Jodie Grewcock fifty not enough as visitors breeze to small target

ECB Reporters Network01-May-2023Lauren Winfield-Hill maintained her remarkable Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy record with another commanding half-century to put Northern Diamonds back on track as they saw off Sunrisers by five wickets.The Diamonds opener passed 50 for the eighth time in her last 10 innings in the tournament to ensure the defending champions – defeated by Central Sparks on Saturday – responded with a comprehensive win at Chelmsford.Seam duo Lizzie Scott and Jessica Woolston laid the foundations with two wickets apiece before legspinner Katie Levick’s 3 for 23 ensured Sunrisers were bundled out for 157, despite Jodie Grewcock’s second half-century of the tournament.Winfield-Hill then top-scored with 51 from 43 balls and Bess Heath struck an unbeaten 32 from 25, as the visitors chased down their target with 21.3 overs to spare.Scott and Woolston, opening the attack after Diamonds had lost the toss and surprisingly been invited to bowl in overcast conditions, established control as they made the ball swing from the start. Woolston brought one back to uproot Cordelia Griffith’s off stump in her second over and then found movement in the opposite direction to clip the bails and pick up the prize scalp of Grace Scrivens for 11.Mady Villiers departed for a second-ball duck, clipping Scott to the diving Katherine Fraser at midwicket and, when Saskia Horley’s pull off Abi Glen flew straight to Hollie Armitage, Sunrisers were deep in the mire at 32 for 4.Grewcock and Jo Gardner dug in for a concerted rebuilding campaign during the middle overs, clawing their way back into the game with a spirited fifth-wicket partnership of 65. Gardner had just begun to open up, drilling Fraser back past the stumps for an isolated boundary, when she miscalculated a Chloe Tryon delivery and was bowled for 32 – after which Sunrisers’ innings hit the buffers again.Teenage left-hander Grewcock, having battled hard to complete her half-century from 91 balls, was then caught behind off the 93rd – the first of two wickets in three deliveries for Levick.Kate Coppack’s breezy unbeaten 16 at least hauled Sunrisers above the 150 mark before they were bowled out with four overs unused – but the total never looked like one they could defend with any degree of confidence.Winfield-Hill immediately set the tone for Diamonds’ response, slamming Coppack to the midwicket boundary twice inside the opening over as she and Sterre Kalis built a belligerent partnership of 53. Coppack’s luck seemed to be out, with Kalis edging her just over the stumps for four, and it was Sunrisers skipper Kelly Castle who eventually achieved the breakthrough, trapping the opener in front with a slower delivery.With Winfield-Hill striking the ball confidently and Armitage in no mood for caution, as she cracked Abtaha Maqsood to the rope three times in her first over, Diamonds appeared to be coasting towards their target.They were held up by Villiers, whose wily offbreaks brought her figures of 3 for 42 – the trio of victims including Winfield-Hill and Armitage, who until then had been highly effective against the slower bowlers in her knock of 30 from 32. However, Heath clubbed Villiers over long-on for the first six of the match – and then flayed the second off Eva Gray to seal Diamonds’ victory in style.

The Mumbai Indians captain felt they let Gujarat Titans score 20-25 runs extra and failed to stitch partnerships in the chase

ESPNcricinfo staff26-May-20232:03

Will Mumbai be happy with their season?

Mumbai Indians’ IPL campaign in 2023 came to an end with a 62-run defeat against Gujarat Titans in the second Qualifier in Ahmedabad. Their captain Rohit Sharma said that their batting and especially the performance of some of the younger players was the biggest positive for them from this season.Mumbai adopted an ultra-aggressive approach to compensate for the loss of several of their first-choice bowlers to injury, including Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer. It saw them post totals of more than 200 six times this season, the most by any team in one edition of the IPL.”I mean playing this game, qualifying as third in the tournament, you know, it gives us a lot of confidence,” Rohit told the host broadcaster after the game.Related

