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“There are a lot of dynamics about being a captain when you’re playing in India that I don’t know about.”

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Apr-20204:43

‘The 2019 World Cup final massively lifted the profile of the game’ – Eoin Morgan

Eoin Morgan has been making “the best out of a bad situation”, enforced by the coronavirus pandemic, spending time with his three-week-old baby. Had things been normal, Morgan would not have been at home, he would have been part of the Kolkata Knight Riders squad in the IPL.Reflecting on a remarkable year for him as England’s white-ball captain, Morgan said that the 2019 World Cup final had lifted the profile of cricket in England in unprecedented fashion.”I think the journey that we went on is probably the most exciting. In 2015, the embarrassing nature in which we were bundled out of that World Cup and the journey we embarked on to try and change the brand of cricket that we played with a new group of extremely talented players over the course of four years – it’s brilliant,” Morgan told .

Morgan on the reverse-sweep and his playing role:

“The more experience that I’ve got, I find myself batting in that middle order and hopefully being there at the end. It’s probably one of the better skills that I do have and probably over the last two years, it’s been at its best.
“I started playing reverse-sweep when I first came to London as a 16-year old and signed up at Middlesex. Playing at Lord’s, the boundaries were very short square of the wicket and they are really long straight. When I played in the first team as a 17-18 year old, trying to clear the long straight boundary at Lord’s was very difficult for me. So I started playing a lot more sweeps just because they were more effective at our home ground. I sort of drilled the reverse-sweep and swept for as long as I could. The reverse-sweep has been one of my favourite shots because it’s been so effective over the years.”

“It sort of culminated in last year’s World Cup. The final was the most dramatic game of cricket and the best game of cricket that probably has ever been played which contributes to the hype of it. But I think one of the great things about it was on the day of that great game of cricket was, it’s always now associated with the longest ever Wimbledon final that was epic as well. It helped us in growing cricket outside of the normal bubble that we’re already in to a different audience, and for us at home it has lifted the profile of the game like we’ve never seen.”Straight after the World cup win was the Ashes series which was absolutely amazing to watch. Australia thoroughly deserved to win it [the series was drawn with Australia retaining the urn] but again, the dramatic nature in which the whole series unfolded really did attract the whole country and sort of galvanised one of our biggest rivalries in sport. It was fascinating to watch and I thought it was a great year for us, cricket-wise.”Morgan was also looking forward to a second stint with Knight Riders, having played for the franchise from 2011 to 2013. He will reunite with good friend Brendon McCullum, the two having first built a friendship when they were team-mates at Knight Riders. McCullum is now the head coach of the franchise.”I think his contribution not only to New Zealand cricket but to world cricket really took the front in 2015 with their campaign – throughout the 2015 World Cup,” Morgan said. “They really did, I suppose, transform the fate of a nation and the hope of a nation in the way that they played. They played aggressive, positive cricket but also in a way that wasn’t in your face the whole time. It was really good to watch, it created a huge amount of attraction and I think majority of the time actually the way that they play and the manner that they play overlooks the skill level that they produce.”And I think Baz is the reason for that turnaround. I think he has had a huge input in the way they’ve played and in all formats as well not just white ball. I suppose it makes that move to KKR all the more sweet when he’s head coach. I think if we see any similarities in the impact that he’s had as a player and as a captain on his coaching, the impact will be monumental. I really do think he’s changed the landscape of cricket and the attitude of the way people play.”Morgan was also looking forward to learning from Dinesh Karthik, the Knight Riders captain.”While I’m here to help, I also want to learn as much as I can from him. There are a lot of dynamics about being a captain when you’re playing in India that I don’t know about, I’ll be picking his brain the whole time,” Morgan said. “I’ll naturally be myself and try to give as much as I can just like the rest of the international players. But it’s going to be fascinating to see how and when we get to play and how the competition lines up. Because everybody is going to come out of isolation extremely excited, rearing to go, batting, bowling, fielding the whole lot.”

