Rizwan was recently named Player of the Series in the T20Is against South Africa

Umar Farooq15-Feb-2021The Multan Sultans have named wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan as their captain for the upcoming Pakistan Super League season. He will replace Shan Masood, who led the franchise to the playoffs last year. Rizwan was previously part of the Karachi Kings, the defending PSL champions, but was picked up by the Multan team in the PSL 2021 draft.”I look forward to leading the Multan Sultans team for the upcoming season,” Rizwan said in a team press release. “I have understood the innovative approach the franchise applied last season and am looking forward to playing my part this season. Multan Sultans had a successful HBL PSL 5 and we will aspire to go even better this time around especially with senior Pakistani players like Shahid Afridi, Shan Masood and Sohail Tanvir.”While revealing the team’s new captain, team owner Alamgir Khan Tareen said: “Rizwan has shown exemplary leadership qualities with the Pakistan team as well as with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in domestic tournaments. We are grateful to Shan Masood for leading the franchise exceptionally well last season and for instilling a winning mentality in the team.”Related

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In the PSL draft last month, Rizwan was, at first, not picked in his original category (diamond) until the Sultans snapped him up in a lower category (silver). He had parted ways with the Kings after an unsuccessful stint when he spent most of his time on the sidelines and hardly got a suitable batting number. He was played as a second-choice wicketkeeper-batsman and batted only 12 times, slotted between Nos. 6 and 8. Last season, he featured in only two matches and got to face just one ball, although his side went on to win the title.Rizwan had failed to reach prominence while Sarfaraz Ahmed was Pakistan’s all-format captain. His career made a remarkable turnaround when he announced himself in England last year to win a Player of the Series award in the Test series. His stocks were further elevated after the New Zealand tour where he stood out although Pakistan lost both games.Before the New Zealand tour, Rizwan had impressed in domestic cricket, in the National T20 tournament. He scored four fifties, including an unbeaten 99 against Central Punjab, which helped him finish as the highest run-scorer, while he also impressed behind the stumps. His diving catch against Sindh, in particular, was a major talking point in the tournament. His tournament tally of 389 runs at 38.90 – and a strike rate of 127.96 – led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the 2020 title.Most recently, Rizwan scored his maiden Test hundred against South Africa. In the T20I series that followed, he played all three games as an opener and struck his maiden T20I century in the first match. He finished as the highest run-scorer while also collecting the Player of the Series award for the T20Is. In the PSL, though, he has batted only 24 times – in 35 matches – with a high score of 50 at a strike rate of 115.94.

Stand-in captain says, “T20 has given people probably a greater understanding of risk and reward” in ODIs

Alan Gardner27-Mar-2021England will go into the final match of their tour of India hopeful of claiming the ODI series 2-1 but already confident that exposure to local conditions will enhance their chances of success at this year’s showpiece white-ball event, the 2021 T20 World Cup.Jos Buttler, standing in for the injured Eoin Morgan as England captain, said that the side took great pride from the way they had stuck to their philosophy of aggression in levelling the series in Pune on Friday, and pointed to the strength in depth that had enabled them to pull off a chase of 337 without the services of two of their best ODI batsmen, in Morgan and the rested Joe Root.With all limited-overs contests being looked at through the lens of the T20 World Cup, to be held in India in October and November, the performances of Liam Livingstone, who struck a composed 27 off 21 balls on debut to help seal victory, and Reece Topley, whose temperament and variations stood out in only his second ODI since 2016, added to the sense of healthy competition in England’s ranks.Related

