Former captain praises successor for supreme batting focus but fears his message is getting lost

Andrew Miller04-Apr-2022Alastair Cook says he is in awe of Joe Root’s ability to stay focused on his run-scoring amid intense speculation about his future as Test captain, but has warned his successor that the relentless focus on the “positives” within England’s dressing-room is running the risk of sounding “deluded”.Root is currently taking a break from cricket in the wake of England’s series loss to West Indies, having overseen a run of one Test victory out of 17 since February 2021. And Cook – who is gearing up for his 20th season of county cricket with Essex – knows better than most how his predecessor will currently be feeling, having come through his own torrid year as captain in 2014, when England’s 5-0 whitewash against Australia gave way to the controversial sacking of Kevin Pietersen.However, while Cook acknowledged that his own Test form suffered amid the furore, Root’s own batting standards remain a class apart. Despite a relative lull during the Ashes, in which he was still one of only two England batters to average more than 30, he returned to form with twin hundreds in the Caribbean, making it eight in 20 Tests, and a total of 2066 runs, since the start of 2021.”The amount of runs that Joe Root has scored is an incredible effort,” Cook said. “I really struggled in 2014, scoring runs with that KP stuff going on the background, that really affected me. For him to be able to handle that and not let his personal performance go, that’s an unbelievable sign.”He’s England’s most complete batsman I’ve ever seen, but if [juggling the captaincy] was going to affect him, it would have affected him in the last eight months or so,” Cook added. “To score 1700 runs [in 2021], 1200 more than anyone else, it’s laughable, and normally it’s untenable to do that. But the way he’s scored those runs, and singlehandedly carried England’s batting, is an extraordinary effort, with all the other stuff going on.”Nevertheless, Cook also warned that the singlemindedness that has allowed Root to block out the criticism and concentrate on his run-scoring could also be a double-edged sword when it comes to recognising when and if his tenure as captain has run its course.Writing in his Sunday Times column, Cook had praised Root’s determination to “get England’s sinking ship … floating again”. However, having spent the winter as an at-times outspoken pundit for BT Sport, Cook also admits his concerns that the players will stop listening to their captain’s belief in the team’s progression if – as seemed to be the case in the immediate aftermath of their ten-wicket loss in Grenada – it seems too far removed from the reality of their performances.”I am a bit bored of all the positive chat, because I don’t think it was a sense of reality in that changing room,” Cook said. “All the noise was that ‘we’ve turned a corner and our attitude is brilliant’. Some of that stuff should have been a given.Root speaks to his team during the tour of the Caribbean•Getty Images

“And it looked like a dig at the Australia tour, that their attitude there wasn’t great,” Cook added, after a raft of senior players were dropped for the West Indies – most notably James Anderson and Stuart Broad, but also Rory Burns and Dawid Malan.”Actually, from watching, I never saw them throw the towel in. They just weren’t good enough to compete, and their batting under pressure folded, and the same thing happened in Grenada.”I compare it to Toto Wolff and the Mercedes [Formula One] team,” Cook continued. “They’ve been the outstanding team for the last eight years, and they’ve obviously designed a car which isn’t quite as quick as their rivals, and [Wolff] comes out after two races, and says ‘that’s totally unacceptable’.”Now that’s not slagging off his team. It’s just the reality they’re in, and I’m sure he would have said ‘we will be good enough to turn it round’. But some of the stuff coming out [from England], with all this positivity. We’ve just lost again, we’ve won one in 17. That’s the reality, and it hurts. But if you own that, as a side, that could be a step forward.”Cook, however, also recognises there are extraordinary external circumstances dominating England’s current agenda, and that nothing significant can change within the existing set-up until a raft of permanent appointments are made at the ECB.”It’s maddening to think that a company as big as the ECB has got no chairman, no director of cricket and no coach,” Cook said, following the departure of Ian Watmore before Christmas and the sackings of Ashley Giles and Chris Silverwood after the Ashes. “How it’s got there shows where English cricket is at this point. It’s an amazing challenge for whoever does get that job to turn it around because there’s been some dark days for English cricket.”Maybe dark isn’t the right word, because actually there’s a huge amount of talent around and I think everyone can see that. But you can’t have no coach, no director of cricket and no chairman – if you’re running a business that doesn’t seem to make much sense. So it’s an exciting time. You’re actually thinking if the next appointment is a good appointment, it’s a total and utter fresh start because that’s what English cricket needs.”With that in mind, there remains an awkward piece of unresolved business for whoever does take over, given that Anderson and Broad, 39 and 35 respectively, have both made it clear they are not ready to accept their time in the England team is over just yet – and that, with the possible exception of Saqib Mahmood, few of the seamers selected for the Caribbean tour enhanced their claims to be long-term replacements.Related

