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The fast bowler also looks ahead to the upcoming India tour, and how the experience of having played there before will help some of his team-mates

Annesha Ghosh07-Sep-2019Kagiso Rabada hasn’t had a quiet 2019 by any measure, being the fourth-highest wicket-taker among fast bowlers – 44 at an average of 28.65 – across the three formats. But with Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer the toast of the season, Rabada is no longer at the forefront of public memory.Part of it is also down to South Africa’s underwhelming showing at the World Cup, where they were knocked out in the group stage. But while the 24-year-old fast bowler is not fussed about not being the talk of the town as far as the chatter around young fast bowlers goes, the collective underperformance of the South African side has left him “disappointed”, if not “angry”.”It’s never easy maintaining a career; I’ve learned that there are a lot of ups and downs. I want to be the best in the world, everybody does,” Rabada told . “You are naturally going to compete in that fashion, I’m not too worried, I’m feeling nice and easy.”I’m disappointed, not angry [about the World Cup]. What do I do with anger? When a setback comes you want to be determined, you don’t want to change a lot of things. It’s about seeing where you went wrong and then putting in extra work.”Two months shy of completing five years in international cricket, Rabada has collected 176 Test wickets at an average of 21.77 and strike rate of 38.8. The corresponding numbers in the limited-overs formats are as impressive: 117 ODI wickets at 27.34, and 25 wickets in 19 T20Is.However, Rabada’s average and strike rate in Tests this year have been somewhat overshadowed by those of Bumrah and Archer. While the South African has picked 19 wickets at an average of 23.57, striking every 36.8 balls in Tests, Bumrah and Archer have collected 14 and 13 Tests wickets respectively, at averages of 13.14 and 21, and strike rates of 30.9 and 47.1 respectively.”I admire those bowlers, they are good bowlers,” Rabada, who will have an opportunity to better his figures in the upcoming T20I and Test series in India, said when asked about Bumrah and Archer. “However, the media hypes certain players, and that’s OK; I know I have been playing very well. Archer is such a natural talent; Bumrah is doing wonders and that can force you to lift your game. You are not always at the top, that’s one thing I can tell you.”Associated Press

On the tour of India, Rabada will be spearheading a pace attack in Tests that will be without the recently retired Dale Steyn. Given South Africa lost their last Test series in India 3-0, in 2015, having won both the limited-overs legs of the tour, Rabada hopes for an improved performance from the Test side with the knowledge of “terrible” tracks holding them in good stead.”You need to figure out what you need to do to give the team a better chance to win that is what I try to focus on,” Rabada, who made his Test debut on that tour in 2015, told . “When you have played there before you will have an idea of what to do in certain tough situations.”The previous tour we were successful because we won the T20 and ODI series but the Test series was a bit of a shambles because those wickets were just terrible. If I could give an example the first Test match it was 200 v 200 in first innings. If we batted first it was going to be a different ball game because we ended up having to chase the game. We lost 3-0 and we were truly hammered.”In what will be the team’s first assignment since their World Cup exit, South Africa will play three T20Is starting September 15 followed by as many Tests in Visakhapatnam, Pune and Ranchi, starting October 2. Their last Test series win in India came way back in 2000, and their most recent outings in the longest format on Asian soil, too, ended in despair, with Sri Lanka crushing them 2-0 in 2018.With spin likely to be a key factor again, Rabada underlined that the prior experience of playing in India could help the majority of the South Africa players fashion better individual results than what the Sri Lanka Tests yielded.”On our recent tour to Sri Lanka it was tricky conditions,” Rabada said. “There is a whole lot of talk about how to approach spin but we will see how it goes. What helps is that there are guys who have played there in the past and I guess what you can do is to use what worked and what did not work during the Sri Lanka tour to have a base.”When you go there for the first time it’s weird and you don’t know what to do. If you look at how Faf [du Plessis] batted in Sri Lanka, he got good starts which showed that he had played there and knew the conditions.”

Jamie Overton claimed four wickets and bowled with impressive pace as Somerset took control at New Road

ECB Reporters Network23-Jul-2018Somerset 337 and 44 for 0 lead Worcestershire 257 (Wood 65*, J Overton 4-61, Davey 4-68) by 127 runs

ScorecardJamie Overton and Josh Davey shared eight wickets to give Somerset the upper hand despite staunch resistance from Luke Wood and the Worcestershire lower order on day two of the Specsavers County Championship match at Blackfinch New Road.Jamie Overton picked up his first Championship wickets of 2018 on his way to figures of 4 for 61 from 15 overs and bowled with considerable pace. He has gradually been built up to full match fitness via playing in the Royal London Cup and Vitality Blast and impressed in his second Championship game of 2018.After Worcestershire were dismissed for 257 in their first innings – a deficit of 80 – Somerset openers Marcus Trescothick and Ed Byrom then extended their overall advantage to 127 by the close.Their position would be even stronger but for the efforts of Wood, who is on loan to Worcestershire for a month from Nottinghamshire. The paceman came to the wicket at 120 for 7 and featured in crucial partnerships of 46 with Ross Whiteley and 84 with Dillon Pennington.Wood ended unbeaten on 65 from 77 deliveries and struck 10 boundaries. His efforts not only enabled the home side to avoid the possibility of being asked to follow on but also secured two batting points.But Worcestershire will still need a major turnaround in the overall trend of the opening half of the match if they are to stave off the threat of a fifth defeat in eight Championship matches. As well as Somerset bowled, some of their front-line batsmen will be disappointed at the manner of their dismissal.Somerset had resumed on 324 for 9 and added 13 more runs before Jack Leach edged Ed Barnard to first slip.Worcestershire quickly ran into trouble when they launched their reply with the quickfire dismissal of openers Travis Head and Daryl Mitchell. Head pushed forward to Davey and edged to Craig Overton at third slip and Mitchell flicked at a Craig Overton delivery and was caught down the leg side by Steven Davies.Joe Clarke struck four boundaries but surrendered his wicket in a tame manner when he clipped Davey straight to midwicket.Moeen Ali’s innings was a mixture of class shots and being given a searching examination by Jamie Overton and after making 30 he drove loosely at the paceman and nicked through to Davies. Skipper Brett D’Oliveira was then trapped lbw by the same bowler in the last over before lunch.Worcestershire continued to lose wickets at regular intervals with Barnard (29), who had been promoted to No. 6, and debutant Alex Milton both ousted on 120 in successive overs by Davey and Craig Overton respectively.Wood and Whiteley played with freedom in putting on 46 in six overs before the latter was bowled by the returning Jamie Overton. But his dismissal brought in Pennington, playing only his second Championship match, and he showed his mettle and willingness for a fight in adversity alongside Wood.The innings finally ended when Pennington was bowled by Jamie Overton and then Steve Magoffin popped a Davey delivery up on the on side.

