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Somerset left out two promising young bowlers and took a pounding against Brendon Taylor at Taunton as Nottinghamshire took command

Andrew Miller at Taunton14-Jun-2015
ScorecardBrendon Taylor made 152 to steers Notts’ day•Getty Images

For much of the afternoon at Taunton, Lewis Gregory, Somerset’s highly rated 23-year-old seam bowler, cut a bemused figure in the Twenty20 dug-out at midwicket. Out in the middle, his elders and – in the opinion of his coach, Matthew Maynard – betters, were chugging through the motions on a track so placid it might as well have been a cliché.It was No County for Old Men at the County Ground. Alfonso Thomas, in his 39th year, was the pick of a toiling attack with 4 for 57, three of which came after Nottinghamshire, powered by a brilliant, chanceless 152 from Brendan Taylor, had rocketed past 300; Tim Groenewald, the youngest of Somerset’s six bowlers at the age of 31, was flogged for 84 runs in 18 overs.Gregory claimed he no idea why he was not playing in this fixture. Maynard later confirmed he was paying the price for a profligate display up at Durham last week, where did admittedly leak runs in bowler-friendly conditions.”You can only learn from playing,” Maynard said, somewhat confusingly, “but also you need to take time out to reflect on what you have to do to put it right for the next time.”While Gregory reflected, so too did his 21-year-old team-mate Jamie Overton, both of whom looked considerably sharper than any of Somerset’s preferred options while being put through their paces in a lunchtime net on the outfield.Jamie’s motivation for putting in the sort of performance that Somerset so desperately need would presumably have been at an all-time high this week, seeing as his twin brother, rival, and greatest source of inspiration, Craig, has just been called up to the England squad. Instead, he is being sent to play for the seconds in two Twenty20 games this week, because Maynard feels his team is no position to gamble on such youthful impetuosity.”That’s what we did up at Durham and it cost us,” he said. “We didn’t have that experience to control the game when it was needed. There will be plenty of opportunities for all the youngsters but I am still trying to find out what my best five seam bowlers are, and that’s developing more and more which is great.”Somerset’s best moment of the day was, in fairness to their veterans’ policy, produced by the most senior professional on parade – and it brought to an end the day’s outstanding innings. Taylor had just crashed his 20th four of the day to reach his 150 from 199 balls when Marcus Trescothick, 40 this Christmas, pulled off an outstanding one-handed pluck at a solitary wide slip, low to his left and fractionally behind him, to cling onto Taylor’s first false stroke of the day.According to some reports, Taylor had been earning 30p a run before, at the age of 29, ending his brilliant but all-too-brief career as Zimbabwe captain on a high note at the World Cup. That’ll be an invoice for £45.60 waiting in Lisa Pursehouse’s in-box on Monday morning then.It was a brilliant display from a batsman in the prime of his form. He added 82 for the first wicket with Steven Mullaney, who set the early tempo with 42 from 60 balls and was visibly aghast to be bowled neck and crop by Abdur Rehman as he reached forward but down the wrong line. It was clear from the ease of the wicket and the pace of the outfield that he had foregone the chance for a monster.Frighteningly for Somerset, they weren’t even up against a full-strength Nottinghamshire team. What Alex Hales would have made of the chance to bat first on this track and against this attack can only be the stuff of speculation, and if he hadn’t come off, then James Taylor surely would.Instead, after Greg Smith had come and gone cheaply, shouldering arms to Thomas for 11, it was left to Michael Lumb to provide Taylor with company, as he marked his first red-ball innings since last September with 73 from 133 balls, including 12 fours and sharing in a third-wicket stand of 155 that, for as long as it lasted, looked certain to take Nottinghamshire closer to 450 than 400.Thomas can take the credit for reining them in – he was even on a hat-trick when Samit Patel fell lbw first ball – but little else went Somerset’s way on a sobering day. A generation that, for five almost-glorious years, could justifiably claim to be the second-best team in the country are now, simply, second-best. Now, what about that youth policy?