Thailand’s openers alone made more than how much they managed in each of their three games earlier

The Report by Vishal Dikshit03-Mar-2020Match abandoned Thailand’s top order put on a blazing display of strokeplay to end their impressive maiden World Cup campaign. They posted their highest T20I score – 3 for 150 – against Pakistan at the Sydney Showground Stadium and then saw the rain come down as soon as their innings ended. It didn’t cease and both teams were forced to split a point each.That Pakistan had never scored more than 144 while batting second in T20Is had the odds heavily in favour of Thailand, given their strong show while bowling and fielding earlier in the tournament. But they were forced to bid goodbye with only one point from four games.The Thailand innings was all about their booming and fearless strokes, as Pakistan barely created chances. Diana Baig started strongly after Thailand opted to bat and dismissed Nattakan Chantam with a sharp return catch in her last over but the opener had scored 93 by then. Chantam’s was the team’s first half-century at the World Cup.Thailand openers punish PakistanIn their three previous outings, Thailand managed scores of 82, 78 and 80. It was evident their batting needed work. Against Pakistan, they raced to 0 for 70 after 10 overs and brought up the 100 in the 14th over. By the time they finished their innings, they had scored more fours against Pakistan (23) than they had in their three previous games combined: 17.The show-stoppers were openers Chantam and Nattaya Boochatham. Even though Pakistan stifled the openers with Baig’s swing and left-arm spinner Anam Amin’s angle from around the wicket, the batters suddenly switched gears after being 0 for 9 in three overs, of which only five came off the bat.Chantam targeted Amin with four fours in the fourth over that summed up her innings: two caressed beautifully through the covers along the ground and two to clear mid-off. Boochatham took on Baig, who conceded three runs in her first two overs, at the other end with a stylish pull and a loft over mid-off and the two openers didn’t look back from there.They focused on the ‘V’ down the ground, marked by flourishing drives that cashed in on the fuller lengths and the room the Pakistani bowlers offered. They collected another 14 runs off Aliya Riaz to end the powerplay on 0 for 49, as Javeria Khan was forced to make several bowling changes. By the halfway mark, the openers had scored 76% of their runs down the ground.Pakistan’s fielding helps Thailand furtherAs Thailand’s audacious shots continued in the second half, Pakistan’s fielding also came under pressure. After dropping Boochatham at first slip in the second over off Baig, they fumbled a few times both in the ring and in the deep to allow a few extra runs.To add to that, Boochatham also showed her deft batting against legspinner Syeda Aroob Shah by first driving her against the turn through the covers for four and then sweeping her with the spin next ball when a deep cover was put in place. Chantam, on the other hand, took tiny steps out of the crease to reach the pitch of the ball for her drives and even rocked on the back foot to punch short-of-length deliveries.Boochatham eventually holed out to long-on off Amin for 44 of 40 that ended the opening stand of 93, Thailand’s second-highest in T20Is. Chantam brought up her third T20I fifty in the next over by whipping a four off her hips behind square on the leg side for her 10th four.Thailand ensured they didn’t lose any momentum after Chantam’s wicket in the 16th over, for56 off 50. Chanida Sutthiruang and Nannapat Koncharoenkai put away full tosses, and Koncharoenkai’s consecutive fours in the penultimate over off Amin, the second one an unorthodox whip-sweep when she was almost yorked, showed Thailand’s batting approach was well-planned and not a flash in a pan.They finished on a fighting score but rain spoiled their plans of not being able to defend it against a side that had crossed 120 only once this tournament.

His vehicle hit and killed a 64-year-old cyclist on Sunday

Andrew Fidel Fernando05-Jul-2020Sri Lanka cricketer Kusal Mendis has been arrested after the vehicle he was driving hit and killed a 64-year-old cyclist at around 5am on Sunday.The police media unit confirmed the accident had occurred in Panadura, just south of Colombo, and that the victim had been a local resident who sustained serious injuries and died as he was being admitted to hospital. Mendis will appear before the Panadura magistrate – likely in the next 48 hours – while police conduct an investigation.The initial police statement made no mention of whether either Mendis or the victim were under the influence of alcohol.As Sri Lanka’s lockdowns and curfew have now ceased, Mendis was allowed to be on the road at the time. He had been part of Sri Lanka’s residential training camp at Pallekele, which ended on Wednesday.

Opener’s work ethic pays off in vital first-day performance as he lays ghosts of 2016

