All posts by n8rngtd.top

Five-member panel recommends Gunathilaka and Mendis be suspended for two years; Dickwella for 18 months

Andrew Fidel Fernando29-Jul-2021The three Sri Lanka players whose night out in Durham broke bio-bubble protocols could be in for long suspensions if the recommendations of the committee that investigated the incident are followed. The five-member committee, led by a former Supreme Court judge, has recommended that Danushka Gunathilaka and Kusal Mendis be suspended from international cricket for two years, while Niroshan Dickwella be suspended for 18 months.Sri Lanka Cricket’s executive committee is due to meet on Friday to discuss the inquiry committee’s report, after which the players’ punishments will be finalised. It seems likely that suspensions will be handed out to all three. According to two board officials, though, it is not yet certain whether the board will be as harsh as the inquirers have suggested.”It’s a very eminent committee that has made these recommendations – a committee that has a former Supreme Court judge – so we will have to take it very seriously,” SLC secretary Mohan de Silva told ESPNcricinfo. “But we will be taking the matter up for discussion at the executive committee meeting on Friday.”De Silva did not rule out the possibility the board will consult further with the players involved, or team management, before the final decision on punishments is reached.Related

• Durham bubble breach: Gunathilaka, Mendis and Dickwella suspended from international cricket for one year

• How Sri Lanka Cricket is toying with Sri Lanka's cricket

• SLC forms five-member panel to probe bubble breach

• Mendis, Gunathilaka, Dickwella suspended

It is understood that harsher punishments have been recommended for Gunathilaka and Mendis because of previous disciplinary incidents. Mendis was not officially reprimanded by the board after he had caused the death of a pedestrian while driving back from a wedding in the early morning, in 2020. That accident is understood to have been part of the inquiry panel’s reasoning in recommending a two-year suspension, however. Gunathilaka, meanwhile, has already served two suspensions for disciplinary breaches while with the team. Most recently, he had broken curfew in the middle of a Test match in 2018.Dickwella has not previously drawn official SLC disciplinary charges, nor had he been arrested, as Mendis was after the accident.Although SLC has not officially handed out any suspensions yet, Sri Lanka’s coaching staff has intimated they are not expecting any of these three players will be available for the T20 World Cup this year.

Tourists yet to make a call on whether Stokes will play first Test

Valkerie Baynes28-Nov-2021England’s cricketers are hopeful that the discovery of the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 in Australia won’t impact the Ashes Tests – or their families’ travel plans, Ashley Giles says.But Giles, the managing director of England men’s cricket, admitted the touring party were at the mercy of the Australian authorities ahead of talks on the issue on Sunday.”We’re obviously hoping it won’t affect anything,” Giles told reporters via Zoom from Brisbane. “There are going to be changes to those border controls in terms of our families being able to travel and we clearly hope that’s not going to affect us. But we are in the hands of national and local governments.”Related

• Hameed makes fifty as Stokes' return delayed by rain

• Steven Smith's vice-captaincy may not be universally popular, but it makes sense

• 'Still up in the air' – Alex Carey and Josh Inglis neck and neck to replace Tim Paine