Virat Kohli admitted England, with their batting strength and approach at home, will be the team to beat in the Champions Trophy

Andrew Miller25-May-2017Prudence got the better of him, and he chose to turn in for a much-needed kip, but Virat Kohli’s first instinct upon checking into India’s team hotel in London on Thursday morning had been to go for a walk and a coffee, and savour the freedom that comes to all Indian cricketers when they escape the goldfish-bowl lifestyle of their subcontinental superstardom.”I love walking by myself, not having people around at all,” Kohli told reporters shortly after the team’s arrival from Mumbai. “I love travelling away from home, and getting some normal time, which I’m not really able to do back home, because there’s so much attention on you all the time.”These were not the words of a cricketer harbouring any angst about travelling to England in the current climate. On the contrary, despite describing Monday night’s terrorist attack in Manchester as “really saddening and disturbing”, it was hard to ignore the note of genuine excitement in Kohli’s voice as he faced up to the challenge of leading India for the first time in a global tournament – and, moreover, defending a trophy that he helped them to win in the last edition of the tournament four years ago.Kohli’s formidable record in all formats and all conditions remains tarnished, in some people’s eyes at least, by his failure to adapt to seaming conditions on the 2014 Test tour of England – although he reiterated he was not seeking “vengeance” for his modest tally of 134 runs in 10 innings on that trip.Less well remembered, although brought sharply back into focus as he posed for the cameras with the trophy back in his mitts, was his winning contribution against England 12 months earlier, when his 43 from 34 balls proved the difference between the two teams in the 2013 Champions Trophy final at Edgbaston.England may forever wonder how they failed to seal the deal on that occasion, after bringing their requirement down to 20 runs from 16 balls in a rain-reduced contest, before squandering four wickets for three runs in a 14-ball horror show. Nevertheless, the scenes of euphoria that greeted India’s victory that night reinforced Kohli’s reasons for relishing a return to familiar shores.’They are pretty hard to get past, and that’s going to be a challenge for every other team in the Champions Trophy as well’ – Virat Kohli on England•AFP

“I am very excited to be playing as captain in my first major ICC competition,” he said. “As far as the team goes, we won last time because our fast bowlers did very well, our spinners were strong and our opening batsman did well.”They were the main three factors. This year the team is a lot fitter, the cricketers are a lot more mature because that was a very young group four years ago. It has gained a lot of experience in the last three or four years. I love the tournament because it represents a challenge from the [word] go.”And few sides look better placed to mount a challenge than the hosts themselves. Even in victory on home soil earlier this year, Kohli saw at first hand the formidable power and never-say-die attitude of an England ODI batting line-up that currently ranks among the most potent in the world game.In consecutive ODIs at Pune, Cuttack and Kolkata in January, England amassed totals of 350 for 7, 366 for 8 and 321 for 8, and yet somehow finished up losing the series 2-1, thanks in part to Kohli’s magisterial 122 from 105 balls in the opening fixture. But they have not let up either side of that set-back, pounding nine 300-plus scores on the last ten occasions in which they have batted first.”I think England are a very, very balanced side,” Kohli said. “One of the two best balanced sides in the world at the moment. They bat right down to 9 or 10, they are all explosive players, five or six guys can bat and bowl, and they are gun fielders as well.In ODIs, Virat Kohli has had a stellar run in the lead-up to the Champions Trophy, including a sensational ton in the first ODI against England in Pune•AFP

“We experienced that in India, they are pretty hard to get past, and that’s something that is going to be a challenge for every other team in the Champions Trophy as well. We always related to England as a very strong Test team, but in last two or three years post [the 2015] World Cup, they’ve really changed the way they play their cricket.”I don’t think they’ve scored anything less than 330 now, which moves the game on pretty rapidly. It is indeed a challenge for all sides that play against them. Credit to them for shaping their short-format cricket so well, and I’m sure they’ll be eager to go a long way in this tournament as well.”Last year, against Pakistan at Trent Bridge, England raised their bar even further by posting a record total of 444 for 3. Asked if he thought England had any weaknesses going into the tournament, Kohli had to concede: “Not at the moment, especially in their conditions, they are pretty strong.”When a side plays in that manner for so long, when it doesn’t click it goes against you pretty quickly,” he added. “But they have managed to continue that mindset pretty well, I don’t see anyone taking a backwards step at any stage of the game, and that is pretty amazing to see.”For the whole batting line-up to play like that is pretty rare. You always have two or three guys playing through the innings, but for them it’s all about attack, throughout the 50 overs which is exciting for the fans and challenging for the opposition. You have to be on top of your game to get past a team like that.”

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

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• 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.”