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Mumbai had a slow start to the season, before coming out on top of a mid-table jam to make it to the playoffs. They then beat Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator to reach the second Qualifier.Players like Tilak Varma, who smashed 43 off 14 deliveries in their defeat on Friday, and Nehal Wadhera played a role in their run to the third-place finish.”Our batting actually was the biggest positive,” Rohit said. “Some of the younger players who have come through this tournament really well is a big positive for us, something that we can take into the next season and see what we can do with the squad.”On Friday, a glorious century from Shubman Gill powered Titans to 233. While Tilak, Suryakumar Yadav (61 off 38) and Cameron Green (30 off 20) played handy knocks, Mumbai were bowled out for 171.”Yeah, look, it was a great total. Shubman batted really well. The wicket was really good. We thought, you know they got 20-25 runs extra. But you know with the batting line-up we had, we were quite positive once we went inside after the first half,” Rohit said. “Couldn’t stitch long partnerships. Greeny and Surya batted well in the middle, but we just lost our way there a little bit.”Suryakumar Yadav made 61 off 38 against Gujarat Titans•AFP/Getty Images

Rohit felt that because they lost three wickets, Mumbai didn’t make the most of the powerplay, even as they raced to 72 after the first six overs.”We thought about giving it a good crack. We wanted to be positive. And you know, you’ve got to make full use of the powerplay as well, which didn’t go well for us. We lost a couple of wickets there and then, yeah, couldn’t get that momentum which you actually want when you’re chasing a target like that.”But I thought Surya and Greeny batted well in the middle, got something for us there. But yeah, you know what? We wanted one batter just like what Gujarat did, Shubman batted till the end. We wanted someone to go and bat and take the game till deep and you never know, anything can happen.”Mumbai had to improvise plans after Ishan Kishan suffered a concussion while fielding. He collided with Chris Jordan by accident and went off the field and was replaced by Vishnu Vinod, who became the IPL’s first concussion substitute. Wadhera opened with Rohit in Kishan’s absence.”Yeah, I mean, it’s something that we didn’t expect. He had a bit of a concussion there. I dont know how that happened, but yeah, it was a last-minute change,” Rohit said. “But you know as a team you’ve got to adapt. That is something that we’ve been talking about since the start of the tournament.”You’ve got to adapt to different conditions, different situations of the game. But yeah, I’m not going to look at that. We just didn’t play well to win the game.”Vinod came out to bat in the 12th over, ahead of Tim David, and made 5 off 7 deliveries. Rohit said that decision was so that David could get a later point of entry, which seems more suited to his game.”Tim through the season, we’ve given him a role, given him a certain situation of the game where he where he is going to bat. But yeah, I mean, look, we wanted Vishnu to come and play his game,” Rohit said. “He is a good player. We have seen that. I have seen that personally. I mean, like I said, it didn’t come off today. So I’m not going to look at any judgment that we made today went wrong. Its just that, you know, Gujarat came on top today.”

South Africa are now at No. 8 on the Super League table, while Ireland will have to go through the qualifying tournament to try and qualify for the World Cup

Firdose Moonda09-May-2023South Africa are “obviously chuffed” to have qualified directly for the men’s ODI World Cup, to be played in India later this year, after spending the bulk of the World Cup Super League outside of the top eight. And they have the weather in Chelmsford to thank for it.With the no-result in the first of three ODIs between Ireland and Bangladesh on Tuesday, even if Ireland go on to claim the series, they cannot surpass South Africa in eighth place on the Super League points table. Ireland are guaranteed a ninth-place finish, though, and will compete in the ten-team qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe, which runs from June 18 to July 9, and also includes former world champions West Indies and Sri Lanka.”We’re obviously chuffed to qualify directly because it makes life a lot simpler not having to go through the qualifying tournament,” Rob Walter, South Africa’s white-ball coach, told ESPNcricinfo. “But there would have been an upside to competing in the qualifier given the very quiet winter we have.”The men’s team last played ODI cricket against Netherlands on April 2 and have no matches scheduled until August 30, which amounts to almost five months of inaction after a redemptive summer, which ended with good results over England, West Indies and Netherlands, after chastening visits to Australia for the T20 World Cup and a Test series.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