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England were defeated 3-2 in the T20I series, having been 2-1 up, but have held their own against India across the white-ball leg of their tour.”The T20s were a great – I don’t want to say exercise – but a fantastic series for learning about playing in this part of the world as a side, with the T20 World Cup looming in the near future,” Buttler said. “I know Eoin and Chris Silverwood talked about building that pool of players who are exposed to international cricket and being exposed to playing against India in India is as hard as it gets in international cricket.”Lots of guys have had opportunities. It was great to see Liam Livingstone make his debut yesterday, brilliant to see Reece Topley to come back in and bowl so well. It’s fantastic for these guys to get exposure and come in and perform in the fashion that we like to play as a side. It’s great to see someone like Liam to fully commit to his way and it’s great to see someone do that on debut.”Another plus has been the form of Jonny Bairstow, who reinforced his credentials as one of the best limited-overs batsmen in the game with an 11th ODI hundred to set up England’s successful chase in the second game. Bairstow’s last seven ODI innings have seen him rack up scores of 82, 4, 84, 0, 112, 94 and 124, giving him an average of 52.41 and strike rate of 108.89 since converting to opener in 2017.His latest effort in Pune also elevated Bairstow to fourth among England’s century-makers in the format, leaving him to suggest that one of his aims was to top the list.Buttler on Bairstow: “That’s fantastic, the form Jonny is in, and there is no reason why he shouldn’t go on and break all those records”•Getty Images

“Jonny has been in unbelievable form for the last few years for us,” Buttler said. “He has been one of the world’s leading batsmen in ODI cricket and it’s been amazing to watch. If those numbers drive him on, that’s fantastic. For us as a side, we all want to push boundaries of what we are all capable of as a team and, of course, individuals want to do that as well.”That’s fantastic, the form Jonny is in, and there is no reason why he shouldn’t go on and break all those records. If you look at his numbers since becoming an opening batsman in ODI cricket, it is quite extraordinary, the averages and the strike rate he manages to score at, it’s fantastic. It’s brilliant to have him in our side and we love watching him play.”He’s our leading player really. It’s just been brilliant to watch the consistency he shows to play in the fashion he does, which is what makes it so impressive. It’s very intimidating to bowl at. I know having played against Jonny in the IPL and in the bowlers meeting [people] saying ‘What should we bowl to this guy?’ [There are] not too many answers to be honest. He’s hugely appreciated within our side and I think everyone knows really just what special player he is.”Amid debate about India’s mode of playing the ODI game, which contrasts with the all-out-attack methods that have seen England secure a World Cup and the ICC’s No. 1 ranking, Buttler echoed the suggestion of Morgan that white-ball cricket is “always on an upward slant” and said the influence of T20 had changed the players’ approach to risk versus reward.”I think the two games are probably as close as they’ve ever been,” he said. “T20 has given people probably a greater understanding of risk and reward, and that’s sort of coming into the 50-over game, especially for us, the six-hitting capability and boundary-hitting capability. The guys’ attitude to risk is probably quite different compared to how it was a number of years ago and I think T20 has sort of made people realise that they can operate at a level above what they used to be able to do for longer periods of time so bringing that into 50-over cricket.”When the conditions suit it’s certainly made for some high-scoring games, but I think one of the beauties of 50-over cricket – go back to the World Cup in 2019, we probably expected to see higher scoring games that we did. So, there are certain times when the game does differ and move further away from T20. But I’d say they are certainly closer aligned than they probably ever have been.”

Cockbain scores a century and Lace 97 as fourth-wicket stand worth 224 sees hosts home

ECB Reporters' Network02-May-2021Ian Cockbain’s first County Championship century since 2014 and 97 from Tom Lace saw Gloucestershire chase 348 to beat Leicestershire by four wickets at Bristol.Cockbain and Lace arrived just after lunch at 52 for 3 when winning the game was fanciful but they played calmly through to tea to leave 216 to win from 37 overs of the final session.Their intent was immediate and they extended their stand to 224. Lace couldn’t see the chase through and Cockbain fell for 117 so it was left to George Hankins to strike the winning runs.It was the fourth-highest Championship run chase in Gloucestershire’s history, a third victory to take them top of Group 2 and a remarkable turnaround having conceded a first-innings lead of 146.Related