A round-up of the President’s Trophy matches that ended on November 23, 2012

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Nov-2012
ScorecardLeft-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar’s seven-wicket haul helped Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) snatch a thrilling four-run win against State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in a see-saw battle in Faisalabad. The continuous shift of momentum was apparent in SBP’s chase of 165 as in the entire match. After being in a position of control at 93 for 3, SBP lost six wickets for 36 runs, then managed a 33-run last-wicket stand to raise hopes of victory, but in the end, they fell five short of the target.Neither team created a position of clear advantage throughout the contest. However, WAPDA, led by seamers Junaid Khan and Azhar Attari, had a slight edge over their opponents midway, as they took a 46-run first-innings lead.But that was nullified by a poor second innings by them. Spinners Adnan Rasool and Hasan Mahmood ran through the entire batting order, taking nine wickets between them to bowl WAPDA out for 118. Only lower middle-order batsman Mohammad Ayub resisted their onslaught with an unbeaten 32.The chase began poorly as opener Rameez Raja fell with five runs on the board. His partner, captain Kashif Siddiq, with other top-order batsmen, took them to a position of apparent safety at 93 for 3, before a collapse ensued.
ScorecardAt the Khan Research Laboratory Ground in Rawalpindi, the home team, Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), claimed a comfortable seven-wicket victory against Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) with the help of big centuries from middle-order batsman Shoaib Ahmed, and a combined bowling performance in the second innings.After being asked to bowl, KRL took wickets regularly to bowl PIA out for 268. Although only lower-order batsman Tahir Khan scored a half-century, PIA were helped by small but productive partnerships to go past the 250-run mark. The seventh-wicket stand of 58 was the highest, but there were five other partnerships all worth over 30. Left-arm seamer Rahat Ali took four wickets.But the total was overhauled by KRL, with a knock of 177 from middle-order batsman Shoaib. Off the other batsmen, only Saeed Anwar jnr scored a half-century, as they were bowled out for 343. Shoaib’s innings featured 21 boundaries and three sixes.The deficit of 75 was erased by PIA, but three wickets apiece by Yasir Ali and Ali Khan restricted them to 194. Sarfraz Ahmed, with an unbeaten 53, and Faisal Iqbal were the chief contributors to that total. The target was quickly achieved by KRL, courtesy of an aggressive 54 from opener Tayyab Riaz.
ScorecardA potential winning opportunity was spurned by Habib Bank Limited in their chase of 139 as they drew against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) in Islamabad. After gaining a 61-run lead in the first innings, Habib Bank, through seamers Ehsan Adil and Abdul Ameer, bowled SNGPL for 199. But they couldn’t chase down the small target in 36 overs, and had to be content with three points from the game.SNGPL, after choosing to bat, lost a couple of wickets early, but a 75-run third-wicket partnership, and four other smaller stands took them to 232.Habib Bank’s reply was dominated by their first three batsmen. Openers Imran Farhat and Shan Masood put on 119, with both scoring half-centuries and No. 3 Ahmed Shehzad scored 94. But from 220 for 3, they collapsed to 293 all out.SNGPL managed a more productive second innings than their first. Opener Azeem Ghumman scored a half-century, but of the other batsmen, no one scored more than 24. Ehsan Adil, who had taken two wickets in the first innings, took four this time. A target of 139 in 36 overs appeared achievable and Habib Bank began their chase positively too, but they lost four wickets quickly, and ultimately, ended the game at 73 for 5 with a draw.

Trent Boult has said playing in the first two rounds of the Plunket Shield has helped his preparation ahead of New Zealand’s two-Test series in Australia in December

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Nov-2011Trent Boult has said playing in the first two rounds of the Plunket Shield has helped his preparation ahead of New Zealand’s two-Test series in Australia in December. Boult, a 22-year-old left-arm quick, was the new face in New Zealand’s 13-man Test squad that was announced on November 16.”[I was] pretty disappointed that I didn’t get selected in that squad [that played a one-off Test in Zimbabwe earlier this month],” Boult told . “But looking back it’s been a good opportunity to get a bit more game-time and get my season underway with Northern Districts and obviously [I’ve] enjoyed a little bit of success there in those first couple of Plunket Shield rounds.”Boult picked up a career-best match haul of 8 for 74 against Auckland in the opening round, and then claimed three wickets in Northern Districts’ win over Wellington.This is not the first time he has been named in the national squad. Following a strong showing at the 2008 Under-19 World Cup, he made it to the squad for the Chappell-Hadlee series in 2009 but did not get into the playing XI. A stress fracture of the back then put him out of cricket. He returned to the domestic circuit last year and finished third on the Plunket Shield’s wicket-takers’ table, with 32 scalps at 25.34. In July of this year, he was awarded a central contract by New Zealand Cricket.”I took a lot of confidence out of completing a full first-class season with Northern Districts last year,” Boult said. “The back’s fine. I’ve come out of that.”I was pretty young, pretty naive three years ago [when he was first picked for New Zealand]. Obviously playing cricket, and just getting that opportunity to play pretty decent cricket here in New Zealand and learn from that [has helped develop my game].”Grant Bradburn, who coaches Boult at Northern Districts, said Boult is ready for international cricket. “He’ll keep bustling in,” Bradburn said. “He’s very fit. He’s very strong now and just grown a lot over the last couple of years; just filled out and grown a lot in terms of physical size.”He’s quick. He swings the ball. And the understanding of his own processes and his own bowling … He’s extremely professional and leads our [Northern Districts] guys in terms of that professionalism of just knowing how to look after himself and keeping himself in good tune.”