South Africa returned empty-handed from both, but neither format mattered as much as ODIs. They started the year in 11th place on the Super League standings – well outside the automatic qualification zone – after series losses to Pakistan (2021 – home), Sri Lanka (2021 – away) and Bangladesh (2022 – home) and forfeiting a series in Australia (scheduled for January 2023) to allow their top cricketers to be available for the inaugural SA20 league.South Africa gave themselves the best chance of progressing to the World Cup with series wins over England and Netherlands, which lifted them into No. 8, but the final outcome was not in their hands, as they waited for the Ireland vs Bangladesh matches to take place.

Planning for World Cup already on, Rob Walter confirms

Walter confirmed that Cricket South Africa had put in place “two plans based on either eventuality” to execute: one if a trip to Zimbabwe was necessary, and another if South Africa held on to eighth place. The first of those would have necessitated Walter’s return from his home in New Zealand earlier than planned and seen a return to action for top players shortly after the end of the IPL on May 28. Now, they will only be called on later in the winter. The second plan has already begun, with a camp at the high-performance centre in Pretoria from Tuesday.Related

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“What we have now is the chance to spend some quality time outside of competition getting ourselves ready for a marquee event,” Walter said. “We have a number of camps planned throughout the winter in the lead up to the Australia series which obviously forms our final preparation for the World Cup. There is also the ‘A’ side tour to Sri Lanka, so we have tried to ensure significant skill development opportunities and time in the middle from a competitive point of view.”South Africa A, captained by Tony de Zorzi and with eight Test caps, will play three one-day matches and two four-day games against Sri Lanka A next month. The white-ball fixtures were pencilled in on Sri Lanka’s request, to ready themselves for the qualifying tournament in June. Gerald Coetzee and Tristan Stubbs, who earned ODI caps this year, are both in the touring party, and could put themselves into consideration for the World Cup squad.The bulk of players who will be involved in the ODI plans are involved at the IPL. Quinton de Kock, Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Heinrich Klaasen, Wayne Parnell and Sisanda Magala have all played, while Lungi Ngidi is also at the tournament, though he has not got a game. South Africa also have players at the Hundred and CPL over the winter and CSA will monitor their performances throughout this time.”All players have an individual analysis highlighting strengths and specific areas of focus in the period,” Walter said. “This is all planned alongside our players’ involvement in the different leagues that continue on through the winter.”

A seventh win for the Outlaws puts them in a strong position to claim a quarter-final place