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Leicestershire were denied 22 overs on the third evening through bad light and rain and it denied them the chance to totally close the door on their hosts while giving them enough time to bowl them out again.The Foxes left themselves 82 overs in the fourth innings and when the top three all fell cheaply, a first win of the season was possible.But Lace and Cockbain batted through the afternoon to raise prospects of saving the game before having a dip in the final session.Cockbain flicked Alex Evans to fine leg for four, pulled him over square leg for six and then pulled Chris Wright for four to raise a first first-class half-century since April 2016 – this being just his fifth game since then.He skipped at Callum Parkinson’s left-arm spin to lift him over deep midwicket for six and flat-batted Wright over long-off for another maximum to bring the target down to 100 from 17 overs before pulling Wright for two to raise his century in 166 balls with nine fours and three sixes. He finally fell skying a catch to mid-off but by then the game was effectively won.Lace initially led the resistance after lunch. He straight-drove Wright for four to go to a second fifty of the season and was on the cusp of a maiden century for Gloucestershire before top-edging a pull from Parkinson to midwicket.Leicestershire stumbled over their morning’s work in being bowled out for 201 and, without the injured Dieter Klein, were powerless to stop the Glosters’ evening charge.

The allrounder replaces Amy Satterthwaite after a season where the Renegades won four matches

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jun-2021Allrounder Sophie Molineux has been named the new captain of Melbourne Renegades as the club looks to bounce back from a difficult 2020-21 WBBL where they finished seventh.Molineux’s appointment, to replace New Zealand’s Amy Satterthwaite, means a new captain-coach combination for the Renegades with Simon Helmot having replaced Lachlan Stevens.Last season Molineux scored 221 runs and took 11 wickets as the team secured four wins in 14 matches during the tournament that was played entirely in a Sydney-based hub.”It’s a real honour to be appointed captain of a club I love so much and follow in the footsteps of some high-quality leaders that I look up to,” Molineux said.”Amy Satterthwaite has had a massive influence on the group and on me personally. Her wealth of knowledge and ability to stay composed is what I’ve always admired. Jess Duffin is such a competitor and leads by example and I’ve also had the privilege of playing under Meg Lanning in the Victorian and Australian teams.”I am really excited to be able to take what I’ve learnt from each of them, combine it with how I approach the game and continue to grow and learn along the way.”Molineux is a regular part of Australia squads with 24 T20I caps under her belt alongside six ODIs and one Tests although did not make the side during the tour of New Zealand earlier this year.”Sophie has fantastic relationships within the squad. She’s tactically astute, trusted and highly respected across the playing group,” Helmot said. “She’s had an excellent apprenticeship working under some great captains, including Amy who has helped nurture so much of our young talent.”That grounding under such leadership will have Sophie well prepared, we’re excited to see this next phase in her career and we’ll support her along the way. We look forward to the start of a sustained period of success for the club under Sophie’s leadership.”

Both sides make sporting declarations before play is abandoned in weather-hit round

ECB Reporters' Network23-May-2021Kent and Glamorgan drew their LV= Insurance County Championship match at Canterbury, after rain thwarted their attempts to make a game of it on day four.Glamorgan were 23 for 1 in their second innings when play was abandoned, after the teams agreed sporting declarations.The visitors declared on their overnight score of 64 for 3, 243 behind, and Kent then declared on 60 for 1, setting Glamorgan a target of 304 from a minimum 84 overs.Just 38 balls were bowled on day three and, with a draw effectively useless to both sides’ Group 3 ambitions, they attempted to set up a finish.Kent’s only loss in their brief second innings was Ollie Robinson, who made 14 before he was caught behind, glancing Michael Neser down the leg side. Jordan Cox was unbeaten on 27 and Zak Crawley 18 not out when the declaration came.Glamorgan had made 22 for nought when rain forced an initial five-minute delay. Matt Quinn then bowled David Lloyd for 17, but a second, far heavier downpour led to an early lunch and with no prospect of the ground conditions improving, the sides agreed a draw at 1.45 pm. Joe Cooke was six not out and Marnus Labuschagne unbeaten on 0.Kent collected 12 points and Glamorgan 11.

