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Champions require just 39 minutes on the fourth morning to see off Warwickshire

Matt Roller13-May-2024Jamie Smith has the necessary “grounding” to become a “high-quality international” according to his Surrey coach Gareth Batty, who encouraged Smith to be “a dreamer” as he enters the conversation to become England’s Test wicketkeeper this summer.Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes struggled with the bat during England’s 4-1 loss in India earlier this year – neither scored a half-century in the series, both averaged in the low-20s – with Rob Key and Brendon McCullum making clear since that the position is up for grabs ahead of July’s Test series against West Indies.Smith, 23, has been involved in England’s pathway since Under-19 level and made his international debut in last September’s ODI series against Ireland. He started the County Championship season with half-centuries against Somerset and Kent but was Surrey’s match-winner against Warwickshire, hitting 155 off 179 balls to set the game up for their bowlers.”He’s coming on very nicely,” Batty said. “I thought last year was his big coming-of-age season, turning potential into output. There were some wonderful knocks for us, and I suppose now with international stuff coming along soon, how well he’s played in this game will be on everybody’s lips. The good thing with Jamie is that it’s not just this innings, it’s been over a period of time now. He has that foundation or platform behind him.”He’s the modern-day player. To be a high-quality international, you have to have the old-school grounding. He has that, and he’s prepared to do the hard work. He has a solid defence but we also see his expansive nature. We also see what he can do in white-ball cricket, and what he did here against a tiring attack. It’s all down to the individual now.”Surrey have backed Smith to bat at No. 4 this season, despite the arrival of Dan Lawrence – England’s spare batter on their India tour – from Essex, who has found himself down at No. 6. Foakes has been their first-choice wicketkeeper, but Smith deputised in last week’s victory over Hampshire and kept tidily, despite only being involved in one dismissal.Batty declined to comment on Smith’s Test aspirations, unsurprisingly given Foakes’ own hopes to remain involved in the England set-up. But he encouraged him to be ambitious, saying: “Everybody’s a bit of a dreamer, aren’t they? I don’t think you should play sport if you’re not going to dream.”There’s a stable base behind the wonderful stuff that we see out there, which hopefully prepares you for the unexpected. People are saying very nice things… we’re trying to produce a level group, and Jamie is just one of that group. It’s nice that people are saying nice things – we want that, of course – but he has earned the right.”Surrey took 39 minutes to wrap up their nine-wicket win on the final day, chasing down their target of 89 without breaking sweat. Rory Burns fell chipping Jacob Bethell to mid-on, but Dom Sibley guided them home with a calm, unbeaten 46. Ollie Pope struck the winning runs, working Rob Yates’ offspin into the leg side and coming back for three.”We fought hard throughout the game to get the win and it was a very good team performance,” Batty said. “Our bowling was actually a bit clunky at the start of the match, after a bye week last week, but we got better and better and really turned the screw later in the game and showed just what a wonderful bowling unit we have.”Warwickshire were without several first-choice bowlers in this match – Chris Rushworth (calf) and Liam Norwell (back) are injured, Hasan Ali was unexpectedly called up to Pakistan’s T20I squad and Chris Woakes has been at the IPL – and lost Craig Miles to an ankle injury while he was celebrating his fifth wicket on the second day.”We’ve done a lot right, but we haven’t been good enough,” their coach Mark Robinson said. “It’s aspirational for us as a big club like Warwickshire to get up level with them [Surrey] – at the moment, they’re Man City and we’re not. You need a few things to go your way to give yourselves the best chance… we’ve got four frontline bowlers who are unavailable, so that doesn’t help.”

Babar’s fifty and Iftikhar’s 38* off 15 balls took Pakistan to 182, but Ireland chased it down with a ball to spare

