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“They need a little more time, little more freedom as well”, India captain says the youngsters will learn with time

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Feb-20242:48

Have India got their tactics right against Bazball?

India drew level in the five-match series with a 107-run win over England in Visakhapatnam, but the batting performance remains an area of concern. Yashasvi Jaiswal scored a double-century in the first innings and Shubman Gill hit a hundred under pressure in the second, but no other batter could get a big score. Captain Rohit Sharma said that is something the team needs to look at, while also pointing out that it is a young squad that will learn with experience.”The wicket was really good to bat on. That’s where, if I have to point anything, a lot of the batters got the start, but didn’t convert into a big score, and [that’s] something that we really need to look into,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation.”But, again, having said that, I do understand they’re very young, [and] they’re very new to this form of the game. So obviously, it will take some time for us. It’s important from our side to give them confidence, and this win, obviously, will give them a lot of confidence, and [tell them] just to go out there and play freely.”Related

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• A Gill century that showed his struggle and growth

• Gill: 'Very important and satisfying to be able to score runs at No. 3'

Rohit emphasised on winning against an in-form England side with a relatively inexperienced squad.”Very, very proud of such a young squad in terms of the Test matches that they’ve played. To come up against a team like that, [who] won the first Test match, and then to come out and play like that for us, [it’s] very, very positive,” he said.”Like I said, a lot of the guys are quite young in terms of playing this form of the game for us. So it’ll take some time, obviously, to be absolutely spot on, but you’ve got to give it to them. [They need] a little more time, little more freedom as well. And that is something that we are constantly talking in the changing room that we want these guys to have some time in the middle, go and play freely without any pressure.”Among the Indian players with limited Test experience is Rohit’s opening partner Jaiswal. In just his sixth Test, the 22-year-old followed up his 80-run knock in the first Test with his second Test century, and went on to convert it into a double. Rohit hailed the innings of 209 as “an exceptional knock”, and said Jaiswal is looking to make the most of every opportunity.”Looks like a very good player, understands his game really well,” Rohit said about Jaiswal. “He’s got a long way to go, of course. He’s just coming to the side now, and every opportunity he’s trying to make the most of it.”That was an exceptional knock, what he did in the first day. Long way to go, like I said. He’s got a lot to offer to our team, and I hope he stays quite humble and focuses on what is needed for the team.”

Australia recovered from 80 for 5 to hunt down a challenging run chase in Christchurch

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Mar-20241:29

Cummins: We always found a way to win

Pat Cummins has praised the ability of different players in the Australia side to stand up when the team needed it after they conjured a remarkable run chase in New Zealand to take the series 2-0.Australia were in huge trouble on the third evening at 34 for 4 chasing 279 and then at 80 for 5 early on the fourth morning when Travis Head departed. However, Mitchell Marsh – who had been given a life the ball before Head’s wicket – and the under-pressure Alex Carey put together a match-changing stand of 140 in 29 overs.Related

• Tim Southee unsure if he will remain captain on New Zealand's tour of the subcontinent

• Lyon talks up Australia's 'belief' in tough chase

• Carey, Marsh carry Australia home in tense finish at Hagley Oval

Carey, whose position in the side was coming under increased scrutiny after a run of poor strokes, remained unbeaten to the end with 98 after Ben Sears had again rattled the chase with two wickets in two balls.”Think the story of this series was in key moments one guy stood up, we didn’t necessarily play the complete game, but in those pivotal moments someone stood up and made themselves a matchwinner,” Cummins, who struck a vital 32 not out, said. “[We] keep finding ways to win, it’s a pretty awesome squad.”He added that the tempo Marsh and Carey were able to bat at was vital in putting the pressure back on New Zealand’s bowlers. It also meant the second new ball wouldn’t be a factor.”We’ve been on the other side of it plenty of times and if the scoreboard’s not moving you feel in the game, but if they are chipping away it seems like it’s all happening pretty quickly,” he said. “That was goal today, be busy, keep the run rate ticking over and bit by bit getting closer.””[It was] pretty tense,” he added. “Pretty nervous watching for the last couple of hours, everyone trying to keep themselves busy then looking up at the board. Amazing win.”The victory meant Australia finished with six Test wins and one defeat in the season having beaten Pakistan 3-0 and drawn 1-1 with West Indies. They now have a long break from Test cricket before facing India at home in November.New Zealand captain Tim Southee was proud of the way his team fought but was left regretting seeing a golden chance of a first win at home against Australia in 31 years slip away.”The partnership with Mitch Marsh and Alex Carey sort of broke the back of our attack, but then a great little exciting end to the day,” he said. “When you are playing the No. 1 side in the world you need to go that little bit further. But a great Test match…ebbed and flowed throughout the whole match.”