Selectors recall uncapped seamer Caneisha Isaac in 13-member squad

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jul-2021Chinelle Henry has been rested for the first two ODIs against Pakistan Women as the West Indies Women selection panel recalled uncapped seamer Caneisha Isaac as part of the 13-member squad for the first two of the five ODIs starting July 7. The other members of the T20I squad, which swept Pakistan 3-0 in the recent series, were retained and will be led by Stafanie Taylor, with Anisa Mohammed as her deputy.Henry and Chedean Nation were taken to a hospital during the second T20I against Pakistan after both collapsed on the field in separate incidents. Both players didn’t have to face any hospitalisations or restrictions and rejoined the squad ahead of the third T20I. Nation has been named in the squad for the first two ODIs.As for Issac, she was part of the West Indies A side that had played the last two T20s against Pakistan A before being drafted into the senior squad for the upcoming ODI series.The selectors also named a 14-member A squad to play against Pakistan Women’s A team in the first of the three one-day games starting July 10 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. Wicketkeeper Reniece Boyce will lead the A team with allrounder Shabika Gajnabi as her deputy, as was the case in the recent T20s, which the visitors won 3-0.”The ODI series will be a perfect opportunity for the players to continue to prepare for the upcoming ICC Women’s World Cup Qualifiers,” Ann Browne-John, CWI’s lead selector of the women’s panel, said. “The teams had reasonably good performances during the T20 series, and it is important that they now transition into the longer version. The panel was satisfied with the T20 efforts and has opted for the same squads for the first two ODIs and the first A team match. This 50-overs series also gives the A team players a chance to play longer innings and extend themselves for longer bowling spells as they continue their development.”ODI squad: Stafanie Taylor (capt), Anisa Mohammed (vice-capt), Aaliyah Alleyne, Shamilia Connell, Britney Cooper, Deandra Dottin, Caneisha Isaac, Kycia Knight, Kyshona Knight, Hayley Matthews, Chedean Nation, Karishma Ramharack, Shakera SelmanA squad: Reniece Boyce (capt), Shabika Gajnabi (vice-capt), Shanika Bruce, Cherry Ann Fraser, Jannillea Glasgow, Shenata Grimmond, Zaida James, Japhina Joseph, Qiana Joseph, Mandy Mangru, Kycia Schultz, Steffie Soogrim, Rachel Vincent, Rashada Williams

Manchester Originals still winless despite Sophie Ecclestone’s all-round efforts

ECB Reporters' Network31-Jul-2021Welsh Fire’s women claimed their first win of the Hundred thanks to an excellent effort in the field and an impressive innings of 71 from Hayley Matthews as they defeated Manchester Originals in Cardiff.The Fire won the toss and put the Originals into bat. The Originals reached 120 for 6 from their 100 balls with Sophie Ecclestone top-scoring with a late-innings flourish of 31 not out off 15 balls.The Fire got their innings off to a fantastic start thanks to Matthews who once again hit powerfully down the ground, and reached their target with nine wickets and 12 balls to spare. This defeat means the Originals are still to claim a win in the tournament.Related

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The Fire were brilliant in the field inside the powerplay with just 21 runs coming from the first 25 balls. Lizelle Lee had crunched the first two balls of the innings for four but from there the Fire kept things very tight. It wasn’t until the 36th ball of the innings that the Originals found the boundary again.The Fire managed to picked up early wickets with Lee was run out in the first set of five and Emma Lamb also going inside the powerplay which set the tone for a tight performanceHarmanpreet Kaur played the anchor role for the Originals, making 26 from 32 balls but no batter went on having got set. Mignon du Preez looked impressive, making a well-paced 24 before she chipped a ball from Georgia Hennessey to mid-off.It was Ecclestone who took the Originals past 100 and on to a score that they had some hope of defending. Her innings included a towering shot over midwicket off a Hennessy full toss. The Fire shared the wickets around with Hennessey finishing with the best figures of 2 for 24 from her 20 balls.Matthews had made 33 and 30 in the tournament thus far but here she kicked on to pass fifty from just 35 balls. She was well supported by Georgia Redmayne who made 38 from 35 balls.The Originals had a few moments where the undefeated partnership of 101 between Matthews and Redmayne could have been broken, not least when du Preez pulled off a stunning one-handed catch in the deep off Laura Jackson but it was judged to be a no-ball. As it was the two batters took their team to the victory target with ease.