ECB Reporters Network20-Jun-2023Joe Clarke hit three sixes in a 41-ball 72 and Colin Munro 28 off 17 as a blistering start by the Outlaws proved to be enough to set up a 22-run North Group victory over Leicestershire Foxes in the Vitality Blast.The Outlaws were 78 for 1 after eight overs having opted to bat first, and though the Foxes came back strongly with the ball to restrict the visitors to 165 for 8, their efforts with the bat proved woefully inadequate.Nick Welsh (32 from 30) and Peter Handscomb (28 from 30) put on 63 for the first wicket but despite Wiaan Mulder striking 38 from 26 balls late in the innings, the Foxes fell 23 runs short of their target, Steven Mullaney taking 3 for 18 from his four overs, leg spinner Calvin Harrison 2 for 14 and Shaheen Shah Afridi 2 for 28.Pace-bowling all-rounder Tom Scriven took a career-best 4 for 21 for the Foxes in only his fifth Blast appearance, backed up by 3 for 22 from canny left-arm spinner Callum Parkinson, while Mike Finan equalled the county record for the format with four outfield catches.Yet they ended on the losing side again as their side suffered their ninth defeat from 11 matches to remain rooted to the bottom of the group.A seventh win for the Outlaws puts them in a strong position to claim a quarter-final place, although they suffered a double blow on the night with overseas star Munro unable to field after suffering what looked like a hamstring injury while batting, and veteran all-rounder Samit Patel leaving the field with an apparent ankle injury after the fourth ball of his third over.The Outlaws were 60 for 1 after an eventful powerplay which saw Parkinson dismiss Alex Hales for the fourth time in five seasons but then drop one of two catching chances the Foxes failed to hold.Munro was put down at short fine leg on five off left-armer Finan before Parkinson spilled an easier one at short third man as Clarke, on 26, went for the ramp against Matt Salisbury, Munro finishing the over with four and six. The Foxes were generally sloppy in the field in the powerplay.Munro needed lengthy treatment in the seventh over, was able to continue as Colin Ackermann’s first over went for 15 but fell in the ninth as he mistimed a lofted drive against Rehan Ahmed to be caught at long on, two tidy overs from the leg-spinner checking the Outlaws’ progress a little as they reached the halfway point at 91 for 2.Clarke stepped on the accelerator, adding sixes off Finan and Scriven to an earlier maximum off Ackermann as the next 22 balls saw the Foxes leak 41 runs but the shape of the Outlaws innings then changed dramatically with the loss of three wickets in seven balls.Scriven, hammered down the ground for six by Clarke the previous delivery, took revenge when the Outlaws’ leading run-scorer miscued high in the air to backward point, before Parkinson struck twice in five balls, having Matt Montomery caught at long off before trapping Tom Moores leg before on the back foot.Notts had slipped from 133 for 2 to 136 for 5, a triple blow that cost them all their momentum with only 29 added in the final five overs as Scriven rounded off a fine performance with three wickets and just eight runs conceded in his two death overs.Samit Patel holed out to long off and Finan became the third Foxes player – along with Arron Lilley and Wiaan Mulder – to take four outfield catches in a single Blast innings by safely pouching Shaheen Afridi and then Mullaney in the deep on the leg side.Foxes openers Welch and Handscomb were not able to match the Outlaws’ explosive start but did not lose a wicket in posting 42 runs from the powerplay, although the Australian would have been run out on seven had a Hales’ throw hit.Yet they struggled to find any acceleration and were already lagging behind the required rate at 74 for 1 after 10, having by then lost Handscomb, stumped going down the pitch to Mullaney, as Moores made amends for missing him off Samit Patel the over before.Rishi Patel announced himself with a pulled six off Calvin Harrison but perished in the next over, well caught on the extra cover boundary as a reverse-sweep went wrong and Mullaney claimed a second wicket.Next over, Welch holed out to Hales at deep midwicket before Ackermann departed in the most bizarre fashion, handing Mullaney a caught-and-bowled chance which he dropped but claimed at a juggling second attempt as the ball bounced back to him off the chest of Mulder, who was standing a yard from him at the non-striker’s end.By now, the run-rate was beginning to look beyond the Foxes, who lost Ahmed caught behind as Harrison completed the stricken Samit Patel’s unfinished over before Scriven found Hales on the long-on boundary, with 70 needed from 27 balls.Mulder launched back-to-back sixes off Jake Ball but they were no more than a consolation with 29 needed off a final over in which Shaheen bowled him and Finan in the space of four balls.

