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Surrey have introduced a ballot to cope with demand for their NatWest T20 Blast match against Middlesex at The Oval.The match has sold out for the last three seasons so, in an attempt to meet demand and gain data from the largest possible audience, the club have now decided to treat the game as they would an international fixture.It is anticipated that attendances for the T20 Blast will rise beyond a million for the first time in 2017. The tournament has been moved back into high summer – it has started in mid-May for the last couple of years – meaning it can take advantage of the warmer weather and school holidays. Surrey’s home match against Middlesex will take place on Friday, July 21.”Over the last four years, half-a-million people have seen Surrey play T20 cricket at The Oval,” Surrey chief executive Richard Gould told ESPNcricinfo. “65% of those people had never previously attended a professional cricket match and 125,000 of them were either women or U-16s.”The current competition, when well marketed and staged, is very effective at reaching a new audience.”The timing of the announcement comes not only as the ECB release the domestic fixture list for 2017 but as they renewed calls on the counties to sign a document (a redrafted version of which was circulated this week) handing over their media rights to the ECB until the end of 2024. As things stand, several of the counties argue that there is no specific agreement preventing them from selling domestic matches at their own grounds independently of the ECB.The original version of the document found little support – ESPNcricinfo understands that about a third of the counties signed it – and while the new version clarifies a few details (the counties are guaranteed £1.3m each a year on top of their current ECB income if they all sign), it specifies that they agree to all aspects of the new team T20 competition the ECB is planning from 2020.As counties do not currently know where or when those games will be staged, what the teams will be called, what other cricket will take place at the same time and the value of the alternative broadcast deal, there are several – perhaps even a majority – that are reluctant to sign. Until they do so, the ECB cannot be certain that they can prevent a breakaway league, though in reality that remains unlikely.Meanwhile a report commissioned by Surrey – who are leading the opposition to the eight-team competition favoured by the ECB – and distributed among the counties has cast doubt on the valuations obtained by the ECB for the relative worth of the different T20 competitions. While the ECB valuation suggested broadcast rights for the current competition were worth between £5-7m a year and a new eight-team competition worth between £30-35m, the new report concludes that they “are significantly undervaluing the broadcast appeal of county T20 cricket.”While domestic cricket is officially ascribed a nil value in the broadcast deal between the ECB and Sky, the new report suggests that Sky unofficially ascribed 20% of the value of the deal with the ECB (currently £65m a year) to county cricket when tendering for 2009. That provided a value of £13m to domestic competitions. With the “increased profile” of modern T20, the report suggests that value can now be increased to 20-25%, providing a value of £16.25m between 2014-2017 and £23.12m between 2018-2019, when the worth of the current broadcast deal increases to £92.5m a year.The report also notes that, since BT Sport added competition to the broadcast market, the value of deals for domestic football and rugby has increased markedly.The report concludes that a re-launched T20 competition involving all 18 first-class counties, sold on the open market and starting in 2020 could be worth “around £35m a year.”It would seem to underline the findings of an independent report by Oliver and Ohlbaum, analysts of the media and entertainment industries, from August which concluded “there is little consumer demand for the proposed city-based T20 competition even among younger and currently more casual fans of cricket.””Over 80% of sports fans surveyed by O&O this summer showed no interest at all in a city-based T20 competition,” it said.That report concluded that the ECB had “lost out on” an “estimated £60m” of potential broadcast revenue “when it did its last TV deal, back in 2011 just before BT Sport entered the market.”