• Root insists he wants to remain England captain

• Ex-England captains call for Root to step down after Windies defeat

• England at rock-bottom but rudderless ECB will struggle to cast Root adrift

• Root rested for opening rounds of County Championship

Cook himself bowed out of Test cricket on the ultimate high in 2018, with a matchwinning century in his final Test innings against India. But he recognises that not everyone gets the chance to go out on their own terms, even when their records and reputation merit a perfect send-off.”Absolutely they [deserve it], but professional sport doesn’t always work like you want it to,” Cook said. “We know they are legends of the game. They’re legends of English cricket, they’re right up there with the best bowlers ever to play the game.”Hopefully they do get a chance [for a send-off], but tell that to Jimmy, he’ll slap your hand off and say ‘I’m not thinking about retiring, I’m still playing until I’m 75’. He’s thinking, I want to get back in that Test side and prove that they shouldn’t have left me out.”But it makes it an interesting summer doesn’t it? Do they play or who is the new line-up? Are they good enough? Absolutely. Do they still warrant their places? Yeah, you’d say so with the quality they’ve got. But this is where England need to be clear.”

Reverses decision after intervention from Chennai Super Kings management

ESPNcricinfo staff14-May-2022Ambati Rayudu, the 36-year-old Chennai Super Kings batter, created a bit of a stir on Saturday after first posting and then deleting a tweet in which he had said IPL 2022 would be his final season in the competition.Rayudu had initially tweeted: “I am happy to announce that this will be my last ipl. I have had a wonderful time playing it and being a part of 2 great teams for 13 years. Would love to sincerely thank Mumbai Indians and Csk for the wonderful journey.”However that tweet was withdrawn within 30 minutes. ESPNcricinfo has learned that the Chennai Super Kings management spoke to Rayudu, who then pulled down the tweet.Minutes after Rayudu posted his message, former team-mates and fans paid tributes. One came from former India fast bowler Irfan Pathan who said he had always “admired” Rayudu’s batting and “energy” on the field.Rayudu has been a big part of the set-up at Super Kings, who despite being defending champions, have been among the weakest performers this season. On Thursday, Super Kings became the second team to fall out of the playoffs’ race, after recording one of their lowest scores and suffering one of their biggest defeats in the IPL, which came against Mumbai. Despite being powerhouses in IPL, Super Kings have been an embattled unit this season, after Ravindra Jadeja stepped down as captain halfway through the tournament, and then this week left the tournament having suffered a bruised rib.This is not the first time that Rayudu has taken back a decision surrounding retirement. In 2019, he had announced his retirement from all cricket after being snubbed for the 2019 ODI World Cup. But he then made a U-turn to return to domestic and IPL cricket.Rayudu is among the top-ten most-experienced IPL cricketers, and the second-most successful IPL cricketer with five titles. Only Rohit Sharma [six] has won more times. Kieron Pollard also had five titles. Under Rohit, Rayudu won the 2013, 2015 and 2017 IPL titles with Mumbai and then won the 2018 and 2021 IPL titles with Super Kings. Rayudu had missed the first two years of the competition because of association with the Indian Cricket League.With two games left to go for Super Kings in the season, Rayudu is currently on 187 IPL games. He has made 4187 runs with 22 fifties and one century, against Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018.Barring the IPL, Rayudu’s domestic cricket appearances have been limited of late. Although named in the 2021-22 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy squad for Andhra, he did not play a single game. His last domestic match was a December 2021 Vijay Hazare Trophy fixture against Gujarat.