Ireland fall well short in the second T20I, with four run-outs hurting their batting effort in a big way

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jul-2023Hayley Matthews was at it again, leading West Indies with the bat after chipping in with the ball, to take them to a comfortable eight-wicket win over Ireland in the second of three T20Is in Gros Islet to sew up the series.Like in the first game, where she was Player of the Match for her 3 for 22 and 42-ball 37, which took West Indies to a last-ball win, Matthews was Player of the Match again here. She first returned 1 for 24 to help restrict Ireland to a modest 113 for 7, and then scored 50 in 39 balls, with nine fours, to put West Indies in sight of victory before being dismissed.Chinelle Henry’s 12-ball 22 and Shabika Gajnabi’s unbeaten 29-ball 17 finished the job for West Indies in 16.4 overs, very different to how tense it got in the first game, where West Indies were chasing an almost identical target, of 113.”I think we’re pretty happy with the result,” Matthews was quoted as saying by Cricket West Indies after the match. “Coming into this tour, we wanted to be able to take home both series [West Indies won the ODIs 2-0], so just very happy that we were able to go out there and win convincingly today and secure the T20I series.”We had more intent going out today and we noticed early on that the wicket was a bit better on today and we went out with the intent to chase down the runs quicker. What really helped us today was the fielding, the catches and run-outs we were able to take, kudos to the overall team for the bowling performance they put on and the fielders for backing them up.”Indeed, more than Matthews or any of the other West Indies bowlers – Shamilia Connell and Cherry-Ann Fraser took one wicket each, too – it was the run-outs that stymied Ireland after they had opted to bat. The first wicket, that of Gaby Lewis, was to a run-out, and the collapse from 77 for 3 in the 16th over to 113 for 7 by the end featured three more run-outs.Amy Hunter, the opener, was the best of their batters on the day, scoring 33 in 35 balls with four fours, while Laura Delany chipped in with a 35-ball 20 and there were cameos at the end from Eimear Richardson (16 in 15 balls), Rebecca Stokell (15 in 11) and Arlene Kelly (13 in nine).Matthews lost her opening partner Rashada Williams (16 in 20) off the first ball of the seventh over after a 40-run stand, which put them on the road to victory. And after Matthews fell, Henry and Gajnabi took West Indies home with lots to spare.The tour-ending third T20I will be played on July 8, also in Gros Islet.

Jimmy Neesham has been withdrawn from the T20I squad to return home for the birth of his first child

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Aug-2023Kane Williamson has two weeks to prove his fitness for the ODI World Cup after he linked up with the New Zealand squad in England to continue his rehab from the ACL injury picked up at the IPL.When Williamson suffered the injury in April he was viewed as only a very slim chance of making the World Cup, but his progress in recent weeks has been encouraging and he will be given every opportunity to prove he is ready.The 15-player squads need to be submitted to the ICC by September 5 but can be changed without approval up to September 28.Related

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“[We’ve] got about two weeks from now until we name that side,” New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said. “Going to give him every chance and use that full amount of time.”He’s in full rehab mode, he’s back batting in the nets again which is great to see. He’s progressing really well but again there’s a lot of work for him still to do to make sure he gets to where we need him to be.”It could be that Williamson will be included even if he won’t be ready for the early matches in the World Cup, or another option could be to have him as one of the travelling reserves although there would then need to be an injury in the original squad for him to be brought in. There will also be longer-term considerations taken into account.”They are all the things we are weighing up right now,” Stead said. “There’s a chance that even if Kane was named that he wouldn’t be available right at the start of the tournament. But he also might be, and he also might not be ready.”It’s still a little bit of crystal-ball gazing [about] where he will be at. Yes, of course, we want him at the World Cup but there is that bigger picture in mind that we want Kane Williamson fit for the rest of his career.”They’ll be honest conversations that Kane and I will have with each other around exactly where he is at, to make sure we get the best outcome for our team but also the best outcome for Kane Williamson and his long-term career.”Meanwhile, Jimmy Neesham has been withdrawn from the T20I squad for the series against England so he can return home early ahead of the birth of his first child. Cole McConchie will now remain on the tour.”The birth of a child is a special time and we are a family environment,” Stead said. “We are glad to be able to support Jimmy in heading home.”Neesham played two of the T20Is against UAE in Dubai before taking up a brief Hundred deal with Oval Invincibles who he helped to the title on Sunday with an unbeaten 57 off 33 balls, adding 127 with Tom Curran after the team had been 34 for 5.

