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Skipper’s unbeaten 84 guides Tasmania to a four-wicket win over Queensland after an extraordinary Clayton century gave the hosts hope

AAP05-Feb-2024Jordan Silk has struck a classy unbeaten 84 to lead Tasmania to a four-wicket Sheffield Shield victory over Queensland inside three days at the Gabba.Chasing 224 for victory after Jack Clayton made an extraordinary 102 out of Queensland’s total of 160 in the second innings, Tasmania slumped to 13 for 2 and 99 for 4 on Monday, before Silk held the innings together with a match-winning captain’s knock.Silk was on track for his 12th first-class century, only for teammate Mitchell Owen (29 not out off 15 balls) to strike some lusty blows at the death to secure victory for Tasmania just before stumps on day three. The win keeps Tasmania on top of the Shield table, while Queensland are last with only one win and two draws from seven matches.Silk struck 13 fours in his unbeaten knock, but he paid special tribute to Tasmanian paceman Gabe Bell, who claimed player-of-the-match honours after returning figures of 4 for 40 and 6 for 39.”He’s going fantastic, career-best figures and a 10-wicket haul,” Silk said. “We don’t have that sort of [gettable] chase without his effort.”I’m really rapt with how everyone approached it. It was a good collective effort.”It’s not often we come here [to Brisbane] and get the points.”Queensland captain Jimmy Peirson was among the Bulls to struggle with sickness in the intense Brisbane heat. Clayton was physically ill during his epic 181-ball knock. Ben McDermott was the only other batter to reach double figures having fallen for 16 yesterday.”I’m feeling better today, but I was on my deathbed yesterday to be honest,” Peirson said.”It’s not fun, gastro. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the win today, but [if we can get] three wins in our last three games, we’ll give ourselves a chance.”Tasmanian opener Caleb Jewell was the first wicket to fall in Tasmania’s chase when his wild slash resulted in an edge through to the keeper. The Tigers were in early trouble at 2 for 13 when Tim Ward’s attempted hook off a rising Mark Steketee delivery gave Peirson his second catch.Charlie Wakim (36) and Silk helped steady the ship with a 60-run stand. But when Gurinder Sandhu trapped Wakim lbw before finding the edge of Jake Doran’s bat 10 overs later, Tasmania were looking wobbly at four down and still needing 125 more runs to win.Silk and Beau Webster (28 off 41 balls) led the counter-attack as Tasmania got their run chase back on track. Webster struck three fours and a six, but his bid to keep the runs flowing came undone when he inside-edged Liam Guthrie onto his stumps.Bradley Hope added some handy runs, before Owen struck three fours and a six to shut the door completely on Queensland.

George Balderson’s hundred chased down but Lancashire also qualify

ECB Reporters Network23-Aug-2022Kent 298 for 8 (Blake 81, Stewart 49, Stevens 49, Blatherwick 3-57) beat Lancashire 295 for 9 (Balderson 106*, Bohannon 75, Gilchrist 3-52, Podmore 3-53) by two wicketsA thrilling finish at Canterbury saw the Kent Spitfires qualify for the Royal London Cup play-offs with a two-wicket win over Lancashire, in Darren Stevens’ white-ball swansong at the Spitfire Ground.Kent were in deep trouble on 190 for six, but Harry Podmore hit Luke Wells’ penultimate ball for four to send Kent through to the knock-out stages, after a day of raw, unfiltered tension.Stevens hit 49 in his final List A innings at the St. Lawrence, but he was nearly upstaged by Lancashire’s George Balderson, who played a high-risk innings and was rewarded with an unbeaten 106 from 87 balls. Josh Bohannon was the visitors’ next highest-scorer with 75 as Lancashire recovered from 95 for five to post 295-9. Nathan Gilchrist claimed three for 52 and Harry Podmore three for 53.Alex Blake was Kent’s top scorer with 81 and his century stand with Stevens kept the Spitfires in contention before Podmore finished the job, with Kent closing on 298 for eight.Stevens, who is still hoping to prolong his career, but who has been waylaid this season by shoulder and calf injuries at the age of 46, said: “It’s sad times, it’s my last white-ball game at Kent, but it’s good to be out there. It’s just a shame I didn’t go on and win the game like I wanted to.”Kent now have a play-offs tie against Leicestershire – the county were it all began for him 26 years ago. “You couldn’t have written it could you? It’s a different challenge, a different place to play. We haven’t played white ball cricket there for a long time. We’ll do our work over the next couple of days to figure out how we’re going to play it.”Related

