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Chris Tremain’s four wickets helped Victoria restrict New South Wales to 8 for 262 after day one of the Sheffield Shield match at Traeger Park in Alice Springs

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Mar-2016
ScorecardVictoria did well under tranquil skies in Alice Springs•Getty Images

Chris Tremain’s four wickets helped Victoria restrict New South Wales to 8 for 262 after day one of the Sheffield Shield match at Traeger Park in Alice Springs.The Bushrangers are fighting to preserve a narrow lead at the top of the points table and thus ensure the competition final is also played in the Red Centre.Tremain and the left-arm spinner Jon Holland (2 for 72) were among the wickets, both sides choosing twin spin on a slow surface. The Blues have named Arjun Nair alongside Nathan Lyon, while Holland joined Fawad Ahmed for the Bushrangers.Victoria had looked capable of bowling the Blues out cheaply when Ben Rohrer was fourth man out for the visitors with only 69 runs on the board, but a 110-run stand between Kurtis Patterson and Ryan Carters allowed NSW to gain a foothold.Patterson’s assured 82 off 174 balls maintained a strong recent run of scoring since the Big Bash League break, though he would have been disappointed to fall to Holland’s left-arm spin when within sight of a hundred.Carters also added a useful 69, and NSW will hope for some tail-end resistance from Nair and Lyon when play resumes.

Charlotte Edwards will lead England’s quest to regain the Women’s Ashes which begins with the sole Test match on Sunday.

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Aug-2013Charlotte Edwards will lead England’s quest to regain the Women’s Ashes which begins with the sole Test match on Sunday. The revamped Women’s Ashes series encompasses all formats of the game with a Test, three ODIs and three T20s.Edwards, 33, will play in her 11th Ashes Test and will hope to give her side the perfect start to regaining the Ashes they lost in Australia in January 2011. Edwards scored an unbeaten century in the one-off Ashes Test in Sydney and is one of seven players in the England squad for this Test that played in the defeat two years ago.Seam bowler Katherine Brunt and allrounder Laura Marsh are two of those; both return to the squad having missed the series against Pakistan last month. During that series, Yorkshire’s Lauren Winfield and Surrey’s Natalie Sciver made their debuts and both are included in the Test match squad for Wormsley.Winfield, 22-years-old from York, is a right-handed batsman who made little impression in the two ODIs and two T20s against Pakistan. Sciver, just 20, plays for Surrey and took 3 for 28 in the second ODI.England have also named a further two squads for the ODI and T20 series. 10 players are included in all three squads. Sussex’s Holly Colvin will come in to both limited-overs parties with Georgia Elwiss named in the 14 for the ODIs and 17-year old Kent left-arm seamer Natasha Farrant joining the squad for the T20s.The Women’s Ashes will be the first major series for the new ECB Women’s and Girls’ high performance manager Paul Shaw who replaced Mark Lane, who oversaw the England Women’s team for five years until he resigned in May.

Women’s Ashes

• Test match: August 11-14, Wormsley (Six points for a win, two for a draw)

• One-day internationals: August 20, Lord’s; August 23, Hove; August 25, Hove (Two for a win, one for a draw)

• Twenty20s: August 27, Chelmsford; August 29, Ageas Bowl; August 31, Durham (Two, one)

