T20 Blast 2022 | South Group Round-up | July 1
T20 Blast 2022 | GLO vs SOM | Preview, Prediction, Probable XI, CREX XI
Ottis Gibson reveals reasons behind a glut of runs in the County Championship
County Championship 2022 Division I | Hasan Ali rattles the stumps of Gloucestershire wicket-keeper James Bracey
The Pakistan pacer Hasan Ali bowled a searing yorker to rattle the stumps of wicketkeeper James Bracey and celebrated in his own style. The Lancashire official Twitter account posted the video of the same ball and captioned it, “NEW STUMPS, PLEASE!”
Will Rhodes to lead select County XI against India in three-day practice game
The England and Wales Cricket Board announced a 14 man squad which includes the likes of Haseeb Hameed and James Bracey to be led by Warwickshire captain Will Rhodes to face India in a three-day practice game at the Riverside Ground in Durham. The squad would be coached by Young Lions head coach Richard Dawson and has names from across the counties. ECB said that the players would undergo Covid-19 testing before being allowed to form the squad for the game that begins on July 20. “The county players will bridge into a team environment and undergo Covid testing before being cleared to play in the match,” the board said in a press release. “The ECB would like to place on record its thanks to the first-class counties for their continued support to make players available for this fixtures and to Durham County Cricket Club for providing facilities for this match to be staged,” it added. Apart from the live broadcast of the game on Durham CCC’s Youtube channel, ball-by-ball commentary would also be available on BBC radio. County Select XI squad: Will Rhodes (Warwickshire - captain), Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire), Tom Aspinwell (Lancashire), Ethan Bamber (Middlesex), James Bracey (Gloucestershire), Jack Carson (Sussex), Zak Chappell (Nottinghamshire), Haseeb Hameed (Nottinghamshire), Lyndon James (Nottinghamshire), Jake Libby (Worcestershire), Craig Miles (Warwickshire), Liam Patterson-White (Nottinghamshire), James Rew (Somerset), Rob Yates (Warwickshire).
ENG vs NZ | 1st Test Day 4: Rory Burns saves the day for hosts after Tim Southee's crafty fifer
A fighting hundred from opener Rory Burns and valuable partnerships from the lower-order batsmen saved England from slipping away in the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s. For once, it appeared as if the Blackcaps duo of Tim Southee, who picked up his second five-wicket haul at Lord’s and Kyle Jamieson, who was shutting all his critics up with each dismissal will blow the hosts away in the fourth morning of the Test match, but Burns found a way around him and an able partner in Ollie Robinson to lead England’s riposte. The partnerships chipped away at the lead which once appeared to be insurmountable for the hosts but the visitors’ bowling attack that was sharp and threatening for the large part of the day along with the whole team faltered in the last phase of England’s first innings. New Zealand needed to avoid a collapse to ensure they would not go to Birmingham 0-1 down in the series and the opening pair of Devon Conway and Tom Latham started on a promising note once again. However, Ollie Robinson was far too accurate for them and ultimately sent the double centurion from the first innings Conway back to the pavilion to keep England in the hunt. Williamson has been such superb form for New Zealand in the last so many years but he failed on both occasion in this Test and his overseas numbers are becoming tough to digest for a player of his calibre. He too was undone by Robinson who looked set to make the most of the opportunity in the debut Test with a suspension hanging imminently over his head due to an act of past. England, as a bowling unit were superb in the precision with the line and length but could not breach Latham’s presence and the left-hander ensured that the Blackcaps will enter the fifth and final day of the Test with their noses in front of the hosts in the first Test. However, for the hosts, there was no bigger hero than Rory Burns, who resurrected both his Test career and England’s chances in the Test just from the brink. He was watchful was calculative in his strokeplay on the second day of the Test and the scrip never changed in the face of extremely disciplined bowling from Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson. Burns saw his skipper Joe Root walking back to the pavilion on the very first ball of the day that left him helpless around off stump but he was all at ease while facing the whole repertoire of an in-form Tim Southee who left no angles in the bowling crease underutilised. The English middle order crumbled with Ollie Pope not being able to extend his innings beyond some delightful boundaries and the new number six and seven —Dan Lawrence and James Bracey not being up to the task. Southee set Pope up with balls away from the off stump and dragging him away from the line of the stump and then hurling one back towards the middle stumps and catching him in front of the wicket on DRS. He induced a horrific drive off Lawrence who played a similar shot to one played by Zak Crawley on the second day to bring James Bracey to the centre while Southee was in mid of a dream spell. He could not deliver and did start his Test career in one of the most inauspicious manners. After Bracey’s departure, Burns stitched a valuable partnership with Robinson and led England’s fight against the visitors however his innings was not chanceless. He wandered out of the crease against Mitchell Santner but only to BJ Watling to miss the ball while attempting to stump him and Tim Southee-Ross Taylor combo dropping a catch they could have plugged in while sleeping off Neil Wagner. He reached his milestone in more than 200 deliveries and his contribution brought England some relief which was evident on the face of a passionate Chris Silverwood who may have enjoyed Burns’ hundred equally as the batsman. The match is likely to be heading towards a draw but a session of mad batting or bowling can change things quickly and both New Zealand and England will be wary of that aspect leading up to an all-important fifth day.