• 'Bittersweet' – End of the Kent road for ageless cult hero Darren Stevens

• Stanley McAlindon makes Foxes sweat for play-off berth

• Tom Alsop leads Sussex record rampage to home semi

• Hampshire's sixteenth win in seventeen brings home semifinal

The hosts needed to win to stand any chance of reaching the quarter-finals, while hoping Yorkshire lost to Hampshire. Lancashire, having already qualified, were trying to overhaul Hampshire at the top of the Group B table.Kent chose to field first and Grant Stewart made an early breakthrough when he had Luke Wells caught behind for a duck in the third over.
Gilchrist then bowled Keaton Jennings for 17 and had Steven Croft lbw for nought, but Bohannon and Dane Vilas put on 51 for the next wicket before Podmore removed the latter for 22 after a brilliant diving catch by Hamid Qadri at square leg.When Rob Jones charged at Qadri he was stumped by Ollie Robinson for nine, but Bohannon and Balderson rebuilt the innings as conditions improved.Their stand of 101 was ended when Bohannon skied Qadri to Gilchrist but George Lavelle maintained the momentum with 24 from 13 balls before he spooned Podmore to Alex Blake.Podmore then removed Danny Lamb, caught behind for eight, but Balderson reached three figures when he hooked Stewart for four in the penultimate over.Although Gilchrist subsequently bowled Tom Bailey for nine it was still Lancashire’s highest List A score against Kent and when Jack Blatherwick took two wickets in three balls the target looked a long way off.Ben Compton went for three in the third over of the chase when Lamb took a juggling catch at first slip off and Ollie Robinson lasted just two balls before Blatherwick had him caught behind for a duck.Joe Denly produced a couple of elegant fours but was lbw to Bailey for 13, before the same bowler had Joey Evison caught and bowled for 20. At 53 for four the stage was set for Stevens and with Alex Blake he hauled Kent back into contention as they put on 105 for the next wicket.Back in the year 2000 Stevens had played for Leicestershire against a Kent side that included Wells’ father Alan and he hit successive Wells Junior
deliveries for six before falling just short of his half-century, caught and bowled by Croft. He departed to a standing ovation and kissed his helmet before entering the pavilion.Blake then chipped Wells to Jennings, but Harry Finch and Grant Stewart hit back with a 73-run partnership.When Stewart hit Balderson for successive sixes Kent looked favourites, but he fell for 49, caught by Croft off Blatherwick, just as news filtered through that Yorkshire had lost.Podmore joined Finch and whittled away at the target, with every run cheered by the crowd of 2,101, to leave Kent needing three from the final over, but Finch hit Wells first delivery to Vilas.The next two were dots and Wells missed a difficult return catch as Qadri scrambled a single from the fourth, leaving Podmore to drive the winning boundary through the covers. Kent now have a quarter-final trip to Stevens’ home county Leicestershire.

Boult, Henry and Patel all among the wickets after New Zealand make six changes from Lord’s

Valkerie Baynes10-Jun-2021Half-centuries to Rory Burns and Dan Lawrence restored order for England after a New Zealand attack bolstered by Trent Boult threatened to derail the hosts on an opening day when the ball and the momentum swung at Edgbaston with entertaining effect.Boult, New Zealand’s leading seamer, linked up with the squad on Saturday having served his post-IPL quarantine period and was an automatic inclusion amid a staggering six changes to the side which drew the first Test at Lord’s.With Kane Williamson (elbow) and Mitchell Santner (finger) out because of injury and BJ Watling (back problem) replaced by Tom Blundell shortly before play began, Will Young and and Ajaz Patel came into the side. They were joined by Boult for Tim Southee and Matt Henry for Kyle Jamieson, while Daryl Mitchell replaced Colin de Grandhomme as New Zealand showed an embarrassment of riches ahead of next week’s World Test Championship final against India.When Boult prised out opener Rory Burns for 81 with his 12th ball after the tea break, he removed England’s main hope for recovery at that point. It came soon after England had lost three wickets for 13 runs in less than 20 minutes and slumped to 152 for 4 in the afternoon session.But Lawrence stepped in with an assured and unbeaten 67 to guide England to the close in a far more comfortable position than had looked likely between lunch and tea.After removing Burns, Boult struck with the first delivery of his next over, removing James Bracey for a duck – his second in as many innings – but Olly Stone survived the hat-trick ball and went on to steady the innings with Lawrence, the pair putting on 47 runs for the seventh wicket.Dan Lawrence en route his half-century•Getty Images