Danyal Rasool05-Aug-2020Shan Masood doesn’t like to think about the past, and on an England tour, you can see why.Four years ago, he was drafted into the Pakistan side as opener, and there was reason for cautious optimism. His career may only have been five Test matches old, all of them confined to the subcontinent, but he wasn’t the complete novice to English conditions that that might suggest. Educated at Durham University, he had spent more time honing his cricket education than his academic one, playing under Graeme Fowler’s tutelage before joining a distance-learning programme as cricket began to take precedence.It will, then, have been a particularly dispiriting blow to have that inaugural tour of England cut short after two Test matches, as he fell to his bete noire James Anderson in each innings, for a sum of just 71 runs. While flickers of a solid technique unique to a cricketing education in England were unmistakable, it wasn’t enough for Pakistan’s famously twitchy selectors to keep the faith. He was cast aside for Sami Aslam, and it would almost be a full year before he wore international colours again. If he had hoped England would be a launchpad, the reality suggested it was more of a missed approach.What has distinguished Masood from several others in Pakistan cricket, however, is a work ethic even his most professional colleagues would struggle to match. It was a part of his DNA since well before international cricket seemed a viable career path; ever since he was 19, he would leave his parents’ flat in St John’s Wood, run to a Baker Street gym, make sure to come through Park Road to get a glimpse of Lord’s every day.Years later, when head coach Mickey Arthur instituted a rigorous fitness regime alien to Pakistan cricket at the time, Masood was always at or near the top of the fitness charts, often going well beyond the minimum standards Arthur had set. It is no secret Masood isn’t the most talented batsman in this Pakistan side, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a hungrier one.Shan Masood works the ball to the off side•Getty Images

And in his quest to make the most of whatever ability he possesses, Masood went back to the domestic circuit, piling on the runs in both the white-ball format and the Quaid-e-Azam trophy. He made the most of a call-up for a first-class call-up against New Zealand in 2018, scoring 73 against New Zealand and then smashing 161 in a List A match against the England Lions.He focused on tightening up his technique, picking the length early and playing the ball late, while trying to ensure he survived the first 20 balls or so of an innings, to give himself a chance of being out in the middle once set. He sought help from coaches, analysts, writers, and just about anyone else who had an opinion on a game he desperately wanted to make it in.”Situationally you always have to look at the team,” he said after reaching the close on the first day on 46 not out. “We always knew that the new ball is going to be a struggle. It’s not an easy gig being an opening batsman in this country. But there comes an opportunity to give your team a good start, especially if you opt to bat first.”I just thought it was very important to take the shine off the ball in the first hour and make it easier for the guys coming in,” he added. “The ball did a bit off the seam in the first session but as the second session went on, we got into a bit of a scoring mode. But I think there’s a long way to go, both as a team and as an individual, and you want to capitalise on any start you get. So hopefully, tomorrow, we can make this count.”ALSO READ: Babar, Shan lift Pakistan on stop-start dayThere have been bigger scores and more spectacular innings from Masood over the past two years, but today’s may well be his most satisfying in terms of signifying quite how far he has come. He made sure to hang around early on while the ball – particularly Anderson’s – moved around menacingly, and played at the ones he couldn’t leave with soft hands to ensure edges didn’t carry through to the slips.He didn’t mind not attacking a single ball all first session, so long as it meant he wasn’t giving his wicket away cheaply. He didn’t care that he’d scored just 9 off the 34 Chris Woakes balls he faced, what likely pleased him would be how well he had left him on length. He was unperturbed at the fact he’d scored a measly five runs off Dom Bess in 29 deliveries, even as Babar Azam milked him at a run a ball in 25. He was unflustered by potentially becoming the slowest Pakistani to a half-century in England; what matters more is he’s become the first overseas opener since 2016 to survive more than 100 balls in England.There was good fortune, of course; Bess was unlucky not to have had him twice, with Jos Buttler missing a catch and a stumping, the latter a rare ill-judged dance down the wicket on the stroke of stumps. But in a career like Masood’s, fortune is a central character of the story rather than a mere support act.Two years ago, he accompanied Pakistan on a trip to South Africa, where he was designated to be an understudy to Haris Sohail. On the morning of the first Test, Sohail’s knee seized up, and Masood would get a first chance in 13 months. He would go on to become the leading runscorer for Pakistan in that series, finishing behind only Quinton de Kock. He has since averaged 47.85, second only to Azam in the Pakistan side. In that time, he has transformed into an automatic Test selection rather than a wayfaring afterthought.No wonder, then, that Masood doesn’t want to dwell upon his last tour of England. This isn’t 2016, and it certainly isn’t the same Shan Masood.