Missing Ben Stokes to injury, England name Stuart Broad as vice-captain of Test squad
England have named Stuart Broad the vice-captain of the Test side for the series against New Zealand starting June 02 at Lord’s. Stuart Broad will replace Ben Stokes, who has been ruled out of action after fracturing his hand in the 14th edition of the IPL earlier this tear, as Joe Root’s deputy in the longest format. England have included a lot of young and different faces in the squad for the series in order to strengthen their squad leading up to the Ashes scheduled for the end of this year. The move to include new faces in the squad could also be seen as a move to give rest to players coming from IPL 2021 and prolonged period in quarantine and biosecure bubble. England would be desperate to start on a winning note following the series loss against India earlier this year.
1st Test Preview: Joe Root seeks steps forward, Kane Williamson's Blackcaps battle history at Lord's
The cricket is back. More specifically, Test cricket is back and what place could be better than the Home of Cricket—Lord’s to kick off a fascinating season of sport that all its fans dearly waited for weeks and months. When Joe Root and Kane Williamson will walk down to the middle past the Long room donning their nation’s blazer, deep down they would realise how badly they must have missed the game. The context of the series is damp as it is taking place after the announcement of the World Test Championship final but the precedence it will set for coming months where superstars of the game will fight out with all their grit and determination is something that needs to be looked at. For Kane Williamson, the leader of an always promising Blackcaps, it will be the first return after a heartbreaking loss at the hands of England in the final of ICC World Cup 2019. Two years can be a lot of time in the modern-day game but not necessarily in the world ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic and New Zealand players have all those memories fresh in their hearts and minds. Players have talked about their memories from the game while they were under quarantine in Southampton and it also highlights the culture of the Blackcaps, who have not shrugged their shoulders away from a problem. On the contrary, Joe Root will have a lot lesser monumental occasion during the first Test against New Zealand. However, there will be no shortage of desperation and desire to conquer the Blackcaps in order to redeem themselves after a tough tour of India and missing out on a berth in the WTC final. From the outset, this series should be just another bilateral series between two top teams but the long hiatus of the longest format and being the stepping stone of a long English summer that is certain to witness some marquee clashes gives it a riveting context. Pitch and weather Pitches and the weather conditions during the Test matches in the early season in England gather a lot of attraction and it should be no different this time around. Blackcaps coach Gary Stead has said that the pitch has 6mm of grass on it but also exulted confidence that the tourists are used to far greener surfaces than that. The pitch, in all likelihood, should be slower in pace and also flatter in nature if the layer of grass will be lifted before the toss. The weather in London during the Test match is likely to be on the hotter side and hence offering a flat pitch with no or less rain around the corner could produce a dull game which is the last thing both the sides and fans would be hoping for. Team News England England will be without a lot of their superstars such as Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler but now an all-powerful coach Chris Silverwood has already indicated that England will be trying ‘new faces’ in the series in order to bolster the strength of the squad. Ben Foakes who was certain to play his first game at home suffered a freakish injury in the Surrey dressing room which has all but opened the door of selection for an impressive James Bracey, who has been touted as a top-order batsman who can also keep wickets in the absence of all of Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and Foakes. Foakes’ injury also allowed Haseeb Hameed a way back into the team after a gap of nearly five years albeit he is unlikely to make it into the playing XI. England had to drop Rory Burns in the last Test of the series against India for a poor run of form and asked Zak Crawley to open the batting with Dom Sibley. However, the Surrey opener has regained form in the county championship and should get his place back at the top of the order with Crawley slotting back to his number three position. Joe Root at the number four position will be followed by one among Ollie Pope, and Dan Lawrence with Bracey all set to debut at Lord’s because he also brings his wicketkeeping to the table. The England team management will have their task cut out on selecting the bowling attack as their riddle will start with a perpetual question that should the iconic pair of James Anderson and Stuart Broad play together in a Test match? The selection headache will not end then and there as they will also have to assess if they need a spinner in the form of Jack Leach or they will unleash an all-pace bowling attack with the skipper Joe Root taking upon himself to roll his arm over whenever required. Best XI Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Zak Crawley, Joe Root(C), Ollie Pope, James Bracey(WK), Ollie Robinson, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Jack Leach, Mark Wood New Zealand New Zealand, too, have many issues to resolve on their way to the first Test. Trent Boult did not arrive in the UK with the squad and is out of the whole series leaving the Blackcaps searching for Tim Southee’s new-ball partner. The squad is rich with the likes of Kyle Jamieson and Neil Wagner but the Blackcaps management is aware of their limitations with the new ball and coach Stead has confirmed assessing the trio of Matt Henry, newcomer Jacob Tuffy and Doug Bracewell for the role with the new duke ball. In the batting department, the tourists will have to take a call on who will be the batting partner of Tom Latham at the top of the order. Tom Blundell has not failed miserably for them in the longest format but the emergence of an x-factor in Devon Conway has provided them with an option to field an aggressive batting order led by Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor. Best XI Devon Conway, Tom Latham, Kane Williamson(C), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, BJ Watling(WK), Colin De Grandhomme, Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner.