ESPNcricinfo staff10-May-2024Ireland and Pakistan were playing each other in a T20I for the first time in 15 years, and Andy Balbirnie’s 77 helped the hosts beat the visitors. It was Ireland’s first win over Pakistan in the format, with the only time the teams having met earlier coming at the World T20 in 2009.Harry Tector, who added 77 with Balbirnie for the third wicket, set the platform in the 183-run chase, before cameos from George Dockrell and Curtis Campher took Ireland over the line.The chase came down to a tense finish, with Ireland needing 40 in the last four overs even as Pakistan had an over each from Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi, along with two from Abbas Afridi, in the bank. Abbas started the 17th over with the wicket of Dockrell and conceded just three off the first four balls. But then began the recurring theme of a bowler starting the over well before conceding a late boundary and bringing down the asking rate.Next over, with Ireland requiring another 28 from 17 balls, Shadab Khan couldn’t hold on to a tough chance, and handed Balbirnie a life. Naseem nailed a couple of yorkers to bring the game back in the balance. But Delany made room and crunched a low full toss through cover to make it 11 off the over.Shaheen was closer to his best in the penultimate over, which started with Ireland requiring another 19. He delivered around-the-wicket yorkers, and knocked over Balbirnie with a swerving, low full toss. But an audacious reverse ramp first ball from Campher over the keeper left Abbas with 11 to defend off the final over.Campher was taken aback by the first ball by Abbas rising off a shortish length, but managed to guide it off the under-edge between the wicketkeeper and short third for four. He capitalised on a missed yorker to level the scores before sneaking a leg bye to seal victory.Babar Azam scored 57•Sportsfile/Getty Images

Balbirnie, Tector set up the chase

Ireland’s aggressive start to the chase saw Naseem dismiss Paul Stirling cheaply. Shaheen was off boil in his two opening overs but Abbas, his replacement, struck first ball after being given to bowl in the powerplay.But coming in at 27 for 2 did not stop Tector from looking for early boundaries. It allowed Balbirnie to consolidate at the other end, as the pair lifted Ireland from 43 for 2 in the powerplay to 84 for 2 after ten overs. They targeted Shadab Khan after Imad Wasim tightened his length to stay afloat.Tector fell to Imad but Dockrell joined Balbirnie to take Shadab down for 23 in the match-turning 14th over. The last ball was skied towards Iftikhar Ahmed at long-on, but he stepped on the boundary cushion to give Dockrell a life, along with six runs. Balbirnie and Dockrell kept the run rate around nine an over to set up the successful finish.

Babar fifty, Iftikhar cameo lift Pakistan

Earlier in the day, Ireland had put Pakistan in to bat. Babar Azam joined Saim Ayub in the second over after Tector, placed at mid-off, ran Mohammed Rizwan out, as the latter was called for a single by Ayub, before being sent back.Babar and Ayub found mixed success while trying to muscle the ball in the powerplay, as they hit six fours and a six, but were also often beaten by Mark Adair and Barry McCarthy’s tight lengths.After the powerplay, the two batters took on Ben White and Curtis Campher, as they accelerated and added 53 off the next five overs. They punished at anything too full or too short, but Ayub holed out to a wide drag down from Delany, who ended the 85-run stand off 57 balls.Babar brought up a 39-ball fifty in the 13th over, but the scoring kept fluctuating as he continued to hit and miss, even as Fakhar Zaman was unable to get off the blocks.Young’s return in the 13th over pegged Pakistan back as Babar miscued a shortish ball to long-on to finish with a 43-ball 57, while Azam Khan, trying to go over deep square leg, fell for a two-ball duck.Pakistan went on to lose 3 for 7 in six legal balls midway from the 15th over onwards. Fakhar then fell in the 18th over for 20 off 18 balls, but Iftikhar was unfazed. He took a liking to Adair, smacking him for three sixes and two fours across eight legal balls.Iftikhar, who finished on 38* from 15 balls, was aided by Shaheen’s two sixes off McCarthy in the 19th over, as Pakistan smashed 44 off the last three to reach 182, which Ireland chased down with a ball to spare.

A flash-flood emergency is likely to wash out the game, in which case USA will qualify for the Super Eight at Ireland and Pakistan’s expense

Shashank Kishore13-Jun-20241:48

O’Brien: USA favourites but Ireland can dream

Match details

USA vs Ireland
June 14, Lauderhill, 10.30am local time

Big picture – Weather likely to end Ireland and Pakistan’s hopes

Florida is in the midst of a tropical disturbance that has brought intense rainfall. And there’s no respite for the remainder of the week. A flash-flood emergency in the region threatens to wash out the entire leg of matches at Central Broward Park.Two days ago, Nepal vs Sri Lanka was washed out before there could be a toss. Friday’s morning fixture between USA and Ireland will likely meet the same fate. If that happens, USA can celebrate; a Super Eight berth will be theirs along with India from Group A. It will mean a dagger through Pakistani hearts; it will seem inevitable after they opened their campaign with back-to-back losses to USA and India.Related

