.jpg?im=Resize,height=373 "Banned After Positive Cocaine Test! New Zealand's Doug Bracewell Recieves Punishment")
'How's the Josh?'- Clarkson's All-Round Performance Push Central Stags to Title
IND vs NZ, 3rd ODI: Minute-to-Minute Updates, Tweets, Videos and More
Doug Bracewell replaces injured Matt Henry in New Zealand's ODI squads
Ajaz Patel, Bracewell offered maiden New Zealand central contracts
New Zealand Cricket Board announced the central contracts for the 2022-23 season, which comprised a total of 20 players. The spinner Ajaz Patel and all-rounder Micheal Bracewell have earned their maiden central contract on the back of consistent performances.
NZ vs NED | New Zealand name depleted squad as players opt for IPL 2022
They are missing 12 of their regular players who were not picked in order to enable them to participate in the IPL.
Canterbury Kings vs Central Stags | Preview, Prediction
Central Stags are confident going into their third game after winning two of their first two. On the other hand, Canterbury will be looking to correct the mistakes that cost them the first match. The Kings will play on their home turf in Christchurch, but they are not in the driver's seat, owing to the opposition's current form. In Canterbury's first match, which they lost by 27 runs to Wellington, there was no such standout individual performance. Ed Nuttall took three wickets for them, which was a good sign. The focus is on the Central Stags, who have won their last two games with relative ease. Their batters are also in good form, as evidenced by their ability to chase well in the first match and put up a solid total and defend it in the second. If there's one thing they need to work on, it's their bowling. Their bowling has some flaws when compared to their batting. Tom Bruce and Josh Clarkson have fifties in their previous encounter against the Wellington Firebirds. Dane Cleaver has a hundred to his name in the first match against the Otago Volts. The Stags' batters are in good form, and when their team is under pressure to score, one or more of them rises to the occasion. Their bowling is also up to the mark, with Doug Bracewell and Seth Rance, an experienced duo, performing admirably. The Kings, on the other hand, are desperate to execute their plans this time around in order to make a strong comeback from their loss to the Volts. To make a match out of it, they must be alert and bring their "A" game. Canterbury must find the right eleven and apply pressure to the Stags' weak spots. There are not many weak links in the Stags line up but as mentioned above that is the only concern for them. Match Details Canterbury Kings vs Central Stags - 5th Match Date and Time: December 10, 2021, 11:10 AM IST Venue: Hagley Oval, Christchurch Broadcast: Fancode Pitch Report The Hagley Oval pitch generally assists the batters but with some nice covering of grass expected the new ball bowlers will have some help initially. The score batting first is expected to be around 165-180. As rain is expected to come, chasing could be easy. Weather Conditions According to forecasts there will be slight drizzle and will remain cloudy throughout the match. Probable XI Canterbury Kings Chad Bowes, Ken McClure, Jack Boyle, Cole McConchie (c), Cam Fletcher (wk), Leo Carter, Matthew Hay, Matt Henry, Will Williams, William ORourke, Ed Nuttall Central Stags Greg Hay, Bayley Wiggins, Dane Cleaver (wk), Tom Bruce ©, Christian Leopard, Josh Clarkson, Doug Bracewell, Ben Wheeler, Jayden Lennox, Blair Tickner, Seth Rance CE Fantasy XI Dane Cleaver (wk), Leo Carter, Seth Rance, Ed Nuttall, Tom Bruce, Cole McConchie, Matt Henry, Jack Boyle, Ben Wheeler Captain: Josh Clarkson Vice-Captain: Doug Bracewell
Super Smash | Josh Clarkson, Doug Bracewell shine in Central Stags win over Wellington