Ricky Ponting has warned England they will find it “hard to come to grips” with the Gabba pitch

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Nov-2010Ricky Ponting has warned England they will find it “hard to come to grips” with the Gabba pitch despite their extensive preparation for the Ashes. The tourists will have had three warm-up matches by the time they reach Brisbane for the first Test on November 25, but Ponting does not believe it will help them deal with the pace and bounce of the surface.”With just a normal Brisbane wicket, visiting teams find it hard to come to terms with just how different it is up there,” Ponting said in the Australian. England played in Perth over the weekend and start a match in Adelaide on Thursday, before their final warm-up in Hobart next week.The tourists’ first look at the Gabba will come on the opening day of the series. “Our record there is unbelievably good and we want to make sure we continue that on,” Ponting said.”There’s been a lot made of England’s preparation, the fact that they’re here early and they’re playing lots of games, but they don’t play a match at the Gabba before the first Test. They’ll definitely still find it hard to come to grips with what they’re confronted with in Brisbane day one.”The pitch has caused lots of problems for batsmen this season with extra bounce and seam following an unusually wet spring. Queensland were dismissed by New South Wales for 75 and 96 in a Sheffield Shield game two weeks ago and Sri Lanka were knocked over for 115 in an ODI on Sunday.Australia’s last loss at the ground came against West Indies in 1988-89. “In my mind it’s been the best cricket wicket in Australia for as long as I’ve been playing the game,” Ponting said. “There’s always something in it for everyone. The fast bowlers always get something out of it, it spins late in the game, and it’s a great place to bat once you get in.”

Half-centuries from Sarel Burger and Wian van Vuuren steadied Namibia’s innings after a shaky start against the United Arab Emirates in Windhoek

Cricinfo staff05-Dec-2009
ScorecardHalf-centuries from Sarel Burger and Wian van Vuuren steadied Namibia’s innings after a shaky start on the first day of their ICC Intercontinental Shield match against the United Arab Emirates in Windhoek.Namibia went into the game missing their regular opener Gerhard Randolph and were soon jolted, losing their first two wickets in the space of four runs after an opening stand of 43. Burger and van Vuuren, who was called up to replace middle-order batsman, Norbert Manyande, stabilised the innings with a 103-run partnership for the third wicket.Van Vuuren made 55 before he was caught by the wicketkeeper Abdul Rehman off Fayyaz Ahmed with the score on 150. Burger then added another 53 runs with captain Craig Williams and Namibia were looking solid, having passed 200 for the loss of only three wickets. However, both Burger and Williams were dismissed in the space of six balls with the score on 203 and UAE were right back in the game.Nicholaas Scholtz and Louis van der Westhuizen were both unbeaten on 22 when play ended. Medium-pacer Qasim Zubair, who dismissed the openers, was the pick of the bowlers, taking 2 for 21 off 13 overs.

