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Chris Jordan impressed upon the need to remain calm and have self-belief while bowling in the end-overs, qualities he exhibited to deny MS Dhoni in the first T20 in Kanpur

Vishal Dikshit in Nagpur28-Jan-20172:31

‘Hope to keep momentum on our side’

In the last two overs he bowled in Kanpur, Chris Jordan stuck to his plan of bowling yorkers throughout. He bowled 10 of his last 12 balls to MS Dhoni and conceded 16 runs off them, a strike rate of 160. What those numbers don’t tell you is that Dhoni struggled to hit eight of those 10 balls cleanly. The moral victory was Jordan’s.This attacking and fearless bowling style makes him a vital cog in England’s pace attack in the limited-overs formats. It was a testimony of how Jordan has become Eoin Morgan’s go-to bowler in the slog overs, either to pick wickets or limit runs, or often both. It was reminiscent of how Jordan had bowled a barrage of yorkers to Pakistan’s tail in his final two overs at Headingley in September, and a few months before that had helped England defend 171 in the World T20 semi-final against Sri Lanka in Delhi.His first spell there read 2-0-16-1. He then returned to bowl with Sri Lanka needing 40 off 24 balls. He walked away with a fine second spell that read 2-0-12-3. It showed why he was rated highly as an end-overs bowler. Jordan, who addressed the media on the eve of the second T20I in Nagpur, was asked of what it takes to succeed in the end overs. He impressed upon the need to remain calm and have self-belief.”Although T20 cricket can be a fast-paced game, I believe at the back-end of the innings you have to give yourself time,” he said. “You have to try and take the sting out of the game, try to keep a very clear mindset especially when guys are trying to hit you over the ropes every single ball. That calmness and that whole notion of trying to give yourself time is something I try to use and luckily it works.”Plans can change literally every ball because you’re trying to stay one step ahead of the batsman every time, and at the back-end of the innings it could be a lot of commotion. You have to try and stay clear and think about simple things and executing them, that’s what I try to do.”‘Calmness, self-belief key to bowling in end-overs’ – Jordan•Getty Images

Jordan’s yorkers have been a fundamental aspect of his end-overs bowling and are something he falls back on when summoned. Jordan said developing the wide yorker too was a result of increasing his variations to keep the batsmen guessing.”It is a skill that I have worked on very, very hard whether it’s in the nets or actually in games,” Jordan said. “Most batsmen obviously want the ball in their arc and if you bowl at the stumps a lot, that’s in their arc so you’re backing yourself to execute the skill anyway. But I find that with that wide yorker, bowling the ball outside the batsman’s arc even when you do bowl there still has to be some precision with it. I find bowling that ball more often than not buys you some dots and time, and helps you get ahead of the batsman and also pick a wicket in the innings.”It came from first and foremost using variations. When I look at death bowling I think you can’t be predictable, you have to use different variations and that doesn’t necessarily have to be pace, it can be line or length and that’s how I developed that ball. So instead of maybe bowling my slower one more often, I use the variation in line and bowl a wide yorker, straight yorker, at the back end of the innings.”Despite this expertise and the role he played in England’s march to the World T20 final last year, Jordan was dropped for the ODIs against Bangladesh, India, and more recently the three ODIs against West Indies in March. His last ODI series was against Pakistan at home, where he produced figures of 2 for 42 from nine overs and 0 for 52 from 7.2. When asked to self-assess why he had been dropped, Jordan said it was about consistency.”You are always disappointed when you have ambition and then do not get selected,” he stated. “Disappointment is an emotion that I think is warranted. I would want to get back into the ODI and the Test team as soon as possible and am working very hard to do that. But obviously, we have a very good set of players, very strong depth. It will be quite tough getting back in, but I don’t think it is beyond me.”Possibly consistency wasn’t as I’d like it to be and I do set my standards very high,” Jordan said of his exclusion. “If I look at it I can say that my consistency at that particular moment wasn’t to the level I wanted it to be but that’s not to discourage or dishearten me. I do still have opportunities and I hope to push my case to make it back.”Jordan will hope he displays more such impressive efforts, the way he did in Kanpur, in the remaining two T20s of the series and stakes a claim for the Champions Trophy in June at home. After the West Indies tour, England are scheduled to play two ODIs against Ireland and three against South Africa – all in May at home. Jordan said he was looking at every game he would play from now as a “chance to impress and a chance to stake a claim”.

BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur has taken exception to the ICC’s assessment of the Nagpur pitch for the third Test between India and South Africa as “poor” and said the debate over the quality of pitches in the ongoing Test series between India and South Afr

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Dec-2015BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur has taken exception to the ICC’s assessment of the Nagpur pitch for the third Test between India and South Africa as “poor” and said the debate over the quality of pitches in the ongoing Test series between India and South Africa is “overhyped”. He has also expressed reservations over the views of Shashank Manohar, the BCCI president and ICC chairman, that India cannot dominate the world body by virtue of its financial clout.

Have written to MEA for permissions to play Pakistan – Thakur

Anurag Thakur was non-committal on the resumption of bilateral cricket ties between India and Pakistan and said the matter was out of the BCCI’s hands, and that India’s Ministry of External Affairs would have to issue clearances.
“We play Pakistan in World Cup events. We played them in the 2015 World Cup, we’ll play them next year in the Asia Cup,” Thakur said. “We’ll play them in March in the T20 World Cup. So when you play them in multi-national tournaments, what stops you from playing them in a bilateral series?
“Mr Shashank Manohar met the PCB chairman in Dubai and both of them decided to play in Sri Lanka. For permissions and political clearances, we have written to the Ministry of External Affairs to give us the sanction. It is their call, whenever they take it.”
Thakur’s views now are markedly different to those in August when he had all but ruled out resumption of bilateral cricketing activity between the two countries.
Thakur, who is also a member of parliament from the ruling party, the BJP, said it was a tough decision for the government to make.
“When it comes to Pakistan, it’s not that easy to take calls,” he said. “Five years ago, social media didn’t play a role. Today you see a lot of reactions on social media, but you can’t go only by social media, you have to look at the interests of the nation,” he said. “I think diplomatic relations are also very important — whether you want to remain at loggerheads or you want to sit across the table and discuss things. We have been discussing cricket, trade, terrorism, PoK and Kashmir with Pakistan.”