“The inaugural multi-format Women’s Ashes is unprecedented in terms of establishing a winning team across all three formats,” head of England Women’s cricket Clare Connor said. “Our selectors have picked well-balanced squads to maximise the strengths of our players in each of the formats of the game. England are focussed on regaining the Ashes and we know Australia will be looking to continue their dominance of the past couple of years, so we anticipate an exciting and hard-fought month.”England Women squads to face Australia
Test Match
Charlotte Edwards (Kent, capt), Tammy Beaumont (Kent), Arran Brindle (Sussex), Katherine Brunt (Yorkshire), Lydia Greenway (Kent), Jenny Gunn (Nottinghamshire), Danielle Hazell (Yorkshire), Heather Knight (Berkshire), Laura Marsh (Kent), Natalie Sciver (Surrey), Anya Shrubsole (Somerset), Sarah Taylor (Sussex, wkt), Lauren Winfield (Yorkshire), Danielle Wyatt (Nottinghamshire)ODIs
Charlotte Edwards (Kent, capt), Tammy Beaumont (Kent), Arran Brindle (Sussex), Katherine Brunt (Yorkshire), Holly Colvin (Sussex), Georgia Elwiss (Sussex), Lydia Greenway (Kent), Jenny Gunn (Nottinghamshire), Danielle Hazell (Yorkshire), Heather Knight (Berkshire), Laura Marsh (Kent), Anya Shrubsole (Somerset), Sarah Taylor (Sussex, wkt), Lauren Winfield (Yorkshire)T20s
Charlotte Edwards (Kent, capt), Tammy Beaumont (Kent), Arran Brindle (Sussex), Katherine Brunt (Yorkshire), Holly Colvin (Sussex), Natasha Farrant (Kent), Lydia Greenway (Kent), Jenny Gunn (Nottinghamshire), Danielle Hazell (Yorkshire), Laura Marsh (Kent), Natalie Sciver (Surrey), Anya Shrubsole (Somerset), Sarah Taylor (Sussex, capt), Danielle Wyatt (Nottinghamshire)

Surrey are to embark on a recruitment drive following the loss of several key players, according to their director of cricket Chris Adams

George Dobell at Guildford14-Jul-2012Surrey are to embark on a recruitment drive following the loss of several key players, according to their director of cricket Chris Adams.The club, reeling from the death of Tom Maynard, have also lost Mark Ramprakash to retirement and their captain, Rory Hamilton-Brown to a prolonged period of compassionate leave. No time frame has been put upon Hamilton-Brown’s return, with the club admitting he may not play again this season.That leaves them without three of their top six from the start of the season and, while Adams is keen to provide opportunities to the club’s younger players, he also feels the club need to bring in more experienced players”We will definitely be recruiting,” Adams told ESPNcricinfo. “We were always going to be looking for an opening batsman and an overseas player, but now we will be looking for a middle-order batsman as well. We also need an infusion of leadership, so we may be looking at senior players.”Most people wait to the off-season to rebuild, but we will start now. We have a very different group of players now. A month ago we had a team who had earned the right to have a bit of freedom with their preparation, that dynamic has changed. We have a young group, with less knowledge, and I’ve asked the coaching staff to take a more hands-on approach with them.”We are more than fine with our seam bowling unit and we will be giving more opportunities to some of our young players. Zafar Ansari is a star of the future while Jason Roy has suddenly become a senior batsman. The likes of Tom Lancefield, Arun Harinath, Gary Wilson, Rory Burns and Matthew Spriegel will all have opportunities, too. There are a couple of other players – the likes of Chris Jordan – who need to show us what they can do over the next couple of months.”We’ve been left in a state of rebuilding. And that rebuilding job starts now.”Adams’ words will spread discomfort around the county circuit. Surrey’s budget and ambition are more than a match for any competitor and, as has been shown in recent times, the richer clubs are now prepared to compensate counties for players who are in contracts elsewhere.Adams dismissed the idea that Ramprakash might have been asked to postpone his retirement to provide some experience in a green-looking top-order. “We have been very fortunate to have seen the best of Mark Ramprakash at Surrey,” Adams said. “I first saw him when I was 13 and I knew then that he was going to be a genius. But he has made his decision and I respect that. The time was right for him.”

India’s seam bowlers dominated for two sessions, reducing England to 124 for 8, before a stirring counterattack from Stuart Broad propped the home side to 221

The Report by George Binoy29-Jul-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSreesanth celebrates one of his three wickets, that of Matt Prior•AFP

