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Mooney also took the T20I player of the year title while Rachael Haynes took the ODI title

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Feb-2021Beth Mooney, who was player of the tournament at the T20 World Cup last year, has been named the Belinda Clark Medalist at the Australia Cricket Awards.Mooney (60 votes) narrowly pipped captain Meg Lanning (58 votes) to the top award and it is the first time since 2013 that the medal has not gone to one of Lanning, Alyssa Healy, or Ellyse Perry.”We’ve certainly got some players in the Australia side at the moment that will be remembered for a long time as some of the best we’ve ever produced,” she said. “To be playing alongside them let alone being up on an honour roll next to them, winning this award, is a pretty surreal thing.”It’s named after Belinda Clark who is an absolute pioneer of our game and women’s sport in this country, so think it will take a bit of time to sink in. It’s definitely something that’s crossed my mind, I feel like just an ordinary human who has picked up a bat and got a few runs here and there.”To be able sit at the end of the season and win this award, which has been voted [on] by my peers, some of the [best] players in the world, is certainly something I won’t take for granted and something I’m very grateful for.”Mooney, who was the leading run-scorer at the T20 World Cup with 259 at 64.75 and top-scored in the final against India, was the runaway winner of the T20 player of the year title having also made an unbeaten 71 in the tri-series final against India before the World Cup.At the start of this season, Mooney reflected on the work she had put into the mental side of her game but believes there is more to come.”Think there’s always room for environment, but over the last couple of years I certainly feel a lot more relaxed when I’m out there and I can except that sometimes it’s your day and sometimes it’s not,” she said. “Fortunately enough in the last 12-18 months I’ve had a few days when I’ve felt I’ve been able to contribute to a winning side, whether it’s with Australia or Perth Scorchers or Queensland.”I certainly think there’s still scope for me to get better and evolve as a player and a human and that’s something I’m always looking to do. The next 12 months will be a really exciting challenge for the Australian team and for me to keep getting better and continually contribute to winning matches.”Overall in the voting period, which included last season’s tri-series, the T20 World Cup and the series against New Zealand earlier this season, Mooney made 555 runs – 99 more than he closest rival Rachael Haynes.The leading wicket-takers were Jess Jonassen and Megan Schutt with 27 apiece although it was legspinning allrounder Georgia Wareham who came in third in the Belinda Clarke Medal voting.Due to the Covid-19 pandemic only three ODIs were played in the voting period, the series against New Zealand last October, with Haynes taking the award by one vote from Lanning.

Flower had overseen the England Lions since leaving the head coach job in 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Oct-2019Andy Flower has left the ECB after 12 years at the organisation.Flower, who led England to their first men’s ICC tournament win in 2010 and their first away Ashes win since 1986-87 later in that year, was first employed as Peter Moores’ assistant coach in 2007. He became head coach in 2009, and after stepping down following the disastrous 2013-14 Ashes campaign, took up a role as ‘technical director of elite cricket’, giving him responsibility for the England Lions team.An ECB statement said that Flower had left “to pursue other opportunities”, and he said that he would still be based in England.Flower described his time at the ECB as “a real privilege”, and picked out the World T20 win in 2010, the away Ashes win, and victory in the 2012-13 series in India as three highlights.Flower also gave his backing to new England coach Chris Silverwood.”I’m really happy for Chris that he’s getting the chance to lead England and I think he’s going to do a great job,” he said. “I also want to wish Mo Bobat, the new performance director, all the best in his new role.”Flower hinted that he was more likely to return to the game with a coaching role at a T20 franchise than in the international game.”I haven’t had a sustained break for quite a long time,” he said. “I will still be based in England and I will continue to watch English cricket very keenly – it has a very bright future.”Andy Flower had a successful stint as England coach across formats•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Flower’s departure completes a major overhaul in the ECB’s structure since the start of the year.Andrew Strauss stepped down from the team director role due to family reasons, and has become head of the cricket committee, while Ashley Giles has moved into his old role. Trevor Bayliss vacated the head coach role, which was filled by Silverwood, while David Parsons left his performance director role to be replaced by Bobat.Mark Ramprakash left his position as a batting coach, and reports have suggested that Kevin Shine (fast-bowling coach) and Peter Such (spin coach) are expected to leave their roles. Silverwood’s backroom staff has yet to be announced, though it is expected that continuity, rather than upheaval, will be the order of the day.