A decision on his place in the squad will be taken early next week

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Sep-2023Tim Southee will undergo surgery on Thursday for the thumb injury he sustained against England last week and New Zealand remain hopeful he could still be available the World Cup.Southee dislocated and fractured his right thumb attempting to take a catch at slip offered by Joe Root at Lord’s. A decision on his availability will be taken early next week.”We’ve got our fingers crossed the surgery goes well for Tim,” head coach Gary Stead said. “He’ll have some pins or screws inserted in his right thumb and, providing the procedure is a success, it will be a matter of ensuring Tim can tolerate the pain and manage the actual wound when returning to train and play.Related

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“Our opening game of the World Cup against England is not until Thursday October 5 in Ahmedabad, so that would be our logical target in terms of his availability.”Tim’s obviously a hugely experienced and important figure in our team and we want to give him every chance to be part of this World Cup campaign.”Southee is New Zealand’s third-highest wicket-taker in ODIs with 214 at 33.60 and has played in three previous World Cups.He was one of four specialist quicks named in New Zealand’s squad alongside Trent Boult, Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson. Kane Williamson is also part of the squad as he returns from an ACL injury although when he becomes available is still uncertainNew Zealand play two warm-up matches on September 29 against Pakistan and October 2 against South Africa.Five of the World Cup squad are currently part of the ODI series in Bangladesh while the rest will depart for India next Tuesday.

Star legspinner hopes the performance provides solace to people who are struggling back home

Ashish Pant15-Oct-20231:27

What made the Afghanistan spinners so good against England?

Rashid Khan has always been in tune with the struggles of the Afghanistan people. At the time of the Taliban takeover, he was in the UK, playing in the Hundred, and all he wanted was “peace”. Now, in the aftermath of earthquakes that have wreaked immense damage in Herat, he hoped that their humbling of the men’s ODI World Champions England may give the nation some form of solace.”It will be a big celebration back home,” he told after the game “We don’t have that kind of wins and that kind of situation back home in Afghanistan where people could celebrate. I think cricket is the only source which gives them lots of happiness and lots of good memories and people back home just wait. We have lost so many games but still the kind of support we got from them…and they are so excited for us to be playing in that stage.””Winning the game against England was a big one for us, back home they will be so proud. Lately, we’ve had an earthquake back home in Afghanistan in Herat where lots of people lost their lives, more than 3000. Around 2000 people’s houses were destroyed. This victory will give them a little bit of smile on their faces and they could little bit forget those tough days.”Related

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Coming into the game, Afghanistan’s only win at the World Cup in 17 attempts, came against Scotland back in the 2015 edition. But having racked up their second-highest score at this tournament, the Afghanistan spin trio of Rashid, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi wove their magic as England went down by 69 runs in Delhi – their second loss in three games.Rashid played a huge role in the win, both with the bat and ball. He first scored a crucial 23-ball 22 coming lower down the order to arrest a slide as Afghanistan recorded 284 in 49.5 overs. He then followed it up with a three-wicket haul taking his side to the biggest upset of the competition this year.”Against a big team like England, it always gives you a kind of huge boost. We had very tough games in the Asia Cup and the series against Pakistan,” he said.There’s no keeping down Mujeeb Ur Rahman after he strikes•Getty Images