Azhar Ali makes 88 as Derbyshire endure day of toil in the field

ECB Reporters Network12-May-2022Worcestershire 326 for 5 (Haynes 133, Ali 88) vs DerbyshireJack Haynes scored his second consecutive first-class century as Worcestershire edged the opening day of the LV=Insurance County Championship match against Derbyshire at Derby.The 21-year-old backed-up his maiden hundred against Durham on Sunday with 133 from 207 balls out of Worcestershire’s 326 for 5.Azhar Ali made 88 from 192 balls, adding 187 in 56 overs with Haynes to follow the 195 stand they shared to save the Durham match before Derbyshire hit back with the second new ball.Sam Conners removed Haynes before a brilliant catch by Anuj Dal sent back Brett D’Oliveira five overs before the close.Derbyshire’s decision to bowl first on a pitch tinged with green was possibly based on the amount of rain in Derby the previous day but apart from Suranga Lakmal, the bowlers struggled.Lakmal’s opening spell tested the technique and judgement of the batsmen and deserved more than the one wicket of Ed Pollock in the sixth over.Pollock was drawn into pushing forward at a good length ball that moved away enough to take the outside edge which was taken low down by Brooke Guest.Azhar could easily have followed but survived a rigorous examination by Lakmal to bat through the first session and establish a foundation that he and Haynes built on in the afternoon.Haynes joined him in the 13th over after Jake Libby was lbw to one that cut back from Ryan Sidebottom and continued from where he left off at Worcester on Sunday.His driving off the back foot through the covers was a feature of another impressive display of application and selectivity although the top-edged pull that took him to 50 could have easily gone to hand.There were few other mistakes as he and Azhar batted through the afternoon session, adding 120 in 34 overs.Azhar became increasingly fluent after completing his second 50 for Worcestershire and was clearly annoyed when he failed to convert it into a century.His attempt to cut Alex Thomson’s off-spin only gave Wayne Madsen a sharp catch at slip five overs after tea but Haynes did not miss out.Last year at Worcester Haynes fell for 97 against Derbyshire but this time he pulled a short ball from Sidebottom for his 12th four to go to his second hundred in four days.Derbyshire took the second new ball as soon as it became available and struck immediately when Conners nibbled one away to have Haynes caught low down at first slip.D’Oliveira and Ed Barnard took Worcestershire to a third batting point which was the first time in Derbyshire’s history that scores of 300 or more have been posted in five consecutive innings before the home side broke through again.D’Oliveira cut Sidebottom firmly to point but Dal underlined his reputation as an outstanding fielder by leaping high at point to take a superb catch.

Trio’s centuries in the first innings followed by Kartikeya’s four in the second helped restrict Mumbai to a lead of 107

Shashank Kishore26-Jun-2022Madhya Pradesh are the Ranji Trophy 2021-22 champions, 69 years after they last won the coveted trophy in their former avatar, as Holkar, and 23 years since they last had a shot at Indian domestic cricket’s biggest prize. At the same venue of their 1998-99 heartbreak, MP redeemed themselves in the best way possible, vanquishing 41-time champions Mumbai to lift the trophy on a cloudy Sunday afternoon.Victory was achieved shortly before tea on the fifth day when Rajat Patidar pushed Sarfaraz Khan for a single wide of point as MP had converted potentially tricky 108 chase into a cruise. Patidar, whose 122 helped set up MP’s 162-run lead in the first innings, was 34 not out, along with Aditya Shrivastava, the captain.Mumbai’s bowlers needed to go for broke and they struck gold early when Dhawal Kulkarni breached Yash Dubey’s defense in the third over to leave MP 4 for 1. The next half hour provided an engaging passage with runs coming in a trickle. But MP hardly looked under pressure, calmly battling through the new-ball burst, and putting away the occasional boundary balls with the fields in to keep tucking away at the runs.Once set, the batters tried to go for the big hits. This led to the dismissals of Himanshu Mantri and Parth Sahani, but there were no more twists in store. Patidar tantalized the crowd with some exquisite cover drives to the all-familiar RCB chants.Madhya Pradesh players pose with the trophy•Afzal Jiwani/ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Mumbai’s aspirations of setting a bigger total took a beating right from the outset as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals, even as MP restored to a defensive line of attack all morning. Their placers employed a wide line – almost sixth stump outside off – with six fielders to protect the off-side boundary. Against spin, especially Kumar Kartikeya’s left-arm variety, they employed a leg-stump line with six fielders stationed on the leg side.As such, the onus was on Mumbai to force the pace. Suved Parkar, who made 252 on debut in the quarterfinals against Uttarakhand, made a half-century but fell soon after Arman Jaffer was castled by a Gaurav Yadav slower delivery. Mumbai lost two early and MP were on the march.Sarfaraz employed the sweep to good effect, and repeatedly kept peppering different parts of the leg-side boundary by hitting against the turn. He made 45 before being the seventh wicket to fall when he holed out to deep backward square leg off left-arm spinner Sahani. He ended the season with 982 runs, 324 more than second-placed Patidar.After sweeping his way to some handy runs, Sarfaraz was out to the very shot that brought him runs – sweeping from way outside off to find the boundary rider. Mumbai’s last three hardly troubled the bowlers and were rolled over quickly for 269, leaving MP more than two sessions to gnaw at the target.When they came out, MP banished early jitters to set the tone for some serious celebrations in the MP camp. After five days of sitting motionless in the dressing room, belting out instructions through the 12th man, Chandrakant Pandit, the man who sobbed pitch side after the 1998-99 heartbreak, had his moment of redemption shortly before tea. As for the rest of the young group led by Shrivastava, it was time for some celebrations as the first step towards dominating the red-ball scene had been taken quite emphatically.