The Worcestershire captain withdrew a run out appeal following a collision between batsman and bowler

ECB Reporters Network27-Jun-20181:57

Kent go top of Division Two

ScorecardWorcestershire face a tough challenge on the final day if they are to avoid defeat against Nottinghamshire in their day-night pink ball Specsavers County Championship match at Trent Bridge.Set to score an improbable 462, from a minimum of 113 overs, they reached the close of the third day unscathed on 43 without loss.They have been set a challenging target after Jake Libby had fluently progressed to the fifth century of his career. The 25-year old opener reached the landmark from 144 deliveries, with six fours, at which point the hosts declared their second innings closed on 249 for 4.Samit Patel, who made 76 in the first innings, scored 71 and shared in a second wicket stand of 121 with Libby.Earlier, Worcestershire’s first innings closed on 287 all out, with Ross Whiteley having made 76.At the start of the day, the home attack needed only 70 minutes to pick up the final three wickets but elected not to enforce the follow-on despite securing a first innings advantage of 212 runs.Harry Gurney took the first wicket to fall, thereby securing figures of 4 for 97. Chris Nash, with his first two wickets for the county, ended with 2 for 4.Whiteley took the early plaudits, clubbing two huge sixes in a 42-ball half century. The pugnacious left-hander eventually fell for 74, his highest first-class score for three years.Dillon Pennington, a 19-year old seamer on debut, dismissed Nash, who made a hundred on the first day and later added the scalp of Billy Root.During Patel’s innings he was reprieved by a great show of sportsmanship from the visiting captain, who threw down the stumps with the batsman stranded short of his ground.Patel had accidentally collided with bowler Whiteley and had his progress baulked. The umpires began conferring but Brett D’Oliveira quickly intervened and withdrew the appeal.An apparent rib injury to Ben Cox forced the Worcestershire keeper to hand over the gloves to Joe Clarke and leave the field.
Patel hit the spin of Ben Twohig into the hands of cover and then Ross Taylor, playing his final innings for Notts, was bowled by Daryl Mitchell for just one.Riki Wessels applied the necessary firepower to extend the lead over 450 and was unbeaten on 57 at the time of the declaration.Mitchell and Martin Guptill safely negotiated the tricky twilight stage at the end of the day and will begin anew in more favourable conditions on the final afternoon.

Hamish Bennett said being patient and waiting for the Bangladesh batsmen to make mistakes worked for him, on his return to ODI cricket after three years

ESPNcricinfo staff18-May-20171:16

‘Didn’t expect another game after Hamilton 2014 – Bennett

It has been almost seven years since fast bowler Hamish Bennett made his ODI debut for New Zealand. In that series, he played two ODIs, against Bangladesh in Bangladesh, and New Zealand were humbled 4-0. Bennett remembers that series clearly, and was especially pleased that, on Wednesday, when he made his return to international cricket after three years – his previous ODI appearance was in January 2014 – New Zealand got the better of them.”It was a really good feeling,” Bennett said after New Zealand’s four-wicket win in the Ireland tri-series. “To be honest, I didn’t think I was going to get another game after Hamilton in 2014. But, especially good to win against Bangladesh after losing there 4-0, good to get one over them.”Bennett made his debut when he was 23, but had never managed to cement his place in the New Zealand first XI. Now, with a few first-choice players away at the IPL, Bennett slotted in and was simply happy to play with some of the friends he has made on the domestic circuit. “It was good to get out there. I’ve always wanted to play international cricket with Neil Broom, Tommy Latham and Ross [Taylor] as well,” he said. “So it was good to play a game for New Zealand with a couple of good mates.”That New Zealand had to chase only 258 was courtesy Bennett’s final two overs, where he conceded only three runs off the bat and took three wickets. His short-pitched deliveries against the Bangladesh middle and lower-order paid rich dividends, and he said that his plan to be patient and force his opponents to make mistakes held him in good stead.”You get lucky at the death sometimes – it goes one way or the another,” Bennett said. “It went my way today but my main job was to attack on that slower surface, it was just about trying to put the balls in the good areas. It was just about trying to contain them and get them to do something silly.”I think, in one-day cricket, you can afford to be a little bit patient with the ball because eventually the batting team will have to come at you. My mentality was just about trying to be patient and wait for them to make the play. I didn’t want to go searching too much, just wanted to keep building pressure.”Bennett, who was described by half-centurion James Neesham after the game as “one of the best death bowlers in New Zealand”, finished with figures of 3 for 31 and Bangladesh were kept to 257 for 9. But both players felt their team’s fielding effort was not up to scratch – the Bangladesh innings featured several misfields with players letting balls through or diving over them, overthrows that went to the boundary, and dropped chances – which left them chasing more than they should have been.”The target could easily have been a little bit less, we were a little sloppy, in the field,” Bennett said. “We should’ve kept them to about 230, but we never really had any run-rate pressure [in the chase], so it’s a fair reflection that 250-odd was a good score to chase.”Man-of-the-Match Neesham, whose 48-ball 52 shepherded New Zealand home with 15 balls to spare, said: “We bowled a bit better than 260-odd. If we’re honest with ourselves, our fielding let us down a bit, and 20-30 runs went abegging. You’ve got to chase the target you’re set and doing it with 12 balls to spare or whatever was ideal.”