Tom Latham saw his team-mates fall in all sorts of ways as he battled for nearly three hours and became the first New Zealand batsman to carry his bat in an ODI.While his more experienced colleagues crumbled once again during what has become an arduous tour of the subcontinent, Latham was firm in Dharamsala, where his half-century was the only resistance India faced until he was joined by two defiant lower-order batsmen. From 65 for 7, Latham first collaborated with Doug Bracewell to add 41 runs, and then Tim Southee smacked 55 off 45 balls – his maiden half-century in his 100th ODI – in a 71-run stand for the ninth wicket.New Zealand finished with 190, which was no where near enough to prevent them from going 0-1 down in the five-ODI series, having lost the Tests 0-3. Latham was the only New Zealand batsman to make more than one half-century during the Test series against India and he scored his unbeaten 79 in the first ODI in the same manner as his long-form runs.He either left or defended deliveries that moved outside off stump and accumulated his runs through 39 singles and three twos. With a few deliveries bowled from the College End stopping on the batsmen after landing on a good length, Latham played the ball late. His most productive stroke was the cover drive.As he began to run out of partners, Latham went after the legspinner Amit Mishra, hitting his seventh four and only six before Ish Sodhi’s dismissal made him the tenth batsman to carry his bat in an ODI.”As an opener you want to spend as much time out in the middle as possible,” Latham said after New Zealand’s six-wicket defeat. “Obviously, losing wickets at the other end dictated the way I could play and I couldn’t be as free as I wanted to be throughout the middle [overs], when I had to build a partnership towards the end with the tail. I suppose that’s the reason for batting the way I did in the middle and towards the end.”When Latham bats, especially when he plays the back-foot punch and the flick, he reminds you of Kumar Sangakkara, but he said he grew up idolising Michael Hussey. Like Hussey did, Latham sweeps powerfully and the stroke has brought him runs against the Indian spinners.”It is one of my favourite shots and it’s a shot that seems to work for me, especially in conditions where it’s slow and turning,” he said. “I find it an easier option than maybe hitting down the ground. Obviously I have to adapt to conditions and that’s a shot I like.”Latham said the Dharamsala pitch had offered variable bounce early on and that New Zealand could have adopted a better approach. “We know we weren’t quite there in all facets of the match, with the ball especially and in the field too. Hopefully we can change a few things in the next couple of days. When we play our best cricket we will beat most teams in the world.”He also defended New Zealand’s decision to rest fast bowlers Trent Boult and Matt Henry from the first ODI because of the workload they had in the Tests. Boult bowled 106.4 overs in three matches while Henry sent down 82 in two.”I think it’s important for our team that they rest and they are able to go in the next few matches,” Latham said. “It is pretty tough for the bowlers when they play every game, especially [after] the amount of overs they bowled in the Test series. Hopefully they are rested and recovered and when they do play they are ready to go.”

Leicestershire have announced the signing of Sharjeel Khan as an overseas player for the 2017 NatWest Blast season.Sharjeel, who is currently part of the Pakistan limited-overs squad in England, thrashed his maiden ODI century against Ireland recently (he reached his century in just 62 balls) and also made an impressive 58 from 30 balls against England at Trent Bridge.Leicestershire have previously announced that former Australia international Clint McKay will be their other overseas player in the NatWest Blast. They finished bottom of the North Group this season, with four wins, eight losses and two no-results from their 14 games. Sharjeel is expected to be available for the duration of the Blast campaign.”I am aware that there was keen interest from other counties, so I am delighted that we have managed to secure someone of Sharjeel’s ability for the duration of the 2017 NatWest T20 Blast campaign,” Leicestershire’s CEO Wasim Khan said: “He is a powerful hitter who will offer us another option as a T20 opener.””It has been an ambition of mine to play county cricket and I would like to thank Leicestershire for this great opportunity,” Sharjeel said. “A number of fine Pakistan batsmen have played for Leicestershire over the years including Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq and Umar Akmal, and I’m pleased to be following in their footsteps.”

The BCCI has exempted Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals from paying the annual IPL franchise fee during their suspension period, between 2016 and 2017. It is understood that the board made the decision during its most recent working committee meeting in Delhi, and has agreed to return the first instalment of the fee paid by the franchises.While there was no comment forthcoming from the Royals camp, a Super Kings official confirmed that the two franchises have now withdrawn legal proceedings after the board opted to settle the matter out of court. After the board had insisted on the payment being made, Super Kings had contended that they need not pay the fee while they were not playing. However, it is learnt that the Super Kings paid the first instalment of around Rs 11 crore in protest, before filing a case in the Bombay High Court.”There is no need to pay the franchise fee when we are suspended,” the CSK official told ESPNcricinfo. “They will refund the franchise fee which we have paid so far [under protest]. We have already withdrawn the case from the Bombay High Court.”When they asked for the full and final [instalment] of payment, we approached the court for a stay and then we invoked the arbitration clause. Arbitrators were also in favour [of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals], so they [BCCI] went for an out of court settlement.”The BCCI’s change of heart comes following a stand-off with the franchises over the matter for more than six months. Super Kings and Royals were suspended for two years in July 2015, following the corruption scandal in IPL 2013, and two new franchises inducted into the league in the interim.