The Stone-Lawrence union was a much-needed bright spot for England, along with Burns’ opening stand of 72 with Dom Sibley, which had steered their side to the lunch break at 67 without loss. What ensued in between times had the potential to devastate England’s innings.Burns and Sibley batted sedately but smartly in the morning, Sibley’s knock bearing little resemblance to his grinding 60 off 207 balls which helped England salvage a draw in the fourth innings at Lord’s. Sibley struck five fours on his way to 35 from 84 deliveries, including one through square leg to bring up England’s fifty.But when they returned from lunch, New Zealand’s bowlers started to find some swing and it proved a weapon.Henry struck with the sixth ball after the break when Sibley was caught betwixt and between by a ball just back of a length and in the corridor which swung away enough to find an edge and carry to stand-in keeper Blundell.Zak Crawley’s lean patch continued as he followed up twin scores of two at Lord’s with a duck. Having been rushed into a defensive shot by a Neil Wagner ball that swung in, Crawley hung his bat out to the next delivery which moved less and edged to Mitchell at third slip.Henry then claimed his second wicket – the prized scalp of Joe Root – with a late outswinger that caught the edge and was snapped up by Blundell.Related

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• New Zealand's wholesale changes show immense strength in depth

Burns brought up his fifty with an authoritative drive through extra cover for two as the wickets tumbled around him. Ollie Pope stuck with him for a while but not long enough, falling for 19 when he was caught behind off Patel.As Burns and Lawrence looked to rebuild, Boult came to the fore, luring Burns into an attempted cover drive with a ball that swung away and clipped the outside edge, with Tom Latham, acting captain in Williamson’s absence, taking a good, low catch at second slip. Bracey followed and with six men down, only three had reached double figures.That’s when Stone and Lawrence got to work and they managed to stall New Zealand’s momentum until Patel had Stone out lbw. From there, Lawrence really took control though. He struck Boult for two fours in an over late in the day, the first a gorgeous drive through extra cover and then a neat clip off the pads.Mark Wood stuck with him to be 16 not out at the close, his straight hit for four off Henry mirrored by Lawrence off Boult on the next ball and the 70-percent-capacity crowd enjoyed it – and every moment of the day – if the noise, colour and movement that heralded the return of fans under a post-pandemic Government trial was anything to go by.

India are looking for a record fifth Under-19 World Cup title, while Bangladesh have never come this far before

The Preview by Sreshth Shah in Potchefstroom08-Feb-2020

Big picture

This is about as big as it gets for the Under-19 cricketers from Bangladesh and India. For India, it’s an opportunity to defend their title and claim a record fifth World Cup crown [Australia are next with three]. For Bangladesh, it’s a chance to win their first World Cup, any World Cup.Both sides are unbeaten so far and there’s not much to separate them. If India have Kartik Tyagi and Sushant Mishra with the searing pace upfront, Bangladesh have the rapid Tanzim Hasan Sakib and the accurate Shoriful Islam to counter that. For a Ravi Bishnoi, there’s a Rakibul Hasan, for a Yashasvi Jaiswal there’s a Tanzid Hasan. They are evenly matched all right.ALSO READ: Where the Under-19 World Cup final will be won and lostThe last time the two sides played each other at an Under-19 World Cup was in 2018, in the quarter-final, and India finished victorious. But they have faced off seven times since then in other competitions, two of those games abandoned because of the weather. India do hold a 4-1 edge in the completed games, but they have been close encounters. At the 2018 Asia Cup semi-final, India sneaked through with a two-run win, while in the 2019 Asia Cup final, India won by five runs. The last time Bangladesh beat India – in England last July – they won by two wickets. If nerves don’t get in the way of skills, expect another nail-biter in the final here.Heavy rain is expected at some point on both Sunday, and Monday’s reserve day. Tournament rules say that if both days are washed out, the World Cup will be shared. How the two sides navigate their way while taking the conditions into consideration will be an interesting subplot. Fans of both countries will throng the JB Marks Oval to support their team, emotions will run high, and it’s up to the youngsters to make the occasion a memorable one, become heroes, if they can.