Opener puts difficult start to season firmly behind him

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay 24-Jun-2025Opener Finlay Bean put a difficult start to the season firmly behind him, compiling a superb maiden double hundred spanning more than nine hours as Yorkshire fought back against Rothesay County Championship leaders Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.Replying to the home side’s 487, Yorkshire – with only one win so far after earning promotion to Division One last season – closed on 414 for 6.Bean batted for 564 minutes for his 224, hitting 30 fours and one six before being caught at slip off spinner Farhan Ahmed, having shared partnerships of 130 with Matthew Revis (54 not out) and 101 with skipper Jonny Bairstow (41), left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White taking 3 for 129 from a marathon 52 overs.Unable to make Yorkshire follow on after having them 154 for 3 overnight, Nottinghamshire look likely to have to settle for a draw, which would see their lead over Surrey cut to six points after the champions won at Worcester earlier in the day.Bean, with five career first-class hundreds against Division Two opposition, had found runs much harder to come by against Division One attacks this season, averaging a paltry 13.66 over his first 12 innings of the current campaign, with a top score of just 31.Although he had a flat pitch and the less bowler-friendly Kookaburra ball in his favour here, he nonetheless had the Test-match quality and know-how of veteran Mohammad Abbas to contend with, not to mention the pace of Dillon Pennington and a couple of decent spinners in Liam Patterson-White and Farhan.Yet he came through each challenge impressively, giving away only one genuine chance before his dismissal when a shot travelling at speed was put down on 170, his return to form timely in that Yorkshire’s next fixture, against Essex starting on Sunday, is being hosted by his own club side, York.His innings here – made barely half a mile from the scene of his Second XI record 441 against Nottinghamshire’s second team in 2022 – was an essay in concentration and patience, one of the longest played by a Yorkshire batter in the county’s history.Having been 86 overnight, he was 50 minutes in the 90s before cutting Farhan to third for his 16th four to reach 102 from 236 balls in the morning session. After tea, he had to negotiate more than 40 minutes in the 190s before going to 200 from 450 deliveries, pushing a single into the leg side with 17-year-old Farhan by then in his 34th over.Yorkshire lost only one wicket before lunch as Dan Moriarty, sent in as nightwatcher after Dawid Malan had fallen in the last over of the second day, went to drive Patterson-White but could only edge to Freddie McCann at slip. Moriarty protected one end for almost an hour.The conditions demanded patience of Nottinghamshire, too, as Bairstow then bedded in with Bean on a pitch that was yielding some help for the spinners, but not as much as they had hoped for. Two bursts with the second new ball before and after lunch could not unseat either and it was an hour into the middle session before another breakthrough came.The introduction of the medium pace of Lyndon James almost yielded a dividend for Nottinghamshire as Bean chipped perilously close to short extra-cover on 152, moments before Patterson-White struck Bairstow on the front pad and had his lbw appeal upheld.Swapping James for Abbas at the Radcliffe Road end likewise almost paid off, Bean surviving a hard chance to McCann at midwicket on 170. Unperturbed, the left-hander drove Patterson-White through the off-side to overtake his previous best of 173 versus Glamorgan last year before he and Revis guided Yorkshire to 320 for 5 at tea.His marathon came to an end 15 minutes before the close as Farhan turned one to have him caught at slip trying to work to leg, almost every spectator in the ground then rising to applaud as he walked back to the dressing rooms.

His unbeaten 55 off 19 balls turns a challenging chase into a cruise

AAP31-Dec-2023
Marcus Stoinis blasted his way back to form by helping the Melbourne Stars pull off their greatest BBL run chase in a seven-wicket win over the Adelaide Strikers on New Year’s Eve.After Chris Lynn (83* off 42 balls) and Matt Short (56 off 32) lifted the Strikers to an imposing 205 for 4 at Adelaide Oval on Sunday, Beau Webster (66* off 48) and Stoinis (55* off 19) silenced the bumper crowd of 42,505, raising victory with six balls remaining.Stoinis, who entered the match hopelessly out of touch with just 30 runs for the tournament at an average of six, battered the Strikers into submission, turning a formidable chase into a cruise.With the match in the balance in the 18th over, Wes Agar was incensed when his full toss which Stoinis clobbered for four was deemed too high and a no-ball, softening the equation for the Stars.But there was no luck required in the 19th as Stoinis, also the New Year’s Eve hero here 12 months ago, crunched James Bazley for 62466 for the win.After Tom Rogers (8) departed cheaply, Dan Lawrence (50) – virtually straight off a plane as a replacement player for departed Pakistani duo Haris Rauf and Usama Mir – lit up the powerplay. Lawrence, though, was run out in contentious fashion.D’Arcy Short’s bullet to wicketkeeper Harry Nielsen from deep square leg just beat Lawrence’s lunge, but while the ball spilled out of Neilsen’s gloves as the stumps were broken, the Englishman was given his marching orders by third umpire Donovan Koch.Stars skipper Glenn Maxwell (28) miscued impressive legspinner Cameron Boyce to Adam Hose in the outer, but then Webster and Stoinis’ fireworks show began.Earlier, master blaster Lynn and captain Matt Short had the Strikers at one stage eyeing a total nearing 250. After D’Arcy Short (25) spooned a return catch to spinner Corey Rocchiccioli, captain Short and Lynn smashed 83 off the next five overs and moved into first and second place on the competition’s run-scoring leaderboard.The skipper thumped three sixes before lofting a knuckle-ball from opposite number Maxwell (2-21) to Webster at deep midwicket.
Maxwell’s knuckle-ball variation also claimed Hose (14) as the Strikers’ progress stalled somewhat, but Lynn continued to fire against a depleted, rattled Stars attack.The BBL’s all-time leading run-scorer, Lynn belted four sixes and was well supported late by Jamie Overton but no total was enough with the mood Stoinis was in.