Speaking at the earlier in the week, Thakur reiterated the observations of India team director Ravi Shastri and Test captain Virat Kohli that there were no problems with the pitches produced for the Tests against South Africa.”I think the debate on the quality of pitches is overhyped. When a match gets over in two days – maybe in some other part of the world, like Australia in three days – nobody raises that question,” Thakur said. “But when we see a lot of drawn matches, like in the last few years, we say nobody will come and watch Test cricket.”I have a question to ask about the Nagpur match. Ask any ex-cricketer, how many players from the two teams played a bad shot? Was there uneven bounce? No. Was there more turn than expected? Yes, maybe.”What is the criterion for a good pitch and bad pitch? Was the bounce uneven, were there injuries? The ICC has sent us a letter and we will soon reply to that. But I think there is nothing wrong if a Test match finishes on the fourth day or the third day. You should also look at the batting standards. Remember how [Rahul] Dravid, [VVS] Laxman played on these kinds of tracks?”Thakur maintained there was nothing wrong in exploiting home advantage and said the preparation of turning tracks wasn’t a worrying trend.”Nobody questioned the T20 and the ODI games. What about the pitches when South Africa won?” Thakur asked. “But when India won two Test matches, you start raising questions.”In many parts of the world such as Australia and South Africa, you will see much more bounce. In England, you will see more seam and swing. So how do you compare that? In India and Pakistan, you may see more turning tracks. That is the nature of our pitches, which we call home advantage.”Thakur also clarified that Manohar’s views on the ICC’s restructuring were personal. Manohar recently said the revamp was tantamount to bullying, and that he didn’t agree with the revenue-sharing formula that guaranteed India a significant chunk of the revenue. While his thoughts were endorsed by a section of the board’s members, there has also been considerable resistance. Thakur said there was nothing wrong in India receiving a larger slice of the financial pie.”The [BCCI] president said this in his personal capacity. He made it very clear that it was his personal opinion,” he said. “The Indian subcontinent contributes close to 70% of the ICC’s revenues. To take 21% of that is not much. That was the position with Australia and England earlier, and no one objected to it then. If this happens to India today, we shouldn’t object to it.”You have to understand that India plays a very, very important role in world cricket. It’s only India which has a stadium in virtually every state. The money we have been generating in the last so many years has been spent on the ground.”Thakur also said the larger interest of BCCI’s units would have to be looked into before arriving at a decision on Manohar’s proposals, which have already received support from boards like Cricket South Africa and Sri Lanka Cricket. The BCCI, however, will be keen to not ruffle the feathers of its own units. Senior administrator and Saurashtra Cricket Association president Niranjan Shah, who is known to be close to Manohar, had advocated a “middle path”, which would strike a balance between extending a helping hand to financially weaker boards and securing the monetary rewards the BCCI deserved.”We have to look at the overall picture and individual opinions could be different,” Thakur said. “I may disagree, but the final call has to be taken by the BCCI because it is not only in the interest of one association, it is in the interest of 30 units of the BCCI.”

PCB have hired a vigilance officer and a security officer to help tighten security and prevent players from unsolicited approaches

Umar Farooq13-May-2013Pakistan’s tour to England in 2010 was embroiled in controversy as the spot-fixing debacle created waves around the cricket world. To protect players from unsolicited approaches and avoid a repeat of the affair, the PCB has decided to deploy a security officer and a vigilance officer who will monitor player activities, with the intention of protecting them from unwanted social contact and media interviews.This will be Pakistan’s first visit to England since that ill-fated tour. They will depart on Monday night and stop briefly in Scotland and Ireland to play two ODIs against both countries, before heading to England for the Champions Trophy.”It’s a very sensitive tour,” Naveed Akram Cheema, the team manager, told reporters at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. “All the players realise the importance of it, and they should maintain strict discipline as we don’t want a repeat of events. Players [have been] told to restrict their off-field movements and focus on the game.”Security has been increased in light of the spot-fixing controversy, which erupted during the fourth Test against England at Lord’s in 2010. Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, who were involved in the incident, were sentenced in November 2011 at Southwark Crown Court for conspiracy to accept corrupt payments and conspiracy to cheat.”They are all spirited players and over the last two-three years have played as a unit. The tour is sensitive in that there are lots of people who could have vested interests, and we have to counter that,” Cheema said. “Psychologically, they are motivated and united.”Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq was “optimistic” about the side’s chances in the Champions Trophy, but was wary that the team would face a dual test, both on and off the field, during the tournament.Dav Whatmore, Pakistan’s head coach, also expressed high hopes for the team. “We begin every series with an intent to win,” Whatmore said. “We feel we’ve got the best fifteen that we can possibly have at the moment. ICC events are slightly different to bilateral series as there is a requirement to win and finish in the top two. Our objective in all cases is to win tournaments.”