• Second chances key to solving racism crisis – Ashely Giles

England’s players had expressed concerns before leaving for Australia over beginning the tour with 14 days’ quarantine in Queensland and the effects on them and their families. Different states have now introduced new travel restrictions in response to the latest variant and Western Australia Cricket Association chief executive Christina Matthews has described the chances of the fifth Test going ahead in Perth as “50-50″ given the state’s stringent rules on travel.”We always knew things could change,” Giles said. “I guess we hoped things would change positively as we went through the series but as we’ve been aware over the last two years with variants, things can also change negatively.”Can we prepare for everything? It’s not really possible actually because of the big moving parts even around quarantine times and rules around different states. We will do everything we can to make sure the families are accommodated and of course that the players are happy.”The England squad plan to play a four-day warm-up match against England Lions on Tuesday, with the Test players who were involved in the T20 World Cup due to travel to Brisbane from their quarantine base on the Gold Coast on the morning of the match, along with head coach Chris Silverwood.Rain ruined England’s first, three-day, warm-up against the Lions, with further thunderstorms forecast for Brisbane this week.”It’s not perfect preparation and it’s been extremely strange having some of our group so close but yet so far away,” Giles said. “They’ve been in bubbles now for a long period with the World Cup and then coming here for 14 days. They’ve been very well looked after here but it is still a bubble and it’s still quarantine down there for them.”I’m certainly looking forward to getting the head coach here. Chris particularly must feel a real strange detachment being so close but so far away from a squad that’s preparing for an Ashes. [It’s] not ideal but the Australians are in the same boat and we’ve just got to try and do it better than them.”Ben Stokes looks on during an England Ashes Squad nets session at The Gabba•Getty Images

Giles said England were yet to make a call on whether Ben Stokes would play in the first Test, starting on December 8, after nearly five months out of the game to prioritise his mental health, during which time he was also nursing a serious finger injury.”Ben seems to be going well and it’s just great having him around,” Giles said. “We’ve still got to be steady with him, he hasn’t played a lot of cricket lately and, going back to that prep period, it’s not ideal for anyone, but particularly the guys who haven’t had a lot of cricket under their belt. We’ll just keep building him up and see where we are at the end of this four-day game.”I’m hopeful and I would always like to be confident. We’ve just got to treat Ben carefully, as we would with anyone else who has been in that position of not having a lot of cricket under their belts. He will be a difficult man to hold back if he is ready to go.”

Experienced wicketkeeper was axed as captain in mid-summer

Matt Roller16-Dec-2021Ben Brown has been released from his contract with Sussex two years early at his own request after losing the captaincy in mid-summer, making him the latest high-profile departure from the club after Chris Jordan and Phil Salt.Brown has been a Sussex player since Under-11 level and has been a first-team player since 2007. He was awarded the club captaincy on a full-time basis in 2018 after taking on the role midway through the 2017 season and signed a contract extension in 2020, but Sussex announced midway through last summer that they had decided “the time is right for new leadership”.He was briefly dropped from their Royal London Cup squad and when he returned to the squad he was selected as a specialist batter rather than a wicketkeeper. Despite the upheaval – and being asked to bat out of position at No. 3 in the final month of the season – Brown had the most prolific Championship season of his career, with 976 runs at 51.36 and four hundreds.Related

• Rashid Khan returns to Sussex for 2022 Blast

• Sussex rock-bottom as Derbyshire seal first win of season

• Rock-bottom Sussex wholehearted but callow as recruitment falls under scrutiny

• Wright: 'We can't be losing our best players all the time'

• Jordan, Salt to leave Sussex for Surrey, Lancs at end of season

“Ben had two seasons remaining on his contract and, as you’d expect with a player of his quality, was very much a part of our plans for the future,” Rob Andrew, Sussex’s chief executive, said in a statement.”We’ve tried hard to find a way forward that keeps him at the club and until very recently thought that would be something we could achieve. However, it’s now clear that Ben is set on a change, and it would be in nobody’s interests to keep him at Sussex against his will.”Despite hoping it wouldn’t be necessary, once Ben first mentioned that he was feeling unsettled it was only prudent that we began exploring potential replacements for next summer. Ben has been part of Sussex for over two decades and has a record he can be extremely proud of. He has always given everything with the bat, the gloves or with his captaincy.”Under tapping-up regulations, Brown has not been permitted to speak to other counties but is likely to prove an attractive signing. He has 22 first-class hundreds and a career average above 40, is widely recognised as one of the best wicketkeepers in the country and has leadership experience. He has little T20 experience but as a result is not involved in the Hundred and made his first List A hundred against Middlesex in August.Chris Jordan and Phil Salt have also left Sussex this year•Getty Images