Central Stags registered their second win in the Super Smash 2021, the premier domestic T20 competition of this year’s finalists at the T20 World Cup, New Zealand. Josh Clarkson with the bat and Doug Bracewell, who has represented the Kiwis at the highest level was the hero with the ball for the team from the Central Districts. Stags defeated Wellington Firebirds. Both Stags and Firebirds had won their first games of the season respectively. However, in this game, the Firebirds’ batting was not up to the mark and they were reduced to 72-6 at one stage while chasing down 191. If it wasn’t for their Dutch import Logan van Beek’s unbeaten 61 off 33, which he scored, while playing a supporting role to Troy Jhonson who himself scored a laboured 54 off 46 balls, the Wellington side were headed for a heavy defeat. The start of the chase was the worst possible for the men in black and yellow as they lost their premier batter Fin Allen on the very first ball of the innings. Bracewell, who got Allen’s wicket got another as he removed Luke Georgeson for another golden duck. Soon enough Nick Greenwood departed as well. It was then that all-rounder Nathan Smith and Jhonson started to build a partnership. However, Ben Wheeler struck twice in two balls to remove Smith and new man Jamie Gibson to make the situation worse for the Firebirds. Spinner Jayden Lennox’ lone wicket in the form of Tim Robinson meant that van Beek was on the crease with Jhonson. Earlier in the day, Josh Clarkson played the perfect role of late order messiah for the Stags as he hit 32 ball 71 which was laced with three fours and six sixes to power the men in green and black to 190. Clarkson came at number six when Stags were struggling at 81-4 in the first 10 overs of their innings. He then partnered skipper Tom Bruce who was already in the middle and the duo added an unbeaten 109 off just 59 balls. Bruce remained unbeaten on 69 off 48 balls.
Kyle Jamieson downplays hype around Duke ball, looks to replicate Stuart Broad's style of bowling
New Zealand young pace sensation Kyle Jamieson has warned his teammates against getting carried away with the expectations of extracting too much help in the air and out of the surface with the duke ball. In a media interaction, Jamieson said that New Zealand bowlers have experience of bowling in helpful conditions back home but with the Kookaburra balls and hence if they go on for searching a lot of help, they would end up losing accuracy. "You don't want to start trying to move the ball two sets of stumps and then get caught on the bounce. We've found favourable conditions in New Zealand at times, albeit not with the Dukes ball, and we are mindful of the fact that if you start searching too much, you can get hurt a little bit,” Jamieson said. New Zealand players who were to travel to the UK for the Test series practised with the duke ball in a preparation camp in Lincoln. The likes of Jamieson was not part of that group although interestingly he had a pair of duke balls with him in the kits while at the IPL 2021. Jamieson reiterated that the duke ball will not swing straightway and all the time and hence bowlers will have to bowl disciplined line and lengths. "He [Shane Jurgensen, the New Zealand bowling coach] hid those two Duke balls in my bag but I didn't get a chance to use them. There's a lot of talk around how much the Dukes ball can move but it also doesn't necessarily move all the time and it can take a while for it to start going,” Jamieson added. It will be Jamieson’s first opportunity to bowl in the longest format out of New Zealand and the tall bowler is looking to model the bowling styles of Stuart Broad, who relies a lot on the wobble and scramble seam to deceive batsmen with unexpected nature and amount of movement. "I'm certainly excited by the chance of it moving around little bit. The part of the next few days [will be] to gauge around what the ball feels like and how much it's going to move. We've seen in previous English summers the likes of [Stuart] Broad using the scrambled seam or wobbled seam ball. We'll try and play around that and gauge the effective way to operate,” Jamieson said.