Ten wickets in the match leave visitors four wickets from defeat at close

ECB Reporters Network12-Jul-2022Gloucestershire 136 and 140 for 6 (Harmer 5-51) trail Essex 310 (Cook 145, Westley 90, Gohar 5-84) by 34 runsAlastair Cook and Simon Harmer combined to leave Essex on the cusp of victory in their LV=County Championship match with Gloucestershire at Chelmsford.Cook recorded his 31st first-class century for his county on his way to 145 out of 310 all out before off-spinner Harmer bagged 5 for 51 wickets as the visitors capitulated against the spin wizard.Cook occupied the crease for almost seven hours as Essex and with skipper Tom Westley, who scored 90, provided a significant second-wicket partnership worth 196.Trailing by 174 runs on first innings, Gloucestershire were flummoxed and confused by the wily Harmer who was introduced into the attack for the 6th over and by the close, had tantalised the visitors to the brink of defeat.Ollie Price reached the close unbeaten on 42 and will resume with Zafar Gohar on 10 but winless Gloucestershire look set for another reverse.Harmer’s first victim came in his third over when Marcus Harris was bowled and four balls later, he had Ryan Higgins picked up at bat/pad for a duck to leave the visitors 26 for 2Although Chris Dent batted resolutely, he saw Miles Hammond and James Bracey fall to Harmer. Hammond bowled when he injudiciously went on the back foot before James Bracey reached forward and was stumped.Then Dent himself fell to Harmer for 33 out of 77 for 5, leg before on the back pad to give Harmer his tenth wicket of the match.Cook and skipper Westley had made serene progress during the morning session when they resumed on the overnight 127 for 1, just 9 runs adrift of their opponents.With the 15th delivery of the day, a boundary by Westley moved Essex into credit and he and Cook increased the advantage with a series of nicely-timed and well-directed drives.Westley’s penchant for an array of leg side strokes complemented the classic cover driving and square cuts executed by Cook as the partnership flourished.There was a rare moment of anxiety though for Cook when he had scored 71 following the introduction of slow bowler Miles Hammond, the eighth bowler used by the visitors.Hammond’s first delivery found the edge as Cook played forward but the ball escaped the clutches of Higgins at first slip to allow the Essex Knight of the Realm to continue to showcase his talent to his Chelmsford kingdom.Gloucestershire were finally able to bring about a conclusion to the Cook-Westley alliance when Westley’s defence was breached by a beautiful delivery from Tom Price that nipped back to re-arrange off stump.Cook arrived at three figures with his 12th boundary having faced 236 deliveries steering the ball backward of square on the off to earn a standing ovation from the crowd.Shortly after the impressive Price struck again. Dan Lawrence was caught at short mid-wicket off an intended pull to give the paceman figures of 3 for 47 as Essex arrived at lunch on 222 for 3 at lunch and a lead of 86 runs.Cook continued relentlessly but at the opposite end, his colleagues were being undone by left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar. He enjoyed a spell of 3 for 7 before Ryan Higgins tempted Cook to nibble outside off stump to be caught behind.Adam Rossington clubbed a couple of sixes to book a third batting point before Zafar added two more wickets to return figures of 5 for 84 and his fourth five-wicket haul for his county.