“As this chapter of my career draws to a close, I would like to say an enormous thank you to Sussex for the opportunities I have been afforded over a twenty-two-year association with the club,” Brown said in a statement. “Since I was first selected as an eleven-year-old I have made life-long friends, travelled the world, and made memories for life playing cricket for Sussex.”To have had the opportunity to play as much as I have for my home club makes me immensely proud and I am hugely grateful to everyone at Sussex over the years who have helped turn my dreams into a reality. I am also thankful for the opportunity to become club captain, a job that gave me immense pride and pleasure to do, and I look forward to returning to Hove in the future to reflect on seeing my name on the captain’s board, alongside so many great names of Sussex Cricket.”I would like to wish the current squad and support staff all the best in the coming years, and I look forward to seeing the young squad flourish over seasons to come at Hove. For me personally it is time to return to being a Sussex supporter as I look forward to a new chapter of my cricket career.”Sussex have been in a state of transition in four-day cricket since their relegation from Division One of the Championship in 2015. They were expected to compete for promotion under Jason Gillespie but never managed to finish in the top two and they won the wooden spoon in Ian Salisbury’s first season in charge in 2021 while fielding the youngest team in the country and using as many as 26 different players.Luke Wright, the club’s T20 captain, said Sussex “can’t be losing our best players all the time,” ahead of Jordan and Salt’s final appearances for the club, following the departures of Laurie Evans, Danny Briggs, Luke Wells, Chris Nash, Reece Topley and Michael Burgess in recent seasons. Stiaan van Zyl and Aaron Thomason also left the club at the end of the 2021 season, while Stuart Meaker and Mitchell Claydon have both retired and Will Beer has signed a T20-only contract despite admitting his desire to play across formats.They have recruited Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Steven Finn this winter, but were beaten to the signing of Ross Whiteley by Hampshire and Brown’s departure represents another blow.However, several of their best young players – including 50-over captain and leading Championship run-scorer Tom Haines, George Garton, Jack Carson and Delray Rawlins – have signed contract extensions, as have senior T20 players like Wright, Tymal Mills and Ravi Bopara. Travis Head, who struggled with the bat in his first season at the club but scored an 85-ball hundred in the first Ashes Test last week, will return as Championship captain in 2022, while the club are due to announce a major overseas signing on Thursday afternoon.

After only 4.1 overs were possible in the second game, not a ball could be bowled in the third

Alex Malcolm23-Jan-2022Unrelenting rain in Adelaide washed out the third T20I of the Women’s Ashes between Australia and England without a ball bowled.Just 24 hours after only 4.1 overs were possible in the second T20I at the same venue, another day of lashing rain left the two sides frustrated, with only one match of the all-format series producing a result so far – Australia winning the first game by nine wickets.Australia lead the points table 4-2 after the two teams shared points for the second straight day. The two squads will now head to Canberra for the one-off Test match, starting on Thursday, hoping for better luck with the weather.Australia will be without fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck after the home side confirmed on Sunday that she had suffered another stress fracture in her foot, ruling her out of both the Ashes and the upcoming 50-over World Cup in New Zealand.

The allrounder also heaped praise on Jhulan Goswami, calling her a “really, really tricky” proposition with the new ball

Annesha Ghosh15-Mar-2022Ellyse Perry has said Australia would be wary of the form Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur are expected to carry into what she believes would be a “great clash” on Saturday. Both Mandhana and Harmanpreet struck centuries in India’s last game, but before taking on Australia, India will face England first on Wednesday.”We are constantly aware of the power in the Indian batting line-up,” Perry said after Australia’s seven-wicket win over West Indies in Wellington. “Smriti and Harman are two of the most dangerous batters certainly. Both played Big Bash over the summer in Australia and were very, very good there. I think they both scored hundreds in that tournament; if not, they got very close. I know Smriti did.”Related

• Mandhana has 'no explanation' for batters' inconsistency, but expects 'perfect game' against Australia

• India taking inspiration for Australia contest from 2021 tour Down Under, not 2017 World Cup semi