Channel 7 CEO expressed frustration this week at the delay in confirming the season’s fixtures

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Aug-2020Cricket Australia is adamant it will not need to cut the value of its broadcast deal despite strong criticism from the boss of major rights holder Channel 7 over the delay in confirming the schedule for the home summer and suggestions that even a full slate of matches would not equate to delivering full value.Earlier this week, James Warburton, the CEO of Channel 7, used an investor call to take a swipe at CA for the fact they have still to lock in a reworked scheduled for the major events of the summer – significantly the India tour and the BBL.”It’s been frustrating with Cricket Australia, that’s for sure,” he said. “Ultimately…they need to look at what is possible to deliver, stop talking about international borders being closed, or borders being closed, and start to look at what really is the season we are going to deliver. We paid a massive price for the cricket – an Indian summer is as valuable as an Ashes summer.”ALSO READ: Afghanistan set to play December Test against Australia in PerthHowever, CA remains confident it will provide their full schedule which means delivering on their end of the billon-dollar broadcast deal that was made in 2018.”We’re absolutely committed to delivering our side of the bargain which is fantastic summer of cricket and I think work with all our partners to deliver the best possible summer, the best possible entertainment for all our fans and the public,” interim CEO Nick Hockley said on Wednesday. “So, that’s what we’re focused on and I think we’ve got a very clear agreement, that is fulfilling our part of the bargain and that’s entirely what we’re focused on.”Hockley, who took over from Kevin Roberts in June, said he had not spoken to Warburton since his comments earlier this week but said that Channel 7 are a “great partner””We are having lots of discussions about how Seven are going to bring to life cricket this summer,” he said. “We’ll continue to work through those. The discussion is very regular and there is lots of good dialogue. They’re a great partner. I’ve really enjoyed working with James and we’ve got so much to look forward to.”India and Australia are the top two sides on the World Test Championship table•Getty Images

One element which has got broadcasters nervous is the prospect of the BBL losing more big-name players because of the potential for larger international squads having to be named as it won’t be possible to fly players in and out due to quarantine restrictions. However, Hockley reiterated that the health and safety of everyone involve remained the overriding priority.”Biosecurity and health and safety of the players throughout the summer is absolutely the number one priority and creating hubs and concentrating content as the other sporting codes have done throughout the winter is something we’re likely to have to do, certainly in the early stages of the season,” he said. “We are hoping the situation improves, I think clearly it’s going to be a busy and full summer, both the international playing group and the domestic group and WBBL.”Australia’s home season is set to get underway at the end of September with the visit of the New Zealand Women’s team for three T20Is and three ODIs. Currently those matches are scheduled for Sydney and Queensland, but they are expected to be condensed into one hub venue.The WBBL will follow from mid-October with the expectation that the tournament may also be held in a single state. The men’s season could then start with white-ball cricket against India following post-IPL quarantine periods before a Test against Afghanistan in early December then four against India running until mid-January.The women are then due to play India in three ODIs in the middle of January – although they were being viewed as a lead-in to the now-postponed World Cup – with the New Zealand men’s side slated for a brief limited-overs tour at the end of January. The BBL final is currently due to be played on February 6.Of the state domestic competitions, the Marsh One-Day appears the most vulnerable to be cut this season and there remain questions over when the Women’s National Cricket League could be played.

Chief executive says commitment to the women’s game remains “as strong as ever”

George Dobell26-Sep-2020Tom Harrison has insisted the ECB’s commitment to the women’s game is “as strong as ever”, despite the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic.Harrison, speaking on the day that England’s women played their first match on the BBC since 1993, said he believes that 2020 “could have been a year of oblivion for women’s cricket” but has instead been “positive.” In particular, he welcomed the visit of West Indies – which ensured international cricket for the England side after other series had been cancelled – the launch of the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy and the implementation of retainer contracts.But while he welcomed such advances, Harrison accepted there was “a danger that women’s cricket’s development becomes isolated in the strongest countries” and feels the ECB must be “a leading voice” in the continued growth of the sport.”For us to get the West Indies over was hugely important,” Harrison said. “We just couldn’t have a situation where we didn’t play international women’s cricket here. I’m really pleased to see this series come together.ALSO READ: Sciver seals series as Dottin riposte proves in vain“I’m probably even more proud about the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy and the implementation of a professional set-up, the retainer contracts that we put in place for the 25 professional players, the commitment to, next year, take that on to 40 professional players plus the centrally-contracted players. We feel like there’s momentum building up and we feel like 2020, when it could have been a year of oblivion for women’s cricket, has been a net positive. It’s something we are very proud of.”But there is a danger that women’s cricket’s development becomes isolated in the strongest countries. With the stress on the finances of global cricket, you can see countries around the world really feeling the pressure not to invest into what they see as development areas as opposed to commercially generating areas.”I do think that’s an area of focus for the world game. And I think the ECB will be a leading voice in saying work needs to be done here to ensure the women’s game continues to be funded and the funding generated from the women’s game goes into the development of the women’s game, which is not always the case.”But while Harrison said that “ring-fencing” funding for the women’s game is “the kind of language” required, he conceded that “nothing can be ring-fenced” at present.”People have often talked about ring-fencing and that’s the kind of language that needs to be attributed to the women’s game,” he said. “The reality is the impact of the pandemic on our finances is massive.”We’re in a position where nothing can be ring-fenced but don’t read that into that any dilution on our commitment. None of our ambition is being diluted by the pandemic’s impact on our finances.”It is a really, really tough moment but our commitment to the women’s game is as strong as ever. You’ll see a continued to commitment to growth in this part of the game which is so fundamental to our future.”ECB chief executive Tom Harrison•Getty Images