Abi Glen impresses with unbeaten fifty and three-for as hosts hold firm to win by 10 runs

ECB Reporters Network24-Apr-2024A fabulous 103 from new England star Hollie Armitage led Northern Diamonds to a come-from-behind 10-run victory over Western Storm in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy at Headingley.Inserted, the Diamonds slipped to 89 for 5 in the 21st over before captain Armitage led the fightback to 275 for 9 during her 114-ball innings with 13 fours.Allrounder Abi Glen also crashed a late 53 not out off 46 – her maiden regional fifty – during the first half of an engaging contest and later claimed three wickets with her seamers.Dani Gibson struck twice with the new ball and finished with 3 for 44 for Storm. But it was Armitage who won the battle of the England team-mates, leading her side to a second successive victory after Saturday’s win over Thunder.In reply, Storm were well placed at 127 for 2 in the 23rd over, only to fall to 265 all out in the last over when they needed 12 to win. Armitage will take the headlines, but Phoebe Turner also impressed with three wickets following 32 with the bat.Storm suffered a heavy opening day defeat, by eight wickets against Sunrisers when they were bowled out for 114. So this performance was much improved.Storm made an eye-catching start, led by Gibson’s dismissals of openers Sterre Kalis and Lauren Winfield-Hill. Both had stumps uprooted as the hosts fell to 50 for 2 after 10 overs.Spinners Sophia Smale and Amanda-Jade Wellington claimed three wickets like Gibson, but it was Australian overseas legspinner Wellington who was the pick of the Storm attack with 3 for 30 from 10 overs bowled on the reel through the middle of the innings.She had Bess Heath caught at point, fellow Aussie overseas Burns bowled trying to cut a ball too close to her and Leah Dobson caught brilliantly by a diving Niamh Holland coming in from deep midwicket.That left the Diamonds five down and still short of 100. But Armitage was outstanding.Last month, the 26-year-old made her senior England debut as a concussion substitute in a T20I against New Zealand in Nelson. Western Storm’s Gibson was in the same team.Armitage, who has scored two of her three regional centuries against the Storm, pulled with authority and drove with grace, supported well by Phoebe Turner’s 32 and Glen’s late fifty.She shared half-century stands with both for the sixth and eighth wickets, whilst reaching her century off 112 balls. She was caught at long-on two balls later off Smale as the innings drew to a close.Glen hit three fours off Lauren Filer in the innings’ last over, which went for 15. But the damage had already been done.Storm did, however, start their chase of 276 positively. Openers Smale and Alex Griffiths shared 59 inside 13 overs before the latter pulled Phoebe Turner out to deep midwicket to fall for 26.Turner then bowled Smale for 35, only for Fran Wilson and captain Sophie Luff to steady once more. They shared 47 and were well set at the crease when the off-spin of Aussie Erin Burns was introduced into the attack.And after eight balls, she had bowled both Wilson for 32 and Gibson for 5, leaving the score at 140 for 4 in the 25th over.When legspinner Katie Levick had Luff caught at mid-off for 25 shortly afterwards, Storm were 160 for 5 in the 30th having lost three wickets for 33.Natasha Wraith kept hopes alive with 27, only to be bowled by Phoebe Turner – one of two Turners in the Diamonds team along with Sophia. At 192 for 6 in the 38th, it felt like the decisive moment. So it proved.Wellington hit an aggressive 28 and Niamh Holland a laboured 29, and both were bowled by Glen and Sophia Turner before the former bowled Mollie Robbins. The Storm then needed 12 off the last with one wicket remaining. But Glen had Filer stumped to seal the win.

Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi are the three venues the PCB is planning to host the two-week tournament in

Osman Samiuddin01-May-2024The PCB’s schedule for the 2025 Champions Trophy could have India based in one city for the entire tournament, as the board looks for ways to accommodate a potential first visit by India to Pakistan in nearly 17 years.Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi are the three venues the PCB is planning to host the two-week Champions Trophy in. ESPNcricinfo understands the draft schedule has India based in and playing all their matches in Lahore – where the final is also scheduled to take place.Basing India in one city is thought to have been proposed because it avoids what could be considerable logistical and security headaches around their travel. Additionally, by being based in Lahore, which is close to the Wagah border crossing between the two countries, it allows Indian fans a relatively easier option to visit.PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi said earlier this week that the board had sent a draft schedule of the tournament, likely to be staged in mid-February next year, to the ICC. Discussions on it involving the eight participating members will take place, with the major sticking point likely to be whether the India team travels or not.No Indian team has played in Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup. Relations between the two governments have deteriorated steadily and often sharply since, especially after the Mumbai terror attacks the same year. Those attacks ended a rare period of bounty in the rivalry, the sides having played each other in four bilateral series in the preceding four years.Last year, when Pakistan hosted the Asia Cup, they were forced to deploy a hybrid model in which India played all their games – including those against Pakistan – in Sri Lanka. The final of the tournament, won by India, was held in Colombo.Though Pakistan had raised the prospect of a hybrid model for their presence in the ODI World Cup in India last year, it was never pursued seriously. They ended up playing all their games in India, across five venues, before they were eliminated in the group stages.The final decision on whether India do visit Pakistan for the Champions Trophy will be in the hands of the Indian government, rather than the BCCI.The craze around India vs Pakistan games, limited as they are, is to be seen to be believed•Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images

On Tuesday evening in Karachi, Naqvi expressed the hope that “all eight teams” will come to Pakistan for the event, though he was not drawn into specifics about India’s position.The Champions Trophy is the first ICC event Pakistan will be hosting since the 1996 World Cup, when they were joint hosts with India and Sri Lanka. Pakistan was due to stage the event in 2008, but it was postponed and then relocated to South Africa because of the security situation in Pakistan at the time. Pakistan also lost out on co-hosting duties for the 2011 ODI World Cup, with the 2009 terror attacks on the Sri Lanka team meaning no international cricket in the country for the next six years.Since the return of international cricket to Pakistan in 2015, however, every single team involved in the Champions Trophy has toured and played in Pakistan, except India.Pakistan are the defending champions of the event, last held in 2017.

West Australian is club’s fourth overseas seamer competing for two spots

ESPNcricinfo staff01-May-2024Kent have signed Charlie Stobo, a Sheffield Shield-winning seamer with Western Australia, as overseas fast-bowling cover for Wes Agar, Xavier Bartlett and Beyers Swanepoel.Stobo, 29, has taken 55 first-class wickets at 24.98 and has signed a deal from May 20 until September 16 that covers all formats of the game. The ECB changed its regulations last year to allow counties to register up to four overseas players simultaneously, with two permitted in the playing XI in each of the County Championship, Metro Bank Cup and Vitality Blast.While Stobo is uncapped at international level and yet to make his T20 debut, ESPNcricinfo understands that he qualifies to play professionally in the UK thanks to an ancestry visa.Kent were blind-sided shortly before the start of the season when Cricket Australia changed the conditions of Bartlett’s No-Objection Certificate, blocking him from featuring in the Championship. They have since made two signings to help them cover for his absence, with South African seamer Swanepoel due to join the squad ahead of their Championship match away at Lancashire on Friday.Related

• Toughest-ever county overseas market puts visa criteria in focus

• Bartlett confirmed for Vitality Blast stint with Kent

• Surrey demolish Kent to notch first win of the season

• CA revoke Bartlett's NOC for Championship stint with Kent

Agar, who was rested for Kent’s defeat against Surrey due to a niggle, is available until the end of July and Bartlett is still due to play the first eight group games in the Blast. Swanepoel is expected to be available across formats until the end of the season in late September.”We’ve been keeping a track on Charlie for a while now and we’re very pleased that we’ve been able to get him on board for a substantial part of our season,” Simon Cook, Kent’s director of cricket, said.”We’ve identified that he has the attributes that will be successful at Canterbury and will add to our squad depth and give us the ability to rotate players, especially bowlers, to better manage their workloads and get the optimum out of everybody.”Stobo said he was excited to join his compatriots at Kent. “I’m looking forward to linking up with a few lads that I know already, join a bit of an Aussie takeover with Wes Agar already there and Xavier Bartlett set to join soon, and being a part of a squad with a lot of talent. I’m very thankful for the opportunity to play for Kent, which is an exciting new challenge for me.”Kent said in a statement that both Stobo and Swanepoel will be available for their Metro Bank Cup campaign, which starts in late July.