• Anya Shrubsole credits fielders as England's World Cup campaign stirs at last

• 'Just one big knock away' – Jhulan Goswami backs Mithali Raj, and India's batting, to come good

• Perry, Gardner, Haynes brush aside West Indies to keep Australia unbeaten

Both Perry and Australia have been on a roll at this World Cup. Perry picked up her second successive Player-of-the-Match award while Australia registered their fourth win in as many games at this World Cup. But as they gear up for their next outing, against India, who rode on Harmanpreet’s 171 not out to beat them in the 2017 World Cup semi-final, Perry said her side is aware of the competition they might face.”We have played a lot against one another lately, so it gives us a really great chance to prepare,” Perry said. “It’s a very strong batting line-up and I’ve only mentioned two names [Mandhana and Harmanpreet] there. It’s going to be a great challenge for us. I think it has come really at the right time. And I think both teams are in a really good spot. So it should be a great clash.”Australia had narrowly beaten India 2-1 in the three-match ODI leg of the multi-format series at home last year. India ran them close in the second ODI, which ended in a frantic final-ball heartbreak for the visitors, before ending Australia’s world-record streak of 26 successive wins in the format. In both matches, Jhulan Goswami, who became the highest wicket-taker in women’s ODI World Cups last week, played a dominant hand.Perry, whom Goswami described in a recent Cricket Monthly interview as the best pace-bowling allrounder she has ever seen, heaped praise on the India seamer and called her a “really, really tricky” proposition with the new ball.”Not just myself but our entire team has a tremendous level of respect for Jhulan for what she’s done for the game, not just for the Indian team, but the whole of women’s cricket globally – it’s just unbelievable,” Perry said. “I certainly admire her longevity as well and just how successful she has been over such a long period of time. She’s such a talisman for the Indian team.”She’s an absolute bedrock with that new ball and really, really tricky to get away. So, when you sort of have the wonderful opportunity to play against a player like that for such a long period of time, it’s hard not to just have a lot of admiration for them. It’s always nice to see Jhulan – she’s so kind and bubbly off the field and always willing to say ‘G’day’ and have a chat.”While the relative familiarity between the two teams is likely to bring several match-ups into play, a somewhat unknown element faces both teams: the venue, Eden Park in Auckland.”The dimensions of Auckland are quite unique,” Perry said. “I think it’s also a drop-in wicket, so it might be quite different to the conditions that we’ve faced here [in Wellington]. But I suppose we’ve sort of moved around a little bit already in this tournament and we’ve been pretty good at adapting pretty quickly.”We obviously have played India a lot recently and know kind of what we’re going to come up against with them. So there’ll be a few other things once we get there that we’ll talk about. But in general, we’re sort of going okay with that and conditions won’t play too much of a role.”

Nagaland are staring up the barrel already, having conceded over 400 runs on the first day

Himanshu Agrawal12-Mar-2022Quick centuries from middle-order batters Kumar Kushagra and Virat Singh helped Jharkhand score 402 for the loss of five wickets on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy pre-quarter-final against Nagaland at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.The two added 175 for the fifth wicket in less than 36 overs, both finding the boundary almost at will – 17-year-old Kushagra hit 16 fours and a six, and Virat hit 13 fours.While wicketkeeper-batter Kushagra got to his landmark off just 105 balls, Virat reached his second century of the season, after getting 103 in a tight win against Delhi, from 141 deliveries, as Nagaland lost the grip after four wickets halfway into the day. And despite left-arm spinner Imliwati Lemtur breaking the stand with the end of the day approaching, Kushagra, who ended unbeaten on 112, and No. 7 Anukul Roy took Jharkhand past 400 in only 87 overs of play.Both Kushagra and Virat, who fell for 107, rode their luck during the aggressive stand. With Virat on 78, his attempted loft over the covers in the 66th over landed just wide of a fielder’s outstretched hands. And two overs later, when Kushagra was on 44, he was dropped by the midwicket fielder, who only had to move slightly to his left to reach the ball. This, after he was also put down on 10.Earlier, all of Jharkhand’s top six got off to starts but Kumar Suraj’s 66 was the best effort. Like Kushagra and Virat after him, Suraj was positive at the crease, hitting 11 fours and a six in his innings of 91 balls. But the base was set by the openers Nazim Siddiqui and Utkarsh Singh, who started with 60 in the first 14 overs before right-arm quick Chopise Hopongkyu broke through.Nagaland tried seven bowlers on the day, five of whom got a wicket each, while as many conceded at least four runs an over to the opposition batters.