Netherlands took over at the top of Group A in the Clydesdale Bank 40 thanks to a nail-biting win over Lancashire in Schiedam

28-May-2012
ScorecardNetherlands took over at the top of Group A in the Clydesdale Bank 40 thanks to a nail-biting win over Lancashire in Schiedam. The last-wicket pairing of Timm van der Gugten and Ahsan Malik managed to sneak the home side to their target of 237 with just two deliveries to spare.Stephan Myburgh (34) and Michael Swart (41) had given the Netherlands the perfect start in their run chase, sharing an opening stand of 83 inside 10 overs. There were also contributions from middle-order duo Cameron Borgas, who made 30, and wicketkeeper Wesley Barresi before Mudassar Bukhari belted a breezy 36 in the closing stages to give the Dutch renewed hope.When he fell with nine still required, Lancashire looked to be favourites, however Van der Gugten made a run-a-ball 15 not out to finish the job off and give his side a third win in four outings in this season’s competition.Stephen Parry claimed 4 for 29 in a losing cause for previously unbeaten Lancashire, who had been bowled out for 236 earlier in the day.Lancashire should have set their opponents a much tougher challenge after openers Stephen Moore and Ashwell Prince laid the foundations by putting on 89. Moore blasted 10 fours and a six to top score with 77 from 66 balls and even when he fell in the 20th over, the visitors still seemed to be making smooth progress.They reached 199 for 2 before suffering a dramatic collapse, losing their last eight wickets for just 27 runs once Karl Brown had departed for 41. Steven Croft (55) fought a lone hand from then on, but no other Lancashire batsman managed to make more than eight. Swart and Malik did the majority of the damage for the Dutch, claiming four wickets apiece.

Australian cricket is on the “dance floor” of private ownership after Cricket Australia’s board opened the way for the part sale of two Twenty20 franchises to outside investors

Daniel Brettig13-May-2011Australian cricket is on the “dance floor” of private ownership after Cricket Australia’s board opened the way for the part sale of two Twenty20 franchises to outside investors. James Sutherland, the CA chief executive, confirmed the decision following a two-day board meeting at which the pressing issues of the 2011-12 Big Bash League loomed large.A stalemate between CA and its players over pay issues remains a major stumbling block, and Sutherland could not yet say which of the teams – one each in Sydney and Melbourne – would be put up for sale. Nonetheless, the formal decision to seek private investors, either in Australia or overseas, was highly significant for the game.There had been whispers of discontent among prospective buyers, some based in India, about financial and team modelling surrounding the sales, but Sutherland said administrators were now confident the move would meet with success. Money derived from the sales, with figures mentioned in the tens of millions, would come back to CA and then be distributed according to the wishes of board directors.”It’s fair to say we wouldn’t be making these decisions today if we didn’t have a level of comfort or anticipation about that,” Sutherland said of the 49% model. “We might be on the dance floor but there are things that need to be put in writing and signed off on in order for those deals to come to fruition and that’s really the stage that we’re at.”The board arrived at a decision this was an appropriate step to take bearing in mind the focus we need to have on the launch of the BBL, bearing in mind the levels of interest we are seeing from potential private investors, and just trying to balance all those things. We believe it’s appropriate to put our toe in the water.”That toe will be protected by plenty of terms and conditions, designed to prevent the kind of circus atmosphere that prevails in the Indian Premier League. Shane Warne’s revelations that he threatened to quit Rajasthan prior to the tournament’s first edition unless given full control of team selection will not be mirrored in Australia.”There’s no doubt CA and the state associations are very concious of ensuring control of the game and the teams rests with the respective state associations and that’s why the board’s resolved to sell to allow private investment of up to 49%,” Sutherland said. “That said ultimately it becomes an investment proposition we put to respective buyers, and there will ultimately be some sort of term sheet that a buyer needs to consider. We’ve got strong ideas on value, and not just in terms of dollars, but also other terms and conditions – there are some things that are not negotiable.”Negotiations on the MOU between the board and the players have proceeded even though neither party has shown an inclination to change its position, but Sutherland said the best chance of resolution lay in the healthy relationship that exists between CA and the Australian Cricketers Association. His optimism will be tempered by the shrinking amount of time left to reach agreements before player contracts expire on June 30.”My sense having spoken to Paul (Marsh, the ACA chief executive) a number of times over the last couple of weeks is that there is a sense of goodwill on both sides to try to find a way through things and certainly our board is of that mindset,” Sutherland said. “How those issues get resolved or unfold is really something that Paul and I and others from our respective teams need to work through, and we will I’m sure.”I don’t really have any firm timeframe, obviously the sooner the better, but I’m confident there’s enough goodwill on both sides to find a way through this. We both need each other, we know we need a positive outcome and resolution, we’d like to have Australian players, state players and BBL players contracted as soon as possible.”