Unbeaten half-century lacks support as Sunrisers fall short in 18-over chase

ECB Reporters Network15-Jun-2024 South East Stars 153 for 4 (Redmayne 38*, E Jones 36) beat Sunrisers 111 for 5 (Scrivens 62*) by 19 runs – DLSGrace Scrivens’ stylish half-century proved in vain as Sunrisers slipped to a 19-run defeat under the DLS method to finals day-bound SE Stars in a game reduced to 18 overs aside at The Oval.The England A captain in New Zealand last winter struck 62 not out off 48 balls with a six and eight fours, but with only Jo Gardner (23 from 16) offering meaningful support, the visitors were 111 for 5 and behind the clock in the chase for 154 when the rain drove the players off with 13 balls remaining. Dani Gregory took 2 for 21 while Tilly Corteen-Coleman (1 for 14) kept up her remarkable record of taking a wicket with her first ball.Earlier, Stars’ impressive score of 153 for 4 was built around Australian debutant Georgia Redmayne’s patient 38, the fireworks being provided by Emma Jones (36 from 23), Phoebe Franklin (23 from 21) and Bryony Smith (21 from 11). Mady Villiers was the pick of the Sunrisers attack with 2 for 23.Morning and afternoon rain delayed the start until 3:50pm, but Smith made up for lost time after losing the toss and being put into bat, plundering four boundaries from one Eva Gray over, the pick a back-foot drive creamed through extra-cover.Smith fell in the next over bowled by Villiers, the spinner luring her down the track to be stumped by Amara Carr, who then caught England opener Sophia Dunkley, holding onto a skied top edge.Franklin though picked up the baton, a delightful square cut and a bludgeon over the head of mid-on among her four fours. Villiers cut the innings off in its prime when Franklin hoisted one into the hands of Gray at cow corner but that was the cue for Jones to unleash her power.The all-rounder hit two mighty sixes, the first at long-on where Jo Gardner got fingertips to it but could only parry the ball over the rope. No such doubt about the second blow however which sailed five rows back into the seats at deep square.Left-hander Redmayne was content to play second fiddle in a stand of 57 and when Jones departed to a catch on the fence, the Aussie gave the stage to Alice Davidson-Richards, who smote a six and a four in reaching 16 off 6.Chasing 154 for an unlikely win, Sunrisers were soon in tatters. They lost Villiers without a run on the board, Jones in the action with a catch on the fence from the bowling of Stonehouse.Lissy Macleod then top edged one from Ryana MacDonald-Gay into the hand of keeper Redmayne and when Corteen-Coleman produced her latest party trick to trap Carr lbw for a duck the visitors were 19 for 3.Skipper Scrivens, who’d watched the carnage from the other end, responded with the first six of the reply, before being given a life by Aylish Cranstone, who spilt a regulation chance at point from the bowling of Jones. By then though Gregory had struck twice in three balls to remove Amu Surenkuma and Flo Miller.Scrivens continued to hit boldly, reaching 50 in 41 balls and Gardner too cleared the ropes but the task was just beyond them.

India enforced the follow-on after Rana’s eight-wicket haul gave them a first-innings lead of 337

Srinidhi Ramanujam30-Jun-2024For the second consecutive day, South Africa’s batters showed great grit to stay in the game after being put on the back foot by the India bowlers in the one-off women’s Test in Chennai. If Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp fought hard on the second day after India declared at 603 for 6, Luus was at it again on Sunday, in the company of Laura Wolvaardt this time, which helped South Africa cut down the deficit to 105 runs after they were bowled out for 266 in the first innings.At stumps on the third day, South Africa were 232 for 2 in their second innings, with Luus scoring her first Test hundred and Wolvaardt remaining unbeaten on 93. South Africa will hope for more of the same on the fourth and final day to push the game to a draw.Related

• 'Strong in attack and strong in defence' – Determined Sune Luus stonewalls India