The 21-year-old was one of three Blues to make half-centuries as NSW went to stumps at 4 for 235 on day three against South Australia, holding a lead of 252

AAP25-Mar-2022First-class debutant Blake Nikitaras has impressed for NSW as they look to end their Sheffield Shield campaign with a win over South Australia on Saturday.The match has become a dead rubber with Western Australia and Victoria now locked in for next week’s Shield final in Perth, but NSW can still take plenty of positives from the match in Adelaide.The Blues went to stumps on day three at Karen Rolton Oval at 4 for 235, holding a lead of 252 after three batsmen made half-centuries.The day was highlighted by Nikitaras, with the 21-year-old making 56 to go with the 44 he posted in his first innings, looking brilliant throughout and belting two huge sixes.He looked set to push for triple figures until a disastrous mix-up with Matthew Gilkes that saw both stranded mid-pitch, with a direct hit from Brendan Doggett running him out.Fresh from 142 in the first innings, skipper Jason Sangha remained in imperious touch and brought up another half-century, eventually caught off Nathan McSweeney for 62.And Gilkes was also in fine form, making his fifth first-class fifty before he fell when McSweeney trapped him lbw for 54. Lachie Hearne could yet be a fourth Blue to raise the bat, 31 not out at stumps. McSweeney (2-71)  was the pick of the SA bowlers.South Australia declared 17 runs behind NSW at 9 for 277 late in Friday’s morning session after NSW dismissed captain Henry Hunt (109) and Harry Nielsen (63) early with tail-ender Liam Scott whacking 30. Chris Tremain (3-51) and Trent Copeland (3-58) were NSW’s best bowlers.

Defending champions respond grudgingly after realising their standing is in doubt

David Hopps21-May-2022There have been days in many a Championship summer when the reigning champions get a shiver of realisation that they are not going to successfully defend their title. Perhaps this was the day when Warwickshire recognised that their standing is in doubt. They could not have responded more grudgingly.It is not often that the loss of Dom Sibley’s wicket causes the scoring rate to plummet, but it did at Headingley on a day that finished in the grimmest of fashions. Three down for 25 in the 13th over, Warwickshire responded with a display of strokeless defiance that communicated they will not concede their title lightly. Mark Robinson, Warwickshire’s coach, talked about calming things down after a bit of craziness which was true enough, even if it did sound a bit like a prescription for anxiety from an over-pressed GP.Sam Hain and Will Rhodes had added 32 in 28 overs when light rain brought a welcome end with 7.4 overs remaining. Yorkshire, still 148 runs ahead, will expect to take seven wickets to claim victory on the final day, and there is more encouragement in the surface for the bowlers than has been apparent when Yorkshire have failed to force home winning positions on the final day, but in a season of stalemates, nothing can be taken for granted.Considering that the Championship is a great democracy, with nine of the counties (exactly half) having won the title since the turn of the century, successful title defences are surprisingly common: Surrey (1999/2000), Sussex (2006/2007), Durham (2008/2009) and Yorkshire (2014/2015) have all managed it in that period.Related