Ben Foakes out of New Zealand Test series, Sam Billings, Haseeb Hameed earn call up
England wicketkeeper-batsman Ben Foakes’s wait for a Test match on home soil gets longer as a hamstring injury has ruled him out of the upcoming Test series against New Zealand. Foakes tore his left hamstring after slipping in the dressing room while representing his county side Surrey in the County championship. In his place, England have called up wicketkeeper-batsman Sam Billings from Kent and top-order batsman Haseeb Hameed from Nottinghamshire. Hameed will join England camp on Sunday, May 30. Billings has been a regular member of the England white-ball squads but is yet to debut in the longest format. He will join Ollie Robinson and James Bracey as uncapped players in the squad for the New Zealand series On the other hand, Hameed last played for England in 2016 against India. He was touted as one of the players for England’s future before a hand injury cut short his career. He has been in red-hot form with the bat in the ongoing county championship for Nottinghamshire. England will be without their big players such as Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer which paved way for the entry of new faces such as James Bracey, and Robbinson in the Test squad.
James Bracey's mantra at start of Test career: Leave outside off, capitalise on balls angled to pads
England young talent James Bracey has all the plans ready to start his Test career against New Zealand in the upcoming summer. He has stated clearly his probable mode of operations while batting at the highest level. Appearing on the BBC Test Match Special podcast show Tuffers and Vaughan with former England skipper Michael Vaughan, Bracey said that the focus will be on leaving as many balls as possible outside his off stump. He added that the balls coming in towards his pads will be used as scoring opportunities, which he said will be very far and few in between at the highest level of the game. “I think I have to be...leaving the ball well is key. I like to score through the off side. Like all left-handers, you wanna hit the ball through the covers and capitalise on anything widthwise but it’s not the way to go. Leaving the ball well key and being clinical of your pads is crucial,” Bracey said on Tuffers and Vaughan show. I think I am gonna find at the Test level, opportunities to score become less and less and being clinical when you do get opportunities is really key.” Speaking about his learning after having played all forms of the game, Bracey said that there will always be more time than a batsman including him thinks and hence waiting for opportunities to capitalize on should bear fruit. “I have learnt in every form of cricket from T20 to four-day, there is always more time than you think,” Bracey added. James Bracey has been given a maiden call up to the England Test squad as players who were there in India for the IPL did not make the cut for the series against New Zealand. Bracey has been a force to reckon with in the County circuit and the national call up was a mere formality after star players such as Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes were ruled out from the start of the English summer.
England not keen to try debutants in Ashes, coach Silverwood urges new players to grab opportunity
In an expected move, England have rested star players returning from the IPL to hand opportunities to younger players for the series against New Zealand. Head coach Chris Silverwood confirmed that the decision was taken with an eye on the Ashes series scheduled for this year's end down under. Silverwood said that England are reluctant to face situations in Australia where they will have to bring in youngsters to debut and instead they have found a way to groom new players through ‘different experiences’ before the marquee rivalry begins. "It's one thing we've talked about, to try and get to the point where we're not debuting anybody in Australia. It's been a plan now for a while and we have given different people different experiences, debuted people, got more experience into people, so we're banking that all the way to the Ashes, really,” Silverwood said. England have given maiden call ups to Ollie Robinson and James Bracey for the Tests against the Blackcaps and the message from the Silverwood-led team management is simple: “Take your opportunity..” The Test series against New Zealand is scheduled to take off from June 02 at Lord’s.