Pakistan seamer Sohail Khan, who returned to Test cricket recently, has said that doing his homework on England batsmen had helped him reap rewards on the tour. Sohail first played in the third Test at Edgbaston, where he troubled England’s top order and took 5 for 96. He followed that with another five-for in the next Test at The Oval, where he was instrumental in limiting the top and middle order.”I had done my homework about their [England batsmen] strengths and weaknesses,” Sohail told . “All I did was bowl in the right areas. Of course, there were runs taken off me because they are fine players, but bowling a tight length reaped me a lot of success.”My aim was to bowl consistently at my line and length. I had told myself to not deviate from it and thankfully it paid off. The English batsmen don’t gift away their wickets. You have to think out of the box to get their scalp. Arriving in England a month ahead also helped me a lot to get acclimatised and understand the Duke ball better.”Before the tour of England, Sohail had last played a Test in 2011, in Zimbabwe, taking only one wicket in a match Pakistan won by seven wickets. After almost a five-year hiatus, Sohail was drafted into the Test XI at Edgbaston in place of Wahab Riaz, with the series level 1-1. He broke the opening partnership by having Alex Hales caught behind and also got the big wicket of Joe Root, for 3, by inducing an outside edge. He took the last wicket of the innings – that of James Anderson – as England were all out for 297.During the long day in which he bowled 23 overs, Sohail hit fuller lengths for lateral movement and said he was not tired though there had been questions over his fitness.”I wasn’t tired at all,” he said. “I was bowling with the new ball. In English conditions you need to give more air to the ball so it can swing. It is all about the understanding of the game. Bowling is not only about hammering short-pitched balls at the batsmen or generating pace. It is about varying your pace according to the situation.”To further prove his fitness levels, Sohail celebrated his five-for on return with a set of push-ups, a trend his captain Misbah-ul-Haq started after scoring a century at Lord’s.”The push-ups I did (with a clap in between) were hard and not everyone can do them. I wanted to prove my fitness to the world that even after bowling long spells, I could still go on.”After Pakistan lost at Edgbaston by 141 runs, Sohail took 5 for 68 in the last Test at The Oval to finish the series with 13 wickets at an average of 25 and strike rate of 40.4. His performance helped Pakistan win the fourth Test by ten wickets and level the series 2-2.Sohail had taken five wickets on his ODI return too – against India in the World Cup last year – dismissing Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni and Ajinkya Rahane.Sohail, however, did not want to settle for just bowling rewards. He said he wanted to become an allrounder. “I am working on my batting these days. I aim to become a successful allrounder since modern-day cricket demands from a player to be on top in all facets of the game. I have also been scoring runs in the domestic circuit.”

ScorecardTom Fell hit his maiden List A hundred (file photo)•Getty Images

Tom Fell’s first century since his recovery from cancer kept alive Worcestershire’s chances of a quarter-final place in the Royal London Cup with a four-wicket victory over Lancashire at New Road. Fell made 116 not out, his highest List A score, as Worcestershire successfully chased 268 with 14 balls to spare and in the process killed off their opponents’ hopes of going through to the knockout stage.Worcestershire now have to win their final group game against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge on Monday and look for favourable results elsewhere.For Fell, it was an emotional milestone in his eighth innings since returning to the side a month ago. Having completed two fifties in that time, he moved up a gear to score his maiden List A hundred in an innings of high quality on a pitch where Lancashire found it difficult to dictate to spinners or the slower-paced seam bowlers.Going in as early as the fourth over, when Daryl Mitchell was caught behind off Saqib Mahmood, Fell was into his stride in a partnership of 58 with Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who got to 30 before he was caught at cover off Tom Smith.Worcestershire had a wobble in six balls from Stephen Parry. Joe Clarke was caught low down at short extra cover for 25 and Brett D’Oliveira was stumped after charging the left-arm spinner. Ross Whiteley then restored stability with 38 out of 83, and although he was bowled by a quicker ball by Steven Croft, the crowd was ready and waiting for a standing ovation when Fell reached three figures in 104 balls by cutting Parry for his 14th four.The 22-year-old collected one more boundary and could afford to take a back seat as Ben Cox powered Worcestershire towards their target with 31 from 25 balls.In making 267 for 7, Lancashire owed much to their captain, as Croft featured in two significant partnerships during the “pace off” period. Legspinner D’Oliveira bowled 10 overs for 27 runs and at the same time medium-pacer Mitchell delivered his first full ration in white-ball competitions this season.The home skipper finished with 1 for 41, his wicket an important one when the dangerous Karl Brown was out for 43, giving wicketkeeper Cox his third catch of the innings.At that stage Lancashire were beginning to repair early damage caused by Kyle Abbott’s most effective contribution in Worcestershire’s overseas position. The powerfully built South African emerged from a sharp opening spell with 2 for 24 from six overs. Smith was first to go, mishitting to mid-off, and Alviro Petersen went for 32, a first victim for Cox.Offspinner George Rhodes accounted for Liam Livingstone with assistance from Cox. This brought in Croft to make 33 out of 64 with Brown before adding 99 in 14 overs with Luke Procter.Croft made 78 from 105 balls, hitting a six and six fours before falling to Ed Barnard. He was brilliantly caught by Whiteley, running in from deep midwicket, but Joe Leach, at short fine leg, hardly had to move to hold Procter’s mistimed ramp shot on the return of Abbott. The left hander made 47 at almost a run-a-ball.