For the first two sessions of an overcast day in Nottingham, India’s fast bowlers dominated England’s batsmen with swing and seam movement to have them on 124 for 8. The end of England’s innings, however, came later than India wanted it to. Stuart Broad led a stirring counterattack after tea, and confronted by his aggression, India went to pieces. Their bowlers lost their successful lines and lengths, MS Dhoni deployed defensive fields, and the lethargic fielders were exploited. Broad and Graeme Swann had a 73-run partnership for the ninth wicket at 6.25 per over, which propped England up to 221.The injection of adrenaline Broad had given England was continued by James Anderson, who struck with the first delivery of the Indian innings. Abhinav Mukund, having seen the ball jag around for nearly 69 overs, played a push-drive to one that swung away and watched Kevin Pietersen catch the outside edge at gully. It was left to Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, opening and batting at No. 3 because of Gautam Gambhir’s absence, to show how it’s done. They played late and with soft hands. Their bats were beaten and their bodies hit. They survived appeals and a review but, with a little luck, ensured India’s advantage was not entirely lost. Broad bowled a menacing spell – 7-3-5-0 – but India ended the day with nine wickets intact, trailing by 197 runs.On the day, India did not suffer from Zaheer Khan’s unavailability as much as many thought they would. Zaheer’s replacement, Sreesanth, bowled spells of perfectly pitched outswing, and he forged a formidable alliance with Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma, reducing England from 73 for 2 to 124 for 8.England had been satisfactorily placed at lunch after MS Dhoni put them in. They had lost their marathon men – Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott – early but Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen, batting together in a Test for the first time since Perth in December, survived a testing second hour. Cook was lbw to Ishant an over after he survived a close shout against Praveen. Replays of the not-out decision indicated the ball would have hit the stumps, though a fraction of it pitched outside leg, while those of the out decision indicated it would have bounced over.There was more lbw drama. Praveen hit Pietersen below the knee roll and appealed vociferously. Despite Pietersen’s giant stride forward, replays indicated the bails would have fallen. Praveen argued with umpire Marais Erasmus and had to be ushered away by Harbhajan Singh.

Smart Stats

• England’s 221 is their third-lowest total in the first innings at Trent Bridge since 1990. Of the 11 times they have batted first, they have scored less than 300 only thrice.

• Stuart Broad’s 64 is his eighth half-century in Tests and the second of the series. He has now scored 1291 runs at an average of 28.68.

• The 73-run stand between Broad and Graeme Swann is England’s fourth-highest for the ninth wicket in Tests against India. The highest is 102 between Matthew Hoggard and Craig White in 2002.

• Alastair Cook averages 15.37 in eight innings at Trent Bridge – it’s his lowest at a ground where he has played more than one Test.

• Sreesanth has taken 59 Test wickets against right-handers, at an average of 29.28. Against left-handers, he’s taken 23 wickets at 43.52.

• The Indian fast bowlers picked up 9 for 188 in the England innings, which is the 11th occasion since 2000 that they’ve picked up nine or more wickets in an innings.

• Abhinav Mukund’s first-ball duck was his second in Tests and the 16th such instance for an Indian opener. Sunil Gavaskar has suffered the fate five times.

It was between Cook’s dismissal and the Pietersen appeal that Sreesanth made his entrance. Sreesanth doesn’t enjoy bowling to left-handers – Strauss clipped his first ball for four – as much as he does to right-handers, and as soon as he had Jonathan Trott on strike, he found the edge to slip with an outswinger. England were 23 for 2 and Strauss and Pietersen performed a steadying act until lunch.They couldn’t continue after lunch, though. In the first over after the break, Sreesanth shortened his length to counter Pietersen’s forward stride. Pietersen poked before trying to pull the bat away from the seaming ball and Raina, standing close at third slip, took the catch. Sreesanth’s spell after lunch was 7-1-14-2.While all the wickets so far had fallen to testing deliveries, Strauss went to one he should have left from Praveen. He drove away from his body and was caught at third slip for 32. Strauss’s departure exposed England’s weakest link, Eoin Morgan, who failed once again by falling lbw to Praveen for a duck. And when Matt Prior, India’s tormentor at Lord’s, edged the perfect outswinger to be caught at slip for 1, England were 88 for 6.Ian Bell and Tim Bresnan, who replaced the injured Chris Tremlett, put on 29 for the seventh wicket. Dravid dropped Bell on 22 but he eventually went for 31, under-edging a cut off Ishant to Dhoni, after Bresnan had fallen for 11.Resuming on 124 for 8 after tea, India’s bowlers inexplicably abandoned the plans they used to dismiss England’s top order. Instead of pitching full and seaming it away, they bowled a shorter length with wider lines, giving Broad and Swann space to play shots. Broad swung hard and connected cleanly. Some shots fell tantalisingly over fielders’ heads. Others landed short. Swann too used a fearless approach to ambush India.Abhinav had the opportunity to catch Swann at mid-off but he was slow in moving forward, perhaps because he was wearing shin pads in the outfield. The Indians scattered, leaving vast expanses unmanned, allowing runs if the ball touched bat or body. Suddenly, the old men were exposed. There was a single taken just wide of slip because Laxman was moving like a snail. It was an astounding turnaround.The 50 partnership came in seven overs and the resistance had reached 73 in the 12th over when Praveen got a length ball to kick sharply at Swann, who gloved it to gully and was later taken for an x-ray. There was only angry relief in the Indian camp. Their outstanding work in two sessions had unraveled spectacularly in an hour.Broad steered England past 200 and reached his half-century off 56 balls. He was eventually caught on the deep midwicket boundary but his 64 had given England a fighting total in difficult batting conditions.