• The obstinate ways of Kapp against spin

It was an eventful opening session for India on a hazy morning where Sneh Rana’s sensational bowling on a pitch offering more turn fetched her five wickets – to go with three from Saturday – to give her figures of 8 for 77. South Africa lost six wickets for 30 runs after starting the day on 236 for 4.Rana got the first breakthrough in her third over, the fifth of the day, when she dismissed a well-set Kapp for 74 with an almost unplayable delivery. Kapp was done in by the extra bounce as the ball, after pitching on off and middle, popped up to beat her outside edge and take the top of off stump. This triggered a collapse as three balls later, Rana removed Sinalo Jafta, who inside-edged one to Shubha Satheesh at short leg.Three overs later, Deepti Sharma picked up her second wicket. This time the ball stayed low when debutant Annerie Dercksen missed with her prod and was hit on her back pad. South Africa took the review but it was in vain. In the following over, Rana took her sixth when Nadine de Klerk perished whipping towards square leg where Rajeshwari Gayakwad dived in front to complete the catch. No. 7 and No. 8 came soon after as Rana finished off the innings.Rana became only the second Indian woman to pick up eight wickets in an innings in Test cricket after Neetu David, now India’s chair of selectors, who took 8 for 53 in a two-run loss against England in Jamshedpur in 1995.Sneh Rana finished with a career-best 8 for 77 in the first innings•BCCI

India enforced the follow-on with South Africa 337 runs behind. They then lost Anneke Bosch early to low bounce when she was trapped in front by Deepti in the first over. But Wolvaardt nailed her cover drives and looked assured in her approach.At lunch, South Africa were 29 for 1. India struggled from that point, going wicketless for close to 66 overs across the second and third sessions.In this period, Luus and Wolvaardt shared a mammoth 190-run partnership for the second wicket to provide South Africa hope of a draw. It was South Africa’s highest partnership for any wicket in women’s Tests.South Africa came out in the afternoon session determined to play the long game and they succeeded, scoring 95 runs in 34 overs to take tea at 124 for 1. Luus, who made 65 off 164 balls in the first innings, carried forward that form and temperament, moving to 64 off 121 balls at the end of the second session.Having been trapped lbw to one that kept low from Rana in the first innings, Wolvaardt used the depth of the crease more in the second dig. She pulled short deliveries through square leg and drove the fuller ones to long-on.Deepti Sharma dropped Marizanne Kapp off her own bowling in the last over of the day•BCCI

India toiled hard to break the stand with Harmanpreet Kaur trying as many as seven bowlers, including herself. But they weren’t disciplined with their lengths and speeds. Perhaps not being used to such a long time in the middle affected them. Deepti also dropped two catches – Kapp benefitting both times – in the last two overs of the day. The first was at slip off a Rana delivery that Kapp edged, and the second was a straightforward return catch.Wolvaardt and Luus, though, reaped the rewards of patience on a pitch that got slower after the first session.Consuming more than 200 balls meant Luus and Wolvaardt also had gotten used to the low bounce, with only the odd delivery popping up in the last two sessions of the day. Luus spent 234 minutes at the crease, hitting 18 fours. When she reached her half-century, Luus brought out the rocking-baby-cradle celebration, a gesture for the team’s strength and conditioning coach Zane Webster, who is an expectant father. She scored her maiden century in the final session, and became only the second South African to score a hundred in India in women’s Tests.The huge stand was finally broken by Harmanpreet when she cleaned up Luus in the 74th over. The low bounce came to her aid as Luus went back to pull but missed.With Kapp at the other end, Wolvaardt marched on to finish unbeaten. That has raised hopes of a South African lead on the last day, a scenario that looked near-impossible at the start of Sunday.For India, Jemimah Rodrigues was off the field for a majority of the last two sessions because of cramps.