“We were very close there but we were not winning those games, which was disappointing to the players because they were working very hard and at the end they were ending on the wrong side. They were not getting the right kind of energy and boost up. This win will give us a lot of energy for the rest of the competition. Now we have the belief that we can beat any side at any time.”While Rashid’s major contribution came with the ball as he removed Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid and Mark Wood, that isn’t the thing that had him smiling from ear to ear. “More than the three wickets, it was the 23 runs that were crucial. I was so happy with that, especially the cover drive off Mark Wood,” he said, “That is something I am more excited about after the game than my three wickets. That was the kind of contribution I wanted to have for the team. Happy after a long time to get three wickets. I was struggling a little bit to get the wickets as well but happy to get them at a very crucial time.”Along with Rashid, the other major influence in the game was Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman who first slammed a 16-ball 28 before picking 3 for 51 off his ten overs to take home the Player-of-the-Match trophy. After Fazalhaq Farooqi set the ball rolling with the wicket of Jonny Bairstow, Mujeeb made a mess of Joe Root’s stumps inside the powerplay.”As a spinner, it is very hard to bowl in the powerplay. You have only two fielders outside but that is something I have been working on in the nets,” Mujeeb said at the presentation. “Bowling with the new ball there and I try my best to be as consistent as possible and that is something which made me more effective. In the powerplay, you don’t have much of the areas to bowl wider or leg stump but I always try my best to bowl stump to stump and make it simple for myself.”Whenever I am bowling in the nets, same mindset and same mentality. I am bowling into the wicket and that’s where I am enjoying my bowling.”It’s a very proud moment to be here in the World Cup and beating the last World Cup champions. It is a great achievement for the whole nation, for the whole team and I think it is a kind of opportunity and we have worked hard for this day to beat such a big team and so happy for this performance.”Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi termed this win against England as Afghanistan’s best and was confident that this was just the start of his side’s journey in the World Cup.”This was the best win that we got today and the confidence will be there for the next games and all the country will be proud and happy,” he said. “Last couple of games we did not finish well, but we had the belief. This is not the first win that we are looking for. Moving forward, we will be positive for the next games. This means a lot for us. This was the first one, not the last one.”

The left-arm quick is certain he won’t be around for the next ODI World Cup, but he won’t quit ODIs immediately

Andrew McGlashan13-Nov-2023Mitchell Starc is not viewing the knockout stages of this World Cup as the swansong of his ODI career but has reiterated that it will be white-ball cricket that makes way first with a view to playing Tests for as long as possible.Although Starc, who has 230 ODI wickets at 23.17, is certain he won’t be around for the next 50-over World Cup in 2027, when he will be 37, he won’t be ditching the format immediately. Australia’s next ODIs are against West Indies in February but they don’t have anymore scheduled until a tour of England next September. There is a Champions Trophy due to be played in Pakistan in 2025.”I’ll look to keep playing after this, but I don’t doubt that I won’t be making the next World Cup. I’ve no vision for that. Four years is a long,” he told reporters in Kolkata. “I’ve always maintained that Test cricket is the top of the tree for me and I’ll drop off the rest before I let go of Test cricket. For me [the semi-final] is just another one-day game for Australia, it’s not the end of the road in one-day cricket as yet for me.”Starc will be hoping to help Australia get past South Africa in Thursday’s semi-final to earn a spot in another World Cup final on November 19 during a tournament that has been much more of a struggle than his prolific 2015 and 2019 performances.He has taken 10 wickets at 43.90 with an economy rate of 6.55 and conceded he had been below his best. But he revealed he has been carrying some niggles since the Ashes without specifically saying if they were related to the groin and shoulder problems he picked up in England, with the former keeping him out of the South Africa in September. He also noted he was not alone among quick bowlers having a difficult World Cup.Related

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“I certainly haven’t been at the level I would have liked…or not the same level as the last two World Cups anyway, but now a chance at the pointy end to impact again,” he said.”Certainly bowling first on particular wickets, the new ball with two fielders out I think has been almost the hardest time to bowl. You get a bit of an understanding of the wicket as the game goes on…that’s not a sob story, that’s the nature of one-day cricket.”You’ve got two brand new balls on flat wickets, that’s the nature of the World Cup if you look at the runs scored, or certainly centuries scored, as opposed to five wickets taken, the ratios are heavily skewed. Bowlers just have to find a way.”Starc was rested for the final group game against Bangladesh and said the decision was largely taken out of his hands.”The way we started meant we couldn’t rest anyone earlier in the campaign being 0-2. Had the chance with securing the semi-final spot the other night. Glenn [Maxwell] after his knock and his cramping needed a bit of a rest and I didn’t have much of a say in my decision. I’ve carried a few things from the Ashes and it was a chance before the semi-finals.”