Former England player Monte Lynch has been signed by the Southern Rocks franchise as head coach for the 2010-11 season

Cricinfo staff04-Aug-2010Former England player Monte Lynch has been signed by the Southern Rocks franchise as head coach for the 2010-11 season. Lynch played only three ODIs for England in 1988, but had a more storied first-class career, representing Gloucestershire, Surrey and Guyana in 359 games.Lynch was born in Guyana before migrating with his family to the UK as a child. After retiring from first-class cricket, he continued playing club cricket in Surrey. This will not be his first stint in Zimbabwe, having played and coached Old Winstonians, then a Harare-based development clube, in the mid-1990s.”He is very happy to come here,” Southern Rocks chief executive Givemore Makoni told . “He can’t wait to return to Zimbabwe. He has wonderful memories of the country and wants to resume the good job he started.”If you notice, we didn’t do too well last season because we had a young side. With his experience, Monte will add a lot of value to the team because the guys will be exposed to quality coaching,” Makoni said.Makoni mentioned Lynch had played a key role with the Old Winstonians, where he was involved in the progress of Zimbabwe cricketers Tatenda Taibu and Stuart Matsikenyeri, who were in primary school at the time. Coincidentally, Taibu and Matsikenyeri will be reunited with their mentor following their move to Rocks ahead of the new season.Lynch becomes the second high-profile coach to join a Zimbabwean side ahead of the upcoming season, after former Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie signed a deal with Midwest Rhinos.

Alexa Stonehouse also starred with the ball to heap more misery on the defending champions

ECB Media10-Aug-2024Another Nat Sciver-Brunt batting masterclass allied a brilliant opening burst by left-arm seamer Alexa Stonehouse to ensure Trent Rockets are alive in this year’s Hundred with two huge games to come.For defending champions Southern Brave, however, with just a single victory all tournament, their difficult run shows no sign of abating.Skipper Sciver-Brunt’s unbeaten 60 from 37 balls – a seventh Hundred fifty for the England star – elevated the Rockets to a commanding 155 for 7 and took her past Danni Wyatt as the tournament’s all-time leading female run-scorer. With 933 tournament runs, she’s within sight of becoming the first woman to breach the 1000-run mark.She was given excellent support initially from Grace Scrivens (36 from 24) and then via cameos from Ash Gardner and Heather Graham. Only the death-bowling quality of Lauren Bell, who took three wickets in her final set of five, kept the Rockets in check.In reply, after Wyatt and Maia Bouchier fell to Stonehouse inside the first five balls, the latter via a beautiful inswinger that arced through the gate, the Brave were always up against it.Georgie Adams was punchy for her 27 before falling to a superb boundary throw from Katie George, and Smriti Mandhana was all touch and elegance for her 42 (27), but when she miscued a Graham off-break to backward point, the Brave were 82 for 4 after 69 balls and fading.Some lusty late-order blows by Chloe Tryon briefly threatened an upset – one six was launched 86 metres into the groundstaff’s shed – but the Rockets held their nerve to run out comfortable winners by 24 runs.MeerKat Match Hero Nat Sciver-Brunt acknowledged it was a team effort with contributions all the way through: “Their batters put us under the pump and made us go through a few plans with the ball but we found the right one in the end, and we held our nerve with our skill.”I had a good partnership with Grace Scrivens, we’d highlighted the need for that after the first few games so we were really pleased with how it went today.”After the first four games we felt pretty down – three close games and not coming out on the right side of it, so it takes some getting up for the next game, but we’ve come back really strongly and with two games to go who knows what can happen.”