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Saurabh Netravalkar may need to change the date of his ‘out of office’ email from June 17 until possibly the end of the month. It’s likely he won’t need to tell his employers why. The cricketing world watched his opening salvo with the new ball as he famously dismissed Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in successive overs on Wednesday morning.Ireland are entering this game with slim hopes of qualifying. Having begun the tournament with two morale-shattering losses themselves, including one to Canada, they need to win both their remaining games by considerable margins.But instead of plotting and planning, they will likely be scouring weather forecasts, and that may not change anything. It’s that bleak.1:33

Big match-up: Ireland top-order vs Netravalkar

Form guide

USA LWWLW
Ireland LLWWW

In the spotlight – Monank Patel and Paul Stirling

Monank Patel missed Thursday’s match against India due to a shoulder niggle. The USA captain has been in good form too; his half-century was pivotal in their taking the game against Pakistan into a Super Over. In the lead-up to the T20 World Cup, he struck two match-winning half-centuries against Canada, while a crucial 42 helped steer USA home against Bangladesh. While the team management is optimistic of him being ready for Friday, the rain may just come as a blessing in disguise to give him two extra days to recover in time for the Super Eight.Aaron Jones captained USA in Monank Patel’s absence against India•ICC/Getty Images

He can make heads turn with his robust approach in the powerplay, but Paul Stirling has endured a lean run lately, dismissed for 2 and 9 in Ireland’s first two games. His highest score in seven T20Is since the start of May is 36 against Netherlands. Ireland will need much more than that if they are to compete. Stirling has been a part of several giant-killing acts during the course of his career. Can he come up with another to keep the group alive, if rain allows play?

Team news

Monank is likely to come in for Shayan Jahangir for the hosts.USA possible XI: 1 Monank Patel (capt & wk), 2 Steven Taylor, 3 Andries Gous, 4 Aaron Jones, 5 Nitish Kumar, 6 Corey Anderson, 7 Harmeet Singh, 8 Jasdeep Singh, 9 Saurabh Netravalkar, 10 Ali Khan, 11 Nosthush Kenjige/Shadley van Schalkwyk.Conditions will probably dictate who among Ben White, the legspinner, or Craig Young, the fast bowler, play.Ireland possible XI: 1 Paul Stirling (capt), 2 Andrew Balbirnie, 3 Lorcan Tucker (wk), 4 Harry Tector, 5 Curtis Campher, 6 George Dockrell, 7 Gareth Delany, 8 Mark Adair, 9 Barry McCarthy, 10 Josh Little, 11 Craig Young.

Pitch and conditions

Heavy rain is forecast for the next three days. The pitches have mostly been under covers and that’s unlikely to change. A state of emergency has been declared in five counties, including Broward where the stadium is located. It’ll need a miracle even for the curators to simply have a look at the surface underneath.

Stats and trivia

• Stirling has gone 18 innings without a fifty since July 2023, scoring 268 runs at an average of 15.76.
• Aaron Jones is the second-highest run-getter in this T20 World Cup with 141 runs, and his 94* in the opening game is still the highest individual score of the tournament.
• Ireland and USA have faced off twice in T20Is, both times in 2021 at Lauderhill, the venue for Friday’s game. They have won one game apiece.

Seamer takes Thunder’s last four wickets in eight balls to secure 30-run win at Chelmsford