Ben Stokes has signed a fresh two-year England contract, providing the clearest indication yet that he intends to play in the 2027 Ashes series on home soil.Stokes, 34, has tapered his schedule significantly due to injury, to the extent that the only side he has represented in the past 12 months is England’s Test team. He has been sidelined with hamstring and shoulder issues this year and has not played a limited-overs international since November 2023, but his new contract suggests he has no plans to stop soon.Brendon McCullum, England’s head coach, is under contract until the end of 2027 and Stokes’ new deal suggests that the coach-captain combination could continue for another two years. England have won 25 and lost 14 Tests since McCullum and Stokes took over in June 2022, but are yet to register a series win over a “Big Three” opponent ahead of the imminent Ashes tour to Australia.Related

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Stokes is one of 14 players to have signed a new two-year central contract, with a further 12 players under contract until October 2026 and four more signing development deals. The ECB announced the list on Tuesday, which director of men’s cricket, Rob Key, said reflected “the depth and strength of talent” in the English game.Five players have signed their first central contracts: Sonny Baker, Liam Dawson, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton and Luke Wood. A further six players were not offered deals after their contracts expired: Jonny Bairstow, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Olly Stone, Reece Topley, and Chris Woakes, who has retired from international cricket.Key said that multi-year contracts – which were introduced two years ago – were designed to help the ECB manage workloads of all-format players and to ensure that, in the case of players in high demand on the franchise circuit, “England remains their priority”.England central contracts 2025-2026•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

These include Adil Rashid, whose new deal implies that he will continue until at least the 2027 50-over World Cup, while Sam Curran’s two-year contract marks a return to favour after he spent the first half of this year outside England’s white-ball squads. Jos Buttler has also committed to a two-year deal despite stepping down as white-ball captain earlier this year.Notably, several members of England’s Test side have only signed one-year contracts, leaving open the possibility of a post-series clear-out in the event of a heavy defeat in the upcoming Ashes. These include Shoaib Bashir, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope and Mark Wood, who is now in the final year of the three-year contract he signed in 2023.Four seamers in the England Lions squad to tour Australia have been awarded development contracts for 2025/26: Josh Hull, Eddie Jack, Tom Lawes and Mitchell Stanley. Hampshire’s John Turner, who missed most of the 2025 summer after a back stress fracture, has lost his development deal.”This structure allows us to support our players properly while maintaining strong squads across all formats as much as possible,” Key said.The most notable omissions from the contracts list are Tom Banton, an ever-present in England’s T20I side since Brook took over as white-ball captain, and Jordan Cox, who has been a regular squad member across formats in the last year.

England men’s central contracts

Two-year contracts: (until Sep 30, 2027) Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Ben Stokes, Josh TongueOne-year contracts: (until Sep 30, 2026) Rehan Ahmed, Sonny Baker, Shoaib Bashir, Zak Crawley, Liam Dawson, Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Phil Salt, Luke Wood, Mark WoodDevelopment contracts: Josh Hull, Eddie Jack, Tom Lawes, Mitchell StanleyLapsed contracts: Jonny Bairstow, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Olly Stone, Reece Topley, Chris Woakes, John Turner