Trevor Bayliss has called for England to play smarter cricket following the poor end to their tour of South Africa as they turn attentions to the World T20 in India

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Feb-2016Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, has called for the team to play smarter cricket following the poor end to their tour of South Africa as they turn attentions to the World T20 in India. However, he does not want the players to go into their shells after a difficult couple of weeks, saying that the winner in India will be the “boldest” team on show.England ended their stay in South Africa with a crushing nine-wicket defeat at the Wanderers to lose the T20 series 2-0. From a promising position of 157 for 3 – with Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler finding their range – they were well placed for 200, but conspired to lose 7 for 14 and not even play out their overs.They were then belted around the Bullring by AB de Villiers who cartwheeled to 71 off 29 balls as South Africa raced to their target with more than five overs to spare.It led to Bayliss saying it was like “men against boys” and meant that England finished with five defeats on the bounce having been 2-0 up in the one-day series before being let down by poor fielding when they could have sealed it in the Johannesburg ODI. Although the Test series was secured on that heady day at the Wanderers when Stuart Broad blew South Africa away the tour ended on a downbeat note.There is little time to ponder with just a short break at home before departing for India where they will face group matches against West Indies, Sri Lanka, a qualifier and, potentially significantly given recent results, South Africa again in Mumbai on March 18. Faf du Plessis, the South Africa T20 captain, was not shy at suggesting his side could have struck some psychological blows.”I can guarantee you one thing, the team that wins the World Twenty20 will be the boldest team there,” Bayliss said.”If we go out and try to be too nice, or if we give that advantage away or are not as positive and aggressive as we have been when we have played well and won, then we will still not win – because there will be teams out there with the confidence, players and ability to go out and play that way.”The two series defeats in South Africa have zapped some of the feel-good factor that had developed around England’s white-ball teams since their post-World Cup rebuilding which has been forged on an almost breakable desire to be positive and for players to be encouraged to push their own boundaries.Both Bayliss and Morgan have cited the inexperience in the side as a factor as to why the wheels came off somewhat in South Africa and cautioned that more such days cannot be ruled out as players continue to find their feet at international level. But the straight-talking Bayliss knows that platitudes about how good a team could be does not help in the present.”We’ve had some good results, but it’s a reminder to people back home in England that this team is still a developing one,” he said. “We’ve had some good performances, and there’s a lot of potential there.”But potential never won anything … we’ve got some hard work to do. I think the expectation the players have put on themselves is why they are so disappointed when they play badly. It may be that extra pressure they put on themselves that they’ve got to get over.”In the final ODI at Newlands and the first T20 at the same ground, England were criticised for not adjusting quickly enough to conditions and reassessing what a defendable total could be.”We spoke the other night, it is a case of going with the flow of the game,” Bayliss said. “If we get off to a good start, you have to recognise that flow [and think] ‘can we continue to do this’?”If we do happen to lose a few wickets … well, has the flow of the game changed, and do we have to play a little bit differently? I think that will be playing smart cricket, and that is what the good teams will do.”Still, despite the setback, Bayliss believes that England can put on a good show in India which will conclude a long period overseas for the team this winter.”If we play well … we’ll be hard to beat. In the last two games, we haven’t played all that well – and in this game, we’ve been beaten easily. We’re going to have to play a lot better than that.””It’s small margins,” he added. “One catch, and we’d have only lost the last four – and we’d have won the one-day series. That’s as simple as it can get. You win that fourth match, who knows … it might have given the boys enough confidence to go on and win the fifth one. We’ve got to learn from that, and work out how we can get better.”

Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins has returned home from the A tour to South Africa to assess a lower rib/back injury

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Aug-2013Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins has returned home from the A tour to South Africa to assess a lower rib/back injury. Cummins played two first-class matches on tour – including one against Zimbabwe Select in Harare – and one match of the one-day tri-series against India A.”Pat reported some left rib/back pain during the Australia A game against India A last week,” Australia A physiotherapist Kevin Sims said. “With only Wednesday’s final remaining in the series, the decision was made for him to return to Australia to assess the injury.”Cummins, 20, has had a history of injuries that have curtailed his participation for Australia in several international series. In June, he toured England with the A team after being sidelined for nine months with a back injury. He had complained of stiffness during the Champions League in South Africa in October last year, where he turned out for Sydney Sixers. He was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his back on his return home.Cummins made his international debut aged just 18 on Australia’s tour of South Africa in October 2011. His first, and to date only, Test at the Wanderers included 6 for 79 in the second innings, earning him the Man-of-the-Match award in a narrow Australian victory.He has also impressed in five ODIs, including playing England at Lord’s last year, and had a successful World T20 in Sri Lanka where he claimed six wickets at 32.83 to help Australia to the semi-final.

Max Sorensen and Alex Cusack each took four wickets to help Ireland skittle Afghanistan for 84, as their rain-hit Intercontinental Cup match got underway on day three

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Jul-2012
ScorecardMax Sorensen celebrates taking one of his four wickets•ICC/Rob O’Connor

Max Sorensen and Alex Cusack each took four wickets to help Ireland skittle Afghanistan for 84, as their rain-hit Intercontinental Cup match finally got underway on day three. By the close, Ireland had built a 42-run lead with eight wickets in hand, giving them the opportunity to try and press for victory on the final day.Trent Johnston also impressed with the ball, taking 2 for 7 off eight overs, as the Afghanistan batsmen struggled against the seaming ball. Only three players reached double figures – Afsar Khan, Samiullah Shenwari and Gulbodin Naib all scoring 13 – as the innings lasted just 29.1 overs.”Once the conditions dried up and it allowed us to get out on the field, I think the bowlers set us off on the right foot,” Ireland captain Kevin O’Brien said. “It was a good all-round performance”It was always going to be if you win the toss you’re going to bowl, I think that was probably the only way we were going to get a win. With the bowlers putting in a performance and now the top four putting us in a hugely strong position, it certainly is on the cards tomorrow. If we can get a full day in, maybe 60 or 70 overs at Afghanistan, we certainly would fancy our chances.”Ireland showed how to play in the conditions, with Cusack adding an unbeaten 34 batting at No. 3, to go with his 4 for 31. Naib and Karim Sadiq made the breakthroughs for Afghanistan but after Paul Stirling fell for 42, Cusack and Surrey’s Gary Wilson added a further 61 runs.

United Arab Emirates bowled Kenya out for 167 in their second innings to register a comprehensive 266-run win at Gymkhana Club Ground in Nairobi

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jul-2011
Scorecard
United Arab Emirates bowled Kenya out for 167 in their second innings to register a comprehensive 266-run win at Gymkhana Club Ground in Nairobi and complete their turnaround after conceding a first-innings lead in their Intercontinental Cup match.Kenya began the day on 76 for 4 chasing 433 but victory was never a realistic option for the hosts, who lasted just 36.1 overs on the final day. New captain Collins Obuya made a determined 63 but he received little support, with only Ramesh Mepani, who managed 37 before being run out, going past 20.UAE struck in the second over of the day to remove Mansukh Jasani for a duck before Obuya and Mepani eked out a 37-run stand that was the second highest of the innings, highlighting their failure to build partnerships. Obuya’s fall with the score on 125 effectively ended Kenya’s chances of saving the game, and the last four wickets fell for 42 runs.The wickets were shared between five bowlers, with Mohammad Tauqir, Amjad Javed and Shoaib Sarwar picking up two each.