Thompson plus Hampshire crew build on Bell-Drummond innings as Whiteley fifty is in vain

ECB Reporters Network12-Aug-2022London Spirit’s Hampshire Hawks bowling attack used their Ageas Bowl insider knowledge to end Southern Brave’s home domination.Daniel Bell-Drummond had clocked 46 to help Spirit to 147 before Liam Dawson, Brad Wheal, Mason Crane and Nathan Ellis produced the type of defence that won the Hawks the Vitality Blast earlier this summer.Dawson, Wheal and Crane all picked up a wicket-a-piece, along with non-Hawk Jordan Thompson’s 2 for 32, as Ross Whiteley’s 52 wasn’t enough and Brave fell nine runs short.Spirit are three from three in the tournament, having taken home the wooden spoon last year, while holders Brave lost their 100 per cent record at the Ageas Bowl.The intrigue for the Brave chase was how James Vince would go against his Hawks bowling attack. That remained unanswered as another former Hampshire team-mate Glenn Maxwell bowled him first ball – the unlucky 13th golden duck of his T20/Hundred career.Brave’s start got worse when Quinton de Kock and Alex Davies met in the middle of the pitch with the stumps broken for a clumsy run out to leave the hosts 4 for 2.Davies got the scoreboard moving upwards with a four-six combo off Dawson, with Marcus Stoinis striking through the covers and straight before running past spinner Dawson to be stumped.Davies departed for 36 when Crane tempted him to slog to long on, while Wheal got Tim David skewing to extra cover.Whiteley, another Hampshire player, had quietly biffed his way to a 32-ball 50, brought up with a perfectly timed clip to the leg side but was bowled by Thompson’s next ball.Brave needed 27 runs off the last 10-ball end. But despite James Fuller pulling that down to 12 off three, Thompson had him slicing to deep point as Spirit’s 12-month turnaround continued.Earlier, Spirit chose to bat and were indebted to Maxwell, Bell-Drummond and Kieron Pollard’s contributions to get them up to 147, eight runs shy of their female team-mates’ losing total earlier in the day.Maxwell and Bell-Drummond were joined at the crease after Adam Rossington had lifted Michael Hogan to mid-off and Zak Crawley swung to deep square leg to leave Spirit 29 for 2.The duo’s 39 together got rolling with a pair of Maxwell fours, the first an effortless drive through the covers before opening up the offside again two balls later. He then used his upper body strength to dispatch Jacob Lintott over deep midwicket.The Australian pumped three more boundaries before mullering straight at mid-off, and then Eoin Morgan run out backing up at the non-striker’s end.Bell-Drummond, now in a 53-run partnership with Pollard, had struggled to get going with 18 off 21 balls, and been dropped twice, albeit both very difficult chances.The sluggish start peaked with five fours and a towering six over long-on before he fell for 46 off 33 balls when he was run out. In the last 13 deliveries, Thompson was yorked by Hogan with 24 runs coming.

Only 4.4 overs needed for visitors to take final two Kent wickets on fourth morning

ECB Reporters Network08-Sep-2022Essex 573 (Khushi 164, Critchley 90, Cook 78, Westley 54, Allison 53) beat Kent 164 (Allison 4-40) and 149 (Cox 65, Cook 7-33) by an innings and 260 runsEssex routed Kent by an innings and 260 runs on day four of their LV=Insurance match with Essex at Canterbury. The visitors needed just 4.4 overs to claim the remaining two wickets on day four, bowling Kent out for 149.Sam Cook took 10 for 60 in the match, including 7 for 33 in the second innings, while Jamie Porter claimed 3 for 50. Jordan Cox was Kent’s top-scorer with 65, but the hosts are now deep in the relegation mire, having taken just a single point, while Essex claimed 23.”Credit to Kent and the groundstaff, they’ve actually done an outstanding job getting the ground fit and ready to play, “Essex’s captain, Tom Westley, said. “It was frustrating last night needing the two wickets and knowing there was some bad weather around today, but everything’s worked out for the best.”We could keep talking about Sammy Cook and I have done relentlessly, but he’s absolutely world class, I don’t think there’s a better seamer. The stats will back it up, he gets wickets in the first innings, the second innings, at Chelmsford and away from Chelmsford and he’s phenomenal. We’re very lucky to have him at Essex.”Torrential rain delayed the start until 12.38pm, with Kent resuming on 137 for 8 in their second innings, needing a notional 272 to make Essex bat again.In reality, with Milnes’ mobility drastically reduced due to a stress fracture in his back, Kent’s only hope of escaping with a draw was to bat for as long as possible and hope the rain returned.Milnes, in what may be his final act as a Kent player before he moves to Yorkshire next season, lasted three overs before getting a bottom edge to Cook that was taken by a tumbling Nick Browne. Although dark clouds were hovering, the rain stayed away and the victory was sealed when Cox edged Porter and fell to a juggling catch by Matt Critchley in the slips.Kent’s coach, Matt Walker, said: “I don’t think we deserved the rain to save us really, we haven’t played well enough over three days and if you’re hoping for rain to save you, you know you’re in a pretty tough spot. We fought hard last night to try and drag it out till today where we knew the forecast was a bit indifferent, but we didn’t deserve to get anything out of this game.”The numbers are pretty stark. It was a good cricket wicket, there was a bit in it, it was a good toss to win and we didn’t make the most of those conditions early on. It wasn’t a terrible first session but we didn’t challenge them enough and they just showed us how to go about it and how to bowl on this wicket. It almost at times looked as if it was two different surfaces and that’s what happens when you do your basics well enough.”