Worcestershire 188 for 7 (Brookes 57, Currie 5-34) beat Hampshire 237 for 7 (Orr 110, Waite 3-60) by three wickets (DLS) Worcestershire ended a week that saw them relegated in the Rothesay County Championship by winning the Metro Bank One-Day Cup by three wickets in a sensational finish to a rain-affected final at Trent Bridge, despite a brilliant century from Ali Orr for Hampshire.Chasing a twice-revised target of 188 from 27 overs after Hampshire had made 237 for seven in 45, the Rapids clinched victory with two balls to spare after ninth man Henry Cullen, with four required to win, was caught on the boundary at long leg only for the fielder, Kyle Abbott, to touch the rope while the ball was still in his hand.The heartbreak for Hampshire came only a week after their defeat by Somerset in the Vitality Blast final.Hampshire’s Scott Currie, who had earned an England call-up earlier in the week but was not required for the T20s against Ireland, looked to have bowled his side to victory here as three wickets in his final over gave him figures of five for 31.But after Ethan Brookes hit four sixes in a superb 34-ball 57 to haul Worcestershire back into contention after falling behind the rate required, Matthew Waite’s two sixes in a five-ball 16 set up what had seemed an unlikely victory with 13 needed off Brad Wheal’s final over.Until then, Orr’s 110 – his third century in this season’s competition – including two sixes in addition to 10 fours and came off 130 balls, looked to have been the match-winning performance.It took a superb one-handed catch off his own bowling by Waite to dismiss him.Orr and fellow left-hander Nick Gubbins (38) put on 82 in 16.2 overs for the first wicket, but the opening pair apart, all-rounder James Fuller’s 23 from 20 balls was the highest Hampshire score in the face of a disciplined response from Worcestershire’s seam attack.Ali Orr’s century gave Hampshire the upper hand in the early part of the final•Getty Images

Bowling nine overs each, Waite took three for 60, Ben Allison impressed with two for 41 and a miserly Tom Taylor took one for 24.Play had begun at the scheduled 11am start time, with Worcestershire opting to bowl first, perhaps with a nod to overcast conditions.Orr and Gubbins, mainstays of the Hampshire batting along their path to a fourth final in the last seven editions of the 50-over competition, had the upper hand against Taylor and Khurram Shahzad, hitting nine boundaries to be 55 without loss in the opening 10-over powerplay.Allison and Waite slowed their progress – and forced a breakthrough when Waite squared up Gubbins, who was caught at backward point off a leading edge. The skipper’s 38 had taken him to 707 as the leading runscorer in this season’s competition.Fletcha Middleton departed between showers, mistiming Taylor to be caught at extra cover. The second break for rain came at 141 for two from just under 31 overs, after which Hampshire pushed the accelerator.Orr walloped Brookes over deep midwicket before completing the fifth List A century of his career in a costly over for Waite that included a six and three fours, reaching the milestone off 118 balls with 14 fours in addition to his two maximums.But Worcestershire removed Toby Albert via a top-edge to deep square and Ben Mayes, bowled by Brookes before Waite ended Orr’s impressive innings via a brilliant one-handed caught-and-bowled.Worcestershire’s bowlers maintained their grip, conceding only one boundary in the last five overs, delivering 15 dot balls and picking up two more wickets as Fuller and Andrew Neal both picked out Brookes on the fence at wide long-on.Their chase did not begin until 5.15pm after a long stoppage between innings but it got off to a flyer despite – 28 without loss from four overs after 19-year-old Daniel Lategan had lofted Wheal high over wide long-on for the first six of the innings.But two setbacks checked their progress as Roderick sliced Fuller to third man and Currie’s first ball had Lategan caught behind.Kashif Ali and Jake Libby added 62 for the third wicket but their rate of progress was well behind what was needed as Gubbins rotated his quintet of bowlers, none of whom gave away easy runs and when Kashif was caught on the reverse at backward point, the Rapids still needed 94 at 93 for three in the 17th.Libby was caught behind swinging at Currie, at which point Hampshire were clear favourites with Worcestershire still 81 short and less than seven overs remaining.But Brookes kept them in contention and though Currie ended his charge via a steepling catch to ‘keeper Ben Brown and dismissed Rob Jones and Taylor in his last over, Cullen had the final word.

Pakistan have stepped up attempts to prepare a spinning pitch for their Test series decider against England, using industrial-sized fans, outdoor heaters and windbreakers in a bid to dry out the surface at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.After losing by an innings on a lifeless pitch in the first Test in Multan, Pakistan pulled an unprecedented move and opted to recycle the same strip for a second match in a row. The strategy paid off in style after they won the toss, with spinners Noman Ali and Sajid Khan sharing all 20 wickets as England were bowled out for just 144 in their final innings.Rawalpindi is typically among the flattest pitches in Test cricket, with minimal assistance for spinners. Mehidy Hasan Miraz, the Bangladesh offspinner, took 10 wickets in their 2-0 series win in Rawalpindi last month, but since the venue returned to hosting Tests in 2019, spinners have averaged nearly 50 runs per wicket there.Related