Form guide

India WWWWW Bangladesh WWWWW

In the spotlight

Kartik Tyagi, the India bowler who consistently bowls at 135 kph, can be the difference. Bangladesh’s top order has been consistent, barring the rain-hit game against Pakistan, and if India are to win, his ten overs – both with the new ball and the older one – will hold massive importance. His 11 wickets in the tournament have come at an economy rate of less than 3.50 and he has taken a wicket every 18.7 deliveries.Mahmudul Hasan Joy sweeps one fine•ICC via Getty

Bangladesh’s No. 3 Mahmudul Hasan Joy has paid his team back for backing him through the tournament. Despite a poor start to the World Cup, he has grown in confidence as it has progressed, and it was on show during the semi-final, when he struck a match-winning 100 against New Zealand. He’s Bangladesh’s highest run-scorer here and if he can produce an innings that matches his tournament average of 58.66, Bangladesh will be well placed to win their first World Cup.

Team news

Both sides are likely to stay unchanged for the final. There are no injury concerns for either team.India (possible): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Divyaansh Saxena, 3 Tilak Varma, 4 Dhruv Jurel (wk), 5 Priyam Garg (capt), 6 Siddhesh Veer, 7 Atharva Ankolekar, 8 Ravi Bishnoi, 9 Sushant Mishra, 10 Kartik Tyagi, 11 Aakash SinghBangladesh (possible): 1 Parvez Hossain Emon, 2 Tanzid Hasan, 3 Mahmudul Hasan Joy, 4 Towhid Hridoy, 5 Shahadat Hossain, 6 Shamim Hossain, 7 Akbar Ali (capt, wk), 8 Rakibul Hasan, 9 Shoriful Islam, 10 Tanzim Hasan Sakib, 11 Hasan Murad

Pitch and conditions

They will be playing on the same surface as the first semi-final, when India beat Pakistan. There were no demons in the surface; although Pakistan were all out for a sub-200 total, India chased it down with ten wickets in hand. Thunderstorms are expected on Sunday (and Monday) afternoon, although the morning will offer a window of uninterrupted play.

Stats and trivia

• With 312 runs in five games, Jaiswal is almost certain to finish the tournament as the highest run-scorer. Mahmudul, the second-highest run-scorer featuring in the game, is 124 behind him.
• The average first-innings score at the ground this World Cup has been 201.5.
• India have bowled their opponents out in every World Cup game.
• The team batting second has won four of the last five Under-19 World Cup finals.

Their fifties and Pujara’s vigil helped India trim their deficit to 154 after Australia were dismissed for 326 on the second morning in Perth

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu15-Dec-2018
Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane led India’s riposte to Pat Cummins’ tour de force to help the visitors cut their deficit to 154 at stumps on an absorbing second day at the new Perth Stadium. After Australia were dismissed for 326, India lost both M Vijay and KL Rahul to hooping inswingers, but Kohli got cracking with three boundaries off Josh Hazlewood in the 10th over. Enter Cummins and then Nathan Lyon. Their combined genius and relentless accuracy meant Kohli and India had to wait 22 more overs for their next boundary.This was the passage of play that defined the day. Cummins first attacked Kohli’s off stump and then shifted his lines wider to tease the India captain’s outside edge. At the other end, Lyon found sharp turn and bounce to remind India what they were missing: a frontline spinner. A biting offbreak, which Kohli left alone, nearly trimmed the bails while a non-turning ball drew a leading edge to point. In the 10 overs Cummins and Lyon bowled in tandem during the post-lunch session, India managed only 12 runs. Kohli, though, weathered the storm and reached his first fifty of the series, with his first boundary off Cummins this series.He ground out 74 for the third wicket with Cheteshwar Pujara, who also played his part in keeping Australia’s attack at bay till tea. His duel with Lyon in particular was intriguing, again. While Pujara often took trips down the pitch and even hid his bat behind pad, like he had done in Adelaide, the loose ball did not come from Lyon here.Cummins then returned after the break to trouble Pujara with incoming deliveries. One of them skidded off the pitch and pinged the back thigh when he was on 23. The on-field decision was not-out but Tim Paine gambled on a review and lost it because the ball was always bouncing over the stumps.Virat Kohli pulls•Getty Images