“It’s a bit of a surreal experience, but it was a really good day. I’m tired now but I really, really enjoyed it”

Valkerie Baynes22-Jun-2023To the outside world, it looks like Lauren Filer has burst on to the scene, bowling with raw pace and taking two wickets so far on her international debut – in an Ashes Test at Trent Bridge, no less.But it was time spent over winter remodelling her action which has helped lead to this point, working intensively with Matt Mason, England’s fast bowling coach, and Jack Brooks, the veteran Somerset seamer.”They spoke together and it was all about my load up,” Filer, the 22-year-old Western Storm quick, said. “My timing was all wrong. So it was trying to load up at the same time to get my timing right basically, in simpler terms. It’s helped a lot.”I think it looks a lot different. It didn’t take me too long, it took me probably a couple of weeks to get used to it, but a lot of people have noticed it and said how weird it looks, saying they I think I’m hiding a variation, but I’m not.Related

• Perry's 99 sets the tempo for Australia as Filer cranks up the pace on debut

• Ellyse Perry: Getting out for 99 is a 'bummer' but life goes on

• Filer backed to give England 'wicket-taking' edge

“It’s good for me because it makes me feel comfortable and I’m less likely to get injured as well. So for me, it’s really great and then other people notice it as well, which is nice to hear.”The new approach is also helping her to bowl even faster, too. Upon being selected, Jon Lewis, the England head coach, and captain Heather Knight had described her as being among the fastest bowlers in the country. Filer was clocked at 76 mph/123kph during the opening day of the Test, which swung this way and that to be pretty evenly poised at the close.”I know that I’ve definitely put on a few yards,” Filer added. “It’s almost easier to bowl quicker as well. I feel like last year I had to really try and it did hurt whereas now it feels I’m having a really good flow.”Filer ended a rain-interrupted day with 2 for 65, including the wicket of the vastly experienced Ellyse Perry, caught at gully for 99.Filer thought she had a wicket with her first ball in international cricket when umpire Sue Redfern gave Perry out lbw on 10. But Perry immediately called for a review, which confirmed that she had hit the ball onto her pad. Filer’s second ball beat Perry for pace, and, with her 18th delivery, she had formidable Australia opener Beth Mooney out for 33 with a 74mph/119kph delivery that climbed on her and took an edge before flying to Kate Cross at gully.”I was a bit shocked,” Filer said of learning she had earned her maiden senior cap. “I’m not usually lost for words but I didn’t really know what to say to Lewy [Lewis] when he told me.”It’s weird. I don’t think it sank in until I was on the pitch. So I didn’t feel too bad until probably about five minutes before and five minutes on the pitch. Once I fielded my first ball I think I settled down a bit, but it was definitely a bit nerve wracking at the start.”That’s a great start and that’s what I want to do as well, so I’m very happy. It’s a bit of a surreal experience, but it was a really good day, I’m a bit tired now but I really, really enjoyed it.”Filer almost had a first-ball wicket before Ellyse Perry reviewed•Getty Images

Perry, who helped Australia recover from 83 for 2 and close the day on 328 for 7, was impressed.”I had a really great tussle with Filer the whole time, I thought she was extremely impressive today on debut and brought the game alive at different points,” Perry said. “That ball [dismissal] just had my measure, which is which is totally fine. But I really enjoyed today to be out there and to be a part of it.”Sophie Ecclestone, the ICC’s No. 1-ranked bowler in both white-ball formats, who is only two years older than Filer but 110 matches more experienced at this level, made life easier for her seam-bowling team-mates, sending down a mammoth 28-over spell – which took in the lunch break and a 90-minute rain interruption – with her left-arm spin, and capturing three wickets, including Alyssa Healy for a second-ball duck.”She’s a bit of a bowling machine,” Filer said. “Bowling for two hours, that’s pretty impressive. I’ve never really seen anyone do that before, but she is still standing and she’s going strong.”It’s great that she can kind of tie up an end and that she’s consistent and we can rely on her. It’s a big, big role to fill and she does it so well. It makes the other bowlers at the other end feel comfortable doing what they’re doing because I know that she’ll go for nothing. So if I go for a for a couple of boundaries she’s got my back at the other end, that’s really good.”With the second new ball just five overs old, Filer could well be called into action early on the second day, but she was relishing the prospect.”Now with the new ball we’re definitely going to attack tomorrow morning,” she said. “It’s probably evenly poised at the moment.”