New Zealand announce squad for WTC Final, England Tests; Rachin Ravindra, Jacob Duffy earn maiden call-ups
New Zealand have handed maiden call ups to two players such as Rachin Ravindra, and Jacob Duffy in the Test squad for the tour of England scheduled for later this year. The trio has found a place in a 20-men strong squad to take on hosts England in the two-match long Test series starting on June 2, and another at the Edgbaston. The Blackcaps squad will then be cut short to a 15-men squad for the World Test Championship final scheduled to start on June 18 in Southampton against India. Blackcaps head coach Gary Stead has had first-hand experience of the qualities the trio has to offer to the New Zealand squad on the tour of England after they out in serious hard work in the off-season during the winter. Rachin Ravindra will be the youngest Blackcaps member to debut in the longest format of the game being just 20-year-old and Stead reaffirmed his support for the all-rounder, who he said has been rated as a ‘star of the future.’ I’ve seen first-hand how hard these guys have worked in our NZC winter training squads and with New Zealand A, and so for them to earn their maiden Test call-ups for such a special tour will be really satisfying. “Rachin’s been earmarked as a star of the future since his Under-19 days and we’ve been really encouraged by the advancement in his game this season, with both bat and ball. He’s obviously an opening option, but also has the ability to bat in the middle order which combined with his left-arm finger spin make him a great asset to our squad,” Stead said in a statement released by the New Zealand Cricket. On the other hand, Jacob Duffy has been a consistent performer for Otago Volts in the New Zealand domestic circuit and Stead highlighted his skills of swinging the red ball as the reason for him finding a place on the plane to England in May. “Jacob’s been a consistent performer on the domestic circuit and his ability to swing the ball made him a particularly compelling option with a Dukes ball in English conditions,” Stead added. Apart from the duo of Rachin Ravindra and Jacob Duffy, the selectors have also handed a full-fledged call up to the highly-talented left-handed batsman Devon Conway. He has been prolific with the bat in the white-ball formats for the Blackcaps and after coming in a replacement for the skipper Kane Williamson in the series against Pakistan, he has earned a call up to the Test squad. The Blackcaps have also handed call ups to the duo of Colin de Grandhomme and Ajaz Patel, who missed the home Test series against West Indies and Pakistan in the last season. The selectors have also called up the all-rounder Doug Bracewell, who last played the longest format for the Blackcaps in 2016 for his consistent performances with both bat and ball in the domestic circuit. He has averaged 26 with the ball and 43 with the bat playing for the Central Stags along with nine wickets at 19.6 apiece for New Zealand A. “Doug’s a match-winner and we’re confident he’ll enjoy bowling on English pitches in June,” Stead said on Bracewell’s selection for England tour. The rest of the squad looks to be on expected lines with the likes of Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell and Kyle Jamieson getting rewards in the form of selection for England under the leadership of Kane Williamson. As per the New Zealand Cricket statement, the Blackcaps will organise two training camps in the first half of May before departing for England while the players participating in the Indian Premier League will be monitored on a ‘case by case basis' depending on the different time of their teams’ exits from the tournament.
Rachin Ravindra shines with all-round show as New Zealand A beat West Indies A
While the New Zealand Test team inflicted another crushing innings defeat on the West Indian side, the A team of the Kiwis meted out similar treatment to their West Indian counterparts also. In the second unofficial Test between New Zealand A and West Indies A, the hosts recorded a 101-run win to clinch the two-match series 2-0. But, to be fair to the visitors, they managed a much better fight than the first match and cetainly, a better contest than the main West Indian team at Wellington. The star of the match was Rachin Ravindra. In a glorious all-round show, the 21-year old scored a century, 144, in the first innings of New Zealand A, and then picked up a five-for, 6/89, in the final innings of the match with his left-arm spin bowling. Considering New Zealand's ongoing search for a decent spinner in the Test format, Ravindra's efforts may well earn him a spot in the New Zealand Test squad in the future. But the left-hander wasn't the only star of New Zealand A's performance. The home team won the toss and elected to bat first. Apart from Rachin, who batted at no. 6, Michael Bracewell also scored a hundred, 135, helping the team declare at a score of 481/7. The West Indian A response was led by opener Shayne Mosley who scored 110. But the rest of the order hardly contributed, except for Romario Shephard with 77. Their team was bowled out for 298. After Michael Bracewell's century, it was the turn of his cousin Doug Bracewell to star as he picked up 6/42 in the innings. New Zealand were looking for quick runs in their second innings and declared on a score of 174/7. With a target of 358 in front of them, West Indies managed 256. Half-centuries were scored by Nicholas Pooran as well as centurion from the first innings, Mosley. Many others got a start but failed to capitalise. The first match of the series was won by New Zealand A in an emphatic manner - by a margin of an innings and 143 runs. West Indies A had scored 322 in the first innings, thanks to a hundred by Romario Shepherd. In response, hundreds from openers Tim Seifert and Glenn Phillips powered New Zealand A to 574. The visitors then collapsed for 109 all out to hand over the match to the Kiwis.