James Bracey, Ollie Robinson get maiden call-up as England announces squad for NZ Tests
England have named the squad for the two-match Test series against New Zealand scheduled to begin on June 2 at Lord’s. Gloucestershire wicketkeeper-batsman James Bracey and Sussex seamer Ollie Robinson have received the maiden Test call-ups while the team would be led by Joe Root. Bracey has notched up a total of 478 Championship runs so far in this campaign averaging 53, while Robinson has scalped 29 wickets at an average of 14. Craig Overton who last played for England in a Test in September 2019 against Australia has also been recalled. Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran and Chris Woakes have been rested from the home fixtures. The England Cricket Board had earlier said that it won’t rush the players returning from the now suspended IPL 2021 for the Test series against New Zealand. Apart from this Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer were not considered for the selection due to their respective injuries. Stokes fractured his finger while playing for Rajasthan Royals during the IPL 2021 while Archer’s elbow injury popped up once again while playing for Sussex in the County Championship. England Men’s Head Coach, Chris Silverwood, said: “The summer of Test cricket will be fascinating. Playing the top two teams in the world, in New Zealand and India, is perfect preparation for us as we continue to improve and progress towards an Ashes series in Australia at the back end of the year. “ Silverwood further added that the absence of key players from the squad is an opportunity for the new faces to showcase their talent. “With several players not available through injury or being rested for the New Zealand series, it is an opportunity for us to reward those who have been on the fringes of England squads over the past 12 months,” he added. SQUAD: Joe Root (C), James Anderson, James Bracey, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Dom Sibley, Olly Stone, Mark Wood
Joe Root asks England to be at their peak for 'pinnacle' Ashes in Australia
England are set to host New Zealand and India in consecutive Test series spanning from early June to early September but the skipper Joe Root has his eyes set on the most vouched target for an English skipper—The Ashes, scheduled for the end of this year. Joe Root said that the Test team has made good strides over the last couple of years albeit they were defeated badly in India. Joe Root conceded that England did not ‘sail’ through but also saw improvement even in the face of defeats against India. He asked his teammates to get at the peak of their prowess when they face Australia in the Ashes series that will be the ‘pinnacle’ of the contest they have faced in the last couple of years since the Ashes series in 2019. "We've made good strides over the last couple of years as a Test team. It's not been plain sailing, we've not had it all our own way, but we still improved. I truly believe we are making good strides in the right direction, and now we've got an opportunity to keep improving, keep getting better and peak for Australia, which is the pinnacle for us,” Root told Sky Sports during the county championship game against Glamorgan. ECB director of cricket, Ashley Giles had said that England would not force a fasten return of players who were in India for the IPL in the series against New Zealand. He had also said raised that England would try new talents that meant the new windows of opportunities for fringe players such as Ollie Robbinson and James Bracey. However, Root conceded that the new selection committee headed by an all-powerful coach Chris Silverwood will have their task cut out while deciding between handing opportunities to new players and giving sufficient game time to established players before the all-important tour of Australia. “It's very difficult at the minute, the circumstances make it very tricky. You've got to factor in so many different things and the welfare of the players is obviously paramount. But this is what you play for, years like this one. You want to pit yourself against the best, you want to be successful against the best, and this is the opportunity to do it,” Root added. England will face New Zealand in the two-match long Test series starting June 2 at the Lord’s while the series against India will commence on August 04 at in Nottingham.
England won't rush back IPL returnees to Test squad, will consider 'new faces' against New Zealand
England all-format players who have returned to the UK following the suspension of the IPL will not be rushed back to the Test squad for the series against New Zealand, ECB’s director of cricket, Ashley Giles has confirmed. He said that it will be up to players’ individual choice on whether they want to play in the series or take some time off with a lot of matches line up going forward this year. "All these guys are currently in quarantine and have had a number of spells in quarantine and bubbles in this last period. Some of it's their choice, I get that. We need to look after them, with the amount of cricket they've got coming up. We're not going to rush or force them back into cricket,” Gile said. Instead, he said, England will blood in some new faces from county cricket in order to strengthen their bench strength in the season that will also have an Ashes series at the end of the year. "What we do know and what's not going to change is that given the weight of cricket, given the Ashes series, and we don't know what conditions that's going to be played in with regard to a Covid environment, we are going to need a bigger group of players. We may also choose against New Zealand to look at some new faces,” Giles added. It would open a window of opportunity for players such as Ollie Robinson and James Bracey, who have an excellent track record in the county circuit to deserve a place in the squad to face New Zealand. Robinson, 27, has played 62 first-class matches and scalped 275 wickets at a phenomenal average of 21.05 runs per wicket and strike rate of 42 balls per wicket. On the other hand, Bracey has amassed 2574 runs from 44 games at an average of 37 runs per innings six centuries and 12 fifties. England played both Jos Buttler and Ben Foakes at different times during the tour of India and with the former under quarantine and Gile’s insisting on not rushing them back, it could well be the first opportunity for Foakes to play a Test match in England.