Marnus Labuschagne’s medium pace proved handy as he claimed the wicket of Cameron Green

AAP13-Nov-2021Western Australia cruised to victory over Queensland in the Sheffield Shield at the Gabba on the back of an eight-wicket match haul from fringe Test quick Jhye Richardson.The 25-year-old picked up the Bulls’ final scalp early on Saturday to finish with 5 for 23 from 22.2 overs before his side ran down the 95-run target with seven wickets to spare.Richardson, who made his Test debut in Brisbane two years ago, now has 16 wickets from three Shield matches this season at an average of 12.50. While Australia’s top three quicks are locked in, competition is fierce among the likes of Richardson, Michael Neser, Mark Steketee, Scott Boland and Sean Abbott to be next cab off the rank.Richardson also chipped in with a handy 38 in WA’s first innings and recently notched a Shield half-century.Related

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The Bulls added just two runs to their overnight score of 9 for 244, with Richardson removing Neser who was caught behind. Neser didn’t bowl after tweaking his hamstring early in the match but is expected to be right by the first Ashes Test against England on December 8.Former Test opener Cameron Bancroft guided WA home with an unbeaten 47 alongside Josh Philippe, who hit a first-innings ton.Bowling ten overs of medium pace, Marnus Labuschagne removed talented Test allrounder Cameron Green, who left a ball that careered into the stumps. Labuschagne had Bancroft dropped twice while Steketee did his best, backing up his four first innings scalps.Richardson picked up the big wickets of Joe Burns and Labuschagne on Friday, shouldering a greater workload in the absence of fellow quick Joel Paris who injured his hamstring on day one.Queensland faced an uphill battle after being rolled for just 129 in their first innings. Khawaja scored a gritty 70 in tough conditions but managed just eight in the second innings as the Bulls’ middle order fell away.WA skipper Shaun Marsh was among the casualty list, the veteran hurt his calf in the first innings and didn’t bat in the second.

Hurricanes exacted revenge for their defeat three nights ago with a nine-run win as Thunder suffered a middle-order collapse