• Worcestershire thrash rock-bottom Leicestershire inside three days

• Barker's half-dozen leads Hampshire to victory as Somerset fold

But barring something extraordinary, Warwickshire will reach the mid-point of the season with only one victory. Apart from Essex at Edgbaston in April, they have struggled to bowl sides out twice this summer. In 2021, Liam Norwell and Craig Miles shared 86 wickets. This year their tally is nine. They have been unable to cover the shortfall.Their batting has also lacked the consistency of last year. Jordan Thompson took advantage of that with three new-ball wickets either side of tea, Alex Davies, a close-season signing from Lancashire who is yet to fire at the top of the order, chipped to Will Fraine at midwicket and Yates’ bat had twisted a full 90 degrees in his hands when he chipped back to Tom Loten, diving towards short mid-off. Thompson then found a bit of bounce from a good length as Sibley fell off the shoulder of the bat at point.Yorkshire extended their overnight 269 for 4 by another 180 runs which represented the top end of their ambitions. Adam Lyth was the mainstay of their innings taking his second-day century to 145. He had batted for a touch under seven hours when he sought out his favoured region, square on the off-side, and was caught at the wicket, cutting a ball from Nathan McAndrew.The afternoon, though, belonged to Matthew Revis, whose second first-class fifty, allied to his development as a seam bowler, again identified him as Yorkshire’s breakthrough player of the season. A last-wicket stand of 58 in seven overs with Steve Patterson removed what little hope Warwickshire had of turning the game.With licence to attack, he has surely never struck the ball as crisply, so often, in his county career. Oliver Hannon-Dalby was pulled and lofted straight, and Danny Briggs stylishly despatched inside-out to the extra cover boundary, but the best shot of all was a slog-sweep for six against Briggs that brought up his half-century.Revis, an imposing 20-year-old, is fast developing into a cricketer to be reckoned with. Like team-mates Harry Brook and George Hill, he is a product of Sedbergh School under their director of cricket Martin Speight. He debuted in the Championship at the end of 2019 as an opening batter, aged 17. But he has been playing this season as more of a specialist hit-the-pitch-hard seam bowler batting at No. 9.When the skipper, Steve Patterson, emerged at No 11, he implored Revis to be positive. “That’s when I play at my best, when I’m looking to score,” he said. “I would like to bat higher up in the future, hopefully. But the job I’m doing now, I’m really enjoying it.”Warwickshire’s only consolation was some fine catching – Rhodes held a screamer at mid-on to dismiss Thompson – and the manner in which Dom Bess had gifted them a bowling bonus point when he advanced down the wicket at Briggs and sliced high into the off side. This time last year, the extra point might have been a case of Every Little Helps, all part of their methodical progress towards a Championship title. This summer, with the season at its mid-point, it appears to be a point that will be irrelevant, one way or another, by the time September ends.

South Africa batter available for two rounds of County Championship

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jun-2022Ryan Rickelton, the South Africa batter, has signed for a short-term spell as an overseas player with Northamptonshire. He will be available for their next two LV= Insurance County Championship games.Rickelton, who made his Test debut against Bangladesh in March, comes in to strengthen the squad in red-ball cricket after the departure of Will Young, on international duty with New Zealand, and Matt Kelly, who has returned home to Australia.”It’s really exciting and a great opportunity to be joining Northamptonshire.” Rickelton said.Related

• Cele, Rickelton, Snyman get maiden South Africa call-ups

• Strong showing from second string gives South Africa 'options' ahead of Test winter

• Kohler-Cadmore signs for Somerset as Yorkshire exodus intensifies

“I have always wanted to play county cricket and to be part of such a well-rounded, strong group is brilliant and I look forward to hopefully contributing to the side’s success in the County Championship.”Rickelton, 25, has scored 2973 runs at 50.38 in first-class cricket, and knows Northants captain, Ricardo Vasconcelos, from their time growing up in South Africa.He will arrive in the UK this week, ahead of Northamptonshire’s Championship fixture against Warwickshire starting on Sunday. He is also due to feature against Kent next month.”I’m delighted to have Ryan join us for a couple of games, we’ve known each other since we were little so I’m looking forward to hopefully getting to bat together for Northamptonshire,” Vasconcelos said.”He’s a really positive batsman, he plays his shots and has scored a lot of runs in the last couple of years. He got off the mark in test cricket with a reverse sweep I think, so that tells you a bit about him.”