Highest score ever made by a Welshman leaves Derbyshire facing a long haul to safety

ECB Reporters Network21-Sep-2022Glamorgan captain David Lloyd got the highest-ever first-class score by a Welshman of 313 not out to put his side in control against Derbyshire.They declared on a massive 550 for 5, and Lloyd’s day got even better as New Zealand spinner Ajaz Patel and the Welsh County bowlers reduced Derbyshire to 135 for 5 at the close, still 415 behind.The records kept falling for Glamorgan and Lloyd. The second highest score by a Glamorgan player, behind Sam Northeast’s 410 against Leicestershire earlier this season, making it the first time that two players at the same county had registered quadruple and triple centuries in the same season.It was also the highest score for a Glamorgan captain, while things went from bad to worse for opposite number Ben Godleman. He followed up the decision to insert Glamorgan with a duck opening the batting to set the tone for his side.North Wales-born Lloyd started the day with a double century to his name, but plenty of landmarks ahead of him. He lost overnight partner Billy Root and Chris Cooke relatively early, but then found a solid associate in Andrew Salter.First the 30-year-old went past the 233 scored by Hugh Morris, now the county’s chief executive, as captain. He was dropped by substitute Nafis Shaikh from a top-edged sweep, a simple enough chance, when on 258 off the bowling of Alex Thomson.Next up was Mike Powell’s 299, the highest first class score by a Welsh-born player. A six off Thomson took him past that and the 300 mark. Then Steve James’ 309, the highest Glamorgan score until this season, was in his sights.When he reached 313 not out, off 398 balls, equalling the highest individual score at Sophia Gardens, scored by South African Jimmy Cook, Lloyd decided to call it a day and declared.Salter finished unbeaten on 45, his highest score of the season on being recalled to the team, their unbeaten partnership worth 151, Lloyd also enjoying a double-century partnership with Root and a century partnership with Tom Bevan.Derbyshire’s bowling figures were not pretty, for instance Thomson conceding 174 runs off his 41.2 overs.Derbyshire started batting knowing they required more than 400 to save the follow-on with Godleman in poor form and not lasting long before edging Michael Hogan to Patel at third slip.Brooke Guest flourished briefly before becoming Patel’s first victim bowling, while Wayne Madsen went next ball – meaning his number of career ducks for Derbyshire, 35, edged past the number of career centuries, 34.Leus du Plooy edged behind off Timm van der Gugten, while at the other end Luis Reece seemed to be playing a different set of bowlers reaching his half century out of the first 63 runs scored.However the introduction of Salter, turning the ball away from the left hander, did for Reece, caught behind for 56 as Derbyshire slumped to 75 for 5 just after tea.Harry Came, 21 not out, and Anuj Dal, 40 not out, steadied the ship and saw out the rest of the session, but their side still have a tough task over the two remaining days if they are to save the game.

Head coach could not confirm if Trent Boult would be available for second Test of England tour

ESPNcricinfo staff11-May-2021The New Zealand players who left India after the IPL was suspended, and are currently undergoing quarantine in Maldives, may travel to England for their next assignment this weekend. So said their head coach Gary Stead. New Zealand will play a two-match Test series against England starting on June 2 at Lord’s, followed by the World Test Championship final against India from June 18 in Southampton.Stead also said that it is not clear if there will be any form of quarantine for those players upon arrival in England. The Maldives will be on the UK government’s travel “red list” from 4am local time on May 12, meaning no direct flights between the countries and that residents returning have to quarantine in a hotel for 10 days.”I don’t know all the details right now,” Stead said. “My understanding is that they are looking to leave [Maldives] somewhere around the time that we leave – May 15, 16 or 17 – in that time frame. My understanding is that England board is still working through the final details of what it means to come through the Maldives as supposed to New Zealand.”Related