Tristan Lavalette13-Jan-2022Matthew Wade made an unbeaten 83 on return, then Riley Meredith lit a fuse with the ball as Hobart Hurricanes ended Sydney Thunder’s six-match winning streak with a nine-run victory at Marvel Stadium.After missing two matches due to personal reasons, Wade’s 54-ball knock held Hurricanes’ innings together after they elected to bat before speedster Meredith tore through Thunder’s vaunted batting order with three wickets in a see-saw contest.Fourth-placed Hurricanes (24 points) exacted revenge after losing by nine wickets just three days ago and tightened their grip on a playoffs berth, while Thunder (31 points) remained second behind Perth Scorchers.Wade returns in styleHaving hit two of his three BBL tons at Marvel Stadium, Ben McDermott eyed another big score but Thunder had his number again as he fell for 18. For the second straight match, he fell to a slower delivery after being deceived by Daniel Sams in the fifth over.It brought Wade to the crease, who returned after missing two matches due to personal reasons and he came in at No. 3 instead of his customary position at the top. Having struggled for most of the season, Wade’s timing was impeccable with a powerful boundary second ball and then smashed legspinner Tanveer Sangha for two boundaries in the seventh over.Wade received a life on 18 when Sangha dropped a sitter at short third man and made Thunder pay along with Caleb Jewell, who justified the faith to keep him as an opener with a 32-ball 51. Hurricanes appeared set to push for 200 until Jewell’s wicket in the 13th over sparked a collapse of 5 for 22.Having watched the carnage around him, an unperturbed Wade lifted Hurricanes with a late flurry. Hurricanes still haven’t quite got the balance right in their batting order but a rejuvenated Wade at No. 3 appears a winner.Thunder hit back after ragged startThunder appeared to be wilting amid the Wade and Jewell carnage marked by ragged bowling and sloppy fielding. But they weren’t rattled and impressively fought back to spectacularly flip the script. In-form seamer Gurinder Sandhu claimed two wickets in a momentum-shifting 13th over as Thunder tore through Hurricanes’ susceptible middle order.They claimed five wickets in a devastating 25-ball burst punctuated by a scintillating yorker by Mohammad Hasnain to clean up an ashen-faced Jordan Thompson in the 17th over. Apart from leaking 16 runs in the 12th over, Hasnain was again irrepressible with full, and fast, bowling.But the disciplined Thunder would have been disappointed with their bowling and fielding in the first 10 overs which ultimately proved costly.Meredith sizzles with paceApart from taking the wicket of Matthew Gilkes in the first over, Meredith was struggling with his rhythm and his wayward bowling promptly suffered a hammering from Alex Hales. Fellow seamer Tom Rogers, their leading wicket-taker this season, didn’t fare any better as an under-siege Hurricanes lost their nerve with Thunder’s 1 for 56 the most runs scored by any team in the powerplay this season.They clawed back through Thompson claiming the key wickets of Hales and stand-in skipper Jason Sangha, who fell to a superb slower ball. Then Meredith swung the match spectacularly in the 11th over by clean bowling Ollie Davies and Ben Cutting with sheer pace as Hurricanes gained a stranglehold.Meredith, who played five T20Is for Australia last year, had an interrupted start to the BBL season and only took three wickets in his last five matches. With his lethal pace and full-length prowess on song, the 25-year-old issued a timely reminder to national selectors.Thunder rocked by middle-order collapseChasing 178, Thunder looked supremely confident under the closed roof as they dominated the powerplay. Hales was patient early during his unbeaten 80 against Hurricanes the last time but he was in a hurry here.Hales smashed David’s spin for five boundaries in the second over and raced to 27 off just 10 deliveries after he flicked a fast delivery from Meredith for six. His whirlwind 17-ball 38 ended in the fifth over but Thunder still looked on course until they lost 4 for 10 mid-innings.Nathan McAndrew tried his best at the end to conjure a miraculous victory but it wasn’t enough as Thunder lost for the first time since December 26.

The domestic CSA T20 Challenge will be played instead of the MSL in the February slot

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Dec-2021The 2021 edition of the Mzansi Super League (MSL), which was scheduled to be played in February 2022, has been cancelled owing to Covid-19 concerns in South Africa. A CSA statement said that the discovery of the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 has “made it difficult to maintain the brand proposition of being the premium international T20 tournament, due to increased travel restrictions as imposed by many nations on South Africa”.Pholetsi Moseki, CSA’s acting CEO, confirmed that the CSA T20 Challenge would be played instead of the MSL in that slot in February.”The decision to cancel the 2021 edition of the MSL is meant to allow CSA and its strategic partners to revamp and review the tournament post-Covid-19 to regain its market and commercial position,” Moseki said. “For its purposes, the MSL slot will again be replaced by a domestic CSA T20 Challenge, featuring the 8 (eight) Division 1 teams and this tournament will take place in February 2022.”Related

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The T20 league was played in 2018 and 2019 but was called off in 2020 because of logistical challenges posed by the pandemic. It was converted into a domestic T20 competition – played among eight top-tier teams – starting this season.Paarl Rocks are currently the defending MSL champions, while Lions beat Dolphins to become the domestic T20 champions in the 2020-21 domestic competition.On Sunday, ESPNcricinfo reported that the final round of matches in the four-day franchise series have been postponed and would be rescheduled in 2022.So far this season, domestic cricket has not been played in biosecure bubble environments, but ESPNcricinfo understands that this would change for the one-day and T20 competitions. Last summer, both white-ball tournaments took place in biosecure conditions.South Africa is currently in a fourth wave of the pandemic, which accompanied the discovery of the Omicron variant last month. Cases peaked at over 26,000 earlier in the week, but the number is now on the decline. The country, however, remains at alert level one of five, with the least stringent restrictions since the start of the pandemic last year.