Australia allrounder says “we’ll probably need to make a decision in the next day or two”

Annesha Ghosh28-Mar-2022Ellyse Perry’s availability for Australia’s World Cup semi-final against West Indies on March 30 remains uncertain two days out from the fixture, she confirmed before heading into her first training session in nearly a week.Perry, who had suffered back spasms and had to go off the field during Australia’s win in the league-stage fixture against South Africa last Tuesday, said she hadn’t trained or “done anything cricket-wise” since.”My back’s going pretty well,” she said. “Obviously, a couple of days still before the match, so I think we’ll still just keep playing that by ear, but [by] bearing in mind that we’ll probably need to make a decision in the next day or so.”At this stage, it’s going really well. But obviously just need to make sure that I’m in the best possible spot to be able to contribute if I was to play, so I think we’ll do a couple more things at training in the next few days. If I get there, I do. Fingers crossed.”During the South Africa match, she appeared to be hurt when tumbling over a boundary rope in a fielding attempt. She didn’t bat as Australia romped to a sixth consecutive win in the tournament.Perry said on Monday she had never had back spasms before in her career, but she made clear the injury was “not hugely serious” and that it “definitely has been improving.” She added “there’s a pretty high percentage that I’ll be able to play at some point” and Australia’s practice session on Monday was likely to offer more insights on her recovery.Before being sidelined from title favourites Australia’s last league game – against Bangladesh on Friday – Perry contributed with both bat and ball in her side’s undefeated campaign. Having shouldered new-ball responsibilities regularly, she took five wickets in six innings, and also scored 146 runs in five innings while being the Player of the Match in back-to-back matches against New Zealand and West Indies.Asked if she would consider missing the semi-final if that makes her a definite inclusion for the final, Perry said such an approach doesn’t sit well with the unpredictability of knockout matches.”I think that is largely up to what’s best for the team and what our team management want to do,” Perry said. “But no, I don’t think you can have that approach to World Cup games, and semi-finals and finals. You just got to play each game, and that’s the most important thing at the time rather than casting your mind ahead to the next match and the final.”West Indies would dearly love to be in that final on Sunday and they will do everything they can to beat us to get there. So it’s the most important match for us this Wednesday at the moment.”Australia had routed West Indies when the two teams met in the league stage at the Basin Reserve in Wellington, the same venue as their semi-final.But despite that result, and their unbeaten run so far, Perry said Australia would not let their guard down against a side they had defeated in the 2013 ODI World Cup final but lost to in the 2016 T20 World Cup equivalent.”They’re a great side. They’re somewhat mercurial in the way that they play,” she said of West Indies. “But they’ve got some incredible weapons – particularly with the bat, [and] with the ball as well. Looking at the way that a lot of teams have played against us and bowled a lot of spin, I think Hayley Matthews has been particularly successful for the Windies with that in this tournament. We will sort of probably face a bit of that.”Deandra Dottin is unbelievably potent with the bat up at the top, especially if she gets going… They pose a great challenge because they’ve got a really good history of finals cricket in World Cup events. They’ll be right up for it, and I kind of hope it’s really cold here in Wellington because that’s a lot different to the Bahamas. Whereas we get a bit cooler weather in Australia sometimes. That’ll be interesting.”A hamstring injury during Australia’s last league fixture in the 2020 T20 World Cup on home soil had ruled Perry out of the semi-finals and the final. So regaining fitness to play this World Cup’s semi-final, she said, would mean a “tremendous amount” to her.”But I think that [feeling] is not new unique to me; the whole team’s really excited about it,” she said. “This tournament’s been coming for a little while too, with the delay last year not being able to stage it. So it’s really exciting that we’re finally at this stage of the tournament, like we’ve been here for a long time as well if you include the quarantine that we had to do before starting out the campaign.”It’s kind of the reason why you play I suppose at this level is to compete in big events and in big moments. So certainly the girls are really excited for that. It’s certainly great to be here. I’m really looking forward to it and seeing what we’re capable of.”