After Lyon and Cummins had built up all the pressure, it was Mitchell Starc who made the incision when he snaffled Pujara down the leg side for 24 off 103 balls. It was Starc who had produced the first breakthrough, too, when he blazed through the weak defences of Vijay off what turned out to be the last ball before lunch. Rahul, the other opener, was bowled by a sharp inswinger as well. It was the 11th time that he had been dismissed bowled or lbw in his last 15 Test innings.All of that disappeared into the background when Kohli took centerstage, hitting Hazlewood for four rousing boundaries in a mere nine deliveries, the pick of them being a checked on-drive. After seeing off two immaculate spells from Cummins, he brought up his half-century with an adventurous upper-cut over the slip cordon.Rahane showed greater attacking enterprise and eased the pressure off Kohli in an unbroken 90-run stand. He hooked Starc over backward square leg for four and then ramped him over third man for a six, evoking memories of his more famous battles with Mitchell Johnson in the country. Once the bowlers adjusted their lengths, Rahane unfurled serene front-foot drives to keep India ticking.Lyon and Cummins ended with combined figures of 39-7-74-0. On another day they could have run through the opposition with the irresistible pressure they applied, but on Saturday both Kohli and Rahane were immovable.The day had started more promisingly for Australia with Paine and Cummins taking the hosts past 300 with a nuggety 59-run stand for the seventh wicket. However, they lost their last four wickets for 16 runs to be bowled out about 25 minutes before lunch. Kohli and Rahane then thrilled a crowd of 19,042 and seized the day for India.

Nixon, twice the winning coach with Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League, enjoyed a long and successful playing career with the club

George Dobell16-Oct-2017Leicestershire have appointed Paul Nixon, their former captain, as the new head coach.Nixon, twice the winning coach with Jamaica Tallawahs in the Caribbean Premier League, enjoyed a long and successful playing career with the club. He played in the County Championship winning sides of 1996 and 1998 and the T20 winning sides of 2004, 2006 and 2011. He made his Leicestershire debut in 1989 and was captain 2007 and 2008.He faces a tough task at Leicestershire, however. The club finished bottom of Division Two in the County Championship without a win with his predecessor, Pierre de Bruyn, sacked after barely a year in the role.”We are delighted that Paul has agreed to rejoin us as our head coach,” Leicestershire chief executive Wasim Khan said. “Paul is dedicated, passionate and knowledgeable, and has been a huge part of successful changing rooms both as a player and coach.”Paul will get the very best out of the players. He has a positive outlook, a great attitude, and is a winner. All of those attributes make Paul the perfect person to take Leicestershire County Cricket Club forward.””I am immensely proud and honoured to be returning to Leicestershire as head coach,” Nixon said. “The club has always been close to my heart and I have lived in the city of Leicester for 30 years, so I know how much it means to everyone here.”There are a lot of good people at the club. We have a lot of loyal Members, supporters and sponsors, and I want to bring the good times back to Leicestershire.”I enjoyed lots of success as a player with the Foxes. We won the County Championship twice and got to five T20 Finals Days in nine years, winning on the three occasions we got to the Final. I’d like to thank the club for believing in me. I know that I can make a positive impact in my new role and I can’t wait to get started.”