• BJ Watling: 'I would like to finish on a massive high with a big tour'

• KKR's Tim Seifert tests positive for Covid-19, to be treated in Chennai before flying home

• Trent Boult returns to New Zealand and could miss both England Tests

• Jurgensen: 'Boult, Southee, Jamieson and Wagner are similar to the West Indies attack of the '80s'

• Australian players set for IPL exodus to the Maldives

The Maldives group which includes Kane Williamson, Mitchell Santner, Kyle Jamieson, and physio Tommy Simsek were initially told that the quarantine would be only for three or four days, but it has been extended by a week. Though there are no training facilities in the island nation, Stead conceded that “sometimes, a break from cricket can freshen their mind as well.””They can still work on their fitness. So I don’t see it as a bad thing. It’s an adapting world and I think that’s just something we’ve got to keep doing,” Stead said.Trent Boult chose to return home after his IPL commitments and will be missing the first Test against England. It is possible he will be doubtful for the second one too given his bowling workloads. But Stead is confident he will have his left-arm fast bowler back well in time for the World Test Championship final.”Everyone has got their reasons around it,” Stead said. “India changed very, very quickly, over the space of two or three days, and there were options put in front of the guys and he [Boult] felt for him and his mental health, the best thing he could do was get home for a while.”He is a professional, he has been there in the international circuit for a long time now. He will be ready. We are working through what build-up looks like to him and his readiness for the World Test Championship final when he comes back to us.”Tim Seifert, who was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders squad at the curtailed 2021 IPL, had tested positive for Covid-19 in India•Getty Images

Meanwhile, it is unclear when the wicketkeeper-batter Tim Seifert, who had tested positive for Covid-19 in India, can get back home. Seifert had failed both his pre-departure PCR tests and has been undergoing isolation in Chennai. He had joined the Kolkata Knight Riders as a replacement for the injured USA bowler Ali Khan during IPL 2020.”He’s in that difficult situation of being over there and sort of isolated a little bit as well.” Stead said. “Obviously, it was distressing early on to get that news but I think he’s in a much better space now that there is a plan around him.”

His action was reported during his stint at Middlesex in the Vitality Blast

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Dec-2019Mohammad Hafeez, the Pakistan and Middlesex allrounder, has been suspended from bowling in all ECB competitions after a bowling-action assessment found his action to be illegal.Umpires reported Hafeez’s action after a Vitality Blast match between Somerset and Middlesex in Taunton on August 30, following which he underwent independent assessment at Loughborough University.The game against Somerset was the penultimate match of Middlesex’s T20 season, in which Hafeez played four matches, scoring 115 runs at a strike rate of 112.74, and taking two wickets while conceding 8.64 runs per over. Hafeez had signed on as a mid-season replacement for AB de Villiers.Hafeez contested the findings of the assessment, which held that his elbow extension for his offbreak exceeded the 15-degree tolerance limit for bowling actions. A bowling review group, which heard his appeal at Lord’s on Tuesday, suspended him from bowling in ECB competitions, and advised him to correct his action. Once he has done this, Hafeez may request a re-assessment to be allowed to bowl again.”I have received the ECB Bowling Review Group report on my bowling action,” Hafeez said in a statement. “Despite identifying procedural testing flaws, which have been accepted by the review committee, as well as realising the findings will potentially affect my reputation as a world-proven all-rounder, I accept the Bowling Review Group findings.”As per ECB regulations, I am ready to appear for an independent analysis at an ICC-accredited centre, so that I become eligible to play in ECB-organised events.”Hafeez’s action has come under scrutiny throughout his career. His first brush with the elbow microscope came all the way back in 2005, and he has been reported, suspended and cleared multiple times since then, going through various tweaks each time to get his action to conform to the 15-degree limit.He was most recently cleared to bowl in international cricket in May 2018, after which he questioned the ICC’s process for identifying and scrutinising suspect actions. No action was taken against him after he appeared before a PCB disciplinary committee and clarified his comments.Between then and this latest development, Hafeez’s action had steered clear of match officials’ attention, but it did make the news when the New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor appeared to question its legality during an ODI in Abu Dhabi in November 2018.