The allrounder is still unable to bowl due to a stress fracture as Australia look to gear up for the Commonwealth Games

Andrew McGlashan14-Jul-2022Ellyse Perry, who remains restricted to batting-only duties as she recovers from a stress fracture of her back, could struggle to force her way back into Australia’s T20I line-up for the Commonwealth Games.Perry, whose batting strike rate has come under scrutiny, lost her spot in the format during the T20I leg of the Ashes earlier this year, one of the more significant calls former head coach Matthew Mott made during the latter part of his tenure. Though she may find some game-time during the tri-series in Ireland, as Australia manage their squad in the lead-up to Birmingham, there does not appear to be a vacancy for her in the first-choice side.Tahlia McGrath’s magnificent return to international cricket has made her spot secure while the rest of the top six are locked in barring injury. Having Perry purely as a batter would also alter the balance of the side, albeit she had bowled less in her recent T20Is since returning from the severe hamstring injury picked up at the 2020 T20 World Cup.Related

• King and Brown help Australia hammer Ireland

• Three in an over for King, but rain washes out opener

• Back injury to limit Ellyse Perry to batting role for tri-series, Commonwealth Games

• Ellyse Perry has T20 comeback at forefront of her mind

• Jonassen to miss start of tri-series due to Covid

“It’s a slightly different role I guess for her for what she can normally play in our team,” captain Meg Lanning said following the team’s arrival in Ireland. “Think if she was to get an opportunity, she’s been in the middle order for us. We are pretty flexible with what that looks like, so any player within that can come in at any point. She would fit somewhere in there.”There’s many players who could come in and play a role and she’s certainly one of those. Looks a bit different for her this tour, but I’m sure she’ll handle it well.”Australia have had 12 T20Is since the last World Cup amid the disruption caused by the pandemic, but four of those have either been curtailed by rain or abandoned – including the last two in the Ashes – so Lanning sees the four games in Ireland (two against the hosts and two against Pakistan) as key to getting back up to speed after a period focused on the ODI format.”It’s about trying to find our groove a little in the format, we haven’t played a lot of it over the last 12 months so an important period coming up,” she said. “Playing against Ireland and Pakistan, we don’t know a lot about Ireland, we haven’t played them for a little while, but it’s exciting to be able to come over here and play them. Pakistan are a dangerous team and have some really skillful players.”Amanda-Jade Wellington is one option to fill in for Jess Jonassen•Getty Images

Lanning said they would monitor the workload of the quick bowlers while in Ireland – Darcie Brown is an especially valuable asset in that regard – and there is the focus of having players primed for the gold-medal push at the Commonwealth Games, but they won’t change the team for the sake of it.”There’s no doubt we want to get some cricket into the squad…but we are certainly not going to change things [just] because we can,” she said. “So we’ll pick our strongest team that we can on each day, understanding that there will be some managing along the way as well.”One selection decision they will have to make for their first couple of matches at least is who replaces Jess Jonassen after she tested positive for Covid before leaving Australia. It could mean an opportunity for allrounder Grace Harris, who bowls offspin, or for legspinner Amanda-Jade Wellington to get her first game in the format since 2018. However, there is also the chance it might not be spinner-for-spinner.”We’ve got some really good all-round options as well in the pace department, so it comes down to what we feel will fit best,” Lanning said. “While it might look a little different to how we normally line up bowler-wise in a T20, think we’ve got some good options.”It does give someone else an opportunity. JJ is a very important part of our team and bowls at all times throughout an innings. That’s something we’ve done really well over the last few years, someone else coming in and taking their chance.”In terms of Covid, the team is trying to remain indoors in Ireland as much as possible to minimise the risk of infection.”Things can pop up really quickly so we are just being really flexible and understanding of the situation,” Lanning said. “Hopefully that means that we can get through unscathed.”