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.

Former England legspinner had been in job since late 2020

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Sep-2022Sussex have announced that Ian Salisbury, the club’s Championship and 50-over coach, will leave his position at the end of the season. Salisbury had reportedly been placed on gardening leave following a non-cricketing dispute with one of his players.Salisbury was appointed as co-head coach, alongside James Kirtley, in 2020. He inherited a young squad and, despite several players making good progress, Sussex have won just twice in red-ball cricket over the last two seasons – although they did make a run to the semi-finals of this year’s Royal London Cup.”We would like to thank Ian for his contribution to the club over the last couple of years and wish him well for the future in whatever this may hold,” Rob Andrew, Sussex’s chief executive, said. “He has helped develop a very promising group of young players and we are looking forward to seeing them develop further in the next few years.”Kirtley admitted the situation with Salisbury, who had not been involved with the first team since mid-August, was “an obvious distraction” during Sussex’s final Championship game of the season, against Glamorgan at Hove, which ended on Thursday in a draw, leaving them second from bottom in Division Two.Salisbury was described as being “not part of the business” earlier this week, with the BBC reporting that the issue centred on his handling of young offspinner Jack Carson.On leaving the club where he played between 1989-1996, Salisbury said: “I’ve really enjoyed my time at Sussex for last two years and the journey has really helped me after the loss of my wife. However it’s the right thing for myself and daughter to look for a fresh challenge.”I want to thank the backroom staff, ground staff, foundation, office staff, catering and stewards for their support throughout my time at Hove. Whoever takes over from myself will inherit a very talented homegrown squad who if supported from above are ready to fly in the next few years.”

Allrounder slipped while running in backyard; Sean Abbott replaces him for England ODIs

Andrew McGlashan13-Nov-2022Glenn Maxwell has been ruled out of cricket for an extended period after suffering a broken leg in “a freak accident” at a birthday party in Melbourne on Saturday.Maxwell fractured his fibula and underwent surgery on Saturday. It is understood it happened as he slipped while running in a backyard with the person celebrating the birthday, and Maxwell’s leg became trapped, with neither person intoxicated.In the immediate future Maxwell is ruled out of the one-day series against England which starts on Thursday but he may also miss the entire BBL with Melbourne Stars, depending on the recovery timeline which will be known in the coming weeks. It would appear touch and go whether he will have recovered in time to be considered for the Test tour of India which starts in February 2023.The injury means Maxwell won’t have the chance to make a rare Sheffield Shield appearance in early December or feature for Australia A against South Africa.”Glenn is in good spirits,” national selector George Bailey said. “It was an unfortunate accident and we feel for Glenn in the circumstances given he was in great touch in his last few games. Glenn is a critical part of our white-ball structure and we will continue to support him through his recovery and rehabilitation.”Stars general manager Blair Crouch said: “Glenn is obviously a huge part of the Melbourne Stars and we wish him well in his recovery. He will continue to be a key part of the club during the start of the season as he works his way back to full fitness and we look forward to seeing him soon.”Sean Abbott will replace Maxwell in the squad to face England.Earlier this year England’s Jonny Bairstow suffered a badly broken ankle when he slipped playing golf and was ruled out for the remainder of the year. Australia wicketkeeper Josh Inglis missed the T20 World Cup after badly cutting his hand playing golf on the eve of the tournament.