The Bombay High Court has directed that Sharad Pawar be made party in a petition regarding the levy of entertainment tax by the Maharashtra government on IPL matches held in the state

Cricinfo staff05-May-2010The Bombay High Court has directed that Sharad Pawar, the federal agriculture minister and president of the Mumbai Cricket Association, Lalit Modi, the suspended IPL chairman, and Chirayu Amin, the interim chairman, be made party in a petition regarding the levy of entertainment tax by the Maharashtra government on IPL matches held in the state. While hearing arguments on Wednesday, it also raised the question of whether a minister being a member of a cricket body constituted a conflict of interest.The court’s direction and observations came on a public interest litigation that challenges the Maharashtra government’s decision to waive entertainment tax for the recent IPL season. The petitioner – Subhash Desai, a member of the Shiv Sena political party – claims that in January this year the state government, of which Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party is a member, decided to levy the entertainment tax on IPL but the decision was not implemented.The exemption is estimated to have cost the government several crore rupees.”If a minister holds a post in a cricket association, and the state cabinet is to decide on granting some exemption to the association…perhaps conflict of interest may arise,” the bench observed, while seeking the federal government’s view on whether any “conflict of interest” arose if a minister was a member of a cricket body.The BCCI’s counsel contended that Pawar currently had no connection with the BCCI or IPL, though he headed the apex cricketing body two years ago. However, the petitioner contended that since the finance portfolio in the Maharashtra government was with the NCP, the decision not to levy the tax was “politically motivated”.”This is a very important issue,” the bench said, seeking the assistance of the additional solicitor-general of India, who represents the Union – also impleaded in the case – on this.The court observed that “prima facie this activity (IPL matches) is covered under entertainment tax. If there is no exemption, then state has no option but to recover it”.The court adjourned the hearing till June 22.

USA, who began the tournament on fire, haven’t won since their upset over Pakistan in the group stages

Danyal Rasool21-Jun-20243:08

Anatomy of West Indies’ dot-ball problems

Big picture: WI must avoid defeat

This isn’t a match the tournament expected, but one it deserves all the same. The co-hosts of this T20 World Cup found ways of getting through the group stages, in different fashion and to varying degrees of surprise. West Indies’ unblemished record in the group punctuated by a 104-run hammering of Afghanistan cemented their status as legitimate title contenders. The USA’s progress, meanwhile, depended on a dream of a performance against Pakistan that culminated in Super Over heroics, as well as inclement Florida weather that guaranteed Pakistan would not be offered the opportunity to get back up off the canvas.But the group stages are a distant memory all of a sudden, and both sides have experienced the cold, unforgiving reality of the Super Eight. West Indies’ hopes of a third title and first on home soil suddenly looks much shakier than it did one game ago, after a reprieved England rediscovered their best form in St Lucia to put them to the sword. Another defeat would put them on the brink of elimination.Related

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West Indies also have to assess how to replace top order batter Brandon King after he suffered a side strain and was forced to retire hurt against England. While runs have been scarce for him this tournament – just 63 in four games in the group stages – he looked at his most dangerous against England. He was unbeaten for 23 off just 13 as West Indies flew off the blocks, with his side briefly losing momentum when he was replaced by Nicolas Pooran.Above all, this is the first time West Indies find themselves under the pressure of their margin for error diminishing. The USA may not have won since that upset against Pakistan, but have shown no signs of fading away tamely, and briefly looked like running South Africa extremely close in their first Super Eight game before ultimately succumbing to an 18-run defeat.Aaron Jones’ side, too, need a win to retain realistic hopes of qualification, but they will be aware the weight of expectations remains on their opponents. The game against South Africa was the USA’s weakest bowling performance on a belting track, and still gave South Africa a few jitters. Against a West Indies side who weren’t really close to their best with either bat or ball against England, the USA will know an improved bowling performance on their part gives them a realistic shot at keeping their fairytale campaign alive and kicking.