With all national cricket boards struggling with their finances as a result of the pandemic, Harrison accepted there would be increased pressures on funding. But he insisted that the sport will prove more relevant and more commercially viable if it embraces the women’s game.”There are some serious financial challenges going around the world of cricket at the moment and that is not going to help women’s cricket,” Harrison said. “But I think the women’s game has a real role to play in the re-emergence of the international game as a much more globally relevant sport that can help us look at the next 100 years of cricket as an exciting opportunity.”What we need to be doing is passing on the evidence that the women’s game can generate two things: firstly, commercial value and secondly, a sustainability plan for your sport when it’s asking questions the financial crisis will inevitably ask. We are working on a big piece of work to understand how we commercialise the women’s game.”ALSO READ: Adams’ journey from a farmer’s field to an Edgbaston finalHarrison also reiterated his commitment toward greater diversity – both in terms of gender and ethnicity – at all levels of the game, including within the administration of the ECB. But he did hint that more progress was required at county level, or from “our stakeholders” as he put it.”Where this comes is demonstrating our commitment to accessibility across the board, whether it’s the men’s or women’s game; girls or boys,” he said. “It’s about creating an environment where everybody feels they have a place in the game. That is the most important piece of work we have to do over the next 10 years in this game and I’m absolutely committed to achieving that.”I inherited a team where there was very little diversity of any kind in my leadership team but we’ve gone beyond the Sport England governing code. We have a fully independent board and we are benefitting massively from the kind of experience and balance and decision-making [that] proper diversity can give you. I have three women in my senior team. We’ve work to do on the BAME diversity and we’re working on that right now.”I welcome the pressure on this. It helps us put pressure on through the game which is where I think more work needs to be done through our stakeholders where progress is a little slower.”There’s a journey we’re on and I’m extremely passionate about the inclusion of the diversity agenda. We’ve already made progress but there’s a lot more progress required. The ECB’s improving dramatically in terms of its gender representation.”

If the Covid-19 situation improves, Bangladesh will play international cricket only in January when West Indies visit

Mohammad Isam29-Sep-2020Bangladesh’s cricketers have been forced to extend their break from international cricket after their tour of Sri Lanka was postponed for a second time on Monday. They would have played in a three-match Test series for the first time in six years in October, but now they must wait till January for the home series against West Indies, although that too is uncertain at this stage because of the Covid-19 situation.The BCB has announced that the senior team will continue to train at their camp in Dhaka, during which the players will play three long-format practice matches. They will also continue to stay in a Dhaka hotel for two more weeks to make sure they don’t go out of their bio-secure bubble. But, as ESPNcricinfo has learnt, the players are not too happy to stay in the bubble without international cricket in the offing.The practice matches are likely to be followed by a T20 tournament, which will also have players from the high-performance set-up and others. The BCB is also hoping that the clubs will agree to restart the 2019-20 Dhaka Premier League, which was postponed after one round of matches in March.Mominul Haque, the Test captain who might have led Bangladesh in ten Tests in 2020, said that following the disappointment of the Sri Lanka postponement, the players have no choice but to use domestic games to keep themselves in touch. He, however, admitted that the lack of international cricket wouldn’t do the players any good.”As a player it is disappointing,” Haque told ESPNcricinfo. “We had an opportunity to play after six months but it is out of our control. I don’t want to think too much about it. I think every team has to deal with the difficulty of returning after a long break these days. I think if we get to play domestic cricket before international matches, we can cover some of that gap.”It is difficult to understand what exactly is the situation when there’s no international cricket.”Selector Habibul Bashar echoed Haque’s thoughts, saying that Bangladesh’s best cricketers were losing out because of the circumstances. “It is unfortunate that the players have lost a year of their career,” he said. “Tamim Iqbal misses out on a thousand runs. Mushfiqur Rahim misses out on a few centuries. They are not get any younger. But there’s not much we can do in a pandemic.The Bangladesh senior team will continue to train at their camp in Dhaka•LightRocket via Getty Images