Waqar Younis on , on the various issues facing Pakistan cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Aug-2016It’s hard for Pakistan to replace cricketers at the national level these days, because there are few top-class replacements coming through from domestic cricket – one of the fallouts of Pakistan’s international isolation, says Waqar Younis.4:37

‘We have forgotten first-class cricket’ – Waqar

‘Passion for cricket needs to be looked after’Cricket brings the nation together, but the lack of cricket in Pakistan means people will move away from the game if their passion is not nurtured.1:02

‘Passion for cricket needs to be looked after’ – Waqar

‘Was more upset with Butt than Amir’Waqar on how he, as Pakistan coach, reacted to the news of the spot-fixing in 2010, in what was a “sickening” time for all involved.4:39

‘Was more upset with Butt than Amir’ – Waqar

‘In our days there was no analytical information’Data analysis is now a part of Pakistan cricket, but one must be careful to not over-coach naturally skilled players, says Waqar Younis.1:36

‘In our days there was no analytical information’ – Waqar

The NatWest T20 Blast quarter-final between Worcestershire and Hampshire ended in farcical circumstances as bad light at New Road – a ground with no floodlights – forced an early end to proceedings

Freddie Wilde14-Aug-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJames Vince notched a maiden T20 hundred to help his Hampshire side to Finals Day•Getty Images

The NatWest T20 Blast quarter-final between Worcestershire and Hampshire ended in farcical circumstances as bad light at New Road – a ground with no floodlights – forced an early end to proceedings. Hampshire progressed to Finals Day on Duckworth Lewis Stern having bowled just 8.1 overs in Worcestershire’s run chase.James Vince had earlier struck an almost faultless hundred to take Hampshire to an imposing 196 for 4. Although Worcestershire were facing a spiralling required run rate when play was halted, there is no doubt they would have wanted a full 20 overs to make a proper case for their first Finals Day appearance.Following a day of rain and heavy cloud in Worcester, the light was troubling the Hampshire fielders for a few minutes before the teams were eventually led off. The decision was made when Chris Wood protested to the umpires that he was struggling to see the ball after he dropped a catch on the square-leg boundary that burst through his hands and left him with a bloodied, possibly broken, nose.According to the tournament rules floodlights are not mandatory for hosting evening T20 matches, with three other counties, Gloucestershire, Leicestershire and Somerset, also not possessing them. Those four counties without floodlights schedule their evening matches to begin one hour earlier, at 5.30pm, but following a gloomy day in Worcester the light closed in quickly and play was suspended at 7.33pm. “We thought it was just too dangerous out there at the end,” umpire Rob Bailey told Sky Sports.Shortly after the match was stopped boos rang around New Road when it was announced on the PA system that Hampshire would win on DLS if no more play was possible. For almost three quarters of an hour the umpires, players and fans waited to see if the light would improve but at 8.16pm the decision was made and the sun quite literally set on Worcestershire’s T20 season.Questions were already being asked as to why what was essentially a day-night match was scheduled at a ground with no floodlights, or why the match could not have been played as a day game. The fixtures were restricted to an extent, with Kent forced to play their home quarter-final on Saturday, despite having floodlights, due to the Women’s Ashes Test finishing in Canterbury on Friday. However, there are no county fixtures scheduled for Sunday and the match could possibly have been played then.The ECB will be frustrated this incident has occurred, a day after reports suggested it is increasingly reluctant to usher in a city-based T20 league. Images of Worcester fans resorting to shining their phone torches in the direction of the pitch are hardly the image the governing body will have had in mind when triumphing the success of this season’s T20 Blast.The win, albeit in controversial circumstances, took Hampshire into their sixth consecutive Finals Day. In the 13th season of T20, they are forging a legacy of their own. Birmingham may have a more impressive recent record but Hampshire can surely lay claim to being the most consistent, if not the best, T20 side the English game has produced.Although the win may taste slightly sour, Hampshire could argue they were on course for victory. Indeed, even in a curtailed match, the result was one that Hampshire, and especially Vince, deserved.Vince’s hundred, his first in the T20 format, came off just 60 balls and was a wonderful display of batsmanship. Helped along by a typically energetic opening partnership with Michael Carberry, and later a busy Adam Wheater, Vince displayed an impressive range of strokes, scoring all around the wicket against some highly regarded T20 bowlers. The number of shots evidently at his disposal didn’t appear to clutter his mind as he took apart Worcestershire’s attack with surgical precision. Vince has now scored 641 runs this season, putting him second overall.It was clear from the start that Hampshire planned to go fast and hard at the ball straight away and Vince, with his quick hands, had slashed four fours and a six by the end of the Powerplay. Worcestershire managed to keep him restrained through the early middle overs, as he lost his opening partner, but Vince cut loose once again in the final quarter of the innings, forcing four consecutive double-digit overs as Hampshire pushed on towards 200. He may have scored at a strike rate of 164 but there was nothing ungainly about Vince’s strokeplay – it was accelerated classical batting.It was innings that embodied Hampshire’s T20 complexion: not quite scintillating but certainly not boring either. But while Vince lit up the first half of the evening, the lights were about to go out on Worcestershire.