ECB Reporters Network30-Jun-2024Sophie Munro produced a stunning spell on her Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy debut for Sunrisers to keep them in the top two with a tense win over Lancashire Thunder at Chelmsford.Seamer Munro, on loan from The Blaze, captured three wickets in four balls – including the key scalp of ex-Sunrisers batter Naomi Dattani – as she wrapped up her side’s first victory over Thunder in any format with figures of 5 for 25.Dattani’s knock of 36 seemed likely to steer Thunder past the home side’s total of 253, which might have been higher but for a middle-order collapse after skipper Grace Scrivens (51 from 54 balls) and Jo Gardner (63 from 78) had shared an opening stand of 94.Sunrisers then lost six wickets for 52, with left-arm spinner Hannah Jones returning four for 50 to become the tournament’s joint highest wicket-taker with 14.Even with drizzle and dark clouds hovering above the ground, Scrivens chose to bat after winning the toss and, despite some early swing for left-armer Tara Norris, the home side built steadily. They reached 48 in the 10th over before the drizzle developed into heavier rain and, once the players returned after almost an hour’s delay, the contest was reduced to 48 overs a side.Scrivens looked nicely set, taking successive fours off former team-mate Dattani as she advanced to her 50 only to be bamboozled soon afterwards by Fi Morris, with Ellie Threlkeld completing a stumping.Gardner might have gone the same way when she misjudged a ball from Sophie Morris, who bowled consistently to finish with 2 for 38, but the opener survived to post her first half-century of the tournament.Having pumped Fi Morris for two leg-side sixes, Gardner’s pursuit of a third proved costly as Katie Mack clasped the catch just inside the rope to trigger Thunder’s fightback. Fi Morris was also the architect of Jodi Grewcock’s downfall, deflecting Cordelia Griffith’s full-blooded drive onto the stumps to run her out and Jones then weighed in by having Flo Miller and Amara Carr leg before sweeping in the same over.Clean hitting by Mady Villiers took her to 35 from 26 with back-to-back boundaries off Jones but, when she was clean bowled by the next delivery, that appeared to signal an end to Sunrisers’ hopes of posting 250. However, the visitors surprisingly returned to Dattani and Phoebe Graham’s expensive medium pace and last pair Munro and Kate Coppack took advantage, adding a valuable 32 to set a slightly adjusted target of 255.Thunder openers Emma Lamb and Seren Smale looked comfortable at the start of the chase, working the ball around with ease and ticking along at above five an over in their stand of 63 from 69. Grewcock finally broke the partnership when Villiers’ diving catch at midwicket accounted for Smale and the spinner also collected the scalp of Lamb, caught top-edging a paddle two short of a deserved half-century.Mack – who registered a hundred in Thunder’s win over Sunrisers earlier in the tournament – looked on course for another match-winning knock with 33 from 42 until Eva Gray trapped her in front.With Threlkeld and Danni Collins both run out after mix-ups, the burden fell on Dattani’s shoulders – and she survived a couple of close calls against Scrivens, with a pull fumbled at midwicket and a stumping chance going begging.But Munro’s sixth over proved decisive as she dismissed Norris and Graham in successive balls and had Dattani caught behind before Jones holed out to long-off to round off the win with 16 deliveries to spare.

Mohamed Amaan and Soham Patwardhan will lead the 50-over and four-day squads against Australia Under-19

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Aug-2024Allrounder Samit Dravid has been selected in India’s Under-19 squad for the first time, for the multi-format home series against Australia Under-19 in September and October.Mohamed Amaan, a middle-order batter from Uttar Pradesh, has been named captain of the 50-over squad, while Madhya Pradesh’s Soham Patwardhan will lead the team for the four-day matches.Dravid, the son of former India captain and coach Rahul Dravid, recently played his first senior men’s T20 tournament – the Maharaja T20 Trophy – in Karnataka, where he is part of the Mysuru Warriors squad.Batting in the middle-order, Dravid scored 82 runs at a strike rate of 114 in seven innings but was not called upon to bowl his medium pace. On the day the junior selectors announced India’s Under-19 squad, Mysuru Warriors were due to play the semi-final of the tournament.Earlier this year, Dravid, 18, played a significant role in Karnataka winning the Cooch Behar Trophy, a four-day format tournament for under-19 cricketers. He scored 362 runs and took 16 wickets in eight matches, including two scalps in the final against Mumbai.India Under-19 will play three 50-over games against Australia Under-19 in Puducherry on September 21, 23 and 26, followed by two four-day games in Chennai starting on September 30 and October 7.

India U-19 50-over squad

Rudra Patel (vc)(GCA), Sahil Parakh (MAHCA), Kartikeya KP (KSCA), Mohamed Amaan (capt) (UPCA), Kiran Chormale (MAHCA), Abhigyan Kundu (wk) (MCA), Harvansh Singh Pangalia (wk) (SCA), Samit Dravid (KSCA), Yudhajit Guha (CAB), Samarth N (KSCA), Nikhil Kumar (UTCA), Chetan Sharma (RCA), Hardik Raj (KSCA), Rohit Rajawat (MPCA), Mohammed Enaan (KCA)

India U-19 squad four-day squad

Vaibhav Suryavanshi (Bihar CA), Nitya Pandya (BCA), Vihan Malhotra (vc) (PCA), Soham Patwardhan (capt) (MPCA), Kartikeya KP (KSCA), Samit Dravid (KSCA), Abhigyan Kundu (wk) (MCA), Harvansh Singh Pangalia (wk) (SCA), Chetan Sharma (RCA), Samarth N (KSCA), Aditya Rawat (CAU), Nikhil Kumar (UTCA), Anmoljeet Singh (PCA), Aditya Singh (UPCA), Mohammed Enaan (KCA)