Form guide

West Indies: LWWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
USA: LLWWL

In the spotlight – Russell and Taylor

He has been one of T20 cricket’s most valuable players for the best part of the last decade, but Andre Russell has been kept uncharacteristically quiet for the best part of this World Cup. A pair of unbeaten cameos against PNG and Uganda are about as good as it’s good for him with the bat, and though he continues to chip in with wickets, it is that explosiveness at the death West Indies really need him for. Part of it simply has to do with the batters higher up making sure he wasn’t required, but on the two occasions he was – against New Zealand and England – he fell cheaply. As a veteran of both of West Indies’ triumphant World Cup campaigns, he will know he’s expected to be a lot more influential for his side in the second half of this tournament if they are to go the distance again.Steven Taylor’s rise appeared to be proof that cricket in America was capable of attracting US-born athletes to this sport. A precocious rising star through his teenage years, he has been involved with American cricket for well over a decade. This World Cup should have been his crowning glory, but while Aaron Jones, Andries Gous and Saurabh Netravalkar have shone, Taylor has struggled to convert starts into substance at the top of the order. Born to Jamaican parents, he has history with the West Indies, and was once stripped of the US captaincy after he chose to play the CPL over a USA World Cup qualifier. He now comes up against the side he once declared an intention to play for, and the stakes could hardly be higher.It’s been a memorable tournament for USA and Saurabh Netravalkar thus far•ICC/Getty Images

Team news

King’s unavailability means West Indies need a replacement at the top of the order. Shimron Hetmyer is likely to get the call-up.West Indies: 1 Shimron Hetmyer 2 Johnson Charles 3 Nicolas Pooran (wk) 4 Rovman Powell (capt) 5 Roston Chase 6 Andre Russell 7 Sherfane Rutherford 8 Romaria Shepherd 9 Akeal Hosein 10 Alzarri Joseph 11 Gudakesh MotieUSA captain Monank Patel has not played since the game against Pakistan due to a shoulder injury, and remains a doubt for this contest. Jasdeep Singh, meanwhile, endured a horror game that saw him concede 28 off his first five balls, which could bring Shadley van Schalkwyk back into the frameUSA: 1 Steven Taylor 2 Andries Gous (wk) 3 Nitish Kumar 4 Aaron Jones (capt) 5 Corey Anderson 6 Shayan Jahangir 7 Harmeet Singh 8 Nosthush Kenjinge 9 Shadley van Schalkwyk 10 Ali Khan 11 Saurabh NetravalkarBrandon King retired hurt in the fifth over of West Indies’ innings during the game against England•AFP/Getty Images

Pitch and conditions

Bridgetown has seen relatively high scores in comparison to the rest of the tournament, though it did play host to the low-scoring tie between Namibia and Oman at the start of the tournament. It will be a humid evening, with chances of rain low.

Stats and trivia

Rachin Ravindra has replaced Bracewell in New Zealand’s squad for the upcoming ODIs against Sri Lanka

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Mar-2023Michael Bracewell, the New Zealand spin-bowling allrounder, has been signed up by Royal Challengers Bangalore as replacement for Will Jacks, who has been forced to give IPL 2023 a miss after picking up an injury while on tour for England in Bangladesh.Jacks, one of Royal Challengers’ big buys at the last auction, had been acquired for a price of INR 3.2 crore (US$ 390,000 approx. at the time). Bracewell, though, will join Royal Challengers for his auction base price of INR 1 crore, the BCCI said in a press statement.Rachin Ravindra, meanwhile, has been called up as Bracewell’s replacement for New Zealand’s three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, which will follow the ongoing Test series.Related