“[Coming back after the break] will be a big challenge for us, definitely. It is never good to stay out of international cricket for so long. We will be out for almost a year. It is not going to be easy. If we utilise our domestic cricket, we will be better prepared. We wouldn’t have been too well prepared ahead of this Sri Lanka series, but it would have at least been a start.”Bangladesh have had longer gaps in Test cricket but even when they missed out for 15 months (July 2015 to October 2016) and 14 months (June 2010 to August 2011) they at least played ODIs and T20Is. In fact, their long sequence of ODI matches have often helped them find success in other formats: the run-up to the 2007 World Cup gave them their best result in the tournament till that point, and the period following the 2015 World Cup showed meaningful progress.Mustafizur Rahman, meanwhile, has more reason to feel hard-done-by, having missed out on a chance to play in the IPL after the BCB refused him a no-objection certificate.”It would have been great to play the Test series,” Rahman told . “If the BCB knew that the Sri Lanka series would be postponed, they would have given me the NOC for IPL. But whatever happens, happens for the best; I may have earned Taka 1 crore ($118,000 approx.) had I played the IPL.”Sri Lanka’s proposal to have us quarantined for 14 days didn’t seem possible for us. You cannot sit in your room before such an important series, no matter how hard you train. BCB tried, but the 14-day quarantine is their law. I think we should respect it.”

International captains voice concerns about players’ mental welfare under lockdown

George Dobell19-Oct-2020Eoin Morgan and Jason Holder have warned that it is “untenable” to expect players to continue to spend extended periods in lockdown as part of cricket’s response to Covid-19.Morgan, the captain of England’s white-balls teams, and Holder, West Indies’ Test captain, are both currently in the UAE for the IPL and have endured long spells in bio-secure bubbles in order to fulfil their obligations as international and franchise players.While both acknowledged their fortune in being able to pursue their careers at a time others were losing their jobs, they did warn that the impact on players’ mental health would result in more of them pulling out of tours as “extreme burnout” became an issue.ALSO READ: England expect South Africa tour go-ahead after quarantine agreement is reachedAnd talking as part of a Chance to Shine event aimed at raising funds for the charity’s Street programme, Morgan called upon spectators not to look down on anyone who felt the need to step away from the game, suggesting living in lockdown was “one of the more challenging times” he had experienced in the sport.”We managed to fulfil all of our international fixtures for the summer,” Morgan said. “That was an unbelievable achievement for the teams that came across and the commitment the ECB showed. The level of dedication from staff involved was extraordinary. We’re extremely fortunate enough to be back playing.”But to keep that level of bubble for a 12-month period, or 10 of the 12 months that we normally travel, I think is untenable. I don’t think it’s possible. I actually think it’s probably one of the more challenging times for anybody involved in the cricket industry.”As a team, we’ve accepted that guys will come in and out of the bubble as they feel it’s affecting their mental health. Their health is a priority. So I do think we’ll see more players pull out of tours. That’s just the reality of things. And I don’t think people should look down on it: they shouldn’t feel like they’re not doing their job or not committing to their country.”You can you can drill a player both mentally and physically. And it can cause extreme burnout, which nobody wants to see.”Lockdown for us in the UK was primarily focused on physical wellbeing, but maybe that was to the detriment of mental wellbeing. We actually want to be at the forefront of making it acceptable for people to say: ‘You know what, I need to spend time with my family now. I’m going to take this tour off.’ And then they step away for a month, just because of the extraordinary circumstances.”It was an assessment accepted by Holder. As captain of the West Indies side that toured England this summer, he led the first international team that resumed sport after the outbreak of Covid-19. But to do so, he endured weeks in partial quarantine and admitted that he was struggling with the prospect of endless months of more lockdown to come.”It’s been demanding,” Holder agreed. “It has been challenging. I’m blessed to be still working. There are lots of people in the world not working because of Covid and we’re still given the opportunity to entertain people and do something we really love. But something needs to be thought of in order to just try to free up things a little bit more for the players’ mental health.”I had two months in [the bubble] England. Then I was home literally for two days before I went to Trinidad [for the CPL] for a month-and-a-half. Then I spent four or five days at home in Barbados before I got a call to come over. So you’re back into isolation.”And if you look at scheduling, it doesn’t get any easier. It’s literally going from bubble to bubble. Some places are accepting families and some aren’t. So it makes it harder to be away from your family and your loved ones. I haven’t seen Barbados properly in about five months and I don’t know when I’ll get back there.”Since 2005, Chance to Shine has given over five-million children the chance to play cricket. It costs nearly £6m a year to run the scheme. Donations can be made at chancetoshine.org/donate

