, and their captain, pace bowler Luvuyo Nkese, appears a good prospect.

Aaron Finch marks Renegades comeback in style, scoring a 43-ball 68 and sharing in a 130-run stand with Nic Maddinson for the second wicket

Tristan Lavalette22-Dec-2021A red-hot Mitchell Marsh spoilt Aaron Finch’s dazzling Melbourne Renegades return as Perth Scorchers maintained their all-win record in this year’s BBL with a 21-run victory at Marvel Stadium.Marsh continued his purple patch with the bat, scoring a furious 53-ball 86 to power Scorchers to their highest-ever away total – 206 for 5.In his first match since leading Australia to T20 World Cup glory, Finch scored a 43-ball 68 and combined with Nic Maddinson in Renegades’ record second-wicket stand of 130.But Marsh produced more heroics to claim the scalp of Maddinson and Finch departed shortly after as the gallant Scorchers fell short.Marsh and Evans dominate Scorchers bowlers
Scorchers suffered a blow when the in-form Kurtis Patterson, who has been a revelation as an opener, was sidelined with a left quad injury. It meant Scorchers had their fourth different opening combination in a row, with a returning Cameron Bancroft opening with Josh Inglis.Inglis fell in the second over to James Pattinson, but that brought Marsh to the crease and the T20 World Cup hero again put on a show. After surviving an early chance, the former Scorchers skipper put the foot down with a blistering assault on Pattinson, who strayed on to the pads.Kane Richardson was the only Renegades bowler to make an impact•Getty Images

Marsh took a liking to the short boundaries square of the wicket and targeted in-form spinner Zahir Khan for special treatment as he powered to a 30-ball half-century. At the other side, a pumped-up Colin Munro, a centurion against Adelaide Strikers, hit an astonishing first-ball six after charging Will Sutherland, but lost momentum amid Marsh’s whirlwind.Marsh appeared a certainty to score his second BBL ton in three innings but fell to a loose shot in the 16th over to give Renegades hope.But impressive English import Laurie Evans batted superbly at the death, and fittingly ended a dominant Scorchers innings with a last-ball six as the league leaders recorded their second-highest score in franchise history.Fraser-McGurk and Zahir have a rough time
Jake Fraser-McGurk probably has the best catch of the BBL season wrapped up after his stunning one-hander on the boundary against Strikers. But cricket is a great leveller, and so it proved for the youngster, who dropped Marsh on the boundary when on 3. Marsh’s powerful pull shot would have hit Marvel Stadium’s roof had it been shut, but instead it travelled high into the sky making it awkward for Fraser-McGurk, who was distracted by the boundary rope and spilt the catch.Zahir, who has been arguably the best spinner in the BBL, struggled for the first time this season to finish with poor figures of none for 45 off his four overs. Only the experienced Kane Richardson – with his canny use of slower balls – was able to somewhat weather the storm and he was rewarded with the wickets of Marsh and Munro.Aaron Finch and Nic Maddinson put up 130 runs for the second wicket•Cricket Australia via Getty Images

Finch returns in style
Renegades needed a strong four-over powerplay and the early dismissal of youngster Mackenzie Harvey – bowled by a gem from Jason Behrendorff – brought together their two main stars. And Finch and Maddinson gave them hope with audacious batting to smash 47 off the powerplay.Finch, who had started his innings with a fluent straight drive, didn’t look rusty after his recovery from a knee injury with consecutive sixes off Tymal Mills in the fourth over lighting a fuse. Finch clearly had not lost his touch and in trademark fashion, he was perfectly still at the crease and swinging baseball style in a vintage performance. He clubbed 20 runs off Andrew Tye during the second power-surge over as Renegades sniffed a stunning heist.But Maddinson, who had a reprieve on 49, fell to Marsh and Renegades’ momentum was halted. The match was effectively over when Finch fell to Ashton Agar in the 16th over, but last-placed Renegades would be buoyed by the return of their ex-skipper.Scorchers attack finally put under pressure
Scorchers’ bowlers have been irresistible this season, with the most runs scored off them before this match just 151 by Brisbane Heat in their season opener. But even such a disciplined attack can look ragged and helpless when Finch and Maddinson are on song.For a while, they had no answers and looked rattled. But, in trademark fashion, they held their nerve and the game turned through a brilliant one-handed catch by wicketkeeper Inglis to dismiss Maddinson.