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“Michael’s been a key contributor to our white-ball teams since making his debut last year. It’s exciting he’ll get a chance to take up the learning opportunities the IPL provides – particularly as a spin bowling all-rounder,” Gary Stead, the New Zealand head coach, said in a statement. “With a World Cup in India this year it’s great to have players getting more experience in those conditions.”Bracewell, 32, is equally handy with bat and ball, and has played seven Tests, 19 ODIs and 16 T20Is for New Zealand. In a T20 career of 117 matches, he has 2284 runs at a strike rate of 133.48, and 40 wickets with an economy rate of 6.52. He joins captain Faf du Plessis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Josh Hazlewood, Glenn Maxwell, Reece Topley, David Willey and countrymate Finn Allen as the overseas players at Royal Challengers.Jacks, who, like Bracewell, has never played in the IPL, sustained a muscle injury while fielding in England’s victory in their second ODI against Bangladesh in Dhaka. After scans earlier this week and consultation with a specialist, he had to opt out of the IPL.The injury came as a significant blow for Jacks, who had hoped to use the IPL as an opportunity to familiarise himself with Indian conditions and push his case for selection in England’s squad for the 50-over World Cup later this year. He had tweeted “Gutted. I’ll be back,” after news of his exit from the IPL came out on March 15.Royal Challengers play their first game of the season against Mumbai Indians on April 2. It will be their first fixture at their home ground, Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium, since May 2019, after which Covid-19 had forced IPL matches to be held in limited centres, even in the UAE.

Heather Knight says preparations have been “pretty average” less than a week out from T20Is

Alan Gardner14-Jan-2022England captain Heather Knight has admitted to “concerns and anxieties” among the touring party in Australia after news of a support staff member testing positive for Covid-19, the latest disruption to their preparations ahead of the Women’s Ashes.The unidentified individual received a positive result in the second round of PCR tests conducted since England’s arrival in Australia. They are now in isolation and will remain in Canberra while the group moves on to Adelaide ahead of the T20I leg of the Ashes, which starts on Thursday. No other positives have been reported, with a further round of testing to be carried out before the team flies by charter on Monday.England have been in Australia for less than a week and were already having to rejig their plans after the schedule was changed in the run-up to departure – the T20Is were brought forward, ahead of the one-off Test, due to quarantine requirements for the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand.Related

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• Ashes schedule adjusted to allow for World Cup quarantine