Fourth-wicket partnership of 127 seals 20-run win over Central Sparks

ECB Reporters Network04-Sep-2024South East Stars advanced to the brink of a place in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy semi-finals by beating Central Sparks by 20 runs in a fluctuating encounter at Moseley.Put in, Stars totalled 270 all out from 49.5 overs, an imposing score built around a fourth-wicket partnership of 127 in 20 overs between Kira Chathli (80) and Alice Davidson-Richards (70). Katie George took 4 for 47 for Sparks and Charis Pavely 3 for 37.Sparks’ chase of the demanding target was then set back by the loss of early wickets and though they recovered boldly through Davina Perrin (50), Chloe Brewer (54) and Bethan Ellis (57), they fell short at 250 for 9.The victory means Stars will qualify for the semis if they win their last game, away to Northern Diamonds at Chester-le-Street on Saturday. Defeat there could still see them edged out of the top four if Sunrisers record a bonus-point win over Southern Vipers at Southampton.Asked to bat first, Stars lost a wicket to the 12th ball of the innings when George bowled Cloe Hill through an airy waft. Alexa Stonehouse and Phoebe Franklin added 70 in 14 overs but then fell in quick succession. Franklin, in pursuit of her seventh four, lifted Ellis to extra cover. Four balls later, Stonehouse was beaten in the flight and bowled by Pavely.Chathli and Davidson-Richards rebuilt first carefully then stylishly. The latter hit two straight sixes and the pair shared 14 fours to put their side in command before George slowed the Stars’ momentum with three quick wickets. The left-armer had Davidson-Richards caught at mid-wicket from a full toss then struck twice in four balls when Aylish Cranstone fell lbw and Emma Jones diverted an attempted pull on to her middle stump. Chathli’s polished innings ended when she hoisted Grace Potts to deep mid-wicket but Priyanaz Chatterji provided a useful late cameo of 17 off 18 balls.Sparks’ top order, without captain Eve Jones, who has joined Thunder on loan for the rest of the season, lost four wickets in the first 13 overs. Seventeen-year-old slow left-armer Tilly Corteen-Coleman dismissed openers Ami Campbell and Meg Austin, caught in the deep, in an opening spell of 5-0-14-2. Abi Freeborn edged a wide ball from Franklin to wicketkeeper Chathli. George chipped Chatterji to midwicket.Perrin reached a run-a-ball half-century but perished next ball when she lifted a shot ball from Danielle Gregory to deep midwicket. That was 104 for 5 but Brewer and Ellis rebuilt to send their side into the last ten overs needing 75 with five wickets still intact.Brewer reached her maiden half-century for Sparks from 75 balls and, after she top-edged Stonehouse to deep mid-wicket, Pavely lent Ellis further good support so that they needed 32 from the last three overs. But Paveley was run out by calm work from Chathli and when Ellis gave Stonehouse the charge and was bowled, Sparks’ gallant chase was over.

Varun Chakravarthy, playing for India again after almost three years, got three wickets in a big win over Bangladesh

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Oct-20241:53

‘Always good to have competition within the team’ – Varun Chakravarthy

Mayank Yadav attracted the eyeballs. Arshdeep Singh took the Player-of-the-Match award for his 3 for 14. Hardik Pandya kept the Bangladesh batters quiet but was deafening with the bat. For Varun Chakravarthy, meanwhile, it was a “rebirth” as he played a big part in India’s crushing seven-wicket win in the first T20I in Gwalior on Sunday. He was back playing for India after November 2021, after all, and 3 for 31 wasn’t shabby at all.”After three long years and… it was definitely emotional for me, and it feels nice to be back in the Blues, it feels like a rebirth,” he told Murali Kartik on the official broadcast after the game.”There have been many [challenges]. Once you are not in the Indian side, people tend to write you off very easily. You need to stay in the highest level, again and again you need to keep knocking the door. Thankfully, this time it happened and hopefully I can keep continuing my good work.”Related