Fast bowler hopeful that he can avoid surgery, as he’s told to stop picking up kids with right arm

Vithushan Ehantharajah24-Sep-2024Mark Wood will find out this week if he has suffered a stress fracture in his right elbow, and whether he needs surgery to rectify the problem.Wood was ruled out for the rest of the year at the start of September after a scan revealed what the ECB described as a “bone-stress injury”.The England quick, who registered in the mid-90s consistently this summer – along with a top speed of 97.1mph against West Indies at Trent Bridge – was originally withdrawn from the Sri Lanka series as a precaution after picking up a right groin strain during the first Test against Sri Lanka. It was only then that a routine check of his elbow, which he had felt was stiff during the West Indies series earlier this summer, eventually led to him being ruled out of this winter’s Test tours of Pakistan and New Zealand.The ECB medical team remain hopeful that surgery will not be required, though this week’s appointment will determine that for sure. An initial scan three weeks ago at King Edward VII’s Hospital in London was promising, with specialists stating at the time that there did not seem to be a fracture, and were optimistic he might not require surgery.Related

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In 2022, Wood had two operations on his right elbow to remove bone fragments and cut a ligament that was trapped in the joint, and returned to action back to his best, bowling some of his fastest spells in the next two summers, including the 2023 Ashes. Whether he must go under the knife again, along with confirmation as to whether he does have a stress fracture, should be determined in the coming days.”It was a bizarre injury,” Wood told during the third ODI between England and Australia at Chester-le-Street. “I had a bit of a groin tweak and went for a scan with a stiff elbow which is not uncommon for a fast bowler.”I was thinking I might need an injection which would give me a perfect time period with having the groin injury. When I was having the scan the doctor looked a little bit concerned and said you better get this checked a little more. They said I have some bone stress in my elbow. I must have been playing with it.”They were worried it would be a stress fracture but I have got to see a specialist in another few days to determine that. A bit of a bizarre one really.”Wood revealed he has also been advised to use his right side less in everyday life – including carrying his kids.”There is nothing I can really do on my right side. I have been told to stop picking my kids up with my right arm. I have to do everything with my left. I am hoping I am going to come back like [Rafael] Nadal with one big left arm and a skinny right arm.”

There was a lot of overnight rain and some morning drizzle before play was called off

Ekanth12-Sep-2024Unrelenting rain has had the final say in Greater Noida yet again as play was called off before the scheduled start time for the second consecutive day. It leaves the first ever Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand on the brink of a washout, without a single ball bowled.”There has been more than 1200 mm of rain over seven days,” the broadcaster said as the fourth day’s play was abandoned. “The scale of rainfall has made it absolutely impossible for cricket today. We are going to come back on day five just in case, but the reality is there will be absolutely no prospect of play. We can’t envisage anything else but an abandonment very early tomorrow morning.”There were covers laid out over the majority of the ground and they were drenched from overnight rain. Some of the water poured over into the outfield forming a few puddles. Players from both teams remained in their hotels, which like the grim visuals, was a feature on Wednesday too. As was play being called off at 9.15am with the toss yet to take place.There have been three previous instances of play being abandoned for four days (not the first four days) in the past decade: India vs South Africa in Bengaluru in 2015, Bangladesh vs South Africa in Dhaka in 2015 and West Indies vs India in Port of Spain in 2016.Seven Tests have been abandoned, without a ball being bowled, in the history of men’s cricket, the last of which was in 1998, in Dunedin, between India and New Zealand.This is Afghanistan’s 10th Test match since they were given Full Member status in 2017. For New Zealand, the one-off Test marks the start of their subcontinent expedition which includes two Tests in Sri Lanka followed by three in India. Unlike those five fixtures, this one is not part of the World Test Championship.

He will continue to work with the Sunrisers Eastern Cape franchise in SA20

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2024Former South Africa fast bowler Dale Steyn will not continue as the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) bowling coach for IPL 2025. However, he will continue to work with the Sunrisers Eastern Cape franchise in the SA20.Steyn, who was appointed in the role before the 2022 season, had pulled out of IPL 2024 for personal reasons, with former New Zealand fast bowler James Franklin replacing him in the role.”A big thank you to Sunrisers Hyderabad for my few years with them as bowling coach at the IPL, unfortunately, I won’t be returning for IPL 2025,” Steyn said on X (formerly Twitter). “However, I will continue to work with Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the SA20 here in South Africa. Two time winners here in SA20, let’s try make it three in a row.”