Holly Ferling, a gangling, giggling fast bowler, all of 17, found out she was playing an important World Cup match against the old rivals after the woman she idolizes is ruled out unfit

Abhishek Purohit in Mumbai08-Feb-2013A gangling, giggling fast bowler, all of 17, finds out she’s playing an important World Cup match against the old rivals after the woman she idolizes is ruled out unfit. “Instant nerves” result, but in a low-scoring game, she pounds in, a bow holding her flying long hair together, and strikes with her first delivery. She strikes again in the first over of a comeback spell, removing the game’s top-scorer. She ends with 10-0-35-3 in only her second international match. Not exactly a normal Friday for your average teenager.But Australia’s Holly Ferling is no normal teenager. And it is not the first time she’s made an immediate impact after replacing an injured player. She took a hat-trick with her first three balls in men’s grade cricket in her hometown of Kingaroy in Queensland. She was 14 then. She is the first female to be declared the Queensland Junior Cricketer of the Year and has reportedly impressed Jeff Thomson, the former Australia fast bowler. Today, she tested England with the bounce she generated at speeds in the late 110kphs, striking for someone so young.Her obvious talent cannot mask her age, and when she walked into the media room at Brabourne Stadium, she looked every bit the awkward teenager feeling overwhelmed, with spotlights trained on her and people waiting to ask questions. Just like she was able to overcome her nerves on the field, though, she answered without inhibition, flashing the radiant smile of a young girl thrilled beyond measure to have done what she did.With her inspiration Ellyse Perry ruled out with a stomach bug, Ferling found out she was going to play about an hour before the start. “I was like, ‘oh my God, I am playing England’. It was an unreal feeling,” Ferling said. “I was just excited to get another game.”Perry had a few words of advice for Ferling, whose international debut had come only a week ago against Pakistan. “She just wished me luck and told me to hit the deck. My goal was just to come in and bowl fast.”Brought back for her third spell in the 41st over of England’s chase, Ferling felt tense again. “I was so nervous. I was trying to keep things simple which is something I have struggled with in the past, and tried to do too much. Hopefully they’d make the mistakes.” Lydia Greenway, on 49, hit the final ball of that Ferling over to short extra cover.Ferling felt she had come a long way in the past year, with support from Queensland Cricket and Cricket Australia. She then forgot the name of the place she trains at. “Centre of Excellence,” the team’s media manager helpfully reminded her.Ferling’s voice was laced with emotion when she revealed what Perry, who has represented Australia in World Cup football as well, meant to her. “I have always looked up to her. To do what she has done at such a young age is an incredible feat and I don’t think it will ever be done again. To play alongside her against Pakistan and then to train alongside her and to be in the team environment with her is just an incredible feeling.”Didn’t she feel she would be inevitably compared with her idol? The 17-year old laughed as she pointed out the differences. “I wear a bow and my hair is curly.”