• Varun Chakravarthy's emotional rollercoaster

• New-look India blow away Bangladesh to take 1-0 lead

It’s been a year of great success for Varun. His team, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), won IPL 2024. He finished as the team’s highest wicket-taker, and second-highest overall, with 21 wickets from 14 innings. That ended in May. In August, Dindigul Dragons won the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). His team, again, though captain R Ashwin is the face of the set-up. Varun got 2 for 26 in the final. And was joint-highest for his team with Sandeep Warrier at 12 wickets for the tournament, fifth-highest overall.And now this international comeback.”After IPL, I played a few tournaments and one of those was the TNPL. It’s a very good tournament, and high standard [of cricket] also,” Varun said. “That’s a place where I worked a lot, with Ash [Ashwin]. We won the competition also, and that gave me the confidence here, because it was good preparation for me for this series.”I just want to stick to the process because that’s what I have been following in the IPL also. So I don’t want to go over and beyond what’s there right now. I just want to stay in the present. That’s why I don’t want to think too much or express too much.”On Sunday, Varun was introduced in the fifth over. Off his second delivery, Towhid Hridoy swept him in the air in the direction of debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy at deep square-leg; Reddy ran forward for the catch but lost the ball in the lights and let it go for four. Varun got Hridoy in his next over, and then Jaker Ali and Rishad Hossain, fooling the batters with his bag of tricks, but wasn’t happy about the drop.He wasn’t going to say it, though.”I thought it could have gone my way, but I can’t complain,” he said. “But, yeah, thankful to god.”

Durham bowled out for 262 after being harried by home side’s six-man seam attack

ECB Reporters Network17-Sep-2024Durham battled hard to reach 262 all out at the Kia Oval but it was still Surrey who had the better of day one as they seek a third successive Vitality County Championship title.Colin Ackermann’s unbeaten 78 was a particularly creditable effort but the 33-year-old was left stranded as Dan Worrall snatched two quick wickets with the second new ball and finish with figures of 4 for 39.In 12 overs’ batting before the close, Surrey then raced to 52 without loss in late afternoon sunshine with Rory Burns completing 1000 Championship runs for the season as he tucked into some loose new ball bowling to pull a six and also hit seven fours in a 46-ball 40 not out.Surrey, county champions in 2022 and 2023, began the penultimate round of Division One matches eight points clear of second-placed Somerset, who beat them at Taunton last week, and still in control of their own destiny.And, when they had reduced Durham to 134 for 5 by mid-afternoon, after opting to bowl first, it looked as if Surrey were on course to bowl their visitors out for a modest first-innings total.Ackermann and Bas de Leede, however, then added 70 in a punchy fifth wicket stand to blunt a six-pronged Surrey pace attack, in which only Conor McKerr – not introduced until the 49th over and whose four overs cost 33 – proved ineffective. De Leede struck six fours in his 36 from 54 balls before splicing a pull at a short ball from Tom Curran and offering a simple catch to wide mid-on.Sam Curran’s removal of Callum Parkinson for 1 just after tea, caught behind by Ben Foakes, left Durham uneasy again on 216 for 7. But Ackermann, straight driving the younger Curran brother for one glorious four, continued to flourish while 19-year-old paceman Daniel Hogg, making his fourth first-class appearance, helped him to add a further 30 for the eighth wicket.Hogg’s innings of 6 ended with a pull at Tom Lawes that went straight into Tom Curran’s hands at deep square leg and 16-year-old left-arm fast bowler James Minto managed two fours off Clark on his first-class debut before Worrall swung one back between bat and pad to bowl him for 8.Two balls later Chemar Holder was leg-before to a Worrall near-yorker, while Ackermann struck ten fours in his 125-ball knock.Alex Lees and Ben McKinney had earlier given Durham’s innings a solid start although the former, when he was on 23 and the total 44, was bowled shouldering arms to a Sam Curran no-ball.Both openers fell in Worrall’s second spell, the leader of Surrey’s attack having switched to the Pavilion End to better utilize a gentle cross breeze. On 60, McKinney fell for 23 when he pushed away from his body and edged to Foakes and fellow left-hander Lees, captaining Durham in the injury absence of Scott Borthwick, was bowled for 36 by an absolute beauty from Worrall that ducked back into him late.In between those wickets Tom Curran had Emilio Gay leg-before for a duck, ending an uncomfortable 12-ball stay on his Durham debut for a player who has joined on-loan ahead of a permanent move from Northamptonshire this winter.David Bedingham, dropped by a diving Dom Sibley on 14 when he miscued a hook at Lawes towards point – Sibley having run from second slip to try to get to the dropping ball – put on 51 with Ollie Robinson either side of lunch, but Surrey’s seamers would not let them get away despite Bedingham hitting consecutive fours off Lawes, through extra cover and wide of mid-on.Jordan Clark pinned Robinson leg-before for 17 and Lawes had his revenge on Bedingham by producing a perfect away-swinger to have him caught behind by a tumbling Foakes, before Ackermann marshalled the lower order to good effect.