• Women's Ashes walks Covid tightrope ahead of World Cup

They then saw their first outdoor training session affected by torrential rain, with Knight describing England’s build-up so far as “pretty average”.The discovery of a positive Covid case in the camp has added to the restrictions England are under – although two scheduled intra-squad warm-up games in Canberra this weekend will still take place – amid an atmosphere of extreme caution before the World Cup.”We were prepared for this,” Knight said, “I think it would be pretty naive to think we wouldn’t be affected by it [Covid-19] but there’s concern and anxieties from the group. We’ve had to live under pretty strict protocols since we’ve arrived, we’ve only been allowed to socialise outdoors for exactly this reason, to try and limit the spread.”It’s going to be a nervous 24-48 hours, but the PCR tests we’ve done already have all come back negative. Fingers crossed. It was always going to be affected by Covid. We’ve had to ‘safe live’ for two weeks in the UK, from Christmas pretty much, just in order to get out here. It’s been a colossal effort.”With Covid numbers in England having surged during December after the arrival of the Omicron variant, players were told to limit contacts to those within their household ahead of departure for Australia – leading to some unusual training routines. Alongside the changes to the Ashes itinerary, Knight said it been “quite hard to focus on the cricket”.”It’s not been ideal, that’s for sure,” she said. “The lead-up has been pretty average, but that’s all out of our control. For those two weeks before we left England we could only train as individuals, with our households, so we’ve had mums feeding bowling machines, boyfriends slinging, girlfriends slinging, dads batting, and supporting our training. As you can imagine it’s been pretty comical, but also not ideal preparation for a series of this magnitude.”We found out that with that quarantine in New Zealand, our preparation’s going to be a bit shorter. Getting our heads around that and trying to find ways to get ourselves ready, physically and mentally, has been a little bit hard, and then you throw Covid in there and shifting goalposts with the World Cup as well, as you can imagine it’s been quite hard to focus on the cricket.”It didn’t help that the first training session it rained cats and dogs. We haven’t had the best preparation but what we’ve got to do is try and make the most of it.”Changes to regulations while the squad was in the air mean players are currently unable to eat together at restaurants outdoors, although Knight was hopeful of that being relaxed at some stage.”Restrictions are in place to try and protect the integrity of the series, but we also need to make sure that we look after players and staff and everyone who’s out here as well,” she said. “We need to find that balance between trying to keep the integrity of the series and staying as safe as possible but also feeling like you can live within the restrictions with a tiny bit of freedom, which I think is important.”The switch to beginning the series with three T20Is has meant changes to planning – in particular how to get overs into the bowlers ahead of the Test – but Knight also suggested that T20 was her side’s “strongest format” and represented an opportunity to start the series well. She also said the disruption may help to “take the pressure off” against the No. 1-ranked Australians.”Of course there’s a frustration but it’s the times we’re living in at the moment,” she said. “It’s very challenging to tour with Covid around. The restrictions we’ve been under have changed as well, so just being adaptable to that has been quite tricky. As soon as you get your head around something, something else changes.”But we’ve got no other option but to try and make the most of it and do the best we can. Maybe it will take the pressure off, we’ve just got to find a way to free up, go out there and throw caution to the wind a bit. Mentally it’s going to be tough but we’re doing everything we can to try and get ourselves prepped and ready for the first game.”England are looking to reclaim the Ashes for the first time since 2015, with three T20Is, three ODIs and a Test to be played under the multi-format points system. The touring party includes an England A squad, who will provide warm-up opposition before playing their own fixtures against Australia A.

For former Australia batsman played seven seasons for the state

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Aug-2020Chris Rogers, the former Australia batsman, has been named head coach of the Victoria men’s team.Rogers, who scored over 25,000 first-class runs and appeared in 25 Tests, played seven seasons for Victoria and won two Sheffield Shield titles with the state.He fills the role vacated by Andrew McDonald’s move into the Australia set-up as Justin Langer’s assistant coach. His deal runs until the end of the 2022 season.Rogers was appointed to Cricket Australia’s high performance team in early 2018 where he undertook had a variety of roles including head coach of the Australian Under-19 team for the World Cup earlier this year.”I’m really excited about the job and I’d like to thank Cricket Victoria for the opportunity. It feels a bit like I’ve come full circle in playing for Victoria for seven years and now coming back into the fold as the senior coach,” Rogers said.”I’m looking forward to working with this talented squad of players and coaches. I’ve been lucky enough to work with many of the Victorian players in recent years and I look forward to working with them to achieve individual and team success.””Due to the impact of coronavirus, we know this season will come with some very new challenges for us, but we’ll continue to prepare as best we can and come ready to play when the time is right.”Rogers was preferred ahead of Brad Hodge in the final running for the position. The recruitment process included Cricket Victoria’s general manager of Cricket Shaun Graf, Victoria captains Peter Handscomb and Meg Lanning, Cricket Victoria CEO Andrew Ingleton and former Victoria coach Greg Shipperd.”I’ve known Chris a long time now having been involved with his initial recruitment from WA,” Graf said. “His desire to get the best out of the talent he was given will hold him in good stead as he prepares our young talented squad for the challenging season ahead.”He’s worked extensively with elite talent throughout the CA pathway system and has shown an ability to improve and develop players for the long-term. On the field he was an extremely gritty competitor, we know he’ll bring that determination and resilience into the squad.”