Team Abu Dhabi fell short by four runs in pursuit of 116; de Kock, Charles and Powell made a mockery of Gladiators’ total

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Nov-2023A 20-ball 50 from Kusal Perera combined with the efforts of bowlers gave New York Strikers their first win of the season as they beat Bangla Tigers by eight wickets.Having been put in, Tigers lost opener Chris Lynn third ball of the innings to left-arm quick Muhammad Jawadullah. Kusal Mendis then joined Jordan Cox to plunder 59 runs off the next 24 balls before Jawadullah struck again in the fifth over to remove the latter. In the next over, Sunil Narine had Mendis caught at deep midwicket. Tigers’ innings never took off after that, as Chamika Karunaratne and Akeal Hosein struck to restrict them to 101 for 7.In return, Strikers lost Rahmanullah Gurbaz early, but Muhammad Waseem and Perera struck a strong partnership, making 58 runs together off 28 deliveries. Benny Howell removed Waseem in the seventh over for the breakthrough, but Perera launched him for 4, 6, 4 in the same over to take Strikers closer to win. With 11 runs needed off 18 balls, Perera then hit a four off the first ball of the eighth over and then launched a six fourth ball to hand Strikers a comfortable win.Jason Roy scored 84 off 39 balls•Abu Dhabi T10

Leus du Plooy and Colin Ingram combined to smash 17 off the last over, but Team Abu Dhabi still fell short by four runs in a thrilling finish against Chennai Braves. Abu Dhabi needed five to win off the last ball, but du Plooy was beaten by Obed McCoy, who bowled a dot ball to end the game.Abu Dhabi were set 116 by Braves on the back of Jason Roy’s unbeaten 84 from 39 balls, which featured six fours and seven sixes; the next best score by a Braves batter was Kobe Herft’s 14. Roy led the way by helping clobber 48 in the last three overs to take Braves up to 115, even as Abu Dhabi’s captain Dwaine Pretorius removed Stephen Eskinazi on the fourth ball of the eighth over, before running Charith Asalanka for a duck next ball.But Abu Dhabi couldn’t keep pace with the run chase during the middle overs, leaving themselves with another 61 to get from the final four overs. That is when du Plooy and Ingram joined hands. Although they took 32 off the next two overs, Sam Cook allowed just seven runs in the ninth to leave Abu Dhabi with 22 required in the final over. Eventually, du Plooy cracked 47 not out off just 18 balls, but missed the final delivery as Braves scraped through.Quinton de Kock scored a half-century•Abu Dhabi T10

Delhi Bulls’ top three thrashed their way to the target of 121 in just 8.3 overs, stunning Deccan Gladiators by nine wickets to start their Abu Dhabi T10 season with a victory. Opening batters Quinton de Kock and Johnson Charles bashed 73 in five overs to set the tone for Bulls, for whom captain Rovman Powell then completed the chase in a hurry.Powell finished unbeaten on 31 off only 12 balls, smashing five fours and a six on the way, after Charles fell for 36 from 13 deliveries, with as many fours but one more six. Those rapid cameos all but sidelined de Kock’s innings of 50 not out – his strike rate of 192 felt pretty inferior to that of Charles’ 276 and Powell’s 258 – and put the efforts of Gladiators’ batters in vain.Gladiators had opted to bat, and were led by Tom Kohler-Cadmore for the second successive night, as he followed up an undefeated 68 against New York Strikers with 42 against Bulls at double the pace. Andre Fletcher hit 34 off 20 balls, while Andre Russell’s cameo of 19 from only five deliveries provided the finishing touches. But all that wouldn’t prove to be enough in the end.