Head coach says T20I series defeat will not affect their Test preparations

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Dec-2020Head coach Phil Simmons has described the World Test Championship (WTC) as “extremely significant” for West Indies in the lead-up to the first game against New Zealand at Seddon Park. West Indies are currently third from bottom on the WTC standings with a solitary win from five matches. In their most recent Test series in England, they lost 2-1 after winning the series-opener in Southampton.”It’s extremely significant,” Simmons said of the WTC. “I think it’s a format that we haven’t done well for in a long time and we’re trying to get ourselves back into the higher ends of the table where Test cricket is concerned and because of that initially we want to do that in the Test Championship but at the same time we want to be winners in Test cricket itself. So, it’s important for us.”Simmons reckoned that the 2-0 loss in the T20I series, which ended on Monday, would not impact the team’s preparations and performances in the upcoming Test series. Members of the Test squad have already had two workouts against New Zealand A in Queenstown last month.ALSO READ: Darren Bravo hopes overseas comforts spark return to Test formWhile Darren Bravo made a century in the first tour game, it was Kraigg Brathwaite who led the visitors’ batting in the second with a career-best 246, spending over nine hours in the middle. Bravo fell seven short of another hundred in the second fixture. West Indies Test captain Jason Holder also came out of quarantine, scoring 24 and picking up 1 for 45.”The T20s and Tests are different,” Simmons said. “The Test team has done well in Queenstown and have enjoyed a tough four-day game and they are now coming into the Test series with some confidence especially the batsmen who haven’t had that for a while. So, I think the Test team is in a good place. Disappointed with the T20s, but moving onto the Test series now.”I think it was a good thing we had to do 14 days [of quarantine] in which we practiced and then we had a three-day and four-day game. Some of the young players who haven’t been here have gotten a little bit accustomed to Test-cricket conditions here which, I think, is going to be similar from where we were to here. I think they will offer a lot of mental strength having gone through the period that we went through there. We are going to push hard for them to put up the score they put up in the last four-day game.”So what are West Indies looking to take out of the Test series against New Zealand, who are formidable in their home conditions?”Your aim is always to do well,” Simmons said. Your aim is always to win cricket matches and I think that’s our aim in both the A team and CWI XI games and Test matches. Our aim is to play cricket so that we can win each game.”

The England batsman found career-best form during the home season, but for a variety of reasons has not played much since

Alex Malcolm29-Dec-2020You’re not going to lose it in three weeks. That is the attitude Sam Billings is carrying into his first BBL match for the Sydney Thunder after 14 days quarantine in an Australian hotel room.Billings could be forgiven for showing some frustration at the Covid cricket world where isolation and bio-secure bubbles are the new norm.He is in the best form of his career having established himself in England’s ODI team thanks to a superb home series against Australia. But an embarrassment of riches in the England T20I team and a Covid outbreak in South Africa meant he did not play a single game on England’s tour before heading straight to Australia where he spent two weeks, including Christmas, stuck in a hotel room as part of the Australian government’s strict border requirements on international travellers entering the country.Rather than wallow in what might have been, Billings is going with the flow.”You’re not going to have everything aligned perfectly at times,” Billings told ESPNcricinfo. “But you have a really good idea of what you need going into a game to be mentally ready.”It’s like riding a bike. You’re not going to lose it in three weeks. It’s just about getting your mind right. Two really good training sessions and I feel in a really good place.”Quarantine hubs have made life difficult for international cricketers. Billings’ England team-mates Tom Banton and Tom Curran both withdrew from the BBL citing bubble fatigue.Related