After going neck and neck for much of the first Test, England and Sri Lanka’s Under-19s continued their close-fought contest into the second day of the second match at Scarborough

Cricinfo staff28-Jul-2010
ScorecardAfter going neck and neck for much of the first Test, England and Sri Lanka’s Under-19s continued their close-fought contest into the second day of the second match at Scarborough. England managed to keep off-field events in the background as they overcame a decidedly shaky start to their innings thanks to some gritty resistance from their lower middle order, finishing the day 94 runs in arrears on 223 for 6 after Sri Lanka were dismissed for 317 in the morning.Charith Jayampathi had battled gamely for his 31, but when he was dismissed by Jacob Ball Sri Lanka’s innings came to a swift end, David Payne castling Nadeera Rajaguru in the following over. The atmosphere in the England camp will have been far from ideal after their captain for the first Test, Azeem Rafiq, was dropped for “inappropriate conduct” and responded with a foul-mouthed rant on Twitter, and when they lost two wickets in an over to slip to 17 for 2 within the first seven overs it appeared a collapse was imminent.But Luke Wells and Ateeq Javid steadied the innings with a 78-run stand, Wells going to his half-century from 106 balls with eight fours. Chathura Peiris, the left-arm seamer whose wickets played an important role in Sri Lanka’s triumph in the first Test, ensured that England never took the upper hand, however, snapping Wells and Javids’ stand and then returning to dismiss Jack Manuel just before stumps after he had launched another fightback with an attacking 57.Paul Best, the Warwickshire left-arm spinner whose 5 for 53 kept Sri Lanka in check on the first day, chipped in with a stubborn unbeaten 27, and if he can find support from England’s lower order then England will continue to challenge Sri Lanka and hold on to hopes of squaring the series.

“We thought it was going to turn, and not really nip,” Rabada said of the pitch where 16 wickets fell on the opening day

Mohammad Isam21-Oct-2024Kagiso Rabada said he didn’t have his 300th Test wicket on his mind when the first Test against Bangladesh started on Monday, but was “really surprised at how the wicket played out” – 16 wickets fell on the day – and once the ball started seaming, he knew he was in business.”We thought it was going to turn, and not really nip, but with the new ball, there was a bit of movement,” Rabada said after the day’s play. “Not really much swing, but off the wicket, there was quite a bit of seam movement.”To be fair, that’s actually how it played in the nets. Generally, what you get in the nets is what you’ll get similarly in the middle. It’s turning for the spinners and seaming for the seamers too. We found that quite surprising. We don’t prepare the pitches, but that’s what was prepared, and it’s as simple as that.”Related

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Wiaan Mulder started things off with a burst of three wickets, preying on the Bangladesh top-order batters’ expansive strokes. Rabada got among the wickets in his second spell at around the hour-mark, and also reached a special milestone – his 300th Test wicket, and he became the fastest to the landmark in all these years of Test cricket, beating Waqar Younis’ 24-year-old record.Before he bowled a ball, however, Rabada was worried about how South Africa were going to force the issue, having been asked to bowl first at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, a ground with a reputation of producing raging turners. But between them, Mulder and Rabada had the home side at 45 for 5 in the 20th over.When Mushfiqur Rahim became the fourth batter to fall, Rabada had his landmark wicket. And it was a special delivery that did it, swinging enough and nipping in slightly to take out both the off and middle stumps.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“When I came on to bowl this morning, I wasn’t really thinking about that final wicket,” Rabada said. “I was more focused on how we were going to win this Test, especially after losing the toss and bowling first. But when it happened, it was just a relief. Everyone plays for milestones, but it was a relief. The way my team-mates support me, we support each other, and that felt really good.”It’s a special moment. As for the record, I didn’t know about it, but I guess it motivates me to do even better.”Rabada became the sixth South Africa bowler to 300 Test wickets after Dale Steyn (439), Shaun Pollock (421), Makhaya Ntini (390), Allan Donald (330) and Morne Morkel (309).The early damage, however, had been done by Mulder, who picked up the first three wickets to leave Bangladesh at 21 for 3.”He bowled unbelievably. He’s looked good ever since our camp back in South Africa. Credit to him – he’s worked really hard, and it shows,” Rabada said. “He didn’t really have to adjust much because he’s been bowling like this since the camp. I’m not surprised by the reward he got this morning. He was phenomenal, and I’m really happy for him.”South Africa, responding to Bangladesh’s 106 all out, ended the day on 140 for 6, with Taijul Islam picking up five wickets. So spin after seam. To the inevitable question about whether this type of pitch was good for Test cricket, Rabada smiled before choosing the diplomatic route.”I think there needs to be a balance in Test cricket. You want a fair contest between bat and ball. That’s the type of wicket you want,” he said. “You could argue that a bowling unit hasn’t bowled well or a batting unit hasn’t performed, and that’s the balance you’re always trying to weigh.”But with 16 wickets on day one, I’d say it’s leaning towards the bowlers. Test cricket should offer a fair contest between bat and ball, where bowlers get something if they bowl well, and batters can score if they apply themselves.”