David Warner may soon captain Australia in Twenty20 internationals but the head coach Mickey Arthur has said he has the potential to lead his country “in any form of the game”

Brydon Coverdale16-Jan-2012David Warner may soon captain Australia in Twenty20 internationals but the head coach Mickey Arthur has said he has the potential to lead his country “in any form of the game”.A poor run of scores in the Big Bash League has the incumbent T20 captain Cameron White looking over his shoulder, and Warner has advanced his leadership credentials greatly by leading the Sydney Thunder. He was also named captain of a Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI for one of India’s pre-series warm-up matches in Canberra, proof that the national selectors are not blind to the possibility.Add to that a barnstorming 180 in Perth to set the course of the third Test and Warner’s stock is rising fast. Arthur, also a selector, said his own perceptions of Warner as a brash T20 merchant had been confounded by working closely with him since his Test debut against New Zealand in Brisbane.”Davey has leadership potential. He has the ability to lead any Australian team in any form of the game at some stage,” Arthur said. “Whether that’s in the next couple of weeks or whether that’s in a year or five years time I’m not sure.”He has a very good cricket brain. He leads a lot by example. He trains the house down. The perceptions that everybody had of David Warner and the reality of David Warner the person are poles apart.”Arthur further believes that Shaun Marsh can arrest his slump in the fourth Test in Adelaide after he saw signs of improvement in Marsh’s batting at the WACA. Arthur also hinted that Shane Watson was more likely to make his comeback from injury in next month’s limited-overs matches rather than in the Adelaide Test, where the offspinner Nathan Lyon might be the only inclusion.While Lyon’s return will force a reshuffle of the fast-bowling line-up, the batting group is unlikely to change, which will give the struggling Marsh and Brad Haddin a chance to regain their form. Marsh has made 0, 3, 0 and 11 in this series and he is the only one of the top six who has not made a significant contribution to Australia’s 3-0 lead.Cricket Australia has also cleared Marsh and Haddin, along with Lyon and Mitchell Starc, to play in the Big Bash League before the Adelaide Test, a sign that they are the few men who need more time in the middle. The rest of the Test players will remain out of the Twenty20 tournament while they prepare for the fourth Test.”The stars have aligned for us in the whole series except in the No.3 position,” Arthur said. “We haven’t got anywhere near selecting the squad that’s going to go down there. If Shaun gets that opportunity, which I’m hoping he does, I’m pretty sure he’ll go out there and perform well.”I saw signs of him coming back. I saw signs of his movement being a lot crisper. His weight transfer was a lot better. He looked really good at a point in this innings [in Perth]. I’m just hoping he gets through it and gets a score, because if he gets a score, Shaun is a player who, once he gets on a roll, is hard to bowl at. Hopefully Adelaide is the catalyst for him.”Marsh has a fine record at Adelaide Oval, where he has made two centuries and two fifties from five first-class matches and averages 64.44. Another big score there would ease the pressure on him after his lean patch, which followed a six-week lay-off due to a serious back injury that he picked up while batting in the Cape Town Test in November.”We just thought he was tentative in the first two Test matches,” Arthur said. “By his own admission he was as well. It’s hard when you’re coming back into the team after an injury, it’s always tough. You need to get going, you start doubting yourself and your ability. You just need a score and he hasn’t got that yet. Hopefully Adelaide is the place and hopefully he takes that into the Twenty20s and one-dayers.”Those shorter-format games, which begin with a T20 against India in Sydney on February 1, could also mark the return of Watson, who has not played a home Test so far this summer due to his injury problems. Watson has been battling hamstring and calf injuries this season, and whenever he returns to the Test side, it will mean a reshuffle for the batting order with David Warner and Ed Cowan having established a promising opening combination.”We’re wanting a fit and firing Shane Watson for the T20s and one-day series and I’m pretty sure we’re going to have that,” Arthur said. “Whether he plays in Adelaide or not, I’m not sure. But I do know that Shane Watson will be around our Twenty20 and one-day side.”I don’t see the need to change too much right now. I think we’ve got some really good momentum. We’ve had a lot of success with this squad.”The one change that does seem certain for the Adelaide Test, which starts on Tuesday next week, is the return of Lyon for one of the fast bowlers. Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus appear to be certain starters, especially with such a long break between matches, while Starc and Ryan Harris are the two men in danger of losing their place.”All indications are in Adelaide you’re going to play a spinner, there’s no doubt about that,” Arthur said. “Mitchell Starc came into the squad this time and he performed really well. It’s part of us broadening the base of our quick bowlers. We’ll have a look at how all the guys pull up.”The early finish to the Perth Test, where Australia regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, has given most of the players a chance to fly home before they reconvene in Adelaide.