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Seam bowlers have fared better, taking a wicket every 34 runs, with the average assisted by a Test against South Africa in January 2021. On a surface that offered assistance to the seamers right through the game, Shaheen Afridi and Hasan Ali took nine of South Africa’s ten wickets in the fourth innings, eight of them on the final day. All four innings registered scores between 200 and 300, and the PCB has previously considered that the gold standard for a Pindi Test wicket.Those days are decidedly in the past, though. Shan Masood, Pakistan’s captain, made clear after their 152-run victory in the second Test in Multan that he would like to see an uncharacteristic Rawalpindi pitch for the decider, which starts on Thursday. England are prepared for another turner, with their head coach Brendon McCullum predicting the surface would be “the antithesis of a green seamer”.On Sunday, groundstaff had set up three large heaters and an industrial-sized fan at each end of the pitch, drying it out with hot air, with a windbreak at each end to keep the heat in. Pakistan’s players and staff inspected the surface when they trained on Monday morning, at which stage only the fans remained. It continued to dry out in the afternoon heat.Notably, the Test strip is one of only three that has been cut across the square; the other two are practice strips, one on each side of the pitch. England’s seamers used a dry, abrasive square to get the ball reverse-swinging in the second Test in Multan, but a grassy square and a lush outfield may make that more challenging this week.England did not train on Monday and are open-minded ahead of their session on Tuesday. “I don’t know what to expect. I haven’t seen anything,” Jack Leach, who is the leading wicket-taker in the series, told the BBC. “We’ll go to training and have a look at it. I feel quite clear about what I’m doing and that doesn’t really change depending on the wicket. We’ll see what it is.”

Yorkshire have announced the acquisition of Anthony McGrath as their new men’s head coach to replace the outgoing Ottis Gibson.McGrath, who joins on a five-year deal, returns to his home county having developed through the age-groups at Headingley as an allrounder, going on to earn 28 England caps, including four Test appearances. The 49-year-old began his coaching career at Yorkshire following his retirement in 2013 before moving to Essex, where he was appointed director of cricket as recently as July.The move south proved particularly fruitful for McGrath. He joined Essex initially as assistant coach to Chris Silverwood, and helped oversee promotion in 2016 followed by a County Championship title the following year.He was promoted to head coach when Silverwood left to take the England job and led Essex to a Championship and T20 Blast double in 2019, followed by the Bob Willis Trophy in 2020. A second-place Division One finish came in the 2023 season, in which they were also beaten finalists in the Blast.This season, McGrath juggled coaching duties at Chelmsford with a director of cricket role as part of a management restructure triggered by the resignation of chief executive John Stephenson in July.He inherits a Yorkshire team that has returned to Division One following relegation in 2022. The club were then docked 48 points in the 2023 season over their handling of the racism scandal that centred around allegations made by former player Azeem Rafiq. McGrath’s remit will be the performance and management of the men’s first team, and starts officially from November 1.”It is a great honour to be appointed Head Coach of Yorkshire Cricket’s Men’s team, and I am hugely excited by the challenge ahead,” McGrath said.”I know the history of this great club and the passion of the members and supporters, and I am absolutely determined to develop a team capable of delivering the success they deserve.”It was an extremely tough decision to leave Essex, and it’s one that I have taken a great deal of time to think about. I’ve been part of this club for almost nine years, and we’ve achieved so much together and created so many unforgettable memories in that time.”While I obviously spent all of my playing career at Yorkshire, Essex has become a second home to me, and I’d like to thank everyone for the warmth of their support over the last nine seasons.”Tom Westley, Essex’s captain, hailed McGrath as “one of the most influential figures I have come across during my career”, and wished him well in his new role.”Everybody within the club knows of his qualities as a coach and leader, but it’s the person that he is that we will all miss the most. It’s no coincidence that the success we have achieved over the last decade has coincided with [McGrath’s] time here. Although he would never accept it, he has been a huge factor in the trophies we have won in recent years.”Sanjay Patel, Yorkshire’s interim CEO, said: “We’re delighted to appoint Anthony as Head Coach.”During the past nine years with Essex, Anthony has proved himself to be one of the most exciting and successful coaches in English cricket. He is renowned for his team’s attractive, attacking cricket, supporting and developing world-class talent, and commitment to youth.”In the club’s conversations leading up to this appointment, we were deeply impressed with his long-term vision for returning Yorkshire Cricket to the level we want to be competing at, and his drive and determination to achieve that.”We look forward to welcoming him to the club this Autumn.”