Suggests possibility of split-captaincy, with Kohli continuing to lead in Tests.

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Nov-2020Gautam Gambhir, the former India batsman, believes it will be a “shame” and “Indian cricket’s misfortune” if Rohit Sharma isn’t considered for the full-time white-ball captaincy going forward.Gambhir was speaking on ESPNcricinfo’s T20 Time Out soon after Sharma led Mumbai Indians to their fifth IPL crown, by beating the Delhi Capitals by five wickets in Dubai. Apart from leaving his mark as a captain on the field, Sharma killed off the chase by scoring a quickfire 68 to set up an easy win.”If Rohit Sharma doesn’t become India’s captain, it’s their loss, not Rohit’s,” Gambhir said. “Yes, a captain is only as good as his team and I completely agree with that, but what are the parameters to judge a captain on who is good and who isn’t? The parameters and benchmark should be the same. Rohit has led his team to five IPL titles.”Gambhir had earlier in the tournament spoken of the need for Virat Kohli, India’s current captain across formats, to be accountable for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, who are yet to win an IPL title in 13 seasons – Kohli has been captain for eight of those. The franchise have made the playoffs only three times under Kohli’s captaincy – this year, they crashed out in the Eliminator to finish the tournament with five consecutive losses.”We keep saying MS Dhoni is India’s most successful captain. Why? Because he has won two World Cups and three IPLs,” Gambhir said. “Rohit has won five IPL titles, he is the most successful captain in the history of the tournament. Going forward, it’ll be a shame if he doesn’t get India’s white-ball or just T20 captaincy. Because he can’t do much more than this. He can only help the team he captains to victories. So if he doesn’t become India’s regular white-ball captain, it will be their loss.”Rohit Sharma sports a pensive look•BCCI

Gambhir also clarified this was by no means a suggestion that Kohli’s captaincy was “poor”, but merely an observation of who is more suited to the job, given they both started captaining their IPL franchise around the same time, in 2013. Kohli took over the captaincy mid-season that year from Daniel Vettori, while Ricky Ponting stepped down to hand over the reins to Sharma after a poor start.Gambhir, who led Kolkata Knight Riders to two IPL titles – in 2012 and 2014 – even suggested India could consider a split-captaincy model going forward, with Kohli continuing to lead in Test cricket and Sharma taking over the white-ball captaincy.”They can also consider split-captaincy,” he said. “No one is poor. Rohit has shown in white-ball cricket how big the difference is between his and Virat’s captaincy. One player had led his team to five titles, the other hasn’t won yet. I’m not saying this because Kohli is a poor captain. But he has received the same platform that Rohit has, so you have to judge both of them on the same parameters. Both have been captains in the IPL for the same length of time. I feel Rohit stands out as a leader.”

Farhart, whose four-year stint with India ended with the World Cup, has previously worked with Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab in the IPL

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Aug-2019Patrick Farhart, the India men’s team physiotherapist till recently, has been roped in by IPL team Delhi Capitals for the 2020-2022 period. Farhart, whose four-year stint with India ended with the World Cup, has previously worked with Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab in the IPL.”I am delighted to be working in the Indian Premier League again,” Farhart said. “Delhi Capitals is a team that has made some very positive changes in its setup over the last couple of years, and the result is there to see in the side’s third-place finish in the 2019 season.”It is certainly a team that is on its way up, and I am excited to be working with the players and support staff members in the upcoming seasons of the tournament.”Farhart, and fitness coach Shankar Basu, joined the Indian team in 2015 and stepped down following India’s exit from the World Cup recently. They were reportedly offered fresh contracts with the Indian team but chose to move on.Farhart has also previously worked with Australia, New South Wales, Sydney Sixers and Hampshire, besides working with major rugby and football teams in Australia.”There is no doubt that he is among the best in the business,” Delhi Capitals CEO Dhiraj Malhotra said. “Patrick not only has an enviable body of work, but he also commands tremendous amount of respect among cricketers. I am absolutely confident that our players will benefit hugely from Patrick’s presence.”