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Billings was well aware of what he signed up for. He was full of praise to Cricket Australia for setting the travelling England players up with two-bedroom apartments, a treadmill, and an exercise bike, to keep the legs ticking over while cooped inside.Billings believes the key to not letting the walls close on him was his attitude, however, he was also extremely sympathetic to those who had opted out.”The most important thing was getting into a really good routine,” he said. “Kind of having a purpose for each day and the first hour of the day was all about setting it up in terms of what I wanted to get out of it and having some organisation to it.”I think that’s the real key. Not just letting the days drift and feel as if you’re not getting too much out of it. I was very lucky with the support I had around me and had a kind of plan to embrace it and look at it from a positive point of view as opposed to a negative mindset.”I think as well as a player, we’re going to have to used to these kinds of things, and constantly learn and evolve on the back of them. At times it’s hugely challenging for some individuals, and it’s so individual. If guys are really struggling, it’s absolutely no judgement.”Billings, 29, credits the toughest year of his career for his discernible shift in mindset. A freak shoulder dislocation cost him a chance to be part of England’s magical 2019 World Cup. Rather than regressing, it has propelled him to greater heights in terms of his preparation and his mental strength. The results were obvious for all to see when he made his maiden international century against Australia at Old Trafford in September.”I think the whole process is natural,” Billings said. “As you get older and more experienced it’s something that develops. Missing the World Cup through injury the year before, it was a pretty steep learning curve in terms of what I needed to get done.”I had to reflect on things I needed to get done and things I needed to improve. For a really bad experience which I wouldn’t wish on anyone, actually what came out of it was a really positive summer. Probably my best summer in an England shirt. It was only through the back of the changes I made through being injured, that I developed. I saw it as, obviously a negative experience, but a huge positive that really helped me develop as a bloke but also as a cricketer as well.”Some continuity in selection has also helped. England’s limited-overs teams have been among the most difficult to break into in recent times and an extended run certainly added his progress.”For me, it’s all about, and it’s so cliché, focusing on the process as opposed to trying so hard to perform well,” Billings said. “Certainly at times for England I would play one game and do well and be out of the side because it’s such a hard side to get into. But this summer was so nice to play a consistent run of games. Not worrying about not playing the next game has just allowed me to play and play my own way.’If you hit a boundary an over and then you’re running people ragged out to the sweepers, that’s when you put people under pressure at relatively low risk’•Getty Images

“I know that when I’m on, when I’m playing well, when I’m comfortable in the environment, I know that I add value to any side that I play in. Hopefully, I just continue to do everything I can to give myself the best chance and that’s all I can do really. Hopefully, I can add some value to the Thunder.”This will be Billings’ third stint in the BBL after playing 11 games over two seasons, from 2016 to 2018, for cross-town rivals the Sydney Sixers. But Billings was keen to join the Thunder due to a connection with Sydney’s western suburbs. He experienced a life-changing summer at Penrith Cricket Club in 2013-14 playing Sydney grade cricket alongside Pat Cummins. Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler, and Joe Root have also represented the Thunder in recent times but Billings’ friendship with Shane Watson, through their experiences at Chennai Super Kings was the clincher.”I’m pretty close to Shane Watson through my time at Chennai, I spent a lot of time with him,” Billings said. “I’m very thankful for all the help he’s given me. He had nothing but positive things to say about the Thunder. It was a pretty easy decision.”The biggest thing for me was that I was their guy that they wanted from day one and that goes a long way for any player. Straight away it was that loyalty both ways. I really enjoyed that. I’m really fired up to do well and give back to these guys.”He joins a Thunder team in red-hot form. He will slot in nicely into the middle order and is looking forward to a rare opportunity to keep wicket.”It will be great to get the gloves back on, hopefully, there are not too many cobwebs,” he said. “And obviously in the middle order, that’s something that I really want to make my own if I’m honest. In terms of internationally but also around the world as well. Not many players want to bat in the middle order. Obviously, it’s a pretty challenging position against spin with the field out.”He explained it can also be a different challenge in Australia compared to other parts of the world. Australia have struggled to produce world-class middle order T20 players with the style of play required on the bigger grounds with the field spread asking for slightly different skills.”I think with these big grounds it’s obviously about being positive, backing your options,” Billings said. “You can kind of run people ragged with these big pockets. I like my running between the wickets so I think that’s a huge part of it.”That’s kind of how you can go at low risk 10-an-over against spin. If you hit a boundary an over and then you’re running people ragged out to the sweepers, that’s when you put people under pressure at relatively low risk. There will be different challenges. Obviously, a lot of pace bowlers go into the pitch [with shorter lengths] because of big square boundaries.”It’s coming up with different game plans and hitting gaps. It’s not necessarily all about hitting sixes. You hit the ball hard along the ground over here. The outfields are generally so quick that you get value. It’s just playing smart cricket on these big grounds.”